Hong Kong: National space delegation to visit HK The Government has announced that a China Manned Space delegation will arrive in Hong Kong today for a four-day visit. Led by China Manned Space Agencys Deputy Director General Lin Xiqiang, the delegation comprises astronauts who have participated in the construction of the Chinese Space Station. They include Shenzhou-12 astronaut Liu Boming, Shenzhou-13 astronaut Wang Yaping, Shenzhou-14 astronaut Chen Dong, Shenzhou-15 astronaut Zhang Lu and experts in manned space engineering systems. As a welcome from the city, the delegation will attend a variety show at the Hong Kong Coliseum tomorrow. From 1pm today, the Home Affairs Department will distribute about 5,000 free tickets for the show, each with an assigned seat number, via the 20 Home Affairs Enquiry Centres. The tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, with individuals being limited to a maximum of two tickets while stocks last. The show will be broadcast live at 5pm tomorrow on TVB Jade, and re-run at 1.15pm on December 2 on the same channel. During the visit, the delegation will also officiate at the opening ceremony of the China Manned Space Exhibition, and meet representatives of Hong Kongs innovation and technology sector, as well as teachers and students from tertiary, secondary and primary schools. Chief Executive John Lee extended his welcome to the delegation and thanked the Central Peoples Government for making the relevant arrangements. He said: Through the delegations visit, Hong Kong people can share the nations pride in Chinas manned space development from close range, and develop a deeper understanding of the countrys developments in aerospace technologies. This story has been published on: 2023-11-28. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 As a result of severe weather conditions in Ukraine, 10 people died, and 23 people, including two children, were injured as of the morning of Nov. 28, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. Of the total number, five people were reported dead and 15 injured in Odesa Oblast, one of the worst-hit regions of Ukraine. Emergency services provided assistance to 2,498 people in the oblast, including 162 children, Klymenko said. Two people died and two were injured in Mykolaiv Oblast, according to the minister. The remaining dead victims were reported in Kharkiv Oblast and in Kyiv. Russian occupation authorities also reported one person dead in Crimea due to the weather conditions on Nov. 27. Storms, strong wind, heavy rain, and snowfall hit much of Ukraine on Nov. 26-27, leading to floods, damages to buildings, power outages, and traffic problems. A total of 1,530 stranded vehicles were towed. Eight highways in Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad oblasts remain closed, and traffic is restricted on sections of two roads in Odesa Oblast, according to Klymenko. Some 411 settlements in 11 oblasts reportedly remain without power as of the morning of Nov. 28. Read also: Francis Farrell: Ukraine could still lose the war. Lets get some things straight Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) The names of dozens of people killed by drivers under the influence across the Las Vegas valley will be honored on Wednesday. Each November, STOP DUI, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Nevada State Police, and DUI victims post victim memorial signs east and westbound along Kyle Canyon Road (State Route 157). The signs will be part of the annual Miles of Memories event that brings awareness to National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month. The gathering, and posting of the signs will take place Nov. 29 at the LVMPD Mt. Charleston Substation. There are expected to be approximately 100 signs that will be attached to mile marker posts along the road and will remain posted through the first week of January. The signs are designed to be a sober reminder of the dangers of driving under the influence and also provide some semblance of solace to victims families. During the Thanksgiving Day holiday weekend, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department conducted a DUI Blitz enforcement arresting 19 people for DUIs and writing out 44 citations to drivers. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. Giving Tuesday orgs SMYAL Callen-Lorde Community Health Center He She Ze and We Ask a Queer: Where to Donate for Giving Tuesday? Giving Tuesday orgs SMYAL Callen-Lorde Community Health Center He She Ze and We Images: Facebook @SMYAL @callenlorde @HeSheZeandWe Where can your money do the most good in the world? Every year it's a struggle to decide where to share your hard-earned cash on Giving Tuesday in an effort to help those who need it most. This year, equalpride's digital photo editor, Nikki Aye, spearheaded a roundup of organizations that you can consider. We present you with a collection of replies from around the equalpride (virtual) water cooler to the question "Where to donate for Giving Tuesday?" Read on for the list. ORAM ORAM's global team members Image: facebook @ORAMrefugee What They Do: ORAM provides legal assistance, advances economic inclusion through livelihood programs, champions the rights of LGBTIQ asylum seekers and refugees on the global stage and provides critical emergency response to the communities we serve. Find them at: www.oramrefugee.org and www.facebook.com/ORAMrefugee Callen-Lorde Community Health Center Callen-Lorde Community Health Center Man Tshirt Image: facebook @callenlorde Their Mission: Callen-Lorde Community Health Center provides sensitive, quality health care and related services targeted to New Yorks lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities in all their diversity regardless of ability to pay. To further this mission, Callen-Lorde promotes health education and wellness, and advocates for LGBTQ health issues. Find them at: callen-lorde.org and www.facebook.com/callenlorde Transgender Law Center Protect Trans Kids Protest Sign Image: facebook @translawcenter What They Do: Transgender Law Center changes law, policy, and attitudes so that all people can live safely, authentically, and free from discrimination regardless of their gender identity or expression. Find them at: transgenderlawcenter.org and www.facebook.com/translawcenter Long Island Crisis Center (formerly Pride for Youth) Pride for Youth - PFY - Queer Ball Image: facebook @prideforyouth.pfy Their Mission: To enhance the health and wellness of the LGBTQ+ community through education, supportive services and personal development in Nassau, Suffolk and Queens Counties. Find them at: www.liccpfy.org and www.facebook.com/prideforyouth.pfy The Sherlock's Homes Foundation Sherlock's Homes Foundation Image: facebook @sherlockshomesfoundation What They Do: The Sherlock's Homes Foundation provides housing, employment opportunities, and a loving support system, for homeless LGBTQ+ young adults so that they can live fearlessly as their authentic selves. Within one of our homes, these young adults learn about responsibility, accountability, financial independence, life skills, but most of all how to love themselves. Find them at: sherlockshomes.org and https://www.facebook.com/sherlockshomesfoundation/ PEN America Dreaming Out Loud contributor Stephany Pineda Cardoso Image: facebook @PENamerica Their Mission: PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Find them at: pen.org and www.facebook.com/PENamerica He She Ze and We He She Ze and We Pride Table Image: facebook @HeSheZeandWe What They Do: He She Ze and We supports families throughout their journey with gender identity. This includes support meetings, education in schools and communities, advocacy work, and empowering families, communities, and allies to create life-saving, inclusive environments. Find them at: heshezewe.org and www.facebook.com/HeSheZeandWe Project Lazarus Project Lazarus donations Image: facebook @ProjectLazarusNOLA Their Mission: Project Lazarus has a long history of serving people living with HIV/AIDS in the greater New Orleans community. We opened our doors in 1985 as a hospice for people who were dying from AIDS to come and spend the final days of their life peacefully and respectfully. To this day, we remain a steadfast and trusted service provider for those who are HIV positive in New Orleans, especially those who have been historically underserved. Find them at: projectlazarus.net and www.facebook.com/ProjectLazarusNOLA SMYAL Speaker at SMYAL event Image: facebook @SMYAL What They Do: SMYAL (Supporting and Mentoring Youth Advocates and Leaders) supports and empowers lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth in the Washington, DC, metropolitan region. Through youth leadership, SMYAL creates opportunities for LGBTQ youth to build self-confidence, develop critical life skills, and engage their peers and community through service and advocacy. Committed to social change, SMYAL builds, sustains, and advocates for programs, policies, and services that LGBTQ youth need as they grow into adulthood. Find them at: smyal.org and www.facebook.com/SMYAL The Night Ministry the night ministry friendsgiving feast Image: facebook @thenightministry Their Mission: The Night Ministry is a Chicago-based organization whose mission is to provide human connection, housing support, and health care to those who are unhoused or experiencing poverty. With an open heart, we compassionately accept each individual as they are and work alongside them to advocate for their immediate physical, emotional, and social needs while affirming our shared humanity. Find them at: www.thenightministry.org and www.facebook.com/thenightministry GenderCool GenderCool Champion Rebekah's mom, Jamie, speaking at NLGJA - The Association of LGBTQ Journalists conference Image: facebook @GenderCoolProject What They Do: GenderCool champions work tirelessly to transform the narrative surrounding transgender and nonbinary youth. With each donation, we empower them to share their stories, touch new hearts, and take a step closer to a world where everyone truly understands and embraces transgender and nonbinary kids. Find them at: gendercool.org and www.facebook.com/GenderCoolProject The 12-year-old boy drove through Ann Arbor neighborhoods and stopped on the outskirts of Detroit after an hour-long chase. Ann Arbor Police Department Police in Michigan said a boy driving a forklift led officers on a slow chase for more than an hour. Cops found the boy driving on Saturday evening, and gave chase at speeds of up to 20 miles per hour. Dashcam footage showed the boy knocking into parked cars and jumping red lights. No one was injured. A 12-year-old boy in Ann Arbor, Michigan, led police on an hour-long, slow chase while driving a construction forklift stolen from a middle school. The boy, who was not named, was found driving the forklift along a suburb on Saturday evening after someone reported the vehicle was stolen from Forsythe Middle School, the Ann Arbor Police Department said. Officers sighted the boy at around 6.48 p.m., then pursued the forklift "at speeds of 15 to 20 mph with emergency lights and sirens on," per city police. Police released a video of squad cars tailing the boy as he mounted curbs, beat several red lights, and toppled a road sign. While in pursuit, the officers can be heard discussing the dilemma at hand they had to somehow stop the boy without letting the forklift's hooks ram their vehicles. "He's lowering the hooks, don't go in front of it," one officer warned his colleagues. According to police, the boy struck around 10 parked vehicles as he made his low-speed getaway attempt. Ann Arbor police stopped chasing the boy as he drove across the M-14 highway, after which deputies from the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office continued the pursuit. He left Ann Arbor and eventually stopped at the "area of M-14 and Gotfredson," police said. It was 7:53 p.m. by then, and the Gotfredson area is on the outskirts of neighboring Detroit and around 10 miles from Forsythe Middle School. No one was injured during the slow-speed chase, and the boy was later sent to a juvenile detention center, police said. The stolen vehicle a Construction Genie GTH-636 Telehandler fitted with a forklift had been unlocked using a key hidden in the cab, police added. "This was a very dangerous situation that could've easily ended with serious injuries," police wrote. "The incident remains an active and ongoing criminal investigation." "Someone is NOT seeing Santa this year!" a YouTube user wrote in the video's comments. Read the original article on Business Insider A 12-year-old boy stole a forklift and led officers from two law enforcement agencies on a one-hour pursuit, Michigan police said. Ann Arbor police received a report on the evening of Saturday, Nov. 25, about a minor trying to steal a construction vehicle from a job site at Forsythe Middle School. Officers reported locating the vehicle a Construction Genie GTH-636 Telehandler equipped with a forklift at 6:48 p.m driving through the Georgetown Boulevard neighborhood. The preteen is accused of striking around 10 parked vehicles driving through the community. Then, after crossing the M-14 bridge, police said deputies with the Washtenaw County Sheriffs Office took over the pursuit and followed the boy until he stopped the vehicle at 7:53 p.m. about 10 miles away from the middle school. Police took the driver into custody and lodged him at a juvenile detention center. It was not immediately clear what charges the boy may face. McClatchy News reached out to the Ann Arbor Police Department and is awaiting a response. The boy was able to gain access to the forklift because it was left unlocked with the key hidden inside, police said. These types of vehicles can weigh up to 35,000 pounds. According to the Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association , a nonprofit trade association, the maximum recommended forklift speed in areas where pedestrians are present is 3 mph. The boy reached speeds of 20 mph during the pursuit,, police said, but no injuries were reported. This was a very dangerous situation that couldve easily ended with serious injuries. The incident remains an active and ongoing criminal investigation, police said. Ann Arbor is about 40 miles west of downtown Detroit. 74-year-old hit while trying to stop person from stealing car with dog inside, cops say Man in stolen $60,000 forklift leaves 2.5-mile path of destruction, Florida cops say Man steals forklift at Lowes, runs over 73-year-old outside Home Depot, cops say EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) A 12-year-old El Pasoan has been recognized as one of the top 30 science scholars nationwide through the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge. Chloe Fierro, who is home schooled, was recognized for her scientific research titled Therma-Q: Analyzing the Thermal Performance of a Quercus Suber Insulation. Her award was announced by Insights Science Discovery and the Society for Science. She was recognized during a week in Washington, D.C. Each finalist in the Thermo Fisher challenge receives $1,000 grant to support STEM programs at their school. Since Fierro is homeschooled, she had the option to support a nonprofit organization in her community. Fierro has chosen to contribute her prize to Insights Science Discovery, the organization said. We are thrilled to celebrate Chloes remarkable success in the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge, said Alfred Olivas, representative of Insights Science Discovery. Her dedication, ingenuity, generosity, and scientific talent at such a young age are truly inspiring. Chloes achievement serves as a testament to the incredible potential and talent within our community. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) A 13-year-old has been arrested for first-degree murder in connection to a deadly shooting in southwest Charlotte. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said on Monday that the juvenile suspect was taken into custody without incident. The juvenile was transferred into the custody of the North Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice. Queen City News is tracking CRIME in your area >> Latest stories here Police say on Oct. 7, a man was found shot in the 2900 block of Baltimore Avenue near South Tryon Street. The victim, 30-year-old Maurice Moore, died early the next morning. The victims next of kin have been notified of the arrest. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. 13-year-old charged with murder in deadly October shooting A 13-year-old was arrested and charged with first-degree murder on Monday afternoon, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department announced Tuesday. Police investigate homicide in south Charlotte following Saturday night shooting The teen is accused of murder in connection with a deadly shooting that happened on Oct. 7 on Baltimore Avenue in south Charlotte. Maurice Moore, 30, died at a hospital after being shot, police said. The juvenile is in the custody of the North Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice. Obviously, a great performance transcends how much you naturally look like a historical figure, but its still fun to see how directors choose to cast movies based on real people. In Christopher Nolans second historical film after 2017s Dunkirk, he took on the creation of nuclear weapons in America for Oppenheimer. Its based on American Prometheus, a 2005 biography of scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer. The movie, now available for purchase on Prime Video and Apple TV+, has a star-studded cast who play the people involved in one of the most significant events of the 20th century, and human history in general. Some of the greatest scientists in the world were involved in the Manhattan Project in some way including Oppenheimer himself, Enrico Fermi, Niels Bohr, and Albert Einstein. Here are some photos of the Oppenheimer cast plus the people they are portraying. Oppenheimer is Cillian Murphys first starring role in a Christopher Nolan film, though they have collaborated on five other earlier movies. The pair reportedly first met to see if Murphy would be a good fit to play Bruce Wayne/Batman in Batman Begins, but he was instead offered the role of the iconic villain Scarecrow. Getty Images J. Robert Oppeneimer Murphy plays the movies namesake, J. Robert Oppenheimer. His scientific expertise was pivotal in the development of the atomic bomb as the director of the Manhattan Projects Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico. After developing the technology, Oppenheimer became an advocate for the international control of nuclear power to avoid further proliferation and opposed the development of the second-generation nuclear bomb design: the hydrogen bomb. Getty Images Emily Blunt Emily Blunt stars in her first Christopher Nolan film with this part. The actor has a ton of range and can hold her own in a period drama, fantasy world, or elaborate science-fiction scenario. In this interview with People, Blunt recalled that the vibe on the set was like being at camp!" Getty Images Katherine Kitty Oppenheimer Blunt plays Kitty Oppenheimer (nee Katherine Puening), a biologist who met Robert in 1939 while completing postgraduate research at UCLA and married to her third husband, Stewart Harrison. After marrying Robert in 1940, Kitty lived at the Los Alamos facility with her new husband and their children. Her biological expertise also came in use as she helped health workers at Los Alamos assess the effect of radiation on participants blood. Getty Images Matt Damon Actor-director-writer Matt Damon has worked with Nolan once before on Interstellar as Mann, an astronaut the main crew discovers in cryosleep on a mysterious frozen planet. Along with doing great acting work recently, he was one of the screenwriters of Ridley Scotts The Last Duel with Ben Affleck and Nicole Holofcener. Getty Images Lieutenant General Leslie Groves Damon plays U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officer Lieutenant General Leslie Groves. After overseeing the construction of the Pentagon, Groves became a director of the Manhattan Project, helping select research sites, secure materials, and construct facilities needed by the scientists. As one of the military leads of the project, he was also in charge of intelligence regarding Germanys nuclear weapons project and helped select the Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki as targets for the United States deadly nuke attacks. Getty Images Florence Pugh Florence Pugh plays Jean Tatlock, an American psychiatrist who had a romantic relationship with Oppenheimer before he married Kitty, which also rekindled during the marriage. Tatlock also introduced Oppenheimer to several Communist Party associates or sympathetic groups during their initial relationship in California. Pugh had a strong 2022 with The Wonder and Dont Worry Darling, and she will be appearing in Dune: Part Two in 2024. Getty Images Robert Downey Jr. Robert Downey Jr. took a brief break from acting after leaving the role of Tony Stark/Iron Man in the MCU, but hes back in a big way with this film. He was an awesome movie superhero but has also played classic characters like Sherlock Holmes, and even has an Oscar-nominated performance as Charlie Chaplin under his belt. Getty Images Lewis Strauss Downey plays former Atomic Energy Board (AEC) chairman Lewis Strauss. Strauss served in the U.S. Navy Reserve during WWII, and he was reportedly frustrated over the secrecy of the Manhattan Project. Strauss joined the AEC in 1947 and had a lot of influence over Americas nuclear strategy during the early Cold War. He distrusted Oppenheimer due to the physicists Communist beliefs and was the driving force of the 1954 AEC Personnel Security Board hearings that led to Oppenheimers security clearance being revoked. Getty Images Josh Hartnett Josh Hartnett has historical film experience from Michael Bays Pearl Harbor, and this is certainly a pretty different approach to the similar time period. He has more recently appeared in films like Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, and shows like Penny Dreadful as well as an episode of the new Black Mirror season. Getty Images Ernest Orlando Lawrence Hartnett plays Ernest O. Lawrence, a nuclear physicist known as the inventor of the particle accelerator the cyclotron. His expertise in these machines brought him into the fold of the military during WWII, and his work on uranium-isotope separation advanced the development of the atomic bomb. Getty Images Rami Malek Rami Malek is fresh off wrapping up his incredible role as Elliot in Mr. Robot in 2019, as well as his Oscar-winning portrayal of Freddie Mercury for Bohemian Rhapsody. Getty Images David Hill (Left) Malek plays physicist David L. Hill, who worked on the Manhattan Project at the University of Chicagos Metallurgical Met Lab. He was a signee of the Szilard Petition, a memo signed by 70 scientists and other workers calling on President Harry S. Truman to perform a demonstration of the nukes for Japan instead of dropping them on cities. Getty Images Kenneth Branagh This will be Kenneth Branaghs third film with Nolan, and he is also a world-renowned actor-director with credits from excellent Shakespeare adaptations like Henry V, one of the first modern MCU films with Thor, and the recent Oscar-winning film Belfast. Getty Images Niels Bohr Branagh plays Niels Bohr, the renowned physicist who developed the Bohr model of the atom. He occasionally visited the Los Alamos Lab to consult on a few issues with the Manhattan Project and became an advocate for international cooperation on the development of nuclear energy late in life. Getty Images Benny Safdie Benny Safdie exploded on the scene along with his brother Josh with their films Heaven Can Wait, Good Time, and Uncut Gems. Along with co-directing these movies, Safdie had a main role in Good Time and has acted in other projects like Licorice Pizza and Stars at Noon. Getty Images Edward Teller Safdie plays Edward Teller, a Hungarian-American physicist who was an early Manhattan Project contributor. He gave a controversial testimony in Oppenheimers AEC trial, where he referred to his former superiors actions as confused and complicated and supported the removal of his security clearance. Getty Images Dylan Arnold Dylan Arnold has made a name for himself in dramas like Mudbound, joined an iconic horror franchise with Halloween Kills, and now in his first Christopher Nolan movie. Getty Images Frank Oppenheimer Arnold plays Frank Oppenheimer, the younger brother of Robert who followed in his footsteps to become a physicist as well. He began working at Los Alamos in 1943, with responsibilities regarding uranium enrichment among others. His membership to the American Communist party was scrutinized in the late 40s, causing him to be blacklisted from any scientist or professor jobs for several years during the height of McCarthyism. Getty Images Danny DeFerrari DeFerrari is a well-regarded character actor you might know from plenty of great films and shows. He played Bernie Madoffs son Andrew Madoff in the Madoff HBO miniseries from 2016, and his role in Shiva Baby was a great showcase of his comedic talents. Getty Images Enrico Fermi DeFerrari plays the Italian physicist Enrico Fermi, who contributed key breakthroughs to the Manhattan Project, including creating Chicago Pile-1, the worlds first nuclear reactor. CP-1 was also the site of the first man-made nuclear chain reaction when it went critical in 1942. Fermi testified on Oppenheimers behalf during his security hearings and also opposed the development of the hydrogen bomb. Getty Images Matthew Modine Oppenheimer is Modines second film with Christopher Nolan, after he played a Gotham City police commissioner in The Dark Knight Rises. You might know Modine from his hit part in Stranger Things, but hes a veteran actor with credits like Stanley Kubricks Full Metal Jacket. Getty Images Vannevar Bush Modine plays Vannevar Bush, an engineer and administrator who was the head of the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development through much of WWII. Bush was a key advocate for the development of the atomic bomb and occasionally acted as a liaison to report Oppenheimers progress to the president and other government officials. Getty Images Tom Conti Tom Conti is a respected stage and screen actor from Scotland. He won a Tony Award in 1979 for his performance in Whose Line is it Anyway? and received an Academy Award nomination just a few years later for his starring role in Reuben, Reuben. Getty Images Albert Einstein Obviously, Einstein needs little introduction, but people might not be aware of the small but profound role he played in getting the Manhattan Project off the ground. He was asked to write a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt warning him of Nazi research into nuclear weapons and recommending the United States look into it as well. This letter was reportedly a key factor in motivating America to join the nuclear arms race. Einstein later referred to this choice as the one great mistake in my life. Getty Images You Might Also Like BLANCO COUNTY, Texas - Two children and two adults were killed following a crash in Blanco County, Texas DPS said. DPS said on Nov. 22, around 7:15 p.m., troopers responded to a deadly crash on US 281 near mile marker 460. A Toyota Tacoma was traveling northbound on US 281 while a Chevrolet SUV was traveling south, followed by a Nissan Versa. DPS says that for a currently unknown reason, the Toyota traveled across the solid double yellow line into the southbound lanes and struck the Chevrolet. The Nissan then struck the Chevrolet and rolled. As a result of the crash, a man and two children in the Chevrolet were pronounced dead at the scene, with only the driver surviving. The driver of the Toyota was transported to a medical facility where he later died from his injuries. The driver of the Nissan was released and left the scene. MORE TEXAS NEWS The Blanco County Sheriffs Office, EMS, and Fire Department along with Marble Falls PD assisted at the scene. The investigation is ongoing, and no more details are available at this time. DPS is reminding all drivers to minimize distractions, dont drive fatigued, dont drink and drive, obey traffic control devices and always wear safety belts. 2 teens arrested after allegedly stealing truck at gunpoint; 1 ends up in standoff with police EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) Two teenagers were arrested this weekend after they allegedly stole a truck at gunpoint and one of them ended up in a standoff with police, El Paso Police said. At about 1:30 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 25, police were called out an aggravated robbery at a drive-thru at a McDonalds at 14230 Edgemere in far East El Paso. 17-year-old man arrested after standoff with police Police say two men robbed a 23-year-old man of his truck at gunpoint. Police soon located the stolen vehicle along the 3200 block of Emerald Point. A 17-year-old, later identified as Billy Christian Charles, ran out of the stolen truck and eventually into a home along the 14200 block of Honey Point, police said. Police said he had barricaded himself in the home. At that time, officers requested assistance from the SWAT and Crisis Management teams. After several hours, Charles exited the home and was taken into custody without further incident. Later that day, police identified 17-year-old Elijai Koroma as the other person involved in the armed robbery and he was arrested. Both have been charged with aggravated robbery. Charles was issued a $100,000 bond and Koroma was given a $75,000 bond. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. A suspect was arrested after two women were found dead inside a North Texas home the day after Thanksgiving, the Farmers Branch Police Department confirmed Tuesday. Farmers Branch police spokesperson Steven Rutherford told the Star-Telegram Tuesday that an incident resulted in the loss of two people. A suspect was arrested and taken into custody the same day the victims were discovered, according to Rutherford. The victims were identified by the Dallas County Medical Examiners Office as Catalina Valdez Andrade, 47, and Merced Andrade Bailon, 43, who were both found dead early Friday morning in the 13200 block of Castleton Place. According to a report by the Dallas Morning News, the two women were sisters. The manner of their deaths was listed as homicide, but the medical examiner did not list the cause of their deaths. The suspects name and any charges that person is facing have not been released. Farmers Branch police declined to provide additional details, saying the investigation is ongoing. Today's top stories: Tarrant deputy shot at credit union expected to recover; suspect in custody Fort Worth restaurants sold, closing near Dickies Arena, Stockyards Looking to make up to $300,000 a year? These 10 Texas state jobs pay the most Get free alerts when news breaks. Content is created by CNN Underscoreds team of editors who work independently from the CNN newsroom. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a commission. Learn more Want a gift that keeps on giving? Look no further than the best beauty Advent calendars that hold not one but dozens of daily gifts. Perfect for those hard-to-shop-for friends or a preholiday present for yourself, these boxes feature mini and full-size products, covering every niche of the beauty industry, from hair and nail care to makeup, skin care and fragrances. From classic brands like Charlotte Tilbury and MAC, to luxury offerings from Dior and Jo Malone London, to cult favorites like Revolve and NYX, these beauty Advent calendars are a fun way to count down to Christmas and gift many products in one convenient package. When do beauty calendars go on sale? The race to purchase some of the most coveted calendars is fierce, with wait lists starting in August. Other calendars come out in mid-September, while others debut throughout the month of November. The best thing to do is watch for your favorite brands. If you see something you like, buy it. You could risk a sellout, and popular beauty Advent calendars are rarely restocked. Are beauty Advent calendars worth the splurge? Beauty calendars are a steal. While the overall price tag might seem high, its considerably lower than youd pay for each individual product. And because most products are minis, you arent committing to a full-size product you arent sure youll like. In other words, youll get more bang for your buck. All of the products in beauty Advent calendars are chosen specifically for the year based on customer favorites and influencer input. If youre looking for the hottest products of the year, beauty Advent calendars are the way to go. Beauty mogul Charlotte Tilbury, of her namesake company, talked to CNN about how she chose items for her Lucky Chest of Beauty Secrets Advent Calendar. Ive picked some of my most viral, trending, award-winning products to make everyone look and feel like a star! Tilbury says. Its like a mini beauty wardrobe, filled with everything from my immediate skin revival secrets so everyone can create the perfect canvas for their makeup magic to some of my best-loved beauty icons from my universally flattering Pillow Talk collection, as well as my viral sensation Hollywood Beauty Light Wands for cheekbones that glow forever, and even a mini makeup brush for seamless application! Its guaranteed gifting happiness! Read on for 25 of our favorite beauty Advent calendar picks for 2023. Youll be sure to find something for every beauty lover on your list. Just dont forget to snag one for yourself. Best beauty Advent calendars Bluemercury 31 Days of Dazzle Advent Calendar 2023 Bluemercury The best thing about Bluemercurys 31 Days of Dazzle Advent Calendar might be the travel-friendly makeup bag that houses the products. Inside, youll find some of Bluemercurys most popular brands, including Bumble and Bumble, EltaMD, Supergoop!, Olaplex and more. $300 at Bluemercury Charlotte Tilbury Lucky Chest of Beauty Secrets Charlotte Tilburys Lucky Chest of Beauty Secrets features 12 days of beauty products, including two full-size lip products and 10 skin care and makeup minis. Everything comes in a keepsake box with pull-out drawers perfect for storing your new goodies. Ive always believed that the countdown to the holiday season truly begins when you open the first drawer of my Lucky Chest of Beauty Secrets there are so many iconic beauty showstoppers and award-winning makeup and skin care secrets to discover! Tilbury tells CNN Underscored. Even after the gifts have been opened, my gorgeous Advent calendar can be used as a jewelry box or keepsake. Its the magic gift that keeps on giving! $210 at Charlotte Tilbury George & Viv 2023 Beauty Advent Calendar This limited-edition George & Viv Beauty Advent Calendar is an Anthropologie exclusive that is bound to go fast, thanks to a perfectly curated mix of perfumes, body butter, self-tanning drops and more for the ultimate in self-care. $88 at Anthropologie Saks 25 Days of Beauty Advent Calendar Saks is known for its high-end products, and this calendar is full of them you'll find Peter Thomas Roth, Nest New York, Kevyn Aucoin and Diptyque, among others. Discover self-care luxuries inside each drawer to reveal coveted skin care, iconic makeup favorites, hair health essentials, designer fragrances, indulgent body care and more. $225 at Saks Fifth Avenue Cult Beauty Advent Calendar Cult Beauty Youre going to want to get your hands on this one. The Cult Beauty Advent Calendar features 39 beauty favorites, including an incredible 20 full sizes featuring appearances from Augustinus Bader, Saie, Olaplex, Glow Recipe and Elemis. And, if youre keeping score, thats more than a gift per day. $280 at Cult Beauty Alo Advent Calendar Pump yourself up for your winter workouts with this Alo Advent Calendar. Youll be ready to hit the ground running with 24 days of beauty and wellness favorites like the Magic Multi-Balm and Magnesium Reset Spray and the new Vitamin-C Glow Shot and Clean Dry Shampoo. The best part? It comes with a subscription to Alo Moves and a $25 gift card, both good for one year. $250 at Alo Dior Le 30 Montaigne Holiday 2023 Advent Calendar Dior Inside a white-and-gold box that re-creates the facade of the historic boutique at 30 Avenue Montaigne in Paris, youll find Diors 2023 Advent calendar. It has all the glam and impact you expect from the iconic luxury brand. Behind each gilded door, youll find skin care, fragrance, makeup and hand-selected lifestyle items like candles and ornaments. It makes for a truly magical holiday season. $750 at Dior Sephora Collection After Advent Calendar Sephora This unique calendar keeps the gifting season going, with 11 full-size products to unwrap between Christmas and New Year's. The fun assortment features makeup, skin care and a couple beauty accessories, like face gems. $30 at Kohl's $30 at Sephora Best makeup Advent calendars Bobbi Brown 12 Days of Glow Bestsellers Advent Calendar Bobbi Browns 12 Days of Glow Advent Calendar is stacked with fan favorites, including bestselling makeup and skin care essentials, plus three full-size products. Create the perfect holiday eye look with a Long-Wear Cream Shadow Stick in Bark and a Smokey Eye Mascara in Black. $180 at Bobbi Brown $180 at Ulta Beauty $180 at Nordstrom NYX 12 Days of Kissmas NYX This NYX 12 Days of Kissmas Calendar wont break the bank, but it sure delivers on the fun. Get the perfect mistletoe-ready pout with NYXs bestselling lip products, including Butter Lip Gloss, Smooth Whip Matte Lip Cream and Shout Loud lipstick. $50 at NYX $50 at Ulta $50 at Macy's MAC Frosted Frenzy Advent Calendar You cant go wrong with tried-and-true MAC favorites, and the Frosted Frenzy Advent Calendar is full of them. The box includes 24 minis featuring bestselling products and all-new shades, including lipstick in Retro Matte and Lustreglass formulas. $220 at MAC 12 Days of Nudestix Advent Calendar Nudestix Get holiday party-ready with the 12 Days of Nudestix Advent Calendar. The kit includes cult favorites like the Blot & Blur Matte Stick and Hydra-Peptide Lip Butter, plus some surprises to help you glow this season. $100 at Nudestix Revolution Beauty x 'Emily in Paris' 12-Day Advent Calendar Revolution Beauty Celebrate Parisian style with Revolution Beautys Emily In Paris 12-Day Advent Calendar. This collaboration is full of Revolution favorites to help you achieve the clean, chic makeup look worn effortlessly by the shows lead. The set includes versatile lip colors, shimmer-fixing spray, blending sponges and more. $55 at Urban Outfitters $39 at Revolution Beauty Best skin care Advent calendars Kiehls Limited-Edition Holiday Advent Calendar You can never go wrong with Kiehls. This Limited-Edition Advent Calendar features 24 of the brand's most iconic offerings, including cleansers, face masks, facial serums and moisturizers. $165 at Kiehl's $120 at Selfridges L'Occitane Classic Beauty Advent Calendar This 24-piece calendar from LOccitane features a collection of the brands top skin care, body care and shower favorites, along with some special editions. Treat yourself to an at-home spa day with Citrus & Verbena Shower Gel, Intensive Repair Shampoo, Shea Butter Light Comforting Cream and more. $80 at L'Occitane Fresh Advent Calendar Skin Care Set Hidden behind each door of the Fresh Advent Calendar youll find hydrating lip treatments, transforming face masks, targeted serums, nourishing moisturizers and much more so you can meet 2024 with the freshest face around. $350 at Fresh $350 at Neiman Marcus Origins All Together Advent Calendar Each product in the Origins All Together Advent Calendar is packed with skin-reviving ingredients like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, vitamin C, peptides, avocado and ginger. Behind each door, youll find tried-and-true customer favorites, including Improvement Active Charcoal Mask to Clear Pores, Drink Up Intensive Overnight Hydrating Mask With Avocado & Glacier Water, Wrinkle Correcting Eye Cream With Encapsulated Retinol and more. $131 at Origins Eve Lom 12-Piece Advent Calendar Macy's The Eve Lom Advent Calendar in the shape of a holiday mailbox delivers 12 days of bestselling skin care products, from cleansers to serums featuring full-size and mini products. Now you can truly put your best face forward during the holiday party season. $290 at Macy's Dr. Barbara Sturm Holiday Advent Calendar Dr. Barbara Sturm This limited-edition Advent calendar features 24 skin-nourishing products from Dr. Barbara Sturm in one modern, sleek gifting box. Face masks, lip balms, anti-aging hand cream and more round out the offerings. $560 at Sephora $560 at Nordstrom Best fragrance Advent calendars Voluspa 12-Day Advent Calendar Sephora Light your way through the holidays with a fragrant countdown of Voluspas 12-Day Advent Calendar. Each day, youll unwrap an embossed, 1.25-ounce votive candle featuring one of Voluspas bestselling fragrances like Spiced Pumpkin Latte, Baltic Amber, White Cypress, Forbidden Fig and more. $75 at Sephora Rituals The Ritual of Advent 3D Calendar Celebrate the ritual of Advent as you open one gift for each December night leading up to Christmas. The calendar takes the form of a metallic holiday tree (complete with string lights), and each numbered ornament holds a special surprise from fragrances and candles to bath and body products to help you relax and indulge before the big day. $125 at Rituals Jo Malone London Limited-Edition Advent Calendar Saks Fifth Avenue Countdown to Christmas with Jo Malones gingerbread-inspired Advent calendar. The box includes seasonal surprises from Jo Malone London classics to festive fragrances, including colognes, bath and body miniatures, a full-size scent and two travel candles. $495 at Ssense $495 at Saks Fifth Avenue Best nail polish Advent calendars OPI Holiday '23 Nail Lacquer Mini 25-Piece Advent Calendar Your holiday manicure never looked so good. Treat yourself to 25 days of eye-catching color with the OPI Holiday Nail Laquer Mini Advent Calendar. Each day features a 3.75-milliliter bottle of OPI favorites (Lincoln Park After Dark, Dont Bossa Nova Me Around) and colors from the 2023 holiday line (Hot Toddy Naughty, Its a Wonderful Spice). $80 at Ulta Le Mini Macaron 12 Days of Nails Advent Calendar Gift yourself (or someone special) 12 days of glossy nails with this Le Mini Macaron Advent Calendar. Inside, youll find 12 mini bottles of Le Mini Macarons bestselling and limited-edition gel colors, plus all the accessories you need to create the perfect look. $68 at Ulta $68 at Nordstrom Olive & June Christmas Calendar Olive and Junes vegan and cruelty-free nail polish is less expensive than some of the salon brands on the market, but it will get you highly pigmented color that lasts just the same. This generous Olive and June 25 Days of Mani Magic has everything you need to create the perfect holiday manicure, such as cuticle serum, buffers, nail art stickers and more. $65 at Olive & June Note: The prices above reflect the retailers' listed price at the time of publication. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (DC News Now) A retail theft crew from Maryland was arrested for credit card fraud in Tysons Corner Center. The incident took place around 4:45 p.m. on Nov. 27 when detectives received a call about a group of suspects involved in credit card fraud from Saks Fifth Avenue. When detectives arrived, they arrested Vernon Lee Brown III, 21; Elijah Walker, 25; and Jaylin Oliver, 21. WATCH: Officers recover over $38K in stolen goods from Tysons Corner Macys burglar The three men were found to have purchased over $8,000 worth of merchandise from Neiman Marcus before unsuccessfully trying the same thing at Saks Fifth Avenue. They had 44 stolen checks and 29 credit cards on them during the arrest. Photo courtesy of the Fairfax County Police Department. Photo courtesy of the Fairfax County Police Department. Photo courtesy of the Fairfax County Police Department. Photo courtesy of the Fairfax County Police Department. Photo courtesy of the Fairfax County Police Department. Photo courtesy of the Fairfax County Police Department. Brown, of Baltimore, was charged with: 19 misdemeanor counts of Larceny of Bank Checks 14 counts of Credit Card Theft Six felonious counts of Larceny of Bank Checks Two counts of Credit Card Fraud Two counts of Forgery Checks Receiving Stolen Property Wearing Mask in Public to Conceal Identity Possession of Fictitious ID False ID to Law Enforcement Oliver, of Owings Mills, was charged with: 12 counts of Credit Card Theft 10 misdemeanor counts of Larceny of Bank Checks Three counts of Forgery of Bank Checks Three felony counts of larceny of Bank Checks Two counts of Credit Card Fraud Possession of Less than 10 Counterfeit Checks Receive Stolen Property Wearing Mask in Public to Conceal Identity Obstruction of Justice Walker, of Baltimore, was charged with: Five felony counts of Larceny of Bank Checks Five counts of Forgery of Checks Three counts of Credit Card Theft Two counts of Credit Card Fraud Misdemeanor Larceny of Bank Checks Wearing a Mask in Public to Conceal Identity Receive Stolen Property All three men are being held without bond. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. SAN DIEGO (KSWB) California has opened up nearly $300 million in new grants for local municipalities to clear homeless encampments as public officials face mounting pressure to address the most visible manifestation of the states housing crisis. The $299 million in grant money, which was announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday, is the latest disbursement of the Encampment Resolution Fund (ERF) program that was established by state lawmakers in 2021. The funds will be primarily used for city or county projects to expand outreach or shelter that can help connect people with housing. The governors office estimates that 10,000 people will be assisted with the grants for these projects. San Diego files petition to push Supreme Court to hear homeless camp bans case Housing is the solution to homelessness, and these grants will help our local partners assist their unhoused neighbors move from dangerous and unsightly encampments into safe and stable places they can call home, the California Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Officer Meghan Marshall said in a release. Cities and counties will be able to apply for the grants on a rolling basis through June 2024, or until funds are exhausted. Half of the new grants will be focused on encampments on state roadways, Newsoms office said. Removing encampments along highways and other state-managed roads has been a focus for California officials over the last few years. Elected officials have long argued that these and other makeshift camps are dangerous and unsanitary for the unhoused people living in them. Encampments are not safe for the people living in them, or for community members around them, Newsom said in a statement on Monday. The state is giving locals hundreds of millions of dollars to move people into housing and clean up these persistent and dangerous encampments. And we are doing the same on state land. To date, 66 communities throughout the state have been awarded more than $400 million from the fund since July 2021. According to the governors office, about 5,675 encampments have been cleared by Caltrans and local partners in these areas through the ERF program. How elected officials are able to address public camping has drawn increased scrutiny over the last few years, particularly as the number of individuals who have fallen into homelessness continues to rise. But despite tens of millions of dollars put towards cracking down on homeless encampments, there appears to be minimal reduction in the number of tents in public areas, and these sweeps can have detrimental impacts for those that endure them. More cities crack down on homeless encampments. Advocates say its not an answer Advocates argue that efforts to remove encampments can often lead to additional barriers like arrests or getting disconnected with outreach services if forced to relocate that make it more difficult to enter housing. Unhoused people have also reported losing important documents, medicine and other personal effects in local or state attempts to clear encampments. Without enough temporary beds, permanent housing or social services, advocates say clearing encampments does little to alleviate the crisis. California officials say the new ERF grants will help cities to continue expanding these services for their unhoused residents while addressing the public safety hazards. Through the Encampment Resolution Grants, Caltrans is working to connect people experiencing homelessness on its right-of-way to more secure and stable housing situations offered by local partners, said Alisa Becerra, Caltrans Deputy Division Chief for the Office of Homelessness and Encampments. The strength of this effort relies on collaboration, trust, and a shared commitment to creating real solutions that help the people who need it most. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego. After 17 days of drilling through rock, all 41 construction workers have been freed from the collapsed Silkyara Tunnel in Uttarkashi, a town in India, on Tuesday. The Associated Press reported that the workers, who were stuck in the tunnel on Nov. 12 due to a landslide, crawled out through a passageway made from welded pipes that rescue teams inserted through rocks in the mountain. The news agency stated that local residents celebrated as the workers emerged, shouting, Long live mother India, and launching firecrackers. Nitin Gadkari, the minister of road transport and highways, said in a video on X, formerly Twitter, that he was completely relieved and happy and said the effort was one of the most significant rescue operations in recent years. According to CNN, Pushkar Singh Dhami, the chief minister of Uttarakhand state, said in a press conference that all 41 workers appeared to be healthy, and they would each be given checks worth 100,000 rupees (roughly $1,200). This footage is believed to show one of the 41 workers rescued from a tunnel in India after being trapped for more than two weeks. This video contains some flashing images.https://t.co/hyaJpZJVhy Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/SCniU8kzZw Sky News (@SkyNews) November 28, 2023 Read it at Associated Press Read more at The Daily Beast. Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) is staring down another likely expulsion vote after the House Ethics Committee published scathing accusations of lies and misallocation of funds in a report earlier this month. Santos faces criminal charges alleging campaign finances violations and fraud. He announced in the wake of the report that he will not run for reelection. The embattled Long Island lawmaker survived an expulsion vote this month after 31 Democrats and most Republicans voted to keep him in the chamber. But some of those who previously supported him are now saying another vote should be brought to the floor. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. [T]he evidence uncovered by the Investigative Subcommittee (ISC) revealed that Representative George Santos cannot be trusted, according to the report. At nearly every opportunity, he placed his desire for private gain above his duty to uphold the Constitution, federal law, and ethical principles. If Santos is expelled, he would be only the sixth member of the House to be kicked out of the body in its more than two centuries of history. Heres why the other five were forced from their seats: Civil War expulsions Before the Civil War, only one member of Congress was ever expelled from either the House or Senate: Tennessee Sen. William Blount over allegations of treason in 1797. But when the Confederacy seceded in 1861, Congress expelled 16 members over support for the rebels, most notably former Vice President John Breckinridge, then a senator from Kentucky. That included three members of the House: Missouri Reps. John Reid and John Clark, both slave owners, and Kentucky Rep. Henry Burnett. All three were expelled for encouraging secession, helping organize the Confederate government and joining the Confederate Army against the United States. After the Civil War expulsions, only two more members of Congress have ever been expelled, both from the House. Rep. Michael Ozzie Myers (D-Pa.) Myers was kicked out of the House in 1980 at the conclusion of a years-long bribery sting operation known as the Abscam scandal. In the Abscam operation, FBI agents posed as a fictitious Arab company offering significant bribes in exchange for political favors, all caught on videotape. The FBI agents requested licenses for a fictional new casino in Atlantic City, N.J. The mayor of Camden, N.J., was the first to be arrested over bribes, and ultimately seven members of Congress one senator and six members of the House would be indicted on bribery charges, in addition to more than a dozen lesser political figures. Myers was caught on tape accepting an envelope containing a $50,000 bribe from an undercover FBI agent, which he believed was in exchange for getting the fictitious Arab sheikh asylum in the U.S. All seven politicians resigned from their posts, except for Myers. He was expelled by a vote of 376-30. Each was later convicted of the bribery charges after appeal. Myers was sentenced to three years in prison. He later pleaded guilty to bribery again in 2020 for stuffing ballot boxes on behalf of certain candidates in local Philadelphia elections in the 2010s. He was sentenced to another two and a half years in prison. Rep. James Traficant (D-Ohio) Traficant was expelled from Congress in 2002 over a corruption scandal. Prosecutors alleged that he systematically used campaign funds for personal use and mistreated his staff, including forcing staffers to do housework at his Washington houseboat and on his northeast Ohio farm. It wasnt the first time he had been charged with corruption. As Mahoning County sheriff in 1983, Traficant was charged with racketeering for allegedly accepting bribes. He chose to defend himself and argued that he only accepted bribes as part of his own undercover investigation into public corruption; he was acquitted. He chose to defend himself again in his 2002 trial, but he was convicted on charges of bribery, racketeering and tax evasion. He was expelled from Congress shortly after in a 401-1 vote before serving seven years in prison. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Cake, in all its delectable forms, holds a special place in the world of desserts. Whether its a humble home-baked one or intricate showstopper whipped up by a professional pastry chef, cake symbolizes one thing: a celebration. Whats more, theres a flavor or style of cake for everyone, no matter your palate. Our best cake recipes vary immensely, ranging from timeless classics like carrot cake and red velvet to creative flavor combinations like lemon blackcurrant and pumpkin marshmallow. They go from simple one-bowl bundt cakes to multi-layered confections with all sorts of fillings and frostings but the one thing they have in common is that they all guarantee a good time Baking a cake can be as simple as mixing a few basic ingredients or as intricate as mastering the art of piping and rolling fondant. No matter if youre a novice who is eager to learn or an expert looking for fresh inspiration, cake baking offers an exciting journey filled with endless possibilities. With the right recipe and some baking know-how, you can craft a cake that becomes a centerpiece for parties or simply an everyday indulgence. Be sure to follow our instructions closely. Baking is a science and techniques such as using room temperature ingredients or sifting dry ingredients together can make a big difference in the final results. And if decorating or layering the cakes doesnt go as planned, your cake will still be just as delicious. This collection of cake recipes caters to different skill levels, flavor preferences and occasions. From sweet to somewhat savory, the traditional to innovative, theyre guaranteed to fill your kitchen with joy. Martha Stewart's Chocolate-and-Vanilla Zebra Cake by Martha Stewart Leave it to Martha Stewart to make a classic combination feel fresh and exciting. But you dont need the domestic doyennes expert skills to achieve it at home getting this cakes zebra-like interior is surprisingly easy. All you need to do is drop alternating spoonfuls of chocolate and vanilla batters into the pan and theyll bake into concentric rings that give each slice its fun striped look. Classic Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting by Casey Barber Whether youre a carrot cake purist or an add-in fanatic, this recipe is guaranteed to satisfy. Keep it plain or toss in walnuts, coconut and raisins the batter holds up beautifully either way. The cake is super tender and full of warmth, thanks to a duo of ground cinnamon and allspice. Whats non-negotiable is the cream cheese frosting. Along with vanilla, this one gets a splash of lemon extract that adds brightness to the rich cake. Creamsicle Cake by Christina Tosi Heres a trick thatll help save an over-baked cake or transform a plain store-bought one into a party-ready dessert. Poke some holes and pour a combination of orange juice and heavy cream over the cake to give it a nostalgic creamsicle-like flavor. Milk Bar's Carrot Cake by Christina Tosi This carrot cake is basic in the very best way. The batter is packed with shredded carrots, sweetened with light brown sugar and gets a hint of warmth from ground cinnamon. A combination of butter and grapeseed oil ensures that the crumb is super tender and moist. Butter Cake with Roasted Strawberries and Balsamic by Joanna Gaines Joanna Gaines elevates an everyday Bundt cake with a simple topping made from roasted strawberries, whipped cream and a balsamic reduction. Roasting deepens the summer berries natural sweetness and softens them so that theyre perfect for spooning over the buttery cake, while the balsamic adds a lovely hint of tartness. Christina Tosi's Corn and Blueberry Sheet Cake by Christina Tosi The secret to Milk Bars intensely flavored corn cake? Freeze-dried corn powder. It goes in both the cake batter and corn crumbs and pairs nicely with the blueberry sauce and sour cream frosting. This cake is baked in sheet trays and in true Milk Bar fashion, the sides are left unfrosted so you can see all the beautiful layers. The Ina Garten Holiday Special Cake by Christina Tosi Think of this recipe as holiday cheer in cake form. A festive mint chip frosting spruces up plain vanilla cake to make it ready for any winter celebration. Dylan's Pistachio Cake by Dylan Dreyer Instant pistachio pudding pulls double duty in this Dreyer family favorite. Its added to yellow cake mix to form a batter and folded into whipped topping to form a frosting. Not only will the pastel green confection be a hit with kids, but, as Dylan proves, its one you can actually make together. 'Rainbow Explosion' Cake by Amirah Kassem Get ready for a burst of color and joy tucked inside this cake. As its sliced open, uncover a hidden treasure trove of colorful sprinkles in all sizes and colors. This is truly a next-level celebration cake. Funfetti Tres Leches Cake by Bryan Ford Tres leches cake gets a colorful funfetti makeover in this fun twist on a classic. The cake batter gets a healthy helping of rainbow sprinkles before its baked and soaked in the traditional trio of milk, evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk. Rainbow Heart Cake by Amanda Rettke Beneath this cakes plain-looking exterior lies a rainbow heart, concealed as a sweet surprise thats revealed only when its sliced. Perfect for special occasions or simply to spread a bit of joy, this cake adds an extra layer of sweetness to any celebration. Vanilla Magic Cake with Chocolate Ganache by Casey Barber This one-of-a-kind magic cake batter transforms into three distinct layers as it bakes: a rich and luxurious crust, a creamy custard center and a delicate angel food cake topping. How it happens is less magic than baking science, but guests will be too busy digging into their slices to question the wizardry. Easy Tres Leches Cake by Jessie Sheehan A few simple swaps help simplify this tres leches cake. It calls for a one-bowl vanilla cake thats slightly overbaked (yes, you read that right) so it can fully absorb the milky soak. Poking holes into the cake also speeds up the process so theres no need to wait for it to completely cool. Cannoli Cake by Elisa Constantini Italys beloved dessert serves as inspiration for this cannoli cake. Layers of rum-infused ricotta filling, a mascarpone frosting and semisweet chocolate chips helps capture the essence of the Sicilian pastry. Aperol Spritz Bundt Cake by Emily Connor Aperol is featured in two ways here: in the cake itself to add a spritz-like complexity to the orange and olive oil, and in the eye-catching glaze that drips down its sides. Dont skimp on the orange zest the generous amount is needed for its bright, zingy freshness. Pound Cake with Ricotta Cream, Fresh Berries and Almonds by Lauren Salkeld Store-bought pound cake is a last-minute entertaining shortcut. To take it from plain to party-ready, simply top slices with a ricotta-mascarpone cream, sliced almonds and an ample amount of fresh berries. Depending on the time of year, feel free to swap the berries for whatever produce is in season. Valentine's Day Mosaic Sheet Cake by Ashley Holt A professional bakers secret to hacking boxed cake mix? Use milk in place of water and add instant vanilla pudding, both of which will help give the cake additional richness. In this recipe, some of the batter is left plain and the rest is tinted pink and red to form a fun mosaic look. This multi-flavored layer cake is truly a labor of love. It features rounds of vanilla and chocolate cakes along with three types of cake crumbs, liquid cheesecake, pickled strawberry jam and two frostings. Luckily, all the components can be made ahead of time so you can assemble and let the cake set before presenting it to your loved one. Mint Julep Bundt Cake by Emily Connor This mint julep Bundt cake perfectly captures the essence of the classic derby cocktail. Bourbon goes into the cake batter, the minty syrup thats brushed over the cake and in the finishing glaze. Its a great make-ahead cake that even novice bakers can easily pull off. Caramel Cake by Gesine Bullock-Prado Homemade caramel is the key to this standout layer cake. Buttermilk in the batter adds a light tang that balances the sweetness of the caramel buttercream and coating, but this is definitely a cake for those with an insatiable sweet tooth. Gingerbread Bundt Cake by Jocelyn Delk Adams If you cant get enough of the festive aroma that baking gingerbread brings, but dont have time to roll out and cut cookies, try this one-bowl cake. The batter, which calls for classic gingerbread ingredients like molasses and warming spices, comes together in a flash using a stand mixer and bakes in an hour. One-Bowl Olive Oil Cake by Lidia Bastianich Dont be fooled by the simple nature of this olive oil cake, a recipe that comes from Lidia Bastianichs grandmother. While the one-bowl assembly makes it easy to pull together, the cake is wonderfully tender and full of citrus flavor. Enjoy a slice as is or dress it up with whipped cream or poached fruit for a special occasion. Hoda's Ritz Cracker Cake by Anthony Contrino The sweet and salty pairing of cake with Ritz crackers will surprise and delight all of your guests. The yellow cake is a nice and fluffy foil to the buttery crackers and a sweet cream cheese frosting ties it all together. Ooey Gooey Butter Cake by Jocelyn Delk Adams This classic St. Louis confection doesnt hold back when it comes to richness. Jocelyn Delk Adams recipe features a chewy blondie-like bottom thats topped with a custardy cream cheese layer and the cakes signatured dusting of powdered sugar. Vanilla Checkerboard Cake with White Chocolate Mirror Glaze by Ashley Holt Tint the vanilla batter with any color you like to create this showstopping checkerboard cake. High-quality butter and vanilla extract will yield the best flavor, as does using room temperature ingredients. The white chocolate mirror glaze is just as impressive as the pretty interior, but be sure to pour it on only after the cake has fully chilled so that it sets properly. Peanut Butter Cake by The peanut butter fans in your life will appreciate the comforting nuttiness of this layered cake. Smooth peanut butter goes into both the batter and frosting along with a handful of roasted unsalted peanuts on top for crunch. Chocolate cake recipes German Chocolate Cake by Riley Wofford A good German chocolate cake requires a fine balance between the cake and frosting. Since the buttery condensed milk frosting is irresistibly sweet, this cake batter calls for unsweetened chocolate, plus a cup of freshly brewed coffee to further bring out the cocoa flavor. Toasted pecans and plenty of shredded coconut help set the cake apart from a regular chocolate one. Mexican Chocolate Icebox Cake by Melissa Knific Even novice dessert makers will have no problem throwing together this delightful icebox cake. Taking inspiration from cinnamon-spiked Mexican chocolate, the recipe layers the spice on top of the graham crackers, into the fluffy whipped cream and as a finishing garnish. Scatter some almonds on top for crunch or add a dash of cayenne for a kick. Red Velvet Layer Cake by Christina Tosi What sets this red velvet cake apart is its non-traditional assembly and fixings. A buttermilk soak is poured atop each layer, which are separated by cheesecake, a red velvet cream cheese frosting and red velvet crumbs. Top-Secret Chocolate Cake by Ree Drummond If youre looking for a low-effort, high-reward dessert, follow Ree Drummonds footsteps and doctor up a box of dark chocolate cake mix. All you have to do is add some chocolate chips to the batter and glaze the finished cake with an easy two-ingredient ganache. Flourless Chocolate Cake by Caroline Choe There are few desserts more iconic than a flourless chocolate cake. Its also one of the easiest to pull together. The cake comes together in one bowl and bakes up in a little over an hour. The key is using high-quality bittersweet chocolate and coffee liqueur to enhance its chocolatey richness. Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cake by Erica Chayes Wida Chocolate and peanut butter are a match made in dessert heaven and just so happen to be the star ingredients in this super simple cake. Adding a cup of smooth peanut butter to chocolate cake mix gives it a Reeses-like flavor thats guaranteed to be a hit with adults and kids alike. Double Chocolate Layer Cake by Ed Kasky The appeal of a classic chocolate cake is undeniable. Here, buttermilk not only adds a slight tang, but gives the two-layer cake a soft, tender crumb. Semisweet chocolate and unsweetened cocoa powder form a not-too-sweet cake that works perfectly with the chocolate ganache frosting. Martha Stewart's Mile High Salted-Caramel Chocolate Cake by Martha Stewart Some occasions call for a showstopper and this cake is most definitely that! It features three layers of chocolate cake and homemade salted caramel sauce enrobed in a bittersweet chocolate frosting. A finishing sprinkle of flaky sea salt elevates it even further. Devil's Food Cake by Toni Tipton-Martin With its deep cocoa flavor and moist, tender crumb, devils food cake is the ultimate treat for any chocolate lover. This one is topped with a tangy chocolate cream cheese frosting and per Toni Tipton Martins family tradition, done in an easy-to-serve sheet-cake style. Chocolate Cake by Craig Strong Brewed coffee takes this chocolate cake from plain to phenomenal. Sour cream and buttermilk help cut through the richness, while also adding moisture to the batter. Use a chocolate frosting to further amp up the chocolate flavor or opt for vanilla for both a color and flavor contrast. Christina Tosi's Valentine's Day Layer Cake by Christina Tosi This multi-flavored layer cake is truly a labor of love. It features rounds of vanilla and chocolate cakes along with three types of cake crumbs, liquid cheesecake, pickled strawberry jam and two frostings. Luckily, all the components can be made ahead of time so you can assemble and let the cake set before presenting it to your loved one. Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting by Gesine Bullock-Prado This red velvet cake is as classic as it gets. The cake gets its signature flavor from natural cocoa powder, buttermilk and vinegar, plus its glorious hue from red gel dye. Its finished with a time-honored cream cheese frosting that gets a pinch of fine sea salt to cut the sweetness and bring all the flavors together. Fall cake recipes Pumpkin Marshmallow Sheet Cake by Riley Wofford This crowd-friendly sheet cake is the ideal dessert for the transition between seasons. A full can of pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice gives the cake its autumnal aroma, while the fluffy marshmallow frosting is reminiscent of campfire smores. Just pop the tray under the broiler to get it toasty and charred. Pumpkin Spice Latte Bundt Cake by Shay Shull PSL fans, rejoice! This recipe adds instant vanilla pudding and pumpkin puree to boxed spice cake mix to mimic the flavors of the popular fall drink. Top the cake with cinnamon-infused frosting and enjoy a slice with your favorite fall drink. Dylan's Pistachio Cake by Dylan Dreyer Instant pistachio pudding pulls double duty in this Dreyer family favorite. Its added to yellow cake mix to form a batter and folded into whipped topping to form a frosting. Not only will the pastel green confection be a hit with kids, but, as Dylan proves, its one you can actually make together. Apple Loaf Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting by Elena Besser Give yourself a leg up on Thanksgiving prep by getting dessert out of the way. This apple loaf cake can be made ahead and frozen until the big feast, then thawed just before serving. Even the cream cheese frosting can be stored in the fridge for up to 14 days. The Ina Garten Holiday Special Cake by Christina Tosi Think of this recipe as holiday cheer in cake form. A festive mint chip frosting spruces up plain vanilla cake to make it ready for any winter celebration. Spiced Apple Coffee Cake by Riley Wofford Coffee cake gets an autumnal makeover,t thanks to the addition of chopped Granny Smith apples and warming chai spices. Ground cardamom, cinnamon, allspice and cloves show up in both the cake batter and the streusel topping as a complement to the sweet-tart apple and tangy cake batter. Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting by Riley Wofford Have a few overripe bananas sitting around? Instead of your go-to banana bread recipe, try a cake. This one is soft, nicely dense and loaded with sweetness from the fruit along with tanginess that comes from cream cheese frosting. Toasted walnuts are optional, but add a great crunch. Lemon cake recipes Strawberry-Glazed Lemon Loaf Cake by Jesse Szewczyk This lemon loaf cake relies on both oil and yogurt for its lush texture (and to keep it super moist). Lemon zest and juice add a zingy brightness to the cake, while freeze-dried strawberries not only give the icing an assertive berry flavor, but also its bold pink color. Lemon and Blackcurrant Stripe Cake by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh Between its multiple layers, a blackcurrant puree and buttercream frosting, this striped cake is definitely a project, but one thats well worth the effort. The zesty lemon and sweet berries contrast beautifully with the rich buttercream frosting, which is both flavored and colored with blackcurrant puree to yield a gorgeous deep pink. No-Bake Blueberry and Banana Icebox Cake by Brandi Milloy The beauty of an icebox cake lies in its simplicity. Theres no baking needed just layer cookies with both banana pudding and vanilla pudding fillings, coconut whipped cream and lots of fresh blueberries and sliced bananas. Lemon and Olive Oil Cake with Limoncello Glaze by Anthony Contrino Theres no need to layer and frost this lemon-olive oil cake since it bakes in a Bundt pan. Its finished with a fragrant limoncello glaze that Anthony Contrino equates to enjoying a forkful of sunshine. Lemon Velvet Cake by April Anderson and Shirley Madison Whether youre whipping one up during citrus season or for spring holidays, this cake is sure to impress with its bright lemon notes. The fragrant aroma comes from lemon extract in the cake batter and both juice and zest in the tangy cream cheese frosting. Luscious Limoncello Cake by John Alberti and Tony Alberti The next time youre in need of a unique dessert for an adults-only celebration, look no further than this impressive boozy cake. Limoncello liqueur makes an appearance twice: first in the mascarpone-based batter and again in the two-ingredient icing. Martha Stewart's Lemon Mousse Cake by Martha Stewart Evoking the best of lemon meringue, this stunning cake wows with its bright flavor and impressive torched exterior. The cake gets its lemon flavor from freshly grated zest, along with the filling (which also gets lemon juice). A classic Swiss meringue covers the multi-layer confection. Sandra Lee's Easy Lemonade Cake by Sandra Lee A box of cake mix and some lemonade is all you need to whip up a treat with a little bit of pucker. To infuse it with even more citrus flavor, add lemon curd to the frosting and garnish with candied lemon slices. This article was originally published on TODAY.com Twelve more hostages who were held in Gaza were released on Tuesday, according to the Red Cross and the Israel Defense Forces, after a humanitarian pause in fighting between Hamas and Israel was extended on Monday for an additional 48 hours. Red Cross representatives transferred the 12 hostages to Egypt, the IDF said. In exchange, 30 Palestinians were released from Israeli prisons 15 minors and 15 women, Dr. Majed Al-Ansari, spokesperson for Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a statement. The Israel Prison Service later on Tuesday released the names of the 30 freed prisoners. None of the hostages released Tuesday were American. The group included 10 Israelis, one Filipino, two Argentinians and two Thai citizens, according to Al-Ansari. One Israeli is a minor and nine are women, he said. The announcement came after dozens of Israeli hostages and more than 100 Palestinian prisoners were released on Monday and over the weekend, including the first American hostage released by Hamas, 4-year-old Abigail Mor Edan. The Israeli-American girl was also the youngest American being held hostage. Hamas handed over several hostages to the Red Cross in Gaza on Tuesday, Nov. 28, as part of an exchange under the terms of an extended truce in the Israel-Hamas war. / Credit: Photo by AFP via Getty Images On Monday, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby confirmed a two-day extension of a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, which began on Friday and was initially set to last four days, as part of a truce deal between Israel and Hamas negotiated by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt. It hinged on Hamas' pledge to release at least 50 women and children taken captive in Israel on Oct. 7, and Israel's pledge to release at least 150 Palestinian women and children detained in Israeli prisons. Israel also agreed to adhere to a cease-fire agreement in Gaza. A man carries a flag as Palestinians released from Israeli jail arrive in Beitunia, Ramallah, West Bank, by a bus belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Nov. 28, 2023. / Credit: Issam Rimawi/Anadolu via Getty Images The temporary pause in fighting was the first since Israel declared war on Hamas in the aftermath of militants' deadly rampage on Oct. 7, which Israeli officials have said killed 1,200 people. Hamas kidnapped an estimated 240 people from Israel and held them captive in Gaza in the aftermath of Hamas' rampage, according to the officials. Mediating country Qatar announced that Israel and Hamas had reached a deal to extend the cease-fire for another 48 hours on Monday, ahead of the original deal's expected expiration at 7 a.m. local time on Tuesday morning. Israel had previously said it would be willing to extend the cease-fire in Gaza, much of which has been decimated by Israeli military airstrikes in the wake of Oct. 7, if Hamas agreed to free additional hostages. Israel had said it would honor an additional day of the cease-fire for every 10 additional hostages released by Hamas. On Monday, Kirby said at a news briefing that Hamas had agreed to release 20 additional hostages over the two-day extension that followed. He said there was also work being done to further extend the cease-fire. The Israeli government released a list of 50 more Palestinian prisoners that it said could be released as part of continued exchanges. A spokesperson for the Israeli government, Eylon Levy, told the media on Tuesday that "the current hostage release pause can be extended for another five days on the basis of the three for one swap," meaning three Palestinian prisoners would be released from Israel for every hostage released by Hamas. "Once Hamas stops returning hostages, we will resume the military pressure on Hamas until it releases more of them," Levy said. The hostages released by Hamas since Friday have so far been women and children. The militant group, designated a terrorist organization by the United States and Israel, told CBS News on Monday that it was interested in negotiating another deal that would further extend the cease-fire and include the release of male hostages and abducted Israeli soldiers. A U.S. official confirmed to CBS News on Tuesday that CIA Director William Burns was in Doha for meetings on the Israel-Hamas conflict, including discussion about the hostages. Israel says around 170 people remain captive in Gaza, but Hamas says some of them are being held by other groups. The Biden administration says it will work on securing more extensions to the cease-fire until all the hostages are released. Love letter from Jimmy to Rosalynn Carter read by their daughter, Amy Lynn Negotiators trying to extend Israel-Hamas truce Crowds growing for Nikki Haley in New Hampshire 6 senators send letters demanding answers from Social Security Administration about overpayments 11 Investigates is getting more action on our reporting about the government trying to claw back millions of dollars in Social Security Overpayments. In some cases, the overpayments triggered folks losing their social security checks altogether or getting reduced payments while the agency claws back the money. Six senators have now sent letters to the Social Security Administration demanding answers from the agency about how many folks have been affected by overpayments and what theyre doing to fix the errors without causing more harm. Debbie Lennex is beside herself. Shes been on social security since 2011, but in September, her checks stopped altogether without notice. The Social Security Administration mailed her a letter, saying shed been overpaid more than $35,000. Its the Christmas season, how do you deal with not having money for Christmas? Lennex tells 11 Investigates. So instead Ive just been buying very sparingly this year. Lennex says when she first got the overpayment notice, she was stunned. Oh my gosh, how are we going to do this? Lennex recalls thinking. Ive got a husband with health issues; he has early onset dementia. Theres no way this can be right. In a new, exclusive letter 11 Investigates just obtained Tuesday, Senators Cassidy and Hassan have been added to a growing list of elected leaders pressing for answers from the SSA. They join Senators Casey, Wyden, Brown and Scott in their letters to the federal agency. In a joint letter with Senators Wyden and Brown, Senator Bob Casey from PA gave the Acting Commissioner of the SSA 30 days to answer questions about how many people lost Social Security benefits or had their checks reduced because of overpayments triggered by COVID-19 stimulus checks. I hope they can make Social Security accountable for these mistakes, Lennex said. I know they are short-staffed as many companies are. Lennex is now working with a lawyer and Senator Caseys constituent services to try to get her benefits reinstated. At one point she says the SSA told her that her diagnosis changed and despite mailing her pay stubs three times, the social security office still says they dont have them. Now shes waiting to hear if shell get a waiver. If not, her family might not be able to pay their bills. There is no way my husband and I can afford to do it, Lennex said. Senator Casey and Congressman Chris Deluzios offices both have teams of people helping folks affected by these overpayments. If youve received a reduced check or lost your benefits because of overpayments and dont think you can get by without your check, give their local offices a call and email ahudak@wpxi.com. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW TRENDING NOW: Woman doing yard work killed by fallen treeWhats behind unexpected charges on some PNC bank customer accountsTSA releases its 2024 canine calendar; heres how you can download it for free VIDEO: Beaver County DA elect discusses plans to address drug crimes now that marijuana is legal in Ohio DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts The mill - which operated for more than 250 years - went into administration last year Five former workers at an Aberdeen paper mill have won their legal action over claims they were made redundant without being properly consulted. Stoneywood paper mill - which operated for more than 250 years - went into administration last year. An employment judge has now ruled that the workers were made redundant without a proper 45-day consultation. It means they are entitled to compensation. The administrators declined to comment. BBC Scotland News understands that a separate mass legal action on the same consultation period lodged by Unite the union on behalf of about 300 workers is expected to be ruled on shortly. The five workers, whose job roles included financial control and IT analysis, will now be entitled to compensation, capped at eight weeks of wages. Lawyer Paul Kissen from Thompsons Solicitors, the firm representing Unite's workers, said the company should have carried out a collective consultation before dismissing staff. Inside Stoneywood paper mill Mr Kissen told BBC Scotland News: "There should have been a period of 45 days in which the union was consulted in order to identify ways to avoid, reduce or mitigate the consequences of the redundancies - for example, looking for other job opportunities for people, and having meetings with people who were able to say what was going on. "The administrators failed in their statutory duty to carry out a collective consultation process with these employees before they made everyone redundant." Mr Kissen said he expected the ruling on the Unite action to be issued "imminently". "It is all too common that workers who have been working at a company, in some cases for decades are all dismissed without any warning," he added. "In a situation where a company goes out of business, they should still have the consultation, rather than just being dismissed out of the blue as soon as the ship has all but sunk. " He added that previous cases with similarities included staff at the department stores Debenhams and Watt Brothers, which both entered administration in recent years. 'Very confident' Unite legal officer Mark Lyon said: "Unite are pleased to have taken on the lead on acting for the majority of cases and lodging them for our members at Arjowiggins Scotland Ltd. "We are pleased the judgements have begun to be handed down, and are very confident of successful outcomes for our members in the coming weeks. "Any award for Unite members will be without any solicitors' fees, and all the compensation due will go to our members." Joint administrators from Interpath Advisory said they did not wish to comment. In 2019, the business was sold to a new parent company, securing the jobs at the mill. However, administrators were appointed in September last year. The mill's problems were blamed on the Covid pandemic and the economic challenges facing industrial manufacturing businesses, including rising energy costs. This article was originally published in Indiana Capital Chronicle. When I was growing up, going to school was not optional. Unless I had a fever and couldnt get out of bed, I went no Price Is Right on the couch for me. Schools made a big deal out of showing up, even giving away free bikes for perfect attendance. But the data is clear now: parents are more permissive with their childrens attendance. And that hurts kids. The Indiana Department of Education shocked many when it recently released data showing that about 40% of Hoosier students missed 10 or more school days last year, and nearly one in five were absent for at least 18 days. Support The 74's year-end campaign. Make a tax-exempt donation now. The chronic absentee rate in the 2018-19 school year was just 11.2%. But it rose to 18.5% in 2020-21 the first year after the pandemic and topped out at 21.1% in the 2021-22 school year, according to state data. The 2022-23 data indicates that 19.3% of students were chronically absent from school. To put those percentages into raw numbers, roughly 221,000 Hoosier students were considered chronically absent during the last academic year. More than 400,000 students missed at least 10 days of school which, per Indiana statute made them habitually absent. And its not just in Indiana. The national chronic absenteeism rate has skyrocketed since the pandemic, from 16% in 2019 to an estimated 33% in 2022. This is the highest rate since the U.S. Department of Education released its first national measurement of chronic absenteeism in 2016. Reasons So, the question is why? There are always barriers, especially for children in poverty. Transportation is one area that is increasingly problematic, as bus driver shortages mean last-minute cancellations and parents with no backups. Related 6 Hidden & Not-So-Hidden Factors Driving Americas Student Absenteeism Crisis But there is a clear correlation to the pandemic, when kids were sent home for much of the school year in 2020. At the time, it was the right call. We have lots of hindsight now, but back then, COVID-19 was a novel virus that no one had experience with, and officials did the best they could with limited and changing information. Schools quickly set up remote instruction and students, parents and educators muddled through. But somehow, parents and students took away from that pandemic that its not a big deal for their kids to miss school. They email; they receive assignments and send them back. Even snow days are now e-learning. Technology is a supplement that should be used sparingly. Being in the classroom has a direct correlation to success. A White House release last month said research shows that school absences take a toll on grades and performance on standardized tests. Beyond test scores, irregular attendance can be a predictor of high school drop-out, which has been linked to poor labor market prospects, diminished health, and increased involvement in the criminal justice system. Whats next Its clear schools need to do more to encourage attendance, starting with direct outreach to parents. One suggestion from the U.S. Department of Education is nudging a type of communication technique that could include sending families a periodic postcard with student attendance records and/or encouragement to strive for consistent attendance to reduce absenteeism, or sending weekly updates on missed assignments or absences. I do think maybe sometimes parents dont track the absences in their mind and could be surprised by the high number when confronted with it. Anecdotally, I know parents more often now take children out of school for vacations more than in the past. They should strive to do that as a last resort. My daughter had plenty of days off for us to plan family fun. Education officials should delve into whether transportation shortages are causing some of these absences and make recommendations for lawmakers for the 2024 session. I think the state could also incentivize attendance with scholarships or grants. Everything should be on the table, even if it costs money. Unfortunately, police and prosecutors also have a role to play. I couldnt find data on whether law enforcement is focusing more or less on truancy, but there are laws regarding parental responsibility and they should be enforced. School resource officers that already exist in many schools could be a place to start interacting with parents about attendance. And all this should happen fast before the learning losses compound even more. Indiana Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com. Follow Indiana Capital Chronicle on Facebook and Twitter. Guys, leave me here. I cant walk, pleads a Ukrainian soldier sitting in a narrow trench under constant Russian bombardment. His legs have been injured by shrapnel and he is bleeding through the bandages. He smokes a cigarette as he lies on the ground, the units medic crouches low in the trench trying to patch him up. Moments before, four enemy tanks passed just meters away, forcing him and his fellow soldiers to bury themselves into the black fertile earth, which shakes as the tanks roll overhead. The units assault mission was to recapture 150-meters of trenches along the tree line in the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka, which has become one of the most contested spots on the Ukrainian frontline. Avdiivka has been on the frontlines since pro-Moscow separatists seized large portions of the Donbas region, including the nearby city of Donetsk, in 2014, and has been under fire since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. It is seen by Ukrainian and Russian forces as a heavily fortified stronghold, with entrenchments built up over the past eight years. Fierce fighting has raged in Avdiivka for more than a month as Russian forces launch a large-scale attack with round-the-clock shelling and waves of soldiers and armoured vehicles deployed in an attempt to encircle the town. Sentsov and his unit filmed a 5-hour battle on helmet and body cameras in the trenches of Avdiivka, eastern Ukraine, on October 19, 2023 - CNN Russian forces have been repelled by the Ukrainian troops who are heavily entrenched in the area. Among them in Avdiivkas trenches, the Ukrainian companys commander Oleh Sentsov is under fire and rallying his men. Sentsov, 47, was a famous Ukrainian filmmaker, imprisoned by the Russians for five years in 2014, and is now a soldier fighting with the 47th Mechanised Brigade, part of the Ukrainian Ground Forces. He has fought in some of the wars fiercest battles so far Bakhmut, Zaporizhzhia region and now Avdiivka. On October 19, he and his fellow soldiers filmed a 5-hour battle on helmet and body cameras, illustrating the cruelty of war and horrors of the trenches. We tried to get a forest landing almost 1-kilometer long. Together with two other assault groups, we attacked three positions. Our assault group had to hold a trench 150-meters wide. We went in, took 50 meters, and could not push further because there was strong resistance by a lot of enemy infantry there, Sentsov said in a rare interview with CNN. As Sentsov and his unit fought to hold ground in the tree line, two Russian brigades began advancing through the area. He and his men found themselves fighting from all sides, caught in a pincer movement by Russian troops. Sentsov and his unit came under constant fire from enemy drones, artillery, and tanks passing within a few meters of their positions. Drone footage taken by the Ukrainian military showed four Russian tanks firing on the tree line, where three Ukrainian assault groups were entrenched, spread out over a kilometer. Sentsovs unit, in the middle of the grouping, were the only ones to be spared. Of all the operations my company conducted, this was the first time we failed to complete the mission, said Sentsov. Three men in his team were injured, including Sentsov. A paramedic can be seen in the video working quickly to apply chest seals and bandages to her wounded comrades. We were driven out of there because we were not able to hold our positions. So we retreated. Our group withdrew, with injuries but survived. But the other two groups that were attacking at the same time together with us were almost completely destroyed, he said. Filmmaker and deputy commander of a Kyiv unit Oleh Sentsov, in the room he shares with members of his unit on March 10, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. - Laurent Van Der Stockt/Getty Images The fight for the city The attack on Avdiivka comes as the front lines of the war remain relatively static, with Ukraines counteroffensive continuing to move much more slowly than initially anticipated. 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. Earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the fighting in Avdiivka an onslaught and said the battle will be the one that in many ways will determine the overall course of the war. The more Russian forces are destroyed near Avdiivka now, the worse the overall situation and the overall course of this war will be for the enemy, he said. Since the start of the renewed Russian offensive on the city, Ukraine claims it has delivered massive blows to Russian military personnel and equipment. And Russia seems to have shifted to the meat-grinder tactic it used on Ukrainian forces defending the city of Bakhmut. The enemy is assaulting, throwing more and more flesh, the head of the Avdiivka city military administration Vitalii Barabash said last month. The Russians decided to push on, they keep going despite the losses. A view shows residential buildings heavily damaged by permanent Russian military strikes in the front line town of Avdiivka, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine November 8, 2023. - Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty/Serhii Nuzhnenko/Reuters Barabash said Monday that fierce fighting continues in the industrial zone on the outskirts of a coke plant but Ukrainian troops were holding the line. All enemy attacks from the south and north have been repelled. The defense line is holding, he said in a post on telegram. The military positions are shelled around the clock. Small arms battles continue around the clock. But pro-Russian bloggers claim Moscows forces have made some gains in the industrial zone. This is a serious tactical success, because the AFUs fortified defense line has been broken through there, pro-Russian Wargonzo claimed. CNN cannot independently verify the claims. Despite heavy 24-hour shelling, nearly 1,300 residents remain in Avdiivka, according to the National Police in Donetsk region. Acceptance of death Sentsov said he believes that acceptance of death is essential for those who are fighting. If a person does not allow the thought that he or she might be killed, there is nothing for them to do in the war. You have to accept that you can be killed. But it is always scary, he said. Fighting in the trenches has become an integral part of the war in Ukraine. Small assault groups are battling for each meter of dug-up soil. Soldiers usually go in at night or morning, capture a part of the trench and start moving through it, often while the enemy troops are still there. This is how the war is fought. 90% of the assault actions take place in this way, said Sentsov. Its good when you hear the voices of Russians on the positions. It means that they are giving themselves away. You understand where they are. Its worse when you dont hear them. You think they are not there. You walk down the trench and they are there. It is an ambush. For Sentsov, organizing people on the set of a big movie is not much more difficult than organizing people in a unit. You need to have combat skills but the main thing is to organize people, he said. Sentsov said Ukraine must prepare for a long war and develop a strategy in case the war grinds on for years. We have not lost, but have not won this war yet. We need to stop thinking about what will happen after the victory and think about how to ensure this victory happens as soon as possible There will be no victory tomorrow, he said. The father of four, whose youngest is just one year old, said he must continue fighting for his countrys right to exist. All wars are terrible. There are no good wars. People always suffer and die in war. The only question is why they suffer and why they die. Russians are being fooled by Putins propaganda. .. Ukrainians are fighting mostly as volunteers for their freedom on their own land, he said. Right now, people are dying for freedom near Avdiivka, near Robotyne, and other places. And there is nothing more important than that. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Activists on both sides of the gun debate testified at the Massachusetts Statehouse on Tuesday as lawmakers work to hammer out a final package of proposed changes to the states firearms laws. One of the bills would ban ghost guns, which typically guns that lack serial numbers, are largely untraceable and can be constructed at home, sometimes with the use of 3D printers. Other proposals would tighten the states ban on certain semiautomatic weapons such as AR- and AK-style guns and clarify places where carrying a firearm is prohibited like schools, polling places and government buildings. Ilyse Levine-Kanji, a member of the group Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, told lawmakers many of the proposals make common sense. She recalled a shooting at a San Francisco law office in 1993 that led to the deaths of eight people, including two co-workers who were shot through a glass wall. She said she would have been in the office if she hadnt been on vacation that day. The shooting devastated me. I started having panic attacks, feeling like skyscrapers were going to fall on top of me whenever I walked down the street, Levine-Kanji said. To this day, 30 years later, I feel uncomfortable sitting with my back to a window. Ellen Leigh, also of Moms Demand Action, urged lawmakers to tighten gun laws, recalling a incident in which she said her life was threatened by someone with a gun. I will never forget the moments when my attacker shouted, Shoot her! Shoot her! I closed my eyes terrified, waiting for the gun to go off, she said. The attack ended when a passerby shouted that he had called the police, she said. Opponents of many of the proposed changes say they unfairly target law-abiding gun owners. Im really concerned that we have become the threat, the lawful gunowners, said Jim Wallace, executive director of the Gun Owners Action League. It was all about how we would commit harm or we would intimidate somebody. When has that ever happened? Rather than deal with the criminal element, theyre trying to make us into the bad guys. Last month, the Massachusetts House approved a sweeping gun bill aimed at tightening firearm laws, cracking down on ghost guns and strengthening the states ban on certain weapons. The Senate has yet to approve its own gun bill. The House bill would also prohibit individuals from carrying a gun into a persons home without their permission and require key gun components be serialized and registered with the state. It would also ban carrying firearms in schools, polling places and government buildings. The bill is in part a response to a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that U.S. citizens have a right to carry firearms in public for self-defense. Earlier this month, Massachusetts Democratic Attorney General Andrea Campbell announced a gun violence prevention unit dedicated in part to defending the states existing gun laws from legal challenge. Even though the state has the lowest rate of gun violence in the nation, in an average year, 255 people die and 557 are wounded by guns in Massachusetts. The violence disproportionately impacts Black youth who are more than eight times as likely to die by gun violence than their white peers, Campbell said. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) downplayed the recent talks of the possibility of former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) launching a bid for the citys mayoral seat. Adamss response on the matter came during a Monday appearance on La Mega 97.9, a New York City-based Spanish radio station. We talk often, Adams told the radio show hosts. I dont see him running for mayor. I think he is looking at his next political move, and there is a lot of things he can look at, but I have to be ready to run New York and that is what Im focused on doing right now. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. Politico reported last week that Cuomo, 65, was weighing the idea of launching a mayoral campaign if Adams continues to sink into a deeper hole into the federal investigations against him. Sources close to the former governor told the news outlet that Cuomo would not run in a primary race against Adams due to his friendship with the mayor. My opinion is if he runs, he will win, Rev. Ruben Diaz Sr., a former state senator, told Politico in an interview. People are in need of a leader. Even though Governor Cuomo and I have our differences, weve had many fights in the past, and besides the differences, I think he was a great governor. This would be Cuomos first attempt of running for political office after he resigned from his position as state governor in August 2021. In August of that calendar year, New York state Attorney General Letitia James (D) released a report that found that Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women, including a number of former state employees. Adams, 63, has been under scrutiny for the past weeks after the FBI seized his electronic devices amid an ongoing federal investigation into his 2021 mayoral campaign fundraising. Adams has denied any wrongdoing in the matter. Adams also was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 1993 when he was a member of the citys police department. In a statement to The Hill, a City Hall spokesperson said that the mayor vigorously denies the allegations against him. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The White House said that additional funding for Ukraine and Israel, as requested by President Joe Biden to Congress, is "desperately needed". Source: European Pravda; John Kirby, Strategic Communications Coordinator for the White House National Security Council, at a briefing Details: He noted that the priority level of adopting a package with the help for Ukraine and Israel is "very, very high." "I would remind members of Congress as they come back to work that the figures in that supplemental request are well informed by our Ukrainian partners and our Israeli partners. We didnt just pull those figures out of thin air. It was very much in keeping with what our partners have told us they need for the coming months," John Kirby said. He added that the financing situation is becoming more acute, especially concerning Ukraine: the assistance packages provided now from the United States have fewer funds. "Because we just don't have the flexibility we once had in terms of the amount of aid that can be given in each and every package," John Kirby said. According to John Kirby, "we are in a critical time" as winter is approaching, and it is increasingly difficult for the Ukrainian army to conduct its operations when the weather becomes less favourable. "So, we we hope that when Congress comes back to work, that they will they will act with the same sense of alacrity that weve been trying to act in terms of getting that supplemental through," said the representative of the US presidential administration. Background: Earlier, Mike Johnson, speaker of the United States House of Representatives, said that he "is confident and optimistic" that the US Congress will be able to accept additional funds to help Israel and Ukraine before the holidays, but there is a condition. The State Department is also optimistic regarding the prospects of approving a package of additional funding for Ukraine and other defence needs in Congress, where it has been stuck for almost two months. In September, the White House asked Congress to approve a US$106 billion supplemental funding package that includes more than US$61 billion in funding for Ukraine, along with assistance to Israel and Taiwan and funding for border security. But the initiative was stalled by the opposition of far-right Republicans in the House of Representatives, whose new speaker, Mike Johnson, proposed splitting assistance to Ukraine and Israel. Support UP or become our patron! Just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court opened the door to more extensive judicial oversight of executive branch agencies' internal courts, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dropped dozens of those casesincluding one that prompted the Court's ruling. The sudden mass dismissal of 42 cases within the SEC's administrative legal system was the result of what the agency calls a "control deficiency." That's quite the euphemism for what actually happened. In a statement, the SEC admitted that officials within the enforcement division had accessed memos and drafts from within the administrative court system. In layman's terms, the SEC's police force was able to view documents akin to notes between judges and their clerks. The scenario highlights one of the fundamental problems with the administrative legal systems that independent executive agencies like the SEC use to adjudicate enforcement actions brought by the agency's regulators. Effectively, the judges in those courts are employed by the prosecutors. And in these 42 casesand possibly morethey were sharing notes with each other but not the people they were regulating. "We deeply regret that the agency's internal systems lacked sufficient safeguards surrounding access," the SEC said in the statement. "We take this lapse in controls very seriously and are committed to both informing the public about the scope of this issue and preventing any similar lapses in the future." Despite the agency's pledge, it seems like dropping those cases was a step away from accountability. "Without a doubt, the mass dismissal of these open cases is an evasion of the review promised by the Supreme Court," says Peggy Little, senior counsel at the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA). "Conveniently, it also seeks to extinguish discovery on the breadth, depth and extent of file-sharing" between the SEC's courts and cops. Little and the NCLA represented Michelle Cochran in her seven-year struggle against the SEC's administrative law system, which culminated in a unanimous victory at the Supreme Court in April. Writing the majority opinion in SEC v. Cochran, Justice Elena Kagan said plaintiffs caught up in administrative legal systems had the right to challenge the constitutionality of those procedures in the regular legal system without first having to complete the often expensive and time-consuming administrative legal process. "The challenges are fundamental, even existential," wrote Kagan. "They maintain in essence that the agencies, as currently structured, are unconstitutional in much of their work." That ruling portends more robust judicial reviews of how administrative legal systems operate. By preemptively dismissing those 42 cases in June, Little says, the SEC has slammed the door on those plaintiffs trying to get their day in a proper court. "The SEC's use of its own misconduct as window dressing for this unprecedented mass dismissal of its open docket is an obvious and cynical ploy to evade imminent federal court review of agency administrative adjudication," she tells Reason. The SEC is also stonewalling other attempts at discovering more details about malfeasance within the agency's administrative court system. It has missed a deadline to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the NCLA seeking details like the names and job titles of SEC staffers involved in the "control deficiency"information that the agency has not released despite promising to keep the public informed about the scope of the lapse. The SEC has also dodged congressional inquiries. At a hearing about the control deficiency in May, SEC Director of Enforcement Gurbir Grewal said the breach between judicial and enforcement branches was reported as soon as it was discovered. But reporting by The Wall Street Journal indicates the agency knew about this problem in 2022 and waited until after the Supreme Court's Cochran ruling to make the information public. At the conclusion of that hearing, Rep. Bill Huizenga (RMich.) chided Grewal for his evasiveness and the agency's failure to be forthright about the extent of the file sharing. Meanwhile, the SEC's inspector general has apparently been sidelined from investigating the control deficiency. Instead, the agency has hired an outside firm, Berkeley Research Group, that regularly contracts with the SEC for consulting and analysis work. That should raise some red flags too, as a major vendor has little incentive to uncover findings that might jeopardize future contracts. The SEC, naturally, has redacted key information from its contract with Berkeley, including how much taxpayers are paying for the firm's investigationan investigation that should properly be carried out by the inspector general instead. The NCLA alleges that the agency used its own malfeasance as an excuse to dismiss dozens of cases that might have brought constitutional scrutiny to the entire administrative law system and that it now seeks to cover up the extent of that malfeasance. For individuals like Cochran, having these cases dismissed means there's no chance for justiceeven after the Supreme Court ruled that she has a right to seek it. It all points to the need for serious legal and congressional scrutiny of the administrative court system, and not just within the SEC. The post An Administrative Court Scandal at the SEC appeared first on Reason.com. With his social media site bleeding cash and advertisers bolting after he amplified antisemitism and a report emerged that claimed ads were placed on the site alongside pro-Nazi content, Elon Musk on Tuesday revisited the conspiracy theory well and fished out ... Pizzagate. Does seem at least a little suspicious, Musk wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, Tuesday morning alongside a meme about the widely discredited 2016-era conspiracy. By Tuesday evening, the post was deleted. Pizzagate is real, the six-panel image, featuring characters from The Office, reads. They trafficked children. elon musk deleted tweet elon musk deleted tweet The meme also asserts that experts who discredited the conspiracy have been arrested for sexually exploiting children. Musk sought to substantiate the claim by linking to an article about a former ABC News reporter pleading guilty to child pornography charges. The widely debunked conspiracy, peddled by far-right personalities like Alex Jones in the final days of the 2016 election, claimed a child sex trafficking ring was operating out of the basement of a D.C.-area pizza shop frequented by high-profile politicians including Hillary Clinton. No evidence supports the claim the building doesnt even have a basement though that didnt stop fringe elements from violently descending on the establishment. The ABC reporter in question never wrote an article debunking the conspiracy. He was, however, featured in a fabricated New York Post headline this summer alleging he had, which proceeded to go viral on X. In December 2016, a 28-year-old man, egged on by YouTube videos about theory, fired an assault rifle inside the restaurant and threatened employees, believing he was standing up against a corrupt system that kidnaps, tortures and rapes babies. He later pleaded guilty to federal charges and acknowledged his intel wasnt 100 percent. In a different incident, another man attempted to set fire to the building. The post is Musks second Pizzagate-related missive in a little over a week. Last week, he amplified a message attempting to tie Media Matters to the owner of the pizza restaurant. Musk is currently suing the media watchdog after it published a report about major brands ads appearing alongside posts promoting Nazism. Its unclear when (or how) Musk might get his advertisers to come back, but his ongoing flirtation with conspiracy theories and bigots on his platform dont appear to be helping matters. And his past is coming back to haunt him: Commenters on Tuesday seized on the Pizzagate post to question Musks own proximity to Jeffrey Epstein, a high-profile businessman who died in 2019 while awaiting sex trafficking charges in a federal jail in Manhattan. Prior to his death, Epstein suggested hed advised Musk on various business matters. Spokespeople for Musk have denied the claim. Related... Artificial intelligence is transforming the health world in more ways than one, including as an additional tool in breast cancer screenings. Physicians assisted by AI in mammography screening detected 20% more cancers, according to preliminary results from a study out earlier this year. And AI could help predict outcomes in invasive breast cancer, research from Northwestern Medicine published in the Nature Medicine journal Monday found, potentially making it possible to spare breast cancer patients unnecessary chemotherapy treatments. For Tehillah Harris, these additional tools mean an extra set of eyes, especially as someone with a family history. She was only 32 when her mother died of breast cancer. "My mom was very concerned about my level of risk," says Harris, who gets screened regularly at Mount Sinai in New York, where AI is used to assist reading mammograms and breast sonograms. "The doctor said they have this new technology, and would I be interested? I'm like, sure, sign me up." Dr. Laurie Margolies, the director of breast imaging at Mount Sinai, demonstrated for CBS News how AI analyzes mammograms and sorts them into three levels of risk: low, intermediate and elevated. AI is also being used to read breast sonograms in one instance CBS News viewed, it only took a few seconds for the tool to make its analysis though a radiologist also reads the scans. "I think AI is here to help us in the same way that 30 years ago the magnifying glass helped us," Margolies says, adding she doesn't see the technology replacing human doctors. "AI is not there to be empathetic. It just gives an opinion," she says. "It may not know somebody's family history in the future, and it certainly can't provide that hug." While Harris welcomed the new screening tools, she also isn't ready to say goodbye to her doctors. "You want someone to come and explain it to you, and if needed, hold your hand," she says. All your mammogram and breast cancer screening questions, answered by medical experts Georgian winemakers restoring countrys ancient grape varieties | 60 Minutes Grieving Ukrainians attend Austrian Alps climbing camp to recover from war | 60 Minutes As electric vehicle popularity grows, one startup is using old tires to make new batteries An SK Telecom employee shows a senior citizen how to use the AI call services in South Korea. Photo courtesy of SK Telecom SEOUL, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- A South Korean artificial intelligence program has been successfully calling the country's most vulnerable population, senior citizens who live alone, on a weekly basis to ascertain their safety. SK Telecom, the Seoul-based mobile carrier, said its AI-based call service, which began in October 2022, has helped more than 4,000 people. To identify the seniors in need of a check-in, SK Telecom partnered with about 100 regional governments and senior daycare centers. The AI program has made 1.76 million calls, reaching 11,000 people across the country, and collected timely information for regional governments. For example, when words such as "stress" and "sickness" come up during the conversation, the AI program automatically switches the call to a human, who can address the issue in more detail. SK Telecom said the calls resulted in a total of 4,063 people speaking to a human consultant. Of those, 28 were helped to hospitals for treatment. The company is planning to expand its service to other areas by improving its large-language model, dubbed A.X. "We realized that our AI call service could offer help to underprivileged people," SK Telecom Vice President Yu Young-mi said in a statement. In May 2022, Korean search engine Naver embarked on a similar service to call and check up on users about their eating habits and health issues. In a survey by Naver, most of the seniors answering the calls said they felt safer after receiving regular AI calls. Korea's national police has also started a pilot AI program, which calls victims of crimes to check up on their well-being and safety. Experts point out that Korea will have to rely on more and more AI services due to its fast-aging population and the lowest birth rate in the world. Earlier this year, Statistics Korea forecast that by 2027, the proportion of the population above age 65 would be 46.4% compared to 17.5% today. Korea's birthrate is also declining. Last year, it was a mere 0.78, meaning fewer than one baby was born to a woman on average, far lower than the 2.1 necessary to maintain the current population. By Jennifer Rigby LONDON (Reuters) - The global response to AIDS is "under threat" because of an unprecedented backlash against human rights that is stigmatizing the groups most at risk of HIV infection, the head of the United Nations AIDS programme has warned. Winnie Byanyima, executive director of UNAIDS, said countries where there are laws against LGBTQ people, or which criminalise sex work or personal drug use, are largely the places seeing a rise or plateau in new infections. Stigma, discrimination and a lack of comprehensive sex education was also an issue, she said. "This pushback - anti-human rights, anti-democratic, anti-gender equality - has put our work under threat," she told Reuters in an interview in London ahead of the launch of a new report from the organization she leads. UNAIDS is aiming for a target of ending the disease as a public health threat by 2030, which Byanyima said was still achievable, with a number of countries, particularly in Africa on track or close to their targets. But in other regions like eastern Europe and north Africa, infections are on the rise. "We are saying it can be achieved. That's not the same as saying it will be achieved," she said. Globally, there were 39 million people living with HIV in 2022, including 1.3 million who were newly infected. Almost 30 million of them are getting treatment, but there were still 630,000 deaths due to AIDS-related illnesses last year, according to UNAIDS data. The new report calls for the work of community organizations to be recognised and funded to help fight stigma and the wider backlash, under the title "Let communities lead". Byanyima said there were also other challenges, such as funding and "big battles" with pharmaceutical companies to ensure that new products can be made available in low-income countries at an affordable price. (The story has been corrected to say number living with HIV, not AIDS, in paragraph 7) (Reporting by Jennifer Rigby; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Alex Richardson) The U.S. Air Force on Monday delivered more than 54,000 pounds of humanitarian aid destined for Gaza, the Pentagon announced. The shipment marks the first of a series of flights that will help transfer United Nations-provided supplies to the besieged territory. The shipment was transported to Egypt by C-17 Globemaster IIIs to be loaded onto U.N. vehicles and driven into Gaza, spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said during a Pentagon briefing Tuesday. The aid includes medical supplies to support the health system in Gaza, [and] ready-to-use foods for displaced populations, Ryder said. It [also] includes clothing, since winter is upon us. The first flights coincide with a humanitarian pause between Israel and Hamas that began Nov. 23 and is scheduled to last until Thursday. During that time, the U.S. has also seen a pause in attacks on bases in Iraq and Syria from Iran-backed militias. Ryder confirmed Monday that attacks came to a halt on Nov. 23. Asked whether the Pentagon suspects the attacks will resume once the Hamas-Israel pause ceasefire ends, Ryder noted, We would certainly hope that thats not the case, but we will be prepared to respond accordingly if there are any additional attacks on our forces. Prior to the pause, troops had been attacked 72 total times across Iraq and Syria, resulting in more than 60 non-serious injuries, which include traumatic brain injuries. An air-raid warning has been issued throughout Ukraine on 28 November due to the takeoff of a MiG-31K fighter jet in Russia. Source: alerts.in.ua map; Ukraines Air Force Quote: "Attention! There is a missile threat throughout Ukraine! MiG-31K took off. Do not ignore the air-raid warning!" Updated: an all-clear was given 45 minutes later. Support UP or become our patron! The Ukrainian Air Force has now confirmed that a number of Russian aircraft shot down back in May over their own territory were indeed destroyed by a foreign-supplied Patriot air defense system . The possibility that Ukraines newly acquired Patriots may have been responsible for blasting those aircraft out of the sky was highlighted by The War Zone back in July , following the release of video by the Ukrainian Air Force seemingly linking the destruction of three Russian helicopters on May 13 to a Patriot system. Confirmation that a Patriot system was used to destroy three Russian Mi-8 Hip helicopters, a Su-34 Fullback strike fighter, and a Su-35 Flanker-E in Russias Bryansk region on May 13 was provided by Col. Yuri Ignat, the Ukrainian Air Force spokesman, to the Ukrainian Novynarnia media outlet on November 27 . A typical Patriot battery, a forced acronym standing for Phased Array Tracking Radar for Intercept, consists of a AN/MPQ-65 or AN/MPQ-53 radar, and requisite fire control, communications, and other support components, as well as up to eight trailer-mounted launchers. You can read more about the Patriot system, and its use in the Ukraine conflict, in these past War Zone pieces . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG5EysBBwoE\u0026t=4s According to a machine translation of Novynarnias interview with Ignat, the Ukrainian Air Force spokesman noted that the May 13 shoot-downs were: "a brilliant operation led by the commander of the Air Force. Thanks to their unconventional and decisive actions, [Ukrainian] Patriot SAM units destroyed five aircraft in five minutes in the Bryansk direction, from where they were then bombarding our northern regions with guided missiles. I jokingly call it the 'Bryansk difference.'" Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Col. Yuri Ignat pictured in June 2022. Ukrainian Media Center Following the events of May 13, foreign-donated Patriot systems were also responsible for downing other Russian aircraft, Ignat highlights, leading to shifting Russian aerial tactics. "Another Su-35 was shot down [by a Patriot system] over the Black Sea. It happened some time after the events in [the] Bryansk region [on May 13]. And after that, they [Russian aircraft] stopped flying there for a while, because they realized that it was dangerous there, they could be shot down." Ignat also highlighted the importance of Patriot batteries to aerial defense closer to home during the interview; including in shooting down Iskander short-range ballistic missiles and examples of the Kinzhal air-launched derivative in and around Kyiv. Just days after the events of May 13, as The War Zone has indicated previously, one of Ukraines Patriot batteries defending the capital detected more than a dozen incoming Russian missiles including six Kinzhals, at a distance of about 125 miles. The Patriot system destroyed all of them, the last at a distance of about 9 miles. "We [have downed] 15 'Daggers' [Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic air launched ballistic missiles altogether] plus dozens of ballistic missiles that were flying towards Kyiv," Ignat noted to Novynarnia. Kh-47M2 Kinzhal, 2018 Moscow Victory Day Parades. Russian Presidential Press and Information Office "Patriot is extremely serious technology. After all, only a head-on collision [hit-to-kill] guarantees the downing of a ballistic missile, and all this is done without human intervention. Our people with combat experience of shooting down the 'Daggers' will become mentors not only for our cadets, but also for foreigners. Because no one in the world from the Patriot has yet shot down the Dagger, [bar Ukraines air defense forces]." It should be noted that PAC-3-series interceptors used with the Patriot system, variants of which have been sent by the U.S. to Ukraine, feature an explosive Lethality Enhancer (LE) to increase the probability of target kill. You can read more about all this here . While the possibility that the Russian aircraft downed on May 13 could have been targeted by a surface-to-air missile system such as Patriot was raised in our initial reporting on that day , subsequent video released by the Ukrainian Air Force on July 3 pointed towards that air defense system more specifically. In the footage, two Russian fighters and three Russian helicopters are seen emblazoned on the side of a Patriot battery all with the date "130523" underneath them. Screen capture of the Ukrainian Air Force video shows images of three Russian helicopters and two Russian fighters painted on the side of a Patriot air defense battery. The three helicopter and two jet images bear the date May 13. Defense Industry of Ukraine Why Ignat confirmed the use of Patriot in downing the five Russian aircraft in May now is unclear, beyond being asked directly about it in an interview. During a press conference on July 3 the same day that the Ukrainian Air Force released the video he made no reference to claims that Patriot was used in the aforementioned operation, and was not asked about it by reporters. The sensitivity of using U.S.-donated advanced weapons to prosecute targets in Russian territory could have been a major factor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=148\u0026v=a94WrbJ06ls\u0026embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedrive.com%2F\u0026source_ve_path=MjM4NTE\u0026feature=emb_title Whatever the reason for the outright confirmation, it should be noted that the Patriot system downed the Russian aircraft at great distance. As we previously noted , one of the helicopters was said to have been hit around 160 miles from the Ukrainian capital, where Ukraines foreign-supplied Patriot systems are primarily located. While it is possible that a Patriot interceptor could have hit a target at that distance, the probability of this occurring was likely low, David Shank, a retired Army colonel and former commandant of the Army Air Defense Artillery School at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, told us . There is also the possibility that remote Patriot site launchers were set up to engage longer-range targets, Shank noted, while the systems radar may have detected and tracked the targets before replaying information to an air defense system much closer to Kyiv. U.S Patriot system. DoD According to the Oryx open-source intelligence group, Ukraine has received two Patriot batteries , one from Germany (consisting of German and Dutch components) and one from the U.S., to bolster its air defenses. The U.S.s Patriot battery available inventory has been put under pressure overall due to the in Ukraine as well as the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas, with concerns being raised over how many could be mobilized should a war in the Pacific unfold. Germany pledged a second Patriot battery in October, which has yet to be delivered . The Netherlands has delivered a pair of Patriot launcher components to Ukraine, and since pledged further missiles . While the claims made by Ukraine still cant be verified by additional sources, it seems more likely than ever that Patriot was involved in the mass shoot-down that day, which would provide additional merit to its service so far in the war-torn country. Contact the author: oliver@thewarzone.com Unsuccessful attempts by two men to rob marijuana traffickers of weed at a South Carolina airport resulted in a shootout erupting inside a parking garage, according to federal prosecutors. Now, one of the accused robbers, 21-year-old Kendrick Naveed Corbin, of Columbia, is going to prison after the other man was sentenced to 20 years in prison in September, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of South Carolina announced in a Nov. 27 news release. When two marijuana traffickers arrived from Los Angeles with suitcases packed with weed at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport on Jan. 25, 2022, Corbin and Dequadry Kendrick Razor were waiting outside armed with pistols and ready to rob them, prosecutors said. After the accused drug traffickers were picked up by associates in a Dodge Challenger, they headed to an airport parking garage to put some of the marijuana into another car, according to prosecutors. Thats when Corbin and Razor appeared with pistols and a gun battle broke out leaving parked cars blasted with bullets and one trafficker with life-threatening injuries, prosecutors said. When the accused drug traffickers fired back after one was shot, Corbin and Razor ran off without the marijuana they tried to steal, according to prosecutors. Then, the man driving the Dodge Challenger, Jaondre Collier, drove after Corbin and Razor and fired at them as they tried leaving the parking garage, prosecutors said. A woman in her car became stuck behind Razor and Corbin as Collier fired at them, according to prosecutors who said his gunfire struck a nearby ticket kiosk. Razor and Corbin escaped Collier and headed to Columbia before their arrests, prosecutors said. The mens sentences A judge sentenced Corbin to 19 years and three months in prison in connection with the shootout, the attorneys office said in the release. His sentencing comes after Corbin pleaded guilty to armed robbery, conspiracy to distribute marijuana and possessing and discharging a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes, according to the attorneys office. McClatchy News contacted Corbins defense attorney, Ward Benjamin McClain Jr., and Razors defense attorney, Alexander Rollinson Stalvey, for comment on Nov. 27 and didnt receive immediate responses. When officers responded to the shootout, they encountered Collier, who prosecutors said had the suitcases of marijuana and two pistols inside his vehicle. Meanwhile, the trafficker struck by gunfire was taken to a hospital and survived, prosecutors said. Collier was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison in September on charges of conspiring to distribute marijuana, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and discharging a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, according to the attorneys office. McClatchy News contacted James Zachary Farr, Colliers defense attorney, for comment on Nov. 27 and didnt receive an immediate response. Razor was arrested after a car he and Corbin used during the robbery attempt was tracked to a home, prosecutors said. At the home, a gun, which was connected to shell casings found at the airport parking garage, was in Razors room, where authorities found more firearms and marijuana, according to prosecutors. Then, after considerable investigation, the FBI identified Corbin as the second shooter, the release said. Corbin was arrested in January at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, where he and another man, both armed, were having a suitcase full of marijuana loaded into Corbins car by another man, according to prosecutors. The two men were recently sentenced to prison in relation to the case, the release said. 5 shot, 2 killed after teens are asked to leave family gathering, Oklahoma cops say Good Samaritan pulls injured officer to safety in Texas highway shootout, video shows Fight over dog leads to shootout between neighbors in Florida front yard, cops say Dorell Davis listens to opening statements Monday afternoon in his murder trial in Summit County Common Pleas Court. Prosecutors say Dorell Davis was one of three men involved in the shooting death and robbery of an Akron man in December 2020. Joe Gorman, Davis attorney, says Davis was there but wasn't involved in the crimes. Attorney Joe Gorman gives his opening statement in Dorell Davis murder trial in Summit County Common Pleas Court. Summit County jurors will have to decide which side they believe. Davis, 24, of Akron, is charged with aggravated murder, murder and aggravated robbery. He is the second man arrested in the shooting death of Tyraye Carter to go on trial. Davis murder trial began Monday afternoon in Summit County Common Pleas Judge Mary Margaret Rowlands courtroom and is expected to last through Friday. Three men are charged in shooting and robbery Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Joe McAleese gives his opening statement Monday afternoon in Dorell Davis' murder trial in Summit County Common Pleas Court. Davis is among three men accused in the shooting death and robbery of Tyraye Carter in December 2020. Carter, 21, was found with multiple gunshot wounds on Dec. 3, 2020, in a vehicle near Tampa Avenue and 28th Street Southwest in Akron. Police said he was shot following an argument. Police also arrested Javion Rankin and Kashmair Mingo in Carter's shooting. Police said DNA evidence linked Rankin to the shooting and to a robbery the following day. Rankin, 22, of Akron, is accused of being the trigger man in Carter's shooting. Dorell Davis waits Monday afternoon for the jury to enter at the start of his murder trial in Summit County Common Pleas Judge Mary Margaret Rowlands' courtroom. Davis accepted a deal with prosecutors in June 2022 that involved him pleading guilty to a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter but that required him to testify in the trials of his co-defendants. However, Davis, refused to testify during Mingo's trial, so his plea agreement was revoked. Mingo is first of three men to go on trial in shooting Mingo, 24, of Akron, had a jury trial before visiting judge Edward OFarrell last November in Summit County Common Pleas Court. Kashmair Mingo listens to proceedings in Summit County Court on Nov. 14, 2022, in Akron. Assistant Prosecutor Felicia Easter said during the trial that Mingo, Davis and Rankin shot Carter, then took his ring and necklace and tried to pawn them the next day. She said surveillance video showed the men fleeing after the shooting and heading to Mingo's apartment. Easter said the men were captured on video again at Sam's Emporium, an Akron pawn shop, on the morning after the shooting wearing the same clothes they had on during the shooting. She said Mingo had Carter's ring on his finger at the shop. "They are all in this together," she said. Easter said cellphone records showed the men were in the area of the shooting when it occurred. A jury found Mingo guilty of murder that involves taking a life while committing a felony, which was, in this case, a robbery. They found him not guilty of aggravated murder and murder that mean purposely causing a persons death. OFarrell sentenced Mingo to life in prison last December. He will be eligible for parole after 21 years. Mingo has appealed. Third man is free on bond pending appeal of excluded evidence Rankin was released on a personal recognizance bond last June after prosecutors appealed a judges decision to exclude CyberCheck evidence from his trial. Javion Rankin, stands next to Don Malarcik, one of his attorneys, during a hearing in June in Summit County Common Pleas Court. Rankin, who is charged with murder, was released on a signature bond after prosecutors appealed the exclusion of CyberCheck evidence in his trial. CyberCheck is a forensic tool that tracks a person based on their smartphone use. The prosecutors appeal triggered a rarely used criminal rule that requires a person to be released on a signature bond pending the outcome of the appeal. Rowlands gave Rankin a signature bond, though she required that he be placed on electronic monitoring and kept under house arrest. The 9th District Court of Appeals hasnt ruled on the CyberCheck issue. More: Attorneys challenge smartphone activity tracking as evidence in Summit County murder cases Rankins case is among several murder cases in Summit County in which defense attorneys have challenged the use of CyberCheck evidence, claiming the findings should be excluded unless they can be independently verified. The company has refused to provide the information necessary for this verification to occur, claiming it is proprietary. Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com, 330-996-3705 and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj. This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Dorell Davis goes on trial in Akron man's shooting and robbery Convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh addressed victims of his state financial crimes in a South Carolina court at his sentencing Tuesday. Your pain and your hurt is palpable, its reasonable, Murdaugh said in a video posted online by The Recount. I promise you that it resonates with me. I understand. Murdaugh struck a plea deal nearly two weeks ago in his financial crimes case, just days before the state trial was set to begin. He has agreed to plead guilty in Beaufort County Court to more than a dozen counts including money laundering, breach of trust and financial fraud in exchange for a 27-year sentence. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. I hope that the time will come when you can look back and know that despite the terrible things that I did, that I care about each one of you, Murdaugh said wearing an orange prison jumpsuit. I did terrible things. Each of you placed your trust in me, I was very proud of that, and I am still today, honored by that fact. Taking the plea deal will add more prison time to Murdaughs life sentence after he was convicted earlier this year of killing his wife and son in 2021. He pleaded guilty in September in federal court to 22 counts of financial fraud and money laundering. Murdaugh was a longtime lawyer accused of stealing millions in legal settlements from injured clients or families of those killed on the job. He has been accused of stealing millions from his law firm and avoiding hundreds of thousands in state income taxes. He addressed the victims in court Tuesday and said it is important for him to have them know that he is bothered by the things he did. After hours, days, weeks, months of self-reflection, I know now that I took more and more because I was hiding or attempting to hide from the reality of the things that I was doing to all of you, he said. South Carolina prosecutor Creighton Waters for the state Attorney Generals Office recounted Murdaughs thefts on Tuesday and accused the former lawyer of stealing $12.4 million from clients, The Associated Press reported. Murdaugh was convicted of the fatal shootings of his wife and son in March and is serving life in prison without parole but his lawyers are seeking a new trial in the murder case. He has denied guilt in the shootings since his indictment. Prosecutors have alleged that he killed his wife and son to gain pity because he knew he would be exposed for various financial crimes. Prosecutors initially charged him with 101 financial crimes involving 18 victims. The plea deal reduced it to 22 crimes against each of the victims, the AP reported. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Alex Murdaugh shakes hands with his attorney Jim Griffin during his sentencing for stealing from 18 clients, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, at the Beaufort County Courthouse in Beaufort, S.C. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post And Courier via AP, Pool) For years, South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh looked his anguished clients in the eyes and promised to help them with their medical bills, their suffering or simply to survive. Then he stole some, if not all, of what he won for many of them. Those clients got to look Murdaugh in the eye Tuesday and tell him how he had destroyed their trust, as the disgraced lawyer was sentenced to 27 years in prison for stealing about $12 million. Im not crying for what he stole from me. Im crying for what he did to everybody, said Jordan Jinks, a friend of Murdaughs since childhood. The courtroom drama marked yet another step in the fall of a powerful and respected attorney whose family name dominated the legal scene in a small Hampton County for generations, and whose alleged crimes have been a perennial topic of true crime podcasts and online chat groups. In court in an orange prison jumpsuit, Murdaugh listened as the victims recounted how the man with a commanding presence and seductive Southern charm had duped them. Jinks went to Murdaugh after incurring hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills for a neck injury he got when someone rear-ended his car. Jinks paid the bills in advance, having been assured by Murdaugh that he would obtain a settlement to pay him back. Murdaugh got the money, but kept it himself, financially ruining his friend. The money you stole from me, I would have gave it to you," Jinks said. Why bro? Why? State prosecutors and defense lawyers negotiated the 27-year prison sentence for Murdaugh, who is already serving a life term without parole after a jury found him guilty of killing his wife, Maggie, with a rifle, and younger son, Paul, with a shotgun in June 2021. Judge Clifton Newman, who presided over the murder trial, accepted the plea deal. Murdaugh adamantly denies killing his family members. His lawyers are seeking a new trial, citing allegations that the court clerk tampered with the jury. A different judge will decide whether to grant Murdaugh a hearing in which jurors, the clerk, and maybe even Newman, could be questioned under oath. The sentence for Murdaugh's financial crimes is a kind of insurance policy to prevent his release if his murder conviction is overturned. Under South Carolina law, Murdaugh will have to serve almost 23 years of the sentence, even if he is a model prisoner. He would be 76 before he could be released. Murdaugh had to give up his rights to appeal as part of the deal. Newman said Tuesday that Murdaugh had the emptiest soul of anyone he has seen in his 23 years on the bench, with the exception of a man who was sentenced to death for killing an off-duty police officer and burning his body. "The question was asked: What kind of animal are you?" Newman said, referring to additional comments Jinks made during his testimony. "You are an enigmatic person. I dont think you understand yourself. For his part, Murdaugh spent nearly 45 minutes apologizing to his family for bringing them shame and dishonor, and addressing all his victims, although he did not cry as much as he did when he testified in his own defense during his murder trial. I want each of you who spoke to know I listened to you. I heard you. Your pain and hurt is palpable. ... I promise you it resonates with me, Murdaugh said. Prosecutor Creighton Waters of the state Attorney General's Office opened Tuesday's hearing with a detailed account of all of Murdaugh's thefts and how he moved around the more than $12 million he stole to avoid detection for nearly 10 years. He ended more than an hour later with the precise figure: $12,425,254.32. His clients trusted Murdaugh and he used the trust of his family name and the law license on that wall to keep stealing to pay off loans and credit card bills, never catching up to bad investments and heavy spending, Waters said. Prosecutors initially charged Murdaugh with 101 financial crimes, including breach of trust, money laundering and tax evasion, involving 18 victims. Under the plea deal, the number was reduced to 22 crimes against each of his clients. His victims include Gloria Satterfield, the longtime family maid who died in a fall at the Murdaugh home. Murdaugh put his arm around Satterfield's son at her funeral and promised he would take care of her family. He got about $4 million from his insurers then later admitted to stealing every penny. Satterfield's son Tony said he prays for Murdaugh and forgives him, but can't forget how he was treated. I really don't have the words. You lied, you cheated, you stole. You betrayed me and my family, he said. Sandra Taylor was killed in a crash with a drunken driver, leaving behind three children. Murdaugh told her estate he could only get a $30,000 settlement. He took $150,000 himself, prosecutors said. They lost a mother. And you stole every dime from them. Do you not have a soul?" asked Satterfield's sister Ginger Hadwin. Tuesday's hearing did not mark the end of Murdaugh's legal problems. He also is awaiting sentencing on federal financial crime charges, and still faces insurance fraud and other local charges after asking a friend to kill him in September 2021 so his surviving son could get $10 million in life insurance. The shot only grazed Murdaugh's head. In his speech Tuesday, Murdaugh again blamed his drug addiction to painkillers for all the thefts. He gave detailed apologies to his surviving son, his family, his in-laws and his law partners. He told all of his victims they were welcome to visit him behind bars. I hope that in time that each of you will be willing to talk to me, Murdaugh said. "I would like as time moves on to continue to reiterate just how sorry I am and how important it is to me that you know that. After the speech, Waters told the judge just as he did before sentencing at the murder trial that Murdaugh could lie and conjure up false sincerity like no one he has ever seen. Hes good. He can look people in the eye. But weve seen it all before," Waters said. "The main thing he was concerned about was how he thinks others perceive him." A judge sentenced convicted murderer and disgraced lawyer Alex Murdaugh to 27 years in prison financial crimes on Tuesday, WCIV reports. Murdaugh pleaded guilty to stealing money from his clients and law firm for a decade. PREVIOUS: Alex Murdaugh pleads guilty to financial crimes under an agreement He was originally charged with 101 financial crimes, but those were knocked down to 22 crimes as part of the plea deal. Murdaugh is already serving a double life sentence for killing his wife and son. His lawyers are currently trying to overturn that sentence. On Tuesday, Murdaugh was sentenced in South Carolina court. According to WCIV, the recommended sentence was 27 years with 85% time served, meaning Murdaugh would serve about 22 years in prison for the crimes. READ MORE: (WATCH RELATED: Alex Murdaughs request for new trial hearing approved by judge) 18331896 [table-of-contents] stripped Quick Facts FULL NAME: Alfred Bernhard Nobel BORN: October 21, 1833 DIED: December 10, 1896 BIRTHPLACE: Stockholm, Sweden Who Was Alfred Nobel? Born in Sweden, chemist Alfred Nobel worked at his father's arms factory as a young man. Intellectually curious, he went on to experiment with chemistry and explosives. In 1864, a deadly explosion killed his younger brother. Deeply affected, Nobel developed a safer explosive: dynamite. Nobel used his vast fortune to establish the Nobel Prizes, which has come to be known for awarding the greatest achievements throughout the world. Early Years Alfred Bernhard Nobel was born on October 21, 1833, in Stockholm, Sweden, the fourth of Immanuel and Caroline Nobel's eight children. Nobel was often sickly as a child, but he was always lively and curious about the world around him. Although he was a skilled engineer and ready inventor, Nobel's father struggled to set up a profitable business in Sweden. When Nobel was 4 years old, his father moved to St. Petersburg, Russia, to take a job manufacturing explosives and the family followed him in 1842. Nobel's newly affluent parents sent him to private tutors in Russia, and he quickly mastered chemistry and became fluent in English, French, German and Russian as well as his native language, Swedish. Family Tragedy and the Invention of Dynamite Nobel left Russia at the age of 18. After spending a year in Paris studying chemistry, he moved to the United States. After five years, he returned to Russia and began working in his father's factory making military equipment for the Crimean War. In 1859, at the war's end, the company went bankrupt. The family moved back to Sweden, and Nobel soon began experimenting with explosives. In 1864, when Nobel was 29, a huge explosion in the family's Swedish factory killed five people, including Nobel's younger brother Emil. Dramatically affected by the event, Nobel set out to develop a safer explosive. In 1867, he patented a mixture of nitroglycerin and an absorbent substance, producing what he named "dynamite." In 1888, Nobel's brother Ludvig died while in France. A French newspaper erroneously published Nobel's obituary instead of Ludvig's and condemned Nobel for his invention of dynamite. Provoked by the event and disappointed with how he felt he might be remembered, Nobel set aside a bulk of his estate to establish the Nobel Prizes to honor men and women for outstanding achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and for working toward peace. Swedens central bank, Sveriges Riksbank, established the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1968 in honor of Nobel. Death and Legacy He died of a stroke on December 10, 1896, in San Remo, Italy. After taxes and bequests to individuals, Nobel left 31,225,000 Swedish kronor (equivalent to 250 million U.S. dollars in 2008) to fund the Nobel Prizes. Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! You Might Also Like ST. LOUIS (AP) Authorities allege that a former suburban St. Louis police officer who is charged with sexually assaulting several arrestees also covertly took photos of people in public bathrooms. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that 34-year-old Marcellis Blackwell, of St. Louis, is not charged with the latest allegation. But federal prosecutors discussed the covert photographing allegation Monday in seeking to have him remain jailed until his trial. Blackwell had worked for the North County Police Cooperative, which polices eight small municipalities, for just over a year when he was charged with taking some people he arrested to isolated areas before he turned off his body camera and abused them. He faces 16 counts of deprivation of rights and five counts of altering records in a federal investigation. He was also charged in St. Louis County with arresting and sexually assaulting a handcuffed man near Normandy High School. U.S. Steel idles steelmaking at Granite City Works indefinitely His lawyer argues that Blackwell has no criminal history and has an incentive to show up to court dates because he has family in the St. Louis region. Prosecutors countered that Blackwell poses a safety concern if released. They alleged that he recorded men at urinals or in stalls from under a wall of an adjacent stall. They said some of those photos were taken while he was on duty as a police officer. Blackwell also photographed about 120 personal IDs, mainly drivers licenses, and kept them on his phone along with pictures of several Normandy High School student ID cards, federal prosecutors said. A judge will rule at a later date if Blackwell should stay in jail until trial. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. Allie Phillips kept reading the same story after the fall of Roe: women and girls desperately seeking abortions but unable to get them. I got tired of seeing article after article after article of women in Texas, women in Tennessee, women in Florida, women in Idaho, Ms Phillips, 28, tells The Independent. Just state after state after state ... all of these continuous travesties, these devastating stories. In March, Ms Phillips was the one making headlines, after she documented on social media her 1,000-mile trip from Clarksville, Tennessee to New York to get a life-saving abortion because it wasnt legal in her home state. Eight months later, Ms Phillips announced her candidacy for the Tennessee House of Representatives. Ms Phillips is among the first of a wave of women directly impacted by the 2022 Supreme Court ruling to run for office. The fall of Roe v Wade has energised voters across the country, with abortion rights becoming a focal point in the outcome of the recent off-year elections in states like Ohio and Kentucky . The tipping point for Ms Phillips deciding to run came after she realised how out-of-touch and unfazed her local politicians seemed about womens reproductive rights. Ms Phillips tells The Independent that her local representative, Republican Jeff Burkhart, admitted to her during a meeting in June that he thought only first pregnancies could go bad. He then went on to say, according to Ms Phillips, that hed hypothetically advise his own daughter to continue a pregnancy even if it put her life at risk. Except Ms Phillips knows exactly what that terrifying moment feels like. Allie Phillips, 28, and her husband had been trying for a baby and were delighted when they found out her daughter would... (Allie Phillips) She and her husband, Bryan, were elated when they learned about their planned-for pregnancy. Ms Phillips excitedly told her then-six-year-old daughter that she would become a big sister and the little girls beaming smile was captured in pictures announcing the expected arrival of the baby they had already named Miley Rose. But on week 19, doctors made it clear that Mileys long list of complications were fatal, and that she would eventually die in utero. At the time, Tennessees strict abortion ban laws did not allow exceptions, even in cases of foetal anomaly, or risk to the mothers life. Allie Phillips was told that her pregnancy was unviable (Allie Phillips) Her home state insisted she had to continue the pregnancy, even though her doctors warned her that her life was at risk, so Ms Phillips scraped together funds and travelled interstate. While alone inside a sterile exam room of a New York City abortion clinic, Ms Phillips was told they could no longer detect a heartbeat. The longed-for baby was now an imminent threat to her health. I just started crying, Ms Phillips tells The Independent, breaking down in tears as she relived the conversation with the technician. I was mostly prepared for the next day to lose Miley. I wasnt ready that day. I didnt want Miley to go either way, but I thought I at least had one more day with her. The loss radicalised her so despite Rep Burkharts dismissive comments, she appreciated when he promised to get Ms Phillips a meeting with Tennessees Attorney General. That promise did not materialise following what Ms Phillips called beat-around-the-bush responses anytime she followed up. Allie Phillips is running for office in Clarksville following a traumatic abortion experience (Allie Phillips/Instagram) The most recent response I got from him was, Theres really not much I can do until Im back in session in January, she says. I [told] him, OK, so women are just supposed to put their lives on the line until January? Got it. He didnt respond to me. A fierce believer in abortion access for all both for those who wished for a baby but couldnt deliver one compatible with life and those facing any other reason to terminate a pregnancy Ms Phillips says she is determined to turn her trauma into purpose. Talking with family members and friends made her realise her personal experience made her the right person to carry the message. If anybodys going to fight for Miley and my daughter, its going to be me, Ms Phillips says. Her social media followers, whom she has been sharing her abortion and campaign journey with, have coined the term Mileys Law for what she describes as legislation to secure abortion access in, at least, the riskiest of cases. Im going to get Mileys Law to the legislation. However that looks like is how Im going to do it, Ms Phillips says. She is also one of the plaintiffs in a Center for Reproductive Rights lawsuit against multiple states that have denied patients access to emergency abortions. In Tennessee, narrow exceptions were silently passed by Gov Bill Lee in April, a month after Ms Phillips abortion and eight months after the original trigger laws were enacted. Allie Phillips meeting with members of her community in Clarksville, Tennessee (Allie Phillips) Ms Phillips is used to being a mom but she is still figuring out how to be a politician as well. At first, that meant buying blazers, staring at herself in the mirror hoping her reflection resembled whatever a politician is supposed to look like, and wondering if she was going to be able to raise enough money for her campaign. Lately, it has meant meeting with past representatives and fully embracing the fact that shell be facing Rep Burkhart in the election next August. Just two weeks after announcing her campaign, Ms Phillips says donations have poured in from every state in the country. So shell continue calling out trolls accusing her of killing her baby on TikTok, much to her campaign managers dismay, and raising hell until womens lives are no longer on the line. I understand not everybody agrees with abortion, Ms Phillips says. But the bottom line is that I had to make a healthcare decision for myself and nobody should be judged or ridiculed or attacked or get death threats because of a medical decision. Earlier this month, Ms Phillips returned to New York City. This time, she spoke about her story at a panel hosted by the media group The Meteor at the Brooklyn Museum. The seat she is running for is a winnable seat, Ms Phillips said, and she is the first Democrat to run for it in a long time. Ive been told, Youre not going to win. Youre too young, youre too pretty, youre a woman, Ms Phillips told the crowd. Watch me. In western Mexico, forests are being razed at a breakneck pace and while deforestation in places such as the Amazon rainforest or Borneo is driven by cattle ranching, gold mining and palm oil farms, in this hot spot, it is fueled by the voracious appetite in the United States for avocados. (Getty Images) (Getty Images) PATUAN, Mexico First the trucks arrived, carrying armed men toward the mist-shrouded mountaintop. Then the flames appeared, sweeping across a forest of towering pines and oaks. After the fire laid waste to the forest last year, the trucks returned. This time, they carried the avocado plants taking root in the orchards scattered across the once tree-covered summit where townspeople used to forage for mushrooms. We never witnessed a blaze on this scale before, said Maricela Baca Yepez, 46, a municipal official and lifelong resident of Patuan, a town nestled in the volcanic plateaus where Mexicos Purepecha people have lived for centuries. Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York Times In western Mexico, forests are being razed at a breakneck pace and while deforestation in places such as the Amazon rainforest or Borneo is driven by cattle ranching, gold mining and palm oil farms, in this hot spot, it is fueled by the voracious appetite in the United States for avocados. A combination of interests, including criminal gangs, landowners, corrupt local officials and community leaders, are involved in clearing forests for avocado orchards, in some cases illegally seizing privately owned land. Virtually all the deforestation for avocados in the last two decades may have violated Mexican law, which prohibits land-use change without government authorization. Since the United States started importing avocados from Mexico less than 40 years ago, consumption has skyrocketed, bolstered by marketing campaigns promoting the fruit as a heart-healthy food and year-round demand for dishes like avocado toast and California rolls. Americans eat three times as many avocados as they did two decades ago. South of the border, satisfying the demand has come at a high cost, human rights and environmental activists say: the loss of forests, the depletion of aquifers to provide water for thirsty avocado trees and a spike in violence fueled by criminal gangs muscling in on the profitable business. And while the United States and Mexico signed a 2021 United Nations agreement to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030, the $2.7 billion annual avocado trade between the two countries casts doubts over those climate pledges. Mexican environmental officials have called on the United States to stop avocados grown on deforested lands from entering the American market, yet U.S. officials have taken no action, according to documents obtained by Climate Rights International, a nonprofit focused on how human rights violations contribute to climate change. In a new report, the group identified dozens of examples of how orchards on deforested lands supply avocados to American food distributors, which in turn sell them to major American supermarket chains. Fresh Del Monte, one of the largest American avocado distributors, said the industry supported reforestation projects in Mexico. But, in a statement, the company also said that Fresh Del Monte does not own farms in Mexico, and relied on industry collaboration to ensure growers abided by local laws. In western Mexico, interviews by The New York Times with farmers, government officials and Indigenous leaders showed how local people fighting deforestation and water theft have become targets of intimidation, abductions and shootings. Like deforestation elsewhere, the leveling of Mexicos pine-oak and oyamel fir forests reduces carbon storage and releases climate-warming gases. But clear-cutting for avocados, which require vast amounts of water, has ignited another crisis by draining aquifers that are a lifeline for many farmers. One mature avocado tree uses about as much water as 14 mature pine trees, said Jeff Miller, the author of a global history of the avocado. Youre putting in deciduous forests of a very water hungry tree and tearing out conifer forests of not so very water hungry trees, Miller said. Its just wrecking the environment. In parts of Mexico already on edge over turf wars among drug cartels, forest loss is fueling new conflicts and raising concerns that Mexican authorities are largely allowing illegal timber harvesters and avocado growers to act with impunity. As soon as avocado orchards pop up in deforested areas, illegal wells appear nearby with water transported to orchards through a labyrinthine system of plastic pipes that often pilfer the water supplies of farmers growing traditional crops such as tomatoes or corn. Avocados have been consumed for thousands of years in the region, whose temperate hillsides of porous volcanic soil offer optimal growing conditions. But producing the fruit on an industrial scale for export dates only to the 1990s, when Mexico pressured the United States to end its ban on avocado imports, after opening its own market to American corn. Mexico now accounts for nearly 90% of all avocado shipments to the United States. In Michoacan, the avocado industry employs more than 300,000 workers in the state of 4.8 million, according to government figures. The powerful association representing the Mexican avocado industry acknowledged deforestation was a problem, but said it was being addressed, including training and equipping forest fire brigades to provide early warnings when fires are started. Nobody wants this economic generator that is the Michoacan avocado to end, said the associations director, Armando Lopez Orduna. But in practice, some law enforcement officials say local corruption leads to major forest loss. Last month, an official with the Michoacan state prosecutors office for environmental crimes met with two reporters for the Times. The official, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals, said the environmental unit had been warned by supervisors not to investigate avocado orchards bigger than about 12 acres, even if a complaint was lodged. In turn, the official said, owners needed to pay bribes to supervisors, with amounts based on an orchards size. Jose Jesus Reyes Mozqueda, the state environmental prosecutor, did not respond directly to the bribery accusations, but said the office had conducted numerous probes into claims of illegal deforestation related to avocados. In Michoacan, more than 25,000 acres of avocado orchards authorized for export to the United States are on lands that were covered in forest as recently as 2014, according to environmental geographers from the University of Texas at Austin. (An orchard must be inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a packinghouse to process its avocados for export, though inspections focus on pest control, not on the lands legal status.) In 2021, Mexican environmental officials sent a letter to a regional manager for the U.S. Agriculture Department proposing amending an agreement governing the export of Mexican avocados to ensure they did not come from illegally deforested land. But nothing happened. It was ignored, said Daniel Wilkinson, a senior adviser at Climate Rights International. An Agriculture Department spokesperson said the lack of response to this letter is a ministerial oversight, and not an indication of policy intent. U.S. authorities did, however, change the agreement to authorize Jalisco Mexicos second-largest avocado producing state to start exporting the fruit in 2022. With little outside help, local anti-deforestation activists say they often find themselves waging a lonely and dangerous campaign. An activist from the village of Villa Madero in Michoacan, who asked not to be identified out of safety concerns, described how in 2021 he was abducted and beaten by kidnappers before being released. Purepecha leaders from Zirahuen, another Michoacan town, recounted how in 2019 gunmen from a local criminal group broke into their homes and abducted them after the leaders opposed the carving of parcels of community-held lands to establish avocado orchards. The avocados youre eating in the United States are bathed in blood, said one kidnapping victim, a Purepecha man who said he had a weapon pointed at his head and asked not to be identified for fear of his safety. In another episode that occurred near the Michoacan city of Zacapu, one man who said he had been threatened, Donaciano Arevalo, took the rare step of insisting on being named. After buying nearly 50 acres of land, Arevalo said he discovered that men with chain saws were cutting down trees to grow avocados on his parcel, which had been sold without his knowledge. When he failed to dislodge the squatters, he filed a complaint in 2020 with the local prosecutors office describing being threatened by armed men. I felt my heart pounding in my chest, Arevalo, 60, recounted. And I said, These guys are going to kill me or theyre going to disappear me or theyre going to hand me over to the criminals. Still, despite the killings of two local property association leaders, Arevalo pressed ahead with his case to reclaim his land. I havent stopped because its the only thing that I was going to leave for my children, he said. In Patuan, where the forest burned down last year, townspeople tried mobilizing against deforestation, setting up a 24-hour checkpoint at the towns entrance to keep out trucks with avocado plants. But staffing the checkpoint proved time consuming and the effort was abandoned after three months. The trucks, avocado plants and offers of bribes started rolling in. People come to me, said Jose Leon Aguilar, a municipal trustee who grows avocados. You know what, Mr. Commissioner, I offer you 40,000, 50,000 pesos. Let us work. All this that is happening is our fault, because we are accomplices, Aguilar continued. At the same time, he seemed to disavow doing anything illegal. I never lent myself to bad things, he said. Even as the avocado trade is tainted by environmental abuses, violence and corruption, it is likely to continue booming. A study last year estimated that the amount of land in Michoacan used for avocado crops could increase by more than 80% by 2050. Were aware that we cannot collapse the state economy, said Alejandro Mendez, Michoacans environmental secretary. But we are also aware that if we dont stop this we are going to be left with nothing. c.2023 The New York Times Company A next-generation geothermal plant backed by Google has started sending carbon-free electricity to the grid in Nevada, where the tech company operates some of its massive data centers. On Tuesday, Google and geothermal developer Fervo Energy said that electrons began flowing from the first-of-a-kind facility earlier this month. The 3.5-megawatt project, called Project Red, is now supplying power directly to the Las Vegasbased utility NV Energy. The announcement comes more than two years after Google and Fervo signed a corporate agreement to develop the enhanced geothermal plant. Unlike conventional geothermal plants, which tap into heat found close to the earths surface, Houston-based Fervo uses advanced drilling techniques to access resources that are deeper or trickier to reach than hot springs or geysers. The pilot projects completion is a meaningful step in the growing global effort to harness the earths heat. In the United States, geothermal energy supplies only about 3,700 megawatts (3.7 gigawatts) of electricity, or 0.4 percent of total U.S. electricity generation last year. But according to the U.S. Department of Energy, geothermal could provide potentially 90 gigawatts of firm and flexible power to Americas grid by 2050 assuming that enhanced systems like Fervos catch on as a widespread renewable energy option. Fervos project has a relatively small capacity: enough to power roughly 2,600 U.S. homes at once. Still, thats more electricity than any of the worlds 40-some enhanced geothermal systems have previously achieved, according to the company. Google said it inked the agreement in May 2021 as part of a larger strategy to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels. The prior year, the search-engine giant set a target of operating all of its power-hungry data centers and office campuses worldwide on 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030, a goal that requires not just purchasing renewable power but also accelerating the development of innovative energy technologies. When we began our partnership with Fervo, we knew that a first-of-a-kind project like this would require a wide range of technical and operational innovations, Michael Terrell, Googles senior director of energy and climate, wrote in a November 28 blog post. The result is a geothermal plant that can produce round-the-clock [carbon-free energy] using less land than other clean energy sources, he said, adding that Google worked closely with Fervo to overcome obstacles and prove that this technology can work. Google declined to share financial details about its agreement with Fervo or the cost of the electricity that Project Red is producing. Drilling deep for clean energy Geothermal resources are available virtually everywhere underground, representing a potentially vast supply of clean electricity and industrial heat. Yet most of those resources are too deep or technically complicated to reach cost-effectively using traditional methods. Fervo, which has raised more than $180 million since 2017, is among dozens of companies in the U.S. and worldwide that are striving to develop easier and cheaper ways of unleashing this geothermal potential. The startup uses horizontal drilling techniques and fiber-optic sensing tools gleaned from the oil and gas industry. Technicians create fractures in hard, impermeable rocks found far below the earths surface, then pump the fractures full of water and working fluids. The super-hot rocks heat those liquids, eventually producing steam that drives electric turbines. The idea is to create geothermal reservoirs in places where naturally occurring resources arent available. In recent years, enhanced geothermal projects in a handful of other countries were shut down after triggering earthquakes and rattling surrounding cities. Since then, companies have stepped up efforts to monitor and mitigate induced seismicity. Fervo said it had adopted a protocol developed by DOE to avoid causing seismic events at its project sites. The startup first began drilling in Humboldt County, Nevada in early 2022. Project Red was initially anticipated to be a 5-megawatt facility that would come online last year. At the geothermal site, two wells reach 7,700 feet deep and then connect with horizontal conduits stretching some 3,250 feet long. Fervos team flows fluid into the projects artificial reservoir, where the liquid can reach temperatures of up to 376 degrees Fahrenheit. In July, Fervo announced that it successfully completed a full-scale well test in Nevada that confirmed the commercial viability of its next-generation technology. Roughly four months later, its first power plant is officially up and running. We did what we set out to do, Sarah Jewett, Fervos vice president of strategy, said in an email to Canary Media. Through the agreement with Google, We proved our drilling technology, established Project Red as the most produced enhanced geothermal system in history, and delivered carbon-free electrons to the grid at a time when competing clean, firm energy developers have struggled to execute their projects, she said. To boost Americas geothermal capacity, the DOE has set a goal of slashing the cost of power from enhanced geothermal systems to $45 per megawatt-hour by 2035 a 90 percent drop from todays prices. Fervo currently produces power at a significantly higher cost than the DOEs target, Tim Latimer, the companys CEO, told Utility Dive in July. Still, he said the startup remains on track to hit $45/MWh in the coming years as it scales its technology. On that point, Fervo is already getting started on a 400-megawatt geothermal power plant in Beaver County, Utah called Cape Station. This summer, Fervo began drilling the first of what will become 100 geothermal wells for the project, which is expected to start delivering 24/7 electricity to the grid in 2026 and reach full-scale production in 2028, Jewett said. Google, for its part, said it will continue working with Fervo and other companies to accelerate the commercialization of advanced clean energy technologies. In September, the tech giant formed a partnership with Project InnerSpace, a nonprofit that aims to expand the use of geothermal energy worldwide. Google said it will lend its data and software capabilities to help develop a tool for mapping and assessing global geothermal resources. "For geothermal to grow over the coming decades, we need big players with global scale and breakthrough technological solutions focused on this massive clean energy resource beneath us," Jamie Beard, executive director of Project InnerSpace, said in an earlier statement about the Google partnership. Local officials gathered Nov. 13 on the front porch of the Anderson County Courthouse as County Mayor Terry Frank proclaimed the 2nd annual Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) Day in Anderson County. Franks proclamation honored the service and dedication to community by the three high school JROTC units at Oak Ridge, Clinton and Anderson County high schools. JROTC cadets from Anderson County High School's Navy JROTC unit, Clinton High School's Air Force JROTC unit, and Oak Ridge High School's Navy JROTC unit participated Nov. 13 in a ceremony honoring the 2nd annual JROTC Day in Anderson County. Attending the recognition event were cadets from Anderson County High Schools Navy JRTOC unit, Clinton High Schools Air Force JROTC unit, and Oak Ridge High Schools Navy JROTC unit. The cadets stood in formation on a blocked-off Main Street in front of the Courthouse while remarks were made. Mayor Frank, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, state Rep. John Ragan, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, and keynote speaker Jason Deel (retired, U.S. Army) spoke. Frank, McNally and Ragan presented the formal proclamations to the cadet commanders of each school JROTC unit, according to the news release. McNally said he recognizes and commends the dedication and commitment among the members of JROTC units. I was a member of the ROTC at Memphis State. Its a great way to grow as a individual and serve the community," he said. Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank, at podium, proclaimed Nov. 13, as the county's Second Annual JROTC Day. From left are Oak Ridge High School Navy JROTC Cadet Commander Berkley Armes, Clinton High School Air Force JROTC Cadet Major Isabella Riley, and Anderson County High School Navy JROTC Cadet Lt. Commander Audrey Wood. Each cadet participating in these programs is on a journey of personal growth and transformation, and the impact they make extends far beyond the confines of the drill field, Deel said. Citizenship is a cornerstone of the JROTC experience. Cadets, I want to personally thank you for leading your school and classmates in community service projects. The importance of giving back cannot be stressed enough and contributing to the greater good will lead to success in your future. Deel said his high school in Haysi, Virginia, did not have a JROTC program. So, he entered the ROTC program at East Tennessee State University under a scholarship in 1997. Much of my success is from the training and discipline I received in the ROTC program, he said. Cadets from JROTC units at each of the high schools in Anderson County participate in numerous community and school events throughout the year, from presenting the colors at school ball games or marching in local parades, to volunteering regularly at the monthly Anderson County Veterans Appreciation Breakfast. Anderson County High Schools Navy JROTC Program has 48 cadets participating this year. Clinton High Schools Air Force JROTC Program has 100 cadets, and Oak Ridge High Schools Navy JROTC Program has 94 cadets. JROTC cadets from Anderson County High School's Navy JROTC unit, Clinton High School's Air Force JROTC unit, and Oak Ridge High School's Navy JROTC unit participated Nov. 13 in a ceremony honoring the 2nd Annual JROTC Day in Anderson County. The cadets are joined by county and state officials and guest speakers. This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Anderson County honors school JROTC units Read the full story on The Auto Wire Angry Texas Man Gets His Own Stolen Camaro Back A Texas man is fuming after he claims Dallas police were passive about helping him get his stolen Chevy Camaro back after it was stolen from a downtown parking garage. Frustrated, he took matters into his own hands and claims police told him to do it, a fact the department is disputing. Learn how a woman was kept from her Chevy Nova for 13 years through government red tape and mistakes. Watching online listings like a hawk, the Camaro owner found his engine for sale, then the wheels. We can only imagine how it would feel to realize someone is parting out your beloved ride, selling it piece by piece online. Determined to get it back, he kept contacting police with details about the online seller. He told CBS News that he also went to a police station twice to speak with a detective about the case. However, he was told to leave since he was making such a fuss about detectives not being available to speak with him. Then he said detectives contacted him, directing him to meet with the sellers of his parted-out Camaro. Dallas police dispute that claim. Of course, meeting with known car thieves pretending to want to buy your ride can be dangerous. Anyway, the guy did go to where his car was being kept and snapped a photo of it inside what he thinks is a chop shop. Armed with that evidence, the Tarrant County Auto Theft Task Force seized the guys Camaro from the location in Burleson. Maybe the Camaro owner shouldve been put into contact with them from the get-go? We see cases like this all the time and our first thought is always about how many stolen car cases police must be fielding along with many other crimes. Thats not an excuse, but in some cities the theft problems are so bad police are completely overwhelmed. Youre always going to care about your own car more than the police, thats just a fact. Some police departments have more resources available to actively get your ride back while others just dont. And we get that in the latter situation its extremely frustrating. Image via Facebook Visitors can peek inside the Wingfoot Lake hangar in Suffield as Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. teams up with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve for Toys for Tots. If Santa Claus wants to give his sleigh a rest, he can always ride the blimp. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve are partnering for the 13th consecutive year in support of the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation at the Wingfoot Lake hangar in Suffield Township. Visitors will get a behind-the-scenes look when they drive through the blimp hangar Dec. 1-3 to drop off donations to a Marine representing Toys for Tots. Hours are 2 to 7 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Local history: Goodyears Great Songs of Christmas a holiday classic Toys must be new and in the original packaging to be accepted. Cash donations are also accepted. The Ohio hangar is at 841 Wingfoot Lake Road in Suffield. Toys also are being collected at Goodyear airship bases in Carson, California, and Pompano Beach, Florida. The enduring partnership between Goodyear and the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve in support of the Marines Toys for Tots Program is a source of immense pride for us, said Laura Duda, Goodyears senior vice president and chief communications officer, in a prepared statement. For the 13th consecutive year, were excited to open the doors of our three blimp bases to the public, offering a unique chance to contribute to Toys for Tots while experiencing the magic of the Goodyear blimp up close. The event is free to the public. The hangars interior will be decorated with holiday lights, ornaments and a Christmas tree. Santa Claus will wave to children. As we celebrate our 76th year of assisting children in need, we are thrilled to welcome Goodyear back for their 13th year as a National Corporate Sponsor of the Marine Toys for Tots Program, said retired Marine Col. Ted Silvester, vice president of the Marines Toys for Tots Foundation. Their community service goals continue to align with those the Marine Corps has promoted for over seven decades through our Toys for Tots Program. With their continued generous support, we will be able to fulfill the Christmas dreams of thousands of disadvantaged children who might otherwise be forgotten. For more information, visit http://www.goodyearblimp.com or call 1-800-321-2136. Santa Claus will wave to visitors during the Toys for Tots campaign inside the Wingfoot Lake hangar in Suffield. More: Christmas Wrapping, an unlikely hit for The Waitresses, spreads cheer 40 years later This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Toys for Tots drive takes place this weekend at Wingfoot Lake hangar UPDATE: The gas leak has stopped but Antioch will remain closed from 103rd to 106th for several more hours as Kansas Gas makes repairs. OP Fire said that 103rd Street should be opened and returned to normal shortly. - OVERLAND PARK, Kan. The Overland Park Fire Department said Antioch Road is shut down Tuesday from 103rd Street to I-435 due to a gas main break. The agency said 103rd St will also be shut down from Connell to Lowell Avenue. **UPDATE** Due to size of main and large gas plume, Fire requested 103 & Antioch be completely shutdown in all directions as well. PW arriving with barricades now. Overland Park Police (@OverlandPark_PD) November 28, 2023 Overland Park Police said construction crews hit the gas line and added that Antioach is completely shutdown in all directions. According to the OP Fire, Kansas Gas is on the scene working to stop the leak while the fire department monitors the air. More information is expected to be released later. OPFD on scene 104th & Antioch for gas main break. Kansas Gas on scene working to stop leak while fire dept. monitors air. Antioch shut down from 103rd to I-435 & 103rd st. shut down from Connell to Lowell Ave. More information later. pic.twitter.com/Wo66cJDxTA Overland Park Fire (@OverlandParkFD) November 28, 2023 For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. FILE -A German police officer stands guard in front of the synagogue in Frankfurt, Germany, early Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023. A group tracking antisemitism in Germany said Tuesday that it documented a drastic increase of antisemitic incidents in the country in the month after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7. The RIAS group said, it recorded 994 incidents, which is an average of 29 incidents per day and an increase of 320% compared to the same time period in 2022. The group looked at the time period from Oct. 7 to Nov. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File) BERLIN (AP) A group tracking antisemitism in Germany said Tuesday that it documented a drastic increase of antisemitic incidents in the country in the month after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7. The RIAS group said it recorded 994 incidents, which is an average of 29 incidents per day and an increase of 320% compared to the same time period in 2022. The group looked at the time period from Oct. 7 to Nov. 9. Among the 994 antisemitic incidents, there were three cases of extreme violence, 29 attacks, targeted damage to 72 properties, 32 threats, four mass mailings and 854 cases of offensive behavior. Many Jews in Germany experienced antisemitic incidents in their everyday lives and even those who weren't exposed to any antisemitic incidents reported feelings of insecurity and fear, said RIAS, which is an abbreviation in German for the Department for Research and Information on Antisemitism. RIAS said that 59 reported incidents related to homes or people's living environment. In the southwestern town of Giessen, two men forced their way into the home of an Israeli national to remove an Israeli flag hanging out of the window. Several Jews also reported that their homes were marked with Stars of David. In one of the most severe antisemitic crimes, a synagogue in Berlin was attacked on Oct. 18. There was also a rise in antisemitic and anti-Israeli propaganda at universities in Germany, with a total of 37 incidents logged by RIAS. Jewish students reported cases in which fellow students blamed them personally for Israels politics. Some of them stopped attending classes for fear of being attacked. The monitoring group said that during the time period analyzed, about one in five incidents, or 21%, was attributed to anti-Israeli activism. A further 6% can be attributed to Islamist background, 5% of cases were classified as left-wing/anti-imperialist, while the far-right and conspiracy ideology backgrounds each account for just under 2%, RIAS wrote. 1% of the cases could be attributed to the political center and less than 1% can be attributed to the Christian/fundamentalist spectrum. In 63% of all cases, the political background was unknown, the group added. While Germany's government has been one of Israel's staunchest supporters following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and the subsequent Gaza war, there were outbreaks of violence at several street protests, in Berlin especially. Jews in the German capital reported antisemitic hostility in grocery stores, on public transportation or from neighbors, and deplored that uninvolved bystanders often looked the other way instead of showing support. Berliners are called upon not to leave those affected by antisemitism alone, especially in everyday situations, said Ruth Hatlapa from RIAS. The report pointed out that since Oct 7, even more than before, Jews are once again trying to make themselves invisible to avoid being attacked. Jews are hiding signs and symbols: a cap over the kippah, the Star of David pendant under the scarf, they no longer speak Hebrew on the street, the report notes. Jewish life in Berlin has become less visible, less openly lived. AUSTIN (KXAN) The Austin Police Department released video footage Tuesday from officers body-worn cameras of a deadly SWAT incident in south Austin that left an APD officer and three other people dead. The shooting happened in a home in the 9300 block of Bernoulli Drive around 4:15 a.m. Nov. 11. APD Officer Jorge Pastore, two civilians and the suspect died. Another officer was injured but later released from the hospital, according to APD. 4 dead, including APD officer and suspect, in south Austin APD identified the two civilians who were killed in the incident as Eyman Ahmed Elnemrnassar, a 63-year-old woman, and Riad Mohamed Nassar, a 32-year-old man. The suspect was identified by APD as 35-year-old Ahmed Mohamed Nassar. The videos and 911 calls were released on APDs YouTube page. Editors Note: The below video is police officer body camera video released by the Austin Police Department on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. It contains footage that may be difficult to watch. This video was edited for time and sensitivity. It started when APD responded to a 911 call reporting a stabbing at the home at 2:49 a.m. APD said officers entered the house in order to help the victims. When they did, the suspect shot at the officers. Those officers retreated from the home and called in SWAT. SWAT arrived at the scene just after 3 a.m. An exchange of gunfire occurred when SWAT attempted to enter the home. Pastore and another officer were hit by gunfire. According to APD, the officer-involved shooting occurred at approximately 4:15 a.m. APD provides more details in Bernoulli Drive officer-involved shooting ATCEMS evacuated the injured officers to Dell Seton Medical Center where Pastore died. According to the Austin Police Association memorial website, this was the first time an Austin police officer was shot and killed on duty since 2012. It is standard practice for APD to release bodycam footage of officer-involved shootings to the public 10 business days from the shooting. Honoring APD Officer Jorge Pastore First responders and the Austin community lined the streets for Pastores funeral procession on Nov. 17. The funeral service for fallen Austin Police Officer Jorge George Pastore was held at the Germania Insurance Amphitheater at Circuit of the Americas. (KXAN Photo/Blake DeVine) PHOTOS: Austin community honors fallen APD Officer Jorge Pastore The procession traveled throughout Austin, starting in west Austin and ending at Circuit of the Americas Boulevard for a public visitation and funeral service. Pastore was awarded the Medal of Valor for displaying exceptional bravery and courageous action, risking life for serious bodily injury while in the performance of duty. In addition, a Purple Heart for his death resulting from a suspects actions in the line of duty under honorable circumstances with valor, Interim Austin Police Chief Robin Henderson said. Why the on hold recording came on during the 911 call In the 911 call from the incident that APD released, after dispatching police the operator tells the caller to hold for the ambulance. Then theres a dial tone, followed by the on hold recording for Austin-Travis County EMS stating You have reached Austin-Travis County EMS, do not hang up, please hold for the next available call-taker. An APD source familiar with the intricacies of emergency communications said that happened when the 911 operator transferred the original call to EMS. They added that all operators who answer initial incoming calls are police department operators, and when they transfer calls to fire or EMS, the original operator remains on the line throughout the duration of the call so they can then relay that information to police. As the hold message played, the operator spoke over it saying Dont hang up, were still on the line, okay? The hold message played three times, and an EMS operator picked up the call in about 25 seconds. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. Large portions of Canada, Russia, Norway, Finland and Sweden fall within the Arctic Circle's borders. So does the majority of Greenland, pictured here. MB Photography/Getty Images What is the Arctic Circle? It's a region located at the northernmost point of the world. It's also an incredibly fascinating place that spans a few countries. In this article, we'll dig into some of the most interesting facts about the Arctic Circle. An Overview of the Arctic Circle We all depend on sunlight, but unless you live at the equator, you won't get the same amount of it every day. Like all the planets in this solar system, Earth rotates around an axis, an imaginary line between its North and South poles. At the same time, it orbits the sun, finishing a new lap every 365.25 days. That cosmic ballet is an intricate dance. Relative to its pathway around the sun, Earth's axis has a 23.5-degree angle tilt. If it weren't for that helpful tilt, seasons as we know them wouldn't exist. The skewed axis is also responsible for one of the world's most astonishing places: The Arctic Circle. Geographers define the circle as everything at or above 66 degrees and 34 minutes north latitude. (Put simply that means the exact dividing line falls between the 66th and 67th parallels in Earth's Northern Hemisphere.) Strange hours are a characteristic of the region. Throughout this area, the center of the sun never climbs above the horizon during the winter solstice the shortest day of the year. Here, the skies can be dark at high noon or sunny at midnight. Yet life persists. The Arctic Circle encompasses 4 percent of the global surface. And for hundreds of thousands of people, it's also home sweet home. The exact dividing line for the Arctic circle falls between the 66th and 67th parallels in Earth's Northern Hemisphere. Cburnett/Wikimedia Commons (CC by XYZ), 1. Eight Countries Own Land in the Arctic Circle Jetting into the Arctic Ocean, Alaska's Point Barrow is the northernmost tip of the United States. Of course, Alaska's not the only place that penetrates the Arctic Circle. Large portions of Canada, Russia, Norway, Finland and Sweden also fall within the Arctic Circle's borders. So does the majority of Greenland, a territory held by the Kingdom of Denmark. Last, the circle splits Grimsey Island an Icelandic holding. 2. It's Home to Arctic Foxes You can find the Arctic fox throughout the region. They are nomadic and travel great distances, and their thick fur keeps them toasty in freezing temperatures. Because of their white fur, it's harder for polar bears and wolves to spot them. 3. Murmansk, Russia, Is the Biggest City Around 295,000 people live in Murmansk, a port city founded in 1916 at the height of World War I. One of its Soviet-era landmarks, the 236-foot (72-meter) Arktika Hotel, is the tallest building north of the Arctic Circle. The region's second-largest city is Russian, too. Norilsk, a community of some 179,554 souls, is famous for its mining operations and the historic Nord Kamal Mosque. Outside of Russia, the Arctic Circle's most populous municipality is Troms, Norway, which boasts the world's northernmost university. The Norwegian city is also one of the best places to watch the Northern Lights, aka auroras. 4. There's an Arctic Council In 1996, the Ottawa Declaration established the Arctic Council to decide on matters about the region. The Arctic States are all part of the forum. "The Council focuses its work on matters related to sustainable development, the environmental protection; its mandate explicitly excludes military security," according to the U.S. Department of State. 5. The Arctic Circle Doesn't Plunge Into Total Darkness Even when the sun's out of view, the twilight it produces can still illuminate the skies. And guess what? Many communities above the Arctic Circle receive plenty of twilight in the darkest stretch of the year. Consider Utqiagvik, a city in far north Alaska. For 65 days each winter, the sun doesn't rise there. Yet during this same period, Utqiagvik gets three to six hours of daily twilight. But maybe that's not good enough for you. Maybe you're an Arctic tourist who'd like to experience twilight-free, star-studded darkness for days on end. (Hey, we're not judging.) That's a phenomenon called "astronomical polar night," which takes place at latitudes higher than 88 degrees 33 minutes north, far above cities like Utqiagvik or any human settlements for that matter. Where it occurs, the astronomical polar night lasts for roughly 11 weeks, not half the year as some sources claim. 6. The Sun Appears for Months Santa Claus has ample time to get nice and tan. At the North Pole, the sun rises on the spring equinox in March. Then it lingers in the sky without setting until September's autumn equinox comes along. Between those dates, the big old star reaches its highest point in the polar sky on the summer solstice every June. Because of its penchant for extended daylight, the Arctic Circle has earned the nickname "The Land of the Midnight Sun." That said, the sun hangs around for longer stints at high latitudes so not everyone inside the circle gets to enjoy a full six months of sunshine. Over in Troms, the "Midnight Sun" period goes on for just two months. On Jan. 1, 2011, Arctic communities experienced a rare solar eclipse (albeit, a partial one). Due to the sun's position, onlookers in Troms saw it unfold at 11:30 p.m. local time. 7. The Antarctic Circle Is Way Colder Textbooks like to say the Arctic is an ocean surrounded by continents, while the Antarctic is a continent surrounded by an ocean. Here's something you might not realize about the arrangement. All that seawater under the North Pole moderates the climate to some extent. Yet the South Pole doesn't have this luxury. As a result, the average winter temperature down there is a wicked minus 76 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 60 degrees Celsius). By comparison, the North Pole's mean winter temperature of minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 40 degrees Celsius) feels downright balmy. Just as there's an Arctic Circle, the Antarctic has a circle of its own. This begins at around 66.5 degrees south of the equator. Unlike its northern counterpart, the Antarctic Circle doesn't have any permanent human settlements. (Research stations don't count.) 8. You Can Visit the Arctic Circle Centre Located in Storforshei, Norway, the Arctic Circle Centre is a tourist stop with amazing views. There's also a gift shop and a cafe, making it a great place to stop if you need a break. It's not open year-round. 9. The Arctic Circle Is Shrinking Nothing lasts forever. Slowly but surely, Earth's axial tilt is changing and with it, the Arctic Circle. Every 40,000 years or so, this crucial tilt shifts from an angle of 22.1 degrees to a sharper 24.5-degree incline. Right now, we're in the middle of one such cycle. While that's going on, the boundary line that defines the Arctic Circle retreats about 46 to 49 feet (14 to 15 meters) northward per year. Remember Grimsey Island, the Icelandic outcrop we mentioned? Well, scientists project that the Arctic Circle will leave the island behind by about the year 2050. Locals are using a concrete ball weighing about 8.9 tons (8.16 metric tons) to mark its progress. Year by year, the sphere has moved to keep pace with the Arctic's receding circle. Now That's Interesting Twilight comes in three categories: civil, nautical and astronomical twilight. Respectively, these occur when the sun's geometric midpoint is 6, 12 and 18 degrees below the horizon. Of the trio, astronomical twilight is by far the dimmest. Original article: What Is the Arctic Circle? 9 Stone-cold Facts About the Region Copyright 2023 HowStuffWorks, a division of InfoSpace Holdings, LLC, a System1 Company LITTLE ROCK, Ark. Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin issued a statement warning Arkansans to be aware of potential scams before making donations on Giving Tuesday. Giving Tuesday is a movement that allows people to come together to support charities and causes around the world. In his statement, Griffin warned that scammers could use that as an opportunity to scam people out of their money. Arkansans should be wary of such scams when considering where to donate money, Griffin said. My hope is that we see an abundance of support for great causes today, and that all of our giving goes to legitimate organizations that are working to make a positive difference in peoples lives. Donate to the Arkansas Foodbank Giving Tuesday telethon Griffin provided tips for anyone making a donation to prevent being scammed: Consumers should search the Arkansas Charities Database for more information on currently registered charities in Arkansas and to avoid charity fraud. Watch out for similar but different organization names. Scammers use this tactic to steal consumers donations. Do not give out financial or personal information over the phone or through email to an unknown entity. Consumers should initiate the contact after doing their own research. There are many ways to show generosity on the GivingTuesday website other than donating money. Ask questions before giving anything. Donating should come with the comfort that the donation supports a trustworthy organization or activity. High-pressure demands or pleas for immediate giving should be avoided, as legitimate charities will not rush a donation. Ask for written information to be mailed or emailed to you. A legitimate charity will send information that provides the organizations mission, how the donation is used and proof that a contribution is tax deductible. Never send cash. Make donations by check or credit card for security and tax records. Arkansas Foodbank working to combat food insecurity For more information on fraud prevention other consumer-related issues or to file a consumer complaint, visit ArkansasAG.gov. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK. HELENA-WEST HELENA, Ark. One person was severely burned and two people were injured after an explosion at Hoffinger Industries in West Helena, Arkansas Tuesday morning. According to law enforcement sources, the explosion started at the manufacturer of Doughboy above-ground swimming pools when an employee was filling up a propane tank. Man allegedly sets fire at apartment with girlfriend, children inside The employee was then airlifted to the hospital in critical condition. There was a shed of some sort where they refuel the propane tanks for the forklifts and one forklift was backed in and burned just badly just down to the point of metal it seems like and there was a forklift parked in front of that that had been scorched really badly as well, said James Valley, Chief of Staff for the City of Helena-West Helena, Arkansas. Valley says Helena-West Helena Firefighters quickly contained the propane fire and paramedics treated the victims while the investigation began into what caused the explosion. I-40 bridge into Memphis closed for investigation My understanding from what I gathered while I was out there with the Fire Department people was that these three men were going to refill the forklift tanks and something malfunctioned and one of the tanks blew and it caused an immediate fire, Valley said. Hoffinger Industries and Doughboy Pools have been part of the communitys fabric for more than 60 years and are major employers. Valley says the incident has impacted many lives. The Mayor did this morning early expressed a request for people to pray for everybody impacted by this, Valley said. The fire department says they are not finished with their official report on the explosion. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. The U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force and Pearl River County Sheriffs Office captured a Virginia man wanted for allegedly shooting a man last July. James Bearrie Hylton, 30, was arrested at a home on Laser Lane in Carriere on Tuesday morning. According to a media release from the U.S. Marshals Service, Hylton was believed to be a gang member and considered to be a violent, armed and dangerous person. He was wanted in Virginia for malicious wounding, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling. Previously convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm, Hylton also was wanted by the U.S. Marshals for violating federal probation in North Carolina. Hylton was taken into custody without incident, after being told to exit the Laser Lane residence. He provided false identification, but was arrested once his identity was confirmed. Based on the .45 caliber firearm and 229 grams of methamphetamine found on the premises, additional charges are pending. The arrest resulted from a joint investigation between the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force Gulfport and Hattiesburg offices, the Pearl River County Sheriffs Office, the U.S. Marshals Middle District of Louisiana - New Orleans, the Middle District of North Carolina - Greensboro, and the Western District of Virginia - Roanoke. Without the assistance of everyone involved in the apprehension of Hylton, we wouldnt have been able to take this violent fugitive off the streets as quickly or efficiently as we did, said Senior Inspector Jeremy Stilwell. When we put our resources together at the local, state and Federal levels, we are able to accomplish great things together. About 100 million Americans are expected to face freezing temperatures Tuesday evening into Wednesday, as a cold front settles in on the East Coast this week. The National Weather Service (NWS) is warning that high temperatures are expected to be 10 to 20 degrees below average Tuesday from the Midwest, Great Lakes and Ohio Valley regions into the East Coast and across southern Texas to Florida. AccuWeather is reporting that near New York City, temperatures are expected to dip into the 20s for the first time this season. Washington, D.C., and Atlanta will get their first below-freezing temperatures Wednesday morning as well. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. The NWS has issued several freeze watches, including for portions of southeast Georgia and southeast South Carolina, from Tuesday evening to Wednesday morning, when temperatures are expected to fall to a low of 26 degrees. The NWS issued a freeze watch for portions of southeast Alabama, Big Bend and Panhandle Florida and south central and southwest Georgia, from late Tuesday night through Wednesday morning. Temperatures will reach a low of 29 degrees. The NWS issued a freeze watch in coastal parts of North and South Carolina, from Tuesday evening through Wednesday morning, with lows reaching 28 degrees. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The suspected vandal was held after police trawled through CCTV footage A 23-year-old man has been arrested after at least 60 vehicles were scratched or damaged in one night. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said the vehicles were vandalised on the evening of 21 November in the Scholes and Ince areas of Wigan. GMP said "it is believed that up to 60 vehicles were scratched or otherwise damaged" with "potentially more having gone unnoticed". The arrested man was held on suspicion of criminal damage. Police said he was arrested on Merseyside on Sunday after police trawled through CCTV footage. Insp Michael Crosthwaite said: "Criminal damage on a scale like this is incredibly concerning, and I know that residents will have been worrying about the safety of their property." Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, X and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk Hundreds of nurses at Ascension Via Christi St. Francis and St. Joseph in Wichita will not be allowed to return to work for four days after a planned one-day strike for the second time this year. Last week, the National Nurses United, the union representing Ascension nurses in Wichita, announced a one-day strike for Wednesday Dec. 6. It is scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. Dec. 6 and end at 7 a.m. Dec. 7, the union told Ascension. This marks the second one-day strike this year and comes amid the first contract negotiations at those hospitals after nurses voted to unionize. Nurses contend they are protesting unsafe working conditions that management has failed to remedy, according to a union news release. Management is floating nurses all over the hospital without regard to their competencies or clinical specialties, Marvin Ruckle, a nurse in the NICU at St. Joseph Hospital, said in a news release. Before we unionized, a neonatal ICU nurse would be floated to work in the adult psychiatric unit, which is completely outside that RNs area of expertise. We want to limit these unsafe floating practices and ensure that nurses are only floated to units where they have current competencies to perform the job well. On Tuesday, Ascension said nurses who participate in the one-day strike next week will not be allowed to return and will temporarily be replaced by staffing agency contracted nurses. Our hospitals are well prepared to remain open and care for our patients during this short-term strike, Ascension said. In order to fulfill our commitment to uninterrupted quality care for our patients, we have contracted with a staffing agency that specializes in work stoppage events and will provide us access to a full complement of highly skilled and credentialed registered nurses. Nurses who choose to work on Dec. 6 will not be replaced. Nurses who strike will be allowed to return to their scheduled shifts beginning the morning of Dec. 10. Any registered nurses who work the day of the strike will also work their regularly scheduled shifts during the contractual replacement period, Ascension said. Nurses were not allowed to return to work for three days the first time they went on a one-day strike in June 2023, The Eagle previously reported. About 1,600 nurses represented by the union will go on strike on Dec. 6. That number includes 900 nurses at the Wichita facilities and 700 at Ascension Seton Medical Center in Austin, Texas, according to the union. Ascension, a Catholic, not-for-profit health care system, is one of the largest health care systems in the country, with roughly 139,000 employees and hospitals in about 19 states. The company had more than $1 billion in cash in the fiscal year ending June 30. Mark Butler, the Australian health minister, says vaping has created 'a whole new generation of nicotine dependency' - Sandra Sanders/Reuters Australia will ban the import of disposable e-cigarettes next year under a plan to become the first country to make all vaping illegal without a prescription. Mark Butler, the Australian health minister, has resisted calls to follow New Zealand (before its reversal) and Britain in phasing out all cigarette sales but has vowed to tackle vaping, which he blames for creating a whole new generation of nicotine dependency. It has been illegal since 2021 for any Australian to purchase or import vapes containing nicotine without a doctors prescription, but that has only fuelled a dangerous black market while failing to stop young people taking up the smoking habit. Vaping was sold to governments and communities around the world as a therapeutic product to help long-term smokers quit, Mr Butler said on Tuesday. It was not sold as a recreational product, especially not one targeted to our kids, but that is what it has become. Additional laws to be introduced next year will limit flavours, as well as forcing companies to make packaging appear pharmaceutical rather than include colourful marketing. Bans on advertising and limits on nicotine concentration will also be enforced. Britain exploring new duty on vapes The impact of the tougher laws, the first phase of which will begin on Jan 1, is expected to be closely watched by policymakers in Britain as Rishi Sunaks administration faces pressure to find ways to prevent young Britons vaping. Government documents released last week in Britain confirmed that ministers are exploring a new duty on vapes as part of legislation for a phased ban on cigarette sales. In the UK, vape use was highest in people aged 16 to 24 years in 2022 with 15.5 per cent vaping last year, according to the Office for National Statistics. In Australia, the Cancer Council found that 14 per cent of children as young as 14 are vapers. The chief of Australias Border Force warned the countrys government earlier this year that officials would find it difficult to detect vaping products which mostly come from China at airports and shipping docks. Michael Outram said that his team was currently only picking up a quarter of illicit drugs arriving on Australian shores. Critics of the ban have also said it could further fuel a black market by making products more lucrative, amid police fears that organised crime groups are in the middle of a turf war for control of cigarette and vaping supplies. Ruthless gangs intimidating retailers In the state of Victoria, police have linked 30 cases of firebombing and gang murders this year to Australias illicit tobacco and vape black market. Detectives are also examining links between the arson attacks and the murder of one of Australias most notorious gangsters, Mohammed Afghan Ali Akbar Keshtiar, in a Melbourne street. Theo Foukkare, the chief executive of the Australian Association of Convenience Stores, warned his countrys government last month that ruthless gangs were using standover tactics to intimidate retailers. Legitimate businesses are being targeted for selling legal tobacco on the turf of crime gangs that peddle illegal tobacco and vapes to anyone who will buy them, including children, Mr Foukkare wrote in a letter to Clare ONeil, the Australian home affairs minister. Mr Butler said that the Australian government was aware of the limitations of policing the new laws. Like all other illegal drugs, there will no doubt be some vapes that get into the country, he said. But they will no longer be easy for schoolchildren, our most vulnerable and impressionable members of society, to get their hands on them. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer. A person walks their dog Monday, November 27, 2023, past the multi-unit white apartment house where Jason Eaton, 48, was staying when he allegedly shot three college students of Palestinian descent passing by in what is being investigated as a possible hate crime. Eaton entered a not guilty plea to attempted murder Monday in connection with the weekend shooting in the residential neighborhood next to the University of Vermont campus. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali) BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) Far away from the war in Gaza, three Palestinian college students were enjoying their Thanksgiving break in Vermont, celebrating not just the holiday but a pair of family birthdays. If youre in college, who wants to go to an 8-year-olds birthday party? But these three guys did, said Rich Price, who hosted his nephew and two friends for the long weekend. Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmad, all age 20, were out for a walk Saturday after the party for Prices twin sons when a man approached them. Shooting them without saying a word, he left them seriously injured and shattered their families sense that they would be safer in the U.S. than in the war-torn region where they grew up. Price, Awartanis uncle, said people often ask him if hes worried about his sister and her family in the occupied West Bank. And the reality is, as difficult as their life is, they are surrounded by an incredible sense of community, Price said. And tragic irony is not even the right phrase, but to have them come stay with me for Thanksgiving and have something like this happen speaks to the level of civic vitriol, speaks to the level of hatred that exists in some corners of this country. It speaks to a sickness of gun violence that exists in this country. Elizabeth Price, Awartanis mother, said she and her husband decided after the Israel-Hamas war began in October that their son should stay in the U.S. rather than return home for the holidays. Now her son is unlikely to ever walk again, she said. My husband is so bitter, Elizabeth Price told NPR on Monday. He thought my son would be safe in Burlington. One of the students has been released from the hospital, according to media reports, while one faces a long recovery because of a spinal injury. Keeping her son safe as a Palestinian American is something Price has grappled with since his birth in San Francisco in 2003. In an audio essay recorded that year for PRX, she described a trip to the occupied West Bank with 6-week-old Hisham, who was not allowed to return home without permission from the Israeli army. My sons dual nationality will be a primer in freedom and its loss, she wrote. Although I may not be able to protect my son from the worst of the world, at least I know that it will be through his suffering as a Palestinian that he will understand the true value of his freedom as an American. Awartani and the two other shooting victims had been friends since first grade at Ramallah Friends School, a private school in the West Bank. Rania Maayeh, who leads the school, called them remarkable, distinguished students. Awartani is studying mathematics and archaeology at Brown University; Abdalhamid is a pre-med student at Haverford College in Pennsylvania; and Ali Ahmad is studying mathematics and IT at Trinity College in Connecticut. Awartani and Abdalhamid are U.S. citizens while Ali Ahmad is studying on a student visa, Maayeh said. They are all just very, very close friends, said Abdalhamids uncle, Radi Tamimi, at a news conference Monday in Burlington. His nephew grew up in the West Bank and we always thought that that could be more of a risk in terms of his safety and sending him here would be a right decision. We feel somehow betrayed in that decision here and were just trying to come to terms with everything, he said. The suspected gunman, Jason J. Eaton, 48, was arrested Sunday at his apartment, where he answered the door with his hands raised and told federal agents he had been waiting for them. Not guilty pleas were entered on his behalf on Monday and he was held without bail on three counts of attempted murder. Eaton had recently lost his job. Hed worked for less than a year for California-based CUSO Financial and his employment ended on Nov. 8, said Jeff Eller, company spokesperson. We are horrified by the shooting and are cooperating with law enforcement as they investigate, he said in a statement. Eaton moved to Burlington over the summer from Syracuse, New York, and legally purchased the gun used in the shooting, Murad told reporters. Eaton came to the door holding his hands, palms up, and told the officers hed been waiting for them. According to a police affidavit, federal agents found the gun in Eatons apartment on Sunday. The U.S. Department of Justice, along with Vermont authorities, are still investigating whether the shooting on a residential street close to the University of Vermont was a hate crime. The victims were speaking in a mix of English and Arabic and two of them were also wearing the black-and-white Palestinian keffiyeh scarves when they were shot, Police Chief Jon Murad said. Threats against Jewish, Muslim and Arab communities have increased across the U.S. since the Israel-Hamas war began. At a vigil Monday night at Brown University, a professor read a statement from Awartani in which he expressed appreciation for the community's love and support but said, I am but one casualty in a much wider conflict. Had I been shot in the West Bank, where I grew up, the medical services which saved my life here would have likely been withheld by the Israeli army. The soldier who would have shot me would go home and never be convicted," he said, according to NBC News. Robert Leikind, New England regional director for the American Jewish Committee, called for unity and finding common ground between the Jewish and Arab communities, saying in a statement Monday night that hate should not beget more hate. He said a vigil after Eatons arrest featured anti-Israel and antisemitic statements from some participants. He didnt name the location. The anger is understandable. The finger-pointing is not, he said. Demonstrations have been widespread and tensions in the U.S. have escalated as the death toll rises in the Israel-Hamas war. A fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas was set to continue for two more days past Monday as 11 more hostages were handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza under what was originally a four-day truce deal. Vermonts largest city, with a population of over 44,000, has grappled with a rise in gun violence. A couple of shootings annually jumped to 26 last year, Murad said. Saturday's shooting brings the city to about 15 so far this year, he said. ______ This story has been updated to correct the last name of the New England regional director for the American Jewish Committee, which was misspelled in a earlier version. His name is Robert Leikind, not Robert Leikend. _____ Associated Press writers Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; David Sharp in Portland, Maine, and Michael Casey in Boston contributed to this report. Ramer reported from Concord, New Hampshire. [Source] Awkwafina is optimistic about a sequel to "Shang-Chi," sharing in a recent interview that writer and director Destin Daniel Cretton may have "something exciting" in store for it. About her role: Awkwafina, whose real name is Nora Lum, 35, played Katy Chen in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. She is the titular characters (Shaun's/Shang-Chi's) best friend and was instrumental in helping save his mothers mystical home of Ta Lo from the Dweller-in-Darkness. Awkwafinas role will be important for the story's continuity as she was present in the film's post-credit scene. In it, they meet Wong (Benedict Wong), Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) to talk about Shang-Chis (Simu Liu) rings. What shes saying: In a new interview with Screen Rant, Awkwafina praised Cretton, 45, for his work, saying she is thrilled for what the director brings to Shang-Chi 2. Trending on NextShark: S. Korean lawmaker proposes imposing fines on video game hackers If it does happen, I'm just really excited to see where Katy will go, she said. I think Destin is such an amazing filmmaker, working with him was incredible on the first 'Shang-Chi.' I really think that he might have something exciting, so I'm very excited for that. What we know so far: Little is known about the status of Shang-Chi 2, but hints have been around for months. In July, Liu said it may not be released until after an "Avengers" film, which could potentially be The Kang Dynasty in 2026 or Secret Wars in 2027. Cretton, who was previously tapped to direct "The Kang Dynasty," recently left the project to focus on Shang-Chi 2. Aside from the highly anticipated sequel, he will concentrate on the Marvel TV series Wonder Man." Trending on NextShark: China hails 'good old friend' Henry Kissinger, who visited country over 100 times It remains to be seen who will take over the helm for the next Avengers movie. Among the names being thrown in the mix include Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, who both directed several episodes in the second season of "Loki." Trending on NextShark: Man wanted for attempted burglaries of Vietnamese temples in San Diego Download the NextShark App: Want to keep up to date on Asian American News? Download the NextShark App today! The rise of generative AI opens up a massive new market for the large cloud providers, but it's also a bit of a reset. Unlike the rise of containers, for example, generative AI is an entirely new market. Some players who have long lagged behind in the overall cloud market -- like Google -- are explicitly betting on this to change their fortunes. But for AWS, that means it's now in a position where it potentially has to defend its lead, something the company isn't used to and something that became quite clear in AWS CEO Adam Selipsky's re:Invent keynote today. AWS used to make the occasional fun of Oracle during its early keynotes. Today, during what was a relatively sedate affair by AWS re:Invent keynote standards, there were numerous references to Google and Microsoft (and its close relationship with OpenAI) -- and it felt a lot like Selipsky was punching down and taking some cheap shots at the expense of his competitors. That's not something a company does when it feels like it is on top of its game. When talking about the AWS data center footprint for example, Selipsky noted -- as he has done in previous keynotes -- that AWS ensures that its availability zones are geographically distributed -- not just three zones in the same data center. He then specifically explained that if AWS had a setup like that in France and a fire broke out there, the zone would've been down. At best, that was a thinly veiled reference to Google's multi-week outage in its Paris data center earlier this year. AWS, of course, has also had its share of outages -- just like every other cloud provider. Though to be fair, Google's outage was excessive. Image Credits: Frederic Lardinois/TechCrunch "Others would have you think that all clouds are the same, but that's just not true," he said. "I mean, imagine if you had a region supported by a single data center, or if you thought your provider had multiple AZs in France, for example, and you thought were resilient, but it turned out that they are actually in the same location. I mean, one incident like a water leak followed by a fire could take down an entire region for days." Next, in launching its new Graviton chips, Selipsky also stressed that "we're now on our fourth generation in just five years. Other cloud providers have not even delivered on their first server processors yet." But it is generative AI where Amazon is most vulnerable right now. For the first time in a long time, it doesn't have a first-mover advantage in the cloud. Unsurprisingly, the recent OpenAI drama provided plenty of material for AWS' CEO to take swipes at the competition, including the news that Microsoft briefly stopped its employees from using OpenAI's ChatGPT because of security concerns. "You won't actually use any of this in a serious way if it isn't secure and private," Selipsky said. "When I think about it, I can't conceive of other cloud providers trying to offer general AI services or customers using gen AI applications. They're not confident in their models and that their data is secure." And while Microsoft Azure is offering access to dozens of proprietary and open source models, too, Selipsky tried to capitalize on the fact that the company is so closely linked with OpenAI: "Things are moving so fast -- and in that type of environment, the ability to adapt is the most valuable capability that you can have. There is not going to be one model to rule them all. And there's certainly not going to be one company providing the models that everybody uses. So you don't want a cloud provider who's beholden primarily to one model provider." Image Credits: Frederic Lardinois/TechCrunch During the keynote, Selipsky brought Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei out onstage to talk about the close partnership between the two companies and noted how AWS users will get exclusive early access to some features in Anthropic's Claude model. AWS also plans to invest up to $4 billion in Anthropic, making that look a bit like the relationship between Microsoft and OpenAI. But I guess that depends on your perspective. Talking about CodeWhisperer, Amazon's competitor to GitHub's significantly more successful Copilot, AWS' CEO noted that "other providers who have launched tools, they've launched them without data privacy and security capabilities that virtually every enterprise requires." I think AWS' competitors would take issue with that. Thing is, AI is causing businesses to rethink their cloud strategies. Microsoft's close relationship to OpenAI gave it an early advantage. Google has long had a reputation in the world of AI and machine learning in general. With tools like SageMaker, Bedrock and now its Q assistant, AWS is arguably on equal footing, but it's not in its natural element -- and its rhetoric shows that. Read more about AWS re:Invent 2023 on TechCrunch BAKU (Reuters) - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a call on Monday that recent American actions in support of Armenia had jeopardised U.S.-Azerbaijani ties, Baku said on Tuesday. The two countries had enjoyed relatively cordial relations until Azerbaijani forces recaptured the largely ethnic Armenian-populated breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh in a lightning offensive in September. The United States provided diplomatic backing for Armenia, which had supported Karabakh's separatist authorities, and U.S. officials visited Yerevan in the days after the offensive. In a statement, Aliyev's office said Aliyev had told Blinken that "the latest statements and actions taken by the U.S. have seriously damaged Azerbaijan-U.S. relations". It said Baku had taken note of comments by Assistant Secretary of State James O'Brien during a congressional hearing that there was "no chance of business as usual" with Azerbaijan after the offensive in Karabakh. However, it added that Aliyev and Blinken had agreed, in the interest of normalising ties, that O'Brien would visit Baku, and Washington would lift a ban on senior Azerbaijani officials visiting the U.S. Baku's military victory in Karabakh prompted the exodus of almost all the territory's 120,000 ethnic Armenians. The United States and other Western countries have pledged aid to help Armenia cope with the influx. Armenia, a traditional ally of Russia, has in recent months distanced itself from Moscow and sought closer ties with the West. (Reporting by Nailia Bagirova in Baku; Writing by Felix Light in Tbilisi; Editing by Kevin Liffey) The B61-12 nuclear bomb is now officially in the U.S. stockpile and approved for employment from the B-2A Spirit stealth bomber. The B61-12 nuclear bomb is now formally in the U.S. stockpile and cleared for operational use on the B-2A Spirit stealth bomber . It's the first U.S. combat aircraft cleared to employ the advanced B61 variant operationally. U.S. Air Force F-35A Joint Strike Fighters , F-15E Strike Eagles , and F-16C/D Vipers, as well as the service's future B-21A Raider stealth bombers , are also in the process of being certified to employ the B61-12. Some NATO F-35s and F-16s, as well as Germany's swing-wing Tornado combat jets , are also set to be cleared to employ these weapons as part of the alliance's nuclear sharing arrangements . An unarmed B61-12 test article is seen here on a trailer during a US Air Force test of the weapon on the B-2A in 2023. USAF The updates about the B61-12, among other items of interest, are contained in a new unclassified Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan (SSMP) report for the 2024 Fiscal Year that the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) released earlier today . NNSA, part of the Department of Energy, oversees America's nuclear stockpile in coordination with the U.S. military. A table showing all nuclear weapons currently in U.S. service and their approved delivery platforms, including the B61-12 nuclear bomb, which is now authorized for use on the B-2. NNSA The B61 series are some of the longest-serving nuclear weapons in the U.S. stockpile. The B61-12 has been slated to eventually supplant existing B61-3, -4, and -7 variants, but more on that later. The first production B61-12 was completed in late 2021 and the weapons began being delivered to the U.S. military in 2022. The B61-12 program, which is technically a life-extension effort, is currently slated to wrap up in Fiscal Year 2025. The B61-12 is not an entirely new weapon, and leverages components from multiple existing B61 types while also combining them with various new and improved features. The most significant new capability found on the B61-12, each of which famously costs more than its literal weight in gold , is its precision guidance package. However, this functionality will not be usable when the weapon is employed from F-16s belonging to the Air Force and select NATO member countries, as well as German Tornados. You can read more about all this here . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhs4VQ9dN3s The B61-12, which also has small rockets at the rear of the body that spin the bomb to help stabilize it, is a so-called dial-a-yield bomb that can be set to detonate with various degrees of explosive force. Its reported maximum yield setting is 50 kilotons . This is similar, if not identical to what is understood to be the highest yield setting on the B61-4 (45-50 kilotons, depending on the source ). Flight testing of the B61-12 on the B-2, as well as other aircraft , has been ongoing for years now. Back in 2018, when the bomb was still in development, NNSA announced it had completed an initial round of end-to-end qualification flight tests on the B-2. In June of that year, a B-2 conducted another test demonstrating the ability of the bomber to employ the weapon using the Radar Aided Targeting System (RATS). "RATS improves weapon guidance accuracy in a Global Positioning System-degraded environment," the Air Force said at the time . "The integration of RATS allows the B-2 to fully employ the B-61 mod 12 nuclear bomb," Northrop Grumman, the B-2's manufacturer, which remains responsible for the continued modernization and sustainment of the bombers , said in a subsequent press release in August 2022. "RATS is the key element of the nuclear modernization, as GPS may not be available during a bomber task force mission." A B-2A bomber at Northrop Grumman's facility within the US Air Force's Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. USAF The timeline for when the B61-12 will be approved for use with the F-35, F-15, F-16, or any NATO aircraft is unclear. NNSA and the U.S. Air Force have previously announced initial certification of the B61-12 on the F-15E and the F-35A . The Royal Netherlands Air Force publicly announced just earlier this month that it had reached a similar milestone with its F-35As. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1JGe1jj9u0 NNSA's new SSMP report says the B-2's nuclear armament options also still include the B61-7, B61-11, and B83-1 nuclear bombs. The Spirit is actually currently the only aircraft approved to employ any of these bombs. The B61-7 is a higher-yield variant of the B61 family, which can reportedly be set to detonate with a force of up to 400 kilotons . The B61-11 is a highly specialized deep-penetrating version with a maximum yield similar, if not the same as the B61-7. You can read more about the entire B61 family in detail in this past War Zone feature. The B83-1 is a completely different design with a megaton-class maximum yield. The B61-11 and B83-1 are primarily intended to be utilized against deeply buried and otherwise hardened high-value targets, such as strategic command and control bunkers and missile silos. President Barack Obama's administration had moved to retire the B83-1 completely, a decision that was then reversed under President Donald Trump. An inert B83 nuclear bomb. DOD President Joe Biden's "2022 Nuclear Posture Review directed the retirement of the B83-1" again, but "specific details of the B83-1 retirement and dismantlement plan remain classified," according to NNSA's latest SSMP report. There had previously been discussion about the possibility of the B61-12 replacing the B61-11 and the B83-1 through its ability to focus the full brunt of its lower-yield payload more precisely thanks to its guidance kit and spin stabilization. However, that idea now looks to have given way to a new version of the B61 with all the new and improved features of the B61-12, but a maximum yield equivalent to that of the B61-7. The Pentagon announced its intention to develop this B61 variant, tentatively dubbed the B61-13 , last month. "The B61-13 will provide the President with additional options against certain harder and large-area military targets, even while the Department works to retire legacy systems such as the B83-1 and the B61-7," an official fact sheet explained. No mention was made of any plans to retire the B61-11. https://twitter.com/Casillic/status/1470605862406348805 The B61-13 plan, which still requires approval from Congress , would also see the expected stockpile of B61-12s shrink to some degree. The balance would, instead, be made up of some number of higher-yield -13 versions. The total numbers of B61-12s and B61-13s the U.S. military wants to acquire under this new course of action are classified. You can read more about what is known about the B61-13 and the reasoning behind its proposed development and acquisition here . All of this will also have impacts on what nuclear bombs are available in the future for the Air Force's forthcoming B-21A bombers. The Raiders will likely be able to employ the same slate of nuclear bombs, as long as they're still in the stockpile, as the B-2A. The B61-13 is also expected to be for U.S. military use only, unlike the B61-12. The elimination of the B83-1 and B61-7 would leave only B61-11, 12, and 13s as the only nuclear gravity bombs in the U.S. stockpile at all. It's also worth noting that the B-52H is no longer authorized to carry any nuclear gravity bombs of any type, with the understanding that it is too vulnerable to actually get to the kind of heavily defended targets against which they would be employed. Instead, the only known current and future nuclear weapon options for those bombers, which are set to keep flying at least into the 2040s with the help of new engines and other major upgrades , will be nuclear-tipped cruise missiles. The existing AGM-86B Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) will eventually be replaced by the more capable AGM-181A Long Range Stand-Off (LRSO) cruise missile. LRSO is expected to enter service sometime in the 2030s and will also be integrated onto the B-21A. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qu03xx2o_vs Altogether, what the exact mix of nuclear weapons available for employment from U.S. Air Force aircraft, as well as those belonging to select NATO partners, will be in the 2030s remains to be seen. What we do know is that the B61-12 is now officially in the U.S. stockpile and that B-2 stealth bombers can drop them in anger. Let's hope this capability is never tested in combat. Contact the author: joe@thedrive.com FILE PHOTO: Bibas Levy holds with her friend Ulus pictures of her brother Yarden who was kidnapped with his wife and 2 children in Geneva FILE PHOTO: Bibas Levy holds with her friend Ulus pictures of her brother Yarden who was kidnapped with his wife and 2 children in Geneva By Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Ten-month-old Kfir Bibas has spent more than 50 days of his young life in captivity in Gaza and, according to Israel, has been handed over by Hamas to another Palestinian militant group in a possible complication of efforts to free him. On Tuesday, members of his extended family pleaded with the Israeli government and mediators of an Israel-Hamas truce from Egypt and Qatar to help get him, his parents and brother released. Hamas infiltrators seized baby Kfir, four-year-old Ariel and their parents Yarden and Shiri after bursting into southern Israeli towns on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people and prompting an Israeli military offensive that has killed more than 15,000 people according to Gaza health authorities. Kfir is the youngest of the 240 hostages Israel says were captured. Video of the incident showed a terrified Shiri clutching the children in a blanket as they were bundled into captivity. Another clip showed Yarden with a head injury from hammer blows, Ofri Bibas, Yarden's sister, said. She told reporters the family was not to be included in the expected release of 10 hostages on Tuesday. Relatives of repatriated hostages have been informed in advance by authorities. Hamas has freed 50 Israeli women and children hostages, along with 19 foreign hostages, since Friday as part of the truce in which Israel has released 150 Palestinian prisoners and increased aid shipments into Gaza. Israel's chief military spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said in a briefing that Kfir, Ariel and their parents were being held by a Palestinian faction other than Hamas. He said Hamas bore exclusive responsibility for them. Another military spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Avichay Adraee, said the family was in the area of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Hamas has not given the locations or condition of the estimated 170 people it still holds. "The understanding that we will not, for now, get the hug we had so hoped for leaves us speechless," the Bibas' extended family said in a statement to the media. Jimmy Miller, a cousin, told Channel 12 TV: "Kfir is only 10 months old. He is a child who still doesn't even know how to say 'Mommy'. He still isn't eating solid food. He doesn't have the ability to survive there. "We in the family are not managing to function ... The family hasn't slept for a long, long time already - 51 days." Last week, Yosi Shnaider, another cousin, described the hostage family as "simple people who thought they were going to live in heaven" - a reference to Kibbutz Nir Oz, the bucolic border village from where they were seized. (Reporting by Dan Williams; Editing by Janet Lawrence) Give a gift that goes beyond wrapping paper by donating to Black nonprofit organizations for Giving Tuesday. As you dig into the last bits of Thanksgiving leftovers today, consider digging into your philanthropic bag today for Giving Tuesday. Every year, on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, nonprofit organizations take part in the global generosity movement hashtagged #GivingTuesday, encouraging those who are able to do good. A list of Black organizations to support this Giving Tuesday. (Photo: Adobe Stock) Whether you choose to donate your time, resources, or money, these organizations turn your donations into a force for good. In this season of generosity, here are nine Black nonprofit organizations not only changing lives but also reshaping the narrative of impact. Studio Museum of Harlem Founded by a diverse group of artists, community activists, and philanthropists, the Studio Museum of Harlem is a network for art inspired by Black culture and artists of African descent from all over the world. In support of its mission to amplify Black art, the museum hosts an 11-month residency program for three local, national or international artists. This Giving Tuesday, the museum is accepting donations for the construction of the first building in its history created expressly for the needs of the institution and its communities. Click here to contribute to the construction of the first Studio Museum of Harlem building. P4H Global P4H Global is an organization committed to the sustainable and long-term development of vulnerable populations. Through its various training programs, the nonprofit works to empower local leaders, teachers, and organizations across the globe to create a lasting impact in communities. With the ultimate goal of redefining the worlds perspective on aid, P4H believes donors and charity workers must move away from practices that only provide temporary relief and move towards evidence-driven aid that leads to long-term development. Currently working to connect, equip, and empower the people of Haiti, P4H Global hopes to one day extend its efforts around the world. This Giving Tuesday, P4H Global will match donations up to $1,000 made between 9 am and 9 pm today. Click here to learn more! The Jamison Women of Ailey fund In honor of Artistic Director Emerita Judith Jamison, the first Black woman to direct a major modern dance company, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater created the Jamison Women of Ailey Fund. Designed to amplify and support women choreographers, dancers, artistic collaborators and more, donations to the fund will help the theater commission more female choreographers, support a new three-year Artist-in-Residence program, and scholarships for students at the Ailey school. Click here to make a gift today! Beauty 2 the Streetz Beauty 2 the Streetz is an organization offering essential services to the unhoused of Skid Row, Las Vegas, and San Diego. Centering all its efforts on humanity, the organization led by Shirley Raines offers meals, showers, haircuts, and beauty services. In addition to helping those it serves regain a sense of confidence, the organization builds relationships and friendships within these communities rooted in compassion and equality, bringing not only beauty but humanity back to the streets. Click here to learn more about how to donate! The Hidden Genius Project Founded in 2012 by five Black male entrepreneurs and technologists, The Hidden Genius works to uplift, train and mentor young Black men to help them unlock their full potential and celebrate their genius. With STEM being the fastest-growing segment of jobs, the organization trains young men in the field of technology creation, entrepreneurship and leadership skills. From introductory workshops to intensive immersion programs, the project has served over 10,200 students. Click here to support their efforts! The Loveland Foundation Established in 2018, the Loveland Foundation works to bring opportunity and healing to people of color, especially Black women and girls. Understanding the financial barriers that can limit minority groups access to mental health support, the foundation offers a Loveland Therapy Fund, which covers four to 12 therapy sessions. Additionally, the Loveland Foundation offers professional development workshops for therapists serving Loveland Therapy Fund recipients. Click here to see how you can support their cause! The Okra Project The Okra Project is a Black trans-led mutual aid collective seeking to support Black trans people. By offering food security, housing security, safe transportation and mental health support, the collective hopes to create a safe, abundant and equitable life for Black Trans people across the United States. Click here to give a donation! Buy From a Black Woman Despite the growing number of Black women entrepreneurs, annual sales for Black-women-owned businesses comprise only one-fifth of those achieved by all women-owned businesses, largely due to a lack of awareness and support. Designed to bridge the gap for Black women business owners, the organization Buy From a Black Woman (BFABW) gives these entrepreneurs the tools and platform needed to help them succeed. In honor of Giving Tuesday and the three-year anniversary of their partnership, BFABW and the retailer H&M are encouraging shoppers to donate to the nonprofits mission. 100 Black Men of America, Inc. 100 Black Men of America is an organization that believes every Black person should have the ability to create the life theyve always wanted. With chapters across the nation, 100 Black Men of America works to enhance educational and economic opportunities for African-Americans through mentorship and community programs. Find a local chapter or donate to the national organization today! Haniyah Philogene is a multimedia storyteller and Lifestyle reporter covering all things culture. With a passion for digital media, she goes above and beyond to find new ways to tell and share stories. Never miss a beat: Get our daily stories straight to your inbox with theGrios newsletter. The post How to give back and give Black this Giving Tuesday appeared first on TheGrio. It was a license plate Kansans wanted to kill. A week after Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly faced widespread condemnation for the states new black and gold license plate, she is reversing course and putting the issue to a vote. I promised to be a bipartisan governor, and I think we can all admit I succeeded at bringing Kansans across the political aisle together in disliking this new license plate, Kelly said in a statement Tuesday. The governor rolled out the original design last week, a black line across the top and gold space with the plate numbers and to the stars at the bottom. The backlash was immediate. Republican Attorney General Kris Kobach posted on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, that the plate resembled the design used in New York. First our NY born Gov brings NY policies. Now NY plates! Kobach wrote. The plates were quickly panned by Kansans on social media for using the University of Missouri color scheme and appearing too simple. On Friday state Rep. Nick Hoheisel, a Wichita Republican, sent a letter to Kelly and Transportation Secretary Mark Burghart urging them to seek public input on the new design. There is a consensus that we can, and should, strive for a better design that resonates positively with the citizens of Kansas, distinct from the New York-style license plate proposed, Hoheisel wrote. As representatives of the people, its imperative that we consider the sentiments and concerns of Kansans, particularly when it involves something as prominent as the license plates that will adorn their vehicles for the next decade or more. License plates are more than just identifiers; they symbolize a sense of pride and belonging for the people of our state. The design was part of an effort to phase out embossed license plates that have become difficult to read as they age. In the coming weeks, the Kelly administration will release a set of license plates for Kansans to vote on. The administration said it will share details on this process, and how it will impact the planned transition away from embossed plates soon. Rishi Sunak sought to build on last weeks tax cuts with a call for more foreign investment in the UK. The decision by Nissan to build electric cars at its plant in the North East was a boost to this endeavour, the fruits of sensible interventions and decisions taken many years ago. The Prime Minister opened a Global Investment Summit of corporate bosses and financiers at Hampton Court Palace by highlighting pledges of some 30 billion in long-term investment by international companies. With an election year looming, Mr Sunak is keen to counter Labours narrative of a country on its uppers with crumbling public services to one in which the worlds biggest corporations are eager to do business. The ambition is for Britain once again to be Europes top destination for foreign capital. But that must include a hard-headed approach to the national interest and not a free-for-all. There are several laws to limit or even block investment from sources considered to be inimical to national security. China has been pushed out of the provision of new generation 5G phone technology and nuclear power finance. The potential takeover of The Telegraph by an Abu Dhabi-backed investment fund is also being scrutinised, with an announcement expected shortly on whether the regulator Ofcom should intervene. The Government seems confused, however. Lord Johnson, the investment minister, has claimed public interest concerns about this possible purchase are sentimental because traditional news sources now hold little sway. We beg to differ and point to the Prime Ministers own words about the importance of a free press. Not all investment is to be welcomed. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer. FILE - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks during a joint press conference with Venezuela's Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto in Moscow, Russia, on Nov. 16, 2023. Lavrov says he plans to travel to NATO member North Macedonia later this week to attend a conference of a top trans-Atlantic security and rights group, a trip that would mark his first visit to a NATO country since Moscow sent troops to Ukraine. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool, File) SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) The foreign ministers of the three Baltic states and of Ukraine said Tuesday they will boycott a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe being held this week in North Macedonia, in objection to the participation of Russias foreign minister. The top diplomats of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania issued a joint statement, saying they deeply regret the decision enabling the personal participation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. It will only provide Russia with yet another propaganda opportunity," they said. Lavrov said Monday that he planned to travel to North Macedonia's capital, Skopje, for the OSCE foreign ministers meeting, which would mark a rare visit to a NATO member country since Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He also has visited NATO member Turkey, which has no ban on Russian flights. In September, he was in New York to attend the U.N. General Assembly. Ukraine also said it would boycott the meeting because of Lavrov's participation, with its foreign ministry issuing a statement accusing Russia of coercing and undermining the OSCE through the abuse of the rule of consensus. "By resorting to blackmailing and open threats, the Russian Federation systematically blocked the consensus on key issues, the statement said, citing the blocking of Estonias candidacy for the chairmanship of the organization in 2024. Alexander Grushko, a Russian deputy foreign minister, told reporters on Tuesday that the Baltic nations decision to boycott the meeting doesnt mean anything for the future of the OSCE, either way. At the meeting, the Russian delegation will insist ... on the return of the OSCE to its origins, original principles, original purpose, Grushko said. Actually, it is called the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, but now there is no security or cooperation. If the OSCE wants to play at least some role, then it must return to what it was created for. And if this does not happen, it will not be in demand among the participating states, he added. He didn't comment on Ukraine's announcement that it was also boycotting the meeting. With the exception of close Moscow ally Belarus, Lavrov hasn't visited any European country since the war in Ukraine started. In March 2022, Lavrov was barred from flying to Geneva for a U.N. conference after European Union members banned Russian planes from their skies as part of sanctions against Moscow. He denounced the move as outrageous in a video address to the session, charging that the EU countries are trying to avoid a candid face-to-face dialogue or direct contacts designed to help identify political solutions to pressing international issues. The 57-nation OSCE was set up during the Cold War to help defuse tension between East and West. North Macedonia holds the organizations rotating presidency, and its foreign minister invited Lavrov to the two-day meeting starting Thursday. For the past two years we have witnessed how one OSCE participating state has actively and brutally tried to annihilate another, the Baltic foreign ministers said in their statement. Let us be very clear: Russias war of aggression and atrocities against its sovereign and peaceful neighbor Ukraine blatantly violate international law. They also accused Russia of obstructive behavior within the OSCE itself, citing Russias prevention of an OSCE presence in Ukraine and the blocking of Estonias chairmanship of the organization in 2024. Lavrovs attendance at the Skopje meeting risks legitimizing aggressor Russia as a rightful member of our community of free nations, trivializing the atrocious crimes Russia has been committing, they added. Speaking to reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels, North Macedonias foreign minister, Bujar Osmani, said he believed that he would be meeting Lavrov in Skopje. Lavrov is not coming to Skopje, in a way. Lavrov is coming to the OSCE just as he went to (the) U.N. in New York a few months ago, Osmani said. I wont be meeting him as the foreign minister of North Macedonia, but as the OSCE chairman in office. Asked what he would say to Lavrov, Osmani said: I think the Russian Federation has violated (the) commitments of OSCE principles that we have voluntarily subscribed to 50 years ago. He added: We have condemned the aggressor throughout our chairpersonship. And also we have turned (the) OSCE into a platform for political and legal accountability of the Russian Federation for its deeds in Ukraine, and we will continue to do so. And this is what I am going to tell to Mr. Lavrov as well. ___ Lorne Cook in Brussels, Samya Kullab in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece, contributed to this report. The foreign ministers of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have said that they will join Ukraine in its boycott of this weeks OSCE ministerial meeting in Skopje due to the attendance of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Source: European Pravda, citing a joint statement by Krisjanis Karins, Gabrielius Landsbergis and Margus Tsahkna, Foreign Ministers of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia Quote: "Russias war of aggression and atrocities against its sovereign and peaceful neighbour Ukraine blatantly violate international law, including the UN Charter, and constitute an attack on the OSCE and its underlying principles." Details: The ministers stressed that Sergei Lavrov's presence at the meeting risks legitimising the aggressor as a rightful member of the community of free nations, trivialising the horrific crimes Russia has been committing, and tolerating Russia's flagrant violation and contempt of the fundamental commitments and principles of the OSCE. The statement says that the OSCE was originally designed to build European security, prevent conflicts and preserve peace, and Russia, through its unlawful and brutal actions, has proved time and again that it is not a security partner to Europe. "In fact, today Europe needs security from and against Russia, rather than together with it," the ministers said. Tsakhkna said Russia would use this opportunity to spread its propaganda and undermine the unity of the West. He stressed that Estonia cannot sit at the same table with the aggressor and bear responsibility for the consequences that Lavrov's presence could lead to, because this contradicts fundamental European principles. "The fact is that while the OSCE meeting is being held in Skopje, Russia's war machine is attacking innocent Ukrainians and deporting children without blinking an eye. Lavrov's place is at a special tribunal, not the OSCE table," Tsakhkna emphasised. Background: On Tuesday, it was reported that Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraines Minister of Foreign Affairs, will boycott the OSCE ministerial meeting due to the attendance of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Last week, Russia, along with Belarus, vetoed Estonia's approval of the next OSCE chair in 2024. Moscow has repeatedly opposed such an appointment since 2020, citing the fact that Estonia is a member of NATO. Against the backdrop of Russian opposition, Malta received an offer to take over the chairmanship of the OSCE in 2024. It was seen as a compromise, since Malta declared neutrality, although it has condemned Russian aggression and, as a member of the EU, joined the sanctions regime against Russia. Last week, the government of North Macedonia gave permission for a Russian plane to fly over its territory so that the Russian delegation can attend the OSCE ministerial meeting. Despite the fact that European countries barred Russian aircraft from flying after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Bulgaria has confirmed that the plane is permitted to fly through its airspace for this purpose. Support UP or become our patron! What Maryland would be doing by sending the county executive as our senator is let them know that were serious about investing in education, justice, crime, and representation that wants to move U.S. citizens in a forward manner, said Scott. Prince Georges County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, one of three Black women running for a U.S. Senate seat in 2024, received an endorsement from Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott. During a press conference at the Zeta Center for Healthy and Acting Aging on Tuesday, Scott told reporters he endorsed Alsobrooks because of her record as county executive in which she improved education and crumbling infrastructure. BALTIMORE, MD OCTOBER 23: Angela Alsobrooks speaks during a campaign event for her run for the U.S. Senate at Monument City Brewing Company in Baltimore, Maryland, on October 23, 2023.(Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/For The Washington Post via Getty Images) Reflecting on how she managed the COVID-19 shutdown, the mayor said, [She] knows how to deal with things like a pandemic that no one saw coming. He added, That shows that she is someone who is tested, proven, and understands how to work for the people on the ground. During the press conference, Alsobrooks told reporters, Im excited about the opportunity to join the U.S. Senate because I believe its important to not only understand all of the challenges and many opportunities that exist in Baltimore, but you cant represent people you dont know or understand. Ive come to understand the great value that Baltimore provides for the state of Maryland, the Senate hopeful added. Its not only the largest city in the state of Maryland, but it is a fact that if Baltimore is healthy, so is the rest of the state. Scott told theGrio that he believes Alsobrooks would help bring stability to the U.S. Congress and not add to the circus that he believes has been created by some lawmakers on Capitol Hill. BALTIMORE, MARYLAND MAY 17: Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott speaks during a news conference on May 17, 2021 in Baltimore, Maryland. Members of the Maryland Congressional Delegation held a news conference to discuss the Reconnecting Communities Act, legislation to reconnect and revitalize areas that were harmed by the construction of the Interstate Highway System and reform the long history of inequity in infrastructure. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) In recent months, some congressional members have been in the hot seat over misconduct claims and other controversies. Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., is facing expulsion after the Department of Justice indicted him for making false statements, engaging in credit card fraud, and wire fraud, amongst a slew of other charges. Earlier this month, Senator Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., challenged Sean OBrien, the president of the Teamsters union, to a duel during a committee hearing following an interaction the two had on X, formerly known as Twitter. In September, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., was escorted from a Beetlejuice musical show in Denver after she was caught vaping and engaging in lewd behavior with her partner. When you have people who want to move up into elected office and who want to actually accomplish things, you look at mayors and county executives because weve been where the rubber meets the road, said Scott. He continued: What Maryland would be doing by sending the county executive as our senator is let them know that were serious about investing in education, justice, crime, and representation that wants to move U.S. citizens in a forward manner. Scott is the latest public figure to endorse Alsobrooks. She was also endorsed by Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, U.S. Senators Cory Booker, D-N.Y. and Rev. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Md., and others. Alsobrooks said that if elected to the U.S. Senate, she would tackle key issues, which include housing affordability, investing in minority businesses, passing gun reform legislation, and combating police brutality. It is my firm belief that all of our communities deserve to have both justice and freedom, she told theGrio. I believe that we deserve both, and I will continue to make sure that I am standing up to make sure that justice is present in our communities. BALTIMORE, MD OCTOBER 23: From left, Maryland governor Wes Moore, Angela Alsobrooks and Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Maryland, stand together during a campaign event for Alsobrooks run for Marylands open U.S. Senate seat at Monument City Brewing Company in Baltimore, Maryland, on October 23, 2023.(Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/For The Washington Post via Getty Images) Laws should apply equally to all of us, and we need to have a criminal justice system that works for every part of our community, Alsobrooks added. Where police respect us and police our communities with the dignity that we deserve. Scott believes that if Alsobrooks is elected, she will be an education champion in the Senate and will fight to make progress on issues that hit hard, like the student debt crisis. Shes also fought for small business and leading and making sure that women and minority-owned businesses have a more level-playing field in accessing government contracts, he told reporters. Alsobrooks, who faces opponents for the Democratic nomination in May 2024, said that if she is victorious in her bid for Senate, she wants to ensure every single part of our city and all of Maryland has representation from a person who understands what is at the kitchen table of everyday people here. She continued, To live in places that are safe, to invest in education, grant healthcare access, and heal people instead of incarcerating them. Vice President Kamala Harris was the last Black woman to serve in the U.S. Senate. The former California lawmaker stepped down from her Senate seat in January 2021 after she and President Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., and Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., are also running for Senate seats in the 2024 elections. TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Android TV. Please download theGrio mobile apps today! The post Baltimore mayor endorses Maryland Senate candidate Angela Alsobrooks appeared first on TheGrio. Bank of America has awarded several Pittsburgh area nonprofits grants for the second time this year. The grants amount to nearly $200,000 and the bank says theyll help support affordable housing, neighborhood revitalization, small businesses and the environment. Developing strong partnerships with nonprofit organizations is essential to driving meaningful and sustainable progress in Pittsburgh, said John Ciccolella, president, Bank of America Pittsburgh. These grants build upon our efforts to strengthen broader community vitality by addressing societys biggest challenges like neighborhood revitalization and small business resiliency. The organizations receiving funds are: Neighborhood Community Development Fund UpStreamPgh ACH Clear Pathways Bridgeway Capital Open Hand Ministries Pittsburgh Glass Center Pittsburgh Hispanic Development Corporation Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh Bank of America says these grants build on the $9.3 million already invested in Pittsburgh organizations since 2018 and is part of the companys commitment to improving the financial lives of entire communities. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW TRENDING NOW: Did you recently update your iPhone? Police are warning about a new feature Kenny Pickett breaks Ben Roethlisbergers Steelers record Historic Pittsburgh church holds final mass before closing VIDEO: 5 teens assault, rob man walking on East Carson Street, police say DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts WASHINGTON, D.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) Bank of America was fined Tuesday $12 million for allegedly submitting false mortgage data. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Nov. 28 the Charlotte-based financial giant broke a federal law by submitting false mortgage lending information to the federal government. For at least four years, the CFPB said hundreds of BOA loan officers failed to ask mortgage applicants certain demographic questions as required under the law, and then falsely reported that the applicants had chosen not to respond. Stock market today: Wall Street drifts to a mostly higher close and Treasury yields fall Under the CFPBs order, Bank of America must pay the $12 million into the CFPBs victims relief fund. Bank of America violated a federal law that thousands of mortgage lenders have routinely followed for decades, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a press release. It is illegal to report false information to federal regulators, and we will be taking additional steps to ensure that Bank of America stops breaking the law. As of June 2023, the BOA had $2.4 trillion in assets, which makes it the second-largest bank in the United States. Enacted in 1975, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) requires mortgage lenders to report information about loan applications and originations to the CFPB and other federal regulators. The public and regulators can use the information to monitor whether financial institutions are serving the housing needs of their communities, and to identify possible discriminatory lending patterns. CFPB said the banks conduct violated HMDA and its implementing regulation, Regulation C, as well as the Consumer Financial Protection Act. Specifically, the CFPB found that Bank of America: Falsely reported that applicants declined to provide information Failed to adequately oversee accurate data collection Charlotte providing additional $2M in public funding for refurbishment of historic Uptown theatre A Bank of America spokesperson told Nexstar that the bank collected demographic data in 99 percent of applications during the years reviewed by the CFPB. After receiving one complaint in 2020, we conducted a review and notified the government, which prompted this inquiry, spokesman Bill Halldin said in a statement. As the CFPB notes, we took additional steps in 2020 and 2021 to enhance our monitoring and training to ensure employees ask applicants for required racial, ethnic and gender information. This data collection issue had no impact on applications. The CFPB has taken numerous actions against Bank of America in recent years for violating federal law. In July 2023, the CFPB and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) ordered BOA to pay more than $200 million for illegally charging junk fees, withholding credit card rewards, and opening fake accounts. In 2022, CFPB and OCC ordered Bank of America to pay $225 million in fines and refund hundreds of millions of dollars to consumers for botched disbursement of state unemployment benefits. That same year, the bank also paid a $10 million penalty for unlawful garnishments of customer accounts. And in 2014, the CFPB ordered BOA to pay $727 million to consumers for illegal and deceptive credit card marketing practices. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. Bank of America has been ordered to pay $12 million over accusations it didnt provide the correct mortgage information to the government. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the bank failed to ask some of its mortgage applicants specific demographic questions, saying the applicants chose not to respond. This happened over a period of at least three months. The CFPB said in addition to saying applicants declined to share the information, Bank of America also failed to adequately oversee accurate data collection. For example, the bank identified that many loan officers receiving applications by phone were failing to collect the required data as early as 2013, but the bank turned a blind eye for years despite knowledge of the problem, the CFPB said. PREVIOUS: Bank of America fined for junk fees, opening accounts without authorization, CFPB says Federal law requires the questions to be asked. Lenders are required by the 1975 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act to share loan application information with the CFPB and other federal regulators. That data is when used to determine whether banks have met the housing needs in their communities, and also to detect any discriminatory lending practices. CFPB ordered Bank of America to pay $12 million into the bureaus victim relief fund. Back in July, regulators ordered Bank of America to pay more than $250 million for doubling up on customer fees, withholding reward bonuses for credit card customers and opening accounts without authorization, according to the CFPB. A year earlier, our partners at The Charlotte Observer reported the bank was fined $225 million for mishandling the way it gave out unemployment benefits during the pandemic. They also said the banks fraud detection froze accounts for thousands of out-of-work Americans. Bank of America, which is headquartered in Charlotte, is also the second-largest bank in the country. In a statement, Bank of America responded to the CFPBs allegations: We properly collected demographic data in more than 99 percent of applications in the years reviewed by the CFPB and consistently had lower percentages of applicants not disclosing their race compared to annual industry averages, a bank representative told Channel 9. After receiving one complaint in 2020, we conducted a review and notified the government, which prompted this inquiry. As the CFPB notes, we took additional steps in 2020 and 2021 to enhance our monitoring and training to ensure employees ask applicants for required racial, ethnic and gender information. This data collection issue had no impact on applications. The Cox Media Group National Content Desk contributed to this report. (WATCH BELOW: More fallout for Bank of America involving fake account scandal) TOBYHANNA TOWNSHIP, MONROE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) State police in Monroe County say a call from a bank employee stopped a woman from losing nearly $20,000 in an attempted wire fraud scheme. Troopers say they were called about an attempted theft on November 22 around 1:30 p.m. They say a woman from Tobyhanna Township was contacted on her computer about an alleged virus. Submit an I-Team Tip The woman called a phone number given to her from what police say was a fraudulent pop-up window and was told to go to her bank and withdraw $19,800 to pay for items that were purchased through fraudulent use of her bank card. Police say the woman went to her bank, withdrew the cash, and returned home. Thats when an employee of the bank contacted her to make sure everything was ok, the victim told police. She explained to the bank employee what had occurred and the employee recommended she return the money and contact the police. No one is going to call you and ask for funds to fix your computer, or pay for crimes against you, Pennsylvania State Police warned in a media release. They say if the public has any questions concerning potential fraud to contact local or state police. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PAhomepage.com. A wallaby (not pictured) was rescued from the waters at Trinity Beach in Cairns. Getty Images A wallaby got stuck in the water at an Australian beach after it was chased in by a dog. The animal was safely rescued by beachgoers from the crocodile-infested waters. Rescuer Angus Burnett told 7News the wallaby "was a bit disorientated." Beachgoers rescued a wallaby from crocodile-infested waters in Australia after a dog chased the marsupial into the ocean. Angus Burnett was among a trio of rescuers who worked to pull the wallaby out of the waters at Trinity Beach in Cairns, Queensland, this week, Australian TV network 7News reported. The beach and surrounding areas are known as a habitat for crocodiles, Queensland's government says. Burnett told the news outlet that he was on an afternoon walk when he stripped down to his underwear and ran into the water after he spotted a "concerned woman" who told him that her husband had been in the ocean for 10 minutes trying to bring a wallaby to shore. "I just swam out and helped him," Burnett, 32, told 7News. "I wanted to make sure the wallaby was ok." The struggling wallaby was more than 150 feet from the shore, according to Burnett, who said that he and the other man tried to guide the "agitated" wallaby back to land for about 10 minutes. But the wallaby "wasn't coming in" and "was a bit disorientated," Burnett said. "It was kicking around a bit and was a bit tired. It would go limp and go under at time, so you had to pick it back up." According to 7News, a woman also jumped in the water to help rescue the wallaby. Finally, the wallaby was successfully brought back to land before it hopped away from the beachgoers. Burnett was modest about his assistance to the animal, saying, it's "something you do to help out, isn't it, as an Australian." UPI reported that in 2020, two wallabies had to be rescued while swimming offshore at nearby beaches. Read the original article on Insider After Sam Altman's ouster, many are wondering why OpenAI board members booted him. Bedrock Capital's founder, an OpenAI investor, is more concerned with a board member's background. Geoff Lewis said, without offering evidence, he thinks an ex-board member's ties to China should be examined. While many have been left wondering why OpenAI's board lost confidence in former CEO Sam Altman and briefly booted him from the company earlier this month, an investor is speculating without providing evidence that a former board member's questionable patriotism is the reason behind her vote. Less than a week after being removed as CEO, Altman is set to return to the position after vocal protests from investors and OpenAI employees called for him to be reinstated. Geoff Lewis, Bedrock Capital's founder and an investor in OpenAI, appears to be more concerned with the background of Helen Toner, a former OpenAI board member, than the rationale behind her vote of no confidence in Altman. In a Monday appearance on CNBC's "Squawk Box," Lewis, without providing evidence of his claim, wondered if Toner could be a possible "agent of the Chinese Communist Party." "I think this was a classic human power struggle. Nothing more, nothing less," Lewis told CNBC's Rebecca Quick when she asked what may have led to Altman's ouster. Instead of debating Toner's reason to oust Altman, Lewis said the "right set of questions" should be aimed at her background. "This Helen Toner person, you know, seems like a lovely human being," Lewis told CNBC. "You know, was she a CCP agent? I'd like to know the answer to that question." Toner briefly lived in Beijing as a research affiliate of Oxford University's Center for the Governance of AI while she studied the Chinese AI ecosystem. However, there is no clear indication she has any ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Lewis, however, has taken aim at China on several occasions, arguing in 2019 on Twitter that "China may be quietly taking over US Social media with TikTok" and in a 2022 interview, implying when discussing his investment in a defense contractor, that there is a risk of China destroying the US. In an essay published in Foreign Affairs earlier this year arguing in support of industry-wide regulations, Toner was openly critical of the development of AI in China, arguing that the country depends "a great deal" on Western innovations and English language models and "does not appear poised to surge ahead" of the US in innovation. Lewis and Toner, as well as representatives for Bedrock Capital, did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider. Though rumors initially swirled that Altman's ouster was due to the board's concerns about the safe development of AI, Business Insider previously reported on the day of his reinstatement, citing internal OpenAI communications reviewed by The New York Times, that his dismissal had nothing to do with "malfeasance or anything related to our financial, business, safety or security/privacy practice." Toner, along with Tasha McCauley, the only two female board members of OpenAI, were removed from the board following their votes to vacate Altman from his role as CEO. The pair faced intense social media backlash following Altman's departure. Now that they have been removed, the board will be re-formed to a new, nine-person configuration, Business Insider previously reported. Negotiations are underway to determine who else will hold seats on the new OpenAI board, CNBC reported, with representatives from Microsoft, a major investor in the company, vying for a seat at the table. Read the original article on Business Insider Belgium has confirmed that it will join the pan-European Future Combat Air System (FCAS) next-generation air combat program, alongside France, Germany, and Spain. The announcement comes amid a period of flux in Europes sixth-generation air combat efforts, with Sweden having stated earlier this month that its no longer involved in Tempest, the project to develop the stealth fighter at the center of the rival British/Italian/Japanese Global Combat Air Program (GCAP). In a post on the LinkedIn professional networking platform last week, and subsequently reported by Breaking Defense, Belgian Minister of Defense Ludivine Dedonder wrote that her country will officially become part of the European FCAS in June 2025. Ahead of this, Belgium will sign an observer agreement in December this year, marking our commitment and a crucial step towards global security and innovation. Belgian Minister of Defense Ludivine Dedonder is pictured during the inauguration ceremony at a new SABCA production hall for the horizontal tailplane of the F-35 fighter aircraft, in Lummen, on March 10, 2022. Photo by JOHN THYS/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images Dedonder goes on to describe the development of a next-generation air combat capability under the European FCAS as a unique opportunity for Europe. She adds: In this way, Belgium is committed to peace, stability, and innovation in defense, shaping a secure and prosperous future, together, for our nation and our partners. At this point, its worth noting that the British/Italian/Japanese next-generation air combat effort, which includes the Tempest fighter, has also been referred to in the past as the Future Combat Air System, confusingly providing Europe with two competing programs with the same FCAS terminology. Late last year, however, the British/Italian/Japanese team was effectively rebranded as the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP). At the same time, France also refers to the Euro-FCAS as the Systeme de Combat Aerien du Futur (SCAF). French President Emmanuel Macron, Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation, Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles, French Defence Minister Florence Parly, and German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen attend the unveiling of the full-scale jet fighter model of the NGF, during the Paris Air Show on June 17, 2019. YOAN VALAT/AFP via Getty Images While the Tempest crewed fighter is at the heart of GCAP, the pan-European FCAS involving France, Germany, Spain, and soon Belgium, includes a crewed fighter known as the Next Generation Fighter (NGF). Both these programs also include an array of complementary technologies, among them loyal wingman type drones and a new generation of air-launched weapons, not to mention sensors, engines, as well as data-sharing capabilities and communications architecture. Another view of the full-scale model of the NGF, presented on the Dassault Aviation static display on the first day of the 53rd International Paris Air Show in June 2019. ERIC PIERMONT/AFP via Getty Images At the Paris Air Show in June this year, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that Belgium would join the Euro-FCAS program, although this was billed as participation initially as an observer. These plans now appear to have moved forward considerably. It remains to be seen how deeply Belgium will become involved in Euro-FCAS, with decisions still to be made about its financial contribution to the program, as well as potential industrial involvement. As it stands, the major players are Dassault Aviation of France, Airbus of Germany, and Indra of Spain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdo5EKlcfYc\u0026t=2s Unlike France, with its Rafale, and Germany and Spain through their involvement in the Eurofighter consortium, producing the Typhoon, Belgium doesnt have active experience within a European combat aircraft program. However, as part of its commitment to the F-35, via the Essential Security Interest (ESI) program, Belgian industrial participation in the Joint Strike Fighter involves a number of smaller companies, including ASCO, Feronyl, ILIAS Solutions, SABCA, Sonaca, and AMI Metals. As the F-35 Joint Program Office itself states , The projects secured through the ESI program will bring cutting-edge manufacturing techniques and benefits, expanding Belgian industrys skills and knowledge and providing high-tech jobs for Belgians for decades to come. The Lockheed Martin F-35 production line at Fort Worth, Texas. Lockheed Martin That industrial capacity could now be harnessed to help support the Belgian stake in FCAS. The fact that Belgium is already fairly deeply embedded in the F-35 program makes it something of a surprise that it has joined FCAS at this point. Germany, too, has committed to buying F-35s, but primarily for its ability to deliver nuclear weapons, choosing the U.S.-made jet when it had already joined FCAS as one of the lead partners. In Belgiums case, however, observers might have expected that the F-35 would satisfy its combat aircraft requirements for many years to come. Meanwhile, Eric Trappier, the Dassault CEO, had criticized Belgian plans to join FCAS, on the grounds that the country had rejected the Rafale (in favor of the F-35) to replace its hard-worked F-16 fleet. Two Belgian Air Force F-16 fighter jets during a rehearsal flight for the national parade in Florennes, on July 16, 2010. GERARD GAUDIN/AFP via Getty Images It seems, however, that the promise of long-term Belgian investment in FCAS led to a change of heart from Trappier. While Belgiums commitment to FCAS is good news for the program, earlier this month, Sweden effectively walked away from the rival Tempest and GCAP. Sweden, notably, had been one of the nations to show considerable interest in this program back when it was still widely known as FCAS. https://twitter.com/ChiefofAirStaff/status/1199029164470341634 However, by the time the tri-national GCAP effort was announced, Sweden was no longer being mentioned as part of the program, leading to doubts as to whether it was still involved. Speaking at the International Fighter Conference 2023 in Madrid, an official told reporters that the country was no longer a part of Tempest having walked away from tri-lateral studies with UK and Italy about a year ago and launched a national study. The same official didnt mention the reasons behind the decision but noted that the country has since launched a national study. https://twitter.com/GarethJennings3/status/1721924588022477206 Nevertheless, there would appear to be scope, in the future, for Sweden to either rejoin GCAP/Tempest, or potentially the rival FCAS/NGF, depending on its own national requirements and industrial capacity. Theres little doubt that with its long history of domestic design and construction of combat aircraft, as well as weapons and avionics, and now also digital design, Swedens Saab would likely have been a welcome partner in GCAP. The Saab Gripen E. Saab Aside from the decisions of Belgium and Sweden, its worth noting that theres long been discussion in Europe over whether the continent is actually able to support two next-generation combat aircraft programs, with only limited resources to sustain them both. Speaking in late 2021, Gen. Luca Goretti, the Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force, said : It is natural that these two realities will merge into one. Investing huge financial resources in two equivalent programs is unthinkable. This was not the first time that calls were made to bring the two initiatives together, even just in Italy , although the lead nations in each of the programs have understandably been resistant to the idea. Nevertheless, theres a significant degree of commonality in the aims of the programs, at least. Both programs aim to have the crewed fighter component of the planned system of systems in service sometime between 2030 and 2040. Furthermore, as the example of Belgium demonstrates, the F-35 program can still have a significant impact on the successes of these two next-generation fighter programs. The F-35 is steadily building an impressive footprint across Europe, reducing the potential customer pool for the FCAS and Tempest. In addition to Belgium and Germany, which are both also involved in FCAS. Spain, too, has been linked with a potential purchase of F-35s, as it seeks to replace a portion of its EF-18 Hornet fleet and its carrier-based EAV-8B Harrier IIs. An Airbus concept showing an NGF connected via satellite-based Combat Cloud to Remote Carriers , as well as a variety of legacy combat and support platforms. Airbus On the GCAP side, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Japan are all also Joint Strike Fighter operators. Elsewhere in Europe, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and Switzerland have all formally committed to buying F-35s, or they already have, while Greece and Romania look set to join them. Of course, the sixth-generation capabilities that are espoused by the FCAS and Tempest should ensure that these aircraft offer a combat potential above and beyond even the latest versions of the F-35, but this will come at a cost. By their very nature, stealth fighter programs have proven to be very time-consuming and costly endeavors . At the same time, the F-35s customer base in Europe and elsewhere is expanding fast, bringing down costs and ensuring greater interoperability and synergies for potential customers. These jets are also available now. Another concept for the twin-engined NGF fighter, in this form based on a tailless configuration. Safran Spurred also by the war in Ukraine and the growing military threat posed by China, the situation on the world fighter market is looking up, with modernization drives underway as fifth-generation technologies become more widely available. With the FCAS and Tempest both still at early stages in their development paths, the future of Europes two next-generation air combat programs will almost certainly see some significant changes to come, and the possibilities of new partners being added or even existing ones moving on seems more likely than not. Contact the author: thomas@thedrive.com As the sun rises over Pristina, the call to prayer echoes through the Kosovo capital just as the patrons of its only LGBTQ bar wrap up a night of partying. Once a bastion of traditional values, Muslim-majority Kosovo has experienced a massive opening in the years since declaring independence from Serbia in 2008. With just 1.8 million people, Kosovo has seen its arts and culture scene blossom, including the embrace by many of its LGBTQ community. "It is a good thing as it shows that we can live together in the same place. You with your thoughts, me with mine and only five minutes away from each other," said Erblin Nushi, a 31-year-old filmmaker and occasional drag performer at the Bubble pub. Over 90 percent of Kosovo's population are Muslims, with the vast majority of its ethnic Albanians practising a moderate form of Islam. "It is everyone's right to live their own life in their own way," said Kaltrina Zeneli, a 28-year-old actress, who began to more deeply embrace Islam three years ago and now wears a hijab. "As Muslims, we have absolutely no right to interfere with what someone is doing," she added. The queer community has flocked to the Bubble pub to mingle, watch drag performances and dance since it opened its doors in April. It is there that Nushi performs as his drag persona Adelina Rose, sporting a red lace corset and high heels along with a thick layer of makeup. "It is important not to impose our ways of life on each other," Nushi told AFP. - 'We are here' - But the spirit of tolerance was not always so prevalent in Kosovo. Before its declaration of independence, Kosovo was wracked by perennial unrest following its devastating war with Serbia in the late 1990s, which left around 13,000 dead and displaced hundreds of thousands. Members of the queer community were largely shunned and sometimes violently attacked, forcing many to congregate near police stations to avoid harassment. But as civil society began to flourish after the war, so did the tolerance for new ideas and ways of living. "None of the religious and non-religious minorities in Kosovo really have any reason to feel unsafe in our society," said Imam Labinot Maliqi, the executive director of the Kosovar Center for Peace. The opening of Bubble pub this year has been a landmark moment for the queer community, after years of hosting underground parties and social events in secret. "The fact that Bubble exists in the centre of Pristina has made a statement in itself: we are here and we belong to the Kosovar society," said the bar's owner and LGBT activist Lendi Mustafa, who was also one of the first people to come out as transgender in Kosovo. The bar has already proven to be a hit, with tables regularly packed amid a full calendar of social events. - Legal hurdles - But while the crowds at the Bubble pub point to a new openness, there are still many hurdles for Kosovo's LGBTQ community. In 2022, parliament rejected a draft law to allow same-sex couples to form civil partnerships, crushing hopes that Kosovo would become the first Muslim-majority country to recognise same-sex unions. Ahead of the vote, Muslim, Jewish, evangelical and Catholic leaders panned the proposed legislation, insisting in a joint declaration on the need to uphold "family values". While there has been progress in opening some space for the queer community, it "does not mean that the situation is ideal", said Nushi. "There are always people who want us to live their lives." Marigona Shabiu from the Youth Initiative for Human Rights watchdog agrees, saying that there was still a lack of political will for bigger change. "We have a lot of politicians in Kosovo unfortunately who are against people being able to freely express their gender identity," said Shabiu. "Kosovo is a good example on paper... when it comes to the implementation it is not the best." ih-ds/fg Demonstrators march against the rise of antisemitism in the UK on Sunday - SUSANNAH IRELAND/REUTERS Bereaved Israeli and Palestinian families will march together as part of an anti-hate vigil on Sunday. Relatives who have lost loved ones in the conflict between Israel and Palestine will warn that their bereavement cannot be used to promote hatred. The event, called Building Bridges, Together for Humanity will take place in central London and involve thousands of lanterns being lit to commemorate those who have died in the conflict. Since the violent attacks by Hamas against Israel on Oct 7, in which 1,200 people were killed and over 200 taken hostage, and Israels subsequent invasion of Gaza, there have been weekly marches calling for a ceasefire. On Nov 11, about 300,000 people attended a pro-Palestinian march in the capital. And on Sunday, about 100,000 people attended a march organised by the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism in central London. Some protesters on pro-Palestinian marches have held anti-Semitic and offensive placards. Sunday's march against anti-Semitism organised by the volunteer-led charity Campaign Against Antisemitism at the Royal Courts of Justice in London - JORDAN PETTITT/PA On the pro-Palestinian march on Armistice Day, Jewish families leaving a synagogue were targeted by pro-Palestinian activists. The vigil this weekend will speak out against both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia and is the first multifaith, mass event of its kind since the conflict began. Magen Inon, whose parents were both killed by Hamas in the Oct 7 attacks, said: It is unbelievable that while mourning the murder of both my parents, I have to witness extremists use our grief and tragedy to promote their hatred. This wouldnt have been my parents wish. They had friends and colleagues from diverse backgrounds and always treated people with respect. He added that they would have wanted their grandchildren to grow up in a world based on values of humanity and solidarity. Sunday's 'National Solidarity March against Antisemitism' came a day after the 'National March for Palestine', also in London - PAUL GROVER Hamze Awawde, a Palestinian peace activist who lives in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, said that the war had unleashed unimaginable pain and suffering. In the West Bank where my immediate family lives, we are deeply traumatised by the current and ongoing situation, he said, adding that only last week his cousin had been shot in the leg in the town of Dura. But if anyone thinks stoking anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim hatred is the best response, you are wrong. We can only solve this conflict in the long term if we stop dehumanising each other. Please dont make this conflict even worse by importing its tensions into the UK instead people should channel their energies into lobbying the Government to support peace and reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. Robi Damilen, whose son David was killed by a Palestinian sniper in 2002, will also be speaking on behalf of The Parents Circle-Families Forum (PCFF), a grassroots organisation made up of over 600 Palestinian and Israeli families working together. Brendan Cox, co-founder of the Together coalition that is helping to organise the event, said; This is the first mass event of its kind since the start of the conflict in Gaza and Israel. Our focus is on building bridges between communities, standing against anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim hate and protecting community relations in the UK. Julie Siddiqi, Muslim interfaith activist and one of the organisers, said: People are sick of being told you are either with us or against us. Its possible, in fact its normal, to feel sympathy with civilians no matter which side of the border. This vigil will give us the chance to share in our common humanity. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer. A federal appeals court mulling Donald Trumps legal liability for Jan. 6 violence is approaching a conspicuous anniversary of inaction. Nearly a year ago, the court considered three lawsuits brought by Capitol Police officers and members of Congress accusing Trump and his allies of inciting the attack that threatened their lives and the government they were sworn to protect. But their efforts to hold Trump accountable have languished. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals typically decides cases within four months of oral arguments, but the trio of Trump lawsuits has been sitting on the courts docket with no ruling since they were argued last December. I am surprised how long its taking. The delay does seem unusual, but Im hopeful well get a decision, said Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), who filed one of the three lawsuits two months after the Jan. 6 attack. A three-judge panel of the appeals court is mulling a thorny constitutional question that hangs over each of the cases: whether Trump can be sued over his speech to an angry crowd on Jan. 6, 2021, just before the deadly riot at the Capitol. Since the panel considered whether Trump has immunity, Trump has surged to the front of the GOP presidential primary pack and been charged criminally twice for his efforts to subvert the 2020 election. The D.C. Circuits long-awaited ruling or its likely appeal to the Supreme Court may either bolster or weaken both of those criminal cases. Thats because Trump is raising similar immunity defenses in his criminal prosecutions. Whatever the higher courts say about the scope of presidential immunity in the civil context will set an important precedent for the trial judges who will soon need to resolve Trumps efforts to toss out his criminal charges on immunity grounds. In the meantime, the protracted delay at the D.C. Circuit has created something of a vacuum on the question of how broadly Trumps immunity sweeps. It seems like its extraordinarily long, even for the D.C. Circuit, said University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias. Tobias noted that the D.C.-based court tends to take longer than most other federal appeals courts, generally because it handles a significant number of very complicated regulatory cases involving federal agencies. Still, the Trump immunity appeal seems like an outlier, he said. Its certainly on the very long end of that, so you have to wonder, the law professor added. Statistics released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts confirm that the Trump appeal has been awaiting a decision for almost three times as long as the typical D.C. Circuit case. The hold-up has even been remarked upon in Trump-related cases outside Washington, like a pair of lawsuits in New York related to writer E. Jean Carrolls claim that Trump raped her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s and Trumps disparaging comments about Carroll after she went public with her claim. In those cases, too, Trump has raised immunity defenses. And last month, while arguing before a New York-based federal appeals court, a lawyer for Carroll pointed out that the D.C. Circuit appeal has been pending for quite some time. The full legal odyssey for the Jan. 6-related lawsuits against Trump has now reached nearly three years. Within weeks of the attack on the Capitol, members of Congress, Capitol Police officers and members of the D.C. police department began filing the lawsuits, claiming that Trump and his allies bore responsibility for the violence and should pay monetary damages. U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta issued his own landmark ruling on the matter on Feb. 18, 2022, concluding that Trumps speech that day was a rare instance in which a presidents remarks were not immune from lawsuit. To deny a President immunity from civil damages is no small step, wrote Mehta, an appointee of President Barack Obama. The court well understands the gravity of its decision. But the alleged facts of this case are without precedent, and the court believes that its decision is consistent with the purposes behind such immunity. Trump appealed quickly, and the case has been meandering through the appeals court ever since. The three-judge panel, consisting of Obama-appointed Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan, Clinton appointee Judith Rogers and Trump appointee Gregory Katsas, heard oral arguments in the case on Dec. 7, 2022. Four months later, in March 2023, they solicited input from the Justice Department, which staked out a delicate approach to questions of presidential immunity. The panel has been silent since then, a period of inaction that has grown more deafening since Trump was criminally charged in August. The panels ruling will likely be a significant milestone in the decades-long constitutional debate about presidential immunity, which began in earnest during the Watergate era and flared up again during numerous investigations and lawsuits against Bill Clinton in the 1990s. Trump has embraced a sweeping view of the concept in which almost any action or remark made by presidents is protected from suit so long as it can conceivably even by the thinnest of reeds be connected to their official duties. Even purely political efforts to win reelection would be protected, he argues. Trump has made a version of that argument in his Washington, D.C. criminal case, brought by special counsel Jack Smith. The prosecutors have urged Judge Tanya Chutkan, the trial judge presiding over the case, to rule quickly on the matter, noting that its one of the few issues Trump can appeal ahead of his March 4 trial. Chutkan, however, may prefer to see how the D.C. Circuit handles Trumps immunity before she issues her own ruling. And theres yet another complication in another Trump-related case. A fourth lawsuit, brought by injured police officers seeking to hold Trump accountable for the violence at the Capitol, is now pending before the D.C. Circuit. Arguments on that lawsuit were initially scheduled for Dec. 5 but in a little-noticed order issued Friday when the court was officially closed for the holiday weekend, the court canceled the argument session. Without a ruling in the earlier lawsuits, holding arguments next week could have been awkward, since any decision on Trumps immunity in the earlier cases could effectively dictate the outcome of the later one. In another twist, two of the three judges on the appeal that was set for next week, Srinivasan and Rogers, are also assigned to the first one and are presumably well aware of the arguments, any draft opinions or dissents that have circulated and whats holding it all up. A D.C. Circuit official, Chief Deputy Clerk Clifton Cislak, said Monday he could not comment on the timing of rulings in the Trump immunity appeals or any other particular case. The clerk did confirm the courts average duration of about four months between argument and decision. But that is the average dispositions can take much longer than four months or can be reached much sooner than four months, Cislak said in an email to POLITICO. In a bid to avoid appeals languishing, the D.C. Circuits internal procedures call for judges to report to their colleagues every month on the status of draft opinions in pending cases. The lawyer who argued against Trumps immunity in the appeal heard last December, Joseph Sellers, told POLITICO last week that he had no update from the court on where it stands. I dont have any insight into that, he said. The attorney leading Trumps defense in the Jan. 6-related civil cases, Jesse Binnall, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. Despite the protracted delays and the uncertainty surrounding Trumps fate as a criminal defendant, Swalwell said hes at peace with the process. To me thats our justice system. Its not a perfect one, and its certainly not one that times itself to ones political fortune or misfortune, he said. To me, all these rivers of liability lead to the same body of water, he said. Will Donald Trump be held accountable for what he did leading up to and on Jan. 6? JERUSALEM For most of the past two decades, Hamas, a terrorist group with an extreme jihadist ideology, has governed the Gaza Strip and posed a serious security threat to Israel next door and a broader dilemma for moderate Arab states in the region that might be willing to normalize ties with Israel. It has also destabilized the Palestinian Authority, which rules the other Palestinian enclave in the West Bank, making peace with Israel even more elusive. Following Hamas Oct. 7 attack in which more than 1,200 people were killed and a further 240 taken hostage, Israels political and military leadership, with support from the majority of the population and the backing of the U.S. administration have made clear that the set-up that once existed in the 25-mile-long coastal strip is no longer viable: Hamas must go. But if Israel is successful in its endeavor, who would fill the void? In a Nov. 18 opinion piece published in the Washington Post, President Biden also talked about how "the Palestinian people deserve a state of their own and a future free from Hamas." He mentioned that the goal should not simply be to stop the war for today, but it should be to end war forever and break the cycle of "unceasing violence." The president also pointed to the aim of reuniting Gaza with the West Bank and "revitalizing" the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah. HAMAS TERRORISTS USE ISRAELI HOSTAGE RELEASE IN GAME OF PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE Palestinian residents inspect damage caused by Israeli airstrikes on Oct. 13, 2023, in Gaza City. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, has pushed back on such an idea and emphasized on several recent occasions that transplanting the PA into a post-war Gaza is not an option. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP Hussain Abdul-Hussain, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that a possible solution could be for the Abraham Accords countries the Gulf States of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain, who signed normalization agreements with Israel in 2020, and even Saudi Arabia could definitely play a role in Gazas future. "We have seen the UAE step up and build a field hospital while offering to build, rebuild three desalination plants," he said. "Because Hamas has been governing the Strip since 2007, and its Islamist ideology is not the UAEs taste, Abu Dhabi has not invested much money in the Strip. Now, it is able to invest in Gaza without having to go through Hamas." Bahraini Foreign Affairs Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, left, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Trump and United Arab Emirates Foreign Affairs Minister Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan participate in the signing ceremony of the Abraham Accords at the White House on Sept. 15, 2020. "This should be looked at as a pilot project, and if it works out, the UAE will be more involved in the Strip and its reconstruction," Abdul-Hussain continued, adding that it would not only be reconstructing the infrastructure but also rebuilding a Hamas-free government that is competent and sincere in its quest for peace with Israel. He also said that such a direction would also help to "displace the Qataris," who are seen by some critics as sponsors of radical Islamist groups such as Hamas and could be a model emulated in the West Bank which has also seen a rise in Islamic radicalism and support for Hamas continues to be high there, surpassing the PA, according to recent polls. BIDEN ADMINISTRATION PUSHED BY DEMS, GOP TO EXPAND TRUMP-ERA DEAL TO BLUNT RUSSIA, CHINA Explosions are seen in Gaza City during an Israeli air strike on Oct. 9, 2023. Abdul-Hussain said that in contrast to the U.S. administrations goals of allowing some kind of revitalized PA to control Gaza, a new type of authority in the Strip, with the backing of the Abraham Accords states, could then "be expanded to the West Bank." An Abraham Accords-type initiative, he concluded, "wherein Palestinians themselves welcome peace and strive for it," is the only way that "Israel will consider letting down its guard and help the Palestinians establish a state." "We would like to see a peaceful Gaza, but there is no magic formula," Michael Oren, Israels former ambassador to the United States and a former cabinet member of Netanyahus previous government, told Fox News Digital. "A vast majority of Israelis will not want the PA there," said Oren, who is also a historian and author. "The PA is corrupt, it is weak and the majority of the population in the West Bank, some 83%, actually prefers Hamas." In addition, the former diplomat said, "[PA President Mahmoud] Abbas is an antisemite and a Holocaust denier; PA textbooks and videos are every bit as bad as Hamas, so that is a non-starter." Among Gazans and even the broader Palestinian public the idea of installing the PA into the Strip is also not wildly popular, Ahed al-Hindi, a senior fellow at the Center for Peace Communications, told Fox News Digital. "While the PA may offer a symbolic framework that accrues international recognition, many young Gazans want to see new players, principally drawn from Gaza itself," said Al-Hindi, adding that "a viable plan to rebuild Gaza requires local buy-in and new blood." ISRAEL SAYS HAMAS TERRORISTS KEEPING FUEL FOR THEMSELVES, IGNORING HUMANITARIAN NEEDS OF GAZANS The Israeli Defense Forces seize control of a military compound, which was used by the Hamas terrorist organization, in the northern Gaza Strip on Nov. 6, 2023. As images of the widespread destruction of Gaza after more than 50 days of fighting and as Israeli political and military leaders say their task is far from over it seems clear that the task of rebuilding is far beyond the capability of any single individual or body. And the process could take years. Yitzhak Gal, a research fellow who specializes in Middle East economics and business at the Mitvim Institute in Israel, told Fox that the reconstruction of Gaza would have to be carried out in two stages, with the political and physical rebuilding having to be done in tandem. Right now, he said, Hamas as a governing body appears to have totally collapsed, and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which is the main body dealing with the current humanitarian crisis and is highly linked to Hamas will also most likely crumble as Israel progresses with its military goals. "Humanitarian catastrophe will become even more acute and the only way to handle this situation in the short-term is with a political solution, agreed upon between Israel and the international community," Gal said. A man walks past the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in Gaza City on Jan. 30, 2023. "We cant start any reconstruction in Gaza while the war is waging, but still, the people there need to eat and drink, there are babies and there are children, and if you dont take care of them, then they will suffer," he said. In the long term, Gal estimated that the destruction in Gaza, which is likely four or five times what it was following the 2014 Israel-Hamas war, could cost more than $15 billion to rebuild. He added that it's important for the reconstruction process to look beyond just replacing what was lost and to rebuild Gaza as a "viable and stable society" and prevent it from "deteriorating into the same extremism of recent years." EMPLOYEES AT US-FUNDED UNITED NATIONS AGENCY CELEBRATED HAMAS TERROR MASSACRE: REPORT "The reconstruction must be carried out in the framework of a more holistic plan," said Gal, adding, "There is no benefit in reconstruction or doing anything on the economic sphere if there is no political stability." "It is hard for me to believe that the Americans, Europeans or the Gulf countries will put money into Gaza unless theres a way to ensure there is a stable, non-Hamas stable government that will make good use of all this money," he said. So, with a possible power vacuum and no single person or entity able to fill it, which global players could play a role? Nir Arieli, an associate professor of international history at the University of Leeds in the U.K., shared with Fox News Digital a policy paper that puts forward the concept of a multinational force. Co-authored with Jacob Stoil of the Modern War Institute and Mary Elizabeth Walters, Arieli argues firmly against any Israeli re-occupation of Gaza (Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Strip in 2005) as well as against implanting the PA into the vacuum. Israeli soldiers are shown inside the Gaza Strip on Nov. 7, 2023. "If we want to send a message to everyone that we are turning a new page and that we are not going back to the status quo and that we do not want Hamas back in control, then, we argue, a multinational force must be put there to take on three tasks: to provide security, governance and oversee reconstruction," he said. Arieli added, "If aid is going to be pouring into Gaza, then having a multinational force in place is in everyone's interest. It would be a temporary solution because we cant see that any single actor will be able to step in and take care of such a gigantic task." That force as well as the aid, which has already been entering Gaza during the current crisis would most likely come from the West, chiefly the U.S. and Europe, as well as the regional countries that signed the 2020 Abraham Accords, such as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain as well as Saudi Arabia, which some experts believe is still eyeing the possibility of normalizing ties with Israel. Original article source: Biden admin should look at Abraham Accords-type initiative when Hamas terror regime is defeated The Biden campaign on Tuesday seized on former President Trumps assertion that he was seriously looking at alternatives to the Affordable Care Act, warning a second Trump presidency could harm millions of Americans with preexisting conditions. President Bidens reelection team, in a memo first shared with The Hill, cautioned that repealing ObamaCare would strip protections from up to 135 million Americans with preexisting conditions. The 2010 law barred health insurance companies from denying coverage to patients with such conditions. Whether you have cancer or diabetes, or are simply a woman, Trumps plan means insurance companies would again be able to deny coverage for no reason at all other than the fact that they can, Seth Schuster, a Biden campaign spokesperson, said in a statement. But Donald Trump doesnt care, because like everything in his life, he only cares about himself and turns out, a billionaire doesnt have to worry about his health insurance. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. The American people have rejected MAGA attempts to take away their health care election after election. November 2024 wont be any different, Schuster added. The Biden campaign argued ObamaCare has become wildly popular in the nearly 15 years since its passage. A KFF poll published in May found 59 percent of adults held favorable views of the law, compared to 40 percent who viewed it unfavorably. Trump campaigned on repealing ObamaCare during his first term, but the effort stalled in Congress. The former president, who is the front-runner for the GOP nomination in 2024, raised the topic again on Sunday. We had a couple of Republican Senators who campaigned for 6 years against it, and then raised their hands not to terminate it. It was a low point for the Republican Party, but we should never give up! he wrote on Truth Social. Republicans were one vote away from repealing the law in 2017, when the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) voted with Democrats to keep ObamaCare in place. Ever since, Trump has knocked and mocked McCain, even years after the former prisoner of wars death from brain cancer. Three GOP-led attempts to repeal the law through the courts have also failed, including one backed by Trump in 2020. Trumps remarks have already been used as fodder by the White House, the Biden campaign and Democrats, who view protecting Americans from losing health insurance as a winning argument that helped propel them into the House majority in 2018. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. President Biden is reportedly skipping a global climate change summit for the first time in his presidency. Not attending the conference, which is set to begin later this week, would mark a significant snub by a president who has vowed to fight global warming. Yet some experts say his absence is unlikely to actually impact the conferences outcomes, with both his presence and absence playing more of a symbolic role. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. Multiple news outlets have reported that Biden is not planning to attend, and his public schedule does not list him attending a forum for heads of state slated for this weekend. Asked about Bidens plans, White House spokespeople said they dont have any travel updates to announce at this time, but said other key officials climate envoy John Kerry, White House adviser John Podesta and national climate adviser Ali Zaidi will travel to the COP28 conference in Dubai. Climate activists criticized the president over the reported decision Monday. This is President Biden missing another opportunity to be a leader on climate change, said Stevie OHanlon, a spokesperson for the Sunrise Movement. After making decisions like approving the Willow Project that are putting the United States on track to produce more oil and gas than ever before it would be wise for him to prove his commitment to climate action, OHanlon added, referencing a massive oil drilling project approved under the administration. Jean Su, director of the Energy Justice Program at the Center for Biological Diversity, similarly expressed disappointment. His absence really shows a lack of commitment to climate right now when its the most important time to get to a climate talk, Su said. You know, this conference is being run by an oil baron, she noted. Sultan al-Jaber, CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., is set to lead this years event. Its really important that Biden shows up and challenges the fossil fuel interests that are blatantly running the conference, Su said. Its extremely worrying that President Biden is not coming. But others argue that Bidens absence is unlikely to impact the outcomes of the conference. Morgan Bazilian, who has previously worked as a European Union negotiator during climate talks, told The Hill that Bidens absence does impact the tone or the optics of the event to a certain extent. However, he said, I have never thought that the presence of heads of state were necessary to making these agreements. The civil servants that go, the delegations, already have what theyre going to attempt to do. Having a lot of paparazzi in the form of heads of state at the event rarely does more than raise the profile, which tends to be unnecessary, added Bazilian, who is now a professor of public policy at the Colorado School of Mines. The U.S. is currently the second-largest global emitter of greenhouse gases and over the years has released more planet-warming gases than any other nation. Biden has vowed to make combating climate change a key priority. He passed a bill including major subsidies for renewable energy last year and rejoined the Paris Agreement after former President Trump withdrew the U.S. from it. Nathan Hultman, director of the University of Marylands Center for Global Sustainability, said the countrys recent actions will give it credence at this years conference. By any metric, were doing extraordinarily well on that over the past couple of years, and I think because of that, well show up really well at the COP, said Hultman, who previously worked on international climate issues for the Biden administration. Hultman also said that the specific agenda items for this years conference can absolutely be accomplished without the presence of heads of state. Dan Lashof, director of the World Resources Institutes U.S. branch, similarly said it is always valuable when a president attends a climate conference because it puts a brighter spotlight on the issue, but said Bidens anticipated absence doesnt cast doubt on his commitment, given his administrations actual record. Meanwhile, Nat Keohane, president of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, told reporters prior to the news of Bidens plans to skip the event that the impact of him not going would be lessened by Kerrys prominence on this issue and the global stage in general. I think the presence of John Kerry, and the vigor that he brings to this area and the commitment he brings, I think really ameliorates any particular concerns about whether or not the Biden administration is all in, Keohane said during a press briefing last week. Bidens expected absence from the conference comes as he faces criticism from much of his political base regarding his handling of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Young and progressive voters have also pushed back on his approval of several fossil fuel projects and see climate as a higher priority than many of their older and more moderate counterparts. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby, when asked if the Israel-Hamas conflict has impacted other priorities like COP28, said Biden has been very much focused on the conflict between Israel and Hamas over the last month or so. Were going to have a robust representation, obviously, and we expect to have a productive it will be productive, press secretary Karine Jeanne-Pierre added, referencing Kerry, Podesta and Zaidi specifically. Su said, however, that Biden not attending just adds further disappointment, especially to young voters. In a follow-up email, she added that Biden and the U.S. are very happy to immediately mobilize massive resources for war but not to fight climate change. It is clear that he is not treating the climate crisis like the existential emergency it is and instead is failing to commit any real resources to fight an effort that requires wartime resource mobilization, Su said. But Bazilian said the specific decision not to attend COP28 is unlikely to register compared to issues such as the Middle East and the economy. I just dont see the general voting public in the United States has the international climate talks on its priority list of topics, he said. I cant see how climate change at an international event taking place halfway across the world makes a dent. Alex Gangitano contributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. [Source] Jack Ma, founder of E-commerce giant Alibaba, is shifting his focus to pre-packaged food and agricultural products with his latest venture, "Ma's Kitchen." Back in business: Last week, the 59-year-old billionaire officially set up "Hangzhou Ma's Kitchen Food," a startup with a registered capital of 10 million yuan ($1.4 million). While details on the business model remain undisclosed, records from China's National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System reveal a focus on pre-packaged food, imports, exports and edible agricultural products. An unexpected pivot: Ma, whose previous comments critical of China's financial system had led to regulatory scrutiny, notably withdrew from the public eye in 2020 amidst a government-led crackdown on the companies he founded, Alibaba and Ant Group. Ant's IPO was suspended, and Alibaba faced a hefty fine. His recent foray into the food industry suggests a strategic pivot. Ma's Kitchen adds to a series of ventures in agriculture and education in the country, aligning well with the Communist Party's "common prosperity" initiative. Trending on NextShark: S. Korean lawmaker proposes imposing fines on video game hackers Whats cooking: With China's ready meals market reaching 71.1 billion yuan ($9.9 billion) in 2022, some analysts view Ma's entry into the pre-packaged food space as a step in the right direction. In an interview with CNN, Ben Cavender of China Market Research Group highlighted the potential for innovation in the sector, citing changing consumer habits during the pandemic and an economic slowdown in China. Busy billionaire: Ma, who co-founded Alibaba in 1999, relinquished his executive chairmanship role in 2019. He then went on to spend the succeeding years focusing on philanthropy and agricultural projects. Last week, he made headlines after deferring plans to sell Alibaba shares worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Trending on NextShark: China hails 'good old friend' Henry Kissinger, who visited country over 100 times Download the NextShark App: Want to keep up to date on Asian American News? Download the NextShark App today! Billionaire Ken Langone plans to meet with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley next week, becoming the latest prominent Republican donor to publicly weigh backing her White House bid. Langone, a Home Depot co-founder, said he has not decided whether to throw his financial support behind Haley in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, but said hes impressed with the spunk shes shown in her campaign and her reasonable stance on abortion. Two things that appeal to me is that shes a fighter, and shes gaining ground, Langone told CNN in an interview Monday afternoon. Whether she can gain enough ground to be a spoiler, who knows? But a lot of people that I respect are jumping on her bandwagon. Haley, a former US ambassador to the United Nations, has seen growing donor interest in recent weeks as some establishment Republicans look to boost an alternative to former President Donald Trump, the current front-runner for the GOP nomination. The growing list of GOP financiers deciding to support Haley or to take a second look at her campaign comes as her standing in the polls has improved. A recent CNN poll with the University of New Hampshire, for instance, shows her moving into second place among likely Republican voters in the Granite State although Trump still maintains a significant lead over Haley and the rest of the GOP field. Aides to Haleys campaign did not respond to a CNN inquiry Monday afternoon about the upcoming sit-down with Langone. CNBC first reported the planned meeting with Langone. Langone backed Trumps campaign in 2016 but has turned away from the former president. He said he first met Haley a couple years ago, but wants to hear her plans for the presidency before committing. I think shes got the demeanor and the leadership skills to attract a lot of talent to her, Langone said. He specifically singled out how Haley has talked about abortion on the stump, given the string of Republican electoral losses on the issue since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year. Haley has called for politicians to search for consensus on the issue and has painted as unrealistic any effort to pass broad abortion restrictions at the federal level. During an appearance before evangelical voters earlier this month in Iowa, Haley said she would have signed a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy had the South Carolina legislature approved it when she was governor, suggesting that the issue should be left to the states. Whatever the people decide, she said at the time. Langone said the former governor is being reasonable about this. The Republican Party has got to understand one thing, Langone said. If they are going to make abortion and by the way, you are talking to a devout Roman Catholic but if they are going to make abortion an issue, we are going to lose every election. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) New bills that were recently introduced in Lansing would allow some people to become certified emergency medical technicians and medical first responders at a younger age. According to the Michigan Association of Ambulance Services, EMS agencies across the state need around 1,000 new paramedics and EMTs. Tim Newton, director of education with Life EMS Ambulance, says staffing shortfalls can cause a real strain. Any shortage, when were down a truck, it just means other crews have to fill in that gap, Newton said. To increase the number of people entering the field, Life EMS offers training programs in local high schools which gives students a path toward becoming certified. Sign up for breaking news alert emails These students right now are directly prepared to go right into the field after graduation both mentally and physically, Newton said. But some people cant immediately start their careers because Michigan law requires a person to be 18 before they can apply for a medical first responder or EMT license. Newton said this especially impacts those who graduate high school at 17. They are essentially sitting on the bench right now waiting to get that call, Newton said. That gap right now could be a year long. In response, two bills have been introduced in the State House that would lower the certification age in Michigan to 17. What Ive been seeing is that a lot of time were losing these kids because they are getting a job somewhere else because they want to get to work, said State Rep. Dave Prestin, R-Cedar River. It gives them the ability to get a job, get into the workforce, and start being a part of the solution. Prestin is the lead sponsor of the legislation and also says that trained 17-year-olds are prepared for the rigors of being an EMT. They have already done one-on-one patient care. Theyve proven through their fulfillment of the course objectives that they are ready, Prestin said. Sign up for the News 8 daily newsletter Newton says the bills becoming law would be beneficial, especially for EMS agencies in certain portions of the state. Its going to help these rural volunteer communities immensely to get staffing up to levels, Newton said. The bills have been referred to a committee. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com. A group of people, including many from China, walk along the wall after crossing the border with Mexico to seek asylum on Oct. 24, 2023, near Jacumba, Calif. | Gregory Bull, Associated Press A small group of lawmakers worked through the Thanksgiving holidays to try to find solutions for the crisis at the southern border. Ive literally talked to (Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer) almost every day except Thanksgiving and his birthday over the course of this holiday weekend, said Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., in an appearance on CBS News Face the Nation Sunday. These conversations come a little over a month after the White House requested $105 billion in funding for Ukraine, Israel and the southern border, including humanitarian assistance for these war zones and security assistance for the Indo-Pacific region. Republicans have demanded stricter immigration measures in exchange for their support behind the multifaceted aid package, leading to delays in its passage. Schumer, a New York Democrat, previously said in a letter he plans to bring the Biden administrations request to the Senate floor next week. Related The GOPs conditions to vote yes on the package has injected a decades old, hyperpartisan issue into overwhelmingly bipartisan priorities, Schumer wrote. He did not address Republican concerns over combining support for Israel and Ukraine into one bill. Bennet said there is broad bipartisan support for the funding package. But, he added, There are some Republicans who have said that in order to do that, in order to have that vote, they want to see something done on the border. The Republican priorities include reworking asylum laws to make it harder for migrants to enter the U.S. and expanding the construction of the border wall which are nonstarters for the Democratic Party, as Schumer previously said on the Senate floor. Bennet said theres always room for improvement when it comes to the American immigration system. And I hope people of good faith can come together and reach a solution, he added. As Politico reported, Bennet was joined by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., in trying to find a consensus on the border. Murphy told The Associated Press last week that any deal has to respect both Republican and Democratic priorities. He added, I dont think its realistic to solve anywhere close to the whole problem in the next two weeks. Related Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Mike Johnson have said their support for Ukraine will depend on whether immigration laws are tightened, per CNN. The reality is, if President Biden wants Ukraine aid to pass were going to have to have substantial border policy changes, said Cotton, who often stands with McConnell, as ABC News reported. Since Biden took office, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection has reported 7.5 million migrant encounters. This number doesnt include the over a million got aways who successfully evaded Border Patrol agents. Fiscal year 2023 shaped up to be one of the worst years for U.S. borders, with a 40% increase in encounters compared to 2021, and a 100% increase compared to 2019, as the Department of Homeland Security reported. On Friday, John R. Modlin, the chief patrol agent of the U.S. Border Patrols Tucson Division, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that 15,300 migrants were apprehended in a weeks time. Additionally, Modlin reported that 117 pounds of fentanyl were seized, while 14 incidents of human trafficking and three incidents related to drugs were reported within the same time frame. Week in Review... - 15,300 Apprehensions - 117 lbs. of Fentanyl - 78 Federal Criminal Cases - 17 Rescues - 14 Human Smuggling Events - 3 Narcotics Events #HonorFirst pic.twitter.com/75pt070mDr John R. Modlin (@USBPChiefTCA) November 24, 2023 In a later post, Modlin said that amid the surge in migrants crossing the border, the Border Patrol for Tucson, his department is reducing resources put toward social media accounts. At this time, all available personnel are needed to address the unprecedented flow, Modlin wrote. Sinema, who is involved in the bipartisan talks on the border, said in an interview with CBS News that she sees an urgent need to address the porous border and the loopholes in the immigration law. Theres growing concern, from folks on both sides of the aisle, that we have to act now, as a national security measure, to protect our border and ensure the safe passage of migrants into our country for those who do qualify for asylum, she said. A bipartisan group of senators joined a screening on Tuesday of footage from Hamas Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Almost 40 Senators from both sides of the aisle attended the screening, which was closed to the press, according to a Senate aide. The screening was hosted by Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), along with Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog. On October 7th, Hamas launched the worst terrorist attack in Israels history the single deadliest day for the Jews since the Holocaust, Rosen said in a statement. Given the effort by some individuals and organizations around the world to distort and deny what happened that day, it was important that, as policymakers, we bear witness to the full extent of the atrocities committed by Hamas. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) were among those at the screening. Tillis posted about watching the footage on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Tuesday. Today, my Senate colleagues and I watched footage of the devastation caused by Hamas horrific terrorist attack against Israel, Tillis post read. What we saw was not for the not for the faint-hearted. Hamas is pure evil and must be destroyed. Hamas has made it clear that they will stop at nothing to eliminate Israel and its people. As Israels longtime ally and friend, we must do everything we can to support its efforts to defend itself and destroy Hamas. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) also discussed the footage in a press conference later in the day. It was jarring and harrowing, Schumer said. It shook all of us up in the room. I had to go sit in my office for a half-hour alone after seeing it. A previous screening of Hamas attack footage was attended by about 150 House members, both Republicans and Democrats, on Capitol Hill a few weeks ago, leaving some members shaken. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) called the footage harrowing. Ill never be able to unsee any of it, but it furthers my resolve to ensure Israel has what she needs to crush Hamas and get the hostages home, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) said at the time. Updated 5:20 p.m. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Bitcoin mining uses vast amounts of electricity, which could be sourced from solar and wind energy projects during periods of over production (iStock/ Getty Images) Solar and wind energy installations could earn hundreds of millions of dollars by mining bitcoin during periods of excess electricity generation, according to a new study. Scientists from Cornell University in the US, who conducted the research, said setting up mining operations could reduce the environmental impact of cryptocurrency, while also providing revenue that could be reinvested in future renewable energy projects. Profitability of a mining system hinges on periods of steady energy availability since renewable energy sources can vary significantly, said Fengqi You, a professor of energy systems at Cornell University. Therefore, it is important to site the mining farm strategically to maximise productivity. The state with the most potential for setting up profitable crypto mining operations is Texas, according to the study, with 32 planned renewable projects capable of generating combined profits of $47 million. California, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Nevada and Virginia all showed potential, though setting up mining rigs presents a large initial cost. One way of incentivising such projects, Cornell doctoral student Apoorv Lal suggested, could be the introduction of new policies that provide economic rewards for mining bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies with clean energy These rewards can act as an incentive for miners to adopt clean energy sources, which can lead to combined positive effects on climate change mitigation, improved renewable power capacity, and additional profits during pre-commercial operation of wind and solar farms, Mr Lal said. We also recommend policies that encourage cryptocurrency-mining operations to return some of their profits back into infrastructure development. This would help create a self-sustaining cycle for renewable energy expansion. Bitcoin has drawn criticism from environmentalists for the vast amounts of electricity required to support its network and mint new units of the cryptocurrency, with recent analysis from the University of Cambridge estimating that it uses roughly the same amount of electricity as Poland. The plummeting costs of renewable energy mean bitcoin miners are increasingly turning to solar, wind and hydro sources to power their operations. In its current status, the infrastructure that supports the Bitcoin protocol cannot be sustained, but the beauty of the protocol is that the incentive structure will force miners to adopt the cheapest form of electricity, which in the near future will be renewable energy, Don Wyper, COO of DigitalMint, told The Independent last year. The latest study, titled From mining to mitigation: how bitcoin can support renewable energy development and climate action, was published in the journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. Zandile Ndhlovu grew up in Soweto, a black township on the edge of Johannesburg, where no-one ever dreamed of travelling hundreds of miles to swim in the ocean. There wasn't even a swimming pool. "And there was this narrative of, 'Black people don't swim, we don't do that stuff,'" she says. So she wasn't prepared for her first snorkelling trip, in Bali, at the age of 28. "The captain told everybody to kit up," she recalls. "I didn't even know what 'kit up' means. I didn't even know what a snorkel did. When I jumped into the water, I started freaking out. I thought I was drowning." But Ndhlovu says that once she became settled, she felt at peace. "I told myself to calm down. I looked beneath the surface of the water and couldn't believe the overwhelming blue, the yellow fish, and the sun rays on the coral reef. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life." Zandile Ndhlovu in the water The experience prompted her to take a diving course, and three years ago she became South Africa's first black female freediving instructor. It wasn't always an easy journey. "I was always the only black person on the boat," she says. "It was interesting because you go through various things, whether it's language, and everybody is speaking, Afrikaans or whether it's your wetsuit not fitting, or someone asking: 'Are you gonna dive with all of that hair?'" People in the black community also had questions, she says. "My friends would say: 'Why do you do white-people things?'" This increased her determination not to become another black person working in a dive shop once she had qualified, but to bring about change - to ensure that children of colour have access to the ocean. And that is how the Black Mermaid Foundation was born, set up and part-funded by Ndhlovu from her base in Cape Town, on South Africa's south-west coast, where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet. The Black Mermaid Foundation wants to improve access to the ocean for children from underprivileged backgrounds The foundation organises ocean exploration programmes for children and young people across the country, where they learn to swim, watch penguins play, and discover the African Sea Forest, a vast underwater ecosystem. Leah, aged 13, is one of those young people. "I love the ocean, but I was scared to go deep," she says. "Zandi was very patient with me. She made me relaxed because I was panicking that I was going to drown. "It's very inspiring to see how brave she is and how in love she is with the ocean. It makes me feel that whatever I love can become a part of me in life, just like how the ocean is something to her." Ndhlovu has been named as one of the BBC's 100 Women of 2023. Zandile is one of the BBC's 100 Women for 2023 She is now broadening the foundation's work to include what she calls "ocean hubs" across the country, which she describes as "ocean-inspired spaces with books, and a place where kids can play and escape from the everyday". The first is being set up in the township of Langa, just over 10km (six miles) from central Cape Town. "Langa has many challenges, whether it is drugs, gender-based violence, wild poverty - there's so much that goes on. So, I thought what would happen if we had this hub where the kids could come to read and learn together?" Ndhlovu says. She hopes this programme will create a diverse group of "ocean guardians" and will encourage black and brown African communities to be part of the climate change conversation. "As Africans, we cannot take the Western ideal of conservation, and use it in Africa in the way it has always existed," Zandile Ndhlovu warns. "The Western narrative always says, 'water and marine life before people'. But you cannot protect the waters, when you don't know what your family is going to eat tonight." She says elders in the black community can make a key contribution. "We need to use the indigenous knowledge with the Western knowledge, not one above the other, as both are important. "Then we can begin to build something incredible." Teaching the next generations about the ocean is key for marine conservation, says the freediving instructor Despite her busy life, Ndhlovu always swims or dives at least two to three times a week, even if it's "15 minutes in-between meetings". "The sea is my sanctuary," she says. "It's where I go to think, to release. I love the feeling of being held up by this large body of water. "There is no expectation, it's just me in this space where I find my voice, my courage, my identity. From there, I'm able to show up in the world a little bit braver." 100 Women logo BBC 100 Women names 100 inspiring and influential women around the world every year. Follow BBC 100 Women on Instagram and Facebook. Join the conversation using #BBC100Women. Students at five Baltimore County middle schools will soon be able to call a hotline for mental health services, Superintendent Myriam Rogers said at a news conference Tuesday. The 24/7 hotline, called the Cigna Student Support Line, is expected to launch later this month and be available for students at Franklin Middle School in Reisterstown, General John Stricker Middle School in Dundalk, Northwest Academy of Health Sciences in Pikesville, Perry Hall Middle School in Nottingham and Stemmers Run Middle School in Essex. Students can talk to Cigna staff trained in crisis management, get assessed for crisis intervention or have non-crisis calls directed to counseling or other resources, Rogers said. The insurance companys hotline is available in English and Spanish. Prior to the pandemic we knew that our students and staff members and families needed support, Rogers said. But especially after the pandemic, we know that there is a need for support and we know that if student and staff primary needs arent taken [care of] that they really cant avail themselves to high levels of teaching and learning. Rogers said the hotline is being tested at the five schools, which were selected based on need. Data from the pilot program will determine whether to expand to the entire district. The hotline is a free service, Cigna Health said in a statement. Our research shows that young people are increasingly facing serious mental health challenges, such as anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation, which impacts both children and their families, a Cigna spokesperson said in a statement. Knowing where to turn is a common barrier in seeking help, and were proud to partner with Baltimore County Public Schools on this free hotline to help connect students with care quickly. Last month, the county rolled out a behavioral teletherapy app called TalkShape that high schoolers can use to speak with mental health counselors online, schedule in-person meetings with school counselors, and access wellness programs. The two-year contract is priced by usage on a per-student, per-month model with a spending cap of $1.8 million. The anticipated cost this fiscal year is $625,000. Rogers said the district is working on providing age-appropriate mental health services for elementary school students. As part of the Blueprint for Marylands Future, the states landmark education reform plan, school districts must provide full-day prekindergarten for 3- and 4-year-olds whose families incomes are at or below 300% of the federal poverty level. Baltimore County has taken its first steps to achieve that goal by creating two full-day prekindergarten classes at Dogwood Elementary School in Woodlawn, which previously only had half-day programs. Rogers said the district used Blueprint and county school system funds for the expanded prekindergarten classes at Dogwood. The district is gearing up to launch a large number of programs for full-day prekindergarten at the start of the 2024-25 academic year, Rogers said, but declined to say how many. Students at two elementary schools are preparing to move into renovated buildings in January. Redhouse Run Elementary School in Rosedale now has 775 seats and Summit Park Elementary in Pikesville has 735 seats following the completion of capital projects. Also in January, Rogers will submit her operating budget request for fiscal year 2025 to the Baltimore County Board of Education Jan. 8. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to return to Israel this week amid hopes for an extended cease-fire. The trip will mark his third visit to the region since the war between Israel and the militant group Hamas broke out last month. During the visit, Blinken will discuss Israels right to defend itself consistent with international humanitarian law, as well as continued efforts to secure the release of remaining hostages, protect civilian life during Israels operations in Gaza, and accelerate humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza, the State Department said in a statement. He is also expected to discuss the future of a Palestinian state in post-conflict Gaza and preventing a wider escalation of the conflict, the department added. Blinkens visit comes as the first extension of a temporary truce between the groups is set to expire. Israel and Hamas agreed to extend the pause in fighting in Gaza for an additional two days Monday to facilitate the release of additional hostages and prisoners. Under the initial four-day cease-fire, which was set to expire Monday, Hamas released four rounds of hostages, mostly women and children taken during the groups Oct. 7 surprise assault in southern Israel. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said the extended truce is expected to see the release of 20 more hostages, who will also be women and children. Kirby added the negotiating parties will work toward extending the pause again, but the U.S. is focused on one piece at a time, and such extension is dependent on Hamas continuing to release hostages. In exchange for the hostages, Israel agreed to the release of dozens of Palestinian prisoners and the delivery of aid to Gaza, which has mostly been under siege since the start of the war last month. The Palestinian prisoners released were mostly teenagers accused of throwing stones or firebombs in conflict with Israeli forces, or other less serious offenses. While Israel has agreed to these temporary cease-fires, it has reiterated its determination to eliminate Hamas and its military capabilities. Israels bombardment of Gaza has killed more than 13,000 people since Oct. 7, according to the Hamas-ruled health ministry in the region. The surprise attack by Hamas on Israel, which sparked the war, resulted in the deaths of at least 1,200 Israelis, and more than 200 hostages were taken. Before heading to Israel, Blinken will meet with the NATO-Ukraine Councils foreign ministers in Belgium on Tuesday and then travel to North Macedonia on Wednesday to meet with counterparts from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. From Israel and the West Bank, Blinken will head to the United Arab Emirates to meet with regional leaders at the United Nations Climate Conference, COP28, to discuss the climate crisis along with other regional issues like the Israel-Hamas war. The Associated Press contributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. An Arkansas charitable foundation is awarding $3.3 million to groups across the state to improve the health and well-being of Natural State residents. The series of 32 grants was announced Monday by the Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas. Grants from $12,000 to $200,000 were made to schools, nonprofit organizations and municipal organizations across the state. Public health officials sound alarm over tuberculosis in northeast Arkansas Grant categories were for maternal and pediatric health, behavioral health and social determinants of health. Programs funded include those supporting pregnancy and pediatric care, affordable housing, addiction and mental health counseling and health-related community outreach. The Blue & You Foundation is proud to support the efforts of these excellent organizations that are working in innovative ways to address behavioral health, maternal and pediatric health needs and the social determinants of health in our state, Rebecca Pittillo, Blue & You Foundation president, said. Blue Cross & Blue Shield charity invests $5.9 million in Arkansas youth mental health, substance abuse and suicide prevention through Blue & You is the charity Arkansas Blue Cross & Blue Shield founded 22 years ago to improve health in the state. Blue Cross & Blue Shield also funds the charity, which has awarded more than $62 million since its founding. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK. DETROIT Police are investigating how a mans body ended up in the ventilation system of a Macomb Community College building in Michigan. There is no reason to suspect foul play, said Macomb College Police Chief William Leavens. At this point, it is important to remember that this an ongoing investigation, with the goal to understand the circumstances. The body which was identified Monday as Jason Thompson, 36, of Clinton Township was found Sunday evening while looking for the source of a terrible smell at the Macomb Center for the Performing Arts in Clinton Township, just north of Detroit. The Macomb Center for the Performing Arts, located in Clinton Township. Police, however, did not offer speculation about how the body ended up in the ventilation system or how long it had been there. Thompson was reported missing police Nov. 1 and last seen by family Oct. 25, the college said. The community college said it is offering its condolences to Thompson's family. Contact Frank Witsil: fwitsil@freepress.com. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jason Thompson: Body found in Macomb Community College building's vent A person who posed as a nurse and stole medical records from a Scottish hospital has yet to be identified nine months after the security breach. NHS Fife has been reprimanded after the bogus nurse assisted staff with the care of a patient at St Andrews Community Hospital in February. The individual left with paperwork containing personal information relating to 14 patients. The documents, known as SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation), which included personal identifiers and special health category data remain missing. A report by the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) said a police investigation has been hindered by a lack of CCTV footage, because cameras were accidentally switched off by a staff member. The watchdog said the unauthorised person gained access to the ward and then, due to a lack of identification checks and formal processes, they assisted with administering care to one patient and were handed a document containing the personal information of 14 people. The ICO said: The data was taken off site by the person and has not been recovered. While the hospital had CCTV installed, the wall socket with the CCTV had been accidentally turned off by a member of staff prior to the incident. The police have not been able to identify the person or recover the lost data, hindered by the lack of CCTV footage. Highly sensitive information The watchdogs investigation found NHS Fife failed to have appropriate security measures for personal information, as well as low staff training rates. Following the incident, NHS Fife introduced new measures including a sign in and out system for documents containing patient data, and updated identification processes. Natasha Longson, ICO head of investigations, said: Patient data is highly sensitive information and must be handled with the appropriate security. When accessing healthcare and other vital services, people need to trust that their data is secure and only available to authorised individuals. Every healthcare organisation should look at this case as a lesson learned and consider their own policies when it comes to security checks and authorised access. We are pleased to see NHS Fife has introduced new measures to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. NHS Fife apologised to those involved A NHS Fife spokesperson said: Earlier this year, an individual purporting to be a member of agency nursing staff attended St Andrews Community Hospital. The individual was only on a ward for a short period of time and left shortly after being challenged by a member of the nursing team. While the person was never alone with any patient, they did have access to a handover document containing information relating to patients on the ward. NHS Fife and Fife Health and Social Care Partnership, who operate the facility, immediately reported the incident to Police Scotland and also referred the incident to the Information Commissioners Office. The patients involved and their families were informed of this breach of security. We acknowledge the findings of the Information Commissioners Office, and have apologised to those involved. The health board said measures have been put in place to prevent a recurrence and a significant adverse event review has been held, with a group established to implement the recommendations of the commissioner and the review. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer. A Tuesday morning crash along Bogus Basin Road left a Boise woman dead. Idaho State Police is investigating the collision, which occurred near milepost 13 in Ada County, after troopers located an unconscious woman around 5 a.m. in a 2007 Nissan Altima, according to a news release from the agency. No other vehicles were involved in the crash. State police said the woman was taken to a local hospital where she died. She was 32. The Ada County Coroners Office is expected to release the womans name, the manner and cause of her death, the release said. State police and the Ada County Sheriffs Office are investigating the crash. Mercy San Juan Hospital nurse Melanie Linnenbrink loves new parents engaged as full partners in feeding and soothing the babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. But sometimes the unit is full and the parents cant come, resulting in a hard day for everyone. Unless they have a MamaRoo. A MamaRoo is a multi-motion baby swing that replicates bouncing and swaying motions that parents make soothing their babies. It is designed to mimic a parents natural rhythms and movements, similar to being in a mothers womb. The NICU staff wants to add eight MamaRoos to help supplement care for all of the units preterm babies, but especially for babies born with opioid exposure. Linnenbrink hopes readers of The Sacramento Bees Book of Dreams stories can come to the rescue this year, contributing $2,155 for the new MamaRoos. We focus on three things here: Can the baby eat, can the baby sleep; can the baby be consoled within 10 minutes or less. If they cant, then they need extra help, she said. Babies can be in the NICU for a month or even longer before they are ready to go home, Linnenbrink said. The presence of parents interacting intensely with their children during that time is the best medicine, she said. Unfortunately, more often than either the parents or staff would like, some moms and dads cant get to the hospital every day for a variety of reasons because they lack transportation, cant get off work, live too far away, have no one at home to care for their other children or are sick. Comforted by care Sarah Spencer is still waiting for Casey to come home. He has been in the NICU since Sept. 21. His lungs have been slow to develop, she said, but everything else is developed for a preemie. She said she and her husband are challenged to get to the hospital frequently to be with Casey because they are juggling so many needs. I have a twin boy and girl who are 3 at home, she said. My mom is dealing with my dad who was in the ICU, my husbands mom helps when she can, and we live 30 to 40 minutes away from the hospital. But she is comforted by the care her newborn is being given. The nurses are doing a great job for Casey and Im sure they are sacrificing a lot, too. MamaRoos baby swings to the rescue The MamaRoos have come in handy, said Heather Cortez, a licensed clinical social worker and team member in the NICU. The MamaRoos are a lifesaver, she said. A few minutes to up to half an hour swinging and swaying can make a baby stop crying and get comfortable. It provides them with a sense of peace and comfort. We just need more of them. They can also come in handy when the NICU is extraordinarily busy. The nurses have multiple babies to care for at once, as they bounce from feeding and caring for one baby, then moving on to the next to give medications, take vital signs and do paperwork. After COVID, the number of volunteer baby cuddlers has dwindled to just a few, said Linnenbrink. MamaRoos are portable and small enough to fit into a tight space, she added, and they dont interfere with the medical equipment attached to the babies to monitor vital signs. Raymika Mims, of south Sacramento, said she can attest to their value in the NICU. On a recent afternoon, she came to pick up her healthy newborn, Alona Marie, who stayed in the unit for a month due to her premature birth. As Mims prepared to take her little girl home, she said sometimes she couldnt come to the hospital, especially because she has two young boys at home. It was kind of scary, she said, but thanks to these nurse mommies she had great care. Looking content in her pink onesie, Alona sat sleeping in the MamaRoo while her mom watched. She is chillin in this thing. I wish I had one of these. Better for soothing MamaRoos are not only comfortable for babies like Alona and Casey, but they apparently are proving to be one partial alternative to using drugs to comfort a different subset of babies babies suffering from opioid exposure. Those babies can often experience pain, body shakes and have problems sleeping. They need extra swaddling and soothing. Traditional treatment for opioid-exposed babies may involve morphine or methadone, Linnenbrink said. MamaRoos can be a part of a non-pharmacological regime that also includes swaddling, skin-to-skin care and breastfeeding. Dr. Carolyn Getman, medical director of the NICU, said about 40 to 50 babies a year 10% of the babies coming through the NICU have been exposed to opioids, many as a result of the mother taking fentanyl. We used to have conventional baby swings, but they arent considered safe, she said. These are gentler, better for their development, better for soothing and better for comfort. 4 Moms, the maker of the MamaRoos, said in a press release that the product has become popular in NICUs across the country. A preliminary survey of 126 NICU nurses in one hospital conducted by the National Perinatal Association and 4Moms in 2019 reported that opioid-exposed babies placed in the infant swings were more physiologically stable, with lower heart and respiratory rates, and were observed to be in a calmer behavioral state. I know this works, Linnenbrink said. Unfortunately, our hospital budget is currently very tight and while (MamaRoos) are wonderful, they are not part of our regular budget, so it would be great if the community could help our babies out. Book of Dreams The request: Mercy San Juan Hospital seeks eight MamaRoo baby swings for its Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The cost: $2,155. Donate now To claim a tax deduction for 2023, donations must be postmarked by Dec. 31, 2023. All contributions are tax-deductible and none of the money received will be spent on administrative costs. Partial contributions are welcome on any item. In cases where more money is received than requested for a given need, the excess will be applied to meeting unfulfilled needs in this Book of Dreams. Funds donated in excess of needs listed in this book will fulfill wishes received but not published and will be donated to social service agencies benefiting children at risk. The Sacramento Bee has verified the accuracy of the facts in each of these cases and we believe them to be bona fide cases of need. However, The Bee makes no claim, implied or otherwise, concerning their validity beyond the statement of these facts. Abortion Forbes-Tate registered to lobby on the availability of Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs for the Hopewell Fund, describing the 501(c)(3)s business activities as Preserving access to medication abortion care. The Hopewell Fund is a nonprofit managed by Arabella Advisors, a philanthropic services firm that has been described as the hub of a liberal dark money network for its role in steering large donations from individuals and nonprofits to various groups without disclosing those donors. One of the lobbyists on the account is Jeff Strunk, the former deputy floor director to then-Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), while the other lobbyists previously worked for Democratic members of Congress. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. Natural gas Natural gas company Cheniere Energy hired Blank Rome Government Relations to lobby on language in Section 324 of the House Coast Guard authorization bill (H.R. 2741) that would give the Coast Guard authority to enact a risk-based inspection strategy for liquified natural gas tankers. David Jansen, former staff director on the House Transportation Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, will work on the account. Higher education Utah Valley University hired Barker Leavitt to lobby on federal funding and issues impacting higher education. Ryan Leavitt, a Capitol Hill veteran whose resume includes stints as the legislative director to Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and special assistant to Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), will work on the account. Emergency services The Arizona Fire & Medical Authority hired AZ DC Consulting to lobby for more funding for firehouses and other emergency response efforts. Allison Feikes, a former professional staff member on the Senate HELP Committee, will work on the account. Farm Bill The Midwest Dry Bean Coalition hired Combest, Sell & Associates to lobby on issues related to the farm bill and dry bean farmers. Tom Sell, former deputy chief of staff for the House Agriculture Committee, will work on the account. Telecommunications The American Polymer Company hired Ballard Partners to lobby on issues related to broadband telecommunications network materials and equipment. Dane Eagle (R), the former Florida Secretary of Economic Opportunity and state House Majority Leader, will work on the account. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Bowie State Universitys LGBTQIA Resource Center, which has been operating for over a decade, is set to get a face-lift paid for with a grant won by Paige Hoskins, a junior at the school. House of Bowie, previously known as the Gay-Straight Alliance, is a student-run organization with a mission to defend, protect, celebrate and educate queer students and allies through programming like book clubs, bingo and soirees, Hoskins said. The universitys resource center was the first of its kind at a historically Black college or university when it opened in 2012. Hoskins, a 20-year-old psychology major, said House of Bowie is showcasing and representing the LGTBQ+ community on campus. I definitely believe it is a safe campus, especially with House of Bowies influence. Weve started to just personally bring in people into our little safe resource center, Hoskins said, and also acknowledging that its OK to be queer, its OK to be who you are and express who you are in a space where it doesnt seem like it. I think just that warmth brings such a bigger influence to the campus. Hoskins, who holds the position of Miss House of Bowie on the organizations leadership team, is a spokesperson who leads meetings and hosts events. Most recently, she secured a $600 grant from Campus Pride, a nonprofit based in North Carolina that seeks to create safer, more inclusive college environments for LGBTQ+ students. Hoskins, one of 13 winners across the country, plans to use the money to improve the LGBTQIA Resource Center with things like more comfortable furniture and take-home resources. Hoskins is the only recipient representing a Maryland university and one of two hailing from an HBCU; the other student represents Clinton College in Rock Hill, South Carolina. We have been getting more traction in the resource center, Hoskins said. Sometimes, people come in and they have questions on identity. They have questions on sex health. They have questions on just the queer community as a whole. So if Im not there or someone whos able to speak on these things is not there, having something to take or having something to read or look at or have I think is so important [because] you walk away with something that maybe the rest of the campus isnt offering for you. Shane Mendez Windmeyer, the CEO and founder of Campus Pride, said the organization was drawn to Hoskins application because of her focus on creating a safe space, especially in the wake of increasing attacks on young members of the LGBTQ+ community nationwide. If youre going to make good grades, Windmeyer said, you have to have a safe space to be able to thrive and learn in. Kayla Lowery, who uses she/they pronouns, is the president of House of Bowie. She said the resource center is a safe study space where students can come and do homework. Its also a place where students from completely different sides of campus can come together, Lowery said. Theres an active group chat with about 140 people, and House of Bowie events max out at about 50 attendees. Lowery wants to invest in the resource center and make it a home and a hub. Keadrick Peters, the director of the LGBTQIA+ Resource Center and faculty adviser for House of Bowie, said the universitys annual campus climate surveys have reflected a steadily increasing sense of belonging among the LGBTQ+ community, which Peters credits in part to safe spaces like House of Bowie. Peters regularly meets with the students behind House of Bowie to prepare events, programs and initiatives that keep the center visible, he said. Bowie State University is one of 16 schools involved with the Campus Pride HBCU Commission, as is Morgan State University. Windmeyer said the commission meets quarterly and acts as a sounding board and distribution network for ideas like the mini grant Hoskins received. It was through the commission that Peters heard about the grants and immediately thought about the outgoing and determined Hoskins, who has worked to give House of Bowie a larger presence on campus. Shes usually one of the first people to volunteer for any kind of volunteer service or to do a special project, Peters said. Shes like, Ill sign up and Ill bring a friend. Hoskins said she hopes to see a larger, more consistent crowd at House of Bowie as time passes. And once she and the rest of the executive board move on, she hopes to leave it in good hands. I hope whoever comes to these roles when Im graduated still has a passion, still has like the care for the queer community on campus, Hoskins said. This article is part of our Newsmaker series, which profiles notable people in the Baltimore region who are having an impact in our diverse communities. If youd like to suggest someone who should be profiled, please send their name and a short description of what they are doing to make a difference to: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Editor Kamau High at khigh@baltsun.com. Officers were called out to the Old Avenue area of Auchinleck on Saturday evening. A 13-year-old boy is among six people who have been arrested following large-scale disorder over the weekend in an East Ayrshire village. Three men, aged 22, 28 and 39, and two women, aged 29 and 26, were also charged following the incidents in Auchinleck. Police Scotland said inquires to identify others involved were ongoing. A force spokesman said the disturbances were thought to have been "planned and targeted". One officer required hospital treatment after being hit by a brick. Det Insp Ewan Bell, who is leading the investigation, described the assault as "completely unacceptable". He added: "Unfortunately, during the incidents, some of those gathered became extremely hostile towards police. "We have stepped up patrols in the area and anyone with concerns should speak to officers. We're committed to identifying those responsible and taking further action." Footage on social media showed officers in helmets and carrying riot shields as they tried to break up the crowd. Two homes were also badly damaged in apparent fire-raising attacks. One resident told BBC Scotland News he feared for his life when violence broke out in his street. Chief Supt Raymond Higgins said: "This type of disorder causes fear and alarm to residents and I would like to reassure the local community that inquiries into what happened are ongoing. "We would ask that you do not speculate on what is going on here and allow our officers to carry out their inquiries. The community of Auchinleck deserve to live in peace and free from this type of crime." Anyone with information is urged to contact the dedicated Major Incident Public Portal. Ahmed Salayme, a Palestinian former prisoner released from an Israeli jail, hugged his mother upon his arrival at home on 28 November Thirty Palestinian prisoners were released by Israel on Tuesday night as part of the truce deal with Hamas. They include "15 minors and 15 women", a spokesman for Qatar's foreign ministry said. Among those released are Marwat al-Azza, a freelance journalist who had previously worked with US broadcaster NBC, and a 14-year-old boy. They were freed as 10 Israeli and two foreign hostages were released by Hamas in Gaza. The Israeli prison service said the prisoners had been released from Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank and the Jerusalem Detention Center. Tuesday was the fifth day of the truce between Israel and Hamas, after a 48-hour extension was agreed yesterday. Ms al-Azza, 45, was arrested earlier this month in East Jerusalem on suspicion of inciting terrorism and identifying with a terrorist organisation in relation to social media posts she made about Hamas's attack on 7 October, which killed about 1,200 Israelis. NBC cut ties with her following her arrest. Another prisoner released by Israel was named by Al Jazeera as Ahmed Salayme, 14. Last May, UK-based website Middle East Eye reported that the teenager was arrested on charges of throwing stones in East Jerusalem. In an interview upon his release, he told Al Jazeera that Israeli prison officers carried out "a number of beatings" including on female inmates, on the day the war started on 7 October. He added that he was told not to celebrate his release: "I'm not allowed to leave my house, raise any signs or banners, use a megaphone. And if I break any of these rules I will be taken back," he said. His mother told Al Jazeera Israeli authorities had searched the family home several times ahead of her son's release and said she was afraid her son could be rearrested at any moment. Released Palestinian prisoners were welcomed by cheering crowds in the streets of the West Bank Reuters news agency showed images of Palestinians cheering just outside Ofer prison at the Beitunia checkpoint as the new batch of prisoners were driven past on buses marked with the the International Red Cross sign. Israel's national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir has banned Palestinians from celebrating the prisoners' release, according to Israeli media. "My instructions are clear: there are to be no expressions of joy. Expressions of joy are equivalent to backing terrorism," Mr Ben Gvir was quoted as saying. Since Friday, a total of 180 Palestinians - mostly women and teenage boys - have been released from Israeli jails as part of the truce. They were chosen from an original list of 300 Palestinians compiled by Israel and had been accused of a range of offences, from throwing stones to incitement to attempted murder. Fewer than a quarter of those on the list had been convicted - the vast majority were being held on remand while awaiting trial. Under the terms of the truce, three Palestinians are being freed in exchange for each Israeli hostage returned from Gaza. More on Israel-Gaza war University of Maryland medical students are fundraising for an annual book drive that gives new books to hospitalized children over the winter holidays. Dr. Stefanie Fischell started Reads for Peds for pediatric patients in 2016 while rotating through the University of Maryland Childrens Hospital as a student. Now a pediatric hospitalist and medical officer at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Fischell still contributes to the student organization she created, which has given out 16,000 books in the past seven years. I felt like as a medical student, we spent so much time in the books and studying, and I really wanted to get to know the patients in the hospital, Fischell said. You realize that for the holidays, the kids are at the hospital, and they dont get to a lot of times go home and be with their family. Reads for Peds is accepting donations online until 12 p.m. Dec. 6. Books for all age groups, from newborn babies to high school teenagers, are purchased and gift-wrapped by members of the Reads for Peds student club and hospital staff during a two-day event. Rather than give toys or other items, Fischell chose to start a book drive because reading offers children a place to explore their imagination, she said. Reading is also crucial for a childs brain growth, but some families might not own many books, said Dr. Steven Czinn, director of the University of Maryland Childrens Hospital and chair of the pediatrics department. The value of reading is immeasurable, Czinn said. Its one of those things that gives the child a chance to spend time with family members in a way that doesnt always happen Its a great activity to do as a family; it stimulates conversation and discussion. And the look on these childrens faces when they get a book is priceless, he said. A $5 donation can purchase one book, said Sam Kirsch, the current president of the medical school club, who is studying to be a psychiatrist. Donors can choose the book they want purchased or have club members select an age-appropriate book. My goal this year was to mix up the quality of the books. We still have the classics like A Wrinkle in Time or Junie B. Jones, but I also was trying to throw in more like Harry Potter books, Kirsch said. Were mixing up different genres of books just to have a good quality but also good variety. Last year, the group handed out 3,000 books at eight hospitals affiliated with the University of Maryland Medical System, such as Mercy Medical Center and St. Joes Medical Center. The club also works with Difference Makers, a student-run organization at Tacoma Park Middle School, and Velocity of Books, a Maryland nonprofit, to get books. Members of Reads for Peds have given out 16,000 books in the past seven years. Reads for Peds members then pass the books out to children in outpatient clinics, infusion centers, intensive care units, emergency rooms and other pediatric departments. The club usually has so many books that patients and their siblings can take a book home for months after the holiday season has passed. If youve ever been chronically ill or sick and you have to be in the hospital or any situation that makes you feel sort of powerless or different or isolated, its nice to know that people are looking out for you and have your best interest in mind, Kirsch said. TUBA CITY, Ariz. - Hataaii Tiisyatonii "HT" Begay, a Native American boy who is Dine, or Navajo, rolls toy trucks around in the dirt. He chases chickens into their coop. He pauses to watch his dad deftly gut a sheep for a ceremonial feast. Then he climbs onto a picnic table with his brother and cousins, chanting "Lava!" while pretending the ground has turned into molten rock. To his family, HT is a typical 5-year-old - a smiling, curious, busy blur who roams across his family's ranch, where the land seems to stretch all the way to the sky. Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. To his doctors, he is a marvel. HT was born with a form of severe combined immunodeficiency, or SCID, which meant he had virtually no immune defenses. About 70 children are born with SCID each year in the United States and Canada, though only two or three will have the same type as HT. Without treatment, children with SCID typically die in the first two years of life. On the sixth day of HT's life, he and his family returned to the hospital where he'd been born in Tuba City, Ariz., a community on the Navajo Nation about 50 miles east of the Grand Canyon. A pediatrician told them HT would need to be isolated and airlifted to Phoenix Children's Hospital. Joy turned to shock. His paternal grandmother, Laverna Shorty, recalls scrubbing her arms down before she could enter the room in Phoenix, which was filled with the sound of HT's coarse cough. Two and a half months later, at the University of California at San Francisco Benioff Children's Hospital, HT became the first person in the world to receive an experimental gene therapy designed to rebuild his immune system, cell by cell. The outcome of this experiment was far from certain - a big leap of trust for his family, who were relying on Western medicine and traditional knowledge to find a path for HT to come home. "We just prayed for him," Laverna said. "You know, you overcome things with prayers, and you have to have faith. So I had faith in the Western medicine and my own cultural beliefs." HT was the trailblazer for a successful gene therapy that has now been given to 13 infants. His recovery highlights the power of treatments that aim to fix the roots of a disease inside a patient's own cells, offering long-lasting outcomes that, doctors hope, may turn out to be cures. It is also one piece of a deeper story about how doctors and families navigated cultural differences and learned from each other to save children's lives. The next step won't be easy: Drug companies so far have shown little interest in turning HT's experimental therapy into an approved medical treatment. It's a reflection of a broader challenge that threatens to limit the profound potential of gene therapies for ultrarare diseases. But HT's doctors are determined to find a path forward, one that could become a model for other rare conditions to follow. - - - Bubble boy disease SCID is more famously known as "bubble boy disease," after a high-profile case in the 1970s in which a boy in Texas lived to the age of 12 inside a sterile chamber. Today, it is known to be caused by mutations in at least 20 different genes. Most pediatricians may never see a child with SCID. But during her medical residency at the University of Colorado, Diana Hu cared for a child with SCID from the Navajo Nation who had been sent to Denver for a bone-marrow transplant to treat the condition. In 1985, shortly after she began practicing medicine in Tuba City, she cared for two local babies with SCID. The next year, she saw two more cases. The alarming number of sick babies spurred doctors to scour medical records and interview families, searching for infants who may have died without being diagnosed. They estimated that among Dine people, 1 in 2,000 babies are born with SCID. In the general population, by contrast, SCID affects about 1 in 58,000 babies. Karen Yazzie's first child, Brandon Jay Nez, was born in Tuba City in December 1985. He became very sick with diarrhea and pneumonia, and was diagnosed with SCID. He was transported to Denver, but he died in March 1986, before doctors could even try a bone-marrow transplant. "He never got as far as that," Yazzie said. Doctors saw that the cases among the Dine followed the pattern of a recessive genetic disease, though they did not yet know which gene caused it. Such illnesses can remain hidden in families for generations, because people carry two copies of each gene, and as long as they have one normal copy, they won't be affected. Children like Brandon were tragically unlucky - they inherited two copies of an errant gene, one from each parent. Yazzie learned that she and her husband had a 1 in 4 chance of having another child with the illness. Her next child, Brittney Nez, was healthy. In 1990, Yazzie had twins. One of them, Courtney Nez, had SCID. Hu made a call that was by then becoming familiar, reaching out to Morton Cowan, a pediatric immunologist at the University of California at San Francisco who had become a partner in caring for such patients. Brittney, then 5, flew out to San Francisco with her mom and baby sister to donate her bone marrow cells to Courtney. In the hospital, Courtney celebrated her first laugh with a traditional Dine ceremony that welcomes the child into the community. Doctors were beginning to learn that these children didn't always do well, even with a matched bone marrow transplant. Their immune systems didn't always reconstitute, leaving them battling persistent infections, and they were slow to grow, along with other complications. Courtney was fearless, spunky and strong-willed, Yazzie said. She became partially paralyzed from a stroke around age 10, and later developed bleeding in her lungs. Still, she cooked for her family, making fry bread or a simple breakfast sandwich with toast, eggs and Spam. She bottle-fed lambs. She excelled at school. She never stopped making jokes. But Courtney was in and out of the hospital her whole life, and she died at age 21. "There's not a day that goes by that we don't think about her," Brittney said. "See, Court, you're never forgotten, you're always talked about. Everyone remembers you." - - - Working together to save children's lives Over Courtney's short lifetime, doctors began to unravel the disease that haunted these families. The children lacked T cells and B cells, critical immune fighters that fend off infections. In 2002, Cowan and his colleagues identified a mutation in a gene that codes for a protein called Artemis, which plays a role in DNA repair and is essential for the development of T and B cells; the disease became known as Artemis-deficient SCID. It was more common among people with Dine and Apache ancestry, but it was discovered in other populations, too. Even with this knowledge, children were still being diagnosed with SCID too late; the first clue often came when babies were in the grip of unusually severe infections. For decades, routine newborn screening has used a few drops of blood from a baby's heel to test for many genetic disorders. In 2009, a team led by pediatric immunologist Jennifer Puck proposed to pilot a SCID screening test at two hospitals on the Navajo Nation that would analyze an additional drop of blood to help identify SCID at birth. It is now used across the United States. The progress was possible because Native American families worked with the researchers to find ways to save their children - a partnership that required bridging cultural gaps and mistrust. "You don't go in there and say, 'I'm going to fix your problem.' You need to be a listener and be humble," Puck said. Western science and medicine have historically ignored and underestimated the traditional knowledge of Native people, said Katrina Claw, a Navajo geneticist at the University of Colorado's Anschutz Medical Campus. Many people in the community have a deep knowledge of biology and heredity, grounded in expertise in raising livestock and crops passed down over generations. The Navajo clan system, a way of identifying oneself that also keeps track of kinship, is a complex genealogical and cultural system and a form of genetic knowledge, Claw said. The Navajo Nation implemented a moratorium on genetic research on the reservation in 2002, partially in response to an exploitative history in which researchers retrieved samples or data from Native Americans, often without proper consent or sharing the results. That ugly practice intersects with cultural beliefs that every part of a person's body is sacred, which created concern about what happened to blood or tissue samples after they were taken. "We're still recovering from this whole helicopter research era, when people took samples and never came back," Claw said. "In my interactions with cultural and tribal leaders, people aren't opposed to cures and treatments. . . . It's the approach and the way it is done that matter to Navajo people." The doctors in San Francisco began building ties to the reservation in the mid-1980s. Hu helped Cowan organize a picnic in Winslow, Ariz., to meet and interview families to learn their history and gather samples. Over time, that evolved into an annual tradition - a "SCID clinic picnic" where the doctors check up on their patients and then hold a barbecue so the families could share stories, laughter and tears. - - - A drop of blood sets off alarm bells By the time HT was born in April 2018, newborn screening for SCID was routine, and results from his blood test set off immediate alarm bells. After initial testing in Phoenix, HT was airlifted to San Francisco. A bone-marrow transplant could save HT's life, the doctors told his family, but his older brother, Hastiin, wasn't a match. There was another option. Cowan and Puck had developed a therapy that could insert a corrected version of the gene that codes for Artemis into stem cells and rebuild the immune system. So far, it had been tested only in cells in a dish and animals. The doctors knew that the prospect of inserting a gene into a baby's stem cells was daunting. After several lengthy conference calls with HT's parents and grandparents, the family agreed. The medical team in San Francisco first harvested HT's bone marrow cells. Then, they used a harmless virus to insert the corrected Artemis gene into his cells. And on June 23, 2018, they returned the cells to HT. His father, Darren Shorty, had been hesitant for his son to join the trial. He went to the family ranch and drew on medicine that he learned from his grandmother, harvesting some traditional healing herbs. Darren then brought the herb, called "life medicine," to the hospital to make a tea for HT. The care team was unaware of the medicine at first, and Puck tried to intervene, explaining her worry that it would interfere with the gene therapy. Darren explained the healing and spiritual value of the herb, and they reached a compromise. He would make a tea, boiling it for 30 minutes. Rebuilding an immune system from scratch takes time, and HT's parents had another son to care for, bills to pay and work to do. They went home, and Laverna Shorty, who had already raised nine children and fostered more, quit her job in construction to care for her grandson 24/7 in San Francisco. Laverna tasted all of HT's medicines before she gave them to him, devising strategies to help him to swallow the bitter ones. She cradled him, counting the raindrops on the window and cars on the street below and singing songs. When she got too tired of holding HT, she fashioned a pouch out of a bedsheet, wrapping HT close to her heart. Laverna asked the doctors and nurses to explain everything to her. She started looking up immunological terms, learning about T cells, B cells and neutrophils, the immune warriors that protect people from germs. "I came thinking that I was just going to change diapers, [give] cuddles. No. I actually, I took a big responsibility upon myself," Laverna said. Everyone rejoiced when, three months after the transplant, a test showed that HT's body had made three T cells per microliter of blood. It was a crucial first step. Doctors closely monitored HT, watching his immune markers slowly tick up and giving Laverna permission to do things like take him out in a stroller with a plastic protective sheet on top. HT developed various complications - anemia, infections, mouth sores - and he still needed infusions of antibodies to help shore up his immune system. But when he finally got home, around age 2, he was allowed to play in the dirt and touch an animal, a crucial milestone, because his family keeps horses, dogs, sheep and chickens. Hu, the Tuba City pediatrician, advocates for these children with a perspective grounded in the decades she has spent caring for the community. Sometimes, that means securing emergency housing for a family if they lack electricity or running water, or finding ways for children to attend school safely despite the risk of an infection. "People from here have a connection to the land," Hu said. "This is the art of medicine, not the science." In spring of 2020, HT developed an infection, and he and Laverna were airlifted to San Francisco. The pandemic hit the reservation hard, so they stayed in California for months. When they moved back to the Navajo Nation, they lived in a travel trailer on the family ranch. Despite the setbacks, HT's immune system was getting stronger. Thirty-two months after his gene therapy, he no longer needed monthly infusions of antibodies. - - - Cures in limbo Cowan and Puck's gene therapy is now a scientific success. Last December, they published a paper in the New England Journal of Medicine showing that 10 infants have been treated, including HT. All were healthy after follow-ups that ranged from 10 months to four years, and four patients no longer needed infusions of antibodies to bolster their immune systems. At the end of this month, they will treat their 14th patient. Now, a new challenge looms: how to guarantee other children will be able to access the treatment long term. Gene therapies for rare diseases can command multimillion-dollar price tags, but even with the potential reward, drug companies' interest so far has been tepid for Artemis-SCID, which afflicts just 2 to 3 percent of the already small number of SCID patients. In the meantime, many in the field are watching the halting path of a gene therapy called Strimvelis, which is aimed at another form of SCID. The therapy was approved in Europe in 2016. "That treatment I think you can legitimately say is a cure, and I don't use that word very often," said Philip J. Brooks, the deputy director of the Division of Rare Diseases Research Innovation at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. But last year, biotechnology company Orchard Therapeutics announced that it would stop its investment in the treatment. Orchard also stopped development of an experimental treatment for the same type of SCID that had successfully been used in 50 patients, citing manufacturing challenges. Strimvelis has been transferred to an Italian biomedical charity, and Orchard returned the license on the experimental therapy to the academic groups that began the work. "We've got these transformative, miraculous therapies that don't fit in anyone's business model," said Donald Kohn, a professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics at the University of California at Los Angeles who has been treating patients with the experimental therapy, with dwindling funds. "It's at a paradoxical state. It's hard to get a research grant when you've kind of proven it's effective." Researchers remain hopeful, and are spitballing new models. A nonprofit might be able to develop such medicines. They're exploring the steps toward setting up commercial manufacturing, looking for alternative funding sources and talking to regulators. What regulators and scientists agree on is that gene therapies, and eventually gene editing, will provide an opportunity to target thousands of rare diseases - if the manufacturing challenges and business model can be worked out. "We're at a tender moment for rare-disease gene therapy," said Peter Marks, who leads the center that oversees gene therapies at the Food and Drug Administration. The urgency comes from seeing children like HT thrive. What's astonishing to Cowan and Puck is how much better the Artemis-SCID gene therapy patients are doing than those who received traditional bone marrow transplants. The therapy has given these children a way to be children again. This year, when the doctors came for the SCID clinic and picnic, they got to visit HT at his home - what Puck calls his "place of belonging." Back at the ranch, Shorty mixed dough in a giant bucket for enough tortillas for 50 people. Her children prepared mutton for a feast. A big pot of potatoes bubbled on the stove. HT was out there, too, dashing around with the animals or exploring in the shade. After he spent years of living in small spaces, under a constant shadow of worry, his world now stretches as far as the eye can see. - - - Dana Hedgpeth contributed to this report. Related Content How one rabid kitten triggered intensive effort to contain deadly virus A lovers' tale of romance, fidelity and the aviary netting keeping them apart The final hours of Rosalynn Carter's life, in the town where it began COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) After launching the worlds first beer hotel in Canal Winchester, a Scotland-based brewery and pub chain is opening its third airport location in Columbus. BrewDog is constructing a new bar inside Concourse B of John Glenn Columbus International Airport, according to city permits. The location is taking over the space next to Bob Evans Express and will service passengers flying with Air Canada, American Airlines, Spirit and United airlines. Handheld chicken and waffles chain closes only central Ohio location The multinational chain did not respond to NBC4s request for comment. BrewDogs new bar will mark the brands first airport location in the U.S. and its third overall, the first operating in Edinburgh Airport since 2018 and the second soon to open inside London Gatwick Airport. Inside BrewDogs Edinburgh Airport bar, the brands first location inside an airport. (Courtesy Photo/BrewDog) Inside BrewDogs Edinburgh Airport bar, the brands first location inside an airport. (Courtesy Photo/BrewDog) Inside BrewDogs Edinburgh Airport bar, the brands first location inside an airport. (Courtesy Photo/BrewDog) This is a BrewDog bar like no other, said co-founder James Watt when the Edinburgh location opened. Not only can we introduce more beer drinkers to the power of craft beer than ever before, but we can turn the traditional airport beer experience, into a vibrant hub of excitement and craft beer passion. Edinburghs bar provides travelers with 14 beers on tap, an extensive craft beer-inspired menu and a wide range of bottled and canned beers to be enjoyed at the bar or between gates. A full food menu is also available. Hollywood Casino Columbus to break ground on 180-room hotel BrewDogs John Glenn location is coming five years after the brand invested big in the central Ohio market and launched Doghouse Columbus Hotel, the worlds first hotel inside a craft brewery in Canal Winchester. The 42-acre site features a 6,000 square-foot interactive craft beer museum and 32 beer-themed rooms with draft beer on tap in each. The brand faced criticism in 2022 following a BBC report that spoke with a dozen current and former U.S. employees who said Watt has behaved inappropriately in numerous ways, including at the Franklinton location. Watts lawyers, both in the program and in an accompanying article, denied the allegations against him. BrewDog also operates locations in Cincinnati, Cleveland, New Albany and the Short North. Learn more here. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV. Brianna Ghey, 16, was found with fatal wounds near Warrington, Cheshire, on Feb 11 - Family handout/Cheshire Police A 15-year-old girl accused of luring a transgender teenager to a park and stabbing her to death posted a tribute the day after the killing calling her an amazing friend, a court heard. Brianna Ghey, 16, was allegedly murdered by the girl and a boy who plotted to kill five victims and had an obsession with serial killers. The teenagers were said to have egged each other on in the days leading up to the murder. Neither of the accused, who are both now 16, can be named because of their age and are being referred to as girl X, from Warrington, and boy Y, from Leigh, Greater Manchester. Briannas body was found by dog walkers in a pool of blood on a path in Culcheth Linear Park, near Warrington, Cheshire, shortly after 3pm on Saturday Feb 11 this year. The two defendants sat in the dock with their heads bowed as the details of the attack were read out on the second day of the trial at Manchester Crown Court. Jurors heard that the day after Brianna was killed, X posted a tribute to her amazing friend on Snapchat. She wrote: Brianna was one of the best people I have ever met and such an amazing friend its so f------ sickening what got done to her. She was arrested an hour after posting the message at her home address where police discovered a plan to kill Brianna in her bedroom. Brianna Ghey was allegedly murdered by a girl and boy, both 15, who plotted to kill five victims - CHRIS NEILL The court heard that eight days before the murder, X had sent Y the handwritten note, which was titled: Saturday 11th February 2023. Victim: Brianna Ghey. The note read: Meet Y at wooden posts 1pm. Walk down to library bus stop. Wait until Brianna gets off bus then the 3 of us walk to linear park. Go to the pipe/tunnel area. I say code word to Y. He stabs her in the back as I stab her in the stomach. Y drags the body into the area. We both cover up the area with logs etc. A second note found in the room detailed another, similar murder plot, involving sleeping pills and bin bags. There were also writings about serial killers, including Jeffrey Dahmer, Richard Ramirez and Harold Shipman, the court heard. In Ys bedroom, blood-stained trainers and a jacket were found, as well as a knife that had blood and human tissue belonging to Brianna on the hilt. The court previously heard that in the months before the killing, X had developed a dark obsession with Ghey because she was different. In text messages leading up to the murder, the teenagers discussed whether Brianna would scream like a boy or a girl as they plotted how to assassinate her, the court heard. Esther Ghey, Brianna's mother, at Manchester Crown Court on Monday - PHIL NOBLE/REUTERS After the attack, the court heard X and Y were seen on CCTV making their way back towards Xs home before splitting up. Police later found Briannas blood stained phone in a drain on Wigshaw Lane, along the route the teenagers took. The teenagers exchanged text messages throughout the night of Feb 11 about the killing, which by then was being reported in the press, while feigning ignorance about what happened. At 11.11pm, X asked Y: Do you have anxiety about getting caught. Y replied: Probably. To which X responded: Youre not going to get caught dont worry. Police are s--te here. The next day, shortly after posting the tribute to Brianna on Snapchat, X told her mother that she had been the last person to see the teenager and asked her to call the police. In interviews, she claimed she had nothing to do with the murder, and had burst out crying when she discovered what had happened. When Y was arrested, he told police he had just gone along with her murder fantasies because he wanted to impress her. He claimed he sent X messages about torture to make her laugh. The court heard that both defendants now accept that they were present in Linear Park with Brianna at the time she was killed but deny attacking her in any way and blame each other for the murder. The trial, expected to last four weeks, continues. 04:09 PM GMT That's all for today Thank you for following our live coverage of the murder trial of Brianna Ghey. 02:14 PM GMT Member of jury replaced One member of the jury has been discharged because of difficulties serving on the case, the judge said. They have now been replaced with one of the two replacement jurors. 01:03 PM GMT Boy Y accepts taking a hunting knife to meeting Deanna Heer KC, prosecuting, said both defendants accepted being present with Brianna at the time she was killed and boy Y accepted taking a hunting knife with him. Ms Heer said both denied inflicting any injuries, participating in the killing in any way and each blamed the other. She said: Plainly, they cant both be telling the truth, can they? But the prosecution does not have to prove who it was that wielded the knife - whether it was one of them or both of them. Provided you are sure that they intentionally participated in the killing in some way, well then they are both guilty. She said the evidence clearly demonstrated the defendants acted together to bring about Briannas death and messages showed they egged each other on. She added: While each now blames the other, they are both guilty. She said it was telling that they left the scene together and remained in contact, acting together until they were confronted with the evidence and had no choice but to turn on each other. 12:54 PM GMT Boy Y said he was 'only joking' in torture messages, court hears In a second police interview, boy Y was asked about messages recovered from his phone, the court heard. He said he sent girl X messages about torture to make her laugh and was only joking when he spoke about wanting to stab a boy. Boy Y told police he spoke about killing Brianna because he hated not being included with friends. He said he thought it was wrong but did not say so because he knew girl X would not like him if he did. The court heard he told police he was joking when he said in messages he would bring his knife to kill Brianna. He answered no comment when he was asked about the hunting knife found in his bedroom with blood on the blade. 12:43 PM GMT Notes about Harold Shipman and Jeffrey Dahmer found, court hears The jury was told when police searched girl Xs bedroom, they found a number of handwritten notes, including the plan to kill Brianna and another plan to kill which said: Give them alcohol with sleeping pills, slit throat, dismember body, place pieces in bin bags. There were also notes about serial killers including Jeffrey Dahmer, Richard Ramirez and Harold Shipman, the court heard. 12:26 PM GMT Girl X texted Brianna after she was killed, court told The court heard the two defendants exchanged messages shortly after 11pm in which girl X asked boy Y: Do you have anxiety about getting caught? When boy Y replied probably, girl X responded: Youre not going to get caught dont worry. Police are s---e here. Deanna Heer KC, prosecuting, said the following day girl X messaged Brianna saying: Girl, is everything okay? Some teenage girl got killed in Linear Park its on news everywhere. And why did you ditch us for some random man from Manchester. Like wtf. That is so f----- up. Ms Heer said: The prosecution say that was an obvious attempt by girl X to set up a sort of false defence, were anybody to look at her phone in due course. 12:11 PM GMT Pair kept each other informed of press reports, court hears The pair remained together as they walked away from the park and were spotted on dashcam walking together on Wigshaw Lane at 3.15pm, the jury was told. The two defendants then separated and went home, Deanna Heer KC said. She said: Thereafter, the telephone evidence shows these defendants remained in contact with each other. She said they kept each other informed of press reports about the incident in Linear Park while also feigning ignorance about what had happened. 12:04 PM GMT Brianna's phone hidden in a drain, jury told Prosecutor Ms Heer told the court bottles of soft drinks were found at the scene with DNA from girl X and boy Y on, indicating they had been present. When the area was searched by police, Briannas mobile phone was found hidden in a drain, the jury was told. 11:56 AM GMT Cause of death was multiple stab wounds The court heard Brianna was pronounced dead at 4.02pm and a post-mortem examination found her cause of death was multiple stab wounds. Deanna Heer KC said: The number of wounds and the pattern of injuries, taken as a whole, suggests that Brianna was subjected to a sustained and violent assault with a knife. 11:35 AM GMT Recap: Killers wanted to know if Brianna would scream like a girl, court heard The two 16-year-olds accused of murdering Brianna wanted to see if she screamed like a boy or a girl, Manchester Crown Court heard yesterday. The court was told that in the months before the killing, girl X had developed a dark obsession with Brianna because she was really different. Opening the prosecution case, Deanna Heer KC said that text messages exchanged between the alleged killers in the days, weeks and months before the murder showed they were preoccupied with violence, torture and death. [The messages] record them discussing how they wanted to kill people they knew, she said. If that was not an unusual way for two teenagers to speak to one another, the messages demonstrate how, over time, they encouraged one another to to think about how they would actually carry out a killing, and show how they planned together to kill Brianna in just the way that she was in fact killed. Read the full story here. 11:31 AM GMT Good morning Welcome to our live coverage of the trial of two teenagers accused of murdering the transgender teenager, Brianna Ghey. Brianna, 16, was found with fatal wounds on a path in Culcheth Linear Park, near Warrington, shortly after 3pm on Feb 11 this year. A girl and a boy, both aged 15 at the time and from the local area, were arrested and charged with the murder of Brianna, a pupil at Birchwood High School, Warrington. 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. The University of Bristol is to remove the dolphin emblem of Edward Colston, the slave trader, from its logo. Prof Evelyn Welch, vice-chancellor and president of the university, announced the decision in an open letter in which she also apologised to those who had experienced racism at the institution. The announcement follows a public consultation over the past 12 months which centred on whether seven buildings whose names had links to the slave trade should be renamed. The universitys logo was designed in 2003 from the coat of arms awarded at the institutions foundation in 1909, almost 200 years after the death of the merchant whose statue was toppled during a Black Lives Matter protest in Bristol in June 2020. The 17th century merchant was a major endower of schools and institutions in the city and imported goods there in ships owned by his father and brother. The university has never received funding linked to Colstons bequests. Since the toppling of the statue, institutions in Bristol have distanced themselves from their historical links to Colston, who funded many charitable works in the city, and the slave trade. The citys Colston Hall concert venue changed its name to the Bristol Beacon in 2021. The university has previously been involved in culture war rows, including when it appointed Britains first black female history professor, Olivette Otele, to research slavery in 2020, and earlier this year when Bristols Students Union banned the Army from its freshers fair. A year-long consultation before the logo change revealed that black students at the university were more likely to be in favour of not renaming buildings on campus than white students. The consultation, including a survey of nearly 4,000 students, staff, alumni and local residents, found that the erasure of history argument was a significant concern among Black and Asian respondents who did not want to erode the collective memory. Bristol's statue of Edward Colston was pulled down and dumped in the harbour in 2020 - Ben Birchall Over the next 10 years, the university will pledge 10 million to develop a programme to address racial injustice and inequalities internally and in local communities. This programme, called Reparative Futures, will include presenting the historical links to slavery of the universitys founders. The seven buildings discussed in the consultation are linked to families and figures with connections to the transatlantic slave trade or associated products such as tobacco, sugar and cocoa. A spokesman said the university had decided to retain all the current names of buildings but would work to ensure their full stories and historic connections to the university are made visible. Tobacco and chocolate families under spotlight The buildings included the Wills Memorial Building, named after the Wills family of tobacco producers who are considered the founding family of the university because of the land and property they gave to it. Also included is the Fry Building, named to reflect donations from the chocolate-producing family. The spokesman said the 4,000 students, staff and members of local communities who responded to the survey felt it was crucial to acknowledge and explain the past and the historical significance of such figures. The Wills and Fry families helped found the university in the early 20th century through substantial financial gifts, he added. While the families did not own or traffic in enslaved people, the products that their 18th and early 19th century predecessors dealt in such as tobacco, sugar and cocoa were connected to enslaved labour. The university will work with staff, students and local communities to ensure the full stories of the institutions origins, both positive and negative, are made more visible. The university received no funding from Colston, who died nearly 200 years before the university was founded, but his personal emblem the dolphin formed part of the institutions crest and modern logo. We will remove the emblem from the logo. The sun symbol of the Wills family and the horse emblem of the Frys will remain, reflecting the wider decision around retaining building names. Reparative Futures will build on a number of initiatives the university has invested in over the past few years, such as the Black Scholarships Scheme. A community fund will be created for proposals from local groups to work with Bristol University staff on education and research initiatives to tackle educational, health and economic inequalities. Partners and experts from ethnically diverse communities will be appointed to support Reparative Futures, the university said. We must tell our history in an open and transparent way Prof Welch thanked those who responded to the survey online and at in-person sessions. She described several powerful and impactful events led by local communities of African and Caribbean descent. Throughout, I heard many distressing stories from those who had experienced racism and racist behaviours while engaging with, working at, or studying at the University of Bristol, Prof Welch said. What began as a consultation on our history and building renaming became a powerful platform to expose deep hurt and frustration with our slow progress and commitment to racial equity. I am deeply sorry for these damaging and hurtful experiences which continue to the present day, and I apologise to everyone impacted by those injustices. We aspire to be an inclusive institution and we must do better. I know that some of these decisions will not please everybody but we have listened carefully. We must tell our history in an honest, open and transparent way, while at the same time putting our full weight behind substantive action to address the broader issues of systemic racism and inequality here in Bristol and beyond. In 2017, a group of students set up a petition to change the name of the Wills Memorial Building due to the familys links to the tobacco trade. A counter-petition was then set up to keep the name. The university launched a consultation and an initial report was published in November 2022 on whether the seven buildings should be renamed. It said the engagement work and data had been evaluated by an independent contractor who prepared the final report. 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. Britains equalities watchdog must be able to advise ministers on trans laws without unnecessary intervention, the Government has said amid a threat of a UN blacklist. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is facing a special review of the international accreditation which gives it access to the UNs Human Rights Commission and other UN bodies. The investigation comes after Baroness Falkner of Margravine, the chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission sent advice to the Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch, who is also the minister for women and equalities, which stated defining sex and biological sex would help to clarify the law. The Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (Ganhri) launched the review after a campaign by trans lobby groups led by Stonewall. Revealing the investigation in this newspaper, Lady Falkner said that there had been a targeted action by a group of campaign organisations. Mrs Badenoch had requested advice on the definition of sex in equality law from the EHRC. The Telegraph understands that the minister has full confidence in Lady Falkner and believes there is an attempt by activists to undermine the regulator. A government spokesman said: This review is a matter for the EHRC. However, it is right that the commission upholds its statutory and legal duty to independently advise the Government on the effectiveness of UK equality legislation without unnecessary intervention. The EHRCs A status was only reconfirmed following a routine review last year. That accreditation had been due to last five years, and Lady Falkner said she was surprised that they were now facing scrutiny again so quickly. Appearing on BBC Radio 4s Womans Hour on Tuesday, Lady Falkner said that the EHRC is required by law to advise the Government on issues where we are the regulator. They were informed of the special review in April and the only controversial thing that happened between the periodic review and that decision was a letter she wrote to Mrs Badenoch which recommended that clarifying the definition of sex to biological sex could bring clarity to equality law, she said. Confusion in law The law currently uses sex and gender interchangeably which has led to confusion around the balance of competing rights between women and trans women in issues including single sex spaces and sports. The EHRC were asked by the minister for clarification, Lady Falkner said, adding that the review took six months, considered 150 pages of legal and policy advice and they spent 11 hours deliberating their final conclusion. She said that the clarification of sex as biological sex as opposed to gender would bring human rights improvements, including allowing lesbians and gay men to have freedom to associate and improving the maternity rights for trans men. But she noted that their advice on the issues around had put them on the wrong side of Stonewall who described the EHRC in an antagonistic way. The question we have to ask of Stonewall is what is it about their national human rights institution that they think that they cannot engage with us here in the UK on the ground but go externally to the UN to complain about us? she asked. Why do they feel that they need to escalate matters when we have been cooperating with them, consulting with them and working with them over all these years? Kemi Badenoch, centre, was advised by Baroness Falkner regarding trans law - Rory Arnold / No 10 Downing Street Robbie de Santos, director of external affairs at Stonewall, said that they have been engaging robustly and constructively with the EHRC over the years and that it is normal practice for civil society organisations to engage with Ganhri. He added: Britains LGBTQ+ civil society and human rights organisations have expressed their concern about the political independence of the EHRC and its approach to trans peoples rights for some time. Mr De Santos welcomed the special review, saying that Britain needs a more robust and independent human rights watchdog and that he hoped the investigation will give the EHRC scrutiny and recommendations it needs to play the part our communities deserve. Stonewall times three It is the third time that Stonewall has led a coalition of trans lobby groups, including Mermaids and the Good Law Project, in questioning the EHRCs international accreditation. Any change to the accreditation would put the EHRC behind similar watchdogs in countries which have a poor record on human rights including Iraq, Qatar, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe. Countries which have previously been stripped of their A status by Ganhri include Azerbaijan, Mauritania, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Afghanistan. Russias A status was only suspended in March of this year pending investigation. Helen Joyce, director of advocacy for Sex Matters: It is clearly preposterous to equate the EHRC with the equality watchdogs in Afghanistan and Russia, and to rank it behind those of Iraq and Qatar in terms of its record on human rights. This is the latest in a series of targeted attacks on the EHRC by trans activist groups that realise they are losing their grip in the UK. Lady Falkners advice to the equalities minister provided important clarity on what sex means in law. It is ludicrous to suggest that asserting biological reality is a breach of human rights, when in fact it is gender ideology that endangers the human rights of women, gay people and children. 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. Undated handout file photo issued by Kent Police of David Fuller. A British government-ordered inquiry said Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023 it found serious failings at hospitals where an electrician who was later convicted of murder had been able to have sex with more than 100 corpses over a 15 year period without being detected. David Fuller's necrophilia was only discovered in 2020 after police who used DNA to tie him to the 1987 slayings of two women discovered millions of images of sexual abuse in his home, including videos of him having sex with the dead bodies of women and girls in the mortuaries at two hospitals where he worked in southeast England. (Kent Police/PA via AP) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) LONDON (AP) A British government-ordered inquiry said Tuesday it found serious failings at hospitals where an electrician who was later convicted of murder had been able to have sex with more than 100 corpses over 15 years without being detected. David Fuller's necrophilia was uncovered in 2020 when police used DNA to tie him to the 1987 slayings of two women and also discovered millions of images of sexual abuse in his home. The images included videos of him having sex with the dead bodies of women and girls in the mortuaries at two hospitals where he worked in southeast England. The offenses that David Fuller committed were truly shocking, the 308-page inquiry report said. However, the failures of management, governance, regulation and processes, and a persistent lack of curiosity, all contributed to the creation of the environment in which he was able to offend. "This is not solely the story of a rogue electrical maintenance supervisor. David Fullers victims and their relatives were repeatedly let down by those at all levels whose job it was to protect and care for them. Fuller, 69, is serving a life sentence with no chance of release after pleading guilty to two counts of murder. He is serving a concurrent 12-year term after admitting dozens of instances of necrophilia that the prosecutor in the case said had never been seen on that scale before in a British court. The inquiry was launched to find out how Fuller was able to get away with it for so long and to prevent such abuse from ever happening again. Fuller, who had a criminal record as a burglar that he never disclosed in work papers, was hired at the now-closed Kent and Sussex Hospital two years after he killed Wendy Knell, 25, and Caroline Pierce, 20, in two separate attacks in the town of Tunbridge Wells in 1987. Those crimes wouldn't be solved for 33 years, after he moved on to work at the Tunbridge Wells Hospital, in Pembury. Fuller committed 140 violations against the bodies of at least 101 girls and women aged 9 to 100 between 2005 and 2020, the inquiry found. There was time-stamped photographic or video evidence of each instance. The inquiry led by Jonathan Michael, a former NHS chief executive, made 17 recommendations including that surveillance cameras be installed in the mortuary and post-mortem room, and that non-mortuary workers and contractors be accompanied to the mortuary with another staff member. Miles Scott, who became chief executive of Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust in 2018, said the vast majority of the report's recommendations had been put in place and others would be accomplished soon. He said in a statement he was deeply sorry for the pain and anguish of the families of Fullers victims. Fuller was brazen in committing his crimes, taking risks during working hours when other employees were in the mortuary, the report said. The inquiry said it could not determine how he had been able to carry out the abuse during working hours without being caught. It remains hard to believe not only that he took the risk of offending during normal mortuary working hours but that this was unnoticed by the mortuary staff who, we are told, were actually present in the department, the report said. Fuller, who would occasionally have to perform maintenance on the refrigeration system in the mortuary, routinely entered the department as many as 444 times in one year without being properly questioned, the inquiry said. Fuller said he selected his victims by viewing a logbook. He avoided those who died of an infection or something like COVID-19, the report said. Family members of the victims who were interviewed by the inquiry but not identified in the report said they were stunned when they learned what had happened to their loved ones and discussed how difficult it had been to carry on afterwards. One widower said he couldn't bring himself to tell his family members about it. The impact on my family has been non-existent, because they dont know," the man said. "Its basically robbed me of 25 years of happy memories. Anything that reminds me of my wife also reminds me of what David Fuller did to her. Many questioned how Fuller was able to get away with it when surveillance cameras are so prevalent throughout Britain. Some said they had lost trust in the NHS leadership with at least one family member calling for the CEO to be sacked. I know theyre not alive, but they are vulnerable individuals, the daughter of one victim said. "So why on earth is someone whos a subcontractor being allowed to go in and out of that building at all times a day without having some form of supervision? ... I find that an absolute disgraceful trust loss there. Hooded man holds laptop computer as blue screen with an exclamation mark is projected on him in this illustration picture NEW YORK (Reuters) - A British-Nigerian national has pleaded guilty in New York to involvement in a more than seven-year scheme to hack into banks' and brokerages' computer servers, causing more than $6 million of losses for customers. Idris Dayo Mustapha, 33, pleaded guilty to access device fraud, conspiracy to commit computer intrusion and securities fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud at a hearing before U.S. District Judge Pamela Chen in Brooklyn. Mustapha, a native of Lagos, Nigeria, had been arrested in the United Kingdom in August 2021, and was extradited to the United States in August. He faces up to 20 years in prison at his scheduled April 3, 2024 sentencing but would likely receive much less time. A lawyer for Mustapha was not immediately available for comment. Mustapha and his accomplices allegedly used phishing and other means to obtain user names and passwords and access online accounts from January 2011 to March 2018. Prosecutors said the conspirators transferred victims' money and securities to their own accounts, and made unauthorized stock trades in hacked accounts while simultaneously making profitable trades in the same stocks in their own accounts. The case is U.S. v. Mustapha, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, No. 23-cr-00440. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) A jury awarded two office clerks from the San Francisco Sheriffs Department $1 million for their racial discrimination lawsuit filed in 2020. Danielle Dillard and Kim Lee were awarded the sum by a jury on Nov. 15, according to KQED. Dillard and Lee claimed in their lawsuit that they were repeatedly subjected to racial slurs and workplace discrimination while working as office clerks for more than 20 years at the SFSD. The jury awarded the women $1,139,400 Dillard was awarded $523,400, and Lee was awarded $616,000. Danielle Dillard (left) and Kim Lee (right) were awarded more than $1 million between them after filing a racial discrimination lawsuit against their employer, the San Francisco Sheriffs Department. (Photo: KPIX | CBS News Bay Area / YouTube screenshot) Lee and Dillard claimed that after complaining about racial disparities in their work environment, they were told not to bring that monkey junk up by a supervisor, according to CBS News. Lee was also instructed not to talk to anyone at work by a supervisor and to Come to work, do your job, and just leave. In March 2019, both women were presented with cease-and-desist orders by their supervisors, preventing them from talking to other people at the SFSD, as well as any other city or county employees. Dillard was reassigned twice prior to the cease-and-desist orders. I was just handed a paper, and told to obey those rules, said Dillard, adding that she was afraid to talk to anyone because she feared she would lose her job and often spent her breaks crying. For them to tell me I could no longer speak, it bothered me a lot. It tore me down on the inside. It affected my home life. I didnt know how to explain it to my children. It broke me down. It made me a shell of a person. Lee also said being told she couldnt talk to her work friends caused her to cry at work. Id sometimes cry at my desk because I want to talk to my friends, said Lee. Those people were my friends, and I couldnt talk to my friends. She also said she was called a liar, a thief and a criminal by white employees of the SFSD. In 2020, Dillard and Lee filed a lawsuit against the SFSD for violating the Fair Employment and Housing Act. The womens attorney, Angela Alioto, said the jury handed them a great victory. Its such a great victory that this jury saw right through the citys pretexts and saw the insidious racism that is at different offices throughout the city, but specifically in this case at the sheriffs office, said Alioto. The hatred that is racism has no place in San Francisco. This is a wake-up call. The floodgates are open, she continued. Black people are treated so badly in each and every city department. Underpaid, less shift changes, less overtime, less sick time, for the same job just because youre Black. The San Francisco Sheriffs Department and the City Attorneys Office released a joint statement claiming they oppose harassment and discriminatory behavior. As one of the most diverse sheriffs departments in the nation that values equity and inclusion, any form of harassment or discriminatory behavior is antithetical to our values, read the statement. We are surprised and disappointed by the outcome of this case and will be working with the City Attorneys Office to evaluate any next steps. Dillard and Lees lawsuit against the SFSD resulted in a four-week trial that ended with the monetary award on Nov. 15. The SFSD still employs both women in the Warrants Division. Niger's military government - which seized power last July - announced on Monday evening that it would revoke a 2015 bill that had curbed the illegal transportation of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa into Europe by criminalising smugglers. The bill had led to a "significant decrease of irregular arrivals" into the EU, according to Johansson, who said on Tuesday she was "very concerned" about the junta's decision to abrogate the law. "I very much regret this decision and I am very concerned about the consequences," she said. "There is a huge risk that this will cause new deaths in the desert, and thats the most concerning thing. But that will also probably mean more people coming to Libya, for example, and then maybe also trying to cross the Mediterranean to the EU," she added. Millions of forcibly displaced people, porous borders and organised crime groups make Niger and the wider Sahel a convenient corridor for migrant smugglers between sub-Saharan Africa and the Maghreb. Many migrants continue from countries such as Libya and Algeria by embarking on the dangerous onward journey across the Mediterranean Sea to southern Europe. Niger had become a key EU partner in the region, with Niamey set to receive over 503 million in EU funding between 2021 and 2024 for initiatives including migration management projects. The bloc had also established a working arrangement between Niger and Frontex, the EU border agency. A significant share of that funding was funnelled towards the implementation of the so-called 2015-36 counter-migrant smuggling law, which involved the seizure and dismantling of smugglers' infrastructure in northern Niger. The law also criminalised the practice of transporting non-Nigerien citizens into or out of Niger for financial or material gain, making it punishable by five to ten years' imprisonment and a fine of between one and five million West African francs (1,520 to 7,601). Humanitarian groups had fiercely opposed the law as a manifestation of Europe's heavy-handed influence on Africa and a blow for communities in northern Niger, particularly in the city of Agadez, where many relied on migrant business for their livelihoods. But since military rebels violently overthrew the democratically-elected government of President Mohamed Bazoum in July, the EU has suspended all security cooperation with Niamey and has sanctioned coup leaders. EU cooperation with Niger on migrant management has also halted, with the exception of one UN programme for evacuating refugees from Libya to be resettled in Tunisia, according to Johansson. "Otherwise, most of our cooperation (with Niger) is not continuing," she said. Johansson is spearheading the EU's major migration reform, the so-called Pact on Migration Asylum. The European Commission has in recent months upped its cooperation with third countries to address what it calls the "external dimension" of migration, most notably as part of a controversial deal with Tunisia designed to clamp down on smuggling operations. The Commission says the Tunisia deal could serve as a blueprint for similar agreements with countries such as Egypt or Morocco. But the violent coup in Niger - seen as the last bastion of democracy in the Sahel region, where a row of states have in recent years toppled into the hands of military juntas - was seen as a major blow to EU efforts to tackle irregular migration at its root. The bloc is concerned the repeal of the law by the military regime could lead to a resurgence of trafficking gangs. On Tuesday, Johansson also presented proposals for new EU laws to crack down on criminal smuggling networks, including tough penalties for perpetrators. "Our message to the smuggling gangs today is clear: we are coming after you with the full force of the law to stop you from making easy money from suffering people," she said. Bulgaria has confirmed that it has given permission for a plane carrying a Russian delegation headed by Russias Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to fly through Bulgarian airspace so that they can attend an Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) ministerial meeting in North Macedonia. Source: Bulgarias Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as reported by European Pravda Details: The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said permission was granted further to a request from North Macedonia. The ministry stressed that this is a temporary permit, valid for three hours before and 72 hours after the scheduled date and time of the flight. The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry added that this permit falls under the exceptions to the EU sanctions regime against Lavrov. "This permit does not apply to members of his delegation, who are also persons subject to EU sanctions, as explicitly stated in the relevant note from Bulgaria," the Bulgarian Foreign Ministrys statement said. Background: On 27 November, Eleonora Mitrofanova, Russias Ambassador to Bulgaria, claimed that she had obtained permission from the Bulgarian authorities for Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrovs plane to fly through the countrys airspace. Last week, the government of North Macedonia gave permission for Russian planes to fly over its territory so that the delegation could attend the OSCE ministerial meeting. However, the country's Defence Minister Slavjanka Petrovska reportedly opposed this decision. Support UP or become our patron! Paul Reed Smith is a guitar maker living in the land of drummers. Thats how the Bowie native describes the Baltimore-Washington area, and the explanation for his band features not one, but three drummers who have kept the beat for legends, including Carlos Santana, Whitney Houston and father of Go-go music, Chuck Brown. They are gifted, Smith said. Im lucky to be even near them. The three local percussionists Dennis Chambers, Greg Grainger and Ju Ju House unite in PRS Eightlock, Smiths ad hoc ensemble of more than a decade. When onstage or recording together, the point is not to back up a star, but collaborate as musicians whose own talents are off the charts, each playing different, layered parts, like the percussion section of orchestra, if an orchestra played bluesy funk. On Friday, PRS Eightlock will release Lions Roaring Quicksand, its first album, which has been three years in the making. The musicians celebrate two days early on Wednesday with an album release concert set for 7:30 p.m. at Rams Head in Annapolis. Its a group of very, very strong musicians, Smith said, explaining the name. Theres eight of us, all locked together. Smith spoke last week from his office in Stevensville, where on the floor below him, a staff of nearly 500 people was busy carving, sanding, stringing and testing Paul Reed Smith guitars. The company has been in business since 1985, when Smith began making a name for himself by crafting instruments for Santana. The factory now turns out about 100 guitars per day, and is renowned for its made-in-Maryland craftsmanship. Even as more marquee names such as John Mayer and lead guitarists for bands you know (Creed, Little Big Town, Shinedown, Snarky Puppy) signed on to become PRS artists, Smith was still honing his own skills with his signature instrument. I matured as a guitar maker in my 20s, but I didnt mature as a guitarist until my 60s, Smith admitted. Maryland guitarmaker Paul Reed Smith inspects a line up of instruments in his Stevensville factory, which employs nearly 500 people. He credits collaborating with bandmates who have played with bigger stars, including Baltimore-based brothers Greg and Gary Grainger, with elevating his own playing. They have recorded hundreds of records. Literally hundreds, Smith said. They met in clubs or through friends of friends over the years. Greg Grainger called Smith that fun and funny guy who would show up at his mid-1980s gigs in Baltimore and ask to sit in on guitar once in a while. He asked who the guy was and was told the PRS guitar guy, although the initials didnt mean much at the time. Im a drummer. I dont know anything about guitars, Greg Grainger recalled saying. He knows more now, although that sense of mutual respect of guitarists for drummers and vice versa continues to fuel PRS Eightlock. He describes the dynamic of three crazy grooves complementing one machine. On the guitar, Smith is joined by respected session musician Mike Ault and Johns Hopkins oncologist William Nelson, while Gary Grainger plays bass and Baltimore soul chanteuse Mia Samone Davis supplies the vocals. Shes a musician in the band, Smith said of Davis, whose voice oscillates between a throaty growl and a more melismatic croon, like a stone skipping across a firm surface of music. They chose to record a mix of covers and original songs on Lion Roaring in Quicksand. The title is pulled from the first single, Breathe, which Davis co-wrote with Smith. The lyrics reference I cant breathe, George Floyds plea shortly before he died at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer in June 2020. As onlookers to multiple wars, struggles of the Black Lives Matter movement and other unrest around the world, it is possible to feel like were drowning, Smith said. But were not actually drowning; a better metaphor is the bootstrapping churn of being stuck in quicksand, angst-ridden and ready to roar. Most songs are in 4/4 time, but theres nothing easy about the arrangements. Several songs are written with the verses in major keys and the chorus in relative minor, the opposite of conventional pop songs. Thats intentional. Not to be dark and gloomy, but we really want you to hear the lyrics, Gary Grainger said. Sarah is Smiths ode to his daughter, written years ago when he was fresh off a divorce, and wanted her to still feel loved. Phoenix in My Blood, is a song Sarah helped write about rising from the ashes of a struggle. The war in Ukraine broke out midway through the recording process. Smith recalled telling Chambers he wanted to add Bob Marleys protest anthem War, to the tracklist. At recording sessions, the guitar maker would typically show up with about four demo bars of percussion. Chambers, Gary Grainger and House would take turns recording the lead rhythm track. Whoever played second usually added aural texture and the final drummer, syncopation. Paul would tells us, Play together but play something different. I was shocked that it settled in as well as it did, Gary Grainger said. Three different powerful groves that settle into one. Unfortunately Chambers and House are both off on tour, so its only Greg Grainger on a break from his steady gig with UK-based instrumental pop band Acoustic Alchemy who will man a drum set at Rams Head Wednesday. Chambers plans to sit in Saturday however, when PRS Eightlock plays a sold-out benefit concert for Hopkins at Baltimores Lyric Opera House, and there may be some three-drummer gigs in the bands future. This band is dead grounded. We are determined. This music is real and theres a whole other record ready to record and ready to go, Smith said. Of course, its slightly complicated that everyone involved has another job, including his own job running guitar factory and Nelsons position leading the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center. But Eightlock has signed with the Mint Talent Group, a major booking agent, and hopes to announce shows beyond the DMV soon. We are going to be busy next year, Greg Grainger said. Thats the energy I feel going into this album release. Bulgarian Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel has commented on her government's decision to allow a Russian delegation led by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to fly over Bulgarian airspace to participate in an Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe ministerial meeting in North Macedonia. Source: Her statement was quoted by BTA, European Pravda Details: According to Gabriel, Bulgaria would never allow a Russian plane to fly through its airspace without having a clear idea of the composition of the delegation. "The permit is temporary, only for the duration of the meeting in Skopje, which is extremely important if we want to talk about the future of the OSCE," she said. The minister added that Bulgaria's decision had been agreed with the EU. She noted that initially, the Russian delegation included representatives who had to be excluded due to their presence on EU sanctions lists. After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, EU countries closed their airspace to Russian aircraft. Now, Lavrov's arrival in North Macedonia will be his first visit to a NATO member state since 24 February 2022. Last week, the government of North Macedonia allowed a Russian plane carrying a Russian delegation to participate in an OSCE ministerial meeting to fly over its territory. Bulgaria confirmed that it had allowed the plane to fly through its airspace for this purpose. Due to Lavrov's visit to Skopje, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will boycott the OSCE ministerial meeting. Support UP or become our patron! Bulgaria has officially confirmed that it will open its airspace for Russias Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who is set to lead a Russian delegation flying to the Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE. The meeting will be held in North Macedonia. The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry announced in a press release on Nov. 27 that an exception would be made to allow Lavrovs plane to fly over Bulgaria. Read also: First Estonia, now Malta and the Secretary-General Russia keeps blocking appointments at OSCE The ministry said that it had received a corresponding request from the Russian side the day before. The diplomatic permit for the flight will be valid for three hours before and 72 hours after the scheduled date and time of the flight. This is an "exception to the application of EU sanctions against him (Lavrov)", Sofia said. However, the permit does not extend to sanctioned members of Lavrov's delegation. Read also: Russian aggression is the greatest threat to Europe Austrian Foreign Minister Earlier, North Macedonia had granted permission for the passage of Russian aircraft over its territory. The 30th Ministerial Council of the OSCE in Skopje is scheduled to take place from Nov. 30 to Dec. 1, bringing together representatives from 57 countries. 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 It was meant to be the great market opportunity of the 21st-century. Between its billion people, rapid growth, and increasingly open market, for most of the last twenty years chief executives couldnt stop boasting about their China strategy. And yet this year something significant has started to happen. Not only have global companies cut back on new investments, many are now starting to pull out of the country. And, in truth, while it is a shame to give up on China, they are completely right to do so. If anything, they should be retreating even faster than they are now. Rewind a decade or so, and China was the great hope of global capitalism. It was the poster-boy for the so-called BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) that would surely dominate the coming decades. The opening of its market to the world, with its voracious appetite for Western machine tools, software and consumer goods, made it one of greatest commercial opportunities in living memory. And as Chinas total GDP soared from just over $1 trillion at the beginning of the century to nearly $18 trillion last year, there was plenty of money to be made for everyone. German auto giants, French luxury goods houses, British pharmaceuticals and drinks manufacturers, American aerospace companies; all wanted in. Entire corporate strategies were built around the opportunity it presented. When Chinese President Xi Jinping and American President Joe Biden met in San Francisco earlier this month to try and dial down the tensions between the two counties, all the usual business leaders were on hand to try and pretend that business could get back to normal. In reality, however, something far more interesting is happening. Companies are getting out. A report from the Petersen Institute for International Economics this week showed that not only are Western businesses no longer investing as much in China, many are actively selling out where they can. Chinese statistics, to put it mildly, are not always completely transparent. Even so, it calculates that at least $100 billion in foreign investment left China in the first three quarters of this year. For the first time ever, [foreign companies] are large net sellers of their existing investments to Chinese companies and repatriating the funds produced by such sales, concludes author of the report Nicholas Lardy. This is, of course, disappointing. China is already the second largest economy in the world after the United States, and the largest in purchasing power terms. It has a prosperous middle class with plenty of disposable income. And it is still expanding at a rate that puts Europe to shame. But the simple facts of the matter indicate that global business may well be right to get out. China is an increasingly hostile environment for capital. Last month, police raided the Shanghai offices of the British advertising giant WPP. Earlier this year, police questioned staff at the China office of the consulting giant Bain & Co. In March, an employee of the Japanese pharmaceutical company Astellas was arrested on charges of spying. The list goes on and on, with firms dragged into the opaque workings of the Chinese judicial system. Combine this with restrictions on technology transfers and investments between Euoope, the US and China, and it makes for a hard environment in which to do business. Thats without talking about Taiwan. If Beijing does launch an invasion, overseas investors stand to lose everything. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has given the worlds corporations a harsh lesson in the realities of geo-politics. Sanctions were imposed, and assets were seized without compensation. One estimate put the combined losses from operations in Russia at 100 billion euros, and the final bill may well be a lot higher. From Ikea to McDonalds a whole series of major corporations have fled for the door. Many have taken a huge hit in the process. BP, for example, took a hit of $25 billion after its exit from the country. The few that have shamefully remained have taken an even larger hit to their reputation. Any CEO is now painfully aware that it doesnt matter how big you are, or how much you have invested over how many decades. If there is a conflict over Taiwan, sanctions will be imposed immediately, and everything in China will be lost overnight. The risk is too high. It makes more sense to get out while your assets still have a realistic price. Finally, there is the risk that China will learn from your technology. As many have discovered, Chinese subsidiaries are happy to acquire skills and expertise from Western giants. The tables are quickly turned, however, and very soon you are facing a formidable Chinese competitor, with all your technology, and lower costs, and it is taking you on in your domestic market. By the time you realise what is happening it is too late to do anything about it. Western companies are completely right to get out of China as fast as they can. We can forget about the vast opportunities of its market, making a lot of money for everyone, and fuelling the expansion of all the major conglomerates. Instead, there will be intense rivalry between Chinese and Western companies. China wont be the place to make money any more. Soon, the only real question many CEOs will have to answer is this: whats the exit strategy, and how much shareholder money will we lose in the process? 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. Wael Hana, who is being charged with conspiracy to commit bribery and conspiracy to commit honest services fraud in connection with his participation in a years-long bribery scheme with U.S. Senator Robert Menendez and his wife, leaves the United States Courthouse in New York City, U.S., September 26, 2023. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton (Shannon Stapleton / reuters) In late 2015, cranes at a seaport in Jacksonville, Fla., carefully hoisted U.S. military helicopters worth up to $40 million each onto a massive cargo ship set to deliver the equipment to the Egyptian government. Egypt's Defense Ministry had turned to an unusual figure to help arrange transport of the prized hardware: Wael Hana, an Egyptian American businessman who had previously run a trucking business, a gas station and a truck stop along a gritty, industrial strip in northern New Jersey. Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. "I don't know how he got involved with shipping aid for the Egyptian military," said Essam Youssef, a former Hana associate who runs a marine transport company in New Jersey and said he helped Hana arrange the November 2015 shipment. "It was strange. The way he was coming to me, he didn't have a clue about shipping. But it was clear the Egyptian government trusted him." Eight years later, Hana's ties to the Egyptian government are under a bright spotlight. After a years-long investigation, U.S. authorities charged him in September with paying bribes to Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and his wife, Nadine Menendez, in exchange for actions that benefited Egypt, including Menendez's promise to help keep military aid flowing to the North African nation. Hana, 40, lavished the couple with gold bars, checks and household furnishings between 2018 and 2022, prosecutors allege, while helping to introduce the senator to Egyptian military and intelligence officers and serving as a go-between for their communications. A Washington Post examination, based on records and interviews with dozens of people who know or have worked with Hana, found that his connections to the Egyptian government go back further and are more extensive than previously reported. Those connections help explain how Hana was in a position to capitalize on his relationship with Menendez, until recently the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, when they met years after the helicopter shipment and forged a bond that prosecutors say quickly became mutually beneficial. The examination also sheds light on how Hana rose from being a down-on-his-luck entrepreneur in New Jersey to a central figure in an international scandal that has ensnared a powerful U.S. politician and sent shock waves through the diplomatic world. In the years after the helicopter shipment, Egyptian authorities entrusted Hana with greater responsibility and power, enriching him even as business associates and government officials around the world found the arrangements mysterious. In 2019, after Hana had begun helping introduce Menendez to Egyptian government officials, Egypt granted a lucrative monopoly to one of the companies Hana had started, suddenly making him a player in international trade. The firm, IS EG Halal Certified, was given sole responsibility for certifying that halal meat exported to Egypt was processed according to Islamic law, rankling the global beef industry. Prosecutors allege the company was used to funnel bribes to Menendez and his wife. Egypt later sought to further expand Hana's monopoly to other imports, creating a massive backlash among foreign diplomats, The Post found. In addition to the criminal charges, U.S. authorities are examining Hana's background as part of a counterintelligence probe, according to people familiar with the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe an ongoing investigation and prosecution. Federal investigators are working to understand the precise nature of Hana's relationship with Egyptian government officials, including intelligence officers, and how far back those relationships may go. Hana has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty. "Wael Hana's background is a classic immigrant story, having come to the U.S. through the lottery system as a 22-year-old in 2006," Lawrence Lustberg, an attorney for Hana, said in a statement in response to questions from The Post. "Since then, he has been an entrepreneur who has built several businesses, and he has always acted ethically and legally." "Mr. Hana is innocent and has nothing to hide," Lustberg continued, saying that Hana has cooperated with investigators and had offered to meet with prosecutors before he was charged, an offer that Lustberg said was turned down. Menendez and his wife also have pleaded not guilty to federal charges that they acted as foreign agents and accepted bribes from Hana and two other New Jersey businessmen. Egypt's Embassy and its Defense Ministry office in Washington did not respond to requests for comment. - - - As a young man in Egypt, Hana studied social work at a university and helped out at his family's farming and wholesale food distribution company, but he aspired to a business career of his own in the United States, a person familiar with his background said, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the criminal case. After his U.S. arrival in 2006, Hana settled initially for a job at a cleaning service, said Andy Aslanian Jr., a lawyer and longtime associate of Hana. He attended two Coptic Orthodox Christian churches in Hudson County, N.J., St. Mark and St. Abanoub & St. Antonious, and boarded in the basement of one of them, Aslanian said. By 2007, Hana had the means to take out a $450,000 mortgage on a home in Bayonne, N.J., and start a trucking company called Elmanhry, one of a handful of businesses he launched in the ensuing years. However, five of those ventures - three trucking companies, a limo service, and gas station and truck stop - had folded within a decade, according to incorporation records in New Jersey. Hana and his businesses were facing multiple lawsuits alleging unpaid debts and bad checks, and his home was in foreclosure, as the Record of Bergen County, N.J., previously reported. Despite that turmoil, Hana's ties to Egyptian government officials became apparent to Aslanian, who performed legal work for one of Hana's trucking companies. In late 2014, the Egyptian Defense Ministry hired Aslanian to handle a real estate transaction in New Jersey - the purchase of a residential annex for Egyptian diplomats - based solely on Hana's recommendation, Aslanian said. Hana made the recommendation to Col. Yasser Hassan, an Egyptian military adviser who was in New York at the time, according to a person familiar with the arrangement. Hassan was working out of Egypt's consulate in Manhattan and was part of its U.N. delegation, according to a diplomatic directory from that year. "He had good contacts with the government," Aslanian said of Hana. "All the way up." Aslanian, who traveled to Egypt with Hana, said he believed Hana's contacts came through his late father, a claim The Post could not verify. Hassan did not respond to a request for comment. Hana later said in a court filing that he knew Egyptian officials "because I have a large family in Egypt and am active in the Egyptian community through my church." The filing stemmed from a 2019 FBI raid of his home that - although it was not known publicly at the time - was an early step in the investigation that would eventually result in Menendez's indictment. In 2015, a unique opportunity arose for Hana. The Obama administration had lifted a two-year freeze on military aid to Egypt, agreeing to resume $1.3 billion in annual assistance that included fighter jets, tanks and helicopters. Obama had suspended the aid after the 2013 military coup that overthrew Egypt's democratically elected Muslim Brotherhood-led government. He decided to undo the freeze so Egypt could fight extremism in the region, including Islamic State militants in the Sinai Peninsula. Youssef, the maritime executive in New Jersey, said Hana contacted him that year to ask for help coordinating the shipment of military equipment on behalf of Egypt's Defense Ministry. He said it was clear to him that Hana had little experience and few contacts in shipping. Youssef said he agreed to help Hana on the condition that they split any commission from the shipment. Youssef traveled multiple times with Hana to meetings at Egypt's Defense Ministry office in Washington to discuss the transport; he helped Hana seek proposals from shipping companies; and he negotiated the contract for the November 2015 transfer, he said. He and Hana went to Jacksonville's port, Youssef said, and watched three 10,000-pound U.S. military helicopters, valued at $35 million to $40 million each, being loaded onto a cargo ship named Ocean Freedom on the day before it embarked for the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, Egypt. The shipment also included 10 ambulances. Many details of the shipment are contained in a news release issued at the time by JaxPort, Jacksonville's port authority. After the deal was done, Youssef said, he found it hard to reach Hana or to collect his commission. "I never saw a penny," he said. Youssef said he did not sue, in part, because they had not formalized the agreement in writing. Hana's attorney did not address specific questions about the shipment. It's not clear if Hana continued to arrange military shipments for Egypt. He wrote in the 2020 court filing seeking to get his property back after the FBI raid that one of his companies, Loundes Express Group, "takes bid requests . . . to ship goods and materials into Egypt on behalf of the government." He provided no other details. He incorporated Loundes Express Group in September 2015, a month before the helicopter shipment, state corporate records show. The company is still active. Aslanian, who was initially listed as a member of the firm, said he believes that Hana also coordinated a shipment of U.S. military tank parts at some point, but he said he could not recall the details. The departments of Defense and State, which both have roles in overseeing foreign military sales, declined to comment. Around the time that Hana arranged the helicopter shipment, people in Hana's middle-class neighborhood in Bayonne, N.J., noticed signs of his apparent ascent. Hana, who largely kept to himself, was seen pulling up to his home in a Bentley, said one neighbor who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect his privacy. "It really stuck out in this neighborhood," said the neighbor, who recalled approaching Hana to inquire what he did for work. "I work for the Egyptian government," Hana replied, according to the neighbor. In a statement, Hana's attorney said neither Hana nor any of his immediate family members had ever been "employees of the Egyptian government." - - - Around the time of the helicopter shipment, Hana struck up a friendship with Menendez's future wife, then named Nadine Arslanian. Aslanian, the lawyer, said he introduced Hana and Arslanian at a Mexican restaurant in 2014 or 2015. In early 2018, according to the federal indictment, Arslanian and Menendez began dating. They had met in an International House of Pancakes restaurant in Union City, N.J. She has said they were introduced by the owner. They married in October 2020. Only months into the relationship, Arslanian and Hana worked to introduce the senator to Egyptian intelligence and military officials at a series of private meetings, prosecutors allege. At these meetings, Egyptian officials relayed their requests for foreign military sales and financing, and the Menendezes promised to use the senator's power to help keep the aid flowing, according to the indictment. As part of the "corrupt arrangement," prosecutors said, Hana also agreed to give Menendez's future wife a "low-or-no-show job" at a halal certification company that was not yet operational in 2018. That company got a sudden windfall the following year, when the Egyptian government announced that Hana's New Jersey-based IS EG would get the monopoly certifying halal meat exported to Egypt from the United States and countries in South America. Hana, a Christian, had no prior experience in the industry, he acknowledged in the court filing after the 2019 FBI raid. An investigation by independent Egyptian media outlet Mada Masr in 2019 found that Hana's halal company was working closely with Medi Trade, an Egyptian company linked to high-level Egyptian security institutions. The story noted that Hana had created a firm with the same name in New Jersey. Egyptian authorities did not explain their reasoning behind the decision to grant the monopoly. It set off pushback inside the U.S. government and among diplomats across the globe, who worried it would stifle trade and drive up prices for exporters, as well as for consumers in Egypt, according to interviews. Prosecutors allege that the halal company provided a revenue stream that allowed Hana to "make good on the bribe payments." In July 2019, the company paid $23,000 to head off the foreclosure of Arslanian's Englewood Cliffs home and bring the mortgage current, according to federal charges. It also issued $30,000 in checks to her newly created consulting firm, Strategic International Business Consultants, between August and November 2019, the final check coming only weeks before the FBI raid on Hana's home, according to the indictment. IS EG, meanwhile, continued to expand, setting up offices in other countries, including in Montevideo, Uruguay, and Sao Paulo, Brazil, by late 2019. Ahmed Ibrahim, who worked out of the company's Sao Paulo office certifying chicken meat for IS EG from 2020 to 2022, said his supervisor was not forthcoming about who controlled the company. "The boss kept on saying that the company belongs to the 'sovereign entity in Egypt,'" he recalled. That term is generally used in Egypt to describe an entity controlled by the military or intelligence service. "No one is supposed to ask about it," he said his supervisor warned. Lustberg, Hana's attorney, disputed that. "It is a well-documented and indisputable fact that IS EG Halal Certified, Inc. is a New Jersey corporation solely owned by Mr. Hana and wholly unaffiliated with the Egyptian Government," he said in a statement. In 2021, Egypt moved to expand the company's monopoly beyond meat, to all imported halal food and beverages, including dairy products. The decision confounded other countries. A Sept. 6, 2021, cable from Brazil's Embassy in Cairo captured that puzzlement and the resulting suspicion. The cable, obtained by The Post, reported that New Zealand's ambassador in Cairo had expressed concern to his Brazilian counterparts about IS EG's monopoly, in part, because his contacts within the Egyptian government were treating the issue like a state secret. The topic, the cable reads, "is treated as taboo" within the Egyptian government because "a superior decision cannot be criticized." European officials summoned representatives of the Egyptian government and IS EG to a meeting in Cairo on Oct. 13, 2021, in another effort to get answers, documents show. The meeting illustrated the close working relationship between Hana's company and the Egyptian government. Hana, who remained mostly quiet during the meeting, was accompanied by a clutch of Egyptian government officials, according to two diplomats who attended the meeting. Among them was Ahmed Abdelkarim, a senior official in Egypt's Agriculture Ministry, according to a readout provided to attendees and obtained by The Post. Another was Hussein Mansour, who was then chairman of Egypt's national food safety authority. Mansour told The Post that he was there as a board member of a government-owned company in Egypt called ISEGHALAL, a firm with an almost identical name to Hana's company. The company, authorized by Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly in January 2020, was created to oversee halal certification for imported foreign products, according to a prime ministerial decree. Lustberg, Hana's attorney, said the two companies "are, despite the similarity of their names, entirely separate companies with different owners and different corporate structures." Hana's company, he said, certifies halal products in exporting countries, while the government-owned company certifies the halal products after they arrive in Egypt. Mansour said he was not aware of any alleged bribery. "If these things are happening now, I am not aware of them and they do not concern me," he said. Abdelkarim did not respond to requests for comment. Neither did a spokesman for Madbouly. Unsatisfied by the answers at the October 2021 meeting, diplomats from the United States, Europe, Australia and three South American countries repeatedly lodged their concerns in committee meetings at the World Trade Organization over the next two years, according to a review of public meeting minutes. At one such discussion in November 2021, a U.S. official said certification fees for halal meat exported to Egypt from the United States had gone up by 1,000 percent since the Egyptian government had given the Hana-owned IS EG a monopoly. Diplomats began to whisper that the arrangement had the makings of a front for Egyptian intelligence. "It would have been impossible to carry out such an operation, changing the whole system in an inefficient manner, without it being part of the security system in Egypt or being protected by it," a Western diplomat told The Post, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. The pressure from other countries prompted Egypt to repeatedly postpone the planned expansion of the monopoly to non-beef products - even to this day. But Hana's influence appeared to grow in other ways. This spring, he showed up at the Brazilian Embassy in Cairo, wearing a business suit and a large gold ring, according to two Brazilian officials who discussed the meeting on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. In a meeting with Brazilian diplomats to discuss increasing beef importations from the South American country, he boasted of powers that went far beyond that of a traditional businessman, the Brazilian officials said. "He spoke in an arrogant way," one of the officials recalled. "He said if an Egyptian inspector was in the way, he'd solve it. If a health authority is blocking some process, he'd unblock it." Hana told the diplomats he was helping an additional Brazilian slaughterhouse export to Egypt. He needed authorization from Egyptian sanitation officials. To facilitate the process, he asked the Brazilian diplomats if they could submit a formal request. The Brazilians declined - they told The Post that Hana made them uneasy. But weeks later, word got back to them: The Egyptian authorities had nonetheless approved the new Brazilian slaughterhouse for exportation to Egypt - without the Brazilian Embassy ever having made a request. "It was clear that Hana had access to the [Egyptian government] - and had succeeded," said one of the diplomats. - - - Samantha Schmidt and Devlin Barrett contributed to this report. Related Content How one rabid kitten triggered intensive effort to contain deadly virus A lovers' tale of romance, fidelity and the aviary netting keeping them apart The final hours of Rosalynn Carter's life, in the town where it began FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) Following the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, Fresno California Highway Patrol has released statistics taken during the Thanksgiving Maximum Enforcement Period. Statewide, CHP reported arresting 1,046 suspected impaired drivers, 19 of whom were in Fresno. In California, officers say 27 fatal crashes with 33 fatal victims are being investigated; thankfully none occurred in Fresno. Six of the fatal victims were not wearing seatbelts. CHP says high speed was in abundance this weekend as 83, 100+ mph speeding violations were reported, three in Fresno. 1,064 speeding tickets were issued with 166 issued in Fresno. Regardless of the holiday or day of the week, CHP Fresno wants to remind the public to drive safely and responsibly. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com. An attempted robbery ended with a man shot dead at a Dollar General, Tennessee police say. Memphis officers were called to the discount store just after 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 28, according to a news release. Investigators said three armed individuals were robbing the business when a bystander began shooting at them, hitting one of them. The two others fled, though one was later caught by police, according to the release. The man who was shot was taken to a hospital where he died, authorities said. Officers detained the person they said fired the fatal shot, though no charges have been filed. A third suspect is still on the run, according to authorities. Police didnt release additional details but said the shooting is under investigation. Airport shootout erupts when men try robbing marijuana traffickers in SC, feds say Man on motorized buggy gropes woman at Walmart, Georgia cops say. It was a dare First clue to stolen car? The beautifully handwritten license plate, CA cops say A California congressman is the latest victim of antisemitism attacks happening across the country as Rep. David Valadao's (R-Calif.) Hanford office was vandalized Monday morning, according to a post on X from Rep. Valadao. Rep. Valadao posted a photo of his Hanford office Monday afternoon covered in "Murdered by Israel" posters and fake blood. "This morning, my Hanford office was vandalized by anti-Israel protestors. I strongly support the right to peaceful protest, but violence and vandalism are never acceptable. In a democracy, harassment and intimidation is not how you make your voice heard," Rep. Valadao posted. Valadao's office tells Fox News Digital the vandalism happened at their Hanford office just shortly before staff arrived Monday morning. NYC MAYOR ERIC ADAMS BLASTS STUDENTS VILE SHOW OF ANTISEMITISM THAT FORCED TEACHER TO HIDE IN OFFICE Rep. David Valadao, R-Calif., Hanford's office was vandalized by anti-Israel protestors Monday morning. "Our office has filed the proper reports with local law enforcement and Capitol Police. We hope to see those responsible held accountable to the fullest extent of the law," Valadao's office said. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP Valadao continued his post by calling out the protesters and denouncing their claims. MISS UNIVERSE JUDGE HIT WITH DEATH THREATS AFTER DEBATE AGAINST PALESTINIAN ACTIVIST: YOU WILL BE KILLED UNITED STATES - MAY 12: Rep. David Valadao, R-Calif., speaks during the news conference on the Invest to Protect Act outside the Capitol on Thursday, May 12, 2022. "If these protestors truly cared about Palestinian children they would also support the eradication of Hamas terrorists, who are actively using Palestinian hospitals and schools as cover for their military operations and putting thousands of Palestinian civilians at risk," Valadao posted. Valadao finished his post by stating that his office would remain open and accessible by appointment. Original article source: California GOP Rep. David Valadao's office vandalized by anti-Israel protestors A San Luis Obispo gym owner who admitted to hiding a camera in the bathroom of his business faces a year in jail after pleading guilty to three charges Tuesday morning. Cole Corrigan, 35, was initially charged with five crimes after police searched his home in relation to a hidden camera found in the restroom of CCC Fitness Corrigans 24-hour gym for females in September. Detectives found a ghost gun, ammunition and a misdemeanor amount of testosterone, police said at the time. Corrigan was previously convicted of multiple crimes, including felony drug charges, between 2006 and 2008 and is not able to legally own a gun. The San Luis Obispo County District Attorneys Office charged Corrigan with three felony gun charges and two misdemeanors: using an instrument to view an area of privacy and possession of testosterone. Corrigan pleaded not guilty to the crimes on Sept. 27. Corrigan admitted to hiding the camera in the restroom to The Tribune in an exclusive interview Oct. 23. He said he hid the camera to catch a thief, adding that the footage was only accessible via a livestream with no way to record footage for later viewing. But on Nov. 3, San Luis Obispo Police Department said detectives found recordings of two individuals on Corrigans camera. The San Luis Obispo County District Attorneys Office subsequently modified the charges against Corrigan, adding a second misdemeanor privacy charge. The agency alleged Corrigan violated the privacy of two Jane Doe victims for sexual gratification, according to the charge sheet. On Tuesday, Corrigan pleaded guilty under a plea deal to charges of felon in possession of a firearm, a felony, and two misdemeanor counts of using an instrument to record in an area of privacy for sexual gratification. As part of the deal, Corrigan agreed to serve one year in jail and two years of probation and will be subject to drug tests and searches of his electronics, in addition to typical probation requirements. Corrigan is also barred from contacting the two victims in the case for 10 years. If Corrigan violates his probation, he could face up to three years in state prison. San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Jesse Marino said Corrigan will be out of custody until his formal sentencing Dec. 19, which is when he will likely be taken to San Luis Obispo County Jail. California law does not consider Corrigans crimes to be violent, so he would likely serve around six months in jail if he exhibits good behavior. Corrigan declined to comment any further on the matter to The Tribune. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) A 41-year-old Berkeley, California, resident was sentenced on Tuesday to 10 years in prison for trying to coerce a girl into prostitution after they met on social media. Dustin Michael Joseph pleaded guilty in August to one count of attempted coercion and enticement. The charge stemmed from Josephs efforts to recruit who he believed was a teenage girl into making pornographic videos in a Carson City hotel room. An FBI investigation revealed that Joseph asked the girl if she would be interested in filming content for a paid subscription service where a lot of content involves sexually related activities, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorneys Office. Between March 14, 2021 through June 24, 2021, Joseph told the girl that he would pay her a couple of hundred of dollars per video, according to court documents and admissions made in court. He was going to train her to be a working girl so that she could work the various Reno events and make money, which she would have to split with him. On June 24, 2021, Joseph traveled from Berkeley to Reno and paid for a hotel room in Carson City, so he and the girl could film a pornographic video and have sex. Joseph had previous Nevada drug convictions dating back to 2011, and was released from the Nevada Department of Corrections on May 26, 2019. Chief U.S. District Judge Miranda M. Du ordered Joseph to serve 10 years, followed by lifetime supervised release. He also must register as a sex offender. United States Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans for the FBI made the announcement. The case was investigated by the FBI and the Regional Human Trafficking and Exploitation Unit, including officers from the Reno Police Department, Sparks Police Department and Washoe County Sheriffs Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Rachow prosecuted the case. The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood and for information about internet safety education, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. Anyone with information on suspected child sexual exploitation can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or https://report.cybertip.org. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. A California man who phoned in bomb threats and left threatening voicemails to several Planned Parenthood offices has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison. In June, Nishith Tharaka Vandebona, 34, of Oxnard, admitted to one felony count of transmitting threatening communications and one misdemeanor count of threatened forcible intimidation regarding the obtaining and provision of reproductive health services under the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances, according to the United States Department of Justice. Hes remained in law enforcement custody since pleading guilty to the charges this summer. Vandebona, who was living in Camarillo at the time, admitted to using an anonymous phone number to leave voice messages that contained death threats to multiple Planned Parenthood offices. The threats were made in the wake of the United State Supreme Courts decision to overturn the landmark Roe V. Wade decision, which ruled that women had a constitutional right to abortion. The controversial reversal of the decision led to mass protests, calls for Supreme Court Justices to resign, and massive outcry from Roe v. Wade supporters. Within hours of the ruling, Vandebona left a threatening message, including death threats, to a Planned Parenthood Central Coast in the Santa Barbara area. The next day he called another Planned Parenthood in Los Angeles and told a call center specialist Im calling to let you know that Im going to come in there and kill all of you, including your staff and your security. You got it? Youre overdue for an attack, according to court documents. Within an hour, he called that office again and made several death threats, including telling an employee, Im going to come in there and murder your staff. He also made vague threats to kill as many white Americans as possible Servicemen, families, everybody. In February 2022, he called in a bomb threat to the office of Californians for Population Stabilization, a Ventura-based nonprofit organization that advocates for zero population growth, primarily through immigration restrictions. Donald Alway, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBIs Los Angeles Field Office, said Vandebonas actions crossed the line from protected speech to criminal activity when he terrorized his ideological adversaries with death threats. Alway and United States Attorney Martin Estrada said the conviction and sentencing of Vandebona shows that authorities will continue to arrest and prosecute those who threaten violence against other with ideological differences, especially health care workers at reproductive health facilities. Vandebona faced a maximum sentence of more than five years in prison related to the charges. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. Sancerre is arguably one of the most requested and consumed white wines from France. However, it is doubtful whether consumers know the grape is produced from (sauvignon blanc) or where it is grown (Loire Valley). Now, you dont need to understand a wines pedigree or place of origin to appreciate it. However, knowing a bit about the elixir in your glass can greatly enhance your enjoyment of the wine. The Loire Valley is one of the top five recognized wine-producing areas in France along with Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhone Valley and Champagne. The valley and the surrounding grape-growing areas stretch about 170 miles from the Atlantic Ocean west into the interior of France. It is home to some of Frances iconic expressions of the sauvignon blanc and chenin blanc grapes. The Loire Valley is home to the melon de bourgogne grape that yields the lively muscadet wine, arguably the perfect accompaniment to oysters on the half shell. Cabernet franc, pinot noir and gamay also represent red grapes from this region. We recently tasted a selection of wines from the Loire Valley, along with a very popular sancerre, to provide a contrasting look to the different sub-regions and grapes. In the process we discovered a lot more about the region. We began our tasting with the Raphael Midoir Plaine des Cailloux Touraine Oisly 2018 ($18-20). Touraine Oisly is a sub-region of Touraine and has only existed since 2011. Our previous experience with sauvignon blancs from Touraine was from tasting an inexpensive white wine exhibiting herbal citrus notes in a relatively simple package not quite up to the quality of sancerre but it could work in a pinch. The Raphael Midoir Touraine Oisly is in another class. Rich with a deep golden color and a complex textured experience with floral, grapefruit, peaches and some tropical fruit notes in a wonderful melange. An amazing wine at a bargain price. It is our understanding that a 2021 vintage exists, but we have not tasted it. The Patient Cottat Sancerre Ancienne Vignes Sancerre 2022 ($35). This is a classic sancerre exhibiting herbal citrus notes with a hint of tropical fruit in a very smooth package. Unfortunately, prices for sancerre white wines have increased dramatically recently. Pascal Janvier Jasnieres 2022 ($28). Made from the chenin blanc grape in an appellation we didnt know, Jasnieres is a sub-appellation of the Coteaux du Loir and only produces wine from the chenin blanc grape. The wine presents a honeyed mineral experience with subtle acidity and a very creamy finish. Although certainly drinking well now, these wines have a reputation for aging gracefully. The only red wine we tasted was the Domaine Filliatreau Samur-Champigny Vielles Vignes 2018 ($28-34). This wine presented in a bold style that was clearly designed to pair with meat dishes or strong cheeses. The abundant tannins are soft with plum, cranberry and a hint of herbs in the nose and mouth. A serious wine for serious food. Wines from Sicily Sicilian wines, once obscure and sparsely stocked in wine shops, are now finding increasing availability in this country. White, red and roses are now exported to the U.S. and generally priced for consumers with moderate means. Were all in for a good deal, right? Sicily is an island off the southwestern coast of Italy. Its capital, Palermo, has a reputation for suffering more invasions than any other city in the world. Sicilys cuisine today reflects the influence of these many invaders. It boasts a robust wine industry with nero davola planted more than any other red grape. We feel that nero davola is easily compared to the cabernet sauvignon grape in the U.S., producing bold, long-lasting fruity wines. Nero davola means black grape from the town of Avola in the province of Siracusa in southeastern Sicily. Although considered indigenous, it was brought to Sicily by the Greeks thousands of years ago. We were impressed by the consistency and overall quality of a flight of nero davolas we recently tasted. Some of these wines listed might be hard to source. If you cant find the specific wines mention, we recommend selecting available nero davola with a Sicilia DOC designation in the $20 range. Our experience with this class of wine is that they are remarkably consistent. Following are our tasting impressions: Duca Di Salaparuta Passo Delle Mule Nero DAvola Sicilia DOC 2021 ($25). Deep dark cherry nose. Bold cherry fruit flavors and mild tannins. Excellent! Baglio Oro Ceppineri Nero DAvola Riserva Sicilia DOC 2017 ($23). Plum and cherry nose and flavors with hints of mocha. Soft tannins and very enjoyable. Cantine Vinci Lithos Nero DAvola Sicilia DOC 2018 ($23). This wine displayed more dried fruit notes with plums and cherries dominating. Cantine Paolini Nero DAvola Sicilia DOC 2019 ($15-20). Once again, a very substantial red wine displaying plum and cherries and in an easy drinking soft tannin package. Wine picks Fiddehead Cellars Seven Twenty Eight Pinot Noir 2016 ($48). The additional bottle age rounds out this outstanding, terroir-driven pinot noir from Sta. Rita Hills. Jammy black cherry notes with a dash of spice. Garfoli Piancarda Rosso Conero DOC 2020 ($17). The oldest family owned winery in the Marche region of Italy, Garfoli has several wines worthy of their price. This classic montepulciano is fruit forward and is light- to medium-bodied. Tenuta Scersce Nettare Rosso di Valtellina DOC 2021 ($30). Winemaker Cristina Scarpellini bottles her passion for wine in this easy-to-drink nebbiolo. Its light enough to go well with pasta and other simple foods. Tom Marquardt and Patrick Darr have been writing a weekly, syndicated wine column since 1985. See their blog at moreaboutwine.com. They can be reached at marq1948@gmail.com. A California man convicted of wire fraud was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison on Monday, more than four years after he was arrested for running a multimillion-dollar scam with his brother out of their parents home in Encino. Sassi Mizrahi, 58, was accused of fleecing dozens of members of the local Orthodox Jewish Israeli community out of a collective $7 million between 2012 and 2019, convincing their victims to hand their money over to a sham investment company. Mizrahi and his brother promised the investors guaranteed returns every month, telling them they could withdraw their money later, but deposited the funds into their own personal trading accounts, prosecutors said. Mizrahi was found guilty of five counts of wire fraud in February. On Monday, he was also ordered to pay more than $4 million in restitution. His brother, Motty Mizrahi, 51, pleaded guilty in January to six counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft; he is scheduled to be sentenced next month. Read it at Department of Justice Read more at The Daily Beast. California police are searching for a man who allegedly spray-painted antisemitic graffiti on a synagogue, an apartment complex and a city utility box. Klinton Dion, 32, is accused of applying antisemitic graffiti to various locations in Burbank, California, on Friday, according to Burbank police. Dion is wanted for a hate crime. Dion allegedly sprayed swastikas, an iron cross and the "SS" Nazi symbol on Temple Emanu El, the garage of an apartment complex in the 400 block of E. Cypress Avenue and a nearby City of Burbank utility box. CALIFORNIA GOP REP. VALADAO'S OFFICE VANDALIZED BY ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTORS Police said Dion is a transient who splits time between Burbank, Pasadena, Temple City, El Segundo and Los Angeles. The suspect has a faint tattoo above his left eyebrow, police said. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP Anyone with information on where Dion might be is urged to contact Burbank Police or local law enforcement. MINNEAPOLIS TEACHERS UNION BACKTRACKS ON ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR RESOLUTION: WE REGRET THIS The display of antisemitism comes in the wake of the ongoing war in the Middle East between Israeli forces and Hamas terrorists. More than 15,000 people have been killed in Gaza and Israel since Hamas launched its largest attack against Israel in decades on Oct. 7, leading to a military response from Israeli forces. Thousands more have been wounded, and many others have been taken hostage by Hamas and raped, tortured and murdered. Original article source: California police identify suspect wanted for spray-painting swastikas, Nazi symbol on synagogue California delegates to this weeks global climate summit are hoping to cement a more prominent position for subnational governments in future negotiations, state officials told reporters on Tuesday. Part of our presence in California is really to make the case that subnational governments that is, states, provinces, cities need to have a central role in this international collaboration to combat climate change, said Wade Crowfoot, secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency. Crowfoot and other members of Gov. Gavin Newsoms (D) administration were speaking at a Zoom media briefing just hours before their departure to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. The annual climate talks will bring together global and local leaders for negotiations, consultations and wide-ranging conversations this week and next. Crowfoot acknowledged that 198 countries, rather than subnational governments, are party to the global commitments set in the 2015 Paris Climate Treaty, such as keeping warming below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit). Were not nation states. Were not in those formal negotiations, the secretary recognized. But we know that subnational governments are critical to actually implement the commitments that have been made, including in the Paris Agreement. At the upcoming summit, California will therefore be working with other states and cities to make the case that we need to formalize the commitments of subnationals as part of the COP, according to Crowfoot. In the U.S. alone, he contended, there are sufficient states that want to continue to make progress, regardless of who leads our federal government. But with regards to the current federal leadership, Crowfoot credited President Biden who is reportedly skipping the global climate summit for the first time in his presidency for the strong progress he has made in the national fight against climate change. The precedent for some of this discussion was when former President Trump pulled out of the Paris Agreement, said Lauren Sanchez, senior climate advisor to Newsom. Trump withdrew from the treaty in November 2020 after promising to do so since June 2017 a decision that Biden then reversed during the first days of his presidency. But in the intervening period, states formed the U.S. Climate Alliance, which Sanchez described as an effort to ascertain whether subnational entities could still uphold the American commitment to the Paris Agreement. That was really meaningful for the global community as it related to messaging, she said. This campaign showed that America was still very committed to climate action, despite what our national governments posture was, according to Sanchez. She cited similar such efforts during the administrations of Brazils former president, Jair Bolsonaro, and of Australias former prime minister, Scott Morrison. Theres a lot of good precedent for despite the change in national governments making sure were able to account for formalize and advance the subnational commitments to climate action, Sanchez added. What that might look like as COP28 unfolds is a concerted effort from subnational governments many of whom have already been working together to demand a more formalized role, Crowfoot explained. The natural resources secretary described the current structure of COP as concentric circles, explaining that the tightest circle includes the negotiating nation states and that the outer circles contain subnational players and civil society groups. One proposal being advanced by several organizations is a requirement for national governments to consult with their subnational parties as they set the next round of climate targets, according to Crowfoot. As part of the Paris Climate Agreement, each participating country submitted its own nationally determined contributions aimed at minimizing global warming and reducing carbon emissions. Crowfoot said that a new approach under discussion is the formalization of sub-nationally determined contributions with similar goals. Such a process would aim to make these commitments official by entering them into a U.N. registry, the secretary explained. That means that when we have a change of government in a country like the United States, those commitments from states like California remain central and visible to the rest of the world, Crowfoot added. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The window is narrowing to try to knock former President Donald Trump off Californias March 5 primary ballot. Democrats across the country have launched several long-shot challenges to Trumps ballot status over his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. But the deadline for California Secretary of State Shirley Weber to certify which presidential candidates will appear on the ballot is just a month away. If Weber or the courts dont act by Dec. 28, attempting to remove Trump could create major logistical challenges as the state prepares voter guides and other materials. Here are two potential scenarios to watch: Could Weber act alone? One big question looming over the push to remove Trump from the ballot is the question of who has the authority. Can the top elections officials in each state act unilaterally? Democratic secretaries of state in pivotal swing states like Arizona and Michigan, have largely been skeptical about trying to exert that authority though. But some of their counterparts have made efforts to remove Trump around the theory that secretaries of states can unilaterally disqualify him on constitutional grounds. Weber hasnt taken a definitive stance. Her office has repeatedly said she is reviewing the issue. Right now, we're monitoring the legal cases here and in other states, Joe Kocurek, Webers press secretary, told POLITICO. California is one of several states where Democrats have attempted to disqualify Trump on the basis that he incited an insurrection when a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol nearly three years ago. If Trump prevails and becomes the Republican nominee, Democrats could try again on the November ballot. Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung previously told POLITICO that the campaign to remove the former president from the ballot was a political attack that was stretching the law beyond recognition. Any effort to remove Trump here would surely be challenged in court. All of the efforts could ultimately be moot because of the conservative control of the U.S. Supreme Court. What about the court route? Lawsuits have been filed in about a half-dozen states, California included, aiming to force secretaries of state to remove Trump from primary ballots. The Colorado Supreme Court recently agreed to hear an appeal to a lower court ruling on the issue. The Minnesota Supreme Court dismissed a similar lawsuit this month. But that might not be the only route: Eleven Democrats in the California Assembly, led by Assemblymember Evan Low, sent state Attorney General Rob Bonta a letter last month urging him to use his authority to seek an expedited state court ruling. Low said lawmakers are still urging Bonta to act because Trump "continues to be a clear and present danger to free and fair elections in the United States." The approach that Low and his co-signers have pitched is unique because Bonta could expedite the court process. As California's top lawyer, he has automatic standing to proactively ask a court for declaratory relief, a process where a judge can quickly rule on an unresolved legal question. Lawsuits seeking to knock Trump off the ballot have also been filed in New Mexico and New Hampshire. Bonta hasnt publicly responded to the lawmakers request. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking. Rick Hasen, director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLAs School of Law, said that if the issue isnt resolved by the courts now it could easily come back after the primary. One hypothetical is that Democrats could win control of the House in 2024 and try to block certification of a second Trump presidency. Whatever you think of it on the merits, the sooner this is resolved the better, Hasen said. It creates a potential for social upheaval. Like this content? Consider signing up for POLITICOs California Playbook newsletter. Bye, George! Rep. George Santos, the cartoonish New York Republican, compulsive liar, alleged fraudster and Ferragamo-fancying Botox buff, reiterated Monday that he wont resign . So two-thirds of the House will likely cast a historically rare but well-deserved vote to expel him, perhaps this week. The fabulist also known as George Anthony Devolder wont go quietly no surprise there judging by his recent rant that his colleagues are a bunch of drunken, philandering felons unsuited to judge him. (Irony being dead, he said this even as he protested that he should be regarded as innocent until proven guilty.) Next it will be the Senates turn: Sen. Bob Menendez, the New Jersey Democrat who allegedly fancied gold bars and bundled cash for his abuses of office, should be sanctioned too. Yet for now Menendez deserves a lesser penalty: censure. The difference between his deserts and Santos underscores both Congress wide discretion under the Constitution to police itself and its need, in practice, to balance institutional integrity and the voters will. Not that Menendez is the lesser sinner the third-term, soon-to-be-70 senator has operated under a cloud far longer than Santos, a freshman half his age. Menendez beat federal bribery charges in 2017, thanks to a hung jury , and then was severely admonished by the Senate Ethics Committee. Apparently unabashed, he soon allegedly engaged in corrupt schemes involving New Jersey businessmen and the Egyptian government, schemes that got him indicted again in September. A conspiracy charge was added in October. Read more: New York's Rep. George Santos says he expects to be kicked out in House expulsion vote Menendez, like Santos, insists on his innocence. Their alleged crimes are similarly egregious, though Menendezs are arguably worse. Neither man has gone to trial; Menendezs is tentatively scheduled for May, Santos for Sept. 9. Both must be considered innocent for now. But that is a legal distinction, central to the rule of law. Congress constitutional right to punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member, is a political matter. Its not dependent on legalities ethical wrongdoing and disorderly Behavior can suffice. The Supreme Court has said as much even as its said little else over the centuries about Congress disciplinary prerogatives, out of respect for the separation of powers. For the House to expel Santos would be a big deal. In U.S. history , just 20 members of the House and Senate have been voted out, 17 for disloyalty to the union at the time of the Civil War. The House itself has expelled only five members, including only two since the Civil War. Each was ejected, in 1980 and 2002, after criminal convictions. Santos is not alone in suggesting that he, too, should first have his day in court. But again, that is not required for Congress to act. Read more: Rep. George Santos won't seek reelection after scathing ethics report cites evidence of lawbreaking And Santos has had due process of a sort: The House Ethics Committee, according to its recent report and 56-page investigative findings , reviewed more than 170,000 documents and interviewed dozens of witnesses, all while consulting with the Justice Department to ensure its investigation did not interfere with the feds prosecution. Santos, contrary to his public claims, did not cooperate with the House committee. The Ethics members, equally split between Republicans and Democrats, unanimously concluded that Santos deceived and blatantly stole from campaign donors for his personal profit and enjoyment (Ferragamo! Hermes! Botox! OnlyFans! Las Vegas and the Hamptons!), created fictitious conduits to funnel cash and filed false federal fundraising reports. The committee sent to the Justice Department evidence of possible crimes beyond those in the governments 23-count indictment for wire and credit card fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and lying on federal disclosure forms. Read more: Ex-treasurer for Rep. George Santos pleads guilty to conspiracy, tells of bogus loan and fake donors The sheer scope of the violations at issue here is highly unusual and damning, the Ethics Committee said. Amen to that. Santos called its work a disgusting politicized smear and vowed to fight for my rights and for defending my name. (Which one?) The committee could have held a public, trial-like hearing, but instead urged the House to act immediately. The Republican chair called for expulsion. Twice before, the House rejected resolutions to expel Santos because members of both parties were concerned that he hadnt yet received due process. But once the Ethics Committees filed its final report, the numbers began to shift. Read more: Rep. Santos faces new charges he stole donor IDs, made unauthorized charges to their credit cards If Santos is expelled as expected, that will indeed defy the will of the Long Island voters who elected him a year ago. But they had cast their ballots for a fictitious candidate of Santos creation . They only learned post-election that hed lied about where hed gone to college, about working on Wall Street, about his wealth, about being the Jew-ish grandson of Holocaust survivors and the son of a 9/11 survivor. Early this year, a poll of his New York district found that almost 80% of voters wanted Santos gone. Nearly as many New Jersey voters want Menendez to resign , along with most Senate Democrats, New Jerseys Democratic governor and a raft of local and state officials. Like Santos, Menendez refuses to resign. Unlike Santos, he shouldn't get kicked out he hasnt had anything that resembles due process; there has been no Senate Ethics Committee investigation. Still, as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and for his own gain, Menendez allegedly pressed Egypts interests with Congress and presidents despite widespread objections to its dismal human rights record, and gave the Egyptians sensitive government information. The weight of the feds evidence against Menendez the New York Times canvassed associates and not even an ally suggested by Menendezs office would defend him suggests the senator should be censured while he awaits his day in court. That comes in the spring. And if hes convicted, well, the kick comes next. Right into historys sorriest pages with Santos-Devolder. @jackiekcalmes Get the latest from Jackie Calmes Commentary on politics and more from award-winning opinion columnist. Sign me up. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. The government of the province of Ontario has decided to include the study of Holodomor of 1932-33 in the school curriculum. The course on the study of this Soviet crime will be included in the Canadian history program for the 10th grade starting from September 2025. Source: Canada's Minister of Education Steven Lecce on 28 November during a press conference at the St. Demetrius School, the press service of the Canadian-Ukrainian Foundation told UP. Zhyttia. "This is important news for the Ukrainian community in Canada, which has worked for many years to raise the world's awareness of Joseph Stalin's brutal campaign against Ukrainian identity in 1932-1933," the foundation says. Photo: Tetiana Dodonova In 2008, Canada became the first country in the world to recognise the Holodomor as a genocide of Ukrainians. In 2014, the Canadian-Ukrainian Foundation launched The Holodomor National Awareness Tour to raise awareness of the Holodomor among Canadians. "The rise of extremism, including communism and Marxism, is a direct threat to our democracy, social cohesion and the values of Canadians. I am determined to strengthen education about our shared values, including through mandatory study of the horrors of the persecution of Ukrainians during the Holodomor in 10th-grade Canadian history," said Stephen Lecce. In his opinion, such training will help students to never be "bystanders", to understand the dangers of totalitarianism and to protect the fundamental Canadian values of freedom and democracy from Communist extremism. The Ontario government also invested $400,000 to support The Holodomor National Awareness Tour and a mobile Holodomor classroom. The Ontario government has made studying the subject of the Holodomor mandatory from 2025 The funding will allow the mobile classroom to travel to schools across the province and engage students in grades 6-12 in experiential learning. More than 70,000 people across Canada and students from more than 500 Canadian schools have already listened to lectures in the Holodomor mobile classroom. "The Holodomor Mobile Classroom is a unique learning environment that uses advanced technology to fully immerse and help students learn about the Holodomor in a digital classroom on wheels. The combination of technologies and interactive content developed for this program defines a completely new way of conducting lessons, which allows the facilitator and students to actively interact with each other," the initiators say. The lectures tell the audience about the genocide committed by the Stalinist regime against Ukrainians in particular, about why the Holodomor was not widely known in the West, how the Soviet authorities concealed the genocide, and how foreign journalists collected testimonies, fought propaganda and sought the truth. This year, the Holodomor Mobile Class travelled across Canada's east and west, and last week, it was in Ottawa to mark the 90th anniversary of the Holodomor on Parliament Hill. Reminder: Earlier, Ukrainian developers announced that they would create a game about the Holodomor. Support UP or become our patron! Physician-assisted death is legal in Canada, but online claims that infants are now eligible for the program are false. The minimum age to request medical assistance in dying (MAID) is 18 -- and Health Canada says there are no plans to lower that threshold. "Canada expands assisted suicide laws to allow for killing of INFANTS for profit," says a November 14, 2023 headline from Natural News. Screenshots of the article have circulated on Instagram, Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter. AFP has fact-checked Natural News multiple times for spreading health and vaccine misinformation. Screenshot of a Natural News article taken November 24, 2023 Screenshot of an Instagram post taken November 24, 2023 The website claims without evidence that Canada is now "a state-sanctioned baby-killing regime, all to exploit the valuable organs of healthy children for the organ harvesting trade." The Canadian government first passed the MAID program in 2016 following a 2015 Supreme Court ruling (archived here and here). It is intended for citizens aged 18 and older with a "grievous and irremediable medical condition." Canada has considered expanding the program to mature minors -- as young as 14 in some provinces -- but no such changes have been implemented. "The Government of Canada has no plans to alter the minimum age requirement to access MAID," said Anne Genier, a spokeswoman for Health Canada, in a November 24 email. AFP has previously debunked claims that MAID is available for Canadian minors. Recommendation, not regulation The Natural News article references testimony from Louis Roy, a doctor with the Quebec College of Physicians (QCP), to the Special Joint Committee on MAID on October 7, 2022 (archived here). Roy recommended expanding MAID to children and infants, a position the QCP has taken since at least 2021 (archived here). Roy's statements received pushback, but the QCP stood by its stance that infants experiencing "unbearable suffering and (no) prospect of survival" should be granted MAID upon their parents' request, according to a November 2022 statement (archived here). The Special Joint Committee on MAID was established in April 2021 to review provisions of Canada's law on physician-assisted death. The committee heard from experts to inform potential updates to MAID -- including whether minors should be allowed to request the procedure. In its final report submitted to Canadian Parliament in February 2023 (archived here), the committee said more research was needed to decide whether access to MAID should be expanded to minors. The government had not adopted any such change as of November 28. Who is eligible? To receive MAID in Canada, a patient has to be experiencing "enduring and intolerable" suffering that cannot be alleviated (archived here). When the law was originally passed in 2016, the patient's death also had to be reasonably foreseeable. That changed in 2021 when it was updated to include those experiencing medical situations where their demise may not be imminent (archived here). After the conclusion of an Expert Panel on MAID and Mental Illness in May 2022, the government moved to make the procedure accessible to people suffering solely from mental illness (archived here). But that change has been pushed back several times and will not be implemented until at least March 2024. Critics of the law often say the procedure is too accessible and could become an alternative to suffering experienced by people with disabilities or in poverty. The federal government says there are safeguards in place to protect against misuse of the MAID, including approval from at least two different health professionals. Read more of AFP's reporting on misinformation in Canada here. FILE PHOTO: The Royal Canadian Navy's offshore patrol vessel HMCS Harry DeWolf returns to its home port of Halifax FILE PHOTO: The Royal Canadian Navy's offshore patrol vessel HMCS Harry DeWolf returns to its home port of Halifax By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's understaffed and resource-stretched navy is in "a critical state" and might not be able to carry out its basic duties next year, the top admiral said in a YouTube video released this week. The comments by Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee are an unusually blunt expression of unhappiness from the military over the state of the armed forces. Canada only spends about 1.3% of its annual gross domestic product on defense, much less than the North Atlantic Treaty Organization target of 2%. In the video, which runs just under six minutes, Topshee said the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) had not hit its recruitment targets for more than a decade. "Colleagues and shipmates - the RCN faces some very serious challenges right now that could mean we fail to meet our force posture and readiness commitments in 2024 and beyond," he said. "The situation is serious but our problems are not unique and I know that the air force and army are facing similar challenges," he continued. The West Coast fleet is "beset with a shortage of qualified techs" which means ships cannot meet operation and maintenance targets, he said. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau plans to cut C$1 billion ($737.14 million) from the defense budget as part of a fiscal restraint package. Chief of the Defense Staff General Wayne Eyre, Canada's top soldier, told legislators in late September that this had prompted a "very difficult session" with commanders of the various services. The navy relies on its 12 Halifax class frigates, which are approaching the end of their 30-year operational life but must stay in service for another 15 years because their replacements are behind schedule and over budget. "This is a very considerable challenge. ... I wish it was not so but I am afraid there is simply no other choice," said Topshee, who took over as Canada's top sailor in May 2022. The video was released on Monday without any publicity. In response, the office of Defense Minister Bill Blair said the government was making significant new investments in the navy, including plans to build more than 20 new ships of various kinds. "This will be the largest Canadian shipbuilding initiative since World War II," spokeswoman Diana Ebadi said via email on Tuesday, adding that Ottawa was working to recruit and retain more sailors. Topshee's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday. ($1 = 1.3566 Canadian dollars) (This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of the spokeswoman's first name to Diana, from Diane, in paragraph 13) (Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by David Gregorio and Richard Chang) SAN DIEGO The special election race to replace Monica Montgomery Steppe on the San Diego City Council is already underway, with the first candidates confirming their intention to run. Chia Warren-Darby, director of appointments and board commissions for Mayor Todd Gloria, and local activist Shane Harris will be vying for the seat after Montgomery Steppe resigns on Dec. 5 to assume her new role on the San Diego Board of Supervisors. Both made their campaigns for the District 4 seat public in updates on X, formerly Twitter, several days after the City Council confirmed that a special election will be held alongside the California Presidential Primary on Tuesday, Mar. 5. Chance of rain coming to San Diego County this week Warren-Darby was the first to file paperwork following the vote on Nov. 15, according to city documents, launching an official campaign website shortly after. Her X profile has also been updated with the description City Council D4 Candidate. While the foundation has been laid, there is still much work to do to ensure that Council District 4 reflects the hopes and dreams of its residents, she said of her campaign on her website. Achieving these priorities may seem arduous, but by enhancing the partnership between constituents and City Hall, building effective communication coupled with true transparency, we can continue transforming the district into something extraordinary. Meanwhile, Harris, who alluded to a possible campaign earlier this month, made a reference on social media to his campaign in a post on X over the weekend, sharing a visit he made to an Encanto restaurant on Small Business Saturday. Body found inside hole in Linda Vista One of my top priorities as the next Councilmember of the fourth district will be to bring a business renaissance to our community, a portion of the post read. He has yet to launch an official campaign website, although he has mentioned other goals of his should he be elected like fostering diversity in a theoretical district office staff in subsequent posts. According to city documents, two additional candidates have filed the initial paperwork to run in the special election over the last two weeks: Montgomery Steppes current chief of staff, Henry Foster III, and legislative staffer Tylisa Suseberry. Suseberry previously ran for the District 4 city council seat in 2022, but ultimately lost in the primary. All potential candidates for the District 4 seat, including Harris and Warren-Darby, will still need to qualify by gathering at least 120 signatures of voters in the district before Dec. 14 to make it onto next years ballot. The district is comprised of neighborhoods in southeastern San Diego, including Paradise Hills, Bay Terraces, Mountain View, Chollas View, Emerald Hills, Ridgeview/Webster, Jamacha Lomita, Skyline, Alta Vista and Encanto. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego. A Carrollton School Resource Officer was sentenced to 60 years in prison after being investigated for molesting a child. Jerric Gilbert, who was an officer of the Carrollton Police Department and served as an SRO for Carrollton Elementary School, was previously arrested in April 2022 while under investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. As previously reported by Channel 2 Action News, Gilbert was under investigation by the GBI at the request of Carrollton Police. Gilbert was accused, according to investigators, of encouraging an 11-year-old girl to touch him inappropriately while at his home a few days before his arrest on April 22, 2022, according to the Coweta County District Attorneys Office. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Monday, Gilbert pled guilty in a non-negotiated guilty plea rather than go to trial, the DAs office said. In April 2022, Gilberts activity was reported to a teacher by a 7-year-old student, saying Gilbert had acted inappropriately with their older sister, according to the DAs office. The teacher reported this to the elementary schools principal, who informed law enforcement, prompting the investigation by the GBI, the DAs office said. TRENDING STORIES: While under investigation, Gilbert was placed on administrative leave, then fired from the Carrollton Police Department, according to officials. Initially, the GBI arrested Gilbert for one count of child molestation and for violating his oath, the bureau reported in 2022. On Monday, Gilbert pled guilty to two counts of child molestation, enticing a child for indecent purposes and violating his oath as a public officer, the DA said. Due to the non-negotiated plea deal, Gilbert will serve 60 years in prison, followed by 15 years on probation. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said Monday that the state will fund an additional $1 million in grants for local organizations and religious institutions to hire security in response to a recent wave of hate crimes and incidents. Eligible organizations can seek up to $40,000 in emergency state funding through the Governors Office of Crime Prevention, Youth, and Victim Services to protect themselves against hate crimes, according to a news release from Moores office. The ongoing war in the Middle East has spurred a dramatic increase in hate crimes and hate incidents against both Jewish and Muslim communities in the United States, Moores office said citing the Anti-Defamation League and Council on American-Islamic Relations. Israel and Hamas agreed to extend their cease-fire for two more days, The Associated Press reported, as more than 1.1 million Palestinians have been driven from their homes during Israeli bombardment. The Moore administration is already administering $5 million in grant funding during the current fiscal year for security upgrades and staff to nonprofits and faith-based organizations. The governors office has been in touch with communities that are very concerned about their ability to protect themselves from incidents of hate, Governors Office of Crime Prevention, Youth, and Victim Services Executive Director Dorothy Lennig said in a news release. We want everyone in our faith-based and non-profit communities to know that they do not have to wait until the start of a new grant funding cycle to get at-risk communities the resources they need. In September the Moore administration awarded around $16 million in grants to 118 faith-based organizations and nonprofits through a Department of Homeland Security program for security personnel, equipment, planning, exercises and training. The Governors Office of Community Initiatives is committed to doing all we can to denounce religious intolerance, said Governors Office of Community Initiatives Interfaith Outreach Director Dr. Lora Hargrove said in a news release. We uplift the power of our collective humanity through dedicated community outreach and support and will continue to work tirelessly with our partners in the community. Applications for grants will open Tuesday and close Jan. 10. For questions or assistance, email Genevra Farrare at genevra.farrare@maryland.gov or Jacqueline Adams at jacqueline.adams1@maryland.gov. An improvised armored truck, also known as a Narco Tank, has appeared in Mexico with what looks to be an anti-drone armor screen, commonly referred to as a cope cage, over the front end. A Mexican drug cartel recently employed an improvised armored truck, also commonly referred to as a "Narco Tank," with what looks to be a metal screen over the front section of the vehicle. This is reminiscent of the so-called "cope cages" that have become a fixture on tanks and other armored vehicles on both sides of the conflict in Ukraine and that have also now emerged on Israeli tanks . These screens are primarily intended to provide extra protection against drones, something that cartels in Mexico are now regularly employing against government security forces and each other . The Mexican vehicle in question was a modified Dodge Ram truck with a four-door cab that also had a box-like improvised armored structure at the rear with ports through which individuals inside could fire small arms. It was one of three Narco Tanks that took part in an ambush of Mexican military forces in the country's state of Jalisco just over a week ago. The Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), or Jalisco New Generation Cartel, carried out the attack on November 19, which also reportedly involved the rapid establishment of roadblocks to hamper the arrival of government reinforcements. A grainy screen grab taken from a dash cam video shot from inside a Mexican security forces vehicle during the ambush on November 19. This offers another view of the Narco Tank with the additional armor over its front end. Secretaria de la Defensa Nacional capture via X At least three Mexican soldiers were killed and three other unspecified individuals were wounded, according to local media reports . The extent of any casualties among the cartel forces is unclear, but the Dodge Ram with the armor over the cab was destroyed in the course of the gunfight. https://twitter.com/AlertasMundial/status/1726734176399802702?s=20 https://twitter.com/JonTapiaSS/status/1726686343135420538?s=20 "The [November 19] incident is significant for the brazen nature of the CJNG attack upon the SEDENA [Secretaria de la Defensa Nacional, or Secretariat of National Defense] forces," private California-based research and analysis firm C/O Futures noted in a monograph about the incident it published yesterday . However, "our interest is focused on the cope cage welded to the one CJNG IAFV [improvised armored fighting vehicle] which was destroyed ... and subsequently recovered by Federal authorities." Narco tanks, also referred to locally as "monstrous" (monsters in Spanish), have been a feature of Mexico's drug wars for more than a decade now. The types that CJNG and other cartels use today are generally modified pickups, SUVs, and similar types of trucks. Before now, there does not appear to have been another example with any kind of "cope cage"-like armor over the cab and hood. The social media posts below show more typical Narco Tank designs. https://twitter.com/Jake_Hanrahan/status/1184983518276923392 https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1611053281320570893 This kind of armor first appeared on Russian tanks in the lead-up to the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but is now widely used on both sides of that conflict. https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1691515969653346305 https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1654930572463026179 Israeli Merkava tanks with similar armored screens emerged following Hamas' unprecedented terrorist attacks on October 7 and have since been employed in the Gaza Strip . https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1722471610538430967 The actual effectiveness of the armored screens remains a subject of debate , and cope cage was originally coined as a derisive term. However, fighting in Ukraine has shown that screens like this are at least somewhat effective against drones, including certain types of loitering munitions, also known as kamikaze drones , and weaponized commercial types. They may also provide some modicum of extra protection against other kinds of top-down attacks, including those using infantry anti-armor weapons like rocket-propelled grenades or hand grenades. https://twitter.com/OSINTua/status/1617152860940107776 https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1684673727579947008 At the same time, Ukrainian forces, in particular, have also demonstrated their ability to get drones in under and around this kind of armor. What are now known as "first-person view" (FPV) kamikaze drones, which are generally very maneuverable commercial quadcopter designs that carry improvised warheads, and that then smash directly into their targets and detonate, have proven to be especially useful for getting past cope cages. https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPress/status/1676773459085647872 What is perhaps more interesting about the CJNG Narco Tank with the armor over the front is that the Mexican government does not operate the kind of armed drones that screens like this are primarily designed to defeat. "The cope cage extended over the cab and hood of the CJNG vehicle [is] to specifically protect it from opposing cartel drone weaponized drone strikes," C/O Futures' assessed. "It should be noted that Teocaltiche, Jalisco [where the November 19 ambush occurred] is a contested area between CJNG and Cartel de Sinaloa (CDS). Since April 2023, CDS has had weaponized drone aerial bombardment capability as it earlier ambushed a CJNG mobile element in Teocaltiche." Mexican drug cartels have increasingly been using weaponized commercial drones, including kamikaze types and ones designed to drop small improvised munitions, for years now, as The War Zone has reported on in the past. CJNG, which is known for being very well equipped and having organized military-style units, as can be seen in the video below, has been a pioneer of sorts for introducing uncrewed capabilities into Mexico's drug wars . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK23lJl25s0 "We began training as a group in 2021, but only this year we started operating," an anonymous CJNG "Operadores Droneros," or drone operator, told The Daily Beast for a story published earlier this year. "It depends on which drone we use, but we can be miles away and confirm that they [rivals] are at a certain house or vehicle and then crash the drone with the explosives." Cartels now routinely use drones to attack Mexican security forces and members of other cartels. https://twitter.com/ConflictsW/status/1481039571014066180 "So far this year, 260 such incidents [cartel drone attacks] have been recorded," CBS News reported in August. "However, even that number may be an underestimate: residents in some parts of the western state of Michoacan say that attacks by bomb-dropping drones are a near-daily occurrence." Altogether, it is hardly surprising that a cope cage-equipped Narco Tank has now appeared in Mexico. All of this, of course, also speaks to broader global trends in the use of weaponized drones , including commercial types, by non-state actors and nation-state militaries . The terrorist group ISIS is principally responsible for this, having demonstrated the utility of and low cost required to carry out such attacks. The group's armed drone activities first really became apparent during the Battle of Mosul in Iraq between 2016 and 2017, as The War Zone drew attention to at the time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vY7i_eR06M\u0026t=28s Even unarmed drones offer various groups additional ways, and with a low barrier to entry, to surveil and harass their opponents . As uncrewed aerial systems, in general, have become a more common fixture on and off traditional battlefields , there has also been a surge in demand for ways to defend against them . As The War Zone has highlighted in the past , this remains an area where the U.S. military is still very much playing catchup. Ive been in the Army for 38 years, and in my entire time in the Army on battlefields in Iraq, in Afghanistan, Syria, I never had to look up," now-retired U.S. Army Gen. Richard Clarke, then head of U.S. Special Operations Command, explained during a talk at the annual Aspen Security Forum in 2022. "I never had to look up because the U.S. always maintained air superiority and our forces were protected because we had air cover. But now with everything from quadcopters theyre very small up to very large unmanned aerial vehicles [UAV], we wont always have that luxury." The cost of entry into this, particularly for some of the small unmanned aerial systems, is very, very low," he continued. "I think that this is something thats gotta continue to go up in terms of our priority for the protection, not just of our forces that are forward today thats the current problem but whats gonna come home to roost. Some of these technologies could be used by our adversaries on our near abroad or even into our homeland. No matter what the exact degree of protection cope cage-type armor actually provides, the appearance of what very much looks to be a Mexican Narco Tank outfitted in this way underscores just how serious and widespread the Cartel drone threat has become in that country. The improvised armored truck seen in Jalisco also points to this kind of anti-drone protection for vehicles becoming increasingly commonplace around the world. Contact the author: joe@thedrive.com Members of the Carter family attended a private ceremony for Rosalynn Carter on Monday, inside the Carter Center. Its a ceremony that was filled with respect and honor for former first lady Rosalynn Carter. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] On Monday, family members and close friends filled the Carter Center to remember her. Father in the name of Jesus, we thank you today for this great celebration of life for Rosalyn Carter. God we pray for comfort today, especially for the family, the children, the grandchildren, and the great-grandchildren, said Carters pastor in a prayer. The Carter Center CEO Paige Alexander recalled some of Carters accomplishments. For 40 years, she did that work. Her top priority was mental health and with her staff and the amazing experts in the mental health task force, she advocated for changes in public policy, said Alexander. TRENDING STORIES: During the ceremony, a choir from Agnes Scott College performed some of Former First Lady Carters favorite songs. When asked what she wanted to be remembered for, she said I would like to think that people understood that I took advantage of the opportunities that I was given and I did the best that I could. I have to say, Mrs. Carter, did more than that and well miss her terribly, said Alexander. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: Carter grandson gets laughs with first ladies tribute: We also welcome your lovely husbands Former first lady Rosalynn Carters grandson fondly remembered her as a public servant, fierce advocate for multiple causes and a woman who was like everyone elses grandma during her memorial service in Georgia on Tuesday. Jason Carter delivered one of many tributes to his late grandmother, eliciting laughter regularly during some of the lighter moments in the days proceedings, including when he acknowledged each of the living first ladies in the audience. Secretary Clinton, Mrs. Bush. Mrs. Obama, Mrs. Trump and Dr. Biden, thank you all for coming and acknowledging this remarkable sisterhood that you share with my grandmother. And thank you all for your leadership that you provided for our country and the world, Carter said. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. Secretary Clinton and Dr. Biden, we also welcome your lovely husbands, he added, prompting laughter in the room as President Biden and former President Clinton looked on. Jason Carter recounted the Rosalynn Carters most viral moment, when she attended an Atlanta Braves game with former President Jimmy Carter and the two appeared on the kiss cam. He recounted how Rosalynn Carter made sure each of her grandchildren received birthday cards with a $20 bill inside each year, quipping that it was the same gift even when he turned 45. She was like everyone elses grandmother in a lot of ways. Almost all of her recipes call for mayonnaise for example, he said to laughter in the room. Top Stories from The Hill Jason Carter also recounted his grandmothers determination, citing a trip to the base camp of Mount Everest in Nepal and her belief that she could have done the climb. He also pointed to her years of advocacy to eradicate diseases around the world and her push to increase mental health treatment. If you imagine just how far our society has come in the last five years on issues of mental health, and you think that she decided in 1970 to tackle the ancient stigma associated with mental illness, it is remarkable how far she could see and how far she was willing to walk, he said. The former first lady died earlier this month at her rural Georgia home of Plains. She was 96 and had lived with dementia and was in declining health for several years. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Sabrina Carpenter arrives at the Billboard Music Awards on May 1, 2019, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. | Richard Shotwell, Invision via Associated Press The music video opens with a shot of an ornate Catholic altar. The camera then pans across a cotton candy-colored coffin, before showing candles, crosses and angel figurines. Finally, pop star Sabrina Carpenter appears in a pink hearse in front of a church. She eventually gets out wearing a short black dress and singing about feeling so much better now that a former love connection has left her life. The video, which is for Carpenters song Feather, was partly filmed in a Catholic Church in Brooklyn, Our Lady of Mount Carmel-Annunciation Parish. Thats notable because, although it has much in common with promotional material for other pop songs, it has very little in common with the activities that typically take place in a church. Related Soon after the video was released on Halloween, Bishop Robert J. Brennan, who leads the Diocese of Brooklyn, announced that hed be conducting an investigation into why Carpenters team was allowed to use the sacred space for such secular purposes. In a statement to Catholic News Agency, the diocese described Bishop Brennan as appalled by the video. The parish did not follow diocesan policy regarding the filming on church property, which includes a review of the scenes and script, the statement said. After his investigation, Bishop Brennan relieved the churchs pastor, Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello, of his administrative oversight of the parish, The New York Times reported. Monsignor Gigantiello posted an apology for approving the music video filming on the churchs Facebook page. I offer my sincere apologies to the Bishop, the Diocese, my faithful parishioners and all of you for this shameful representation, which I whole-heartedly renounce. I ask that following the very example of Christs forgiveness, you find it possible to forgive my oversight in this unfortunate matter, he wrote. He continued, In an effort to further strengthen the bonds between the young creative artists who make up a large part of this community and the parish, I agreed to the filming after a general search of the artists involved did not reveal anything questionable. ... The parish staff and I were not aware that anything provocative was occurring in the church nor were we aware that faux coffins and other funeral items would be placed in the sanctuary. In addition to reprimanding Monsignor Gigantiello, Bishop Brennan led a Mass of Reparation at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in order to repair the harm caused by the music video controversy, according to The New York Times. The director of the music video did not respond to requests for comment from the Times. The video has nearly 12 million views on YouTube as of Tuesday afternoon. People cross into the U.S. via the Gateway to the Americas International Bridge border at the U.S.-Mexico border near Laredo, Texas. Photo by Aaron M. Sprecher/UPI Nov. 27 (UPI) -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in Laredo, Texas seized 302 pounds of methamphetamine with a street value of more than $2.7 million at the Columbia-Solidarity Bridge, officials announced Monday. Officers seized the drugs last Wednesday after agents diverted a 41-year old Mexican citizen, driving a 2004 F-350 pickup truck, for secondary inspection at the border crossing station. Officers discovered the methamphetamine using drug dogs and X-rays, the CBP said in a statement. The agency determined the narcotics had a potential street value of $2,781,318, officials said. Authorities seized the vehicle and special agents from the Department of Homeland Security assumed the next steps in the investigation. "Seizures like this aim to prevent the trafficking of narcotics into our country, preserve public safety and enforce drug laws," Port Director Alberto Flores, Laredo Port of Entry, said in a statement. "CBP officers employ various methods of inspections to identify and confiscate illegal substances before they harm our communities." This is the latest in a series of high dollar drug confiscations at the Laredo port of entry. Officials seized 2,135 pounds of meth in August with an estimated street value of more than $19 million. A bust in September stopped a $7.7 million shipment inside a Freightliner big rig, and last November, CBP seized $18.6 million worth of methamphetamine from smugglers at the World Trade Bridge in Laredo. In June, four U.S. citizens and one Mexican national were sentenced to prison following their convictions for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute meth associated with the Michoacan drug cartel, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. Those arrests and convictions were the result of a "complex conspiracy which began Feb. 1, 2017, and continued through Sept. 29, 2018," Hamdani's office said in a statement. "Smugglers assisted drug traffickers in Mexico by finding and recruiting drivers willing to transport large quantities of high-purity meth through Laredo and further into the United States," the statement said. (Photo/Stephany Seay) Guest Opinion. It is time for a cease-fire in the so-called buffalo hunts that take place on the western and northern edges of Yellowstone National Park. Last winter was the worst hunting season the buffalo suffered since the 19th century. Winter came early and hard and we witnessed one of the largest migrations into Montana long before Yellowstone was established. No less than 1,175 buffalo were killed the majority of them were slaughtered in the killing fields of Beattie Gulch in the Gardiner Basin mostly by tribal hunters. Most of the tribes currently hunting under treaty right actually extended their hunting seasons to take advantage of the situation. Its bad every year, but last winter Beattie Gulch became a massacre site with gut piles stretching as far as they eye could see, many of them encased baby buffalo who would never see the light of day. A river of blood ran down Beattie Gulch into the Yellowstone River. The hunters ignored the tragedy they had caused, and instead patted themselves on the back for a successful season. Never miss Indian Countrys biggest stories and breaking news. Click here to sign up to get our reporting sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Roam Free Nation, along with our allies at the Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Gallatin Wildlife Association, and the Council for Wildlife and Fish, recently sent a letter to Gallatin National Forest Supervisor Mary Erickson, asking her to close Beattie Gulch to bison hunting due to serious concerns for public safety. For Roam Free Nation, is much more than that; the well-being of our National Mammal is the gravest concern. The Yellowstone buffalo are currently being considered for Endangered Species Act listing by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, yet in the meantime, nearly every single one gets gunned down after stepping out of the park, so listing can not come fast enough. We know those who hunt there will fight us, because they have a sovereign right to kill. But, just because you have a right, doesnt make it right. Humans have a responsibility and obligation to ensure the viability and evolutionary potential of hunted populations, and all creatures we share this Earth with. Such is not the case in these so-called hunts. At the October 2023 Interagency Bison Management Plan meeting, Yellowstones head bison biologist, Chris Geremia, warned state, federal, and tribal decision makers as he has for many years now against any lethal action in the Hebgen Basin, near West Yellowstone. Why? To attempt some semblance of protection for the imperiled Central herd; the last truly wild, migratory buffalo left in the country. The Northern herd migrates into Montanas Gardiner Basin; the Central herd migrates into both the Gardiner Basin and Hebgen Basin, meaning they are doubly impacted by mismanagement actions. The Central herd has been in decline for over a decade. Yellowstone biologists continue to warn against hunting in the Hebgen Basin, but these warnings continue to fall on deaf ears. As I write this, already 8 bull buffalo have been taken by state hunters near West Yellowstone. It is a disservice by hunt managers to ignore these warnings, and it is utter disrespect and irresponsibility by hunters to continue to kill. Its time for hunters to stop doing the dirty work of Montanas Department of Livestock and their cattle interests. These killing frenzies are not sustainable. Wild buffalo will never be able to restore themselves so long as there is no restraint by hunters and no enforcement by hunt managers. The buffalo barely have any opportunity to access or express themselves on the meager tolerance zones theyve been granted. A cease-fire is in order to allow them to do just that, then we work together for more buffalo on a much larger landscape. Stephany Seay is the co-founder of the Montana-based Roam Free Nation, a Native-led organization who works to defend the last wild buffalo and all of wild nature. More information can be found at RoamFreeNation.org. Help us ensure that the celebration of Native Heritage never stops by donating here. 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 PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) Eight people were displaced after a fire at an apartment complex on Monday morning in Cedar Mill damaged five units, officials say. Two cats were also rescued from the fire. Elderly man thrown nearly 70 feet in hit-run collision: Gresham police Firefighters say they were dispatched to the fire in the 12300 block of Northwest Barnes Road around 10 a.m., arriving to find the two-story apartment building with significant fire coming from the back of the building. Firefighters quickly extended hose lines to the back of the structure and began extinguishing the fire. As additional firefighters arrived on scene, more hose lines were deployed through the front door of an apartment to fully extinguish the fire. Firefighters searched the structure for victims and determined that all occupants had evacuated the apartment. Additional firefighters cut holes in the roof to allow heat and smoke to escape the attic space. In total, it took 35 firefighters 20 minutes to bring the fire under control, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue said. The Red Cross is assisting the eight residents who have been displaced. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. AUSTIN (KXAN) Israel and Hamas agreed to extend their cease-fire agreement for two more days, according to the Qatari government. So far, 58 hostages have been released during the current deal, including 39 Israelis. Among those freed are relatives of a Central Texas man. Israel and Hamas agree to extend truce for two more days, and to free more hostages and prisoners Roller coaster of emotions Dori Roberts said it was the news he was desperately hoping for. Text messages saying like, theyre free, theyre out,' Roberts said. Theyre back home.' PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Central Texas man says family members seized by Hamas militants in Israel His cousin and her two daughters were among the Israeli hostages held captive by Hamas for nearly two months. Dori Roberts said his three relatives were among the Israeli hostages freed from Hamas. (Photo: Ashe Family) Dori Roberts said his three relatives were among the Israeli hostages freed from Hamas. (Photo: Ashe Family) Dori Roberts said his three relatives were among the Israeli hostages freed from Hamas. (Photo: Ashe Family) Roberts said after 50 long days, they were freed on Friday. The daughters are just two and four-years old. The best way to describe it is that its been a truly roller coaster of emotions. Dori Roberts Roberts learned more about their time held captive. We found out that they spent about maybe an hour of daylight if they could, but thats all they gave them, Roberts said. They were eating chickpeas out of like, you know, canned food pretty much. Dry bread and water. Roberts said the road ahead for his relatives is one of both physical and emotional healing. Theyre really lacking a lot of the nutrition, he said. The kids are really, really suffered a great deal of trauma from this. But Roberts said the mission to save his family isnt over yet. Two of his relatives still remain hostages. We know its a long road ahead and its gonna be a bumpy road ahead, but were very determined. Dori Roberts Sadly, not all of his family members made it out alive. Roberts said his aunt was killed while in captivity. Were not sure exactly what happened but my aunt was murdered there and her body was left by the border, Roberts said. Dori Roberts said several of his family members were among those captured by Hamas. (Courtesy: Asher Family) Roberts hopes to visit his family in Israel at the beginning of the new year to support them with their journey ahead. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. There is no bigger bogeyman in right-wing political circles than George Soros. The 93-year-old Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor, financier billionaire and mega-donor to liberal causes in America, has been characterized as a villainous puppet master. Hungarys conservative prime minister Viktor Orban has leaned into anti-Semitic tropes to attack Soros, using his history in financial markets and worldwide causes to paint him as a malevolent global Jew. Philanthopist George Soros, founder and chairman of the Open Society Foundations, is a key figure of atttack in right-wing political circles both in the United States and abroad We are fighting an enemy that is different from us, Orban said in a speech about Soros. Not open but hiding; not straightforward but crafty; not honest but base; not national but international; does not believe in working but speculates with money; does not have its own homeland but feels it owns the whole world. In the United States, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis campaign for president has taken a page out of Orbans playbook by removing two Soros-backed state attorneys from office who were duly elected by voters. DeSantis unprecedented overreach of his own executive power to suspend Democrats from elected office is part of his general campaign of tough-guy posturing. He has bragged to Republican primary voters that he is the only elected official in America to remove a progressive Soros-funded district attorney. Republican presidential candidate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at the Thanksgiving Family Forum at the downtown Marriott on November 17, 2023 in Des Moines, Iowa. He even said that if he were elected president he would use the U.S. Justice Department to remove more Soros-supported prosecutors on a national basis. I will use the Justice Department to bring civil rights cases against all of those left-wing Soros-funded prosecutors, DeSantis boasted during one of the televised candidate debates. Were not going to let them get away with it anymore. We want to reverse this countys decline. Get away with what? Not being a Republican? This is a shocking amount of hubris and authoritarianism served with a dollop of not-so-subtle anti-Semitism. The two state attorneys removed from office by DeSantis were only tangentially supported by Soros. Their campaigns were backed in part by a political action committee that had received some funding through Soros. So, to single them out as Soros-backed is to call into prominence something that is irrelevant in every aspect except a filthy political one. Florida governors have the stated power to suspend office holders for malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, drunkenness, incompetence, permanent inability to perform official duties, or commission of a felony. DeSantis justified suspending the twice-elected Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren because Warren said he wasnt planning to prosecute people who violated the states 15-week abortion ban or the states ban on gender-affirming care. DeSantis used some cherry-picked crime stats in Orange and Osceola counties to suspend State Attorney Monique Worrell from office. Warren sued DeSantis in federal court, and U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle ruled that the governor violated the First Amendment and the Florida Constitution by suspending the prosecutor. "In short, the controlling motivations for the suspension were the interest in bringing down a reform prosecutor a prosecutor whose performance did not match the Governor's law-and-order agenda and the political benefit that would result," Hinkle wrote in his order. Hinkle also found that the federal courts have no jurisdiction with reinstating state prosecutors. Attorney Monique Worrell of the 9th Judicial Circuit, which serves Orange and Osceola counties, speaks during a press conference, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023, outside her former office in the Orange County Courthouse complex in Orlando, Fla. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended Worrell on Wednesday, again wielding his executive power over local government in taking on a contentious issue in the 2024 presidential race. Worrell vowed to seek reelection next year and said her removal was political and not about her performance. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel via AP) Worrell is fighting her suspension in the Florida Supreme Court, which is set to hear her case next week. DeSantis is arguing in that case that his power to suspend a state prosecutor is not subject to review by the states highest court. State attorneys, like other members of the executive branch, are indeed generally imbued with discretion in deciding how best to enforce the law, DeSantis argues in a court brief. But the Florida Constitution delegates to the Governor the supreme executive power and corresponding duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed. More: Gov. DeSantis puts crooked stamp on higher-ed in Florida with New College president pick Dozens of former elected officials have filed a brief to state their opposition to this power grab by DeSantis. Todays case presents an abuse of power by a Republican governor attacking a Democratic prosecutor, that brief says. But if this Order is allowed to stand, tomorrow it could be a Democratic governor suspending Republican officials. This Court must not permit a situation where every elected official has to fear being suspended anytime a new governor with a different set of political priorities and values enters office. More importantly, voters should not fear that their votes for local officials would be rendered meaningless by the political whim of whoever happens to be governor. More: Florida ethics chair and DeSantis learn the ethical perils of double-tasking toadies Palm Beach Post columnist Frank Cerabino The arguments will be made to a Florida Supreme Court, in which six of the seven justices were appointed by DeSantis. Meanwhile, DeSantis will continue to invoke the bogeyman George Soros on the campaign trail in other states. Frank Cerabino is a news columnist with The Palm Beach Post, part of the Gannett Newspapers chain. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: DeSantis casts Soros as villain in suspending Democrats from office The charges against a woman who was punched in the face by an officer while being arrested have been dismissed, court records show. Christina Pierre is the woman seen in a viral video that created city-wide outrage on social media. The video shows her getting repeatedly punched by a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officer. In the dismissal: "After consideration of the body-worn camera evidence and the various recorded accounts of police and civilian witnesses present, based on the totality of the circumstances, the State does not have a reasonable likelihood of success at any potential trial on Joe Bruno (@JoeBrunoWSOC9) November 28, 2023 Police said the incident began when an officer stopped two people, Pierre and Tony Lee, who appeared to be smoking marijuana near a bus stop on Nov. 13. But the attorney for the couple said they were smoking a legal substance purchased at a nearby store. Either way, the Mecklenburg County district attorney typically does not prosecute marijuana arrests. The viral video shows several CMPD officers holding Pierre down while one officer hits her several times. PREVIOUS STORIES: In a statement, police said Pierre was resisting arrest. They also said a different officer than the one seen hitting Pierre struck her in the face, but that was after she hit the officer multiple times. Police said Lee was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, resist/obstruct/delay and possession of marijuana. Pierre was charged with assault on a government official, resist/delay/obstruct and possession of marijuana. On Tuesday, Channel 9 learned the charges against Pierre and Lee have been dismissed, according to court documents. The DAs office declined to comment on the dismissal, but in the dismissal paperwork, they explained the decision. After consideration of the body-worn camera evidence and the various recorded accounts of police and civilian witnesses present, based on the totality of the circumstances, the state does not have a reasonable likelihood of success at any potential trial on this matter, it reads. The local NAACP chapters president spoke about the latest development. I think every case is an opportunity to analyze what we could do better, said Corine Mack, NAACP Charlotte-Mecklenburg president. Not only, as citizens of Mecklenburg but as community leaders and police, we have to create a better relationship. And we cant do that until we build trust. Pierres attorney, Lauren Newton, said she was pleased with the outcome. We are pleased to see the justice system working as it should be with these charges being dropped, she said in a statement to Channel 9. A hearing over whether a judge will allow CMPD to release body camera video of the incident to the public is scheduled for Thursday. Newton told Channel 9s Joe Bruno its still important that video release happens, despite the charges being dropped. Just because the first narrative put out was that my client was somehow doing something wrong as opposed to doing something perfectly legal -- sitting on a bench waiting for a bus as soon as she left work, she told Bruno. Channel 9 reached out to CMPD and to the Fraternal Order of Police for comments. CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings posted on X that he was disappointed in the district attorneys decision: I was disappointed to learn that all charges were dropped against Ms. Pierre and Mr. Lee, specifically the firearms charges and the assault on a government official charges. However, I have a great deal of respect for our district attorney and know he has a difficult decision to make when it comes to the prosecution of these cases. Our CMPD officers work hard each day to keep our community safe. Whether or not these cases are prosecuted in the criminal justice system is beyond our control. Even if charges are dropped or prosecution isnt likely, that does not change how we enforce the very laws we swore to uphold. Please see my statement regarding dropped charges from recent Steele Creek Division arrests near bus stop: pic.twitter.com/mCQ3LlnFbD Chief Jennings (@cmpdchief) November 28, 2023 CMPD said it was conducting an internal investigation into the arrest. Earlier this month, the department said the officer seen on video hitting Pierre has been reassigned, but the officer who hit Pierre in the face did not have a change of assignment. The president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #9 also said in a statement that he was disappointed: We are refraining from making an official detailed statement until the BWC footage has been released. I will say that we are disappointed that the charges have been dropped prior to the footage being publicly released. Once weve been able to review all the information available, I will be glad to speak. This week, the public may find out if we will see the body camera videos that were recorded before and after the incident. Even if granted by a judge on Thursday, it is unlikely we will get the recording that day. Department changes On Tuesday, CMPD announced the creation of a Community and Police Collaboration Group. The groups goal is to review certain department policies and provide recommendations for improvement. I feel that there is a need to form a Community and Police Collaboration Group who will mutually make recommendations for potential policy changes, CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings said in a statement. Members of this group have been identified and are being contacted to gauge interest. We have a goal of having constructive conversations regarding policies that include Response to Resistance, police-citizen encounters and more. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Community Relations worked with Jennings to make this possible. The community relations group will host a series of meetings starting next month to foster ongoing collaboration and open dialogue among a diverse group of stakeholders. Included in those meetings will be faith-based leaders, community leaders and organizers representing various entities including the Citizens Review Board, the Community Relations Committee, the NAACP, Action NC, clergy members and the Latin American Coalition. CMPD said the meetings will end in June 2024 when the group presents their policy recommendations to CMPD. The police department didnt say what led to the move, but it was announced hours after the charges against Pierre and Lee were dismissed. Channel 9 is clarifying whether the change was made in response to the incident. (WATCH PREVIOUS: Woman hit by CMPD officer on video speaks: Never been through anything like this) Mount Airy restaurant owner Francesco Frank Illiano, whose Illiano Group owns and operates three establishments in town, pleaded guilty Monday to willfully failing to pay taxes withheld from employees paychecks to the Internal Revenue Service. The charges stemmed from at least April 2014 to July 2016, when Illiano failed to pay Social Security and Medicare tax withholdings to the IRS for more than 100 of his employees, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release. Among the properties it owns in Mount Airy, the Illiano Group operates New York J&P Pizza on East Ridgeville Boulevard, the Mount Airy Inn on Main Street, and the Twin Arch Tavern on Twin Arch Road. The IRS previously had levied trust fund recovery penalties against Illiano totaling $1.4 million for failing to pay taxes withheld from employees at five franchise locations of the Greene Turtle restaurants, which he owned in 2011 and 2012. Illianos attorney Robert Bonsib would not reveal which Greene Turtle restaurants were involved. Altogether, the Department of Justice said that Illiano caused a tax loss to the IRS of more than $1.7 million. In a phone interview Tuesday, Bonsib, said Illiano is a valued member of the Mount Airy community. Mr. Illiano has accepted responsibility [for] the mistakes he made a number of years ago, Bonsib said. Hopefully, he can move on from a mistake in his past. Illiano faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and potential monetary penalties. He is scheduled to be sentenced March 6, the news release states. ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. A man faces criminal charges after he allegedly led St. Charles County officers on a chase with a vehicle stolen from the state of Nevada. Prosecutors have charged Kameron Dunn, 26, with four felonies and one misdemeanor amid the investigation. Authorities credit a FLOCK camera in Lake St. Louis for aiding in the arrest. U.S. Steel idles steelmaking at Granite City Works indefinitely According to court documents obtained by FOX 2, a chase late Friday ended up with Dunn striking a police vehicle, nearly striking pedestrians and traveling nearly triple the speed limit in a 35 mph zone. Dunn reportedly crossed solid yellow lines at one county intersection while pedestrians were walking northbound, per court documents. Investigators say Dunn was driving a passenger and his two-year-old son. Authorities also found him in possession of a gun stolen from the Las Vegas area. Per court documents, officers with the St. Charles County Police Department and OFallon Police Department attempted a traffic stop near Bent Oak Apartments just moments before the chase. Investigators say spike strips brought the vehicle to a stop near Lake St. Louis. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News Court documents indicate that Dunn was a convicted felon elsewhere, describing him as a career criminal with connections to Nevada and Florida. Dunn was charged with tampering with a motor vehicle, resisting arrest, unlawful possession of a firearm, attempted assault, and endangering the welfare of a child in this case. He is currently jailed in St. Charles County with a bond hearing scheduled for Dec. 6, per Missouri court records. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. Investor Charles Munger, a longtime business partner of Warren Buffett, died on Tuesday morning at the age of 99. Berkshire Hathaway said in a press release that family members of Munger informed the company that the investor died peacefully in a California hospital on Tuesday morning. The release did not include details about the cause of death. Munger had been friends with Buffett since the pair met at a dinner party in Omaha, Neb., in 1959. Munger officially joined Berkshire Hathaway as vice chairman in 1978, where he typically worked in the background as Buffetts righthand man. Berkshire Hathaway could not have been built to its present status without Charlies inspiration, wisdom and participation, Buffett said in the press release. Munger was born on Jan. 1, 1924, in Omaha. He went on to serve in the military during World War II and later graduated from Harvard Law School. He moved to practice law in southern California, which is what he was doing when he met Buffett for the first time. Munger and Buffett shared similar investment aspirations and bought into the same companies during the 1960s and 1970s. Munger was also previously the chairman of the Wesco Financial Corporation, which was later acquired by Berkshire Hathaway. He was also the chairman of the Daily Journal Corp. and a board member of Costco Wholesale Corp. At one point, his fortune was estimated to be more than $2 billion, but that number decreased as he gave millions in philanthropic efforts. Just last month, he gave a $40 million gift to the Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Museum in San Marino, Calif. He also gave gifts worth millions to numerous higher education institutions, including the University of Michigan and Stanford University. The Associated Press contributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) A man has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for using online platforms to message, convince and sometimes pay minors to make sexually explicit videos of themselves, according to the United States Attorneys Office. Court documents show the FBI began an investigation in 2019 into the suspect using the internet to obtain child pornography. Queen City News is tracking CRIME in your area >> Latest stories here 23-year-old Luis Ramirez Avila admitted to using messaging applications such as Snapchat to view, share and receive child pornography. Avila convinced, and sometimes paid, minors to make sexually explicit videos of themselves and send the videos back, officials said. On Nov. 29, 2022, Avila pleaded guilty to three counts of receipt of child pornography. Along with his 11-year prison sentence, Avila was ordered to serve 30 years under court supervision, register as a sex offender after he is released and pay $15,300 in assessments. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officers during a Monday night event shared their perspective on mental health in the profession, job pressures and keeping community ties strong. The conversation came two weeks after a forceful, controversial arrest that went viral. On video captured by a bystander, officer Vincent Pistone was seen repeatedly hitting Christina Pierre, a Black woman who had clocked out from her shift at a nearby Bojangles. Police said that Pierre resisted arrest and struck an officer in the face. Five CMPD officers spoke Monday with the Urban League of Central Carolinas Young Professionals at beSocial, a community space in Plaza Midwood. Though the event was sparked by the arrest and an announcement referenced it, the officers and moderator Ratasha Smith made no reference to it during the conversation. Instead police shared what its like to be on their side of the law. Smith called the event a way to look forward. I would say the biggest thing is the unknown, Capt. Stephen Fischbach told the crowd. We pull a car over. We dont know if this is little old Mabel who ran a stop sign and means absolutely no harm. Or we dont know if thats Mabel who just shot and killed her husband down the street. Police have to make split-second decisions, Fischbach said. When that happens, they fall back on their training. Officers arent just trying to get home safely, Lt. Trent Beam said. They have to make sure that everyone else does, too. Amid the pressures, conversations about mental health are less stigmatized than they used to be in law enforcement, the officers said. Twenty-five years ago, you didnt talk about your feelings as an officer, Maj. Jackie Bryley said. Now, new officers often ask what the department does to help with mental health and are met with more support and resources, she said. Capt. Stephen Fischbach, Maj. Jackie Bryley, Lt. Trent Beam, Lt. Richard Nelson, Capt. Bret Balamucki and Ratasha Smith talk about the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Departments relationship with the community. Community ties When conversations about policing go national, they find their way uptown, the officers said. In 2020, tensions between police and communities reached a new high, after video showed then-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin murdering George Floyd. Chauvin kneeled on Floyds neck for more than nine minutes. Protesters demonstrated in Charlotte, too. Some went on to sue the city and CMPD, saying police ambushed them when they were herded onto Fourth Street and pummeled from three sides by tear gas, smoke grenades, pepper balls and other munitions. One way to build relationships, Capt. Bret Balamucki said: getting out of the patrol car. Its that face-to-face conversation that allows us to see people as neighbors and as partners, to be able to work through issues, he said. Community members might be angry or upset about an incident. And when officers talk to them directly, they can change their approach, he said. The officers referenced a number of CMPD community programs, which seek to strengthen ties between the department and Charlotte and Mecklenburg Countys residents. There may be things that happen that create division, but I think no matter what, everybody wants to have a safe, loving, caring neighborhood, Balamucki said. And we want to be a part of that. CMPD has asked a judge for permission to release body camera footage of the arrest that sparked Mondays event. In North Carolina, that release requires a court order. Pierre faces charges of assaulting a government official, resisting and simple possession of marijuana. She is scheduled for court on Dec. 12, according to online court records. Public schools are about to face a heap of fiscal challenges. With billions of dollars of federal COVID relief about to run out, student enrollment dropping and pension obligations skyrocketing, there are tough choices ahead for districts. But for certain public schools, funding challenges are nothing new. For the last two decades, our research team at the University of Arkansas has been studying charter school funding in major cities across the country. Over the summer, we released a report that found that across 18 cities in 16 states, charter schools receive, on average, 29.5% less funding $7,147 less per student than neighboring traditional public schools. This inequity is nothing new. Our first report, which studied the 2002-03 school year, found a 27% funding gap. Since then, the gap has never been smaller than 20.7%, and it has on a number of occasions been higher than 30%. In other words, students who decide to attend a charter school in one of those cities will, on average, typically sacrifice nearly a third of their funding. Support The 74's year-end campaign. Make a tax-exempt donation now. Of course, its not just about spending ultimately, the goal is better outcomes for students. And so, for our newest report, our team combined funding research with data on student achievement so we could see what taxpayers are getting for their money. Related New Report Finds Charters Deliver More Bang for the Buck than District Schools The findings were clear: Public charter schools are a great investment. Across nine major cities Camden, New Jersey; Denver; Houston; Indianapolis; Memphis; New Orleans; New York City; San Antonio, Texas; and Washington, D.C.. we found that, despite persistent funding gaps, charter schools produced more learning and higher predicted lifetime earnings than traditional public schools per education dollar spent. As education leaders make tough financial choices in the coming months, properly funding charter schools should be a no-brainer. After all, if they can achieve these results even with a yawning funding gap, imagine what they could do if they were funded equitably. To obtain our findings, we matched our funding research with performance data from the National Assessment of Education Progress and research findings from the CREDO Institute at Stanford University. Notably, this methodology accounts for observable differences between the student populations of charter schools and traditional public schools, including prior academic achievement and so it is truly an apples-to-apples comparison. The results were striking. In reading, charters average 4.4 NAEP points higher per $1,000 spent than traditional public schools, making charter schools 41% more cost-effective in reading. In math, charters average 4.7 points higher per $1,000 funded, making them 43% more cost-effective in math. Related Alaska Leads States in First-Ever Rankings of Charter Performance on NAEP We also examined how attending a charter school instead of a traditional public school would affect lifetime earnings for students. To estimate this, we used wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics alongside the aforementioned CREDO study. And once again, charters came out on top. On average, each dollar invested in a students schooling in traditional public schools yields $3.94 in lifetime earnings. That same dollar invested in a charter school student yields $6.25 in lifetime earnings a 58% higher return on investment over the course of a 13-year education. What does this mean for education leaders? Despite the political noise, its clear that charter schools are a great use of public resources when it comes to what really matters: outcomes for students. As purse strings tighten, leaders should keep that in mind. Successful businesses follow a simple practice: They direct more resources toward their more productive units. Thats not what is happening in public education these days. If charters were at least funded equitably, its easy to see how they could take their performance to another level, providing even better opportunities for their students. After several years of mostly negative news coming out of public schools, education leaders should take advantage of this opportunity. Chick-fil-A is looking to build a bigger location that would replace its existing restaurant in Collierville. The Collierville Planning Commission recently received the latest plans from Chick-fil-A to bring a new store to the area. A request for approval of the preliminary site plan will go in front of the planning commission on Dec. 7. The proposed Chick-fil-A restaurant located in the Cartwright Place Business Center will be almost double the size of the current Collierville location at 1036 W. Poplar Ave. Planning commission officials said the proposed Chick-fil-A is expected to be 6,110 square feet, while the present restaurant is 3,950 square feet. It was built in 2000. The Collierville Planning Commission will review preliminary site plans for a new Chick-fil-A location on Dec. 7. They (owners of Collierville Chick-fil-A) had told us all along that they wanted to replace the existing store on (West) Poplar Avenue, Town Planner Jaime Groce said. "Its older and has been there for a couple decades. It doesnt meet their needs. The new proposed Chick-fil-A will sit on 2.54 acres located north of Poplar Avenue, west of Bray Station Road and east of Cartwright Farm Lane. Donquetta Singleton, assistant town planner, said the dining area of the restaurant is expected to have indoor seating for 100 and seating for at least 48 on the outdoor patio. The current Chick-fil-A has no outdoor seating and little indoor seating. The new restaurant is slated to have 72 parking spaces. Groce indicated the preliminary site plan also shows 16 future spaces, which could only be built if the town changes its maximum parking limit regulations for restaurants of this size. COMING TO COLLIERVILLE: Mugshots Grill & Bar is coming to Tennessee: What we know about new Collierville spot If the planning commission approves Chick-fil-A's preliminary site plan on Dec. 7, it will move on to the Design Review Commission (DRC) agenda for a recommendation on Dec. 14. The preliminary site plan is tentatively on the Board of Mayor and Aldermens meeting agenda on Jan. 8 for a final decision. If the board approves the preliminary site plan, Chick-fil-A would still need to apply for a final site plan and building permit before it could construct the new restaurant, according to planning commission officials. What happened to plans for second Chick-fil-A in Collierville? Chick-fil-A has discussed in the past adding another location in Collierville at Wolf River Boulevard and Houston Levee Road. In June 2022, the Atlanta-based restaurant filed parking variance cases for each of the new locations to increase parking spaces. The Houston Levee Road project was permitted 55 parking spots, but Chick-fil-A asked for 81. Initially, the Bray Station Road development, which is now slated to have 72 parking spaces, was allowed 53 spots. However, the applicant first requested 60. COLLIERVILLE RESTAURANTS: Why we think SOB, David Grisanti's on Main will help make Collierville a dining destination Soon after, both applications were pulled by the applicants before the board of zoning appeals could vote on them. They ended up backing off that (Houston Levee Road) site plan right now, Groce said. Corey Davis is the Collierville and Germantown reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Corey.Davis@commercialappeal.com or 901-293-1610. This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Chick-fil-A in Collierville: The latest on plans for new restaurant An 8-year-old girl died several days after she and her mother were hospitalized after a driver crashed into a group of pedestrians near a bus stop in the Manchester Square neighborhood of Los Angeles. The crash happened around 1:30 p.m. on the 1700 block of West 83rd Street on Thanksgiving, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The young child, Alexa Antonio Aragon, and her mother, 26-year-old Alma Aragon, were waiting at a bus stop after picking up a gift for a relative. The collision involved two vehicles, police said. One car was exiting a private lot when it was struck by another vehicle. The first vehicle then crashed into the pedestrians who were on the sidewalk at or near a bus stop, authorities said. Authorities announced that Aragon died on Thanksgiving Day. One of the drivers was arrested at the scene on suspicion of driving under the influence, police officials confirmed on Nov. 23. One of the drivers was transported to the hospital following the crash. Aragon, her daughter and one of the drivers were initially transported to the hospital. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. (Bloomberg) -- Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said businesses in the Baltic nation remained wary about conducting trade with China two years after a diplomatic falling out and a challenge with the World Trade Organization. Most Read from Bloomberg Theres a huge trust issue, not just from the government but from the business as well, Landsbergis told Bloomberg in an interview on Monday. Since it has been done in the past, nobody can be sure that it cannot be repeated because its a non-rules-based approach. Lithuania became embroiled in a dispute with China in 2021 after allowing Taiwan to set up a representative office under the islands name, a move Beijing regarded as a violation of its sovereignty. China responded by withdrawing its ambassador to Lithuania and imposing an effective trade ban on the European Union member state. Landsbergis said in a Nov. 18 interview with news organization ELTA that most of Chinas trade measures targeting Lithuania have been lifted. Asked about the comments on Monday, the minister made reference to measures that were challenged with the WTO. Lithuania had suffered economic coercion after being removed from Chinas customs system, he said. Chinese official customs data show little recovery in direct bilateral trade. Imports from Lithuania were down more than 70% in the first 10 months of this year compared to the same period in 2021, before the row broke out. Trade between Beijing and Lithuania collapsed in the months after the spat, with China only importing $60,000 worth of goods from Lithuania in January 2022, a 99.8% drop from a year earlier. The EU responded on behalf of Lithuania, taking China to the WTO. That case is still pending. Chinas Foreign Ministry reiterated that Lithuanias action on Taiwan was wrong and that its response was legitimate in protecting its interests. The problem is fundamentally with the Lithuanian side, the ministry said in a written response. China has always acted in accordance with WTO rules and will handle relevant issues in accordance with relevant rules. Landsbergis was also asked about the prospect of China-Lithuania relations returning to normal. The talks about our diplomatic track, they are ongoing for almost two years now, in some cases they are more active, less active, he responded. We are having a conversation, which, as Im saying, with patience, I think that it could provide some opportunities. Neither side has officially reinstated its diplomats in the other country. EU leaders are expected to travel to China next week for an annual summit. Any reduction of tensions with Lithuania may help in removing one point of conflict between the two sides. Theres also been no change to the name of Taiwans representative office in Vilnius, according to the deputy head of the Europe department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei. This is a non-issue, he said at a regular briefing on Tuesday. --With assistance from James Mayger, Lucille Liu, Samson Ellis, Colum Murphy and Jenni Marsh. (Corrects to remove explicit reference to China ending trade measures throughout. An earlier version corrected the title of a Taiwanese official in the second-last paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. China is battling a wave of respiratory illness in children. Scientists are rushing to find out why China is currently weathering a wave of unexplained respiratory illnesses among children, leaving global scientists rushing to find out why and to establish whether it could spread further afield. The World Health Organisation has issued a formal request to China for data on the illnesses, after public disease surveillance system ProMED which helped raise the alarm over the emergence of Covid, Sars and Mers warned about reports of undiagnosed pneumonia on 21 November. With the outbreak of pneumonia in China, childrens hospitals in Beijing, Liaoning and other places were overwhelmed with sick children, and schools and classes were on the verge of suspension, ProMED said, citing a report by Taiwanese outlet FTV News. Chinas health ministry has asked local authorities to increase the number of fever clinics, but health authorities insist they have found no unusual or novel diseases, and say the wave of illness is linked to the simultaneous circulation of several types of pathogens, most prominently influenza. While there is still insufficient data to offer a conclusive verdict on the mysterious wave of illness, experts in the UK stressed there is no evidence yet to suggest a novel virus is to blame. Instead, it is more likely related to Chinas lifting of Covid restrictions last December and could also be indirectly linked to the bout of serious hepatitis witnessed in hundreds of children in the UK last year. I am not going to push the pandemic panic button on the basis of what we know so far, but I will be very keen to see the response to WHO from China and see the WHOs assessment following that, leading public healh expert Brian McCloskey CBE, told Reuters. Dr Zania Stamataki, a viral immunologist at the University of Birmingham, was more explicit, saying: There is currently no evidence that the increase in paediatric pneumonia cases in China may be due to a new virus. The director of Tianjin Childrens Hospital said its staff had been overwhelmed, with more than 13,171 patients were admitted to the hospitals two campuses in 24 hours (AP Photo/Andy Wong) Her remarks were also echoed by Professor Francois Balloux, of University College London, and the University of East Anglias Professor Paul Hunter, who said that he would expect to see may more infections in adults if it were to be an epidemic caused by a novel virus. The few infections reported in adults suggest existing immunity from a prior exposure, said Prof Hunter. Pointing to the reported discovery of pulmonary nodules abnormal growths spotted in the lungs in some patients chest X-rays, Prof Hunter said this tends to suggest a bacterial rather than viral cause. Pulmonary nodules can be spotted in children with bacterial pneumonia, while secondary bacterial infections in those with flu can also cause patchy changes on chest X-rays, he said, adding: There may also be more than one infectious cause of the current epidemic. Many experts also highlighted the fact that China is entering its first winter since lifting years-long lockdown measures last December, which Prof Balloux said must have drastically reduced the circulation of respiratory bugs, and hence decreased immunity to endemic bugs. This phenomenon of lockdown exit waves of respiratory infections is sometimes referred to as immunity debt, Prof Balloux said, adding: Other countries, including the UK, experienced big waves of respiratory infections and hospitalisations in kids during their first winter after pandemic restrictions had been lifted. Since China experienced a far longer and harsher lockdown than essentially any other country on earth, it was anticipated that those lockdown exit waves could be substantial in China. He added: The current wave in China is likely caused by different respiratory pathogens such as RSV or the flu. Children and their parents wait at an outpatient area at a children hospital in Beijing (AFP via Getty Images) Professor David Heymann, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, agreed that there was likely a background of seasonal infections behind the wave of illness but added that the challenge is to discern the outbreaks and determine the cause. There are many different known viruses that could be the cause and these must all be sought in testing. At the same time isolation and sequencing will also provide answers, he said. Also highlighting this background of normally harmless viruses as potentially significant, Dr Stamataki went further in saying: As restrictions lifted and children mixed, it is likely that single respiratory infections or coinfections occur in a background of already circulating harmless viruses, which may cause a more severe disease. Recent research suggests that people can suffer tissue damage when they contract more than one of these harmless viruses at the same time, noted Dr Stamataki which may have been a factor in the hundreds of cases of serious hepatitis which occured in children last year, many of them in the UK. That outbreak was not fatal in the UK, but at least a dozen children had required liver transplants as of last July. It will be very interesting to see the data from the infections detected in the children with pneumonia in China, said Dr Stamataki. Stressing that there remains insufficient information on which to make a definitive assessment of the epidemics wider risk, Prof Hunter said: My feeling is that it wont lead to a public health emergency of international concern, but I would not totally rule out that possibility until we have a definitive diagnosis. Michael Gove has told the covid inquiry that a significant body of judgement... believes that the virus itself was man-made. He was immediately slapped down by the lead counsel to the Inquiry, Hugo Keith KC, who insisted that this somewhat divisive issue was outside the inquirys scope. But why is this? The origin of the virus is the mastodon in the room. If, as Mr Gove seemed to imply, it was indeed souped up in the Wuhan Institute of Virology, equipped with a thing called a furin cleavage site so it could infect lungs instead of guts, injected into transgenic humanised mice so it could train on human lungs, then that would explain why it was so extremely infectious from the outset, unlike every other emerging virus. This in turn would explain why it was so darned impossible to contain, and why no country managed to do so, whatever its plan. Surely this is of relevance to the inquiry? Meanwhile, stampeding crowds of Chinese citizens are seeking hospital care for respiratory problems again. The Chinese authorities tell us its simply down to a bad outbreak of flu, and not another novel virus cooked up in one of their laboratories. They are probably right. Having locked down their entire country in the most draconian fashion in 2020 and 2022, they missed out on two winters of normal flu, colds and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). So there was bound to be a rebound effect this winter. In any event, Chinese people often go to hospital as a first resort when they fall ill, so crowded hospital waiting rooms can happen easily. But how can we trust their word? This was a regime that assured us in January 2020 you could only catch covid from animals. In the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, they denied that human-to-human transmission was occurring until several weeks into the outbreak, severely punishing anybody who told the truth. This destroyed the worlds only opportunity to nip covid in the bud and save several million lives, including about a quarter of a million British ones. Mr Gove is the first cabinet minister to say out loud that the virus might be man made, which is itself a disgrace. I have been banging my head against a brick wall trying to get the British government and the British scientific establishment to consider or debate the increasingly strong evidence suggesting that this pandemic started in a laboratory. Best left to the World Health Organisation, I was told by ministers. Too controversial, I was told by experts. Time to move on from that debate, I was told by civil servants. Translation: we dont want to offend China. Yet the outbreak happened in a city where scientists were experimenting actively on SARS-like viruses; the closest relative of the virus at the time of the outbreak had been brought to the Wuhan laboratory from a long way away, and that lab refuses to share its database showing what other viruses it had collected. We know that the Wuhan scientists were bringing bat SARS-like coronaviruses from distant caves and cultivating them in humanised mice, engaging in gain-of-function research, and conducting experiments at absurdly low biosafety levels. To cap it all, they had signed up to a plan the year before the pandemic to add a furin cleavage site to a SARS-like virus for the first time, and covid is the only SARS-like virus with a furin cleavage site ever found. As my co-author Alina Chan says, this is like scientists in a certain city proposing to put horns on horses a year before a unicorn shows up in the very same city. Worryingly, all this means the risk of another pandemic is probably higher than it was in 2020. That is partly because the Chinese regime has made none of the promises it made after SARS in 2003 to be more transparent next time. And partly because malevolent people have now seen how easy it is to destroy the world economy with a not very lethal virus - and how easy it now is to manipulate bat viruses to infect human beings. So this time, in addition to the usual risks from chicken farms, wildlife markets and slapdash laboratories, there are undoubtedly criminals and rogue regimes deliberately planning a new pandemic for us. The very least we should do is discuss it. The topic should not be outside the remit of this interminable inquiry. 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. Mary Hastler, CEO of Harford County Public Library (right), talks with Carolyn Evans, Esq., attorney at DiPaula Law, and Bryan Kelly, CFP, founding partner at The Kelly Group, at Harford County Public Library Foundations 19th annual gala on November 4 at the Abingdon Library. Harford County Public Library Foundations 19th annual gala, SpyBall: Secrets in the Stacks, raised more than $100,000 the evening of Nov. 4 at the Abingdon Library. Proceeds from the gala will benefit the Rolling Reader, an outreach vehicle that serves the countys most vulnerable youth by providing access to Library resources. The theme celebrated the 70th anniversary of Ian Fleming first James Bond novel, Casino Royale (1963). The SpyBall transported more than 650 guests to a glamorous world of mystery and intrigue with food and drinks by Evolved Catering and Events. Klassix played live music, there was a mock casino, a jewelry raffle, an escape room, silent auction and more. The silent auction items featured an open cockpit tour of Harford County in a vintage biplane with photographer Edwin Remsberg; a street naming in the town of Bel Air; a catered dinner for six by Evolved Hospitality Group; and a Sagamore Spirit tour and tasting experience, getaways to New York, Montana, Ocean City and more. BEIJING Chinese families are demanding compensation and the truth about what happened to their loved ones almost 10 years after Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared in one of the greatest aviation mysteries of all time. We have suffered for a decade without any resolution, Hu Xiufang, 72, whose son, daughter-in-law and and granddaughter were on the plane, told NBC News. I worry about whether I can wait for another 10 years, whether I can live for another 10 years. The Boeing 777 flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing vanished shortly after takeoff on March 8, 2014, and is believed to have crashed into the Indian Ocean. Despite months of international search efforts, nothing has ever been found of the plane aside from a few parts that washed up on beaches. Investigators have been unable to determine what happened, leaving open a number of possibilities including mechanical failure, hijacking or the plane being deliberately taken off course by its pilots. The lack of hard evidence has also fueled conspiracy theories, with some relatives asserting their loved ones could still be alive somewhere. More than 150 of the 239 passengers and crew members on board were Chinese citizens. Chinese state media reported that more than 40 families who have not yet settled with Malaysia Airlines are demanding compensation of between 10 million and 80 million yuan ($1.4 million to $11.2 million), citing the loss of their loved ones as well as resulting mental anguish and financial difficulties. The compensation hearings began Monday at Chaoyang District Peoples Court in Beijing, where there was a heavy police and media presence. A Beijing court on November 27 began hearing compensation cases filed by the families of dozens of Chinese people who died on board a Malaysia Airlines flight that disappeared almost 10 years ago. (Pedro Pardo / AFP - Getty Images) The families are suing Malaysia Airlines and its corporate predecessor along with Boeing, British engine maker Rolls-Royce and German insurer Allianz. A Boeing spokesperson said the companys thoughts continue to be with those who were on board MH370 and their loved ones. Allianz declined to comment. The other companies did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. Jiang Hui, 50, a spokesperson for the families whose mother was on the plane, said Malaysia Airlines had set unreasonable conditions and used many tactics in providing compensation. Their current attitude is that if families have issues, they should go to court, and Malaysia Airlines is no longer responsible, he said. Jiang described the start of hearings in the lawsuits, which were first filed years ago, as a turning point. The MH370 incident is complex, but the law case isnt complicated, he told reporters in an alleyway near the courthouse. The defendants and plaintiffs are clear, and the application of foreign laws and international conventions is clear. Jiang said he hoped the case could be handled openly and fairly, saying family members and the media were not allowed in the courtroom on Monday without explanation. Image: China's MH370 Passengers Families Launch Court Proceedings Against Malaysian Airlines and Boeing (Kevin Frayer / Getty Images) No one could participate in the court proceedings, he said. We find it difficult to understand and feel helpless. The plaintiffs other demands include the provision of funds for continued searches as well as mental health services for family members. The most recent attempt to find the plane was in 2018 by Ocean Infinity, a marine robotics company based in Austin, Texas. The company said last year that it was committed to a new search on a no find, no fee basis. In an open letter on Monday to Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, relatives of the Chinese passengers asked to resume the search for the plane at their own expense or in cooperation with others, saying technological advances had greatly reduced the cost. Hu said her son was a manager in a Sino-American joint venture who was returning from a vacation in Thailand with his wife and children. Throughout these 10 years, I have never given up searching for my son, said Hu, who said there had been a lack of support from the Chinese government and Malaysia Airlines. Hu said she wanted to find her family and receive a reasonable and lawful explanation. Image: China's MH370 Passengers Families Launch Court Proceedings Against Malaysian Airlines and Boeing (Kevin Frayer / Getty Images) The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Monday that China valued the follow-up to the MH370 incident and hopes all sides will maintain close communication and handle the issue properly. The Malaysian Ministry of Transport did not reply to a request for comment. Family members said they expected the Beijing hearings to continue until mid-December. Whether here or not, resolved or unresolved, the intentions of the families have not changed: to find the plane, to find the people, Jiang said. This intention has not changed in the slightest, and we will continue to persist. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie said Tuesday that he will not sign a law enacting a six-week abortion ban. Christie made his stance on the issue known during an appearance on CNN This Morning, responding to a question from co-host Phil Mattingly about fellow presidential contender Nikki Haleys stance on the issue. I would not sign a six-week national abortion ban, Christie told Mattingly. And the reason I wouldnt is because we fought for 50 years and we had this conversation a little bit before. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. We fought for 50 years to put this in the hands of the people, to say the federal government, in that case, the Supreme Court had taken it out of the hands of the people and given them no voice, Christie added. Now people have a voice. So weve seen it. You mentioned Virginia, Michigan, Ohio, Kansas. And one thing I know for sure is there is no consensus around a six-week abortion ban nationally. Speaking at a campaign event in Iowa earlier this month, Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, said that she would have signed a six-week abortion ban in her state if she was governor and it reached her desk. Yes, whatever the people decide, Haley said, per The New York Times. This was put in the states thats where it should be. Everyone can give their voice to it. Haley has largely avoided commenting on whether she would sign a national ban as president, arguing its a moot point since such legislation would be blocked by Democrats in Congress. Mattingly asked Christie whether Haleys comments supporting a state-level ban made her unelectable? I think it makes it much more difficult in a general election for her, because you could see when Governor [Ron DeSantis] signed that bill in Florida, it certainly affected his popularity with the broader electorate, Christie said. And my view is this: I want the people, not the politicians, to make this decision. So let people vote in the states. We see a great exercise in democracy going on all across this country. Mattingly did not ask Christie if he would have signed a state-level bill as governor. The Hill has reached out to his campaign with that question. Its been more than a year since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a landmark decision established nearly 50 years ago that gave the constitutional right to abortion to women. As a result of the ruling, multiple GOP-led states have either implemented or enacted their own abortion bans and restrictions. Abortion has become a key issue in elections in the time since, including earlier this month in Ohio, where voters approved an amendment to the state constitution ensuring access to abortion. Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, also knocked Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel last week for her suggestion that abortion should be a federal issue. I want the American people to decide. Thats the right way to make this judgment. And with all due respect to Ronna, shes not running for president, and shes never governed, Christie said during an appearance on NBCs Meet The Press. So she doesnt know how hard these choices are and how you have to interact with people. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Sister Wives stars Janelle and Christine Brown arent technically sisters, but they might as well be. At a New York hotel in November, the duo were mistaken as siblings by the clerk at the hotel while handling their luggage. With their blond hair and shared last name, its easy to see why. Speaking to TODAY.com across a conference table in 30 Rock two days before Thanksgiving, Janelle Brown says she didnt bother to correct the worker when he asked. Im like, yeah, she says. Because it is like sisters. In fact, Janelle says, the bond of being "sister wives" might even be deeper than being actually related. My sister and I are very close, but weve had different life trajectories. With Christine? We didnt plan it, but weve had such a similar life. Weve done everything together, she says. By everything, Janelle means, in part: Marrying the same man, Kody Brown; having six kids each with that man; being part of a plural family that included four wives and a total of 18 children; and, recently, deciding to walk away from their marriages, each for reasons of their own. (Kodys marriage to Meri Brown, his first wife, has also ended.) Christine announced she was leaving in November 2021; Janelle, in December 2022. Oh, and one more small thing they've shared: Starring in the long-running phenomenon of a TLC show Sister Wives, which documented the entire journey, which hit a ratings high this year, 18 seasons in. The Season 18 premiere drew in 4 million viewers. The show was initially the Brown familys pitch to show America what a functioning, fundamentalist Mormon, polygamist family could look like and how it might even look like yours. Even though our marriage arrangement was weird, we had normal relationships, normal life struggles ... compounded by all the layers of relationships. People were intrigued that we seemed normal, even though we lived in an unusual, religious lifestyle, Janelle Brown says. Christine backs her up: People are like: I saw myself in you. Portrait of Christine Brown from Sister Wives (Tyler Essary / TODAY) Recent seasons have focused on what Kody calls the family's "civil war," as the family units and both generations of Browns fracture, fight and come together again. Janelle and Christine still share screen time with their ex and two former sister wives, Robyn and Meri Brown, and stress in the interview that co-parenting peacefully is the priority. "I hope I can help (my kids) be closer to him," Christine says, alluding to some of her children's feelings of distance from their father. Today, as they televise their simultaneous divorces, Janelle hopes they can continue to relate to audiences, even if they remain in unique positions. Im hoping its not some sort of freak show thing. Im hoping we can normalize these conversations, she says. I grew up in a household where nobody just said what they thought. I think its been healthy, actually, to have such an open conversation about things. Divorcing, but keeping the 'village' They might not have predicted the ending, but Christine and Janelle Brown didn't end up here by accident: The two deliberately sought out polygamy. This is the path we chose, Janelle says. Along with the other members of their plural marriage, Christine and Janelle describe how they came to this arrangement in the jointly written book Becoming Sister Wives, published in 2012. Janelle was briefly married to Meris brother, Adam Berber, and met Kody at that time. Christine and Kody met in 1990 at a church youth group. For both Christine and Janelle, the appeal of polygamy wasnt necessarily romantic love, but the whole big family experience, Christine says. For Janelle and Christine, the setup especially while raising kids was awesome. They were able to co-parent, a setup that continues to this day as the family shares holidays. A village is awesome, right? My kids are so attached to Christine, Janelle says. Season One, which aired in 2010, started with the change that contributed to the familys eventual unraveling: The introduction of Robyn Brown, Kodys fourth and final wife. 13 years later, the show is still airing and dealing with the fallout of what happens when the patriarch of a polygamist family finds his soulmate. During a recent Sister Wives: One on One, Kody Brown said Robyn was the first woman he had fallen in love with; he was so bowled over by the feeling, he cried for a week. Later, his other wives, including Christine, believed he favored Robyn over them. Trouble intensified, Christine says, when the family moved to Flagstaff, Arizona from Nevada and stopped working as a unit, and instead became separate groups and separate families, Christine says. Today, Kody Brown is in a monogamous relationship with Robyn Brown, who is adjusting to the loss of her dream life: Sister wives. That life, it seems, is one Christine and Janelle have managed to continue experiencing. While the two live in different states, they share their kids. For Christmas, half of Christines kids are flying out to spend the holidays with Janelle t her daughter Maddie Brown Brushs house. Im having FOMO, Christine says. The revelation that their sister wife-dom could outlast Kody came during a trip with some of their kids. We realized, Oh. The new us is Janelle and I. And were going to keep raising our kids together, because we want to. We dont have to do anything. We just love each other, honestly, Christine says. She helps me balance me. She just gets me. She understands me. Kody, on the show, is often mystified by Janelle and Christines friendship, saying they werent this close when the marriage began. Janelle explains theyre close because the marriage is over. The last remaining friction point is gone: The fact that we were married to Kody. Now its just all the good stuff. Weve chosen to parent our kids together, she says. From sister wife to regular wife: What's next for Christine and Janelle Janelle and Christine say theyre not worrying about favorites anymore. Theyre focused on their future. Christine recently married David Woolley, a Utah-based, motorcycl-riding owner of a drywall business, after their whirlwind romance played out in exuberant instagram posts in 2023. David calls Christine his "queen," and said he feels like he's the "luckiest guy" to know her. (Janelle, on her end, says David is "awesome," and the kind of guy who "never meets a stranger.") Janelle, who says she was blamed for being too independent in her marriage to Kody Brown, is now figuring out what real independence looks like. Christine Brown and David Woolley. (Dani Sork Photo/TLC) In the time since Christine and Kody announced their split in November 2021, and Janelle followed in turn, the two have become fan favorites and emblems for reinvention in middle age. Life has been an unexpected journey. I didnt expect to be here, reinventing myself at 50. Im honored that people still want to see what Im doing, Janelle says. Because Im going to pull it off. Im going to reinvent myself in a very big way. I hope that is inspiring to people. Christine says reinvention has taken on the shape of her romantic adventure. She and Woolley who is making his Sister Wives debut in December met on a dating app, and married months later. I finally get to have the romantic life I wanted, she says. I feel like we get to experience everything now. Its a new era of life where there are so many possibilities. I dont want to wait anymore. I want to grab it with both hands and take life, go fast and explore. Before she could open herself up to a relationship, Christine says she had to redefine and reclaim one adjective: selfish. Ive lived my life enough for other people. I just want to live my life for now, and my life for me. Its OK to do things for yourself. Selfish was a big word I had to process. Is it selfish to want to live your own life? Its not. Youve got to be able to choose you, she says. But she took Janelle with her. On their second date, Christine says she told David the facts of her path, including her package deal. I told David straight: Janelle is coming with me. Everything that I do, Im choosing her too, she says. Portrait of Janelle Brown from Sister Wives (Tyler Essary / TODAY) Like Christine, Janelle is embracing her selfish era, but it doesnt involve romance (although shed be open to it, shes not looking.) As part of a polygamist family, her life was decided by committee. She also was constrained by responsibilities of a mom of six. Janelle teases that this is her chance to do something shes always wanted to do, for as long as I can remember. Christine and Janelle feel theyre on the cusp of something: Their full potential. For once, I get to live for me, Janelle says. I get to do all those things I knew I was capable of. Now I get to do me and all the potential thats there. Now that theyre not wives, they can be sisters though each of the women confirms they arent in touch with their other Sister Wives. Janelle says she and Meri are cordial and she wishes her well, but theres not any overlap of our lives now. Im going to surround myself with people that I trust and want to spend time with, Christine says. And neither of these Browns have regrets about their journey and what got them here. Who I am today is because I was a sister wife to Janelle, Christine says. And to the many people who have been following their story for years who have aged as they have and whose family units have shifted and changed, too Janelle says she and Christine have a message: You are stronger than you think. You are braver than you think. And you know what? You can figure it all out." They would know. This article was originally published on TODAY.com GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) Once again, Chicagos Christmas Ship is ready to bring some holiday spirit from northern Michigan to the Windy City. Over the weekend, volunteers loaded up the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw with more than 1,000 Christmas trees to be given to families in need in Chicago. Its a tradition more than a century in the making. It started as an homage to a family who made the trip for decades, buying trees in northern Michigan to be sold in Chicago. For decades, they returned to port with thousands of trees and were quickly known as the Christmas Tree Ships. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw is docked in Cheboygan, Michigan. (Courtesy U.S. Coast Guard) Three crewmembers aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw pose for the camera aboard the ship. (Courtesy U.S. Coast Guard) More than 1,000 Christmas trees are loaded onto the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw to be taken from northern Michigan to be donated to families in need in Chicago. (Courtesy U.S. Coast Guard) The crew of the USCG Mackinaw huddles aboard the ship. Their load of Christmas trees can be seen in the upper left corner. (Courtesy U.S. Coast Guard) A life ring from the USCG Cutter Mackinaw is coated with snow. (Courtesy U.S. Coast Guard) Two brothers, August and Herman Schuenemann, lost their lives for their business. August died when his ship was caught in a storm in 1898, and Hermans boat, the Rouse Simmons, went down in 1912. The Coast Guard took up the mantle established by the Schuenemanns in 1999. Every year, 1,200 trees are bundled gathered in northern Michigan and loaded onto the Mackinaw for an annual trip to Chicago. The crew also stops during the middle of their trip to hold a wreath ceremony to remember the Schuenemanns and the crew members who were lost on those two ships. The Mackinaw is greeted with a special reception in Chicago and a ceremony is held the following day to unload the trees and give them away. The Mackinaw is set to arrive in Chicago on Friday. Tree offloading will start at 8:30 a.m. Saturday. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com. The heads of the CIA and Israeli intelligence have met Qatars prime minister in Doha to discuss a possible deal to extend the truce between Israel and Hamas. William Burns, the CIA director, and David Barnea, the head of Israels Mossad, met Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, the Qatari prime minister, on Tuesday. The meeting took place a day after Qatar, which has mediated in talks to free Hamas hostages, announced the two-day extension of an original four-day truce deal in Gaza. CIA director Burns and Mossad director Barnea are in Doha for a series of meetings initiated by Qatars prime minister to discuss the potential terms of a deal beyond the two-day extension. Egyptian officials are also attending, a source briefed on the visit told The Telegraph. The meetings are to build on the progress of the extended humanitarian pause agreement and to initiate further discussions about the next phase of a potential deal, another source said. The outcome of the talks was unclear, the source added. Mr Burns was in Doha for meetings on the Israel-Hamas conflict including discussions on hostages, a US official said. Qatar, where several political leaders of Hamas are based, has been leading negotiations between the Palestinian terror group and Israel. Mr Burns and Mr Barnea both previously travelled to Doha and met Qatars prime minister on Nov 9. A deal was later struck to release some hostages in exchange for a pause in the fighting, which was agreed by the Israeli government last week. The truce brought the first respite to the Gaza Strip in seven weeks. Israel bombed the territory heavily in response to the Oct 7 attack by Hamas gunmen, who murdered about 1,200 people and took 240 captives. During the first four days of the truce, Hamas fighters released 50 Israeli women and children who had been taken hostage. In return, Israel released 150 prisoners from its jails, all women and teenagers. As part of the two-day truce extension, Hamas has agreed to release an additional 10 Israeli women and children each day. So far, there is no indication that it is willing to release any Israeli men or military personnel among those taken captive. This embedded content is not available in your region. Israel has sworn to destroy Hamas, which rules Gaza. Health authorities in Gaza say Israels bombardment of the tiny, densely populated territory has so far killed more than 15,000 people, around 40 per cent of them children. Dr Sultan Barakat, the acting director of the Global Institute for Strategic Research at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, which is a member of the Qatar Foundation, said: While the Israeli officials speak to their US and Qatari counterparts, the Hamas leadership in Qatar engages with the Qatari officials and thereafter with the Hamas leadership back home in Gaza. There are several obstacles before a ceasefire and peace can be achieved. First is Benjamin Netanyahus adamant and impractical insistence of completely obliterating Hamas. Despite the enormous destruction and humanitarian catastrophe that has been inflicted on Palestinians in Gaza, the Hamas command and control is largely intact. 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. CIA Director William Burns is visiting Qatar to participate in talks on Israels war with militant group Hamas and discussions regarding hostages, a U.S. official confirmed to The Hill. Qatar helped broker a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas, including a deal around the release of dozens of hostages held by the group in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and the delivery of aid to besieged Gaza. Burns will be joined by David Barnea, the head of Israels Mossad intelligence agency, as well as officials from Egypt, which has also mediated talks between Israel and Hamas, according to The Associated Press. A diplomat spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks. The meeting in Qatar was first reported by The Washington Post, which cited three people familiar with the visit. The talks, according to reports, are focused on extending the Israel-Hamas truce, which began Friday and was extended for an additional two days Monday. Under the initial four-day cease-fire, Hamas released four rounds of hostages, mostly women and children taken during the groups Oct. 7 surprise assault in southern Israel. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said Monday the extended truce is expected to see the release of 20 more hostages, who will also be women and children. Kirby added the negotiating parties will work toward extending the pause again, but the U.S. is focused on one piece at a time, and such extension is dependent on Hamas continuing to release hostages. The Post reported Burns is urging Hamas and Israel to widen the focus of hostage negotiations to include the release of men and military personnel. He is also seeking a longer multi-day pause, those familiar with the matter told the Post. Though Israel has agreed to these temporary cease-fires, it has stressed its determination to eliminate Hamas and its military capabilities. Israels bombardment of Gaza has killed more than 13,000 people since Oct. 7, according to the Hamas-ruled health ministry in the region, per The AP. Separately, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to travel to Israel later this week, where he will discuss Israels right to defend itself consistent with international humanitarian law, as well as continued efforts to secure the release of remaining hostages, protect civilian life during Israels operations in Gaza, and accelerate humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza, the State Department said in a statement. He is also expected to discuss the future of a Palestinian state in post-conflict Gaza and preventing a wider escalation of the conflict, the department added. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. CIA Director Bill Burns visited Qatar on Tuesday for meetings with Qatari officials as well as his Israeli and Egyptian counterparts to push for a broader hostage deal that would expand beyond women and children to include negotiations for men and soldiers, a source familiar with the talks told CNN. Director Burns traveled to Doha for meetings about the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, including continued discussions on the hostages, a US official said. Another person familiar with the trip said the CIA director would be joined in Doha by the director of Israels intelligence service Mossad, David Barnea, and the Director of Egyptian General Intelligence, Abbas Kamel. Burns trip to Qatar comes after the truce was extended by two days. His latest push is for the talks to expand to include the men who are being held in addition to male and female Israeli soldiers, which would include expanding the temporary pause that is now slated to last six days, a source said. Israeli officials have publicly acknowledged that it will cost a higher price to get Israeli men and soldiers home. Under the current agreement, three Palestinian prisoners are released for every one hostage that Hamas frees. The trip comes as Americans are still being held hostage, including two American women eligible for release under the current deal and several more who are men and therefore unlikely to be included. Abigail Edan, the 4-year-old American dual citizen abducted by Hamas on October 7, was released Sunday, marking the first successful release of an American hostage since the start of the truce between Israel and Hamas. Burns has been a central player in the Biden administrations effort to negotiate a deal for Hamas to release hostages and has been in regular contact with Barnea, who was designated by the Israelis as the point person for hostage negotiations. Burns was in Doha on November 9 meeting with Qatari leaders and Barnea to go over the emerging arrangement, a senior US administration official said. A week and a half later, Burns was called into a meeting in Doha led by the White Houses top Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk, as the finished touches were being put on the agreement that would see at least 50 hostages released over four days. The agreement was brokered by Qatar, which served as an intermediary between Hamas and Israel in negotiations with the close involvement of the US. This story has been updated with additional information. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns was in Qatar Tuesday for negotiations calling for Israel and Hamas to expand their hostage release deal and free U.S. hostages. File photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI Nov. 28 (UPI) -- CIA Director William Burns visited Qatar on Tuesday to sit down with his Middle East counterparts for talks aimed at a comprehensive peace deal between Israel and Hamas that would potentially secure the release of additional hostages in Gaza, including nine kidnapped Americans. Burns was meeting with Egypt's Intelligence director Abbas Kamel and Israel's Mossad intelligence service chief David Barnea, according to reports by CNN, The Washington Post and The Times of Israel. He was set to call for Hamas and Israel to include men and military personnel in the hostage negotiations which have so far only included women and children and an extension of the temporary pause in fighting. Burns also called for Hamas to immediately release as many as nine American hostages, The Washington Post reported. Burns' return to the negotiating table coincided with the two-day extension of the pause in hostilities, which resulted in the militant group freeing dozens of civilian hostages in recent days. However, hundreds more people remain unaccounted for after more than seven weeks in captivity. Barnea's role in the ongoing talks was notable as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chose him to negotiate the release of hostages over intelligence minister Gila Gamliel and foreign minister Eli Cohen. The international community viewed the meeting with cautious optimism as the talks could pave the way to a broader agreement to free more hostages, while Netanyahu vowed over the weekend to continue the war against Hamas following the current hostage negotiations. "We will return with full force to achieve our goals: the elimination of Hamas; ensuring that Gaza does not return to what it was," he said. On Sunday, however, Hamas expressed hope that another extension would be possible with the aim of increasing the number of Palestinian prisoners freed. The U.S. was still pushing both sides to accept an extended cease-fire to facilitate the release of more hostages and enable to delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza in the coming days. Burns, who is the former U.S. ambassador to Moscow, has taken the lead role in the ongoing negotiations after he was tapped by President Joe Biden due to his extensive network of contacts across the Middle East and his good rapport with individuals inside the Mossad. Earlier this month, Burns and Barnea played a key role in brokering the initial truce of the conflict, while collaborating with Qatar's prime minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani and U.S. Middle East adviser Brett McGurk, to gain the release of the first 50 hostages last week. The meeting also took place after 4-year-old American dual citizen Abiogail Edan became the first American hostage to be released on Sunday. The latest releases marked the fourth and final phase of a deal between Israel and Hamas to release 50 captives in return for a four-day pause in the war. TechCrunch With dubstep as the soundtrack and neon lighting as the backdrop, Elon Musk handed the first Cybertrucks over to a select group of customers that included Reddit co-founder and VC fund Seven Seven Six founder Alexis Ohanian and Trousdale Ventures founder and CEO Phillip Sarofim. The livestreamed portion of the Tesla Cybertruck delivery event was a short affair around 30 minutes. The Tesla Cybertruck deliveries come at least six years since Musk first tweeted about building a truck and four years since he debuted the futuristic-looking pickup. City of Jacksonville hosting Vetrepreneur Summit to help local veterans start their own businesses The City of Jacksonville is holding a one-day summit for veterans looking to use their skills and knowledge to start their own businesses. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< The event will feature workshops, talks, funding resources and more for veterans interested in starting their own businesses. It will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the FSCJ Downtown Campus Advanced Technology Center. The event is free for all veterans. For more information, visit https://www.unf.edu/sbdc/training-and-events.html. Read: Residents shaken after malicious shooting at Westside apartment complex Attention current and future Veteran Business Owners Join our Military Affairs and Veterans Department along with... Posted by City of Jacksonville, Florida - Government on Monday, November 27, 2023 Read: JFRD: No one hurt after heating materials catch home on fire in Longbranch [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live. A truce between Israel and Hamas entered its fifth day on Tuesday, with the fighter group promising to release more hostages to delay the expected resumption of the war and Israel under growing pressure to spare Palestinian civilians when it renews its offensive. The sides agreed to extend their truce through Wednesday, with another two planned exchanges of fighter-held hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. But Israel has vowed to resume the war with full force to destroy Hamas once its clear that no more hostages will be freed under the deal. The Biden administration has told Israel it must avoid significant further displacement and mass casualties among Palestinian civilians if it resumes the offensive, and that it must operate with more precision in southern Gaza than it has in the north, according to U.S. officials. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House. CIA director William Burns and David Barnea, who heads Israels Mossad intelligence agency, were in Qatar, a key mediator with Hamas, to discuss extending the cease-fire and releasing more hostages, a diplomat said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks. A U.S. official confirmed Burns was in Qatar, speaking anonymously because the directors travel plans are not publicized for security reasons. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to visit the region this week, also with an eye to extending the truce. Hamas and other fighters are still holding about 160 people, out of the 240 seized in their Oct. 7 assault into southern Israel that ignited the war. Thats enough to potentially extend the truce for another two weeks under the existing framework brokered by the Qatar, Egypt and the U.S., but Hamas is expected to make much higher demands for the release of captive soldiers. Israel has vowed to end Hamas 16-year rule in Gaza and crush its military capabilities. That would almost certainly require expanding the ground offensive from northern Gaza where entire residential areas have been pounded into rubble to the south, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people have packed into overflowing United Nations shelters. Israel blames the soaring casualty toll on Hamas, accusing the fighters of using civilians as human shields while operating in dense, residential areas. Hostages and prisoners released Mondays release brought to 51 the number of Israelis freed under the initial four-day truce, along with 19 hostages of other nationalities. So far, 150 Palestinians have been released from Israeli prisons. Israel has said it would extend the cease-fire by one day for every 10 additional hostages released. The Palestinian prisoners released so far have been mostly teenagers accused of throwing stones and firebombs during confrontations with Israeli forces. Some were convicted by Israeli courts of attempting to carry out deadly attacks. The prisoners are widely seen by Palestinians as heroes resisting occupation. Most of the freed hostages appeared to be physically well, but an 84-year-old woman released Sunday was hospitalized in critical condition because she had not had access to her medication in captivity. They have mostly stayed out of the public eye, but details of their captivity have started to emerge. In one of the first interviews with a freed hostage, 78-year-old Ruti Munder told Israels Channel 13 television that she was initially fed well in captivity but that conditions worsened as shortages took hold. She said she was kept in a suffocating room and slept on plastic chairs with a sheet for nearly 50 days. Israel imposed a siege on Gaza at the start of the war and had only allowed a trickle of humanitarian aid to enter prior to the cease-fire, leading to widespread shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel to power generators amid a territory-wide power blackout. Northern Gaza in ruins The cease-fire has allowed residents who remained in Gaza City and other parts of the north to venture out to survey the destruction and try to locate and bury relatives. Footage from northern Gaza, the focus of the Israeli ground offensive, shows nearly every building damaged or destroyed. A U.N.-led aid consortium estimates that over 234,000 homes have been damaged across Gaza and 46,000 have been completely destroyed, amounting to around 60% of the housing stock in the territory, which is home to some 2.3 million Palestinians. In the north, the destruction of homes and civilian infrastructure severely compromises the ability to meet basic requirements to sustain life, it said. More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, roughly two-thirds of them women and minors, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. More than 1,200 people have been killed on the Israeli side, mostly civilians killed in the initial attack. At least 77 soldiers have been killed in Israels ground offensive. Israel says it has killed thousands of fighters, without providing evidence. Fears for the south Israels bombardment and ground offensive have displaced more than 1.8 million people, nearly 80% of Gazas population, with most having sought refuge in the south, according to the U.N. humanitarian affairs office. Israeli troops have barred people from returning to the north during the cease-fire. Hundreds of thousands of people have packed into U.N.-run schools and other facilities, with many forced to sleep on the streets outside because of overcrowding. Its unclear where they would go if Israel expands its ground operation, as Egypt has refused to accept refugees and Israel has sealed its border. The U.N. says the truce made it possible to scale up the delivery of food, water and medicine to the largest volume since the start of the war, and to bring in desperately needed fuel for homes, hospitals and water treatment plants. But the 160 to 200 trucks a day is still less than half what Gaza was importing before the fighting, even as humanitarian needs have soared. Four days into the truce, residents were still waiting for hours to buy gas and cooking fuel. Juliette Toma, a spokesperson for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, said people come to shelters asking for heavy clothes, mattresses and blankets, and that some are sleeping in damaged vehicles. The needs are overwhelming, she told The Associated Press. They lost everything, and they need everything. The Georgia Department of Community Affairs has added four places across the state to its registry of historic places. The Georgia National Register Review Board approved the new additions to the list earlier this month, including: Browns Mill Battlefield - Newnan, Coweta County Dooly County Campground - Vienna, Dooly County Fountain Hill - Conyers, Rockdale County Lemon Street School - Marietta, Cobb County [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] They will now be submitted to the National Park Service to potentially be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Browns Mill Battlefield in Newnan is the location of a July 1864 Civil War battle that was one in a series of Union setbacks, marking a major turning point in the Atlanta Campaign. The Department of Community Affairs says the battle was an attempt by the Union army to destroy Confederate railroads bringing supplies to Atlanta, but they were unsuccessful and the battle ended in a Confederate victory. Dooly County Campground in Vienna is considered historic for its significance to Georgias religious history. The campground served as a place of worship for camp meetings that could last as long as a week and serve as a critical part of the Methodist mission. TRENDING STORIES: Fountain Hill in Conyers is being recognized for its association with William Leonard Peek, a farmer, founder of Georgias Populist Party, state representative, state senator and 1892 gubernatorial candidate. At Fountain Hill after his political career, Peek pursued agricultural innovations and tried perfecting his Utopia cotton seed. Lemon Street School was built in 1951 and was the first school for Black children in Marietta, according to the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation. Between the schools opening and Cobb County Schools integration in 1968, more than 10,000 children attended the school. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: Higher education in the United States and in Texas is not the same as it was last year. This summer, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned affirmative action or race-conscious admissions policies, in what some students worried could threaten the diversity on campus. This will be the first admissions cycle since the June historic decision. Just weeks prior to the decision, Texas had its own big news: Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law Senate Bill 17, banning diversity, equity and inclusion offices and programs on campus effective Jan. 1. Changes were also made during the regular session to tenure and to revamping community college funding to a merit-based system. At the same time, colleges and universities are still coping with a post-pandemic drop in enrollment. The nonprofit National Student Clearinghouse found that at least 1 million students nationally have not enrolled in U.S. institutions since 2020. This has hit Texas as well, particularly community colleges, according to recently released enrollment data from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board with both "encouraging and concerning" trends. But theres good news, too: The commission is developing support services to help more students access higher education in the state. The nation also just updated the Free Application for Federal Student Aid to help families more efficiently file for federal need-based aid. It is expected to become available in December. For first-year students seeking fall 2024 admission at Austin-area universities, as admission deadlines approach, here is what to know and whats new: The University of Texas welcomes more than 8,000 new students as part of Mooov-In on Aug. 18. University of Texas The home of the Longhorns has more than 52,000 students, with 90% of them from Texas. Despite the nationwide decline, enrollment at UT has grown steadily. UT is a major research university ranked No. 9 for Top National Public Schools by U.S. News & World Report and No. 1 by research company Niche for Best Hispanic-Serving Institutions in America. The university has 19 colleges and schools and more than 170 undergraduate fields of study. UT automatically admits eligible Texas students in the top 6% of their graduating class. Deadline for regular admissions: Dec. 1 How to apply: Common App website, ApplyTexas Application fee: $75 Application needs: High school transcript, a 500- to 700-word essay and three short essay questions (250-300 words each). The UT essay invites applicants to tell their story and what has shaped who they are. (Test scores optional.) Scholarships and financial aid: Students are automatically considered for scholarships when applying, but must also file the FAFSA and Texas Application for State Financial Aid. Texas applicants from a household with an adjusted gross income up to $65,000 will have free tuition. Austin Community College ACC is a network of 11 campuses in the Austin area with more than 70,000 students enrolled. The colleges offer 100 programs in 10 areas of studies, with 16-week semesters in the fall and spring and an 11-week summer semester. With a new chancellor and new resource centers for students, ACC is working to expand resources and support for students to increase graduation and retention rates. Spring 2024 classes start Jan. 16. Deadline for regular admissions: Applications accepted year-round How to apply: ACC application Application fee: $0 Application needs: Transcripts, but the college's open admissions policy allows any applicant regardless of previous record to attend. Scholarships: ACC offers payment plans without interest. Most students are eligible for financial aid and tuition has stayed stable for 10 years. Shilda Fresch, center, with her mother, husband and their eight children before she graduates from Austin Community College Friday, May 13, 2022, at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. Shilda and her husband Venard Fresch have eight children. From left, Jackson Fresch, Amaziah Stephens, Jakarius Fresch, Johnny Stephens, Zareon Conley and Damarion Fresch. Shilda and Venard are in the process of adopting the youngest twins. Texas State University Located in San Marcos, Texas State has a campus of nearly 40,000 students. Texas State is one of four public universities that will receive millions in research funding now that Proposition 5 has passed, and was recently announced as the first Texas location set to host a presidential debate. Texas State offers assured admission to students with a diploma based on a combination of their class rank and ACT or SAT score. Deadline for admissions: Dec. 1 priority; July 15, 2024, final How to apply: Apply Texas or Common App Application fee: $75 (fee waivers available) Application needs: High school transcript, SAT or ACT scores (except for first-time applicants ranked in top 75% of class), optional essay. Scholarships and financial aid: Applicants can apply to select merit-based scholarships. Through the Bobcat Promise program, free tuition and mandatory fees are guaranteed for entering freshmen with an adjusted gross income of less than $50,000. Students must be accepted for admission and complete the FAFSA by March 15. St. Edward's University Located on the hill peaks on South Congress, the nationally ranked liberal arts university boasts the value of experiential learning and small student-teacher ratios. St. Edwards has more than 100 undergraduate majors and minors and five schools. The school has an undergraduate enrollment of more than 2,700 students. Students are automatically considered for academic scholarships if they apply before Feb. 1. Deadline for admissions: early deadlines Dec. 1, Jan. 1 and Feb. 1; final deadline May 1 How to apply: Apply Texas or Common App Application fee: $50, waived if applying by Jan. 1 Application needs: High school transcript, essay, academic recommendation (test optional). Scholarships: All students are encouraged to apply for the FAFSA. Students are automatically considered for applicable scholarships if they apply by Feb. 1. The Austin skyline, seen from St. Edward's University, March 22, 2023. Concordia University Texas Concordia is a private university located on 437 acres of preserved nature in Northwest Austin. Known for its nursing program and small student-faculty ratio, the Lutheran school offers 30 areas of studies and in fall 2022 enrolled 1,708 students. Concordia has a minimum admissions requirement of a 2.5 GPA, but students below the requirement can contact the office of admissions about their options. The university announced a simplified pricing structure last October, cutting tuition by almost 40%. Deadline for regular admissions for fall 2024: Sept. 8, 2024, but high school students are advised to apply during the fall semester of their senior year How to apply: Online application or ApplyTexas Application fee: $25 Application needs: High school transcript and online application (test optional). Scholarships: In addition to the locked-in new tuition price, Concordia offers merit- and need-based aid. Southwestern University students Scott Johnson, left, Lukas Silvius and Dominick Arnold fish from the banks of the San Gabriel River at Blue Hole Park, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023 in Georgetown. Southwestern University An undergraduate-only institution on a 701-acre campus in Georgetown, Southwestern University was the first Texas higher learning institution, and now has three schools and 37 majors. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and has more than 1,400 students. Southwestern has been ranked No. 1 of Texas Private Schools in Best Schools for Making an Impact and the top university in Texas for economic diversity named by the New York Times. Deadline for regular admissions: Feb. 6 How to apply: ApplyTexas, Common App and Southwesterns Application Application Fee: $0 Application Needs: High school transcript, essay, recommendation (test optional) Scholarships: Those who apply by April 1 will be considered for scholarships. Austin College Located in Sherman, Austin College has been recognized by the Wall Street Journal as a top 10 Texas college. It has an undergraduate enrollment of more than 1,300 students. This November, the college opened a new health campus to house the colleges new Master of Medical Science-Physician Assistant Program. Students who have a GPA of 3.26 or higher can qualify for $27,000 in annual scholarships, according to the college's website. Deadline for regular admissions: March 1 How to apply: ApplyTexas, Apply Coalition with Scoir, Austin College Application or Common App Application fee: $0 Application needs: High school transcript, essay (test optional). Scholarships: 100% of freshman receive gift aid. The Huston-Tillotson University Jazz Collective performs on the stage during Austin City Limits weekend two day three at Zilker Park Friday, Oct. 13, 2023. Huston-Tillotson University HTU is a private, historically Black college in East Austin. The university offers a liberal arts education, and its total undergraduate enrollment is about 1,000 students. It also has two graduate degree programs and an adult education program. Automatic admission is given to applicants with a 2.5 GPA or higher. Deadline for regular admissions: May 1, 2024; priority deadline Feb. 1 How to apply: Electronic application Application fee: $25 Application needs: High school transcript, SAT and/or ACT score (most cases). Scholarships and financial aid: Applicants with a 3.5 GPA or higher may be eligible for scholarships or the W.E.B. DuBois Honors Program. The university also has a list of scholarships on its website. University of Austin The new University of Austin recently received permission from The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to begin accepting students and granting undergraduate degrees. In celebration, it announced its inaugural class of 100 students will attend for free. The private university will operate out of the Scarborough Building in downtown. Student education from day one will be centered on impact-oriented learning, with each student taking on a project to tackle the societal problem of their choice. Deadline for regular admissions: Rolling basis; applicants will hear back within four weeks How to apply: Electronic application Application Fee: $0 Application needs: Personal statement, essay, official transcripts and test scores, and two letters of recommendation. Scholarships and financial aid: Tuition is free for the inaugural class. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: What to know about 2024 Austin-area college applications Colman Domingo Gets Candid On Rumors About Euphoria Having A Toxic Set | Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for HBO Colman Domingo is entrenched in Oscar buzz, in large part due to his acclaimed turn as gay civil rights icon Bayard Rustin in Netflixs Rustin as well as his supporting turn in Blitz Bazawules adaptation of The Color Purple musical. But Domingo is also taking time to talk about his Emmy-winning role on HBOs Euphoria. In an interview with The Independent, Domingo is responding to reports that season 2 of Euphoria was a toxic work environment due to the mistreatment of the actors. Im not gonna invalidate [anyones] experience. But working in television is long hours, Domingo said. Sometimes you work up to 14 hours a day. And then you have to go home and prep. You have to really live and work in a very methodical way. A lot of young actors may not be up for the task, or have that same work ethic. On Euphoria, Domingo portrayed the role of Ali Muhammad, a mentor to Rue who is recovering from drug addiction. For his performance, Domingo won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2022. Ive been in this business for 32 years, Domingo continued. I know what hard work is. So when I heard those reports, I thought, Where is this coming from? Thats just a normal work day. Be a professional. In the interview, Domingo went on to praise series creator Sam Levinson. Theres no one thats going to mistreat you on the set of Euphoria, Domingo said. Sam Levinson is joyful, and collaborative, and could not be a bigger advocate for his actors. When is Euphoria coming back Euphoria season 3 is expected to return in 2025. A Columbus gang member has been sentenced to 71 months in federal prison followed by three years of court-ordered supervision for a gun charge, according to the Department of Justice. Kendaryl Rogers a.k.a Elajuwon Rogers, 30, of Columbus was arrested in Columbia, S.C., in March 2021 for pending murder charges in Georgia, according to the release. U.S. Marshals observed Rogers carrying a black bag to a vehicle at a Holiday Inn Express in Columbia, according to the DOJ. The release said U.S. Marshals saw an American Tactical, Omni Hybrid, Multi-Caliber Pistol on top of the bag in the trunk while approaching Rogers to arrest him. The DOJ said Rogers was on bond at the time for kidnapping, battery and other charges. Rogers was also wanted for arrest on 18 additional felony charges including malice murder, two counts of felony murder, six counts related to the Georgia gang statute, multiple firearm charges and other charges. The FBI recovered a video by Rogers broadcast to social media pointing the gun at the camera numerous times and determined Rogers left his DNA and fingerprints on the weapon, according to the release. The FBI also recovered a recorded jail call in which Rogers tells the other caller the gun is brand new, it wasnt ever used in nothing, the gun was brand new, according to the DOJ. Comedian, actor and podcast host Sebastian Maniscalco has announced dates for his 2024 It Aint Right tour, which includes a stop in Pittsburgh. Maniscalco will perform at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. Tickets will be available starting with artist presale beginning on Nov. 29. Additional presales will run throughout the week ahead of the general on-sale beginning on December 1 at 10 a.m. at SebastianLive.com. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW TRENDING NOW: Man found shot in Wilkinsburg home dies, police say Whats behind unexpected charges on some PNC bank customer accounts Did you recently update your iPhone? Police are warning about a new feature VIDEO: State police searching for alleged driver of stolen car involved in hit-and-run in Butler County DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts ST. LOUIS Comedian, actor, and podcast host Sebastian Maniscalco will be coming to St. Louis during his 2024 It Aint Right tour. He plays at the Enterprise Center on Saturday, December 14, 2024. Tickets go on sale this Friday. The 47-city tour kicks off on July 11 a in Norfolk, Virginia with stops in Atlanta, New York, Chicago and more before wrapping up in Des Moines at Wells Fargo Arena on December 15. Maniscalco, a seasoned comedian with a two-decade career, has garnered a dedicated fan base. His recent tour included sold-out shows at venues in Atlantic City and Las Vegas. Maniscalco has also starred in six comedy specials for networks like Netflix, Showtime, and Comedy Central. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. The Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israeli villages along the border with Gaza was brutal and morally unjustifiable, and I believe destroying the terrorist wing of Hamas is the right thing to do. Reporting about the war seldom distinguishes between the militant and political parts of Hamas and Israeli officials refer simply to their aim to destroy Hamas. Still, even if this is completely achieved, the violence will not end unless there is a full restructuring of the relationship between Israel and the Palestinians. The history of this relationship is complex, and I do not intend to review it in any detail here. I encourage anyone who is interested to check out a variety of sources. If youre not inclined to wade through textbook-length histories, there are summaries available at U.S. State Department and Israeli government websites, reporting and commentary by major U.S. and U.K. news organizations and from Al Jazeera, and numerous Arab and Jewish organization websites. Check out these diverse, sometimes competing, sources. Frank Barefield The area roughly corresponding to present-day Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip comprises what was known for hundreds of years as Palestine. From about 1500 until the end of World War I, it was part of the Ottoman Empire. In 1922, administration of this territory was turned over to Great Britian under the British Mandate for Palestine. Then, in 1947, the United Nations, by a vote of 33 to 13 (10 abstentions), adopted Resolution 181, which ended the mandate and created a plan for establishing two states, one Jewish and one Palestinian. The ending of the British Mandate resulted in a six-month civil war between Palestinians and Jews, and, in 1948, Jewish leaders declared victory and issued the Israeli Declaration of Independence. A year later, Israel was admitted to the U.N. as a full member. Not all member states recognized Israel and, as late as 2021, 28 U.N. members still had not. So, within a couple of years, as promised by Resolution 181, Israel became a sovereign nation and a full member of the United Nations. But over 75 years later, the Palestinian people still have no sovereign homeland. The parties that have played prominent roles during this time Israel, Jordan, Egypt, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Palestinian Authority, and, since 2007, Hamas have aggressively pursued their own respective interests while largely ignoring those who are most affected, the Palestinian people. In the days since Oct. 7, we have heard repeatedly that Israel has a right to defend itself from outside attacks. Yet there have been few reminders that in 1948, the Palestinians lost approximately half their historic homeland by the creation of Israel. Palestinians did not agree to the partitioning of Palestine into two states, and, from their perspective, Israel is an illegitimate outside occupier of their land. In the history of the Palestinian/Israel relationship, none of the major players, including the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, have represented the Palestinian people well. Israel has unilaterally added to territory under its control in violation of international law without suffering consequential sanctions by the international community. This includes putting Jewish settlements into the West Bank, many of which have been developed in violation of Israeli law. Since World War II, Israel is the No. 1 recipient of foreign aid from the U.S., in 2022 receiving $3.3 billion. In contrast, during the past three years, the U.S. has provided approximately $170 million annually in Palestinian aid. Fatah, the political party representing the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, is believed by the majority of Palestinians to be corrupt. Since Hamas came to dominate Gaza Strip politics in 2007, its militant wing has demonstrated repeatedly that it is more interested in serving itself at the expense of the ordinary Palestinian. Most people want to live ordinary lives, establishing homes, working for a living, raising families, but the resentment that comes from being ignored and oppressed allows the rise of radicalized groups like Hamas. Until the legitimacy of that resentment is recognized and addressed, even if Israel is successful in eliminating Hamas, the violence will continue. Israel has consistently and aggressively resisted the creation of a Palestinian state. The U.S. has paid lip service to the two-state solution but done nothing substantive to make it happen. The U.S. and other allies of Israel must recognize the legitimate grievances of the Palestinian people and be willing to apply whatever pressure is required to Israel to withdraw the Israel Defense Forces from Palestinian lands and evacuate all Israeli settlers from the West Bank. This should include a willingness to withhold military aid from Israel. Creating a Palestinian homeland will not eliminate the animosity between Israelis and Palestinians and some Palestinians will continue to believe that violence is the only way to reclaim land that was taken from them. There is no perfect solution, but it is long past the time for the world to fulfill the promise made to Palestinians in 1947. Frank Barefield is a resident of Holland. This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: My Take: It's complicated, but we should support a Palestinian state Congressman Jamaal Bowman criticized President Joe Biden during a recent interview, claiming the incumbent was losing considerable support among Black voters because he had not taken any meaningful action on reparations for slavery. The New York Democrat, a member of the bloc of eight progressive Democrats called The Squad, made the remarks last week on MSNBCs Alex Wagner Tonight show, saying there has been no conversation at all about reparations. People of color have been turned off for a while because of a lack of comprehensive immigration reform, if youre talking about the Latino community, and no conversation at all about reparations, if youre talking about the Black community. U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-NY (Photo: Twitter/Jamaal Bowman) Bowman also called out the administrations substantial military spending while suggesting the White House was avoiding a serious dialogue on compensating generations of Black Americans and providing restitution to populations who have suffered historical injustices. But were spending hundreds of billions of dollars every year on weapons in war, but we cant even have a conversation about reparations? Those are the things that are happening right now, he said. Reparations have remained a controversial issue among lawmakers who have struggled for decades to find a comprehensive resolution following the end of slavery. The reignited debate comes as Biden was trailing Republican frontrunner Donald Trump in many of the critical battleground states that the incumbent won in 2020, while some polls showed a majority of young voters disagreed with Bidens foreign policy decisions amid the Israel-Hamas war. Back in Washington, the conflict was serving to stoke new divisions on Capitol Hill while setting the stage for a potentially fiery primary season in 2024 as lawmakers navigate a delicate balance with voters who represent both Israeli and Palestinian perspectives, Bowman said. After nearly three years, many Democratic voters were turning sour on Bidens policies, with the presidents lead slipping with voters under the age of 30, and among Hispanic voters, while a recent New York Times and Siena College poll found 22 percent of registered Black voters said they planned to support the Republican nominee in the next election. The 2022 midterm election highlighted trouble on the horizon for Democrats as turnout among Black voters was identified as one of the partys most notable weaknesses going into 2024. Black voters have, in recent years, witnessed a shift, particularly among Black men, who are increasingly placing trust in the GOP to address concerns related to the ability to build generational wealth, while a growing number of Black Americans harbor a growing sense of disappointment with the party which had fallen short of addressing persistent issues affecting the Black community. Oftentimes, were that extra whatever percentage that will take that particular candidate over the top to win, Endla Thornton told The New York Times in a recent interview that highlighted the crucial role of Black women for Democratic candidates. Previously in June, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre sidestepped a direct response when asked about reparations the day after the White House hosted a celebration for Juneteenth, which was declared a federal holiday under Biden in 2021 to commemorate the emancipation of the last slaves following the end of the Civil War. At the time, Jean-Pierre revealed the administration had not yet reviewed the reparations resolution brought forward in May by Democratic Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri, who introduced the bill after decades of failed efforts by late U.S. Rep. John James Conyers to study and develop reparation plans for Black Americans. Bushs legislation calls on the federal government to provide reparations to descendants of enslaved Black people and people of African descent and to formally apologize for the state-sanctioned institution of chattel slavery and subsequent anti-Black institutions, laws and practices. By Monday afternoon, the White House spokesperson, Rodericka Applewhaite, responded to inquires from Atlanta Black Star about the administrations stand on reparations: President Biden believes that the legacy of slavery is a stain on our nations conscience, and that we must root out the systemic racism that continues to plague our laws, policies, and our culture. In line with that goal, the President has supported Congress efforts to study reparations and the continued impacts of slavery. While Congress pursues these actions, President Biden is actively delivering for Black Americans by executing his Day One commitment to advance racial equity and support for underserved communities. Since taking office, the Presidents agenda has secured record-low Black unemployment, a 60% increase in Black net worth since the pandemic, achieved the fastest creation rate of Black-owned small businesses in over 25 years, and expanded access to homeownership and protections against housing discrimination. Michael Edward Simmons has spent most of his life in prison, and a Columbus jury this week will decide whether he goes back. He is 61 years old, and has been jailed or imprisoned for 42 of those years. He grew up in the Oakland Park neighborhood off South Lumpkin Road, where at age 16 he was charged with killing a sibling, in 1978. He served almost 40 years, and returned to his Wise Street home upon his release, in 2018. Hes now on trial for murder in another homicide in that neighborhood. Hes accused of fatally beating Christopher Williams at the Blan Street home of a woman Simmons used to date. Williams, 55, died from bleeding in his brain days after the altercation on Oct. 13, 2022. Simmons was arrested after an autopsy revealed the injury resulted from blunt-force trauma. Simmons is charged with malice or intentional murder, of felony murder for causing Williams death while committing the felony of aggravated assault, and of aggravated assault. If convicted, he will spend the rest of his life in prison. Michael Edward Simmons looks back at the courtroom audience during his murder trial in the 2022 death of Christopher Williams. He was out cold During opening statements Tuesday, prosecutor Anthony Pickett told jurors Simmons had dated a woman named Effie Martin. They had broken up two years earlier, yet Simmons continued to pursue her, Pickett said. Martin had a daughter to whom Williams was engaged. When the daughter went to a recovery center for a drug addiction, Williams started staying with Martin, keeping her company and occasionally letting her borrow his truck, the prosecutor said. Simmons went to Martins home around dusk and banged on the door, but she was in bed and did not answer. He then went to her window and knocked on it. Williams arrived there from work as Simmons came around the house from the window. Martin told police she heard Williams tell him, Im not going to wake her up. Thats disrespectful, Pickett said. As Williams moved to enter the house, Simmons tried to push past him, and a struggle followed. Simmons punched Williams in the face so hard that he was out cold, Pickett said. As Williams lay on the ground, Simmons hit him three more times as Martin tried to pull him away, the prosecutor said. Simmons went back to his car, yelling at them, he said. Williams regained consciousness, but complained of headaches for days afterward, finding bright light painful and staying in his room in the dark. On Oct. 18, Martin fed him some soup, but he threw up and went to bed, Pickett said. Later Martin heard a noise, and asked Williams whether he was OK. Im fine, mom, he replied, and those were his last words. She found his body in the bedroom. Simmons was arrested the following Nov. 4, after police got the autopsy results. He has spent a year in jail awaiting trial. Defense attorney Anthony Johnson told the jury Simmons was not threatening or boisterous at Martins home, and had merely asked Williams whether Martin was OK, when she didnt come to the door. He said Williams attacked Simmons first, putting both hands on Simmons neck and choking him, forcing Simmons to punch him to defend himself. Police took photos documenting the injuries to Simmons neck, Johnson said. Jurors will see those images, and hear a medical examiner testify to Williams precise cause of death, he said, urging them to pay particular attention to that testimony. Sister raped, drowned Simmons was convicted of raping and drowning his 7-year-old half-sister Dawn Worth in 1978. In a unanimous 1999 decision upholding Simmons convictions for rape and murder, the Georgia Supreme Court recounted the evidence from his trial: The girl was reported missing on the morning of April 21, 1978, when Simmons was supposed to have escorted the child on her walk to school. Dawn Worth Three days later, her body was found floating in what the court called a lake, just a fifth of a mile from her Wise Street home. Her hands were tied behind her back, and she had been raped. An autopsy determined her cause of death was drowning. Then-District Attorney Bill Smith, now a senior Superior Court judge, said the lake referenced by the Supreme Court was a pit dug either for sand mining or an old city landfill. Police retracing the little girls movements learned witnesses saw her walking down the street at 8:30 a.m., when a classmate spoke with her. Search parties joined by soldiers from Fort Benning scoured the area before the body was discovered April 24. Soldiers in Oakland Park await rides back to Fort Benning during the search for Dawn Worth in April 1978. Questioned the next day, Simmons told police he had helped Dawn get dressed for school and sent her on her way. But during his trial in October 1979, an aunt testified that she overheard Simmons tell his mother he had tried to make Dawn go to school, but she followed him to the pit, where he tied her arms behind her back and put her in the water while they were playing. Convicted of rape and malice or intentional murder, Simmons served 39 years and one month in prison. He was freed on May 9, 2018, and released to the same Wise Street home where he lived as a teen, according to the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles. A Columbus police officer stands by the pit where Dawn Worths body was found in 1978. South Carolina legal scion Alex Murdaugh is pictured in a mugshot, taken on March 7, at the Kirkland Reception and Evaluation Center in Columbia, South Carolina. On Tuesday, Murdaugh was sentenced to 27 years in prison for financial crimes. He is currently serving two consecutive life sentences for the murders of his wife and son. Photo via South Carolina Department of Corrections/UPI Nov. 28 (UPI) -- Convicted double murderer and disgraced ex-lawyer Alex Murdaugh was sentenced Tuesday to 27 years in South Carolina state prison for financial crimes, as part of a plea agreement. During Tuesday's hearing, Judge Clifton Newman accepted Murdaugh's guilty plea, along with a plea deal that guarantees Murdaugh will serve at least 85%, or more than 22 years, of the sentence. Murdaugh, 55, admitted to stealing more than $12 million over a 10-year period from clients, friends, family and his own law firm. In exchange, Murdaugh avoided a trial that was set to begin Tuesday in Beaufort. "I am pleading guilty of my own free will because I am guilty ... and for other reasons," Murdaugh told U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel in September. "I want to take responsibility for my actions. ... I want my son to see that I am taking responsibility." Newman sentenced Murdaugh to 20 concurrent years in prison and an additional seven years to be served consecutively on a money laundering charge. State prosecutor Creighton Waters called the deal a "unique and unprecedented sentence" on white collar crimes. Murdaugh is currently serving two life sentences for the deaths of his wife and one of his sons after a jury found him guilty of the crimes in 2021. He was already awaiting trial for nearly 100 counts of financial fraud-related charges at the time. Newman, who also presided over Murdaugh's murder trial, called the disgraced attorney "empty." "You seem empty, I don't see anything," Newman told Murdaugh during Tuesday's sentencing hearing. "It's just unimaginable -- unimaginable to me that you have done some of the things that you've done. Whether it's you or someone you become upon using drugs or through the process of just committing the crimes over and over over a period of years, I don't know. I don't know," the judge added. Former clients and victims also were allowed to speak, including the adult son of Murdaugh's late housekeeper who died in an "trip and fall" accident at the Murdaugh's home in 2018. "You lied, you cheated, you stole," Michael Satterfield said. "You betrayed me and my family and everybody else." No members of Murdaugh's family attended Tuesday's hearing, including his surviving son Buster. Before he was sentenced, Murdaugh made an hour-long statement to his family and his law firm, apologizing for the pain and humiliation while continuing to claim his innocence in the deaths of his wife, Maggie and son Paul. "I am so sorry that I let each of you down and and I am so sorry that I humiliated you. I am so sorry that I destroyed our family's reputation with the terrible things that I have done," Murdaugh said. "I am fully committed to trying to be a better person," he added. "I am going to try to do as much good as possible and help as many people as I can while incarcerated. I remain fully and wholeheartedly committed to finding a way to somehow make those who love me proud again, in some small way." Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott has endorsed Democratic Prince Georges County Executive Angela Alsobrooks in the race to replace U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin when he retires at the end of his term. Alsobrooks joined Scott, Baltimores Democratic mayor who is himself seeking reelection, at the Zeta Center in Baltimores Park Heights neighborhood Tuesday to accept the endorsement. Emphasizing their past partnership as local leaders, Scott said Alsobrooks best understands the needs of cities compared with other candidates in the race. Alsobrooks is finishing out her second term as county executive. She previously served as the countys states attorney. There are far too many neighborhoods like this one in Park Heights and Baltimore City that need our federal partners to help address those systemic problems, Scott said. During his brief remarks, Scott highlighted the lack of gender diversity among Marylands congressional delegation. Currently, no women represent Maryland. It is time for Maryland to lead the way to show we can and should have women, capable women leadership in the United States Senate, he said. Alsobrooks is one of multiple candidates seeking to replace Cardin, who announced earlier in the year that he would not seek reelection. There are six Democrats currently vying to be nominated as the candidate who will appear on the 2024 general election ballot. Alsobrooks pushed back Tuesday when asked about the spending of one of her opponents, U.S. Rep. David Trone, to campaign in Baltimore. Finance disclosures published in October showed Trone has spent nearly $10 million on the race thus far compared with Alsobrooks $1.2 million. Because you see things on television, I dont want anyone to confuse that with investment, Alsobrooks said. Spending money is not the same as doing what I did this morning, which is to walk on Belair Road with a council member in communities to hear about issues and concerns. Scott joins a growing list of public officials who have backed Alsobrooks campaign. Maryland U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen as well as former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer have announced endorsements. Gov. Wes Moore, Comptroller Brooke Lierman, Treasurer Dereck Davis, Maryland House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones, State Senate President Bill Ferguson and a bevy of politicians in the General Assembly have also backed her run. Alsobrooks did not answer Tuesday when asked whether she would in return endorse Scott, who faces several Democrats, including former Mayor Sheila Dixon in his bid for reelection. Alsobrooks said she would welcome the endorsement of Dixon. I need the support of as many people as I can get across the state, Alsobrooks said. SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) Happy Cyber Monday, Utah! Plenty of things are marked down today and Mother Nature thought it would be a good idea to keep temperatures low as well. Most will remain on the chilly side with highs in the 30s and 40s with a few exceptions. St. George will sneak into the low 50s while on the other side of the coin, most in the Uinta Basin will only top out in the upper 20s. Skies will be mostly sunny to partly cloudy across the state, but in our northern valleys, haze will continue to build. From Cache Valley down through the Wasatch Front, moderate air quality is expected due to the hit in air quality. Into tonight, it will be turning frigid again as lows fall into the teens and twenties across the state. Through the middle of the week, high pressure will remain the main driving force in our weather. However, as it slowly moves from west to east, well see our northerly wind be replaced with a southerly wind. This will allow temperatures to climb incrementally in the next couple of days. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now ABC4 Daily News Warming will be kept to a minimum in our northern valleys though thanks to the inversions in place which will subsequently strengthen. At this point, moderate air quality is expected for most valleys through Wednesday, but there is a chance air quality could dip a little more by Wednesday. As we go from Wednesday into Thursday, we do have some changes on the way. High pressure will be moving out of the way, opening the door to a system coming in from the west. Between Wednesday night and Thursday, a storm looks like it will clip southern Utah. Calm Monday sets the stage for hazy midweek, storms looming towards the weekend The chance of any wet weather at this point looks like with maybe a slight chance down south and in the high country. Hopefully, increased winds will result in a little less haze. Even if the clipping storm doesnt bring any relief from the haze, its becoming increasingly likely well move into an active pattern Friday through this weekend with a couple of systems set to drop in from the northwest. If things hold, well see a decent chance of moisture statewide, another drop in temperatures, and clearing from the inversion haze. With Utahs 4Warn Forecast, both on-air and online, you can stay on top of all the weather changes the Beehive State has to offer. We are Good4Utah! For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah. FILE - Argentina's Vice President Cristina Fernandez attends a rally in Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, Argentina, May 25, 2023. A federal appeals court in Argentina reopened a corruption-related investigation against Fernandez Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, mere weeks before she is set to leave office and will no longer enjoy immunity from arrest. (AP Photo/Mario De Fina, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) A federal appeals court in Argentina reopened a money laundering investigation into Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner on Tuesday, increasing her legal woes just weeks before she leaves office and loses her immunity from arrest. Fernandez, 70, who served as president from 2007 to 2015, leaves office when President-elect Javier Milei is sworn in on Dec. 10. She already has been sentenced to six years in prison in a separate corruption case involving her ties to family friend and businessman Lazaro Baez. That sentence, issued in December 2022, isnt firm until appeals are decided, which could take years, and anyway she has been immune from arrest while still in office. Now, her advancing age could spare her time behind bars, because detainees who are 70 or older generally are granted house arrest in Argentina. On Tuesday, the federal appeals court judges decided in a 2-1 ruling to revoke her earlier dismissal from a case involving money laundering by Baez on behalf of Fernandezs family. Federal Judge Sebastian Casanello had ruled earlier this year that Fernandez be removed from what came to be known as the K money trail case, saying there was no evidence she participated in the money laundering. Baez was sentenced to 10 years in prison in the case. A little-known non-profit organization with ties to the center-right opposition party of former President Mauricio Macri appealed the decision to drop Fernandez from the case. Fernandez blamed the ruling Tuesday on Marci, characterizing it as one of several instances in which Macri got his way within what she deems a corrupt judiciary. To think that in Argentina, there are still those who talk without flinching about the independence of the judiciary, Fernandez wrote on her X account. The K money trail is only one of several cases Fernandez faces. In the previous case involving Baez, she was convicted on accusations of favoring the businessman in public works contracts. Her preliminary sentence also includes a lifetime ban on holding public office. Another case against the vice president revolves around separate accusations of money-laundering involving hotels owned by her family. Additionally, she faces criminal accusations that while president she and several top officials tried to cover up the perpetrators of the 1994 AMIA Jewish community center bombing through a controversial agreement with the Iranian government to jointly investigate the attack. Fernandez was cleared of charges in the latter two cases, but then in September the nation's highest criminal court, the Federal Cassation Court, revoked the earlier rulings and ordered the trials to move forward. FILE PHOTO: Cadets of Military Institute of Taras Shevchenko National University take part in a swearing-in ceremony in Kyiv FILE PHOTO: Cadets of Military Institute of Taras Shevchenko National University take part in a swearing-in ceremony in Kyiv By Olena Harmash and Tom Balmforth KYIV (Reuters) - When Antonina Danylevych's husband enlisted in the Ukrainian army in March 2022, he had to line up at the draft office alongside crowds of patriotic countrymen. There are no crowds now, she says. Danylevych, a 43-year-old HR manager, gave her blessing when Oleksandr joined up with tens of thousands of other Ukrainian citizens to defy the Russian invasion. Now she's finding it hard to cope, with no end in sight. Her husband has only had about 25 days' home leave since he enlisted and their two children are growing up without a father. "We want Ukraine to win, but not through the efforts of the same people," she said in an interview at her home in Kyiv. "I can see they need to be replaced and that they also need to rest, but for some reason other people don't understand." Women on the home front have also had to become stronger, she added: "But at what cost did we become stronger?" Her husband - a university lecturer with no prior combat experience who's now a platoon commander - watched his son get married this year on his phone by video call from the ruined city of Bakhmut. His 14-year-old daughter misses her dad. Almost two years into the grinding war, this family and others around the country are coming to terms with the prospect of a much longer and costlier conflict than they had hoped for, and one that some now acknowledge they're not guaranteed to win. This autumn, Danylevych was one of 25,000 people to sign a petition to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy saying that military service cannot remain open-ended and calling for troops to be given a clear timeline for when they will be discharged. The campaign, which has included two protests by 50 to 100 people in Kyiv's main square in recent weeks, illustrates a growing level of exhaustion among Ukrainian troops and the mounting toll that is taking on families back home. Ukraine's vaunted summer counteroffensive has so far failed to deliver a decisive breakthrough, both sides are dug in along largely static front lines and questions are being asked over whether foreign military aid will be as forthcoming as it was. The country has relied on tens of billions of dollars in arms from the United States and other allies to sustain its war effort, but stockpiles of artillery shells are emptying and governments are cooler on sustaining previous levels of support. Such protests would have been unthinkable a year ago when national morale soared as Ukraine beat Russian forces back from Kyiv and retook swathes of the northeast and south. Martial law, declared at the war's start, prohibits public demonstrations. Danylevych's campaign points to difficult choices war planners face as they try to maintain the flow of recruits to defeat a much larger army amid steady losses, while retaining a big enough workforce to sustain the shattered economy. Only Ukrainian men aged between 27 and 60 can be mobilised by draft officers. Men aged between 18 and 26 can't be drafted, though they can enlist voluntarily. Ukraine, which has said it has about 1 million people under arms, has barred military-age men from going abroad. Its constantly running mobilisation programme, which was declared at the start of the war, is a state secret. So are battlefield losses, which U.S. estimates put in the tens of thousands. The Ukrainian defence ministry referred questions for this article to the military, which declined to comment, citing wartime secrecy. DROWNED TRYING TO FLEE This month, Ukraine's military chief said one of his priorities was to build up the army's reserves as he laid out a plan to prevent the war settling into a stalemate of attritional warfare that he warned would suit Russia. The plan focuses on boosting Ukraine's aerial, electronic warfare, drone, anti-artillery and mine-clearance capabilities. He added that Ukraine, like Russia, had limited capacity to train troops and alluded to gaps in legislation that he said allowed citizens to shirk mobilisation. "We are trying to fix these problems. We are introducing a unified register of draftees, and we must expand the category of citizens who can be called up for training or mobilisation," he wrote in rare comments published as an article by The Economist. The recruitment process largely takes place out of the public eye. Draft officers stop men in the street, at the metro or at checkpoints and hand out call-up papers to them, instructing to report to recruitment centres. Over the last year, social media videos occasionally surface showing draft officers dragging away or threatening men they want to mobilise causing public outcry. Many Ukrainians have also been angered by a string of corruption cases at draft offices that have allowed people to avoid the call-up, prompting Zelenskiy to sack all the heads of the regional recruitment offices this summer. Seldom does a week go by without a law enforcement agency announcing criminal cases against people including draft officials accused of taking between $500 and $10,000 to provide fake documents for people to shirk mobilisation or travel abroad. At the River Tisa, which acts as the border from southwestern Ukraine to Romania, guard patrols used to focus on catching tobacco smugglers but now collar fleeing draft dodgers. About 6,000 people have been detained trying to leave across that stretch, the border guards told Reuters. One of them, Dyma Cherevychenko, said at least 19 people had drowned trying to flee the country during the conflict. "They died for nothing, died in the river when they could have contributed to the war effort," the 29-year-old added. UNIVERSITY ESCAPE HATCH? The Ukrainian parliament has meanwhile been debating legislation that would stop people over the age of 30 using higher education as a legal way around mobilisation. The number of men aged over 25 who booked places at universities in the first year of the invasion shot up by 55,000 compared with the year before, Education Minister Oksen Lisovyi wrote on Facebook in September. Some voices in the West have suggested that Kyiv step up the scale of its recruitment by drawing on younger men. Ben Wallace, Britain's defence minister until the end of August, said the average age of Ukrainian soldiers at the front was over 40 and suggested it was time to "reassess the scale of Ukraine's mobilisation". "I understand President Zelenskiy's desire to preserve the young for the future, but the fact is that Russia is mobilising the whole country by stealth," he wrote in the Telegraph newspaper. David Arakhamia, a senior lawmaker and Zelenskiy ally, said on Thursday that parliament planned to draw up legislation to improve the mobilisation and demobilisation procedure by the year's end. The bill, he said on TV, would cover what to do with people who have been fighting for two years without rotation, how to demobilise soldiers who have returned after being prisoners of war, and also address "issues related to the conscription age". TANKS AND TRANQUILISERS A temporary lull in major Russian missile and drone strikes on the capital over the summer made the war seem more distant, although that calm was shattered over the weekend as Russia launched its biggest drone assault on Kyiv of the war so far. Some sociologists say a gloomier mood has set in nationwide. They point to surveys showing declining trust in the government, which had surged in the first months of the war when Ukrainian forces repelled Russian advances. Zelenskiy's ratings remain very high, although they too are down from last year. Trust in the government and parliament has tumbled from 74% in 2022 to 39%, and 58% to 21%, respectively, according to Anton Hrushetskyi, executive director at the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, a research organisation. "We'd hoped to be in a better position this autumn than we are right now," he told Reuters. Hrushetskyi said other contributing factors were various corruption scandals and a belief that Western military supplies for Ukraine could and should have been more robust. Danylevych is now preparing their home for what many Ukrainians fear will be another winter of Russian airstrikes that will target the power grid and energy system, causing sweeping blackouts and other outages. "I feel depressed because I understand all the challenges of winter and if there is heavy shelling and there is neither electricity nor heating, I will have to face all these problems on my own." Her husband Oleksandr and his unit, Ukraine's fourth tank brigade, couldn't be reached for comment. This summer Danylevych stumbled across a group on the Telegram messaging site that now has 2,900 like-minded people including wives, mothers and family members who banded together to campaign for the right of war veterans to be demobilised. "A lot of the women are on sedatives and tranquilisers," she said, describing a "very depressed" mood of resignation among them. The group staged a first demonstration of around 100 people on Kyiv's Independence Square on Oct. 27, after which they wrote a letter addressed to Zelenskiy to make their case. No police action was taken against them. Dozens of them returned to the square for a further protest in the rain on Nov. 12. One held up a sign saying: "My husband and father have given others the time to get ready. It's time to replace the first people!" (Additional reporting by Charlotte Bruneau and Thomas Peter; Writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Mike Collett-White and Pravin Char) Bitterly cold temperatures Tuesday morning did not keep about a dozen workers from the Susan Knapp Health Center from picketing in support of its first-ever contract with Planned Parenthood North Central States (PPNCS). The union, organized in July 2022, has been in a stalemate with Planned Parenthood for more than a year despite having met 32 times to hash out the contract. The two sides return to the table on Wednesday to try again. Frustrated by the inability to get a contract, Planned Parenthood employees picketed at clinics in Des Moines, Omaha, Nebraska, and Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. The workers are represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa that includes nearly 50,000 health care and long-term care workers in hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and home care throughout both states. Despite frigid temperatures, workers at the Susan Knapp Health Center picketed on Tuesday morning to raise awareness of their efforts to negotiate a contract with Planned Parenthood. If a new contract cannot be forged, a strike could occur even though an official vote of the membership to do that has not occurred, said Phillip Cryan, executive vice president of SEIU Minnesota & Iowa. The SEIU has a strike fund available for workers should they decide to go out, he said. Cryan said the powerful collective voice from an organized workforce is the key to moving salaries up in places where nursing wages have lagged, pointing to 2022 when the 15,000-member Minnesota Nurses Association threatened a long strike and were able to negotiate 17% wages increases over three years. So it does make a difference as we saw with UAW (United Auto Workers), the Hollywood writers (Writers Guild of America) and the Teamsters with UPS, Cryan said. In addition to seeking higher wages, the picketers also protested what they called unfair labor practices. More: Iowa blocked abortion providers from family planning funding. How has that impacted Iowans? Planned Parenthood denies union busting Shouting "Union busting is disgusting!", union officials say demonstrations also took place Tuesday to raise public awareness of how Planned Parenthood North Central States is intimidating the 14 members of the union's bargaining team. They say Planned Parenthood leadership had illegally surveilled the bargaining team by obtaining a copy of a private Signal chat among the members last March. As a result, one member Grace Larson, a licensed practical nurse in Minnesota was fired, they say. All other members received a final written warning on their employee records, meaning they could be fired for any infraction. Those employees say they have not been given a reason why they were disciplined. SEIU Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa alleges bargaining team members faced disciplinary actions as part of Planned Parenthood's union-busting efforts. The organization has filed charges against Planned Parenthood with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Planned Parenthood officials have pushed back on those allegations, pointing out that a formal resolution to one of the union's complaints made it clear that the basis for the discipline of all bargaining team members was misconduct. However, the charges regarding Larson's abrupt termination are still pending with the board. "The union, as a participant, agreed to publicly apologize in June of this year for their failure to take action to prevent this misconduct," Molly Gage, vice president of human resources at Planned Parenthood North Central States, said in a statement. "We continue to remain committed to the formal complaint process with the NLRB as they investigate the unfair labor practice complaint related to Grace Larsons termination." Gage said Planned Parenthood is committed to working in good faith with union members throughout the negotiation process. "PPNCS is not, has not, and will not participate in any union busting activities," Gage said in a statement. "No staff have been disciplined or fired by PPNCS for union organizing, however, unions are not designed to be a shield for misconduct. We remain committed to bargaining in good faith to reach a fair and balanced contract for our unionized employees." More: Few are using Iowa's family planning program started to thwart Planned Parenthood With rising insurance costs, biggest issue is wages Approximately 400 frontline health care workers are covered by the bargaining unit at Planned Parenthood clinics in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. There are about 30 employees at the clinic in Des Moines, Jennifer Wilsbacher, a physicians assistant at the Susan Knapp clinic, said while on the picket line Tuesday. The biggest stumbling block, according to union officials, has been wages. Staring down a 12% increase in health insurance premiums in 2024, workers are seeking salary boosts to offset the rising insurance costs. I just know that we have another (negotiating) session tomorrow and we're really hoping that some of this pressure creates some movement on the bargaining team because we've not seen substantial movement in quite some time now, said Wilsbacher. Wilsbacher said a lot of the employees have had to opt for the lowest health insurance option because of cost, leaving them with huge deductibles and huge out-of-pocket expenses. "As we work to reach agreement on remaining items, Planned Parenthood North Central States is committed to creating a robust and competitive benefits package that will attract and retain staff, within a structure that is equitable and sustainable," Gage said in her statement. There is some room for optimism going into Wednesdays negotiation session, said Cryan. Cryan said the chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood sent an email to employees Monday night that was an encouraging sort of message. But you know, thats just an email. What will matter is what they show up with in terms of a proposal, said Cryan. Cryan said much of the language of the contract has been agreed to by both parties. And now we are down to the big expensive parts of the contract, said Cryan. The big expensive parts have been the stumbling block to reaching a contract agreement for more than a year. Cryan said the union is pushing for a new wage scale where people earn additional pay based on years of experience with Planned Parenthood as well as significant raises on the wage scale. That is the kind of top priority demand and the second highest demand that we are fighting over right now is truly affordable health insurance, Cryan said. Affordable health insurance is of particular concern for workers with dependents because of the cost to add them to the policy, Cryan said. We actually we have lots of members who have children and/or a spouse who don't take the coverage because the dependent coverage is so expensive, Cryan said. More: Planned Parenthood book sale volunteers in Des Moines 'heartsick' as its last chapter begins Fear of staff departures if an agreement isn't reached Wilsbacher said she and others fear losing more workers if an equitable agreement cant be reached soon. She said Planned Parenthood North Central States had a 44% turnover rate between June of 2021 and June of 2023. I really hope we can get somewhere because I know that there are staff members that might not be able to stay long term If we don't get some movement and I think that is the saddest part because we all love what we do and thats serving our patients, said Wilsbacher. Cryan agrees that the dedication of the Planned Parenthood workers to their patients has been used against them with management knowing how reluctant the employees are to disrupt patient services. People choose to work for Planned Parenthood because they believe in their hearts and in their souls in the mission of the organization, and they care so much for the patients that they take care of every day. The pay and benefits that they get for doing that work are so much lower than similar jobs in health care that they could choose to leave Planned Parenthood tomorrow and get a 10% to 20% wage increase by just working for another health care, hospital or clinic system. And is that being taken advantage of? I think so and you know that is part of why the workers organized and that what were fighting to address through collective bargaining, Cryan said. Kevin Baskins covers jobs and the economy for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at kbaskins@registermedia.com. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa Planned Parenthood workers picket for higher wages Hunters in Illinois killed about 1,000 more deer during the first weekend of the 2023 firearm season compared to last year, according to preliminary figures from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The deer harvest was 53,348 between Nov. 17-19. Hunters killed 52,354 deer during the first weekend of the 2022 season. The second part of the 2023 season begins Thursday, Nov. 30, and concludes Sunday, Dec. 3. In six of nine southwestern Illinois counties, the deer harvest was down compared to last year. Here is a county-by-county breakdown: Bond County, 562, compared to 537 during the first weekend in 2022 and 478 in 2021 Calhoun County, 476, compared to 465 in 2022 and 427 in 2021 Clinton County, 588, compared to 606 in 2022 and 493 in 2021 Jersey County, 435, compared to 425 in 2022 and 416 in 2021 Madison County, 484, compared to 509 in 2022 and 460 in 2021 Monroe County, 821, compared to 856 in 2022 and 710 in 2021 Randolph County, 1,506, compared to 1,518 in 2022 and 1,457 in 2021 St. Clair County, 560, compared to 576 in 2022 and 529 in 2021 Washington County, 747, compared to 771 in 2022 and 672 in 2021 Preliminary results in all the other Illinois counties are listed in this news release from the state government. Michael Gove told the inquiry that he had more than 100 meetings with the UK's devolved leaders A senior UK minister has denied that the Welsh government and other devolved administrations were kept out of the loop during a crucial stage of Covid. Michael Gove was speaking at the UK public inquiry into the pandemic. He said there had been a "good" level of engagement with Welsh ministers, but not the level of predictability First Minister Mark Drakeford wanted. Mr Gove argued that there had been a "diminution but not a halt" to regular contact between May and October 2020. His role as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster involved co-ordination across UK government departments and the devolved UK nations. Counsel to the inquiry, Hugo Keith KC, suggested to Mr Gove that it had taken a very considerable amount of time for a regular system of liaison to be set up. Mr Keith put it to him that there was a hiatus between May and autumn 2020, when the devolved administrations were to a "very considerable extent kept out of the loop." "No," Mr Gove replied. "There were regular calls of a variety of kinds with my officials and officials of the devolved administrations, Covid-O and Cobra and the JMC (governmental committees dealing with the Covid response). "Simply a range of mechanisms to ensure the devolved administrations.... were part of our broad conversations," he said. Mr Keith responded quoting Mr Gove's own witness statement that the first ministers were not invited to the key pandemic decision-making body Covid-O on a regular basis until October. "Was there a hiatus between May and late autumn in which the DAs [devolved administrations] at this political level did not get the same level of access to UK government that they had hitherto and thereafter?" asked Mr Keith. "Hiatus implies halt. I think there was a diminution, but not a halt," replied Mr Gove. The UK Treasury refused to extend the furlough scheme to cover Wales' firebreak lockdown in November 2020 Wales' first minister made repeated calls for a "predictable rhythm of engagement" during the pandemic. He told the inquiry earlier this year: "What they lacked was a systematic basis for engagement, and this has long been my complaint about inter-governmental relations in the UK. "They rely far too often on individual willingness to work in that way, whereas what you need is a robust system of machinery of government which brings people to the table for common interests, whether they want to or not." Mr Gove said that balancing was important but, in his view, the UK government benefited from bringing in the devolved administrations as early as possible. He disagreed that devolved nations were just told decisions made by the UK government, rather than being involved in decision-making. He also revealed that a couple of UK cabinet colleagues "bristled" that the governments of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland were involved in some discussions that they were not represented in. 'Generous response' Covid regulations were brought in under public health legislation which meant that the Welsh government took responsibility for decision-making in Wales after the initial UK-wide lockdown in March 2020. It led to problems over public health policy being set in Wales but financial levers being controlled by the Treasury in Westminster. Mr Drakeford complained in November 2020 when the Treasury refused to extend the furlough scheme to cover Wales' firebreak lockdown. Mr Gove said: "The problem was simple. The devolved administrations understandably wanted more money. "The case was that they were - that the whole of the United Kingdom - had from the chancellor a generous response. "Ultimately is the thrust 'does the devolution settlement work?' then it does because the basis on which the exchequer funds the different parts of the United Kingdom is fair." MEMPHIS, Tenn. A suspect wanted in connection to an armed robbery at the China Star Buffet on Highway 51 in Covington was arrested Monday in Memphis. The Covington Police Department said Rodrick Gooden was located by US Marshals assigned to the Two Rivers United States Marshals Task Force. Covington Police Chief Donna Turner said Marshals also found a stolen weapon on Gooden that was taken during a rash of car burglaries on Park Street in Covington. The police department posted pictures of Goodens arrest to their Facebook page. Illegal, stolen guns confiscated at Midtown Airbnb party: MPD Mr. Gooden chose not to cooperate, so we joined forces with the US Marshals and was successful in locating him in Memphis, said Chief Turner. I appreciate the partnership with the Two Rivers U S Marshals Task Force to help us locate and apprehend this violent suspect. Our goal is to continue to strive for a safer community in Covington. Gooden has been charged with aggravated robbery, theft under $1,000, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. He is being held until his appearance before a Tipton County judge on December 1. The Covington Police Department is asking anyone with any information regarding similar incidents to contact the Criminal Investigation Division at 901-475-1261. Tips can also be sent through the Covington Police Departments Facebook messenger. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. If you see a canine animal in your yard at night, you might think its a dog or fox. But especially in the cooler months, the creature could be a coyote. While coyotes can kill pets and livestock, like goats or calves, they are generally not dangerous to humans. Usually weighing between 30-45 pounds, coyotes are most active from dusk to dawn. Learn why youre encountering these predators in your neighborhood and how to keep them off your land. Why are coyotes in South Carolina? Coyotes only came to South Carolina in the 1970s when they lost their native habitats in the Midwest, they migrated east. Since coyotes dont have natural predators here, like wolves, they took hold. Myrtle Beachs rapid development has contributed to increased coyote sightings, said Jay Butfiloski, the Furbearer Project Leader with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources in Dec. 2022. As you get more people moving into the state, theres more potential for interactions. Why do I see coyotes during cooler months? Coyote sightings during fall and winter have to do with changes in human and coyote behavior, said Butfiloski this week. More people are out and about after dark after the end of daylight savings time, making them more likely to spot the nocturnal predators. Forest-dwelling coyotes are more visible when surrounded by leafless trees. During the cooler months, coyotes venture out because food is sparse, mating season is about to begin and young animals are finding their own territory. How do I keep them from coming on my land? The best way to get coyotes off your property is to avoid attracting them in the first place. Coyotes are very resourceful, so they are going to find food when they can, Butfiloski said in December. Spraying your property with homemade or store bought remedies can work temporarily, but if the coyotes are hungry enough, theyll ignore the strong scent. Fences can deter coyotes, especially tall, wooden fences, but some animals will jump or dig under them. Here are some tips to keep coyotes away: Keep pets and pet food indoors. If your pets cannot go inside, put their food away overnight. Take down your bird feeders. Coyotes will not only eat the birdseed but also the small animals. Avoid keeping garbage outside and put trash out the morning of collection. Can I hunt coyotes? The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources encourages hunting coyotes to protect the deer population. You do not need a license to shoot or trap a nuisance coyote within 100 yards of your house, as long as discharging a firearm is permitted in your area. If you have a hunting license, you can hunt coyotes on private property year round. Trapping coyotes is allowed with a license during trapping season Dec. 1 to March 1. For added incentive, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources tags a limited number of coyotes each year. If you shoot or trap a tagged coyote, you will receive a free lifetime hunting license. In urban and suburban areas, check with your local ordinances before discharging a weapon. SCDNR estimated that in 2022, hunters and trappers killed almost 26,000 coyotes in South Carolina, successfully bringing the states coyote population down by 40% since 2011. Colin Blake claims a spider bit him while on holiday A man has received hospital treatment after claiming a wolf spider laid eggs in his toe while on holiday. Colin Blake was celebrating his 35th wedding anniversary in France when his toe turned purple overnight. As he was travelling on a cruise, he visited the ship's doctor and was told that the swelling had been caused by a wolf spider. But an arachnologist has said wolf spiders were incapable of laying their eggs inside humans. The initial report was based on information given by Mr Blake to a hospital, which referred to a Peruvian wolf spider. Mr Blake, from Cramlington, Northumberland, told BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime he was bitten while he and his wife were having a meal outdoors in Marseille. Warning: this article contains an image some might find upsetting After his toe began to look infected, medical staff cut it open with a scalpel and a milk-like pus came out. Mr Blake claims spider eggs were seen in the liquid. Mr Blake's toe turned red and swollen while on holiday Back in the UK, Mr Blake was treated at hospital and was given a course of antibiotics to reduce the swelling. He is set to make a full recovery. An expert has disputed Mr Blake's claim that a spider could have laid its eggs in a human foot. Dr Sara Goodacre from the University of Nottingham said: "I can't possibly see how it could be true at all because I know about their biology. "[The egg sacs] take quite a while to spin. The spider venom is not necrotising, it is designed to paralyse a fruit fly." She said that when a wolf spider lays it eggs, they are kept in a substance that looks like a ball of cotton, which some species carry on their backs. Dr Goodacre said there had been no reports suggesting the eggs could live in a "pus-infected wound". She added: "There is no European wolf spider that could really penetrate the skin." The British Arachnological Society also called it "implausible". Update 28 November 2023: This article has been amended to reflect expert opinion on the reports about it being a Peruvian wolf spider. Follow BBC North East & Cumbria on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to northeastandcumbria@bbc.co.uk. NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) A crash on I-264 in the eastbound lanes near Ballentine Boulevard Tuesday afternoon involved a Norfolk school bus and a box truck, Virginia State Police confirmed. The crash happened around 1:20 p.m. Nov. 28, 2023. Photo provided by Virginia State Police. An investigation revealed the school bus was stopped for traffic at the exit ramp, when a box truck attempting to pass on the left sideswiped it. The exit ramp was closed for about an hour after the crash. There were 14 elementary school students on the bus. None received injuries that required treatment, according to state police. And there was minimal damage to the school bus. The driver of the box truck was cited for unsafe lane charge. Keep up to date with the latest news on WAVY.com. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com. Chicago and Northwestern University police respond to a report of shots fired outside Kellogg Wieboldt Hall at Northwesterns downtown campus on Nov. 27, 2023. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune) Chicago police and Northwestern University police responded to a report of shots fired at Northwesterns downtown campus Monday evening, according to a safety alert. Chicago police later said nobody had been injured, but that witnesses observed a woman fire a handgun once during a large fight in the street among several people, who then fled the scene. Advertisement Shots were fired outside Kellogg Wieboldt Hall on Chicago Avenue, an alert texted to university affiliates said. Recipients were advised to seek shelter and await further information. By 9:30 p.m., the campus had been secured and assailants were in custody, the alert said. Advertisement In a 10:24 p.m. update, Chicago police said no offenders were in custody. University representatives confirmed the campus was clear in a 10:30 p.m. email and said further information would come from Chicago police. This is a developing story. Check back for updates. While going through a rough patch, Spanish agency The Clueless decided it had enough of nagging and demanding human clients so it cooked up an AI model instead. As Euronews reports, the agency says it used AI tools to create Aitana, a 25-year-old pink-haired woman from Barcelona. They say she looks real enough to fool a human celebrity into sliding into her DMs and asking her out. And the agency says the gambit has paid off financially, with Aitana netting the team up to $11,000 a month in revenue. "We did it so that we could make a better living and not be dependent on other people who have egos, who have manias, or who just want to make a lot of money by posing," Aitana's cocreator, and founder of The Clueless Ruben Cruz told Euronews. If true the whole thing does smack of intentionally courting controversy it's a fascinating new turn for a burgeoning AI influencer industry. We've already seen AI-generated models gaining huge social media followings, as well as ad agencies leveraging awkward-looking CGI influencers during the period before generative AI. Now this team is apparently taking the concept to its logical conclusion by overtly commercializing it and saying the quiet part out loud: that they have no interest in working with human models now that AI image generators exist. Besides netting brand deals worth over $1,100 each, Aitana also sells racy images on an OnlyFans-like platform called Fanvue. Her Instagram account is also popping off and has amassed almost 150,000 followers. Are Aitana's too-smooth glamour shots fooling anybody? Cruz says they are. "One day, a well-known Latin American actor texted to ask her out," he told Euronews. "This actor has about five million followers and some of our team watched his TV series when they were kids." "He had no idea Aitana didn't exist," he added. Apart from raking in revenue, AI influencers like Aitana could allow other agencies to create models that won't cause messy human drama. "They want to have an image that is not a real person and that represents their brand values," Cruz told Euronews, "so that there are no continuity problems if they have to fire someone or can no longer count on them." Additionally, using an AI image generator to create photos of influencers comes with some serious savings, considering the cost of working with a human celebrity. "Kim Kardashian makes a million euros for an Instagram photo and she doesn't cure cancer," Cruz said. "Nobody earns a million euros for uploading a photo to a social network, it seems absurd to me." Of course, replacing human influencers with AI-generated models is as contentious as it is potentially lucrative. After all, it's a rare and brazen example of AI tech directly being used to replace human labor. It's also a particularly pertinent topic these days. The use of AI to replace actors was a key topic of this year's Hollywood actors' strike, with SAG-AFTRA union members horrified by proposals to scan background actors' likenesses in order to use them in perpetuity. Is this really the end of human influencers? While more agencies are jumping on the AI bandwagon, nobody really knows if the concept will have long-term appeal. More on AI influencers: Fully AI-Generated Influencers Are Getting Thousands of Reactions per Thirst Trap For two years, Kendra Marsteller has been Texas State University's certified mental health liaison officer, a position the school created after a rise in mental health concerns and crises in the community. About a year ago, "pawfficer" Brady a yellow Labrador therapy dog from Florida joined Marsteller's team at Texas State. The happy pooch has taken to his therapy job like a duck to water: He attends sporting events, visits residence halls and meets people upon request. He's one of the top dogs on campus and has an Instagram account with more than 2,000 followers. But the duos service stretches beyond the 39,000-student campus in San Marcos. In September, Marsteller and Brady traveled to Maui for two weeks to provide support and comfort to people affected by a massive blaze a month earlier that ravaged the Hawaiian island, becoming the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century. The fire ignited Aug. 8 in Lahaina, a historic, picturesque town on the western side of the island. It burned more than 2,000 acres, destroyed 2,700 homes and was linked to 100 deaths. When Texas State University Police Chief Matthew Carmichael who helped start a victim services partnership with the Maui County prosecutors office about two years ago heard about the destructive fire, he knew he had to send help. Cadaver and service dogs were on the island, but local law enforcement lacked therapy dogs. When the fire started, (Carmichael) contacted them and said we got to send somebody; they need help, Marsteller said. On a recent stroll around campus, Brady met with cheerleaders Brooke Ashley, Kylie Pizzurro, Baleigh Moi and Breanna Shafer in front of the university's events center. Though she was nervous about being away from Texas State, even for just two weeks, Marsteller thought about how the 2011 Bastrop County Complex Fire the most destructive wildfire in Texas history had affected some of her friends who lived in that community, and she sprang into action. Yes, lets do it, she said. After working closely with the Animal Industry Division of the Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Animal Quarantine Station in Hawaii to expedite Bradys quarantine requirements and process, Marsteller and the therapy dog boarded a plane and flew to Maui. The pair got to work immediately. At a Federal Emergency Management Agency distribution center that she and Brady visited, Marsteller said when people saw the brown-eyed pooch, they would light up, get excited and even cry. Some people would just crawl on the floor toward him, Marsteller said. One individual she was working her chair caught her power cord to her laptop and her laptop fell on the floor because she turned so quickly" to see Brady. Marsteller said she, too, couldn't contain her emotions when she saw how great residents' need for support was on the island. You could see their pain on their faces; you could see their loss, she said. I cried with them. A friend of mine lost everything in the Bastrop fire. I remembered what she went through, and these guys are going through the same thing, if not worse. Because so many people lost their lives and their homes and everything. The Bastrop County Complex Fire burned 34,000 acres, destroyed nearly 1,700 homes and left two people dead, according to FEMA. Though Maui's fire was smaller in size, its destruction was greater. Even amid the devastation in Maui, Marsteller said, there were moments of hope. When adults and children alike saw Brady, they were able to come to the present moment and find some relief. They smiled; they lit up, Marsteller said. Its "a moment in time where you're not worried about everything else that's going on; youre not worried about everything. You're just in this moment with Brady. Marsteller met a child who had lost her dog in the fire. She gave the girl a stuffed animal like Brady. I gave her one, and I was like, If you're ever scared, just hold on to him; hold on to baby Brady, she said. Its just that presence. The official in Maui with whom Marsteller worked had lost her home in the fire. Marsteller said she has kept in touch with her, and the two reconnected at a conference in Dallas. Marsteller said she wants people to know that Maui is still grieving, and that the process of recovery is about more than just rebuilding. It's everything after that people don't realize and don't consider, she said. It's the processing of their emotion, in terms of losing a loved one, losing their entire house, losing power, losing family, friends, whoever, they're still living it. And its going to take years for them to recover. 'There's always hope, and there's always help' Before becoming Texas State University's victim services liaison, Marsteller had been a volunteer firefighter, emergency services dispatcher, constable and patrol officer. Her calling, she said, is making sure anyone who needs help can find it. Texas State cheerleaders Brooke Ashley, Jake Mobley, Kylie Pizzurro, Baleigh Moi and Breanna Shafer enjoy a few soothing moments with Brady. My passion has always been community outreach, victim services and mental health, because I will say there are other states that are more progressive than Texas when it comes to mental health, she said. I want our kids to have the best experience they can at Texas State, and I think Brady plays a very vital role in that. Carmichael, the university's police chief, said that to his knowledge Marsteller was the only U.S. officer who brought a therapy dog to Maui. Texas State is a global entity. We have students here from all around the world," he said. "And I know that if we were to suffer a similar catastrophic event, my peers would come here in a minute, and I wouldn't have to ask. Its a part of us, so we went. Carmichael said a big takeaway for him has been the importance of supporting first responders as well as those in distress. About 11 officers in Maui lost their homes to the fire, he said, but they showed up to work every day. He said Marsteller connects students with available resources at the university's student health and counseling centers and works closely with the city of San Marcos to help students find additional resources. He said he hopes to recruit more certified mental health officers and therapy dogs. Anecdotally, from a chiefs perspective, nationally, we've been identifying persons in crisis as one of our No. 1 calls for service, Carmichael said. I probably can't articulate well enough the importance of having a trained certified mental health officer and the therapy dog. Walking around Texas State on a recent Monday morning, Brady encountered a group of Texas State cheerleaders. He greeted commuters with his nose and let those who needed to pet his soft head run their fingers through his blond fur. Marsteller walked him around campus with a smile on her face. Marsteller said she hopes her work and Bradys presence help remind people on campus that there is support for them, that they are not alone. There's always hope, and there's always help, she said. There's always going to be someone there for help and hope. This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: 'Pawfficer' Brady, a Texas State therapy dog, helps Maui fire victims To have a speaker of the House that simply plans to do whatever [Trump] tells him to do is harmful, especially when the speaker has a district that is approximately 33% African American, said Crockett, D-Texas. U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, is calling out former President Donald Trump as the ringleader of House Republicans, which she fears could have detrimental impacts on marginalized communities. The Texas congresswomans comments come a week after House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., took a trip to the former presidents Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida to endorse him for the 2024 presidential election. UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 13: Rep.-elect Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, speaks during a news conference with newly elected incoming members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus at the AFL-CIO building in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, November 13, 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) Crockett told theGrio that Johnson, a MAGA supporter who led a House Republican effort to deny President Joe Bidens legitimate win the 2020 presidential election, is absolutely inexperienced and in over his head as the speaker of the House. In my opinion, he should have a better grasp upon what needs to be done than the twice-impeached former president, said Crockett, who is an attorney. To have a speaker of the House that simply plans to do whatever [Trump] tells him to do is harmful, especially when the speaker has a district that is approximately 33% African American, she added. Crockett believes Johnsons ties to Trump have and will continue to have a negative impact on marginalized communities. She noted that when it came time to pass a spending bill to avoid a government shutdown in November and September, Black and brown communities had the most to lose. She believes Trump played a hand in the looming shutdowns threatened by far-right members of the Republican Party. Just before the looming shutdown in September, Trump told Republicans to shut it down! after he said the GOP got nothing in the debt ceiling agreement with President Biden earlier this summer. [The House GOP] wanted to cut everything that those who are struggling the most need. House Republicans wanted to cut access to HUD in generalthe policies that they have been putting forward are not helpful, said Crockett. WASHINGTON, DC OCTOBER 23: U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) arrives at a House Republican candidates forum where congressmen who are running for Speaker of the House will present their platforms in the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill on October 23, 2023 in Washington, DC. Members of the GOP conference will hear from the now eight candidates who hope to succeed former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who was ousted on October 4 in a move led by a small group of conservative members of his own party. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) Same thing on student loans. They want to basically defund public education and minimize access to resources for those that are pursuing degrees, she added. So that those who come out end up with more debt then they wouldve. Earlier this month, Rep. Shontel Brown, D-Ohio, told theGrio that House Republicans threatened the livelihoods of Black federal workers, adding, Not surprisingly, this is a workforce frequently demonized by conservatives. Brown also noted that 1.6 million Black women and children receiving WIC benefits and over 11 million Black Americans receiving SNAP. A prolonged shutdown, she said, wouldve jeopardized WIC and SNAP benefits, putting millions of people at risk of hunger, food insecurity, and financial harm, she added. In September, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told theGrio that House Republicans behavior is reckless and if they dont take action, a government shutdown would harm Black Americans. Parts of the government are currently being funded through Jan. 19 and Feb. 2. Congress will have to pass additional legislation to avoid any further threats of shutdown. In an earlier interview with theGrio, Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said the Republican-controlled House has been dysfunctional. The eleven months of Republican-led dysfunction in the House stands in stark contrast to the previous historic two years that delivered investments in communities across the country to lower costs, increase wages, and create more jobs, said Horsford. Dysfunction in the House aside, Congresswoman Crockett said, Democracy is on the line as it pertains to Trumps influence in Congress. She added, I just dont think that we can afford to not take it seriously. TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Android TV. Please download theGrio mobile apps today! The post Crockett says House Speaker Johnsons ties to Trump could devastate Black Americans appeared first on TheGrio. CRYSTAL RIVER, Fla (WFLA) Monday marked the third month in a missing Citrus County mans disappearance. Derek Anthony Windler, 38, was last seen on Aug. 27 in the Crystal River area, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. He was reported missing two days later after his family failed to reach him. Windler was believed to be travelling in a black, 2005 GMC Sierra, but deputies did not know which direction he was heading. His truck was found in Homosassa in early September, but there was so sign of him, according to the Citrus County Sheriffs Office. Winder is described as a white male with black hair and blue eyes, according to FDLE. He is 504 tall and weighs 120 lbs. He has tattoos on both of his arms and his back. Anyone who has seen Windler or has ifnormation regarding his whereabouts is urged to call the Citrus County Sheriffs Office at 352-249-2790. To remain anonymous and to be eligible for a reward, contact Crime Stoppers of Citrus County at 1-888-ANY-TIPS (888-269-8477) or online at Crime Stoppers Citrus. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. LaTasha Fitzwilliam says she cooks with simple ingredients at her new cafe, but her food tastes extra special because its mostly seasoned with love. I have a passion and love for this that I think is going to separate me from someone else, she told the Courant. Cooking with love is like youre not cooking because you have to. Fitzwilliam, 34, recently fulfilled her dream of opening her own business, The Spot Cafe, 649 Burnside Ave., East Hartford. The location was previously home to Rosas Cafe & Bakery, which announced its closure in August due to risings costs and personal reasons. Fitzwilliam, once a grill cook at Rosas, serves breakfast and lunch at the new place. While the business is not a bakery as Rosas partly was, doughnuts are made there as well as the Latino pastries that Rosas made popular. Fitzwilliam, who grew up cooking and watching Food Network, loves to see the smiles of satisfaction on customers faces when they take a bite of her breakfast burritos, home fries, popular Cuban sandwich or anything else. I love to hear the feedback and see the empty plates, she said. Every time I put something out there a little piece of me goes with it. Love is such a strong theme for her that the wall decoration includes an image of a coffee cup with steam in the shape of hearts coming off the top. Fitzwilliam worked as a grill cook at Rosas in 2021 and later left for a higher paying job in the food industry. But she stressed Rosas owner Edna Cruz was a wonderful boss and person. After leaving, Fitzwilliam, who lives five minutes from the cafe, would stop in occasionally to say hello, and grab a bite. When she visited in March, she learned from the family they were looking to sell. Fitzwilliam tried everything she could to get a loan, but to no avail, until an aunt stepped up to help. Now shes living the dream so dreamy that she still cant believe it. I love it, everything about it. I dont believe it. Fitzwilliam said. I dont know when its all going to hit me. Fitzwilliam said she kept a lot of what Rosas had on the menu and added some items, such as pancakes, French toast and on Sundays only, waffles. She kept the Rosas breakfast special, two eggs, choice of meat, home fries, toast, in honor of the family. Cruz said she named the cafe after her mother, Rosa, who helped anyone who needed a meal. The lunch menu at The Spot Cafe includes Philly cheese steak, chicken Philly, tuna salad, chicken salad and The Cuban, a customer favorite sandwich. One customer recently told Fitzwilliam hers were the best home fries theyd ever had. It made my day, she said. They also serve coffee, tea and Hosmer Mountain Soda. The color scheme in The Spot Cafe is red, white, black, and grey, the first three colors a nod to Trinidad, from where her parents came. Fitzwilliam said the cafes hours and proximity to home are perfect for her family life. On Sundays she brings her daughter, 4, to work, as she can spend time with her and is one of the ways that demonstrates how the cafe is child and family friendly. I want everybody to feel like were family when they come in, she said. Customers who weighed in on the new cafe in online reviews say the service is fast and the food is great. The Cuban sandwich is a fan favorite, as well as the desserts. One reviewer wrote: Best place in East Hartford for breakfast and lunch and wait to see what else is in store for this place. Another wrote: Delicious Iced Coffee and the Cuban is my favorite SO DELISH! Another summed her feelings up with, Yummy. The cafe is open Tuesday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday from 7a.m. to 3p.m. and Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon is taking part in a hunger strike, alongside other activists and politicians, to pressure President Biden to demand a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The former New York gubernatorial candidate, 57, was among speakers announcing the demonstration during a press conference outside the White House on Monday, The Guardian reports. The move was initially intended to coincide with the end of the four-day truce between Israels military and Hamas, which has now been extended for at least another two days. While the And Just Like That stars fast will end Tuesday as she returns to New York for professional commitments, the other activists intend to fast until Friday. Noting that she is the mother of Jewish children whose grandparents are Holocaust survivors, Nixon went on to say that, since the conflict began in early October, Israel has killed more civilians on a tiny strip of land than was killed in 20 years of war in the entire country of Afghanistan. The two-time Emmy winner said she is sick and tired of people explaining away by saying that civilian casualties are a routine toll of war. There is nothing routine about these figures. There is nothing routine about these deaths, she said. The actor also added a personal plea to President Biden, who has experienced such devastating personal loss. She implored Biden to connect with an empathy that he has acknowledged and to look at the children of Gaza and imagine that they were his children. On Oct. 7, Hamas, which runs Gaza, attacked killed at least 1,200 people in Israel many of whom were civilians and took over 200 hostages. Over 6,000 children are among the nearly 15,000 people who have so far been killed amid the Israeli offensive, per Gazas health ministry. The territorys residents have also contended with shortages of food, water and fuel for several weeks. Nixons participation in the fast comes as other actors have lost jobs and representation after making controversial remarks about the conflict. Last week, Scream star Melissa Barrera was dropped from the rebooted franchise after comments the studio, and others, viewed as perpetuating antisemitic tropes and promoting hate speech. The week prior, Susan Sarandon attended a pro-Palestinian rally in New York City, where she also advocated for a cease-fire and said: There are a lot of people that are afraid, afraid of being Jewish at this time, and are getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country, so often subjected to violence. The Oscar winner was subsequently dropped by United Talent Agency. Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic, has criticised the insufficient supply of military equipment to Ukraine and the non-fulfilment of already given promises. Source: Pavel in an interview with Corriere della Sera, as reported by European Pravda. Pavel admitted that Western supplies of military equipment are not enough for Ukraine to continue the high-intensity operation. "We did not keep our promises regarding the supply of artillery ammunition to the Ukrainians, the F-16 training did not start as quickly as it should have," he said. He also mentioned that after the delivery of Storm Shadow missiles from the United Kingdom and similar missiles from France, Ukraine expected to receive German Taurus missiles. But Berlin has yet to decide whether to supply these missiles or not. "This creates an imbalance in supplies, and uncertainty is not a good basis for military planning," Pavel noted. The president of the Czech Republic also urged the West not to weaken its support for Ukraine; otherwise, the next year will be more favourable for Russia. Background: The president of Latvia, Edgars Rinkevics, believes that Moscow may start aggression against the countries of the eastern flank of NATO in the future if it perceives the outcome of the war in Ukraine to be a victory for Russia. Support UP or become our patron! Petr Pavel, the President of Czechia, has urged the West not to lessen its support for Ukraine otherwise the coming year might be more favourable for Russia. Source: Petr Pavel in an interview with Corriere della Sera, as reported by European Pravda Details: Pavel stressed that as a president, he sees the situation in Ukraine not only from the military perspective, but also in terms of moral values. "We have no choice but to give Ukraine everything for it to fulfil its goal of restoring its sovereignty and control over its borders: anything less would be a defeat for us," he said. Pavel also believes that a victory for Russia would signal to other regimes that they can achieve their goals by force and can count on the weakness of Western democracies. He said that the next year will be even more difficult for Ukraine and the coming winter will be a major challenge, drawing attention to the fact that a large share of Ukrainian infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed and cannot be fully rebuilt even with the help of Ukraines Western allies. "People will have a tough time. Meanwhile, the indecisiveness of the countries that support Ukraine will create a growing sense of frustration. Naturally, this creates a situation that is not very conducive to the continuation of counteroffensive operations," the Czech president said. Pavel explained that the winter will give Russia time to recover, especially given that Russias industry is now operating in war mode: "They are manufacturing a lot more large-calibre ammunition and more tanks and are recruiting more soldiers. They are negotiating supplies with several countries. If we waste the opportunity to maintain our support for Ukraine, next year might be even more favourable for Moscow. This year is key to laying the foundations for success, but next year will be more difficult," Pavel concluded. Background: Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics has said he believes that Russia might attack the Baltic states if it comes to believe it has won in Ukraine. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said he expects the Ukrainian Armed Forces to make progress in their fight against the Russian occupying forces, but warned: "We must be prepared for the long haul". Support UP or become our patron! The current Western defense deliveries to Ukraine were insufficient to maintain a high-intensity operation, Czech President Petr Pavel said when discussing Kyiv's counteroffensive in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera published on Nov. 27. Kyiv's partners did not keep their promise to provide enough artillery shells, and the training on F-16 aircraft is not proceeding as fast as it should, Pavel noted. In turn, Russia ramped up arms production and mobilization efforts and secured 1 million shells from North Korea, he added. If the West misses its opportunity to support Ukraine, next year could be more favorable to Moscow, Pavel warned. The president also pointed out that winter hardships, exacerbated by damaged infrastructure and coupled with growing hesitation among Western partners, will likely cause frustration among Ukrainians and may undermine counteroffensive operations. Pavel believes that the allies still have an opportunity to change the current situation and tip the balance in Ukraine's favor. Russia's defeat is in the West's interests, as Moscow's victory would demonstrate the weakness of democratic powers to other regimes in the world, he stressed. "We have no choice but to give Ukraine everything it needs to succeed in its mission to restore sovereignty and control of its borders: anything less will be our failure," Pavel, a former NATO Military Committee chair, commented. Signs of fatigue and hesitation have been becoming visible among Kyiv's allies, linked by some to the limited success of Ukraine's counteroffensive and the breakout of conflict in Gaza. Political forces skeptical of Ukraine aid have been growing stronger both in the U.S. and the EU, undermining support efforts and causing concern for the future of the pro-Kyiv alliance. In his earlier statement on Nov. 9, Pavel said that battlefield developments do not indicate Ukraine can gain the upper hand militarily. He added that time favors Russia and urged the West to commit to long-standing support to prevent Moscow from securing any kind of victory. Read also: Francis Farrell: Ukraine could still lose the war. Lets get some things straight Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. After Joseph Maldonado-Passage, known professionally as Joe Exotic and nicknamed The Tiger King, commented on actress Hilary Duffs Thanksgiving Day post on Instagram with three heart emojis, the imprisoned reality TV star pleaded with Duffs husband Matthew Koma to get me out of here. That led to an even longer conversation between the two wherein Koma offered to visit Maldonado-Passage, all the while the 60-year-old is incarcerated at The Federal Medical Center Fort Worth, a federal prison for individuals with medical issues. The former Oklahoma zookeeper famous for popular 2020 Netflix docuseries Tiger King was sentenced to 21 years in prison after being found guilty of a murder-for-hire plot against Carole Baskin, animal rights activist and CEO of Big Cat Rescue. In 2021, Maldonado-Passage announced that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Maldonado-Passage was transferred in 2021 from FMC Fort Worth to FMC Butner in North Carolina for cancer treatment but has since been moved back to Fort Worth. This year, Exotic announced that would be running in the 2024 presidential election as a Democrat. Aside from posting on Instagram, his social media accounts on TikTok and X are also regularly active, but how exactly is he doing that? Do people in federal prisons have social media access? Emery Nelson, a spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, told the Star-Telegram that incarcerated individuals do not have access to the internet, nor do they have access to social media. Incarcerated individuals do not have access to computers in the same way or with the same capabilities as someone in the public would, Nelson said. Individuals may access Trust Fund Limited Inmate Computer System (TRULINCS) computer terminals to conduct various activities (e.g., electronic messaging, law library research, review discovery material, modify telephone numbers on their phone lists, send funds, and view unit management messages). Many incarcerated individuals who have ongoing legal cases and electronic discovery material may be provided access to specialized or government-issued laptops that allow them to view legal material and digital discovery that is sent directly to them from defense counsel or the government, he added. These laptops are in addition to the regular discovery computers. All discovery computers and laptops are set to only allow the viewing of approved discovery material and do not have the ability to connect to the internet or transmit/receive information wirelessly. How is Joe Exotic posting on social media from a Fort Worth prison facility? With that, the mystery remains as to how exactly Maldonado-Passage is using social media to weigh in on controversies, present his hot takes and not so hot takes, promote his presidential campaign or assert that he should be freed from prison. Never knew that Joe Exotic was the voice of reason we all needed when it comes to this ordeal pic.twitter.com/v4Hxjmw23r Filet-O-Fish Social Club Founder (@casteeezy) June 23, 2023 Months ago, MovieMaker Magazine theorized that Joe Exotic has either snuck in a phone or someone is posting under his name. However, in a letter he addressed to MovieMaker to debunk those claims, he writes in part: I can assure you that what is posted on my social media comes from me and me only. My team gets in the mail 6-10 posts a day from me in the mail. They control the comments and likes but the rest is all me, sir! As a kid growing up in central Illinois, Peter Nelsons family had a Sunday ritual. He and his eight siblings packed into their dads station wagon and headed along Route 26 in Princeton, turning on a country road that would eventually take them to a park on the bank of Big Bureau Creek. The highlight of those outings was always the drive across the Red Covered Bridge, its wooden planks creaking as the family wagon slowly traversed the 149-foot span. Advertisement It was thrilling, Nelson, 68, remembered. Im sure other families have that same ritual and memory. The Red Covered Bridge in Princeton, Illinois, was severely damaged on Nov. 16, 2023, after a truck tried to cross the historic structure. Built in 1863, it's believed to be one of only five 19th century covered bridges left in Illinois. (Michael Vaughn) Indeed, the 160-year-old bridge is woven into the fabric of the community. Generations of children used to jump from gaps in its red-clad cedar siding for a swim on hot summer days, or ice skate in its shadow when the creek froze for the winter. Today, it serves as a backdrop for wedding and graduation photos. Its image is used to draw visitors to Princeton, population 7,800, and the surrounding county, 115 miles west of Chicago. Advertisement But the future of the local landmark believed to be one of only five 19th century covered bridges left in Illinois is uncertain. On Nov. 16, despite multiple signs warning against doing so, the driver of an 18-wheeler tried to cross the bridge, causing extensive damage to the structure. The community is positively devastated over this, said Lex Poppens, executive director of the Bureau County History Center. Its such an iconic part of this area. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, the Red Covered Bridge has undergone several upgrades over the last three decades. But a fair portion dates to its construction in 1863. Nelson, who serves as Princetons city clerk as well as the towns planning and zoning administrator, said the truck destroyed several overhead support beams, which caused the roof to partially collapse at the northern end of the bridge. As a result, the walls at the northern end bow outward. As the truck continued through the bridge, it crushed the northern facade. It also splintered into a half-dozen pieces the original sign hanging over the southern entry that warned visitors of a $5 fine for driving more than twelve horses, mules or cattle at one time or for leading any beast faster than a walk on or across this bridge. The full extent of the damage is unknown. Engineers with the Illinois Department of Transportation, the agency responsible for maintaining the state-owned bridge, are still conducting a full inspection and structural evaluation. IDOT officials said it could be weeks or months before that process concludes and the agency can make recommendations on needed repairs or restoration work. This isnt the first time the bridge has been damaged by truck traffic. In April 2021, a lost truck driver was rerouted by GPS to Red Covered Bridge Road, where he tried to pass through the bridges northern end. He stopped as soon as he heard his truck scraping against the wood, Nelson said, but not before he cracked the north facade and a few cedar panels. Advertisement In response, additional signs were erected on either side of the bridge that warn of its height and weight restrictions. The driver who caused last months damage, identified by Illinois State Police as a 64-year-old woman from Alabama, told police that she missed her turn and was rerouted by GPS to the bridge, which is just north of an industrial park near Route 26 and Interstate 80. State Police issued her a written warning, the agency said. She could not be reached for comment. Photographs taken immediately after last weeks incident identify the trucking company as Wynn Logistics in Vernon Hills. According to KWQC and others, the company issued a statement calling the drivers actions reckless, and saying she will be terminated and well make sure that companies who want to hire her will know about it. The statement goes on to say the company would work with its insurance provider to facilitate the restoration of the bridge to its original state. The company appears to have deleted its Facebook page, and a person who answered the phone last week declined to comment before hanging up on a Chicago Tribune reporter. The Red Covered Bridge in Princeton, Illinois, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. (Michael Vaughn) While IDOT engineers finish their inspection, Nelson and others question how to prevent further damage to the bridge. Advertisement One possible option would be to erect bars that stand just under 12 feet the same height as the bridges clearance over the roadway approaching both sides of the bridge. That way, if truck drivers clip the overhead bar, theyll know not to continue through the bridge. They can restore the bridge, perhaps, but can you restore people using their heads when theyre approaching the bridge? asked Nelson. Similar conversations have taken place 130 miles northeast of Princeton, in Long Grove, where officials considered placing overhead bars near the Robert Parker Coffin Bridge. Built in 1906, the wooden cover was added in the 1970s in an attempt to keep trucks off the iron truss bridge, which has a 5-ton weight limit. In 2018, a box truck caused significant damage to that wooden cover. Since then, and despite multiple warning signs, its been struck dozens of times. [ Learn more about the strange psychology behind the crashes at Long Grove's covered bridge ] Afternoon Briefing Weekdays Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy > In Princeton, a more difficult discussion centers on whether the Red Covered Bridge should continue to be open to vehicle traffic. Of the states five remaining covered bridges built in the 19th century, the Red Covered Bridge is the only one people can still drive across. No one wants to see it be a park area with no traffic like the other covered bridges, Nelson said. But maybe thats the reality to preserve the bridge? Meanwhile, residents in Princeton and the surrounding Bureau County are holding their collective breaths as they wait to learn whether their beloved bridge can be saved. Advertisement I think the bridge has been such a part of so many peoples lives in this county, said Poppens. Its such an iconic part of this area. jbullington@chicagotribune.com A locked-up Charlie Adelson spent an astonishing amount of time on the phone with his mom and perhaps others using her cell in the roughly week-long span between his conviction and her arrest in the murder of their former in-law, Dan Markel. Adelson, a Fort Lauderdale periodontist, was found guilty Nov. 6 after an eight-day trial in Leon Circuit Court for first-degree murder, conspiracy and solicitation in Markel's 2014 death. His mom, Donna Adelson, was arrested Nov. 13 on the same charges after she and her husband tried to board a flight out of Miami with one-way tickets to Vietnam, which has no extradition treaty with the United States. Charlie Adelsons call log from the Leon County Detention Facility, obtained by the Tallahassee Democrat through a public records request, shows he racked up 2,118 minutes more than 35 hours in jail calls during that fateful week. He made a total of 86 phone calls, though some were not completed, all to the same phone number, which according to court records belongs to Donna Adelson. The sheer volume of calls which are monitored and recorded and fair game for prosecutors to use against defendants was breathtaking for a case with so much evidence involving wire taps and incriminating conversations between members of the Adelson family and others. What prosecutors say Charlie and Adelson talked about on 'multiple calls' After Donna Adelsons arrest, investigators pointed to multiple calls between Charlie Adelson, who has been held at the Leon County jail since his arrest last year, and his mom, who was presumably in Miami at the time but now is behind bars in the same facility as her son. In the calls, Donna Sue Adelson is telling Charles Adelson that she is getting things in order, creating trusts, and making sure her grandchildren are taken care of, arrest records state. Donna discusses plans for a suicide, but also discusses plans to flee to a non-extradition country. Donna Sue Adelson has considerable financial resources to accomplish this. Donna Adelson sits in the Leon County Detention Facility for her first court appearance Nov. 21, 2023. Beyond that glimpse into their conversations, its unclear exactly what all the Adelsons talked about on the calls. Both the Leon County Sheriffs Office and the State Attorneys Office denied requests by the Democrat for copies of recordings of the calls. The State Attorneys Office said that they will become public record once discovery is exchanged between prosecutors and Donna Adelsons defense lawyers. FBI Agent Pat Sanford, the bureaus lead investigator in the Markel murder, seized Donna Adelsons white Apple Iphone the night she was arrested, according to an affidavit to search her phone that was filed less than 48 hours later. Court records say Donna Adelson attempted to pull away and prevent the agent from taking her phone and that she said she had been told not to give it to law enforcement. However, calls to the phone appear to still be going to the Adelson family. On Monday, a Democrat reporter called the phone number, and a man, who did not identify himself, answered. Its not clear whether that person was Donna Adelsons husband, retired dentist Harvey Adelson, who has not been charged. Charlie? the man asked. After the reporter identified himself, the man said, You know what, Id love to talk to you but not right now. Assistant State Attorney Georgia Cappleman, the lead prosecutor in the Markel case, confirmed that Donna Adelsons phone had in fact been confiscated. It was seized, she said in a text. No reason HA (Harvey Adelson) could not have her calls forward to his phone now though." Markel a Florida State University law professor, was fatally shot July 18, 2014, in the garage of his Betton Hills home by two hired killers, Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera, who were later convicted in his murder along with Charlie Adelsons former girlfriend, Katie Magbanua. It came during a bitter court battle between Markel and his ex-wife, Wendi Adelson, over their two sons which prosecutors say provided the motive for the crime. Wendi Adelson, who took the stand for a third time during her brothers trial, denied her family was involved. Jail records: Charlie Adelson and his mom talked every day Charlie Adelson called his mom at least once a day from jail from the start of his trial Oct. 23 until jurors returned guilty verdicts earlier this month, according to the log. But the calls increased greatly in number and duration after his conviction, which turned the heat up on his mom and prompted widespread speculation that she would be the next person charged in Markels murder. From Oct. 23 through Nov. 6, Charlie Adelson made a total of 116 phone calls to his moms phone totaling more than 2,343 minutes or just over 39 hours. Some 90% of the calls were made starting the night of his conviction and running through his moms arrest. Charlie Adelson rubs his face as he waits for his defense attorney Daniel Rashbaum to present closing arguments in his trial for the murder of Dan Markel on Monday, Nov. 6, 2023. Five of the calls were flagged as three-way call detected, the records show. Under the jails 2017 inmate guide, which is being revised, third-party calls are not allowed. The single longest call which lasted nearly two hours occurred on Nov. 7, the day after the conviction of Charlie Adelson, who faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison. The day of his mom's arrest, he spent nearly two and a half hours on the phone. All jail calls are monitored or recorded with the exception of conversations between inmates and their lawyers. And while the jail used to restrict phone calls to no longer than 15 minutes, it loosened those rules in the wake of the pandemic. Donna Adelson, who is charged with murder in the 2014 killing of law professor Dan Markel, was booked early Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023, into the Leon County Detention Facility. Angela Green-Sherrod, spokeswoman for the Leon County Sheriffs Office, said incarcerated individuals can make collect and pre-paid calls using phones located in each of the pods or electronic tablets that each one is issued. She said the technology was implemented during the pandemic, when the detention facility moved from on-site to video inmate visitation. As a result of this integration, limitations on phone usage were reevaluated, and inmates now have increased opportunities for communication with those tablets, she said in an email. Usage of both is restricted during facility lockdowns and shift changes. Charlie Adelson's call log shows his debit account was charged for only a fraction of the calls, some 115 minutes, totaling $18.72, not including fees and taxes. It wasn't entirely clear whether the remaining calls were collect. Defense attorney: Jail calls can be 'nail in the coffin' for defendants Mutaqee Akbar, a noted Tallahassee criminal defense lawyer, said inmates dont have to wait to use the phone like they did before COVID. They essentially have unfettered access to phones and tablets, absent a lockdown, allowing them to make calls at will. As long as theres not a shutdown going on, they can just use the phone as long as they have money on it, he said. And somebody like Adelson who has an unlimited amount of money, thats pretty much like having a cell phone in his cell. All he needs is somebody to just put money on his phone in order to make whatever phone calls that he wants to make. He was surprised, however, by the amount of time Charlie Adelson spent on the phone, particularly the week leading up to his mom's arrest. "Five hours a day does seem long," he said. Akbar said he advises his clients who are in jail to stay in touch with family and friends via the phones and to talk about general things but definitely not about the case. He said law enforcement and prosecutors in particular mine recorded phone calls for evidence they can use in court. Charlie Adelson is cross examined by Assistant State Attorney Georgia Cappleman during his trial for the murder of Dan Markel on Friday, Nov. 3, 2023. He said hes seen defendants deny allegations in court only to admit to them in jail calls. In other cases, defendants have spoken to someone theyve been ordered not to communicate with or have given instructions for a witness not to testify. It happens all the time, Akbar said. Weve seen it all. It could be that nail in the coffin a lot of times. And it could be the difference between weve got a triable case and youve got to take this plea. Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or 850-599-2180. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Charlie Adelson spent 35 hours on phone with mother Donna before arrest From the The Morning Dispatch on The Dispatch Happy Tuesday! Wed like to offer our congratulations to Delilah, a critically endangered Sumatran rhino, who did her part for the species over the weekend when she welcomed a 55-pound male calf. He joins a very small familythere are fewer than 50 Sumatran rhinos left in the world, all of them in Indonesia. Quick Hits: Todays Top Stories A Complete Lunatic Hooligan Faction Police officers patrol Dublin on November 24, 2023 to counter violence and unrest sparked by school stabbings. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) A middle-aged man wielding a knife attacked a line of young children outside a Dublin school on Thursday afternoon, injuring three children and leaving a five-year-old girl and a teaching assistant who tried to defend the kids in critical condition. Bystanders intervened to stop the attacker before he could injure more people. The suspected assailantan Algerian-born naturalized citizen whos lived in Ireland for 20 years and been arrested multiple timesis in custody and being treated for serious injuries. The brazen attack in broad daylight sent shockwaves throughout the city and country, and sparked some of the worst rioting and looting Ireland has seen in decades. The mayhem, fanned by online extremists denounced as far-right by Irish leaders, came as a surprise to some as Ireland has largely avoided the rise of anti-immigrant political factions and unrest more common in continental Europe. Whether the riot represents a high-water mark for such turmoil or a harbinger of worse unrest remains to be seen, as Ireland concurrently navigates high levels of immigration, a housing crunch, and a vocal fringe of hard-right activists. Just hours after last weeks attack, early reports that the perpetrator was a foreign-born national began to circulate online andegged on by far-right provocateursanti-immigrant protesters gathered near the scene of the stabbing. Protesters pushed into the crime scene, and violence broke out as the crowds grew to approximately 500 people. The Garda Siochana, the Irish national police, said an initially smaller group of protesters was joined by others looking to take advantage of a lawless situation. A smoke signal went up to every thug on TikTok in the city that Dublin was a free-for-all, one officer said, and Irish Times reporters present during the riot noted that groups of teenage boys joined in the chaos. Rioters burned police vehicles, city buses, and even the tram along a main thoroughfare in the center of the city, clashing with police throughout the evening. They damaged and looted storefronts and attacked two refugee housing facilities before police restored order late Thursday night. What we saw last night was an extraordinary outbreak of violence, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said the next day. These are scenes that we have not seen in decades. The riot police mobilization was the largest in the countrys history, according to Irelands justice minister, and authorities have arrested 34 people so farbut plan to arrest more as investigators review footage of the rioting. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, the leader of the center-right Fine Gael party, condemned the violence. Yesterday our country experienced two terrible attacks, he said. The first an attack on innocent children, the second an attack on our society and the rule of law. What precipitated the violent outbreak? In recent months, Ireland has experienced smaller-scale anti-immigrant protests by groups touting slogans like Irish Lives Matter and Ireland is full. In September, anti-immigrant and nationalist activists staged a protestopposing not only asylum seekers and refugees but the countrys pandemic, transgender, and hate-speech policiesoutside the Irish parliament, where they harassed lawmakers and even erected mock gallows. Those present included representatives of small, upstart factions with anti-immigrant views like the Irish Freedom Party, the Ireland First Party, and the National Party (NP). The latter described last weeks rioting as a spontaneous and organic eruption of righteous anger. Whilst the National Party does not endorse any illegal activity, yesterday evenings events were an outburst of passion in response to overt injustice, an NP statement read. Irelands open borders immigration policy has allowed the dregs of foreign countries to settle in Ireland, often being entitled to housing and welfare whilst Irish people struggle. There were more than 160 anti-immigrant protests or migrant housing protests in Dublin between January and mid-August 2023, according to the Garda, following a spike in such demonstrations in 2022. More recently, the groups have highlighted in their messaging high-profile murders committed last year by foreign-born immigrants. But for now, these far-right parties arent represented by elected officials in governmentin fact, the 220-seat bicameral parliament has no far-right members. The majority of people are not voting for them, Gail McElroy, a professor of political science at Trinity College Dublin, told TMD. All of the major parties from the center right through the far left are surprisingly pro-immigration. Even the term far right is a relatively new descriptor in Irish politics, given the fringe status of these groups, according to McElroy. Its not a term that would be used regularly to describe Irish politics, she said. It is new in the context of Irish politics and the narrative around the Irish party-policy space. The newness of the Irish far right is one reason why the riots came as a surprise to so manyand likely contributed to government officials willingness to emphasize the role of extremist groups in their response. We have a complete lunatic hooligan faction driven by far-right ideology, Harris, the police commissioner, said of the rioters. In May, Harris described the far right as a small faction in Ireland that isnt growing. Confrontation, which plays into their [the far rights] hands, is a trap were not falling into, he added. In the wake of the historic riots, Prime Minister Varadkar is pushing lawmakers to pass controversial legislation that would make it easier for the government to prosecute incitement and punish hate speech. We will modernize our laws against incitement to hatred and hatred in general, he said last week. Our incitement to hatred legislation is just not up to date. Its not up to date for the social media age. Rights groups, including the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, have called for changes to the legislation as currently written, arguing the bills ambiguity could undermine freedom of expression. Some observers dont see last weeks riot as a sign of the growth of the far right in Ireland. Certainly, the spark was lit on social media by people who do hold far-right, anti-immigrant views, but not all of the 500 people on the street were people with a deep political philosophy, McElroy told TMD. I dont think it should be blown out of proportion. There isnt some extreme far right on the rise in Europe in Ireland. Its difficult to say the far right is on the rise when the movement lacks a single elected representative in the parliamentalthough some of the fringe parties are no doubt looking to change that fact in the next general election, which could be held next year. But researchers focusing on extremism in Ireland warn that additional unrest might not be far off. The online world where mis/disinfo thrives in Ireland is growing [and] is fuelling offline hostility [and] violence, said Ciaran OConnor, a senior analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a London-based think tank that researches extremism and disinformation. [The] events of Thursday night were shocking but not all that surprising for people whove watched these spaces seriously the past few years. Last Monday, the institute published a study on Irelands information ecosystem, analyzing millions of social posts and finding that the pandemic catalyzed the spread of false and misleading health information online. The same actors involved in propagating false information about the pandemic shifted to other topicsincluding immigrationafter pandemic restrictions ended, the study found. In this landscape, misinformation surrounding social and economic pain points have a tendency to spreadand last weeks turmoil could be just the beginning. I think its a potential harbinger, Jane Suiter, a professor at Dublin City University who studies disinformation, told TMD. Ireland also faces a housing and affordability crisis, magnified by population growth fueled by elevated immigration, that will continue to add pressure to the situation. Theres [a] housing crisis everywhere, and its particularly acute in Dublin, Suiter said. People see the waiting list for their family doctor growing. They see its harder for themselves or their kids to get accommodation, or somebody is homeless. Theres all sorts of capacity constraints in Ireland. While the Irish economy is performing relatively well, the influx of migrantsnearly one in five people in Ireland in December 2022 was foreign-born, according to EUROSTAThas made the housing shortage more severe, and some refugees have even been housed in tents. Hundreds of thousands of renting Irish households receive government assistance to deal with housing costs. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Ireland has also absorbed almost 100,000 Ukrainian refugees into a country with a population of five million. Polls show that, while much of the Irish population holds favorable views of immigration and helping refugees, they also believe theres a limit to what Ireland can provide. A June Ipsos survey, for example, found that 72 percent of respondents felt immigrants contribute a lot to Ireland and 87 percent felt Ireland should help Ukrainian refugees, though a Business Post-Red C poll published just last week found that 62 percent of respondents agreed that Ireland had taken in too many refugees since the start of the war. In the immediate term, Ireland must now focus on recovering from the two terrible attacksone against its children and one against its societysuffered last week. One of several passersby who helped fend off the attacker last week was Caio Benicio, a Brazilian immigrant who came to Ireland last year. I didnt even make a decision, it was pure instinct, and it was all over in seconds, he told reporters after the incident. I have two kids myself, so I had to do something. When asked about the protests that followed the attack, he said, Well I am an immigrant, and I did what I could to try and save that little girl. Worth Your Time For many of us, education simply wasnt complete without a few cursive handwriting lessons. Though instruction in the style has waned over the last decade, its making a comeback in several states curricula as its become clear students may have lost the ability to read historical documents like the Constitutionor letters from grandma. Many states dropped cursive instruction beginning with the 2010s adoption of the Common Core, a set of shared standards in English and math, Sara Randazzo reported for the Wall Street Journal. It says nothing about cursive, only that by first grade, students should be able to print all upper- and lowercase letters. Common Cores backers have said cursive took a back seat to technology and skills like typing that children need in the modern world. In Indiana, state Sen. Jean Leising has put a cursive bill forward each year for a dozen years, only to have it killed by the Indiana House Education Committee. My whole premise when I started this was, gee, if kids cant be taught cursive, theyre not even going to have a signature, Leising said. Over the years, people have shared horror stories of a cursive-illiterate generation with her, including a land appraiser who had to fire a young man because he couldnt go to the courthouse and read old land-transfer documents, and a family whose 15-year-old son couldnt sign his name at the passport counter. Presented Without Comment Reason: Elizabeth Warren Wants the Government to Investigate Americas Sandwich Shop Monopoly Also Presented Without Comment NBC News: Southwest Airlines Passenger Hospitalized After Opening Emergency Exit and Climbing onto Wing, Officials Say Toeing the Company Line Its Tuesday, which means Dispatch Live () returns tonight at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT! The team will discuss the news of the week and, of course, take plenty of viewer questions! Keep an eye out for an email later today with information on how to tune in. Our fact checker extraordinaire Alex Demas assessed claims that an IDF helicopter fired on and killed Israelis on October 7. In the newsletters: Kevin argued () in favor of legislative branch supremacy, the Dispatch Politics crew examined Trumps alarming campaign rhetoric, and Nick wondered () how a former vocal Trump critic can rationalize voting for him again. On the podcasts: Sarah and David discuss the Voting Rights Act and look into Elon Musks case against Media Matters for America. On the site: Stirewalt tackles the intractable nature of the immigration debate. Let Us Know We woke up this morning to a new font on The Dispatch website. What do you think? Read more at The Dispatch The Dispatch is a new digital media company providing engaged citizens with fact-based reporting and commentary, informed by conservative principles. Sign up for free. WASHINGTON - New details have emerged about a D.C. police officer who was arrested last week for felony eluding after leading Virginia State Police on a chase. Virginia State Police officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop on Peter McCauley last Wednesday, just before midnight - after he was caught driving 95 mph in a 55 mph zone on 395. Peter McCauley Photo via Alexandria Sheriff's Office McCauley took off, eventually crashing into another driver at the off-ramp intersection of Seminary Road in the City of Alexandria. McCauly's police powers have been revoked by the Metropolitan Police Department. He's on non-contact status while the department's internal affairs division investigates the incident. McCauley has been employed by MPD since June 2020. Earlier this month, another D.C. police officer, John Bewley, was arrested for DUI after court documents alleged that he was impaired when he showed up at the scene of a traffic stop involving his girlfriend who was also suspected of DUI off-duty but in his marked police cruiser. Officer Bewley with the Special Operations Division Emergency Response Team (ERT), has been charged with driving under the influence, resisting arrest and obstructing justice. FILE PHOTO: People hold on to plants as they wade through flood waters after they were displaced following heavy rains in Garsen NAIROBI (Reuters) - Severe flooding caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon has killed 120 people in Kenya, while people in almost 90,000 households have been forced to leave their homes, the government said on Tuesday. The latest estimated death toll in Kenya has doubled as heavy seasonal rains following the worst drought in four decades have submerged towns and villages across East Africa, rendering hundreds of thousands of people homeless. Thousands of homes have been washed away or are marooned, while farmland has been submerged and tens of thousands of livestock drowned, aid agencies said. In neighbouring Somalia floods have killed at least 96 people and displaced 700,000, a disaster management official said. Four counties in eastern Kenya - Tana River, Garissa, Wajir and Mandera - are most severely affected, interior minister Raymond Omollo said. "All major dams are being monitored but Kiambere has a meter remaining to overflow," Omollo said in a statement, referring to the Kiambere Hydroelectric Power Station in Tana River. "We call on those downstream to move to higher ground even as government enhances power generation to mitigate the challenge." The Kenya Meteorological Department forecast that heavy rainfall will continue until January 2024. Climate change is causing more intense and more frequent extreme weather events, according to scientists. In response, African leaders have proposed new global taxes and changes to international financial institutions to help fund climate change action. (Reporting by Humphrey Malalo; Writing by Hereward Holland; editing by Grant McCool) ASHEVILLE - No one's story is the same. It's true of most things, but Debbie Alford, a homeless strategy specialist with the city, said it of homelessness in Asheville. The topic has climbed to the top of City Council's strategic priorities, heightened as population numbers rose in the wake of the pandemic, with unsheltered homelessness seeing a 163% increase from pre-pandemic numbers. It's also a topic awash in misinformation, said Safe Shelter Director Christian Chambers, something he attributes to the rising visibility of homelessness, further exacerbated by the influx of newcomers to the city. A man sleeps at ABCCMs emergency shelter in East Asheville November 22, 2022. Alford often deals in these myths, and her new Homelessness Learning Series is working to debunk several of them. The three-part education series focuses on causes, responses and actions that surround homelessness in Asheville and Western North Carolina. Below, several homeless services experts weigh in on five frequent assumptions around homelessness heard in Asheville and beyond. Myth: Homelessness is caused by substance use or mental illness It's a common misconception, Alford said, that mental health and addiction are the fundamental causes of homelessness. It goes hand-in-hand with the narrative that all people experiencing homelessness are "addicts" or suffering mental health crises. She points to research by Gregg Colburn, author of "Homelessness is a Housing Problem," who along with data journalist Clayton Aldern, sought to explain the substantial variation in rates of homelessness apparent in cities across the country. Researchers tested a range of conventional beliefs about what drives the prevalence of homelessness in a given city, said its website, including mental illness, drug use, poverty, weather, generosity of public assistance and low-income mobility. Solo, 65, first came to Haywood Street in 2014. Ive stayed out here on the streets, and Ive seen what these people go through," Solo said. At 65-years-old, he thought he'd be dead at 25. "Contrary to expectations," they found rates of homelessness tend to be lower where poverty rates are higher. There was no direct correlation between rates of homelessness and drug use, mental illness or the other examples named. When illustrated on a graph, only housing-related factors, including median rent and rental vacancy rates, correlated with regional rates of homelessness. As Alford puts it, while mental health crises and substance use can set people up to be more vulnerable, often developing or worsening while experiencing homelessness, they are considered "precipitating factors," along with things like trauma and natural disaster. But the true cause, she said, is lack of housing. If we had enough housing, it wouldnt matter if a person had a mental health disorder or uses substances, because theres plenty of people that are housed that have those issues going on in their life as well," Alford said. Debbie Alford, a homeless strategy specialist with the city of Asheville. Further complicating the conversation is that for many people, unsheltered and chronic homelessness often the most visible kinds are the experiences they are more likely to see and stereotype. Of the three types of homelessness Alford named short -term, episodic and chronic chronic homelessness is the smallest category, representing 21% of Buncombe County's total homeless population, according to the 2023 point in time count. More: Asheville homeless count numbers released. How do they compare to pre-COVID levels? Chronic homelessness is defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as someone who has a disabling condition such as a diagnosable substance use disorder, serious mental illness or disability and has either been continuously homeless for a year or more or had four episodes of homelessness in the last three years. The majority of people resolve their crisis in a matter of weeks, Alford said. But people won't remember the homelessness they didn't see: someone doubled up on a friend's couch, sleeping in their car or staying in a motel. Marcus Laws, director at AHOPE, Homeward Bound's downtown day center, said pointing to drug or alcohol use is a "go-to excuse" to not engage or not help. Its an easy thing to pick out and say, this is why they cant get it together,'" Laws said. In truth, he said, when you dont have a stable support network or people you can count on, all it takes is a bad accident or mounting bills and the inability to pay those bills to lead to financial instability and eventually homelessness." An encampment along the French Broad River February 1, 2023. Myth: Homeless people are bused into Asheville/arent 'from here' The rumor that unhoused people are being bused into Asheville from other communities is longstanding. It's a myth that has a hold in cities across the country, reporting from the Citizen Times found. Alford said Asheville has even received calls from other municipalities accusing them of busing homeless populations to them, in turn. Thats not a thing thats happening, Alford said. It doesn't play out in the data either, she said. Asheville's latest point in time count, a single night census taken each year in January, found that over 70% of people experiencing homelessness last had housing in Asheville (55.7%) or in Western North Carolina (15.3%). Of the rest, 7.6% had housing in other areas of North Carolina and 21.4% from out of state. More: Fact checking the Asheville busing myth: Are homeless people being bused into the city? Myth: Theres enough shelter space to house everyone who wants it Within its first week, Safe Shelter, a new 20-bed shelter in downtown, was already at capacity, Chambers said. Three weeks since opening, its waiting list is pushing 70 names. Other shelters are in a similar boat. It's simple, he said: Theres not enough room. Even when there is shelter space, Laws said, someone may not be eligible. Barriers might include a pet, being part of a couple, lack of ID, sobriety status or perception of safety. A bad experience with one shelter may stop someone from seeking out a bed at another. Our shelter beds remain pretty full, Alford said. If vacancy rates are low for the area's housing, they're also low for shelter beds. "We dont have beds that are sitting vacant in shelters. A study conducted by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, presented to the city and county in January, found that in 2022, of the 293 total year-round emergency shelter beds available in the Asheville-Buncombe County Continuum of Care for single individuals, only 105 can be accessed by non-veteran single adults compared to the 232 individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness. There are three main shelter providers in Asheville, Alford said: ABCCM, the Salvation Army and Western Carolina Rescue Ministries. There is no year-round high-access shelter option. Myth: People choose to be homeless Often coinciding with the above assertion is the idea that people choose to be homeless. There's no easy answer, Alford said, but when this claim is brought to her, she asks people to "reframe the question." There's often something keeping them from services, she said, be it program commitments, stringent limitations or prior bad experiences. She says people should ask, instead: "If this person isnt engaging in services, then what can we do to engage them? Its not as simple to exit homelessness as one might think, she said. The cost of living is high, affordable housing is minimal, and since the start of the pandemic, rents in Asheville have risen 41.7%. Data from the North Carolina Housing Coalition found that 30% of Buncombe County households are cost burdened. With a fair market rent of $1,466 a month, an annual income of $58,640 is needed to foot the bill. I dont think someone chooses to be degraded or looked over or not considered," Laws said. "And if someone chooses it, from my experience, its usually the result of a lot of trauma or wanting to disassociate from society." Myth: The city isn't doing anything to address homelessness For people who feel no work is being done, Laws said he would encourage them to get informed and talk to providers, Asheville City Council members and Buncombe County commissioners about what is being done. If they looked at what programs and activities are being funded, and what the best practices are through the National Alliance to End Homelessness or North Carolina Coalition to End Homelessness, they will see that these things are in fact happening around the city, Laws said. Marcus Laws, Homeless Services Director with Homeward Bound. I would tell people to get up from where theyre sitting at and get involved. I really do believe it has to be a community effort ... If you have time to complain, you have time to act. Alford encouraged people to come to a learning series. Another round of the free, three-part, hourlong sessions will begin in December. I invite folks to get to know the organizations on the ground working with folks in a housing crisis, she said. Meet the staff. Meet the people using the services. Some of that discomfort, not knowing what to do, is because (people) dont have enough information." Chambers said he feels the city is on a "good path:" not just talking about things, but putting them into action. "I hope it continues," he said. "I hope the community can put the myths aside and decide for themselves, with real investment and firsthand experience, how they can help. More: What's being done to address homelessness in Asheville? Events will highlight response More: Food security in Asheville, Buncombe County threatened by 'socioeconomic perfect storm' Get involved Gregg Colburn, author of "Homelessness is a Housing Problem," will speak as part of the Building Our City Speaker Series on Nov. 30, 6-7 p.m., at the Asheville Masonic Temple. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Register at AshevilleDowntown.org. The series is presented by the Grove Arcade Public Market Foundation and is focused on issues of affordable housing and access to equity. Homeless Initiative Advisory Committee: Meets in the first floor conference room of Asheville City Hall the second Thursday of each month. 9-10:30 a.m. It will not meet in December. Buncombe-Asheville Homeless Coalition: Meets virtually the second Tuesday of each month. 1-2 p.m. To join the mailing list, email bcnc.homeless.coalition@gmail.com. National Alliance to End Homelessness joint work session: Asheville City Council and Buncombe County Commission will meet Dec. 4, from 9 a.m. -12 p.m. to follow up on the January report from the Alliance, with a focus on HIAC's work implementing recommendations, updates on key projects and next steps. It will be held in the Harrah's Cherokee Center banquet hall, 87 Haywood Street. Homelessness Learning Series: All December sessions will be held at Stephens-Lee Community Center from 10-11 a.m. Session 1: Dec. 4, understanding homelessness Causes and local landscape. Session 2: Dec. 11, understanding solutions to homelessness community response, present and future. Session 3: Dec. 18, personal response to homelessness How to partner with local agencies and take action. Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email shonosky@citizentimes.com or message on Twitter at @slhonosky. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times. This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville homelessness myths experts answer 5 common misconceptions A video showing an empty wheelchair bouncing down a ramp from a plane to the tarmac at Miami International Airport has gained national attention. The footage featured on Only in Dade last week, shot by an onlooker tagged on TikTok as @haez93, went viral. An American Airlines worker can be seen mishandling a customers wheelchair at MIA, explains OID on the post set to the Oh No song. A passenger filmed the video after she saw the workers laughing and do it with the first two wheelchairs while she was waiting for her flight. On X, formerly known as Twitter, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg reshared the clip, telling followers that his department will be investigating. This is totally unacceptable, Buttigieg wrote on Nov. 20 of the undated footage. This is exactly why we are taking action to protect passengers who use wheelchairs. Everyone deserves to travel safely and with dignity. Buttigieg also links to a page that reminds folks of the Disability Policy Priorities created last July during a celebration of the 32nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Greg Chin, spokesperson for MIA, told the Miami Herald Monday that wheelchair service is solely the responsibility of the airlines. The passenger in the wheelchair had already boarded before the ramp incident. American Airlines spokeswoman Bri Harper said in a statement that the company had reviewed the video and will be taking necessary next steps. We recognize how important it is to support the independence of customers with disabilities by ensuring the proper care of mobility devices throughout their journey with us, Harper said. This visual is deeply concerning and we are gathering more details so that we can address them with our team. She said that in-house moves are being made, including establishing a customer-accessibility team and installing wheelchair movers and lifts at airports with high mobility device traffic. Miami Herald staff writer Vinod Sreeharsha contributed to this report. A Black man was convicted of murder in the 2014 shooting death of a police officer in a case that raises legal questions about no-knock warrants and the right to self-defense while also highlighting racial disparities in the justice system after a white defendant faced no charges in the killing of a sheriffs deputy the year before under similar circumstances. Marvin Guy, who was jailed nearly a decade ago in connection with the murder of detective Charles Dinwiddle, was found guilty on Nov. 21 after continuing to claim he mistook the officer for an intruder during a May 2014 drug raid in which a SWAT team smashed his bedroom window, prompting him to open fire. The jury, however, did not convict Guy of the more serious charge of capital murder, underscoring a lack of unanimity among the jurors regarding Guys awareness that he was shooting at officers at the time of the incident. Marvin Guy (Photo: YouTube screenshot/KCENNews) His sentencing is scheduled for next week, but he will be spared the death penalty after prosecutors set aside the consideration for capital punishment in an effort to expedite the aging criminal case. The raid that ensnared Guy stemmed from a no-knock warrant obtained by police based on a tip that alleged Guys involvement in cocaine deals, which legally permitted two dozen officers to forcibly enter Guys apartment on May 9, 2014. Due to the warrant, the unit was not required to announce who they were as they tried to breach Guys door with a battering ramhowever, an obstruction inside prevented officers from immediately gaining entry. Moments later, one of the deputies accidentally detonated a stun grenade, sparking a boom that awoke Guy in the middle of the night, culminating in a feverish exchange of gunfire. Living in a high-crime area and hearing no warning from the police outside his door, Guy said he immediately assumed criminals were trying to break into his home after a home invasion just a week before in his neighborhood, in which an intruder crawled through the first-floor window of a woman before assaulting her. Guy claimed the nearby crime made him anxious and led him to open fire on the officers, striking four of them while killing Dinwiddle. In response, police fired a barrage of 40 rounds toward Guy. During the trial, prosecutors argued that Guy knew police were planning to raid his home and that he lay in wait to ambush them. Guys defense attorney, Jon Evans, maintained that he had the right to defend his home as he likely felt afraid for his life. One mans ambush is another man panicked, being scared his home is being broken into, Evans said. Following the operation, authorities claimed to have found traces of suspected drugs throughout Guys apartment and belongings, although no drug charges were ever filed against him. Under Texas law, the Castle Doctrine allows individuals to stand their ground in their homes when facing a perceived deadly threat. However, this protection under the law is greatly diminished if the defendant is engaged in illegal activities, as Guy was. A crucial aspect of Guys defense pointed to various other fatal episodes involving the pre-dawn raids, which typically take the homeowner by surprise while in a state of sleep fog. Once Guy realized it was the police, he said he immediately dropped his weapon and complied with the officers commands. In a remarkably similar case, a Central Texas grand jury opted not to indict Henry Goedrich Magee in February 2014 after he fatally shot Burleson County deputy Sgt. Adam Sowders, who was 31. The deadly shooting happened Dec. 19, 2013, as officers, armed with a no-knock warrant alleging guns and drugs, entered Magees rural home about 90 miles northwest of Houston. During the proceedings, Magees attorney, Dick DeGuerin, used the same argument to defend Magee as Guys attorney would later argue in his trial, saying his client thought his home was being burglarized and was in fear for his life when he grabbed his gun and opened fire. He described Sowders death as a tragic accident, and the grand jury agreed, indicting Magee for third-degree felony marijuana possession while in possession of a firearm. This was a terrible tragedy that a deputy sheriff was killed, but Hank Magee believed that he and his pregnant girlfriend were being robbed, DeGuerin said at the time, adding, He did what a lot of people would have done. He defended himself and his girlfriend and his home. Guys case also echoes the botched sting in which Louisville Police officers opened fire and killed Breonna Taylor in her apartment more than three years ago in a similar no-knock drug raid. At the time, Taylor and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were in bed when they were awakened by banging at the door from what Walker said he believed then were intruders attempting to force their way inside, leading him to fire one shot that ignited a barrage of gunfire from police. Charges against Walker were later dismissed after prosecutors determined he made a legal attempt to defend the home. Cobb County Police want shoppers to be vigilant this holiday season as they are noticing a slight uptick in package thefts throughout Cobb County. Police are currently looking for a delivery driver who was captured on security cameras stealing packages after he delivered them to a home in Smyrna. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell spoke with Meredith Holt with the Smyrna Police Department on Monday. She said this was a delivery driver working for a third-party company to make deliveries for other companies. He took the packages that they had just delivered to the home and left, said Holt. Police say the man picked the packages up from Home Depot and did everything right when he delivered, but hes now charged with a crime for what police say he did afterward. The victim in the case was refunded for the stolen merchandise. A woman says a man wearing an Amazon vest stole packages from her Powder Springs home in October. She says she filed a police report but investigators havent landed on any leads. Its also unclear if the man actually worked for Amazon. It was a timeline of events Sara Ritchey says she didnt expect as she watched it all play out on her security cameras in real-time. Ritchey saw a FedEx driver drop the first package off properly and watched an Amazon driver deliver the second package correctly. He delivers it, puts it where hes supposed to, said Ritchey. Amazon shows up 30 minutes later, delivers our product, takes a picture, closes the order out. As he pulls away you see another gentleman, a completely different gentleman, in an Amazon vest walking toward our house. He grabs the drinks and grabs the cell phone and he walks off. You feel like youve been violated. Your privacy has been violated. TRENDING STORIES: Ritchey says the company re-delivered the products that were stolen. The victim in the first case, told police she was refunded for the stolen items. Police say there are things consumers can do to protect themselves. Have a required signature upon delivery of the package so someone is immediately there, said Holt. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: FILE - Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., speaks to reporters outside the Capitol, in Washington, May 17, 2023. The House Ethics panel says it has found substantial evidence of lawbreaking by Republican Rep. George Santos of New York and has referred its findings to the Justice Department. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) WASHINGTON (AP) House lawmakers from both parties moved Tuesday to force a vote this week on the expulsion of Rep. George Santos, a Republican from New York who was the subject of a scathing ethics investigation released earlier this month and is facing nearly two dozen charges in federal court. Santos responded to the competing expulsion resolutions by taking to the House floor and asking colleagues to understand what kind of precedent it would set for him to be removed before federal charges against him are resolved. He made clear he would not be resigning beforehand. This expulsion vote simply undermines and underscores the precedent that we've had in this chamber, Santos said. It starts and puts us in a new direction, a dangerous one. Santos has survived two prior expulsion votes. But a report released by the House Ethics Committee following a monthslong investigation has prompted new outrage. The report released Nov. 16 was unsparing in its criticism, concluding that Santos sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit. He blatantly stole from his campaign. He deceived donors into providing what they thought were contributions to his campaign but were in fact payments for his personal benefit, the report said. Santos was critical of the committee's investigation, saying it was incomplete, irresponsible and littered with hyperbole and littered with biased opinions. The Ethics Committee did not make any recommendations on how to deal with Santos, saying that doing so would involve a lengthy, trial-like process that would only give Santos more opportunity to delay accountability for his actions. The committee described Santos as uncooperative in its investigation. Instead, the committee simply submitted its report to the House. Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., the panels chairman, then followed up with his resolution to expel Santos. Guest called the evidence uncovered in the investigation more than sufficient to warrant punishment and the most appropriate punishment is expulsion. Rep. Anthony D'Esposito, a New York Republican whose congressional district borders Santos' district, offered the Guest-sponsored resolution on the floor Tuesday. Generally, the sponsor would offer his own measure in the House chamber, but leadership decided it was important for members of the New York delegation to be seen leading the effort. He (Guest) knows how important it is for us New Yorkers, especially us freshman, who ran in a state that's been historically blue. We flipped seats that are important, that made this majority," D'Esposito said. And if we want to keep those seats, I think what we should do is rid ourselves of the stain that is George Santos. Because the resolution is privileged, Speaker Mike Johnson must address it within two days. The vote could occur as soon as Wednesday. The Republican effort came hours after California Rep. Robert Garcia, a Democrat, moved to force an expulsion vote on Santos. He called it a necessary step in the event Republicans failed to act in light of the Ethics Committee's findings. Whatever it takes to get that vote this week is what we're doing, Garcia said. Expelling Santos would require support from at least two-thirds of House members voting. Garcia said he expects the House will reach that number easily, which would make Santos just the sixth member of the House to be removed by his colleagues, and only the third since the Civil War. Many who voted against expulsion earlier this month said it was important to wait on the Ethics panel to complete its investigation. In modern times, it is House precedent that Representatives are only expelled after conviction of a felony," Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., said in a prepared statement. In the matter involving Rep. Santos, the Ethics Committee has now found and documented conduct that is as serious as that of Members who on prior occasions have been expelled following felony convictions. Lofgren voted against expulsion earlier this month. She said precedents are important to follow, but every precedent had a first time" and now she would vote to expel. Johnson said in Florida on Monday that he had spoken to Santos at some length over the Thanksgiving holiday and talked to him about his options, but it was not yet determined how the House would proceed. They spoke again Tuesday. Santos told reporters that Johnson asked how he was doing and whether he had made his decision. I said, yes. I mean, put up or shut up at this point, Santos said. He added that lawmakers want him to resign because they don't want to set a precedent "to their own demise in the future, a reference to expulsion before his federal case is resolved. Santos faces 23 counts, including charges that he stole the identities of donors to his campaign and then used their credit cards to ring up tens of thousands of dollars in unauthorized charges. Santos is also accused of falsely reporting to the Federal Elections Commission that he had loaned his campaign $500,000 when he actually hadnt given anything and had less than $8,000 in the bank. The fake loan was an attempt to convince Republican Party officials that he was a serious candidate, worth their financial support, the indictment said. Whichever expulsion resolution is brought up for a vote this week, Garcia said the vote to expel would be bipartisan. "I think it's going to be overwhelming, he said. Authorities in Burien say an early morning fire beneath a State Department of Corrections building was intentionally set. The fire broke out around 6:48 this morning at the DOC Community Field Office on 8th Avenue Southwest near Old Burien. Flames quickly raced through three state-owned vehicles in the parking lot. A DOC employee escaped the building unharmed. He was working construction across the street when he noticed the fire. Well, I was over here working and happened to look up through the window, this big window where we work at, said Norvel Aesquivel. And there were flames just going up and four vehicles started you know going and exploding flames. I mean we had to rush for a phone to call 911. It didnt take long for investigators to determine that someone had set the fire. Investigators say burn patterns across the three DOC vehicles led them to the melted gas can, confirming their suspicion that the fire was deliberately set. Gasoline was also poured on a fourth vehicle but it did not catch fire. A single DOC employee inside the building managed to get out safely. We heard the fire trucks from inside, said Clyde Figueroa. Came out, saw the flames, the smoke, the firefighters, the police. Figueroa works across from the DOC office. He said by the time he got outside, the vehicles were already ablaze. Still, he is surprised that this has been ruled arson. Pretty scary area, said Figueroa. Its kinda sketchy. People come here all the time. Weve had our windows busted out of our vehicles. Firefighters said the interior of the building was not burned at all. But the office where those on community supervision meet their community corrections officers is now closed, at least for a week. Fire investigators are asking anyone who might have video to come forward. They want to catch the person who did this. Last week, I questioned whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas would be able to hammer out a short-term truce that would include the simultaneous release of hostages on both sides. We received the answer last Tuesday. Working through Qatar, Egypt and the United States, Israel and Hamas reached an agreement that has paused the fighting for six days, compelled Hamas to release more than 50 women and children in its custody (in return for the release of 150 Palestinian women and minors in Israeli jails) and increased the flow of desperately needed humanitarian aid into Gaza. Now, I have one more question: What will happen once the arrangement expires? Advertisement Compared with the first six weeks of the war, the mood today is a bit brighter or as bright as it can be under such depressing circumstances. The six-day truce, painfully negotiated over a period of weeks with multiple breakdowns along the way, has worked fairly well. Whatever violations or disagreements that existed have been resolved quickly thanks to Qatars diligence as a mediator, which has proved indispensable throughout. At the time of writing, Hamas has freed more than 50 hostages, including 4-year old American Abigail Edan. More than 100 Palestinian women and minors, most of whom were locked up for nonviolent offenses, have seen their sentences cut short and have been sent back to their families. Trucks continue to stream into Gaza carrying much-needed food, water and fuel, although at this point in the two-month-old war, no amount of aid will compensate for the fact that most of Gazas 2 million people are now essentially homeless. Gazas reconstruction and rehabilitation will be an expensive and time-consuming task, more so with every day of war that passes. Advertisement The humanitarian truce is good news in an otherwise horrific situation, and it has led to some cautious optimism about what could be in store over the coming weeks. During the Thanksgiving holiday, President Joe Biden expressed his hope that the Israel-Hamas truce would be pushed into this week, which in turn could grease the wheels for an end to the war and a more comprehensive resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. An unnamed Qatari official at the center of the diplomatic effort had a similar assessment: Our hope is that we build on this progress and the momentum of the last 48 hours can be sustained to extend the pause once the current deal expires and lead to further discussions about a more sustainable agreement to end the violence and bloodshed of civilians. On Monday, on the last day of the original four-day truce, those prayers for a longer pause in hostilities were granted. The extension will provide another two days for Hamas to locate and release more hostages, some of whom are being held by smaller Palestinian militant factions. The development serves the interests of both sides. Israel will get more of its citizens out of Hamas clutches and perhaps lessen the international opprobrium over its military operations there; Hamas militants will get to breathe for a few more days without Israeli bombers flying overhead. But lets assume for a moment that the truce continues to be extended. What then? The perpetual optimists among us are anticipating or at least hoping that a few more days of calm will eventually entice Israel and Hamas to cut a more comprehensive cease-fire agreement. A cease-fire, in turn, could serve as a catalyst toward broader talks between Israel and the Palestinians, in which the contours of an ever-elusive two-state solution could be drawn up. This is obviously the best-case scenario. Chicago Tribune Opinion Weekdays Read the latest editorials and commentary curated by the Tribune Opinion team. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy > Unfortunately for the optimists, its also the least likely. Indeed, given the utter lack of goodwill on both sides and the current political leadership dominating Israel and the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority, one could even use the word delusional. For one, Israel has no intention of cutting a cease-fire deal with Hamas. Not now, not ever again. Netanyahu has been down this road on multiple occasions; every single major war with Hamas over the last 15 years (2008-09, 2012, 2014, 2021) eventually ended with a cessation in the fighting that was supposed to establish calm on both sides of the Israel-Gaza border. That worked, until it didnt. Hamas Oct. 7 attack on Israel has upended Netanyahus containment policy. The strategy Israel employed in the past, a combination of military sticks and economic carrots, is no longer politically sustainable. Everything Israeli officials have said in the days since the humanitarian truce was implemented suggests Israel retains the same overall objective: Overthrow Hamas rule in Gaza and destroy the organization in its entirety. According to Gen. Herzi Halevi, Israels top military officer, Israel will return immediately at the end of the cease-fire to attacking in Gaza, operating in Gaza. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant offered much the same sentiment in his remarks: Any further negotiations will be under fire. Meaning, if they (Hamas) want to continue discussing ... it will be while bombs fall and the forces are fighting; thats the basis. Advertisement Hamas isnt about to stop fighting either. Yahya Sinwar, Hamas top military official, is a dead man walking. He knows any cease-fire proposal short of Hamas full surrender and total demobilization will be rejected outright by the Israelis. Having brought misery, death and further deprivation to Gazas people, Hamas is now arguably in its weakest position since it took control of the enclave in 2006. The bottom line: While the last several days of respite shouldnt be minimized or overlooked, we would be kidding ourselves if we thought the end of this war was near. Thats the blunt truth. Daniel DePetris is a fellow at Defense Priorities and a foreign affairs columnist for the Chicago Tribune. Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com. King County deputies are searching for an armed robbery suspect in Fall City, said the sheriffs office Monday night. The sheriffs office told us an armed robbery happened at the Chevron at 4211 Preston-Fall City Road. The suspect reportedly stole cigarettes while displaying a handgun in the waistband of his pants. There were no injuries but deputies, using K-9s and a drone, are searching the area for the suspect. The sheriffs office said it will send updates when available. Ahead of his Thursday evening Fox News debate with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Gov. Gavin Newsom is seeking to burnish his record on homelessness. Newsom announced Monday evening that nearly 5,700 encampments belonging to unhoused people have been cleared from state right-of-way since July 2021. Its unclear how many people were removed from those encampments. In addition, Newsoms office said the state is making available $299 million in grant funding to local governments to tackle homelessness, with half of the money dedicated to continuing the work of clearing encampments. The funds are not new. The state is simply preparing to award another round of money from the Encampment Resolution Funding program it created in 2021. Since day one, combating homelessness has been a top priority. Encampments are not safe for the people living in them, or for community members around them, Newsom said in a statement. The grants will be distributed by the California Interagency Council on Homelessness, with applications open now through June 30, 2024, or when funds are exhausted. The council already has awarded $414 million to 66 communities during the past three years, according to the governors office. Housing is the solution to homelessness, and these grants will help our local partners assist their unhoused neighbors move from dangerous and unsightly encampments into safe and stable places they can call home, said council Executive Officer Meghan Marshall. According to the governors office, the state has spent a total of $750 million so far to help an estimated 23,000 people to get off the streets. The announcement comes as Newsom, a second-term Democrat, looks to inoculate himself from attacks on his track record on homelessness. DeSantis a vocal Republican critic, is a candidate for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. He lags far behind former president Donald Trump in national and primary state polls. Newsom is also championing a bond set to go before California voters in March that would authorize $6.38 billion to be spent on more than 11,150 behavioral health beds and housing and 26,700 outpatient treatment slots for mental health services. Advocates for the unhoused argue that the state is not doing enough to provide adequate housing and shelter. California needs to be addressing homeless encampments immediately by providing real access to affordable housing and shelter for impoverished Californians struggling to make ends meet, Zal K. Shroff of the San Francisco-based Coalition on Homelessness said in a statement in September. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) denounced former President Trumps attacks on top figures that endorsed the governors presidential run, calling his condemnation out of bounds. DeSantis, in an interview Monday evening with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, said people should have the right to have a preference in the primary without being attacked for making an endorsement, referencing Trumps criticism of top Iowa evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R). Trump, who remains the front-runner for the GOP nomination, slammed both for endorsing DeSantis in the 2024 GOP primary. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. I think the attacks against Bob Vander Plaats have been out of bounds, just as I think the attacks against Gov. Kim Reynolds have been out of bounds, DeSantis said. Trump branded Reynolds as the Nations most unpopular governor following her endorsement earlier this month, despite her remaining popular in Iowa. He also called her disloyal and vowed that the move would be the end of her political career. The former president went after Vander Plaats in a post on Truth Social on Saturday, alleging he is more known for scamming candidates than he is for Victory. I dont believe anything Bob Vander Plaats says, Trump said. Anyone who would take $95,000, and then endorse a Candidate who is going nowhere, is not what Elections are all about! Trumps comment referenced a report that the DeSantis campaign, a super PAC tied to his campaign and a nonprofit organization supporting him, paid $95,000 to an organization that Vander Plaats leads called the Family Leader Foundation. DeSantis told Ingraham that the payments were for advertising and participating in programs that the foundation held. Bob Vander Plaatss endorsement is not for sale. Hes got a great reputation, he said. Hes become a friend of Casey and me along the way. Hes very influential in Iowa, and so its a scurrilous charge. Its without merit. If somebody endorses somebody other than you, you dont always have to lash out and attack the person who made the endorsement, DeSantis added. Polls have shown Trump with a significant lead in Iowa, which will hold its caucuses Jan. 15. But he has remained below a majority in FiveThirtyEights polling average, standing at about 45 percent. DeSantis is in second with 17.5 percent, closely followed by former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley at 15.3 percent. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley for not showing interest in a proposed debate with him on Fox News. As he appeared on pundit Laura Ingrahams program Monday, DeSantis was asked why Haley has not accepted an invitation to debate, which the host had proposed she host on her show. Well, she probably wouldnt like what the debate would be about. I mean, I think she has taken very, very establishment-oriented positions, DeSantis said, later adding, Ill debate any of these folks. I think thats what it is all about. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. DeSantis comments were first highlighted by Mediate. DeSantis and Haley are both GOP presidential primary candidates and trail well behind front-runner former President Trump. A loyalty pledge signed by the candidates this year with the Republican National Committee dictates that if they participate in any debate that has not been sanctioned by the RNC, they will not be eligible to participate in any further Republican National Committee sanctioned debates. Trump has not participated in the first three GOP debates, and DeSantis has for weeks been urging the former president to show up and debate he and his fellow Republican hopefuls. The Florida governor is slated to participate in a red vs. blue state debate with California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Thursday evening, which will be moderated by prime-time Fox pundit Sean Hannity. Newsom was speculated at one time to be a potential 2024 Democratic presidential candidate, but has since ruled out a run for the White House. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. A watchdog said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is leading an assault on free expression in Florida. On the extreme side of the ledger, Florida is setting an agenda of unprecedented censorship, rigging the system to favor the speech of those in power and silencing dissenting voices, said PEN America, a watchdog focused on free expression. The assault on free expression in Florida is almost without peer in recent U.S. history. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. The group pointed to Floridas Stop W.O.K.E. Act, which restricted teaching about race and gender in schools and businesses, and the so-called Dont Say Gay bill, which restricted instruction about sexual orientation in the classroom. Earlier this year, an LGBTQ advocacy group based in St. Petersburg, Fla., warned that Florida may not be a safe place to visit or take up residence in a travel advisory. That came in the wake of laws passed in the Sunshine State targeting the LGBTQ community, access to reproductive health care and the loosening of gun restrictions. Taken in their totality, Floridas slate of laws and policies targeting basic freedoms and rights pose a serious risk to the health and safety of those traveling to the state, Equality Floridas advisory states. PEN America has been a leading voice in the push against book bans in public schools and libraries, which often target books that delve into questions of race, gender and sex. In examining the states recent policy efforts, it can seem that the solution to every problem identified by Florida policy-makers and its governor, Ron DeSantis, is to suppress speech. But not always, the group wrote. Importantly, Floridas speech-related efforts seem designed to protect and enhance the speech of those who hold political power in the state, while simultaneously inhibiting the speech of those who would criticize them or their conduct in office. The Hill has reached out to DeSantiss campaign and office for comment. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom political rivals from opposite coasts and proxies for red and blue America are set to square off for a first-of-its-kind debate Nov. 30 in Georgia. Newsom, a liberal firebrand in his second term as governor of California, isnt running for president in 2024. But he goaded DeSantis, in his second term as governor of Florida, to go mano a mano. Ill bring my hair gel. You bring your hairspray, he taunted on social media. The matchup promises to be a heated brawl between rising political stars who lead two of the nations most populous and diverse states. And it will mark the first time the politicians meet in person even as they have very publicly traded barbs and insults, in recent weeks attacking each other in fundraising videos and campaign ads. Front and center will be homelessness and health care, top priorities for voters and issues that have largely defined the governors policies and leadership styles. From abortion to COVID-19 vaccines, Newsom and DeSantis could not be further apart. Earlier this year, DeSantis blasted California for being too generous with public benefit programs, such as Medicaid, which the Golden State has expanded to all eligible residents regardless of immigration status. That sweeping policy takes effect in January and goes well beyond the optional expansion of Medicaid that the Affordable Care Act offered states. In Florida, one of 10 states that have refused to expand Medicaid under Obamacare, DeSantis wears the states 11% rate of uninsured residents as a badge of honor. Were not going to be like California and have massive numbers of people on government programs without work requirements, DeSantis said at a presidential primary debate in Southern California earlier this year. More: How to watch Thursday's debate between Gavin Newsom and Ron DeSantis DeSantis has led his state to restrict abortion and gender-affirming care and to ban COVID-related mask and vaccine mandates. Newsom, a slick and brash surrogate for Democratic President Joe Biden, has slammed DeSantis for putting Floridians in danger and stripping them of their rights. Join us in California, where we still believe in freedom, Newsom said in a political ad earlier this year. Newsom has earned the moniker of health care governor by catapulting the issue to the top of his policy priorities. He made California an abortion sanctuary and is dramatically expanding health care benefits. He had promised to bring single-payer health care to the nations most populous state while campaigning for his first term, but that idea hit stiff political opposition early in his tenure. And now Newsom boasts about bringing the states uninsured rate to an all-time low of 6.5% by expanding coverage in other ways. These issues are expected to take center stage during the nationally televised 90-minute debate on Fox News, which could have major reverberations for the presidential contest next year and could even help shape the 2028 field of White House contenders. In advance of the showdown, KFF Health News analyzed 10 of the governors top health care positions and how their policies have improved or hindered the health of the residents they represent. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Age: 45 Florida population: 22.2 million California Gov. Gavin Newsom Age: 56 California population: 39 million DeSantis vs. Newsom: Obamacare Florida California DeSantis has refused to expand Medicaid eligibility to more people under the Affordable Care Act. Partly as a result, more than 3 million Floridians had coverage through the federal Obamacare exchange as of February, more than any other state. Florida does not have a state-based exchange or offer state-sponsored subsidies. The state has enthusiastically embraced the Affordable Care Act, expanding Medicaid while setting up its own insurance exchange, Covered California. Under Newsom, it has also gone well beyond the provisions of Obamacare and created a state requirement for Californians to have health insurance after the federal mandate was eliminated. DeSantis vs. Newsom: Abortion Florida California DeSantis approved legislation in April banning abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. However, the Florida Supreme Court has taken up a challenge to the 15-week ban introduced in 2022, which will determine if the six-week ban can take effect. Newsom spearheaded the effort in 2022 to amend the state constitution to enshrine the right to abortion and birth control. He also approved $60 million to help uninsured patients and people from out of state pay for abortions in California, and signed reproductive health care laws, including one protecting doctors who mail abortion pills to other states. DeSantis vs. Newsom: Transgender care Florida California Under DeSantis, Florida passed a law this year banning gender-affirming health care for trans minors and mandating that adult patients sign informed consent forms before starting or continuing hormone treatment. The law also restricts who can order hormone therapy to physicians and prohibits the use of telehealth for new prescriptions. A federal lawsuit challenging the law is set to go to trial in mid-December. Newsom and other state leaders have amended state law to ensure all California adults and children are entitled to gender-affirming health care services. And insurance companies doing business in California must include information on in-network providers for gender-affirming services by 2025. State health care agencies are designing enforceable quality standards to ensure trans patients have access to comprehensive care. DeSantis vs. Newsom: Homelessness Florida California DeSantis has not declared homelessness a priority. In a video filmed on the streets of San Francisco and posted to social media in June, DeSantis used the topic as a campaign cudgel to criticize what he called leftist policies in California. Florida is experimenting with using Medicaid funds to address homelessness, but the program is limited. Nearly 26,000 people are homeless in Florida, or 12 of every 10,000 residents. Newsom has plowed more than $20 billion into the homelessness crisis, with billions more for health and social services. For example, some homeless Californians can get social services through the states Medicaid program, such as money for rental security deposits, utility payments, and first and last months rent. Newsom also led a new state initiative that could force some homeless people into mental health or addiction treatment. More than 171,000 people are homeless in California, or 44 of every 10,000 residents. DeSantis vs. Newsom: Mental health Florida California DeSantis has kept his pledge to advocate for mental health treatment programs as governor, although Florida still ranks 43rd nationally in access to mental health care and has the fourth-highest rate of adults with mental illness who are uninsured, according to the Miami Center for Mental Health and Recovery. Under DeSantis, Florida has increased state funding for mental health programs in schools and peer-to-peer mental health services for first responders, and directed funding to suicide prevention. Newsom in 2020 signed one of the nations strongest mental health parity laws, which requires insurance companies to cover mental health and substance use disorders just as they would physical health conditions. He is funding a $4.7 billion initiative to provide mental health treatment in schools. Newsom is also leading the campaign for a statewide, $6.4 billion bond measure in 2024 to revamp and expand community-based behavioral health programs, including thousands of new treatment beds. DeSantis vs. Newsom: Addiction Florida California Floridas drug overdose death rate was 37.5 per 100,000 people in 2021. In August, DeSantis announced a new statewide addiction recovery program billed as a first of its kind in the United States, using peer counselors, medication-assisted treatment, and a coordinated network of support services. DeSantis also authorized Florida counties to adopt needle exchange programs in 2019 to reduce the spread of blood-borne diseases and encourage addiction treatment. Californias drug overdose rate was 26.6 per 100,000 people in 2021. Newsom is sending the state Highway Patrol and National Guard into San Francisco to combat the open-air fentanyl trade and is boosting addiction recovery programs statewide. But he vetoed legislation last year that would have allowed Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Oakland to establish safe injection sites. DeSantis vs. Newsom: Prescription drugs Florida California A DeSantis proposal submitted to the FDA in 2020 includes allowing imported medications from Canada. A new state law also sets price limits for pharmacy benefit managers intermediaries between insurers, pharmacies, and manufacturers and creates new rules for them around pricing transparency. The law also requires pharmaceutical companies to disclose significant price hikes. Newsom is spearheading a $100 million, first-in-the-nation initiative that puts California in the generic drugmaking business, beginning with insulin and the opioid reversal drug naloxone. California already had a pricing transparency law when Newsom took office. This year, he signed a law that tightens state regulations for pharmacy benefit managers. DeSantis vs. Newsom: Health care affordability Florida California In 2019, DeSantis signed the Patient Savings Act, which allows health insurers to share cost savings with enrollees who shop for health care services, such as imaging and diagnostic tests. Under his leadership, Florida lawmakers have also allowed short-term health plans lasting less than a year and direct health care agreements between a patient and a health care provider that are not considered insurance and are not subject to Floridas insurance code. One of Newsoms first health care initiatives was to fund state-financed health insurance subsidies for low- and middle-income residents who purchase insurance through Covered California. Newsom this year also agreed to lower copays and get rid of some deductibles for plans sold through the exchange. Californias newly created Office of Health Care Affordability is capping industry cost increases and could potentially regulate health industry consolidation. California bans short-term health plans. DeSantis vs. Newsom: Public health Florida California DeSantis signed legislation in 2021 banning government, schools, and private employers from requiring COVID vaccinations. In 2023, he pushed legislators to adopt laws prohibiting certain vaccine and mask requirements. He also formed a Public Health Integrity Committee led by his hand-picked surgeon general, Joseph Ladapo, whose official guidance on COVID vaccines contradicts the CDCs recommendations. The Sunshine States covid-19 vaccine booster rate for residents age 5 and older is 12.4%. Newsom became the first U.S. governor to issue a statewide stay-at-home order at the start of the covid-19 pandemic. He pushed strong vaccination and mask mandates and accused DeSantis of being weak on public health. Newsom has also signed laws strengthening childhood vaccination mandates, including a measure that cracks down on bogus medical exemptions granted by doctors. The Golden States covid-19 vaccine booster rate for residents ages 5 and older is 21.9%. DeSantis vs. Newsom: Immigrant health care Florida California With DeSantis making immigration a priority, legislators passed a state law requiring all Florida hospitals to ask on their admission forms whether a patient is a U.S. citizen or lawfully present in the country. Doctors, nurses, and health policy experts say the law targets marginalized people who already have difficulty navigating the health care system and will further deter them from seeking care. Beginning in January, all immigrants who meet income qualifications will be eligible for the states Medicaid program. Before Newsom took office, California had already expanded eligibility to unauthorized immigrant children through age 18. Newsom then signed laws expanding the program to young adults up to age 26, adults 50 and older, and, later, immigrants of any age who otherwise meet eligibility requirements. This article was produced by KFF Health News, formerly known as Kaiser Health News (KHN), a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism. KFF Health News is the publisher of California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation. This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: DeSantis vs. Newsom debate: Governors' stances on abortion, homelessness Investigators have released new details about a head-on car crash that killed a Fort Worth CEO and his two children and critically injured his wife the day before Thanksgiving. Zach Muckleroy, 44, CEO of Muckleroy & Falls construction, and the couples two children son Judson, 12, and daughter Lindsay, 9 died in the accident caused when another driver crossed the center line of a highway and hit the familys vehicle near Johnson City on the night of Nov. 22. Muckleroys wife, Lauren, survived the crash, but had to be airlifted to an Austin hospital, where she underwent surgery and was in stable but critical condition. The Texas Department of Public Safety released a preliminary report on the investigation. According to the report, DPS troopers responded to the crash about 7:15 p.m. on U.S. 281 near mile marker 460 in Blanco County. A man driving a Toyota Tacoma was traveling northbound on U.S. 281. For reasons unknown at this time, the Toyota crossed the solid double yellow lines into the southbound lanes and hit the Chevrolet SUV driven by Lauren Muckleroy, according to the report. Today's top stories: Tarrant deputy shot at credit union expected to recover; suspect in custody Fort Worth restaurants sold, closing near Dickies Arena, Stockyards Looking to make up to $300,000 a year? These 10 Texas state jobs pay the most Get free alerts when news breaks. A Nissan Versa occupied by a female driver was headed south following the Muckleroy familys SUV, and the initial collision caused the Nissan to hit the Chevrolet and then roll, the report says. Zach Muckleroy and the children were pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Toyota, whose name has not been released, died after he was taken to a hospital. The driver of the Nissan was treated and released. The Blanco County Sheriffs Office, EMS and Fire Department, along with Marble Falls police assisted at the scene, according to DPS. The investigation is ongoing. More than 200 detainees held at the Stewart detention center (SDC) in Lumpkin, Georgia, are raising their voices against the inhumane conditions and mistreatment they endure daily. In a recent petition addressed to local officials and the Biden administration, organized by Sopheak Pal, an SDC detainee, the petitioners are demanding immediate action. Were treated worse than criminals [and] Ice takes advantage of our situation, Pal told the Guardian. This place is horrible, like the way they treat us we are all human, and we should all be treated like humans. The Stewart facility is an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) detention center operated by CoreCivic that has been the subject of recent reports detailing alarming issues, including deaths, prolonged solitary confinement, sexual abuse and medical care neglect. A federal civil rights complaint highlighted the consequences of a mold infestation crisis, with one detainee losing roughly 50% of their vision due to lack of medical treatment. The SDC has also faced accusations of forced labor, leading to a recent settlement reached by attorneys working to restore detainees rights. These places are inherently abusive, and the only way to protect people from harm is to release them and close these places down, Freedom for Immigrants senior communications manager, Jeff Migliozzi, who takes complaints with detainees such as Pal, said. Stewart is a notoriously deadly detention center one of the deadliest in the country. There have been many deaths as a result of substandard care and overall neglect. All of these conditions have persisted despite Biden being in the White House. The petition, filed alongside a civil rights complaint reviewed by the Guardian, also highlighted Pals own mistreatment including medical neglect. He said its primary goal is to raise awareness about inhumane living conditions and ultimately shut down facilities like the SDC. Related: Detained in the desert: migrants stuck in camps in the extreme climate of the US-Mexico border I know the public does not know what is going on in immigration, Pal said. A lot of them think that were coming here illegally and stealing jobs, [but] they have been misled. That is not the case for a lot of people. We came here legally, [are] law-abiding citizens But because we were not born in America or did not apply for citizenship, we dont get a second chance. We get thrown away deported. Even though we have been here 99% of our lives. Pals family, originally from Cambodia, fled to Thailand under the Khmer Rouge regime. In 1985, they were granted entry to the United States as refugees seeking resettlement. Pal, a green card holder for over two decades, has been in Georgia ever since. Despite a troubled youth and a nine-year prison sentence, he has been working on his rehabilitation since his release in 2009. In 2015, he graduated from Chattahoochee Technical College and began working as an online clothing reseller. Things went smoothly until June, when Ice showed up at his home and took him in. Pal said he is unsure what prompted Ice to detain him. He had lived without incident for 14 years and renewed his green card three times since his release. He believes his arrest may be a consequence of the lingering hardline immigration policies of the Trump era, some of which the Biden administration has embraced to address the increase of migration. As an immigrant, I dont have a chance to learn from my mistakes, he said. When I was in prison 23 years ago, they treated people way better than they treat people in immigration better food, everything was better. They didnt try to violate your health, [there was] better medical care. Stewart and immigration doesnt want to give us any of it I dont know how to describe this place. Migliozzi said detainees such as Pal have taken significant risks in petitioning the SDC because detainees are often left in limbo about their case and deprived of updates. Despite the threat of worsening their situation, they chose to take a stand anyway. Priyanka Bhatt, a senior attorney with Project South, a non-profit advancing racial justice, echoed similar sentiments. Even when groups like hers and FFI voice concerns, she says nothing happens. It is horrifying that survivors and advocates have to go to such lengths just to get simple information, she said. It is clear that Ice has no transparency, accountability, or competence in the way it operates. It is incredibly difficult for survivors [in] Ice custody to get answers, let alone justice and recourse. It is astounding that Congress continues to give billions of dollars to an agency that essentially operates as a black box. Since organizing the petition and encouraging other detainees to sign and join his efforts, Pal had to file a complaint because he had been facing retaliation. He said: One of the unit managers called me to the office and said, I hear youre going around getting peoples signatures for some petition. If you keep doing that, Im gonna charge you with incitement. After that, I kept my mouth shut, but of course, I still kept getting signatures for our freedom, but was quiet about it. When some lawyers came down to inspect the facility [after getting wind of the petition], the unit manager realized that I was still doing the petition. So she came to the unit, wrote me up, started writing other people up like half the people in the unit like trying to punish us as much as possible. Then she took away our commissary and put us in segregation. A 2020 report by the US Government Accountability Office found that detention services managers identified deficiencies in field offices and facilities, but these findings are not enforceable because the locations are not obligated to address the specified shortcomings. The report also highlighted that Ice does not have reasonable assurance that field offices effectively investigate or resolve detainee complaints promptly. We have a system of Ice itself failing to address violations occurring in its custody, Bhatt said, adding that theyre also failing to hold accountable private prison companies who are violating Ice performance standards. She said: This is why Project South strongly believes that Ice cannot be reformed it must be defunded. Immigration attorney Sarah Owings experience in representing SDC detainees is similarly aligned. She said the facility had been problematic since it was built. It is remote from population centers, hard to staff appropriately, and hard to obtain accountability for bad actors from local, state and federal law enforcement mechanisms when things go wrong. Representatives from Ice did not return a request for comment. Pal faces imminent deportation to Cambodia the birthplace of his parents and a place he says he has no ties to. He is hoping for a stay through a pardon request his lawyers recently filed. Teresa Dear was on the phone with her daughter, Anastasia Carter, as Carter went to pick up ice from the store the night before Thanksgiving. We were just laughing and having fun talking about what were going to do for Thanksgiving, Dear said in an interview. We couldnt wait to eat, get full and be lazy. But Carter didnt return with the ice. Her family became concerned and went out to look for her. Her cousin said that she was going to go look for her because we were just right up the street from the store, Dear said. Thats when she saw the accident. Wichita police responded to a vehicle collision shortly after 10 p.m. Wednesday at Ridge Road and Shade Lane, near the intersection of Central and Ridge. Carter was trapped in her car. After being extracted by the Wichita Fire Department, she was taken to a hospital, where she died hours later, Wichita Police Department spokesperson Juan Rebolledo said in a phone call. She had been northbound on Ridge when a truck heading south on Ridge made a left turn in front of her. The car and truck collided, Rebolledo said. The driver of the truck, 30-year-old Dalton Huffman of Wichita, failed to yield before turning and is being accused of driving under the influence, WPD spokesperson Andrew Ford said in an email. Mother of three Carter was a 24-year-old mother of three girls: ZyAilah, Aiyana and Karizma. She was a stay-at-home mom and had plans to continue her education. Dear said she was on the phone with her daughter roughly 10 minutes before the accident. Its hard, its devastating, Dear said. She was with me that night and we were all together. Carter had graduated from Chester Lewis Academic Learning Center and wanted to pursue a nursing career. She was a sweet, loving girl who loved to do fun things with her kids ... show them life and take them on trips, Dear said. Friends and family poured out support for Carter, with several referring to her as Staya. One cousin said: I didnt even get to apologize for the small misunderstanding we had last Friday, a Facebook post read. Im so sorry cousin. Dear told The Eagle this is the second child that she has lost. Her son had been shot and killed while driving in east Wichita. A Facebook post showed Carter posing for a photo with her late brother, 23-year-old Jacquez Carter of Wichita, who was killed in September 2021. The post read: Aint no way heaven needed yall more than we did. I love yall. Another cousin in a social media post said: Rest in peace to my cousin, so sorry this happened to you, the post said. I love you and Im going to miss those conversations we had about getting our kids together. After the crash, Huffman was taken to a hospital, released and booked into the Sedgwick County Jail on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter while driving under the influence, leaving the scene of a fatality collision, driving while on a suspended license, transporting an open container and failing to yield right of way for a left turn, Ford said in an email. Sedgwick County Jail inmate records show Huffman was booked into jail Thursday at 3:43 a.m. He remained there Tuesday afternoon. Kansas Department of Corrections records show Huffman was convicted of drug possession in 2015 . A GoFundMe was created by Carters family to help pay for funeral expenses and to help support her three daughters. Traders are turning to blockchain technology to prove their diamonds come from non-Russian mines (Francois WALSCHAERTS) As European capitals prepare to implement long-awaited sanctions on Russia's diamond exports, Belgian traders are bracing for new scrutiny of their industry. In Antwerp's renowned diamond district -- which handles an estimated 86 percent of the world's rough diamonds -- polishing "labs" are turning to blockchain technology to prove their gemstones come from legitimate mines in Africa, Australia or Canada, and not Russia. With Russian stones having accounted for around a third of the global market before Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the G7's decision to ban trade in them could have broad repercussions. Industry insiders in Belgium expect the sanctions to be phased in gradually, limiting market disruption. Meanwhile, major traders and jewellery brands have begun adopting advanced tracking technology to check and certify where their diamonds are coming from. The industry has sought to burnish its image ever since outrage erupted two decades ago over so-called "blood diamonds" financing brutal civil wars in Africa. If traders are now seen helping Russia evade sanctions to keep financing its invasion of Ukraine, the shine may come off diamonds once again. The European Union is drawing up bans on Russian diamonds as part of its 12th package of sanctions to tighten the vice on Moscow's war economy and cut off funds the country is using to buy munitions and drones from North Korea and Iran. But it has been difficult to agree on how best to restrict the diamond trade. Being small and extremely valuable, gems are simple and lucrative to smuggle. They can easily be mixed with stones from other sources. In addition, rough diamonds change weight and appearance as they are cut, polished and eventually set in jewellery. - Draft sanctions - Europe -- and Belgium in particular -- has another concern: Even with EU sanctions, Russian gems could still find their way to competitors in places like Dubai and India. As EU sanctions talks progressed, the G7 powers stepped in and the world's top industrialised democracies agreed a global ban. "I think it is important that any traceability solution, or any protocol that is proposed to deal with those potential sanctions, is industry-wide and is supported by all the diamond centres," said iTraceiT CEO Frederik Degryse. Degryse's firm is trying to provide market players with a digital way to trace their supply chain. The European Commission has adopted a proposal that will go to member states for approval, expected in the coming days if the 27 member states are unanimous. According to a copy seen by AFP, it will ban trade in diamonds originating in, transiting, or exported from Russia, as well as Russian diamonds cut and polished in third countries. Starting January 1 2024, the ban would apply to "non-industrial natural and synthetic diamonds as well as diamond jewellery." The import ban on Russian diamonds cut or polished in third countries would be phased in between March and September next year. "This phasing-in... takes into consideration the need to deploy an appropriate traceability mechanism that enables effective enforcement measures and minimises disruptions for market players," the draft says. The iTraceiT firm believes its technology would ease the supply chain disruption such bans might bring. In a "lab" in Antwerp's diamond quarter, account manager Sandiah Kangoute showed AFP how miners, traders, polishers and retailers can trace their diamonds back to their source. As miners bag stones, each is assigned a QR code linking its contents to a unique filing system using blockchain technology -- a method of recording information that is difficult to hack or manipulate. Using a code reader, industry workers can access files attached to the unique codes and add new ones, such as receipts for purchase, export licences, and certificates of authenticity. "So I see here, the starting point was Canada, then it travelled and is coming to me in France," Kangoute says, as she scans a QR code on a small packet of cut diamonds. - Every parcel tracked - If challenged, exporters can use the iTraceiT system to provide back-up evidence to prove their diamonds are not sourced from Russia. "Every parcel or every diamond will have an internal reference, which is linked," Degryse said. "So if there's any deviation between the actual physical diamonds that you're weighing and the numbers that are there, then it'll pop up," he said. "And then you have all the supporting documentation," Degryse added. "All the partners that we work with get audited on a frequent basis. So this is a tool that can make it easier for auditors to go in and see traceability for all the diamonds." But will the sanctions hurt Russia? So far, it has managed to maintain its war against Ukraine through 11 previous rounds of EU measures that targeted its much larger oil and gas exports. The industry is sceptical. Russia is a major source of diamonds, but diamonds themselves account for a small part of its economy, and this might in part explain why officials took so long to get around to tackling the trade. dc/rmb/gv/yad Abortion rights supporters celebrate winning the referendum to enshrine a right to abortion in Ohio's constitution in Columbus, Ohio, on Nov. 7, 2023. (Megan Jelinger/AFP/Megan Jelinger/AFP/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS) Who interprets the Constitution? For many decades, the answer to this question was almost always the U.S. Supreme Court. But in the past few years, a dramatic shift has started taking place. Increasingly, voters are taking constitutional interpretation into their own hands and our democracy is better for it. When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and 50 years of precedent in last years Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Center decision, the conservative majority voted to send the issue back to the states. In response, Kansas voters made headlines in August by rejecting a proposed state constitutional amendment that would have restricted the right to abortion. Advertisement In the months that followed, five other states California, Michigan, Kentucky, Montana and Vermont put the issue of abortion on the ballot. Reproductive choice triumphed at every turn. California, Michigan and Vermonts constitutions now enshrine a right to reproductive autonomy, while Kentuckians and Montanans rejected attempts to curb abortion rights. This month, Ohioans joined the chorus, with voters electing to amend their state constitution to protect the right to abortion before viability essentially restoring the same legal protections from Roe that Dobbs sought to take away. Advertisement Abortion isnt the only battleground where voters have pushed back directly against the Supreme Court. In the first Obamacare challenge Remember those halcyon days? the court is remembered for upholding the Affordable Care Acts mandate that all Americans carry health insurance. But the same decision also invalidated Congress attempt to expand Medicaid to provide health care to more low-income Americans, holding that legislators had exceeded their constitutional authority in trying to do so. States could, according to the court, voluntarily opt into Medicaid expansion but could not be coerced into doing so by a threat to cut a states existing federal Medicaid funding. Just like Dobbs, the courts Medicaid ruling proved deeply unpopular. So unpopular, in fact, that over the past six years, Medicaid expansion measures have been on the ballot in seven Republican-controlled states. They have passed in every single one. These statewide initiatives and referendums are commonly referred to in shorthand as direct democracy. Their success has led observers to proclaim that we are entering an unprecedented era of direct democracy. But the origins of initiatives and referendums in fact underscore how potent the tool has always been. At the turn of the 20th century, the Supreme Court, much like our current court, began issuing a series of intensely polarizing decisions. In Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), it upheld separate but equal treatment of African Americans. In Lochner v. New York (1905), it invalidated a state law regulating working hours and conditions. And in Adair v. United States (1908) and Hammer v. Dagenhart (1918), the court threw out as unconstitutional federal laws protecting union rights and prohibiting child labor. Voters did not stand idly by after these decisions. Nor did they go back to their state legislatures or Congress to push for new legislation. Instead, they created initiative and referendum processes. As our research reveals, of the 26 states that have some form of initiative or referendum process today, 21 established those processes between 1898 and 1918 that is, between Plessy and Hammer. Critically, voters and political officials repeatedly invoked the Supreme Courts unpopular opinions as the boogeyman to be dispatched. During floor debates at the 1912 Ohio Constitutional Convention, for instance, Rep. D.F. Anderson underscored that nothing was more distressing than to see a bunch of old judges, old men as a rule, set themselves against the manifest and enlightened will of the community in matters of social, economic or commercial progress. In 1912, Ohio created a statewide initiative and referendum process during its constitutional convention the same process that Ohio voters used in the recent abortion vote. There is, in other words, a compelling through line between constitutional past and present. Direct democracy came into being in the United States because voters grew tired of a handful of judges dictating their constitutional rights. Its resurgence today is yet another powerful and important reminder of the peoples veto over the Supreme Courts federal constitutional decision-making, through the outlet of change at the state level. Chicago Tribune Opinion Weekdays Read the latest editorials and commentary curated by the Tribune Opinion team. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy > In the early 20th century, direct democracy had its opponents, with several politicians claiming that these processes would destroy the sanctity of lawmaking as envisioned by the Founding Fathers. By organizing themselves, voters overcame and overruled these criticisms, opting for a commitment to popular rule. Advertisement A similar level of commitment is necessary today. Earlier this year ahead of the November abortion ballot initiative Republican legislators in Ohio attempted to raise the threshold to pass such ballot measures from 50% of the vote to 60%, in a purported effort to protect their state constitution. Ohioans overwhelmingly rejected that measure, with the support of Republicans and Democrats alike. Last year, South Dakota similarly tried to raise the required support threshold ahead of a Medicaid expansion vote. South Dakotas voters, like Ohios, rejected that attempt to curtail their power and they later approved Medicaid expansion. But for every Ohio, theres a Mississippi, whose state Supreme Court declared in 2021 that the states initiative and referendum processes were unconstitutional. For every South Dakota, theres a Missouri, whose governor refused to carry out Medicaid expansion despite the passage of a ballot measure. The path forward under such circumstances is a sustained and continued dedication to democratic means and norms. Just as in the early 20th century, the fate of democratic governance lies in our own hands. When courts and other officials repeatedly go against popular rule, ballot initiatives and referendums serve as powerful reminders that the first words of the Constitution arent We the Courts or We the Politicians. They are We the People. Xiao Wang is director of the University of Virginia Supreme Court Litigation Clinic and an assistant professor of law and public policy at the University of Virginia. Michael P. Bellis is a recent graduate of Northwestern Universitys Pritzker School of Law. Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com. The community is still in shock Tuesday after one student was fatally stabbed and another teen was injured Monday morning at Southeast Raleigh High School. The Raleigh Police investigation and the Wake County school systems response is still ongoing. But heres what we know. How did the stabbing happen? The Raleigh police officer assigned as the school resource officer at Southeast Raleigh High responded at 11:01 a.m. Monday to a report that a juvenile was stabbed during an altercation involving other students. Video clips posted on social media by multiple students appear to show a fight spilling over from a hallway into the gymnasium, where a knife is visible. A 15-year-old student and a 16-year-old student received first aid at the scene and were taken to a local hospital. The 15-year-old died, while the 16-year-old remains hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. What do we know about those stabbed? The names of the two students who were stabbed have not been publicly released. The family of the student who died told ABC11, The News & Observers newsgathering partner, that they are still trying to process what happened and are working through their grief. The family said it plans to hold a balloon release in his memory sometime later this week. Has anyone been charged? Raleigh Police obtained a secure custody order for a 14-year-old juvenile suspect. He was charged with murder on a juvenile petition. Due to his age, the suspects name has not been released. Cherelle McLaughlin, the mother of the suspect, says the dispute began when her older daughter had an earlier altercation with a female Southeast Raleigh High student. McLaughlin says more than a dozen juveniles, including many shown in videos of Mondays fatal fight, came to her house in Southeast Raleigh roughly a week ago and assaulted both McLaughlin and her mother. When she brought her son to school Monday, McLaughlin said she told his case worker that he would likely get jumped for defending his sister. Its unclear if any other students will face criminal charges or school discipline violations for the incident. Are police acting for tips and information? Raleigh Police asked anyone with information or evidence related to this crime to call 919-996-1193. Police block an entrance at Southeast Raleigh High School during a Code Red lockdown Monday, Nov. 27, 2023. The school is on lockdown after a person was stabbed on campus. How did the student bring a knife? Its unclear how the knife got into the school. Southeast Raleigh High School does not use metal detectors or weapons detectors. Its not a security approach thats been adopted by the Wake County school system. Wake County Superintendent Robert Taylor and school board chair Lindsay Mahaffey issued a joint statement on Monday that the district will continue to review all its safety processes and protocols to determine what happened and what changes may need to be made. The school boards safety and security committee is meeting Tuesday. The meeting was scheduled before the fatal stabbing. When will Southeast Raleigh High reopen? The school is closed on Tuesday to allow students and staff to process what happened on Monday. Parents whose children need support Tuesday can call the front office at 919-856-2800. Someone will pick up even though classes are canceled. Members of the school systems crisis team and Employee Support and Wellness team will also be available to support students and staff members. It hasnt been announced yet when classes will resume at Southeast Raleigh High. What do we know about Southeast Raleigh High? Southeast Raleigh High opened in 1997 on Rock Quarry Road. The school has 1,400 students, drawing both from the surrounding neighborhoods and magnet students from across Wake County. Southeast Raleigh is a magnet school offering the University Connections: School of Design, Arts & Engineering magnet theme. The theme was revamped in 2017 to try to get more people interested in attending the school. George Harden brought stability to the school when he became principal in 2020. He became the sixth principal at the school since 2011. How safe is Southeast Raleigh High? According to 2021-22 school year data, there were 38 reported crimes at Southeast Raleigh High. There were 23 cases of possession of controlled substances, 13 cases of possession of a weapon and two sexual assaults. Possession of weapons dont involve guns, which are in a separate category, but typically involve knives. In the 2021-22 school year, Southeast Raleigh was tied with Wakefield High for third-most cases of possession of a weapon among Wake schools. Only Leesville Road and Rolesville high schools had more. In the pre-pandemic 2018-19 school year, Southeast Raleigh High had 27 reported crimes. There were 13 cases of possession of controlled substances, eight cases of possession of a weapon, four cases of assaults on school personnel and two cases of possession of alcohol. Reported crime is up 16.9% above pre-pandemic levels in North Carolina public schools. We didnt go early enough and we didnt go hard enough on lockdowns, Michael Gove told the Covid Inquiry. Mr Gove said the Government was too lenient, too late and cautioned against making similar mistakes in the future. It comes after he suggested Covid may have been man-made while conceding the country was unprepared to deal with the virus. The former chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster said: A significant body of judgement that believes that the virus itself was man-made and that presents sort of challenges as well. 05:12 PM GMT The Inquiry has finished Thanks for following The Telegraphs live coverage of the Covid Inquiry which has finished for the day. 04:46 PM GMT I have not pre-judged inquiry, says Hallett Baroness Hallett has sought to reassure Gove of her impartiality after heated exchanges with Hugo Keith KC, lead counsel to the Inquiry. Addressing the Cabinet minister at the end of his evidence, Baroness Hallett said: Mr. Gove can I just put your mind at rest on one issue. At one stage one of your answers associated the Inquiry by which I suspect you met me with what you perceive to be the personal view of counsel to the Inquiry. Can I assure you and others that I dont have any settled views as yet, I will not reach any conclusion until I have considered all the evidence, oral evidence, written evidence and not just the small section of the evidence like WhatsApp messages that some sections of the media have been focusing on. I will be considering everything. And the point of counsels questions is not to put forward any personal view of theirs, its to test the evidence robustly, to help me so please dont think that any point of views, even if Counsel to the inquiry had a personal view, it wouldnt matter because Im the one that is eventually going to make the decision. So I just want to put at rest the mind of all of you who feel that your conduct has been criticised and the like, no conclusions reached as yet. Mr Gove replied that he knew the Inquiry counsel and Hallett took their roles seriously but added: My only concern was, and you have been very clear about this, that the nature of questioning here might give some watching our proceedings, the sense that the issues that are highlighted to you are among the most important. But thank you very much for that clarification, Im in your debt. 04:12 PM GMT Gove questioning finishes Questioning of Michael Gove has now concluded. Prof Dame Jenny Harries, the former deputy chief medical officer, is now being sworn in to the Covid Inquiry. It is the second time Prof Harries has spoken at the Inquiry. She is the chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency and a former deputy chief medical officer. 04:05 PM GMT Pictured: Gove taking his lunch break Michael Gove stands outside Dorland House in London during a break in his evidence to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry - Yui Mok/PA 03:39 PM GMT Recap Michael Gove told the Covid Inquiry that the Cabinet Office was stuffed with extra responsibilities like a Mary Poppins bag by successive prime ministers, and not effective at dealing with crises. Mr Gove said that the country was unprepared to deal with Covid and suggested part of the problem could be because the virus may have been man-made. He told Dominic Cummings that the Government was f------ up at the beginning of the pandemic in a WhatsApp exchange disclosed to the Covid Inquiry. 03:20 PM GMT Gove has defended bypassing Government structures to persuade Boris Johnson to impose restrictions quicker Michael Gove has defended bypassing Government structures in a bid to persuade Boris Johnson to impose pandemic restrictions quicker. The UK Covid Inquiry heard the then minister for the Cabinet Office contacted Mr Johnson directly via his personal email in January 2021 to argue that there was no alternative but to adopt a strategy of maximum suppression. When asked why he had chosen not to go through established channels, Mr Gove said: I wanted to make sure that it got to the prime minister direct and without any interference. I wanted to make sure that he saw my own unvarnished opinion, that it was laid out in black and white. When pressed further on why he had chosen this approach, Mr Gove added: You asked me to reflect earlier if I hadnt been vigorous enough in stating my view. At some point in the pandemic, I suspect I wasnt and on other occasions I felt it was necessary to adopt not just a belt and braces approach, but by an any means necessary approach in order to make clear what I felt. 03:16 PM GMT We didn't go early or hard enough on restrictions, says Gove Michael Gove said we didnt go early enough and we didnt go hard enough on lockdowns and that too much social mixing was erroneous. He said the emergence of the virus showed we have been too lenient, too late, adding we cannot make the same mistakes yet again. 02:44 PM GMT Tier system of local restrictions 'inherently flawed' Mr Gove said the Tier system of local restrictions in Autumn 2020 was inherently flawed. I was sceptical and grew more sceptical about its efficacy and believed and I think I advocated for an approach which was more England wide, he said. 02:37 PM GMT Gove admires Nicola Sturgeons handling of pandemic Michael Gove said he admired Nicola Sturgeon handling of the pandemic but suggested the Scottish government was keen to highlight differences for political means. He said he felt the Scotland was keen to exaggerate the impact of a mistake or error in order to feed a broader political mission. Earlier he also denied suggestions devolved administrations were left out of the loop, adding that there were regular phone calls of a variety of kinds with my officials and officials in devolved administrations. Mr Gove said processes were in place to ensure devolved administrations were part of the broader conversations. 02:11 PM GMT Gove told that Johnson's timetable did not enable required decisions to be made Michael Gove was told by Simon Case, the permanent secretary in No 10, that the way Boris Johnsons days were structured during the pandemic did not enable required decisions to be made. The Covid Inquiry heard Mr Gove asked a daft laddie question to Mr Case on WhatsApp in September 2020 seeking assurance that decisions could be made in a timely way. Hugo Keith KC, counsel to the inquiry, said: Do you know what was done in response to your question, bearing in mind that the cabinet secretary Simon Case says the answer to all your questions is no? Mr Gove said: I dont know. I was communicating with Simon shortly after he was appointed as cabinet secretary and these were just some prompts culled from my observation of how things were operating. He later added: It was just a gentle nudge to Simon, as he took on that role, to satisfy himself and because I knew as a new cabinet secretary, he would have the prime ministers confidence. 01:22 PM GMT No 10: WHO needs to examine all possible origins of Covid Downing Street has said the World Health Organisation needs to continue investigating all possible origins of Covid. Michael Gove used his appearance at the Covid-19 Inquiry to claim there was a significant body of judgment that believes that the virus itself was man-made. The Prime Ministers official spokesman later said: The Governments view is that the WHO needs to continue to examine all possibilities. We think there is still work to be done. But it is for the WHO to investigate. He added that it was the long-standing position of the Government that it was for the WHO to consider all possible avenues and to come to a conclusion. I dont think it is quiet that people have differing views about the origins of Covid-19. 12:47 PM GMT Gove: 'I should have been more forthright' Michael Gove has accepted he should have been more forthright on pushing for a lockdown at the beginning of March 2020. He said that he had sought consensus on action, rather than advocating for what he believed should happen. When asked whether he regretted this approach, Mr Gove said: Generally, people have always been unhappy when Ive been more forthright in the past. But, on this occasion, I should definitely have been more forthright. When asked if this was because it was a matter of life and death, he added: Absolutely, and that is why I believe I should have made the decision to implement the national lockdown. 12:36 PM GMT Gove defends Boris Johnson Michael Gove has defended Boris Johnson from claims that he had oscillated in his decision-making over lockdowns during the pandemic. He told the inquiry: He preferred gladiatorial decision-making rather than inquisitorial. He wanted to see the two cases or the three cases rehearsed in front of him, or even rehearsed in his own mind. Any prime minister is entitled to test propositions and to think, is the restriction of liberty and the economic damage consequent upon lockdown worth inflicting on people in order to prevent the spread of this virus? Mr Gove also said Mr Johnsons principled attachment to maximising individual liberty meant it was difficult for him to contemplate something like this. The senior Tory said officials like himself who believed the Government should have acted earlier had a responsibility to point out the need for action. I dont think that one can single out the prime minister at the time for criticism. We all deserve our share retrospectively of criticism, he said. 12:33 PM GMT Gove said Government was 'f------ up' Michael Gove told Dominic Cummings that the Government was f------ up at the beginning of the pandemic in a WhatsApp exchange disclosed to the Covid-19 Inquiry. Quoting Mr Gove from evidence dated March 4, Hugo Keith KC said: You know me, I dont often kick off but were f------ up as a Government and missing golden opportunities. I will carry on doing what I can but the whole situation is even worse than you think and action needs to be taken or we will regret it for a long time. When asked to expand on his comments, Mr Gove said at the time he was concerned about the ability and structure of the Cabinet Office to deliver Governments priorities. He added: Covid was on my mind, but it wasnt the principal thing that I was messaging about. It was about the Cabinet Office overall, including its ability to deal with Covid. He then apologised for his language and added that the weaknesses in operations at the Cabinet Office, which he had recently taken on responsibility for, would be further exposed by Covid. 12:07 PM GMT Gove: 'We're missing golden opportunities' The Inquiry was shown Whatsapp messages between Mr Gove and Dominic Cummings, the prime ministers most senior advisor where Gove wrote on March 4th , 2020: You know me, I dont often kick off. But we are f---ing up as a Government and missing golden opportunities. I will carry on doing what I can but the whole situation is even worse than you think and action needs to be taken or well regret it for a long time. He then received a missed call from Mr Cummings who replied Agree!. Later on March 11th, 2020 Mr Cummings added he woudl try calling from the car and was In Corona hell before adding: Obv Caboff is fucking Joke. They told us they had plan. Obv bollocks Mr Gove replied: Indeed. 11:52 AM GMT Not 'enough attention' given to impact of on vulnerable children Michael Gove has included ministers not giving enough attention to the impact of measures on vulnerable children in a list of what he believes were the main Government failings during the pandemic. He told the Covid Inquiry: I believe that we were too slow to lockdown initially in March (2020). I believe we should have taken stricter measures before we eventually decided to do so in late October. I believe that while it was admirable that we succeeded in building testing capacity so quickly, that the strategic approach to who should be tested, why and what our tests were for was not as rigorously thought through as it might have been. I am also concerned that we did not pay enough attention to the impact on children, vulnerable children, of some of the measures that we took. 11:41 AM GMT Gove tells Inquiry he changed his mind on need to stop spread of virus Michael Gove has told the Covid Inquiry that he changed his mind on the need for action to restrict the spread of the virus in part due to information provided by friends outside Government. The former minister for the Cabinet Office said he initially shared Boris Johnsons concerns about overreacting and the economic consequences. Mr Gove added: At the very end of February I was inclined to give substantial weight to the prime ministers concerns. It was only in the succeeding days that I became more and more convinced actually that action was required. Mr Gove said the introduction of lockdowns in parts of Italy had influenced him, adding it was also material that had been sent to me by friends outside Government that led me to believe action was needed. 11:34 AM GMT Pictured: Michael Gove questioned at Covid Inquiry Gove questioned at Covid Inquiry 11:32 AM GMT Gove apologises to bereaved families over government mistakes Michael Gove has apologised to bereaved families over Government mistakes during Covid. Mr Gove told the Inquiry the Governments decision making process was flawed as the pandemic emerged. He said: I want to take this opportunity, if I may, my Lady to apologise to the victims who endured similar pain, the families who endured so much loss as a result of the mistakes that were made by Government in response to the pandemic, and as a minister responsible for the Cabinet Office and who was also close to many of the decisions that were made, I must take my share of responsibility for that. Mr Gove was chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the Cabinet Office throughout the pandemic. He conceded the Cabinet was not fit for purpose in early 2020, adding: The Cabinet Office was not configured appropriately for the crisis of the pandemic. 11:06 AM GMT Gove: Country unprepared for Covid Mr Gove said that the country was unprepared to deal with Covid and suggested part of the problem could be because the virus may have been man-made. We were not well prepared as we should have been ideally. I think that is true. Again, its in the nature of the fact that the virus was novel and, indeed, I think this probably goes beyond the remit of the Inquiry this, a significant body of judgement that believes that the virus itself was man-made and that presents sort of challenges as well. Told by Hugo Keith KC, lead counsel to the Inquiry, that it was not part of the terms of reference to look at the somewhat divisive issue of how Covid began, Mr Gove replied that it was important to recognise that the virus presented a new series of challenges from the virus. 11:00 AM GMT Gove defends Hancock saying 'too much was asked' Michael Gove has defended former health secretary Matt Hancock, insisting too much was asked of his department at the beginning of the pandemic. Mr Gove told the Covid Inquiry: I have a high opinion of Matt Hancock as a minister. However, I believe that too much was asked of DHSC (Department of Health and Social Care) at that point. He added: We should collectively have recognised that this was a health system crisis at an earlier point and taken on to other parts of Government the responsibility for delivery that was being asked of DHSC at the time. 10:51 AM GMT Gove responds to criticism of Cabinet by Simon Case Asked about a WhatsApp message from Simon Case, the Cabinet Secretary, where he said he had never seen such a bunch of people less well equipped to run a country Mr Gove said he believed this referred to the later response to Covid. He added: I think it is the case that almost every Number 10 operation has had by its nature strong personalities, sometimes those personalities clash... It is certainly the case that under Boris Johnson there were strong personalities in Number 10 but those strong personalities had been responsible for helping to secure not just an election victory but an end to the jam in Parliament over Brexit. 10:40 AM GMT Cabinet Office stuffed with extra responsibilities like 'Mary Poppins' bag' Michael Gove has told the Covid Inquiry that the Cabinet Office was stuffed with extra responsibilities like a Mary Poppins bag by successive prime ministers, and not effective at dealing with crises. The former chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster during the pandemic said: The inherent structure of the Cabinet Office was flawed. The Cabinet Office in and of itself, over many years, has operated in a way which is not as effective as it should be for the effective delivery of government policy, both business as usual, and also in response to crises. The Cabinet Office had an approach which I fear ceded too much responsibility to lead government departments and did not mean the assumption of sufficient responsibility at the centre. Mr Gove also said successive prime ministers have added responsibilities to the Cabinet Offices plate that do not fit easily elsewhere. So, it becomes a sort of Mary Poppins bag into which different prime ministers will shove things that they believe require to be dealt with by the Governments nanny, as it were, he said. 10:36 AM GMT Gove: Cabinet 'dark side of moon' Mr Gove said he used to refer to parts of the Cabinet Office as the dark side of the moon because they were obscured from my gaze. 10:24 AM GMT Gove apologises for mistakes during pandemic Mr Gove apologised to families bereaved by Covid over government mistakes in decision making. I want to take this opportunity, if I may, my Lady to apologise to the victims who endured similar pain, the families who endured so much loss as a result of the mistakes that were made by Government in response to the pandemic, and as a minister responsible for the Cabinet Office and who was also close to many of the decisions that were made, I must take my share of responsibility for that. 10:08 AM GMT Inquiry has begun Michael Gove has been sworn in and is now being questioned at the Covid Inquiry. 10:01 AM GMT Michael Gove arrives at the Covid-19 Inquiry Michael Gove arrives at the Covid-19 Inquiry - MAJA SMIEJKOWSKA/REUTERS 09:57 AM GMT Recap: Matt Hancock knew Tier 3 restrictions would not work, Covid Inquiry hears Matt Hancock knew Tier 3 restrictions would not work when he imposed them on Greater Manchester, the Covid Inquiry has heard. The former health secretary said he was in despair that Downing Street was enforcing the tough restrictions in October 2020 without scientific evidence that they would reduce prevalence of the virus. Read the full story by Blathnaid Corless here. 09:55 AM GMT Telegraph View: Covids true origin must be investigated The emergence of a mystery respiratory illness affecting children in northern China has echoes of the start of the Covid pandemic in 2020. Hospitals in the region are reportedly overcrowded with sick youngsters, but the authorities are adamant that there is nothing to worry about since it is not a novel virus. In view of what happened last time, the worlds health services need to be on alert to its possible spread beyond China. Read the full Telegraph View article here. 09:53 AM GMT Good morning and welcome to The Telegraph's live coverage of the Covid-19 Inquiry Good morning, Mr Gove appears before Professor Dame Jenny Harries, the former deputy chief medical officer for England. Mr Gove was chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the Cabinet Office throughout the pandemic, and had a front row view of decision-making in No 10.says in his evidence about Tier 3, I was in despair that we had announced a policy that we knew would not work. Follow The Telegraphs live coverage for the latest updates. 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. Dina Boluarte was sworn into the office after Pedro Castillo was impeached following his failed attempt to dissolve Congress Peru's top prosecutor has blamed the president, Dina Boluarte, for the deaths of a number of demonstrators during anti-government protests. After an 11-month investigation, Attorney General Patricia Benavides filed a constitutional complaint against the president on Monday. Ms Boluarte has described it as "a despicable political manouevre". The president has accused Ms Benavides of using the complaint as a distraction from her own legal problems. The attorney-general filed the complaint against the president just hours after she herself had been accused of leading a corruption ring, which allegedly dropped investigations against lawmakers in exchange for them appointing allies of Ms Benavides to key posts in the judiciary. Ms Benavides has denied any wrongdoing, has fired the prosecutor who made the allegations against her team, and has so far resisted calls for her resignation. The stand-off between President Boluarte and Attorney General Benavides is the latest twist in Peru's political woes which started with the ouster of President Pedro Castillo in December of last year. Mr Castillo was removed from office by lawmakers after he tried to dissolve Congress in an attempt to stave off an impeachment trial. Dina Boluarte, who had been Mr Castillo's vice-president, sided with Congress and was sworn in as the new president to serve out the remainder of Mr Castillo's term in office. But supporters of Mr Castillo took to the streets to demand her resignation and weeks of upheaval ensued in which demonstrators blocked major highways and occupied airports. Ms Boluarte's government deployed security forces to restore order and lift the blockades, which had left thousands of tourists stranded, paralysed commerce and led to shortages of food and petrol in some areas. According to Peru's Ombudsperson's Office, at least 49 protesters and bystanders were killed from December 2022 through February 2023 in clashes with the security forces. Many of the bodies had bullet wounds, which human rights groups said were caused by weapons fired by the security forces. In a report published in May, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) concluded that "a disproportionate, indiscriminate, and lethal use of force was a major element of the State response to the protests". Attorney General Patricia Benavides launched an investigation into the protesters' deaths as early as January but the complaint she filed on Monday is the first charge brought against the government over the clashes. Ms Benavides said in a TV address on Monday that she had filed a "constitutional complaint" against President Boluarte, and the Prime Minister, Luis Alberto Otarola, accusing them of murder. However, the murder accusation is unlikely to lead to a criminal trial in the near future. Under Peru's constitution, presidents and parliamentarians cannot be put on trial while they are in their posts for alleged crimes committed as part of their role. The attorney general can instead file a constitutional complaint which has to be reviewed by a congressional committee in order to proceed. Even if the complaint were to be approved by a majority of members of Congress, a trial would only proceed once President Boluarte and Prime Minister Otarola leave office. Ms Boluarte's presidency is due to end in July 2026 but given Peru's recent history of unrest, impeachments and resignations staying in office until then will prove a challenge. No Peruvian president has served a full five years since Ollanta Humala finished his term in 2016. Babies R Us but theyre also getting accustomed to the finer things in life that is if Dior has a say in the matter. The luxury French fashion giant has relaunched its Baby Dior brand with a buzzy new skin care line designed for infants. With containers bottled in baby-friendly colors such as pastel shades of green, purple and pink, the products are reportedly being touted as a complete skincare line for little ones. The four-piece collection includes a cleansing foam for $95, a moisturizer for the face and body retailing at $115, and a scented water to be sold for $230. (Several of the brands most popular fragrances for adults sell for less.) A throwback to the brands infant fragrance line that originally launched in 1970, the revival is the brainchild of Diors creative director of perfume Francis Kurkdjian and Baby Diors artistic director Cordelia de Castellane. When I joined Dior in October 2022, one of the projects I had in mind was revisiting Baby Dior, Kurkdjian told WWD. Christian Dior evoked his childhood many times as a very happy and joyful period of his life. The scent and the baby care line were discontinued, and I was eager to bring it back to life as a tribute. The new scented water, dubbed Bonne Etoile, is labeled as an eau de senteur a perfume with a low concentration of essential oils. It boasts notes of pear, eglantine and musk, with 98% of its ingredients said to stem from natural origins with no alcohol. Merrick the golden eagle was transported to southern Scotland last year to boost numbers in the region - South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project A golden eagle reported missing last month is believed to have come to harm, police have said. The bird was last seen in the Fountainhall area of the Scottish Borders on Oct 12. Police Scotland have since said they believe the bird has come to harm and are treating its disappearance as suspicious. The South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project, a conservation group, expressed shock, sadness and disappointment at the birds disappearance. The golden eagle, called Merrick, was translocated from Rottal estate in the Angus Glens to the Scottish Borders in 2022. It is part of a project to increase the presence of golden eagles in southern Scotland. Before its disappearance, Merrick was thriving and exploring all over south of Scotland and Northern England. The golden eagle was relocated from the Rottal estate in the Angus Glens in the Cairngorms national park - Gordon Macpherson/PA Michael Clarke, the chairman of the conservation group, said: The disappearance of any golden eagle is extremely upsetting, but particularly when there is evidence to suggest that they have come to harm under suspicious circumstances. The projects translocated eagles have captured the hearts and minds of many people, including children, who will all share in our utter shock, disappointment and sadness at the nature of Merricks disappearance. Were grateful to Police Scotland for their support and using all the resources at their disposal to establish the full circumstances. Det Sgt David Lynn, wildlife crime co-ordinator for Police Scotland, said: Since the report was made, officers have been working with a range of partner agencies to establish more details and gather further information to establish the circumstances. The bird was last seen in the area to the west of Fountainhall, between Heriot and Stow on Thursday, 12 October. A full search of this area was carried out and officers believe the bird has come to harm and are treating its disappearance as suspicious. We are determined to protect these magnificent birds. We work closely with a number of partners to tackle wildlife crime, which can be challenging and complex to investigate. Alex Hogg, the chairman of the Scottish Gamekeepers Association, said: The Scottish Gamekeepers Association strongly condemns wildlife crime in all its forms. Everyone who has supported the South Scotland Golden Eagle project will be extremely disappointed at this news. As an organisation, our support is reflected in the fact that 23 of the projects 28 donor eaglets have come from gamekeeper-managed estates. We remain proud of that involvement and will continue our support. 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. Australian researchers believe a shipwreck off the coast of Rhode Island is that of the HMS Endeavor. The Australian National Maritime Museum said Thursday new discoveries allowed them to identify the wreck. Previously, their claim was contested by their research partner, The Rhode Island Maritime Archeology Project. An Australian museum is doubling down on its previously contested claim that a shipwreck off the coast of Rhode Island is the long-lost ship once sailed by British explorer and cartographer Captain James Cook. The Australian National Maritime Museum on Thursday said two new discoveries offer further evidence that a shipwreck located in Newport Harbor, Rhode Island, is the final resting place for the HMS Endeavour, a British Royal Navy vessel sailed by Cook during his first discovery voyage and the first European ship believed to have reached the eastern coast of Australia. The museum's announcement this month comes nearly two years after it first claimed the Rhode Island wreck was that of the Endeavour prompting a swift and strong rebuke from its research partner. The Rhode Island Maritime Archeology Project quickly cast doubt on the Australian museum's February 2022 announcement saying that while the remains could very well be that of the Endeavour, there was a lack of "indisputable data" at the time to prove it. The Rhode Island organization said it would not be swayed to prematurely confirm the wreck's identity by "Australian emotions or politics" and accused its Pacific partners of a "breach of contract." The museum, however, stood by its announcement, saying on its website that the vessel's identity was confirmed using a "preponderance of evidence approach." Daryl Karp, chief executive of the Australian National Maritime Museum, said Thursday that "no further dissenting responses" to the museum's previous claim have been levied in the years since its controversial announcement, The Sydney Herald reported. The two recent findings held up as further evidence of the shipwreck's identity include the discovery of a pump well and part of the wreck's bow, the museum said. Museum researchers compared the new discoveries with archival plans of the Endeavour that were created during a British admiralty survey in 1768, The Guardian reported. After comparing the wreck to the historical documents, archeologists were able to accurately predict where the ship's bow would be located and found a unique joint in the timber matching information included in the original plans, according to the outlet. The Rhode Island Maritime Archeology Project did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment regarding the recent announcement of evidence. The Endeavour served to transport British troops during the Revolutionary War before being "scuttled" or deliberately sunk in 1778. Researchers believe the ship was one of five British vessels that now lie 39 meters below the Newport Harbour waters. Kieran Hosty, marine archaeology manager, told The Herald that the museum was eager to return to the site and 3D model the wreck so people around the world can view the ship's final resting place. "We would like to work with the Rhode Island government to do that," Hosty told the outlet. "If it means working with Rhode Island Maritime Archaeology Project we'll work with them; we'll work with anyone who is willing to help us on this site." Read the original article on Business Insider More people in Gaza will die from disease than from bombardment if the deteriorating health system isnt fixed, the World Health Organization warned on Tuesday. Nearly 2 million displaced Palestinians in overcrowded conditions are without access to medicines, vaccines, clean water and food, leading to a high risk of gastrointestinal diseases and respiratory infections. The WHO has recorded more than 44,000 cases of diarrhea and 70,000 acute respiratory infections in Gaza, though actual figures may be significantly higher. A six-day truce between Israel and Hamas is simply not enough time to provide food and water to Gaza, where women and children are at a high risk of famine, a World Food Program director warned. While the fragile pause in fighting has allowed the WFP to deliver food to Gaza for the first time in weeks, the people of Gaza have to eat every day, not just for six days, the director said. Israel and its major allies, including the U.S., have resisted repeated calls from humanitarian organizations for a total ceasefire, amid estimates that at least 6,000 children have been killed in Gaza since the Oct. 7 attack, and around 4,000 are missing. The start of the rainy season in Gaza has stoked fears of flooding that could overwhelm sewage systems and exacerbate the spread of diseases. Hospitals in Gaza are filled with wounded children who are sick from gastroenteritis after drinking dirty water, one UN official said. Aid agencies and health officials in Gaza have expressed concern about the lack of fuel reaching the enclave even during the truce, preventing residents from being able to pump clean water and clear waste accumulated on the streets. The U.S. is calling on Israels planned military offensive in southern Gaza now home to nearly 2 million who were displaced from the north to provide greater protection for civilians and crucial infrastructure, Reuters reports. Relaying the message from President Joe Biden, one U.S. official told reporters: You cannot have the sort of scale of displacement that took place in the north, replicated in the south. It will be beyond disruptive, it will be beyond the capacity of any humanitarian support network. It cant happen. Aid agencies are also fearful that Palestinians sheltering in the south would be forced into Egypt amid critical shortages of food and water, the Guardian reports. Alex Murdaugh, the South Carolina lawyer convicted of murdering his wife and son, has been sentenced to 27 more years in prison for financial crimes. He pleaded guilty to 22 counts earlier this month relating to fraud and money laundering. Murdaugh was confronted in court by his fraud victims on Tuesday, with one telling him: "Do you not have a soul?" As his victims spoke, he appeared to listen closely as he sat in the courtroom in an orange jumpsuit. Murdaugh is already serving two life sentences without parole for the two murders. State prosecutors say his plea agreement resolved 101 financial-related charges and a loss of $8.8m (6.9m) among those affected by Murdaugh's schemes. Murdaugh also stole millions from his law firm and avoided paying hundreds of thousands in state income taxes. Much of the stolen money was used by Murdaugh to pay off personal expenses such as loans and credit card debt. In one case, he took a "luxury trip" and billed his client for the expense of it, prosecutors told the courtroom on Tuesday. Several victims of Murdaugh's financial deception appeared in court for his sentencing hearing in Beaufort, South Carolina. They included family of the Murdaugh's housekeeper, who died following a "trip and fall accident" at the Murdaugh home. Housekeeper Gloria Satterfield's adult sons were supposed to receive life insurance money from the accident. Instead, prosecutors said Murdaugh had the roughly $3.5m from the claim directed to an account he used. Her family received nothing. Tony, one of Satterfield's sons, told Murdaugh that his Christian faith obliged him to forgive him for his crimes. "You lied. You cheated. You stole. You betrayed me and my family and everyone else," said Mr Satterfield. Her sister, Ginger Harriott Hadwin, said the housekeeper had loved the Murdaughs as if they were "her own family". "To have her loyalty and love and her trust betrayed by you is very hard to understand," she told him. "I just don't understand. Did you not have a soul?" Many of the people he stole from were clients who had come to him for help after family members were injured or killed at work or in car accidents. Victims include a woman who says she was defrauded by Murdaugh twice, once after a 2010 car accident that left her son paralysed and again after her son's death. Another victim was a man who was injured in a 2011 car accident that killed his wife. In each instance, Murdaugh intercepted proceeds from insurance claims and deposited them into personal accounts, prosecutors said. Some of the money he stole was being held to pay for his clients' medical expenses. Addressing the victims who spoke on Tuesday, Murdaugh told them: "I hate the things that I did." "Despite the things that I did, I care about each one of you. I did terrible things," he said. Murdaugh was a well-known lawyer in South Carolina who ran his family's personal injury law firm for decades. The financial crimes came to light during his double murder trial. Murdaugh was convicted in March of killing his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, ending a weeks-long trial that captured the nation's attention and spawned multiple documentaries, podcasts and more. During the murder trial, prosecutors argued he killed his wife and son to divert attention from his financial crimes and gain sympathy. Since his conviction, Murdaugh has faced multiple civil lawsuits from victims attempted to claim stolen funds. He is also awaiting sentencing on federal charges of financial fraud. Before issuing the sentence on Tuesday, Judge Clifton Newman said that, after his murder trial and other legal troubles, Murdaugh still remains an "enigma". He called his crimes "unimaginable". Murdaugh is appealing the murder conviction. His lawyers have said the court clerk on the case engaged in jury tampering, which the clerk has denied. Lianne Sharabi, 48, and daughters Noiya, 16 and Yahel, 13, were killed by Hamas gunmen - husband Eli is still being held hostage British relatives of Israeli hostages in Gaza say they have been utterly abandoned by the UK Government. The families of those being held hostage feel hugely let down and hugely frustrated by ministers, who they believe are not doing enough to lobby for their release. One British couple, whose daughter and granddaughters were murdered by Hamas terrorists while their Israeli son-in-law was taken hostage, wrote to Rishi Sunak to complain of their disgraceful treatment by the Government. A lawyer representing other British families of hostages said all those affected shared this sentiment. In their letter, Pete and Gill Brisley and their family told of their complete and utter abandonment by the UK Government and accused ministers of impotence and inadequacy in their response to the crisis. Their daughter Lianne Sharabi, 48, who grew up in Bristol before moving to Israel along with granddaughters Noiya, 16 and Yahel, 13, were killed by Hamas gunmen on Oct 7 at their home in Kibbutz Beeri. All three were British citizens. Liannes husband Eli and his brother Yossi were kidnapped by terrorists and taken into Gaza. Steve Brisley, the brother of Lianne Sharabi who was killed by Hamas, said neither Rishi Sunak or Lord Cameron have met with British families who have lost loved ones - Heathcliff O'Malley for The Telegraph Mr and Mrs Brisley, both aged 79, from Bridgend in Wales, never received a specific response to their letter, which they sent on Oct 24. They were sent a separate letter a week later from James Cleverly, the then foreign secretary, expressing his condolences, but officials insisted this was unrelated. Their son Steve Brisley, 47, told The Telegraph of his familys anguish at their treatment by the Government. Not only do they feel there has been a lack of communication and empathy from officials, but they also are not convinced ministers are doing everything they can to secure the release of their relatives, he said. Speaking from his home in Bridgend, he added: This isnt about point-scoring. But my granddad landed on Juno Beach on D-Day. My parents are Londoners. My father-in-law serves in the RAF. I work in the public sector and my wifes a classroom assistant. My nephews a serving officer in the Royal Navy. If we cant rely on our Government in our hour of need, then, you know, is all that public service for nothing? British artist Sharon Lifschitzs mother Yocheved, 85, has been released but her father Oded, 84, remains in captivity - Eddie Mulholland for The Telegraph Mr Brisley told how his family have found it especially galling that Mr Sunak and Lord Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, have both visited Israel but have not taken the time to meet families in the UK who have lost loved ones. Rishi Sunak turns up at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem [and] bats away the BBC reporters who tried to ask him questions in the foyer, saying: I need to go and meet with the families, theyre at the centre of all this. He certainly hasnt come and met with me, he said. It just seems very much like lip service. Rishi Sunak tweeted last week about were doing all we can its just lets throw out a couple of tweets. Lets do a few photo opportunities, and then lets jump back on our plane and go back to back to the UK. One thing that I found particularly difficult and contemptuous was that David Cameron visited Kibbutz Beeri, my sisters home, last week. So hes trodden in the dirt into which the blood of my sister and my nieces is soaked, and yet neither he nor his predecessor has seen fit to engage with the British families. He doesnt need to don a flak jacket and Kevlar helmet to engage with us. But if theres a press opportunity in Israel, then theyre there. On Tuesday night, Noam Sagi was reunited with his 75-year-old mother, Ada - Leon Neal/Getty Images The Brisleys are one of several British families waiting for news of their loved ones fate. The elderly parents of Sharone Lifschitz, a British artist and academic, were also taken hostage. Her mother Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, has been released while her father Oded, 84, remains in captivity. Ayelet Svatitzky is waiting for news of her brother Nadav Popplewell, a British citizen who is being held hostage. Her brother Roi was murdered and her mother Channa Perry, 79, was released last Friday. Adam Rose, a partner at law firm Mishcon de Reya who is representing these four families, said they all shared the frustration of the Brisleys about the lack of obvious engagement from the Government. Mr Brisley accused Lord Cameron of using his visit to Kibbutz Beeri as a press opportunity - Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters I dont want to say theres been no engagement or no activity by this Government, he said. There might have been its just not being relayed to any of the families. Its not being relayed to us as their advisers. Theres no real indication of whats going on and, as a result, the families are just feeling hugely let down and hugely frustrated by the process. On Tuesday night, Noam Sagi, a 53-year-old Londoner, was reunited with his 75-year-old mother, Ada, after she was released from captivity alongside eleven other hostages. Mr Brisley described how the release of hostages over the past few days has been bittersweet for him and his family. Its at once beautiful and crushing, he explained. We want Eli and Yossi home because it will give us a chance to reunite with them and it will give us a chance to move on with our grieving process. This hanging over us is stopping us from grieving for my sister and my nieces because my whole life is consumed with this. A Foreign Office spokesperson said: The safety of British people is our utmost priority and we are working around the clock to get them home, which is why we welcome the humanitarian pauses. The UK is involved in intensive and sensitive diplomatic efforts to secure the release of all hostages, working with Qatar, Israel, the US and others. Since the attacks of October 7th, we have worked tirelessly to support the British people affected. Just last week the Foreign Secretary met with the family members of hostages to directly hear their concerns, and he will continue to do so. 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. Disneyland is once again rolling out discounted, multi-day ticket offers exclusively for Southern California residents. Beginning on Dec. 5, Southern California residents can purchase three-day single park tickets for $225, allowing guests to visit Disneyland or Disneys California Adventure on weekdays. The $276 three-day single park ticket deal is good for weekend visits, theme park officials announced Tuesday. Disneyland offering discounts on kids tickets The weekday tickets can be used on Monday-Thursday visits, while the weekend tickets can be used on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The three-day, one-park tickets can be used on non-consecutive days and guests can purchase Park Hopper and Genie+ add-ons. The discount tickets can be used from Jan. 2 through June 2, 2024, subject to park reservation availability, according to a news release. Disneyland updates pin trading guidelines Under the deal, single-day tickets cost $75 per day for the weekday ticket deal and $92 per day for the weekend ticket. In comparison, a typical one-day, one-park ticket costs between $104 and $194, while a single-day park hopper ticket can cost between $169 and $259. Additionally, the Genie+ service typically costs $30 per day. Proof of residency within Southern California ZIP codes 90000-93599 will be required to purchase and use the tickets, according to a news release. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. Protesters rally as work progresses on the Chicagos first government-run tent encampment for migrants at a lot in the Brighton Park neighborhood on Nov. 29, 2023. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune) Would you like to pitch a tent for the winter on a site contaminated by toxic metals from long-ago industrial production? We didnt think so. Advertisement We would think it would go practically without saying that the site of a former zinc smelter probably isnt fit for a campground. Yet thats apparently still the Johnson administrations plan for providing shelter to as many as 2,000 migrants over the winter. Advertisement The public learned over the four-day Thanksgiving weekend that the vacant Brighton Park property the mayor wants to use to set up a winter base camp for migrants now living in police stations, at OHare Airport and elsewhere is indeed contaminated with heavy metals, as had been suspected. In a letter to her constituents Saturday, Ald. Julia Ramirez, 12th, who represents the affected community, disclosed the finding. But details remain distressingly absent. The city hasnt shared the full environmental impact statement with her office, she wrote. Theres been some remediation, she added, but that didnt put her mind at ease. The alderman rightfully opposes the plan, importantly referencing not only the effect on longtime residents but the newcomers as well. I cannot condone a living situation that puts residents, new and old, at serious health risk, Ramirez wrote. The mayors folks responded that they would release the study later this week and that they were confident the site will be suited for the purpose for which it will be used. Who among us shares this confidence? Given this administrations struggles to provide straightforward communication on a host of issues, few in that neighborhood or throughout the city are apt to take their word that the property is safe. Ramirez made the humanitarian case for nixing this plan, but there are other practical considerations too. Advertisement The city opens itself up to enormous legal liability if people housed on the property end up suffering health effects. Work goes on as dozens of protesters demand a stop to the proposed tent city for migrants at 38th Street and California Avenue in Chicago on Oct. 19, 2023. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune) Which raises the question. Why are we still talking about the Brighton Park site? The mayors people have known for months of the environmental issues the tract posed. More prudent decision-makers would have moved on from that option long ago. Chicago now is experiencing highs in the 20s, and this remains the only plan? Chicago Tribune Opinion Weekdays Read the latest editorials and commentary curated by the Tribune Opinion team. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy > Where or what is Plan B? In October, Beatriz Ponce de Leon, deputy mayor for immigrant, migrant and refugee rights, told Brighton Park residents at a community meeting there was no other option. Chicago is 232 square miles; there is vacant land all over the South and West sides. If a tent camp is what has to happen and even that assumption is questionable given winter realities here among the prerequisites for appropriate sites, one would think, would be lack of a history of heavy industrial usage. The administrations determination to make Brighton Park happen, frankly, raises questions about what other considerations are at work in this decision. Ever since the plans for the site became public, the neighborhood has been in an uproar. Chances are, that would be the reaction in virtually any other neighborhood experiencing the same thing. Are there areas the administration has ruled arent feasible for political reasons? We dont know. But a decision to move ahead with a tent city on land contaminated with toxic metals sure does make us wonder. Advertisement 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. A man was on Disneyland's "It's A Small World" ride when he suddenly got off and started streaking. After stripping off his clothes, the man began roaming around the attraction. The 26-year-old was later detained by the Anaheim Police Department. A man caused a stir at Disneyland on Sunday when he started streaking at the theme park's "It's A Small World" ride. Officials from Disneyland told Los Angeles television station KTLA that they stopped the ride when they noticed the man getting off the ride while it was still moving, and stripping off his clothes. The officials said the man then began wandering around the attraction. Videos of the man roaming around the ride have been circulating on social media, with some visitors expressing shock when they encountered him. "I am on Small World and there was a streaker, I cannot believe this is happening," visitor Ashley Esqueda wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Jonathan McClintock, a spokesperson for the Anaheim Police Department told Business Insider in a statement that they had responded to Disneyland at around 1.30 p.m. McClintock said their officers had assisted Disney security with "a guest who removed his clothes and was naked in or near the It's A Small World Attraction." "Upon officers' arrival, they arrested a 26-year-old man for indecent exposure and for being under the influence of a controlled substance," McClintock said, adding that the man was also sent to a hospital as a precaution. Representatives for Disneyland did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours. Read the original article on Business Insider Disneyland guests had their cell phone cameras recording when a man who police say was high on drugs stripped naked and wandered around Its a small world on Sunday, disrupting the popular ride for hundreds of parkgoers. The 26-year-old man was eventually arrested and booked by Anaheim Police on charges of indecent exposure and being under the influence of a controlled substance. Police did not release his name or provide a booking photograph on Monday. Disneyland Naked Guy Several Disneyland parkgoers shared video of the incident on social media. One clip shows the streaker, who was still wearing boxer shorts at the time, sitting in front of the rides miniature Taj Mahal surrounded by singing animatronic dolls before standing up and walking away. Another clip shared by @KostHunter shows him completely nude in the water near the rides entrance as a park employee approaches. The ride was stopped for about an hour while park security dealt with the situation, according to guests. I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING, tweeted one Small World rider, Ashley Esqueda, who also shared video of people doing the wave on the stopped boats to pass the time. Security officers with the help of Anaheim Police eventually apprehended the naked man and carried him out of Fantasyland, video shows. Disneyland Naked Guy His clothes were found in a pile next to the rides interior boat path. While the vast majority of those who visit the Happiest Place on Earth come and go with only great memories, the park has been grappling with an increase in disruptive behavior. A year ago, Disneyland and Disney World added Courtesy sections to their websites. We ask all who come to this happy place to treat others with respect, kindness and compassion, the section reads. To help Guests have a safe and enjoyable experience, we regularly update our Disneyland Resort rules. Those who cannot live up to this simple wish or follow our rules may be asked to leave the Disneyland Resort. Disneyland Naked Guy While the new section was believed to be a response to increased fighting among guests, existing rules also prohibit smoking marijuana or using other illegal substances. Taking off your clothes and disrupting the operation of a ride are also clear violations. Disneyland guests injured by falling lamp post Proper attire, including shoes and shirts, must be worn at all times, the rules state, which would also apply to those Disneyland guests who engage in behavior perhaps just as disturbing as Sundays streaker. In a recent book, two former Disneyland custodial workers claim that park guests sometimes poop and urinate while waiting in line for rides and not just children. Cleaning the Kingdom: Insider Tales of Keeping Walts Dream Spotless authors Ken Pellman and Lynn Barron say the practice is dubbed Human Code H by cast members. How frequently this occurs is hard to determine. One Disney World employee told Fox News Digital that it happens a couple of times a month. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. The Mecklenburg County District Attorneys office has dismissed charges against a man and woman who were arrested in a viral incident this month outside of a Steele Creek-area Bojangles. All charges, including assault and marijuana possession, against Christina Pierre and Anthony Lee were dropped Tuesday, the couples attorney Lauren Newton and district attorney spokesperson Mike Stolp confirmed to The Charlotte Observer. Pierre and Lee were smoking marijuana at a bus stop when police first came upon them, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. A bystanders video that showed part of Pierres arrest went viral. It showed police officer Vincent Pistone repeatedly hitting her. Those were compliance strikes, CMPD said in a statement after the video began circulating online. And a still-unnamed officer returned a strike to her face, according to the department. After consideration of the body-worn camera evidence and the various recorded accounts of police and civilian witnesses present, based on the totality of the circumstances, the State does not have a reasonable likelihood of success at any potential trial on this matter, according to Pierres dismissal paperwork, signed by prosecutor Sheena Gatehouse. District Attorney Spencer Merriweather declined to comment further on the dismissals. Our firm requested that the charges be dropped both publicly and to the DAs office, Newton said. Given whats come to light with witness statements, its not surprising. And its what we had hoped for and expected. Were pleased to see the justice system working in the manner that it should be. A civil suit related to the arrests is on the horizon, she added. Police had charged Pierre with assault on a government official, resisting arrest and simple possession of marijuana. They charged Lee with carrying a concealed firearm, resisting arrest and simple possession of marijuana. The video of Pierres arrest sparked concerns around use of force, implicit bias and officers reactions to marijuana. CMPD has filed a petition for body camera footage to be released to the public. In North Carolina, that requires a court order. CMPD chief Johnny Jennings reacts Police Chief Johnny Jennings was disappointed that Pierres and Lees charges were dropped especially the firearm and assault charges, the chief said in a statement. However, I have a great deal of respect for our District Attorney and know he has a difficult decision to make when it comes to the prosecution of these cases, Jennings said. Our CMPD officers work hard each day to keep our community safe. Whether or not these cases are prosecuted in the criminal justice system is beyond our control. Even if charges are dropped or prosecution isnt likely, that does not change how we enforce the very laws we swore to uphold. Charlotte police announce community meetings Hours after the dismissals, CMPD also announced that community members will review CMPD policies, including officers response to resistance. The release made no reference to the incident with Pierre and Lee. I feel that there is a need to form a Community and Police Collaboration Group who will mutually make recommendations for potential policy changes, Jennings said in a separate news release. Members of this group have been identified and are being contacted to gauge interest. Meetings are planned to begin in December, and policy recommendations are planned for June 2024, according to the news release. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) A 17-year-old man was charged with robbery after allegedly stealing $50 dollars worth of pizza and a cell phone from a Pizza Hut delivery driver in El Pasos Lower Valley this month and KTSM has obtained court documents that show what led up to the incident. According to court documents, just before 11:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 9, a Pizza Hut delivery driver was delivering an order to an apartment complex in the Lower Valley located on 528 Center Way. The driver told police that he knocked on the delivery address and no one answered the door and he then saw Carlos Luna Garza, 17, looking into the drivers vehicle. Carlos Luna Garza, 17. Photo: EPPD. The driver told police that he asked Luna Garza if he ordered a pizza, to which Luna Garza replied yes, according to court documents. The driver then walked over to Luna Garza and told him the order and the price, to which Luna Garza reached into his pocket, took out some dollar bills and then put them back in his pocket. Luna Garza then told the driver, I have a gun, give me the stuff and your phone or Ill shoot you, according to court documents. Luna Garza then allegedly motioned with his right hand that he had a gun in the waist band of his pants. The driver told police that he was in fear for his life and did what Luna Garza ordered him to do, according to court documents. The driver then got into his vehicle and left. Officers were then dispatched to the Pizza Hut located on 7984 Gateway East regarding the incident. The delivery driver described Luna Garzas clothing to police, stating that he was wearing a black ski mask and a black hoodie. On Friday, Nov. 10, the El Paso Police Departments Gang Unit uncovered several videos that were posted to Instagram under a users profile that displayed the title Tryna tax me for pizza and showed a Pizza Hut delivery person closing the door to a red colored vehicle, according to court documents. Another video from the same Instagram account showed a two-liter Mountain Dew soda, and a Pizza Hut delivery bag. A third video showed a delivery person closing the drivers side door to the vehicle and fleeing the scene. A fourth video showed Pizza Hut chicken wings, and a half-eaten pizza with a title displaying, Not even this can ChKange me (sic). On Saturday, Nov. 11, police were called regarding a stolen vehicle that evaded the Department of Public Safety and El Paso Police Gang Unit officers near the same apartment complex located on 528 Center Way, according to court documents. Court documents state several individuals fled the scene and some were arrested, including Luna Garza who was taken into custody for evading arrest or detention. Several other videos were found on Instagram showing Luna Garza wearing the same ski mask in several of his photographs and video clips which the delivery person described to police. Luna Garza was booked on Friday, Nov. 17 into the El Paso County Jail Annex for robbery and other charges under a total bond of $14,000. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. Christopher Luxon (L) looks on as Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro signs documents which formally made him Prime Minister of New Zealand on Monday (Marty MELVILLE) Doctors blasted New Zealands conservative government on Tuesday for revoking world-leading anti-smoking laws, warning that people will die over the act of "public health vandalism". The country passed a suite of anti-smoking measures under former prime minister Jacinda Ardern, winning praise as a world leader in the global fight against Big Tobacco. But public health experts now fear that reputation is in tatters, after incoming premier Christopher Luxon used his first day in office to consign those laws to the scrap heap. University of Otago tobacco control expert Richard Edwards told AFP a public health "tragedy" was unfolding in the country, which once envisioned becoming almost entirely smoke-free by 2025. "It was not something that we anticipated, we did not think a government could be so backwards," he said. "I was absolutely shocked and appalled. It is one of the worst days I can remember for public health. It is public health vandalism." Dr Samantha Murton, President of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, was also critical of the move. "We are astounded as to how you could repeal something that has been so widely supported and would prevent the deaths of so many," she said in a statement on Tuesday. The headline reform was a "generational smoking ban", which would have effectively outlawed the sale of cigarettes to anyone born after 2008. Other measures would have forced tobacco companies to lower nicotine levels in cigarettes, and slashed the number of stores authorised to sell tobacco products from 6,000 to 600. "None of those measures have yet been implemented at a national level in any country around the world. They were highly innovative," said Edwards. "These were going to have a profound effect on reducing smoking. That will all be lost." Inspired by New Zealand, a string of countries have been mulling over similar moves to crack down on cigarettes. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak unveiled a remarkably similar "smoking ban" proposal at the Conservative Party conference in October this year. - 'Disastrous, terrible' - Edwards said New Zealand was "squandering" a huge opportunity, and had trashed its reputation as a world leader in public health. "So many people from overseas are aghast at this action, because they were looking to New Zealand to lead on this. "It has global implications. It is a disastrous, terrible move." New Zealand has a relatively small number of adult smokers, but tobacco-related disease has exacted a particularly heavy toll on the country's Indigenous Maori population. Maori women have some of the highest lung cancer rates in the world, according to advocacy group Smokefree Aotearoa. Experts are baffled at the incoming government's change of heart, with smoking barely mentioned as an issue during the recent general election campaign. Some have suggested the government wanted to boost its coffers with the tax revenue promised by cigarette sales. For his part, Luxon has said a cigarette ban would have created a flourishing and untaxed black market. Asthma and Respiratory Foundation chief executive Letitia Harding said Luxon's reasoning defied logic. "The argument that a bigger black market could emerge is an argument that is used by big tobacco companies," she said in a statement on Tuesday. sft/djw/mca The two men in blue jeans and t-shirts were strangers but entered the governors gym in the Venezuelan city of Maturin looking as if they owned the place. They asked the front-desk attendant if the governor was in. He was. A guard, spotting their weapons, grabbed his two-way radio and blurted: Armed men just walked in. They were his last words before a burst of 9mm gunfire tore into him and sent gym goers, including Gov. Jose Gregorio El Gato (The Cat) Briceno, diving to the floor. Not 10 minutes later, Briceno, shaken, breathless but alive, received a call from President Hugo Chavez. Gato, what happened? Chavez asked, I have no doubt that it was ordered by Diosdado, Briceno said. That would be Diosdado Cabello, the close Chavez aide who was fast becoming one of the richest and most powerful men in Venezuela. The same Diosdado Cabello who, according to Drug Enforcement Administration records, interviews with exiled colleagues, and a U.S. indictment, today juggles jobs as a captain in the military and member of the national assembly while simultaneously running the Cartel or the Suns, the connective tissue between Colombian drug producers and the Venezuelan regime. Cabello, who graduated second in his class at the military academy, has allegedly consolidated power through connections with current President Nicolas Maduro and his late predecessor, Chavez. He enforces his will by maintaining a firm grip on the nations security forces. Aided by partners, most of them fellow military officers, he also runs a network of companies that monopolize government contracts, usually submitting grossly overinflated invoices. Although garden-variety corruption is a major source of his wealth, drug trafficking has gained greater importance following the decline of the countrys oil income, the U.S. alleges. Finally, his control over the nations main ports allows Cabellos drug operations to flourish, sources claim. Ill-gotten gains must be laundered. Here he holds another trump card: his brother, who runs the Venezuelan equivalent of the IRS. Cabellos pivotal role is underscored in the NarcoFiles: The New Criminal Order, a transnational journalistic investigation into global organized crime, its innovations, its tentacles, and those who fight it. The project, led by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) in partnership with Centro Latinoamericano de Investigacion Periodistica, began with a massive leak of documents from the Colombian Prosecutors Office. The leak was shared with the Miami Herald and 40 other media outlets around the world. The leaked Colombian documents lay out Cabellos personal involvement in the drug trade, indicating that Cabello has a number of partners who own cattle ranches in the Venezuelan lowlands (Llanos) that receive drug shipments coming out of Colombia through the Arauca River. Along with exclusive interviews with cartel members in exile and DEA documents, the Colombian leak provides the clearest portrait yet of the man allegedly overseeing Venezuelas transformation from a nation buoyed by oil profits into a narco-state. Prelude to a fusillade Cabello had reason to harbor a grudge. Briceno then governor of Monagas state, now living in exile in Spain told the Herald he had sent detailed reports to Chavez alleging that Cabello and his brother, Jose David, were running a sprawling drug-trafficking and money-laundering operation. Briceno reported that cocaine shipments coming out of Colombia were transported to large cattle ranches purchased by Cabellos strawmen in Monagas, a state in northeastern Venezuela, and from there taken by boat or small plane out of the country. Assembled by intelligence agents with the states police department, the reports ran several pages long, replete with photos, organizational charts and detailed descriptions of the operation, Briceno told the Herald. Diosdado Cabello speaks at a Caracas news conference during the November 2021 election to choose governors, mayors and legislators. EFE/EFE/Sipa USA None of this should have surprised Chavez since, according to interviews and documents reviewed by the Herald, the president not only knew of the drug trafficking operation but had handpicked Cabello to help lead it. Sounding the alarm cost Briceno control of the states police. A month after the gymnasium attack, units from the National Guard, supported by light tanks and carrying assault weapons, took over the police headquarters. Things only got worse for Briceno. The governor clashed with Chavez after refusing to comply with the presidents order to reestablish water service in Maturin following a massive oil leak that contaminated the citys main supply, the Guarapiche River. Had he obeyed, Briceno said, the citys 600,000 inhabitants would have been exposed to deadly toxins. Briceno, along with several other former high-ranking regime members, told the Herald in separate interviews that Cabello stands at the apex of the Cartel de Los Soles, the Spanish name for the drug-trafficking organization, which is interwoven with the socialist regime. DEA documents obtained by the Miami Herald and its parent company, McClatchy, underscore his involvement. Cabello was present at the birth of the cartel, according to those documents. He was among a group of Chavez lieutenants who participated in a series of brainstorming sessions orchestrated by the then-president in 2005. Chavez urged the group to promote his political objectives, including fighting the United States by flooding the country with cocaine, one DEA document said. According to DEA records, Chavez ordered Cabello, Maj. Gen. Hugo Carvajal, then-Defense Minister Henry Rangel Silva and others to coordinate with the Armed Revolutionary Forces of Colombia (FARC), Colombias main rebel army, stipulating that law enforcement should be ordered not to intervene. Carvajals lawyer denied his client, Chavezs spy chief, attended any such meetings. One DEA document was sent by the U.S. State Department to Spain to try to secure Carvajals extradition after he was arrested when he tried to enter that country. It took years highlighted by Carvajals escape from Spanish custody and almost two years on the lam but he was finally extradited this year. While Cabello was only one of several Chavez aides assigned to set up a state-sponsored drug trafficking enterprise in partnership with Colombias leftist guerrillas, he would rise to the top soon enough, sources formerly affiliated with the regime told the Miami Herald. Diosdado is the boss of everything, a former cartel member told the Miami Herald. Cabellos direct involvement in the drug trade prompted the U.S. Treasury Departments Office of Foreign Assets Control, aka OFAC, to sanction him, claiming he used his control over the countrys security forces to further an array of criminal rackets, including extortion, money laundering and mineral smuggling in addition to drug trafficking. Sanctions can involve travel restrictions and freezes on assets. Beside running his own routes with drugs provided by FARC, Cabello had an additional cocaine connection, according to OFAC. The U.S regulator said his organization commandeered drug loads seized from small-fry traffickers and exported them through a Venezuelan government-owned airport. Cabello, along with President Maduro and others, divided proceeds from these narcotics shipments, OFAC said. On March 26, 2020, following up on OFACs sanctions, the U.S. issued an indictment charging Cabello and 14 other high-ranking regime officials, including Maduro, with turning Venezuela into a state-sanctioned drug- trafficking hub. The State Department announced a $10 million reward for information leading to Cabellos arrest. The reward is unclaimed. A poster offers rewards for the arrest of top officials in the Venezuelan regime, including Diodado Cabello. Cabellos control over the nations ports is all but absolute, sources said, due in part to the restructuring of Bolipuertos, the oversight authority. The restructuring allowed the cartel, particularly the faction of Cabello, to take almost total control over the entry to and exits from the ports and the products licit or illicit that moved through them, said a recent report by IBI Consultants, a security consulting firm specializing in transnational organized crime in Latin America. The report was produced for a U.S. law enforcement agency. At those same ports, Cabello has military officers loyal to him who facilitate the drug shipments, the report said. Cabello relies on both family members in key positions and military and former military officers, particularly those close to his 1987 graduation class from the military academy. Most of those in key positions to control critical infrastructure and cocaine flows are from the military academy classes of 1986-1988, who are personal friends and comrades of Cabellos, the report added. Whats more, Cabello now has direct control of the countrys intelligence service, the feared SEBIN, which gives him the upper hand in the cartels infighting. A key cog in his consolidation of power is Cabellos brother, Jose David, who, according to the U.S. Treasury Department, facilitates the cartels money-laundering operations through his control of Venezuelas revenue service, Seniat. Brothers, collaborators The brothers have allegedly accumulated a vast business and real estate empire through a wave of expropriations conducted over the years by the regime. Some of those expropriated properties ended up in the hands of the Cabello clan, sources said. Despite the enormous wealth and power they have accumulated, there is one goal that has eluded them. It is said to be a source of the enmity between the brothers and Briceno, which dates back more than a decade ago. The confrontation with Diosdado began when I became governor, because he wanted to impose Jose David Cabello, his brother, in the position, Briceno said. Why? It was his mothers dream to have one of his sons become the governor of Monagas state, Briceno said. Thats when the confrontation began, and the guy used all his power to keep me from winning the election, and then from staying in the post. Their mothers wish didnt come true, but the desire to turn Monagas and Venezuela into a drug haven has turned into reality. Experts believe the cartel, using Monagas as a jumping-off point, exports between 250 and 350 tons of cocaine per year, with a street value of between $6.25 billion and $8.75 billion. Much of it is ticketed for the United States. It might be a stretch to say that Liz Monterreys three dogs are responsible for her election to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board of Education. But its also true that if not for Jade, Zoey and Baby Girl, Monterrey might never have wondered why she didnt have a dog park in her Miami neighborhood seven years ago. She might not have learned how to create a community petition and lobby for action. And the 34-year-old wouldnt have used the knowledge from that experience after she moved to Charlotte in 2020 and worked to make her Plaza Shamrock neighborhood dog park safer from speeding motorists who crashed into it three times in two years. If not for that experience organizing neighbors, she probably wouldnt have been encouraged to join the Plaza Shamrock Neighborhood Association and then recruited by Latino leaders in Charlotte to run for public office. So it might be a stretch to say that Jade, Zoey and Baby Girl led to Monterrey becoming the first Latina elected to the CMS board in early November. But maybe its accurate to say Monterreys three dogs revealed how small things can make a big difference. It made me realize the power of local government, Monterrey told The Charlotte Observer. And I wanted to see how else I can give back to the community. Representation matters Liz Monterrey was elected to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools board this month as the first Latina to serve on the board. It might be an exaggeration, too, for Wendy Mateo Pascual to say Monterrey moved to Charlotte and had an epiphany about local governments power at the right time. But its also true Pascual, executive director and co-founder of Bethesda Health Center and Camino Community Center, and other Latino leaders have been looking to add representation to the citys elected offices for years. People on the Latino Civic Engagement Community noticed when Monterrey began to show leadership abilities in her neighborhood. Monterrey was just the second such candidate on the at-large ballot for the CMS board. Dan Ramirez, who died in 2014, was elected to the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners in 2002 and again in 2006. Susan Rodriguez-McDowell is a current commissioner for Mecklenburg County, and has said she was among one or two Hispanic or Latino elected officials in the entire state when she first took office in 2018. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, 14.9% of Charlotte residents identify as Hispanic or Latino. Representation matters, Pascual said. Representation is important in all levels not only for Latinos, (but) for women, for minority groups, for everybody. Because if you are not at the table, even if you have allies, if its somebody that is not from that community at the table, most of the time the needs for that community are last on the list. Monterrey is the child of Cuban immigrants, and says she grew up in poverty. Her parents immigrated to the United States more than 30 years ago. Her father, Santiago, was a handyman and electrician who worked whatever job he could find in Miami. Her mother, Grisel, was an entrepreneur who did all kinds of jobs to make ends meet, Monterrey said. The school board member-elect is the youngest of three children, and the first born in the United States. She heard stories of how her parents lost everything in Cuba when the communist regime took over, and it affected how she has lived her life. She was driven to value education and earned a masters in business administration. She works in marketing for Intuit. Her husband, Chris Duvall, and their 5-year-old son, Isaac, live a world away from her childhood in a family that primarily lived paycheck to paycheck, she said. I have a newly found privilege, is what I like to say, Monterrey said. And I just feel like people like me, its our duty to have a pipeline of people that we mentor, and that we will serve as role models (for) so that they can also go through the doors that we were able to go through. Im a daughter of immigrants, and Ive always felt like I needed to use my voice and my platform and my privilege for something. Santiago Monterrey has seen that drive in his youngest daughter for her entire life: Every time, she is going for more. Cold-emailing elected officials Liz Monterrey gives Jade, left, and Zoey, right, a snack as her son, Isaac, watches. It might be an unusual analogy to say Monterrey approached running for an at-large CMS Board of Education position like a student researching a term paper. But its also true. Monterrey said she contacted almost every elected official in Charlotte when debating whether to run for office. I cold-emailed them because I wanted to learn more, she said. I was just very curious. She heard back from Charlotte City Council members such as LaWana Mayfield and Dimple Ajmera. Mayfield invited her to a City Council meeting and asked what Monterrey had to offer and what her plans might be if she ran for office. She gave it to me, Monterrey said, the cold, hard truth. They talked about ways that Monterrey could differentiate herself in an election, and what the actual work of serving in public office was like. The effort, the hard work, the reality of it, Monterrey said. Just giving me the full picture of it the good and the bad. When Monterrey realized she might have more to offer on the CMS Board of Education, she did the same thing with members on that board emailing and talking and gathering information. My takeaway was that building relationships and working with people to drive things forward is most important, Monterrey said. And I think Im really good at that because Ive worked in corporate for a really long time. And you know, in corporate, you have to work with others, you need to prove your points, you need to use data, you need to be able to listen to others. A role model to all students In a field of 14 candidates for an at-large position on the CMS Board of Education, Monterrey won 12.42% of the vote on Nov. 7 second-most. She will be sworn into office on Dec. 12 with her parents in attendance. Her father, Santiago, said he is proud of his daughter and eager to see what voice she can give to a CMS student body population that is 30% Hispanic or Latino and has never had a representative on its board. We, the Hispanic people, we are the same, but we think differently, Santiago Monterrey said. If our community is an Anglo community, probably we do not have the right service to us. So we need somebody whos Latino to understand what we need. Pascual is also eager to see what a Latina voice elevated to an elected position can do in CMS. She points to statistics that say 38.5% of Latino students are grade-level proficient in key subjects such as reading or math. You have 30% of the students who are Latino and you have schools that have a high Latino/Spanish/Hispanic population and you dont have bilingual staff, Pascual said. You dont have bilingual teachers. You dont have any Latino in any of the leadership positions at the school system. That population is also one of the ones that is behind in everything. Monterrey agrees that simply having someone who natively speaks the same language might be an important step in connecting with Spanish-speaking communities through meetings and town halls and making sure that they understand the school system, she said. If I can start building that bridge, where parents feel empowered to go into the schools and advocate for their children, and learn about the school system even more than they do, I think thats low-hanging fruit right there, she continued. But Monterrey also emphasizes shes not just there as a lone voice for Latino issues. I want to make it clear that, yes, Im representing Latinos, but Im an advocate for all students, she said. It just so happens that I speak Spanish, and that Im bi-cultural and I can straddle the two worlds. Its interesting for me to live in both worlds because in some cases, I feel like I dont fully fit into being Latino and I dont fully fit in American and so its like this new category that a lot of us are in first generation where we straddle these two worlds. It means a lot to be able to show that to people. It might be a stretch for Monterrey to say she represents a new generation of students and parents in CMS one with humble beginnings, a drive to learn as much information as possible about her new job and three dogs who just might have launched her political career. But its also true. Im just happy to be able to bring that to light and give people a different view of what it means to be Latino and first generation in America, she said. Three days after two dogs were stolen, one of them has been found, according to their owners. On Tuesday night, Matt Livingston told Channel 2s Tom Regan that Stogie was found in the Adamsville neighborhood at the intersection of Fairburn and Hemphill School Road. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The owners of the mixed bulldogs were on vacation when the dogs got snatched over the weekend in the Castleberry Hills neighborhood of southwest Atlanta. A dramatic video shows the owners dog walker chasing after thieves who had just stolen the two dogs at gunpoint. You can even hear one of them firing a shot. On Tuesday, Regan was in the neighborhood, where Joshua Cavanaugh said he was determined not to give up his friends dogs to the thieves when one of them fired a warning shot and another grabbed the dogs leashes and ran. Livingston spent the day posting flyers about his stolen dogs, mixed-breed bulldogs named Scotch and Stogie. He and his partner, Brandon Odom, are devastated after the dogs were snatched as Cavanaugh walked them Sunday night. One dog has been found but now, the owners are doing everything they can to find Scotch. Livingston and Odom were on vacation in London when they woke up to multiple text messages and phone calls. I mean, they are our kids, you know? Its very heartbreaking, Livingston said. TRENDING STORIES: Cavanaugh was walking the dogs when three young men, all with guns, approached him in the street demanding the dogs. In my head, I was thinking, This isnt really happening right now, Cavanaugh said. And then he waved the gun around my head and said, Dont be stupid. And then he aimed it a little lower to my legs and then shot, and missed thankfully. One of them turns around and tells me to stop chasing them and fires another shot at me. The three men jumped in a car and sped off. The car crashed a few blocks away, but the thieves ran off with the dogs. Livingston and Odom said they cant stop worrying about the kidnapped pups and are desperate to see them returned home. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Earlier Tuesday on Channel 2 Action News at 6 p.m., Livingston said they hoped to get them back. Its been a surreal and traumatizing experience, Livingston said. We are just so thankful Joshua is okay and just hope we can get them back. The search is still on for one more dog. The man who was driving the car that the dognappers jumped in was arrested for an outstanding warrant and could face other charges. The dogs owners are offering a reward for their safe return. IN OTHER NEWS: FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) A Fresno man pleaded guilty to one count of attempted coercion of a minor and one count of enticement of a minor on Monday, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. According to documents, 29-year-old, Christopher Contreras of Fresno used the messaging application, Skout, Snapchat and texting to engage in sexually explicit communications for approximately one week with a person he believed to be a 13-year-old female. The DOJ says he then traveled to a location in Fresno in July 2020, to meet the purported minor for sexual activity. He was actually talking to undercover law enforcement officers. Contreras was booked into the Fresno County Jail where he was released on bail, according to the DOJ. On Oct. 13, 2020, law enforcement officers responded to a call about a missing juvenile. An investigation confirmed that Contreras picked the juvenile up at a location in Fresno after making arrangements through messages on the Meet Me application. Contreras was arrested for numerous felony violations of California law and was booked again at the Fresno County Jail. The DOJ says he was later charged federally in that case and has been in federal custody since June 10, 2021. According to the DOJ Contreras is scheduled to be sentenced on April 1, 2024. Contreras faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and up to a life term of supervised release for each of the two counts. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com. FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) A Fresno man was sentenced for conspiracy, theft of public money, and aggravated identity theft, the United States Department of Justice said on Monday. According to court documents, between June 2020 and January 2022, 44-year-old Jeffrey Michalk of Fresno worked with Fresno residents 41-year-old Steve Gomez and 49-year-old Michael Dugan to cash counterfeit U.S. Treasure checks throughout the Central Valley. The DOJ says this included approximately 264 fraudulent checks and a loss amount of over $500,000. The trail of counterfeit checks spanned different counties and involved checks forged to be made payable to the defendants and others. Todays sentence is a reminder that the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration is committed to aggressively investigating those who commit financial crimes impacting the tax administration and victimizing the citizens of our communities, said Special Agent in Charge Rod Ammari. This case demonstrates the investigative capabilities and dedication of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration special agents. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration is committed to protecting the financial infrastructure of the United States by pursuing individuals that abuse the tax administration to further their identity theft schemes. According to the DOJ, Michalk was sentenced to three years and nine months. Gomez and Dugan have also pleaded guilty and are scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 29, 2024, and Feb. 26, 2024, respectively. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com. Protesters rally as work progresses on the Chicagos first government-run tent encampment for migrants at a lot in the Brighton Park neighborhood on Nov. 29, 2023. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune) Workers are set to start building Chicagos first government-run tent encampment for migrants at a Southwest Side site as soon as Wednesday, officials said after a series of recent false starts at the controversial base camp, where an environmental assessment has yet to be released. Mayor Brandon Johnsons office announced the latest timeline before touting a new push by Chicago churches to open their doors to the hundreds of migrants who remain at police stations and OHare International Airport. But it is unclear whether that will be enough to get those new arrivals out of the makeshift encampments before the Brighton Park migrant camp can open mid-December, at the earliest. Advertisement Questions over potential contaminants in the soil and other viability issues with the land at 38th Street and California Avenue also remain unanswered, though Johnson said his office is on track to publish a report addressing those concerns by the end of the week. Asked at a news conference why construction is starting before those results are publicly released, the mayor stressed, Winters coming, fast. Advertisement And city officials said theyre confident the additional details to be released this week on the ongoing assessment at the site should not impede progress on setting up the base camp for about 2,000 migrants. Look, the international crisis that I inherited six months ago, Ive made it very clear that we are going to make sure that we remove people out of police districts: women, children who are living on floors and sleeping outside that were going to create spaces that provide more dignity, Johnson said. The mayor did not directly refute fears from environmental advocates that the former industrial site at Brighton Park had contaminants but expressed confidence his office has been transparent and that the community partners know exactly whats happening. Alders know exactly whats happening. As weve been doing at all of our sites, weve assessed and we have looked for any contaminants, and all of the remediation thats necessary to eliminate the contaminants, thats very much a part of our overall agenda, Johnson said. Johnsons comments came a day after Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the state would foot the bill for the Brighton Park camp, with the money coming out of the $160 million his administration has earmarked to help deal with the influx of asylum-seekers to Chicago. Of that $160 million initially touted as a fully state-funded effort, Pritzker is actually counting on $40 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that hasnt been approved yet, according to his administration. The governors office has said the camp will not officially open its doors until the environmental viability assessment is complete. As for who will ultimately be in charge of the 38th and California base camp, both Johnson and Gov. J.B. Pritzker said on Tuesday that it was a collaboration. Despite the state footing the bill to set up and operate the tent encampment under its contract with GardaWorld Federal Services, Pritzker on Tuesday said the responsibility for any issues that arise there, or at the smaller indoor shelter in Little Village, would be shared with the city. Advertisement Its part of the city shelter system, Pritzker said at an unrelated event. And, certainly, if there are challenges, the city and the state will work together to communicate with GardaWorld what those challenges are that we need to overcome. The state has reached an agreement with GardaWorld in which the company wont bill for work performed there if the site proves to be inhabitable, Pritzkers office said. Ald. Julia Ramirez, 12th, said that while she was happy to hear about the citys apparent confidence in the environmental safety of the site to start construction, she wished there was more documentation and more proof to provide where that confidence is coming from. Ramirez first told residents on Saturday that construction at the site was starting this week, which the mayors office pushed back on, saying only that delivery and staging of equipment has been scheduled for today so construction can begin at a later date. I think its just important that the more information the better as people see a lot of the work being done, Ramirez said. She said she looked forward to the assessment results being released later this week. Even if the assessment finds the ground of the site is suitable after remediation efforts, Anthony Moser, a founding member of the nonprofit group Neighbors for Environmental Justice, said the group has larger environmental concerns about housing anyone there. Advertisement I dont want to give the impression that there is a safe way to do this because we consider the whole thing theyre trying to do to be unsafe, Moser said. The city is taking an extremely vulnerable group of people and putting them on a truck lot, in an industrial corridor, by the highway, surrounded by sources of pollution where theyre going to be running diesel generators. Moser disagreed that Johnson was being true to his commitment for environmental justice and transparency throughout this process. I think putting people on a site that has contamination does not seem like that kind of commitment, he said. I also noticed he was talking about the transparency component of this, saying everybody knows whats going on, which is kind of remarkable. They didnt announce GardaWorld, or when assessments were starting, the lease agreement with the sites owners, the sites history of toxic metals or the start of construction, Moser said. Theyve not announced any part of this process voluntarily, he said. Every single part of it is a decision weve become aware of through other channels. The cold weather is increasing the pressure on officials to find more warm places for the migrants to sleep. As of Tuesday, more than 22,700 migrants have arrived in Chicago in the last 15 months, per city data. Advertisement Now about 1,100 migrants remain at the Chicago police districts, with another 150 at OHare International Airport. Thats down from a peak of about 3,800 migrants across the stations and airports. Another 12,900 of them were at the city-run shelters. Johnsons announcement Tuesday that a coalition of faith organizations will shelter some of the migrants inside their churches was expected to alleviate some of the crowding at CPD stations. Starting Wednesday, Grace and Peace Church pastor John Zayas said, those groups will send buses to pick up migrants with a goal of making a huge impact by clearing all police stations by Dec. 1. About 100 migrants will be given shelter during the start of the operation on Wednesday, with 20 migrants staying at each church, Zayas said. He added there will be no definitive end date to the endeavor, which is beginning with $350,000 in funds from charity to buoy the services. For now, 17 churches are part of the first phase of the initiative, meaning there may still be families at the police stations and the airport who need shelter over the next weeks, but Zayas said the coalition intends to grow. He and city officials said the goal was to transition the migrants to permanent housing within 60 days but did not go far as to say whether they must leave by then, as Johnsons new policy for separate city-run shelters requires. Zayas said the migrants moving in there will be subject to a curfew and other rules and that city contractors will assist with staffing and other services. Advertisement Absent at Tuesdays news conference with faith leaders was the Archdiocese of Chicago. But the Catholic organization is working with city officials to assess the viability of turning six to eight of its properties into shelters housing 300 people or more, Eric Wollan, chief capital assets officer, told the Tribune earlier this month. Earlier Tuesday, mayoral spokesman Ronnie Reese said workers that day would lay out materials, measure and begin placing bases for the large encampment in Brighton Park, and that, barring complications, setup of the large tent structures could begin as early as Wednesday. In his Tuesday remarks, the mayor sought to dispel assumptions that his recent announcements of a 60-day shelter limit, of less-than-expected funding for migrant services next year mean he is acknowledging the limits to his mission to prove Chicagos values as a welcoming city. Our story is ongoing, Johnson said. This notion that the city of Chicago is breaking away from its values, I dont accept that notion. What youre hearing from families is how do we ensure that families who voted for their aspirations and hope, that those aspirations and those hopes dont get lost. ayin@chicagotribune.com aquig@chicagotribune.com Advertisement dpetrella@chicagotribune.com FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) A Fresno man was sentenced on Monday to 30 years in prison, to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for receipt and distribution of child pornography, announced the United States Department of Justice. According to court documents, on Jan. 3, 2020, a concerned citizen reported to law enforcement that Gary Lee Briggs, 66, of Fresno appeared to be trying to lure an eight-year-old boy into his apartment in Fresno. When officers confronted Briggs, he reported that he planned to test his ability to withstand urges that attracted him to the boy. The DOJ says Briggs also admitted that Facebook recently terminated his account for having transmitted sexually explicit material on that platform. According to the DOJ, Facebook separately had notified the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children that Briggs Facebook account had been used to transmit sexually explicit images of minors from August through December 2019. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com. FRESNO, Calif. (KGPE/KSEE) A man was sentenced to multiple years in prison for cyberstalking and threatening a female according to the Department of Justice. According to the DOJ, 52-year-old Kevin James Strutz of Ceres was sentenced to three years and four months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for cyberstalking, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. In addition, Strutz was ordered to pay $1773 in restitution. According to court documents, Strutz secretly made a video recording of an adult female who stayed as an Airbnb tenant at the residence where Strutz was living in Ceres in February 2020. The victim ended her stay at the residence when she discovered a message on a cellphone that Strutz had left in a shared bathroom. Over the next several months, Strutz continued to contact the victim through multiple Facebook accounts. The messages became increasingly aggressive, and one included an image of the victim exiting a shower at the Airbnb residence that had been taken without her knowledge or consent. Strutz sent the image to her with a demand that she send him a sexually explicit video or he would send the photo to her friends and family. Investigators say they later learned that between September 2018 and December 2018, Strutz had also sent a series of electronic messages and handwritten letters to a second female victim. Officials say that Strutz left 15 handwritten letters on the victims vehicle, many of which contained threats designed to the victim into engaging in sexual acts with Strutz. He also sent messages to the victim from five different Facebook accounts and attempted to contact the victim using phone calls and messages. The DOJ says this was a product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Ceres Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gappa prosecuted the case. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com. Sometimes people dont know how to address it. Just ask how I am - I will answer you - Mark Cant/Womens Health UK People with cancer do not want pity looks and sympathy, Amy Dowden has said, as she thanked the Strictly Come Dancing team for keeping her spirits up. Dowden, 33, one of the BBC shows professional dancers, announced in June that she had undergone a mastectomy after discovering that she had stage three breast cancer. Dowden told Womens Health UK: I just want to be treated as normal. - Mark Cant / Womens Health UK Asked how she wanted people to approach her, Dowden told Womens Health UK: I just want to be treated as normal. When Im walking outside and Ive got my headscarf on, I dont want looks of sympathy or feeling sorry for me. Im Amy. Sometimes people dont know how to address it. Just ask how I am - I will answer you. We dont want you to feel sorry for us. Were embracing it. Stand strong with us. Dont give me that pity look - I dont need it. Dowden has been reunited with her Strictly family on Saturday nights, where she joins her fellow professionals to watch the performances. She said: Watching Strictly has been a great help. Im my fellow professionals biggest cheerleader. Dowden has been reunited with her Strictly family on Saturday nights, where she joins her fellow professionals to watch the performances - Mark Cant / Womens Health UK Were the best of friends. Honestly, not a day goes by without Dianne [Buswell] checking in on me; Carlos [Gu]; Katya [Jones]. Production have gone above and beyond to make me part of the series as well. To have no part in it would have been soul-destroying and not good for me mentally whatsoever. I dont know what I would have done, Ill be honest with you. Dowden posed for the magazine without her wig and said she hoped her decision would inspire others. I just had a little moment: I imagined teenagers being able to go to school and being able to embrace [not having hair] or go swimming and just be like, Im like Amy whos off Strictly. And that just gave me the confidence to go, Yeah, lets do this. The full Amy Dowden interview can be read in the December issue of Womens Health UK, on sale now. 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. Lieutenant Doug Gilling, who had died aged 101, was the last of the Dominion yachtsmen who volunteered to join the Navy during the Second World War. In July 1940, when the Admiralty extended to Australia its yachtsmen scheme (the Royal Naval Volunteer Supplementary Reserve or RNVSR), Gilling was among the first to sign up. It was intended for gentlemen who are interested in yachting or similar pursuits, though, in practice, few of the eventual 500 volunteers had much previous knowledge. Gilling had done a couple of offshore races in his fathers boat. He had also already passed the Royal Australian Navys anti-submarine warfare course, but was told: You passed, and well call you up when youre 20. That birthday was still another seven or eight months away, so Gilling said to himself: Nuts to that. Instead, in September he sailed with others in RMS Strathnaver to join the war. Douglas Lawrence Gilling was born on August 3 1921 in Mosman, New South Wales, and educated at Knox Grammar School and the University of Sydney; his father was the English-born architect F Glynn Gilling. Once he was in the UK, Gillings training involved a period at sea on the lowerdeck before being sent to HMS King Alfred, a stone frigate (land establishment) at Hove, Sussex, where between 1940 and 1946 some 22,500 officers would be trained in a 10-week course. HMS Berkeley after she had been hit during the Dieppe Raid Gillings first sea time was in the Hunt-class destroyer Berkeley, and he is thought to have been the only Australian to take part, as an ammunition loader at a twin 4in gun, in Operation Jubilee, the raid on Dieppe in August 1942. When Berkeley was hit by two bombs, which broke her back and killed 13 ratings, Gilling was thrown into the water, where after about 10 minutes in the water he was picked up by a landing craft and taken to a sistership, Albrighton. There he immediately resumed his duties as an ammunition loader on her twin 4 in turret. Once at King Alfred, Gilling volunteered to become a diver and trained as a charioteer, and when chariots or two-man human torpedoes were superseded by three-man X-Craft or mini-submarines, he again volunteered. Gilling practised for Operation Source, the raid on the German battleship Tirpitz in September 1943. His role would have been to exit the X-Craft underwater, swim to the steel netting protecting Tirpitz, cut the net and guide his X-Craft through to where it could lay explosive charges. But under training Gilling caught his thumb in a wire and it was amputated, rendering him unfit for further diving. He took command of Motor Launch 366 based in Mombasa, escorting convoys to India, before being promoted to lieutenant, and returning to UK to command ML 195 based in Felixstowe, providing anti-submarine patrols protecting the supply routes to Europe. There, in Cuxhaven in May 1945, he attended the debriefing sessions of British Army units which had freed the Bergen-Belsen concentration camps. The versatile Gilling next trained as a fighter-direction officer and was preparing to join the British Pacific Fleet in a carrier when the atomic bomb ended the war. He returned to Australia in January 1946 to await the arrival of his war bride six months later. In 1943 he had married Bridget Sabina Corbett-Fisher, whose obituary described her as a woman of straight back and English vowels, [who] came to Australia and became a leader of various civil liberty causes, particularly the campaign for abortion law reform; they spent their honeymoon at the Lygon Arms in the Cotswolds, then a refuge at a reasonable price for Dominion sailors. His first marriage having ended in divorce, Doug Gilling married secondly, in 1972, the horticulturist Sarah Horton, and he is survived by five children from both marriages. Gilling died in Australia and news of his death only recently emerged. Earlier this year the historian Janet Roberts Billett published The Yachties: Australian Volunteers in the Royal Navy 1940-45. Doug Gilling, born August 3 1921, died July 15 2023 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. Rishi Sunak cancelled the meeting with his Greek counterpart after he publicly lobbied the Government to return the sculptures in a BBC interview - Hannah McKay/AFP Rishi Sunak snubbed the Greek prime minister over the Elgin Marbles in order to ramp up Tory support ahead of a general election next year, Athens has suggested. A spokesman for Kyriakos Mitsotakis suggested Mr Sunak had domestic reasons for cancelling their meeting on Tuesday, pointing out that he is behind in the polls. He said Mr Mitsotakis had been angered by what he considered to be a British misstep, but insisted talks about the reunification of the Parthenon sculptures would continue. It comes as allies of the Greek premier pushed back against Downing Streets claim that Greece acted in bad faith by publicly lobbying for the return of the Marbles during a trip to London. No 10 accused Greece of rowing back on explicit assurances that they would not use the visit to Britain as a public platform to campaign on the long-settled issue, but Athens denied that Mr Mitsotakis agreed not to raise the subject in public. Mr Mitsotakis used a BBC interview to call for the return of the Elgin Marbles to Athens - Jeff Overs/BBC/AFP via Getty Images Dimitris Tsiodras, the director of the Greek prime ministers press office, suggested the snub had been politically motivated. Clearly, there are domestic reasons and 2024 is an election year and he is quite behind in the polls but the discussion with the British Museum is ongoing, he said. Downing Street denied the claim. While Mr Sunak opted to cancel his talks with Mr Mitsotakis, Lord Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, and George Gerapetritis, his Greek counterpart, spoke on the fringes of a NatoO ministers meeting in Brussels on Tuesday, according to Greek diplomats. They were said to have agreed that there is need for cooperation to safeguard the Greece-UK bilateral relations and tackle the common challenges, with the Greek minister noting the disagreement on the principle of who should house the sculptures. Mr Sunak pulled out of the bilateral meeting at the 11th hour after Mr Mitsotakis used a BBC interview on Sunday to make an impassioned case for repatriating the Marbles, in which he said keeping them in Britain was like tearing the Mona Lisa in half. The Prime Ministers official spokesman said he felt it would not be productive to hold a meeting dominated by ancient grievances. The spokesman added: When requesting a meeting with the Prime Minister this week, the Greek government provided reassurances that they would not use the visit as a public platform to re-litigate long-settled matters relating to the ownership of the Parthenon sculptures. Given those assurances were not adhered to, the Prime Minister felt it would not be productive to hold a meeting dominated by that issue, rather than the important challenges facing Greek and British people. The Elgin Marbles were controversially removed from the Parthenon temple by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century - Daniel Leal/AFP The spokesman said the Government was disappointed that the Greeks chose not to accept an alternative invitation to meet Oliver Dowden, the Deputy Prime Minister. Mr Sunak is understood to have personally called off the meeting. One senior government source said: Its a respect thing. Speaking to BBC Radio 4s World At One on Tuesday, Adonis Georgiadis, the Greek development minister, said: It was a mistake. It was a bad day for our relationship. I hope that we will find a way out soon. Tahir Shah, the head of the Scheherazade Foundation, a British non-profit that has been working to return treasures from the British Museum to their countries of origin, said the Marbles were the Holy Grail of the repatriation business. He said he was flummoxed by Mr Sunaks decision to call off the meeting, warning that it would damage Britains relation and Britains reputation with the wider world. To me it was like something out of Yes, Minister or Monty Python, he told The Telegraph. This was a golden opportunity to push diplomatic relations forward in the most speculator way, but instead what Sunaks team did, its what an eight-year-old kid would do in a playground. Challenged on whether it looked petty for Mr Sunak to allow the Marbles row to get in the way of talks on key issues such as migration, the Prime Ministers spokesman said: We understand, and have heard on a number of occasions, Greeces position on the Marbles. They are welcome and able to make those positions known to us in private, as they have done before. 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. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) Around the Thanksgiving holiday, congestion around Nashville International Airport has led to people being stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic as they rushed to make their flights. People who frequently pick up and drop off passengers at BNA said the relocated cell phone waiting area, confusion surrounding the alternative routes, and frequent construction are part of the problem. I would say Wednesday, Thursday, were one of the worst days Ive seen at the airport, and weve been doing this for nine years, said Concierge Ride TN owner Arthur Davis. Nearly 277,000 passengers traveled through BNA over the Thanksgiving holiday Davis said he drops off passengers at the airport multiple times a day and said thats been difficult lately. Its been very chaotic, Davis said. The movement of the cell lot has caused a lot of people who just continue to circle the airport. In March, BNA opened its new area for people waiting to pick up passengers. The new lot is about 2.5 times larger than the previous one, but sits about three miles from the terminal and is located off Murfeesboro Pike. No one wants to wait. They feel its in a deserted area, Davis said. So, they prefer to sit on the side of the road [and] circle the airport. They even park where we parkthe professionals park, and we actually pay to pick up at the airport. Uber driver Joel Friedman has had a similar experience. Its just the past year or so, maybe even less than that nine months. Its just gotten way worse. You should only get backed up like Thanksgiving and Christmas, and that was with construction. Now its almost three or multiple times a week, Friedman said. PREVIOUS: BNA officials remind passengers of alternative airport exits ahead of holiday travel He said the location of the lot is inconvenient and there isnt enough signage now to show people where it is located. I know they are putting a lot of money into making the airport itself biggergetting more people coming in and out, but then the roads are staying the same size, he said. Davis also said while he is aware of all the ins and outs of using other exits to get to the terminal, few regular passengers and drivers are. He said construction is confusing passengers and more signs would help. A lot of people are getting lost, he said. When asked about the cell phone lot, efforts to increase road capacity, and expected updates ahead of the Christmas holiday, BNA sent a statement advising people to get to the airport early and reminding passengers there are three entrances to the airport. Nashville International Airport (BNA) remains steadfast in its commitment to the safety and security of our passengers. For passenger safety, we encourage passengers to remain in their vehicles on major roadways or thoroughfares. Nashville International Airport has three entrances: exit 216A, exit 216B, and access via Murfreesboro Pike to Donelson Pike. Passengers should choose an exit based on traffic conditions at that time. Additionally, for flight departures, passengers should arrive at the airport at least two hours prior to their scheduled flight departure time. Always remember to check your flight status prior to heading to the airport. For arrivals, drivers should plan to arrive at the airport 15-20 minutes after the scheduled landing time to allow the passenger time to deplane, retrieve their belongings, and reach their designated pickup location. Drivers arriving earlier than necessary or idling on the curbs for an extended period of time, add to the congestion at the airport and should consider using the Cell Phone Lot conveniently located just 3 miles from the airport at 1415 Murfreesboro Pike. As part of our commitment to serving the growth of Middle Tennessee, both the Tennessee Department of Transportation and the Airport Authority are working to increase roadway capacity. BNA Spokesperson | READ MORE | Latest headlines from Nashville and Davidson County BNA said they will be able to provide more information on Wednesday. News 2 also reached out to every member of the Metro Nashville Airport Authority and none agreed to an interview or provide a comment at this time. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. GASTONIA, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) A missing Gaston County juvenile was found safe with injuries after the officers located them using a drone, officers reported Monday. On Nov. 18, the Gaston County Police Departments Drone Unit was activated to assist in a search for a missing, endangered juvenile. Patrol officers were reportedly dispatched to the area of Fairview Drive and Dallas Bessemer City Highway in reference to an endangered runaway call. Mayor in Union County, town commissioner in Gaston County decided by coin toss Officers believed the juvenile had run into a large wooded area and requested the drone units assistance. No name or age has been released. (Gaston County Police Dept.) (Gaston County Police Dept.) (Gaston County Police Dept.) Officers say drone pilots began a systematic search of the area and were able to locate the missing juvenile using thermal technology on the drone. They then guided officers to the juveniles location where they were able to turn the juvenile over to emergency personnel for treatment. Gaston County Police thanked Gaston Emergency Medical Services (GEMS) for their assistance in the operation. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. People walk near the Al Wasl Dome at Expo City ahead of the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong) DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Dubai prepared Tuesday to host the COP28 climate talks as world leaders including U.S. President Joe Biden and Pope Francis signaled they would not be attending the negotiations that come during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war roiling the wider Middle East. Workers under a still-scorching November sun stapled up bunting and decorated Dubai Expo City's iconic Al Wasl Dome with trees and other green foliage ahead of the summit, scheduled to start Thursday in the United Arab Emirates. Armed United Nations police patrolled about half the area of Expo City where the delegates will debate, while the other half will host other climate events. Airport-style security screenings greeted those coming into both areas. The two-week meeting of international leaders aims to assess where the world stands when it comes to limiting emissions to slow global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) compared with pre-industrial times. Emirati officials said Tuesday they expect over 70,000 attendees at the talks, including heads of state. Britain's King Charles will be among the leaders to attend the talks. However, some have said or otherwise signaled they won't be attending the Conference of the Parties where COP gets its name. They include the 81-year-old Biden, who attended both COP26 in Scotland and COP27 in Egypt. The president has been very much focused on the conflict between Israel and Hamas over the last month or so, said John Kirby, a spokesman for the White House's National Security Council, on Monday. He was working the phones over the course of Thanksgiving weekend. And I suspect that hell continue to work the phones in coming days. The White House has said it is sending a climate team, including Special Envoy John Kerry, climate adviser Ali Zaidi and clean energy adviser John Podesta. Pope Francis meanwhile canceled his trip to Dubai for the U.N. climate conference on doctors orders Tuesday, although he is recovering from the flu and lung inflammation, the Vatican said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also likely will not attend the talks, Israel's Foreign Ministry told The Associated Press on Tuesday night. Nor will Foreign Minister Eli Cohen attend the summit, the ministry said, citing the war. Arab nations have reacted with rage over the punishing bombardment and ground offensive in the Gaza Strip after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel. The UAE reached a diplomatic recognition deal with Israel in 2020, but public anger still seethes in this autocratic nation of seven sheikhdoms. Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar Assad won't be attending either, according to the pro-government newspaper Al-Watan, despite receiving an invitation from Emirati leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Instead, Syrian Prime Minister Hussein Arnous will lead the country's delegation. Assad has slowly reintegrated himself into Arab regional politics in the last year, despite his brutal crackdown on 2011 Arab Spring protesters that descended into a civil war and consequently became a regional conflict. The war has killed half a million people and displaced half of Syrias population. ___ Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report. ___ Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about APs climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content. (BCN) The California State Bar is accusing a Dublin attorney of overcharging and taking money from incarcerated clients while being both his trustee and criminal attorney, which is a conflict he allegedly never revealed to his client. The bar announced Monday a 22-count notice of disciplinary charges, or NDC, against David Jonathan Cohen, relating to his representation of incarcerated clients. Among other allegations of wrongdoing, Cohen is accused of misappropriating no less than $276,000 from an incarcerated client, charging him what the bar said in a statement is an unconscionable fee of $632,000. 5-year-old who died after being swept out to sea identified It also accuses Cohen of moving funds out of a client trust account without notice and draining most of the clients $562,000 living trust account as a successor trustee, while also representing him in a criminal matter. The Special Deputy Trial Counsels duty is to pursue the facts of an investigation and (a notice of disciplinary charges) when warranted, said Stacia Laguna, Special Deputy Trial Counsel Administrator. These are serious allegations, and while the respondent is presumed innocent until a judgment is reached, we believe significant discipline is warranted, given the severity of the alleged misconduct. Laguna oversees the bars SDTC rule 2201 program, involving outside counsel investigating and prosecuting California State Bar attorney discipline cases when there is a conflict identified within the Office of Chief Trial Counsel. The NDC alleges Cohen collected more than $632,000 in fees from his client, which the bar alleges to be excessive because it was collected without the clients express consent, prior to services being performed and contrary to the express terms of the fee agreement. Cohen also allegedly failed to promptly refund any unearned fees after his services were terminated. Other allegations include improperly depositing $200,000 and $320,000 in client fees into Cohens own operating account without notifying the client in writing or obtaining a signed agreement allowing him to do so. The filing also alleges Cohen paid himself the entire $562,000 from the living trust without consent. Cohen is also accused in another case involving an incarcerated clients habeas corpus petition. Mob of armed robbers hold-up two individuals walking in Oakland The NDC alleges from July 2019 to April 2020, Cohen failed to deposit into a client trust account more than $14,000 in fees from his client or the clients sister, instead putting the funds into his business operating account without his clients written consent. Cohen is a criminal defense attorney who once served as chair of the State Bars criminal law advisory commission, an entity that assisted the California Board of Legal Specialization. Attorney discipline matters are investigated and prosecuted by the bars OCTC or, if a bar conflict is identified, the SDTC, acting on behalf of the public. An NDC contains only allegations of professional misconduct. If a state bar court finds the attorney culpable of professional misconduct by clear and convincing evidence, the attorney may be suspended or disbarred. The bars recommendation is transmitted to the California Supreme Court, which determines whether to impose the recommended discipline. Copyright 2023 Bay City News, Inc. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4. A mother and her son, 9, who have starred in a series of short films despite no formal acting training have returned from a Hollywood festival. Rita and Reece, from Dudley in the West Midlands, starred in Wheel Gone Kid, the story of a computer game-obsessed boy that has won more than 30 awards. The pair met producer Keith Large by chance during lockdown and have since appeared in more of his films. Visiting Los Angeles was an amazing and magical experience, Rita said. A follow up to Wheel Gone Kid - Wheel Gone Kid 3 1/2 Plane Stupid - was nominated for Best Comedy at the Skiptown Playhouse International Film Festival in LA but missed out on winning, Mr Large said. But another film he entered featuring Reece, called Twin Leaps, was successful in beating off more than 150 others, to win in the Best Producer for a Short Film category. Rita said she met Mr Large when she cut his hair at her salon and he went on to give Reece some extra tuition during lockdown. As part of his learning, Mr Large wrote a script and discovered Reece was good at remembering lines. He went on to develop the script and produced a short film starring Reece and his mother. "He was looking for an actress for the mum role and he came across to me and said, 'Rita, why don't you just jump in a little bit until we find someone?', and that was it - that's where my acting career started," she said. She said it was amazing to take part in filming although she admitted they were both very nervous. "So everything we did was from the bottom of our hearts, to be honest," she said. Visiting LA and attending various film events there is something they would never forget, she added. "The best thing was seeing our film on the big screen in Hollywood and the audience just laughing along with our three short films that were entered," she said. Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk Darren Bailey, a candidate for Congress, talks to supporters and staff waiting in line at the Illinois State Board of Elections on the first day for candidates to file petitions Nov. 27, 2023, in Springfield. (Daryl Wilson/Chicago Tribune) SPRINGFIELD Bundled up against frigid temperatures, dozens of candidates for state and federal offices, some represented by surrogates, lined up outside the Illinois State Board of Elections office on Monday to file petitions for the March 19 primary ballot. Waiting with stacks of signatures in an otherwise barren strip mall before the states election authority opened its doors at 8 a.m. were hopefuls for Congress and state legislative seats, as well as various judgeships. Advertisement Submitting petitions on the first day of the weeklong filing period makes candidates eligible for the top ballot position in their race. If theyre in line during the closing minutes on the last day for filing next Monday, they take part in a lottery to appear last on the ballot. Political lore holds that candidates whose names appear first or last in a crowded field gain a slight advantage. Up for election and reelection are all 118 Illinois House seats, 23 of the Illinois Senates 59 seats, all 17 congressional seats and 77 judicial seats. Advertisement Among the candidates braving the cold were U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez, a progressive Democrat from Chicago running for her second term on Capitol Hill, and her freshman colleague in Congress, U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, a Democrat from Springfield. Chicago Ald. Raymond Lopez waited in line to hand in his petitions in a bid to unseat veteran U.S. Rep. Jesus Chuy Garcia in the Democratic primary. Also submitting petitions in the Democratic primary was Jesse Reyes, an Illinois appellate judge who is vying to unseat incumbent Joy Cunningham on the state Supreme Court. Cherita Logan was in line by 7 a.m. Monday to file petitions on behalf of longtime U.S. Rep. Danny Davis. (Daryl Wilson/for the Chicago Tribune) First in line was Cherita Logan, who arrived in Springfield on Saturday on behalf of longtime U.S. Rep. Danny Davis. On Sunday night, she was keeping warm inside a camper in a vast empty parking lot outside the elections board office. But by 7 a.m. Monday, she was waiting outside the election boards door with petitions for Davis, who is seeking a 15th term to represent the 7th District, which covers parts of Chicagos West and South sides, downtown and near west suburbs. Elders used to say Never put off for tomorrow what you can do today and in case any kind of issues happen, I was going to be here with those petitions and get them filed, said Logan, a deputy coordinator for Davis, who has been in Congress since 1997. But you want to be first. Its competitive. Davis faced his stiffest challenge in years when he defeated progressive Kina Collins by slightly more than six percentage points in last years Democratic primary before running unopposed in the general election. Collins is expected to run again, but Davis also figures to face a primary challenge from Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin, who has come under scrutiny in the last few months after the Tribune reported that several now-former employees of her office accused her of ethical lapses or misusing public resources for her private benefit. Earlier this month, the citys Board of Ethics ruled that Conyears-Ervin violated the citys ethics code in a probable cause finding related to those allegations. A surrogate for Conyears Ervin handed in her petitions at the elections board Monday. Later, in a telephone interview, Conyears-Ervin downplayed the ethics boards ruling. The voters of the 7th Congressional District will not be fooled, she said. They know that is a gross misrepresentation of not only the hard work that I do, but also the work of the employees in the Chicago treasurers office. Advertisement On the Republican side, what is expected to be one of the most competitive congressional primaries began to take shape as both U.S. Rep. Mike Bost of Murphysboro, whos vying for a sixth term, and challenger Darren Bailey of Xenia, a former state senator who mounted an unsuccessful bid for governor last year against Democrat J.B. Pritzker, filed petitions. Unlike in his statewide bid for governor, Bailey, 57, will be running in solid Republican territory in his bid to unseat Bost, 62, a Marine Corps veteran and former state representative. The 12th Congressional District covers all or part of 34 of the states 102 counties and geographically represents roughly the southern third of the state. Since announcing his candidacy for Congress on the Fourth of July, Bailey has gone on the offensive against Bost, painting him as a member of the Washington establishment. Outside the election board Monday, he dubbed Bost a do-nothing congressman and talked about how parts of southern Illinois have seen a serious lack of opportunity. The incumbent has been a congressman for (about) 10 years, been a state rep for 20 years above that. You tell me what experience gets you whenever this state has continually declined, Bailey said. Thats why Im here because Im frustrated with the status quo and Ill stand against all that nonsense. Bost has secured several endorsements from southern Illinois Republicans, and on the national level hes received support from top conservative firebrands such as Freedom Caucus co-founder U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California, as well as from the National Republican Congressional Committee. Bost, who chairs the Veterans Affairs Committee in the Republican-controlled House, brushed off Baileys criticism, citing the importance of experience in Congress. Advertisement Im not old. Im not senile or Id run for president, Bost said outside the elections board, an apparent reference to the GOP refrain that President Joe Biden is unfit for office. Thats vitally important to make sure that we have someone with experience there (on the VA committee). And (Baileys) going to have to say what hes got to say. Bost and Bailey share similar positions in opposing abortion rights and supporting gun rights. A crucial element in the race could be whether former President Donald Trump makes an endorsement. Both candidates have been endorsed by Trump in past elections, and Bailey has actively courted Trumps backing even after downplaying the former presidents support in his losing bid for governor. President Trump carries a big factor, Bailey said Monday. I anticipate that in March I will have his endorsement and seal the deal. But I think at the end of the day the people know Im going to fight for them. Bost said that if Trump endorsed Bailey, it would hurt me a little bit personally because of the former presidents past support. Raymond Lopez, a candidate for Congress, waits in the long line to file his petitions for the 2024 elections. (Daryl Wilson/for the Chicago Tribune) In a Chicago-area congressional race, Lopez said he filed his primary challenge to Garcia, whos seeking a fourth term, because he wants to give 4th Congressional District voters a choice between a candidate who just focuses on rhetoric or one whos going to focus on results. Advertisement In his third aldermanic term representing a South and Southwest side ward, Lopez has tried to portray Garcia, who also filed signatures, as too progressive for the district. I want to get back to the Democratic Party that most of us grew up with, said Lopez, who announced his intent to run for mayor in the last election but later dropped out in order to run for reelection as alderman. The Democratic Party that believes in helping people, that government had a role, but that it was more focused on being a positive force in peoples lives, not focusing on ... this extremism. Also among the first day filers was a primary challenger to Democratic U.S. Rep. Bill Foster of Naperville in the vast west and northwestern 11th District, which is also headed toward a three-way GOP primary. Qasim Rashid of Naperville filed to challenge Foster, a 13-year congressman, in the Democratic primary, while Jerry Evans of Warrenville, Kent Mercado of Bartlett and Susan Altman-Hathaway of Geneva filed in the GOP contest. While a resident of Virginia, Rashid lost a general election bid for the state Senate in 2019 and for Congress in 2020. Evans has lost two previous GOP primaries in the 11th District. In the west suburban 6th Congressional District, three-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Sean Casten of Downers Grove faces a primary challenge from Charles Hughes of Chicago, who lost two previous congressional primaries. Niki Conforte of Glen Ellyn filed for the GOP primary, which she lost two years ago. Advertisement In the far west and northwest suburban 14th District, three-term U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood of Naperville was the lone candidate to file in the Democratic primary Monday. Filing for the Republican primary was James Marter of Oswego, who since 2016 has lost three previous GOP congressional primary bids as well as a U.S. Senate primary. Pearson reported from Chicago. jgorner@chicagotribune.com rap30@aol.com The person responsible meant no ill will or bias, according to Scobie in the Dutch translation - SWNS The Dutch version of a new book has been pulled from the shelves after naming the senior royal at the heart of a racism scandal involving the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Endgame by Omid Scobie, 42, describes how the Duchess sent a letter to her father-in-law, then Prince Charles, in which she expressed her concerns about unconscious bias in the Royal family. As first revealed by the Telegraph, the letter was sent in the wake of the Sussexes March 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview, in which Meghan alleged that a member of the Royal family had speculated about the colour of her unborn sons skin. In the UK version of his book, Scobie reveals that the Duchess complained about two people who had upset her by making comments about Prince Archies skin tone but stops short of naming them, citing laws in the UK. Dutch translation includes critical detail However, the Dutch translation includes a critical detail that does not feature in any other edition. In those private letters an identity was revealed and confirmed, it says, before naming one of the alleged culprits. The person responsible meant no ill will or bias, according to Scobie in the Dutch translation. The book quotes a royal insider who claims that person wanted to clarify that point, which was considered very important. Endgame, called Eindstrijd in the Netherlands, was published on Tuesday. Fabian Paagman, 47, whose Paagman bookstore has five outlets across the Netherlands, told the Telegraph: We had just put the book on the shelves when we were contacted by the publisher, Xander, and told to remove it immediately. We were not given a reason why. The letter sent by the Duchess was sent in reply to one from the King, it is understood. He is believed to be the only senior member of the family to have made contact with her following the Oprah interview. The King expressed sadness over chasm The King is understood to have expressed sadness over the chasm that had emerged between the two sides of the Royal family and expressed disappointment that the Duke and Duchess felt the need to make such high-profile and damaging allegations. In the interview, the Duchess told Winfrey that there had been concerns and conversations about how dark his [Archies] skin might be when hes born. Omid Scobie has been promoting his book on television programmes in the USA - Instagram The Duke has since insisted that they had never accused the Royal family of racism. In an ITV interview broadcast in January, anchor Tom Bradby said in the Oprah interview you accused members of your family of racism. Harry responded: No I didnt, adding the British press said that. Asked if he would not consider that essentially racist, he replied: I wouldnt, not having lived within that family. The comment was considered a potential olive branch from Harry to his family and an apparent about-turn after Buckingham Palace was engulfed in a race crisis in the wake of his claims. Issue not addressed in Netflix documentary The issue was not addressed in the Sussexes Netflix documentary series, released last December, or in the Dukes memoir, Spare, amid claims that he agreed not to raise it publicly again. The Sussexes disclosure about the alleged incident caused shockwaves around the world and proved incredibly damaging to the monarchy, prompting the late Queen to issue her now infamous line that recollections may vary. The damaging allegation prompted an angry Prince William to publicly state: We are not a racist family. Harry told Good Morning America on US network ABC: Its not racism, but unconscious bias if not confronted, if not acknowledged, if not learned and grown from, that can then move into racism. And the way that I understand it is that we all want to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. Dutch publisher Xander Uitgevers said in a statement: Xander Uitgevers is temporarily withdrawing the book Eindstrijd by Omid Scobie from sale. An error occurred in the Dutch translation and is currently being rectified. Speaking to Dutch chat show RTL Boulevard on Tuesday, Scobie insisted he was not to blame for the error. The book is in several languages, and unfortunately I do not speak Dutch. But if there are translation errors, Im sure the publishers will have it under control, he said. I wrote and edited the English version. Theres never been no version that Ive produced that has names in it. Buckingham Palace declined to comment. 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. Omid Scobie says he had never written a version with the name of the person in the race row The Dutch edition of Omid Scobie's controversial royal book Endgame has been withdrawn from sale, with its publishers blaming a translation error. It appeared to include the name of a Royal Family member alleged to have asked questions about the skin colour of Prince Harry and Meghan's baby. "An error occurred in the Dutch translation and is currently being rectified," the publishers said. The book, published on Tuesday, has been very critical of the Royal Family. There has been confusion over its launch in the Netherlands, with the publishers Xander Uitgevers saying it was "temporarily withdrawing the book", entitled Eindstrijd in the Dutch version. At issue seems to be the description of the racism row that followed Prince Harry and Meghan's interview with Oprah Winfrey, where the couple talked of facing questions about the skin colour of the baby they were expecting. Prince Harry and Meghan had declined to name the member of the Royal Family raising this issue - and in the English edition of the book, Mr Scobie had claimed that there had been two people involved. He claimed to know their identities but had said for legal reasons he wouldn't disclose them. The race row emerged from Oprah Winfrey's interview with Prince Harry and Meghan The Dutch edition includes a name - but the book's publisher is now blaming an embarrassing mistake in the translation of this sensitive section, which has meant the new title being removed from the bookshelves. The response of the book's author Mr Scobie seems to suggest the Dutch text published in error was not an early draft nor previous version. "There's never been a version that I've produced that has names in it," he told the Dutch television show, RTL Boulevard. "Unfortunately I can't speak Dutch so I haven't seen the copy for myself, so if there have been any translation errors I'm sure the publisher's got it under control," he said. While the publishers have highlighted a problem in the translation, there seems to be an additional line in the Dutch text. But it is unclear how this has been mistakenly added. The book, receiving mixed reviews, presents unflattering portraits of several of the Royal Family, including Prince William and Catherine and King Charles and Queen Camilla. The author has been seen as having links to Prince Harry and Meghan and the new book appeared to be more sympathetic to the position of the California-based couple and their decision to move from the UK to the US. Buckingham Palace has declined to respond to the book's claims or the removal of the Dutch edition, and representatives of Prince Harry and Meghan have also not commented. EasyJet said its winter results 'will see an impact from the conflict in the Middle East' (PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA) British no-frills airline EasyJet on Tuesday announced its first annual profit since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic but warned that the Israel-Hamas war will impact its winter results. Profit after tax stood at 324 million ($409 million) in the 12 months to the end of September on higher demand and increased fares, EasyJet said in a statement. That compared with a loss after tax of 169 million in its 2021/22 financial year. EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren gave an upbeat outlook, even if the group saw a negative impact from the Israel-Hamas war. "We see a positive outlook for this year with airline and holidays bookings both ahead year on year," he said in the statement. Lundgren said "consumer research highlights that around three quarters of Britons plan to spend more on their holidays versus last year with travel continuing to be the top priority for household discretionary spending". At the same time EasyJet noted that "early winter results... will see an impact from the conflict in the Middle East". The airline, which flies mainly across Europe, has paused flights to Israel and Jordan owing to the war. Looking back at its last financial year, EasyJet said revenue surged 42 percent to 8.2 billion, "predominantly due to pricing strength, increased flown capacity, improved load factors" plus growth of its holidays business. EasyJet's share price gained 2.1 percent to 4.13 in early London trades following the earnings update. "Investors are being rewarded for their patience following a bumpy few years with the reinstating of the dividend," noted Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. With travel demand rebounding strongly after the pandemic grounded planes, EasyJet last month announced a deal worth close to $20 billion for 157 Airbus planes and alterations to a previous order with the European planemaker. ved-bcp/lth By Alexandra Valencia QUITO (Reuters) - Ecuador's Vice President Veronica Abad said on Tuesday she will travel to Israel to support peace efforts in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, complying with a task assigned to her by President Daniel Noboa which she had previously critiqued. Abad, a 47-year-old businesswoman, made controversial comments during the presidential election about the privatization of education and health services, contradicting Noboa's proposals. She said her comments were misinterpreted. Noboa assigned her the sole function of collaborating with peace efforts between Israel and Hamas in a presidential decree, a role that Abad is expected to fulfill from Ecuador's embassy in Tel Aviv. She responded with a social media video over the weekend marking International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and decrying abuses of power where "they minimize you and send you to die in war." She will comply with the order to "guarantee constitutional stability" and avoid accusations of abandonment of her post, Abad told reporters in Quito. "This morning I asked for the information needed to carry out the mission with success," she said. She offered no date for her trip. "I'm not abandoning the ship. They are sending me far away," she added. Noboa has said the appointment was justified as part of Ecuador's responsibility to seek peaceful resolution of conflicts and support international efforts to end the seven-week-old war. Noboa, 35, took office on Thursday pledging to fix the economy and combat drug trafficking gangs. Abad did not attend Noboa's inauguration lunch, instead publishing photos on social media of her eating at a market in Quito. She said on Tuesday she was invited neither to the lunch nor to a victory party on election day. (Reporting by Alexandra Valencia; Writing by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Richard Chang) A shock result in Dutch elections handed the largest number of the countrys parliamentary seats to the party of extreme right, isolationist, anti-immigrant and Islamophobic longtime political gadfly Geert Wilders last week. He vowed that the country would be returned to the Dutch. Wilders might be a relative unknown to most Americans, but hes certainly a known quantity among those whove tracked and studied the rise of the global far-right. The virulent xenophobe and Euro-skeptic was something of a template for a new class of new authoritarian, less polished and martial than those who came before, with a focus on immigration and a knack for connecting with and radicalizing online right-wing communities, complete with weird hair and some kind of private-sector background. Wilders is sometimes called the Dutch Trump, but the reality is he was Trump before Trump was. Hes been a parliamentarian since 1998, and founded his Party for Freedom in 2006. His rhetoric and positions have changed little over the years. Hes not a fresh-faced populist who came out of nowhere to pull the wool over the electorates eyes; people knew what he was about. Many observers dismissed the possibility that Wilders would ever wield real power. What has changed is the electorate, which around the world has become increasingly tolerant or even supportive of far-right political movements. Less than a week prior to the Dutch elections, the far-right libertarian Javier Milei swept to decisive victory in the Argentine presidential election. Amid a faltering economy, the economist and onetime TV pundit beloved by bookers for his ratings-boosting railing against the government promised, essentially, to burn it all down, dissolving the central bank, ditching the currency and engaging in a program of massive spending cuts. Many Argentines openly acknowledged that they had no idea how this was all going to pan out, but they just wanted change, and Milei was going to deliver it. The same desire for someone to come in and fix everything, to stick it to the political system, is what led voters to opt for Giorgia Melonis far-right government in Italy last year and to give the far-right Finns Party a sizable chunk of the Finnish governing coalition. It is what is leading the mainstream GOP, with the support of the majority of Republican voters, to coalesce around Donald Trump despite his contempt for American democracy and effort to overthrow it, his plans to weaponize the levers of government to his advantage and, crucially, his total failure to actually bring safety or prosperity to the American public. It is perhaps this latter point thats most infuriating, as all the evidence to the contrary rarely convinces people that these far-right movements wont deliver what they promise. They prey on dissatisfaction with a changing world and a seemingly indifferent elite, and not every one of their critiques and grievances are manufactured; things like stagnant wages, unresponsive bureaucracies and the encroaching power of tech and corporate consolidation are real issues. Yet their solutions to blame and go after immigrants, cut government functions, vilify LGBTQ people and return to some imagined more moral past are no solutions at all. The antidote to their venom must be an informed citizenry that can reject the snake oil. It cant come soon enough. ___ Five years ago, Los Angeles passed a law to regulate short-term rentals advertised on Airbnb, VRBO and other websites. The goal was to strike a balance between residents desire to earn money by catering to out-of-town visitors and the need to prevent much-needed housing from being converted into de facto hotel rooms. But the Home-Sharing Ordinance isnt working as intended. Researchers have found that nearly half of short-term rental listings in Los Angeles are illegal , meaning they're not displaying a legal license number or the listing violates the city's rules, such as renting for more than the days allowed or not being the host's primary residence. Rogue hosts have realized they can flout the rules with few consequences. Neighbors point to short-term rentals that have been turned into party houses and rent-controlled properties that are being used as hotels, which is against the law. But complaints do little; it takes the city two to three years to cite illegal properties. Read more: Opinion: Airbnb and short-term rentals drive up L.A. housing prices. Here's how we can push back While city leaders are understandably frustrated, a rushed proposal before the City Council would require that short-term rental hosts get a permit from the Los Angeles Police Department and pay a fee. That would create more bureaucracy and government expense without any guarantee of better enforcement of the law. The council should reject it and come up with a plan that actually fixes the problems with the Home-Sharing program. The proposal is part of a compromise negotiated by Council President Paul Krekorian to get a controversial initiative off the March ballot. That measure was sponsored by the politically powerful hotel workers union, Unite Here Local 11, and it would have required that hotels rent vacant rooms to homeless people . Read more: Editorial: Homeless people need housing everywhere. Including down the street from your house Krekorians deal would have the City Council approve a package of regulations on the development of new hotels and make it voluntary for hotels to rent rooms to homeless people. One of the new regulations would require that both hotels and hosts of short-term rentals get operating permits from the LAPD. Such permits have been required for businesses at higher risk of criminal activity, such as massage parlors, pawn shops and tow truck operators. There are more than 9,000 short-term rentals and about 400 hotels in Los Angeles, according to the LAPD. Processing permits for all of those properties will nearly triple the departments workload and require hiring five sworn officers and five civilians. Read more: Opinion: I run an L.A. homeless services organization. But I can't afford to live in L.A. anymore Thats a heavy burden on the LAPD, which is already struggling to hire officers and respond to concerns about crime. And for what? To create a paper trail on hosts? Half of the short-term rentals in L.A. are operating illegally, and in some cases violating existing nuisance laws. Its unclear why requiring police permits upfront will make it easier to shut down party houses and rogue hosts, when so many operators dont even bother to get a permit to operate a short-term rental. Adding another layer of permitting and expense for legitimate, rule-following hosts is not the way to squeeze out illegal hosts. Nor does it makes sense for L.A., which is supposed to be reimagining public safety, to dump another administrative responsibility on the LAPD. A better approach is to focus on cracking down on bad hosts. Rigorous enforcement of the existing rules and higher penalties against hosts and platforms could bring in tens of millions of dollars in fines and curb bad actors who take residential units off the market and drive up rents and housing prices, according to David Wachsmuth, a professor at McGill University who has studied L.A.s short-term rental market. Last month the Planning Department recommended a suite of changes that could help, including requiring photo ID and documentation to weed out operators who fraudulently declare the property as their primary residence, hiring more inspectors to investigate complaints and creating one office responsible for the permitting and enforcement of short-term rental rules instead of the seven city departments that share responsibility now. Those are all good steps, but officials have warned that some of the changes could take months or years to implement, given the plodding pace of City Hall. Thats a problem. It took Los Angeles more than three years to adopt the Home-Sharing Ordinance; it shouldnt take that long to enact reasonable reforms. If its in the news right now, the L.A. Times Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Would you like to pitch a tent for the winter on a site contaminated by toxic metals from long-ago industrial production? We didnt think so. We would think it would go practically without saying that the site of a former zinc smelter probably isnt fit for a campground. Yet thats apparently still the Johnson administrations plan for providing shelter to as many as 2,000 migrants over the winter. The public learned over the four-day Thanksgiving weekend that the vacant Brighton Park property the mayor wants to use to set up a winter base camp for migrants now living in police stations, at OHare Airport and elsewhere is indeed contaminated with heavy metals, as had been suspected. In a letter to her constituents Saturday, Ald. Julia Ramirez, 12th, who represents the affected community, disclosed the finding. But details remain distressingly absent. The city hasnt shared the full environmental impact statement with her office, she wrote. Theres been some remediation, she added, but that didnt put her mind at ease. The alderman rightfully opposes the plan, importantly referencing not only the effect on longtime residents but the newcomers as well. I cannot condone a living situation that puts residents, new and old, at serious health risk, Ramirez wrote. The mayors folks responded that they would release the study later this week and that they were confident the site will be suited for the purpose for which it will be used. Who among us shares this confidence? Given this administrations struggles to provide straightforward communication on a host of issues, few in that neighborhood or throughout the city are apt to take their word that the property is safe. Ramirez made the humanitarian case for nixing this plan, but there are other practical considerations too. The city opens itself up to enormous legal liability if people housed on the property end up suffering health effects. Which raises the question. Why are we still talking about the Brighton Park site? The mayors people have known for months of the environmental issues the tract posed. More prudent decision-makers would have moved on from that option long ago. Chicago now is experiencing highs in the 20s, and this remains the only plan? Where or what is Plan B? In October, Beatriz Ponce de Leon, deputy mayor for immigrant, migrant and refugee rights, told Brighton Park residents at a community meeting there was no other option. Chicago is 232 square miles; there is vacant land all over the South and West sides. If a tent camp is what has to happen and even that assumption is questionable given winter realities here among the prerequisites for appropriate sites, one would think, would be lack of a history of heavy industrial usage. The administrations determination to make Brighton Park happen, frankly, raises questions about what other considerations are at work in this decision. Ever since the plans for the site became public, the neighborhood has been in an uproar. Chances are, that would be the reaction in virtually any other neighborhood experiencing the same thing. Are there areas the administration has ruled arent feasible for political reasons? We dont know. But a decision to move ahead with a tent city on land contaminated with toxic metals sure does make us wonder. 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. A Denver state judge, Sarah B. Wallace of the 2nd Judicial District Court, was asked if candidate Donald Trump can appear on the Colorado Republican primary ballot or if he is disqualified based on a post-Civil War part of the Constitution meant to exclude Confederate traitors from public office. At issue is Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, from 1868: No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability. It means that someone who took an oath of office and then broke that oath by joining the Confederacy (or other insurrection or rebellion) cannot hold public office again, unless Congress approves. Wallace wrote that: The Court further concludes that the events on and around Jan. 6, 2021, easily satisfy this definition of insurrection and that Trump engaged in an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021 through incitement, and that the First Amendment does not protect Trumps speech. But since the offices of president and vice president werent listed along with senators and representatives and electors, Wallace concluded that the disqualification does not cover Trump. She ordered him placed on the March 5 GOP ballot. The case now goes to the Colorado Supreme Court, with the U.S. Supreme Court getting the final word. Maybe the men who wrote the 14th Amendment meant to include everyone but simply could not have imagined a presidential contender who engaged in insurrection or rebellion, but that interpretation will be up to the Supremes to resolve the uncertainty. What we do know with certainty is that Trump could have been permanently barred from ever holding any public office again, including the presidency, if the Senate had convicted him during his second impeachment trial when they voted on Feb. 13, 2021, just weeks after his mob attacked the Capitol. Seven Republican senators joined the 50 Democrats to find him guilty. Still, 57 was 10 shy of the 67 needed for a conviction. Of those 43 Republicans, they all knew he was guilty, having lived through the assault on Congress that he orchestrated. Maybe they thought that since Trump was by then out of office, the danger had passed. It was preposterous at that point to think that Trump could ever return to office. How could he possibly run again? The preposterous is now happening, with Trump leading the Republican nomination race and fewer and fewer challengers trying to oppose him and the Iowa caucus in seven weeks. The Senate failed and the courts may not stop him. Its up to voters to protect democracy. ___ EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) An El Paso County woman has been indicted on two counts of online solicitation of a minor under the age of 14, according to court documents obtained by KTSM. The incident allegedly happened in February 2022. Court documents say Ana Guadalupe De La Cruz knowingly solicited an individual under the age of 14 to meet a family member and engage in sexual contact on Feb. 19, 2022. Ana Guadalupe De La Cruz. Photo: City of Socorro. Court documents also state De La Cruz committed the offense of sexual performance by a child on Feb. 19, 2022, by intentionally communicating by text message with an individual younger than the age of 14 in a sexually explicit manner and telling the individual to have condoms ready. The indictment was filed on Tuesday, Oct. 31. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) An El Paso native has donated $1 million to Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso to help to strengthen and grow the university and benefit a new generation of professionals committed to world-class health care, according to a news release. Here is what the university said about the gift: As a university built on philanthropy, Browns legacy gift allows TTUHSC El Paso to fulfill its commitment to providing a healthy future for our Borderplex region. Browns investment will go a long way toward relieving the regions critical provider shortage. It will deliver vital support to aspiring medical professionals to advance their education, skills and research. Health care providers will be more likely to remain in the region, providing access to preventative and specialty care right here at home. In doing so, the gift will foster a self-renewing pipeline of qualified health care heroes committed to serving our community. Gene Wolf, an estate planning attorney with the El Paso law firm Kemp Smith and a member of the universitys Presidents Development Council, served as one of the advisers who provided Brown with the idea for a legacy gift. John Brown grew up in El Paso and has always been passionate about making a tangible difference in his community, Wolf said. When we considered the critical health care needs of our Borderplex region and the role that Texas Tech Health El Paso plays in addressing those challenges, John knew that his gift would be a wise investment in his hometown. This legacy gift not only serves immediate community needs but also acts as a catalyst for systemic change, improving health care access and education for generations to come. Born in El Paso in 1949, Browns support for the Borderplex community and its institutions came naturally, according to the news release. His father, John Swinton Brown Sr., owned an El Paso-based interstate plumbing and heating corporation that notably served as a contractor to the Manhattan Project during World War II. His father died in 1967. Browns mother, Grace Messenger, was an active participant in several El Paso philanthropic organizations, including the Womans Department of the El Paso Chamber of Commerce, Planned Parenthood, the ASPCA and the El Paso County Humane Society. While Brown now resides in Arizona, his enduring connection to his hometown of El Paso remains unbroken, according to Texas Tech. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. Mariyana Spyropoulos, a candidate for Cook County Circuit Court clerk, and Clayton Harris III, a candidate for Cook County states attorney, wait to file their respective petitions on Nov. 27, 2023, to appear on the March primary ballot. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune) On the first day political dreams became more real, 55 candidates on Monday officially filed to run for several Cook countywide offices, including the high-profile race to replace outgoing States Attorney Kim Foxx, as well as the full-term replacement for the County Board seat Brandon Johnson gave up to become Chicago mayor. Candidates have until next Monday to file the required number of petition signatures for various open county offices. The end of the weeklong filing session typically sets off weeks of challenges to the validity of signatures before finalizing names that will appear on the March 19 primary ballot. Advertisement In addition to states attorney, candidates filed to run for Cook County Circuit Court clerk, seats on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District board and for political party precinct committee posts. Two Democratic candidates filed to run for to be clerk of the Cook County circuit courts, the office that manages filings for the nations second-largest unified court system and has historically been a patronage den known for its inefficiency. Advertisement [ Candidates lining up to succeed Kim Foxx as Cook County states attorney ] Incumbent Circuit Court Clerk Iris Martinez filed to run for a second term overseeing the office that has roughly 1,400 employees and a budget of more than $130 million. Mariyana Spyropoulos, a commissioner on the Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago board, filed to run against Martinez. A former state senator, Martinez succeeded former Clerk Dorothy Brown in 2020 after Martinez emerged from a primary field of four challengers. In the Democratic primary, Martinez defeated the Cook County Democratic Partys pick, Michael Cabonargi, and two others to eventually become the first Latina to hold the office. Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Iris Martinez gives a speech and answers questions at a pre-slating event for the Democratic Party on June 16, 2023. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune) Martinez promised to improve the disorganization that plagued the office, botched tech rollouts, and reform hiring practices that resulted in federal court oversight to prevent patronage hiring and promotions. Roughly a year ago, Martinez declared victory on the latter goal when the office was freed from so-called Shakman oversight, which included court monitoring to ensure politics was not taken into consideration for personnel decisions. A U.S. appeals court ruling months before releasing the governors office from oversight lowered the bar for Shakman compliance, smoothing the way for Martinezs office to be freed from monitoring. [ Amid party loyalty questions, Cook County Democrats endorse for states attorney and go against incumbent for court clerk ] Martinez also championed a state law protecting the identities of sex crime victims and launched a new customer service call center to help litigants navigate the court system. But challengers said ethics problems and inefficiencies within the office persist and county Democratic Party leaders earlier this summer backed Spyropoulos to take on Martinez in the primary. Martinez has touted her reputation as an independent unafraid to buck the Democratic establishment, but she still sought the partys endorsement. That independent streak also drew criticism from some in the party who questioned her support for conservative candidates in recent election cycles. A lot of people are not happy with the way the office is run, Spyropoulos said this summer, citing judges who dont have their records there on time when theyre supposed to. That can result in some people staying in jail longer than they should, and the need for Martinezs office to fall under the oversight of an independent inspector general. Spyropoulos is a former assistant states attorney who has been on the water reclamation board since 2010. She launched, then abandoned, a Democratic bid for states attorney during the 2020 election cycle. No Republicans filed yet to run for the clerk of the circuit court position. Advertisement Also filing to run Monday: Clayton Harris III, the Democratic Partys pick to succeed Foxx as states attorney. Ive entered this race because we need someone with the values and leadership experience necessary to move the prosecutors office forward on day 1, he said in a news release Monday. Im ready to make sure were holding people accountable to ensure residents can feel safe on their blocks and that were going to keep pushing forward on the urgent work of criminal justice reform in Cook County. The other declared Democratic challenger, Eileen ONeill Burke, is not planning to file until the end of the petition window next week, on Dec. 4, a spokeswoman said. No Republicans have filed yet for the spot, though attorney and former alderman Bob Fioretti declared his candidacy earlier this month. Two candidates filed to run in the special election to replace Johnson for a full term representing the Cook County Boards 1st District, which includes the West Side and some west suburbs. That includes incumbent Commissioner Tara Stamps, who was appointed by party leaders this summer to fill Johnsons seat after his inauguration as Chicago mayor. A leader in the Chicago Teachers Union, Stamps described herself as a mentor to Johnson who intended to take up his progressive legacy on the board. Advertisement Also filing in the race to fill Johnsons vacancy: Zerlina Smith-Members, who also sought the appointment earlier this summer with a tough on crime message. Smith-Members has previously run unsuccessfully for 29th Ward alderman and Cook County Board president. aquig@chicagotribune.com By a margin of just two votes, the city of Southport will see a new mayor. The results of several tight races in Brunswick County were finalized Tuesday when the Brunswick County Board of Elections met in a special meeting to recount votes and confirm the results of three highly anticipated 2023 municipal contests. Previous coverage: Southport race comes down to one vote, others could be decided by coin toss According to the Brunswick County Board of Elections, there are 129,070 total registered voters in Brunswick County. Just over 18.5% of ballots were cast in 2023 municipal elections on Nov. 7 15,295 out of 81,618 total ballots. Here are the final results. New mayor in Southport Southport Alderman Rich Alt challenged the city's longtime mayor Joe Pat Hatem in this year's mayoral contest. On election night, unofficial results showed Hatem leading Alt by a tight margin of three votes, with 22 provisional ballots left to be considered for eligibility. Southport alderman Rich Alt ran against incumbent Joe Pat Hatem for the city's mayoral seat. However, the results of the contest were overturned following the Nov. 17 canvass, which finalized the results and found Alt victorious over Hatem by a margin of one vote 840 to 839. During Tuesday's recount, the results of the canvass stood, and after one final provisional vote was added to the count, Alt beat Hatem by a margin of two votes 841 to 839. Southport Mayor Joe Pat Hatem ran for reelection in 2023. The Brunswick County Board of Elections supervised while bipartisan teams conducted the recount, feeding each ballot through a tabulator on Tuesday. Ties decided by random pick The results of the Nov. 7 election made official by the Nov. 17 canvass found ties in two Brunswick County races: the Ocean Isle Beach Board of Commissioners and Bald Head Island council contests. In Ocean Isle Beach, six candidates were vying for three open seats on the board. Incumbent David Green and newcomer Stephen Turner tied for the third seat with 216 votes each, official results showed. In Bald Head Island, incumbents Jerry Maggio and Virginia White tied with 102 votes each for the second open seat on the council. In accordance with state law, the winners of two tied races were chosen by lot at the Brunswick County Board of Elections Nov. 28 meeting. Brunswick County Director of Elections Sara Lavere described by lot to essentially mean a game of chance where the winner could be determined by drawing a name at random or flipping a coin. During Tuesdays recount meeting, the names of the tied winners in each race were placed into a hat and a winner was pulled. David Green was declared the winner of the Ocean Isle Beach race, and Virginia White was declared the winner of the Bald Head Island contest. STAY CONNECTED: Keep up with the areas latest Brunswick County news by signing up for the Brunswick Today newsletter and following us on Facebook and Instagram. Jamey Cross covers Brunswick County for the StarNews. Reach her at jbcross@gannett.com or message her on Twitter/X @jameybcross. This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Southport mayor unseated by two votes, recount confirms TALLAHASSEE The states director of its controversial elections security office, who died last year right after a meeting in Gov. Ron DeSantis office, lay unattended for 24 minutes before being found, new records released by state law enforcement show. Pete Antonacci, 74, had left the meeting abruptly during a contentious meeting in a conference room in the governors office with 11 attendees, including Secretary of State Cord Byrd, Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass, other FDLE officials and attorneys for Byrd and the governors office. Pete Antonacci, the state's elections security chief, died in September 2022. The FDLE's account, made public more than a year after Antonaccis Sept. 23, 2022 death, was first reported by the Florida Bulldog news site. The law enforcement agency's reports disclose that cameras in the conference room and adjacent hallway captured him staggering upon exiting and collapsing on the floor. He did not appear to move after collapsing, those reports say. A 24-minute gap Time stamps on the recordings show Antonacci left the meeting at 1:46 p.m. that Friday afternoon and was not discovered until 2:10 p.m. He was found by Glass, who by then had also stepped out of the conference room to speak with the governors general counsel, Ryan Newman. Glass began performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Antonacci, assisted by FDLE Chief of Staff Shane Desguin. Capitol Police also attempted to use an automated external defibrillator on Antonacci. But the records released by FDLE said the machine never indicated that a shock was advised, suggesting it would be of no use. Police continued to administer CPR until Leon County Emergency Medical Services arrived and took over. Antonaccis face was purple and blue, and he had no pulse, Glass said, according to the reports. A scrape on top of Antonaccis head indicated he may have hit a doorknob on his way to the floor. Antonaccis wife and primary doctor later told FDLE investigators that he had a long history of heart disease and cardiac issues, resulting in several surgeries. Antonacci was taken to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the reports. Antonacci dead at age 74 Pete Antonacci, veteran top state government leader and director of Florida's election crimes unit, dies Elections case dropped Voter fraud charges dropped against 69-year-old Florida woman arrested at 3 a.m. Desguin, who has since retired from the agency, told FDLE investigators that Antonacci was frustrated during parts of the meeting but observed no signs of Mr. Antonacci having a medical issue. FDLE Director Scott McInerney, who also was in the meeting, said an agitated Antonacci abruptly rose from his seat and walked out of the meeting. There was no record of what was discussed during the meeting or what may have prompted Antonacci to exit the gathering alone. A longtime 'Mr. Fix-it' in state government Antonacci, known as a "Mr. Fix-it" for his wide-ranging roles in state government over the years, had been named by DeSantis to head the recently-created Office of Elections Crimes and Security. At the time of Antonaccis death, the office had drawn criticism for spearheading the arrests of 20 Floridians, mostly Black, for having voted illegally in the 2020 elections. Although these voters had registered to vote, they had been convicted of crimes that still made them ineligible under a 2018 constitutional amendment that restored voting rights to some felons. Those arrests occurred just before the August 2022 primaries and were seen by critics as an attempt by DeSantis to intimidate some voters, especially minorities, from legitimately casting ballots. Antonacci took on the new position for DeSantis after serving as chief judge of the state's Division of Administrative Hearings. The Division of Administrative Hearings dedicated its largest hearing room for former Director and Chief Judge Peter V. Antonacci in recognition of his 20 plus years of public service in November, 2023. Earlier, he held a series of high-profile jobs under DeSantis predecessor as governor, now-U.S. Sen. Rick Scott. Among them were general counsel to the governor, Broward County Supervisor of Elections, Palm Beach County state attorney, executive director of the South Florida Water Management District, and Enterprise Florida executive director. Antonacci, a Hialeah native, also had served for years as a top deputy to former Attorney General Bob Butterworth, a Democrat. John Kennedy is a reporter in the USA TODAY Networks Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jkennedy2@gannett.com, or on Twitter at @JKennedyReport. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida elections security chief died after meeting with top officials A herd of wild elephants in Malaysia trampled on a car traveling along a major highway after it struck a baby in their group, local authorities said Monday. The car, a white Perodua Axia, was being driven by a 48-year-old man, along with his wife and son, 23, according to a statement issued by police in Gerik, in the Malay Peninsula. The family of three were driving on a major highway from the island of Penang to the northeastern coastal state of Terengganu at around 7.35 p.m. local time on Sunday, when it crashed into the elephant calf. It had been drizzling and foggy at that time, Gerik Police added, and the car was negotiating a left bend on the highway when it hit the baby elephant. The car slammed into the young elephant that was walking on the road with the herd, said Zulkifli Mahmood, Chief Superintendent at Gerik District Police. The calf fell to the ground upon impact, he added. Seeing this, the other (five) elephants rushed towards the car and started trampling it. The herd then left the area after the calf got back up, Mahmood said. Gerik Police did not specify if the three family members had been inside the car during the incident but no deaths or serious injuries were reported in the police statement. Photos provided showed extensive damage to the front and sides of the white vehicle, with its side doors caved in. All windows were also smashed. Authorities did not provide further updates about the condition of the elephant baby. An elephant in Borneo. - Sylvain CORDIER/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images/File Elephant-human encounters As a result of Malaysias rapid development of highways, wild elephants across the peninsula have lost large amounts of forest cover, forcing many to venture out to roads to find food, conservationists say. In the latest accident, Gerik police warned drivers to exercise more caution on highways as herds of elephants regularly roam the area. Signs warning drivers of elephant crossings are also put up along many highways, particularly in the countrys north but accidents have still occured. In 2017, a baby elephant was discovered dead on the side of a highway, apparently killed by a car believed to have been speeding, elephant conservation group Management and Ecology of Malaysian Elephants (MEME) said at the time. Other elephant encounters are also reported on several highways. In May 2022, a lone adult elephant was spotted walking along a highway also in the Gerik area. Videos shared on social media showed the elephant ambling past bewildered drivers. In 2020, a distressed adult elephant trampled on a car that had been traveling on the same highway as the latest incident. The elephant was believed to have panicked after several vehicles started honking at it, local authorities said at the time. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com The Elgin Marbles The Elgin Marbles have caused controversy for decades, as Greek and British politicians clash over the ancient artefacts. But what are they and why are they so controversial? header line What are the Elgin Marbles? The Elgin Marbles are more than 30 ancient stone sculptures from Greece held in the British Museum, dating back more than 2,000 years. They were transported to Britain in the early 1800s by Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin. divider line header line How old are the Elgin Marbles? Most of the pieces of the Elgin Marbles are from the Parthenon in Athens, a temple built by the ancient Greeks in the 5th century BC. There are also pieces from other temples in the area built around the same time. But there are some which are much older, from the Treasury of Atreus in Mycenae. That was constructed between 1300 and 1250 BC, making them more than 3,000 years old. divider line header line They show scenes from Greek mythology The Elgin Marbles decorated the walls and grounds of ancient temples and show scenes from Greek history and mythology. The biggest stretches for 75 metres, showing a procession for the birthday of the goddess Athena, while others show gods, heroes or mythical creatures. divider line header line Were the Elgin Marbles stolen? Lord Elgin insisted he had permission to remove the sculptures from the Ottoman Empire, which controlled Athens at the time. But the original letter giving him permission has been lost and the wording of what remains is disputed. In 2022, the Greek culture minister accused him of "a blatant act of serial theft". divider line header line Greece wants the Elgin Marbles back The British government bought the sculptures from Lord Elgin in 1816 for display in the British Museum. But when Greece became independent in 1835 the government asked the UK to return them. It's a request the Greeks have repeated for decades, including with the world heritage organisation Unesco. divider line header line Will they be returned to Greece? Almost half of the sculptures from the Parthenon remain in Greece and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the separation is like "cutting the Mona Lisa in half". The Conservative Party insists the sculptures belong in Britain but Labour may allow a loan agreement between the British Museum and the Greek government. divider line Billionaire Elon Musk on Tuesday took down a post from his account on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that embraced a years-old false conspiracy theory about child sex trafficking after the tech and media mogul received widespread backlash and mockery. Musks posts contained a humor-based sequence of images, informally known as a meme, promoting the debunked notion that a child sex ring had been operating out of a pizza parlor in Washington, D.C. Pizzagate, as the conspiracy theory became known across the internet, resulted in a man opening fire on the pizza parlor in 2016. Musk posted that it does seem at least a little suspicious, in reference to the meme, which claimed Pizzagate is real and that the expert who debunked the conspiracy went to jail for child porn. The billionaires post was met Tuesday with widespread pushback from media and technology watchdogs. It came just a day after Musk returned from Israel, where he toured a kibbutz attacked by Hamas on Oct. 7, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Musk had sparked similar outrage earlier this month over antisemitic remarks he made on X, which have resulted in a mass exodus of advertisers from the platform. Musk, whose account holds some 164 million followers, frequently posts on the platform and interacts with far-right users and accounts promoting fringe ideas. In October of last year, he deleted a tweet promoting a conspiracy theory about an assault on Paul Pelosi, the husband of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. On Tuesday morning, tech billionaire Elon Musk tweeted an image related to the Pizzagate conspiracy and a journalist sentenced for charges related to child pornography. He deleted the tweet, but not before it racked up more than 10 million views. In a follow-up post, Musk clarified that the expert referred to in the meme is former ABC News investigative journalist James Gordon Meek, who pleaded guilty in July 2023 to federal charges related to the transportation and possession of child sexual abuse material. A screenshot of a supposed New York Post headlinereading Award Winning ABC Journalist Who Debunked Pizzagate, Pleads Guilty in Horrific Child Porn Casecirculated online a month later, but Reuters fact-checking team noted at the time that such a headline did not exist in the New York Posts archives and that Meek did not conduct an investigation of the Pizzagate conspiracy while at ABC News. (Meek does feature as one of three authors of an article about Russian propaganda in Syria that mentions Pizzagate in passing.) Meekwho primarily covered the justice system, military, and foreign intelligence while at ABC Newspleaded guilty to charges that he used an online messaging platform to send and receive explicit images and videos of minors during a visit to South Carolina in February 2020. An investigation began after the FBI received a tip from Dropbox about explicit content in an account connected to Meek, and on September 29 the former reporter was sentenced to six years in federal prison by a Virginia federal court. Meek may have not debunked the Pizzagate conspiracy theory himself, but plenty of reputable journalists have: Both the New York Times and Snopes reported in November 2016 that the conspiracy had no basis in fact. That did not stop the theory from spreading however, and on December 6, 2016, 28-year-old Edgar Welch fired a rifle inside Comet Ping Ponga Washington, D.C. pizzeriafollowing the proliferation of conspiracy theories online linking the restaurant to prominent Democrat officials and child sex trafficking. The conspiracy is considered by some to be a precursor to many of the QAnon conspiracies that arose during the Trump presidency. If you have a claim you would like to see us fact check, please send us an email at factcheck@thedispatch.com. If you would like to suggest a correction to this piece or any other Dispatch article, please email corrections@thedispatch.com. Read more at The Dispatch The Dispatch is a new digital media company providing engaged citizens with fact-based reporting and commentary, informed by conservative principles. Sign up for free. There was never any evidence that Pizzagate, the conspiracy theory claiming prominent Democrats were running a satanic pedophilic operation out of a D.C. pizza parlor, was real. No supposed victims ever came forward, and the basement of Comet Ping Pong where conspiracy theorists claimed everything went down didnt even exist. Yet nearly a decade after the crazed theory was put to bed, Elon Musk is shoving it back into the public consciousness. The X (formerly Twitter) owner boasts more than 164 million followers on the platform, and last week he dipped his toe into the conspiracy theory, responding weird to a post attempting to link the progressive watchdog Media Matters to it. On Tuesday, Musk escalated his engagement with Pizzagate. Does seem at least a little suspicious, he wrote on X alongside a meme showing The Office character Michael Scott claiming Pizzagate is real. and he wonders why advertisers are running for the hills pic.twitter.com/cI4FzoZZxV nikki mccann ramirez (@NikkiMcR) November 28, 2023 The meme referenced the arrest and conviction of James Gordon Meek, a former ABC News journalist, on child pornography charges. Musk responded to his own tweet with an article on Meeks guilty plea to the charges in July. While the crimes Meek committed are very real, Musk and other conspiracy theorists characterization of him as the chief debunker of the theory is false. According to Reuters, Meeks never wrote an investigative piece or debunking of Pizzagate while at ABC News, and viral headlines linking him to the theory were fabricated. Musk deleted the entire thread later on Tuesday. Hours before posting the meme amplifying the debunked theory, Musk wrote on X that the public will increasingly come to realize that X is the best source of truth, causing our user numbers to rise as they abandon the less accurate sources of information. One cant necessarily speak to user numbers, but a demographic that is actively fleeing the platform is Musks advertisers. Earlier this month, Musk endorsed a claim by a user that Jewish people were promoting dialectical hatred against whites. Shortly after, Media Matters published a study about X placing ads for major companies alongside posts featuring neo-Nazi and antisemitic rhetoric. In response, advertisers like Apple, Disney, IBM, Sony, Paramount, and Warner Brothers Discovery have since pulled their ads from the platform. In an apparent attempt at penitence, Mus made a trip to Israel on Monday during which he toured a kibbutz destroyed in Hamas Oct. 7 attack against the country in the company of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Following the tour, Musk stated in an interview on Twitter Spaces that we need to do everything possible to stop the hate. Xs CEO Linda Yaccarino also stated in response to the controversy that theres no place for it anywhere in the world, for discrimination and antisemitism. But extremists are celebrating Musks conspiratorial turn. On QAnon forums, users are celebrating. Elon Musk is doing exactly what anons wished for all these years: Hes making pizzagate mainstream news, one wrote. If this isnt winning, then I dont know what is, the user added. More from Rolling Stone Best of Rolling Stone Fort Worth U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman recused himself from a lawsuit filed by X (formerly Twitter) against Media Matters for America and the case was reassigned Tuesday to Judge Reed OConnor, with the suit to be heard in a federal court in Fort Worth, according to court documents. The suit, filed in the Fort Worth division of federal court in the Northern District of Texas on Nov. 20, alleges the nonprofit media company knowingly and maliciously created side-by-side images in a report to depict advertisers posts on X appearing next to Neo-Nazi and white-nationalist content. The suit alleges Media Matters created these images to drive advertisers away from the platform and to destroy X. Media Matters has said that the company stands by its reporting and expects to prevail in court, according to a report by the Associated Press. This is a frivolous lawsuit meant to bully Xs critics into silence, the nonprofits president, Angelo Carusone, said in a prepared statement. Pittmans recusal was filed Tuesday, requesting the suit to be assigned to another judge. According to notes entered in court records the same day, the suit was reassigned to OConnor, who is also based in Fort Worth. In addition to the images Media Matters allegedly created with malicious intent, the lawsuit says X and its predecessor, Twitter, have long been the target of Media Matters. The media company published over 20 articles in November that threatened Xs relationship with massive multinational advertisers and global publishers, including Amazon, eBay, MLB, the New York Times, Samsung, among many others, the suit says. The articles were disparaging to X and its CEO Elon Musk, according to the suit. As a result of the images in the Media Matters report, several companies withdrew ads from X, including Apple, Comcast, NBC Universal and IBM, some of Xs largest advertisers, the suit states. Eric Hananoki, a writer for Media Matters, is also a defendant named in the suit. Documents say the court has personal jurisdiction over Media Matters as the campaign against X was directed at advertisers who are located in, have a significant presence in, or transact business in Texas. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced his office is investigating Media Matters for possible fraudulent activity related to the report by Media Matters, according to a Nov. 20 news release. Emily Ratajkowskis latest photo shoot has sparked backlash among plus-size models and activists, who claim it promotes unhealthy narratives about body image. The supermodel, 32, recently shared several images from her photo shoot with M Le Monde magazine. For the fashion editorial photographed by Oliver Hadlee Pearch, Ratajkowski posed in a variety of looks featuring denim jeans and flowing tops. However, it was the second image that caught the attention of her Instagram followers. In the photo, Ratajkowski is seen wearing a pair of low-rise, wide-leg denim jeans double her size. She showed off her toned figure as the oversized pair of jeans fell at her feet. As she held up the waistband of the jeans with one arm, Ratajkowski stood in one leg of the pair of jeans to highlight the noticeable size gap. The photo shoot - which was styled by Charlotte Collet and creative directed by Jean-Baptiste Talbourdet-Napoleone - instantly sparked backlash after Ratajkowski shared the images to Instagram. In her comments section, thousands of users criticised both Ratajkowski and the team behind the photo shoot for the out of touch image and claimed the photo shoot was fatphobic. Famous plus-size models and inclusivity advocates - such as Tess Holliday, Kelly Augustine, Stephanie Yeboah, Letticia Munniz, and Sarah Chiwaya - have called out the photo for emphasising Ratajkowskis thinness in a pair of pants that would typically be reserved for someone who is plus-size. Ive been looking for those jeans in the second photo if you could just please return them that would cool. Tysm, Holliday commented under Ratajkowskis post. That second photo is such godforsaken trash, wrote Chiwaya. In the year of our lord 2023?? STILL??? Yikes. What in the fatphobic hell is that second picture? a third user commented, while someone else said: That second pic is so out of touch and ignorant but the comments are chefs kiss. Plus-size models have long advocated for more inclusive sizing - both in stores and on the runway. However, luxury brands and labels often avoid creating plus-size fashion over claims that its too expensive to make. Designers wont make plus sizes unless its for a photo opp where a thin person can be quirky, another person pointed out. Many people were especially surprised by the distasteful photo shoot considering Ratajkowski has published a book of essays about feminist empowerment and the objectification of womens bodies, titled My Body. Not sure how you think wearing oversized jeans made for a much larger person and accentuating your smallness promotes healthy body image like you preach in your books/social media, an Instagram user said. Since she shared snaps from the photo shoot over the weekend, Ratajkowski has not yet commented on the backlash. Despite the controversial editorial, the model has previously spoken out against body-shaming. In her book of essays, Ratajkowski discusses bodily autonomy and exploitation in the modelling industry. Every woman I know - doesnt matter what they look like, or if theyve commodified their image or not - knows what it feels like to be looked at, to be rejected, to get attention for how they look, she told The Independent in 2021. Back in 2019, Ratajkowski defended her friend against body-shaming trolls after their bodies were compared on Instagram. The model shared a bikini-clad post to promote her swimwear line, Inamorata, but several users accused Ratajkowski of sharing the photograph to make her body look better. In response, Ratajkowski commented: I love my friends body and both her and I think she looks great here! And Im proud shes rocking my suits. All these haters are crazy. Just because youre used to seeing one body type on the internet doesnt mean that thats the only kind that should be considered beautiful. While the body positivity movement has made waves over the past 10 years, this year in fashion was especially devoid of inclusivity or plus size models. According to Vogues Business Size Inclusivity Report, only 0.6 per cent of looks shown throughout the autumn/winter 2023 fashion season were modelled by plus-size people. Despite the fact that the plus-size clothing market is expected to reach $288bn this year, according to Future Market Insights, advocates have maintained that theyre unable to purchase clothing thats both sustainable and inclusive. I have to wear fast fashion and high street to major red carpet moments, and thats great, but I want the option to wear high end items of my choosing and its not available, Holliday told Elle UK in 2019. But its either that or I run around naked. Plus-size fashion is not there yet. The Independent has contacted representatives for Ratajkowski and M Le Monde for comment. Employees can be banned from wearing signs of religious belief such as the Islamic headscarf in EU member states, the blocs top court ruled on Tuesday. The wearing of the hijab has divided Europe for years and the issue came before the courts again in Belgium, after an employee of the eastern municipality of Ans was told she could not wear one while at work. Lawyers for the woman, who performs her duties as head of office primarily without being in contact with users of the public service, argued that her right to freedom of religion had been infringed. The wearing of a hijab has become a matter for the courts (Getty) The Ans municipality changed its terms of employment to require its workers to observe strict neutrality by not wearing overt signs of religious or ideological belief after the woman was told not to wear a headscarf. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) said authorities in member states had a margin of discretion in designing the neutrality of public service they intended to promote. However, this objective must be pursued in a consistent and systematic manner and measures must be limited to what is strictly necessary. It was for a national court to verify that these requirements are complied with. The CJEU ruled for the first time on womens wearing of the headscarf in 2017, when the Luxembourg court found that the garments could be banned, but only as part of a general policy barring all religious and political symbols. The judgment also stipulated that customers could simply not demand that workers remove headscarves if the company they were working for had no policy barring religious symbols. Rightwing politicians across Europe welcomed the then long-awaited judgment, whose consequences were felt in elections in the Netherlands and France, during the race to succeed former president Francois Hollande. Hijabs have been prohibited in state-run schools in France since 2004. The wearing of face coverings such as burqas is also banned. The court has found in favour of banning headscarves on a number of occasions since then. In 2021 it threw out cases brought by two German Muslim women, a special needs childcare worker and a sales assistant in a chemist, both of whom were told to remove their headscarves after deciding to wear the garments on their return to work after parental leave. The ban on religious and political symbols can be justified by the employers desire to pursue a policy of political, philosophical and religious neutrality with regard to its customers or users, in order to take account of their legitimate wishes, the court said in a statement at the time. Critics have described the bans as attacks on religious freedoms that predominantly affect women. Human Rights Watch, the NGO, said bans on religious clothing and symbols for teachers and other civil servants in Germany led some Muslim women to give up teaching careers. The ban on face coverings in France, meanwhile, led to fines for nearly 600 Muslim women in less than three years and Frances 2004 law banning the wearing of headscarves in schools kept some Muslim girls from finishing school. In the UK there are no bans on headscarves or other religious symbols. Ed Balls, Labours former schools secretary, said in 2010 that it was not British to tell people what to wear in the street following calls from UKIP for all all face-covering Muslim veils to be banned. Heather Bublick of Soul & Smoke restaurant in Evanston (left) and Sarah Stegner of Prairie Grass Cafe in Northbrook are helping to keep the Evanston Community Fridge adjacent to Soul & Smoke stocked. - Original Credit: Handout (Soul & Smoke/HANDOUT) No one needs to go hungry in Evanston thanks to Heather Bublick and Executive Chef DAndre Carter, owners of Soul & Smoke restaurant. With the help of volunteers and generous donors, they keep the Evanston Community Fridge, adjacent to their restaurant at 1601 Payne St., stocked with meals. Theres also a food pantry there. Because the need increases during the winter and over holidays, the couple solicited the help of chef Sarah Stegner, co-owner of Prairie Grass Cafe in Northbrook, to keep that fridge filled. Advertisement The Evanston Community Fridge, one of four fridges in the city, serves an urgent need even though many people think of Evanston as an affluent suburb. Bublick and Carter report that 31% of Evanstons school population lives in poverty and the city has a large unhoused population. During the pandemic we were providing meals to the community, Bublick said. We partnered with Evanston Community Foundation and World Central Kitchen. We have done over 250,000 meals over the course of the pandemic. Advertisement They were giving 200-300 meals a day to Evanston families that had been identified by the Evanston school districts as being food insecure. As funding for that ran out, that programming was ending, Bublick said. The Evanston Community Fridge was a natural next step. Anything that we can put into it we do but we definitely rely on community help and community support. People can take items from the fridge or the pantry 24 hours a day every day. Anyone is welcome to take food. No questions asked, Bublick reported. As the need for food to keep the fridge filled has grown greater, Bublick enlisted the aid of Sarah Stegner. She started Chicago Chefs Cook and shes a great organizer, Bublick said. I thought that she could be a good resource and a good partner in it. Stegner has a busy schedule but she readily agreed to help with the Evanston Community Fridge. The fact that they have that fridge stocked year-round along with the community is so powerful, how could you say no? Stegner said. This is an easy thing that chefs can do make meals and drop them off. She noted that the Chicago chefs have a powerful community and they support each other. Advertisement Stegner reported that she has taken food to the fridge in the past but not consistently. She was anxious to help on a more consistent basis because, Its kind of shocking how much need there is now, Stegner said. Stegners first step was to contact members of Chicago Chefs Cook, the nonprofit which she cofounded to provide humanitarian relief to those in need. They have been raising funds to support Maui restaurants, hospitality workers and their families. Stegner thought they should also help the Evanston Community Fridge because Its our own backyard. The first thing Stegner did was send an email to chefs from the North Side of Chicago and Evanston about the Fridge. She then made some follow-up calls after which they created a calendar of when each restaurant would drop off food. Chefs from 14 restaurants volunteered to supply food. Stegner started the ball rolling, bringing 25 meals on Nov. 20 of turkey burgers, white and orange sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce and slaw made from ingredients from local farmers. I tried to offer people the same kind of food that I would serve in the restaurant, she explained. Advertisement People who use the Evanston Community Fridge by Soul & Smoke will have the opportunity to try a variety of different cultural foods in future weeks. Providing meals to people in need is particularly important to Bublick. When COVID hit and we were just starting to do food insecurities, we had just gone through a great personal loss, she revealed. That was the death of their seven-week-old son in January of 2020. I needed something good to come out of the pandemic, Bublick said. Feeding families and feeding kids from the school district was the right thing for us. Other community fridges are hosted by Reba Place Church at 320 Madison St., Palmhouse 619 at 619 W. Howard St., and CNE at 1335 Dodge Ave. . For more details, visit evanstoncommunityfridges.com. Advertisement Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press. An emergency room pediatrician is seeing an uptick in children consuming pot-laced edibles that often look and taste like regular candy and these kids get more than a sugar high. Some kids come in and theyre really drowsy, and some are unresponsive," Dr. Meghan Martin tells TODAY.com. "Both scenarios are terrifying for the families, and it's becoming more and more common." In a recent TikTok video, Martin, known as @beachgem10 to her followers, shared a story about a little boy, who was brought to the ER by his non-English speaking parents. Martin noted that the family was from out of town and staying at an Airbnb in Florida. During patient intake, the mom and dad explained that earlier that day, they went shopping and left their son with his 17-year-old brother. Big brother fed little brother a McDonalds hamburger and a chocolate bar and put him to bed at noon time, Martin said in the clip. Family gets home at five oclock and this kid is out cold. They cannot wake him up. Martin recognized the signs of cannabis poisoning and suspected that the little boy had accidentally ingested a marijuana product. Martins intern suggested that he was showing signs of a stroke or diabetic distress. I was like, I guess well see, Martin recalled. After the little boys labs and CT scan came back normal, Martin ordered a urine drug screen. Lo and behold, the test came back positive for THC, the chemical in a cannabis plant that produces a high. At this point, Martin asked the family to tell her more about the chocolate bar that the little boy had eaten earlier that day. The older brother replied that he found the treat under a bed in the Airbnb they were renting. It was like a cookies and cream chocolate bar that was 500 milligrams of THC, and the kid had eaten about three-fourths of it," Martin said. (For reference, a standard unit of THC is 5mg, according to the National Institutes of Health.) So sufficiently wasted. Totally stoned, she added. A study published earlier this year in the journal Pediatrics found that calls to poison control centers for kids younger than 6 consuming cannabis-infused goodies rose from 207 in 2017 to 3,054 in 2021. Roughly 97% of the children discovered the edibles at home, per the report. While chatting with TODAY.com Martin said the most common symptoms of accidental marijuana poisonings in children, include balance issues, vomiting and excessive sleepiness. She notes that the effects of an edible can last up to 12 hours. There have also been deaths reported from too much THC exposure, Martin warns, noting that infants and toddlers are at risk for developing breathing disorder called respiratory depression, which can cause brain injury and even death. The Poison Control website states that some patients may require admission to the Intensive Care Unit. But generally, we wouldnt anticipate any long-term consequences after the effects of the medication have worn off, Martin says. If you suspect your child has consumed an edible, Martin says to first call Poison Control. There are some situations where you may be able to ride it out at home, she says. But if your child is symptomatic, come to the emergency department immediately so we can monitor their breathing. Martin recommends treating edibles like you would prescription medications. They should be kept out of reach of children and stored in a lockbox. "Unfortunately, edibles resemble regular candy and the packaging is very poorly labeled," she says. In 2021, a Florida mom wrote a Facebook post urging for changes in how marijuana products are packaged after her 6-year-old daughter was hospitalized overnight after accidentally consuming a marijuana-infused gummy that she mistook for candy. This article was originally published on TODAY.com ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday told United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres that Israel must be held accountable in international courts for what he called war crimes it committed in Gaza, the Turkish presidency said. Israel has mounted an offensive by air and ground against Hamas militants in Gaza in which more than 15,000 people have been killed, according to Gaza health authorities. The offensive was launched after Hamas went on a rampage in southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people and taking 240 hostage. In a phone call ahead of a U.N. Security Council meeting on Gaza planned for Wednesday, Erdogan and Guterres discussed the "expectations of the international community regarding Israel's unlawful attacks", access of humanitarian aid into the enclave, and efforts for a lasting peace, the Turkish presidency said. "During the call, President Erdogan said Israel continues to shamelessly trample on international law, the laws of war, and international humanitarian law by looking in the eyes of the international community, and it must be held accountable for the crimes it committed in front of international law," it said in a statement. Turkey's foreign ministry said Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan would attend the U.N. Security Council meeting in New York. In a statement, it added that Fidan would hold also meet his counterparts as part of a so-called contact group of some Muslim countries, formed by the Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) this month to discuss Gaza with Western powers and others. Turkey has harshly criticised Israel's attacks on Gaza and called for an immediate ceasefire to allow for discussions over a two-state solution to the wider Israel-Palestinian conflict. Erdogan has called the Israeli attacks on Gaza a genocide and accused Israel of being a "teror state". Israel rejects such charges and say it is acting in self-defence against a foe bent on it destruction. Turkey also hosts some members of Hamas, which it does not consider a terrorist group, unlike the United States, European Union, and some Gulf countries. It has accused the West, apart from Spain and Belgium, of complicity due to their support of Israel. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu;Editing by Alison Williams and Angus MacSwan) Humans are a diverse lot. And although we sometimes confuse ethnicity, race and nationality, they are not the same. Flashpop/Getty Images The concepts of race, ethnicity and nationality are so intertwined that it's sometimes hard to tell one from the other. Even unwound, the ideas are not as well-defined as many would present them to be. At the core, nationality refers to the country where a person is a legal citizen, ethnicity reflects a cultural sense of common ancestry and race is a social construct that divides people into large groups. So, a woman born to Japanese parents in Atlanta would be a U.S. national and might consider herself as racially Asian and ethnically Japanese, Japanese American or even just American. You see how blurry all these distinctions can get. Learn more about each of these concepts and how ethnicity, race and nationality differ. Why Are These Concepts So Difficult? Humans are a diverse lot; we can look distinctively different. We come from different places (though we all, as a species, come from modern-day Ethiopia), and the groups from which we have grown our families, our clans, our cultures, our nations all have traveled different paths. A wide world of factors have influenced our appearance and our ways of life during thousands of years of evolution and migration. Yet all those amazingly diverse people don't exist in a vacuum. Over all those millennia and all those miles, we've become mixed. And our ethnic backgrounds continue to mix. Putting us in distinct boxes with fixed labels is near impossible. Even the labels get jumbled. "I think there's a ton of overlap [between the terms ethnicity and race]," says Douglas Hartmann, a professor of sociology at the University of Minnesota and coauthor of "Ethnicity and Race: Making Identities in a Changing World" (with sociologist Stephen Cornell). "I really think it's difficult to disentangle them," he continues. "And maybe even inappropriate. Because all of these categories have elements of identity, self-assertion, culture and heritage. But they also have elements of labeling, of stigma, of differential treatment, of power inequality, etc." Still, maybe because of some innate need for order or something more sinister we continue to define. We identify people as this race, that ethnicity or by a national identity. We self-identify, too. And so it is that these labels become blurry and, at times, inseparable. A Quick Review of the Word 'Race' The modern idea that independent races of man exist goes back to the late 1700s when German anthropologist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach attempted to scientifically classify humans, largely by their distinctive physical traits how they looked and where they called home. From a 1994 article on Blumenbach in Discover Magazine: Blumenbach's final taxonomy of 1795 divided all humans into five groups, defined both by geography and appearance in his order, the Caucasian variety, for the light-skinned people of Europe and adjacent parts of Asia and Africa; the Mongolian variety, for most other inhabitants of Asia, including China and Japan; the Ethiopian variety, for the dark-skinned people of Africa; the American variety, for most native populations of the New World; and the Malay variety, for the Polynesians and Melanesians of the Pacific and for the aborigines of Australia. Johann Friedrich Blumenbach theorized you could divide humans into five groups: (clockwise from top right) Mongolian, Malayan, Ethiopian, American and Caucasian (center). Ann Ronan/Getty Images Blumenbach not only used geography and skin color but, notably, the size and shape of skulls to explore what he called the "varieties of mankind." One of his measures, though, was unmistakably unscientific: He called Caucasians (named for the people of the Caucasus Mountains in eastern Europe) "beautiful." Many Europeans who already believed, mistakenly, that the first humans came from the Caucasus seized upon Blumenbach's work ("We're beautiful, the respected scientist says!") as scientific proof that the "white" race, the "original" race, was biologically and inherently superior to others. (They did so even though Blumenbach, eons ahead of his time, held that all races and peoples were equal and stated that the "many varieties of man as are at present known to [be] one and the same species.") That thinking by Europeans that racial differences made one group superior to another has led, historically, to some of the worst of human behavior: colonization, slavery, apartheid and genocide, to name a few. It's given rise to forced inequality in many different forms, including political, social and economical. What Does 'Race' Mean Today? Here's the kicker: The high-and-mighty Europeans were dead wrong. Scientists now overwhelmingly agree that humans, biologically and genetically speaking, are all the same. "[T]he DNA of all human beings living today is 99.9% alike," according to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. In fact, there is more genetic variance between individuals than there is among any given "race" or ethnic groups. Basically, because genetic differences in humans are so minimal, some scientists simply describe humans as belonging to just one race: the human race. Despite the scientific shootdown, the term "race" is still in wide use today, and people still have racial categories assigned to them according to physical characteristics: skin color, the shape of the nose or lips, or the type of hair texture. Now, instead of claiming some pseudo-scientific basis, race refers to a "social construct," meaning it's something we, as societies, use to place people conveniently into groups. Here's how Hartmann and coauthor Cornell define race: " ... a human group defined by itself or others as distinct by virtue of perceived common physical characteristics that are held to be inherent ... Determining which characteristics constitute the race ... is a choice human beings make." Some of the reasons for the continuing use of race as an identifier may be acceptable: The U.S. Census Bureau, for example, asks people to identify themselves by race and gives them six choices, including "some other race." (The Bureau also allows respondents to say they're of more than one race.) The Bureau uses that data for such purposes as funding government programs aimed at specific groups. Other reasons are definitely not acceptable: Racial discrimination and racial prejudice are still real all over the globe. Though genetically race is not a valid concept, socially it is very, very real. In some definitions, it goes well beyond physical characteristics, too. "There really are cultural differences between people who grow up in an African American community versus a white suburban community. It's not genetic, but it's a real thing," Hartmann says. "There's different languages, different patterns of behavior, different ways of thinking about the world." Cultural differences suggest the other word most often conflated with race: "ethnicity." And that muddies the terminology waters even more. Young Japanese-American girls dress in kimonos during the 2017 Nisei Week Festival closing ceremony in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. This is a perfect example of how we can display our ethnic group through dressing. Kit Leong/Shutterstock Racial Groups, Ethnic Groups and Nationalities These three terms can cause a lot of confusion. Here are the key differences: Nationality Unlike race and ethnicity, nationality might be the easiest to define sort of. "Nationality refers to the status of belonging to a particular nation, whether by birth or naturalization," according to IGI Global. "It constitutes a legal relationship between an individual person and a state... A person's nationality is where they are a legal citizen, usually in the country where they were born." According to that definition, your nationality can change through naturalized citizenship. For example, a person born in Costa Rica can gain U.S. citizenship and become an American citizen. As the UK's Office for National Statistics explains, "A person can gain new citizenship (a person's formal membership of a state) and hold multiple passports reflecting different nationalities. Nationality reflects an individual's choice to become a citizen, as well as their ability and eligibility to do so." People of the same nationality may also share cultural practices and social customs, even if they belong to different races or ethnic categories. For example, take two people born in the United States, one of Mexican descent and one of Middle Eastern background. They may not share the same facial features, hair color or cultural heritage, but growing up and living in the U.S. has shaped both their experiences, so they celebrate holidays similarly or use smiling to express themselves in a nonverbal way. And just to add a little more confusion, Merriam-Webster also defines nationality as "an ethnic group constituting one element of a larger unit (such as a nation)." Ethnicity Cornell and Hartmann define ethnicity this way: "A sense of common ancestry based on cultural attachments, past linguistic heritage, religious affiliations, claimed kinship, or some physical traits." Examples of ethnicity include being Indian, Jewish or Asian, regardless of race. Clothes can play a big part, too. A Scottish-American man wearing a plaid or tartan kilt, an Indian American woman wearing a sari, and a Japanese-American woman wearing a kimono are all examples of a person's ethnicity being expressed through wardrobe. Race vs. Ethnicity The difference between race and ethnicity then? Whereas physical characteristics mostly determine a person's race, a person's culture, language, family and place of origin determine ethnicity. (Nationalities are sometimes in the mix.) Generally speaking, people define both race and ethnicity as social constructs. Neither is biologically valid. Interestingly, Cornell and Hartmann say that people are more likely to self-identify as mixed ethnicity than mixed race, though clearly, some consider themselves more than one race. It's important to note two other points the sociologists make about race and ethnicity. Race, unlike ethnicity, is still mostly a term that other groups assign to a person (which often leads to one claiming superiority over the other). And racial identity is inherent. In other words, you're born as a certain race, and it's generally not something you can change just by saying so. Remember Rachel Dolezal? That said, all these are observations, not rules. The rules, as we've said, are a tad murky. "People have this kind of crazy idea about the purity of races ... there's no way to really isolate a race. And today, even more so, with intermarriage, with globalization," Hartmann says, "those categories that we often think are so firm Americans are so convinced there's five main races because we've acted like there are in our census and everything else. They get blurred and mixed up and they don't make sense anymore." Now That's Interesting Since the existence of the U.S. Census, the race category has grown from three (free whites, all other free persons and enslaved people) to six, including "other." But in 1980, the census also began asking respondents whether they had Hispanic origins, meaning the U.S. Census considers Hispanic people as an ethnicity rather than a race. However, according to the Pew Research Center, many Hispanics and Latinos consider their background in racial terms and it was reflected on the 2010 census. Only 63 percent of Latinos chose one of the government-defined racial groups: white, Black, Asian, American Indian or Pacific Islander. The other 37 percent selected "some other race" or wrote in "Mexican" or "Latin American." Original article: Ethnicity vs. Race vs. Nationality: What Are the Differences? Copyright 2023 HowStuffWorks, a division of InfoSpace Holdings, LLC, a System1 Company FILE PHOTO: A shopkeeper wearing a mask waits for customers at a hijab shop, following the outbreak of the coronavirus in Kuala Lumpur FILE PHOTO: A shopkeeper wearing a mask waits for customers at a hijab shop, following the outbreak of the coronavirus in Kuala Lumpur BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The top European Union court ruled on Tuesday that public authorities in member states can prohibit employees from wearing signs of religious belief, such as an Islamic head scarf, in the latest decision on an issue that has divided Europe for years. The case came to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) after an employee of the eastern Belgian municipality of Ans was told she could not wear an Islamic head scarf at work. The municipality subsequently changed its terms of employment to require its employees to observe strict neutrality by not wearing overt signs of religious or ideological belief. The woman concerned launched a legal challenge, saying her right to freedom of religion had been infringed. The hijab, the traditional head scarf worn around the head and shoulders, has been a divisive issue across Europe for years. The CJEU said a policy of strict neutrality that was intended to establish a neutral administrative environment may be regarded as being objectively justified by a legitimate aim. It added that another public administration would also be justified if it decided to authorise, in a general and indiscriminate manner, the wearing of visible signs of belief. The court said authorities in member states had a margin of discretion in designing the neutrality of public service they intended to promote. However, this objective must be pursued in a consistent and systematic manner and measures must be limited to what is strictly necessary, the court said. It was for a national court to verify that these requirements are complied with. (Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop, Editing by William Maclean) The European Union's mission will present its proposals for security guarantees to Ukraine next week in Kyiv, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell announced at a joint press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Nov. 28, Interfax-Ukraine news agency reports. According to Borrell, the European Council approved the framework of the document on security guarantees for Ukraine. Following discussions with Kyiv, Borrell will officially present these proposals to EU leaders before the end of the year. Read also: Russian air defenses can shoot down Western missiles, but Ukraine knows how to trick them, Ihnat says He also stated that the Deputy Secretary-General for Security and Defense will visit Ukraine. Read also: Ukraine counts on powerful EU decision in December, Zelenskyy tells EU Council chief in Kyiv Earlier, Borrell indicated that the proposals would include an initiative to create a designated section for Ukraine within the European Peace Facility fund, and that this initiative will be presented to the Council in December. Read also: Parts of Kyiv go dark after massive Russian drone attack, 77 buildings & 120 establishments affected In July, leaders of G7 countries announced that they had agreed on a declaration of security guarantees for Ukraine. On Nov. 28, Ukraine began consultations on bilateral security guarantees with the last G7 countryItaly. 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 Kazakhstan has significantly reduced the amount of exports of dual-use goods to Russia, but the exports of other goods to Russia have simultaneously increased, EU Sanctions Envoy David O'Sullivan said during a press conference in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Nov. 28. The coverage of the press conference did not include clarification on what kinds of goods O'Sullivan was referring to as having increased. O'Sullivan is expected to visit Uzbekistan on Nov. 29 to focus on the same issue. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has said that the country will comply with the sanctions regime against Russia, and Kazakh officials have said the export of military goods to Russia ceased shortly after the beginning of the full-scale invasion. At the same time, Astana has received criticism for allowing Moscow to circumvent international sanctions imposed on Russia over its aggression against Ukraine. This has included importing and then re-exporting goods that the Russian defense industry uses for arms production. The Kazakh Deputy Trade Minister Kairat Torebayev said on Oct. 19 that Kazakhstan would stop the export of more than 100 dual-use goods with potential military uses to Russia, but the trade ministry issued a statement on the same day refuting Torebayev's comments. Successive rounds of sanctions against Russia, including the 12th EU package that is currently under discussion, have sought to curb Russia's ability to evade sanctions using third-party countries like Kazakhstan. Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangharin told RFE/RL's Kazakh service in June 2023 that despite government efforts and Western sanctions, private Kazakh companies have continued to export banned technologies to Russia, including drone components. Read also: Investigative Stories From Ukraine: Russian military helicopters get Czech components despite sanctions Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Vladimir Putin continues to believe that Russia has greater staying power than the West - Mikhail Klimentyev/Pool via AP While the rights and wrongs of the war in Gaza consume our ideological passions, a strategic blunder of the first order is unfolding on our doorstep. There is a real danger that a fickle and distracted West will let Vladimir Putin get away with his conquests in Ukraine, with frightening implications for the credibility of the liberal democracies and the Nato security system in Europe. These are dangerous times for Ukraine, said Ian Bond, a former UK defence planner and ambassador to the Baltics. It is increasingly clear that Ukraine cannot achieve a quick victory. But is it at risk of a quick defeat? he asked in a lacerating report for the Centre for European Reform. The Prigozhin mutiny seems long ago in military time. Ukraines offensive has ended in the mud of the rasputitsa. The country is running out of men. The average age of mobilised troops has risen from 35 to 43.4 years since the start of the war. The EU cannot continue to subcontract its outer defence to Ukraines armed forces on the cheap. Mr Bond has called for a suspension of the Maastricht deficit rules, allowing for wholesale rearmament and a partial war economy until Russia is defeated, and universally seen to be defeated. Nothing of the sort is happening. Rules are rules. Brussels and Berlin insist that the machinery of fiscal contraction must come back into force in January. Any extra spending on defence must be offset by retrenchment elsewhere. Russia has announced a 70pc increase in its military budget for next year, paid for with booming oil revenues. The G7s $60 price cap is by now a fiction. S&P Global says the discount on Urals crude has narrowed to $4. The Kremlins shadow fleet is today running such a smooth trade to India and China that Putin is essentially getting the world market price for his oil. Volumes are booming. S&P says shipments averaged 3.5 million barrels a day in October, up from the 3.1 million before the war. Export revenues from fossil fuels over the last two months have been running at $800m a day, as if there never had been sanctions. The West is complicit. VesselsValue says Greek shipowners have sold 290 ships since the war began, mostly to Russias Sovcomflot or other opaque traders helping Putins war. The EU has turned a blind eye. It is still the biggest buyer of Russias LNG gas. Washington was always lukewarm about the oil price cap. Joe Biden wanted to keep the oil flowing to avert petrol rage at home, while depriving Putin of revenue at the same time. That balancing act has proved impossible. Russia is able to run a hot war economy on these revenues. The structural damage goes deep but it will not be obvious enough, soon enough, to change the Kremlins political calculus. Ukraine has lost 30pc of its economy, most of its heavy industry, and a fifth of its grain output. The West expects the country to fight an offensive campaign against Russian trenches and minefields without air cover, and with inadequate counter-battery fire, anti-mine kit, and electronic warfare capability. General James Jones, former Nato supreme commander, said the US has been too slow in trickling out weapons, and too cowed by Putins bluster. Theyre having to fight the war with one hand tied behind their backs, he said. It is a view shared by a venerable list of ex-Nato commanders. Ukraine is still waiting for F-16 fighter jets. The US and Germany are still withholding cruise missiles. America has an excuse, arguably it must plan for a war on three fronts against the colluding autocracies; and must husband depleting stocks of weapons. Europe has no such constraint. It is facing an enemy that wishes to restore Tsarist borders and retake swaths of EU territory. What is the EU doing about this existential threat? It is absorbed by its usual squabbles over euros and process. Mujtaba Rahman, Europe chief at Eurasia Group, says support for Ukraine risks unravelling ahead of a make-or-break summit in December. The Commissions Ursula von der Leyen wants a 100bn top-up package, including 50bn for Ukraine. This is now in jeopardy. Berlin was already baulking at fresh money before the German constitutional court issued its maximalist ruling two weeks ago, forcing deep fiscal retrenchment. The chances are even lower now. Berenberg Bank estimates that Berlin must come up with 30-40bn in 2024 and 20-30bn for 2025, and a total of 130bn by 2027. Mr Rahman said Mrs von der Leyen blundered badly in linking Ukraine aid to the EU budget, hoping to use the war as a rocket booster for other ambitions. Everything is instead crashing around her. Italy, Spain and Greece are angling for concessions. The creditor bloc of Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Austria, along with Germany, insists on cannibalising existing EU funds rather than paying more. Long-festering tensions are bursting into the open. It is now clear that a deal is seriously at risk. The blame game is already in full swing, said Mr Rahman. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is holding everything to ransom, threatening to veto the start of EU accession talks with Ukraine unless Brussels releases 37bn of EU funds withheld over rule-of-law and press violations. Ukraine fatigue in Washington is perhaps worse. Less than $5bn remains of the $44bn approved by Congress in military aid. Joe Bidens request for another $61bn in aid half for defence is deadlocked in Congress, entangled with a dispute over the Mexican border. With each week, the Republicans fall further under the philo-Putinist spell of Donald Trump. There may be some poetic licence in Bild-Zeitungs claims that Mr Biden and Germanys Olaf Scholz are pressuring Kyiv to accept brutal compromises. It undoubtedly reflects a strain of thinking in both capitals. Volodymyr Zelensky is being urged by some to take any deal he can, while he can. Needless to say, Putin has no intention of reaching a durable settlement. He regards Ukraine as an artificial entity created by the enemies of Russia that has no right to exist. Even if there was a deal he would attack again in short order, said Mr Bond. Professor Alan Riley from the Atlantic Council said war works well for Putin. It has become the justification of the regime, making it easier to maintain repression. He can import anything he needs through Turkey or Central Asia, and he feels that the West is weakening, he said. Europes defence ministries get it. There is a sense of fear that this can spin completely out of control. They know there has to be massive rearmament. The politicians do not yet get it. As matters stand, Putin may outlast the West, exposing all those pious pledges of support for as long as it takes as humbug. Europeans must decide whether they are going to defend themselves or rely on an America where Trump is running five points ahead in the polls. The decision must be made immediately. They are starting from a dire position. Western Europe slashed defence to the bone during the Lost Decade, chiefly in order to comply with the scorched-earth demands of the eurozones fiscal regime. Germany did so out of self-inflicted austerity mania and strategic complacency. They cut spending on weapons systems and materiel because these were easiest to cut. That is why Europe has so little to give Ukraine today. Europe cannot wind back the clock. It can ditch its pettifogging rulebook and behave as if it understands the threat. It can still disabuse Vladimir Putin of his belief that Russia has greater staying power. If the European project cannot rise to this challenge, what is the point of it? 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. The European Commission has approved the proposition concerning the ban on trade of Russian diamonds. In the nearest time the document may be submitted for consideration to all EU member states. Source: AFP with reference to the draft of the decree Quote: "The European Union is drawing up bans on Russian diamonds as part of its 12th package of sanctions to tighten the vice on Moscow's war economy But it has been difficult to agree on how best to restrict the diamond trade. Being small and extremely valuable, gems are simple and lucrative to smuggle. They can easily be mixed with stones from other sources." Europe, and Belgium in particular, have another concern: even with the EU sanctions, Russian gems could still find their way to competitors in places like Dubai and India. Within the course of the talks concerning the EU sanctions the G7+ member states intervened, and the most industrially developed democracies of the world agreed on the global ban. AFP reports that the European Commission has adopted the proposition which will be submitted to the EU member states for approval within the next few days. According to the copy of the draft, it will ban trade in diamonds originating in, transiting, or exported from Russia, as well as Russian diamonds cut and polished in third countries, and diamond jewellery. It is planned to introduce the ban on Russian diamonds starting 1 January 2024, and the ban on the diamonds polished in third countries would be phased in between March and September next year. According to the draft, this measure will allow "deploying an appropriate traceability mechanism that enables effective enforcement measures and minimises disruptions for market players." Earlier, Bloomberg reported that the propositions of the 12th EU sanctions package provide for the limitations on the trade of goods with a total worth of about 5 billion, specifically the ban on the export of machines and machine components which Russia uses to produce weapons used in the war against Ukraine. The discussion of the new sanctions got off the ground after the G7+ foreign ministers approved the implementation of limitations on the diamonds of Russian origin at a meeting in Japan. Support UP or become our patron! The Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament has publicly advocated for the European Council to confirm the beginning of talks on Ukraine's accession to the EU. Source: Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, at a conference on the European integration of Ukraine, as reported by European Pravda Details: Metsola reported that the decision to support talks with Ukraine was announced by the Conference of Presidents, a body that unites the European Parliament leadership and all political groups. On Tuesday, 28 November, the Conference of Presidents held a meeting with Ruslan Stefanchuk, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine. The president of the European Parliament said Ukraine is making impressive efforts to implement reforms and that the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament confirmed today that Ukraine has demonstrated a solid basis for opening accession talks. Metsola emphasised that the process of the country's accession to the European Union is not only the transfer of European laws and regulations into national legislation, but this process requires changes in the country's society. The Conference of Presidents noted in its statement that it believes that Ukraine will continue to ambitiously implement all necessary reforms to complete the implementation of the European Commission's recommendations in order to open accession talks as soon as possible. Political groups leaders noted that they see Ukraine's future accession to the EU as a "geostrategic investment in a united and strong Europe". Quote: "Ukraine is and will remain a priority for the European Parliament. Ukraine can count on the restless effort and commitment to uphold the legitimate ambitions and aspirations of the Ukrainian people. Political Groups leaders look forward to intensifying the cooperation with the Verkhovna Rada in 2024, including with inter-committee meetings and information visits." Background: Earlier in November, the European Parliament supported the amendment of the EU treaties, in particular the reform of the decision-making process in the EU. The European Parliament also condemned the Russian interference in the Georgian affairs and called for sanctions against the ongoing occupation. Support UP or become our patron! Residents in 110 houses were told to evacuate after "unknown substances" were found at a home Residents have returned home after being evacuated when "unknown substances" were found in a house. Army explosive ordnance disposal experts investigated after the find during a police raid on the house in Knutsford, at 07:00 GMT on Monday. A 330ft (100m) cordon was set up on Longridge and residents in 110 houses were asked to leave. Police said it was "safe" to go home at 17:00. Five men, aged between 23 and 58, and a 22-year-old woman were arrested. Cheshire Police said the cordon had been "a precautionary measure" and a reception area had been set up at Knutsford Leisure Centre for displaced residents. Retired soldier Mike Williamson, 67, left his home after police warnings. He said: "They said there could be explosives in the house. "It was a bit of a shock. I live just close by the house." TV aerial worker David Dodd, 54, who did not leave his home, said: "It was a real shock to have the bomb squad next door to you. "I heard the police talking and they said it was explosives. "You don't expect something like this to happen here." Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, X and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk Share your views Submit letters to the editor via email to suburbanletters@tribpub.com. Please include your name and town of residence for publication. Please include phone number and email address for confirmation. Letters should be no more than 250 words. Advertisement Help Them To Hope begins 64th campaign It is the time of year that the traditional Help Them To Help campaign kicks off. This year, our 64th public campaign, and the 65th year of existence will be the last Hope campaign. Advertisement You may ask why a well-established fund campaign would come to an end. Well, as many readers know, the Hope Fund was started by Waukegan News-Sun pressmen in 1958. The fellows gave money left at the end of the year from their coffee kitty to create an act of kindness for the less fortunate. That money was co-mingled with other money from the Chicago Pressrooms Union and as tradition, it was given to a young widowed printers wife and her infant son. The money was used to finance mother and sons trip back home to England, where she had family. When Bernice Just, a News-Sun columnist, found out about the pressmens gesture of kindness, she spoke to publisher F. Ward Just. The publisher approached the pressmen, asking if they had plans to continue this endeavor. Lake County News-Sun Twice-weekly News updates from Lake County delivered every Monday and Wednesday By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy > They said they wanted to do something to help the less fortunate in Lake County. Just suggested they go public, and that the newspaper would cover all costs associated with a Hope campaign. The first public campaign was in 1959. Over the years, Lucille Dink Porett cared for the administration and promotion of the HTTH funds until her retirement in 1980. Bob Amann then took over the reins of HTTH. Publishers of the paper acted as president of the Hope Fund board. In 1976, the Internal Revenue Service and the State of Illinois ruled a nonprofit had to be chartered with the state, and registered with the IRS as a 503 nonprofit. The official Help Them To Hope, Inc., nonprofit was created, independent of the paper. From this point forward bylaws were created, and a board of directors and a president of the organization were elected. In 1984, Keystone Printing was sold to Copley Press, turning over ownership of WKRS Radio, The Independent-Register newspaper, the Hampton Greeting Card Co. and The News-Sun to the new owner. The Hope Fund gained a great deal of backing from Copley, keeping the Hope Fund strong in the public eye. And here we are in 2023, beginning our 64th public campaign. The board, made up of mostly retired News-Sun employees, has collectively a total of 129 years of service on the board since 1996. We will let you ponder the average board members age. Advertisement There is more history upcoming in future letters to the editor. Richard A. Ribando, retired publisher/president, Help Them To Hope, Inc. An influential Christian evangelical figure in a key state delivered a stern warning to Donald Trump ahead of next years battle for the Republican presidential nomination. I believe Iowa will rise up, Bob Vander Plaats, head of the Iowa-based Family Leader, told The Blaze host Steve Deace. I believe Iowa will send a message on January 15 cuz I think theyre seeing through this as well. This is smoke and mirrors. This is not leadership our country needs. On Jan. 15, Iowa will hold its caucuses, the first contest in the 2024 presidential campaign. Vander Plaats endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last week, which triggered a tirade by Trump on his Truth Social website. The former president called it a useless endorsement and accused him of scamming candidates. Over the weekend, Vander Plaats fired back by calling Trump a chump and making a golden showers reference. On Monday, he said Trumps character is being revealed and voters have noticed. The No. 1 hurdle for Donald Trump is Ive never met a dad or a mom or a grandpa or grandma who have told me they want their son or daughter or grandchild to grow up to be like him, he said. Thats a big deal. Iowa evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats BLASTS Trump's character: "The number one hurdle for Donald Trump is I've never met a dad or a mom or a grandpa or grandma who have told me they want their son or daughter or grandchild to grow up to be like him." pic.twitter.com/sEIGXIajYx Republican Accountability (@AccountableGOP) November 27, 2023 Vander Plaats says he has never endorsed Trump, although he did write an op-ed in October 2020 encouraging Christians to back him. This year, however, he has been increasingly critical of the former president, calling him out over the summer for F bombs and mocking people with disabilities. Hes also predicted before that Iowa could be a make-or-break state for Trump. Iowa is tailor-made to upend Trump, Vander Plaats said in September. If he loses Iowa, theres a competitive nomination process. If he wins Iowa, I think its over. The feud between Donald Trump and Bob Vander Plaats, one of the most prominent evangelical commentators in the country, is heating up. Last week, Vander Plaats, the head of the conservative The Family Leader organization and a former Iowa gubernatorial candidate, endorsed Florida Governor Ron DeSantiss bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. The move infuriated Trump, who lashed out on Saturday. Bob Vander Plaats, the former High School Accountant from Iowa, will do anything to win, something which he hasnt done in many years, Trump wrote on Truth Social. Hes more known for scamming Candidates than he is for Victory, but now hes going around using Disinformation from the Champions of that Art, the Democrats. I dont believe anything Bob Vander Plaats says. Anyone who would take $95,000, and then endorse a Candidate who is going nowhere, is not what Elections are all about! Vander Plaats officially ditched Trump earlier this year, telling Republicans its time to turn the page on the former president. Trump hasnt taken kindly to the slight, and wondered last week if DeSantis had committed a major Campaign Finance Violation by paying for the Bob Vander Plaats useless endorsement. On Monday, Vander Plaats responded during an interview with The Blazes Steve Deace. Vander Plaats denied Trumps allegation that he had accepted money from the DeSantis campaign. When you come out against me, and by extension the Family Leader, and saying that were pay for play were bought and paid for, and this is how we do business, thats just beyond the pale, Vander Plaats said. Iowa evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats BLASTS Trump's character: "The number one hurdle for Donald Trump is I've never met a dad or a mom or a grandpa or grandma who have told me they want their son or daughter or grandchild to grow up to be like him." pic.twitter.com/sEIGXIajYx Republican Accountability (@AccountableGOP) November 27, 2023 What youre seeing from the former president is character being revealed, Vander Plaats said, criticizing Trumps treatment of DeSantis and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, who has also endorsed DeSantis. And then because I dont endorse you, to throw me under the bus, my family under the bus, as well as our ministry under the bus because we dont bow the knee to you, that tells me more than ever [that] this party and this country needs to choose well about whos going to be representing us as president. The number one hurdle for Donald Trump is [that] Ive never met a dad, or a mom, or a grandpa, or a grandma whove told me they want their son, or daughter, or grandchild, to grow up to be like him, thats a big deal, Vander Plaats added. Vander Plaats went on to laud DeSantis image as a family man, and added that the former presidents personal attacks against him meant he deserved to lose my endorsement. Matter of fact Ive never endorsed him, but he proved he was not worthy of the endorsement, he said. With the Iowa caucuses less than two months away, endorsements from prominent state Republicans like Vander Plaats and Reynolds are a hot commodity among prospective candidates. Trumps campaign has taken pains to try and minimize Vander Plaats criticism, releasing a polling memo stating that the faith leaders endorsement would have no significant impact on the Presidential ballot. For all the anger Trump is expressing, he continues to hold a commanding lead in the state, and will be holding a rally in the state on Saturday. The feud between Trump and Vander Plaats also speaks to a growing schism between Trump and prominent evangelical leaders. As previously reported by Rolling Stone, in 2022 sources close to the former president said that Trump felt the evangelicals would never abandon him. Yet shortly after announcing his 2024 candidacy, Trump accused evangelical leaders of disloyalty. In response, several groups, many of which had expressed displeasure in response to Trumps private gripes about the political consequences of overturning of abortion rights, said the former president owed them more than just lip service to their goals. More from Rolling Stone Best of Rolling Stone Donald Trumps often abrasive demeanour may have finally caught up with him. A top political activist in Iowa active in the evangelical Christian movement Bob Vander Plaats recently announced his support for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as Mr Trumps rivals continue to push for an upset victory in the first-in-the-nation caucus. Now, he is explaining his decision, which he says is linked to a perceived aura of moral decay that he asserts surrounds the former president. Speaking with Steve Deace of The Blaze, Mr Vander Plaats pointed to the Trump camps aggression against Iowas GOP governor, Kim Reynolds, who had also rejected an endorsement of Mr Trump in favour of his leading opponent. First of all, with Governor Reynolds and what he did by cutting a video against her ... two of the most popular governors and the most results-producing governors in the country. The governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, the governor of Iowa, Kim Reynolds. And you completely throw them under the bus, Mr Vander Plaats complained. You call them names and all that just because they dont bow the knee to you. Thats not leadership. Then, he added: The number one hurdle for Donald Trump is Ive never met a dad or a mom or a grandpa or a grandma who have told me they want their son or daughter, grandchild to grow up to be like him. Iowa evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats BLASTS Trump's character: "The number one hurdle for Donald Trump is I've never met a dad or a mom or a grandpa or grandma who have told me they want their son or daughter or grandchild to grow up to be like him." pic.twitter.com/sEIGXIajYx Republican Accountability (@AccountableGOP) November 27, 2023 Mr Trumps feud against Ms Reynolds, who endorsed Mr DeSantis earlier this year, has continued for months. The governor has largely declined to respond to repeated attacks leveled against her on Truth Social by the former president. Just last week, the former president wrote of the governor: Kim Reynolds of Iowa has gone from a popular Governor to the MOST UNPOPULAR GOVERNOR IN THE UNITED STATES, not an easy feat. He then added in the same post, I wonder what position Kim was promised in order to back someone who is so far down in the polls?" It was a strong statement coming from a prominent Republican and indicative of why Mr Trump failed in 2020 to convincingly lob criticism about the Biden familys overseas business practices as he sought to level the playing field on the issue of voters perception of the two candidates and their character. The former president himself remains burdened by allegations that his son-in-law Jared Kushner was doing the bidding of the Saudis after the latter secured a $2bn investment from the Saudi governments sovereign wealth fund shortly after leaving the White House. The ex-president is also staring down the barrel of four separate impending criminal trials; those are set to take place over the next year, and could significantly affect the perception of the former president in the publics eye should evidence of his conduct become a major talking point during the general election. Mr Trumps GOP rivals in the Republican nominating contest have sought, sparingly out of fear of angering his supporters, to make those points; however, they have largely failed to chip off any substantial amount of support from the former presidents numbers. He continues to be the wide favourite to win the GOP presidential nomination, with most national polls of the primary indicating that he holds the support of more than half of the Republican electorate. GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA - Camp X-Ray, the infamous prison hastily erected in 2002 to imprison captives from Afghanistan and elsewhere on Jan. 27, 2017. It is now a derelict relic. (Michelle Shephard/Toronto Star via Getty Images) The Guantanamo Bay Camps, or Gitmo as it's commonly known, represent an evolving and complex approach to detainment and security management by the United States. Located in southeastern Cuba, this facility has been at the center of national security discussions for over two decades. These camps represent a microcosm of the complexity in addressing modern conflict and global security challenges. While controversial, they undeniably showcase America's commitment to adapting its security measures for the ever-changing world we live in. To comprehend the Gitmo camps, you have to acknowledge the historical backdrop against which they arose. Post 9/11, the United States encountered an unparalleled security challenge that prompted the commencement of numerous military operations worldwide. These actions yielded detainees, who were subsequently relocated to Guantanamo Bay. Initially, the camp was designed to accommodate individuals suspected of having ties to terrorist organizations. Over time, it has adapted in structure and purpose, addressing various military and judicial requirements. Camp Organization: More Than One Face The Guantanamo Bay Camps are a multifaceted institution with various levels of detainment and security protocols. From low-risk detainees to high-value targets, each camp serves a different function. For instance, Camp Delta is the largest and most well-known of the Guantanamo Bay Camps. Delta Camp has four sub-camps and holds the majority of detainees. Initially designed for juveniles, Camp Iguana houses those cleared for release but can't be repatriated due to various reasons. Perhaps the most famous, Camp 7 holds "high-value" detainees. These include those accused of plotting the 9/11 attacks, like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. His detainment has led to multiple military commission proceedings, showing the judicial complexities involved in dealing with high-profile detainees. Other notable detainees include Mohamedou Ould Slahi and various Uyghur detainees. Slahi started his detention at Camp Echo, another highly secure facility, but authorities later transferred him to less secure conditions when they no longer considered him a high-value target. His memoir, "Guantanamo Diary," sheds light on the changing viewpoints regarding detainment and security administration. Guantanamo Bay Camps once held several ethnic Uyghurs. However, they were released to other countries due to diplomatic and legal pressures, highlighting the international dimensions and complexities at play. Technological and Procedural Adaptability In its existence, the Gitmo facility has seen numerous technological updates and procedural changes, ranging from biometric identification to the use of advanced interrogation techniques. The technological adaptation demonstrates America's commitment to innovate and lead in matters of national and global security. In a facility where knowing the identity of detainees is crucial, biometric identification has been implemented to supplement traditional identification methods. This entails the use of fingerprint scanning, facial recognition, and other advanced measures. The system serves to keep track of detainees and enhance overall security, providing an additional layer of authentication that was previously unattainable. Surveillance is a critical component in managing the complex set of detainees in the Guantanamo Bay Camps. High-resolution cameras equipped with night vision, motion detection, and real-time analytics are installed throughout the facility. These technological upgrades allow for constant monitoring and quick response times, upholding the high standards of security needed for such a complex operation. History of Guantanamo The intriguing narrative of Guantanamo stretches back over a century, harking back to the tumultuous days of the Spanish-American War. Throughout its existence, the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base has remained a focal point of controversy, consistently capturing the attention of global audiences. The backdrop to Guantanamo's story is the context of the Spanish-American War and the quest for Cuban independence. Until 1898, Cuba was under Spanish rule, but as the Spanish empire waned, Cubans sought self-governance and fought for their freedom. The United States, acting as a neighbor and ally, joined the conflict. While not directly involving Guantanamo Bay, the sinking of the USS Maine was a pivotal event that led to American involvement in the war an event immortalized in the rallying cry " Remember the Maine ." A US national flag is placed in the fencing of Camp 5 at the US Military's Prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba on January 26, 2017. (Photo credit THOMAS WATKINS/AFP via Getty Images) With the conclusion of the war, Spain relinquished control of Cuba to the United States, along with territories like Puerto Rico. However, Cuba's independence was finally achieved around three years later. This transition marked a pivotal moment in Guantanamo's evolution. Presidential promises and challenges From the tenure of President Barack Obama to Donald Trump and now President Joe Biden, Guantanamo Bay has seen changes in policies and priorities. In 2009, former President Barack Obama vowed to close the detention center , acknowledging the international concerns surrounding its existence. However, this promise faced challenges related to legal complexities, international relations, and the practicalities of relocating detainees. Subsequently, former President Donald Trump took a different stance. He pledged not only to keep the detention center open but also to increase the number of detainees held there. This approach underscored the viewpoint that Guantanamo played a crucial role in ensuring the safety and security of the United States and its allies. As the pages of history continue to turn, the detention center at Guantanamo Bay remains a topic of discussion. President Joe Biden who has expressed the intention to close the military prison, emphasizing his commitment to upholding human rights and aligning with international norms . However, navigating the complexities associated with closing the detention center requires careful consideration of legal, diplomatic, and security factors. While President Biden's commitment to shutter the facility is clear, the road to its closure may involve unforeseen challenges. Fidel Castro and the dilemma of Guantanamo The geopolitics surrounding Guantanamo Bay took a significant turn with the rise of Fidel Castro in the 1950s. During this era, the base's fate seemed uncertain due to Castro's threats against the U.S. presence in Cuba. He voiced concerns about American interference in Cuba's economy and even contemplated ejecting the U.S. Navy from Guantanamo. However, Castro recognized the potential consequences of such a move. In fact, he suspected it might provide a pretext for a U.S. intervention aimed at removing him from power. Despite Castro's ongoing objections to the U.S. presence, the Guantanamo lease endured. In 1964, when the water supply was cut off by Castro, the U.S. Navy responded by constructing its own water and power facilities. Throughout this period, military families continued to call Guantanamo their home. An ever-evolving symbol The story of Guantanamo Bay is far from a one-dimensional narrative. It serves as a powerful symbol of America's commitment to national security, adaptability, and strategic thinking. From its early days in the Spanish-American War to its transformation after 9/11, Gitmo has evolved to meet America's needs. Presidential pledges may come and go, but the base's underlying value remains unchanged. It's indispensable for safeguarding America and its allies. In the years to come, Guantanamo Bay will continue to adapt to America's ever-changing geopolitical interests. Whether serving as a high-security detention center or taking on new roles in future, one thing is certain: Guantanamo Bay will remain a key player on the global stage. The former head of the NHS in Scotland has called for a debate about whether the private sector should have a greater involvement in healthcare. Prof Paul Gray said the health service was "unsustainable" in its current form, with pressure on staff growing and service to patients deteriorating. Change nothing, he warned, and "everything slowly gets worse." Prof Gray's comments come as the number of patients on NHS waiting lists in Scotland hits another record high. His views were echoed by Prof Andrew Elder, the president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, who called for a "national conversation with the public" on the priorities that the NHS should focus on. Prof Elder said: "The biggest challenge for our NHS can be summed up by the following questions - can we afford to provide every treatment available for the general public, free of charge and at the point of access? "If we cannot - which seems probable in the coming years - how should we decide what we can provide?" According to the latest statistics from Public Health Scotland, the waiting list for non-urgent outpatient care in Scotland was more than 525,000 this autumn, up 10.5% on the same time last year and more than double the level before the start of the Covid pandemic in March 2020. The queue for inpatient treatment was more than 150,000 at the end of September, up 1% in three months. There was a slight reduction in the number of people waiting more than two years for outpatient appointments but the number waiting more than 18 months to be treated in hospital as inpatients rose. Public Health Scotland points out that individual patients can appear on more than one waiting list as they may be waiting for multiple appointments. At the SNP conference in Aberdeen last month, First Minister Humza Yousaf promised to invest an extra 100m per year to bring down the longest waits by 100,000 by 2026. Prof Gray said long waits meant many patients were already choosing to pay for some elements of their care, because they could afford to do so or because their need was dire. A national conversation about the structure and funding of the NHS should have begun five years ago, he said, describing the situation now as "acute." "What we can't afford is just to carry on as we are and hope for the best," added Prof Gray, who was chief executive of NHS Scotland from 2013 to 2019. The Scottish government is to spend an additional 100m per year in a bid to cut waiting times over the next three years He insisted he did not have a view about whether or not more private sector involvement was the answer and said he did not believe the NHS was being privatised by stealth. Prof Gray said: "If we decide that actually the way we do it is the best way, of all the choices we could make, that's OK, we've had the conversation. "If on the other hand we decide there's more space for the private sector, perhaps they could do more, then good, that's fine too." He added: "I also think I hear and detect a genuine will to have the conversation. On balance my perspective is one of hope not one of despair." Last year BBC News revealed that NHS leaders in Scotland had discussed the possibility of having the wealthy pay for treatment, with an official document referring to a "two-tier" health service. The trade union, Unison, has criticised talk of more private sector involvement in public healthcare, insisting that the NHS "is in a parlous state," not because of structural failings but because of poor workforce planning and a lack of funding. Wilma Brown, chair of Unison Scotland's health committee said "those promoting private medicine" were choosing "to put the poor at the back of the queue." Ms Brown added: "Low taxes and properly funded public services are pretty much mutually exclusive. The debate we need is far more about resourcing than structure. Prof Gray first described the NHS in Scotland as "not sustainable in its present form" in an article last month for the Herald newspaper and Reform Scotland, which describes itself as a non-partisan independent think tank. In her new book, former Rep. Liz Cheney paints a scathing portrait of the Republican Party, condemning her former colleagues and party leaders as enablers and collaborators, who after the 2020 election were willing to violate their oath to the Constitution out of political expediency and loyalty to Donald Trump. The book, Oath and Honor, which was obtained exclusively by CNN ahead of its Dec. 5 release, is an unflinching account of what Cheney calls the GOPs cowardice, and how so many were willing to support former President Donald Trump, who she calls the most dangerous man ever to inhabit the Oval Office. Cheney delivers a particularly devastating takedown of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who she says told her that Trump knew hed lost the election. Cheney is also critical of McCarthys successor, House Speaker Mike Johnson, who appeared especially susceptible to flattery from Trump and aspired to being anywhere in Trumps orbit, she writes. The book serves both as a roadmap laying out how Cheney realized in the days and weeks following the election the dangers of what Trump and his allies were trying to do to overturn the 2020 election, as well as a stark warning that she believes the checks and balances of the Constitution will not hold if Trump is reelected in 2024. As a nation, we can endure damaging policies for a four-year term. But we cannot survive a president willing to terminate our Constitution, the Wyoming Republican writes. Following Cheneys prominent role as vice chair of the Houses January 6 committee, which uncovered critical new details about Trumps attempts to overturn the 2020 election, her book is a first-hand account of what was going on behind the scenes and she names names. Liz Cheney's new book "Oath and Honor." - Little, Brown and Company Drawing from real time text messages, emails, calls and meetings, as well as personal conversations, Cheney calls out her Republican colleagues as hypocrites who knew Trump lost but did his bidding anyway and says their complicity is a threat to democracy. So strong is the lure of power that men and women who had once seemed reasonable and responsible were suddenly willing to violate their oath to the Constitution out of political expediency and loyalty to Donald Trump, Cheney writes. Cheney has vowed to do whatever is necessary to stop Trump from returning to the White House, including leaving open the door to a 2024 presidential run herself. If Trump is the partys nominee, Cheney has said she will leave the GOP. Trump spokesman Steven Cheung told CNN that Cheneys book belonged in the fiction section of the bookstore. These are nothing more than completely fabricated stories, he said. The Orange Jesus Throughout Oath and Honor, Cheney describes how she saw her Republican colleagues go from condemning Trump to falling back in line and supporting his claims of election fraud. Cheney reveals for the first time that McCarthy told her just two days after Election Day that he had talked to Trump and that Trump acknowledged he had lost the 2020 election. He knows its over, McCarthy said, according to the book. He needs to go through all the stages of grief. Cheney writes that she thought to herself, those stages of grief seemed to involve tweeting in all caps. When the California Republican went on Fox News that same day and said, President Trump won this election, Cheney writes, McCarthy knew that what he was saying was not true. Cheney also exposes how other Republicans supported Trumps election lies even when they knew better. During a GOP conference call, Cheney writes that House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan was dismissive of the legal process for challenging the election results and didnt seem to think the rules mattered. The only thing that matters is winning, Jordan said, according to Cheney. A spokesman for Jordan, Russell Dye, told CNN, Chairman Jordan was always concerned about the legal process for the 2020 election and how states unconstitutionally changed their laws unilaterally. Cheney also calls out Johnson, whose rise to the speakership came after Cheney had finished her book. Cheney recounts how Johnson pressured Republican members to support an amicus brief to throw out the election results from four states Trump had lost. When I confronted him with the flaws in his legal arguments, Cheney writes, Johnson would often concede, or say something to the effect of, We just need to do this one last thing for Trump. On Jan. 6, before the attack on the Capitol, Cheney describes a scene in the GOP cloakroom, where members were encouraged to sign their names on electoral vote objection sheets, lined up on a table, one for each of the states Republicans were contesting. Cheney writes most members knew it was a farce and another public display of fealty to Donald Trump. Among them was Republican Congressman Mark Green of Tennessee, Cheney writes. As he moved down the line, signing his name to the pieces of paper, Green said sheepishly to no one in particular, The things we do for the Orange Jesus. In a statement to CNN, a spokesman for Greens office denied that he made that comment, saying, Liz Cheneys accusation is false. She and her publishers would know this had they reached out to Rep. Green or his office. There was a large crowd in the cloak room that day and Congressman Green unequivocally denies making this comment. Trumps not eating Cheney also accuses McCarthy of repeatedly lying and choosing the craven path of embracing Trump. She recounts the moment she first found out that McCarthy, fearing he had lost his ability to fundraise, secretly went to visit Trump at Mar-a-Lago just three weeks after the Jan. 6 attack. Donald Trump and Kevin McCarthy are pictured on January 28, 2021 at Mar-a-Lago. - Save America PAC At first, Cheney thought the photo of the two men smiling and shaking hands was fake. But she was incredulous at McCarthys defense of his visit. He claimed Trumps staff summoned him. Mar-a-Lago? What the hell, Kevin? Cheney asked. Theyre really worried, McCarthy said. Trumps not eating, so they asked me to come see him. What? You went to Mar-a-Lago because Trumps not eating? Cheney responded. Yeah, hes really depressed, McCarthy said. Cheney reveals that other Republicans were also angry and disgusted at McCarthys visit to Trump. She writes: Some mocked him, circulating the Trump/McCarthy photo along with the clip from the movie Jerry Maguire where Tom Cruise tells Renee Zellweger, You.. complete me. In response to CNNs request for comment, a spokesperson for McCarthy said, For Cheney, first it was Trump Derangement Syndrome, and now apparently its also McCarthy Derangement Syndrome. You are in danger One of the most compelling parts of the book is Cheneys account of the weeks leading up to the January 6 attack and growing fears that Trump was inciting his followers to violence. Cheney discloses for the first time that on Jan. 4, she was accidentally included on a White House surrogate call. She was alarmed as she listened in as Trumps allies detailed specific plans to try to overturn the election by getting then-Vice President Mike Pence to obstruct or delay the counting of electoral votes. Cheney says she left the Capitol that night with a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach not sure if Pence would withstand the pressure from Trump. I didnt know if we could count on him, Cheney writes, and discloses that former House Speaker Paul Ryan also had doubts about Pence. In a text message shortly after midnight on January 5, Ryan wrote to Cheney, I worry he breaks but think he will not. The morning of Jan. 6, Cheneys father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, called her after Trump said in his speech on the Ellipse that the crowd should get rid of the Liz Cheneys of the world. You are in danger, he told her, cautioning her about speaking on the House floor that day. Even though she was worried, Cheney writes nothing prepared her for the violence of the attack. As the rioters approached and the House went into lockdown, the Sergeant at Arms warned members they should be prepared to hide under their chairs if necessary. Jim Jordan approached me, Cheney writes. We need to get the ladies off the aisle, he said and put out his hand. Let me help you. I swatted his hand away. Get away from me. You fing did this, Cheney says she responded. Jordans spokesman denied the incident occurred. Supporters of President Donald Trump protest inside the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, in Washington, DC. - Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images/File As she and her colleagues rushed out of the House chamber, Cheney writes that she immediately started to talk to then-Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries about the urgent need to impeach Trump. On January 13, Cheney was one of only 10 Republicans who voted for impeachment. Although he never made a public statement about Trumps impeachment, Cheney reveals that former President George W. Bush sent her a private message of support: Liz, Courage is in short supply these days. Thank you for yours. You showed strong leadership and Im not surprised. Lead on. 43. It was often a lonely position. Cheney and her father were the only two Republicans who attended a ceremony marking the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hugged the former vice president when they arrived. After sitting down, the two Cheneys noted the empty rows of seats on the Republican side of the chamber. Its one thing to hear about whats happening in our party, but to see it, like this, in such stark terms Cheney writes that her father said, his voice trailing off and shaking his head. Youre killing me, Liz In the aftermath of Jan. 6, Cheney writes there were a few days of clarity where most of the House Republican Conference was ready to either impeach or censure Donald Trump. It wouldnt last, she notes ruefully. She recounts how a GOP colleague, who she does not name, told her he knew what Trump had done was impeachable, but he was afraid that voting to impeach would put his wife and new baby in danger. I absolutely understood his fear, Cheney writes. But I also thought, Perhaps you need to be in another job. Quickly, Cheneys vote to impeach Trump and her blistering statement charging that he lit the flame of the attack on the Capitol put a target on her back as the House GOP conference chair. The morning of a February 2021 conference meeting, where the Freedom Caucus put forward a vote to oust Cheney, she describes a scene where GOP leaders pressured her to apologize for something anything to smooth things over. This was feeling more like middle school than the US Congress, Cheney writes. She refused to back down, and what followed was a four-hour meeting where colleagues attacked her for standing up to Trump. In one memorable exchange, Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania said to her, Its like youre playing in the biggest game of your life and you look up and see your girlfriend sitting on the opponents side! The remark provoked a chorus of female members who yelled back, Shes not your girlfriend! That day Cheney survived the vote, winning 142 to 56, but she writes the experience was best summed up by Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio who told her, Well, I just got to spend four hours listening to a bunch of men tell a woman that she wasnt taking their feelings into account. But Cheneys days in GOP leadership were numbered. Youre killing me, Liz, McCarthy said to her a few weeks later, after their final joint press conference, according to the book. WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 27: At right, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) stands with House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as he speaks during a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol, on May 27, 2020 in Washington, DC. Calling it unconstitutional, Republican leaders have filed a lawsuit against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and congressional officials in an effort to block the House of Representatives from using a proxy voting system to allow for remote voting during the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) - Drew Angerer/Getty Images Cheney, noting the portrait of former President Ronald Reagan on the wall, asked McCarthy how he thought Reagan, or former President George W. Bush or her father would have reacted to Trump on Jan. 6. This isnt their party anymore, McCarthy told her. Afterward, Cheney writes: The GOP was becoming an anti-Constitution party. And too many of our leaders were willing to accept that. McConnell: I like where I am Cheneys criticism of the Republican party extends to Senate Republicans and right-wing media personalities who she says also helped spread Trumps lies. The book includes new details about conversations between Cheney and Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell. Cheney writes that at first, McConnell was firm in his view that Trump should be impeached. I like where I am, McConnell told her, according to the book, following news reports that he was contemplating voting to convict Trump. But by the time the Senate impeachment trial began in February 2021, I was growing concerned that Mitch McConnell had lost his earlier resolve, Cheney writes. McConnell later changed course, apparently, Cheney writes, because he believed Trump would just fade away after 2020. Leader McConnell, who had made a career out of savvy political calculation and behind-the-scenes maneuvering, got this one wrong, Cheney writes. In the book, Cheney also condemns right-wing media for amplifying the disinformation coming from Trump and his allies. She notes that she urged Ryan, a member of the Fox Corp. board, to push for a show on Fox News debunking the election lies. Several months later, I heard the show had been in the final stages of production when it was shut down, Cheney writes. Someone at Fox had apparently decided not to finish it. The show never aired. Instead, she writes, Fox let then-host Tucker Carlson spread intentional disinformation about Jan. 6. A Fox News spokesperson told CNN, There was never a show in production that was shut down. Visitor from another planet The book also includes new revelations about Cheneys time as vice chair of the Jan. 6 select committee. After being ousted as GOP conference chair in May 2021, Cheney accepted an invitation from then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to join the committee. Surrounded by Democrats at the panels first meeting, Cheney writes, I couldnt shake the feeling of being a visitor from another planet. Later, Cheney learned that Pelosi had dismissed her staffs concerns about appointing the conservative Republican. Cheney writes that Pelosis team pulled together a list of the 10 worst things I had ever said about her. Speaker Pelosi took one look at the list, handed it back to her staffer, and asked: Why are you wasting my time with things that dont matter? It was an unexpected alliance, but Cheney says Pelosi always backed her up, and in turn, she was immediately impressed by Pelosis leadership. We may have disagreed on pretty much everything else, but Nancy Pelosi and I saw eye to eye on the one thing that mattered more than any other: the defense of our Constitution and the preservation of our republic. Purely wishful thinking Cheneys book ends with a chilling warning for 2024: that Donald Trump is dangerous for the future of the country. Trump has told us that he thinks the Constitution can and should be suspended when necessary, that what happened on Jan. 6 was justified, that in a second Trump presidency he would seek retribution, Cheney writes. The assumption that our institutions will protect themselves is purely wishful thinking by people who prefer to look the other way. Cheney extends her admonition to elected officials surrounding Trump and Republican Party leaders. We have also now learned that most Republicans currently in Congress will do what Donald Trump asks, no matter what it is, Cheney writes. I am very sad to say that America can no longer count on a body of elected Republicans to protect our republic. Oath and Honor ends with a call to action that Cheney asserts is more important than partisan politics. Every one of us Republican, Democrat, Independent must work and vote together to ensure that Donald Trump and those who have appeased, enabled, and collaborated with him are defeated. Cheney concludes: This is the cause of our time. This story has been updated with additional details. CNNs Kristen Holmes, Annie Grayer and Oliver Darcy contributed to this report For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com There is a new push for answers from the Social Security Administration (SSA) about what is being done to fix the problem of overpayments made to beneficiaries, and efforts by the government to claw the money back. Our Washington News Bureau exclusively obtained a letter sent by Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) to the SSA on Tuesday, which directly links to our reporting on the problem. Our Cox Media Group investigative reporters across eight cities in seven states worked together and partnered with KFF Health News to expose billions of dollars in overpayments. As you know, Social Security benefits are a lifeline for millions of Americans, from retirees and older adults to individuals experiencing disabilities, delivering $1.4 trillion in essential benefits to more than 71 million people each year, the Senators wrote. That is why we have been deeply concerned by stories from our constituents and recent reports of the extreme financial hardship placed upon beneficiaries who are asked to quickly repay in full or whose payments are halted, reduced, or reclaimed as the agency attempts to correct improper payments, many of which occurred due to agency error. Hassan and Cassidy ask questions about efforts SSA is taking to reduce the occurrence of overpayments and about how the agency is working to prevent harm for the beneficiaries affected. Fixing overpayments has been a major focus during the nomination process for the person to lead the agency. Earlier this month, we were there as Hassan questioned the nominee for SSA Commissioner Martin OMalley about overpayments. If confirmed, will you commit Governor to continuing efforts to minimize the agency errors that lead to the problems for beneficiaries, including my constituents in the Granite State? Hassan asked during the Nov. 2 hearing. I will certainly commit to that, Senator, OMalley replied. SSA confirmed it has received the Hassan/Cassidy letter and said the agency will respond directly to the Senators. The joint letter from Hassan and Cassidy comes after another U.S. Senator wrote to the SSA earlier this month. Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) sent a letter to SSA on Nov. 17 and wrote: I have heard from numerous Floridians about the Social Security Administration (SSA) demanding shockingly large sums of money for repayment as a result of past overpayments and errors made by the SSA. These notices have come as a complete surprise to many seniors in my state and, if immediately recouped, would bankrupt an untold number of elderly Floridians. Scott asked the agency to explain who is being held accountable for the mistakes and about what its doing to make it easier for beneficiaries to report and fix overpayment issues. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Exclusive: Senators send letter questioning SSA about Social Security overpayments There is a new push for answers from the Social Security Administration (SSA) about what is being done to fix the problem of overpayments made to beneficiaries, and efforts by the government to claw the money back. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< Our Washington News Bureau exclusively obtained a letter sent by Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) to the SSA on Tuesday, which directly links to our reporting on the problem. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] Our Cox Media Group investigative reporters across eight cities in seven states worked together and partnered with KFF Health News to expose billions of dollars in overpayments. As you know, Social Security benefits are a lifeline for millions of Americans, from retirees and older adults to individuals experiencing disabilities, delivering $1.4 trillion in essential benefits to more than 71 million people each year, the Senators wrote. That is why we have been deeply concerned by stories from our constituents and recent reports of the extreme financial hardship placed upon beneficiaries who are asked to quickly repay in full or whose payments are halted, reduced, or reclaimed as the agency attempts to correct improper payments, many of which occurred due to agency error. Read: Social Security reviewing overpayment policies, procedures following Action News Jax investigation Hassan and Cassidy ask questions about efforts SSA is taking to reduce the occurrence of overpayments and about how the agency is working to prevent harm for the beneficiaries affected. Fixing overpayments has been a major focus during the nomination process for the person to lead the agency. Earlier this month, we were there as Hassan questioned the nominee for SSA Commissioner Martin OMalley about overpayments. If confirmed, will you commit Governor to continuing efforts to minimize the agency errors that lead to the problems for beneficiaries, including my constituents in the Granite State? Hassan asked during the Nov. 2 hearing. I will certainly commit to that, Senator, OMalley replied. Read: Congress holds hearing on Social Security overpayments following Action News Jax investigation SSA confirmed it has received the Hassan/Cassidy letter and said the agency will respond directly to the Senators. The joint letter from Hassan and Cassidy comes after another U.S. Senator wrote to the SSA earlier this month. Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) sent a letter to SSA on Nov. 17 and wrote: I have heard from numerous Floridians about the Social Security Administration (SSA) demanding shockingly large sums of money for repayment as a result of past overpayments and errors made by the SSA. These notices have come as a complete surprise to many seniors in my state and, if immediately recouped, would bankrupt an untold number of elderly Floridians. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Scott asked the agency to explain who is being held accountable for the mistakes and about what its doing to make it easier for beneficiaries to report and fix overpayment issues. 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. "Sister Wives" star Christine Brown says her children's happy marriages helped her reconsider her own. Christine and Kody Brown married in 1994 after meeting in a church youth group, she recalled in the jointly written book "Becoming Sister Wives". She was his third of four wives; they shared six children. In November 2021, after 26 years of plural marriage, they announced their divorce the first of many seismic changes for the Brown family. Speaking to TODAY.com, Christine Brown says her children's marriages made her realize what hers with Kody was lacking. "When Kody and I first got married, I loved him and I thought that he loved me too. We were just fine. I didn't think there was anything wrong with the relationship we had," she says. "I figured sometimes there's good and bad days. Then there were good and bad weeks, good and bad months and good and bad years." "It wasn't until I saw Maddie and Caleb (Brush) together and I thought, 'Oh my gosh, this is what soul mates look like.' I see," she says, referring to Janelle's daughter Maddie Brown Brush and husband Caleb Brush. Christine says polygamy's appeal came in whole big family experience rather than in the experience of romantic love. Still, she came to sense her marriage was missing a puzzle piece after comparing it to her kids' marriages and Kody Brown's bond with his fourth wife. In the "One on One" special that aired Nov. 26, Kody Brown said his connection with Robyn Brown started from a place of love, whereas the others didn't. I fell in love with Robyn. I never fell in love with anybody else. I was just choosing to be in that covenant of love with them, he said. His other marriages were a reflection of his "anxiousness" to "be living the principle of plural marriage," rather than compatibility, he said. Meri and Christine Brown both said Kody and his fourth wife are "soul mates" during the same special. Speaking to TODAY.com, Christine Brown says she heard her sister wife refer to Kody Brown as her soul mate and she knew she didn't feel the same. "I was like, we're not (soul mates). I knew Kody and I were not. I just knew it. And I thought, 'That's OK. That's fine.' Then I saw Maddie and Caleb's (marriage). And I'm like, 'Maybe there's some more soul mates out there, I don't know," she says. Then her own children got married, and she saw examples of marriages that started from a place of personal connection, rather than a shared desire for a polygamous lifestyle. "Then my other kids get together. Mykelti and Tony and Aspen and Mitch. Maybe there's something here. But I still was OK with what I had. I was great with what I had. Because what we had was this awesome family," she says. Three of Christine Brown's children are married: Mykelti Brown married Tony Padron in 2016; Aspen Brown married Mitch Thompson in 2018; Gwendlyn Brown married Beatriz Quieroz earlier this year. Christine Brown says things changed "very obviously" when the family relocated from Nevada to Flagstaff, Arizona. "We really stopped working as a unit. We were just separate groups and separate families," she says. Seasons 17 and 18 of "Sister Wives" showed the Brown family unit fracturing further, specifically around conversations around COVID-19 protocols, prolonged estrangement between Kody Brown and some of his children and questions of whether Robyn Brown was his "favorite" wife. Janelle Brown announced she and Kody had separated in December 2022. Meri and Kody Brown announced their decision to "permanently terminate" their marriage in January 2023. Christine Brown has since found the soul mate connection she was searching for with David Woolley. Their romance played out publicly in 2023, starting with an Instagram reveal in February 2023 and a wedding in October. "It's a new era of life where there's so many possibilities. I don't want to wait anymore. I want to grab it with both hands, adventure and explore," she says. This article was originally published on TODAY.com A deadname is the name a transgender person was given at birth but no longer uses. The word, which can be used as a noun or a verb, is among Merriam-Webster's words that defined 2023, following a notable increase in searches for the term. The oldest dictionary publisher in the U.S. announced authentic as its 2023 Word of the Year on Monday. Other words that stood out in the publishers data, along with deadname, include rizz, meaning romantic charm or appeal, and deepfake, which is an "image or recording that has been convincingly altered and manipulated to misrepresent someone as doing or saying something that was not actually done or said. Searches for deadname increased in March, according to the publisher, as a number of states were considering parental rights legislation, which restricts the instruction of LGBTQ topics in schools and, in some cases, requires school staff to notify parents if a student asks to use a different name or pronoun than what they were assigned at birth. Merriam-Webster noted that deadname doesnt appear in the legislation but was often used in media coverage of the issue. In early 2022, Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education bill, or what critics have dubbed the Dont Say Gay law. The measure initially prohibited classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards. DeSantis signed an expanded version of the law in May that prohibits such instruction from prekindergarten through eighth grade and restricts health education in sixth through 12th grade. The expanded measure also prohibits employees from sharing their pronouns or titles with students if those pronouns and titles dont align with their birth sex. In addition to Florida, nine other states have passed laws in 2023 that restrict the instruction of LGBTQ topics in schools, restrict school staff and students from using pronouns that dont align with their assigned sex, or do both, according to an NBC News analysis of data from the American Civil Liberties Union. Research has found that using trans peoples requested names and pronouns is associated with improved mental health outcomes. For example, transgender and nonbinary youth who reported having pronouns respected by all of the people they lived with attempted suicide at about half the rate (13%) when compared to those who did not have their pronouns respected by anyone with whom they lived (24%), according to a 2021 survey conducted by The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ youth suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization. A 2018 study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health similarly found that using transgender youths chosen names in more contexts was associated with lower depression, suicidal ideation and suicidal behavior, and that the odds of each were lowest when chosen names were used in more contexts. Deadnaming and misgendering, which means intentionally using the pronouns associated with a persons sex assigned at birth as opposed to their gender identity, are often used to harass trans people online. As a result, many social media platforms have banned both deadnaming and misgendering. However, in April, Elon Musk, who purchased Twitter last year and renamed it X, removed the sites previous ban on intentionally misgendering and deadnaming transgender people, arguing in favor of absolute free speech on the platform. X was also among Merriam-Websters notable words of the year. In recent years, Merriam-Webster has increasingly highlighted words associated with LGBTQ people as these terms have become more common. The publishers 2019 Word of the Year was they, which has gained popularity as a singular pronoun used by nonbinary people, who are neither exclusively male nor female. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com This website stores data such as cookies to enable essential site functionality, as well as marketing, personalization, and analytics. By remaining on this website, you indicate your consent. A total of 559 settlements in Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava, Sumy, Kherson, Cherkasy and Chernihiv oblasts remain without power due to extreme weather as of the morning of 28 November. Source: Ukrenergo, Ukraine's national energy company. Details: The most difficult situation is in Odesa, Mykolaiv and Donetsk oblasts. At the same time, 443 settlements remain without electricity due to hostilities and other reasons. Attacks caused new damage to power grids in Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv and Kherson oblasts. Emergency recovery works are carried out depending on the security situation and with the military's permission, the state company explained. Quote: "Over the past day, Ukrenergo restored two high-voltage overhead lines of 330 kV in the southern oblast damaged by extreme weather. Another 330 kV line was also put into operation to increase the reliability of the power supply in the oblast. Another high-voltage overhead line of 330, which was shut down due to technical reasons, has been restored to operation in the eastern oblast," Ukrenergo added. Reportedly, electricity consumption is increasing under the influence of frosty weather, and repair crews of Ukrenergo and regional power distribution companies are restoring power supply to settlements affected by extreme weather. "Simultaneous powering of a large number of consumers is a complex technical process that can cause overloading of electric networks and lead to additional technical damage. Use electricity sparingly, especially in the morning and evening from 9:00 to 11:00 and from 16:00 to 18:00," Ukrenergo urged the consumers. At the same time, one unit of the thermal power plant was taken out for emergency repair, and one unit was returned to operation during the day. "Despite the shutdown of the power unit, the electricity produced by Ukrainian power plants is sufficient today to meet the needs of domestic and legal consumers. Consumption limits have not been introduced," the message says. There is no electricity export on November 28. Imports are carried out in the evening hours from Slovakia, Romania, and Moldova, with a total volume of 1358 MWh, with the maximum capacity in individual hours up to 559 MW. The maximum power of 1200 MW is technically possible. Support UP or become our patron! Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff and Ferrari counterpart Fred Vasseur were both handed formal warnings by motorsports governing body FIA on Thursday for using bad language at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The FIA also said that the use of such language was not commonplace for either of them. Both team principals were speaking at a news conference last Thursday as Formula One made its much-hyped return to Las Vegas. They were irate for different reasons and both used expletives. The main talking point was a loose water drain cover that badly damaged the car of Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz Jr. and caused the first practice session to be halted after only nine minutes. When talking about the situation and the cars damage, an irate Vasseur used salty language. Wolff responded angrily when a reporter interjected that the situation would not be overlooked. Wolff and Vasseur were both found by race stewards to have breached the FIAs international sporting code with their unacceptable language. The FIA, however, understood that Vasseur was extremely upset and frustrated by the incident and that such language was not usual for him. The FIA said Wolffs response was also out of character and that there had perhaps been an element of provocation. The use of the language concerned was in this case unusual and was provoked by an abrupt interjection during the press conference and therefore cannot be regarded as typical from this team principal, the FIA wrote. The $500 million Formula One race in Las Vegas got off to a bad start. It was halted by a delay of 2 1/2 hours before the second practice for track repairs. Multiple drainage covers needed to be sealed ahead of the second practice, which was originally scheduled for midnight but didnt begin until 2:30 a.m. on Friday. That led to chaotic scenes as all spectators were removed from viewing areas ahead of the 90-minute session that ended at 4 a.m. the deadline for F1 to return the roads to Las Vegas commuters. Before winning the race, three-time F1 champion Max Verstappen blasted the event as 99% show, 1% sporting event. The race was the third stop this year in the United States, more than any other country, as F1 and U.S.-based owner Liberty Media tried to capitalize on the circuits popularity driven by the Netflix Drive to Survive series. F1 said the race drew more than 315,000 spectators over the weekend with an economic impact of $1.2 billion for Las Vegas. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. Claim: Former Black Lives Matter Rhode Island leader Mark Fisher endorsed former U.S. President Donald Trump for the 2024 presidential election. Rating: Rating: True In October and November 2023, comments by Mark Fisher, a former leader of a Black Lives Matter (BLM) chapter in Rhode Island, went viral in which he endorsed former U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of the presidential election of 2024. BLM Founder and senior director of Black Lives Matter in Rhode Island endorses Trump for president in 2024.pic.twitter.com/L3AbrEOW18 Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) November 28, 2023 In a Nov. 6, 2023, interview with radio host Kim Iverson, Fisher said in response to her question about why he supported Trump: Because everybody else sucks. [...] You know, I like Trump personally, and I think right now who we have sitting in the Oval Office [Joe Biden] is just a deep disappointment. I deeply have disdain for him, and I really dislike the vice president [Kamala Harris] as well." Given that Fisher is a former leader and co-founder of a BLM chapter in Rhode Island, and that he also expressed his support for Trump's 2024 presidential candidacy, we rate this claim as True. We have reached out to Fisher and BLM Rhode Island to learn more about his involvement with the group and will update this story as we get more information. Fisher reiterated these views in an interview on Fox News on Nov. 28, 2023. He has expressed support for conservative views before as well, including in August 2023, when he called the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol rioters political prisoners and said he stood in solidarity with them. However, in a Nov. 20, 2023, interview with political commentator Roland S. Martin, Fisher described himself as an independent, without a party affiliation. He also spoke out in support of members of the Proud Boys movement who participated in the Capitol riots. He told The Epoch Times in October 2023, Theyre lambs led to slaughter to be sacrificed as an example for all who might want to dissent in the future. Fishers ties to the wider Black Lives Matter movement don't necessarily mean that others in that movement agree with him. BLM has been described by the Library of Congress as a largely decentralized network of activists in the U.S. and around the world, with no formal hierarchy. The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter was originated in 2013 by three Black organizers, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi. The movements website describes itself as a member-led global network of more than 40 chapters. BLM is best known for organizing protests against police brutality, racial profiling, and racial inequality in the criminal justice system. According to an interview Fisher did with The Epoch Times in October 2023, he was a co-founder of BLMs Rhode Island chapter but had stepped down from his leadership role to form his own group called Black Lives Matter Incorporated. The timing around when he left BLMs Rhode Island network to form this new group was unclear. BLM Incorporated, according to The Epoch Times, appears to focus on entrepreneurship education and financial empowerment for Black people, and says it is not affiliated with any political party. According to the caption of the YouTube clip for Iversons November 2023 radio show, Fisher stepped down from his leadership position at the older BLM soon after he began making his opinions about Trump known: Hes been making waves lately after endorsing President Donald Trump saying he is 'THE BEST CANDIDATE we have.' Fisher has since resigned from his leadership position at BLM Rhode Island and is now the founder and executive director of Maryland's BLM Incorporated. Fisher argued in his interview with Iverson that he did not feel alone as a BLM leader who supported Trump. "I feel like the tide is starting to turn," Fisher said. "I feel like a lot of Black people are starting to pivot off of that Democratic plantation. For so long, we've been slaves to that party. Actually, we've been mental slaves, afraid to get off of that plantation." "That party, they don't value our vote," he added. "Their policies are basically racist policies. I believe that it's a racist party that strikes at the heart of the Black family and the nuclear family in general. And I believe Donald Trump, he's the opposite. [...] He's not going to be a hypocrite and stab you in the back like the Democratic Party loves to do." Although Fisher was part of a larger BLM movement via Rhode Island, he does not necessarily speak for what is a vast movement with many members spread across the world with their own distinct viewpoints. However, reports from late 2023 did show support for Biden waning among Black voters, with recent polls finding that if elections were held at the time of this writing, around 22% of the Black electorate would support Trump, compared with the 8% he pulled in the 2020 elections. Sources: Baragona, Justin. D.C. Insider Rags Star Conspiracy Theorist Abruptly Exits. The Daily Beast, 27 July 2022. www.thedailybeast.com, https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-hills-rising-star-kim-iversen-a-conspiracy-theorist-abruptly-exits. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023. Black Lives Matter (BLM). Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, https://www.loc.gov/item/lcwaN0016241/. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023. Black Lives Matter Leader Stands Behind J6 Prisoners, Endorses Trump. The Epoch Times, https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/exclusive-black-lives-matter-leader-stands-behind-j6-prisoners-endorses-trump-5513609. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023. BLM Leader Endorses Trump as Bidens Support among Black Voters Dwindles | Fox News Video. Fox News, 28 Nov. 2023, https://www.foxnews.com/video/6341896855112. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023. "BLM Leader: Unite To Break The Media Narrative." Kim Iverson, Nov. 6, 2023. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwISzuMIg-w. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023. Herstory. Black Lives Matter, https://blacklivesmatter.com/herstory/. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023. Parker, Paul Edward. Artistic Message of Black Unity Sows Some Division in Providence. The Providence Journal, https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2021/06/04/black-lives-matter-group-upset-its-not-part-providence-mural-project/7545289002/. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023. Powe, Alicia. EXCLUSIVE | Black Lives Matter Leader Stands In Solidarity With J6 Political Prisoners And The Proud Boys At Federal Court House: And I Have 100 More Men Who Stand With Me [WATCH] | The Gateway Pundit | by Alicia Powe. The Gateway Pundit, 2 Aug. 2023, https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/08/exclusive-black-lives-matter-leader-stands-solidarity-j6/. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023. "Roland CRUSHES Trump Supporting BLM Local Leader: Youre Just Making Sh*t Up." Roland S. Martin, Nov. 20, 2023. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdHisbwFPQQ. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023. Siders, David. Black Voters Are Drifting Away from Democrats. Will That Hurt Biden in SC? POLITICO, 28 Nov. 2023, https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/11/28/black-voters-biden-2024-00128338. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023. Waning Enthusiasm from Black Voters Presents an Inflection Point for Bidens Campaign. NBC News, 20 Nov. 2023, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/waning-enthusiasm-black-voters-presents-inflection-point-biden-campaig-rcna125122. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023. Updates: Nov. 30, 2023: The story was amended to reflect that we have reached out to the parties involved. FILE PHOTO: Republican U.S. candidates participate in their third debate of the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign in Miami, Florida By Gram Slattery WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Republican presidential candidates are scheduled to face off in the fourth debate of their party's 2024 nominating contest next Wednesday. Here are some facts about the debate: WHERE IS IT? It will take place at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa at 7 p.m. local time (0100 GMT). It will be hosted by subscription-based television network NewsNation, conservative political journal the Washington Free Beacon, The Megyn Kelly Show on Sirius XM and Rumble, a video hosting service popular with conservatives. The forum, which will be broadcast on television news channel NewsNation and streamed on Rumble, represents something of an experiment by the Republican National Committee after the first three debates were hosted by major news networks, namely Fox and NBC. Alabama is a deeply Republican state, which will not be competitive in the 2024 general election. It does, however, host a relatively early primary contest, set for March 5. WHO WILL BE THERE? Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley, who are battling for second place in the primary race, will be on stage, while tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy is on the verge of making the cut. Former President Donald Trump will notably not be there, which limits the debate's significance given that he leads the field by more than 40 percentage points, according to most national opinion polls. Trump, who has skipped the previous debates and urged the party to focus on the general election, will instead attend a fundraiser for the Make America Great Again (MAGA) super PAC in Florida, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. No other candidates appear likely to make the stage. Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, who qualified for the third debate, has dropped out. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who also made the third debate, is struggling to meet the polling threshold. Unlike the previous debates, Trump has no plans to counter-program by holding his own event, Trump's co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita said. WILL THE DEBATE MATTER? Ultimately, any candidate will need to chip away at Trump's massive lead if they want a shot at the nomination, and he will not be present. The Iowa caucuses, the first contest of the primary campaign, are set for Jan. 15. DeSantis leads Haley in most national surveys, but Haley is well ahead of DeSantis in the early nominating states of New Hampshire and South Carolina. She has been rising in opinion polls for months, while DeSantis has stalled out. If either candidate has a particularly strong performance, that could help him or her break that stalemate and begin to consolidate the support of Republicans looking to move beyond Trump. Still, the importance of debates has historically varied, and even a standout showing is not guaranteed to reshape the race for runner-up. (Reporting by Gram Slattery and Nathan Layne, editing by Ross Colvin and Jonathan Oatis) A person was killed by a falling tree while doing yard work over the holiday weekend, Pennsylvania police said. Tammy Smith, 42, was struck by a falling tree while completing work outside of a home in Greene Township located about 160 miles west of Philadelphia on Nov. 25, according to a Pennsylvania State Police news release. Smith had been operating a 2020 Kioti tractor at the time, police said. Smith was pronounced dead at the scene, and their death has been ruled accidental, police said. Smith had been employed as a nurse by Chambersburg Health Services, according to the Daily Voice, citing a LinkedIn profile. A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania State Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News. Family of 5 hiking to summit gets trapped in snow without food, Colorado cops say Body of man missing for month found in vents at community college, Michigan cops say 121-year-old statue of Spanish-American War soldier stolen from cemetery. Wickedness Ruth Munder, a released Israeli hostage, walks with an Israeli soldier shortly after her arrival in Israel on Friday after being held hostage by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. (Israeli Prime Minister's Office/Handout via Reuters) (via REUTERS) Twelve more hostages 10 Israelis and two Thai nationals were released from Hamas captivity on Tuesday in exchange for 30 Palestinian women and minors released from Israeli prisons. The swap comes as part of an extended truce between Israel and Hamas, which is set to expire at the end of Wednesday. The Government of Israel is committed to the return of all of the hostages and missing, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, along with the list of 10 of its citizens who were freed on Tuesday. As soon as the truce is over, Israel has indicated that it intends to resume fighting in order to ultimately end Hamass rule in Gaza. There are now a total of 85 hostages who have been released out of the roughly 240 hostages who were kidnapped by Hamas since Oct. 7, when the militant group unleashed a brutal attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people. One Israel Defense Forces soldier was also rescued by the IDF in late October. Most of the freed hostages appear to be in stable physical condition, the Associated Press reports. But family members of the released hostages have started to share the experiences their loved ones have had to endure while they were held in captivity. 'She is the same, but not the same' Margalit Moses, a 78-year-old cancer survivor with serious health issues, was one of the hostages released by Hamas last Friday. Her niece, Efrat Machikawa, told CBS News that Moses was taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz near the Gaza border and taken into captivity down into the tunnels. Moses was released from the hospital early Monday and is now at home with her family. Margalit Moses, one of the hostages released on Friday after being held captive in Gaza for weeks. (Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum via AP) (AP) You want to jump high to the sky, but something leaves you on the ground because you know you're living in a very, very, very complicated situation, Machikawa said. Moses did not want to be immediately told about everything that happened on Oct. 7 or since then, saying it is too much for her, her niece said. She is the same but not the same, because nothing will go back to what life was before. Disconnected in darkness Adina Moshe, 72, was freed last Friday after she was kidnapped by Hamas from her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz and was held underground. Her nephew, Eyal Nouri, told the Associated Press his aunt had to adjust to the sunlight because she had been in darkness for weeks. Israeli hostage Adina Moshe, who was released last Friday as part of a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel. (Hostages and Missing Families Forum/Handout via Reuters) (via REUTERS) She was walking with her eyes down because she was in a tunnel. She was not used to the daylight. And during her captivity, she was disconnected ... from all the outside world, Nouri said. He said when she saw the International Red Cross, thats the moment when she realized these horrifying seven weeks are over. Little food and lack of basic human needs Three relatives of Merav Raviv were released from captivity on Friday. She told the AP that her cousin and aunt, Keren and Ruth Munder, lost about 15 pounds in just 50 days as they were fed irregularly and mostly ate rice and bread. Ravivs family members slept in a room that looked like a reception area on rows of plastic chairs pushed together, and accessing a bathroom could sometimes take hours. Hila Rotem-Shoshani was 12 when she was kidnapped with her mother Raya from the kibbutz in Beeri. Hila was released last Sunday one day before her 13th birthday but without her mother, who is still being held by Hamas. Hila Rotem-Shoshani meets a family member after being released as part of a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel amid a temporary truce. (Israel Defense Forces/Handout via Reuters) (via REUTERS) Hilas uncle, Yair Rotem, told NBC News, She said they had toilets, they had food not a lot. Sometimes there was not enough food, sometimes they were a little bit hungry. Sometimes there was more food Sometimes they waited for water. She said they brought water every once in a while in bottles. Rotem would not say if Hila was kept in an underground tunnel. The psychological toll Being held in captivity can also take a deep psychological toll, doctors have warned. Yair Rotem told the AP that he has to remind his niece Hila that she can speak freely again. They always told them to whisper and stay quiet, Rotem said, so I keep telling her now she can raise her voice. Yaffa Adar, 85, counted 50 days she was in captivity, her granddaughter Adva Adar told AP. But Yaffas release is bittersweet, as she found out that her home had been destroyed by Hamas. In this still image taken from video, Hamas's militants transport Yaffa Adar, 85, an Israeli civilian who was kidnapped, into the Gaza Strip in a golf cart. (AP Photo/FILE) (AP) For an 85-year-old woman, usually you have your house where you raised your kids, you have your memories, your photo albums, your clothes," said Adva. She has nothing, and in her old age she needs to start over. She mentioned that it is tough for her. These accounts of conditions in captivity come after initial details were shared by 85-year-old Yocheved Lifshitz, who was released back in October. Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, an Israeli grandmother who was held hostage in Gaza, speaks to members of the press after being released by Hamas militants on Oct. 24. (Janis Laizans/Reuters) (REUTERS) She told reporters she went through hell when she and her husband were kidnapped by Hamas from Kibbutz Nir Oz, saying that the militants beat her in the ribs with sticks and she was held in tunnels that resembled a spider web. But she made headlines when she shook the hands of one of the Hamas captors when she was released, saying that she and others were treated well in captivity and conditions were kept sanitary. Attorney Bradley Gage, middle, and Kim and Mike Clinkunbroomer, the parents of late Los Angeles Sheriff's Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, announce the precursor of a lawsuit against the Sheriff's Department at a news conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Clinkunbroomer was shot and killed Sept. 16, 2023, while sitting in his patrol car in Palmdale, Calif. His parents are seeking justice for their son and looking to make a change in LACSD's policies to protect other deputies from death. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) LOS ANGELES (AP) The parents of a Los Angeles County deputy who was shot and killed while sitting in his patrol car plan to file a lawsuit accusing the sheriff's department and county leaders of putting law enforcement officers at risk by making them work excessive overtime because of severe understaffing, an attorney announced Tuesday. Investigators said Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, 30, was ambushed Sept. 16 while waiting for a traffic light to change in Palmdale, a city of more than 167,000 residents in the high desert of northern LA County. I don't want any parent to ever have to sit at a Thanksgiving or holiday dinner with someone missing, like we had to this year, the deputy's mother, Kim Clinkunbroomer, said tearfully at a news conference. Had he not been fatigued and exhausted, he would have responded safely; he'd be here today, said the deputy's father, Michael Clinkunbroomer. Clinkunbroomer had racked up 69 hours of overtime in the two weeks leading up to the shooting and had worked a double shift the day before, said attorney Brad Gage, who represents the slain deputy's parents. Clinkunbroomer was so exhausted from being overworked that his senses were dulled and he missed the telltale signs of an impending ambush, Gage said. Prosecutors have charged Kevin Cataneo Salazar, 29, with one count of murder, plus special circumstance allegations of murder of a peace officer, murder committed by lying in wait, murder committed by firing from a car and personal use of a firearm. Cataneo Salazar has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Gage said in a government claim filed Monday that Clinkunbroomer was forced to work up to 100 hours of overtime each month. Gage accuses Sheriff Robert Luna, department officials and county leaders of knowingly endangering the lives of law enforcement officers by enforcing excessive amounts of mandatory overtime. The claim is the precursor to a wrongful death lawsuit and names the county sheriff's department and Board of Supervisors. County officials have 45 days to respond to the claim before a lawsuit can be filed. Gage said the lawsuit would seek $20 million in damages and changes to sheriff's department staffing and scheduling policies. In a statement Tuesday, the sheriff's department did not comment on the potential lawsuit. Luna, who was sworn in as sheriff a year ago, has previously vowed to make increasing the number of deputies a priority. The senseless ambush murder of Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer was the epitome of evil and the Department continues to mourn his death. We lost a valued member of our Department family who was committed to serving our communities," the department statement said. "The Sheriffs Department remains committed to securing a successful prosecution against the individual responsible for Ryans murder. Our thoughts continue to remain with the entire Clinkunbroomer family." Law enforcement officers and members of the public are at risk because fatigue resulting from these demanding work schedules impairs the deputies ability to stay alert and respond effectively in the line of duty, the claim states. Sheriff Luna and the Board of Supervisors knew of the dangers to their employees as a result of intentionally forcing overtime, but intentionally pursued such actions in conscious disregard of the rights and safety of deputies, Gage writes in the claim. The Board of Supervisors did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment on the allegations. Everybody likes to work a bit of overtime, to earn a bit of extra money, but they dont want to work so much overtime that they're unable to take care of themselves and others, said Gage, the family's attorney. The head of the deputies' union said limited staffing is an ongoing problem in Los Angeles, but did not respond to specific questions about average overtime worked by its members. The departments staffing crisis is pushing our deputies to, and sadly sometimes beyond, their limits. We need our elected officials to take a more aggressive and intelligent approach to addressing the departments inability to recruit and retain qualified people," said a statement from Rich Pippin, president of the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs. "Failure to do so can only result in more tragic outcomes, not only for our deputy sheriffs, but for the millions of people who rely on them for protection." The Police Executive Research Forum in Washington, D.C., tracks staffing problems at law enforcement agencies nationwide. "What you're seeing in LA, you're seeing across the country," said Chuck Wexler, the forum's executive director. It's a huge issue. Wexler said Tuesday that fewer young people want to work in law enforcement and current police officers are retiring and resigning faster than they can be replaced. The result is more overtime for officers and deputies currently on the job. And what you're finding is increased overtime, for some officers, is contributing to them leaving their jobs, Wexler said. Its a generational thing. Younger officers would rather have more free time than overtime. Prosecutors havent laid out a motive in the criminal case or said whether Clinkunbroomer and Cataneo Salazar previously knew each other. Authorities said the deputy was targeted but would not say whether Cataneo Salazar was seeking to harm Clinkunbroomer specifically or any member of law enforcement generally. Cataneo Salazar allegedly followed Clinkunbroomer just before 6 p.m. as he left the sheriffs Palmdale Station, the district attorneys office said in a September news release. The deputy was waiting for a red light to turn when he was shot, Luna said at the time. Cataneo Salazar was arrested after an hourslong standoff with sheriffs deputies. He had barricaded himself inside his familys Palmdale home. His mother, Marle Salazar, told the Los Angeles Times her son was diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic about five years ago. He would say he was hearing voices in his head, she said, and sometimes claimed that cars or people were following him. He twice attempted suicide and had been hospitalized at least once, she said. In this March 19, 2014 file photo, a woman pushes her baby cart in front of the message board for passengers aboard a missing Malaysia Airlines plane at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Malaysia. | Vincent Thian, Associated Press The first ever hearing in a liability lawsuit brought against Malaysia Airlines over missing flight MH370 began Monday morning. The first trial in the liability lawsuit was held in a Beijing court where the court listened to the family members of those 239 passengers who disappeared over the Indian Ocean on March 8, 2014. Related What is the lawsuit against Malaysia Airlines? The lawsuit was reportedly brought forward by the Chinese families who seek to receive compensation and the truth about what happened to their loved ones almost 10 years ago. Hu Xiufang, who lost his son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter in the planes disappearance, told NBC News, we have suffered for a decade without any resolution. Hu further explained, I worry about whether I can wait another 10 years, whether I can live for another 10 years. Reuters detailed that while the court has not currently released any details, there are more than 40 relatives looking to receive anywhere between between 10 million and 80 million yuan ($1.4 million and $11.2 million) in compensation. Malaysian Airlines has set unreasonable preconditions and deployed tactics to dodge payouts, representative of the families, Jiang Hui, said according to Nikkei Asia. It now asks us to go through courts for any form of communications. The Associated Press reported that the ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin said on Monday, the Chinese government pays high attention to the follow-up actions of MH370. We hope the relevant parties will maintain close communication and handle it properly. An open letter brought forward by the relatives of the passengers on the flight to Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim requested that the search for the plane and the missing passengers be resumed. The hidden dangers to international aviation safety still cannot be identified and eliminated, the letter reportedly states. The families of missing passengers in various countries are being tortured. The relatives explained through the letter that in order to avoid future aviation issues with the company, finding the plane would be, the basis for solving all problems. Related What happened to Malaysia Airlines flight 370? The infamous Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 took off and turned towards Beijing at about 12:42 a.m. The flight reportedly began its routine red-eye from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing when shortly after takeoff, the plane disappeared from radar screens, and no one in charge could explain why. The Deseret News reported that the flight seemed to disappear out of thin air with only meager amounts of debris from the plane being found since the disappearance. Almost 10 years on, the family members (who refused to accept settlement offers) did not receive any apology or a penny of compensation, Jiang told CNN. In fact, my mood is very complicated now. There is both a sense of relief and a deep feeling of helplessness. Wilders is hoping to form a government as quickly as possible (Robin van Lonkhuijsen) Far-right Dutch leader Geert Wilders tried to jump-start his bid to form a governing coalition Tuesday, appointing a new "scout" to lead the process just a day after his handpicked choice quit over fraud allegations. Wilders, whose stunning general election win on Wednesday sent shockwaves through the Netherlands and the whole of Europe, faces an uphill battle to persuade others to join him in government. And the already difficult process collapsed in chaos when his first choice, Gom Van Strien, was forced to step down on Monday following reports of fraud at a previous company. "Not my dream start," admitted Wilders. The new "scout" is former Labour Party education minister Ronald Plasterk. His job is to shuttle between party leaders and work out who is prepared to work with whom. Plasterk, 66, who has also served as interior minister, as well as university lecturer, columnist and cancer researcher, won "broad support" from top party leaders, according to Lower House chairwoman Vera Bergkamp. "It is important that after a false start, we get the conversation back on track," Bergkamp told reporters. Wilders described Plasterk as a "creative mind with great political experience, but also distance" from politics. "I thought it was a good idea to choose someone from another party... he himself agreed with that," added the 60-year-old firebrand. In his first news conference as scout, Plasterk said reporters might be surprised to see him standing before them -- "but no one is more surprised than me." "The outcome of the election is also surprising for many but the country needs to be governed," added Plasterk. He said he would get down to work immediately, meeting the party leaders with the aim of reporting back to parliament early next month. - 'Little political games' - Despite repeatedly stressing he has moderated his more extreme views on Islam and immigrants, Wilders still faces an uphill battle to convince others to serve under his PVV Freedom Party. The PVV manifesto calls for a ban on Korans, mosques and headscarves, plus a referendum on leaving the European Union and halting weapons supplies to Ukraine. His preferred coalition is with the pro-reform NSC party of Pieter Omtzigt (20 seats), the BBB farmers party (seven seats), and the centre-right VVD party (24 seats). Wilders won an unexpected 37 seats and needs 76 MPs in the 150-seat parliament to form a workable majority. Omtzigt has declared a willingness to talk, the BBB party seems a shoo-in to join forces but the VVD, the current ruling party, has ruled out serving in a Wilders-led cabinet. VVD leader Dilan Yesilgoz, who was born in Turkey and came to the Netherlands as an eight-year-old following her asylum-seeker father, has said she would "support" a centre-right cabinet. But with the loss of 10 seats compared to the previous election, Yesilgoz has said the voters do not seem to want the VVD in the coalition, drawing fire from Wilders and even some in her own party. "The voter has sent a very clear signal: we cannot keep going as we were. We will live up to our responsibilities, but in a different place," Yesilgoz told reporters. Wilders has accused Yesilgoz of playing "little political games" and said that if everyone shows willingness to compromise, the talks could be wrapped up "in a couple of weeks". However, history suggests otherwise. The last government of outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte took 271 days to form and most experts do not expect an administration in place until well into next year. ric/acc Patrick Atherton sustained head injuries after being knocked to the ground by seven cows - Health and Safety Executive / SWNS A farmer has been fined after a pensioner and his dog were trampled by cows on a public footpath in June last year. Patrick Atherton, 70, and his 13-year-old border collie Lad were knocked to the ground by seven cows while walking in Ottery Saint Mary, Devon. The dog and Mr Atherton, who is a retired chartered surveyor, were only saved when an individual, believed to have been John Hallett, the farmer, ushered the cows away. Mr Atherton was left with cuts and bruises, while Lad sustained serious injuries after being kicked and stamped on by the cows. Having trained border collies for many years, the pensioner had kept Lad on the lead after noticing two young calves in the field at Birdcage Farm. I thought we were going to die The pensioner, originally from The Wirral, Merseyside, said: There were about seven cows involved, but it was the very aggressive black cow that was trying to kill my dog. I thought we were going to die. I had been powerless to do anything. Though the dog survived, it will have to be medicated for the rest of its life, and Mr Atherton said Lad has never been the same. Mr Atherton added: I just want to make other people aware of the risks when out enjoying popular footpaths such as this one. Mr Atherton was left with cuts and bruises after being kicked and stamped on by the cows - Health and Safety Executive / SWNS A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation following the incident found that cattle with young calves were being kept in a field with a public right of way across it. Cattle with calves are known to be protective and can be aggressive to walkers, especially to those with dogs, and farmers are encouraged to cull any aggressive animals or avoid putting these animals in fields with public access. Entrances to fields with public footpaths are expected to state clearly whether there are cows with calves, or bulls in the field. Mr Hallett, who owns Birdcage Farm, later pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(2) of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974. He was fined 2,000 and ordered to pay costs of 4,500 by Exeter Magistrates Court. Simon Jones, an HSE inspector, said: It is fortunate that the injuries sustained by Mr Atherton werent life threatening, however given the nature of the attack the end result could have been far worse. Public knowledge and concern is increasing about how dangerous cattle can be. On this occasion Mr Atherton took the right precautions and HSE has taken action against the farmer in question. He added: Farmers should not place cattle with calves in fields where members of the public have a legal right to walk. Had John Hallett followed this simple rule, then this incident could have been prevented. Between 2018 and 2022, more than 30 people were killed by cows in similar incidents, while others have been left with life-changing injuries. 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. Luisa Maria Bosia, an Italian fan of Chinese sci-fi, is looking forward to the upcoming 12th China-Italy Innovation Forum, because "sci-fi is tightly linked with science and tech, since it stems from their development and the possible outcomes they can have on society." This year's edition of the China-Italy Innovation Forum is scheduled to be held from Tuesday to Wednesday in Shougang Park, Beijing, and will aim at helping strengthen respective national research and innovation systems by promoting academic, scientific and technological exchanges between China and Italy. Bosia, who has been learning Chinese language since high school and studied in China for years, expects more cooperation between her motherland and China in the near future. "Collaboration is always a better option than individual research, since different minds can bring new and unique perspectives that might improve the overall result." On her bookshelf, there are several Chinese sci-fi works which she especially cherishes. These translated books have impressed the 23-year-old woman with their rich imagination and unique cultural charm. In the spring of 2016, she encountered Chinese sci-fi for the first time. "I got the entire trilogy of 'The Three-Body Problem', together with other few sci-fi novels in English," said Bosia. As part of her in-depth study of the Chinese language and culture, Bosia got stuck into these Chinese sci-fi novels. "Their psychological and humanistic approaches to the concept of the future are impressive." The Chinese novels drove the young fan to participate in a dual degree program offered by the Capital Normal University in China. Her graduation paper focused on the Chinese sci-fi boom in the Italian market. "Through investigation and analysis, I can say without doubt that Chinese sci-fi has become a worldwide phenomenon, as we can easily see from the increasing number of international awards won by Chinese sci-fi, and from the interest shown by international platforms like Netflix in creating TV adaptations of Chinese sci-fi stories," said Bosia. During her studies in China, the sci-fi enthusiast even designed a questionnaire and surveyed more than 100 Italian people of all ages and backgrounds, in order to better trace the reasons behind Chinese sci-fi's success in Italy. Bosia found that Italian publishers began sporadically publishing Chinese science fiction from the 1980s onwards, while currently a growing number of Italian publishers are publishing Chinese science fiction, with Italy's largest publisher, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, opting to publish the globally successful and widely acclaimed "The Three-Body Problem." In addition, the independent international sci-fi publishing project Future Fiction has published in excess of 160 e-books and 60 printed books from more than 30 countries and translated such works from over a dozen languages. Among these, Chinese sci-fi enjoys a prominent presence. The publication of the bilingual anthology of Chinese sci-fi titled "Nebula" serves as a vivid illustration of the Chinese sci-fi boom in Italy, as the book became a hit with Italian readers and more than 1,200 copies were sold at that time, according to Bosia. Bosia contributes worldwide recognition and praise of Chinese sci-fi to China's development over recent years. "Chinese culture has lately for sure gained more traction than in the decades before and China's opening up has played a bigger part in the increase of its soft power," she concluded, adding that regarding sci-fi specifically, technological advancements have presented a series of ethical and sociological implications that Chinese sci-fi authors are very keen to ponder and investigate in their stories. "I see sci-fi becoming a bond between two country's people," she said. "Future Fiction is looking for talented sci-fi writers in China and other countries, continuing to build bridges between diverse cultures and forming a platform for new ideas for the future." NEW YORK One of the threads federal investigators are tugging at in their probe of Mayor Eric Adams 2021 campaign and its connections to Turkey is his travel to that Middle Eastern country over the years, sources confirmed to the New York Daily News. Adams has said he traveled to Turkey up to seven times, but hes offered little detail about what what he did there nor is it clear exactly what the feds are looking for in this aspect of their probe. While details of four of Adams Turkey trips have been reported in the media to date, a fifth planned trip whose details have not been previously reported involves Adams promoting so-called smart canes for blind people, according to a September 2018 video Adams appears in that was reviewed by the Daily News. Adams first trip to Turkey, he revealed last week, was during his tenure as a state senator. I actually traveled to Turkey for the first time as a state senator when I went over to Azerbaijan and to Baku with a Senate delegation, he said. We just picked up one day and said, Hey, lets go to Turkey.' Whether he engaged in any official business on that first trip and who paid his freight is unclear. The mayor has said hes footed the bill for all his personal travel over the years, and he has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with the current federal probe. Traveling to Turkey on that trip with a Senate delegation, as Adams said last week, suggests he was in Azerbaijan or Turkey on official business, but there is no record showing he reported the trip on financial disclosure forms from his time as a state senator. Another statement Adams made reveals there was a recreational element to a trip to Baku in 2012, according to a 2014 report by Azer News, an Azerbaijan-focused outlet. According to that outlet, Adams was there to watch a Eurovision song contest. On Tuesday, Adams was asked to clarify the situation. He described the trip to Turkey that he revealed last week as personal in nature. He then said we will look at our Senate records and alluded to a trip he took while in the Senate with Assembly members Steven Cymbrowitz and Alec Brook-Krasny a trip that Adams said was government funded. Ill look at the record, the mayor said, adding that if the trip wasnt reported, it was an oversight. Well find out how we can modify it if that was the case, he said. In addition to that trip, Adams financial disclosure forms show he traveled to Turkey twice in 2015 during his tenure as Brooklyn borough president. Hes also publicly stated he traveled there in 2017 with his son Jordan Coleman a 21-day vacation he described last Tuesday as one of the most joyful times of my life. There is no public record of Adams traveling to Turkey during his nearly two years as mayor. A spokesman for the mayor referred questions about this travel abroad to the office of Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. The Daily News has submitted several public records requests to Brooklyn Borough Hall. In addition to his foreign travel, the federal investigation has also focused on donations Adams 2021 campaign received that potentially have ties to the Turkish government. Some of the political contributions that have sparked the feds interest include money the campaign received from employees at KSK Construction, a company led by Turkish immigrant Erden Arkan. Investigators are also probing messages Adams sent to former FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro on behalf of Reyhan Ozgur, Turkeys consul general in New York. In 2021, Ozgur sought Adams help to resolve fire safety issues around the then-under-construction Turkish Consulate in advance of a ribbon cutting that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended. Then there are the trips to Turkey. When asked last week to provide information about all of his Turkey travel, the mayor at first agreed to do so, but then said maybe he would. Of the trips that have been reported publicly so far, the Turkish consulate, Turkish Airlines and Bahgesehir University in Turkey helped fund at least one from August 2015 details first reported by the news outlet The City. According to correspondence between the city Conflicts of Interest Board and the borough presidents office at the time, Adams planned to go on that trip with his then-special counsel, Ama Dwimoh; Adams aide Rana Abbasova, who acted as Adams translator in a volunteer capacity at the time; and Adams confidante and current senior adviser Tim Pearson. Adams fifth planned trip to Turkey in Nov. 2018 was connected to his involvement with the Young Guru Academy and the smart canes that group developed, but little else is known about the trip. In a video the group posted on Facebook in September 2018, Adams, who was then serving as Brooklyn borough president, said he planned to travel to Turkey in Nov. 2018 and praised the group for its work with the blind. But it isnt clear if Adams ever went on that trip, and his press team declined to answer questions about it and other aspects of Adams travel to Turkey. Around the same time Adams said hed meet up with Young Guru Academy, in Jan. 2019, Fox 5 NY reported that Adams office purchased a number of the $395 WeWalk canes through a grant and will be testing them out through partner organizations Helen Keller Services for the Blind and the Lighthouse Guild, as well as with the MTA, which will test its functions in their various transit systems. Its unclear where that grant originated or how much it was worth. The borough presidents office has not provided any information around it. The MTAs involvement in the program also remains unclear. At the time, one website reported that the MTA was interested in the canes. But when contacted by the Daily News about it recently, that agency claimed to have no knowledge it was a so-called partner with Adams office on the canes. Generally, the MTA does not seek solutions that require hardware per customer, MTA spokeswoman Kayla Shults told the Daily News. Projects are intended to help anyone and everyone, and we neither funded nor formally tested smart canes. (With Chris Sommerfeldt.) _____ The family of the youngest Israeli hostage in Hamas captivity fear the 10-month-old, his brother and their mother will not be released before the current truce expires. The Bibas family have called on Qatar, which mediated the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, to intervene to help to free Kfir, his four-year-old brother Ariel and their parents. Shiri and Yarden Bibas, together with their two small children, were abducted by Hamas gunmen from the frontier kibbutz of Nir Oz last month. Tomorrow is the last day of the ceasefire. Today, our family, Shiri and the boys still are not on the list and we demand the Israeli government and Qatar and Egyptian negotiators do whatever they can, Ofri Bibas Levy, a sister of Yarden Bibas, told reporters on Tuesday. We demand that they be included on the release list for tomorrow, if not for today. They cant stay there anymore. Ofri Bibas Levy, a sister of Yarden Bibas, has called for Qatar to intervene to help free Kfir, his four-year-old brother Ariel and their parents - Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP On Monday, the Israel Defense Forces accused Hamas of preventing the release of Kfir and claimed the terror group had handed him over to another militant faction in the southern city of Khan Younis. All other children under five have already been freed. The IDF mostly operated in the north before it ceased fighting on Friday as part of the truce. The delay in releasing Kfir could suggest that Hamas may be using the infant as leverage in talks to further extend the ceasefire. The two boys and their parents are believed to be held by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Shiri Bibas clutching Kfir and Ariel in her arms surrounded by gunmen - PA Dont let the baby stay another day in captivity, Aylon Keshet, the cousin of Yarden Bibas said on Tuesday. Do not let Hamas keep using them as bargaining chips. A video circulated online showed a desperate Shiri clutching Kfir and Ariel in her arms as she was surrounded by the gunmen. Another video showed Yarden with an apparent head injury surrounded by Hamas attackers. Talks are under way to extend the ceasefire again although Israel has not committed to a longer break in fighting in Gaza. William J. Burns, the director of the CIA, flew to Qatar on Tuesday to meet with its prime minister and the head of Israels Mossad intelligence service for a meeting to build on the progress of the extended humanitarian pause agreement and to initiate further discussions about the next phase of a potential deal, a source briefed on the visit told Reuters. 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. Data from the Gun Violence Archive shows more than 39,000 people have died in gun incidents this year alone. On Capitol Hill Tuesday, lawmakers met with doctors, community leaders, and legal experts about this growing crisis as a possible public health issue. It became painfully clear that this young child was exceptionally high risk for reinjury after being discharged, said Dr. Franklin Cosey-Gay, Director of the Violence Recovery Program in Chicago. During this congressional hearing, Dr. Cosey-Gay shared that story about a 12-year-old patient that hes treated in the past. He said his program is a hospital-based initiative working with survivors of gun violence in Chicago. NOW: Doctors, community violence intervention specialists & legal experts are now testifying as Senators examine gun violence as a public health crisis. This comes as the Gun Violence Archive reports more than 38,000 people have died from guns this year. pic.twitter.com/6Et7itjs2D Kirstin Garriss (@ReporterGarriss) November 28, 2023 Cosey-Gay said theyre treating gun violence as a public health concern. This includes working with medical specialists and social workers and even collaborating with violence intervention teams. Many of them have been involved with causing the harm [and] they have had an opportunity to redirect their lives with support so now them being credible with how to engage and create non-aggression agreement, he said. But Amy Swearer with the conservative policy organization, The Heritage Foundation, doesnt believe gun violence is a public health issue. She argues categorizing it that way raises constitutional concerns for second amendment rights. Doesnt change the fact that most gun crimes are perpetrated not by ordinary lawful gunowners but by a small subset of repeat offenders who are already prohibited from owning guns, said Swearer, senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Instead, she wants federal lawmakers to lean on existing mental health frameworks. Congress can compel the military branches to better share with civilian authorities all relevant information about service members who pose a danger to themselves or their communities, she said. Part of last years Bipartisan Safer Communities Act included $250 million for community violence intervention. Theres also money for community mental health services. Data from the Gun Violence Archive shows more than 39,000 people have died in gun incidents this year alone. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< On Capitol Hill Tuesday, lawmakers met with doctors, community leaders, and legal experts about this growing crisis as a possible public health issue. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] It became painfully clear that this young child was exceptionally high risk for reinjury after being discharged, said Dr. Franklin Cosey-Gay, Director of the Violence Recovery Program in Chicago. During this congressional hearing, Dr. Cosey-Gay shared that story about a 12-year-old patient that hes treated in the past. He said his program is a hospital-based initiative working with survivors of gun violence in Chicago. Related Story: Senate panel debates impact of Supreme Courts Bruen decision on gun laws Cosey-Gay said theyre treating gun violence as a public health concern. This includes working with medical specialists and social workers and even collaborating with violence intervention teams. Many of them have been involved with causing the harm [and] they have had an opportunity to redirect their lives with support so now them being credible with how to engage and create non-aggression agreement, he said. But Amy Swearer with the conservative policy organization, The Heritage Foundation, doesnt believe gun violence is a public health issue. She argues categorizing it that way raises constitutional concerns for Second Amendment rights. Read: Deadly 24 hours in Jacksonville; Five shootings and two people dead in violent Thanksgiving holiday Doesnt change the fact that most gun crimes are perpetrated not by ordinary lawful gun owners but by a small subset of repeat offenders who are already prohibited from owning guns, said Swearer, senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Instead, she wants federal lawmakers to lean on existing mental health frameworks. Congress can compel the military branches to better share with civilian authorities all relevant information about service members who pose a danger to themselves or their communities, she said. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Part of last years Bipartisan Safer Communities Act included $250 million for community violence intervention. Theres also money for community mental health services. 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. MEMPHIS, Tenn. Memphis will be the second city in the country to host the Department of Justices Violent Crime Initiative, as federal law enforcement officials surge resources and expertise to help stem a rising tide of violent crime. VCI, a data-driven initiative, will bring seven criminal prosecutors, including experts in violent crime and RICO prosecutors, to the city. Thats in addition to dedicated ATF and FBI and Memphis Police forensics investigators. Together, this strong team of trained investigators will take on the worst of the worst offenders driving the violence in this beautiful city, said Nicole Argentieri, acting Assistant Attorney General with USDOJs criminal division. Argentieri said violent crime in Memphis is on the rise, reaching a 17-year high this year. Suspect shot dead in armed robbery at Dollar General Most of that crime is driven by a small number of offenders and gangs, U.S. Attorney Kevin Ritz said. Memphis, like many areas of the country, is reeling from gun violence, Ritz said. I know that Memphians are sick and tired of gun violence. I am too. Ritz referenced the recent shooting deaths of a teenager in Frayser, and of a St. Jude researcher shot in front of his family while on a walk downtown. Memphis broke another record for homicides on Nov. 20, with 352 reported so far this year. Memphis breaks homicide record, again The epidemic of violence is affecting us all, Ritz said, changing where we choose to live and shop. The U.S. Department of Justice, ATF officials, local law enforcement and U.S. Attorney Kevin G. Ritz for the Western District of Tennessee held a press conference Tuesday to make the announcement. Argentieri and Ritz met with community members as part of the announcement, to hear about violence and gang activity in their neighborhoods. Much of the announcement had an emphasis on the partnership between local, state and federal agencies. It comes as records show 18-year-old Edio White, charged with first-degree murder in the recent death of a 15-year-old in Binghampton, was released on his own recognizance Monday. 18-year-old charged in teens death released with no bond Ritz wouldnt speak about the case, citing it being a state case but said he has strong relationships with state prosecutors. We communicate and collaborate all the time, every day, he said. I think what the community should know and take away is that the individuals in law enforcement, the federal prosecutors and the prosecutors here in Memphis are working hard on those problems. The DOJ announced a similar Violent Crime initiative in Houston in late 2022. That initiative has prosecuted more than 50 gang members, Argentieri said. We will meet this challenge together and make this community safer for its residents, Argentieri said. Memphis murder map: Homicides in 2023 Memphis Police Chief C.J. Davis was not at the press conference but provided a statement in a press release afterward. This new initiative is a positive step in the right direction, which fosters a sense of renewed hope for improved quality of life for our citizens and visitors, she said. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. Incendiary rhetoric about the war between Israel and Hamas is contributing to a stark rise in Islamophobia and antisemitism in the U.S. and raising the risk that violent words could turn into actions. Three 20-year-old Palestinian men were shot and injured near the University of Vermont on Saturday after being confronted by a white man with a handgun while walking along a street an incident federal authorities are investigating as a possible hate crime. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Monday a sharp increase in threats against Jewish, Muslim and Arab communities across the U.S. has been recorded since the beginning of the war, which has highlighted sharp divisions in American society over the Middle East, particularly on college campuses. There is understandable fear in communities across the country, Garland said. Susan Benesch, director of the Dangerous Speech Project and a faculty associate at Harvards Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, said that since Oct. 7 when the war began there has been a tremendous amount of awful content circulating online about Israel and Palestine, much of which is false or demonizing. Much of it conflates Hamas with all Palestinians, and even Muslims, and on the other side, it conflates the Israeli leadership with all Israelis, and even all Jews, Benesch said, [That] makes it easy for people who are consuming that rhetoric to want to take revenge against the people who are perceived by them to be members of the largest of those groups that is to say, Muslims on one side and Jews on the other. In the first four weeks following Hamass surprise attack on Israels southern border, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) the nations largest Muslim advocacy organization documented a 216 percent increase over the previous year in reports of anti-Muslim or anti-Arab bias. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which fights hate and antisemitism, similarly documented a 388 percent increase in antisemitic incidents in the U.S. over the first two weeks of the war, compared with the same period last year. Conflict between Israelis and Palestinians has erupted over decades many times before, but the unprecedented attack launched by Hamas on Oct. 7 and the subsequent bombardment of Gaza in the weeks since has created some of the deepest political rifts the U.S. has seen on the matter in modern history. Those fractures have been put under a microscope in the past 52 days, during which supporters of both sides have taken to American streets in droves to protest. This conflict has polarized people not only in the United States, but all over the world more quickly and severely than any other event, Benesch said. Even people who have no personal ties to either side are extremely passionate and agitated about it. In Congress, zealous rhetoric and acts by some lawmakers have only further steeped divisions in an already polarized nation. For one, Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) introduced a bill earlier this month that could ban Palestinians from entering the U.S. and possibly expel those who are already here. Zinke described the bill as the most anti-Hamas immigration legislation I have seen, conflating all Palestinians with the militant group. GOP presidential nominee Ron DeSantis, meanwhile, has suggested the U.S. should not take in any Palestinian refugees from Gaza because they are all antisemitic. The only Palestinian American serving in Congress Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) was censured earlier this month over her criticism of Israel. She posted a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, that said President Biden supported the genocide of the Palestinian people and included clips of protesters chanting from the river to the sea, a phrase defined by the Anti-Defamation League as antisemitic. Tlaib defended her stance, saying she will not be silenced and I will not let you distort my words. Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie on Sunday placed some blame on former President Trump, suggesting his intolerant language rubbed off on the rest of the country. Trump was harshly criticized during his presidency for promoting antisemitic tropes and Islamophobic beliefs. When you show intolerance towards everyone, which is what he does, you give permission as a leader for others to have their intolerance come out, Christie told CNN of Trump. So intolerance towards anyone encourages intolerance towards everyone. And thats exactly whats going on here. Garland said Monday that the Justice Department is closely monitoring the impact the conflict may have in inspiring extremists at home and abroad, opening discussions with local law enforcement and community leaders to discuss any threats. When people are horrified, they often seek accountability, Benesch said. An Illinois landlord, for example, was charged with a hate crime last month after being accused of stabbing and killing a 6-year-old Muslim boy in suburban Chicago a striking example of people who are neither Palestinian nor Israeli becoming violent in response to the conflict, she said. Tensions have been especially high on American college campuses for students on both sides who have said they fear for their safety at school. Threats and attacks on Jewish and Arab Muslim students have seen a marked rise since the war began with heated protests sometimes turning violent. The Palestinian men shot in Vermont on Saturday are all U.S. university students. The man who pleaded not guilty to the shooting was a 48-year-old white man. Two of the victims were American citizens, while a third was a legal resident. Two of the victims at the time of the shooting were wearing keffiyehs, a type of scarf associated with the Palestinian cause. Benesch said fiery rhetoric on the rise in the U.S. since the start of the war could cause some Americans to take matters into their own hands, no matter how misguided those efforts may be. Someone who wants revenge, who wants to hold someone responsible, sometimes wants to do that personally, Benesch said. In this country its easier to find a Jew than an Israeli and its exactly the same thing on the other side. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The Ofcom study revealed that 21 per cent of 13.8 million people watch online pornography between 9am and 5.30pm One in five of millions of people watch pornography during the working day, according to the UKs media watchdog. The Ofcom study revealed that 21 per cent of 13.8 million people watch online pornography between 9am and 5.30pm for an average of 55 minutes. The regulator said it was unclear whether this was because of more people working from home as there were not previous figures to compare with. Adults only spent more time watching pornography between midnight and 9am, with 59 minutes on average, according to the study. Seventy-three per cent of those doing so were men. In April last year, former MP Neil Parish resigned after he was caught watching pornography twice in the House of Commons. The former Tiverton and Honiton MP admitted to watching explicit content inside the chamber, claiming the first time was accidental while looking at tractors but the second was a moment of madness. A previous US survey of approximately 2,000 adults carried out in 2014 found 63 per cent of men had viewed pornography at least once at work in the previous three months and 38 per cent had done so more than once. Among women, 36 per cent had viewed pornography at work in the past three months and 13 per cent more than once. A three-part study of 2,500 men and women in Hungary found eight different motivations behind internet pornography use. The most common reason given was pleasure a motivation for 45 per cent of respondents. Another 12 per cent cited curiosity and 10 per cent said they were indulging fantasies about unobtainable sexual experiences. The conversations and programming at the FilmGate Interactive Media Festival evolve quickly. In fact, you could say that the landscape changes so quickly that just as one trend is the hottest topic, another takes its place. FilmGate came out of curiosity, says Diliana Alexander, executive director of FilmGate Miami, whose FilmGate Interactive Media Festival is in its 10th year and takes place this year at various locations from Wednesday, Nov. 29, through Sunday, Dec. 3. It will be no surprise to anyone familiar with whats happening in the world of immersive technologies that this years FilmGate will be at the forefront of the latest conversation point artificial intelligence or AI. Diliana Alexander, co-founder, executive director of FilmGate Miami For perspective, just three years ago, Alexander says FilmGate was helping the masses make sense of the confusion over NFTs, an art, music, game, video or another digital asset that exists solely online. And NFTs are still in it, she says. All of these technologies that are pushing in different directions are really pushing in the same direction. But AI is a major shift. Alexander adds, (AI) is the closest to magic weve ever been, and it will be exciting to see what that means for the creative process. What it means for audiences. What it means for us. The theme for this years festival is Regenerate X, which includes talks, workshops, and, as has come to be expected of the festival, 35 immersive and experiential installations open to the public. This year, FilmGate has partnered with the University of Miami where much of the festival, including immersive experiences, will take place at its Lakeside Village Expo Center. Other locations for VR/XR and interactive experiences are at the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science, Downtown Media Center, Perez Art Museum, Bayside Marina, and a variety of outdoor locations in Downtown Miami. Body of Mine, a virtual reality experience, explores what its like to be transgender at the FilmGate Interactive Media Festival. A virtual reality project that made its world premiere in June at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film and TV Festival in Austin, Texas, comes to the FilmGate festival at Lakeside Village as part of the expo offerings. In Body of Mine, users put on a headset and body-tracking sensors for a full-body immersive experience that will allow them to inhabit the body of a different gender. Cameron Kostopoulos, the creator of the VR, describes Body of Mine as an exploration of the transgender body in virtual reality, adding that the inspiration for the project came from the political and homophobic atmosphere in the United States. Alexander felt that its placement at FilmGate was essential. It is an important topic to cover, and in Florida, because theres not a lot of empathy at the moment around this issue. The interactive demo prompts the user to touch their virtual body and audio clips from trans people can be heard describing parts of their bodies. South Florida artist Fereshteh Toosis audio interactive experience, Voice Memos for the Future, is described by Toosi as a time capsule of messages directed to Miami residents in the far future featuring six voices and stories. The piece invites people to connect to nature in locations chosen by the interviewees: Katherine Jones in Legion Park, Blanche Spiner in Biscayne National Park, Yanesy Reyes in Morningside Park, Ashley Kow in Hollywood Beach, Isabella Marie Garcia in Enchanted Forest Park, and Kasia Williams in Crandon Park. The recordings, accessible for free on mobile devices through the audio AR platform echoes.xyz are only accessible when the listener visits the exact places that are being discussed. South Florida artist Fereshteh Toosi created the audio interactive experience, Voice Memos for the Future, part of this years FilmGate Interactive Media Festival. The project started when Toosi created a workshop for people in their 20s. I wanted to hear what they had to say about what its like to live in Miami. A lot of people applied, and from that set of applications, I narrowed down the list, says Toosi, whose pronouns are they and them. They wanted to have a conversation about climate change and how living in South Florida is a place that continues to be impacted both financially and in the physical environment by ecological changes. So, what do they want to communicate with the future? And there is a fear, and theres already a lot of grief around whats happening, says Toosi. For one example, Reyes in Morningside Park, addressing those in Toosis far future, says she can see Miami Beach across the pond, that were finding ways to stay sane over here in the past and apologizes for anything that we as a collective are failing to do now that may have landed you in a s situation in your present. At the Frost Science Museum, FilmGate gives viewers the chance to immerse themselves in three dome experiences, which include two from Taiwan: Folding Harmonies, an immersive audiovisual presentation that also includes a live performance which is meant to challenge conventional perceptions of time by creating a space where time is a flexible entity, and Limbotopia, which also takes up the issue of time and its place between utopia and dystopia. From Canada, Biliminal oscillates between meditative serenity and explosive chaos, according to its creators. More than 30 virtual portals will be free and open to the public to experience at the Expo Center, Lakeside Village, University of Miami, at FilmGate Interactive Media Festival. Artificial Intelligence (AI) shows up here and there in this years FilmGate including a workshop presented by Snapchat to show attendees how to use its software Lens Studio on a mobile device to create AI agents, basically an intelligent virtual assistant. And a virtual encyclopedia of AI knowledge, South Floridas Rony Abovitz, who founded Magic Leap in 2011 and the co-founder of surgical robotics creator Mako Surgical Corp., will show his short film Yellow Dove Aftermath: The World of Hour Blue, which will introduce a synthetic being, Jako Vega, also known as Yellow Dove. Weve been incubating this world, Hour Blue, for a number of years. Jako Vega can parse between the current world and the Hour Blue world. The film is from Abovitzs new company called Sun and Thunder whose focus is on AI characters and interactive storytelling. During a talk he is scheduled to give on Thursday, Nov. 30, after the showing of his film at 5 p.m., Abovitz says hell speak about SynthBee, Inc., a sister company to his film production company. It is developing a human-friendly collaborative AI architecture that allows ambitious projects to get done, he says. Citing films like The Lord of the Rings, Abovitz says three movies that would have taken decades to make with 10,000-plus people, can now use synthies (or synthetic beings) which would allow mammoth projects to be done by maybe a dozen people and a synthies. Abovitz says it is a way of democratizing computational intelligence. He has a larger interest, he says, than capital and resources. Theres a fight for the soul of AI as the New York Times recently put it. Artificial intelligence has progressed so rapidly in recent months that leading researchers have signed an open letter urging an immediate pause in its development, plus stronger regulation, due to their fears that the technology could pose profound risks to society and humanity. Jako Vega, a synthetic being or synthie, stars in Rony Abovitzs Sun and Thunder companys first animated short film, Yellow Dove Aftermath, which will be screened at the FilmGate Interactive Media Festival. I think AI itself, the underlying computational intelligence, could be harnessed in many ways for social good, says Abovitz. Think about the filmmakers that come to FilmGate, they may never get $500 million like a Steven Spielberg or a James Cameron and have that huge amount of capital and resources to make these sorts of grand movies. Youre a small team of five or six, so what if you were empowered to make a grand film? Theyre not taking away anyones job because no one was going to give them that money or chance, most likely anyway. This is a way of creating empowerment to do something that never would have happened. This is the age of computing where you can make this happen, says Abovitz, adding that AI characters will not replace people but instead will work in harmony with them, doing things that were impossible before, and pushing the envelope on things. Jako Vega is the first tiny step that were showing the public within this much bigger idea that were going after. If you go: WHAT: FilmGate Interactive Media Festival Regenerate X WHERE: University of Miami Lakeside Village, 12800 Stanford Drive, Coral Gables, Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science, 1101 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, University of Miamis Bill Cosford Cinema, 5030 Brunson Drive, Coral Gables, Perez Art Museum Miami, 1103 Biscayne Blvd., and other downtown Miami locations. WHEN: 7 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 29, VIP reception; 7 to 10 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 1, Dome experiences; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 30 through Saturday, Dec. 2, immersive experiences and interactive installations; 3 p.m., Friday, Dec. 1, 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 2, and 11 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 3. Olympia Arts Bicycle Theater Adventure, Tales of the Magic City, 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 3, awards ceremony and boat sunset cruise. COST: $220 ($5.39 fee), VIP access to all festival events, $85 ($2.69 fee), VIP student with current ID; $50 ($1.99 fee), Frost Dome experience, Thursday, Nov. 30; $30, Bicycle Theater adventure; free one-day passes available for FGI Virtual Portal Room at UM for Thursday, Nov. 30, Friday, Dec. 1 and Saturday, Dec. 2. Tech talks free. INFORMATION: 305-916-6973 and filmgate.miami/fgix ArtburstMiami.com is a nonprofit media source for the arts featuring fresh and original stories by writers dedicated to theater, dance, visual arts, film, music and more. Dont miss a story at www.artburstmiami.com. Finland will shut the border crossing point of Raja-Jooseppi from Nov. 30 to Dec. 13, which means its entire border with Russia will be closed for two weeks, the Finnish government said on Nov. 28. Finland previously closed all but the Raja-Jooseppi crossing in the countrys far north in response to a growing migrant crisis allegedly orchestrated by Moscow. As long as the measure is in force, asylum seekers will be able to apply for international protection in Finland only at air- and maritime traffic border points, according to the government. November saw an unusually high number of third-country asylum seekers arriving at the Finnish border from Russia without proper documentation. Helsinki accused Moscow of orchestrating the migrant influx as retribution for the country's entry into NATO. Russia is enabling the instrumentalization of people and guiding them to the Finnish border in harsh winter conditions. Finland is determined to put an end to this phenomenon, Finlands Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said at the press conference when announcing the full closure of the border. Read also: Officials: Norway, Estonia may close border crossings with Russia In the current situation, it is necessary to close the entire eastern border. We have made this decision to protect Finland's national security against this Russian hybrid operation, according to the Finnish Interior Minister Mari Rantanen. In its Nov. 27 assessment, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) cited a Russian insider source saying that Russian authorities had directed the Interior Ministry to gather migrants from the Middle East, Africa, and other regions and send them to the Finnish border. The ISW source complained that border officials in Finland had stopped most migrants from crossing into the country, and Russian authorities would now be forced to settle the migrants on Russian territory. Reports of Moscow-orchestrated migrant crisis echo the strategy used by Belarus against its NATO neighbors. Minsk has been facilitating flows of third-country migrants to the Baltic countries and Poland since 2021. Read also: EU border agency to bolster Finlands border Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Finland will close the last operating checkpoint on its Russian border on Thursday, entirely shutting off the NATO countrys eastern border with Russia for two weeks. Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said in the release that Russia is enabling the instrumentalization of people and guiding them to the Finnish border in harsh winter conditions. Finland is determined to put an end to this phenomenon. The last checkpoint will shut at midnight on November 30, closing the eastern border until December 13, Finlands Ministry of Internal Affairs said in a press release on Tuesday. It comes amid an increasing effort by Helsinki to restrict crossings from Russia, a push that intensified following the invasion of Ukraine last year and Finlands ascension to NATO earlier this year. Finlands Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said in the press release that it is necessary to close the entire eastern border with Russia, adding that the decision was taken to protect Finlands national security against this Russian hybrid operation. The Finnish Border Guard said in a social media post that Finlands goal is to end the illegal entry from Russia. Finland takes care of its own border security and the Finnish Border Guard is ready to quickly implement new decisions of the Government, the border guard added. Finland shares an 830-mile-long border with Russia. The crossing was one of the few entry points for Russians after many Western countries shut their air space and borders to Russian planes in response to the Ukraine invasion. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said on Tuesday that Finlands decision to close all border checkpoints with Russia will harm Finnish citizens, also calling it irrational. They closed the border, how can we react? Finnish citizens will suffer, said Grushko on the sidelines of the Primakov Readings forum in Moscow. We can comment on some rational decisions, then we can look for some kind of logic. But sometimes the decisions are simply irrational, he said, adding that only about 700 migrants during this period tried to cross the Russian-Finnish border. On November 16, the Finnish government announced it would temporarily close four crossing points along its border with Russia from this week until February 2024, in an effort to stop illegal border crossings. In Tuesdays press release, Finlands interior ministry said entry into Finland at the eastern border has continued despite restrictions. Since the beginning of August, almost 1,000 third-country nationals have arrived in Finland without a visa via the border crossing points at the eastern border. Most of them have applied for asylum in Finland, the ministry said. In such very exceptional circumstances, the short-term total closure of the eastern border is a necessary and proportionate measure to put an end to this phenomenon and to limit the serious consequences that it has for national security and public order, the ministry added in Tuesdays press release. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday accused Russia of using migration as a tool to create pressure along its border with Finland. We have seen them using energy, we have seen them using cyber attacks, we have seen them using different kinds of clandestine operations to try and undermine our democracies. The fact that Russia is using migration as a tool is now another example of the attempt to put pressure on neighbors, Stoltenberg said at a news conference in Brussels. NATO has not received a request from Finland for support in guarding its borders, Stoltenberg said, adding that he is confident that Finland is capable of dealing with the issue itself. He welcomed the move by the European Unions border agency, Frontex, to deploy 50 guards along the Finnish border. Helsinki closed its border at the end of September 2022, around the time traffic over the frontier intensified as Russians tried to flee President Vladimir Putins partial mobilization of hundreds of thousands of citizens to fight in the war. More than 8,500 Russians crossed the border in one day alone. Earlier this year, the Finnish Border Guard also began the pilot phase of constructing an eastern border barrier fence along some key parts of the border. CNNs Lauren Kent and Sharon Braithwaite contributed reporting For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Illinois Elites Keep Blacks in Their Place NEWS PROVIDED BY Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights Nov. 28, 2023 NEW YORK, Nov. 28, 2023 /Christian Newswire/ -- The following is submitted by Bill Donohue, President, Catholic League: The most important factor in accounting for upward mobility is the structure of the family. Kids who come from two parent families generally do well. Those who come from one-parent families do not. The second most important factor in accounting for upward mobility is the type and quality of the school. Kids who go to private and parochial schools generally do better than those who go to public schools (the exception being those who go to charter schools, who also do very well). Thanks to decades of fighting school choice, promoted by liberals, black students are confined to the public schools. Those who fight school choice also fight charter schools, meaning black kids are forced to attend the worst of the public schools. Do liberals hate blacks? No. But they are racists nonetheless. How so? As I pointed out in War on Virtue: How the Ruling Class Is Killing the American Dream, they don't treat blacks as equals. They treat them as people who can't make it on their own, without the help of white liberal custodians, of course. Illinois is a good example. As the Wall Street Journal pointed out, "It is now the first state to kill a major school choice program." We looked into those who killed it and found that it is the rich and powerful. The head of the Chicago Teachers Union, Stacy Davis Gates, led the charge for the education industry. She enrolled her oldest child in De La Salle, a Catholic school; the tuition is almost $15,000 a year. No one will ever ask her why she didnt think the public schools were good enough for her kid, but are apparently good enough for other kids. Jan Schakowsky led the fight in the Illinois legislature to keep blacks from leaving the public schools. A powerful Democrat, her net worth is $5 million. She has a house in Evanston and a vacation home on Lake Shore Drive in Michigan City, Indiana. Gov. J.B. Pritzker could have led the charge to liberate black kids from the public schools, but did absolutely nothing to help the school choice movement. He is a billionaire. The Pritzker Family Foundation is awash with money for schools that are already wealthy, but it spends not a dime on black parents wanting to send their children to a private or parochial school. Not surprisingly, the governor sends his kids to private schools. As a result of what these rich and powerful people have done, 9,600 low-income children will see their scholarships end. It does not matter to these mostly white rich people who are working against them that more than 20,000 children, mostly black, are on the waiting list for a scholarship. They're finished. If white racists wanted to keep blacks in their place, they couldn't do a better job than these Illinois "friends" of African Americans. Contact Anne Caprara, Pritzker's chief-of-staff: anne.caprara@illinois.gov SOURCE Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights CONTACT: 212-371-3191, pr@catholicleague.org Share Tweet Director Xin Yukun premiered his new film "Trending Topic" in Beijing on Nov. 25, aiming to prompt audiences to be cautious and reflective about online public opinion and its hidden influences. A photo captures director Xin Yukun working on the film set. [Photo courtesy of iQiyi Pictures] The film, set for a Nov. 30 release, could become a trending topic itself with its provocative content. It centers on a self-publishing chief editor skilled at generating online traffic and trending topics, who inadvertently contributes to a female student's suicide. After discovering a distressing message from the victim, she uncovers a sexual assault case and learns that a powerful perpetrator has maligned the victim. Amid fluctuating public sentiment and emerging hidden interests, a battle to bring corrupt powers to justice ensues. The film exposes the audience to an eye-opening "online public opinion war," vividly showcasing the power of words on the screen. This enables viewers to intuitively recognize that the influence of public opinion has the potential to both save and take lives. The director pointed out, "being in the internet era, everyone is a participant and observer of public opinion." He said he hoped that after watching the film, everyone could "reflect more on facing online public opinion chaos and maintain their rational judgment." The director candidly added, "I hope to use the narrative of a film to tell everyone that in the complex online public opinion environment, sometimes the facts you understand may not necessarily be the truth, and the truth you see may not necessarily be the real truth." As Xin's latest work with a realistic theme, "Trending Topic" not only sharply points to reality but also serves as a wake-up call in our fast-paced online environment. After the screening, some critics praised it for contributing to China's special campaigns like Operation Qinglang, tackling urgent internet-related issues such as pornography, misinformation, cyberbullying, and algorithm abuse. A still image from "Trending Topic." [Photo courtesy of iQiyi Pictures] The film features a range of impressive characters, including victimized girls with contrasting experiences, a principal who carries out evil deeds under the guise of goodness, and a mother struggling with reality. Each character embodies different aspects of human nature. The director notes that the similar experiences of the victims in the film highlight the cyclical nature of such predatory acts. He believes that punishing the perpetrators is essential to prevent similar incidents, a conviction driving the protagonist, played by actress Zhou Dongyu, to speak out. Zhou's portrayal of her character was a big surprise for audiences. Her transformation from chasing online streaming traffic to becoming a voice for victims and challenging evil powers showcases her unwavering courage, even risking her job for self-redemption. "Her inner strength is the core that supports her in the fight," Xin said, emphasizing that a flawed character is more convincing. "The most appealing part of the protagonist is her inherent conscience," Zhou said of her role. She noted that the more the character faces oppression from powerful entities, the more courageous she becomes. She added, "There are millions of voices in the court of public opinion, and I hope everyone can seek the root of information, not letting our kindness be exploited." In addition to the cruel and realistic portrayal of human nature, the film also captures many touching aspects of humanity. For example, two victims risk everything to reveal the truth, a theme that has deeply resonated with viewers. The cast and crew pose for a photo at the premiere of "Trending Topic," held in Beijing, Nov. 25, 2023. [Photo courtesy of Dark Horse] The director also expressed hope that the film, while encouraging internet users to speak out bravely for justice, conveys a hopeful vision. He said he wishes for people not to be passive bystanders but instead become sparks that empower others in the internet era. "Every positive voice carries tremendous power," he said, urging people to avoid bias and stereotypes. By Essi Lehto HELSINKI (Reuters) -Finland will close its entire border with Russia to travellers for the next two weeks in a bid to halt the unusually large flow of asylum seekers to the Nordic nation, which the government and its allies say is an orchestrated move by Moscow. Finland last week shut all but one of its border posts to travellers from Russia, keeping open only the northernmost crossing located in the Arctic. But this too would now close, the government said on Tuesday. Some 900 asylum seekers from nations including Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen have entered Finland from Russia in November, an increase from less than one per day previously, according to the Finnish Border Guard. The decision to shut all eight border crossings means only cargo trains can pass between the two countries, Finland's Border Guard said. Helsinki says Moscow is funnelling people to the border in retaliation for its decision to increase defence cooperation with the United States, a charge the Kremlin denies. Finland infuriated Russia earlier this year when it joined NATO, ending decades of military non-alignment, due to the war in Ukraine. "This is Russia's influence operation and we do no accept it," Prime Minister Petteri Orpo told a press conference. On Monday he said his country had intelligence information on Russian authorities assisting the asylum seekers and that despite Finnish border closures, there were still more people heading towards Finland in Russia. On Monday, only three asylum seekers arrived in Finland through the remote Raja-Jooseppi station, the last open border post, and on Tuesday there were no entrants. The border station will remain open on Wednesday before closing until Dec. 13, the government said. Finland's ombudsman for non-discrimination last week said the remote location of Raja-Jooseppi prompted concerns that Helsinki was jeopardising the right to seek asylum. Asylum can still be sought by travellers arriving by boat and by air, the Finnish government said on Tuesday. (Reporting by Essi Lehto, editing by Terje Solsvik, Anna Ringstrom, Louise Rasmussen, Alexandra Hudson) Finland has decided to temporarily close the last functioning checkpoint on the Russian border. The decision will come into force at midnight from 29 to 30 November and will be valid until 13 December. Source: Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, as reported by European Pravda with reference to Helsingin Sanomat Details: Orpo said the government has decided to close all border crossing points with Russia, in particular the Raya-Jooseppi checkpoint in Lapland, which remained operational at the time. In the near future, it will only be possible to apply for asylum at ports and airports. The decision will not affect rail freight transport between Russia and Finland. The prime minister emphasised that the reason for the decision was Russia's attempt to exert influence on Finland, which is unacceptable for Helsinki. Only a few migrants applied for asylum at the Raya-Jooseppi checkpoint on Monday, and none on Tuesday. However, Petteri Orpo said Helsinki had not made the decision based on numbers, but following a general assessment of the situation. Background: From mid-November onwards, significantly more people without documents entitling them to enter EU territory began to arrive at checkpoints on the Finnish-Russian border. Previously, Russian border guards would not have allowed such travellers to leave. Finland closed all its checkpoints on the border with Russia, except for one in Lapland. The Vaalimaa, Nuijamaa, Imatra and Niirala border crossings have been closed to traffic since Saturday. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Moscow was directly involved in the appearance of an increasing number of asylum seekers at the Finnish border. Support UP or become our patron! Finland will close its last operating border crossing with Russia from Nov. 30 to Dec. 13, 2023, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and Interior Minister Mari Rantanen announced on Nov.28, Bloomberg reported. The decision stems from Russia's ongoing smuggling of migrants into Finland. Politicians believe that without closing the border, the risk of "instrumentalized immigration" would have intensified. Read also: Finland edging closer to border lockdown as Russia's weaponized migration influx swells All eight road checkpoints, including the northern Raja-Jooseppi checkpoint in Lapland (currently the only one open), will be closed for two weeks. However, the railway crossing in Vainikkala will remain open for trucks. Over 800 migrants from countries such as Afghanistan, Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen have entered Finland through Russia in recent weeks, the Finnish Border Guard has said. Previously, the flow of migrants there was less than one per day on average. Read also: Finland refuses to negotiate with Putin over situation on Russian border Finland claims that Russia is deliberately directing migrants to the border in response to the country's decision to strengthen defense cooperation with the United States. The Kremlin denies this. Finland "angered" the Russians earlier this year when it joined NATO, Reuters reported. Finland announced on Nov. 16 the closure of four border crossings located in the east along the border with Russia. The restrictions will be in effect until Feb. 18, 2024, but could be extended. On Nov. 22, several more border crossing points were closed, leaving only one open. If necessary, the entire border with Russia could be closed, Rantanen said on Nov. 24. Read also: Four scenarios for Ukraine's future in NATO Norwegian Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl expressed a similar opinion on Nov. 16, and the next day a similar statement was made by the Estonian government. Norway may follow Finland and close the border with Russia, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stre said on Nov. 22. Sweden supports Finland's decision to close some border crossing points with Russia, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Nov. 28. 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 Patrons of Gossip Grill in San Diego enjoy a patio that just weeks before was damaged by fire. (Jireh Deng / Los Angeles Times) Freda Horton woke up on a Friday morning to a barrage of frantic texts from friends and family. Are you OK? they asked. There had been a fire reported at Gossip Grill the previous night just half an hour after Horton's shift ended. She works as a bartender at the beloved lesbian bar in San Diego. Firefighters on the scene of the Oct. 20 blaze, which started in the outside patio, were able to knock it down before the flames reached the rest of the establishment but not before an estimated $7,000 in damages had been done. News of the suspected arson at the bar spread quickly in Hillcrest, a prominent LGBTQ+ neighborhood in San Diego. Patrons and fans rallied, focused on restoring this haven for the queer community to its old self. But despite the superficial nature of the fire and the relative ease it took for the bar to recover financially, the fear it caused among some patrons was not so easily quelled. Those who spoke with The Times in the aftermath of the fire said that, in a world where violence against queer people has become all too commonplace, safe spaces are crucial to the community. For some, the incident at Gossip Grill, one of Southern Californias few lesbian bars, shook their sense of safety. Alyssa G., left, Paloma M., Camille K. and Melanie Quijano share a toast on Nov. 4 at Gossip Grill. (Jireh Deng / Los Angeles Times) The morning after the fire, Horton said volunteers wielding work tools rallied to overhaul the damages, and even a tattoo artist donated proceeds from their work to help them recoup losses. The following week, they were back to business as usual, if not even more busy, Horton said, as patrons flooded the establishment and bought drinks to help raise money for repairs. Were already taken care of it. You got a group of lesbians and a Home Depot card come on now, Horton said with a laugh. There was no evidence that the arson was a result of a hate crime. San Diego police arrested Ryan Habrel, 38, on suspicion of two counts of arson with the special allegation that he used a device to accelerate the spread of the fire. Habrel has pleaded not guilty to the charges and remains in custody at a San Diego County jail in lieu of $150,000 bail. He has also been ordered by a judge to stay away from Gossip Grill as well as other local restaurants owned by the same conglomerate, Mo's Universe Restaurant Group, including Hillcrest Brewing Co., Urban MO's, insideOUT, Baja Betty's and Barrel & Board. Habrel's next court appearance is set for Dec. 18, according to online jail records. The Times was unable to reach a legal representative for Habrel, and the San Diego County district attorney's office declined to comment as the case is ongoing. Although the arson was fresh in patrons' memory, just two weekends later, the bar was buoyant. Leftover Halloween decorations hung overhead as people rocked and swayed on the Gossip Grill dance floor to a range of music genres, from Afrobeats to disco. Gossip Grill is just a skate ride down the block for Hillcrest resident Melanie Quijano. She's been a regular at the bar for the last five years and on a recent weekend was celebrating a reunion and a birthday among her friends. She said the Hillcrest community has always been welcoming to its queer residents. Although the fire was upsetting, she was upbeat: "S just happens. Gossip opened up the next day, completely fine. Two patrons sway to the music on the dance floor of Gossip Grill in San Diego. (Jireh Deng / Los Angeles Times) Others felt the incident shouldn't be quickly dismissed, hate crime or not. Kristin Brill was in San Diego over the weekend to attend a Doja Cat concert with friends, but she had seen the news of the fire on social media. Where Brill lives in Montana, there arent many queer bars, which make her yearly visits to Gossip Grill even more sacrosanct. The 27-year-old said the fire, regardless of the motive behind it, dredged up the hostility to the community that's been documented in the news. She said attacks like the shooting in Floridas Pulse Nightclub had normalized violence against queer people. Theres amped-up racism and homophobia everywhere, Brill said. There's tons of anti-trans laws being passed. That hate toward LGBTQ+ people is what drives them to seek safe spaces like Gossip Grill. Camille K. (who declined to provide their full last name because of their active military service) recently moved to San Diego for work and was elated to be surrounded by others in the queer community. Growing up in the Midwest, they noted the high suicide rates among queer youth and said loneliness and a lack of representation could be at their root. You can go online. You can see people that identify as who you are, K added. But that online support cannot rival the euphoria of being physically surrounded by affirming representation. Coming into this space, it's a whole new realm. And its not just the lesbians who find their welcome home at Gossip Grill. Hillcrest, as a gayborhood, is home to a number of queer bars lining University Avenue. Anthony Patton, a local social worker whos lived in San Diego for three years, said Gossip Grill ranks as his favorite local bar for its authentic and warm atmosphere. Unlike other bars in the Hillcrest area, I made connections just off the cuff it's been genuine. I feel able to be free and express myself and dance and be accepted, Patton said. Sometimes in other gay bars, he notices that people move in cliques or can be judgmental before deciding to strike up a friendly conversation. Being a gay Black male, oddly enough, Gossip Grill is the place where I feel the most at home. Anthony Patton dances beneath decorations left over from Halloween celebrations at Gossip Grill. (Jireh Deng / Los Angeles Times) On the wall of Gossip Grills outdoor patio, a neon pink sign, Welcome Home Beautiful, greets people as they walk into the bar. [Thats] our whole motto, said Horton of their bars values. We want to be your home away from home. Like Horton, bartender Justin Nelson has worked at Gossip Grill since it opened 14 years ago he's affectionately known as the "lesbro" of the team. Horton remembers seeing the bar outgrow its first location, also in Hillcrest, within six months of opening. We literally had our little dance floor in front of the bathrooms with a DJ sitting in a windowsill, Horton said. The bar opened at its present location in 2009. During the pandemic, the bar survived when many others shut down by finding unique ways to get people to support the business. They sold alcohol by the bottle as well as home-delivered food. "I literally dressed up in a blow-up unicorn outfit and hand-delivered food to our guests. Freda Horton, left, and Lindsey Leavitt, bartenders at Gossip Grill, prepare one of their nonalcoholic cocktails, Lady Business. (Jireh Deng / Los Angeles Times) But whats stayed true for Horton and for Gossip Grill over the years is a commitment to making room for everyone whether thats meant raising awareness for the Black Lives Matter movement or welcoming trans women in the community. That spirit is at the foundation of the establishment. Nurturing the community around their bar has been one of Hortons greatest joys. You get to watch the baby gays grow up and become an incredible powerful part of our community, Horton said. And thats been an honor for us because they come in at 21 and theyre still coming in now in their mid to late 30s. Times staff writer Jeremy Childs contributed to this report. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Firefighters were called to a Springfield bar Monday night where a deadly shooting happened just days ago. >>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Police identify man shot, killed at Springfield bar on Thanksgiving Around 9:40 p.m. Springfield firefighters were called to Club Hollywood in the 900 block of East Pleasant Street, according to Springfield police. Police said dispatchers received a call claiming that someone was in the rear of the building starting the fire and then drove away from the scene. It is unknown how much of the building was damaged by the fire at this time. >>RELATED: Springfield bar halts operations after deadly shooting Police responded to Club Hollywood late Thanksgiving night for a deadly shooting. Officers found Shyheim Gibson dead, according to a Springfield police report. Club Hollywood said on social media they have closed their doors for the time being. >>ORIGINAL COVERAGE: 1 dead after shooting at Springfield bar We are working to learn if the fire is being investigated as suspicious and additional details. We will update this story as more information becomes available. A fire at a Springfield bar where a deadly shooting happened just days before is under investigation as a possible arson. >> Its on fire; Multiple 911 calls describe the fire at Springfield bar, days after deadly shooting Firefighters were called out to Club Hollywood on East Pleasant Street late Monday night on reports of a fire. Springfield Police Sgt. James Byron confirmed Tuesday afternoon that the fire itself was being investigated as arson. Just days before, on Thanksgiving, Shyheim Gibson was shot and killed inside the bar, which was full of people. Byron said police are asking for the publics help as they gather more information to get answers for Gibsons family. >>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Police identify man shot, killed at Springfield bar on Thanksgiving Were doing what we can for his family. This was a senseless act and our job is to provide justice for his family, Byron said. Investigators would not confirm if the two incidents were connected, but they did make it clear they are looking into that possibility. Police also said that since June, there have been 32 calls for service at Club Hollywood, not including Monday nights arson. We have had multiple calls at this establishment, especially over the last six months. But the fact that we had two calls in the last few days, both with very suspicious circumstances, that is something we are looking at, Byron said. A 43-year-old was arrested after firefighters found his dead wife in a metal drum, Nevada police and news outlets reported. Freddie Wright was arrested on charges of arson, murder and destroying evidence, according to a Nov. 27 Facebook post by the Henderson Police Department. Fire personnel and officers were called Nov. 21 on reports of a fire, police said. After getting to the scene, officials found a metal drum on fire, police said. After extinguishing the fire, they found a dead woman inside, later identified as Janell Bowen, police told KSNV. The autopsy showed Bowen had strangle marks on her neck, bruises on her upper back, three fractured ribs, and evidence of sexual assault, officials told KTNV. Wright told police after Bowen revealed she did have a relationship with someone that Wright knew he snapped and blacked out, eventually strangling her, officials told KTNV. He took her body outside and left it there for days before putting her into a drum and setting her on fire, police told KSNV. Wright is being held at Henderson Detention Center without bail before his court appearance Nov. 30, KSNV reported. Henderson is about 20 miles southeast of Las Vegas. Mom found dead after family reports blood in home, California cops say. Son charged Son accused of killing his mom turns himself in with blood on hands, Washington cops say Driver had ex-girlfriends body in trunk as he drove to his parents home, AZ cops say The first transatlantic flight powered only by Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is due to take off at 11.30am today from London Heathrow, destination New York JFK. Virgin Atlantic is operating the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, branded as Virgin100, on the worlds busiest international air route. The airline has obtained special approval from British, Irish, Canadian and US aviation authorities to fly the pioneering mission. The founder of Virgin Atlantic, Sir Richard Branson, and the transport secretary, Mark Harper, will be aboard the aircraft though it will not carry any paying passengers. SAF is made from sustainable sources such as agricultural waste and used cooking oil, meaning its production involves using about 70 per cent less carbon. The two Rolls-Royce engines will be mainly fuelled by processed waste fats, known as HEFA (hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids). But 12 per cent of plant-based synthetic aromatic kerosene (SAK) is added to provide the necessary mix for the engines to function normally. Virgin Atlantic claims the fuel offers CO2 lifecycle emissions savings of up to 70 per cent, whilst performing like the traditional jet fuel it replaces. The emissions from the 3,451-mile flight will be exactly the same as with a kerosene-powered flight. Savings are claimed from elsewhere in the lifecycle for example CO2 absorbed from the atmosphere during the growth of plants, and from avoiding household waste going to landfill. Environmental campaigners dispute the benefits, and say only a cutback in flying can significantly reduce the harm caused by aviation. But speaking exclusively to The Independent, Virgin Atlantics chief executive, Shai Weiss, said: To think that we can magic up elimination of flying, I think is naive to an extreme. His airline says the aim is to demonstrate that SAF is a safe drop-in replacement for fossil derived jet fuel, compatible with todays engines, airframes and fuel infrastructure. Sir Richard said: The world will always assume something cant be done, until you do it. The spirit of innovation is getting out there and trying to prove that we can do things better for everyones benefit. Virgin Atlantic has been challenging the status quo and pushing the aviation industry to never settle and do better since 1984. Fast forward nearly 40 years, that pioneering spirit continues to be Virgin Atlantics beating heart as it pushes the boundaries from carbon fibre aircraft and fleet upgrades to sustainable fuels. I couldnt be prouder to be onboard Flight100 today alongside the teams at Virgin Atlantic and our partners, which have been working together to set the flight path for the decarbonisation of long-haul aviation. Mr Harper said: Todays 100 per cent SAF-powered flight shows how we can decarbonise transport both now and in the future, cutting lifecycle emissions by 70 per cent and inspiring the next generation of solutions. This government has backed todays flight to take-off and we will continue to support the UKs emerging SAF industry as it create jobs, grows the economy and gets us to Jet Zero. But environmental campaigners say the potential benefits of SAF are overstated and that there are multiple problems with the supply of the fuel. Anna Hughes, director of Flight Free UK, said: While it sounds promising that a flight can be fuelled with 100 per cent SAF, we are many years away from seeing so-called sustainable fuels in widespread use. We simply dont have enough resources to create enough SAF to satisfy our current, or indeed future, demand for flights. We dont have time to wait, so the reality is that in order to reliably bring down flight emissions, we need to be flying less, which is certainly not what the industry wants to hear. This is a seminal moment for the industry and government, allowing them to pretend that we can continue to fly as much as we like with no harm to the environment. The reality is that we still havent worked out how to meaningfully reduce the environmental harms of flying, so the short-term answer must be that we need to do it a lot less. The first fully SAF-powered flight of a UK aircraft took place a year ago, when an RAF Voyager aircraft the military version of an Airbus A330 made a test flight from Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. Islanders including chief executive of the public service Suzanne Wylie and Chief Minister Kristina Moore laid flowers to remember the victims following the two tragedies in 2022 A service will be held in Jersey to mark the first anniversary of two tragedies in Jersey, in which thirteen people died. Three men died in the sinking of LEcume II fishing vessel on 8 December 2022 and a further ten people died following an explosion at a block of flats in St Helier two days later. The service will be led by the Dean of Jersey and has been put together by Jersey's Bailiff, who said he hopes to reassure the families the community is with them at a difficult time. It will be held at the Town Church on Thursday 7 December, and there will also be a one minute silence held at 12:00 on 8 December and 10 December. The bailiff, Sir Timothy Le Cocq said: "It seems hard to comprehend that a year has already passed since these incidents took place that so shocked the whole community. "At this time many families will understandably revisit that feeling of loss and sadness when recalling the last time they saw their loved ones in person." He added: "I hope the island service will allow us to come together to remember those who were lost in December 2022, and provide some reassurance to those affected that we as a community are with them in mind and spirit at this time". Anyone wishing to attend is requested to be seated by 17:45 (GMT). The service will be live-streamed via the Bailiff of Jersey social media channels. Follow BBC Jersey on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk. Baptist Health South Florida and Florida International Universitys medical school are now clinical and academic partners with plans to improve patient care, increase medical research and address healthcare worker shortages in South Florida. The collaboration will transform healthcare delivery in South Florida, Baptist Health President and CEO Bo Boulenger told the Miami Herald on Tuesday following a signing ceremony with FIU President Kenneth Jessell and Juan Cendan, the dean of FIUs medical school, in the courtyard of the Miami Cancer Institute in Kendall. The affiliation puts Baptist Health, South Floridas largest not-for-profit healthcare system, on track to become the teaching hospital for FIUs Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. Jackson Health System, Miami-Dades public hospital system, serves as the teaching hospital for the University of Miami. Juan Cendan, Dean of the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine at FIU, left; Kenneth Jessell, FIU president, center; and Bo Boulenger, CEO of Baptist Health South Florida, sign papers during a ceremony for the clinical and academic partnership between Baptist Health and Florida International University on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, at Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute. What it means for patients and students Baptist and FIU leaders say the partnership, described as a marriage, will give patients more access to medical professionals, facilities and clinical trials. Baptist conducts about 500 research studies. Boulenger expects the hospital systems research capabilities to double or triple with the new FIU collaboration. FIU students in the Wertheim medical school and in other FIU health programs such as nursing will also get more research and training opportunities. Baptist plans to start 22 new residency programs with FIU and also hopes to open a new clinical site at FIUs main campus on Southwest Eighth Street in West Miami-Dade. Baptist will need to go through the process to be recognized as a teaching hospital. Cendan, who serves as the dean of FIUs medical school and as senior vice president for health affairs, said the partnership will help the school streamline the residency training for its students to reduce redundancies and improve their medical education. The residency programs are expected to begin as early as 2025. If you look at the best healthcare, the best highly ranked healthcare systems in the country, all of them are associated with medical schools, Cendan told the Miami Herald, noting that residency programs can help lead to better care for patients. Baptist and FIU officials also believe the new residency programs will encourage students to stay and work in South Florida after they graduate, which could help lessen the strain on hospital systems across the region amid the countrys healthcare worker shortages, including doctors and nurses. Student reactions Alex Sutton, the president of FIUs Student Government Association, said the medical school has various mechanisms in place, including boards and committees, to ensure student voices are represented as the partnership unfolds. Because plans for the partnership was initially announced in April during an FIU Board of Trustees meeting, students have been actively seeking out relationships, partnerships with Baptist Health and trying to build those bridges right now because they are really excited, Sutton said. I think everybody knows, especially including our students, that this is going to take our medical school to the next level. The challenge Herbert Wertheim, inventor and philanthropist that the FIU medical college is named after, speaks during a signing ceremony for the clinical and academic partnership between Baptist Health and Florida International University on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, at Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute. Herbert Wertheim, the optometric physician and philanthropist whose name is on FIUs medical school, also gave Baptist and FIU a challenge during his speech at Tuesdays ceremony: to make South Florida and the rest of the state a blue zone, areas that have a large number of healthy people who live to more than 100. He said this partnership, along with other institutions such as the University of Floridas College of Medicine, can work together to make Florida the No. 1 blue zone in the United States. Weve got the research potential, weve got the medical facilities, he said, and weve got the will to do it. . READ NEXT: Want to live to 100 or older? Experts in Miami suggest taking these five steps now Miami Herald staff writer Jimena Tavel contributed to this report. This article will be updated. China's central bank on Monday said it will continue to enhance financial support for private enterprises and work to lower their comprehensive financing costs. In the next stage, more monetary policy support will be tilted towards private micro and small companies, the People's Bank of China said in its latest monetary policy report for the third quarter. The report said that positive results have been achieved through measures such as encouraging commercial banks to issue special financial bonds for micro and small firms, and supporting the financing of private micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the supply chain. By the end of September, China's inclusive loan support facility had provided incentive funds of 52.6 billion yuan (about 7.4 billion U.S. dollars) for micro and small companies, up 25.1 billion yuan from the beginning of the year, the report said. The outstanding loans to small and medium-sized sci-tech enterprises came in at 2.4 trillion yuan by end-September, up 22.6 percent year on year. The report also pledged to make systematic arrangements in terms of financial support for the private sector, among other measures, to ensure that financial support for the private economy aligns with the contribution of the private economy to the country's economic and social development. Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican former president Donald Trump look set for a rematch in 2024 (Sergio FLORES) Could Donald Trump make a comeback? Will anyone in Russia challenge another six years for Vladimir Putin? With half the world heading to the polls in 2024, and some 30 countries electing a president, here are five key elections to watch: - Trump-Biden rematch? - On November 5, tens of millions of Americans will choose the 60th president of the United States in a contest which could keep incumbent Joe Biden in power until the age of 86. Poll after poll shows that a majority of voters think the gaffe-prone Democrat is too old to be commander-in-chief, despite his likely rival, ex-president Donald Trump making similar slip-ups at 77. Disinformation looks set to be a feature of the campaign, a hangover from the last foul-tempered contest which ended with Trump supporters storming the US Capitol to try to halt the certification of Biden's victory. Trump goes into the Republican party nomination contest the standout favourite, despite multiple criminal trials hanging over him. - Putin eyes six more years - Vladimir Putin has been Russia's leader for the past 23 years. In 2020 he had the constitution amended to allow him to theoretically stay in power until 2036, which could potentially see him rule for longer than Joseph Stalin. With the war in Ukraine used to lock up or silence dissenters and opponents, there is little chance of anyone standing in the way of him securing another six years in the March election if, as expected, he decides to run. His long-time nemesis Alexei Navalny is serving a 19-year sentence in a harsh penal colony. Another potential challenger, Ukraine war veteran and nationalist blogger Igor Girkin, has announced his intention to run but he is locked up too, for an indefinite period. - Modi's great power play - Nearly one billion Indians will be called on to vote in April-May when the world's most populous nation goes to the polls in an election in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his nationalist BJP party are seeking a third term. Modi's political career and success have been based on support from India's one-billion-plus Hindus and, critics say, stoking enmity toward the country's large Muslim minority. Despite a crackdown on civil liberties on his watch, he goes into the vote the clear favourite, with his supporters crediting him with boosting his country's standing on the global stage. India in August became just the fourth nation to land an unmanned craft on the Moon after Russia, the US and China, and plans to send a man to the Moon by 2040. - EU test for populists - The world's largest transnational election in June will see more than 400 million eligible voters from 27 European Union countries pick 720 European Parliament members that decide on issues ranging from mobile phone roaming charges to the privacy of online data. The vote will be a test of support for right-wing populists, who have the wind in their sails after the victory of Geert Wilders' anti-Islam, anti-EU PVV Freedom Party in recent Dutch elections and last year's win for Giorgia Meloni's far-right Brothers of Italy. Hailing Wilders' win, French far-right National Rally MEP Jordan Bardella wrote on Facebook: "Bring on June 2024!" - First Mexican woman president? - A leftist former mayor of the capital and a businesswoman with Indigenous roots are both vying to make history in Mexico in June by becoming the first woman president of a country with a tradition of machismo. Former Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum is running on behalf of outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's Morena party. Her outspoken opponent Xochitl Galvez has been selected to represent an opposition coalition, the Broad Front for Mexico. A young governor from Nuevo Leon state, Samuel Garcia, also recently joined the race. Early polls show Sheinbaum enjoying a strong lead. eab/jmy-cb/pvh/ssy The battle over election maps in states including New York, Wisconsin and Alabama are set to play a pivotal role in the 2024 election. A redistricting lawsuit in New York could ultimately see the creation of a whole new congressional map, while states such as Alabama and Louisiana have been focal points over battles for establishing additional majority-Black congressional districts. Meanwhile, Wisconsin could see its entire state Legislature map redrawn, depending on how the state Supreme Court rules in a high-profile redistricting case, which could have ramifications on GOP dominance over the state Capitol. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. Here are five redistricting cases that will impact 2024: New York Democrats are seeking to have a bipartisan commission redraw the states congressional maps after attempts to draw more favorable lines for the party were botched last cycle, costing them critical seats in the House. Democrats want the Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) to create new House maps; the legal challenge comes after the IRC sought to offer several proposals for new congressional lines last year. The state Legislature ultimately created its own congressional map after the IRC deadlocked on offering a second proposal. But the congressional lines offered by the Democratic-controlled state Legislature were tossed out by the state Court of Appeals, and a court-appointed special master ultimately created the House map that would be used in the November midterms. The special masters map created several awkward member-on-member primaries, including in New Yorks 12th Congressional District, between then-Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.). Then-Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.) was forced to run in the 10th Congressional District after then-Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), who served as the chair of House Democrats campaign arm, decided to run in the 17th Congressional District. All three Democrats lost their respective House battles in November, and Republicans flipped a handful of seats in the Empire State to help deliver a narrow GOP majority in the House. The state Court of Appeals heard arguments over Democrats lawsuit for a new House map earlier this month, and a decision is likely to come by the end of the year, according to Spectrum News 1. Wisconsin The state Supreme Court heard arguments last week in a case over the fate of Wisconsins state legislative maps. A group of Democratic voters filed a lawsuit in early August challenging the maps as unconstitutional. The lawsuit alleges that the maps violate the state constitution because 55 Assembly districts and 21 state Senate districts are noncontiguous, meaning theres pockets of land that are not jointly connected to the rest of their respective districts. Republicans currently enjoy a 22-11 majority in the state Senate and 64-35 majority in the Assembly, but the potential redrawing of the entire state legislative map could impact Republicans grip in the state Capitol in a key swing state. But the lawsuit has notably gained much attention given the high courts new 4-3 liberal majority, after liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz won her election for a vacant seat on the high court earlier this year. During a candidate forum before the judicial elections, she called the states maps rigged; Republicans mulled impeaching the liberal justice if she didnt recuse herself from the redistricting case, but several former justices on the states high court have advised against pursuing impeachment against her. North Carolina Republicans in the Tar Heel State scored their first win last November when they flipped the Democratic majority on the state Supreme Court. The previous liberal majority had tossed out congressional lines submitted by the GOP-controlled state Legislature, calling them unlawful partisan gerrymanders. Court-appointed special masters created a House map in place for the November midterms instead that included districts currently held by seven House Republicans and seven House Democrats. But the states high court reheard the case after the state Supreme Court flipped to a conservative majority, ultimately reversing course on its prior decision over the states election maps. Following that decision, Republicans in the state Legislature passed new congressional maps that give the GOP an advantage in 10 House districts, with three Democratic-leaning districts and one district thats a toss-up. Those new congressional lines are likely to act as a buffer to any Democratic gains in states such as New York, or in southern states including Alabama or Louisiana, where Democrats are looking to pick up another majority Black district. Alabama The Supreme Court surprised many in June, given its conservative makeup, when it ruled that Alabamas congressional map likely violated the Voting Rights Act. The high court ruled in the summer that the state needed to create a second district that was majority Black or nearly so, given that 27 percent of the states population is Black, but the state only includes one majority-Black congressional district. Alabama flouted that requirement, however, by keeping its majority-Black district while creating the 2nd Congressional District with only a marginally higher percentage of Black voters a map that was ultimately tossed by a three-judge panel in September. Instead, a court-appointed special master offered three different maps for a panel of federal judges to pick from instead. Early last month, that court picked a version that includes the majority-Black district and brings a second congressional district to 48.7 percent of the Black voting age population. The chosen map is seen as a win for Democrats, offering them a one-seat pickup opportunity in a Southern state at a time when Republicans only narrowly control the House, though The Associated Press noted that the state is expected to continue its litigation over the maps. Louisiana The issue of fair representation of the states Black voting bloc has also been a focal point in Louisiana. Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) vetoed the GOP-controlled state Legislatures congressional maps in March 2022, arguing in a statement at the time that it does not meet the standards set forth in the federal Voting Rights Act. The state Legislature overrode the governors veto, however, spurring a lawsuit over the maps. A federal judge in June of that year ruled that Plaintiffs are substantially likely to prevail on the merits of their claims brought under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and pushed for a second majority Black district to be established. The Supreme Court revived that map ahead of the November midterms and paused the decision on an order from the federal judge to create a second majority-Black district, as a separate case in Alabama played out. The Supreme Court later remanded the case back to 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, after separately ruling that Alabamas maps likely violated the Voting Rights Act. The federal appeals court noted earlier this month that the state Legislature needed to create a new map by mid-January, though it comes as Edwards, a Democrat, is set to leave office and will be succeeded by Republican Gov.-elect Jeff Landry. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The Al Wall Dome inside Expo City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Monday, November 27, 2023. Representatives will gather at the venue from November 30 to December 12 for the 28th UN Climate Change Conference, known as Cop28 (AP) The Cop28 climate summit kicks off in Dubai on Thursday. Heres some key issues to look out for during the annual two-week UN convention on climate change, the biggest event of the year to tackle the climate crisis. TAKING STOCK Cop28 will see the first stocktake since the Paris Agreement eight years ago where countries take an inventory of their collective progress in cutting emissions to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius (C) this century. But we are far from zero. A recent assessment found that current emissions-reduction efforts leave the world facing 3C temperature rise by 2100 a heat bomb that could trigger irreversible tipping points, more catastrophic weather, and sea-level rise. To get back on track, transformational shifts are needed to peak greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 at the latest, and cut them by 43 per cent in the next six years. Deforestation must also be reversed and $450bn in oil and gas subsidies halted. It means that every climate summit this decade is critical and the pressure is on Cop28 host, the United Arab Emirates, to deliver meaningful progress in the right direction. This may seem a counterintuitive demand of the UAE, a country built on oil. Cop28 is already steeped in controversy over the influence of the fossil fuel industry on the event. And this was before the BBC and the investigative Centre for Climate Reporting revealed on Monday that the UAE planned to use its role as Cop28 host to strike oil and gas deals. ( The documents referred to in the BBC article are inaccurate and were not used by COP28 in meetings. It is extremely disappointing to see the BBC use unverified documents in their reporting, a Cop28 spokesperson told The Independent.) Yet Cop28 president, Sultan Al Jaber, who also heads the state oil company Adnoc, has been resolute that the conference will be a success and promises to move the climate fight from rhetoric to real results. Among the outcomes that UAE is pushing for at Cop28 is tripling renewables by 2030, and doubling energy efficiency. The Cop president is also calling on oil companies to accelerate the decarbonization of their operations but not necessarily stop producing the products responsible for most emissions. Cop28 president Sultan al-Jaber, who is also CEO of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, pictured in February 2023 (AP) DOWN, OR OUT, ON FOSSIL FUELS? Rapidly cutting fossil fuels is essential to any hope of remaining at the 1.5C target. A large number of countries, including the EU and small island states, scientists and civil society groups, are pushing for this Cop to finally include a call for fossil fuel phase out in its final communique an unambiguous, top-down signal to broader society on what needs to happen. But expect this phrase, along with phase down of fossils and a host of other combinations, to cause fraught discussions (and possibly tears) when the summit comes down to the wire. India has backtracked on calling for a fossil fuel phase out since Cop27, while China calls it unrealistic. During a recent briefing with the US State Department, a spokesperson declined to state a position. This year is expected to be declared the hottest ever in recorded history. If ever there was a moment for a UN summit to respond to the signals the climate is sending us, this is it, said Mohamed Adow, Director at Power Shift Africa, in an email. As emissions continue to rise, and suffering by those that have done the least to cause the crisis worsens around the world, this COP needs to be the moment we set a date for the phase out of fossil fuels. It seems perverse to be holding a climate summit in one of the worlds biggest oil producers, but what more fitting place to call time on the fossil fuel era that has caused this climate catastrophe and prepare the way for a future powered by renewables." MONEY, MONEY, MONEY Big gaps in finance, and the aura of distrust between rich and poor countries, will once again be a major issue at Cop. In 2009, developed countries committed to providing $100bn per year by 2020 to help developing countries take climate action. This goal was met in 2022, according to the OECD, but there is a lack of concrete data and calls for more transparency are growing. The Loss and Damage Fund a hard-won success of Cop27 last year is expected to be made operational in Dubai. The fund, to compensate poor countries for irrevocable climate change losses which they did little to cause, is being hosted by the World Bank for the time being, and has a floor of $150bn per year. At Cop28, its expected that pledges may reach the $500m mark and include donations from the EU , Denmark and the UAE. John Kerry said the US will contribute several million dollars to the fund despite nixing that suggestion earlier this year. President Joe Biden and China's President Xi Jinping walk in the gardens at the Filoli Estate in Woodside, California on November 15, 2023, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperative conference (New York Times) US-CHINA INFLUENCE The recent meeting between the US and China the worlds largest carbon polluters has created optimism ahead of the conference. Despite tensions on many fronts, the two superpowers signed an agreement earlier this month saying they would work together on climate, and in particular, pledged to increase methane cuts. Though carbon dioxide grabs more headlines, methane, which leaks from oil and gas operations, landfills and livestock, is a major problem. It traps more than 80 times the heat of CO2 over a 20-year time period so cutting it is one of the quickest ways to prevent more warming. There are no concrete promises in this pledge. However, Gina McCarthy, a former White House national climate advisor, said at a briefing last week that the importance of the US and China meeting face-to-face after several tense years shouldnt be underestimated when it comes to provoking others to join them in more ambitious climate action. While neither US President Joe Biden or Chinese leader Xi Jinping are attending Cop28, their longtime climate envoys, John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua, will pick up the baton on the ground in Dubai. CONFLICTS AT COP Climate summits are microcosms of the world at large, and what happens inside the Cop bubble over two weeks will reflect broader geopolitics. To that end, the explosion of the Israel-Hamas war last month is likely to impact climate progress. For example, Jordanian Foreign Minister recently told Al Jazeera that Jordan will no longer sign a deal providing energy to Israel in exchange for water. Can you imagine a Jordanian minister sitting next to an Israeli minister to sign a water and electricity agreement, all while Israel continues to kill children in Gaza? said Minister Ayman Safadi. The Middle East conflict is also expected to further destabilize the global energy market as the war in Ukraine enters a second, hard winter. The Russian invasion now also appears to be impacting the future of international climate talks. Eastern Europe was scheduled to host Cop29 but UN officials have been unable to announce a location as Russia is refusing to allow the summit to be held in an EU country and tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia means that they are blocking each others bids. Crews were called to a fire in Bloomfield Tuesday morning right near Childrens Hospital. The fire broke out around 3:41 a.m. at 4204 Penn Avenue. The fire chief told Channel 11 that flames were shooting out of the third-floor window above Pittsburgh Eye Associates when firefighters got there. They said they were able to put out the fire quickly and that no one was inside at the time. Penn Avenue was closed at the time of the fire but has since reopened. No other information was immediately available. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW TRENDING NOW: Man found shot in Wilkinsburg home dies, police sayWhats behind unexpected charges on some PNC bank customer accountsDid you recently update your iPhone? Police are warning about a new feature VIDEO: State police searching for alleged driver of stolen car involved in hit-and-run in Butler County DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts I have just returned from an eight-day bender. Now, before you get the wrong idea, let me hasten to add it was a classy eight-day bender in the form of a bourbon-themed cruise aboard the American Countess riverboat. I was a passenger on the sleek paddlewheeler, the newest vessel in the American Queen line, with a capacity of 245. Departing from Louisville and destined for St. Louis, we cruised both the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, both of which boasted plenty of attractions, historical and otherwise. Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park in Hodgenville, Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in Owensboro, John James Audubon State Park in Henderson, National Quilt Museum in Paducah and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis were all stops on the itinerary. As remarkable as those places are, my primary reason for being there was for the bourbon, and it was the same for some of the other bourbon-loving guests who would be cruising with me. Louisville-based bourbon historian Michael Veach, a Bourbon Hall of Famer, was on board, as were two old friends from my New Orleans days. Dickie Brennan, owner of Dickie Brennans Bourbon House Restaurant and friend to Kentuckys distilling industry, was aboard. So was Regina Charboneau, American Queens culinary ambassador, who I first met during her days as chef at Monmouth Plantation in Natchez, Miss. Bourbon with a twist of history But it was bourbon that was the star of this cruise. From the Muths bourbon ball on my pillow the first night to the final Boulevardier (bourbon, Campari and sweet vermouth) cocktail in St. Louis, this was destined to be a week of indulging in Kentuckys favorite elixir. If you simply wanted to sip, the American Countesss resourceful bartenders came up with a bourbon drink of the day for passengers to enjoy in the Grand Lounge. The Boulevardier was one of the daily Bourbon cocktails offered on the boat If it was Wednesday, it was Brandenburg and a Peach Smash (bourbon, peach, brown sugar simple syrup, ginger beer and mint); if it was Thursday, it was Owensboro and the Due South (bourbon, pecan bitters, orange bitters, Southern Amaro); if it was Friday, it was Henderson and Bourbon Coffee Punch (bourbon, milk, heavy cream, coffee liqueur, dark rum, espresso, vanilla and sugar) ... well, you get the picture. However, if you wanted to learn something about the bourbon you were tasting and the bourbon country you were seeing, Veach was there to help. Louisville -based bourbon historian Michael Veach holds one of his onboard Bourbon lectures. During the cruise, Veach gave three lectures on the history of bourbon, and some of what he told us was eye-opening. Did you know Dr. James Crow apparently got his medical education not in an Edinburgh university (he didnt have enough money for tuition), but an Edinburgh pub (where he apparently did have enough money to buy medical students drinks in exchange for their daily lecture notes.) On-board whiskey tastings, cooking demos Emulating Dr. Crow, Veach offered those attending tastings of favorites such as Wild Turkey 101, Angels Envy, Old Forester and George Dickel No. 12 in exchange for their attention. On another day, chef Charboneau and Brennan invited passengers to the boats theater for a Biscuits and Bourbon cooking demo. American Queen culinary ambassador Regina Charboneau shows passenger Lydia Gregory how to make the perfect biscuit. The bourbon came courtesy of Brennan, who mixed a bourbon cocktail that is a best-seller at his New Orleans restaurant. Charboneau, once affectionately dubbed the Biscuit Queen of Natchez, demonstrated how to make the perfect biscuit. Her expertise will hopefully be of help to me in any future biscuit making endeavors to keep mine from looking like little blobs of misshapen play dough. She also signed copies of her book, Mississippi Currents: A Culinary Journey Down Americas Greatest River, which is a collection of river recipes. In her role as culinary ambassador for the American Queen line, Charboneau plans to introduce some of those dishes such as Louisville and Ohio River-inspired Shrimp and Red Eye Gravy and Hot Brown Canapes to the riverboat menus. Dishes such as the Hot Brown Canapes are meant to focus on the cuisine of the region. In between the lectures and demos, there was time for light-hearted fun in the form of Bourbon Trivia and Is it the Bourbon Talking? a twist on the classic game Fact or Fiction. Bourbon excursions to distilleries, restaurants There were several opportunities for bourbon tasting on the shore excursions as well. In Owensboro, I opted for a tasting at Green River Distilling Co., which has a history dating back to 1885, making it one of the 10 oldest distilleries in the state. Green River Distillery I have to say that I was not familiar with Green River prior to this visit, but the distillery, now owned by Bardstown Bourbon Company, calls itself the Western Gateway to the Bourbon Trail. A post-distillery stop was to Old Hickory Barbecue. Owensboro claims the title Barbecue Capital of Kentucky, and while Moonlite gets most of the press, the brisket and creamy banana pudding at Old Hickory make it worth a stop. In Henderson, I had what turned out to be my favorite bourbon experience. At Hometown Roots Restaurant, which describes its cuisine as Southern comfort food, a group of us enjoyed samples of this southern comfort food, each dish paired with another kind of Southern comfort. We started with a deviled egg duo accompanied by a Peerless rye; followed that with pimento cheese fritters with red pepper bacon marmalade, whose spiciness was accentuated by a Woodford Reserve bourbon; and ended with roasted Brussels sprouts with country ham and jalapeno cornbread paired with a wheated bourbon from Green River. During the tasting, I learned that Peerless, now distilled in Louisville, actually got its start in Henderson in 1889, and that the first distillery in the Western Kentucky city since Peerless left will open in August of 2024. Popularity of bourbon driving the cruises If this sounds like a lot of bourbon for one boat, its because the demand is there. Demand from cruisers such as the gentleman from North Carolinas Outer Banks who has a fully stocked bourbon bar in his laundry room, and the lady whose statement T-shirt read, Some women are made of sugar and spice; others are made of bourbon and ice. Both said they specifically chose this cruise for its bourbon theme. A stop at Hometown Roots Cafe in Henderson for a food and bourbon pairing was an optional excursion for cruise passengers. That statement was not lost on Cindy Daoust, president of the American Queen line, who was also present during part of the cruise. She says the line is always on the lookout for ways to engage new cruisers and pique the interest of veteran cruisers. As our reputation is set on our unique destinations and outstanding cuisine, bourbon was a seamless fit and a natural highlight for this region, says Daoust. Kentuckys many distilleries offer no shortage of ways we may be able to expand this specialty offering as we look to recreate the voyage in coming years, she adds. The American Countess paddlewheeler How to book a bourbon cruise The line has already scheduled two bourbon-themed cruises for 2024: Memphis to Pittsburgh (June 8) and Louisville to St. Louis (July 13.) If you are looking to see America on her rivers rather than her roadways, and to drink her only native spirit to boot, best to book your passage early. For more information on American Queen voyages, go to aqvoyages.com. Bardstowns newest attraction? A bourbon academy that meets in a luxury penthouse. King of Kentucky bourbon returns. Details on how many bottles, where to buy and price Cooking out goes culinary: Kentucky chef wants to elevate your next campfire TAMPA, Fla. - Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody encouraged online shoppers to be cautious, not just on Cyber Monday, but during the entire holiday season. Speaking from the Florida Division of Law Enforcement's Tampa office, Moody urged Floridians to look out for criminals hoping to take advantage of unsuspecting shoppers. "We want shoppers to be on the lookout," Moody said during a news conference Monday. "Cyber Monday is one of the years busiest online shopping days. All the action this time of year creates a target-rich environment for cyber criminals trying to craft schemes to trick consumers and steal their money." WATCH: Hillsborough County deputies use GPS to locate missing 9-year-old with autism Economists predict retail sales during this holiday season will exceed $957 billion, with consumers expected to spend more than $11 billion on Cyber Monday alone. Scammers may use this excitement to prey on unsuspecting shoppers, Moody said. The attorney general discussed some of the most common cyber crimes, including one tactic known as "impersonation scams." In these scams, criminals will pose as representatives from a legitimate company to extort payment. "We receive complaints about impostors impersonating these large businesses like Amazon, like others," she said, explaining the scammers will often claim the shopper's account is suspended and the only way to regain access to the account is to send them money or gift cards." READ: Suspect arrested in double fatal stabbing that left 14-year-old girl, woman dead: Tampa police Moody said another scheme to watch out for is, what's known as, smishing scams. In these scams, a target may receive a text that appears to be from UPS or the United States Postal Service saying that a package cannot be delivered. The scammers hope that a potential victim will click on the link in the text to "claim" the package, providing personal and financial information. The attorney general's office is urging shoppers to follow these tips: Do not be rushed by a solicitorif someone calls and demands immediate action, take a second to investigate the callers claims Do not search online for banks' or merchants' phone numbers. Rather, download the companys official app after thoroughly reviewing it on the app store and find the customer service number on the appfraudsters set up fake webpages with phone numbers that go directly to scammers to entrap people searching online for a companys real contact number Never buy from an unknown company Do not provide personal or financial information to a solicitor over email, social media or the phone Know that no legitimate business or banking institution will call to demand payment to fix an account problem Never be ashamed to notify law enforcement right away in the event of falling for a scam. Attorney General Moody said her Cyber Fraud Enforcement Unit, which was created this year, is working to investigate similar schemes. The unit currently has more than 75 active investigations involving cryptocurrency, stolen identities, money laundering and more. The unit has recovered hundreds of thousands of dollars for victims of cyber crimes. Moody also suggests the following steps for Floridians who fall victim to fraud or identity theft: Secure Devices: Change passwords for all online accounts, especially for sensitive information. Preserve Evidence: Take screenshots or gather any relevant information that can serve as evidence. Report the Cybercrime: Contact local law enforcement, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Computer Crime Center and the -Federal Bureau of Investigations Internet Crime Complaint Center. Floridians can also submit an online complaint to Attorney General Moodys Consumer Protection Division at MyFloridaLegal.com. Notify Financial Institutions: If the cybercrime involves unauthorized access to bank accounts or credit cards, contact a bank or credit card company immediately. Inform the organization of the incident and follow instructions to protect accounts and dispute any fraudulent charges. Update Security Measures: Ensure a computer, smartphone or other devices have up-to-date antivirus software, firewalls and security patches installed. Regularly update operating systems and software to address vulnerabilities. A man was arrested in Maryland on Monday for the deaths of a woman and a teenage girl who were found stabbed to death in Florida over the weekend. Jean Pierre Ojeda Salazar, 25, was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service, the Tampa Police Department said, Fox Tampa reported. He was found in Maryland a day after the double murder, authorities said. FLORIDA MAN CONFESSES TO MURDERING BROTHER, KICKS DETECTIVE: I JUST KILLED MY BROTHER An apartment complex in Tampa, Florida where a woman and teenage girl were stabbed to death over the weekend. On Sunday, officers responded to the 14000 block of Riveredge Drive and found a 14-year-old girl with multiple stab wounds. They also found the second victim, a 35-year-old woman, with similar injuries, according to TPD officials. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene, the teen was taken to a hospital where she later died. Salazar stabbed both victims after an argument with the woman, police said. He fled the apartment complex where the deaths occurred in a sedan, which was later found abandoned, authorities said. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP He was arrested on suspicion of multiple charges, including first-degree and second-degree murder. Salazar was taken to the Maryland County Correctional Facility and is awaiting extradition to Tampa. Original article source: Florida double murder suspect in fatal stabbings of woman, teen girl arrested in Maryland SARASOTA, Fla. - Theres a reason why passengers pick Sarasota Bradenton International Airport. For Lisa Cornette of Wisconsin, its all about convenience. "Smaller, closer to Anna Maria Island where we like to vacation," said Cornette. Not to mention, a majority of the waiting done here is only for your flight. "You can just go through the security and not wait in long lines," she said. After seeing a 300% increase in passengers within the last four years, airport leaders knew an expansion was needed. "This airport is on fire in terms of opportunities, so Im very excited to be a part of that," said Congressman Vern Buchanan. Congressman Vern Buchanan welcomed Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to take a look at a $100 million dollar terminal expansion project. A five-gate terminal with a four-lane security checkpoint with a room for 970 passengers is being built on site. READ: Woman on meth tries to open emergency exit door on plane after showing signs of anxiety It was funded by the bi-partisan infrastructure law. While it was a bi-partisan bill Congressman Buchanan and the Speaker did not vote for it, but applauded the expansion. "Our nations airports are certainly at the top of everyones minds this year. Of course, families across the country are traveling far and wide," said Speaker Johnson. Airport President and CEO Rick Piccollo said the airport contributes $3.2 million dollars to the community annually. "As the community grows the level of demand is there, its not I think, a matter of level of importance for anything more than customers are here, airlines are in the business of making money and this is a place where they can make money and the demand is just tremendous," he said. READ: Gulf Islands Ferry sets sail on maiden voyage in Manatee County The renovations will not only ease the growing pains, but will allow for future airlines and more destinations for passengers. "We are very pleased and certainly once thats completed we will see continued growth here. Growth continues," said Piccollo. Construction is expected to be finished by December 2024. NAPLES, Fla. (WFLA) A Florida man was arrested Sunday after stabbing a woman in an unprovoked attack at a Walgreens, according to deputies. An arrest document from the Collier County Sheriffs Office said at about 2:05 p.m., deputies were dispatched to a Walgreens on Airport Road South in Naples for a reported battery. Sheriff Grady Judd says officer in crash that killed 5-year-old is devastated According to investigators, a woman was heading back to her car when she spotted Kenneth Bryan, 34, of Naples following her out of her peripheral vision. The woman tried to walk faster to get to her car, but before she could get to safety, Bryan grabbed her and stabbed her twice in the back with a 5-inch serrated knife, deputies said. At the time, the victim initially thought the suspect was punching her. A Walgreens employee who witnessed the attack then called for help. When deputies arrived, Bryan told them he stabbed a woman. I asked him why he did that, the deputy who wrote the report said. Kenneth stated, Because I wanted to. The victim survived the attack and was treated at the scene, but deputies said she refused to be taken to a hospital. According to the sheriffs office, the weapon was broken into two pieces. Bryan was arrested on a charge of aggravated battery. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. MIAMI, Fla. (WFLA) A Miami woman was arrested after hitting her son with her car while attempting to strike two other children, according to police. According to an arrest report obtained by NBC affiliate WTVJ, Quantavia Miltanise Samuel, 33, was arrested on Monday and charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Florida man follows, repeatedly stabs woman walking in Walgreens parking lot: deputies Samuel told police her son called to tell her he was being jumped and one of the attackers was armed with a handgun. She climbed into her Toyota Rav4, according to the arrest report, and drove over to the fight. Her son told police the other juveniles ran off after Samuel struck him with her SUV. She followed them to their home, according to police, but the altercation ended there. Police were later called to Samuels home after the son complained of leg and hip pain. He was taken to a Miami hospital for treatment. When police questioned Samuel, she said she intended to hit the children who were fighting her son, according to WTVJ. When asked how she managed to strike her son with the vehicle, the defendant stated I was trying to get them off my son, the arrest report stated. According to a Miami police spokesperson, it appears no gun was involved in the altercation. She wanted to hit these two kids, Michael Vega told WTVJ. This is what we say all the time, if theres a problem like this, the correct thing would have been that she call the police and then she can respond, which if we would have been there, we would have prevented this. The Department of Children and Families was also called to investigate the incident. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. You are here: China A staff member explains medical insurance policies to a resident at a hospital in Sanming, Fujian Province, Nov. 18, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua] China's basic medical insurance funds, including maternity insurance, saw a total revenue of around 2.62 trillion yuan (around 368.2 billion U.S. dollars) from January to October, data from the National Healthcare Security Administration showed. The revenue for basic medical insurance funds for urban employees, including maternity insurance, stood at 1.85 trillion yuan. The revenue for basic medical insurance funds for rural and non-working urban residents was around 768.36 billion yuan. The expenditure for the basic medical insurance funds reached 2.25 trillion yuan in the first ten months of this year, according to data. A Florida pest control and lawn care worker has been arrested after allegedly exposing himself to two different women on two separate occasions, according to authorities. The Polk County Sheriffs Office said 27-year-old Tyler Mountain of Lake Whales, Florida was arrested and charged with lewd exhibition and lewd exhibition to an elderly person, for incidents stemming back to July and October. Detectives launched an investigation on Oct. 26, 2023, after a 76-year-old woman told the sheriffs office that an employee of a local pest control and lawn services company exposed himself to her while he was inside her home. FLORIDA MAN CONFESSES TO MURDERING BROTHER, KICKS DETECTIVE: I JUST KILLED MY BROTHER The woman said the man, later identified as Mountain, was inside, so he could provide an estimate for pest control services. But when he stepped out of her bathroom, she told investigators, Mountain allegedly had his privates out and asked for help because his zipper was broken. The woman refused. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP Detectives reached out to the company Mountain worked for and were told by a regional manager that Mountains employment had been terminated after learning of the complaint. FLORIDA DEPUTIES DISCOVER DEAD MAN IN CAR TRUNK, SUSPECT WITH SELF-INFLICTED GUNSHOT WOUND Polk County, Florida Sheriff's Office The manager also told the detective it was the second such complaint the company had received about Mountain. The suspect was arrested on Nov. 22 for the October incident, but according to the sheriffs office, the victim of a previous incident in Haines City was not available for detectives to speak with her about the matter. When she returned, a detective met with the victim and learned Mountain was at her home on July 24, 2023, to perform lawn maintenance. While there, he allegedly exposed himself and, like the other incident, claimed his zipper was broken. WANTED FLORIDA WOMAN ON PROBATION FOR SELLING FENTANYL FOUND HIDING INSIDE COUCH, SHERIFF SAYS Four people have been found dead at a home in northwest Harris County, Texas. Detectives arrested Mountain on Nov. 25 for the allegations stemming from July. "This man used his work position to gain access to the homes of these women, and then sexually exposed himself this behavior is disgusting and predatory," Sheriff Grady Judd said. "We believe its possible that more victims of this man could be out there, and if thats the case, we want them to come forward." The investigations into both matters are ongoing. Detectives ask anyone with information regarding similar actions by Mountain to contact the sheriffs office at 863-298-6200. Original article source: Florida pest control worker arrested for 'disgusting' act toward women, including 76-year-old: authorities A Florida principal and other staffers were reassigned to non-school sites this week as county officials probe how a transgender player allegedly featured for the girls volleyball team at Monarch High School, sources told WTVJ. A statement from a school district spokesperson in Broward County said the schools principal, James Cecil, was reassigned due to allegations of improper student participation in sports, but didnt divulge more details. In Florida, its illegal for transgender athletes to play on teams not designated for their biological gender, just as its illegal for transgender people to use a restroom different from their gender at birth. In a statement, school board member Torey Alston insinuated the countys probe is to determine if Florida law was broken. The investigation will follow the facts and if it is revealed that state law is in question, I could tell you, we will follow state law, he said. An online bio for Cecil says hes worked in the school district for more than 25 years. Read it at WTVJ Read more at The Daily Beast. Florida woman allegedly stabs boyfriend in eye with rabies needles for looking at other women A Florida woman is behind bars after she allegedly stabbed her boyfriend with rabies needles because he was looking at other women. Sandra Jimenez, 44, was charged with aggravated battery in connection with a Saturday incident at a home shared with her boyfriend, according to a Miami-Dade Police Department arrest affidavit seen by FOX 35 Orlando. Officers responded to a hospital following a report of a man who was stabbed in the eye with a needle. The victim told police that Jimenez used their dogs' rabies needles to pierce his right eyelid during an argument about him "looking at other women," the affidavit read. FLORIDA PEST CONTROL WORKER ARRESTED FOR DISGUSTING ACT TOWARD WOMEN, INCLUDING 76-YEAR-OLD: AUTHORITIES Jimenez allegedly jumped on her boyfriend of eight years while he was lying on the couch and stabbed him with the needles before leaving their home when she "realized what she had done." The victim called 911 and was rushed to a hospital, where he spoke with officers about the attack. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP FLORIDA MAN CONFESSES TO MURDERING BROTHER, KICKS DETECTIVE: I JUST KILLED MY BROTHER Jimenez was arrested for the alleged attack and booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on $7,500 bond. Police later found Jimenez sleeping in her car outside the home and arrested her, the affidavit said. Jimenez claimed that her boyfriend's injuries were "self-inflicted" when she was questioned by police about the alleged attack. She is in custody at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on $7,500 bond, according to arrest records. Original article source: Florida woman allegedly stabs boyfriend in eye with rabies needles for looking at other women Sign up for the Enquirer Daily Briefing at bit.ly/dailybriefingsignup. Its no secret that forever chemicals show up in drinking water, but not all drinking water is the same. Youll likely find more of the industrial pollutants in a glass of tap water in Indian Hill than in Colerain Township, and more in Colerain Township than in Cincinnati. Im Dan Horn and I went through the latest data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to find out where forever chemicals are most common in Greater Cincinnati, and why some communities have a bigger problem than others. Click or tap here to learn more. What else you need to know Tuesday, Nov. 28 Weather: High of 31. Partly sunny, brisk and cold. Luciano Acosta: FC Cincinnati star named 2023 MLS Landon Donovan MVP. When will it snow? What to know about Greater Cincinnati's winter forecast. "The Pike County Murders: A Family Massacre" New docuseries examines murders. Here's how to watch. Hellooo! 'Mrs. Doubtfire' musical coming to Cincinnati. Here's how to get tickets. New here? Subscribe to the Daily Briefing today Today's Top Stories Xavier Musketeers forward Abou Ousmane (24) feels the pressure from Oakland Golden Grizzlies forward Chris Conway (2) and Oakland Golden Grizzlies guard DQ Cole (10) during the first half Monday, November 27, 2023 at the Cintas Center. The Musketeers lost 76-78. Xavier basketball stunned at home in loss to Oakland Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow speaks to the media about his season-ending wrist injury at Paycor Stadium Friday, November 17, 2023. See what Cincinnati Bengals had to say about Joe Burrow's wrist surgery Miray's MV Gemini ship. Cincinnati woman sold home, paid $32K to board 3-year cruise. Now it's canceled The 2024 class of Great Living Cincinnatians, clockwise from top left: Sally Duffy, Donna Salyers, John Barrett and Dolores Hargrove Young. Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber announces 2024 Great Living Cincinnatians July 10, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA; The Ohio Statehouse in downtown Columbus. Mandatory Credit: Doral Chenoweth-The Columbus Dispatch Statehouse maps cleared for 2024 use after Ohio Supreme Court dismisses lawsuits This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Forever chemicals in drinking water, Acosta MVP | Daily Briefing COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) A former executive with a Columbus-based insurance company pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $10.2 million and spending the money on a yacht, plastic surgery, and other luxuries. Brinson Caleb Silver, 43, of Culver City, California, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of contempt of court and has agreed to pay more than $10.2 million in restitution. Ohio Supreme Court dismisses legal challenges to new legislative maps Silver worked as the chief marketing officer for Root, Inc., an online insurance company headquartered in Downtown Columbus. According to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Ohio, Silver entered into four separate marketing contracts between November 2021 and November 2022 and agreed to four marketing services contracts with four different vendors. He then directed the vendors to send part of their proceeds to bank accounts controlled by Silver. The U.S. Attorneys Office said Silver used the money to buy a $1.4 million yacht, a $165,000 Mercedes-Benz G550, an amphibious plane, luxury watches, and more. Root sued Silver in February 2023, with the court limiting Silvers financial transactions to no more than $5,000. Silver failed to appear for a hearing in the civil case, instead traveling the world, the attorneys office said. OCharleys abruptly closes pair of Columbus restaurants Between February and March of 2023, Silver allegedly spent more than $20,000 on plastic surgery and made phone calls to an international relocation company asking for citizenship in a country that would not extradite him back to the U.S. and a foreign bank account the U.S. could not freeze. He also allegedly spent more than $25,000 with businesses in Indonesia including $8,000 at a Bali resort. Silver was arrested in June 2023. In addition to restitution, he faces between 24 and 51 months in prison. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV. Former first lady Rosalynn Carter was remembered Tuesday at a tribute service attended by her husband, former President Jimmy Carter, as well as by President Joe Biden and numerous current and former politicians and first ladies. The service was held at Glenn Memorial Church on the campus of Emory University in Atlanta. Rosalynn Carter died Nov. 19 at age 96 in Plains, Georgia. Just before the service began, former President Carter was wheeled into the church in a wheelchair and positioned in the front pews. The Carters' four children sat on each side of their father. The others in the front row included Biden, first lady Jill Biden, former President Bill Clinton and other former first ladies: Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, Laura Bush and Melania Trump. Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, sat behind them in the second row. They all joined the Bidens in their motorcade except Melania Trump. Other attendees who joined the Biden motorcade included Sens. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., and Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, as well as Lynda Bird Johnson Robb, the daughter of the late President Lyndon Johnson, and her husband, former Sen. Chuck Robb, D-Va. The Carters' second-eldest son, James Earl "Chip" Carter, spoke in his eulogy about how his mother cared deeply for people who needed help. "She told me that her adventures had led her to more than 120 countries. She had been fly fishing all over the world. She had met kings and queens, presidents, others of authority, powerful corporate leaders and celebrities," he said at the service. "She said the people that she felt the most comfortable with and the people she enjoyed being with the most were those that lived in absolute abject poverty, the ones without adequate housing, without a proper diet." He credited his mother with saving his life and getting him into rehab for drug and alcohol addiction. He kissed the casket after he finished his eulogy. Longtime journalist Judy Woodruff delivered another eulogy, speaking about covering the Carters as a young reporter. She noted that Rosalynn Carter decided to participate in White House Cabinet meetings as first lady and that she was integral to the decision to host the negotiations for the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland. "Without Rosalynn Carter, I don't believe there would have been a President Carter," Woodruff said. The president, the first lady, the vice president and her husband participated in a private meet-and-greet with members of the Carter family before the service at Glenn School for Young Children, the White House said. Jason Carter, a grandson of the Carters and a former Georgia state senator, shared many funny stories about his grandmother in his eulogy. He also welcomed all of the current and former first ladies, saying: "Thank you all for coming and acknowledging this remarkable sisterhood that you share with my grandmother. And thank you all for your leadership that you provided for our country and the world." "Secretary Clinton, Dr. Biden, we also welcome your lovely husbands," he joked, causing Presidents Clinton and Biden to chuckle. On Monday, the first day of services, the former first lady lay in repose at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta. A private funeral service is scheduled for Wednesday in Plains. "The president and the first lady certainly look forward to being there and to ... offering their condolences," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at Monday's briefing. She said the president would not be delivering remarks at the service. Former President Jimmy Carter and former first lady Rosalynn Carter with President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden at Carter's home in Plains, Ga. (Adam Schultz / The White House via AP file) The service included musical performances by Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood and members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Rosalynn Carter spent much of her life advocating for mental health care. In 1987, she founded the Institute for Caregivers, building on her "belief that everyone is a caregiver now, has been a caregiver, or will either be or need a caregiver in the future," according to the organization's website. An attendee holds a program prior to a tribute service for former first lady Rosalynn Carter at Glenn Memorial Church in Atlanta on Nov. 28, 2023. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP - Getty Images) Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished, Jimmy Carter said in a statement Nov. 19. She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Former President Carter is expected to attend a tribute service for his late wife, Rosalynn Carter, on Tuesday in Georgia his first public appearance since September when the couple attended the Plains Peanut Festival parade. The Carter Center confirmed to The Hill that the former president will travel to Atlanta for the service at the Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church at Emory University. Rosalynn Carter died earlier this month at age 96 at her home in Plains, Ga., about two days after she entered hospice care. She was diagnosed with dementia in March, shortly after her husband entered hospice care following a series of hospital stays. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. The Carters were married for 77 years, the longest of any president and first lady. Several high-profile guests are also expected to attend the service, including President Biden and first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff, along with former first ladies Melania Trump, Michelle Obama and Laura Bush. The event is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. EST. Watch the video above. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Professor Steve Tsang, Director of the SOAS China Institute, during his intervention at the Margaret Thatcher Conference on China and Britain at Guildhall - SOPA Images Limited / Alamy Stock Photo British academics have been censored by Chinese Communist Party officials in a bid to increase the regimes influence in the west, it has been claimed. Among those the Chinese are accused of trying to muzzle was the former head of Chinese studies at Nottingham University and the work of the universitys campus in China. The claims, which the Chinese government has denied, raise disturbing questions about the influence exerted by Beijing on British education institutions. University management asked not to speak to media Professor Steve Tsang, former head of Nottinghams School of Contemporary Chinese Studies, has claimed that university management asked him not to speak to the media during President Xi Jinpings visit to the UK in 2015, for fear his comments would cause embarrassment to the institution. The academic, known as a critic of the Chinese Communist Party, said that the previous year he had invited a senior Taiwanese politician to speak on campus, but was ordered by a senior University manager to hold the speech elsewhere. Professor Tsang told Channel 4s Dispatches, broadcast on Wednesday: He [the university manager] said he was summoned - the word summoned was used by him. He was summoned by the Chinese embassy in London. And he was told in no uncertain terms that that speaker cannot speak on campus. In a separate incident Stephen Morgan, former associate provost for planning at the Universitys campus in Ningbo, China, claims that books and articles at the campus were censored by local Chinese officials and students were encouraged by the party to spy on their teachers. Completely unacceptable Professor Morgan, who says he was forced to step down from his position after he wrote a blog critical of Xi Jinpings constitutional changes, said: It was seen by the party secretary as completely unacceptable. He more or less barged into the provosts office quite angry and said, You are condoning illegal actions. What was illegal? Being critical? Thats what Western academics are about. There are also claims that an academic at Imperial College in London wrote a series of papers with researchers at Shanghai University on the use of AI to control drone ships. Experts told Dispatches that the papers, written by Professor Yike Guo, an expert on artificial intelligence and big data who founded Imperials Data Science Institute, could be used by Beijing to increase its influence around the globe. Charles Parton, a former Foreign Office diplomat and China specialist, told Dispatches: Its quite extraordinary academics like that can contribute to military advancement of a power that is already hostile to us. Imperial College is part of the UK fabric. Its part funded by the UK government. You have to have some sense of responsibility. He added: Given that JARI produces an awful lot of military equipment, and boasts so in its publicity, I find it desperately concerning. No suggestion Professor Guo has broken the law There is no suggestion that Professor Guo or Imperial College have broken the law. The University of Nottingham said: We do not recognise the descriptions of the University of Nottingham Ningbo China campus. Any UK institution operating overseas must observe the laws and customs of the host country. The University of Nottingham is committed to supporting and promoting academic freedom and ensures open research and freedom of speech. It added that ...the closure of the School of Contemporary Chinese Studies was based on this school no longer being financially sustainable. Professor Guo said his papers were basic, open, peer reviewed research which were written to help expand our existing base of scientific or technological knowledge rather than immediately solve specific real-world problems. He added: The papers include viewpoints that can benefit societies worldwide. Imperial College said that staff have clear research codes, adding: We regularly review our policies in line with evolving Government guidance and legislation, working closely with the appropriate Government departments, and in line with our commitments to UK national security. Partnerships and collaborations at Imperial are subject to due diligence and are regularly reviewed. The Chinese Embassy in London rejected the claims as aimed at discrediting and smearing China, adding: The Chinese government has never interfered and will never interfere in the running of British universities, and the claim that the Communist Party of China is posing a threat to the financial future of British universities is totally unfounded. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer. A former Central Kentucky FBI agent pleaded guilty Monday to federal charges after he illegally took guns from an FBI storage office, according to court records. Michael Van Aelstyn, 45, pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and possessing an unregistered firearm, according to court documents. He was originally charged with possession of a firearm made in violation of the National Firearms Act, possession of an unregistered firearm, and unlawful transfer of a firearm to an out-of-state resident, according to a May indictment. Van Aelstyn is alleged to have removed two illegal firearms from a suspects home, transported them to an FBI office for storage, and later removed them from the evidence room, taking them to his residence, according to court documents. Van Aelstyn also gave an AM-15 multi-caliber rifle to a man identified in court documents as MH, and told him he should not let anyone else know the source of that firearm. Another gun, a Cugir Mini Draco pistol, was allegedly destroyed by Van Aelstyn and thrown away, according to court documents. Van Aelstyn also illegally possessed a 20-gauge Winchester shotgun with a sawed-off barrel, which was not registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, according to the plea deal. His attorney, Thomas Bullock, declined to comment Tuesday. FBI agent took guns from office, stored them at home Van Aelstyn was working as a special agent with the FBI on July 5, 2017, when he seized the pistol and rifle from a suspects Lexington home during an investigation, according to court documents. Both the guns and illegal substances were placed into Van Aelstyns government vehicle and transported to the FBI Lexington Resident Agency office evidence room, according to court documents. Van Aelstyn admitted to the government that between January and April 2018, he knew that a formal office inspection was imminent because of an upcoming office relocation. He knew the guns were still in the evidence room without proper documentation, which would be cause for concern for office inspectors, court documents state. Van Aelstyn said thats why he removed the firearms from the office, took them home and put them in a safe, court documents state. By signing the plea agreement, Van Aelstyn admitted he knowingly, corruptly, and illegally retained the guns, his plea deal states. Van Aelstyn faces a maximum of one year and a day in prison, fines up to $360,000 and six years supervised release. His sentencing is scheduled for March 28 in Covington. A federal judge will consider the circumstances of the case and U.S. sentencing guidelines to determine what Van Aelstyns sentence will be. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karl Kadon, the prosecutor in the case, was not immediately available for comment Tuesday morning. Van Aelstyn indicated in court records that he is moving to Texas, which U.S. Magistrate Judge Candace Smith permitted him to do as part of conditions of release while he awaits final sentencing. FBI spokesperson Katie Anderson confirmed Tuesday that Van Aelstyn no longer works for the FBI. Former agent still suing local police The discovery of the guns was the result of a separate investigation into alleged domestic violence. Versailles Police Department officers showed up to Van Aelstyns residence on July 9, 2021 to investigate allegations against him. As a result of the incident, Van Aelstyn faced charges of assault-domestic violence and strangulation. A Woodford County grand jury declined to indict him on those charges in September 2022. Van Aelstyn then filed a federal lawsuit against the Versailles police officers who investigated him, claiming they violated his civil rights. Van Aelstyns lawsuit, filed in May, alleges Scott Carnes and Coleman Sparks continually violated Van Aelstyns rights by pursuing a criminal complaint against him, including testifying or presenting to the grand jury without reviewing or presenting evidence which would demonstrate his innocence. The lawsuit is still pending. Recent filings indicated attorneys were going through discovery. CONCORD A former New Hampshire lawmaker who kept his seat for a year after moving out of his district was charged Tuesday with multiple crimes related to his change of address. Troy Merner, a Republican, won a fourth term representing Lancaster in the House in 2022, around the same time he moved to Carroll. He resigned in September after the attorney generals office investigated a complaint that he had continued to vote in Lancaster after his move. On Tuesday, Merner was charged with wrongful voting, a class B felony punishable by up to seven years in prison and a permanent loss of voting privileges. He also was charged with three misdemeanors: theft by deception, unsworn falsification and tampering with public records. Those charges allege he received excessive mileage reimbursement by claiming he lived in Lancaster. A former New Hampshire lawmaker who kept his seat for a year after moving out of his district was charged Tuesday with multiple crimes. New Hampshire law requires lawmakers to live in the district they represent. Lawmaker are paid only $100 a year but are reimbursed for their travel to and from Concord. A phone number listed for Merner was out of service and court documents do not list an attorney representing him. He is due in court Dec. 28. In September, Merner told the Caledonian-Record he moved to Carroll in November 2022, though the attorney generals office concluded his residency in Lancaster ended with the sale of his house that August. Until that determination, Merner said he had planned to serve out the remainder of his terms as both a state representative and member of the Lancaster Select Board. He said the arrangement made him uneasy but he had wanted to finish is work on behalf of his constituents. I represent the people, I dont represent myself, he said. This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Ex-NH lawmaker Troy Merner charged for voting after moving Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, has stressed the need to strengthen foreign-related legal system development, as he chaired a group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Monday. Xi highlighted the need to create law-based governance conditions and a favorable external environment for advancing Chinese modernization. Xi emphasized that bolstering the rule of law in foreign affairs serves the long-term need for building a strong nation and advancing national rejuvenation through a Chinese path to modernization. He further underscored the immediate importance of foreign-related legal system development in fostering high-standard opening-up and addressing external risks and challenges. Calling for attention to the importance and urgency of the issue, Xi stressed the need to foster a foreign-related legal system and capacity that meet the needs of high-quality development and high-standard opening-up. A professor from Wuhan University gave a lecture, after which members of the Political Bureau had a discussion. Speaking after the discussion, Xi pointed out that foreign-related legal framework is an important part of China's legal system. He emphasized that the fundamental purpose of advancing law-based governance in foreign-related affairs is to safeguard the interests of the country and the people through legal means, facilitate progress in international rule of law, and advance the building of a community with a shared future for humanity. The path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics must be followed with unswerving commitment, Xi added. Xi underscored the importance of well-structured top-level design, adding that foreign-related legislation, law enforcement, jurisdiction, law compliance and legal services ought to be advanced simultaneously. In addition, efforts should be taken to advance reform in the system and mechanism of foreign-related trial and judicature, said Xi. He also highlighted the need to cultivate arbitration institutions and law firms of international prestige. Xi urged efforts to build a strong legal security chain to protect China's overseas interests. He noted the necessity for guiding Chinese citizens and enterprises to abide by local laws and regulations when going abroad, and that they should apply laws and rules to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests. The international order based on international law must be resolutely upheld, Xi noted, adding that China should actively take part in the formulation of international rules and promote the rule of law in international relations. Xi said the rule of law is the best environment for doing business. He stressed building an open and transparent foreign-related legal system, strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights, safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of foreign-funded enterprises, and fostering a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment. Noting that the institutional opening-up should be steadily expanded and trade and investment liberalization and facilitation should be improved, Xi said effective measures and mature experience of high-standard opening-up such as the ones tested in pilot free trade zones should be timely elevated to law provisions. Efforts should be made to improve measures and relevant laws and regulations to facilitate foreigners who live in China, Xi added. Xi also underlined the importance of fostering professional personnel. Xi emphasized the need to strengthen confidence in the rule of law, and actively interpret China's unique concepts, propositions, and successful practices related to the rule of law in foreign affairs. He highlighted efforts to promote the creative transformation and development of fine traditional Chinese legal culture. A recent vote by Manatee County leaders to roll back local wetland protections in favor of developer interests is facing a challenge from a former county official. On Oct. 5, the commission voted 5-1 to reduce the buffer zone required between wetland areas and development to the state minimum over vocal opposition from hundreds of residents. Opponents of the measure included Joe McClash, who previously served as a county commissioner for 22 years. On Nov. 6, McClash filed a petition with the states Division of Administrative Hearings requesting a review of the rule change. His petition argues that commissioners did not prove that reducing wetland buffers was in the best interest of the public, which the countys Comprehensive Plan requires the board to do before making an amendment. McClash did not immediately return a request for comment Monday. Commissioners: buffer change favors property rights During a tense round of public meetings on the issue, residents and wetland scientists expressed concern that the reduction in buffer sizes could lead to increased pollution and habitat destruction and leave some wetlands not covered by state law totally unprotected. The amendment cuts the width of buffers required adjacent to environmentally sensitive coastal wetlands from 50 feet down to the states minimum requirements, which call for minimum buffer widths of 15 feet with a 25-foot average. Commissioners argued that the buffer reduction would restore property rights to residents by allowing them to build closer to the water. They act like theres bulldozers lined up, Commissioner James Satcher said at the Oct. 5 meeting. The only question is can you put your pool 25 feet from the wetlands or 50 feet from the wetlands. Petition: Removing wetland protections violated county policy However, McClashs petition argues that commissioners failed to appropriately back up the Comprehensive Plan amendment with supporting facts that explain how removing the countys wetland buffers was in the public interest. The County adopted the amendments despite and contrary to data and analysis about the amendments impact on the wetlands... says one of several dozen allegations laid out in the petition. Several people protested the proposed changes to the counties wetland buffers during a meeting of the Board of County Commissioners on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. A reasonable person would determine that the amendments are only in the interest of developers, and not the public as a whole, it says later. The petition also criticizes commissioners for failing to refute the science presented to them during public testimony that supported the effectiveness of wetland buffers. Instead, their statements at the Oct. 5. meeting included Bible verses and unsubstantiated claims that opponents of the rule change were George Soros-funded political operatives. Board members also claimed they were being personally attacked for being conservative. Commission chairman Kevin Van Ostenbridge accused a 15-year-old who spoke out against the rule change of being a political pawn. Van Ostenbridge presented one of the few pieces of data to back the boards move at the Oct. 5 meeting when he said that the rule change would impact 66,000 pieces of property in the county. McClashs petition alleges that was a flawed measurement. A public record request of what the commissioner used as fact included government-owned property, submerged property and even the Sunshine (Skyway) Bridge area within Manatee County, the petition says. The petition also notes that Manatee County had previously successfully defended the legality of its wetland buffer requirements in court when developer Carlos Beruffs Mandarin Development sued in 2015. McClash is asking a judge to find that Manatee County commissioners approach to passing the rule change violated the countys Comprehensive Plan and state statute. A hearing is set for Feb. 5, 2024, at 9 a.m. at the Manatee County Courthouse. McClash has history of challenging development During his tenure as commissioner, McClash frequently supported regulations aimed at protecting the environment. McClash lost his commission seat in 2012. During that election, developer interests backed his opponent and helped launch an attack ad campaign against him, according to previous reporting by the Bradenton Herald. Since then, McClash has led several challenges to local developments that raised concerns with residents over their potential impact on the environment. In 2015, a challenge to Pat Neals Harbour Sound development had success when a judge sided with McClash and environmentalists that argued the development would destroy almost an acre of high-quality wetlands. However, that decision was ultimately overruled by the board of the Southwest Florida Water Management District, which at the time included Manatee County developer Carlos Beruff. McClash was also part of an unsuccessful and years-long legal challenge to Beruffs Aqua by the Bay development. McClash owns The Bradenton Times, an online news publication that has criticized the county commissions stance on the wetlands issue. The outlet was the first to report that county leaders decided to revise the countys Land Development Code and Comprehensive Plan after urging from the Manatee-Sarasota Building Industry Association, a pro-development trade group with ties to current and former commissioners. The two documents dictate the countys development policies, including environmental protections. Former President Jimmy Carter will attend the Tuesday memorial service for former first lady Rosalyn Carter, his wife of 77 years. The Carter Center, an Atlanta-based non-profit founded by the former president, told Fox News Digital that Carter will attend the National Tribute Service at Glenn Memorial Church at Emory University. Rosalynn Carter died in Plains, Georgia last week at age 96 after she was admitted to a hospice. ROSALYNN CARTER CELEBRATES 96TH BIRTHDAY WITH HUSBAND JIMMY CARTER, PEANUT BUTTER ICE CREAM AND BUTTERFLIES Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and the late First Lady Rosalynn Carter dance at a White House Congressional Ball, Washington, D.C., USA, photograph by Marion S. Trikosko, December 13, 1978. "Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished," former President Jimmy Carter said at the time. "She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me." She is survived by her husband , her four children, 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP Among the guests expected to attend the tribute service are President Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff, former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton and former First Lady Melania Trump. Former President Donald Trump was not on the list of guests for the invitation-only service. Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter and Jimmy Carter attend Former President Jimmy Carter surprise 70th birthday party at The Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta. Carter will attend a tribute service for his wife this week. The Carter Center on Monday released additional details about the tribute event, announcing that members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra would play some of Carters "most beloved tunes," along with performances by "family friends Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood." Original article source: Former President Jimmy Carter will attend Rosalynn Carter tribute service in Georgia WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) U.S. presidents, first ladies and other leaders gathered to pay tribute to former first lady Rosalynn Carter in Atlanta on Tuesday. Several notable and familiar faces were in the crowd, including her husband, former President Jimmy Carter. It marked a rare public appearance for the 99-year-old, who has been in hospice care at home for the past 10 months. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden traveled from the nations capital to Atlanta for the tribute service at Glenn Memorial Church. They were joined onboard Air Force One by former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Former first ladies Laura Bush, Michelle Obama, and Melania Trump were in attendance, along with Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff. Country music legends Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood were among the performers at the service. The tribute held on Tuesday is part of a three-day schedule of public events celebrating the former first lady and global humanitarian who died at the age of 96. Rosalynn Carters funeral will take place Wednesday in Plains at the Maranatha Baptist Church. She will be buried after a private graveside service on a plot the couple will share. The Associated Press contributed to this story. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. A Leicestershire farmer has joined forces with a former Red Arrows pilot to turn his fields into a huge "carbon sponge". Estate owner Hylton Murray-Philipson and climate technologist David Wright are developing an accurate measuring system to test the most effective ways to grow food and capture carbon. David sends soil samples to a laboratory where they are burned at more than 1,000C to measure how much carbon dioxide is released. Traditional farming practices like deep ploughing can release stored carbon from soil, but less intensive methods may reverse the process and slow down climate change. Hylton Murray-Phillipson and David Wright work as a team The idea of paying farmers to soak up carbon in their soils has been around for a while. But finding a system which accurately measures whether sustainable farming has made a difference from one year to the next is challenging. "We cannot possibly remove the whole field and send it to the laboratory," said David Wright, founder of agri-technology company ecometric. "So we have to be very intelligent about where and how we take samples to capture the variability [in soils]". Cover crops can capture carbon in their roots Mr Wright's search for accuracy starts with a soil sampling rig, which crawls across Mr Murray-Phillipson's land drilling a series of 30cm holes at carefully measured intervals. The resulting soil samples are sent for laboratory incineration to discover how much carbon dioxide they are storing. "It's about measuring the outcome," he said. "We cannot move a system forward unless we accurately quantify what has happened. "It's a small piece of the jigsaw, but it's been missing." As a father of two teenagers, David says his career change from military aviation to agro-technology, was largely motivated by his concern that his boys "have a climate to inhabit". He said: "If we don't turn the corner by the end of the decade then we are really in trouble. But this is a real good news story." The pair use a rig to drill down for soil samples Estate owner Hylton Murray-Phillipson said he had become concerned about how much his family's intensively cultivated farm in Blaston, Leicestershire was contributing to climate change. He worked with agronomist, Roger Davis, to plant year-round cover crops and introduce sheep and cattle whose manure helps to reduce the farm's use of artificial fertilisers. They learned how improved soil health encourages more worms, which mix the soil, and help turn the land into a sponge for carbon. Grazing livestock can help fertilise farmland Scientists know very small changes to the carbon trapped in agricultural soil may add up to a huge difference for the atmosphere. Mr Wright says Mr Murray-Phillipson's carefully managed soil is already soaking up more than ten tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per hectare. Mr Murray-Phillipson added: "What we've demonstrated here is a financial viability for a more sustainable way of farming." "I think we can contribute to food security, but also to climate security, so it really is a message of hope for the future." Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk Editors Note: This article has been updated to reflect the current charges Paul Helring is facing. SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) A former Scranton police officer has been charged with allegedly committing overtime fraud in the department. According to the United States Attorneys Office, 47-year-old Paul Helring, a former Scranton police officer and the former elected police union president, was charged with theft concerning programs receiving federal funds. Arrest made after man is stabbed in face Investigators say while serving as the coordinator of Scranton Police Departments extra duty overtime program, Helring knowingly received over $5,000 in compensation after he fraudulently reported working extra duty patrol shifts at several local, lower-income housing complexes. The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 10 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Online court documents indicate Helring is expected to plead guilty to the charge at a later date. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PAhomepage.com. Valeriy Kondratyuk, the former head of Ukrainian Defense Intelligence or HUR, revelaed new information about the poisoning of Marianna Budanova, the wife of current HUR chief Kyrylo Budanov, during an interview on Radio NV on Nov. 28. I have confidential information that is not yet known, Kondratyuk said. The poisoning involved heavy metals. The analysis detected metals such as arsenic and mercury. Read also: Russia must be disarmed if it uses food as weapon, says UK ambassador Moreover, Budanov's wife was not the only one poisoned, he said. It also affected several employees of the HUR of the Ministry of Defense. It's not only the guards who were, for example, with Budanov's wife. It also includes no less high-ranking officials the heads of individual areas responsible for operations against Russia in the Main Intelligence Directorate. Read also: How Ukraines military intelligence conducted their first successful operations against Russian forces in Kharkiv HUR spokesperson Andriy Yusov, in a comment to Radio Svoboda on Nov. 28, officially confirmed that media reports about the poisoning of the wife of the intelligence chief were true. Budanovas poisoning with heavy metals and her current hospitalization were confirmed by NVs own sources in the HUR on Nov. 28. Budanova still needs medical supervision. The investigation into the poisoning of Budanov's wife is ongoing. At the same time, military intelligence was unable to provide any more details about the incident. 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 Jimmy Carter is the longest is the oldest living American ex-president in US history - EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/REUTERS An ailing Jimmy Carter left hospice care to attend the memorial service for his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn who died on Nov 19 aged 96. The 99-year-old former president arrived at the ceremony in a wheelchair, having made a two-hour journey to the Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church on the campus of Emory University in Atlanta. Covered with a blanket decorated with Mrs Carters picture, he took his place in the front row, having been wheeled into the church by aides. Melania Trump made a rare public appearance as she joined all the other surviving first ladies in paying tribute to Mrs Carter. Mrs Trump walked into the church alongside Michelle Obama. They were followed by Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush. A tearful Bill Clinton and Joe Biden also attended the service along with Georgias two Democratic senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock and the states Republican governor, Brian Kemp. Jimmy Carter arrives at the service - Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP From top, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former US First Lady Laura Bush, former US First Lady Michelle Obama and former US First Lady Melania Trump - Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP Presidential funeral services typically are attended by all living presidents - Mr Carter attended the Washington memorial for George W. Bush Senior in 2018 - providing a moment for unity across parties and generations. Donald Trump, George W Bush and Barack Obama were invited to the service but did not attend. Former US President Bill Clinton and former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrive at Dobbins Air Reserve Base en route to the service - Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters The choir sang America The Beautiful as Mrs Carters coffin was brought in and placed at the front of the 93-year-old church. The Carters 73-year-old son Chip paid tribute to his mother. He said she was the glue which held the family together through the ups and downs and thicks and thins of politics and family life. Jason Carter, himself a former state senator and one-time Democratic nominee for governor, called his grandmother the best politician in the family, a distinction Jimmy Carter never disputed. When she died, Mr Carter said in a statement that shed been my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished. Rosalynn Carter had been a strong advocate for mental health - CHRISTIAN MONTERROSA/AFP The casket of former US First Lady Rosalynn Carter is carried in for a tribute service, at Glenn Memorial Church in Atlanta, Georgia Celebrated as an active first lady who championed then little-discussed issues of mental health, Mrs Carters reputation only grew, along with her husbands, once they left the White House. Losing his 1980 reelection bid to Republican Ronald Reagan, Mr Carter was widely dismissed as a failure. However, the couple went on to build a global network of charity activities and earned plaudits for their humble lifestyle. The Carters married in 1946 and held the record of longest-wed presidential couple. Throughout Mr Carters long political career, his wife was at the heart of his campaigns. During the 1977 to 1981 White House term, Mrs Carter worked to raise the status of the first ladys office. James "Chip" Carter kisses his father, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter - Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters She attended Cabinet meetings and major briefings, frequently represented the chief executive at ceremonial occasions and served as the presidents personal emissary to Latin American countries, according to the White House website. She was born in Plains on Aug 18, 1927, as the first of four children. At 13 her father died and she worked alongside her mother, who became a dressmaker to make ends meet. She met Mr Carter in 1945 while she was in college and he was on leave from the US Naval Academy in Annapolis. Mrs Carters farewell began Monday when past and present agents from the US Secret Service, which guards presidential families, escorted her coffin to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta. The public was invited to pay their last respects. Her funeral will take place on Wednesday at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia where the couple worshipped after they left the White House. 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. Former WWE Hall of Fame wrestler Tammy Sunny Sytch was sentenced Monday to 17 years in prison, followed by eight years probation, for her role in a drunk-driving crash that killed another driver in central Florida. Photo courtesy of Volusia County Sheriff's Office Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Former WWE Hall of Fame wrestler Tammy "Sunny" Sytch was sentenced to 17 years in prison Monday in a drunk-driving crash that killed another driver in central Florida. Sytch, 50, who was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011, will also face eight years probation when she is released. "A precious life was lost that tragic day and I'm so incredibly sorry for that," Sytch told the court Monday before she was sentenced. "I would ask that you give me the opportunity to atone for what I've done and then to be released to society to contribute to it in the most positive way possible." Sytch was driving a sedan on March 25, 2022, in Ormond Beach where she crashed into a stopped vehicle driven by Julian Lasseter, 75, who died from his injuries, prosecutors said. Lasseter's car was also pushed into another vehicle that injured three people. According to court documents, Sytch's blood-alcohol content was between 0.32 and 0.36, which is four times the legal limit. There was also marijuana in her system. The police report said Sytch was speeding and that officers found an open bottle of vodka in her car. In August, Sytch pleaded no contest to one count of DUI manslaughter; driving while license suspended; four counts of DUI with damage to person; and two counts of DUI with damage to property. She had been arrested for drunk driving on six previous occasions. While prosecutors called Sytch a "danger to society" and sought the maximum penalty of 25 years in prison for repeated offenses, Sytch's attorneys said she has mental health issues. "If I could bring Mr. Lasseter back and take his place I would in an instant," Sytch told the court Monday. She said the death of her fiance in 2005 contributed to her problems. "What followed was a huge trend of mistakes that I should have learned from." The Fort Worth City Council voted to approve a $3.5 million settlement for Atatiana Jeffersons nephew, who witnessed a Fort Worth police officer shoot and kill his aunt in her home more than four years ago. The council voted unanimously to approve the settlement on Tuesday, which was also Jeffersons birthday. She would have been 33. Because Jeffersons nephew, Zion Carr, is a minor, the settlement will also need to gain the approval of the federal judge overseeing the lawsuit before it can go into effect. James Smith, who was Jeffersons neighbor, spoke during Tuesdays council meeting and raised a concern hes said hes heard about the settlement amount. It might not be enough, Smith said to the council. But time four years this young man is struggling. He needs to move on with his life. Jefferson was killed in October 2019, after police responded to a concerned call from Smith, who lives across the street, about Jeffersons front door being open late at night. When former officer Aaron Dean responded to Jeffersons home, he saw Jefferson through the window of her house and shot her once, killing her. Jefferson had been watching her nephew, Zion, who was 8 years old at the time. The boy witnessed the killing, and testified in Deans murder trial. The killing rattled North Texas, and the country, and triggered calls for justice in the face of police brutality. Dean was convicted of manslaughter in December 2022. He has since appealed his conviction. Meanwhile, two civil court cases have wound their way through the justice system: One was filed on behalf of Jeffersons estate, and the other was filed on behalf of Zion. The now-approved settlement would close out the second of those cases. It does feel short, its not enough, but its the right gesture on behalf of the City of Fort Worth, said Mayor Mattie Parker. We dont always agree on everything but there was full agreement on this issue along the way. A leap toward accountability The council-approved settlement specifies that the settlement does not mean that the city accepts any liability in the lawsuit. However, Smith, the neighbor who spoke at city council, said it still indicates some type of responsibility. Today you guys are taking that leap toward accountability, Smith said to the council. In an interview with the Star-Telegram, Jason Smith, a Fort Worth-based attorney who is not related to James Smith, said that the fact of the settlement and the amount approved do indicate something. I think the city of Fort Worth has been embarrassed by the killing of Atatiana Jefferson, Jason Smith said. I think (the settlement) is an attempt to show that they accept some responsibility if not legally, then as a community. Jason Smith said that the settlement is a significant amount, particularly considering the difficulty of lawsuits alleging constitutional rights violations. A three and a half million dollar settlement is a very decent recovery for this type of case, Jason Smith said. Nothing will ever replace his aunt, but hopefully this will provide some funds to allow him to have some support and transition. How much will the nephew actually receive? While the settlement has council approval, its not yet a done-deal. Because Zion is a minor, the judge presiding over the federal court case against Dean and the city still has to approve the settlement. Jason Smith said that he doesnt see any red flags in the settlement, though. If the settlement is fully approved, the full $3.5 million wont go straight to Zion. Sara Zampierin, a professor and director of the civil rights clinic at Texas A&M School of Law, said there just isnt enough publicly known information about the settlement to say for sure how much of the money will actually go to Carr. But there are a few factors to consider. First, the settlement says each party will be responsible for their own attorney fees, meaning that the attorneys working on Carrs behalf will take their payment out of the settlement amount. A city attorney said at Tuesdays council meeting that the attorneys in this case are slated to receive 40% of the settlement amount or, in this case, $1.17 million although that amount could still be changed by the court. (Jason Smith said its not uncommon for attorneys fees to amount to 40% of a settlement, although one-third is more common in cases involving a minor.) Because of Zions age, there will also be fees paid to the court-appointed guardian ad litem, who is responsible for ensuring his best interests are being served under any approved settlement. Those fees could come out of the settlement, too. The settlement will then be broken into several buckets, according to a city press release: A trust that the boy can use immediately, managed by a trustee; A college fund that can be paid out as a lump sum if he opts not to go to college; An annuity that would pay out in lump sums until he reaches 40. Taxes and fees, such as trustee fees, might be deducted from the amount, although the long-term funds would also accrue interest over time, adding to the amount that he receives. A city attorney said the amount could increase up to $6 million. James Smith, the neighbor who spoke at city council, said that the breakdown of the settlement aligns with what Amber Carr, Zions late mother, wanted for her son. The settlement, he said, is less about finding justice and more about making sure that Zion is cared for. She didnt want to see a lump sum given to him at one time, and she wanted him to be cared for over a number of years, Smith said. He noted, though, that Zion has already lost his grandmother, his aunt and his mother. We pray that Zion makes it to 40, he said. BELLE CHASSE, La. (WGNO) The U.S. Coast Guard and local law enforcement are searching for four people who were reported missing from a bulk carrier vessel near Belle Chasse. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans watchstanders said they received a call around 11 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 27, reporting four people in the water. The men are crewmembers aboard the Meghna Adventure. It was reported that the four did not arrive for muster aboard the vessel Monday evening. One dead, four injured in two shootings in Seventh Ward The men are described as being of Bangladeshi nationality with dark colored hair, brown skin and ages 25, 29, 30 and 47 years old. The search began overnight and led into Tuesday morning, Nov. 28, with the launch of a Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew and a Coast Guard Station New Orleans Response Boat-small boat crew. Stay with WGNO as we learn more. Stay updated with the latest news, weather, and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play store and subscribing to the WGNO newsletter. Latest Posts For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGNO. French authorities on Tuesday arrested 41 people in raids against a controversial yoga sect, including its leader, the guru Gregorian Bivolaru, a source close to the case told AFP. The sect is accused of numerous abuses under Bivolaru, who has been repeatedly in the crosshairs of judicial authorities in Romania, Sweden and France in the last years, the source said. Bivolaru, 71, is a national of both Romania and Sweden. The people were arrested in the Paris region and southern France and included other key members of the sect, the source added. Some 175 police officers were deployed for the operation, during which 26 women -- several of whom were held against their will -- were freed, the source said. They had been "kept in deplorable conditions" both in terms of space and hygiene, the source said. - 'Spiritual mentor' - The network, called Movement for Spiritual Integration into the Absolute (MISA), runs several yoga schools and related operations. On its official website, yogaesoteric, the group describes itself as the "largest yoga school in Romania and in Europe" and Bivolaru as its "spiritual mentor". Its success "comes from a traditional rigorous approach of the yoga system, from a great number of both theoretical and practical aspects studied and the coherent integration of the yoga values and practices in the Western cultural environment". Its tantra yoga section meanwhile includes tips on "amorous energy control techniques", "erotic postures" and on "the way to ecstasy". The site also contains a page dedicated to "extraterrestrial civilisations". A French judicial source said the sect had "several hundred" members, but no precise figure was available. The arrests follow a probe into the sect launched by Paris prosecutors in July, on suspicion of kidnapping, rape and people trafficking among others. A kidnapping charge can result in prison of up to 30 years under French law. - 'Conditioning victims' - The investigation was sparked by France's Human Rights League, a human rights NGO, which contacted the prosecutors' office after receiving statements from 12 former MISA members, a judiciary source said. MISA, which became known as ATMAN after its expansion beyond Romania, taught tantric yoga with the aim of "conditioning victims to accept sexual relations via mental manipulation techniques which sought to eliminate any notion of consent", the source said. Several women, of different nationalities, said they had been victims of the MISA organisation and its leader, the source said. Women were encouraged to accept sexual relations with the group's leader and "to agree to participate in fee-paying pornographic practices in France and abroad", the source said. MISA was kicked out of the International Yoga Federation and the European Yoga Alliance in 2008 because its commercial practices were judged to be "illicit", the source said. The Liberation daily, which first reported the arrests, said Bivolaru was apprehended in a house in Ivry-sur-Seine near Paris. According to witnesses, the paper said, he brought female followers to the house for "sexual initiation" into tantric yoga. - 'Pimping disguised as philosophy' - The judicial source told AFP that so-called yoga workshops were paid for by women members via sex chats and by men with manual work. The workshops were "clearly exclusively dedicated to the satisfaction of the main suspect's desires," the source said. The case is "insane", a source close to the case added, because it involves "a group reminiscent of the Mafia and pimping disguised as philosophy". The yogaesoteric website listed an address in Bucharest for the Romanian MISA association, and one in Vienna for the European ATMAN network. Some 300 million people regularly practise yoga, according to yogaearth, a website dedicated to the discipline. Practitioners list stress reduction, improved mood and mental wellness as main benefits. tll-gd/jh/sjw/imm The owners of Grangemouth refinery have shocked the energy industry with their signal that the transition away from fossil fuels has started and means a lot of jobs losses The "just transition" lacks detail, but can pin some hopes on Scotland's two "green freeports". The Firth of Forth partnership plan aims for 38,000 jobs in and out of the zones. It now includes the Royal Navy and includes Ineos, the oil and chemicals giant at Grangemouth, which wants to expand biofuels and hydrogen production. The idea of a "just transition" from fossil fuels to renewable ones is coming under uncomfortable scrutiny. As PetroIneos pulls out of refining oil at Grangemouth, it doesn't seem that "just" for around 400 people losing their jobs. They can reasonably ask if the transition, for them, is just rhetoric or just around the corner. And around 90,000 others with livelihoods dependent on the oil and gas industry will be looking on nervously. If Scotland's only refinery closes and becomes a terminal for imported fuels, a vital element in the pipework of the industry is being removed. Nobody in the sector can feel as safe after that. Whether it's just or even a transition, there is reason to hope. Renewable energy is growing and is set to grow much faster, as the vast ScotWind offshore projects take shape and ramp up activity. Freeports Two focuses for that optimism are the green freeports - one chosen on the Cromarty Firth and Inverness, the other on several locations around the Firth of Forth. The idea is to have designated land for industrial development, with low taxes on property and employment, and no customs tariffs for in- or outbound trade. The Scottish variety is meant to be focused on renewable energy and low carbon enterprise. There is also pressure to ensure they don't become a magnet for employers with a low-wage business model, which is how freeports tend to turn out in other parts of the world. Highland housing They've been a long time coming. A long bidding process reached that winning selection in January. While England has freeports up and running (and is already facing claims of fraud in at least one), more than 10 months later in Scotland, we now have at least an outline of the Outline Business Case for both zones in Scotland. The Highland one laid out the plan for councillors to see, so we were all able to take a peek: 10,000 jobs, 3.5bn investment over 25 years, while diverting National Insurance payments into a large training fund. At Inverness Chamber of Commerce, they're optimistic, but the recurring concerns are about where those 10,000 people are to come from, how can they be adequately skilled up, and if they can be recruited, where is the housing for them, and the transport infrastructure for them to use? There are more urban versions of those for the Forth green freeport, which this week issued an outline of its Outline Business Case. We don't get to see the whole document until the outline business case becomes the final variety. Although the Highland and Forth bids have won, they still have to negotiate the terms with the Treasury and the Scottish government. That will take further months to conclude. That's Fife The big Firth of Forth numbers are around 19,000 direct jobs inside the green freeport zones, and a further 19,350 jobs resulting from activity in these zones, but not directly employed inside them. The plan has expanded to include part of the Rosyth dockyard owned and controlled by the Royal Navy, which has duly become a partner. Burntisland docks in Fife are also seen as expanding the role initially envisaged for them of being a customs-free zone. These could now become a low-tax zone for manufacturing for the offshore wind industry. The bigger players are at Leith Docks and Grangemouth, with a customs-free zone at Edinburgh Airport. Grey ships and blue chip That takes us back to the plight of the vast refinery and petro-chemicals complex in Falkirk Council area. Ineos is a partner in the Forth Green Freeport project. With Sir Jim Ratcliffe having homes in Monaco and Switzerland as well as England, and with his holding company based in Luxembourg, Ineos is adept at working tax regimes to its advantage. The boundary line of the Forth Green Freeport zone is designed to cut out the Grangemouth refinery and much of the oil and gas processing works, instead including parts of the site designated for low-tax development of hydrogen production and biofuels. Dame Susan Rice has been appointed to oversee the project There is a race on to get to five biofuel plants in the UK by 2025 making SAF, or sustainable aviation fuel. On Tuesday, from Heathrow to New York, Virgin Atlantic pioneer the first transatlantic airliner flight powered entirely by SAF, which is made from agricultural waste and used cooking oil. A tiny part of aviation fuel so far, it is seen as the best way of taking carbon out of flying. On the north bank of the Forth, Rosyth and its main operator, Babcock, have hopes of greener modular shipbuilding, so there may also be more than a touch of battleship grey to the freeport colour scheme. At Leith Docks, Forth Ports is clearing space and strengthening the quayside to accommodate the very large barges required for carrying offshore wind turbines. The intention overall is to get 7bn of investment from public and private sources, to create 8.5bn of value added to the Scottish economy. You could say that it is going Forth and applying an economic multiplier but maybe it's best not to. Atop this, a new chairwoman has just been appointed to oversee the project. Dame Susan Rice brings blue chip credentials, having been the first woman chief executive of a British bank as well as chairwoman of Lloyds TSB Bank, she was initial chair of the Scottish Fiscal Commission, a board member of SSE, Sainsbury's and the Bank of England, and she is currently chair of Scottish Water. A quietly-spoken American by birth, she's not finished yet. Local reports say the officer was seized by migrants A French police officer tasked with cracking down on channel migrants said he was kidnapped and beaten on a northern beach where they make crossing attempts. The gendarme said he was bundled into a vehicle that may have been involved in people trafficking, according to the local prosecutor. Local reports say that he was seized by migrants. However, a senior police chief told The Telegraph it remained unclear whether any were involved. Detectives in France have launched an investigation into the incident which took place at 8pm on Saturday at the Plage des pauvres, just north of Le Touquet. The lone 26-year-old gendarme a reservist officer tasked with stopping Channel crossings was reportedly taking a break from patrolling the beach when the alleged attack happened. The officer, who was in a state of shock, was taken to a hospital in nearby Boulogne-sur-Mer for treatment, according to the Boulogne-sur-Mer prosecutors office. He said he had been kidnapped in a vehicle that could have been involved in proceedings to facilitate the illegal entry and stay of migrants, it added. No arrests have been made. Atypical incident The reservist was prescribed 10 days of total incapacity to work, mainly for post-traumatic shock, it added. An investigation into this atypical incident has been handed to the investigative brigade of the Ecuires gendarmerie. Nord Littoral, a local newspaper, reported that the man is believed to have been attacked and kidnapped by a group of migrants on Plage des pauvres on the edge of Saint-Gabriel while he was on a rest period. It said he had sustained a knee injury. Speaking to The Telegraph, Gen Frantz Tavart, who is in charge of 130 gendarmes including 90 reservists paid for by the UK patrolling the Calais coast, warned against pre-empting the investigation. Something happened but the precise circumstances need to be clarified. What would be the motive for migrants to do such a thing? he asked. The unnamed gendarme had been drafted in from another region. The Opal Coast, a stretch encompassing Dunkirk, Boulogne-sur-Mer and Calais, has seen an upswing in attempted crossings recently. Last week, a man and a woman drowned after a small boat carrying around 60 migrants seeking to reach Britain sank just after leaving the French coast. They left from a beach just 12km from where the gendarme was allegedly seized. The latest deaths came almost two years to the day after 27 people died in one of the worst Channel migrant disasters. Olivier Ternisien, head of the Osmose 62 group that helps would-be migrants in the Boulogne region, said the increased presence of security forces encouraged the migrants to take on ever more dangerous hazards. Gen Tavart told The Telegraph that 30 per cent fewer migrants had made it to the UK so far this year compared to 2022. French authorities say that boats are increasingly overloaded, with the average number of about 53 nearly double the average of two years ago. According to British authorities, more than 27,200 people have crossed the Channel in small boats so far this year, against a record 45,000 in 2022. 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. Olivier told the court she would 'do her best' to answer questions (Miguel MEDINA) The trial of Monique Olivier, widow of a French serial killer known as the "Ogre of the Ardennes", opened on Tuesday over her role in three murders dating back several decades, including the killing of a British woman whose body was found in a river in 1990. Olivier's husband, Michel Fourniret, was charged with abduction, rape and murder in the cases but died in 2021, aged 79, before he could be brought to trial. Olivier arrived in court around 10:00 am (0900 GMT) with short, grey hair and wearing a white sweater, to face a wall of cameras. "I will do my best," she told the lead judge in a low voice when asked if she would answer questions. The crimes date back to 1988 in the case of Marie-Angele Domece, who disappeared aged 18 from Auxerre, and 1990 for 20-year-old British woman Joanna Parrish, whose naked body was found in the Yonne river that runs through the department of the same name in central France. Olivier is charged with aiding and abetting the kidnapping and murder of the girls. Her third charge is for complicity in the 2003 disappearance of nine-year-old Estelle Mouzin, whose body has never been found two decades on, despite intensive searches. The body of Domece has also never been found. "I regret everything that happened," Olivier told the court after lead judge Didier Safar read out the charges. It was "essential" to hold a trial for Olivier, said Corinne Herrmann, a lawyer representing Domece's family, adding that it was "harrowing" but also "a release for the families". - 'Long battle' - Many of the witnesses set to be called in the three-week trial are investigators from France and Belgium, where Fourniret was arrested in 2003. They are also set to include Sabine Kheris, the investigating magistrate who took Fourniret's confession. She is now in charge of a recently created "cold cases" unit based in the Paris suburb of Nanterre. This case is the first of the unit's to come to trial. France has for years been simultaneously repelled and fascinated by the crimes of Fourniret, who was dubbed the "Ogre of the Ardennes" by media after the hilly region on the French-Belgium border where he lived and preyed on his victims. The trial is "the result of a very long battle", said Didier Seban, a lawyer representing Mouzin's father, Eric. That Fourniret never stood trial for the crimes shows "we didn't manage to run the investigation the way it should have been", Seban said. Fourniret himself asked in 2008 to be tried in all three cases but "nothing was done", Herrmann recalled ahead of the trial. The trial of Olivier alone is "somewhat short of the mark" for Eric Mouzin, who threw all his energy into finding out what happened to his daughter. "It will be difficult to pass judgement with only a single defendant," he said, even though Olivier herself is charged with "significant" crimes. Neither does he hope for anything from the woman in the dock herself, beyond seeing her "sentenced in line with the seriousness of the crime". - 'No revelations' - Olivier's lawyer, Richard Delgenes, said the court should "not expect any revelations" on her part but that her "participation" in the process is what sets her apart from her husband. "Unlike him, she takes no special pleasure in the pain of his victims or of the families," he added. The 75-year-old has already been convicted twice of aiding and abetting in some of her husband's crimes. She fled in the early 1980s from her violent first husband, with whom she had two children, before becoming a penpal of Fourniret while he was serving a jail sentence for rape. The two sealed a pact that she would find him virgins to rape if he would kill her then-husband -- which he never did. They lived together after he was released in 1987 -- buying a chateau with stolen gold dug up from a graveyard -- and had a son together. Olivier received a life sentence in 2008 over her role in four murders and a rape committed by Fourniret, and could face a second in the present trial. In 2018, Olivier was given a further 20 years' jail for her part in the killing of Farida Hammiche, the wife of one of Fourniret's former cellmates. In 2019, she overturned her husband's alibi for the day Mouzin disappeared, prompting him to admit responsibility months later. Fourniret had earlier admitted killing Parrish and Domece. mby-mlf/tgb/sjw Palestinian children react after an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Khan Younis By John Irish PARIS (Reuters) - The French helicopter carrier Dixmude has docked in Egypt and could start treating wounded children from Gaza later this week, Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Tuesday, as Western powers look to ramp up efforts to aid the enclave. It is the first Western military ship to dock in Egypt since the conflict started and moored on Monday at al-Arish 50 km (31 miles) west of Gaza, now a hub for international aid for Gaza. The ship's arrival comes amid a truce in fighting between Israel and Hamas, in which Israeli hostages abducted by the militant group during its attack on Oct. 7 are being exchanged for Palestinians prisoners. The temporary ceasefire has provided an opportunity to get further aid into Gaza and create processes for evacuating wounded civilians. "We have this ship, which has been transformed into a hospital and which arrived yesterday. It has 40 beds," Lecornu told Europe 1 radio, adding he hoped it could start receiving patients this week. The Dixmude's medical capacities have been adapted to create a military-civilian medical force, notably in paediatrics. With two operating theatres and 40 beds, it could treat those with light injuries before they are moved to hospitals on the ground. Paris has made available, if necessary, 50 beds in France for gravely wounded and sick children in Gaza, which could include cancer patients. Once treated on the Dixmude, the children will need to be moved to larger hospitals in Egypt or field hospitals in Gaza so that more patients may be tended to. Some 22 civilians doctors, including 16 surgeons and six paediatricians, are on board, French officials said. Egypt has said it could integrate children into its medical system, but has asked France for more specialised equipment and financing, officials said. Lecornu said a team of seven French military officials were liaising with Egyptian and Israeli authorities over the arrangements. Authorisations from Egypt and Israel will first be required, as well as background checks of adults accompanying children. The deployment of the carrier comes after policy mishaps and hesitations that have seen President Emmanuel Macron face criticism at home as he treads a fine line in a country with the European Union's largest Muslim and Jewish populations. French officials have dismissed this, saying Paris is looking to lead a humanitarian coalition and convince others to also send military assets to the region. Italy has sent a naval medical ship and diplomats said Britain could soon deploy a ship transformed for medical purposes. (Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Bernadette Baum) We asked in this column yesterday why so little interest in the origin of the Covid virus was being shown by the judicial inquiry into the pandemic. Our answer arrived swiftly when Michael Gove became the most senior Cabinet minister so far to give evidence. In his exchanges with Hugo Keith KC, the inquiry counsel, he said that a significant body of judgment ... believes that the virus itself was man-made. Mr Gove advanced this proposition to explain why there was confusion in the Government at the onset of the pandemic. Not only were the full effects of the virus unknown, but its possible manufacture in a Chinese laboratory presented another challenge to which science was required to adjust. However, Mr Gove did not get very far with his conjecture. Mr Keith intervened to say such matters were beyond the scope of the inquiry and as the issue was somewhat divisive ... we are not going to go there. He is right to say that the origins of Covid are not in the inquirys terms of reference, which is a gaping hole in its remit. The session with Mr Gove focused on his greater willingness to lock down the country earlier and harder than Boris Johnson wished to countenance. Once again, the impression was given of an obdurate leader resisting pressure to shut down the economy and prohibit social interaction, almost as though these were the inevitable responses to a pandemic. Mr Keith said there had been quarantines and self-imposed isolations in the past, implying a lockdown was an extension of these time-honoured measures. But it was different in scale by an order of magnitude. No one planned for a lockdown and nor were any plans set down for the impact, either at the time or subsequently. The reason we locked down was, as George Osborne told the inquiry, because China did and everyone else followed suit. But why did Beijing order such a draconian response? One reason might have been a knowledge that this had escaped from a Wuhan research laboratory and they were themselves unsure of its likely trajectory so were taking no chances. This is why an inquiry that fails at least to examine the origin of the virus and focuses entirely on the response is missing a big piece of the jigsaw. The chairman, Lady Hallett, should petition the Government to expand the terms of reference so that it can be examined. 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. ST PETERSBURG (Reuters) - Members of Russia's LGBTQ community fear a court ruling due on Thursday will label them "extremists" and pave the way for arrests and prosecutions of those who speak out for gay and transgender people. Russia's justice ministry asked the Supreme Court this month to recognise what it called "the international LGBT social movement" as extremist and to ban its activities. The ministry said that "various signs and manifestations of extremist orientation, including the incitement of social and religious discord" had been identified in the activities of Russia's LGBT movement, without giving examples. The move is part of a pattern of restrictive measures with respect to sexual orientation and gender identity, including laws outlawing the promotion of "non-traditional" sexual relations and banning legal or medical changes of gender. "Of course its very alarming, and I dont remember the threat ever being so serious and real," Alexei Sergeyev, an LGBT activist in St Petersburg, told Reuters TV in an interview. He linked the justice ministry's request to the presidential election due next March in which Vladimir Putin is expected to seek, and win, another six-year term: "If it didn't have a propaganda effect, if it didn't have some level of support, it's unlikely that anyone would do it." Putin, with support from the Orthodox Church, has long sought to project Russia as a guardian of traditional morality, in contrast with Western societies that he portrays as decadent in their tolerance of "gay parades" and acceptance of "dozens of genders". 'EXTREMIST' LISTING CAN FORESHADOW ARRESTS The justice ministry publishes a list of more than 100 "extremist" groups banned in Russia. Previous listings, for example of the Jehovah's Witnesses religious movement and organisations linked to opposition politician Alexei Navalny, have served as a prelude to arrests. Sergei Troshin, an openly gay municipal deputy in St Petersburg for the opposition Yabloko party, said that, once the new designation was in place, security officials seeking advancement were likely to open criminal cases. He said the prospect was already spreading fear. "Every morning I'll expect that, at 6 a.m., people will come to search me, ring the bell, knock on the door very hard, as they usually like to do. There'll be a search and they'll tell me: 'A criminal case has been opened against you for participation in the activities of an extremist organisation,' with all the ensuing consequences." Sergeev said he feared that activities designed to help LGBTQ people, such as psychological and legal support or even "meetings where you can just sit and drink tea", would be curtailed. "This will all be so underground that, unfortunately, I'm sure there are many people who won't be able to get help," he said. "They will either commit suicide or simply be in some terrible state - their life will be shortened and their health will deteriorate, they will drink and smoke more, and so on, somehow trying to escape from this reality." (Reporting by Reuters, writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Kevin Liffey) OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) Genetic mutations in zebra fish are what one scientist said is leading to interesting study results at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF). Everyone has probably heard of lab mice. Well, what about lab fish? Theres about 30,000 to 40,000 zebra fish sitting at the OMRF. Theyre used for tons of research because, believe it or not, more than 80 percent of the disease causing genes within humans are also found in these fish. LOCAL NEWS: Annual Minco Honey Festival returns for 33rd year Its remarkable how I can use tiny zebra fish to study human genetic diseases, said Dr. Gaurav Varshney. For Dr. Varshney, the zebra fish are models used to study numerous things because of their genetic make up and also because their development is easier to follow over time with transparent embryos outside their body. The goal of this study was to use zebra fish as a model to see how changes in the DNA impact the development of zebra fish, Varshney said. The findings of his studies have been fascinating. Many of these clinical manifestations have the similar outcome in the zebra fish model, he said. For example, Varshney and his colleague studied genetic mutations in the fish involving autism. A lack of social interaction is a clinical human feature of autism. It turned out that way for the fish as well. LOCAL NEWS: Edmond FD to host Winter Night at Childrens Safety Village Zebra fish usually swim together, he said. But the mutant zebra fish for this scene, they dont like to interact together. Varshney also uses them to study human hearing loss because zebra fish have hair cells similar to those in a human ear. However, Varshney said he hopes his studies can go even further beyond that. My goal is to use this model to find therapeutics that can treat this disease, but can also treat other diseases such as Parkinsons, Varshney said. You can find more on Dr. Varshneys study here. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City. Scandal-plagued New York Republican Rep George Santos has acknowledged that he expects to be expelled from the House. Democratic Reps Robert Garcia and Dan Goldman have filed a privileged resolution to expel him and the House will have to handle it within two legislative days. Mr Garcia said it was an important insurance policy to ensure that the vote happens and that we get rid of him this week, according to Punchbowl News. Republicans are unlikely to back the Democratic resolution to oust Mr Santos, with the filing by the Democrats putting pressure on House Ethics chair GOP Rep Michael Guest to make a push on his own measure to remove the 35-year-old. While Mr Guest has introduced a measure to remove Mr Santos, he didnt do so using a procedure that forces a quick vote, but he has told Politico that hes set to do just that. The latest blow of many to Mr Santoss short yet tumultuous political career came in the form of a 56-page report from the House Ethics Committee released earlier this month which outlined substantial evidence that Mr Santos violated federal law. Key Points George Santos says he expects to be expelled from Congress Santos has survived previous attempts to expel him Im not running for re-election because I dont want to work with a bunch of hypocrites' Late-night shows eviscerate George Santos after damning ethics revelations VOICES: The House has no more options but to expel George Santos VIDEO: Rep. Robert Garcia introduces resolution to expel George Santos from Congress 20:59 , Benji Salmon Santos speaks out as expel motion filed: God bless their hearts' 20:50 , Gustaf Kilander Mr Santos was caught by reporters in the halls of Congress on Tuesday, saying Look, you all want a sound bite... If they want to send me home, if they think this was a fair process, if they think this is how it should be done and if theyre confident that this is a constitutional way of doing it God bless their hearts. .@RepSantosNY03: "Look, you all want a sound bite... If they want to send me home, if they think this was a fair process, if they think this is how it should be done and if they're confidant that this is a constitutional way of doing it God bless their hearts." pic.twitter.com/jn5qVHJinp CSPAN (@cspan) November 28, 2023 From a resume of lies to an OnlyFans scandal: George Santoss many, many controversies 20:30 , John Bowden Facing a mountain of scandals and lies, George Santos announced on 16 November that he would not seek re-election. His decision came in the wake of a damning report by the House Ethics Committee, which found that the embattled New York Republican engaged in uncharged and unlawful conduct. Mr Santos has in fact been charged, too. In May, he was arrested and charged with 13 federal criminal counts, including wire fraud, money laundering, and theft of public funds. A superseding indictment was later handed down in October, increasing the federal charges against Mr Santos to 23. In addition to the myriad of legal troubles, Mr Santos has also been accused of lying about his personal history. He has claimed that he played as a star volleyball player at Baruch College, worked at Goldman Sachs, has ancestors who fled the Holocaust, and that his mother died during 9/11; none of these claims have been substantiated. Dogged by surely one of the oddest scandals to hit American politics in the last few years, Mr Santos has been facing calls for his expulsion and resignation even before he was seated as representative for New Yorks 3rd Congressional District. Lets take a look back at how Mr Santos scandal-plagued political career evolved, from the beginning to now. Botox, OnlyFans and a stay in the Hamptons: Key revelations from George Santos ethics report 19:45 , John Bowden The long-awaited House Ethics Committee investigation into embattled New York Rep George Santos is here, and boy is it a doozy. A lengthy report from the committee published on Thursday stated that there was credible evidence to indicate that the Republican misused campaign funds for a wide range of personal expenses, committed fraud, and misled the Federal Election Commission (FEC). It was a damning end to a months-long investigation which had, until now, been Mr Santoss golden ticket to survive the repeated efforts by his fellow lawmakers including Republicans from his own state to kick him out of Congress. Now, his days in Congress are presumably numbered as it is overwhelmingly likely that the House will vote to expel him in the coming days. Lawmakers tried as much only a few weeks ago, with Mr Santos being saved once again by colleagues who did not wish to set a precedent of prejudging a member under investigation by the Ethics Committee. The New York congressman was already facing numerous felony charges in New York under indictment from the Justice Department. He will not run for re-election, according to a lengthy tirade posted to Twitter moments after the Ethics Committee report was released. Even that statement is a total reversal of a declaration he made to CNNs Manu Raju less than a month ago in an interview. In that same statement Thursday, he called for Americans to call a Constitutional Convention to radically reform Congress. This is unlikely to occur, and particularly so if it is championed by a congressman who has now admitted to fabricating nearly the entirety of his background and is known to have lied about everything from being descended from Holocaust survivors to seeing his mother die on 9/11. Lets dive into the Ethics Committees final report, which was referred to the Justice Department, and see what Mr Santos now stands accused of doing. House GOP unlikely to back Democratic effort to oust Santos 19:43 , Gustaf Kilander Republicans are unlikely to back the Democratic resolution to oust Mr Santos, with the filing by Reps Robert Garcia and Dan Goldman putting pressure on House Ethics chair GOP Rep Michael Guest to make a push on his own measure to remove the 35-year-old. While Mr Guest has introduced a measure to remove Mr Santos, he didnt do so using a procedure that forces a quick vote, but he has told Politico that hes set to do just that. VIDEO: California Democrat introduces resolution to expel Santos 19:38 , Gustaf Kilander Robert Garcia introduces a resolution to expel George Santos pic.twitter.com/aQeEjuiLvM Acyn (@Acyn) November 28, 2023 Former Ethics panel chair says shell vote to expel 19:32 , Gustaf Kilander "On November 1, 2023, I voted against the House Resolution to expel Rep. George Santos and stated that, 'once either the court or official [Ethics] Committee processes conclude, I am prepared, based on known facts, to vote to expel the Congressman.' That time has arrived. "In modern times, it is House precedent that Representatives are only expelled after conviction of a felony. In the matter involving Rep. Santos, the Ethics Committee has now found and documented conduct that is as serious as that of Members who on prior occasions have been expelled following felony convictions. "Precedents of the House are important guidelines to ensure proper, consistent actions. But every precedent had a first time, and precedents should not prevent the House from acting when prudence dictates the creation of a new precedent or a variation from precedent. "In the matter of Rep. Santos, rigid adherence to the requirement of a felony conviction prior to expulsion would, in essence, delegate the responsibilities of the legislative branch to the executive and judicial branches. Here, detailed evidence assembled by a unanimous Ethics Committee, which appropriately afforded the Member due process, indicates that Rep. Santos' conduct is equivalent to that which formed the basis for prior expulsions. The House should accept its responsibilities under Article I, Section 5 of the U.S. Constitution without deferring to the other branches of government. "Damning, conclusive, and unanimous Ethics Committee investigations are rare. Felony convictions of Members of the House are rare. Expulsions are rare. Most Members who were convicted of felonies resigned, sparing the House from a vote to expel. To date, Rep. Santos has declined to resign his seat, even though he has had ample time to do so. "As a former chair of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (now named the Ethics Committee), I am confident that a vote to expel Rep. Santos is not only warranted, but also squarely fits within the House's obligations under Article I, Section 5 of the U.S. Constitution. "I will vote to expel Rep. George Santos." Rep Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), former Ethics Committee chair Motion filed to expel Santos 19:26 , Gustaf Kilander California Democrat Robert Garcia has filed a privileged resolution to expel Mr Santos from Congress. The House will have to handle it within two legislative days. This is also an important insurance policy to ensure that the vote happens and that we get rid of him this week, he said, according to Punchbowl News. Arizona senator asks Siri to find last House member 19:16 , Gustaf Kilander and Eric Garcia Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly, a former astronaut, was spotted at the Capitol on Tuesday asking Siri who the last member of the House to be expelled was. Im just curious, he told The Independent. The last member to be expelled was Ohio Democrat Jim Traficant in 2002. He served nine terms in the House between January 1985 and July 2002 when he was booted from the lower chamber following his conviction on racketeering, bribery, and fraud. He was only the second lawmaker to be expelled from the House since the Civil War. His September 2014 obituary in The Washington Post referred to him as one of the most deliberately outrageous members of Congress in history. Glib and voluble, he was known for wearing cowboy boots, skinny ties and out-of-date polyester suits and for a bouffant mound of hair that seemed to defy gravity, Matt Schudel wrote at the time. The Los Angeles Times referred to it as a Planet of the Apes sort of hair helmet, while Washingtonian magazine wrote that it was a creature from Lake Erie before it was cleaned up. Before joining Congress, he served as the sheriff of Mahoning Country. He was put on trial in 1983 after prosecutors acquired a tape that included him saying he had accepted more than $100,000 in bribes from organised crime. But despite his complete lack of legal training, Traficant represented himself and managed to argue that he had collected the bribes as part of a sting operation and he was acquitted. He became known for his brief, rambling speeches on the House floor, often ending with a Star Trek reference: Beam me up, Mr Speaker. In 1997, he said: Let us tell it like it is. When you hold this economy to your nosey, this economy does not smell so rosy. If there is any consolation to the American workers, I never heard of anyone committing suicide by jumping out of a basement window. The following year, he said: Russia gets $15bn in foreign aid from Uncle Sam. In exchange, Uncle Sam gets nuclear missiles pointed at our cities, two tape decks and three cases of vodka. Beam me up. In 2002, Mr Traficant faced a 10-count felony indictment for racketeering, bribery and fraud, with federal prosecutors alleging that he required a number of his aides to pay him kickbacks each month of as much as $2,500 just to work for him. Yet other staff were required to bale hay on his Ohio farm or repair his Washington DC houseboat. He also faced allegations that he filed false tax returns and pushed businesses in his district to provide goods and services at no charge. He once again acted as his own attorney, but this time he was convicted on all counts. On 24 July 2002, he was removed from the House after a vote of 420 to one. After making a comment about what he called the political prostitutes in Congress, he said: I want to apologize to all the hookers of America for associating them with the United States Congress. Bribes, treason and hay bales: The chaotic history of expulsions from Congress Bribes, treason and hay bales: The chaotic history of expulsions from Congress 19:00 , Gustaf Kilander Scandal-plagued New York Rep George Santos looks set to join an exclusive group of people as he has acknowledged that hes likely to be expelled from Congress. I know Im going to get expelled when this expulsion resolution goes to the floor, Mr Santos, 35, said last week in a broadcast on the X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter. In the X Space event hosted by Monica Matthews, a rightwing personality, Mr Santos said, I have done the math over and over and it doesnt look really good. But he claimed that he would wear his expulsion like a badge of honour. The latest blow of many to Mr Santoss short yet tumultuous political career came in the form of a 56-page report from the House Ethics Committee released earlier this month which outlined substantial evidence that Mr Santos violated federal law. The report included allegations that Mr Santos used campaign money to pay for his personal expenses, such as Botox, and luxury purchases at Hermes and Ferragamo, as well as smaller sums spent on OnlyFans, food, parking, travel and rent. The House can consider the motion to expel Mr Santos put forward by ethics panel chair GOP Rep Michael Guest as soon as Tuesday when lawmakers return from Thanksgiving break but when the vote may be taken up on the floor remains unclear. Mr Santos would be the first member of the House to be removed in modern times without first having been convicted of a crime. The incredible rise and dramatic fall of George Santos 18:15 , Bevan Hurley Congressman George Santos tenure has been anything but dull his rise to power and fall from grace have been equally mired in controversy. After less than two years in Congress, his list of lies and scandals appears to have finally grown too long for him to defend anymore, as he announced he wouldnt seek re-election in 2024 after the release of a damning House Ethics Committee report. The committee said it found substantial evidence that Mr Santos had broken federal laws after finding additional uncharged and unlawful conduct, which included using campaign funds to make purchases at Hermes, Sephora and OnlyFans. In 2022, Mr Santos was elected as the Republican Partys first openly gay, non-incumbent member of Congress, and touted himself as a living embodiment of the American dream. But he has since been exposed as a serial fabricator, and now an accused criminal. VIDEO: Santos last stand 17:30 , Gustaf Kilander Speaker undecided on how to handle measure to expel Santos 17:12 , Gustaf Kilander House Majority Whip Tom Emmer has said that Speaker Mike Johnson is yet to decide how to handle the measure to expel Mr Santos, according to CNN. Mr Emmer said the leadership wont whip the vote. Meanwhile, many undecided Republicans have stayed quiet on how theyll vote while they await guidance from GOP leaders. House likely to handle expulsion resolution within two days 17:03 , Gustaf Kilander California Democrat Robert Garcia is set to head to the House floor at 2pm to hand in a resolution to expel Mr Santos and make it privileged meaning that the chamber must deal with it within two legislative days. 15-foot inflatable George Santos put up near Capitol 16:29 , Gustaf Kilander well, here is the 15-foot George Santos balloon that @MoveOn staged near the Capitol pic.twitter.com/a12ACdw355 Michael Gold (@migold) November 28, 2023 Credit card scams and unpaid rent 16:00 , John Bowden Revelations about Mr Santos alleged grifts and schemes continued to emerge. In February, it was reported that New York City housing court records showed that Tiffany Lee Devolder Santos owed $39,050 in back rent to the landlord. Mr Santos had reportedly failed to pay rent in the Queens apartment he shared with his sister before being elected to Congress in a state of disrepair. The next month, a Brazilian man Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha who was deported from the US after being convicted of credit card skimming fraud reportedly told federal authorities that Mr Santos was the mastermind of the scheme. Trelha claimed Mr Santos had taught him how to skim card information and clone cards in Seattle in 2017. Trelha claimed Mr Santos visited him in jail in Seattle after his arrest and threatened him not to reveal his part in the scheme to authorities. Responding to the allegations at the time, Mr Santos told reporters that he was innocent. In January, Mr Santos also claimed to have been the victim of a mugging and assassination attempt in New York. George Santos mocked by Jimmy Kimmel for saying expulsion will be badge of honour 15:00 , Amelia Neath Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel roasted George Santos for saying he would wear his expulsion from Congress like a badge of honour. Mr Kimmel has been recently mourning the fact that one of the favourite subjects on his show, Mr Santos, may no longer deliver any cringeworthy moments to monologue about after he potentially leaves Congress, so hes getting them in while he can. The 35-year-old Republican is due to face a vote of expulsion from Congress after damning evidence was revealed by a House Ethics Report on bizarre violations of federal law that he made. Despite the public embarrassment that came with the revelations he used donor money to buy Botox treatments and an OnlyFans subscription and the possible end to his short political career, Mr Santos was steadfast in his proclamation that if he was removed from Congress, he would wear it like a badge of honour. right next to his medal of freedom and his Purple Heart [medal], Mr Kimmel quipped on his show on Monday. Santos lies revealed post-election 14:00 , John Bowden A bombshell New York Times report on 19 December revealed to a broader audience for the first time many of Mr Santos fabrications and lies about his employment and education history. A flood of further embellishments soon followed, including the 9/11 -related death of his mother, claims he had been a producer on the failed Broadway production of Spider-Man, how he had cheated associates out of clothes and cash, and had stolen $3,000 that had been raised to save a disabled veterans pet dog. A pressure group formed by citizens in his 3rd Congressional District began holding protests outside his campaign office to try to force his expulsion from Congress. As Mr Santos pile of scandals grew, he threw himself behind Kevin McCarthys campaign for Speaker of the House. Mr McCarthy welcomed the support given his razor-thin majority, and refused to take action on any of the mounting ethical scandals, even as a growing number of New York Republicans called for him to be removed from Congress. At the State of the Union in February, Mr Santos had an altercation with Mitt Romney after the Utah Senator told him he didnt belong in Congress and should be embarrassed. Tell that to the 142,000 who voted for me, Mr Santos reportedly replied. Following the speech, Mr Romney called the New York Republican a sick puppy. In March, the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into whether Mr Santos had engaged in unlawful activity. Hes most likely just a fabulist 12:00 , Bevan Hurley Soon after his 2020 election defeat, Mr Santos began raising money for the next congressional race. New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, who is now the third-ranking Republican in the House, endorsed him in 2021. Later that year, a vulnerability study commissioned with Mr Santos approval found alarming revelations, and many of his staffers resigned, according to the Times. Among other things, it found he had falsely claimed to have been endorsed by Mr Trump, along with many of the lies about his job history and personal wealth that have since been revealed. Congressional leaders learned of his deceptions by 2022. According to the Times, Dan Conston, the leader of the Kevin McCarthy-aligned Congressional Leadership Fund, tried to circulate the reports findings to prominent donors. Two pieces of luck helped paved the way for his election to Congress in 2022: Thomas Suozzi, the 3rd Districts incumbent lawmaker, announced he would not seek re-election and redistricting amounted in a new congressional district map gerrymandered to add a swathe of Republican areas. Mr Santos again ran unopposed for the Republican nomination, and faced Democrat Robert Zimmerman in the general election, the first House race between two openly gay candidates. Still, Mr Santos went on to take the district that November by eight points. Early political career 10:00 , Bevan Hurley Mr Santos murky and ever-changing biography makes it difficult to parse fact from fiction during his early forays into politics. In 2018, he began volunteering for the campaign of Republican Vickie Paladino, who was running for state Senate. He reportedly boasted of his ties to Wall Street donors who could contribute but did little actual work. The next year, he reportedly made his first attempt to get elected to Congress but failed to secure enough signatures to get on the Queens County Republican Committee. That month he launched his campaign for the United States House of Representatives in New Yorks 3rd Congressional District in 2020 against Democratic incumbent Thomas Suozzi. No other candidates put their names forward. When pressed by reporters why he lived out of the district, he claimed to reside at an address that turned out to be his treasurers. He lost the general election by about 46,000 votes, but still exceeded Republican expectations for the strongly Democratic district. He refused to concede the election. Mr Santos spoke at the Stop the Steal rally at the Ellipse in Washington DC on the day of the Capitol riots on January 6, claiming his election had been stolen. A roommate would later claim that Mr Santos had worn his stolen $520 Burberry scarf to the rally. In 2020, while running for Congress, he began working at Florida investment firm Harbor City Capital, which was later accused in a civil lawsuit by the Security and Exchange Commission of running a $17m Ponzi scheme. He has publicly denied any involvement in the alleged fraud. An alleged drag queen in Brazil 08:00 , Bevan Hurley While living in Brazil, Mr Santos also reportedly performed as a drag queen named Kitara Ravache as a young man. In January, Brazilian drag artist Eula Rochard posted photos to social media herself with a person wearing a red dress, bright red lipstick and dangling chandelier earrings who she identified as Mr Santos. Journalist Joao Fragah also said he had interviewed Mr Santos in costume. A Politico investigation later found that a user on Wikipedia named Anthony Devolder claimed to have participated in drag shows in Brazil as a teenager. Mr Santos issued a furious denial of the claims on social media, at a time when his Republican Party was vilifying and seeking to ban drag queens from performing in some states. He called allegations that he performed as a drag Queen is categorically false. However, the next day, Mr Santos appeared to admit that he had participated in drag. I was young and I had fun at a festival. Sue me for having a life, he said. He moved back to New York in 2011, working as a bilingual customer services representative at a call centre for Dish Network, a satellite TV firm, in Queens, where he would have earned about $15 an hour. Mr Santos exhaled a stream of lies over a series of interviews: he alleged to have graduated from NYU business school, played as a star volleyball player at Baruch College, and attended the elite private school Horace Mann in New York, but failed to graduate due to financial difficulties, and worked at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. These claims have either been disproven or not substantiated. In February, the non-profit Reclaim the Records obtained court records showing he married a Brazilian woman in 2012. His former wife, who has not been identified, filed for divorce in 2019. He has since said he is married to a Brazilian man, whom he identified by the first name of Matt. He reportedly told Brazilian publication Piaui in November 2020 that his husbands name is Matheus Gerard. False FEC reports 06:00 , John Bowden No campaign-related fraud is complete without lying to the Federal Election Commission, and Mr Santos is accused of doing that too. This remains an issue being played out publicly in New York court, where two of his former campaign staffers have now pleaded guilty to finance-related crimes in connection with his campaign. One pretended to be a staffer for Kevin McCarthy. Another, his treasurer, is accused of filing false reports to the FEC detailing the congressmans fictitious loans and other questionable spending. She has testified in court filings that Mr Santos knew about her activities; he has denied this. But the House investigation makes it clear that Mr Santoss own campaign staff described their finances as a black box controlled and viewed only by Mr Santos and the treasurer, Nancy Marks. Despite his public statements to the contrary, the subcommittee report described him as highly involved in his campaigns financial operations, and also faulted him for ignoring warnings from his own campaign staff about Ms Marks and financial irregularities within the campaigns spending reports. Even if Representative Santoswas not aware of all of the other errors in his campaign reports relating to other receipts and disbursements, he had his own concerns and was repeatedly advised by multiple members of his team about concerns regarding Ms. Marks, but he failed to take meaningful action, the report found. Misuse of campaign funds 04:00 , John Bowden This is perhaps the widest variety of crimes Mr Santos is alleged to have committed though not by much. The congressman was frequently in debt, had an abysmal credit score, and relied on an ever-growing wallet of high-interest credit cards to fund his luxury spending habits, according to the investigative subcommittee. He used campaign funds to pay off those credit card debts in part, according to the Ethics Committee, while also making direct deposits from campaign accounts into his personal bank account. He supposedly used these funds transferred to his private accounts through various means to make purchases at luxury brands including Hermes, on OnlyFans and for expensive meals. Fraud, fraud and more fraud 02:00 , John Bowden At the very top of the list is a staggering stretch of dishonest financial behaviour. The congressman is, in short, accused of lying about loaning his own money to his 2022 congressional campaign, then paying himself back for those fake loans with real money. Those fake loans topped $500,000 no small amount. But thats not the only fraud Mr Santos is accused of engaging in; he is accused of deceiving donors into giving money to RedStone LLC, ostensibly to support his campaign; in reality, that money was also used, according to the Ethics Committee, as a kind of slush fund for Mr Santoss personal use. He and his campaign are also accused of obtaining donors credit card numbers and stealing their identities. Three House Democrats and 14 senators expelled in 1861 for backing Confederacy 01:00 , Gustaf Kilander Three House Democrats, Henry Cornelius Burnett, John William Reid, and John Bullock Clark, were all expelled alongside 14 Democratic senators for backing the Confederacy following the breakout of the US Civil War in 1861. Since the Civil War, no senator has been expelled. Only one expulsion occurred before 1861 Senator William Blount, a founding father who signed the US Constitution and a member of what was then the Democratic-Republican party. He was ousted in 1797 for treason and conspiracy after he was accused of inciting a rebellion among the Muscogee Creek and Cherokee Native American tribes to help the British take over what was then the Spanish territory of West Florida. His land speculations had landed him in significant financial difficulty. In an apparent effort to extricate himself, Blount concocted a scheme for Indians and frontiersmen to attack Spanish Florida and Louisiana, in order to transfer those territories to Great Britain, the senate website states. Unfortunately for the senator, a letter, in which Blount thinly disguised his desire to arouse the Creek and Cherokee Indians to aid his plan, fell into the hands of Federalist president John Adams. Botox, OnlyFans and a stay in the Hamptons: Key revelations from George Santos ethics report 00:00 , John Bowden The long-awaited House Ethics Committee investigation into embattled New York Rep George Santos is here, and boy is it a doozy. A lengthy report from the committee published on Thursday stated that there was credible evidence to indicate that the Republican misused campaign funds for a wide range of personal expenses, committed fraud, and misled the Federal Election Commission (FEC). It was a damning end to a months-long investigation which had, until now, been Mr Santoss golden ticket to survive the repeated efforts by his fellow lawmakers including Republicans from his own state to kick him out of Congress. Now, his days in Congress are presumably numbered as it is overwhelmingly likely that the House will vote to expel him in the coming days. Lawmakers tried as much only a few weeks ago, with Mr Santos being saved once again by colleagues who did not wish to set a precedent of prejudging a member under investigation by the Ethics Committee. The New York congressman was already facing numerous felony charges in New York under indictment from the Justice Department. He will not run for re-election, according to a lengthy tirade posted to Twitter moments after the Ethics Committee report was released. Even that statement is a total reversal of a declaration he made to CNNs Manu Raju less than a month ago in an interview. In that same statement Thursday, he called for Americans to call a Constitutional Convention to radically reform Congress. This is unlikely to occur, and particularly so if it is championed by a congressman who has now admitted to fabricating nearly the entirety of his background and is known to have lied about everything from being descended from Holocaust survivors to seeing his mother die on 9/11. House expulsions: Michael Myers Monday 27 November 2023 23:00 , Gustaf Kilander The Pennsylvania Democrat was expelled in 1980 after he was convicted of bribery. More recently, he was sent back to jail for 30 months after admitting to committing election fraud. Myers was one of several officials to be caught up in the Abscam sting conducted by the FBI in 1980, which led to the end of his four years in Congress, according to WHYY. At the time, Mr Myers was offered a bribe by FBI agents posing as aides for an Arab sheikh. Before accepting $50,000, he said: Money talks in this business and bull**** walks. He was sentenced to three years in prison and expelled from the House by a vote of 376 to 30. Last year, he admitted to paying a judge of elections in two polling places to add votes between 2014 and 2018. What the judge of elections for the 39/36 would do during the scheme was while the polling place was otherwise not busy step into the machine and just add to the vote totals for specific candidates that were favoured and supported by Myers, Assistant US Attorney Eric Gibson said at the time, WHYY reported. On Myers instructions, he would just flip the switch, add the vote tallies or extra votes to the candidates on the little machine. So then when the machine spits out the results at the end of the evening, it would have those fraudulent votes recorded within the tally. At another polling place, Mr Gibson said, They voted for individuals who they knew would not appear. But then they signed those individuals names into the records, into the paper records. So, for example, if Eric Gibson did not appear on Election Day, nonetheless, somebody would sign the sign-in sheet with my name and then somebody would sign the polling book with my name so that the tallies coming out of the machine matched the number of voters. In 1979, he punched and kicked a security guard and a 19-year-old woman working at a motel in the suburbs of Washington, DC after they told him to turn down the music at a party he was hosting there. Im a congressman, we dont have to be quiet, he shouted, according to the Register-Guard. A first generation American Monday 27 November 2023 22:00 , Bevan Hurley Given his prodigious propensity for telling fibs, basic details of Mr Santos personal history, such as his real name, marital status, and precisely where he was born merit a healthy dose of skepticism. According to his congressional website, Mr Santos is a first generation American born in Jackson Heights, Queens, in July 1988. His parents were both Brazilian immigrants Fatima Devolder, who worked as a housekeeper, and Gercino Antonio dos Santos Jr, a house painter. He has a younger sister, Tiffany Lee Devolder Santos. Former co-workers who worked with Mr Santos at Dish Network in College Point in 2011 and 2012 told Patch that he used to tell them he was born in Brazil. Then, he was known as Anthony Devolder or George Devolder. His true birthplace is significant because the Constitution requires members of Congress to have been US citizens for seven years before election. Mr Santos has claimed in interviews that he is a dual citizen of Brazil and the United States. Tiffany Bogosian told the Washington Post that even at a young age, Mr Santos would fabricate parts of his biography. She put this down to his impoverished background, and said he had still been learning English while at junior high and was bullied during his time there. From 2008 to 2011, Mr Santos lived in Brazil where his mother was living at the time. In 2008, Mr Santos was accused by Brazilian authorities of using a stolen checkbook and fake name at a clothing shop outside Rio de Janeiro. Citing court documents, the New York Times reported that Mr Santos told police in 2010 that he and his mother had stolen a checkbook from a man that she used to work for, and used it to make $1,300 in illegal purchases of clothes and shoes. In March, Mr Santos admitted the crime and agreed to pay the victim back as part of a non-prosecution agreement, CNN reported. On the campaign trail, Mr Santos repeatedly claimed that he is of Jewish descent and that his grandparents were European Jews who fled Hitler. Jewish cultural groups and online sleuths later unearthed records showing his grandparents were born in Brazil. Mr Santos later clarified to the New York Post that he had said he was Jew-ish. Speaker says he spoke to Santos about his options' Monday 27 November 2023 21:11 , Gustaf Kilander House Speaker Mike Johnson was asked on Monday if there would be a vote on the fate of Mr Santos this week. It remains to be seen. Ive spoken to Congressman Santos at some length over the holiday and talked to him about his options, but its not yet determined, he said. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), when asked if there will be an expulsion vote this week for Rep. George Santos (R-NY): It remains to be seen. I've spoken to Rep. Santos at some length over the holiday and talked to him about his options, but its not yet determined. pic.twitter.com/z4zJlBQscq The Recount (@therecount) November 27, 2023 House expulsions: James Traficant Monday 27 November 2023 21:00 , Gustaf Kilander The Ohio Democrat served nine terms in the House between January 1985 and July 2002 when he was booted from the lower chamber following his conviction on racketeering, bribery, and fraud. He was only the second lawmaker to be expelled from the House since the Civil War. His September 2014 obituary in The Washington Post referred to him as one of the most deliberately outrageous members of Congress in history. Glib and voluble, he was known for wearing cowboy boots, skinny ties and out-of-date polyester suits and for a bouffant mound of hair that seemed to defy gravity, Matt Schudel wrote at the time. The Los Angeles Times referred to it as a Planet of the Apes sort of hair helmet, while Washingtonian magazine wrote that it was a creature from Lake Erie before it was cleaned up. Before joining Congress, he served as the sheriff of Mahoning Country. He was put on trial in 1983 after prosecutors acquired a tape that included him saying he had accepted more than $100,000 in bribes from organised crime. But despite his complete lack of legal training, Traficant represented himself and managed to argue that he had collected the bribes as part of a sting operation and he was acquitted. He became known for his brief, rambling speeches on the House floor, often ending with a Star Trek reference: Beam me up, Mr Speaker. In 1997, he said: Let us tell it like it is. When you hold this economy to your nosey, this economy does not smell so rosy. If there is any consolation to the American workers, I never heard of anyone committing suicide by jumping out of a basement window. The following year, he said: Russia gets $15bn in foreign aid from Uncle Sam. In exchange, Uncle Sam gets nuclear missiles pointed at our cities, two tape decks and three cases of vodka. Beam me up. In 2002, Mr Traficant faced a 10-count felony indictment for racketeering, bribery and fraud, with federal prosecutors alleging that he required a number of his aides to pay him kickbacks each month of as much as $2,500 just to work for him. Yet other staff were required to bale hay on his Ohio farm or repair his Washington DC houseboat. He also faced allegations that he filed false tax returns and pushed businesses in his district to provide goods and services at no charge. He once again acted as his own attorney, but this time he was convicted on all counts. On 24 July 2002, he was removed from the House after a vote of 420 to one. After making a comment about what he called the political prostitutes in Congress, he said: I want to apologize to all the hookers of America for associating them with the United States Congress. When is the George Santos expulsion vote expected? Monday 27 November 2023 20:30 , Ariana Baio The House of Representatives is expected to meet this week to vote on whether lawmakers should expel the embattled New York Rep George Santos from Congress. The vote will come nearly two weeks after the House Ethics Committee published a damning report containing substantial evidence that Mr Santos allegedly broke various federal laws. The committee alleged that Mr Santos knowingly had his campaign committee file false and incomplete reports to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), used campaign funds for personal expenses, committed violations of the Ethics in Government Act and engaged in fraudulent conduct with a company he co-owned. Following the report, Representative Michael Guest, the chairman of the Ethics Committee, filed a motion to expel Mr Santos from Congress. Mr Santos, who was elected to New Yorks 3rd Congressional District in 2022, said he is anticipating to be expelled. I know Im going to get expelled when this expulsion resolution goes to the floor, Mr Santos said during a live Spaces event on X. The vote could happen as soon as Tuesday, 28 November, when members of the House return from their Thanksgiving holiday break. In order to expel Mr Santos, the House needs two-thirds of its members to vote in favour of Mr Guests motion. Earlier this month, a similar motion to expel Mr Santos brought by New York Republicans, failed on a 179 to 213 vote. However, this was before the House Ethics Committee report was released. The incredible rise and dramatic fall of George Santos Monday 27 November 2023 20:00 , Bevan Hurley Congressman George Santos tenure has been anything but dull his rise to power and fall from grace have been equally mired in controversy. After less than two years in Congress, his list of lies and scandals appears to have finally grown too long for him to defend anymore, as he announced he wouldnt seek re-election in 2024 after the release of a damning House Ethics Committee report. The committee said it found substantial evidence that Mr Santos had broken federal laws after finding additional uncharged and unlawful conduct, which included using campaign funds to make purchases at Hermes, Sephora and OnlyFans. In 2022, Mr Santos was elected as the Republican Partys first openly gay, non-incumbent member of Congress, and touted himself as a living embodiment of the American dream. But he has since been exposed as a serial fabricator, and now an accused criminal. Bribes, treason and hay bales: The scattered history of expulsions from Congress Monday 27 November 2023 19:30 , Gustaf Kilander Scandal-plagued New York Rep George Santos looks set to join an exclusive group of people as he has acknowledged that hes likely to be expelled from Congress. I know Im going to get expelled when this expulsion resolution goes to the floor, Mr Santos, 35, said last week in a broadcast on the X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter. In the X Space event hosted by Monica Matthews, a rightwing personality, Mr Santos said, I have done the math over and over and it doesnt look really good. But he claimed that he would wear his expulsion like a badge of honour. The latest blow of many to Mr Santoss short yet tumultuous political career came in the form of a 56-page report from the House Ethics Committee released earlier this month which outlined substantial evidence that Mr Santos violated federal law. The report included allegations that Mr Santos used campaign money to pay for his personal expenses, such as Botox, and luxury purchases at Hermes and Ferragamo, as well as smaller sums spent on OnlyFans, food, parking, travel and rent. The House can consider the motion to expel Mr Santos put forward by ethics panel chair GOP Rep Michael Guest as soon as Tuesday when lawmakers return from Thanksgiving break but when the vote may be taken up on the floor remains unclear. Mr Santos would be the first member of the House to be removed in modern times without first having been convicted of a crime. Late-night shows eviscerate George Santos after damning ethics revelations Monday 27 November 2023 18:00 , Amelia Neath Late-night show hosts seized the moment to give George Santos a huge roasting after a damming ethics report that revealed he spent campaign money on Botox and OnlyFans. Mr Santos, who believes the report was a dirty biased act and one that tramples all over my rights, now faces a fresh motion to expel him from the House after his indictment of 23 federal charges in October as well as the new report. Following the release of the document, the GOP New York representative announced in a series of tirades on X that he would not run for re-election in 2024. In the report, the House Ethics Committee accused the politician of lying about loaning personal money to his 2022 congressional campaign, then paying himself back for those fake loans with actual money. He is also alleged to have spent donor money on personal indulgences such as Botox, Hermes merchandise, trips and an OnlyFans subscription. Something that caught guest The Daily Show host Leslie Jones eye was the report noting Mr Santos lavish trips to Atlantic City. Have you been to Atlantic City? she inquired. A lavish trip there just means you dont go home with bed bugs. SNL stars cant stop laughing in brutal George Santos skit Monday 27 November 2023 16:00 , Martha McHardy George Santos was roasted on Saturday Night Lives Weekend Update after a House Ethics Committee report found he had spent tens of thousands of campaign dollars on Botox and OnlyFans. In the scathing report, released on Thursday, Mr Santos was accused of lying about loaning personal money to his 2022 congressional campaign, then paying himself back for the fake loans with campaign funds. He also used donor money to splash out on personal indulgences such as Botox, Hermes merchandise, vacations to the Hamptons and Las Vegas, and on OnlyFans. The congressman, who was indicted on 23 federal charges in October, has claimed the report is a dirty biased act and one that tramples all over my rights. He is now facing a fresh motion to expel him from the House. On Saturdays SNL, comedian Bowen Yang appeared on the show as the congressman as he was asked about the scandal by Weekend Update co-host Colin Jost. George, this is serious. Theyre calling for your expulsion, Mr Jost said. Well then, girl, expul me! Mr Yangs Mr Santos replied. VOICES: The House has no more options but to expel George Santos Monday 27 November 2023 14:10 , Eric Garcia It might finally be over for Rep George Santos (R-NY) and, moreover, the House Republican conference might finally be out of excuses to keep him in the House. On Friday, Rep Michael Guest (R-MS), the chairman of the House Ethics Committee, filed a resolution to expel the embattled and disgraced freshman Republican. This came a day after the committee released its damning report detailing Mr Santoss misdeeds. (My colleague John Bowden wrote a list of the most outrageous parts of the probe.) While many of the headlines noted how Mr Santos used campaign cash to pay for expensive meals, shopping trips to Sephora, Botox purchases and Only Fans sessions, fraud lies at the heart of the probe, specifically the fact he lied to the Federal Election Commission, with one of his staffers pretending to be a staffer for now-deposed speaker Kevin McCarthy. Similarly, he also lied about loans he made to his own campaign to qualify for assistance from the national Republican Party campaign apparatus. As a result, Mr Guests resolution could easily be said to be speaking for the entirety of the committee. It might easy to dismiss this effort by Mr Guest given that he is a conservative Republican from Mississippi who voted to overturn the 2020 election. Similarly, some may roll their eyes considering the House has already had two failed attempts to expel Mr Santos. But those efforts differ wildly from the current expulsion push. The first time came when Reps Dan Goldman and Ritchie Torres, both New York Democrats, led a motion in May that the House majority immediately referred to the Ethics Committee. Im not running for re-election because I dont want to work with a bunch of hypocrites' Monday 27 November 2023 14:08 , Mike Bedigan Despite his explosive criticism of the report, Mr Santos acknowledged that he may soon be exiting the House, having already said that he wont seek re-election in 2024. Im not running for re-election, not because this was a damning report, he said. Im not running for re-election because I dont want to work with a bunch of hypocrites. I know Im going to get expelled when this expulsion resolution goes to the floor. The House Ethics Committee began its investigation in March 2023, after allegations of campaign finance misconduct and that Mr Santos lied about biographical details surfaced. Last weeks report found that the 35-year-old had violated ethics guidelines, the rules of the House and criminal laws, and that he had been aware that he was crossing the line. Mr Santos was indicted on 13 federal charges in May 2023, and in October, a superseding indictment brought another 10 criminal counts against him, bringing the total to 23. Santos has survived previous attempts to expel him Monday 27 November 2023 14:06 , Mike Bedigan Mr Santos has survived two expulsion attempts already, but some members of the GOP have indicated that they will vote differently, following the publishing of the report. In an interview on X Spaces on Thursday, Mr Santos declared that due process is dead and described the report as flawed, before launching a searing attack on the document which he said was an affront against my rights. The amount of hyperbole in this document is daunting. Every single person Ive had discussions about it with I have spoken to prominent Democrats who were troubled by the work of this committee, he said. It was designed to smear me, it was designed to force me out of my seat. That is what the intention of this report was. This report wasnt a finding of facts. He continued: I will stand for expulsion. I want to see them set this precedent because this precedent sets a new era of due process, which means you are guilty until proven innocent. We will take your accusations and use it to smear, to mangle, to destroy you and remove you from society. That is what they are doing with this. This report is an affront against my rights and it should worry each and every single one of you guys. George Santos says he expects to be expelled from Congress Monday 27 November 2023 13:55 , Mike Bedigan George Santos says he expects to be expelled from the House of Representatives, in the wake of a scathing report from an ethics committee accusing him of campaign finance violations. The New York congressman said he felt like the it girl when he was first elected in 2022 as the first openly gay Republican and that everybody wanted him, until nobody wanted me. Last week the long-awaited House Ethics Committee investigation into the embattled congressman was published. It stated that there was credible evidence to indicate that the Republican misused campaign funds for a wide range of personal expenses, committed fraud, and misled the Federal Election Commission (FEC). House Ethics panel chairman GOP Rep Michael Guest of Mississippi filed a motion for Mr Santos expulsion a day later. The chamber can take up the motion on 28 November upon lawmakers return from Thanksgiving recess. GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) Georgetown ISD began a series of meetings this week to gain input from parents about the rezoning of 7 elementary and middle school campuses. According to GISD, the addition of two campuses next school year are the catalyst for the rezoning. The district has proposed creating attendance zones for San Gabriel Elementary School in the Santa Rita Ranch neighborhood, and the new Benold Middle School in the Parmer Ranch neighborhood. The campuses that may be impacted by this zoning are Wolf Ranch Elementary, Williams Elementary, Mitchell Elementary, Cooper Elementary Forbes Middle, Tippit Middle, and Wagner Middle School. Superintendent Devin Padavil said these new attendance zones are in an effort to accommodate the rapidly growing population of Georgetown. This summer, estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau revealed Georgetown to be the fastest-growing city in the nation. Several local cities are among the fastest-growing in the country, new population estimates show Padavil said all the campuses that could be affected by this zoning are all experiencing some form of overcrowding. We have to really shift the boundaries of where kids go to school for middle school and for elementary. That helps us manage the growth and relieve the pressure from overcrowded schools. Staff and the principals are able to manage it, but its better for kids when were able to make sure everybodys inside the building, Padavil said. The first of seven public meetings about the redistricting was Monday at Tibbit Middle School. The next is to be in the Wolf Ranch Elementary School cafeteria from 6-7pm, November 28. For a full list of upcoming meetings follow this link to the districts website. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. The venue of the China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing on Nov. 26, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua] China is holding its first China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing from Nov. 28 to Dec. 2 under the theme of "Connecting the World for a Shared Future." The event represents a landmark contribution to bolstering global industrial and supply chains and positions China as a global hub for connecting hundreds of domestic and foreign companies with international exhibitors and suppliers. As the world's first national-level expo with a dedicated focus on bolstering industrial supply chains, the CISCE carries an important message about embracing interconnectedness and overcoming disruption risks. It is a big step toward fostering innovative exchanges among companies that have achieved technological breakthroughs and will help to link participants with a range of domestic suppliers in one place. All of this delivers on China's understanding that the global industrial system is experiencing "a diversified layout, regional cooperation, green transformation, and accelerated digitalization." It also significantly reflects China's vision to share new opportunities for global supply chain resilience, particularly during a period of rapid global transformations in technology, science, and resources. The expo offers five designated supply chain areas to demonstrate those prospects. These include areas relating to smart vehicles, green agriculture, clean energy, digital technology, and healthy living, effectively catering to multi-sector collaborations. Through a wide range of participating U.S. companies, the CISCE also reaffirms China's profile as a level-playing host to all businesses and manufacturers amid global division. After all, 20% of the CISCE's international exhibitors include U.S. companies, such as Amazon, Apple, Intel, ExxonMobil, Tesla, Intel, Qualcomm, Honeywell, and GE Health-Care. Their positive perception of the CISCE complements prospects of launching high-end U.S. products at a critical juncture. As two of the world's leading economies, China and the U.S. stand to benefit from a widening pool of trade and investment opportunities. These opportunities may gather momentum across key expo sectors such as smart vehicles, green agriculture and clean energy, and make clear that all participants are united in their pursuit of a dependable and secure global industrial supply chain system. "The first China International Supply Chain Expo showcases its strong appeal to American enterprises," said Zhang Shaogang, vice chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT). "As they pursue their own development goals, we also encourage these companies to actively contribute to the promotion of a healthy, stable, and long-term relationship between China and the United States." China continues to represent a top destination for manufacturers and has consistently demonstrated that decoupling and supply chain disruption benefits no one. Leading firms are able to leverage mass production through conducive market conditions, fair pricing, and a sense of stability in China's sprawling manufacturing ecosystem. The CISCE reflects these rationales and promises a long-term platform to better integrate domestic and overseas markets under the banner of "Joint Contribution, Extensive Promotion, and Shared Benefits." Through high-level exhibitions and a dedicated platform to spur cross-cutting partnerships, companies can navigate the intricacies of a fast-changing global and industrial supply chain environment. China's outstanding performance track record has also contributed to the launch of the inaugural CISCE. The country understands the value of resilient global supply chains to international economic development well, encouraging countries to establish a truly efficient and open supply chain system. A significant majority of foreign enterprises consider the Chinese market their primary consumption base, and China's manufacturing capabilities represent nearly a third of the global share. As such, the CISCE puts all these merits on offer for international exhibitors and participants. By leveraging greater market opportunities, countries are best positioned to plug volatilities in the international supply chain system and drive long-term stability. Hannan R. Hussain is a foreign affairs commentator, author and recipient of the Fulbright Award. Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn. TechCrunch Yesterday in Helsinki, this editor interviewed four of the six general partners at Benchmark, the nearly 30-year-old, Silicon Valley firm thats known for some notable bets (Uber, Dropbox), paying each general partner exactly the same way, and for continuing to raise similar-size funds over its many years rather than balloon in size. Victor Lazarte, a gaming company entrepreneur who joined Benchmark five months ago as its newest GP, admitted that there was no business reason for Benchmark to come other than its an exceptional place for the tech world to convene. Larzarte was equally candid when the conversation turned to soaring valuations in recent years, and I asked about his own gaming company, Wildlife Studios, which raised a Series A round from Benchmark in 2019 at a $1.3 billion valuation and, less than a year later, was assigned a valuation of $3 billion when Vulcan Capital led a subsequent round. Fire destroyed a home in Baldwin Monday afternoon, resulting in one of the homeowners being taken to the hospital for treatment. The Baldwin Fire Department said a fire on Mallard Pond Circle was reported just after 4:30 p.m. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] We got the call for a residential fire with mutual aid from the county, said Baldwin Assistant Fire Chief Shaun Benfield. Station 12 arrived on scene. They were the first ones on the scene. Benfield said the home was fully engulfed in flames when they, along with firefighters from Cornelia, Baldwin, and Habersham County, got to the scene. We had a fully involved structure on the upstairs, Benfield said. They were, however, able to get inside and put the fire out. One of the homeowners was injured in the fire. There was one injury to one of the homeowners and shes been taken to Northeast Georgia for care, Benfield said. Im unsure of her condition. TRENDING STORIES: Reports from fire officials say the home was a total loss in the fire. The structure is pretty much a total loss, Benfield said. Fire officials have not determined the cause of the fire. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: Georgia prosecutors in former President Donald Trumps election interference racketeering case reportedly say they will not consider plea deals for codefendants Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani or Trump himself. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has decided to proceed to try Trump and his two top lieutenants as the alleged ringleaders of his plot to steal the 2020 election in the Peach State and elsewhere, the Guardian reported Tuesday. Willis has named Trump the leader of the multipronged conspiracy to overturn his loss to President Biden. But the decision to bar a deal appears to dramatically raise the stakes for Meadows and Giuliani. The former White House chief of staff may have hoped to wriggle off the hook in the Georgia case and has so far unsuccessfully sought to have his case moved to federal court. He offered some cooperation to special counsel Jack Smith in exchange for testimony to the federal grand jury investigating the election interference case, but has apparently not made any formal cooperation deal. Giuliani faces a plethora of legal woes in Georgia and elsewhere, including a slam-dunk defeat in a defamation case filed by Atlanta election workers whom he falsely accused of rigging votes for President Biden. The judgment could bankrupt him. The ex-mayor is also named as an unindicted coconspirator in the federal election interference case led by Smith. He submitted to questioning by Smiths team in what legal analysts called an effort to win a deal to avoid prosecution, but there is no sign that he was successful. Aside from signaling danger to Meadows and Giuliani, the reported decision by Willis could serve as a flashing invitation to the other dozen or so remaining codefendants to step up talks for plea agreements in the sprawling case. The most prominent name that was left off of Willis must-face-trial list is pro-Trump law professor John Eastman. The right-wing law professor is considered the architect of Trumps alleged scheme to convince Republican lawmakers in Georgia and other battleground states to create bogus slates of pro-Trump electors to muddy the waters of Bidens victory. That is one of several intertwined plots laid out in the RICO indictment, along with an effort to bully officials into investigating bogus claims of widespread voter fraud and a bizarre plan to hack into voting machines in a rural pro-Trump Georgia county. So far, three other Trump lawyers have already pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against Trump and the others, along with a Trump campaign activist who allegedly aided the Coffee County voting machine effort. That leaves 14 codefendants still facing the prospect of going on trial alongside Trump. Several of them are relatively low-level participants in the plot or fake electors who legal analysts say should have a strong incentive to plead guilty and put the case behind them. Georgias RICO law carries sentences of up to 20 years in prison and would not be subject to pardons. The statute is considered a particularly powerful weapon for prosecutors, and Willis has proven her effectiveness at using it to jail crooked mobsters, drug dealers and even cheating teachers. Willis has asked Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee to set a date of Aug. 5 for the trial, which is expected to last several months. lf that schedule holds, Trump would face the daunting prospect of being on trial in an Atlanta courtroom during the last months of the 2024 presidential campaign. Trump faces a March 4 trial in Washington, D.C., in the federal election interference case presided over by District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan. _____ For Vera Conner, a quick run to her local Subway for lunch became a weeks-long debacle after she was charged $7112.98 for a sub and couldnt quickly reverse it. Conner went to the fast food restaurant in the Atlanta suburb of College Park, Georgia, last month on Oct. 23 and ordered her usual a #4 Italian sandwich, which she told WSB-TV cost $7.54. However, she realized she paid way more after viewing her credit card receipts. The mishap occurred when she entered her phone number for reward points using the keypad, and the screen switched to the tip instead. I could have gone to Italy and got the sandwich, Conner told the outlet. Its a lot of money. And, you know, Im not that big of a tipper. Im definitely not that big of a tipper. After Vera Conner bought her usual lunch at Subway, she realized she was charged more than 7,000. (WSB-TV/Youtube screenshot) Since then, she had to work endlessly to get her money back. She even went to Subway in person but was told by the manager to contact Bank of America with her concern. I thought it would be an easy fix. Then I got the denial from the bank, Conner said during an interview with NBC News. Thats when I started worrying. According to the reports, the bank declined her request because she had to deduct the sandwich price from the claim and only include the tip amount. Last week, the bank offered Conner a credit, and the money will officially remain in her account when Subway completes the refund on their end. She questioned how her bank didnt realize there was a mistake. You hear all the time that you should use your credit card instead of your debit card so that these things dont happen, Conner told NBC News. Im even getting mad at the bank because Im like, How did they not think $7,000 was suspicious at Subway? Military and financial support for Ukraine is of "existential importance" for Europe, AFP reported on Feb. 28, quoting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz defending the countrys defense spending commitments as Berlin faces a domestic budget crisis. Germany, along with the United States, has been one of Ukraine's military biggest backers, supplying Kyiv with weapons to battle the Russian invasion. "We will continue with this support as long as it is necessary," Scholz said in a speech to parliament, adding that it was "of existential importance for Ukraine... but also for us in Europe. None of us wants to imagine what even more serious consequences it would have for us if Putin were to win this war." Read also: The chancellor was addressing MPs following a shock Constitutional Court ruling earlier this month that blew a massive hole in the government's spending plans. Scholz, however, did not mention the supply of German Taurus cruise missiles, which Kyiv has been urgently requesting from Berlin for many months. 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 Journalists, academics, and recent op-eds are highlighting how Germanys complicated historical relationship with Jewish people and Israel is eclipsing Palestinian voices in the country. An American writer on Tuesday claimed that a German university rescinded its invite for him to give the keynote address at a conference, citing his apparent pro-Palestine posts on social media. The German government is also mulling measures to restrict criticism of Israel, with the parliament debating new proposals that would require refugees and asylum seekers to commit to Israels right to exist as a condition of acquiring citizenship. The situation of Palestinians in Germany is one of collective loneliness, a Palestinian doctor told Coda Media. Professional repercussions for being seen as pro-Palestine, along with bans on symbols and events, mean that many Palestinians are not even allowed to mourn publicly as their family members in Gaza are being killed, the doctor said. Since reunification in 1990, Germanys national identity has been founded upon coming to terms with the past, Berlin-based writer Sanders Isaac Bernstein writes for Coda. It means taking responsibility for the Holocaust and showing support for Israel, but this historical guilt and culture of remembrance holds little room for non-ethnic Germans, he argues. Despite Germanys legal protections for free speech and assembly, the countrys support for Israel takes priority over protests or gatherings supporting Palestine that from a sober legal perspective cannot be banned, a constitutional law academic told Coda. The voices of Jewish people in Germany who criticize Israel are drowned out by Germans whose Holocaust-guilt complexes cause them to fetishise Jewishness to the point of obsessive-compulsive embodiment, writes Deborah Feldman, the German-American writer whose escape from her ultra-orthodox Jewish community was turned into a Netflix miniseries. The German government ignores the way dissenting Jews in Germany are being thrown under the same bus as they are in Israel, Feldman argues in the Guardian, referring to the lack of Israels military protection for the victims of Hamas Oct. 7 massacre, many of whom were left-leaning and secular Israelis advocating for peaceful coexistence. Recalling her own experience of being targeted for criticizing Israel, Feldman accuses Germany of protecting only those Jewish voices who are loyal to the rightwing nationalist government of Israel. The proposed reforms for Germanys citizenship law are targeting the wrong people, argues Palestinian journalist Hebh Jamal in Mondoweiss. Over 80% of all antisemitic crimes in Germany are committed by the far-right, according to federal police, but the new bill clearly singles out Arabs and migrants, claiming antisemitism in Germany is now only imported, Jamal writes. The problem, she opines, is that Germanys definition and scope of an antisemitic crime is extremely ambiguous, and has been criticized by some scholars as wrongly conflating criticism of Israel with anti-Jewish racism. By Andreas Rinke and Miranda Murray BERLIN (Reuters) -German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday sought to reassure the public and businesses that his government would modernise the economy and support vital industries such as chip factories, despite a court ruling that tore a hole in the federal budget. A constitutional court ruling nearly two weeks ago blocked Berlin's plans to reallocate unused pandemic funds towards green initiatives and industry support, raising fears Germany's economy could be further weakened and shaking Scholz's coalition government. The verdict also called into question Germany's traditionally strict fiscal policy and sparked warnings that companies could be starved of support to keep them globally competitive while subsidies were offered elsewhere. Speaking to parliament, Scholz referenced the COVID pandemic, the war in Ukraine and soaring energy prices. "It would be a grave and unforgivable mistake to neglect the modernisation of our country in the face of all these acute challenges," Scholz told the Bundestag in a 25-minute speech. The country's federal states had the greatest interest in securing investment in areas such as semiconductors, climate-friendly steel production and battery plants, he said, addressing concerns of specific industries. Scholz said the government would end a scheme to cap energy prices by the end of this year, but promised to act quickly if prices shot up again. However, he left open the question of whether the government, which agreed to suspend Germany's constitutionally enshrined debt brake this year because of the crisis, would do it again in 2024, which some in his coalition and union members called for but the opposition might challenge in court. SPENDING CURBS AN OPTION Scholz said his government was working with parliament to draw up a 2024 budget "as quickly as possible" that could include spending curbs. Scholz's assurances that his government would solve the budget crisis with care were met with jeers and laughter from the opposition Christian Democrats (CDU), whose lawsuit against the government had sparked the earlier court ruling. He promised support for Ukraine would continue, after the recent budget turmoil raised questions over how much military aid Berlin was willing to commit. Scholz's government has pledged to double support for Kyiv to 8 billion euros ($8.76 billion) next year. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock later told a NATO meeting in Brussels that Germany would bring its defence spending up to the alliance's target of 2% of gross domestic product next year. 'ROLE MODEL' CDU leader Friedrich Merz accused Scholz's government of a brazen attempt to circumvent borrowing rules and said its behaviour risked undermining the European Union's wider fiscal reforms in upcoming negotiations. "If the dams burst in Germany, they will also not hold in all other countries in the currency union," Merz said. "Germany has a function as a role model there." Germany had a debt-to-GDP ratio of 65% in 2022, compared with 117% for France, 148% for Italy and 116% for Spain, OECD data show. Hendrik Wuest, CDU premier of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, said the government had ruined Germany's reputation as an anchor of stability in just two years. "The international damage is huge," he told the Rheinische Post newspaper. Memories of how frugality paved the way for postwar reconstruction and how costly it was to re-integrate indebted ex-communist East Germany have shaped a uniquely debt-averse political culture. In order to keep supporting industry, Finance Minister Christian Lindner has ruled out tax rises and said savings would have to be found elsewhere, backed up by potentially difficult welfare reforms. "We had no room for manouevre even before the ruling," Christoph Landscheidt, head of the local government association in North Rhine-Westphalia, told the Rheinische Post. "We've never before had such a pile-up of crises, all placing massive demands on local government budgets." Coalition party leaders are due to meet on Wednesday evening to thrash out a path to the 2024 budget. Their popularity has sagged during a period of weak economic performance, rising inflation and higher interest rates. But offering some reprieve, a new survey by Forsa suggested only just over a third of Germans believe a CDU-led government could handle the budget crisis better than the ruling coalition, while 59% did not. ($1 = 0.9134 euros) (Reporting by Andreas Rinke, Christian Kraemer, Miranda Murray, Rachel More, Maria Martinez, Alex Ratz; Writing by Matthias Williams and Thomas Escritt; editing by Kirsti Knolle, Bernadette Baum, Alex Richardson and Tomasz Janowski) No government funding bills are scheduled to hit the House floor this week, an ominous sign for Republicans returning to Washington for the first time since their Thanksgiving recess. Lawmakers face a mid-January deadline to fund the government or enter a partial government shutdown, and the window for completing its work is fast closing. Losing an entire week without passing an appropriations bill wont lead to a shutdown. But it doesnt help either. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. After this week, the House is set to be in session for just 16 legislative days before the first of a two-part deadline to fund the government on Jan. 19 with the rest expiring two weeks later, on Feb. 2. This weeks appropriations stall only exacerbates the time crunch. New Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is facing pressure from some of the same Republicans who toppled his predecessor, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) We need to show some real guts [on spending cuts], said Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), who was among the eight Republicans who helped oust McCarthy. Thats what weve kind of asked for. The initial schedule amounts to an admission from Republican leaders that the slim majority is stuck on how to handle its remaining appropriations measures. Conservative Republicans are insisting the chamber pass all 12 of the governments annual appropriations bills individually which they say would provide leverage in negotiations with the Democratic-led Senate. GOP leaders insist theyre on track to meet that demand, but long-standing disagreements over funding levels, social policies and other issues have led to several of the remaining funding bills either being torpedoed on the House floor or pulled from consideration. With a razor-thin majority and Democrats voting against all the bills out of opposition to cuts, Johnson has little room for error. While Johnson had expressed hope that the chambers first weeklong break in months would help calm the internal GOP tensions that followed McCarthys ouster, the time off has apparently not resulted in a plan to complete the partys funding measures. Instead, the new Speaker is facing the same predicament as the old: fighting to keep the government open which inevitably means working with Democrats without angering conservative spending hawks ready to accept a shutdown to win more of their demands. If those conservatives gave Johnson a mulligan on the short-term spending package that prevented a shutdown in mid-November, theyre also sending signals that he wont have the same luxury when the next set of deadlines comes around. Johnson has said he will not push through another short-term stopgap, as the House has twice this year, creating the real possibility of 2024 kicking off with at least a partial government shutdown. The Speaker, for his part, is expressing confidence that Congress will have its work done by the looming deadlines, telling reporters in Florida on Monday: Were optimistic that well be able to get those negotiated and done in time so that we will not be facing a government shutdown. But the chambers to-do list tells a different story. The Jan. 19 deadline includes programs and agencies covered by two of the remaining funding bills that the House has struggled to pass. One bill, covering agriculture programs and the Food and Drug Administration, has seen resistance over a provision limiting access to the abortion pill known as mifepristone, a disagreement that has bedeviled lawmakers for months. Another measure, relating to Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, faced disputes over cuts to Amtrak, prompting GOP leadership to pull a scheduled vote on the legislation earlier this month. The House has been unable to pass three of the eight funding measures due by Feb. 2, some of which have been held up over abortion-related provisions, proposals pertaining to the FBI and spending cuts. At the heart of Johnsons dilemma is the fact that the conservatives insisting on passing all 12 appropriations bills are largely the same lawmakers who have opposed a number of those proposals when GOP leaders have tried to bring them to the floor. Members of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus have led the way in pushing for lower spending levels. Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), former head of the Freedom Caucus, defended that conservative opposition, urging GOP leaders to redouble the effort to pass all the spending bills. You have to sometimes go back to the drawing board and work it out. Its supposed to be a deliberative body, and it makes it more deliberative that way, Biggs said before the Thanksgiving break. Republican leaders, however, are also getting squeezed from the moderate side of the conference they are starting to flex their votes to voice objections to cuts and social policies in the bills pushed by the right wing. Four swing-district New York Republicans joined with more than a dozen conservatives to tank a procedural vote on a funding bill before the Thanksgiving break. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who has opposed several of the GOPs funding bills, said House Republicans of course can find a path to agreement. But shes also shifting the blame for the bottleneck to the Senate, which has passed only three of its appropriations bills, versus seven in the House. The Senates not doing their job. We are doing our job. We are passing, and working to get our appropriation bills passed, Greene said just before the break. The question for the Senate is: When are they going to pass the bills that weve already sent over there? Theres two chambers that fund the government. The House GOPs struggles on its remaining funding bills are just one aspect of the time crunch. After figuring out its own position, the chamber must come to an agreement with the Democratic-controlled Senate, which has lagged behind the House in passing funding measures and appears headed toward a massive omnibus package a strategy Johnson says hell reject. We broke the omnibus fever we call it the omni fever, Johnson said Monday. The Senate has also marked up bills at higher levels than what McCarthy negotiated in a debt limit increase deal with the White House in June. As the funding fight drags on, senior appropriators worry that the House GOP will be on weak footing in interchamber negotiations if the conference continues to struggle with clearing its conservative spending bills. My goal is to move the most conservative bills we can out of the House to put us in the best possible negotiation position with the Senate, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), a House Appropriations Subcommittee chair, said before the Thanksgiving break. But if we cant pass, we dont get the Republican votes to do conservative bills, he continued, it just weakens our hand. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Last week in Wisconsin, the state Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that could invalidate the states comically, ludicrously, preposterously gerrymandered maps. If the court strikes those maps down, it will likely mean the end of the GOPs decadeslong domination of the statehouse and it will be because of what happened in Dane County in April. Almost a quarter million voters turned out in Dane, home of University of Wisconsin, for a spring special election several thousand more voters than turned out in Milwaukee, a county with almost double Danes population. A staggering 82 percent of Dane voters cast ballots to elevate liberal Judge Janet Protasiewicz to the state Supreme Court. Protasiewicz whose vote could decide the gerrymandering case ended up winning by 11 points. Coming on the heels of the 2022 midterms when Wisconsin led the nation in youth turnout in the country the GOP judicial candidates April humiliation stunned the party. Former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker put it plainly: Young people are the issue. Weve got to turn it around if were going to win again, Walker, now the president of a conservative youth organization called Young Americas Foundation, told Fox News. The power that young voters wield was not exactly a revelation to Walker; as governor 12 years earlier, he signed a law making it harder to use a student ID to vote, prompting universities in Wisconsin to offer IDs that met the states new standards for free. Student engagement has only soared in Wisconsin in the years since, but that hasnt stopped the GOP from pulling pages from the same playbook. Across the country this year, targeted efforts to disenfranchise student voters have ramped up as election after election proved just how critical the bloc is to guarantee Democratic victories. With encouragement from influential GOP operatives, those efforts which met with middling success in 23 are poised to escalate in 2024. And they speak to a growing fear with which Republican officials and strategists regard young voters. In Wisconsin, the GOP-controlled legislature has seized every opportunity to try and block students from voting. Weve seen really strong student engagement in our last couple of elections, Morgan Hess, executive director of the Wisconsin Assembly Democrats, tells Rolling Stone. And suddenly, were seeing new legislation that would prohibit students ability to vote. Hess points to GOP efforts over the past several years to make it harder to register, eliminate drop boxes, shorten early voting, increase residency requirements, and reduce polling locations mostly in Madison and Milwaukee. These are very targeted operations that serve to further entrench the power that they already have, says Hess. Months after their April routing, party functionaries at the Wisconsin GOPs convention mulled a resolution demanding college students to vote absentee in their hometowns; one supporter of the resolution declared students had hijacked his city. The resolution failed to advance after another official raised the possibility that attacking students right to vote could backfire an argument that seems prophetic in retrospect, as a growing number of polls show Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee, outpolling Joe Biden with young voters. Nevertheless, Republicans in state legislatures across the country this year have proposed laws targeting the student vote. In New Hampshire, House Republicans introduced a bill that would have prohibited any college students who pay out-of-state tuition from voting, and require the states colleges to provide the secretary of state with a list of eligible voters. Lawmakers want the elections to be the reflection of those who reside in New Hampshire towns and who ultimately bear the consequences of the election results, said Republican Rep. Sandra Panek, who introduced the measure in committee. (The bill was eventually killed.) The same month, a GOP lawmaker in Texas introduced a bill that would ban polling places at colleges and universities. (That bill has not advanced out of committee.) In Virginia, there was a failed effort to repeal a law that allows anyone 16 or older to register to vote if they will be 18 by the next major election. And, according to the Voting Rights Lab, legislation seeking to change the rules around student IDs was introduced or enacted in at least 15 states this year. Its all part of a concerted strategy advanced by GOP operatives like Cleta Mitchell one of the central figures behind Donald Trumps efforts to overturn the 2020 election. At a summit a few weeks after Wisconsins April special election, Mitchell told Republican donors that the party must do more to limit campus voting in swing states like Wisconsin for any candidate other than a leftist to have a chance to WIN in 2024. Students and their advocates are pushing back against these efforts. In Wisconsin, leaflets distributed on campus ahead of Aprils special election included information educating voters about the states ID requirements. In Idaho the state that saw the largest increase in voter registrations from 18- and 19-year-olds ahead the 2022 midterms a law set to go into effect Jan. 1, which bans the use of student IDs to register to vote or cast a ballot, is being challenged in lawsuits by the organization Babe Vote, the League of Women Voters and March for Our Lives Idaho. The groups claim that the law violates constitutional protections against age discrimination in voting. Young people are the reason why Biden won in 2020 and Democrats up and down the ballot won in 2022 and 2023, says Abhi Rahman, national communications director for the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. If Gen Z continues to vote, were on the cusp of the most progressive era in our countrys history. Republicans know this as well, and thats why theyre doing everything they can to stop young people from voting, including the fight for restrictions that were seeing play out in states like Wisconsin today. More from Rolling Stone Best of Rolling Stone NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) Tennessee Governor Bill Lee unveiled his Education Freedom Scholarship Act during a press conference Tuesday afternoon. According to a release from the governors office, the legislation aims to provide every Tennessee parent with the opportunity to choose the right education for their child, while prioritizing families with the greatest need. Parents want to have an option for their kids, Lee told reporters Tuesday. Weve seen a groundswell across the country, nine states so far have implemented universal school choice. Read the latest from the TN State Capitol Newsroom The proposal would expand a voucher program to all 95 counties in Tennessee, allowing tax money to cover the tuition of a student going to a private school, incensing Democrats. We had the money to invest in more programs, more tutoring opportunities, more after school programs, more rehabilitation programs, more conflict resolution programs for children, Senate Democratic Caucus Chairwoman London Lamar (D-Memphis) said. But were giving that taxpayer money to private institutions that have no accountability to that money. Lee said he is in support of the scholarships because they give parents the freedom to choose the best learning environment for their child, regardless of income or zip code potentially changing the course of their lives. 2024-25 school year: A total of 20,000 scholarships will be awarded on a rolling first-come, first-served basis. 10,000 scholarships available for Tennessee students who are at or below 300% of the federal poverty level, have a disability, or are eligible for the existing ESA pilot program. 10,000 additional scholarships available to a universal pool of students entitled to attend a public school. 2025-26 school year and beyond: Universal eligibility for all students entitled to attend a public school. If applications exceed available scholarships due to funding, lower income, public-school and returning scholarship students will receive priority. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com The vouchers were approved for Davidson and Shelby counties in 2019. A legal battle followed for three years but the program was eventually upheld. The legislature expanded the vouchers to Hamilton County this year. The move is likely to draw serious debate in the General Assembly. You may remember back in 2019 when then-Speaker of the House Glen Casada (R-Franklin) held open a deadlocked vote for nearly 45 minutes, trying to whip one final vote to carry the legislation. It was ultimately a successful move after Rep. Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville) changed his vote to yes after Knox County was removed from the pilot program, and it only included Davidson and Shelby Counties. The voucher bill was purchased on the balcony of the Tennessee House, Rep. Bo Mitchell (D-Nashville) said. A bill to expand it to Hamilton County passed earlier this year. This year, it will likely have Zacharys support, as he sent a text to state Capitol reporter Chris OBrien saying although he hadnt seen Lees specific legislation and wouldnt comment on it, he is a supporter of school choice. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. Flash Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Astana, Kazakhstan, Nov. 27, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua] China stands ready to work with Kazakhstan to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, promote the high-quality construction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and push the permanent comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Kazakhstan to a higher level, said Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang on Monday. Ding, who paid a visit to Kazakhstan from Nov. 26 to 27, made the remarks when meeting with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Astana. Ding, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, conveyed Chinese President Xi Jinping's cordial greetings and best wishes to Tokayev. Noting that China-Kazakhstan cooperation enjoys a solid foundation, huge potential and broad prospects, Ding said China stands ready to work with Kazakhstan to cement the foundation of mutual trust, strengthen the synergy of development strategies, enhance policy coordination and expand mutually beneficial cooperation to help each other achieve their development goals. Ding called on the two sides to promote the synergy of the BRI and Kazakhstan's Bright Road initiative, actively explore new forms and paths of cooperation, and deepen cooperation in culture, tourism, education, sports, youth and at sub-national levels to carry forward the traditional friendship between China and Kazakhstan. China is ready to work with Kazakhstan to promote the stable operation of China-Central Asia mechanisms to jointly maintain regional peace and stability, he added. Tokayev asked Ding to convey his sincere greetings to Chinese President Xi, and said Kazakhstan firmly supports high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and welcomes Chinese enterprises to invest in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is willing to work with China to deepen practical cooperation in various fields, resolutely crack down on the "three forces" of terrorism, strengthen people-to-people exchanges and sub-national cooperation, and push for new achievements in the permanent comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, Tokayev said. Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov in Astana, Kazakhstan, Nov. 27, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua] During his visit to Kazakhstan, Ding also met with Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov, and co-chaired the 11th Meeting of the China-Kazakhstan Cooperation Committee with Kazakh First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar. This embedded content is not available in your region. After being ambushed and shot in the spine on a US street at the weekend, Hisham Awartani called police. Then the Palestinian-American student phoned his British-born grandmother. "Granny, I've been shot," the 20-year-old said, his uncle told the BBC. Mr Awartani was targeted on Saturday in Burlington, Vermont, along with two fellow Palestinian-American students. He and the other victims - Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Aliahmad - are expected to survive. All three are recovering from their injuries in an intensive care unit at hospital. But for Mr Awartani, who was most critically injured, family members fear he may not walk again. His road to recovery will be long either way, his uncle said. "The bullet is lodged in his T2 vertebra against his spine," Rich Price said. The uncle said the incident had left him and other relatives of the victims with a sense of shame, as family members had encouraged the young men to pursue university education in the US for stability and safety. "Never could we have imagined that they would come here to study and something like this could happen to them," Mr Price said. Hisham Awartani (left) pictured here with his mother and grandmother Mr Awartani is in his third year of studies at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. He and his friends were attacked after attending the birthday party of Mr Price's twin eight-year-old sons at a local bowling alley. The three 20-year-olds are childhood best friends who attended the Ramallah Friends School, a Quaker-run private non-profit in the West Bank. They were in Burlington visiting relatives for US Thanksgiving, and were staying with Mr Awartani's grandmother, Marian Price, who is originally from Surbiton, Surrey. They were gunned down round the corner from her home. "Within five minutes of leaving the house, a man stepped out of the darkness, pulled a gun on them and shot four times," said Mr Price. Two of them were shot in the chest, he said, and a third was shot in the lower part of his body. Mr Awartani was also shot in the hand, his uncle said. Police have arrested a suspect, 48-year-old Jason Eaton, who lives near Mr Awartani's relatives, in a neighbourhood close to the University of Vermont. When he opened his front door to find federal agents who were searching for him, he told them he had been expecting them, officials said Mr Eaton appeared in court on Monday and pleaded not guilty to three counts of second-degree attempted murder. He is being held without bail. Police have not identified a possible motive, but are investigating whether a hate crime was committed. Relatives believe the young men were deliberately targeted because of their Palestinian background. They were speaking a mix of English and Arabic at the time they were shot, and two were wearing keffiyehs, traditional Palestinian scarves. This embedded content is not available in your region. The incident comes as the US deals with a surge in Islamophobia and antisemitism since the start of the Israel-Gaza war. Mr Price said the attack is especially heart-breaking given the sense of safety the family previously felt in Burlington, a city of around 45,000 people. "To have something like this happen," Mr Price said, "which in our view is most likely driven by hate, it is devastating for us." The uncle said that despite his nephew's serious injury, he had shown strength and even a sense of humour while recovering in intensive care. "I do know that he is incredibly grateful that so many people are thinking about him," he added. Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmad were spending Thanksgiving together in Burlington Mr Price said his family had been heartened by the support the three young men have received, not just from the US but across the globe. At a vigil held in his honour on Monday night at Brown University's campus, a professor read out a statement from Mr Awartani describing himself as "one casualty in a much wider conflict", NBC News reported. But the vigil was disrupted by hundreds of pro-Palestinian students who chanted "shame on you" at the university president and demanded the school divest its endowment from companies profiting from the war. US President Joe Biden has denounced the attack. "While we are waiting for more facts, we know this: there is absolutely no place for violence or hate in America. Period," Mr Biden said in a statement. Map showing the site of the shooting in Vermont Visitors to the British Museum walk around a selection of items from the collection of ancient Greek sculptures known as The Elgin Marbles on 23 August 2023 in London, England No 10 is embroiled in a deepening row with Athens after cancelling a meeting between Rishi Sunak and the Greek PM. Downing Street believed it had assurances that Kyriakos Mitsotakis would not speak publicly about the Parthenon Sculptures - also known as the Elgin Marbles - on his UK visit. A Greek source has denied this. On Sunday, Greece's leader told the BBC that having some of the treasures in London and others in Athens was like cutting the Mona Lisa in half. No 10 then scrapped the PM's meeting with Mr Mitsotakis at late notice. Labour has described the row as "petty" and "small-minded". A Greek government source disputed there had been any assurances given to the UK over Mr Mitsotakis talking about the marbles while he was in the country. They said discussions preparing for the meeting with the UK PM had been smooth until late afternoon on Monday - long after Mr Mitsotakis's BBC interview with Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday. The sculptures are a collection of ancient Greek treasures from the Parthenon in Athens which were taken and brought to the UK by British diplomat Lord Elgin in the early 19th Century. They have been in the British Museum since 1832, aside from a stint in Aldwych Tube station during World War Two to prevent damage and one marble being loaned to a Russian museum in 2014. Both Greece and the UK have long-standing positions on the sculptures, but diplomatic talks were expected to focus on other topics. Transport Secretary Mark Harper told BBC Breakfast on Tuesday it was a "matter of regret" that no meeting would take place between the two countries after Mr Mitsotakis declined a secondary offer to meet Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden instead. Asked whether the government's treatment of the Greek leader was rude, Mr Harper said the Greeks had been offered a senior-level meeting but were entitled to take their own view. A Greek minister branded the row a "bad day" for British-Greek relations. Adonis Georgiadis told BBC Radio 4's World at One programme that Mr Sunak's decision had been a "mistake". Stressing his "huge respect" for the British people and the two countries' friendship, the minister of labour and social insurance said: "What [the Greek PM] mentioned in his interview is not just his own opinion, it is the single one opinion of 11 million Greek people." Professor Irene Stamatoudi, a former member of the advisory committee for the Greek Minister of Culture, said the row "makes Rishi Sunak look no better than Lord Elgin" - and accused that diplomat of smuggling artefacts "to decorate his country house in Scotland". She told Today it was "not possible" for the Greek PM not to respond to questions about the Parthenon Sculptures. Mr Sunak is keen to be seen as a defender of the marbles' place in London. A senior Conservative source said: "Our position is clear - the Elgin Marbles are part of the permanent collection of the British Museum and belong here." Later on Tuesday, the PM's official spokesman told reporters Mr Sunak had decided it would "not be productive" to hold the meeting. He said that when the meeting was requested "the Greek government provided reassurances that they would not use the visit as a public platform to relitigate long-settled matters relating to the ownership of the Parthenon Sculptures" - arguing those assurances were then "not adhered to". Mr Mitsotakis had told reporters on Monday evening he was "deeply disappointed by the abrupt cancellation" of the talks, which had been planned for Tuesday lunchtime. Sources with knowledge of the mood in the Greek government have suggested Mr Mitsotakis was both "baffled" and "annoyed". This embedded content is not available in your region. In his interview with Laura Kuenssberg the day before, the Greek PM had called for the sculptures to be returned. He said they were "essentially stolen" and called for a partnership with the British Museum so people could "appreciate" the works "in their original setting". Mr Mitsotakis met Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer on Monday and will return to Greece later after other scheduled meetings. On Tuesday morning, Greek government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis told SKAI TV that "Britain's attitude shows no respect for the prime minister and our country." He added that although cancelling a meeting was not "common", the Greek government did not want "to escalate the issue with a country with which we have good relations." There is an ongoing wider debate around the place of museums and their collections in a post-colonial world, with Mr Sunak seemingly positioning himself decisively on one side of that argument. The Acropolis Museum is dedicated to the preservation of sculptures from Athens' golden age, including copies of the Elgin Marbles Lord Vaizey, who chairs the advisory board of the Parthenon Project dedicated to returning the Elgin Marbles to Greece, told the Today programme it was "odd" for the PM to cancel the meeting. The ex-culture minister said: "It is tied up to a certain extent in the traditional culture wars, where anyone who dares to say that British history wasn't perfect is somehow unpatriotic. "The trouble with that is that, from what I can gather, every opinion poll that surveys the British public says that they do think that the sculptures should be returned." Thangam Debbonaire, Labour's shadow culture secretary, said it was "petty" and "small-minded" to cancel the meeting, and called Mr Sunak "reckless". "To have decided to create division where none needed to be seems to me to be not just reckless but actually potentially really damaging to our international reputation," she added. The Elgin Marbles at the British Museum Labour is also distancing itself from reports in a Greek newspaper suggesting it was open to "a legal formula" for the return of the sculptures to Greece. Instead, the party says its position is that if the British Museum and the Greek government came to a loan agreement, a Labour government would not stand in the way. A spokesperson for the UK government said there were "no plans" to change the 1963 British Museum Act - which prohibits the removal of objects from the institution's collection. But a loan does not require a change in the law and so could happen irrespective of any PM's position. What are the Parthenon Sculptures, also known as the Elgin Marbles? Friezes and pediment figures which decorated the Parthenon temple in Athens, built 447-432 BC The Marbles taken to Britain include about a half (some 75 metres) of the sculpted frieze that once ran all round the building, plus 17 life-sized marble figures Most of the surviving sculptures are roughly equally divided between London and Athens The new Acropolis Museum opened in Athens in 2009. It is designed to display all the surviving sculptures, in their original layout Celebrities previously involved in the campaign for their return include the late actress and former Greek Culture Minister Melina Mercouri Art lover Lord Elgin claimed the sculptures were better off in Britain than the then-dilapidated Parthenon In 1801, he negotiated what he claimed was permission from the Ottoman Empire - which then controlled Athens - to remove statues from the classical temple built by the Ancient Greeks - and caused some damage to the ruin in doing so Fragments from the Parthenon alone ended up in some 10 European countries, or were lost altogether News Daily banner Sign up for our morning newsletter and get BBC News in your inbox. The City of Boston is preparing to mark 250 years since the historic Boston Tea Party on December 16 with a series of special events. In advance of the celebration, the makers of Samuel Adams beer is our with a tribute of its own. Green Tea Pale Ale is now on tap exclusively at the Sam Adams brewery in Jamaica Plain and the Samuel Adams Downtown Tap Room. Boston Beer Company founder Jim Koch unveiled the new brew on Tuesday. Samuel Adams brewer Jim Koch taps Green Tea Pale Ale to mark the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party The pale ale is brewed with Singhlo Green Tea, which Boston Beer says is a strain thrown overboard during the Boston Tea Party and features notes of chestnuts and fresh autumn leaves. Samuel Adams was critical in convincing people to join the Sons of Liberty. who are heralded as the masterminds of the Boston Tea Party. Bostons celebration of the Boston Tea Party has been a year long event, and will culminate on December 16th with a reenactment during events that will play out in 4-parts across the City of Boston at several historic locations. including Faneuil Hall, the Old South Meeting House, Downtown Crossing, Griffins Wharf and Boston Harbor. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW LITTLE ROCK, Ark. A group seeking to make government transparency provisions part of the Arkansas constitution has submitted a draft of its ballot proposal. According to a statement issued by Arkansas Citizens for Transparency, the draft of its proposal would create a constitutional amendment assuring government transparency and accountability. Approval by Attorney General Tim Griffin is the first step in the process of the amendment appearing on the November 2024 ballot. New Freedom of Information Act bill advances through Arkansas legislature with bipartisan support The group was formed in September in response to a legislative special session called Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, which had changes to the states Freedom of Information Act on its agenda. The changes first proposed met resistance from government transparency advocates in the legislature. A version of the proposed bill with fewer changes was ultimately passed. In its statement, the group said the proposed amendment had three parts: The right of Arkansas citizens to government transparency, any law reducing government transparency would have to be approved by voters and the state may be sued for failing to comply with transparency laws. Group hopes to fight back on new FOIA revisions with ballot measure to amend constitution Citizens for Transparency is holding a public meeting about the amendments language via Zoom on Wednesday from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Dial-in instructions are available on the Arkansas Citizens for Transparency Facebook page. If the ballot draft is approved by Griffins office, the group can begin the signature gathering to place the item on the ballot. What is the Freedom of Information Act? Learn more about the Arkansas law being debated in the special session Additional information on the group may be found at ARCitizens4Transparency.org. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK. An adorable 11-week-old kitten who has defied the odds and learned how to thrive despite a condition that hinders his ability to move around is in need of a forever home, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals announced Monday. Gumby, who made the trek north to the Bay State after being rescued in Texas, has severely deformed back legs but it shouldnt be a worry for interested adopters. He has learned to function really well despite his condition. He is able to get around and he acts like a regular kitten, the MPSCA said in a Facebook post. He loves attention and can be a little mischievous. He doesnt let anything get him down! Gumby had been living in an overcrowded shelter and veterinarians knew that he would have the best shot at a comfortable life if he could be seen by specialists at the MSPCA. This adorable 11-week-old kitten is Gumby. Weve never seen a cat quite like him - both of Gumbys back legs are... Posted by MSPCA-Angell on Monday, November 27, 2023 Our shelter veterinarians are collaborating with the teams at Angell to explore all pathways to manage his condition, but Gumby is able to walk and use the litterbox, and he isnt developing any sores, so further intervention is not needed at this time, the MSPCA explained. Gumby cant jump around or climb stairs, and there are times that he will need help getting around. Long term, he might benefit from physical therapy or other forms of assistance, especially since his mobility and needs might change as he grows, said Erin Morey, MSPCA Boston Adoption Center clinic coordinator. The MSPCA noted that interested adopters should have a close relationship with a veterinarian. Adoption inquiries can be submitted here. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdel Hamid and Tahseen Ahmed, three college students of Palestinian descent shot by a gunman in Burlington, Vermont on 25 November. (REUTERS) Three college students of Palestinian descent were ambushed and shot as they walked to a Thanksgiving dinner celebration in Vermont. The 25 November attack was described by Burlington Chief of Police John Murad as an unprovoked and terrible crime at a press conference two days later. Now, the suspected gunman 48-year-old Jason Eaton is in custody and federal officials are investigating whether the shooting was a hate crime, as the three students begin a long recovery journey and their families seek answers. Heres what we know about the attack: The attack Twenty-year-old college students Hisham Awartani, Tahseen Ali and Kenan Abdulhamid were walking to a Thanksgiving dinner hosted by Mr Awartanis grandmother on 25 November. As the three victims walked to the home of Mr Awartanis grandmother, police said a white male gunman shot at least four rounds without speaking before he fled on foot. All three victims are of Palestinian descent, and two of them were wearing keffiyehs at the time of the attack, police said in a statement. The three students were speaking to each other in both English and Arabic at the time of the unprovoked attack, Mr Murad said at the press conference. The gunman struck two of the students in the torso and the third in the lower extremities, police said in a statement. All three victims are being treated in the intensive care unit at a nearby hospital, according to Mr Awartanis uncle, Rich Price. The victims families speak out Two of the victims are stable, while the third sustained much more serious injuries, police said. Mr Murad told reporters that officers were only able to speak to two of the students following the attack, while the third received medical treatment. Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said Mr Awartani is the most injured of the three men, as of Monday. A source close to Mr Awartanis mother Elisabeth Price, who lives in the Israeli-occupied West Bank told CNN the gunman struck him in the spine, leaving him immobilised. Doctors are working to increase blood flow to Mr Awartanis spine, the source said on Monday. Mr Price told reporters hes been with the three victims almost constantly since the attack. I am blown away by their resilience, by their good humour in the face of these difficult times, Mr Price said on Monday. Mr Awartani is a student at Brown University in nearby Providence, Rhode Island, per a statement from the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee . Meanwhile, Mr Abdalhamid is a student at Haverford College in Pennsylvania and Mr Ahmad is a student at Trinity College in Connecticut. The victims parents released a joint statement through the Institute of Middle East Understanding calling for police to treat the gunmans actions as a hate crime and asking the public to respect their privacy as they focus on their children. We need to ensure that our children are protected, and that this heinous crime is not repeated, the statement reads. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the ATF are investigating if the shooting was a hate crime. Even as we speak, the ATF and FBI are investigating the tragic shooting of three men of Palestinian descent in Vermont. That investigation, including whether this is a hate crime, is ongoing, US Attorney General Merrick Garland said on 27 November. The suspect Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested Mr Eaton while canvasing the day after the shooting. Authorities first identified Mr Eaton when they knocked on his apartment door and he walked out of the unit with his hands up on 26 November, Mr Murad said. Agents were greeted by a man who stepped out of the hall out of the door towards them with his palms up at waist height, Mr Murad said. He stated something to the effect of: Ive been waiting for you. Mr Eaton told officers he had a gun in his apartment and requested a lawyer, per Mr Murad. He pleaded guilty to all three counts of attempted murder in the second degree, his lawyers said at his arraignment on 27 November. The charges carry the potential of a life sentence. Mr Eaton is being held at the Northwest State Correctional Facility without bail for the time being, the judge said at his arraignment on Monday. Investigators believe Mr Eaton moved to Vermont over the summer after living in or around Syracuse, New York, Mr Murad said. Mary Reed, Mr Eatons mother, told The Daily Beast she was shocked by the situation. Jason has had a lot of struggles in his life but he is such a kind and loving person, Ms Reed told the outlet on Monday. A spokesperson for the Chittenden County Public Defenders Office declined to comment on the case when contacted by The Independent. COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) A social media post has resulted in Columbus police taking two teenage students into custody on Monday. Officers went to Champion Middle School in the 200 block of North 22nd Street after getting a report around 4:40 p.m. of a concerning Instagram post. The person who called police said the post showed two students, a 13-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl, with firearms on school grounds. Mapping Ohio States path to a potential spot in the College Football Playoff School officials identified the two students and brought them into an office, according to Columbus police. There, they found the 12-year-old girl had a concealed firearm that wasnt loaded, and the 13-year-old had a concealed BB gun that looked like a real firearm. Officers went to the school and took both students to the Franklin County Juvenile Detention Center. The 12-year-old girl faces a charge of illegal possession of a deadly weapon in a school, and a misdemeanor count of concealed carry of a weapon. The 13-year-old faces a charge of illegal possession of an object indistinguishable from a firearm in school. NBC4 does not name juvenile suspects unless police are actively looking for them, or they have been charged as an adult. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV. (Reuters) - Haiti's brutal gang wars have spread from the capital to key farming heartlands, displacing tens of thousands of people and having a devastating impact on access to food staples, the United Nations said in a report on Tuesday. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said long-awaited international security assistance - requested by Haiti's unelected government a year ago and authorized by the U.N. last month - should be deployed "as soon as possible". Violence has gradually escalated in the Bas-Artibonite region north of the capital, the source of staples such as rice, with the U.N. documenting some 22,000 displaced amid murders, looting, kidnappings and widespread sexual violence. The region's most powerful gangs are allied to members of the capital's powerful G-Pep alliance, the report found, saying this indicates a strategy on the part of G-Pep to extend its influence. Armed with semi-automatic rifles and pistols, gangs have burned houses, attacked irrigation systems, stolen crops and livestock and demanded "taxes" for farmers to access fields, it said. Kidnappings and torture for ransom are also frequent, it said. Initially focused on transport routes, the U.N. said gangs are now increasingly attacking residential neighborhoods and abducting people en masse, as well as carrying out gang rapes of women and even young children. The violence has severely limited humanitarian access to the area, leaving support for victims of sexual violence to cash-strapped rural associations. Victims rarely come forward, the report said, due to fear of reprisals and mistrust of police. The insecurity and dwindling funds have caused aid groups to halt operations and slash budgets while the U.N.'s food agency estimates nearly half the country is going hungry, including over 45% of people in Bas-Artibonite. Turk said the situation was "cataclysmic" and reiterated calls for the international force, more state action, wider sanctions and stronger controls on arms believed to be largely trafficked from the United States. "We are continuing to receive reports of killings, sexual violence, displacement and other violence including in hospitals," he said. "The much-needed multinational security support mission needs to be deployed to Haiti as soon as possible." (Reporting by Sarah Morland and Harold Isaac, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien) (Reuters) -A Hamas senior official invited U.S. billionaire Elon Musk on Tuesday to visit the Palestinian Gaza strip to see the extent of destruction caused by the Israeli bombardment. "We invite him to visit Gaza to see the extent of the massacres and destruction committed against the people of Gaza, in compliance with the standards of objectivity and credibility," Hamas' senior official Osama Hamdan said in a press conference in Beirut. On Monday, Elon Musk, the social media mogul assailed for his endorsement of an anti-Jewish post, toured the site of the Hamas assault on Israel and declared his commitment to do whatever was necessary to stop the spread of hatred. Musk owns the X social media platform. Hamdan's comments comes one day after a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas was extended for an additional 48 hours. "Within 50 days, Israel dropped more than 40,000 tonnes of explosives on the homes of defenseless Gazans," he said, "I call on US President Biden to review the US relationship with Israel and to stop supplying them with weapons." Speaking on the destruction of Gaza incurred by Israel since the conflict began on Oct. 7, Hamdan called on the international community to quickly send specialized civil defense teams to help retrieve bodies still trapped under the rubble. According to the Palestinian foreign ministry, thousands are still trapped. The truce agreed last week was the first halt in fighting in the seven weeks since Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 240 hostages back into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. In response to that attack, Israel has bombarded the enclave and mounted a ground offensive in the north. At least 16,000 Palestinians have been killed, Palestinian health officials say, and hundreds of thousands displaced. (Reporting By Moaz Abd-Alaziz and Adam Makary in Cairo; Writing by Adam Makary; Editing by Christina Fincher and Alistair Bell) The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have confirmed that Hamas has handed over 11 Israeli hostages to the Red Cross. Source: IDF; The Times of Israel Quote from IDF: "Based on information that was received from the Red Cross, 11 hostages are currently on their way to Israeli territory." Details: Two 3-year-olds and children aged 11 to 16 were among the 11 civilians that Hamas handed over to the Red Cross. ISRAELI HOSTAGES RELEASED ON 27 NOVEMBER 2023.PHOTO: THE TIMES OF ISRAEL Background: At 07:00 on 24 November, a four-day ceasefire began between Israel and Hamas militants. On the evening of 24 November, the first 13 Israeli hostages, accompanied by the International Committee of the Red Cross, left the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing. On 25 November, Hamas claimed that it had handed over 13 Israeli and seven foreign hostages to the Red Cross for release, and the IDF confirmed this information. On 26 November, Israel freed 39 Palestinians under a temporary ceasefire agreement. The International Committee of the Red Cross also noted that it had helped release 19 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli detention centres. Under the terms of the talks, during the truce, Hamas is to free 50 hostages taken captive on 7 October, and the Israeli authorities are to release 150 Palestinian prisoners. Support UP or become our patron! Flash Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, chair of the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) and his delegation, who are here to attend the first China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 27, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua] Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng met on Monday with Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, chair of the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) and his delegation, who are in Beijing to attend the first China International Supply Chain Expo. The two sides exchanged views on China-Britain economic and trade cooperation and international cooperation on industrial and supply chains. He, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that China adheres to opening its door to development, and unswervingly promotes high-level opening-up. It is hoped that the CBBC will continue to give full play to its advantages, deepening economic and trade exchanges and cooperation between the two countries, He said. Heads of member companies of the CBBC, such as HSBC, Standard Chartered and Astrazeneca, attended the meeting. Lee Circuit Judge Bruce Kyle on Tuesday sentenced Dana Caruso, 59, to five years in prison, followed by 10 years of sex offender probation. A New Hampshire man accused of placing cameras inside two Sanibel beach restrooms last year has been convicted after he reached a plea agreement Tuesday. Lee Circuit Judge Bruce Kyle on Tuesday sentenced Dana Caruso, 59, to five years in prison, followed by 10 years of sex offender probation for the first six counts. He was also ordered no contact with the victims and to stay away from Bowman's Beach, where victims were recorded in restrooms. Caruso was further sentenced to five years in prison for four additional counts. The sentences will run concurrent. Kyle ordered that Caruso register as a sexual offender with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. He was charged with 19 counts of video voyeurism, court records show. Six of them involved underage victims. Police at Chicago's O'Hare Airport arrested Caruso on Aug. 19, 2022, after a judge issued an arrest warrant. Sanibel Police said the crimes involved up to 55 victims. After installing the device on July 13, 2022, a Bowman's Beach Park surveillance camera captured a man identified as Caruso outside the restroom watching people enter and exit the restrooms on nine non-consecutive days. Prior order: New Hampshire man charged in Sanibel video voyeurism case to provide cellphone passcode Police reported that they retrieved 277 videos 190 taken in the south family restroom and 87 from the north family restroom. Hidden in what appeared to be homemade fire alarm boxes, the key fob-size cameras recorded five-minute clips stored on micro SD memory cards that could transfer to electronic devices such as a cellphone or laptop. Many of those on video had their private areas exposed to the camera, which was recorded. The descriptions in the arrest report include single men, children, teenage boys, women and mothers with their children. Some used the facilities, while others changed into or out of swimsuits. Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran, Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews and Twitter @TomasFRoBeltran. This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Sanibel video voyeurism: New Hampshire man sentenced to 5 years U.S. Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah, greets the family of U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Ralph Jim Chipman during a memorial service at American Fork city cemetery on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. The soldiers remains were identified and returned to his family 50 years after he was lost in battle in Vietnam. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Congressional hopefuls are eyeing what could be another open-seat election in Utah as Rep. John Curtis looks increasingly likely to swap a 2024 House campaign for a Senate one. The 3rd Congressional District congressman, who was first elected in 2017, shook up an already tumultuous Utah political landscape when he declared he was taking a fresh look at replacing outgoing Sen. Mitt Romney, who said in September he would not seek reelection. The about-face from Curtis October decision to stay out of the U.S. Senate race follows an organized effort by donors and constituents to persuade him to launch a Senate campaign and sets the stage for a similar scramble to recruit candidates to run for his 3rd District seat. Something Curtis, and his longtime campaign manager, Adrielle Herring, are happy to see. As someone responsible for the strategy and moving parts of Johns campaigns for the last six years, its my responsibility to be ready for any decision he makes, Herring told the Deseret News Monday, about a possible Senate run. Clearly, I would not be doing my job if I wasnt preparing for the potential decision of him running. I would expect, and I know John expects that likewise, anybody interested in replacing him should be preparing to launch their own campaign. Who might run for Curtis seat if he launches a Senate campaign? Potential candidates are already laying the groundwork for a House bid if Curtis decides to run for Senate, according to exclusive confirmations given to the Deseret News. State Sen. Mike Kennedy is exploring a campaign for Utahs 3rd Congressional District which includes the Wasatch Front from Provo to Sandy and nearly all of eastern Utah he told the Deseret News. Sen. Mike Kennedy is a common sense, conservative fighter who brings people together and gets results. He would be a great representative in Congress and thats why several people are urging him to run, a Kennedy spokesperson said. This would not be Kennedys first try at an open seat. He was elected to the Utah House in 2012 to fill a seat left vacant by John Dougall when he ran for state auditor. Kennedy left the state legislature to challenge Sen. Mitt Romney for U.S. Senate in the 2018 Republican primary, beating him at the GOP convention before losing in the primary election. Kennedy returned to state politics in 2020 when he won a special election to represent Utah County in the state Senate where he has sponsored bills that ban transgender surgeries for Utah youth and prohibit employers from requiring COVID-19 vaccines. Dougall known on the campaign trail as John Frugal Dougall also expressed an interest in running for Curtis seat during a conversation with the Deseret News. Ive had various folks call me to ask me to consider running for Congress, Dougall said. Congress is fiscally irresponsible. And its time for additional leadership on fiscal responsibility. Dougall took over the state auditors office in 2013 after ousting a longtime incumbent in a primary election. As auditor, Dougall has reviewed the states COVID-19 expenditures and database security. Prior to his election as auditor, Dougall served for 10 years as a state lawmaker, where he championed tax reform and government transparency. Related As Curtis appears to shift lanes from the House to the Senate, more than one Senate candidate may do the reverse. Roosevelt Mayor Rod Bird Jr. announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate in mid-September. While Bird says he currently has no plans to change direction with his campaign, that hasnt stopped people from urging him to take a look at Curtis seat. Ive had a lot of people reach out, actually, Bird said. For now, Im 100% focused on the Senate race. Before becoming mayor in 2017, Bird founded Paragon Oilfield Products, which provides pipes and hoses for industrial and agricultural use. Birds Senate campaign has focused on his rural background, limited government and securing the southern border. Carolyn Phippen, another U.S. Senate candidate, may also look to start in Triple A instead of MLB, and exchange a statewide race for a 3rd District race, according to Kirk Jowers, former director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics. Other potential candidates who might throw their hat in the ring include former 3rd District candidate Stewart Peay, Utah County Commissioner Amelia Powers Gardner and former 2nd District candidate Bruce Hough, Jowers said. Tanner Ainge, who ran against Curtis to represent the 3rd District in 2017, and Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, who previously represented Spanish Fork in the Utah Senate, also appear to be well-positioned to launch congressional campaigns. Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah, talks to constituents at Holladay City Hall in Holladay on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News Why did John Curtis change his mind about running for U.S. Senate? Just as Romneys delayed announcement regarding his intention to seek reelection created uncertainty for those considering a Senate run, Curtis back-and-forth has caused head scratching in Utah political circles as well. Curtis initially expressed interest in running for Romneys seat after the junior senator revealed he would not be seeking reelection. But Curtis quickly ruled out the possibility, saying in an op-ed for the Deseret News that a Senate campaign did not align with his commitments to his district or his personal priorities. A month later, Curtis changed his tune, saying the voices urging him to run for the Senate had become increasingly difficult to ignore. Herring, who has been running campaigns for over a decade, provided context to explain why. During my career in politics, I have never seen anything even close to the outpouring of requests for him to reconsider, Herring told the Deseret News Monday. Every candidate has people around them encouraging them to run but this is much different than that and includes people that have never met John, people that know him well, people that have not always agreed with him, and even his wife and children. Clearly, this has had an impact on his willingness to reconsider his decision, she said. Curtis shift from where he stood less than two months ago also likely has something to do with what he sees as a deficit in the current candidate lineup, Jowers said in an interview with the Deseret News. I know that Rep. Curtis was sincere when he wrote that Deseret News piece taking his name out of the running, Jowers said. He hoped that there would be someone else who would represent the same values he has and could be an effective senator and then he would have the best of both worlds he could continue to represent the 3rd District and have another ally in the Senate with whom he could collaborate. Unfortunately, I would imagine, he feels like none of the current candidates would be able to fill that role. Curtis thought, If no ones going to fill that role, I better do it, Jowers said. If he were to enter the race, Curtis would join a growing field of seven candidates, which includes Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson, Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs, Bird and Phippen, among others. While Wilson has already amassed a formidable war chest and scored an endorsement from Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, and Staggs got ahead with an early start and national recognition from conservative media, Curtis wouldnt be thinking about entering the race unless the facts on the ground ensured a likely win, according to Jason Perry, director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah. It just has to be said, hes reconsidering because groups have come to him, willing to support him, and hes reevaluated his intentions for the race, his long-term ambitions, and whether or not he has a path to victory, Perry told the Deseret News. Related When Curtis reopened the door to a Senate campaign earlier this month, he referenced a drumbeat from Utahns around the state asking me to reconsider my decision. The statement coincided with an $89,000 ad buy, paid for by the mysterious Conservative Values for Utah PAC, that touts Curtis business acumen as former mayor of Provo and his innovative energy policy in Congress and calls on Utahns to pressure Curtis into a Senate run. While its uncertain whos behind the effort to draft Curtis to the Senate, he seems to have garnered good favor among Romney supporters. People who have been in Washington, D.C., and in the orbit of Sen. Romney have been looking at candidates and several of them seem to be supportive of John Curtis given their history with him as a member of Congress, Perry said. But the deciding factor for Curtis may simply be a desire for a change of scenery, Perry said, exchanging the often difficult legislative environment of the House for the collaboration of the Senate. (The Senate) is a very different atmosphere, a different sense of collegiality, and most of the time its a little different in terms of the divisiveness, Perry said. And you start feeling like you might be able to get more done. HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - One mother is behind bars accused of injury to a child following an incident last week in Harris County. According to the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office, the incident occurred in the 700 block of East Cypresswood Drive. SUGGESTED: Man found dead outside apartments with blunt force wound to the head, police seeking answers Upon arrival, authorities said it was discovered that a mother assaulted her child's friend by grabbing her by the shirt and dragging her, causing pain. Officials said home video surveillance at the apartment complex captured what happened. FOX 26 Houston is now on the FOX LOCAL app available through Apple TV, Amazon FireTV, Roku, Google Android TV, and Vizio! The suspect, later identified as Lisa Donald, was arrested, and it was later learned she also had an open warrant for criminal trespass. Donald was booked into the Harris County Jail for the warrant and charged with injury to a child. Her total bond was set at $7,600. A serial fraudster who tricked a woman he met on a dating app into marrying him and selling her house has been jailed. Marc Raven, 61, manipulated the woman from Harrogate into giving him more than 200,000, police said. He had lied that he had a large amount of money in a bank account in Singapore and promised to pay her back. Raven, who earlier admitted fraud, was sentenced at York Crown Court to eight years and one month in jail. North Yorkshire Police said Raven had also been known as Marc Bookey, Marc Cohen and Marc Stewart. He met a woman through a dating app in January 2018 and they were married by October. He encouraged her to sell her home in Harrogate so they could use the money to live on, making her believe they would soon be buying a property worth more than 1m, the force said. Raven was also taking money from his victim with the promise he would pay her back but was having difficulty accessing his bank account in Singapore. By October 2019, the woman had transferred more than 200,000 to Raven and had to declare herself bankrupt and move in with her family, a police spokesperson said. Another victim North Yorkshire Police arrested Raven and then discovered another victim in Singapore. Raven had begun a relationship with her in 2016, and the following year contacted her to say he was in hospital in Dubai and needed money to pay medical fees and customs fines. In fact, he was fit and well in the UK. Between July 2017 and August 2018, the victim transferred about 100,000 to Raven, according to police. The investigation showed Raven's claims of having a large amount of money in a bank account in Singapore to be false. Raven, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to fraud against two women at York Crown Court on 26 September. 'Immeasurable damage' In a personal statement read at court, the daughter of the woman who Raven married said: "The damage Marc has done to my family is immeasurable, and no punishment will ever repair the damage he's done to my mum. "I just hope that he's unable to cause this much harm and pain to anyone again." DC Neil Brodhurst, of North Yorkshire Police, said: "Raven was a serial fraudster, who lied again and again to obtain money from women he was in a relationship with. It's no exaggeration to say his deception has shattered lives." Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex signed their lucrative, yet ultimately ill-fated, Spotify deal because they needed serious money after quitting the royal family, royal reporter Omid Scobie has claimed. In a new interview with The Independent, Scobie, 42, said the Sussexes went on a deal-signing spree, including inking agreements with Spotify and Netflix, as a way to ease the tremendous financial pressure they were under after relocating to the United States in 2020. He added that this pressure was reportedly exerted by the royal family in response to Prince Harrys repeated claims that his brother, Prince Williams communications team was leaking stories about him and Meghan to a British tabloid while they were living in the UK. Senior aides said, If you dont stop poking into this, youre going to face the consequences, Scobie said. Not long later he was cut off from all financial support, including security, which Prince Charles was funding privately. That sends someone into a spin of having to sign a whole bunch of deals. He added that their pricey 15m deal with the audio giant fell apart because of creative differences, explaining that Spotify was looking for headling grabbing, media-stirring content something that Harry and Meghan were not comfortable with. Obviously they had money. But they needed serious money for a proper roof over their heads and security, the author of a Endgame continued. It was the middle of a pandemic, of course youre going to sign the deals. But ultimately Spotify were looking for headline-grabbing, media-stirring content and thats not the direction that the couple wanted to go in, so it fell apart. Id imagine the couple knew at the start thats what Spotify wanted from them but the money was on the table and they were in a desperate place, he added. The Independent has contacted a representative for the Sussexes and Kensington Palace for comment. In 2021, Harry and Meghans production company Archewell signed a multi-million pound deal to create a series of scripted and unscripted programmes and movies for Netflix months after they announced a partnership with Spotify to produce and host programming that uplifts and entertains audiences around the world in the form of podcasts that championed diverse voices. In June, the Sussexes and Spotify said they were terminating the 15.6m deal and parting ways after just one season of Meghans podcast Archetypes. Elsewhere in the interview, the royal reporter denied that he is Meghans mouthpiece or cheerleader a suggestion of impartiality he is forced to address frequently. I wish that was true because it would have made my access much easier, Scobie said. Ive always been transparent Ive had a great relationship with their team over the years and we have friends in common. Scobies new book Endgame is a searing account of what he claims is the monarchys bid for modernisation and fight for survival. In it, the long-time royal correspondent highlight an alleged rift between King Charles and Prince William, the impossibility of a reconciliation between the heir and spare, Prince Harry, as well as Princess Kates bid to become future queen. You can read The Independents review here. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) urged Congress Tuesday to include a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) expanding eligibility for victims of U.S. radiation testing, repeating a vow to block any NDAA that does not include it. The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) does not cover several groups of Americans exposed to radiation, including those downwind from the Los Alamos, N.M., Trinity test of the atomic bomb and those exposed to waste in St. Louis Coldwater Creek. An amendment sponsored by Hawley and Sens. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) passed the Senate with a filibuster-proof majority earlier this year. Hawley, who first tweeted his pledge to block an NDAA without the provision last week, hosted affected Missouri activists at the U.S. Capitol Tuesday. If [the NDAA] emerges from a back room, and this provision is out, the defense bill is going to face tough sledding on the floor of the Senate, Hawley told reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday. I am not going to vote to pay defense contractors hand over fist while the people of my stateand, frankly, across the countryare denied the compensation that theyre due. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. The amendment was not part of the Houses version of the NDAA. The chambers must develop a final version in conference before final passage, likely sometime in December. A coalition of New Mexico and Missouri activists have long lobbied for the expansion of RECA to cover their communities, along with others in Idaho, Colorado, Montana and Guam. The initial law, passed in 1990, covers only people who were residents of Utah, Nevada and Arizona at the time of nuclear testing. The law provides payments of $50,000 to those eligible, and has paid out about $2.5 billion to 40,274 people since its passage, according to Justice Department statistics. The Hill has reached out to the offices of Schmitt, Lujan and Crapo to clarify whether they would back blocking the NDAA or join Hawley in the effort. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. OLIVE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) The hearing for the removal of Ottawa County Administrative Health Officer Adeline Hambley is expected to resume this afternoon for its sixth day. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. at the County Administration Building in West Olive. It will stream live on woodtv.com. The hearing started more than a month ago and has slogged on across several nonconsecutive days. County commissioners spent two of those days in closed session, negotiating with Hambleys attorney about the possibility of a settlement to end her lawsuit against them and render the removal hearing moot. Hearing over Ottawa County health officers $4 million settlement delayed Hambleys lawyer, Sarah Howard, has filed a motion asking a judge to force the county into a $4 million payout to her client. Howard argued she and her client believed the deal had been reached but that county leaders tried to back out because of negative backlash to details of the settlement that were published in the press. The countys attorney David Kallman said nobody ever agreed to anything. He said emails that Howard pointed to as proof of a deal were tentative only and didnt go to the board. A hearing on the motion was supposed to happen Monday, but was delayed until next week because the judge needed time to review additional motions. Ottawa health officer asks court to enforce $4 million settlement Conservative county commissioners backed by political action committee Ottawa Impact have been trying to oust Hambley all year. They voted in their first meeting in January to remove her from her job and put her in an interim role. She sued, saying that was illegal. Commissioners countered that she was never properly appointed by their predecessors. The Michigan Court of Appeals finally ruled that Hambley was rightfully appointed, but also that the board could fire her if it could prove cause under state law. A September document signed by Ottawa Impact co-founder and Commission Chair Joe Moss that prompted the removal hearing laid out a case for cause, alleging misconduct in the way she handled this years budgeting process. The hearing got underway Oct. 24 and included two days of testimony in which Hambleys lawyer tried to show her client simply wanted to ensure the Ottawa County Department of Public Health could operate properly. Hambley testified she went to the press with her concerns because she believed the general fund dollars to the agency would be limited to $2.5 million, which she said would cause it to close. Commissioners ultimately decided the health department would get about $4.8 million from the general fund. Its total allocation for the fiscal year, which started Oct. 1, was less than the previous year. Sign up for the News 8 daily newsletter Commissioners debated for a while after the second day of testimony, but held off voting. The following Monday, Oct. 30, they pushed the vote back another week. On Nov. 6, they spent hours in closed session before voting to accept their lawyers recommendations on litigation and settlement activities. Kallman told News 8 that motion was meant to indicate discussions would continue. On Nov. 14, the fifth day of the hearing, commissioners spent several more hours in closed-door negotiations before recessing again. Hambleys attorneys motion to bind the board to the $4 million agreement was filed on Nov. 16. It says that under the settlement, Hambley would leave her position by Dec. 15 in exchange for $4 million. Deputy Health Officer Marcia Mansaray would resign in exchange for a severance of one years pay. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com. The Miami Heat will be without star Jimmy Butler for Tuesday nights meaningful In-Season Tournament game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Kaseya Center. It marks the second straight game that Butler has missed after spraining his right ankle during Fridays road loss to the New York Knicks. Including Tuesdays contest, Butler has sat out four of the Heats first 18 games this season. Heats Caleb Martin wants quick results, but knows he needs to be patient with himself The belief remains that this is a short-term issue for Butler and he could return for the Heats next game, which is Thursday against the Indiana Pacers at Kaseya Center. The Heat will also be without Tyler Herro (right ankle sprain), Haywood Highsmith (lower back contusion), Dru Smith (season-ending ACL injury) and R.J. Hampton (right knee sprain) against the Bucks. With Butler, Herro and Highsmith out, the Heat will be missing three starters against the Bucks. The Bucks ruled out Marques Bolden, Jae Crowder, TyTy Washington Jr. and Lindell Wigginton for Tuesdays game in Miami. With the NBAs inaugural In-Season Tournaments four-game group stage coming to an end on Tuesday, the Heat needs to find a way to defeat the Bucks without Butler, Herro and others just to have a realistic chance of advancing to the knockout quarterfinal round. A loss to the Bucks on Tuesday wouldnt technically eliminate the Heat from the In-Season Tournament, but theres only one unlikely scenario that would get Miami to the quarterfinals if it does not defeat Milwaukee. From the madtom catfish to the oyster mussel, more than 130 aquatic species have made the federal list of endangered species, with several calling Tennessee waterways home. And while the process to save such species from extinction can be rigorous and involved, the process by which a species becomes labeled as endangered is also a strenuous one, according to Josh Campbell, biodiversity chief at the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency. "Once a species is proposed for listing, the fish and wildlife services assesses a lot of biological information about the species to determine if it's possibly a candidate for listing," Campbell said, noting that part of the process involves collecting data day-to-day. There's also a review process that contains more detailed steps to determine whether a species makes the endangered list. Daily work on endangered species A five-year-old Eastern Hellbender salamander takes in the world from its enclosure at the Nashville Zoo in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. This salamander will be released into the wild in the spring now that it is nearing mating age. Whether the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is attempting to rejuvenate a species to protect it from the endangered species list or is actually placing it on the list, Campbell said the work is made possible through an endangered species fund that supports daily work. When it is determined that a species should be placed on the endangered list, an action plan to recover that species is implemented, Campbell said. The goal is to meet as many action plans as possible to ensure recovery. Campbell said one such plan for the Indiana gray bat involves protecting its summer roost sites, where noise and other disturbances have caused young bats to fly away too early or fall to their deaths, while other bats have expended too much energy during hibernation and starved to death trying to block out the noise. When caves are fenced or gated off, Campbell said, they are done so for the protection of bats. Some might ask, why do bats matter? Sherri Reinsch, lead herpetology keeper at the Nashville Zoo in Nashville, Tenn., gives the Eastern Hellbender salamanders under her care a late afternoon feeding of krill and bloodworms Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. "The simple answer that I've heard some employees give is Mother Nature had it all balanced," Campbell said. It's all about a balanced food chain, he explains, and when species are removed from that chain, others can be starved or slighted, especially in the case of aquatic species, which serve additional functions in preserving the cleanliness of drinking water in Tennessee. Will it snow in Tennessee this winter? These signs of nature might tell you what to expect "A lot of these species provide a high level of ecosystem services that we benefit from, like with bats and insect removal," said Chris Simpson, assistant chief of biodiversity at the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency. Bats, he explained, forage nightly for food and can eat their body weight in insects, which helps farmers reduce pesticide use to protect their crops and impacts the cost of food, in addition to preventing pesky mosquito bites. Water quality in Tennessee is aided by endangered mussels, which act as filters for waterways, removing sediment and impurities from water. Tennessee is the most biodiverse inland state in the country, taking on a number of different species in a variety of ecosystems and habitats that range in elevation, Simpson said. Nashville Zoo preserving wildlife In addition to employing dedicated biologists who work daily to track different species as part of its $700,000 annual conservation budget, the Nashville Zoo is trying to actively remove certain Tennessee-based species from the endangered list. The two most-targeted species at the zoo have been hellbender salamanders and Nashville crayfish. A yearling Eastern Hellbender salamander searches for bloodworms in its enclosure at the Nashville Zoo in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. The eastern hellbender head-start program has been the zoo's most in-depth conservation project to date, according to zoo spokesperson Mallory Immel. In May, the Nashville Zoo released 24 hellbender salamanders back into the wild. It was the third such group to be released. "We recognized a need for a head-start program due to researchers noticing a decline in their population over the past few decades," Immel said. "Head-starting is a strategy that focuses on raising at-risk animals in human care to then be released back into their native habitat in an effort to sustain wild populations." The zoo's ectotherm team released the salamanders through a partnership with TWRA and Tennessee State University. Daylight saving time : When does the time change in Tennessee? TWRA used state wildlife grants totaling $145,000 to fund the five-year salamander project, which began in 2020. Work is also continuing with the Nashville crayfish, which is the only animal whose entire range is located in the greater Nashville area. They are found in Mill Creek and its tributaries, which flow through Nashville Zoo. TWRA is using endangered species grant funds totaling $55,000 over five years to support crayfish within the Mill Creek watershed. Due to pollution and agricultural run-off, the species is endangered. In the spring, the zoo's aquatics team recorded more than 400 crayfish at four different locations, all of which are monitored four times each year to assess the population. The crayfish is a food source for more than 240 species, including fish, racoons and reptiles, making it an important part of the ecosystem, wildlife officials note. Preserving the population and growing it can be achieved by keeping waterways clean from trash and other pollution and ensuring no exposed soil pesticides and pollutants are left on the ground, since they can deposit storm water into nearby creeks, they said. Reach reporter Craig Shoup by email at cshoup@gannett.com and on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @Craig_Shoup. To support his work, sign up for a digital subscription to www.tennessean.com. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee, Nashville Zoo work together to help endangered species (FOX40.COM) The Fonz, Henry Winkler, will be visiting the Sacramento area in March 2024 to discuss his newly released autobiography BEING HENRYThe Fonz and Beyond. On March 15, 2024, Winkler will be discussing his book along with his more than 50 years of experience in Hollywood at the Harris Center in Folsom. 2-year-old reunited with first responders who helped save his life in Sacramento Each ticket purchase includes a meet and greet and a copy of my book, which I will be happy to sign, Winkler wrote in a social media post. Winkler is best known for his iconic character Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli, also known as The Fonz or Fonize in the classic sitcom Happy Days. 40th annual California International Marathon taking place Sunday Beyond his acclaimed acting career, Winkler has also written nearly 40 childrens novels with his co-author Lin Oliver. The writing duos Alien Superstar trilogy became a New York Times bestseller. Winkler and Oliver wrote their first book Niagara Falls or Does It? Hank Zipzer the Worlds Greatest Under-Achiever in 2003 and based it on Winklers own experience of going through school with an undiagnosed case of dyslexia. There are now 17 Hank Zipper books with the most recent issue, A Brand-New Me! Hank Zipper the Worlds Greatest Under-Achiever being released on April 20, 2010. Click here to purchase tickets and find out more about the event. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40. Flash Photo taken on March 18, 2016 shows people taking photos in front of the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. [Photo/Xinhua] Malaysia's new visa-free policy for Chinese travelers is a positive response to China's announcement that it will grant unilateral, visa-free entry to travelers from six countries including Malaysia, tourism industry insiders said. The move will also boost travel to Malaysia, they added. Malaysia's visa-free policy for up to 30 days for Chinese travelers will take effect on Friday, China Central Television reported. Wang Wenbin, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a news conference in Beijing on Monday that China is pleased to see Malaysia's visa-free policy for Chinese travelers. He said that China and Malaysia are friendly neighbors whose friendship has been witnessed by history. He also said that China and Malaysia will embrace the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations next year, and the visa-free policy will further boost the communication of people from the two countries. Tourism industry insiders and travel agencies noted that China extended a friendly gesture to the world by optimizing entry policies for international travelers from some countries, aiming to improve the nation's high-quality development and opening-up, and such goodwill was expected to receive a positive response from the market. That, in turn, will lead to economic benefits in the future, they added. "We've seen growing searches and bookings of tour products to Malaysia on our platform. Chinese travelers will get easier and quicker access to Malaysia after the policy takes effect, which will also accelerate the sales of our products," said Qi Chunguang, vice-president of travel portal Tuniu. Searches for and bookings of trips to Malaysia also show strong, growing momentum on other travel portals. For example, online travel service provider Qunar said that, as of Sunday night, searches for trips to Malaysia had doubled on its platform compared with the previous week. Travel portal LY.com said that searches for Malaysian tour products have so far increased by 173 percent month-on-month on the platform. Nonetheless, China still faces difficulties in resuming its inbound tourism, which was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a report released in September by the World Tourism Alliance, China saw 18 million entries in the first half of 2023 roughly 12 percent of the figure for the same period in 2019, before the outbreak. Facing fluctuations in the growth of inbound tourism and the not-yet fully recovered outbound tourism market, China has made continuous efforts to optimize entry policies for international travelers to revitalize the tourism industry and deepen opening-up for better economic development. China's Foreign Ministry announced on Friday the granting of unilateral, visa-free entry to travelers holding ordinary passports from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia. Under the policy, citizens of the six countries can enter China for business, tourism or family trips, and also for transit purposes, without a visa for up to 15 days. The policy will start on Friday and expire on Nov. 30, 2024. In July, China resumed visa-free entry for up to 15 days to citizens of Singapore and Brunei. The policy had been suspended since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "We and many other tourism companies all feel very excited about the optimized entry policies," said Liang Jianzhang, chairman of the board at Trip.com Group. "We hope that more practical moves can be taken to improve the entry policies, internet use and mobile payment to strengthen China's competitiveness in the world's tourism market." A 17-year-old high school student died after leaping from a moving school bus in North Carolina, officials said. Officers were called to an intersection on Nov. 20 and found the teenager lying in the road. The boy was taken to a hospital in critical condition but died from his injuries days later on Nov. 27, according to the Winston-Salem Police Department. An investigation revealed the student was riding on a school bus and jumped out of the back of the bus while it was still in motion, police wrote in a news release. He reportedly went out an emergency exit door as the bus traveled on its afternoon route. The teen was identified as Alex Wilson, who attended Parkland High School. Though Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools didnt release an updated written statement on Nov. 28, the district shared one after the incident. This is a heartbreaking situation, Superintendent Tricia McManus said. Our thoughts and prayers are with our student and the family. At the time just days before Thanksgiving break the district reportedly was offering on-campus support to students. We know this event has been traumatizing for the student, the family, for the students on board the bus, and for the bus driver, McManus said. As of Nov. 27, officials continued to investigate the incident, which was reported south of downtown Winston-Salem. Police in their initial news release said they didnt suspect criminal activity. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 336-773-7700, Crime Stoppers at 336-727-2800 or a Spanish language line at 336-728-3904. Crime Stoppers also has an online submission form. 5 kids sent to hospital after driver crashes into elementary school bus, NC crews say Car hits 6-year-old boarding school bus, causing life-threatening injuries, NC cops say ANTIOCH - One person was arrested after leading officers on a high-speed chase Sunday that ended in Antioch with a shot being fired by Waukegan police. Around 10:40 p.m., Antioch officers were alerted to a police chase that started in Waukegan and was heading toward their village. The driver, who was later identified as a 25-year-old Antioch resident, led police to Antioch Manor apartments in the 400 block of Donin Drive. The suspect got out of his vehicle at the apartment complex wielding a high-powered crossbow, police said. While Waukegan and Antioch officers tried to de-escalate the situation, the suspect pointed the crossbow several times at the police. He then ran into a nearby apartment building. Officers followed him into the building where the suspect again pointed his weapon at them. At that time, a Waukegan police officer fired a single shot at the suspect but did not strike anyone. The suspect surrendered to police and was taken into custody. He was then transported to a nearby hospital. Members of the Saudi Arabia delegation react as the Bureau International des Expositions, or BIE, announces the vote Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023 in Issy-les-Moulineaux, outside Paris. Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh was chosen to host the 2030 World Expo, beating out South Korean port city Busan and Rome for an event expected to draw millions of visitors. Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh was chosen on Tuesday to host the 2030 World Expo, beating out South Korean port city Busan and Rome for an event expected to draw millions of visitors. Riyadh was picked by a majority of 119 out of 165 votes by the member states. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard) ISSY-LES-MOULINEAUX, France (AP) Saudi Arabias capital Riyadh was chosen Tuesday to host the 2030 World Expo following its bid that focused on shaping a prosperous and sustainable future, beating out Rome and the South Korean port city of Busan for an event expected to draw millions of visitors. Members of the Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions chose Riyadh with a majority of 119 out of 165 votes during a closed-door meeting in the suburb of Issy-les-Moulineaux. Busan got 29 votes and Rome 17. The result was greeted with cheers by the Saudi delegation. Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, welcomed the vote as an expression of the trust that the international community has in what we have to offer but also in its alignment with our own vision (for) 2030 and everything that we advocate for, which is a shared pathway to prosperity for all of the countries of the world. We are committed to living up to the expectations and delivering an extraordinary expo, he said. The Saudi plans include a major public transit network and a futuristic, round space with public parks, e-game facilities, large scale performance stages and sport venues. The project includes a focus on accelerating innovations to preserve natural ecosystems. The legacy of Riyadh Expo 2030 will go beyond the buildings, Prince Faisal added, promising fantastic architecture. We are about a journey, a journey that brings the world together... So that will be the legacy, working together for a brighter, more prosperous future. Saudi Arabia hopes the Expo will bring 40 million of visitors to its capital city. With the stakes high, each city escalated its campaign efforts, showcasing unique visions and ambitious promises to secure the rights to the globally prestigious event. Saudi Arabia mounted a significant marketing campaign, featuring a Riyadh 2030 exhibit near the Eiffel Tower and extensive advertising across Paris. The Saudi bid, seeking to diversify the kingdoms economy and boost its international stature, had notably received official support from French President Emmanuel Macron. Some activists denounced Riyadhs candidacy amid allegations that the country violates human rights, including the 2018 slaying and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. U.S. intelligence agencies assess Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was behind the killing, something denied by Riyadh as it pushes forward with the prince's massive series of construction projects aimed at slowly changing the kingdom's oil-dominated economy. In a statement, Prince Mohammed cited the Expo as a chance to expand on his development plans. Dubai, which held a pandemic-delayed 2020 Expo in 2021, now is using its $7 billion site to host the United Nations' COP28 climate talks this week. Saudi Arabia plans to spend some $7.8 billion itself to build an Expo site. Saudi Arabia has become an ideal destination for hosting major international events, including the esteemed World Expo," the prince said in a statement on the state-run Saudi Press Agency. The decision also comes as Saudi Arabia is all but certain to host the mens 2034 FIFA World Cup. Rome had enlisted actor Russell Crowe, who appeared in a promotional video echoing his Gladiator persona, to underscore the citys readiness for the Expo. Romes bid included plans for the worlds largest urban solar park and a green corridor connecting the Expo site to historic landmarks like the Appia Antica (Appian Way), one of the oldest and most important roads of the Roman Empire. The South Korean port city of Busan had brought in cultural heavyweights like Gangnam Style rapper Psy and K-pop supergroup BTS to bolster its bid. The city was positioning itself for a high-tech Expo, emphasizing its capabilities in artificial intelligence and 6G technology with the aim of attracting millions of visitors and spurring job creation. In South Korea, President Yoon Suk Yeol congratulated Saudi Arabia while apologizing for failing to bring the Expo to his country. I really congratulate our key partner Saudi Arabia for successfully achieving the Riyadh Expo that its hoped for, Yoon said Wednesday in a televised speech in Seoul. As president who oversaw and was responsible for our campaign to host the Expo, Id like to say again that Im really sorry for disappointing our people, including Busan citizens. The World Expo has a storied history of bringing together nations to showcase technological innovations and cultural achievements. Since the inaugural event in 1851, Expos have been platforms for introducing groundbreaking inventions such as the light bulb, the Ferris wheel and the Eiffel Tower itself, which was built for the 1889 Exposition Universelle. These events have evolved to not only be celebrations of human ingenuity, but also opportunities for host cities to catalyze economic growth and global recognition. They generally are held every five years, with the next one scheduled in Osaka, Japan, in 2025. ___ Adamson reported from Paris. John Leicester in Paris, Frances DEmilio in Rome, Colleen Barry in Milan, Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. and Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report. It is more than five years since work started to boost golden eagle numbers in southern Scotland The disappearance of a golden eagle in the Borders is a blow to efforts to boost numbers in southern Scotland. Over the past five years, a project has been ongoing from a base near Moffat to increase levels in the area. Police are treating the latest incident - between Heriot and Stow - as suspicious and have vowed to protect the "magnificent birds". Eagle numbers are at their highest level in centuries - but the scheme has not been without its setbacks. How it all began Prior to the release of the chicks only two to four breeding pairs remained in the south of Scotland The first chicks from the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project (SSGEP) were released in the area in August 2018 more than a decade after the idea was initially hatched. They had been brought to a secret location in the Moffat Hills from the Highlands. At the time, there were between two and four breeding pairs in the south of Scotland. Cat Barlow, project manager, described it as a "very significant" moment. "We are trying to boost the dwindling population and make sure that we are seeing a bird that should be here in the skies of the south of Scotland," she said. An early setback The project was just a year old when one bird apparently attacked another, causing its death. Scotland's natural heritage agency NatureScot said the incident was "distressing and extremely surprising" and was behaviour it had "not observed before". A female bird released in 2018 appeared to have turned on a male bird introduced the following year. The eagle, named Beaky, had returned to its release site and was witnessed being "aggressive and domineering" towards three birds. However, NatureScot said it remained determined to see the project achieve its goals. Doubling up Despite the loss of one of the young golden eagles, more were brought from the Highlands and by August 2021 eight more chicks had been successfully moved south. It took the total number relocated to 12 and nearly doubled the local population in the space of three years. The project had suffered some delays due to Covid but it said it was "absolutely amazing" to see so many birds "soaring majestically" across south of Scotland skies. NatureScot chief executive Francesca Osowska described the scheme as a "vital part" of efforts to reverse biodiversity loss and combat the climate emergency. Record levels Earlier this year, the number of golden eagles in southern Scotland had hit its highest recorded level in centuries with the population reaching nearly 50. Although the project began by bringing chicks, it has started to introduce older birds making it the first scheme in the UK to move golden eagles aged between six months and three years from one part of the country to another. Ms Barlow said the success of moving the older eagles would be monitored closely by similar projects. Meanwhile, thousands of people had got involved in the SSGEP through a range of initiatives and a festival celebrating the golden eagle has also been staged in Moffat. Turbine protection A wind farm was scaled back in size in the area amid concerns over its impact on the eagles Plans for a major wind farm near Moffat were scaled back in January this year amid concerns they could have an impact on the golden eagles. Community Windpower initially wanted to build 75 turbines at Scoop Hill but cut that back to 60 following consultation. The RSPB objected to the original proposals due to concerns about the collision risk and habitat loss for the birds. The company said it hoped the changes being proposed could address those issues. Mystery death and disappearance When a bird was found dead on a south of Scotland estate in February this year it prompted a lengthy investigation into the cause with concerns it could have been poisoned or have been a victim of avian flu. Both of those were ruled out and it was concluded the bird - named Sula - had been "very fit" prior to its death. The SSGEP said it showed that golden eagles, like any species, could die suddenly for a variety of reasons - including natural causes. However, it said the survival rate in southern Scotland remained high and it hoped that would continue in the years to come. The death of one bird has now been followed by the disappearance of another. The female eagle - Merrick - was last seen in the Borders on 12 October in an area between Heriot and Stow. Police believe she has come to harm and are investigating the circumstances. The golden eagle project - and all its partner organisations - have vowed to keep up their efforts to boost golden eagle numbers in the area despite the setback. After connecting online, a group of hikers met up in person for a hike on Mount Seymour in Canada. But when the group reached the end of their hike, they realized they were missing one person. The group called for help around 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 26, according to a Nov. 27 news release from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. When police arrived, they learned that the missing hikers phone was dead so they relied on traditional foot searchers and call-outs. Because the sun had set, temperatures were falling and there were treacherous hiking conditions, and North Shore Rescue assisted in the search, officials said. Rescuers learned the group had watched the sunset from Pump Peak, and the missing hiker had left about 15 minutes before the rest of the group, North Shore Rescue said in a Facebook post. Officials suspected the hiker had likely gone off trail in one of two places, but their searchers were unsuccessful. Then rescuers heard an extremely faint sound and discovered a single set of fresh bootprints leading away from the trail, the post said. As rescuers followed the bootprints down extremely complex terrain, the sounds got louder and louder. A thermal drone pinpointed the hikers location, and after more than nine hours, the team found the missing hiker, warmed him up, gave him food and water, and tended to his injuries, according to North Shore Rescue. Rescuers said the hiker suffered minor injuries from the fall. Mount Seymour is extremely rugged, and weather can change quickly in the area, according to BC Parks. The park offers 14 hiking trails ranging in length and difficulty. As of 9 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 27, the temperature on the mountain was about 36 degrees, and there had been less than an inch of snow at the mountaintop, according to the Mount Seymour website. The mountain is about 12 miles northeast of Vancouver. What to do if you get lost while hiking If you think youre getting lost, experts say its best to stop where you are and not panic. You should go over how you got to that point and if youre able to see any landmarks around. Do not move at all until you have a specific reason to take a step, officials with the U.S. Forest Service said. You should come up with a plan but stay put unless you are very, very confident in the route. There are steps hikers can take to avoid getting lost and be better prepared for the unexpected: Have more than enough food and water with you. Take a compass that you know how to use, or have a GPS device on hand. Dont rely solely on your cellphone. It probably wont work because of a lack of signal or a depleted battery. Study the terrain and your route, and you should know how youll return. Have the right clothing. Sturdy hiking boots and layers can help you be prepared for rapidly changing weather. Pack a blanket, flashlight and matches. Check with a local ranger for special warnings. They can tell you about fires in the area, bear sightings, flooding, trail or road closures. Hiker with frozen feet calls 911 near mountaintop but rescuers couldnt call back Family of 5 hiking to summit gets trapped in snow without food, Colorado cops say 36-year-old avid ice climber dies after fall near Montana waterfall, rescuers say As the Telegraph recently highlighted, a major change is coming for over half a million sole traders and partnerships. The new rules will apply for the 2024-25 tax year with 2023-24 designated as a transitional period. Whats happening? The position for sole traders and partnerships until now has been that your profits assessed for tax each tax year are based on the accounts ending in that tax year. So if you produce your accounts to Dec 31 you will have reported your results to Dec 31, 2022 in your 2022-23 self-assessment. From next April this changes to basing tax on the amounts earned across the tax year concerned. If you keep to a Dec 31 year end, for example, in tax year 2024-25 your self-assessment will be based on 270/365 of your December 2024 accounts plus 95/365 of your December 2025 accounts. Why is the change happening? The Government says that this has to happen as part of the move towards making tax digital. They say that the change will make reporting profits simpler, fairer and more transparent. Others, including the Association of Taxation Technicians, disagree. It is concerned that it will create a major complication for those affected and that businesses caught are likely to pay increased amounts of tax. Will it affect me? It will catch all sole traders and partners in trading partnerships who do not currently have their accounting year ending on March 31, April 5 or the days in between. Should I change my accounting date to March 31 or April 5? You are not obliged to do so but it would probably make life easier in the long run if you did. One problem is that the self-assessment filing deadline remains at Jan 31. Taking the example above you would only have one month after Dec 31 to prepare accounts before the deadline. HMRC will accept provisional numbers but these will then have to be estimated and then corrected. Will my accountant be able to cope? With difficulty I suspect. Writing as a retired accountant I am concerned for those in practice having to manage this change. January is already the busiest month for self-assessment so the thought of having to push more work into this time with provisional numbers required sounds horrific. On the other hand, if everybody moved to a March year end that would increase pressure over the summer months. I accept that this change is not being made to improve the social life of accountants but their clients may have to put up with longer delays in dealing with their annual accounts and will probably have to pay extra costs. How tolerant will HMRC be during the change? We are waiting for more guidance but HMRC knows that adjustments will be required to working practices. In particular we understand that there will be a relaxation in the rule that amendments to self-assessment returns have to be made without delay and that normal amendment time limits will apply. Hopefully this means that for 2024-25 we will have until Jan 31, 2027 to correct provisional figures How does the 2023-24 transitional year work? For those affected, the tax for this year will be calculated using two component parts: the standard part that would normally follow from the accounts ending in this tax year, plus the transitional part running from your year end to April 5, 2024, less brought forward overlap relief (see below for explanation). This is the excess profit. What is overlap relief? When a business starts it is taxed in the first year on the profits up to April 5. The second year is assessed on the first 12 months of trading. This means that some profits are taxed twice. Suppose you started trading on 1 July 2016 and ran your accounts to June 30, 2017. The nine months to April 5, 2017 will have been subject to tax twice. This amount is called your overlap profit and is the amount available for overlap relief in the calculation above. For many traders this will result in higher tax. This is because profit in the transitional part above is likely to be more than the overlap relief. This year is the last time overlap relief is available. What can I do about tax on the excess profit? You cannot reduce the amount but the excess profit will be spread and taxed over five years. Are there any other complications? Complications will arise if you make a loss. There may also be issues for those with student loan repayments or with personal allowances being tapered for income above 100,000. However, we understand that the rules will prevent anomalies arising with Universal Credit, Tax Credits and the High Income Child Benefit Charge. Detailed guidance is available here. Recommended Self-employed? Here are five (perfectly legal) ways to beat the taxman Read more 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. This article was first published in the On the Trail 2024 newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox on Tuesday and Friday mornings here. Good morning and welcome to On the Trail 2024, the Deseret News campaign newsletter. Im Samuel Benson, Deserets national political correspondent. A reminder to follow our new On the Trail 2024 Instagram account! As I travel to events in Iowa, South Carolina, New Hampshire and elsewhere, I upload videos and other content in real time there. Hope you enjoy. If you missed it, a political nugget from our profile of ex-BYU president Kevin Worthen: A few friends encouraged Worthen to run for Mitt Romneys soon-to-be vacated Senate seat, but he decided there are other Utahns who are better qualified. Heres more of the Deseret News 2024 election coverage: The Big Idea Happy holidays, says no presidential candidate ever Were nearing a paradoxical juncture in the presidential election cycle. While the rest of the country seems to slow down for the holidays, the campaigns shift into full gear, ahead of a gauntlet of caucuses and primaries in early January. From there, the pace doesnt slow much until summer, when the two major parties will officially crown their nominees at their respective conventions. A quick glance at the post-holiday path ahead: Republicans will converge on Iowa for the Jan. 15 caucuses, where Donald Trumps challengers will make every and any attempt to gain an early foothold. Trump leads by over 20 percentage points there, while Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley are neck-and-neck. But things have gotten interesting. DeSantis won two big endorsements in recent weeks, from Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats. Haley is drawing out big crowds at every turn. And Vivek Ramaswamy hired a pair of former Latter-day Saint missionaries to help pitch his campaign to an evangelical electorate. I have another Iowa-centric story coming this week, about a group whos been trying to sell voters on someone, anyone, besides Trump. More on that soon. After Iowa, its all eyes on New Hampshire on Jan. 23, where both Democrats and Republicans hold their first primary election. Theres some soreness here the Democratic National Committee decided to make South Carolina its first primary, so Joe Biden wont show up on the New Hampshire ballot. The state party dug in its heels and will still hold a primary. Either way, all eyes will be on the Republican ticket, where things could get interesting: Trump leads big, but Haley is rising and DeSantis is plummeting. If Chris Christie who is polling at 14%, above DeSantis drops out before New Hampshire and endorses Haley, it could change the entire complexion of the race. Democrats hold their first official primary on Feb. 3 in South Carolina, then head to Nevada on Feb. 6. Things are messy in Nevada, too the state GOP is holding a caucus on Feb. 8 independent of the state-run primary, and any candidate who participates in the primary is barred from the caucus. Haley registered for the primary; DeSantis, Trump and Ramaswamy will compete in the caucus. The calculus here, on Haleys part, is likely to acknowledge that Trump holds an insurmountable lead in Nevada, and that she could win a meaningless primary without having to exert much effort (shes yet to hold a public campaign event in Nevada). Steal a headline, skip the caucus and move on. That takes us to Haleys backyard: South Carolina, where the Feb. 24 primary completes the first batch of early-voting states. If Trumps challengers do well in Iowa or New Hampshire, this state could get interesting. Haley, of course, has the proverbial home-court advantage; Trump, like everywhere else, has a huge lead. Were in for a crazy couple of months. Hang on to your Santa hats. What Im reading No Iowa governor has endorsed a non-incumbent GOP presidential candidate since the 1990s. That Gov. Reynolds would break tradition and back DeSantis was certainly newsy, if not surprising. But how much will it really move the needle come caucus-time? Local reporters have a smart breakdown here, reporting from Des Moines: Iowa political leaders are endorsing DeSantis. Trump still thinks the caucuses are a lock (Katie Akin, Galen Bacharier and Brianne Pfannenstiel, Des Moines Register) Trumps views on religious groups are well-documented. Hes feuded with Muslims since the start of his 2016 campaign. Hes mocked Latter-day Saints. But it now seems he has unfavorable views of one of his strongest bases, too: evangelical Christians. Thats according to a new book written by The Atlantics Tim Alberta, which releases next week. After Trump was widely mocked in 2016 for referring to 2 Corinthians as Two Corinthians, he called Ted Cruzs evangelical backers so-called Christians and other more-colorful names. Trump called Iowa evangelicals so-called Christians, book says (Martin Pengelly, The Guardian) Vivek Ramaswamy may be sinking in the polls, but theres no reason to suggest he wont be around Republican politics for a long, long time. Hes young. Hes garnered a fairly robust following, including among young voters. By his side is his wife Apoorva, a Yale-educated throat surgeon who appears sporadically on the trail, between her routine shifts at Ohio State Universitys medical center. An interesting tidbit from this profile: Vivek Ramaswamy has crusaded against COVID-19 vaccines, while Apoorvas background as a medical professional encouraged her to get the vaccine and defend it. Beside Ramaswamy, a Doctor Who Listens More and Debates Less (Anjali Huyhn, The New York Times) Have a question for next weeks mailbag? Drop me a line at onthetrail@deseretnews.com, or reply to this email. See you on the trail. Editors Note: The Deseret News is committed to covering issues of substance in the 2024 presidential race from its unique perspective and editorial values. Our team of political reporters will bring you in-depth coverage of the most relevant news and information to help you make an informed decision. Find our complete coverage of the election here. A homeless woman has been arrested on a murder charge after she allegedly fatally shot a man whose Mid-Wilshire home she had broken into Monday night. The shooting was reported at about 6 p.m. in the 900 block of Alandele Avenue, and when officers arrived, they found 33-year-old Michael Latt had been shot. Latt was transported to a local hospital where he later died a few hours later, the Los Angeles Police Department said. Jameelah Elena Michl, 36, remained at the scene and was taken into custody as the suspected shooter, police said. Neighbors were stunned to learn of the shooting and said they couldnt believe something like this happened on their block. Im heartbroken, Im shocked, said Avarie Shevin, Latts next-door neighbor. I was looking out my window and saw a female standing in the walkway with her hands up and they took her into custody. Michael Latt, 33, in a photo from his Instagram. (@michaellatt) A homeless woman has been arrested on a murder charge after she allegedly fatally shot a man whose Mid-Wilshire home she had broken into on Nov. 27, 2023. (Citizen) Michael Latt, 33, in a photo from his Instagram. (@michaellatt) A homeless woman has been arrested on a murder charge after she allegedly fatally shot a man whose Mid-Wilshire home she had broken into on Nov. 27, 2023. (KTLA) A homeless woman has been arrested on a murder charge after she allegedly fatally shot a man whose Mid-Wilshire home she had broken into on Nov. 27, 2023. (Citizen) Shevin said she didnt hear any gunshots, but noticed loud sirens and a police helicopter outside her home. She soon realized Latt was the man who always greeted her warmly whenever they crossed paths in the courtyard. He is a super sweet guy, Shevin said. He and his girlfriend lived there with a dog and a cat. Hes just very mellow. I cant wrap my brain around what couldve happened that caused him to be shot and killed. I keep picturing his face and I cannot believe he has passed. According to police, the suspect may have been living inside her car which is now being processed as evidence. The events leading up to the shooting remain unknown and its unclear whether the suspect and victim knew each other. It was really weird because I didnt hear anything, Shevin recalled. Like, no gunshot. No arguing, nothing, and its the kind of thing where if theres a gunshot a mile away, I will hear it. So how did I not hear it right there? Michl was booked for murder and is being held on $3 million bail. Jail records obtained by KTLA indicated that she did not have a criminal history. Information on her next court appearance was not available. Anyone with information is asked to call investigators at 213-382-9470. During non-business hours and on weekends, call 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (877-527-3247). To submit information anonymously, call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477) or visit lacrimestoppers.org. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. (FOX40.COM) A homeless woman who was living with six dogs in an SUV was arrested for allegedly abusing one of them in a parking lot. On Nov. 27 at 6:21a.m. Winters Police Department officers said they received a call about a woman choking and beating a dog in the parking lot near Starbucks on Matsumoto Lane. Yolo County Meals on Wheels expands operations Upon arrival to the scene, an officer reported that the woman barricaded herself in a black SUV with numerous dogs and threatened the officer with a weapon. The officer requested backup and received assistance from the Yolo County Sheriffs Office. Law enforcement identified the woman as 25-year-old Anastasia Mischenko. They said after over 30 minutes of negotiating with her, she exited the vehicle, but resisted being detained. Vehicle strikes, kills pedestrian in Woodland before fleeing Mischenko was eventually placed under arrest and booked at Yolo County Jail for misdemeanor animal cruelty and resisting/obstructing an officer. Officials say she will be evaluated by mental health staff at the jail. Yolo County Animal Services Shelter took custody of six dogs that were in the vehicle. Animal services staff will reportedly evaluate and treat the dogs for medical needs. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40. Palestinians walk amid debris of buildings that were hit in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on Nov. 27, 2023. (Omar El-Qattaa / AFP/Getty Images) She was born at dawn in a crowded shelter here on the first day of the truce between Israel and Hamas. Her parents named her Israa just like her mother. "Her arrival was an omen of peace," said Israa abu Aaser, cradling her newborn. "There was quiet and no bombings." The family has been living in a corner of the shelter, their apartment razed by bombs like so much else in the Gaza Strip. Bilal abu Aaser had spent all day cobbling together scraps of wood to make a crib for his 3-day-old daughter. "The cold and the hunger made her cry all the time," he said. "I had to do something." "I'm afraid for my daughter in a place like this," said his wife. "I can barely keep her clean and warm." Palestinians fleeing south from the northern Gaza Strip take a safe-passage corridor designated by the Israeli army on Nov. 27, 2023. (Ashraf Amra / Anadolu via Getty Images) It was early Monday, the final day of the deal to pause the fighting. The new parents wondered how they would care for their child if in 24 hours the bombardment started anew. "I hope they'll extend this truce," Israa abu Aaser said. Read more: News Analysis: A temporary cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war does little to solve deep dilemmas on all sides She got her wish, at least for a bit longer. On Monday evening, after intense mediation efforts by Qatar and Egypt, the militant group Hamas announced a two-day extension of the agreement. That is expected to result in the release of more hostages who were kidnapped from Israel by Hamas on Oct. 7 and Palestinian women and teenagers who are being held in Israeli prisons. Since the truce began Friday, roughly a quarter of the 240 hostages have been freed in exchange for more than 100 Palestinians. For people in Gaza, it was a reprieve from the relentless Israeli military campaign that local health authorities said has killed more than 13,300 people. As aid groups took advantage of the pause to ramp up humanitarian assistance, the 2.3 million people in Gaza took note of what they had lost and tried to stock up on water, food, fuel and other essentials. Many prayed that the truce might be extended further and evolve into a more durable cease-fire. "It has to hold," said Tahani Haboush, 54, who was helping her husband while he underwent dialysis at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al Balah. In normal times, he visits the hospital three times a week for four-hour dialysis sessions. But with many medical facilities out of commission and medical supplies at a premium, the hospital could barely manage to put him on dialysis twice a week, two hours at a time. "In past wars, it wasn't like this," Haboush said. "We had food and drink. We stayed in our homes. We need the truce to continue." Read more: A family in Thailand awaits word on hostages in Gaza For Ahmad Mughrabi, 42, the truce saved his right arm at least for now. He was still in the hospital Monday recovering from surgery. He, his wife and their four children were fleeing south from their Gaza City neighborhood this month when an Israeli tank fired a shell near him. One shard of shrapnel pierced his back while another drilled through the flesh of his arm and into the bone. The family returned to their home, and for six days, they waited. By the time Mughrabi made it to the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, his arm was rotting. Lacking supplies, doctors there could do little more than dress his wounds and tell him to seek help elsewhere. The situation wasn't much better at Ahli Arab Hospital, where doctors urged him to go south and get an operation to save his arm. Relentless bombing meant he had to wait two more days. Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital was only eight miles away, but he had to go on foot after being unable to find a ride. A Palestinian woman brushes a girl's hair in the village of Khuzaa, east of Khan Yunis, in the Gaza Strip on Nov. 27, 2023. (Said Khatib/ AFP/Getty Images) "The whole time I was walking, I kept wishing for a drop of water," Mughrabi said. "That's all I wanted. I was leaking blood." A surgeon installed a platinum bar to stabilize the bone. Beside Mughrabi's hospital bed stood his brother, 40-year-old Mohammad. The truce had given him an opportunity to visit from southern Gaza. He was unhappy about the level of medical care his brother was receiving. Overwhelmed by a deluge of casualties, doctors could only manage to change his dressing every two or three days. "His wound needs to be treated every day so we don't end up with an infection," the younger brother said. It seemed to him that aid deliveries had done little to alleviate the lack of medical supplies. The same was true for food. An uncle outside Gaza recently sent him 200 Israeli shekels roughly $53 but it didn't matter. "There are things you can't find at all, and if you find them they're very expensive," he said. Read more: Inside the Israeli lab 'reassembling and reconnecting' the mangled bodies of the dead Across Gaza, people took what they could from the truce. For Mohammad Aloul, a freelance photographer, that meant finally visiting the cemetery. On Nov. 4, two missiles landed at his door. He was out at the time, but when he returned, he learned that four of his sons, four of his siblings and three nephews were dead. His wife and another son suffered fractures and wounds all over their bodies. Aloul, 36, found shelter at a relative's house in the city of Rafah. "I've spent days looking for water to wash and shower," he said. "Oil, flour, bread, medicines for the injuries of my wife and son nothing is available." It had been more than three weeks since his relatives were killed and buried. The bombardment had made the trek to the cemetery impossible until Monday. He stood over the graves thinking about his sons Ahmad was 13, Rahaf, 11; Kinan, 6; and Qays, 4 and all the others he had lost. "I'm alive but not alive," he said. "My family is gone. All my friends are gone. For me the truce means nothing. Bulos reported from Jerusalem. A special correspondent, whom The Times is not naming, reported from Deir al Balah. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Flash A Beijing court began compensation hearings on Monday for Chinese relatives of people who disappeared nearly a decade ago on Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, China Central Television reported. On March 8, 2014, MH370, carrying 227 passengers, including more than 150 Chinese nationals, departed from Kuala Lumpur International Airport with its destination Beijing Capital International Airport, but went missing before arrival. More than 40 family members of the missing passengers had their lawsuits heard by the Beijing Chaoyang District People's Court on Monday. The hearings will last until Dec 6, according to the report. With defendants including Malaysia Airlines, as well as the aircraft manufacturer Boeing, the engine manufacturer and insurance company, the report said that most plaintiffs have requested the court find the cause of the mysterious disappearance through the hearings, even if it is a big challenge. So far, what happened to the aircraft and its specific location are unclear. Families of the passengers have asked for civil compensation ranging from 10 million ($1.4 million) to 80 million yuan each, with a major portion to cover their mental anguish, it said. No more details about the hearings have been released from the court so far. In addition to the hearings, families of some 110 other missing Chinese passengers have reached a compensation agreement with the defendants, the report said, adding that they received between 2.5 million and 3 million yuan each. Zhang Qihuai, a lawyer who specializes in aviation lawsuits, has continued to represent the families of missing passengers in Beijing. Before the latest hearings, he went to Malaysia and the United States to attend litigation concerning the flight, according to China News Service. Zhang told the agency that the lawsuit in the US focused on the quality of the plane, but the US court ultimately failed to clarify which entity should shoulder the responsibility. In Malaysia, the lawsuit focused on the liability and cause of the incident, but the local court ruled only for Malaysian passengers' relatives, he added. In 2018, a detailed report on the disappearance of Flight MH370, released by the Malaysian International Civil Aviation Organization Annex 13 Safety Investigation Team, failed to determine the cause behind the mishap and left many questions unanswered due to a lack of evidence, according to Global Times. In the past decade, many families of the missing Chinese passengers have refused to give up on pushing for search efforts and seeking justice through the courts. A horse was able to escape its carriage and wreak havoc on Manhattan Sunday, crushing cars before sprinting down the West Side Highway. Video captured the aftermath of the horse's destruction, with one onlooker showing the remains of a car that looked more like it had been involved in a rear-end accident and a horse carriage badly damaged on the side of the road. According to a report from ABC 7, the trouble started when the carriage malfunctioned and the driver agitated the horse while attempting to fix it. The 15-year-old horse, named Gunner, briefly dragged the driver along for the ride, causing the driver to sustain broken ribs. NEW YORK CARRIAGE DRIVER CHARGED WITH ANIMAL CRUELTY AFTER HORSE COLLAPSES IN MANHATTAN From there, the horse ran toward West Side Highway and smashed into multiple parked cars before becoming disengaged from the carriage and continuing its journey down the northbound lanes of the highway. Eventually, Gunner slipped and fell, and was subdued by two off-duty New York Police Department officers and taken to Clinton Park Stables for evaluation. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP An NYPD officer sits in a marked vehicle. "A horse is in stable condition today after it broke free from a malfunctioning carriage & fell. Fortunately, off-duty @nypdspecialops Mounted Unit Sgt. Fontana & Officer Gehm were in the area, sprang into action & secured the animal to prevent further injuries," NYPD said in a statement on X. CLICK HERE FOR MORE US NEWS According to Christina Hanson of Clinton Park Stables, Gunner required some stitches in his leg from the incident. "He came upstairs and settled right into his stall. He was seen by a vet. He received some stitches for a cut on his leg, but he's been resting comfortable here in his stall ever since," Hanson said, according to ABC 7. The incident has also renewed calls by some activists to ban horses in the city. CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP "They're crashing into cars, running wild, they're getting injured, they're getting killed, they're hurting pedestrians, they're injuring the drivers," Edita Birnkrant, an animal rights advocate with NYCLASS, told ABC 7, adding that people who run sanctuary farms have already reached out and offered to retire Gunner. "He'll never have to be put in harm's way again," Birnkrant said. 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Continue reading SNOW DAY Two golden retrievers, with not a care in the world, have a blast in a winter wonderland. See video SEN. TED CRUZ Biden is the most anti-Israel president the US has had. See video BRIT HUME This shows why Hamas took hostages in the first place. See video Whats it looking like in your neighborhood? Continue reading Facebook Instagram YouTube Twitter LinkedIn Fox News First Fox News Opinion Fox News Lifestyle Fox News Entertainment (FOX411) Fox News Fox Business Fox Weather Fox Sports Tubi Fox News Go Thank you for making us your first choice in the morning! Well see you in your inbox first thing Wednesday. Original article source: Hospital visits up from new respiratory illness, Disney political foray costs and more top headlines It is joyful to see Israeli (and other) hostages of Hamas returned. But joy should not blind us to other consequences. Here, in short order, are a few points: 1. There is a new, special agony for every hostage (the vast majority) not released. In some cases, Hamas deliberately twists the knife by splitting up families, releasing one member but not another. This increases its power over the fate of those who remain. 2. Hamas is being accorded kudos for its actions by the media, as if it were merciful. In truth, the releases are just as calculatedly ruthless as were the original killings and kidnappings. It is a mistake to see the hostage returns as a mark of Hamas weakness, let alone a change of heart. 3. Numerically and morally, these exchanges are unequal. In return for a small number of its citizens, Israel is freeing far more Palestinians, most of whom are guilty of something. The Israelis Hamas frees are wholly innocent. 4. By announcing that it will extend the releases, Hamas makes itself look virtuous, but in fact is winning more time to regroup. It knows that every day of pause damages Israels advance and that Israel will be blamed if hostilities resume. Unless Hamas commits a new atrocity for which it sees no need at present it will not be. 5. Bargaining over hostages makes the future taking of hostages more likely. This is partly because the kidnappings are seen to work and partly because many of the Palestinians released will resume the fight against Israel which their imprisonment interrupted. In 2011, Israel gained the release of Gilad Shalit, a single soldier held by Hamas, only by freeing 1,027 prisoners, almost all of them Palestinians or Arab Israelis. With such a result, Hamas naturally came back for more. This will happen again. 6. The Israeli state is weakened. As a democracy which Hamas, of course, is not it must pay attention to public feeling. As a dependent ally, it also cannot ignore American political pressure. Naturally, many Israelis will do almost anything to get their fellow citizens home. If the Israeli government gives in to this, however, it may well be sacrificing the long-term interests of all Israelis to the feelings of the moment. Hamas has managed to make itself the central player in Israeli politics. The fact that these points are almost unnoticed in the West is itself evidence of how well Hamas is doing by having taken hostages. How many marched? There was yet another pro-Palestinian march in London last Saturday. The BBC reported, without any attempt at verification, that the march organisers claimed an attendance of 300,000. Well, they would say that, wouldnt they? Yet I hear from friends who watched Saturdays march that its numbers were much lower than those of previous ones. The 300,000 figure is about the size of the entire population of Oxford and Cambridge combined. It is incredible, in the accurate sense of that word. Some years ago, the police gave up issuing their own estimates of march sizes. They complained it involved them in political argy-bargy. But reasonably accurate march estimates are an important public service because it is numbers, more than anything, that the organisers need to strengthen their cause. Many are therefore unscrupulous about the figures they put out. For organisational reasons, the police must in fact make private calculations of march numbers. In the era of drones, the tools required must be easy to operate and quite cheap. They should publish what they find. I notice, by the way, that the BBC behaved quite differently about the march against anti-Semitism which took place in London on Sunday. At one point they gave a figure much lower than the estimate of over 100,000 marchers given by the organisers. Funny how the BBCs critical faculty was suspended for Palestinians, but not for Jews; or perhaps not that funny. Avoiding potholes the 1940s way The AA is right to warn motorists to avoid puddles, since nowadays they so often conceal potholes. My mother is over 90 and disabled. Earlier this month, a kind carer took her for a drive round the neighbouring villages she has known so well for so long. This gave great pleasure, but there was a problem. They were so many potholed puddles to avoid that the constant manoeuvring required made my mother car-sick. Country lanes have become altogether too exciting. A couple of days later, the carer brought my mother a yellowed newspaper which she had found at home. It was a 1947 copy of the Sunday Dispatch, a now-forgotten newspaper but which at that time had (as its front page boasted) a circulation of 1,969,790. BRITAINS ROAD REPAIR SHOCK, said the splash headline, Potholes Will Not Be Filled: Winter Chaos Certain. Councils were being forced to dismiss roadmen because of lack of money, the paper reported. Reading the story, we felt almost comforted that some things never change. But on the other hand, Britain in 1947 did have the excuse that the Second World War had ended less than two years earlier, so almost everything needed repair. Besides, as the Sunday Dispatch story explained, there were only three million drivers on British roads then. Today, there are more than 10 times that number, so the pothole problem has far more victims. 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. Centuries ago, a marble statue stood in a cult sanctuary. Under his watchful stone eyes, worshippers visited and left offerings in the thermal spring that flowed through the center of the temple. Eventually, times changed. The once-revered deity was dismembered and left in the hot muddy waters. Until now. Archaeologists were excavating the ruins of a cult sanctuary in Tuscany, Italy, when they uncovered the broken statue, according to a news release from the University for Foreigners of Siena. The sanctuary and its central hot spring were considered sacred by the ancient Romans and the ancient Etruscans who lived in the area before them. Consequently, a temple was built around the spring and used for about 700 years, the release said. An aerial view of the sanctuary as it looked during excavations in 2022. The cult sanctuary was permanently closed in the fifth century A.D. As part of this closure, the marble statue was intentionally fragmented, placed in the hot spring and sealed with a large column, archaeologists said. About 1,500 years later, excavations unearthed the broken statue. A photo shows the lower half of the figure, still partially submerged. A fragment of the statue still partially submerged. The University for Foreigners of Siena shared photos of the reassembled and restored statue in a Nov. 18 Instagram post. Put together, the statue is about 6 feet tall. Archaeologists identified the statue as a depiction of Apollo, god of the sun, known as Apollo Sauroctonos, often referred to as Apollo Lizard-Slayer. Over the years, several different versions of the Apollo Lizard-Slayer statue have been found, most being marble statues dated to Roman times, according to an article from the Cleveland Museum of Art. These mysterious deities, however, have lost their original religious meaning. The excavations lead archaeologist, Jacopo Tabolli, told the Italian newspaper ANSA that existing statues of Apollo Lizard-Slayer did not come from specific archaeological contexts and had no surviving myths to explain the statues meaning. Finding an Apollo Lizard-Slayer statue in the context of a sanctuary offers new glimpses into its meaning, Tabolli told the outlet. The central hot spring as it looked during excavations in 2022 when filled (left) and emptied (right). The San Casciano dei Bagni sanctuary was centered on Apollo for at least a portion of its existence, the release said. Archaeologists suggested that the mysterious Lizard-Slayer depiction of Apollo may embody themes of medicinal care and protection of life in this context. These themes fit with other bronze statues previously uncovered at the site. These statues included depictions of the Greco-Roman deities of Hygieia, the goddess of health and hygiene, and other versions of Apollo. Some of the bronze statues left in the hot springs as offerings and found during excavations in 2022. Archaeologists also found an altar with an inscription written in both Latin and the ancient Etruscan language of Etruria, the release said. Last years excavations also found about twenty bronze statues and 5,000 coins. The sanctuary is located in San Casciano dei Bagni, about 100 miles north of Rome in the province of Siena and the larger region of Tuscany. Google Translate was used to translate the news release and Instagram post from the University for Foreigners of Siena and article from ANSA. Hot muddy waters hid these bronze statues for almost 2,000 years, experts in Italy say Seven swords left in a marsh 3,000 years ago unearthed in Germany, photos show Ancient community buried treasures in ritual 2,800 years ago. Searchers just found it Scots are to be forced to rip out their gas boilers and replace them with heat pumps within as little as two years of buying a home under hugely expensive plans unveiled by Humza Yousafs government. Patrick Harvie, a Scottish Green minister, published a consultation on a new Heating in Buildings Bill aimed at drastically cutting greenhouse gases from homes and business premises. The blueprint said people buying property should be forced to comply with a prohibition on polluting heating so that Scotland could reach its interim targets for reducing emissions by 2030. They would have to make the switch to green forms of heating, such as heat pumps, within a specified amount of time following their purchase. The main consultation document said ministers think between two and five years is likely to be appropriate but other assessments published alongside it said likely two years. Although it said there would be no up-front costs for sellers, it admitted that there would be impacts on the housing market. Prices for homes with boilers could drop if buyers have to take into account the cost of installing heat pumps. The consultation also proposed forcing homeowners to install heat pumps at other trigger points, for example by banning them from buying another boiler when their current one stops working. In a statement to the Scottish Parliament, Mr Harvie abandoned a previous target for a million homes to replace their boilers by 2030. He pushed back the timescale by at least three years following warnings that hard-pressed families struggling with a cost of living crisis could not afford it. Mr Harvie, a Scottish Green minister, has published a consultation on a new Heating in Buildings Bill - SST/Alamy Live News A new minimum energy efficiency standard will instead be introduced for all properties, applying to all homes in the private rented sector by 2028 and those that are owner-occupied by 2033. Private landlords that fail to meet the benchmark in time would be banned from leasing to a new tenant but this would not apply to councils or housing associations. Start of a 10-year timebomb But Holyroods opposition parties said Mr Harvie had still provided no indication of how the estimated 33 billion cost of decarbonising Scotlands buildings would be met, with ministers providing only 1.8 billion of grants in the current parliament. Miles Briggs, the Scottish Tories shadow housing secretary, warned Mr Harvies unrealistic and hugely expensive plan marks the start of a 10-year timebomb for over half of Scotlands homeowners. The Scottish Government has previously admitted that the average cost of installing a heat pump is around 10,000. This is around four times the 2,500 cost of replacing a fossil fuel boiler. Mr Briggs said: He has a timescale but not a plan on how it will be achieved. And there is nothing to provide reassurance that ministers understand the true costs which homeowners the length and breadth of Scotland will face. And no detail of the support, grants, or other measures that might help families to make their homes more efficient, or to cut bills while also achieving net zero in a pragmatic, proportionate and realistic way. SNP and Green ministers have introduced legally binding targets for Scotland to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045, with interim targets requiring a 75 per cent reduction by 2030 and a 90 per cent cut by 2040. Emissions from heating homes and non-domestic buildings, such as shops and offices, will have to drop by an estimated 70 per cent over the current decade for this to be achieved. Mr Harvie says: 'We recognise that different types of buildings in different areas need different solutions' - Andrew Merry/Moment RF Boilers are to be banned from all new buildings from next year and from existing public sector premises by 2038. For other homes, the requirement for property purchasers to get rid of boilers within a specified period would be introduced after the Bill and further regulations are approved at Holyrood. The consultation proposed a system whereby a seller provides an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for their home that states whether it uses clean or polluting heating. This means that prospective purchasers can see whether they will need to find the cost of a heat pump and discuss lending options with a bank or building society. It argued that those who already have green heating would expect to see that reflected in the sale price. Additional time to comply could be given to first-time buyers and those who repeatedly move before the final 2045 cut-off date. The Scottish Government had originally wanted to ban the installation of new or replacement fossil fuel boilers in off-grid properties from 2025 and from homes connected to the gas mains from 2030. But Mr Harvie, the Zero Carbon Buildings Minister, said a single target date of 2028 for both on and off-grid properties was fairer and clearer. No one size fits all approach Well still be taking account of the different contexts in urban and rural areas but through our delivery programmes, our funding and our use of exemptions, rather than primary legislation, he said. Extra time could also be given to those in homes with no clean heating solutions available to them until further technology options become available. Homes that need to be kept at a higher temperature, such as those occupied by the elderly or small children, may also not have to meet the minimum energy efficiency standard. The consultation listed requirements for the benchmark - including 270mm loft insulation, draught-proofing and cavity wall insulation. It says homeowners who install as many measures as is feasible would meet the benchmark. Mr Harvie said: There will be no one size fits all approach to what were proposing we recognise that different types of buildings in different areas need different solutions but today we are giving certainty to households to plan and clarity for businesses to invest, with a pathway which recognises the cost pressures that so many of us are currently facing. The Climate Change Committee, the UKs official Government advisor on meeting greenhouse gas targets, welcomed the bold proposals and said they could become a template for other parts of the UK. Chris Stark, the committees chief executive said: They recognise the importance of a long-term plan for low-carbon heat, with a very welcome focus on upgrading properties at the point of sale. But Sarah Boyack, Scottish Labours net zero spokeswoman, said: Timescales are slipping, basic questions have not been answered, and we still have no idea how this 33 billion plan will actually be paid for. 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. HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - UPDATE: The Texas Center for the Missing has canceled the Houston Regional Silver Alert for 86-year-old John Bishop. Officials said he was found safe. -------------------- The Texas Center for the Missing has issued a Houston Regional Silver Alert for a man last seen on Monday morning. Authorities are searching for 86-year-old John Bishop. John Bishop Bishop is described as a white male, 5'8" tall, 220 pounds, with blue eyes and white hair. Bishop was last seen around 9 a.m. in the 21000 block of Manon Lane in Spring. FOX 26 Houston is now on the FOX LOCAL app available through Apple TV, Amazon FireTV, Roku, Google Android TV, and Vizio! Officials said he was last seen driving a Black 2009 Lincoln Navigator bearing Texas license plate 7TYHJ. He may also be wearing a long-sleeve navy blue shirt, black pants, and shoes. Anyone with information on Bishop's whereabouts is asked to contact the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office at (281) 376-3472. Hundreds gathered at Brown University to pray for three college students who were shot in Vermont over the weekend in what authorities are calling a potential hate crime. Hisham Awartani, 20, a junior at Brown, was spending his Thanksgiving break in Burlington along with two other 20-year-old college students. The three men are of Palestinian descent, according to officials, and were staying with Awartanis family. On Saturday, authorities say the trio was walking outside getting some fresh air when 48-year-old Jason J. Eaton pulled out a gun and shot them. He is now being charged with three counts of attempted murder and pleaded not guilty in court on Monday. The three victims were rushed to the hospital, where officials say two are in stable condition but the other sustained much more serious injuries. Students on the Brown University campus say Awartani has a bullet in his spine but is expected to recover. Faculty members and students alike all gathered to support each other and the victims of the terrible tragedy. This is somebody who goes to this school who has been put under a horrible act of violence and hate, one attendee of the vigil said. Students say Awartani spoke out at a vigil on campus just last month reacting to the violence in Israel and Gaza. Just an awful, awful thing that happened. You wouldnt wish it upon anybody on any side on any color of anything, another person agreed. The shocking crime has left the campus shaken, but students say theyre hopeful a peaceful dialogue on campus continues. Theyre also hoping that Awartani will be able to return to school after recovering from his injuries so they can show him how supported he is. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Hunter Biden has offered to testify publicly before the House Oversight Committee on Dec. 13, according to a letter obtained by Fox News. The president's son agreed to comply with a subpoena issued by House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., according to the letter sent to the committee Tuesday, but he is demanding that the testimony be public. The subpoena was for a closed-door deposition rather than a public hearing, sources told Fox News. "We have seen you use closed door sessions to manipulate, even distort the facts and misinform the public. We therefore propose opening the door," Hunter's attorney Abbe Lowell wrote. "If, as you claim, your efforts are important and involve issues that Americans should know about, then let light shine on the proceedings." HOUSE GOP SUBPOENAS DOJ PROSECUTOR WHO ALLEGEDLY TRIED TO SHIELD BIDEN DURING FEDERAL PROBE INTO SON HUNTER First Lady Jill Biden with Hunter Biden and Ashley Biden, attends her granddaughter Maisy Biden's graduation from the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field on May 15, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In a statement, Comer agreed that Biden should have the opportunity to testify publicly but said he is still required to appear at the closed door deposition scheduled for Dec. 13. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP "Hunter Biden is trying to play by his own rules instead of following the rules required of everyone else. That wont stand with House Republicans," Comer said in a statement to Fox News. He added; "Our lawfully issued subpoena to Hunter Biden requires him to appear for a deposition on December 13. We expect full cooperation with our subpoena for a deposition but also agree that Hunter Biden should have opportunity to testify in a public setting at a future date." BIDEN'S CLAIM TO HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE OF HUNTER'S BUSINESS DEALINGS IS BECOMING HARDER TO MAINTAIN House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, added on X that he looks forward to hearing from Biden on Dec. 13 "and subsequently at a public hearing." Comer subpoenaed the president's son, the president's brother James Biden and his business associated Rob Walker earlier this month as part of the Republican-led investigation into the Biden family's business dealings. The committee has also sought interviews from James Bidens wife, Sara Biden; President Bidens daughter-in-law, Hallie Biden, the widow of President Bidens son, Beau, who later was romantically involved with Hunter; Hallie Biden's older sister, Elizabeth Secundy; and Hunter Biden's wife, Melissa Cohen. The committee also requested a transcribed interview with Hunter Bidens former business associate, Tony Bobulinski, who was also involved in Sinohawk Holdings. Lowell previously said Hunter is "eager to have the opportunity" to testify "in a public forum," where he will answer GOP allegations that he leveraged his father's positions in government to make business deals and sell influence. In the letter Tuesday, Lowell slammed the GOP probe as part of a "crusade" to impeach President Biden. "Here we are, eleven months into your so-called investigation, and every objective review of your revelations including by some of your colleagues has declared your exploration as one turning up only dry holes," Lowell wrote. HUNTER BIDEN ASKS JUDGE TO SUBPOENA TRUMP, FORMER OFFICIALS IN GUN CASE The attorney accused Republicans of holding a double standard for not pursuing investigations into former President Donald Trump and his family's businesses, which Lowell noted were maintained while Trump was in office. "Your Committee has been working for almost a year without success to tie our client's business activities to his father," he wrote to Comer. "Unlike members of the Trump family, Hunter is a private person who has never worked in any family business nor ever served in the White House or in any public office. Notwithstanding this stark difference, you have manipulated Hunters legitimate business dealings and his times of terrible addiction into a politically motivated basis for hearings to accuse his father of some wrongdoing," the letter reads. Lowell urged Comer to hold a public hearing, where Biden would be able to address the GOP allegations without "selective leaks, manipulated transcripts, doctored exhibits, or one-sided press statements." As of right now, there is no public hearing planned for Biden to testify. The closed door deposition is still scheduled for December 13. Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman and Fox News' David Spunt contributed to this report. Original article source: Hunter Biden agrees to House Oversight Committee testimony Washington Hunter Biden, the son of President Biden, is willing to be interviewed by lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee in public as part of its impeachment inquiry into the president, his lawyer said in a letter to the panel Tuesday. Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden's attorney, told Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, that the president's son will answer "any pertinent and relevant questions" lawmakers might have, but said his questioning must take place at a public committee hearing. "A public proceeding would prevent selective leaks, manipulated transcripts, doctored exhibits, or one-sided press statements," Lowell said. "Your empty investigation has gone on too long wasting too many better-used resources. It should come to an end." Lowell said Hunter Biden is willing to testify on Dec. 13 or on another date next month that can be arranged. "We have seen you use closed-door sessions to manipulate, even distort the facts and misinform the public," he wrote. "We therefore propose opening the door. If, as you claim, your efforts are important and involve issues that Americans should know about, then let the light shine on these proceedings." The move by Hunter Biden to agree to answer questions from congressional investigators in public comes after House Republicans subpoenaed him and James Biden, the president's brother, to appear for depositions earlier this month. Congressional investigators have also requested other members of the Biden family appear before lawmakers for transcribed interviews, and has issued subpoenas to Hunter Biden's former business associates. The demands marked another escalation in the House GOP's efforts to determine whether Mr. Biden committed impeachable offenses. Comer quickly rejected Hunter Biden's offer on Tuesday, saying he must appear for a closed-door deposition on Dec. 13 while leaving open the possibility of public testimony in the future. "Hunter Biden is trying to play by his own rules instead of following the rules required of everyone else. That won't stand with House Republicans," Comer said in a statement. "Our lawfully issued subpoena to Hunter Biden requires him to appear for a deposition on December 13. We expect full cooperation with our subpoena for a deposition but also agree that Hunter Biden should have opportunity to testify in a public setting at a future date." Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the Oversight panel, criticized Comer for spurning Hunter Biden's willingness to answer questions in a public setting and said his resistance further demonstrates that Republicans lack evidence of wrongdoing by Mr. Biden. "What an epic humiliation for our colleagues and what a frank confession that they are simply not interested in the facts and have no confidence in their own case or the ability of their own members to pursue it," he said in a statement. The GOP leaders of the Oversight and Judiciary Committees, who are leading the impeachment inquiry into Mr. Biden, claimed Hunter Biden was "actively involved in the web connecting the Biden family to foreign money," and said he has "personal knowledge" of whether the president has been involved in his family members' business dealings. Though House Republicans have claimed that the president profited off his son's overseas work, they have yet to uncover direct evidence of wrongdoing by Mr. Biden. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced in September that he directed relevant House committees to open a formal impeachment inquiry into Mr. Biden, and his successor, Speaker Mike Johnson, has continued to support the probe. Johnson said earlier this month that the next step is to question key witnesses under oath to "fill gaps in the record." House Republicans held their first and only hearing of their impeachment inquiry in September, during which they sought to outline the basis for their probe of the president. But one of the GOP's witnesses, Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, said he did not believe the evidence collected by Republicans would support articles of impeachment. Matthew Mosk contributed to this report. Georgian winemakers restoring countrys ancient grape varieties | 60 Minutes Grieving Ukrainians attend Austrian Alps climbing camp to recover from war | 60 Minutes First lady Rosalynn Carter | 60 Minutes Archive Hunter Biden is open to testifying publicly before the Republican-led House Oversight Committee on Dec. 13, his lawyer said in a letter sent to the panel Tuesday. House Republicans subpoenaed the presidents son early this month and summoned him to appear for a closed-door transcribed interview as part of an escalation of Republicans impeachment inquiry into the president. "We have seen you use closed-door sessions to manipulate, even distort the facts and misinform the public. We therefore propose opening the door," his lawyer Abbe Lowell said in a letter Tuesday to Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky. Hunter Biden (Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post via Getty Images file) Comer pushed back at Lowells letter in a statement Tuesday morning on X: Hunter Biden is trying to play by his own rules instead of following the rules required of everyone else. That wont stand with House Republicans. Our lawfully issued subpoena to Hunter Biden requires him to appear for a deposition on December 13, he said. We expect full cooperation with our subpoena for a deposition but also agree that Hunter Biden should have [an] opportunity to testify in a public setting at a future date. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the ranking member of the Oversight Committee, issued a scathing statement in response, saying Comers statement shows that what the Republicans fear most is sunlight and truth. Let me get this straight. After wailing and moaning for ten months about Hunter Biden and alluding to some vast unproven family conspiracy, after sending Hunter Biden a subpoena to appear and testify, Chairman Comer and the Oversight Republicans now reject his offer to appear before the full Committee and the eyes of the world and to answer any questions that they pose? Raskin said. Raskin decried the panels first hearing in the GOPs impeachment inquiry in September as a miserable failure and criticized Comer for dismissing Hunter Bidens offer to testify publicly. Chairman Comer has now apparently decided to avoid all Committee hearings where the public can actually see for itself the logical, rhetorical and factual contortions they have tied themselves up in, he said. The evidence has shown time and again President Biden has committed no wrongdoing, much less an impeachable offense. Chairman Comers insistence that Hunter Bidens interview should happen behind closed doors proves it once again. Comer is leading the impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden in conjunction with House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo. In his letter, Lowell rebuked Republicans for their subpoenas focusing on the Biden familys business dealings, which were issued after Comer requested thousands of bank records connected to Hunter Biden and the presidents brother James Biden, as well as other members of their family and several business associates. Your Committee has been working for almost a yearwithout successto tie our clients business activities to his father. You state that one of your purposes is to review how a Presidents familys business activities raise ethics and disclosure concerns to inform the basis for a legislative solution, Lowell wrote. But all your focus has been on this Presidents family while turning a blind eye toward former President Trump and his familys businesses, some of which the family maintained while serving in officean area ripe to inform your purported legislative pursuits. Lowell noted that the presidents son is a private citizen who never served in any public office or worked in any family business, unlike members of the Trump family, before he accused Republicans of having manipulated Hunter Bidens legitimate business dealings and his battles with substance abuse addiction into a politically motivated basis for hearings to accuse his father of some wrongdoing. Lowell said that Hunter Bidens legal team had offered to meet or speak with the committee to understand the basis of its inquiry and provide relevant information but that it had never responded to the offer. Instead, he said, Republicans issued subpoenas to Hunter Biden and other Biden family members and their associates in what appears to be a Hail Mary pass with your team behind in the score and time running out. Your fishing expedition has become Captain Ahab chasing the great white whale, he wrote. Legal representatives for the presidents brother James have been in communication with the committee, two sources familiar with the committees work said. The committee has asked James Biden to appear for an interview Dec. 6. House Republicans have said they are probing whether the president unlawfully aided his son or profited off of his business dealings and have baselessly alleged that he engaged in a bribery scheme and has been involved in his sons business ventures. The White House this month demanded that House Republicans withdraw their subpoenas targeting Biden family members and administration officials. In a letter addressed to Comer and Jordan, White House counsel Richard Sauber called the requests for information and interviews unjustified and slammed the overall impeachment inquiry as illegitimate. Comer has issued a long list of subpoenas and requests for interviews and documents to several Biden family members and their associates. Sauber decried the requests for information from the Biden family members as an example of weaponizing congressional authority to attack a political foe. Republicans on the House Oversight Committee have said the panel obtained financial records that it claims show members of the Biden family set up more than 20 shell companies, most of which were created during Joe Bidens tenure as vice president, as part of an effort to hide payments from foreign adversaries. The panel also alleged that the Biden family, their business associates and their companies received more than $24 million from foreign countries over about five years. Comer has accused the Biden family of engaging in shady business practices but has not demonstrated how the transactions show evidence of wrongdoing by the president. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com MAGA world loves Ron DeSantis: Marc Thiessen closeVideo Juan Williams, Hogan Gidley and Marc Thiessen give their take on potential 2024 candidates on 'The Story.' ORLANDO Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida received a heros welcome on Tuesday night, as he addressed an audience of leading Republicans minutes before former President Donald Trump announced he was launching a 2024 White House bid. DeSantis, who last week won a landside re-election victory for a second term steering Florida, garnered a standing ovation from the audience as he delivered a keynote conversation at the Republican Governors Associations winter meeting in Orlando, according to multiple sources in the room. According to one source, DeSantis spotlighted his "impressive re-election campaign" and how he won Maimi-Dade County, connecting with Hispanic voters. Another source told Fox News that governor received an "enthusiastic" response as he "recapped the Florida blueprint and the path to winning Hispanics, women, and independents." FLORIDA'S GOVERNOR RESPONDS TO ATTACKS FROM TRUMP Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida waves to the crowd during an election night watch party at the Convention Center in Tampa, Florida, on November 8, 2022. (GIORGIO VIERA/AFP via Getty Images) And a third source added that the speech received a very warm reception from an audience that is energized about the possibilities of taking the DeSantis model and applying it to battleground states across the country. Multiple sources said that the margins DeSantis was able to run up in his re-election victory last week and his efforts on issues like education and on battling "woke curriculum" received some of the strongest applause of the evening. MEET THE POTENTIAL GOP CONTENDERS WHO MAY TAKE ON TRUMP IN 2024 While DeSantis delivered his keynote conversation minutes before Trump announced his 2024 campaign, he didnt mention the former president in his remarks. A source in the room said that Trump "was not even a topic of discussion" in the DeSantis address. In this image from video, former President Donald Trump announces he is running for president for the third time as speaks at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP ) DeSantis, who at age 44 is 32 years younger than Trump, won his first election as governor thanks to a major assist from the then-president. But hes become a force of his own as hes built a political brand that stretches from coast to coast. Floridas governor has seen his popularity soar among conservatives across the country the past two and a half years, courtesy of his forceful pushback against coronavirus pandemic restrictions and his aggressive actions as a culture wars warrior, as hes targeted the media and corporations. HOW A TRUMP ANNOUNCEMENT WOULD IMMEDIATELY IMPACT THE 2024 RACE While DeSantis for over a year has routinely discounted talk of a 2024 White House bid as he stayed laser focused on his gubernatorial re-election, he potentially dropped some hints last week during his Election Night victory speech. Incumbent Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to supporters at an election night party after winning his race for reelection in Tampa, Fla., Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, as his wife Casey listens. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)) "We have rewritten the political map," DeSantis declared. "While our country flounders due to failed leadership in Washington, Florida is on the right track." And he took in the scene as a chant of "two more years! Two more years," broke out among supporters urging the governor to consider a national run in 2024. As DeSantis seen his poll numbers in 2024 Republican presidential polls start to rival Trump, and his fundraising prowess match that of the former president, Trump in recent months has targeted the Florida governor. And Trump has turned up the volume on his attacks on DeSantis in the days just before and after the midterms, and debuted a new nickname for the governor: "Ron DeSanctimonius." Until Tuesday, DeSantis had refused to take the bait, electing not to engage with Trumps taunts. "One of the things I've learned in this job is when you're leading, when you're getting things done, you take incoming fire. That's just the nature of it," DeSantis said in response to a question about Trump at a Fort Walton Beach high school event. "I roll out of bed in the morning and I have corporate media outlets that have a spasm just because I'm getting up in the morning, and it's just constantly attacking." CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP "I think what you learn is all of that is just noise, and really what matters is are you leading, are you getting in front of issues, are you delivering results for people, and are you standing up for folks," he continued. "At the end of the day I would just tell people to go check out the scoreboard from last Tuesday night." If DeSantis decides to launch a 2024 campaign, dont expect an announcement anytime soon. A source in the governors wider political orbit tells Fox News any announcement wouldnt happen until after Floridas legislative session ends in May. Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in New Hampshire. Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, agreed to testify in a public hearing before the House Oversight Committee. Republicans immediately shot him down. According to a Tuesday letter addressed to committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.), Biden agreed to testify before the committee on Dec. 13 as long as the hearing was public. In the letter, Bidens attorneys quoted Comers own demand, issued in November, that given Bidens willingness to address this investigation publicly up to this point, we would expect him to be willing to testify before Congress. The letter added that open-door proceedings would prevent selective leaks, manipulated transcripts, doctored exhibits, or one-sided press statements. Republicans would not have it. Hunter Biden is trying to play by his own rules instead of following the rules required of everyone else, Comer wrote in a statement. That wont stand with House Republicans. Our lawfully issued subpoena to Hunter Biden requires him to appear for a deposition on December 13. We expect full cooperation with our subpoena for a deposition but also agree that Hunter Biden should have [the] opportunity to testify in a public setting at a future date, Comer added. Committee member Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) wrote on X that the committee was glad that Hunter Biden has decided to cooperate and we look forward to hearing from him in a deposition on December 13 and subsequently at a public hearing. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the ranking Democrat on the committee, called Republicans out in a statement released Tuesday. Let me get this straight, he wrote. After wailing and moaning for ten months about Hunter Biden and alluding to some vast unproven conspiracy, after sending Hunter Biden a subpoena to appear and testify, Chairman Comer and the Oversight Republicans now reject his offer to appear before the full Committee and the eyes of the world and to answer any questions they pose? What an epic humiliation for our colleagues and what a frank confession that they are simply not interested in the facts and have no confidence in their own case or the ability of their own Members to pursue it. The letter sent by Bidens attorneys states that the GOPs empty investigation has gone on too long wasting too many better-used resources. It should come to an end. Consequently, Mr. Biden will appear at such a public hearing on the date you noticed, December 13, or any date in December that we can arrange. From all the individuals you have requested depositions or interviews, all you will learn is that your accusations are baseless. However, the American people should see that for themselves. In new letter to Comer, Hunter Bidens lawyer Abbe Lowell offers to let Hunter testify in front of Oversight on any day in December in a public setting. Oversight Rs have subpoenaed Hunter for a closed door deposition. pic.twitter.com/wgR9Z6AUt6 Max Cohen (@maxpcohen) November 28, 2023 Hunter Biden has long been a focus of Republican efforts to dig up dirt on President Biden. Three separate congressional committees are currently investigating the younger Biden in the hopes of proving allegations of corruption against the president. In September, Hunter Biden was charged with three counts related to possessing a firearm while under the influence of narcotics. A plea deal related to the charges collapsed shortly after the indictment, and Biden has since pleaded not guilty to the charges. Both the House Judiciary and House Ways and Means Committee alleged that the Biden administration had improperly interfered with the IRS and Justice Departments investigation into Hunter Biden in order to secure him a favorable plea deal. The Oversight Committee claims Biden used his fathers position as vice president in the Obama administration, as well as his fathers role as president, to secure favorable financial deals for himself and his family. These allegations remain unproven. While the investigations into Biden have been ongoing for years, the presidents son and his legal team have recently switched tactics towards a more offensive approach in his defense. Earlier this year, Biden leveled a series of lawsuits against entities involved in Republicans efforts to prosecute him. These include former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, the CEO of Overstock.com, and even the IRS, which Biden alleges improperly handled his tax records. Biden is now pushing to testify publicly before the Oversight Committee, and one would think Republicans would relish the opportunity to grill him in front of a national audience. One of them didnt get the memo that the party would rather kick the can down the road, however. I welcome Hunter Biden finally agreeing to testify, Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.) wrote on Tuesday. Its long overdue for him to come clean in front of the American people. Smith deleted the tweet shortly after he posted it. More from Rolling Stone Best of Rolling Stone Hunter Biden is willing to testify in public before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, which is investigating his business dealings as part of an impeachment investigation into his father, President Biden. Hunter Biden attorney Abbe Lowell wrote a letter Tuesday proposing a public hearing in response to a subpoena sent by the committee, led by Chair James Comer (R-Ky.), earlier in November. The committee had sought a closed-door deposition Dec. 13, but Lowell wrote that it did not trust Comer and Republicans to provide a truthful account of such an event. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. We have seen you use closed-door sessions to manipulate, even distort the facts and misinform the public. We therefore propose opening the door, Lowell wrote in a letter to Comer on Tuesday. If, as you claim, your efforts are important and involve issues that Americans should know about, then let the light shine on these proceedings. Lowell noted that Comer has previously said that Hunter Biden is more than welcome before the committee. Accordingly, our client will get right to it by agreeing to answer any pertinent and relevant question you or your colleagues might have, but rather than subscribing to your cloaked, one-sided processhe will appear at a public Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing, Lowell said. The committee on Tuesday said it expects Hunter Biden to appear for a closed-door deposition in addition to any public setting. Hunter Biden is trying to play by his own rules instead of following the rules required of everyone else. That wont stand with House Republicans, Comer said in a statement. Our lawfully issued subpoena to Hunter Biden requires him to appear for a deposition on December 13. We expect full cooperation with our subpoena for a deposition but also agree that Hunter Biden should have opportunity to testify in a public setting at a future date. Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), whose panel is also participating in the investigation into Hunter Biden and President Biden, concurred. We are glad that Hunter Biden has decided to cooperate and we look forward to hearing from him in a deposition on December 13 and subsequently at a public hearing, he wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. House Republicans on the Oversight and Judiciary panels, along with the House Ways and Means Committee, are investigating the foreign business activities of Hunter Biden, President Bidens brother, James Biden, and other family associates as part of an impeachment inquiry into the president. The multi-pronged inquiry is investigating claims of improper influence peddling while Biden was vice president, whether any money flowed to his pocket from his familys foreign business dealings, and claims that the tax crimes investigation into Hunter Biden was improperly slow-walked or stymied by the Department of Justice. The Judiciary panel, led by Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), heard from special counsel David Weiss, the U.S. attorney for Delaware who is investigating Hunter Biden, in a voluntary interview earlier this month. The White House has repeatedly denied wrongdoing by the president, and has dubbed the impeachment inquiry congressional harassment for political purposes. In addition to Hunter Biden, Oversight subpoenaed a swath of other Biden family members earlier in November, including the presidents brother, James Biden; Hunter Bidens wife, Melissa Cohen; and Hallie Biden, the widow of Beau Biden. Hunter Bidens legal counsel has torn into the Oversight Committees investigation, writing that Comers probe is turning up only dry holes. A public proceeding would prevent selective leaks, manipulated transcripts, doctored exhibits, or one-sided press statements, Lowell said in the letter. Your empty investigation has gone on too long wasting too many better-used resources. It should come to an end. Consequently, Mr. Biden will appear at such a public hearing on the date you noticed, December 13, or any date in December that we can arrange, Lowell continued. From all the individuals you have requested depositions or interviews, all you will learn is that your accusations are baseless. However, the American people should see that for themselves. Updated at 10:10 a.m. ET For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. For years, as Hunter Biden faced a protracted criminal probe, he was told to cooperate with prosecutors and wait quietly for exoneration. That strategy, favored by veteran Democrats who came of age in a less pugilistic political era, failed. The presidents son is now under one indictment, is bracing for another and has become the face of the Republican impeachment probe of his father. And now, hes directly taking on his adversaries. Over the past three months, Hunter Biden has filed a barrage of lawsuits and has challenged his indictment on gun charges by attacking the prosecution as tainted by Republican pressure. He is even trying to subpoena Donald Trump. The counteroffensive will play out in courtrooms and in public just as his father ramps up his reelection campaign. Among Joe Bidens advisers and Democratic Party operatives, theres disagreement on its potential political repercussions, according to eight people close to the president and his son. Most were granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive topic. Some White House staff are irritated that hes being more aggressive, because he is not clearing the tactics and the strategy, said one former 2020 campaign aide. Some aides worry, too, that Hunter Bidens courtroom counterpunching only brightens the spotlight on his legal entanglements, foreign business activities, and personal struggle with drug addiction. For these aides, too much engagement with opponents, including Rudy Giuliani and the conservative media, risks legitimizing their most extreme attacks on the presidents family. But many allies of the president especially those who cut their teeth during the Trump presidency see it differently. One called the cautious approach outdated 1990s rationale and said that, in the 21st century, its reckless to leave allegations unrebutted. For this camp, there was something to learn from Trumps scandal playbook: It pays to talk loud, move fast and punch hard. The American public likes to see people fight back, said Jamal Simmons, a former communications director for Vice President Kamala Harris. People who fight for themselves tend to get the benefit of the doubt from the public. And I actually think that probably does help the president in the long run. Hunter Biden keeps his father aware of his legal moves, according to a person close to his legal team, and the team sends word to top White House staff before making major moves. The moves themselves are entirely up to Hunter Biden and his lawyers and thats as it should be, aides emphasize, because the president has vowed to stay out of his sons legal affairs. Hunter Biden, his lawyers and the White House declined to comment. But among the small cadre of advisers close to the presidents son, the newly aggressive approach was long overdue. How does he possibly keep his head down? a person close to his legal team said. They have lifted his head above everyone elses, and theyve been trying to lop it off for four years. Cooperation at the outset Hunter Bidens legal fights run on three tracks: criminal, congressional and civil. In criminal court, special counsel David Weiss charged him in September with illegally owning a gun as a user of illegal drugs, and Weiss is also considering charges for failure to pay federal income taxes. In Congress, House Republicans are running a sprawling investigation of his foreign business deals, including his stint on the board of a Ukrainian gas company. And in the civil arena, he is either a plaintiff or defendant in at least five ongoing lawsuits, ranging from a case against Giuliani to a case against his fathers own IRS. But it wasnt always this way. In 2018, in the middle of Trumps presidency and before Hunter Biden became the political lightning rod he is today, federal law enforcement officials quietly opened an investigation into his tax affairs. The probe was not publicly known at the time. Lawyers and advisers around the presidents son privately urged him to cooperate when they learned he was under scrutiny. So the presidents son stayed largely silent in the media. He kept a mostly low profile, engaged with the Justice Department, and signed two agreements pausing the statute of limitations on charges federal prosecutors were weighing. Those agreements helped keep Hunter Biden in legal limbo for years, but they also gave his lawyers more time to try to talk prosecutors out of charging him. In October 2020, the New York Post published an article reporting that Hunter Biden left a laptop at a Delaware computer shop. Giuliani had reportedly provided the newspaper with emails from the laptop about Hunter Bidens business activities. Just weeks before the 2020 election, the article claimed that the emails showed corruption by Joe Biden. To date, no evidence has emerged showing that Joe Biden made policy decisions as vice president to help his sons business interests. A Politifact analysis concluded that [n]othing from the laptop has revealed illegal or unethical behavior by Joe Biden as vice president with regard to his sons tenure as a director for Burisma, a Ukraine-based natural gas company. In the years after the laptops release, Hunter Biden held back from taking any legal action against the people who shared and published his purported emails staying cautious instead of expanding his legal battleground. New lawyer, new strategy Despite this strategy of hunkering down, the clouds looming over Hunter Biden didnt blow over. Instead, they darkened. The Justice Department investigation broadened to include not just financial issues but also Hunter Bidens purchase of a handgun in 2018, a time when he has said he was frequently using crack cocaine. And when Republicans took control of the House in 2022, they zeroed in on Hunter Bidens financial dealings, accusing him of a cornucopia of crimes and accusing the Justice Department of going easy on him. House Republicans have also put Hunter Biden at the center of their impeachment inquiry, arguing that the president may have corruptly benefited from his sons business activities. So far, they have failed to produce evidence of wrongdoing by the president. Late last year, Hunter Biden retained Abbe Lowell, an elite and combative defense lawyer whose clients have included Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, former Democratic Sen. John Edwards and even Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Lowell successfully defended Menendez against corruption charges in 2017, and is now representing him in a new corruption case. He fended off campaign finance charges against Edwards, the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2004. And he helped Kushner navigate special counsel Robert Muellers Russia probe. After Lowell came on board Hunter Bidens team, the legal strategy for the presidents son began to change. In February, his team threatened to sue Fox News Channel over what they described as Tucker Carlsons false suggestion that Hunter and Joe Biden were involved in a money laundering scheme. After John Paul Mac Isaac, the owner of the Delaware computer shop, sued Hunter Biden, Hunter Biden sued him right back in March. (Mac Isaac has also sued POLITICO and others for defamation and civil conspiracy; the case remains pending.) Meanwhile, in private talks with the federal prosecutors running the criminal probe, Hunter Bidens lawyers were using aggressive negotiating tactics, even threatening at one point to put Joe Biden on the witness stand if prosecutors charged Hunter Biden with the gun crime. A failed plea and a sharp escalation This summer, it seemed like the approach was starting to pay off. On June 20, Bidens lawyers and federal prosecutors unveiled a plea deal that could have resolved his criminal problems without any prison time. Hunter feels happy to move on with his life, one of his lawyers told MSNBC that day. But after a tumultuous hearing on July 26 during which a federal judge raised questions about the agreement, the plea deal collapsed. Meanwhile, the investigation itself was becoming a political story, with IRS whistleblowers telling Congress that Weiss the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney for Delaware who had been leading the probe since its inception had been hampered in various ways. Weiss, for his part, has insisted that he never faced interference. On Aug. 8, less than two months after it had seemed poised to end, the criminal investigation of Hunter Biden escalated. Attorney General Merrick Garland made Weiss a special counsel, formally giving him more independence and empowering him to bring charges against Hunter Biden anywhere in the country. A few weeks later, Weiss obtained an indictment in Delaware over Hunter Bidens 2018 gun purchase. The presidents son faces felony charges for owning a gun while using illegal drugs and for lying on a federal gun-purchase form. He might stand trial next year during the heat of his fathers reelection campaign. Hunter Biden and his team viewed the move as a sign Weiss had turned draconian. They have long argued that its the first time anyone has been charged in Delaware with owning a gun as a drug user without any other aggravating circumstances such as using the gun to commit a crime. Many House Republicans have accused Weiss of going easy on the presidents son by not charging him with crimes related to lobbying and campaign finance. But Hunter Bidens team had a different view: In their eyes, the only explanation for bringing the gun charge at all was unrelenting political pressure from Republicans. For Team Hunter, the special counsel announcement meant quiet patience was untenable. Were not playing for a tie, said a friend of Hunter Biden. Were playing for setting the record straight, and accountability for those who have harmed him. Hunter Biden, the plaintiff Hunter Bidens previous defense lawyer, Chris Clark, who led negotiations with the Justice Department, is no longer on his legal team. He withdrew from the case in August, citing concern that he may be a witness in potential litigation over the failed plea deal. Lowell is now at the helm. He, Hunter Biden and attorney Kevin Morris who helped the presidents son pay his outstanding tax debt, and who advocated for Lowells hiring operate autonomously, independent of pressure or management from national Democratic operatives. Morris has long advocated a bare-knuckle approach and works closely with Lowell. According to Hunter Bidens friend, Morris has told associates, We want to go on offense because we know we can win. Thats the whole point. And now thats happening. Hunter Biden is going to court. In September, the presidents son sued Giuliani and Giulianis former lawyer Robert Costello for allegedly hacking into his data and distributing it. Hes brought similar allegations against former Trump White House aide Garrett Ziegler, who has distributed contents from the laptop. The lawsuits accuse Giuliani, Costello and Ziegler of violating the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and a California data privacy law. Ziegler told POLITICO the lawsuit is frivolous and that he will respond to it next month. An adviser to Giuliani said: "Hunter Biden has a big problem here, as he previously refused to admit ownership of the laptop, but now wants to sue the mayor in relation to the laptop?" Also in September, Hunter Biden sued the IRS for allegedly failing to keep his tax information from becoming public, citing the fact that IRS agents who investigated him testified to Congress in detail about his financial dealings. Lawyers for those agents have consistently defended their disclosures as lawful. Earlier this month, Hunter Biden sued Patrick Byrne, the former CEO of Overstock.com, for defamation after Byrne suggested that Biden had solicited a bribe from Iran. And on Nov. 15, Hunter Bidens lawyers launched perhaps their most ambitious legal salvo yet: They attempted to subpoena Trump, former Attorney General Bill Barr and other top officials in the Trump Justice Department. The gun charges against Hunter Biden may represent a vindictive or selective prosecution that violate his constitutional rights, Lowell wrote in a court document seeking a judges approval for the subpoenas. The subpoenas, Lowell argued, may help shed light on the sustained, almost-nonstop public pressure campaign, led by Mr. Trump and his allies in Congress. Hunter Biden is also taking an aggressive tack in response to the House Republicans' ongoing probe. In a letter Tuesday to House Oversight Chair James Comer, Lowell countered House Republicans subpoena for Hunter Biden to testify behind closed doors next month. Instead, he proposed a public hearing on Dec. 13 or another date next month they can agree to arguing it would prevent selective leaks, manipulated transcripts, doctored exhibits, or one-sided press statements. A delicate relationship with Democrats The person close to Hunter Bidens legal team described the new legal strategy as aggressive defense. How that strategy interacts with his fathers own aggressive defense his campaign to hold onto the White House is complex, fraught, and in many ways an open question. Some of the presidents allies argue the politics surrounding Hunter Biden are already baked in. As long as the president himself is not found to have done something wrong, anything that happens in his sons cases is unlikely to cause any more political harm to the president, these aides argue. Other White House aides and outside Democratic operatives are concerned about Hunter Bidens strategy. His team rolled out the lawsuits independent from the presidents political operation. Thats in part because Hunter Biden himself is not close with many of the staff surrounding his father. He has told friends they are largely strangers, and that he cant expect strangers to defend him when he wont defend himself. And for years now, he has made major decisions about media strategy without seeking his fathers aides blessing. He participated in a lengthy July 2019 New Yorker profile without seeking any guidance from his fathers campaign. Three months later, he sat for a "Good Morning America" interview without bringing along a campaign staffer. Three former 2020 campaign aides said staff were surprised to learn hed taped the sit-down. We got up like everybody that morning to watch 'Good Morning America,' one of those former campaign aides said. And in the first year of his fathers presidency, he released a memoir describing his drug addiction in sometimes stomach-churning detail. But the presidents son has told friends that he believes his instincts shaped by decades near the political spotlight have been vindicated. The New Yorker profile was widely viewed as a positive portrayal, and White House staff routinely cite his memoir when questioned about him. The political expediency of sacrificing Hunter The upshot is that Hunter Biden is operating relatively independently to shape his own narrative a narrative that mixes politics and law and that is largely outside the control of the presidents advisers and defenders. Consistent with the presidents vow to honor the Justice Departments independence, the White House does not comment on Hunter Bidens criminal case or his other legal issues. Conservative lawmakers and pundits, however, feel no such strictures. And their voluminous attacks have received limited public rebuttal from the left. Instead, two Capitol Hill Democrats have told POLITICO that they view the politics on the issue as fixed, so the prospect of going on offense is all risk and no reward. In general, they are comfortable defending the president, but not his son. And some dont just abstain from the debate. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) called the first son a disturbed man who may have very well done some improper things. And Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) told ABC News in August that the presidents son did a lot of really unlawful and wrong things. Nadler and Raskin are the top Democrats on committees involved in the Republicans impeachment probe. Hunter Bidens team finds this troubling. Intentionally or not, theyre betting on the political expediency of sacrificing Hunter, said the friend who spoke to POLITICO. The greater good is served by accountability and vindication, and not by acquiescence to political prosecution and the effort to dehumanize him, the friend added. And some of the presidents allies wish the strategic-silence approach had ended sooner. Look at what its done to the presidents reputation, said a former senior White House aide. A man once known for his integrity is now most people believe hes either corrupt, lying, or was involved in his sons criminal enterprise. All of which would never be the case if they had been responding to these kinds of smears from the beginning. Nicholas Wu, Benjamin Guggenheim and Jordain Carney contributed to this report. Representative James Comer has a message for Hunter Biden: When it comes to the Biden family investigation, its my way or the highway. But for once, the Republican seems worried about what the target of his inquiry might have to say. On Tuesday, the embattled first son, via his lawyer, offered to testify in a public House Oversight Committee hearingpart of an aggressive new defense strategy that his legal team has decided to adopt. Comer, who chairs the committee, has spearheaded the probe into the Bidens supposed criminal wrongdoing and is one of their most vocal accusers. So far, his monthslong investigation has yet to turn up any proof of malfeasance. But despite demanding for months that Biden testify, even subpoenaing him in early November, Comer quickly rejected the offer. Hunter Biden is trying to play by his own rules instead of following the rules required of everyone else. That wont stand with House Republicans, Comer said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter). Our lawfully issued subpoena to Hunter Biden requires him to appear for a deposition on December 13. We expect full cooperation with our subpoena for a deposition but also agree that Hunter Biden should have the opportunity to testify in a public setting at a future date. Comers response is likely to get pushback from Bidens legal team. Bidens lawyer Abbe Lowell accused Comer in a letter on Tuesday of using closed-door sessions to manipulate, even distort the facts and misinform the public. Notably, Comer had also said he would testify about his own business dealings with his brotherso long as Biden testified too. But now that Bidens offer is on the table, Comer is backing away. Comers behavior in this regard has already piqued the frustration of Oversight Ranking Member Jamie Raskin. Let me get this straight. After wailing and moaning for 10 months about Hunter Biden and alluding to some vast unproven family conspiracy, after sending Hunter Biden a subpoena to appear and testify, Chairman Comer and the Oversight Republicans now reject his offer to appear before the full Committee and the eyes of the world and to answer any questions that they pose? the Maryland Democrat said in a statement. What an epic humiliation for our colleagues and what a frank confession that they are simply not interested in the facts and have no confidence in their own case or the ability of their own members to pursue it, Raskin said. What the Republicans fear most is sunlight and the truth. Republicans have repeatedly insisted that Biden and his father, President Joe Biden, are guilty of corruption, even opening an impeachment inquiry into the president over Hunters business deals. Not only have they produced no hard evidence, their own star witnesses have repeatedly refuted the GOPs claims. Hunter Biden is willing to testify publicly on 'any date in December we can arrange', his lawyer says A lawyer for Hunter Biden has told the US House of Representatives Oversight Committee that the president's son is willing to testify before Congress. But Hunter Biden requested that it be a public hearing to "let the light shine on these proceedings", his counsel Abbe Lowell said on Tuesday. The letter follows a flurry of legal summons issued this month by Republicans on the Oversight Committee. Its chairman said Mr Biden's ask "won't stand with" Republicans, however. James Comer, the Republican chairman of the Oversight Committee, accused the president's son of "trying to play by his own rules" in his request for a public hearing. Republicans' original legal summons required Hunter Biden appear before Congress to first provide private testimony, or a deposition, under oath on 13 December. "We expect full cooperation with our subpoena for a deposition but also agree that Hunter Biden should have the opportunity to testify in a public setting at a future date," Mr Comer added. House Republicans continue to investigate the Biden family's finances, and they opened an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden in September as part of that effort. They allege they have uncovered evidence of the president's knowledge of and role in his family members' domestic and foreign business dealings. They have not yet shown President Biden committed an impeachable offence or provided any evidence of wrongdoing. The panel escalated its probe on 8 November by sending subpoenas to Hunter Biden, as well as six of his relatives and two former associates. Hunter Biden's attorney, Mr Lowell, slammed the inquiry on Tuesday in a three-page letter that requested the testimony be public. He called Republicans' investigation "an 'impeachment first, justification later' crusade" and said they had previously used "closed-door sessions to manipulate, even distort the facts and misinform the public". He said that was why Hunter Biden's team proposed "opening the door", stating that he and his team would make their client available on "any date in December that we can arrange". "If, as you claim, your efforts are important and involve issues that Americans should know about, then let the light shine on these proceedings," Mr Lowell said. Mr Lowell's letter appears to be part of a more aggressive and, at times, litigious strategy used by Hunter Biden's team since the president's son was indicted on federal gun charges in September. It is unclear what effect it may have on the impeachment inquiry in Washington, however. Republicans are expected to decide early next year whether to pursue articles of impeachment against President Biden. If Republicans do pursue a vote, it seems unlikely to gain much traction as of now. They have a razor-thin majority in the House, Democrats control the Senate and moderates remain sceptical of the effort. Officials have reportedly lowered the threat level following aerial footage that revealed a massive crack in the ground of Grindavik, Iceland, evacuating the towns residents and temporarily shutting down the popular Blue Lagoon on Nov. 23 in anticipation of a volcanic eruption. While Iceland is used to grappling with frequent volcanic activity, the latest development of a lowered threat level still leaves questions of whether the effects of an eruption could be felt beyond the countrys borders. Whats happening? Iceland declared a state of emergency on Nov. 13 following a series of earthquakes that sparked the evacuation of thousands of residents of Grindavik two days prior, as reported by Denise Chow of NBC News. Steam can be seen rising through the crack in the shocking footage, and as detailed by NBC News, the Civil Protection Agency reportedly became concerned that a magma tunnel could ultimately send scorching-hot lava into the town. The Icelandic Meteorological Office recorded more than 1,000 earthquakes on the Reykjanes Peninsula over a 24-hour period prior to the evacuation. While the threat level has been lowered, the Blue Lagoon remains closed until at least Nov. 30, when it will reassess, and residents who were evacuated are still not cleared to move back home. Why is this important? Volcanic eruptions release heat-trapping gases like carbon dioxide (CO2), which have been linked to health concerns such as asthma and severe weather events, as well as cooling gases like sulfur dioxide (SO2). Because of the disruptive and deadly nature of significant volcanic events, such as the famine-creating Mount Tambora eruption in 1815, it makes sense for scientists and volcano-watchers to be on alert. Surprisingly, though, the CO2 released by volcanic eruptions pales in comparison to the amount of harmful pollution generated by humans. According to the United States Geological Survey, it generally takes humans only 2.5 hours to match the amount of CO2 that Mount St. Helens emitted over nine hours in 1980. Meanwhile, data from NASA shows that humans create 100 times more carbon dioxide than all volcanoes put together. When a volcano in Iceland erupted in 2010, carbon emissions actually decreased because an ash cloud grounded a large number of flights, as reported by the Guardian. The USGS noted that the most significant climate impacts of eruptions occur when SO2 gets converted to sulfuric acid. Over the past 50 years, more than one such event has created a slight decrease in the Earths temperature, with the effects lasting at least a year. What can I do to reduce my CO2 output? Cars are major contributors to the problem of carbon pollution, with the average vehicle producing more than 10,000 pounds annually. Transitioning to an electric vehicle, though, would eliminate tailpipe pollution from your daily commute while saving you money on maintenance and gas over the long haul. Another way to make a positive impact and protect your bank account is to unplug energy vampires, including computers and chargers, when they arent in use. Join our free newsletter for cool news and cool tips that make it easy to help yourself while helping the planet. When a law enforcement officer pulls you over for a traffic stop in Idaho, are you legally required to give them your mobile phone if they ask? Heres what to know about the laws in Idaho: Can police search your phone at a traffic stop in Idaho? The Fourth Amendment protects people from unreasonable searches by government officials, including police officers. But there is still a caveat: The Fourth Amendment, however, the amendment reads, is not a guarantee against all searches and seizures, but only those that are deemed unreasonable under the law. Yet, up until a Supreme Court case in 2014, it was still unclear whether the Fourth Amendment protected your digital content. Riley v. California, which concerned officers searching a suspects phone without a warrant and submitting that evidence to court, ultimately found that police infringed upon Rileys Fourth Amendment right. When can an Idaho police officer search my cellphone? Police must have a search warrant that specifies the need to search for information on a telephone or other electronic device before they can search your phone. If the judge does issue a warrant, it has to precisely detail which devices can be searched and what information the police are looking for. However, there are a few instances where police can search your phone without a warrant: exigent circumstances. These are instances where police can conduct a warrantless search based on reasonable determinations, such as when there is a need to prevent the destruction of evidence or a threat to public safety. Although there have been no cases in Idaho involving a warrantless mobile phone search, the state has had multiple cases in which exigent circumstances were used to conduct a search. In Idaho v. Carlos Blancos, Jesus Jan Carlos Blancos had his blood drawn without a warrant by hospital staff against his will under the instruction of an Idaho State Police sergeant, who suspected Carlos Blancos of driving under the influence. The court held that the warrantless blood draw violated Carlos Blancos Fourth Amendment rights because the state failed to prove there was insufficient time to obtain a warrant, therefore throwing the evidence out. Of course, a police officer can also search your phone without a warrant if you consent to them conducting the search. What if police search without a valid reason? If the police search your phone without a search warrant or qualifying exigent circumstances, you can file a motion to get the evidence dismissed in court. The judge can decide to toss out any evidence and information gathered from an illegal search. MEMPHIS, Tenn. Police say they confiscated several illegal and stolen weapons when they broke up a party at a Midtown vacation rental early Sunday morning. According to a police report, officers found three rifles and eight handguns inside a second floor apparent in the 100 block of Auburndale Street and said two handguns were equipped with Glock switches that turn the weapons into machine guns. Officers said they also seized seven key fobs, two IDs, and marijuana and said several individuals in a back bedroom of the apartment tried to jump out a window to get away. Mary Dudley, who lives next door, said she saw some partygoers jump out a second-floor window and run through a hedge next to her apartment. They threw a bunch of guns in the hedges, said Dudley. Police have not said if they found any additional weapons in the hedges. Dudley said 50-75 people were partying at two short-term rentals in the building next to hers, and she made several calls to police Saturday night and again on Sunday. They were just walking back and forth and blocking everybodys driveways. All the driveways were blocked. They double-parked, Dudley said. Im very upset about it still. This is the third incident involving a party at a vacation rental in Midtown in recent months. Gunfire breaks out at Midtown Airbnb party On November 8, a driver was grazed by a bullet, and a car and several homes were damaged when gunfire broke out near an Airbnb in the 2000 block of Carr. A woman staying at the Airbnb told police she had hosted a party the night before, and she believed some partygoers returned and were responsible for the shooting. Officers said they also found two backpacks full of guns in the backyard of the house behind the Airbnb. Among the weapons were two stolen handguns with machine gun conversion switches. It does not appear any arrests were made in connection to the shooting. Woman arrested, victim IDd after deadly shooting near Overton Square A 19-year-old was arrested after a woman was shot and killed at a house party in the 2100 block of Madison Avenue during the early morning hours of October 15. Kyla Jones was charged with first-degree murder in the death of 21-year-old DArrah Gordon. Police said Jones and Gordon began arguing during the party, and Jones pulled out a handgun and fired several shots. Neighbors said the house where it happened was a short-term rental. Dudley said Sunday she saw police take at least four people into custody but MPD told WREG they only made one arrest. Jaelyn Byrd, 25, was booked in the Shelby County Jail for a warrant out of Arkansas. Dudley said she is so upset by what happened she is looking for a new apartment and is seriously considering leaving Memphis. My landlady told me it was my problem, to call the city council, she said. It does not appear anyone is facing any charges in connection to the weapons found on Auburndale. The police report shows officers contacted Felony Response, but they declined to make the scene. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. Karla Hoyos is a chef ready to hop on a plane at a moment's notice. Whenever she gets the call, she leaves her taco business in Miami to go anywhere in the world to help feed victims of natural disasters or war. She is one of dozens of chefs connected to World Central Kitchen (WCK), the nonprofit group founded by renowned chef Jose Andres that provides meals at global hotspots where people face trauma. A few days ago, Hoyos, 35, returned from Israel, where she spent two weeks teaching volunteers how to make huge pots of food for those who had to evacuate their homes after the attacks by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on October 7, in which 1,200 people were killed, according to Israel. Security issues forced her to return to Florida, but WCK remains in Israel and Gaza, where it delivers food to those affected by the war between Israel and Hamas. Israel's campaign against Hamas has killed almost 15,000 people, mostly Palestinian civilians, according to Gaza's Hamas government. "It was a new experience. I've never seen missiles go off and having to go seek shelter," says Hoyos, who is Mexican and was also recently deployed to feed victims in Ukraine affected by the war with Russia. "But at the end of the day, conflicts are conflicts, and innocent people suffer all the time and we are there to help whoever is hungry." Andres, the Spanish-American restaurateur who founded WCK in 2010, mobilizes his network quickly after any catastrophe, and they serve up to 100,000 meals a day with the help of local relief groups and markets. In recent weeks, the organization has mustered to action in the Mexican resort of Acapulco in the aftermath of Hurricane Otis, as well as in the Middle East and Ukraine. The role of Hoyos is to set up the makeshift kitchens, manage logistics and even offer the recipes used to prepare dishes. "It doesn't matter if it's a garage, if it's a basement, if it's a warehouse, if you have running water, electric and air vents, I'll build a kitchen," she says. - Vocation to feed Hoyos speaks passionately about her trade from Tacotomia, the small restaurant she opened four months ago in a gastronomic market in downtown Miami. For her, there is little separation between her humanitarian work and what she does in her business. It's all part of the same vocation, born at age 12 when she baked her first tray of cookies. "I want to put as much detail, as much love, in both things. It doesn't matter if it's a Michelin star restaurant or you're eating a taco or you're going to receive a free plate of rice because you haven't eaten in days." Inspired by her grandmother and rejecting her father's wishes for her to become a lawyer, she studied at a culinary school in Mexico before traveling to Spain -- where she spent a year at a restaurant awarded three Michelin stars -- and on to Italy. Upon her return, she settled in Indianapolis and opened a Mexican restaurant with her aunt. There she began to help others, in an association supporting immigrants. Her collaboration with WCK began in 2017, when Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico. The catering company she worked for at the time, Bon Appetit, decided to send chefs to the Caribbean island to help Andres feed the population. Hoyos immediately agreed to go despite widespread power outages and scarce potable water. She initially sized up Andres as a "grumpy man," but her admiration for the Spanish chef grew, and she worked at his side for three months, eventually hiring on at his Miami restaurant. Six years later, Hoyos sometimes wonders why she travels to dangerous places like Ukraine or Israel, but her vocation to help always prevails. The hardest part, she says, is returning to the normalcy of home. "When you are trying to help people, and [you have] leave, it's very hard to accept that you have to go home, to your AC, to your fridge full of food, to your job, to your comfort. And there's a lot of guilt in there." gma/tjj/dw/leg Operations at the mine have been suspended An accident at a platinum mine in South Africa has killed 11 workers and injured 75, the mine's operator says. Impala Platinum chief executive Nico Muller described it as the "darkest day" in the company's history. The firm said the accident involved a winding rope connected to a cage-style lift which hoists people up and down the mine shaft. The lift started moving downwards unexpectedly, it added. South Africa has some of the world's deepest mines. It is a leading producer of platinum, gold and other raw materials. There have long been concerns about safety conditions on its mines, but the situation has improved since white-minority rule ended in 1994. The latest accident took place on Monday at a mine in Rustenburg, about 100km (60 miles) north-west of Johannesburg. The deaths bring to 55 the number of fatalities on South African mines this year. "This is a terrible blow to our ambition of ending 2023 with fewer fatalities than last year when there were 49 fatalities, the lowest on record, and the continuation of our journey towards zero harm," said Mzila Mthenjane, the chief executive of Minerals Council South Africa, the main representative of mining firms in the country. Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe has visited the mine. He described the accident as a disaster, and said a thorough investigation would take place to establish what happened. Impala Platinum said that operations at the mine have been suspended. "Implats is offering ongoing support to the families and colleagues of those lost in service," Mr Muller said in a statement. "We also hold our injured colleagues in our thoughts at this incredibly difficult time." Company spokesman Johan Theron told the BBC the surviving 75 mineworkers were all "injured to some degree" and sent to hospitals, but that some have "very serious" injuries. He said 10 people were in a critical condition, with one airlifted to Johannesburg for "intensive care". The cage-style lift that was used to take workers out of the mine went into an uncontrolled fall and hit the bottom of the shaft, Mr Theron added. Some of those affected by the tragedy were from outside South Africa, the company spokesman said. Mr Theron was quoted by local media as saying the accident was "highly unusual", and the lift was used worldwide and had a reputation of being safe. Lifts in many of South Africa's deep mines can carry more than 100 people, according to the AFP news agency. The president of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, Joseph Mathunjwa, told the BBC that the company "must take full responsibility and go beyond the normal tick-box exercise in terms of compensation" for the victims. He said the 11 miners "perished underground due to the malfunctioning of the cage" and that "we believe strongly that this accident could have been avoided because already the signs were there that it was malfunctioning". Mr Mathunjwa said a malfunction was picked up during an earlier servicing of the lift but an investigation said it was in good condition. When the BBC put the claim to the mining firm, a spokesman said they were not aware of the issues raised, but the union was welcome to come forward with its concerns. Equipment was checked on a daily basis, the spokesman added. Mr Mathunjwa said the union wanted an "independent expert" to be involved in the official investigation. The National Union of Mineworkers of South Africa said the workers who died were not "just numbers", but were bread-winners of families which loved them. "This incident is gravely concerning and it raises a lot of questions about health and safety issues," it added in a statement. A massive riot in Dublin targeting Algerian immigrants. The ascendency of a hard-right political faction in the Netherlands, led by a man who was once thought anathema for his views on Islam and Muslim immigrants. And here in America, major cities fraying under the load of tens of thousands of homeless, jobless migrants. There are a lot of candidates for the defining issue of our time for the West. But for most of this century, the most obvious issue, and the one most obviously beyond the grasp of our political leaders, has been immigration. Part of the reason immigration policy remains substantially unaddressed in America is the partisan divide on the significance of the issues around it. While 70 percent of Republicans told the Pew Research Center that illegal immigration is a very big problem, just a quarter of Democrats said they felt the same way. Not only do Democrats tend to worry less about the issue, a substantial minority of Democratic voterswhich means a lot of high-propensity primary election voters wants to see increased numbers of immigrants, including the number of asylum seekers allowed to remain in the United States. If addressing illegal immigration is a matter of low salience to their party and would give offense to a vocal minority, Democratic candidates have lots of incentives to steer around the issue. Thats fine for primary politics, but what about with the broader electorate? Independent voters fall somewhere between Republicans and Democrats on the question of legal immigration. In a poll this year from the Associated Press and the National Opinion Research Center, 65 percent of Republicans wanted fewer immigrants of all kinds in the U.S., while 69 percent of Democrats wanted the status quo or an increase. Independents are more restrictive than Democrats by a 12-point margin but more permissive than Republicans by a 10-point margin. About what you might expect. But on border security, there was no muddled middle. The same poll found 67 percent of independent voters disapproved of President Bidens handling of the issue, about the same as independents poor rating for Biden on the issue of immigration as a whole. That was Bidens worst performance with independents on any issue other than the economy. Republicans, meanwhile, have the opposite problem from Democrats when it comes to immigration. Their primary voters are eager to talk about the subject, including many with an almost religious devotion to the idea of restrictions. But that same intensity makes it politically dangerous to try to actually address the problem in ways that would appeal to the broader electorate, let alone find enough bipartisan support to take action. The Trump administration made curbing illegal immigration the centerpiece of its policy agenda. Trump not only failed to reduce the number of illegal immigrants in the country, but, according to Census Bureau data, presided over the first increase in the population of illegal immigrants in more than a decade. Without congressional action based on some policy consensus, no Republican president is going to make a significant change in U.S. immigration policy. And yet, GOP presidential contenders are on the campaign trail selling mass deportations, and not just former President Donald Trump. In a bidding war with Trump, who is looking for yet new ways to maintain his status as the most hard-line hardliner of them all, Republicans continue to move rightward on the issue. The nature of the Democratic coalition makes it hard for Biden to address the issue at all, while the Republican electorate encourages tough posturing but punishes effective leadership. Democrats dont want to talk about it. Republicans only want to talk about it. That leaves independents frustrated with the obvious problems that affect quality of life issues like schools, homelessness, wages, and culture. About 15 percent of the people in America today are immigrantssomething like 50 million people. In that group are approximately 11 million people who came to the United States illegally, about a quarter of the total foreign-born population. Most of the rest are naturalized citizens (about half) or holders of green cards (another quarter or so). For reference, the immigrant population is a little larger than the Census Bureaus estimate for Americas black population, which could be a little tricky since some number of African immigrants may consider themselves black, a descriptor many native-born Americans of African descent might object to for those who are not the descendants of enslaved Americans. But we care not for the semantics of ethnic identity here, only a sense of proportions. The immigrant community in the United States is larger than the most influential and politically potent minority groupand essential. Estimates vary, but its safe to say that immigrantsboth legal and illegalcomprise about a third of the nations workforce, more than double their share of the population as a whole. Mass deportations are not a practical option for those here illegally, but neither is any significant decrease in the pace of legal immigration. In 2021, including temporary workers and students, about 1.5 million foreigners came to reside in the U.S. That almost makes up for Americas flat, low birth rate. Like a lot of wealthy nations, the United States depends on immigration for new workers, new consumers, and new taxpayers to support an aging, shrinking native-born population. Certainly theres significant and worthwhile debate over who those immigrants should be: high-skilled vs. low-wage, huddled masses yearning vs. self-sufficiency, etc. But the big change in Americans perceptions of immigration relates to the question of where. During the decades prior to 2010 when Americas immigrant population, legal and illegal, was routinely doubling, most of the growth was in a handful of statesCalifornia, New York, Illinois, Arizona, Texas, and Floridaand predominantly of Mexican origin. Now, immigration from Mexico is in decline and those states are actually seeing decreased numbers in their foreign-born populations. Meanwhile, migrants are coming from other places and going to other states. Take Kansas. Census Bureau estimates say there are about 75,000 illegal immigrants in the Jayhawk State, which means that 7 percent of K-12 students there have parents in the country illegally. Or North Carolina, where approximately 325,000 residents are in the United States illegally, 3 percent of the state population. Washington State has one of the fastest growing populations of illegal immigrants, with some 300,000 in 2021, an increase of 50,000 in just five years. In places without the infrastructure or cultural elasticity to easily absorb these populations, problems ensue. This spreads out the burdens and blessings among states, but it is also making it, as the talking point goes, that every state is a border state. And that means that the political dysfunction around the issue is increasingly unsustainable, particularly for Democrats. The lesson of Europes inability to deal with its own migrant problems is that when centrist politicians fail to address the reasonable anxieties of voters, voters will eventually turn to extremists. As David Frum wrote nearly five years ago, If liberals insist that only fascists will enforce borders, then voters will hire fascists to do the job liberals refuse to do. The perverse incentives of our political duopoly have protected Democrats and Republicans from the worst of voter frustrations over the issue of our chaotic, aimless immigration policyor lack of one at all. But when the stalemate is broken, as seems inevitable, it most certainly will not be in favor of permissive standards and lenient enforcement. Even if Trump is more talk than action, the American Geert Wilders is out there, just over the horizon. Those who would seek to avoid his arrival would do well to craft a serious policy that balances security and stability with compassion and economic growth. Read more at The Dispatch The Dispatch is a new digital media company providing engaged citizens with fact-based reporting and commentary, informed by conservative principles. Sign up for free. Birds fly above New Delhi's Sabz Burj tomb during heavy smog on November 13 (Sajjad HUSSAIN) Indian scientists are preparing cloud seeding technology to clean poisonous smog in the capital with rain, but environmental critics fear it is an expensive distraction from tackling root causes. It is the latest measure aimed at alleviating the toxic smog choking the lungs of 30 million residents of New Delhi and its surrounding territories -- consistently ranked as the world's worst capital for air quality. Sachchida Nand Tripathi, a professor of sustainable energy engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) at Kanpur, said aeroplanes equipped with seeding equipment or ground-mounted guns would be used to induce rainfall. "Even very modest rain is effective in bringing down pollution," he told AFP. Levels of PM2.5 pollutants -- cancer-causing microparticles that enter the bloodstream through the lungs -- often hit more than 30 times the World Health Organization's danger limits. Breathing the poisonous air has catastrophic health consequences. Prolonged exposure can trigger strokes, heart disease, lung cancer and respiratory diseases, according to the WHO. The average city resident could die nearly 12 years earlier due to air pollution, an August report by the University of Chicago's Energy Policy Institute said. The Delhi government has had to announce emergency school closures, and ban construction and entry of diesel vehicles into the city in a bid to improve the air quality. - 'Wasteful expenditure'? - But with these efforts bearing little result, the government has asked IIT Kanpur to prepare cloud seeding. The weather modification, also known as "blueskying", involves releasing common salt -- or a mixture of different salts -- into clouds. The crystals encourage condensation to form as rain. Tripathi said cloud seeding has produced positive results, and "has not shown any adverse effect wherever it has been tried". Authorities are waiting for clearances from various government bodies and favourable weather conditions before they can put the seeding plan into action, he said. But it comes with a hefty price tag. Exact costs have not been made public, but Indian media suggested it could be as high as 10 million rupees ($120,000) to seed 100 square kilometres (38 miles squared). Environmental scientist Bhavreen Kandhari said cloud seeding was an "ineffective approach" to the pollution problem. "It risks becoming a wasteful expenditure of public funds and valuable time," she told AFP. Smog in Delhi is caused by a melange of factory and vehicle emissions, exacerbated by seasonal agricultural fires. Eye-stinging pollution worsens during winter from October to February -- when colder air traps pollution -- and residents are advised to wear face masks outside at all times. - 'Fleeting relief' - India is not the first. China extensively uses cloud seeding technology, spending billions of dollars to modify the weather to protect agricultural regions or improve air quality ahead of big events. Other countries have also invested in the technology, including Indonesia and Malaysia. Scientists in western India have successfully tried cloud seeding, which resulted in a 20 percent boost in rainfall, Tripathi said. But Sunil Dahiya, an analyst with the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, said artificial rain was not a "definitive solution" to air pollution. "The relief it provides is fleeting, as the cessation of rain allows the re-entry of polluted air masses, swiftly elevating air quality back to hazardous levels," Dahiya told AFP. Dahiya said emissions have to be reduced at their source for any long-term solution to the problem. "Redirecting our efforts to this strategic approach is crucial for sustained and meaningful improvements in air quality," he said. But Tripathi said it was a technology "worth trying", especially since other measures had failed. Delhi set up its first smog tower two years back with much fanfare, a giant fan system sucking in air, but the $2 million structure has been lying defunct with experts saying its impact was limited to a mere 50-metre radius. "When you have very little respite from very high pollution, and no other method works... what do you do?" Tripathi said. abh/pjm/ssy The Silkyara road tunnel in northern India, which partially collapsed on November 12 (Sajjad HUSSAIN) Indian rescue teams digging by hand are now within five metres of 41 men who have been trapped in a collapsed road tunnel for over two weeks, officials said Tuesday, saying a breakthrough was expected "soon." After repeated setbacks in the operation, military engineers and skilled miners are working by hand in a painstaking dig through rock and rubble towards the men using a so-called "rat-hole" mining technique to clear the final stretch. Some five metres (16 feet) of rubble remain, chief minister of Uttarakhand state Pushkar Singh Dhami told reporters at the site as rescue efforts entered their 17th day. "The escape passage has been prepared up to 52 metres inside the tunnel, and the passage will break through at 57 metres," Dhami said Tuesday morning. "The rescue operation is expected to be completed soon," he added, without giving a specific timeframe, raising hopes the end was in sight for the marathon operation. However, previous hopes of reaching the men have been dashed by falling debris and the breakdown of multiple drilling machines. The government has repeatedly warned that timelines are subject to "technical glitches, the challenging Himalayan terrain, and unforeseen emergencies". The 41 construction workers have been trapped since November 12 in a tunnel being constructed between the remote towns of Silkyara and Dandalgaon in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand. - 'Last hope' - Rajput Rai, a drilling expert, told the Press Trust of India that three-person teams were taking turns working at the rock face inside a metal pipe, just wide enough for someone to squeeze through. While one worker drills, a second scoops up the rubble by hand, and the third places it on a wheeled trolley to be pulled out, Rai said, according to PTI's Tuesday report. Rescuers have brought in a superheated plasma cutter to slice through metal rods that have repeatedly impeded progress. Tunnel expert Chris Cooper, who is advising the rescue teams said Monday that progress depended on "how the ground behaves", warning they may yet have to cut through heavy-duty girders that had been meant to hold the collapsed roof up. Last week, engineers working to drive a metal pipe horizontally through the 57 metres of rock and concrete ran into metal girders and construction vehicles buried in the rubble, snapping a giant earth-boring machine. In a separate effort, a drilling machine was brought up to a forested hill above the tunnel on a specially constructed track. Vertical drilling from that location is now nearly halfway through the 89 metres needed to reach the stranded men, a risky route in an area that has already suffered a collapse. Digging, blasting and drilling have also begun from the far side of the road tunnel, a much longer third route estimated to be around 480 metres. The workers were seen alive for the first time on Tuesday, peering into the lens of an endoscopic camera sent by rescuers down a thin pipe through which air, food, water and electricity are being delivered. "Our only source of strength is God, as it is the last hope for us," said mother-of-three Musarrat Jahan, whose husband Mohd Sabah Ahmad is a migrant worker trapped inside. "We have more faith in God than anything", she told AFP by phone from her home in the eastern state of Bihar, one of India's poorest. Though trapped, the workers have plenty of space in the tunnel, with the area inside 8.5 metres high and stretching about two kilometres in length. bur-pjm/cwl Rescue operations in progress after workers are trapped in a tunnel collapse, in Uttarkashi By Shivam Patel NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The 41 Indian construction workers trapped in a collapsed highway tunnel for 17 days will need long-term support after their rescue, including monitoring for post-traumatic stress disorder, officials said on Tuesday. Rescuers drilled through rocks and debris to finally reach the men on Tuesday in the Himalayan tunnel where they have been trapped since it collapsed on Nov. 12. They were due to be pulled out, one by one, later in the day. The men have been getting food, water, light, oxygen and medicine through a narrow pipe but efforts to dig a tunnel to rescue them with high-powered drilling machines were frustrated by endless snags and equipment breakdowns. Ambulances were waiting at the mouth of the tunnel on Tuesday afternoon to take the men to hospital and R.C.S. Panwar, the top medical officer in Uttarkashi district where the tunnel is located, said they would all be given a thorough checkup and follow-up monitoring by specialists. For some, the mental impact of their ordeal could last for many months, said Dr Dinakaran D. of the state-run National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences. "There is a risk of PTSD in these individuals," Dinakaran said. "All 41 would experience some post traumatic symptoms like insomnia, recurrent bad dreams, recurrent reliving of the tunnel collapse, anxiety," he said. "Not everyone will have the disorder but most will suffer from these symptoms for say three to six months." The men have been in constant touch with rescuers through wireless devices and had two kilometres of space within the tunnel to walk around in, wash and rest. They were also sent anti-depressants through the small pipe. While they waited day after day to be rescued, the men were encouraged to talk to each other, tell stories, do yoga, light exercise and play board games sent in to them. But Dinakaran said they would have to be checked at regular intervals for at least a year. "There may be enduring changes in one's personality," he said. (Reporting by Shivam Patel in New Delhi; editing by Robert Birsel) Indiana legislators and education officials are rallying behind a move to transform the states high schools by making career skills a major focus through more internships, apprenticeships and a drive to earn career credentials before graduating. Repeatedly citing research from Georgetown University showing almost all new jobs require more than a high school diploma, the state legislature ordered Indianapolis education officials to rethink the mission of high schools. Current graduation requirements will be thrown out next year and new ones calling for more career preparation will take their place. Support The 74's year-end campaign. Make a tax-exempt donation now. Are the four years of high school as valuable as possible for students? state education secretary Katie Jenner asked in an interview with The 74. Ive yet to meet a person who said, Yes, they are. Most people say if high school looked different for students, then we could better connect them to whats whats next. If thats the case, then what barriers do we need to get out of the way? she continued. How can we transform it in order to make it better for students. Jenner said having students spend time in workplaces to see what careers fit them, or earning career credentials, will help both students and businesses. Thats really what were trying to think through in Indiana, to not only better support Indiana students, but to also be mindful of Indianas talent pipeline, Jenner said. Republican State Rep. Chuck Goodrich, who helped lead the charge earlier this year to create a key piece of the new focus $5,000 Career Scholarship Accounts that sophomores, juniors and seniors can use for career training said students need better opportunities to gain skills. Giving students hands-on applied learning opportunities and the ability to earn a credential before graduation is a game-changer, not only for the student, not only for the family, but for Indiana, Goodrich told the state Senate this spring. Indiana already has a requirement students show demonstrable employability skills to graduate from high school, but it currently counts playing on a school team, other extracurricular activities, community service, an after-school job or a capstone research project the same as doing an internship or apprenticeship. The new requirements will be more work and skills-focused. The Career Scholarship Accounts are an early piece of the overhaul the legislature passed this spring in House Bill 1002. The bill contains another immediate change requiring schools to teach students more this upcoming academic year about career planning, available training programs, scholarships, and different jobs available, with an emphasis on high wage, high demand industry, according to the new law. Major parts of the overhaul, particularly which career preparation steps should be required to graduate and which just encouraged, are still to be determined. The Indiana education department is holding focus groups with parents, educators and businesses about how to shape the new vision and should have proposals for the state board to discuss early next year. New graduation requirements will be set by the end of 2024, Jenner said, to kick in for the class of 2029. Among the key items being discussed: A greater emphasis on students job shadowing, internships and apprenticeships that only a tiny percentage of students experience now, according to Jenner. Changing the courses required to graduate. Requiring more meeting time with career counselors or businesses Requiring students to earn credentials for careers before graduating. Piloting mastery approaches to measuring student progress, throwing out traditional A-F grades, replacing them with tracking student progress toward their mastery or competency of skills. Workplace skills like teamwork and critical thinking would be measured, not just core subjects like English and math. The efforts are attracting some national attention. Patricia Levesque, CEO of the Excellence In Education Foundation, visited Indianapolis this fall to praise the state for being a national leader in preparing students for careers, not just college. Though Indiana is better than other states in helping students earn credentials, she warned too many students are being guided to many credentials businesses arent seeking. Nearly 60 to 70 percent of the credentials earned by high school students that year had no value, she said of Indiana. No company was asking for those credentials, right? Students were earning something that didnt have currency in the marketplace. Some legislators say they are concerned the overhaul is more an attempt to help businesses find employees than help students. This rethinking, reimagining of high school is our attempt at filling these jobs to me, said Democratic State Sen. Shelli Yoder before voting against House Bill 1002. Were doing a disservice for students. And thats not to say we dont need to reimagine it Its going to help the workforce. But is it helping students? Schools, like Victory College Prep high school in Indianapolis, are already on board with the main idea of the change. That school has placed every 11th and 12th grader in internships with companies or nonprofits for 10 school days a year the last five years, other than some pandemic adjustments. We really believe here that graduation is not the end goal for our students, said Rahul Jyoti, the schools chief readiness officer. We dont want them to celebrate and say, Hey, I graduated. This is great. Because then real life hits you, especially for a lot of our students that come from the underserved communities, here in Indianapolis, and so really, this is the starting point. Jyoti said his school has been able to find 25 and 40 employers a year to host students, but wonders what will happen if every school in the state tries to find similar opportunities for every student. Jenner said connecting with enough employers willing to take on the work of running internships or apprenticeships will be a challenge. One of the threats is that we transform the high school diploma andreadiness for Work Based Learning and there arent there arent enough spots for kids, she said. Solving that issue is a big part of her work this fall and was a key reason the state sent delegations to Switzerland, where school and business cooperation on apprenticeships is a part of the culture. She said work based learning experiences may need to be different for different industries and may have to evolve over time, but the state has to start somewhere. Were getting after it because we have to and we must for kids, she said. Were going to learn some lessons along the way and were gonna keep getting better from there. But we cant wait to get started. We have to go. We have to try some things. Textiles and garments contribute 16% of Vietnams total GPD, but its challenging for small garment brands to take advantage of the countrys manufacturing prowess. Inflow is stepping into the gap, with a platform that gives small brands visibility into manufacturers' supply chains and the design-to-production cycle. It also helps them meet manufacturers who are willing to produce smaller quantities of garments. Inflow announced today it has raised $2 million in seed funding. Investors included AppWorks, 500 Global, January Capital, Spiral Ventures and Saison Capital. The company says that over the last year, its revenue has grown by more than 15x, and its now used by more than 80 fashion brands across Southeast Asia. The startups production network currently includes more than 150 manufacturers and suppliers. It typically works with brands that have a yearly revenue of $200,000 and above. Small brands get the benefit of Inflows platform, showing them inventory forecasts, data-driven factory matching and merchandise management. This meant to help them compete against larger brands. The company says that its platform and factory matching services can reduce sample production to seven days, with a 45-day turnaround. It supports small-batch orders with minimum order quantities starting from 50 units. This means that brands can scale their production based on how well products do. Inflow's platform Inflow's platform. Image Credits: Inflow Before starting Inflow, founder Khanh Le spent 15 years working in the fashion industry, including owning her own fashion brands in Vietnam. A couple jobs later, she decided she wanted to get back to her B2C brand again. But she ran into several challenges. Finding a factory within Vietnam, I realized it was really traditional and this was no different from 15 years ago, she said. Its still very difficult for a small brand to find a trusted partner and take advantage of production in Vietnam. This was a contrast to Vietnams high-rank among clothing and textile exporters in the world. I was like, how come this has such a huge potential, but its only for big brands, like Nike, Adidas, Uniqlo. Thats when Le decided to start using data-driven matching to help smaller fashion brands tap into the network of factories in Vietnam. Inflow is solving several problems for small brands that want to manufacturer in Vietnam. The first is finding a trusted partner, a process that usually takes two or three months, Le said. Inflow solves that by assembling a network of pre-screened partners. Because many brands are based in the United States or Europe, it uses its platform to provide real-time updates into the manufacturing process. Khanh Le, founder and CEO of Inflow Khanh Le, founder and CEO of Inflow. Image Credits: Inflow The platform also gives information like inventory forecast, based on historical data from customers and sales data. This helps them decide the right quantity of items to produce. Inflow says the manufacturers and suppliers on its platform are ethical and it ensures that through a vetting process and frequent factory audits. Le says Inflow ensures factories meet global standards in terms of workers' benefits, working environment and how they process materials. They also encourage clients to choose sustainable materials, or know the impact of the materials they use. Inflows seed funding will be used for its design R&D and developing its supply chain and manufacturing tech. It plans to enable brands to bring new designs to market within 30 days at minimum order quantities of 50. The startup will also set up sales channels in developed markets and plans to partner with fashion exports companies in places like the U.S. or Europe. In a statement, 500 Global managing partner Vishal Harnal said, The global garment industry, like many others, is diversifying its reliance on China for manufacturing. Inflows fashion supply chain technology could capture this huge onshoring opportunity for Vietnam through a connected, convenient and scalable platform. DALLAS, Pa. (WHTM) A state prison inmate in Luzerne County who was convicted in a York County homicide case has died after being found unresponsive. According to Kevin Ransom, Superintendent at SCI Dallas, 78-year-old William Stankewicz was found unresponsive in his cell on Monday, Nov. 27, and pronounced dead at 7:41 a.m. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now WHTM Severe Weather Alerts Stankewicz was serving a 132 to 264-year sentence for a criminal homicide conviction from York County, where he attacked 11 kindergarteners and two teachers with a machete at a Red Lion elementary school back in 2001. He had been housed at SCI Dallas since May 2012. Following state policy, Pennsylvania State Police were notified and will conduct an investigation. The official cause of death will be determined by the Luzerne County Coroners Office. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27. He is the religious ultra-nationalist who has called for sterile zones around Jewish communities and for Palestinian youths who throw stones to be shot on sight. He advocates a Torah justice system and was once arrested on suspicion of preparing to blow up a motorway in protest at what he saw as the soft treatment of Gazans. He is also Israels finance minister and anyone wondering about the direction of the conflict cannot afford to ignore what he says. Bazelel Smotrich is not your traditional Israeli Right-winger. The leader of the Religious Zionist Party formed a coalition last year with Benjamin Netanyahus Likud, but has not been shy to take on the veteran prime minister in public. Only this week he threatened to create a crisis within government by insisting on more security funds for Israeli settlements at the expense, his critics said, of the war effort. There are two million Nazis in Judea and Samaria [a provocative biblical reference to the West Bank area] who hate us exactly as do the Nazis of Hamas-Isis in Gaza, he said. Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, pictured second from left, walks with soldiers during a visit to Kibbutz Kfar Aza near the border with Gaza on Nov 14 - GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP/GETTY He bitterly opposed allowing fuel trucks into the strip and, in comments that triggered international condemnation, described the voluntary migration of Palestinians in Gaza as the right humanitarian solution. He said: The State of Israel will no longer be able to accept the existence of an independent entity in Gaza. It matters because Mr Smotrich and like-minded ultra-Right colleagues from other factions prop up Mr Netanyahu, who faces the real possibility of a corruption trial once his premiership ends. They also represent an increasingly potent force within Israeli politics. Mr Smotrich did not emerge from a vacuum. The ideology now at the heart of Israels government has been thriving for decades in Jewish settlements on the West Bank. None more so than in Smotrichs home of Kedumim, a few miles to the west of Nablus. Set amid steep hills coated in olive groves, the red-roofed community has long had a reputation for zealotry, even by the standards of the settlement movement. It is home to firebrands such as Daniella Weiss, the daughter of ultra-nationalist Jewish terrorists and Kedumims first elected mayor, who is now a leading light in the Nachala initiative, a drive to encourage young Jewish couples to settle in historic Israel. As for Mr Smotrich, his house is particularly controversial as it is set outside the formal footprint of the settlement, which is itself illegal under international law. One Israeli NGO has claimed the property was built on stolen land. Jewish-Palestinian tensions rise According to local Palestinians, Mr Smotrichs rise to the top of government has empowered residents in their oppression of local villages. They said it is not uncommon for groups of around 100 settlers to rampage through the neighbouring non-Jewish communities, setting fire to buildings and cutting down the olive trees upon which the local livelihoods depend. In the village of Kafr Qaddum, the mayor, Mahdi Qadoumi, has just received a letter from a local farmer complaining that 75 of his trees have been destroyed. Sitting at his vast desk in the village council offices, he scrunches up a cigarette packet in frustration. He says that, as a community, they should have harvested around 800 tonnes of olives this year, but in the end they produced only half. Its every type of destruction you can think of, he says. They cut our trees, they destroy our wells. They are attacking us financially to try to make life so difficult for us that we move away. Smotrich being in government encourages more of this. It has got worse and worse over the past year. Learnt the hard way As well as felling trees, the settlers from Kedumim are said to deny the villages access to swathes of their traditional land, particularly where it is situated close to the settlement. Too many have learnt the hard way - the mayors uncle was shot dead in 2008 - not to take the risk. The slow economic strangulation is obvious by the state of the village. Once characterised by beautiful old stone buildings, year by year the aesthetic is changing. Few now have the cash to pay for the maintenance of these traditional homes. It is cheaper instead to let them fall into disrepair and build low-cost, ugly replacements. Most of the cars are badly dented - hubcaps are missing. A feeling of dejection pervades. Abu Amr, a former general in the Palestinian Authority, still wears the green military-style jacket and red and white keffiyeh. He gives his friend Assem Qadoumi an encouraging rub on the shoulders as he explains how he no longer dares venture into the olive grove just outside his house after dark. Activist and farmer Assem Qadoumi is seen in his olive orchards near the settlementA of Kedumim - QUIQUE KIERSZENBAUM My house is the first they [the settlers] come to if they come into the village, he says. They attack us - its humiliating, offensive. They limit the time we can work on the harvest. It takes at least a week to pick the olives, but they give us four days. Later, Mr Assem shows us the security cameras and motion-activated lights on the outside of his house. If they come I try to warn the others, he said. At another entrance to the village, looking up the hill east to Kedumim, he points out the scorch marks in the old Jordanian stone from the weekly protests by the men of the village which, the villagers say, are violently suppressed by the Israel Defense Forces. The mayor says youths have been paralysed by rubber-coated bullets and live rounds. A faded green house at the threshold of what the villagers consider to be relatively safe ground is pockmarked with bullet holes. We try to protect our children, but they participate, they want to go in the front, says Mr Assem. He bends down to pick up a used teargas cartridge, explaining how you can tell from the shape that it is fired by hand-held gun and not a jeep-mounted one. Aggressively patrolled by the IDF Its worse since January. It has really intensified. Many of the roads surrounding Kafr Qaddum have been closed. The blockages are aggressively patrolled by the IDF, many of whom are reservists from the settlement itself. This includes the road to Nablus, an important centre for Palestinians. It used to cost four shekels to get there by bus. Now, with the circuitous route, it costs 14. The settlers have guns - lots of them. But they dont need them, because they know that if Mr Assem and his colleagues put up any resistance they can fall back on the IDF and local security militia known as first responders. When Bezalel Smotrich boasts of sterile zones around Jewish communities, it is perhaps possible to see in Kedumim a prototype of his vision. After much protest, last week he reluctantly voted for Netanyahus hostage deal. But his views on the desirability of peaceful co-existence are clear, not just from his rhetoric, but from the wreckage and fear generated in the lands around his home. 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. NEW YORK An investigation is underway at Hillcrest High School, where an undetermined number of students have been suspended after storming the hallways to target a Jewish teacher who had attended a pro-Israel rally, education officials announced Monday. The episode was blasted by Schools Chancellor David Banks at a later afternoon press conference as completely unacceptable. Mayor Eric Adams said the event was motivated by ignorance-fueled hatred. An estimated 400 teens in Queens flooded the Hillcrest corridors Nov. 20 to protest the staffer, who shared a photo of herself online at a demonstration off school premises, according to viral social media videos. The disturbance forced a lockdown, while the teacher was moved to another floor of the building to meet with police. A teacher at Hillcrest High School was targeted based on her support for Israel, Banks told reporters at the school, expressed in a permissible way outside of school hours, and her Jewish identity. And that is completely unacceptable that she would be targeted for that, and I said that to the students as well as the staff here today. The original videos of the protest appeared to have been deleted by Monday morning, though recordings were reviewed by the Daily News. When a protest brakes (sic) out because a teacher stands with Israel, read one of the since-removed videos on TikTok, as students charged through the hallways, jumping up and down, and showed a water fountain torn from the wall. POV: your school had 1 lockdown multiple fights and riots js bc of a teacher that chose to wake up one day and choose Zionism and occupation, read another clip on the platform. The caption included a threat: YO IF HER A** COME BACK IN THAT BUILDING, followed by a skull death symbol and praying hands emojis. Hillcrest high school had a riot because a Health teacher was supporting Israel, read another, depicting at least two students holding Palestinian flags. The Jamaica school had to go on lockdown during the protest, according to an email Tuesday from Principal Scott Milczewski to staff obtained by The News. He said additional police and school safety agents were present, while deans had their teaching posts covered to focus on the events. A lot of these students, they didnt know what they were doing at the moment, said Senior Class President Muhammad Ghazali. A photo of the teacher, reshared by students on TikTok, shows her at a rally with the sign I stand with Israel and surrounded by other demonstrators holding Israeli flags. She posted it to her Facebook profile weeks before the school demonstration. It was later picked up by students. Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, told The News in a statement that the union had been working with the individual teacher since last Monday to restore and maintain a safe environment for faculty, students and staff. Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, who had just traveled to the region a couple of weeks ago, said the people he spoke with in Gaza there wanted peace, compared with protesters in New York. That message somehow is being lost in our city, he said. Banks, a Hillcrest alum who has visited the school multiple times as recently as a few weeks ago, placed much of the blame on social media. Some schools have shied away from addressing the war, while he said teens consuming information on TikTok felt a kindred spirit with many of the Palestinian families they saw dying. More than 30% of the student body is Muslim, the chancellor said. Banks announced that he planned to convene the principals of all grade levels across the city for a Zoom meeting later this week to direct schools to have productive discussions. The goal is to encourage the schools to have responsible conversation, he said, not to run away from the issue, not to hide from it. Because the kids are being consumed with information every day anyway, whether you like it or not. So you cant put your head in the sand and act like its not happening. The chancellor pushed back against any suggestions that the students had been radicalized. He met with a couple hundred teachers and 70 students on Monday, according to his and a teachers estimates, respectively. The incident came just weeks after an initial tally of 770 public school students walked out of class on Nov. 9 to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The vile show of antisemitism at Hillcrest HS was motivated by ignorance-fueled hatred, plain and simple, said Adams on Saturday, and it will not be tolerated in any of our schools, let alone anywhere else in our city. We are better than this. Adams said a local organization will begin outreach with students at Hillcrest this week to ensure they understand why this behavior was unacceptable. The teacher is expected to return back to the school later this week, the chancellor said. _____ Iran has finalized an agreement with Russia to buy Su-35 fighter jets, Mi-28 attack helicopters, and Yak-130 jet trainers, Iran's Deputy Defense Minister Mahdi Farahi said on Nov. 28, the semi-official Iranian news agency Tasnim has reported. In a conversation with the outlet, Farahi said that these three advanced military aircraft will be at Iran's disposal, and the relevant processes are "currently underway." Read also: Iran prepares to transfer ballistic missiles to Russia report Iran has the most powerful military helicopter fleet in the region and has already modernized its helicopter capabilities through several projects, the general said. Iran and Russia have also reportedly signed agreements to strengthen economic, trade, energy, and military cooperation. Tehran has not acquired any new fighter aircraft in recent years, with the exception of a few Russian MiG-29 fighters purchased back in the 1990s. Read also: Russians now producing Irans Shahed drones on their own, to be main feature of winter strikes on UA The Iranian Air Force received its first Russian-made Yak-130 training aircraft in September. The Yak-130 is a subsonic combat trainer developed by the Yakovlev Design Bureau in cooperation with the Italian company Alenia Aermacchi and with the support of the Ukrainian company Motor Sich. The aircraft was developed to replace the L-39 trainer aircraft in the Russian Air Force. The Yak-130 is reported to provide Iranian military pilots with training in the operation of fourth- and fifth-generation fighters, such as the Su-57. Earlier, the United States accused Iran of supplying Mohajer-6 and other drones to Russia to wage war against Ukraine. According to media reports, in exchange for weapons, Russia supplies Iran with cyber weapons, Western weapons "captured on the battlefield," and helps develop its missile program. Russia is also engaged in the production of Iranian-designed kamikaze drones in the special economic zone in Alabuga, Tatarstan. Read also: US pressing Iran to stop selling drones to Russia FT Iran transfers materials and technologies to Russia, and continues to supply Shahed suicide drones. Tehran officially denies this, but copious evidence indicates these denials are false. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Iran has agreed to purchase Russian Su-35 fighter jets, Mi-28 helicopters and training aircraft. Source: Reuters, citing Iran's deputy Defence Minister Mehdi Farahi in an interview with Tasnim Details: Deputy Defence Minister Mehdi Farahi stated that the development of plans for supplying Su-35 fighter jets, Mi-28 attack helicopters and Yak-130 jet trainer aircraft to the combat units of the Iranian armed forces has been completed. He said that these three advanced military aircraft will come to Iran's disposal, and the relevant process is underway. Reuters notes that Iran's Air Force has only a few dozen attack aircraft, including Russian as well as outdated American models purchased before 1979. Background: In July, the US State Department said that the military partnership between Russia and Iran was deepening. A week ago, the United States expressed concern that Iran was preparing to provide Russia with modern short-range ballistic missiles to wage war against Ukraine. Support UP or become our patron! Paul Lynch, author of "Prophet Song," poses with the 2023 Booker Prize following the Winner Ceremony at Old Billingsgate in London on Sunday. The Booker Prize is a literary award conferred each year for the best novel written in the English language, which was published in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Photo by David Cliff/EPA-EFE Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Irish writer Paul Lynch has won this year's Booker Prize for his dystopian novel "Prophet Song," a fictional account of tyranny and war described as "soul-shattering." Lynch, 46, beat out five other finalists from Ireland, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada during Sunday's awards ceremony in London where he won the award and a $63,000 prize. The final six books in the running were selected from 163 books published between Oct. 1, 2022 and Sept, 30. "We're delighted to announce that the winner of the Booker Prize 2023 is "Prophet Song" by Paul Lynch," the Booker Prizes posted on X, formerly Twitter. "Huge congratulations." We're delighted to announce that the winner of the #BookerPrize2023 is Prophet Song by Paul Lynch. Huge congratulations to @paullynchwriter. Discover the book: https://t.co/o890YuwYOV pic.twitter.com/Z0Ab0eH3LU The Booker Prizes (@TheBookerPrizes) November 26, 2023 "Prophet Song," which is Lynch's fifth novel, is a fictional account of a woman's struggle to protect her family as Ireland collapses into totalitarianism and war. "From that first knock at the door, 'Prophet Song' forces us out of our complacency as we follow the terrifying plight of a woman seeking to protect her family in an Ireland descending into totalitarianism," said Esi Edugyan, chair of the Booker's 2023 judges. "Readers will find it soul-shattering and true, and will not soon forget its warnings." "Lynch pulls off feats of language that are stunning to witness," Edugyan added. "He has the heart of a poet, using repetition and recurring motifs to create a visceral reading experience. This is a triumph of emotional storytelling, bracing and brave." The Booker Prize is a leading literary award that is handed out each year to the "best sustained work of fiction written in English and published in the U.K. and Ireland," the Booker Prizes website states. "It is a prize that transforms the winner's career." "I was trying to see into the modern chaos," Lynch said in an interview with the judges. "The unrest in Western democracies. The problem of Syria -- the implosion of an entire nation, the scale of its refugee crisis and the West's indifference. The invasion of Ukraine had not even begun. I couldn't write directly about Syria so I brought the problem to Ireland as a simulation." Lynch said "Prophet Song" ultimately became his partial "attempt at radical empathy." "To understand better, we must first experience the problem for ourselves. So I sought to deepen the dystopian by bringing to it a high degree of realism," Lynch said. "I wanted to deepen the reader's immersion to such a degree that by the end of the book, they would not just know, but feel this problem for themselves." Israel said 11 hostages, all women and children, have been released from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip late Monday, the final day of an initial four-day truce between the warring sides. Early Tuesday, 33 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons were freed and driven to the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah. Hours earlier, Qatars Foreign Ministry said Israel and Hamas agreed to extend their truce for another two days. Mondays releases bring the number of Israelis freed under the truce to 50, along with 19 hostages of other nationalities. So far, 150 Palestinians have been released from Israeli prisons. Roughly 240 hostages were captured by Hamas in its Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel that ignited the war. One was freed by Israeli forces and two were found dead inside Gaza. Israel has said it would extend the cease-fire by one day for every 10 additional hostages released. After the announcement by Qatar a key mediator in the conflict, along with the United States and Egypt Hamas confirmed it had agreed to a two-day extension under the same terms. With the truce deal has come increased shipments of fuel and supplies into Gaza although aid groups say its still barely enough to dent the needs of the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza who have endured weeks of Israeli siege and bombardment. More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, roughly two thirds of them women and minors, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. Some 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, mostly during the initial incursion by Hamas. At least 77 soldiers have been killed in Israels ground offensive. Muhammad Abu Al-Humus, a Palestinian former prisoner released from an Israeli jail, hugged his mother after returning to his home in East Jerusalem on Monday night More Palestinians have been freed from Israeli prisons on the fourth day of a truce between Israel and Hamas. The release of 33 people means 150 Palestinians have been released since Friday - the day both sides began swapping hostages and prisoners. Fifty-one Israeli hostages, including three-year-old-twin sisters, have been freed by Hamas as part of the deal. Qatar has said the pause in fighting will be extended by two days, which Israel has not confirmed or denied. Little information has been released about the latest group of Palestinians to be freed. On Monday both Hamas and Qatar - which has played a major role in the talks between the warring sides - said 30 Palestinian children and three women were due to be freed. The Israel Prison Service later said 33 people had been freed from Ofer prison in the West Bank, and a detention centre in Jerusalem, but did not specify their genders or ages. By the evening, Reuters news agency reported that a bus carrying the newly released Palestinian prisoners had arrived in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank. Images showed people in the Palestinian city, waiting to greet them - some carrying green flags of Hamas, their faces covered with balaclavas. Separate images showed a Palestinian boy named Muhammad Abu Al-Humus reuniting with his mother, and other family members, at the family's home in East Jerusalem. Al-Humus called his release "an indescribable joy" and kissed his mother's hand, the AFP news agency reports. It was not immediately clear which facility he had been detained in, or for how long. Eitaf Jaradat, one of the three Palestinian women released in the latest exchange, said "the price of our freedom is seemingly expensive" as she was welcomed back by her family. "We always hope that we are freed and that our people are in a good situation. But this is our destiny that we were freed while they are on a sea of blood," she told Reuters. Ms Jaradat was arrested in 2021, accused of involvement in a shooting that caused the death of an Israeli settler, according to Reuters. While fighting between Hamas and Israel is temporarily suspended, aid organisations have taken the opportunity to send lorries into Gaza filled with essentials such as food, water, fuel and medicines. Hamas has committed to releasing another 20 women and children, should a two-day extension of the truce go ahead. Israel has not commented explicitly on the extension, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Monday evening that it had "approved the inclusion of 50 female prisoners in the list of prisoners eligible to be released, in the event that a release of additional Israeli hostages is carried out". More on Israel-Gaza war Hamas and Israel have accused each other of breaking the truce agreement which has led to the release of dozens of Israelis and Palestinians. As a result of the enemy violating the terms of the truce today, there has been a field clash today and our mujahedeen dealt with the violation. We are committed to the truce as long as the enemy is, Hamas military spokesperson Abu Obaida said, according to Gazan state TV. Meanwhile, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said three explosive devices were activated in two locations near IDF forces in northern Gaza contrary to the ceasefire agreements. It comes as Hamas is searching for more Israeli hostages in Gaza as part of planned exchanges for Palestinian prisoners to allow the ceasefire deal with Israel to continue. The four-day pause in fighting was extended on Tuesday by two days, with 51 Israelis and 18 foreigners released by Hamas since the ceasefire began, and 150 Palestinians freed by Israel. Now, as part of the truce deal extension, more hostages look set to be released, with a list of hostages to be freed today sent to Israeli prime ministers office. Key Points Hamas and Israel accuse each other of breaking truce Family of missing 10-month-old boy call for his immediate release' Hostage handover is underway to Red Cross Netanyahu takes Elon Musk on tour of kibbutz from which Hamas kidnapped Israelis Qatar announces two-day extension to temporary Israel-Hamas truce Hamas and Israel accuse each other of breaking truce Tuesday 28 November 2023 15:07 , Alexander Butler Hamas and Israel have accused each other of breaking the truce agreement, according to reports. As a result of the enemy violating the terms of the truce today, there has been a field clash today and our mujahedeen dealt with the violation, the Hamas-run TV channel al Aqsa quoted Hamas military wing spokesperson, Abu Obaida, as saying. We are committed to the truce as long as the enemy is. Meanwhile, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said three explosive devices were activated in two locations near IDF forces in northern Gaza contrary to the ceasefire agreements. In one of the cases, shots were also fired at the force. As a result, several fighters were slightly injured. The fighters responded by firing at the sources of the gunfire, he said. In both cases, the IDF forces stayed within the agreed ceasefire lines. We are pausing live coverage of this event Tuesday 28 November 2023 16:25 , Alexander Butler We are pausing live coverage of this event. Please check tomorrow for more updates. Watch: Moment child hostages reunite with dog for first time since release from Hamas captivity Tuesday 28 November 2023 16:01 , Alexander Butler Tuesday 28 November 2023 14:00 , Alexander Butler Palestinian women and teenagers released from Israeli prisons as part of the exchange deal told The Independent of their joy to be home, but also about the sharp deterioration of conditions in jail, after Hamass bloody attack on 7 October, chief international correspondent Bel Trew reports. Many of the released Palestinians the Independent spoke to are being held in administrative detention which means there is no charge or trial and detention can be extended indefinitely. Israel said this is necessary for security and counterterrorism activities. Amnesty International, which has called for all Palestinian prisoners who are arbitrarily held to be released separate to hostage deals, said there has been dramatic surge in the use of administrative detention since Hamas 7 October bloody attacks. The organisation said administrative detention is one of the key tools through which Israel has enforced its system of apartheid against Palestinians, a characterisation that Israel has vehemently rejected. Palestinian rights groups say it deprives Palestinians their right to fair trial which constitutes a grave violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention and may amount to a war crime - a point that Israel has also denied. Palestinian rights groups and prison monitoring groups said there are now 2,200 Palestinians in administrative detention, a historic high. Hanan al-Barghouti, 59, the oldest detainee to be released in the truce deal with Israel, said she was arrested in a dawn raid on her home in September - a full month before the war - and has been held since without no charge or trial. Speaking from her home outside of Ramallah, she said more than 15 members of her extended family are also in administrative detention which she called collective punishment. Her brother Nael al-Barghouti is the longest-serving Palestinian prisoner and has been in and out of detention since he was first arrested 44 years ago for engaging in attacks against Israeli military. He was re-arrested in 2014 for Hamas membership according to Israeli media. Mrs Barghouti said conditions in Damon prison for women where she was being held, rapidly deteriorated after 7 October attack by Hamas. Firstly all family visits and visits by international rights groups were stopped. Then took everything we already paid for, everything you can imagine salt, sugar, cans, books, they closed the prison shop. They took the radios and TVs so we did not know what was happening the outside world. They took all the shoes. One male soldier put one of the woman restraining hold, took the shoes from her feet and beat her. They cut all the electricity and they left only one light, she said. The Independent has reached out to the Israeli prison service and the military and has yet to get a reply. Before-and-after photo shows medical volunteers demolished Gaza home Tuesday 28 November 2023 13:00 , Josh Marcus The Israel-Hamas war has had devastating consequences for Gazas civilian population. A photo shared by the Palestine Red Crescent shows medical volunteer Osama Al-Kahlots destroyed home. "The escalation is impacting everyone in #Gaza. Our colleague Nebal Farsakh shared that she sent a WhatsApp messageto Osama Al-Kahlot, a dedicated PRCS volunteer for over 20 years. He was concluding a 24-hour shift at the Emergency Operation Room in the #Gaza Strip. She asked pic.twitter.com/hAXV2sghKv PRCS (@PalestineRCS) November 27, 2023 ICYMI: Abigail, 4-year-old American hostage, reunites with family Tuesday 28 November 2023 12:00 , Josh Marcus President Joe Biden denounced the unthinkable actions of Hamas after a four-year-old girl with American citizenship whose parents were killed by terrorists last month was released from inside Gaza on Sunday as part of a hostage agreement. That four-day truce is currently underway in the northern Gaza Strip where Israeli forces have been bombarding the city for weeks; Hamas militants, following a shockingly bloody attack that killed roughly 1,200 across southern Israel last month, continue to hold dozens of hostages within the Palestinian territory. On Sunday, Israel confirmed that Abigail Edan, four, had been among hostages released by the militant group into the care of the Red Cross. Her immediate condition was unknown. Thank God she is home, Mr Biden said of Abigail on Sunday, as he addressed Americans from Nantucket. What she endured is unthinkable. John Bowden has the story. US girl, 4, orphaned by Hamas then kidnapped is reunited with family Family of missing 10-month-old boy call for his immediate release' Tuesday 28 November 2023 11:57 , Alexander Butler The family of a 10-month-old boy feared missing in Gaza has urged negotiators to release him as soon as possible. Offri Bibas, who is the auntie of 10-month-old Kfir, said she feared he could be without formula or proper food. It comes as an Israel-Hamas truce is set to expire on Wednesday before hostilities in Gaza are due to resume. He cant stay there anymore. He is a 10-month-old baby. We dont know if he is getting formula. There isnt much food, Ms Bibas said. Every day there is a risk for their mental and physical condition. They must be released. They are children; they are not supposed to be hostages. Kfir was kidnapped along with his four-year-old brother Ariel and his parents Yarden, 34, and Shiri, 32, from Kibbutz Nir Oz after Hamas massacred up to 1,200 Israelis on 7 October. On Monday, the Israel Defence Forces said the Bibas family was transferred by Hamas to another Palestinian militant group in Gaza and they are being held in Khan Younis in the south of Gaza. Aylon Keshet, who is the cousin of Mr Bibas, added that the family was living through a nightmare and didnt know anything about their condition. He said: These are real people with real lives. Please do not let them stay for another day. Do not let Hamas keep using them as bargaining chips. We really dont know anything. We are in the dark here. We dont know anything about their wellbeing or condition. This is a nightmare scenario for us. The uncertainty is really hard. We are worried sick about them. Ten-month-old Kfir Bibas, who was kidnapped by Hamas on 7 October (PA) Four-year-old Ariel Bibas, who was kidnapped by Hamas on 7 October (PA) After antisemitism scandal, Elon Musk visits Israel Tuesday 28 November 2023 11:00 , Josh Marcus Elon Musk toured a kibbutz attacked by Hamas on Monday during his visit to Israel. It follows an outcry over his endorsement of an antisemitic conspiracy theory on his social media platform, Twitter/X. The worlds richest man met Israels prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and visited the Kfar Aza kibbutz, which Hamas attacked on 7 October, killing an estimated 52 residents. Another 20 people are reported as missing. It was the home of four-year-old American-Israeli citizen Abigail Edan, who was taken hostage after her parents were killed by the militant group during the attack. Abigail was reunited with members of her family on Sunday as part of the hostage exchange. Mr Musk said witnessing the scenes of the massacre was jarring, during a live event on Twitter/X with Mr Neetanyahu after the tour. Ariana Baio has the story. Elon Musk takes tour of kibbutz where Hamas kidnapped Israelis Met Police investigating reports of war crimes in Gaza Tuesday 28 November 2023 10:35 , Alexander Butler The Metropolitan Police is investigating reports of war crimes committed in Gaza. Scotland Yards war crimes unit is collaborating with the International Criminal Court to investigate any war crimes committed by Israel or Hamas in the region since 7 October. The unit has received over 20 referrals, including those made by individuals recently returned from Gaza, since the conflict began. In one case, the force has contacted a leading surgeon who worked in Al-Shifa and Al-Alhi hospitals for nearly two months to give testimony of potential war crimes. Met Police investigating reports of war crimes in Gaza If they get additional women and children, there will be an extension' Tuesday 28 November 2023 10:22 , Alex Ross The words of Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani in an interview with the Financial Times before the truce extension was agreed by Hamas and Israel. He was talking about Hamas requiring more hostages to complete the exchanges for Palestinian prisoners as set out as part of the truce agreement. Sheikh Mohammed said that more than 40 other women and children were being kept captive in Gaza, but not inthe hands of Hamas. The Independent understands that figure to be more than 100 for all hostages. Speaking before Mondays truce extension, Sheikh Mohammed said: If they get additional women and children, there will be an extension We dont yet have any clear information how many they can find because . . . one of the purposes [of the pause] is they [Hamas] will have time to search for the rest of the missing people. Israel had provided Qatar with a list of more than 90 women and children seized during Hamas attack on 7 October, says the FT. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) Did the Israel-Hamas war cause a hate crime in Vermont? Tuesday 28 November 2023 10:00 , Josh Marcus Federal law enforcement agencies are investigating whether the shooting of three Palestinian college students in Vermont was a hate crime. US Attorney General Merrick Garland, in remarks from New York on Monday addressing the work of the US Department of Justice to combat hate-fuelled violence, confirmed the FBI and ATF have launched investigations in the wake of Saturdays shooting. A white gunman fired at the three men, all in their 20s, at least four times without saying anything while they were walking near the University of Vermont, according to police. The students were speaking English and Arabic and wearing keffiyehs. Two of the victims remain in stable condition, while one of the men remains hospitalised with serious injuries. Alex Woodward reports. FBI investigating hate crime motive in shooting of Palestinian students in Vermont Hamas looking for hostages Tuesday 28 November 2023 09:58 , Alex Ross Heres more on what US Natioanl Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told CBS on Monday night: Were still in active discussions with all the parties here about potential extensions of the deal. Over the weekend the president was able to get this extension over the finish line, well keep at itI couldnt tell you right now as were talking if theres going to be an extension and what that could look like in terms of length of days and number of hostages. We know that Hamas has more hostages either that they are holding or that they can get access to. So the pool is much larger than what weve been able to get out so far obviously.So we want to see this extended for as long as it possibly can take. (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) ICYMI: A temporary ceasefire gets a last-minute extension Tuesday 28 November 2023 09:00 , Josh Marcus Israel and Hamas have agreed to extend a ceasefire for two more days in a breakthrough that could see dozens of additional hostages released and more lifesaving aid flow into war-ravaged Gaza. The decision offers a rare glimmer of hope of a possible end to the conflict that has caused unparalleled and unprecedented bloodshed, according to the United Nations. Bel Trew reports from Jerusalem. Israel and Hamas agree to extend Gaza truce for two more days List of Israeli hostages to be freed received Tuesday 28 November 2023 08:52 , Alex Ross A list of Israeli hostages to be freed today has been received by Israeli prime ministers office. The families are being notified, the office said. So far, Hamas has released 51 Israelis and 18 foreigners since the ceasefire began on Friday. The pause in fighting has meant the UN has been able to increase urgent aid deliveries to Gaza. Scenes at 33 Palestinian prisoners are freed Tuesday 28 November 2023 08:40 , Alex Ross Israel released 33 Palestinian prisoners from jails following the freeing of 11 Israeli hostages from Gaza. It brings the total number of Palestinians freed since Friday to 150. Pictures show crowds greeting the prisoners as they arrived in the West Bank. Palestinian prisoners freed from the Ofer Israeli military prison disembark from a bus as they return to Beitonia, near Ramallah, West Bank (EPA) A Palestinian prisoner freed from the Ofer Israeli military prison (EPA) Prisoners greeted by crowds on their release (EPA) Clashes outside prison Tuesday 28 November 2023 08:20 , Alex Ross An Israel-Hamas truce in the Gaza Strip has been extended to a fifth day today as both sides complete the release of Israeli hostages and detained Palestinians - and more could be freed today. The truce as been extended by two days - however, it is a limited deal, according to Israel which still holds the intention to send forces back into the territory. Were hearing from the the Palestinian health ministry this morning that there were clashes outside the Ofer pirson in Israel where dozens of Palestinians who gathered to await the prisoner release on Monday. Some of the protesters waved the flags of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian militant group. The ministry said a Palestinian was killed in the area, and that it was unclear if he had participated in the clashes. Israel slammed for repulsive embrace of Elon Musk Tuesday 28 November 2023 08:01 , Josh Marcus Haartez journalist Ben Samuels slammed Israeli officials on Monday for their repulsive embrace of Elon Musk, after prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu toured a destroyed kibbutz with the Twitter owner. Welcoming such a toxic mogul with open arms and taking him around sites of a massacre that has been belittled, demeaned and denied on his watch should be a stain on Netanyahus legacy, Mr Samuels wrote. Heres more detail on Musks controversial visit to Israel. Elon Musk takes tour of kibbutz where Hamas kidnapped Israelis News is good...It is a great, great relief' Tuesday 28 November 2023 07:59 , Alex Ross Among the 11 Israeli hostages released yesterday were three young French nationals; Eitan, 12, Erez, 12, and Sahar 16. French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna welcomed the news this morning, stating they were in good health. We have indirect news and that news is good... It is a great, great relief, she told RTL radio, when asked about the health of children. Three French children were finally freed, now we must work relentlessly for the release of all the other hostages, she said, adding that five French nationals were still missing or believed to be held hostage. Hamas on Monday released 11 hostages from Gaza, also including two with German nationality and six with Argentinian nationality. Eitan Yahalomi, 12, who was released after being taken hostage during the October 7 attack (via REUTERS) Israeli hostages arrive for treatment in Tel Aviv Tuesday 28 November 2023 07:00 , Josh Marcus The 11 Israeli hostages released on Monday were all taken to Israels Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv for medical consultation. Medical and psychological specialists were on hand to treat them. We wish to remind you that these are sensitive moments for the freed hostages and their families and we wish to preserve their privacy, the health ministry said in a statement to CNN. The entire health system is prepared to receive anyone who will return to Israel and is preparing for tomorrow. Israeli government adds 50 female prisoners to potential release list: PM Tuesday 28 November 2023 06:00 , Josh Marcus Israel is prepared to release as many as 50 female prisoners if Hamas continues to free hostages under the ongoing ceasefire deal. The Government has approved the inclusion of 50 female prisoners in the list of prisoners eligible to be released in the event that a release of additional Israeli hostages is carried out, the Israeli prime ministers office said in a statement. Relative of two teens released speaks of joy and endless anxiety Tuesday 28 November 2023 05:48 , Shweta Sharma Ido Dan, a relative of Israelis Sahar Calderon, 16, and Erez Calderon, 12 who were released on Monday, spoke of his joy mixed with anxiety about their father, Ofer, who is still being held. It is difficult to go from a state of endless anxiety about their fate to a state of relief and joy, Mr Dan said. This is an exciting and heart-filling moment but ... it is the beginning of a difficult rehabilitation process for Sahar and Erez, who are still young and have been through an unbearable experience. White House says Hamas not intentionally holding back two American citizens Tuesday 28 November 2023 05:14 , Shweta Sharma The White House does not believe that Hamas purposefully held back the release of two American women who have not been included in the exchanges so far. A senior Biden administration official said that so far the idea that Hamas is deliberately holding back the two American hostages because of their citizenship was not a conclusion we would draw. The Biden administration still hopes for the release of the two women, noting that Hamas has committed to releasing an additional 20 hostages over the next two days after the ceasefire was extended. Eleven Israeli women and children were freed by Hamas and entered Israel on Monday night in the fourth swap under the original four-day truce. Well see where we are two days from now, the official said. Photo shows reunion of hostage Eitan Yahalomi and his mother Tuesday 28 November 2023 05:00 , Josh Marcus Eitan Yahalomi, age 12, returned happily to his mothers arms on Monday, one of 11 Israeli citizens released today as part of the ongoing IDF-Hamas ceasefire. His father, Ohad, who was kidnaped with him, remains in Gaza. The meeting between Eitan Yahalomi and his mother on his return, at the Kerem Shalom meeting point, on 27 November, 2023 (IDF) Mother and three-year-old twin daughters among 11 hostages freed Tuesday 28 November 2023 04:31 , Shweta Sharma A mother and her three-year-old twin daughters were among the 11 hostages released yesterday on the fourth day of a truce between Israel and Hamas. Sharon Aloni-Cunio, 34, and her three-year-old daughters Emma and Yuli were being held captive by Hamas since they were taken from their home kibbutz Nir Oz. Her husband, David Cunio, and his brother, Ariel, are still believed to be in captivity in Gaza. The family was abducted during the attack on 7 October while seeking refuge in a secure room. Following the arson of their house by Hamas, the family was seized as they attempted to flee the flames. Sharons sister, Daniele Aloni, and her daughter, who were also taken captive, were released last Friday. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum described Emma as an open-hearted and amazing child, full of love. A true kibbutz girl who prefers trucks and mechanical tools over dolls. It said her sister Yuli was shy, and in the weeks before her kidnapping she became more open and smiley to her surroundings. Another mother and seven other children were among the latest batch of freed hostages. (AP) Relatives respond to release of Israeli hostages: 'Such a happy moment' Tuesday 28 November 2023 04:07 , Shweta Sharma A relative of three of the Israeli hostages released yesterday said it was such a happy moment to see them freed, full of love and smiles. Karina Engel-Bart, 51 and her two daughters Mika Engel, 18, and Yuval Engel, 12, were released by Hamas on Monday night in the fourth swap under the original four-day truce, which began on Friday and had been due to run out. Karinas brother Diego Engel-Bart told CNN they are happy to be home and ready to start their lives again. He said his two nieces are skinnier than before and the youngest one has to go undergo surgery on her leg. His brother-in-law, Karinas husband, still remains in Hamas captivity. Tomorrow we are going to move forward and we are going to win, he said. This is not just Israels problem. It is a global problem. Today it happened in Israel. Tomorrow it could happen somewhere else, he added. Israeli hostages Karina Engel-Bart, 51, Mika Engel, 18, and Yuval Engel, 11, who were released after being taken hostage during the October 7 attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas (via REUTERS) As hostages leave Gaza, medical aid flows in Tuesday 28 November 2023 04:00 , Josh Marcus While much of the attention on the ongoing ceasefire deal is rightly directed towards the hostages being released, the fighting pause between Israel and Hamas has also allowed crucial medical aid to reach Gazas beleaguered civilian population. Thousands of doses of routine immunisations were delivered to the Palestinian territory on Monday, according to UNICEF Palestine. 7,600 doses of vaccines were transported to Muscat Qarara Clinic in southern Gaza, aiming to boost routine immunisation, which was disrupted due to shortage of supplies & ongoing hostilities. The transfer was conducted in a joint UN mission with @WHOoPt, @UNRWA, @ochaopt & @UNDSS pic.twitter.com/dDWNwRiTZf UNICEF Palestine (@UNICEFpalestine) November 27, 2023 Prominent Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi set to be released by Israel - report Tuesday 28 November 2023 03:42 , Shweta Sharma Prominent Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi is believed to be on the list of approved 50 female Palestinian prisoners slated to be released today, reported theTimes of Israel. The additional group will be released if the next release of Israeli hostages by Hamas goes as planned, the prime ministers office said today. Ms Tamimi was arrested after posting a controversial social media post following the 7 October attack. Her family has denied the allegations, claiming her social media account was hacked. Family of American girl released says we can get all hostages back home Tuesday 28 November 2023 03:16 , Shweta Sharma Two relatives of an Israeli-American girl freed from Hamas captivity have expressed hope in securing the release of all hostages through continued negotiations. Abigail Edan, who turned four while in captivity, was the third person with US citizenship freed by Hamas on Sunday after seven weeks of bloodshed between the Iranian-backed Palestinian militia that controls the Gaza Strip and the Israeli military. We can get all hostages back home. We have to keep pushing, two relatives of the girl said. Relatives told CBS News last week that the toddler, if she was released, would go to stay with family members in Israel who have already taken in her two older siblings. Three hostages released today were French, as five remain in captivity Tuesday 28 November 2023 03:00 , Josh Marcus The government of France celebrated the release of three French citizens from Hamas captivity on Monday. France welcomes the liberation of three of its children today: Eitan, Erez and Sahar, the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement obtained by the Associated Press. They are now in security in Israel. We share the relief of their families and all those who mobilized for their freedom. Five other French citizens remain Hamas hostages, according to officials. Israel government receives list of hostages to be released today Tuesday 28 November 2023 02:57 , Shweta Sharma The government of Israel has received a list of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza who are expected to be released today, following the releases of 11 a day for the past four days. Israel was given the names of the latest group expected to be released under a truce deal which has been extended for two more days, Israels Army Radio reported, citing the Israeli prime ministers office. Around 10 more hostages would be released, Axios reported. There was no immediate comment from the prime ministers office. 33 freed Palestinians arrive in Ramallah Tuesday 28 November 2023 02:00 , Josh Marcus Thirty-three Palestinian prisoners who were freed as part of the ongoing ceasefire-hostages deal between Israel and Hamas arrived in the city of Ramallah, West Bank, early on Tuesday. The prisoners, who were carried in on a Red Cross bus, were part of the fourth group of detainees in Israel traded for hostages held by Hamas. A total of 150 Palestinians have been released during the ongoing ceasefire, NBC News reports. Israel and Hamas extend their ceasefire for two days Tuesday 28 November 2023 01:45 , Josh Marcus A two-day extension of a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas offers the chance to free further hostages, a Foreign Office minister has said. Andrew Mitchell received reports of the deal while answering questions in the House of Commons and having previously insisted that the pause in hostilities should not be a one-off. Addressing the chamber, he said: There is some suggestion that while Ive been on my feet in the House, Qatar has announced a truce would be extended by two days. Obviously, we all hope that is true and that more hostages, as a result, will be able to leave. Richard Wheeler reports. Israel-Hamas truce extension offers further hope for hostages, says minister Israel told of 10 more hostages to be released on Tuesday: report Tuesday 28 November 2023 01:30 , Josh Marcus Israeli officials are reportedly aware of the next 10 Hamas hostages who will be released under the ceasefire deal. Israeli Army Radio reports that the prime ministers office has a list of the hostages who will be released on Tuesday, while Axios reports the list will contain 10 people. The reported release of hostages would be the first such transfer to take place under the extension of the ceasefire announced earlier today. ICYMI: Met Police investigating reports of war crimes in Gaza Tuesday 28 November 2023 01:15 , Josh Marcus The Metropolitan Police is investigating reports of war crimes committed in Gaza. Scotland Yards war crimes unit is collaborating with the International Criminal Court to investigate any war crimes committed by Israel or Hamas in the region since 7 October. The unit has received over 20 referrals, including those made by individuals recently returned from Gaza, since the conflict began. In one case, the force has contacted a leading surgeon who worked in Al-Shifa and Al-Ahli hospitals for nearly two months to give testimony of potential war crimes. Alexander Butler has the story. Met Police investigating reports of war crimes in Gaza Netanyahu takes Elon Musk on tour of kibbutz from which Hamas kidnapped Israelis Tuesday 28 November 2023 01:00 , Josh Marcus Elon Musk toured a kibbutz attacked by Hamas on Monday during his visit to Israel. It follows an outcry over his endorsement of an antisemitic conspiracy theory on his social media platform, Twitter/X. The worlds richest man met Israels prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and visited the Kfar Aza kibbutz, which Hamas attacked on 7 October, killing an estimated 52 residents. Another 20 people are reported as missing. It was the home of four-year-old American-Israeli citizen Abigail Edan, who was taken hostage after her parents were killed by the militant group during the attack. Abigail was reunited with members of her family on Sunday as part of the hostage exchange. Mr Musk said witnessing the scenes of the massacre was jarring, during a live event on Twitter/X with Mr Neetanyahu after the tour. Ariana Baio reports. Elon Musk takes tour of kibbutz where Hamas kidnapped Israelis ICYMI: How a 4-year-old American was freed from Hamas Tuesday 28 November 2023 00:15 , Josh Marcus President Joe Biden denounced the unthinkable actions of Hamas after a four-year-old girl with American citizenship whose parents were killed by terrorists last month was released from inside Gaza on Sunday as part of a hostage agreement. That four-day truce is currently underway in the northern Gaza Strip where Israeli forces have been bombarding the city for weeks; Hamas militants, following a shockingly bloody attack that killed roughly 1,200 across southern Israel last month, continue to hold dozens of hostages within the Palestinian territory. On Sunday, Israel confirmed that Abigail Edan, four, had been among hostages released by the militant group into the care of the Red Cross. Her immediate condition was unknown. Thank God she is home, Mr Biden said of Abigail on Sunday, as he addressed Americans from Nantucket. What she endured is unthinkable. More details in the full story from John Bowden. US girl, 4, orphaned by Hamas then kidnapped is reunited with family As three Israeli hostages are freed, father remains in Gaza Monday 27 November 2023 23:41 , Josh Marcus Monday brought reunions across Israel as another 11 hostages were released. Among those freed from Hamas captivity today were Sharon Aloni Cunio, 34, and her twin daughters, Yuli and Emma, 3. Their father, David, is still being held in Gaza, according to The Times of Israel. The family was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz on 7 October, when Hamas militants attacked the border community. Two-day extension to humanitarian pause in Gaza is not enough, charities say Monday 27 November 2023 23:15 , Josh Marcus A two-day extension to the humanitarian pause in the Gaza Strip is insufficient to meet the needs of people there, charities have said as they called for an immediate ceasefire. The Qatari government announced on Monday that Israel and Hamas had agreed to extend the humanitarian pause for two more days. Further releases of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners in Israels jails are expected as the deal is structured to allow more exchanges for every day the pause holds. Read the full article here Two-day extension to humanitarian pause in Gaza is not enough, charities say Pictures show people freed in latest hostage release Monday 27 November 2023 23:04 , Josh Marcus More hostages were released Monday from Hamas captivity as part of the ongoing ceasefire deal. Here are photos of some of those who were released, courtesy of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an advocacy group that has been pushing for the release of those taken in the 7 October attacks. For the full list of the latest Israeli hostages who have been freed, consult this tweet from the prime ministers office. Brothers Yagil Yaakov, 12, and Or Yaakov, 16 (AP) Karina Engel-Bart, from left, and her children Mika, 18, and Yuval Engel, 11 (AP) Erez Kalderon, 12 (AP) Sahar Kalderon, 16 (AP) Sharon Aloni Cunio, center, and her twin daughters, Emma and Yuli, 3 (AP) Eitan Yahalomi, 12 (AP) Who are the Israeli hostages who have just been released? Monday 27 November 2023 22:45 , Josh Marcus Officials have revealed the names of the 11 Israelis released on Monday from Hamas captivity as part of the ongoing ceasefire. Most of those being freed are children. Their names, according to the Israeli prime ministers office, are as follows: Eitan Yahalomi (12) Karina Engel-Bart (51) Mika Engel (18) Yuval Engel (12) Sharon Aloni-Cunio (34) Yuli Cunio (3) Emma Cunio (3) Sahar Calderon (16) Erez Calderon (12) Or Yaakov (16) Yagil Yaakov (12) The Cunio family: Sharon Aloni-Cunio (34) Yuli Cunio (3) Emma Cunio (3) The Calderon family: Sahar Calderon (16) Erez Calderon (12) The Yaakov family: Or Yaakov (16) Yagil Yaakov (12) Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) November 27, 2023 WATCH: Moment 11 Hamas hostages appear to cross into Israel Monday 27 November 2023 22:31 , Josh Marcus Hostages kidnapped from Israel on 7 October continue to be released as part of a temporary ceasefire deal. Watch below as the some of the latest group of captives were returned. Freed hostage had escaped Hamas kidnappers but was recaptured days later, family says Monday 27 November 2023 22:00 , Holly Evans An Israeli hostage released during the truce in Gaza managed to esacape his Hamas kidnappers for a few days before being recaptured, his family have said. Roni Krivoi, 25, who is also a Russian citizen, spent four days alone in Gaza according to his aunt, after escaping the building where he was held after it was bombed in an airstrike. Unable to find his way to the border he Hamas eventually retook him. Mr Krivoi was kidnapped from the Supernova music festival on 7 October. Speaking a day after his release to an Israeli broadcaster, Yelena Magid said: He was kidnapped by terrorists and they held inside him some kind of building... Its my understanding that from the bombings, the building collapsed and he managed to get out and escape. Its a movie, this whole thing. Read the full article from Tom Watling here Freed hostage escaped Hamas but was recaptured days later, family says Three-year-old twins among captives released by Hamas Monday 27 November 2023 21:37 , Bel Trew Video footage shared on Israeli networks showed Hadas Calderon, shrieking with joy and jumping on a chair as she was informed children, Sahar (16) and Erez (12) were in Mondays group of releases. Their father Ofer remains in captivity and their grandmother Carmela was killed on 7 October. Also on the list were twin daughters Emma and Yuli, who, aged just three were Mondays youngest releases. Their mother Sharon Aloni Cunion, 34, was released with them. Their husband David and brother Ariel remain in captivity. Siblings Or Yaakov, 16, and Yogi, 12 were already released, while their father Yair remains in captivity. Karina Engle-Bart, 54 who had recently recovered from breast cancer, was released with her children Mika, 18 and Yuval ,11 - the father Ronen is still a Hamas captive. Eitan Yahalomi, 12 was released on his own : his father Ohad, who was kidnaped with him, remains in Gaza. Out of the remaining hostages who are still in Gaza, 49 are from Kibbutz Nir Oz, said the head of the kibbutz Osnat Peri. Among them are women, men, children, mothers, fathers, grandfathers and grandmothers. The three year-old twins Emma and Yuli were among the youngest hostages kidnapped on 7 October (via REUTERS) US Anthony Blinken will visit Israel and West Bank this week Monday 27 November 2023 21:30 , Holly Evans U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Israel, the West Bank and the United Arab Emirates later this week, a senior State Department official said on Monday, to press for more humanitarian aid into Gaza and help secure release of all hostages kidnapped by Hamas. The Secretary will stress the need to sustain the increased flow of humanitarian assistance to Gaza, secure the release of all hostages, and improve protections for civilians in Gaza, a senior State Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said. Blinken will also discuss with partners in the region Washingtons principles for the future of Gaza and the need for an independent Palestinian state, the official said. He will also attend the UN COP28 climate summit in Dubai, the official added. US secretary of state Anthony Blinken is due to visit Israel this week (REUTERS) Another 11 hostages were freed and returned to Israel today the fourth hostage release so far as Israel and Hamas agreed to extend the current ceasefire by two days. The extension to the four-day truce was engineered after the intervention of Qatar and Egypt, according to Hamas . Those two countries were also behind the initial ceasefire, and the 48-hour extension will keep the same terms as before . The agreement came with only around 12 hours left before hostilities were due to resume. https://twitter.com/talschneider/status/1729245913934446963?s=20 As for the latest hostage release, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have announced that all 11 of those individuals are now in Israel, after being held by Hamas in Gaza. All Israeli citizens, they have been named as: Eitan Yahalomi, Sharon Kunio, twins Emma and Yuly Kunio, Karina Enge, Mike Engel, Yuval Engel, Sahar Kalderon, Erez Kalderon, Or Yaakov, and Yagil Yaakov. Among them are children aged between three and 18. https://twitter.com/IDFSpokesperson/status/1729226248587497588 Five of the children returned to Israel had all been taken hostage at the Nir Oz kibbutz in southern Israel during Hamass unprecedented attack on October 7. We saw the sort of violence [Hamas] committed against innocent civilians on 7 October, and just tonight, the people released, there are three-year-old twins. Who kidnaps three-year-olds? Israeli diplomat Mark Regev told the BBC . Regev added that the released hostages were transferred to the International Red Cross on Monday evening. He said that Israel had a framework in place for the release of 50 women and children over the first four days of the ceasefire. Hamas hands over some of the 11 Israeli hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza City, Gaza on November 27, 2023. Photo by Stringer/Anadolu via Getty Images At the same time, the White House says that its also working hard to ensure that more hostages are released. The United States is working very, very hard to keep this flow of hostages going, said National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby. Were glad to see that theres a two-day extension, Kirby added. And we certainly would hope that in the next two days, in this next couple of installments, that well see some Americans coming out. https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1729250243399622671 The exact number of Americans still being held by Hamas in Gaza is unclear. Officials have said that it could be as many as nine. Kirby continued: It could be as few as seven, it could be eight or nine left, we dont have an exact figure. But we will. Kirby said that since the majority of the remaining U.S. hostages are understood to be men, they are currently not in line for release. Right now, Hamas is only willing to release women and children. So it could be some time here before we can start to see progress on the other hostages, he said. Kirby also issued a note of caution about the ability of Hamas to simply release more hostages in the future. I think its important to remember that Hamas likely doesnt hold each and every one. Hamas probably has hostages in more than one location, and theres other groups that may be holding some of these hostages as well and the conditions could be starkly different, Kirby said. https://twitter.com/avivaklompas/status/1728952238134243571?s=12 Earlier today, the Israeli government assessed that there were 184 hostages still left in Gaza, after todays release. Among those were 14 foreigners and 80 Israelis with dual nationality, an Israeli government spokesperson said. In exchange, Israel continues to release Palestinian prisoners. Todays release of 11 Israeli hostages will be matched by the release of 33 Palestinians from Israeli prisons, according to a spokesperson from the Qatari Foreign Ministry. Among that group are three women and 30 children, according to Hamas. https://twitter.com/majedalansari/status/1729227518782140737 https://twitter.com/majedalansari/status/1729227522401861931 Sunday also saw a hostage release, involving the transfer of 17 individuals, including a four-year-old Israeli-American girl, three Thai nationals, and a Russian national. The remainder comprised Israeli women and children. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6VEC-HiygY https://twitter.com/AvivaKlompas/status/1729086918187426126?s=20 On the same day, 39 Palestinian prisoners were freed , according to Israeli prison authorities. Again, these included women and children. While the ongoing truce has brought some respite to Gaza, Israel has reiterated that its campaign against Hamas will be stepped up once the ceasefire ends. Speaking to troops today, Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant said that when the IDF begins fighting again its strength will be greater, and it will take place throughout the entire Strip. https://twitter.com/manniefabian/status/1729188373045432744 Gallant added: You now have a few days, we will return to fighting, we will use the same amount of power and more. The defense minister also warned that Hamas had been organizing and resting during the truce and that IDF troops will meet something that is a little more prepared once the ceasefire ends. Members of the IDF work on a Merkava tank at a staging area near the border of Gaza as the ceasefire between Israel and members of Hamas holds for the release of prisoners and hostages on November 27, 2023, outside of the city of Sedero in Tel Aviv, Israel. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images The situation has led to further calls for a permanent ceasefire from officials around the world. Josep Borrell, the European Unions top diplomat said today that Palestinian people cannot pay for the action of Hamas, and called for a lasting truce. It makes no sense to give food to somebody that will be killed the day after. We need to stop the bombardment, Borrell said. https://twitter.com/clashreport/status/1729206263991730246 President Joe Biden welcomed the fact that the ceasefire has enabled a significant surge in additional humanitarian assistance to the innocent civilians who are suffering across the Gaza Strip. Around 200 container trucks full of humanitarian aid arrived in Gaza today. After the vehicles were inspected by Israel, they were permitted entry to Gaza from Egypt. While the main items transported were food, water, shelter equipment, and medical supplies, Israel permitted a small amount of fuel to be transferred to Gaza too. Four containers carrying diesel fuel and four containers carrying cooking gas were transferred from Egypt to U.N. humanitarian aid organizations in the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing, Israels Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said in a statement. https://twitter.com/IDF/status/1729221357995524410 Kirby, the NSC spokesman, added that, including today, a total of 2,000 container trucks have entered Gaza over the past six days, some of them carrying fuel. With two more days now added to the ceasefire, theres the chance for dozens more trucks, and tens of thousands of more gallons of fuel, that can get into Gaza to people in need, Kirby said. Were going to take advantage of every hour of every day that there's a pause to try to help the people of Gaza. The truce may have temporarily reduced the destruction waged upon Gaza, but there are fears that a resumption of Israeli attacks will lead to an even worse situation, especially now that most of the Palestinian health system has collapsed. Describing injuries consistent with white phosphorous burns as well as other civilian calamities at Gazas al-Ahli Arab and Dar al-Shifa hospitals, Prof. Ghassan Abu-Sittah, a London-based plastic and reconstructive surgeon, claimed that the destruction of the Palestinian health system was a military objective of the IDFs campaign. https://twitter.com/MiddleEastEye/status/1729251305967739003 Meanwhile, aid agencies fear that once fighting resumes, the situation could be especially bad in the south of the Strip, where there are now around two million people living in an area that includes the city of Khan Younis. Urged by Israel, many of these people escaped the north in the wake of the initial IDF attacks, which were mainly concentrated in these areas. https://twitter.com/UNICEFCanada/status/1728911592761270430 So far, according to Palestinian claims, more than 14,800 people have been killed in Gaza. In a letter written to the president of the United Nations Security Council, Riyad Mansour, permanent observer of the state of Palestine to the U.N., says that this death toll, as of November 23, included 6,150 children and 4,000 women. The numbers cannot be independently verified. https://twitter.com/Palestine_UN/status/1729240458130301161 Billionaire Elon Musk, who has come under fire for anti-semitism on the X social media platform he owns, visited Israel Monday. "Dozens of major brands suspended their advertising on X after Mr. Musk this month agreed with a post that accused Jewish communities of pushing 'hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them,'" The New York Times reported . "The flight of advertisers threatened to cost X tens of millions of dollars, and the White House denounced Mr. Musk for 'abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate.' While in Israel, Musk met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He also talked about his views on the war. "There are three things that need to happen in Gaza situation," Musk said in an interview. "There's no choice but to kill those who insist on murdering civilians. There's no choice. They're not going to change their mind. And the second thing is to change the education, so that a new generation of murderers is not trained to be murderers. And the third thing, which is also very important, is to try to build prosperity." https://twitter.com/clashreport/status/1729240164327993629?s=20 Elsewhere in the world, violent repercussions from the Gaza conflict are still being felt. In Vermont yesterday, a suspect was arrested after the shooting of three Palestinian students in the city of Burlington, the night before. The victims, Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid, and Tahseen Ali Ahmed, had been heading to one of their grandmothers houses for Thanksgiving dinner when they were shot and wounded. https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1729188866081354070 On Oct. 7, history was made during the Hamas invasion when the first all-woman tank crews engaged in a battle, fighting back in their Merkava tanks. You can learn more about in this video below. https://twitter.com/WarintheFuture/status/1728873490999394615?s=20 Israeli troops held a raucous shabbat dinner inside the now-occupied Islamic University of Gaza. https://twitter.com/clashreport/status/1728850600836944183?s=20 Despite the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, there have also been some significant military actions taking place adjacent to the conflict elsewhere in the Middle East. Most notably, the two ballistic missiles were fired from Yemen in the direction of the destroyer USS Mason (DDG-87), underway in the Red Sea. At the time, the warship was concluding its response to a distress call from the M/V Central Park, a commercial vessel that had itself come under attack from a group of armed raiders that had attempted to board it. https://twitter.com/CENTCOM/status/1728982985238843665 There are now several different theories as to the identity of those raiders, with initial accounts that they were Houthi rebels, followed by more recent announcements from the Pentagon that the perpetrators were likely Somali pirates. You can read our full analysis of the incident here . This is a developing story. We will update it when there is more news to report about the Israel-Hamas war. Staff writer Howard Altman contributed to this report. Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com Israel and Hamas have exchanged a fifth round of detainees, with 12 hostages and 30 Palestinian prisoners released Tuesday. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Telegram that 10 Israeli hostages and two foreign nationals were released by Hamas and are now inside of Egypt. The convoy carrying the hostages is making its way to a meeting point in Israel, where they will then be transferred to a medical facility by the IDF before going home to meet their families. The Israeli hostages released Tuesday include a child and nine women, according to Qatars Foreign Ministry. In exchange, Israel is releasing 15 Palestinian children and 15 Palestinian women from prisons. Qatar also said an Austrian national, two Argentinian citizens and a Filipino national were freed by Hamas. It wasnt immediately clear why there was a discrepancy between Qatars account and the IDFs. The International Committee of the Red Cross, which has transported both hostages and prisoners during the truce, said it has delivered 12 hostages from Gaza. Hamas took some 240 hostages into Gaza when it attacked Israel in a brutal surprise attack on Oct. 7, but dozens of people detained by Hamas have since been freed over the past five days of the truce. An extended truce, brokered Monday, to facilitate the release of more hostages and prisoners will end Thursday. But the U.S. said it is working to extend the cease-fire once again to bring more hostages home. Tuesday saw the first signs of the truce breaking down, though it appears the incident will not be enough to break it. The IDF on Tuesday accused Hamas of violating the truce, alleging that three explosives were detonated near troop locations in northern Gaza, while at least one fighter opened fire at Israeli forces. Hamas accused Israel of violating the truce in a statement on Telegram but said it was committed to the truce. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. (Bloomberg) -- Israel and Hamas extended their truce late Monday after agreeing to release more hostages and prisoners, and Washington said it was dispatching its top diplomat to the region for more talks over the conflict in Gaza. Most Read from Bloomberg US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Israel for the third time since Hamas attacked on Oct. 7, his office said, as he landed in Brussels for a NATO meeting. Bill Burns, director of the USs Central Intelligence Agency, and the director of Israels Mossad are in Doha for a series of meetings initiated by Qatar to discuss the potential terms of a deal beyond the two-day truce extension, a person briefed on the visit said, adding Egyptian officials are also attending. Axios had earlier reported the Burns visit. Israel and Hamas have agreed to pause fighting until early Thursday, extending their truce to six days. Blinkens visit and US efforts have been focused on keeping the devastating conflict from spreading further in the Middle East. Qatar has received guarantees that 20 hostages will be released over the next 48 hours, Majed Al Ansari, a spokesman for the countrys foreign ministry, said at a press conference, emphasizing that Qatars aim is to secure a longer truce. Blinkens talks are aimed at pressing for a long term solution to the crisis including the creation of an independent Palestinian state, the State Department said in a statement late Monday. The top US diplomat will also stress the need to sustain the increased flow of humanitarian assistance to Gaza, secure the release of all hostages, and improve protections for civilians in Gaza, it said. The current halt which began Friday after negotiations brokered by Qatar, with the help of Egypt and the US was originally due to end Tuesday. The talks have brought the release of almost 70 of the 240 hostages taken when Hamas swarmed across Gazas northern border and have led to the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Theres been increased delivery of aid into Gaza. More aid supplies are needed to alleviate a catastrophic situation there, Tor Wennesland, the United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East Process, said on X. Large areas of the northern part of the Gaza Strip, where Israel says Hamas has its main bases, has been reduced to rubble by Israeli air strikes. Authorities in the Hamas-run territory estimate that more than 15,000 people have been killed. The extended cease-fire is expected to continue the exchange of small groups of people, with roughly one hostage held in Gaza released for three Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. Israels government, which has said its pursuing the twin aims of securing the release of captives and dismantling Hamas, has been pressured by public concern over those who have been abducted to keep pushing for the release of more of its citizens as details of the conditions under which they were kept begin to seep out. The limited release sparked a mass rally in Tel Aviv over the weekend and renewed calls from groups representing the families of the hostages for more to be set free and access to those who remain to be given the International Committee of the Red Cross. The government has reiterated its intention to continue the war once the cease-fire is over. The conflict will cost the economy 198 billion shekels ($53 billion), driven primarily by defense spending, Israels central bank said Monday. Growth projections for this year and next were also slashed by the Bank of Israels research department, which predicted a budget deficit of 5% for 2024 as the government on Monday approved a revised fiscal plan for 2023 that will boost expenditure amid disputes over outlays for religious programs and West Bank settlements. --With assistance from Kateryna Kadabashy. (Adds source on talks in Qatar, third paragraph) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. More people in Gaza could die from health problems such as infectious disease than from aerial strikes during the Israel-Hamas war, a World Health Organization spokesperson warned on Tuesday, pointing to Gazas collapsed health system and unlivable conditions in the territory. The World Health Organization said the war has caused a public health crisis in the Gaza Strip that could drive up the death toll more than 13,300 Palestinians have already been killed, according to Gaza's Health Ministry if the territory's health system is not restored, if running water is not provided and if shelters are not reconstructed for displaced Palestinians. "Eventually we will see more people dying from disease than we are even seeing from the bombardment if we are not able to put back (together) this health system," the WHO's Margaret Harris said at a U.N. briefing in Switzerland. The lack of potable water supplies, sanitation and medical access is a recipe for epidemics as displaced Palestinians have been forced to take shelter in cramped homes and camps, she said: "(There are) no medicines, no vaccination activities, no access to safe water and hygiene and no food. We saw a very high number of cases of diarrhea among infants." ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR: US LOOKS TO INCREASE AID INTO GAZA THROUGH EGYPT, INCLUDES WARNING FOR ISRAEL Palestinians inspect the destruction caused by Israeli strikes on their homes in the village of Khuzaa, east of Khan Yunis near the border fence between Israel and the southern Gaza Strip on November 27, 2023, amid a truce in battles between Israel and Hamas. Palestinians, especially those in northern Gaza, remain in the crossfire of the wider conflict between Israel and Hamas, the terror group that governs the territory, which Israel has sworn to annihilate. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP In its pursuit of the terrorists responsible for the deadly Oct. 7 attack, the deadliest in Israels history, Israel has shelled Palestinian homes and apartments, schools and restaurants, and hospitals and other care facilities. Hamas often uses these civilian sites for their operations, including rocket attacks and to cover their tunnel networks. ATTORNEY GENERAL GARLAND EXPRESSES HOPE HAMAS WILL RELEASE MORE AMERICAN HOSTAGES IN THE DAYS TO COME Because of the collapse of this health infrastructure, WHO's Harris expressed concerns about a rise in outbreaks of infectious diseases, particularly diarrheal diseases. Palestinians pass destroyed buildings on the second day of the truce at the refugee camp in Nuseirat, Gaza, on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. The humanitarian pause in Gaza has "largely held" since going into effect Friday, allowing the United Nations to boost the delivery of crucial aid into and across Gaza, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in an update. She also described the collapse of Al Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza as a "tragedy" and expressed an urgent need to restore even the most basic healthcare access to Palestinians. James Elder, a spokesperson from the U.N. Children's Agency in Gaza, told reporters that hospitals in Gaza were full of children with war wounds and gastroenteritis from drinking dirty water. "I met a lot of parents... They know exactly what their children need. They don't have access to safe water and it's crippling them," he said. The White House appears to agree with the health concern as it is prioritizing the delivery of vaccines and other medical goods into Gaza, senior administration officials told Fox News. Palestinians migrate from the northern to southern Gaza Strip because of the Israeli attacks, pass on routes "safe passage corridor" designated by the Israeli army during the last day of the 4-day humanitarian pause in Gaza City, Gaza on November 27, 2023. There has also been a focus on potable water supplies and sanitation to prevent outbreaks, such as typhoid and cholera. The White House is also pushing to get as much fuel into Gaza as possible to restore water desalination plants, hospitals, pumping of water from wells, sewerage pumping, solid waste removal and other essential functions. The first of three U.S. military-led humanitarian aid flights to northern Egypt carrying medical supplies, food and winter items for Gaza's civilian population will be delivered on Tuesday, the officials said. The aid will then be delivered to Gaza by the United Nations. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. Original article source: Israel-Hamas war: WHO says disease could be bigger killer than bombs in Gaza unless immediate action is taken The United States will accelerate its humanitarian assistance into Gaza, including food, fuel and medical supplies, with the first of three relief flights beginning this week, Fox News has learned. The U.S. military will be sending a series of items, which also include supplies to help Palestinians survive the upcoming winter conditions, to North Sinai and Egypt on Tuesday, according to senior administration officials. Additional plane loads of supplies and aid will then be sent in the coming days, the officials said. Additional talks are in the works with the Israeli government on how to allow even more assistance to the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza, many of whom have been displaced from their homes and face unsustainable living conditions in south and central Gaza, where about 80% of the Gaza Strip population now lives. These supplies and fuel are not linked to the release of hostages, the officials said. As of Tuesday, Hamas has released 58 hostages, 40 of them Israeli, while Israel has released roughly 150 Palestinian prisoners. ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR: IDENTITIES OF 11 RECENTLY-RELEASED ISRAELI HOSTAGES REVEALED Approximately 80% of the former Gaza Strip population now live in south and central Gaza following warnings to evacuate the north. Another key point of further aid was urging caution in Israels continued operations in Gaza. The U.S. emphasized to Israel that when its military continues its ground operation into southern Gaza, after the current cease-fire ends, it should do so in a way so as not to produce further displacement of Palestinians, according to the senior administration officials. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP Southern Gaza is now more densely packed than it was before the ground operation started as those residents of northern Gaza fled south. Should the same displacement that took place in the North be replicated in the south, then U.N. facilities and other humanitarian care facilities would become overwhelmed, exacerbating the crisis. ATTORNEY GENERAL GARLAND EXPRESSES HOPE HAMAS WILL RELEASE MORE AMERICAN HOSTAGES IN THE DAYS TO COME The aid represents a turn around in policy for the Israeli government who, just weeks ago, did not allow any aid into Gaza. Hamas handed over 11 Israeli hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza City, Gaza, on Monday. As of Tuesday, Hamas has released 58 hostages while Israel has released roughly 150 Palestinian prisoners. Since the allowance of aid, senior administration officials said the U.S. and the United Nations have sustained 240 trucks of aid per day. The assistance includes significant quantities of fuel, which is critical for maintaining infrastructure, water desalination plants, hospitals, pumping of water from wells, sewerage pumping, solid waste removal and other essential functions. The negotiations include providing commercial goods to Gaza, and an increase in volume to about 300 or 400 trucks per day. Any proposal would need to include quicker inspection procedures, the officials said. Displaced Palestinians, living in tents, light a fire to keep warm as they struggle with cold weather under limited means and difficult conditions in Khan Yunis, Gaza, on Monday the fourth day of the humanitarian pause. On Monday, Israel and Hamas agreed to a two-day extension to the current cease-fire, which was set to expire later that day. An aerial view of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) tent camp, where hundreds of Gazan families fleeing Israeli attacks are living. President Biden thanked Middle Eastern leaders for facilitating the extension of the humanitarian pause, saying the pause enabled "a significant surge in additional humanitarian assistance to the innocent civilians who are suffering across the Gaza Strip." "I have remained deeply engaged over the last few days to ensure that this deal brokered and sustained through extensive U.S. mediation and diplomacy can continue to deliver results," Biden said in a statement. Palestinians walk at the entrance of a UNWRA school used as shelter in Gaza City. The Israeli government said on Nov. 27, it had put Hamas "on notice" that an "option for an extension" of the truce in the Gaza Strip was open. The president also noted that the U.S. has worked for years to be the "largest funder of humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian people." "We are taking full advantage of the pause in fighting to increase the amount of humanitarian aid moving into Gaza, and we will continue our efforts to build a future of peace and dignity for the Palestinian people," Biden continued. "Today, I want to again thank Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel, Amir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar, and President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi of Egypt for their commitment to this process and in reaching the agreement for an extension over the next 48 hours," the statement added. "We will not stop until all of the hostages held by Hamas terrorists are released." Original article source: Israel-Hamas war: US looks to increase aid into Gaza through Egypt, includes warning for Israel Mourners at the funeral of a 14-year-old Palestinian killed during clashes with Israeli forces in the West Bank (Zain JAAFAR) Two Palestinian teenagers were killed Tuesday during Israeli army raids in the occupied West Bank, where violence has surged in tandem with the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, the Palestinian health ministry said. According to the ministry, Amir Wahdan, 14, was killed in Tubas in the northern West Bank, where the army said troops had gone in to arrest "two wanted suspects". Witnesses told AFP that clashes broke out with young people throwing stones at Israeli army vehicles and soldiers responding with fire. According to the army, "several gunmen opened fire at the security forces, who responded with live fire". Near Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority, 17-year-old Malik Deghreh was killed by Israeli fire, the Palestinian ministry said. Clashes erupted after the Israeli army entered a village to carry out searches, witnesses said, adding that the teenager who died was hit by four bullets. A young Palestinian was also killed overnight Monday in Beitunia, a village between the Israeli Ofer prison and Ramallah, the ministry said. Since Friday, dozens of young Palestinians have been gathering every evening in Beitunia to welcome Palestinian prisoners being released in exchange for Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7. On each occasion, the Israeli army has fired tear gas canisters and opened fire, injuring dozens. The Israeli army said it went in to Beitunia overnight "to prevent any riots" but that as soldiers approached, "assailants hurled explosive devices and Molotov cocktails at the forces and lit up trash on the main road". The Israeli forces responded with dispersal techniques and "live fire", it added. Violence has flared in the West Bank -- occupied by Israel since 1967 -- following the October 7 attacks on southern Israel by Hamas which left 1,200 dead, mostly civilians, according to Israeli authorities. Israel's retaliatory bombardments and ground offensive have killed nearly 15,000 people in the Gaza Strip, the Hamas government says. In the West Bank, more than 230 Palestinians have been killed since then by Israeli soldiers and settlers, according to the Palestinian health ministry. he/ha/sbh/har/slb/ami Undated handout picture of Israeli hostage Elma Avraham, 84, who was released after being taken hostage during the October 7 attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas By Emily Rose JERUSALEM (Reuters) -When Elma Avraham, 84, was taken hostage from her home in Kibbutz Nahal Oz in Israel on Oct. 7 she was an independent member of the community, her relatives said. When Hamas released her on Sunday, she was in a "fight for her life", according to hospital staff. The great-grandmother was freed with 16 other hostages, including a four-year-old American girl named Abigail Edan, on the third day of a truce between Israel and Hamas. While the other hostages are reported to have returned in good health, Avraham's daughter told reporters her mother arrived with a pulse of 40 and a body temperature of 28 degrees. The deputy administrator of Soroka hospital in Beersheba said her condition remains critical and she is ventilated and sedated in the intensive care unit. "They held her in terrible conditions," daughter Tali Amano said outside the hospital. "My mother arrived hours before we would have lost her." "She was kept in harsh conditions," Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said. "She was denied life-saving medications. She was not visited by the Red Cross." He said the woman was "a reminder of our critical mission" but asked "who is taking care of other hostages in Gaza? Amano described her mother as "happy, connected, and embraced by the entire community" before she was taken and said that while her mother had chronic health conditions, they were entirely in check. "For fifty-two days they kept her in conditions that no human being should be kept in," the head of medical affairs from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, Hagai Levine said, "Simply without human dignity, unreasonable abuse." Amano said she met with the Red Cross and pleaded with them to give medication to her mother but was told they could not deliver them. "We stood at the entrance, with a package of medications for her," Amano said. "My mother didn't need to return this way and I have no idea how she will make it through these days." An ICRC spokesperson told Reuters: "We have been meeting directly with families and they have urged us to take possession of personal medications, but we're not able to take them." "We continue calling for access to the hostages, as we've done from Day 1, and we are ready to carry out those visits," the spokesperson added. They said a medical doctor had accompanied Avraham as she and hostages were taken out of Gaza. (Reporting by Emily Rose; Editing by Christina Fincher and Angus MacSwan) Emily is reunited with her father Thomas Hand after being held as a hostage by Hamas - The Israeli Army Emily Hand thought she was held hostage by Hamas for a year and only speaks in a whisper after her release from the terrorists clutches, her father has said. The nine-year-old Irish-Israeli had been conditioned not to make any noise during her two months in captivity, her father Thomas said. Shes a very determined little girl, very strong, I knew that her spirit would get her through it, Mr Hand told CNN after Emily was freed on the second day of the ceasefire. Mr Hand was told Emily had been killed in the Oct 7 attack and made international headlines after declaring she would be better off dead than captured by Hamas. Emily Hand told her father that 'nobody hit us' during her captivity - Hostages and Missing Families Forum headquarters via AP The 63 year-old learned she was still alive earlier this month. On Saturday, they were reunited after she was released as part of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. All of a sudden the door opened up and she just ran. It was beautiful, just like I had imagined it, running together. I probably squeezed her too hard, Mr Hand said. It was only when she stepped back that I could see her face was chiselled, like mine, whereas before it was chubby, girly, a young kid face. Emily told her father that nobody hit us during her 50 days in captivity. Child hostages were warned not to make any noise and were only allowed to draw and play cards, she said. The most shocking, disturbing part of meeting her was she was just whispering, you couldnt hear her. I had to put my ear on her lips. Shed been conditioned not to make any noise You could just see glassy-eyed terror, Mr Hand said. Thomas Hand said he probably squeezed his daughter Emily too hard when she was returned to him - The Israeli Army When he asked how long she thought she was held for, Emily replied a year. Apart from the whispering, that was a punch in the guts. A year, he told the US broadcaster. He said Emily ran from house to house in Gaza to escape the Israeli retaliation to the Hamas attack that murdered about 1,200 people and took 240 hostages. Thats terrifying. Being pulled, dragged, pushed under gunfire probably, he said. Emily was staying the night with her friend Hila Rotem-Shoshani and her mother Raaya at the Kibbutz Beeri when Hamas attacked. Hila was freed with Emily, whose mother died when she was two, but Raaya is still being held hostage in Gaza. We have to get Raaya back for Hila, back for Emily, back for justice. Dont go silent on us now. Bring them home, bring them home, Mr Hand said. Birthday cake They celebrated Hilas 13th birthday with a cake at the hospital on Monday and also had a cake to mark Emilys ninth birthday, which was on Nov 17 when she was in Gaza. Mr Hand said it was very hard to tell Emily her second mom Narkis Hand, his former wife, had been murdered by Hamas. We told her and her little eyes glazed over and she took a sharp intake of breath, he said. She told her father she had been worried he had been taken hostage as well. Last night, she cried until her face was red and blotchy, she couldnt stop. She didnt want any comfort, I guess shes forgotten how to be comforted. he said. She went under the covers of the bed, the quilt, covered herself up, and quietly cried. But the keen dancers spirit had not been broken by her ordeal. On the way home the first thing she did was get a Beyonce song on, Mr Hand said. 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. An Israeli official said Elon Musk agreed to terms to provide Starlink satellites over Gaza. Starlink can only operate over the Gaza Strip if Israel approves, the official said. The deal, unconfirmed by Musk, comes after he visited Israel amid accusations of antisemitism. Starlink can operate over Gaza, Israeli officials announced Monday, but only if the satellites have been approved by Israel. "Elon Musk, I congratulate you for reaching a principle understanding with the Ministry of Communications under my leadership," Israel's Minister of Communications, Shlomo Karhi, posted on X. "As a result of this significant agreement, Starlink satellite units can only be operated in Israel with the approval of the Israeli Ministry of Communications, including the Gaza Strip." The deal, which remains unconfirmed by Musk or Starlink, would fulfill the billionaire's offer to provide internet to "internationally recognized aid organizations" in Gaza after Israel cut off communications and internet connectivity in the region as it bombarded the territory in response to the October 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas. Representatives for Starlink and Israel's Ministry of Communications did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider. Musk initially faced harsh criticism from Israel for his offer to provide internet connectivity over Gaza, with Karhi saying at the time that Hamas would use the connection for terrorist activities and that "Israel will use all means at its disposal to fight" the offer. The offer to provide Starlink over Gaza, as well as the backlash from Israel, was followed closely by fierce opposition to comments Musk made on X, which many said were antisemitic. Musk responded to a post on the platform that said Jewish people are pushing "hatred against whites" and criticized the political ideology of "western Jewish populations." Business Insider previously reported the post hinted at the "great replacement" conspiracy theory, which claims that nonwhite immigrants to Western countries are replacing the white population an theory often invoked against liberal Jews who are pro-immigration. "You have said the actual truth," Musk replied to the post. However, after Musk visited Israel on Monday during a four-day pause in Israel's battle against Hamas, the Starlink deal along with its contingencies based on Israeli approval of the devices was announced by Israel. Musk has yet to make a statement on the announcement. It remains unclear exactly when Starlink services may become available in the region. Read the original article on Business Insider Hurtling through space at 17,500 miles per hour, the International Space Station (ISS) circles the entire globe roughly once every 90 minutes which amounts to 16 sunrises and sunsets every 24 hours. At any point in time, the station is home to no less than seven international crew members, with the station's living and working areas amounting to the size of an average six-bedroom house. The ISS has undoubtedly become an iconic piece of human history, and on Nov. 20 , NASA celebrated the station turning 25. This anniversary in particular feels a little bittersweet because the station itself is set to be decommissioned by 2030, as the structure will become too fatigued around then to be able to house astronauts safely. So, with an expiration date being placed on humanity's foothold in space, it's worth talking about what we've learned and why it matters. Related: Quantum chemistry experiment on ISS creates exotic 5th state of matter In an obvious way, the ISS has been pivotal in the development of space hardware. For engineers, the station has provided the unprecedented challenge of creating a habitat in low Earth orbit that can safely host a semi-permanent population of people. Microgravity conditions, the threat of space debris collisions and harmful cosmic radiation also create a novel environment in which scientists had to solve logistical problems. And because of those solutions, the ISS has provided an opportunity for humans to test new technologies that could one day be used during longer, farther crewed ventures to other areas in the solar system and perhaps even deep space. But while the ISS has clearly been a source of technological innovation, maybe more importantly, it has allowed us to understand how being in space affects people. The human body evolved on the surface of the Earth, so it's built to stay on Earth. Space presents a new set of challenges. For example, astronauts on the ISS have to spend two hours a day exercising to stave off muscular atrophy, as their bodies do not have to continually work against gravity on the surface of the planet thereby deteriorating their strength. "From the ISS programme, NASA has learned really what happens to the human body in zero-G over long duration flights. When we go to Mars we'll be committing those people to a long duration mission, so it's imperative to know what that's going to do to their bodies," Brain Ferry, commercial crew programme mission manager at NASA, said in a statement. Living on the ISS also presents a number of psychological challenges for astronauts. Isolation, a lack of privacy, and a high expectation working environment can all contribute to quite difficult working conditions. Studying the psychological effects of living and working in space on the ISS has helped researchers understand what people will need to thrive on longer voyages into deep space. Related Stories: Can humans reproduce in space? Mouse breakthrough on ISS a promising sign Astronauts on ISS gaze into the eye of Hurricane Nigel (photos) NASA astronaut celebrates Thanksgiving on ISS with turkey socks, Earth views At the eventual conclusion of the ISS programme, the station will be "deorbited" in a controlled manner , where the entire station's facilities will break up and vaporize as the units enter Earth's atmosphere. Any possible remnants of the station that reach the Earth's surface will land in a remote part of the ocean. Over the course of its lifetime, thousands of engineers, computer scientists, researchers and astronauts from all corners of the world have all contributed to the functioning and flourishing of the ISS. This station, in a sense, therefore transcends scientific achievement. It serves as an important symbol of what can be achieved when countries put aside their differences and work towards a common goal. Russia's attempt to instigate a migrant crisis at the Finnish border appears to be failing due to Finland's quick response in closing its borders, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported in its daily assessment on Nov. 27. Russian authorities reportedly directed the Interior Ministry to gather migrants from the Middle East, Africa, and other regions and send them to the Finnish border. Border officials in Finland stopped most migrants from crossing into the country and Russian authorities will now be forced to settle the migrants in Russian territory. Responding to what the Finnish government deems as "instrumentalizing migrants" at its border, Finland has closed all but one border crossing with Russia. On Friday, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said the Finnish government will consider closing the last border crossing if necessary and reported that Finland may take additional unspecified measures to bolster border security. In November, approximately 900 asylum seekers from countries including Afghanistan, Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen entered Finland from Russia, marking a significant increase from the previous rate of less than one per day, as reported by Reuters. Finland joined NATO earlier this year as a means to prevent serious threats to its national security from neighboring Russia. Previously, Finland shut its border to Russian tourists in September 2022, banning entry into the country for Russian-registered vehicles. Cars with Russian license plates that are already in Finland will have to leave the country by March 2024. Read also: Ukraine war latest: Russia reportedly suffers some of highest casualty rates over past 6 weeks Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Jamie-Lynn Spears told the harrowing story of how her eight year old daughter Maddie nearly drowned after falling off a boat into the family pond on the latest episode of Im a Celebrity last night. Trapped underwater for many minutes, poor Maddie had to be airlifted to hospital. It didnt look good: a priest even read her last rights, but thank god, she survived. Her body physically sat up, her spirit responded to it for whatever reason Spears said. Thats when I became Catholic. In the first few days of the show, Spears' weeping for her absent kids had been slightly annoying, but shes now opened up and become a popular member of the camp. She looks much happier now, and says shes made friends for life and the Maddie story gave a sense of why she might have been so sensitive about her brood. Jamie-Lynn even shared a little about what its like to have one of the most famous people in the world for an elder sister. She told how Britney would get her favourite delicacy, crawfish, sent to Vegas from Louisiana by their father in an icebox during her residency there. The rednecks had come to town she joked. Not how most folks would spend unlimited money, but each to their own. (I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! / ITV) The campmates were getting over the loss of food critic Grace Dent, who had to leave the show for health reasons early yesterday, just before she was set to do her task. Grace wrote a touching letter to campmates saying it was one of the saddest moments of her life. It meant Josie Gibson was joined by Eastenders star Danielle Harold for a vertigo-inducing task, throwing balls between two tubs raised in the sky. Danielle proved a calm and encouraging companion: Josie called her a golden nugget it was a compliment. Elsewhere, the eternal question raised its head: will Nigel Farage ever get elected? He still hopes so. Speaking about himself in the third person last week, the former UKIP leader had said theres a lot of chatter about whether Nigel becomes leader of the Tory party one day soon. But Nige, who has started washing his hair in a saucepan each morning, couldnt get himself elected as camp leader last night. Instead, the public gave tigger-like Sam Thompson the job, who did a lap of the fire to celebrate, and chose Marvin as his deputy. Nigel was put on water duty, while Tony Bellew got to clean the toilet, or dunny, and said the job was fitting. Ive been dealing with kak my whole life he said. Campmates seem unsure if Made In Chelsea man Sams relentless positivity is infectious or annoying. Ex-boxer Tony Bellew was torn, saying he is literally the most energetic person Ive ever met in my bloody life. He explained: I have four kids. Its not my first rodeo around children. Both of them opted to spend the night in the very grim looking Misery Motel, where snakes are promised. Some of the women worried if Tony might get sick of Sam soon.Tipped to win: First Dates star Fred Sirieux whipped up an ostrich egg for the camp, surely winning fans. Fred is also planning a birthday surprise for Tony, who is turning 41 in a few days. Lucky Tony looks set to get a ballad from Marvin from JLS, who modestly chose one of his own bands tunes for the camp to practice. Nella Rose, whose early row with Fred has calmed down, said shed be backing dancer. Women still have to show ID and take the medication in front of a pharmacist under Japan's trial sales of over-the-counter "morning-after" contraceptive pills (Philip FONG) Japan began a pilot project on Tuesday selling over-the-counter "morning-after" contraceptive pills, but campaigners criticised the scheme as far too small and called for all restrictions to be lifted. Rights groups have long complained that the emergency contraceptive was only available in socially conservative Japan with a doctor's prescription and a trip to a clinic or pharmacy. This put many women off, particularly rape victims and teenage girls, according to campaigners. Under the pilot project, the pill, which can prevent pregnancy within 72 hours of sex but becomes less effective with time, was set to be available at 145 pharmacies. However, women still have to show ID and take the medication in front of a pharmacist, according to the website of the Japan Pharmaceutical Association. The minimum age for over-the-counter purchase is 16 years old, though those under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. The price was set between 7,000-9,000 yen ($47-61). The Emergency Contraceptives at Pharmacies Project campaign group said the trial was not enough. "The selection of pharmacies was very strict. The pill is available only at 145 drugstores, or 0.2 percent of the total of 60,000 in Japan," the organisation's co-chair Asuka Someya told reporters. Someya also said that the parental consent requirement sets high hurdles for minors. "There are many who say they cannot talk to their parents about possible pregnancy. It's going to be difficult if they have to talk about their sexual experiences and concern about pregnancy," she said. "We have again requested the health ministry to make the pill available fully and rapidly at pharmacies" without restrictions, Someya said. The pilot project follows an overwhelmingly positive reaction to a health ministry public consultation this year, with 97 percent of the 46,000 respondents in favour. The World Health Organization says on its website that emergency contraception "should be routinely included within all national family planning programmes". More than 90 other countries allow the morning-after pill without a prescription, according to campaigners. nf/stu/mca Beautiful View Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns a genuinely colossal superyacht so massive, in fact, that it has to be docked next to freakin' oil tankers down in Florida. As the Luxury Launches yachting blog reports, Bezos' superschooner, which is named the Koru after the Maori word for "coil," is a whopping 416 feet in length, which makes it 16 feet too long to be docked at the biggest yacht spot in South Florida's tony Port Everglades. Instead, it's been docked between 600-foot oil tankers, because that's extremely normal. https://twitter.com/luxurylaunches/status/1729168206705861016 The Koru, reports indicate, set the centibillionaire back a cool $500 million and costs $137,000 per day to operate, but if you're rich enough to buy the Washington Post, who's to say you can't buy one of the world's most expensive yachts and pay way more than the average American's annual salary to make sure it's running every day? Emissions Impossible At nearly double the length of an Airbus A380, the Koru isn't just a gigantic waste of money but is also, as the New York Post reported based on a new analysis from the University of Indiana, a major polluter as well. Using publicly-available data, Indiana anthropology PhD candidate Beatriz Barros and anthropologist Richard Wilk who have for years been raising alarm bells about the billionaire pollution problem calculated that the Koru produces an outrageous 7,154 tons of greenhouse gasses per year. While it's not exactly shocking that the uber-wealthy are uber-polluters, these numbers do fly in the face of Bezos' purported commitment to turning back the clock on climate change, as evidenced by his commitment to spend $10 billion by the end of the decade to combat its worst effects. In an interview with The Guardian about the research, Wilk explained that luxury sailboats like the Koru are one of the most egregious ways that billionaires pollute. "The emissions of the superyachts are way above anything else," the Indiana anthropologist said. "They have to have a crew, and they have to be constantly maintained even when they are docked. Then you have the helicopters onboard, the jetskis, the high energy-using luxury items like pools, hot tubs, private submarines and tenders, all of these require power, the air conditioning, the sophisticated electronic items." "It is like having a hotel running on the water all the time," Wilk continued. As media breathlessly recounts the Koru's debut, the superyacht that's too big to be docked normally will continue to spew carbon into the atmosphere at a far greater rate than the average Joe but hey, at least it reportedly has a sculpture of Lauren Sanchez aboard. More on Bezos: Jeff Bezos' Moon Lander Design Just Got a Big Downgrade MSNBC host Jen Psaki on Monday broke down a doozy of a report from The New York Times about a troubling pardon that Donald Trump granted on his way out of the White House in 2021. In an investigation published over the weekend, the Times wrote that the commutation for Jonathan Braun, a drug smuggler, had broader implications than previously known. Braun was two and a half years into a 10 year sentence for running a major marijuana ring, and was also being pursued by the Justice Department for predatory lending to small businesses. Trump commuted Brauns sentence on his final day in office, as part of a pardon and commutation spree for over 140 people. Braun was reportedly working as a loan shark again within months. According to the Times, Brauns family used a connection to Jared Kushner, Trumps son-in-law and a senior White House adviser, to secure the commutation. Freeing Braun reportedly jeopardized a Justice Department criminal investigation into predatory lenders, in which prosecutors had been negotiating with Braun to flip on industry insiders in exchange for clemency. That deal went out the window when Braun was freed, the Times reported. What does this all tell us? Psaki, a former White House press secretary under President Joe Biden, asked on Inside With Jen Psaki. For one, it tells us that tough on crime Donald Trump upended a federal investigation by his own Justice Department. Thats not how its supposed to work. She continued: It also tells us how Trump and his administration ran pretty fast and loose with presidential pardons a tremendous power that usually runs through a highly vetted process out of the Department of Justice. She referred to an old quote and maxim of dictators: For my friends, everything; for my enemies, the law. Psaki warned: That is how Donald Trump has operated. And that is how he will continue to operate if he ever gets the leverage of government again. Watch the clip below from MSNBC: New Jersey man shoots 3 of his relatives dead: police A man has been arrested on murder charges after he allegedly shot three of his relatives dead inside a New Jersey condo on Monday. Om Brahmbhatt, 23, is facing three counts of first-degree murder for fatally shooting three adults two men and a woman at a condo in Middlesex County, New Jersey, police said, according to Fox 5. The shooting took place at a residence on Coppola Drive in South Plainfield at around 9 a.m., and when police arrived on the scene, they found three people with gunshot wounds. NJ SCHOOL JANITOR PERFORMED SICKENING SEX ACTS WITH CAFETERIA UTENSILS, POURED BLEACH ON STUDENTS' FOOD: COPS A man has been arrested on murder charges after he allegedly shot three of his relatives dead inside a New Jersey condo on Monday. A man, Dilipkumar Brahmbhatt, 72, and a woman, Bindu Brahmbhatt, 72, were pronounced dead at the scene. The second man, Yashkumar Brahmbhatt, 38, was rushed to the hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP The suspect was at the residence when authorities arrived at the scene, and he was taken into custody without incident, police said. Police said Om Brahmbhatt lived with the victims, although it is unclear how he is related to them. The South Plainfield Police Department said via a press release that there is no threat to the public. The motivation for the killing is unclear. NEW JERSEY PARENTS OF TENNESSEE COLLEGE STUDENT KILLED BY STRAY BULLET SAY LAWS 'PROTECT' REPEAT CRIMINALS Om Brahmbhatt has also been charged with three counts of second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. He is being held at the Middlesex County Correctional Facility. The investigation is ongoing. Original article source: New Jersey man shoots 3 of his relatives dead: police Jewish groups are suing the University of California system, UC Berkeley and its leaders over what they are calling a longstanding, unchecked spread of anti-Semitism. The 36-page lawsuit, filed Tuesday by the Brandeis Center and Jewish Americans for Fairness in Education, argues that Berkeley and its law schools "inaction" on discrimination against Jewish students has led to a spread of antisemitism, and violence and harassment against them. Demonstrations and incidents on campus following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel serve as examples of the discrimination, according to the complaint. The complaint is among the first high-profile lawsuits against a university in the aftermath of the protests that roiled campuses in response to the conflict in the Middle East. Jewish groups are suing over policies enacted by at least 23 Berkeley Law student groups that exclude students from joining or bar guest speakers from presenting if they do not agree to disavow Israel or if they identify as Zionists. They argue that anti-Zionism is a form of antisemitism and say that the policies violate the 14th Amendments equal protection clause, the First Amendment right to freedom of religion, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and more. Conditioning a Jews ability to participate in a student group on his or her renunciation of a core component of Jewish identity is no less pernicious than demanding the renunciation of some other core element of a students identity whether based on race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual identity, the lawsuit said. No such imposition is required or would be remotely tolerated of other students. Berkeley leaders slammed the lawsuit as inconsistent with students' First Amendment rights to free speech and said the demonstrations on campus are protected by the law. They also highlighted that while they cannot stop students from protesting, they understand the demonstrations can be "upsetting and frightening" for Jewish students and have offered counseling support and academic arrangements. The university said it has also encouraged students to report antisemitic behavior, and the Chancellors Committee on Jewish Student Life that was established in 2015 is leading efforts to support these students. "The complaint filed by the Brandeis Center paints a picture of the Law School that is stunningly inaccurate and that ignores the First Amendment," Berkeley Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky said in a statement. "For example, student organizations have the First Amendment right to choose their speakers, including based on their viewpoint. Although there is much that the campus can and does do to create an inclusive learning environment, it cannot stop speech even if it is offensive. The Brandeis Center and Jewish Americans for Fairness in Education are accusing Berkeley and the UC system of inaction against the policies that betray Jewish students and faculty. They argue that the student group policies violate a university policy that prohibits registered student groups, including law school groups, from imposing membership restrictions based on race, color, national origin and religion. The Jewish groups want the court to intervene and require the university and university system to enforce their policies and prohibit discrimination against Jewish students, faculty and invited speakers. The lawsuit acknowledges Berkeley's position that argues the student group policies discriminate on the basis of viewpoint and not race, ethnicity or religion, but highlighted that campus leaders know that the policies can be deeply upsetting to some Jewish members. By abdicating responsibility and failing to act as required by UC rules and U.S. law, the university has enabled the normalization of anti-Jewish hatred on campus, the lawsuit said. Jewish students feel compelled to hide their identities. Additionally, the groups say that the university has failed to address antisemitic incidents on campus following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. They said students celebrations of the Hamas attacks resulted in violence against Jewish students. A Jewish student draped in an Israeli flag was attacked by protesters who hit him in the head with a metal water bottle, according to the complaint, and some Jews have received hate e-mails calling for their gassing and murder. Jewish students have also said they are afraid to attend class because of the protests. Students stated that the school does so little to protect Jewish students, it feels as if the school were condoning anti-Semitism, the complaint said. They added that officials at the university display a general disregard for Jewish studentsThey have little confidence that UC will protect them from anti-Semitic mobs." A pair of Jewish organizations filed suit against the University of California (UC) system, UC Berkeley and school administrators on Tuesday over allegations of a longstanding, unchecked spread of antisemitism at UC Berkeley. The 37-page suit, filed Tuesday in the Northern District of California by the Louis D. Brandeis Center and the Jewish Americans For Fairness In Education (JAFE), claims antisemitism has been allowed to take root and grow at the UC Berkeley School of Law (Berkeley Law) for over a year. The suit argues intervention is needed, especially in the wake of militant group Hamas surprise incursion against Israel last month that killed over 1,200 people and sparked an ongoing conflict in Gaza. In the weeks that followed Hamass Oct. 7 attack, a surge in antisemitic incidents was reported in several parts of the U.S. and in Europe. The suit accuses nearly two dozen student organizations at UC Berkeley Law of practicing policies that force Jewish students to go against their Jewish identities in order to participate in such groups. It points to a handful of the 23 student organizations practices, including the Berkeley Law Legal Services organizations, which it says require Jewish students to take a Palestine 101 training program that emphasizes the illegitimacy of the State of Israel. In the Women of Berkeley Law, the Queer Caucus at Berkeley or the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, the suit claims the groups require members to agree with their support of the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement, which is focused on dismantling the modern state of Israel. Under these policies, Jewish students, faculty and guest speakers must deny a central part of their cultural, ancestral heritage and a fundamental tenant of their faith in order to be eligible for the same opportunities Berkeley accords to others, the suit stated. Pointing to an Exclusionary Bylaw adopted by student organizations that prohibits speakers with Zionist views from addressing them, the plaintiffs claimed the ban is in fact unrelated to that viewpoint, but rather a ban on Jewish persons. The suit argues UC Berkeleys failure to enforce antidiscriminatory policies to address the Exclusionary Bylaw ban on Zionist speakers and the exclusion and hostility towards Zionist students violates the Equal Protection and Free Exercise clauses of the U..S. Constitution, along with the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Conditioning a Jews ability to participate in a student group on his or her renunciation of a core component of Jewish identity is no less pernicious than demanding the renunciation of some other core element of a students identitywhether based on race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual identity, the complaint said. While we appreciate the concerns expressed by the Brandeis Center, UC Berkeley believes the claims made in the lawsuit are not consistent with the First Amendment of the Constitution, or the facts of what is actually happening on our campus, Dan Mogulof, assistance vice chancellor for UC Berkeley told The Hill. Mogulof claimed the university has been long committed to confronting antisemitism and pointed to the schools Antisemitism Education Initiative started in 2019. He added the university has worked with the initiatives director in the wake of the Hamas attacks and compiled a list of actions the campus is taking to support Jewish students. The complaint further argued these practices violate the universitys rules for registered groups that prohibit membership restrictions based on race, color, national origin and religion. The suit is asking the court to require the school and other named defendants to enforce their nondiscriminatory policies on an evenhanded basis and take action against the hostile environment on campus. The suit further accuses the school of failing to address antisemitic incidents reported on campus in the wake of Hamass Oct. 7 attack. It claims Jewish students have received hate e-mails calling for their gassing and murder, and that some have reported they are afraid to go to class and pass through pro-Hamas rallies on their way. In one incident, the complaint said a Jewish student draped in an Israeli flag was attacked by two protestors and hit in the head with a metal water bottle. Along with the UC school system and Berkeley Law, other defendants named in the suit include UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ, UC Berkeley President Michael Drake and Benjamin Hermalin, the executive vice chancellor and provost of UC Berkeley. Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky said the lawsuit paints a picture of the law school that is stunningly inaccurate and ignores the First Amendment. Student organizations have the First Amendment right to choose their speakers, including based on their viewpoint. Although there is much that the campus can and does do to create an inclusive learning environment, it cannot stop speech even if it is offensive, Chemerisnky shared in a statement with The Hill. Several other schools across the U.S. have experienced inflamed tensions over the Israel-Hamas war, with both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protests and counter-protests taking place among students. Students testified earlier this month in a House hearing, where some claimed their schools diversity programs are not doing enough to speak out against antisemitism. Updated at 2:15 p.m. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. A Jewish-owned ice cream shop that closed after being vandalized with pro-Palestinian graffiti last month recently reopened, the owner announced. "We are thrilled to announce that we have reopened our Mission store doors on Tuesday, November 21st," Smitten Ice Cream owner Robyn Sue Fisher wrote on her company's site . "Thank you for standing by us and with us through these challenging times." "We cannot wait to serve up joy and love to the community once again," the post continued. San Francisco Police arrived at the vandalized Smitten Ice Cream storefront in the early morning of Oct. 25. SAN FRANCISCO POLICE INVESTIGATING SHOP VANDALIZED WITH PRO-PALESTINIAN GRAFFITI AS HATE CRIME: JEWISH OWNER The San Francisco-based ice cream parlor temporarily closed after it was vandalized on Oct. 25 with "FREE PALESTIEN [sic]" spray-painted on the storefront, according to Mission Local , a regional outlet. The officers who responded to the ice cream shop's alarm found the store's windows shattered , San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) Officer Gonee Sepulveda told Fox News in a statement earlier this month. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP WATCH MORE FOX NEWS DIGITAL ORIGINALS HERE "The graffiti suggests that the shop was targeted because I am Jewish, and it is currently being investigated by authorities as a hate crime," Fisher wrote at the time. The investigation remains ongoing, SFPD told J., a Northern California Jewish news outlet, on Wednesday. Fisher and her employees were "scared and hurt," by the attack, she said in another social media post. The vandalism occurred less than three weeks after the Oct. 7 attacks ignited the Israel-Hamas war. ANTISEMITISM EXPOSED There were over 830 documented antisemitic incidents across the U.S. between Oct. 7, 2023, and Nov. 7, 2023, according to a recent Anti-Defamation League survey . That averages to nearly 28 antisemitic incidents a day. Customers line up outside Smitten Ice Cream, a California-based ice cream store which flash freezes its product using liquid nitrogen, in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco in 2016. Since the attack, a GoFundMe for Smitten business raised over $100,000, helping the store reopen in less than a month, according to its site. To commemorate the reopening, Fisher announced a new mixed berry ice cream flavor called "I Choose Love." The owner also announced a new art project at Smitten's San Francisco location called the "Pillar of Love," where guests are encouraged to write positive notes before attaching them to the installation. Fisher has sold ice cream in San Francisco for over a decade, according to the shop's website . She originally began selling ice cream out of a Radio Flyer wagon she pulled around the city. The chain has locations in San Francisco , San Jose, California, and Las Vegas. Fisher, Smitten Ice Cream and the SFPD did not return requests for comment. Original article source: Jewish-owned shop vandalized in pro-Palestinian attack reopens as police investigate potential hate crime Stella Maris, the university's rector, insisted there was a 'strong consensus' supporting her stance - UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS Jewish students at one of Britains most prestigious universities have accused its new rector of abusing her position to foster hate after she said Israel had committed genocide in Palestine. The University of St Andrews Jewish Society said a message sent by Stella Maris to students about the conflict in Gaza, which also called for a ceasefire, was divisive, harmful and not based in fact. Urging her to apologise or resign, the society accused her of an abuse of power and of misleading them by showing them a draft of the message before it was sent that omitted the genocide claim. The universitys leadership team, led by Dame Sally Mapstone, the principal and vice-chancellor, has also criticised the message. But a defiant Ms Maris told The Telegraph there was a strong consensus supporting her stance, stating that 6,600 students, staff and community members had backed her humanitarian message, advocating for me to retain my position. She highlighted a letter sent by more than 100 concerned staff to the universitys leadership in which they expressed their emphatic disagreement with your public statement criticising the rectors Gaza message. You will never intimidate me Ms Maris also hit out at the Jewish Society statement online by saying she would not have anti-Semitism weaponised against me and warning you will never intimidate me into not speaking truth to power. In an attempt to heal the schism at the university, Ms Maris and Dame Sally issued a joint statement to all staff and students acknowledging that the message was welcomed by some in our community, and has deeply upset others. More than 1,400 students, their families and alumni signed an open letter urging Ms Maris to apologise or resign - PA Dame Sally said she had met the rector and they had agreed to a process of mediation in which she and I will work together to try to restore an environment of inclusivity and respect. Ms Maris, a former English and philosophy graduate at the university, was only elected rector on Oct 13. The Telegraph disclosed on Saturday how the message she sent to students last week had caused uproar. She described how a vigil at the university was held earlier this month following weeks of genocidal attacks by the Israeli government against Gaza. Condemning actions that were internationally regarded as war crimes, she said: These include practices such as apartheid, siege, illegal occupation and collective punishment, which have been observed in the treatment of Palestinians. The lengthy email also included an internet link to websites about the region. This included one called The Electronic Intifada, which was topped by a story headlined: The evidence Israel killed its own citizens on 7 October. More than 1,400 students, their families and alumni signed an open letter urging her to apologise or resign but she argued her application of the terms genocide and apartheid were supported by numerous human rights organisations. She told The Telegraph that The Electronic Intifada provide evidence for their claims in their articles and argued that people should not disagree with them simply because the notion is unpleasant. Maris statement was deliberately misleading But the Jewish Society statement said the rector had been elected by students as a representative voice. Whilst constructing this statement, Rector Maris met the Jewish Society, but her published statement was significantly different to that which was shared with us, deliberately misleading members of our community, it said. It also accused her of minimising the plight of the hostages taken by Hamas, demonstrating unequal concern for Israeli and Palestinian lives and ignoring anti-Semitic attacks in St Andrews. Instead, she has chosen to use her platform to create division and foster hate in the St Andrews community. At the time of writing, the Rector has yet to respond to any emails from concerned students, alumni, or other relevant parties, the statement said. We call for an apology from Rector Maris for the abuse of power that she has demonstrated. Failing this, we have no choice but to call for the resignation of Rector Stella Maris, in the interests of supporting all students and maintaining unity in the St Andrews community. Denying there was a lack of student support for my stance, she told The Telegraph that the letters she had received backing her clearly indicate otherwise, reinforcing my confidence in the statement I made and its representation of the students who elected me. Ms Maris said she had consulted a variety of groups, including the Jewish Society, before sending her message but denied misleading them. She added: It was made clear that their role was not to dictate the content of the letter but to provide input. Ms Maris said the link to the Electronic Intifada website was a red herring, saying she had removed it and consider this matter closed. The allegation that she used her position to create division and foster hate needs to be investigated, she added. The staff letter of support, which includes many signatories from the universitys School of International Relations, defended her use of the terms genocide, apartheid and occupation. It said Israels status as an occupying power has been recognised in international law since 1967 and its differentiation of rights for Jewish and non-Jewish citizens has been described as apartheid by mainstream human rights organisations. The letter said the leadership team had exacerbated the injustice done to Rector Maris by reiterating and amplifying these accusations and by itself wrongly accusing her of failing to use words responsibly. The joint message from Dame Sally and Ms Maris said: The Rector wishes to acknowledge the distress which elements of her message have caused to some students, staff and alumni in the St Andrews community. She also wishes it to be known that she will advocate for the voices of Palestinian, Jewish, BAME and other groups of students affected directly, and indirectly, by the war in Gaza and Israel to be heard. Dame Sally unreservedly condemned racist abuse Ms Maris received from sources outside the university and said she intended to pursue further mediation with her. 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. The White House has decked the halls for the holidays. First lady Jill Biden revealed this year's decorations at an event in Washington D.C. on Nov. 27, sharing that the 2023 theme is the "magic, wonder and joy" of the season. White House Previews This Season's Holiday Decorations (Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images) Biden said she hopes the whimsical decor will help inspire visitors to embrace their inner child this holiday. "Each room on display is designed to capture the pure, unfiltered delight and imagination of our childhoods, to see this time of year through the wondrous, sparkling eyes of children, she said in remarks prepared for the reception of volunteers ahead of an event for National Guard families. Candy-themed ornaments hang from the ceiling of the hallway between the East Wing and the Residence at the White House. (Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images) Candy-themed ornaments hand from the ceiling of the hallway between the East Wing and the Residence. (Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images) The decorations feature various nods to the 200th anniversary of the publication in 1823 of the poem and book "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," the Associated Press reports. In a statement released on Monday, the president and first lady explained the theme further. Holidays at the White House 2023 (Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) "The 2023 White House holiday theme is inspired by how children experience this festive season: completely present in the beauty and bounty around them, their senses alight, with hearts open to the magic, wonder, and joy of the holidays, President Joe Biden and first lady wrote in a welcome letter at the beginning of the commemorative 2023 White House Holiday Guide. Adding, "In this season of reflection and goodwill, we hope you will embrace your inner child and delight in simply being present with those you love." First Lady Jill Biden Delivers Remarks On Her Holiday Message For The Season (Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images) More than 300 designers and decorators volunteered to spend last week transforming the executive mansion. The result is nearly 100 Christmas trees, more than 142,000 lights and nearly 34,000 ornaments on display in the executive mansion. The Gingerbread White House alone includes 40 sheets of sugar cookie dough, 40 sheets of gingerbread dough, 90 pounds of pastillage (a quick drying edible paste), 30 pounds of chocolate and 50 pounds of icing. Holidays at the White House 2023 (Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) The White House expects to welcome approximately 100,000 visitors during the holiday season, according to the release. The White House with three large christmas wreaths hanging between the columns. (Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images) Later on Monday, the White House sent a press release to NBC News announcing an event on Wednesday, Nov. 29, that will feature First lady Jill Biden unveiling the White House Holiday Ice Rink on the South Lawn. The Cross Hall between the East Room and the State Dining Room is lined with frosted Christmas tress during a media preview of the 2023 holiday decorations at the White House Nov. 27, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images) The ice rink is a new development, as the White House has not featured a holiday skating rink in recent history. However, in 1980, U.S. Olympic medalist Peggy Fleming performed on an ice stage set up on the South Lawn for then-President Jimmy Carter, then-First lady Rosalynn Carter and their guests at a holiday party. This article was originally published on TODAY.com James "Chip" Carter kisses the head of his father, former US President Jimmy Carter, during a tribute service for former US First Lady Rosalynn Carter, at Glenn Memorial Church in Atlanta, Georgia, on November 28, 2023. Carter died on November 19, aged 96, just two days after joining her husband in hospice care at their house in Plains. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS) Former US president Jimmy Carter, 99, made a rare public appearance Tuesday to join his successors Joe Biden and Bill Clinton and all five living first ladies at the memorial service for his beloved wife Rosalynn. A frail-looking Carter briefly left hospice care to attend the service at a church in Atlanta, arriving in a wheelchair with a blanket on his lap that was embroidered with a picture of his wife's face. Carter did not speak, but the couple's children and grandchildren celebrated the "life well lived" of Rosalynn Carter, a humanitarian and mental health advocate who redefined the role of the modern First Lady. "My mother was the glue that held our family together," said their son James "Chip" Carter, who kissed his father on the head and laid his hand on his mother's flower-covered coffin. Biden and First Lady Jill Biden had a "special moment with President Carter" before the service, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Air Force One. Rosalynn Carter died on November 19, aged 96, at the couple's home in Plains, Georgia, after a 77-year marriage that became a legend in US politics. - 'In love' - Fighting back tears, their daughter Amy Lynn Carter read out a love letter her father wrote to her mother while he was in the US navy three quarters of a century ago. "My mum spent most of her life in love with my dad," she told the congregation at the Glenn Memorial Church. Sitting in the front row of the church were Biden -- who had backed Carter before the Democrat's 1976 election win -- and First Lady Jill Biden. Alongside them were former president Bill Clinton, who was in office from 1993-2001, and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton; and former first ladies Melania Trump, Michelle Obama and Laura Bush. The service included her favorite music, including a performance of the John Lennon song "Imagine" by husband-and-wife US country music stars Tricia Yearwood and Garth Brooks. The turnout showed the high regard in which Rosalynn Carter was held in the United States. Celebrated as an active first lady who championed then little-discussed issues of mental health, Rosalynn Carter's reputation only grew, along with her husband's, once they left the White House. Losing his 1980 reelection bid to Republican Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter was widely dismissed as a failure. However, the couple went on to build a global network of charity activities and earned plaudits for their humble lifestyle. - 'Equal partner' - Chip Carter hailed his mother for helping him overcome his own drug and alcohol addiction, saying the former first lady made a "positive difference in people's lives. Joe and Jill Biden flew from Washington early Tuesday -- and gave the Clintons and Michelle Obama a lift on the presidential plane Air Force One, the White House said. Melania Trump did not take the same plane, it added. The more private funeral on Wednesday in Plains will inevitably shift attention to the health of Jimmy Carter, who is the oldest living US ex-president in US history and moved into hospice care 10 months ago. Presidential funeral services typically are attended by all living presidents -- Carter attended the Washington memorial for George W. Bush in 2018 -- providing a moment for national unity. With Biden and Donald Trump likely to face each other in a 2024 rematch of their bitter 2020 election battle, however, even the solemn occasion of a Carter presidential funeral would be scrutinized for signs of tension. The Carters married in 1946 and held the record of longest-wed presidential couple. When she died, Jimmy Carter said in a statement that she'd been "my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished." Throughout Jimmy Carter's long political career, his wife was at the heart of his campaigns. And during the 1977 to 1981 White House term, Rosalynn Carter worked to raise the status of the first lady's office, even sitting in on cabinet meetings. She met Jimmy Carter in 1945 while she was in college and he was on leave from the US Naval Academy in Annapolis. dk-sms/tjj WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) The family of Rosalynn Carter began the final farewells Monday to the former first lady and global humanitarian ahead of a memorial service Tuesday that her husband, former President Jimmy Carter, who is currently in hospice, is expected to attend. The tributes started in her hometown of Sumter County, Georgia, with an escort from past and present members of her Secret Service detail. It hurts our hearts, Kim Fuller, Carters niece, said during a church service Sunday. Carter died Nov. 19 at the age of 96. PHOTOS: Rosalynn Carter through the years I just thank you, especially for the life of Rosalynn Carter and what she means to every single one of us, Fuller prayed. A wreath-laying ceremony at Carters alma mater, Georgia Southwestern State University, honored one of her many contributions, advocating for the millions of unpaid caregivers in U.S. households. For 40 years, she did that work, said Paige Alexander, the CEO of the Carter Center. Her top priority was mental health. The familys motorcade then traveled to Atlanta, where Carter will lie in repose at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Center Monday night. We will miss her terribly, Alexander said. Rosalynn Carter remembered as family begins three days of memorials Carter will leave the center for the final time Tuesday morning for a funeral service attended by former and current residents of the White House. The president and the first lady certainly look forward to being there and to offering their condolences, said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. The family confirmed former President Jimmy Carter, who entered hospice care in February, will be there as well. The White House is honoring the former first lady with flags flying at half-staff and a mourning drape hanging over her portrait. Carter will be laid to rest Wednesday in her hometown of Plains, Georgia. Her burial is private. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. Former President Carter is expected to attend a tribute service for his late wife, Rosalynn Carter, Tuesday in Georgia. Carter, 99, is expected to travel to Atlanta for the service at the Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church at Emory University, Jason Carter told CNN and WSBTV. The Carter Center confirmed these plans to The Hill. Several high-profile guests are also expected to attend the service, including President Biden and first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff, along with former first ladies Melania Trump, Michelle Obama and Laura Bush. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. Rosalynn Carter died earlier this month at the age of 96 at her home in Plains, Ga., about two days after she entered hospice care. She was diagnosed with dementia in March, shortly after her husband entered hospice care following a series of hospital stays. The Carters were married for 77 years, the longest of any president and first lady. Former President Carters appearance at the tribute service will mark his first public appearance since September, when he and Rosalynn attended the Plains Peanut Festival parade. He did not appear publicly during Mondays public motorcade and wreath-laying ceremony at Rosalynn Carters alma mater, Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus, according to The Associated Press. While Tuesdays tribute service is invitation-only, the public can tune in to listen to tributes and participate virtually in the service. The event is slated to begin at 1 p.m. and will feature multiple musical performances along with tributes from friends and family. A funeral service for family and invited friends will take place Wednesday in Plains, before her casket is taken to the Carter family residence for a private interment, the Carter Center said. The organization said the public is welcome to line the motorcade route in designated viewing areas as it proceeds from the church. The former first lady was a known advocate for several humanitarian issues, including mental health care, caregiving and womens rights. Updated at 9:40 a.m. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Tribute service for former first lady Rosalynn Carter at Glenn Memorial Church in Atlanta Tribute service for former first lady Rosalynn Carter at Glenn Memorial Church in Atlanta By Jeff Mason and Rich McKay ATLANTA (Reuters) - Jimmy Carter, the 99-year-old former U.S. president who entered hospice care in February, made a rare public appearance on Tuesday, looking frail as he attended a memorial service in Atlanta for his wife, Rosalynn Carter, who died on Nov. 19. Using a wheelchair and dressed in a dark suit and tie, he entered the Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church and was helped to the front row near his wife's flowered-covered casket, where he sat flanked by his children. Folded across his lap was a blue-and-white blanket, embroidered with a smiling portrait of his wife. The couple was married for 77 years. As first lady, Rosalynn Carter played a prominent role in his presidency from 1977 to 1981, and in his humanitarian work after the couple left the White House. She died at age 96. Jimmy Carter did not address mourners during the service. His son James Earl "Chip" Carter III kissed him on the forehead after delivering a tribute to Rosalynn Carter, calling her "the glue" that held the family together. The former president has faced a number of health issues, including cancer, and decided to end medical intervention and enter hospice care at his home in Plains, Georgia, nine months ago. His wife, who had been diagnosed with dementia, joined him in hospice care only a few days before her death. The Carters were the longest-married U.S. presidential couple, having wed in 1946 when he was 21 and she was 18. During the memorial, their daughter, Amy Carter, read from a letter Jimmy Carter sent to Rosalynn while he was serving in the Navy. "My darling, every time I've ever been away from you, I have been thrilled when I returned to discover just how wonderful you are," he wrote. "When I see you, I fall in love all over again." The Carters made their last joint public appearance in September when they attended the Plains Peanut Festival in their rural hometown, both dressed in clothes bearing the logo of Habitat for Humanity, the non-profit group focused on providing affordable housing that the couple have long supported. As late as 2019, when he was 95 years old, he worked for several days a year alongside his wife as a volunteer for Habitat. "He's coming to the end, and he's very, very physically diminished," Jason Carter, one of the former president's grandsons, told the New York Times shortly before Tuesday's service. "He has been this moral rock for so many people, but she really was that rock for him." (Reporting by Jeff Mason and Rich McKay in Atlanta, and Jonathan Allen in New York; Editing by Will Dunham) Amy Carter walks past her mother's casket after speaking at a tribute service for former first lady Rosalynn Carter at Glenn Memorial Church at Emory University on Tuesday in Atlanta. Pool Photo by Brynn Anderson/UPI Nov. 28 (UPI) -- Mourners gathered in Atlanta on Tuesday during a second day of memorials throughout Georgia to honor former first lady Rosalynn Carter's life and legacy before her burial on Wednesday. The invitation-only service at Glenn Memorial Church at Emory University was attended by numerous high-profile guests and dignitaries, including past first ladies Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, Michelle Obama and Melania Trump, the Carter Center announced. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden were in attendance, alongside Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff. Former President Bill Clinton was also in attendance, as well as a host of Washington lawmakers and Georgia officials. The casket of former first lady Rosalynn Carter rests in place for a tribute service at Glenn Memorial Church at Emory University on Tuesday in Atlanta. Pool Photo by Brynn Anderson/UPI Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and past and present presidents of Emory University, were also in attendance. Former President Jimmy Carter, who is 99 and has been receiving hospice care at home since February, also attended the tribute. Pastor Tony Lowden speaks at a tribute service for former first lady Rosalynn Carter at Glenn Memorial Church at Emory University on Tuesday in Atlanta. Pool Photo by Brynn Anderson/UPI To begin the service, pianist David Osborne performed hymns to honor Jimmy Carter's wife of 77 years. Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood performed a cover of John Lennon's Imagine during the service. Judy Woodruff pauses at the casket after speaking at a tribute service for former first lady Rosalynn Carter on Tuesday in Atlanta. Pool Photo by Brynn Anderson/UPI The Carters' 11 surviving grandchildren served as honorary pallbearers, while various family members read a series of tributes and Bible verses to honor the cherished matriarch. The Carter's son James Earl "Chip" Carter delivered opening remarks. James "Chip" Carter walks past the casket of his mother, former first lady Rosalynn Carter, at Glenn Memorial Church at Emory University on Tuesday. Pool Photo by Brynn Anderson/UPI "My mother was the glue that held our family together through the ups and downs and thicks and thins of our family's politics," Chip Carter said. Chip thanked his mother for helping him through his addiction issues and credited her with saving his life. An Armed Forces body bearer team moves the casket of former first lady Rosalynn Carter into place for a tribute service at Glenn Memorial Church at Emory University on Tuesday in Atlanta. Pool Photo by Brynn Anderson/UPI "She was influential, in getting me into rehab for my drug and alcohol addiction. She saved my life," Chip Carter said. TV journalist Judy Woodruff addressed the gathering and recounted personal stories of the Carter family during the service. Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood perform at a tribute service for former first lady Rosalynn Carter at Glenn Memorial Church at Emory University on Tuesday. Pool Photo by Brynn Anderson/UPI "President Carter, President Biden, Dr. Biden, Vice President Harris, the second gentleman, President Clinton, Secretary Clinton, Mrs. Bush, Mrs. Obama, Mrs. Trump, distinguished guests and friends, Rosalynn Carter would be so pleased to see that she brought all of you together on this day," Woodruff said. Woodruff praised Rosalynn Carter for her advocacy for people with disabilities and her relationship with former President Carter. Errol Carter Kelly, granddaughter of former first lady Rosalynn Carter, walks past the casket after reading scripture at a tribute service for former first lady Rosalynn Carter at Glenn Memorial Church at Emory University on Tuesday. Pool Photo by Brynn Anderson/UPI "For 77 years they adored each other and had much in common. Intelligence compassion, curiosity courage, and apparently, they could both be a little stubborn," Woodruff said. Woodruff also recounted how she met her husband, reporter Al Hunt, during a 1976 softball game between members of Carter's campaign staff and reporters. An Armed Forces team moves the casket of former first lady Rosalynn Carter after a tribute service at Glenn Memorial Church at Emory University on Tuesday in Atlanta. Pool Photo by Brynn Anderson/UPI The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus performed Rosalynn Carter's most beloved songs throughout the gathering. The Rev. Mark Westmoreland, who serves as pastor of Glenn Memorial, will deliver the eulogy, followed by remarks by Pastor Tony Lowden, the personal pastor of the Carters. President Joe Biden arrives before a tribute service for former first lady Rosalynn Carter at Glenn Memorial Church at Emory University on Tuesday in Atlanta. Pool Photo by Brynn Anderson/UPI The service took place a day after hundreds paid tribute to the former first lady on Monday evening as her body lay in repose for several hours at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library in Atlanta. The former first lady made her final journey Monday from Plains, Ga., to Atlanta as state residents lined roads to watch the motorcade pass amid three days of memorials. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., arrives for a tribute service for former first lady Rosalynn Carter at Glenn Memorial Church at Emory University on Tuesday. Pool Photo by Brynn Anderson/UPI Ahead of Tuesday's ceremony, the Carter family departed the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta at 11:30 a.m., as the hearse led a motorcade to the church, where the more than hour-long ceremony began at 1 p.m. Following Tuesday's tribute, the casket bearing Carter's body was carried back to the hearse. According to the Carter Center, the motorcade passed the Carter Presidential Center for a final time before joining I-75/I-85 South for the return to Plains." Former first lady Michelle Obama arrives before a tribute service for former first lady Rosalynn Carter at Glenn Memorial Church at Emory University on Tuesday. Pool Photo by Brynn Anderson/UPI A private family funeral will be held Wednesday at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains. Afterward, the casket will make one last pass in the motorcade along the downtown areas of Bond Street and Highway 280, where residents were preparing to pay their respects by standing along the route. Former first lady Melania Trump arrives before a tribute service for former first lady Rosalynn Carter at Glenn Memorial Church at Emory University on Tuesday in Atlanta. Pool Photo by Brynn Anderson/UPI Later in the afternoon, Carter's body will be interred at the family residence in Plains. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens arrives for a tribute service for former first lady Rosalynn Carter at Glenn Memorial Church at Emory University on Tuesday. Pool Photo by Brynn Anderson/UPI Monique Olivier, now 75, met serial killer Michel Fourniret in the 1980s and became his accomplice The ex-wife of one of France's most notorious serial-killers has gone on trial for her role in the 1990 murder of British student Joanna Parrish. Monique Olivier, who is 75 and already serving a life sentence in jail, is also charged with helping the late Michel Fourniret commit two other murders, one of a nine-year old girl. Joanna Parrish, 20, was found dead in a river near the town of Auxerre. The Leeds University student had been working as a gap-year English teacher. She had been beaten and raped. More than 30 years later, the trial in the Paris suburb of Nanterre is the first chance for her family to see a semblance of justice. Her parents, now divorced, are attending. Fourniret was nicknamed the Beast of the Ardennes after he was convicted of seven murders of young women in 2008. In jail 10 years later, he confessed to killing Joanna Parrish and the two others. In France, most interest is focused on the case of nine-year-old Estelle Mouzin, who disappeared on her way from school in Guermantes southeast of Paris in 2003. She is believed to be Fourniret's last victim. Her body has never been found. Fourniret died in 2021 before he could be tried for these three murders. Joanna Parrish had been working as an English teacher in Auxerre when she was murdered Olivier was also convicted in the 2008 trial, during which her role in aiding Fourniret's murderous sex obsession was laid bare. As his female accomplice, she was able to win the trust of victims, who would otherwise have been on their guard against a single male. In court on Tuesday, she was asked by the judge if she had anything to say and replied: "I regret everything that happened." In the first murder, alone in the couple's van she picked up a hitch-hiker, then further down the road picked up Fourniret, who was pretending to be another hitch-hiker. Olivier met Fourniret in the mid-1980s after he placed an advertisement in a Catholic weekly. At the time he was serving a sentence for rape. They started a correspondence, in which he revealed his obsession with virginity. He referred to young girls as "membranes on legs". On his release she agreed to help him find victims. In a bizarre twist, in 1988 the pair also laid hands on a fortune in gold which had been buried by a gang in a cemetery outside Paris. Fourniret learned of the treasure from a cellmate. He and Olivier dug it up with the cellmate's wife, who Fourniret later murdered. With the money the couple bought a chateau near the Belgian border which for years served as their base of operations. Fourniret and Olivier used a van to travel around France and chose many of their victims in places where other serial-killers were suspected of operating. Fourniret, pictured here in 2004, died in jail two years ago This may have been a factor behind the failures of the police investigation. In the case of Joanna Parrish, Auxerre was also the territory of Emile Louis, a bus-driver jailed in 2004 for the murders of seven young women. Fourniret was finally caught in 2003 after an attempted kidnapping in Belgium went wrong. The following year Olivier made her first confessions, and bit by bit Fourniret also let out the truth - though often in a confused and contradictory fashion. The couple divorced while in jail in 2010. As in the 2008 trial, much attention in Nanterre will be on Olivier's degree of responsibility. Her lawyer says she has a submissive personality, and did everything in order to please Fourniret. The prosecution says that without Olivier the murders would never have happened. RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) A federal judge rejected a request this week to speed up a lawsuit regarding the new election districts Republicans drew for the state Senate, calling that request meritless. While the case will continue to move forward, Judge James Dever is declining to take any action ahead of Dec. 4 when candidates will begin filing to run for office for 2024. Judge Dever questioned why the plaintiffs waited nearly four weeks after the General Assembly voted on the new districts to file their lawsuit and ask the court to issue a preliminary injunction. Furthermore, plaintiffs request completely ignores that their case is not the only case on the courts docket and that plaintiffs do not set this courts schedule for holding hearings or deciding motions. This court has over 1,000 cases, Dever writes. It means that for now, the districts Republicans have drawn will remain in place. These districts were finalized in late October. People who want to challenge these districts have had plenty of time to come up with a lawsuit, said Mitch Kokai, senior political analyst at the conservative John Locke Foundation. The judge deciding, no Im not gonna go along with this outlandish timeline, really does make things better for the Republicans who want to see those districts in place. The plaintiffs focused their case on the state Senate districts in the northeastern part of the state, saying Republicans cracked Black voters across multiple districts, diluting their voting power in violation of the Voting Rights Act. Meredith College political expert David McLennan says the judges refusal to act this week is significant for Republicans as they seek to hold their veto-proof supermajority under the new district lines. If theres any remedy, it may not occur until after the 2024 election, said McLennan. In fact, I dont see anything happening to the election calendar, which means were moving forward with the 2024 maps. Whats surprised McLennan is that there have been no lawsuits filed challenging the new Congressional districts or the map for the state House of Representatives. Under the redrawn Congressional map, Republicans are poised to flip as many as four seats in next years election. North Carolina currently has an even 7-7 split of Democrats and Republicans representing the state in the U.S. House of Representatives. It seems like Democratic-leaning groups would have taken the opportunity, but they did not, said McLennan. The fact that there has been no movement indicates that they may have questions about the legitimacy of a case using the Voting Rights Act. Democrats have indicated additional litigation is likely, but its unclear whether any additional lawsuits will be filed before the candidate filing period begins next week. Courts could still consider the issue even after candidate filing begins. Republicans took six months to draw these maps from the time that they knew that they could redraw them. Republicans intentionally delayed to cause this problem, said Gov. Roy Cooper (D). I hope that the courts eventually will find this and correct this problem. Its what they should do. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS17.com. A judge has blocked former President Donald Trump's attempt to obtain records related to the congressional investigation into 6 January. Judge Tanya Chutkan denied a motion from his team to issue subpoenas to members of the committee that looked into the Capitol attack in 2021. In an opinion filed on Monday, she cast the motion as a "fishing expedition". This is the latest courtroom defeat for Mr Trump in the case alleging he plotted to overturn the 2020 election. Judge Chutkan has already issued a gag order and denied Mr Trump's request to remove language from the indictment that he said could prejudice a jury against him. In the motion, filed in October, Mr Trump had sought to issue subpoenas to Representative Bennie Thompson, chairman of the 6 January committee, White House Counsel Richard Sauber, the Department of Homeland Security's general counsel, the national archivist, the House clerk, the committee on House administration, and Representative Barry Loudermilk. The subpoenas were for what Mr Trump called "missing materials" and communications about how those materials were handled. Judge Chutkan said that Mr Trump had not specified what information he was seeking in the materials and only gave a "vague description of their potential relevance". She focused on his requests for the committee's video recordings and transcripts of witness interviews. Noting that the transcripts had already been provided to Mr Trump, she said he had not articulated how the videos could help his case. Altogether, he had not "sufficiently justified" his request, she wrote. In a series of primetime televised hearings last year, the bipartisan committee presented its own case. Supporters of former President Donald Trump attacked the US Capitol on 6 January 2021 The bipartisan committee argued that Mr Trump sought to stay in the White House by contesting the results of the 2020 election and that he rallied supporters to try to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden as the rightful winner. It often showed videos of depositions from Mr Trump's closest aides and confidants, including his daughter Ivanka Trump and former Attorney General Bill Barr. Mr Trump is the current front-runner for the Republican nomination in next year's election, and juggling four criminal court cases with his busy campaign schedule. The former president, though, is not slowing down on either side. On the same day that Judge Chutkan denied his subpoena request, Mr Trump filed a new, 34-page motion to compel the prosecution to give him information from the Justice Department and Homeland Security, mostly on supposed threats to the integrity of the 2020 election. A judge denied a controversial bloggers request on Tuesday to return electronics that were confiscated from him during his arrest in late October. Aidan Kearney, known as Turtleboy, has been investigating the 2022 death of Boston Police Officer John OKeefe in Canton, specifically the role his girlfriend, Karen Read, may or may not have had in it. Turtleboy blogger can attend Karen Read hearings, but stay away order remains, judge says Kearney has been outspoken in his defense of Read, saying that she was framed as part of a large-scale coverup involving the Canton Police Department and the Norfolk County District Attorneys Office. The popular blogger was arrested in October for witness intimidation in connection to the Karen Read murder case. During the arrest, investigators took several of his electronic devices. Kearneys attorney argued on Tuesday that the devices are necessary for his client to do his job as a journalist, adding the move is an unlawful attempt to silence him. Judge hears First Amendment argument from Turtleboy blogger charged with witness intimidation The judge denied the motion and said Kearney should file a motion in superior court to get his electronics back. Kearney said hes disappointed by the ruling, but expected it. He will return to court for another hearing next week. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW A federal judge recently dismissed a lawsuit filed by the father of Osaze Osagie, a Black State College man who was fatally shot by a police officer in 2019 when trying to serve a mental health arrest warrant. U.S. Middle District Judge Matthew W. Brann issued the summary judgment Monday, three years after the lawsuit was initially filed. In a 46-page memorandum opinion, Brann wrote that local police officers could not be held liable for something they are not and they were not mental health experts. Remaining defendants in the case included State College Borough and four police officers in M. Jordan Pieniazek, Christopher Hill, Keith Robb and Christian Fishel. Though the Court empathizes with the loss suffered by the Osagie family, that does not entitle them to relief, Brann wrote. The State College Police Department is, as the name suggests, a department of police officers, not mental health professionals. Osazes mother and father were seeking unspecified monetary damages for what they previously described as the police departments years of systematic failings when it came to protecting the rights of individuals with mental health disabilities. When asked for comment, a Borough spokesperson said they were still reviewing the ruling. The legal team who represents the Osagie family Andrew Shubin, Kathleen Yurchak and Andrew Celli issued a written statement Tuesday. While the family is devastated by the Courts decision, they understood at the beginning of this process that Courts are reluctant to impose civil liability on police departments even when their encounters with the mentally ill, those in desperate need of treatment, are fatal, the statement said. In its memorandum, the Court wrote that it was beyond its purview to determine the solution for how to best fill the gaps through which individuals such as Osagie fall and law enforcements role in that solution ... Although the family hasnt decided whether to file an appeal, they will continue to honor their son by bringing light to the manner in which law enforcement interacts with the mentally ill; they believe these encounters, done responsibly, should result in compassionate and empathic treatment rather than the death of a loved one. According to police reports and court documents, the events of the case began when Osaze a 29-year-old autistic man with schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder was acting erratically in the two weeks leading up to his death in March 2019. Longtime friends described him as a gentle giant, a caring churchgoer who would volunteer to do neighbors yard work, but he was different when he was off his medication. A collage of photos of Osaze Osagie, including one with his father, Sylvester. And Osazes father worried he had discontinued his meds, especially after a text message from his son that read, in part, Any poor soul whose life I take today, if any poor soul at all, may God forgive his sins if he has any. On March 20, 2019, three officers Pieniazek, Hill and Robb were sent to Osazes apartment along Old Boalsburg Road to involuntary transport him to the hospital. According to police, Osaze instead ran toward the officers inside a narrow hallway with a steak knife in his right hand. A Taser was ineffective, and he was shot three times, once in the shoulder and twice in the back. The department did not have body cameras at that time. The lawsuit, filed in November 2020, accused officers and the borough of excessive force, assault and battery, failure to supervise, among other counts. Brann ruled the officers were entitled to qualified immunity, writing that the law affords officers the breathing room to make reasonable but mistaken judgments when it comes to individuals with mental health issues. Police officers did not act unreasonably, Brann added, and they did not have time to de-escalate the situation. More fundamentally, the state of the law regarding how law enforcement should approach mentally ill individuals remains relatively primitive, Brann wrote. Though todays police forces bear little resemblance to those of the 1800s, dealing with serious criminals has long been among the core responsibilities delegated to law enforcement. In contrast, the increasing reliance on police to respond to crises arising from a mental illness is a relatively recent phenomenon. Thus, consensus regarding how law enforcement should respond to such situations remains elusive. Brann rejected a number of arguments, such as concerns over a policy-required crisis worker not being on scene for Osaze. Although State College Police Departments policy called for such a crisis worker in those situations, Centre County Mental Health Services has never sent out a crisis worker to help serve a mental health warrant, at least not for decades. State College Police Chief John Gardner acknowledged during a deposition, cited in court documents, that the policy has long not been followed. The county agency which was not part of the lawsuit has said its not their responsibility. I know what this policy says, but I also know in practicality and reality what were left with, Gardner said. I cannot dictate to another agency what they should or shouldnt do. I can only voice the concerns I have and Ive done that over the years. Osazes death, the first fatal shooting in the police departments history, rocked the community more than a year before George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer, which put conversations on race at the forefront of the nations consciousness. Community groups marched downtown for Justice for Osaze, a group formed shortly after Osazes death and was named after the date he died (3/20 Coalition), and meetings and prayers have continued. State College Borough adopted a number of police reforms in the wake of Osaze and Floyd. All officers are now outfitted with body cameras, the police department has pursued a social worker program, Borough Council created a Community Oversight Board, a Mental Health Task Force was established, etc. Much more needs to be done, said the statement from the Osagies legal team, but the family takes comfort in the love and support of the community and the fact that their response to this sons death played a role in achieving some measure of change. CDT reporter Bret Pallotto contributed to this story This embedded content is not available in your region. The former owner of the Edenville Dam, which failed in record rainfall in May 2020 and caused extensive flooding around Midland, is liable for nearly $120 million in damage to area fisheries and freshwater mussel populations, a U.S. District Court judge ruled Monday. Lee Mueller, former owner of Boyce Hydro Power LLC, was found liable for the environmental damage in a lawsuit brought against him by the Michigan departments of Natural Resources, and Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney delivered the ruling as a default judgment, typically issued in favor of one party in a legal proceeding when the other party fails to appear in court or fails to take actions in the case required by the court. The Edenville Dam is a 6,600-foot earthen embankment up to 54 feet in height, spanning both the Tittabawassee and Tobacco rivers in Midland and Gladwin counties. The dam failed in record rainfall on May 19, 2020, causing the further failure of the downriver Sanford Dam. The resulting widespread flooding caused more than $200 million in damage and forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 people. Wixom Lake, the 2,600-acre reservoir created by the Edenville Dam, was largely emptied. The area where the Edenville dam used to be until it failed sending flood waters through the area to as far south as Midland, devastating towns along the way. Boyce Hydro had its hydro power-generating permit revoked by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in September 2018, the agency citing the dam owner's repeated failure to address safety concerns at the dam especially its ability to withstand heavy rains. Fisheries damage runs in tens of millions The state agencies, through state Attorney General Dana Nessel's Office, sued Mueller and related corporations to the dams in June 2020, less than one month after the dams' failures. The state alleged Mueller and his dam operations violated Michigan's Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, along with other claims. The state's evidence included testimony by DNR fisheries biologist Jeff Jolley, who concluded that the "total combined economic loss of fish replacement costs and lost recreational value projected over five years, a conservative estimate of when the reservoirs might be restored, is over $21 million. Another report to the court from Elle Gulotty, a resource analyst for the DNR, estimated that almost 3 million mussels were killed across Wixom and Sanford lakes because of the dam failure. She estimated that replacing those mussels would cost more than $90 million. The dams ownership completely disregarded imminent threats to the safety and integrity of the dam, and as the state clearly demonstrated before the court, Lee Mueller and his business were responsible for the disaster that struck Edenville and other area communities," Nessel said in a statement. This nearly $120 million judgement is important both as a measure of accountability to the community Mueller devastated and as a deterrent to other owners of critical infrastructure." 'Defendants knew the Edenville dam embankment might fail' Maloney accepted those damages and cost deficits, and added more than $8.8 million in relief stemming from violations by Mueller of the Natural Resources Environmental Protection Act, for a total of $119,825,000. The court last May granted the state agencies' motion for summary judgment against three limited liability corporations related to Mueller and the dams, as well as three related trusts, that the defendants conceded amid bankruptcy proceedings. Maloney, in his ruling, drew upon evidence, including Mueller's deposition testimony "that Defendants knew the Edenville dam embankment might fail." He also cited testimony by Frank Christie, a general manager and engineer for the Edenville Dam who left the job in 2017 "because of all the problems accumulating at both the Edenville and Sanford dams," Maloney stated in his ruling. Water from remnants of Sanford Lake rushes downstream as someone (far right) fished near the Sanford Dam in Sanford on Tuesday, May 18, 2021. The litigating state agencies, the judge wrote, "assert that Defendants knew of the Edenville dams vulnerability, prepared a plan to resolve it, and then never implemented said plan. Mr. Christie testified that, in lieu of fixing the problems with the dam, Mr. Mueller engaged in several other money-making schemes like building a parking lot and pole barn, digging a pond, attempting to build a marina, attempting to build a travel trailer park, and attempting to host a music festival." Dam owner's attorney says state escapes accountability Lawrence Kogan, attorney for Mueller and his companies in the case, called the judge's "a hollow judgment." "It's a judgment against bankrupt entities, an entity that doesnt have any money, that cant fight back," he said. "Whats the purpose?" Kogan said the state, local governments and shoreline residents have escaped their own culpability. The state allows pesticides and herbicides to flow into Wixom Lake, and didn't do enough to control the invasive zebra and quagga mussels that consumed indigenous mussel species' food sources, he said. He noted that the state's entire dam inspection program consisted of two staff and a supervisor and a budget of less than $400,000 at the time of the dam failures. State officials knew of the dam's unresolved safety problems, yet still allowed water levels on Wixom Lake to be raised in the rainy spring season to allow for area residents to install their docks, Kogan said. More: A year after Midland flood: Mud, erosion, missing lakes, disrupted lives and uncertainty "The dams were there from the 1920s," he said. "The state knew about the dams; the county knew about the dams, and raising the water level for the boaters was deemed most important." The Four Lakes Task Force, a nonprofit made up of local residents that serves as the designated authority for Midland and Gladwin counties on the dams and lakes, is working on a multiyear plan to restore the Edenville and three other dams, and the impoundment lakes behind them, at a cost of up to $300 million. The costs will be covered by federal and state funding as well as assessments on nearby residents. Contact Keith Matheny: kmatheny@freepress.com. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Judge: Former owner of failed dam liable for $119M in environmental harm C.J. Rice could soon be a free man. Rice, whose case and ineffective representation in court we told you about on CNN and in a cover story in The Atlantic in October 2022, was granted a petition for writ of habeas corpus on Monday by Judge Nitza I. Quinones Alejandro, United States District judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Alejandro found that Rices trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance and ordered that Pennsylvania decide whether to retry him or free him within 180 days. The decision will be made by the Philadelphia district attorney within the next six months. Rice has already been in prison for more than 11 years. The case first received national attention because of a cover story in The Atlantic written by this reporter, titled, This Is Not Justice: A Philadelphia teenager and the empty promise of the Sixth Amendment, which noted many ways Rice did not have effective counsel when the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania sent him to prison for 30 to 60 years for a 2011 shooting. This reporter was first alerted to the Rice case by his father, Dr. Theodore S. Tapper, who was Rices pediatrician and testified that he did not believe Rice would have been physically capable of carrying out the 2011 shooting given that he was recovering from a separate shooting at the time. The story also noted that attorney Karl Schwartz, thought to be hired by this reporters father, was working on a habeas petition to free Rice. Habeas corpus is a legal principle that allows people who believe they are being held unlawfully in prison or detention to challenge it. In December of 2022, Schwartz filed the habeas petition, which specifically argued that Rices attorney incompetently stipulated to evidence that provided a motive for the charged shootings. Subsequently, attorneys Nilam Sanghvi and Amelia Maxfield of the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, former Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, and attorney Ginger Anders of Munger, Tolles & Olson, LLP, joined the effort. On September 22, the district attorneys office conceded relief based on the motive claim. On October 23, Judge Carol Sandra Moore Wells, United States Magistrate judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, ordered that habeas relief is warranted. The decision then went to Alejandro, who ruled Monday. The basics of the story are as follows: Rice had been shot in September 2011, and after he was released he saw his pediatrician. Rice could barely walk. Soon after that, two young Black men shot a separate family, causing injury but thankfully no deaths. That night, no suspects were identified, even though the victims knew Rice. The next day, however, after an anonymous tip, the police re-interviewed the victims and suddenly one picked out Rice as one of the shooters in a photo lineup that didnt follow recommended procedure. After hiring Sandjai Weaver, an overworked, underpaid defense attorney who behaved incompetently, Rice was convicted and sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison for a crime in which no one was even seriously injured. After The Atlantic story was published, this reporter ran into Verrilli and urged him to read the story. He did and soon he was also working with Schwartz and with Erin Haney of Reform Alliance, which had become involved because of the interest of this reporters CNN colleague Van Jones. After this reporter did a CNN version of the story with Jones and Barry Scheck of the Innocence Project, that organization became involved as well. Schwartzs petition focused on Weaver agreeing to stipulate to an otherwise inadmissible fact that established a motive for Rice to commit the crime, as Assistant District Attorney Peter Andrews acknowledged. The prosecutions theory was that the shooting was retaliation against one of the victims for shooting Rice three weeks earlier. However, neither the police nor the prosecutor could offer any concrete evidence supporting the victims culpability for the earlier shooting, and the trial court was prepared to exclude the motive evidence for being more prejudicial than probative. Instead, on the morning of trial, Rices counsel stipulated that the evidence could come in. Trial counsels decision to agree to that stipulation was objectively unreasonable, as the evidence was otherwise inadmissible and only could have hurt her client. Andrews, acknowledging that Rice was not provided the rights afforded under the Sixth Amendment to the US Constitution, which guarantees a defendants right to counsel, said that the inadequate counsel means that Rice is due habeas relief a fundamental right elsewhere in the Constitution that protects against unlawful and indefinite imprisonment. Because of this, Andrews wrote, the Commonwealth respectfully requests that the Court grant a conditional writ of habeas corpus and order that Rice be retried within 180 days or released from custody. The case now is sent back to state court, specifically to the Court of Common Pleas, where it will be assigned to a judge who will schedule a status hearing for both parties Rice and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, to be represented by the district attorney of Philadelphia, who has up to six months to decide whether he wants to try this case, though his office has already ruled that Rice did not get a fair trial. A statement from the district attorneys office Monday said it was pleased with the district court order vacating Rices conviction. This matter will now be referred to the DAs Sentencing Review Committee, which includes homicide prosecutors and will invite participation of survivors of the 2011 shooting for which Mr. Rice was previously convicted. After the Sentencing Review Committee makes a recommendation on how to proceed with the charges against petitioner Rice, the decision of District Attorney Larry Krasner will be formally communicated to the Court of Common Pleas ahead of its ruling. We expect this matter to be finally resolved within the next several months. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com The judge presiding over tech billionaire Elon Musks lawsuit against Media Matters for America has recused himself from the case, according to court documents. In a notice filed with the court on Tuesday, Judge Mark Pittman of the U.S. District Court in Northern Texas wrote that he was recusing himself from the case and requested the clerk of the court assign it to another judge. Pittman, who was appointed to his position by former President Trump, did not give a reason for stepping away, and it was not immediately clear why the request was made. Federal judges are mandated to recuse themselves when their impartiality might reasonably be questioned, including when they have a financial interest or personal bias. Musk sued Media Matters, a progressive watchdog, last week for what his attorneys argued was the companys misrepresentation of how content appears on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, as if they were what typical X users experience on the platform. Media Matters had days earlier published a report on X, revealing it was placing advertising next to hateful content. The report came around the same time Musk had embraced an antisemitic conspiracy theory on the platform, which he owns. The Media Matters report and Musks post triggered a wave of major companies pulling advertising from X. This is a frivolous lawsuit meant to bully Xs critics into silence, Media Matters President Angelo Carusone said in a recent statement to The Hill on Musks suit. Media Matters stands behind its reporting and looks forward to winning in court. Zach Schonfeld contributed reporting. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. TEHRAN, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Monday rejected Iran's involvement in the recent attacks on Israeli-linked vessels in the Red Sea. Kanaani said such incidents "have no relation to the Islamic Republic of Iran," adding that Yemen's Houthis had claimed responsibility for the seizure of the first Israeli ship on Nov. 19. In a statement on Nov. 19, the Houthis announced "a military operation in the Red Sea ... the results of which included the seizure of an Israeli ship." The statement said the group would continue to carry out military operations against Israel until "its aggression against the Gaza Strip stops." On Sunday, another vessel, the Liberian-flagged Central Park, which is managed by a Britain-based ship management firm owned by Israel's Ofer family, was intercepted by unknown attackers before being released under the help of the U.S. Navy. On Saturday, a U.S. defense official said a Malta-flagged container ship, known as CMA CGM Symi and managed by an Israeli-controlled company, was hit a day earlier by a suspected "Iranian drone" in the Indian Ocean, which caused minor damage to the vessel but no casualties. The federal judge overseeing Donald Trumps election subversion case in Washington, DC, denied the former presidents effort to subpoena records from the House select committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. Trumps attorneys had claimed in their motion to subpoena records from the committee, its Chairman Bennie Thompson, and others that the committee and federal officials withheld some materials related to the investigation. His defense lawyers also argued that special counsel Jack Smiths investigation into Trump had significant overlap with the House select committees investigation. With the case slated to go to trial in March, Judge Tanya Chutkan is still considering several pretrial motions from Trumps team, including long-shot motions to dismiss the entire case. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges stemming from efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Thompson has defended his panels archival process. He said this summer that the committee wasnt required to keep all of the records it amassed during the monthslong investigation, in response to accusations from Rep. Barry Loudermilk, currently overseeing a House Republican probe into the committees work, that certain records were missing. Chutkan, in her ruling Monday, said Trump had not sufficiently justified his subpoena requests and did not establish relevance between the case and certain items he wanted to subpoena, including recorded interviews. The order also says that some of the requested material has already been provided to Trumps team through discovery. In addition, Chutkan noted that Trumps requested subpoenas lacked specificity about certain information he wanted, comparing the request to a fishing expedition. The broad scope of the records that Defendant seeks, and his vague description of their potential relevance, resemble less a good faith effort to obtain identified evidence than they do a fishing expedition, Chutkan wrote. CNNs Annie Grayer contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com One of Donald Trumps co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case just dodged a motion filed by Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis that would have sent him back to jail before the trial begins. A judge denied Willis bond revocation order for Harrison Floyd that she filed on Nov. 15. Willis cited several of Floyds social media posts, which she claims were inflammatory examples that should breach his bond order because of the flagrant ways in which he mentioned co-defendants and witnesses that could be perceived as a pattern of intimidation. Booking photo of Harrison Floyd at Fulton County jail (Photo: Twitter) She argued that Floyd posed a significant threat of intimidating witnesses and otherwise obstructing the administration of justice in the future, making him ineligible for bond. However, a judge didnt see it that way. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said during the Nov. 21 bond revocation hearing he didnt detect any signs of witness intimidation in Floyds posts, and although the posts are a technical violation of Floyds bond, not every violation compels revocation, McAfee said. I read these as, seeing these more, that someone is wanting to defend his case in a very public way, McAfee said. He also noted that Floyds current bond deal with Fulton County prosecutors doesnt address the nuances of social media. As a way to address those nuances, McAfee approved a temporary modified bond order to specifically prohibit public comment about witnesses in the future and included more explicit restrictions on Floyds posts. In his posts, Floyd mentioned Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, state election official Gabriel Sterling, former elections worker Ruby Freeman, and Jenna Ellis, a lawyer who accepted a plea deal after being indicted alongside Floyd. During the hearing that would determine whether Floyds bond would be revoked, Willis argued that Floyds tweets were a disgusting violation of the bond order he agreed to and maintained that they amounted to intimidation. He was given the benefit of the doubt he was given an opportunity to cooperate with the rules of the case, and what he really did was spit on the court and refuse to oblige by three of the seven conditions of his bond order, Willis said of the bond agreement. It is unfair to those witnesses. And there are real consequences for allowing defendants to intimidate witnesses. In that same hearing, Michael Hill, a witness who confirmed the authenticity of Floyds posts on X, testified that the attorney for Jenna Ellis said that Ellis believed the posts she was mentioned in were meant to intimidate her. Floyds attorney, John Morrison, asked Hill if Floyd sent any witness a direct message on X. Hill responded that he couldnt say that he did, but said that Floyd used the tagging function to refer to and communicate with witnesses. Threats and intimidation are well refined in Georgia law; none of these posts amount to a threat or intimidation, Floyds lawyer stated. Judge McAfee clarified that as part of the revised bond order, Floyd is free to talk about Donald Trump and promote him as it pertains to the 2024 presidential election. He can also make criticisms online and publicly proclaim his innocence without mentioning his co-defendants and witnesses in the case. Obviously, were very concerned about the safety of Miss Ruby Freeman. She has clearly endured enough. And this conduct is not just chilling to her but chilling to other people who would want to serve in her capacity, Willis said following the hearing. The political network founded by Republican billionaire megadonor brothers Charles Koch and the late David Koch endorsed Nikki Haley on Tuesday for the Republican primary, the latest snub in the Koch networks ongoing (and so far fruitless) campaign against Donald Trump. Americans for Prosperity Action, the Koch networks advocacy arm, sent out a memo to conservative grassroots activists announcing its endorsement, as well as a coming multimillion-dollar campaign for pro-Haley online and television ads. When we announced our decision to engage in our first ever Republican presidential primary, we made it clear that wed be looking for a candidate who can turn the page on our political dysfunctionand win. Its clear that candidate is Nikki Haley, AFP Action senior adviser Emily Seidel said in a statement. The Koch network has spent the past year steadily ramping up its strident rejection of Trump. Just Monday, AFP Action sent out leaflets urging voters to stop Biden by letting go of Trump. Heres the anti-Trump line from the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity (from a mailer in New Hampshire) pic.twitter.com/yQfr3lK1yz Susan Glasser (@sbg1) November 26, 2023 The networks efforts to keep Trump from winning another presidential nomination kicked off in earnest back in February, when AFP Action sent out a memo stating that the group wanted to help the U.S. move on from Trump. The Koch network launched a wave of anti-Trump digital ads in June, arguing that Trump cant win. That same month, the Koch network revealed it had already raised more than $70 million to donate to non-Trump political races. Koch Industries and Stand Together each donated $25 million, for a combined $50 million of the total funds raised. David Koch died in 2019, but Charles Koch is a major shareholder in Koch Industries, and he founded the nonprofit Stand Together. The Koch network is one of the most influential conservative political groups, and yet its efforts to stop Trump have been foiled at every turn. In the months since the Koch network proclaimed that Trump cant win, the former president has established himself as the Republican primary front-runnerby a massive margin. National polls show him with an average of 61.6 percent support. Haley has climbed steadily in recent months, but shes still sitting in third place with a nationwide average of just 9.8 percent support. Its also unclear exactly why the Koch network dislikes Trump so much. While in office, he successfully carried out moves long sought by the organization, including the gutting of the Environmental Protection Agency, a single-minded strategy of deregulation to strengthen the hand of private businesses, and tipping the Supreme Court conservativewith a majority thats proven to be well inclined to favor the interests of big business and the decimation of the administrative state. Whether or not there is a difference of opinion beyond mere aesthetics, it seems the animosity is mutual. Trump said in 2018 that he never sought the Koch networks backing because I dont need their money or bad ideas. In September, he once again dismissed the Koch network, calling Charles Koch highly overrated. Very stupid, awkward, and highly overrated Globalist Charles Koch of the Koch Network doesnt have a clue, Trump said on Truth Social. He said his best years were the four years during the Trump Administration, and now his people are aimlessly throwing away other peoples money. We just got a first look at McDonald's secretive new spinoff restaurant, CosMc's A construction site in Bolingbrook, Illinois, presumed to be the first location of CosMc's. Scott Fredrickson McDonald's has been reluctant to share many details about its new restaurant concept, CosMc's. But new posts on social media share a few hints. McDonald's has said it will disclose more details during its investor's day conference next week. We know just a bit more about CosMc's, McDonald's super-secret new restaurant concept based on an obscure McDonaldland character from the late '80s. The spinoff restaurant is the latest nostalgia play by the chain and was first mentioned by McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski during the chain's second-quarter earnings call this summer. "CosMc's is a small-format concept with all the DNA of McDonald's but its own unique personality," he said. Additional details were scant. But recent posts on social media and a search of Google Maps appear to show where the first restaurant will be and what consumers can expect, namely a lot of drive-thru lanes. The TikToker @snackolator, who chronicles new snacks, posted a tour of a construction site in Bolingbrook, Illinois, which appears to be the future home of a CosMc's. The TikToker noted the site had four drive-thru lanes. "The kind of conventional thinking is that this is going to be something of a competitor to like Starbucks, where it's going to focus on the McCafe stuff and the coffee and the drinks as opposed to serving burgers and fries, which makes even more sense when you realize that this CosMc's is being built directly next to an existing McDonald's," the Tiktoker said. A construction site in Bolingbrook, Illinois, presumed to be the first location of CosMc's. Scott Fredrickson A Google Maps search indicates the building is a former Boston Market restaurant that is indeed next door to a McDonald's. CosMc's on Google Maps. Google Maps Scott Fredrickson posted a few photos of the building's exterior on Facebook. He told Business Insider he passed by the location several times a week. The building appears to have a blue exterior, and the CosMc's sign has a retro feel. McDonald's declined to comment on the record, but previously said it would disclose more details during its investor day conference later this month. Do you have any intel on CosMc's or a story to share? Contact Gloria Dawson via phone, text, or the encrypted messaging app Signal (+1-516-721-6598) or email ( gdawson@insider.com ). Read the original article on Business Insider Shelby County Juvenile Court Judge Tarik Sugarmon called on parents to do more to help stem the rise in youth violence in Memphis and Shelby County. Sugarmon spoke to members of the Memphis Rotary Club Tuesday about the rise in youth crime, offering a variety of solutions. Sugarmon also said he would be writing to state Senator Brent Taylor, R-Memphis, to "find a way" for adults who are influencing juvenile crime to be held accountable. "We have to find ways, creative ways to make sure that we hold those parents accountable and their responsibility once we adjudicated an individual if they go back home of following up with that," Sugarmon said. Tarik Sugarmon is sworn in as Shelby County Juvenile Court Judge amongst friends and family at Renasant Convention Center on Wednesday, August 31, 2022. Sugarmon also noted homelessness, poverty and poor healthcare are often thought to drive the rise in juvenile crime. But he said there are other factors, including the lack of fathers in the home and poor school performance, at play. Sugarmon also said that targeting disconnected youth is one way to address the rise in juvenile crime. "Disconnected youth are those that are not in school, not working and not in a job training program," Sugarmon said. "Nationally 45% of the youth that are disconnected cross over to delinquency docket...Shelby County being one of the largest percentages of disconnected from anywhere in the country, we are at the greatest risk." The large population of disconnected youth can be attributed to multiple factors, Sugarmon said, but there are solutions present within the community currently to address it. Sugarmon said that getting fathers of youth back into the household and back into the lives of their children is paramount in addressing disconnected youth. "One of the things we're trying to do is bring in programs that buttress the impact fathers, AFIRM is one of the partnerships we have," Sugarmon said. AFIRM -- which stands for A Father's Involvement Really Matters -- serves low-income fathers who are on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or have a recent child support order according to their website. Fathers receive parenting classes on fatherhood and relationship management in addition to job training. Other partnerships the Juvenile Court has other partnerships Sugarmon said, some look at victim centralized approaches to rehabilitation, academic programs that promote college attendance and bringing back the Memphis Police Department Scouting program. "There are encouraging signs from report based upon the community policing programs that MPD had," Sugarmon said. "One was Leaders of Tomorrow. They won national awards...also youth crime watch was out of Hollywood subdivision. There...was fortune 500 leader who came out of the program." Sugarmon said the success stories that came out of the community policing programs in Memphis made the Obama administration look to it to form their 21st century crime reduction plan. Sugarmon said he urges the community to restore the community policing efforts for the betterment of Memphis children. "We have to give children an opportunity for community policing to take effect. And that will be a conduit for better officers, for engaging kids across social activities, for turning a lot of these problems (ahead) around," Sugarmon said. Brooke Muckerman covers Shelby County Government for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at (901) 484-6225, brooke.muckerman@commercialappeal.com and followed on Threads and X @BrookeMuckerman. This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Judge Tarik Sugarmon talks solutions to juvenile crime COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) A Bexley police cruiser was struck by two girls who were driving a stolen vehicle during a pursuit early Tuesday morning. Columbus and Bexley PD confirmed that officers responded to reports of a stolen SUV at 7:19 a.m. after a 911 call was received from an individual following a stolen car owned by a relative. The incident began near East 5th Avenue and Interstate 670 before police caught up to the SUV. BrewDog to open brands third airport bar inside John Glenn International This embedded content is not available in your region. The two juveniles reportedly led police on a chase before they crashed the SUV into a Bexley cruiser at the intersection of Bexford Place and South Cassady Avenue, near East Broad Street. The stolen vehicle also collided with another vehicle near the same intersection, police said. The girls were arrested at the scene and no injuries were reported. The 13-year-old driver faces charges including: Theft of a motor vehicle Receiving stolen property Possession of criminal tools Failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer The passenger, a 16-year-old, faces: Theft of a motor vehicle Receiving stolen property NBC4 does not name juvenile suspects unless police are actively looking for them, or they have been charged as an adult. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks about abortion rights with Mini Timmaraju, President of NARAL Pro-Choice America, and Julieta Garibay, Senior Capacity Building Director for Groundswell Fund, at the LBJ Museum in Austin on Oct. 8, 2022. Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune Vice President Kamala Harris, during a visit to Houston on Monday, pitched Latino Texans on the White Houses advocacy for them as President Joe Biden prepares to face voters again next year. We are living in a moment where there is a full-on attack on hard-won freedoms and rights, Harris said, addressing the challenges ahead. In the next 11 months, weve got a lot of work to do to make true the promise of who we are as America. Harris spoke as part of a moderated conversation with U.S. Reps. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, and Nanette Barragan, D-Calif., chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Harris attended a Biden campaign fundraiser afterward. Harris specifically touted the administrations efforts to help minority-owned businesses, saying she and Biden understand the history of disparity. She noted the White House has committed to a 50% increase in federal contracts for such businesses and has invested $12 billion in community lenders to expand access to capital for entrepreneurs. But Harris also spoke more broadly about what she called an intentional full-on attack against peoples rights, including the U.S. Supreme Courts overturning of Roe v. Wade last year. She harshly criticized states like Texas that after the ruling instituted abortion bans without exceptions for rape victims. The idea that after someone has survived a crime of violence to their body, a violation of their body, that they would be told, And you have no right to make a decision about what happens to your body next its immoral, Harris said. Its immoral. The conversation was introduced by Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, who spoke about her recent struggles with mental health and the stigma attached to it, especially in the Latino community. Hidalgo took a nine-week leave of absence earlier this year to check herself into an inpatient treatment center in Ohio. [Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo extends mental health leave] Its just something we dont talk about in our culture, but that doesnt mean its not happening, Hidalgo said. Hidalgo said Harris contacted her while she was receiving treatment and was such a source of support for me. The event took place at Hardy Senior Center in Garcias district, one of the most heavily Hispanic congressional districts in the country. Harris headed to a private residence afterward for the fundraiser, which was also attended by her husband, Doug Emhoff, as well as Hidalgo and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. According to a pool report, Emhoff paid homage to famous Texas Democrats and alluded to the decades-long Republican control of the state. "We will never give up on Texas," Emhoff said. Harris visit comes as the Biden campaign works to shore up Latino support ahead of a potential rematch against former President Donald Trump next year. In Texas, Republicans have been making an aggressive push to win over more Hispanic voters, particularly in South Texas. As Harris visited Houston, a group of Hispanic Republican lawmakers and candidates was convening in the city for a fundraiser organized by the Hispanic Leadership Trust. The group is partly led by U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio. One of the participants, former U.S. Rep. Mayra Fores, R-Los Indios, criticized Harris visit for a lack of focus on the border. The topic did not come up in the conversation. Kamala Harris coming to Houston while continuing to ignore the crisis at our southern border is a slap in the face to every Texan, every American, and every Hispanic American in this country, Flores said in a statement. Hispanic Americans are flocking toward the Republican Party because we have the solutions to solve the issues at the border, the gas pump, the grocery store and everywhere in between. KANSAS CITY, Mo. A 30-year-old man was sentenced on Tuesday to 25 years in prison in connection to a 2022 killing, according to Jackson County prosecutors. Court documents say that Andrew Young was at the victims residence at Colonial Terrace Apartments in June of 2022 discussing a car deal. DNA on beer bottle leads to charges in Kansas City deadly shooting Charging documents from last year detail that Young arrived just after 12 p.m., went to the fridge and grabbed a beer. He drank the beer and threw it in the trash. The court records stated that the victim who was killed pulled out his wallet followed by Young pulling out a gun from his waistband and demanding, Give me the money. Young then shot the gun hitting both victims and then left the scene, according to records. A police analyst confirmed through the victims phone that he was discussing the possibility of buying a car from Young. Jackson County records say that Young eventually confirmed the two were talking about a car deal. Prosecutors said that the beer Young drank was key in connecting him to the crime through DNA. Jackson County says Young was sentenced on Tuesday to 22 years in prison for second-degree murder and an additional three years for armed criminal action. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. KANSAS CITY, Mo. A Kansas City, Kansas, student was arrested Monday after allegedly bringing a gun to school. A spokesperson for Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools confirmed a student had a firearm at F. L. Schlagle High School. Child found dead in downtown Kansas City, police say The district spokesperson said the student was detained and later arrested. KCK Public Schools police are investigating the incident. There were no incidents at the school involving the student or others students, according to the district. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. HOUSTON - Keith Lee, the former-MMA-fighter-turned-social-media-food-critic with over 15 million TikTok followers, has landed in H-Town. FOX 26 Houston is now on the FOX LOCAL app available through Apple TV, Amazon FireTV, Roku, Google Android TV, and Vizio! Lee recently took to social media, posting a video on Nov. 18, to share the exciting news of his upcoming "food tour taste test" in Houston. Recently, Lee's reviews in Atlanta created a mix of controversy and opportunity for local businesses. While some owners were disappointed or angered by his criticism, others saw a chance to engage with customers and improve their services. Lee's followers have coined this phenomenon as the "Keith Lee Effect". His TikTok and Instagram accounts are frequently updated with his comments after he visits a restaurant, sharing his thoughts on presentation, customer service, and food. As of now, Lee has tried two local restaurants while touring the city and posting on social media. Below are the reviews he has given of these local restaurants: Keith Lee's local restaurant visits and points: 1. Stick Talk Cajun-Hibachi - Overall rating is between 7.0 and 7.2 Keith's order: $135- Salmon, 2 chicken bowls, 1 Salmon- Ribeye bowl with a Raspberry Lemonade No phone orders After tasting, he felt the meat inside the bowl could have more salt and spice, like onion. The sauce on the side did enhance the flavor of the food and complimented the food well. The sauces are really good and were a part of the high rating the restaurant received. Hours of Operation: Monday-Wednesday 11am until 12am, Thursday-Sunday 11am until 3am Chicken bowls with sauce - rated 7.3 with sauce and without sauce it is 7.0 out of 10. The rib-eye bowl was more tender than the chicken but still needed more flavor - rated 7.2 out of 10. Rasberry Lemonade is sour but sweet and not too sweet, which he liked - rated 7.3 out of 10. 2. Butter Funk Kitchen -Overall rating varies but is pretty good Keith's order: $60 -Red beans and rice with Catfish and a side of Mac' n Cheese plate, Corn bread, Fried Okra, Six piece lemon pepper wings, Oxtails and gravy plate and Gumbo. Take a call in orders and must pay over the phone. Hours of Operation- Monday- Thursday 11am-9pm, Friday and Saturday- 11am-10pm and Sunday 11am-9pm. Oxtail plate, wasn't a fan of the gravy thickness but was a fan of everything on the plate,- rated 7.8 out of 10. The red beans and rice are spicy and seasoned and have a flavor- rated 8.2 out of 10. The catfish could have been cooked a little harder just as a preference, but the overall flavor is good and juicy - rated 8.9 out of 10. Mac N' Cheese needs a lot more flavor, in his opinion, and little but more salt and said he's not a fan of it- rated 3 out of 10. Fried Okra is okay. He likes the way they cook, because it doesn't have slimness with it. He suggested a little more seasoning as a personal preference - rated 7 out of 10. Lemon pepper wings seasoned well and really good - rated 8.5 out of 10. Keith Lee is allergic to shrimp, so his wife tasted their gumbo. The meat is too soft, and the gumbo feels more like a soup - rated 6 out of 10. BEIJING, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- More than 300 representatives from over 150 Chinese sci-tech institutions will discuss cooperation with their Italian counterparts at the China Italy Science, Technology and Innovation Week, which kicked off Tuesday in Beijing. The two-day event will see in-depth discussions on a dozen fields, such as intelligent manufacturing, the art and design industry, cultural heritage conservation, youth innovation, next-generation information technology, agriculture, food and health, and green energy. The China Italy Science, Technology and Innovation Week is held by the Chinese and Italian governments in turn. The event has been successfully held 11 times since 2010, and has resulted in the signing of a large number of sci-tech cooperation projects. Matthew Perrys stepfather, Canadian broadcaster Keith Morrison, has broken his month-long social media silence to honour the late Friends star. The actor, who shot to fame starring as the wise-cracking jokester Chandler Bing on the hit NBC sitcom, was found dead at his Los Angeles home last month. He was 54. On Monday (27 November), a month after Perrys tragic death, 76-year-old Dateline correspondent Morrison tweeted asking for donations to The Matthew Perry Foundation in celebration of Giving Tuesday. This is not the sort of thing I commonly do, this pitch. But this year is different, Morrison wrote. And tomorrow is Giving Tuesday. Do what you can; he would have been grateful. Morrison has been married to Perrys mother Suzanne since 1981. Suzanne was previously married to Perrys biological father, actor John Bennett Perry, from 1968 to 1970. The 17 Again actor was Suzanne and Johns only child together. Perry has five half-siblings from Suzanne and Johns other marriages. The Matthew Perry Foundation was established by The National Philanthropic Trust after the stars death. Its mission is to help others struggling with the disease of addiction, the website states. It will honor his legacy and be guided by his own words and experiences and driven by his passion for making a difference in as many lives as possible. Perry had been vocal about his battle with addiction, candidly opening up about his journey towards sobriety in his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. This is not the sort of thing I commonly do, this pitch. But this year is different. And tomorrow is Giving Tuesday. Do what you can; he would have been grateful. https://t.co/OmaqSgt1rq Keith Morrison (@dateline_keith) November 27, 2023 His cause of death remains deferred after an initial postmortem showed no signs of meth or fentanyl in his system. Following Perrys death, Friends creator Marta Kauffman confirmed that he was sober. He seemed better than I had seen in a while. I was so thrilled to see that. He was emotionally in a good place, he looked good, he quit smoking, she told TODAY shows Hoda Kotb. In separate Instagram tributes, posted nearly three weeks after his death, his Friends co-stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow and Matt LeBlanc shared fond memories of Perry. Its GivingTuesday, the day when Americans open their wallets for charities and all sorts of causes. But it also presents a golden opportunity for particularly unscrupulous scammers hoping to line their pockets. Thats why the office of Kentuckys attorney general is reminding commonwealth residents stay alert. We spoke with LaDonna Koehler, who directs the Office of Senior Protection, for tips to avoid becoming a victim of a phony charity or a shady online retailer. Heres what to know. Kentuckians report losing millions to scams More Kentuckians have fallen prey to scams in recent years, so much so the amount of losses has more than doubled each year between 2020 and 2022, according to the attorney generals office. In late 2022, the office reported state residents had lost more than $29 million. That was up from $13 million in 2021 and $5 million in 2020. Zooming out to a national view, older adults are generally the biggest victims to scams, with the Federal Trade Commission reporting the demographic lost more than $1.6 billion to fraud last year. Still, anyone can be fooled. Weve rounded up some general tips to keep in mind to protect yourself from holiday scams. Dont get conned by cockamamie charities According to Koehler, you should be mindful of fraudulent charities seeking your donation, which can be common this time of year. Perhaps most importantly, and especially when dealing with online transactions, make sure your payment method is secure. That typically means paying with a credit card, since it offers more security and a way to dispute fraudulent charges. Venmo and other popular digital wallet apps may be convenient, but its essentially like handing over your cash to someone, which makes it less secure, Koehler said. Sticking to a credit card is typically the safer bet, and if someone is demanding donations via cryptocurrency or a digital wallet app, thats a red flag. Koehler recommends a few other tips to keep yourself safe: Research the charity before you donate. This is easier than ever with resources like Charity Navigator or the Better Business Bureaus Wise Giving Alliance. You can also punch in the name of the charity with terms like complaint, review or scam into your preferred search engine. Pay close attention to who youre giving money to. Scammers may attempt to spoof a legitimate and well-known charity with website names or email addresses that closely mimic the real name. They could be off by just one letter, but scammers are banking on the difference escaping your notice. Dont feel rushed. Beware of high-pressure tactics. If you feel rushed into making a spur-of-the-moment donation, think twice. Be cautious of GoFundMe or similar fundraising platforms. This is especially true if you dont know the person asking for donations. Report charity scams to the Kentucky attorney generals office. While it may not be able to help you recover your money, it doesnt hurt to ask. The office can also help you figure out what to do next to protect yourself. Be sure to report the scam to ag.ky.gov/scams and to the Federal Trade Commission. Your report could help protect others and bring criminals to justice. Do you have a question about fraud or scams in Kentucky for our service journalism team? Let us know via the Know Your Kentucky form below or by contacting us at ask@herald-leader.com. Kevin McCarthy was given a savage fact-checking for his seemingly poor grasp of American history. The former Speaker of the House, a Republican from California, claimed at a recent event that in every single war that America has fought, we have never asked for land afterwards. And he added: Except enough to bury the Americans who gave the ultimate sacrifice for that freedom we went in for. Mr McCarthy, who was voted out of his job in October, was so proud of his assertion that he went on to post a video clip on Elon Musks X social media platform, with the caption Think for one moment. But social media users were quick to point out a glaring mistake in Mr McCarthys understanding of his own country, and states, history. A community note was added to his tweet, clarifying that the US had taken land at the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848. That land made up 55 per cent of Mexicos territory, around 529,000 square miles, and is now the states of California, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah, as well as parts of Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas and Wyoming. Think of all the wisdom from this man wed be deprived of if his home state of California had never spontaneously risen from the sea and attached itself to the United States, wrote George Conway. And gun control activist David Hogg added: This is why we need to fund public education more. Why the history channel should go back to talking about actual history and why the Department of Education needs to be expanded NOT abolished. This is so ignorant it hurts. Other X users pointed out to Mr McCarthy that the US took control of Guam, Puerto Rico and the Philippines as territories after winning the Spanish-American War in 1898. And it was also highlighted that the US took control of American Samoa after the second Samoan Civil War. After the Revolutionary War, the US also took control of territory from Britain that included most of the land east of the Mississippi River, and most of the upper Midwest. Omid Scobie paints a dire picture of the relationship between the King and his elder son Prince William The King and the Prince of Wales are locked in an increasing struggle as they compete for public approval and battle to secure the future of the monarchy, a new royal book has claimed. Omid Scobies Endgame, published on Tuesday, paints a dire picture of the relationship between the King and his elder son, suggesting they are working in silo. Prince Williams impatience to take the top job is said to infuriate his father, who has repeatedly been left seething at perceived attempts to upstage him. The Prince, 42, did not consider the King competent enough to properly deal with the Duke of York scandal, Scobie claims, and could not understand why he did not take a hard stance against him sooner. Charless reluctance baffled William, who didnt have much confidence in his father to do the right thing anyway, the book says. A source close to the Prince is quoted as saying at the time: William [doesnt] think his father is competent enough, quite frankly. Though they share passions and interests, their style of leadership is completely different. Scobie writes that there is an 'almost frenzied push' for Prince William to be seen as ready for the throne - YUI MOK/AFP Royal aides have since suggested that it was Prince William who eventually took the lead and persuaded Elizabeth II to take decisive action. However, Scobie says such claims were dismissed by one source close to the King as being off the mark and part of a personal agenda. William, or his staff, I should say, will always be quick to play up his efforts, the source is quoted as saying. There is an almost frenzied push for William to be seen as ready for the throne, despite an entire generation coming beforehand. Similarly, the King is said to have been frustrated that despite his record on environmental campaigning, he was not included in the launch of Prince Williams Earthshot Prize. Last March, en route home from the then Duke and Duchess of Cambridges tone deaf Caribbean tour, the couples aides told journalists that lessons had been learned as they discussed the blueprint for his kingship in the future. Scobie suggests that the King was furious over Williams effrontery and considered such comments to be a deliberate attempt to upstage him. There was similar anger when Prince Williams team was quick to condemn Lady Susan Hussey following the royal race row last December. It was a rash knee-jerk response, a Buckingham Palace source is quoted as saying. The feeling was they wanted to disassociate, instead of thinking as a team. Scobie claims Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace have become hives of competing agendas and different ideas about how to modernise as each embraces a very different approach. The biographer details the all-but-lost relationship between Prince William and Prince Harry, claiming the elder brother considers the younger as no longer useful as a helpful distraction or collateral damage. Prince William has spoken of Prince Harrys decision to defect to America, and has wanted to distance himself from the Sussexes since the Royal wedding. Prince William and Harry's relationship has been strained in recent years - Heathcliff O'Malley Disappointed in Harrys life decisions and rooted in his ignited, newfound dedication to the Crown, William now considers his brother an outsider, Scobie states. Especially since the release of Harrys memoir, which not only gave further details surrounding the Sussexes decision to step back from their royal roles but also Williams part in it. No longer useful as a helpful distraction or collateral damage, William had been wanting to distance himself from his brother ever since Harrys marriage to Meghan whom the then Duke of Cambridge took a disliking to from the start. Panorama interview In particular, he accuses the Prince of Wales of discrediting his late mothers candid and truthful words to disgraced journalist Martin Bashir to protect the institution. The investigation into the Panorama interview, in which the BBC undertook not to re-broadcast it other than in specific exceptional circumstances, was a golden opportunity to finally silence Princess Diana, he said. The book claims Prince William contacted BBC executives to ensure the Panorama interview was not broadcast again - BBC/PA Prince William personally contacted BBC executives to take whatever steps were necessary to ensure that the interview never again sees the light of day, the book states. With the help of Dianas older son, they finally had the chance to remove her voice from the record. Prince Harry, on the other hand, knew his mother just wanted to be heard. To Harry, a friend of his later told me, the purpose of the Dukes brief and targeted response was to acknowledge the outcome but also protect his mothers legacy and her words, Scobie says. Prince Harry confronted King over bullying Prince Harry was left so upset by Buckingham Palaces investigation into his wifes alleged bullying of staff that he confronted his father and brother over why it was kept private. The Prince, Scobie says, was gutted that his family would watch this kind of dirty game play out. The Duchess of Sussex made claims against the Royal family in an interview with Oprah in 2021 - Joe Pugliese/Reuters The book states that after Prince Philips funeral, Prince Harry confronted his father and brother about why nothing was done on Meghans behalf. Scobie writes that the King replied: You must understand, darling boy, the institution cant just tell the media what to do! The writer quotes an unnamed source saying that Prince William wanted the [bullying] story out there at the time. When Piers [Morgan] called the Duchess of Sussex Pinocchio Princess and then a race-baiter on Good Morning Britain after she admitted that she had suicidal ideations during her time as a working royal (also asserting that there was unconscious bias within the family), it was Camilla who quietly thanked him for defending the Firm, Scobie claims. [Camilla] will never publicly comment on anything or speak ill of others, but she will always know someone who can do that for her, a former Palace aide told me. Transitional monarch The King knows he is a transitional monarch who does not have the same pulling power as his late mother, Scobie claims. The book is scathing about the Kings personal abilities, describing him as indecisive, temperamental, and often in the middle of sticky situations. Scobie says the King 'should have known better' than to express frustration over his malfunctioning fountain pens It says his relatively short reign will never reach the national treasure status that his mother achieved and that the institution is simply riding out these years until the Waleses come to the fore. Scobie says the King should have known better than to express frustration over his malfunctioning fountain pens in the early days of his reign, suggesting that the testy display raised questions about whether he was up for the job. He claims that the King was immediately irked and overwhelmed by the level of work involved with his daily red boxes and had brought old habits and coarse practices to the role. The lack of diversity at Buckingham Palace is also criticised as staff are accused of adhering to what they know, which is often outdated and ineffectual. Harry called King after Spare publication The King is said to have been genuinely sad about the disintegration of the situation with Harry and Meghan. Although he was angry about the couples Netflix documentary series, he did not want people to speak ill of his son in front of him. Scobie claims the release of the six-part show gave him pause as he realised how bad things had become. Although father and son did not have any contact for months, Harry is said to have called the King shortly after the publication of his memoir, Spare, in January. The King is said to have told Prince Harry he 'hadnt decided' whether to invite him to the Coronation until the last minute - BEN STANSALL/AFP It was an awkward conversation, but he knew if he didnt make those first steps, there would never be any progress, a friend of Prince Harrys is quoted as saying. There were no raised voices, no arguments...but the King was cold and brief rather than open to any proper dialogue. Meanwhile, the book claims that senior royals were all united against Harry in his decision to take on the media in court. When it came to the Coronation, the King is said to have told Prince Harry he hadnt decided whether to invite him until the last minute. Prince Andrews Garter robes The book points to the Kings decision to allow Prince Andrew to wear his Garter robes at the Coronation as proof that his soft spot for his brother remains exposed. Prince Harry is said to be surprised that his father continues to pay Andrews seven-figure annual private security bill, despite cutting him off when he stepped away from the Royal family. Prince Andrew wore his Garter robes at the Coronation - Mark Cuthbert/UK Press Meanwhile, the King insisted he was powerless to stop his errant younger brother from taking part in Garter day this year. He held his hands up and said, I cant stop him, but it felt as if he didnt want to stop him, a family source is quoted as saying. Scobie writes: It exposed Charles as weak-kneed when it comes to his brother (and his family in general). At the height of Prince Andrews downfall, the King is said to have been tearful over his fears for his brothers mental health. The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh come in for particularly waspish criticism. Scobie claims the couple lack pizazz and that no one outside the UK knows who they are. 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. The political wing of the conservative network led by billionaire Charles Koch has endorsed former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley for president, throwing its weight behind a top Republican challenger to former President Trump. Americans for Prosperity Action (AFP) released a memo Tuesday backing Haley, who served as ambassador to the U.N. during the Trump administration, arguing she is the strongest candidate to defeat Trump in the GOP primaries as well as President Biden in next years general election. This marks the first time the deep-pocketed group has thrown its support behind a Republican candidate in a presidential primary and opens up vast resources for Haleys challenge to Trump. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. AFP Action is proud to throw our full support behind Nikki Haley, who offers America the opportunity to turn the page on the current political era, to win the Republican primary and defeat Joe Biden next November, reads the memo from AFP senior adviser Emily Seidel. She has what it takes to lead a policy agenda to take on our nations biggest challenges and help ensure our countrys best days are ahead. With the grassroots and data capability we bring to bear in this race, no other organization is better equipped to help her do it, it continued. The memo stated the group was getting involved in a presidential primary for the first time because it wants a candidate who will turn the page on the past. It added that Trump and Biden will only further perpetuate the countrys downward spiral in politics. This comes nearly a year after the conservative network signaled it would not back Trump in the Republican primary, saying it would support a candidate who represents a new chapter. The endorsement demonstrates the groups attempt to distance the Republican Party from Trump, who the group said would lose to Biden. In sharp contrast to recent elections that were dominated by the negative baggage of Donald Trump and in which good candidates lost races that should have been won, Nikki Haley, at the top of the ticket, would boost candidates up and down the ballot, winning the key independent and moderate voters that Trump has no chance to win, the memo states. Haley has battled Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as the top challenger to Trump in the GOP race and has seen her standing in polls tick up amid several strong debate performances. Trump, for his part, has maintained large leads in polls both nationally and in early voting states. DeSantiss campaign panned the AFP Action endorsement in a statement released Tuesday, saying the establishment is lining up behind a moderate who has no mathematical pathway of defeating the former president. AFP Action acknowledged DeSantis in its memo, praising him as a strong advocate for many important freedom-oriented policies and fiscal responsibility in the Sunshine State. The group noted that it endorsed his successful gubernatorial reelection bid last year. We also understand that some of the Governors supporters, including some who support AFP, will be disappointed in our decision, the memo reads. However, as the 2024 primary season heats up, we are entering a time period that demands choices. Donald Trump won the nomination in 2016 largely because of a divided primary field, and we must not allow that to happen again, particularly when the stakes are even higher in 2024. The Make America Great Again PAC also took aim at AFP Action and DeSantis shortly after the endorsement on Tuesday. The statement accused the group of lighting millions of dollars on fire this primary only to watch President Donald Trumps lead grow. The Ron DeSantis campaign finally got it right when they bitterly attacked Americans for Prosperity for being a vessel of globalist shills. Thats exactly why AFP backed Ron DeSantis in his 2018 and 2022 gubernatorial races, Caroline Leavitt, spokeswoman for Make America Great Again, said in a statement. Haley welcomed the groups endorsement in a statement, reiterating that the 2024 election is a choice between freedom and socialism, individual liberty and big government, fiscal responsibility and spiraling debt. Updated at 3:44 pm. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The News Americans for Prosperity Action, the well-financed conservative group backed by Charles Koch, announced Tuesday that its endorsing Nikki Haley for president. In a memo sent to grassroots leaders and activists, AFP Action senior advisor Emily Seidel described Haley as a candidate who can turn the page and win. Their effort will include a multimillion dollar ad campaign launching this week, according to a subsequent press release. She has what it takes to lead a policy agenda to take on our nations biggest challenges and help ensure our countrys best days are ahead, Seidel wrote in the memo. With the grassroots and data capability we bring to bear in this race, no other organization is better equipped to help her do it. On a press call shortly following their announcement, Seidel added that Haley offers the best opportunity to improve the lives of all Americans. The group says it reached out to over six million voters before coming to its decision. Polling also played a key role in AFP Actions decision: In another memo, the group detailed how Ron DeSantis polling has been static or shrinking while Haleys support continues to grow in early voting states. Haley also benefits from high favorability numbers, is less defined than DeSantis and certainly Trump, and consistently performs the best against Joe Biden in the groups internal polls, the memo noted. Governor DeSantis has been a tremendous leader for the state of Florida, Seidel told reporters. Hes been a strong advocate for many of the policies that we fight for every day. But all of the evidence that weve already shared on this call point to the fact that Nikki Haley is the strongest candidate in this race. Stand Together, the network Koch founded, is an investor in Semafor. Shelbys view In terms of the 2024 election, AFP Action has been focused on finding the strongest non-Trump alternative and then trying to boost their odds with a final organizing and advertising push. Picking Haley now, while DeSantis is vulnerable but still active in the race, is a sign theyre eager to give her a chance to consolidate support well before Iowans caucus in January. Its also one of the final nails in the coffin on DeSantis ongoing effort to frame the race for voters, donors, and potential endorsers as a two-man contest between him and Trump. Back in November, I spent a few days on the ground in Iowa with canvassers working for the group, where I saw firsthand the kind of voters AFP Action is focused on: Republicans who are willing to consider a candidate besides Trump (described as soft Trump supporters) and those who want to move on from the frontrunner. If my experience is any indication, theres a large pool for AFP Action to work with but will it ultimately make a difference in the primary race when Trump is so far ahead? There have been many well-funded efforts to beat Trump in a Republican primary and all have failed. In 2015, the Club for Growth spent $7 million to stop his rise in the crowded, divided field. Early in 2016, a group of GOP strategists formed Our Principles PAC to oppose Trump, spending nearly $20 million, to no avail. My main lesson from OPP is that it started too late and the election was functionally over by the time we were hitting our stride, said Tim Miller, the groups spokesman in 2016. His advice for AFP: Start 6 months ago. Ten, maybe. AFP got a much earlier start than those groups, telling donors in February that it would stop bad candidates who are advocating for things that go against core American principles. That was widely, and correctly, seen as a move against Trump, at a time when his strongest challenger was unknown; Haley had not entered the race, and DeSantis was still competitive in polling against the former president. Todays decision comes after multiple wealthy GOP donors, who had nervously watched as the DeSantis campaign faltered, signaled that they could support Haley. Shes also benefited from the end of Sen. Tim Scotts campaign, moving quickly to pick up his donors, and her strong recent polling in New Hampshire, where DeSantis brand of conservatism has been an awkward fit so far. DeSantis wasnt a strong contender for the Kochworld endorsement for reasons that went beyond his campaign struggles, though. While AFP endorsed the governors 2022 re-election, his version of conservatism clashed with the Koch networks libertarianism, Before he entered the race, AFP criticized DeSantiss support for laws that would make it easier to sue media outlets: AFP works to make it easier for all Americans to speak up and hold political leaders accountable. DeSantis attacked Trump early on the First Step Act, a criminal justice reform package that the former president never talks about anymore and one that AFP and allies had lobbied hard for. The View From The DeSantis Campaign DeSantis officials accused the Koch-backed group of playing spoiler while also trying to tie Haley to its less popular positions among conservatives. Congratulations to Donald Trump on securing the Koch endorsement, DeSantis communications director Andrew Romeo said in a statement. Like clockwork, the pro-open borders, pro-jail break bill establishment is lining up behind a moderate who has no mathematical pathway of defeating the former president. Every dollar spent on Nikki Haleys candidacy should be reported as an in-kind to the Trump campaign. No one has a stronger record of beating the establishment than Ron DeSantis, and this time will be no different. In recent Fox News appearances, DeSantis has also challenged Haley to a two-candidate debate, telling Laura Ingraham on Monday that the former U.N. ambassador has taken very, very establishment-oriented positions that the right format could expose. The View From The Haley Campaign Im honored to have the support of Americans for Prosperity Action, including its millions of grassroots members all across the country, Haley said in a statement. AFP Actions members know that there is too much at stake in this election to sit on the sidelines. This is a choice between freedom and socialism, individual liberty and big government, fiscal responsibility and spiraling debt. We have a country to save, and Im grateful to have AFP Action by our side. Notable Back in March, Semafors Dave Weigel asked whether AFP had lost its Tea Party-era clout in the new GOP, after taking on immigration and criminal justice reform stances at odds with MAGA voters. My sense is that theres not a whole lot of energy, former AFP board member Frayda Levin said, that theyre trying to recreate something that isnt there. An influential super PAC backed by the Koch brothers announced it is endorsing Nikki Haley in the 2024 presidential primary, giving her a significant financial boost ahead of the upcoming Iowa caucuses. In a memo released on Tuesday morning, Americans for Prosperity Action said it planned to commit its extensive grassroots organization to helping Haley, and it will launch mail and television advertising campaigns to boost their on-the-ground efforts. Over the summer, the group announced it would plug up to $70 million into political races this year. It is the first time the group has weighed in during a presidential primary. Donald Trump and Joe Biden will only further perpetuate the countrys downward spiral in politics. Furthermore, a significant majority of voters want somebody new, read the memo from Emily Seidel, a senior adviser to Americans for Prosperity Action. According to the memo, the group pored over polling and feedback from voters before it reached the decision to back Haley, who has recently seen a rise in support. However, former President Donald Trump remains dominant in the race. At the outset of our strategy, we made clear that we would be business-like in our decision. We would support a candidate capable of turning the page on Washingtons toxic culture and a candidate who can win. And last night, we concluded that analysis. That candidate is Nikki Haley, the memo continued. Haleys campaign described AFPs backing as a huge grassroots endorsement, and Haley in a statement said she was honored to receive the support. AFP Actions members know that there is too much at stake in this election to sit on the sidelines, Haley said. This is a choice between freedom and socialism, individual liberty and big government, fiscal responsibility and spiraling debt. We have a country to save, and Im grateful to have AFP Action by our side. A person close to the Koch network granted anonymity to disclose private conversations said the decision was made on Monday. They ultimately decided on Haley after considering North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The memo also made the case that choosing Trump as the nominee would affect other political races next cycle. "In sharp contrast to recent elections that were dominated by the negative baggage of Donald Trump and in which good candidates lost races that should have been won, Nikki Haley, at the top of the ticket, would boost candidates up and down the ballot, winning the key independent and moderate voters that Trump has no chance to win," the memo read. Economic conservative groups who have soured on Trump, like Americans for Prosperity and the Club for Growth, have for months funded generic anti-Trump advertising ahead of the first votes in early nominating states. But none of these groups, until now, had committed to backing any candidate in particular, calling into question whether the conservative effort to try to block Trump from securing the nomination would receive any traction. DeSantis team slammed AFPs decision on Tuesday soon after news of the Haley endorsement broke, with Communications Director Andrew Romeo sarcastically congratulating Trump on securing the Koch endorsement. Every dollar spent on Nikki Haley's candidacy should be reported as an in-kind to the Trump campaign, Romeo said. AFP's memo offered a "note of appreciation" to the Florida governor and said that DeSantis supporters "will be disappointed in our decision," but said that it was vital for the field to consolidate. "Donald Trump won the nomination in 2016 largely because of a divided primary field, and we must not allow that to happen again, particularly when the stakes are even higher in 2024," the memo said. AFPs internal polling ahead of its endorsement had Haley outperforming DeSantis not just in New Hampshire, where she is currently ahead of him in public surveys, but also in Iowa, where DeSantis campaign has gone all-in ahead of the Jan. 15 caucuses. Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung similarly slammed the endorsement, saying the group has chosen to endorse a pro-China, open borders and globalist candidate and repeating Trumps Birdbrain nickname for his former United Nations ambassador. Cheung declared that no amount of shady money from outside Never Trump RINOs would stop the MAGA movement or Trump from securing the Republican nomination. With reporting from Adam Wren. Americans for Prosperity Action, a key component of the political network founded by the billionaire Koch brothers, is endorsing Nikki Haley in the GOP presidential primary, the group announced in a memo Tuesday. The endorsement represents a significant boost for Haley less than two months from the first GOP nominating contest in Iowa, where Haley is virtually tied for second place with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Haley has been steadily rising in polls as the main alternative to Donald Trump, the front-runner for the nomination, culminating in a critical moment for her campaign that AFP is well-positioned to aid. AFP Action is proud to throw our full support behind Nikki Haley, who offers America the opportunity to turn the page on the current political era, to win the Republican primary and defeat Joe Biden next November. She has what it takes to lead a policy agenda to take on our nations biggest challenges and help ensure our countrys best days are ahead. With the grassroots and data capability we bring to bear in this race, no other organization is better equipped to help her do it, reads the memo from AFP Action senior adviser Emily Seidel. The super PAC founded by Charles and the late David Koch had vowed to spend tens of millions of dollars to prevent Trump from becoming the 2024 nominee after sitting out the last two presidential election cycles. Already the group has spent heavily on anti-Trump mailers and other outreach to influence the election. The political network founded by the Koch brothers endorsed Nikki Haley for president on Tuesday. The political network founded by the Koch brothers endorsed Nikki Haley for president on Tuesday. Haley, the former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina governor, has seen her popularity rise slowly but steadily since launching her campaign in February. Not only is she almost tied with DeSantis in Iowa, she has surpassed him in New Hampshire, the second nominating state for Republicans. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), a Trump critic, said the AFP endorsement is proof that Haley is exceeding expectations for her candidacy. Im hopeful that well have a nominee other than former President Trump, Romney said Tuesday. Nikki Haley is a very capable person. People didnt think she had much of a shot, but shes proved them wrong before and shes doing it again. So I think its a huge boost for her campaign and may create the kind of momentum she needs. In a statement, a DeSantis spokesman said the nomination is akin to handing the nomination to Trump since Haley cannot beat him. Congratulations to Donald Trump on securing the Koch endorsement, DeSantis communications director Andrew Romeo said. Like clockwork, the pro-open borders, pro-jail break bill establishment is lining up behind a moderate who has no mathematical pathway of defeating the former president. Trumps campaign spokesperson, Steven Cheung, called AFP the political arm of the China-first, America-last movement and dissed Haley as a pro-China, open borders and globalist candidate. The Koch network, which supports a more libertarian-leaning conservatism, has long clashed with Trump on personal and ideological grounds, even as it succeeded in seeding his administration with key staffers. Haley, with her openness to raising the Social Security age for younger Americans and support of tax cuts, is a better match for the Kochs than the more populist and authoritarian Trump or DeSantis. The AFP endorsement will benefit Haley with a direct-mail operation supporting her candidacy as well as field organizers who can knock doors and reach voters on her behalf. It will allow her to better compete with DeSantis, whose campaign has largely been run through a super PAC, Never Back Down, funded with tens of millions of dollars he raised in his Florida gubernatorial campaign. The group has been at odds with the official campaign operation over strategy as DeSantis slides in the polls. DeSantis allies recently launched a second super PAC, Fight Right, which released a new ad last week comparing Haley to 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. AFP says in the memo that it acquired data revealing that 75% GOP primary voters are open to a Trump alternative. Furthermore, the group says that its internal metrics show Haley handily beating Joe Biden in battleground states. Haley is by far the strongest candidate Republicans could put up against Joe Biden in a general election, AFP writes. In sharp contrast to recent elections that were dominated by the negative baggage of Donald Trump and in which good candidates lost races that should have been won, Nikki Haley, at the top of the ticket, would boost candidates up and down the ballot, winning the key independent and moderate voters that Trump has no chance to win. The first GOP nominating contest is Jan. 15 in Iowa, followed in quick succession by New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. Besides Trump, Haley and DeSantis, the GOP field features former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum. Jennifer Bendery contributed reporting. Related... Former U.N. Ambassador and Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley addresses a crowd at Holy City Brewing in North Charleston, S.C., on Sept. 8. The political action committee founded by the influential Koch brothers endorsed her for president on Tuesday. File Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI Nov. 28 (UPI) -- The political action committee founded by the influential Koch brothers endorsed Nikki Haley for president on Tuesday. Americans for Prosperity Action, founded by Charles Koch and the late David Koch, announced its endorsement for Haley in a memo criticizing the Republican and Democratic parties. "AFP Action is proud to throw our full support behind Nikki Haley, who offers America the opportunity to turn the page on the current political era, to win the Republican primary and defeat Joe Biden next November," the memo said. "She has what it takes to lead a policy agenda to take on our nation's biggest challenges and help ensure our country's best days are ahead." The PAC said it will use its "data capability" to assist Haley as the former South Carolina governor and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations campaigns for the Republican nomination. It is the first major nationally recognized endorsement for Haley as she jostles with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump to win the GOP nod. Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley waves as she takes the stage to speak at the 2023 Republican Party of Iowa Lincoln Dinner in Des Moines, Iowa, on July 28. Haley is campaigning in New Hampshire on Tuesday and Wednesday. File Photo by Tannen Maury/UPI The so-called libertarian network that often supports conservative politicians said recent elections have been saddled with the "negative baggage of Donald Trump" leading to "good candidates" losing races it believes they should have won. "The American people are ready to move on, with nearly 75% of Republican primary voters saying they are open to supporting a candidate other than Donald Trump," AFPA said. "Nikki Haley, at the top of the ticket, would boost candidates up and down the ballot, winning the key independent and moderate voters that Trump has no chance to win." Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks on her abortion stance during an event at the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America's Offices in Arlington, Va., on April 25. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI Koch Industries donated $25 million to AFPA earlier this year, as did Stand Together Chamber of Commerce, another organization founded by Charles Koch, according to the Federal Elections Commission. Bob and Jim Walton, prominent stakeholders in Walmart, donated $5 million each. Haley is on the campaign trail in New Hampshire, where she is scheduled to appear in three town halls between Tuesday and Wednesday. Nikki Haley announces her candidacy for U.S. president in Charleston, S.C., on Feb. 1. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI Americans for Prosperity Action, an advocacy organization backed by billionaire Charles Koch and his network of wealthy conservatives, endorsed former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley as the Republican alternative to former President Donald Trump on Tuesday morning less than 50 days ahead of the Iowa Caucus. A memo circulated by Americans for Prosperity CEO Emily Seidel described Haley as offering "America the opportunity to turn the page on the current political era," according to ABC News. Though AFP Action did not participate in the 2016 and 2020 presidential cycles, the organization has major resources to put behind Haley's campaign. The group reported raising more than $70 million in its last public filing in June, with $25 million coming from Koch himself and another $25 million coming from one of his nonprofits. AFP Action first unveiled plans to oppose Trump for the GOP nomination in February based in large part on concerns over his ability to defeat incumbent President Joe Biden. Since then, however, the Republican base has rallied behind the billionaire candidate more: he leads his closest opponent in the primary, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, by nearly 50 points in national polls, per 538's averages. Haley narrowly trails DeSantis in the national average. In early-voting states, where Trump is a relatively weaker frontrunner though still leading by double-digits, Haley and other candidates are hoping an upset could prove they are better options for primary voters across the country. AFP Action believes three in four Republican voters are open to a Trump alternative if they think that person has a better chance of winning. "Early in the cycle, Americans were clear: 70% didn't want Trump or Biden to run," Seidel told ABC News, adding that the group's endorsement is intended to "ensure this opportunity isn't squandered." VIENTIANE, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Lao cabinet has instructed concerned sectors to handle urgent issues and to enforce measures to address the economic and financial difficulties facing the country. During the Lao government's monthly meeting for November, many important issues were considered, including a rare earth token project to be piloted in Laos for the generation of more foreign currency, Lao News Agency reported on Tuesday. To avoid economic losses for the nation, economists suggested that it is essential to carry out a thorough study on the scheme, including market prospects and reviewing lessons learned from pilot mining operations over the years. One of the most important measures is to stabilize exchange rates, modernize the revenue collection system to boost the national income, and boost exports. The government has been trying to make sure that export receipts are paid through the banking system in Laos to ensure more foreign currency enters Laos. The government also reiterated the need to restrict the import of luxury items and goods that can be produced or manufactured domestically. In addition, government sectors have been told to remove red tape and improve the business environment to attract more foreign investment. Held in the Lao capital of Vientiane from Nov. 23 to Nov. 24, the monthly meeting was chaired by Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone and attended by cabinet members. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has called on the European Parliament not to let Russia go unpunished for its aggression against Ukraine, as this could result in several new wars. Source: European Pravda; Kuleba in his speech to the European Parliament at the opening of a conference on accountability for Russian crimes Details: Dmytro Kuleba called for a fully-fledged special tribunal to be established to punish Russia for the crime of aggression as the root cause of all other war crimes and crimes against humanity. "If we allow Putin and his henchmen to escape punishment for their crimes, we will condemn our children to live in a world full of wars and injustice," he stressed. Kuleba noted that the world is already in a reality in which wars are simultaneously going on in Ukraine and Israel. "If Russia is allowed to escape responsibility for its aggression against Ukraine, the world will have to deal with three, four, five wars at the same time. Simply because there are too many players in the world who believe that brute military force is the best way to achieve their goals. If they see that Moscow's aggression has resulted in some trouble, sanctions and isolation, but in general it has paid off, nothing will stop them from repeating Russia's actions in other parts of the world. This is the first reason why punishing Putin and his accomplices in the crime of aggression against Ukraine is so important," he said. Background: Dmytro Kuleba will boycott the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) ministerial meeting due to the presence of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Meanwhile, Lithuanias foreign minister has expressed concern that if the West does not have the political will to help Ukraine win, Russia will perceive this as its victory and start preparing for a new war, and any of its neighbours could become victims of its aggression. Support UP or become our patron! Three Kentucky Historical Society staffers have been fired, and they say their ousters came after they complained about the appointment of a Kentucky politician who left his post while facing scrutiny over sexual harassment claims. The Herald-Leader reviewed the three termination letters, which were dated Nov. 21. Thats six days before they were informed of their firing in-person by Scott Alvey, the historical societys executive director. The staffers said they took issue with the process surrounding the appointment of former Republican Kentucky House Speaker Jeff Hoover to the governing board of the Kentucky Historical Society. Each employees letter said their services are no longer needed, and that theyve been terminated without cause. The fired employees were non-merit. Non-merit state employees serve at the pleasure of their employer, whereas merit employees may only be dismissed for cause after a formal process takes place. Around 40 to 50 people are employed at the Kentucky Historical Society. In an emailed response to questions about the firings, Alvey told the Herald-Leader he could not comment on personnel matters. Individuals who work at the Kentucky Historical Society are all non-merit/unclassified employees, not appointed by the Governor, who can be dismissed at any time without cause. We cannot comment on any individual personnel actions, Alvey wrote. The employees asked to not be identified. They discussed their firings with the Herald-Leader, but expressed fear of political retaliation or that the incident may jeopardize their ability to find new jobs. Their complaints, the trio said, ranged from a perceived lack of transparency surrounding Hoovers appointment to the propriety of putting someone with the former lawmakers past in a position of power. Some feared that Hoovers appointment may jeopardize their work telling the stories of Kentuckians who have experienced sexual abuse. None of the three fired staffers were in the same department. All of them told the Herald-Leader they were among the most vocal staff members raising questions about Hoovers appointment including in all-staff meetings, meetings with members of the societys board, as well as discussions with supervisors. Alvey has been with the historical society since 2008 and was named executive director in 2018. In 2017, a year after winning the speakers gavel when Republicans flipped the Kentucky House from Democrats control for the first time in nearly a century, Hoover resigned from his post after news broke that he reached a legal settlement with a woman on his legislative staff over sexual harassment allegations. In published reports at the time, the former staffer had accused Hoover and three other lawmakers of sexually harassing her between 2015 and 2017 and, in a statement provided under oath, also accused Hoover of groping her. Hoover has denied any kind of sexual relations with the woman beyond texting her. He and other legislators sued her for allegedly breaking the terms of their $110,000 settlement. They later agreed to dismiss the suit. Hoover has publicly asked for forgiveness and apologized for his actions. In recent years, the Russell County native has also made some waves by criticizing former Republican president Donald Trump and praising Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear. When contacted about the employees termination, Hoover told the Herald-Leader it was news to him. I know nothing about it. I was asked a couple of months ago or so by some members on the governing board if I would consider serving on the board. After some thought, I agreed to do so, Hoover said. I absolutely know nothing about any personnel action. And as I understand it, thankfully, the governing board has nothing to do with personnel. Hoovers name was first brought forward by the Kentucky Historical Society boards nominating committee, which is chaired by Tommy Turner, former judge-executive of LaRue County. Unlike many other state boards, whose ranks are appointed by governors and other high-ranking state officials, Kentucky Historical Society governing board members are proposed by a nominating committee and elected by the full membership of the historical society. In addition to creating museum programming and providing educational materials, the Kentucky Historical Society runs the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History, the Old State Capitol and the Kentucky Military History Museum in downtown Frankfort. Turner, in an interview with the Herald-Leader, said he was the person who asked Hoover to join the Kentucky Historical Society governing board. He said Hoover, who hosts a history-focused podcast and radio show that discusses Russell County history, provides an important perspective on the board. There were no members from the Lake Cumberland region, Turner said. He is really involved in the history of the region there, which is very important because that was one of the few, if maybe not the only, regions of the state we had no representation, Turner said. Turner also stated that while hes not privy to personnel matters, he believes that theres likely more to the story than whats being claimed by the ousted staffers. Four Kentucky students were sent to a hospital Tuesday after being involved in a school bus crash, according to Kentucky State Police. The collision happened around 3:30 p.m. in the 700 block of Rosetta Corners Road in Breckinridge County. KSP said the driver was in a pickup truck when he crossed into the path of a school bus and hit it head-on. The driver was flown to the University of Louisville Hospital with life-threatening injuries, according to KSP. Four students on the bus were sent to Baptist Health Hardin Hospital for treatment of minor injuries and released a short time later. The bus belonged to the Breckinridge County School District, according to superintendent Nick Carter. There were 31 students on the bus when the collision happened, according to KSP. The uninjured students were released to parents and guardians at the scene, KSP said. The bus driver wasnt injured, according to KSP. We would like to thank our local law enforcement, the Kentucky State Police, EMS, and community volunteers for assisting and caring for our students and staff, Carter said in a Facebook post. After eight years leading the state GOP, Mac Brown will step down from his post as chair of the Republican Party of Kentucky. Brown informed members of the Republican State Central Committee of his departure in an email Monday night, which was reviewed by the Herald-Leader. His exit comes just three weeks after Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear won a second term and all other statewide constitutional offices held Republican. Now it is time for me to step down from the Chairman position to allow new and fresh leadership to the party to the next level, Brown wrote. Brown oversaw a largely successful run for the GOP. The state party flipped the last Democratic-held legislative in the American South in 2016 and last year Republicans overtook Democrats as the largest party in the state in terms of voter registration. In the email to committee members, Brown also emphasized gains the GOP has made at the local level when it comes to county judge-executives as well as statewide gains in other constitutional offices. However, the party lost its hold on the governors chair in 2019 when Beshear beat former Republican governor Matt Bevin by a slim margin. Three weeks ago, Republican candidate and state attorney general Daniel Cameron failed to flip the governors mansion and lost to Beshear by about 5 percentage points. As the ranks of Republican elected officials have grown quickly, some intra-party rifts have developed. Several Republicans want to push the party to the right. Meanwhile, others like Secretary of State Michael Adams believe the party needs to steer clear of focusing on some social issues, like trans rights, that make some Kentuckians feel excluded. Brown ended his email in a call for unity. Over the past eight years we have made tremendous progress in transforming the Commonwealth into a state of opportunity, but there is still a great deal of work to be done. The key to our future success is for the Republican Party to come together and not fight each other, Brown wrote. Help the next Chairman build the party. Listen to and respect each other, as our future is worth the effort. Rep. Killian Timoney, R-Lexington, heralded that focus on unity in a post to X. He was a voice of reassurance and a steady force when groups were fighting for control. He discussed big tent ideology and encouraged varying interests to attract new members. He wanted the party to appeal to new & younger members. Individual thought had a place in his vision, Timoney wrote. Republican Party of Kentucky Executive Director Sarah Van Wallaghen called Brown one of the most influential chairmen in the organizations history. He helped flip the state house to Republican control for the first time in nearly a century, which has and will continue to deliver meaningful, conservative fiscal policies for a generation. After nearly a decade of service to the Commonwealth and the Republican Party, he has decided to spend much needed time with his family and friends. He is a true statesman, who has steered the ship of our organization for nearly a decade, Van Wallaghen wrote. Brown is a vice president at Brown-Forman Corp., the Louisville-based spirits conglomerate that owns Woodford Reserve and Jack Daniels, among other brands. Republican Party of Kentucky officials Monday night did not respond to inquiries regarding Browns departure or who might replace him. The Kentucky Supreme Court has denied a motion filed by Brooks Houck, accused of killing his former girlfriend Crystal Rogers, to have the judge in his murder case disqualified. On Monday, the supreme court upheld Nelson Circuit Judge Charles Simms IIIs ruling to remain on the case a decision Simms made last week. Houck appealed to the state supreme court previously in an attempt to have Simms removed, but the state supreme court asked Simms to make his own decision on whether he should recuse himself before the states highest court made a ruling. In his ruling, Chief Justice Laurance VanMeter said Houck failed to demonstrate any disqualifying circumstance that would require the appointment of a special judge under state law. The request was denied without prejudice, meaning Houcks attorneys can alter their claim. Houcks attorneys filed their motion to have Simms removed shortly after he denied a request to lower Houcks $10 million bond in October. Houcks lawyers claimed Simms wasnt impartial. The dispute which led Houck to ask for Simms removal was tied to a 2017 custody case involving a woman Houck was dating at the time an indicator of how Houcks alleged responsibility for the death of Crystal Rogers has impacted the Bardstown community for several years. In that case, Simms made a statement in his ruling that Houck saw as detrimental to him, but Simms ultimately ruled in Houcks favor. In his ruling in the Houck case last week, Simms was clear in his stance that he didnt have an appearance of lack of impartiality and antagonism towards Mr. Houck, as Houcks lawyers asserted in their main argument for having Simms removed. In addition, Simms again defended his decision to set Houcks bond at $10 million, which even Simms acknowledged was an outlier amount. But he said it was justified because Houck has access to lots of money and there is concern over the safety of others involved in the case. Houck was indicted in September on charges of murder and tampering with physical evidence in the death of Crystal Rogers, his former girlfriend, who was last seen in July 2015. He has pleaded not guilty. Reporter Christopher Leach contributed to this story. Ukraines Commission for Coordination of Euro-Atlantic Integration has approved the draft adapted Annual National Programme (ANP) for 2024, which defines the criteria for Ukraine's eligibility for NATO membership. Source: European Pravda with reference to the press service of the Cabinet of Ministers Details: The purpose of the adapted Annual National Programme is to prepare Ukraine for NATO membership, and the ANP has been amended in consideration of Russias full-scale invasion. The draft programme contains five main sections: political and economic, defence and military, resource, security, and legal issues. The political component is consistent with Kyiv's commitments to join the EU, the Cabinet of Ministers said. "The adapted ANP is as concise and practical as possible, focused on reforms in the security and defence sector. The democratic transformation field has a clear reference to the tasks that Ukraine is carrying out on its way to European integration," said Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration. The government added that the draft adapted ANP will be presented on Wednesday, 29 November at a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council at foreign minister level. "The implementation of the adapted ANP's goals will be facilitated by technical and advisory support projects as part of NATO's Comprehensive Assistance Package for Ukraine," the Cabinet of Ministers added. Background: In summer 2023, participants at the NATO Vilnius Summit agreed to remove the Membership Action Plan requirement for Ukraine. At the same time, the Allies made it clear that they would invite Ukraine to join NATO "when the conditions are met". The Annual National Programme (ANP) is a tool for monitoring the reforms that Ukraine is implementing. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said earlier that on Wednesday, Ukraine's allies in the North Atlantic Alliance are to agree on recommendations for the reforms that Ukraine needs to implement to become ready for NATO membership. Support UP or become our patron! (Bloomberg) -- A sense of gloom is settling over Ukraine as the failure of a months-long counteroffensive gives way to the second winter since the Russian invasion. Most Read from Bloomberg A fierce snowstorm cut power to thousands across southern Ukraine over the weekend, while temperatures in the east, where fighting is fierce, have plunged well below freezing. In the Ukrainian public, polls show cracks emerging and a softening in President Volodymyr Zelenskiys approval rating. The longer nights coincide with mounting frustration over the stalled advance and tension among government and military leaders spilling into the open. As NATO ministers meet in Brussels, there are signs that help from the military alliance is wavering. Once-confident predictions of victory over Kremlin troops are being replaced by a grim awareness that the war is most likely to grind on. I feel desperate, said Nataliya Kobyuk, 34, a nurse in Kyiv whose husband has been on the frontline since the invasion began 22 months ago. Compared to last year, now its more difficult theres no end to this war, and sometimes I simply stop believing it will ever end. Zelenskiy knows that the battlefield fatigue extends to hearts and minds. The wartime leader, who maintains his nightly television addresses as a conduit to the public and a way to lift spirits, recognizes the need to address a weary publics concerns on what comes next, according to people familiar with this thinking. It is important that people understand that what is in their hearts is being seen and the changes that are needed will be made, Zelenskiy said in an address earlier this month after a Russian missile strike killed 19 soldiers at an award ceremony in southeastern Ukraine. The president called for an investigation into the circumstances of exposing personnel to attack. The mood has seeped into Zelenskiys support. Still lofty at 76%, his approval rating has dropped from a wartime high of 91%, according to the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology. Volodymyr Paniotto, the head of KIIS, sees the spike in the presidents approval as normal for a war environment, just as the ensuing drop when the initial wave of patriotism fades. Another survey showed that as of May last year, 68% of Ukrainians felt that disagreements should be put aside in war a figure thats now fallen to 25%. The rally-around-the-flag effect is ending, Paniotto said in an interview. Read More: Ukraines Struggle for Arms and Attention Gives Putin an Opening The sobering outlook contrasts with a far more optimistic view a year ago. By December 2022, Ukrainian forces, partly spurred on as Russian troops withdrew and redeployed, had seized back territory around Kyiv, in the Kharkiv region in the northeast and Kherson in the south to the Dnipro River and generated the sense that this years counteroffensive could do more. But the campaign, which began in June, failed to penetrate entrenched Russian lines stretching from the Donbas region in the east to the mouth of the Dnipro on the Black Sea. The 260 square kilometers (100 square miles) of territory reclaimed in the counteroffensive in 2023 amounts to less than 1% of land that was retaken last year. Reversing the tide in the summer, when Kyiv military officials were hinting at a breakthrough in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia, Russian troops are now advancing toward Ukrainian-occupied Avdiivka in the east. A defeat there would only spell more gloom. Add to that anxiety over conscription as manpower at the front is squeezed and perennial anger over corruption, an issue still at the top of the list of Ukrainian complaints, and the winter months look even bleaker. Marianna Tkalych, a professor of psychology in charge of social research center Rating Lab, attributes the overheated expectations around the counteroffensive to the darkening mood. It is very de-motivating, Tkalych said. On one hand, we have this irritation and disappointment and on the other hand, people still choose to fight as a coping strategy, so resilience is strong. But on the world stage, Ukraines plight has gotten more complicated. Zelenskiys efforts to win allies outside the Western fold as a way to corner Vladimir Putin into talks has been upended by the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. A meeting last month in Malta to push forward Kyivs blueprint for peace was distracted by the conflict in the Middle East. The Ukrainian leader said in mid-November that the shift in focus had slowed deliveries of desperately needed artillery shells, further undermining the counteroffensive. Meanwhile, the until-now rejected notion of territorial concessions for peace is gaining ground among a small number of Ukrainians. Ukraine will be high on the agenda when foreign ministers from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization gather on Tuesday and Wednesday, with allies likely to reiterate their support despite concerns that aid is starting to wane. NATO will seek to showcase Ukraines progress toward joining, but a formal invitation still remains a lofty goal as long as the war continues. For people on the ground, what lies ahead is anticipation of another barrage of missile and drone strikes aiming to tear into the countrys energy system. Russia fired its biggest barrage of loitering munitions to date over the weekend, though Ukraines air defense said it shot down 74 of 75 Shahed-131/136 drones, most of which targeted the Kyiv region. National grid operator NPC Ukrenergo has sounded a warning on a jump in demand for heating, urging citizens to save energy by using table lamps instead of ceiling lights, running laundry at night and avoiding simultaneous use of home appliances. Serhiy Petrovskiy, a 52-year old designer and media consultant from Lviv, agreed that expectations for the counteroffensive were a little overstated. Now the biggest fear is internal chaos and strife, he said. People are afraid that all this may deprive the country of Western support, which is a key issue for now. --With assistance from Daryna Krasnolutska, Demetrios Pogkas and Natalia Drozdiak. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday approved a law that will require hosts of short-term rentals, including Airbnbs, and hotels to obtain a police permit. City Council President Paul Krekorian and other backers of the proposal said the permit requirement will help the city crack down on party houses and properties that draw illicit behavior. More broadly, it will create a new regulatory hurdle for short-term rental and hotel operators, allowing the City Council and neighborhoods to challenge the issuance of the permits. The council voted 14 to 0 in favor of the law. Councilmember Kevin de Leon was absent. Despite supporting the police permit requirement, some council members voiced concerns that it would increase the workload of the Los Angeles Police Department, which issues the permits. Also, Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson on Tuesday asked the city to look at potential alternatives to the police permit for short-term rental hosts. Harris-Dawson's request gave hope to some in the short-term rental industry that the city will eventually drop the permit requirement. Dozens of businesses, including car valet operators, antique stores and bowling alleys, already need a police permit to operate in Los Angeles. Many permits require criminal background checks and initial fees can be hundreds of dollars. The police permit requirement was part of a package of regulations targeting new hotels that was announced earlier this month. The regulations are a compromise between the city and the hotel workers union, which initially sought to force a ballot measure vote related to hotel rooms and the housing of homeless residents. Under the ordinance passed by the council on Tuesday, new hotels will go through a more extensive approval process. Hotel developers also will be required to replace any housing that is demolished to make way for their projects, by building new residential units or buying and renovating existing ones. Read more: L.A. Airbnb hosts are charging higher rates and raking in big payouts amid city crackdown Minakshi Dahya, who said she runs several hotels, told the council at Tuesday's meeting that the police permit requirement had been slipped in out of nowhere" into the hotel law. Where did this come from?" Dahya said. "Why is [the Police Department] involved when [the police do not have] enough time to help crimes or any other issues that are not being addressed? Councilmember John Lee, who represents Porter Ranch and other west San Fernando Valley neighborhoods, sought to separate the police permit issue from the rest of the hotel ordinance, but failed to get support from his colleagues at Tuesday's meeting. Stakeholders have not been aware of this proposed expansion of the police permitting process until a few weeks ago, Lee said. I want to make it clear that I share the concerns expressed by our minority small business owners." Several Airbnb hosts expressed alarm about the proposal at a council committee hearing last week, calling the requirement of a police permit excessive and saying they don't want to be fingerprinted as part of a criminal background check. Others questioned the price of the permits. "I just ask that you not buckle us in with doing extra hoops to jump through and extra police checks and extra fees, Kevin Stevens, a homeowner in North Hollywood, told council members. Peter Hillan, a spokesperson for the Hotel Assn. of Los Angeles, said Monday that he didnt know how many of the association's 600 members already have police permits, but said the group is concerned about the requirement. LAPD Lt. Scott Moffitt told the council at Tuesday's meeting that the requirement would triple the workload for the department. Key on that is that we would be draining from existing department resources, Moffitt said. A recent report by the LAPD suggested initial fees of $260 for short-term rental operators. Krekorian said the fees haven't been finalized and that he is hopeful that the background check can be done without fingerprinting. My goal is to make [obtaining a police permit] as easy and painless and nearly automatic as I can, Krekorian said. The idea will be that if someone applies for it, unless there's some complaint from someone, that it would be routinely granted. Airbnb declined to comment Tuesday. The draft law will return Friday to the council for another vote. There are approximately 6,725 short-term rental units listed with the city, according to the city's Planning Department. Under the proposal, the police permit would be issued to the operator of the short-term rental unit. A criminal history would disqualify a host from being able to receive the permit, Moffitt said. Read more: Elizabeth Hirschhorn moves out of Brentwood Airbnb after 570 rent-free days. She said she had a right to stay Kurt Petersen, co-president of Unite Here Local 11, which represents thousands of hotel workers, said the police permit requirement would help end "illegal short-term rentals," which he blamed for worsening the homelessness crisis. Karo Torossian, Krekorians chief of staff, said the issue of the police permits emerged during talks with the hotel union and hotel industry. We discovered that there was this additional section that would help further protect communities and the traveling public, Torossian said. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) About 4,000 luminarias will be aglow along El Pasos Scenic Drive on Saturday, Dec. 16. The Navidad De La Fe Luminarias event will return this year after being interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The event will be from 6 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 16. More than 100 Centro de Salud Familiar La Fe staff members and volunteers will work throughout the day to stage what has been a Borderland tradition. This is our organizations gift to El Paso. Luminarias are traditional, shining beacons of hope for peace and social justice. They are a symbol of the commitment that La Fe has had to our communitys families since 1967, said La Fe CEO Salvador Balcorta in a news release sent out announcing the events return. Starting at 6 p.m., traffic can enter Scenic Drive at Richmond Avenue on the east side of the mountain. Traffic will enter Scenic Drive at Richmond Avenue and head westbound in a single lane. Vehicles will exit Scenic Drive at Rim Road. Drivers are asked to dim their lights and proceed slowly and cautiously along the event route. For safety reasons, participants are asked to remain inside their vehicles at all times. Canned food and non-persishable food items can be dropped off at the top of Scenic Drive. Santas Elves will help unload those items from your vehicle. Cash donations to help feed El Paso families are also welcome. Checks can be made out to Centro de Salud Familiar La Fe or to La Fe. Information: (915) 534-7979. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced Monday there will be lane restrictions on Interstate 81 (I-81) this week. PennDOT says there will be lane restrictions on I-81 northbound and southbound from Exit 191 A (Dickson City) to Exit 191 B (Scranton Expressway) in Lackawanna County for cable services. Route 435 southbound closure postponed Officials say crews will from Wednesday, November 29, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. PennDOT urges drivers when encountering a work zone, to drive the posted speed limit, turn on their headlights, and avoid all distractions. Drivers can check up-to-date conditions on major roadways by visiting 511PA online or calling 511. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PAhomepage.com. ROME, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- A fishing vessel with 573 migrants aboard landed on the southern Italian island of Lampedusa on Monday after being towed ashore by the Italian Coast Guard. It is the fourth major landing of migrants on the island this month. Local media reported that the migrants had set off from Libya. They arrived at a migrant processing center on Lampedusa designed to house around 400 people. With the latest arrivals, the total number of migrants landing on Italy's shores this year topped 150,000, according to figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). With only five weeks left to go this year, the figure is more than in any other complete year since 2016. As of Monday, the UNHCR said that at least 2,659 people had died or gone missing crossing the Mediterranean route to European countries, around 220 more than in all of last year. More than 60 percent of migrants using the Mediterranean route to arrive in the European Union this year have landed in Italy, and 85 percent of those arriving in Italy landed on the island region of Sicily -- almost all of them on Lampedusa, a small island located between Sicily and Tunisia. On Nov. 20, more than 800 people landed on Lampedusa in one day. The following day, a woman and a two-year-old girl died, and at least eight others went missing when two smaller vessels sank off the coast of Lampedusa. For years, the North African country of Libya was the most popular launching point for migrant boats. However, after the European Union began supporting Libya to enhance its coastal patrols to prevent vessels from setting off for Europe, Tunisia became the most common departure point for migrants on the deadly Mediterranean route. UNHCR figures show that through the end of October, 19 percent of migrant arrivals in Italy were from Syria, slightly more than those from Bangladesh, Tunisia and Egypt, both accounting for over 13 percent of the total, were the third and fourth most common countries of origin. The Lansing Village Board approved a $9,577 settlement for tax rate objections from the 2011 through 2014, which total $84,695. The objection alleged the amount added to various village levies by the county for loss and cost of collection was unnecessary and excessive based on the existing surpluses in the funds and the previous collection amounts, according to a letter from village attorney Alan Mullins to Lansing Mayor Patty Eidam and village trustees. If this objection proceeds to a hearing, the village would be in jeopardy of losing a portion of the levy from many funds. Therefore, this objection alone warrants consideration of a settlement, Mullins wrote. Mullins said he doesnt know who filed the objection because it is one large complaint, totaling 1,000 pages, filed against almost every taxing body in Cook County. Typically the objector is a commercial or industrial property, he said. There is one attorney for all of the objectors and that is who the village negotiated with, he said. The final pages of the complaint include identifying information of the property that filed the objection, Mullins said, but he only received the pages with objections against his clients. We do not receive those pages because they make no difference in what we do with the objections, Mullins said. Tax rate objections are considered in four year groups and the Cook County Circuit Court wont open a new four year group until all the objections in the previous group have been resolved, Mullins wrote. Larger taxing bodies, like the city of Chicago, have multiple sets of objections for millions of dollars filed against them, which take years to settle, Mullins said. Meanwhile, even if municipalities have their tax rate objections resolved, the entities have to wait until the larger taxing bodies resolve their objections before moving on to the next four-year group, he wrote. From 2011 to 2014, objections were filed against the villages corporate, bond and interest, police pension, fire pension, IMRF and Social Security funds, Mullins wrote: In 2011, the objection amount is $19,203 and the settlement amount is $3,123 In 2012, the objection amount is $13,810, and the settlement amount is $2,027 In 2013, the objection amount is $17,047, and the settlement amount is $2,648. In 2014, the objection amount is $15,835 and the settlement amount is $1,779. Objections were also filed against the Lansing Library Fund levy for a total of $18,800 for the 2011-2014 period, but the objectors agreed to dismiss those claims, Mullins wrote. The tax rate objections total $84,695, Mullins wrote, while the settlement, at a 0.008 rate, would total $9,577, so he recommended the board approve the settlement. The tentative settlement is very favorable given the potential refunds at issue, the history of settlement rates in these cases and the potential cost of litigation, Mullins wrote. Mullins said it is very rare for tax rate objections to go to a hearing because of the amount at stake compared to the amount of the settlement. It wouldnt make sense to incur the cost of going to hearing and risk a judgment for a greater amount, Mullins said. The board approved the settlement Nov. 21 in unanimous 6-0 vote. Trustee Saad Abbasy said he voted in favor of the settlement based on difference between the objection amount and the settlement. This is my first experience learning about tax rate objections and the impact on the village. Based on the information provided to us, the agreed upon settlement felt like the best option for the village, Abbasy said. The settlement will be taken out by the Cook County treasurers office from future village property tax disbursements once all the 2011-2014 objections in Cook County are settled, Mullins wrote. We cannot tell you when that will occur. However, we do not foresee that occurring within the next year, Mullins wrote. akukulka@chicagotribune.com Is the Los Angeles Police Department accessing data from your phone and social media accounts without a warrant? Thats what is being claimed in a new report published by the nonprofit news outlet Knock LA. That report says the LAPDs partnership with the Israeli company Cobwebs Technologies uses warrantless access to your personal information and artificial intelligence and machine learning to surveil members of the public. While Cobwebs is Israeli in origin, it was reportedly purchased by American private equity firm Spire Capital for about $200 million. LAPD purchased the nearly $200,000-per-year subscription to the technology in 2022 with the help of a $600,000 DHS grant that focuses on terrorism prevention in urban areas, according to Knock LA. This purchase came after Meta parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp banned Cobwebs accounts due to its status as a surveillance-for-hire company that targeted activists, opposition politicians, and government officials in Hong Kong and Mexico, Knock LA explained, citing a Meta report. The report pushes back against the surveillance companys claims that it tracks only criminals and terrorists, Knock LA added. KTLA reached out to the LAPD for comment but did not hear back before publication. The LAPD is not the only government agency in a contract with Cobwebs. The IRS also paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to conduct undercover investigations online, as reported by Motherboard. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. Latvia's Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karins talks to journalists during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. NATO foreign ministers on Tuesday begin a two-day meeting in which the alliance will reaffirm its support for Ukraine's defense against Russia's invasion, explore ways of easing tensions between Kosovo and Serbia and look at preparations for NATO's 75th anniversary next year. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) BRUSSELS (AP) Latvias foreign minister on Tuesday staked his claim to the top job at NATO, saying that the military organization needs a consensus builder who is committed to higher defense spending and has a clear vision of how to deal with Russia. NATO is likely to name a new secretary general at its next summit in Washington in July. Former Norwegian prime minister Jens Stoltenberg has been the alliances top civilian official since 2014. His term has been extended four times during the war in Ukraine. Were going to have 32 countries. Keeping 32 countries together on any topic, its a big challenge, and we need a consensus builder that can work with any and all allies, to move everyone forward in the same direction, Latvian Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karins told reporters at NATO headquarters. One of Stoltenbergs challenges is to help persuade Turkey, along with Hungary, to endorse Swedens attempt to become NATOs 32nd member. NATO officials hope the issue will be resolved by the time U.S. President Joe Biden and counterparts meet in Washington. In an awkward moment in front of television cameras as NATO foreign ministers gathered for a traditional group photo during a meeting in Brussels, Karins took Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan by the arm and said loudly, Were all waiting now, all waiting. You hear it from all of us. Karins was Latvias prime minister for almost five years NATO prefers its secretaries general to have served in top government posts and oversaw an increase in defense spending. He said his country will spend 2.4 % of GDP on defense this year, above the organizations target of 2%. Russia remains NATOs historical adversary, and managing the alliance's approach to Moscow is a major test. The next secretary has to have a clear vision on the future role of NATO, how its going to expand, how its going to be working to contain Russia, Karins said. He said its important not to panic while acknowledging the very real threat that Russia is and to work together to contain it. It is doable, he said. We can do it if we are calm but very determined. With Russia locked in its war on Ukraine, the process of naming a new secretary general has become highly politicized. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have taken an unbending line in support of Ukraine, and this could make it difficult for one of their leaders to get the job. Most NATO countries have been keen to name a woman to the top post. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas is considered a strong candidate. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was thought to be a favorite after a meeting with Biden in the summer, but she later said she wasnt running. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has ruled out her candidacy. Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte recently visited NATO headquarters to make clear his intention to stand. NATO secretaries general are chosen by consensus. There is no formal procedure for naming them, and diplomats have said that no official vetting is currently being done. The organizations top civilian official is responsible for chairing meetings and guiding sometimes delicate consultations between member countries to ensure that compromises are found so that an alliance that operates on consensus can continue to function. The secretary general also ensures that decisions are put into action, speaks on behalf of all nations with one voice and rarely if ever singles out any member for public criticism. Stoltenberg has managed to tread a fine line, refraining from criticizing members led by more go-it-alone presidents and prime ministers like former U.S. President Donald Trump, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan or Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was full of praise on Tuesday for Stoltenbergs role in keeping NATO on course. Everything that weve been able to do with the NATO alliance over the last few years, strengthening the alliance, making it fit for purpose for the challenges that were going to be facing in the years ahead, dealing with Russias aggression against Ukraine, none of that would have happened without the leadership of Jens Stoltenberg," Blinken said. We are grateful to you, grateful for that extraordinary leadership at a moment where it counted more than ever, he told Stoltenberg. ___ AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Brussels contributed to this report. Six months after Bradley Earl Reger was arrested in Susanville amid allegations he may have molested children worldwide, more than a dozen men who say they are victims have filed suit against him, school and church organizations and others accused of failing to protect them. The 64-page lawsuit, filed in Sacramento Superior Court on behalf of 14 Doe plaintiffs, says Reger, a nurse practitioner who ran ambulance companies in Lassen County, is a serial pedophile, having been alleged to have sexually abused hundreds of minors. He did so as a trusted adult, using his position as a medical treater and adult in various religious congregations, camps, coaching positions and medical facilities which permitted his access to minor boys, the suit says. The alleged victims ranged in age from 12 to 18, according to the suit, and were abused starting in 1998 and running through this year. Reger, who has pleaded not guilty to federal charges, is accused of using his position as a medical professional to abuse young men under the guise of performing physicals, doing mole inspections or other medical procedures. He first was investigated by Susanville police in 1986 over allegations of sexual abuse of a minor and came under suspicion several times after that. But he was never charged until this year, and the lawsuit says the defendants ignored and concealed the sexual abuse of plaintiffs and others by Reger as he volunteered at church camps, churches, schools and other entities in California, Alaska and elsewhere. Among the defendants are the owners of a Bible camp in Alaska where he volunteered, the Susanville Church of the Nazarene where he was active and Susanville physician Dr. Hal Meadows. Meadows acted as a mentor to Reger, the suit says, and received information of Regers sexual inappropriate behavior with minor children prior to the date of his arrest and failed to undertake his mandated reporter obligations and report his abuses to law enforcement or child protective services. Meadows and the pastor of the Nazarene church did not respond to requests for comment Monday. The pastor has previously declined to comment on the allegations about Reger. Other organizations and individuals have said they were not aware of Regers activities, although some in Susanville say there had been suspicions about Reger for years. Zack Winfrey says he met Reger through the Susanville Nazarene church and first was abused by him when he was 10. Winfrey said Monday he is one of the 14 Doe plaintiffs and that the suit is aimed in part at exposing the fact that Reger could have been stopped earlier. Its more than just about one predator, Winfrey said. Its about the entire network of people behind it who allowed it to happen. A few of these people could have single-handedly stopped this at any point as far back as the 70s. Cars travel on Main Street through Susanville, a Northern California town of 17,500 residents, in August. Resident Bradley Earl Reger is suspected of molesting boys in the community and on his travels worldwide. Since Regers arrest, 40 to 50 potential victims have surfaced according to the FBI. The suit, filed by the Manly, Stewart & Finaldi law firm in Irvine and Windsor-based attorney Daniel Beck, alleges that the defendants and another 100 Doe defendants engaged in a civil conspiracy with one another. The conspiracy accomplished an unlawful purpose by unlawful means, including, but not limited to, promoting and assisting human trafficking and sexual abuse of minor victims, including this Plaintiffs and others, the suit says. The co-conspirators had a meeting of the minds relative to the conspiracy, and coverups of the conspiracy. (At) least one of more of the co-conspirators committed one or more unlawful overt acts to further the conspiracy. Reger, 67, is being held without bail at the Sacramento County Main Jail. He faces charges of engaging in illicit sexual activity abroad, transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity and coercion, and enticement. A U.S. Department of Homeland Security report says Reger traveled overseas about 235 times from 2004 through 2023, and the FBI has said he may have abused hundreds of minors. An FBI tipline for potential victims has been set up at fbi.gov/RegerVictims. Regers next court appearance in Sacramento is set for Jan. 18. Getting good food to many people in need continues to be a challenge. The numbers tell a troubling story. According to the Greater Boston Food Bank, 1.8 million adults are food insecure in Massachusetts. Thats about a third on the population. Even more concerning is the number of children in this predicament. 36% are not sure where their next meal is coming from or whether it will be healthy and appropriate for a growing body. Thats because 30% of struggling households say theyve had to water down food, even baby formula, to make sure it lasts a little longer. Now many cities and towns are launching programs encouraging neighbors to help neighbors. Theyre creating Community Fridges where the motto is Take what you need, Leave what you can. Anyone in the community can donate and anyone in the community can take from the fridge, explained Emily Bucklin who created the Lynn Community Fridge a few years ago. The main mission here is just to fight food insecurity in Lynn and just be able to supply healthy items. The fridge was full of fresh kale as a group of students from a local school came by to drop off extra meals from their cafeteria. They all say as soon as the fridge is filled, it is quickly emptied which is indicative of the level of need in the north shore city. Weve seen a lot of pantries and shelters at over capacity since COVID, said Bucklin. This is just an additional way for our families to be able to feed themselves on a daily basis. In central Massachusetts, UMass Memorial Health-Harrington Hospital in Southbridge just opened a community fridge right outside their main entrance. Its stocked with fresh dairy products, orange juice, and canned staples. Food insecurity is one of the components of social determinants of health, said Dr. Francis Powers, the hospitals medical director. He says getting healthy food to people fits the hospitals mission, particularly because its in a rural part of Worcester County. Part of that food insecurity is just having access to a variety of healthy foods and a reliable source of it as well, said Dr. Powers. He said rural settings have their own challenges. You might not have access to healthy food. You might have to go to the local convenience store that lacks the variety or the quality or quantity of foods that are healthy for you. Even solidly middle-class communities are feeling the strain of feeding their hungry. Steve Deude is one of the founding members of the Watertown Community Fridge. We have noticed that our fridge here in the community is probably doing twice as many people as it was doing a year ago. He describes the need as intense. You have a lot of need in Cambridge, Watertown, Belmont, Waltham. Its everywhere, across the board. Duede says a community fridge is particularly helpful for working people because it is open 24-7 and doesnt require any kind of sign-up. He says any community can launch a fridge. In Watertown, they raised $5,000 and assembled a core of committed volunteers. Finding a source of electricity is also necessary. Duede believes a project like this lifts the entire community. Ive noticed that theres so much positive energy around what were doing here, even if youre not necessarily benefiting from it. The fact that its here, I think, makes people feel really good about the town they live in. All the fridge personnel emphasized no questions are asked when someone takes food. They just hope that people will remember the fridge when their circumstances improve and theyre capable of making a donation. Many of the programs will also take used clothing, or new items like underwear or socks, all of which are also desperately needed. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Last week, I reflected on the 60th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy and how that tragic moment in history was remembered at the Lenawee County level. This week, I reflect on the warm memories I have of Thanksgiving at my grandmother's house. My Grandma Cherry's house at Devils Lake was typically the place everyone gathered at Thanksgiving. Grandma's kitchen, which usually carried the aroma of Ivory dish soap and lemon-lime pop, transitioned into the smells of turkey, cranberry, stuffing (or "dressing" as she called it), bread rolls, apple pie and spices. Cousins helped Grandma prepare the meal, a choreographed effort where one stirred, while another chopped. Another family member laid out the table with the fine china dishes, around an extended table of all the miscellaneous chairs throughout the house. One warm memory from Thanksgiving is Grandmother Doris Cherry helping to prepare Thanksgiving meals. She is pictured here in November 2005 making gravy at our family gathering. The table had seen multiple generations of family members gathered for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and just because. The stories and memories shared among those present are like a warm embrace when recalled. As had been done for many years, the leftovers were stored in a working 1940s pull-handle refrigerator stored on the enclosed porch. It saw nearly 60 years of holiday food come and go before it was unplugged for the last time. With Grandma getting older by the time 2000 rolled around, and with fewer hands and mouths at the Thanksgiving gathering, we traded the best china dishes for disposable plates or trays. Our last major meal together was in 2005, with Grandma taking a supporting role in celebrating the holiday with an elaborate spread. From there, she went to live quietly in Florida, where she died in 2014 at age 95. Today, Thanksgiving is a multicultural event, as I married into a Filipino family. Almost every square inch of the table is filled with trays of food, from turkey and mashed potatoes to pancit and lumpia. The memories are the same as I remember from childhood: laughter, stories, food, inviting aromas found only at the holidays, the young cousins comparing their loose teeth, and the creation of new traditions in these last days of November. As November comes to a close, so for now has research on an Edmund Fitzgerald image I acquired earlier this year. The photo was marked "October 1975," and I wondered if it was taken in late October, which was when the last known photographs of the Fitzgerald afloat were recorded. The Edmund Fitzgerald sank in a storm while crossing Lake Superior Nov. 10, 1975. The Fitzgerald's last late-October run-up through the Soo Locks was Oct. 27, one day after the last two documented images were captured in Detroit. However, I received two pieces of data that showed the Fitzgerald "locked through" as afternoon turned to evening. My photo was clearly taken mid-morning. I follow the evidence, and Oct. 27 was simply a starting point. While I do not appear to have the last-known photo of the Fitzgerald afloat, I still have a piece of history that will make its full debut in an upcoming book. Dan Cherry is a Lenawee County historian. This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Lenawee County History: November full of history memories, interest Irish author Paul Lynch won the Booker Prize on Sunday. His novel, Prophet Song, imagines an Ireland that has fallen under Right-wing totalitarian control, and begins with members of the new secret police rapping on the door of a union leader to interrogate him for sowing discord and unrest against the government. Novelists are free to dream up all manner of fictional scenarios, however far-fetched. The irony is that this is the exact opposite of what is happening in Ireland right now. The government in Dublin is indeed introducing extraordinary new legislation to restrict freedom of speech. But its not horrid Right-wingers conspiring to suppress nice, decent liberals. Its nice, decent liberals scrambling to stamp out the opinions of what they call the far-Right. And far from being alarmed by this assault on basic freedoms, the broad swathe of progressive opinion in Ireland is fully behind it, including most voices in the broadcast and print media, and every major party. Since riots broke out in Dublin last Thursday, following the stabbing of three children, the cries for action have become ever louder. The government led by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has now pledged to have the Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill on the statute book within a matter of weeks. The new law would surely have escaped international attention had those riots not happened, but Dublins eagerness to regulate hate speech has, as internet parlance puts it, gone viral. Now the whole world knows that Ireland is poised to pass one of the most draconian pieces of legislation in modern times, which will see Irish people facing potential jail sentences of up to two years for the possession of literature likely to incite violence or hatred against others on the grounds of certain protected characteristics, including race, gender and sexual orientation. The police and courts will not even need to demonstrate that the material in question was intended to be distributed to anyone other than the owner. It will be presumed, until the contrary is proven that it was. Its reminiscent of the Soviet Union, where having copies of literature banned by the state, known as samizdat, was enough to fall foul of the KGB. To make matters worse, the Irish government has not actually defined in the bill what hatred is, saying that to do so could risk prosecutions collapsing. Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, continues to insist citizens will be able to speak freely, but a senator for the Green Party, one of three parties in the governing coalition, let the cat out of the bag: We are restricting freedom, Pauline OReilly said, but we are doing it for the common good. Ireland, sadly, has a long tradition of censorship. There was once a body with a wonderfully evocative name, the Committee on Evil Literature, which recommended banning publications deemed harmful to the newly independent nations Catholic values. The country prides itself on having come through that dark time, but all thats actually happened is that the term evil literature has been redefined to suit contemporary values. They havent stopped enforcing orthodoxy. Theyve simply found a new woke dogma to enforce. No one is writing novels about that. After all, owning such a book could land you behind bars soon. 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. To Congressman Andy Barr, As your constituents, we urgently call you to advocate for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and to halt any financial support to Israel in order to prevent further loss of innocent lives. Israels actions, including the use of thousands of bombs funded by American taxpayers, have resulted in egregious violations of international laws. This includes the destruction of hospitals, mosques, churches, schools, refugee camps, and entire neighborhoods. Families spanning generations have been decimated, civilians are facing starvation, and hospitals have tragically transformed into mass graves. The death toll in Gaza stands at over 14,000 civilian deaths, with more than 5,000 children among them, reflecting an alarming ~ 99.5% civilian casualty rate. It is imperative that we take a stand against these devastating consequences and work towards a peaceful resolution in the region. Our nation and state are implicated in these transgressions, allocating $3.85 billion from our annual federal taxes to Israel, with Kentucky contributing $28.5 million annually. Furthermore, in 2023, the House passed a $14 billion aid package to Israel, along with substantial investments in technology and weaponry. Redirecting these funds could serve our own country by bolstering areas such as education, healthcare systems, and various other essential needs. The parallels between Palestinians and Kentuckians are striking. Even prior to the events of Oct. 7, obtaining clean water in Gaza posed a challenge, mirroring the difficulties faced by Appalachian communities in Kentucky. Our tax dollars contribute to restricting Gazans water access, while at home, our representatives appear to lack the determination to secure this essential resources for every Kentuckian. Is it any wonder that our state has some of the nations worst health outcomes when our representatives cannot even guarantee access to basic necessities because they are far too busy depriving Palestinians of theirs? We must put Kentucky first by ensuring that the hungry are fed, the vulnerable are housed, and the sickest receive proper care. In solidarity with the millions of innocent Gazans witnessing this genocide firsthand, we, as Kentuckians, strongly urge a long-term ceasefire. A cessation of hostilities would not only foster peace, but also save thousands of lives. Recognizing the calls for a ceasefire from American allies, Ireland and France, we believe it is in the best interest of all parties involved to heed their example. Our humanity is being tested, and it is imperative that we learn from historys mistakes. As your constituents, we insist that you take a stand on the right side of history by calling for a long-term ceasefire. We are committed to exercising our rights as American citizens, and we will persistently engage with your offices until your position aligns with the sentiments of your constituents. We urge you to prioritize the concerns of Kentuckians over accepting contributions from SuperPACs and lobbying groups with pro-Israel interests. As one of the 51 serving members on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the decisions you make on this matter will reverberate through history. We hope that your stance is one that will contribute to saving thousands of innocent lives in Gaza. We, your constituents, look to your response soon and request your presence at our town hall on Dec. 4 to ensure effective communication with the people you represent. Jenna Shalash and Sajida Megariaf are members of Lexington for Palestine. The group will hold a town hall meeting on Dec. 4 from 6-8 p.m. at the Griffin Gate Marriott at 1800 Newtown Pike. To the editor: I lived in Israel and Palestine in 1973 and realized how biased the Western press was against the Palestinians. The bias continues today. ("Is Israel committing genocide? Most of these readers emphatically say no," letters, Nov. 25) The Hamas killings on Oct. 7 did not happen in a vacuum. Religious extremists are ascendant in the Israeli government. In 1993, the Palestinians and Israelis recognized their national aspirations in the Oslo peace accords and agreed to the creation of Palestine based on the 1967 borders. The 2017 Hamas charter accepted a state based on the 1967 borders. In his first run for prime minister in 1996, Benjamin Netanyahu campaigned against the accords after an Israeli extremist assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995. Since then, the Israeli government has more than doubled the population of settlers. It has confiscated Palestinian land and imposed segregation in violation of international law that an occupying power cannot transfer parts of its own population into territory it occupies. Support for Palestinian rights does not mean the eradication of Israel. Razing the Gaza Strip in pursuit of Hamas will never bring about the peaceful coexistence that millions of Palestinians and Israelis desire. Keith Ensminger, Merced .. To the editor: You recently published a letter attacking Reps. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) and Katie Porter (D-Irvine), both Senate candidates, for cowardice in not taking a forceful stance at the California Democratic Party convention on the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza. Schiff and Porter are running to represent all people in California. How could anyone call them cowards when the war was and is so fluid and unpredictable? Schiff and Porter have acted responsibly in the middle of a very disturbing and painful conflict. Just because people don't agree with them does not make them wrong or cowards. Maybe it's too soon to be definite on anything going on in this war. And, maybe both Schiff and Porter are knowledgeable of talks going within the administration and want to keep their lips sealed until the president and his team can do their work. Larry Margo, Valley Village This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Turns out, its not my way or the highway with Laura Kelly. Last week, Kansas governor introduced a new standard license plate design that the Department of Revenue would begin issuing next year. It was simple and graphic: an all-caps KANSAS at the top, with two stars at the sides and a stylized to the stars a translation of part of the Ad Astra per Aspera state motto at the bottom. But the colors, we reckon, were a problem for some. The plates featured wheat-yellow, black and midnight blue. And that combination screamed University of Missouri to a lot of people. Star reporter Lisa Gutierrez tallied up a lengthy list of complaints from X.com, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Best thing Kansas can do is release a black and gold license plate. #MIZ, wrote one typical Mizzou-loving faultfinder. Of course, were talking about social media in 2023, where overblown outrage is the currency of the day. People have always loved to whine and moan, and despite its name change, X is still the forum of choice for venting spleens. Culture warrior extraordinaire Attorney General Kris Kobach even took the opportunity to make graphic design partisan, bleating: First our NY born Gov brings NY policies. Now NY plates! (For the record, our regular opinion correspondent Joel Mathis welcomed the new design, which he found fun, distinctive and exciting to look at. We rounded up reader responses, too. Read some of them here.) But Gov. Kelly was listening to the grievances. I promised to be a bipartisan governor, and I think we can all admit I succeeded at bringing Kansans across the political aisle together in disliking this new license plate, she wrote in a statement Tuesday. So her administration will be sharing a new set of plates for Kansans to vote on, and well soon see what the public wants to put on its cars and trucks. In other words, responsive leadership. Paying attention to what her constituents are asking for, even in a matter so ultimately trivial. Because, sure, we understand people who see Tigers black and gold first in the proposed new plates. And were all for putting it to a vote. But lets not forget that youre hardly limited to just one look on your bumper. The state already offers almost 50 Kansas Distinctive License Plates. Want to boost the Pittsburg State Gorillas? Tell other motorists that you Choose Life? Or display your disdain for government (oh, the irony) with a coiled snake on a yellow Dont Tread On Me Gadsden flag? There are plates for all those, and many more. So no drivers were going to be forced to bolt on plates they objected to. Yet the fact that Kelly changed course is sadly novel in Kansas today and we wish the Legislature would take note. An overwhelming majority of the population supports expanding KanCare, the states Medicaid program. As it is, Kansans keep sending money to the 40 other states that have already taken this crucial step toward reducing everyones health care costs by making it easier for people with low incomes to see a doctor when theyre sick. But Republicans in Topeka keep saying no. Voters saw through the misleading Value Them Both amendment last year that would have allowed the GOP supermajority to further restrict reproductive rights in the state, knocking it down by a wide margin. But GOP lawmakers keep introducing unnecessary new antiabortion laws. Things arent much better across the state line, where the Republican-controlled General Assembly got to work immediately trying to overturn the Clean Missouri open records law voters passed in 2018. And it keeps trying to thwart the public will via initiative petitions. Kansas License Plategate was over swiftly. And it was no big deal. Now, imagine what it would be like if we could rely on everyone in Topeka and Jefferson City to follow the will of the voters on the issues that really matter. Explainer: FAQs concerning recent rise in respiratory infections in China Xinhua) 16:40, November 27, 2023 BEIJING, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- As monitoring systems and hospitals across China report a rise in respiratory infectious diseases, the country's public health departments and medical institutions are implementing proactive measures to address the situation. The following are responses from the National Health Commission (NHC) to some of the most-discussed issues regarding the infections. -- What are the pathogens causing the recent infections? The recent rise in respiratory infectious diseases is being caused by known epidemic pathogens, mainly the influenza virus, while mycoplasma pneumoniae, the adenovirus and the respiratory syncytial virus have been detected as well. Speaking about the risk of contracting multiple pathogens simultaneously, Tong Zhaohui, vice president of Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, said that it is normal for a patient to show positive results for two or three pathogens at the same time in winter, since respiratory infections have always been prevalent during this season. However, Tong also noted that although patients can test positive for multiple pathogens, the actual disease is in most cases caused by only one of them. On the question whether COVID-19 has a role in the current rise in respiratory diseases, the NHC noted that the number of positive COVID-19 nucleic acid tests recorded at fever clinics and hospitals was still steadily decreasing. It added that China is still conducting regular monitoring of the virus, with no new strains detected. -- How the Chinese health system is responding to these respiratory infections? The NHC has instructed localities to ensure the implementation of classified diagnosis and treatment and make public information concerning medical facilities offering pediatric services and fever clinics, said Mi Feng, a spokesperson with the commission, at a Sunday press conference. Regional health authorities are also urged to open more relevant consulting rooms and treatment areas, appropriately extend service hours, ensure drug supply, and fully utilize the role of traditional Chinese medicine, while emphasizing the importance of effective epidemic response in schools, kindergartens, nursing homes, and other key venues with dense populations. In addition, China has also promoted online diagnosis and treatment to meet the needs of patients, leveraging internet hospital platforms to set up channels for fever clinics and pediatric treatments. -- What can the public do to avoid infection and receive timely medical services? At the Sunday press conference, Mi called on the public to stick to the usual precautions against infections, such as wearing masks, washing hands and regularly ventilating their homes. "Vaccination remains an effective, safe, convenient, and economic measure against infectious disease," said Wang Huaqing, an expert with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. In the event of a child developing minor symptoms, Wang Quan, an expert at Beijing Children's Hospital, advised parents to care for the child at home or to visit primary-level medical institutions for treatment, so as to avoid possible cross-infection at major hospitals. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Xian Jiangnan) TRIPOLI, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Monday said 163 illegal migrants were rescued off the coast of Libya in the past week. "From Nov. 19 to Nov. 25, 163 migrants were intercepted and returned to Libya," IOM said in a statement. The rescued migrants included 20 women and 12 children, IOM said, adding that one dead body of an illegal migrant was retrieved. So far this year, a total of 15,057 illegal migrants were rescued and returned to Libya, while 947 died and 1,256 went missing on the central Mediterranean route off the Libyan coast, according to IOM. In 2022, the number of rescued stood at 24,684, while the dead and the missing reached 529 and 848, respectively. As Libya descended into chaos after the fall of late leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011, many migrants, mostly Africans, chose the country as a departure point to cross the Mediterranean to reach European shores. Across America, from California to New York, rallies and prayers are taking place throughout November. The Holodomor will be remembered throughout the whole month in the US. Researchers estimate that over 4 million Ukrainians starved to death during the Holodomor, a famine artificially engineered in Ukraine by the Soviet government in 1932-1933. In remembrance of the tragedy 90 years on, the parliaments of 28 countries have recognised the Holodomor as a genocide. Consequently, an increasing number of people are aware of the Holodomor and share the belief that it should be acknowledged as a Genocide against the Ukrainian people. The Embassy of Ukraine in the US has reported that the number of states and cities that have recognised the Holodomor as a genocide has doubled over the past two years. The Ukrainian community will not stop until every state in the US has acknowledged it, the Embassy said. It is vital to spread the word internationally and to collect memories of the victims of the tragedy. Collecting every single story "My uncle used to tell me that during the Famine they would eat with their eyes because their food had been taken away from them," said Ukrainian American Krystia Oraskevych. Khrystia has come to the Holodomor Memorial in Washington, DC to pay tribute to the victims of the Holodomor in Ukraine and to remember all the lives that were lost that no-one knows about. Krystia lights a candle and continues tearfully, with a trembling voice, "This isnt a fairy tale. Its very real, and its very real again today, whats happening in Ukraine." More than a hundred people have gathered at the Holodomor Memorial in the very heart of Washington, DC to remember the victims of the brutal tragedy that the Soviet Union inflicted on Ukrainians. They include members of the Ukrainian community and other Americans, Ukraines ambassador to the US, US government representatives, and clergy. Photo: Uliana Boichuk "It's very significant this year, as we have been under attack by the Russian Federation since 2022, and the Holodomor was a famine engineered by the Stalinist regime. If history is not to repeat itself, Ukrainians, and Americans as well, must understand that its important for us to stand together and tell the story of the Holodomor. Because no one should be starving anywhere in the world in this day and age," says Father Robert Hitchens from the Ukrainian Catholic National Shrine of the Holy Family. Liuda Draganova has come to the rally with her children. When she speaks with us, she thinks back to the times she visited the Holodomor Museum in Kyiv. It was a moving experience. An enormous book filled with the names of those who perished from the famine in different regions is displayed in the main exhibition hall. "We found our own region and saw names of relatives and friends it was heartbreaking. But it's essential for the world to remember. We're thankful that many countries and states in the USA acknowledge the Holodomor as genocide. It's crucial for Russia to take responsibility for the tragedy," Liuda emphasises. Photo: Uliana Boichuk A deeply painful and unforgettable chapter in our history Erin McKee, Assistant Administrator in the US governments Agency for International Development in Europe and Eurasia, has brought a candle with her. She mentions that the resilience of the Ukrainian community has kept the US-Ukraine relationship strong. "We together stand with each other for democracy, for human rights, and for life, opportunity, hope and a future. That is what our partnership and friendship is about. And what the strength that we have together means. The Holodomor remains a dark episode in the history of the Ukrainian people and society. The authorities tried to hide this crime. They lied about the famine and its origins. They were using food to destroy the Ukrainian identity. Today, once again, another authority and regime in Moscow has brought suffering to Ukraine," Erin says. Khrystia Oraskevych, a proud New Yorker with Ukrainian roots, found herself grappling with a chapter of history that has been largely overlooked. "My parents spoke of it, but it felt absent in our lessons," she recalls, saying that the Holodomor was a tragedy relegated to a few passing mentions in her history books. "Only after college did the truth unfold," she shares, remembering the shift in narrative. It was then, through discussions with peers and professors, that the gravity of the Holodomor began to receive the acknowledgment it deserved. "Yes, it happened," they would finally admit. "I stand here for all those voiceless souls," Khrystia declares, her eyes reflecting a profound sorrow extending from the victims of the Holodomor to the present-day tragedies unfolding in Ukraine. "It's inconceivable," Krystia expresses with a tremor in her voice, "that even today, in our modern age, such atrocities persist." Her distress deepens as she mentions the unnoticed plight of children being taken from Ukraine to Russia, a modern tragedy echoing the painful history her parents and grandparents recounted. "For every Ukrainian, the Holodomor is a deeply painful and unforgettable chapter in our history. Even here in America, it stays with us," says Liuda Draganova. She has been living in the US for a while, but her mother came here just a year ago. "When I returned home today, I found a candle lit by my mother, reminding us to honour this day," Liuda says. Holodomor then, Genocide now, Justice when? Three decades ago, the Ukrainian diaspora established the Committee for Ukrainian Holodomor Genocide Awareness 1932-33 in the US Congress. The Committee works tirelessly every day for the Holodomor tragedy to be acknowledged by as many Americans as possible as a genocide against the Ukrainian people. "More than 4 million people were killed just because they were Ukrainian. We are standing here at the Holodomor Memorial, honouring the victims of the Holodomor and pledging to not just remember, but to make their memory eternal. And to proclaim on this 90th anniversary of the Holodomor genocide: Holodomor then, Genocide now, Justice when?" declared Michael Sawkiw, Chair of the US Committee for Ukrainian Holodomor Genocide Awareness 1932-33. Svitlana Kramarova is a historian. When she was studying the history of Ukraine at university, one of her tasks was to collect peoples memories of the Holodomor. She remembers talking to those people and asking them about it; they couldn't hold back their tears. It was something impossible to convey, Svitlana recalls. "Most of them were children at that time, yet with tears in their eyes, fear in their eyes, they spoke, they remembered. Even my grandmother, who passed away 15 years ago, remembered how they gathered scraps of potatoes, how they survived solely on that. And this was in Western Ukraine, where they claimed there was no Holodomor. Throughout Ukraine, people felt the incredible oppression of the local authorities during that period," Svitlana said. Advocacy for the Holodomor to be acknowledged by the US On Remembrance Day, the White House published a statement by the US president marking the solemn anniversary of the Holodomor as the brave people of Ukraine continued to defend their freedom and Ukraines sovereignty against Russias brutal war of aggression. "Ninety years ago, the inhumane policies of Joseph Stalin and the Soviet regime created the death by hunger. Millions of Ukrainians men, women, and children suffered and starved to death between 1932-1933 because of a manmade famine. Stalin and his regime systematically seized Ukraines grain and farms and transferred Ukrainian grain to other parts of the USSR as a tactic to repress Ukraines national identity," the statement said. Ambassador Oksana Markarova's words echoed the profound impact of the Holodomor, recognising it not as a mere historical event, but as a grim consequence of Ukraine's struggle for independence. "The Holodomor signifies what transpires in Ukraine when our independence is stripped away," she asserts, grounding the tragedy within the broader context of the country's history. She explains that the 1932-1933 famine occurred a mere decade after Ukraine's brief period of sovereignty a time when Ukraine, as a young republic, was beginning to assert its autonomy, establishing its own institutions and asserting its national identity, only to be once again subjugated by Soviet Russia. "This assault on our civilians, families and farmers in Eastern and Central Ukraine aimed to terrorise and commit genocide," the ambassador emphasises, highlighting the deliberate targeting of priests, scientists, cultural leaders and influential figures who symbolised Ukrainian identity and autonomy. "Thanks to the resilient Ukrainian diaspora in the US, the memory of the Holodomor persists," she acknowledges gratefully, highlighting the crucial role of those who have worked tirelessly to ensure that the truth prevails, advocating not just for remembrance, but for global recognition. Svitlana Kramarova brought her ten-year-old daughter to the Holodomor Memorial last Saturday, 25 November 2023. She stressed that telling children the true story of the Holodomor gives us a chance to prevent the tragedy from happening again in the future. "Such genocide should not be repeated in the future, neither with our children nor with any other nations. It was incredibly inhumane, very heartless, what happened, and the people who lived through it deserve immense honour and respect." Author: Uliana Boichuk Editing: Teresa Pearce LINCOLNTON, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) A woman has been arrested for embezzling at least $14,000 from the business she worked at in Denver, North Carolina, according to the Lincoln County Sheriffs Office. The investigation began on Oct. 9, 2023, when the owner filed a report stating money was missing from the business account. The business was located on the 4300 block of North Highway 16. Queen City News is tracking CRIME in your area >> Latest stories here The investigation revealed that an employee, later identified as 28-year-old Leah Marie Granger, was converting gift cards, credit transactions and other means into cash from the business and keeping it, officials said. Between Jan. 1, 2023, and Sept. 30, 2023, detectives say at least $14,000 was taken and only occurred when Granger worked. Granger was charged with one count of felony embezzlement. Man charged with murder of unborn child in Rowan County: Sheriff On Tuesday, Nov. 28, Granger turned herself into the Lincoln County Courthouse and was later released on a $10,000 unsecured bond. Officials say her first court appearance is on Nov. 29 at the Lincoln County District Court. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. The West may not consider Russia's war against Ukraine as an immediate threat until a similar shock to Pearl Harbor occurs, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said on Nov. 28, according to LRT. The West is not open and honest enough about what the war really means, the diplomat said, suggesting that this may be due to fear of the war escalating. In most cases, the West tries to present the war "as a regional, still distant problem that does not affect us at all," the minister stated, adding that this is a big political problem. Read also: "As a person who is interested in history, I am afraid that we are waiting for Pearl Harbor," Landsbergis said. We have already gone through all the stages, but we think that since Pearl Harbor has not happened everything is fine. However, everything is not so rosy. Read also: Lithuania urges world to keep focus on Ukraine amid Hamas-Israel war The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise, combined aerial and naval assault conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of Dec. 7, 1941. Both Japanese carrier-based aircraft and midget submarines launched strikes against the U.S. Pacific Fleet and other military installations located near Honolulu on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. The attack devastated the Pacific Fleet and marked the entry of the U.S. into the Second World War. 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 LITTLE ROCK, Ark. An exhibition exploring the State and diplomatic visits by foreign leaders during the Clinton administration will soon take place in Little Rock. The Clinton Presidential Center announced Monday that its Be Our Guest exhibition will open Friday. The event will offer insights into these state visits, including the planning, politics and execution of them by the administration. Former president Bill Clinton speaks at convention center in Little Rock The exhibition will include gifts given to former President Bill Clinton as part of a visit, china selected for table service and more. Also included is a compilation of musical performances given during state visits, including those by Earth, Wind & Fire, Whitney Houston, Lou Reed and Liza Minnelli. The exhibition includes vignettes highlighting 14 of the hundreds of diplomatic visits to the White House during the Clinton administration. Some of the highlighted visits include those by President Vaclav Havel of the Czech Republic, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan and President Nelson Mandela of South Africa. Clinton Presidential Center set for major Little Rock expansion Through rarely seen archives and objects from the Clinton Librarys collection and the Clintons personal collection, visitors will gain a deeper appreciation for the importance of state visits, Jay Barth, director of the Clinton Presidential Library and Museum said. Barth continued that the visits were more than elaborate dinner parties, instead playing a critical role in U.S. foreign policy. Former NFL player attends Central Arkansas PrideFest brunch at Clinton Center The exhibition was curated by the Clinton Presidential Library. It will be on display through May 27, 2024. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK. Convicted double murderer and disbarred Hampton County attorney Alex Murdaugh is being sentenced Tuesday for more than a decade of financial crimes. The fourth-generation lawyer in a dynastic family that once dominated the legal and political establishment of the Lowcountry has admitted stealing millions of dollars from his own clients, close friends, his brother and the law firm that his family founded over a century ago. Tuesdays sentencing hearing before state Judge Clifton Newman comes a little more than a week after Murdaugh pleaded guilty to 22 of 101 pending charges as part of a last minute, negotiated plea deal, which averted a trial set to begin in Beaufort today. Under a package plea agreement negotiated by the defense and prosecution, Murdaugh, 55, pled guilty with the expectation of being sentenced to 27 years in prison. Fourteen victims are expected to testify Tuesday, after which Judge Newman has the option of rejecting the plea and the sentence, but that scenario appears unlikely. Proceedings are being broadcast live on CourtTV. The will be providing live updates as the sentencing unfolds. 3:20 p.m. Alex Murdaugh is sentenced to 27 years in prison Alex Murdaugh has been sentenced to 27 years in the South Carolina Department of Corrections for his financial crimes. Following a brief statement, Judge Clifton Newman sentenced Murdaugh to 20 concurrent years in prison. He was also sentenced to an additional seven years to be served consecutively on a money laundering charge. Asked by Judge Newman if he had any additional comment, Murdaugh simply smiled and said no but turned to face his victims and said he reiterated what he said earlier. He was then escorted from the courtroom. 2:12 p.m. Murdaugh thanks supporters, attacks haters and apologizes for humiliating his family Much of Alex Murdaughs almost hour-long statement was a mea culpa to his family, law firm and law partners. Rocking back and forth on his feet, Murdaugh apologized for the pain, humiliation and suspicion that he heaped on those closest to him. I am so sorry that I let each of you down and I am so sorry that I humiliated you. I am so sorry that I destroyed our familys reputation with the terrible things that I have done, Murdaugh said. No members of the Murdaugh family were present in court. Apologizing to his surviving son Buster, Murdaugh said that he was proud of his son and urged him to ignore the haters. Murdaugh attacked what he described as baseless claims about Buster, an apparent reference to the death of Stephen Smith in 2015. Smith, 19, was found dead on a rural Hampton County road. In March, Buster Murdaugh issued a statement in which he denied the rumors and any involvement in Smiths death. Over 51 minutes on Tuesday, Alex Murdaugh apologized to individual members of his and Maggies family, including his brother, Randy, and his father-in-law. He expressed profound remorse and anger that his actions had slandered the legacy of his father and grandfather. He described them as fully and wholly committed to justice. Two men who were most honest and most decent two men who would be devastated by what I have done. Murdaugh also delved into his history with opioid addiction. He thanked the detox facility he went to shortly before his arrest and urged anyone with addiction to get professional help. Dont let pride get in the way like I did. Im sorry I went to such great lengths to hide my addiction and to hide my criminal acts from each of you. I know you would have helped me before things got so out of control, Murdaugh said. I now apologize to every single person that cares about Maggie and about Paul, Murdaugh said at the conclusion of his lengthy apology. His crimes meant that SLED and the state Attorney Generals Office focused on him, instead of the real killers of Maggie and Paul, Murdaugh said. Reflecting on his sentence, which he said was harsher than he would have wanted, Murdaugh told the court and his victims that he still believed in redemption. I am fully committed to trying to be a better person, Murdaugh said. I am going to try to do as much good as possible and help as many people as I can while incarcerated. I remain fully and wholeheartedly committed to finding a way to somehow make those who love me proud again, in some small way. 1:37 p.m. I am so sorry, Murdaugh apologizes to his victims In his longest address since he testified in his own defense, Alex Murdaugh delivered a lengthy and tear-filled apology to the many people he had hurt. But as much as it was an apology, it was a plea to be believed. It is important to me that you know how sorry I am for the things that I did to each of you, Murdaugh told the assembled victims in the courtroom. I hope the time will come where you will be able to look back and know that I care about each of you because I did. Throughout his statement, he returned to this theme repeatedly. Speaking slowly he begged his victims repeatedly to believe him when he said he was sorry. Murdaugh said that after hours, days, weeks, months of self reflection he continued to steal because he was attempting to hide from the things I did to all of you. Speaking to the Satterfields, Murdaugh reflected on the closeness of their families. He made up the story about the dogs tripping Gloria with good intentions, with the intention of helping you. But those intentions quickly became selfish, Murdaugh said. 1:06 p.m. Forgiveness and anger as victims speak Victims and attorneys made their final remarks to Alex Murdaugh Tuesday afternoon. In a tearful testimony, Jordan Jinks, a longtime friend of Murdaughs, expressed the confusion that many have felt throughout the day. I didnt want to come up here and bash you, but I gotta ask you what kind of animal are you? Jinks asked. Expressing his support for the sentence, he said that he forgave Murdaugh but he appeared wracked with confusion and pain. The money you stole from me, you could have asked me for it and I would have given it to you, thats how I felt about you, man. Attorney and state representative Justin Bamberg compared Murdaugh to a fairy tale dragon, and urged Judge Newman to slay that dragon in court today by accepting the sentence. The sole voice of dissent came from attorney Mark Tinsley, who represents the family of Mallory Beach, whose 2019 death in a boat crash led to the unraveling of the Murdaugh family. Tinsley pushed back on the idea that white collar crime was somehow less of a crime, saying the money came from blood, sweat and tears. I dont want to be the odd man out so Im going to keep it to myself and think it, said Tinsley. Making his final argument, Waters said, this is a strong result. It is one that ensures finality. It is one that ensures that the system has also been abused that the system can start to heal as well. 12:37 p.m. Do you not have a soul? Satterfield family members, attorneys address the court In a blistering statement, attorney Eric Bland, who represents several of Murdaughs victims, said he supported the 27-year sentence and laid into Murdaugh and his attorneys. I feel good that he will never breathe a fresh breath of air again, Bland told the court. A colorful orator, Bland described Murdaugh alternately as a unicorn criminal who stole from those close to him, a wolf among sheep, and a criminal who belonged on the Mount Rushmore of crime. Murdaugh took advantage of vulnerable adults and friends who did not know how to navigate the legal system, Bland said. His victims were like prey to him, said Blands partner, Ronnie Richter. Murdaughs crimes are even more unexplainable given his privilege, Richter said. I dont get it. I dont understand it. And I dont want to understand it, said Gloria Satterfields sister, addressing Murdaugh directly. Do you not have a soul? My heart is with you, my prayers are with you. I just wish the best for you, said Tony Satterfield, Glorias son, in a simple statement before the court. 11:56 a.m. Waters defends a 27-year sentence for Murdaugh While some on social media have criticized the states decision to negotiate a plea deal with Alex Murdaugh, on Tuesday Creighton Waters appeared more intent on selling Judge Clifton Newman on the unique and unprecedented 27-year sentence. It represents a singular accountability for white collar criminals, Waters told the court as he concluded a 90-minute presentation. The sentence would be the highest for any white collar crime in South Carolina or around the country, Waters told the court. It would exceed the sentences handed down for other high profile frauds, including Enron, World Com and Carolina Investors. As part of the plea, Murdaugh agreed to waive his appellate rights. That means whatever happens with any other litigation, we ensure, with what happens here today, Mr. Murdaugh will stay in state prison for what is most likely the remainder of his life. Murdaugh, 55, is currently appealing the guilty verdict for double murder. The stiff sentence would also go towards repairing the wreckage and distrust Murdaugh sowed in the states legal system and would spare many smaller counties the expense of a costly trial. The sentencing will resume with victim testimony after a 10-minute break. 11:39 a.m. Waters describes Murdaughs many schemes Speaking now for over an hour, Creighton Waters has outlined a dizzying array of thefts. Over more than a decade, Murdaugh used an evolving array of schemes to steal money ranging from tens of thousands to over a million dollars. In total, he stole $12,4525,254.32, according to Waters. While many cases, for instance the theft of $4.3 million from the children of Gloria Satterfield, have become well known, Waters presentation delved into more than a dozen victims of Murdaughs schemes. Murdaugh has appeared stone-faced, occasionally donning reading glasses to review a document. But in the half-filled courtroom, his victims appear distressed by the testimony. Jordan Jinks, who lost around $150,000 to one of Murdaughs schemes, appeared slumped forward in his seat with his head in his hands as Waters spoke. Among the schemes described by Waters was double dipping from Murdaughs firm, when he managed to twice cash a check from his own law firm that was intended for his brother and law partner, Randy; the diversion of hundreds of thousands of dollars into a Bank of America account he controlled that appeared to belong to a legitimate structured settlement company, Forge; lying to his clients about the amount he won in settlements. Waters took particular time to describe one case where a cash-strapped Murdaugh told a grieving mother that he could only secure a $30,000 settlement following the death of three family members in a car crash. In reality Murdaugh secured a $183,000 settlement. In the end, the mother received not one thin cent, Waters said. 11:11 a.m. Creighton Waters outlines a decade of Murdaughs debts and thefts Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters has begun outlining the crushing debts and constantly evolving schemes that drove Alex Murdaughs thefts. But the common thread in these thefts was the privileged position that Murdaugh occupied as an attorney and the member of a prominent family. That trust, power and influence, thats the only way these schemes were able to take place, Waters told the court. Working in chronological order, Waters has begun describing how Murdaughs thefts began after he ran into financial problems around 2008, during the recession. While Murdaugh would go on to secure a number of large settlements for his clients, this merely gave him the appearance of financial wellbeing, Waters said. In reality, Murdaugh was desperately careening from one scheme to another in order to stay ahead of his debts. Many of his loans came from Russell Laffitte, the former CEO of the Palmetto State Bank and longtime Murdaugh family friend. Alex Murdaugh had gotten so in hock to Russell Laffitte that Russell Laffitte was in hock to Alex Murdaugh, Waters said. But Murdaugh was also using the money to pay off loans from his father, other law partners and six-figure credit card bills, Waters said. If he defaulted on any of these loans, it could invite scrutiny of his finances exposing his thefts. As a result, Murdaugh kept on stealing. It was an An exhausting hamsterwheel, Waters said. Among the thefts that Waters outlined was Murdaughs pilfering of settlements from car crash victims Hakeem Pinckney, Arthur Badger and Deon Martin. Murdaugh would often structure settlements so that his victims believed that they were receiving sizable amounts of money, while not realizing that Murdaugh he was skimming nearly $1 million off their settlements. Explaining the reasoning behind his lengthy and detailed statement, Waters said it was imperative to put more meat on the bone in order to ensure accountability in South Carolinas judicial community. Waters said he also wanted to demonstrate how power and influence and trust could be used to steal millions of dollars. 10:24 a.m. Alex Murdaugh arrives in court Alex Murdaugh has arrived at the Beaufort County Court for his sentencing. Once a prominent attorney in the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit, which includes Beaufort, Murdaugh is now facing a 27 year sentence for his financial crimes. That sentence is expected to be the longest prison sentence for a series of white collar crimes in South Carolinas history. Murdaugh would be eligible for parole after serving 85% of the 27 years. Murdaugh is currently serving two consecutive life sentences in state prison for the murders of his wife and son. There was a buzz in the Beaufort County court as Muardaugh arrived, shackled and wearing a bright orange jumpsuit. One reporter said that the atmosphere in the courtroom before he arrived was like a reunion. In addition to victims, some of whom knew Murdaugh personally, the back benches are filled with SLED agents. Attorneys, many of whom are familiar faces to close watchers of the Murdaugh saga, have been milling around the courtroom. Among them are Eric Bland and Justin Bamberg, who represent victims of Murdaughs thefts, and Mark Tinsley, who represented the family of Mallory Beach, whose death in a boat crash in 2019 began the slow unraveling of the Murdaugh family. Far from being a side show, prosecutors argued that the thefts were central to Murdaughs motive on the night in June 2021 when he gunned down his wife, Maggie, and son Paul. Throughout Murdaughs trial in Colleton County last winter, lead prosecutor, Waters, argued repeatedly that Murdaugh was driven to commit the murders to stave off a gathering storm caused by the looming discovery of his thefts. In all, Murdaugh was charged with more than $8 million in embezzlements, forgery, tax evasion, money laundering and other frauds. The decade-long series of thefts was driven by an insatiable need for money, Waters said during Murdaughs guilty plea. While testifying in his own defense, Murdaugh admitted to committing many of the thefts. On Sept. 21, Murdaugh also pleaded guilty in federal court to host of financial crimes. Among those were the theft of $4.3 million from the estate of Murdaughs late family housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, laundering stolen money through the Palmetto State Bank, with the assistance of its former CEO-Russell Laffitte, and the theft of money from his own law firm through a variety of schemes. As many as 14 victims could testify Tuesday. Among them may be the sons of long-time Murdaugh-family housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, who died following a fall at the Murdaugh family farm, Moselle. Murdaugh stole $4.3 million from her estate as part of a complex scheme where he sued his own insurance carrier. The former PM is returning to Washington this week - J Scott Applewhite/AP Liz Truss has called for Reaganite American leadership on the war in Ukraine, as she attempts to persuade wavering Republicans to continue support for Volodymyr Zelensky. The former prime minister said she hopes a Republican candidate will win next years presidential election, but called for the party to look to Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan as a model to deal with authoritarianism around the world. Ms Truss is among a delegation of Conservative politicians visiting Washington this week, where they will meet with Republicans in Congress to shore up support for Ukraines war against Russia. Enthusiasm for sending expensive munitions to Ukraine is falling among both the public and politicians on Capitol Hill, with the focus of American foreign policy moving towards the conflict in Gaza. Ukrainians are preparing for another difficult winter as the war drags on - Genya Savilov/AFP Polls show less than half of Americans now think that funding for the Ukraine war should continue, while Joe Bidens recent request for a $61 billion war chest failed to make it onto the floor of the House of Representatives, amid opposition from the GOP. In an article for the Wall Street Journal, Ms Truss called on Republicans to embrace conservative leadership in the US that is once again bold enough to call out hostile regimes as evil and a threat. To tilt the balance in favour of Ukraine, we must ensure that Ukraine has a quantitative military advantage when it is facing off against a Russian military backed by Iranian weapons and diplomatic support from the Chinese, she argued. Today, Ukraine most urgently needs to establish air superiority either through stealth jets or advanced drones that can support front-line troops. We should also be fast-tracking its membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Her calls clash with the policy positions of several of the Republican primary frontrunners, including Donald Trump, who currently has a 47-point poll lead over his rivals. Mr Trump has said he would end the war in Ukraine in one day if he was elected president again, by bringing Mr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin together to negotiate. Ron DeSantis, who is polling in second place, and Vivek Ramaswamy, who is fourth, have both called for cuts in support for Ukraine to allow the US to spend more on domestic priorities, like immigration. Of the major contenders left in the Republican race, only Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor, has been vocal in support for Ukraine. Nikki Haley has been vocal in support Ukraine - Anadolu In her article, titled The World Again Needs American Leadership, Ms Truss said: For as long as most of us can recall, the U.S. has led the free world. During the Cold War, for example, it was American power that successfully held off the communist threat from the Soviet Union. Working in tandem with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, President Ronald Reagan was unflinching, calling the Soviet Union an evil empire. The world would benefit from more of that kind of American leadership today. In the aftermath of Mr Trumps first presidential term, many on the Republican Right have shifted away from the partys 1980s neoconservatism and towards a Make America Great Again isolationist policy. On China, Mr Trump and other contenders say they would impose trade barriers to prevent economic competition between them, but are less concerned about tension between China and Taiwan. While Ukraine has support among both parties in the Democrat-held US Senate, House Republicans have consistently opposed more spending on foreign wars. Mr Bidens most recent supplemental request for military aid for Israel and Ukraine will likely require significant White House compromises on border control to make it to a vote in the lower house. 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. People were rescued by local firefighters after their car crashed into a pond last week. Beavercreek Township Fire Department sprang into action to rescue people trapped in their car that was submerged in a pond, according to a social media post. >> Firefighter injured investigating house fire in Springfield The fire department was able to safely get the people from on top of the car to dry land, according to the post. Information about where the crash happened or any injuries was not included in the post. We will continue to follow this story with information. The Iowa Supreme Court has suspended the law license of the executive director of an Iowa organization that assists immigrants and refugees. Calling the case a cautionary tale for lawyers about the bounds of proper advocacy when defending against ethics charges, the court suspended the law license of Mike Mbanza of North Liberty. Mbanza maintains a private law office and also serves as the founder and executive director of Path of Hope, a Coralville organization also known as the Center for Student Services. The organization is dedicated to providing legal assistance and other forms of help to low-income refugees and immigrants. Mbanza ran for the North Liberty City Council on Nov. 7 and received 14 % of the vote, losing out to Brian Leibold, Paul Park and Brent Smith. More: Newcomers Leibold and Park elected to North Liberty council alongside incumbent Smith In imposing its suspension, the court indicated the misconduct Mbanza committed while defending himself against ethics charges eclipsed the gravity of the underlying charges that triggered a disciplinary hearing before the Grievance Commission of the Iowa Supreme Court. Although lawyers are entitled to put on a zealous defense in ethics cases, they arent allowed to stonewall when responding to discovery requests, file frivolous motions, or engage in similar obstructive conduct in a grievance commission proceeding, the court said. The court adopted the commissions recommendation of a 30-day suspension of Mbanzas license. The recommendation stemmed from a March 2022 case initiated by the Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Board. The boards complaint was tied to Mbanzas 2019 legal representation of a man who was criminally charged with domestic abuse. In 2020, through Path of Hope, Mbanza signed that same mans application for immigration, which had been drafted by a staffer. That application, according to the board, incorrectly claimed the man was married although Mbanza handled the mans divorce, and it failed to disclose the mans arrest and guilty plea in a domestic abuse case. More: Johnson County's arts and culture industry is an economic powerhouse, generating $32 million in 2022 Shortly before the Grievance Commission held a disciplinary hearing on the matter, Mbanza filed a counterclaim against the Attorney Disciplinary Board and sent an email to the boards legal counsel threatening litigation, stating they should expect claims of malicious prosecution and intentional infliction of emotional distress naming you personally and professionally as a defendant. The counterclaim was dismissed, and at the commissions disciplinary hearing Mbanza argued the immigration application was only a draft document that was never sent to U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services. The commission said the evidence showed otherwise and was also at odds with some of Mbanzas own testimony, which the commission described as evasive or contradictory on several points. After the hearing, the commission recommended Mbanzas license be suspended, pointing to what it called Mbanzas obstructionist conduct and the fact that his refusal to comply with discovery requests had resulted in sanctions. Mbanzas behavior was so outrageous it has no Iowa counterpart in disciplinary proceedings, the commission said. Mbanza argued his actions warranted only a private admonishment. The court ruled otherwise, saying Mbanzas extraordinary actions throughout the grievance commission process are a severely aggravating factor. The court noted that Mbanza made an assortment of frivolous filings in response to the Attorney Disciplinary Boards allegations and threatened to file claims of malicious prosecution and intentional infliction of emotional distress if the board didnt dismiss the charges against him. Mbanza refused to substantively answer virtually every request for discovery that the board made to him, the court said, leaving the grievance commission little choice but to impose harsh sanctions for his repeated refusals to provide answers. Find this story at Iowa Capital Dispatch, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions:kobradovich@iowacapitaldispatch.com. This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Johnson County immigration lawyer suspended amid ethical concerns McDonalds has committed to donating nearly $20,000 toward the college education of a young girl in Georgia. This pledge follows the toddlers birth, which took place in a local McDonalds restroom a year ago. Renowned for its iconic golden arches, McDonalds has been a consistent supporter of education through contributions to organizations such as the United Negro College Fund. However, in a recent act of generosity, a local franchisee took a direct approach, presenting a scholarship to a young girl simply because she was born at his establishment on Fulton Industrial Boulevard in Atlanta. Nandi Ariyah Moremi Phillips and her parents Deandre Phillips and Alandria Worthy (Photos: YouTube screenshots/11 Alive) Nandi Ariyah Moremi Phillips recently celebrated her first birthday at the very McDonalds, where her mother gave birth to her in November 2022. Nandi received more than her gifts, clothes and a Happy Meal cake. Steve Akinboro, the owner of the local McDonalds, decided to make a lasting impact on her life by awarding a $1,000 scholarship to the toddler. Additionally, he pledged an annual contribution of $1,000 to a college fund for little Miss Nandi until she begins her college journey. We dont want her to think about how she is going to pay for college, Akinboro said about Nandi, whose nickname is Little Nugget, in an interview with 11 Alive. Around this time last year, Little Nuggets mother, Alandria Worthy and her fiance were en route to the hospital as she began experiencing contractions. They made a detour to McDonalds for what the mom anticipated to be a brief bathroom break. To her surprise, the contractions that had initially started earlier in the day returned with a vengeance. I immediately felt like I had to use the bathroom. So, we stopped by McDonalds to use the bathroom, Worthy recalled. She also remembered screaming loudly as she started to dilate. McDonalds general manager, Tunisia Woodward, heard the screams and entered the bathroom to assist, joined by two other co-workers, Shaquerria Kaigler and Keisha Blue-Murray. She was like, Are you OK? and I was like, No, Im in labor,' Worthy said. I said, Somebody get the man in the car I need him!' Simultaneously, Little Nuggets dad, Deandre Phillips, noticed the break was taking too long and went in to check on his partner. He ran into them at the same time and said, Babe, are you alright? and I said, No, shes coming. Shes coming, Worthy added. I was like, Were about to have a baby, and his instincts kicked in immediately. Within 15 minutes and three pushes, Little Nugget made her entrance. She was born last year at the hands of me, and two of my employees and the dad. In our restroom, said Woodward to Atlanta News First. Mom and Dad were on their way to the hospital, but the baby had a different agenda, said Akinboro joked. Worthy said the fast-food workers stayed in contact with her and made sure that they kept updates on how the baby was progressing, asking for pictures and videos of the tiny tyke. The local franchise stayed in touch with the family, and a week after the unusual birth, the workers invited the couple and their new baby back for a post-birth baby shower. The couple shares a strong bond with the restaurant workers, appreciating the support and assistance they have received throughout the year. To them, these individuals are more than just friendly fast-food servers; they have become valued members of their community. It is not like we are coming in and these are strangers, they are like family now at this point, said Worthy. It makes me feel good that they are still a part of her life, Worthy added. A longtime Harrison Township worker is stepping down to take a new position in Clermont County. >>We could get anywhere from 50 to 100 phone calls; Cold temperatures put furnaces to test Harrison Township Administrator Kris McClintick has announced his resignation which will be effective on Friday. He has accepted a position as Clermont Countys Community and Economic Development Director, according to Danielle Bradley, Harrison Township Board of Trustee President. McClintick has been with the township since 2000, including being the township administrator since 2014. I have worked for Harrison Township for almost 24 years. I am blessed to have worked with amazing township staff, community leaders, and businesses over the years, he said. This community will always hold a special place in my heart. The township is working with the Management Advisory Group in search of a new administrator. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) Coinciding with its first anniversary, digital bank GoTyme is going back to the basics of customer service, adding a personal touch and highlighting authentic rapport while doing away with call menus and chatbots that have caused dread among customers in recent memory. "The more digital the world becomes, the more human a bank needs to be," GoTyme Bank CEO Nate Clarke told members of the press at the screening of its short film, "The Lonely Bot". "Our mission has always been clear: provide next-level banking to all Filipinos so they can unlock their financial potential. Today we pledge that in every customer touchpoint, a helpful human will be there for you. This will allow us to deliver the best customer service in the banking industry," he added. Photo from GoTyme Bank GoTyme Bank promised that their personal banker will be able to respond to a chat in one minute, take a call in two minutes, or revert via email or direct message on social media within three hours. It reiterated that the bank will not use chatbots or call menus. Simply put, GoTyme customers get to speak directly to a human. The digital bank assured that one personal banker will deal with a customer's concern to reinforce the personal connection and facilitate efficient customer service. GoTyme Bank currently has over 900 ambassadors available throughout the country, who are highly trained to guide customers in opening accounts via GoTyme Bank kiosks in key areas. It added that its human customer service agents are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week via phone call, chat, and email. "At the core of human banking is communication, building connections, and solving issues. Our promise is to provide you with the best customer service: a banking experience deeply rooted in empathy, care, and human excellence," GoTyme Bank Co-CEO Albert Tinio asserted. Photo from GoTyme Bank To get this message across, GoTyme Bank produced "The Lonely Bot," which is now playing in all Robinsons Movieworld branches and GoTyme Bank's social media pages. The story features Roboto who is longing for a companion to talk to. GoTyme Bank, a joint venture between the Gokongwei Group and Singapore-based Tyme Group, also shared that it breached the one-million customer mark last August -- specifically, 1.7 million customers in just 13 months. It attributes this to the digital platform's consistent focus on human banking, the first in the Philippines with a "phygital" model that seamlessly blends the convenience of digital technology and human-led touchpoints in its operations. Download the GoTyme Bank app or go to any kiosk nationwide to open your own GoTyme Bank account and get your free Visa Debit Card in under five minutes. Visit www.gotyme.com.ph to get more news and information. Follow @gotymebank on social media for the latest updates and promos. In what is surely one of the most horrible and chilling manifestos to come out of a mass shooting, the murderer at the Old National Bank in Louisville said he did it because he could. According to the investigative wrap-up from the Louisville Police Department that was released last week, the murderer of five wrote: I certainly would not have been able to do this were it more difficult to get a gun. Its terrifying that a mind so warped could also say something so true: Its too easy for people suffering from mental illness or psychotic episodes to get access to killing machines. That warped mind injured eight and took the lives of five people Josh Barrick, Deana Eckert, Tommy Elliott, Juliana Farmer and Jim Tutt because he could. Its unthinkable and yet, tragically, all too common in this country. The Louisville shooting was the 146th mass shooting of the year. It happened April 10. We are now up to 565, according to the Gun Violence Archive. A mass shooting is defined as when four or more people are injured or killed. So, as I asked back then, what are we going to do about it? First off, we want something to change. According to a poll last year, by the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research 71% of Americans say gun laws should be stricter, including about half of Republicans, the vast majority of Democrats and a majority of those in gun-owning households, the Associated Press wrote. Overall, 8 in 10 Americans perceive that gun violence is increasing around the country, and about two-thirds say its increasing in their state, though less than half believe its increasing in their community, the poll shows. Legislature must act But before the Old National Bank shooting, Kentuckys GOP-controlled General Assembly deep in thrall to the National Rifle Association and its campaign donations declined to make even tiny changes. For example, Democratic Reps. Chad Aull and Lisa Willner put forth a very mild idea, which would allow people to self-report themselves onto a no-buy list with gun dealers. So if they suffered from a mental health break, they would be unable to buy a gun. This idea, as innocuous as it was, didnt go anywhere because the legislators are Democrats, and the Republican supermajority is petty enough to refuse to allow nearly any of their bills to advance. Another plan, a bipartisan effort by then-Sen. Morgan McGarvey, D-Louisville, and former Sen. Paul Hornback, R-Shelbyville, would have allowed authorities to take guns from people suffering a mental health crisis. Research has found that in about 80% of cases, people who commit mass shootings or suicide speak of it in advance to family members or friends or via social media. Last year, the shooter had checked into a mental hospital after a suicide attempt, Louisville police said. Californias red flag law has been credited with preventing at least 58 potential mass shootings there, according to researchers. Suicide makes up almost half of gun deaths in the U.S. The McGarvey-Hornback bill also died on the vine. Nor has the General Assembly reconsidered a law that allows guns seized in crimes to be resold on the open market to raise money for police equipment. Back in April, Hornback told me that political sentiment may be shifting toward some kind of change, but any bills will have to come from the Republican side. Theres recognition by leadership and by the members that something needs to be done and thats a starting point, he said. Everything is tied to the money that the NRA gives, some members dont want the heat. But something like this has to hit close to home for people to do something. Cathy Mekus is the Kentucky State Data Lead for Moms Demand Action. She hopes that because the legislature had already gone home before the Louisville shooting, it will be ready to make changes. In an ideal world, of course, there would be state and federal laws expanding background checks. As it is, Kentucky may be ready for some kind of bill dealing with guns and mental health. Observers may get a clue of how it will go at the next interim meeting of the Judiciary Committee on Dec. 15. I think were still waiting to understand the full fallout, Mekus said. Judiciary co-chair Sen. Whitney Westerfield, R-Crofton, is supposed to discuss a potential bill, although he declined to speak in detail about it. The public has been ready for something to happen since 2012 after Sandy Hook, so weve had almost 11 years to follow these things, Mekus said. What we see is every time theres another mass shooting, interest ticks up to stop them from happening so frequently. Mekus pointed out that just five days after the Old National shooting, there was another mass shooting at Chickasaw Park in Louisville that killed two and wounded four more. Thats what we call everyday gun violence, but mass shootings drive home the point that all of our lives are at risk as long as we continue to doing the same thing which is nothing and hoping things will turn out differently, Mekus said. Westerfield said he was particularly motivated to do something by the Uvalde, Texas, shooting, in which 19 students and two teachers were murdered., I dont know what the solution looks like, but the legislature is where we have to talk about the hardest issues, he said. Im hopeful we can make progress on Dec. 15. Im hopeful, too. It would be a slam dunk for the General Assembly to show the people theyre listening to commonsense concerns about gun violence. It was far too easy for the Louisville shooter to get a gun. By changing that, legislators could save lives. What better thing could an elected official do? Macaulay Culkin, star of Home Alone, to get Hollywood Walk of Fame star (WJW) The hit movie Home Alone is a part of many families holiday traditions. Now, the star of the film is being recognized for his nearly 40 years in the business. Actor Macaulay Culkin is set to receive the 2,765th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I dont want to hear somebody breathing: Linda Evangelista gets candid on staying single The event is being held on Dec. 1. Catherine OHara, who played Culkins mother in the film, will be a guest speaker, along with actor Natasha Lyonne. Steve Harvey thanks wife in emotional speech Macaulay Culkin has been a staple in pop culture for decades, stated Ana Martinez, Producer of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He has an extensive trajectory of work but his movie, Home Alone is one of the most beloved holiday movies known the world over. How fitting that Catherine OHara who played Macaulays mother in the film is reuniting with her movie son and will be speaking at the ceremony! Culkin began his career at the age of 4. Hes now 43. Most recently he worked on the HBO show The Righteous Gemstones and season 10 of American Horror Story. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW. New York Times correspondent Maggie Haberman is writing another book about Trump, according to Axios. She'll be joined by Times reporter Jonathan Swan, whose 2020 interview with Trump went viral. The book could be published in 2025 at the earliest. New York Times senior political correspondent Maggie Haberman has already written a best-selling book about former President Donald Trump. And now she's set to add another book to her name, this time bringing along Times political reporter Jonathan Swan for a book centered on what could be Trump's last hurrah in politics, according to Axios. The book will be published by Simon & Schuster, per the Axios report. Trump remains the leading presidential candidate in the 2024 GOP primary contest, so much of the content of the book which could be published in 2025 at the earliest will be tied to the outcome of next year's presidential race. The book is also set to detail not only the 2024 campaign, but also examine Trump's larger role on the world stage. Haberman's "Confidence Man," which was released in 2022 and chronicled Trump's rise to the Oval Office, was a New York Times bestseller. Swan, a former political correspondent at Axios, won an Emmy for his 2020 interview with Trump at the White House. Read the original article on Business Insider A Vermont man who has been accused of attempted murder in the deaths of three young Palestinian men appears to have attended the University of Idaho. Jason J. Eaton pleaded not guilty Monday to three counts of second-degree attempted murder after the police department in Burlington, Vermont, said he shot the three men, who are all 20, outside an apartment building near the University of Vermont campus, The New York Times reported. The men, two of whom were wearing a traditional Palestinian headdress called a keffiyeh, told relatives they were speaking a mixture of English and Arabic before they were shot, The Times reported. A student with Eatons name and a similar age attended the North Idaho university on and off from 1998 through 2020, U of I spokesperson Danae Lenz told the Idaho Statesman by email. Lenz said Eaton didnt earn a degree. The Daily Beast reported that the 48-year-old Eatons resume stated he attended U of I for a general studies bachelors degree and was seven credits short of graduating. Eaton was focusing on natural resources, according to several national media outlets. If convicted of attempted murder charges, Eaton could face up to life in prison. Authorities are investigating whether the shooting could be classified as a hate crime, news reports said. Whether or not it was a hate crime by the law, there is no question it was a hateful act, Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad said at a Monday news conference, according to The New York Times. Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad listens to questions at a news conference with Mayor Miro Weinberger, left, in Burlington, Vt., on Monday, Nov. 27, 2023, about the shooting of three college students of Palestinian descent, which is being investigated as a possible hate crime. The attack comes at a time when U.S. leaders and advocacy groups have raised the alarm about a rise in Islamophobia and antisemitism amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has said the U.S. faced an unprecedented increase in reported anti-Arab and anti-Muslim incidents since Hamas surprise attack on Israel in October. After Hamas carried out the attack on Oct. 7, when they took hundreds captive, Israel retaliated with airstrikes in Gaza that have razed neighborhoods and hit refugee camps and hospitals, according to news reports. The Associated Press reported death counts of at least 11,000 Palestinians in Gaza as of Nov. 10 and 1,200 residents in Israel. U.S. President Joe Biden earlier this month sent a news release on the spike of reported incidents of Islamophobia and antisemitism at schools and college campuses. The three men are childhood friends who are students at various northeastern colleges and were visiting Vermont for Thanksgiving, according to The New York Times. Tahseen Ali Ahmad is a Trinity College student; Kinnan Abdalhamid is a Haverford College student; and Hisham Awartani is a Brown University student. Ali Ahmad and Abdalhamid are in stable condition, but doctors believe Awartani likely wont be able to use his legs again, according to NPR and Time Magazine. We believe a full investigation is likely to show our sons were targeted and violently attacked simply for being Palestinian, the mens families said in a statement, according to The New York Times. ST. LOUIS Police and prosecutors in St. Louis City claim a man involved in a minor car collision Sunday afternoon displayed a handgun and then shot at the other persons involved in the crash. According to a probable cause statement filed in St. Louis Circuit Court, the crash happened Nov. 26 in the 3600 block of Gravois Avenue, located in the Tower Grove South neighborhood. Investigators with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department claim Matthew Senechai, 24, merged into a lane on Gravois and bumped into another vehicle. Two people in the other vehicle attempted to exchange insurance information with Senechai, who allegedly reached into the back of his car and took out a gun. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Breaking News The two victims got into their car and sped off, but Senechai followed them in his vehicle. Police claim Senechai pulled alongside the victims vehicle and began shooting at them. However, the driver of the other car saw Senechai and slammed on the brakes just before the shooting started. As a result, the bullets only struck the front of the victims vehicle. Police obtained the plate number of the vehicle involved in the shooting, which led them to Senechais address in south St. Louis County. Prosecutors claim Senechai spoke with police and admitted to being the driver and shooter. Senechair was charged with two counts of first-degree assault or attempt, two counts of armed criminal action, and one count of unlawful use of a weapon. He remains jailed without bond. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. A Maine man charged with using social media to threaten to commit a shooting at a New Hampshire high school has changed his plea to guilty, court documents state. Police charged Kyle Hendrickson with criminal threatening with a firearm in April. They said he posted a video with a gun outside Portsmouth High School in which he threatened to shoot up the school. A federal grand jury subsequently indicted Hendrickson in September on charges of interstate threatening communications and possessing a firearm in a school zone. Hendrickson now intends to plead guilty to those charges and is due in court on Dec. 11, court records state. Portsmouth closed all schools for a day when the threat occurred. Hendrickson has been represented by attorney Murdoch Walker II. Walker did not return a phone call seeking comment. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW A man has pleaded guilty in a scheme to charge natural gas customers for more gas than his company actually delivered. Marshall E. Holbrook, who lived near Barbourville at the time of the conspiracy, pleaded guilty Monday to one charge of conspiring to illegally convert gas from an interstate pipeline system between January 2015 and March 2019. The crime is punishable by up to five years in prison. U.S. Magistrate Judge Edward B. Atkins recommended that U.S. District Judge Claria Horn Boom accept the plea. Holbrooks father, Mark Edward Holbrook, was allegedly involved with his son in the conspiracy, according to court records. The father and son were owners in a company called Puissant Industries, which leased, brokered and sold natural gas. The charge against Mark Holbrook says Marshall Holbrook came up with a way to manipulate meters to show their company was sending more gas to customers than it really was, meaning the company got paid for gas it didnt deliver. The city of Somerset bought gas from Puissant to provide to residential and industrial customers. Mayor Alan Keck said the scheme likely cost the city millions of dollars. The citys gas-system manager noticed the problem and told Keck about it not long after he took office in early 2019, Keck said. The city dropped Puissant as a supplier and reported the problem to authorities. Delta Natural Gas was another customer of the Holbrooks company. The charge against Marshall Holbrook said he rigged a Delta meter to show a higher amount of gas flow than the true amount. The indictment against Mark Holbrook cited alleged illegal activity by Marshall Holbrook, but did not charge the son. He was charged through a separate document. Marshall Holbrook is scheduled to be sentenced in March. Mark Holbrook has yet not had his initial court appearance. A sketch of Valdo Calocane appearing in the dock at Nottingham Magistrates' Court - Elizabeth Cook A 32-year-old man has admitted killing three people, including two university students, in stabbing attacks in Nottingham in June. Valdo Calocane pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Barnaby Webber and Grace OMalley-Kumar, both 19-year-old undergraduates, and Ian Coates, a 65-year-old school caretaker, but denied their murder. He also admitted the attempted murder of three other people who were struck by a van in Nottingham city centre shortly after the stabbings, which happened on June 16. His pleas were entered on the basis of diminished responsibility but Karim Khalil KC, prosecuting, said the Crown would need to take time to consider whether the pleas were acceptable. Calocanes barrister, Peter Joyce KC, told Mr Justice Turner, the judge: You know what the issues are and the world should know this, the defendant does not dispute the physical acts of any of the prosecutions case. Though he committed these dreadful acts, he did this while he was suffering from extreme mental illness. The case was adjourned until Jan 16, when prosecutors will announce whether they intend to press ahead with a murder trial. Ian Coates, Grace OMalley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber were killed on June 16 Calocane, who graduated from Nottingham University in 2022, came to Britain in 2007 with his parents, who are originally from Guinea Bissau, in West Africa. His father had been living and working in Madeira when he was granted Portuguese citizenship in 2006. The family moved to the UK and gained settled status as EU nationals. They moved to Haverfordwest in West Wales and Calocanes mother, a registered nurse, began working at the local hospital. His father worked as a carer and the family, devout Christians, were regular worshippers at the Calvary Church in the area. Calocane did well at school and left Haverfordwest aged 18 to study at university, but he failed to complete his degree. In 2019, he started another degree in mechanical engineering at Nottingham, graduating last summer. He is accused of stabbing Mr Webber and Ms OMalley-Kumar as the pair made their way home from a night out. They had been walking along Ilkeston Road at around 4am on June 16 when they were fatally knifed. Around an hour later, Mr Coates, who had been on his way to work, was stabbed to death after stopping his van in Magdala Road in the Mapperley area of the city. The van was then allegedly used to drive into a group of people who had been standing at a bus stop in the city centre. Calocane has admitted the attempted murders of Sharon Miller, Marcin Gawronski and Wayne Birkett. Mr Webber, who was studying history, was a former pupil at Taunton School, where he had been a talented and accomplished cricketer and hockey player. Ms OMalley-Kumar was a medical student and also a gifted hockey player who had played in the England under-16 and under-18 squads. Both had just completed the first year of their degrees and were preparing for the summer break when they were killed. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer. A convicted felon from Columbia County was arrested in Adams County by state police Friday and charged with impersonation of a public servant, among other charges alleged in an affidavit. Johnny Jackson, 55, of Berwick, Pa., faces a felony charge of possession of a firearm, misdemeanor charges of firearm not to be carried without a license, impersonation of a public servant, making repairs/sell/etc. of an offensive weapon, improper use of emergency lights, and exceed maximum speed by 29 miles per hour, according to court records. Jackson's vehicle, which had blue and red flashing lights, contained an untraceable "ghost gun," along with police equipment, according to Pennsylvania State Police. According to an affidavit of probable cause filed by Pennsylvania State Police, troopers conducting speed enforcement on U.S. Route 15 in Straban Township pulled over a gray Jeep that was clocked at 94 mph in a 65 mph zone. As troopers approached the vehicle, they first noticed that the license plate was unreadable, even with a flashlight, from a foot away, the affidavit states. Upon making contact with the driver, who identified himself as Johnny Jackson, troopers noticed auxiliary lighting on the dashboard, along with a large "ice pick-like device hanging from the passenger seat." When officers questioned the lighting, Jackson reportedly told officers "a friend put those on his Jeep because it's the same as his to see if they worked," the affidavit states. When the switches were activated, red and blue flashing lights were seen in the front and back windows of the vehicle, according to the affidavit. Troopers then conducted a records search, discovering that Jackson was convicted of felonies in Maryland stemming from burglary and weapons charges, the affidavit states. Jackson initially consented to a search of his vehicle, the affidavit states, before he told troopers that they could not search anything that was locked in the vehicle. Troopers detained Jackson and towed his vehicle to the state police barracks in Gettysburg, where they obtained a search warrant for the vehicle. During a search of the vehicle, officers discovered a loaded 9mm handgun with no serial number in the center console, the affidavit states. The weapon was determined to be an untraceable "ghost gun," according to the affidavit. Officers additionally found a police-style spring loaded baton, a NYPD hat, a handcuff key, and a large bear spray container in a holster, according to the affidavit and a press release by Pennsylvania State Police. Jackson is being held at Adams County Prison in lieu of $30,000 bail. This article originally appeared on Hanover Evening Sun: Man arrested in Adams County, Pa. for impersonating a cop When a North Carolina man asked his mother to check his lottery ticket, he wasnt expecting her to return with such life-changing news, lottery officials said. A trip to Sumner Food Mart and Hardware in Greensboro turned valuable for William Coble, who decided to grab a $2 Quick Pick ticket, according to a Nov. 28 North Carolina Education Lottery news release. He buys tickets every couple of days, he told lottery officials. This time it paid off, he said in the release. Coble asked his mother to check on his ticket online to see if he had won anything, lottery officials said. When she looked up his ticket, she had big news to deliver. Dont get too excited but I think you won a million dollars, his mother said, per Cobles retelling in the release. He had matched all five white balls on his lottery ticker for the Nov. 17 drawing, according to lottery officials. After cashing out $712,501 after taxes, Coble plans to fulfill his dream of finally buying a house, he told lottery officials. Ive been saving for a while but I can finally do it now, he said in the release. I would like to buy one in the Greensboro area. North Carolina lottery officials originally put out a Nov. 18 call-out looking for the lucky $1 million winner which was Coble who didnt claim the prize at the time. Another player struck big a day later, winning a $1 million Powerball prize. The man who won, Lloyd Armstrong, bought his ticket in Tyrrell County, which is about 150 miles east of Raleigh. Many people can gamble or play games of chance without harm. However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families. If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website. Friend tells lottery player to go big or go home on $50 ticket then he wins big $1 million NC lottery winner planning 50th wedding anniversary trip. Hasnt sunk in Woman speaks huge lottery win into existence in Iowa. Im going to do it today! Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 28) OPM band Lola Amour released the parody version of their hit single "Raining in Manila" featuring actor-comedian Michael V. The seven-man band made things official as "Waiting Here sa Pila" is now available on digital platforms as part of their extended play featuring various remixes of "Raining in Manila." "Waiting Here sa Pila" was first sung by Michael V. in one of the episodes of the GMA gag show "Bubble Gang" in September, wherein he depicted people waiting in line in coffee shops despite having no money. Lola Amour and Michael V. performed the parody version together during the show's 28th anniversary episode aired on Nov. 19. The award-winning comedian also made a surprise appearance at the band's Nov. 26 concert. Lola Amour earlier faced backlash for an allegedly "insensitive" teaser for the hit song's music video, but the band immediately apologized. In one of their interviews, the band explained that "Raining in Manila" is about a person who continues to worry about the people they left behind. KYLE, Texas - The Hays County Sheriff's Office is searching for a burglary suspect in Kyle. The sheriff's office said on Friday, Nov. 10, around 6:30 p.m., a man was seen on camera burglarizing a business in Kyle at 721 Rohde Road. The man pried the door open and took documents, then was seen walking to a white Honda Civic where he was picked up. "Its probably the same people because they have to know how to get in and to know where everything is," says a neighboring business owner, who did not want to be named. Video evidence from February showed a thief breaking into a warehouse on Rhode Road in Kyle, taking machinery and tools. "The guy stole a welding machine, and all those tools are not for one person to pick it up and load it. So, he must take the stuff out to some place and hide it, and get with other groups to take more stuff to load it and leave," he said. The business owner says he was in disbelief to find more than $10,000 worth of items stolen. "I cried all day," he said. RELATED: Sheriff's office asking for help identifying burglary suspects in Kyle He says he is not alone. Multiple businesses in the same strip have been burglarized this year. "Basically everybody here had their stuff stolen," he said. The business owner says security gates with an entry code were added after the first burglary as a safety measure, which leads him to believe the most recent burglary was not random. "There is probably somebody watching us or somebody working here," he said. MORE CRIME COVERAGE If anyone has information regarding this incident, contact Detective Richard Lozano at 512-393-7896 or email him at richard.lozano@co.hays.tx.us. Before sitting down to enjoy his turkey dinner at his local grocery store, an Iowa man got the sudden urge to buy lottery tickets. For Allen Walker, a 63-year-old man from Algona, the $100,000 Mega Crossword scratch-off tickets were just what he needed to pass the time. I went out there on Wednesday to have turkey dinner at the Hy-Vee, he said in a Nov. 28 news release. I thought, Well, just for the heck of it, Ill pick up a couple tickets right now and then itll give me something to do besides eating. His dinner time decision led to a $100,000 jackpot win. As Walker was scratching off one of the tickets, he thought there was something wrong with his ticket because he did not believe he was a jackpot winner. I thought that this has got to be some kind of mistake: I missed something or scratched off something I shouldve have, he told Iowa Lottery officials. Then even after I confirmed every single letter that was scratch off, I still had to go up and have them check it with the (terminal) before I actually believed I had a $100,000 winner. Allen said he plans on investing his winnings. The $100,000 Mega Crossword game costs $10 to play and features 46 top prizes. Odds of winning the $100,000 prize are 1-in-119,287. Algona is about 135 miles northwest of Des Moines. AUSTIN (KXAN) The Austin Police Department arrested and charged a man with murder for allegedly killing a man in southeast Austin earlier this month. Police responded to a shoot/stab hotshot call in the 2200 block of Teri Road just before noon on Wednesday, Nov. 15. The caller said neighbors just pulled a gun on him, according to an arrest affidavit. A second caller said a fight broke out between a group of Hispanic men, and the caller told police they thought theyd heard gunfire, per the affidavit. Once officers arrived on scene, they found a man with a large kitchen knife in his back. The victim identified as Javier Jaimes alerted police to several witnesses at the scene. MAP: Where have Austins homicides occurred in 2023? Police detained several witnesses, including suspect Joe Flores, 36. Jaimes was taken to a south Austin hospital, where he died from his injuries just before 4 p.m. that same day. One of the witnesses told police he was cleaning his vehicle outside his home when Jaimes arrived and began arguing with two men. The men identified themselves to police as Flores and Paul Palacios, per court documents. The witness entered his home before hearing gunfire, as recounted to police. He said he saw Palacios with a small handgun, as Jaimes tried to take the gun away from Palacios. As the two struggled over the gun, Flores went into a neighboring residence and came out with a large knife before stabbing Jaimes in the back. A second witness told police shed heard gunshots and called 9-1-1, and confirmed she saw Jaimes on the ground after being stabbed. While talking to police, Palacios said Flores was a relative of his and that Flores came outside his residence with a BB gun, which he discharged into the ground multiple times. After Jaimes tried grabbing the gun, Palacios said Flores took the BB gun into the home before exiting it with an aluminum broom and dustpan which Joe used to assault Jaimes, per court documents. Flores told police Jaimes frequently came to the empty lot next to his home and said Jaimes started the physical fight with Flores and Palacios. Flores also told police Jaimes allegedly hit Flores several times in the face and head. Flores allegedly told police he went into his home and grabbed the kitchen knife before stabbing Jaimes with it as Jaimes and Palacios continued fighting. An autopsy confirmed Jaimes had two stab wounds in his middle and lower back, with the cause of death confirmed as homicide by the Travis County Medical Examiners Office, per court documents. KXAN has reached out to the attorney listed for Flores and will update this story when we receive a response. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) A 60-year-old man has been convicted in Norfolk Circuit Court of taking indecent liberties with a young child. On Monday, Nov. 27, Keith Marquette Todd pleaded no contest to taking indecent liberties with a child under age 15. This past August, Norfolk Police Special Crimes detectives were called to an apartment in Lamberts Point area for a sexual assault report. The mother of the 5-year-old child told detectives that she stepped outside momentarily for a phone call, and while she was outside Todd led the child to a hallway bathroom, got undressed and told the child to touch him. He then tried to sit the victim on his lap. Later, the child told the mother that they tried to scream but no one was within earshot. When Todd and the child got back to the apartment, the mother had returned from outside and asked Todd where he took the child. Todd told the mother he and the child had been inside the bathroom. Todd then told the child right in front of the mother, this is why you dont go to the bathroom with strangers. Judge Everett A. Martin Jr. found him guilty pursuant to the rule in North Carolina v. Alford. In an Alford plea, a defendant maintains his innocence but admits that the evidence would be sufficient to convict if the case had gone to trial. Todd is docketed for sentencing on Jan. 26. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com. FREDERICK, Md. (DC News Now) The Frederick County Sheriffs Office (FCSO) said a man caught drag racing is facing additional charges after investigations revealed that he stole the car he was racing. The incident occurred the night of Nov. 11 when reports were made regarding Dodge Chargers racing on Interstate 270 and 70. Throughout the night, more calls came in about cars drag racing near the Executive Way, New Design Road and Wedgewood Boulevard. Student injured in fight at Montgomery County high school When police arrived in that area, they found a blue Dodge Charger Scat Pack. A deputy approached the front of the car, put on his lights and the Dodge started driving backward through traffic. The driver hit one car while trying to escape but deputies successfully arrested 25-year-old Keith Gorham. He was taken to the Frederick County Adult Detention Center for booking. As deputies began investigating, they noticed that the car was fully registered with a valid license plate. A deputy noticed several discrepancies with the cars VIN number that it was showing. Frederick County Deputy injured after crash involving police cruiser in Washington County After investigating, the deputy found out that the VIN number was removed from the frame of the car. The VIN number had been swapped and the Dodge was actually reported stolen from someone in Highland Park, New Jersey. Gorham was charged with 11 different traffic-related charges. Deputies filed for three additional charges against Gorham on Nov. 26 which include theft, unauthorized removal of a motor vehicle and unlawful taking of a motor vehicle. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. DEKALB COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) A man is being charged with second-degree murder following a months-long investigation into a drug-related death out of DeKalb County. Agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the DeKalb County Sheriffs Department began investigating on Feb. 9, 2023, after 39-year-old William Wayne Graham was found dead at a residence on Bright Hill Road in Smithville. CRIME TRACKER | Read the latest crime news from Middle Tennessee According to the TBI, the investigation revealed that Graham had died from acute combined drug toxicity that included ethanol, alprazolam, cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl. Officials believe 59-year-old Scott Ferrell supplied Graham with the cocaine that led to his death. On Nov. 27, the DeKalb County Grand Jury returned indictments charging Graham with one count of second-degree murder, one count of sale of a schedule II narcotic and one count of delivery of a schedule II narcotic. The next day, Ferrell was arrested and booked into the DeKalb County Jail on a $500,000 bond. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. A man has been jailed after threatening staff with a knife during a sandwich shop robbery. Robert William Cridland admitted the robbery, which took place in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, in September. He also admitted possessing an offensive weapon. The investigating officer described the incident as "terrifying" for the members of staff involved. The robbery happened at the Subway shop in Grafton Close in Wellingborough at 12:40 BST on 18 August. Cridland, previously of Wellingborough, threatened two staff with a kitchen knife. He ran off with the till which contained just over 600 in cash. He was later charged with one count of robbery and one count of possessing an offensive weapon, and pleaded guilty to both offences at Northampton Crown Court in September. He returned to court earlier this month to be sentenced to two years and eight months in prison. In their victim impact statements, both staff members who were working at the store at the time said the incident had made them anxious, with one of them writing: "I am struggling to leave the house. "I do not want to go out because I am anxious something bad will happen again." The lead investigator, Det Con Amelia Thompson, said: "This was a terrifying incident for the staff members working at Subway that day and so I am pleased that Cridland pleaded guilty to these offences and is now in prison. "Everyone who goes to work should feel safe and anyone who violates that right will be pursued by Northamptonshire Police." Follow East of England news on Facebook, Instagram and X. Got a story? Email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp 0800 169 1830 SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) A man was hospitalized with serious wounds Monday after a pickup truck slammed into a Wasatch Front townhouse, pinning him against a wall in his own living room. The Pleasant Grove Police Department said the driver of the truck experienced a medical condition Monday morning that caused him to lose consciousness behind the wheel. Small business owner seeks help after $40,000 worth of tools stolen from trailer His truck drifted off road near Proctor Lane and 100 South in Pleasant Grove before careening into a vehicle and crashing to the townhouse. It appears to be a freak accident caused by the sudden onset of an unknown medical condition, police wrote, in a statement on social media. (Courtesy of Pleasant Grove Police Department) The man inside the townhouse was sitting on his couch when the truck smashed through the wall. Emergency crews needed to extricate him as he was pinned between the truck and an interior wall. A medical helicopter flew the man, described as being in his early 20s, to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center. He suffered broken bones and internal bleeding, police said. The man underwent surgery and is expected to survive. The driver of the truck was also hurt. An ambulance brought him to Timpanogos Hospital, where he was treated for minor wounds Responding firefighters found the truck running inside the townhouse, with its tires still spinning. Plumes of dark smoke rose into the complex. Battalion Chief Jake Larsen, with the Pleasant Grove Fire Department, described the scene as chaotic. I came around the corner and saw the smoke, he said. People were all over the place. There was no evidence to suggest the driver was under the influence or drugs or alcohol, police said. Three of the townhouse units are being assessed to make sure they are safe. Pleasant Grove is located roughly 35 miles south of Salt Lake City. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah. EVANSVILLE The man who was shot by police at Evansville Regional Airport on Nov. 18 was released from the hospital Sunday and booked into the Vanderburgh County jail. The police previously identified the man as 24-year-old Pierre Robson Barthelemy, who stands accused of moving toward city police, sheriff's deputies and state troopers in the airport's lobby while holding a kitchen knife in the moments before law enforcement officers opened fire. Barthelemy was preliminarily charged with five offenses, including intimidation with a deadly weapon, a Level 5 felony, and resisting law enforcement, a Level 6 felony. As of Tuesday morning, he was being held at the Vanderburgh County jail on a $100,000 bond. Barthelemy was booked into the jail just after 12:41 p.m. Sunday after he spent a week undergoing treatment at an Evansville hospital. According to Evansville Police Department spokeswoman Sgt. Anna Gray, Barthelemy sustained gunshot wounds and incurred injuries from "less lethal" weapons. The incident that led to Barthelemy's injuries and his arrest began around 12:22 a.m. on Nov. 18, Gray said. City police, sheriff's deputies and state troopers were dispatched to Evansville Regional Airport after employees dialed 911 to report that a man was armed with a knife and threatening staff in the airport's lobby. Police body camera footage released by the EPD shows the man, later identified as Barthelemy, sitting in a chair directly in front of a Christmas tree display as the responding sheriff's deputies, troopers and officers surrounded him with their weapons drawn. For around 15 minutes, a sheriff's deputy trained in crisis intervention led attempts to negotiate with Barthelemy and coax him into dropping the knife. When the deputy asked Barthelemy to identify himself, Barthelemy appeared to walk directly toward the surrounding law enforcement officers before he threw an identification card down on the ground, the footage shows. The officers took several steps backward as they ordered Barthelemy to move away from them and drop the knife. Throughout the negotiations, the police are heard repeatedly instructing Barthelemy to discard the knife, to no avail. More: One Evansville intersection has seen its share of historic criminals The negotiations broke down when Barthelemy began to shout a series of profanities at the police. For a second time, he is then seen in the police body camera footage standing up from the airport lobby chair. The surrounding officers, deputies and troopers opened fire just as Barthelemy turned toward their direction, the footage shows. Vanderburgh County Sheriff Noah Robinson said the ISP would lead the internal investigation into sheriff's deputies' and troopers' actions during the incident. The EPD officers who discharged their weapons were placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation. According to Gray, Barthelemy traveled to Evansville on a Greyhound bus bound from Indianapolis on Nov. 8. From the outset of Barthelemy's stay in Evansville, he began to have interactions with local law enforcement. "The driver of the (Greyhound) bus called 911 to report that he had stolen her bag," Gray told reporters during a news conference last week. "When officers arrived at the bus station, Barthelemy was still on scene, and he was in possession of this stolen bag." Barthelemy was arrested, charged with misdemeanor theft and ultimately released from the Vanderburgh County jail after he posted a $50 bond, court records show. He would have another run-in with the police just one day later, on Nov. 9, after employees at a local shelter for women and children called 911 to report that Barthelemy was "aggressively knocking on the door" and refusing to leave, Gray said. The incident did not result in an arrest, though officers informed Barthelemy he was barred from the shelter's property. Nine days later, the police said Barthelemy threatened Evansville Regional Airport staff with a knife after they informed him he lacked the proper identification to purchase a plane ticket. He was reportedly attempting to procure a ticket to fly to his home country of Haiti. But just where Barthelemy calls home in the United States remains unknown, at least to the public: Barthelemy's Facebook account listed "Indianapolis, IN" as his place of residence, though jail booking records listed St. Louis, Missouri, as the city in which Barthelemy had a registered address. Last week, Gray said she could not confirm if the ID card Barthelemy threw toward officers at the airport showed he was a citizen of Haiti. Concerts: Jason Aldean to perform in Evansville as part of 2024 tour Evansville Regional Airport's board held its regularly scheduled meeting Monday evening, during which Nate Hahn, the board's treasurer, said he was proud of airport for security for following protocol and promptly contacting law enforcement when Barthelemy began to threaten staff. Beyond this brief acknowledgment, the board did not discuss the issue. According to public records, Barthelemy was scheduled to appear in Vanderburgh County Circuit Court Tuesday afternoon for his initial hearing. If Barthelemy were to post bond, a condition of his release stipulates that he must stay off of Evansville Regional Airport property. Houston Harwood can be contacted at houston.harwood@courierpress.com This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Man shot by police at Evansville airport appears in court A mans body was found in a Georgia lake a day after officials said they received reports of a possible drowning. State game wardens received a call about a missing boater who had been thrown into the water at Lake Seminole near Sealys Boat Landing at about 2 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 24, Georgia Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division spokesperson Mark McKinnon told McClatchy News in a statement. A day later, the mans body was found by officials and identified as 55-year-old Colquitt resident Lonnie Lemar Grant, McKinnon said. While driving his vessel back to the boat landing, the boater who called officials said his boat drifted outside the channel markers, McKinnon said. Then, the boat rammed into a stump and Grant was ejected from the boat, McKinnon said. The boater told officials he tried to grab Grant and pull him back into the vessel but he was unsuccessful, according to the department. When the report was received, search efforts started immediately by law enforcement, firefighters and state officials, McKinnon said. Grants body was found by officials with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and Decatur County Fire and Rescue the next day at about noon, McKinnon said. Discovered in approximately 14 feet of water, Grants body was within 50 yards from where the incident was originally reported, according to the department. Lake Seminole is about 65 miles northwest of Tallahassee, Florida. Colquitt is 35 miles north of Lake Seminole. Huge sea creature feeds on fishermans bait in New York. See incredible sight 5-year-old found after two are swept out to sea in California. Man remains missing Big splash turns out to be huge creatures learning to hunt. See fantastic moment Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 28) The friendship between Michelle Dee and Miss Thailand Anntonia Porsild in the Miss Universe 2023 pageant was unintentional but became a "wonderful relationship," the Filipino beauty queen told CNN Philippines. In an interview with New Day on Tuesday, Dee said there is no denying that the Philippines and Thailand are pageant powerhouse countries with respective vocal fanbases. "When they started noticing we weren't communicating or talking in a social setting, they started pinning us against each other, so the fans started fighting," she recalled. "That's why we took our first photo together during rehearsals. We wanted to showcase that we're okay, the Philippines and Thailand we're in good terms, nothing to worry about," she added. Dee finished at the Top 10 during the pageant's coronation night in El Salvador on Nov. 19 (Manila time), while Porsild emerged as first runner-up. Nicaragua's Sheynnis Palacios was crowned the winner. RELATED: Miss Universe El Salvador admits accidentally mixing up names in Top 5 graphic Dee said she and Porsild did not expect to be linked together, but they were "able to create such a wonderful relationship." "We were each other's support system. She has an amazing personality. I really cannot wait to see her again," she said. When she returned home on Nov. 25, Dee teased she will be having a project with the Thai beauty queen. Although no details were given during her interview on New Day, she said: "There are things that we are working on." The Marine Corps has ended a plan to revamp its physical fitness uniform, according to the service. The initiative lasted nearly three years but produced no new uniform. In 2020, the service set out to redesign the trunks and undershirt that make up the Marine Corps warm weather physical training uniform, or PTU. The first prototype of the uniform kept the classic green color scheme but featured knee-length shorts, moisture-wicking fabric and thick reflective lines on the back of the shirt. After negative feedback from Marines, the Corps tried again to design a better uniform, but the effort was short-lived. Read Next: As Laser Pointer Incidents Spike, Airmen Are Getting Updated Eyewear That Provides Better Protection A spokesperson for Marine Corps Systems Command, which was tasked by then-Commandant Gen. David Berger, to modernize the gear, told Military.com that the initiative was "unfunded" for fiscal years 2023 and 2024. Efforts to improve the uniform design officially stopped in September, the spokesperson added. "Marine Corps Systems Command has ceased work to procure and field the new PT uniform to redirect resources to more urgent defense needs," said spokesperson Morgan Blackstock. "In September 2023, the Marine Corps rescinded approval to develop a new stand-alone physical training uniform (PTU)," she added. "The Marine Corps is prioritizing programs that better focus on taking care of Marines and USMC modernization." Marine Corps Times was first to report that the service had abandoned the plan. It is unclear why the latest iteration of the uniform effort was unfunded. Last year, the Corps acknowledged that the initial design did not sit well with the force. Specifically, officials said that, based on feedback, the material was too heavy, the shorts were too long, and the reflective material was too restrictive. In October of last year, Marine Corps Systems Command tried again to revamp the uniform -- cutting the inseam down to 5 inches and using a lighter material. Roughly 350 Marines tested the uniforms, according to press releases from the service. Their reaction to the second effort is unknown. Marines currently wear a simple green shirt and shorts during warm weather. That uniform has been in place for years, despite many Marines fondly remembering their beloved silkies -- very short, olive drab shorts -- that were phased out in 2011. The cold weather uniform was not part of the attempted update. Other services have successfully transitioned into newer, more modern-looking uniforms. For example, the Army updated its gray PT uniform in 2017 when it picked up an all-black version with yellow lettering and reflective lines. -- Drew F. Lawrence can be reached at drew.lawrence@military.com. Follow him on X @df_lawrence. Related: Marines Authorized to Wear Desert Pattern Uniform at Commanders' Discretion Amid Cammie Shortage "That's what happens when you don't answer questions," a Prince George's County police officer said as Erica Umana's dog lay on the ground, paralyzed and bleeding out. Minutes earlier, on a summer day in 2021, officers had shot Umana's dog, a boxer mix named Hennessy, during a chaotic confrontation inside Umana's apartment. Now Umana and her roommatesErika Sanchez, Dayri Benitez, and Brandon Cuevashave filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Prince George's County Police Department and several of its officers, saying the police had no right to enter their apartment, shoot their dog, and detain them. The lawsuit seeks over $16 million for allegedly subjecting them to excessive force, unlawful search and seizure, and false arrest. "This case is an outrage. It is disgusting, disgraceful, and despicable," William Murphy, an attorney representing the roommates, said in a press release Monday. "These officers outright abused and mistreated our clients, lied to unlawfully break into their house, manhandled them illegally, and shot their dog. And in utter disregard for the severity of their intolerable behavior, they laughed about it." The incident began on June 2, 2021, when Prince George's County police officers arrived at an apartment complex in Landover Hills in response to a 911 call from a woman claiming two dogs had allegedly jumped on her and bit her. Prince George's County Cpl. Jason Ball encountered Sanchez sitting outside of the apartments, but she refused to answer any questions. Ball then threatened to arrest Sanchez for trespassing if she didn't leave. On body camera footage, Ball said into his radio that he believed Sanchez lived in the apartment complex but that he was about to arrest her anyway because she refused to answer his questionsthe first of several retaliatory threats and comments from Ball. Sanchez walked off, and Ball and his partner went to knock on the door of the apartment where Sanchez, Umana, and the other lawsuit plaintiffs lived. No one answered. "This would be open by now, by the way, if it wasn't," Ball said to his partner, trailing off and tapping his body camera. "I used to open them all the time." "Times have changed," Ball's partner responded. Instead, the officers got a master key from a maintenance worker and returned to open the doorillegally, the lawsuit alleges. The officers were also violating department policy, the lawsuit says. As The Washington Post detailed in a 2021 story on the shooting: The general orders the police employee manual instruct officers to complete a case record for their supervisor if an animal is dangerous but contained. If an animal poses an immediate threat, officers are supposed to find and contain it "without endangering themselves or the public," then call animal control, according to the protocol. If officers cannot find the animal, they are to create a case record and give it to the animal management division within 24 hours. Department protocol also says that officers should assist animal control in enforcing animal-related laws only after a warrant has been issued. Inside the apartment, Benitez emerged from her bedroom, shouting that the officers had no probable cause to be there. Meanwhile, Sanchez and Umana returned when they realized police were entering their apartment. However, officers blocked them from coming in. When the two women pushed their way past, the police tackled, restrained, and threatened to tase the women. It was at this point that Hennessy slipped out of the bedroom and ran toward Umana. "Get the dog, get the dog!" one of the officers shouts. Within seconds, two officers shot the dog from behind while a third tased it. Umana ran to the dog's side, despite officers threatening to tase her if she did not step away from it. "I was just begging them, begging them," Umana told The Washington Post in 2021. "They just had no remorse." Benitez called 911, complaining that officers had stormed into her apartment without a warrant. It was during this bloody aftermath, as Umana cradled her wounded pet in her arms, that Ball said, "That's what happens when you don't answer questions." The lawsuit claims the roommates were detained for an hour in the back of a police van before being released without being charged. Umana traveled to an animal hospital where Hennessy was being treated. The dog was alive, but permanently paralyzed. Umana chose to have it euthanized. She received an $800 bill. According to the lawsuit, the county offered to pay the veterinary bill, but only if Umana agreed not to speak out about the shooting or sue the police department. She declined the offer. At a press conference announcing the lawsuit on Monday, attorneys for the roommates were joined by representatives from the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, the NAACP Maryland State Conference, and several other local activist groups, who all said that the incident was part of a long history of civil rights violations by the police department. "Without a badge, these officers would be trespassers. Without a badge these officers would be called burglars. Without a badge, these officers would be called assailants," the Maryland NAACP's NaShona Kess said at the press conference. "With a badge and without a warrant they are trespassers. With a badge and without a warrant they are burglars and assailants." After an internal affairs investigation, Ball and Officer Joseph Mihanda were found guilty of violating administrative charges of "conduct unbecoming an officer." The department referred the case to the local state attorney's office for possible criminal prosecution, but the office declined to prosecute. "After reviewing all of the evidence in this matter a determination was made that actions of the officers didn't generate criminal liability because they were acting in good faith," the office told The Washington Post. Officers are rarely disciplined for shooting dogs; supervisors almost always find that shootings are justified by departments' loose policies, which usually only require that an officer feel threatened by a dog to deploy deadly force. For example, a Reason investigation into a string of dog shootings by Detroit police discovered one officer who had killed more than 80 dogs over the course of his career. In fact, there's a whole category on Reason's website called "puppycide" documenting cases of police wantonly shooting dogsshooting toy breeds including a vicious Pomeranian, shooting dogs at children's birthday parties, dumping dead pets in ditches and trash cans, and more. The Prince George's County Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The post Maryland Roommates File Lawsuit After Police Shot Their Dog During Alleged Illegal Home Search appeared first on Reason.com. Firefighters fight a massive fire at an apartment building under construction that damaged and destroyed nearby homes in the Central-Alameda neighborhood of South Los Angeles early Tuesday. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) Some woke to the sounds of screams, others to the glow of a massive fire burning outside their bedroom windows. It was just before 3:30 a.m. Tuesday as the flames swept over multiple homes in South Los Angeles, forcing people to flee with their loved ones wrapped in blankets and others cradling pets. Even down the street, neighbors could feel the intense heat. Soon, a fire the size of a city block was burning in the heart of South Los Angeles, destroying five homes and damaging two others. Three people were hurt, and 17 were left homeless. The size of the fire and how quickly it ripped through the working-class neighborhood stunned residents and sparked an extensive investigation into the cause. More than 100 firefighters battled the fire in the 1500 block of East Vernon Avenue in Central-Alameda, which tore through an apartment building under construction and quickly spread to nearby homes, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Arson investigators are on the scene as part of the city's protocol for structure fires, the cause of the fire is under investigation and it's unclear when authorities will make a determination, LAFD spokesperson Margaret Stewart said. The blaze tore quickly through the open-sided wooden frame of the building under construction. When you have a building thats in the framing stages, its going to burn hot and fast because you have all of the wood exposed and nothing stops; theres no compartmentalization, Stewart said. Theres nothing that stops the flame, so it goes up very hot, very fast, which then exposes anything thats around it. Nearby residents were evacuated due to the massive fire, which spread to seven other buildings, five of them a total loss. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) The building under construction was a four-story affordable-housing complex, according to city records. The site, right in front of the home where Jerardo Diaz's family has lived for 35 years, had no security guards, said Diaz, adding that he has noticed trespassers on the property, a point echoed by multiple neighbors. He had even asked the construction crews to put up a bigger fence to give his family more privacy. On Tuesday morning, Diaz, 30, awoke to his father screaming. That's when he saw the flames outside their home. Diaz dragged his father, whose mobility is limited from a previous stroke, out of the house. His skin is peeling off on his face, and his hair is completely burned off on that side, Diaz said. "When we came out the door, we already had the flames on our porch," Diaz said after the fire was put out. "I don't know it's just like a blink of an eye. All of a sudden it burned down." Half of the house was destroyed, and his truck was damaged, Diaz said, but he was grateful that his family was able to escape. "The heat was so hot," his 12-year-old niece, Kimberly Erendira, said. Read more: Fire at lesbian bar Gossip Grill was quickly cleaned up, but patrons' sense of safety was scorched Tomas Saqueic, 53, raced over from his home in Hollywood on Tuesday morning after he heard about the fire. His cousin lives in a home next door to the construction site. Though Saqueic's cousin is in El Salvador, other family members were home when the fire broke out, and they got away without any injuries, he said. But the roof caved in and the side of the house was burned. We have memories there, Saqueic said. Its a special property. Theres important papers and stuff in there, and everything thats inside is damaged. The timing of the fire, with the holidays right around the corner, makes it even more difficult for his family, he said. This time, people are preparing to meet with family and gather for the holidays, but [you] never think about this happening," he said. A 66-year-old man and a 64-year-old woman were taken to a hospital for serious burns, and a 30-year-old man was evaluated at the scene but declined to be taken by paramedics for further treatment, according to authorities. It took 140 firefighters 78 minutes to put out the fire, with some firefighters from the Los Angeles County Fire Department called in to assist. Read more: Newsom responded quickly, and very publicly, to L.A. freeway fire but still faces scrutiny Councilmember Curren Price, who represents the area, met with the victims Tuesday afternoon, according to his office, which said it has been actively engaged in collaborative efforts with the Emergency Management Department and other city departments to address the situation. Working alongside the Red Cross and local nonprofits, concerted efforts are underway to provide immediate assistance to affected families." The Emergency Management Department, which coordinated the response, worked with the L.A. Department of Transportation to take displaced residents to a temporary evacuation center. The Red Cross will help determine next steps for housing those who cannot return home, Emergency Management Department spokesperson Joseph Riser said. Around 3 a.m., Raymon Chaidec woke up to booms and yells outside his house. He looked out the window and saw an out-of-control fire towering above the utility poles on his street. "It was way up there, even taller than the poles that you see are now burned, said Chaidec, 58, motioning his hands to the sky. Chaidec raced out of the house with his daughter, and they watched from their driveway as the fire engulfed the construction site across the street and encroached onto their property. We were ready to run, he said. We were scared when we saw the fire get a little close to our house, but nothing was damaged. We are so, so lucky. Firefighters douse the smoldering wreckage of the apartment building that was under construction. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) Francisco Rivas, 37, woke up to his mother yelling, The block is on fire." When he opened the blinds, he was hit by an intense orange glow from the fire down the street. Everything was lit up, he said. The flames were so high. Though the fire did not get to his house, he spent all morning sweeping ash in the yard and spraying ash off the house with a garden hose. Aaron Vazquez, 28, heard explosions and felt his home vibrating. He looked out the window and saw orange, but didn't think it was a fire. "I thought it was an ambulance," Vazquez said. "I look out the kitchen window and all I see are flames. There were dogs in the back, from the neighbors in the back, that were whimpering and crying." Vazquez was able to get his family out of the home but went back inside for his cat. Intense heat radiated from the fire burning next door as he searched for his cat, which he eventually found. "It was a huge inferno," he said. Vazquez's home was not destroyed, but he thinks there was some water and smoke damage. The sides of adjacent homes were burned from the heat that radiated off the fire at the construction site. Several hours after the fire started, neighbors watched from the sidewalk as crews demolished the ruins of the building that had been under construction. A bulldozer knocked over the remaining charred wooden planks to prevent any of the wood from smoldering, LAFD Capt. Carlos Caceres said, after crews convinced city officials that the building was beyond repair. After the LAFD cleared the scene before 10 a.m., construction workers flooded the street to repair the power lines that went out during the fire. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson was at the Milwaukee Area Technical College Education Center in Walker's Square today to encourage students to apply for a full-ride scholarship. Mayor Johnson was joined by MATC President Vicki Martin and student scholarship recipients. They all encouraged new and current students to apply for the Ellen & Joe Checota MATC Scholarship, which is designed for students looking to earn a short-term career certificate or diploma from MATC. MATC Scholarship Recipients with Mayor Cavalier Johnson and MATC President Dr. Vicki J. Martin. SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News It is the college's first-ever full-ride scholarship program. The scholarship covers tuition, course fees, books and required supplies and equipment, child care, food, transportation and more. Ellen and Joe Checota, two long-time Milwaukee residents, have committed a charitable gift, up to $5 million, to the MATC Foundation to initially fund the scholarship. The Checotas are matching gifts $2 to $1 for any donation or pledge (two years or less) to this scholarship aimed at accelerating the talent pipeline. This is the largest scholarship investment in the colleges history. The deadline to apply is Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. For more information on the scholarship and how to apply, click here. CHULA VISTA, Calif. A 15-year-old was arrested on Tuesday after Mater Dei Catholic High School received an anonymous school shooting threat, according to Chula Vista police. Entry to or exit from the school was briefly suspended with the implementation of the secure campus protocol shortly before 12:30 p.m. The pause was initiated after CVPD was notified by a staff member that a caller threatened to commit a shooting at the school, authorities said. Police were on scene and had support from a DFR drone to search for any active threats, CVPD said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. At about 1:35 p.m., officers determined the campus was safe and lifted the closure. Preliminary investigation findings identified the possible individual that called in the threat as a 15-year-old juvenile in Chula Vista, who was not a student at the school. According to CVPD, he was arrested at about 3:05 p.m. At this point in the investigation, it appears the call was a hoax and the students and staff at Mater Dei High School were never in immediate danger, CVPD said in a release. The Chula Vista Police Department would like to thank the staff at Mater Dei High School for their diligence and partnership in ensuring the safety of their campus. CVPD School Resource Officers are continuing to investigate the incident, the department said. Authorities are asking anyone with information in this case is asked to contact San Diego County Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477 or submit a tip via P3tips (online or mobile application) http://p3tips.com/409 if they wish to remain anonymous. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego. FILE - A pedestrian mall leads to the campus of the Mayo Clinic complex, center, on July 2, 2019, in Rochester, Minn. The Mayo Clinic has announced a $5 billion expansion plan that includes new buildings designed so they can evolve and expand as patient needs change over the coming decades. (AP Photo/Jim Mone, file) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) The Mayo Clinic announced a $5 billion expansion plan for its flagship campus Tuesday that includes new buildings designed so they can evolve and expand as patient needs change over the coming decades. The project is part of a Mayo strategy to transform both patient care and its campus in downtown Rochester, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) southeast of Minneapolis. This storied hospital is known for its patient care as well as scientific breakthroughs in cancer and gene therapies. It draws patients from around the world. A key to it will be the creation of neighborhoods within the new facilities, where patients can go for all the services they need for their particular condition, such as cancer, without needing to be shuttled between various departments. Another component of that strategy will be integrating in-person and virtual visits, and taking advantage of artificial intelligence, including to accelerate the development of new cures. The idea is to blur the traditional lines between inpatient and outpatient care, and between digital and in-person care, Dr. Gianrico Farrugia, Mayo's CEO, said in an interview. That requires rethinking how the buildings themselves are designed, he said. This is not about making a nicer facility," Farrugia said. "This is making a place that will give a better outcome. Announcing the project in a ceremony in Rochester Tuesday, Farrugia called it Mayo's biggest and most ambitious investment in a 160-year history of innovation. He said their vision is for more than just creating better spaces for patients and staff. We know that for overall health care transformation, indeed even for digital innovation to thrive in health care, we also need new types of health care buildings," he said at the ceremony attended by Gov. Tim Walz. "Across the country were providing 21st century care in 20th century buildings. It is simply, by far, not good enough. Mayo will add five new buildings with 2.4 million square feet (223,000 square meters) of space as part of the project. Theyll be designed so their spaces can be easily converted to new uses when needs change, such as from patient rooms to operating rooms. Much of that space will be in two new clinical buildings at the center of campus. Each will have nine floors but they'll be as tall as a more conventional 16-story building, and they'll be designed strong enough so that more floors could be added in the future. Skyways and tunnels will connect the new facilities with existing buildings. Were not building buildings with the purpose of putting bricks and mortar together," Dr. Craig Daniels, the initiative leader, said at the ceremony. "We make this investment to continue our mission, to serve the needs of our patients by being their source of hope and healing. Mayo, an independent nonprofit, is funding the project with its own revenue sources as part of its long-term plans and will not ask for government money, Farrugia said in the interview. Most construction will begin in early 2024. Some facilities are expected to begin operating as early as 2028, with completion projected for 2030. Farrugia said Mayo hopes the new facilities will "serve as an example for what a global health care facility should look like. Walz praised the plan, saying Mayo's investment will foster bold innovation that will extend world-class health care to every corner of the globe. The mayor of Paris said Monday she was quitting X, formerly known as Twitter, calling the social media platform a gigantic global sewer that is destroying democracies around the globe. Anne Hidalgo, who has served in the role since 2014, wrote a long post announcing her decision, citing a documented surge in hate speech and disinformation on X since billionaire Elon Musk acquired the website. Today, controversy, rumor and crude manipulation rule public debate, fueled by Twitters algorithm, where the only thing that counts is the number of likes, Hidalgo wrote. Facts are irrelevant. We must not deceive ourselves, she continued. We are dealing here with an utterly clear political project to push aside democracy and its values in favor of powerful private interests. Why I am leaving Twitter. I have made the decision to leave Twitter. Twitter, far from being the groundbreaking medium that initially made information accessible to the greatest possible number of people, has in recent years become an impressive tool for destroying our pic.twitter.com/3CcHQVnz5p Anne Hidalgo (@Anne_Hidalgo) November 27, 2023 X is under fierce scrutiny after Musk endorsed an antisemitic post on the website, prompting many of its major advertisers to suspend their business with the company. The New York Times recently reported the platform could lose as much as $75 million in ad revenue by the end of the year. Musk has rejected calls that he is antisemitic, saying he only wants the best for humanity. He traveled to Israel this week to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allay any concerns, but the episode is part of a broader concern that X has shifted under his ownership to allow hate speech and misinformation to proliferate. X also recently sued a watchdog group for defamation and threatened to do the same to the Anti-Defamation League. Hidalgo who has drawn her own bout of criticism online said she would remain on other social media platforms, but had taken a stand against X to protect democracy and reach for the light. We see it every day: Twitter hinders debate, the quest for truth, and the serene and constructive dialogue needed between human beings, she wrote. We should not allow the engineers of chaos to seize control of our destinies. Related... Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday slapped down the proposal backed by some Senate Democrats to condition U.S. foreign aid to Israel on the Israeli Defense Forces complying with international law to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza. I think its ridiculous, the GOP leader said when asked about the debate among Democrats about attaching conditions to aid to Israel. Our relationship with Israel is the closest national security relationship of any country in the world. And to condition, in effect, our assistance to Israel on their meeting our standards it seems to me is totally unnecessary, he said. Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) have been two of the most outspoken critics of the civilian death toll in Gaza, which the health ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory says has climbed past 14,000. Top Stories from The Hill Sanders has said the U.S.s blank check approach must end and that U.S. officials must make clear that, while we are friends of Israel, there are conditions to that friendship and we cannot be complicit in actions that violate international law and our own sense of decency, Sanders wrote in The New York Times. Murphy said on CNNs State of the Union that the high number of civilian casualties in Gaza are unacceptable and unsustainable. I think theres both a moral cost to this many civilians, innocent civilians, children often, losing their life but I think theres a strategic cost, he warned. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) faces a major test of his ability to marshal GOP support for funding the war in Ukraine as Senate Democrats plan to advance an emergency defense spending bill as soon as next week despite the lack of a deal on border security reforms. McConnell has championed U.S. support for Ukraines war against Russia as one of his signature issues yet has proceeded cautiously on the issue in recent months, letting Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) take the lead on big strategic spending decisions. But Ukrainian forces are close to exhausting their supply of crucial weapons and ammunition. Policy experts warn that if Congress fails to deliver more aid for Ukraine, it would give Russia the opportunity to turn the tide of the war. Before the Thanksgiving recess, McConnell broke with Johnson over the new Speakers call to split up funding for Israel and Ukraine into separate packages. McConnell argued they should remain tied together, giving the Ukraine funding a better chance of attracting Republican votes. Now the question is whether McConnell will lean on fellow Republicans to accept a border security deal that falls short of some of the ambitious immigration policy reforms some GOP colleagues have demanded to get more military aid to Ukraine before the end of the year. So far, hes showing no sign of being ready to do that, which means President Bidens emergency request to fund Ukraine, Israel, Indo-Pacific security and humanitarian assistance for Gaza and Ukraine remains in limbo. On Monday, McConnell played some hardball with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) by accusing Democrats of holding up aid to Israel by dragging their feet in the negotiations over border security. Apparently, our colleagues are considering putting support for Israel on the chopping block unless we promise not to fix the border crisis they helped create, he said on the Senate floor, punching back at Schumer, who accused Senate Republicans of putting money for Ukraine in jeopardy. Schumer accused Republicans in a letter he circulated to colleagues Sunday of holding up the emergency foreign aid package by insisting on unrealistic immigration reforms. He repeated that argument Monday on the Senate floor. The biggest holdup to the national security supplement is an insistence by some Republicans, just some, on partisan border policy as a condition [for] Ukraine aid. This injected a decades-old, hyperpartisan issue into overwhelmingly bipartisan priorities, Schumer said. McConnell and Schumer previously appeared more aligned on getting a national security package passed. The Senate GOP leader recently told reporters that conceptually, Sen. Schumer and I are in the same place, in the sense that we view all of these problems as connected, referring to the need to pass military aid for Ukraine and Israel and security aid for the Indo-Pacific, as well as humanitarian assistance and border security in the same package. McConnell told Biden in a phone call before Thanksgiving that Democrats must agree to a credible border solution before Republicans will support the foreign aid package, but he hasnt yet defined exactly what reforms would secure his support. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who is involved in the Senate border security negotiations, on Monday signaled that McConnell and other GOP leaders arent likely to endorse border security reforms that dont have the support of a majority of Senate Republicans. Our caucus has more than 41 members who are prepared not to [vote] on a supplemental unless it has border security, he said, referring to the number of senators necessary to block legislation. Twenty-five or more Republicans have to determine whats acceptable, I mean [thats] the bottom line. It has to have a majority of our conference, he added. Democratic leaders are warning they cannot accept the policy reforms included in the House-passed Secure the Border Act or the list of border policy reforms unveiled by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.). Democrats stand ready to work on commonsense solutions to address immigration but purely partisan hard right demands, like those in H.R. 2, jeopardize the entire national security package, Schumer warned Monday, referring to the House-passed border security bill. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on Monday dismissed the Republican demands heading into the border security talks as a non-starter and said Republican colleagues havent come up with anything new to underpin a potential compromise. H.R. 2 is a non-starter, he said, pointing out that the policy proposals from Graham, Cotton and Lankford are largely H.R. 2. They havent given us anything new to work with, he said. Sen. Chris Murphy (Conn.), the lead Democratic negotiator in the border security talks, urged GOP colleagues to rein in their expectations for immigration policy reform. Were not going to pass H.R. 2. This is going to have to be a true bipartisan deal, he said. Republicans are going to have to have realistic expectations about what this package is going to look like. Given the impasse, senators on both sides of the aisle are waiting for McConnell to step in to either endorse a border security deal that Democrats would find acceptable but not go as far as some conservatives want or dig in his heels and demand immigration policy reforms that could delay Ukraine funding past Christmas. McConnells top deputy, Senate Republican Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters Monday that the fate of the emergency foreign aid package would depend on how the border security talks turn out. And he said whether a package has a chance of passing the House could depend on how many Republicans vote for it in the Senate. I think the bigger number that the minority delivers over here, the more it helps, Thune said. If we can move a bill out of here that gets a good, strong Republican vote, then I think it helps significantly get it across the finish line in the House. Opposition to funding Ukraine has shown signs of rising in the lower chamber, though Johnson on Monday voiced confidence in passing aid to Israel and Ukraine. At the same time, he reiterated that Ukraine aid must be dealt with separately from money for Israel and that Ukraine must be paired with border security. Ukraine is another priority. Of course, we cant allow Vladimir Putin to march through Europe, Johnson said during an event in Florida. What weve said is that if there is to be additional assistance to Ukraine which most members of Congress believe is important we have to also work on changing our own border policy, Johnson said. I think most of our Senate colleagues recognize that those two things need to move together because we owe that to the American people. This story was updated at 9:01 a.m. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. KANSAS CITY, Mo. The worlds largest collector car auction company, Mecum Auctions, will return to the Kansas City Convention Center for its 30th year. Mecum Auctions will return to Kansas City this week from Nov. 30 to Dec. 2. New document shows potential $1.2B error in new Royals stadium cost sheet Mecum estimates about 700 American muscle cars, classics, Corvettes, trucks, exotics, Hot Rods and customs will be up for auction. Mecum Kansas City 2023 is open to buyers, sellers and spectators. Options for in-person, telephone and internet bidding start at $100, offering bidders the opportunity to get in on the action in the way that best suits them. General admission tickets are $20 per person if purchased online before the auction. Children who are 12 or under do not have to pay for admission. Tickets are $30 at the door or online after Nov. 29. Download the FOX4 News app on iPhone and Android Doors open daily at 8 a.m. with the vehicle auction beginning daily at 10 a.m. and Road Art beginning around 9 a.m. Here is the schedule for Mecum Kansas City 2023 events: Nov. 28 to 29: Consignor Vehicle Check-In Nov. 29: Classic Ride Fundraising Dinner Nov. 30 to Dec. 2: Mecum Kansas City 2023 officially begins For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 28) Miss Universe Philippines Michelle Marquez Dee took it with pride when she saw overwhelming support from Filipinos after ending her journey in the global pageant. Dee's stint at Miss Universe 2023 ended in the Top 10, but she was among the Voice for Change challenge winners and even bagged the Best National Costume Award. Nicaragua's Sheynnis Palacios was crowned the winner. RELATED: 'Mahal ko kayo': PH bet Michelle Dee thanks fans after ending Miss Universe stint "Of course, I was one of the most bashed Miss Universe Philippines after winning," Dee told CNN Philippines' New Day on Tuesday. "To be able to convert everyone through hard work, blood, sweat, and tears, that's an amazing victory for me." "To be able to win all of your hearts through representing all of you with the best of my abilities, I really can't say thank you enough," the beauty queen added. Dee said her goal in the international pageant held in El Salvador on Nov. 19 (Manila time) was to make sure to give her best and bring the Philippines along for the ride. She said it was overwhelming for her that Filipinos saw her and her team's hard work and dedication. "Just the way they received me in the airport, I didn't expect it. Nakakaiyak talaga [It made me emotional]," Dee said. Many Filipino pageant enthusiasts were ecstatic to see Dee parading a tattoo-inspired evening gown during the semi-finals, which was a tribute to the oldest living mambabatok Apo Whang-Od. Now back in the Philippines, Dee hinted she will be joining a show with a very special role, as well as a possible project with Miss Thailand Anntonia Porsild. The European Union will likely ban the trade of Russian diamonds as part of its upcoming 12th sanctions package, France24 said on Nov. 28, citing internal documents seen by AFP. The ban, which AFP said will be voted on by EU member states within the upcoming days, will target the full spectrum of the Russian diamond trade. If approved, it will take effect on Jan. 1. According to the internal documents, the ban will affect the trade of diamonds originating in Russia, but also diamonds that were transited or exported through Russia. A second phase of the ban that would come into force some months after the initial measures would also target the trade of Russian diamonds processed or exported via third-party countries. There is concern among some EU countries, particularly Belgium, where 86% of the world's rough diamonds are processed, that an EU ban would not go far enough. Russian diamonds might still be able to make it to other lucrative markets in Asia and beyond. Belgian diamond traders have been implementing measures using blockchain technology to tag the origins of diamonds, as well as to track their exports, even as they may be cut or processed into different forms. The use of this technology would ideally make it difficult to disguise the origins of Russian diamonds and thus create barriers against sanctions evasion. Even if Russian diamonds still can show up in foreign markets out of the reach of EU sanctions, the proposed ban would likely still significantly impact the industry. The Brussels-based media outlet EUobserver reported on Oct. 20 that the G7 countries of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K., and the U.S. "account for 70 percent of world diamond end-user demand." Prior to the full-scale invasion, Russian diamonds accounted for around 1/3rd of the global trade, the AFP said. The diamond trade brings in about 4 billion euros ($4.2 billion) to the Russian economy a year, according to EUobserver. Read also: That diamond ring? It may have helped pay for Russias war Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Major US news outlets devoted significantly less time and space to covering Donald Trumps description of his enemies as vermin this month than they did in a similar period in 2016 to Hillary Clintons reference to Trumps supporters as deplorables, a new study has found. Related: Hillary Clinton likens Trump to Hitler and warns he would end democracy Findings by the progressive watchdog Media Matters included 18 times more coverage of Clintons remark than Trumps by the Big Three broadcast networks (NBC, ABC and CBS) in the first week after the remark was made; and print reports among the top five circulating newspapers (Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today) in which mention of Clintons remark outnumbered Trumps 29-1 in the same period. Coverage decisions like these shape the political landscape during presidential election cycles, wrote Matt Gertz, a Media Matters senior fellow. Media Matters describes itself as a web-based, not-for-profit progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analysing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the US media. It has recently made headlines by highlighting far-right content on X, prompting advertisers to withdraw, an effort now the subject of a lawsuit from Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of the platform formerly known as Twitter. Clintons deplorables remark was a famous feature of the 2016 presidential election, which she lost to Trump. In September that year, the Democrat told a New York audience: To be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trumps supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right? The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic you name it. And unfortunately, there are people like that. And he has lifted them up. Trump lost to Joe Biden four years later but is the clear frontrunner to be the Republican nominee again in 2024, dominating polling despite facing 91 criminal charges and assorted civil threats. Earlier this month, in New Hampshire, he told supporters he would root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country that lie and steal and cheat on elections. Biden joined pundits and historians in pointing out how authoritarian leaders have called opponents vermin, Adolf Hitler prominently among them. Acknowledging such comparisons and warnings, Gertz wrote: The former president added that those forces want to destroy America and to destroy the American dream and that the threat from outside forces is far less sinister, dangerous, and grave than the threat from within. By contrast, the right weaponised Clintons relatively mundane basket of deplorables comment [though] she went on to stress that attendees shouldnt write off all of his backers because they also include people who feel that the government has let them down, the economy has let them down, nobody cares about them, nobody worries about what happens to their lives and their futures, and theyre just desperate for change, adding: Those are people we have to understand and empathise with as well. The new Media Matters research, Gertz said, illustrated how major news outlets responded to weaponisation of Clintons remark, rewarding the right for its disingenuous act, showering Clintons deplorables remark with coverage. By contrast, the same outlets largely ignored Trumps description of his political enemies as vermin, continuing a pattern of relatively muted coverage of Trumps abhorrent and incoherent commentary. According to the research, ABC, CBS and NBC spent 54 minutes on the deplorables remark in the first week after it was uttered (making 1,662 mentions of it) but only three minutes (through 191 mentions) on the vermin remark in the same period. The only print article in the five main papers to consider the vermin remark was published by the Washington Post. In 2016, it ran nine print articles on the deplorables comment in the first week after it was made, Media Matters said. Gertz said: When experts are sounding the alarm about the similarities between a likely US presidential nominees rhetoric and that of genocidaires, it warrants much more significant attention from journalists at leading news outlets. The news media doesnt seem to care about Donald Trumps incendiary remarks anymore. At least, not as much as they cared when they were covering Hillary Clinton in 2016. During that election cycle, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton touched off a massive media feeding frenzy when she referred to a portion of Trumps fan base as a basket of deplorables. But while the coverage at the time was unrelenting, major media outlets seem to have lost their taste for defending voters against the slings and arrows of major political figures. The major three broadcast news stationsNBC, CBS, and ABCcovered Clintons 2016 basket of deplorables comment 18 times more than Trumps recent remarks, in which he referred to his political opposition as vermin that needed to be rooted out, according to a report by Media Matters. That number was even larger across print publications, which apparently gave 29 times more space on the broadsheet to Clintons comments, which targeted a specific cohort of racists and misogynists in Trumps following. That Trumps base of support was dominated by all manner of antisocial extremists was a fact the political press had spent more than a year confirmingand enjoying the fruits of such coveragebefore Clinton made the same observation. You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trumps supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right? Clinton said during a September 2016 LGBT for Hillary gala. The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobicyou name it. And unfortunately there are people like that. And he has lifted them up. While Clinton didnt write off all of Trumps supportersnoting that a significant portion of his base were citizens who were desperate for change and who felt that the government had let them downthe Democratic candidate faced months of political venom from conservatives who suggested Clinton held contempt for everyday Americans. Eventually, that insult became an asset to the Republican Party, paving the way for new shirts, hats, and party messaging. Meanwhile, Trumps latest swath of dehumanizing vitriol crossed a new threshold by employing authoritarian rhetoric reminiscent of genocidal regimes. On Veterans Day, Trump made some eyebrow-raising public remarks that took his often callous approach to politics to an ugly new level: We pledge to you that we will root out the Communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country that lie and steal and cheat on elections, Trump said during a Veterans Day campaign speech in New Hampshire. Theyll do anything, whether legally or illegally, to destroy America and to destroy the American dream. That group would include President Joe Biden and his administration, whom the Republican front-runner has frequently referred to as Communists. Hours later, Trump made it clear the comments werent a fluke made in the heat of the moment, echoing the statement in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social. As The New Republics editor, Michael Tomasky, pointed out, the word vermin has a fairly noteworthy place in the history of political rhetoric. To announce that the real enemy is domestic and then to speak of that enemy in subhuman terms is Fascism 101, he wrote. Especially that particular word. Nevertheless, Trumps dangerous new escalation was met with a muted reception by press and politicians, its similarities to the fascist speeches of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini completely lost on them. Those remarks not only failed to damage Trumps numbers in the pollsthey may have actually improved them, according to an MSNBC analysis. Days after the speech, once Trumps name had been paired with Hitlers in a couple of headlines, Republican support for Trump jumped by 2 percent, from 56.6 percent to 58.6 percent, according to polling averages by FiveThirtyEight. Two weeks later, that number edged closer to 60 percent. Naturally, Republican officials didnt bat an eye at the explosive comments from their party leader. Days after Trumps speech, former Ambassador Nikki Haley told an Iowa crowd that she simply didnt agree with Trumps position, while Senator Lindsey Graham told HuffPost that he doesnt use that kind of language, but its a free country. If Trump can be taken at his word, perhaps not for much longer. Iran has finalized arrangements for the delivery of Russian Su-35 fighter jets and Mil Mi-28 attack helicopters, Iranian Deputy Defense Minister Mahdi Farahi told Tashim news agency on Nov. 28. Iran also plans to buy Russian Yak-130 jet trainers that would allow Iranian military pilots to learn how to operate more advanced fighter aircraft, such as Su-57, according to Farahi, cited by Tashim. This is Iran's first deal on the procurement of new fighter jets in years, wrote the Iranian news outlet associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. According to Reuters, Iran has only a few dozen attack aircraft in its arsenal, including Russian jets and outdated U.S. models purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has been deepening military cooperation with Tehran, securing extensive supplies of Shahed kamikaze drones used in airstrikes against Ukraine. The U.S. is also concerned that Iran is preparing to supply ballistic missiles to Russia. The declassified White House intelligence confirms that the Russian Wagner Group has been preparing to provide air defense capabilities to either Iran or Hezbollah, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Nov. 21. Both Wagner fighters and members of Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group backed by Iran, operated in Syria for years, fighting alongside Bashar al-Assad's government troops. The Syrian dictator is also a close ally of both Russia and Iran. Read also: Francis Farrell: Ukraine could still lose the war. Lets get some things straight Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Ukrainian truckers began a counterprotest at the Polish border on Nov. 28 in response to the ongoing blockade by Polish truckers, the Polish media outlet RMF 24 reported. Polish police told RMF that Ukrainian truckers were blocking the Medyka crossing from the Polish side of the border, creating lengthy traffic jams that made it difficult for local residents to get home. The counterprotests also impacted traffic in the nearby larger border city of Przemsyl. The atmosphere was calm, the reports said, but the Ukrainian truckers were open about the fact that it was a counterprotest in retaliation for those organized by Polish truckers. Groups of around 30 people entered the road and blocked traffic. Polish truckers claim that the lack of entry permits for Ukrainian trucks is hurting business for Polish drivers and blocking three border crossing points since Nov. 6. As a result of the blockade, around 2,100 vehicles are stuck, unable to get into Ukraine as of Nov. 26, Ukraine's Infrastructure Ministry said. The flow of traffic at Dorohusk-Yahodyn, Ukraine's largest cargo crossing, is usually 680 trucks per day. It is now down to a few dozen every 24 hours, according to the ministry. Negotiations have so far yet to bring an end to the situation. Conditions have continued to worsen for the truckers as the weather gets colder. Two Ukrainian truckers have already died while waiting at the border, both reportedly of natural causes. One of them had been waiting at the border for more than three days prior to his death. Read also: Trucker protests: Unraveling the standoff between Polish and Ukrainian haulers Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. In the summer of 2021, the body of 29-year-old Damien Cameron was delivered to the crime lab in Jackson, Mississippi. Cameron, a Black man, had died after a struggle with police. His face was swollen and bloodied, and there was bleeding in his neck. Witnesses described seeing two deputies kneeling on Cameron for more than 10 minutes. Yet Staci Turner, the states medical examiner, ruled Camerons manner of death to be undetermined. That decision effectively headed off any further investigation. The officers returned to work. Two years later, Rankin County Deputy Hunter Elward, one of the officers who had knelt on Cameron, pleaded guilty to federal charges in another casethe horrific torture of two Black men. Elward and a gang of his fellow deputies, who called themselves the Goon Squad, admitted to breaking into the mens home, torturing and sexually humiliating them, then sticking a gun into the mouth of one of the men, at which point the deputies claim it mistakenly fired, leaving the man with severe and disfiguring injuries. The fallout from the torture cases brought new attention to Turners work in Camerons death. In a subsequent review, three separate medical examiners said that Turner was wrong to classify Camerons manner of death as undetermined. They say it was clearly a homicide. If it had been classified that way at the time, its possible that a criminal investigation might have taken Elward off the street, and might have revealed the rot in the sheriffs department. Camerons death came 14 months after the death of George Floyd, and there are clear similarities. Both men died after one or more police officers knelt on their backs. Both cases involve disputes between forensic pathologists about manner of death, and both raise important questions not only about how that determination is made but about whether medical examiners are adequately shielded from political pressure when making it. Floyds case again came under scrutiny in right-wing media last October. In an unrelated gender discrimination lawsuit against the Hennepin County District Attorneys Office, prosecutor Amy Sweasy testified that in the days after Floyd died under the knee of Police Officer Derek Chauvin, medical examiner Andrew Baker told her that there were no medical findings that showed any injury to the vital structures of Mr. Floyds neck. Sweasy says Baker then asked her, What happens when the actual evidence doesnt match up with the public narrative that everyones already decided on? and warned, This is the kind of case that ends careers. That testimony expands on a memo Sweasy wrote that was well publicized by Chauvins defense team in August 2020, though the comments she attributed to Baker in that memo were somewhat less inflammatory. Baker did eventually testify for the state and classified Floyds death as a homicide, prodding far-right pundits like Tucker Carlson to conclude that the doctor had changed his testimony to appease activists and political leaders. Under oath at Chauvins trial, Baker denied changing his diagnosis or bowing to pressure. The overwhelming consensus in the medical communityamong medical examiners, pulmonologists, cardiologists, and addiction specialistsis that the actions of Chauvin and other officers were the proximate cause of George Floyds death. That said, its certainly understandable why Bakers comments to Sweasy would fuel conspiracists. The medical examiners I consulted found them to be puzzling. And Carlson has something of a point, although it isnt the point he intended. Medical examiners are often subjected to political and professional pressure that can bias their judgment. Moreover, Carlson and his fellow demagogues are correct that what happened in Chauvins case was an anomaly. Its just that the anomaly, in this instance, is that the state eventually got it right. When it comes to in-custody deaths, there are far more cases like Damien Cameronsin which a faulty manner of death determination heads off any further investigation of police misconductthan like George Floyds, in which police use of force is correctly found to have caused a death. About two months before the Chauvin trial, a team of researchers led by London-based cognitive neurologist Itiel Dror published a study in the Journal of Forensic Sciences that, along with the trial, would open an ongoing feud within the medical examiner community. Dror and his team asked 133 medical examiners to review an autopsy report of a childs death and determine if the death was accidental, a homicide, or if there was insufficient information to make a determination. The participants were given identical autopsy reports, with two exceptions. Half were told that the deceased child was Black and had died while in the care of the mothers boyfriend. The other half were told the child was white and had been in the care of a grandmother. This information should have been irrelevant to the manner of death. While its true that Black children are more likely to die from homicide, and its also true that stepfathers or love interests of a childs mother are more likely to kill a child than a grandmother, neither of those things should be relevant when determining how a specific child died in a specific case. We dont convict people based on generalizations about the demographic groups to which they or their victims belong. Or at least we shouldnt. The study suggested that perhaps sometimes we do. The medical examiners given the scenario with the Black child were five times more likely to rule the death a homicide than those with the white child. There was also broad disagreement among the studys participants about whether there was sufficient information to even make a manner of death determination. Predictability is a core tenet of established science. If you ask a group of scientists to apply the settled principles of their field to the same set of facts, they should reach the same conclusion. That didnt happen here. Dror has since put out two more studies further confirming that extraneous information can bias the conclusions of medical examiners. On some level this isnt surprising. Medical examiners are human, and human beings are affected by cognitive bias. Yet the study sparked a furious backlash. Forensic pathologists from around the country went after Dror and his colleaguessome of whom are medical examiners themselveswith a barrage of personal and professional attacks. It was an extremely disturbing experience to be openly attacked by my colleagues, some of whom I thought were friends, says Dr. Jonathan Arden, one of the studys authors. Arden himself is a former president of the fields largest professional organization, the National Association of Medical Examiners, or NAME, and the former head of the Washington, D.C., crime lab. We were attacked baselessly, inappropriately, in a public forum. I had to retain counsel, and ended up spending a substantial amount of time, money, and effort responding to these accusations. We expected people to disagree with the study, says Dror. But these are supposed to be scientists. You write a letter to the editor. These doctors make decisions that send people to prison. Youd think theyd welcome feedback that will help them minimize mistakes. Instead they sent a clear message: Dont criticize us. Well go after you. Well go after your career. They turned this into the Spanish Inquisition. The studys publication just before the Chauvin trial was coincidental. But the two events would become inextricably intertwined. Three of the studys most vocal critics signed on as expert witnesses for Chauvins defense, while one of the studys authors consulted for the prosecution. The Dror studies, the response to them, and what weve learned from these high-profile deaths in police custody should prompt some weighty questions about how we investigate suspicious deaths in the United States. If medical examiners cant even agree on manner of death in one of the most closely followed, consequential trials in recent memoryone involving what is likely the most-witnessed homicide in human historyhow can we rely on their expertise to send people to prison, or to determine if we should continue to trust that a police officer should remain on the job after that officer has taken a life? What if the life-and-death determinations that we think are governed by scientific principles and careful deliberation are susceptible to the prejudices, misplaced incentives, and inherent bias of a broken system? When medical examiners perform an autopsy after a suspicious death, theyre asked to make two determinations: the cause of death and the manner. The cause is usually well grounded in medicine, and while there are some exceptions, it typically isnt controversial. Examples might include cardiac arrest, asphyxiation, exsanguination (blood loss), or blunt-force trauma. Manner of death is the mechanism by which the death occurred. Its much more subjective and far more consequential. It often determines whether or not police and prosecutors proceed with a criminal investigation. Typical manner of death determinations include suicide, homicide, accident, natural causes, and undetermined. Manner of death is subjective enough that it can be hotly disputed among medical examiners. Yet the consequences can be profound. Parents, grandparents, and other caretakers have gone to prison because a medical examiner ruled a childs death to be a homicide rather than natural or accidental. Medical examiners are also often asked to determine if a death was due to suicide or murder, or if there are signs that someone was killed in self-defense. Meanwhile, classifying a death as a suicide, accident, or undetermined instead of a homicide typically means no criminal investigation. Manner of death is not a medical determination, says Peter Neufeld, co-founder of the Innocence Project. Its a legal determination that necessarily involves processing nonmedical information. Why is a doctor in a better position to evaluate the veracity of a suicide note, the truthfulness of a police report, or the reliability of a witness identification? They arent. Medical examiners simply dont have the training to make those calls. In fact, the United States is the only country in the developed world in which medical examiners are asked to testify about the manner of death. Its a vestige of the quirky, anachronistic coroner-based death investigation system we inherited from England. Physicians belong to one of the most esteemed professions in American life. So they tend to be persuasive expert witnesses. They bring this inherent trustworthiness and sense of authority, says Neufeld. But that can become a problem when they start testifying outside their area of expertise, which manner of death determinations often require. Compounding the problem, medical examiners often operate in systems that can bias their decisions, often by design. In many jurisdictions, the medical examiners office falls under the auspices of a law enforcement agency, which means they ultimately report to police or prosecutors who have a strong interest in these determinations. In other jurisdictions, prosecutors or elected coroners have contracted autopsies out to private pathologists, creating a strong incentive for those doctors to tell law enforcement what they want to hear in order to get more referrals. In some places, crime labs actually receive more funding when someone is convicted (its a fee thats tacked on to a defendants punishment)practically the platonic ideal of a perverse incentive. Even in cities and counties where medical examiners arent directly plugged into the law enforcement apparatus, theyre still commonly considered to be part of the prosecutions team. Theyll often consult with prosecutors or police investigators before starting an autopsy. Sometimes, law enforcement officials are even present during the procedureaccess rarely if ever granted to a defense team. In a system where medical examiners had true independence, theyd also be free to consult with defense attorneys when they believe the evidence doesnt support a prosecution. But that just isnt done. Medical examiners can communicate with defense attorneys who reach out to them, but proactively making contact is generally frowned upon, and medical examiners who have done so have faced retaliation. Judy Melinek, a medical examiner and one of the besieged co-authors of the controversial Dror-led study, wrote in an article for MedPageToday, There is a subset of prosecutors who believe, and will not be dissuaded, that the investigative work done by a medical examiner always ought to align with the goals of law enforcement. Some forensic pathologists feel the same way. About two months after the death of George Floyd, defense attorneys for the officers charged with his death filed the exhibit that ignited Derek Chauvins far-right defenders. According to Sweasy, shortly after Floyds death, Baker told her that Floyd had a preexisting heart condition. He also had some meth and a potentially fatal amount of fentanyl in his system. The autopsy revealed no physical evidence suggesting that Mr. Floyd died of asphyxiation, Sweasy wrote, quoting Baker, and if Mr. Floyd had been found dead in his home (or anywhere else) and there were no other contributing factors he would conclude that it was an overdose death. Baker also said Floyd had sickle-cell trait, a condition sometimesand dubiouslycited when Black people die in police custody. The following day, in handwritten notes, Baker documented his comments to Sweasy although, notably, he added, Im not saying this killed him. The medical examiners with whom I consulted had a hard time with Bakers initial observations to Sweasy. They were confused both by the observations themselves and how they conflicted with Bakers testimony at trial. Overdoses are notoriously difficult to diagnose, particularly with respect to opioids. Frequent users build up tolerance, so a fatal concentration of an opioid in one person could be nontoxic in another. Moreover, addiction and drug specialists have argued that if Floyd had been in the midst of a fatal overdose, he wouldnt have been able to communicate with the police in the manner he did, and he certainly wouldnt have been able to walk. Toxicologists and addiction specialists have since assertedincluding at Chauvins trialthat the amount of fentanyl in Floyds system was about a fifth of the average concentration in postmortem cases, and the amount of meth in his system was negligible. Theres also no truth to the claim made by Carlson and others that the lack of physical injury to Floyds neck proves that Chauvin couldnt have caused his death. Pressure on the neck and constriction of the diaphragm can quickly cause breathing to gradually grow more shallow. That can cause oxygen levels to drop, eventually causing brain damage and heart failure. Theres even a term for killing in this manner. Its called burking, after William Burke, who with an accomplice killed 16 people that way in the 1820s in order to sell the cadavers to a medical college. Baker ultimately concluded that Floyd died this wayheart failure brought on in part by asphyxiation due to the pressure Chauvin put on Floyds chest and neck. He classified the death as a homicide, and he testified for the prosecution at Chauvins trial. Under cross-examination, Baker said his initial statements to Sweasy were based on incomplete, preliminary observations, and he denied he had been influenced by activists or state officials. But that only raises more questions: Why would Baker consult with the prosecution before hed seen all the results, and why would he make such sweeping claims about Floyds death before hed obtained information that ultimately was important enough to change his conclusions? Its actually common for medical examiners to consult with police prosecutors early on in an investigation. Theres also a lot of debate about whether its proper. Its a pattern with in-custody deaths, says Joye Carter, a co-author of the Dror study who consulted for Floyds family and the prosecution. In 1992, Carter was named director of the Washington, D.C. medical examiners office, becoming the first Black woman in the country to head such an office. Theres a knee-jerk desire to quickly clear these police officers. Some medical examiners bend over backwards to blame these deaths on race-based conditions like sickle-cell trait or excited delirium. That conditions law enforcement officers to be more aggressive with Black people. Carter speculates that Baker first acted as a cog in a machine thats programmed to rapidly exonerate police, but may have slowed down and taken another look once he saw that hed be contradicted by an overwhelming consensus among cardiology, pulmonary, and addiction specialists. Other forensic pathologists took a more sympathetic view of how Baker handled the case. Sweasy is a litigant in a lawsuit, and the comments she attributed to Baker are hearsay, one medical examiner told me, who did not wish to be quoted by name. We havent heard Bakers version of that conversation. It would be brazen and risky for a prosecutor like Sweasy to lie under oath. It also isnt at all unusual for two people to have earnest but strikingly disparate recollections of the same conversation. Its also worth noting that for all of the right-wing embrace of Sweasys deposition, the prosecutor herself said she thought Chauvin should have been chargedalthough with third-degree murder instead of second. Ive been on both sides of this, this medical examiner added. I know what its like to have police pressuring you to clear officers who killed someone, and what its like when you discover evidence that exonerates the officer while protests are raging. I wouldnt want any comments I made in those moments to appear out of context in some court document. Another medical examiner, a former officer with the National Association of Medical Examiners who asked not to be identified by name, also offered a mild defense of Baker, suggesting he may have felt compelled to leave a meticulous record given the high-profile nature of the investigation. Its unfortunate, because that then opened him to allegations that he was pressured to change his conclusions, the medical examiner said. But both doctors still said Bakers initial comments to Sweasy, if accurately portrayed, are puzzling and that at some point he should publicly explain them. Bakers office did not reply to my requests for an interview, but the office has told other outlets that he stands by his testimony at Chauvins trial and wont respond to allegations in an unrelated lawsuit. In the early 1990s, DNA testing began to show that many forensic specialties once touted as nearly infallible had put innocent people in prison. As exonerations mounted, the scientific community took notice and began to test the veracity of some of these fields. In the 30 or so years since, studies and reviews by scientific bodies like the National Academies of Science and the Presidents Committee on Science and Technology have been sharply critical of controversial forensic fields like bite-mark and hair and fiber analysis, but also of long-trusted specialties like ballistics matching and fingerprinting. The forensics community and its supporters in law enforcement have responded to these with defensiveness and resentment, often lashing out at scientists who scrutinize their fields. Until the Dror studies, medical examiners had largely escaped such scrutiny. Thats in part because forensic pathology straddles the line between medicine and forensics. As doctors, medical examiners get much of the prestige and respect we afford physicians. But the field has also liberally co-mingled with forensics and law enforcement, and even before the Dror studies, there were signs that these attachments could sometimes corrupt the medical decisions of its practitioners. Perhaps the best example is shaken baby syndrome, a theory that put hundreds of people in prison before scientists outside the criminal justice system proved that symptoms medical examiners contended could only be caused by violent shaking could also be caused by other factors like falls or illness. Investigations by ProPublica and the Medill Justice Project have also found that child deaths are far more likely to be classified as crimes in some states and counties than others, suggesting that such determinations arent grounded in hard science so much as the priorities and personal predilections of local police and prosecutors. Forensic pathology has separated from medicine in other ways too. Most medical examiners work in the public sector, earning significantly less money than people in other medical specialties. These status disparities, combined with the perception that proper physicians work with the living rather than the dead, has brought disparagement to the field as a sort of professional dumping ground for those who didnt excel in medical school. There are of course plenty of smart and conscientious medical examiners driven by an earnest commitment to public service. But its also indisputable that medical students arent rushing into forensic pathology. Most medical schools no longer even teach it. Moreover, state legislatures chronically underfund medical examiners offices. As a result, the United States has faced a critical shortage of qualified forensic pathologists for decades. All of which means these offices cant always afford to be picky about who they hire. The profession has also taken a beating for its reluctance to self-police, despite some jaw-dropping scandals. High-ranking state medical examiners have been revealed to conduct astonishing numbers of autopsies, to conduct sloppy and unprofessional investigations, and to have given preposterous testimony that contributed to wrongful convictions. Some have been accused of criminal misconduct. Forensic pathologists also operate in an inherently adversarial system thats unique in the medical profession. As the Chauvin trial showed, it isnt at all unusual for two doctors to give contradictory testimony in the same case. It makes for a contentious, often combative work life. Given the high stakes, it can be professionally damaging to admit to mistakes. When confronted with the possibility that they may have gotten a determination wrong, too many medical examiners double down rather than consider the merit of the criticism, says Arden. Ive had medical examiners who, years after stubbornly defending their findings in a case, came back and said, You know what, you were right about that. Ive found that especially disturbing in cases where their findings sent someone to prison. The way the medical examiner community received the Dror study might have been a more important test of the profession than what the study actually found. When Ive found cognitive bias in other fields of medicine that was affecting patient health, those findings were welcomed, Dror says. They wanted to improve. Dror says he had hoped the medical examiner community would embrace the feedback, as other fields of medicine have done. That isnt what happened. Dror and and his six co-authors, four of whom are medical examiners themselves, were subjected to acrid, unusually personal vitriol from colleagues across the country. NAME went particularly hard after Dror, who is not a medical examiner. The groups president and executive director sent an official complaint to Drors then employer, University College of London. After an investigation, the university determined that Dror had done nothing wrong. The reaction from medical examiners was so unhinged that the Journal of Forensic Sciences editor published an unusual note chastising the critics for their lack of decorum and collegiality. Critics of the study seemed particularly irked by the racial component. They keep saying we called them racist, Dror says. But the study was never about detecting racism. It was to measure how bias can affect a manner of death determination. We used race as one variable because its well established that the deaths of Black children are far more likely to be classified as homicides. I was disappointed by the reaction, but I wasnt surprised, says Carter. Ive seen medical examiners say things like, because of the color of the decedents skin, they couldnt tell if there were bruises. Which is just incredible. When Id tell that story to explain why representation of nonwhite people is important, they would just shut down. They didnt want to hear it. They just hear that as you calling them racist. So now you have a study finding that racial stereotypes can influence manner of death determinations. I cant say Im surprised that they dont want to hear that, either. Dror and Neufeld speculate that the unusually unruly response stems from the fact that medical examiners arent accustomed to being proven wrong. Doctors who work with the living get constant feedback for how theyre doing. If a patient doesnt improve, you know to change the course of treatment, Neufeld says. But when you work with the dead, you dont get that kind of feedback. Unless theres DNA testing involved, theres rarely a ground truth in forensic science to tell a medical examiner when theyre wrong, adds Dror. So I think what weve seen with the reaction to the study is a profession being told for the first time that they can be wrong. And they dont want to hear it. Critics filed eight complaints against Dror and his co-authors. All have since been dismissed. The Journal of Forensic Sciences initially sent the study to three peer reviewers, all of whom approved it for publication. After the wave of criticism, the journal sent the study to a fourth statistician. That statistician too found nothing wrong with the study. Dror has since collaborated with other researchers and medical examiners to publish two additional studies on cognitive bias in forensic pathology. In the first, medical examiners were given identical autopsy reports, but half were accompanied by a police report suggestive of suicide, while the other half were given one suggestive of homicide. The medical examiners were far more likely to give a manner of death determination that matched the police reports. The final study, published in September, showed that when police give medical examiners just one theory of the crime, theyre likely to agree with that theory. Providing more than one theory changed their analysis. The reaction to these subsequent studies has been less intense, but Dror says the criticism had an impact. The response has made my medical examiner colleagues extremely skittish, he says. They want to water down the language in these subsequent studies, not because its wrong or overstated but because they dont want their colleagues to come after them. One has asked that his name be redacted. It isnt that he doesnt agree with the results. He is afraid of retaliation. Its definitely had a chilling effect. For all the protests, legislation, racial reckoning, and backlash inspired by George Floyds death, the most lastingand perhaps improbablelegacy may be to have exposed and even helped correct the problems with how in-custody deaths are investigated in the U.S. After the Sweasy memo first appeared in defense filings in August 2020, George Floyds family hired two outside medical examiners to conduct their own autopsy. Those doctors concluded that Floyd died of asphyxiation caused by pressure applied by Chauvin, and that his death was indeed a homicide. That review provoked a bizarrely defensivebut perhaps revealingresponse from the National Association of Medical Examiners. In a public statement, NAME discouraged obtaining second opinions for forensic autopsies. It was a strange stand to takesecond opinions and peer review are a core tenet of science and medicine. Given the historic use of manner of death determinations to cover up racial violence, it was also inexplicably tone-deaf. After a flurry of public criticism, NAME retracted the statement. The group has since hired Carter to head up a diversity and inclusion program to educate medical examiners on sickle cell trait, excited delirium, and other matters white medical examiners may encounter when conducting autopsies on Black people. Carter says she had long advocated such a program, but until the 2020 protests, shed received little support. One of the most vocal critics of the first Dror study was Brian Peterson, who at the time was chief medical examiner for Milwaukee. He was the lead signatory of the most prominent letter to the editor of the Journal of Forensic Sciencesthe one that inspired a note from the editor. Peterson also attacked the studies authors in particularly personal terms on the NAME listserv. In one especially oddand perhaps revealingemail to the group, Peterson wrote, Is there anyone in our profession that has not, at one point or another, quipped about spinning the wheel of death and picking one? I dont even know how you respond to that, says Carter. Its such an embarrassingly cavalier thing to write about what we doabout the decisions we make that can send people to prison. Peterson was also a consultant for Chauvins defense, though he didnt ultimately testify at the trial. Peterson himself has a controversial history with in-custody deaths. A decade ago, he issued a contentious diagnosis about another Black man who died with a police officers knee on his back, even as that man complained that he couldnt breathe. Though Peterson and his office did ultimately classify that death as a homicide, he attributed the death to sickle-cell trait, a condition he speculated might have been brought on by the mans decision to flee and resist police officers. Last fall, Peterson either retired or was fired from his position in Milwaukee, depending on whom you believe. He then stopped showing up for court hearings in pending cases, including the highly publicized trial of a police officer accused of killing a 25-year-old Black man with a choke hold. Another prominent critic of the study was David Fowler, the former state medical examiner in Maryland. Fowler actually testified for Chauvins defense, and his testimony was so controversial that the Maryland attorney general appointed a panel to conduct an unprecedented review of Fowlers work on in-custody deaths. That review is ongoing. But last year, attorneys for the Maryland ACLU said they had found dozens of cases in which someone died while under some sort of restrictive police restraint, after which Fowlers office ruled the death undetermined. In some of those cases, the decedent had been Tased, pepper sprayed, subject to police baton strikes, prone restraint, or other uses of force. Critics like Dror say that while those sorts of determinations could be the product of a personal bias in favor of exonerating police, theyre more likely due to systematic bias. If you bring in a homeless person who was beaten to death by a street gang and covered in bruises, most medical examiners will quickly rule that a homicide. But if the same homeless person was beaten by police, theyll run the gamut of tests. If you look hard enough, you can always find some other condition that might have contributed to death, Dror says. In some jurisdictions, Dror says, in-custody deaths are required to undergo more tests as a matter of policy. This is where diagnoses like excited delirium come into play. Despite dubious origins and little support in clinical and academic research, the condition caught on after the company formerly known as Taser spent millions to promote it among coroners and medical examiners. It posits that people apprehended by police who are intoxicated, high, or panicked, or who have ailments like heart disease or genetic conditions like sickle cell trait, can go into cardiac arrest and die when restrained or apprehended by police, through no fault of the police. Excited delirium isnt recognized by either the American Medical Association or the American Psychiatric Associationand after 2020, both groups explicitly recommended against its use. But it has been used to exonerate hundreds of police officers for in-custody deaths, and its disproportionately invoked in Black and Latino deaths. Chauvins attorneys managed to work it in at his trial, but the judge in the 2022 trial of two other officers barred them from claiming it was a factor in Floyds death. (Tellingly, excited delirium diagnoses are all but nonexistent outside a police context, and nearly all involve some sort of restraint.) Even if excited delirium were a real condition, it shouldnt affect a manner of death determination. A homicide is a homicide, says Carter. A prosecutor can decide later that it was a justifiable homicide like self-defense. But if the person would still be alive if not for the police officers actions, its a homicide. Floyds death and the resulting protests prompted more skepticism of these sorts of deaths across the country. In early November, as part of a settlement to the lawsuit related to the ACLU investigation, the state of Maryland agreed to sweeping changes to shield medical examiners from pressure by police and prosecutors. But there have been changes elsewhere too. After Floyds death, authorities in Colorado reopened an investigation into the death of Elijah McClain, a healthy, 23-year-old Black man who died after police stopped him, threw him to the ground, and restrained him. Paramedics forcibly injected McClain with ketamine after officers at the scene claimed he may have been suffering from excited delirium. After consulting with police, the county coroner classified McClains manner of death as undetermined and speculated that he may have died of excited delirium brought on by an undiagnosed mental health condition. Citing the coroners report, the local district attorney then cleared the officers of wrongdoing. In the summer of 2020, Colorado Governor Jared Polis appointed a special prosecutor to reinvestigate McClains death. A grand jury subsequently found that police officers had no probable cause to stop McClain. The autopsy report was then amended to say McClain died of complications of ketamine administration following forcible restraint. One officer has since been convicted of manslaughter. Another was acquitted. The 2020 protests also prompted scrutiny of police tactics like hog-tying and restraint chairs. They spurred reexamination of other in-custody deaths in Colorado, Utah, Oakland, and Illinois and inspired a critical academic review of the research police and prosecutors cite when they claim theres no risk to restraining suspects while theyre lying face down. Floyds death was also likely a factor in a nationwide reassessment of excited delirium. After years of criticism from medical professionals, NAME finally disavowed the diagnosis in March. In October, a panel for the last holdout medical organizationthe American College of Emergency Physiciansvoted to withdraw its endorsement of the seminal medical paper upon which the diagnosis is based. A week later, the California legislature voted to ban coroners from citing excited delirium as a cause of death. But critics like Neufeld urge a more substantive change. They say the Dror studies demonstrate why the U.S. should join the rest of the world and bar medical examiners from testifying about manner of death in courtan opinion shared by Drors medical examiner co-authors, Melinek and Arden. Dror himself is on the fence on the issue, but believes that medical examiners should be required to notify prosecutors and juries when a manner of death determination was influenced by nonmedical information. Some have suggested the U.S. adopt one of the less adversarial models of expert testimony used in Europe, but such a radical departure from the current system seems unlikely. Instead, Dror and other critics who study cognitive bias have pushed for a process called linear sequential unmasking, in which a medical examiner first conducts an autopsy and makes only medical observations, then carefully factors in any external information as necessary. Advocates of this process say it separates objective, medicine-based observations from the more subjective conclusions. Dror says for this reason he was especially baffled by one critic of his study, in particular: Andrew Baker. Its interesting that Baker would be one of our biggest critics, Dror says. The most charitable interpretation of his actions in the Floyd case is that he did exactly what I recommend. At Chauvins trial, Baker testified that he avoided watching the videos of Floyds death because he didnt want to bias his conclusions. It wasnt until after he saw the video that he concluded Chauvins actions contributed to Floyds death. He made preliminary medical observations first, then factored in the nonmedical information as necessary, Dror says. This is exactly how it should be done. The ease with which the deaths of young Black men like Cameron and McClain were initially dismissedand with which others continue to be dismissed todayevokes the ugly racial history of death investigation in the U.S., one in which clear lynchings were classified as undetermined, accidental, suicide, or natural causes, rulings that foreclosed any further criminal investigation. When I first saw the coroners report speculating that Elijah McClains death might have been caused by an undiagnosed mental illness, I recalled a particularly chilling quote from one of those cases, which a young Black woman gave to the journalist John Howard Griffith back in 1954. We couldnt even count the bullet holes in my brothers head, she said. But they called it heart failure. Meet Georgia Gilmore, the cook turned activist who fueled the Montgomery Bus Boycott with her Southern cuisine Georgia Gilmore. Alabama Department of Archives and History. Donated by Alabama Media Group/Photo by Frank Sikora, Birmingham News Netflix's "High on the Hog" celebrated Georgia Gilmore's contribution to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Gilmore created the Club from Nowhere, which sold meals that raised money for the 381-day resistance. She later opened a restaurant in her home with the support of Martin Luther King Jr. Georgia Gilmore was cooking in her Montgomery, Alabama, home in December 1956 with gospel music playing in the background when a radio announcement declared the Montgomery Bus Boycott was over. Gilmore recalled the monumental moment during a 1986 interview with PBS' "Eye on the Prize." It took place just one year after activist Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a public bus to a white man in Alabama's capital. Parks' arrest inspired the city's Black community to boycott the public bus system for 381 days (December 5, 1955 - December 20, 1956) a feat that would have been impossible without Gilmore. The boycott is considered the first large-scale demonstration against segregation in the US, per History.com. During season two of Netflix's "High on the Hog," her legacy is highlighted when host Stephen Satterfield discusses how food and social justice are often intertwined. In episode three, Satterfield and Back in the Day Bakery owner Cheryl Day reminisced on Gilmore's undeniable contributions. "All across the country, the civil-rights movement was being fed by chefs and bakers who met the moment. Not just by feeding the movement, but by funding it," Satterfield said. Gilmore was subjected to repeated instances of racism before the Montgomery Bus Boycott John T. Edge wrote in "The Potlikker Papers: A Food History of the Modern South" that Gilmore was born in Montgomery in February 1920, according to a 2019 report by The New York Times. Edge added that Gilmore, one of seven siblings, worked at the National Lunch Company restaurant when the boycott began. Gilmore and her fellow Black Montgomerians were often subjected to repeated instances of racism in the South. The NYT reported that Gilmore was kicked off a public bus in October 1955, two months before Parks' arrest, because she refused to enter through the back door. Even after the boycott ended, Gilmore continued to face and fight racial discrimination. In 1957, she fought for her son's freedom after police arrested him for walking through a whites-only neighborhood, per the outlet. In another instance, she confronted a white store clerk who refused to sell her grandson bread and a box of detergent by taking his pistol and hitting him with it, the NYT reports. She joined the Montgomery Bus Boycott after attending a community meeting about Rosa Parks' arrest Rosa Parks boarding a public bus. Don Cravens/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images Gilmore told PBS that a meeting of Black community members was called at the Hope Street Baptist Church following Parks' arrest. That night, attendees including Martin Luther King Jr. swore they would not ride the buses beginning on December 5, 1955, until they gained equal rights. Gilmore had concerns that some Black community members wouldn't join the boycott, but she was proven wrong. About 5,000 people attended the meeting, according to the outlet. Martin Luther King Jr. Getty Images "It was really surprising," Gilmore said in the PBS interview. "We thought, maybe, some of the people would continue to ride the bus. But, after all, they had been mistreated and been mistreated in so many different ways until I guess they were tired and they just decided that they just wouldn't ride." According to History.com, about 40,000 Black bus riders, who made up most of the city's riders, participated in the boycott on the first day. Gilmore founded the Club from Nowhere, which sold meals and desserts to help fund the boycott Black Montgomerians rallied together during the boycott in several ways, including staging protests, holding meetings, and launching a carpool system to help people get to work without public transportation. Each effort required money, which is where Gilmore came into the picture. A crowd at Montgomery's First Baptist Church discussing the bus boycott. Bettmann/Getty Images Recognizing her skill in the kitchen, Gilmore volunteered to prepare and later sell food out of her home to help cover costs. She told PBS that other local women soon joined her, and she founded the Club from Nowhere. "In order to make the mass meeting and the boycott be a success and the carpool running, we decided that the peoples on the south side would get a club and the peoples on the west side would get a club," Gilmore said. "We decided that we wouldn't name the club anything. We'd just say it was the Club from Nowhere." The NYT reported that the Club from Nowhere sold fried fish, pork chops, lima beans, fried chicken, and baked goods like pound cakes. According to a 2018 report by NPR, the Club from Nowhere's profits went toward car insurance, gas, wagon and vehicle repairs, and more. Gilmore told PBS they also collected monetary donations from community members who couldn't attend the meetings. Gilmore added that the club raised as much as $200 a week, "which was very nice of the people because so many of the people who didn't attend the mass meetings would give the donation to help keep the carpool going." A group of Montgomery women walking to work during the boycott. Don Cravens/Getty Images Gilmore was fired after participating in the boycott but pursued a new path with encouragement from King The NYT reported that Gilmore was still working at the National Lunch Company when a Montgomery County grand jury indicted King for his role in the boycott in February 1956. However, Gilmore decided to testify on King's behalf, leading to her being fired. "All these years you've worked for somebody else," King told Gilmore, per Edge. "Now it's time you worked for yourself." Gilmore opened up a restaurant inside her home that served both Black and White patrons with the help of King, who gave her money to purchase necessary supplies. Edge wrote that prominent figures like Presidents Robert F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson were among her guests. She continued her activism after the Montgomery Bus Boycott ended in December 1956 The United States Supreme Court desegregated public buses in November 1956, and King ended the boycott one month later. "We felt that we had accomplished something that no one ever thought would ever happen in the city of Montgomery, and being able to ride the bus and sit any place on the bus that you desire was something that hadn't ever happened before," Gilmore told PBS. Community members pictured using the car system during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Don Cravens / The Chronicle Collection / Getty Images The NYT reported that Gilmore continued to fight against racial injustice during her life, including in December 1958 when she was part of a class-action lawsuit to desegregate local public parks. Per the outlet, Gilmore died in March 1990 at the age of 70 due to peritonitis. She died while preparing a meal to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the march from Selma to Montgomery. Her food was served to the mourners, according to the NYT. Read the original article on Insider Omid Scobie has suggested the Duchess of Sussex could become the new Martha Stewart amid ongoing speculation about her career since resigning from the royal family three years ago. Scobies new book Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchys Fight for Survival will be released in the UK on 28 November. In a new interview with The Independent, the 42-year-old journalist claimed Meghan might embark on a career like Stewarts in the wake of her and Prince Harrys departure from the royal family. He said that while Meghan is unlikely to revive her lifestyle blogThe Tig, shes focussed on building something more accessible, something rooted in her love of details, curating, hosting, lifes simple pleasures, and family instead. When asked to elaborate, Scobie replied: Im not being deliberately mysterious. My mind always goes to [Gwyneth Paltrows lifestyle business] Goop, but when I suggested that to someone with some knowledge they said, Oh, no, this isnt going to be about selling products. So who knows? The next Martha Stewart? The 82-year-old lifestyle guru, Stewart wears many hats: cookbook author, television personality, businesswoman, media mogul. Scobie also suggested that Meghan is waiting to escape the shadow of the royal family before launching a new venture. They insisted the reason she didnt come to the coronation was because of Archies birthday, he said. But I know from other people in their orbit, being dragged into all the media coverage and hysteria that comes with her being within 10 feet of the royal family was enough to deter her and is clearly something she wants to steer away from. The Independent has contacted a representative for the Sussexes for comment. (Calder Publicity/HarperCollins) There has been near-ongoing speculation about which way Meghan will steer her career in the aftermath of quitting the royal family. When she signed with renowned talent agency William Morris Endeavour in April, fans theorised that it meant the former Suits actor was eyeing an acting comeback. According to Variety, however, the scope of the deal only covers film and TV production projects, brand tie-ups and business development, while acting will not be a focus. Earlier this month, it was suggested that Meghan could follow in the footsteps of broadcaster Oprah Winfrey by landing a US talk show. Royal expert and author of a book about King Charles, Christopher Andersen said he would be surprised if the duchess doesnt end up hosting a daytime syndicated talk show in an interview with Fox News. She certainly seems well-suited to that role in particular, and I can easily see her pursuing a career path similar to Oprahs in the media: a show, a magazine, producing, directing the works, the 74-year-old American journalist said. She still has a sizeable chunk of the viewing public in her corner. Scobies new book examines the monarchys bid to remain relevant in the 21st century, as he explores the allegedly strained relationship between King Charles and Prince William, the impossibility of a reconciliation between the heir and spare, Prince Harry, as well as Princess Kates bid to become future queen. You can read The Independents review here. Former first lady Melania Trump is expected to join her contemporaries and other leaders at a memorial tribute service for the former first lady Rosalynn Carter. Trump will be joined by other living former first ladies including Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush the Carter Center said Monday in a news release announcing the guest list for the Tuesday service at Emory University in Atlanta. JIMMY CARTER HAD ONE OF THE 'GREATEST SECOND ACTS' IN AMERICAN HISTORY, CONSERVATIVE HISTORIAN SAYS Former U.S. President Donald Trump and former first lady Melania Trump arrive for an event at his Mar-a-Lago home on Nov. 15, 2022 in Palm Beach, Florida. The former fist lady will attend a memorial tribute service for Rosalynn Carter. In addition to the former first ladies, President Biden, First Lady Jill Biden as well as Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff are all slated to attend the invitation-only service. Former President Donald Trump was not among the guests listed to attend the event. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Trump campaign. Carter passed away in Georgia last week at age 96 after being admitted to a hospice. Her husband, former President Jimmy Carter, will also attend her tribute service. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP The couple were married for 77 years. Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter and Jimmy Carter attend Former President Jimmy Carter surprise 70th birthday party at The Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta. Carter will attend a tribute service for his wife this week. The tribute service will also feature the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, which will play some of Rosalynn Carters "most beloved tunes," the Carter Center said. Original article source: Melania Trump expected to attend Rosalynn Carter tribute service, former President Trump not on guest list MEMPHIS, Tenn. Congressman Steve Cohen and Mayor Jim Strickland celebrated a major milestone at Melrose High School on Monday as many graduates reunited inside the building before the official grand opening. The final stages of renovations are underway at the Orange Mound school and Congressman Steve Cohen says he secured a $3 million federal appropriation. Report of armed man near school causes stir in Midtown The old high school closed in the 1970s. Now, more than 80 years after the building was originally built, the $16-million renovation project is now on its way to completion. Class of 73. I was in the last class that left this building and went to the new building, said Claudette Boyd, a graduate. Suspect IDd after car burglar fires shots at victim, business on Poplar Cohen says in about a month the old high school will have a genealogy center, cafe, senior living apartments, and the first branch library in Orange Mound history. Strickland also announced a new playground is set to open near the building next fall. Community members say next on their agenda is securing a middle school for the area. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 28) Miss Universe Philippines Michelle Marquez Dee said she went to El Salvador with no backup gowns as she believed she would be showcasing two perfect and iconic pieces on the international stage. "I just traveled with two perfect gowns because we really believe in quality over quantity," Dee told CNN Philippines' New Day on Tuesday. Dee flaunted a sparkly green gown during the preliminaries and showcased a tattoo-inspired black gown during the semifinals. She said the evening gowns, designed by Mark Bumgarner, honored two iconic Filipinos her mother and Miss International 1979 Melanie Marquez, and 106-year-old tattoo artist Apo Whang-od. But they were actually not part of the team's seven to eight initial sketches, Dee added. "I'm just glad I was able to make the top 10 to actually walk on stage with the gown," the beauty queen said of the now-iconic black evening gown. "Before they even called the Philippines for top 10, in my head I was like, 'How do I release this gown?'" she added. During the preliminaries, Dee also strutted down the catwalk with an airplane themed national costume as a nod to her military training. It also featured the "Love the Philippines" slogan as she wanted to promote tourism as well. Dee ended her Miss Universe campaign in the Top 10. Aside from winning the Best National Costume Award, she was among the winners of the "Voice for Change" challenge. The Memo: Newsom and DeSantis prepare to square off for Fox debate The most unusual debate of the 2024 election cycle so far is set for Thursday, when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) takes on California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Fox News. Adding to the spectacle, the moderator for the 90-minute clash will be Sean Hannity. The debate, which will air at 9 p.m. ET, will have none of the formality of the three GOP primary debates so far. But there are real stakes for each man. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. For DeSantis, it is a rare opportunity to command center stage without anyone else stealing his thunder. The Florida governors campaign has underperformed so far, and his polling deficit behind former President Trump has widened. Meanwhile, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley has outshined him at the debates, a key factor helping her move up in the polls and loosen DeSantiss grip on the No. 2 spot. Newsom, for his part, is clearly positioning himself as a national figure within the Democratic Party. He has tamped down speculation that he would challenge President Biden for the nomination this year. But he would still be one of the most obvious alternatives if any serious mishap occurred for the 81-year-old Biden and, even if that does not happen, he has established himself as a top-tier candidate for the future. Adding an extra frisson to Thursday evenings clash is the perception that the two men truly dont like each other. They have been publicly feuding for well more than a year, at least since Newsom bought TV ad time in Florida to tweak DeSantis in mid-2022. Newsom has hit DeSantis over the Florida governors support for more stringent abortion bans, his enthusiasm for purging wokeness from school curricula and for backing legislation that banned discussion of gender identity among young school students. When DeSantis organized two flights of migrants to Sacramento, Calif., in June, Newsom suggested the Florida governor could face criminal liability and could be culpable of kidnapping. He also called DeSantis a small, pathetic man. DeSantis, for his part, has mocked Newsom for grandstanding rather than taking the plunge into the presidential race. In June, DeSantis suggested Newsom needed to stop pussyfooting around unless he was going to be content to sit on the sidelines and chirp. The one-on-one clash between the two nemeses is likely to draw plenty of viewers. But neutral observers feel it could end up being a win-win situation in part because the two governors constituencies are so different that it seems plausible reaction to the debate will split along predictable lines with partisans cheering on their preferred fighter. Each of them has something to gain from it. It really is not a losing situation for each of them, said Susan MacManus, a professor emerita in political science at the University of South Florida and a veteran political observer in the state. Gov. Newsom is trying to make himself better known across the country and, for Gov. DeSantis, he is hoping to pull more Republicans in to vote for him in the primary. If you think about the nation being polarized, there probably arent two more polarized people than these two. Newsom has been busy building his political profile despite his protestations that there is no way on Gods green earth as he put it back in June that he will challenge Biden. He visited Israel in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that killed around 1,200 Israelis and, later in October, met with Chinese premier Xi Jinping to talk about cooperation on climate issues. Meanwhile, he has also seeded a new political action committee with $10 million and has contributed to the campaign of the Democratic candidate for the mayor of Charleston, S.C. an office that would seem of limited interest to a California governor, except for South Carolinas pivotal position on the presidential primary calendar. Some experts in Newsoms home state argue that his objectives in the feud with DeSantis may have become harder to reach as the Florida governor has fizzled in GOP presidential polling. I think for Newsom the opportunities may be a little bit less than initially anticipated, said Eric Schickler, a professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley. When this first came about, it looked like DeSantis was going to be Trumps main rival and, because of that, DeSantis had established himself as the No. 2 enemy of people on the left. Conversely, Schickler noted, DeSantiss stock has fallen so much that a strong performance on Thursday could be enough of a surprise to put some wind back in his sails. His situation has deteriorated so much since the summer that, certainly, if he was to come across clearly as besting Newsom or showing Newsom up, his campaign would try to use that as proof that he is the one best able to battle the Democrats which was his original argument, he said. Still, for all the hype that exists around the debate, Newsom and DeSantis are seasoned politicians. One might slightly outperform the other on Thursday, but it is hard to envision either one suffering a real catastrophe. Instead, it could end up being an emblematic battle between the nations largest deep-blue state and increasingly red Florida. The key question is really how effective they are as messengers because its pretty clear what each message is, said Tobe Berkovitz, a professor emeritus at Boston University who specializes in political communications. The real interest lies in the battle between their different worldview, he suggested, rather than any major impact on the 2024 race. Three months ago, this would have been the main event. Now its the undercard of Campaign 2024, he said. The Memo is a reported column by Niall Stanage. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Both Atlanta Public Schools and DeKalb Schools are expecting delays for their buses on Tuesday afternoon due to the memorial service for former First Lady Rosalynn Carter. Hope Hill Elementary, Morningside Elementary, Mary Lin Foundation, Springdale Park Elementary, Virginia-Highland Elementary, David T. Howard Middle School and Midtown High School could all experience delays, according to APS. While in DeKalb, Druid Hills High, Druid Hills Middle, Fernbank Elementary, and Briar Vista Elementary, are expected to have delays in their afternoon bus service. Carter died on Nov. 19 at the age of 96 at the familys home in Plains. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The service will be held at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church on the campus of Emory University at 1 p.m. Enhanced security measures will be in place, given the expected attendance of former President Jimmy Carter and current President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, among others. Other guests include former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former first lady Laura Bush, former first lady Michelle Obama and former first lady Melania Trump. RELATED STORIES: [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] A Met officer has defended Tasering a 10-year-old girl after she threatened her mother with garden shears. PC Jonathan Broadhead fired his Taser at the girl twice at her home in Brixton in south-west London on 21 January 2021. He is accused of using force "which was not necessary, reasonable and proportionate" against the girl. Giving evidence at a misconduct hearing on Tuesday, the police officer said he felt using the Taser was "necessary". PC Broadhead and a colleague were dispatched to the girls home after her mother reported that her daughter had threatened her with garden shears and a hammer. The mother opened the front door to PC Broadhead when he arrived, after which the girl picked up the shears from the ground, the hearing heard. Body-worn camera footage of both PC Broadhead and his colleague who attended the incident was played to the misconduct hearing panel. 'Put it down now' Referring to the gardens shears, the officer described how he shouted at the girl to put it down now. But, he said, he made the decision to fire the Taser within 10 seconds after shouting a further warning to her as she ran up some stairs. I was worried what her intentions were with the shears," he said. "She had seen the officers and picked the shears up. I was worried what shed do with them. He said he felt "panicked", was "unsure who was in the house" and where she was going with them. Miss A, the girls mother, who gave evidence on Monday, claimed her daughter had hit her with the hammer before police arrived, but said she was a safe distance away from her when officers got there, and did not want her to be shot with a Taser. PC Jonathan Broadhead argued the use of the Taser was "necessary to control the perceived threat" Olivia Checa-Dover, the barrister presenting the case for the Independent Office for Police Conduct, said the incident breached professional standards. She argued PC Broadhead failed to factor in the girl's age and by not considering that, it contributed to an "unacceptable outcome". But PC Broadhead said "her age was considered" and that in his "urgent judgement", he believed Tasering "was necessary to control the perceived threat". The hearing continues. 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 A Mexican restaurant famous for its upscale street tacos is joining the Coconut Grove Renaissance. Bartaco, which began life in 2010 in Port Chester, New York, is opening a third South Florida location in Commodore Plaza in Coconut Grove. The new Bartaco is larger than its sister properties in Aventura and Wynwood and will become the flagship for the brand. The two-story space includes a second story that wraps around a sunny atrium. Located next to Greenstreet Cafe, Bartaco has changed its look as a tribute to the building it sits in, which was built in 1973. The concrete floors shine with bits of green sea glass, and vintage lights hang from the ceiling to illuminate arched stucco walls adorned with photos and art by Sasa Mahr-Batuz, one of the Bartaco founders. People line up for this Miami bakers bagels. Now hes opening a new shop in the Grove Upstairs at the new Bartaco in Coconut Grove. The menu, however, will be familiar to anyone who has visited one of the brands 28 locations, spread across 12 states and Washington, D.C. The featured tacos include Baja fish, chile lime shrimp, crispy oyster, roasted duck sesame ribeye, seared chorizo and glazed pork belly, among others. A tuna tatako taco comes with bibb lettuce in place of the taco shell. There are also starters like street corn, esquites and chicken tortilla soup as well as rice bowls, ceviche and tuna poke, plus a signature dessert (churros with chocolate and vanilla sauce). Margaritas are always made with fresh-squeezed juice, including the signature green margarita, with spinach, pineapple and mango juice. Bartaco first arrived in Florida in 2015, when it opened a location in Tampa. Orlando followed a year later, with the Aventura restaurant opening in 2019. Bartaco Where: 3112 Commodore Plaza, Coconut Grove Opening: Nov. 29 Hours: 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sunday-Wednesday; 11 a.m.-midnight Thursday-Saturday A booth at Bartaco in Coconut Grove A Miami woman ran over her own 12-year-old child in a failed attempt to try to stop a street fight he was caught up in Monday, police said. Quantavia Samuel, 33, was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. She was still being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center as of Tuesday night. Around 6 p.m., Miami Police officers rushed to a neighborhood in the 500 block of Northwest 77th Street near Little Haiti to reports of threats being made with a firearm, according to a police report. They arrived to find Samuel and her son yelling and cursing outside of a home. Officers promptly detained her. Her son told officers he had been attacked earlier by two teens, a 13-year-old and 15-year-old, the police report read. He said the older teen pulled out a black handgun during the fight. The boy called his mother, who was at their house nearby, for help. In the midst of the fight, the 12-year-old was hit by Samuels car. She picked him up off the ground as the two teens ran away. Samuel and her son chased them back to their house, the report read. As police were speaking to the young boy he was complaining his leg and hip hurt. He was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital and is not suffering from serious injuries, police said. Officers also spoke to the two teens who allegedly attacked the 12-year-old. Their story was quite different. The 13-year-old said it was actually Samuels son who began to shout and curse at him, threatening to pull out a gun and shoot him, the report read. The boy agreed to fight him later and ran back home to get his cousin, who was to act as a referee. During the scheduled fight, which the 13-year-old says he won, he saw Samuels SUV barreling toward him. The 13-yeasr-old and his cousin were able to get out of the path of the car, but the 12-year-old was hit. Because there was no evidence to substantiate the claims of one of the teens having a gun, the young boys were not charged, the report said. The investigation is still open. This is a Their statement vs. their statement situation, Miami Police spokeswoman Kiara Delva said. Since it remains an ongoing investigation, additional charges can be forthcoming as additional details become known. The Florida Department of Children and Families is also investigating. A Michigan woman has opened the first Black woman-owned vinyl record shop in her city. Della Marie Levi officially made history when her store, Della Soul Records, opened its doors for business on Nov. 4 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Its a childhood dream that finally came to life for Levi, who grew up listening to her fathers vinyl record collection. Ive always loved music. My father was a record collector growing up. He loved vinyl records. He was in the special zone whenever he listened to his vinyl records, Levi said in an interview with WoodTV. Reflecting on her childhood, Levi said she remembers the weekends in the 1980s when her father would sit back and enjoy his records. My father would sit in his favorite chair, with a cocktail, and dimmed lights. He would listen to his records and sing along, Levi wrote on her website. My daddy was happy and content. Those records brought him so much joy. He was in a beautiful zone surrounded by music. My father transitioned in 2008; however, those moments serve as beautiful memories. The Michigan entrepreneur played with vinyl records when she first launched her career as a DJ. For many years, I desired to learn the art of DJing on vinyl. In early 2021, with the help of an experienced DJ mentor (DJ James B), research, and practice, I became a DJ, DJ Della Soul, Levi continued on her site. When I commit to doing something, I do not allow myself to quit, only to re-work the idea in order to make it better. Levi decided to take her career to another level by opening a vinyl records store. I started collecting vinyl and I thought, what is my next going to be? And I said, Im going to own a record store, and here we are, Levi said in her interview with WoodTV. The ultimate goal for Levi is to provide a space where her customers can feel comfortable and connect with fellow music lovers. I want to be here for a while. I want people to know where to find me. I want them to know that this is a space for them, she said. Levi shows gratitude to her late father for being her inspiration. I know if he were still alive, he would be in this store today listening to music, sitting on my sofa and beaming from ear to ear with joy, she said. Della Soul Records website states that its vinyl prices are affordable and its store offers various genres of music. I chased after and caught this dream of owning a quirky, quaint, eccentric, and colorful record store at age 48! Levi wrote on her business website. My record store is a community hub, a place to buy vinyl and unique gifts, and a space to enjoy intimate listening sessions with local artists. I am bringing the community a place to celebrate music, culture, Blackness, vinyl, light, love, and energy. Officials are still waiting to hear on the cause of death for Jason Thompson. Aire images/Getty Images A man's body was found in the ventilation system of a community college in Michigan. The college said it discovered the body of Jason Thompson, 36, after being told about a "foul odor." School police said no foul play is suspected yet and an investigation is ongoing. A Michigan community college investigating a "foul odor" in one of its buildings discovered the body of a 36-year-old man in a ventilation system on Sunday. Macomb Community College officials said the body was identified as Jason Thompson, a man who was reported missing earlier this month, the Macomb Daily reported. Thompson's body was discovered when authorities were called to the Macomb Center for Performing Arts due to a "foul odor," the college police department said, per NBC News. The center had scheduled two performances for a musical that afternoon, according to the its website. School police are still the medical examiner to determine the cause of death, per Macomb Daily. Thompson was last seen by his family on October 25, and was reported missing on November 1. "There is no reason to suspect foul play," school police Chief William Leavens said, according the local newspaper. "At this point, it is important to remember that this is an ongoing investigation with the goal to understand the circumstances." "The college community extends heartfelt condolences during this difficult time to Mr. Thompson's family and friends," school officials said in a statement, per the Macomb Daily. Read the original article on Business Insider FILE - One of more than 4,000 solar panels constructed by DTE Energy lines a 9.37-acre swath of land in Ann Arbor Township, Mich., Sept. 15, 2015. Michigan will join four other states in requiring utility providers to transition to 100% carbon-free energy generation by 2040 under legislation that will soon be signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. (Ryan Stanton/Ann Arbor News via AP, File) LANSING, Mich. (AP) Michigan is implementing one of the nations most ambitious clean energy mandates, aiming to be carbon-free by 2040 in what is a pivotal test of the Democrats environmental goals in a state with a long-standing manufacturing legacy. Michigan will join four other states in requiring utility providers to transition to 100% carbon-free energy generation by 2040 under legislation signed Tuesday by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The state has also set a goal for utilities to generate 50% of their energy from renewable sources by 2030, a significant leap from the current 12%. The state-level mandates support the Biden administration's goals of a carbon pollution-free electricity sector by 2035 and a net-zero emissions economy by no later than 2050. The clean energy package, which was approved by Democrats in the Michigan Legislature this month, has been lauded by environmental groups. Lisa Wozniak, executive director of the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, said she hopes Michigans plan serves as a model for other states. Michigan is at the heart of the industrial Midwest. What happens here sets the tone for what could happen all across this country," Wozniak said. Michigan ranked 11th in electricity consumption nationwide in 2021, with a majority of it coming from coal, natural gas and motor gasoline. Of the 12% produced through renewable sources last year, most came from winds that sweep across the Great Lakes. A resource that naturally replenishes over time and is derived from solar, water or wind power is considered renewable. Under the package, clean energy includes renewable sources along with nuclear energy and natural gas. Natural gas can be used only if utilities capture and store the carbon emissions. Meeting the 50% renewable energy goal by 2030, and 60% five years later, will require a massive buildout of utility-scale renewable energy resources in Michigan. Just over 17,000 acres (6,880 hectares) of land in the state are currently used for wind and solar generation, according to Dan Scripps, chairman of the Michigan Public Service Commission. Scripps told lawmakers during a Nov. 7 committee hearing that an additional 209,000 acres (84,579 hectares) of land will be needed for projects to hit the 60% renewable energy goal. To achieve this, Michigan lawmakers will give the states Public Service Commission the authority to supersede local governments for the approval of these large projects. The provision has quickly become the package's most contentious element. A local government coalition, including the Michigan Association of Counties, has strongly opposed it, with the Michigan Township Association arguing it stifles the input of local officials and residents in communities where these facilities are set to operate for the next several decades. Public reaction to the Democrats ambitious energy plan could have wide-reaching implications for the party in 2024. Michigan was a critical component of the Democrats' blue wall that also includes Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and that helped Joe Biden win the White House in 2020. The clean energy plan became possible only after Michigan Democrats last year flipped both chambers of the Legislature while holding power in the governors office to win full control of state government for the first time in four decades. The legislation signed Tuesday will also increase energy efficiency requirements and raise the cap on rooftop solar from 1% to 10% of each utilitys five-year average peak load. Connecticut, New York, Oregon and Minnesota all share Michigans timeline of being carbon-free by 2040 while Rhode Island has set a goal of using 100% renewable energy by 2033, according to the Clean Energy States Alliance. Questions linger about how well the mandates will work and whether states will stick to the timelines. Michigans legislation includes a provision that allows for extensions on the requirements if good cause is shown. FLINT, Mich. (AP) Officials with the Michigan State Police have placed the Flint posts entire command staff on administrative leave pending an internal investigation. MSP spokesperson Shannon Banner said in a statement that First Lt. Yvonne Brantley, Lt. Michael Philipps and Lt. Thomas Dhooghe were all placed on leave on Wednesday, leaving Third District Assistant Commander Insp. Stephen Sipes in temporary command of the post. Banner said the three commanders were placed on leave in connection with an internal investigation into the promotion process. Banner did not elaborate in the statement. Asked by The Associated Press for additional details in an email Monday afternoon, she declined comment citing the pending investigation. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com. A 13-year-old is accused of bringing a gun to his York County middle school, deputies say. Now, the student is facing charges. According to the sheriffs office, it happened Monday at Castle Heights Middle School near Rock Hill. ALSO READ: Parent charged with bringing weapon to North Meck High School, CMS says The gun was found in the teens jacket pocket when another student tipped off school officials, deputies said. No one was threatened and deputies seized the gun. Both deputies and school officials said they were grateful for the student who reported the gun. (WATCH BELOW: Ghost gun seized after 2 teen girls shot in Uptown Charlotte, CMPD says) Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 28) The shadowing of Chinese fighter jets on a Filipino aircraft during a maritime cooperative activity (MCA) between the Philippines and Australia in the West Philippine Sea is illegal according to international law, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said. If we are going to follow United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the presence of this Chinese aircraft is illegal because UNCLOS clearly defined that maritime area belongs to the Philippines exclusive economic zone, AFP spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar told CNN Philippines The Source on Tuesday. Therefore, they have no reason to be in that area and much more undertake activities that will cause harm or could result in accidents, he added. But of course they were also flying from a distance so the accident did not happen. Chinese jets circled a Super Tucano light attack aircraft of the Philippine Air Force over Hubo Reef in the Kalayaan Island Group on the morning of Nov. 26, the second day of the three-day MCA between the Philippines and Australia. According to Gen. Romeo Brawner, the AFP chief of staff, the Philippine aircraft was flying alone when China's jets converged around it. He said it maintained a straight path and was able to complete its patrol despite Beijing's interference. He added that no radio challenges were issued. Aguilar said this was the first time Beijings fighter jets shadowed Manilas aircraft, but he noted that the practice was also done by the East Asian giant to other countries. If Im not mistaken that was May this year when they tried to conduct dangerous maneuvers while an aircraft coming from the United States and Japan were also on flight over that area, he said. Aguilar said the Department of Foreign Affairs will continue to file diplomatic protests against China over their presence in areas where they are prohibited. The Department of Foreign Affairs said it has yet to receive a full report on the incident. PH respects freedom of navigation and overflight in line with UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea). We will await the full and verified reports from the agencies concerned to see if the filing of protest is warranted, it said. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) warned Monday that an impeachment vote on President Biden would be a political disaster for House Republicans. In an interview with Just the News No Noise on Real Americas Voice, Huckabee said House GOP members should not move to impeach the president without the support of some Democrats. Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) opened an impeachment inquiry into Biden in September that is centered on his familys foreign business dealings. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. Huckabee cautioned it would be a huge mistake to move forward without getting more information. To impeach Joe Biden in the House, knowing its not going to go to the Senate theres no point, he said. All it becomes is a political disaster. Huckabee said that until some Democrats agree with Republicans in that Joe Biden is hopelessly corrupt, the GOP members of the House should focus on other things, such as winning elections. Until that happens, the best thing Republicans can do is keep dribbling out the information of Joes ties to the Communist Chinese Party and business deals, Huckabee said, adding that they should also focus on a message that gets us elected, and reminding people how much better off they were when Donald Trump was president than they have been since Joe Biden has taken the reins. Many Senate Republicans said that they were not happy with McCarthys decision shortly after the inquiry was opened. A handful of senators told The Hill at the time that they were worried an impeachment inquiry could backfire on the party. New Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he fully supported the impeachment inquiry into Biden earlier this month, praising the three committee leaders House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), House Oversight and Accountability Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) and Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) who are spearheading the inquiry. As we move forward toward an inflection point in this critical investigation, they have my full and unwavering support, Johnson said of the committee chairs. Huckabee also blasted the leadership of the Republican National Committee (RNC) in Mondays interview, saying there is no cohesive message. He said under previous leadership before current Chair Ronna McDaniel, there was more coordination throughout the Republican Party. The RNC became a very important part of winning elections, he said. Im not seeing that right now. It seems like that we raise money, but we dont raise that much. But we dont have a message. Theres not a clear, concise and cohesive message that Republicans can rally around, and one that the American people will embrace and say, You know what, thats what I believe; Im going to support that,' Huckabee added. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. As lawmakers began returning to Washington, D.C. on Monday and prepared to reconvene on Tuesday, the saga of Rep. George Santos, the lying gay New York Republican U.S. lawmaker, continued to be a central topic on Capitol Hill. Speaker Mike Johnson, the Louisiana GOP congressman, discussed Santos future with him over the holiday break. Ive spoken to Congressman Santos at some length over the holiday and talked with him about his options, The Hill reported him saying Monday. The conversation came in the context of the House Ethics Committees report, released before the Thanksgiving break, which highlighted Santos alleged misuse of campaign funds for personal extravagances. Related: George Santos Wont Seek Reelection After Scathing Ethics Report Released The Ethics Committees findings provided a damning portrayal of Santos financial conduct. It detailed approximately $10,000 spent at luxury retailers like Ferragamo and Hermes, around $2,280 in Atlantic City for casino visits, and nearly $2,900 on Botox treatments. Of particular note was the accusation of Santos spending campaign money on OnlyFans, a service primarily known for adult content. Two previous expulsion resolutions have failed. The latest, introduced in early November, did not succeed after Johnson expressed hesitation over due process concerns. Other lawmakers, including some Democrats, also did not support the measure for those reasons. Related: George Santos Spent Big Bucks on Designer Luxuries & OnlyFans Porn, Says Hes Done Talking California Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia, a fellow gay member of Congress and active opponent of Santos who has called for his resignation for months expressed his views on Santos conduct in an X (formerly Twitter) Spaces conversation where Santos was present. George, were going to expel you, Garcia said. The right thing for you to do is resign. He emphasized the need for Santos to apologize, highlighting that a real apology would go a long way. Amid this unfolding drama, Santos, through a spokesperson on Monday, announced his intention to hold a press conference on the steps of the Capitol on Thursday morning. This latest revelation is the newest in the saga of Santos, who faces 23 federal felony charges, including wire fraud and identity theft, to which he has pleaded not guilty. Related: George Santos Could Be Expelled From Congress Tonight The Ethics Committee has referred its findings to the Department of Justice, suggesting that Santos might face further legal complications. The upcoming press conference is expected to address these challenges and Santos position in light of the escalating scrutiny and criticism. The potential for Santos expulsion, which he has said he would view as a badge of honor, could make him only the sixth member of Congress to face such a fate. WASHINGTON Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) acknowledged Tuesday that it probably wasnt a federal agent disguised as a Donald Trump supporter in a picture he posted last week. The Utah Republican had said he wanted to ask FBI Director Christopher Wray about a claim on social media that new footage from inside the U.S. Capitol as it was under siege on Jan. 6, 2021, showed a man in a MAGA hat flashing a badge to police officers. The images supposedly bolstered the conspiracy theory that the federal government orchestrated the riot until an NBC News reporter identified the man as Kevin Lyons, an Illinois resident who in July was sentenced to four years in prison for his actions that day. HuffPost caught up with Lee on Tuesday and said that since Lyons was in prison, he was probably not some kind of federal agent. Yeah. Sounds right to me, Lee said. Lee hasnt deleted his social media messages about Lyons or recanted his statements, but his remark on Tuesday showed a willingness to acknowledge facts that some other Republicans dont share. Several House GOP members, for instance, maintained that an Arizona man named Ray Epps must have been working for the government on Jan. 6 even after Epps pleaded guilty in September to disorderly conduct on restricted grounds. If they think that this is going to get me to stop talking about this guy, hell no, its not, Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) told HuffPost. Epps had encouraged other Trump supporters to storm the Capitol and was arbitrarily singled out as a fed by lawmakers looking to deflect blame from the then-president for the attack while Congress met to count the Electoral College vote, which Joe Biden won. The lawmakers echoed dubious amateur video analysis highlighting allegedly suspicious behavior by Epps just as Lee did with Lyons, whose badge turned out to have been a vaping device. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) earlier this month announced Republicans would release thousands of hours of footage from inside the Capitol on Jan. 6 so that people could see the full truth of what happened. Conspiracy theorists have been having a field day with the new material. Lees spokesperson told NBC News last week that the American people deserve to be treated like adults regarding the events of January 6th and should be given all available information. He suggested Tuesday that he had been trying to make a point about the FBI director needing to answer questions in general. I got a lot of questions for the FBI director about all sorts of things, Lee said. Related... Former Vice President Mike Pence initially decided that he would skip the January 6 proceedings to certify President Joe Bidens 2020 election victory before changing his mind. Much of what Mr Pence recently told the office of Special Counsel Jack Smith are statements he has previously made publically, according to ABC News. Investigators got ahold of personal notes that Mr Pence jotted down after meetings, including with former President Donald Trump, from the National Archives. One such note reveals that Mr Pence had decided that he would skip the certification because there were too many questions and that it would be too hurtful to my friend before he concluded that it was his duty to appear. At one point, the special counsels office asked if a comma in his recent book was placed correctly. You know, I dont think I have the authority to change the outcome, Mr Pence wrote that he told Mr Trump, later telling investigators that the comma was misplaced, sources told ABC. The former VP and Indiana governor told the investigators that he intended to write that he rebuked Mr Trump, to say You know I dont think I have the authority to change the outcome and argue that the then-president knew that his second-in-command was unable to use his authority to send the electoral votes back to the states. In his indictment of Mr Trump, Mr Smith noted that Mr Pence said that his then-boss was aware of the restrictions on the vice presidents power. Mr Pence became worried when Mr Trump began to ignore the guidance of credible White House lawyers to instead listen to the likes of Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell. The former vice president told the special counsels office that theres no doubt that Mr Trump knew what I thought of those attorneys, according to ABC. On 21 December 2020, Mr Pence met with Mr Trump alone in the Oval Office when the legal challenges to the election results were not going well but the then-president kept falsely claiming, as he does to this day, that the election was stolen. At this time, Mr Trump had begun telling his supporters to show up in Washington, DC on January 6 for a big protest a precursor to what would become the insurrection. When Mr Trump asked Mr Pence what they should do, Mr Pence said he told him to accept the results ... take a bow, travel around the US to thank supporters and then run again if you want. And Ill never forget, he pointed at me ... as if to say, Thats worth thinking about. And he walked [away], Mr Pence told the special counsel investigators, ABC reported. In the indictment, the special counsel wrote that two days later, Mr Trump re-tweeted a memo titled Operation PENCE CARD, which falsely asserted that the Vice President could, among other things, unilaterally disqualify legitimate electors from six targeted states. But in late December 2020, Mr Pence remained very open to the possibility that there was voter fraud, he told investigators. Mr Trump suggested to Mr Pence that he skip the certification proceedings, the former VP told the special counsels office, according to ABC. But Mr Pence told investigators that he clearly and repeatedly told Mr Trump that rejecting some votes would go against the Constitution. I told him I thought there was no idea more un-American than the idea that any one person could decide what electoral votes to count, Mr Pence told the office in comments similar to what he has said in public previously. I made it very plain to him that it was inconsistent with our history and tradition. On Christmas Eve, he decided that he would let someone else preside over the proceedings, before quickly changing his mind. Not feeling like I should attend electoral count, Mr Pence wrote in his notes at the time. Too many questions, too many doubts, too hurtful to my friend. Therefore Im not going to participate in certification of election. Mr Pence was on vacation in Colorado at the time, with his son, a Marine, sitting across from him. Dad, you took the same oath I took, the VPs son told him, Mr Pence recounted to investigators, saying it was an oath to support and defend the Constitution. It was at that moment that he changed his mind, deciding that he would attend the proceedings. During an earlier meeting with investigators, Mr Pence told the office that hell never believe that Mr Trump intended for January 6 to grow violent. Mr Trump had pleaded not guilty in the federal Capitol riot case and he has accused Mr Pence of making up stories about me, which are absolutely false. Tens of millions of Americans, including Vice President Pence, as he repeatedly stated himself, have had grave and serious concerns about the legitimacy of the rigged and stolen 2020 Presidential Election, further proving that the lawless indictment against President Trump should be summarily dismissed, a Trump spokesperson told ABC. (Bloomberg) -- Javier Mileis incoming administration is shaping up to be one of the most pro-Israel governments in Argentinas history, at a time other Latin American nations have spoken out against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus strategy to eradicate Hamas. Most Read from Bloomberg A week after winning the Nov. 19 runoff election, Milei arrived in New York on Monday morning for his first trip abroad as president-elect and headed straight to the tomb of a famous orthodox Jewish rabbi in Queens. Donning a kippah and all black outfit, he visited Menachem Mendel Schneersons grave to pay respects. The symbolic gesture illustrates how committed the incoming leader is to deepening Argentinas cultural and political ties with Israel while much of Latin America, a Catholic stronghold, remains neutral or even critical. Milei went to the Ohel Chabad Lubavitch before any other meetings with US officials or the International Monetary Fund in Washington. The president-elect intends to convert to Judaism, as per one of his spokespersons, and on Saturday participated in a Jewish ceremony in Buenos Aires where he received a blessing from another rabbi. Less than two weeks before he takes office and without a full cabinet in place, he called the US visit a spiritual trip the second of its kind since early September. It remains unclear when Milei, who grew up Catholic, intends to convert. The incoming presidents fervently pro-Israel stance singles out Argentina, already home to the regions largest Jewish population, as Israels top ally in Latin America. Milei has repeatedly said he plans to visit the country and move Argentinas embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. At the same time, hes only starting to smooth over relations with Pope Francis, who is Argentine, after previously heaping criticism on him as a candidate. While Argentina has traditionally sustained good relationships with Israel outgoing President Alberto Fernandez picked the Middle Eastern nation for his first international trip as head of state in January 2020 Mileis approach contrasts with increasing criticism from Latin Americas leftist leaders over Israels offensive in the Gaza Strip. Earlier this month, Colombian President Gustavo Petro threatened to suspend diplomatic ties after Israeli officials called some of his comments antisemitic, while Chilean leader Gabriel Boric temporary pulled his ambassador from the Jewish state to protest its attack in Gaza. The hard-left government of Bolivia cut off diplomatic relations with Israel altogether, accusing it of crimes against humanity. Brazils Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has taken a more neutral approach, though he too has criticized Israels response. To Carlos Ruckauf, Argentinas vice president in the late 1990s, Mileis trip this week reflects his governments international priorities. To go so early to the US or signal he would go to Israel sends a very clear message about Mileis foreign policy, he said in an interview. The new presidents strategy comes at a time stakes are high: Hamas held up to 21 Argentine nationals hostage after its October attack in Israel, one of the largest nationalities involved in the assault. Four Argentine captives were among the 12 hostages being freed from Gaza on Tuesday, La Nacion newspaper reported, after the government said six others were released on Monday. Argentinas Jewish community approximately 220,000 people has also faced violence at home. In 1992, the Israeli embassy in Argentina was bombed. Two years later, a car bomber attacked the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, killing 85 people and injuring hundreds in Argentinas deadliest terrorist attack. To other observers, Mileis support for Israel represents more a tilt than a shift in the countrys existing policy. His personal passion on the issue, his strong person beliefs, let us anticipate that Argentinas support for Israel will intensify, Juan Cruz Diaz, managing director of Buenos Aires consultancy Cefeidas Group, said. Were talking more about continuity than disruption. (Updates with latest figure of Argentines hostages released from Gaza in 11th paragraph. A previous version was corrected to clarify Milei intends to convert to Judaism.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. Marianna Budanova, the wife of Ukraine's Military Intelligence Chief Kyrylo Budanov, was poisoned, a representative of the military intelligence agency (HUR), not allowed to go public at this time, told the Kyiv Independent on Nov. 28. Military intelligence spokesperson Andrii Yusov officially confirmed that Budanova was poisoned by heavy metals and is undergoing treatment in a comment for Radio Free Europe/Europe Liberty later that day. The Ukrainian media outlet Babel reported earlier on Nov. 28, citing undisclosed military intelligence sources, that Budanova had been hospitalized due to heavy metal poisoning after a prolonged deterioration of her health. The military intelligence representative confirmed Babel's report in a comment for the Kyiv Independent. "The course of treatment is now being completed, and then there will be a check-up by the doctors," Babel's source said. "These substances are not used in any way in everyday life and military affairs. Their presence may indicate a purposeful attempt to poison a specific person." Ukrainska Pravda later reported, citing security service sources, that Budanova "is doing better now as she has undergone the first stage of treatment." Read also: Southern counteroffensive runs out of steam as West scrambles to deliver aid The media refer to Marianna Budanova as a psychologist, volunteer, and public figure. She unsuccessfully ran for the Kyiv City Council as a candidate of Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko's UDAR party in 2020. She has then worked as Klitschko's advisor on combating corruption in youth politics and sports. Budanov said in an August interview for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that his wife Marianna lives with him in his office and that the couple are constantly together for security reasons. The current military intelligence chief served in the Donbas war in 2014, reportedly suffering several injuries during the hostilities. He briefly became the deputy director of Ukraine's foreign intelligence agency in 2020 before he was appointed to lead the military intelligence the same year by President Volodymyr Zelensky. Budanov was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general in September. Yusov previously said that Russia had made more than 10 attempts on Kyrylo Budanov's life. The military intelligence agency is directly subordinate to the country's defense ministry. The agency describes its chief tasks as gathering intelligence, identifying external threats to Ukraine, and combatting terrorism and foreign intelligence activities. While much of its activities remain classified, the military intelligence confirmed responsibility for several attacks against the Russian rear during the full-scale war. Read also: Budanov: Russia has economic strength to fight until 2025 Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. MILLERSBURG A special village council meeting will be held at 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 11, to review results of the traffic study conducted on South Clay Street. An Ohio Department of Transportation representative will attend to discuss speed limits on the state routes in the village. The meeting will be held at Millersburg Village Hall, 6 N. Washington St. This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Millersburg to hold special council meeting MILTON, Fla. (WKRG) A Milton man was arrested on multiple charges after leading police on a chase through two Northwest Florida counties late Tuesday night, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Santa Rosa County inmates death under investigation: Report Deputies with the Santa Rosa County Sheriffs Office were in pursuit of a reckless driver in a Land Rover heading west on I-10, according to an FHP news release. A Florida State Trooper was made aware of the chase as it was heading into Escambia County. The Sheriffs Office called the Tallahassee Regional Communications Center dispatch to notify them about the chase. The State Trooper then became involved in the chase while approaching Scenic Highway. St. Marys Winterfest Arts and Crafts Fair returns to Milton The two SRCSO deputies involved in the initial chase reportedly backed off to allow the state trooper to be the lead vehicle. The trooper used a PIT maneuver, which, the U.S. Department of Justices website states, is a technique used by law enforcement personnel to force a fleeing vehicle to abruptly turn 180 degrees, causing the vehicle to stall and stop. Two more Santa Rosa County units boxed in the vehicle so it could not leave. The male driver, Patrick Colbie Koehler, 27, got out of the car and ran, according to FHP. After Koehler fell to the ground from exhaustion, the trooper was able to arrest him, the release said. A female passenger in the Land Rover did not resist arrest. She was later released. Milton cold weather shelter opens for three days Koehler is charged with fleeing and eluding, habitual traffic offender, felony marijuana possession, methamphetamine possession, resisting without violence and DUI. He also has a felony warrant out of Escambia County, Ala. ALSO ON WKRG.com: Cherish talks Kim Kardashian on Netflix with TMZ For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRG News 5. A lawyer for veterans said that serious injury cases were taking an average of five years to conclude - Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images AsiaPac The Ministry of Defence spent 20 million in a year on its own legal fees fighting soldiers compensation claims. A leading lawyer for veterans accused the MoD of treating our soldiers like the enemy by contesting cases rather than settling them. The huge sum spent on legal fees disclosed following a Freedom of Information request has sparked criticism that the MoD has adopted aggressive tactics intended to stall cases. The taxpayers money spent on legal fees was unearthed by Hilary Meredith-Beckham, a solicitor specialising in military legal cases. The majority of claims are for personal injury or settlements for spouses for deaths in service - Cunaplus_M.Faba/iStockphoto Her firms longest ongoing case is now in its eighth year. The 20 million spent on legal fees by the MoD defending legal claims covers a 12-month period up until April 2022, the most recent year available. In that time, the MoD settled 2,498 claims, the lowest number of cases closed in the past five years. The vast majority of the claims are for personal injury cases or settlements for spouses for deaths in service. In total the MoD paid out 135 million in total compensation and claimants costs, in addition to the 20 million spent on its own legal costs. Ms Meredith-Beckham, founder and chair of Hilary Meredith Solicitors, said: The MoD is treating our soldiers like the enemy. Theyre fighting cases they should be settling and putting our heroes through hell. She said that in civilian claims, lawyers were more willing than ever to work together for the good of the injured person with insurance companies often intervening to settle cases quicker. But, she went on: The MoD remains stuck in the dark ages. Theyre stubbornly defending claims and adopting aggressive and unnecessary stalling tactics. She accused the MoD of defending its own mistakes, adding: The whole culture needs to change. The taxpayers money the MoD is wasting on legal costs would be placed in the hands of those who need it the most - our injured soldiers and veterans. In total the MoD paid out 135 million in total compensation and claimants costs, in addition to the 20 million spent on its own legal costs - domhnall20/iStockphoto She said that serious injury cases were taking an average of five years to conclude. Any sensible insurer would be negotiating a settlement but the MoD is continuing to fight. There is a total lack of independence in their approach, she said. The cost and time taken to settle claims is deeply embarrassing for the Government which has set a goal of making the UK the best country in the world to be a military veteran. It adds to growing pressure on ministers to reform the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, which processes the vast majority of claims. Lawyers accuse the scheme of rejecting legitimate claims as well as causing delays. The MoD has been approached for comment. 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. Missiles were fired toward a US Navy destroyer responding to an attempted hijacking near Yemen. The same warship was targeted in this area years ago. The US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Mason pulls alongside a fleet replenishment oiler in the Atlantic Ocean, July 17, 2021. US Navy/Bill Mesta/Handout via REUTERS Missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled territory toward a US Navy ship responding to an attempted hijacking on Monday. The ship, the destroyer USS Mason, was targeted by the Iran-backed rebels near Yemen a few years ago. The Houthis' involvement in the Israel-Hamas war has led the US to take defensive measures. Missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled territory on Monday toward a US Navy destroyer that rescued a commercial vessel from an attempted hijacking off the coast of Yemen. It's the same American warship that the Iran-backed rebels targeted in the area a few years ago. USS Mason responded on Sunday to a distress call from the M/V Central Park, which came under attack from an "unknown entity," US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement. When the Mason arrived at the scene alongside allied ships, they demanded the release of the Central Park. Five armed individuals left the ship and tried to flee on a small boat, but the Mason chased them down and forced their surrender, CENTCOM said, adding that the crew of the Central Park is safe. A Pentagon official later told Business Insider the initial assessment indicates that the attackers were Somali pirates. But as the Mason wrapped up its response to the Central Park distress call shortly before 2 a.m. local time on Monday morning, two ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen "toward the general location" of the two ships, CENTCOM said. The missiles landed around 10 nautical miles from the ships in the Gulf of Aden, a body of water that separates Yemen from Somalia, and there was no damage or injuries reported from either vessel. A CENTCOM official told Insider the missiles came from an area in Yemen known for significant Houthi activity but did not say definitely that the Houthis were behind the missile launch. USS Mason Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Blake Midnight/U.S. Navy via AP "Maritime domain security is essential to regional stability," said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, the CENTCOM commander, in a statement. "We will continue to work with allies and partners to ensure the safety and security of international shipping lanes." The Mason, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, is part of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group (CSG), which was dispatched to the eastern Mediterranean in mid-October in response to the Israel-Hamas war. Earlier this month, the CSG sailed through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea, and the US Navy said on Sunday that it had traveled through the Strait of Hormuz and into the Arabian Gulf. Elements of a strike group are sometimes spread out over an area, as opposed to bunched together. Monday's incident marks the second time in recent years that the Mason has had missiles fired in its direction in this area. In 2016, Houthi rebels launched missiles at the warship and another US Navy vessel, prompting the Mason to fire its own missiles to intercept the inbound threats. The US military later retaliated by launching several strikes on coastal radar sites in Yemen. "Those who threaten our forces should know that the US commanders retain the right to defend their ships, and we will respond to this threat at the appropriate time and in the appropriate manner," the Pentagon said at the time. Houthi military helicopter hovers over the Galaxy Leader cargo ship as Houthi fighters walk on the ship's deck in the Red Sea in this photo released November 20, 2023. Houthi Military Media/Handout via REUTERS The missiles fired Monday missed the Mason by a great distance, but a Pentagon official told Business Insider that the warship and the Central Park were still in the direct path of the threats. Given the point of origin for the missiles, Monday's incident potentially marks a notable escalation in what has been a string of provocations by the Houthis since the Israel-Hamas war began more than seven weeks ago. The Houthis have launched drones and missiles that US Navy warships in the Red Sea have had to shoot down. Last week, CENTCOM said a destroyer on patrol downed "multiple one-way attack drones" that came from Yemen. And the militants also shot down an American MQ-9 Reaper drone that was operating in international airspace earlier this month. The Iran-backed rebels also staged a dramatic helicopter raid on November 19 of an internationally flagged cargo ship and hijacked the vessel, taking its entire crew hostage. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the incident as "another act of Iranian terrorism." The Houthis have also directed their attacks at Israeli territory, firing long-range missiles and drones and forcing the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to activate the upper layer of its sophisticated air-defense network. The Houthis are one of several Iran-backed groups now directly involved in the conflict. Hezbollah in Lebanon routinely exchanges fire with the IDF across the border, while US forces based in Iraq and Syria have come under fire dozens of times in recent weeks from Iran-backed militias. Read the original article on Business Insider Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 28) The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is hopeful that Filipino overseas worker Noralyn Babadilla would be located or released by Hamas after the truce in Gaza between Israel and the Palestinian militant group was extended. Speaking to CNN Philippines The Source on Tuesday, DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said the government still has no information regarding the whereabouts of Babadilla, but added that it is using its contacts to at least get confirmation [that she is] in fact a hostage. It may be possible that shes a hostage or there are maybe even other FIlipinos who are hostages. Wed like to [get] them as soon as possible, he said. However, De Vega said Gelienor Jimmy Pacheco, the Filipino caregiver who was in the first batch of hostages freed by Hamas, does not know of any other Filipino hostage aside from himself. Some 50 Israeli women and children have been released from captivity in Gaza since the four-day truce was struck. The pause, which was initially only up until Monday, has been extended for two more days. READ: Deal reached to extend Israel-Hamas truce by two days, Qatar says De Vega said the government is in touch with Babadillas family in Israel. Hopefully, Miss Babadilla will be among those [to be released] because the alternative will be very distressing, De Vega said. That would mean that she was one of those who were killed in the original attack whose body has not been not found or identified. But miracles happen. Lets pray for the best, he added. Pacheco considering embassy advice Meanwhile, De Vega said Pacheco is reconsidering his decision to remain in Israel. Now, he is considering the advice of the Philippine Embassy that he should stay in the Philippines and possibly put up a business. He was seriously considering it, the DFA official said. Pacheco, whose release was confirmed on Saturday, is getting better by the day after he was discharged from the hospital on Sunday, De Vega said. However, De Vega said the OFW was advised by Israelis to not speak about their captivity so as not to derail efforts to get other hostages released. De Vega said Pacheco was not physically harmed during his captivity and only got injured during the Oct. 7 attack. Hes still in some sort of trauma because he saw his employer get killed before he was taken, the DFA official said. Well hear eventually from him about it but hes very thankful to the Lord and all of us because everyone hoped for his release, along with other hostages. And he feels fortunate that hes among the first released, he added. Pacheco will be coming home to the Philippines on the second or third week of December or before Christmas, according to De Vega. An empty kayak belonging to a fisherman who went missing on a lake in Wisconsin over the weekend has been found, authorities said Monday. Michael Iriarte, 41, was last seen around 3 p.m. Sunday on Lake Butte Des Morts in the town of Omro, the Winnebago County Sheriffs Office said. Iriarte had launched a kayak in Sammers Bay to go fishing near Terrells Island. Iriartes family notified the sheriffs office around 5:40 p.m. that he had failed to return from the trip. The sheriffs office launched a search with help from the Omro police and fire departments, a warden from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and other first responders. 5-YEAR-OLD GIRL DIES, SEARCH SUSPENDED FOR GRANDFATHER AFTER WAVE SWEEPS THEM OUT TO SEA AT CALIFORNIA BEACH Michael Iriarte, 41, went missing on Lake Butte Des Morts in Omro, Wisconsin, on Sunday. The search lasted several hours, with drones being used to cover an extensive area around Terrells Island, Sammers Bay and Spring Brook. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP Officials ultimately suspended the search Sunday night after "all available search efforts were exhausted or proven ineffective," the sheriffs office said. Iriarte was last seen wearing a blue and gray life jacket, a dark blue jacket, dark-colored pants, brown boots, a face mask and hat. The search resumed Monday morning with boats and a plane, while ground teams scoured the coastline on foot. Iriartes kayak was found just before 1:30 p.m., the sheriffs office confirmed. Iriarte, however, has yet to be located. TRAVELING NURSE PRACTITIONER GOES MISSING ON HIKING TRAIL IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA Bill Martin was at the scene when teams discovered the kayak, telling WGBA-TV that he got a "gut-wrenching feeling" as he watched them pull the kayak out of the water. "I was looking through my binoculars to look for ducks, and I saw them pull the purple and white kayak out onto the shore and kind of got a sick feeling in my stomach," Martin said. "It's somebody's, you know, somebody's son," Martin told the station. "I just wish the family the best. It's tough, especially this time of year in between the holidays." Iriarte was last seen wearing a blue and gray life jacket, a dark blue jacket, dark-colored pants, brown boots, a face mask and hat. CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Authorities asked anyone with information about Iriarte to contact the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office at 920-236-7300, extension zero, or 911. Original article source: Missing Wisconsin fishermans kayak found day after disappearance on lake TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) A Florida airman has been accounted for nearly 80 years after he died fighting against German forces during World War II, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced Monday. U.S. Army Air Force Staff Sgt. Franklin P. Hall, 21, of Leesburg, was assigned to the 66th Bombardment Squadron, 44th Bombardment Group (Heavy) in the European Theater. Source: DPAA Hall was killed on Jan. 21, 1944 when his plane, a B-24D Liberator Queen Marlene, was attacked by enemy air forces near Equennes-Eramecourt, France. World War II pilot laid to rest in St. Pete after 80 years MIA The German military recovered nine sets of remains from the crash site, but Halls were not accounted for. The American Graves Registration Command (AGRC) searched the area the following year, but were unable to find his remains, and on March 01, 1951, he was declared non-recoverable. The DPAA said its historians later learned two sets of remains buried in Normandy American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site, could be linked to Hall. In April 2018, the remains were disinterred and sent to a lab for analysis and identification. It was later determined one set belonged to Hall. The DPAA said Hall was accounted for in July, but his family just received a full briefing on his identification. File video: World War II pilot Lt. Gilbert H. Myers laid to rest in St. Pete after 80 years MIA Hall will be buried in Leesburg on a date to be determined. Right now, his name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at Ardennes American Cemetery, France. A rosette will be placed next to it to show he was accounted for, the DPAA said. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. A World War II pilot who went missing in action is returning home to Charlotte nearly 80 years later. Fred L. Brewer Jr. a pilot who flew in the European Theater with the Tuskegee Airmen disappeared with his plane when it crashed over the Udine area of Italy in 1944, the U.S. Army said. He was 23. Now, thanks to DNA testing, Brewer has been identified, and his remains will be buried at Salisbury National Cemetery. On Oct. 19, 1944, Brewer a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Forces left the Ramitelli Air Base in Italy with 56 others. Heavy clouds set in while the bomber group was on its way to Regensburg, Germany. Brewer tried to escape atop them, but the engine on his P-51C Mustang, Traveling Light, stalled over Austria, according to previous reporting from The Charlotte Observer. Other fighters reported the cockpits cover, or canopy, opened, but Brewer never ejected. Ten days later, he was declared dead. After serving in the U.S. Army as a pilot for about three months, second lieutenant Fred L. Brewer, of Charlotte, died. Plane wreckage and Brewers remains found In 2011, researchers found airplane wreckage used to create a memorial in Moggio Udinese for Americans who died during World War II. Nearby, they also found Brewers remains which were still unidentified in a civilian cemetery. He was buried there, in northeast Italy, in 1946, according to the U.S. Army. The Army moved Brewers remains to the Florence American Cemetery in Italy. They stayed buried until 2022, when scientists again exhumed him for more advanced forensic analysis. Photo of second lieutenant Fred L. Brewer Jr. in March of 1944. He died in October 1944, researchers have determined, but his remains werent identified until this August. On Aug. 10, 2023, officials confirmed the remains were Brewers. Now, his name recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery will be accompanied by a rosette indicating he has been accounted for. Back home, in Charlotte, Grier Funeral Service will give a graveside service before Brewer is again buried on Dec. 6. JACKSON, Miss. (AP) A longtime Mississippi lawmaker was sentenced Monday to two years of probation and has already paid nearly $85,000 in restitution, months after he pleaded guilty to a federal charge of willfully making a false statement on a tax return. Democratic Rep. Earle Banks of Jackson was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves. Banks conviction does not prevent him from continuing to serve at the state Capitol and he intends to remain in office, according to his attorney Rob McDuff. Banks, 69, is a funeral director and attorney. He has been in the House since 1993. When he pleaded guilty in May, Banks admitted failing to report more than $500,000 of income from the 2018 sale of real estate that had been in his family for many years, McDuff said. Crockett County, TN school principal arrested on DUI charge A federal charging document showed Banks claimed adjusted gross income of $38,237, even though he knew he had received more than $500,000 from the sale of real estate. Banks has paid restitution of $84,766, McDuff said Monday. Banks could have faced up to three years in prison for the guilty plea. Conviction of many felony charges disqualifies people from holding public offices in Mississippi, but convictions for manslaughter or violating federal tax laws do not prevent people from seeking or holding office, including a legislative seat. Banks was unopposed for reelection this year in House District 67, which is entirely in Hinds County. He ran unsuccessfully for a Mississippi Supreme Court seat in 2012. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that it is totally unnecessary for Israel to abide by U.S. standards regarding conditions for military aid offering a rare high-level acknowledgment that the United States does not apply the law to Israel as it does to other countries. Asked about conversations among Democratic senators about putting additional conditions on aid to Israel amid its devastating offensive in the Palestinian territory of Gaza, the Kentucky Republican told reporters: I think its ridiculous. Our relationship with Israel is the closest national security relationship we have with any country in the world, and to condition, in effect, our assistance to Israel to their meeting our standards it seems to me is totally unnecessary, McConnell said. This is a democracy, a great ally of ours, and I do not think we need to condition the support that hopefully we will give to Israel very soon. Lawmakers are considering a multibillion-dollar package of additional American assistance for Israel as the nation wages a campaign targeting the Palestinian militant group Hamas in retaliation for a Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 Israelis. Many humanitarian groups and foreign policy experts are alarmed by Israels conduct as it uses U.S. weaponry and funding: The United States already provides more than $3 billion in annualmilitary aid to the nation. The recent campaign in Gaza has killed close to 15,000 Palestinians, including more than 5,000 children, according to authorities there, and Amnesty International last week published an investigation accusing Israel of committing war crimes by indiscriminately targeting civilians. McConnells comments are striking because they undercut decades of claims from U.S. officials, including from the Biden administration amid the current fighting, that the U.S. expects Israel to respect U.S. and international standards in its military operations. Israel is the largest recipient of U.S. military aid since World War II. McConnell wields significant influence in discussions about U.S. military aid internationally because he helps craft the legislation permitting that spending, shepherds Republican Senate votes to approve it and determines which GOP senators receive powerful positions on committees overseeing global affairs. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrives in Tel Aviv on Oct. 13 for meetings with senior Israeli government leaders and to see firsthand some of the U.S. weapons and security assistance that Washington rapidly delivered to Israel in the first week of its war with the militant Hamas group. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrives in Tel Aviv on Oct. 13 for meetings with senior Israeli government leaders and to see firsthand some of the U.S. weapons and security assistance that Washington rapidly delivered to Israel in the first week of its war with the militant Hamas group. Under U.S. law, officials must track how countries that receive American weapons use them and must stop providing support to military units that are found to have committed serious human rights violations. The Biden administration has also established new policies governing arms transfers that require the U.S. to stop sending weapons if it determines that it is more likely than not the material will be used to commit rights abuses, to investigate reports that partner countries are using weapons to hurt civilians and to reduce the risk of civilian harm caused by alliances like the U.S.-Israel relationship. Leaders in Washington usually offer some talking point that maintains the integrity of U.S. laws, said Sarah Yager, a former Pentagon and State Department official who is now the Washington director for the advocacy group Human Rights Watch. McConnell is just throwing them out the window. I am startled that a member of the U.S. Senate, which has oversight responsibilities on U.S. arms transfers, would say that Israel does not need to abide by U.S. standards, Yager told HuffPost. Thats negligent, she said. U.S. laws are meant to mirror international laws, so the whole point of something like the Leahy law [prohibiting aid to foreign military units who commit abuses] is to ensure that partners that are violating international law do not receive support so McConnell is not only saying that U.S. laws dont matter, he is saying that Israel doesnt need to abide by international law. Many current and former U.S. officials say the governments commitment to close ties with Israel and the political sensitivity of appearing to question the relationship mean Israel is treated in exceptional ways that bypass standards designed to protect human rights and avoid breaking international humanitarian law or the laws of war. In a November brief for the Institute for Middle East Understanding, recently departed State Department official Josh Paul wrote that Israel is given special treatment in how the Leahy statute is implemented. When the State Department hears allegations that Israeli forces receiving U.S. assistance may have committed major rights violations, it brings those reports to a working group of several State Department offices. To confirm that a violation has occurred, which would trigger a pause in U.S. support for the relevant Israel unit, every office involved in the group must agree, and failure to reach consensus means aid keeps flowing. Its a reversal of other cases, in which the objection of a single relevant official can halt the aid. To-date, the [group] has not come to consensus on any allegation, wrote Paul, who worked on U.S. arms deals for more than a decade, of his experience with the State Department group. HuffPost was the first media outlet to report the news of Pauls Oct. 18 resignation. To temper the bloodshed as Israel continues its operation, which is expected to take up to two more months, many activists and some lawmakers are pushing for the U.S. to more stringently apply some of the standards already on the books and institute new conditions. Congress is extremely unlikely to pass new Israel-specific conditions into law, particularly with Republicans who are largely hostile to Palestinian concerns controlling the House of Representatives. Still, proponents of a shift in the U.S. approach, which Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) recently described as a blank check, believe their public advocacy can have a powerful effect by pressuring the Biden administration and Israel. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its handling of aid to Israel. Related... LUTZ, Fla. - A mobile home on Martha Circle in Lutz caught on fire Monday morning, according to Hillsborough County Fire Rescue. Just before noon, firefighters say they received multiple 911 calls from individuals reporting that the home was on fire. According to callers, the fire was spreading from the air conditioner unit. Courtesy: Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Fire crews say they saw a column of smoke from a distance. According to first responders, firefighters confirmed that the home was on fire and began knocking the blaze down from the home's exterior. READ: Lakeland mobile home community clubhouse engulfed in flames: LFD The fire was extinguished within 25 minutes, according to crews. Courtesy: Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Officials say no one was inside the home at the time. Additional crews supplied the first fire engine that arrived with water and helped fight the flames, according to authorities. Courtesy: Hillsborough County Fire Rescue HCFR says no first responders or civilians were injured. HCFR's Investigations Unit is investigating to determine the cause of the fire, according to firefighters. Officials say the American Red Cross was contacted to assist the displaced adult. By Andrew Silver SHANGHAI (Reuters) - U.S. vaccine maker Moderna began construction of its first facility in China this month to manufacture mRNA medicines, the company said on Tuesday. Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine has yet to be approved in China, but the company said in July it had signed a deal with the city government of China's financial hub Shanghai to work towards opportunities for it to research, develop and manufacture mRNA medicines in the country. The facility in Shanghai would manufacture medicines for the domestic population, the world's second largest after India, a spokesperson for Moderna told Reuters. "Our focus in China is on strengthening health security by targeting unmet needs and contributing to the ecosystem of medical solutions available to patients in China," it said in an emailed statement. It did not say what it planned to make at the facility and when production might start. (Reporting by Andrew Silver; Editing by Christopher Cushing) Moldovan President Maia Sandu has stripped Alexandr Kalinin, leader of the marginal pro-Russian Party of Regions and the Congress of Moldovan diasporas in Russia, of his Moldovan citizenship. Source: The corresponding decree appeared on the website of the Moldovan head of state on Tuesday, 28 November, reports European Pravda Details: The grounds for depriving Kalinin of Moldovan citizenship were "recruitment into the armed forces of a foreign state," as stated in Article 23.1.3 of Moldovas Law on Citizenship. Alexandr Kalinin became the chairman of the Moldovan Party of Regions in 2016. In 2020, he gathered signatures in support of his bid for the presidency, but later withdrew voluntarily. Kalinin openly supports Russia's invasion of Ukraine. There are multiple photos and videos on his social media accounts of him wearing a military uniform marked with the letter Z as used by the Russian army in its war in Ukraine, which is prohibited in Moldova. In addition, the politician organises events to help Russian soldiers by collecting warm clothing and footwear, which he then delivers to occupied settlements in Luhansk Oblast. Kalinin has been sanctioned by the EU and Canada for his attempts to undermine the stability of the Moldovan government. Support UP or become our patron! SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) A mother led police on a wild car chase through San Mateo with her baby in the backseat, investigators said. Estrella Paniagua, 24, of Daly City, fled from San Mateo Police Department officers by blowing through several stops signs and lights, driving into oncoming traffic, and causing other drivers around her to crash, police said. The melee began on Monday around 5:40 p.m. inside a Macys store at Hillsdale Shopping Center mall in San Mateo. Paniagua was caught shoplifting by one of the stores security guards, police said. The guard saw the mother stealing cosmetics and clothing by using her babys stroller to conceal the stolen items, according to SMPD. A 15-year-old girl, who police described as a relative, was also with Paniagua. Two security guards confronted the mother when she attempted to leave Macys without paying, SMPD said. Paniagua gave the stolen cosmetics and clothes back, but when the guards tried to detain her and wait for police officers to arrive, she became violent, according to SMPD. She assaulted a loss prevention agent by kicking him and attempting to bite another, SMPD wrote. After assaulting the security guards, the mother fled with her baby and the teenaged girl from the mall. The security guards quickly gave San Mateo Police Department officers a description of the mothers getaway car. Officers spotted the car leaving the mall and initiated a police pursuit. During the pursuit, the driver drove recklessly by running several stops signs, a stop light, and travelled on the opposite side of the roadway causing a minor collision. While this was occurring, information was obtained that there was likely a toddler in the vehicle. Due to the recklessness and blatant disregard for public safety, the pursuit was terminated, SMPD wrote. Officers then issued a be on the lookout alert to surrounding Bay Area law enforcement agencies reporting that the mother was last seen driving on Highway 92 from South El Camino Real. Thirty minutes later, a Colma Police Department officer pulled Paniagua over on San Jose Avenue in San Francisco. Police wrote, The driver yielded and it was discovered that a 15-year-old relative and the drivers 1-year-old child was in the car. Both were with the suspect when she committed the theft from Macys and an additional store at Hillsdale Shopping Center, as well as in the vehicle during the pursuit. Paniagua was arrested on multiple charges, including felony robbery, felony child endangerment, and evading police with disregard for public safety. While the mother was booked into jail, the baby and teen girl were released to family members. Paniagua remained in custody as of Tuesday afternoon in lieu of $100,000 bail, San Mateo County jail inmate records show. She is scheduled to be arraigned in court at 1:30 p.m. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4. A mom went viral desperately trying to stop her family from trashing the long-expired items in her refrigerator: 'Have you died yet? No.' Barron's brother and sister-in-law trashed expired jars as her mom looked on in horror. tiktok.com/@alannabarron Alanna Barron captured the moment her mom tried to fend off a refrigerator purge over Thanksgiving. There was an 8-year-old bottle of sesame oil that Barron's mom argued was fine. Millions could relate, and some even shared the decades-old items in their refrigerators. A TikTok with 11 million views has captured a familiar saga for many families during holiday homecomings: the annual refrigerator purge. "Anyone else's mom hoard stuff from 10 years ago?" the TikToker Alanna Barron, 24, asked in the caption of her video, which shows a skirmish in the kitchen as her outnumbered mom desperately tries to stop the clean-out. "Have you died yet? No," she says, countering that the items are fine to eat, as Barron's twin brother Tyler, sister-in-law, and father insist they're "not healthy." Barron, a 24-year-old marketing director based in Los Angeles, told Business Insider she and Tyler "tend to go through my parents' fridge around Thanksgiving/Christmas each year, but we've missed the past couple of years." On TikTok, she showed various sauces and jars being tossed, including sesame oil from 2015 (the oldest item in the fridge), sriracha from 2018 (which some users mourned given current shortages), "chunky" clam juice, and blue cheese-stuffed olives dating back to 2022. "It changed colors," Barron's father says of one of the jars over his wife's protests. "You have to stop." All in all, Barron told BI nearly two dozen items were trashed. Commenters on both sides of the saga could relate. "And the trash bag be weighing 200 pounds after," one viewer echoed. "Found a Jello box in my grandmas pantry from 1966!" another viewer added. "Which means she packed it and moved it to 5 different houses over the last 60 years." Some TikTokers stitched videos showcasing the food they'd been hoarding for more than a decade, including 16-year-old and 35-year-old cheeses. Others questioned how regularly the Barrons were conducting the purges given the items dated back so many years. "Some years you can only get so far before they completely freak out," one commenter surmised. At the end of the day, Barron said her mom "didn't even notice I was videotaping" but had been a good sport about going so massively viral for such a relatable dispute. "My mom thinks it's hilarious," she said. Read the original article on Business Insider Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 28) The House of Representatives on Tuesday denied claims that Speaker Martin Romualdez spent 1.8 billion for travel expenses in a year, calling them unfounded and categorically false. These allegations are a clear example of fake news, designed to mislead the public and tarnish the reputation of the Speaker and the entire House of Representatives as an institution, said House Secretary General Reginald Velasco in a statement. The lower chamber added that such bloated amount for the Speakers travel expenses does not exist. Although he did not specifically name the network, Velasco made the statement after a recent report by Sonshine Media Network International - which was founded by the controversial megachurch leader Apollo Quiboloy claimed that Romualdez has spent such an amount just on travelling. The House also approved a motion ordering the Committee on Legislative Franchises to conduct a hearing on SMNIs report set on Nov. 30. Quezon City 2nd district Rep. David Suarez said the television network must be held liable for their report. We demand immediate retraction and apology from those spreading fake lies, he said in his privilege speech. Furthermore, we are exploring other options to hold accountable those responsible for this smear campaign. In the spirit of transparency and accountability, I humbly request this august chamber to direct the Committee on Legislative Franchises, in the exercise of its inherent oversight function, to investigate this matter immediately, Suarez added. Activist Monica Lewinsky proposed a constitutional amendment that would prohibit presidents from pardoning themselves. In an article for Vanity Fair posted Monday, Lewinsky suggested a handful of new constitutional safeguards for democracy. And her suggestion to revoke presidents get out of jail free card took direct aim at former President Donald Trump, who is campaigning again for the White House with 91 criminal charges against him. They should not be able to wield the most power of anyone in our country and not be held responsible for illegal or unconstitutional actions while wielding that power, Lewinsky wrote. We have a phrase for this already: abuse of power. Lewinsky leaned on Georgetown constitutional law Professor Neal Katyal to explain how a newly elected Trump could potentially order the Department of Justice to drop the federal charges for election conspiracy and document stealing, if he hasnt been tried in the two cases by then. We wouldnt even get to the pardon power question, Katyal told Lewinsky. That would contravene every norm in the book, but [Katyal] doesnt doubt that Trump would try to save his own hide, Lewinsky wrote. Monica Lewinsky, seen here in October, took aim at former President Donald Trump in a recent series of proposed constitutional amendments. Monica Lewinsky, seen here in October, took aim at former President Donald Trump in a recent series of proposed constitutional amendments. Trump potentially has another hurdle to clear in the form of a Civil War-era clause in the 14th Amendment that bars insurrectionists from office. But a judge in Michigan recently ruled that Trump could stay on the primary ballot in that state despite efforts to omit him. Lewinsky was once embroiled in a scandal of presidential misconduct when she worked for President Bill Clinton as an intern. The two had an affair. Clinton was impeached in 1998 on charges of lying under oath and obstruction of justice for concealing his relationship with Lewinsky. He was later acquitted and served out his second term. Lewinsky produced Impeachment: American Crime Story, an FX series about them that aired in 2021. In her piece for Vanity Fair, Lewinsky also proposed a retirement age for politicians, the abolition of the Electoral College, mandatory background checks for presidential and congressional candidates, and an absolute prohibition on suspending the Constitution for any reason, even under martial law. Read the whole thing here. Related... Montana ice climber falls to his death at Hyalite Canyon's Grotto Falls A Montana man, who some described as an avid ice climber, fell to his death while hiking in Montana, according to authorities. The Gallatin County Sheriffs Office said dispatchers received a call from a GPS device monitoring service at about 3:20 p.m. on Saturday, saying a device had been activated near Grotto Falls in Hyalite Canyon. Hyalite Canyon is located south of Bozeman, Montana in Gallatin National Forest. UTAH CLIMBER RESCUED AFTER GETTING STUCK IN CLIFF FACE CRACK FOR 12 HOURS The Gallatin County dispatcher later received a 911 call from an eyewitness who said an ice climber fell and was injured in the fall. The sheriffs office identified the climber as 36-year-old Kyle Allen Rott, an avid ice climber who lived in Montana. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP Search and rescue volunteers from the sheriffs office, as well as Two Bear Air Rescue and Billings Clinic MedFlight helicopters responded to the Grotto Falls trailhead. AIR FRANCE PILOT FALLS 1,000 FEET TO DEATH IN CALIFORNIA'S SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK From there, five search and rescue teams were deployed to the area where Rott was located. When crews arrived, they provided medical treatment to Rott, who was ultimately hoisted onto a helicopter and flown to Bozeman Health Deaconess Regional Medical Center, where he later died of his injuries. ARIZONA HIKERS DISCOVER BODY OF MISSING WOMAN NEAR MOUNTAIN PEAK Coroners with the sheriffs office responded to the hospital and determined he died accidentally, and the cause of death was blunt force trauma of the head, sustained during an ice climbing fall. CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer expressed his condolences to Rotts family and friends in South Dakota in a Facebook post, while also thanking the search and rescue team members who responded to the incident. Original article source: Montana ice climber falls to his death at Hyalite Canyon's Grotto Falls A Montana man accused of threatening President Joe Biden and Democratic Sen. Jon Tester has agreed to a plea bargain, according to a court document filed Monday. Anthony James Cross, 30, will plead guilty to threats to injure and murder a United States senator, the document says. As part of the agreement with prosecutors, a charge of making a threat against the president will be dropped. A redacted indictment filed in federal court in September does not list the specific threat alleged against Tester, but does say that Cross stated, I will personally kill Joe Biden. A hearing date for the plea deal to be formally accepted has not yet been scheduled. Cross remains in jail without bond, according to the Yellowstone County Sheriffs Office. Cross faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison, although prosecutors agreed to recommend less than that as part of the plea agreement. CNN has reached out Tuesday to Testers office and Crosss public defender, Gillian Gosch, for comment. The incident adds to recent concerns about threats of violence against elected and public officials. Calls for violence against lawmakers online and elsewhere have referenced the officials and their families resulting in questions about their safety. Earlier this year, another Montana man was arrested for threatening Tester. Kevin Patrick Smith, 46, was accused of making multiple threatening calls to Testers district office in Kalispell, even after the FBI contacted him and ordered him to stop. Smith agreed to a plea deal in August and was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com A Montana man died this weekend after falling while ice climbing in part of the Custer Gallatin National Forest, authorities said. The victim was identified as Montana resident and avid ice climber Kyle Allen Rott, 36, according to Gallatin County Sheriffs Search and Rescue. Officials received two 911 calls Saturday afternoon about an incident near the Grotto Falls in Hyalite Canyon, according to a news release from the Gallatin County Sheriffs Search and Rescue. The canyon is part of the larger national park, which boasts more than 3 million acres north of Yellowstone National Park. Officials said the first call came from a GPS device monitoring service, which reached out after one of their devices was activated near the falls. A second 911 call then came from an eyewitness who said an ice climber had fallen and was injured, the news release said. Two helicopters and five search and rescue teams, including volunteers, were sent out to find and help Rott. A medical helicopter then took him to a hospital, where he died, the news release said. Officials said he had blunt force trauma to the head. His death was ruled accidental by sheriffs office coroners, the news release said. Sheriff Dan Springer would like to express his condolences to Mr. Kyle Rotts family in South Dakota and his friends, the release said. Sheriff Springer also thanks all the dedicated search and rescue members who responded so quickly. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Two Jewish Democrats are leading the charge against a repugnant proposal floated by Montana Republican Representative Ryan Zinkea bill that seeks to deport Palestinians from the United States. Representatives Greg Landsman and Dan Goldman, both of whom are staunchly pro-Israel in the ongoing conflict between that nation and Hamas, have come down hard on Zinkes xenophobic proposal, which the former Trump secretary of the interior dubbed the Safeguarding Americans From Extremism, or SAFE Act, countering it with a resolution rebuking the bill and condemning its 10 Republican co-sponsors. Theyre trying to expel an entire community of people from the United States, Landsman said in a press release. Its un-American. Its not who we are. And its going to get people hurt. We need these folks to pull back on this dangerous rhetoric and to stop adding fuel to this fire. Its not helping the Israelis, its certainly not helping the Palestinians, its absolutely undercutting our role in pursuing peace and stability in the region and here at home. If passed, the SAFE Act would render Palestinian Authority passport holders inadmissible to the country, revoke visas issued to Palestinian passport holders on or after October 1, revoke the parole of passport holders on or after October 1, and direct Homeland Security and ICE to identify and remove Palestinian passport holders living in the U.S., according to a release by Zinkes office. In a joint statement issued by Landsman and Goldman, the pair argued that the rhetoric employed in the bill unfairly and dangerously conflates Palestinians with Hamas and its actions, and further decried the proposal as un-American, bigoted, and designed to inflame tensions which could result in violence. Zinke responded to the criticism by blaming the Biden administrations alleged inaction on immigration, claiming they are completely incapable of vetting anyone coming into our country, Axios reported. The escalating rhetoric is a sign that the Middle Eastern conflict has further divided Capitol Hill. Earlier this month, the two parties battled one another in a string of letters sent to Bidens office, in which more than 100 Democrats asked the president to offer immigration protections for Palestinians. Days later, Republican Senatorsincluding Senators J.D. Vance, Marco Rubio, and Rick Scottsent their own missive, imploring Biden not to consider the special protections. A Jewish community centre was firebombed in Montreal as tensions soared in North America over the Israel-Hamas war, police said. Prime minister Justin Trudeau decried the incident as a vile and hateful attack, acknowledging the rise in antisemitic violence in the country in the wake of ongoing conflict. Montreal police responded to emergency calls at 1am on Monday after a Molotov cocktail was thrown into the building on Decarie Boulevard near Vezina Street. The firebomb was flung into the building through a front door glass window and it exploded in the hallway, causing a carpet to catch fire. But no one was injured in the attack, said Rabbi Saul Emanuel, the head of Montreals Jewish Community Council. No one was present and minimal damage occurred, he said. The rise in antisemitism in our city is frightening and the repeated violence and attacks on our community are abhorrent and condemned in the strongest terms, he added. Mr Trudeau called the attacks deplorable and unacceptable in a tweet on Tuesday. I strongly condemn the attack on the Jewish Community Council of Montreal building yesterday. These continued acts of antisemitic violence are deplorable and unacceptable and must stop immediately. We must all stand united against such vile, hateful acts, he said. The incident comes amid a spike in attacks on both Jewish and Muslim communities in Europe and America amid the intense bombardment of Gaza by Israeli forces in response to the 7 October attack by Hamas militants. Two Jewish schools in Montreal were targeted at night by gunfire earlier this month. One of the schools was attacked twice. A synagogue was also firebombed in the suburb of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, sparking a small fire. Law enforcement in Montreal and Toronto, cities with significant Jewish populations, have issued warnings about a recent increase in hate crimes, specifically noting a rise in antisemitic incidents The bar for Charlottes luxury housing market keeps moving higher. The latest multimillion-dollar estate to make a splash on Lake Norman carries a price tag of $10 million, making it one of the regions most expensive homes currently for sale. That Spanish-style home within The Point neighborhood in Mooresville is on the tip of Rehoboth Lane, offering about 900 feet of shoreline, says listing broker Nadine Wynn of Keller Williams Realtys Lake Norman office. ALSO READ: NASCARs Kevin Harvick pays $6.75M for Ricky Bobby mansion on Lake Norman It officially hit the market on Nov. 22, but it will not be available for showings until Dec. 10, she said. The home spans 8,750 square feet, including features such as a chefs kitchen, first-floor primary suite, elevator, wine closet, theater room, four fireplaces, third-floor rooftop patio, high ceilings and tall windows providing lake views. It has five bedrooms, with five full and three half bathrooms. Its gated, 1.44-acre lot features a pool and spa, private pier, dock, boat lift and two jet-ski lifts. It also houses a three-car garage. Read more and check out photos of the estate on CBJs website here. VIDEO: Davidson estate sells for $7.1 million, setting a real estate record On the first day political dreams became more real, 55 candidates on Monday officially filed to run for several Cook countywide offices, including the high-profile race to replace outgoing States Attorney Kim Foxx, as well as the full-term replacement for the County Board seat Brandon Johnson gave up to become Chicago mayor. Candidates have until next Monday to file the required number of petition signatures for various open county offices. The end of the weeklong filing session typically sets off weeks of challenges to the validity of signatures before finalizing names that will appear on the March 19 primary ballot. In addition to states attorney, candidates filed to run for Cook County Circuit Court clerk, seats on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District board and for political party precinct committee posts. Two Democratic candidates filed to run for to be clerk of the Cook County circuit courts, the office that manages filings for the nations second-largest unified court system and has historically been a patronage den known for its inefficiency. Incumbent Circuit Court Clerk Iris Martinez filed to run for a second term overseeing the office that has roughly 1,400 employees and a budget of more than $130 million. Mariyana Spyropoulos, a commissioner on the Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago board, filed to run against Martinez. A former state senator, Martinez succeeded former Clerk Dorothy Brown in 2020 after Martinez emerged from a primary field of four challengers. In the Democratic primary, Martinez defeated the Cook County Democratic Partys pick, Michael Cabonargi, and two others to eventually become the first Latina to hold the office. Martinez promised to improve the disorganization that plagued the office, botched tech rollouts, and reform hiring practices that resulted in federal court oversight to prevent patronage hiring and promotions. Roughly a year ago, Martinez declared victory on the latter goal when the office was freed from so-called Shakman oversight, which included court monitoring to ensure politics was not taken into consideration for personnel decisions. A U.S. appeals court ruling months before releasing the governors office from oversight lowered the bar for Shakman compliance, smoothing the way for Martinezs office to be freed from monitoring. Martinez also championed a state law protecting the identities of sex crime victims and launched a new customer service call center to help litigants navigate the court system. But challengers said ethics problems and inefficiencies within the office persist and county Democratic Party leaders earlier this summer backed Spyropoulos to take on Martinez in the primary. Martinez has touted her reputation as an independent unafraid to buck the Democratic establishment, but she still sought the partys endorsement. That independent streak also drew criticism from some in the party who questioned her support for conservative candidates in recent election cycles. A lot of people are not happy with the way the office is run, Spyropoulos said this summer, citing judges who dont have their records there on time when theyre supposed to. That can result in some people staying in jail longer than they should, and the need for Martinezs office to fall under the oversight of an independent inspector general. Spyropoulos is a former assistant states attorney who has been on the water reclamation board since 2010. She launched, then abandoned, a Democratic bid for states attorney during the 2020 election cycle. No Republicans filed yet to run for the clerk of the circuit court position. Also filing to run Monday: Clayton Harris III, the Democratic Partys pick to succeed Foxx as states attorney. Ive entered this race because we need someone with the values and leadership experience necessary to move the prosecutors office forward on day 1, he said in a news release Monday. Im ready to make sure were holding people accountable to ensure residents can feel safe on their blocks and that were going to keep pushing forward on the urgent work of criminal justice reform in Cook County. The other declared Democratic challenger, Eileen ONeill Burke, is not planning to file until the end of the petition window next week, on Dec. 4, a spokeswoman said. No Republicans have filed yet for the spot, though attorney and former alderman Bob Fioretti declared his candidacy earlier this month. Two candidates filed to run in the special election to replace Johnson for a full term representing the Cook County Boards 1st District, which includes the West Side and some west suburbs. That includes incumbent Commissioner Tara Stamps, who was appointed by party leaders this summer to fill Johnsons seat after his inauguration as Chicago mayor. A leader in the Chicago Teachers Union, Stamps described herself as a mentor to Johnson who intended to take up his progressive legacy on the board. Also filing in the race to fill Johnsons vacancy: Zerlina Smith-Members, who also sought the appointment earlier this summer with a tough on crime message. Smith-Members has previously run unsuccessfully for 29th Ward alderman and Cook County Board president. aquig@chicagotribune.com Hamas released another group of hostages on Monday, not long after officials announced an agreement between the Palestinian group and Israel to extend a short-term cease-fire in the Gaza Strip for another two days. Israel's military and security services confirmed that the 11 hostages are now back in Israeli territory. The Red Cross had said about three hours earlier that the freed group had been turned over into its care. Dr. Majed Al-Ansari, the spokesperson for Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the group includes 3 French citizens, 2 German citizens and 6 Argentinian citizens. In exchange, Al-Ansari said, Israel is releasing 33 Palestinians 30 minors and 3 women from Israeli prisons. Hamas hands over a group of Israeli hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza City, on Nov. 27, 2023. / Credit: Stringer/Anadolu via Getty Images Earlier Monday, mediating country Qatar announced the two-day extension of the temporary cease-fire, which began Friday and was initially set to last four days. "The State of Qatar announces that, as part of the ongoing mediation, an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian truce for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip," Al-Ansari said in a social media post. John Kirby, a spokesperson for the National Security Council at the White House, confirmed the extension at a news briefing held shortly after Qatar's announcement. Kirby said Hamas had agreed to release 20 additional hostages being held in Gaza back to Israel over the next two days, and added that they are working to extend the cease-fire further than that. In the wake of the deadly Oct. 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas militants, and the Israeli military's bombardment of the Gaza Strip that followed, ongoing negotiations led last week to the first pause in fighting since the war began. Under the terms of the temporary truce deal brokered by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt, Hamas agreed to release at least 50 women and children kidnapped in Israel during the Oct. 7 rampage and held captive since then in Gaza. Israel, in turn, agreed to free about 150 Palestinian women and children detained in Israeli prisons, while also honoring a cease-fire in the interim that has allowed humanitarian aid to reach the war-torn Gaza Strip, much of which has been devastated by airstrikes. Although the terms of the short-term deal originally called for a four-day cease-fire, with Monday being the fourth and final day, Israel had said publicly that it would be willing to extend the pause for an additional day for every 10 additional hostages released by Hamas. Militants had taken an estimated 240 hostages from Israel on Oct. 7, with some foreign nationals included in that group, according to Israeli officials. The latest hostage release on Monday came after three earlier rounds of releases. Each of those days, Israel released 39 Palestinian women and teens who had been imprisoned in Israel, for a total of 117 so far. On Sunday, 17 hostages were released back to Israel, including 14 Israeli citizens and three foreign nationals, according to Israeli officials. The group included Abigail Mor Edan, a 4-year-old Israeli-American girl who was the youngest American citizen being held captive. Hamas released the second group, 17 hostages, from Gaza late on Saturday night after an hours-long delay. Thirteen of the hostages who were freed that night are Israeli, and four are Thai nationals, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement. The group included seven Israeli children whose ages ranged from 3 to 16 years old, according to the prime minister's office. The first group released by Hamas on Friday included 24 hostages 13 Israelis, 10 Thai nationals and one Filipino, officials said. "We just completed the return of the first of our hostages: children, their mothers and additional women," said Netanyahu on Friday. "Each of them is an entire world. But I emphasize to you, the families, and to you, citizens of Israel: we are committed to returning all the hostages. This is one of the aims of the war and we are committed to achieving all the aims of the war." Fighting the good fight against ALS Georgian winemakers restoring countrys ancient grape varieties | 60 Minutes The tragic costs of e-waste By Nidal al-Mughrabi, Mohammed Salem and James Mackenzie GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Hamas freed 12 more hostages and Israel released 30 Palestinian prisoners on Tuesday, the fifth day of an extended six-day truce between the militant Palestinian group and Israel in the Gaza war. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said the 12 hostages had been transferred from Gaza, and Israel's military confirmed that the 10 Israeli citizens and two foreign nationals were with its special forces on Israeli territory. The hostages were among some 240 people seized by Hamas gunmen during a rampage into southern Israel on Oct. 7 in which Israel says 1,200 people were killed. Israel's bombardment of Hamas-ruled Gaza in retaliation has killed more than 15,000 Gazans, health authorities there said. Live video images broadcast by Al Jazeera television on Tuesday showed a bus with Palestinian prisoners leaving Israel's Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank. Israel said it freed 30 Palestinian detainees from Ofer and a detention centre in Jerusalem. Earlier it said they would be 15 women and 15 teenage males, according to the Palestinian Prisoner's Club, a semi-official organisation. Al Jazeera said the Palestinians had arrived in the West Bank city of Ramallah and Jerusalem. A spokesman for the foreign ministry of Qatar, which is mediating in the conflict, said the freed Israeli hostages included nine women and one minor. Some of the hostages were handed over by the Al Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, it said on Telegram. The truce has brought Gaza its first respite after seven weeks of fighting and bombardment that has reduced much of the Gaza Strip to rubble. It had been due to expire overnight into Tuesday but both sides agreed to extend the pause to allow for the release of more hostages held by Hamas and of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Israel has said the truce could be prolonged further, provided Hamas continues to free at least 10 Israeli hostages per day. But with fewer women and children still in captivity, keeping the guns quiet beyond Wednesday may require negotiating to free at least some Israeli men for the first time. The total number of hostages released by Hamas since the start of the truce last Friday now stands at 81, including 60 Israelis - all women and children - and 21 foreign nationals, many of them Thai farmworkers. Israel had freed 150 prisoners before Tuesday's releases. FURTHER EXTENSION? On Tuesday, Israeli forces and Hamas fighters largely held their fire and both sides expressed their hope for further extensions of the pause in fighting. Qatar hosted the spy chiefs from Israel's Mossad and the United States' CIA at a meeting to "build on the progress of the extended humanitarian pause agreement and to initiate further discussions about the next phase of a potential deal", a source briefed on the visits told Reuters. Although conditions on the ground in Gaza remained largely peaceful, Israel's military said three explosive devices had been detonated on Tuesday afternoon near its troops in two different locations in the northern Gaza Strip, violating the truce terms. In one location, gunmen opened fire on the soldiers who returned fire and a number of soldiers were lightly injured, it said. Earlier, a single column of black smoke could be seen rising above the obliterated wasteland of the northern Gaza war zone from across the fence in Israel, but for a fifth day there was no sign of war planes in the sky or rumble of explosions. Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi, chief of Israel's armed forces, told a press briefing that the military remained on alert in Gaza and was prepared to continue fighting. BURYING THE DEAD More than two-thirds of Gaza's 2.3 million people have lost their homes to Israeli bombardments, with thousands of families sleeping rough in makeshift shelters with only the belongings they could carry. Many are using the truce to return to abandoned or destroyed homes, like Abu Shamaleh, who was picking through the rubble of his flattened home in Khan Younis, looking for anything recoverable. He said 37 family members had been killed and that there was no machinery to excavate the body of a cousin still buried in the ruins. "The truce is the time to lift the rubble and search for all the missing people and bury them. We honour the dead by burying them. What use is the truce if the bodies remain under the rubble?" he said. Among Israeli hostages yet to be freed was 10-month-old baby Kfir Bibas, along with his brother Ariel, 4, and their parents Yarden and Shiri, seized from a kibbutz by gunmen on Oct 7. Yarden's sister told reporters relatives had learned the family would not be in the group to go free on Tuesday. Israeli officials said they believed the family was being held by a militant group other than Hamas. "Kfir ... is a child who still doesn't even know how to say 'Mommy'," Jimmy Miller, a cousin, told Channel 12 TV. "We in the family are not managing to function ... The family hasn't slept for a long, long time already - 51 days." When the war resumes, Israel has said it intends to press on with its assault from the northern half of Gaza into the south. U.S. officials said they have told their ally to be more careful protecting civilians as its forces press on. Israel's siege has led to the collapse of Gaza's health care system, especially in the north where no hospitals remain functioning. The World Health Organization said more Gazans could soon be dying of disease than from bombing and many had no access to medicines, vaccines, safe water and hygiene and no food. (Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo, Mohammed Salem and Roleen Tafakji in Gaza, Henriette Chacar and Dan Williams in Jerusalem, Ali Sawafta in Ramallah and Reuters bureauxWriting by Peter Graff, Gareth Jones and Cynthia Osterman Editing by Nick Macfie, Angus MacSwan and Grant McCool) Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 28) President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. may sign the proposed 2024 budget of 5.768 trillion before his trip to Japan next month, according to Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno. "Malamang (Maybe)," the Finance chief said when asked during a Palace briefing on Tuesday. The chief executive is scheduled to attend the ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation Commemorative Summit on Dec. 16 to 18. Diokno said the president has "enough time" to approve the financial blueprint as it has been progressing in Congress. Last week, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said lawmakers in the lower and upper chambers aim to ratify the proposed budget bill before Dec. 10. The Senate is expected to approve the budget this week. Once adopted by the House of Representatives or ratified by the bicameral conference committee, the proposed budget bill will be sent to Malacanang for the president's signature. The proposed expenditure program is 9.5% higher than the current 5.268 trillion. The expenditure plan for next year was marred by issues, including requests for confidential and intelligence funds. NORMAN, Okla. (KFOR)- A family rented a Norman AirBNB over Thanksgiving and was awoken in the middle of the night by a stranger showering. Molly Woodrow is the homeowner and has owned the property for over six years. Front license plates arent required in Oklahoma but should they be? Woodrow told KFOR she was looking to make extra cash, so she decided to rent her home out on AirBNB. Her first guests stayed over the Thanksgiving holiday. Woodrow got a strange call around 4:30 a.m. from her guests who claimed a woman broke into the home. Surveillance video from around 2 a.m., installed by Woodrow a day prior to her guests arriving, caught a woman peeking through the front windows. Image courtesy KFOR The footage shows the woman then opening the front door and seemingly looking around behind her to see if someone noticed her. The woman, now identified as Keri Horn, then allegedly went inside. The footage provided to News 4 doesnt show her actually going inside the home. The surveillance video only takes 10 second snippets, according to Woodrow. Woodrow said the front door was unfortunately left unlocked, and thats how Horn was able to get inside. Woodrow said Horn appeared to be inside the home for over two and a half hours before being caught, according to surveillance time stamps. Around like 4 a.m., she started taking a shower and that woke our guests up to like a terrifying feeling because were like, Who is in our shower right now? And so the guests enter the bathroom and they found the homeless woman showering. It was just mortifying for them, stated Woodrow. Surveillance video then shows one of the guests throwing Horns belongings on the porch and gesturing she come outside. Dont be weird, okay?, said the guest. I know. I dont wanna be a weirdo, replied Horn. Woodrow called Norman Police on behalf of her guests. No injuries were reported as a result of this case. Minor property damage was reported as a result of this case, the police report reads. Within a matter of days, Norman Police identified Horn and have now requested an arrest warrant be issued for her. Find more Top Stories from KFOR.com Horn has a lengthy criminal history across multiple counties in Oklahoma. She has previously been convicted or plead guilty to possession of meth, assaulting a police officer, and defacing property. We are really lucky that the situation didnt end a lot differently, said Woodrow. This area has just gotten unpredictable. Woodrow did issue the family involved a full refund. Its just really heartbreaking because I love Norman. Ive been here for so long and I dont want to move somewhere else, but theres really no other resource. The residents that live down here are suffering from all of these crimes that are committed by the unhoused, added Woodrow. News 4 asked if she has ever attempted to voice her concerns over the unhoused population to the Norman City Council. She said no, but only because she claims a majority of members on the City Council are pro-unhoused and she feels as if her concerns fall on deaf ears. Woodrow said she wants something to change though and wants to know what council members plan to do moving forward to protect taxpayers. News 4 emailed all eight Norman City Council members as well as the Mayor. Ward 1 and Ward 8 Council members, Austin Ball and Matthew Peacock have responded. I just found out about this incident [Sunday] and understand the victims frustration because she is 100% correct. Our current councilors and those who are enriching themselves with the help of this citys homeless policies through the suffering of our homeless, mentally ill, and taxpayers have created an extremely hostile environment for any citizen who tries to speak out, stated Ball. He said he has received reports of a Norman homeless shelter and food pantry in constant violation of health and safety codes. He claims the city overlooks those. Ive also received reports that there are those within our police department who give false information to those who report crimes by the homeless and have also received reports of officers being reprimanded for pursuing crimes committed by the homeless or assisting citizens who are the victims of these crimes. There are many fine officers who I have talked to that feel their hands are tied and are afraid of retaliation if they pursue any police action in regards to our homeless, explained Ball. The incident you are referring to is actually just one more example in a long list of these crimes and I have numerous emails and communications with business owners, homeowners, and citizens of Norman who have reached out to myself for answers which I cannot provide because of being blocked by the rest of our council and certain members of our city leadership. Zoo: Aquaticus set to be demolished, new improvements on the horizon Peacock told KFOR the City of Norman is currently exploring several initiatives which focus on treating the root causes of the issue, such as mental health and addiction treatment, as well as housing affordability. I understand that the current situation in Norman is not sustainable, but this is a nationwide crisis not unique to Norman, and its going to take everyone working together on compassionate solutions, not fighting each other on whos solution is right. There is no silver bullet to fix homelessness, and residents must recognize that what works for one, likely doesnt work for everyone. What does work though is that we are all committed to making Norman the best city that it can be for all of its residents, and I welcome an open dialogue with anyone that is focused on positive solutions, added Peacock. City of Norman Mayor Larry Heikkilas office sent News 4 a press release around midnight on Tuesday as their comment. The release is dated November 17. For over a year I have tried to build bridges with members of our City Council who have differing viewpoints. I have compromised with our City Council. I have tried to reason with our Council members, yet, those efforts are continually undermined and manipulated. The end result is a Norman that many of us no longer recognize. Our citizens and people who visit Norman no longer feel safe in many areas of Norman. Those areas are continuing to grow, said Mayor Heikkila. He noted the current homeless shelter location is not acceptable and contributes to many problems the city is facing. It must be moved, stated Mayor Heikkila. We see panhandling and vagrancy throughout our city. People no longer want to go to our state of the art public library because of vagrants, the homeless, and a recent shooting. It doesnt feel safe or clean and the chairs smell of filth. He added while treating symptoms of homelessness, the city is not curing the problem. This is not a government responsibility but responsibility of charities and the private sector. The majority of council, supports spending millions of tax payer dollars on homeless rather than on infrastructure for the common good. We protect them from the elements and from the consequences of their lifestyle. Norman is a law abiding community. We will enforce our laws and ordinances regardless of anyones housing status, said Mayor Heikkila. Things must, and will immediately change. In the meantime, Woodrow said she plans to continue renting out the property, but will secure the home with more locks. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City. The Kremlin has ordered the occupation authorities in the Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine to intensify the forced passportization of locals, Ukraines Main Intelligence Directorate or HUR said on Telegram on Nov. 28. Occupation administrations are to increase the number of Ukrainian citizens issued with Russian passports to 85%, the HUR said. This is planned in light of the Russian leadership's preparations for next year's presidential election. Read also: The order to step up "passportization" was announced by Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation Sergey Kiriyenko during a closed meeting with the heads of Russian regions and so-called leaders of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, the HUR said. Read also: Ukrainians without Russian passports denied healthcare in occupied territories Kyiv During the meeting, Kiriyenko also ordered to allocate social assistance to voters from local budgets and to intensify propaganda about the allegedly "positive" trends in the Russian economy, the "stability" of the ruble, and the "improvement" in people's living standards. Russians are conducting forced passportization in all occupied territories of Ukraine, making it practically impossible for residents to live without a Russian passport. On Nov. 18, the Defense Ministrys National Resistance Center reported that Russians are trying to bribe pensioners in the occupied territories and promise social benefits for obtaining a Russian passport. On Nov. 17, locals reported that the occupation authorities conducted a "passport raid" in Kakhovka, taking fingerprints and handing out draft summonses. On Nov. 9, it emerged that the occupation administration was transferring to Russia those Ukrainian prisoners who refused to accept Russian passports. 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 commercial airline lands at Princess Juliana International Airport in St. Maarten, flying close enough to the beach that sunbathers get a good sandblasting. Adam Mukamal/Getty Images Thanks to aircraft technology, more efficient air traffic control and better training for pilots and mechanics, air travel has become safer. The number of fatal accidents involving jet airliners worldwide dropped from 40 per million flights in 1959 to just 0.05 deaths per million flights in 2021, according to global data gathered by aircraft manufacturer Boeing. Though airline travel is extremely safe, mishaps do still occur. So what's the most dangerous airport in the world? Some say it's Lukla Airport (Tenzing-Hillary Airport) in Nepal because pilots fly in at higher speeds. One of the riskiest parts of any flight remains the final approach and landing. Those phases account for more than half of all fatalities, even though they account for just a few minutes out of a typical trip. But it can be hard to quantify how these different factors, like an extremely short runway or mountainous terrain, influence what we consider the most dangerous airports in the world. So we present a list of 13 airports around the world, in no particular order, that test pilots' skills and preparation. How Pilots Navigate Dangerous Airports Pilots have to be especially careful when they land at some airports, especially those in areas where location, terrain, weather conditions and/or quirks in design can make their job even more difficult. "Obviously, when you go into those airports, you do your homework prior to going in," explains Gregory Zahornacky. He's an assistant professor in the Aeronautical Science department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a former airline captain with more than 15,000 hours of flying time. The Most Challenging U.S. Airports Zahornacky says that the U.S. has some airports that are challenging for pilots, and they're some of the busiest airports in the country. New York's LaGuardia Airport has earned that reputation because of its short runways, while Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport also has that issue, plus a difficult location. "You have the Anacostia and the Potomac rivers," Zahornacky says. "You have all that restricted airspace in there, too, with the Pentagon and the White House." There are places such as Denver International Airport, one of the biggest airports in the world, where pilots have to be aware of how the elevation affects the plane's performance, Zahornacky notes. He also mentions the "precipitous terrain" at Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport as challenging for pilots. The latter is in a mountainous area with unpredictable winds and at times intense fog, according to an article from the Airplane Owners and Pilots Association, a group for pilots of smaller general aviation planes. Experience Matters Airlines provide pilots with extensive information about airports with such challenges and require them to review it before flying to them, according to Zahornacky. In some cases, airlines require pilots to have special training to land. "You need to get the experience with someone who has already gone in there," he explains. 1. Barra International Airport, Outer Hebrides, Scotland This small airport is one of the most dangerous airports because of the sandy runway. Journalist Mikhaila Friel flew out of Barra International and called the experience strange but calming because she was able to walk around a desolate beach before she hopped on a plane. But if you're not into small planes, then you might not want to schedule a flight out of this airport. "When we arrived back at the airport, the other 13 passengers due to travel on our flight had arrived and were sitting in the waiting area," Friel wrote. "While the plane had 19 seats, Loganair allows a maximum of 15 passengers and two pilots to allow for extra fuel capacity, as there are no refueling facilities at Barra Airport, a spokesperson for the airline said." The runway at Tenzing-Hillary (Lukla) Airport in Nepal seems to drop off into nothing. Wikimedia Commons (CC BY SA 4.0) 2. Tenzing-Hillary Airport, Lukla, Nepal Built in 1964 under the guidance of Sir Edmund Hillary, this airport provides access to the base camp at Mt. Everest, according to Yahoo News, which also notes that its elevation of 9,383 feet (2,860 meters) means that pilots have to fly at higher speeds to contend with lower air density. The airport's tiny 1,729-foot-long (527-meter-long) runway is on a cliffside and slants upward to help planes slow down, according to an August 2022 CNN story. Additionally, as a government report on a 2017 crash there noted: "Meteorological condition of Lukla is very unpredictable." Here's the airport's profile in the Aviation Safety Network database. 3. Toncontin International Airport, Tegucigalpa, Honduras The airport's runway is one of the shortest for big commercial jets and planes landing must also carefully maneuver wind and mountains. 4. Princess Juliana International Airport, St. Maarten Landing at the airport (which opened its present location back in 1964) on this Caribbean island means flying in over a public beach, low enough that "sunbathers get a good blast of wind and sand whenever a plane arrives," according to travel website Fodors.com. Despite appearances, there's never been a landing accident at Princess Juliana, according to the Aviation Safety Network's profile. 5. Kansai International Airport, Osaka, Japan "It is completely safe to fly into Kansai International, and there is absolutely no chance that this airport is ever going to sink under water,'' said a spokesman in 2001. However, Kansai has sunk almost 40 feet since it opened in 1994, and more sinking is possible in the future. The snow-covered runway and apron at Courchevel Altiport stands at an altitude of 6,561 feet (2,000 meters) in the French Alps. Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) 6. Courchevel Altiport, Courchevel, France Located in the French Alps, Courchevel Airport has a runway that's just 1,762 feet (537 meters) long, with a steep 18.6 percent uphill gradient to help planes decelerate as they land. To use the airfield, pilots must have special qualifications, including passing a test by a mountain flight instructor, and keeping up their rating by flying there at least once every six months. Flying magazine notes that "caution, dedicated training, and careful planning are key to enjoying this runway cradled in the Alps." Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport in Leh, the capital of Ladakh, India, is available for morning landings only due to strong afternoon winds. Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) 7. Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport, Leh, India Located in the city of Leh, Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport situated 10,682 feet (3,256 meters) above sea level is surrounded by mountains and is beset by such strong winds in the afternoons that flights with specially trained pilots land only in the morning. According to the airport's Aviation Safety Network profile, the airport hasn't had a fatal accident in its vicinity since 1979 when it was a military base. 8. Paro International Airport, Paro, Bhutan As the only airport for international flights for the small nation situated in the Himalayas, Paro has an elevation of 7,364 feet (2,244.5 meters) above sea level. Pilots can only land in good visibility, and the aircraft must navigate between hills and over houses before making a curve to get to the runway, according to CNN and Forbes. In 2020, only 20 pilots had permission to land there, but neither the Aviation Safety Network nor the Bureau of Aircraft Incidents Archives show any accidents. 9. St. Helena Airport, St. Helena This remote British island in the Atlantic is the place where Napoleon went into exile after his final defeat at Waterloo. It wasn't until 2016 that St. Helena completed its own airport, but concerns about wind conditions caused by the island's rugged topography required additional testing and delayed its opening until 2017. Only pilots with special training can land on St. Helena's 6,070-foot (1,850-meter) runway. There haven't been any reported mishaps. The runway at Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport in Saba is so small that only specially trained pilots are allowed to use it. Wikimedia Commons (CC BY SA 2.0) 10. Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport, Saba This tiny island in the Caribbean had its silhouette used in the original "King Kong" movie in 1933. The airport has the world's shortest commercial runway, just 1,300 feet (400 meters) in length, with sheer drops into the sea at either end, and only an elite group of specially trained pilots land there. T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan "I Survived the Saba Landing" have long been a popular item on the island, but the Aviation Safety Network's profile doesn't list any actual accidents. 11. Gibraltar International Airport, Gibraltar This airport, built in 1939, has a 5,500-foot (1,676-meter) runway with water on both sides, which compels pilots to hit the brakes quickly after landing. But to complicate things even more, the runway intersects with a busy street that closes whenever a plane is landing. While that might seem hazardous, the airport has a remarkably good safety record, with no landing accidents since August 1951, according to the Aviation Safety Network's profile. A TAM airlines A320 passenger aircraft crashed while attempting to land at Congonhas airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil, July 17, 2007. The plane with 187 people on board crashed into a gas station after skidding off a wet runway. ERNESTO RODRIGUES/AFP via Getty Images 12. Sao Paulo Congonhas Airport, Sao Paulo, Brazil The growth of Sao Paulo has enveloped this airport, built in 1936. This means aircrafts are flying over rooftops practically until they reach the runway. The airport was the scene of a July 2007 airliner crash that killed all 187 people aboard and 12 people on the ground. Since then, the airport has implemented safety improvements, including drainage grooves in the runway surface to reduce slipperiness and the installation of an Engineering Material Arresting System (EMAS) to prevent aircraft from overrunning the runway. An Ilyushin Il-76 of Air Almaty taking off from Phoenix Airfield. Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) 13. Phoenix Airfield, Ross Island, Antarctica The other airports on this list have paved runways. But at Phoenix Airfield, created in 2017 to provide access to the U.S. research center at McMurdo Station, on the south tip of Ross Island, pilots land on a runway made of compacted snow, which forms a hard surface that won't easily melt. Besides the unusual surface, pilots have to contend with unpredictable weather and nighttime landings without runway lights during the southernmost continent's six months of darkness each year. Australia recently abandoned a plan to build a paved runway in Antarctica because of environmental concerns. Despite the risks of flying in Antarctica, the last fatal landing accident anywhere on the continent was in 1966, according to the Aviation Safety Network database. Now That's Interesting In 2021, there was just one fatal accident involving a large commercial jet, in a year when airlines flew 21.6 million flights worldwide, according to a Seattle Times article published Sept. 1, 2022. Original article: The Most Dangerous Airport in the World, Plus 12 Nail-biters Copyright 2023 HowStuffWorks, a division of InfoSpace Holdings, LLC, a System1 Company The mother of one of the three Palestinian young men shot in Burlington, Vermont said her son may never walk again after a bullet lodged in his spine. In interviews with NPR and CNN, Elizabeth Price, the mother of 20-year-old Hisham Awartani, said her son has an incomplete spinal injury and that its a very long road he has in front of him. She said her son can feel his legs but cannot move them. The last I knew, he was still in the ICU, immobilized, to try and get the swelling down on his back, Price told CNNs Poppy Harlow Tuesday morning, noting that her son also has a broken clavicle and a fractured thumb. The doctors are currently saying its unlikely hell be able to use his legs again, Price said in an interview with NPR on Monday. Hes confronting a life of disability, a potentially irreversible change to his life and what it means for his future. In an earlier interview, Price said her son was determined to get mobility back in his legs but that doctors were unsure that would be possible. Hes just a very resilient young man and hes been trying to keep everyones spirits up by joking and just trying to be as calm as possible, Price said, CNN reported. We are determined to work with him and support him and get the best possible care. Price is traveling to Vermont from Ramallah to be with her son, first passing through Jordan, where she conducted the CNN interview. She spoke with NPR on Monday from her home in the West Bank. Awartani is a junior at Brown University but grew up and went to school in Ramallah. He was walking in Burlington with two of his longtime Palestinian friends when they were all shot. The other two victims have been identified as Kinnan Abdalhamid, a student at Haverford College, and Tahseen Ali Ahmad, a student at Trinity College. These are boys who grew up in my house, I consider all three of them my children, Price told NPR in the interview. I am so glad Im going to see them and care for them. The man charged in connection with the Saturday shooting, Jason Eaton, pleaded not guilty this week to three charges of attempted second-degree murder. Authorities have not yet determined whether the incident will be treated as a hate crime, but Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad described the incident as a hateful act in an interview with CNN. But whether or not we can cross the legal threshold in order to determine that it is a hate crime is a different matter, he said. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. WASHINGTON - A 50-year-old woman killed herself and her 16-year-old son in Lanham this weekend, according to Prince George's County Police. Officials are investigating after responding to Greenbelt Road on Saturday for the report of two people dead in a wooded area. Police say that Natalie Jaeger, 50, shot and killed her son, Dorian Jaeger, before killing herself. The mother and son recently moved to the area from Wisconsin. The motive for the murder is still under investigation, police say. Anyone with information is asked to contact the police. The fight that led to a fatal stabbing at Southeast Raleigh High School had a history dating back several weeks, and the mother of the 14-year-old student charged with murder says she warned an official Monday that her son might be attacked. Cherelle McLaughlin of Raleigh said a dispute between students began with her older daughter, who had an earlier altercation with a female Southeast Raleigh High student that snowballed until multiple other juveniles got involved. McLaughlin said her daughters original fight led to more than a dozen juveniles, including many shown in videos of Mondays fatal fight, coming to her house in Southeast Raleigh roughly a week ago and assaulting both McLaughlin and her mother. When she brought her son to school Monday, McLaughlin said she told his case worker that he would likely get jumped for defending his sister. I warned the school, mother says My son was fighting to his life, she said. He already missed school. They were threatening to jump on him, to do this, do that. I warned the school that morning right before i dropped him off. Two juvenile victims were wounded in the fight at Southeast Raleigh High Monday: a 15-year-old who died and a 16-year-old who remains hospitalized with what Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson called non-life threatening injuries. Raleigh police obtained a secure custody order for a 14-year-old, charging him with murder on a juvenile petition. Dr. Robert Taylor, superintendent for Wake County schools, addresses the media outside Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School after a stabbing at the school killed one student and injured another, Monday, Nov. 27, 2023. Neither police nor school officials have released the victims or the suspects name. McLaughlin identified her son as the 14-year-old suspect, whom The N&O is not identifying because he is a juvenile and his name has not been officially released. McLaughlin said she had only a 3-minute telephone call Monday to speak with her son, who remains in custody. He was scared to death, she said. No response from school system or police Wake County schools did not respond to a message asking about a prior warning at Southeast Raleigh High, or about any threats leading up to the fight. Raleigh police did not respond to an email asking about officers history with any earlier assault that took place at the charged juveniles house. The stabbing, which was captured on video, happened in the school gym, officials said. A school resource officer radioed for help at 11:01 a.m. after an altercation involving other students. Videos widely circulated on social media appeared to show a fight breaking out between two students outside the gym and then flowing into the gym as more students followed. Southeast Raleigh High went into a Code Red lockdown Monday following the fight, and classes were canceled there Tuesday. This is a developing story and will be updated throughout the day. Mother of Vermont shooting victim says son 'may have to be in a wheelchair' The mother of one of the three Palestinian students shot in Vermont over the weekend says her son has a bullet lodged in his spine and doctors overseeing his recovery arent sure if he will be able to walk again, according to a report. Elizabeth Price, whose 20-year-old son Hisham Awartani attends Brown University, told ABC News, "I'm shaking. I'm hollow inside. I'm aching to be with my son" following the incident that happened Saturday night in Burlington. "He's lying immobilized in a bed, but he had very high spirits in the beginning. And I think now it's beginning to sink into him the extent of -- the enormity of -- the challenge that faces him," Price reportedly said. "He may have to be in a wheelchair. I believe that he'll be able to walk, but his life has been taken away from him as it is, and he's gonna have to recreate this new life." "Justice to me means making sure that the man who shot my son is behind bars," Price also told ABC News. "Justice to me is making sure that crimes like this don't happen again. Justice to me is also about my son finding a way to rebuild his life." WHITE HOUSE SAYS 3 PALESTINIAN STUDENTS SHOT IN VERMONT SHOULD BE BACK IN SCHOOL... NOT IN A HOSPITAL ROOM Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday morning said that federal authorities are probing whether the shooting was a hate crime. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP Suspect Jason Eaton, 48, appeared virtually in Chittenden County Superior Court on the same day and entered a not guilty plea to all three counts of attempted second-degree murder. Eaton is currently being held without bail ahead of a bond hearing, which a judge said will be scheduled in the coming days. The three college students Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid of Haverford College and Tahseen Ahmed of Trinity College were shot and injured at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday while out for a Thanksgiving holiday gathering in Burlington. ATTORNEY GENERAL GARLAND PROBING POSSIBLE HATE CRIME AFTER SHOOTING OF 3 PALESTINIAN MEN IN VERMONT The students were visiting the home of one of the victim's relatives and were walking to dinner when they were confronted by a White man with a handgun, according to police, who said the gunman opened fire on the victims "without speaking." The shooting happened in front of Eaton's apartment building, police said. Eaton was detained Sunday afternoon near the scene of the shooting. Two of the victims are U.S. citizens, while the third is a legal U.S. resident. Two of the victims also were wearing keffiyehs, traditional scarves worn by some in the Middle East. The Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee said they were speaking Arabic when the shooting occurred. Tamara Tamimi, the mother of Abdalhamid, told ABC News that her son is expected to be released from hospital care soon. Fox News Stephen Sorace and the Associated Press contributed to this report. Original article source: Mother of Vermont shooting victim says son 'may have to be in a wheelchair' VANCOUVER, Wash. (KOIN) A motorcyclist died on Friday after crashing into the backside of a Ford Escort, the Vancouver Police Department announced Monday. The crash took place just after 5 p.m. in the 2000 block of NE 112th Avenue. Salem mayor calls for action to combat rise in gun violence According to witnesses, the motorcyclist had been seen driving at excessive speeds and weaving through traffic prior to the collision, police said. Impairment and speed on the part of the motorcycle rider were predominant factors in the collision. The motorcyclist, a 38-year-old man, had severe injuries and eventually died at the hospital, according to authorities. The 26-year-old woman who was driving the Ford was uninjured. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. DULZURA, Calif. A 29-year-old San Diego man died in a weekend crash on state Route 94 in East County. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) reported Monday that a 29-year-old San Diego man riding a motorcycle was involved in an accident with a Kia Sorrento Sunday morning in the unincorporated area of Dulzura in San Diego County. Body found inside hole in Linda Vista CHP reports the man was heading east on SR-94 at 10:29 a.m. Sunday on a Suzuki GSXR motorcycle. At the same time, a 45-year-old Spring Valley woman and a 47-year-old passenger were heading west in a Kia Sorrento when the driver of the motorcycle crossed the center lines in the roadway, crashing into the Kia, CHP detailed in a report. Solo-vehicle crash on I-805 prompts multiple lane closures The motorcyclist died while in route to a local hospital. He has been identified by the San Diego Medical Examiners Office as 29-year-old Jamal Kashun Reynolds, of San Diego. The driver and passenger in the Kia were minorly injured and did not go to the hospital. The investigation is ongoing. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego. NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) WAVY TV 10 Photojournalist LaVoy Harrell has captured the stories of Hampton Roads residents for more than two decades, but now he is sharing his personal story in the hopes of helping others. So it was 2011 and I remember I was at the house and I was feeling very weak and I couldnt even walk up the stairs, he said. Harrell was 33 years old and the father of a toddler when he was diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer. You see what is important during that time, when death is at your door, he told WAVY. He knew very little about cancer and its warning signs back then. Dr. Bruce Waldholtz, a Gastroenterologist and a volunteer with the American Cancer Societys Cancer Action Network, explained, One out of two men will get cancer in their lifetime and about half of them will not survive. Colon cancer ranks among the top four cancers affecting men according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). Dr. Waldholtz said about 6% will be diagnosed with it. Lung cancer remains the number one cancer killer of men, while prostate cancer is the most common. It affects one in eight men. Movember: Why men should focus on mental health Melanoma (skin cancer) is the most common type of cancer in the U.S. Men are less likely to use sunscreen than women and we live here in Virginia in an area where a lot of children who grew up here may have had sunburns and not even remember them. Two blistering sunburns is enough to increase the risk of melanoma, Waldholtz said. If you could only do two things to reduce your risk of any cancer Waldholtz would advise: DO NOT SMOKE DO SHARE FAMILY HISTORY So this holiday season we would urge women in the family, and really everybody as relatives are around together, to have that discussion who in the family had what cancers and at what age because age is very important, Waldholtz said. Harrells family didnt talk until after his diagnosis. It was like, yea, your grandfather had this and I was like why nobody told me about this earlier?' Harrell recalled. Harrell is very open with his daughters now about their risk and need for early screenings. He is also an advocate for education. Mostly for guys cause, you know, as you say we dont go to the doctor unless somethings about to fall off! he laughed. Early detection increases the chances of more happy endings for stories like Harrells. There are screenings for colon, prostate, lung and skin cancers. The PSA blood test for prostate cancer is recommended for all men over the age of 50 or sooner for all Black men, and those with a family history. Prostate cancer awareness month underscores importance of getting screened Colonoscopy is recommended starting at age 45 or sooner if you have a family history or other risk factors. Lung Cancer CT screenings are recommended yearly for smokers and former smokers ages 50 to 80 who smoked a pack a day for 20 years or two packs a day for 10 years. The best way to catch skin cancer early is to check your skin for changes once a month, paying close attention to moles and spots. You should report any changes to your doctor right away. There is no screening for testicular cancer, which is another for which men should be aware of the signs and symptoms: A lump or swelling in one testicle Breast growth or soreness Heaviness or achiness in the lower abdomen (belly) or scrotum It can happen at any age, but is most common in young men ages 15 to 35 . White men are more likely to get it. If you have a family history, talk to your doctor. Here are links to the Movember stories aired this month: Tuesday, Nov. 28 Movember: One in two men will get cancer, early detection can save lives https://www.wavy.com/news/movember-one-in-two-men-will-get-cancer-early-detection-can-save-lives/ Tuesday, Nov. 21 Movember: Why men should focus on mental health https://www.wavy.com/movember/movember-why-men-should-focus-on-mental-health/ Tuesday, Nov. 14 Movember: Diabetes can cause unique symptoms in men https://www.wavy.com/movember/movember-diabetes-can-cause-unique-symptoms-in-men/ Tuesday, Nov. 7 Movember focus on mens health; how one local man reversed heart disease https://www.wavy.com/movember/movember-focus-on-mens-health-how-one-local-man-reversed-heart-disease/ For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com. U.S. TSA expects to screen 2.9 million air passengers on Nov. 26 Xinhua) 16:56, November 27, 2023 Passengers are pictured at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, the United States, Nov. 26, 2023. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) expects to screen 2.9 million air passengers on Nov. 26, which will likely be the busiest travel day. (Photo by Li Jianguo/Xinhua) Passengers are pictured at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, the United States, Nov. 26, 2023. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) expects to screen 2.9 million air passengers on Nov. 26, which will likely be the busiest travel day. (Photo by Li Jianguo/Xinhua) Passengers are pictured at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, the United States, Nov. 26, 2023. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) expects to screen 2.9 million air passengers on Nov. 26, which will likely be the busiest travel day. (Photo by Li Jianguo/Xinhua) Passengers are pictured at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, the United States, Nov. 26, 2023. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) expects to screen 2.9 million air passengers on Nov. 26, which will likely be the busiest travel day. (Photo by Li Jianguo/Xinhua) Passengers are pictured at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, the United States, Nov. 26, 2023. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) expects to screen 2.9 million air passengers on Nov. 26, which will likely be the busiest travel day. (Photo by Li Jianguo/Xinhua) (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Xian Jiangnan) Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 28) The Department of the Interior and Local Government said overcrowding in jails across the country was reduced following the release of 74,590 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) from January to October this year. "Ang overcrowding noong January ay 281%, ngayon lumalabas nasa 238% na. So nababawasan natin ito ng husto at magtatrabaho pa tayo tungkol dito," DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos said in a statement on Tuesday. [Translation: Overcrowding in January was at 281%, but now it's 238%. So we have reduced it and we will further work on this.] The DILG said most were either released on bail, acquitted, or on parole and probation. Thousands were also transferred to the Bureau of Corrections, youth detention facilities, the National Center for Mental Health, and drug reformation centers. "Ang tema rito ay koreksyon, makorek kung ano man ang pagkakamali wala naman taong hindi nagkakamali at para huwag nang bumalik uli," Abalos said. [Translation: We need reformation, to correct their mistakes everyone makes mistakes and to make sure they don't go back to prison.] PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) A 32-year-old Oregon woman whose body was found in rural Southwest Washington in April is now thought to have been killed in Portland, the Portland Police Bureau announced on Monday. In light of new evidence, the investigation into the death of Joanna K. Speaks, who was found murdered near an abandoned barn in Ridgefield on April 9, was transferred from Clark County to the jurisdiction of the Portland Police Bureau. According to the Clark County Medical Examiners Office, Speaks died from blunt-force injuries to her head and neck. Based on information developed in that investigation, there is reason to believe that the homicide happened in Portland, PPB said. Portland woman rescued from Mt. Hood after falling several hundred feet Online rumors swirled earlier this year that Speaks death was connected to the deaths of five other women who were found dead around the Greater Portland area in a four-month span. Four of the suspicious deaths were ultimately linked to a single person of interest. However, investigators ruled out a connection between Speaks murder and the four related deaths in July. At this time, MCU detectives have no evidence confirming that Joanna Speaks homicide is connected to these other cases, the Clark County Sheriffs Office stated in July. DOJ: City of Brookings ban on feeding homeless may violate religious freedoms No arrests have been made in connection to Speaks unsolved murder. The Portland Police Bureau is asking anyone with more information about the case to contact PPB detectives. Following the announcement, Speaks sister Robyn Speaks issued a statement thanking Clark County investigators and the public for their efforts. Robyn Speaks also said that her family is optimistic that PPBs involvement will offer more opportunities for witness testimony and evidence tracking within the jurisdiction of the original crime scene. We are so much closer to getting justice for Joanna, a beloved mother, a daughter, a sister and a friend to so very many, Speaks said. The newly transferred murder case brings Portlands annual homicide total to 68. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. Musk mocked for trying to resurrect QAnon Pizzagate conspiracy following fake headline Elon Musk has been criticised for seemingly attempting to resurrect the widely debunked QAnon conspiracy theory, Pizzagate. Pizzagate was an anti-Hillary Clinton conspiracy theory promoted on 4chan, Reddit, Twitter and other platforms in the final days before the 2016 US presidential election, and is seen as a precursor to the QAnon movement. Believers accused then presidential hopeful Ms Clinton and other senior Democrats of running a child sex trafficking ring out of the basement of a Washington DC pizza restaurant. The conspiracy theory led to a shooting at the restaurant which turned out not to have a basement. On Tuesday the billionaire tech entrepreneur shared a meme from from the US television comedy The Office on his social media platform X on Tuesday, which accused the experts that had debunked the theory of themselves being paedophiles. The post, which was not labelled with a correctional community note, made reference to former ABC journalist James Gordon Meek who pleaded guilty to child sexual abuse image charges earlier this year. Does seem at least a little bit suspicious, Mr Musk wrote, also linking to an article about Meeks guilty plea. Meme from The Office posted on X/Twitter by Elon Musk appearing to promote the QAnon Pizzagate conspiracy theory (Elon Musk / X) Other X users suggested that Mr Musk had fallen for a fake New York Post headline which was circulated on the platform that associated Meek with the debunking of Pizzagate. The former journalist was not involved in the exposing of the conspiracy theory, according to a fact check by the Reuters news agency. So... Community notes? Hes just wildly transparent, wrote one user. Another added: Man who controls Twitter/X and, while were on it, a majority of the earths satellites, among other things, sharing a *wildly* debunked conspiracy theory. We dont just have "experts" we *know* it was invented on 4chan. This is flirting with some incredibly dangerous stuff. Shayan Sardarizadeh, of the BBC Verify team, wrote in response: The meme shared by Elon Musk about the pizzagate conspiracy theory is itself based on the completely false claim ... that James Gordon Meek, a journalist who recently pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography, had debunked pizzagate. Meek never reported on pizzagate. Another BBC disinformation journalist, Alistair Coleman added: Your regular reminder that Pizzagate was created as a joke on a 4Chan message board, but spread because far too many people on social media arent particularly good at critical thinking. And here we are. The meme shared by Elon Musk about the pizzagate conspiracy theory is itself based on the completely false claim that James Gordon Meek, a journalist who recently pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography, had debunked pizzagate. Meek never reported on pizzagate. https://t.co/Z7Dc5cgNvJ Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86) November 28, 2023 By Tuesday lunchtime Mr Musk had apparently deleted the tweet. It comes shortly after another online post by Mr Musk that attempted to link the founder of Media Matters a left-leaning non-profit group that has accused X of promoting adverts from global companies alongside pro-Hitler content to the owner of the Pizzagate restaurant. Earlier this month, a slew of big brands, including Disney and IBM, decided to stop advertising on X after a report by Media Matters said ads were appearing alongside pro-Nazi content and white nationalist posts. Mr Musk boosted a post rehashing the claims of links between the company and the restaurant owner by replying to it, with the one-word phrase: Weird. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (centre) takes Elon Musk (left) on a tour of Kibbutz Kfar Aza (Getty Images) Self-described free-speech absolutist Mr Musk has also come under fire on multiple occasions recently over content promoting antisemitism on the site, sparking outrage over his own posts and comments which have promoted antisemitic content. On Wednesday November 15, Mr Musk described a post that said a post, had appeared to push the great replacement conspiracy theory on X, was the actual truth. The post claimed that Jewish communities have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them. You have said the actual truth, Mr Musk wrote, a response which earned him praise from white nationalist Nick Fuentes and accusations of antisemitism from dozens more, including the White House. He later responded to the accusations of antisemitism, insisting nothing could be further from the truth. Following the controversies, Mr Musk visited Israel on Monday, where he toured a kibbutz attacked by Hamas militants and held talks with top leaders. The billionaire met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who scolded him over content on his platform, and joined Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a tour of the Kfar Azza kibbutz, a rural village that Hamas militants stormed on 7 October in a deadly assault that launched the war. The platforms you lead, unfortunately, have a huge reservoir of hatred, hatred of Jews and antisemitism, Mr Herzog told him. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) A Muskegon man has been sentenced to 7.5 years in a federal prison for breaking into an Ottawa County business and stealing multiple firearms. Casey Johnson was sentenced Monday in the Western District of Michigans federal court in Grand Rapids. He was convicted earlier this year of three counts of firearm theft and three counts of felon in possession of a firearm. Benton Harbor man sentenced for Glock switch scheme According to the U.S. Attorneys Office, Johnson broke into several businesses and stolen firearms, including three incidents at Michigan Pawn Brokers in Grand Haven. When investigators executed a search warrant at a motel room where the 29-year-old was staying, they found two of the 11 guns stolen from the shop. In a statement, U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said he hopes the sentence will help keep illegal guns off of Michigan streets and to keep our communities safe from gun violence. James Deir, a lead agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Detroit Office, said the sentence should serve as a reminder for people considering similar crimes. In the end, the moral of this case is simple: Crime does not pay, Deir said in a statement. Casey Johnson decided to steal firearms from a federally licensed firearms dealer, because as a prior convicted felon, it was easier than passing a background check. Casey will have a lot of free time to reflect on his poor choices while serving time in a federal prison. Sign up for breaking news alert emails Several local law enforcement agencies helped with the investigation, including the Grand Haven Department of Public Safety, the Muskegon Police Department, the Muskegon Police Department and Michigan State Police. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com. An illuminated sphere flies through black space, with wide rings jetting up and down from its surface. it's tailed by a smooth gaseous wisp of orangish yellow. New research has revealed that different types of neutron stars, born when massive stars die, behave in a similar way. This might sound like a minor result, but in the grand scheme of things, it's a finding that further supports the idea that these extreme dead stars so dense a tablespoon of one equals something like the weight of Mount Everest could be behind mysterious blasts of radiation called Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs). Millisecond-long bursts of radio emission FRBs seem to come from sources beyond the limits of the Milky Way , yet since their discovery in 2007, their origins have remained shrouded in mystery. There is one possible suspect, however: Highly magnetic neutron stars, or magnetars. And the team behind the new discovery, including researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR) and the University of Manchester, found that magnetars indeed share a relationship between the pulse structure and rotation that also present in other so-called "radio-loud" neutron stars. The discovery of a similar "universal scaling" between different sorts of neutron stars hints at the plasma processes that may be responsible for these radio emissions themselves; it also leads scientists to interpret structures seen in FRBs as being the result of a corresponding rotational period, the team says. "When we set out to compare magnetar emission with that of FRBs, we expected similarities," Michael Kramer, first author of a paper on the findings and the director of MPIfR, said in a statement . "What we didnt expect is that all radio-loud neutron stars share this universal scaling. Related: Supernova explosions weird leftovers may contain a super-dense star Neutron Stars! Pulsars! Magnetars! Oh My! Neutron stars form when massive stars run out of fuel for nuclear fusion . Once a star runs out of such fuel, the energy that's been supporting them against the inward, crushing force of their own gravity ceases to exist. This then causes the outer layers of the star to be blown away, resulting in massive supernova explosions while the core itself collapses. That collapse continues until electrons and protons in the region smash together and create a sea of neutron-rich matter, which prevents the stellar core from crushing down ever more. Any more and the core would eventually create a black hole . Sans black hole, however, the result of the core-collapse process is a body around the width of a city here on Earth about 12 miles (20 kilometers) and matter that's incomprehensibly dense. Recall the Mount Everest example. This isnt the only extreme quality the gravitational collapse causes, however. Just as an ice skater can speed up their spin by drawing in their arms, the stellar cores that create neutron stars reduce in radius and therefore "spin up." This spin-up process can affect a core quite a bit. Some younger neutron stars, for instance, can rotate as fast as 700 times every single second. And if they are blasting out jets of radiation that sweeps over Earth, like a beam from a cosmic lighthouse, the fast-spinning neutron star is called a pulsar. Neutron stars that rotate hundreds of times per second are called millisecond pulsars. Though pulsars are notable for their periodic nature, "Rotating Radio Transients," on the other hand, are neutron stars that emit more sporadic and less well-timed blasts of radio waves. Additionally, when the magnetic field lines of stellar cores "crush in" during this collapse, magnetic fields that are a thousand billion times stronger than the magnetic field of the Earth are created. But some neutron stars have more powerful magnetic fields than even that, pushing limits 1,000 times stronger than that of a "normal" neutron star. These are known as magnetars. Astronomers know of around 30 magnetars to date, and around 6 of those have been seen to emit radio waves, leading scientists to theorize that FRBs come from magnetars outside the Milky Way extragalactic magnetars. Finding a connection between all 'radio loud' neutron stars The team set about investigating the possible magnetar-FRB link by looking at individual pulses of the 6 known magnetars in detail. They then probed the sub-structure of the pulses with the Radio Telescope Effelsberg located in Bad Munstereifel, Germany, one of the largest fully directable radio telescopes on Earth. To the teams surprise, the fast-rotating millisecond pulsars and Rotating Radio Transients have similar pulse structures. This led them to a universal scaling relationship for magnetars and the other forms of neutron stars that connect pulse structure to the rotational period, whether these extreme stars are rotating every few milliseconds or in around 100 seconds. "We expect magnetars to be powered by magnetic field energy, while the others are powered by their rotational energy," Kuo Liu, team member and a scientist at MPIfR, said in the statement. "Some are very old, some are very young, and yet all seem to follow this law." Related Stories: Bizarre 'slow' neutron star challenges our theories about dead stars Astronomers spot the fastest spinning magnetar ever seen Scientists discover 'glitched' neutron star that obliterated an asteroid, then fired off a brilliant explosion In other words, the fact that all these radio-wave-blasting neutron stars behave like magnetars suggests that the intrinsic origin of the sub-pulse structure must be the same for any and all neutron stars emitting radio waves. "If at least some FRBs originate from magnetars, the timescale of the substructure in the burst might then tell us the rotation period of the underlying magnetar source," Ben Sappers, team member and a researcher at the Jodrell Bank Center for Astrophysics, said in the statement. "If we find this periodicity in the data, this would be a milestone in explaining this type of FRB as radio sources." The teams research was published on Nov. 23 in the journal Nature Astronomy. ST. LOUIS Family members and local authorities are still searching for answers nearly four decades after Nancy Brannon disappeared from the St. Louis area. Nancy Leah Brannon was reported missing on Nov. 25, 1986 at the age of 34. Investigators say she was last seen near Grand Boulevard and Delor Street in south St. Louis. Brannons car and purse were found at her apartment in Shrewsbury, Missouri, the next day. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Brannon has not been seen since then. Brannons disappearance was recently the subject of a Dateline NBC feature. A research team interviewed her niece Melissa Daus, who shared vivid memories of the last day Nancy was seen, plus some context clues in hopes of solving the lengthy cold case. How time-of-use pricing plan is impacting electric bills Daus said she went to dinner with Brannon on the evening of Nov. 24. She last recalled her wearing blue jeans with a white button-up shirt and a gold chain with a gold cross. According to the Dateline report, one bartender working near Brannons apartment complex and a 1974 Ford might be relevant to the investigation, though no breakthroughs or new leads have emerged from these details in recent years. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News Daus and other family members fear she is not alive, though have been ramping up efforts to solve the case since Thanksgiving of 2019. Its just insane that 37 years, weve got nothing, said Daus via Dateline. The case into Brannons disappearance is still considered to be an open and active investigation, the Shrewsbury Police Department informed Dateline. Brannon is one of more than 600 people listed in the Missouri State Highway Patrols missing adults online resource. If you have any information relevant to this cold case, contact the Shrewsbury Police Department at 314-647-5656 or the Missouri State Highway Patrols Missing Persons Clearinghouse at 1-573-526-6178. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. COMMENTARY | The defense team representing ex-JEA CEO Aaron Zahn asked a federal judge on Monday for a 60-day delay in his currently scheduled February trial on fraud and conspiracy charges, a move that would push it out more than two years since his indictment and nearly five years since the tumultuous era at Jacksonville's city-owned utility forced Zahn out. In an occasionally testy hearing before U.S. District Judge Brian Davis, the lead federal prosecutor, A. Tysen Duva, opposed moving the Feb. 5 start date, asking rhetorically, "what have (the defense lawyers) been doing?" if not preparing for trial. He also said the defense team benefitted from an "unusual and extremely early look" at the government's case during an eight-day hearing this past summer that required prosecutors to disclose previously secret evidence they'd amassed. The potential trial delay is one of several still-outstanding disputes between federal prosecutors and defense attorneys that Davis must resolve in the runup to the trial of Zahn and ex-JEA CFO Ryan Wannemacher, who was accused of conspiring with Zahn to extract profits out of Jacksonville's utility before offloading it to a private buyer. A grand jury indicted both men in March 2022 on wire fraud and conspiracy charges; they pleaded not guilty. It has been a closely watched and in some corners, celebrated prosecution of two former Jacksonville public officials, but their defense lawyers have spent the past two years arguing it should never go to trial because of unusual legal complications. That defense strategy was dealt a major setback earlier this month by a United States magistrate judge, who recommended Davis allow the trial to proceed and cast aside complaints from Zahn and Wannemacher that prosecutors violated their constitutional rights when building the criminal case. That has left even the defense acknowledging that a trial, at whatever date, is increasingly likely. Still, prosecutors and defense lawyers remain far apart on key legal questions that Davis will have to resolve in the near future. Zahn and Wannemacher, for example, have argued they should be tried separately, a considerable undertaking given the government's estimation that its case could take several weeks to present to a jury. Zahn also wants his trial moved to Tampa, where, he has argued, negative attitudes and knowledge about his tenure at JEA and in particular the controversial effort he led to sell it to a private power company would not be nearly as wide spread as in Jacksonville. Defense lawyers also continued to hammer away at an issue they've raised for nearly two years: whether prosecutors violated their clients' right against self incrimination. United States Magistrate Judge Monte Richardson recently dismissed those complaints after a months-long series of hearings and motions a strong indication Davis, who gets the final word, will do the same. But Zahn and Wannemacher have indicated they will continue to raise related complaints in the runup to the trial. Davis has not tipped his hand about how he views some of those defense motions, though he did ask Zahn and Wannemacher's attorneys Monday to estimate when they'd be prepared for trial and "presuppose" he denied several of those requests. Nate Monroe is a metro columnist whose work regularly appears every Thursday and Sunday. Follow him on Twitter @NateMonroeTU. This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Nate Monroe: Ex-JEA CEO Aaron Zahn asks for two month trial delay Disagreements remain among the NATO allies concerning Ukraines rapid accession to the Alliance due to the stance taken by the US and Germany, which are insisting that the process should be determined by the conditions rather than political considerations. Source: Euractiv, citing two NATO diplomats, as reported by European Pravda Details: NATO members have still not reached agreement on whether the reforms set out in the updated Annual National Programme are the conditions under which Ukraine may join NATO, or whether they are a tool to bring Kyiv closer to the Alliance, several NATO diplomats have stated. According to one of the diplomats, this means that when the conditions are met with regard to implementation of the reforms that NATO is to agree on with Ukraine, it will be possible to discuss Ukraines membership. Other sources stated that the reform programme does not contain a list of conditions, but is a "pointer" or "tool" for tracking progress and keeping NATO leaders informed. Meanwhile, the description of the reform sectors generally leaves room for manoeuvre by NATO member states, since they are not bound to a strict assessment of progress but are more likely to express their political opinions. Euractiv remarks that with fewer details to check, there is also a risk that the reforms will never be enough, and that will make it harder to give the green light for accession. "At the end of the day, it remains a political decision," a third NATO diplomat said, citing, for example, delays with Turkey and Hungary ratifying Swedens membership bid due to national interests. Another NATO diplomat said that even if the war with Russia ended tomorrow and Ukraine met all the conditions listed in the reform plan, NATO members would still have to give their consent to invite Ukraine, which may be a difficult process. On Wednesday, 29 November, NATO and Ukraine are expected to sign a list of the reforms that Kyiv has to implement for its future NATO accession. Euractiv says this step should push Kyiv to reform its armed forces and other security sectors, and to provide a checklist that NATO members will be able to track. The document will not be made public. The four NATO diplomats said the process of implementing the annual programme of conditions is less stringent than the NATO Membership Action Plan that candidates had to adhere to in the past. Compared to previous reform plans, Ukraines annual plan is a lot shorter and less detailed 10 pages rather than 300, listing areas of priorities rather than a checklist, which made it very difficult for Ukraine to demonstrate its successes, one person familiar with the discussions said. So it will be easier for Ukraine to demonstrate its achievements before NATOs Washington summit next summer. The many reforms include guaranteeing civil control of the armed forces, drafting a national defence and security strategy, working on the interoperability of the armed forces with those of NATO members, and anti-corruption reforms (changes to the judiciary, asset declaration for politically exposed persons). According to Euractiv, the protection of national minorities is also included in the reform plan alongside human rights and democracy considerations. Budapest regularly raises this as a prerequisite for building any closer link between NATO, the European Union and Kyiv. Background: Earlier, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg reported that Ukraine's allies in the North Atlantic Alliance are to agree on recommendations for the reforms that Ukraine needs to implement to become ready for NATO membership. Prior to that, an updated reform plan for Ukraines future accession to NATO was discussed at the Ukraine-NATO Council in October. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stated after Octobers Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting that several "capability coalitions" for Kyiv would be created, particularly for training the Ukrainian Air Force. Support UP or become our patron! BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO boss Jens Stoltenberg, responding to accusations of Western double standards, said on Tuesday that international law had to apply in all conflicts but the wars in Ukraine and Gaza were very different. Arab leaders have accused Western countries of failing to apply the same standards to Israel's war in Gaza, launched in response to the deadly Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas, as they have applied to Russia's war in Ukraine. Asked about the issue, Stoltenberg said: "My message is that international law, humanitarian law, has to be respected in all conflicts and civilian lives have always to be protected." Speaking at a press conference at the transatlantic military alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Stoltenberg said it was also "important to recognise that the situation in Gaza and the situation in Ukraine is different in many ways". "Ukraine never posed a threat to Russia, Ukraine never attacked Russia," he said. "The Russian invasion of Ukraine was an unprovoked invasion, a full-scale invasion, of another country," he added. "So, of course, Ukraine has the right to self-defence against an unprovoked attack and to uphold territorial integrity." (Reporting by Andrew Gray; Editing by Alexandra Hudson) A North Carolina man has been charged with murder of an unborn child in connection with an assault on his ex-girlfriend, authorities said. Josiah Randolph Hearne was born on Nov. 14 and lived nearly 12 hours before dying of his injuries stemming from the assault on his mother, according to a Rowan County Sheriffs Office news release on Tuesday. Josiahs father, 42-year-old Raymond Jerel Callicutt, was arrested Monday and jailed without bond pending a first court appearance on Wednesday, sheriffs officials said. Callicutt allegedly went to his ex-girlfriends home off N.C. 152 near Atwell and a verbal argument quickly turned physical, according to the release. Days after the assault, the woman went to a hospital, and Josiah was born prematurely at 24 weeks, investigators said. Josiahs death was ruled a homicide due to blunt force trauma, according to the sheriffs office. Josiah had injuries to his liver, brain, heart and lungs, an autopsy by the N.C. Medical Examiners showed. Deputies previously charged Callicutt with breaking and entering in the Nov. 14 incident. I was disappointed, Ill concede, that a federal court last week didnt, even at this early stage, prevent the N.C. Judicial Standards Commissions continuing harassment of Justice Anita Earls. Not surprised, perhaps, but disappointed. Im an old Federal Courts teacher, so I know of the reluctance of federal tribunals to interfere with state investigative processes. And the full contours of freedom of speech in judicial elections remain surprisingly underdeveloped. My expectations, then, were modest. But the moves of the Judicial Standards Commission, and Judge William Osteens decision to defer to them, ill-serve North Carolina. Gene Nichol Osteen noted the commissions purported concern that Justice Earls said to an interviewer the new members (of the Supreme Court) talk of themselves as a conservative bloc, their allegiance is to the ideology, not the institution. This, according to the judge, could suggest that a bloc of justices on the N.C. Supreme Court place their political ideology above the institution thus reflecting on the integrity of the judiciary. Well, yes it could. The problem with sanctioning Earls for saying the new Republican Supreme Courts allegiance is to the ideology, not the institution is that her statement is literally and precisely true. In fact, those eight words may be the truest ever spoken about our new court. Political ideology, as Osteen puts it, does, without doubt, call the shots on our high tribunal. Every time. Nothing else matters so much. It takes only a reading of the case reports to demonstrate it. Can it be that the First Amendment allows the straight-forward truth, spoken by the government official who is the closest and most knowledgeable witness to the massive transgression, to be censured? Judge Osteen also reminds that the N.C. Judicial Code was established in furtherance of an independent judiciary which is indispensable to justice in our society. It is potently ironic that Republican political judges have surrendered the demands and aspirations of judicial independence, but Justice Earls is apparently to be sanctioned for calling it out. Its the clean sweep of suppression. There is a second aspect of this charade that a system of free expression cant tolerate. Speech restrictions cant be applied selectively, limiting some but allowing others to go forward merrily unregulated. Paul Newby, the most partisan chief justice in N.C. history, has written that an opinion by former Democratic justice Robin Hudson represented partisan biases that have no place in a judiciary, and that his six former Democratic colleagues were six AOCs (referring to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez). Phillip Berger Jr., the most partisan justice in N.C. history, joyously cited an article declaring the lasting Republican grip on the N.C. Supreme Court in an opinion. He referred to Justice Earls ad nauseum fanciful protestations in another. You cant have expression rules that apply only to Black women Democratic justices. The Judicial Standards Commission is charged with knowing that. Finally, the Republican politicization of the N.C. Supreme Court has now effectively constrained the ability of the state standards scheme to operate constitutionally. The Judicial Standards Commission can only seek more serious sanctions ranging from reprimand to removal from the bench by recommending them to the state Supreme Court for actual implementation. But various Republican justices of the high court have proven not only to be among Justice Earls most aggressive tormentors, but are themselves the states greatest practitioners of partisan, ideological, judicial decision-making. Shall they now sit in judgment of Earls? Talk about rich. This is apparently due process in North Carolina. Contributing columnist Gene Nichol is a professor of law at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 28) The Marcos administration on Tuesday announced that it will resume peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), as both parties acknowledged the "need to unite" to address national challenges, including foreign security threats. Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity Carlito Galvez Jr. said both parties signed a joint communique in Oslo, Norway on Nov. 23, agreeing to "a principled and peaceful resolution" in ending the armed conflict. The NDFP is the umbrella organization representing communist rebels in the peace talks. "Cognizant of all serious socioeconomic and environmental issues and the foreign security threats facing the country, the parties recognized the need to unite as a nation in order to urgently address these challenges and resolve the reasons [for] the armed conflict," Galvez said in a media briefing, reading the text of the communique. In a statement on Tuesday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the government has taken a bold, meaningful, and optimistic step towards a unified country in signing the joint agreement. He called on Filipinos to welcome the government's vision of peace, national reconciliation, and unity. According to the joint statement, the parties acknowledge "the deep-rooted socio-economic and political grievances and agree to come up with a framework that sets the priorities for the peace negotiation," with the aim of implementing relevant reforms. The development followed a series of informal discussions between the two sides which were held in the Netherlands and Norway starting last year, and which were facilitated by the Royal Norwegian Government. It was also announced days after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. granted amnesty to current and former members of rebel groups who may have committed crimes "in pursuit of their political beliefs." "Resolving the roots of the armed conflict and ending the armed struggle shall pave the way for the transformation of the CPP (Communist Party of the Philippines)-NPA (New People's Army)-NDFP," the communique stated. In the first year of his term, former President Rodrigo Duterte initiated peace talks with the CPP, which has been waging over five decades of insurgency in the countryside. However, talks were terminated in November 2017 after the government and the communist group accused each other of violating announced ceasefires. Following the death of CPP founder Joma Sison in December 2022, the party said it was willing to resume the negotiations. The CPP-NPA on Tuesday expressed support for the resumption of peace talks but demanded that the government abolish the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and repeal RA 10592 or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 to speed up negotiations. "With the gut feel that I have, I believe, nakita ko [I can see] personally, there is that kind of commitment and also there is a kind of goodwill on both partiesto end really the armed conflict," Galvez said in a news conference in Malacanang. "We are very confident, I'm very confident that there is something that after this joint statement, we can finally end up with the final peace agreement," he added. Philippine National Police Chief Benjamin Acorda also welcomed the joint communique and hoped it will lead to an actual peace agreement. "I hope this will lead really to a long and lasting peace and I look at it as way of adding more food to the table, sa mga Pilipino [for Filipinos]," he said in a statement. National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano, meanwhile, said it is time to put an end to the decades old armed conflict. "It's about time to have closure, closure that is acceptable to everybody, to the Filipino people," he said. "Maybe this is the final agreement that we can come to and matapos na rin iyong [finally end the] armed struggle." No immediate effect Despite the signing of the communique, there will be no ceasefire yet between state forces and communist rebels. "Kung ano po ang ginagawa ng gobyerno, patuloy po iyong atin pong programa [The government will continue its program]. So, it is agreed upon that there is no immediate effect," Galvez told reporters when asked if there will be changes on the ground. For the Christmas season, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said it is up to local officials to decide if they will declare a holiday ceasefire. "We leave it to the local peace and order councils and the area commanders, unit commanders to determine whether or not they will suspend operations in their area of responsibility," Teodoro said. Meanwhile, Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. called the signing of the joint communique a "victory," saying a potential end to the communist insurgency would mean the AFP could better shift its focus to external defense. Nearly 2,000 offenders are to be freed from Blair-era indefinite prison sentences under reforms announced on Monday by Alex Chalk, the Justice Secretary. Mr Chalk is to end the scandal where offenders jailed under the Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) scheme can spend the rest of their lives on licence, subject to automatic recall to prison for any breach of its terms however minor. Under the changes, they will now automatically be freed from their licence if they avoid any breaches for five years after being released from jail. The move will be retrospectively applied to 1,800 freed prisoners who have been subject to lifetime licences, often for lower-order offences. Mr Chalk said: We are taking decisive action to curtail IPP licence periods to give rehabilitated people the opportunity to move on with their lives, while continuing to make sure the public are protected from the most serious offenders. This is a major step towards wiping away the stain of IPP sentences from our justice system, without compromising public protection. Indeterminate IPP sentences were introduced by the Blair Government in 2003 as a way of indefinitely jailing dangerous offenders who were ineligible for a life sentence. They were abolished by the Conservatives in 2012, but the reform did not affect those who were already serving an IPP sentence. Offenders handed an IPP have to serve a minimum tariff. The regime was frequently used to punish offenders convicted for lower-order crimes, with critics saying that it was too broadly applied. One prisoner was in jail for ten years after he was given an indeterminate sentence for stealing a phone, with a recommendation that he serve a minimum term of 12 months. Those released have faced indefinite licence for the rest of their lives unless a parole board determines ten years after their release that they are no longer a risk. Mr Chalk has described the ten-year licence period as being like a sword of Damocles hanging over IPP offenders. Under the changes announced by Mr Chalk, they will be referred for review by the parole board three years after their release and, if not freed of their licence then, it will be terminated after a further two years if they remain free of trouble. Defined end date This is the first time that these offenders will have a defined end date to their sentence, said the MoJ. There are 2,916 people in prison on an IPP sentence, 1,355 of whom have never been released. Of those, 641 have been in prison for at least ten years longer than their tariff, including 189 whose original term was under two years. Almost half of offenders in jail on an IPP sentence have been recalled to prison after earlier being released because of a breach of their licence. However, a report by the justice committee found many licence breaches were for minor violations that did not reach a criminal threshold or for unsubstantiated allegations that were later proven to be false. One man was recalled to prison for 23 months after breaching a licence condition on Facebook but it was later found to have been someone else impersonating him. 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. HOUSTON Severe weather is expected to return to Texas on Thursday as a soggy setup brings plenty of rain to the South and Southeast into the weekend, providing beneficial moisture and drought relief from the Gulf Coast states to Florida. Starting Thursday, an area of high pressure will shift east as clockwise winds around the high allow a southerly flow to send moisture from the Gulf of Mexico to Texas and the Gulf Coast states. FLASH DROUGHT INCREASING ACROSS SOUTHEAST DRIVES WILDFIRE GROWTH As the rain event begins in the Lone Star State, it will include a risk for severe thunderstorms, including tornadoes, damaging winds and large hail. This slow-moving storm system will continue bringing rain from Louisiana to the Carolinas through the weekend. The Southeast rain setup from Thursday through Sunday. There are threats of severe weather and flash flooding on Thursday and Friday. The severe weather threat is expected to develop during the late-morning hours on Thursday and continue into the evening, with the highest threat of severe storms focused over southeastern Texas, including parts of the Houston metro area. Forecasters with NOAA's Storm Prediction Center (SPC) have issued a Level 3 out of 5 risk for severe thunderstorms on Thursday over a small portion of southeastern Texas, including College Station, The Woodlands, Bryan, Conroe and Spring. The highest risk will be from late Thursday morning through mid-afternoon across southeastern Texas, according to the SPC, with severe storms and a few tornadoes possible. There is a Level 2 out of 5 risk for severe weather on Thursday in other parts of southeastern Texas, including Houston, and eastward into southwestern Louisiana, including Lake Charles. Scattered thunderstorms will shift the severe weather threat into the central Gulf Coast states on Friday, where there is a Level 1 out of 5 risk for severe thunderstorms in New Orleans and Baton Rouge in Louisiana and Birmingham, Montgomery and Mobile in Alabama. As the rain moves into urban areas on Thursday, flooding is possible for cities such as Houston, Shreveport in Louisiana and Little Rock in Arkansas. From Friday afternoon through Saturday morning, a flash-flood threat will be possible from New Orleans to Panama City, Florida. The rainy forecast is much needed for Mississippi and Louisiana, which are facing exceptional drought, the worst conditions on the U.S. Drought Monitor. The South has some of the driest cities in the U.S. right now, including Chattanooga in Tennessee, Jackson in Mississippi and Birmingham in Alabama. In Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, rain totals have been more than 7 inches below average since Sept. 1. By Friday, the system will stall over the Gulf Coast, setting Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama up for back-to-back rainy days. HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER Multiple inches of rain is likely from southeastern Texas to the Florida Panhandle as the wet weather sticks around through Sunday. This wet pattern will likely continue next week as the FOX Forecast Center is tracking more moisture surging into the South. Original article source: Texas faces tornado threat as needed rain returns to South on Thursday Judge Charles Simms held a hearing for Brooks Houck who is being charged in connection with Crystal Rogers disappearance at Nelson County Circuit Court. Oct 5, 2023 Nelson Circuit Court Judge Charles Simms III will not be removed from presiding over Brooks Houck's criminal trial, with the Supreme Court of Kentucky on Monday denying a defense motion for a disqualification. While defense attorneys say Simms has demonstrated bias against Houck, Chief Justice Laurance B. VanMeter disagrees, writing "the Defendant has failed to demonstrate any disqualifying circumstance" in the court order. Houck faces charges of murder and tampering with physical evidence related to the 2015 disappearance of his former girlfriend, Crystal Rogers. Rogers, a mother of five who had her youngest child with Houck, has never been found but is presumed dead. Why was the judge in the Crystal Rogers case asked to step down? In their request, defense attorneys Brian Butler and Michael Denbow include remarks made by Simms six years ago during a custody dispute hearing involving Houck's longtime partner, Crystal Maupin. Simms presided over the custody dispute in 2017 and referenced Houck in a written order: "this Court is simply astonished that (Maupin) would want a relationship with a man (Brooks Houck) who is the prime suspect in the disappearance and presumed death of his previous girlfriend." In a court order denying the request for his recusal, Simms said his ruling in that custody dispute was ultimately favorable to Houck because it allowed him to have contact with Maupin's child over the objection of the child's father. Simms wrote he used the word "astonished" because "there was alarming evidence that Maupin's relationship with Brooks could negatively impact the child." Because Houck was identified as a suspect by law enforcement in Rogers' disappearance early in the investigation, Maupin's relationship with him caused her to lose employment and be under considerable stress due to the level of harassment in the community, according to court documents. "In a nutshell, this judge simply wanted Maupin to contemplate how potential criminal charges could impact her and her child," Simms wrote. How have attorneys claimed Judge Simms is biased in the Brooks Houck trial? Houck's defense said Simms demonstrated a bias during Houck's arraignment by asking a probing question of the prosecution that would justify keeping his bond at $10 million. Simms said Houck's substantial wealth and resources as well as "the gravity of the murder charge" led him to keep the bond at $10 million. Simms said his concern over witness safety was also justified due to the prosecution's claim that members of Houck's family have interfered with past court proceedings and criminal investigations related to Rogers' disappearance. Houck's defense appealed Simms' decision to keep his multimillion bond amount, but the Kentucky Court of Appeals subsequently upheld the judge's order. In a statement, Attorney General Daniel Cameron's office agreed with the state appellate court's ruling, "given the need to protect potential witnesses and to secure a fair trial." The Attorney Generals Office will continue to work alongside Special Prosecutor Shane Young to ensure justice for Crystal Rogers and her family, Cameron's office added. More: Three takeaways from Brooks Houck arraignment in Crystal Rogers case This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky Supreme Court denies Brooks Houck's motion to remove judge LAS VEGAS (KLAS) A Nevada Assembly Democrat is running for a spot on the Las Vegas City Council, according to a Tuesday announcement. Shondra Summers-Armstrong is seeking the Ward 5 seat currently held by City Councilman Cedric Crear, who is running for Las Vegas mayor. As a resident of Ward 5 for over 24 years, my connection to the people here and their concerns is not new to me. I have deep roots in this community and a proven history of working with neighbors, activists, union members, and faith-based organizations to illuminate the residents issues that have historically been ignored, Armstrong said in a statement. Nine Democrats including eight women are leaving Assembly seats, with Republicans citing ethics concerns over votes late in the Nevada Legislatures closing days that approved millions in funding for nonprofits. Some of those nonprofits had connections to lawmakers. One ethics complaint has been filed, naming Assemblywoman Michelle Gorelow and Assemblywoman Tracy Brown-May. Summers-Armstrong wasnt a Republican target, but she didnt formally announce her reason for leaving until today. In a Nov. 4 statement, she told 8 News Now she was considering a run for the Ward 5 seat. She represents Assembly District 6, which includes the northeastern part of Ward 5, as well as downtown and part of east Las Vegas. Las Vegas City Council Ward 5. This is my neighborhood and my neighbors. And there is no one better equipped to recognize and address the unique challenges Ward 5 faces, Armstrong said. I believe that my experiences as a small business owner, a public employee, and a community activist, provide a unique perspective from which to advocate for policies that support small businesses, improve public services, and strengthen communities. Armstrongs experience during a 26-year career with the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada also includes time as chief union steward for SEIU Local 1107. She was involved in the effort to demand changes to Interstate 15 freeway designs when a freeway ramp was eliminated, isolating neighborhoods in Historic West Las Vegas. The Stop the F Street Closure LLC group succeeded in restoring access. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. TEMPE, Ariz. - Court documents are providing additional details on a crash over the Thanksgiving weekend that killed two people. According to the documents, the man was arrested early Saturday morning by Tempe Police officials. Here are the details on what happened. Who's the suspect? Derek Charles Franklin Glasscock Court documents identified the suspect as Derek Charles Franklin Glasscock. The suspect, according to court documents, lives in Las Vegas. What happened? The incident, according to court documents, began to unfold at around 1:36 a.m. on Nov. 25, when Tempe Police tried to stop a Ford Mustang in the area of Rural Road and Terrace. The Mustang in question, according to investigators, was seen taking part in a street race with another vehicle. Speed reportedly reached in excess of 100 mph (~160.9 km/h) in an area where the maximum speed was 35 mph (~56.3 km/h). "The Ford Mustang fled from police and a pursuit was not initiated. Shortly after the Ford Mustang fled from police, a cloud of smoke was seen rising into the air," read a portion of the court documents. "It was discovered the same blue Ford Mustang had crashed on the east side of Rural Road, south of Broadway Road." Court documents contained graphic descriptions of the crash. Officials said the vehicle Glasscock was driving may have reached speeds of 153 mph (~246.2 km/h) before Glasscock lost control, citing calculations made by investigators. The vehicle, investigators claim, went airborne after leaving the roadway, and collided with a power pole and two palm trees. In our initial report, it was stated that the vehicle was split in half as a result of the crash. Glasscock, according to investigators, was pinned inside the car following the crash. Besides Glasscock, there was a man and a woman inside the vehicle. Both were ejected from the vehicle, and the man was declared dead at the scene by first responders. The woman, meanwhile, was taken to the hospital, where she later died. While court documents did not identify the victims, Tempe Police officials released a statement on Nov. 27 that identifed the female victim as 31-year-old Maria Rangel, and the male victim as 32-year-old Jesse Ruiz. In court documents, investigators state the two victims were involved in a relationship, and were living together. What happened after the crash? Court documents state that when officers made contact with Glasscock, he "repeatedly made spontaneous statements indicating he should not have been driving, and that he had been drinking alcohol." A search warrant, according to court documents, was served on Glasscock while he was at the hospital, and a blood sample was drawn. "Glasscock admitted to having two whiskey mixed drinks between [10:00 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.]. Glasscock could not remember leaving Sun Bar, and stated the last thing he remembered was being inside his car after the crash. Glasscock also did not remember if anyone else was with him in the car, but stated he had met with friends at Sun Bar," read a portion of the court documents. Glasscock was taken to the Tempe City Jail after he was released from the hospital, according to court documents. What is the suspect accused of? Glasscock, according to court documents, is accused of two counts of reckless manslaughter (A.R.S. 13-1103A1), which is a Class 2 Felony. A judge has set a $20,000 secured appearance bond for Glasscock, and should he make the bond, he will be subjected to a number of restrictions, including a ban on alcohol possession or consumption, along with alcohol testing and monitoring. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Dec. 5. Incident Scene A 34-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of raping a woman in town centre park. The woman in her 40s was attacked in Victoria Park, Newbury, Berkshire, over the night of Wednesday 22 November to the morning of the following day. Thames Valley Police said the arrested man from Newbury had since been released on bail. It added specialist officers were supporting the woman and urged anyone with information to come forward. Follow BBC South on Facebook, X, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to south.newsonline@bbc.co.uk. Google Maps is being blamed for leading a number of drivers on their way back to Los Angeles from Las Vegas down a dirt road to nowhere during a dust storm in the Mojave Desert earlier this month. The unsettling detour happened on Nov. 19 as Shelby Easler, her brother and their significant others were returning to L.A. after enjoying the Formula 1 race in Sin City, SFGATE reported. In order to avoid a dust storm causing major traffic delays that day, Google Maps suggested an alternate route to I-15, the primary highway connecting Las Vegas to Southern California. According to the Bay Area outlet, it was the couples first time driving back and forth between the two cities and they were unaware that they should just stick to Interstate 15. We ironically thought it would be a safer option, and it did say it would be 50 minutes faster, she told SFGate. A short time later, Easler and company, along with what appears to be at least a dozen other cars, found themselves on a dirt road in a harsh Nevada desert. drivers blame Google Maps for getting stuck on a desert road in Nevada When a man in a huge truck traveling in the opposite direction told Easler that the road was washed out in the mountains, essentially becoming a road to nowhere, she and other drivers attempted to turn around, only to find themselves stuck in the loose soil and scrub of the desert path. Man who stripped naked on Disneyland ride was on drugs, police say After dialing 911 and learning that the California Highway Patrol was busy with the dust storm on I-15, Easler called a towing company which eventually helped her and the other stranded motorists, SFGATE reported. To add insult to injury, Easler was forced to leave her car at a service center in Vegas because the rear, right tire and her cars alignment didnt quite survive the off-roading adventure. In the end, Easler told SFGATE that from now on she plans to stick to the beaten path. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. UK, US and other governments release rules to stop AI being hijacked by rogue actors The UK, US and other governments have released plans they hope will stop artificial intelligence being hijacked by rogue actors. The major agreement hailed as the first of its kind represents an attempt to codify rules that will keep AI safe and ensure that systems are built to be secure by design. In a 20-page document unveiled Sunday, the 18 countries agreed that companies designing and using AI need to develop and deploy it in a way that keeps customers and the wider public safe from misuse. The agreement is non-binding and carries mostly general recommendations such as monitoring AI systems for abuse, protecting data from tampering and vetting software suppliers. Still, the director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Jen Easterly, said it was important that so many countries put their names to the idea that AI systems needed to put safety first. This is the first time that we have seen an affirmation that these capabilities should not just be about cool features and how quickly we can get them to market or how we can compete to drive down costs, Easterly told Reuters, saying the guidelines represent an agreement that the most important thing that needs to be done at the design phase is security. The agreement is the latest in a series of initiatives - few of which carry teeth - by governments around the world to shape the development of AI, whose weight is increasingly being felt in industry and society at large. In addition to the United States and Britain, the 18 countries that signed on to the new guidelines include Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, Australia, Chile, Israel, Nigeria and Singapore. The framework deals with questions of how to keep AI technology from being hijacked by hackers and includes recommendations such as only releasing models after appropriate security testing. It does not tackle thorny questions around the appropriate uses of AI, or how the data that feeds these models is gathered. The rise of AI has fed a host of concerns, including the fear that it could be used to disrupt the democratic process, turbocharge fraud, or lead to dramatic job loss, among other harms. Europe is ahead of the United States on regulations around AI, with lawmakers there drafting AI rules. France, Germany and Italy also recently reached an agreement on how artificia lintelligence should be regulated that supports mandatory self-regulation through codes of conduct for so-called foundation models of AI, which are designed to produce a broad range of outputs. The Biden administration has been pressing lawmakers for AI regulation, but a polarized U.S. Congress has made little headway in passing effective regulation. The White House sought to reduce AI risks to consumers, workers, and minority groups while bolstering national security with a new executive order in October. Additional reporting by Reuters New Hampshires new secure facility for at-risk youth wont have more than 18 beds, as lawmakers demanded, but it will be bigger and cost more than the $21.6 million budgeted. Thats largely due to the needs of the teenagers who will be there, according to Morissa Henn, deputy commissioner of Health and Human Services. Henn said the department is seeing more gang members, who can often require more space because they must be sight and sound separated from residents in rival gangs. The number of youth at the current facility has also increased, from last years daily average of 12 to 19, DHHS Commissioner Lori Weaver told lawmakers this month. And more residents, who can be as young as 13, are being held longer, some on serious offenses that require they stay until they can be transferred to adult court at 18, Henn said. It became important, she said, for the design team to think beyond space for just basics such as bedrooms, bathrooms, and common areas to include educational and vocational programming and room to live, not just stay. The reality is this is going to be their home. To be too small is not ideal for any person in their living quarters, Henn said. You want to get it just right so it has a residential feel, so it has a highly trauma-informed feel, but also so that individuals have space to breathe when they need that. We just didnt want to err too small on the residential end. The project has expanded from 25,000 square gross footage to 32,000, Weaver told lawmakers. The department is expected to seek permission from the Executive Council Wednesday to use $6.5 million in unspent federal COVID-19 assistance to cover increased project costs. The money had been set aside to respond to a coronavirus surge last winter that didnt happen. Henn said the department confirmed it can repurpose the money to address other challenges triggered or exacerbated by the pandemic, such as mental health needs. The Joint Legislative Fiscal Committee overwhelmingly approved the request earlier this month. Currently, youth between 13 and 17 who are ordered held by the courts for offenses are placed at the 144-bed Sununu Youth Services Center in Manchester, either until they go before a judge or after they are committed, typically for several weeks or months, depending on the circumstances. As the state has worked to divert juveniles from detention, into community services and mental health treatment, the building has become far bigger than needed. For years, youth advocates, mental health providers, and civil rights groups have wanted to replace the enormous detention facility with a much smaller therapeutic setting that is secure but feels more like a home. They resolved disagreements over the size and programming requirements this year with House Bill 49, which set aside $21.6 million to build a facility with 12 beds but space to surge to 18 if needed. Henn said the department hopes to have the new facility, which will be placed on the grounds of the states Hampstead Hospital, an inpatient psychiatric facility for youth, by the end of 2025. That choice has raised concerns among lawmakers and local first responders, said Rep. Jess Edwards, an Auburn Republican who sits on a committee studying the potential impacts of putting a new secure youth facility on the grounds. He said police have seen an increase in calls since the state purchased Hampstead Hospital last year and began admitting patients with greater mental health needs. Weve had a rocky start up. Im not going to sugarcoat that, Weaver told the Joint Legislative Fiscal Committee Nov. 9, saying calls began to level off in September and October. Its going to be a constant effort to make sure that the children are safe and that the facility is not disrupting the town and not (overburdening) the services in the town, Weaver said. Were trying to strike that balance constantly. Im confident we can get there. Its gonna take us a minute though. Henn said the team designing the youth facility had proposed an even greater expansion. She said the department was able to reduce that by about half. Staff will not have private offices but instead share staff space at Hampstead Hospital, Henn said. That will keep staff on the floor with the youth and save costs. But, the new facility must also meet the requirements laid out by the Legislature related to educational space, visitation areas, and clinical care. We dont come to ask for this lightly, Weaver told the fiscal committee. This is obviously a serious ask. We know what was budgeted for it. But at the same time, I cant tell you in good conscience that I can build a facility that is safe and meets those requirements with the $21 million (that was budgeted). This story was originally published by the New Hampshire Bulletin This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: NH officials: Kids need larger replacement for Sununu youth center Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 28) Mali, the only elephant in the Philippines, died around 3:45 p.m. on Tuesday, the Manila City government announced. "Gusto po namin ipaalam na sa kasalukuyan ay ginagawa natin ang necropsy upang malaman po natin ang tunay na dahilan ng kanyang pagkamatay," Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna said. [Translation: We would like to inform you that we are currently doing the necropsy to find out the true cause of her death.] The female Asian elephant, whose full name is Vishwa Ma'ali, was approximately 50 years old. Asian elephants, listed as endangered species, have an average life span of up to 60 years in the wild. Mali had been in the care of the Manila Zoo since she came to the Philippines as a gift from Sri Lanka. She arrived in the park in 1977, according to Manila Zoo, although the Manila Public Information Office said that she was turned over to the City of Manila in May 1981, when she was 11 months old. Animal rights groups have been calling for the release and rehabilitation of Mali, together with music icon Paul McCartney, who joined the petition in 2013 by reportedly writing a letter to late president President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III. Manila Zoo has been home to over 500 animals since it opened in July 1959. Lacuna said the local government will hold a press briefing on Wednesday to give updates on Mali's death. St George's has accepted Prof Marjan Jahangiri, pictured, had done nothing wrong - ALEX LENTAT/EYEVINE An NHS trust has admitted causing severe distress to an eminent cardiac surgeon who was wrongly blamed for the deaths of dozens of patients. In a humiliating climbdown, one of Londons leading hospitals has issued an unprecedented statement accepting Prof Marjan Jahangiri had done nothing wrong. It followed a series of events instigated by the hospital that had threatened to destroy her career. Prof Jahangiri was suspended by St Georges University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in August 2018. An NHS England Independent Mortality Review subsequently concluded that cardiac surgeons at the hospital had caused the deaths of 67 patients. The review, conducted by consultant surgeon Michael Lewis, left their reputations in tatters and led the trust to pay hundreds of thousands of pounds in legal fees over claims of clinical malpractice and mistakes in care. But, when Prof Jahangiri and her fellow surgeon Dr Justin Nowell were subsequently referred by St Georges medical director to the General Medical Council (GMC) for a misconduct investigation, it found they had no case to answer. Prof Jahangiri was suspended by St Georges University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in August 2018 - DAVID GEE/ALAMY St Georges and Dr Jennings, its chief medical officer, have now issued a statement acknowledging the distress caused to Prof Jahangiri in connection with these matters. They said in the statement: The trust recognises how stressful and difficult these events have been for Prof Jahangiri. Following the gruelling 18-month process, the GMC informed Prof Jahangiri and Dr Nowell in May 2022 that they had no case to answer and there was no need for a formal investigation. By then, a High Court judge had ruled in August 2019 that no blame should be attached to the pair. Dr Nowell and Prof Jahangiri were reinstated and received apologies and compensation from the hospital. This was followed by a series of inquests into deaths at St Georges, following which Prof Fiona Wilcox, a senior coroner for inner west London, issued a rare Prevention of Future Deaths report criticising hospital management and stating that no blame should have been attached to St Georges medical staff and the two surgeons. GMC unable to identify failings of care In the statement published on Tuesday, St Georges Trust said: The GMC closed their investigation into Prof Jahangiri with no further action being taken. The GMC concluded that they had not seen anything that could potentially call Prof Jahangiris fitness to practise into question and that they were unable to identify any issues that would need us to open a GMC investigation. The statement added: Further, the senior coroner has identified no failings of care by Prof Jahangiri in inquests relating to her patients or otherwise, and to the contrary, has praised the care given by Prof Jahangiri. The statement added: The Trust acknowledges the important contribution Prof Jahangiri has made to cardiac surgery at St Georges Hospital. She has helped to build the cardiac unit and has been instrumental in training other cardiac surgeons. The statement came after Prof Jahangiri issued Employment Tribunal proceedings against the trust. St Georges added: The Trust is committed to supporting our staff as much as possible in difficult situations such as these, and will apply any learning to support all its staff. The Trust looks forward to having a constructive working relationship with Prof Jahangiri. Inaccurate information given to minsters Prof Jahangiri, an experienced cardiac specialist, said in February that it took an intervention by her constituency MP, Conservative Felicity Buchan, to obtain a correction from James Morris, the health minister, about the remit of the Lewis morality review. She told an inquest into the death of one of the patients, 84-year-old Maureen Brett, that: NHS Improvement (NHSI) gave inaccurate information about the Lewis review to ministers in advance of two debates in both Houses of Parliament. It was only due to the concerted efforts of my MP, Miss Felicity Buchan, that the health minister issued a written apology and retracted the errors. 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. TechCrunch Smartphone sales will mount a comeback starting in 2024, defying growing warnings of a prolonged slump across the mobile sector, according to separate projections by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley reviewed by TechCrunch. Morgan Stanley's report predicts global smartphone shipments will rebound by nearly 4% in 2024 and by 4.4% in 2025, shrugging off comparisons to the PC industrys multi-year downdrafts. Driving the smartphone turnaround will be new on-device AI capabilities unlocking fresh demand, Morgan Stanley says. Nikki Haley has been endorsed by a powerful conservative group founded by the Republican mega-donor Charles Koch, in a move that could dramatically shake up the 2024 Republican primary. Americans for Prosperity Action (AFP), a political action committee founded by Mr Koch and backed by other wealthy conservatives, said it was proud to throw our full support behind Ms Haley. Emily Seidel, senior adviser for the group, said the 51-year-old former US ambassador to the UN will have the full weight and scope of the groups unmatched grassroots army and resources in her presidential bid. The intervention is a major boost to Ms Haley roughly seven weeks before the contest begins in Iowa, a critical proving ground for Donald Trumps challengers. Mr Trump holds a commanding, double-digit lead over the field but Ms Haley has gained momentum after a string of fiery TV debate performances and is presenting herself as the most credible alternative to the former president. AFPs backing is a blow for Ron DeSantis, the 45-year-old Florida governor whose bid to take on Mr Trump has been in free fall since the summer. Andrew Romeo, a spokesman for Mr DeSantis, said the endorsement represented an in-kind donation to the Trump campaign, arguing that Ms Haley has no path to victory. Like clockwork, the pro-open borders, pro-jail break bill establishment is lining up behind a moderate who has no mathematical pathway of defeating the former president, Mr Romeo said. No one has a stronger record of beating the establishment than Ron DeSantis, and this time will be no different. Ms Haley has challenged Mr DeSantis second-place position with a bump in donations and support in recent weeks and is increasingly being seen as Mr Trumps strongest rival. She has benefited too from the early exit of Mike Pence, the former vice-president, and Tim Scott, the South Carolina senator, whose supporters and donors have regrouped behind Ms Haley. Charles Koch, like his late brother David until his death in 2019, has been a power player in Republican politics for decades. The billionaire brothers were executives of the family business Koch Industries, one of the largest privately held companies in the US. Charles Koch was an early backer of the populist grassroots Tea Party movement that materialised in response to Barack Obamas emergence on the national political scene, but later said he regretted his support. The Koch-backed AFP declined to endorse Mr Trump in the 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns but has a formidable warchest. It spent around $69 million on Republican races in the 2022 midterm elections. In its last public disclosure in June, AFP said it had raised more than $70 million, with $25 million coming directly from Mr Koch. While the group has not said how much it will spend on Ms Haley, it has promised to deploy the largest grassroots operation in the country and a presence in all fifty states. AFP vowed to work to block Mr Trump earlier this year amid concerns over his electability and, after weighing his rivals for months, said it was endorsing Ms Haley because she has what it takes to lead. However, they face severe headwinds, with Mr Trump leading the Republican field with around 60 per cent of support from the partys voters in national polling. Mr DeSantis and Ms Haley have around 12 per cent and 10 per cent respectively according to polling aggregator FiveThirtyEight. However, the picture is slightly more mixed in the early voting states, where many voters have yet to make up their minds and Mr Trumps lead could be challenged. Both Mr DeSantis and Ms Haley hope to provide an upset to Mr Trumps frontrunner status in Iowa. AFP already has spent millions of dollars on advertising in the early states. One flyer in Iowa has images of Mr Trump and Joe Biden and reads: You can stop Bidenby letting go of Trump. 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. The logo of the Nippon Life Insurance Co. is displayed at the company's headquarters in Tokyo TOKYO (Reuters) -Nippon Life Insurance plans to acquire Nichii Holdings, the parent company of nursing care provider Nichiigakkan, for about 210 billion yen ($1.41 billion), a Nippon Life spokesperson said on Tuesday, as the country's population ages rapidly. Nippon Life has agreed to buy a 99.6% stake in Nichii Holdings from a fund linked to Bain Capital and other shareholders, the spokesperson said. The company, however, is still in talks with regulators to get approval for the deal, the spokesperson added. Bain Capital bought Nichiigakkan in 2020 for $1.2 billion. ($1 = 148.6700 yen) (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki, Mariko Katsumura, Kantaro Komiya, Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Edmund Klamann; Kirsten Donovan) A 48-hour extension to the Israel-Hamas truce will not pause the strategic dilemmas and political headaches wracking the Biden administration over the war. Although the two extra days of hostage releases, the release of Palestinian prisoners and humanitarian aid pouring into Gaza validate an intense diplomatic effort in which the US is deeply involved, the situation remains delicate and a resumption of fighting ultimately seems likely. The most urgent question facing the White House is: Where are the Americans? Despite hopes that at least three US citizens would be released during the original four-day pause, only orphaned 4-year-old American-Israeli girl Abigail Edan came out of Gaza, to the deep disappointment of US officials. And while Israel is signaling it is open to another extension, it is also warning that an eventual resumption of its offensive against Hamas will be more intense than before the truce. That could cause more civilian casualties, like earlier in the war, which included bombing of civilian areas and sieges over Gaza hospitals. Any domestic political relief Biden enjoys during the pause, amid deep divisions in his Democratic Party ahead of next years election, is therefore unlikely to last long after air strikes begin again. There are also growing indications that Bidens push for more than $14 billion in aid for Israel is running into even deeper uncertainty on Capitol Hill. The package has been caught up in controversies over a larger Ukraine aid package and US southern border security in a way that is underscoring how ungovernable domestic politics are now severely hampering Washingtons capacity to work its will abroad. Israeli defense officials visited Capitol Hill Monday evening to meet with a handful of Senate Democrats about the Israel-Hamas war, according to a person familiar with the meeting. The unclassified meeting gave Democrats the opportunity to ask questions about the war as many in their party have grown concerned about Israels offensive in Gaza. The issue of placing conditions on Israel aid has become a hot-button matter among Democrats, who expect to discuss it at lunch Tuesday. While the administrations stern warnings to its adversaries have so far helped contain the conflict, fears of regional escalation are not yet dimmed. The dangers for US personnel were underscored when American officials said Sunday that two ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi rebel-controlled Yemen toward a US warship in the Gulf of Aden. The missing Americans US officials watched Hamas release of another 11 hostages on Monday the final day of the original truce deal especially carefully. They had hoped two American women who were abducted during the Hamas terror attacks on October 7 would be freed. But they did not emerge, leaving officials to pin their hopes on them being part of extended releases by Hamas over the next two days. Its difficult to ascertain how they go about making up these lists, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told CNNs Wolf Blitzer on Monday. We certainly would hope in the next two days, in the next couple of installments, that we will see some Americans come out. Yehuda Beinin whose daughter Liat Beinin, 49, is one of the two America women with dual Israeli citizenship said that his family remained deeply worried for her and her husband Aviv Atzili, who is also believed to be a hostage. We have no choice other than to remain hopeful, he told CNNs Erin Burnett. Among the grave problems facing the administration is that it is still not certain how many Americans are being held in Gaza and whether all of those who Washington suspects are captive are still alive. We think the number is less than 10, probably in the neighborhood of, you know, about eight to nine, Kirby told reporters at a White House briefing. But we dont necessarily have firm, solid information on each and every one of them. Another complication is that 40 hostages are believed not to be held by Hamas but by other Palestinian militant groups, including Islamic Jihad, according to a diplomatic source, although it cant be known for certain whether Americans are included among those. A senior administration official said Monday that the White House does not believe so far that Hamas purposefully held back two American women who the US had hoped would be freed as part of Hamas release of 50 hostages over the four-day truce. Hostage releases so far have concentrated on women and child captives and hopes are not high for the imminent release of young male hostages, who experts say will be viewed as a more valuable human currency by Hamas leaders as they seek to increase the price for hostage releases. Currently, the ratio stands at three Palestinians freed from Israeli jails in return for one captive from the October 7 attacks. Israel has also not released any males over the age of 18 years old. The possibility of a resumption of fighting if truces are not indefinitely extended is also creating deep uncertainty about the eventual fate of all the male hostages. Anxiety is especially acute for members of the Israeli armed forces who were captured. Rachel Goldbergs 23-year-old son, Hersh, was severely wounded and kidnapped by Hamas during its attack on the Nova Music festival. She told CNNs Jake Tapper on Monday that none of the released hostages had been able to provide any intelligence about his whereabouts or condition. Were very, very worried. We feel like the clock is ticking, time is ticking, Goldberg said. Here is this extremely wounded young man, American civilian, and were worried like any parent would be. Security experts believe its likely that Hamas understands the potential increased leverage from holding onto US hostages. That includes the possibility they could lead to stepped up American pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to extend a pause that has given Hamas fighters time to regroup after relentless Israeli strikes and to dig in for a resumed operation that is still expected to unfold. The return of lawmakers to Washington this week following the Thanksgiving break is likely to increase domestic heat on Biden to free Americans held captive in Gaza, especially from Republicans always looking to portray him as weak. Apparently, Hamas is so contemptuous of President Biden and American power that they feel the imperative to release Filipinos and Thai hostages before they release American hostages, GOP Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas said on Fox on Sunday. When fighting begins again While hostage releases and aid shipments into Gaza guaranteed under the original deal have offered blessed humanitarian relief to Palestinians, no one believes the truce will be permanent. US efforts to extend the pause are stepping up. Officials announced Monday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken would head back to the region this week on a trip that includes stops in Dubai, the West Bank and Israel. If fighting starts again, Israeli operations are likely to target areas including densely populated southern Hamas strongholds and teeming refugee camps, raising the likelihood of large civilian casualties and a consequent international backlash against Israel. Biden has already felt the political downside of such operations internationally from US allies and domestically from key young, progressive and Muslim American voters he needs to show up in large numbers in next years election, and even, according to a Washington Post report, among his own staff. The likelihood therefore is that hell face a similar or even more intense political headache when the war begins again. Biden has been isolated on this issue from many American and foreign leaders and officials that he would normally regard as political friends. That will raise the question of whether he will shift from his staunch refusal to call on Netanyahu to observe a permanent ceasefire a move that would hurt Israels bid to crush Hamas. Fears of escalation Presidents rarely get credit for stopping disasters that dont happen. But the Biden administration can claim vital success so far in ensuring that the conflict has not become a full regional war following its stern warnings to traditional adversaries and shows of military force including the dispatch of two aircraft carrier groups to waters near Israel. But while US foes like Iran have yet to dive into the conflict, and an escalation has so far been avoided, the administration must maintain constant vigilance. In one sign of the risks, two ballistic missiles fell within 10 nautical miles of the USS Mason, a guided-missile destroyer in the Gulf of Aden that went to the aid of a tanker that came under attack from suspected Somali pirates, US officials said. The missiles were fired from areas controlled by Houthi rebels in Yemen, a Shia group backed in the past by Iran. Houthis have launched numerous attacks against US interests in the region, and Israel, since the October 7 Hamas assault. The USS Mason did not attempt to shoot down the missiles and the Pentagon has not said if the vessel was specifically targeted. Mark Esper, who served as defense secretary in the Trump administration, warned against seeing the incident as a coincidence. I dont think the administration response has been sufficient with regards to attacks by Iranian proxies in Iraq and Syria and elsewhere, Esper told CNN. He added: I know they are concerned they fear that if they do too much it will escalate. My argument is just the opposite. If they dont do enough, the attacks will continue, (and) at some point Americans will be killed and thats when it will escalate. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com A national chain restaurant could be adding a new location to the Carolina Forest area. A new Noodles & Company location might be at 123 Sapwood Road in the Marketplace at the Mill shopping center, franchisee Philippe Saad confirmed in an interview with The Sun News. Saad is franchising several Noodles & Company franchises throughout the Myrtle Beach, S.C. area, including one at 116 Loyola Drive, according to Nations Restaurant News, in January 2022. The eaterys future location still needs to be built. The lot it will reside on is .94 acres and has a market value of $950,000, according to Horry County Land Records. The property was sold in 2022 for $950,000 to Saad Land Holding LLC, according to Horry County Land Records, a South Carolina company whose registered agent is Philippe Saad. The Horry County Zoning Board of Appeals approved with conditions a proposed 3,752 square-foot building with two food services uses and a pickup window at its Oct. 9, 2023 meeting. Saad added that Noodles & Company will have the pickup window, but the other unit does not have a planned occupant yet. NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) Norfolk City Council is poised to vote Tuesday night to reject a collective bargaining request brought forth by a local police union chapter. The request from the Norfolk Chapter of the Southern States Police Benevolent Association, one of the two police unions that represent members of the citys police force, comes just over two years after Virginia authorized collective bargaining for public sector employees. It also comes just two weeks after Norfolks neighbor, Portsmouth, became the first city in Hampton Roads to OK collective bargaining. That effort there was led by the citys fire union, though all general wage workers can be included under that collective bargaining umbrella. City leaders in Norfolk instead want to press pause and move forward with current efforts to recruit and retain employees. Those include raises, a 5% raise for employees and additional 2.5% raise for public safety employees approved in this years budget, and benefits that city leaders believe set them apart from other public and event some private sector employers in the region, such as more time off and expanded tuition reimbursement. We want to do everything we can voluntarily to make the city of Norfolk an employer of choice, said City Manager Patrick Roberts, who praised council members efforts in recent years. Thats aggressively addressing compensation in the budget every year, looking at employee relations and employee working conditions, benefits that we provide. We think that the direction were taking, the recommendation weve made in the form of the ordinance, pushes all those things in the right direction. In addition to rejecting that request from the police union, the ordinance (R-9) would also formalize in writing the citys preferred process for employee/employer relations, called meet and confer. Norfolk leaders also want to strengthen the citys Employee Relations Committee program, whose representatives serve as a liaison between employees and the city. There are currently different committees for police, fire, operations (public works and utilities) and other general workers. The main issue council has with approving collective bargaining is money, Councilman Tommy Smiegel said Monday, citing concerns over paying increased salaries. I dont believe a majority of council wants to do collective bargaining. Im not saying Im for or against it, Smigiel said. You dont want to create a situation with collective bargaining where youre spending a lot more money on salaries, where you dont have the money and it takes away from other resources. I think some of the employee groups understand that. Smigiel said he also had concerns that the PBA didnt meet the requirements for a vote on the matter, and wishes the vote on the meet and confer was separate. If they want to codify a meet and confer process, then why arent we just voting on that instead of declining [the PBA vote], Smigiel said. I do believe theres some outside political influences that want Norfolk to say theyre anti-collective bargaining. Going forward, Smigiel said he would like to see Norfolk add in a guarantee that unions such as the PBA do get a seat at the table in those employee relations committees going forward. The Norfolk Chapter of the Southern States Police Benevolent Associations efforts to increase bargaining power have coincided with recent historically-low staffing levels at the Norfolk Police Department, an issue that city leaders say is improving. They also come amid concerns that increasing the power of police unions can lead to corruption and shielding officers from accountability. WAVY has reached out the union for comment but had yet to hear back at the time of publication. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com. North Korea acknowledges votes against selected candidates for first time since 1956 The North Korean government reported votes opposed to government-selected candidates in local elections for the first time in decades. Supreme leader Kim Jong Un's regime said Tuesday that just under 1% of the voting population cast a ballot against the selected candidates. It marks the first time the government has acknowledged votes against the Workers' Party since 1956. KIM JONG UN CLAIMS TO SEE US TARGET REGIONS WITH SPY SATELLITE, INCLUDING PEARL HARBOR AND HICKAM AIR BASE Voters arrive at a polling station in Pyongyang as North Korea holds elections for local government representatives. The ruling Workers' Party reported votes in opposition to selected candidates for the first time since 1956. State-operated media outlet Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported 0.09% of voters submitted ballots against the party's selected candidates for provincial assembly seats. KCNA also reported that 0.13% of voters voted against the ruling party in the city and county people's assemblies. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP Voter turnout across the communist hermit nation was reported at 99.63%. It was the first election since the nation implemented reforms in August of this year allowing multiple candidates. NORTH KOREA SPY SATELLITE IS LATEST SURVEILLANCE THREAT TO US, ALLIES -- WITH KIM THREATENING MORE LAUNCHES "The electoral reforms may serve dual purposes: projecting an image of a forward-looking North Korea to the outside world while concurrently consolidating internal governance structures," the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada said in a statement. The organization continued, "The introduction of multiple candidates in North Koreas local elections, while offering more choice on the surface, does not fundamentally alter the power dynamics within the ruling party." Election data reported by the ruling Workers' Party is considered utterly unreliable as supreme leader Kim Jong Un's government maintains total control over the population and violently suppresses opposition. A North Korean citizen casts a ballot at a polling station in Pyongyang during the country's election for local parliamentary seats. The Kim family has fostered a secular religion around their dynasty since the country's government was formed in 1948. The nation operates under a uniquely manipulated form of communist political philosophy known as "juche" that places all functional power in the hands of a "supreme leader." State-controlled media and government communications bolster the Kim family's status as virtual demigods, attributing them with unparalleled intelligence and a wide variety of skills. Original article source: North Korea acknowledges votes against selected candidates for first time since 1956 (Bloomberg) -- North Korea claimed its first spy satellite put into space, which was launched into orbit last week, has taken photos of the White House, Pentagon and nearby US naval stations. Most Read from Bloomberg The prominent US sites add to a list of areas North Korea claims to have photographed using its reconnaissance probe that was launched on Nov. 21. The states official media said leader Kim Jong Un has seen the latest images along with previous photos of Rome, Anderson Air Force Base in Guam, Pearl Harbor and the US Navys Carl Vinson aircraft carrier. South Korea salvaged one of North Koreas spy satellites after a failed launch earlier this year and concluded the technology had little value as a reconnaissance probe. While Seoul believes any North Korean satellite would be rudimentary at best, such technology could help Kims regime in its targeting as it steps up its ability to deliver a nuclear strike. Read: South Korea Salvages Norths Satellite in Intelligence Win North Korea had said the satellite would formally start its reconnaissance mission from Dec. 1 after some fine tuning, but the official Korean Central News Agency said Tuesday: the fine-tuning process of the satellite is being hastened to end one or two days earlier. There has been no confirmation from the outside world on whether the satellite is fully operational and North Korea has yet to release any images taken by its new satellite. The probe can probably take photos, but a thorough analysis is needed to see if those images would be of high enough resolution to have any military value, South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Jeon Ha-kyu said at a briefing in Seoul on Tuesday. White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the US cannot independently verify the North Korean claim. We strongly condemn the DPRK for its launch of a space launch vehicle using ballistic missile technology, which is a brazen violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions, raises tensions, and risks destabilizing the security situation in the region and beyond, Watson said in a statement, referring to North Korea by its formal name. North Korea has a history of bluster when it comes to satellite claims. Under the leadership of Kim Jong Il the father of the current leader North Korea had said it placed a satellite into orbit that was playing revolutionary songs, only to have Washington say the probe was likely at the bottom of the sea. --With assistance from Jennifer Jacobs and Shinhye Kang. (Updates with comments from South Koreas military in sixth paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. This undated handout photo released on November 27, 2023 by the South Korean Defence Ministry shows North Korean soldiers near a guard post on the North side of the Demilitarised zone (DMZ) dividing the two Koreas (South Korean Defence Ministry/AF) North Korea is rushing soldiers and weaponry to its border with South Korea, reopening sensitive guard posts after the breakdown of the historic 2018 deal to avoid military conflict between the two countries. North Korea has deployed heavy weapons and erected guard posts along the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) border that were demolished under the peace agreement five years ago, the South Korean defence ministry said on Monday. The deal came in a year of thawing inter-Korean tensions, beginning with talks between US president Donald Trump and North Koreas Kim Jong-un and ending in a September 2018 joint agreement at a celebratory meeting between Mr Kim and then-South Korean leader Moon Jae-in. But progress in denuclearisation talks later stalled, and tensions are now significantly ratcheting up again between the two Koreas after Pyongyang said it had successfully placed a spy satellite into orbit, its latest show of defiance against UN-led sanctions. In a retaliatory move, South Korea partially suspended the 2018 agreement and resumed surveillance flights along the border. North Korea responded by fully withdrawing from the pact and vowing to make South Korea pay dearly for nullifying parts of the pact, according to state media KCNA. On Monday, South Koreas defence ministry released pictures taken since Friday showing North Korean soldiers installing temporary guard posts in several locations. They were also pictured setting up what appeared to be a recoilless rifle a portable anti-vehicle weapon or light artillery piece at a fortification, it said. South Korean Defence Ministry shows North Korean soldiers rebuilding a guard post on the North side of the Demilitarised zone (DMZ) dividing the two Korea (South Korean Defence Ministry/AF) A senior military official said that before the guard posts were destroyed under the deal there were observation posts and North Korea is now presumed to be rebuilding them, according to Yonhap, a South Korean news agency. "There are only a few guard posts currently undergoing restoration work, but the North is expected to restore all of them as they are essential facilities for surveillance," the official added. South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the military will take "corresponding measures" in response to the Norths move. "It depends on the enemys behavior. It is North Korea that has taken actions and broken trust ... We will take corresponding measures. Not taking an action would be more foolish," said general Kim Myung-soo, the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who took office on Saturday. According to South Koreas estimates, before the 2018 agreement North Korea had about 160 guard posts along the DMZ, while the South had 60. Each side demolished 11 of them following the military deal. A North Korea guard post picture by South Korea military along the DMZ (South Korean Defence Ministry/AF) The defence pact known as the Inter-Korean Comprehensive Military Agreement was aimed at de-escalating tensions at the border and preventing accidental clashes. It created a 5km buffer zone, including a no-fly zone, to reduce the possibility of an armed conflict. Following the launch of the spy satellite last Tuesday (21 November), North Korean state media claimed Kim Jong-un was able to review photos of US military bases in Hawaii and Seoul. North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter meeting with scientists who contributed to the launch of a reconnaissance satellite (KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Image) On 22 November, nine members of the UN Security Council joined the US in a statement that denounced North Koreas satellite launch for using ballistic missile technology, calling it a violation of multiple Security Council resolutions. The United States called an unscheduled meeting of the UNSC for Monday to discuss the developments in North Korea. Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of South Korea, Japan and China met on Sunday in the South Korean port city of Busan to discuss when to resume their leaders trilateral summits after a four-year hiatus. A meeting between the leaders of the three countries is expected to take place sometime next year, according to South Koreas national security adviser Cho Tae-yong. Heightening tensions due to North Koreas weapons programme were one of the agenda items of the meeting. Additional reporting by agencies Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 28) A senator echoed previous House resolutions urging Malacanang to assist in the International Criminal Court's (ICC) investigation into the bloody drug war of former President Rodrigo Duterte. Senator Risa Hontiveros, a known critic of the previous administration, filed Senate Resolution No. 867 on Tuesday. In the resolution, the senator said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. "himself has vowed to promote human rights and a high level of accountability for violations." "The Philippines has historically been at the forefront of advancing humanitarian law and international justice, and it is high time that we affirm our commitment to these values before the international community," Hontiveros said. This development in the Senate came almost a week after several congressmen made their statement to back ICC's probe official through filing House resolutions. READ: More solons urge Marcos admin to cooperate with ICC drug war probe The country is no longer a member of the ICC after it withdrew from the Rome Statute during the Duterte administration, and effective 2019. Earlier this year, the ICC rejected the Philippine government's plea against the resumption of the investigation, also prompting Marcos to cut the country's ties to the former. Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla earlier said the Philippines needs to be a member again to assist in the investigation. Last Friday, Marcos said rejoining the ICC remains "under study." "We'll just keep looking at it and see what our options are," he said. While Vice President Sara Duterte respects Marcos' statements, she was firm against cooperating with the ICC. Sara was the running mate of Marcos in last year's polls, and daughter of the former president tied to the infamous drug campaign. Senate concurrence needed? In an interview with CNN Philippines' The Source on Monday, Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa said a Senate ratification is needed if the chief executive decides to be a member of the ICC again. "If the government decides to rejoin, then our representative in the Hague will enter into an agreement with the Rome Statute and it has to be ratified by the president. And after the ratification by the president, it has to be concurred by the Senate via two-thirds votes," said Dela Rosa, who served as national police chief during the Duterte administration. However, former Senate President Franklin Drilon said this isnt the case. Drilon argued that in his view, rejoining the tribunal is purely an executive action, given the Senate's prior ratification of the Rome Statute of the ICC. In August 2011, the upper chamber passed Senate Resolution No. 57, expressing its concurrence in the ratification of the treaty. Drilon said the measure remains legally binding unless specifically repealed. The President can rely on the original resolution or ratification, as it remains valid and in effect," Drilon said. He added that Duterte's ICC withdrawal sets precedent for Marcos. If Duterte could unilaterally withdraw from the court, Drilon said Marcos should have the same authority to rejoin it. The situation would have been different if former President Duterte had sought the Senate's concurrence when the country left the ICC, as that action would have been legally binding and established a precedent, the ex-Senate leader said. Looking for trouble? Sen. Imee Marcos, the sister of the current president, immediately expressed her disapproval of Hontiveros' resolution. "So they really want trouble? Well, PRRD has said "Bring it on!" she said in a statement Tuesday. "But the decision to cooperate or not to is one for the Executive, and my brother, the President of the Philippines, has already made it clear that the ICC has no jurisdiction to conduct the probe. I share that view," Imee added. Speaking to CNN Philippines Balitaan, the senator said she has not yet spoken to her brother about the Philippines possible return to the ICC. "Hindi natin ginagambala ang Pangulo dahil ang dami-daming problema na mas mahalaga, sa palagay ko, tulad ng presyo ng bigas, kakulangan ng langis, na mas nangingibabaw sa lahat," the senator said. [Translation: Were not disturbing the president, because I think there are many other more pressing problems, like the high prices of rice and oil shortage.] She also maintained that there is no need for the international courts intervention since the Philippines justice system is working. She cited the recent release of former opposition Senator Leila de Lima, who was allowed to post bail for her remaining drug case. Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, meanwhile, refused to comment on Hontiveros move, saying he will just wait for the president to decide on the matter. Whether to re-enter or to remain out of the jurisdiction of the ICC is not a decision we the Senators make. It is the decision of the President of the Republic being the chief foreign policy maker of our country. He alone makes that decision and everything else is just noise on whether we should join or not, Zubiri said. Dela Rosa, for his part, said he expected Hontiveros to file the resolution. He added, however, that he believes the measure will not gain traction, given the presidents current stance. North Koreas government is claiming its spy satellite photographed the White House and the Pentagon. According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has seen satellite photos of the Pentagon and the White House, as well as Naval Station Norfolk and Newport News Dockyard in Virginia. The Associated Press reported North Korea has not released these photographs, and outside experts arent sure the countrys new satellite can send high-resolution photographs and perform top military surveillance. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. North Korea said it successfully launched the Malligyong-1 l satellite last week. According to the state-run Pyongyang Times, the North Korean leader held a celebration of the launch Thursday. At the celebration, Kim said the launch had propelled the country into a new era of space power, KCNA said, according to the BBC. Asked later Tuesday about the North Korean claims, Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder dryly responded: I dont have any information to provide on what [imagery] the North Korean satellite has captured. . . . I will say that there are plenty of images of the Pentagon and the White House online. Last Tuesday, the White House said it strongly condemns the satellite launch. It also said the launch violated United Nations Security Council resolutions prohibiting North Korea from using ballistic missile technology. The president and his national security team are assessing the situation in close coordination with our allies and partners, the Biden administration said in a statement. We urge all countries to condemn this launch and call on [North Korea] to come to the table for serious negotiations. The launch came after two failed attempts back in May and August. Kim also reportedly watched the launch himself. South Korea also suspended a no-fly zone agreement with its northern neighbor in the wake of the launch. The zone was near the demilitarized border between the two countries. Updated at 3:41 p.m. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Police on Tuesday were investigating antisemitic vandalism at the University of Florida Chabad Jewish student center after a person was caught on security footage late last week in the act, according to the organization. A sign, a banner and a sidewalk were damaged Friday morning at the Lubavitch Chabad Jewish Student & Community Center, 2021 NW Fifth Ave., in Gainesville, the organization said. As of Tuesday afternoon, the vandal had not been identified nor arrested, police said. The center is off campus. Any vandalism against a religious site or center is a felony, Gainesville police spokesman Brandon Hatzel told the Miami Herald Tuesday. On a banner supporting Israel following the deadly Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel and on a permanent fixture with the name of the organization, the vandal wrote with a black marker child murders and burn in hell. On the sidewalk, the person drew a star of David, a Judaic symbol, and wrote David had no star. A person vandalized a banner supporting Israel outside the Lubavitch Chabad Jewish Student & Community Center at the University of Florida on Friday, Nov. 24, 2023, the organization said. Rabbi Berl Goldman, the centers director, said Saturday in a news release that the horrific anti-Semitic graffiti and hateful slurs are an attempt to intimidate us. We will not be cowed by hate, but will in fact double our efforts to strengthen Judaism, advocate for Israel and continue to bring light and joy to the UF, SFC and Gainesville communities, Goldman said. Anti-Semitism is the oldest hatred in the world and is once again rearing its ugly head in the form of anti-Israel bias and hateful tropes, blaming the Jews using all sorts of lies and conspiracies, said Chanie Goldman, the centers co-director. The organization said it reported the vandalism to Gainesville police, and that it was improving its security. Gainesville police are investigating the incident. The vandalism happened the same day a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began. As part of the truce, Hamas has released more than 80 hostages of the 240 or so people it kidnapped during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel, including releasing Sunday a 4-year-old girl, Abigail Mor Edan, who holds dual U.S. and Israeli citizenship. Women and children are among the hostages. In exchange, Israel has freed 150 Palestinian prisoners, who also include women and children, some of whom have not been charged with a crime. Israeli authorities have issued directives cracking down on celebrations of their return in East Jerusalem. In the past few days, Israeli authorities in the West Bank have detained roughly as many Palestinians as have been released, the Washington Post reported Monday. Israeli forces have killed at least 13,300 Palestinians since the war began, about two thirds of them women and minors, according to Gazas health ministry. Around 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, mostly during the initial attack by Hamas, the Associated Press reported Monday. READ MORE: Shouldnt be a war thats fought on a college campus. Tensions rise for Florida students The Anti-Defamation League, an organization that tracks antisemitic incidents, has documented several incidents targeting Jewish and pro-Israel students at college campuses across the United States. In the month following Hamas terror attack on Israel, we recorded 124 antisemitic incidents on college campuses across the country, compared to only 12 over the same time period last year, an ADL spokesman told the Herald. On Saturday, a man shot and wounded three Palestinian college students while walking near the University of Vermont campus in Burlington, the Associated Press reported. The students were speaking a mix of English and Arabic and two of them were wearing black-and-white Palestinian keffiyeh scarves at the time of the shooting. Jason Eaton, 48, was arrested Sunday and has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted murder. Authorities were yet to ascertain on Tuesday whether the shooting constitutes a hate crime. The ADL has also encouraged campus administrators to take measures such as condemning antisemitism, enforcing student disciplinary rules and updating security protocols to keep Jewish students safe. Acts of antisemitic vandalism are disgusting and un-American, the University of Florida said Tuesday in a statement to the Herald. UFs commitment to keeping our students safe means that any student who crosses the line with acts of vandalism or violence will face a swift suspension, the university said. Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward also weighed in about the vandalism. This is not acceptable in our community, Ward said Monday on X, formerly Twitter. Antisemitism and hate have no safe harbor in Gainesville. When a Bay Area pollster surveyed Sacramento County voters earlier this year, it found an overwhelming majority who feel that their taxes are already high enough and that they wouldnt vote for anything more. This is the same county that in 2004 supported extending a half-cent sales tax to help fund local transit and transportation by a commanding 75%. What happened? Opinion Likely answer: A lot of new local sales taxes between now and then. Since 2018, every city in Sacramento County has tried to raise the sales tax by varying amounts for some local need. All but Citrus Heights and Folsom have succeeded. And in Folsom, the City Council recently directed the staff to come back in January with sales tax proposals to consider placing on the November 2024 ballot. All these tax ideas have resulted in some undeniable signs of voter fatigue. Measure A, that landmark sales tax effort back in 2004, will only last for 30 years and is now a decade away from ending. So the Greater Sacramento Economic Council hired the Oakland-based EMC Research this summer to poll local voters about transportation. It found that 66% of respondents agreed that their taxes were too high. When asked the same question just eight years ago, 50% of voters felt that way. Thats a significant uptick in fatigue from recent asks for more money. In 2018, Sacramento voters agreed to increase the citys sales by a full penny, to 8.75%. Folsom voters in 2018 resoundingly rejected a half-cent sales tax. Citrus Heights voters in 2020 narrowly rejected a half-cent sales tax. Rancho Cordova voters in 2020 approved a half-cent sales tax Isleton voters in 2021, by 73%, approved a half-cent sales tax for fire services. And in 2022, both the cities of Galt and Elk Grove raised their sales taxes by a full percent. The only local city that hasnt tried to raise the sales tax is the city that isnt. Sacramentos vast Uncity, the unincorporated areas that are managed by the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, is the biggest municipal area of them all, with a population exceeding 600,000. Its telling that this assemblage of disconnected communities has never had a real chance to invest in its future, like the real cities: As an Uncity, it does not have traditional municipal leadership. On the other hand, if you want to shop for the lowest local sales tax to buy that television, the unincorporated area of Carmichael is a rock-bottom 7.75%. Galt, however, is on the high end, at 9.25%. On top of all these city sales tax pitches, different interests have tried to increase the Measure A transit/transportation sales tax by a half-cent over the last eight years. And both have failed. And if this latest survey is any indication, 55% of respondents are ready to turn it down again after hearing a list of arguments for and against. Is the sales tax a funding tool that has been nearly exhausted in Sacramento County? Outgoing Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg certainly hopes not. In one of his final big acts on the regional stage, he is floating the laudable idea of a sales tax to reshape how the region grows by focusing more on affordable housing near transit on not traditional sprawl developments that require massive new road systems. Two developments show a glimmer of hope that a future financial window may open. The EMC survey found, for example, that 74% of voters see a need for additional funding for transportation. And on the November ballot, voters statewide will get to decide whether to reduce the passage threshold for local transportation sales tax measures from two-thirds to 55%. The measure was placed on the ballot by the California Legislature. Lowering the approval threshold is only a partial antidote to voters understandable wariness to pay more. Any future public investments need a vision of a better future far beyond the patching of a pothole, a vision that the public can buy into. Otherwise, the voters collective wallet will remain closed. PANAMA CITY BEACH Sgt. First Class Christopher Walker of the U.S. Army says he and his wife, Cheryl, have never felt as welcome anywhere as they did in Panama City Beach for the 2023 Fall Warrior Beach Retreat. They were among eight couples who attended the retreat, which was held earlier this month by Warrior Beach Retreat Inc, a local nonprofit organization not affiliated by the Wounded Warrior Project. The event brings combat-wounded veterans and their spouses or caregivers to PCB for vacation. Sgt. First Class Christopher Walker of the U.S. Army and his wife, Cheryl, were among those who visited Panama City Beach earlier this month for the 2023 Fall Warrior Beach Retreat. "Upon arriving, the entire community welcomed us with open arms," Christopher Walker wrote in a letter to the editor. "That was such a relief as my wife and I have never felt this type of welcome or love from anyone. We received so many gifts, a rental car, letters and drawings from local school kids, wonderful food, police escorts, veterans parade and most importantly quality time with without any stresses of everyday life." Designed to help heal and provide closure to wounded veterans, Warrior Beach Retreat was started more than a dozen years ago by local resident Linda Cope after her son, retired U.S. Army Sgt. Joshua Cope, lost both his legs above the knee from an improvised explosive device in Iraq. Cope said she is proud to live in a community that supports the military. "It's the way (the community) responded to them while they were here that made them feel like their sacrifices were not in vain," she said. "In the 14 years we've done these, they've all been good, but I must say, to me, this was the best. I'm just so grateful for our community and its support and love." Along with the community's warm welcome, Walker said he also was thankful for the opportunity to meet "other great American heroes of all walks of life." This included U.S. Army specialist Jose Bonilla and his wife, Rosie, who not only also attended the retreat, but sent a letter to the News-Herald about how much they enjoyed their time in PCB. More on the retreat: 'That brings healing': Warrior Beach Retreat comes to Panama City Beach Nov. 7 "Thank you for all the support and everything the community did for all of us the veterans and caregivers in the (Warrior) Beach Retreat," Rosie Bonilla wrote. "The love and appreciation from the community to all of us was (an) incredible feeling like no other. "The warm feeling that we received from the whole community for the whole weeks was an amazing and wonderful feeling (that) made us realize we are not forgotten." To donate to Warrior Beach Retreat, visit www.warriorbeachretreat.org. This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Veterans recieve warm welcome for Warriors Beach Retreat in PCB Amazon is searching for office space in Miami. The ecommerce giant started looking before founder Jeff Bezos announced his move to the city, per Bloomberg. Bezos announced in November he was moving from Seattle to Miami. Amazon is looking for 50,000 square feet of office space in Miami, the ecommerce giant told Business Insider. The news came just weeks after founder Jeff Bezos announced he was moving from Seattle to Miami to be closer to his parents and to Blue Origin's operations in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Amazon's search started before Bezos announced he was moving to the city, but the company has not signed any direct leases, a company spokesperson told Bloomberg, which first reported the news. Amazon's spokesperson told BI the search for news space is due to the company's organic growth in the Miami region over the last few years. It currently has over 400 corporate and tech employees assigned to serviced office locations in the Miami region. Miami is emerging as an economic hot spot with Americans and businesses moving to the city in droves, Insider's Jacob Zinkula reported. Companies that have moved their headquarters to Miami post-pandemic include hedge fund Citadel and tech firm Anaplan. In October, Bezos snapped up a seven-bedroom mansion in Indian Creek, Florida, for $79 million. Indian Creek is known as "Billionaire Bunker" for its rich residents and high-security premises. Zillow named it the most expensive neighborhood in the US in 2021. The private island has stringent security measures and is heavily guarded, Insider's Hannah Towey reported in December 2022 after a tour of the area. Carl Icahn, Jared Kushner, and Ivanka Trump are all homeowners on the island. Read the original article on Business Insider Holiday travelers make their way at Terminal 7 at LAX in time for the Thanksgiving weekend Tuesday. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times) Nearly 3 million people boarded flights in the U.S. on Sunday as American air travel continued to surge at a record pace, surpassing pre-pandemic numbers, according to Transportation Security Administration statistics . TSA screened 2,907,378 people traveling through U.S. airports, the highest single-day number ever. Air travel has taken three years to surpass the heights reached in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Wherever we land [on a final number], we're fully back to the year-over-year increase we were seeing before the pandemic, a TSA official said. During the 2019 Thanksgiving weekend, nearly 2.9 million passengers flew in a single day. Even before Sunday, that record was broken this year, with the previous busiest day occurring on June 30, the Friday before the Fourth of July holiday. Since TSAs inception in 2001, passenger volume consistently increased by more than 4% yearly until January 2020, when travel numbers plummeted due to the pandemic. Officials said the numbers had modestly increased over the last three years. Read more: Thanksgiving travel will be at record-breaking levels: 9 common-sense tips can keep you sane During the early months of the pandemic, airline travel nearly ground to a halt, forcing carriers to lay off or furlough thousands of workers. As of September, the U.S. airline industry employs nearly 808,000 full- and part-time workers, surpassing pre-pandemic levels by 8.7%, according to federal data. Airlines for America, a trade group for all major U.S. air carriers, said airlines have worked for months to ensure they would be prepared for the high volume of travel for this year's holiday season. Airlines have continued aggressively hiring, adjusting schedules and improving communication with passengers to combat the increased demand for air travel, according to the group. John Heimlich, an economist for Airline for America, said the group predicted early in the pandemic that it would take until 2023 before the industry returned to pre-pandemic volumes. He said the industry is on track to surpass the 2019 number and anticipates further growth in 2024, albeit at a slower rate. Read more: Arrived super early at LAX? Now you can take a 2-mile walk through the airport. Here's how Los Angeles International Airport also saw its busiest Thanksgiving holiday travel period since 2019, as it welcomed 2.46 million travelers over the last week and a half. Officials said several days saw more than 220,000 passengers move through the terminals. Of the 51,332 scheduled flights across the country Sunday, fewer than 0.5% were canceled, according to flight tracker Flight Radar 24 . AAA predicted that 4.7 million people would fly over the Thanksgiving holiday period, the highest number of Thanksgiving air travelers since 2005 a 6.6% increase compared with 2022. "I'm optimistic that what we saw over Thanksgiving is emblematic of the kind of demand we'll see this winter," Heimlich said. The demand "is going to be very strong." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. PRINGLE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) Officials say they have arrested a wanted New York man in Luzerne County for an attempted homicide in the Empire State. The U.S. Marshals Service Middle District of Pennsylvania (USMS) Fugitive Task Force said on November 15 they arrested 30-year-old Miguel Angel Valencia from Geneva, New York at a home in Pringle. Prison guard accused of sexually assaulting inmate USMS said Valencia allegedly shot and tried to kill another man inside a convenience store in Geneva earlier this month. Valencia was located and arrested at a home on Valley View Drive without an incident, officials say. The release states Valencia was turned over by the local authorities to await extradition and has since been extradited back to New York and is being held at Ontario County Jail. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PAhomepage.com. The city council in Oakland, Calif., is calling for a permanent cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas. The Oakland City Council voted 8-0 on Monday in favor of a motion supporting a congressional resolution for a permanent cease-fire in the conflict. It also called for no restrictions on humanitarian assistance going into Gaza, respect for international law, the freeing of all hostages and basic services to be restored, according to The Associated Press. Prior to the vote, the council voted 6-2 to turn down one council members amendments that condemned killings and the taking of hostages by Hamas. Council member Dan Kalb would go on to vote with the majority, while pointing out the resolution didnt refer to Israel, according to the AP. Fellow council member Carol Fife, who brought the resolution, said it had gone through four drafts that intentionally attempted to de-politicize the issue by lifting up what we support and not what condemn, according to the AP. Fife said the matter of a cease-fire was deeply concerning to residents of the Bay Area city, according to the AP. She also called for a moment of silence for those who have died on the two sides of the conflict. I want Jewish children to live as much as I want Palestinian children to live, Fife said, according to the AP The number of children who have been killed just since Oct. 7 surpassed the number of children who have been killed in global conflicts over the past four years, council president Nikki Fortunato Bas said, according to the AP. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Mrs Perry, who died in January, became tearful during the final meeting with inspectors - Andrew Matthews/PA Wire A head teacher who took her own life said she couldnt show her face again after she was told her school was likely to be graded inadequate by Ofsted, an inquest heard. Ruth Perry, 53, head of Caversham Primary School in Reading, broke down in tears during the final meeting with inspectors after a two-day inspection. Alan Derry, the lead Ofsted inspector during the inspection, said that Mrs Perry became very upset and very tearful. He said: She looked like she was in pain. At that point she was saying things like she felt she couldnt show her face again. The inquest into Mrs Perrys death heard that during a phone call with Mr Derry when she was given 24 hours notice of an inspection, she had sounded strong and confident. She said, We are ready and we have been for a really long time and were keen to get started, Mr Derry told the inquest. Caversham had been rated outstanding by Ofsted since it was last inspected 13 years previously. Friends and work colleagues of Mrs Perry outside Reading Coroners Court on the first day of the inquest into her death - JOHN LAWRENCE/DT NEWS Mr Derry said that when he arrived at the school to start the inspection in November 2022, Mrs Perry appeared apprehensive. He had a meeting with her later that morning where they discussed problems with record keeping around vulnerable pupils. During the meeting he said that she became tearful and repeatedly said: Its not looking good is it? He said that he gave her the choice to pause the meeting when she became upset. Heidi Connor, senior coroner for Berkshire, read an extract from the witness statement from Nicky Leroy, the school business manager, who said that when Mrs Perry came out of the meeting she was very distressed. Mrs Perry was said to have been flushed, shaky, and unable to speak coherently. Ms Leroy said that Mrs Perry said she needed to leave the school right now. However, her colleagues persuaded her to stay and attempt to address some of the record-keeping concerns. Prof Julia Waters, Mrs Perry's sister, on the first day of the inquest - John Lawrence Mr Derry said he discussed record keeping and pupil behaviour concerns with the chair of governors at the school on the second day of the inspection. He said he believed that pupils at the school felt safe. However, he said he had not been clear enough about his views of the schools safeguarding culture. My mistake was to give a stronger impression to the chair of governors than actually the evidence had been showing and had shown, he said. During the final feedback meeting Mr Derry said that Mrs Perry broke down. He accepted that under Ofsted rules, an inadequate rating meant the school was likely to join an academy which meant that Mrs Perrys job was not guaranteed. Mrs Perry later received a draft inspection report which she was told to keep confidential until it was made public. During this time, she took her own life on Jan 8. A final Ofsted report published in March found the school to be good in every category except leadership and management, where it accused the school of poor record keeping and failings in employment checks which could have put children at risk. Mr Derry told the inquest that he would approach inspections differently now. Id hope so, knowing what I now know happened. I cant even imagine what the family must be and have been through, I think that I thought I was self-aware but Ive heard and Ive read the points of view of others that were in meetings with me I would want to make sure that that wasnt the perception of me as an inspector, he said. Inspector described as unpleasant during meeting Mr Derry was described as mocking and unpleasant during one meeting at the inspection by a school staff member. He said: Im very disappointed that that was somebodys view of me as an inspector [and] as a person. I dont recognise that is how the meeting was. The inquest heard that Ofsted does not have any statutory duties around teachers welfare during inspections. Christopher Russell, national director for education at Ofsted, said the actual responsibility for the welfare of the head teacher sits with others. For a local authority-run school, the responsibility for teacher welfare would lie with the local authority and governing body, the inquest heard. Mr Russell said that Ofsted has no written policy advising inspectors what to do if a headteacher is displaying signs of stress. However, he said that inspectors are told how to respond to stressed teachers during training. The inquest is scheduled to last for seven days. 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. An Ohio grocery store had to close its doors after it was firebombed over the weekend. Tree Tops Grocery owner Fesseha Tesfatsion was inside his own store when someone set fire to it, according to our news partners at WCPO. I immediately came out of the office, I seen fire burning up in here and somehow over here also, he said while standing in the ruins of his store. He said he had no idea why someone would target his business. >> Man convicted of stabbing local officer in neck learns sentence In here, many kids, they come in when theyre hungry. They take stuff, they run away. Its understandable. But somebody throwing fire? Someone thinking like that? I dont think theyre human, Tesfatsion said. The fire happened just after 10 p.m. Sunday night in Cincinnati. Cincinnati Fire Department confirmed the fire was arson, but investigators are still working to learn more about what happened. Tesfatsion said he and his brother have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into the store in the seven years theyve owned it, and they plan to rebuild. Cebu (CNN Philippines, November 28) Cebuanos can now purchase rice for 20 per kilo as the provincial government launched the Sugbo Merkadong Barato (SMB) pop up stores on Tuesday. The price of rice of the National Food Authority (NFA) will be subsidized by the provincial government with an initial budget of 100 million for its first tranche. Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia expects that for the P100 million NFA rice purchase, there will be a loss of 20 million to keep the price low. The new program was launched in Talisay City with House Speaker Martin Romualdez joining local officials, among them mayors and congressmen. Governor Garcia said the SMB is a way to help fulfill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s promise to keep grain prices affordable. However, the only ones qualified to purchase the cheap NFA rice will be indigent families in Cebu who were pre-listed by the town and city social welfare office. They are allowed to purchase up to five kilos of the staple per week. Garcia asked Romualdez to help support the program by making sure that the NFA will be able to help SMB in terms of supply. Romualdez, meanwhile, said he will support Cebu's initiative, adding that it should be replicated nationwide. "Hahanap tayo ng paraan para ang mai-supply nating NFA rice ay sapat para maging sustainable itong programa ni Gov," he said. [Translation: We will find a way to supply the NFA rice to make the governor's program sustainable.] Aside from cheap NFA rice, the SMB pop up stores will also sell vegetables, fruits, fish, and meat at lower prices compared with those in regular public markets. These items will be available from Monday to Friday in specific locations in the 50 towns and cities of Cebu. San Miguel Foods also participated in the SMB by selling chicken and sausages at lower prices compared with the ones in supermarkets. Garcia earlier said the budget for the SMB has already been included in the province's annual budget, which means the program will continue in 2024. Residents welcomed the opening of the SMB, saying it will help their families. Cebu-based correspondent Dale Israel contributed to this story. (Bloomberg) -- Oil executives are flocking to Venezuela to take advantage of lighter US sanctions, even though theres a risk that access to the worlds largest oil reserves might snap shut as quickly as it opened. Most Read from Bloomberg Companies including Shell Plc., Repsol SA, Hungarys Mol Nyrt, Swedens Maha Energy AB, the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago and Bolivias state gas company YPFB have sent delegations to Caracas since the US lifted curbs on Venezuelas oil sector last month, according to four people with knowledge of the situation. The companies are generally trying either to secure access to oil and gas fields, rewrite contracts or recover old debts, the people said. They are effectively betting that the government of US President Joe Biden wont follow through on its threat to reimpose sanctions against companies that operate in Venezuela, which would stop the party just as its getting started. Washington gave the government of President Nicolas Maduro until the end of November to make significant advances toward holding fair elections, including defining a process for disqualified candidates to participate in next years vote. Maduro has yet to do this, bringing a risk of snapback sanctions that would reimpose tight curbs on Venezuelas oil sector, making it nearly impossible for foreign drillers to operate there. If they dont take the agreed steps, we will remove the licenses weve awarded, US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols said this month. However, the US may be reluctant to reimpose controls. A revival of Venezuelas oil sector helps offset the impact on oil markets of sanctions imposed on Russia last year, while a stronger Venezuelan economy also helps curb the flow of migrants to the US. Sudden Decision In recent weeks, foreign oil executives have met officials from the oil ministry, state-controlled oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, and the International Investment Center, a government-led investment promotion entity, the people said. The scope of the Biden administrations decision to ease controls for six months, allowing oil companies to operate relatively freely in Venezuela, took many in the industry by surprise, setting off a rush to Caracas by would-be deal makers. Venezuela has more than 40 oil partnerships with foreign and local companies, some of which suspended activity due to the difficult business climate. The government now seeks to replace these with companies willing to make new investments and produce. The government is targeting production of one million barrels per day, from about 750,000-800,000 currently. The nation has about 300 billion barrels of reserves, a greater number than Saudi Arabia. Read more: Dirty Venezuelan Fuel Imports Threaten Petros Green Credentials The country could reach that target by end of next year if the US extends its license for another six months after it expires in March, according to Asdrubal Oliveros, head of Caracas-based consultancy Ecoanalitica. The question is if this opening will last, Oliveros said in a webcast this month. Shell declined to comment. Repsol, Mol Nyrt, Maha Energy, the National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago and Bolivias state gas company YPFB didnt reply to written requests for comment. Venezuelas information ministry, oil ministry and PDVSA didnt reply emails seeking comment. Read more: Venezuela Oil Production Seen Rising 25% as US Eases Sanctions The Maduro government and a coalition of opposition parties signed an agreement in Barbados in October that contains guarantees for a fairer presidential election in 2024, including foreign observers and the release of political prisoners. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) The Oklahoma City Fire Department has confirmed it is responding to a possible water rescue at 11001 Queenswick Court. KFOR has a team headed to the scene. Find more Top Stories from KFOR.com No further information has been released. This is a developing story. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City. Update @ 8:18 p.m.- Captain Michelle Henderson with the Oklahoma City Police Department has confirmed that police got a call that someone was shot at 6:30 p.m. Police officials say, a van was parked in front of the house with a man who was shot, a subject was seen leaving on foot, no other information has been released. Original Story OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) The Oklahoma City Police Department has confirmed a deadly shooting around 800 North Meridian. KFOR has a team on the scene gathering the latest details. No further information has been released at this time. This story is developing. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City. Nov. 28 (UPI) -- The approval of taxpayer funding for the nation's first religious public charter school has split Oklahoma officials and religious liberty advocacy groups over its constitutionality. Two lawsuits are seeking to block the creation of the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, a joint venture of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Diocese of Tulsa designed to provide innovative educational options for underserved populations, especially students in rural areas. One suit was filed by parents, faith leaders and public education advocates. The other was filed by Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who says the case is not about the school being precluded from receiving a public benefit and there are numerous public funds St. Isidore is eligible to receive, directly or indirectly, as a Catholic private school. The Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board in June approved by a 3-2 vote an application by St. Isidore for charter-school sponsorship. There are other religious schools that receive some funding through public tax dollars, but St. Isidore would be the first to be fully funded this way. St. Isidore is slated to open in August for the 2024-25 school year. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond contends the religious charter school puts federal education funding at risk. Photo courtesy of Office of the Oklahoma Attorney General After the vote, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, said in a statement he applauded the courage of the virtual charter school board. "This is a win for religious liberty and education freedom in our great state, and I am encouraged by these efforts to give parents more options when it comes to their child's education," Stitt said. "Oklahomans support religious liberty for all and support an increasingly innovative educational system that expands choice." But the nonprofit Oklahoma Parent Legislative Action Committee and nine individuals allege children would be excluded by discriminatory practices at the online school. They claim the practices violate the Oklahoma Constitution, the state Charter Schools Act and the board's own regulations. The plaintiffs point out in the suit, filed July 31 in Oklahoma County District Court, that St. Isidore states on its website all students of different faiths or no faith are welcome -- but also says admission "assumes the student and family willingness to adhere with respect to the beliefs, expectations, policies, and procedures of the school as presented in the handbook." Under St. Isidore policy, any unlawful discrimination, harassment or retaliation on the basis of a person's race, color, national origin, disability, genetic information, sex, pregnancy within church teaching, biological sex, age, military status or any other protected classes would be strictly prohibited. However, the discrimination, harassment or retaliation also would have to be "inconsistent with Catholic teaching" to be prohibited, the suit says. St. Isidore's application also says the school will cultivate students to know "human persons are destined for eternal life with the Holy Trinity but that in freedom, an individual may reject God's invitation and by this definitive self-exclusion end up in hell," the lawsuit says. The Statewide Virtual Charter School Board and its five members, the Oklahoma State Department of Education, the State Superintendent of Public Education Ryan Walters and St. Isidore are named as defendants. The board, St. Isidore and the Department of Education and Walters have filed three separate motions asking that the suit be dismissed. A hearing on those motions is scheduled for Dec. 21. 'A sea change' Attorney Alex Luchenitser, of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, one of the organizations representing the plaintiffs, said many other states are waiting to see how the Oklahoma suit is resolved before deciding whether to approve religious charter schools of their own. "Allowing a religious charter school would really be a sea change to the education system in America because charter schools are public schools and public schools must be nonreligious and serve all students and must not discriminate," Luchenitser said. "Allowing a public school that's also a religious school that indoctrinates students in religion and discriminates in admissions and employment really subverts and changes the concept of what a public school is." This effort is part of a similar movement to divert funds away from secular public schools that serve all students, he said. "The first step was vouchers and similar programs, such as tuition tax credit programs, and the push now is to allow religious charter schools, which would be entitled to full funding from the state," Luchenitser said. "The vouchers often pay for only part of a private school tuition, but if religious charter schools are allowed, then the entire school is being paid for by the state. That's even more attractive to religious institutions that want public funding for their own religious schools." In addition to Americans United, the ACLU, Education Law Center and Freedom From Religion Foundation represent the plaintiffs. Nicole Garnett, a Notre Dame Law School professor, said there are charter schools that offer after-school religious education outside the secular school day and ones that have themes that might appeal to certain religions, such as teaching in Arabic or Hebrew, but they're different from St. Isidore. She predicts St. Isidore, which is represented by the university's Religious Liberty Clinic, may be the first "but it certainly won't be the last effort to secure permission for a religious charter school." The Oklahoma Supreme Court has interpreted the state constitution in previous cases to allow the government to engage with private religious organizations to advance public purposes, such as caring for orphans or educating disabled children, Garnett said. She also pointed out that parents, not the state, will decide who goes there. In addition, Garnett said traditional public schools are operated by the government and the government must be neutral toward religion. But charter schools, regardless of what they're called, are considered private schools under the U.S. Constitution, she said. And the schools are protected by the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause but not bound by the Establishment Clause, which prohibits the government from favoring one religion over others, Garnett said. She cited a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Carson vs. Makin, that said Maine violated the right to the free exercise of religion by excluding private religious schools from a tuition aid program because of their religious character. The program pays for students who live in a school district that does not have a public high school to go to a private school. "That particular case was about a voucher program, not a charter school. But the principle is being applied here," Garnett said. Alliance Defending Freedom, a nonprofit law firm representing the board defendants, says in its motion to dismiss that St. Isidore's application complies with all applicable laws. The school certified in the application its intent not to discriminate and to fully comply with all statutes, regulations and requirements of the United States, Oklahoma, the board and the state Department of Education, according to the motion. In addition, students are not required to affirm Catholic beliefs to attend St. Isidore, the motion says. AG steps in In December, John O'Connor, then the state's attorney general, said in an official opinion the non-sectarian and non-religious requirements in the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act likely violated the First Amendment's protection of the free exercise of religion and should not be enforced. The opinion was issued at the request of Rebecca Wilkinson, the Statewide Virtual Charter School Board's executive director. Three board members signed a five-year contract with St. Isidore in October. Drummond, who had withdrawn his predecessor's opinion after taking office, filed suit directly with the Oklahoma Supreme Court seeking cancellation of the contract. "The board members who approved this contract have violated the religious liberty of every Oklahoman by forcing us to fund the teachings of a specific religious sect with our tax dollars," Drummond said in a statement. "As the defender of Oklahoma's religious freedoms, I am prepared to litigate this issue to the United States Supreme Court if that's what is required to protect our constitutional rights." The attorney general noted Oklahoma voters defeated a proposed amendment in 2016 that would have allowed public money to be used for religious purposes. Also concerning is that the board's action puts at risk the billion-plus dollars in federal education funds the state gets each year, Drummond said. To get that money, states must ensure compliance with applicable laws, including the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which prohibits a religious public charter school, he said. Alliance Defending Freedom filed a brief Nov. 21 asking the Supreme Court to deny Drummond's request, saying the board properly refused to disqualify St. Isidore solely because it is Catholic. "Decades of U.S. Supreme Court precedent hold that states may not exclude religious groups from public benefits and programs available to secular groups," the brief says. In the 2022-23 school year, Oklahoma had 32 charter schools educating more than 50,000 students, the brief says. They included 26 physical charters sponsored by public entities and Native American tribes, and six virtual charters sponsored by the board. It wasnt exactly a birthday card, but when Joe Biden turned 81 this month his erstwhile presidential rival Donald J Trump did send him a note. Rather than wishing the president happy returns of the day, however, the missive was in the form of a glowing doctors report issued by the Trump campaign and penned by his personal physician giving the would-be Republican nominee a clean bill of health. The missive was designed to highlight concerns over Bidens frailties episodes in which the president appears unsteady on his feet, or struggles to grasp for a phrase. In contrast, his doctor, Bruce Aronwald, lauded Trumps exceptional cognitive ability and daily physical activity. But might the somewhat vague if emphatic doctors report of Trumps excellent health serve a second purpose beside taunting Biden? Because for all his claimed virility the fact remains that at 77, Trump is only three and a half years behind the president on the ladder of years. And if he does secure the presidency for a second time next November, he would be the oldest person ever to do so. So far, while Bidens age has attracted endless comment and speculation about his capacity to serve a second full term, Trump seems to have been given a free pass about the fact he is no spring chicken a situation Aronwalds benign assessment of his health is clearly designed to perpetuate. But, whisper it, in Republican circles some are beginning to question whether an octogenarian Trump in the Oval Office is an optimal turn of events. On more than one occasion in the last few years, Trump has had lapses, mental and physical, which would normally be forgiven in a person his age but ring alarm bells when that person is bidding for control of the nuclear codes. Who can forget him gripping Theresa Mays hand to steady himself as they walked down as slope? At a campaign rally in Iowa recently, he mixed up Sioux City with Sioux Falls which is in another state; he invariably refers to the Hamas terror group as hummus, and frequently references the Obama administration when he means to refer to Biden. Trumps parents Donald Sr and Mary Anne were relatively long lived, surviving to 93 and 88 respectively, but times arrows travels fast in the later years, and the latters death came only six years after the age her son would be on leaving his second presidency, should he win. The next generation of the family is not markedly long-lived; Trump has already buried three of his siblings, including a younger brother and his older sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, who died two weeks ago at the age of 86. So why are Americans seemingly unconcerned that they have not one but two old men running for the presidency? (A recent Monmouth University poll for the New York Times showed that while three-quarters said Biden was too old to be an effective commander in chief, less than half felt the same way about Trump.) The Atlantic writer David A Graham suggests it is because, whether consciously or not, Biden, white-haired and softly spoken, appears to lean into his aging, whereas Trump with his fake tan and ridiculous orange combover rails against it. Trump has calculated that its better to be mocked as a fraud than to be patronized as a fogey, he wrote in a recent article. Its a strategy that may not work so well verses a younger, fitter opponent, even if so far it hasnt seemed to harm him against his moribund Republican rivals. The Ron DeSantis campaign did tweet a thread of Trumps senior moments earlier this month, suggesting the gloves may come off on the age front as they enter the business end of the campaign. Some strategists suggest that with his simple language and tangential rambles, Americans are used to a style of speech from Trump which would appear alarmingly close to senility in a more intellectual figure, meaning voters see little change from the man they elected in 2016. But eight years the length of time between his first and proposed second elections is a lot in your 70s and 12 years, the distance between the day he began his first presidency and when he hopes to end his last, even more. Whether or not both Biden and Trump have a doctors note attesting to their current state of rude health, US voters may come to regret the battle of the octogenarians. 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. Kirill Popov, the first deputy head of the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service's Moscow branch, is likely to have overseen the work of the Olenivka POW camp, located in the occupied parts of Donetsk Oblast. The facility held Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) and civilian hostages whom the Russians captured in Mariupol in May 2022. Former detainees reported horrendous conditions of detention and systematic torture. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine also confirmed the inhuman treatment of prisoners of war in Olenivka, 20 kilometers southwest of occupied Donetsk. The Kyiv Independent obtained Popov's phone records and geolocated his coordinates. These records suggest that Popov likely visited the occupied part of Donetsk Oblast between May 16 and June 17, 2022. On May 16, over 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers, who were defending Mariupol's last stronghold, surrendered and were transferred to the POW camp in Olenivka. Three Ukrainian soldiers confirmed to have seen Popov in the POW camp. He was giving orders and coordinating the work of other prison staff, former prisoners of war told the Kyiv Independent on conditions of anonymity. During this time, Popov communicated with Rustam Stepanenko, first deputy director of the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service, and representatives of the Russian-led proxies that oversee POWs. In June 2022, Russian government-controlled media reported on the growing cooperation between prison systems in occupied areas of Donetsk Oblast and Russia. Some reports featured a picture of officials gathered for a meeting, including Popov, referred to as "the commander of the grouping of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in the (so-called) Donetsk People's Republic." This image provided additional evidence that Popov was in the occupied part of Donetsk Oblast during the summer of 2022. The Kyiv Independent called Popov, but he declined to comment on his role in the Olenivka POW camp. On July 29, 2022, an explosion occurred at the Olenivka camp, killing 57 prisoners of war and injuring over 100. The UN July investigation concluded that Russian claims of Ukrainian involvement in the explosion are false. Ukrainian officials have claimed that the explosion was Russian-made and conducted from within the prison. Read also: UN report officially rejects Russian claim that HIMARS caused Olenivka prison explosions Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Omid Scobie has denied naming the alleged royal racist in Endgame after an error in the Dutch version of his bombshell new book put a name to Meghan Markles allegations. The royal reporter and author said that a translation error had led to a name featuring in the passage of the book, which had been shared with journalists in the Netherlands. Appearing on Dutch chat show RTL Boulevard, he said: The book is in several languages, and unfortunately I do not speak Dutch. But if there are translation errors, Im sure the publishers will have it under control. I wrote and edited the English version, he added. Theres never been no version that Ive produced that has names in it. Xander, the publishers of the Dutch version of Endgame, said that sales of the book were on hold temporarily over what it called an error. [We are] temporarily withdrawing the book by Omid Scobie from sale, their statement read. An error occurred in the Dutch translation and is currently being rectified. The claims relate to a 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview in which Meghan Markle alleged that there were concerns and conversations about how dark her and Prince Harrys sons skin might be when she was pregnant. The topic is raised in Endgame, the shocking new book from author Scobie released on Tuesday (28 November). You can read The Independents review of the book here. Endgame hit shelves on Tuesday (Calder Publicity/HarperCollins) In the book, Scobie doesnt name the person, which he says is due to libel laws, but he does claim that the remarks were echoed by another person, also in the royal household. However, The Daily Mail reported that the persons identity appeared to have been revealed in the Dutch-language version of the book released to reviewers in the Netherlands. The copy reads: But in those private letters [the identity] was confirmed before naming the person. As a result, Endgame was reportedly pulled in the Netherlands. This was confirmed by publishers Xander, who saidit received a last-minute request from the US to halt sales until further instructions. A spokesperson for the publisher originally told the publication that they couldnt discuss the details, but said: We have, however, received a request to put the title on hold and that is what we have done. The Independent has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment. After Meghan and Harrys interview with Winfrey was made public, Buckingham Palace released a statement on behalf of the late Queen Elizabeth II. Noting that recollections may vary with regards to the racism allegations put forward by Meghan, they said: The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan. Meghan made the allegations in a 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey (PA Wire) The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much-loved family members. In Endgame, Scobie claims that Charles and Meghan discussed the issue in private letters that were exchanged in the aftermath of the interview, with Charles said to have suggested Meghan should also share her feelings with Kate and William. However, Scobie alleges that neither Meghan nor Harry have heard from the now-Prince and Princess of Wales regarding the race row. An unnamed source close to the family said that the silence has caused a lot of confusion and upset. Earlier this year, it was reported that Meghan did write to Charles after the interview, penning a letter expressing her concerns about an unconscious bias within the royal family. Meghans letter was reportedly written in response to correspondence from Charles, who expressed his sadness over the divide within the royal family. The king also expressed his disappointment at the high-profile and serious nature of the allegation. Both Charles and Meghan acknowledged that the alleged remark about Archies skin colour was not made with malice. Meghan thanked the king for his letter and clarified that she was not accusing the royal family of racism but rather raising concerns about an unconscious bias. Six years after leaving public office as Miamis mayor, Tomas Regalado is running for property appraiser in Miami-Dade County. The 76-year-old Republican filed papers this month to compete in the GOP primary for the office currently held by Pedro Garcia, 86, who is not seeking re-election after three consecutive terms overseeing the appraisal system. The property appraisers office sets taxable values for all properties in Miami-Dade, calculations that set annual tax bills based on rates set by local governments. Regalado is the father of County Commissioner Raquel Regalado, who is running for a second term this year representing parts of Miami in District 7. READ MORE: She works for the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser. Now shes running for his job. They would appear on the same ballot in August if both races are contested. For the moment, Tomas Regalado is the only Republican who has filed for the property appraiser race. Raquel Regalado faces two challengers for the District 7 seat she won in 2020 after holding elected office on the Miami-Dade School Board. Marisol Zenteno, who has worked at the Miami-Dade Property Appraisers office for nearly years, is seeking the top job as a candidate i the Democratic primary. While the election for property appraiser had previously been non-partisan, changes in the Florida Constitution will make the 2024 election a partisan contest. Democrat Marisol Zenteno, who works in the office and lost to Garcia with 46% of the vote in 2020, is running for property appraiser again. Before Regalado filed, Zenteno, 57, was the only candidate. The deadline to join the race is in June. Its been decades since power shifted this much in Miami-Dade. Whats next? Regalado is a long-time television journalist who served two terms as Miami mayor between 2009 and 2017. In an interview, Regalado said he had planned to run for mayor again in 2025 but opted to run for property appraiser after Garcia decided not to seek reelection. Im ready, he said. I love campaigning. In 2018, President Donald Trump appointed Regalado to lead Radio and TV Marti, the U.S.-funded broadcast operations in Miami that the U.S. government uses to counter state-run media in Cuba. Regalado left the post in 2019. He returned to Spanish-language broadcasting and currently hosts programs on the Mega TV broadcast network and a radio show on 106.7 FM. Regalado said he would anchor his campaign on the high cost of homeownership in Miami-Dade, saying hell lobby Tallahassee for tax relief for residential and apartment building owners. Zenteno said that while Regalado is better known, he lacks the hands-on experience she has with the countys property appraisal system as a nine-year employee at the office. I think Im the person to beat, to be honest, she said. We need somebody with new vision. Its an important office. One man died when a vehicle possibly rushing to a hospital following a stabbing crashed into a business, California police reported. Emergency crews responded to a crash into a building at 12:25 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 25, the San Francisco Police Department said in a news release. They found two men, ages 27 and 34, inside with life-threatening stab wounds, police said. Officers believe the two men had been stabbed earlier and crashed trying to drive to a hospital, police said. The 27-year-old man died of his injuries at a hospital, police said. The location is just south of Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, on the eastern edge of the citys Mission District. The vehicle crashed into a Walgreens store, the San Francisco Standard reported. Police ask anyone with information to call 415-575-4444. First clue to stolen car? The beautifully handwritten license plate, CA cops say Knife found artfully hidden in bread loaf at Washington airport checkpoint, feds say 121-year-old statue of Spanish-American War soldier stolen from cemetery. Wickedness SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) One person was shot and an alleged suspect was in custody after a SWAT situation in San Marcos on Monday, according to the San Marcos Police Department. Around 4:30 p.m., SMPD said it received a call about someone who was shot. That person drove to a nearby hospital and was expected to survive. The suspect was previously barricaded in an apartment at a complex on El Rio Street, according to police. SMPD said SWAT responded to the complex around 7 p.m. Then, around 9:20 p.m., SMPD said on social media the suspect was taken into custody. No other information was available on Monday. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. (CNN) For nearly 10 years, Jiang Hui has been searching for answers as to why the plane carrying his 70-year-old mother back from vacation in Malaysia vanished without trace. Jiangs mother, Jiang Cuiyun, was one of 239 people on board Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 when it deviated from its scheduled path from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and disappeared over the Indian Ocean on March 8, 2014. To this date, the fate of MH370 remains one of historys greatest aviation mysteries, and Jiang has never given up on his quest to find out what happened. On Monday, a Chinese court will begin hearing claims for compensation for families of MH370 passengers, who say the disaster not only deprived them of their loved ones, but also plunged some into financial distress. Almost 10 years on, the family members (who refused to accept settlement offers) did not receive any apology or a penny of compensation, Jiang, 50, told CNN in an interview ahead of the hearings at the Chaoyang District Peoples Court in Beijing, more than seven years after the lawsuits were initially filed. In fact, my mood is very complicated now. There is both a sense of relief and a deep feeling of helplessness. Jiang is suing Maylasia Airlines, its insurer, Boeing and the manufacturer of the planes engine companies he believes should be held responsible under Chinese law for damage occured during transportation. His demands include compensation, a formal apology, and the resumption of psychological assistance to family members, as well as the creation of a fund to continue searches for the plane. About 40 Chinese families are taking these companies to court with varying but largely overlapping appeals, with hearings expected to last until December 5, Jiang said. His own case will be heard on Friday, he added. Of the more than 200 people aboard the flight, 153 were Chinese nationals. The complete lack of legal remedies over the past decade has made our painful lives even more unbearable, Jiang said. In a statement to CNN on the court hearings, Boeing said: Our thoughts continue to be with those who were on board MH370 and their loved ones. CNN has also reached out to Malaysia Airlines, Allianz and Rolls-Royce for comment. Legal uncertainty Its unclear what enforcement power the Chinese court can wield over the defendants if it rules in favor of Jiang and the other plantiffs. All of them are international companies headquartered outside China, though Malaysia Airlines, Boeing and Roll-Royce have offices in China. Similar cases brought in the United States by the victims families have been dismissed on the grounds that these lawsuits should be handled by the Malaysian legal system. In Malaysia, two young boys who lost their father on the flight sued Malaysia Airlines for breach of contract and the Malaysian government for negligence in 2014. The case was settled out of court the next year. In China, families who signed a settlement agreement with Malaysian Airlines received 2.5 million yuan ($350,000) in compensation. Only a few dozen Chinese families signed initially, but over the years more have opted to settle. By March 2021, about 90 families had still declined to settle, but the number halved after the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Jiang. Now, only about 40 families have not settled, according to Jiang, who said they refused to sign the agreement because it removed all responsibility from the airline and the Malaysian government. Three years of Covid lockdowns and other stringent control measures wreaked havoc on the Chinese economy, leaving many families struggling to make ends meet. On our long journey seeking the truth, many families fell into a tough livelihood or even survival situation. They settled as a last resort to ensure their lives, Jiang said. But no matter having settled or not, our ultimate goal remains the same which is to find the plane and our loved ones. A 2018 report by Malaysian authorities concluded the investigation team was unable to determine the real cause of the disappearance of MH370. Human interference or error were more likely the cause of the planes disappearance than an aircraft or system malfunction, the report found. The lack of conclusive evidence led to various theories and speculation about what happened to the flight, and Jiang said some family members still believe their loved ones are alive. He says hes keeping an open mind and will accept any outcome, as long as there is evidence. While the jetliner was never found, pieces of apparent debris have washed up on islands in the southern Indian Ocean and the shores of Africa suggesting the plane had broken up. Years-long quest Jiangs persistence was driven by a key motivation the urge to do something for his mother, who enjoyed traveling in her retirement. Im at an age where I should pay filial piety to my mother, but I no longer have the chance to do that. So, finding her is the only way I can be filial to her, he said. Before the MH370 tragedy, Jiang was an ambitious manager at the Beijing office of a state-owned communications company. But one year after the flight went missing, he left the company and has since focused his time and energy on finding the plane. Over the years, he has visited search teams in Australia and roamed the remote shores of Mauritius, Madagascar and Reunion a French island in the Indian Ocean to scour for the Boeing jetliners debris. In Beijing, he has held regular gatherings with family members of other flight victims to discuss the next step in seeking answers and justice for their loved ones disappearance. I used to get completely immersed in my job, but now I can truly understand whats the meaning of life, and what are its most precious things, he said. If I can push for any progress (in finding MH370), or I can try my best till the end, I would feel very gratified and happy and such happiness is beyond comparison with earning a higher salary. This story was first published on CNN.com, "Chinese court starts hearing lawsuits against Malaysia Airlines over missing flight MH370." Hi OnPolitics readers! Presidents, first ladies and celebrities alike attended a tribute service for Rosalynn Carter in Atlanta today, but it was the former first lady's faith and dedication to service that took center stage at the memorial. Rev. Mark Westmoreland, pastor of Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church on Emory University's campus in Atlanta, said the event celebrated "96 years of faith and love." Kathryn Cade, Rosalynn Carter's longtime aide and friend, said the service, "What a remarkable woman she was: a wife, mother, business manager, political strategist, diplomat, advocate and author." Cade also said her "compassion and empathy for those who are suffering was boundless, her passion for action even more so." Jason Carter said in some ways his grandmother was like a lot of grandmothers, baking with mayonnaise and once making pimento cheese sandwiches for strangers on a flight. He also called her work fighting the stigmas surrounding mental health a "50-year climb." "It is remarkable how far she could see and how far she was willing to walk. And that effort changed lives, and it saved lives including in my own family. She was made for these long journeys," he said. Political leaders and their spouses joined the 99-year-old former President Jimmy Carter at the service, including President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden; Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff; and former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Fellow former first ladies Melania Trump, Michelle Obama and Laura Bush were also in attendance. Read more here: Presidents, celebrities attend Rosalynn Carter's tribute service, but her faith, dedication takes center stage Stay in the know on politics: Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Honoring Rosalynn Carter's 96 years of faith and love' in Atlanta Did the board make a mistake in giving the founder Sam Altman the boot or asking him back? Either way, theyve messed up badly. - JOHN G MABANGLO/Shutterstock Is this the way the world ends? Not with a bang but a boardroom squabble? Hopefully not. But make no mistake, those are the stakes the protagonists of the fast-forward corporate soap opera that has engulfed OpenAI over the past week believed they were playing for. As well as operating at the cutting edge of a nascent technology that many feel poses a real risk to the future of humanity, the ultra-buzzy tech unicorn and creator of the chatbot ChatGPT was also attempting a radical experiment in corporate governance. Even before the dust has settled and the full facts are known, its patently clear that has unambiguously failed. Two Fridays ago, the board of OpenAI abruptly fired Sam Altman, the companys co-founder and chief executive, reportedly because they were worried about his gung-ho approach to commercialising the companys artificial intelligence technology. But then, amid a revolt by the companys investors and employees, who threatened to follow Altman out the door en masse, the remaining directors executed an abrupt about-face, reinstalling Altman and effectively firing themselves. Did the board make a mistake in giving Altman the boot or asking him back? Either way, theyve messed up badly. These convolutions have broader resonance because many companies are struggling with the question of how to juggle the imperative to make money with their broader societal purpose. Right from the start, OpenAIs founders knew that they faced a high risk of being skewered on the horns of this particular dilemma. Even discounting some of the more outlandish claims made about generative artificial intelligence, OpenAI was developing technology that had the potential to be both extremely valuable while also raising some pretty existential questions. To help resolve potential conflicts of interest, OpenAIs founders set the company up as a non-profit. Its stated goal was to advance digital intelligence in a way that is most likely to benefit humanity as a whole, unconstrained by a need to generate financial return. It was, however, very much constrained by the need for money to pay expensive engineers to build its technology and massive amounts of computing power to run its large language models. That wasnt such an issue in the early days, because one of the co-founders was a certain Elon Musk, who reportedly stumped up $100m of his own cash. But, when he tried to take over the company in 2018 and was rebuffed, OpenAI was suddenly in need of fresh funding. Altman decided to carve out a for-profit subsidiary called OpenAI Global LLC. This meant the company could commercialise its services and make money, a useful attribute when trying to attract investors. Microsoft, among other backers, duly stumped up $1bn and became a minority owner of the subsidiary. Nevertheless, the non-profit board still reigned supreme. The directors had no legal or fiduciary obligation to listen to investors or run the company for their benefit. OpenAI explicitly spelt this out in its operating agreement: It would be wise to view any investment in OpenAI Global LLC in the spirit of a donation. Whether or not Microsoft did view its investment in that spirit or not, it has since directly invested something like 13bn in OpenAI. That, however, was by no means the limit of its exposure. Many of its products like Windows and Office now incorporate OpenAIs technology; it has just released a chip that is custom-built to run OpenAIs models. That looked like a brilliant bet a year ago when OpenAI launched ChatGPT, which quickly became a breakout consumer service and fundamentally changed the global conversation about artificial intelligence. ChatGPT now has around 100m weekly users and OpenAI generated over $1.3bn of annualised revenue in October. But suddenly the company was working at breakneck speed both to create products that would generate a profit while also attempting to assess and mitigate the risks posed by the technology. The old tension embedded in the heart of the company rose to the surface. Altman started referring to the two tribes within OpenAI. These have been broadly characterised as the boomers, who believe the rapid development of AI could help solve a raft of seemingly intractable problems, and the doomers, who worry the technology could wipe out humanity and therefore should be handled with extreme care. Outwardly, Altman appears to straddle that schism. But clearly the board, which was designed to provide a brake on over-ambition and act as failsafe against hubris, felt he was erring too far towards boomerism. If so, they should be pilloried less for firing Altman than their subsequent backtracking. Was Satya Nadella, Microsofts boss, foolish to make such a huge bet on a company whose corporate structure was specifically designed to prevent him having any influence and, it can now be seen, was so unstable? Theres no disguising the fact that, for a short time, Microsofts shareholders money was circling the drain. Pictured: Microsoft boss Satya Nadella - Eric Risberg/AP Straight after Altmans departure, the answer to that question looked to be a resounding, hell yes! There was a very real risk the entire value of the company, estimated at around $86bn, based on a planned employee stock sale, was about to go up in smoke. On one level, the company has now gone full circle and is back where it started with just a slight change of personnel on the board. However, theres no disguising the fact that, for a short time, Microsofts shareholders money was circling the drain. In his Stratechery newsletter, technology analyst Ben Thompson writes OpenAIs melodrama will hopefully debunk the myth that anything but a for-profit corporation is the right way to organise a company. Even before the recent drama, Thompson says he was more nervous than relieved when he found out Altman doesnt own any equity in OpenAI: There is something about making money and answering to shareholders that holds the more messianic impulses in check. Its not that, for want of a phrase, greed is good; its just that, as an organising principle, no ones come up with anything better. Trying to organise incentives by fiat simply doesnt account for all of the possible scenarios and variables at play in a dynamic situation, writes Thompson. Harvesting self-interest has, for good reason, long been the best way to align individuals and companies. The solution to OpenAIs woes therefore seems pretty clear: a healthy dose of good, old-fashioned capitalism. 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. Leaders of his party may believe that President Biden is a fairly conservative, old-school centrist Democrat, but most Democratic voters do not. (Andrew Harnik / Associated Press) According to a recent poll conducted by the Democratic firm, Blueprint , only 5% of Americans say that Joe Biden is far more conservative than me. Ask yourself, what percentage of Democratic activists, liberal TV hosts, White House staffers, liberal think tankers and donors believe that Biden is far more conservative or even somewhat more conservative than they are? Id be shocked if the number wasnt closer to 90%. In other words, the elites who push the agenda of the Democratic Party actually believe that Biden is a fairly conservative, old-school centrist Democrat, while even most Democratic voters do not. But dont go by just one poll. In their new book Where Have All the Democrats Gone, the liberal intellectuals Ruy Teixeira and John Judis argue that the Democratic Party has been led astray by what they call a shadow party of very progressive activists that cant see through the bubble they live in. Read more: Goldberg: After Biden's bad news week, the campaign has only one choice The book is a corrective to their hugely influential 2002 book The Emerging Democratic Majority, in which they argued that demographic changes would give Democrats the building blocks for an enduring majority to replace the old dissipating FDR coalition. That book seemed prophetic in 2006 and 2008, when Democrats had massive success marshaling the coalition of the ascendent. Their prediction has not fared well since. In 2010, Obamas coalition evaporated. Democrats lost 63 House seats. Obama won reelection in 2012, but his coalition shrank from 2008 and the GOP held onto the House. In 2014, the Democrats lost nine Senate seats and 13 in the House. And in 2016? Well. Read more: Calmes: Trump promises power grabs and vengeance if he wins in 2024. Here's the plan. The key to these losses, Teixeira and Judis explain, was the steady exodus of the white working class. By believing in an iron version of demography is destiny something Teixeira and Judis never argued the shadow party felt liberated from the necessities of conventional politics, opting to prioritize issues mainstream voters either dont care very much about or disdain. Its a very human response. If you think youre going to win no matter what, why not indulge yourself? Teixera and Judis focus on four issues that tend to turn off more voters than they attract at least in the way Democrats frame them: race, immigration, transgenderism and other forms of what they call sexual creationism, and climate change. None of this is to say Teixeira and Judis are conservatives on any of these issues. Their point is that by prioritizing extreme framing on these causes to the exclusion of the Democrats traditional economic populism led millions of white working-class voters to feel like the Democrats no longer cared about people like them. And now, theres evidence that some of the non-white working class is going with them . Read more: Goldberg: House Republicans need a sudden onset of political maturity. What are the chances? For instance, defund the police was a compelling idea to the shadow party, but it has little appeal to mainstream voters of any race , who may have problems with police abuses, but have little tolerance for crime. Fewer than 1 in 5 African Americans supported the cause. Twice as many wanted increased spending on law enforcement. Obsessed with the intraparty fight, waged largely in the media, Democratic activists tend to treat any issue hyped by the right as illegitimate. The border crisis may not be the threat Tucker Carlson describes, but that doesnt mean its not a crisis. And concern over illegal immigration doesnt make you a racist or nativist. I have profound disagreements with the economic program laid out by Teixeira and Judis. Unlike them, Im no fan of FDRs vision of economic rights. But theyre persuasive that a Democratic Party that tries to find common cause with the largest voting bloc(s) in America is going to be better for the party and the country than one thats focused on identity politics and sloganeering about white supremacy. The fact is, non-college-educated white people make up about 44% of the electorate , and about two-thirds of registered voters are white. Theres a lesson here for both parties, because both are institutionally weak and easily manipulated by their shadow parties. Convinced that their existing bases are all they need and any effort to broaden their appeal by watering down their agendas is capitulation to the enemy, theyve concluded its better to rule with a narrow, vulnerable majority than to govern with a broad one. But the surest way to ensure lasting political progress isnt to win a single election, its to build a durable majority. That means serving voters interests, not dictating to them while insisting that anyone who disagrees with you is a racist or as Donald Trump says, vermin. @jonahdispatch If its in the news right now, the L.A. Times Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Editors Note: Jill Filipovic is a journalist based in New York and author of the book OK Boomer, Lets Talk: How My Generation Got Left Behind. Follow her on Twitter. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely her own. View more opinion on CNN. Elon Musk is trying to make amends, or at least do damage control, after endorsing an antisemitic post on his platform X, formerly Twitter. Musk, however, isnt actually adequately apologizing or doing much of anything to address his own repeated vile actions or the bigotry that has overtaken X since he took the helm. Jill Filipovic - Courtesy of Jill Filipovic This week, he paid a visit to Israel, a nation in the midst of a bloody war, to prove, as he put it, that actions speak louder than words. Unfortunately for Musk, both his actions and his words are odious. Musks latest problem started when an X user addressed antisemites on the platform, posting, To the cowards hiding behind the anonymity of the internet and posting Hitler was right: You got something you want to say? Why dont (sic) you say it to our faces . Another responded: Okay. Jewish communties (sic) have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them. Im deeply disinterested in giving the tiniest s*** now about western Jewish populations coming to the disturbing realization that those hordes of minorities that support flooding their country dont exactly like them too much. In response, Musk replied, You have said the actual truth. And then he went further, saying that the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) unjustly attacks the majority of the West, by calling out antisemitism. Musk claimed: This is because [the ADL] cannot, by their own tenets, criticize the minority groups who are their primary threat. Jewish groups quickly pointed out that the statement Musk endorsed as the actual truth is actually a version of a racist conspiracy theory. The idea is that Jews are letting immigrant invaders into the country to strip Whites of their power and destroy White culture. And its not just some bigots bantering on social media. This ugly Great Replacement theory has been behind mass shootings that have targeted specific racial or ethnic groups, including at a grocery store in Buffalo that killed 10 Black shoppers and employees. The backlash to Musks comments on X was swift: Advertisers pulled their campaigns from X, and Musk came under international criticism. And so, off to Israel he went, to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, tour a kibbutz that was attacked by Hamas on Oct. 7 and meet some of the family members of the hostages taken by Hamas that day. Musk and Netanyahu had a live conversation on X, during which Musk, referring to Hamas, said, Those who are intent on murder must be neutralized. Then the propaganda must stop. He added that Gaza must be made prosperous, and If (all) that happens, I think it will be a good future, noting that hed love to help. What a joke. Musks Israel tour was transparently transactional and frankly insulting. The antisemitic sentiment Musk endorsed had nothing to do with Israel; replacement theory is generally an unsupported allegation that Jews and other immigrants in the US and Europe are destroying Western civilization. Meeting with a billionaire on a reputation-saving mission should certainly be pretty low on the list of priorities for Israeli leaders, who, at this particular moment, are still negotiating the return of dozens of Israelis are being held hostage by Hamas, and overseeing a devastating war in Gaza that has killed thousands of innocent civilians and displaced countless more. A chat with Musk and a personal tour of Hamas devastation seems like it could have waited. A tour of Israel in the middle of a war doesnt even come close to solving the root problem of antisemitism and it shouldnt absolve Musk of responsibility for his own words and actions. Under Musks leadership, X has turned into a swamp of prejudice and bigotry. Known neo-Nazi and white supremacists have had their accounts reinstated. Members of the Islamic State returned to the platform and some QAnon conspiracy theorists have been allowed to pay for verification badges on the site. In the months after Musks takeover, hate speech on the site surged: Anti-Black racial slurs tripled, and antisemitic posts increased by 61%, according to a report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH). Musks response? He sued the CCDH. X is a free public service funded largely by advertisers, X said in a blog post about the lawsuit. Through the CCDHs scare campaign and its ongoing pressure on brands to prevent the publics access to free expression, the CCDH is actively working to prevent public dialogue. This month, the progressive watchdog group Media Matters published a report showing that a number of ads were displayed alongside antisemitic and pro-Nazi posts on X. Musks response to that report? He sued Media Matters. Earlier this year, the ADL published a report documenting an increase in antisemitic content on X under Musks ownership. Musk threatened to sue them, too, blaming the organization for a huge drop in Xs ad sales. Musk has compromised his free speech absolutism, not to make significant efforts to ban White supremacists and neo-Nazis, but to prevent terms widely adopted by the pro-Palestinian movement, including decolonization and from the river to the sea, from being used on X. Many people find these terms deeply offensive when applied to Israel, as they suggest an end to the Jewish state and the likely expulsion of millions of Jews from the region. But its pretty rich to ban these words after endorsing antisemitism. And richer still to see a number of opportunists and enablers allow Musk to continue with this farce. Netanyahu is simply the most recent. ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt is another: Even though his own organization documented pervasive antisemitism on X and Musk threatened to sue them for exposing it, Greenblatt nevertheless responded to the decolonization and from the river to the sea ban by applauding Musk for his leadership in fighting hate. Musk has not yet bothered to issue an apology, or take any responsibility whatsoever for his statements or his companys antisemitism problem. He has, however, found time to post more vile content on X. This is nothing new. Musk has a long history of making bigoted statements, or supporting the bigoted statements of others. He seems to hold a special ire for George Soros, the Hungarian financier and philanthropist who survived Nazi occupation in the 1940s. Soros has become the subject of a great many far-right and antisemitic conspiracy theories. Musk has compared Soros to a Jewish supervillain, and has said he hates humanity and wants to erode the very fabric of civilization. After Dilbert creator Scott Adams went on a racist rant in which he said Black Americans were a hate group who people should get the hell away from, Musk defended him, tweeting that the media is racist. Later, he added that while Adamss comments werent good, they did express an element of truth. Theres that word from Musk again: Truth. He is proving to us, over and over again, that what he believes to be true is profoundly ugly, bigoted and false. We should listen, and understand that the worlds richest man is saying exactly what he means. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Almost three years on from its bloody coup, Myanmars military junta is facing the biggest threat to its hold on power as it fights wars on multiple fronts across the Southeast Asian nation. In recent weeks, powerful armed ethnic militias have joined with resistance forces to mount major new offensives with unprecedented coordination, exposing the limits of the deeply unpopular juntas capabilities as it loses strategic border towns, key military positions and vital trade routes at a scale not seen in decades, according to experts. The junta is actively collapsing right now and thats only become possible because there is this wider effort across the country, said Matthew Arnold, an independent Myanmar analyst. Calling it an existential moment for the military, Arnold said the resistance is now focused on taking major towns to fundamentally defeat the junta. An offensive named Operation 1027, launched in late October by an alliance of three powerful ethnic rebel armies in the countrys northeast, has since catalyzed into a nationwide push to take control of towns and areas in Myanmars north, west and southeast. Nearly 200 civilians have been killed and 335,000 people newly displaced by the fighting since October 27, according to the United Nations. Civil war between Myanmars myriad ethnic armies and successive military governments has raged for decades. But the latest escalation in fighting comes off the back of nationwide public resistance to army chief Min Aung Hlaings February 2021 coup, which sacked the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The militarys post-coup crackdown on peaceful protesters and documented atrocities against civilians spurred people to take up arms and defend their towns and communities in Myanmars rural and urban centers. Since then, battles between the military and resistance groups aligned with the anti-junta National Unity Government in exile have unfolded daily. Junta airstrikes and ground attacks on what the Myanmar military calls terrorist targets have killed thousands of civilians to date, including children, and displaced about 2 million people. Those on the ground say they are ultimately fighting to get rid of the junta and establish a federal democracy in which all of Myanmars people have full rights and representation. Routing out a deeply entrenched institution like the military, which has ruled for half a decade though brutality and fear, will not be straightforward, and the militarys refusal to back down could drag Myanmar deeper into conflict. But while the latest escalation in conflict since October 27 has not yet stretched to major cities like Yangon, Mandalay, or Naypyidaw, it marks a turning point in that resistance. According to the UN office for humanitarian affairs (OCHA), armed clashes are now the biggest in scale and most extensive seen since the coup. Its the beginning of the end of State Administration Council, we are already seeing it, Bo Nagar, commander of the Burma National Revolutionary Army (BNRA), which is fighting against the military in Myanmars central regions, told CNN. In this photo taken on March 9, 2023 members of ethnic rebel group Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) patrol near Namhsan Township in Myanmar's northern Shan State. - Stringer/AFP/Getty Images Turning point Announcing its October offensive, the Three Brotherhood Alliance involving the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the Kokangs Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), Arakan Army (AA) and allied peoples defense forces, declared it was dedicated to eradicating the oppressive military dictatorship. Its objectives were to safeguard the lives of civilians, assert our right to self-defense, maintain control over our territory, and respond resolutely to ongoing artillery attacks and airstrikes. The alliance also vowed to combat the the widespread online gambling fraud that has plagued Myanmar, particularly along the China-Myanmar border. In many of the towns dotted along the Chinese and Thai borders, Chinese-run compounds have boomed in recent years. Alleged to be centers of mass online fraud and illegal gambling and hosted by junta militias, they have trapped and trafficked thousands of people into working as online scammers. Members of resistance armies and analysts CNN spoke to say while the junta never had full control of the country, the multi-front war is stretching the militarys capabilities so that it is now being pushed into a defensive position, particularly in the northeast. Myanmars junta-installed president Myint Swe gave a rare warning at a defense and security meeting with the top brass in early November that, if the government does not effectively manage the incidents happening in the border region, the country will be split into various parts. In this photo taken on March 8, 2023 members of ethnic rebel group Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) take part in a training exercise at their base camp in the forest in Myanmar's northern Shan State. - Stringer/AFP/Getty Images CNN has reached out to Myanmars military spokesperson for comment on the recent fighting but has not received a response. The junta has acknowledged it is engaged in heavy assaults and reportedly ordered all government staff and those with military experience in the capital to prepare to serve in case of emergency, according to Reuters. It has also imposed martial law in several northeast towns. The armed forces will continuously serve necessary security measures for ensuring peace and stability of the region, it said during the defense meeting. In state media, the junta has denied claims that it has stationed 14,000 troops in the capital Naypyidaw to protect the main military headquarters from the offensives, and denied it was recruiting public servants to attend military training, calling both fake news and misinformation. Key border towns lost, reports of army troops surrendering In the mountainous northern border regions of Shan state, the junta has lost control of at least six towns including Chin Shwe Haw and Kunlong two strategic border towns for trade and transport with China key roads, and more than 100 military outposts and camps, according to resistance fighters CNN spoke to and local independent media. Severing those transport routes has cut off a vital revenue source for the internationally sanctioned and cash-strapped junta. The alliance claims control of Chin Shwe Haw and the roads leading to the town of Muse, through which 98% of all cross-border trade with China passes, amounting to $2.2 billion from April to October this year, according to Myanmar figures. In western Rakhine state, ethnic minority armed group the Arakan Army (AA) renewed fighting after a year-long temporary ceasefire broke down, opening up a new front. Clashes with junta forces are ongoing in several townships and the town of Pauktaw has turned into a war zone, said U Nan Diya, a local village abbot monk. There are also reports of army defections and whole battalions surrendering. People queue for food at a monastery-turned-temporary shelter for internally displaced people in Lashio, Shan state on November 15, 2023. - Stringer/AFP/Getty Imges In the jungles of southeast Kayah state, fighting has raged near the state capital Loikaw. Video filmed and published by the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force appears to show Myanmar army soldiers surrendering to rebels at Loikaw University who are filmed treating their injuries. CNN cannot independently verify the events. In hilly western Chin state, thousands of people have fled the fighting and crossed the Indian border to Mizoram. Among them were 43 Myanmar soldiers who fled after their military camps were seized by rebels, according to Mizoram police official Lalmalsawma Hnamte. Reuters reported that dozens were sent back to Myanmar. Resistance fighters CNN spoke to said junta soldiers they encounter have lost the desire to fight. Because of lack of support from the civilians, the soldiers on the ground are lacking morale in fighting, said Lin Lin, spokesperson for the Burma Peoples Liberation Army, which is fighting in Myanmars north alongside the Three Brotherhood Alliance, and in the southeast. When we look at fighting leading to besieging towns, its not that they dont have adequate weapons, but they lack the desire to fight, unlike before Because of their lack of desire to fight, we are winning more. While some towns appeared to have fallen with relative ease, others say there is intense fighting in more central strongholds, where it is easier for the military to reinforce and resupply their troops. When the military column goes to a certain village, we try to distract them to not get to their targeted village by using offensive tactics. There are times we were outnumbered, we had to retreat, thats when they attacked and destroyed the civilians, said Bo Nagar, the BNRA commander in Sagaing region. Military stretched thin Analysts say ongoing losses suggest the military does not possess the sufficient manpower and fighting capabilities needed to retake them, despite relying on airstrikes and heavy weaponry. Predicting the ultimate outcome in the ongoing military progress is challenging, as I see it still in the initial phase of the resistances strategy. However, one certainty is that Operation 1027 has shifted the military equilibrium in favor of the resistance, said Ye Myo Hein, fellow at the United States Institute of Peace and the Wilson Center. The military, he said, is currently under relentless 360-degree attacks across the country. Analysis from Ye Myo Hein in May suggested the Sit-Tat, as the military is known, is much smaller than commonly thought, with about 150,000 personnel and 70,000 combat soldiers barely able to sustain itself as a fighting force, much less a government. This photo taken on September 24, 2023 shows members of the Karen state Border Guard Forces (BGF) patrolling on the Yangon-Myawaddy section of the Asia Highway road near Kawkareik township. - Stringer/AFP/Getty Images Notably, during a temporary lull in conflict in northern Shan state, the militarys redeployment of troops from that area to Karenni and Sagaing allowed groups in northern Shan State to achieve significant military gains swiftly. Any further troop movements will present opportunities for resistance to make substantial advances in those areas, Ye Myo Hein told CNN. There is rising concern that the junta is taking out its battlefield losses on the people. Violence against civilians is a long-used Myanmar military strategy and there is a growing body of evidence that army troops have regularly bombed and burnt entire villages and committed other human rights abuses since the coup. Since the start of the October offensive, monitoring groups have documented junta airstrikes and artillery hitting several Myanmar villages. On November 15, a military airstrike hit a village in Chin states Matupi, killing 11 people, including eight children, according to the National Unity Government. What comes next Saddled between global heavyweights China and India, with Thailand to its south and Bangladesh to its west, the fighting in Myanmar is threatening to disrupt relations with regional neighbors. Without control of its borders and with fresh waves of refugees scattering into neighboring counties, the juntas inability to bring stability to the nation risks angering one of its only global allies and main source of investment: China. On Saturday, Chinas military conducted live-fire drills and training on the Chinese side of the border with Myanmar, as fierce fighting raged on the Myanmar side, Chinese state media Global Times reported. The theater command forces are always prepared to respond to various emergencies and are resolute in safeguarding national sovereignty, border stability and the safety of the peoples lives and property, said Senior Colonel Tian Junli, a spokesperson of the PLA Southern Theater Command, according to Global Times. The paper reported the drills were part of annual training and were defensive and aimed at safeguarding Chinese sovereignty, stability of border area and safety of personnel from impacts caused by the civil war in Myanmar, rather than an act to intervene in the internal affairs of the neighboring country. According to Arnold, Myanmars neighbors have now lost access to the country a brutal reality check for the junta. All of the neighboring countries have invested significantly in maintaining positive relations with the junta. But as soon as they start to lose the access to Myanmar that changes their entire geopolitical calculus. I think its true of China, but its also true of India and Thailand, he said. Before 2011, Myanmars military ruled the country for more than half a century through brutality and fear, turning Myanmar into a poverty-stricken pariah nation. Throughout years of conflict in Myanmars jungles and mountains, ethnic people have witnessed and been subjected to atrocities including massacres, rape and other forms of sexual violence, torture, forced labor and displacement by the armed forces, as well as state-sanctioned discrimination. The coup abruptly ended a 10-year transition period that briefly ushered in greater democratic and economic reforms. But the military still retained outsized influence, and for many ethnic people the long documented abuses and violence continued under Suu Kyis civilian government. Some analysts say Myanmar is now closer than ever to achieving that goal of defeating the junta. The important thing to be clear about is that a genocidal military can be defeated outright That theres not a need to have another 10 years of a so-called transition that is fundamentally premised or corrupted by the idea that you have to negotiate and accommodate a genocidal military, said Arnold. And there is cautious optimism among those fighting. In order to get to a federal democratic country for equal rights, we have become stronger by coordinating with each other, said Bo Nagar. With this kind of unity, I believe we can quickly defeat the bullying military. And when its over, this kind of unity will be a foundation to rebuilding our country. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) Murder suspect Gauge Douglas James Main remains at large more than a week after he allegedly shot a man to death in southern Oregon, authorities say. Main is wanted for the murder of 20-year-old Devonte Lovell Clark, who was shot and killed in Riddle on Nov. 20 near Main Street and Third Avenue shortly after 11:30 p.m. Main is also suspected of shooting and injuring 29-year-old Killian Mavity. Both victims are from Grants Pass. Murder victim Joanna Speaks now thought to have been killed in Portland: PPB The Douglas County Sheriffs Office said that the 19-year-old Riddle resident was seen fleeing the scene of the shooting in a stolen 2017 Honda Civic. The silver four-door sedan was later found in California without the suspect. Main is considered armed and dangerous. Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin is seeking help from the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force to find Main and arrest him. 1 person shot, killed in rural Yamhill County: Officials If captured, Main faces second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon charges. Anyone with information that could lead to Mains arrest is asked to contact the Douglas County Sheriffs Office. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) Happening Tuesday, Nov. 28, the Peace Lake Tenants Association will hold a protest and news conference to discuss the deteriorating and dangerous conditions of the Peace Lake Towers in New Orleans East. The tenants have reportedly organized a union to negotiate with management for the sake of getting repairs and quality of life issues resolved, which they say were met with threats of eviction and intimidation. While the attempts to evict individuals have reportedly failed, tenants allege other actions have been taken to scare them. Overturned 18-wheeler shuts down I-59 traffic in Pearl River For example, a letter was sent to the tenants notifying them that the elevator was to be shut down for maintenance from 6:30 until further notice. Tenants said the shutdown not only inconveniences those en route to the protest but also elderly residents who have doctor appointments to attend. Organizers report the goal of the event is to publicly speak to officials with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and request an investigation into Peace Lakes management and Millennia Housing. Requests that residents say have been ignored. The conference is set to happen at 10 a.m. at the Hale Boggs Building. Stay updated with the latest news, weather, and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play store and subscribing to the WGNO newsletter. Latest Posts For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGNO. BENTLEY, Okla. (KFOR) The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) has confirmed on November 23rd, the Atoka County Sheriffs Office requested assistance with an officer-involved shooting. According to OSBI, earlier that day, Atoka County Sheriff deputies responded to a call for service near East Turkey Creek Road and South Grassy lake Road in Bentley. Authorities say, deputies were informed that 26-year-old Dakota Mayo made threats towards other individuals and fled to a nearby wooded area. Find more Top Stories from KFOR.com When deputies located Mayo, they observed him pointing a rifle in their direction and heard multiple gunshots. Deputies provided numerous commands for Mayo to drop his weapon, but he was not compliant, according to OSBI. Police say, deputies returned fire and struck Mayo. Mayo was treated at the scene and transported to Medical City Plano in Texas for further treatment. On November 26th, OSBI confirmed Mayo was released from the hospital and booked into the Collin County Jail on two counts of Shooting with intent to kill. No further information has been released at this time. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City. OTTAWA COUNTY A special recall election targeting an Ottawa Impact-backed county commissioner is set for the May 2024 ballot. On Monday, Nov. 27, the Ottawa County Clerk's Office announced that the special election will be added to the May ballot after a nearly 5-month-long process to recall Lucy Ebel. Commissioner Lucy Ebel listens to public comment Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023, at the Ottawa County Offices in West Olive. The Committee to Recall Lucy Ebel announced on Nov. 14 it had 2,653 valid signatures verified with current voter registration records exceeding the 2,481 signatures required to put the matter on the spring ballot. Ebel challenged all of the signatures on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 23, according to the county records. The clerk's office had 35 days from when the signatures were submitted on Oct. 24 to validate the gathered signatures, allow Ebel to file specific challenges to any, and reconcile any discrepancies. More: Ebel recall claims enough signatures to hit the ballot More: 3,000 signatures turned in to recall Ottawa County Commissioner Lucy Ebel On Monday, Nov. 27, the clerk's office announced that Ebel's challenges had been reviewed and that the petitioners now had 2,575 valid signatures 78 fewer than after the initial vetting period, but still 94 over the minimum signature threshold to trigger a special recall election. In a letter to Ebel that Roebuck posted to social media Monday evening, he outlined an exhaustive process his staff undertook over the five days remaining in the 35-day period to ensure accuracy and transparency. Im committed to upholding my Oath of Office. Im dedicated to transparency in our process. Im so grateful for our team of professionals and for this community.https://t.co/rl2oXI438R pic.twitter.com/LvIPIohJRX Justin Roebuck (@JustinRoebuck) November 28, 2023 "Our team has spent hundreds of hours during the initial review of the petition after it was submitted on Oct. 24 of this year. We spent a number of additional hours over the five-day period that has been allotted to us to review your challenges," Roebuck wrote to Ebel. "Commissioner, I recognize that his has been a trying and difficult process for you and for your supporters. I hope that throughout this time you have felt the respect and fair treatment that you deserve from me and from my team," Roebuck wrote. "We truly take our oath of office seriously. Our highest priority is to uphold the laws and Constitution of the State of Michigan, and that is what we have sought to do throughout this entire process." In the 16-page letter, Roebuck outlined all steps taken by him and his staff to address the 35 separate challenges Ebel raised in her Nov. 23 filing, including a "challenge to every name disqualified by Office of Clerk," "violations of Michigan campaign finance laws (which do not affect signature validation) and alleging that nine petition circulators "engaged in deceit and misrepresentation" (which Roebuck said was outside of his purview). This embedded content is not available in your region. Ebel also filed a challenge to the validity of each signature on the petition drive because of significant indica of collection fraud," which Roebuck said was not a "reasonable request to broadly claim 'collection fraud' and assume that we would review every single signature again." Ebel also filed a challenge to Larry Jackson as a circulator, saying the Park Township resident who filed the recall petition in July against her had a criminal past that should disqualify him. Roebuck told Ebel that "violations of the law, alleged violations of the law, or previous violations of the law by a petition circulator do not by law invalidate the legitimate signatures of voters who have signed a petition. This challenge is not sustained." "We take each of these challenges seriously, as you are entitled to them by the law. We also take seriously the high bar of responsibility we have to our voters. Our team has been diligent and focused not upon the politics of this situation but solely upon upholding the law when it comes to the rights of the petitioner, the voters whove lawfully signed the petition, and the official whose recall is sought. Each of these parties deserves our utmost respect and deserves fair treatment under the law," he wrote. Ebel is a member of Ottawa Impact, which currently has a six-member majority on the board. The far-right fundamentalist group was formed in 2021 over frustrations with the county and state over COVID-19 mitigation measures. Commissioner Lucy Ebel takes her seat during the Board of Commissioners meeting Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023, at the county offices in West Olive. Since taking office, Ebel and other Ottawa Impact-linked commissioners have pushed through a series of controversial decisions, including firing the previous county administrator and former corporation counsel, attempting to demote the county health officer, eliminating the county's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Office and making deep cuts to the health department's operating budget. Those decisions have resulted in at least four ongoing lawsuits against the commission and a six-week investigation from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. The recall language for Ebel was submitted July 3, the first day commissioners were eligible for the procedure. The Ottawa County Election Commission ruled July 17 the wording for the recall petition was "factual and of sufficient clarity" to be certified for the ballot. Peitioners hold signs calling for the recall petition for District Two Commissioner Lucy Ebel Monday, Aug. 28, 2023, on the corner of River and Douglas Ave in Holland. Ebel appealed that decision July 26, but a circuit court judge rejected her argument on Aug. 26, allowing the 60-day signature-gathering process to start. The recall effort had to submit a minimum of 2,480 signatures, 25 percent of the number of voters who cast a ballot in the most recent gubernatorial race in Ebel's district. On Oct. 24, more than 3,000 signatures were submitted 2,653 were verified as valid by the clerk's office. The special election will appear on the May 7 ballot in the second district, which includes parts of Park Township and Holland Township. A copy of the recall petition filed against Ottawa County District Two Commissioner Lucy Ebel Monday, Aug. 28, 2023, on the corner of River and Douglas Ave in Holland. Ebel has never responded to The Sentinel's requests for comment. Two other recall efforts are ongoing against Ottawa County commissioners. Duplicate petitions were filed Sept. 1 against District 10 Commissioner Roger Bergman, a moderate Republican, and District 3 Commissioner Doug Zylstra, the board's lone Democrat. Subscribe: Get all your breaking news and unlimited access to our local coverage Bergman and Zylstra both appeared at a Sept. 12 clarity hearing before the county's election commission, which ruled the language was sufficient to move forward. Zylstra appealed that decision Sept. 20, which prevented the signature-gathering process from starting until a circuit court hearing or 40 days passed, whichever was sooner, according to state election law. But a hearing was never scheduled, so the signature process was allowed to proceed as of Oct. 30. It wasn't known as of publication time how the signature-gathering effort is proceeding. If either process is successful, those recall elections would also take place May 7. Sarah Leach is executive editor of The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at sarah.leach@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @SentinelLeach. This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Ottawa Impact Commissioner Lucy Ebel to face recall election in May Testimony began Tuesday in a court hearing over how the devastating Caldor Fire began in 2021, with prosecutors signaling that they may try to show errant gunfire from two suspects sparked the Northern California blaze. Father and son suspects David and Shane Smith have been charged with recklessly starting the fire Aug. 14, 2021, in El Dorado County near Grizzly Flat, and during the start of a preliminary hearing testimony focused on a witness who said he saw two men riding an all-terrain vehicle near the fire and later heard gunshots. Robert Bossard, who had been camping for days near the site where the fire began, testified that he saw two men on a Razor ATV arrive in the early afternoon and drive around the area for up to three hours before heading over a hillside. Within 15 minutes, Bossard said, he heard rapid-fire gunshots, maybe five to 10 rounds, from what sounded like a handgun. It was very fast, he said, adding that the two men on the vehicle returned within half an hour and warned them a fire was burning on the other side of the hill. They told us there was a fire down there, that they tried to stomp it out but it was too big, he said. The two men then went to the top of a hill, where Bossard said he could hear them calling 911. El Dorado Deputy District Attorney Jay Linden would not discuss the case with reporters Tuesday, but the Smiths defense attorneys, Mark Reichel and Linda Parisi, say they believe prosecutors plan to forward the theory that target practice led to a spark that ignited the fire, something they dismissed as nonsense. I think theyre going with the theory that bullets may have caused this fire, which is a theory without any support anywhere in the scientific or expert community, Reichel said over a break in the proceedings. Its going to be an outlandish theory, which requires superior outlandish evidence, which youre not going to see. The only person who did anything legitimately appropriate here were the Smiths, who immediately contacted others and said, Move, get out of here, theres a fire, and then repeatedly called 911 and then shortly thereafter cooperated with law enforcement. Neither lawyer would comment on whether the Smiths were firing weapons that day, but Parisi emphasized that the Smiths acted responsibly in reporting the fire. They did not attempt to hide their identity, they did nothing to hide the fact that they were at that location, and in fact repeatedly called law enforcement to advise them that there was a fire, Parisi said. And, in fact, they took the extra step of notifying the campers that were there. There was nothing reckless in their behavior. The preliminary hearing before El Dorado Superior Court Judge Vicki Ashworth is expected to last into Wednesday before she decides whether there is enough evidence to order the two men to face trial. Bossard was the first witness and testified that he had camped at the site for five days before the fire began. He said there was a fire pit at the campsite, but insisted that he had followed Cal Fire restrictions that day against having a camp fire or firing a weapon because the states extreme drought at the time had made conditions tinder dry. We didnt have a fire that week, said Bossard, who had been sharing the campsite with Michael Patrick, known as Miner Mike, and Patricks collie. Bossard said the two ate cold hot dogs as meals and used a propane burner to heat coffee, but that they never lit a fire. He also said that the camping area was littered with shell casings apparently from people engaged in target practice but that he had not heard any shooting that week until the Saturday the fire broke out. Bossard said he never came within 100 feet of the men on the ATV and could not identify them, but added that Miner Mike got closer and came back to camp after the pair reported a fire was burning nearby. When he came back he said, I vote we bug out of here right now, Bossard said. He testified it took about two hours to pack up camp and 20 minutes to drive up the shale road leading to Caldor Road to get out of the area. The Caldor Fire advances toward homes and buildings near Highway 89 in Christmas Valley in the Tahoe Basin on Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. Cal Fire says the blaze began Aug. 14, 2021, at 6:54 p.m. east of Omo Ranch and south of the town of Grizzly Flat. The fire quickly exploded from its point of origin, eventually burning 221,835 acres about 362 square miles spread across El Dorado, Alpine and Amador counties and forcing the evacuation of South Lake Tahoe. Officials say 1,005 homes, businesses and other structures were destroyed and 21 people were injured. Cal Fire Battalion Chief Josh Vickers, who was on duty the day the fire began, testified that firefighting resources were stretched thin because of the massive Dixie Fire burning in Butte County, and recounted that gaining access to the origin point of the Caldor Fire was extremely difficult because of the rough terrain. He said he led firefighters down a steep road toward the fire, where he hoped to contain it before it burned beyond 10 acres, but that the firefighting equipment could not get through the 6-foot-wide road because it was blocked by a fallen tree that he estimated was 5 feet in diameter and more than 100 feet long. Under questioning from the defense attorneys, Vickers said he and other firefighters determined it would have been too dangerous to try and cut such a huge tree apart, especially as night fell. Vickers added that another firefighter managed to make it closer to the fire through another route that included traversing a creek in a pickup, but that the firefighter told him he could not recommend Vickers crew attempt that with heavy equipment. The Caldor Fire burns along the eastern side of Christmas Valley on Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021, in El Dorado County. The fire jumped Highway 89 late Monday near Christmas Valley, approaching a cluster of homes and cabins straddling Highway 89 just east of the summit and about two miles south of Meyers. The response to the Caldor Fire has sparked controversy since the blaze erupted, with residents complaining that Cal Fire or U.S. Forest Service fire teams could have stopped it earlier by attacking it more aggressively, and Parisi contended that officials did not properly maintain the area over the years. What has become clear is that the fire service did not properly maintain that area, she told reporters. There are a lot of questions as to how and what law enforcement and fire did in response to this. Reichel questioned Vickers about fire dispatch logs that indicated Pioneer Fire Protection District Chief Mark Matthews radioed in from the scene at 8 p.m. that forward progress on the fire had been stopped, but Vickers said he never heard that call. I never heard that, Vickers said, but I can assure you that there was not a moment that we were not actively fighting that fire. Matthews, who died of cancer last year, told The Sacramento Bee in a 2022 interview that he was one of the first firefighters on scene and described a brutal night of battling the blaze. Tuesday afternoon, Parisi and Reichel questioned Cal Fire Battalion Chief Erik Fiedler about other potential suspects who had been investigated in connection with the fire, including Matthews. Reichel elicited testimony that Matthews had come under investigation as a firefighter in Cochise County, Arizona, in connection with a series of grass fires at which he had been the first responder. Matthews told The Bee previously he had done nothing wrong in Arizona or at the Caldor Fire, and Fiedler said Cal Fires investigation of Matthews did not lead to him being a suspect. We came to a conclusion as a team he was not responsible for the fire, Fiedler said. Reichel played a recording of Fiedler interviewing Matthews on Aug. 17, 2021, in which Matthews said, Actually, could you guys just arrest me so I can go get some rest. Fiedler said Matthews statement seemed like he was joking. Reichel also elicited testimony from Fiedler that Matthews had been kicked off duty at the Carr Fire in 2021 for some reason. Reichel told The Bee that he believed there was enough evidence for people other than the Smiths to have been charged. The very limited investigation conducted into other viable suspects, including former Pioneer Fire Chief Matthews, showed enough evidence to charge each one of them; theres more to those suspects than there are to our clients. (CNN) Finland will close the last operating checkpoint on its Russian border on Thursday, entirely shutting off the NATO countrys eastern border with Russia for two weeks. Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said in the release that Russia is enabling the instrumentalization of people and guiding them to the Finnish border in harsh winter conditions. Finland is determined to put an end to this phenomenon. The last checkpoint will shut at midnight on November 30, closing the eastern border until December 13, Finlands Ministry of Internal Affairs said in a press release on Tuesday. It comes amid an increasing effort by Helsinki to restrict crossings from Russia, a push that intensified following the invasion of Ukraine last year and Finlands ascension to NATO earlier this year. Finlands Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said in the press release that it is necessary to close the entire eastern border with Russia, adding that the decision was taken to protect Finlands national security against this Russian hybrid operation. The Finnish Border Guard said in a social media post that Finlands goal is to end the illegal entry from Russia. Finland takes care of its own border security and the Finnish Border Guard is ready to quickly implement new decisions of the Government, the border guard added. Finland shares an 830-mile-long border with Russia. The crossing was one of the few entry points for Russians after many Western countries shut their air space and borders to Russian planes in response to the Ukraine invasion. On November 16, the Finnish government announced it would temporarily close four crossing points along its border with Russia from this week until February 2024, in an effort to stop illegal border crossings. In Tuesdays press release, Finlands interior ministry said entry into Finland at the eastern border has continued despite restrictions. Since the beginning of August, almost 1,000 third-country nationals have arrived in Finland without a visa via the border crossing points at the eastern border. Most of them have applied for asylum in Finland, the ministry said. In such very exceptional circumstances, the short-term total closure of the eastern border is a necessary and proportionate measure to put an end to this phenomenon and to limit the serious consequences that it has for national security and public order, the ministry added in Tuesdays press release. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday accused Russia of using migration as a tool to create pressure along its border with Finland. We have seen them using energy, we have seen them using cyber attacks, we have seen them using different kinds of clandestine operations to try and undermine our democracies. The fact that Russia is using migration as a tool is now another example of the attempt to put pressure on neighbors, Stoltenberg said at a news conference in Brussels. NATO has not received a request from Finland for support in guarding its borders, Stoltenberg said, adding that he is confident that Finland is capable of dealing with the issue itself. He welcomed the move by the European Unions border agency, Frontex, to deploy 50 guards along the Finnish border. Helsinki closed its border at the end of September 2022, around the time traffic over the frontier intensified as Russians tried to flee President Vladimir Putins partial mobilization of hundreds of thousands of citizens to fight in the war. More than 8,500 Russians crossed the border in one day alone. Earlier this year, the Finnish Border Guard also began the pilot phase of constructing an eastern border barrier fence along some key parts of the border. A council has backed calls for local authorities to be given powers to control rents in the private sector. Oxford City Council unanimously passed the motion proposed by Green councillors Lucy Pegg and Chris Jarvis. The authority is joining a national Green Party campaign to introduce rent controls on private tenancies. Labour councillor Ed Turner raised concerns, such as exploitation of loopholes and discrimination against tenants, but also voted for the motion. Studies have shown Oxford is one of the most expensive cities in the UK to live, with housing costs being the single biggest contributor. 'Time to act' By approving the motion, the council will "publicly campaign for local authorities", including London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Bristol City Council, to be given powers to introduce rent controls. Ms Pegg, deputy leader of the Green group, said "the spiralling costs of housing" could not be tackled "without giving renters the protection they deserve". "For far too long, the private rented sector operates as a free-market wild west where landlords cash in and tenants lose out," she said. Mr Jarvis, who seconded the motion, said the government "must recognise that it cannot keep letting tenants be shafted through rip-off rents for substandard accommodation". "Oxford City Council is now a part of those calls. It's time for them to act. It's time for them to introduce rent controls," he said. Mr Turner said he supported the motion but added he was "a tiny bit anxious" about a few potential challenges. "Recent experience elsewhere has been a bit more mixed and in particular any loopholes will be ruthlessly exploited. So that's certainly a challenge," he said. "One of the other ones is around potential unintended consequences in terms of discrimination... against tenants for example of Black and Asian minority and ethnic heritage. "I think alongside any rent control measures, you need to have some quite robust standing forcible tenants rights." Labour put forward an amendment calling for more investment in social housing which was accepted. The government's Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has been contacted for a comment. Follow BBC South on Facebook, X, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to south.newsonline@bbc.co.uk. In one of the largest studies ever on mental health and internet use, the Oxford Internet Institute has declared that there is no "smoking gun" linking the internet with psychological harm. Professors Andrew Przybylski and Matti Vuorre studied data from two million people aged 15 to 89 in 168 countries, finding that in the last two decades of increasing online connectivity, there have only been minor shifts in global mental health. These findings seem surprising, rejecting the dangers we've long associated with overuse of social media. But the study itself admits its findings are lacking, since researchers don't have access to data from platforms themselves. In one highly publicized report leaked by whistleblower Frances Haugen, Meta found that Instagram makes body image issues worse for one in three teen girls. Teens blame Instagram for increases in the rate of anxiety and depression, stated an internal slide from the leaked study. This reaction was unprompted and consistent across all groups. But even at the time that Haugen leaked the study about Instagram and teen girls' body issues, Oxford's Professor Przybylski doubted its legitimacy. "A lot of this work wouldn't pass muster as a bachelor's thesis," he told Business Insider, commenting on the methodology behind these leaked reports, which used focus groups, surveys and interviews with users. It's worth noting that Przybylski has engaged in "unpaid consultations" with Meta. But, in regard to his own study, he admits that "research on the topic is contested and hampered by methodological shortcomings, leaving the broader consequences of Internet adoption unknown." In Meta's own research, the company can trace people's responses to mental health surveys with their actual behavior on the platform, including how much time they spend on various Meta apps, and what kinds of content they're engaging with. This hard data is rarely made available to academic researchers, who have campaigned for years for more transparency from platforms. Oxford's study acknowledges this flaw, even using its abstract to make a "call for increased collaborative efforts between independent scientists and the Internet-technology sector." In other words, researchers can't fully understand the relationship between social media usage and mental health without cooperation from social platforms. But why would these platforms set themselves up to be implicated in possible scandals? Ever since the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal, Meta has become more cagey with how it doles out access to research APIs. This month -- coincidentally around the same time that this Oxford study was published -- Meta opened a new academic research API in early access, which shares some real-time data on how people are using Facebook. But, at the start, this API only shares text-based data, so it's impossible to conduct studies of multimedia posts, which make up a significant portion of the platform. Of course, this also means Instagram is off the table, for now. This has become such a hot issue that President Joe Biden has addressed the mental impact of social media in his last two State of the Union addresses. Just last month, 33 states sued Meta, accusing the company of violating state and federal laws while trying to keep young users on their platforms for longer. Nine other attorneys general filed suit in their own states. In an unredacted version of the lawsuit, evidence shows that Meta has been tracking the activity of users under the age of 13 for years. Under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), it's illegal to collect data from internet users under the age of 13. On the books, Facebook's own rules prohibit users younger than 13 from signing up. Though internet usage is increasing worldwide, social media isn't inherently a bad thing -- in some cases, connecting with likeminded people from around the world can be a mental health boon. This is especially true for queer teens, the Trevor Project found. Per the suicide prevention nonprofit's research, 53% of young LGBTQ people of color reported feeling safe and understood on TikTok. Of course, Congress has also raised concerns about TikTok, as some officials try to ban the app from the U.S. entirely. The primary concerns about the app -- legitimate or not -- stem from its ownership by Chinese company ByteDance. But the U.S. government has also questioned TikTok about its addictive nature and ineffective teen time limiting tools. The Oxford study itself fails to arrive at a strong conclusion. In its final paragraph, it states, "Research on the effects of Internet technologies is stalled because the data most urgently needed are collected and held behind closed doors by technology companies and online platforms. [...] Until these data can be transparently analyzed for the public good, the potential harmful effects of the Internet and other digital environments will remain unknown." So, can we really conclude that the internet doesn't impact our mental health? Probably not. Pablo "Yoruba" Guzman, one of the founders of the Young Lords Party and a veteran New York City reporter, has died. He was 73. Guzman died Sunday of a heart attack, Young Lords co-founder Juan Gonzalez confirmed via X, formerly known as Twitter. Pablo Guzman, information minister, rear wearing sunglasses, at a Young Lords news conference with Juan Gonzalez, education minister, at right. (Anthony Pescatore / NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images) Guzman and Gonzalez were among the six Puerto Ricans who in 1969 co-founded the Young Lords in New York, a group of young activists who fought against systemic racism in their Latino communities, which was reflected in the lack of basic services compared to other parts of the city. The predominantly Puerto Rican radical group spearheaded programs to provide health care, child care and breakfast to disadvantaged Black and Latino communities. The Young Lords also fought against police brutality, U.S. imperialism and militarism. Gonzalez remembered Guzman as "the visionary former minister of information of the Young Lords party, longtime WCBS-TV reporter, and my comrade of 50 years." The Democracy Now! co-host also said Guzman was the best street reporter on TV. His legacy lives on, Gonzalez tweeted Sunday. "What Yoruba had," said Gerson Borrero, a longtime New York City radio host and political analyst, "was that he was a friendly warrior. He went from being a bright kid, a Bronx High School of Science bookworm, but understood there was more to his existence than just being an intellectual." Borrero recalled what Guzman and his fellow Young Lords did when New York City's sanitation service wasn't picking up garbage in El Barrio, or Spanish Harlem, leaving mountains of trash piled up in the predominantly Puerto Rican neighborhood. "So they crossed Third Avenue and burned the garbage ... who would think of this? That was brilliant," he said. After that, the city started doing regular garbage pickups in El Barrio. They had a connection to community, they werent there to destroy a community," Borrero said. "They caught the fervor of those days, which was revolution things being done, but they did it for the right reasons." Following his time with the Young Lords as a spokesperson and organizer, Guzman started his broadcast journey in the late 1970s, becoming a television reporter, a radio talk show host and a writer for The Village Voice, according to his LinkedIn page. Pablo Guzman. (CBS) In 1996, Guzman became a reporter at WCBS-TV, where he worked for almost 20 years and established himself as a recognizable journalism figure in New York City covering its neighborhoods, as well as law enforcement, national security, organized crime, politics and even pop culture. His colleagues at the TV news station remembered him as a journalist with "a unique combination of street smart and book smart" that allowed him to become a trusted voice in the community. Some of Guzman's most memorable stories include his coverage of American gangster John Gotti Jr. and New York City's Gambino crime family, as well as the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and South African anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela's press conference at the United Nations after being released from prison. "There just hasn't been anyone like him and I don't know if there ever will be," said Mari Calvi, WCBS-TV news anchor. His reporting on the murder of a policer officer earned him an Emmy Award, according to an archived biography of Guzman. He also earned an award from the Patrolmens Benevolent Association for a story on a controversial police shooting in Washington Heights that helped vindicate the officer. Guzman, who was a proud Afro Puerto Rican, consistently put a spotlight on racism, such as his essay that drew on his own experiences as a Black man and a Puerto Rican. For more from NBC Latino, sign up for our weekly newsletter. The Center for Puerto Rican Studies in New York City released a statement saying, "The entire team at CENTRO is saddened to hear of the passing of Pablo 'Yoruba' Guzman, Emmy Award Winning Journalist & revolutionary co-founder of the NY Chapter of the Young Lords. May his legacy live on with us. Rest in power." Guzman was also a fan of salsa music, so much so that he even "liked to sign emails as Salsero'," according to his former WCBS-TV colleague Andrew Friedman. His love of Latin music also led him to serve as an honorary member on the selection committee for the first two years of the Latin music category at the Grammy Awards in recognition of his efforts to push the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to create that category. Guzman continued to advocate for his Puerto Rican community; In a 2017 commentary on NBC Latino, he slammed the U.S. response to Hurricane Maria after it devastated Puerto Rico. Guzman is survived by his wife, Debbie, his two children, Angela and Daniel, and his mother, Sally. Even as a radical, he wasnt about hurting people but about changing the system, Borrero said. And he did it with mucho amor (with a lot of love). This article was originally published on NBCNews.com SAN DIEGO The San Diego Padres have announced plans to honor former chairman and owner, Peter Seidler, who died earlier this month. The Padres will honor Seidler by wearing a patch on their jerseys during the 2024 season. The Padres Foundation will also be launching the Peter Seidler Legacy Fund to raise money for charitable projects. Padres owner Peter Seidler dies at 63 Those wanting to help celebrate the life of Seidler can do so the weekend of March 22, 2024 during a public Celebration of Life for Peter event at Petco Park. Additional details will be announced at a later time, the announcement states. Seidler died on Nov. 14 at the age of 63. Fans laid out flowers in front of a portrait of Seidler at Petco Park in the days following his death. San Diego remembers Padres owner Peter Seidler In downtown San Diego, Ground Floor Murals honored Seidler with a black and white mural at 1202 Kettner Blvd. that reads, Thank you Peter Seidler 1960-2023. The design of the jersey patch that players will be wearing to honor Seidler will be unveiled ahead of Spring Training, according to the announcement. Just in time for Giving Tuesday, fans on Tuesday can donate to the Peter Seidler Legacy Fund. All donations up to $1 million will be matched by the Padres Foundation, Padres players, Padres ownership, and the Seidler family. Eric Kutsenda, a co-founder and managing partner at Seidlers private equity firm, has been appointed as the teams interim control person. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego. As an eligible U.S. citizen, you are required to respond to a jury duty summons. But is anyone going to pay you for your time? While you are fulfilling your duty to serve on a jury, you still havebills, work and food costs to worry about. Heres what the California justice system requires for pay: Whos eligible to serve on a jury in California? In California, law states you are qualified to be a juror if you are: A U.S. citizen. At least 18 years old. Can understand enough English to discuss the case. A resident of the county that sent the summons. Have not served on a jury in the past 12 months. Not already on a grand or trial jury. Not under a conservatorship. Not in jail or prison. Not on parole or probation for a felony. Not registered as a sex offender. Convicted of wrongdoing while in public office and have not had your civil rights restored. Are California employers responsible to pay employees during jury duty? California law does not require employers to pay employees during jury service, according to the California Courts website. However, some employers do have jury-leave policies that provide workers with pay for the time they are at court. Whether an employer chooses to pay their employee during jury duty or not, California law does state that employers cannot fire an employee who is summoned to serve as a juror and cannot work. Will California pay me instead? According to the California Courts website, the state pays jurors $15 every day starting on the second day of service if they are not compensated by their employers. People who are employed by governmental entities receive full pay and benefits from their employers while on jury duty. Starting on the second day, jurors can receive at least 34 cents per mile when traveling to and from court, the website states. For jurors who use public transit, the courts can pay them up to $12 starting on the first day. Some local courts also have programs where jurors are paid what it costs to take public transportation. Other provide programs where jurors are provided free bus or rail transportation to court, the California Courts website states. How long can I expect to serve on a jury in California? The Superior Court uses the One Day or One Trial Jury Service program under California Rules of Court, Rule 2.1002. This program allows a person to fulfill jury service when they have: Served on one trial until excused. Been assigned to the trial department for jury selection and participated until excused by the jury commissioner. Attended court but was not assigned to the trial department before the end of that day. Served one to five court days on call. According to the Superior Court of California website, trial lengths depend on how long jurors spend in deliberations. Jurors should make arrangement to stay the entire day during the courts operating hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Most trials last 3-7 days, but some may go longer, the Superior Court of California states on its website. While each case varies, the website states the judge will know approximately how long the trial will take. Judges are aware that long trials can be difficult, the website states. Let the judge know if it would be a serious hardship for you to serve on a long trial. 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. Pakistani police are investigating the so-called "honour killing" of a young woman who appeared in a viral photo that police suspect was doctored. Authorities in remote Kohistan said the 18-year-old was shot dead by her father and uncle last week on orders from elders of a tribal jirga (council). Her father was arrested on a murder complaint and her uncle is on the run, police say. She has not been named. The man in the photo, whom the jirga wanted dead, is in protective custody. Two others - a young woman and a young man - also received death threats after their doctored pictures went viral on Pakistani social media, police said. Police said the pictures in both cases appeared to have been photoshopped and posted on fake social media accounts, and that they are investigating who is behind the pictures. Local authorities took the second woman into protective custody but released her back to her family after a court hearing, where she said she faced no risk to her life at home. Kohistan, a mountainous region of northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, is a notoriously conservative and inaccessible area where a number of so-called honour killings have been reported in recent years. These killings are usually carried out by relatives who say they are acting in defence of their family's honour. On Monday, Pakistani media outlet Geo News reported police were also raiding the home of the dead woman to find other villagers involved in the call for her killing. In areas such as Kohistan, the idea that a murder can be "honourable" is believed to have come from tribal customs, where an allegation against a woman is perceived to have brought dishonour upon relatives. According to these customs, male family members of a woman who has interactions with unrelated men - however innocuous - should first kill the woman, then go after the man. Human rights groups say the most common reasons for "honour killings" are that the victim may have refused to enter into an arranged marriage or have been raped or sexually assaulted. But killings can be carried out for more trivial reasons, like dressing in a way deemed inappropriate or displaying behaviour seen as disobedient. In Pakistan, hundreds of women are killed in this way each year. A much smaller number of men are murdered in such cases. In 2011, three Kohistani women were killed after being filmed singing and clapping at a wedding. The video also showed a man dancing, although he was never filmed in the same shot as the women. Their killings sparked a blood feud which led to the killing of another four men. The murders shocked the country and led to calls for stronger law enforcement and actions to stamp out so-called honour killings. In 2016, Pakistan's government amended legislation so that killers would get a mandatory life sentence. Previously, they could avoid a jail term if pardoned by the victim's family. Despite the change in the law, killers are still evading justice, human rights groups say. Last year the brother of social media star Qandeel Baloch was acquitted of murdering her on appeal. He had been sentenced to life in prison after confessing to the 2016 killing, saying it was because the star had brought shame on the family. FILE - Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan gestures during talk with reporters regarding the current political situation and the ongoing cases against him at his residence, in Lahore, Pakistan, on Aug. 3, 2023. A Pakistani court Tuesday Nov. 28, 2023 ordered a public trial in prison of former Prime Minister Imran Khan on charges of revealing official secrets, his lawyer said. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) ISLAMABAD (AP) A Pakistani court Tuesday ordered a public trial in prison of former Prime Minister Imran Khan on charges of revealing official secrets, his lawyer said. The popular opposition politician is already behind bars on a corruption charge but has a slew of other cases against him. The latest ruling means journalists and supporters of Khan can attend the trial, which will be held in prison because authorities say it is too dangerous for him to appear in a regular courtroom. The trial will determine whether Khan breached the official secrets acts by waving around a confidential diplomatic letter after his ouster through no-confidence in parliament in April 2022. Khan's lawyer Naeem Haider Panjutha said they want the trial to be held in a regular court. He told reporters after the hearing that Khan was not present in court Tuesday, in violation of an earlier order from a higher court that called the closed-door trial illegal. Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqarnain said the proceedings would continue at Adiyala Prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. Khan has not appeared in public since August, when he was sentenced to three years for corruption. Though the Islamabad High Court subsequently suspended that sentence, he remained in custody on charges of revealing official secrets. Khan was indicated for allegedly revealing a secret document. Legal experts say the charges carry a possible death sentence. Khans close aide, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who was deputy in his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, is also a co-defendant in the case. Both men have denied the charges. The document dubbed Cipher has not been made public by either the government or Khans lawyers but was apparently diplomatic correspondence between the Pakistani ambassador to Washington and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad. Khan has repeatedly insisted that the document was proof that his ouster was a U.S. conspiracy, allegedly executed by the military and his political opponents, including his successor Shehbaz Sharif. The U.S., Pakistans military and Sharif have denied the claim. Khan's lawyers are currently fighting a legal battle to get bail for him ahead of Feb. 8. parliamentary elections. According to analysts, Khans party still could win the most seats, but he is not eligible to run for parliament due to his conviction in the graft case. The 10 Israeli hostages that were freed by Hamas tonight, 28 November 2023. The armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Al Quds Brigades, said that it had handed over some civilian detainees tonight as part of an exchange with Israel. Together with Hamas gunmen, fighters from Islamic Jihad were seen handing over 17-year-old Mia Leimberg, the latest child to be freed from captivity in Gaza. This is the first time that PIJ, or any other party, has publicly acknowledged the group being involved in negotiations. Last night, a 12-year-old boy that they had featured in a hostage video weeks before was also released though it was not clear whether he came from Hamas or PIJ custody. A total of 12 hostages were freed tonight, 10 Israelis and two Thai nationals, in exchange for 30 Palestinian children and women being released from Israeli jails. 10:00 PM GMT Today's main events 10 Israeli hostages were released, as well as two Thai hostages in a separate deal, in return for 15 Palestinian children and 15 women being released from Israeli jails in the first day of the truce extension. Palestinian Islamic Jihad said that it handed over civilian hostages as part of an agreement with Israel, in the first public indication that they might be involved in the negotiations. More than half of the Palestinian prisoners that have been released from Israeli jail as part of the negotiations had not been charged with anything, a Telegraph count of the Israeli justice ministry data shows. There have been no attacks from pro-Iran groups on US troops in the Middle East since the truce began, the Pentagon said. American forces in Iraq and Syria had been targeted with rockets and drones more than 70 times since mid-October. Mia Leimberg, a 17-year-old girl, became the latest child to be freed from Hamas captivity. She was seen being handed over by gunmen from Hamas and Islamic Jihad while holding their family dog who reportedly stayed in captivity with them. Ghassan Abu Sittah, British-Palestinian surgeon, provided eye-witness evidence of alleged war crimes in Gaza to New Sctoland Yard as he returned from Gaza. Israel and Hamas accused each other of breaking the truce in northern Gaza today, though it did not appear to hinder the fifth round of hostage and prisoner releases. Israel said some of its troops were lightly wounded. UN aid chief Martin Griffiths will be in Amman tomorrow to push for a second aid crossing into Gaza to open. The World Food Programme warned that Gaza could face famine if sustained increased aid into the blockaded enclave is not achieved. The British-Israeli son of hostage Ada Sagi has confirmed that she was released tonight. Her son, Noam, who lives in London said: It was a moment we have dreamt of and worked for every minute of every day. We will be back tomorrow with all of the latest updates from the conflict on the last arranged day of the temporary ceasefire. 09:53 PM GMT Tonight's hostage handover Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters hand over newly released hostages to the Red Cross in Rafah, as part of a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel. - Avalon 09:45 PM GMT British-Israeli son of Ada Sagi confirms she was released today British-Israeli Noam Sagi, who lives in London, was quoted by PA news agency as saying that it was a moment we have dreamt of and worked for every minute of every day since his mother was taken from her home in the kibbutz of Nir Oz. It will be hard to believe it is true until we are able to embrace in person. Our first priority is my mums mental and physical health and we ask for time and space while we prioritise her wellbeing. Seeing my mum will be a moment of unparalleled relief and joy for us personally but comes against a backdrop of unparalleled grief and sorrow for our community. For many families, including friends and neighbours, the tragedy is ongoing as long as their family members remain hostage, and the traumas they have suffered will leave scars that might never heal. 09:22 PM GMT Watch: Cars carrying hostages approach Rafah border crossing earlier this evening 09:18 PM GMT Far-right Ben Gvir threatens to break Israeli government if war doesn't restart Stopping the war = breaking apart the government, the far-right Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir threatened in a statement. The extent to which the government should be negotiating with Hamas has significantly divided Israeli society. Before the war began the fragile far-right coalition had faced months of mass nationwide protests against its government that had deeply divided Israel in an unprecedented way. Ben Gvirs Otzma Yehudit party has six seats in the coalition, and three ministers in the cabinet. 09:12 PM GMT More than 3,000 Palestinians in the West Bank arrested since October 7 More than 3,290 Palestinians have been arrested in the occupied West Bank since 7 October, according to figures by the Palestinian Prisoners Club. The list includes 125 women and 145 children, a statement said, adding that at least six Palestinian detainees have died in Israeli prisons since the conflict started. Israeli forces have arrested 168 Palestinians during the duration of the ongoing temporary truce alone, it added. The figures did not include the Palestinian citizens of Israel who have been arrested for expressing sympathy towards Gazans online or in their WhatsApp statuses. 09:03 PM GMT Palestinian Red Crescent says Israeli forces prevented its team from transferring a wounded patient to the hospital in Jenin The Palestinian Red Crescent has reported that its teams have been detained in front of Jenin hospital in the West Bank, preventing them from getting a patient with a gun shot wound in. On Sunday Palestinian news agencies reported that Israeli forces had surrounded Jenin hospital as Israeli troops carried out a raid that killed several people, as violence soars in the occupied territory amid the ceasefire in Gaza. For over 40 minutes, IOF have detained the PRCS emergency medical services team in front of Jenin Government Hospital, preventing them from transferring a gunshot wound in the leg to the hospital.#Jenin#NotATarget #IHL pic.twitter.com/V2Yu9v0RUA PRCS (@PalestineRCS) November 28, 2023 08:50 PM GMT Watch: Child hostage reunited with mother after 52 days in Hamas captivity 08:33 PM GMT Israeli forces kill two Palestinians teenagers in West Bank, Palestinian health ministry says Two Palestinian teenagers were killed Tuesday during Israeli army raids in the occupied West Bank, where violence has surged in tandem with the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, the Palestinian health ministry said. According to the ministry, Amir Wahdan, 14, was killed in Tubas in the northern West Bank, where the army said troops had gone in to arrest two wanted suspects. Witnesses told AFP that clashes broke out with young people throwing stones at Israeli army vehicles and soldiers responding with fire. According to the army, several gunmen opened fire at the security forces, who responded with live fire. Near Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority, 17-year-old Malik Deghreh was killed by Israeli fire, the Palestinian ministry said. Clashes erupted after the Israeli army entered a village to carry out searches, witnesses said, adding that the teenager who died was hit by four bullets. A young Palestinian was also killed overnight Monday in Beitunia, a village between the Israeli Ofer prison and Ramallah, the ministry said. 08:25 PM GMT No attacks on US troops since Israel-Hamas truce began, Pentagon says The near-daily attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria have stopped since a truce between Israel and Hamas went into effect last week, the Pentagon said Tuesday. American forces in the two countries have been targeted with rockets and drones more than 70 times since mid-October - a surge in violence the United States has blamed on Iran-backed forces. There have been no attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria since November 23, since the operational pause began, Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder told journalists. 08:20 PM GMT Girl, 17, among latest Israeli hostages to be freed Mia Leimberg, a 17-year-old girl, has become the latest child to be freed from Hamas captivity tonight. The Israeli Defence Forces confirmed that 12 hostages ten Israeli and two foreign nationals have safely been transferred to the Red Cross and are on their way back to Israel. Mia, who has been released alongside her mother, was pictured being handed over by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters while carrying a dog. Mia Leimberg, 17, being released by gunmen from Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad In return, 15 Palestinian children and 15 women will later be released from Israeli jails in the fifth night of exchange. While no time has been made public for the release of the Palestinian prisoners, the Israeli hostages will meet their families at hospitals inside Israel shortly. 08:05 PM GMT More from tonight's hostage exchange Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters accompany newly released hostages before handing them over to the Red Cross in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on November 28, 2023. - AFP Ten Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross on November 28, 2023. - Anadolu 08:03 PM GMT Two more Thai hostages among the released tonight Two of the 12 hostages released tonight by Hamas are Thai nationals, the Israeli prime ministers office said. This brings the total to 19 Thai hostages that have been released from Gaza by Hamas through separate negotiations to the Israel-Hamas truce. 07:54 PM GMT Palestinian Islamic Jihad armed wing says it handed over 'some civilian detainees' as part of exchange deal The Al Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, said on its Telegram account on Tuesday it handed over some civilian detainees as part of an exchange deal with Israel. Al Jazeera TV broadcast footage of the handover process showing that members of both Hamass armed wing as well as the Islamic Jihad were present at the scene. This is the first time that PIJ, or any other party, has publicly acknowledged the group being involved in negotiations. Last night, a 12-year-old boy that they had featured in a hostage video weeks before was also released though it was not clear whether he came from Hamas or PIJ custody. 07:52 PM GMT Palestinians releaed from Ofer prison The 30 Palestinian prisoners have been released from Ofer prison, the Israeli prison service has said. Al Jazeera broadcast live images of the bus leaving the prison to reunite detainees and prisoners with their families. 07:50 PM GMT Tuesday's hostage handover Hamas fighters accompany newly released hostages before handing them over to the Red Cross in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on November 28, 2023. - SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images Hamas fighters accompany newly released hostages before handing them over to the Red Cross in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on November 28, 2023. - SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters accompany newly released hostages before handing them over to the Red Cross in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on November 28, 2023. - AFP Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters accompany a newly released hostage before the hand over to the Red Cross in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on November 28, 2023. - AFP 07:46 PM GMT With Israeli hostages now free, Palestinians wait for the release of their family members Israel has outlawed any celebration of Palestinians being released from Israeli jails, with far-right national security minister Ben Gvir saying that anyone caught doing so will be charged on terrorism offences. As part of the hostage negotiations Israel has released 150 Palestinians and will tonight release a further 30, comprised of 15 children and 15 women. The majority of those released over the past four nights had not been charged with anything. Any attempts at celebration outside of Ofer prison, where the Palestinians are released from, has led to clashes with the police in previous nights. According to Al Jazeera, the military has already deployed tear gas. 07:34 PM GMT The list of Israeli hostages released tonight The list of the Israelis freed from Hamas captivity are: Tamar Metzger, 78 Ditza Heiman, 84 Nora Babadila, 60 Ada Sagi, 75 Ophelia Roitman, 77 Rimon Kirsht, 36 Meirav Tal, 54 Gabriela Leimberg, 59 Mia Leimberg, 17 Clara Marman, 62 The list of Israelis released from Hamas captivity tonight 07:22 PM GMT Hostages arrive in Israel The 12 released hostages have arrived in Israel, according to the IDF. 07:05 PM GMT Ghassan Abu Sittah, British-Palestinian surgeon, provides evidence to Scotland Yard of alleged Israeli war crimes Award winning surgeon Professor Ghassan and I met with officers from Scotland Yards War Crimes Unit this afternoon to provide them with his eye witness evidence in relation to alleged war crimes in Gaza.@ICJPalestine pic.twitter.com/Rl29rfPnxJ Tayab Ali (@tayab_ali_) November 28, 2023 07:02 PM GMT Hostages have been transferred, Red Cross says The International Committee of the Red Cross has said that it has successfully facilitated the release and transfer of 12 hostages held in Gaza by Hamas. The freed hostages will now be taken to hospitals where they will likely be held for at least 48 hours under observation. 07:00 PM GMT Israeli helicopter lands to transport hostages to hospital An Israeli helicopter transporting hostages released by Hamas, prepares to land at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv on November 28, 2023. - JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images 06:26 PM GMT Hostages handed over tonight include a minor, nine women, an Austrian citizen, two Argentinians, & a Filipina citizen In implementation of the commitment to the 5th day of the humanitarian pause, 30 Palestinian civilians will be released today in exchange for the release of 10 Israeli hostages from Gaza. Those released from Gaza include a minor, & 9 women, an Austrian citizen, 2 Argentinians, & . Dr. Majed Al Ansari (@majedalansari) November 28, 2023 06:17 PM GMT Hamas invites Elon Musk to Gaza We invite Elon Musk to visit the Gaza Strip, as he did Israel, to see the scale of the massacres and the crimes committed against our people, senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan said during his press conference in Beirut, following Musks tour of the south of Israel. Hamdan also called for an increase in the number of aid trucks that are being let into Gaza on a daily basis. 06:14 PM GMT Pictured: The main evacuation route from north to south Gaza Israeli troops walk past destroyed buildings along the Salaheddine road which links the northern Gaza Strip with the south in the Zeitoun district on the outskirts of Gaza City on November 28, 2023. - MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images 05:55 PM GMT Hamas claims more than 1,000 Israeli soldiers have been injured in Gaza Speaking from a press conference in Beirut, senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan has said that the number of Israeli soldiers who have been killed or wounded in Gaza is far higher than Israel is admitting. Israel has said that it has killed over 1,000 Hamas fighters in its war since October 7. Hamas has just sent the same figure back to them, claiming that 1,000 Israeli troops have been wounded, with 500 of them seriously or moderately injured. Hamdan did not give Hamas estimate of how many had died. Battlefield reports from either side cannot be independently verified right now. Both sides have previously claimed higher counts that have been disputed by the other. 05:49 PM GMT US sends first of three military planes with Gaza aid The US has sent the first of three planes of humanitarian aid to Gaza, US officials have said. The flights start a day after President Joe Biden said he would use an extension of the truce to get more aid into Gaza, and as international efforts continue to further prolong the pause. The first Air Force C-17 aircraft landed Tuesday in Egypt with 24.5 metric tons of medical supplies and ready-to-eat food, the US Agency for International Development said. With 1.7 million people internally displaced and 2.2 million in need of humanitarian assistance, increased humanitarian supplies are essential to saving lives and alleviating suffering for the most vulnerable, USAID said in a statement. The United Nations will take the aid from Egypts North Sinai region, which borders the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, into the stricken Palestinian territory itself, US officials told AFP. Two further planeloads will arrive in the coming days, they said. 05:23 PM GMT Three soldiers taken by Hamas are dead, Israel tells the families Israel has notified the families of three soldiers who were taken hostage by Hamas on October 7 that they have died in captivity. Staff Sgt. Tomer Yaakov Ahimas, 20, from Lehavim; Sgt. Kiril Brodski, 19, from Ramat Gan; and Sgt. Shaked Dahan, 19, from Afula, were listed as dead by the military. It is not immediately clear how the IDF know that they have died. The army has claimed they were killed on October 7, with their deaths confirmed by various findings. Hamas is said to be holding their bodies. 05:08 PM GMT Pictured: Devastation in Khan Yunis, Gaza A donkey drawing a cart moves past the ruins of houses destroyed in Israeli strikes during the conflict, amid a temporary truce between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip November 28, 2023. - REUTERS/Fadi Shana 04:58 PM GMT 30 Palestinians expected to be released tonight The Palestinian Prisoners Club has released the list of the 30 Palestinians expected to be released in the fifth night of exchanges. The list is comprised of 15 children and 15 women. They will be released from Ofer Prison and most of them are from East Jerusalem. As with every other night, no one knows what time they will be released. The majority of prisoners that have so far been released had never been convicted of anything, according to documents from the Israeli justice ministry. The Israeli military has branded them all as terrorists. 04:54 PM GMT Israel and Hamas accuse each other breaking the truce Israel and Hamas have accused each other of breaching the temporary ceasefire agreement in Gaza. In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces claimed Hamas fired shots at its troops who responded with fire. The Israeli army said the attack lightly injured their soldiers. Three explosive devices were activated in two separate incidents in the north of Gaza, the IDF claimed, adding: In both cases, the IDF forces stayed within the agreed ceasefire lines. As a result of the enemy violating the terms of the truce today, there has been a field clash today and our mujahedeen dealt with the violation, the Hamas-run TV channel al Aqsa quoted Hamas military wing spokesperson, Abu Obaida, as saying. We are committed to the truce as long as the enemy is. The Qatari foreign ministry spokesman earlier said minimal breaches of the Gaza truce would not threaten the overall agreement. On Monday, Israel and Hamas agreed a 48-hour extension to the initial four-day agreement, with 10 hostages expected to be released today. 04:46 PM GMT Pictured: Israelis call for the release of hostages People hold signs and a tshirt calling for the release of hostages during the hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Tel Aviv, Israel, November 28, 2023. - REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha 04:44 PM GMT Tonight's hostage handover has begun, according to reports Hamas has begun the process of handing over the 10 Israeli hostages set to be freed tonight, according to Israeli media and the Wall Street Journal. Israels Channel 13 news said that the hostages could be handed back over to Israel within the hour. 04:37 PM GMT Israel is preventing fuel reaching the north, the Palestinian Red Crescent says : . https://t.co/iXWTTpBCW8 PRCS (@PalestineRCS) November 28, 2023 The Israeli Occupation forces are denying the entry of the fuel truck which was supposed to enter the north of the Gaza Strip a few moments ago, the statement says. The amount of aid that has reached the north of Gaza is a point of contention for Hamas, who on Saturday delayed the release of hostages because it said this was one of the areas in which Israel had violated the truce. The group claimed that only half of the amount of aid that the truce was conditional upon had made it to the north. 04:11 PM GMT UN aid chief heads to Jordan to push for second Gaza crossing to open Martin Griffiths, the UN aid chief, is heading to Jordan tomorrow for talks on the possibility of opening the Kerem Shalom crossing to allow more humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. Before the conflict it had been the transit route for more than 60 per cent of the aid that entered the blockaded enclave. We have said from start we need more than one crossing, Griffiths told a briefing of member states at the United Nations in Geneva on Tuesday. The opportunity to use Kerem Shalom should be explored, and that will be topic in Amman. It would hugely add scope (to the response). Israel is unlikely to allow the crossing to open without significant international pressure. We know that more humanitarian aid should be delivered in Gaza. We know how we could increase it, but there are constraints beyond our control, Griffiths said. 03:57 PM GMT Israel is trampling on international law, Erdogan says Israel must be held accountable, in international courts, for its war crimes in Gaza, the Turkish president has said. In a phone call ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on Gaza planned for Wednesday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres that Israel continues to shamelessly trample on international law, laws of war, and international humanitarian law by looking in the eyes of the international community, according to a readout from his office. 03:45 PM GMT WFP warns of famine in Gaza, has only reached 120,000 people since truce began The population of Gaza, especially women and children, risk famine if humanitarian food supplies do not continue, the UNs World Food Programme warned today. The WFP said it had delivered food to just 121,161 people in Gaza since the truce began on Friday. Thanks to the pause, our teams have been in action on the ground, going into areas we havent reached for a long time. What we see is catastrophic, said WFPs director for the Middle East, Corinne Fleischer. WFP estimated that it was highly likely that the population of Gaza, especially women and children, are at high risk of famine if WFP is not able to provide continued access to food. The agency said that six days was not enough to make any meaningful impact, calling for uninterrupted and regular supplies of food into Gaza. Aid agencies hit out at the idea that the truce would allow humanitarian aid to be beefed up, knowing that it was not long enough to do anything meaningful while Israel still refused to open other crossings into the enclave. 03:31 PM GMT Pictured: Israeli soldiers at the border of the Gaza Strip A group of Israeli soldiers in the back of their vehicle at the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, 28 November 2023. - CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock 03:19 PM GMT Far-right Israeli minister calls on Netanyahu to avenge alleged break in truce Israels far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, has called on the Israeli prime minister to drop the ceasefire and return to fighting after both sides accused the other of violating the truce today. Hamas has now tried to murder IDF soldiers in the northern Gaza Strip. I call on the Prime Minister not to contain the explosion of explosive devices used against our soldiers and to order the IDF to return and crush Hamas with force, he wrote on X. We must not wait until our fighters are killed. We must once again act in accordance with the goal of the war: the total destruction of Hamas. Hamas described the incident as a blatant violation of the truce by Israel. 03:01 PM GMT Fears 10-month-old Kfir Bibas and family will not be freed by Hamas The family of the youngest Israeli hostage in Hamas captivity fear the 10-month-old, his brother and their mother will not be released before the current truce expires. The Bibas family have called on Qatar, which mediated the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, to intervene to help to free Kfir, his four-year-old brother Ariel and their parents. Shiri and Yarden Bibas, together with their two small children, were abducted by Hamas gunmen from the frontier kibbutz of Nir Oz last month. Read more from Nataliya Vasilyeva here 02:40 PM GMT Pictured: Israelis embrace next to photos of those murdered and taken captive by Hamas on October 7 Israelis embrace next to photos of people killed and taken captive by Hamas during their violent rampage through the Nova music festival in southern Israel - Ohad Zwigenberg/AP 02:34 PM GMT The aid needs to multiply, says UN The United Nations welcomed the increase in aid deliveries into Gaza afforded by a temporary truce but warned it was not enough to even start addressing the Palestinian territorys massive needs. UN childrens agency UNICEF said the aid flow to the northern Gaza Strip - the largest since the Israel-Hamas war erupted on October 7 - was the right start. (Its) definitely the right type of aid - fuel, medicines, food, warmth, spokesman James Elder told a press briefing in Geneva via video-link from Gaza. But, he warned, the needs in the besieged enclave of more than two million are so huge that all this aid is triage... Its not even enough for triage. When there are insufficient resources to treat everyone who needs it, hospitals and aid organisations are forced to triage - that is, to prioritise the most urgent cases, or those people most likely to survive, and leave the others. The aid needs to multiply... Everything here is emergency care right now, Mr Elder said. 02:06 PM GMT Both Israeli and Palestinian presidents will address COP28 UN Climate Talks Israeli President Isaac Herzog and his Palestinian counterpart Mahmud Abbas will both address the COP28 UN climate talks in Dubai this week, officials said. Mr Abbas, head of the Fatah party that leads the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank, is expected to be in the room when Mr Herzog is speaking on Friday, as he is scheduled to address the room only three speakers later. Mr Abbas, head of the Fatah party that leads the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank, has only met Israeli officials on rare occasions. 01:57 PM GMT Israel 'shells Lebanon' amid tense Gaza ceasefire An Israeli shell hit southern Lebanon hours after a temporary ceasefire was extended in Gaza, according to reports. Lebanon state media reported that Israel struck the outskirts of a town in south Lebanon. A spokesperson for the Israeli army said it was currently not aware of such an incident. Weeks of cross-border shelling between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah came to a halt on Friday when Hamas - an ally of Hezbollah - and Israel agreed their temporary truce. A spokesperson for the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon UNIFIL said it was looking into the reports. 01:30 PM GMT Pictured: A Palestinian boy collects olives on a farm during a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas A Palestinian boy collects olives on a farm during a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas - SALEH SALEM/REUTERS 12:38 PM GMT US and Israeli intelligence chiefs 'discuss next phase of Gaza deal' in Doha US and Israeli intelligence chiefs have arrived in the Qatari capital to discuss the next phase of a deal between Hamas and Israel in Gaza, a source briefed on their visit has said. The director of the CIA and the director of the Israeli National Intelligence Agency (Mossad) are in Doha to meet with the Qatari prime minister to build on the progress of the extended humanitarian pause agreement and to initiate further discussions about the next phase of a potential deal, the source told AFP, adding that Egyptian officials were also present. It comes after Qatar said it would use a two-day extension to a humanitarian pause in Gaza to work towards a sustainable truce between Israel and Hamas. Qatar has been engaged in intense negotiations, with support from Egypt and the United States, to establish and extend a truce in Gaza, and has previously said that it was designed to be broadened and expanded. 12:06 PM GMT US to send three military planes to Egypt with Gaza aid The United States is sending three military aircraft to Egypt to bring vital humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza during a pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas, senior US officials said. The first plane bringing medical items, food aid and winter gear will land in North Sinai on Tuesday and the other two will arrive in coming days, the officials said in an embargoed briefing call on Monday. The Israeli offensive in northern Gaza has proven devastating, with thousands of Palestinians killed and vast numbers of survivors left homeless and forced to flee south by a relentless bombing campaign and a lack of essentials such as food, power and water. 11:39 AM GMT In pictures: Israeli hostages reunite with their families Renana Goma is reunited with her sons Yigil and Or who were released from Hamas captivity Released Israeli hostage Sahar Kalderon, 16, embraced by a relative upon her arrival at Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv - IDF 11:26 AM GMT Avoid displacing Palestinian civilians in southern Gaza, US warns Israel The Biden administration has told Israel that it must work to avoid significant further displacement of Palestinian civilians in southern Gaza if it renews its ground campaign aimed at destroying Hamas, senior US officials have said. They told the Israelis that they must operate with far greater precision in southern Gaza than they did in the north, the officials said. It comes as the White House begins to place greater pressure on Israel that the manner of the coming campaign must be carefully thought through, one of the officials said. Benjamin Netanyahu has made clear that the Israel Defense Forces will eventually restart military operations after the conclusion of the current, temporary ceasefire. 11:00 AM GMT New hostage deal 'could include men and soldiers' Hamas has signalled it is seeking a new truce deal with Israel which could include the release of male hostages and soldiers in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. We hope the Occupation (Israel) abides (by the agreement) in the next two days because we are seeking a new agreement, besides women and children, whereby other categories that we have that we can swap, Khalil al-Hayya, a Hamas official, told Al Jazeera. The remarks came as Israel expanded the roster of Palestinian detainees it could release in exchange for hostages - another signal that a revision of truce terms was being considered. Under the Qatari- and Egyptian-mediated deal clinched last week, Hamas has freed 50 Israeli women and children hostages in return for 150 Palestinian detainees released by Israel, with an option of doubling those numbers if the truce is extended by five days. 10:40 AM GMT Watch: Eleven hostages arrive in Israel after release from Gaza by Hamas 10:09 AM GMT Israel notifies relatives of those on today's hostage list Israel has notified the families of those expected to be released by Hamas today, CNN is reporting. Israel has received the next list of hostages and notified the families who are on it, a family member tells CNN. Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) November 28, 2023 09:57 AM GMT Lebanese media reports Israeli shell 'hit south Lebanon' Lebanese media reported that an Israeli shell struck the outskirts of a town in south Lebanon on Tuesday, hours after a temporary truce between the Palestinian group Hamas and Israel was extended for two days. A spokesperson for the Israeli army said it was currently not aware of such an incident. Lebanons state-owned National News Agency and the Lebanese broadcaster al-Jadeed reported an Israeli shell had struck the outskirts of the town of Aita al-Shaab on Tuesday morning. Both outlets cited their correspondents as the source. Weeks of cross-border shelling between Israel and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah came to a halt on Friday when the Palestinian group Hamas - a Hezbollah ally - and Israel agreed the temporary truce in their conflict which erupted on Oct. 7. 09:13 AM GMT Iranian president postpones visit to Turkey Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will not be making a previously announced visit to Ankara on Tuesday, the Turkish presidency told AFP, without providing a reason. The visit had been announced earlier this month by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said the two leaders would focus on forging a joint response to the Israel-Hamas war. It was not immediately clear whether the visit had been cancelled or postponed. 08:45 AM GMT Watch: Child hostages reunite with dog for first time since release After 51 days held hostage by Hamas, Oriya Brodutch, 4, Ofri, 10, and Yuval, 9, were released with their mother Hagar, 40, on Monday. This is a clip of the childrens first reunion with their dog Rodney. : , ', - 51 . : @yollancohen pic.twitter.com/XZYIsRjqlT - N12 (@N12News) November 28, 2023 08:27 AM GMT Pictured: A protester walks near burning tyres in the occupied West Bank A protester walks near burning tyres in the occupied West Bank - FADEL SENNA/AFP 08:25 AM GMT Joe Biden: We will not give up on a two-state solution Joe Biden has said the United States will not give up on working towards the goal of a two-state solution. A two-state solution is the only way to guarantee the long-term security of both the Israeli and the Palestinian people. To make sure Israelis and Palestinians alike live in equal measure of freedom and dignity, we will not give up on working towards that goal. Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) November 28, 2023 07:59 AM GMT Three young French hostages released by Hamas 'in good health' Three young French hostages released by Hamas on Monday were in good health, its foreign minister has said. We have indirect news and that news is good... It is a great, great relief, Catherine Colonna, the French foreign minister, said when asked about the health of Eitan, 12, Erez, 12, and Sahar 16. She told RTL radio: Three French children were finally freed, now we must work relentlessly for the release of all the other hostages. She added that five French nationals were still missing or believed to be held hostage. 07:55 AM GMT US Secretary of State to visit Middle East this week US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit the Middle East this week in his third trip to the region since the beginning of the war. Mr Blinken will travel to Israel and the West Bank after attending Ukraine-focused meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday in Brussels and Skopje, North Macedonia, where foreign ministers from Nato and the Organisation for Peace and Security in Europe are gathering. Israel has agreed to pauses in its military operations in exchange for the gradual release of hostages taken by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. The agreement had been due to expire Monday but was extended for an additional two days, meaning the extension will be expiring just as Blinken is arriving in Israel. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday the US hopes to see the pause extended further, but it is dependent on Hamas continuing to release hostages. In Israel and the West Bank, Mr Blinken will discuss Israels right to defend itself consistent with international humanitarian law, as well as continued efforts to secure the release of remaining hostages, protect civilian life during Israels operations in Gaza, and accelerate humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement. 07:42 AM GMT Pictured: Palestinian prisoners upon their release A Palestinian prisoner reacts after being released from an Israeli jail in exchange for Israeli hostages released by Hamas from the Gaza Strip - FADEL SENNA/AFP Palestinian prisoners freed from the Ofer Israeli military prison are greeted by crowds awaiting their return in Beitonia, near Ramallah, West Bank - ALAA BADARNEH/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock/Shutterstock 07:38 AM GMT I performed six amputations in one night: London doctor recalls war horrors after 43 days in Gaza A British-Palestinian doctor who has returned to London after fleeing Gaza said he was forced to perform amputations on six children in one night, as he recounted the horrendous 43 days he spent in the heart of the war. Prof Ghassan Abu-Sittah, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon, arrived in the territory in the early hours of October 9 just two days after Hamas attack on Israel to provide medical assistance. He eventually left on 18 November and is now back home in west London, where he lives with his family. During his time in Gaza, he worked around the clock at the Al-Shifa and Al-Ahli hospitals, operating on victims of Israels intensive shelling and ground operation, which is estimated to have killed 14,800 people so far. Read more from Lilia Sebouai here 07:37 AM GMT Hamas no longer has control of its youngest Israeli hostage Hamas is preventing the release of a 10-month-old baby held captive in Gaza, Israel said on Monday night. Kfir Bibas, the youngest hostage kidnapped by Hamas, has been handed over to a separate Palestinian terror group in the southern city of Khan Younis, an Israel Defense Forces spokesman said. The city is expected to be a target of Israels next offensive, raising the prospect the infant is being used for further leverage in talks to extend the truce. Read more from Henry Bodkin in Jerusalem here 07:37 AM GMT Good Morning Good morning and welcome to todays live coverage of the Israel-Hamas war. We will be guiding you through all the latest updates. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer. One of the three Palestinian students injured in a shooting in Vermont may never walk again after taking a bullet to the spine. Hisham Awartani and his friends Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmed, all 20 years old, were shot while walking to Thanksgiving dinner in Burlington on 25 November. The attack is being probed as a hate crime following the arrest of suspect Jason Eaton. Mr Awartanis mother Elizabeth Price gave a heartbreaking interview to ABC News on Monday, recounting the moment she learned about the shooting and how her son is coping as he remains in the intensive care unit at the University of Vermont Medical Center. My brother called me in the middle of the night, Ms Price recalled. He told me [Mr Awartani] was in the hospital and that he had been shot. I was stunned. Ms Price then told her husband and the parents of the two other men, Mr Abdalhamid and Mr Ahmed, about the incident. All three had been staying with her brother, Rich Price, over Thanksgiving weekend to celebrate the holiday. To think these two boys, the children of my two friends, had been hurt while with my family, it was terrible, she said. Mr Awartani, a 20-year-old mathematics and archaeology student at Brown University, has a long road to recovery. Doctors believe its unlikely that hell be able to use his legs again, his mother told NPR. The student has a bullet embedded in his spine. Hes expected to remain in the ICU for another week and will then be moved to a spinal injury ward for a month, before starting several months of physical therapy. Hes confronting a life of disability, a potentially irreversible change to his life and what it means for his future, she said. The mother told NPR that both she and her husband decided to keep their son in the US instead of bringing him home over Christmas break, considering the safety concerns regarding the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. My husband is so bitter, the woman told the outlet. He thought my son would be safe in Burlington. Her son suffered the most severe injuries, she said. One of the students who had a superficial wound has been released from the hospital. Another one will be in the ICU for the time being, she said, without distinguishing the injuries of each of the men. Ms Price plans to arrive in the US on Wednesday afternoon. She and her husband will be leaving their home in the West Bank, crossing into Jordan and boarding a flight. The couple also has a daughter, who will remain in the West Bank, the outlet reported. The students have received an outpouring of support and well wishes since officials released information about the Saturday night shooting. Staff members at Brown University went to visit Mr Awartani in Burlington to offer their condolences following the incident. During a campus vigil on Monday evening, Beshara Douman, a history professor at the school, read aloud a statement Mr Awartani provided for the event. Its important to recognize that this is part of the larger story, Mr Awartani wrote, according to The Brown Daily Herald. This hideous crime did not happen in a vacuum. As much as I appreciate and love every single one of you here today, I am but one casualty in this much wider conflict. Had I been shot in the West Bank, where I grew up, the medical services that saved my life here would likely have been withheld by the Israeli army. The soldier who shot me would go home and never be convicted, he said. I understand that the pain is so much more real and immediate because many of you know me, but any attack like this is horrific, be it here or in Palestine. This is why when you say your wishes and light your candles today, your mind should not just be focused on me as an individual, but rather as a proud member of a people being oppressed. At least 14,800 Palestinians have been killed in the war which began on 7 October, after Hamas launched a series of attacks in Israel, killing roughly 1,200 individuals, mostly civilians. The suspect in the shooting, Jason J Eaton, 48, has been charged with three counts of second-degree attempted murder, a felony in Vermont. Hes currently being held in jail without bond. If convicted, he faces a maximum of life imprisonment. The mom of Hisham Awartani, a Palestinian student at Brown University who was shot along with two of his friends in Vermont over the weekend, told CNN on Tuesday that her son may never walk again. Elizabeth Price told the network that Awartani was shot in his back and suffered an incomplete spinal injury, which means he can feel his legs but cant move them. The last I knew, he was still in the ICU, immobilized, she said. Price, who is still working to get from her home in Jordan to Vermont, said that the Jordanian King Abdullah II has offered to send his personal physician to treat Awartani. Authorities have arrested 48-year-old Jason J. Eaton for the shooting, which they said occurred without any provocation. Despite this, and the fact Awartani and his pals were wearing Keffiyeh headdresses and speaking Arabic as they walked down the street, Vermont authorities said Monday they did not have enough evidence to label the shooting a hate crime. Read it at CNN Read more at The Daily Beast. WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) Three Palestinian students are recovering in the hospital, after being shot in Burlington, Vermont Saturday night. This horrific unprovoked attack was a tragic violation of the values and character of this welcoming inclusive community, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said. Jason Eaton, 48, pleaded not guilty Monday to three counts of attempted murder. He is accused of shooting Tahseen Ahmad, Kenan Abdulhamid and Hisham Awartani. They had no knowledge of this individual, had not encountered him before. He stepped off a porch and produced a firearm and began discharging that firearm, Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad said. This shooting comes amid concerns of increasing hate crimes since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. In a statement, Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) said this cycle of fear, intimidation, and violence must end. It is unacceptable. Attorney General Merrick Garland says the ATF and the FBI are helping with this case. That investigation, including whether this is a hate crime, is ongoing, Garland said. The president and the first lady were horrified to learn about the three college students of Palestinian descent, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. The White House says President Biden is receiving updates on the investigation and sends his condolences to the affected families. There is absolutely, absolutely no place for violence or hate in America, Jean-Pierre said. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. Fresh gunfire was heard in a suburb of the Sierra Leonean capital, Freetown, on Tuesday as security forces combed through the city in search of suspects linked to a jailbreak and a foiled attack on a military barracks that left more than 13 people dead. Residents of Freetown said on social media that a fresh round of gunshots was heard on Tuesday afternoon in the Murray Town suburb. Sierra Leones information ministry said no one was hurt during the shooting. As part of ongoing operations to apprehend those responsible for the incidents of November 26th, a few shots were fired around the Murray Town barracks vicinity, the ministry said in a statement Tuesday. The person of interest has been arrested and is now in custody of the security forces, it added. Freetown-based journalist Umaru Fofana also said in a post on Facebook that in the Kingtom area of the city, the presence of soldiers caused panic on Tuesday as they moved to recapture fleeing inmates who are believed to be hunkering down around the slums in the area. Manhunt launched Police in the West African nation have launched a manhunt to recapture dozens of fleeing inmates who were set free after armed men stormed a prison and other detention centers in Freetown early Sunday. Thirteen soldiers were killed in action, Sierra Leones army spokesman Colonel Issa Bangura told CNN Tuesday of the botched attack on the army base. Eight (soldiers) were wounded and three assailants were arrested, Bangura said, adding that the death toll could be as high as 20. A police statement said some of the inmates who escaped during the jailbreak have turned themselves in but did not provide the number of prisoners who fled. Prison officials estimate that the number of fleeing inmates could be above 1,800. A cash reward has been offered for tip-offs leading to the arrest of either the assailants or prison escapees. A nationwide curfew was imposed following the series of attacks on Sunday, leading to widespread flight disruption at the Freetown International Airport. Authorities reviewed the curfew hours on Monday, saying it would now run from 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. daily local time, until further notice. Airport operations will be conducted within the parameters of the revised curfew times, the countrys aviation authority said. President Maada Bio described the attempted raid on the army barracks as an attack on democracy in the West African nation, which has grappled with a political crisis since the conclusion of a disputed general election in June. Police said investigations are ongoing to unravel establish the motive behind the attacks, which were swiftly condemned by the United States, European Union, and regional bloc Ecowas. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Parents of a two-day-old girl who died in hospital after an emergency C-section are calling for a national inquiry into maternity services. Abigail Fowler Miller died at Brighton's Royal Sussex County Hospital (RSCH), in January last year. An inquest last week found her life would have been prolonged if her mother had been admitted to hospital sooner. University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust said it had made "several improvements" since her death. In October, families whose babies have died or been harmed in the care of the NHS called for a statutory public inquiry into England's maternity services. Robert Miller, Abigail's father, told BBC Newsnight: "A national inquiry is the only way forward - we cannot continue to treat every incident as a separate tragedy." Distressed call On 21 January 2022, Mr Miller and Katie Fowler contacted the hospital's maternity assessment unit four times during the day. Their first phone call was to inform the maternity assessment unit Ms Fowler was in labour, then to report bleeding, and finally to tell them she had become faint and short of breath. According to the Health Safety Investigation Branch's (HSIB) report, staff recorded that Ms Fowler sounded "distressed" in the fourth phone call to the unit, and she thought she was having a panic attack. Staff said she could not answer questions in the fourth phone call because of her "distressed state" and she was asked to come into the hospital. Ms Fowler went into cardiac arrest on the journey in a taxi due to a uterine rupture. The couple's daughter, Abigail, was born via caesarean in a hospital reception. Both Abigail and her mother needed resuscitating, and Ms Fowler was placed into an induced coma. Abigail had no heartbeat and was not breathing, according to the HSIB's report. Ms Fowler was brought out of her coma to meet her daughter for the first time and to say goodbye to her, before Abigail died on 23 January. 'Destroyed us' Last week, an inquest found Abigail had severe hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy, which resulted in multiple organ failure. Concluding, Coroner Joanne Andrews said the policy of University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, which runs RSCH, required people to have an invitation to attend an assessment. She concluded that if Ms Fowler had been offered an assessment, she would have been an in-patient and treated for the rupture - treatment she said could have "significantly prolonged Abigail's life". Speaking to Newsnight, Ms Fowler said: "To lose our daughter has destroyed us and to know things should have been different is impossible to come to terms with. "Abigail should still be with us. We miss her every single day, but it isn't just about our loss. It's also about hers, of the life she should have had." The HSIB report said Ms Fowler should have been invited into the hospital for an assessment following her third phone call to the maternity assessment unit. It found the call document was "not completed fully" to allow staff to do a "dynamic risk assessment" of Ms Fowler when the couple called. This resulted in staff not being alerted to the "changing clinical picture", the investigation found. The HSIB recommended guidance be put in place to support staff with making decisions on maternity telephone triage services. A risk assessment tool should be available for the telephone triage service to identify mothers who immediately need an ambulance to get to hospital, the investigation also recommended. 'Pattern of consistent failures' Earlier this month, England's healthcare regulator told BBC News that maternity units currently have the poorest safety ratings of any hospital service it inspects. BBC analysis of Care Quality Commission (CQC) records showed it deemed two-thirds (67%) of them not to be safe enough, up from 55% last autumn. The Brighton couple are now calling for a national inquiry into NHS maternity services. " The need for change is urgent and long overdue, and our own traumatic experience has shown the results of ignoring these issues," Mr Miller said. "A national inquiry is the only way forward - we cannot continue to treat every incident as a separate tragedy. "The government needs to look at the pattern of consistent failures across the UK and make real changes to maternity care to reverse the decline of this vital service." The couple said they have had to battle to get the answers for their daughter and called on NHS trusts to be willing to have open and honest conversations. Emma Chambers, director of midwifery at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, said it had made "several improvements" to how they triage mothers. The maternity team "works incredibly hard" to provide the "best care" to all those using its services, she said. "We want to do everything possible to keep them, and their babies safe, and to respond quickly to any early signs that may require a response," she said. "We have implemented a nationally-recommended triage process and monitor our performance constantly." The BBC has contacted NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care for comment. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story you can visit BBC Action Line. Rishi Sunak's spat with the Greek PM comes after he met with the Labour leader You can tell a general election is in the offing when sculptures made almost 500 years before the birth of Christ become the subject of a very public diplomatic snub in November 2023. Rishi Sunak was due to meet Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at lunchtime for a 45-minute get together. On the face of it, they have plenty to discuss: Israel and Gaza; the war in Ukraine; migration. Just a few weeks ago, the then Home Secretary Suella Braverman - before being sacked - visited the Greek island of Samos, and said the UK had "a lot to learn" from the country on dealing with illegal immigration. But enter now a row about heritage. A row about culture. A row about what is British and belongs in Britain - and what doesn't. Mr Mitsotakis had indicated he would use the meeting to call for the return of Parthenon Sculptures - or the Elgin Marbles - from the British Museum to Athens. Sir Keir Starmer met the Greek prime minister on Monday. The get together itself is enough to irk some in government - foreign prime ministers meeting opposition leaders rarely goes down well with their actual opposite numbers. And with Labour consistently miles ahead in the opinion polls, meetings like this are likely to become more frequent. Labour reckon Mr Sunak's decision to cancel his meeting with the Greek prime minister was "pathetic." But at the heart of this diplomatic spat is a very domestic political row about a difference of instinct between the Conservatives and Labour on the future of the Elgin Marbles. Sir Keir would not oppose a temporary loan of the sculptures to Greece if it was agreed by the British Museum and Athens. The Parthenon Sculptures in the British Museum Such a deal doesn't require a change in the law and could be months away from agreement. It is opposed by the Conservatives, who reckon it would be reckless. They are fearful the sculptures would never be returned. The Greek prime minister is baffled and annoyed at being stood up. He suggested to Greek reporters travelling with him that Mr Sunak was a coward. "Anyone who believes in the rightness and fairness of his positions is never afraid of confrontation," he said. Having been rejected by Mr Sunak, the Greek leader was instead offered a meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden. But, I understand, an earlier appointment with the plane home was deemed more appealing. In 2019, three military spouses - Maria Reed, Jessica Manfre and Samantha Gomolka - were asked to run a GivingTuesday campaign. While the majority of initiatives and campaigns for the big day focused on giving back to nonprofits, the three spouses introduced a new currency for the movement: Kindness. Introducing GivingTuesdayMilitary. GivingTuesday was initiated in 2012 by Henry Timms at the 92nd Street Y in New York, co-founded with the United Nations Foundation with support from Black Sheep. The founders were underwhelmed and disenchanted with the holiday season's somewhat materialistic vibe. Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday dominated the world following a day of thanks. A movement for radical generosity was born. Billions have been donated to nonprofits across the world since GivingTuesday began. Maria, Jessica, and Samantha met in Washington, D.C., for the first time in May 2019, where they were all honored with the Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year awards for their work within the military community. Shortly after meeting, they forged a close bond, with a shared passion for service. They wanted to create something special that would unite all the branches of service collectively to serve with purpose and kindness. Through this, the #GivingTuesdayMilitary movement was born. For its inaugural launch in 2019 -- the campaign reached 2.5 million people. The social impact of the day was absolutely incredible. When it was over, the spouses knew they weren't done yet. Their nonprofit, Inspire Up, was launched in 2020 to keep kindness going -- which powers the GivingTuesdayMilitary campaign. Manfre explained why their movement was more focused on acts versus money: "It was important that the most junior family could be part of this and that our military felt a sense of purpose in whatever we built... it was more than simply writing a check. We'd encourage community service through acts of kindness and it didn't have to cost a thing. This is our fifth year, and it's grown into an unbelievable coalition." The three spouses activated their military networks to become ambassadors of the movement all over the globe. They encouraged each person who signed up to lead a project to find the need in their community and find ways to fill it. By 2020, the ladies (along with original founder Stacy Bilodeau) established an official nonprofit, the Inspire Up Foundation, to power the campaign. That same year, Armed Forces Financial Network came on board to be the title sponsor of the hallmark program. "While we encourage and recognize kindness doesn't have to cost a thing, AFFN was our biggest cheerleader from the beginning. 2020 was a hard year and their contribution led to us being able to lift our ambassadors up in ways that changed the whole movement," Manfre shared. The team began giving grants to support community projects requiring a little extra support as a direct result. "Their support has allowed us to streamline what we can give our ambassadors in terms of not just financial support but shirts, supplies and other items to help for their big day. We're so grateful for the team and especially John Broda, who's been instrumental in everything we've done to serve since we started," she added. This year, ambassadors are building chemo kits, laying medals at Arlington, serving cops and firefighters and building blessing bags for the homeless. You'll also find them giving blood, writing encouraging messages in schools, and making cards for veterans in hospice. There's an endless supply of good and you can be part of it. While the trio has established other programs and grant initiatives, GivingTuesdayMilitary remains the foundation for everything Inspire Up does. As the big day arrives on November 28, 2023, their message to the military community as a whole is simple: "We have the power to be the good in this world. Today, find a way to be kind. Maybe it starts in your own home or neighborhood; that's powerful. No act or idea is too small. If it extends to your community, think of ways to pay it forward or give back," Manfre implored. "Kindness is something that can change everything. Samantha said it best when we started and it's something that sticks with me to this day: 'Build the world our children already believe exists.'" South Korean airlines will be made to warn passengers against opening aircraft doors according to new operating guidelines. The new regulation comes after a series of incidents in which passengers have tried to open the emergency exits while flying. The Korean government said that the guidance was included in a draft amendment of the operating guideline for airline operators and that this is under review until 14 December, during which time a public announcement should be made, reports JoongAng. Its unclear whether this rule applies to foreign airlines flying in and out of South Korea. The Independent has contacted the Korea Office of Civil Aviation for further information. The new advice comes after a series of incidents in which passengers have tried to open the emergency exits while flying. In May, a man succeeded in opening the door of an Asiana Airlines flight shortly before it landed in Daegu. Twelve people were injured, and police later said that the man in his thirties faced up to 10 years in prison. The 10-year penalty is in line with South Koreas aviation security laws, applying to any passengers who interfere with plane entrances, emergency exits or devices that hinder the security or operation of an aircraft. More recently, a woman was arrested for trying to open a plane door on a flight from New York to Incheon. She was apprehended by members of the cabin crew and later tested positive for crystal meth. Currently, South Korean airlines are required to make announcements that smoking, certain use of electronic devices and any actions that prevent the cabin crew from performing their duties may result in arrest and prosecution. Similar incidents have happened throughout the year, with a plane door bursting open on a chartered flight in Brazil in June, and the same thing happening on a flight operated by Russian carrier IrAero in January. "The house of the wicked will be destroyed, But the tent of the upright will flourish. There is a way which seems right to a person, But its end is the way of death." Proverbs 14:11-12. The Rev. Charles Mock. Israel had a right and a moral obligation to respond in war to the vicious attack on Israel on Oct. 7th, 2023. When an enemy terrorizes, brutalizes, rapes, and mutilates innocent civilians in a context of war, a moral response is mandatory! However, excessive bombardment in the name of morality to such brutality a bombardment that kills 10 times more innocent citizens including thousands of children will be held accountable to the God of moral and just holy war. A man carries a child injured in an Israeli strike on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Nov. 20, 2023, amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Secondly, justifying excessive bombardment on a precedent set by the enemy that has broken international rules of war law is morally questionable. The moral high ground is lost when the response to evil is believed by the global community to be equal to, if not worse than, the enemy's immoral assault. More importantly, is how it is viewed by the God who has power and authority over all nations and holds every nation accountable. Thirdly, excessive war bombardment increases the very antisemitism interfaith organizations and humanitarian organizations have sought decades to overcome. Fourthly, excessive bombardment only further divides Israeli citizens in their internal strife over Israeli law and policies. A house divided is a house weakened and therefore subject to fall! Fifthly, half a billion dollars a week is lost in Israeli business because of this war. This contributes to the proverb of being penny-wise and pound-foolish. One's own citizens will have to spend years rebuilding their businesses and their lives in a context of fear. More from the Rev. Mock: Why study Black history? Erie pastor Charles Mock answers the question "The righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked: but God overthroweth the wicked for their wickedness." (Proverbs 21:12) The Rev. Dr. Charles Mock is pastor of Community Baptist Church in Erie. This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Civilian death toll in Gaza undermining Israel's moral high ground Washington Paul Whelan, the American businessman who the U.S. considers to be wrongfully detained by Russia, was attacked Tuesday by a fellow prisoner at the labor camp where he is serving a 16-year sentence, according to his family. His brother David Whelan wrote in an email that Paul detailed the incident in a phone call to his parents. Paul said a fellow prisoner blocked part of a production line as he was working at a sewing table. After Whelan repeatedly asked the prisoner to move out of the way, "the prisoner hit Paul in the face, breaking Paul's glasses in the process, and attempted to hit him a second time," he wrote. "Paul stood up to block the second hit and other prisoners intervened to prevent the prisoner continuing to attack Paul." David Whelan said his brother described the attack as "relatively minor" and reported it to a prison official. Paul Whelan is "concerned that these sorts of attacks can occur any time and, due to the various sharp implements in the workshop including the shears the other prisoner was holding today, could escalate into a far more serious attack," David Whelan said, adding that "Paul is a target because he is an American and anti-American sentiment is not uncommon among the other prisoners." In this Aug. 23, 2019, file photo, Paul Whelan speaks while standing in a cage as he waits for a hearing in a courtroom in Moscow. / Credit: AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File Paul Whelan's parents have shared an audio recording of the call with the State Department and National Security Council so that they can address his safety with the Russian government, David Whelan said. A State Department spokesperson told CBS News that the U.S. Embassy in Moscow has been in contact with Paul Whelan over the phone and he is receiving medical treatment. "We call on Russia to ensure Paul Whelan and all U.S. citizen detainees are safe," the spokesperson said in a statement. "We urge the Russian government to ensure fair treatment and appropriate medical care for all U.S. citizens detained in Russia. Russia should immediately release Paul Whelan." The National Security Council referred CBS News to the State Department when asked for comment. Paul Whelan was arrested on espionage charges in 2018 while attending a friend's wedding in Russia. He and his family have vehemently denied the espionage charges and the U.S. considers him to be wrongfully detained, a rare designation that puts the full force of the government behind securing his release. He was sentenced in 2020 to 16 years in prison and has been serving that sentence in a labor camp in Mordovia. He has remained imprisoned while the U.S. has secured the release of Marine veteran Trevor Reed and WNBA star Brittney Griner, who were both wrongfully detained in Russia after his arrest. Both Reed and Griner were released in prisoner swaps between Washington and Moscow. The U.S. is now also seeking the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been detained in Russia for 10 months on unsubstantiated espionage charges. On Tuesday, a Russian court extended his detention through the end of January as he awaits trial. Whelan and his family have voiced concern that he could be left behind again as the U.S. seeks the release of Gershkovich. His sister, Elizabeth Whelan, visited Washington in September to pressure officials to do more to bring her brother home. "I don't know what the Russians are asking for at this particular point, but whatever it is, it had better be possible," she told CBS News at the time. Love letter from Jimmy to Rosalynn Carter read by their daughter, Amy Lynn Giving back on Giving Tuesday What to know about the COP28 climate summit Paul Whelan, an American imprisoned in Russia, said he was assaulted by a fellow prisoner at his remote labor camp in Mordovia. In an audio statement shared with CNN, Whelan said he was assaulted by a Turkish prisoner, 50 years old, who has recently arrived at the prison and has anti-American leanings. Whelan said he was working in a factory at the camp Tuesday when the other prisoner struck him in the face with his closed fist and then tried to strike him with his open hand. I stood up to block the second hit, being concerned that he had sharp shears in his hand that could be used as a weapon. Other prisoners stopped him from further assault while I left the area, looking for guards, Whelan said. There are no guards on the factory floor and it was quite difficult for me to find prison staff to assist. Whelan said he had seen the prison doctor and reported the incident to the deputy warden, and the prison is taking the incident seriously. I am asking to speak to the prosecutor in order to press charges for the assault, he said. Whelans family said he spoke with officials from Mordovia later Tuesday. A State Department spokesperson told CNN that they are concerned about reports that Paul Whelan was assaulted by another prisoner in IK-17 on November 28. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow has been in contact with Paul via phone and we understand he is receiving medical treatment following this incident, the spokesperson said. We call on Russia to ensure Paul Whelan and all U.S. citizen detainees are safe, they said. We urge the Russian government to ensure fair treatment and appropriate medical care for all U.S. citizens detained in Russia. Russia should immediately release Paul Whelan, the spokesperson said. Whelan has been designated as wrongfully detained by the US State Department. He has been imprisoned in Russia for almost five years. Whelans reported assault underscores concerns from his family and himself that the longer he remains imprisoned, the more he is at risk. He told CNN in October that he pressed Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a phone call in August to ensure that he is not left behind in Russia again, telling the top US diplomat point blank that leaving me here the first time painted a target on my back and leaving me here the second time basically signed a death warrant. Whelan said he told Blinken that unless they got me back, it could be quite challenging in the future, especially with my age and the sort of work we have to do from a health and safety point of view. Whelan was not included in prisoner swaps that freed fellow wrongfully detained Americans Trevor Reed and Brittney Griner last year. US officials have said that the Russians refused to include him in those swaps for Konstantin Yaroshenko and Viktor Bout, respectively. This story has been updated with additional reporting. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) A Pecos man was killed during an encounter with Pecos Police late Sunday night, Nov. 26, according to reports filed with the Texas Attorney Generals Office. The report states police were dispatched to a home in the 1800 block of W. Jackson in Pecos around 9 p.m. Sunday for a call on an ongoing domestic violence situation. Pecos is about 200 miles east of El Paso in Reeves County. During the call, 37-year-old Adam Lee Ybarra was shot by Pecos Police, killing him. The report filed with the AGs office indicates two Pecos PD officers, a 37-year-old female officer and a 38-year-old male officer, were involved in the shooting. It is unclear whether both of them discharged their guns. The report states Ybarra carried, exhibited, or used a deadly weapon in the encounter. The report does not say what type of weapon Ybarra may have had in his possession at the time of his death. Pecos Police Chief Lisa Tarango says one Pecos PD officer suffered minor injuries during the incident. No other injuries were reported. Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed the Texas Rangers Officer-Involved Shooting Task Force is assisting in the investigation. The Pecos PD officers involved in the shooting have been placed on restrictive duty pending the outcome of the Texas Rangers investigation, as is protocol in officer-involved shootings. Sundays deadly shooting is the first recorded officer-involved shooting involving Pecos Police since the Texas Attorney Generals office began requiring statewide law enforcement agencies to submit reports in 2015. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. One person is dead after a tractor-trailer struck a pedestrian on a South Carolina road, state troopers said. The semi truck was driving south on Black Tom Road near Cane Bay Boulevard in Moncks Corner when the vehicle hit a pedestrian at about 11 p.m. on Nov. 27, South Carolina Highway Patrol Master Trooper Gary Miller said in a Nov. 28 news release. The man was trying to cross the road when the semi collided with him, Miller said. The pedestrian was identified as Eugene Kelly Jr., a 44-year-old Summerville resident, according to the Berkeley County Coroners Office. The crash occurred approximately 10 miles north of Summerville, Miller said. Kelly was pronounced dead on the scene, the coroners office said. The semi truck driver was the only person in the tractor-trailer, Miller said, and was not injured. The crash is under investigation by the South Carolina Highway Patrol. Black Tom Roads safety was under heavy scrutiny by residents earlier this year, one person calling it unbearable, WCSC reported. When two people were killed in a three-car crash on Black Tom Road in February, WCSC reported that some in the area werent surprised because the state road has had several collisions the past few years. Summerville is about 25 miles northwest of Charleston. One dead after vehicle rushing to hospital crashes into building, California cops say High school student dies after jumping from moving bus, NC cops say. Heartbreaking High school senior dies in hydroplane crash, Indiana cops say. Beloved young woman WASHINGTON Former Vice President Mike Pence briefly considered not presiding over the ceremony that formalized his coup-attempting bosss 2020 election loss, once again raising questions about the contemporaneous scheming about Iowas Chuck Grassley presiding in his stead. In his daily planner, in which he also took journal-like notes, Pence on Christmas Eve in 2020 wrote it might be better to abdicate his constitutionally proscribed role overseeing the Electoral College tally to avoid bruising then-President Donald Trumps ego. Not feeling like I should attend electoral count, he wrote, according to a report Tuesday by ABC News. Too many questions, too many doubts, too hurtful to my friend. Therefore Im not going to participate in certification of election. But Pence soon abandoned that notion and returned to his previous plan to preside over the Jan. 6, 2021, ceremony, citing a conversation with his son, an active-duty Marine, who reminded him that both had taken an oath to protect and uphold the U.S. Constitution. Former aides to Pence declined to comment on ABCs report, which offers new details about Pences testimony before the federal grand jury that ultimately indicted Trump on four felony counts based on his attempt to remain in power despite having lost reelection. President Donald Trump speaks as Vice President Mike Pence stands behind him at the White House press briefing room on Nov. 24, 2020. A month later, Pence reportedly wrote that he should abdicate his role in overseeing the Electoral College count. President Donald Trump speaks as Vice President Mike Pence stands behind him at the White House press briefing room on Nov. 24, 2020. A month later, Pence reportedly wrote that he should abdicate his role in overseeing the Electoral College count. Trumps lawyers Trump is entitled to receive grand jury testimony of witnesses that special counsel Jack Smith may call at trial are legally permitted to release that testimony, absent a gag order. They did not respond to HuffPost queries Tuesday. Trump began pressuring Pence to use his role as Senate president to rule that the electoral ballots from a number of states were invalid because of massive voter fraud and to simply declare Trump the winner instead of Joe Biden. Pence, though, repeatedly told Trump that he had seen no evidence of fraud widespread enough to have affected the outcome and that, in any event, he did not have the authority to do as Trump demanded. In the weeks following the election, Pence did discuss with his staff but decided against the option of not showing up for the Jan. 6, 2021, certification much as Vice President Hubert Humphrey in 1969 had not shown up for the vote certification of the man who had defeated him for president, Richard Nixon. Trump and his aides, nevertheless, continued pushing for the Pence Card option, as they described it, with two of Trumps lawyers actually mentioning the possibility of Grassley, a Republican and at the time the president pro tempore of the Senate, potentially being in the chair on Jan. 6. One of the lawyers, John Eastman, in September cited the Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate himself and declined to answer questions about Grassley during his disbarment proceeding in California. Grassley, on Jan. 5, 2021, told reporters, If the vice president isnt there, and we dont expect him to be there, I will be presiding over the Senate and obviously listening to the debate without saying anything. But his office quickly sent out a clarification that he was referring only to the Senate session that day pertaining to possible challenges to elector slates from particular states, not to the joint session in which the votes would be counted. Grassley spokesperson Taylor Foy on Tuesday said Grassley had no knowledge of Trumps plot. As hes said in the past, he only learned of those schemes when they were publicly reported many months later, Foy said. Jack Smiths Jan. 6-related case is just one of four criminal prosecutions Trump currently faces. Smith also indicted the former president in South Florida for withholding and refusing to turn over secret documents taken from the White House to his Palm Beach country club at the end of his term. A Georgia grand jury separately indicted him for attempts to overturn his election loss in that state. In New York state, a grand jury charged Trump with falsifying business records to hide a $130,000 hush money payment to a porn star just ahead of the 2016 election. If convicted on any of the more serious charges, Trump could receive decades in prison. He nevertheless is seeking a return to the White House and is currently the polling front-runner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. Pence until last month was also a candidate for that nomination, but he dropped out because of weak polling and fundraising at least in part because a large swath of GOP primary voters are still angry with him for refusing to do Trumps bidding and overturn the 2020 election. Related... (WHTM) The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture is warning consumers to discard Hilltop Meadow Farm brand 60 Day Aged Pepper Jack Raw Milk Cheese with sell-by dates of 9/21/2023 or earlier, due to listeria contamination. The farm is voluntarily recalling the cheese after tests confirmed the presence of Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. The cheese was sold in lb, 1 lb, 2.5 lb, and 5 lb sizes in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Wisconsin, including at two farms in the Midstate. These locations include: Meadow Run Farms, 727 Rettew Mill Road, Littitz, Lancaster County Shady Acres Farm Market, 8514 Elizabethtown Road, Elizabethtown, Lancaster County Willow Haven Farm, 7686 Herber Road, New Tripoli, Leigh County Healthy Habits Natural Market, 1120 Center Turnpike, Orwigsburg, Schuylkill County Little Leaf Natural Products, 505 S Main Street, Montrose, Susquehanna County Whole Earth Center, 360 Nassau St, Princeton, New Jersey Healthy Way, 396 S Main St, Massena, New York Northstar Bison Store, 225 Birch Avenue, Cameron, Wisconsin Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now abc27 Evening Newsletter The contaminated pepper jack cheese has the Hilltop Meadow Farm label and From A2/A2 Milk and Made from 100% Grassfed Cows Milk product descriptions. As of November 22, no illnesses had been reported, according to the department. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27. (WHTM) A Pennsylvania lawmaker has proposed a bill that will make declawing a cat illegal. State Senator Carolyn T. Comitta (D-Chester) proposed the bill to prohibit the declawing of cats, with an exception being if the procedure is medically necessary for a therapeutic purpose and performed by a licensed veterinarian. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Nittany Insiders Declawing is a procedure that amputates most or all of the last bone in each of a cats toes. The procedure is usually performed to stop unwanted scratching. Many animal advocates, vets, and others have acknowledged that the procedure is inhumane and traumatic to the animal. Declawing a cat can cause many ailments, including chronic pain, infection, lameness, back pain, and other issues. You can read the whole proposal by clicking here. New York banned the procedure in 2019, and cities in California, Missouri, and Colorado have enacted declaw bans. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27. The Defense Department has ordered an additional aircraft carrier strike group, air defenses, fighter jets and hundreds of troops to the Middle East since the surprise terrorist attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, in an effort to prevent the conflict from spiraling into a regional war. The problem: Congressional dysfunction means the Pentagon has no money to pay for the buildup. The military, like the rest of the federal government, is operating under a temporary funding measure that freezes spending at the previous years levels. And because the Middle East troop movements werent planned, the Pentagon has had to pull money from existing operations and maintenance accounts, DOD spokesperson Chris Sherwood said. President Joe Biden signed the stopgap measure this month to keep the government open until lawmakers can agree on a full-year spending bill. Because DOD had to hunt for funds, that means less money for training, exercises and deployments the military had already planned for the year. Some contractual payments could be delayed, Sherwood said. Current events have revised some of the operational assumptions used to develop the FY 2024 Presidents Budget request. Specifically, neither the base budget request nor the FY 2024 supplemental request included funding for U.S. operations related to Israel, he said. Were taking it out of hide, Sherwood added. The buildup in the Middle East which has included extending the deployment of the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group operating off the coast of Israel has therefore forced the military departments and U.S. Central Command to reassess the requirements for current and future operations based on the developing conflict, he said. As of Tuesday afternoon, DOD said it was still working on releasing an estimate of the total cost of the U.S. support for Israel. Top Pentagon officials warn year after year about the harm that temporary funding measures have on military readiness. Operating under a stopgap measure prevents the department from starting any new programs or paying for anything above the previous years levels. That burden is now weighing heavier than usual on DOD, as the Pentagon supports two wars at once: in Ukraine and in Israel. We've gotten used to getting by, CR to CR, but it's with significant consequence, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks said during a Nov. 21 event in Washington, using the abbreviation for continuing resolution. That has a cost. You can't buy back the time. You just can't. Hicks estimated the impact of keeping the Pentagon under the stopgap effectively means the department takes a $35 billion cut. We have a responsibility to build trust with Congress to get done what we want to get done, Hicks said. But the truth of the matter is, trust is a two-way street, and we are really being challenged to trust that our partners in Congress can get done what they need to do for us to achieve those ends. Once the continuing resolution runs out Feb. 2, its up to lawmakers to pass a full-year spending bill. But if the bickering drags on through April, the Pentagon and other federal agencies will face a 1 percent across-the-board spending cut. Special Adviser to the President, Minister Antonio Lagdameo, center, and Luis Jalandoni of the Communist Movement (NDFP) shake hands after signing their joint vision for peace, at Oslo City Hall, on Thursday, Nov. 23, 2023. The Philippine government and the countrys communist rebels have agreed to resume talks aimed at ending decades of armed conflict, one of Asia's longest, Norwegian mediators announced Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. High-ranking delegations from both sides met in the Norwegian capital last week and agreed to a common vision for peace that sought to address key obstacles, according to Norways foreign ministry. (Mathias Rongved/Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs via NTB) COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) The Philippine government and the countrys communist rebels have agreed to resume talks aimed at ending decades of armed conflict, one of Asia's longest, Norwegian mediators announced Tuesday. High-ranking delegations from both sides met in the Norwegian capital of Oslo last week and agreed to a common vision for peace that sought to address key obstacles, according to Norways foreign ministry. Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said the deal was signed at an important signing ceremony on Thursday but was only made public on Tuesday. Since 1969, the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People's Army, have fought successive Philippine governments. The rebellion, which opposes the Philippines' close ties with the United States and wants left-wing parties to be part of the government, has left about 40,000 combatants and civilians dead. The fighting has also stunted economic development in the impoverished countryside. The military says a few thousand Maoist insurgents continue to wage the insurgency to this day. Past administrations had engaged in intermittent peace negotiations with the rebels. Former President Rodrigo Duterte ended peace talks in March 2019, accusing the rebels of attacks on police and military outposts. The U.S., the European Union and the Philippine government consider the New Peoples Army a terrorist organization because of its attacks targeting civilians. Last year, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office as the new president and appeared more open to peace talks. He granted amnesty last week to several former rebels, including those from NPA, for offenses including rebellion, sedition and illegal assembly, but not those suspected of kidnapping, killing, terrorism or similar serious crimes. Marcos' namesake father declared martial law in the Philippines in 1972, imprisoning thousands of suspected rebels and communist supporters, until he was ousted in a 1986 popular uprising. The Philippine government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, the umbrella group representing the rebels, said in their joint statement that they recognize the need to unite as a nation in order to urgently address these challenges and resolve the reasons for the armed conflict. They agree to a principled and peaceful resolution of the armed conflict. We envision and look forward to a country where a united people can live in peace and prosperity, the statement said. The text was the result of several informal discussions between the sides held in the Netherlands and Norway since the beginning of 2022. I was happy to hear the parties decision to finally end the more than 50-year-long conflict in the Philippines, said Barth Eide, who witnessed the signing. He said that extensive work remained and that Norway looks forward to continuing to assist the parties towards a final peace agreement. Rebel negotiator Julieta De Lima did not say when formal talks will start. She said issues to be addressed include the detention of rebel peace consultants, safety guarantees and immunity from arrest for negotiators, release of what the rebels refer to as political prisoners, and the removal of the terrorist designation for the communist movement. The previous rounds of talks had collapsed over such demands. In Manila, Presidential Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. told reporters that despite the agreement, the governments anti-insurgency operations will continue. Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said it would be up to local officials to decide if they will declare a local, Christmas cease-fire. The head of the Philippine Armed Forces, Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., said it meant the military could shift its focus to external defenses, referring to territorial tensions with China in the South China Sea. By Mikhail Flores and Karen Lema MANILA (Reuters) -The Philippine government and the country's communist rebels have agreed to restart peace negotiations after a six-year hiatus, with the aim of ending decades of armed strife, the two sides and facilitator Norway said on Tuesday. The bloody conflict between authorities and the New People's Army (NPA), the military wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), has raged for over 50 years and killed more than 40,000 people. High-ranking delegations from both sides last week agreed to a "common vision for peace" that sought to address key obstacles, which was revealed by Norway's foreign ministry on Tuesday. If negotiations succeed, the rebels will end their armed struggle and transform into a political movement, according to Norway, which has facilitated the South East Asian island nation's peace process for around 20 years. "The parties agree to a principled and peaceful resolution of the armed conflict," they said in their joint statement, adding that the peace talks will address "deep rooted socioeconomic and political grievances". Removing the communist party and affiliated groups from a government list of designated terror organizations was included in the talks, government Peace Process Adviser Carlito Galvez told a press conference in Manila. No immediate ceasefire was announced, however, and operations against the rebels would continue, Philippine military chief General Romeo Brawner said. But Brawner also said an eventual peace deal would allow the armed forces to focus on external and territorial defence rather than domestic conflict. "If this conflict will finally end, your Armed Forces of the Philippines will be able to shift our focus to external or territorial defence. Our resources, efforts will be poured into defending our territory," he said. Formal talks were last conducted in 2017 but were acrimoniously terminated by then-President Rodrigo Duterte, whose bid to revive negotiations also failed. He left office in mid-2022 and was replaced by Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Norwegian facilitators maintained contact with the parties, leading to confidential talks and a secret Nov. 23 signing ceremony at the Oslo City Hall attended by exiled rebel leaders and several Philippine government ministers, among others. The announcement comes less than a week after Marcos Jr. issued an order granting amnesty to several rebel groups, including former members of the communist movement. Under the amnesty order, former CPP, NPA and NDFP members would be absolved of crimes they committed "in pursuit of political beliefs". The talks had resumed before the death last year of self-exiled Communist Party founder Jose Maria Sison, who passed away in a Dutch hospital in December at the age of 83, Norway said. The communist rebels will be represented in the negotiations by their political wing, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), which has been in on-again, off-again peace talks with the government since 1986. (Reporting by Mikhail Flores and Karen Lema; Editing by Terje Solsvik and Ed Osmond) (Bloomberg) -- The Philippines has allowed civilians to sail in the South China Sea and is planning more joint patrols in the area amid a dispute with China. Most Read from Bloomberg Many countries have expressed interest to join the Southeast Asian nation in patrolling contested waters after similar activities with the US and Australia, National Security Council Assistant Director Jonathan Malaya said at a forum Tuesday. He did not specify which countries are seeking patrols with the Philippines. The council is also coordinating with civilian organizations planning to deploy some 40 ships in the disputed sea for a Christmas convoy to deliver goods to soldiers and fisherfolk next month. There are some logistical issues that have to be resolved, Malaya said. The civilian sail will go to the vicinity of Second Thomas Shoal the site of recent tense encounters among Chinese and Philippine vessels as far as practicable, the security official said. The sails organizers were advised against going inside the shoal and boarding the ship that serves as the Philippines military outpost in the disputed sea, he added. The Philippines under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has stepped up efforts to assert its claims in the South China Sea, repeatedly protesting alleged harassment by Chinese vessels in the area. China has maintained its maritime actions were lawful and professional. Amid the maritime dispute, Marcos has also bolstered the Philippines longstanding defense alliance with the US, expanding Americas access to military bases and recently resuming South China Sea patrols. Australia also launched similar patrols with the Philippines over the weekend. Manila is also working closely with Japan for a reciprocal access agreement, Malaya said Tuesday. The potential pact was also tackled during Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishidas Manila visit earlier this month. (Adds more details from security official throughout.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. ATLANTA - Three days of ceremonies and services are being held for former first lady Rosalynn Carter, who died on Nov. 19 at the age of 96. On Monday, her casket was carried by former members of her U.S. Secret Service protection detail to a waiting hearse. A motorcade then headed to Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus, where both Carters went to college and the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers is located, for a wreath-laying service. READ ALL RELATED STORIES Former U.S. First Lady Rosalynn Carter was honored during a wreath-laying ceremony at her statue on Georgia Southwestern State University's campus Monday morning. pic.twitter.com/J4n27R69vh The Carter Center (@CarterCenter) November 27, 2023 After the service, the motorcade began its journey to The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta. There was a brief private service at the library and then Mrs. Carter lay in repose from 6 to 10 p.m. On Tuesday there will be a private tribute service at the Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church at Emory University. Former President Carter, multiple family members and several dignitaries will be in attendance. Carter's motorcade is scheduled to arrive at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains shortly before 11 a.m. Wednesday where a service will be held for family and close frie3nds. The hearse will then head to the Carter family residence for internment. TechCrunch As part of an international law enforcement investigation, the FBI and the Dutch Financial Intelligence and Investigation Service have seized the websites of a crypto mixer that was allegedly used by North Korean hackers and several cybercriminals to launder stolen funds and obfuscate transactions. On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of the Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the governments department that administers and enforces sanctions against foreign people and organizations, announced that it had sanctioned Sinbad, a Bitcoin mixer that serves as a key money-laundering tool for the Lazarus Group, a prolific hacking group widely believed to be working for the North Korean government. OFAC said in a statement that the Sinbad crypto mixer processed millions of dollars worth of virtual currency from Lazarus Group heists, including part of the proceeds from the massive 2022 hacks of Horizon Bridge and Axie Infinity, which resulted in $100 million and $625 million, respectively. Pittsburgh police detectives are asking the public for help finding a missing 36-year-old man. Elijah Eli Rupprecht was last seen in Downtown Pittsburgh on Sept. 5. Police said he is known to frequent Downtown, as well as the North Side, South Side and West End areas of the city. He may also be in Washington County or Robinson. Rupprecht is 5 feet 8 inches tall and has blue eyes and medium-length sandy brown-colored hair. He may be carrying a black backpack. Anyone with information is asked to call 412-323-7141 or 911. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW TRENDING NOW: Woman doing yard work killed by fallen tree Whats behind unexpected charges on some PNC bank customer accounts TSA releases its 2024 canine calendar; heres how you can download it for free VIDEO: Beaver County DA elect discusses plans to address drug crimes now that marijuana is legal in Ohio DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts Officers with the Los Angeles Police Departments Organized Retail Crime Task Force conducted a sting operation against flash mob robberies and shoplifters that led to 11 suspects being arrested. According to the LAPD, plainclothes officers worked with three Los Angeles-area retailers in identifying, arresting and disrupting retail theft between Nov. 22 and Nov. 25 which included this years Black Friday shopping holiday. All suspects who were arrested for shoplifting were observed by the retail stores Loss Prevention officers who notified the plainclothes police officers in the operation, LAPD officials said in a release. The plainclothes officers then notified uniformed officers to come in and effect the arrest of the suspects. Costco purse snatching victim in critical condition after being dragged The first sting operation was conducted by the LAPDs Hollywood Division at a store near the 5500 block of Sunset Boulevard on Nov. 22. A total of six suspects were arrested at that location, authorities said: Lisa Lewis, 55, of Long Beach; arrested for shoplifting, cited and released on no bail Ryan Karbelk, 39, of Los Angeles; arrested for shoplifting, cited and released on no bail David Stafford, 36, of Los Angeles; arrested for shoplifting, cited and released on no bail Verastad Derpedrosian, 40, of Los Angeles; arrested for shoplifting, cited and released on no bail Thomas Kopay, 41, of Los Angeles; arrested for shoplifting, cited and released on no bail Joyce Ramirez, 46, of Los Angeles; arrested for shoplifting, cited and released on no bail The second sting took place on Black Friday near the 9800 block of South Alameda Street in Watts and was conducted by officers with the LAPDs Southeast Division. Five additional suspects were arrested at that location, LAPD confirmed: Dwayne Michael Haley II, 34, of Los Angeles; arrested for petty theft, booked at 77 th Street Jail and released on no bail Cecelia Whettstone, 25, of Los Angeles; arrested for petty theft, cited and released on no bail Yanah Meekins, 38, of Los Angeles; arrested for robbery and booked at 77 th Street Jail with bail set at $50,000 Vincasia Love, 21, of Los Angeles; arrested for robbery and booked at 77 th Street Jail without bail due to a probation hold Ebony Berry, 32, of Los Angeles; arrested for robbery and booked at 77th Street Jail with bail set at $50,000 Tragic Thanksgiving Day crash kills young mother and daughter Police released several photos of stolen merchandise from Meekins, Love and Berrys getaway vehicle; multiple boxes of shoes and clothing items were seen strewn about the car. Plainclothes shoplifting stings result in 11 arrests during Black Friday weekend Meekins and Love had entered the business, posed as customers, grabbed several boxes of shoes and began to walk out of the store without making any attempt to pay for the shoes, LAPD said. An employee engaged Meekins and Love and attempted to convince them not to leave the store without paying for the shoes. Meekins and Love threatened the employee, and in fear for his life, the employee made no further attempts to stop them. The two suspects then ran towards a getaway car driven by Berry but were impeded by plainclothes officers who saw the robbery and called in uniformed officers to stop the vehicle. Man, woman seriously injured in city-block-sized fire in South Los Angeles They were stopped and arrested before they could drive off the property, authorities said. A third sting operation conducted on Saturday near the 14000 block of Riverside Drive in Sherman Oaks netted no arrests, law enforcement officials said. Anyone with more information is asked to call Organized Retail Crime Task Force Detective Juan Campos at 213-486-6958. During non-business hours or on weekends, calls should be directed to 1-877-527-3247. Anonymous tips can be submitted to L.A. Crime Stoppers by calling them at 1-800-222-8477 or by visiting their website. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. HOUSTON - A bank robbery suspect named the Playbook Pilferer is now behind bars in Georgia, according to FBI Houston. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Houston crime: 'Playbook Pilferer' sought by FBI for bank robbery Officials said the suspect identified as 58-year-old David Wayne Stanley was arrested earlier this month in Chatham County, Georgia after robbing a bank there. FOX 26 Houston is now on the FOX LOCAL app available through Apple TV, Amazon FireTV, Roku, Google Android TV, and Vizio! A warrant for Stanley has been issued in Harris County where he is believed to have targeted at least two banks in the Houston area. Poland's Infrastructure Minister Andrzej Adamczyk sent a proposal that Ukraine exempt trucks returning to the EU without cargo from being registered in its electronic queue system, the Polish government said on Nov. 27. As well as protesting the liberalization of EU transport rules for Ukrainian trucks, Polish truckers are against Ukraine's use of an electronic queue system, according to the Infrastructure Ministry. This system leads to longer lines for EU-registered vehicles and reduces the competitiveness of transport companies, the ministry claimed. A solution would be to exempt these vehicles, if they do not have cargo, from having to register in the electronic queue system at two border crossings, the ministry said. "The minister hopes that the Council of Ministers of Ukraine will accept this request as it would benefit the well-being of Ukrainian and Polish drivers, carriers, and entrepreneurs from other sectors of the economy." Adamczyk also requested that the European Commissioner for Transport Adina Valean establish a joint committee to analyze the impact the liberalization of EU transport rules for Ukrainian trucks has had on the European transport market. "The above actions are a continuation of the efforts of the Ministry of Infrastructure, made since the beginning of the protest, to remove its causes, which lie with Ukraine and the European Union," the Infrastructure Ministry claimed. According to EU rules, Ukrainian trucks do not require permits until June 30, 2024, after the EU and Ukraine signed an agreement in June 2022 to liberalize transport rules. Polish truckers claim that the lack of entry permits for Ukrainian trucks is hurting business for Polish drivers and blocking three border crossing points since Nov. 6. As a result of the blockade, around 2,100 vehicles are stuck, unable to get into Ukraine as of Nov. 26, Ukraine's Infrastructure Ministry said. The flow of traffic at Dorohusk-Yahodyn, Ukraine's largest cargo crossing, is usually 680 trucks per day. It is now down to a few dozen every 24 hours, according to the ministry. Negotiations have so far yet to bring an end to the situation. Read also: Trucker protests: Unraveling the standoff between Polish and Ukrainian haulers Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. A 15-year-old boy faces nearly a dozen felony charges of armed robbery after authorities linked him to 11 robberies that occurred in a single August night, according to Chicago police. Police arrested the unidentified youth Monday in the Austin neighborhood on the West Side as one of multiple people suspected of participating in the thefts, authorities said. The teen faces juvenile charges, but his initial court date before a Juvenile Court judge was unclear. Police said the robberies occurred in Englewood, Garfield Park, Austin, Auburn Gresham, Grand Crossing, McKinley Park and Bridgeport between 12:30 a.m. and 5:40 a.m. on Aug. 20. Police said the victims ranged in age from 22 to 54. Chicago has recently seen an uptick in robberies and motor vehicle thefts, particularly on the West Side. Many of the suspects involved in the thefts are minors, police officials said. Sacramento police have announced the arrest of a man in connection with a shooting that killed one man and wounded another outside a North Sacramento gas station this month. Diamond Zaccheaus Moore, 32, of Sacramento County is expected to be booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on suspicion of homicide, the Sacramento Police Department said. Moore was arrested Monday with the assistance of the Reno Police Department and is being held in the Washoe County jail on two fugitive charges. Police began investigating after they were called Nov. 8 to a Shell gas station at Del Paso Boulevard and El Camino Avenue after reports of gunshots fired. When they arrived, they found two men each suffering from at least one gunshot wound. Medics from the Sacramento Fire Department provided medical aid to the two men. Both were transported to hospitals where one man was later pronounced dead. The Sacramento County Coroners Office identified the victim as Angelo Gallegos, 29, of Sacramento. Its not known when Moore will be transported back to the capital region. The chief of a police department in the Midlands was arrested Monday, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said. Elloree Police Chief Shawn Edward Murphree was charged with malicious injury to personal property (injury value $2,000 or less), SLED said in a news release. The 54-year-old was locked up in the Orangeburg County Detention Center, according to the release. Bond was set at $1,000 and was posted Monday, Orangeburg County court records show. The charge stems from an Oct. 31 incident when Murphree was seen vandalizing a pickup truck, according to an arrest warrant. A 2013 Dodge Ram 1500 was parked at the Orangeburg County Courthouse when surveillance cameras recorded Murphree intentionally scratching the paint with an unknown object, the arrest warrant said. Information about why Murphree damaged the pickup was not available, but he and the truck owner knew each other prior to the incident, the arrest warrant shows. There was no word on the nature of their relationship. The cost to repair the damage caused by Murphree was $1,216.15, according to the arrest warrant. Murphree will be prosecuted by the 1st Circuit Solicitors Office, SLED said. He is scheduled to return to court on Dec. 14, judicial records show. Information if Murphree faces any discipline from the town of Elloree was not available. The Elloree Police Department is dedicated to the safety of our community through teamwork and problem solving partnerships; providing service with dignity and respect, according to a mission statement on the towns website. KANSAS CITY, Mo. Kansas City police shared an update Tuesday morning after a child was found dead Monday near a downtown apartment building. Officers were called to the area of 10th Street and Grand Boulevard just after 11 a.m. Monday for a reported medical nature unknown call. FBI asks for info on Johnson County doctor charged with child porn When officers arrived, they found a young boy suffering from bodily trauma behind an apartment complex. First responders pronounced the child dead. A KCPD spokesperson said detectives have confirmed via surveillance footage that the child fell from the apartment building. Police are still investigating the circumstances surrounding how the child fell. Kansas City police said they are still classifying this as a suspicious death at this time. The suspicious nature of this case is something that tenants at the Grand Boulevard Lofts said is a somewhat obvious observation. Kansas license plate production will be paused I live in the building, and I actually had just walked through that alley maybe 20-30 minutes before someone else found him. I didnt see him, but its very disturbing, one man told FOX4. The public doesnt have a lot of basic information yet, including exactly how old the child was and if he lived at the apartments. Police have only said they believe hes younger than 12. Officials are not releasing any information about the boy until they confirm the childs identity and notify family. Tenants also openly wondered Tuesday how it was even possible for this kind of fall to happen. Visitors can count at least 15 floors of apartments at the Grand Boulevard Lofts with the fall happening on the side facing west toward Walnut Street. Police centered their investigation in the alley between the building and the skywalk. On Tuesday, a small memorial sat next to a U-Haul, parked where police discovered the body Monday. Download the FOX4 News app on iPhone and Android Im pretty sure I was familiar with the baby or the kid because I know pretty much everyone in the building from being here for so long, said Tony Dewberry, who has lived in the building for eight years. Dewberry said he doesnt understand how a child could open a window independently, saying theyre stiff even for him. They only come up maybe 6, maybe 8 inches. You can barely stick your arm out, Dewberry said. I cant see anyone having the window open intentionally as cold as it was. In the 20 degrees, you know? he said. Very hard to lift. You know, that was really a strange incident. Very sad for this complex, said another tenant. Theres a lot of disability people here, elderly people here. We try to keep it right and this was not right. Kansas City Streetcar extension to riverfront sees 75% price increase Police said it could take several weeks for investigators to get reports from the medical examiners office and follow up on other leads. After detectives are finished investigating, they will refer the case to the prosecutors office for any potential criminal charges, KCPD said. Anyone with information is asked to call KCPD detectives at 816-234-5043 or anonymously call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477. Police said there is a reward of up to $25,000 for information provided to the TIPS Hotline leading to an arrest in this case. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. Mandatory evacuation of children from Kharkiv Oblast's Kupiansk district has finished after 296 children were rescued from the area constantly targeted by Russian attacks, the regional police said on Nov. 27. Police, volunteers, and local authorities reportedly carried out the mandatory evacuation of children accompanied by their family members or legal guardians from Nov. 3 to Nov. 26. They rescued 31 children from Kindrashivka, 182 from the part of Kupiansk on the east bank of the Oskil River, and 83 from Kurylivka, according to the Kharkiv Oblast Police. "All evacuees were taken to safe places," the police added, without specifying where exactly the children were relocated. Two more children, aged five and 11, are registered in the Kurylivka community, but the police have yet to establish their whereabouts. According to preliminary data, they have left Kupiansk with their mother of their own accord. Local authorities began a general evacuation of civilians from the Kupiansk district in August as Russian forces intensified their attacks in the area. Russia has been concentrating its forces around Kupiansk since mid-July, trying to regain the positions lost during the Ukrainian surprise counteroffensive in Kharkiv Oblast last autumn. Kupiansk was occupied by Russian forces from Feb. 27 to Sept. 10, 2022. Read also: We pushed and they collapsed: How Ukraine liberated Kharkiv Oblast Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) The man who was killed in an officer-involved shooting in Salem on Friday was identified by Keizer police on Monday. Authorities also identified the two officers involved in the shooting. The dead man was identified by police as Justin Jordan, 32. The officers who fired their guns were identified as Marion County Deputy Caleb Mott, and Salem Police Officer John Parmer. The two officers have been placed on administrative leave per protocol. Washington County Sheriffs Office struggles with jail capacity amid staff shortage The incident unfolded around 11 a.m. in the area of Arabian Avenue SE and Sorrel Court SE. Police say they received reports that Jordan was throwing items in the neighborhood while holding two guns. One caller said that Jordan held a gun to his head. Other callers reported hearing gunshots and said that Jordan pointed the gun at them. None of the callers were injured. Authorities from multiple agencies came to the area on the area to locate Jordan, who was found on Arabian Ave SE, which is where negotiations began, according to police. After a brief dialogue, the man pointed one of his two handguns at law enforcement personnel, who then fired their weapons, hitting (Jordan). Law enforcement personnel immediately provided life-saving measures, but due to the extent of his injuries, (he) was pronounced deceased on scene, police said. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. China strengthens tax, fee relief measures to shore up business Xinhua) 08:06, November 28, 2023 Tax personnel introduce tax preferential policies to a financial worker at battery manufacturer SCUD in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, Feb. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Wei Peiquan) BEIJING, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- China strengthened several tax and fee relief measures to support the development of businesses and bolster the real economy this year, official data showed on Monday. Newly implemented measures led to tax refunds, tax and fee cuts and deferrals amounting to 1.66 trillion yuan (about 233.28 billion U.S. dollars) in the first 10 months of 2023, according to the State Taxation Administration (STA). Taxpayers in the private sector became the primary beneficiaries of the country's tax and fee relief measures, the STA said. Nearly 1.24 trillion yuan of tax and fee payments was rebated, deducted or deferred for China's private businesses during the period, accounting for nearly 75 percent of the country's total. Among all sectors, manufacturing and related wholesale and retail industries benefited the most from the support, the data showed. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan) Police on Monday identified the victim of a fatal shooting in Allston over the weekend. Marco Alfonso Sosa, 32, of Lynn was shot and killed early Saturday morning, police said. A second man who was also shot suffered non-life-threatening injuries. At about 2:27 a.m. Saturday, officers responded to a radio call for two people shot at 85 East Newton St. When officers arrived, they found two men suffering from gunshot wounds, police said. A preliminary investigation found that both men were shot in a parking lot across from 12 Glenville Ave. in Allston, police said. The Boston Police Departments Homicide Unit is investigating. Anyone with information is strongly urged to contact the Boston Police Homicide Unit ay 617-343-4470. Community members wishing to assist in this investigation anonymously can do so by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1-800-494-TIPS or by texting the word TIP to CRIME (27463). Tipster can remain anonymous, police said. Anyone in need of emotional support or who wishes to talk to someone following the fatal shooting may call the Boston Neighborhood Trauma Team, which provides free, private support 24/7, at 617-431-0125. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Police are investigating a bomb threat in Port Orchard Tuesday morning. Washington State Patrol Trooper Katherine Weatherwax said the police activity was in the area of Sedgwick and Sidney. WSP bomb and SWAT units are at the scene. A viewer told KIRO 7 that all entrances to the Port Orchard Safeway store parking lot have been blocked with police vehicles since 7:30 a.m., but this information has yet to be confirmed. The public is asked to stay away from the area. After an Asheville man was shot and killed in the early morning hours of Nov. 24 in the Henderson Crossing Plaza parking lot, police are investigating the incident as murder or nonnegligent manslaughter, according to police records. At approximately 2:36 a.m., Henderson Police officers were dispatched to the Orchard Bar and Grill at Henderson Crossing and found 30-year-old Elijah Edward Timmons III deceased on the ground in the parking lot, having suffered a gunshot wound to the head, according to a news release from the City of Hendersonville. A firearm believed to belong to Timmons was located and secured by officers. Timmons shooting is being investigated as a murder or nonnegligent manslaughter, according to an incident report obtained by the Citizen Times Nov. 28. The report states that Timmons had a Candler address. At the time the incident report was written, police did not know the shooter nor their motivations. Initial reporting: Asheville man found shot to death in Hendersonville parking lot, suspect at large: police The report says he was attacked by an unknown offender shooting and killing him. It also says that the suspect was "hate/bias motivated." However, preliminary investigation revealed Timmons was engaged in an altercation with a suspect before being fatally shot, the news release said. The suspect remains at large; however, this is believed to be an isolated incident with no ongoing threat to public safety, according to the release. Spokesperson Allison Justus told the Citizen Times Nov. 27 that there are no updates to provide at this time. They are asking anyone with any information on the shooting to contact Lt. Alan Bonanno with the Hendersonville Police Department at 828-697-3025. Tips may also be submitted through the Hendersonville Police Department App which can be downloaded from the iOS App Store or Google Play Store by searching Hendersonville PD. More: Update: Shooting death reported at McDonald's in Hendersonville owned by Chuck Edwards This is the second shooting fatality this year in the city of Hendersonville. Police reported on Oct. 10 that Sam Antwan Ivey, 35, an employee at the McDonald's on Four Seasons Boulevard, allegedly shot and killed 30-year-old Jacklyn Marie Reed of Johnson City, Tennessee. The McDonald's is owned by U.S. Congressman Chuck Edwards. Ivey was charged with second-degree murder, and according to court records, his next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 14, the Citizen Times previously reported. More: McDonald's employee charged in fatal shooting inside restaurant makes court appearance Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at rober@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @ryleyober This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Hendersonville police investigating death of man as murder, suspect A peregrine falcon has been found dead in an illegal trap near a village on the outskirts of Edinburgh. The protected bird of prey was found about 100 yards from a public path, on the edge of woodland, south of Wester Bavelaw, near Balerno. The peregrine is the biggest species of falcon found in Scotland. Police said the bird was found in a baited pole trap on 23 November and urged anyone with information to come forward. Wildlife crime officer, Det Con Daniel Crilley, said: "Peregrine falcons are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act and forensic tests are being done as part of our ongoing inquiries to establish the full circumstances." The RSPB said the incident was "another shocking raptor persecution", which comes at the same time as after a golden eagle was reported missing in the Scottish Borders. Ian Thomson, RSPB Scotland's head of investigations, said: "There can be very few people in the area where this peregrine died with the motive, knowledge and equipment to target a protected bird of prey in such a callous fashion, and we echo Police Scotland's appeal for information." Police are asking for the publics help in connection to a Brighton murder that occurred 25 years ago. On Saturday, November 28, 1998, Rita (William) Hester was brutally stabbed to death in her apartment at 21 Park Vale Avenue in Brighton, according to Boston Police. Her murder shook the LGBTQ+ community and the neighborhood. Hester was last seen around 5 p.m. leaving the Silhouette Lounge on Brighton Avenue. At the time of the murder, she was a 34-year-old African-American woman from Hartford, Connecticut. Her legacy has forged several initiatives including the Transgender Day of Remembrance that is celebrated every November 20. Anyone with information about the crime is asked to contact the Boston Police Homicide Unit at 617-343-4470. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW An association of Polish hauliers which is not involved in the blockade of the Polish-Ukrainian border has suggested its vision of a compromise that would partially address the protesters concerns. Source: European Pravda with reference to RMF24 Details: Transport i Logistyka Polska (TLP) proposes that 50% of all transportation services in commodity turnover with Ukraine should be handed over to Polish hauliers. Under the proposal, if an importer or exporter gives more orders to Ukrainian hauliers, it may be fined 30% of its annual income. The proposal would also require all shipments transported by Ukrainian hauliers to be registered in the SENT system. Maciej Wronski, head of the association, believes that the reservation of at least 50% of goods transportation services in trade with Ukraine would achieve roughly the same objectives as the permit system, and that way, Poland would not breach agreements between Ukraine and the EU. He stressed that a decision must be reached as soon as possible because the blockade of the border is affecting not only Ukraine, but also many Polish companies. Wronski does not believe it is necessary to wait until the new government is formed in order for this legislation to be passed. TLP has also suggested that the Sejm (Parliamentary) infrastructure committee should set up an inter-parliamentary working group with Ukraine to resolve the issues with the border crossing procedure and seek ways to reduce waiting times and speed up customs procedures. Quote: "For many years we have seen a reluctance on the part of the Ukrainian government to suggest decisions that would make cross-border mobility easier. This raises the question of what the motives behind this could be especially when we are receiving signals that some officials at the border are using this complex situation for their own gain." Wronski added that the situation should be assessed on both sides of the border by lawmakers who have no direct connection to the administrative authorities. The proposals are being submitted to the Polish Infrastructure Ministry. Background: Polish hauliers have been blocking three checkpoints on the Polish-Ukrainian border for road freight since 6 November, letting only a few cars through every hour. They commenced a blockade of another checkpoint, Medyka-Shehyni, on 23 November. The blockade could last until 3 January. On Monday, 27 November, Polands Ministry of Infrastructure stated that it had sent Ukraine a proposal that could lift the blockade at the Polish-Ukrainian border. Support UP or become our patron! Back in July, around the time of my birthday, I happened to clock a protest by women my age in south Dublin. Several splendid Irish mammies with crossly-crossed arms and dont-mess-with-me-mister expressions were blocking roads in their neighbourhood after rumours circulated on social media that 60 undocumented male asylum seekers were to be housed there. We come out and stand here and protest to keep our children and grandchildren safe and we are called racist, one woman said defiantly. People are afraid. There is no one coming to speak to us. All the political parties do is use Facebook to call frightened women racists and bullies. What struck me about those women in their 40s, 50s and 60s women with daughters and granddaughters to worry about was that a major part of their anger arose from the fact that, not only were they not being heard, they were being treated as the problem. They werent the problem, and they knew they werent. The problem was that their government was allowing men from God-knows-where into their community. Mainly young men who would want sex (how rarely that basic fact is mentioned) and who came from countries where girls with their heads uncovered, their flesh exposed, are viewed by some as fair game. It was perfectly clear to the Irish women that the safety of their children should come first, above any other consideration. In any previous generation, it would have. But Western governments like theirs are so wedded to a multicultural experiment that they have failed to prevent a large number of illegal migrants (and far too many legal immigrants in the UKs case) into their countries, often without adequate checks. This is such a vast, epochal mistake, the consequences so volatile and hard to control, that governments are now running scared and cannot own up to their mistake. Instead, the people must be blamed for their hateful reaction to the mistake. The very thing those south Dublin mammies were supposedly fearmongering about happened last week in oh, look! Dublin. Three tiny children and a teacher were stabbed in a crazed knife attack. The chief suspect is a man who arrived from Algeria two decades ago; who has come to Garda attention for possession of a knife, and who was scheduled for deportation years ago, but won the right to remain in Ireland in the high court. Shocking riots broke out on the streets of the city. Irish Garda commissioner Drew Harris condemned the disgraceful scenes in Dublin, claiming that a hooligan faction driven by far-Right ideology was behind the violence on the streets. But that wasnt the whole story. Its true that a lot of opportunistic yobs piled in, looting shops and setting fire to vehicles. But its also true that peaceful protests came to a head in that blazing eruption of public anger. A man being detained during the unrest in Dublin - Reuters As the political commentator John McGuirk, editor of the Gript website, tweeted: When thousands of people protested peacefully in East Wall, and in other communities across Dublin, their reward was not to be recognised or engaged with for their peaceful political participation. Their reward was rather to be called far-Right, deplorable, and the dregs of Irish society. Every single effort has been made to silence people. Today, they made themselves heard. I wish they had chosen another way. And then I remember. They did. And you all refused to listen. The appalling attack on the children came just a few days after a Slovak Romany migrant was jailed for the murder of a teacher, 23-year-old Ashling Murphy. The brutal killing shocked Ireland. Last year, an Iranian migrant murdered two Irish gay men, decapitating one of them. What were those appalling, primitive brutes even doing in the country? Prime Minister Leo Varadkar and his woke commissars act swiftly to suppress such unhelpful thoughts, branding them far-Right (the new phrase for patriotism and defending your culture). There is mounting evidence, however, that left-leaning Irish people are also concerned about the damaging impact of rapid demographic change. (One fifth of Irelands five million population are now foreign-born.) Polled on the question, I think the number of refugees Ireland is now taking in is too many, 75 per cent agreed. And 76 per cent backed, I can appreciate some of the anger people feel about asylum seekers being moved into their local area. Yet, the only problem the Irish authorities were prepared to admit had been caused by vast numbers of incomers is a rise in anti-immigrant sentiment. See what they did there? Its your fault youre scared, you bigots! Repulsively, Varadkar devoted less than 10% of his post-riots press conference to the attempted slaughter of tiny children, preferring to denigrate the white working class for their racism. However, its getting harder and harder for globalists like him to suppress inconvenient facts about nationality and religion in order to maintain public order. In a devastating victim impact statement, Ashling Murphys boyfriend Ryan Casey demanded: How can someone come to this country, get social housing, social welfare, not hold down a job of any description and never contribute to society for 10 years? This is not the country that Ashling and I grew up in and once loved. It has officially lost its innocence. This country needs to wake up. This time things have got to change. This country is simply not safe anymore. Im afraid our country is heading down a very dangerous path. Ryans impassioned speech was omitted from every report of the trial, but they cant stop it resonating in the hearts of millions. Flames rise from a car at the junction of Bachelors Walk and the O'Connell Bridge, during the Dublin riots - AFP Surely, by now, it is clear that the Irish and, indeed, the population here in the UK, are being gaslit on a grand scale. Undocumented males from the war-torn Middle East and North Africa arriving in our neighbourhoods are not the problem, they say smoothly. Its prejudiced people like us, who dont want young foreign men with no concept of Western values around our daughters and granddaughters, that are the problem. So why do I keep being sent stories about British women being terrorised on the streets of their towns? Here is just one email I got last week from a Telegraph reader in Staffordshire. The situation with the migrants in Cannock is dire, writes Jenny, Women cannot go out on the streets alone, especially at night. The males gather around school gates and follow the girls and they follow the women around in gangs. They do not speak English which makes their behaviour all the more alarming. When the police are called, they arrive in their cars, place the men in them then drive them back to where the illegal migrants are living. This happens daily. Locals have written to the council and MPs and the outcome is that anyone who is worried about this is invited to sessions with police who tell them there is nothing to be done and that the indigenous population have to alter their behaviour so as not to cause upset among the migrant population. Women are advised not to go out alone in the evening and be mindful of the way they are dressed. Youll have to forgive me, but learning about women in my own country being advised to adjust their behaviour and their clothing to avoid inflaming men who arrived here uninvited makes me mad as hell. Multiculturalism only works if and its a big if newcomers are obliged to integrate with the host culture; not the other way around. The British political class needs to look urgently across the Irish Sea to glimpse what dangers lie ahead. As grief-stricken Ryan Casey urged us, we need to wake up as a country. Major public support is emerging for an immediate, five-year freeze on all further immigration into the UK so we can absorb the huge numbers already here 53 per cent of all voters agree; 78 per cent of Conservative voters and even 33 per cent of Labour voters. Instead, the Prime Minister this week gaily urged yet more foreign students to come and his Suella-less Cabinet shut their eyes and look the other way. Laura Farris, newly appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Victims and Safeguarding, said the arrival of hundreds of thousands of immigrants could embolden political extremists. Yeah, right, Laura, thats obviously the main threat posed by the out-of-control mass immigration presided over by your hapless government. Seriously, where do they find these people? I dont know about you, but I stand with the Irish mammies guarding their communities like lionesses. The likes of the toerags coming into this country theyre not vetted and are causing havoc. When we do things peacefully we get ignored, one mother said after the Dublin riots that an Irish government, which has recklessly endangered its own citizens, tried to blame on far-Right thugs. Heres the thing: all of us are far-Right when our loved ones are at risk of being stabbed by someone who shouldnt be in our country. 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. An overwhelming majority of Russians continue to support the war either strongly or moderately (75%), with only around 20% being actively opposed, a Nov. 28 report by the Carnegie Moscow Center said, citing polling information from the Russian independent polling organization The Levada Center. The figures have stayed remarkably consistent throughout the war, polling data has shown. According to the report, "these numbers reveal that Russian society is not yet ready for tangible compromise with Ukraine." At the same time, there were indicators illustrating that the level of support may be soft. Although the combined total of respondents supported the war, 45% said they "strongly" supported it, compared to 42% who said they were "generally" in favor. On average from August 2022- August 2023, around 50% of respondents said they were in favor of peace talks. This softness of support was coupled with the findings that the war had strongly depressed the general mood of the Russian population. The drastic decline in public mood accompanied not the beginning of the war in February 2022, but instead came at the beginning of mobilization in September of the same year. The news of mobilization was associated with a drop in Russians saying they had a "good" general mood from over 80% to around 50%, but the decline was temporary, with the findings returning close to their previous highs as the shock of mobilization wore off. In general, the report found that there was still a consistent level of passive support, which declined as the war most directly impacted Russians at home, either through mobilization or economic woes. Despite all of these factors, Russians were across the board against the kind of concessions that could one day be a starting point for peace negotiations. A majority of respondents categorically opposed Ukraine's accession into NATO (76%) and the return of the illegally annexed territories of Luhansk and Donetsk (76%) and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia (68%). There is also a significant feeling shared by those polled that Russia's losses have been too high for the country to give up now. According to the report, "many (Russians) back government initiatives while recognizing the harm they are doing...(Russians) will submit to anything the government has decided." "Even as the years have passed, Russian society still hasnt been able to emancipate itself from the state." The polls were conducted using face-to-face surveys of 1,600 people, selected on a nationally representative basis. The answer rate was similar to that of surveys conducted in the U.S. regarding electoral politics. Read also: Francis Farrell: Ukraine could still lose the war. Lets get some things straight Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Pope Francis on Tuesday canceled his upcoming trip to the United Nations climate conference in Dubai on doctors orders as he recovers from the flu and lung inflammation, according to the Vatican. In an update on Tuesday, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Franciss condition was improving, but the doctors asked the pontiff to not make the trip planned later in the week. Pope Francis accepted the doctors request with great regret and the trip is therefore canceled, Bruni said, per The Associated Press. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. Francis announced on Sunday that he is receiving treatment for lung inflammation and a mild case of the flu that required him to scale back on some appointments. The pontiff that day skipped his traditional appearance at his studio window over St. Peters Square, but maintained at the time he still planned to go to the United Arab Emirates for the conference. In a televised appearance of his traditional noon blessing on Sunday, Francis coughed and whispered as he received antibiotics intravenously, the AP reported. Francis, who turns 87 next month, was expected to leave Rome on Friday to deliver an address at the United Nations COP28 climate talks on Saturday. The following day, Francis was slated to inaugurate a faith pavilion on the sidelines of the conference before returning back to Rome. Following through with the Popes and the Holy Sees wish to be part of the discussions taking place in the coming days, the modalities by which this can happen will be defined as soon as possible, Bruni added, according to the Vaticans news service. The Vatican News reported some scheduled events over the next few days have been cancelled to give the pope time to recover. Franciss address to COP28 would have made him the first pontiff to address a U.N. climate conference. The AP reported Francis had part of one lung removed when he was younger and last April spent three days at a hospital in Rome for bronchitis. In July, 2021, Francis was hospitalized for 10 days where he received intestinal surgery for a bowel narrowing. COP28 talks will kick off Thursday and last for nearly two weeks as global leaders discuss the worlds standing on limiting emissions and slowing global warming. British King Charles, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. climate envoy John Kerry are among those who will be in attendance, while President Biden is reportedly skipping the conference this year for the first time in his presidency. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. FILE - Pope Francis arrives for his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023. Pope Francis cancelled his trip to Dubai for the U.N. climate conference on doctors orders. The announcement marked the second time the popes frail health had forced the cancellation of a foreign trip: He had to postpone a planned trip to Congo and South Sudan in 2022 because of knee inflammation, though he was able to make the trip earlier this year. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File) VATICAN CITY (AP) Pope Francis canceled his trip to Dubai for the U.N. climate conference on doctors orders Tuesday, even though he is recovering from the flu and lung inflammation, the Vatican said. Francis, who turns 87 next month, was scheduled to leave Rome on Friday to address the COP28 meeting first thing Saturday morning. He also was supposed to inaugurate a faith pavilion Sunday on the sidelines of the conference before returning home. The pope revealed Sunday that he had lung inflammation but said at the time that he still planned to go to Dubai, where he was to become the first pontiff to address a U.N. climate conference. Care for the environment has been a priority for Francis, and presidents and patriarchs alike have welcomed his moral leadership on the issue. Until the announcement late Tuesday, all of the information from the Vatican indicated the trip would proceed. The Vatican spokesman held his traditional pre-trip briefing earlier in the day and fielded questions about Francis planned bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Dubai conference. The Vatican travel agency accepted payment for journalists to fly on the papal plane, and the Vatican press office finalized accreditation details. The announcement marked the second time the popes frail health had forced the cancellation of a foreign trip: He had to postpone a planned trip to Congo and South Sudan in 2022 because of knee inflammation, though he was able to make the journey earlier this year. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Francis was improving from the flu and inflammation of his respiratory tract that had forced him to cancel his audiences Saturday. But "the doctors have asked the pope not to make the trip planned for the coming days to Dubai. "Pope Francis accepted the doctors request with great regret and the trip is therefore canceled," he added. Francis had part of one lung removed as a young man and has seemed increasingly prone to respiratory problems. He has also had mobility problems from strained knee ligaments that have required him to use a cane or wheelchair. Francis came down with the flu late last week. After cancelling his audiences Saturday including with the visiting leader of Guinea Bissau he went to the hospital for a CAT scan, and the Vatican said the test had ruled out pneumonia. On Sunday, he skipped his traditional appearance at his studio window overlooking St. Peter's Square to avoid the cold. Instead, Francis gave the traditional noon blessing in a televised appearance from the chapel in the Vatican hotel where he lives and asked a priest to read his written daily reflections out loud. He coughed and spoke in a whisper, and sported the cannula in which he was receiving antibiotics intravenously. Recruiting a substitute speaker was a first for this pope and recalled how St. John Paul II frequently had other prelates read his remarks in his final years as he battled the effects of Parkinson's disease. People who saw Francis this week said his health was improving but he still spoke in a whisper. In April, the pope spent three days at Rome's Gemelli hospital for what the Vatican said was bronchitis after he had trouble breathing. He was discharged after receiving intravenous antibiotics. Francis spent 10 days at the same hospital in July 2021 following intestinal surgery for a bowel narrowing. He was readmitted in June of this year for an operation to repair an abdominal hernia and remove scarring from previous surgeries. When asked about his health in a recent interview, Francis quipped in reply what has become his standard line Still alive! A giant screen broadcasts Pope Francis coughing during the Angelus noon prayer, from the chapel of the hotel at the Vatican grounds where he lives, Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023 (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) Pope Francis has cancelled his trip to Dubai for Cop28, the Vatican said in a statement on Tuesday. Francis, who has been an outspoken advocate for climate action, was expected to be the first Pontiff to attend the global climate summit. The pope has been receiving antibiotics intravenously to treat lung inflammation but doesnt have pneumonia or fever, according to reports on Monday. The Vaticans press office director, Matteo Bruni, said in a written statement that the inflammation was causing some respiratory difficulties for Francis, whose 87th birthday is next month. He had been scheduled to visit the United Arab Emirates from 1-3 December to address the summit and meet with world leaders, before inaugurating the first Faith Pavilion at a Cop. If we believe in the capacity of human beings to transcend our petty interests and to think on a grand scale, we cannot give up on dreaming that #COP28 will lead to an acceleration of the energy transition. This Conference can be a turning point, Francis tweeted on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday. The pope had been expected to address a number of issues at Cop28 including funding for Loss and Damage to help poor and vulnerable countries facing climate disasters, and fossil fuels. We hope that countries at COP28 will live up to Pope Francis urgent call for greater ambition on addressing the climate crisis, and for politicians to leave a legacy they can be proud of, Neil Thorns, director of advocacy at CAFOD, the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, told The Independent. We hope he recovers soon and will continue to encourage leaders from Rome. Last month, the pontiff published his Laudate Deum text where he called on governments, business and citizens to take urgent action and warned that the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point. The text also drew attention to the inequity of the climate crisis. How can we forget that Africa, home to more than half of the worlds poorest people, is responsible for a minimal portion of historic emissions? Francis wrote. Pope Francis has taken away a subsidized Vatican apartment and salary from Cardinal Raymond Burke, a prominent critic who has frequently criticized the reform-minded popes policies, two sources told the Associated Press. Francis reportedly met with church leaders last week to inform them of his decision, explaining that Burke fostered disunity in the church and was using his privileges to undermine the institution. Burke had not been alerted to his disciplining on Tuesday morning, according to his secretary. AP reported that Burke, who is considered by many to be the head of Francis conservative opposition, argued against an October assembly to talk about making the Catholic Church more inclusive toward LGBTQ+ followers and granting women and non-priests more opportunities. In 2014, Francis fired Burke from the Congregation of Bishops, which the cardinal said was due to his decision to talk too much about abortion and about marriage as between one man and one woman. Read it at Associated Press Read more at The Daily Beast. FILE - Cardinal Raymond Burke applauds during a news conference at the Italian Senate, in Rome, on Sept. 6, 2018. Pope Francis has taken measures to punish one of his highest-ranking critics, Cardinal Raymond Burke, by yanking his right to a Vatican apartment and salary in the second such radical action against a conservative American prelate this month, according to two people briefed on the measures. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File) VATICAN CITY (AP) Pope Francis has decided to punish one of his highest-ranking critics, Cardinal Raymond Burke, by revoking his right to a subsidized Vatican apartment and salary in the second such radical action against a conservative American prelate this month, according to two people briefed on the measures. Francis told a meeting of the heads of Vatican offices last week that he was moving against Burke because he was a source of disunity in the church, said one of the participants at the Nov. 20 meeting. The participant spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to reveal the contents of the encounter. Francis said he was removing Burkes privileges of having a subsidized Vatican apartment and salary as a retired cardinal because he was using the privileges against the church, said another person who was subsequently briefed on the popes measures. That person also spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to reveal the details. Burke has not received any notification of measures being taken, his secretary said in a text message Tuesday to The Associated Press. Burke, a 75-year-old canon lawyer whom Francis had fired as the Vatican's high court justice in 2014, has become one of the most outspoken critics of the pope, his outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics and his reform project to make the church more responsive to the needs of ordinary faithful. Twice, Burke has joined other conservative cardinals in issuing formal questions to the pontiff, known as dubia, asking him to clarify questions of doctrine that upset conservatives and traditionalists. In the first, they asked Francis to clarify his outreach to divorced and civilly remarried Catholics, and Francis never replied. In the second, they asked whether same-sex couples could receive church blessings and received a conditional maybe in response. Then, on the eve of Francis big meeting of bishops last month, known as a synod, Burke presided over a counter-synod of sorts just steps away from St. Peters Square. There, Burke delivered a stinging rebuke of Francis vision of synodality as well as his overall reform project for the church. Its unfortunately very clear that the invocation of the Holy Spirit by some has the aim of bringing forward an agenda that is more political and human than ecclesial and divine, Burke told the conference titled The Synodal Babel. Burke has always defended his actions as being of service to the church and the papacy, saying it was his obligation as a cardinal and bishop to uphold church teaching and correct errors. The sheep depend on the courage of pastors who must protect them from the poison of confusion, error and division, he told the Oct. 3 conference, prompting applause from the crowd. Burke, who spends much of his time in the U.S. at the Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine he founded in his native Wisconsin, is the second American prelate to face punishment in what appears to be a new phase of Francis' pontificate. This reform-minded period seems to have accelerated with the arrival in September of Francis' hand-picked new doctrine czar, Argentine Cardinal Victor Fernandez. Earlier this month, Francis forcibly removed the bishop of Tyler, Texas, Joseph Strickland, another conservative who had also become one of Francis' critics. Strickland was removed after a Vatican investigation into governance of his diocese. In a tweet Tuesday, Strickland expressed shock at reports that Francis had taken action taken against his fellow American, which was first reported by the conservative Italian newspaper La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana, the main sponsor of The Synodal Babel conference. If this is accurate it is an atrocity that must be opposed. If it is false information it needs to be corrected immediately, Strickland said. Asked Tuesday about word of Francis' decision, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni didn't deny the reports but referred questions to Burke. I dont have anything particular to say about that, Bruni told reporters. Pope Benedict XVI had made Burke a cardinal in 2010, after he appointed him prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, the Vatican's high court. After Francis removed him from that position in 2014, he made Burke the cardinal patron of the Knights of Malta, a prestigious but limited role. But there too, Burke and Francis clashed over Burke's involvement in a governance crisis at the chivalric order. Francis pushed him aside and named two subsequent envoys to essentially replace him. More recently, the two seemingly were at odds over COVID-19 vaccines. Francis had been a big proponent of the vaccines and had lashed out at vaccine skeptics, who included some conservative Catholics. During a 2021 airborne news conference, Francis lamented the vaccine negationists in the College of Cardinals, an apparent reference to Burke, who had just been hospitalized in the U.S. and placed on a ventilator with a serious bout of the virus. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) A Portland barge is set to help researchers study one of the least explored regions in the world. Portland ship manufacturer Gunderson Marine, LLC. secured a $43 million contract with the United States Army to design and build a barge for the National Science Foundations U.S. Antarctic Program. The program studies the Antarctics ecosystem and its effects on the global climate, along with the atmosphere and space. Powerful waves on Oregon Coast caught on video amid king tide, sneaker wave forecast We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work on this critically important project with great organizations like the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Science Foundation. This is only the beginning of Gunderson Marine diversifying into other markets since the rail car operation is no longer operating at the facility, Gunderson Marine President Dee Burch said in a statement. On Monday, Oregon lawmakers applauded the contract, noting the project blends cutting-edge research with Portlands historic marine economy. The Antarctic is one of the least explored regions in the world, and this contract between Gunderson Marine and the National Science Foundation matches a mainstay Portland business with cutting-edge scientific research, Sen. Ron Wyden said. This good news means jobs locally and groundbreaking research globally. These are the Oregon cities millennials are moving to the most: study Sen. Jeff Merkley added, From Northwest Portland to the South Pole, this partnership between Gunderson Marine and the National Science Foundation will boost the local economy and lead to a greater understanding of one of the earths final frontiers. He added, Its exciting to see a longtime Oregon business take the helm on this opportunity to further critical research in Antarctica and beyond. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici moted the impact the project will have on environmental research. Oregon manufacturing companies are at the forefront of innovation. This new contract between Gunderson Marine and the National Science Foundation will support research in the Antarctic and advance the development of vessels equipped to handle the extreme conditions of the region, Bonamici said. I had the opportunity to visit Antarctica with the National Science Foundation a number of years ago and know how important this research is to understanding our environment and world. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. Scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology were importing and tinkering with deadly bat coronaviruses - ROMAN PILIPEY/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock The goal of any inquiry is to learn lessons so a similar calamity can be averted. So it seems oddly short-sighted that the Covid Inquiry is refusing to examine the origins of the pandemic. When Michael Gove pointed out that the Government was unprepared because the virus was so unusual - and possibly man-made - he was shut down by Sir Hugo Keith KC who said the issue was divisive and not part of the terms of reference of the inquiry. Its hard to imagine this happening in any other context. Envisage a scenario where the Hillsborough Inquiry had felt it was divisive to examine policing decisions that led to 96 people being crushed to death, or if the Grenfell Tower inquiry had felt cladding was beyond its remit. Finding out the origins of Covid-19 is crucial. If the virus really was cooked up in a Chinese lab, then we need to know so the world can consider introducing a moratorium on such risky research. Likewise, should we be allowing so-called virus hunters to gather rare diseases from remote locations and bring them back to cities when the danger from accidental escape could be catastrophic? Failing to act sends a message to rogue actors that reckless lab work will be treated with impunity - a dangerous precedent to set as synthetic biology grows even more sophisticated. It also stops us from being able to prepare for a future engineered virus that we may know nothing about. Hamish de Bretton Gordon, an expert on chemical and biological counter-terrorism, told The Telegraph: The chance of a man-made virus in future is so high, and so likely, that we cant wait until the end of the inquiry to take action. Because of the ease and advances in synthetic biology, the next man-made pathogen could be highly virulent and very transmissible. Something like Lassa fever or Ebola crossed with Covid could create millions and millions of deaths. Whether the virus was man-made or not, evidence for a lab leak is compelling. A deadly coronavirus popped up just eight miles from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) where scientists were importing and tinkering with deadly bat coronaviruses. The virus had come out of nowhere, seemingly pre-adapted to infect humans, and despite nearly four years of searching, no intermediary animal host has ever been found. When scientists hunted for the source of the original Sars, a small team found it within six months. It has led some to suggest that the host animal is not in the wild at all, but rather a humanised mouse used in experiments to test whether it could be infected with a chimeric virus. Wuhan scientists were certainly working on such experiments. Worrying biosecurity levels In 2010, WIV embarked on gain of function work to increase the infectiousness of Sars coronavirus in humans. Within five years, Wuhan scientists had created a highly infectious chimeric virus that targeted the human upper respiratory tract and later applied for funding to begin infection experiments in humanised mice. While such lab experiments might arguably be justified on the grounds of preventing a future pandemic, WIV was notoriously lax with its biosecurity. In the months before the pandemic, the institute had registered patents for repairs to ventilation symptoms and broken seals. Scientists were filmed holding infected bats without proper personal protective equipment (PPE). In November 2019, three researchers at WIV sought treatment at a hospital after falling ill with symptoms consistent with Covid-19. After the first cases emerged, scientists closer to home were also worried that the virus had been engineered or evolved in a lab, but chose to keep it to themselves for fears of upsetting China. Their true feelings only came to light following a series of freedom of information requests and subpoenas. In February 2020, an email from Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, said that a likely explanation was that Covid-19 had rapidly evolved from a Sars-like virus inside human tissue in a low-security laboratory. Sir Jeremy warned that research in Wuhan was like the Wild West, with experiments carried out at worrying biosecurity levels. Kristian Andersen, a Danish evolutionary biologist, set up a super secret Slack group entitled Project Wuhan Engineering to discuss the possibility with world-renowned experts. He wrote: The lab escape version of this is so friggin likely to have happened because they were already doing this type of work and the molecular data is fully consistent with that scenario. In the exchange, Prof Andrew Rambaut, an evolutionary biologist at Edinburgh University, admitted that it smells really fishy but warned of the s--- show that would ensue if China was accused of even accidental release. Dr Robert Garry, from Tulane University, pointed out that similar genetic effects seen in Covid-19 had been seen when bird flu was allowed to evolve in laboratory chickens. But in public, scientists roundly dismissed a lab leak or viral engineering, claiming a zoonotic origin was far more likely, despite their private misgivings. Even Matt Hancock was ordered by the Cabinet Office to tone down his autobiography which raised concerns that Covid-19 leaked from the Wuhan lab. Where the British establishment has attempted to sweep the issue under the carpet, the US has at least made some progress in searching for the truth. In April, an 18-month US Senate Committee inquiry into the origins of Covid concluded that: The preponderance of circumstantial evidence supports an unintentional research-related incident. In September, WIV was stripped of United States government funding for 10 years for conducting dangerous experiments that increased the potency of coronaviruses before the pandemic. Documents showed that between 2018 and 2019, scientists had inserted new spike proteins into four bat coronaviruses, with one chimeric virus killing 75 per cent of humanised mice within two weeks. The US Department of Human Health and Services (HHS) said that the experiments had increased viral activity more than tenfold, in clear violation of government grant guidelines. WIV refused to engage with HHS throughout the inquiry, and there are fears that such experiments are still ongoing. The HHS report concluded: There is a risk that WIV not only previously violated, but is currently violating, and will continue to violate, protocols of the National Institutes of Health on biosafety. Nearly seven million people have now died of Covid worldwide and dangerous experiments may be still happening, yet little is being done to address the issue. The Chinese authorities have refused to allow a proper investigation and have blocked attempts to access laboratories, research notebooks or sample databases. The World Health Organisation claims an investigation is still ongoing, but it is making little progress. At best, the viral work in Wuhan did nothing to help the world prepare for a devastating viral outbreak. At worst, it started one of the worst pandemics the world has ever seen. Its time to find out which is true. 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. WASHINGTON The Pentagon expects to start issuing early next year the first in a series of sole-source contracts to Pratt & Whitney to upgrade the F-35 Joint Strike Fighters engines. In a notice posted online Monday, the government said the follow-on contract actions to RTX-owned Pratt & Whitney will begin in the second quarter of fiscal 2024, and continue through the end of December 2031. The estimated value of the contracts was not immediately available, but Jen Latka,, vice president for Pratts F135 program, told reporters in December 2022 the ECUs development would likely cost about $2.4 billion. Pratt & Whitney, which makes the F135 engines that power all three version of the F-35, said in a separate statement Tuesday it expects to finish the preliminary design of its Engine Core Upgrade for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in December. The company added that it will be ready for the governments official review of that design the following month. The Engine Core Upgrade is intended to provide more power and cooling capabilities to the F-35 without requiring its current F135 engines to be replaced with a new design. Defense officials say the power and cooling boost will be necessary as the F-35 continues to be upgraded, particularly with a slate of improvements known as the Block 4 modernization, which will include greater weapons capacity, new sensors, and improved electronic warfare and target recognition capabilities. Pratt & Whitney has 600 employees fully dedicated to this effort, and were on track to deliver F-35 operators the power needed to enable Block 4 capabilities and beyond starting in 2029, Jen Latka, vice president for Pratts F135 program, said in a statement. The Pentagons sole-source notice said the upcoming contracts will cover work for the ECUs engineering and manufacturing phase, including maturing its design, manufacturing and developing test articles and integrating weapon systems. The notice did not say how much the contracts might be worth, but Latka told reporters in December 2022 the ECUs development would likely cost about $2.4 billion. The Pentagon had also considered a new engine design from General Electric Aerospace, dubbed the XA100, based on adaptive engine technology. The Air Force was keenly interested in GEs XA100 and its greater power and cooling abilities for the F-35A jets it flies. However, the Pentagon concluded GEs design likely wouldnt work for the Marine Corps vertical takeoff F-35B variant, and had doubts about its suitability for the Navys carrier-based F-35C. Those worries, as well as concerns over the GE adaptive engines potential costs, led the Pentagon to stick with and upgrade the F-35s current engine in a big win for Pratt & Whitney. Treating Black voters as swing voters, a Democratic Party pollster suggests, means not making assumptions on whats wanted based on stereotypes or generalizations. President Joe Biden is reportedly losing popularity among Black voters, and a Democratic Party pollster suggests he take a new approach. The pollster contended that Biden should treat Black voters as swing voters if hes serious about receiving Democratic support to assist with his 2024 presidential re-election effort. According to a Semafor article summarizing the polling findings, Black voters, although predominantly Democrat, share priorities and issue awareness that closely align with those of swing voters. Semafor, launched in October 2022, brands itself as an intelligent, transparent global news platform for breaking stories and analysis. Journalists cover topics such as politics, finance, technology, climate, energy and entertainment. President Joe Biden is reportedly losing support among the Black community, which could hinder his ability to win the 2024 presidential election. (Photo by Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images) Swing voters are not firmly committed to either Democrats or Republicans and are willing to accept candidates from other parties. Rather than making assumptions based on stereotypes or generalizations, treating Black voters as swing voters, one strategist told Semafor, could include customizing political rhetoric and policy ideas to resonate with the Black community. One thing it definitely means for Biden: Keep talking loudly and proudly about his record. You dont have to do some crazy targeted ad buy that only goes on conservative talk radio in swing counties in Wisconsin, Blueprints Evan Roth Smith said, Semafor shared. You can talk about these things everywhere, at the loudest possible volume. You can put the president on a podium in front of a pharmaceutical company headquarters, talking about bringing the prices down. Following recent surveys indicating poor support for the president, several Democratic strategists and thought leaders are increasingly concerned about Bidens endurance and ability to win the 2024 election, Fox News reported. A Wall Street Journal survey indicated that Republicans have made significant gains among Black and Latino voters between the 2018 and 2020 elections. In the 2018 midterm elections, Republican candidates had only 8% support among Black voters, and former President Donald Trump received the same 8% support in 2020. Democrats had a 31% support advantage over Republicans among Latinos in 2018 and a 28% advantage in 2020. The Journal shared that 17% of Black voters now back Republicans, while Democrats lead among Latinos has reduced to just 5 points. A New York Times/Siena College survey released earlier this month revealed that Trump gained historic support from Black voters in key areas Biden won in 2020. Black voters in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin reportedly now favor Trump at a rate of 22%, up from 8% in 2020. MSN reported that during a new episode of the New York Times podcast The Run-Up, its host, reporter Astead W. Herndon, invited a diverse group of Black voters to discuss the upcoming election and the challenges Democrats will face next year. Many voters shared that they mostly supported Democrats because the GOPs agenda was intolerable to them. Several voters described a president they intentionally favored in 2020 to force Trump out of office. One female Black voter said many Black voters supported now-Vice President Kamala Harris and that she pushed Biden over the edge in 2020. However, others remain dissatisfied with the Democratic ticket. At the time, voters hoped Harris would accomplish a great deal, MSN reported. However, the reality has yet to meet their expectations, raising the question, Who speaks for us? A Black male member of the group stated that the GOP promoted entrepreneurial ideas that would pull some Black males to Trump next year. However, another shared he feels like the Democratic Party has forgotten about them. As African-American men, sometimes we get left like our needs, our desires, our wants are not always in account, the male voter said, MSN reported. We kinda get pushed to the side. I think sometimes that might be something that men are looking at that our needs are not being taken care of. Like our matters are not being resolved. Never miss a beat: Get our daily stories straight to your inbox with theGrios newsletter. The post President Biden, in trouble with Black voters, should treat them like swing voters, pollster says appeared first on TheGrio. PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) Prince Georges County Council Member Ingrid Watson is hosting a community forum Tuesday to address the rising crime in the county. The Forum is taking place at 6:30 p.m. at the Student Center Ballroom at Bowie State University. Some of the leaders that will attend the forum include: Prince Georges County Police Department Police Chief Malik Aziz, Prince Georges County State Attorney Aisha Braveboy, Maryland State Senator Ron Watson, and Prince Georges County Public Schools Superintendent Millard House II. Prince Georges County Police aim to curb violence with summer crime initiative Community members will have the opportunity to receive information/data on crime as well as legislation being proposed to combat this issue. They will also be able to participate in roundtable discussions to connect with other community members as well as leaders on solutions to address crime. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. FRACKVILLE, SCHUYLKILL COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) A woman who worked at a Pennsylvania state prison is accused of sexually assaulting an inmate. According to investigators, an inmate at SCI Frackville in Schuylkill County told detectives he had a months-long relationship with prison guard, Jennifer Newberry, 48, of Frackville. Arrest made after man stabbed in face As stated in the affidavit, Newberry smuggled a phone into the prison for the inmate and sent him intimate photos and videos of herself. Investigators learned Newberry resigned in July prompting an investigation into her relationship with the inmate. Newberry faces sexual assault and other related charges. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PAhomepage.com. Hundreds of Pro-Palenstinian protestors shut down the Manhattan Bridge in both directions, demanding a permanent cease-fire in Gaza, during one of the busiest travel days of the year. On Sunday, the group blocked off the Manhattan bridge, causing a nightmare for drivers as traffic came to a complete stand still in both directions as New Yorkers were traveling home after the Thanksgiving holiday. "I support their protest, I think, but I don't think blocking the bridge would be a good idea," a man on the bridge told Fox 5 New York. Loud honking and yelling could be heard as cars piled up on the bridge, according to reports. PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTESTERS DISRUPT MACY'S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE IN NEW YORK CITY Pro-Palestine protesters demanding a Gaza ceasefire block the Manhattan Bridge in both directions between Manhattan and Brooklyn in New York City on Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023. The NYPD said several people were arrested and the bridge later reopened. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP A New York police spokesperson was not immediately available to provide an exact number of how many people were arrested. HUGE CROWD FILLS STREETS OF LONDON IN MARCH AGAINST ANTISEMITISM, SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL UNITED STATES -November 26: Pro-Palestine protesters demanding a Gaza ceasefire block the Manhattan Bridge in both directions between Manhattan and Brooklyn in New York City on Sunday, November 26, 2023. (Photo by Gardiner Anderson for NY Daily News via Getty Images) The cease-fire between Israel and Hamas was extended on Monday as the militants freed 11 more hostages. ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS DISRUPT BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING TO CALL FOR PALESTINIAN UPRISING: 'INTIFADA REVOLUTION' UNITED STATES -November 26: Pro-Palestine protesters demanding a Gaza ceasefire block the Manhattan Bridge in both directions between Manhattan and Brooklyn in New York City on Sunday, November 26, 2023. Most hostages released so far were handed over directly to Israel, while others left through Egypt. Original article source: Pro-Palestinian protesters block Manhattan bridge, backing up traffic, demanding ceasefire in Gaza Complacency is one of three enemies of democracy that Ben Ansell sets out in his lectures - BBC/Jude Edginton The public intellectual is an endangered species in our anti-intellectual, sound bite and social media-obsessed world, but the BBCs Reith Lectures, now in its 73rd year, is one place that remains a happy hunting ground. Even here, though, the obsession with youth is evident in this years choice of 46-year-old Professor Ben Ansell, a political scientist who will take as his theme Our Democratic Future. The four lectures in the series are being recorded before live audiences in London, Berlin, Sunderland and Atlanta, USA. I catch up with Ansell over Zoom while he is in the States for the last one, though confusingly as he talks he has put up behind him an image of Oxfords dreamy spires. It is just habit, he explains. I think it is better to say I am younger than the average Reith lecturer, he suggests modestly, when I ask why he was chosen. And then there was his book, earlier this year, provocatively called Why Politics Fails that garnered him plenty of attention for its resonant diagnosis of our turbulent and fractious times. I do think, he points out, that there is less deference to figures from grand cultural positions, and I guess the University of Oxford would count as one. But that is probably a good thing. The voice from on high may have had its day. That said, his title as Professor of Comparative Democratic Institutions, based at Nuffield College, Oxford, does sound rather high, and at one stage in his first lecture, he urges the live audience, trust me, Im an academic. But it is done as a jokey aside, sending himself up, part of his much less formal delivery than Reith lecturers of old. And he is also very keen to avoid the charge of hypocrisy. I cant get up and talk in these lectures about the importance of agreeable disagreement and that everyone should get involved in the democratic process, and then say in the lecture you should only listen to me. That wouldnt be very consistent. I dont want these lectures to come across as hectoring, he begins, though all Reith Lectures come across as a bit hectoring. Instead, he says, he wants to open peoples minds to the trade-offs that we have to think about with politics. Voters have become more polarised by hatred for the other side than by support for their own Ansell may not relish the public spotlight quite so much as other celebrated public intellectuals past and present from Kenneth Clark through to Richard Dawkins and Mary Beard but in his four lectures on the Future of Democracy, the Future of Security, the Future of Solidarity (that one given in Red Wall Sunderland) and the Future of Prosperity, neither does he shy away from courting controversy by questioning whether liberal democracy has a future at all in the age of electoral success for Donald Trump, Giorgia Meloni, Viktor Orban and most recently Geert Wilders in the Netherlands. Listening to an advance copy of the first lecture, I quickly came to the conclusion that, while he certainly sees threats to democracy in a world where there are now, for the first time in a long time, more autocratic regimes than democracies he reassuringly isnt too alarmed about its imminent collapse. Im not particularly worried. Panicking about the state of democracy in the West is unfortunate. I dont buy it. It is pretty hard for a very consolidated democracy [in existence for a long time] to collapse. Social scientists often talk about them becoming immune. That may sound slightly glib with the USA so polarised and soon going into an election where the self-styled disrupter, Donald Trump, currently facing multiple legal cases, could well triumph. Just because somebody you dislike gets elected, as Trump did in 2016, and just because they use crude and inflammatory rhetoric, it does not mean that the actual functioning of democracy has declined. Donald Trump, currently facing multiple legal cases, could well triumph in the 2024 US election - AP Photo/Bryon Houlgrave That said, he quickly adds, had the mob that tried to storm the Congress in 2021 succeeded, there might have been a decline. But it didnt. And that then raises the question of whether American democracy is stronger than we thought it was because even under these pressures it survived or was it a flashing red sign if Donald Trump comes back into power? And the answer is? On the whole I am more minded to say it showed the robustness of the system. From the vice-presidency to the court to the Secretary of State in Georgia [who refused to give in to Trumps demands to find him a few more votes], most of the functioning parts to prevent collapse stood up. But I dont want to be complacent. Complacency, fittingly, is one of three enemies of democracy that he sets out in his lectures. And that is a plea to people not to give up because they get fed up of going to cast their vote all the time. We have to understand that ruling ourselves is not something we can just outsource. A bigger red flag for him is polarisation, though we have to be careful about that because polarisation isnt always bad. In the middle of the 20th century when Republican and Democratic senators and representatives in America often cross-voted outside party, look what they were voting for to restrict voting rights to African-Americans. Ansell doesnt feel as many have of late that the party-political system is to blame for the current age of anxiety. Or even parties disagreeing internally (as is the case with our own governing party). What is unfortunate is when you end up with what we political scientists call effective polarisation that voters become more polarised by hatred for the other side than by support for their own. Weve tipped into that in American politics and to some extent in the UK. As an example and Ansell is a natural storyteller who peppers his opinions and research findings with human stories that illuminate the statistics he quotes the very low inter-marriage figures in the States between registered Republicans and registered Democrats. Its less than three or four per cent and it is more prevalent with people of the left not wanting to marry people from the right. Or for their children to do the same. That is true in the UK as well. A large group of people who voted Tory in 2019 who still say dont-know He clearly knows his stuff. Ansell was raised in Kent with his younger brother (his fathers background was more working class, while his mother grew up in a middle-class home in north Lincolnshire), educated at state primary and then privately at Sevenoaks School, where he played the guitar and didnt make prefect because he wrote marginally rude things about his teachers in the school magazine. His stellar academic career started with a first in history in 1998 at Manchester, then a post-graduate MA in cultural history, before a politics masters at University of California, Berkeley, a doctorate at Harvard, and seven years teaching politics at the University of Minnesota. His time in the States started under Bill Clinton and ended under Barack Obama and included 9/11. Since 2013 he has been back in Britain with a chair at Oxford at just 36, though the American accent hasnt quite gone. With such a transatlantic perspective, he is surely ideally placed to say who is going to win in 2024 in the UK and in the USA elections. The first rule of political science is no predictions, so I dont know what will happen. It is pretty clear that the American election will be closer than some people had imagined. And over here? Most of the political analyst class thinks that things look poor for the Conservative Party, but I would say there are very large numbers of dont-knows out there. I did my own survey on them which I talk about in my third lecture, on solidarity, and there is a large group of people who voted in 2019 who still say dont-know. Though politics may divide us, much of Ansells lecture is about how to bring Britain back together again. He firmly believes that as a community we are not as atomised as sometimes appears to be the case. Social media, which has been blamed for this, pushes in both directions. On the one hand, it allows us all to sit in our rooms doom-scrolling on our phones, but on the other it allows us to form Facebook groups where we are collectively doing stuff. It is at the local level that you really see things happening, he explains as in the neighbourhood online groups in north Oxford where he lives with his Canadian partner and two young sons, and has served as a school governor. We are more engaged with talking to each other than national politics sometimes makes us feel. It would be nice to push some of that spirit up from the grassroots. What people really care about is feeling listened to Drawing on his local experience in his lectures, he talks of low traffic neighbourhoods or LTNs of which there are many in Oxford. Its a circus, he says. But a circus that has given him food for thought regarding the future of democracy. It is not clear if there was a huge amount of democratic consensus about introducing LTNs. People werent told by politicians about the trade-offs that some would gain and some would lose. And so they are angry. He learns a lot about politics, he says, from the nextdoor.com online group in his street, reading why his neighbours feel so passionately about local issues like LTNs. And I get the same from the Crystal Palace fan website [they are his footie team]. What people really care about is feeling listened to. His academic role means he has to stand above party politics but, as a citizen, he says he probably agrees more often with Labour than the Conservatives, though sometimes it is the other way round. Has he ever been tempted to stand for election? No, Im too two-handed. On one hand, on the other. He applies the same technique to providing a diagnosis of democracys current state of health. Next to the pluses he has outlined, there are also minuses. The biggest threat to UK democracy is, he warns, giving up too quickly with a lot of the institutions we have. Consistent attacks on judges, on the media (which is an important institution in democracies) and frustration when the party in power cant always have its way is unfortunate. This is not, he stresses, a party-political point. When the shoe is on the other foot, parties may regret making some of the claims they do while in office. So it is just as important for Labour to be constrained as for the Conservatives to be constrained. We have to think about what comes next and that is true when it comes to thinking about overruling judges, reforming the House of Lords or restricting protests. And to cast our net wider, what about the biggest threat to democracy on the world stage? Non-democracies. While I dont want this to be a paean to Donald Trump, I dont think he is the biggest threat to democracy in the world by any stretch of the imagination. It is Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping and the Iranian government who are not democratic, dont want to be democratic, and dont want democracies near them to be democratic. They claim to be democratic but they bluntly arent. If Ansell is hard to place politically, the task is no easier in terms of society. As an Oxford professor, he reflects, I cant claim to be anything other than an Establishment figure, but I did spend those 13 years in the States. I went away. And that gives you distance. In other words the best of both worlds a good qualification, surely, for a Reith lecturer. The Reith Lectures begin on BBC Radio 4 on November 29 at 9am and will be broadcast weekly (available to catch up on BBC Sounds). 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. Former Vice President Mike Pence told special counsel Jack Smiths team that he tried to get someone else to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election because he did not want to upset former President Donald Trump, according to ABC News. Pence, who may be called to testify at Trumps D.C. election subversion trial scheduled to begin in March, told prosecutors that Trump surrounded himself with crank lawyers after his election loss that espoused un-American legal theories and nearly pushed the country into a constitutional crisis, sources told ABC News. Pence told Smiths team he was sure he informed Trump that he hadnt seen evidence of significant election fraud but Trump continued to claim the election was stolen. Prosecutors also obtained Pences personal notes that he took after meetings with Trump and others from the National Archives, according to the report. One of the notes shows that Pence initially decided to skip the Jan. 6 certification of the election results. "Not feeling like I should attend electoral count," Pence wrote. "Too many questions, too many doubts, too hurtful to my friend. Therefore I'm not going to participate in certification of election." But Pence ultimately decided he had a duty to show up, sources told ABC News.. Pence told investigators his loyalty to Trump never faltered. "My only higher loyalty was to God and the Constitution," he said, according to the outlets sources. Legal experts argued that the report undermined the narrative surrounding Pence as a Jan. 6 hero. I myself would never want to upset a good friend who wishes to see me hung by an angry armed mob, quipped conservative attorney George Conway. Yet another profile in courage, tweeted MSNBC legal analyst Katie Phang. So much for the view that Pence was a principled man who did the right thing on January 6, added former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance. But George Washington University Law Prof. Randall Eliason argued that the report arguably boosts this view. If he had stayed away, [then-Senate President Pro Tempore Chuck] Grassley would have been in charge, as may have been the plan for those plotting the coup, he wrote. Instead Pence showed up and did the right thing. Smiths team also repeatedly focused on Pences book detailing the events surrounding Jan. 6. In one instance, Pence wrote that he told Trump: You know, I dont think I have the authority to change the outcome of the election on Jan. 6. Pence told Smiths team that the comma should not have been placed there and he actually meant to write that he admonished Trump: "You know I don't think I have the authority to change the outcome. Pence told investigators that in December 2020 he was still very open to the possibility that there was voter fraud, according to the report. But he said he grew concerned after Trump dismissed the advice of credible attorneys following his loss and instead relied on the advice of Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani, whom Pence told investigators "did a great disservice to the president and a great disservice to the country." Pence said he advised Trump to simply accept the results and take a bow and then run again if you want. "And I'll never forget, he pointed at me ... as if to say, 'That's worth thinking about.' And he walked [away]," Pence told investigators, according to ABCs sources. Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course. Two days later, Trump re-tweeted a post falsely claiming that Pence could disqualify legitimate electors on Jan. 6. Pence said at that moment, while he was on Christmas vacation, he turned to his wife and said, here we go. A spokesman for Trump, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges, told ABC News: "Tens of millions of Americans, including Vice President Pence, as he repeatedly stated himself, have had grave and serious concerns about the legitimacy of the rigged and stolen 2020 Presidential Election, further proving that the lawless indictment against President Trump should be summarily dismissed." A Brown University student of Palestinian descent who was shot in Burlington, Vermont, over Thanksgiving weekend in what is being investigated as a possible hate crime will likely never walk again, according to his mother. Twenty-year-old Hisham Awartani, one of the three young Palestinian men who were spending their Thanksgiving break in Burlington, was walking with the other men during a visit to the home of Awartanis relatives when they were confronted by a white man with a handgun and shot, police said. Elizabeth Price, Awartanis mother, says doctors have told her to prepare for her son never being able to walk again due to a bullet that struck his spine. Hes understanding now the very long road that he has in front of him. He has another month in the hospital and several months of physical therapy, but currently, the doctors say hes lost function in both of his legs, Price said. The prognosis is bad. The prognosis is that he wont regain it. Price said she and her husband, Ali Awartani, are now scrambling to travel from the West Bank to Vermont to be by their sons hospital bed. They wanted their son to stay in New England for the holiday break because they thought hed be safer in the United States than in Palestine. This is a dangerous time in America if you are associated with a group that is involved in these conflicts, Price said. Theres too much hate speech against all sides and in that toxic context, people take action on their own. Demonstrations have been widespread and tensions in the U.S. have escalated as the death toll rises in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The other two men Hisham was with were last said to be in stable condition. Jason J. Eaton, 48, was arraigned from jail on Monday on three counts of attempted murder in connection with the shooting. Federal agents found a gun in Eatons apartment on Sunday and according to a police affidavit, he refused to identify himself but came to the door holding his hands palms up, and told the officers hed been waiting on them. Hundreds gathered at Brown University on Monday night to pray for the shooting victims. An investigation remains ongoing. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW (BCN) University of California, Berkeley and Harvard University announced this month that the two institutions received funding to begin research into how psychedelics have influenced art, literature and society. The initiative, called Psychedelics in Society and Culture, will focus on the historical significance of psychedelics and will provide faculty and student researchers with grants of up to $100,000 to study related issues. The UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics (BCSP) and the Center for Interdisciplinary Critical Inquiry as well as Harvards Mahindra Humanities Center will lead the initiative. Sister of accused Bob Lee killer arrested for DUI, hit-and-run in SF The UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics was founded to deepen our understanding of psychedelics, said Imran Khan, executive director of BCSP. We cant fulfill this mission without studying psychedelics from multiple angles, whether thats scientific, journalistic, or humanistic. As one of the worlds leading research and public universities, with a rich community of scholarship across many disciplines, were proud to be supporting cross-disciplinary inquiry into psychedelics here at UC Berkeley, Khan said. Potential research topics could range from Indigenous communities contemporary use of psychedelics to ethical considerations surrounding patenting to the interplay of psychedelics with philosophical questions around the nature of reality, consciousness, religion and the human experience, a press release stated. The Flourish Trust, an organization that donates grants to research in topics such as healing, donated over $1 million to UC Berkeley. For millennia, natural psychedelic plants have played a significant role in cultural development and meaning-making, said director of the trust, Christiana Musk. This program will open doors of understanding into how these compounds have helped shape society and how we might navigate them to the benefit of humanity. Copyright 2023 Bay City News, Inc. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4. TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) A Tampa Bay area senator proposed a Florida constitutional amendment that would ban reparations for descendants of slavery. Republican Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, who represents portions of Hernando, Citrus, Pasco and Sumter counties, filed joint resolution SJR-582 on Monday. Florida bill aims to punish cities for removing Confederate monuments If enacted, the resolution would create a new section in Article X of the Florida Constitution that reads: The state, a county, a municipality, or any other political subdivision may not pay compensation in the form of reparations to an individual who is a descendant of an enslaved individual who lived in the United States before December 6, 1865. The measure has two big hurdles to clear before becoming law. First, it must pass the Florida legislature with 60% of the vote in both chambers. If it appears on the 2024 ballot, 60% of Floridians must vote affirmatively to add it to the constitution. The State of Florida has taken actions in the past that could be considered reparations. In 1994, the state paid elderly survivors of the 1923 Rosewood massacre $150,000 each and set up a $2 million scholarship fund for their descendants. Florida was one of just a few states to create such a program. Florida man who attacked Black men near 1923 massacre site convicted of hate crimes The rural Levy County town was once home to a prospering Black community, but it was destroyed by a white mob in January 1923. Six Black residents were killed, though some eyewitnesses claimed dozens more died. The survivors were forced to flee their homes, fearing for their lives. In 2008, Florida lawmakers passed a resolution formally expressing regret for the states shameful history of slavery. It did not use the word apology, according to a New York Times report. Earlier this year, Ingoglia sponsored a bill, titled The Ultimate Cancel Act, that would eliminate the state Democratic Party. It died in the Ethics and Elections committee. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. Some of the most popular tobacco products in the U.S. may be banned soon. The White House is considering two new federal proposed rules that would pull menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars from shelves nationwide. Theres no purpose for these products other than to cause death and disease for millions of Americans, said Erika Sward, Assistant Vice President for Advocacy of the American Lung Association. The American Lung Association support this effort by the FDA. Sward said the dangers of menthol are clear. Everything from heart disease, lung disease, lung cancer, a whole host of other cancers, she said. But also some perhaps lesser-known causes, including diabetes, all of those can be caused by smoking, The organization is urging the Biden administration to approve these federal changes by the end of the year. ALSO READ: Vaping by high school students dropped this year, says US report There is no reason for menthol cigarettes to be on the marketplace other than to make the poison go down easier and attract new users and to keep current users addicted, said Sward. We know that for some communities, including many black Americans, menthol cigarettes are actually harder to quit than regular cigarettes. But others say a ban isnt the answer. The National Association of Tobacco Outlets, the national retail trade association with more than 66,000 retailers that sell tobacco products, says it would lead to more criminal activity. In a written statement, the association said Further the supply of these products will shift from responsible, licensed and regulated retailers to drastically expand an already existing illicit marketplace. Additionally, some community leaders believe a ban would disproportionately criminalize Black neighborhoods because menthol is the preferred choice for many Black smokers. ALSO READ: Man put in medically induced coma after suffering lung damage from vaping, family says The potential ban would give just an enormous opportunity for an unproductive, unnecessary encounters between law enforcement and people in communities, said Rev. Markel Hutchins, Chairman and CEO MovementForward, Inc. These concerns stem from incidents like the death of Eric Garner in 2014. He died from a police chokehold after officers attempted to arrest him for selling loose cigarettes. His mother, Gwen Carr, sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer expressing her concerns. Many opponents say they arent supportive of smoking. Instead, they want the federal government to find other ways to address this health issue. Leveraging every asset and resource that the FDA and other federal entities have to increase the scrutiny on tobacco companies to continue to push tobacco companies to reduce their advertising, reduce their targeting, said Hutchings. A few states arent waiting for a federal ban. California, Massachusetts, and DC have already banned the sale of all flavored tobacco products. VIDEO: Things You Didnt Know About E-Cigarettes Georgia prosecutors in different jurisdictions are using defendants' speech and writings as evidence in racketeering cases, a move that could have terrible ramifications for the First Amendment. Congress passed the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act in 1970; more than 30 U.S. states, including Georgia, have passed their own versions in the years since. Nominally intended for use against criminal organizations like the Mafia, RICO statutes allow prosecutors to charge a large number of defendants by demonstrating that they are all part of a single criminal enterprise. Prosecutors in Georgia are currently involved in three different high-profile RICO cases: the state attorney general's case against 61 protesters who oppose the construction of a police training facility; Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis's prosecution of former President Donald Trump over attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election; and Willis's case against alleged gang members, including rapper Young Thug, which began this week after a ten-month jury selection process. In the latter case, prosecutors allege that the rapperborn Jeffery Williamswas a founding member of the criminal street gang YSL, which is said to have committed numerous violent crimes over the previous decade, including murder, assault, and armed robbery. The indictment refers to YSL as a criminal enterprise and lists numerous "overt acts in furtherance of the conspiracy," including the lyrics to a number of songs: The indictment cites Williams' appearance in music videos for songs with lyrics like "I killed his man in front of his momma" and "I get all type of cash, I'm a general." Earlier this month, Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Ural Glanville ruled that prosecutors would be allowed to present lyrics as evidence at trial. Last year, Willis defended the practice of using lyrics as evidence, saying "If you decide to admit your crimes over a beat, I'm going to use it." She further pledged that "you do not get to commit crimes in my county and then decide to brag on it, which you do as a form of intimidation, and not be held responsible." The practice is controversial. After Williams' indictment, numerous music industry stakeholdersincluding Warner Music Group, Sony Music Group, and Universal Music Group, as well as organizations like SoundCloud, Spotify, and the American Civil Liberties Union, plus multiple legal scholars and musicianssigned an open letter calling for an end to the use of rap lyrics as evidence in criminal trials. The signatories called the practice "un-American and simply wrong," constituting "an obvious disregard for free speech and creative expression protected by the First Amendment." In 2014, Damon Root wrote in Reason that "the First Amendment plainly includes the freedom to write about violent, gruesome, and offensive things without facing legal persecution for having done so." Meanwhile, in the case against several dozen activists who oppose a police training facility, prosecutors are trying to use a deceased protester's diary as evidence. In January 2023, Manuel Esteban Paez Teran was shot and killed by police who were clearing protesters from a forest encampment. While law enforcement officials claim Paez Teran shot first, the county medical examiner was unable to find gunpowder residue on the activist's hands. Earlier this month, Georgia Deputy Attorney General John Fowler filed a motion seeking to use Paez Teran's diary, which was allegedly found at the scene, as evidence in the RICO trial. "The diary entries consist of violent anti-police rhetoric and drawings, notes on meetings in the forest, to do lists regarding various tasks including committing crime, philosophical musings about the tyranny of government, and other personal writings," Fowler notes. The motion calls Paez Teran a "co-conspirator" whose statements are therefore admissible as evidence. The diary does contain numerous references to violence, including against both police officers and police property. But as The Guardian notes, "only about a dozen of the diary's 150 or so pages were written while the activist was camped in protest against the training center at a public park near the project's planned site, and none of those pages contains such material." Indeed, the vast majority of the diary was written in 2021, long before the events of the current protest movement. Besides, just as with rap lyrics, using a person's diary as evidence in a criminal trial stands in direct contrast to the principles enshrined in the First Amendment. And the content of one's personal diary has little bearing on their outward actions. Diaries, after all, are not a mission statement; they are a repository for one's private thoughts not meant to be shared with the public. Lyra Foster, an attorney representing three defendants, told The Appeal, "A young person's meandering thoughts put into writing will never be evidence that proves guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and is a desperate media stunt." The post Prosecutors Use Lyrics, Diary Entries as Evidence in Georgia RICO Cases appeared first on Reason.com. Editor's note: This story was updated Tuesday afternoon to include a statement from the city of Pueblo noting that Bennie Villanueva is no longer employed by the city. A woman is suing a now-former Pueblo police officer and the city's chief of police after she claims the officer deployed a Taser on her without reason during an encounter last year. The officer at the center of the lawsuit, Cpl. Bennie Villanueva, is no longer employed by the Pueblo Police Department, according to a Tuesday statement by the city of Pueblo. City spokesperson Haley Sue Robinson told the Chieftain Villanueva retired from Pueblo PD on Oct. 15, 2023. The city's statement noted the city does not comment on pending litigation. The lawsuit, filed by Cristy Gonzales through Mehr Law PLLC in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, alleges that on Feb. 21, 2022, Villanueva contacted Gonzales on suspicion she was driving a stolen Toyota Tacoma truck. The truck had just run out of gas as police were trying to stop Gonzales. Gonzales was attempting to push the car backward in an effort to stop it but lacked the strength to do so. Villanueva pulled his patrol car in front of the Tacoma, resulting in a very low-speed collision. Villanueva then exited his car and ran toward the plaintiff, who was standing in the street complying with another officer's commands not to move, according to the lawsuit. Gonzales did not give any indication that she was armed or about to flee and was not acting aggressively in any manner, the suit claims. Villanueva drew his Taser as he approached Gonzales. Before Villanueva made contact with her, the other officer took control of her right arm. Despite Gonzales already complying with the other officer, body camera footage showed Villanueva order her repeatedly to "get on the f------ ground." Villanueva then allegedly got behind Gonzales, grabbed her left arm, and wrenched it behind her back, while still pointing his Taser at her. While he was holding her left arm, she started to kneel to the ground in compliance with his demands, the lawsuit claims. While she was lying on her stomach and complying with demands, Villanueva fired his Taser into the small of her back near her spine, body cam footage showed, despite Gonzales offering no resistance. Gonzales's suit alleges she has continued to experience numbness and difficulty using her right hand since the encounter. Gonzales was arrested for felony motor vehicle theft and other crimes and later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge. She was sentenced to 90 days in jail, according to the city of Pueblo. What an internal police investigation found According to the lawsuit, the deputy district attorney handling Gonzales' subsequent motor vehicle theft case made a complaint to Pueblo PD, asserting her belief that Villanueva used excessive force against Gonzales. The Pueblo Police Internal Affairs Office also investigated Villanueva for two additional claims he improperly used a Taser on a suspect, with the three incidents taking place within three months of each other, according to the suit. Two of the three incidents were deemed by police to be excessive force. "As a result of the investigation into the incident, Villanueva was found to have violated numerous policies to include conduct, taser application, and professional workplace conduct," the suit says. The IA investigation concluded that in Gonzales's case, the "body-worn camera showed the female cooperating with (Villanueva's) verbal commands" when he "appeared to taser her for no apparent reason." The investigation further found that Villanueva's misuse of a Taser is "very serious" and that his actions were "unacceptable and violate not only our policies and procedures but our values as an organization." However, the lawsuit states that Villanueva was not terminated from his position and decertified as required by state law. An officer is required to be decertified for a minimum of one year if an IA investigation finds they used excessive force, according to Colorado state law. Villanueva also allegedly stated numerous times during the IA investigation that he and the rest of Pueblo PD needed more training on the Taser, stating he was unfamiliar with the device. He allegedly stated during the IA investigation that he had previously been required to conduct a training on use of force with a Taser as discipline for a prior incident in which he discharged his Taser improperly. However, he stated he never finished the training because a member of Pueblo PD command staff told him he did not have to. Suit claims excessive force, violation of suspect's rights The lawsuit makes two main claims in regard to relief for the plaintiff. The first is that Villanueva used excessive force and deprived Gonzales of her rights. "When Defendant Villanueva tased the plaintiff in the back as she knelt to the ground in compliance with his commands, and did so for 'no apparent reason,' he assaulted the plaintiff, employing excessive and unlawful force, in violation of article II section 7 of the Colorado Constitution," the lawsuit states. "No officer would consider the defendant's deployment of painful force and excessive aggression upon the plaintiff to have been reasonable or justified under the circumstances. Additionally, the defendant's action was in blatant disregard for his agencies' policies." The suit further argues that Villanueva violated Gonzales's constitutional rights that forbid unreasonable seizures, including those carried out with excessive force. The suit also states that the use of force caused Gonzales to experience "great physical pain, injury, terror, and exposed her to great risk of death," and caused trauma and emotional distress. The suit demands that Villanueva be decertified "not only as a sanction for unlawful behavior but also in an effort to protect the community from similar injury." The second claim in the suit is against Pueblo Police Chief Chris Noeller for failure to train and discipline Villanueva in the matter. The suit alleges that while Villanueva was found to have used excessive force against both Gonzales and another individual in a separate incident, Pueblo PD did not discipline Villanueva, and furthermore, falsified their annual certification to the Peace Officer Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.) Board, claiming that no officers had been the subject of a disqualifying incident, despite "at least three disqualifying incidents against Villanueva." Additionally, the suit notes that Pueblo PD's law enforcement academy was censured in 2022 for improper use of force training, which the suit alleges they were made aware of over two years prior. Between the failure to discipline Villanueva and the sanctions against the academy, the suit alleges it is "painfully clear that PPD was deliberately indifferent to the rights of persons PPD personnel regularly come into contact with, resulting in the unjustifiable use of excessive force." The suit asks that Pueblo PD "correct its annual certification to the P.O.S.T. Board, and asks that the court enter a declaratory judgment against Pueblo PD, declaring that they provided false information to the P.O.S.T. Board in regards to Villanueva. Villanueva pleaded guilty to a crime less than two months before Taser incident The alleged assault that led to the lawsuit also came less than two months after Villanueva pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in connection with the July 2020 injury of Rigoberto Jimenez. Villanueva was originally charged with second-degree assault in the case, although the charge was later downgraded to misdemeanor third-degree assault. Villanueva was sentenced in December 2021 to six months of court-supervised probation and community service, but on Dec. 27, Colorado Springs-based attorney Alexis Austin submitted an unopposed motion for early termination that was signed by the court the next day. Austin argued in the motion that Villanueva had already submitted the completion of his community service and had paid all fees associated with his case, had no prior criminal history or any other criminal incidents since the date of the offense. "Mr. Villanueva would like to get back to work, and with the court-supervised probation, he is unable to as the protection order is still active," Austin wrote in the motion. "His current employment requires him to carry a firearm." When reached for comment regarding the suit, Pueblo PD stated that they could not comment due to pending litigation. Questions, comments, or story tips? Contact Justin at jreutterma@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @jayreutter1. Support local news, subscribe to the Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com. This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo PD officer sued for alleged use of excessive force Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is intensifying his invasion of Ukraine, senselessly sending more Russians to their deaths than ever before since the war began, UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said in a Twitter post on Nov. 27. He emphasized that Ukraine's international partners must continue to support it. Read also: Latvia urges EU to halt ammo sales to non-conflict nations for timely Ukraine support Putin is stepping up his invasion senselessly sending more Russians to die than at any time since the war began, said Shapps. Ukrainian bravery and western support are holding back their advance, but we cannot be complacent. Ukraine needs our unwavering support to fight and win. Read also: SBU reportedly proposes sanctions against Yanukovych team for NSDC approval, NV investigation On Nov. 20, Ukraines National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) secretary Oleksiy Danilov said that Russia is not abandoning its goal to destroy Ukraine as a state and is preparing for a prolonged war. To this end, the Kremlin may launch a total mobilization after the presidential elections in March 2024. 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 Queen Camilla thanked Piers Morgan for defending the Firm after the Duchess of Sussex exposed royal family divisions, according to an explosive new book. Endgame, written by royal reporter Omid Scobie claims the Queen was grateful towards the Talk TV presenter for his high-profile comments on the Duchess. In an excerpt from the book, Scobie discusses the difficulties Meghan faced after she admitted she had suicidal ideation during her time as a working royal. In 2021, Morgan allegedly called Meghan Pinocchio Princess on X/Twitter, before calling her a race-baiter on Good Morning Britain a few days later. The book claims that after the journalists comments on the Duchess, it was Camilla who quietly thanked him for defending the Firm. Scobie claims a former aide said: [Camilla] will never publicly comment on anything or speak ill of others, but she will always know someone who can do that for her. Speaking on Extra TV in April of that year, the book further claims Morgan also said a few members of the royal family were grateful to him for his comments. Ive had some messages communicated to me on behalf of several members of the royal family. Im not going to go into who it was, but [it was] gratitude that somebody was standing up, the book claims Morgan said. However, since the arrival of the bombshell book, Morgan has stepped forward denying these allegations and calling them utter nonsense in a recent column he wrote in The Sun. I had no contact with Queen Camilla in that period whatsoever, Morgan writes. He continued: I did with some other members of the Royal Family, as I said at the time, but not Camilla. Scobie just read what I said, and wrongly guessed it was Camilla. Elsewhere in the book, Scobie wrote about Prince Harry and Prince Williams relationship, saying "absolutely nothing has changed" between the brothers. Prince Harry and Prince William walking side by side (Getty Images) The British journalist claims William believes Harry blindsided the family with their public complaints and oh so California self-importance. A source reportedly told Scobie William is convinced his younger brother is being brainwashed by an army of therapists and he no longer even recognizes his own brother. He feels he has lost Harry and doesnt want to know this version of him, a source told Scobie. Harry is reportedly ready to move on from the royal drama, whether he and Meghan receive an apology or not over their alleged treatment by the royal family since their wedding. Megan and Harry decided to step back from their royal duties in 2020. Since then, the couple have been quite vocal on the issues theyve faced within the institution. In 2021 speaking to Oprah Winfrey in a sit-down interview, the Duchess revealed that there had been conversations within the palace about how how dark her unborn childs skin might be when hes born. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex during their interview with Oprah Winfrey (Joe Pugliese/Harpo Productions/PA) (PA Media) What? Winfrey asked. Who is having THAT conversation... with you? What? Hold up, hold up. Theres a conversation with you... With Harry, Meghan corrected. About how dark your baby is going to be?, Winfrey said. Potentially. And what that would mean or look like, Meghan replied. Many people backed Meghan, saying the allegations demonstrated a need for change in the institution. In the two years since the royal family became embroiled in a race row over Prince Archie, the book claims that no one except Charles is said to have addressed the alleged conversation about Archies skin colour. While the issue has reportedly been privately addressed in letters between Meghan and Charles, neither Kate nor William have reached out to the Sussexes about the matter. The silence has caused a lot of confusion and upset, says a source close to the family. The Independent has contacted Buckingham Palace for a comment (FOX40.COM) Snow is making its way back to the peaks of the Sierra Nevada in the Lake Tahoe region this week, according to the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab. Early radar is showing that by 1 p.m. on Thursday the first grouping of snowfall will arrive in eastern Placer County near the California-Nevada state line before clearing out by 4 p.m. Henry Winkler, The Fonz to visit Folsom in Spring 2024 This first wave looks like it will only provide a light dusting before moving out. From 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., there will be a break in the weather until another round of light snowfall moves back over the central Sierra. By 10 p.m., the light snowfall will evolve into a much larger storm system that will last through 4 a.m. on Friday as it moves southeast along the Sierra. The Snow Lab is predicting that by midday on Friday there will be a total snowfall amount of around 6 inches to a foot. Trade canned food for succulents with the City of Roseville By Friday afternoon and through Saturday there appears to only be scattered light snowfall throughout the Sierra. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40. Hospitals in multiple states have been diverting patients from their emergency rooms due to a recent cyberattack on a major health system. Ardent Health Services, a company that owns hospitals in six states, said Monday that it had been victimized by a cyber event on Thanksgiving that turned out to be a ransomware attack. As a result, Ardent proactively took its network offline, suspending all user access to its information technology applications, including corporate servers, Epic software, internet and clinical programs, Ardent said in a Monday statement. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. Ardent in the statement said that out of an abundance of caution, its hospitals were rescheduling some non-emergent, elective procedures and diverting some emergency room patients to other area hospitals until systems are back online. According to NBC News, Ardent said the attack occurred in states including Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico. NBC reported that spokespeople at three Ardent-owned hospital chains told their reporters that some emergency rooms were being diverted as Ardent dealt with the cyberattack. Ardent in its statement said its patient care, however, continues to be delivered safely and effectively. In the interim, while this incident results in temporary disruption to certain aspects of Ardents clinical and financial operations, patient care continues to be delivered safely and effectively in its hospitals, emergency rooms, and clinics, Ardent said in its Monday statement. Ardent said it cannot confirm the extent of any patient health or financial data that has been compromised. The investigation and restoration of access to electronic medical records and other clinical systems is ongoing, the Ardent statement read. Ardent is still determining the full impact of this event and it is too soon to know how long this will take or what data may be involved in this incident. In a statement emailed to The Hill, Ardent said each of its hospitals will continue to evaluate their ability to safely care for critically ill patients in their Emergency Rooms. Because this is rapidly changing and dependent upon a number of factors, we will continue to update our status as the situation changes, the emailed statement read. All hospitals continue to provide a medical screening exam and stabilizing care to any patients arriving at our Emergency Departments. Updated 2:37 p.m. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. FILE - Atlanta rapper Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, makes his first appearance at the Fulton County courthouse in Atlanta on Dec. 15, 2022. Opening statements began Monday, Nov. 27, 2023, and continued Tuesday in the racketeering conspiracy and gang trial for the rapper and five other people. (Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) ATLANTA (AP) Young Thug is the ruthless leader of a violent street gang that terrorized Atlanta neighborhoods or he's an inspiring success who pulled himself out of poverty to rap stardom through hard work and determination. Those are the competing narratives presented to the jury as the rapper's trial got underway this week. The Grammy winner, whose given name is Jeffery Williams, was charged last year in a sprawling indictment that accused him and more than two dozen others of conspiring to violate Georgia's anti-racketeering law. He also is charged with gang, drug and gun crimes and is standing trial with five of the others indicted with him. Fulton County prosecutor Adriane Love didn't dispute that Young Thug is a talented artist, but she said he exploited his gift for a darker purpose, using his songs, clout and social media posts to promote and establish the dominance of his gang, Young Slime Life, or YSL. Through that music, through that blessing, the evidence will show, Jeffery Williams led that group of people who wreaked utter havoc on Fulton County, Love told jurors during her opening statement Monday. Defense attorney Brian Steel acknowledged that his client's songs mention killing police, people being shot, drugs and drive-by shootings, but he said those are just the words he rhymed and a reflection of his rough upbringing and not a chronicle of his own activities. They want you to fear music that talks about killing, drugs," Steel told the jury in his opening statement Tuesday. "It is art. You dont like it, you dont have to listen to it. This is America. It is art. Steel mentioned Young Thug's collaborations with high-profile artists, appearances on television and numerous awards and riches that came with it. The rapper is so busy and successful that he wouldn't have the time or motivation to lead a gang, Steel said. He is not sitting there telling people to kill people," he said. "He doesnt need their money. Jeffreys worth tens of millions of dollars. Steel noted that YSL is the name of Young Thug's successful record label, but Love said the actions outlined in the indictment have nothing to do with a recording label. The gang began about a decade ago in Atlantas Cleveland Avenue neighborhood, born of an internal rift in a preceding gang, and Young Thug emerged as its leader, Love said. The gangs members were associated in fact using common identifiers, language, symbols and colors and they knew who their leader was and they knew the repercussions of not obeying their leader, she said. The people who have been affected directly and indirectly by the gang's violence represent the lives swallowed up by that crater created by YSL in the Cleveland Avenue community, Love said. Young Thug was born into poverty in a crime-ridden housing project where he developed a strong distrust of the criminal justice system, Steel said. His family moved to the Cleveland Avenue area when he was 16, and he got out through hard work and talent, Steel said. But he didn't forget his roots and has been extremely generous with his good fortune, Steel said. Hes not the crater. Hes trying to pull people out of poverty, Steel said. The indictment charges all the defendants with conspiring to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO. Love acknowledged that may sound complicated but told the jurors it's actually quite simple. The members of the gang committed crimes, including murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault and theft to further the gang's mission, she said. Those actions and others that aren't crimes rap lyrics, social media posts, flashing gang signs combined to form a pattern of illegal activity, she said. They endeavored to do some illegal stuff to get a bunch of stuff that didn't belong to them, Love said. Prosecutors have made clear that they intend to use rap lyrics from songs by the defendants to help make their case. This is a controversial tactic, but Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Ural Glanville earlier this month said he'd conditionally allow certain lyrics as long as prosecutors can show they're linked to the crimes alleged in the indictment. Prosecutors have said they're not pursuing Young Thug and others because of violent lyrics. We didnt chase the lyrics to solve the murders," Love said. "We chased the murders and, as the evidence will show, in the process, we found the lyrics. One of those murders that is expected to feature heavily during the trial is the January 2015 killing of Donovan Thomas, who prosecutors say was a major figure in a rival gang and whose death is said to have sparked an escalation in violence. Two of the six people currently on trial are charged with murder in his killing, and Young Thug is accused of renting the car used in the drive-by shooting. Many of the lyrics, social media posts, text conversations and online messages cited in the indictment have been taken out of context and misrepresented to seem sinister when they are not, Steel said. He and other defense attorneys tried during opening statements to poke holes in the state's case, saying that police relied on jailhouse informants who had every reason to tell them what they wanted to hear. They also hammered the state's use of song lyrics, saying the art that helped their clients better their circumstances is now being improperly used against them. Opening statements began Monday and continued Tuesday before a jury that took nearly 10 months to select. The trial is expected to last months. Only six of the original 28 defendants are on trial after others either took plea deals or were separated to be tried later. Among those who took a plea deal was rapper Gunna, whose given name is Sergio Kitchens. He was charged with a single count of racketeering conspiracy and entered an Alford plea last December, meaning he maintains his innocence but recognizes that its in his best interest to plead guilty. It was a tense 3 1/2-hour car ride for Cyndi Routledge, who was chasing down a creature never seen before in Tennessee. Routledge, secretary of the Tennessee Ornithological Society, had gone on drives only to miss animals she was searching for, she said. She hoped her trip on Saturday, Nov. 25, wasnt going to be one of those days. When she arrived at Chickamauga Lake, there were about two dozen birders huddled along the shoreline with their cameras and scopes, she said. Like her, they all were waiting to catch a glimpse of the rare animal. Routledge scanned the water, patiently waiting. Then, suddenly, what she had traveled all that way for became worth the trip. An ancient murrelet, a type of diving bird, popped out from the water after returning from its hunt for bait fish darting around the shallow lake floor. Then it went back to swimming around, coming within 50 yards of the group at some points, she said. It actually looked like it was flying underwater, Routledge said. The ancient murrelet was spotted by a pair of local birders on Friday, Nov. 24, Routledge said, making it a first sighting of the rare bird in the Southeast. As word spread among birders of the ancient murrelets arrival on Telegram, an instant messaging service, Routledge said some people got in their cars immediately and zipped down there. About 170 birders traveled to the Tennessee lake as of Sunday, Nov. 26, Routledge said, which she tracked through eBird, a citizen reporting system for birds. More people likely have seen the bird since, because it was still reported to be at the lake on Monday, Nov. 27, she said. There were even birders congregated around the lake from Kentucky, Georgia and Alabama to see the diving bird, she said. The ancient murrelet is an agile auk bird that has the ability to fly directly from the water, according to the National Audubon Society. They live out on the cold, open ocean, although they can sometimes be found in salt bays, the National Audubon Society said. The bird earned the ancient in its name to describe its gray backs resemblance to a draping shawl, the society said. Part of the excitement over the ancient murrelets visit is how far off course it was from its typical range, Routledge said, making it a really rare spotting. The ancient murrelet typically is seen on the Pacific Northwest coastline and Alaska, according to the National Audubon Society. During winter, the birds may travel down Californias coast as the winter waters become colder, but finding it outside that range is uncommon. For one of those to be here and to be seemingly healthy and hunting and doing all the things that it does from what we can observe, its a big deal for birders, Routledge said. Although it was the ancient murrelets first official visit to the Southeast, it wasnt Routledges first sighting of the sea bird. She said she visited Alaska last year and while out on a boat, she saw the bird diving out in the middle of the ocean. It was ironic because you got a better look at this bird in Tennessee than we did in Alaska, Routledge said. One word was circulating in the crowd of birders to describe how the ancient murrelet got there: irruption. Irruptions refer to the movement changes of birds due to lack of food access, according to Project FeederWatch. Theres been similar developments with limpkins, a tropical bird from Florida, in Tennessee, Routledge said. There have been other recent ancient murrelet sightings in Minnesota and Wisconsin, CBS News and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Rare birds can get blown off their flight course by cold fronts or other weather patterns, too, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency wildlife specialist Mime Barnes told McClatchy News. The agency has no plans to interact with or relocate the bird, Barnes said. Routledge had two simple pieces of advice for anyone who wants to spot the ancient murrelet or any other interesting birds: grab a pair of binoculars and look for the birders. For any rare bird sightings, Routledge said its common to find a group of birders standing together looking at the animal, which first-time birdwatchers are welcome to join. A lot of times, birders are happy to share their view with anyone who is interested, she said. Welcoming curious passersby is important to Routledge, who said the experience could kickstart a passion for birds and nature, especially for children. You never know whose heart youre going to touch when you share with a child, she said. They may be the one that grows up and saves the world. Chickamauga Lake is about 30 miles northeast of Chattanooga. Owl rarely seen in Oregon dies after being found soaked in rain. Terribly sad Sighting of rare bird has Texas city watching out for colorful tyrant, photos show Owl busts into coop to prey on chickens but ends up tangled in netting in Washington Rashmika Mandanna had described a viral deepfake video of herself as "extremely scary". Indian actress Rashmika Mandanna, who was recently targeted with a deepfake video, has urged people to not share such material. She particularly urged young women to speak up if somebody bullied them with such material. Ms Mandanna shared the message weeks after a deepfake video about her went viral on social media. The star's face was morphed onto an Instagram video posted by a British-Indian woman. She had described the incident as "extremely scary" at the time. On Monday, the actress, 27, said the support from her film industry colleagues made her realise that sharing of such videos shouldn't be normalised. "It [the support] made me feel safe, and secure," she told the media on Monday. "So I want to tell all girls out there that this is not normal. When something is affecting you, you don't have to keep quiet." In a statement on X (formerly Twitter) soon after her deepfake went viral, Ms Mandanna wrote, "If this happened to me when I was in school or college, I genuinely can't imagine how could I ever tackle this." The actor said she was grateful for the support of her family and friends and called for the issue to be addressed with urgency "before more of us are affected by such identity theft". India's Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has called such deepfake videos a "new threat to democracy". Last week, Mr Vaishnaw chaired a meeting with social media platforms and artificial intelligence companies where he said the federal government would soon come up with a "clear, actionable plan" to tackle deepfakes. The actress has worked in several languages, including Hindi, Telugu and Kannada, and has also won a number of awards for her roles. She will be next seen with actor Ranbir Kapoor in the Bollywood film Animal, which is due for release on 1 December. BBC News India is now on YouTube. Click here to subscribe and watch our documentaries, explainers and features. Read more India stories from the BBC: House Oversight Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) ripped his GOP colleagues for rejecting Hunter Bidens request for an open hearing on Dec. 13, when the presidents son is set to appear for a closed-door deposition. In a statement Tuesday, Raskin called the GOP move an epic humiliation and a frank confession that they are simply not interested in the facts and have no confidence in their own case or the ability of their own Members to pursue it, referring to the Republicans on his committee. Let me get this straight, Raskin said in his statement. After wailing and moaning for ten months about Hunter Biden and alluding to some vast unproven family conspiracy, after sending Hunter Biden a subpoena to appear and testify, Chairman [James Comer (R-Ky.)] and the Oversight Republicans now reject his offer to appear before the full Committee and the eyes of the world and to answer any questions that they pose? Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. Raskins statement comes after Hunter Bidens attorney, Abbe Lowell, responded Tuesday to a subpoena from the Oversight Committee proposing a public hearing on Dec. 13, instead of the committees proposal of a closed-door deposition. In Lowells letter, he wrote that he did not trust the committee to provide an accurate account of closed-door proceedings. We have seen you use closed-door sessions to manipulate, even distort the facts and misinform the public. We therefore propose opening the door, Lowell wrote in a letter to Comer on Tuesday. If, as you claim, your efforts are important and involve issues that Americans should know about, then let the light shine on these proceedings. Top Stories from The Hill Comer rejected the request Tuesday, saying the committee expects Hunter Biden to sit for a deposition on Dec. 13, but that he should have the opportunity to testify in public at a later date. Hunter Biden is trying to play by his own rules instead of following the rules required of everyone else. That wont stand with House Republicans, Comer said in a statement. Raskin argued that Republicans were afraid a public hearing would make clear that House Republicans did not have evidence proving President Biden committed any wrongdoing. House Republicans have brought public impeachment hearings against Biden in attempts to produce evidence and prove allegations that President Biden is involved in his sons legal troubles. The first public impeachment hearing, however, came up short, with the GOP key witness admitting there was not yet evidence proving the president committed any impeachable offenses. After the miserable failure of their impeachment hearing in September, Chairman Comer has now apparently decided to avoid all Committee hearings where the public can actually see for itself the logical, rhetorical and factual contortions they have tied themselves up in. The evidence has shown time and again President Biden has committed no wrongdoing, much less an impeachable offense, Raskin wrote. Chairman Comers insistence that Hunter Bidens interview should happen behind closed doors proves it once again, he added. What the Republicans fear most is sunlight and the truth. Other high-profile Democrats echoed this sentiment. The reason GOP dont want a public hearing on Hunter Biden is because @OversightDems have hoisted them by their own petards in every public hearing this year. Theyre scared of getting humiliated for not having an actual case (again), so they need to hide, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) wrote in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Theres your answer, she added. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The American Red Cross is hoping people will make donating blood a holiday habit. >>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Red Cross facing nationwide blood shortage, asking for donations The non-profit organization needs thousands more donations per week to avoid what It calls, an often-invisible emergency. Ashley Henyan, American Red Cross spokesperson, said collecting blood can be a challenge this time of year. Schools are closed, families are on vacation, people are attending functions and festive parties and not really thinking about going out to their local blood drive, she said. But there are still patients in the hospital that need blood to survive. The Red Cross declared a national blood shortage back in September, citing the busy season and back-to-back climate disasters. Henyan says donations have increased but will need more units to meet patient needs. We never want someone to be in the position where they dont have the blood they need to survive, she stated. If people would like to donate, visit this website for more information. Republicans on the Ohio Supreme Court dismissed legal challenges to state House and Senate maps Monday, allowing the plan to take effect through 2030. The court's four Republican justices, led by Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy, ruled that the landscape had changed because Republicans and Democrats unanimously approved the latest House and Senate maps in September. They sided with GOP lawmakers who requested that the cases be dismissed. The latest maps give Republicans an advantage in at least 62% of House seats and 70% of Senate districts, but redistricting reform advocates say the numbers could be even higher. The plan does not match the statewide voting preferences of Ohioans, about 54% of whom picked GOP candidates and 45% picked Democratic ones between 2012 and 2020. But mapmakers say the plan doesn't have to if it meets other technical requirements and Democrats sign off on it. Ultimately, that bipartisan support changed the calculus for the majority of the Ohio Supreme Court. "In contrast to those (earlier) plans, the September 2023 plan was adopted with bipartisan support and without resort to the impasse procedures set forth in ... the Ohio Constitution," according to the court's option. "The bipartisan support for the September 2023 plan means that it is effective for the 2024-through-2030 election cycles." The court's Republicans did not weigh in on whether the issue raised about the new bipartisan plan had any merit. Opponents of the maps could file a new lawsuit, but the deadline for candidates to file paperwork to run in the March primaries in these races is Dec. 20. Three Democratic justices on the Ohio Supreme Court disagreed with the decision to dismiss the legal challenges. "When the fairness of legislative-district maps is in contention, the last thing we should do is to essentially bless a unanimous deal between the states major political parties and permit it to go constitutionally unchecked," wrote Democratic Justice Jennifer Brunner in a dissent joined by two fellow Democratic justices. Brunner wrote that: "the majoritys decision also hazards engendering a corresponding disappointment by citizens in our branch of government the judiciary furthering malaise, mistrust, and the perception that nothing changes in state government, except for the worse. Todays order permits the commission to continue to deny Ohioans their constitutional right to fair voting districts." The Ohio Supreme Court is under new leadership since it repeatedly rejected GOP-drawn maps for violating anti-gerrymandering rules in the state Constitution. Kennedy replaced former Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor, also a Republican, who was the swing vote in several 2022 rulings that rejected Ohio's maps. Ohio voters could face ballot issue in 2024 Meanwhile, a group called Citizens Not Politicians is hoping to replace the Ohio Redistricting Commission and lawmakers with a 15-member citizen commission, which would draw the statehouse and congressional maps instead. The group is hoping to make the November 2024 ballot. Jen Miller, executive director of the Ohio League of Women Voters, said Citizens Not Politicians will be collecting signatures later this week. "It is time to ban politicians and lobbyists from rigging maps for their own short-sighted interests, and instead to install an independent redistricting commission that assures that every Ohio has fair representation in Congress and the Ohio Statehouse," she said. This embedded content is not available in your region. Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio Supreme Court dismisses legal challenges to statehouse maps Leaders of American religious communities and organizations pledged their support to Israel and the Jewish people this week, while urging Congress to "take action now" to help fund Israels defense and fight antisemitism. Faith & Freedom Coalition leaders were joined by more than a dozen religious leaders from across the country in writing a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell this week. "We the undersigned leaders of American religious communities and organizations, join herein to defend the Jewish people, the State of Israel, and the values that unite us as people of faith," they wrote, noting that the group represents "many faith traditions and have come together, in one voice, to defend our shared humanity against barbarism and terror." The leaders called Hamas "barbaric" terror attack on Israel on October 7 the "most significant massacre of the Jewish people since the Holocaust." Thousands attend a oro-Israel rally at 85th street and Central Park West in New York City on November 6, 2023. AMERICAN JEWS EMBRACE THEIR FAITH AND TRADITIONS IN WAKE OF TERROR ATTACK, SURVEY OF RABBIS REVEALS "In the wake of this horrific terror, antisemitic protests erupted in the United States and around the world. We will not remain silent in response," they wrote. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP The leaders noted that despite the antisemitic protests breaking out in cities across the nation, the "majority of Americans continue to stand by their Jewish brothers and sisters in the United States and in the Jewish homeland of Israel." "As Jews remain the target of more than half of religion-motivated hate crimes in the United States and Israel faces a fight for its survival, Americans of all faiths and backgrounds must take action now," they wrote. A man carries two Israeli flags during a pro-Israel rally outside of Israeli Embassy on October 8, 2023, in Washington, D.C. The faith leaders issued a "united condemnation of antisemitism" and proclaimed their "support for Israels right to self-defense." "The United States government, and the peoples representatives in Congress, cannot waver both in combatting antisemitism and in supporting the State of Israel," they wrote. SOARING ANTISEMITISM IN US STARTED WITH UN BASHING ISRAEL, ENVOY SAYS Faith & Freedom Coalition Chairman Ralph Reed, in an interview with Fox News Digital, said the letter lays out "tangible legislative action." "It is nice to have the rhetorical condemnations, but what we really need right now is rigorous congressional oversight, a robust response by the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, and legislative action," Reed said. Reed and the faith leaders called on Congress to make it a "top priority" to advance legislation that would help to fund Israels defense "as soon as possible." They also Congress to pass the "Countering Hate Against Israel by Federal Contractors Act," which is bipartisan legislation that would ensure U.S. taxpayer dollars are not "subsidizing the antisemitic movement to boycott Israel out of existence." The faith leaders also called for the passage of the "Antisemitism Awareness Act," which is bipartisan legislation that would revoke tax-exempt statuses of universities that refuse to fight antisemitism on campus. That measure would also direct the Biden administration to use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliances definition of antisemitism while investigating hate crimes. The faith leaders also demanded the passage of the "Maximum Pressure Act," which would require any new deal with Iran to be ratified by the U.S. Senate. It would also restrict the presidents ability to lift sanctions on Iran. The leaders also called for the passage of the "No Funds for Iranian Terrorism Act," which would permanently freeze the $6 billion of Iranian funds that were released as part of the Biden administrations 2023 hostage deal. IRAN CELEBRATES NEW HYPERSONIC MISSILE AMID NEW THREATS BY ITS PROXIES AGAINST US, ALLIES Reed told Fox News Digital that faith leaders are "concerned that the response of the international community and United States policy has been focused singularly and almost solely on Hamas." "As much as we agree that Hamas needs to be destroyed and it can no longer govern or lead Gaza, it is in fact, a symptom of a much deeper problem and that is Iran's funding, directing, training and command and control of multiple terrorist proxies throughout the region and the world." He added: "We want that dealt with." Reed told Fox News Digital that he is "confident" that the letter will have a "tremendous impact." "These faith leaders represent somewhere between 40 and 60 million Evangelical Christians and they are a huge and important constituency that will not and cannot be ignored," Reed said. "The steps we lay out are bipartisan. They are very mainstream, and there is no reason why they can't be embraced by both parties, and by Congress, as well as the administration." Meanwhile, the faith leaders also called for "vigorous congressional oversight" to ensure that the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security and other agencies "take all necessary measures to prevent, prosecute, and punish antisemitic hate crimes in the United States." CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP The faith leaders also asked for support to Israels efforts to "degrade and destroy" Hamas and "Palestinian Islamic Jihad" in Gaza; help Israel with its Iron Dome protection; press for economic and diplomatic "normalization" between Israel and regional Arab nations; maintain sanctions on the Iranian regime; and measures to force Qatar to "choose between remaining a major non-NATO ally of the United States or continuing its support for Hamas leadership and terrorism." "As faith leaders representing many traditions, we affirm our support for the Jewish people and the State of Israel," they wrote. "We call on Americans of all religious backgrounds to join us in pledging our unwavering commitment to stand by our Jewish brothers and sisters." Original article source: Religious leaders call on Congress to 'take action now' to combat antisemitism, defend Israel A U.S. Army Air Force gunners remains have been accounted for nearly eight decades after the heavy bomber he was flying in was shot down over France during World War II, military officials said Monday. Staff Sgt. Franklin P. Hall, 21, of Leesburg, Florida, was identified in July by scientists who used anthropological and DNA analysis, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said in a news release. Hall was assigned to the 66th Bombardment Squadron, 44th Bombardment Group (Heavy) in the European Theater in January 1944, officials said. The airman was the left waist gunner on a B-24D Liberator called Queen Marlene when it was attacked by German air forces near Equennes-Eramecourt, France. German forces found the crash site and recovered nine sets of remains, which were interred in the French cemetery at Poix-de-Picardie. Halls remains were not accounted for after the war, and he was declared non-recoverable in 1951. Ongoing research into soldiers missing from combat around Equennes-Eramecourt eventually led to the discovery of two sets of remains buried in Normandy American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site. The remains were disinterred in 2018 and transferred to the DPAA laboratory, where one set was identified as Hall. Halls name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at Ardennes American Cemetery, France, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for. Hall will eventually be buried in Leesburg, Florida, though officials didnt say when. Detectives in Renton are investigating after a man who was shot was dropped off at a hospital early Sunday morning, according to the Renton Police Department. At about 4:30 a.m., a man in his 20s was dropped off at Valley Medical Center. The man had suffered a fatal gunshot wound. Officers said not much is known, including where the shooting took place. Witnesses are not cooperating. If you have any additional information, call 911 and reference case #23-13587. Embattled Rep. George Santos is defiantly insisting he wont resign from Congress even as an expulsion vote looms as soon as later this week. The scandal-tarred Long Island Republican confirmed that he had engaged in talks with GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson over the Thanksgiving break. But Santos brushed aside speculation that he could be negotiating to step down from his seat to avoid the expulsion vote over his alleged misdeeds. My conversation with (Johnson) was positive and I told him Id be standing for the expulsion vote, Santos tweeted late Monday. He suggested he would force fellow lawmakers to take the potentially difficult and historic step of expelling him instead of backing down. Expel me and set the precedent so we can see who the judge, jury and executioner are in Congress, he wrote. The American people deserve to see! Johnson raised hopes that the expulsion drama could be averted when he told reporters that he had spoken at length with Santos about his plans. Republicans and some Democrats want to avoid having to expel Santos. He would be the first House lawmaker to be ousted without first being convicted of a crime since the Civil War era. Its not clear what Santos hopes to gain from forcing an expulsion vote or what he may be demanding in any potential negotiations. Santos has already beaten back two expulsion efforts, with Republican leaders standing by him along with some lawmakers from both parties who are concerned about lowering the bar for expelling a colleague accused of wrongdoing. But he received a huge blow when the House ethics committee issued a scathing report this month that accused him of using his campaign as a virtual piggy bank for personal expenses like luxury goods, vacations and even the porn site OnlyFans. The chair of the ethics committee, Rep. Michael Guest, R-Mississippi, introduced a fresh expulsion measure on the day before Congress left for Thanksgiving break. Under the House rules, that means the vote could be held as soon as Wednesday or Thursday, depending on various procedural maneuvers. After insisting for months he would run for reelection to his NY-03 district, Santos said he would not seek another two-year term for the Democratic-tilting district that spans the North Shore and a slice of Queens. Santos may have hoped that he could relieve some pressure for expulsion by taking a future run off the table, but scores of lawmakers who previously opposed the move have now said they will vote to expel him. If Santos is expelled or resigns, a special election would be held to fill the vacancy, most likely in late February. The Democratic and Republican party committees would pick the candidates for that vote to fill the remainder of Santoss term. Regular primaries and a general election next November would be held to determine the representative for a new two-year term. Adding to the political drama is the razor-thin margin by which Republicans control the House. The GOP majority is only nine seats, which would be reduced to eight if Santos leaves office and seven if Democrats were able to flip the seat in a special election. Santos also faces a 23-count federal criminal indictment covering some of the same alleged crimes, along with allegedly stealing donors credit card information and even COVID-19 unemployment fraud. He says hell prove his innocence in a trial set for next year. The son of Brazilian immigrants, Santos portrayed himself as a trailblazing gay conservative en route to an upset win in the 2022 midterms, when Republicans swept several seats in the New York suburbs. Within weeks, he was forced to admit concocting much of his life story including education and work history and even a fanciful story about supposed Jewish heritage. ------- Rep. Kathy Manning (D-N.C.) said Monday that Israel needs to make sure that militant group Hamas will never be able to conduct an attack on Israeli citizens again. During an appearance on NewsNations The Hill, Manning, who is Jewish, told host Blake Burman that Israeli forces have done an enormous amount of work to go after Hamas. She also noted that Israel still has another giant task ahead of it with securing the release of hostages still held captive by the militant group. So we need to continue to push for the release of all the hostages, and we need to understand that it is incumbent upon Israel to make sure that Hamas is never able to do this to Israelis again, Manning said. But I guess, how do you pick back up the war after a truce? Burman asked Manning, noting the temporary cease-fire agreement between the two sides. Its gonna be up to the [Israeli Defense Forces], and I have great confidence that the Israeli Defense Forces can determine how to go after the Hamas fighters, how to go after the terrorists who wreaked havoc against the against Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, Manning replied. The Israeli military announced Monday that 11 people held by Hamas were released and are headed back to Israel. This is the latest round of hostages to be freed amid the temporary cease-fire between Israel and the militant group, with Hamas releasing about 58 hostages before Monday. Twenty-four were released in the first wave Friday, with an additional 17 released Saturday, and another 17 released Sunday. Its been close to two months since Hamass surprise attack against Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people. Israel has since launched a wave of attacks in the Gaza Strip, resulting in the death of tens of thousands of people, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. The Hill show on NewsNation airs Monday to Friday at 5 p.m. ET. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) A report and body camera footage released by the state are shining a light on what happened earlier this month when a chain reaction crash killed three high school students and three adults in Licking County. A report from the Ohio Department of Public Safety shows the 2019 Freightliner semi-truck was trailing too closely in traffic and failed to slow down, hitting another vehicle before hitting the charter bus carrying students and chaperones from Tuscarawas Valley Middle-High School in northeastern Ohio on Nov. 14. Hollywood Casino Columbus to break ground on 180-room hotel WARNING: RAW BODY AND DASH CAM FOOTAGE FROM THE CRASH. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED. Six people students John W. Mosley, 18, of Mineral City; Jeffery D. Worrell, 18, of Bolivar, and Katelyn N. Owens, 15, of Mineral City, and adults Dave Kennat, 56, of Navarre; Kristy Gaynor, 39, of Zoar, and Shannon Wigfield, 45, of Bolivar were killed in the crash. According to the report, the charter bus, a Nissan Murano, a Toyota Highlander, and a Volvo truck were driving west on Interstate 70 and slowing down for traffic when the semi-trailer hit the Murano, forcing the Murano into the back of the bus before the semi pushed it out into the road, hitting the back of the bus. This then forced the bus into the Highlander, which hit the Volvo before the Highlander spun into the left lane. The bus then hit the rear of the Volvo. The driver of the semi-truck, identified as a 60-year-old Zanesville man, was tested at the scene for impairment, but none was found. No charges have been filed against the driver. None of the other drivers involved in the crash were tested, according to the report. Law enforcement warns about iPhone update feature that affects shared information The video released by OSHP starts with dashboard camera footage of a trooper making a U-turn along I-70 as smoke from the crash can be seen billowing in the distance. After about a minute, the cruiser pulls up to the scene. The fire burns through the semi-truck, leaving nothing but the frame of the trailer. The video continues showing more help arriving at the scene as the fire continues burning through the semi-trailer truck. The video then switches to an OSHP troopers body camera and shows the man going into the trunk of his cruiser to grab a fire extinguisher before running toward the crash scene. The trooper first runs to the Highlander, yelling to get the driver identified as a 75-year-old Heath man out of the vehicle. The driver was taken to Grant Medical Center for serious injuries. The trooper then goes into the bus, calling out for anyone who may be on it as he starts spraying the fire extinguisher toward the back of the bus. The officer is then told there was no one left on the bus and exits. Ohio fugitive arrested in Arizona homeless shelter The video then shows the trooper talking to victims of the crash as well as samaritans who stopped to help, asking for a count of the number of people traveling on the bus. The officer then makes his way to the students, asking if any of them needed a medic. The National Transportation Safety Boards investigation into the crash is ongoing. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV. TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) A Florida woman was arrested Saturday after police said she stabbed a man with a rabies needle for looking at other women, according to a report. WTVJ reported that Sandra Jimenez, 44, was charged with aggravated battery after the attack in Miami. Jimenez allegedly jumped on top of the man during an argument and stabbed him with a rabies needle that was for a dog, according to WTVJ. She was found sleeping in her car and tried to tell police the mans injuries were self-inflicted, according to the report. In bond court Monday, Jimenez was given a $7,500 bond and was ordered to house arrest, WTVJ reported. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. A report and footage released by the Ohio Department of Public Safety revealed additional details about a fatal Nov. 14 crash that killed three high school students and three adults on Interstate 70 in Licking County. The report says that a 2019 semi followed too closely in traffic and failed to slow down and struck another vehicle before hitting the charter bus carrying students from Tuscarawas Valley Middle-High School. The bus, a Nissan Murano, a Toyota Highlander, and a Volvo truck were westbound on I-70 and slowing down for traffic when the semi hit the Murano and forced it into the rear-end of the bus, the report says. The semi, owned by Hebron-based trucking company Mid State Systems, pushed it into the road and it struck back of the bus. The impact forced the bus into the Highlander, the report says. The SUV then hit the Volvo before the Highlander spun into the left lane. The bus then struck the rear-end of the Volvo. A dark day: Ohio community gathers to mourn loss of 6 who died in I-70 crash Remembering the Ohio bus crash victims The crash killed six people and left several others with injuries. Those who died included: John W. Mosley, 18, of Mineral City Jeffery D. Worrell, 18, of Bolivar Katelyn N. Owens, 15, of Mineral City Dave Kennat, 56, of Navarre Kristy Gaynor, 39, of Zoar Shannon Wigfield, 45, of Bolivar None of the passengers of the bus listed in the report were wearing seatbelts. Its unclear if the vehicle, owned by Pioneer Trails, Inc., was equipped with them. None of the drivers involved have been found to be distracted or under the influence. The driver of the semi passed a drug and alcohol test, and results for the driver of the Nissan Murano were unknown at the time the report was written. Bus driver's daughter: 'He saved many, many lives' of Tusky Valley students amid crash Nov 14, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Both directions of Interstate 70 are closed in Licking County near the State Route 310 interchange after a "mass casualty incident." Around 8:45 a.m. Tuesday, dozens of emergency personnel from across Licking County and eastern Franklin County were dispatched to the area on a report of a crash. Scanner traffic indicated that a tractor-trailer hit a commercial bus carrying dozens of passengers. Video footage reveals new details about fatal Licking County bus crash The video footage released by the Ohio Highway Patrol shows that first responders were not immediately sure whether all students were off the bus. Body-worn camera footage shows an officer arriving and being told not everyone was off the bus. The officer pulled someone from the Toyota Highlander who did not exit the SUV after being told to get out by police. The officer wearing the camera then enters the bus with a fire extinguisher. The officer calls out to anyone on the bus, but no one responds. The seats appear empty except those at the back of the bus, which aren't visible because they're engulfed in flames. The officer leaves the bus, and other first responders who enter after him can be seen coughing and gagging. The footage also shows witnesses and crash victims scattered across the grass by the side of the road. One person receives CPR while someone tells the officer that there are several people with suspected broken legs or feet. One female victim can't feel her legs, someone tells the officer. The footage ends as firefighters work to extinguish the vehicles. The crash remains under investigation, with the National Transportation Safety Board expected to issue its findings within weeks. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cause of Ohio bus crash on I-70 that killed 6 revealed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovichs detention in Russia, where he is being held on accusations of espionage, has been extended until the end of January. A Moscow court on Tuesday extended Gershkovichs detention until Jan. 30. He was detained in March while reporting in Yekaterinburg, a city that is about 1,200 miles east of Moscow, becoming the first American to be detained by Russia on spying allegations since the Cold War. He is being held at Moscows Lefortovo prison. The 31-year-old was detained on espionage charges despite being accredited by Russias Foreign Ministry to work as a reporter. The U.S. and the Wall Street Journal have maintained the allegations brought against him are false. The Journal reiterated that Gershkovichs detention is wrong and demanded his immediate release in a statement. Our colleague Evan Gershkovich appeared in a Russian court today, where his wrongful pre-trial detention was again extended, the statement read. This time until at least January 30. Evan has now been unjustly imprisoned for nearly 250 days, and every day is a day too long. The accusations against him are categorically false and his continued imprisonment is a brazen and outrageous attack on a free press, which is critical for a free society. We continue to stand with Evan and call for his immediate release, the statement continued. This is not the first time Gershkovichs detention has been extended. The Moscow court extended it in August, pushing the date of his release to Nov. 30. He later lost his appeal to be released from the jail last month. The U.S. and Russia have agreed to prisoner swaps in the past for Americans detained in Russia, including WNBA player Britney Griner late last year. The Associated Press reported the Russian Foreign Ministry has suggested it will consider a swap for Gershkovich, but only after a verdict is reached in his trial, which could last more than a year. The Associated Press contributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The Republican donor network controlled by billionaire Charles Koch is getting off the sidelines and backing Nikki Haley for the 2024 Republican nomination, a major boon for her campaign as she battles with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for the runner-up spot. Americans for Prosperity Action announced on Tuesday that it was throwing its support behind Ms Haleys campaign in what is sure to have been a major disappointment for Mr DeSantis, who had long been considered Donald Trumps main rival for the GOP nomination but has seen his bid for the White House falter in the wake of Ms Haleys rise. When we announced our decision to engage in our first ever Republican presidential primary, we made it clear that wed be looking for a candidate who can turn the page on our political dysfunction and win. Its clear that candidate is Nikki Haley, CEO Emily Siedel said. We cant keep looking to the politicians of the past to fix the problems of today. Nikki Haley represents a new generation of leadership and offers a bold, positive vision for our future. AFP Action is proud to be endorsing her and we will be doing everything we can to help make her the next President of the United States. The group made it clear, too, that this wasnt just an endorsement of Ms Haley; it was a repudiation of both frontrunners for their respective parties nominations, Donald Trump and Joe Biden. A statement on the groups website urged voters to turn the page on both politicians. While an endorsement of Mr Biden was obviously not on the table for the network of groups led by the conservative Koch family, AFP had also stated plainly earlier this year that it planned to endorse against Mr Trump. It remains an open question if the group will make an endorsement in next years general election should Mr Trump and Mr Biden be their parties nominees, though that seems doubtful at this time. Nikki Haley has a positive vision for America that can unite our nation and restore the American Dream. Joe Biden is a disaster and the American People are hurting because of his failed policies. Donald Trump and Joe Biden had their chance they cant fix what is broken, read AFPs website on Tuesday. The announcement was celebrated by Ms Haley, who has seen her support in the polls rise on the back of strong debate performances. Im honored to have the support of Americans for Prosperity Action, including its millions of grassroots members all across the country, she said. AFP Actions members know that there is too much at stake in this election to sit on the sidelines. This is a choice between freedom and socialism, individual liberty and big government, fiscal responsibility and spiraling debt. We have a country to save, and Im grateful to have AFP Action by our side. Ms Haley and Mr DeSantis both are thought to be competing for the possibility of an upset victory in the notoriously unpredictable Iowa caucuses. While Mr Trump holds a massive lead over both of his top two rivals in both national and state-level polling, past poor performances in early state contests have doomed many a presidential bid as skittish donors and voters often shift support to candidates they feel will have stronger momentum in the general election. His rivals hopeful scenario may very well not play out, however, even if the former president suffers a defeat or a narrow victory in Iowa or New Hampshire. Past polling has shown that the former president often rallies in the wake of negative headlines, including most recently news about his impending four criminal trials. Analysts watching the GOP primary field have noted a deep-seated anger among voters against what they perceive as an effort to thwart Mr Trumps political career by the establishment or imagined shadowy forces in Washington, and as a result his Republican rivals have been wholly unsuccessful in chipping off support from his base at any meaningful level. The rise of Ms Haley has largely vexed supporters of Mr DeSantis, who had hoped their candidate would consolidate support among Republican voters who were, for whatever reason, seeking an alternative to Donald Trump in 2024. Intead, they have watched as the Florida governor has trended steadily downward in the polls for months while his campaign is repeatedly battered by articles and commentary on cable news about Mr DeSantiss awkward demeanour and lackluster debate performances. At the last Republican presidential debate, hosted in Mr DeSantiss home state, Ms Haley made headlines once again as she derided rival Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy as scum for criticising her daughter. The News Indian rescuers have extracted all 41 construction workers who were trapped in a tunnel in the Himalayas since it collapsed 16 days ago. Know More The 41 men became stuck after a landslide blockaded the tunnels exit on Nov. 12. Authorities had been supplying them with oxygen, food, and water while rescuers tried to drill through. The workers were evacuated through a series of three-foot wide pipes that were laid through the debris. They were to be rolled out on stretchers, and receive medical attention at a field hospital that has been established nearby. A panel of experts investigating the collapse found that the tunnel had no emergency exit installed, and was built through a geological fault. Rescue efforts have been beset by issues: Loose rocks, rubble, and dirt have made it challenging to drill through the blockage, and a drilling machine brought in by emergency crews broke down late last week. More than 197 feet of rubble separated emergency workers from the construction team. Step Back The tunnel was being constructed by low-income workers from India's poorest states. Local governments have criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi's response to the crisis: "Safety measures are not followed," Hemant Soren, chief minister of the eastern state of Jharkhand, home to 15 of the 41 men, told Reuters. "They take workers from poor and backward states for such risky projects and if something happens to them there, who cares?" The project is part of the large-scale Char Dham highway project that will connect four important Hindu pilgrimage sites. Better health care for patients begins with humility a term not often associated with medicine. I witnessed displays of humility firsthand eight years ago, the night my son was born, in the way the doctor and doula worked together to deliver our baby. Neither tried to assert dominance over the other. Instead, they openly communicated with each other, respected each others roles, trusted each other and worked as a team. And what was most meaningful to us they included my wife on that team by actively listening to her and putting her needs at the forefront. Together, the teams professional humility helped create the most unforgettable moment of our lives: the birth of a healthy baby boy. The patient as part of the team Our experience with them made a significant impression on me because Im a social scientist who studies how clinicians collaborate. Specifically, I explore how doctors, nurses and the entire health care team can better show professional humility to ensure better outcomes for patients and for health care workers as well. Put simply, professional humility in the health care setting is when doctors, nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists, physical therapists, support staff basically every health care provider see each other as playing on the same team. That means team members share the same goals, understand the limitations of their own profession, see the strengths offered by others and include the patient and their caregivers in decision-making. That willingness to make the patient part of the team is key to professional humility. Instead of talking about the patient among themselves, the providers address the patient directly and actively listen. They openly admit when they dont know the answer or if they were incorrect. And rather than talking down to the patient, they explain things calmly, using everyday language and avoiding arcane medical jargon. The power of humility A growing body of research demonstrates that clinicians humility positively affects patient satisfaction, health outcomes and overall care. Additionally, emerging evidence indicates that having humility is good for health care providers as well serving as a protective factor against burnout and even clinical uncertainty. But if humility is so beneficial, why isnt there more of it in health care? And why is it not formally taught in medical, nursing and other health profession schools? Most people have likely experienced or witnessed scenarios where clinicians exhibit the opposite of humility, such as when providers show open disrespect for each other or engage in power struggles, or when a patient feels ignored, rushed, dismissed or spoken to rudely. These are common examples of a lack of humility in health care. But humility can be difficult to achieve in professional settings. In my experience, there are still assumptions by health care providers that displaying intellectual humility suggests a lack of knowledge and confidence, the opposite of what the health professions want to instill in their students. Money concerns and turf battles The lack of emphasis on humility in health care could also be due to pervasive, systemic issues nested deep within the industry itself. The very culture of todays health care industry is heavily influenced by competition for patients and resources, battles over money and turf and infighting between and within departments. Even the years of professional training are riddled with competition for the best test scores, opportunities and recognition. These are hardly the kinds of backstories that lead people to suddenly embrace the relatively unexplored concept of practicing humility. In fact, research shows that humility is not a sign of weakness or self-doubt. Instead, it reflects exceptional security and confidence. These are essential attributes for a patient-centered, team-oriented health care workforce. Heres another example of professional humility that I experienced when my son was about 6. He was spinning around in my office chair while I was close by in a meeting. He slipped off and hit his head on the corner of my desk, causing quite a gash. Luckily, my meeting was with a group of doctors, nurses and physician assistants. I had a team of clinicians right there to assess my son for any need of stitches. Gently talking to him, disregarding professional rank by collectively assessing the wound, openly seeking their colleagues opinions and engaging me directly about possible next steps all while jokingly noting the serendipity of the situation clearly reflected professional humility. Researchers are just starting to scratch the surface of understanding precisely how professional humility leads to teamwork and more effective care. But the early research suggests that its an essential ingredient. If you do find yourself or a loved one in the hospital, you may be confronted with hard decisions and frightening uncertainties about the future. When that happens, you will no doubt want a health care team that is harmonious, communicative and connected. That sense of calm in the chaos provides patients and family with reassurance, hope and healing. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Barret Michalec, Arizona State University. Read more: Barret Michalec receives funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and has received funding from the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation and the Arnold P. Gold Foundation. (potential) Relevant Affiliations: Associate Clinical Professor, Medical Humanities, Creighton University School of Medicine. This article was produced with support from UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center and the John Templeton Foundation as part of the GGSC's initiative on Expanding Awareness of the Science of Intellectual Humility. RIVERDALE, Ga. - A Riverdale woman who is one of Fulton County's "firsts" just turned 100. Catherine Ammons always joked she'd move to Georgia. She thought she'd live on a farm because she was "taking so long to settle down." Well, Ammons did marry, and she made good on her plan to move to The Peach State not to a farm, but to busy Atlanta to work for one of its most recognizable schools. She's been here ever since. At this point in Mrs. Ammons' life, she says she can't help but look back and laugh. She admits, she's lived an abundant one. Catherine Ammons (Credit: Moriah Ammons) "I don't remember all of this history," she said of herself while laughing. Born in Virginia, Ammons went to Freeman's Hospital of Nursing, known today as Howard University. "Back in the day, there weren't too many things [Black women] could do. We could be nurses or teachers," she said with her great-granddaughter on her hip. Catherine Ammons (Credit: Moriah Ammons) For half her life, she's been a nurse. She and her husband, Richard, who she met while working at a New York hospital, moved to Atlanta. He studied at Morehouse, and she worked, treating hundreds of Spelman students. "It was so long ago, but I enjoyed it," Ammons said. "They were examples of women and their behavior and being able to take care of themselves." Because of Jim Crow's "Separate But Equal" laws, family says Georgia had to pay for Ammons to complete her B.A. of nursing in Jamaica, New York. She then became the first nurse with a degree to work in the Fulton County Public Health Department. Though she's worked hard throughout her years, Ammons will tell anyone who asks about the secret to a long and healthy life that rest and early rises are key. Catherine Ammons (Credit: Moriah Ammons) "I just took life as it came. I didn't do too many extraneous things," she said. "I did my 9 and 10 p.m. bedtimes." Surrounded by her loved ones, it's clear Ammons legacy is letting happiness be her guide. There's something about a Spelman connection that seems to lead to a long life. Just last month, FOX 5 reporter Alex Whittler told the story of Annie Moore, a spirited Spelman graduate who just turned 104. A court in the Russian city of Kursk sentenced a Russian citizen to 12 years in prison for allegedly fighting with the Ukrainian far-right militia Right Sector, the RFE/RL project Current Time reported on Nov. 28. The man, 35-year-old Yevgeny Kazantsev, had lived in Ukraine for a long period of time and allegedly joined the militia in 2015 to fight against Russian proxy forces in Donbas, local Russian media said. In the aftermath of the full-scale invasion, Kazantsev was captured by the Russian military while fighting near Chernihiv in northern Ukraine. He was tried and convicted of participating in a so-called "extremist organization," among other charges. Kazantsev pleaded innocent. The Right Sector is a loosely defined group of Ukrainian nationalist organizations, roughly tied together by ideology, which formed during the EuroMaidan Revolution in 2013-2014, and subsequently formed a political party. Along with other Ukrainian far-right political parties like Svoboda, Right Sector has had little to no electoral success, gaining just one seat in Ukraine's parliament in the 2014 election. Its member, the former "head" of Right Sector, Dmytro Yarosh, lost the following election. Russian claims about the supposed presence and high level of influence of the far-right in Ukraine have been thoroughly debunked, particularly at the ballot box. The lack of electoral success has not stopped Russian officials from regurgitating the narrative. The Ukrainian Volunteer Corps (DUK), the military wing of the Right Sector, fought as an autonomous military unit alongside the regular Ukrainian army fighting in Donbas. Most DUK units were integrated into the Ukrainian military after the full-scale invasion. The claims about Kazantev's involvement with the Right Sector or any other Ukrainian military unit cannot be independently verified. Read also: Francis Farrell: Ukraine could still lose the war. Lets get some things straight Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. The City of Jackson is facing another lawsuit in regards to garbage collection. Richard's Disposal, the garbage company currently working under an emergency contract, is suing the city for a second time. The company was at the center of April's trash crisis that saw members of the Jackson City Council at odds over awarding a long-term contract and left residents without trash pick-up for 17 days. The new lawsuit, which was filed last week, is asking the court to block the city's latest request for proposals for trash pick-up that was issued by Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba in early November. A new RFP shouldn't be issued until a decision is made in the appeal Richard's filed against the city back in April, according to the company's latest lawsuit against the city. The garbage company filed an appeal saying they were wrongfully denied a long-term contract. Richard's Disposal has filed a second lawsuit against the City of Jackson and is asking the court to block the city's latest request for proposals for trash pick-up that was issued in early November. "The City's decision must be overturned, and the 2023 RFP must be canceled pending a decision on Richard's appeal in the Circuit Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, Mississippi," the lawsuit states. The lawsuit also states that the city's decision to issue a new RFP must be overturned, because, "Richard's has already submitted the most qualified proposal" for the October 2021 RFP, which was accepted by the city and denied by the Council. Richard's claims the Jackson City Council is acting outside its scope of powers. Throughout the lawsuit, Richard's attorneys say the company was wrongfully denied the contract, because the Council's "preferred vendor" is Waste Management. "The Council violated statutory authority by disapproving the contract for Richard's in an attempt to usurp the executive function of the Mayor and exercise that function by forcing him to select Waste Management, its preferred vendor, rather than the vendor chosen by the Mayor as required by governing law," the lawsuit states. This is how the RFP process works: The mayor issues the RFP through the city's solid waste division. A panel of six in that division will evaluate each company that responded to the RFP, then selects the best option based on which company fits the criteria best. The mayor then presents the contract to the Council who have to give final approval through a vote. Ward 1 Councilman Ashby Foote had choice words for this latest lawsuit and called on the city's legal department to "step up." "I think it is incumbent on the city legal department to step up and address this latest effort by Richard's Disposal to preempt the effort by Jackson's city government to perform its duties as laid out in state law. In layman's terms, this (the lawsuit) is hogwash," Foote said. "This is the biggest contract Jackson's governing authorities let and now we have a garbage company from Louisiana trying to get a judge to intervene and give them a contract worth over $40 million." Council seeks dismissal: City Attorney 'in conflict' with Council seeking dismissal in Richard's trash lawsuit Foote said Richard's Disposal is trying to convey themselves as "victims" with the filing of both lawsuits. "They (Richard's Disposal) want to dictate that the Council shouldn't have any say in this matter and I strongly disagree," Foote said. "We are part of the governing authority for the City of Jackson, and it's the governing authority, according to state statute, that determine and select the garbage vendor for the city and for the long-term contract." He said the RFP process is the legal way to select a vendor and award long-term contracts and now Richard's "is trying to ask a judge to keep the city from going through an RFP process." City responds to latest lawsuit In April, the city and the Council agreed on entering into a 1-year emergency contract with Richard's for garbage collection, effectively ending the trash crisis. Since then, Council members have urged Lumumba to issue a new RFP to try to avoid a similar scenario when the contract ends in April 2024. Lumumba had refused, citing "ongoing litigation" with Richard's referring to the company's first lawsuit against the city as his reason not to issue an RFP. The mayor finally agreed in early November after the city Council voted on a resolution ordering him to do so and after negotiations broke down with Council members about extending the contract with Richard's to 2025. In response to Richard's latest lawsuit, City Spokesperson Melissa Payne shared the following statement: "The administration has been consistent in recognizing this process is in litigation. It is for this reason that we sought to resolve this matter through negotiation with both the Council and Richard's Disposal. It was only after the Council backed away from the negotiations, that we reluctantly issued the RFP. Despite the recent allegation that we crafted this RFP for a particular vendor, what we've done is consistently fought to protect the interest of residents and the City of Jackson by securing contract that will be at the lowest price possible for quality garbage services." At the Nov. 21 city Council meeting, Foote was one of the Council members who brought up issues he had with the latest RFP. Specifically, he had a problem with a provision in the RFP that said any new contract could be subject to termination depending on the outcome of the lawsuit between Richard's Disposal and the city. "That is going to be a real problem for companies to make bids and to stand by their bids and at the same time there's a potential out there that they'll have to walk away because of the uncertainty of a court ruling coming down," Foote said. He said the provision is a form of "weaponizing the RFP" to the benefit of Richard's Disposal because other companies may now not want to submit a bid. "And now they've (Richard's Disposal) filed another lawsuit for a temporary restraining order against the RFP they're trying to manage the government. They're just a vendor; they aren't elected officials," Foote said. "The elected officials are elected to mange city government and now they're trying to have a judge come in an overrule the city government's RFP to determine a long-term garbage contract. That's outrageous." Foote brought up a provision that says any garbage company who submitted a bid must have trucks that are no older than two years old. That provision seems "intended to disqualify a lot of minority, equal-business-opportunity participants that work with garbage companies, who may not have newer trucks" Foote said. "There's a number of those companies in the City of Jackson who have good businesses but I think almost all of those would be disqualified with that provision that says all your vehicles need to be two-years-old or newer," he said. "I have a real problem with putting a provision in there that disqualifies the local minority businesses that have been operating in Jackson for a really long time." Foote also raised issue with the provision that says the winning garbage company must also supply garbage carts for residents. He said there are a lot of older residents in the city that may not have the capacity to wheel out the carts each week. Lastly, there's a provision that says each garbage truck must have two workers on the back of every truck and if the city catches a truck without that many, then they are subject to a fine of $1,000 per day. Foote said that is a form of "micromanaging the companies there the ones who collect garbage as a profession." "To have a stipulation like that I think is onerous and ends up resulting in a higher cost for bids because the vendors have to calculate in the cost for fines," Foote said. This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Richard's Disposal sues City of Jackson over latest RFP issuance The rightwing fifth circuit court of appeals has agreed to consider an electoral redistricting case emerging from Galveston county, Texas, a move that poses a fresh threat to the Voting Rights Act the signature legislation of the civil rights movement. In an order released from their base in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Tuesday, the courts 17 active judges have agreed to consider a challenge to the way the act is used to protect the voting rights of citizens of color. Six of the judges were appointed by Donald Trump. The courts decision to hear the case en banc in front of its full bench could have serious implications for the future of the Voting Rights Act. An adverse ruling could deliver yet another blow to the countrys prime legal safeguard of access to the ballot box for Black and Latino voters. Related: Texas voting map discriminates against Black and Latino residents, judge rules The latest twist in the Galveston dispute follows a ruling from a federal judge in October. It struck down the new electoral map prepared by the Republican commissioners who control the county. By redrawing the map, the commissioners eradicated the only one of the countys four districts that guaranteed representation for the areas African American and Latino voters. In his 157-page ruling, Judge Jeffrey Brown found that the Republican group had committed a stark and jarring violation of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits racial discrimination in the administration of elections. Galveston county appealed the ruling. Earlier this month, three of the fifth circuit judges issued an extraordinary judgment on that appeal. They began by affirming Browns decision to strike down the new Galveston map on grounds that it was racially discriminatory. But they went on, in a bizarre and unusual step, to invite the full bench of their own court to disagree with them. The three judges all of whom were appointed by Republican presidents questioned whether the challenge to the new Galveston county map under section 2 of the Voting Rights Act was legitimate. In particular, they doubted the use of aggregation the combining of Black and Latino voters under one voter category. Tuesdays decision is the latest in a string of court actions assailing the Voting Rights Act. In 2013 the conservative majority of the US supreme court eviscerated a giant piece of the legislation by abolishing section 5, the provision that required certain jurisdictions, mainly in the south, to apply for advance federal approval for any voting changes they wished to make. Last June, in Allen v Milligan, the highest court confounded expectations by upholding section 2 as the only remaining channel through which discriminatory attacks on voting access could be challenged. Now the fifth circuits actions signal renewed attacks on this last bastion of voting rights protections. It follows the ruling out of the eight circuit court of appeals last week that stated that only the US government could sue under section 2. The decision threatens the ability of outside groups and citizens to deploy the Voting Rights Act, even though the lions share of lawsuits that have been brought under the legislation have come from them. Mark Gaber, the senior director of redistricting at the Campaign Legal Center, which represents some of the Galveston plaintiffs, called on the supreme court to intervene. He said the issue was critical given the rapidly approaching 11 December deadline for candidates to file for the 2024 elections. Todays fifth circuit decision further highlights the urgency to ensure that Galveston countys Black and Latino residents do not suffer under a discriminatory map during the upcoming election, he said. Rishi Sunak cancelled the meeting with the Greek leader after he publicly lobbied the Government to return the sculptures in a BBC interview - HANNAH MCKAY/AFP Downing Street has claimed that the Greeks acted in bad faith by publicly lobbying for the return of the Elgin Marbles before a planned meeting with Rishi Sunak. No 10 said that the Greeks provided explicit assurances that they would not use their prime ministers visit to Britain as a public platform to campaign on the long-settled issue of the Parthenon Sculptures. But after Kyriakos Mitsotakis used a BBC interview to call for their return to Athens, Mr Sunaks official spokesman said that he felt it would not be productive to hold a meeting dominated by ancient grievances rather than the important challenges facing Greek and British people. The Greeks have reportedly denied giving any such assurances about their visit. Mr Sunaks spokesman said that constant attempts to publicly re-litigate long-settled matters had cast a shadow over our otherwise productive relationship with Greece, with conversations on the matter best had in private. Addressing the issue on Tuesday, after Mr Sunak cancelled talks with Mr Mitsotakis at the 11th hour, he said: When requesting a meeting with the Prime Minister this week, the Greek government provided reassurances that they would not use the visit as a public platform to re-litigate long-settled matters relating to the ownership of the Parthenon Sculptures. Given those assurances were not adhered to, the Prime Minister felt it would not be productive to hold a meeting dominated by that issue, rather than the important challenges facing Greek and British people. The Elgin Marbles were controversially removed from the Parthenon temple in the early 19th century by Lord Elgin - DANIEL LEAL/AFP He added that the Government was disappointed that the Greeks chose not to accept an alternative invitation to meet Oliver Dowden, the Deputy Prime Minister. Mr Sunak is understood to have personally called off the meeting. One senior government source said: Its a respect thing. Downing Street also indicated that it does not think a loan deal is possible without Greece accepting that the British Museum is the legal owner of the sculptures. The museum, which was given trusteeship of the Elgin Marbles in 1816, has suggested loaning the sculptures to Athens. Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, is understood to be open to the Marbles being lent to Athens if an agreement can be struck with the museum. However, he is not believed to have any intention of changing the law that blocks the institution from handing the sculptures back to Greece on a permanent basis. Mr Mitsotakis had expressed his annoyance when the meeting was called off hours before it was due to take place, while sources told local media that the move was politically indecent. Prof Stamatoudi said that the Elgin Marbles should be permanently reunited with Greeces remaining Parthenon sculptures - ANGELOS TZORTZINIS/AFP Earlier on Tuesday, a Greek academic claimed that Rishi Sunak is no better than Lord Elgin. The Elgin Marbles were controversially removed from the Parthenon temple in the early 19th century by Lord Elgin, prompting a centuries-long feud with Greece. Prof Irene Stamatoudi, a former adviser to the Greek government, claimed that Mr Sunak had needlessly created a diplomatic incident and that Greeces stance had been clear for years. She told Radio 4s Today programme: Rishi Sunaks behaviour does not even come close to that of a leader of a great nation that cooperates on a number of issues, a nation that values democracy and dialogue and when needed knows how to rectify wrongs of the past. One would not expect the leader of this nation to just walk away. Im afraid that makes Rishi Sunak look no better than Lord Elgin, who used his office at the beginning of the 1800s to dismantle the Parthenon temple and take pieces to Britain to decorate his country house. Prof Stamatoudi said that the Elgin Marbles should be permanently reunited with Greeces remaining Parthenon sculptures, adding: We cannot really discuss a loan. Meanwhile, Mark Harper, the Transport Secretary, did not deny that the Prime Minister had snubbed Mr Mitsotakis when questioned by broadcasters, although he insisted that a meeting at a very senior level had been offered. He told BBC Breakfast: The Deputy Prime Minister offered to meet the Greek prime minister today and it proved not possible to make that happen. Thats a matter of regret. That offer was made. But the Government set out its position about the Elgin Marbles very clearly, which is they should stay as part of the permanent collection of the British Museum. 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. Ron Jeremy appears for his arraignment on rape and sexual assault charges in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom in 2020. (David McNew / Associated Press) For the record: 11:52 a.m. Nov. 30, 2023: An earlier version of this story said Jeremy was accused of assaulting a minor at a Santa Clarita house party. Jeremy was indicted on a charge of committing a lewd act with a 15-year-old, but the alleged assault at the house party involved a different victim. When Alana Evans found out Ron Jeremy's rape case would end with him being released to a "private residence," she said it left her emotionally drained and completely derailed. A longtime adult film entertainer and president of the Adult Performance Artists Guild, Evans testified before the Los Angeles County grand jury that indicted Jeremy on more than 30 counts of sexual assault in 2021 and spent years working with women in the porn industry who decided to speak out against one of its most legendary figures. It was unlikely Jeremy would ever stand trial after a court declared him mentally incompetent in January because of symptoms related to "severe dementia," but Evans said Friday's news felt like a final knife twist. "I feel betrayed because at no point along the way, during this path of 'Ron is suffering from dementia' and the incompetence issue coming up, never did they say he could be sent home. It was always hell go to a facility," Evans said. We all came forward. We all told our stories. We all put this effort into their case, and I feel 100% let down by the system. Read more: Former porn actor Ron Jeremy to be released to 'private residence' with rape case frozen, health deteriorating A judge's decision to order Jeremy released into private care last week seemingly ended the four-year legal saga that saw dozens of women accuse America's most famous porn star of rape after he was arrested on sexual assault charges in 2020. Accusations came from sex workers who knew Jeremy for decades and patrons of Sunset Strip bars whom Jeremy allegedly attacked at random. In one incident, prosecutors said, Jeremy allegedly assaulted a 15-year-old girl. Jeremy has denied all wrongdoing. The 70-year-old's fitness to stand trial has been in question since last March, when Jeremy's criminal defense attorney walked into a downtown L.A. courtroom and insisted his client did not recognize him. News that Jeremy will now be released to a facility that may not even have security has roiled many of the women who made the decision to speak out about his alleged abuses on porn sets and at industry parties dating back nearly 30 years. After the public discord, prosecutors filed a motion asking a judge to reconsider Jeremy's placement, according to Tiffiny Blacknell, director of communications for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. That hearing will take place Thursday. "I am profoundly disturbed by the release of Ron Jeremy, who is accountable for serial rapes, based on the grounds of deteriorating dementia. While recognizing the importance of addressing health issues, it is crucial for the justice system to balance the rights of the accused with the safety of the community," Lianne Young, who first accused Jeremy of assault in a 2020 interview with The Times, said in a statement. "This situation underscores the need for careful consideration of public safety concerns," she added, "as well as a thorough evaluation of legal and ethical implications surrounding the release of individuals facing serious criminal charges." Court records show Jeremy's health declined to the point that he was placed under the care of a conservator in March. In court on Nov. 17, attorneys advocating for Jeremy argued he is now "essentially bedridden" and no longer a threat to the public, according to an email obtained by The Times. Read more: Women break silence, tell stories of rape, groping by Ron Jeremy over two decades Jeremy has been held in the medical wing of the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown L.A. since January. Despite the abuse allegations made against Jeremy, he has not been convicted of a crime. He is unlikely to recover from his dementia and be restored to competency, according to court records, meaning he cannot be housed in a state hospital. That left his conservator to seek to have him housed in a private medical facility with a secured perimeter dementia ward, according to a filing submitted to the Mental Health Court in August. As of July, however, nine such facilities refused to take Jeremy on as a patient. A Ventura County facility did consider caring for Jeremy but also ultimately rejected him, records show. The court filings do not state a reason for the facilities' decisions. Jeremy's conservator declined to speak with The Times. The Los Angeles County district attorney's office opposed the judge's decision last week to release Jeremy, expressing concern that he might try to assault caregivers. But a judge in the Hollywood Mental Health Court overruled the prosecutor's objection. It remains unclear exactly where Jeremy will be housed. The district attorney's office referred questions to an attorney for Jeremy's conservator, who did not return a call seeking comment. Some of those who worked hardest to bring Jeremy to justice, however, said it was time to move on. Ginger Banks, a performer and sex worker advocate who compiled more than 100 accusations of groping and assault against Jeremy in 2017, said she truly believes he is too sick to do any more damage. I really dont think he has the mental capacity or the physical capacity to hurt anybody right now, and I think the point of our justice system should be to prevent people from hurting other people until theyre rehabilitated," she said. Banks who says Jeremy groped her the first time they met believes he has been convicted "in the court of public opinion" and is hopeful fallout of the broader #MeToo movement will lead women to continue speaking out against alleged abuses. Read more: Sunset Strip's Rainbow Bar let Ron Jeremy assault women in its bathroom, lawsuit alleges "Weve seen a complete change in society about women coming forward about this. I think that societal shift is going to outweigh this one court decision," Banks said. Young echoed those statements, saying victims need to continue coming forward even when the legal system doesn't produce the outcome they hope for. "Reporting a sexual assault can lead to increased awareness, support, and resources for survivors," she said. "It is my sincere hope that despite my experience, survivors will find the strength to share their stories and seek justice." But Evans said she believes Jeremy "got away with" dozens of assaults and that the end result of the court case will only embolden his defenders within the adult film industry. A number of actors and producers, including some Evans counts as friends, still believe Jeremy is innocent. The lack of a conviction, she fears, will only further discourage adult entertainers from calling out abusive behavior in their industry. They absolutely think that this absolves him and that is the most alarming part. This sets precedents, this sets a tone that its OK for this behavior," she said. In 2017, after a Rolling Stone article first brought allegations against Jeremy into the public eye, Evans said she was invited to lunch by Jeremy and the producers of several films she'd worked on. They were hoping she'd use her position as head of the union representing the vast majority of adult film performers to speak out on Jeremy's behalf. Evans was stunned. Jeremy had allegedly assaulted her in 2008 by running his hand up her skirt, and she'd confronted him about it before. It was as if he didn't remember, or didn't care, she said. I feel his hands. That disgustingness does not ever go away," she said, adding that she is skeptical that Jeremy is truly as sick as his advocates claim. An official with direct knowledge of Jeremy's health, who spoke to The Times on condition of anonymity in order to discuss his medical condition candidly, insisted the disgraced porn king will not be enjoying himself, wherever he ends up. Its not like hes going to be living his best life. He has no idea whats going on," the official said. "Hes going to be a prisoner in his own body. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Prince William shares a laugh with Ronnie Wood, an ambassador for the Tusk Trust, at The Savoy Hotel in London - Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Tusk Ronnie Wood may have secured a new Rolling Stones fan after he encouraged the Prince of Wales to see the bands tour as they celebrated conservationists in London. Prince William and the Stones guitarist spoke on Monday at the 11th annual Tusk Conservation Awards, which recognises leading wildlife pioneers. The band have recently released their new album, Hackney Diamonds, and it appears the Prince took the opportunity to discuss the new music with Wood. The musician, 76, said of their discussion: We were talking about the tour and I said come on, youve got to come out on tour and we were talking about the new album and everything. William said (he would) if we could get Taylor Swift there. The Prince greets the Marquis and Machioness of Bath - Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Tusk Wood said he told the Prince that Swift had previously sung with Sir Mick Jagger, and that William replied: Im there then. He also joked about the age of the Rolling Stones band members, saying: We had to talk about conservation with an old band like ours. The awards, held at Londons Savoy Hotel, are organised by the Tusk Trust, which the Prince has supported as patron since 2005. In his keynote speech on Monday evening, William warned that there must be no letup in collective efforts to stop the terrifying loss of species and habitats across Africa. The Prince speaking at the 11th annual Tusk Conservation Awards - Victoria Jones/PA Wire He also used his address to issue a reminder about the disproportionate loss and damage from climate change that the continent is facing. There must be no letup in our collective efforts to stem the terrifying loss of species and habitats we are all bearing witness to, he said. On Monday evening, three individuals were awarded for their conservation work by the charity, which has supported habitat protection and anti-poaching intervention in Africa for over thirty years. Prince William presented the awards on-stage to winners Jealous Mpofu, Dr Ekwoge Abwe and Fanny Minesi. Fanny Minesi receives the award for Conservation in Africa - Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Tusk He hailed the ceremony as a rare moment to reflect on the significant achievements of our award winners and to recognise the challenges they face each and every day. Events like this set us on the path to reach global target by 2030 Prince William told conservationists at The Savoy Hotel in London that the rangers celebrated through the awards are ecosystem guardians working on behalf of the global community. He said that these individuals shoulder the immense responsibility of stewarding these vast areas of land and water - areas that are vital for the future of life on earth. The Prince added that protection of these natural habitats in Africa will set us on the path to reaching the global target of safeguarding 30 per cent of all land, oceans, and inland waters by 2030. Before taking his seat at the reception at The Savoy, the Prince took part in a reception upstairs, where he spoke with Rolling Stones legend Wood and Emma Weymouth, the Marchioness of Bath. Wood, who attended with his wife Sally, said they also discussed the life-size gorillas they painted for the cause - which have raised over 100,000 in their sales - before showing them to William. Prince William talks with Ronnie Wood, center. Both men are long-term supporters of the Tusk Trust - Victoria Jones/Pool via AP The future king helped to launch Tusks annual ceremony in 2013 to recognise the work of those trying to safeguard some of Africas most iconic animals and habitats. As Royal patron, he has been a long-standing supporter of the charitys efforts for almost two decades. The awards aim to spotlight the stories of conservation leaders and wildlife rangers across the continent so that their work can be amplified. Since the inaugural event in 2013, the awards have now recognised 55 conservation leaders from 20 countries. It is evenings like this that provide the vital impetus to effect positive change, William said, adding: Todays winners now join an impressive alumni, formed of Africas most impactful, passionate and committed conservationists. Athene St.John, spokesperson for the Nick Maughan Foundation which sponsors the awards and funds wildlife conservation projects across Africa, said: The Tusk Awards are synonymous with modern community led wildlife protection. For rangers like this evenings award winner Jealous Mpofu to be presented with such an honour by the Prince of Wales shines a spotlight on some of the most critical biodiversity projects on the planet when it has never been needed more. During his keynote speech, William added that the Tusk ceremony also serves as a reminder that those living in Africa emit just a quarter of the emissions than that of the average global citizen. Yet the African continent is set to incur disproportionate loss and damage from climate change. 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. SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) A police officer in eastern Utah was injured Sunday evening when an erratic driver crashed head-on into a squad car. The Roosevelt Police Department said the crash happened just west of Roosevelt as officers were trying to stop a wrong-way driver on Highway 40. Man seriously hurt after pickup truck slams into Pleasant Grove townhouse The driver was allegedly going west in the outside eastbound lane. In an attempt to stop the driver, one of the officers placed his squad car in the outside eastbound lane with his lights flashing. This prompted the driver to veer around the squad car and back into the eastbound lane. Thats when the driver collided with the other officers squad car, a police pickup. The officer involved in the crash suffered minor injuries and was hospitalized. Doctors at Uintah Basin Medical Center evaluated his wounds and released him, police said. The Utah Highway Patrol, which is investigating the crash, said the driver was also hospitalized with minor injuries. Investigators added that the drivers erratic behavior might have been due to a medical condition. No details about the drivers identity were released. UHP said that the two vehicles involved in the crash were traveling fairly slow, between 30 and 35 mph. The crash remains under investigation. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah. This embedded content is not available in your region. Ex-President Jimmy Carter has attended a memorial service for his wife Rosalynn in Georgia, in a rare public appearance since entering hospice care 10 months ago. Mr Carter, 99, arrived at the service in a wheelchair and dressed in a dark suit, flanked by his four children. "My mother was the glue that held our family together," the couple's son, Chip Carter, told guests - who included President Joe Biden. Mrs Carter died aged 96 this month. She was diagnosed with dementia in May and entered hospice care in Georgia in the days before her death. Her 77-year marriage to Mr Carter - who served in the White House between 1977-81 - remains the longest of any first couple. Rosalynn Carter's grandchildren formed a guard of honour as her coffin entered the service Mrs Carter was carried to the Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church at Emory University for the tribute service by a motorcade on Tuesday morning. The service attracted some of the most powerful politicians in the US, including former President Bill Clinton. The gathering reflected the esteem she was held in by both Republicans and Democrats. First Lady Jill Biden and all four living predecessors - Melania Trump, Michelle Obama, Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton - were among those who attended the service. It was the first time since George HW Bush's funeral, in 2018, that all of the living first ladies had been in one place, with Mrs Trump and Mrs Obama seated beside each other. Former Presidents George W Bush and Barack Obama were invited, but did not make it. Vice-President Kamala Harris, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Georgia Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens also attended. Tributes were led by Mrs Carter's family, friends and closest aides. Mr and Mrs Clinton travelled to Georgia with President Biden on Air Force One. It was initially unclear whether President Carter, who has been receiving end-of-life care since February, would attend. He has suffered from serious health issues, including a melanoma that spread to his liver and brain. The former president watched on from the front row, sitting in a wheelchair with his legs covered by a blanket. His daughter, Amy, who sat beside him, held his hand throughout. "He's coming to the end, and he's very, very physically diminished," Jason Carter, one of the former president's grandsons, said in an interview before the service, according to the New York Times. "But I think he was proud and happy that he was there for her till the very end, and he wasn't going to miss this for anything." President Carter entering the service Speaking from the pulpit, friends and family reflected on Mrs Carter's remarkable life and the legacy she leaves behind. When her husband began his political career in the 1960s - first as Georgia state senator, governor, and later US president - Mrs Carter was focused on reducing the stigma attached to people with mental illnesses. As first lady of Georgia she was a member of a governor's commission to improve services for the mentally ill, and as US first lady she became honorary chair of the President's Commission on Mental Health, which was key to the passage of a 1980 act that helped fund local mental health centres. After leaving Washington she and her husband founded the Carter Center in 1982, through which she continued her advocacy work for mental health, early childhood immunisation, and other humanitarian causes. The service in Georgia Mrs Carter's daughter, Amy, concentrated on her enduring relationship with President Carter, reading a letter he wrote to her while serving as a submarine commander in the US Navy 75 years ago. "My darling, every time I have ever been away from you I have been thrilled when I returned to discover just how wonderful you are," she read. "When I see you, I fall in love with you all over again. Does that seem strange to you? It doesn't to me." Laura Bush and Michelle Obama watch on at the memorial The ceremony also featured Mrs Carter's favourite passages from the Bible and a performance of John Lennon's Imagine by musicians Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood. The pair are friends of the Carters and have worked with the non-profit Habitat for Humanity projects. After the service, Mrs Carter began the journey home to Plains - which the Carters called home for decades. On Wednesday morning, a private funeral service will take place for family and close friends at the Maranatha Baptist Church in the town. She will be buried at the Carter Home and Garden, part of the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park. Her husband will be laid to rest next to her when the time comes. By Andrew MacAskill, Alistair Smout and Renee Maltezou LONDON/ATHENS (Reuters) -A dispute between Britain and Greece over the ownership of the Parthenon Sculptures, known as the Elgin marbles, escalated on Tuesday, with both sides blaming the other for the cancellation of a planned meeting between their two leaders. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cancelled Tuesday's meeting with his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis after his office said the two sides had previously agreed that it should not be used as a public platform "to relitigate long, long settled matters". "It's simply the case that if assurances are given and they're not adhered to, that there are consequences for that," Sunak's spokesman told reporters. A senior Greek government official speaking on condition of anonymity dismissed the statement as "inaccurate". Greece has repeatedly called on the British Museum to permanently return the 2,500-year-old sculptures that British diplomat Lord Elgin removed from the Parthenon temple in 1806, during a period when Greece was under Ottoman Turkish rule. About half of the 160-metre frieze that adorned the temple is in London, while another 50 metres are in the Acropolis museum in Athens, whose top floor layout mimics the Parthenon. Appearing on the BBC over the weekend, Mitsotakis compared the separation of the carvings to cutting the Mona Lisa in half, a characterisation rejected by the British government. "The PM did not say something new. Greece's positions on the Parthenon sculptures issue are known," said Aristotelia Peloni, an advisor to Mitsotakis on international policy. "Disagreeing on certain issues does not mean that we cannot talk." Both Britain and Greece said that the dispute jeopardised the opportunity to discuss global issues, including the wars in Gaza and Ukraine and the climate crisis. The two leaders would have also discussed a UK-Greece migration action plan. Greek government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said the cancellation was unprecedented and disrespectful but added that Athens did not want to let the row with Sunak spoil normally good relations between the countries. PLOT TWIST Later on Tuesday, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and his Greek counterpart George Gerapetritis met on the sidelines of a NATO ministers' meeting in Brussels, Greek diplomats said. "The two ministers agreed that there is need for cooperation to safeguard the Greece-UK bilateral relations and tackle the common challenges," one of the diplomats said, adding that the Greek minister noted the disagreement of principle on the Parthenon sculptures issue. Sunak's decision to cancel the meeting was also criticised by some British opposition parties and a campaign group backed by British politicians from different parties who want to resolve the issue. Greece does not recognise the British Museum as owner of the sculptures. The group, the Parthenon Project, has proposed a deal that would see the sculptures reunified in Athens - without Britain and Greece needing to agree on who owns them. Ed Vaizey, a former Conservative culture minister who advises the group, said that Sunak's action was a "plot twist" given Britain's previous stance that resolving the issue was a matter for the British Museum itself. "The prime minister has put himself at the front and centre of row that he didn't really need to put himself at the front and centre of," Vaizey told Sky News. "I don't think the prime minister needed really to intervene in this way and it hasn't particularly helped our relationships with Greece." Britain's government has long cited a law that prevents the British Museum from disposing of items in its collection in most circumstances. Asked if the government was concerned that other countries might also seek restitution of items if a deal was reached to return the marbles, Sunak's spokesperson said: "We do think it is potentially a slippery slope, and that's not something that we would support." (Additional reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Bernadette Baum, William Maclean and Sharon Singleton) Omid Scobie's book takes aim at the "antiquated ideas" of the Royal Family A controversial book about the Royal Family is expected to pour more fuel on to claims of tensions between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the Prince and Princess of Wales. Omid Scobie's Endgame, published on Tuesday, promises to "pull back the curtain on an institution in turmoil". The book criticises King Charles III as an "unpopular king" and Prince William as a "power-hungry heir to the throne". Buckingham and Kensington Palace are not commenting on the book. Previously seen as close to the duchess, Scobie has said he did not interview Meghan for the book and "the Sussexes have nothing to do with" this publication. The duke and duchess's representatives have not commented on the book's claims of palace intrigue and briefings, which Mr Scobie told US-TV broadcaster ABC had caused "irreparable damage in the relations" between Princes Harry and William. But for those expecting new scandals similar to those emanating from Prince Harry's bombshell memoir, Spare, a report in the New York Times, based on an early sighting of the book, says gossip hunters are likely to be "disappointed". Among the newsier lines, the author returns to the 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview, with its claims a member of the Royal Family had been asking about the skin colour of Meghan and Prince Harry's baby. Endgame is not expected to name names - but in interviews about the book, Scobie has said the two people involved were mentioned in letters between Meghan and the King. Omid Scobie's latest book looks at tensions within the Royal Family While Spare was based on his first-hand experience, Endgame is attributed to "sources". Criticism of Catherine, the Princess of Wales, seems to be a theme, with accusations she appears in photo opportunities but takes on few substantial projects and is uncomfortable with some public engagements. Rivalries and jealousies within the palaces will be discussed, along with claims of an unhealthy relationship with the tabloid press. And the book depicts the King as head of an institution "plagued by incidents involving antiquated ideas around race, class and money", with younger people increasingly unsympathetic to the monarchy. Awkward timing Recent YouGov polling suggests 59% of people think the King is "doing a good job", with 17% saying he is "doing a bad job" and others undecided. And this month, the Big Issue praised him for spending his recent birthday promoting the magazine for the homeless and visiting a warehouse distributing items for food banks. Endgame excerpts released in the US last week describe the hours before Elizabeth II's death, in 2022, including how Prince Harry heard of the death from the BBC website rather than his family - a story previously told by the prince himself. With signs of improving relations between Prince Harry and his family - including a 75th-birthday call for his father - this book's publication might be seen as awkward timing, with its reheating of old arguments. Olive branches seem to be the current mood, rather than burning bridges. Or it might be seen as a slightly retrospective book, in a royal soap opera that has moved on from the claims and counter-claims of Prince Harry and Meghan's departure to the US. royal family with text "Royal Watch newsletter: Get insider stories and analysis every week, straight to your inbox See more royal stories in the free BBC Royal Watch newsletter, emailed each week - sign up here from within the UK. or here from outside. The Royal family is trapped in misery, according to Prof Mary Beard, who likened their plight to that of Roman emperors. The classicist and writer described herself as anti-monarchy but said she felt sympathy for rulers who live in a state of anxiety about their position, surrounded by backstabbers. Her latest book, Emperor of Rome, chronicles the turbulent lives of Roman leaders. Take Domitian, who was emperor at the end of the first century AD. He has the walls of the corridors in his palace lined with reflective stone so he can see whos coming up behind him. And most emperors were killed at home it might be the personal trainer, the bodyguard, the poisoned mushrooms. The place where they should have felt most safe and content is actually where they felt most vulnerable, Prof Beard told Radio Times. Asked if there were contemporary parallels, she said: I remember looking at Camilla when she was being crowned, and she was looking quite anxious. I thought: Look, these people are trapped by this too. Writing this book, I became even more anti-monarchy, but I also got a bit more sympathetic towards these poor old emperors. She explained: Rome was a very cruel and bloodthirsty place. Having power meant that you could slash off the hands of a slave and tie them around his neck but if you wanted to solve a problem, you couldnt. Problems were solved by violence and murder. We tend to think of the emperor as the lucky one whos at the top of the food chain, but actually hes trapped as well. Hes isolated, vulnerable. Hes a prisoner of it all, too. Prof Beard has previously likened the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to tragic heroes of Greek mythology the public can watch them make mistakes and try to learn lessons from them. She has also suggested that the Princess of Wales has been constructed as this admirable, maternal, doll-like, precious vessel. Who has done it? In part, she has constructed herself. In part, she has taken on a job, which has its upsides and its downsides. A decade ago, Dame Hilary Mantel caused controversy when she gave a lecture describing the then Duchess of Cambridge as being trapped in the image of a perfect princess. She appears precision-made, machine-made, Mantel said, likening her to a jointed doll on which certain rags are hung. The Duchess appeared to have been designed by a committee and built by craftsmen, with a perfect plastic smile and the spindles of her limbs hand-turned and gloss-varnished. Prof Beard, 68, retired last year from her position as Professor of Classics at Cambridge. Asked how she was enjoying retirement, she said: Im very lucky: Im a boomer, and Ive got a great pension. 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. Billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch will face questioning this week from lawyers for voting systems company Smartmatic as part of the companys defamation lawsuit against Fox News over its coverage of the 2020 election. The deposition will take place Tuesday in Los Angeles, Reuters reported. Murdoch, 92, until this month served as chairman of Fox and News Corp. before ceding control of the company to his eldest son Lachlan and taking on the role of Chairman Emeritus. In April, with Rupert Murdoch still at the helm, Fox agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems $787 million to settle similar claims of defamation stemming from statements made on its airwaves about Dominions software that were being promoted by former President Trump and his allies. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. As part of that litigation, Dominion lawyers made public Rupert Murdochs sworn depositions and internal communications around the time of the 2020 election, some of which showed him criticizing Trump and his false claims of a stolen election. Smartmatic is seeking $2.7 billion in damages from Fox, accusing it of maliciously giving Trump lawyers Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani a platform to air falsehoods about the election. Fox has denied Smartmatics accusations and has moved in court to have the case dismissed, so far unsuccessfully. The network has also argued Smartmatic is inflating its valuation as it attempts to win a settlement. We will be ready to defend this case surrounding extremely newsworthy events when it goes to trial, likely in 2025, the network said in a statement about the case. As a report prepared by our financial expert shows, Smartmatics damages claims are implausible, disconnected from reality, and on its face intended to chill First Amendment freedoms. Updated: 1:07 p.m. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Rupert Murdoch, the billionaire founder of Fox News, is set to be deposed Tuesday as part of a lawsuit against the media company for lies it allegedly spread about the 2020 presidential election. Murdoch is expected to sit for two days of questioning in the $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox Corp. by the voting technology company Smartmatic, Reuters reported. The lawsuit alleges Fox and a number of its hosts spread lies that Smartmatic somehow interfered in the 2020 election results. Named in the lawsuit are Fox News hosts Jeanine Pirro and Maria Bartiromo, former host Lou Dobbs, and former President Donald Trumps attorney, Rudy Giuliani. Earlier this year, a similar lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems was resolved after Fox News agreed to settle for $787.5 million. In a deposition for the Dominion lawsuit, Murdoch admitted under oath that Fox News hosts repeated false conspiracy theories regarding the election results. President Joe Biden won the 2020 election by more than 7 million votes, and in an Electoral College victory of 306 to 232. I would have liked us to be stronger in denouncing it in hindsight, Murdoch said of his networks false election claims. In February, a New York appeals court shut down an attempt by Fox to dismiss the Smartmatic lawsuit. Related... Russia put the Admiral Makarov warship on active combat duty in the Black Sea on Nov. 27 despite a heavy storm, the Southern Defense Forces reported via Telegram. The military added that the threat of missile attacks remains high. Admiral Makarov is a frigate belonging to the Admiral Grigorovich class within the Russian Navy, stationed with the Black Sea Fleet at occupied Sevastopol. It is capable of carrying up to eight Kalibr cruise missiles and attacking targets on land. In 2022, Admiral Makarov targeted Ukrainian oil refinery and fuel depots in the outskirts of Odesa. In early October, the Institute for the Study of War reported that Russian military apparently moved at least 10 vessels, including the frigates Admiral Makarov and Admiral Essen, from Sevastopol to Novorossiysk, likely in an attempt to safeguard the vessels from further Ukrainian strikes. The transfer also reportedly included three diesel submarines, five landing ships, and multiple small missile ships. On Sept. 22, the Ukrainian military confirmed a successful strike on the Black Sea Fleet's headquarters in Sevastopol. The attack was reportedly carried out with long-range Storm Shadow missiles. Read also: Ukraine war latest: Russia reportedly suffers some of highest casualty rates over past 6 weeks Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. In the Kaluga oblast, a drone fell into an empty fuel storage tank Russian authorities have claimed that Ukrainian drones carried out attacks on two energy sector facilities in Russias Kaluga and Tver oblasts, Russian Telegram channel Astra said in a post on Nov. 27. A drone allegedly crashed into an empty fuel storage tank with a volume of 5,000 cubic meters on the territory of LLC Pervyj Zavod in Kaluga Oblast during the night of Nov. 26. This particular facility is involved in oil refining. Read also: Russia reports large-scale drone attack likely conducted by Ukraines military intel Another drone allegedly entered the area of the Torzhok Gazprom gas pipeline in Tver Oblast. It is said to have fallen approximately two meters from the pipeline on the same morning. The enterprise is an operator of main gas pipelines. Read also: Ukraine targets Russia's military facilities with 35 UAVs in response to earlier Shahed attack on Kyiv 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 (Bloomberg) -- Russias weekly seaborne crude exports rebounded before a meeting of OPEC+ oil minsters, which has been delayed by disagreements within the group over individual output targets. Most Read from Bloomberg About 3.24 million barrels a day of crude was shipped from Russian ports in the week to Nov. 26, tanker-tracking data monitored by Bloomberg show. That was up by 370,000 barrels a day from the revised figure for the period to Nov. 19, even though tanker loading in the Black Sea was disrupted by storms. Four-week average flows slipped. The OPEC+ group of oil producers, jointly led by Russia and Saudi Arabia, are due to meet virtually on Nov. 30 to set output targets for the first part of next year. The group was forced to postpone its scheduled gathering after some African members objected to lower output targets that were pressed on them back in June. Saudi Arabia is now asking others in the OPEC+ coalition to reduce their oil-output quotas further in a bid to shore up global markets, according to people familiar with the discussions. Moscow said in early August that it would prolong export restrictions at a reduced rate of 300,000 barrels a day below their May-June average level until the end of the year, a policy confirmed earlier this month. If the burden falls entirely on crude, that would imply seaborne shipments of 3.28 million barrels a day. But Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told Interfax last month that the reduction is spread across both crude and refined products. That complicated assessments of whether Russia was meeting its commitment after the government imposed a temporary fuel export ban in September. The less volatile four-week average flow fell for a third week, as the last week of October's export surge dropped out of the calculation. Using this measure, shipments dropped to 3.16 million barrels a day, down by about 100,000 barrels a day from the revised figure for the period to Nov. 19. That was the lowest in 12 weeks, but still about 270,000 barrels a day above shipments in the period to Aug. 20, when Moscows crude export cuts were at their deepest. Russias oil processing climbed to the highest since mid-August in the week to Nov. 22, as refineries ended seasonal maintenance and the government relaxed fuel-export restrictions. The Kremlins weekly revenues from oil export duties rebounded, recovering most of the previous weeks drop. From January, Russias oil producers are set to pay a higher output tax to fund increased downstream subsidies, which were reinstated in October after being halved the previous month. Export duty is set to be abolished at the end of this year as part of Russias long-running tax reform plans.Greek oil tanker owners have scaled back how much Russian crude theyre hauling after the US Treasury sent letters to shipping companies for potentially breaching a Group of Seven price cap on Moscows oil trades. That may well alarm officials in the Kremlin because the country still needs assistance from foreign vessel operators to get all its barrels to the global market. Flows by Destination Russias seaborne crude flows in the four weeks to Nov. 26 fell to 3.16 million barrels a day. That was down from a revised 3.26 million barrels a day in the period to Nov. 19. Shipments were about 420,000 barrels a day below the average seen during the surge in volumes between April and June. All figures exclude cargoes identified as Kazakhstans KEBCO grade. Those are shipments made by KazTransoil JSC that transit Russia for export through Novorossiysk and the Baltic port of Ust-Luga and are not subject to European Union sanctions or a price cap. The Kazakh barrels are blended with crude of Russian origin to create a uniform export grade. Since Russias invasion of Ukraine, Kazakhstan has rebranded its cargoes to distinguish them from those shipped by Russian companies. Observed shipments to Russias Asian customers, including those showing no final destination, fell to 2.63 million barrels a day in the four weeks to Nov. 26, down from a revised 2.74 million barrels a day in the period to Nov. 19. Thats well below a peak of about 3.6 million barrels a day seen in May. About 1.23 million barrels a day of crude was loaded onto tankers heading to China in the four weeks to Nov. 26. Chinas seaborne imports are supplemented by about 800,000 barrels a day of crude delivered directly from Russia by pipeline, either directly, or via Kazakhstan. Flows on ships signaling destinations in India averaged about 870,000 barrels a day in the four weeks to Nov. 26. Both the Chinese and Indian figures will rise as the discharge ports become clear for vessels that are not currently showing final destinations. The equivalent of about 485,000 barrels a day was on vessels signaling Port Said or Suez in Egypt, or are expected to be transferred from one ship to another off the South Korean port of Yeosu. Those voyages typically end at ports in India or China and show up in the chart below as Unknown Asia until a final destination becomes apparent. The Other Unknown volumes, running at about 26,000 barrels a day in the four weeks to Nov. 26, are those on tankers showing no clear destination. Most of those cargoes originate from Russias western ports and go on to transit the Suez Canal, but some could end up in Turkey. Others could be moved from one vessel to another, with most such transfers now taking place in the Mediterranean, off the coast of Greece. Russias seaborne crude exports to European countries have collapsed since Moscows troops invaded Ukraine in February 2022. A market that consumed about 1.5 million barrels a day of short-haul seaborne crude, coming from export terminals in the Baltic, Black Sea and Arctic has been lost almost completely, to be replaced by long-haul destinations in Asia that are much more costly and time-consuming to serve. No Russian crude was shipped to northern European countries, or those in the Mediterranean in the four weeks to Nov. 26. Flows to Bulgaria, now Russias only European market for crude, fell to about 83,000 barrels a day in the most recent four-week period. Exports to Turkey rose to about 420,000 barrels a day in the four weeks to Nov. 26. They remain more than twice as high as they were in July and August. Vessel-tracking data are cross-checked against port agent reports as well as flows and ship movements reported by other information providers including Kpler and Vortexa Ltd. Export Revenue Inflows to the Kremlin's war chest from its crude-export duty rebounded to $81 million in the seven days to Nov. 26, while four-week average income was little changed at $78 million. The weekly income recovered 90% of the loss seen the previous week. The duty rate for November has been set at $3.57 a barrel, based on an average Urals price of $83.35 during the calculation period between Sept. 15 and Oct. 14. That was about $7.70 a barrel below Brent over the same period. Novembers duty rate sets another new high for the year. The rate for December will be $3.37 a barrel, based on an average Urals price of $79.23 during the calculation period between Oct. 15 and Nov. 14. That was about $9.39 a barrel below Brent over the same period. Origin-to-Location Flows The following table shows the number of ships leaving each export terminal. A total of 30 tankers loaded 22.7 million barrels of Russian crude in the week to Nov. 26, vessel-tracking data and port agent reports show. Thats up by about 2.6 million barrels from the revised figure for the previous week. There was just one shipment from Novorossiysk, with storms hampering activity at the port for a second week. Destinations are based on where vessels signal they are heading at the time of writing, and some will almost certainly change as voyages progress. All figures exclude cargoes identified as Kazakhstans KEBCO grade. No cargoes of KEBCO were loaded at Novorossiysk or Ust-Luga during the week. NOTES Note: This story forms part of a weekly series tracking shipments of crude from Russian export terminals and the export duty revenues earned from them by the Russian government. Weeks run from Monday to Sunday. The next update will be on Tuesday, Dec. 5. Note: All figures exclude cargoes owned by Kazakhstans KazTransOil JSC, which transit Russia and are shipped from Novorossiysk and Ust-Luga as KEBCO grade crude. If you are reading this story on the Bloomberg terminal, click here for a link to a PDF file of four-week average flows from Russia to key destinations. --With assistance from Sherry Su. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. The Kremlin accused a prominent Russian-American writer of spreading false information about its invasion of Ukraine, filing another lawsuit meant to punish those critical of its ongoing assault on the country. Masha Gessen, a staff writer for The New Yorker, was accused by Russia of the crime after sitting for an interview with a popular Russian YouTuber, Yury Dud. The pair spoke about Russias military campaign in Ukraine, specifically the massacre of civilians in the Ukrainian city of Bucha in March 2022. Gessen wrote a lengthy account of the atrocities in Bucha after Russian troops occupied the city for a month, noting hundreds of residents were killed during the brief campaign. At the time of the article, one group estimated at least 2,500 potential war crimes had been committed by Russian forces, with at least a thousand more yet to be documented. But soon after the occupation, Russia began to spread false accounts claiming that images of bodies left in the street were staged and that reports of the massacre were untrue. The Kremlin appeared to lean on those fake narratives as it announced the case against Gessen this month, the writer told The Washington Post this week. A document initiating the case against Gessen and provided to the Post said: According to the information from the Russian General Staff, the information about the mass murder of civilians by the service-members, accompanied by cases of looting, kidnappings and torture in March of 2022 in the town of Bucha during the special military operation is not true. Masha Gessen speaks Nov. 17, 2022, at the Committee to Protect Journalists' International Press Freedom Awards in New York City. Masha Gessen speaks Nov. 17, 2022, at the Committee to Protect Journalists' International Press Freedom Awards in New York City. Gessen holds dual Russian and U.S. citizenship and lived in Russia for about two decades until 2013. They moved to the United States as the Kremlin began a crackdown on LGBTQ+ citizens. Gessen is a nonbinary trans person who uses they/them pronouns. In the YouTube interview, they emphatically rejected the Kremlins efforts to recast the atrocities in Bucha. The Post reported that Duds channel is popular and easily accessible to many Russians while other sources of information, including Facebook and Instagram, are blocked in the country. Duds reach he has 10 million subscribers and Gessens comments may have prompted the recent criminal case and another against a Russian opposition lawmaker last year. The chances that I will ever be able to go back to Russia Im 56 years old are pretty slim, Gessen told the Post. That has a significant impact on my life and at some point, my journalism. They added that travel to any country with an extradition treaty with Russia would now be risky, creating a list of a whole bunch of countries it would be unsafe for me to go to. Russia has taken dramatic steps to limit criticism of the Kremlin during the Ukrainian invasion, jailing critics and passing laws to punish opponents with years-long sentences. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been jailed in Russia for nine months after being charged with espionage as part of that crackdown. Related... (Bloomberg) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he plans to accept an invitation to attend an international security conference in the NATO member state of North Macedonia, if hes able to get there given a European Union flight ban for his country. Most Read from Bloomberg If it works out, well be there, Lavrov said during a discussion panel in Moscow broadcast online on Monday. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is holding the Nov. 30 to Dec. 1 gathering of foreign ministers from its 57 member states in the North Macedonian capital, Skopje. The country, which holds the rotating chairmanship of the group, said it was prepared to temporarily lift a ban on aircraft from Russia to allow Lavrov to attend the talks. Lavrov said Bulgaria, an EU member, has also agreed to allow him to transit its territory. Poland, which held the chairmanship last year, barred the Russian foreign minister from attending a December 2022 OSCE ministerial meeting in the city of Lodz. It justified the decision as in line with Lavrovs designation under EU sanctions imposed in response to Russias February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. EU countries have also halted flights to Russia. The OSCE was established to reduce tensions during the Cold War but its role has been in doubt since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into neighboring Ukraine, provoking the worst conflict in Europe since World War II. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. We will live next to an aggressive, strong, vengeful neighbor, and we must be prepared for this. The most outstanding achievement we have today (other than military achievements) is the unity of society. Yes, we have united around an arduous task to repel the aggressor, to repel the enemy. But still, we have united. As far as I know the results of research, not only of the present, there has never been such a long unification. But despite this, today, we already see a division in society. I'm not talking about a split. I don't see a split yet. I see the division into four groups. The first is the military, and this is not the Ministry of Defense, for example, or even the General Staff. These are specific soldiers who are fighting. It can be the Defense Ministry, it can be the Armed Forces, it doesn't matter. These people are treated with great respect by absolutely everyone. The second group is those who have never traveled anywhere, who are always in Kharkiv, always in Odesa, always in Dnipro. I don't want to talk about Kyiv, because the situation there is a little bit special. The third group is those who evacuated, but evacuated within Ukraine. After the war, the time of this evacuation when and to what extent will also matter. The fourth group is those who went abroad. I do not want to condemn, explain, or acclaim anyone. I am simply noting that society is divided along these lines. I'm terribly afraid that the authorities may cause a split along these lines with their not-entirely reasonable decisions. It doesn't take much for this to happen. For example, there was a proposal that those currently abroad should be economically incentivized to return. Honestly, I have never heard a more stupid proposal in my life. Even in Soviet times. It is so ridiculous. It's just a provocation that is hard to even comment on. We managed to overcome this, to convey that this cannot be done. We should understand that this should not be done and is dangerous. I know of only one empire so far that has managed to squeeze imperialism out of its thinking Will we be able to maintain this unity of society after the war? We will not be able to. It is unrealistic. This is because the consequences of the war, the results of the war, and our victory will not satisfy everyone. Someone will need a parade on Red Square, someone will need to return our people from Tyumen, and someone else will need something else. This will not happen. This must be understood. It is apparent that Russia is not going anywhere. I know of only one empire so far that has managed to squeeze imperialism out of its thinking. This empire is called Great Britain. But the elite there has been working to squeeze this out for a hundred years. As the writer Anton Chekhov said, one must squeeze out a slave drop by drop, and they squeezed out imperialism. In Russia, it's the exact opposite. It is cultivated. This is how imperialism develops. You have probably heard the speech by the head of the Russian Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, right? There were a lot of very unpleasant things for us. We will live next to an aggressive, strong, vengeful neighbor, and we must be prepared for this. I am not a politician. I have a poor understanding of what the government should be like and how it should be run. But I understand what society should do. Society has to make it clear to everyone, both those in power and those not in power, that we don't have only one office where all decisions are made. We have and should have multi-subjective governance, with civil society governance, local government governance, and the unification of these local authorities to solve certain problems. There are business associations. There is the unification of business and government. The government is involved in business affairs, particularly in promoting our export economy. There is nothing wrong with that. One more thing. We are very often angry with our partners that the aid is so slow. We would like everything to be done tomorrow, or better yet, the day before yesterday. This is the result of the fact that these are democratic societies. There is no such thing as fast in democratic societies. Fast is only when a dictator says: it will be so. That's fast. We have to prepare for this, among other things. Because when the community makes local government decisions, not the head of the village council, this procedure will require time, explanations, conversations, and persuasion. My point is that democracy is better than dictatorship, and humanity has not invented anything better. But it has its drawbacks. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Russian forces attacked four settlements in Sumy Oblast on Nov. 27, the local military administration reported on Telegram. Russia's military fired at least 45 times over the past 24 hours, targeting the communities of Krasnopillia, Khotin, Nova Sloboda, and Velyka Pysarivka. No casualties or damage to civilian infrastructure were reported. The Russian military targeted the settlements with an onslaught of mortar shelling. The community of Khotin, home to roughly 5,500 residents, experienced the most intense attacks, with 22 explosions recorded in the area. The town is located some 10 kilometers south and 26 kilometers west of the Russia-Ukraine border. Shelling is a daily occurrence for the communities near Ukraine's northeastern border with Russia. Residents in the region's vulnerable border settlements endure multiple attacks per day. Read also: Ukraine war latest: Russia reportedly suffers some of highest casualty rates over past 6 weeks Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Moscow has allocated around $250,000 to fund the so-called Maidan-3 disinformation operation, aiming to exacerbate domestic tensions within Ukraine and destabilize the government, Ukraines Defense Intelligence spokesman Andriy Chernyak told Ukrainian outlet Babel on Nov. 28. Chernyak stated that Russians conducted this campaign largely via Telegram channels. He added that it is Russia's most expensive campaign since the 2014 Revolution of Dignity, which they spent tens of millions of dollars to discredit the popular uprising in Ukraine against fugitive president Viktor Yanukovych. Read also: Zelenskyy sanctions Yanukovych-era PM Azarov along with other pro-Russian figures The spokesman clarified that information and psycho-informational operations are being handled by units created within all Russian special services. This includes the Russias Military Intelligence (GRU), FSB security service, and Defense Ministry. Read also: FSB agent sentenced to 15 years for coordinating missile strikes on Vinnytsia The deputy chief of Vladimir Putin's administration, Sergey Kiriyenko, is responsible for the autumn-winter destabilization project in Ukraine, according to Ukrainian intelligence. Read also: Moscow church Metropolitan Pavlo appears in court after 4-month break, but hearing postponed again Moreover, intelligence notes that the Kremlin is attempting to shift the focus from external threats to internal tensions in Ukraine. Vladislav Surkov, Russias deputy PM, who was previously the ideologue of the so-called Novorossiya project, is participating in this effort. Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Moscow still "very much wants" to remove him from power and has a corresponding "mission" to be completed by the end of this year. According to him, this operation, named "Maidan-3," aims to change the president in a "coup d'etat." 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 Members and supporters of the Russian Communist Party lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's upper house of parliament will on Dec. 13 officially announce the date of the March presidential election, Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov said on Tuesday - a step that marks the start of overt campaigning. According to Russian law, the upper house of parliament must announce the exact date at least 100 days before the vote. Election day is widely assumed to be March 17. President Vladimir Putin has not yet said whether he plans to run again, although it is generally expected that he will do so, and win. "According to my information, the Federation Council will on Dec. 13 officially announce the start of the presidential election campaign," Zyuganov said. Zyuganov said the ruling United Russia party would hold a conference on Dec. 17 and the Communists on Dec. 23. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Kevin Liffey) Russia and Ukraine are both beefing up their air defenses ahead of another winter of bombardment Ukrainian air-defense systems fire into the sky outside Kyiv on November 25. Libkos/Getty Images Ahead of another winter of war, Russia and Ukraine are bolstering their air-defense arsenals. Ukraine and its foreign partners are scrambling to field new and improvised air-defense weaponry. The Russian military appears to be sacrificing elsewhere to reinforce its air defenses in Ukraine. As the start of the second winter of their renewed war looms, both Ukraine and Russia are trying to beef up their air defenses. For Kyiv, effective defenses could decide whether Ukrainians freeze during another campaign of Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine's cities and critical infrastructure. For Russia, the ability to knock down Ukraine's drones and Western-supplied missiles will be crucial to whether Russian troops can maneuver and be resupplied during upcoming ground operations. For both sides, capable air-defense systems are vital for countering the constant presence of surveillance and explosive drones over the battlefield, where they can paralyze military operations. Ukrainian soldiers in a Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft gun on November 23. Kostya Liberov/ Libkos/Getty Images Despite Russia's attempts to suppress them at the start of the war, Ukraine's air-defense forces have proven remarkably effective at using a mix of Soviet-era systems, such as the S-300 and Buk anti-aircraft missiles, as well as Western weapons such as US-made Patriot missiles and German-built Gepard anti-aircraft guns. But after two years of incessant barrages by Russian missiles and waves of Russian- and Iranian-made drones, Ukraine is running low on air-defense missiles and cannon ammunition. The US and European countries are scrambling to boost defense production to resupply Ukraine, but as their output ramps up slowly, they are dipping deep into domestic stockpiles to support Kyiv while scouring the world for missiles and ammunition compatible with Ukraine's Soviet-era equipment. To meet their needs with what they have right now, the US and Ukraine have turned to a quick fix: the "FrankenSAM," which mates Western-built missiles with Soviet-designed launchers and radars. America has ample stocks of AIM-7 and AIM-9M missiles, as well as the RIM-7 naval variant, that it has already supplied to Ukraine for air defense. Ukrainians fire a Soviet-designed Strela-10 air-defense missile at a Russian drone near Bakhmut in July. Ed Ram for The Washington Post via Getty Images Only Russia still builds missiles for the Soviet-designed air-defense systems Ukraine is using, and Kyiv and its backers now face "a basic structural problem" after two years of "buying up all the missiles available around the world" for those weapons, according to Michael Kofman, an American expert on the Russian military at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. FrankenSAM may be a solution to that munitions shortage, Kofman said on a November 6 episode of the War on the Rocks podcast. The FrankenSAM effort "seems to have yielded systems that we can supply," Kofman said. "It may not be in high numbers that we can produce per month but will allow us to provide a modified version of a Ukrainian Buk or some other systems that will fire our missiles." Russian missiles and drones have been a persistent menace to Ukrainian troops and civilians, but Russia has air-defense problems of its own. A Ukrainian soldier directs a drone toward Russian positions near Bakhmut in June. Ercin Erturk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Since early in the war, Ukraine has employed domestically developed and foreign-provided military-grade drones as well as commercial drones modified to carry munitions. Its forces have used large drones armed with missiles and small quadcopters to strike big targets like Russian tanks and small, cheap first-person-view drones to target individual Russian soldiers. Ukrainian drones have also struck deep inside Russia, hitting bases and major cities, including Moscow. Those strikes have caused minimal damage but are nonetheless embarrassing for a regime that bases its claim to power on being able to defend Russians. Perhaps the biggest threat is Ukraine's long-range munitions, such as US-made ATACMS and HIMARS rockets and British-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles. These weapons have been responsible for devastating strikes against Russian bases, supply depots, and infrastructure, such as the bridges that allow supplies to reach the garrison in Crimea. Russia has an extensive air-defense arsenal with which it has maintained coverage over its cities, borders, and strategically valuable territory like the Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad. Those weapons, including its most advanced surface-to-air system, the S-400, have also been deployed to Ukraine. S-400 systems at a military base in Kaliningrad in March 2019. REUTERS/Vitaly Nevar In recent months, several S-400s have been destroyed in Ukrainian attacks. Analysis by the British Defence Ministry earlier this month indicated that Moscow would "highly likely" have to move other air-defense weapons to Ukraine, showing how the war "continues to overextend Russia's military and strains its ability to retain baseline defences across its vast area." Public flight-tracking information compiled by open-source research outlet Bellingcat indicates that such moves were already underway in late October, with military cargo planes transporting S-400 batteries out of Kaliningrad in what the Defence Ministry this week called "exceptional Russian air-transport movements." The destination of those S-400s is unclear, but given that Russia has devoted enormous resources to air defense of "the Motherland" since the 1930s, stripping important locations like Kaliningrad of anti-aircraft weapons is a sign of desperation. That Russia's military "appears willing to accept additional risk" at that strategically important outpost "highlights the overstretch the war has caused for some of Russia's key, modern capabilities," the Defence Ministry said this week. Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds a master's in political science. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn. Read the original article on Insider Ahead of another winter of war, Russia and Ukraine are bolstering their air-defense arsenals. Ukraine and its foreign partners are scrambling to field new and improvised air-defense weaponry. The Russian military appears to be sacrificing elsewhere to reinforce its air defenses in Ukraine. As the start of the second winter of their renewed war looms, both Ukraine and Russia are trying to beef up their air defenses. For Kyiv, effective defenses could decide whether Ukrainians freeze during another campaign of Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine's cities and critical infrastructure. For Russia, the ability to knock down Ukraine's drones and Western-supplied missiles will be crucial to whether Russian troops can maneuver and be resupplied during upcoming ground operations. For both sides, capable air-defense systems are vital for countering the constant presence of surveillance and explosive drones over the battlefield, where they can paralyze military operations. Ukrainian soldiers in a Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft gun on November 23. Kostya Liberov/ Libkos/Getty Images Despite Russia's attempts to suppress them at the start of the war, Ukraine's air-defense forces have proven remarkably effective at using a mix of Soviet-era systems, such as the S-300 and Buk anti-aircraft missiles, as well as Western weapons such as US-made Patriot missiles and German-built Gepard anti-aircraft guns. But after two years of incessant barrages by Russian missiles and waves of Russian- and Iranian-made drones, Ukraine is running low on air-defense missiles and cannon ammunition. The US and European countries are scrambling to boost defense production to resupply Ukraine, but as their output ramps up slowly, they are dipping deep into domestic stockpiles to support Kyiv while scouring the world for missiles and ammunition compatible with Ukraine's Soviet-era equipment. To meet their needs with what they have right now, the US and Ukraine have turned to a quick fix: the "FrankenSAM," which mates Western-built missiles with Soviet-designed launchers and radars. America has ample stocks of AIM-7 and AIM-9M missiles, as well as the RIM-7 naval variant, that it has already supplied to Ukraine for air defense. Ukrainians fire a Soviet-designed Strela-10 air-defense missile at a Russian drone near Bakhmut in July. Ed Ram for The Washington Post via Getty Images Only Russia still builds missiles for the Soviet-designed air-defense systems Ukraine is using, and Kyiv and its backers now face "a basic structural problem" after two years of "buying up all the missiles available around the world" for those weapons, according to Michael Kofman, an American expert on the Russian military at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. FrankenSAM may be a solution to that munitions shortage, Kofman said on a November 6 episode of the War on the Rocks podcast. The FrankenSAM effort "seems to have yielded systems that we can supply," Kofman said. "It may not be in high numbers that we can produce per month but will allow us to provide a modified version of a Ukrainian Buk or some other systems that will fire our missiles." Russian missiles and drones have been a persistent menace to Ukrainian troops and civilians, but Russia has air-defense problems of its own. A Ukrainian soldier directs a drone toward Russian positions near Bakhmut in June. Ercin Erturk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Since early in the war, Ukraine has employed domestically developed and foreign-provided military-grade drones as well as commercial drones modified to carry munitions. Its forces have used large drones armed with missiles and small quadcopters to strike big targets like Russian tanks and small, cheap first-person-view drones to target individual Russian soldiers. Ukrainian drones have also struck deep inside Russia, hitting bases and major cities, including Moscow. Those strikes have caused minimal damage but are nonetheless embarrassing for a regime that bases its claim to power on being able to defend Russians. Perhaps the biggest threat is Ukraine's long-range munitions, such as US-made ATACMS and HIMARS rockets and British-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles. These weapons have been responsible for devastating strikes against Russian bases, supply depots, and infrastructure, such as the bridges that allow supplies to reach the garrison in Crimea. Russia has an extensive air-defense arsenal with which it has maintained coverage over its cities, borders, and strategically valuable territory like the Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad. Those weapons, including its most advanced surface-to-air system, the S-400, have also been deployed to Ukraine. S-400 systems at a military base in Kaliningrad in March 2019. REUTERS/Vitaly Nevar In recent months, several S-400s have been destroyed in Ukrainian attacks. Analysis by the British Defence Ministry earlier this month indicated that Moscow would "highly likely" have to move other air-defense weapons to Ukraine, showing how the war "continues to overextend Russia's military and strains its ability to retain baseline defences across its vast area." Public flight-tracking information compiled by open-source research outlet Bellingcat indicates that such moves were already underway in late October, with military cargo planes transporting S-400 batteries out of Kaliningrad in what the Defence Ministry this week called "exceptional Russian air-transport movements." The destination of those S-400s is unclear, but given that Russia has devoted enormous resources to air defense of "the Motherland" since the 1930s, stripping important locations like Kaliningrad of anti-aircraft weapons is a sign of desperation. That Russia's military "appears willing to accept additional risk" at that strategically important outpost "highlights the overstretch the war has caused for some of Russia's key, modern capabilities," the Defence Ministry said this week. Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds a master's in political science. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn. Read the original article on Business Insider The Russians are capable of intercepting HIMARS and Storm Shadow missiles provided by the West, but the Ukrainian Armed Forces use "certain tricks" to evade the enemy's air defenses, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat told news outlet Novynarnya in an interview on Nov. 27. Asked about the effectiveness of Russian air defense systems, he said that they had been developed and modernized over the years in particular the Osa and Tor systems. The enemy also has Pantsir, S-300, S-350 and S-400. Read also: Ukraine takes out Russian Buk air defense system, as well as a routine 1,000+ invaders in last day But Russias air defenses have had to be "dispersed" to cope with their primary task of protecting the countrys strategic cities Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad, said Ihnat. "Yes, weve thin them out quite well, he said. But they also have a big country. All these complexes are supposed to protect the Far East, the northern territories, the infrastructure, Putin's palaces and bunkers... Read also: Ukraine and US progress in matching Soviet launchers with Western AA missiles But the bulk of their air defenses are definitely here now the Donetsk sector, the southern sector and Crimea," Ihnat said, adding that the best Russian complexes capable of shooting down Western missiles, are now concentrated in the occupied territories of Ukraine, and they are high-value targets for Ukraines HARM, Storm Shadow, and ATACMS missiles. "Yes, the Russians can destroy and intercept HIMARS, Ihnat said. They have systems that can work against ballistic missiles according to their tactical and technical characteristics. That is clear. They can also shoot down Storm Shadow/SCALP cruise missiles, which are subsonic. But we don't just launch these missiles to be shot down... There are certain tricks and tactics used by our command and pilots." Russia has lost 597 air defense systems in Ukraine since the start of its full-scale invasion, according to the tally kept by the Ukrainian General Staff. 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 Russian air strike on Toretsk in Donetsk Oblast on Nov. 28 injured four female employees of a local workshop, the Donetsk Oblast Prosecutor's Office reported. Russian forces reportedly launched the attack at 10:50, targeting the enterprise where the women were present at the time. The victims, aged 35, 43, 52, and 54, were subsequently hospitalized, the prosecutors said. Several industrial buildings were also reportedly damaged in the attack. Toretsk lies not far from the front line and is a common target of Russian strikes. Read also: Ukraine war latest: Russia reportedly suffers some of highest casualty rates over past 6 weeks Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Russian forces struck Beryslav and Dudchany in Kherson Oblast on Nov. 28, wounding two residents, the regional administration reported. A 64-year-old woman suffered an injury when Russia hit the village of Dudchany, over 100 kilometers northeast of Kherson, the authorities said on Telegram. The Russian attack on the town of Beryslav reportedly wounded a 48-year-old man who was in a car at the time. Both victims were hospitalized following the strikes, added the Kherson Oblast authorities. An earlier strike on the village of Lvove, some 45 kilometers east of Kherson, wounded another man aged 40, according to the Beryslav District Military Administration. Ukraine's Armed Forces liberated Kherson and other regional settlements on the west bank of the Dnipro River in November 2022. Russian troops were pushed to the east bank, from where they have since been firing at the liberated territories, regularly resulting in civilian deaths and injuries. Read also: Under deadly attacks, Kherson fights to keep life going 1 year after liberation Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Russian forces carried out attacks on 10 of Ukraine's oblasts over the past day, killing one person and injuring at least two people, local officials reported early on Nov. 28. Russian shelling of Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast injured a 51-year-old woman, Governor Serhii Lysak reported. Russian forces also launched a missile strike on the city of Kryvyi Rih overnight, inflicting no casualties, Lysak said. In Kherson Oblast, one person was injured in Russian attacks, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said in his morning report on Nov. 28. Later during the day, a man injured in the night strike on Kherson died in the hospital, Roman Mrochko, the head of the city's military administration, reported. Chernihiv, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Luhansk, Khmelnytskyi, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts also came under attack, but local officials reported no casualties. Read also: Francis Farrell: Ukraine could still lose the war. Lets get some things straight Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. FILE - Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands in a glass cage in a courtroom at the Moscow City Court in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023. A court in Moscow on Tuesday, Nov. 28, extended the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Gershkovich, arrested on espionage charges, until Jan. 30, Russian news agencies reported. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File) MOSCOW (AP) A court in Moscow on Tuesday extended the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, arrested on espionage charges, until Jan. 30, Russian news agencies reported. The hearing took place behind closed doors because authorities say details of the criminal case against the American journalist are classified. Gershkovich, 32, was detained in March while on a reporting trip to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, about 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) east of Moscow. Russias Federal Security Service alleged that the reporter, acting on the instructions of the American side, collected information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex. Gershkovich and the Journal deny the allegations, and the U.S. government has declared him to be wrongfully detained. Russian authorities havent detailed any evidence to support the espionage charges. Gershkovich is the first American reporter to be charged with espionage in Russia since 1986, when Nicholas Daniloff, a Moscow correspondent for U.S. News and World Report, was arrested by the KGB. He is being held at Moscows Lefortovo prison, notorious for its harsh conditions. Analysts have pointed out that Moscow may be using jailed Americans as bargaining chips after U.S.-Russian tensions soared when Russia sent troops into Ukraine. At least two U.S. citizens arrested in Russia in recent years including WNBA star Brittney Griner have been exchanged for Russians jailed in the U.S. The Russian Foreign Ministry has said it will consider a swap for Gershkovich only after a verdict in his trial. In Russia, espionage trials can last for more than a year. By Guy Faulconbridge and Filipp Lebedev MOSCOW (Reuters) -A Russian court said on Tuesday it had extended the detention of Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter who is awaiting trial on espionage charges he denies, until Jan. 30, 2024. Gershkovich, a U.S. citizen, was detained by the Federal Security Service (FSB) on March 29 in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg on charges of espionage that carry up to 20 years in prison. "The court ruled to extend the term of detention of Gershkovich, accused of a crime under Article 276 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, for up to 10 months, that is, until January 30, 2024," Moscow's Lefortovo district court said. Gershkovich denies the charges. He is the first U.S. journalist to be detained on spy charges in Russia since the Cold War. Russia said Gershkovich was caught "red-handed" while the FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said he was trying to obtain military secrets. The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones say that Gershkovich was simply doing his job in Russia and deny the espionage charges. The Journal and Dow have repeatedly demanded that Russia release him, to no avail. "Evan has now been unjustly imprisoned for nearly 250 days, and every day is a day too long," The Journal said in a statement. "The accusations against him are categorically false and his continued imprisonment is a brazen and outrageous attack on a free press, which is critical for a free society. We continue to stand with Evan and call for his immediate release." PRISONER SWAP? The White House has called the charges "ridiculous" and President Joe Biden has said Gershkovich's detention is "totally illegal". "We are deeply concerned by the courts decision," the U.S. embassy in Moscow said. "We reiterate our call for his immediate release." Diplomats say that Gershkovich was probably detained as part of broader Russian effort to build up a store of arrested U.S. citizens who could we swapped for Russian citizens - and convicted spies - detained in the West. Russian officials, who insist Gershkovich was caught seeking secrets, say there have been contacts with Washington over Gershkovich but they say that loud American public demands will not help his case. Russia has said there could be no exchange involving Gershkovich until a verdict is reached in his case. No date has so far been announced for his trial. A fluent Russian-speaker born to Soviet emigres and raised in New Jersey, Gershkovich moved to Moscow in late 2017 to join the English-language Moscow Times, and subsequently worked for the French news agency Agence France-Presse. Since his detention, Gershkovich has appealed against his detention several times, appearing in the glass cages used for suspects in Russian courts. The appeals have been rejected. His arrest shocked many Western news organisations and there are now almost no U.S. reporters in Russia, which is ranked by the State Department as a hardship posting on a par with Freetown, Mogadishu, Damascus and Kabul. The U.S. State Department has repeatedly told all U.S. citizens to leave Russia immediately due to "the potential for harassment and the singling out of U.S. citizens for detention by Russian government security officials". (Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Nick Macfie) (Bloomberg) -- Three Baltic countries and Ukraine said they wont attend a meeting of the European security body OSCE after it invited Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to take part. Most Read from Bloomberg Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia said in a joint statement Tuesday they will stay away from the gathering of the 57-member Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. It will only provide Russia with yet another propaganda opportunity, the countries foreign ministers said ahead of the meeting due in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Thursday and Friday. Ukraine also announced it wont take part. In an interview with Bloomberg, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said earlier that the OSCE risks becoming brain dead as US and European allies bend to Russias will by negotiating with Moscow over top jobs and which country will chair the organization. The body has offered Malta to take over as chair in a compromise after Moscow pushed back against Estonia, he said. Were dancing to a fiddle thats being played by Russians and I dont agree with that, Landsbergis said. If there is an organization that could be called actually brain dead, we will very much have a chance to see the OSCE becoming this. Landsbergis cited a term used by French President Emmanuel Macron in 2019 to describe the NATO military alliance, which faced deteriorating transatlantic relations under US President Donald Trump. The term is better suited to the OSCE as it debates European security with Russia at the same table, while Moscows war in Ukraine continues, Landsbergis said. The OSCE grew from efforts to reduce tensions during the Cold War but its role has been in doubt since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine. The tensions over the OSCE come as the US and the European Union struggle to agree to more funds for Ukraine, while weapons stocks on both sides of the Atlantic have been depleted and defense companies arent ramping up quickly enough. Landsbergis said the OSCE discussions are part of ongoing negotiations to get Russia to sign off on top jobs at the institution as well as on the bodys budget. In the joint statement, the Baltic nations said Lavrovs attendance at the meeting risks legitimizing aggressor Russia as a rightful member of our community of free nations, trivializing the atrocious crimes Russia has been committing, and putting up with Russias blatant violation and contempt of the OSCE. Ukraine said it will skip the session because Russia systemically blocks consensus on key issues and turned the organization into a hostage of its whims and aggression, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry. Lavrovs Plans Lavrov has said he plans to accept the invitation if hes able to travel given an EU flight ban for his country. North Macedonia, which holds the rotating chairmanship of the group, said it was prepared to temporarily lift a ban on aircraft from Russia to allow Lavrov to attend the talks. Bulgaria has also said it would allow Lavrovs plane through its airspace, though the permit wont be valid for members of the Russian envoys delegation who are under EU sanctions. By contrast, Poland, which held the chairmanship last year, had barred Lavrov from attending a December 2022 OSCE ministerial meeting in the city of Lodz. Bujar Osmani, North Macedonias foreign minister, told reporters in Brussels that Lavrov is not coming to Skopje, hes coming to the OSCE, just as he went to the UN in New York a few months ago. Speaking to reporters ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, Osmani said his message to Lavrov would be that the Russian Federation has violated the very foundation of the organization that I chair, the principles and commitments of the OSCE. --With assistance from Courtney McBride, Kevin Whitelaw and Kateryna Chursina. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. FILE PHOTO: Local resident walks next to residential buildings heavily damaged by permanent Russian military strikes in the front line town of Avdiivka (Reuters) - Russian forces are intensifying their drive to capture the eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka, trying to advance on all sides after weeks of fighting, the town's top official was quoted as saying on Monday. Russian troops have been pressing land and air-based attacks on Avdiivka, since mid-October as the focal point of their slow-moving push through eastern Ukraine's Donbas region in the 21-month-old war. The latest push, reported by Vitaliy Barabash, head of Avdiivka's military administration, followed reports last week that Ukrainian troops had made some headway in halting and pushing back the Russian advance. "Things in the Avdiivka sector have become even tougher. The intensity of clashes has been increasing for some time," Barabash told the media outlet Espreso TV. "The Russians have opened up two more sectors from which they have begun making assaults - in the direction of Donetsk ... and in the so-called industrial zone. The enemy is attempting to storm the city from all directions." Officials say not a single building remains intact after months of battles in the town noted for a vast coking plant. Fewer than 1,500 residents remain of 32,000 before the war. Much of the fighting has focused on the industrial zone and the coking plant. Barabash earlier said that Ukrainian forces had in recent days pushed back Russian forces near Stepove, a village northwest of Avdiivka, pinning them down near a rail line. Ukrainain and Western military analysts say Russia has incurred heavy losses, although the battle for the town is rarely mentioned in official Russian military dispatches. Russian military bloggers also reported Ukrainian gains near Avdiivka last week. On Monday, Russian reports said Moscow's troops had secured control of the industrial zone and were attempting to storm the coking plant. Reuters could not verify reports from either side. Avdiivka was briefly captured in 2014 by Russian-financed separatists who seized large chunks of eastern Ukraine. Fortifications were later built around the town - seen as a gateway to the Russian-held regional centre of Donetsk - and it has resisted attacks since Moscow began its full-fledged invasion in February 2022. Ukraine launched a counteroffensive in June but has made only marginal gains in both the east and the south. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has acknowledged the slow progress but denies any suggestion the war is at a "stalemate". Ukrainian military spokesperson Oleksandr Shtupun told the news outlet liga.net that wintry weather and strong winds were affecting the use of drones by both sides. Shtupun said Russian forces had suffered heavy losses near Avdiivka and nearby Maryinka, another largely destroyed town where control has been contested for months. "Our defenders are holding their ground," Shtupun told liga.net. "We are fighting and will continue to fight despite the weather." (Reporting by Ron Popeski and Oleksandr Kozhukhar; Editing by Stephen Coates) Russia has reduced the use of kamikaze drones in the Tavria sector of the front for the past two days, but it continues, however, to drop precision-guided bombs, Tavria operational group commander Oleksandr Tarnavskyi said on Telegram on Nov. 28. Ground infantry attacks persist, with Russian forces experiencing significant manpower losses numbering in the hundreds, Tarnavskyi said. Instances of Russian soldiers refusing to partake in active offensive actions are increasing across different sectors, he said. To address depleted units, the occupiers continue to replenish their forces with prisoners. Read also: "The Russian command considers this so-called special contingent expendable material, and relentlessly throws them into assaults, like cannon fodder," Tarnavskyi said. Read also: Ukraine takes out Russian Buk air defense system, as well as a routine 1,000+ invaders in last day Ukrainian forces are holding their ground in the Avdiivka sector and have successfully repelled Russian advances east of Novobakhmutivka, northeast of Berdychiv, and in the areas of Avdiivka, Opytne, Severne, and south of Tonenke, where the enemy launched 23 attacks. Russian army's total losses in the Tavria group operational zone amounted to 374 people, Tarnavskyi said. Ukrainian forces also successfully destroyed a tank and a Russian ammunition depot. Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops continue to advance in the Melitopol sector. Tarnavskyi previously reported that the Russian invaders had begun the third wave of active operations as part of the offensive in the Avdiivka sector. 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 Eleonora Mitrofanova, Russias Ambassador to Bulgaria, has claimed that she has obtained permission from the Bulgarian authorities for Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrovs plane to fly through the countrys airspace so that he can attend an OSCE ministerial meeting in North Macedonia. Source: Mitrofanova for the Russian propaganda agency TASS; European Pravda Details: According to the Russian ambassador, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry gave a "positive response" to a note from Moscows embassy about the issue of Lavrovs plane flying via Bulgaria. "The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry has officially informed us that our minister is permitted to fly in the country's airspace," she said. The Bulgarian ministry has made no official comment as yet. Earlier on Monday, Lavrov said the Russian delegation would take part in the OSCE ministerial meeting in Skopje if Bulgaria allowed his plane to fly through its airspace. Last week, the government of North Macedonia gave permission for Russian planes to fly over its territory so that the delegation could attend the OSCE ministerial meeting. However, according to media reports, the country's Defence Minister Slavjanka Petrovska opposed this decision. According to media reports, the Russian delegation will include Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, "his doctor, technical staff, security", 17 diplomats, including Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, and 24 journalists a total of 85 people. Support UP or become our patron! A Russian missile attack on Zaporizhzhia on the morning of Nov. 28 injured at least one person, Governor Yurii Malashko reported. Russian forces carried out the attack at 8:51 a.m., hitting the territory of a private company, the governor said. The type of weaponry used is currently being clarified, but preliminary information suggests Russia used an Iskander ballistic missile in the attack, according to Malashko. The victim reportedly suffered only mild injuries. One of the shops located near the impact site was damaged by the blast wave, the governor said. Zaporizhzhia, a southern regional center with a population of over 700,000, lies around 35 kilometers north of the front line and is a common target of Russian strikes. Russian forces carried out 64 strikes against Zaporizhzhia Oblast over the past day, inflicting no casualties, Malashko reported earlier on Nov. 28. Read also: Francis Farrell: Ukraine could still lose the war. Lets get some things straight Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Russian occupiers launched a missile at the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhya, the Zaporizhzhya regional governor Yuriy Malashko reported on his channel on Telegram on Nov. 28. The attack targeted an enterprise in one of Zaporizhzhya's city districts during an air raid alert at 8.51 a.m., Malashko said. Read also: Fatalities and injuries reported after Russian missile strike on Zaporizhzhya Oblast governor The exact type of the missile fired by the Russians is currently being established, with preliminary information suggesting it may have been one of the versions of Russias Iskander short-range ballistic missiles. Preliminary reports also indicate that one person sustained minor injuries. Read also: Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant narrowly avoids blackout amidst power line breakages A shop located near the missile impact site was also damaged due to the blast wave. 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 Vladimir Gundyayev, Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church, has complained of an influx of migrants into Russia who do not speak Russian and, he claimed, are involved in criminal activities. Source: RIA Novosti, a pro-Kremlin Russian news agency; Interfax.Russia news agency Quote: "A massive influx of immigrants who do not speak Russian and have no idea about Russian history and culture or our traditions and customs, and who are therefore incapable and often unwilling to integrate into Russian society, is altering the landscape of Russian cities, leading to a deformation of the uniform legal, cultural and linguistic landscape of the country [...] Insular ethnic enclaves are popping up and growing in major cities and are hotbeds of corruption, organised ethnic crime, and illegal migration. This issue should not be overlooked." Details: Gundyayev said the problem of "ethnic crime" amid the influx of migrants who do not speak Russian and "have no idea about Russian history and culture" should not be overlooked. He said even holding a Russian passport does not exempt immigrants from the need to "respect Russian society and traditions". Support UP or become our patron! The battalion of Russian mercenaries Espanola, part of the Redut Private Military Company (PMC), began to recruit women in assault units for the war. Source: Vazhnye Istorii, a Russian media outlet Details: Russian mercenaries offer women to "make a career" in sniper work, medicine, communications, assault units, electronic warfare units, signals intelligence units, and UAV operation. Female snipers of the Espanola battalion of Russian mercenaries, 8 March 2023. Female assault troops are also being recruited now. Photo: Vazhnye Istorii, citing the Telegram of the Espanola battalion The publication's journalist, under the guise of a candidate, learned about the conditions offered in the military formation. In particular, the first contract is drawn up for six months, of which training lasts from one to two months. Payment is RUB 110,000-120,000 (about US$1,240-1,360). After that, the woman who signed the contract is sent to the combat zone, and then the amount of the payment increases by two times. When signing the first contract, a one-time payment of RUB 50,000 (approximately US$564) is provided. If a female volunteer is injured, she receives 1 to 3 million roubles (about US$11,300 to US$33,800), and in case of death, her relatives will receive RUB 5 million. The second contract is drawn up for a period of three months and is negotiated individually. The contract is signed with the Redut PMC, which allows for an immediate signing. "The order of the Ministry of Defence on the validity of contracts until the end of the special military operation [as the war against Ukraine is called in Russia ed.] does not apply to us," the publication was told. Background: In October 2022, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the Russian Federation formed nine reserve regiments for the war against Ukraine. Shoigu said that the Russians had recruited many female volunteers. These are "doctors, medical workers", Shoigu said. Support UP or become our patron! A Russian strike on the village of Lvove in Kherson Oblast on Nov. 28 injured a 40-year-old man, said Volodymyr Litvinov, the head of the Beryslav District Military Administration. Russian forces launched the attack in the morning using artillery, the official added. No further details were provided at the moment. Lvove, a village in the Beryslav district, lies at the bank of the Dnipro River, some 45 kilometers east of Kherson. Ukraine's Armed Forces liberated Kherson and other regional settlements west of the Dnipro River in the fall 2022 counteroffensive. Russian forces were pushed to the east of the river, from where they have since been firing at the liberated territories, regularly resulting in civilian deaths and injuries. Russian attacks on Kherson Oblast over the past day resulted in one person killed and another injured, local officials reported. Read also: Under deadly attacks, Kherson fights to keep life going 1 year after liberation Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Russians advance 2km toward Avdiivka Coke and Chemical plant, greatest gain since spring, but with staggering losses Russian forces have made further small advances in recent days on the northern axis of a pincer movement to surround the Donbas town of Avdiivka, the latest UK Defense Ministry intelligence report of Nov. 28 says. Since early Oct., Russian forces have moved the front line forwards up to 2 kilometers in this area. Although modest, this advance likely represents one of the greatest Russian gains since the spring. Read also: Russians advance in Avdiivka industrial zone, but who controls it still undecided, says military But it has cost the Russian units involved thousands of casualties, UK intelligence says. The operation is gradually bringing Russian troops closer to the Avdiivka Coke and Chemical plant, where Ukrainian forces maintain one of their main defensive positions. Ukraine remains in control of a corridor of territory approximately 7 kilometers wide, through which it continues to supply the town. Read also: Third wave of Russian offensive on Avdiivka intensifies, threats from all sides The Russians have tried several times to storm Avdiivka, throwing several mechanized columns at the city, but they lost 80% of their equipment, the spokesman for the Joint Press Center of the Tavria Defense Forces, Oleksandr Shtupun, said on Nov. 22. Earlier, Shtupun reported that Russia had sharply increased the number of assault operations near Avdiivka. Before that, the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said that during a month of active assaults on Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast, Russia had lost about 10,000 soldiers. The Russian military is losing soldiers and equipment near Avdiivka "faster and on a larger scale than, in particular, near Bakhmut," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine In the morning, air defense was working in the Khmelnytskyi Oblast Russian forces targeted Kryvyi Rih in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast with a missile and Khmelnytskyi Oblast with kamikaze drones overnight on Nov. 28, with damage to a private house reported in the latter attack. Details of the attack on Kryvyi Rih are still being investigated, Serhiy Lysak, the head of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Regional Military Administration said in a post on Facebook on Nov. 28. Read also: Russian missile targeted infrastructure facility near Kryvyi Rih overnight, no casualties Russians reportedly also fired artillery at the community of Marganets in the oblasts Nikopol district. There were no reported casualties, and reports on the extent of the damage are currently being checked. In Khmelnytskyi, air defense forces were active in the morning, first deputy head of Khmelnytskyi Oblast Regional Military Administration, Serhiy Tyurin, reported on Telegram on Nov. 28. Read also: 9 Shahed drones, 1 Iskander missile downed during Russian overnight attack on Ukraine "As a result of the downing of a strike drone, debris fell on the roof of a private house in Khmelnytskyi District. There was no fire, and no injuries," Tyurin said. There were also reports of drones heading towards Starokostiantyniv, prompting an air raid alert in the oblast early in the morning, which lasted until approximately 6 a.m. There is a large military air base in Starokostiantyniv, which has frequently been the target of Russian missile and drone attacks. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine The Russians have struck the premises of a company in the city of Toretsk in Donetsk Oblast, injuring four women. Source: the Donetsk Oblast Prosecutors Office Details: On 28 November at 10:50 the Russian forces launched another airstrike on the city of Toretsk. This time they struck the territory of the company. Four female employees who were in one of the workshops have been injured. The victims aged 35, 43, 52 and 54 were taken to hospital. The explosion damaged industrial buildings. The National Police later explained that Russian forces dropped two guided FAB-500 bombs on Toretsk. The police shared a video in which law enforcement officers rescue the injured women and take stock of their condition. Quote: "Police officers and rescuers were able to quickly rescue one of the women from the trap. Another woman was stuck among the rubble of the destroyed building. Law enforcement officers and State Emergency Service workers were able to get the woman out. She sustained serious injuries to her pelvis and limbs. Paramedics treated both injured women. Both have been hospitalised. Others sustained minor injuries and were treated on the spot." Support UP or become our patron! The Russian occupiers actively assaulted the Bakhmut and Avdiivka fronts. Over the past day, the Defence Forces repelled more than 50 attacks here. Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook, information as of 06:00 on 28 November Quote from the General Staff: "Over the past day, there were 84 combat clashes. In total, the enemy launched one missile and eight airstrikes and carried out 20 attacks from multiple-launch rocket systems on the positions of our troops and settlements. During this day, the Russian invaders launched an airstrike on Ukraine, using one Shahed-136/131 attack UAV, and the enemy drone was destroyed." Details: Stepova Novoselivka in Kharkiv Oblast and Novomykhailivka, Kostiantynivka and Novoukrainka, Donetsk Oblast were hit by air strikes. More than 130 settlements in Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk and Kherson oblasts came under artillery fire. On the Bakhmut front, Ukrainian defenders repelled 28 Russian attacks near Bohdanivka, Ivanivske, Klishchiivka and Andriivka, Donetsk Oblast. The Defence Forces of Ukraine continue their assault operations south of Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, inflicting losses on the Russians in manpower and equipment and consolidating their positions. In the area of responsibility of the Tavriia Operational and Strategic Group of Forces on the Avdiivka front, the Russians do not give up trying to surround Avdiivka. Ukrainian soldiers are steadfastly holding the defence, causing significant losses to the Russians. Russian offensive actions east of Novobakhmutivka, northeast of Berdychiv, Avdiivka, Opytne, Sieverne and south of Tonenke in Donetsk Oblast were unsuccessful. The Defence Forces repelled 23 attacks there. On the Lyman front, Russia conducted assault operations in the areas of Stelmakhivka and Serebrianka Forest in Luhansk Oblast and Terniv, Yampolivka and Torske, Donetsk Oblast. Ukrainian soldiers repelled 12 attacks there. On the Marinka front, Russians, with the support of aviation, conducted unsuccessful assault operations in Marinka and Novomykhailivka, Donetsk Oblast. The Defence Forces repelled nine attacks there. In the area of responsibility of the Khortytsia Operational and Strategic Group of Forces on the Kupiansk front, the Russians conducted unsuccessful assault operations in the areas of Synkivka and Petropavlivka, Kharkiv Oblast. The Defence Forces repelled three attacks there. On the Zaporizhzhia front, the Russians three times unsuccessfully tried to restore their lost position near Robotyne and Novoprokopivka, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. At the same time, the Defence Forces of Ukraine continue to advance on the Melitopol front, causing losses to the occupation forces in manpower and equipment and exhausting Russia along the entire contact line. In the area of responsibility of the Odesa Operational and Strategic Group of Forces on the Kherson front, Ukrainian forces are holding their positions on the left (eastern) bank of the Dnipro River [which is largely Russian-controlled - ed.], engaging in counter-battery fire, and successfully targeting the Russian rear. Russian forces did not undertake offensive operations on the Shakhtarsk front. In the area of responsibility of Operational Command Pivnich (North), on the Volyn and Polissia fronts, the operational situation remains unchanged. On the Sivershchyna and Sivershchyna fronts, the Russians maintain a military presence in the border areas and conduct active sabotage activities to prevent the transfer of Ukrainian troops to threatening areas. Units of the Ukrainian Rocket Forces and Artillery struck the command post and three clusters of Russian military personnel, weapons and military equipment. Support UP or become our patron! Experts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) have pointed out that Russia's attempts to artificially spark a migration crisis on the Finnish border have fizzled as the Finnish authorities have taken swift measures. Source: ISW Quote: "Russias attempt to artificially create a migrant crisis at the Finnish border appears to be failing due to Finnish authorities swift response." Details: Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo stated on 27 November that the Finnish government would close the last border crossing point with Russia "if necessary", adding that the country was ready to introduce additional measures in response to the Russian-made migration crisis. Finland closed three checkpoints on the Finnish-Russian border on 23 November, leaving only the northernmost checkpoint operational. Several other Finnish officials also spoke in favour of closing the entire border with Russia. A Russian insider source claimed that Sergei Kiriyenko, First Deputy Head of the Russian Presidential Administration, had instructed Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev to gather migrants from the Middle East, Africa and other regions and bring them to the Finnish border. The source lamented that Finnish border guards prevented most of the migrants from entering Finland and that the Russian authorities should now resettle them in Russia. Support UP or become our patron! Multiple diplomats say outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is the front-runner to be next NATO boss (Simon Wohlfahrt) Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is the clear front-runner to become NATO's next chief, even though a shock far-right win at elections in his homeland risks tarnishing his legacy. Multiple diplomats put the veteran well ahead of other hopefuls -- including Estonian premier Kaja Kallas and Latvia's top diplomat Krisjanis Karins -- jostling to take over from the alliance's current boss Jens Stoltenberg next year. A successor for Stoltenberg -- who has had his decade-long tenure extended twice in the face of Russia's war on Ukraine -- is expected to be announced before a July summit in Washington. After ruling himself out for the NATO post in previous years, Rutte, 56, is now available following his surprise resignation this summer. Last month, he told Dutch media that running the alliance was a "very interesting" job and he would be open to the prospect if it came his way. A familiar figure on the European stage after 13 years running the Netherlands, the Dutch stalwart is already favoured by NATO heavyweights the United States, Britain, France and Germany, diplomats say. "He is a candidate for secretary general of NATO. He has made it clear that he's available and there's broad-based support for him," said a diplomat at the alliance. Some supporters want to wrap up his nomination soon to avoid the NATO job getting put in the mix with EU top positions up for grabs after an election next June. But there is likely still some frantic haggling ahead, and others warn it is not a done deal yet with possible opposition coming from awkward allies Turkey and Hungary. One potential stumbling block for Rutte could be the situation he leaves behind in the Netherlands where a victory for far-right Geert Wilders has sent shockwaves across Europe. "If you come from a wreck, it may be more difficult to make the argument," said a diplomat from a second NATO country. "If you look at other front-runners before, theyve often come up short in the end. Lets wait and see." - Wishlist - During discussions on a potential replacement for Stoltenberg in previous years, various NATO allies had laid out their wishes for the next alliance chief. Some wanted to choose a woman to run NATO for the first time and countries on the eastern flank closer to Russia were hoping to get someone from their region. Estonia's Kallas does meet those criteria but is seen as too hawkish towards Moscow by some to the west. Another ask has been to appoint a leader from a country that meets NATO's goal of spending two percent of their GDP on defence. The Netherlands did not reach that goal during Rutte's long tenure, but it has promised to next year and his backers say that shows his commitment. Rutte's government has also taken a prominent role in supporting Ukraine, this month pledging another two billion euros and leading the push to give Kyiv F-16 fighter jets. He would become the fourth Dutchman to head the NATO alliance, adding to arguments from some that the alliance isn't moving beyond its comfort zone. But supporters insist he has a full awareness of the dangers posed by Russia. His years in power were scored by the killing of 196 Dutch nationals when a missile investigators say was supplied by Moscow shot down a passenger jet over Ukraine in 2014. - Handling Trump? - Figuring in the thinking for some allies in Europe is also the spectre of a return to the US presidency of Donald Trump next year. Trump reportedly mulled pulling key power the United States out of the alliance during his term and harangued other members to up their spending. Stoltenberg managed to talk him down and was dubbed a "Trump whisperer" for his handling of the volatile former reality TV star. Rutte was not afraid of talking straight to Trump and even contradicted him publicly on a White House visit over a possible US-EU trade deal. The Dutchman's backers say his long pedigree finding compromises as a statesman should stand him in good stead. Those less convinced argue it might be easier to keep Trump on side with a NATO leader who has spent bigger on defence. "Trump during his first term was very much focusing on the necessity for all allies to contribute financially," said a third NATO diplomat. "From that perspective somebody who has demonstrated clear commitment to this defence investment pledge is an asset." Stoltenberg himself told AFP on Monday that Rutte was a "friend and good colleague". "He is a capable politician with a lot of experience as prime minister," Stoltenberg said. "But it's not for me to decide who's going to be my successor." del/pvh/lb A Carmichael pulmonologist has been jailed on a charge of possessing child pornography following an undercover FBI operation, court records say. Dr. Khursheed Haider, 48, is being held without bail at the Sacramento County Main Jail following his arrest last week and a search of his Roseville home and Mercedes-Benz, court records say. Haider, who made his initial appearance in Sacramento federal court last week, is scheduled to return to court Thursday for a hearing on whether he should remain in custody pending the outcome of his case. He was arrested following an investigation that began in Honolulu of suspects believed to be trading files online that contained child sexual abuse materials, court records say. After the arrest of a suspect in Hawaii, FBI agents there assumed that suspects online identity and began focusing in September on a user posting materials that included children subjected to bondage, domination, sadism and masochism, according to an affidavit from FBI Special Agent Scott A.H. Schofield. That user was posting under the online name kingg, the affidavit says. By the end of September, agents linked kingg to an IP address assigned to the internet connection at Haiders home in Roseville, California, Schofield wrote, and obtained a search warrant allowing access to his car and home. On Nov. 20, agents followed Haider as he left his home at 6:15 a.m. and stopped at a gas station to add air to his car tires, Schofield wrote. Agents approached Haider and obtained his phone from his Mercedes-Benz sedan, then went to his home, where Haiders wife provided the passcode to his phone, court documents say. On the phone, agents discovered a screenshot of a Google account with the screen name king kingg, court records say, as well as a video of a prepubescent boy engaged in a sex act with a man and another depicting a prepubescent girl engaged in sex acts with a boy and a man. Haider was charged by criminal complaint with a single count of possession of child pornography, which could result in a prison sentence of up to 20 years and a $250,000 fine. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexis Klein argued in court papers for Haider to remain in custody, writing that agents retrieved more than 600 images or videos of child pornography from one of his laptops and at least 11 videos on his iPhone. Defendant is a pulmonologist, works at at least one hospital, and also performs video visits; he may have access to children through these aspects of his work, Klein wrote, adding that there are four children in his home, including two ages 3 and 5. During the execution of the search warrant at defendants home, agents observed a U.S. Passport, as well as other expired Pakistani passports, Klein wrote. It is presently unknown whether defendant also has an active Pakistani passport, or any other passports. Agents also understand Haider has notable financial resources. Defendants access to cash and possession of at least one passport are relevant to the courts assessment of whether the defendant also poses a flight risk. Attorney Michel Huff, who represents Haider along with attorney Mike Pinkerton, said it was too early in the case to comment. Its very early in the investigation and so we are just beginning to review the documents, Huff said. Weve not obtained discovery yet, and so its very early in the investigation to provide any meaningful comment. Online records show Haider is in private practice and was affiliated with Dignity Healths Telemedicine Network and Mercy San Juan Medical Center. I treat each patient as I would any member of my family, as that is how I would expect them to be treated, he wrote in a bio for his Dignity Health practice. A spokesperson for Dignity Health said that Haider hasnt worked at the health care system in some time. We have confirmed that as of several years ago, Dr. Khursheed Haider is no longer affiliated with Dignity Health hospitals and does not have medical staff privileges to treat patients at our care sites, the company said. His LinkedIn profile also lists him as a vice president of clinical operations of VeeOne Health, a Roseville-based telehealth platform. As of this morning, Dr. Khursheed Haider is no longer employed at VeeOne Health, executives at VeeOne told The Sacramento Bee on Tuesday. The association of VeeOne Health with Dr. Haider is unrelated to his arrest. An owner of a popular south Sacramento nightclub said his business partner shot to death outside the establishment Sunday was a loving father and husband whose death has shocked them all. Alleged gang members opened gunfire outside Sacto By Night lounge, 7121 Governors Circle, after getting into a fight as the club was closing, the Sacramento County Sheriffs Office has said. Two men died at the scene, and deputies havent yet announced any arrests. Jerome Nansel, an owner, identified one victim as Binh Do, 51, of Sacramento. They were good family friends turned business partners, Nansel said. Its terrible, Nansel said of the incident. Dos primary motivation to help establish the nightclub stemmed from wanting to make his wife happy by creating a place she could sing she is an excellent vocalist and loves to sing, Nansel said. The loving father poured hard work into the establishment and spent over a year remodeling the place, Nansel added. I was shocked, Nansel said of hearing about Dos death. Business records filed with the state list Do as Sacto By Nights chief financial officer. The Sacramento County Coroners Office hasnt yet released the identities of the victims but family members identified the other victim as Ryu Kai Her, 23, and told KCRA that he was an employee of the Stockton Unified School District. Hers mother, Mee Yang, told KCRA on Monday night that her son was at the wrong place at the wrong time when the shooting occurred. Sheriffs deputies were called at about 1:45 a.m. to reports of a shooting in the unincorporated Parkway neighborhood. The bar was celebrating Hmong New Year on Saturday and offered 20% off on all bottle services, according to social media posts. Patrons had all exited the club when a fight erupted, the Sheriffs Office said in a news release. Archived radio dispatches say that a sheriffs deputy saw a man firing two shots into a crowd and then escaping in a vehicle. Deputies believe at least one man shot into the crowd, the news release said. About 40 people remained at the scene as deputies canvassed the area for evidence, according to radio dispatches. Witnesses said a white vehicle drove away from the scene, deputies said. There were four people inside the vehicle who were detained and being questioned, the news release said. The Sheriffs Office said it would release the suspect or suspects names after they had been charged. Sacto By Night lounge said on social media that the shooting didnt happen on its property and it remains open. The venues events will resume Wednesday. But with the loss of a family friend, Nansel is left picking up the pieces and isnt sure what the future holds. Developers hope to close next year on this parking lot at 277 High St. NE in Salem to build a 98-unit six-story apartment building. Salem's Urban Renewal Agency Board unanimously voted Monday to approve a $749,999 grant for a six-story 98-unit, mixed-used apartment building in downtown Salem. Details released about the board's meeting on Monday, which immediately precedes the regular Salem City Council meeting, gave new insight into the plans for the struggling section of downtown. Deacon Development, LLC, is set to close next year on the parking lot at 277 High St. NE. They plan to demolish the parking lot and build a mixed-use building with 98 apartments and a ground-floor commercial space with seven live/work units. The design of the building will include a lobby, community deck, fitness room, resident community room and on-site bike washing, storage and repair station. Developers said it will be designed to encourage people to use public and alternative transportation. The mix of units will consist of studios and one- and two-bedroom units. The project is expected to cost $27 million. According to city reports, 15% of the units will be set at affordable housing rates. This embedded content is not available in your region. Ian Lewallen, with Deacon Development, said during the meeting that the developers wanted to include a mix of housing size, from 400-square-foot studios to 900-square-foot two bedrooms to attract a diverse range of tenants. The affordable housing portion is also slated to be a mix of unit sizes. "I am excited about this project," councilor Virginia Stapleton said. Mayor Chris Hoy concurred. "I think it's to be a great addition to our downtown," Hoy said, adding that it met one of the council's goals to increase the availability of housing in the city core. The name Deacon Development is familiar downtown. The company developed the Rivenwood Apartments at the former Nordstrom site, which is set to be completed in spring. In a report to the board, city staff said Deacon Development will be required to provide funding commitments from lenders or investors to cover the costs not covered by the grant as a condition of grant disbursement. In a letter to the board, representatives with Deacon said the grant funding was needed to offset the steep increases in construction costs and new Oregon energy efficiency requirements. City staff noted the project had the potential to re-energize the highly visible corner in downtown Salem. The area near Liberty Street and High Street has lagged behind in revitalization compared to other parts of downtown. Until demolition in 1972, the parking lot was the original location of the old Salem City Hall. The location then became the parking lot and drive-thru for the former First National Bank Building, which was demolished in 2016. It's been used as a paid, public parking lot ever since. It neighbors "the pit," a fenced hole in the ground made after the demolition of the bank. The $749,999 Urban Renewal Agency Board exceeds the typical maximum grant amount of $300,000. In a report to the board, city staff said the project met several requirements for allowing an exemption for that amount including adding housing to downtown, improving nearby Wexford Alley and being a new construction project. The requirements also require at least a 4:1 leverage of private/public funds. This development would have a 36:1 leverage ratio. Later in the meeting, councilor Vanessa Nordyke said the current parking lot was underutilizing that space downtown. "We want our downtown to be vibrant, accessible and just a wonderful way to work and live," she said. With new housing and businesses coming downtown, council is taking action to help bring more residents and businesses to downtown, Nordyke said. "You can clearly see the difference," she said. "We are making exciting progress towards turning another vacant or underutilized piece of property into mixed-use and apartment living downtown and live-work living downtown." For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-910-6616 or follow on Twitter at @wmwoodworth This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Salem approves grant for 6-story downtown apartment building Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall speaks at a post-election press conference outside of the Salt Lake City-County Building on Monday, Nov. 27, 2023. Mendenhall declared victory in last weeks election, receiving 58% of the unofficial vote. | Carter Williams, KSL.com As Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall declared victory in last week's election, she acknowledges plenty of challenges her staff must address over the next four years as Utah's capital city continues to push through growing pains. While she stopped short of unveiling her plan for the next four years, the mayor said homelessness remains the city's "No. 1 challenge" heading into her second term, while crime, affordable housing and the struggling Great Salt Lake all remain key issues. She said the city will continue to work with the state to handle some of those challenges, such as homelessness and affordable housing issues key issues brought up by her challengers in this year's election. The city also plans to work closely with the state on the future of the Great Salt Lake, something Mendenhall called an "existential priority." There are also some major city achievements she'd like to see completed during her second term. Helping Salt Lake City lock down its bid to host a future Winter Olympics is among those. "I expect to see renewed energy and urgency from myself, but also from my staff in the mayor's office and from all of the department heads," she said, standing outside the front of the Salt Lake City-County Building on Monday. "Winning reelection really doesn't take the pressure off at all. In fact, it increases the pressure to deliver since this time we'll already be moving at full speed on inauguration day. There's no catch-up time." A major turnout Mendenhall has 58.5% of the vote, leading former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson (34.5%) and community activist Michael Valentine (7%) by sizable margins. A little more than 44,000 residents cast votes this year, the most votes counted in the city's mayoral race since at least the 1990s possibly a result of the city's population growth. City officials will meet Dec. 5 to formally certify the election results, but Anderson also conceded the day after the election. Mendenhall reiterated that she believes the results show residents, overall, preferred focusing on the positive outlook and state collaboration her campaign championed throughout the election cycle. "This election is proof that voters want a city government that allies with its partners instead of fighting with them, a city government that prioritizes results over politics and that trades ideas instead of insults," she said. "Together, really, is our only way forward." Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall takes a selfie with supporters after preliminary results show her in a strong lead at an election night watch party for her reelection campaign in the same office building that houses her campaign headquarters in downtown Salt Lake City on Nov. 21. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News What's not clear yet is how residents voted in different parts of the city. Salt Lake County election officials have yet to release precinct-level data, which could show whether some neighborhoods aligned more with Anderson and Valentine on issues they narrowed in on during their campaigns. These include the city's handling of homelessness and affordable housing, as well as overall transparency. Anderson said on election night he was "surprised" with the results, because they didn't seem to reflect what he heard from residents during the campaign or from community meetings he attended. Mendenhall said she also plans to review the precinct data when it's available, to identify voter turnout trends that can improve future elections. A preview of the next four years? The mayor also said she plans to unveil more of her plan for the next four years during her inauguration address on Jan. 2 and her "State of the City" address later in January. However, some likely goals are already in motion. Homelessness, for example, remains the city's top issue, especially as winter nears. Salt Lake City recently partnered with the state and other cities to create about 30 temporary shelters ahead of winter, and crack down on unsanctioned camping when beds are available. More than 150 people died while experiencing homelessness last year, according to the Fourth Street Clinic. "Locking in a functional, funded strategy with state, county and municipal partners that funds the services that have been underfunded since before I became the mayor," Mendenhall said. "Locking that system in so that it isn't so reliant (on) the personalities who are in leadership at any given moment from the state down through municipal levels we need that so desperately. We are beginning to lock that in, but we're not there yet." She also said she hopes to work with the state and other groups to generate more money toward affordable housing in Salt Lake City, especially family-sized housing, in the near future. This would be on top of new funds the city directs to the issue, after spending at least $47 million in the past few years. That comes on the heels of the Salt Lake City School District's recommendation this month to close four elementary schools because of enrollment decline in recent years. The closures are a possible indicator that housing prices are forcing families out of the city, as the city is still growing in population at a high clip. Mendenhall said she wants her administration to go beyond addressing growing pains in the next four years. She said she believes hosting another Winter Olympics something Salt Lake City is very much in contention to do would be a "catalytic infusion" for the future of the city. The city is expected to learn next year if it will host the 2030 or 2034 Winter Games. Winning a bid could help the city move forward faster with infrastructure projects. Yet, even if Salt Lake City doesn't land the Winter Games, she said the city will move forward with its large-scale Green Loop and Main Street promenade projects in the next four years. "Despite the challenges that we face, Salt Lakers are still enthusiastic about their city and they're supportive of the direction in which we're going," she said. "We are not afraid of our future. We're excited by it." Malaysia's visa-free policy welcomed 08:07, November 28, 2023 By Cheng Si ( Chinadaily.com.cn Photo taken on March 18, 2016 shows people taking photos in front of the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. [Photo/Xinhua] Malaysia's new visa-free policy for Chinese travelers is a positive response to China's announcement that it will grant unilateral, visa-free entry to travelers from six countries including Malaysia, tourism industry insiders said. The move will also boost travel to Malaysia, they added. Malaysia's visa-free policy for up to 30 days for Chinese travelers will take effect on Friday, China Central Television reported. Wang Wenbin, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a news conference in Beijing on Monday that China is pleased to see Malaysia's visa-free policy for Chinese travelers. He said that China and Malaysia are friendly neighbors whose friendship has been witnessed by history. He also said that China and Malaysia will embrace the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations next year, and the visa-free policy will further boost the communication of people from the two countries. Tourism industry insiders and travel agencies noted that China extended a friendly gesture to the world by optimizing entry policies for international travelers from some countries, aiming to improve the nation's high-quality development and opening-up, and such goodwill was expected to receive a positive response from the market. That, in turn, will lead to economic benefits in the future, they added. "We've seen growing searches and bookings of tour products to Malaysia on our platform. Chinese travelers will get easier and quicker access to Malaysia after the policy takes effect, which will also accelerate the sales of our products," said Qi Chunguang, vice-president of travel portal Tuniu. Searches for and bookings of trips to Malaysia also show strong, growing momentum on other travel portals. For example, online travel service provider Qunar said that, as of Sunday night, searches for trips to Malaysia had doubled on its platform compared with the previous week. Travel portal LY.com said that searches for Malaysian tour products have so far increased by 173 percent month-on-month on the platform. Nonetheless, China still faces difficulties in resuming its inbound tourism, which was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a report released in September by the World Tourism Alliance, China saw 18 million entries in the first half of 2023 roughly 12 percent of the figure for the same period in 2019, before the outbreak. Facing fluctuations in the growth of inbound tourism and the not-yet fully recovered outbound tourism market, China has made continuous efforts to optimize entry policies for international travelers to revitalize the tourism industry and deepen opening-up for better economic development. China's Foreign Ministry announced on Friday the granting of unilateral, visa-free entry to travelers holding ordinary passports from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia. Under the policy, citizens of the six countries can enter China for business, tourism or family trips, and also for transit purposes, without a visa for up to 15 days. The policy will start on Friday and expire on Nov 30, 2024. In July, China resumed visa-free entry for up to 15 days to citizens of Singapore and Brunei. The policy had been suspended since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "We and many other tourism companies all feel very excited about the optimized entry policies," said Liang Jianzhang, chairman of the board at Trip.com Group. "We hope that more practical moves can be taken to improve the entry policies, internet use and mobile payment to strengthen China's competitiveness in the world's tourism market." (Web editor: Tian Yi, Wu Chaolan) A portrait of murdered teacher Samuel Paty at the school where he taught Six teenagers have gone on trial in Paris for their alleged roles in the murder of a teacher, Samuel Paty. The children are accused of slander and pointing out Mr Paty to his killer, a Chechen refugee, at the school. They were aged between 13 and 15 at the time of the killing in 2020, with the trial happening behind closed doors. Local media report that the suspects, who face up to 2.5 years in prison, hid their identities as they arrived at the juvenile court on Monday. Mr Paty was stabbed and beheaded on 16 October 2020 after reportedly showing students cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad during a class on freedom of expression. The youngest suspect was 13 years old at the time of the killing. She was suspended from school nine days before Mr Paty's murder - for reasons unrelated to the case. She arrived to the court with her head completely hidden in the hood of a black down jacket, according to AFP news agency. She is alleged to have untruthfully told her father that she had been disciplined for having confronted Mr Paty over an alleged request for Muslim students to leave the class. She had in fact been absent from the class in question. Nonetheless, her father posted videos on social media calling for Mr Paty to be fired. Prosecutors believe these videos prompted Chechen Abdoullakh Anzorov to travel around 80km (50 miles) from Normandy to Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, near Paris, to commit the murder. Anzorov, 18 years old at the time, was shot dead by police at the scene. The other five suspects in the case are alleged to have helped Anzorov identify Mr Paty at the school in exchange for a 300 (260) payment. One said Anzorov told him that he wanted to film Mr Paty apologising for showing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. A second trial will open next year for eight adults also accused of complicity in the murder. These include Brahim Chnina, the father of the 13-year-old girl on trial. Prosecutors have accused two friends of Anzorov of "complicity in a terrorist murder", the most serious crime of the case. One man is accused of accompanying Anzorov to buy weapons, the other of driving him to the school where Mr Paty taught on the day of the murder. SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) A hit-and-run driver who killed a pedestrian on South Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco last summer is still at-large, police said. On Tuesday, the San Francisco Police Department said it needs the publics help to identify who was behind the wheel. The crash happened on Sunday, July 9, at 2:41 a.m. at the intersection of South Van Ness Avenue and 18th Street. When officers arrived, they found a gravely injured man who died at the crash scene. Police did not release the pedestrians name. The driver and the vehicle involved in the collision fled the scene and remains outstanding. The SFPD Traffic Collision Investigations Unit is leading the investigation and is seeking the publics assistance in identifying the suspect involved, SFPD wrote. Nima Momenis sister arrested for DUI, hit-and-run in SF No arrests have been made. Anyone with information is asked to call the SFPD Tip Line at 1-415-575-4444, or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD. You may remain anonymous. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4. SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) A San Jose mother and father were in court on Monday facing murder charges after their 18-month-old daughter was poisoned by fentanyl. Derek Vaughn Rayo, 27, and Kelly Gene Richardson, 28, are the first parents in Santa Clara Countys history to be charged with murdering their own child with drugs. The victim, named Winter, is referred to as Baby W. Doe in court documents. She had 15 times the lethal amount of fentanyl in her blood when she died. Think of W. Doe this innocent child and her sad and stolen life, District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. This is not a law enforcement official overreacting to an illegal substance. In the courtroom, Richardson frequently glanced over her shoulder at Rayo attempting to make eye-contact. Rayo avoided his girlfriends gaze. The couple did not enter pleas and the judge ordered them to remain in jail with no bail. Derek Rayo and Kelly Richardson are seen in mugshots provided by the San Jose Police Department. On August 12, Rayo and his girlfriend found Winter dead and they waited more than 10 hours before calling 911, according to police. Rayo called 911 just before midnight reporting their his daughter was not breathing inside their home at 1550 Huddersfield Court, investigators said. Paramedics arrived at the home before police. Paramedics located the victim laying on a bed in the master bedroom of the residence covered with a rug. It appeared that the victim had been deceased for approximately 12 hours, San Jose Police Department Det. Christina Jize wrote. Kelly Richardson listens in court on Nov. 27, 2023. (KRON4 image) The mother told police that she had gone to bed at 2 a.m. on August 12 with her baby and her boyfriend. When Richardson and her boyfriend woke up, they noticed Winter was not breathing, her lips were blue, and she appeared to be dead. Blood samples taken from both Derek Rayo and Kelly Richardson from the day of the victims death showed both were positive for fentanyl, Jize wrote. Both Derek Rayo and Kelly Richardson admitted to not calling 911 for approximately 10 hours because they were in denial and wanted to grieve together before police arrived to separate them, Jize wrote. During a search of the bedroom, investigators said they found fentanyl residue on a nightstand and desk. More fentanyl was found on a scraping tool left on a rug underneath the babys body, Jize wrote. Kelly Richardson and her boyfriend, Derek Rayo, are charged with murdering their 18-month-old daughter. Baby Winter died of fentanyl toxicity in their San Jose home. Video by @TerisaEstacio pic.twitter.com/NnuiRh7yNn Amy Larson (@AmyLarson25) November 28, 2023 A coroner detected a fentanyl blood concentration of 74 ng/mL in Winters body. Blood concentrations as low as 5 ng/mL can cause death. Investigators said they found photographs and videos of Rayo smoking narcotics near his baby inside 1550 Huddersfield Court. Fremont mom charged after toddler dies from fentanyl exposure In addition to the images, homicide detectives seized multiple electronic devices belonging to the couple. On them were text messages and social media messages showing evidence of narcotic use at the house when the child was present, the DAs Office wrote. Other text messages and social media messages revealed that Richardson and some of the housemates had previously expressed concerns about using drugs around the baby, according to prosecutors. District Attorney Rosen said, Fentanyl will kill you as easily as a bullet. It is killing the children of our community. If convicted, Rayo and Richardson will face 15 years to life in prison. In December of 2021, Rayo posted photographs of his newborn baby in a hospital delivery room. He captioned the photos, Best thing to ever happen to me. I love you Kelly Richardson. Thank you for bringing Winter Rose Rayo into this world. I couldnt have asked for a better partner. Lets do this thing! Three months before Winter died, another extremely young victim was fatally poisoned by fentanyl in San Jose. The infant, identified as Baby Phoenix in court documents, was only three months old when she died on May 13. Her home was littered with illicit drugs, investigators said. Phoenixs father, 38-year-old David Anthony Castro, called 911 at 10:08 a.m. on May 13 reporting that his baby was not breathing inside their apartment at 5479 Spinnaker Walkway. The babys mother was not home. In July, Phoenixs mother and father were informed by the coroners office that fentanyl caused their daughters death. The mother, Emily De La Creda, died from a fentanyl overdose two months later. Even after his girlfriend and infant daughter both died inside his home, Castros drug activities continued, the DAs Office said. Despite both his babys and (De La Credas) death from overdose, defendant still did not alter his behavior or home environment. When SJPD arrested the defendant for Phoenixs death on October 19, 2023 more drugs and paraphernalia were located inside the home, prosecutors wrote. Prosecutors charged Castro with felony endangering or injuring the health of a child, and a special allegation of corporal injury of a child resulting in death. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4. Sandy Hook families won a $1.5bn lawsuit against Alex Jones last year. They are offering to settle for a fraction of that amount. Family members of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting victims offered to settle the $1.5bn (1.32bn) debt owed by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. They said they would accept the sale of Mr Jones's assets, or a minimum of $85m (67m) over 10 years. Mr Jones admitted making repeated false claims about the deaths, which led to harassment of the victims' families. The Sandy Hook families sued Jones over those false claims and won the $1.5bn judgement last year. Mr Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems, have since filed for bankruptcy, but a judge ruled last month it would not release him from paying the settlement. This new offer, which would also require Mr Jones to pay the families half of any income he earned over $9m (7m) per year, was revealed in court filings last week. In the filings, lawyers for the family slammed Mr Jones for continuing "to enjoy his extravagant lifestyle" since he filed for bankruptcy. They noted that "based on his monthly operating reports, he has spent approximately $900,000 since commencing" bankruptcy proceedings. They also criticised what they say is his lack of cooperation, poor record keeping and his continued refusal to sell his assets. Mr Jones's attorney, Vickie Driver, did not respond to a request for comment. The plaintiffs alleged Mr Jones is haemorrhaging money, which is why the case "must resolve soon". In an earlier filing in his bankruptcy case, Mr Jones revealed spending $100,000 per month, although he claims he has debts of more than $1m. "The time has come for Jones to choose whether he is willing to pay his creditors a reasonable portion of what they are owed or would prefer to remain embroiled in costly and time consuming litigation for years to come," the filing said. Ms Driver argued in court on Monday that the $85m figure was unrealistic and that Mr Jones would be unable to pay it, the Associated Press reported. Mr Jones has cast doubt on the mass shooting, which included the murder of 20 students and six staff members, at a school in suburban Connecticut for years. He spun elaborate conspiracy theories about the shooting, alleging that it was staged, grieving parents were acting and that the government was involved in the attack. The theories were false, but many of the ideas have subsequently been used to cast doubt on other US mass shootings. Testifying in a Texas court last year, Mr Jones admitted he was wrong and called the killings "100% real." KYLE, Texas (KXAN) Santa Claus is making a holiday visit to an Austin suburb Friday afternoon. Kyle officials said St. Nicholas will make a stop in their city for the annual tree-lighting ceremony downtown. Santas Arrival celebration begins at 4 p.m. at Mary Kyle Hartson City Square Park at 101 S. Burleson St., the city said. The tree will be lit at sundown around 5:45 to 6:00 p.m. The city said community can enjoy music from local school choirs and bands as well as starting on their holiday shopping. Photos with Santa People can take free pictures with Santa at the Krug Activity Center from 4 to 8 p.m. According to the city, the doors will open for photos at 4 p.m. and the line will be cut off at a certain point at 8 p.m. The city said people must be take their Santa photos with personal cameras or cellular devices because a professional photographer will not be present. Other photo opportunities with Santa will be available in December during the 25 Days of Christmas and Christmas at Lake Kyle, the city said. Gingerbread House competition New for 2023, attendees are also invited to participate in judging the Peoples Choice Award for the first-ever Gingerbread House competition, according to the city. The City of Kyle Parks and Recreation Department is hosting the contest for Gingerbread Houses created by individuals of all ages. The houses will be on display starting at 4 p.m. with judging beginning at 5:15 p.m. At 6 p.m., selected judges will determine winners based on age category, the city said. Road closures Several streets will be closed on Friday starting at 8 a.m. until 10 p.m., the city said. Parking for the event will be available on adjacent streets downtown. This embedded content is not available in your region. The following streets will be affected: Burleson St. from Center St. to Miller St. Miller St. from Burleson St. to Main St. Main St. from Center St. to Miller St. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) detained a member of an alleged network set up by the Russian military intelligence agency, known as the GRU. The suspect, a local businesswoman, allegedly sent the GRU dozens of locations where she thought Ukrainian military units were based, according to the SBU. Russian forces reportedly used this information to conduct targeted air strikes on Odesa, primarily with Shahed kamikaze drones. The woman then reported the consequences of the attacks to her handler in the GRU, Grigory Ivanov, the SBU wrote. She allegedly communicated with him through an anonymous chat in a popular messenger. After being recruited by the GRU in June, the woman also provided Russia with information on infrastructure facilities in Odesa, added the SBU. The woman was detained and charged with treason. If convicted, she might face life-long imprisonment. The SBU charged two other members of the same agent network in August an agent nicknamed Diezel and his wife, who is now hiding from justice in Russia. Ukrainian media outlet New Voice reported on Nov. 13, citing its sources, that the SBU was investigating over 8,000 cases of suspected treason. Read also: I never planned to fight against Ukraine: Forcibly conscripted by Russia, Ukrainians await fate in POW camp Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. An organization that has rallied against former President Donald Trump in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination is now backing former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haleys presidential bid. Americans for Prosperity Action, a super PAC linked to Republican donor Charles Koch, formally announced its endorsement Tuesday after saying for months that a GOP nomination of Trump would lead to President Joe Bidens reelection. When we set out to change the broken politics of Washington, we made clear that we would back a candidate who could turn the page on todays toxic culture and lead our country forward. But you cant advance good policy unless you win, Americans for Prosperity Action said in its endorsement memo. Our internal polling confirms what our activists are hearing and seeing from voters in the early primary states: Nikki Haley is in the best position to defeat Donald Trump in the primaries. Haley said she was honored to receive the endorsement. AFP Actions members know that there is too much at stake in this election to sit on the sidelines, Haley said in a statement. This is a choice between freedom and socialism, individual liberty and big government, fiscal responsibility and spiraling debt. We have a country to save, and Im grateful to have AFP Action by our side. Haley has been battling with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to be the sole alternative to Trump, who is the dominant frontrunner in the GOP race. DeSantis campaign said Americans for Prosperitys endorsement of Haley only helps the former president. Congratulations to Donald Trump on securing the Koch endorsement, DeSantis Communications Director Andrew Romeo. Like clockwork, the pro-open borders, pro-jail break bill establishment is lining up behind a moderate who has no mathematical pathway of defeating the former president. Every dollar spent on Nikki Haleys candidacy should be reported as an in-kind to the Trump campaign. No one has a stronger record of beating the establishment than Ron DeSantis, and this time will be no different. The hardship of discrimination, racism, school bullying (including social media) during a time when hate crimes and discrimination against minorities in the state are increasing can have an impact that last years and might be hard to overcome. According to civil rights experts and community youth justice workers, school bullying fuels a culture of hate with many victims hesitant to share their experience or seek help. They spoke on the topic of bullying at school during a national news briefing hosted recently on zoom by Ethnic Media Services. Some forms of bullying are in fact acts of hate. And some acts of hate are crimes. While others are violations of other civil rights laws, some may be lawful, but incredibly harmful, nonetheless, said Becky Monroe, deputy director, strategic initiatives and external affairs with the California Civil Rights Department. Monroe said civil rights issues must be recognized at the heart of this discussion around bullying. All of these, demand our attention, whether they are acts of hate targeting young people or targeting adults. But none so more than when children are targeted for hate. Monroe said federal law requires schools to provide all students with a safe, supportive and inclusive learning environment free from discrimination and harassment. Schools have a legal obligation to ensure that students are not denied opportunities, treated differently, discriminated against, or harassed because of their race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, or disability, said Monroe. Monroe said unlawful discrimination and other acts of hate results in real harm not only to students but also to entire communities. This year, school boards around the country and in several school districts in California have introduced anti-LGBTQ+ legislations. State Attorney General Rob Bonta has promised to protect all LGBTQ+ students from attacks from state legislatures to school boards that threaten to isolate, discriminate against, and harm transgender and gender-nonconforming youth across the nation and California. Chino Valley, Rocklin and Orange school districts are implementing policies requiring staff to also notify parents if a student requests access to sex-segregated school programs and activities, or bathrooms or changing facilities that do not align with the students biological sex or gender. A state judge placed on hold Chino Valley school districts policy outing transgender students to parents in early September. In June, Bonta released the 2022 hate crime report that showed a 20.2% increase in reported hate crime events in California, as well as a sharp spike in hate incidents against LGBTQ+ residents, along with Blacks and Jews. Hate crime events involving sexual orientation increased by 29%. Monroe said that according to data from the Trevor Project, students that feel supported and safe in school are much less likely to experience suicidal thoughts and engage in self-harming behaviors. Anahi Santos, youth wellness coordinator for One Community Action, which works in high schools of Santa Maria in the Central Coast, said that bullying can also come from our own community. As a Mixteca from the state of Oaxaca in Mexico, which has a population that is predominantly indigenous, Santos said what we see here is that the Latinos are bullying people who are indigenous, youth who are indigenous. Santos has noticed, in the Central Coast and Central Valley, youth who migrated from Oaxaca or Guerrero bully newcomers from the same town or state as them. Santos said One Community Action works with high schools to provide social and emotional support for students with many not having access to therapy or healthcare. Santos said there is a campaign effort in Oxnard No me llames oaxaquita which as many people with brown skin in the central coast are called the demeaning term oaxaquita a form of bullying that makes fun of people. That is the reality that many Latino indigenous students encounter, Santos said. It really is like our own community hurting itself, Santos said. Santos said One Community Action advocate for ethnic studies classes so people can learn and understand what life is as a brown or black person. There is just a lot of colorism and racism thats embedded within the Latino culture itself, Santos said. People waves Israeli flags as a helicopter carrying hostages released from Gaza by Hamas arrives at the helipad of the Schneider Childrens Medical Center in Petah Tikva, Israel, on Nov. 26, 2023. The cease-fire between Israel and Hamas was back on track Sunday as the militants freed 17 more hostages, including 14 Israelis and the first American, in exchange for 39 Palestinian prisoners in a third set of releases under a four-day truce. | Leo Correa, Associated Press Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., plans on bringing President Joe Bidens $105 billion national security package to the Senate floor as soon as the beginning of next week, per a letter he posted to X on Sunday. The proposed bill includes $61.4 billion in aid for Ukraine, $14.3 billion in aid for Israel, $10.6 billion in weapons and military aid, $13.6 billion to the U.S. border, $7.4 billion in security aid in the Indo-Pacific and $9.15 billion in humanitarian aid for Ukraine, Gaza and Israel, per Politico. In order for Bidens foreign aid package to pass in the Senate and move forward, it must receive at least 60 votes. GOP senators oppose lumping foreign aid into one bill The Wall Street Journal reported that over half of GOP senators oppose funding to Ukraine, and many are hesitant to support one bill covering multiple different issues. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, co-sponsored a bill decoupling the foreign aid at the end of October. He said, Ukraine and Israel are distinct, important issues, and Congress should have the opportunity to consider and vote on prospective aid packages individually. If the Biden administrations case for additional Ukraine aid is not strong enough to stand on its own, then packaging them is an insulting request to lay before Congress, Lee continued. It is unreasonable for the administration to exploit an aid package for Israel to siphon off billions of taxpayer dollars in yet another blank check for Ukraine. The House passed the standalone funding for Israel bill on Nov. 2, but it was blocked by Democratic senators on Nov. 12. In an X post, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., explained her opposition to Lees bill. She said, We cannot just do half our job. Its not just wrong its dangerous and its naive. In his letter, Schumer added, Democrats stand ready to work on common-sense solutions to address immigration, but purely partisan hard-right demands, like those in HR2, jeopardize the entire national security package. Schumer plans on bringing Bidens foreign aid package to the Senate floor as soon as the week of Dec. 4. Schumer proposes a way to end Sen. Tubervilles blockade In the coming weeks, Schumer will bring up a resolution allowing the Senate to confirm military promotions currently being help up by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., over a Pentagon policy funding travel for abortions for military members and their families. Schumer said, The Rules Committee has acted on a resolution that would allow the Senate to quickly confirm the more than 350 military nominations being blocked by Sen. Tuberville. The Senate Rules Committee advanced the resolution to end Tubervilles blockade on Nov. 14, and Schumer will bring the resolution to the floor with the goal of advancing promotions for members of the military by the end of the year. The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., sponsored the resolution, which temporarily establishes a standing order for the remainder of the 118th Congress to provide for the en bloc consideration of military nominations ... that have been favorably reported by the Senate Armed Services Committee, per a Senate news release. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., a member of the Senate Rules Committee, voted against the resolution, describing it as an ill-advised erosion of the institution of the Senate, per Alabama Local News. She said, Fundamentally changing the rules of this institution, even temporarily, sets a dangerous precedent that undermines our nations tried-and-true system of checks and balances. The Scottish government has begun the formal process that could see it intervene in the running of NHS Orkney, with the health board citing its "deteriorating" financial position. The board has been moved to level three of the NHS Scotland Support and Intervention Framework. The Scottish government will employ "significantly enhanced" support and scrutiny of operations and performance. There are six boards on at least stage three out of the possible five. If the situation does not improve, the next steps would be for NHS Orkney to have to report directly to a Scottish government assurance board, or for ministers to take over the running of health services. Boards at stage three are considered to require a higher level of support and oversight from the Scottish government. "We have this week received confirmation from the Scottish government that we have been moved to the first stage of formal escalation due to our deteriorating financial performance, which we have updated our local community on in recent months," NHS Orkney chief executive Laura Skaife-Knight said. "The board has been moved to level three of the NHS Scotland Support and Intervention Framework, which is the first stage of formal escalation as a result of the deviation from our agreed financial plan for the year. "This is not where we would wish to be, however we see escalation as a much-needed intervention and an opportunity to ensure we see the improvements that are necessary so that our financial position can be recovered and so that we move to more sustainable solutions and ways of working." She added: "We will fully embrace this process and welcome the additional national support NHS Orkney will receive, the details of which remain under discussion and are being worked through." The Scottish government said that of the 14 territorial health boards in Scotland, there were currently six escalated to stage three or above within the framework. NHS Orkney joins NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Borders, NHS Forth Valley, NHS Highland and NHS Tayside at stage three or above. Orkney MSP Liam McArthur described the news as "clearly concerning". Willie Millar, a chef de partie at the Glynhill Hotel & Spa in Renfrew, near Glasgow, will not serve mince pies this Christmas - Jeff Holmes JSHPIX/Shutterstock/Shutterstock A Scottish hotel has banned mince pies to reduce the amount of food that is thrown away every year. The Glynhill Hotel & Spa, in Renfrew, said the festive treat would not feature on its Christmas menu for the first time in 53 years to save costs and unnecessary waste. Instead, the menu will focus on more popular desserts such as cheesecake, sticky toffee pudding, mixed fruit pavlova and banana splits. Willie Millar, a chef de partie at the family-owned hotel, near Glasgow Airport, said guests did not appear to enjoy mince pies and described it as a no-brainer to ban them. He said the hotel usually ordered around 5,000 mince pies every year to cater for Christmas parties and events but estimated that as much as 80 per cent ended up in bin bags with, typically, only one or two taken off a plate of the 10 to 12 put on tables. According to estimates, more than 70 million mince pies are discarded across the UK every year. A bit of a no-brainer to ban them The tipping point behind this decision was last Christmas, said Mr Millar. Every year, we buy them, we serve them, then with a very few exceptions we bin them which feels like an awful waste. Not very many people at all seem to like them, even less want them at the end of their meal, so it feels like a bit of a no-brainer to simply ban them this Christmas and focus on offering desserts and sweet treats which our customers do want. We think we might be the first venue in Scotland to remove mince pies from their Christmas menus, but its in line with customer feedback and will also mean a reduction in wastage, which can only be a good thing. The decision prompted some social media users to complain, with one writing: Get your kitchen to make their own! People dont want to pay a premium for something we can buy in the shops. The 147-room hotel, which charges an average room rate of 85 per night, said on Tuesday that the reaction had been more positive than negative. A Zero Waste Scotland spokesman said: It makes absolute sense for hospitality businesses to target food waste both for the planet and for their own bottom line, as wasting food means wasting money. Its fantastic to see a venue thinking ahead this festive season and doing their bit to keep food waste out of the kitchen. 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. Steve Piper will play the Dickens character in Ludlow A Shropshire actor, diagnosed earlier this year with motor neurone disease (MND), is returning to the stage to raise funds to combat the condition. Steve Piper will play Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, at St Laurence's church in Ludlow, on 8 December. Mr Piper has become well-known in the town for summer performances in "cannibalised" versions of Shakespeare plays. Director Kim Begley saw him perform this year and came up with the festive idea. Mr Piper said the summer Shakespeare shows had been running for 39 years, with only a year off during the pandemic. This year's play, based on The Taming of the Shrew, had to be delayed when he found out he had MND. Director Kim Begley (left) came up with the idea of performing a Christmas Carol to raise funds for MND research "I was quite determined it would still go on, so we delayed the actual production until the end of July," he told BBC Radio Shropshire. Mr Piper added: "I'm not very good on my legs any more, so luckily we had in our props cupboard a zimmer frame." Mr Begley, director of next month's show, said: "I saw [Steve] in his grey wig and thought what a wonderful Scrooge he'd make, so an embryonic idea formed of doing A Christmas Carol in aid of MND. "It's an opportunity, too, for all the other actors who Steve and I know to get together with Steve and perform this piece." The actors will perform the piece as a radio play wearing evening dress, "like a studio in the 1950s", Mr Begley said. "Although you're watching people perform, you could close your eyes. As long as you don't drop off," he added. Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk Renita Holmes has been displaced four times in the past three years by rising rents With sea levels rising around the globe, Miami, in the US state of Florida, is facing an urgent need to adapt. As property investors turn their gaze inland, away from the exclusive low-lying beach area, residents in one poorer neighbourhood further above sea level say rising rents are forcing them out. "It's a beautiful place, and developers are selling this tropical lifestyle," says housing activist Renita Holmes. "So, they build up and everybody moves to Miami, and we get moved out." Ms Holmes lives in Little Haiti, a neighbourhood situated five miles inland from the luxurious Miami Beach. Walking through the area's colourful streets you will hear Creole being spoken as you breathe in the rich smells of Caribbean cooking. "I love Little Haiti because it still has that swampy appearance, it still has trees and vines," says Ms Holmes. "The Haitian community and the culture are vibrant. I saw people that were beautiful, tasteful and talented, and now it's my home too, and I love it." Gentrification Little Haiti is a vibrant community known for its bright, colourful murals Little Haiti's poverty rate is higher than average for the city of Miami, and household incomes are mostly well below the median. Racial segregation laws in the first half of the 20th Century, and the forced relocation of some minorities, made neighbourhoods like Little Haiti a refuge for diverse and poor communities. However, the neighbourhood's proximity to hip bars and restaurants in the nearby Design District and Wynwood now make it enticing for developers. Entrepreneur Tony Cho, who developed parts of Wynwood, turned his attention to Little Haiti, drawing up plans for a $1bn (792m) high-rise development called Magic City on 18 acres of land, which received planning permission in 2019. Residents say they soon felt the effect in their pockets. Reina Cartagena, who owns Adelita's Cafe on NE 2nd Ave, one of Little Haiti's main roads, says her rent has doubled in less than a year. Many of her customers have relocated to different parts of the US, she says, and she is considering doing the same. Numerous other businesses in the street have already closed. "I feel like I'm going to be displaced. The rent is very, very high and I'm not making ends meet." Developer Tony Cho was behind the Magic City Innovation District project Renita Holmes says her rent too has risen, increasing from $1,200 to $1,800 per month in the past three years. "Land development is in, people development is out," she says. "The bottom line is always money. Buy cheap, sell high, and so it causes us to be gentrified." A $31m fund from the Magic City development is being set aside to finance affordable housing and other public benefits in Little Haiti, but many residents remain opposed to plans to build skyscrapers in a neighbourhood where most buildings do not exceed two storeys. High ground Another potential attraction of Little Haiti is its location on a limestone ridge about 18ft (5.5m) above sea level. This makes it more than four times higher than Miami Beach, which risks being flooded if sea levels continue to rise, and steps are not taken to keep the water out. The Florida Climate Center, which says the sea level has risen 6in (15cm) in Miami the past 31 years, quotes "high scenario projections" which suggest a similar rise in the next 15 years. Other researchers talk about a potential rise of nearly 7ft by 2100. This has led to claims that the residents of Little Haiti are the victims of "climate gentrification" - a process whereby wealthy people displace poorer people from areas that are better equipped to withstand the impacts of a changing climate. Prof William Butler, from Florida State University, researches climate displacement Renita Holmes says this is exactly what is happening. "They saw how high the land was over here - and now they're living here so the condos won't go right into the surf," she says. Prof William Butler of Florida State University, says the higher ground was once affordable because it was "the least desirable place to be". "Now there is a certain irony these places might become much more desirable", he says. "That adds one more layer to drivers of displacement of lower income people, who are the most stressed in the context of climate change in the first place". In his view, it's too early to say whether climate change is a key factor in Little Haiti's gentrification, though he says local people report seeing advertisements for new properties describing them as "safer from the floods, storms and sea level rise". The planning application for Magic City also noted that its height would protect it from climate change impacts. Flooding and storm events are becoming more frequent in Miami Porous rock Tony Cho is no longer involved with the development but he still works in the area, and says very few people come to him and say they want to invest in Little Haiti because it is 18ft above sea level. "If you're an investor, your motivation is to get a return on your investment. So people invest where they believe that the value is going to be higher than when they invested in it," he says. Protestors tried to fight the Magic City development before it was approved in 2019 He also draws attention to another feature of Miami's geology - Little Haiti, just like Miami Beach, is sitting on a bed of porous limestone, so the rock will get damper in both locations, he says. "I don't look at it as Little Haiti is on a mountain and Miami Beach is at sea level," he says. "What people need to understand is that as sea level rises, it comes from the bottom, not just from the side." He doesn't deny that Little Haiti is gentrifying and that some residents are being displaced, but he says this transformation is not unique to the area, as it is happening in "every major urban area" globally. Renita Holmes says she has noticed problems with damp increasing - it's the reason why she has moved house four times in the last three years, looking for a more affordable and better maintained home. "It's a beautiful place but underneath the ground something is different. The toxicity level, the mould, the moisture, no drains. My health has changed. "They didn't build things in a resilient way." Residents and business owners in Little Haiti are feeling the pressure of gentrification 'Sea level is about me' In a bid to protect her community, Ms Holmes has become a fellow of the Cleo Institute, a Florida-based NGO, and joined their Empowering Women programme aimed at people on the front line of the climate crisis. "They gave me the knowledge, the terminology, and then I found out sea level rise was about me," says Ms Holmes, who has been named as one of the BBC's 100 Women for 2023 for her work to advance housing rights for marginalised communities. BBC 100 Women names 100 inspiring and influential women around the world every year Meet this year's 100 Women here She spends her time educating friends and neighbours and campaigning to protect what she sees as the beauty and identity of Little Haiti. "If we don't tell our stories, we don't expose them, then they'll just build on top of us and it'll become a concrete city," she says. "It's traumatising, the anxiety of not knowing how are you going to live? How are you going to breathe? Will you be able to afford it? And would you be able to take care of your children. "I am resilient, I am empowered and as long as I've got empowerment, resilience and a voice, I will live here." Additional reporting by Cecilia Barria. 100 Women logo BBC 100 Women names 100 inspiring and influential women around the world every year. Follow BBC 100 Women on Instagram and Facebook. Join the conversation using #BBC100Women. Sean Combs has stepped down from his position as chairman of the television network Revolt after three sexual assault lawsuits were filed against him in a week. Combs, formerly known as Puff Daddy, P Diddy and several other names, co-founded the music-focused network with Andy Schuon in 2013. In a statement posted on social media, Revolt confirmed that Combs has stepped down as chairman. The statement added: While Mr Combs has previously had no operational or day-to-day role in the business, this decision helps to ensure that Revolt remains steadfastly focused on our mission to create meaningful content for the culture and amplify the voices of all Black people throughout this country and the African diaspora. It concluded: Our focus has always been one that reflects our commitment to the collective journey of Revolt one that is not driven by any individual, but by the shared efforts and values of our entire team on behalf of advancing elevating and championing our culture and that continues. The news comes after three separate women filed lawsuits against Combs in the space of a week, laying out allegations of sexual and physical abuse, coercive control and violence. Cassie Ventura and Sean Diddy Combs at the 2017 Met Gala (Getty Images) He quickly settled one suit filed by former long-term girlfriend Cassie Ventura, an artist nearly 20 years his junior who had accused him of rape, sex trafficking and abuse. In a statement shared by her lawyers, Ventura said she wanted to resolve the matter on terms that I have some level of control. Another suit, filed by a New York woman named Joi Dickerson-Neal, alleges that Combs drugged and raped her in 1991. In court documents filed last Thursday, demanding a jury trial, Dickerson-Neal alleges that Combs took her out to dinner in New York City, but getting into Combs car that day was something Ms Dickerson would come to regret forever. During their date, Combs had intentionally drugged Ms Dickerson, resulting in her being in a physical state where she could not independently stand or walk, continues the complaint, seen by The Independent, which goes on to allege that Combs assaulted Dickerson-Neal and filmed her without her consent. The third suit, filed by an unnamed woman referred to only as Jane Doe, also includes allegations of sexual coercion. In the years after the alleged assaults, Combs would go on to found his own label, Bad Boys Records, helping to produce Mary J Blige and Biggie Smalls and become one of the most influential hip-hop producers and executives in the genres history. A spokesperson for Combs told The Independent : These are fabricated claims falsely alleging misconduct from over 30 years ago and filed at the last minute. This is nothing but a money grab. Because of Mr. Combs fame and success, he is an easy target for anonymous accusers who lie without conscience or consequence for financial benefit. The New York Legislature surely did not intend or expect the Adult Survivors Act to be exploited by scammers. The public should be skeptical and not rush to accept these bogus allegations. If you have been raped or sexually assaulted, you can contact your nearest Rape Crisis organisation for specialist, independent and confidential support. For more information, visit their website here. Sean Hannity and Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) laid it on thick Monday as they praised Donald Trumps mental acuity. After spending several minutes melodramatically hand-wringing with Jackson over President Joe Bidens recent gaffes and perceived cognitive decline, Hannity switched gears to discuss Trump, who has also made a string of verbal slip-ups in the last few months. Ive interviewed President Trump extensively for hours at a time, and I can tell you he is as sharp now as he was when I knew him 30 years ago. Theres no decline, zero, Hannity effused. He makes one little mistake the media goes insane, he added, without a hint of irony. Jackson, the Trump-adoring former White House doctor who spread COVID conspiracy theories and claimed Trump could live to 200, said Trump is incredibly sharp, hes got a better memory than I have than you have, we all know this. Hannity: Theres no decline in Trump. Zero Jackson: Hes incredibly sharp. He has a better memory than I have pic.twitter.com/Ww9E2g64pv Acyn (@Acyn) November 28, 2023 On Monday morning, Trump boasted that he had recently ACED a cognitive test and also got a perfect score on one taken when he was in the White House. He was apparently referencing the very hard exam he said he took in 2020. He claimed he impressed doctors by remembering five words in a row, which he said he could do because he is cognitively there and has a good memory. Experts noted at the time that this type of test is typically quite simple and is not intended to measure skill or intelligence but rather to detect signs of mild cognitive impairment. Trump also complained in his Monday morning screed that he is being attacked for mixing up Biden and former President Barack Obama, whom hes repeatedly referred to as if he were the sitting president. But according to Trump, hes been doing it on purpose. Related... Seattle police arrested two men accused of being high-level drug dealers in several Seattle neighborhoods. The two men are alleged to be involved in the distribution of drugs in the University District, Ballard, Aurora corridor in Northgate, and Bitter Lake communities. For the last three months, Seattle police detectives and agents with Homeland Security conducted surveillance on two men known for distributing fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin. At about 5 a.m. on Nov. 22, warrants were served on the mens homes, a storage locker, and vehicles. The men were found inside their homes and taken into custody. The following was also confiscated by law enforcement: 4,162 grams of fentanyl pills (approximately 41,000 fentanyl pills). 2,261.9 grams of methamphetamine (5 pounds). 82.7 grams of cocaine (over half a pound). 1,762.8 grams of powder fentanyl (3.9 pounds). $42,441 in US currency. Rifle ammunition. 1 vehicle. The 21-year-old was booked into the Snohomish County Jail and the 26-year-old was booked into the King County Jail. Both men were arrested on charges of possession with intent to deliver cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl in powder and pill form. Nova Poshta, Ukraine's leading private postal service, is expanding its network in Romania by opening a second branch in Brasov, while another one in Constanta will follow by the end of the year, the company's press service has reported. The branch, located at 72 Branduselor Str., Brasov, is open every day. Customers can receive and send documents and parcels up to 30 kilograms to Ukraine and Moldova. The delivery time to Ukraine is five days and to Moldova three days. Read also: Nova Poshta plans continued aggressive expansion to connect Ukrainian refugees with loved ones Nova Poshta customers in Romania can also call a courier to pick up their parcels at their address, and have them delivered all over the country. Almost 8,000 parcels were delivered in the first six months of operation in Romania, the company says. Nova Poshta has made it a priority to connect Ukrainian refugees living abroad with friends and family back home, and plans to continue its ambitious growth until 2024. Nova Poshta's co-founder, Volodymyr Popereshnyuk, has announced that the company aims to enter markets in 18 additional countries by the fall of 2024. Read also: Ukraines Nova Poshta blows by pre-war profits, makes almost $90 million in 2023 5x pre-war level Nova Poshta has already opened 63 branches in Poland, Lithuania, Czechia, Romania, Germany, and Moldova, with plans to enter Latvia, Hungary, Italy, France, and Austria by the end of the year. The company opened its first branch in Estonia on Oct. 20, followed by Hungary on Nov. 10. By the end of the year, Nova Poshta will have 13 branches in Germany. Nova Poshta has shown significant growth in all operational and financial aspects in the first nine months of 2023, the company's press service announced on Nov. 7. Its net profit increased almost fivefold in the first half of the year. The company delivered 290 million parcels and cargoes, which is 10% more than in the same period of 2021. Nova Poshta is now exploring the possibility of integrating artificial intelligence technologies into its operations. 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 Viktor Zhora, a former deputy head of the State Special Communications Service, was detained on Nov. 27 in connection to a state funds embezzlement scheme, the High Anti-Corruption Court reported. Zhora, the service's former head Yurii Shchyhol, and four others are suspected of embezzling Hr 62 million ($1.7 million) in state funds allocated for the purchase of equipment and software between 2020 and 2022. In collusion with a director of a state-owned enterprise and an owner of a group of companies, the officials concluded contracts at the value of Hr 285 million ($7.9 million) for software and services worth only Hr 223 million ($6.2 million). The perpetrators allegedly took possession of the difference between the two sums. Zhora is to be held in pretrial detention for two months with bail set at Hr 10 million $276,000. Shchyhol was detained on Nov. 23 but released from custody on a Hr 25 million ($693,000) bail one day later. The government dismissed both officials from their posts on Nov. 20, with Shchyhol's first deputy, Dmytro Makovsky, appointed the acting head of the State Special Communications Service. Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. FILE PHOTO: People exit the headquarters of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Washington, D.C. By Andrew Chung (Reuters) - A challenge to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's powers to protect investors from fraud comes before the Supreme Court on Wednesday in another in a series of legal attacks against federal agencies that regulate financial markets. The justices are due to hear arguments in an appeal by President Joe Biden's administration of a lower court's ruling restricting the SEC's power to enforce securities laws through the agency's longstanding in-house tribunal system. The case involves hedge fund manager George Jarkesy, who the SEC fined and barred from the industry after determining he had committed securities fraud. Critics of the agency have argued that its in-house system gives it the unfair advantage of prosecuting cases before its own judges rather than before a jury in federal court. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2022 ruled in favor of a legal challenge brought by Jarkesy. The 5th Circuit decided that the SEC's power to seek penalties through in-house enforcement proceedings violates the U.S. Constitution's Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial and infringes on presidential and congressional powers. The case could make it harder for the SEC weed out bad actors in the securities industry, legal experts said. The stakes are even higher because a separate challenge to an industry-financed "self-regulatory organization" called FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, is working its way through lower courts. The SEC and FINRA challenges are supported by conservative and business groups, which have complained about the regulatory reach of the federal "administrative state" in areas such as energy, the environment, climate policy, workplace safety and financial regulation. "The danger is that if you take away the ability of FINRA and the SEC to efficiently remove misconduct and miscreants, you're going to have misconduct linger a lot longer," University of Nevada, Las Vegas securities law professor Benjamin Edwards said. "Our financial system ultimately runs on trust, and you have to be able to trust that the people you're working with are operating honestly - and having a vigorous enforcement structure in place is pretty important," Edwards added. The SEC, which enforces various U.S. laws that protect investors, has faced a series of legal attacks even as the Supreme Court, with its 6-3 conservative majority, has signaled skepticism toward expansive federal regulatory power. The court in 2018 faulted the way the SEC selected its in-house judges, and in April made it easier for targets of agency actions to mount challenges in federal court. The justices also are set to decide in the coming months whether the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding structure conforms with the U.S. Constitution and could overturn a decades-old precedent that helps federal agencies defend regulatory actions in court. BARRED FROM THE INDUSTRY The SEC in 2011 began investigating Jarkesy, who founded two hedge funds with his Houston-based investment advisory firm, Patriot28 LLC. The funds had about 120 investors and roughly $24 million in assets under management. The SEC charges against Jarkesy and his firm proceeded before an in-house judge. The agency upheld the judge's findings that Jarkesy and his firm violated the Securities Act of 1933 and other laws including by misrepresenting the identity of the funds' auditor and value of the holdings. The agency ordered them to pay a $300,000 civil penalty and Patriot28 to disgorge nearly $685,000 in ill-gotten gains, while barring Jarkesy from the securities industry. The 5th Circuit tossed the SEC's decision against Jarkesy. In addition to its conclusion about the right to a jury trial, the 5th Circuit found that the SEC wielded too much power in choosing whether to bring cases in-house or in federal court, and that job protections for its administrative judges make them too difficult to remove, infringing on presidential powers under the Constitution. The FINRA case - a constitutional challenge to its structure brought by Utah-based Alpine Securities Corp - is currently before another federal appellate court and eventually could come to the Supreme Court. Under federal law, securities brokers and dealers generally must become FINRA members and are subject to its rules and disciplinary measures. FINRA calls itself a "private, not-for-profit corporation." Alpine, facing a disciplinary proceeding that would expel it from the industry, claimed that FINRA wields government power and therefore must be subject to the Constitution's provisions, including presidential oversight of its officers. FINRA has said the suit poses an "existential threat" to the organization. UCLA School of Law corporate law expert James Park said frustration has grown in the business community as the SEC has routinely imposed fines on various defendants. "I think they think the SEC and, perhaps, FINRA to some extent have in a sense gotten too aggressive because ... there are very few checks on their discretion in the current system," Park said. (Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham) A Seminole police officer opened fire at a man police say used a car in threatening manor Tuesday morning in a parking lot near the Seminole Classic Casino Hollywood. The incident, which happened before 7 a.m., started out as a medical call, but nearly turned deadly after the man used his car in a way the officer thought put her life in danger, a police source said. The officer fired once, the source said. Police did not immediately release the details of the incident, but Seminole spokesman Gary Bitner said it happened in a parking lot south of the casino on North State Road 7, and after the officer fired the shot, the man got out of the car and ran away. Seminole officers, with the help of Broward Sheriffs Office deputies, Hollywood police officers as well as other law-enforcement agencies, tracked the man down about 8:30 a.m. in a commercial area southwest of the casino, Bitner said. No one was injured in the shooting or when police arrested the man, whom Seminole police identified as 26-year-old Solomon Eugene Terry. Information on Terrys bond or legal representation was not immediately available. This story will be updated as more information becomes available. May Pang, left, who had a relationship with John Lennon, right, during a period when he was separated from Yoko Ono, will share photos from that time in a show at AnArte Gallery. May Pang For decades, complete strangers have told May Pang they knew all there was to know about her and her 18-month relationship with John Lennon. Ive had many fans or people, they all say, 'I know everything about you,' and I say, 'You do? ' And they go, 'Yes, Ive read everything,' Pang said in a telephone interview. After so many years, my story took on a life of its own, with other people telling it. At first, it doesnt bother you, but after a while, now its bothering me. Now people are hearing different stuff thats not correct. Pang has been working to set the record straight about her time with the former Beatle. They were together from 1973 to 1975 when he was separated from Yoko Ono, an era in his life dubbed the lost weekend. Advertisement Article continues below this ad As part of that effort, she is exhibiting and selling candid photographs she took of Lennon during their time together in a series of pop-up exhibitions. She has three slated in Texas, including one from 3 to 8 p.m. Dec. 5-6 at San Antonios AnArte Gallery, 7959 Broadway. She also will be showing her snapshots at AO5 Gallery in Austin on Friday and Saturday, and at Gallery 440 in Fort Worth from Dec. 8-10. "The Toy" is among the images that May Pang snapped of her lover John Lennon during their 18-month relationship. Pang will exhibit some of her photographs in a two-day exhibit at AnArte Gallery. May Pang The other way she is telling her story is through the fast-paced documentary The Lost Weekend: A Love Story, which is available to rent or buy from digital retailers such as AppleTV, Amazon Prime, Google Play, Vudu and YouTube. "Social Commentary" is among the images that May Pang snapped of her lover John Lennon during their 18-month relationship. Pang will exhibit some of her photographs in a two-day exhibit at AnArte Gallery. May Pang The seed for the film was planted about six or seven years ago when she ran into producer and director Eve Brandstein, who mentioned she was making documentaries. Advertisement Article continues below this ad More superstar photos: Retrospective of San Antonio photographers work includes unpublished image of Selena Just at that moment, I looked at her and I said, 'Thats what I want to do,' Pang said. That got the ball rolling. Brandstein directed the film with Richard Kaufman and Stewart Samuels. The three of them were the people that put my movie together. It was brilliantly done, and they honored what I wanted, she said. Many fans who have seen the movie now have come back and said, 'I thought I knew your story.'" The film is laced with her photos of Lennon, including images of them hanging out at home, taking road trips and working in recording studios. Advertisement Article continues below this ad I was just taking photos of somebody I loved, she said. It was never meant for the public, as it were, because I wasnt a professional. May Pang, who had a relationship with John Lennon when he was separated from Yoko Ono, snapped this photo of him with his son. Pang is exhibiting her candid images from that time in a two-day exhibit at AnArte Gallery. May Pang She always had her camera with her, she said, and Lennon once asked to see what she was shooting. The Lost Weekend What: An exhibit of May Pang's candid photos of John Lennon When: 3-8 p.m. Dec. 5 and 6 Where: AnArte Gallery, 7959 Broadway St. Details: Pang will be present to sign purchased photographs. anartegallery09.com Im thinking, 'Oh, my God, hes not going to like it,' she said. He looked at the contact sheets, and hes looking at the photos, and he goes, 'Not bad.' Advertisement Article continues below this ad He just let me take whatever I wanted. He never stopped me and said, 'I dont want this, I dont want that.' He left me fly. Im taking photos because I thought, this is the relaxed him that nobody ever gets to see. Pang first got to known Lennon through her job. She worked in the New York office of Apple Records, and was assigned to work with Lennon and Ono when they paid a visit to the city. She helped with a few projects, including the avant-garde films Up Your Legs Forever and Fly. A while later, she was hired to work for the couple as a personal assistant, doing a little bit of everything, It was whatever came to their minds, from John saying, 'I want this keyboard I found; find me this keyboard,' to Yoko saying to me that she wanted to find somebody that could make certain outfits that shes designing, she said. Things swiftly took a turn. The couples relationship hit a rocky patch, and Ono told Pang that Lennon was going to start seeing other people. She noted that Pang didnt have a boyfriend and told her she should date him. Advertisement Article continues below this ad She was saying, 'I think you would be good for him. Youre kind, youre nice, you should treat him nicely,' she recalled. 'You dont want him to go out with someone whos going to treat him badly.' I said, 'Of course not.' Then she said, 'You should be it.' Pang wasnt romantically interested in Lennon at the time, and they didnt see much of each other for a while after that conversation with Ono. But soon he began wooing her. And she fell for him. The documentary explores their time together, including how she helped him reunite with his son Julian, to whom she remains close. It also reveals how the song Whatever Gets You Thru the Night came together, and captures his brief reunions with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. One of the featured photographs is a shot she took of Lennon adding his signature to the legal document that officially dissolved the Beatles. New release: Final Beatles song a testament to the bond between Lennon and McCartney Even as their relationship deepened and Pang believed he was envisioning a future for the two of them, Ono was never completely out of the picture. She called regularly, and eventually she let Pang know she had decided it was time for her to take Lennon back, something the younger woman didnt think would happen. But it did, leaving Pang heartbroken. It wasnt a clean break. She stayed in touch with Lennon, having long telephone conversations and sometimes getting together. After Lennon was murdered in 1980, she reached out to Ono a few times but never heard back from her. I did run into her when I was in Iceland, Pang said. We happened to stay in the same hotel this is 20 years later. It was almost like, obviously Johns laughing, because it happened on his birthday. I couldnt make that happen if I wanted to. I went up to her and said hello, I wished her well. There was really nothing to say. Shes grateful to be able to share the Lennon she knew through the film and her photographs, she said. Tackling the Biden administration's national supplemental funding request is at the top of the agenda as the Senate returns from Thanksgiving recess this week, but it may prove to be a difficult feat for GOP lawmakers in the upper chamber who are trying to strike a deal on including tighter border security provisions. Disagreement over tying Israel and Ukraine funding together also persists, as GOP lawmakers who have grown skeptical of aid to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion last year are more in favor of pausing aid to the Eastern European country. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, one of the lead lawmakers striving to split up Israel and Ukraine aid, told Fox News Digital that funding for Israel and stronger border security measures, like stricter asylum standards and more border patrol agents, should go hand in hand. "What we need is Republican leadership to stand up and say, Hell no, we will not vote cloture on anything that doesn't include meaningful border security,'" Marshall told Fox News Digital in an interview Monday. BORDER PATROL SAYS IT'S PAUSING SOCIAL MEDIA TO DEAL WITH MIGRANT SURGE Senator Roger Marshall, a Republican from Kansas, speaks during a Senate Budget Committee hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, March 15, 2023. Marshall said the GOP-controlled House leadership "are on a different planet" than the Democrat-controlled upper chamber and are no closer to a deal than they were at the start of October on border security negotiations. However, the "cry for border security becomes louder," he added. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP Republican senators released a series of measures that are largely drawn from the House GOP signature border and immigration legislation, H.R. 2, passed in the Republican-controlled House earlier this year. The measures would be a condition for Republicans to agree to a $106 billion request for aid for Ukraine and Israel, which also includes $14 billion for border operations. GOP Sens. Marshall, Ted Cruz, JD Vance and Mike Lee introduced a stand-alone bill to funnel aid to Israel without tying it to Ukraine aid in October. The bill, called the Israel Supplemental Appropriations Act, is an alternative to President Bidens $106 billion emergency supplemental bill. "We can't even get a small amount of GOP lawmakers to agree on Ukraine funding, on border security, let alone Republicans and Democrats in the Senate and the House," Marshall told Fox News Digital. "That's why we gotta pull out Israel funding." WHITE HOUSE, SENATE DEMS REJECT GOP BORDER SECURITY PROPOSALS: TOTAL NON-STARTER Asylum seekers wait to be processed by U.S. Border Patrol agents after crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico into the United States on September 30, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. The Israel Supplemental Appropriations Act, if passed, would provide $14.3 billion to Israel, including $10.6 billion for assistance through the Department of Defense (DOD), $3.5 billion for foreign military financing and $200 million to help protect U.S. embassies and personnel. But Senate Democrats blocked the proposal when it was brought to the floor this month. Senate Democrats have said a package without Ukraine funding would be dead-on-arrival. Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., have both signaled the GOP will pass more Ukraine funding if a deal is struck for tighter immigration laws. The White House's supplemental request, which was sent to Congress in October, includes $61.4 billion for Ukraine, $14.3 billion for Israel (with $10.6 billion allocated for military aid), $13.6 billion for some border security provisions, and significant investments in Indo-Pacific security assistance, totaling around $7.4 billion. Additionally, there's $9 billion earmarked for humanitarian aid in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza. Republicans in the upper chamber say the border provisions, as outlined by the White House, do not address much-needed policy changes like stricter asylum standards at the southern border. WHITE HOUSE FUNDING REQUEST INCLUDES $14 BILLION FOR BORDER AS CRISIS HITS NEW RECORDS Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) walks with U.S. President Joe Biden down the colonnade to the Oval Office during a visit to the White House September 21, 2023, in Washington, DC. In a "Dear Colleague" letter sent Sunday night, Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. announced a classified all-senators briefing on the Ukraine-Russia war in the coming days. "The biggest holdup to the national security assistance package right now is the insistence by our Republican colleagues on partisan border policy as a condition for vital Ukraine aid. This has injected a decades old, hyper-partisan issue into overwhelmingly bipartisan priorities," Schumer said in the letter. But Marshall said he's not budging. The U.S. government already sent more than $100 billion to Ukraine, and "they're making no progress," he said. "Every three days they try to shove Ukraine down our throat, and I don't get it," he said. "Everything that could be said has been said about it. We're not dumb. This is not a rocket science deal going on in Ukraine. I'm almost insulted they keep trying to just say the same thing over and over, louder and louder like it's going to change my mind." Original article source: Sen Marshall urges GOP to say 'Hell no' to supplemental funding request without tighter border security It's been nearly a year since first-term Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville launched what has become perhaps the defining feature of his short time in office so far: a blanket hold on hundreds of military nominations and promotions which require Senate approval in order to advance. In spite of his campaign promise to "support a strong and robust military" with the "tools and resources" it requires, Tuberville's use of the Senate's hold process has effectively kept major swaths of the country's armed forces in limbo, angering constituents and colleagues on both sides of the aisle. With the Senate's "reputation for collegiality [...] on the ropes" according to ABC News's Tal Axelrod, Tuberville's nearly year-long obstructionism ostensibly in protest over the Pentagon's policy of covering costs associated with military personnel forced to travel out of state to obtain an abortion may finally be coming to an end. In a "dear colleagues" letter to Senate Democrats sent Sunday evening, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced plans to "swiftly confirm the hundreds of highly qualified and dedicated military leaders being held up by Senator Tuberville before the end of the year." The move, made possible by a party-line vote in the Democrat-controlled Senate Rule Committee earlier this month, would circumvent Tuberville's "extreme and unprecedented obstruction" which has "eroded centuries of Senate norms and injected extreme partisanship into what has long been a bipartisan process," Schumer wrote. Schumer's optimistic pledge to act before the new year notwithstanding, is Tuberville's stranglehold on military promotions truly nearing its end? What the commentators said While Senate Republicans may be frustrated with Tuberville, they "certainly didnt want it to come to this," Politico reported, pointing out that the resolution which passed the Rules Committee this month will require at least nine GOP defections to to meet the 60-vote threshold to confirm the pending promotions. Not only are Republicans anxious not to "circumvent the power of an individual senator" but they "don't want to side against anti-abortion advocates" who have applauded Tuberville's stand. Schumer's end-of-year deadline comes as Senate Republicans work behind the scenes to convince their colleague to relent on his hold, even as they publicly denounce this month's Rules Committee decision. Predicting to conservative broadcaster Hugh Hewitt last week that "this issue will get resolved," Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) stressed that "I dont think the right resolution is a rules change." Instead, Cruz claimed, Republicans "in relatively short order" would find a middle path that "allows the military promotions that need to happen to go forward, but that also allows Tommy to continue to fight, and fight valiantly for the unborn." One such proposal by Tuberville is to use the annual National Defense Authorization Act which funds the military to negate the current reproductive health policy, prompting Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee to tell Politico "screw him. He lost, and hes trying to tear down this country because he disagrees with the policy." Any proposal to avoid a Senate showdown and prompt him to lift his hold "would require others to bend, not a concession on his part," The Wall Street Journal reported. Moreover, the paper noted, a number of conservative groups have "aired ads and erected billboards praising him back home." And perhaps most important in this era of Republican politics, "both [former President Donald] Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence have lauded him" for his stance. What next? While Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) has called the push for a 60-vote threshold to overcome Tuberville's hold a "heavy lift among Republicans," fellow conservative Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) is reportedly "ready to consider" the resolution a testament to the efforts of rule co-sponsor Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, the Arizona Democrat-turned-Independent who has lead the effort to "defuse" the situation, according to Politico. Sinema herself told the publication that she's not looking to impose "a timeline" on the bill that would "create partisan fights." But with the clock ticking toward Schumer's self-imposed New Year deadline, time is running out for behind-the-scenes negotiations aimed at staving off a potentially contentious floor vote. Lawmakers should "expect long days and nights, and potentially weekends in December," Schumer predicted in his letter to colleagues, promising further scheduling details this week. Senate Democrats are fuming over a Republican effort to link an aid package for Ukraine to a crackdown on immigration to the United States. Senate Republicans want to tie aid to Ukraine to provisions that will restrict immigration, create more security measures at the US-Mexico border and change the asylum process. Republicans have focused on curtailing immigration, which they consider to be a crisis, and see funding for Ukraine as an opportunity to win concessions they otherwise would not receive from a Democratic Senate and White House. But Democrats see the two topics as unrelated, especially as Ukraine faces a crucial moment in the war. Sen Chris Murphy (D-CT), after speaking with Sen Susan Collins (R-ME), told reporters that he was frustrated with the grouping of two unrelated issues when Ukraines security was jeopardised. I think it's ridiculous that Republicans are going to let Vladimir Putin march into Ukraine and perhaps the rest of Europe if we cant solve a totally separate political issue, Mr Murphy told reporters on Tuesday. I think we have been willing to give a lot in these talks. We are way out of (the) traditional comfort zone for Democrats. At some point, Republicans are going to have to say yes, Mr Murphy said. House Speaker Mike Johnson, in one of his first press conferences, told reporters last month that he wanted to tie border security provisions to Ukraine aid. Aid to Ukraine passed easily in the previous Congress after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his assault on the country in February 2022. Many Republican leaders in the US Senate, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, continue to support Ukraine. But conservative Republicans, including many acolytes of former president Donald Trump, ardently oppose supporting the nation. Neither of the most recent continuing resolutions to keep the government open included aid to Ukraine. President Joe Biden had previously requested a $105bn supplemental bill from Congress that would have provided aid to Ukraine and Israel and would have also provided money to secure the US-Mexico border as well as money to compete with China. That request largely went nowhere amid the inability of Republicans to nominate a speaker of the House. And many conservatives will likely oppose any agreement crafted by the Senate. Sen Thom Tillis (R-NC), who is part of the negotiations, said that Mr Murphy and Sen James Lankford (R-OK), have made meaningful changes on asylum policy. But he said that he wants to see changes to parole, which allows for migrants to stay in the United States. But that's only a half-baked cake, he told The Independent. We've got to have progress on parole. In a dear colleague letter, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that the Senate would take up a vote on a supplemental aid bill to Ukraine and Israel as soon as next week. But Heritage Action, the advocacy arm of the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation that holds sway over Republicans, said it would oppose any measure crafted by the Senate and would only support House legislation that would severely curtail asylum and detention laws for migrants as well as increase provisions for border security. House and Senate conservatives should reject this proposal and commit to supporting H.R. 2 to restore safety and security for the American people, Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts said in a statement. Anything less is unacceptable. Sen Ron Johnson (R-WI), a hardliner on immigration, told The Independent he would not allow for cloture, which would end a filibuster on any legislation that doesnt have strong enforceable benchmarks. Because we have a president who wants to open (the) border, he said. He's a lawless administration. He doesnt faithfully execute the law. So no matter how strong language is, with this president, would be meaningless unless you have funding contingent on meeting actual benchmarks. Mr Johnson said that he was not even sure that what he wanted was being discussed. But Democrats still voiced their frustration. Sen Michael Bennet (D-CO), who expressed concern about the lack of support for Ukraine in the September continuing resolution bill that kept the government open, told reporters he continued to worry about the lack of support for Ukraine. Trying to tie the American people's support for this democracy to policy disputes or political disputes that we have in this moment, I think is incredibly short-sighted, he said. What happens if we don't find Ukraine is that Putin is going to be able to take back the territory that the Ukrainians have taken from him which was half of the territory that that he originally took from them. WASHINGTON A group of Senate Democrats met with senior-level Israel Defense Forces officials Monday evening in the Capitol to discuss the Israel-Hamas war and concerns about a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. At least 10 senators attended the meeting, which Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, described as extremely frank. "We just want to be assured that they are abiding by American values as they try to dismantle Hamas, and we all conveyed that collectively and clearly," Schatz told reporters. "I do believe they heard us, but obviously we have a long way to go. The meeting was not classified, but senators kept the details of the discussion private. The IDF officials did not comment when reporters approached then after the meeting. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., arranged the meeting, which lasted about two hours and came as a growing number of Senate Democrats have raised concerns over the civilian casualties and property destruction in Gaza as a result of Israel's military campaign against Hamas. There were tough questions and very strong answers, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said. And I think generally our Israeli friends ... did some substantial good in explaining the challenges of conducting this war against Hamas and dismantling Hamas as a terrorist organization. And there was no question about the solidarity and support of Israel, even if there were some critical comments. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said it was informative and important to hear the Israeli military perspective, but he reiterated his belief there should be conditions on any aid the U.S. approves for Israel. "I think the idea of simply giving Israel $14 billion without any conditions would be counterproductive, he said. I think the American people are very, very concerned about the number of women and children who have been killed so far." Sanders has previously called for conditioning aid to Israel on a series of factors, including "an end to the indiscriminate bombing," "a freeze on settlement expansion" and "a commitment to broad peace talks for a two-state solution." Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., who also attended the meeting, said the discussion included "perspectives on the current situation and asking questions about anticipated next steps. We talked about the humanitarian situation. We talked about the day after the end of the temporary cease-fire. So it was a good back-and-forth, he said. Van Hollen spearheaded a letter this month to President Joe Biden that emphasized it was critical for Israel to abide by the laws of war. The letter, signed by 26 senators, called for the administration to provide more information about U.S. priorities related to Israel and Gaza, as well as the White Houses assessment of Israels military strategy. Lawmakers are set to decide whether to approve the White House's request for more U.S. aid to Israel and Ukraine. Both Democrats and Republicans have talked about setting conditions for providing any additional aid. Last month, Biden asked Congress to provide more than $61 billion in aid for Ukraine and more than $14 billion for Israel. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Community members pay their respects at an impromptu memorial at Monroe Park in Richmond, Va., where 18-year-old high school graduate Shawn Jackson and his father, 36-year-old Renzo Smith, were gunned down after a graduation ceremony for Huguenot High School in June. File Photo by Jemal Countess/UPI WASHINGTON, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- After passing bipartisan gun legislation last year, senators clashed Tuesday over the next steps in addressing gun violence. Democrats had called the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to address what they called a public health crisis caused by guns. "Gun violence is a public health epidemic, plain and simple," said Chairman Richard Durbin, D-Ill. Republican members were hesitant to identify gun violence as a public health crisis. Instead, they argued that such a label would be used to curtail Americans' Second Amendment rights. "With using public health authorities as a blanket excuse to strip away constitutional rights. We're framing gun violence as an epidemic that divides us more than it unites us," said ranking member John Cornyn, R-Texas. "Gun violence is a public health epidemic, plain and simple." said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Richard Durbin, D-Ill. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI Both sides, however, agreed that gun violence needed to be addressed. "If today is an average day, by the time we finish this hearing ... roughly eight Americans will have been murdered, about twice as many will have killed themselves and countless others will have been violently victimized. Much of that violence will involve firearms," testified Amy Swearer, a senior legal Fellow from the Heritage Foundation. Although the hearing did not create a clear path forward for gun legislation, the committee's Democratic and Republican members agreed that despite division across the committee, a solution would only present itself through bipartisan support. "You don't get anything done on gun violence around here without bipartisan cooperation," said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C. Durbin echoed that when he reflected on the passage of the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which among other measures included $250 million in funding for community violence intervention and $250 million for states to provide comprehensive community mental health services. Durbin commended Cornyn for his willingness to work across the aisle. "That took real courage, John. We may disagree on a lot of issues, but at a time when we needed to act you did your best, and I thank you for that," Durban said. Although Republican members such as Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas stressed the need to uphold the Second Amendment, Tillis, one of the Republican senators who introduced the 2002 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, emphasized that enacting gun legislation is not meant to strip Americans of their constitutional rights. "There have been 168,971 purchase transactions for under 21 since then ... [and] 428 were denied based on the Safer Communities Act. So to the Second Amendment advocates who said this was going to lead to a mass confiscation, they're patently wrong," Tillis said. A June 2023 report from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that total deaths by shootings dropped sharply last year after a record-setting 2021. According to data from the Gun Violence Archive, there were 619 mass shootings in 2023, accounting for 644 deaths. Every day, on average, 120 people are are killed with guns in the United States, according to the non-profit Brady: United Against Gun Violence, with suicide as the leading cause of gun deaths. Several groups of Russian kamikaze drones have entered Ukraine and are moving across its territory. Source: Ukraine's Air Force on Telegram Details: The first report that the UAVs were on the territory of Ukraine emerged at 18:37. The Air Force reported at 19:26 that groups of attack UAVs had entered the airspace of Poltava Oblast from Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, heading northwest, and several more groups were seen over Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. "Poltava, Kirovohrad, Kharkiv oblasts face the threat of attack UAVs," the statement said. Several more groups are over Kherson and Mykolaiv oblasts, heading west/northwest. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military issued a warning about the threat of ballistic missile attacks in Sumy, Poltava, Donetsk and Kharkiv oblasts. The Air Force also added that the existing air-raid warning in Kharkiv Oblast stemmed from Russian tactical aircraft activity. There is a threat of aircraft weaponry deployment. Updated: As of 19:51, the attack drones were moving as follows: UAVs over Kirovohrad Oblast were heading towards Cherkasy Oblast; UAVs over Mykolaiv Oblast were heading towards Kirovohrad and Odesa oblasts; UAVs over Poltava and Dnipro oblasts were heading northwest. Updated: As of 20:30, groups of attack UAVs are moving from Cherkasy Oblast towards Kyiv Oblast; north/northwest from Odesa Oblast; north/northwest towards Cherkasy Oblast from Kirovohrad Oblast; and from Cherkasy Oblast towards Kyiv Oblast via the town of Pereiaslav. "Cherkasy, take cover! UAVs over the city area," Ukraine's Air Force stressed. An air-raid warning has been announced in many oblasts of Ukraine, from the country's south to the north through the centre. Updated: As of 20:58, the movement of attack UAVs was as follows: in Vinnytsia Oblast (Ladyzhyn/Tulchyn), they headed in the northwards; in Kyiv Oblast (Bila Tserkva), they flew westwards, and another group of attack UAVs was heading from Kherson Oblast to Mykolaiv Oblast. Updated: At 21:30, Ukraines Air Force reported that groups of assault UAVs launched from Kherson Oblast were flying through Mykolaiv Oblast in the direction of Kirovohrad Oblast. Several groups of drones were recorded moving from the northern and southern areas of Vinnytsia Oblast in the direction of Khmelnytskyi Oblast. As a result, the Air Force warned that the threat of Shahed-type drones existed in all areas where an air-raid alarm had been issued. Updated: As of 23:01, the air-raid alarm persists in Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi and Ternopil oblasts. The Air Force reported that the Shahed attack UAVs spotted in Vinnytsia Oblast were heading for Khmelnytskyi Oblast. Support UP or become our patron! Several groups of Russian kamikaze drones have entered Ukraine and are moving across its territory; air defence was deployed in Khmelnytskyi Oblast. Source: Ukraine's Air Force on Telegram Details: The first report that the UAVs were on the territory of Ukraine emerged at 18:37. The Air Force reported at 19:26 that groups of attack UAVs had entered the airspace of Poltava Oblast from Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, heading northwest, and several more groups were seen over Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. "Poltava, Kirovohrad, Kharkiv oblasts face the threat of attack UAVs," the statement said. Several more groups are over Kherson and Mykolaiv oblasts, heading west/northwest. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military issued a warning about the threat of ballistic missile attacks in Sumy, Poltava, Donetsk and Kharkiv oblasts. The Air Force also added that the existing air-raid warning in Kharkiv Oblast stemmed from Russian tactical aircraft activity. There is a threat of aircraft weaponry deployment. Updated: As of 19:51, the attack drones were moving as follows: UAVs over Kirovohrad Oblast were heading towards Cherkasy Oblast; UAVs over Mykolaiv Oblast were heading towards Kirovohrad and Odesa oblasts; UAVs over Poltava and Dnipro oblasts were heading northwest. Several groups of Russian kamikaze drones have entered Ukraine and are moving across its territory; air defence has been deployed in Khmelnytskyi Oblast. Source: Ukraine's Air Force on Telegram Details: The first report that the UAVs were on the territory of Ukraine emerged at 18:37. The Air Force reported at 19:26 that groups of attack UAVs had entered the airspace of Poltava Oblast from Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, heading northwest, and several more groups were seen over Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. "Poltava, Kirovohrad, Kharkiv oblasts face the threat of attack UAVs," the statement said. Several more groups are over Kherson and Mykolaiv oblasts, heading west/northwest. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military issued a warning about the threat of ballistic missile attacks in Sumy, Poltava, Donetsk and Kharkiv oblasts. The Air Force also added that the existing air-raid warning in Kharkiv Oblast stemmed from Russian tactical aircraft activity. There is a threat of aircraft weaponry deployment. Updated: As of 19:51, the attack drones were moving as follows: UAVs over Kirovohrad Oblast were heading towards Cherkasy Oblast; UAVs over Mykolaiv Oblast were heading towards Kirovohrad and Odesa oblasts; UAVs over Poltava and Dnipro oblasts were heading northwest. Updated: As of 20:30, groups of attack UAVs are moving from Cherkasy Oblast towards Kyiv Oblast; north/northwest from Odesa Oblast; north/northwest towards Cherkasy Oblast from Kirovohrad Oblast; and from Cherkasy Oblast towards Kyiv Oblast via the town of Pereiaslav. "Cherkasy, take cover! UAVs over the city area," Ukraine's Air Force stressed. An air-raid warning has been announced in many oblasts of Ukraine, from the country's south to the north through the centre. Updated: As of 20:58, the movement of attack UAVs was as follows: in Vinnytsia Oblast (Ladyzhyn/Tulchyn), they headed in the northwards; in Kyiv Oblast (Bila Tserkva), they flew westwards, and another group of attack UAVs was heading from Kherson Oblast to Mykolaiv Oblast. Updated: At 21:30, Ukraines Air Force reported that groups of assault UAVs launched from Kherson Oblast were flying through Mykolaiv Oblast in the direction of Kirovohrad Oblast. Several groups of drones were recorded moving from the northern and southern areas of Vinnytsia Oblast in the direction of Khmelnytskyi Oblast. As a result, the Air Force warned that the threat of Shahed-type drones existed in all areas where an air-raid alarm had been issued. Updated: As of 23:01, the air-raid alarm persists in Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi and Ternopil oblasts. The Air Force reported that the Shahed attack UAVs spotted in Vinnytsia Oblast were heading for Khmelnytskyi Oblast. Updated: As of 24:00 on 28-29 November, the all-clear has been given in all regions except Khmelnytskyi Oblast, where air defence forces are still on high alert, as reported by local authorities. Support UP or become our patron! Bunnuch Benberg has been serving Thai dishes in busy dining rooms for 22 years. She knows how long to let pad thai noodles simmer, bathing them in a not-too-sour tangy sauce, stir-fried with bean sprouts, scrambled eggs and peanuts. When customers want their dish extra spicy, she knows how to turn up the heat. And she ought to. Benberg owned two restaurants (and one coffee shop) in Thailand for 15 years. Bunnuch Benberg opened her Thai restaurant in Lenexa. Shes cooked for customers for 22 years in various roles. When she moved to the Kansas City area seven years ago, she went right back to what she does best: cooking Thai food. She worked for KC Thai, Lemongrass and other local favorites. But on Nov. 19, Benberg opened a restaurant of her own: Thai Chili Cuisine, at 8611 Hauser Court in Lenexa. Her ex-husband, Niels, is a partner in the business. This embedded content is not available in your region. Their restaurant is open every day but Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Benberg sells Thai dishes from mild, like the cool papaya salad, to extra spicy, like the flaming gang phed ped yang (spicy duck curry). Her menu offers a wider variety of Thai food than other places, she said, including lesser-known dishes like gaeng som, a spicy fish curry with veggies that shes especially proud of. I make my curry every day, she said. Thai Chili Cuisine opened on Nov. 19 in Lenexa, serving spicy offerings like its duck curry. For dessert, Benberg offers sweet rice balls or water chestnuts coated in tapioca gel, floating in coconut syrup and ice. Shes gotten used to running a Thai restaurant overseas. Now, she loves encouraging American customers to try something theyve never tasted before. She recommends the boat noodle soup and said it rarely disappoints. (BCN) Contra Costa County Sheriff-Coroner David Livingston will hold an inquest Friday into the death of a Pittsburg woman who was killed in Antioch when she crashed on an on-ramp to state Highway 4 while fleeing from CHP officers in February. The Sheriffs Office holds an inquest anytime law enforcement is involved in a fatal incident in Contra Costa County. Vallejo police looking for smiling jeans thieves Elsy Zapien-Vasquez, 31, was being pursued by the CHP on Feb. 8 when she crashed her gray Saturn SUV into a tanker truck on the Contra Loma Boulevard on-ramp after exiting the freeway, running a light, and trying to re-enter the freeway. A CHP unit tried pulling Zapien-Vasquez over about 13 miles to the west, near Bailey Road on Highway 4. The inquest will convene at 9 a.m. Friday at the Wakefield Taylor Courthouse, Department 3, Room 312, 725 Court St., Martinez. A jury at the inquest will hear the facts of the case deliberate before finding the manner of death. The inquest is open to the public. Copyright 2023 Bay City News, Inc. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4. A Sherrills Ford woman was charged with embezzlement from the Denver business where she worked, the Lincoln County Sheriffs Office announced Tuesday. Body found in Lincoln County pond IDed as suspect in shooting death of 35-year-old woman Authorities started an embezzlement investigation on Oct. 9 after the owner of the business, which is located in the 4300 block of North Highway 16 Business, reported that money was missing from its account. The employee, Leah Marie Granger, 28, of Sherrills Ford, is accused of converting gift cards, credit transactions, and other means into cash from the business and keeping it, the sheriffs office said. Granger took at least $14,000 from the business between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, detectives said. The money was taken while Granger was the only one working. She was charged with one felony count of embezzlement and turned herself in on Tuesday. Granger was released on a $10,000 unsecured bond. Her first court appearance will be on Wednesday. Mia Lopez is the McNay Art Museum's first curator of Latinx art. William Luther/San Antonio Express-News Mia Lopez, the McNay Art Museum's first curator of Latinx art, talks about Diego Rivera's 1927 painting "Delfina Flores." The portrait was the first painting that Marion Koogler McNay purchased. William Luther/San Antonio Express-News Mia Lopez has fond memories of childhood visits to the McNay Art Museum, including one of a drawing class. I have a vivid memory of sitting near the fountain and trying to draw. Trying, she said, laughing. Theres a reason Im a curator and not an artist. Decades later, she now spends much of her time at the museum, settling into her new role as its first curator of Latinx art. Advertisement Article continues below this ad This is such a special homecoming, said Lopez, 38, a San Antonio native who previously held curatorial positions at the DePaul Art Museum in Chicago and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. She will be taking part in a few events in the weeks ahead. She will chat with artist Melissa Gamez Herrera on Dec. 7 about a powerful installation she created at the museum dealing with the dangers that migrants face. And on Dec. 14, she will have a conversation with fellow curator Marcela Guerrero, the first curator specializing in Latino art at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Talks at the McNay Art Museum What: Mia Lopez, the McNay Art Museum's first curator of Latinx art, will take part in two discussions in the next few weeks. Where: Both chats will take place in the Chiego Lecture Hall at the museum, 6000 N. New Braunfels. Artists Looking at Art: Lopez will chat with Melissa Gamez Herrera about an installation she created for the museum's Artists Looking at Art Series. The piece deals with migration and the dangers some migrants face on their journeys. 6 p.m. Dec. 7. Free. Register at mcnayart.org. "The Latinx Lens in American Art:" Lopez will chat with fellow curator Marcela Guerrero from the Whitney Museum of American Art. 6 p.m. Dec. 14. $5 for members and educators; $10 for non-members; free for children, teens and San Antonio-area college students. Registration required at mcnayart.org. Lopez is cognizant of the fact that some people have an intense response to the term Latinx. Advertisement Article continues below this ad For me and for the McNay, the term is about inclusivity, she said. Yes, it is a gender-neutral term, but it really has evolved to be more than just about breaking down gender binaries, but instead about envisioning and imagining inclusion. That 'X' can be a placeholder, getting into a more conceptual idea around identity. You know, it can be whatever you want it to be. By using the term Latinx, we are aligning ourselves with a forward-thinking way of addressing identity. Her new post is funded through 2028 by the Leadership in Art Museums initiative, which is designed to help museums increase racial equity in leadership roles. The initiative is funded by the Alice L. Walton Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Mellon Foundation and Pilot House Philanthropy. Nineteen museums across the country received funding this year. The McNay is the only museum in Texas to receive it. When the funding became available, it made sense for us, considering our program and considering our audience, said chief curator Rene Barilleaux. Also, it was great to have a position that was so broad that we could then interpret in various ways, to both have a position that would reach out to the San Antonio community but also the broader international community. Thats important to us, that were both local and global. The process of creating the position was well underway when Matthew McLendon stepped in as the museums new director and CEO in February. He said there was a lot of competition for the position. Lopez stood out because of her extensive knowledge and her deep ties to San Antonio. Advertisement Article continues below this ad She just completely blew me away by how thoughtful the conversation was on all levels, how poised she was in every way, and how just very clearly passionate she is about what she does and the mission of museums and how museums can impact their communities, McLendon said. It was a level of deep thinking and true passion that was just electric. Shes so enthusiastic, and the enthusiasm is so contagious. She started the job in early October, taking part in an acquisitions meeting on her first day and speaking at an event to raise money for acquisitions of new work on her second day. She really just jumped right in, Barilleaux said. Somebody with her kind of background and experience, she was able to do that very easily. Lopez, a graduate of the Keystone School, did an internship at the Blue Star Contemporary Art Center (now known as The Contemporary at Blue Star) when she was in high school. She left San Antonio for college, earning her bachelors degree from Rice University, then coming home. She worked in the education department at the now-shuttered Museo Alameda, then left again to continue her studies. Advertisement Article continues below this ad She was at DePaul, which had just launched a Latinx initiative, when the pandemic hit. She tried to do some independent projects during the shut-down, but soon found herself missing working within an institution. She had always planned to come back to San Antonio, so she and her husband decided it was a good time to do that. I was really confident that because of San Antonios vibrant arts and culture scene and the incredible institutions here that I would be able to find the right opportunity for me, she said. And when I heard about the McNay receiving the Leadership in Art Museums grant and the creation of this position, I was just thrilled, because I knew it was perfect for me. She will work with departments throughout the museum, and also will eventually serve as lead curator on exhibitions. Sen. Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio, is focusing on abortion rights in his reelection race a month after voters in the state passed a measure to enshrine abortion access in the state's constitution. File: Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio and chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, during a hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, June 22, 2023. / Credit: Nathan Howard/Bloomberg via Getty Images Brown is hoping to hold onto a key Senate seat that he's held since 2007, despite the former bellwether state's increasing Republican lean in recent years. Three major Republican candidates are vying for the chance to unseat Brown, including businessman Bernie Moreno, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and Ohio state Sen. Matt Dolan. In campaign texts, Brown has taken aim at all of his Republican opponents over their abortion stance. "I have always been clear about where I stand: I support abortion access for all women. I know where my opponents stand, too: All three would overturn the will of Ohioans by voting for a national abortion ban," Brown said in a text sent to Ohio voters on Nov. 16. A similar text went out again Saturday. Brown's effort underscores Democratic efforts to align the party with pro-abortion rights stances, encouraged by the resonance of the issue itself beyond party lines at the polls. Ohio voters backed Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020, and the state has a Republican governor and GOP-majority Legislature, yet Issue 1, the ballot measure establishing the right to an abortion, passed in the Buckeye State with 57% support. Brown's messaging seeks to capitalize on the passage of Issue 1 just weeks after the vote and one year before his name will appear on the ballot. "Sherrod has always fought to protect women's reproductive rights and Ohioans know how out-of-step his opponents are with the widely held belief that these are personal decisions that should be between women and their doctors," Brown's campaign manager, Rachel Petri, told CBS News in a statement. Ben Kindel, a spokesman for LaRose's campaign, responded to messaging from Brown by claiming that the Ohio senator "will use scare tactics and outright distortions in an attempt to distract from the unmitigated disaster that is the Biden administration." "Ohioans know that Joe Biden and Sherrod Brown have wrecked the economy and opened the flood gates at our borders. In November, voters will send them both into retirement," Kindel said. He told CBS News that LaRose will always fight "for the rights of the unborn." A Moreno campaign official did not comment directly on abortion, and instead pointed CBS News to an article that says the Ohio businessman would support a 15-week national ban. He supports exceptions in cases of rape, incest and life of the mother Dolan's campaign did not respond to requests for comment. The Ohio Senate seat is one of three Democrats are defending that were won by Trump, and it's a critical one for Democrats to hold to help maintain their slim majority in the upper chamber in 2024. The stakes have only risen with West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin's announced departure. Senate Democrats in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which President Joe Biden won by close margins, are also expected to face tough elections. The Ohio constitutional amendment guaranteeing abortion access is set to go into effect on December 7, as Republican legislators who opposed Issue 1 prepare to fight its implementation. Almost immediately after its passage, nearly 30 state Republicans signed a letter saying that the constitutional amendment does not repeal any existing Ohio law. The state's supreme court would have the ultimate say in litigation to do so. A smaller group of Republican state lawmakers have floated removing judicial oversight "to prevent mischief by pro-abortion courts." Abortion has long been a fraught political issue. But the decision by the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, ending decades of nationwide abortion protections, galvanized an abortion access movement by Democrats that helped limit their losses in the 2022 midterm elections. And with 2024 fast approaching, the issue doesn't appear to be going anywhere. Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, told CBS News in a statement that the issue isn't confined to normal partisan lines. "Headed into 2024, we anticipate abortion rights will remain front of mind for voters," McGill Johnson, said. "Given the choice, they will support ballot measures to expand and restore abortion access and elect candidates who will champion their reproductive rights." Love letter from Jimmy to Rosalynn Carter read by their daughter, Amy Lynn Pope Francis cancels trip to climate summit due to illness How pediatric readiness saves lives in emergency rooms De Wintons golden mole, which has oily and iridescent fur, was last seen in 1936 - JP LE ROUX/YOUTUBE A shimmering mole that swims through sand has been rediscovered nearly 100 years after wildlife experts thought it had gone extinct. De Wintons golden mole, which was last seen in 1936, was found living on beaches on the north-west coast of South Africa. A team from the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and the University of Pretoria, sampled soil in the area looking for mole DNA, before deploying a scent-detection border collie to sniff out the creatures. Cobus Theron, a senior conservation manager for EWT and a member of the search team, said: Though many people doubted that De Wintons golden mole was still out there, I had good faith that the species had not yet gone extinct. I was convinced it would just take the right detection method, the proper timing, and a team passionate about finding it. I think its just fantastic that in 2023 we can still rediscover species. All of our stories around conservation are doom and gloom. Here we have an opportunity to say that, actually, there are opportunities to make change. De Wintons golden mole is a small, blind, insect-eating mammal that owes its golden name to its pearl-like iridescent fur. The shimmering fur is caused by oil that the moles secrete to make it easier to swim through the sand. The moles burrowing habits make them difficult to track down, and the creatures have extremely sensitive hearing that can detect vibrations from movement above ground, helping them to avoid being seen from the surface. Unlike British moles, they rarely leave tunnels behind that are visible from the surface. The mole was last seen in Port Nolloth beach, on the north-western coast, so conservationists sampled the soil in the area and surrounding regions to see if they could find evidence the creature was still there. Animals shed skin cells, hair and bodily excretions, which can be used to confirm their presence. Solving the riddle The team found four golden moles including De Wintons mole but it was initially tricky to tell it apart from the genetically similar Van Zyls golden mole. It was only when they uncovered another golden mole specimen in a Cape Town museum that they were able to make a match. Mr Theron said: Now not only have we solved the riddle, but we have tapped into this eDNA frontier where there is a huge amount of opportunity not only for moles, but for other lost or imperilled species. Christina Biggs, manager for the Search for Lost Species, Re:wild, which also helped with the search, said: The search for De Wintons golden mole was not easy by any means, and it really speaks to how persistent, thorough and resourceful the EWT team was in the field. They left no sandhill unturned and now its possible to protect the areas where these threatened and rare moles live. The successful use of the eDNA technique is now a case study on how such forward-thinking technologies can be utilised to find other lost species. The finding was published in the journal Biodiversity and Conservation. 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. KANSAS CITY, Mo. Kansas City Police are investigating after an overnight shooting in east Kansas City. Just after midnight, KCPD was called to a report of shots fired near Park Tower Road and Wheeling Avenue. Child found dead in downtown Kansas City, police say When officers arrived, they were told a shooting had happened inside an apartment. Officers went inside and found a man suffering from gunshot wounds, according to KCPD. The man was pronounced dead at the scene once EMS arrived. He has been identified as 45-year-old Calvin Boyles. Police say they do not know what events led up to the shooting, at this time and do not have a suspect in custody. KCPD said they dont believe there is any risk to the public at this time. Anyone with information is asked to call homicide detectives at 816-234-5043 or call 816-474-TIPS. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) An investigation is underway following a shooting in northeast Charlotte, Medic officials said Tuesday. Emergency personnel responded to calls regarding the incident at some point before 5 a.m. Tuesday near 400 Orchard Trace Lane. One victim was found suffering from apparent gunshot wounds and was transported to an area medical center with life-threatening injuries. It is unclear at this time if there were any arrests or what led to the shooting. Queen City News has reached out to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police for more details on the incident. This is a developing story ; check back for updates. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. There will be no new "The Late Show" episodes this week while host Stephen Colbert recovers from a ruptured appendix. Sorry to say that I have to cancel our shows this week. Im sure youre thinking, 'Turkey overdose, Steve? Gravy boat capsize?'" the host joked on social media Monday. "Actually, Im recovering from surgery for a ruptured appendix." His appendix is gone, but his humor is intact. Going forward, all emails to my appendix will be handled by my pancreas, he wrote. When the appendix, a finger-shaped pouch that sticks out from the colon on the lower right side of the belly," bursts, infection spreads and requires immediate surgery, according to the Mayo Clinic. This is the second time The Late Show has had to go off the air since it returned to CBS in early October after the end of the Writers Guild of America strike. The host missed shows earlier this fall after testing positive with Covid. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com An infectious respiratory disease among dogs that continues to baffle veterinarians has now been reported in at least a dozen US states, from Washington, Oregon and California to New Hampshire, Florida and Pennsylvania. David B. Needle, a pathologist at the New Hampshire Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and clinical associate professor at the University of New Hampshire, and a team of researchers have been unable to identify it as any known canine respiratory disease. This early metagenomic work did not reveal any RNA or DNA virus of concern, and no typical fungal or bacterial respiratory pathogens were identified, the researchers wrote. Since the middle of August, the American Veterinary Medical Association said vets in Oregon have reported over 200 cases. The mysterious illness was described as an atypical canine infectious respiratory disease, by the Oregon Department of Agriculture and symptoms include coughing, sneezing, eye or nose discharge and lethargy. Melissa Justice, a veterinarian at the Indiana State Board of Animal Health, told CNN most of the cases reported to her agency appear to be similar to kennel cough, but it doesnt respond to normal medication and the cough lasts longer than the normal seven to 10 days. Affected dogs may begin to show signs of lethargy, fever, decreased appetite, productive cough, nasal and / or ocular discharge, respiratory distress, or pneumonia, Justice said. The federal government is also getting involved. A spokesperson for the US Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service told CNN it is working with local agencies and diagnostic laboratories to identify the disease. Where have cases been reported? Pennsylvania may be the latest state to have dogs possibly coming down with the mystery illness. John Donges of the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania told CNN, We have only just received our first cases over the weekend. In Colorado, veterinarians are seeing a lot of cases in high-volume areas such as boarding facilities, doggie day cares and dog parks. Clinical findings and tests completed to date suggest that most dogs with the unusual syndrome have a virus that primarily targets the respiratory system, leading to secondary bacterial infection and pneumonia in affected dogs, said an article published by the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. We have seen around 35 cases at my hospital alone, four of which have either passed away or been euthanized due to severity of the pneumonia. We are unsure at this time if this is viral or bacterial in origin, Lindsey L. Ganzer, the CEO of North Springs Veterinary Referral Center in Colorado Springs, told CNN. In Massachusetts, the Department of Agricultural Resources said it is working with neighboring states to better understand the factors at play and kennel operators should be requiring vaccination to prevent future outbreaks. Veterinarians in California have seen the disease, too, with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Healths Veterinary Public Health Program receiving 10 case reports from veterinarians since November 16. In Washington, the states Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory has also reported an increase in sick dogs. There has been an uptick in the numbers of dogs with respiratory disease, (coughing, lethargy, fever) and the signs have been persisting longer than a few days, Kevin Snekvik, the labs executive director and a professor at the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine, told CNN. The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management said because a common cause of the illness reported in other states hasnt been determined, it is hard to say if the disease has reached the state, but acknowledged the department is aware of a small number of dogs in the state that died or were euthanized after experiencing similar signs. Unfortunately, these dogs werent subjected to a postmortem examination, so the cause of their illness was not determined. Idaho State Veterinarian Scott Leibsle also said there was no way to be sure, but since the recent media reports have come about, several vets in Idaho have reached out to ISDA (Idaho State Department of Agriculture) with reports that they had seen multiple cases of an aggressive respiratory disease that is minimally or non-responsive to treatment, over the course of the summer (June/July/Aug). But those veterinarians said more recent cases of respiratory disease in dogs seem to be more routine, according to Leibsle. Vermont State Veterinarian Kristin Haas said New England has been seeing cases of this since at least early summer 2022. Some cases have been fatal, while others have not gone beyond the equivalent of a common cold type illness, Haas said. The University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine recently wrote that the lack of a centralized reporting system for canine diseases means its not even possible to confirm a spike in a known disease like kennel cough or if there is a new emerging pathogen. At this time, we recommend being especially vigilant to identify and segregate dogs with respiratory signs, the college said. What can dog owners do? Dog owners can help keep their pets healthy by making sure theyre up-to-date on all vaccines, such as those for canine influenza, Bordetella and parainfluenza, the Oregon Veterinary Medical Association said. Other tips include: Reducing contact with large numbers of unknown dogs. Just like with other respiratory pathogens, the more contacts your dog has, the greater the risk of encountering a dog thats infectious. Reducing contact with sick dogs. This can be harder to determine but if a dog looks sick (coughing, runny nose, runny eyes), keep your dog away from it. Keep sick dogs at home and seek veterinary care. Avoid communal water bowls shared by multiple dogs. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Silicon Valley executive Lexi Reese dropped out of California's U.S. Senate race, citing fundraising difficulties and an inability to gain traction among state voters. Reese participated in the California Democratic Party's endorsement process and spoke to attendees in Sacramento just before Thanksgiving. But she won only the support of three delegate votes out of the 2,322 cast, leaving her far behind Democratic members of the House Katie Porter (D-Irvine), Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), and Adam Schiff (D-Burbank). Her appearance at the convention's Senate forum was a finale of sorts for her campaign. Protesters angry over Israel invasion of Gaza disrupted her speech and she struggled to continue. "While the financial reality of the Senate run has prompted me to stop competing for this seat, we will continue to focus on this question: What do we want to be when we grow up? As a State, a Nation, and as Human Beings," Reese said in a written statement. "I got into this race to build a safer world for our kids. I feel stronger than ever that we need to think in a much bigger, bolder way about how we make life liveable." Read more: Democrats are split on Israel and the race for Feinstein's Senate seat, as 2024 looms The 48-year-old previously worked at Google, Facebook and American Express but had never run for office. When she first jumped into the race, Reese declined to disclose her net worth, saying she did not want to give an inaccurate number, but added she could not self-fund her campaign even though she planned to invest a significant amount in her run. Reese gave her campaign about $530,000 and raised an additional $1.28 million in contributions, according to federal disclosures available through the end of September. She said in a statement Monday that she had raised a total of $2 million, which was far less than her competitors. She also never gained traction in public opinion polls. In her statement announcing the end of her campaign, Reese advocated enacting term limits as one way to diversify the backgrounds of the people who serve in Congress. "We need open seats and campaign finance reform so the cost to enter is not insurmountable for most people," Reese said in a written statement. "My husband and I self-funded $500,000 of our campaign, which is a privilege I recognize most people do not have. It was also not nearly enough." Times staff writer Seema Mehta contributed to this report. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Sir Tom Arnold, who has died aged 76, was the son of the impresario of the same name and inherited many of his business interests, yet found time to be Conservative MP for Hazel Grove for 23 years and serve for nine years as a vice-chairman of the party under Margaret Thatcher and John Major. He was the godson of Ivor Novello, inheriting from him aged four the copyright of the musical The Dancing Years one of his fathers most successful productions along with the songwriters piano. And while he did not exude the pizzazz of his father, who had lifted the spirits of postwar Britons by staging ice spectaculars and an annual circus at the Harringay Arena, he proved an often successful theatrical promoter. In particular, he staged in 1979 a West End revival of The King and I, first put on by his father 23 years before, starring Virginia McKenna whose performance won an Olivier Award and Yul Brynner, who had played the King in that previous production. After all, Arnold commented, he never stops doing it. Politically, Arnold began as a Tory moderate and an enthusiast for Europe; it was his organisational abilities that led Mrs Thatcher to appoint him to Central Office, though he mellowed into loyalty to her. In his final term in the Commons he became a sceptic over the Maastricht Treaty and a single currency, and surprised Major by supporting John Redwoods 1995 leadership campaign reckoning it the only way of countering the Liberal Democrat challenge in his marginal Stockport commuter constituency. Unusually, he survived as a vice-chairman under no fewer than six party chairmen: Cecil Parkinson, John Gummer, Norman Tebbit, Peter Brooke, Kenneth Baker and Chris Patten. He was closest to the gentlemanly Brooke, proposing him for Speaker in 1992. Arnold was in charge of the Tory candidates list for both the 1987 and 1992 general elections, and those newly elected in 1992 were christened Tom Arnolds Circus. By 1989 he was asserting that the old Establishment no longer controlled the selection of Conservative candidates though there was the odd dissenting voice. On the campaign trail - Shutterstock Brooke praised Arnold for his ability to turn his hand with dexterity to every new situation which arises. A friend of Ronald Reagans pollster Richard Wirthlin, in 1988 he hired an American consultant at a cost exceeding 500,000 to research into values rather than issues. The following year he compared notes with Lee Atwater, manager of George Bush seniors successful presidential campaign. Prior to the 1992 election, however, Central Office imported what Arnold saw as smear campaign tactics, and with Major re-elected he stepped down, retaining what the Westminster analyst Andrew Roth termed a quiet revulsion against the party machine. Unassuming but persuasive, Arnold won his seat from a Liberal and held it through five general elections. He confessed that holding an ultra-marginal seat does wonders for your political antennae. Later on he chaired the Treasury Select Committee, his comfortable background enabling him to book a 552 working lunch for six of its members in Brussels in 1995. Arnold went teetotal in 1987 after being banned from driving for being three times over the limit; he narrowly avoided being sent to jail. Five years later, he was attacked with an iron bar by two youths who stole his Lotus Carlton. He had intended to stand again in 1997, but a cancer diagnosis was followed by his contracting a malaria-type fever while travelling in Kenya. Obituaries were written, but he recovered, after having to be nodded through one division having been brought to the Commons by ambulance. He decided, however, decided not to seek re-election. Thomas Richard Arnold was born in London on January 25 1947, the son of Tom Arnold and the former Helen Moore (the soprano Helen Breen). Between the wars Tom Arnold had built up an impresarios business in Britain and abroad covering opera, the theatre, revue, American rodeo, variety, ice shows, circuses and seaside piers and pleasure steamers. He cast Novello as Henry V at Drury Lane, produced the 1934 Hitchcock movie Waltzes from Vienna and in 1937 put on his first panto; a further 400 followed. Young Tom was educated at Bedales and Le Rosey, Geneva (the worlds most expensive school), then read modern history at Pembroke College, Oxford, where he joined the university Conservative Association. Tom Arnold Senior died in 1969; his widow initially took over his theatrical productions, and his son became the major shareholder in the family firms. He branched out into radio (Piccadilly Radio), restaurants (the Connaught and Scotts) and publishing (the Aurum Press). Aged 23, he fought his first seat, Manchester Cheetham, against the Labour Cabinet minister Harold Lever, who as Lord Lever would become a lifelong friend. For the snap February 1974 election he was selected to fight the new seat of Hazel Grove. On paper it looked winnable, but as support for Edward Heath ebbed away the Liberal Michael Winstanley took it by 1,998 votes. In that Octobers further election, Arnold won Hazel Grove back by 2,831 votes the Conservatives only gain. At 27, he was one of the youngest members of the Commons. With his pro-European and pro-UN views and his interest in the developing world, he was more suited to the reign of Heath which was just ending than to the dawning age of Mrs Thatcher. And in the referendum campaign on EEC membership the following year, he headed Actors and Actresses for Europe. When Mrs Thatcher led the party to power in 1979, Arnold whose majority soared to 15,272 became PPS to the Northern Ireland Secretary Humphrey Atkins, moving with him to the Foreign Office two years later. In 1983 Mrs Thatcher appointed him a vice-chairman of the party. He was given responsibility for the Conservative Research Department, and a year later for candidates; he was knighted in 1990. He held his seat by 2,022 votes in 1983 and by 1,840 in 1987. In 1992 a new Lib Dem candidate, Andrew Stunell, halved that margin to 929 votes. During that campaign Mrs Thatcher came to support Arnold, a woman coshing her with a bunch of daffodils: so hard on the daffodils, the Iron Lady observed. His conversion to Euroscepticism was rapid: he called for London to be the headquarters of the European Central Bank proposed under Maastricht, then months later opposed British membership of the Exchange Rate Mechanism and called for the repatriation of the Common Agricultural Policy. His backing for Redwoods challenge with his constituency association backing Major came as a total surprise. Appointed to the Treasury Select Committee in 1992 and chairing it from 1994, Arnold supported Kenneth Clarkes handling of the economy. But he could play it rough, as in 1995 when he accused George Staple, head of the Serious Fraud Office, of misleading the committee about the bungled prosecution of Roger Levitt on many counts of theft, fraud and deception. He also led a thorough investigation into how the actions of the trader Nick Leeson could have brought down Barings Bank. With Arnold standing down and returning to his theatrical business, Andrew Stunell took Hazel Grove at the 1997 election with a majority of 11,814. Tom Arnold married, in 1984, Elizabeth Smithers, a widowed interior decorator. They were divorced in 1993, and he is survived by their daughter and two stepsons. Sir Tom Arnold, born January 25 1947, died November 14 2023 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. SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) Khazar Momeni, sister of the accused killer of Cash App founder Bob Lee, was arrested Monday in San Francisco for suspicion of DUI following a hit and run, the San Francisco Police Department confirmed. According to SFPD, officers responded Monday at 11:08 a.m. to Geary Street and Larkin Street on a report of a vehicle collision. At the scene, officers located the involved driver and witnesses. During the course of an investigation, officers developed probable cause to determine the driver, identified as 38-year-old Khazar Momeni of San Francisco, was driving under the influence. Khazar, who also goes by Khazar Elyassnia, is the sister of Nima Momeni who was charged with murder in connection to the fatal stabbing of Lee back in April. Walnut Creek man gets two-year sentence for installing cameras in Starbucks restroom Lee was found bleeding from stab wounds in the early hours of the morning on April 4 in San Franciscos Rincon Hill neighborhood. The tech entrepreneur was transported to the hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries. Nima Momeni, a fellow tech entrepreneur, was arrested several days later. Despite initial speculation that Lees death was the result of random SF street violence, court testimony later revealed that the two men knew each other. Khazar Momeni has emerged as a central figure in the case. Court testimony indicates that she was with Lee in the hours prior to his death. Lee and Nima Momeni were seen leaving the Millennium Tower where she lived shortly before the stabbing. According to prosecutors, Momeni, 38, drove Lee to a secluded area, stabbed him three times with a knife and then drove off in a hurry. The altercation allegedly followed a dispute of Lees relationship with Khazar Momeni, who is married, and whether or not the two had been doing drugs. Nima Momeni is due back in court on Thursday, Nov. 30. The Associated Press contributed to this report. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4. Police in Skokie are investigating graffiti that included a swastika on the window of a kosher pizzeria as a hate crime. Their investigation determined the graffiti could be gang-related, said Skokie Police Sgt. Brandi Shelton. Police responded to the report of graffiti at EJs Pizzeria at 9149 Gross Point Road on Sunday morning. Police said an unknown person used a sharp object and a black marker to draw a swastika within a heart, among other markings. Shelton said the investigation into the graffiti started out as a hate crime investigation but that the department has learned the graffiti could be gang-related. EJs Pizzeria posted on Facebook a photo of the graffiti found on Sunday. The incident comes at a time when tensions surrounding events in Israel have heightened, and concerns about the rise of antisemitism persist globally, the restaurants account posted. EJs owner, Moises Wajchman, told Pioneer Press on Monday that the first thing he wanted to do was call the police when he saw the graffiti. Wajchman said he hadnt seen any other graffiti nearby like the one that appeared on his window, and that he was not sure if his business was targeted because it is Jewish-owned. Gang or not a gang, to choose that kind of sign is just unfortunate, he said. Shelton told Pioneer Press that no one was in custody as of Monday and the investigation was still active. She said if anyone has any information regarding the incident to contact the Skokie Police Department at (847) 982-5900. Make some room in your closet because a Burger Boy design could soon hang alongside your "Bill Miller" and Fred's Fish Fry jerseys. Burger Boy dropped a uniform design Monday featuring the brand's signature orange and blue. The jersey reads "San Antonio Original" across the front, alongside the Burger Boy logo and a graphic of the chain's iconic sign. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The design joins plenty of local hype around jerseys after the Spurs' HemisFair-inspired uniforms were compared to Bill Miller Bar-B-Q on social media. This inspired a digital artist to create a jersey inspired by another San Antonio favorite, Fred's Fish Fry. The design went viral and was quickly offered for sale online, prompting the restaurant to announce its own official design. Burger Boy hasn't announced whether the uniform design will be for sale, but some are already prepared to drop the big bucks. Advertisement Article continues below this ad As one Facebook user wrote, "Take my money." Burger Boy's jersey design features its signature orange logo. Paul Stephen/Staff A San Luis Obispo gym owner who admitted to hiding a camera in the bathroom of his business faces a year in jail after pleading guilty to three charges Tuesday morning. Cole Corrigan, 36, was initially charged with five crimes after police searched his home in relation to a hidden camera found in the restroom of CCC Fitness Corrigans 24-hour gym for females in September. Detectives found a ghost gun, ammunition and a misdemeanor amount of testosterone, police said at the time. Corrigan was previously convicted of multiple crimes, including felony drug charges, between 2006 and 2008 and is not able to legally own a gun. The San Luis Obispo County District Attorneys Office charged Corrigan with three felony gun charges and two misdemeanors: using an instrument to view an area of privacy and possession of testosterone. Corrigan pleaded not guilty to the crimes on Sept. 27. Corrigan admitted to hiding the camera in the restroom to The Tribune in an exclusive interview Oct. 23. He said he hid the camera to catch a thief, adding that the footage was only accessible via a livestream with no way to record footage for later viewing. But on Nov. 3, San Luis Obispo Police Department said detectives found recordings of two individuals on Corrigans camera. The San Luis Obispo County District Attorneys Office subsequently modified the charges against Corrigan, adding a second misdemeanor privacy charge. The agency alleged Corrigan violated the privacy of two Jane Doe victims for sexual gratification, according to the charge sheet. On Tuesday, Corrigan pleaded guilty under a plea deal to charges of felon in possession of a firearm, a felony, and two misdemeanor counts of using an instrument to record in an area of privacy for sexual gratification. As part of the deal, Corrigan agreed to serve one year in jail and two years of probation and will be subject to drug tests and searches of his electronics, in addition to typical probation requirements. Corrigan is also barred from contacting the two victims in the case for 10 years. If Corrigan violates his probation, he could face up to three years in state prison. San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Jesse Marino said Corrigan will be out of custody until his formal sentencing Dec. 19, which is when he will likely be taken to San Luis Obispo County Jail. California law does not consider Corrigans crimes to be violent, so he would likely serve around six months in jail if he exhibits good behavior. Corrigan declined to comment any further on the matter to The Tribune. His gym has since closed, according to a news release from the San Luis Obispo County District Attorneys Office on Tuesday night. Slovak truckers are threatening to block the main Ukraine border crossing at Vysne Nemecke-Uzhhorod starting from Dec. 1, unless actions are taken to limit competition from Ukrainian carriers, Reuters reported on Nov. 28. According to Stanislav Skala, head of the Slovak carrier association UNAS, the final decision will be made on Nov. 30 after they receive a response from the Transport Ministry. Read also: Ukraine confident Brussels will be satisfied with reforms progress Skala noted that a meeting of European transport ministers is scheduled for Dec. 4 in Brussels, but he does not hold much hope for any breakthrough. Read also: EU Commission delays 700 million aid to Hungary amidst rule of law concerns It seems that neither the Ukrainian side nor the [European] Commission are willing to back down, the report quotes Skala. He added that the European Commission made decisions in connection with the war in Ukraine "without any analysis of the impact on the transport markets of the neighboring countries." 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 Every year, restaurant and shop owners in Wichita count on Small Business Saturday which always falls on the Saturday after Thanksgiving to boost their sales and get the holiday season started. This year, though, business owners got cheated by record-breaking snowfall that resulted in 7.8 inches hitting the city, covering the roads, keeping customers home and forcing some small businesses to close early. Now, theyre getting a do-over. One local small-business owner who felt the financial pain when Saturday got snowed out The Kitchens Natasha Gandhi-Rue has organized an event for this Saturday, Dec. 2, that will give local merchants another shot at Small Business Saturday. Shes calling it Small Business Saturday Do-Over! and has even created a Facebook event page by that name. Shes been asking local small business owners to share the page and to share on it their plans for the do-over day. It hurt Saturday, said Gandhi-Rue, adding that the restaurant has just suffered the worst November its ever had. We really needed a great Saturday, and we didnt have one. And I was like, Shoot. Who decides this has to be the only Saturday we dedicate to small businesses? Lets have a do over. Lets do it again. Gandhi-Rue said she polled a few other local business owners, who agreed that her idea was a good one. So now, its on, and several merchants are hoping theyll get the crowds this Saturday that the snow kept away last Saturday. Some are offering the same deals and specials theyd planned for Nov. 25. Others have come up with new promotions. To see a list of those whove said theyre participating, visit the Facebook event page Small Business Saturday Do-Over! and go to the discussion tab. You can also consult the list here: Restaurants Alzavino Wine Tavern, 1001 W. Douglas: Discounts on all Alzavino merchandise Chicos Mexican Restaurant, 4407 W. Maple: Get a $5 bonus for every $25 spent on gift cards Crafted Wichita, 9730 E. 21st St.: $10 Hawaiian hot plates Fusion Restaurant & Catering, 9506 W. Central: $10 bonus with each $40 gift certificate bought in store or online The Kitchen, 725 E. Douglas: The restaurant is offering a burger-and-beer special, will have happy hour all day, will offer $5 glasses of prosecco and will serve its famous strawberry cake. The Monarch,579 W. Douglas: 20% off merchandise and an ornament-making station for kids Sojourners Coffee House, 7130 W. Maple: Selling a winter special drink called The Nutcracker Boutiques, jewelry, gifts Aspen Boutique, 4724 E. Douglas: 20% off a single item store wide Extraordinaire Salon & Boutique, 4715 E. Douglas: Sip n Shop with Olivers Lounge next door and get 1/2 price mimosas and 25% off one full-price item in the boutique Creative Styles, 222 N. Kansas St: The boutique will offer 10% off the entire store and several other specials Dead Center Vintage, 626 E. Douglas: Offering 40% off everything in-store plus a free shop local tote bag for purchases totaling $50 or more Findings, etc., 515 N. Woodlawn: Food, drinks, store specials and free gift with purchase from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Generations Antiques & Artisans, 767 N. West St.: Free hot chocolate bar and coffee and sales throughout the store both Saturday and Sunday Grow, 322 S. Market: Crafting, Christmas DIYs and double punches for coffee and mocktail menus. Specials good both Saturday and Sunday Jewel Angels, 3236 E Douglas: 10% off in-store and online Land of Oz ICT, 8639 W. Central: The CBD shop will offer locally made wax melts, candles and honey on sale and also has two 50% off tables filled with stocking stuffers. Free CBD coffee and doughnut while you shop Lucindas, 329 N. Mead: Hourly drawings for $88 gift cards from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. MoonStone, 535 W. Douglas: Save up to 50% on stones, crystals, jewelry and other metaphysical gifts Revolutsia, 2721 E. Central: Those who visit all the businesses at the shipping container mall will win a grab bag. Pick up a passport at Ze German Market, Blush Bookstore, Good Company, Pennant Coffee, Monicas Bundt Cake or Prost. Sweet n Saucy, 535 W. Douglas: Candy, hot sauces and novelty socks available Tracys Crafty Closet, reBorn Boutique & Marketplace, 6346 S. Broadway: This vendor will be among many set up from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday The Vault Collection, 4737 E. Douglas: 10% off estate jewelry Viva la Olive, 300 N. Mead: 10% off The Workroom, 150 N. Cleveland: Free hot apple cider, gift card specials and free limited edition tote bags with purchase while supplies last Online shops CinderBelles: Online business offering candles three for $35 at cinderbelles.com Natures Art Rock & Gift Shop: This home-based Augusta business is offering 20% off everything on its website, www.naturesartks.com Sunflower Closet: This online boutique is offering 40% off everything with the code BF40 Glitch, an English Labrador who joined the Memphis Police Department in January of 2023, works in the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program with his handler Sergeant Joshua Davis, smiles after a demonstration at Memphis Police Department Headquarters on Monday, November 13, 2023 in Memphis, Tenn. A Commercial Appeal reporter and photojournalist walked to the second-floor training room at the Memphis Police Department's North Main headquarters to meet a new member of MPD's internet crimes against children (ICAC) task force. The newest member, a three-year-old English Retriever named Glitch, joined MPD in January and is tasked with finding electronics and electronic storage devices. If there's a cell phone, laptop, hard drive or SD card in a home, it's up to Glitch to track it down, and MPD is the only department in West Tennessee to have a dog like him. His impact in the months since joining MPD is not exactly quantifiable, his handler Sgt. Joshua Davis told The CA during the visit. "It's because we don't know what we didn't find," Davis said. That statement was on full display when photojournalist Stu Boyd and I were tasked with searching the training room for hidden devices. For about 10 minutes we searched the training room, looking under desks, behind blinds, sifting through binders and lifting trash cans. In that ten-minute search, a cell phone, tablet, two body cameras and an apple watch were found throughout the room. And we felt pretty confident we had at least found the large stuff that was hidden. So Davis left the room to get Glitch, who was patiently waiting a few rooms over for the opportunity to get to work. Glitch spent about 15 seconds sniffing the room before he indicated he found something under a chair. Then a few seconds later he found something under a trash can that we had looked under earlier, but thought we found nothing. Then he found something under a wheel, then in a cubby under a desk. And finished his search in the binders I had searched. Glitch, an English Labrador who joined the Memphis Police Department in January of 2023, works in the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program with his handler Sergeant Joshua Davis, can be seen with an Electronic detection K9 vest at Memphis Police Department Headquarters on Monday, November 13, 2023 in Memphis, Tenn. In four minutes, Glitch had found another cell phone, two micro SD cards, a stick of rapid access memory (RAM) and a thumb drive. Seeing Glitch sniff the room, and scan every inch of the room in a seemingly methodical way, left me equally impressed at his abilities and embarrassed to have missed devices in areas I thought I had thoroughly searched. Davis said when his team is executing a search warrant, detectives will do a cursory search of an area, the way Stu and I did, before bringing Glitch in. He also said it is common for detectives to find the larger objects, and Glitch to find the remaining small stuff that might be tucked away. Electronic detection dogs help investigate sex crimes against children Glitch officially joined MPD in January and is funded by Operation Underground Railroad, an anti-sex trafficking nonprofit, and was trained by Todd Jordan, of Jordan K9 Detection, in Indiana. Jordan has been training dogs to smell for accelerants and flammable liquids in arson investigations since the 1990s but started training electronic storage detection dogs in 2014. According to him, having dogs sniff out electronics is still a fairly new practice that was questioned early on. "When I started, people had never heard of dogs looking for electronics," Jordan said. "So I had to go out and prove myself actually let the dogs find things so we would go in search warrants, and every time the dog would find something. I had to build that resume. I had to go do demonstrations for the U.S. Attorney and I'd do all these crazy things and jumped through hoops because nobody really believed it. They thought it was like a witchcraft or something, I guess." The practice, he said, gained legitimacy after he and his first electronics dog helped execute a search warrant on former Subway spokesman Jared Fogel's home during a federal probe into accusations he had, and was distributing, child pornography. Jordan said the dog, Bear, was able to help locate "key evidence" that led to a plea agreement in the case against Fogel in 2015. From that point, Jordan began traveling to speak with police chiefs across the country about implementing dogs like Glitch and Bear in their departments. At the time, only a few dogs like Bear were in service, but in the years that followed, Jordan said he has graduated about 130 dogs that are located around the world. Glitch, and other dogs trained by Jordan, spend between three and five months training in what he calls "classes" before they go to their respective police departments. Even before going to their departments, Jordan will have them carry out search warrants in Indiana when he receives calls for help. Glitch, an English Labrador who joined the Memphis Police Department in January of 2023, works in the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program with his handler Sergeant Joshua Davis, can be seen with an ICAC and gold MPD shield on his vest at Memphis Police Department Headquarters on Monday, November 13, 2023 in Memphis, Tenn. "They're actually out doing the work prior to the handler getting here," he said. "I'll work them here in Indiana with the Indiana ICAC. I've got eight dogs in Indiana, but they'll call me for search warrants and I'll bring my dogs that are in training first. Then they use the dogs that are certified to come up and back them up to be sure they got everything. It makes it nicer because I know all the dogs are ready by the time the handlers get here." The scent that helps the dogs locate electronics is a chemical used on memory chips to prevent them from overheating. By training dogs like Glitch to smell for those chips, they're able to locate many different types of devices. After his training was complete, and the funding accepted from Operation Underground Railroad, Davis made his way up to Indiana to start training as Glitch's handler. Glitch comes to Memphis Glitch now lives in Memphis, and has quickly become a favorite among MPD officers. When he's not searching for devices, Davis said Glitch is either sleeping by his desk or greeting the rest of the officers on the floor. When Stu and I arrived on the floor and were walked back to the training room, Glitch poked his head out of an office and could be seen with his mouth wide open in what can only be described as a dog grin. Glitch travels everywhere with Davis. That means coming home with him after a shift, traveling to conferences with him and going on vacation. The constant contact allows Glitch to continue his training, which is the only time he is fed. Being food motivated, Glitch eats after finding devices. Jordan said this type of eating, which includes small portions of food spread throughout the day, "keeps them more like an athlete and they're in better shape." Glitch still gets his required food, but working for it means that he will continue to work because he will always be food-motivated. Other dogs can be trained to be motivated by playing, but Jordan said he finds that wears off as an interesting award eventually. At Davis' house, Glitch has grown close with the family's other two dogs. "When we get home, he gets a surge of energy," Davis said. "I have kids and other dogs at home. He immediately transitions into a family dog, running around the yard, playing and wanting to be involved in everything we do. Although his energy increases, he is still the same, loving dog at home as he is when he's lying around the office." Since coming to Memphis, Glitch has gone on 14 different search warrants, and found something each time, though the devices found are not always evidence. But Davis said they would not know if the devices were considered evidence until they're able to look through them. And that would not be possible without Glitch. Glitch, an English Labrador who joined the Memphis Police Department in January of 2023, works in the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program with his handler Sergeant Joshua Davis, sits in front of sd cards and a phone he found during demonstration at Memphis Police Department Headquarters on Monday, November 13, 2023 in Memphis, Tenn. When he is out of the office and executing a search warrant, Glitch wears a vest with a gold badge. That badge, Davis said, is worn by all sergeants and lieutenants who make up the entire ICAC unit at MPD. "Glitch is one of us, so we didn't want him to feel left out," he said. At some of those scenes, Glitch's job doesn't stop when he's found all of the devices in the area. Sometimes, he pulls double duty as a therapy dog and can provide comfort to victims who might not want to speak with investigators right away. Glitch will be with MPD for at least five more years, which is the length of his contract, but Operation Underground Railroad would pay for him to continue to work for MPD after that contract if Glitch does not retire. But, when that time does come for him to retire, Davis hopes Glitch will stay with him. One thing might change for Glitch when that moment comes around, though. "I don't think we will make him work for food when he's retired," Davis said. Lucas Finton is a criminal justice reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com and followed on X, formerly known as Twitter, @LucasFinton. This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis K-9 sniffs out tech, investigates cyber crimes against kids [Source] A human trafficker who caused the deaths of dozens of Vietnamese illegal immigrants in the United Kingdom was ordered by a court on Friday to compensate the victims' families. What happened: Thirty-nine Vietnamese nationals were found dead on Oct. 23, 2019, in a trailer that smuggled them from Belgium to Purfleet in Essex, southeast England. The victims, aged 15 to 44, spent at least 12 hours in the confined space and suffocated as its temperatures reached a feverish 38.5 degrees Celsius. The sentence: Gheorghe Nica, a 46-year-old Romanian living in the U.K., was one of those found guilty of 39 counts of manslaughter and conspiring to assist illegal immigration. He was sentenced to 27 years in prison in January 2021. Trending on NextShark: S. Korean lawmaker proposes imposing fines on video game hackers Court order: On Friday, the Central Criminal Court ordered Nica to pay 65,157 British pounds ($82,720) to the victims families in compensation. He must do so in three months or face an additional year in prison. Others convicted in the case have also been ordered to make compensations. Irish national Ronan Hughes, who helped coordinate the smuggling, was previously ordered to pay over 180,000 British pounds (approximately $228,500) after being sentenced to 20 years in prison. Whats next: In a statement, Detective Chief Inspector Louise Metcalfe, senior investigating officer with the Essex Police, said they will never stop pursuing each of the defendants and ensure that the families are paid the maximum amount possible. Trending on NextShark: China hails 'good old friend' Henry Kissinger, who visited country over 100 times Darren Fox, a specialist prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service's (CPS) Proceeds of Crime Division, echoed the police's statement, saying We will continue to ensure that money will be paid by defendants for the proceeds of these awful crimes. Trending on NextShark: Man wanted for attempted burglaries of Vietnamese temples in San Diego Download the NextShark App: Want to keep up to date on Asian American News? Download the NextShark App today! COLOGNE, Germany The German armys upgrades to the Puma infantry fighting vehicle will be late because of problems with the vehicles software, the Ministry of Defence has announced. Officials at the Bundeswehr, Germanys military, had previously planned to accept an initial batch of upgraded Pumas 15 copies, according to local military-news website Augengeradeaus.net by the end of 2023. But alterations to be performed by the manufacturer, a joint venture of Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, are now estimated to take until late February, defense officials said. The Puma vehicles have been something of a white whale for the military here. Meant to catapult Germanys analog ground forces onto the digital battlefield, their development and modernization has taken years longer than expected. After a report a year ago that 18 Pumas broke down during an exercise, a ministry assessment portrayed the vehicle as revolutionary but error-prone. Still, the promise of a significant capability leap over the incumbent, decades-old Marder vehicle fleet kept government spending on the program coming. German lawmakers in May approved a government request to buy 50 new vehicles for more than $1 billion. That is in addition to hundreds of million of euros spent on upgrading the 350-strong Puma fleet to an intermediate and, later, final configuration with the latest digital bells and whistles. That work has entailed improved driver situational awareness, a missile capability and networking features. According to a defense ministry statement, the delay of at least two months is unlikely to affect core testing and training activities planned for the modernized Pumas. The success of those events, in turn, has a direct effect on pledges made to allies. For example, defense officials plan to station Pumas in Lithuania, where designs are taking shape for a permanent German troop presence. The vehicles also will be a staple in Berlins future troop contributions to NATO. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) A man is dead, and a woman injured after police say their son shot the father in a late-Monday altercation in the west Las Vegas valley. According to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officials, dispatchers received a call at approximately 11:00 p.m. on Monday. That call was from an open line, meaning no one was responding on the callers side. The 911 dispatcher on the call heard an argument and gunshots. The call was sourced to a house on the 9700 block of Horseback Circle near the intersection of Homestretch Drive and Chaparral Summit Drive. While officers were dispatched to the scene, police received another call from a man who said he had been shot and gave police the address of the incident. Another 911 call was received before officers reached the scene from a neighbor who said there was a woman, identified as in her 60s, at his house with injuries to her face. When officers arrived, the woman told police that her husband was still inside the house from which the initial 911 was received and that the person who had attacked them was her son, identified as a man in his 20s, who she said was still inside the home with her husband. Officers on the scene entered the home and found the man, identified as a 70-year-old, dead. The woman was taken to an area hospital with what police describe as non-life-threatening injuries. At approximately 1:30 a.m., police apprehended the suspect in the shooting, still in the community, on Trail Rider Drive. Police say the firearm involved in the incident was also found. Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to contact the LVMPD Homicide Section at 702-828-3521 or via email at homicide@lvmpd.com. Additionally, those wishing to remain anonymous can contact Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555 or via the organizations website. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. A George Soros-funded group pushed more than $15 million to a nonprofit tied to President Biden's main outside super PAC for the 2024 elections to evaluate crucial policy matters, records reveal. Tax documents provided to Fox News Digital show that the Open Society Policy Center, an advocacy nonprofit in the Soros-bankrolled Open Society Foundations network, funneled $15.18 million to Future Forward USA Action in 2022 for research and "content testing on critical policy issues." Future Forward USA Action is the dark money nonprofit arm of the Future Forward PAC, which Biden's team heightened as the leading external group to rake in big money and aid his re-election efforts. "For someone who claims to disdain dark money, President Biden seems quite comfortable with the king of dark money propping up an outside group spending big to push his agenda," Caitlin Sutherland, executive director of Americans for Public Trust, told Fox News Digital. "George Soros' projects are notorious for pushing policies that undermine safety, democracy and the rule of law. By funneling money through this Biden-tied group, Soros is signaling that he and Biden are birds of a feather." BIDEN'S RE-ELECTION EFFORTS BOLSTERED BY MASSIVE DONATIONS FROM GEORGE SOROS AND OTHER BILLIONAIRES A nonprofit in the George Soros-funded Open Society Foundations network provided more than $15 million to a Biden-tied group to test "critical" policy issues. It's unclear precisely what kind of research and "critical" issues the Soros money went toward. Future Forward USA Action and the Open Society Foundations did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP The cash was likely a substantial part of Future Forward's preparations before Biden and his confidants publicly elevated its PAC as the central outside political fundraising vehicle to back his candidacy this past summer. Meanwhile, Soros has donated significant amounts to backing Biden's candidacy in the past and recently cut a $250,000 check to his victory fund. The financier's son Alex, who now leads the Open Society Foundations network, has also been a frequent Biden White House visitor. CONTROVERSIAL GEORGE SOROS-BACKED VIRGINIA PROSECUTOR OUSTED FROM OFFICE AFTER FINAL VOTES COUNTED George Soros, Nancy Pelosi and Alex Soros, who has maintained a pipeline to Biden's White House. Biden is poised to benefit from considerable dark money due to the past arrangements and actions between Future Forward's nonprofit and PAC. Since the 2020 election, Future Forward USA Action which does not identify its donors has steered $77 million into the Future Forward PAC, according to a search of Federal Election Commission records. During that time, the PAC raised roughly $181 million, meaning that more than 40% of the Biden PAC's funds came from its affiliated dark money nonprofit. The records also show Future Forward's PAC and nonprofit share employees. In June, the PAC reported $55,798 in in-kind donations for "staff time and overhead" from its nonprofit arm. These actions will likely continue throughout the 2024 cycle, ultimately leaving the public in the dark about significant benefactors assisting the leading outside group backing Biden as the election draws closer. Senior White House adviser Anita Dunn said Future Forward "really earned its place as the pre-eminent super PAC" to back Biden for the upcoming elections after they dropped $141 million on independent expenditures during the last presidential election cycle. "In 2020, when they really appeared from nowhere and started placing advertising, the Biden campaign was impressed by the effectiveness of the ads and the overall rigorous testing that had clearly gone into the entire project," Dunn told The New York Times in July. Future Forward's leader, Chauncey McLean, previously told the publication they would continue operating in the shadows as much as possible. "We keep a low profile because we're just not the story, we're just not important," McLean said. "I just don't see any reason for popping our head up. That's not going to change." Original article source: Soros pushed $15M to nonprofit linked to Biden super PAC to test 'critical' policy issues, tax docs reveal South Carolina woman, 83, dies after falling into unknown well shaft below homes kitchen An 83-year-old woman has died in South Carolina after falling nearly 50 feet into a well shaft that was hidden underneath the kitchen floor in a home outside of Greenville, a coroner says. The Oconee County Coroners Office says Dorothy Louise Downey showed up at the property in Salem on Sunday afternoon to help her daughter "in the process of moving from the home." "An area of the kitchen floor had weakened with age; the deceased stepped onto the weakened floor and fell through the floor into a well shaft, unknown to the family," the office said in a statement. "She fell approximately 48 feet to her death; there was some water in base of the well." The coroners office, citing property records, said the home was built in 1920. ALEX MURDAUGH TO BE SENTENCED FOR SOUTH CAROLINA FINANCIAL CRIMES The fall was reported to have happened around 2 p.m. Sunday. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP Around 5:45 p.m., nearly four hours later, Downey was removed from the well by the Salem Fire Department and Oconee Emergency Services, according to the coroners office. CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, ELECTS FIRST REPUBLICAN MAYOR SINCE THE 1870s A 14-year-old in South Carolina was rescued by firefighters in 2022 after being trapped 40 feet into a well. On Sunday, a woman died in Salem after falling into a well shaft hidden underneath the kitchen of a home. An autopsy performed Monday on Downey determined that she died from blunt force injuries and the manner of her death is accidental, it added. "I have not had a death like this occur in my 31-year career as Oconee County coroner," coroner Karl Addis told WYFF. Original article source: South Carolina woman, 83, dies after falling into unknown well shaft below homes kitchen The British monarch has accompanied numerous heads of state and heads of government in horse-drawn carriages during their state visits to the United Kingdom, contrary to claims that South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol "President Yoon is the first foreign leader to ride a coach with the British monarch," reads Korean-language text on an image shared here on Facebook on November 23, 2023. The image appears to show South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol sitting beside Britain's King Charles III in a carriage. "This unprecedented gesture shows the UK thinks of South Korea as a vital ally." The claim was shared after Yoon's state visit to the UK from November 21 to 23; the first state visit hosted by the king since his coronation in May. Footage captured by AFP shows Yoon riding in a carriage with the king as it proceeded down the Mall in London to Buckingham Palace (archived link). Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on November 24, 2023. Identical claims were shared on Facebook here, here and here. Yoon, however, is not the first foreign leader to ride in a carriage with the British monarch. Ceremonial welcome An explainer on the official website of Britain's royal family outlines how state visits are conducted (archived link). It says: "The King and other Members of the Royal Family greet visitors with a ceremonial welcome, which usually takes place on Horse Guards Parade. "The visiting party is invited to inspect a Guard of Honour before travelling back to the Palace in a carriage procession escorted by a large number of mounted soldiers from the Household Cavalry." A keyword search on Google led to examples of the late Queen Elizabeth II travelling in carriage processions with foreign leaders who were visiting the UK, including here, here and here (archived links here, here and here). Two South Korean heads of state -- former presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye -- were also treated to carriage rides with the queen in their respective UK visits in December 2004 and November 2013, as seen here, here, here and here (archived links here, here, here and here). Yoon is also not the first visiting leader to ride in a carriage with the monarch since Charles became king in September 2022. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa rode with the king in a carriage procession on November 22, 2022 -- the first time the monarch had hosted a foreign leader on a state visit since his ascension to the throne (archived link). Fred's Fish Fry owner Alfred Castellano developed the seafood chain's signature logo in the early 1970s. The San Antonio chain has stuck with the same branding ever since. Carlos Javier Sanchez / Contribu After 60 years, Freds Fish Fry remains a persistent, puro San Antonio enigma. Which is just how Alfred Castellano likes to keep it. It was just overnight thinking, thats what it was, the media-shy 80-year-old said with a shrug when pressed to share how he and his late father, Alfred Castellano Sr., started the no-frills seafood chain in 1963. Since that first splash at the corner of Roosevelt Avenue and East Ashley Road, Freds Fish Fry has rippled out through the citys South and West sides with what are now a dozen locations, still feeding the budget-conscious and Lenten faithful the same quirky rectangular fish in the same quirky rectangular box from the same quirky brick takeouts with the same quirky '70s aesthetic. Advertisement Article continues below this ad And, yes, Fred's still does it despite the same pesky rumor its just a drug front an explanation for its seemingly always empty dining tables and parking spaces. If anything, the San Antonio fixture has endured more than its share of social media memes and scrutiny. Post-pandemic, Fred's still has about as many locations as Long John Silvers and Sea Island combined. And it still reels in customers with no website or other digital presence. Which begs the question: How does Freds Fish Fry stay open after all these years? Fred's Fish Fry on South Zarzamora Street is part of a San Antonio chain of fast-food seafood restaurants. Fred's first opened in 1963 and currently has around a dozen locations. Mike Sutter/Staff Advertisement Article continues below this ad As he did for this reporter several years ago, the semiretired Castellano once again fielded such questions from the same main office conference room on Somerset Road with the same right-hand man, his son Alfred Castellano III. And once again, father and son kept their fish fillets close to the chest when it came to answers, right down to once again refusing to be photographed for the story. That said, the Castellanos did pull back the curtain at least a little bit more on the fryer. Here are some fun facts we managed to fish out about that first location and the franchise it spawned. The first Fred's Fish Fry opened in San Antonio in 1963 on Roosevelt Avenue near Stinson Municipal Airport. In the early 1970s, it relocated to 3303 Pleasanton Rd. (pictured), where it operates today. Rene Guzman/Staff Freds Fish Fry No. 1 is still around, just at a different address. The first Freds Fish Fry opened in 1963 at 4705 Roosevelt Ave. near Stinson Municipal Airport. When the rent went up several years later, Castellano and his dad moved the No. 1 location to 3303 Pleasanton Road, where it's been ever since. The Roosevelt site is now a Mexican restaurant. From civil service to the fish fryer. Before opening Freds Fish Fry, Alfred Castellano Sr. worked in civil service at the former Kelly AFB. Castellano noted his father was not a fisherman or even a seafood fan; he decided to sell fried fish because no one else was doing it. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Freds first neighbor gave the strangest haircuts. When the first Freds Fish Fry was on Roosevelt Avenue, the business shared the lot with Lopez Barber Shop, which is still there. Castellano recalled a barber there used to cut customers hair with fire, a technique that uses candles or straws to burn off split ends. You could see people with smoke coming out of their hair, Castellano said, noting his father got such a cut once but he never did. Fred's Fish Fry started in San Antonio in 1963. The pictured location at 1721 Castroville Road is from the late '60s has since been torn down and rebuilt. Fred's Fish Fry The son replaced the father at a young age. Castellano was in his late 20s when he took over Fred's Fish Fry after Alfred Sr. died in 1971 at age 51. By then, the younger Castellano was already an old hand at the business. He was just 24 years old when he ran Freds Fish No. 3 at 1721 Castroville Road, another location still in operation. The Fred's logo was the son's idea, too. Right after my father passed away, I started working on logos, Castellano said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Freds Fish Fry originally used basic lettering for its signage and basic butcher paper for its takeout. In the early 1970s, Castellano turned to a San Antonio sign company to develop what would become Freds signature logo: a troutlike fish with the business name in a checkerboard frame. More famous local logos: From USAA to Bill Miller Bar-B-Q, here are the stories behind San Antonios iconic brand logos The Regular Fish Order, the one the clerks call "hot fish," includes three pieces of fried fish, fries and bread at the San Antonio seafood chain Fred's Fish Fry. It currently sells for $7.09, one of several unusual price points on the Fred's Fish menu. Mike Sutter/Staff The menu prices are just weird. Ever the outlier, Freds Fish Fry bucks conventional 99 cent pricing with more random denominations for its entrees, such as $7.09 for its popular three-piece fish order, $11.71 for its No. 1 seafood platter and $33.62 for a deluxe family special. So what's the sense behind those cents? "I guess where the prices fall wherever they fall, it's more of a true price," Castellano III said, noting he'd rather see something listed for, say, $25.99 just be priced at $26. Advertisement Article continues below this ad When asked to expand on that, Castellano III mirrored his father's shrug. No particular reason, he said. "That's just the way the numbers have fallen." Shown in 2021, the Fred's Fish Fry on South Zarzamora Street is offering takeout and drive-thru only. Most locations look empty all the time because they only offer food to go. Mike Sutter/Staff Freds stays afloat by staying out of debt. So how does Freds Fish Fry really stay in business? Castellano doubled down on the same practical reasons he gave the Express-News several years ago. The company owns every location and lot it sits on, so there are no leases. Most locations are so small they get by with just a single employee, which further reduces costs. A smaller space means mostly drive-thru and takeout business, hence the apparent lack of patrons or parked cars. And Freds saves even more money by processing and distributing its food. The main strategy is dont get into debt, Castellano said. We dont owe a penny to no one. A 1975 ad for Fred's Fish Fry, featuring owner Alfred Castellano. Castellano and his father Alfred Sr. launched the storied seafood chain in San Antonio in 1963. File image The Castellanos like to keep a low profile. Fred's Fish Fry still has no plans for a website or social media account, so dont expect any Castellano selfies anytime soon. Security reasons, Castellano said when pressed for why he and Castellano III refused to be photographed. Youd be surprised. There are crazy people out there. About the only time the elder Castellano has shown his face to promote the business was back in December 1975, when he ran a small print ad in the San Antonio Light featuring himself in a suit and tie wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. Fred's Fish Fry does offer T-shirts as well as Fiesta medals. Rene Guzman/Staff A Nashville, Illinois resident faces up to 70 years in a federal prison if convicted of using internet video chat rooms to make violent threats of murder, assassination, and child rape. Alexia N. Willie, also known as Jason L. Willie, 47, was indicted in the U.S. Court for the Southern District of Illinois on 14 counts of interstate communication of a threat to injure. Each count carries a possible penalty of five years in prison. According to the indictment, Willie made threatening statements against people across the country. Transcripts from the videos in question included in the indictment are strewn with expletives, racial pejoratives and threats of specific and violent nature. This indictment is a result of the publics vigilance in reporting threats to law enforcement. The FBI will diligently investigate reports of threats, especially when directed at our most vulnerable, said FBI Springfield Field Office Acting Special Agent in Charge Joe Rodriguez. As always, we continue to ask the public to report immediately any online activity or behavior that appears suspicious. In one of the counts, Willie allegedly threatened to inject women with HIV while they use public restrooms. In another, Willie threatened to blow up churches, according to the indictment. According to the court records, Willie identifies as being transgender and implies in one of the felony counts that the threats were motivated by discrimination facing the trans community. Theres a lot of transgenders out here that are tired of being picked on and were going to go into the schools and were going to kill their (expletive) children, and thats the end of it, the indictment alleges Willie said. Were at war. Other chats are even more explicit in their detail, according to the video transcripts. Willie told one woman of apparent African descent I am personally coming to Uganda and when I get down there, Im going to assassinate all of the Parliament members. , the court records allege. On another video, according to the indictment, Willie threatened to put a bullet in the head of another person while simulating firing a gun. Many of the chats included threats against children, the court record shows. Willie was appointed a public defender and ordered by U.S. Magistrate Judge Reona Daly to be detained until the Jan. 16 trial at the U.S. Courthouse in Benton. A TikTok video appears to show the unknown passenger being detained by airport staff (zedweb08 via TikTok) An airline passenger in New Orleans has been taken to hospital after climbing out onto the wing of his grounded plane and leading baggage crews on a chase. Police in the Big Easy said they had detained a 38-year-old man after he suffered a "mental health emergency" aboard a Southwest Airlines flight at Louis Armstrong International Airport on Sunday night. While the plane was still waiting at the terminal, the man allegedly popped the emergency hatch, climbed onto the wing, and jumped to the ground, before being subdued by ground crew. "When deputies made contact with the man, they found he was incoherent and not fully aware of his surroundings," said a spokesperson for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. "There is no indication that the man left anything on the plane, nor was he found in possession of any weapons of any type. The Sheriffs Office spokesperson said the man is not expected to face criminal charges locally, but that they had referred the case to federal authorities. A video posted on TikTok appears to show commotion and shouting inside the plane. The passengers then hustle off the plane via a covered gangway, only to watch through the terminal windows as the man sprints across the tarmac, attempts to commandeer an airport truck. Ground staff in hi-visibility jackets tackle to the ground by staff. The man who posted the video said he had started recording because the man was arguing with other passengers, and that he feared the man had placed a bomb on the plane before leaving. "Oh my god, I've never been so scared. I was literally one seat away from him," the man can be heard telling another passenger. The kerfuffle reportedly delayed passengers from reaching Atlanta for around three hours at the end of the Thanksgiving weekend, one of the busiest times in the US travel calendar, when many Americans were returning home after visiting their families. A spokesperson for Southwest said: "We commend our flight and ground crews for their swift action and apologise to our customers for their inconvenience." A man on a Southwest Airlines flight opened an emergency exit door and climbed onto the planes wing Sunday while the aircraft was at a gate at New Orleans Louis Armstrong International Airport, authorities said. The Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office said it responded to a disturbance at the airport after a 38-year-old man opened the emergency exit door to access the wing and jump out. The plane was stationary and had not departed the gate at the time of the incident, and the man was stopped by personnel on the ground and held until deputies arrived. Passenger Zed Webster told CNN he heard what sounded like an argument between two passengers across the aisle from him and was concerned they might start a fight. He said he took out his phone and began to record the incident. As soon as he pressed the record button, Webster said the passenger unlatched the lock to the emergency exit door and jumped out the window. I was terrified, he said. Websters video shows several passengers evacuating the plane and rushing through the jetway. Later, the video shows what appears to be an airline employee jumping from the jetway onto the tarmac to assist colleagues in subduing the passenger. When deputies made contact with the passenger on the tarmac, he appeared incoherent and not fully aware of his surroundings, the sheriffs office said. The man was transported to a local hospital for evaluation as the deputies believed he was suffering from a mental health emergency, according to the sheriffs office statement, and he remains hospitalized. There is no indication that the man left anything on the plane, nor was he found in possession of any weapons of any type, the statement continued. He is not expected to face any criminal charges locally, however the investigation has been referred to federal authorities. No one was injured during the incident. Chris Perry, a spokesperson for Southwest Airlines, told CNN in an email, We commend our flight and ground crews for their swift action and apologize to our Customers for their inconvenience. After a delay, the flight departed using a different aircraft, according to Perry. Webster said the delay was about two hours and the flight arrived in Atlanta shortly before midnight. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Soviet whalers wiped out blue whales from part of the Indian Ocean 50 years ago. Underwater audio reveals the gentle giants have returned. Blue whale near Sri Lanka. eco2drew/Getty Images Blue whales near the Seychelles were wiped out half a century ago by whaling. After sightings, scientists set up audio recording devices on the seafloor near the island nation. They found blue whales had returned to the area, and think the whales may be using it for breeding. A population of blue whales near the Seychelles islands in the Indian Ocean that was wiped out half a century ago has returned after the area was protected, according to a new study. Scientists confirmed some blue whales, the largest animals on Earth, were spending part of the year back in the area by taking underwater audio recordings that captured the whales' distinct songs, according to the study published this month in the journal Endangered Species Research. "It turns out if you stop killing animals on mass scales and you give them a chance to rebound, they can recover," Kate Stafford, a professor at Oregon State University's Marine Mammal Institute and a lead author on the study, told BBC News. Like many whale species, blue whale populations were depleted by commercial whaling in the 20th century. In the 1960s, a fleet of whalers from the Soviet Union killed 500 blue whales near the Seychelles, according to the study, essentially wiping out the animal from the area. But thanks to global conservation efforts and whaling bans, blue whale populations are increasing worldwide. After several reported sightings of blue whales near the Seychelles, scientists set out to determine if the species had really returned. Researchers set up a "sound trap" on the ocean floor near the island nation, complete with recording devices and batteries. The equipment recorded sounds for 15 minutes of every hour, every day, for a year. When scientists reviewed the recordings, they discovered the blue whales' signature song. The songs, which are such a low frequency they cannot be heard by the human ear, were observed from December to April, and were believed to have come primarily from males. "They sing during the breeding season and we think it's probably the males who are singing, based on what we know about other whales," Stafford told the BBC, adding: "This means the Seychelles could be really important for blue whales." The scientists are still trying to understand the importance of the Seychelles to the blue whales, including if it is an area they use for breeding. About 154,000 square miles of sea surrounding the Seychelles are protected thanks to a "debt for climate" swap in which the country agreed to protect its oceans in exchange for having its national debt paid off. Despite making population gains, blue whales are still listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and under the Endangered Species Act in the US. Read the original article on Business Insider FILE PHOTO: Tourist binoculars offer users the chance to pay in Pounds or Euros, on top of the Rock in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar FILE PHOTO: Tourist binoculars offer users the chance to pay in Pounds or Euros, on top of the Rock in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar MADRID (Reuters) -Spain is "very close" to signing a deal on the post-Brexit status of the British territory of Gibraltar, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said after meeting his British counterpart David Cameron in Brussels. "Today we have made progress, because David Cameron has shown a willingness to reach an agreement," Albares told reporters after the meeting. "We are very, very close," he added in comments broadcast by Spanish state broadcaster TVE. Albares did not say when both parties could announce a full agreement but he said they were discussing specific details, such as a formula for how both sides would use the airport. The status of Gibraltar - an enclave at the southern tip of Spain that has been under British rule since the 18th century - and how to police the border with Spain have been points of contention since Britain voted in 2016 to leave the European Union. Earlier on Tuesday, Albares had said Spain was ready to sign a deal as early as Wednesday. "Spain wants this agreement to be signed tomorrow," he said before flying to Brussels. Albares spoke with Cameron on Monday by telephone and both men agreed to meet in Brussels to further discuss the status of Gibraltar there. He stressed that Spain had several months ago put on the table "a balanced and generous agreement" and said both sides would continue to negotiate from that. A spokesperson from Britain's foreign office said that in the call with Albares, Cameron underlined the British government's commitment to concluding a UK-EU treaty on Gibraltar "as soon as possible". The enclave, historically an important military base for Britain due to its position at the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea, was excluded from the Brexit deal reached between Britain and the EU. Spain, Britain and the European Union agreed on Dec. 31, 2020, hours before Britain's full exit from the bloc, that Gibraltar would remain part of EU agreements, such as the Schengen Area, and Spain would police the port and the airport, pending a lasting solution. The European Commission and Spain sent Britain a proposal, including keeping Gibraltar's land border to Spain open in late 2022, and ensuring the free flow of people. Spain ceded the outpost, famed for its towering rock, to Britain in 1713 but has long called for its return. (Reporting by Inti Landauro, additional reporting by Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Aislinn Laing and Angus MacSwan) A very interesting thing has been happening in the wide world of wine over the last several years. Sparkling wine is becoming more flavorful, more approachable, food-friendly, and just plain fun. Plus bringing a sparkling wine to a party can be more economical than a traditional bottle of wine. Officially, champagne of course can only come from the region of Champagne, France. The name champagne is protected by the Coite Interprofessional du Vin du Champagne (CIVC), and they have a staff of eight lawyers to prosecute those that misuse the name from wineries to chocolatiers, to tea makers. Even the Yves Saint-Laurent perfume Champagne was banned in 1993 after a lawsuit by the Champagne vintners and the champagne-colored iPhone introduced by Apple in 2013 was ultimately called gold after the CIVC threatened a lawsuit. Jay Kitterman, now Consultant for the Culinary Institute at Lincoln Land Community College, Feb. 12, 2015. There are a few exceptions to this rule for American sparkling wineries. In 2006, a French-American trade agreement was established that allowed any American sparkling producer who had used the term champagne on their bottle prior to 2006 to continue to do so as long as they included a U.S. geographical region to differentiate it. Therefore, some U.S. producers are legally allowed to use terms like California champagne on their labels. In recent years, sparkling wine has become more of an everyday product versus a strictly celebratory one. Younger consumers like the fact that sparkling wines have a lower alcohol content (around 10-11% compared to traditional wines that start at around 12% and can often be up to 14%). When COVID hit, the at-home consumption occasion of sparkling wines skyrocketed. We were looking for ways to celebrate even the little wins at home or participate in virtual happy hours. A major trend for sparkling wines is pink or rose. One statistic I saw recently, was that sparkling wine is the only major category of wine that has experienced large growth between 2016 and 2022. Its showing up on more bar and restaurant glass pour lists and is becoming the first pour in most winery-tasting flights. More: Search for food inspiration turns up fun Brazilian dish that dates back to royalty I asked Danielle Anderson from The Corkscrew and Zach Sweet from Its All About Wine (remember to shop local) for their holiday wine recommendations. First, here are recommendations from The Corkscrew. Unshackled Sparkling Rose: It is made with chardonnay and pinot noir grapes, has aromas of apricot and yellow peach and is from Californias The Prisoner Wine Company. Pair with salmon. NV $24.99 Prosper Bourgogne Rouge Pinot Noir: It is a red burgundy with elegant, dark red fruit from the Bourgogne Region of France. Pair with grilled fish, fowl, or barbequed meats. 2020 $32.99 Gruet Demi Sec Sparkling: With a fresh and delicate style, this sparkling wine from New Mexico opens with aromas of fresh apples, pears, and peaches. Drink it as an aperitif, or it is nice with triple cream cheeses and fresh fruits like pears, strawberries, or mango. NV $17.99 Vidal Fleury Saint-Joseph: This one is a full red. It has on the nose blackcurrant, spice (nutmeg, pepper), strong and elegant tannin, and is fresh in the middle with a touch of oak. The complex and long flavors are based on blackcurrant, smoked ham, and some black tea. Serve with turkey or wild game. 2014 $26.99 And now here are Zachs recommendations from Its All About Wine. Balan Prosecco Brut: It has aromas of crisp green apples, white peaches, and delicate white flowers, and it is accompanied by hints of citrus zest and a touch of fresh-cut herbs. Prosecco is a versatile wine, perfect to pair with charcuterie or even pizzas. $22 Chemistry Sparkling Rose of Pinot Noir: This is a lovely Willamette Valley sparkling wine made from a 100% pinot noir. There are notes of cherry and strawberry on the nose followed by hints of rose petals. Pair with brunch dishes such as a hearty salad with seared salmon or pork. $20 Schramsberg Blanc De Blanc: This California wine is 100 percent chardonnay. It has on the nose, bright and refreshing scents of green apples, crisp pears, citrus zest, and hints of custard. It could even be paired with something fried like chicken or fries. 375ml $25 or 750ml $43 Andre Clouet Brut Nature Silver: This is a grower champagne produced from 100% pinot noir that comes from the Grand Cru village of Bouzy. It has hints of green apples and fresh pears and pairs wonderfully with a range of dishes. During the holidays, it is perfect for oysters or seafood. $58 Thank you, Danielle and Zach. In the mood for a little holly and jolly? Toss a candy cane in your flute for an extra holiday cocktail. "If life brings you troubles, drink some sparkling wines, then your problems will just become bubbles." Unknown Jay Kitterman is a culinary and special events consultant at Lincoln Land Community College. Lincoln Land Community College offers credit programs in culinary arts, hospitality management, baking/pastry, and value-added local food, and non-credit cooking and food classes through LLCC Community Education. Cooking or food questions? Email epicuriosity101@llcc.edu. This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Sparkling wines are becoming tastier and growing in popularity Werner Hoyer, the head of the European Investment Bank (EIB), and its vice-president Teresa Czerwinska visited Kyiv on Nov. 27 to announce a new 450-million-euro package ($493 million) to Ukraine and inaugurate the banks new regional hub in the capital. The sum, approved by the EIB on Nov. 15, includes 250 million euros ($273 million) to build and repair social housing, district heating, hospitals and schools, roads, and bridges across the country. Another 200 million euros ($220 million) will be used to restore vital water supply systems in areas affected by the war. Hoyer and Czerwinska also met with President Volodymyr Zelensky, who thanked them for their decision to open the regional hub in Kyiv. It is not only significant for Ukrainian business, but it also conveys an essential message of faith in Ukraine and its development to our people, Zelensky said. In a press briefing with reporters ahead of the meeting, Hoyer said the EIB may approve another 200-million-euro package for Ukraine before the end of the year. I wouldn't be surprised if we could sign another 200 million euros for projects in public transportation or water, he said. Its urgent to help rebuild Ukraine now, Hoyer said. If we wait until the day Ukraine has won and the ink under the peace treaty is drying, then it will be much more expensive, Hoyer said. We have to speed up. Read also: Charles Michel: I dont think this counteroffensive has failed EU support Since the start of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the EIB has disbursed 1.7 billion euros to help finance emergency repairs to the countrys ravaged infrastructure, Hoyer said. The country will need at least $411 billion, according to a World Bank report released in March. That figure may also be a gross underestimate. Hoyer estimated in 2022 that Ukraine may need 1 trillion euros in external assistance to repair damages caused by Russias war. However, he adamantly ruled out supporting Ukraines military. Financing this war is a priority we cannot help, he said. That's simply not the business of a development bank. The EIBs role is to lend for infrastructure. The bank, which has been operating in Ukraine for 16 years, has a portfolio of projects adding up to 7.3 billion euros, focusing on transport, energy, and municipal infrastructure, according to the EIB website. Support from the EIB aims to prepare Ukraines economy for its accession to the EU internal markets ruthless competition, Hoyer said. It's a brutal competition, and this country must be prepared for this, he said, acknowledging the process would be laborious. We see Ukraine as a future member of the European Union, he said. It will take place, but it will be long and painful. Read also: Charles Michel: Ukraine could join EU by 2030 Zelensky held a call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Nov. 27, ahead of the European Council meeting in December. The discussion reportedly focused on Ukraine's progress in implementing the recommendations of the European Commission for the start of negotiations on joining the EU. Ukraine and Moldova received recommendations from the European Commission on Nov. 8 to begin formal negotiations on their accession to the European Union. "Our country will continue to fulfill all its commitments, in particular those pertaining to national minority rights and strengthening anticorruption institutions," Zelensky said. Hoyer admitted corruption was a big problem, but he says hes seen serious efforts from authorities. They know exactly what will happen if a huge scandal pops up, he said. Support for our business will diminish, and this is a risk nobody wants to take. Every project financed by the bank has to follow strict procurement rules in line with the EUs transparency directives. The EIB has an army of people watching, Rafal Rybacki, the head of the public sector lending department for Eastern Europe, told the Kyiv Independent. It's costly and difficult, but Ukrainians will have to learn to follow these rules soon, he said. They will have to if they become part of the EU. Read also: EU leaders endorse plan to use frozen Russian assets to rebuild Ukraine, but fight not over Security guarantees The EIB sells bonds on financial markets, and as soon as the Ukrainian government is able to fix infrastructure and repay it through concessions, bond buyers will be able to get their money back. This process can take years, but these are decades-long loans, and EU state members back the bonds. EU state members security guarantees work as a backup because financial markets wouldnt lend without guarantees from EU members to cover potential losses in a war-torn country. The EIB sells 60-100 billion euros worth of bonds yearly, Hoyer said. The entire idea of financial instruments like this is to cash in money from the financial markets, he said. Relying on EU shareholders means that the bank must constantly convince EU members to continue backing up the EIBs investments in the country. Speaking of support, the U.S. presidential election outcome in 2024 is a source of worry for Hoyer. If the US begins to be inward-looking, then we all have a problem, he said. On the other hand, Hoyer welcomed the involvement of U.S. private investment companies BlackRock and JP Morgan Chase, among the largest asset management companies in the world, in helping Ukraines reconstruction. BlackRock has been working to advise the Ukrainian government on how to organize Ukraines reconstruction funds since 2022. The EIB has already started cooperating on some projects with BlackRock, Jean Erik de Zagon, the head of the regional hub, told the Kyiv Independent. However, the EIB doesn't have a signed deal on cooperation with BlackRock. If we can help get things on the ground together with the private sector, then we are exactly in the right place, he said. We shouldn't waste time in competition with one another. Read also: Not backing Ukraine is disastrous for Slovak security, says former defense minister Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. FILE - Max Weinberg plays the drums, left, while Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform during The River Tour on Sept. 7, 2016, in Philadelphia. Weinberg is suing the owners of a Florida car restoration company, saying they stole $125,000 by falsely promising they could deliver a like-new 1957 Mercedes-Benz he could display at top-level shows and then using his money for personal expenses. (Elizabeth Robertson/Philadelphia Inquirer via AP) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) Bruce Springsteen's drummer, Max Weinberg, is suing the owners of a Florida car restoration company, saying they stole $125,000 by falsely promising him a like-new 1957 Mercedes-Benz and then using his money for personal expenses. Weinberg is seeking $375,000 from Arthur Siegle, members of his family and their Investment Automotive Group Inc. in a lawsuit filed Sunday in Palm Beach County. The Mercedes-Benz 190SL roadster they claimed they could deliver had significant damage and rust, and they knew it could not be restored to like-new condition when they took Weinberg's $125,000 deposit almost three years ago, according to the lawsuit. A subsequent law enforcement investigation concluded that the Siegles used little or no money from Weinberg's deposit on restoring the car, but instead paid off credit cards and made deposits to personal accounts. No criminal charges have been filed. I guess they figured he's Max Weinberg, million-dollar drummer for Bruce Springsteen, Mighty Max. He can afford to lose $125,000, Weinberg's attorney, Valentin Rodriguez, said Tuesday. Siegle thought he could pull the wool over the eyes of someone who is pretty well-known and wealthy, but Max wasn't just going to sit down and take it," Rodriguez said. He said Weinberg is not an expert on vintage cars but has just always wanted to own one. Peter Weintraub, the Siegles' attorney, did not respond to an email seeking comment. Weinberg, 72, is the longtime drummer in Springsteens E Street Band and led Conan OBriens band when he hosted Late Night and The Tonight Show. The musician currently tours with his own show, Max Weinbergs Jukebox. He is suing under a Florida law that allows triple damages for intentional theft. According to the lawsuit, Weinberg says that in April 2021, he contacted Siegle and his son, Stuart Siegle, about a 1957 Mercedes-Benz 190SL he understood they were restoring. The 190SL is a convertible manufactured from 1955 to 1963. Weinberg says he told the Siegles he wanted a Mercedes he could enter at Concours-level shows, which feature cars that have been restored to like-new or better condition using almost entirely original parts. The Siegles assured him the 190SL they were restoring would meet that standard and would be a work of art" and best of the best," he says. He paid them $125,000, a down payment on the $225,000 sale price. The balance would be paid when the car was finished. Within weeks, Weinberg became worried about the car and hired an expert to inspect it at the Siegles' shop. The expert, Pierre Hedary, found significant rust, welds that had been improperly made, evidence that the car had been in accident and several other major problems. He said the car wasn't even a 1957 as the Siegles claimed, but a 1956. In a report filed with the lawsuit, Hedary wrote that when restored, the car could be driven and impress laypeople but would not pass scrutiny at top-level car shows. He estimated its restored worth at $120,000, about half what the Siegles claimed. He said the Siegles' statements that the car would be a work of art and best of the best" are often the most egregious form of puffery unfortunately at times demonstrated throughout the classic/vintage motorcar industry." When the Siegles refused to refund Weinberg's money, he filed a complaint with the Broward Sheriff's Office. In a 2022 report filed with the lawsuit, Detective Scott Schaefer wrote that his investigation showed that after receiving Weinberg's money, the Siegles deposited nearly all of it into personal accounts with almost $50,000 covering credit card and other personal payments. I did not find any transactions that could have been attributed to the work being done on (Weinberg's) vehicle," Schaefer wrote. He said it is possible they paid cash for parts, but he saw no evidence of that. Schaefer wrote that when he confronted Arthur Siegle with Weinberg's accusations, he responded, I have no idea what this guy is complaining about nor do I really care." Schaefer recommended that Arthur Siegle be charged with grand theft. The Broward State Attorney's Office said Tuesday the case remains under review. We hear you. You hate the new Kansas license plate. And apparently, Laura Kelly has heard you, too. The Kansas governor has decided to pause distribution of the new design. Nearly 70% of you who responded to The Stars survey said you did not prefer the design. The survey accompanied a story by Opinion correspondent Joel Mathis, who liked it, by the way. Less than 30 percent of you agreed with him. Heres what a few of you had to say about the new, and apparently failed, design: Kansas has so much to offer beautiful rolling Flint hills with cattle, fields of wheat and amazing sunsets show off our state!! Too bold, I like the softer background. I want to notice the car; not plate screaming for attention. It looks like accountants designed it. Too bold, I like the softer background. I want to notice the car; not plate screaming for attention. Belongs in Missouri. M. U. colors, New York design. It might be the ugliest plate design Ive ever seen, which might be the goal just as Texas and Nebraska have done, making boring and bad plate designs, the goal might be to intentionally have a bad plate design to boost sales of optional plates. Obnoxious colors with no recognizable link to Kansas other than KANSAS. Its ugly and does not reflect anything positive about KS-you know, wheat, sunflowers, Wizard of Oz. Geez, whose bright idea was this? I never thought I would agree with Kris Kobach about anything. I like a defining plate, but lets get back to wheat. Colorado doesnt try to move on from the mountains. Mute the colors, add some wheat, please. Too military Some commenters thought it was reminiscent of the armed forces: Stars look like military rank. The stars on plate remind me of a military plate. The boring military-esque stars should be replaced with wheat stalks. I hate the stars. They seem somehow militaristic. This plate looks like something that should be on the back of a Willy on an episode of M.A.S.H. To the stars? A few of you commented on the catch phrase: To the stars versus Ad Astra. Reminds me of To the moon, Alice! from The Honeymooners. No picture to define Kansas and to the stars sounds like Buzz Lightyear. To the Stars? Is Kansas somehow now a part of the space program? The motto is better in Latin. Those who liked it And a few of you did like the design: The bright color makes it easy to read. It can be clearly seen and identified. I love the colors and understated Kansas theme (unlike our real ID drivers license that looks like a childs coloring book). I was ready to switch to a custom KS arts plate (which are also beautiful) but no need. Refreshingly new!!! Bright sunshine imagery. Not boring. Its a headline on a press release guaranteed to grab attention: Governor Kelly Announces New Path Forward. . . Expanded Medicaid? Marijuana reform? Guns and crime? Its bigger than that. Were talking about what the new Kansas license plates will look like. The controversy over new tags has captured the attention of the entire state since Wednesday, when officials revealed a plate with black letters flanked by two stars on a gold background with the slogan To the Stars. Thats the first half of the state slogan, Ad Astra Per Aspera (which also used to appear on packs of Pall Mall cigarettes). The phrase in Latin translates to to the stars, but with lots of bickering back and forth between Republican legislators and Democratic governors, or something like that. But in this case, Kellys administration brought the whole state together with the new plate design. The near-universal reaction echoed the old Wayans Brothers television show In Living Color Hated it. On Tuesday, in a self-deprecating announcement, Kelly acknowledged the error and scrapped the design. I promised to be a bipartisan governor, and I think we can all admit I succeeded at bringing Kansans across the political aisle together in disliking this new license plate, Kelly said. Ive heard you loud and clear. Elected officials should be responsive to their constituents, which is why we are adjusting the process so Kansans can provide direct input on our states next license plate. The primary criticisms of the new plate design was the color almost an exact match for the University of Missouris school colors. Missouri is of course a longtime rival of the University of Kansas. The college rivalry is nicknamed the Border War, a nod to the historical clashes between pro-slavery Missourians and abolitionist Kansans in the lead-up to the Civil War. It stayed that way from the late 1800s to 2004, when the school administrations jointly decided to rename it the Border Showdown, saying the war imagery the old name invoked was inappropriate in light of the ongoing war on terrorism. That makes about as much sense as getting worked up over, say, the color of license plates. And like the new license plates, Border Showdown died in the face of bipartisan opposition. It may be the only time the student senates at KU and Mizzou ever worked together on anything. The other knock on the plate design was that it bore a vague resemblance to the plates issued by the state of New York, where Kelly was born. That touched off a conspiracy theory that she was trying to make Kansas into another New York, having been here for only the past 36 years. You gotta watch these new people, always trying to change stuff. My first reaction to Plategate was Darn, just when I got mine broken in. My Smart ForTwo shares aerodynamic characteristics with a flying brick, which creates a vacuum in the cars wake that tends to pull along dirt, sand, road salt and slush as it motors down the highway. Over the years, its sandblasted my plate to where its more-or-less aluminum-colored letters on an aluminum background. I kind of like it that way. The only reason the proposed plate design was so stark in the first place was to make the plates easier to read for the Flock system, a network of automated plate-reading cameras thats been deployed in Wichita and elsewhere, to allow police to track your movements around town. In its current state, my license plate pretty much says Flock that. So now, well have a public competition to select the new plates. Proposed designs will be issued and there will be some kind of to-be-determined procedure for the public to weigh in. Im relatively sure the choice will come down to sunflowers or waving wheat. It almost always does. To the stars, yawning. If it were up to me, Id have the numbers superimposed over an image of a Tesla battery. Giving Panasonic a billion dollars to build a battery factory was the last significant thing Kelly and the Republicans agreed on. To the stars in electric cars. A PBS Kids cartoon featuring a Mexican-American family from San Antonio is releasing new episodes this winter highlighting the culture of the Southwest and Mexico. "Rosie's Rules" centers on 5-year-old Rosie Fuentes, who learns life lessons alongside her cat Gatito in suburban San Antonio. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The creator of the show is from Houston and wanted to choose a setting for the show that represented the diversity of the PBS audience, according to the Texas Standard. The show incorporates both English and Spanish as Rosie celebrates her multicultural heritage her father is from Mexico City, and her mother is from Wisconsin. Rosie is close with her abuela in Mexico and adapts to living far away from loved ones through family traditions and video calls. Lessons she learns turn into Rosie's Rules, one of which is: "Don't mail your cat to Mexico." The show aims to teach kids ages 3 to 6 about individuality and community alongside social studies lessons on topics like geography and history. Advertisement Article continues below this ad PBS Kids cartoon "Rosie's Rules" features a multicultural family living in San Antonio. SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Tuesday marks 360 years to the day that Jersey was gifted its royal mace. The mace is seen as a symbol of the island's special status and historical links with the British Crown. On 28 November 1663 it was given as thanks for Jersey giving refuge to the future King Charles II during a turbulent period of England's history. To mark the occasion the mace will be carried before the bailiff into the States Assembly meeting, and placed at the head of the chamber. It will be set alongside the permanent painting by Jason Butler, which depicts the Earl of Wessex's visit to Jersey in 2013 to mark the 350th anniversary of the mace's arrival. The ceremonial mace is from a similar era to the one used in the UK parliament to represent royal authority. It too was presented to the UK Parliament by King Charles II, and without it the House of Commons cannot meet or pass laws. Jersey's mace is made up of 11 pieces of silver gilt, is 4ft 10in (1.5m) long, and weighs 14lb 13oz (6.6kg). The mace can only be touched by bearers wearing gloves to help preserve the gilt. Follow BBC Jersey on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will be off the airwaves this week as Colbert recovers from surgery following a ruptured appendix. The host took to Threads to share the news Monday. Sorry to say that I have to cancel our shows this week. Im sure youre thinking, Turkey overdose, Steve? Gravy boat capsize? Actually, Im recovering from surgery for a ruptured appendix, the post said. Im grateful to my doctors for their care and to Evie and the kids for putting up with me. Going forward, all emails to my appendix will be handled by my pancreas. Tiffany Haddish speaks out after recent DUI arrest Older episodes of the show will air during Colberts absence, a CBS spokesperson told the Los Angeles Times. Previously scheduled guests Barbra Streisand, Jennifer Garner, Patrick Stewart, Baz Luhrmann and Jon Batiste were slated to appear on the late-night talk show this week. Colbert previously canceled the show due to other health complications before, like in 2022, when he took time off after testing positive for COVID-19. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. The Supreme Court on Wednesday will hear arguments in a case that hinges on whether, as a legal matter, Congress can blend powers the Framers of the Constitution carefully kept separated. In Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) v. Jarkesy, the justices will determine the constitutionality of the agency's system of in-house administrative law judges (ALJs), bureaucrats who often act as judge and jury in the agency's enforcement actions. Since many federal agenciesincluding the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Postal Serviceutilize ALJs, the case's outcome will reverberate across the administrative state. George Jarkesy, whom the SEC accuses of securities fraud, argues that the ALJ system violates the Seventh Amendment, which guarantees the right to a jury trial. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled for Jarkesy in 2022. Should the Supreme Court do likewise, countless Americans would regain access to a foundational constitutional protection. ALJs often substitute for federal district courts to adjudicate agency enforcement actions, creating myriad due process violations. The SEC chooses its preferred forum to pursue cases largely at its own convenience. Administrative trials guarantee the accused fewer safeguards, including scant discovery opportunities and unfriendly evidentiary rules. Agency enforcement officials work closely with commissioners, who review ALJ decisions. Effectively, "the prosecutors act as counsel to the very people who will be adjudicating their case," as the Cato Institute writes in an amicus brief. Moreover, Cato's brief relates, "[t]he close relationship between SEC enforcement staff and the in-house adjudicators has led to breaches of confidential information," affecting "dozens of cases, including Jarkesy's." Effectively, this system makes agency staff not just judge, jury, and executioner, but prosecutor and appellate body as well. As of 2014, when Jarkesy's administrative trial began, ALJs had never ruled against the SEC. Conversely, the agency had won only 61 percent of cases brought in Article III courts. Defendants may appeal ALJ rulings to SEC commissionersbut with similarly predictable results. As noted in the Cato brief, "From 2010 to 2015, the Commissioners decided 95% of appeals in the agency's favor, sometimes overruling ALJ decisions that were more favorable to the respondent only to impose harsher sanctions." Only after an in-agency appeal can a defendant escape this regulatory Bermuda Triangle and seek redress in a federal appeals court. As evidenced by Jarkesy's case, this process costs defendants many years and untold legal fees. Concurring in Axon v. FTC (2023), Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas argued forcefully that Congress may not, constitutionally speaking, transfer fundamentally judicial powers to executive agencies (as it has done with the SEC). Considering the historical and legal record, Thomas concluded that whenever the government seeks to deprive a citizen of "private rights"natural rights to life, liberty, and propertyArticle III courts must have original jurisdiction, which includes fact-finding. "This mixed [ALJ] systemprimary adjudication by an executive agency subject to only limited Article III reviewis unlike the system that prevailed for the first century of our Nation's existence," Thomas wrote. To punish alleged fraud, the SEC sought to impose large fines on Jarkesy and bar him from working in his chosen profession. This clearly implicates his private rights to liberty and propertya conclusion obvious from both the 5th Circuit and Thomas's opinions. Therefore, only a jurynot an extra-constitutional administrative tribunalcan remove them. As the 5th Circuit noted, requiring regulators to bring enforcement actions before juries would not meaningfully disrupt their work. Since "the SEC has in fact brought many such actions to jury trial over the years, then it is difficult to see how jury trials could 'dismantle the statutory scheme,'" Circuit Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod wrote. "In this case," she continued, "the SEC took seven years to dispose of Petitioners' case and makes no argument that proceedings with a jury trial would have been less efficient." The real benefits of the ALJ system accrue to regulators, whom it frees from the constraints of ordinary due process and checks and balances. "The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny," as James Madison wrote in Federalist No. 47. The right to trial by jury, developed in the English common law, is central to the Anglo-American conception of good governance. Noted 18th-century English jurist William Blackstone declared the right "the glory of the English law." John Adams called it (alongside representative government) "the heart and lungs of liberty." And Thomas Jefferson considered it "the only anchor ever yet imagined by man, by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution." Moreover, concern for jury trials shaped early American political history. The Declaration of Independence denounced King George III for "depriving" Americans of jury trials. During the ratification era, the original Constitution's failure to guarantee jury trials in civil cases drew fierce criticism from such eminent leaders as Virginia's George Mason and Massachusetts' Elbridge Gerry. This movement culminated in the Seventh Amendment's ratification. The American legal systemwhen functioning properly, at leastprevents the state from satisfying itself with a citizen's guilt and summarily punishing him. Instead, officials must convince a jury of the accused's peersgenerally in an open courtroom. Luckily, Mason, Gerry, and others lobbied for the Seventh Amendment. It was designed to prevent precisely the sort of tyrannical shenanigans that Madison warned of and that the ALJ system promotes. The current Supreme Court has ruled unconstitutional many excesses of the administrative state, and it should do so again. The post Do You Still Have the Right to a Jury Trial? appeared first on Reason.com. NATO's European members and Canada provide almost 50% of the military support Ukraine receives to repel Russian aggression, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a meeting of the alliances foreign ministers on Nov. 28. I praise the United States for the leadership, for the critical military equipment the United States is delivering to Ukraine. But let me highlight that this is actually a joint effort something we do together as Allies on both sides of the Atlantic, Stoltenberg said in a joint statement with U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. U.S. support for Kyiv has been growing thin as the White House's $105 billion funding package, including $61 billion for Ukraine, meets opposition from Republican lawmakers. The Senate announced a vote on the Ukraine aid bill as early as Dec. 4, but some officials believe it would not be passed earlier than 2024. Read also: Biden all in on aid to Ukraine, yet House remains an issue Foreign ministers of NATO member countries gathered in Brussels on Nov. 28 for a two-day meeting focused on further support for Ukraine, among other topics. Ukraine will be high on the agenda. We see continued Russian attacks as intense fighting continues along the frontline. And that just makes it even more important that NATO Allies continue to support Ukraine, added the alliances chief. Speaking ahead of the summit, Stoltenberg said the discussions would also address China, the Western Balkans, and the threats and opportunities in our southern neighborhood. Ukraines Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is set to deliver a joint statement with Stoltenberg before a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council on Nov. 29. Read also: Francis Farrell: Ukraine could still lose the war. Lets get some things straight Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. When Herbert A Gilbert filed the first patent for an electronic cigarette in 1963 he was a man ahead of his time. A two-packet-a-day smoker, working in the family scrap business in Pennsylvania, he saw his invention as a simple way of taking harmful smoke out of a habit that was then a normal part of everyday life. It took four decades for the idea to catch on. By the early 2000s the world had woken up to the health harms of tobacco; a combination of restrictions and taxation were finally making serious inroads into the habit. Electronic cigarettes, or vaping devices, were promoted as a far healthier alternative to tobacco, which they undoubtedly are. Sales grew steadily but not spectacularly until the manufacturers discovered a lucrative new market. Children. Cherry peach lemonade, watermelon bubble gum, strawberry ice cream, gummy bear... the flavours on offer for disposable vapes provide a big clue about who is being targeted. They are typically brightly-coloured and so small they are easily concealable. Vaping among Scottish 15-year-olds. (Used within past 30 days). Vaping among Scottish 15-year-olds . A recent survey of health-related behaviour among Scottish schoolchildren found 25% of 15-year-olds had used a vape in the past 30 days and 40% had used one in their lifetime. There was also a gender split - 30% of girls had used one recently compared to 20% for boys. Only about 11% of the 15-year-olds surveyed were smokers. Health professionals believe vaping is now attracting children who would never have been tempted to try smoking. Has an invention hailed as a game changer in the battle against tobacco inadvertently created a generation of children addicted to nicotine? How addictive are vapes? Some experts consider nicotine to be as addictive as heroin or cocaine. It takes just seconds for the nicotine to reach the brain where it triggers the release of dopamine - a chemical linked to feelings of pleasure. Vaping products come in a range of nicotine strengths but almost all disposables in the UK contain the highest legally allowed amount - 20mg/ml or 2%. Illegal products available online could contain even higher concentrations. The type of nicotine in single-use vapes is usually nicotine salt-based which has a less harsh "throat hit" than other forms, making these vapes more palatable for children. Vapes Comparisons of the amount of nicotine absorbed though vaping vs smoking is complicated by a number of factors - but Linda Bauld, professor of public health at University of Edinburgh, believes high numbers of young people may now be dependent on nicotine. "We've been surprised by the high numbers of young people who are now vaping due to product innovation and we need to take proportionate measures to address this," she told BBC News. Disposable vapes come in various "puff" capacities - but some teenagers are getting through the common 600-puff variety in just a day or two. Emily Banks, from the Australian National University, a visiting professor at Oxford University's Nuffield Department of Population Health, believes nicotine addiction is in itself a significant harm. "We have kids who are experiencing addiction who have difficulty sitting through a lesson or sitting through a meal with a family," she told a meeting of the Scottish Parliament's health committee earlier this month. Are vapes dangerous? Most health professionals believe nicotine itself is relatively harmless. Lab tests on mice have found some links to cancers and respiratory ailments but there's debate within the scientific community on how much can be drawn from such research. But there is widely-shared concern about other chemicals used in vapes - particularly the flavourings. These are mostly substances already used as food additives but there is little research on the long-term effects of inhaling them. Earlier this year BBC News also found that vapes confiscated from pupils contained unsafe levels of lead, nickel and chromium. Prof Banks said analysis of some e-cigarettes had found between 900 and 2,000 distinct chemical entities, some of which are already known to be "hazardous". Illicit vapes are a greater concern. In 2019/20 nearly 70 deaths were recorded across the USA when cannabis products were introduced to refillable e-cigarettes. Investigations later found vitamin E acetate used in them had caused lung damage. A head teacher in Oldham recently issued a warning that vaping could kill, after a 12-year-old pupil who had used a vape containing the illegal synthetic drug spice needed hospital treatment. How hard is it to quit vaping? Like many drugs, when you stop taking nicotine you can suffer withdrawal symptoms. Headaches and dizziness could be among the first, though they taper off relatively quickly. A bigger challenge is cravings as the brain cries out for the dopamine it has become accustomed to. They could start within 30 minutes of quitting and while each craving typically lasts 15-20 minutes, they just keep coming. As with smoking it takes huge self discipline to resist them. Other physical symptoms include fatigue, constipation and increased appetite - but there also mental and emotional challenges. After a few days without nicotine, many people report a rise in restlessness and anxiety, while others suffer depression. Irritability is another symptom while brain fog may affect the ability to concentrate for 2-4 weeks as the nicotine wears off and leaves the body. What can be done about it? Education is an obvious approach. The Scottish government has just announced a new information campaign and educational materials for schools. But campaigners argue that peer pressure and a greater inclination to take risks among young people mean that's unlikely to succeed on its own. Some countries like Denmark have banned flavourings apart from tobacco flavours. China has also outlawed flavours for its own citizens even though it exports most of the world's flavoured disposable vapes. One London-based tobacco firm and vape seller has now backed a ban on sweet or soft drink flavours - though there is evidence that fruit flavours are by far most popular among young people. Australia has gone further by banning all types of vaping device, meaning they are only available on prescription. vape shop Greenock These countries have lower vaping rates than the UK - but still significant numbers of young people are vaping, with products easily available on the internet or "under the counter". While it is illegal to sell vaping devices to anyone under 18 in the UK, it is a hugely profitable trade and enforcement agencies are battling against overwhelming market forces. One suggested solution is to raise prices significantly through taxation. Restrictions on bright colours and the number of places where they can be displayed is another option. The UK and devolved governments are currently consulting on action with firmer proposals, including possible bans, likely next year, although legislation could be delayed if there is a spring general election. How do you support a child to quit vaping? There is currently no national strategy for helping children break free from a nicotine dependency. Prof Linda Bauld suggests parents seek medical advice, for instance from a GP or an NHS adviser, if their child is struggling to quit. Only one nicotine replacement product, a mouth spray, is medicinally licensed to help people quit vaping but a doctor can provide more detailed advice on other nicotine products such as nicotine chewing gum or lozenges commonly used to help those giving up tobacco. Such products should never be used by a child aged under 12, as nicotine is considered toxic for young children. Some disposable vapes are marketed as "nicotine-free" but tests on some of these products have found that is not true. The potentially harmful chemicals are still present and the repeated hand-to-mouth action can be a barrier to quitting completely. In the UK, many health experts believe vaping devices are useful as a less harmful alternative for adult smokers - but some now think the early messaging on the relative safety of vaping may have backfired when it comes to young people. England's chief medical officer Sir Chris Whitty has put his advice concisely: "If you smoke, vaping is much safer, if you don't smoke, don't vape." UK government talks with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) on restoring Stormont are in the "final, final stages", the Northern Ireland secretary has said. But Chris Heaton-Harris said he was "not going to set a timeline" on ending the deadlock. He was speaking as ministers met in Dublin for the latest British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference (BIIGC). The DUP has been blocking Stormont power-sharing since February 2022. It has been protesting against post-Brexit trade arrangements between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. The Windsor Framework was struck by the UK government and EU earlier this year in an effort to address concerns with rules under the Northern Ireland Protocol. But the DUP wants further legal assurances of Northern Ireland's place within the UK internal market. No set timetable Mr Heaton-Harris said there were an "ever-diminishing number of questions that we have to answer from the DUP". He said the British government was "working very hard" to ensure Stormont was "back as soon as possible". "But I'm not going to set a timeline to it," he added. "We are in the final stages. I could go further - I could say we are in the final, final stages of this. "We are really working hard to try to close this down." Tanaiste (Irish Deputy Prime Minister) Micheal Martin said it was extremely important to restore Stormont's devolved institutions. "The absence of institutions damage politics, damage democracy," he added. The BIIGC was set up following the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and meets twice a year. It was the first formal opportunity for British and Irish ministers to discuss the UK government's controversial Troubles legacy act, which became law in September. The legislation offers a conditional amnesty to those accused of killings during 30 years of violence known as the Troubles. It will also stop any new Troubles-era court cases and inquests being held. The Irish government has repeatedly criticised the legislation, but has not yet decided whether it will challenge the act through legal action. Mr Martin said the Irish government had received legal advice from the attorney general. "We're conscious of timelines in respect of the court, so we will be making a decision in advance of those timelines," he said. "We have, as a government, set a process in place whereby we'll convene to give this serious consideration and discuss it." The meeting came days after a riot broke out in Dublin following a knife attack, which saw three children and a school worker injured outside a school. Mr Martin said he had "absolute confidence" in Justice Minister Helen McEntee, who has faced criticism for her handling of Thursday's events. The BIIGC involved the announcement of a joint UK and Ireland investment of more than 60m to create two new science research centres to look at climate change. UK Science and Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan, who attended on her first ministerial trip to Ireland, said the project would "stimulate cross-border research and collaboration". She said the centres would be launched in January 2024. Irish Education Minister Simon Harris said the project was a "significant step forward for cooperating and collaborating north, south, east and west". A pair of storms will bring much-needed rain from the Gulf Coast to near the Interstate 40 corridor of the south-central and southeastern United States into this weekend, but one of the storms also has the potential to unleash severe weather, AccuWeather meteorologists warn. The storms will accompany a return to warmer conditions, following much colder weather earlier in the week. Rain has been gathering over the western and central parts of the Gulf of Mexico since this past Sunday, and an upcoming storm tracking in from the Southwest will pull the rain northward over the Gulf Coast states, along with clouds and milder conditions. During Thursday and Friday, rain will erupt and expand from east-central Texas to Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and West Virginia, as well as parts of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. "Within this zone over the lower part of the Mississippi Valley and Delta, a general 1-2 inches of rain will fall, with the likelihood of 2-4 inches of rain and locally higher amounts in northeastern Texas, western Louisiana and southwestern Arkansas," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson said. "There is an AccuWeather Local StormMax of 6 inches in this enhanced rain area." GET THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP Some of the rain will fall on areas in exceptional drought, which is the most extreme level, according to the United States Drought Monitor. While flash flooding will not be widespread with the storm, there is the potential for localized flooding where rain pours down so fast that storm drains cannot handle the runoff, AccuWeather Meteorologist Joe Bauer said. The flash flooding risk will be greatest in thunderstorms that erupt -- and some of those thunderstorms have the potential to become severe on Thursday from central Texas to Louisiana and far southwestern Mississippi. However, a significant outbreak is not expected at this time. Should the sun emerge even briefly, it could be enough to fuel damaging thunderstorms. The risk of severe weather includes not only powerful wind gusts and flash flooding but also the potential for a few tornadoes. From Friday to Friday night, the risk of severe thunderstorms will have diminished but will not be non-existent farther to the east in portions of eastern Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, the Florida Panhandle and Georgia. The same storm will spread rain and even a wintry mix across portions of the Northeast from Friday to early Saturday. Soon after the first storm rolls out of the Southern states, a new storm will spring up over the Gulf of Mexico and harness yet another round of moisture. The second storm will be more of a rainmaker for the Southeastern states with areas from Louisiana to North Carolina and northern Florida in the soak zone. The heaviest rain, where several inches of rain may fall, is most likely to extend from southeastern Louisiana to eastern North Carolina. Some of the rain will overlap the rain from the first storm, which will be an added bonus for drought relief and could push totals to between 4 and 8 inches in parts of the region. New Orleans has received only 55% of its historical average rainfall since July 1, with only 14.56 inches versus the average of 26.24 inches through Nov. 29. The drought is much worse in Jackson, Mississippi, where rainfall has only been about 26% of average since the start of July. In Jackson, only 5.54 inches of rain has fallen compared to 21.23 inches through Tuesday. There has been some sporadic rainfall in the past month that has helped the drought situation slightly, but more rain is needed and the combination of the two storms should help significantly. Because some rain will fall on the middle portions of the Mississippi watershed, there should be a slight rise in water levels of the Mississippi River on the lower end in the coming weeks. The river has been running within several feet of record low levels since the late summer. There continue to be some signs of a storm track related to an El Nino pattern setting up heading into this winter with the two storms this week. During an El Nino, the southern branch of the jet stream tends to be active with some tropical moisture for parts of the Southern states. A storm late next week could bring additional rain to parts of the Southern states. Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer. A full moon illuminated large holes in the clouds over Alabama, leading some to speculate about an extraterrestrial cause. Aliens? Nope, meteorologist Conley Isom said. Photos show large, circular holes in the clouds, backlit by the light of the Nov. 27 full moon. They have opened the portal! one person wrote on Facebook. Meteorologist James Spann said he received lots of messages about the mysterious cloud formation, so he debunked the alien myths and explained that people were seeing fallstreak clouds, also known as hole punch clouds. When planes pass through a cold patch of clouds, they bring ice crystals that cause water droplets to freeze and fall to the ground, according to the National Weather Service. Circular or elliptical holes are left behind, and they can grow wider as more droplets begin to freeze and become too heavy to stay in the sky. This is nothing new and really not that rare, Spann said in a Facebook post. The fallstreak hole (on Nov. 27) was easily seen thanks to (the) full moon above. The explanation that planes can create the holes didnt ease some peoples minds. Triggered by small aircraft. Need you say more, one person said. Others compared it to a Marvel scene, the Poltergeist movie, or a religious event. Many responded with their own photos of the event, taken in Alabama and elsewhere. Thats just where mother ship was watching us, another person wrote. Some people werent joking about their disbelief of Spanns meteorology explanation. Spann took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to post a screengrab of a direct message that accused him of spreading lies about the fallstreak clouds. Skygazers could also see a halo around the full moon, which is visible when light refracts off ice crystals in the sky, according to Space.com. Stunning wave-like clouds appear over California coast, photo shows. What are they? Have you seen a UFO? Pentagon launches new reporting tool, but its not for everyone Boom that rocked Minnesota region could be a meteor. Scared the soul out of my dog A satellite was recording as deadly storm front crossed the Southeast. See the video Strike rallies were held across the country when teachers walked out earlier this year Teaching unions will have to ensure schools in England stay open on strike days, under plans announced by the government. The Department for Education (DfE) launched a consultation on Tuesday on how best to implement minimum service level (MSL) requirements in schools. The proposals are due to come into force by next September. But education unions, who were involved in talks with government over MSLs, called the announcement "shameful". One of two options being put forward is to guarantee that vulnerable children, those due to take exams, children of critical workers and all primary school pupils can go into school on strike days. A leaked Department for Education draft document seen by the BBC suggests that amounts to 74% of pupils. Pay offer Schools in England experienced some of the worst disruption due to strikes in a generation this year, when millions of school days were cumulatively lost across 10 strike days. The walkouts by teachers closed schools across the country, with most having to shut at least some classes. Many of the school strike days coincided with industrial action by other workers, including doctors, railway staff and civil servants. Strike action by teachers ended when unions accepted a pay offer in the summer. In October, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said MSLs would be introduced with the unions on a voluntary basis at first but the government could use legal powers brought in earlier this year under the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act, which applies to a wide range of workers. The DfE says the plans will protect children, young people and parents to ensure education can continue during any future strike action. Now, it is seeking views on the proposals, which include priority attendance for vulnerable pupils and the use of rotas for strikes lasting five days or more, in a nine-week consultation. "We know a lot of schools already do provide support for vulnerable children or those with special education needs or other cohorts," Ms Keegan said. "But what we want is to see that uniform across the country and provide that certainty for parents - so if there is future strike action, they know that their child can go to school on that day." 'Bad faith' But all four of the education unions involved in talks with government have reacted angrily to the announcement. National Association of Head Teachers general secretary Paul Whiteman said it showed the government had entered MSL talks with unions in "incredibly bad faith". National Education Union general secretary Daniel Kebede called the move "shameful". "The attempt at dialogue was never meaningful. It was disingenuous and cynical," he said. 'Profoundly illiberal' "The end of talks was briefed out to the press by No 10 before the talks ended," Mr Kebede added, referencing a story published in the Sun newspaper on Monday evening about the decision to start the consultation. Association of School and College Leaders general secretary Geoff Barton called MSLs a "profoundly illiberal policy". "Nobody wants to go on strike. It is action that is taken as a last resort when all else has failed," he said. NASUWT general secretary Patrick Roach said ministers had provided "no compelling justification" for MSLs in schools. "Rather than continue discussions on scope for reaching a voluntary agreement with unions, the government has pulled the rug," he said. Students described the recent confrontation at a Kansas school as a hate crime, but they said it was only the latest in a long line of racist acts that went unpunished by Shawnee Mission East High School officials. Dozens of students walked out of their Kansas high school in protest of the way administrators handled a fight where a white boy shouted racial slurs and punched a Black girl. According to the Kansas City Star, students marched outside of Shawnee Mission East High School in Prairie Village on Nov. 29 at 11 a.m., chanting, We want change, Have our backs, and How many more times? They also held signs reading, We demand action! Protect students of color, We dont feel safe, and Take action now. Students at Shawnee Mission East High School in Kansas organized a protest Monday to express their frustration over how school leaders handled a fight between a Black female student and a white classmate. (Photo Credit: Adobe Stock) Students described the recent confrontation as a hate crime that left the Black girl hospitalized with a fractured nose. However, some of the high school students said it was only the latest in a long line of racist acts that went unpunished by school officials, including pupils using slurs toward other students. This has been an ongoing issue with racism at East. There are multiple situations that have happened over and over again, said senior Charlize Littlejohn. I think were all just really tired of trying to get change and it just not happening. Were just exhausted. Trying to go to class, it really affects us. Littlejohn said the brawl between the two sophomore students erupted in the hallway last week. A video obtained by The Star shows a Black female student walking away from what seems to be a verbal altercation with another student. Then, a white male student who a handful of classmates said was not engaged in the prior altercation interjects, urging her to shut the **** up. He lunges at the female student as she walks toward him, yelling the N-word. Then he shoves her, and they begin punching each other. School leaders eventually broke up the fight after a group of students in the corridor called for assistance. Student onlookers yelled at the male student for shoving the female first and using the N-word against her. The female student was not present at Mondays demonstration, but students said she drove by and waved to show appreciation for her classmates support. Littlejohn noted the female student has not yet returned to school. District spokeswoman Kristin Babcock said she couldnt comment on the incident because of student privacy concerns. She did, however, state that they take incidences of racism and physical assault very seriously. We do have a code of conduct in place, she added, and we follow our policies and procedures. It is unclear how the school penalized the white boy, but students at the rally said he received a suspension they believed was insufficient. There was no follow-up, no email was sent, and no announcement was made, said Littlejohn, expressing her dissatisfaction with administrators handling of the incident. It was not recognized. Littlejohn claimed students have attempted to speak with administrators, who never seem to want to do anything about the racist incidents at the school. She claimed that because individuals arent getting disciplined, no one would take anything seriously and continue believing they can get away with it. Students urged school administrators to take stricter measures to combat racism and to impose harsher penalties for discrimination and hate speech. According to the Star, Shawnee Mission East has around 1,700 scholars and is approximately 83% Caucasian. Kansas State Department of Education data indicates that over 8% of students are Hispanic, roughly 5% are multiracial, and less than 2% are Black. In the Shawnee Mission district, 61% of kids are white, 20.5% are Hispanic, and 9% are Black. We were all there. We all watched it. It was emotional and it was traumatizing, Littlejohn said of last weeks incident, the Star reported. I want things to change. Everybody who was there watching it, theyre not going to feel safe. Im not going to feel safe in class. Because that could have been anybody. He could have done it to anybody. And I think thats just scary something like that can happen inside of a school. Never miss a beat: Get our daily stories straight to your inbox with theGrios newsletter. The post Students walk out of school after white boy shouts slur, punches Black girl appeared first on TheGrio. Taylor Momsen listens to Jim Carrey in a scene from 2000's "How The Grinch Stole Christmas." Archive Photos/Getty Images Some Grinches just want to have fun. Others are genuinely not in the holiday spirit. One, in Amarillo, wants to let children know that Santa isn't real. At the morning drop-off Monday at Sleepy Hollow Elementary in Amarillo, a man dressed as the Grinch held a sign that read: "Santa is Fake. Jesus is Real," according to KVII-TV in Amarillo. Advertisement Article continues below this ad One dad grabbed the Grinch's sign and threw it on the ground, according to KVII, the ABC affiliate in Amarillo. David Grisham dressed as the Grinch and was found not to be breaking any laws. "I understand why they're upset," Grisham told KVII in regard to the parents. "They're upset because they're prideful and don't want to admit that lying to their child is wrong in spite of what God's word says. They're more concerned with the traditions of men rather than the truth. And they double down on the lie because of pride and they are angry because they want to blame the person telling the truth than the one who told the lie that prompted the truth to expose the lie." School officials addressed the incident in a Facebook post: "We had an unwanted and uninvited Grinch visitor at morning arrival. To be clear, this person does not have any connection to Sleepy Hollow." "The Grinch has officially made his way back to Mount Crumpit," school Principal Kelsey Williams said in a video message. "And not a minute too soon, if you ask me." Advertisement Article continues below this ad In this Oct. 8, 2020, image from video provided by the 36th District Court in Detroit, Jacob Wohl, left, and Jack Burkman, shown in the center left photo, are seen during an arraignment being conducted over Zoom. | 36th District Court via Zoom, Associated Press If Zoom meetings and videoconference calls seem to be wearing down your mind and body, youre not alone. Many organizations and people substituted face-to-face meetings with videoconferencing, particularly at the onset of the pandemic. Tools like Zoom, Teams and Webex have become the new normal for many business and education interactions. But, according to a recent study, the extensive use of videoconferencing has a dark side known as videoconference fatigue or what some call Zoom fatigue. A new brain-monitoring study supports the phenomenon, finding a connection between videoconferencing in educational settings and physical symptoms linked to fatigue, per The Washington Post. The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports in October, looked for physiological signs of fatigue in 35 students attending lectures on engineering at Graz University of Technology. Half of the class attended the 50-minute lecture via videoconference in a nearby lab and a face-to-face lecture the following week, while the other half attended first in person, then online. Participants were monitored with electroencephalogram and electrocardiogram instruments that recorded electrical activity in the brain and their heart rhythms. They also answered surveys about their mood and fatigue levels. Researchers found notable differences between the in-person and online groups. Video participants fatigue mounted over the course of the session, and their brain states showed they were struggling to pay attention, the Post reported. The groups moods also varied, with in-person participants reporting they felt livelier, happier and more active, and online participants saying they felt tired, drowsy and fed up. Related Despite the fact that Skype, launched in 2003, has been a popular videoconferencing platform for two decades, the use of other tools increased astronomically when the first pandemic lockdowns were imposed in spring 2020. The number of zoom.us monthly visits was 71.6 million in December 2019, jumped to 1.9 billion in April 2020 and hit an all-time high of 2.8 billion in October 2020, according to the study. The number stood at 943 million in March 2023. The worldwide videoconferencing market was estimated at $25 billion in 2022, and is expected to grow at a 10% rate over the next decade, hitting $65 billion in 2032. Related In 2021, Stanford researchers identified four causes of Zoom fatigue: Excessive amounts of close-up eye contact is highly intense. Seeing yourself during video chats constantly in real-time is fatiguing. Video chats dramatically reduce our usual mobility. The cognitive load is much higher in video chats. Videoconferencing is a good thing for remote communication, but just think about the medium just because you can use video doesnt mean you have to, said Jeremy Bailenson, founding director of the Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab. The Stanford study was published in the journal Technology, Mind and Behavior. Related Good luck trying to get your hands on Snoopy in a blue puffer jacket and green and yellow beanie. Gen Z has gobbled up the toy at CVS stores across the country. The puffer jacket Snoopy points to a larger trend among the generation. Gen Z is pledging its dedication to the cartoon dog by making a $15 CVS Snoopy plush one of the hottest toys of the holiday season. The problem now is that the toy made by the Peanuts brand and sold exclusively at CVS is becoming increasingly difficult to snag. On TikTok, young content creators have been documenting their journey looking for the stuffed toy, sharing tips on how to find them, and keeping the Snoopy hype alive. On Reddit, CVS employees complain about customers bugging them about the toy. And on eBay, resellers ask for double or triple the price for a puffer Snoopy. Many have been unsuccessful, but some were able to make the purchase and even helped others snag their Snoopy. "We were immediately lucky, finding three of them at the CVS five minutes away from home," Erika Siemasko told The Philadelphia Inquirer. "I knew this was rare, as I was seeing lots of people on TikTok traveling to multiple CVS locations. There were even comments on my TikTok video of Snoopy asking if I could go buy the other ones I found and ship it to them." CVS did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Why does Gen Z love Snoopy so much? The nearly 75-year-old Peanuts characters do not scream "youth" or "modernity" in any sense. The comic strip, created by Charles Schultz in 1950, spurred multiple iconic television specials. But for a crowd of kids who revel in nostalgia, Snoopy may be the perfect character to live out their "born in the wrong generation" fantasies. On TikTok, accounts that post old "Peanuts" clips featuring the lovable dog garner millions of views and hundreds of thousands of followers. In the clips, Snoopy is just being himself: falling head over heels in love , dancing his heart out , crying in the shower , or living his best life dressed as a pretty girl . Over the past year, news articles have speculated why the whimsical dog is experiencing a resurgence in popularity. Some point to his carefree, childlike attitude . Others express nostalgic fascination with the character. One historian told the Atlantic that Gen Z may be picking up on the existentialist subtext that the Peanuts characters and Snoopy have to offer. Blake Scott Ball, who also authored "Charlie Brown's America: The Popular Politics of Peanuts," said the comic strip which spawned several classic holiday TV specials reflected the sociopolitical issues gripping Americans at the time, like the Vietnam War. And for a generation standing at the intersection of myriad crises, it makes sense that they're leaning on the character more than ever. Ball told the outlet that "Peanuts" was "about the difficulty of existing as a regular human being in the 20th century ... just how hard it is to handle the immensity of problems that faced us, and hold all that together with your daily concerns." Peanuts did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. Read the original article on Business Insider When it comes to getting blissed out in a hot spring, there are few better places in the world than Colorado. The state has 93 known geothermal areas running through the spine of the Rocky Mountains, with natural springs of all stripes. The Colorado Historic Hot Springs Loop links up 23 hot springs in eight different places via an 800-mile driving route from Denver through the soaring Rockies. Hot water springs up all over the Rockies thanks to the geological phenomenon of plate tectonics, which pushed its craggy peaks toward the heavens and resulted in hot water bubbling up along the range. The discovery of gold there in 1858 led to the Colorado gold rush and along with the influx of fortune-seekers came the establishment of mountain railways and Victorian hot-spring resorts a tradition that continues today. Soaking here is said to have many health benefits thanks to the minerals infused into the water from the surrounding rocks, including calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, silica and lithium. Magnesium can alleviate muscle cramps and joint pain, silica has skin-rejuvenating properties, and lithium provides a nervous system reset and acts as a natural mood booster. Read more on Colorado travel: This year and next, several resorts along the loop will see expansions and new additions, so I set out with the tough task of testing them out. Ive picked my favourites, from Japanese-style meditation tubs to vapour caves and pools designed to mimic the great hot springs of the world. Many of the resorts also offer overnight accommodation, meaning you can bliss out in the warm water under the stars, or soothe aching muscles after a long day of snow sports. Glenwood Springs Glenwood Springs, around 160 miles west of Denver, was one of the first towns in the state to develop its hot springs. Like many of the springs across southwest Colorado, its source waters were known to the Indigenous Ute people, who called it Yampah (meaning big medicine). European settlers arrived in the mid-19th century and, several decades later, a group of British investors purchased the land and springs and developed the worlds largest hot springs pool a title Glenwood Hot Springs still holds, producing some 3.5 million gallons of water every day in a giant pool 123 metres (405ft) long and 30m (100ft) wide. Additions are under way here, with new pools being constructed to open in 2024. The water flowing through Glenwood created natural, underground vapour caves, which were also known to the Indigenous Ute people. These today form the Yampah Spa Vapor Caves natural caverns in which mineral water flows through the rocks at a sizzling 52C, creating natural, geothermally heated steam baths. In 2015, a second resort opened in Glenwood Iron Mountain Hot Springs which this year added 10 new pools for a total of 16. Some utilise the local water, while the 10 newest pools in the WorldSprings section each has its water adapted to mimic a famous hot pool around the world. So you can soak in Glenwoods water, then pop over to Icelands Blue Lagoon, sample the Buddhist bicarbonate waters of Osaek Hot Spring in South Korea, or float in the Dead Sea. Where to stay The Hotel Denver is located in the centre of town. A heritage property from 1915, its a five-minute walk from Glenwood Hot Springs. Ouray Twin Peaks Lodge is a Swiss-themed hotel with its own hot springs (Megan Eaves) Sitting in a narrow, V-shaped valley surrounded by jagged peaks, Ouray leans charmingly into its branding as the Switzerland of America. Its perfect main street hearkens to the gold mining days with preserved clapboard storefronts and wooden boardwalks. The hot springs here are renowned, rising up from fissures along the Uncompahgre River, whose waters formed the gorge in which Ouray lies. The Ute people first settled here and considered the hot springs sacred (Uncompahgre is a Ute word meaning something like where water makes the rock red a reference to the springs), but they lost ownership of the land and the rights to use the hot springs in 1881 when the US government forcibly removed the Native American community to a reservation further south. In 1877, the first indoor swimming pool and bathhouse opened, and the open-air public pool now in use opened in 1920. Soaking here is cheap and cheerful and can get crowded there are larger pools for lap swimming and kids activities, while an adult-use area contains several mid-sized pools with hotter temperatures. A couple of hotels in town have also harnessed the springs into their own onsite pools for people seeking a soak-and-stay experience. Where to stay Twin Peaks Lodge is a Swiss-themed hotel with its own hot springs there are nine soaking pools plus two swimming pools and a cold plunge. Durango Private cedar soaking tub at Durango Hot Springs (Megan Eaves) The hot springs at Durango in southwest Colorado date back to 1000-1200BC, when the Indigenous Ancestral Puebloan people, who built the great cliff cities of Mesa Verde not far away, utilised the mineral springs along the Animas River. In 1874, an ex-soldier named Frank Trimble moved to town. Suffering from rheumatism and old war wounds, Trimble began bathing in the waters and declared himself healed within a month. In 1882, he built the first hotel on the grounds of what is todays Durango Hot Springs Resort & Spa, set on a tree-lined hillside a few miles north of town. After a series of owners, burned-down hotels and a 30-year closure, the resort came under new ownership and underwent a $14m transformation, reopening in 2019. Its 32 hot pools and five Japanese-style, cedar private tubs are still fed by the same spring water enjoyed by the Ancestral Puebloans. There are also cold plunges, a concession stand, a food truck, a spa and most importantly relaxing views over the San Juan Mountains. Where to stay Durango Hot Springs is in the process of building onsite accommodation to open in 2024. In downtown Durango, the General Palmer Hotel, built in 1898, retains its Old West ambience with rich wood decor, red velvet curtains and vintage furnishings. Its virtually next door to the Durango and Silverton historic railway. Pagosa Springs The Springs Resort in Pagosa Springs along the San Juan River (Megan Eaves) Somehow continuing to be a very well-kept Colorado secret, the tiny town of Pagosa Springs has what is arguably the mother lode when it comes to hot springs: the worlds deepest geothermal spring. When it was recorded as a Guinness World Record, the springs depth was measured at 305m (1,002ft) as far as the scientists instruments could reach, but they never found the bottom or recorded its total depth. The Mother Spring, as she is known, is a bubbling, simmering pool of sulphuric water along the San Juan River, which flows down through town from its headwaters at the Continental Divide a few miles up in the mountains. Yes, the sulphur-rich water smells like eggs, but true soaking aficionados know that this provocative stink offers antibacterial properties that soothe and help heal the skin and create a natural relaxant and detoxifier. The Springs Resort has harnessed the waters into 25 pools, all kept at different temperatures, on terraces overlooking the river. Theres a bathhouse, restaurants and drinks served to the pools, as well as a spa and a huge range of hot spring-themed wellness activities, like aqua yoga. The river itself offers a natural cold plunge accessible from the terraces, or you can avail of the unaltered hot spring waters bubbling up along its banks for free (water is not temperature controlled, so this is bathing at your own risk). The resort is currently expanding with a newly opened section of its hotel and a suite of new soaking pools to open in 2024. Where to stay The Springs Resort offers 24-hour soaking privileges to overnight guests, with special access to and from the rooms via key-carded gates. Doubles from 311. Joyful Journey A soak with a view at Joyful Journey Hot Springs (Megan Eaves) Sparsely populated Saguache County sits in a bowl defined by mountain ranges nearly 300km (189 miles) southwest of Denver. Only 1.9 people per square mile live in a 3,170 square-mile area of this sweeping rangeland in the San Luis Valley. Several hot springs well up here, notably Joyful Journey Hot Springs. Its aquifer, known as Mineral Hot Springs, is also utilised by nearby Valley View, a clothing-optional soaking resort. Joyful Journey stands on a wide plain overlooking distant mountains and calls itself a retreat rather than a resort to emphasise its focus on both physical and spiritual wellbeing. With three pools and two jacuzzis, it is small, quiet and intimate, and the views of the Sangre de Cristo mountains from the water are spectacular. These springs are rich in lithium, which is said to be excellent for calming the nervous system, promoting brain health and reducing anxiety. Where to stay Joyful Journey has an onsite inn with hotel rooms and camping in yurts and tipis, as well as RV hookups and tent sites. Doubles from 215. Mount Princeton Natural creekside hot pools at Mount Princeton (Megan Eaves) Set in the narrow Chalk Creek Canyon, surrounded by the 14,000ft peaks of the Collegiate Range, Mount Princeton Hot Springs is, for my money, one of the most picturesque hot springs resorts in the world. Its just a few miles from St Elmo a high-elevation ghost town that was once a thriving mining town. In 1860, a way station, hotel, and railway depot were built here to serve people travelling on competing railway lines over the extremes of Tincup Pass, bound for the mines of Ashcroft and Aspen. The first resort came a few years later in 1884 when miners from the Mary Murphy Mine constructed a large hotel. The current main lodge an enormous log structure was built in 1965 and underwent a total remodel in the 2000s, adding 30 cabins, cascading soaking pools and a spa. The current resort has seven geothermal pools, including a series of Japanese-inspired cascade pools and a large lap pool. Undoubtedly, though, its drawcard is the series of natural rock pools along the Chalk Creek riverside, where hot water flows from the ground into the creek. Pick your way down into the river and you can rearrange the rocks to create warmer or cooler pools using cold, rushing water. The spa also offers water yoga and other cardio classes in a pool of warm geothermal water. Mount Princeton is also working on a project that would be the first in Colorado to generate electricity from the same hydrothermal system that produces the springs. Where to stay Mount Princeton has creekside suites, cabins, lodge rooms and cliffside rooms spread quietly over the valley adjacent to the springs. Travel essentials Getting there British Airways and United both fly non-stop to Denver from Heathrow airport. Car hire in Denver is straightforward; you can also take the train from Denver to Glenwood Springs with Rocky Mountaineer or Amtrak. More information Check cohotspringsloop.com for full details on all of the resorts on the hot springs loop. Olentangy School District is going for a 4.25-mill levy next March to build more schools, including a fifth high school, because of all the growth. It is already building its 17th elementary school, Peachblow Crossing. Olentangy schools officials say the ceaseless growth in Delaware County is the impetus behind the 4.25-mill levy voters will see on March 19. That money would help pay for new school buildings: the district's fifth high school, seventh middle school, and 18th, 19th and 20th elementary schools. The 2024 ballot issue is coming at a time after the Delaware County auditor's office has reappraised properties in the fastest growing county in Ohio. "It is not easy for people to vote themselves a tax increase," said Tracy MacDowell, who co-chairs Olentangy for Kids, a group backing school levies in the district. But she said the Olentangy community has supported strong education for more than two decades. Olentangy Treasurer Ryan Jenkins said that tax bills won't increase at the same percentage as property values go up. He said that even though home values might increase 25-30%, a typical tax bill would rise 3-5%. According to the district, the levy would cost homeowners an additional $148.75 a year for each $100,000 of appraised value, based on 2024 home values. Olentangy is now the fourth largest school district in the state, with 23,272 students in grades K-12 in November, trailing just Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland. Olentangy is geographically big, a one-time rural school district in central and southern Delaware County with 95 square miles, The Columbus school district, by comparison, is 137 square miles. Dublin's is 42 square miles. Westerville's is 37 square miles. Cincinnati's school district is 91 square miles. Cleveland's is 79. Officials expect more than 5,000 more students in the Olentangy district over the next 10 years, MacDowell said. The breakdown, according to Olentangy Superintendent Todd Meyer: more than 2,400 elementary students, 1,200 middle schoolers and 1,500 high school students. Construction is already underway on another school. Olentangys 17th elementary school, Peachblow Crossing, will open in fall 2024 at the corner of Peachblow and Piatt Roads in Berlin Township southeast of the city of Delaware. Olentangy School District is going for a 4.25-mill levy next March to build more schools, including a fifth high school, because of all the growth. It is already building its 17th elementary school, Peachblow Crossing. Jenkins said that because of rising property values, the district cut the debt service millage rate from 7.5 mills to 6.75 mills. "With debt service, we're only trying to create a revenue stream that allows us to pay debt obligations, with values going up the way they did," he said. "Given that opportunity, we have a chance to provide relief to our community." A "yes" vote on March 19 would authorize two levies that make up the 4.25-mill issue. The first, a 3-mill operating levy, would bring in $19 million a year and go toward operating costs such as staff salaries. The second part, a 1.25-mill permanent improvement levy, would generate about $7.9 million a year toward maintenance, repair and upkeep of facilities. Jenkins said the 4.25-mill levy is the lowest the district has asked for in 30 years. MacDowell said that the millage would have been higher had it not been for additional state funding. Jenkins said the first full year of collections of money the levy generates would come in 2025. Olentangy officials have traditionally placed levies on spring ballots. "Based on the information from our facilities committee, we determined that spring is the best time to go on the ballot and only ask for what we need," Meyer said. If the levy passes, the district plans to open the new high school, which doesn't have a name yet, by the 2027-2028 school year, Meyer said. The new high school would be built on the north side of Bunty Station Road, west of Sawmill Parkway, Meyer said, just south of the city of Delaware. Plans call for the new middle school to open in 2027-2028. The next two elementary schools would be built by the 2025-2026 school year, he said. Jenkins said that the district plans to add 180 teachers over the next five years. The district has more than 3,000 employees. Of those, more than 1,700 are certified teachers. The teachers' contract is up in 2025. Olentangy voters passed the last levy and bond issue in 2020 with a 57% yes vote with overcrowded schools fueling the need. That issue had three parts: a 7.4-mill levy for operations; a 30-year, $134.7 million bond issue for new buildings; and a 0.5-mill permanent improvement levy, used only to renovate and maintain buildings, plus equipment and supplies including buses. mferench@dispatch.com @MarkFerenchik This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Olentangy schools keep adding students, $27 million levy needed Francis, who turns 87 next month, has suffered a series of health issues in recent years (Filippo MONTEFORTE) Pope Francis cancelled his upcoming trip to Dubai for the COP28 climate talks Tuesday, on the advice of doctors concerned over his recent flu-like symptoms, the Vatican said. The 86-year-old, who has made protecting the environment a cornerstone of his 10-year papacy, had planned to become the first pontiff to attend the UN event since the process began in 1995. "Although the Holy Father's general clinical picture has improved with regard to his flu-like condition and inflammation of the respiratory tract, doctors have asked the Pope not to make the trip planned for the coming days to Dubai," Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement. "Pope Francis accepted the doctors' request with great regret and the trip is therefore cancelled," Bruni said. Bruni -- who just hours earlier had told a briefing that the pope would be attending -- added that the pope still wished to be part of discussions in Dubai, without specifying. With Francis's withdrawal from the conference, which begins Thursday, COP 28 will lose one of the highest profile advocates of the environment, a moral authority recognisable on the global stage whose words some believed could nudge leaders to take concrete action. - Touch of flu - Francis, who turns 87 next month, has suffered a series of health issues in recent years, from knee and hip pain to an inflamed colon and most recently, hernia surgery in June. On Saturday, he cancelled events due to what the Vatican called "light flu symptoms". It said that a CT scan had ruled out "risks of pulmonary complications". The pope was forced to recite the traditional Angelus prayer on Sunday from his residence rather than overlooking St Peter's Square. But Bruni said the pope would lead his weekly audience on Wednesday morning as planned. The leader of 1.3 billion Catholics, more than half of whom live in the developing world, Francis has long insisted on the link between climate change and poverty, with the world's most marginalised paying the highest price for global warming. In Dubai, the pope was expected to use the platform to castigate countries for a lack of action on climate change, and seek to persuade them to dramatically cut their greenhouse gas emissions. He was also expected to play a role in rebuilding trust between climate-vulnerable nations and rich, consumerism-driven polluters. - 'Breaking point' - Francis's address to world leaders at COP28 would have come just weeks after he published a text in October warning that the world was "collapsing" and near the "breaking point" due to global warming. That warning -- which expressed frustration at inadequate responses by governments to the climate crisis -- was a follow-up to his seminal 2015 thesis on the environment "Laudato Si" (Praise Be To You), a passionate critique of manmade climate change and its repercussions across the globe that relied on science. It is believed to have helped contribute to a breakthrough in UN climate talks in Paris a few months later, when countries committed to limit warming to "well below" two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and preferably the safer 1.5C limit. Francis wrote in October that the COP 28 talks could "represent a change of direction" if participants were to make binding agreements on moving from fossil fuels to clean energy sources such as wind and solar. The talks will draw up the first official assessment of humanity's efforts to respect the 2015 agreement and its ambition to limit global warming "if possible to 1.5 degrees Celsius" since the pre-industrial era. Besides addressing world leaders, Francis was expected to inaugurate the first-ever faith pavilion at COP, in a sign of the growing engagement of religion in climate issues. Sverker Sorlin, a specialist in global environmental governance at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm told AFP before the pope cancelled that his presence at COP represented a "tipping point". "The pope may not turn the tables at the meeting, but be a 'tipping point' that may nudge and push the negotiators... in the right direction," said Sorlin, calling Francis' personal engagement on climate change "of tremendous importance." Last year, knee pain caused Francis to postpone a trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. He made the visit earlier this year. ams/ar/yad Following the PMs example, I have refused to attend two work meetings and a tax audit in case someone tries to talk to me about the Elgin Marbles. But while Rishi takes a bold stand against one foreigner, the leader of Greece, eagle-eyes have noticed him letting many others into the country: over 700,000 last year, despite a pledge made by the Tories in 1066 to bring migration down. So, Yvette Cooper draped herself in a Union flag and marched to the Commons to demand an explanation. But if you think Labour has suddenly become the party of Take Back Control, think again. It was Coopers urgent question, yet barely a dozen Labour MPs attended to support her. By contrast, the government benches were packed with Tories furious with their own leader, and barely able to disguise their contempt. I am deeply concerned and confused, said Jonathan Gullis, because at the weekend I got the Prime Minister saying that migration is too high and needs to come down... the full-fat option. Then on Monday, at a global investment fair packed with Tory celebs, including Andrew Lloyd Webber and Niall Ferguson (Jim Davidson was probably on the forecourt promoting Monza caravans), Rishi boasted about a competitive new visa programme. So, asked Gullis, is the Cabinet full-fat, semi-skimmed or skimmed? Oh Jonathan, its worse than that. These latte liberals drink almond milk. Gullis, elected in 2019, is part of a cohort of populists who joined the Conservative Party under the misapprehension that it was, well, conservative - only for it to go all wet and David Cameron. Now they form a party within a party, casting a contrast with their leaders as stark as the Bash Street Kids vs the Eton Rifles. Heres Lee Anderson (Now then, the people of Ashfield have ad enoof!); Miriam Cates (so long as we keep importing workers, wages wont rise); and Tom Hunt (urgent radical action is needed now!). Jack Brereton claimed that there are some classrooms in Stoke where nearly every child speaks a different language. I bet not one of them is GCSE French. MPs tempted to join Reform? The vanguards Karl Marx is the veteran Sir John Hayes, who poured scorn on guilt ridden bourgeois liberals. But who will play their Lenin? They lack a clear leader for the contest that will follow the inevitable general election defeat - and many of them will lose their own seats. Could they be tempted to join Reform? I suspect a safer bet is GBNews, where one can speak for England from the comfort of a studio warmed by Nigel Farages Gold Coast tan. If they are uncertain about their careers, imagine how I feel. Unloved and unnoticed. Here in Westminster, Nigel Evans is the first MP - as he is every November - to send out his Christmas cards, and literally every journalist in the lobby has received one. Except me. Well, I shall get my own back. I shall be sending Nigel the biggest, loudest card possible - on December 24, so he doesnt have time to reply. 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. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) suggested in an interview published on Tuesday that he would back former President Trump over President Biden if the 2024 election became a rematch between both men. Puck Newss Tara Palmeri pressed Sununu, a prominent critic of the former president about who he would vote for during next years presidential election during a podcast interview on Somebodys Gotta Win With Tara Palmeri. Im a Republican, Sununu responded when Palmeri asked if he would vote for Trump against Biden. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. When Palmeri pressed Sununu again, the New Hampshire governor predicted the election wont be between Trump and Biden. The party that chooses to move on from Trump or Biden first wins. If the Democrats choose before the Republicans to move on from Biden before the Republicans choose to move on from Trump Democrats will win. America is just looking for something new a new generation, enough of this old, old-school crap, we need to move forward. And so any new candidate on either side is going to win this election, he added later. Sununus comments come as national polling shows the 2024 election increasingly looking like a rematch between Trump and Biden, with some polling from New York Times and Siena College released in early November showing Trump surpassing Biden in five out six battleground states. Sununu has not said yet who he will endorse in the GOP primary, but he has been on the campaign trail with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Supporters fighting to save program that unites Gwinnett inmates with rescue dogs Supporters of a popular program that connects inmates with rescue dogs are trying to save it from being suspended in Gwinnett County as the sheriffs office works to make improvements at the jail to accommodate an increasing number of sick inmates. Channel 2s Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson spoke with a former inmate whose one of the people pushing for the program to stay. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] An online petition has picked up more than 1,000 signatures in hopes of keeping it from being suspended. Organizers within the program say they have until Dec. 15 to get the remaining dogs adopted by families. It was a great thing to be able to be a part of, said Shane Hawkins, a former Gwinnett County inmate who is now a professional dog trainer and author. Hawkins wrote the book Troubled to Trained and attributes his life turnaround to the Jail Dogs program he was a part of from 2015 until 2018. It was the program that helped kind of get me started on this journey in life Im on now, he said. TRENDING STORIES: For 13 years, the Society of Humane Friends of Georgia has helped build the program within the Gwinnett County Jail by helping inmates train rescue dogs so they can be adopted instead of euthanized. Last week, the Gwinnett County Sheriffs Office officials said they made the difficult decision to suspend the program. The space currently occupied by the Jail Dogs program is next to the jail hospital, and that space is needed to make improvements for a new place to accommodate mentally and chronically ill inmates. I think they need to be building more of those programs and not stopping them, said Hawkins. Gwinnett County Sheriffs Office Chief Cleo Atwater says an estimated 73% increase in inmates who are mentally ill helped spark the decision to make changes in how they receive treatment. We are needing to make modifications to the unit where the Jail Dogs program is currently housed, he said. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Jail officials say theyre trying to relocate the program possibly until theres space again to bring it back to Gwinnett County. Hawkins and supporters of the Jail Dogs program are hoping for a miracle within the next couple of weeks. If it does stop, its going to be a lot harder to get it back up off the ground, he said. Information about the three remaining dogs in the program that are available for adoption can be found here. IN OTHER NEWS: In a case styled Wilkinson vs. Garland, the justices seemed to heavily favor an immigrant who overstayed his via over U.S. government arguments. A ruling for Wilkinson would give federal courts the ability to review more deportation cases. File Photo by Eric Lee/UPI WASHINGTON, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in a case that could impact immigrants who face deportation. In a case styled Wilkinson vs. Garland, the justices seemed to heavily favor an immigrant who overstayed his via over U.S. government arguments. A ruling for Wilkinson would give federal courts the ability to review more deportation cases. Situ Wilkinson came to the United States with a tourist visa in 2003 after threats from police in his home country of Trinidad and Tobago. He remained after his visa expired. In 2019, he was arrested after authorities found drugs in a house in which he was making repairs. While these charges were later dropped, Wilkinson caught the attention of the Department of Homeland Security, which began deportation proceedings. In response, Wilkinson filed for what's called a cancellation of removal to block deportation. If a cancellation is granted, the person facing deportation could return to or gain status as a legal permanent resident. To qualify for cancellation, the applicant must meet four criteria: residence in the United States for at least 10 years; no conviction for specific crimes; good moral character; and have a direct family member who would suffer "exceptional and extremely unusual hardship" if the applicant were deported. An immigration judge ruled against granting Wilkinson a cancellation of removal. Wilkinson's case met all of the elements except for the unusual hardship requirement. He argued that his son had health issues, including severe asthma, that his mother could not reliably manage because she suffers from depression. But the decision was reaffirmed by the Board of Immigration Appeals. Wilkinson appealed again to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, which in 2022 said it lacked jurisdiction. This case builds on and should clarify previous cases of Guerrero-Laspilla vs. Barr and Patel vs. Garland. These cases established when federal courts can and cannot accept appeals on immigration cases. "Exceptional and extremely unusual hardship is often the most difficult requirement to prove for people applying for cancellation of removal cases," according to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, an immigrant advocacy group. Only 4,000 immigrants who face deportation can receive a cancellation of removal per year. According to research from Syracuse University, more than 72,000 people applied between Jan. 20, 2017 and Sept. 30, 2020. The government's case, argued by Colleen Sinzdak, an assistant to the solicitor general, centered around concern that if the courts had jurisdiction over appeals, they'd get too many cases, most of which they would reject. Still, this would add to an already overloaded judicial system. Justice Sonia Sotomayor argued that, while likely true, the value of hearing the cases that did qualify would be more important. "It's rare that federal convictions are overturned," Sotomayor said. "A very low number of federal convictions were overturned, yet we still permit review of them. We permit review not for the majority of cases, we permit review for the exceptions." Three groups, including one of former immigration judges and a domestic violence support group, wrote briefs in support of Wilkinson's position. One group of former judges argued that allowing circuit courts to take appeal cases would help correct possible issues caused by the resource strain on the Executive Office for Immigration Review. In its brief, the group stated, "The resource constraints and related pressures on those courts are very real and the possibility of error that they create can have dramatic ramifications both for a noncitizen facing removal and for their family members who are United States citizens and lawful permanent residents." The justices are not expected to rule until June. Finland Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (pictured) takes part in a joint press conference with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv in August. On Tuesday, he announced a border closure with Russia. File Photo by Ukrainian President Press Office Nov. 28 (UPI) -- Finland's government announced on Tuesday that it will completely close its border with Russia temporarily after it blamed Moscow for a surge in asylum seekers. The influx of immigrants comes just months after Finland joined the NATO military alliance against Russia's objections. Finland officials said they were compelled to join NATO after Russia's invasion of Ukraine starting in February 2022. On Thursday, Finland will shut down the border crossing point of Raja-Jooseppi until Dec. 13. The Finnish government said that, since August, nearly 1,000 third-country nationals have arrived in Finland from Russia without visas and asking for asylum. "Russia is enabling the instrumentalization of people and guiding them to the Finnish border in harsh winter conditions," Finland's Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said in a statement. "Finland is determined to put an end to this phenomenon." Frontex, the European border agency, had previously announced a deployment of border guards and other staff to Finland to help bolster its border control activities because of the immigration influx. Finland has accused Russia of stroking the border crisis for Helsinki joining NATO and supporting the West during Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Poland had turned back asylum seekers under a similar ploy by Russian ally Belarus in 2021, leading European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to accuse Minsk of creating a a "hybrid attack"on the EU. FILE PHOTO: Students stream out of Johnson High School onto buses June 2, 2016. It was the last day of school before summer vacation for most students in San Antonio. John Davenport/San Antonio Express-News A former teachers assistant is accused of exchanging inappropriate pictures on social media with a Johnson High School student. Daniela Franco, 23, is wanted on a felony warrant on suspicion of child grooming. Child grooming is a new charge under the Texas penal code that went into effect Sept. 1. According to the statute, a person commits child grooming by attempting to entice a child younger than 18 to engage in indecent exposure or sexual activity. Advertisement Article continues below this ad ALSO READ: Harlan High School principal Richard Yzaguirre charged with DWI On Oct. 17, Franco herself came forward to the district and said she was exchanging the pictures, according to Aubrey Chancellor, a spokeswoman for the North East Independent School District. Franco, who has been with the district since August 2022, resigned the same day. Officials immediately contacted the school district police, and officers began an investigation. No physical contact was ever made, and no one else was involved in the incident, investigators said. Deputy Johnny Garcia, a Bexar County Sheriffs Office spokesman, said the fugitive apprehension unit has attempted to apprehend Franco, but they have not been able to locate her. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The Montgomery County Sheriffs Office is asking for help locating a person of interest in the death of a 15-year-old girl. >> PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 15-year-old girl killed in Harrison Twp. rolling shootout Tommy Moreland, 29, and Denisha Taylor, 32, both of Dayton, were identified as persons of interest for murder, failure to comply with the signal or order of a Police Officer, and tampering with evidence. Taylor was taken into custody last Monday, News Center 7 previously reported. >> PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 1 of 2 persons of interest in death of local teen taken into custody A spokesperson for the sheriffs office said Moreland remains at large and law enforcement officials are continuing to pursue all leads to locate and apprehend him. The shooting itself happened between two vehicles at the intersection of Philadelphia Drive and Turner Road. A 15-year-old girl in a Chevrolet Impala was shot and killed during the incident. >> PREVIOUS COVERAGE: She was a sweet child; Grandmother of local teen killed in shootout wants answers about her death A maroon Toyota RAV4 was identified as being at the scene and involved in the shooting. That SUV was later spotted by detectives and involved in a high-speed chase several hours after the shooting. It was later found abandoned several miles away, News Center 7 previously reported. Moreland and Taylor were identified on video as the driver and passenger of the SUV after the shooting. They were also seen in surveillance video at a carwash shortly after the shooting. A reward of up to $5,000 is being offered by Miami Valley Crime Stoppers for credible information that leads to the location, arrest, and successful prosecution of Moreland. Anyone with information on Morelands whereabouts is asked to contact the Regional Dispatch Center at 937-225-4357(HELP) or the Miami Valley Crime Stoppers at 937-222-7867(STOP). TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) A 23-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after a crash that seriously injured a 19-year-old man on Interstate 275 on Sunday night, authorities said. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Dane Anthony Jones, 23, of Dunedin, was driving an Infiniti sedan northbound on I-275, just north of Interstate 4, when he lost control of his vehicle on the wet roadway. Pull over now: 12-year-old driving stolen forklift leads police on hourlong chase Jones collided with a disabled Can-Am Sling Shot that was parked along the shoulder. The Sling Shots driver, a 19-year-old from Wesley Chapel, had been standing next to the vehicle. According to FHP, the impact propelled the 19-year-old over the barrier wall and into the southbound lanes of I-275. He was taken to a nearby hospital with serious injuries. Jones was arrested by troopers for DUI serious injury, DUI property damage, and driving while having a suspended license and causing serious injury, the report said. Tammy Sytch: Former WWE superstar sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for deadly DUI crash in Florida The crash shut down both directions of I-275 for several hours. The northbound lanes were closed until 3:56 a.m. The southbound lanes reopened at 3:28 a.m. As of this writing, the FHP has not given an update on the 19-year-olds condition. This is a developing story. Stay up to date on the latest from News Channel 8 on-air and on the go with the free WFLA News Channel 8 mobile app. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. By Patrick Wingrove (Reuters) -Eleven people suffered bouts of dangerously low blood sugar in Lebanon this year, one of whom required hospitalization, after injecting suspected fake versions of Novo Nordisk's diabetes drug Ozempic, according Lebanese health officials. A director for the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, Rita Karam, said officials suspected the drugs were fake after discovering the doses were different from the ones calibrated for authentic Ozempic injector pens. Explosive demand for Ozempic and other drugs used for weight loss, including Eli Lilly's Mounjaro and Novo's Wegovy, is fueling a global surge in counterfeit versions, Reuters interviews with law enforcement, anti-counterfeiting and public health officials showed last month. Counterfeit Ozempic has already been found in at least 17 countries, including the UK, Germany, Egypt and Russia. Several have issued warnings to pharmacies and consumers to be vigilant about counterfeits, since it is not clear what they actually contain. Karam said the ministry had begun investigations into the 11 cases, but that the source and batch numbers of the drugs in question had not been identified in most, which made it hard to determine what the victims may have taken. Three of the people who took the suspected fake Ozempic did so to control their diabetes, while four took it for weight management, Karam said. The other four injected the drug for an 'unspecified indication.' People with diabetes need to closely manage their blood sugar, which can be done with a variety of medicines including Ozempic. When blood sugar, or glucose level, gets too low they can suffer hypoglycemia, with symptoms that may include headaches or dizziness and can progress to a loss of consciousness or seizures. Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health issued two recalls related to Ozempic in January 2023, according to its website. No cases of potentially counterfeit Ozempic were reported in Lebanon in 2022, Karam said. Novo Nordisk said it investigates and reports every counterfeit case it finds to local authorities, and that it has created a guide for healthcare providers in the Middle East to show how to spot fake drugs. More than a quarter of Lebanese adults are obese, according to 2017 figures from the World Obesity Federation. Obesity has been closely linked with type 2 diabetes, by far the most common form of the disease. Data from the International Diabetes Federation showed that almost 9% of adults in Lebanon had diabetes in 2021, compared to nearly 14% in the United States. Karam said Ozempic is neither purchased nor provided by the Ministry of Public Health. Wegovy, Novo Nordisks weight-loss drug with the same active ingredient - semaglutide - as Ozempic, was shown to help patients lose an average of 15% of their weight in a late-stage trial. The scramble for supplies of the powerful pound-shedding molecule has led to shortages of Ozempic in several countries including Britain, Germany, Belgium and the United States. A source familiar with anti-counterfeiting efforts told Reuters last month that markets where sales of fake weight-loss drugs were most prevalent included Lebanon and other countries in the Middle East. Several people have been hospitalized in Austria for hypoglycemia after taking potentially fake versions of Ozempic. The health safety regulator there said the side effects indicated the product contained insulin instead of semaglutide. Last month, Belgiums drug regulator said it had seized counterfeit versions of Ozempic in which the injector pens were confirmed to contain insulin. (Reporting by Patrick Wingrove; Editing by Caroline Humer and Bill Berkrot) The Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not expect Spotify executives to turn down so many of their ideas, Omid Scobie has claimed in his new book. The biographer, whose book Endgame is published on Tuesday, said the couple have learnt a mountain of lessons about the world of business since leaving the Royal family, and might have thought twice about signing some lucrative deals had they not been under so much financial pressure. Writing of the Sussexes plans, Scobie, 42, says: The rush to sign commercial deals after the royal institution cut them off from all funding and security in 2020 led them to sign some lucrative deals they might have thought twice about had they not been under so much financial pressure. When the couple signed a contract worth up to $20 million (15m) with Spotify to develop podcasts, neither of the two expected executives to turn down so many of their ideas. The streamer, said a company source, was only interested in paying out for juicy goods that could generate major headlines and bring in subscriptions. Only a portion of that $20 million was ever paid out and the two parties mutually agreed to part ways in the summer of 2023.... There have definitely been a mountain of lessons learned when it comes to the business side of things, a source close to the couple admitted. Grim experiences behind palace walls Scobie also warns that there remains much of Meghans full story about her grim experiences behind palace walls to reveal if she chooses. While the couples documentaries and books have already revealed a shocking amount, he writes: There are still things the couple has not shared. The couple, he claims, retain the power to reveal more about the dismal record of the Royal familys treatment of women who married in, whom they allegedly view as ultimately disposable. 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. Suzanne Morphew's disappearance and murder has baffled the country since the mother of two vanished from a bike ride near her Colorado home on Mother's Day in 2020. The case has since become even more muddied after District Attorney Linda Stanley who filed since-dropped murder charges against Suzanne's husband, Barry Morphew was accused of prosecutorial misconduct. In the three and a half years since Suzanne's disappearance, her husband, Barry Morphew, was charged in 2021 in connection with her murder; a judge dismissed those charges in April 2022; authorities located Suzanne's remains in a "shallow grave" about 45 miles south of Maysville in September; and Stanley, who first brought charges against Barry, is under investigation. "At this time, the Morphews are extremely discouraged and saddened as it has been two months [since Suzanne's remains were recovered] and they have not received any victim notification about the manner and cause of their mother and wifes death, nor any general information regarding the death investigation," attorney Iris Eytan, who is representing the Morphew family, told Fox News Digital in a statement. SUZANNE MORPHEW'S REMAINS FOUND IN SHALLOW GRAVE,' HUSBAND'S ATTORNEY SAYS Suzanne's bike was found in a ravine along Highway 50 and County Road 225 in Chaffee County, near her family's Maysville home, the same day she went missing . Barry said he was working in Broomfield, Colorado, a suburb of Denver, at the time. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP Barry was initially accused of killing his wife when he was charged with murder and tampering with physical evidence in 2021 in connection with her disappearance and presumed death. SUZANNE MORPHEW'S HUSBAND, DAUGHTERS STRUGGLING WITH IMMENSE SHOCK AND GRIEF AFTER REMAINS FOUND A year later, prosecutors dropped charges against Barry, saying they needed more time to find his wife's body and related evidence that could impact the case against him. A judge then accused Stanley of procedural violations just before Barry was set to stand trial. Suzanne Morphew's disappearance and murder has baffled the country since the mother of two vanished from a bike ride near her Colorado home on Mother's Day in 2020. On Oct. 30, the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel (OARC) filed a complaint against Stanley, alleging that she exhibited multiple instances of prosecutorial misconduct. The deadline for Stanley to reply is 28 days from when the complaint was filed, which would be Monday. Fox News Digital has reached out to Stanley's office for comment. MISSING SUZANNE MORPHEW: NEWLY RELEASED DOCS REVEAL AFFAIRS, TROUBLED MARRIAGE BEFORE DISAPPEARANCE "We are pleased the OARC is taking action against Ms. Stanley on our request for investigation for her prosecutorial abuse and misconduct," Eytan told Fox News Digital of the probe into Stanley's conduct as DA. Authorities announced that Morphew's remains were found in the area of Moffat, Colorado, in Saguache County, which is about 45 miles south of her home in Maysville, Colorado, where she was reported missing on May 10, 2020. The complaint first accused Stanley of frequent communication with Mike King, the host of a true-crime YouTube channel called "Profiling Evil." Stanley allegedly responded to King's requests for information about the case. When King speculated that Barry killed Suzanne in their hot tub, for example, Stanley replied, "We know it wasnt bloody. The hot tub was drained with crust around the drain areas indicating it had not been used in a long time. But keep on spinning ideas in your brain!" MISSING SUZANNE MORPHEW: COLORADO PROSECUTORS REVEAL BODY IS IN VERY DIFFICULT SPOT The district attorney appeared on the show in August 2021 to discuss the case and allegedly "made written statements in the online comment section after the podcast ended," using her real username. Barry Morphew previously said investigators were trying to blame him for the May 10, 2020, disappearance of his wife, Suzanne. He was arrested and charged with first-degree murder before the case was dropped against him. Stanley was also in contact with Julez Wolf, the host of another true-crime show called "True Crime with Julez." When Wolf asked Stanley if Barry might flee, she apparently said, '[P]ossibly." The complaint also alleges that the district attorney failed to share discovery, including DNA-match evidence, with the defense in a timely manner, among other accusations of misconduct. MISSING SUZANNE MORPHEW'S HUSBAND SEEKS $15M AFTER MURDER CHARGES DROPPED No signs of human remains or blood have ever been located near the Morphew home in Maysville or in their family vehicles. Suzanne Morphew was a teacher in Indiana prior to moving to Colorado. But DNA was found on Suzannes glove box. The partial profile investigators were able to obtain matched profiles developed in sexual assault cases out of Chicago, Phoenix and Tempe, Arizona, Colorado Bureau of Investigation agent Joseph Cahill said during a hearing in 2021, as reported by the Denver Post. Barry's DNA did not match that sample, his lawyers told KUSA-TV at the time. In a July interview with FOX 21 Colorado Springs, Stanley called the OARC's investigation "a witch hunt." CLICK HERE FOR MORE TRUE CRIME FROM FOX NEWS "I stand up for people all the time, every day. So, me not being able to stand up for myself was difficult," she told the outlet. "As of right now, the office is majorly underfunded. If one person quits, it will set back everything, and thats the kind of shoestring budget it is at this point. But we have nothing but very, very experienced prosecutors in this office, and Im so proud of that." Earlier this year, Barry's legal team filed a $15 million lawsuit against prosecutors and investigators, accusing them of violating his constitutional rights. "Barry was the most scrutinized, dissected, surveilled individual, minute by minute, hour by hour, using law enforcement cameras posted by his home, phone taps and GPS devices placed on his car all during the time frame of her disappearance and the years following," Eytan said in a statement at the time. CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP "What needs to be done instead of pointing fingers at Barry Morphew, is asking the officials about the number of missing people and number of human remains that have been recovered in or from Saguache County in the recent past," Eytan continued. Authorities are asking anyone with information about the case to contact 719-312-7530. Original article source: Suzanne Morphew murder: DA under fire as husband, daughters say they're 'discouraged' in unsolved case Sweden supports Finland's decision to close some border crossing points with Russia due to a surge of migrants from the country, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said at a joint press conference with Finnish PM Petteri Orpo in Helsinki, Euractiv reported on Nov. 28. "Sweden strongly supports Finlands measures to protect not only the Finnish border but also the EUs external border," Kristersson said, adding that the situation on the Finnish border is "being orchestrated by Russia and is aimed at dividing the West." Read also: Finland refuses to negotiate with Putin over situation on Russian border "We see this as a matter of national security," Orpo said, adding that, if necessary, Finland will close the last border crossing with Russia that remains open. While the official pointed out that Finland has not taken in as many migrants as Italy or Greece, he warned of "Russia's aggression against the European Union." "Its a hybrid attack, and thats why its so serious for the EU," the Finnish PM said. Kristersson added that Stockholm will "offer a helping hand" with the situation "if necessary." Read also: Finland edging closer to border lockdown as Russia's weaponized migration influx swells "We, Norway and Denmark, if you look at the map, are countries that would obviously be directly affected, so were ready to contribute, but it is based on Finlands initiative," he added, without specifying what kind of contribution he had in mind. Among those who have crossed the Finnish-Russian border in recent weeks, some have reportedly already received negative asylum decisions, while others have canceled their applications. Antti Lehtinen, head of the Finnish Asylum Unit, said that no one has received a positive decision yet, but these can still be appealed. Some of those who arrived in Finland earlier had already applied for asylum in other EU countries and left the country. Finland views the situation as a national security crisis, and the crossing of the country's borders is seen as a hybrid attack on the part of the Russian Federation, as Russian troops are actively sending migrants to various border crossing points. Read also: Finland edging closer to border lockdown as Russia's weaponized migration influx swells On Nov. 16, Finland announced the closure of four border crossings located in the east along the border with Russia. The restrictions will be in effect until Feb. 18, 2024, but may be extended if necessary. Norwegian Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl said that her country could support the Finnish government's decision and also close its border crossing with Russia, and the next day Estonia made the same statement. On Nov. 22, several more border crossing points were closed, leaving only one open. On Nov. 24, the Finnish interior minister said that the entire border with Russia could be closed if necessary. 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 How about this: All those orders youve placed with Amazon, not just for Christmas celebrations a month from now, but regular stuff, like sets of sheets, and replacement Nikes for your worn-out running shoes, and two new mattresses the kind that come compressed and rolled up in a box for new twin beds for your guest bedroom, and a new down jacket for that ski trip to Utah youre planning for January, and a new coffee grinder to replace the one that gave up the ghost last month None of those orders are coming because FedEx and UPS and the Postal Service have stopped deliveries. You drove to Walmart yesterday to stock up on toilet paper and paper towels and canned soup, and it was closed. The gas station over on Broad Street has a sign out reading NO MORE GAS and the Wawa convenience store is closed, too. You turn on the television and all they are talking about is the last wave of cruise missiles that hit oil wells in Texas and Amazon warehouses in Riverside, California, and six skyscrapers in New York City, and one even hit one of the hotels across Lafayette Park from the White House. The United States is under attack. It doesnt matter by who, really. Your country has already lost more than 4,000 civilians to the attacks by cruise missiles and ground-to-ground ballistic missiles carrying conventional warheads. National Guard units are scrambling to mobilize. At the 101st Airborne Division out in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, all leaves have been canceled and somewhere north of 50,000 troops have been put on DefCon One alert. C-141 transport aircraft at bases all around the United States are being fueled, and as soldiers arrive by trucks and buses even Greyhound buses have been commandeered for military use the jet engines have begun to spool up. Air Force bases have gone tactical the only lights along runways are red; everything else is blacked out. Now the entire city of Atlanta is blacked out. Two power plants supplying electricity to the city were hit and substations in Alpharetta and Kennesaw and Forest Park and other suburbs are sparking and bursting into flames from power surges and overloads. Charlotte just went dark, followed by Pittsburgh and Columbus. The West Coast is starting to report missile attacks. San Jose was hit by a swarm of what appeared to be submarine-launched cruise missiles, taking out the Apple headquarters. Now Seattle has reported a strike on its downtown, followed by a hit on Redmond, Washington, where Microsoft is headquartered. Austin and Dallas are blacked out from power failures that affect both downtowns and the high-tech industries around the cities. Washington, D.C., is reporting more cruise missile strikes on Fort Meade, Maryland. Power to Dulles Airport and the corridor of defense contractors between Dulles and Arlington Virginia, has been hit repeatedly. The Capitol has not yet come under fire. The House and Senate chambers are empty, as are the Rayburn, Russell, Hart and Cannon office buildings on Capitol Hill. Members of Congress have been spirited away to bunkers at Fort McNair and tunnel complexes in the Catoctin Mountains in Maryland near Camp David, where an emptied-out White House has sent the president and all of the West Wing and many of the staffers who work in the Executive Office Building. Do you want to know what is not happening among members of Congress and the president and the rest of his Cabinet? They arent squabbling over how much money is going to be spent to defend the United States against this attack. In fact, the House of Representatives just passed what amounts to a blank check supplemental spending bill of $3 trillion to fund the military response that is already underway and repairs to essential infrastructure like the power grid around major cities, including Washington, New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Los Angeles. Defense plants all around the country are ramping up under new defense contracts with the Pentagon to provide ammunition, spare parts, and new fighter jets and bombers and heavy armor like tanks and light armor like armored personnel carriers. Makeshift defenses using National Guard troops and anti-aircraft and anti-missile batteries are being established around oil, wind, and solar infrastructure. Rail infrastructure from rail beds to freight trains to switching yards have been nationalized to enable the movement of military supplies and civilian aid around the country. The latest pink-cheeked Republican leader in the House and this years aging walrus serving as Republican leader in the Senate, along with Democratic leaders in both chambers, have issued a joint statement in support of the ongoing war effort. No expense will be spared to defend this great nation, the statement reads, as civilian casualties passed the 100,000 mark. How about that imaginary scenario, huh? When it comes to an enemy attack on a sovereign nation, it really depends on whose ox is gored, doesnt it? What I just described is essentially what happened to Ukraine in the first hours and days following Feb. 24, 2022. Bombs, missiles both cruise and ballistic rained down on Ukraines two major cities, Kyiv and Kharkiv. Naval artillery fire slammed into the port cities of Mariupol and Mykolaiv and Kherson and Odessa. Miles and miles of combat convoys crossed the borders Ukraine has with Russia and Belarus. Ukraines power grid came under heavy attack. One city after another in Ukraines east fell to Russian attack. The United States started ramping up, along with its NATO allies, to send military and humanitarian assistance to the first European state to come under attack from another country since World War II. We started by sending 105mm howitzers and 105 mm ammunition; small arms and ammunition; Javelin and TOW anti-tank weapons. It took several months before the howitzers we supplied were upgraded to 155mm long guns with much greater range and accuracy than howitzers. Still more months went by until we began sending HIMARS ground-to-ground rocket launchers, and nearly two years before we began sending ATACMS long range missiles, and even then, we didnt send them the variant that has a range of 190 miles, but rather the lesser model with a range of about 100 miles. We finally got around to sending our main battle tank, the Abrams M-1, earlier this year, and they only recently began being used on the battlefield. It wasnt until this April, more than a year after Russia began rocketing Ukraine, that we sent Patriot anti-missile batteries to Ukraine. Now, as we approach the beginning of year two of Ukraines war against Russian aggression, the war has been stalemated. Russia has been unable to move from its defensive lines of anti-tank mines, trenches, and artillery batteries along the 600-mile front in the war, and Ukraine has not been able to effectively mount its counteroffensive, which began in the spring, because the Russians had more than a year to establish the web of elaborate defenses to protect the land they had seized from Ukraine. They had all that time because U.S. support for Ukraine came in dribs and drabs. Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course. And whats happening back here in the United States, where stores are open for Christmas shopping, your Amazon packages will arrive via UPS, FedEX and USPS this afternoon and tomorrow and the day after that, and where your electricity isnt out, theres plenty of food on the shelves of your local Kroger or Stop & Shop, kids are in school and the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills will premiere another episode this week? The MAGA Republican Party is penny-pinching on support for Ukraine, demanding concessions on immigration policy and more money for handling illegal border crossings from Mexico. President Bidens $106 billion package for aid to Ukraine, Israel and other pressing needs is sitting unattended in Congress as Republicans attempt to link military and humanitarian aid for two allied countries who have been under attack to gain an advantage on an issue they expect will garner them votes a year from now. The White House has asked for an immediate $24 billion for Ukraine. The Congress pushed the government shutdown deadline off until two drop-dead dates in January and February of next year, but they havent moved on the immediate crisis in support for Ukraine. Now, according to Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Ukraine is at a critical point. The Russians are just counting on us to give up and walk away and then they walk in. What country will he invade next? Poland? Lithuania? Latvia? Romania? Bulgaria? And then what do we do? A year ago, support for helping the fight against the Russians as they flooded across Ukraines border was across the board politically in this country. Last week, a CNN/University of New Hampshire poll found that 59 percent of likely voters in the Republican primary support ending all funding for Ukraine aid. Among Republicans supporting Donald Trump in the primary, 84 percent support cutting off all aid to Ukraine. How can aid to a country that has suffered hundreds of thousands of civilian and military casualties and had a quarter of its territory occupied by Russian soldiers become a partisan issue, you may ask? The Republican Party is pretending that we are under attack by immigrants seeking asylum on our southern border. The immigrants are unarmed, in large measure impoverished and desperate, and all they want is a chance to seek legal protection under our asylum laws. The next time Mike Johnson or Mitch McConnell have a press conference, some enterprising journalist should ask them when was the last time either of them missed a meal or had the lights go out because the substation in their neighborhood had been hit by an armed drone. We are not under attack. Ukraine is, you Putin-loving fools. (Bloomberg) -- Taiwan indicted 10 people including active-duty and retired military personnel on suspicion of spying for China, the latest case showing Beijings alleged efforts to infiltrate the islands military. Most Read from Bloomberg Three of those indicted were said to have built a spy ring for China that recruited military personnel to collect state secrets, according to a statement from Taiwan High Prosecutors Office on Monday. Two active-duty soldiers were paid to film a video saying they would surrender to the Peoples Liberation Army, for China to use as part of its psychological warfare, the statement said. Active-duty soldiers expressed their allegiance to the Chinese Communist Party, which is extremely vicious, the statement said, adding prosecutors asked the court to impose harsh sentences. Read more: Taiwan Holds Military Officers Suspected of Spying for China The US Taiwans biggest military backer has long been worried about the self-ruled islands ability to keep tech and other secrets out of Beijings hands. Taiwans Defense Ministry warned last year that Chinas spying posed a serious threat. Months later, Taiwanese officials detained three active-duty personnel and a retired Air Force officer on suspicion of spying. In July, Taiwan detained five more people over allegations they recruited officers to collect intelligence for China, which has pledged to bring Taiwan under its control someday by force, if necessary. The following month, Taiwan launched an inquiry into several officers suspected of leaking military secrets to China. During the investigation of the latest case, prosecutors asked to detain six of the 10 people, the statement said. One was later released on bail, while five remain in custody, according to a Central News Agency report, citing the office. Taiwans Defense Ministry and national security unit were tipped off about the case and conducted joint investigations before reporting it to prosecutors, the Defense Ministry said in a statement Tuesday, adding that Chinas intelligence-gathering efforts toward Taiwan were all-pervasive. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. Gov. Bill Lee isnt about to stop championing school vouchers. Last year, Tennessee implemented his Education Savings Account (ESA) program, which currently offers 2,400 students in Shelby, Davidson, and Hamilton counties $9,000 in state funds to cover tuition and other expenses at private schools. And on Tuesday, Lee is expected to propose a larger, statewide school voucher program: the Education Freedom Scholarship Act, which would offer $7,075 in state funds to 20,000 students looking to attend a private or home school in the 2024-2025 school year. Everyone knows that Im a proponent of school choice, Lee told The Tennessean earlier this month. Anytime we can appropriately expand choice for parents, Im very interested in looking at it. The ESA program, however, faced significant backlash. And, already, the Education Freedom Scholarship Act is drawing strong criticism, with at least some of it coming from Memphis. The Commercial Appeal spoke to Amber Huett-Garcia and Mauricio Calvo, members of the Memphis-Shelby County Board of Education, and Ted Horrell, superintendent of the Lakeland School System, about Lees latest proposal. Heres what they said. 'What is driving this expansion?' Huett-Garcia isnt uniformly against education savings accounts, and she said there can be a place for them in the state, particularly with our students who have needs that cannot be met by our public schools. And Tennessee, she noted, is increasing investments in education, and prioritizing a lot of things well. But she doesnt think vouchers should be a priority. And when she attended the Tennessee School Board Associations annual leadership conference in Nashville recently, every school board member she met was worried about the potential voucher expansion. The state, she asserted, is not consulting school districts enough about the plan. And if it did, she said, itd hear loud and clear that they dont want these. We talk about struggling schools, facilities, literacy, CCTE, and having a future ready workforce. All of those things need the time, talent, and resources of people who are working in the governor's office and the Department of Education, she said. And vouchers are not something that I am hearing from other elected officials or even parents, for that matter that they want to access to and don't have. So, it does beg the question, what is driving this expansion? Added Calvo: Why are we trying to do this? What are the true meanings or motives behind this?... I'm an advocate for a portfolio approach. We should have charters; we should have traditionals. We should have all these things. But I feel like this is taking it to an extreme. 'The most financial need' Huett-Garcia also has significant reservations about a key component of the proposed Education Freedom Scholarship Act: the option for any student, regardless of income level, to apply for the funds. Of the 20,000 students expected to receive money in the 2024-2025 school year, half would be made available to students whose families income are below 300% of the federal poverty level, students with disabilities, and those who meet eligibility requirements for the existing ESA pilot program. The other half would be open to any student currently entitled to attend a public school. And beginning in the 2025-26 school year, all Tennessee students, regardless of income or previous school enrollment, would be eligible for the program. If demand were to exceed available funding, previously enrolled program participants, low-income students and students enrolled in public schools would be prioritized. But removing income level requirements, Huett-Garcia said, could lessen one of the primary impacts touted by voucher advocates: the opportunity for lower-income families to send their children to private schools, if they want to. If you miss that income requirement, it is going to be who has the resources to get to them the fastest, she said. It may not be our parents or guardians who have the most financial need. 'A long-term threat' Huett-Garcia also noted that the announcement is coming as MSCS is putting together a comprehensive infrastructure plan thats expected to address $500 million in deferred maintenance, and a significant expansion of school vouchers would be something the district would have to take into account as it looks to implement it. Whether Lees proposal would impact MSCS numbers remains to be seen. But the districts overall enrollment between both traditional and charter schools has decreased by 4,026 since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, dropping from 103,093 in FY 2019 to 99,067 on the 20th day of FY 2024. MSCS is looking to gradually recoup this number. And while Huett-Garcia doesnt think bringing back students it lost during the pandemic will be discernably affected by vouchers many of them are disconnected youth not in school at all it could affect enrollment in the long run. And as she noted, MSCS number of students is the primary determinant of its budget size. Under the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) plan, MSCS will get a base of $6,890 per student in the district, with the number potentially rising depending on factors like student income levels. I dont think theres a major threat [to MSCS] immediately, Huett-Garcia said of a potential expansion of vouchers. But I do think of it as a long-term threat particularly if it opened the availability to anyone. She isnt the only one who thinks the voucher expansion could negatively affect public schools, either. Horrell, the Lakeland School System superintendent, noted the possibility, too. I really think any plan that takes funds away from public schools has the potential to hurt public schools, he said. We certainly appreciate the recent investments in public schools, but we would advocate for more investments in public schools. Wed advocate for even higher teacher pay to me, the answer is not, invest elsewhere. It's invest more in public schools. 'A tremendous amount of accountability' Horrell has another reason for opposing the voucher expansion, too. Data, he explained, doesnt show that they affectively improve student performance. As The Tennessean reported, state test scores from the first group of ESA students show they performed worse, overall, than their public-school peers last year. There's not a lot of data that suggests that they do better in those circumstances, Horrell said. And he takes issue with something else: while private schools benefit from the states voucher programs, he asserted, they arent expected to meet the same requirements Tennessee expects of its public schools. Public school systems have a tremendous amount of accountability. We have a lot of requirements that we have to meet, he said. Private schools that accept public funds don't have that accountability. They don't have follow the same regulations that we do The students, in most cases don't have to take numerous assessments that we have to take So, it seems like anyone taking public funds... should have to meet the same requirements that public school systems have to meet. While Lees proposal has faced criticism, many parents who have participated in the initial ESA program have been pleased with the impacts on their students. The Tennessean recently reported results of the Tennessee Department of Educations Parent Satisfaction survey. After the spring 2023 semester, 91% of parents who took the survey said that they were "extremely satisfied" or "very satisfied" with their child's academic growth during the 2022-23 school year. Only 2% of parents reported being "not very satisfied" with their child's academic growth. John Klyce covers education and children's issues for The Plain Dealer. You can reach him at john.klyce@commercialappeal.com This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: 'Taking it to an extreme:' local school leaders talk Gov. Lee's voucher expansion plans TAMPA, Fla. - Detectives with the Tampa Police Department are searching for two suspects accused of stealing several packages from a home and are warning of the dangers of porch pirates this holiday season. According to TPD, two suspects stole several packages from a home on the 2500 block of Watrous Avenue at around 11:42 p.m. on November 20. Police released surveillance video of the theft. READ: Florida Strawberry Festival announces final 2024 concert headliner Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw said crimes like this aren't an uncommon occurrence, especially during the holidays. "The more people that shop online, the more packages that are delivered, that increases the chances for crime, and we have seen that increase," said Bercaw. Tampa Police Public Information Officer Verliz Williams said to always tell the police about these crimes, because many times they can catch the criminal and charge them with grand theft, petty theft or trespassing. "When someone sees movement on that camera, they see someone taking that package and they report it, thats what we want them to do," Williams said. "Some suspects faces are visible, so it makes the work of detectives a lot easier to find that suspect." Still, she says doorbell cameras dont always ward off criminals, so to take other precautions. "Ring cameras are great, but sometimes they dont prevent the suspects from taking packages, so the best thing you can do is invest in a porch lock box, utilize Amazon lockers, or secure facilities like FedEx offices or UPS stores where you can come pick it up," Williams told FOX 13. "If you see your package is about to be delivered in a certain time frame, call a friend, neighbor, loved one, and see if they can pick up that up as soon as its delivered so its not sitting out there for an extended period of time." Police encourage anyone with information that could help detectives with the investigation to call TPD at 813-231-6130. They also shared several tips to help residents minimize their risk of becoming a target for porch pirates: Purchase a porch lock box that is designed to receive packages and keep them secure. Typically, lock boxes can only be opened with a key or lock combination. Utilizing the feature to track a package, ask a friend, neighbor, or family member to pick up your package(s) once they're delivered. If given the option, require a signature upon delivery. -Request for packages to be delivered at secure locations such as Amazon lockers, FedEx or UPS stores. Bonus: If you plan on delivering a package directly to a recipient, give them a heads-up and ask if they have a delivery preference. A Russian immigrant detained near San Antonio went on a hunger strike, fearing he'd be returned to his home country. Jessica Phelps /Staff photographer Immigration authorities could involuntarily feed a Russian man who went on a hunger strike at a jail near San Antonio, apparently fearing hed be returned to his home country. The man is among a handful of Russian migrants who fled Russia and sought asylum in the United States amid Russian President Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine. Federal officials havent disclosed how or when the migrant ended up in immigrant detention, or when he began his hunger strike. Details of his case are under seal in San Antonios federal court, largely because it includes medical and asylum-related information protected by privacy laws. Advertisement Article continues below this ad But according to a court summary reviewed by the Express-News, officials with Enforcement and Removal Operations, the deportation arm of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the U.S. Attorneys Office in San Antonio sought court approval in mid-November to subject the man to involuntary medical examinations, involuntary hydration and involuntary nutrition. U.S. District Judge Jason Pulliam issued an order Nov. 16 granting the request. The matter was taken up in federal court ex-parte, meaning neither the migrant nor his lawyer, if he has one, were notified of the request. It is unclear, however, if officials have had to resort to feeding the migrant involuntarily, using a tube inserted through the nose, or to hydrating him with fluids administered intravenously. The immigrant is being held in the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall. The facility is run by GEO Group Inc., a privately held prison operator. The decision to enter a hunger strike is a powerful, courageous act of resistance. Its also a drastic decision that is not made lightly one that is typically a last resort, said Sofia Casini, director of monitoring and community advocacy at Freedom for Immigrants, an Oakland, Calif.-based immigrant rights nonprofit organization. Advertisement Article continues below this ad What weve seen nationally in response to peaceful hunger strikes is transfer to detention centers like El Paso Processing Center for force-feeding, a violation of peoples bodily autonomy even the American Medical Association condemns, she said. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) takes the health and welfare of those within our custody very seriously, ICE said in a statement. For their health and safety, ICE carefully monitors the food and water intake of those detainees identified as being on a hunger strike. Additionally, ICE explains the negative health effects of not eating to its detainees, and they are under close medical observation by ICE or contract medical providers. The agency said there is one detainee at the South Texas ICE Processing Center who is being monitored under hunger-strike protocols. The agency did not identify the migrant or the persons nationality. The agency said the detainee is being given meals but is refusing them, choosing instead to occasionally drink nutritional shakes. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The physician in the case may recommend involuntary treatment when clinical assessment and laboratory results indicate the detainees weakening condition threatens the life or long-term health of the detainee, ICE said. The federal agency said it does not retaliate against hunger strikers, an allegation made in some cases that have received media attention. The courts have ruled that detainees have the right to protest with hunger strikes, but not to the point of causing themselves serious bodily injury or death, said Joe Veith, an El Paso lawyer who has represented several hunger strikers in these so-called force-feeding cases. Veith is not involved in the Russians case. He added that judicial orders allowing involuntary feeding are temporary and are generally revisited every two weeks. Veith also said that some migrants have gone on hunger strikes because they have languished in detention indefinitely, even after an immigration judge has ordered their deportation, because their native countries have not issued travel documents for their returns or agreed to receive them. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The Russian immigrants case comes more than a year after the Biden administration suspended deportation flights to Ukraine, Russia and seven other countries in the region because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Some Russians fled to the U.S. after the invasion started in February 2022, some of them to avoid having to fight in a war they didnt support. They believed they could seek asylum and be protected from deportation. But the Biden administration had quietly resumed deportations to Russia by March of this year. Other force-feeding cases In an unrelated case last year, an immigrant from India went on a hunger strike while being detained in an El Paso immigrant processing center to protest his prolonged detention and conditions at the facility. A federal judge in El Paso, David C. Guaderrama, granted ICEs request to feed him involuntarily, but allowed the agency to offer him nutritional supplement shakes first. The order authorized ICE to add nutrients, vitamins and electrolytes to the supplement, as deemed necessary by medical staff, without the migrants knowledge. If the migrant refused the shakes, the order allowed ICE to feed him through a tube in the nose if deemed necessary by medical staff. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Petitioner (ICE) may become subject to severe public scrutiny and may be the target of litigation related to an alleged failure to provide adequate medical care, the judge wrote in his initial order on June 22, 2022. Other detainees are likely to start hunger strikes in attempts to manipulate staff and obtain various benefits and privileges. In addition, the death of a detainee will increase security risks at Petitioners facility, posing a danger to all detainees and staff alike. The order was extended, but the involuntary feeding ended a month later, in July 2022, when the migrant was deported. In January 2019, federal immigration officials at the El Paso facility force-fed seven immigrants through plastic nasal tubes during a hunger strike that lasted 74 days. They were among nearly 30 immigrants from India and Cuba who refused food to protest guards' alleged verbal abuse and threats of deportation. They said they were also upset about lengthy lock-ups while awaiting legal proceedings. In April 2019, two men from India who were among those force-fed were freed after more than eight months in custody. But it took pressure from members of Congress to force the hand of ICE officials, hours after the men appeared to be headed to another detention facility in Washington state, according to Texas Monthly. In a scathing report, the American Civil Liberties Union said ICE had used controversial methods for years under both the Obama and Trump administrations. Using more than 10,000 pages of previously unreleased reports obtained through public records requests, the ACLU concluded that ICE employs involuntary medical procedures on detained hunger strikers that violate ethical guidelines for medical personnel, including force-feeding, forced hydration, forced urinary catherization, involuntary blood draws, and use of restraints. Force-feeding involves inserting a plastic tube through one of the detainees nostrils into the back of the throat and esophagus into the stomach. This can be a very painful procedure that causes gagging, skin and tissue irritation, and in rare cases, perforation of vital organs, the ACLU report said. The tube can also be misdirected and advanced into the airways instead of the esophagus, potentially causing serious infections. When officials insert a tube against a persons will, they typically must forcibly restrain the individual by staff or via mechanical restraints. The American Medical Association has condemned involuntary medical procedures such as force-feeding as a violation of the core ethical values of the medical profession. In some instances, ICE used private prison medical staff to force-feed hunger strikers within a detention facility after nearby medical facilities refused to do so, the report said. In one case at an immigrant jail in Aurora, Colo., ICE officials could not find any local hospital staff who would agree to force-feed a hunger striker because of ethical prohibitions. ICE officials then turned to medical officers employed by the facilitys operator, GEO Group. Theyd offered to force-feed the hunger striker. As noted in several court proceedings, ICE failed to consider alternatives to force-feeding, including resolving hunger strikers basic requests for improved conditions. Former President Donald Trump said while campaigning in Iowa this year that he was kept from using the military to quell violence in primarily Democratic cities and states during his presidency. The 2024 Republican primary frontrunner called New York City and Chicago "crime dens," telling his audience, "The next time, Im not waiting. One of the things I did was let them run it and were going to show how bad a job they do, he said. Well, we did that. We dont have to wait any longer. The former president has not precisely explained how he plans to employ the military during a potential second term, though he and his advisors have suggested they would have a far reach to call its units. While regularly deploying the military within the nation's borders would depart from precedent, Trump has already foreshadowed his aggressive agenda if he wins, including mass deportations and travel bans imposed on certain Muslim-majority countries, the Associated Press reports. A law crafted early in the nation's history would give the former president as commander in chief almost unbridled power to call upon the military, legal and military experts told the AP. The Insurrection Act authorizes presidents to summon reserve or active-duty military units to respond to unrest in the states, a power that is not reviewable by the courts. One of its few limitations requires the president to request that participants in the unrest disperse. The principal constraint on the presidents use of the Insurrection Act is basically political, that presidents dont want to be the guy who sent tanks rolling down Main Street, Joseph Nunn, a national security expert with the Brennan Center for Justice, told the AP. Theres not much really in the law to stay the presidents hand. Nunn said the act, which passed in 1792, just four years after the Constitution was ratified, is now a fusion of different statutes enacted between then and the 1870s, a moment when local law enforcement had few restrictions. It is a law that in many ways was created for a country that doesnt exist anymore, he added. It's also one of the most significant exceptions to the Posse Comitatus Act, which generally bars the use of the military for purposes of law enforcement. Trump has openly voiced his plans around using the military at the southern border and in cities struggling with violent crime if he wins the presidency. His agenda has also included employing the military against foreign drug cartels, a measure echoed by fellow Republican candidates Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley, the former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina governor. Those threats have prompted questions about presidential power, the meaning of military oaths, and who Trump could appoint to further his plan. He's already floated the idea of bringing back retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who served briefly as the national security advisor in the Trump administration and twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI during its Russian interference probe before being pardoned by Trump. In the wake of the 2020 election, Flynn suggested that Trump could snatch up voting machines and order the military in some states to aid in rerunning the election. Attempts to invoke the Insurrection Act would likely garner pushback from the Pentagon where the new Joint Chiefs of Staff is Gen. Charles Q. Brown. Brown was among eight members of the group who signed a memo to military personnel in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack emphasizing the oaths they took and called the day's attempts to stop the certification President Joe Biden's electoral victory "sedition and insurrection." Throughout history, presidents have issued 40 total proclamations invoking the law, some of which were done multiple times for the same discord, Nunn told the AP. Lyndon Johnson invoked it three times in Baltimore, Chicago and Washington in response to the civil unrest in cities following the 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dwight Eisenhower sent the 101st Airborne to Little Rock, Arkansas, to protect Black students who were integrating Central High School after the state's governor called the National Guard to prevent them from doing so. George H.W. Bush was the last president to invoke the act in response to the 1992 Los Angeles riots that followed the acquittal of white police officers who beat Black motorist Rodney King in a videotaped incident. Repeated attempts from Trump to invoke the act could apply undue pressure on military leaders, who could face consequences for their actions even if carried out at the president's behest. Michael O'Hanlon, the director of research in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution think tank, told the AP that the question is whether the military is being imaginative enough with the scenarios it presents to future officers. Ambiguity is not something military personnel are comfortable with, he said. There are a lot of institutional checks and balances in our country that are pretty well-developed legally, and itll make it hard for a president to just do something randomly out of the blue, OHanlon, who specializes in U.S. defense strategy and the use of military force, told the outlet. But Trump is good at developing a semi-logical train of thought that might lead to a place where theres enough mayhem, theres enough violence and legal murkiness to summon the military. Rep. Pat Ryan, D-N.Y., the first graduate of the U.S. Military Academy to represent the congressional district that includes West Point, told the AP that he took the oath three times while attending the school and additional times during his time in the military. He added that classes extended much focus on an officer's responsibilities to the Constitution and the people under their command. They really hammer into us the seriousness of the oath and who it was to, and who it wasnt to, Ryan said, adding that he believed it was universally understood, but the Capitol attack "was deeply disturbing and a wakeup call for me. While those connections were troubling several veterans and active-duty personnel were charged with crimes in connection to the riot Ryan said he thinks those who feel similarly to the rioters make up a small percentage of the military. A military officer is also not forced to follow "unlawful orders," William Banks, a Syracuse University law professor and national security law expert, told the AP. Forcing an officer could drum up a difficult situation for leaders whose units are called on for domestic policing since they can be charged for carrying out unlawful actions. But there is a big thumb on the scale in favor of the presidents interpretation of whether the order is lawful, Banks said. Youd have a really big row to hoe and you would have a big fuss inside the military if you chose not to follow a presidential order. Nunn, who has suggested steps to inhibit the Insurrection Act's use, expounded on that point, explaining that military personnel cannot be ordered to break the law. Members of the military are legally obliged to disobey an unlawful order. At the same time, that is a lot to ask of the military because they are also obliged to obey orders, he told the AP. And the punishment for disobeying an order that turns out to be lawful is your career is over, and you may well be going to jail for a very long time. The stakes for them are extraordinarily high. During an MSNBC appearance, NBC News presidential historian and author Michael Beschloss urged Americans to take Trump's voiced plans to invoke the law should he win in 2024 "seriously," recalling how some Americans following Trump's 2016 victory said his campaign comments about violence and presidential powers were "just bluster" and that the former president was really a "moderate who loves to make deals." Remember that? That was all totally wrong," Beschloss warned per HuffPost. "Take him at his word." Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course. He went on to note that Trump has said he'd use the military, unlike his predecessors, to "suppress his domestic opponents" and referenced evidence from the House Jan. 6 Committee's probe that pointed to how frequently Trump "was aching to use the Insurrection Act to send in the American military into a city or a state to crush the opposition." This is what authoritarians do. This is what fascists do," Beschloss insisted. He later expressed surprise that the 2024 GOP primary frontrunner and his allies had been so open with their agenda, arguing the move was likely not in his best interest "because if he wants to get elected next year, it probably makes more sense to him to pretend to be someone whos more moderated. Beschloss then noted that, even with several of Trump's allies threatening to resign in the aftermath of the 2020 election if he invoked the law or abused his presidential power, the former president continued at rallies to hint at his authority to use the law. "If you elect Donald Trump, we're going to incur the serious danger that all of us Americans are going to be living under a presidential dictatorship," Beschloss concluded. "That's not what our founders intended." The Pauline Tea-Bar Apothecary, an herbal tea lounge thats become a third space for those looking to unwind and unplug, will soon open a new location in west Charlottes McCrorey Heights neighborhood. As part of Historic West End Partners Thrive revitalization, Paulines second tea bar will operate out of a cozy yellow house at 1017 Beatties Ford Road. A grand opening is planned for early January. Best known for its eco-sourced loose-leaf teas such as spiced Indian chai, lemon ginger and elderberry echinacea, Paulines is much more than a tea shop. From the warm inviting decor to the soothing aroma of diffused essential oils to the locally-sourced pastries and sandwiches, the business opened its original location on Arty Avenue in July 2019 to offer a safe place for people to refuel and gain respite from the busyness of life, said owner Sherry Waters, who named the shop after her Grandma Pauline. As part of Historic West End Partners Thrive revitalization, The Pauline Tea-Bar Apothecarys second location will be in a yellow house on Beatties Ford Road in Charlotte. In my previous roles as a community chaplain and in nonprofits, I saw a theme of people feeling depleted, Waters said. I created The Pauline Tea-Bar Apothecary as a place where people can gain restoration and enjoy a cup of serenity. Tea helps you slow down, and theres sort of a sacredness to teatime. She chose to include apothecary in the name as a nod to the healing support of the herbal tea, as well as aromatherapy offerings and sense of companionship that contribute to this holistic experience. The shop regularly hosts holistic wellness practitioners for yoga, meditation, music and other events. Nod to Black ancestors The Beatties Ford shop will have the same ambiance as the current location, with comfy couches and ample seating surrounded by local artwork. It will include a separate tea tasting room for intimate gatherings or for patrons interested in meditation ceremonies with tea. Well also highlight the ancestral linkage to African American tea houses and their relevance as a gathering spot to empower communities, Waters said. The new location is part of a broader initiative to revitalize the West End corridor by bringing in new Black-owned businesses to uplift the community, said JTanya Adams, founder and executive director of Historic West End Partners. We have several new businesses going into that same block, in keeping with our master plan focused on the Oaklawn district of Historic West End, Adams said. Were all excited to see them start to open and become a reality. Paulines is my go-to place. Its so different from a coffee shop, with more of a relaxed, calm space. Other businesses planned for the area include Family Mankind Counseling, 704 Cleaners and Black Pearl Vision, which offers designer eyewear that Black designers made for our features, Adams said. A food experience is also planned, Adams said, with Premier Chef and Bite Your Tongue Authentic New Orleans Cuisine set to open early next year. The Pauline Tea-Bar Apothecary is known for its loose-leaf tea selection and its locally-sourced pastries and sandwiches. Location: 1017 Beatties Ford Rd Charlotte, NC 28216 (opening January) Location: 2326 Arty Ave, Charlotte, NC 28208 Menu Cuisine: Loose-leaf teas, pastries, sandwiches Instagram: @thepaulineteabar Ben Merritt, head of modern foreign languages at a Sheffield school, used artificial intelligence to help with preparing content for a lesson Teachers are using artificial intelligence (AI) to save time by "automating tasks", says a government report first seen by the BBC. Adapting the reading age of texts, making handouts, and writing emails to parents were cited as popular uses, with a "small number" saying they used it for grading and feedback. Teachers said it gave them more time to do "more impactful" work. But the report also warned that AI can produce unreliable or biased content. The Department for Education (DfE) report is based on 567 responses to a call for evidence about AI in education, including schools, over the summer. Most submissions were from England. It found that most respondents were "broadly optimistic" about the use of AI in education, but almost all had some hesitations. They worried about AI producing false information including when marking assessments, for example. The report will inform future policy on AI, the DfE said - adding that the government was already helping to "realise the potential of AI in education". Ben Merritt, head of modern foreign languages at King Ecgbert School in Sheffield, recently used AI to generate a cartoon for an exercise with his class. In the lesson, he wanted to ask children to label parts of the face in German, but he could not find the perfect illustration on the internet. "It was very easy to find pictures of smiling children of all different ethnicities, genders, and so on. But none of them particularly had the teeth visible... by typing in precisely what I wanted, I got the exact image that I ended up using," he said. AI generated this cartoon for Mr Merritt's pupils in about 15 seconds "There's an awful lot to do as a teacher, whether it's admin tasks or resource-creation, marking, feedback and so on," Mr Merritt added. "Cutting down on the more administrative tasks - and not just cutting down the time taken, but also improving them - in my view, that means that I can be more focused on improving teaching practice." However, Mr Merritt stressed the need to check the content that AI produced. "I asked it to create some questions from a YouTube video, and the 10th question it came up with was something like, 'where should you click to like and subscribe to this video?', which is no good in a classroom at all." The DfE report suggests some teachers are using AI to demonstrate and "raise awareness of the risks and limitations". Tilly thinks AI may be able to help academically, but teachers are needed for the "emotional side" of school Tilly, a Year 9 student at Mr Merritt's school, where teachers have set up a working group to share ideas, said: "My science teacher... showed us how to calculate something, and then AI came up with questions of how we can practise that. And the answers actually ended up being wrong." Tilly added that she learned to double-check every time if the AI was correct. Catherine Elliott, who works for Sheffield City Council, holds meet-ups for teachers across the city for educational institution Learn Sheffield to talk about how they use the technology. Catherine Elliott hosts meetings of dozens of teachers every term "Most people are using it for creating resources. Things like having a piece of text and simplifying it into a language that's understandable relative to the reading age of children," she said. Ms Elliott added that this can help children with special educational needs and disabilities, or for whom English is a second language. "I've heard stories of people using it as a starting point for report-writing. Now, obviously, you need to put your personal spin on that. But it can generate some really good sentences for you." According to the survey tool Teacher Tapp, four in 10 teachers are already using AI in their schoolwork. Prof Becky Allen, the app's co-founder and chief analyst, said some teachers found it easier to use AI to cut down on work than others. "It's really quite normal now as a maths teacher, that you don't mark maths homework any more," she said - adding that this was becoming the case even before widespread access to AI tools. "One of the reasons why we're OK with it in maths is because we have such chronic shortages of maths teachers that you know nobody really feels aggrieved." The government says there are 27,000 more teachers in England than there were in 2010, but pupil population has also grown and there are more students per teacher. Prof Allen said an important question was whether AI could be trusted to give feedback more widely, suggesting it could save teachers time in "low-stakes situations". Many teachers went on strike this year because of workload, as well as pay. Research by the Education Support charity this month suggested 36% of school teachers in the UK had experienced "burn-out". The DfE report said that for some teachers, using AI "reduced their overtime, improved their work-life balance and increased job satisfaction". Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said the right approach was needed "to take advantage of this transformative technology". "It's heartening that many education professionals are already seeing the tangible benefits of AI," she said. "The results of the call for evidence give us a crucial evidence base to inform our future work on AI, helping us make the right decisions to get the best out of generative AI in a safe and secure way." Teachers will be forced to work on strike days to stop disruption for pupils on the verge of taking exams. Gillian Keegan, the Education Secretary, has unveiled a consultation on how minimum service levels could operate in schools. There are two options, including one where unions would have to ensure that vital cohorts such as those in exam years, those with special educational needs and the children of key workers continue to have a full education. Another option would be unions having to ensure that primary education as a whole was not affected. The Department for Education said the idea was to balance the right to strike with the right to a good education. Most disruptive strikes on record Ms Keegan said strikes by teachers over pay in the past year were some of the most disruptive on record, with 25 million days lost. There was a disparity in learning lost across the country, with one in five schools closing in London but hardly any in the West Midlands. The Education Secretary said the new minimum standards should end such postcode lotteries. Keeping children in school is my number one priority, she said. Last years school strikes were some of the most disruptive on record for children and parents We cannot afford a repeat of that disruption, particularly as young people continue to catch up from the pandemic. Whilst I know many schools and colleges worked really hard to keep children and young people in face-to-face education during strikes, we must make sure that approach is applied in every school, in every area of the country. The announcement followed discussions between Ms Keegan and trade unions to explore voluntary agreements in schools and colleges. The Department for Education said that while the talks were constructive, not enough progress was made to ensure protections for children and young people would be in place for the next academic year. The Government has therefore taken the step to open the nine-week consultation to hear the views of parents, young people and the education sector on how best to ensure minimum service levels in schools, colleges, as well higher education institutions, the department said. Shameful to impose restrictions But Daniel Kebede, the general-secretary of the National Education Union, said: The attempt to impose further restrictions on our democratic freedoms is shameful. This Government wants to be tough on strikes, but not on the causes of strikes. We have an education system on its knees. A deep recruitment and retention crisis, rocketing workloads and falling pay, and thanks to underfunding we have the largest primary class sizes in Europe and secondary class sizes are the highest since records began more than 40 years ago. This is clearly unsustainable, but the Government is indifferent to the enormous challenges facing schools and colleges. The attempt at dialogue was never meaningful. It was disingenuous and cynical. The end of talks was briefed out to the press by No 10 before the talks ended. Rishi Sunak always intended to implement this draconian legislation without consent or mandate. 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. Staff at the Oasis Academy are striking over pupil behaviour Teachers at a Kent secondary school have gone on strike for a second time after poor pupil behaviour left them fearing for their safety. The industrial action at the Oasis Academy's sites at Sheerness and Minster on the Isle of Sheppey followed what the trade union described as "numerous incidences of pupil threats and violence". The first strike took place on 22 November, and three more days of action began earlier. The academy trust has said it was disappointed, but that it has had positive discussions with the union. Lisa Reynolds, an English teacher at the school and a local National Education Union (NEU) representative, said: "We have members of staff who are threatened on a daily basis." She said children were telling teachers "they have knives on them and they're going to cut our throats". Ms Reynolds also said staff had been "barricaded into classrooms" by large groups of pupils. Staff say they are facing abuse from some students on a regular basis Maria Fawcett, a regional representative for the NEU, said: "Our members just want to come to school, have a safe environment and be free from verbal threats, physical threats and actual violence, and to ensure management are dealing with it adequately." She said progress had been made since talks on Friday. Academy managers declined to be interviewed, but had previously said providing a high-quality education for every student was "always our top priority". In a statement issued on the first day of action, they said positive discussions were held with the union. The school also said it remained committed to working positively with staff representatives. Steve Chalke, the founder of the Oasis charity which runs the academy, said a lack of resources on the Isle of Sheppey made a policy of zero tolerance towards bad pupil behaviour difficult. He said: "There is no special educational needs provision, and atypical learners, children with autism, children that have huge levels of trauma. "Are we going to exclude one of them every time their behaviour is not pro-social? What we need is resource and support." A spokesman for the Department for Education said: "Strike action is damaging to pupils' learning and disruptive for parents, and we are disappointed to see strikes are continuing. We are considering a proposal from two strong local trusts to replace the existing school with two new ones, extending parental choice in the area and ensuring children receive a high quality education." Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk. A Texas teenager was arrested after police say he robbed a delivery driver then posted about it on social media, news outlets reported. The 17-year-old is charged with robbery and evading arrest or detention, according to KVIA. Just before 11:30 p.m. on Nov. 9, a Pizza Hut delivery driver was delivering an order to an apartment complex in El Paso. The driver knocked at the address but no one answered the door, KTSM reported. Thats when he saw the teen looking into his vehicle. The driver asked the teen if he ordered food, and the teen said he did, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by KFOX. The driver walked over to the teen, who was wearing a ski mask, and told him the price of the food, the affidavit said, KFOX reported. Then, he said the teen robbed him. I have a gun, give me the stuff and your phone or Ill shoot you, the teen told the driver, according to court documents obtained by KTSM. The driver left the food and drinks, worth about $50, and drove away, according to KVIA. The robbery was reported to police at the Pizza Hut location, KTSM reported. The next day, Nov. 10, the El Paso Police Departments Gang Unit found several videos posted to Instagram showing a Pizza Hut delivery driver closing a car door with the caption Tryna tax me for pizza, according to court documents, KTSM reported. One clip showed a 2-liter Mountain Dew bottle and a Pizza Hut delivery bag. Another clip, captioned Not even this can chKange me, showed Pizza Hut chicken wings and a half-eaten pizza, KFOX reported. On Nov. 11, police tracked down a stolen vehicle to the same apartment complex. Several people jumped out of the car, including the teen who police say was involved in the robbery, according to KVIA. The teen was arrested and charged in connection with the robbery and fleeing from police in the stolen car, KFOX reported. Police say he was seen wearing the same ski mask on Instagram as the one described in the robbery. DoorDash driver known for kind and gentle heart dies in shooting, Illinois cops say Woman crawls in McDonalds drive-thru window demanding DoorDash order, Oregon cops say Amazon delivery truck stolen in Sacramento. Up to 8 suspects were involved, deputies say Throughout the 50 days Noam and Alma Or were held captive in Gaza, one thought kept the siblings going: reuniting with their mother, who theyd been separated from on October 7 during Hamas brutal attacks on their community. But when Noam, 17, and Alma, 13, were released together on Saturday, this dream had been shattered by the fact that she was murdered, said the siblings maternal uncle Ahal Besorai. My sister, their mom, was murdered on October 7. The children did not know that, he said, speaking to CNN from the Philippines. We thought they were together when they were kidnapped, but they were separated from the outset. When they first crossed the border and reunited with their grandmother and older brother, the first news that they had to confront was the fact that their mom is no longer alive. And that was a terribly emotional and traumatic moment for them, Besorai added. The siblings father Dror remains missing, believed captive in Gaza. The family had lived in the Beeri kibbutz, a close-knit farming community of about 1,100 residents, located close to the Gaza border. But the idyllic kibbutz became the scene of bloodshed and devastation on October 7, as one of the main targets for Hamas militants who poured over the border and laid siege to nearby communities. The militants murdered more than 120 Beeri residents, including children, and kidnapped others. They set peoples homes on fire, looted, stole and destroyed what they could. In total, some 1,200 people, most civilians, were slain by Hamas militants across southern Israel that day. It was amid this chaos and terror that Noam and Alma were separated from their parents and taken hostage by Hamas. While in Gaza, they were taken to a house and kept in a room with another woman from their kibbutz, said Besorai, who also grew up in Beeri. He didnt describe in detail what the siblings had gone through, saying he didnt want to add to the burden of families with loved ones still held hostage. But, he said, it wasnt pleasant, to say the least. It was horrible. Hamas is believed to have held more than 200 hostages in Gaza prior to the releases negotiated with Israel. Under the breakthrough truce agreement, groups of Israeli citizens and other nationals have been freed every day since last Friday, while Israel has released Palestinian women and children detainees from its prisons, many of whom have never been charged or sentenced. The initial four-day truce was extended by an additional two days on Monday, as stories began to trickle out from the families of freed hostages, giving the first insights into what life had been like in captivity. Noam, Alma and the third woman in their room shared a diary, but the siblings werent allowed to bring it with them during their release, said Besorai. In fact, they didnt realize they were being released at all, with Hamas taking measures to conceal that fact from the third hostage, he added. Militants took the siblings out of the room on a ploy that they are going to the toilet, then handcuffed them, blindfolded them, took them to the car that took them to the place where they are being handed over to the Red Cross, said Besorai. They tried to hide it from the lady who stayed behind, all on her own so maybe (that) put some psychological pressure on her. Even after what the siblings had endured, Noam who Besorai described as a beautiful person voiced compassion for those in crisis-stricken Gaza, where more than 14,800 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7 according to data from Hamas-run health authorities there. When they were walking (from the Hamas vehicle) to the Red Cross, and they were holding hands, Noam told his sister Alma, that he just felt very sorry because they were surrounded by Gazans, civilians. He said, I feel so sorry for them because they are staying here, and we are going home, Besorai said. Now that the siblings are free, the family is focused on their recovery; they lost weight over the past two months, but are otherwise sort of okay, Besorai said. Still, he worries about the toll that captivity has taken on them, and the trauma that may linger. When I spoke to them, the first time I spoke to Alma, the 13-year-old niece, she had this enormously big smile and glittering eyes when she came to the Zoom call, he said. And this is what stuck in my head: What is behind these glittering eyes? What is deep inside them following this horrible ordeal? It is just very difficult for me to assess. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com A Ukrainian teenager was taken to Russian-occupied Crimea, per The Washington Post. He escaped, with police looking for him and even putting up missing person posters. The Post reported that the boy then sent a police officer a selfie from Kyiv, to prove he'd escaped. A teenager who escaped from Russia-occupied Ukraine sent a jeering selfie to a police officer who was looking for him to show that he'd made it to Kyiv, The Washington Post reported. Rostyslav Lavrov, 17, escaped from Crimea the peninsula Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 last month, sparking an effort by Russian police to find him, according to the Post. He is one of the many children that Ukraine and its allies, including the US, have accused Russia of forcibly deporting. Lavrov had been living alone in a village in Ukraine's Kherson region when three armed soldiers arrived at his home and told him he needed to go to school in Kherson city, the Post reported. The school then sent him to Crimea. After he went missing, posters with his description went up, which Lavrov said included a photo that Russian authorities took of him when they held him against his will and tried to give him a Russian ID card. Lavrov's phone was also called, first by the director of the school where he was made to study by Russian officials, and then by Russian police, the report said. Police asked him where he was, and Lavrov responded: "I'm in Ukraine," he told the Post in an interview. Then, when he got to Ukraine's capital, he sent a Russian police officer a selfie that showed him in Maidan Square, the scene of pro-EU and pro-democracy mass demonstrations in 2013 and 2014. The square is now a symbol of Ukrainian resistance against Russia. Lavrov escaped by going through Russia and Belarus, a country bordering both Ukraine and Russia that is considered a Russian puppet state, the Post reported. He then crossed into Ukrainian-held territory on foot, the report said. The Post said it was not reporting the full details of Lavrov's journey "due to ongoing security concerns." Ukraine said it has identified almost 20,000 Ukrainian children that Russia has deported. A study funded by the US State Department said that more than 6,000 children, some just four months old, have been taken to camps in Russia. It said some of those children were sent to "re-education camps," where children are given a "Russia-centric academic, cultural, patriotic, and/or military education." The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in March , accusing him of illegally deporting Ukrainian children and transferring them to Russia. Russia has denied abducting children, saying it is only moving them to safety. A top Russian official in April said that "we were saving children, from Ukrainian army first and foremost." Lavrov's testimony could be helpful in Ukraine's efforts to seek justice for children taken by Russia, the Post reported. That's because many of the children who have been brought back are too young to speak about their experiences, the report said. This makes it harder to prove in court that Russia committed war crimes, the Post noted. Read the original article on Business Insider Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee proposed a new statewide school choice program on Tuesday to offer taxpayer-funded grants to 20,000 students to attend private or home schools of their choice and open universal eligibility for the program beginning in 2025. Lee, who has long advocated for offering families more school options, says the program is aimed at empowering parents to find the best school to fit their child's educational needs. Critics of the proposal, commonly known as a school vouchers, are saying that it could dismantle public education in Tennessee. Heres what to know: How much money would a student receive? Lees proposed Education Freedom Scholarship Act would offer 20,000 Tennessee students about $7,075 to attend a private school of their choice beginning in the 2024-25 school year. Grants would be allowed to be used at any private school, and most home schools. More: Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to propose expanding school choice to 20,000 students statewide What will it cost taxpayers? A formal fiscal analysis is not yet available. Based on the number of students targeted, the program would cost the state $141.5 million if all slots are filled, plus administrative costs. Lee said Tuesday that the program would be funded by a separate scholarship account, and would not impact the existing Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement funding structure for K-12 education. Who would be eligible? The program would provide state funds to 20,000 of the roughly 1 million school students in Tennessee, regardless of where in the state they live. During the first year of the program, the governor's office says 10,000 grants will be reserved for students whose families incomes are below 300% of the federal poverty level, students with disabilities, and those who are eligible for the existing Education Savings Accounts pilot program. The remaining 10,000 slots will be made available to any student currently entitled to attend a public school. Beginning in the 2025-26 school year, eligibility for the scholarships would be opened to all Tennessee students, regardless of income or previous school enrollment. What can the money be used for? Participating families could use Education Freedom Scholarship funds for private school tuition, fees, and uniforms, textbooks, tutoring services, transportation expenses, computers and technology, summer and afterschool program fees, and fees associated with college entrance exams like the SAT and ACT, AP and similar for-credit exams, and state-recognized industry certification exams. Will state achievement tests be required? It is unclear whether students participating in the Education Freedom Scholarship Act will be required to take the state TCAP. Lee did not answer questions during an announcement event on Tuesday regarding whether private schools participating in the program would be held to the same accountability standards the state imposes on public schools, including participating in annual TCAP testing, A-F letter grading of schools, and the new third grade retention law. Doesnt the state already have a school choice program? Yes. Tennessees controversial Education Savings Account program offers low- and middle-income students in Davidson, Shelby, and Hamilton counties grants of about $9,000 to attend participating state-approved private and parochial schools. Those students are required to take the TCAP test each year from 3rd through 12th grade. Critics of the program say that it takes funding away from already underfunded public schools. TCAP test scores for ESA students show participants performed lower than their public school peers during the first year of the program in 2022-23. School administrators say that number may be more indicative of the student population the program is designed to reach or administrative hiccups due to the swift rollout of the program weeks before school began. According to the Tennessee Department of Education, 91% of participating parents report they are satisfied with the program. More: Families tout voucher success as test scores spark doubt and critics worry over expansion What happens next? Lees announcement this week will be the first step in a long legislative process that will begin when lawmakers return to the state Capitol in January. Once legislation is filed, it will need to pass at least two Senate committees and five House committees before going to both chamber floors for a final vote. Republican leadership in both the House and Senate appeared unified in support of Lee's Education Freedom Scholarship proposal on Tuesday. While key Republicans have expressed an openness to a statewide expansion of school vouchers, success isn't guaranteed. In 2019, when Lee first pushed his proposal, the measure passed by only one vote, after then-House Speaker Glen Casada, R-Franklin, held the vote board open for 40 minutes before Rep. Jason Zachary, R-Knoxville, changed his vote to support passage. Some Republicans, including Zachary, have said that they voted for the proposal in 2019 on condition that their counties be excluded from the program. More: Bill giving parents public money for private school narrowly passes House in historic vote Are other states doing this? Yes. Several states, including Arkansas, Arizona, Iowa, West Virginia, and Utah, have recently implemented universal school choice laws that offer families state-funded scholarships to pay for tuition and other expenses at non-public schools regardless of their income or county residency. What are Republicans and school-choice advocates saying so far? Several key advocacy groups voiced support for expanding school choice options earlier this month. Americans for Prosperity of Tennessee has already knocked on more than 186,000 doors to bolster support for expansion, AFP Tennessee State Director Tori Venable told The Tennessean, and plans to top 200,000 doors before the legislature returns in January. The group, which has the backing of the conservative network founded by the billionaire Koch brothers, has hired nearly 100 part-time workers, and is ready to engage targeted mailers, billboards, and digital ads in the effort. Leaders of education advocacy groups TennesseeCAN and the American Federation for Children have also shared support for a statewide expansion, as has the conservative Beacon Center of Tennessee. More: Americans for Prosperity, school choice groups assemble army to push for voucher expansion What are Democrats and those opposed saying? Tennessee Education Association will roundly oppose any effort to expand the ESA program, TEA President Tanya T. Coats has said, adding that "it is irresponsible and reckless to push a statewide voucher program that would jeopardize the foundation our states success is built upon." In response to reporting on the details of Lee's proposal, several Democrats have condemned the policy. "This voucher plan would (a) heavily subsidize families already sending or planning to send their kids to private schools; (b) incentivize opening pop-up, low-quality, unaccredited voucher schools; and (c) reduce funding for public schools that are already chronically underfunded," Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, wrote in a social media post on Monday. House and Senate Democrats denounced school vouchers as "a scam," and "a coupon system" for wealthy families. School board members have also voiced opposition. Metro Nashville Board of Education Chair Rachael Anne Elrod has called the plan "moral and fiscal malpractice" that would "dismantle and destabilize public education." Vivian Jones covers state government and politics for The Tennessean. Reach her at vjones@tennessean.com. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee's school choice proposal: What to know A group of six Northwest Correctional Complex inmates recently earned their Bachelor of Science in Business degrees from Lane College on Nov. 2. According to Black Enterprise, it was the first time a bachelors degree was awarded at the facility. These students also received their degrees from a historically Black college and university while incarcerated, a first in Tennessee. As a result of the Tennessee Higher Education Initiative, these students are continuing the history of tremendous advancements made in education for men and women behind bars. Together with Lane College and the Tennessee Department of Correction, THEI is working to break the cycle of inmates returning to prison after being released. According to Laura Ferguson-Mimms, executive director of THEI, they ensure that inmates stay at home. They are coming home, Dr. Ferguson-Mimms said. We are breaking the cycle of recidivism that tells us that 47% will return to incarceration if we continue to do exactly what we have always done. When we introduce postsecondary educational options while the individual is incarcerated, we reduce the risk of recidivism by nearly half. I will always remember the first day of classes at NWCX, she continued. The lecture was supposed to be online, but the president came to speak to the students in person. He talked about the history of Lane College and the legacy of HBCUs as a tool for Black liberation. The students were absolutely mesmerized. Lane Colleges President, Dr. Logan Hampton, shared that after the graduation ceremony, his colleagues were confident and adamant about teaching incarcerated students. The program has served as a transformative experience for both the teachers and students. Lane College and THEI have been a natural fit. Lane is deeply committed to the transformative liberal arts education, and Lane College has a history of helping students excel despite challenging environments and backgrounds. The Lane faculty were confident they could ensure the full integrity of college access for incarcerated students, and they have. The Lane/THEI partnership has been an overwhelming success! he said. Senior Advisor Richard Donnell, Sr. explained the program does not educate based on ones past but instead focuses on tomorrows promises. Lane College has an academic focus on tomorrow, not yesterday, and helping students to realize the power of their potential has been a hallmark of Lane College since 1882. We continue to be excited about the partnership with THEI, and we are confident in Lanes ability to help students of diverse backgrounds earn their college degrees, he shared. The graduates followed an intensive curriculum that prepared them to be career-ready, said Daryll Coleman, vice president for Academic Affairs. With Lanes partnership, prisoners are now equipped with the knowledge and confidence to have a fresh start. The Lane College faculty have aggressively researched the best behind-the-wall academic programs in the nation and developed a rigorous program that maintains the full integrity of college access while preparing incarcerated students with a career-ready and transformative liberal arts education. Lane is grateful for our amazing faculty and their insistence that we develop a best-in-class program to reach incarcerated scholars, Coleman said. Congratulations to them all! China welcomes all efforts conducive to ceasefire, deescalating Gaza situation: FM spokesperson Xinhua) 08:10, November 28, 2023 BEIJING, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- China welcomes all efforts that are conducive to bringing about ceasefire and deescalating the situation, foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on the Palestinian-Israeli issue on Monday. Wang made the remarks at a regular press briefing when asked to comment on the current situation in Gaza. According to reports, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, announced that it would delay the release of hostages until Israel allows aid trucks to enter northern Gaza, accusing Israel of violating the terms regarding aid in the ceasefire agreement and continuing to open fire. The Israeli military said that it will immediately return to striking and operations in the Gaza Strip once the truce ends and that the fighting would continue until all hostages are freed and Hamas itself is dismantled. Wang said since Israel and Hamas reached the ceasefire agreement, both sides have released three groups of detainees. "Steps towards peace, however small, should be encouraged. Difficulties in protecting civilians, however daunting, must be overcome with every possible effort," the spokesperson said. Noting that this round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict has continued for more than 50 days, causing great casualties and serious humanitarian disasters, Wang said violence does not bring true security and the use of force will not create lasting peace. China welcomes all efforts that are conducive to bringing about ceasefire and deescalating the situation, Wang said, urging parties to the conflict to earnestly implement UN Security Council Resolution 2712 and the resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly at its emergency special session, jointly and effectively implement the temporary ceasefire agreement and enable it to be extended, and realize a true and lasting ceasefire. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan) Tristen Stadel, 18, has been charged with super aggravated assault of a child, which means the child was under 6 years old. It comes with a 25-year minimum sentence. Bexar County Sheriff's Office A teen is accused of raping a 1-year-old girl after his estranged father brought him into his home in Selma. Tristen Stadel, 18, was charged with super aggravated assault of a child, which means the child was under 6 years old. It comes with a 25-year minimum sentence. Stadels father told police after he took his son home on May 13, his wife noticed the 1-year-old girl was acting strange and didnt want to be touched, states an arrest affidavit. Advertisement Article continues below this ad ALSO READ: San Antonio man accused of sexually abusing two girls They found a stain on her clothing that they thought was semen. There was also blood in her diaper. The couple called Stadels mother and told her they believed he sexually assaulted the toddler and asked her to bring him over to the house. Instead, Stadels mother took him to a police substation, according to the affidavit. It adds that Stadel said, I knew it was wrong, several times during the subsequent interview. Police found male DNA in two places when the girl was taken to the hospital and examined. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Bales of hay are stored under shelters at Al Dahra Farms, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023, in the McMullen Valley in Wenden, Ariz. Worries about future water supplies from ancient aquifers are bubbling up in western rural Arizona. Some neighbors complain that their backyard wells have dried up since the Emirati agribusiness began farming alfalfa nearby. (AP Photo/John Locher) WENDEN, Ariz. (AP) A blanket of bright green alfalfa spreads across western Arizona's McMullen Valley, ringed by rolling mountains and warmed by the hot desert sun. Matthew Hancock's family has used groundwater to grow forage crops here for more than six decades. They're long accustomed to caprices of Mother Nature that can spoil an entire alfalfa cutting with a downpour or generate an especially big yield with a string of blistering days. But concerns about future water supplies from the valley's ancient aquifers, which hold groundwater supplies, are bubbling up in Wenden, a town of around 700 people where the Hancock family farms. Some neighbors complain their backyard wells have dried up since the Emirati agribusiness Al Dahra began farming alfalfa here on about 3,000 acres (1,214 hectares) several years ago. It is unknown how much water the Al Dahra operation uses, but Hancock estimates it needs 15,000 to 16,000 acre feet a year based on what his own alfalfa farm needs. He says he gets all the water he needs by drilling down hundreds of feet. An acre-foot of water is roughly enough to serve two to three U.S. households annually. Hancock said he and neighbors with larger farms worry more that in the future state officials could take control of the groundwater they now use for agriculture and transfer it to Phoenix and other urban areas amid the worst Western drought in centuries. I worry about the local community farming in Arizona, Hancock said, standing outside an open-sided barn stacked with hay bales. Concerns about the Earths groundwater supplies are front of mind in the lead-up to COP28, the annual United Nations climate summit opening this week in the Emirati city of Dubai. Gulf countries like the UAE are especially vulnerable to global warming, with high temperatures, arid climates, water scarcity and rising sea levels. Water shortages have driven companies to go where the water is, said Robert Glennon, a water policy and law expert and professor emeritus at the University of Arizona. Experts say tensions are inevitable as companies in climate-challenged countries like the United Arab Emirates increasingly look to faraway places like Arizona for the water and land to grow forage for livestock and commodities such as wheat for domestic use and export. As the impacts of climate change increase, we expect to see more droughts, said Karim Elgendy, a climate change and sustainability specialist at Chatham House think tank in London. This means more countries would look for alternative locations for food production. Without groundwater pumping regulations, rural Arizona is especially attractive, said Elgendy, who focuses on the Middle East and North Africa. International corporations have also turned to Ethiopia and other parts of Africa to develop enormous farming operations criticized as land grabbing. La Paz County Supervisor Holly Irwin welcomes a recent crackdown by Arizona officials on unfettered groundwater pumping long allowed in rural areas, noting local concerns about dried up wells and subsidence that's created ground fissures and flooding during heavy rains. Youre starting to see the effects of lack of regulation," she said. "Number one, we dont know how much water we have in these aquifers, and we dont know how much is being pumped out. Irwin laments that foreign firms are "mining our natural resource to grow crops such as alfalfa ... and theyre shipping it overseas back to their country where theyve depleted their water source. Gary Saiter, board chairman and general manager of the Wenden Domestic Water Improvement District, said utility records showed the surface-to-water depth at its headquarters was a little over 100 feet (30 meters) in the 1950s, but it's now now about 540 feet (160 meters). Saiter said that over those years, food crops like cantaloupe have been replaced with forage like alfalfa, which is water intensive. I believe that the legislature in the state needs to step up and actually put some control, start measuring the water that the farms use," Saiter said. Gov. Katie Hobbs in October yanked the states land lease on another La Paz County alfalfa farm, one operated by Fondomonte Arizona, a subsidiary of Saudi dairy giant Almarai Co. The Democrat said the state would not renew three other Fondomonte leases next year, saying the company violated some lease terms. Fondomonte denied that, and said it will appeal the decision to terminate its 640-acre (259-hectare) lease in Butler Valley. Arizona has less control over Al Dahra, which farms on land leased from a private North Carolina-based corporation. Glennon, the Arizona water policy expert, said he worked with a consulting group that advised Saudi Arabia more than a decade ago to import hay and other crops rather than drain its aquifers. He said Arizona also must protect its groundwater. I do think we need sensible regulation," said Glennon. I dont want farms to go out of business, but I dont want them to drain the aquifers, either. Seeking crops for domestic use and export, Al Dahra farms wheat and barley in Romania, operates a flour mill in Bulgaria, and owns milking cows in Serbia. It runs a rice mill in Pakistan and grows grapes in Namibia and citrus in Egypt. It serves markets worldwide. The company is controlled by the state-owned firm ADQ, an Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company. Its chairman is the countrys powerful, behind-the-scenes national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a brother of ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The company did not respond to numerous emails and voicemails sent to its UAE offices and its subsidiary Al Dahra ACX in the U.S. seeking comment about its Arizona operation. But on its website, Al Dahra acknowledges the challenges of climate change, noting the continuing decrease in cultivable land and diminishing water resources available for farming. The firm says it considers water and food security at the core of its strategy and uses drip irrigation to optimize water use. Foreign and out-of-state U.S. farms are not banned from farming in Arizona, nor from selling their goods worldwide. U.S. farmers commonly export hay and other forage crops to countries including Saudi Arabia and China. In Arizonas Cochise County that relies on groundwater, residents worry that the mega-dairy operated there by Riverview LLP of Minnesota could deplete their water supplies. The company did not respond to a request for comment about its water use. The problem is not who is doing it, but that we are allowing it to be done, said Kathleen Ferris, a senior research fellow at the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University. We need to pass laws giving more control over groundwater uses in these unregulated areas. A former director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, Ferris helped draw up the states 1980 Groundwater Management Act that protects aquifers in urban areas like Phoenix but not in rural agricultural areas. Many people mistakenly believe groundwater is a personal property right, Ferris said, noting that the Arizona Supreme Court has ruled there's only a property right to water once it has been pumped. In Arizona, rural resistance to limits on pumping remains strong and efforts to create rules have gone nowhere in the Legislature. The Arizona Farm Bureau has pushed back at narratives that portray foreign agribusiness firms like Al Dahra as groundwater pirates. Rural Arizona is the wild West when it comes to groundwater, said Kathryn Sorensen, research director at the Kyl Center. Whoever has the biggest well and pumps the most groundwater wins. Arizona is blessed to have very large and productive groundwater" aquifers, she added. But just like an oil field, if you pump it out at a significant rate, then you deplete the water and its gone. ___ Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai contributed to this report. ___ The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of APs environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) is decrying an incident in which a man who uses a prosthetic leg was dragged off its property by contracted security guards. The incident happened at the Charlotte Transportation Center Blue Line station on Nov. 17. CATS says the man was reportedly seen on video on the light rail platform for several hours drinking from a bottle. He then fell off the bench he was sitting on causing his prosthetic leg to become detached. CATS bus lanes returning to Independence Blvd. Security guards arrived to find the man on the ground and highly intoxicated, a CATS spokesperson said in a statement. He is said to have a cart of belongings and a small dog with him. The statement continues that the security team asked the man to leave the fare zone multiple times. The man refused and three security guards physically removed the man, his dog, and his belongings from the fare zone. The man gathered his possessions and left. However, CATS took issue with how security guards handled the situation, saying that the contracted personnel should have called for medical aid or the CATS Connect team who seek to help those who may be in crisis. CATS wants to emphasize that the actions displayed by these security personnel do not reflect the values of CATS and are completely against CATS standards, the statement continues. We hold every interaction with our community in high regard and aim to treat all members with respect and dignity. The rapid action taken by CATS Security division in investigating this incident is a testament to our commitment to these values. CATS bus lanes returning to Independence Blvd. The three security guards involved have been relieved of their duties by Strategic Security Corp. and their termination has been recommended, according to CATS. The other security guards present during the incident are facing disciplinary action and additional training. CATS supports and endorses the decisions made by the contractor, they continued. In April, Charlotte City Council approved a three-year contract with Strategic Security Corporation to provide armed security and unarmed security guards following a number of violent incidents including a stabbing on the LYNX Blue Line in June 2023 and an incident where a CATS bus driver was fatally shot in May 2022. Queen City News has reached out to Strategic Security Corp. for comment. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. Two Terrebonne Parish schools will hold public hearings this week as the superintendent reveals his plans for an educational overhaul. Terrebonne Parish Superintendent "Bubba" Orgeron will be visiting Bayou Black Elementary School on Wednesday and Honduras Elementary School on Thursday, both at 5:30 p.m. to show the public his plan. It would see Gibson students pool with Schriever Elementary School, Honduras Elementary School with Village East and Acadian, and Bayou Black would see some students go to Mulberry and some to Schriever Elementary School. "We have a choice, we can consolidate and build a new building, which we would get no money from FEMA for, at the cost of about $15 million, or is there another option to consolidate these schools?," Orgeron said of the Gibson and Bayou Black consolidation. "Well, Schriever and Caldwell, they both have 14 empty classrooms - they are sitting half-filled." Terrebonne Parish Superintendent Bubba Orgeron listening to members of the Gibson community during a public hearing to unveil his plans to restructure the school district, Oct. 6. The plan includes closing Gibson Elementary and merging it with Schriever Elementary. The consolidation also would help the School for Exceptional Children, which has been "substantially damaged," according to Orgeron, and will need to be torn down. That campus then would be moved to Honduras Elementary School. Orgeron maintains his master plan would allow the district to place more certified teachers in front of students, do away with what he considers outdated positions, merge schools with dwindling enrollment to share teachers and resources, and give teachers and administrators a pay raise. Gibson Elementary has lost 31 students in the past five years and currently has 147 students. Honduras lost 57 and currently has 300, and Bayou Black has fluctuated, but remains 10 less than the 2018-2019 school year. It currently has 167 students. The trend of declining enrollment seen at these three schools cuts across Terrebonne Parish's outer communities as a whole and was part of the discussions surrounding rebuilding Grand Caillou Elementary last year. These communities have faced a gradual exodus for more than a decade, and Hurricane Ida accelerated the trend. Terrebonne Parish School District lost 2,160 students district-wide in the past five years, a 12.5% decline. According to local data, those who are moving are moving toward the city, or out of the parish entirely. The dwindling student count has caused teachers to be spread thin across multiple subjects, Orgeron said. Consolidating the schools would allow the teachers to be more focused on their subjects, cutting down on prep time and also giving them other teachers to collaborate with, he said. Also, by merging the students, any resources purchased for the school would benefit more students. The goal, he said, is to get class sizes to the "sweet spot" of 24 students. "The classroom sizes at these schools are small, particularly at Gibson and Bayou Black, you have one class at each grade level, just one class," Orgeron said. "The problem with that is the teachers have several preps. They have to teach multiple grades and multiple subjects. That can become difficult; whereas, at larger schools they teach one grade, one subject." According to Orgeron, data suggests a class size of 24 is the optimal number for student learning across the majority of grade levels. The superintendent visited the Gibson community Nov. 6 and received an unwelcome response. As far as the community was concerned, if his plans included closing their school, they were not interested. He said he hasn't changed his presentation for the next two public hearings, but did collect information from the Gibson hearing. This article originally appeared on The Courier: Terrebonne superintendent to discuss consolidation plan at two schools Kent police working with law enforcement agencies nationwide to find an Arizona man wanted in the Nov. 21 shooting death of a pregnant woman on South Water Street. Dawan Rahman Wilson, 44, is currently charged with aggravated murder in Portage County Municipal Court in Kent in the death of 35-year-old Cheretta Frierson. Kent Police Lt. Mike Lewis, however, said Tuesday afternoon that updated charges in the deaths of both Frierson and her unborn child are expected. "It's just a terrible, terrible situation," Lewis said. Police responded after receiving a 911 call reporting screams and possible gunshots at a home in the 1300 block of South Water Street at about 2 p.m. Nov. 21. "I think, I think somebody got shot," the caller, who said he is a neighbor, can be heard telling a police dispatcher during the nearly five-minute call. "My next door, my neighbor," he added. "I heard gunshots, I think three or four times." The man said he also heard someone screaming, but could not tell if the person screaming was male or female. According to a police incident report, when officers arrived, they could hear a child crying inside the home. They knocked at the door, which was locked, and heard the crying stopping and starting several times and then someone trying to open the door. After they called out, a child, identified in the report only as a "small girl," said she was unable to open the door and that her mother was hurt. The officers then found a window next to the door was unlocked and they were able to open it and unlock the door. The girl said her brother was also in the home and that her mother was downstairs. According to the report, the officers believed they heard her say through her crying and muffled words, "Daddy shot her." Police said they found a woman laying at the bottom of the basement stairs, "bleedingprofusely from the face." A spent bullet, a shell casing and a fragment from a bullet were found near the woman. The officers determined, and paramedics confirmed, the woman was dead. A crying infant was found on a bed nearby. No injuries were reported to either child in the report. The report does not specify what happened to the children, but Portage County Job and Family Services was notified. Lewis said it is considered a "domestic-related incident." Police did not disclose the relationship between the suspect and the victim. Court records show an address for Wilson in Goodyear, Arizona. "We're still very much actively looking for him and working with multiple law enforcement agencies throughout the country to try and locate him," Lewis said, adding that police in Arizona have been alerted. Lewis said Frierson had also been living in Arizona but was staying with a family member at the South Water Street home. The family member was not present at the time of the shooting, he said. Lewis said that at some point after the victim came to Ohio, Wilson also traveled here, but it is unclear how long he had been in the area at the time of the shooting. Reporter Jeff Saunders can be reached at jsaunders@recordpub.com. This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Search continues for man accused of killing pregnant woman in Kent Lawyers in the Texas attorney generals office said Tuesday that women should sue their doctors, not the state, over a lack of access to abortion in defending the states strict law. Beth Klusmann of the Texas Attorney Generals Office made that point in oral arguments before the state Supreme Court in a case challenging Texass abortion ban, which bars doctors from providing abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected typically around six weeks into pregnancy with exceptions only for cases in which the life of the mother is at risk. If a woman is bleeding, if she has amniotic fluid running down her legs then the problem is not with the law, Klusmann said. It is with the doctors. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. Klusmann was responding to plaintiffs in the case, who had charged the legislation had plunged the state into a health care crisis. The lawsuit in Zurawski v. Texas was brought by 22 women who said that state law had forced them to carry nonviable and dangerous pregnancies to term in other words, to go through the ordeal of pregnancy with a fetus that would not survive, and that in many cases was putting them at serious risk. The suit brought by the Center for Reproductive Freedom charges that many of the 22 women were denied care because, despite the severity of the damage that the nonviable pregnancy was doing their body, doctors told them they werent quite sick enough for it to be clearly life threatening. Top Stories from The Hill Forty businesses have also signed a brief in support of the suit arguing that ambiguities in the law have incurred a substantial financial cost: nearly $15 billion in lost revenues, and businesses and employees leaving the state. The plaintiffs argued that the 2021 law flew in the face of a long history of doctors being allowed to determine when abortion was necessary to preserve the health of the mother under state law even when the procedure, in general, was not legal. They contended that while the legislation included language intended to allow abortions in life-threatening cases, it was so vaguely worded and its penalties so harsh that it amounted to a total ban that threatened the lives of mothers already carrying babies who would not survive. The last two years are an aberration from a centuries-long practice in Texas that allowed physicians broad discretion over when abortion was necessary to preserve their patients lives, said Molly Duane, an attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights. For most of Texas history, Duane argued to the court, doctors in the state were allowed to perform abortions if they had a good faith belief that they were necessary to save the life of the mother. That changed in 2021, when the state Legislature passed Senate Bill 8, which exposed Texas doctors to harsh penalties potential life in prison, loss of their medical license and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines if they perform an abortion on a fetus with a heartbeat. The abortion bans, as they exist today, subject physicians like my clients to the most penalties imaginable, Duane said. That ban holds even for complicated pregnancies where the fetus would not survive birth something that in August caused a district judge to block the prosecution of doctors who performed abortions in those cases. The same day that ruling came down, the office of Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) appealed it to the state Supreme Court effectively keeping the ban in place. Paxtons office argued the suit was unnecessary, because the language in the ban allowed abortions in the case of a life-threatening physical condition aggravated by, caused by, or arising from a pregnancy that put the mother at risk of death or serious physical impairment. In court, the state argued that the 22 women suing the state were the wrong plaintiffs going after the wrong target. First, Klusmann argued that the women had no standing to challenge the 2021 law because it targeted doctors, not pregnant women themselves. Second, she argued that women with complicated and dangerous pregnancies should have no problem obtaining abortions under the law, and that they should be taking up their grievances with the doctors who had denied them the procedures they now argued were medically necessary rather than the state. A woman risking death if she doesnt get an abortion, Klusmann argued, would clearly qualify for a medical emergency exemption. And so, if she has to come to court to make that happen, that is not the states fault. Judges honed in on that point, which opened the door to the broader argument that the women have no standing to bring a suit against the state because the people who injured them are their doctors. In the case of a woman denied a medically necessary abortion, why isnt she suing her doctors? That sounds like medical negligence to me? Justice Brett Busby asked. I disagree, Your Honor, because, as all of our patient-plaintiffs have testified, their doctors didnt know what to do. Their hands are tied. The law acknowledges that physicians should not be waiting until death is imminent and yet they are, Duane said. She gave the example of Amanda Zurawski, the woman who gave her name to the wider legal challenge one of three dozen with similar cases who joined the suit. In August 2022, Zurawskis doctors told her that because of a problem with her cervix, her pregnancy then at nearly 18 weeks was no longer viable. Because doctors could not perform an abortion, they sent her home, where her water broke. She rushed back to the emergency room and, according to the legal complaint, found herself in a terrible limbo. Because the fetus still had a heartbeat, and because she was not yet showing the signs of acute infection that would soon almost kill her, the doctors told her they had no option but to send her home, the complaint said. At this point, absent Texass abortion bans, a patient in [Zurawskis] situation would have been offered an abortion or transferred to a facility that could offer the procedure, the complaint read. But [Zurawski] was offered neither because the hospital was concerned that providing an abortion without signs of acute infection may not fall within the Emergent Medical Condition Exception in Texass abortion bans. So, according to the complaint, Zurawski spent nearly a week at home, growing gradually sicker, until her husband finally brought her back to the emergency room, where she was diagnosed with sepsis a life-threatening chain reaction of infection cascading through the body. By the time the baby who didnt survive was delivered, and the series of infections had run its course, her uterus was so severely scarred that it threatened her ability to have future children, the complaint said. Another woman, Cristina Nunez, said she nearly died of kidney failure while her hospital waited for her to become sick enough to legally justify an abortion. Other plaintiffs described having to travel out of state to get abortions that would once have been uncontroversial in Texas or, in some cases, being unable to do so because in-state delays had kept them waiting so long that out-of-state doctors wouldnt perform an abortion either For the state, Klusmann argued that these cases which the Legislature sought to avert with its language about protecting the life of the mother did not rise to the level of a constitutional issue. The Legislature decided to value unborn life and prohibit abortion in all circumstances unless that life is going to conflict with the life of the mother were just trying to identify when its, when its appropriate to end the life of an unborn child, she said. The Legislature has set the bar high, and theres nothing unconstitutional about their decision to do so, she added. What is your response to [Duanes] argument that she, that these plaintiffs do not want to sue their doctor because they feel their doctor has done nothing wrong? asked Justice Debra Lehrmann. That is their choice, Klusmann said. They dont have to actually obtain damages [from the doctors] if they dont want to. But if they wish to gain clarity of law through perhaps a medical malpractice claim, thats their choice. But we cant force them to do it, she added. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. For 24/7 mental health support in English or Spanish, call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrations free help line at 800-662-4357. You can also reach a trained crisis counselor through the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. (Texas Tribune) For more than a decade, Sam Buser watched the lights of fire trucks bounce off the city streets of Houston, heard the roars of burning blazes and stood before the caskets of too many firefighters. He never held a hose or kicked in a door, but, as senior psychologist for the Houston Fire Department, he spent many sleepless nights at fire stations. His job was to convince those who run toward the fire that its okay to help themselves. But for much of his career, he was something of a rarity in Texas. Even as resources have been poured into law enforcement agencies for decades to solve well-publicized mental health issues, the same cant be said for fire departments. The reasons are simple: There isnt enough money to go around at many cities or volunteer jurisdictions, and many fire departments have not been ready to drop their stigma around mental health. With the primary focus placed on law enforcement, there must also be a recognition that the needs of the fire service are different, and the programming and training should reflect that, said Leonard Chan, a contributing author of First Responder Mental Health: A Clinicians Guide. The taboo for seeking mental health services has been tempered, but this really depends on the department and individual firefighter. But lately, advocates say, more departments are seeing the need for that kind of work. And in some big city and suburban departments, along with in the Texas Legislature, small steps are being taken to address firefighters mental health needs. The problem The danger and fear brought by rushing into a fire is well-known. But firefighters spend the majority of their time responding to emergency medical service calls that can involve suicides, abuse, shootings, fatal car accidents, major weather events, and other distressing incidents that can also take a toll on someones mental health. Data suggests that those mental tolls are some of the biggest dangers of the job. According to the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance, more firefighters die from suicide each year than in the line of duty, and many additional suicides are likely unreported. A Dallas Fire-Rescue Safety Division resiliency survey found that 8% of that big-city departments firefighters thought about committing suicide at some point in their careers. The national average for suicidal ideation is 4.9%, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Still, studies show many firefighters will mask their mental health challenges until its too late. The Texas Commission on Fire Protection, the primary regulatory body over the states fire service, reported this year in their annual injury report only 1% of firefighters reported a psychological injury. Dr. Sara Jahnke, the director and a senior scientist with the Center for Fire, Rescue & EMS Health Research, a nonprofit research firm, said the awareness of mental health needs came into focus about a decade ago and only became a central talking point in the last five years. I think we have underestimated the mental health impact of being on the job for firefighters, she said. 9/11, in particular, put the stress of the tasks firefighters have to do on center stage. But, she added, the bravado around firefighters still discourages some from seeking help. Firefighters, who are 95% male, say theres an intense feeling of team among departments, and nobody wants to be considered the weak link of the group. Many fear that if anyone finds out about a mental health need, they might get reassigned or fired altogether because they are deemed no longer reliable. So when a firefighter says, gee, Im depressed, or I have post-traumatic stress disorder, what happens is their fellow firefighters start to wonder, maybe I cant count on this one, Buser said. Maybe if we go into a fire, this person is going to freak out, and theyre not going to be able to help. When Dallas firefighters were surveyed, they reported concern that the creation of a counseling center in or around a fire station and would focus more on checking a box than helping members. While there is progress, there remains a bravado around being a firefighter that discourages some from reaching out for help, Jahnke said. But Hutto Fire Chief Scott Kerwood, who has been fighting fires for 45 years, said fire departments have begun to get serious about mental health this past decade. When I started, you didnt talk about anything like this, he said. Its just like, Suck it up, kid, and just do your job. Kerwood said he remembers a push in the 1980s to get mental health services into fire departments, but there was a strong distrust of that notion back then. We see some pretty nasty stuff. But we tend to internalize that and say, well, its just part of the job, he said. Youre not a macho firefighter if youre having trouble dealing with what youre seeing on the job. But then the suicides started happening, and everybody went ok, lets figure out what is going on. The departments are beginning to get outside help, too. Lawmakers unanimously passed House Bill 2143 in 2019, which allows first responders to receive workers compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder caused by one or more instances at work. But smaller departments, including many volunteer departments, lack the financial resources to provide the same offerings. Unfortunately, it all comes down to money and support, Jahke said. Strong mental health programs require funds and effort. Changing the culture The Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 was the start of a broader recognition of the mental health tolls on the job. A study done 34 months after the disaster showed the rising alcohol disorders among the rescue workers. The Houston Fire Department was one of the first departments in the country to hire a full-time psychologist in 1999. Busers friend, who worked at the Baylor College of Medicine, created the position after studying how people cope after a major disaster. Buser took over the position 13 years ago when his friend died. When he died, they provided him a firefighter funeral, which is rarely ever given to a civilian, but they were there with their fire trucks and hundreds of firefighters in uniform. He had done a tremendous job of gaining acceptance within the department, he said. Tania Glen, who runs a mental health clinic specializing in treating first responders and veterans in Central Texas, said when she started 30 years ago, she met a lot of resistance from the entire public safety community. I was poked fun at quite a bit just for choosing this line of work. You know, it was an uphill battle, but what I saw underneath all the skepticism is all the trauma, Glen said. I saw all the angst, and I saw the divorces and dysfunction. Changing the culture is a significant undertaking, but progress is happening in places like the Cedar Hill, which created the First Responder Resiliency Coalition to help firefighters get mental health assistance. The program was designed seven years ago as a grant-funded initiative to provide mental health resiliency education to firefighters and inform them how to form peer support in their fire departments. Story said he has already seen the culture change in their fire department. Were at a point now where if something does get missed, we have people asking why, he said. Why did somebody not check on this person? Why did somebody not make a referral? Did anyone see any signs? So weve done a lot of things to really kind of put notifications in place. The program has now expanded into providing free advocacy, grant writing assistance, quarterly resiliency meetings and critical incident response guidance to cities nationwide. Concepts like peer-to-peer support groups have also found success in fire departments across the state, allowing firefighters to convince each other to get help. It has been exciting to watch because I think the new wave is affecting the older generation and inspiring them to get help, said Leah Belsches, current staff psychologist for the Houston Fire Department. I love seeing people who have been with the department for 20 to 30 years come in for the first time asking for help. This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/27/firefighters-mental-health-texas/. The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. Texas state and county police enforcing Gov. Greg Abbotts (R) immigration policies are engaging in risky high-speed pursuits and causing an upsurge in deadly crashes, according to a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW). According to the analysis, at least 74 people died and 189 were injured in 49 deadly auto chases between March 2021, when Abbott launched Operation Lone Star, and this July. Those 49 lethal chases were reportedly initiated by either Texas troopers or local agencies in counties enforcing Operation Lone Star. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. Texas officials say President Bidens border policies are to blame. President Bidens reckless open border policies invite Mexican cartels to profit off the chaos through dangerous human trafficking and smuggling operations along the border that endanger innocent lives, Renae Eze, a spokesperson for Abbott, told The Hill in an email. Mexican cartels and human traffickers have a clear disregard for human life as they smuggle people in high-speed pursuits and in dangerous conditions, like the 53 migrants who died in a tractor trailer in San Antonio last year. Overall, Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers engaged in 5,230 pursuits in the states 254 counties in that time period, 3,358 of which took place in the 60 counties enforcing Abbotts immigration policy. This means Operation Lone Star county residents are experiencing a disproportionate share of vehicle pursuits across the state, reads the report. The casualties of the ill-fated pursuits have included drivers and passengers of involved vehicles, according to the report, but also innocent bystanders, in one case a 7-year-old girl who was struck by a fleeing truck driven by a Louisiana resident. Governor Abbott has deployed thousands of Texas National Guard soldiers and DPS troopers to respond to this Biden-made border crisis and save lives, said Eze. Since launching Operation Lone Star, they have apprehended over 485,000 illegal immigrants, seized over 449 million lethal doses of fentanyl, and arrested over 36,800 criminals all of which would have otherwise made their way into communities across Texas and our country thanks to President Biden. But the HRW report found that Operation Lone Stars enforcers, particularly DPS troopers, have engaged in unnecessary and dangerous aggression. According to the analysis, 81 percent of the chases in Operation Lone Star counties over that time period started with a traffic violation, and 97 percent of those violations were misdemeanors such as failing to stop at a stop sign. Earlier this month, eight people died in southern Texas after a Honda driven by a suspected human smuggler crashed head-first into an SUV heading in the opposite direction. The Hondas driver was fleeing law enforcement officials from Zavala County, which had joined Operation Lone Star two months earlier. A report published in September by the Department of Justices Office of Community Oriented Policing Services and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommended restrictive pursuit policies for law enforcement agencies, given the dangers of high-speed pursuits. We recommend that pursuits should take place only when two very specific standards are met (1) A violent crime has been committed and (2) the suspect poses an imminent threat to commit another violent crime, wrote Police Executive Research Forum Executive Director Chuck Wexler in a prologue to the report. If those two conditions are not met, agencies need to look for alternatives to accomplish the same objective. You can get a suspect another day, but you cant get a life back. Under Operation Lone Star, DPS troopers and participating local law enforcement agencies are empowered to arrest people suspected of smuggling undocumented foreign nationals and to proactively enforce trespassing laws against those foreign nationals. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Austin, Texas A lawyer representing 20 women and two doctors argued before the all-Republican Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday that women have been denied lifesaving care under the state's strict abortion law as they seek to clarify what qualifies as a medical exception. "We are just seeking clarification on what the law aims to do," said Molly Duane, a lawyer for the Center for Reproductive Rights, which brought the lawsuit. Five women who were denied abortions under the state filed the lawsuit in March, and they were later joined by 17 other plaintiffs, including two doctors. The lawsuit, which was brought by the Center for Reproductive Rights, is believed to be the first to be brought by women who were denied abortions after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year. Unlike other legal challenges to abortion laws, this case does not seek to overturn Texas' ban but rather to clarify what qualifies as a medical exemption. But Supreme Court Justice Brett Busby said the job of the court is to "decide cases," and not to "elaborate and expand laws in order to make them easier to understand or enforce." Amanda Zurawski, left, and Samantha Casiano spoke about the impact of Texas' abortion law at a hearing in Austin, Texas, on July 19, 2023. / Credit: CBS News Beth Klusmann, a lawyer for the state, argued Tuesday that the women did not have the standing to sue, suggesting that the women should have instead sued their doctors for medical malpractice. Duane argued on Tuesday that because the law is unclear, the women were denied lifesaving care, and that the state's interpretation means that "women would need to have blood or amniotic fluid dripping down their leg before they can come to court." Earlier this year, a judge in Austin ruled that women who experience pregnancy complications are exempt from the state's abortion ban. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton appealed the ruling, bringing the legal challenge to the state Supreme Court. In August, Travis County Judge Jessica Mangrum placed an injunction on the law, ruling that the plaintiffs faced "an imminent threat of irreparable harm under Texas's abortion bans. This injunction is necessary to preserve Plaintiffs' legal right to obtain or provide abortion care in Texas in connection with emergent medical conditions under the medical exception and the Texas Constitution." The injunction was put on hold when Paxton appealed. Love letter from Jimmy to Rosalynn Carter read by their daughter, Amy Lynn Giving back on Giving Tuesday What to know about the COP28 climate summit Texas Supreme Court justices arrive to hear litigators make their arguments in Zurowski v. State of Texas, in Austin, November 28, 2023 (SUZANNE CORDEIRO) The Texas Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in a case brought on behalf of some two dozen women who were denied abortions even though they had serious -- in some cases life-threatening -- complications with their pregnancies. The lawsuit, filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights in March, argues that the way medical exceptions are defined under the conservative state's abortion restrictions is confusing, stoking fear among doctors and causing a "health crisis." "While there is technically a medical exception to the bans, no one knows what it means," argued Molly Duane, the group's attorney, adding that "physicians are terrified" to grant one. In August a lower court found in favor of the plaintiffs, confirming the women should have received abortion care. But the Texas Attorney General's office immediately filed an appeal, staying Judge Jessica Mangrum's temporary order, which said doctors can use their own medical judgment to determine when to terminate pregnancies in such situations. The fate of Mangrum's order is now up to the Texas Supreme Court, made up of elected judges who serve six-year terms. All its members are currently Republicans. The court could decide to throw the original case out, ending it before a trial on merits is set to proceed in March 2024. Or they could allow the case to proceed with or without the near-total ban blocked. A decision isn't expected for at least several weeks. - Harrowing testimony - The suit is the first brought on behalf of women denied abortions since the US Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to the procedure in June 2022. A state "trigger" ban went into effect when Roe v. Wade was overturned, prohibiting abortions even in cases of rape or incest. Texas also has a law that allows private citizens to sue anyone who performs or aids an abortion. Texas physicians found guilty of providing abortions face up to 99 years in prison, fines of up to $100,000 and the revocation of their medical license. Beth Klusmann, representing the Attorney General's office, argued that the court in the previous ruling "overstepped its constitutional bounds, when it rewrote and expanded the medical emergency exceptions and then concluded that the expansion was constitutionally required." The ruling would "permit abortions for pregnant females with medical conditions ranging from a headache to feelings of depression," the state said in separate written arguments. But Justice Jeff Boyd agreed that the law had caused confusion, saying "some of these women appear to have fallen within the (existing) exception, but their doctors still said, 'No.'" Klusmann argued that the legislature could expand exceptions, and patients could sue their doctors if they feel they should receive one and don't. Women involved in the case gave harrowing court testimony in July. Amanda Zurawski, after whom the initial case is named, said she was denied an abortion even though her water broke very early in her pregnancy, meaning a miscarriage was inevitable. Zurawski said her doctor told her that she "couldn't intervene, because the baby's heart was still beating and inducing labor would have been considered an illegal abortion." Zurawski went into life-threatening septic shock and the fetus was stillborn. After Tuesday's arguments, another plaintiff, Jessica Bernardo, told AFP she had to fly to the northwestern city of Seattle to obtain an abortion after a doctor last year discovered a fetal anomaly. "The daughter we wanted to have... was already displaying heart failure and kidney failure," she said. "Not only would she not make it to birth, but it caused my health to be in significant danger." Already sick, coughing and losing weight, she said she pleaded her case to the hospital board, which insisted the 39-year-old "wasn't sick enough" to qualify for abortion law exceptions designed to save the life of the mother. "I'm not the only one. And I want to be here to represent women who can't be here," Bernardo, now pregnant again, told AFP. "Abortion really is healthcare. And if it weren't for that I wouldn't be pregnant with a healthy baby right now." ia/nro/sms From March 2021 to July 2023, 74 people were killed and nearly 200 were injured in vehicle chases occurring in counties affected by Operation Lone Star. Texas border enforcement cops killed 74 people and wounded almost 200 more during vehicle chases over a 29-month period, according to a report released yesterday by Human Rights Watch. The chases occurred as part of Operation Lone Star, a controversial program that has spent over $10 billion in taxpayer funds to militarize Texas' border with Mexico. Operation Lone Star (OLS), which was launched in March 2021 by Gov. Greg Abbot, has devoted a tremendous amount of taxpayer dollars to increasing Texas' border security, often using extreme tactics. Recently the program came under fire for using razor wire and blade-topped buoys on the Rio Grande in an attempt to keep out migrants. The goal of the effort, according to a July press release, is to "secure the border; stop the smuggling of drugs, weapons, and people into Texas; and prevent, detect, and interdict transnational criminal behavior between ports of entry." According to Human Rights Watch, as of March 2022, about one-third of the total Texas state police force had been deployed as part of OLS, with additional National Guard members from 14 other states joining the project. "Across the United States, police departments have adopted restrictions on when law enforcement can engage in a vehicle pursuit," the report reads, adding that the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) "has not restricted vehicle pursuits.Texas DPS and several other law enforcement agencies have engaged in dangerous and deadly pursuits on a weekly basis in the 60 counties implementing OLS or experiencing DPS deployments under OLS." According to the report, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers working under Operation Lone Star frequently engage in unnecessary vehicle chases and other dangerous driving maneuvers when attempting to make arrests. As a result, unnecessary police chases have increased by as much as 1,000 percent in some Texas counties. Data analyzed by Human Rights Watch showed that over 80 percent of cases were instigated because of a traffic violation, with 97 percent of these violations being misdemeanors like speeding. According to the report, OLS chases had an average maximum speed of 91 miles per hour, with one in three reaching speeds of over 100 miles per hour. In all, from March 2021 to July 2023, 74 drivers, passengers, or bystanders were killed in these chases, and 189 more were wounded. Those killed include seven bystanders, including a 7-year-old girl and her 71-year-old grandmother. "Texans want our government to show us it can do its job, but Operation Lone Star and these dangerous and deadly car chases are bringing a sense of chaos and lack of humanity to my neighborhood and to my state," Amerika Garcia Grewal, a resident of Eagle Pass, Texas, and member of Eagle Pass Border Coalition, told Human Rights Watch. "I want Texas law enforcement to stop killing people and I want Operation Lone Star to end. This is not the kind of government my community needs." The post Texas Troopers Killed 74 People in Vehicle Chases Since Implementing Controversial Border Program appeared first on Reason.com. A Nov. 20 ruling by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threatens to decimate what's left of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The U.S. Supreme Court has the power to save whats left of the VRA or thoroughly destroy it. Erin Woodiel/Associated Press The 1965 Voting Rights Act was a monumental, transformational piece of legislation, but not because it banned state and local governments from instituting racially discriminatory election laws and practices. After all, the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, enacted nearly a century earlier, already had declared that the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. The Voting Rights Act was crucial because it provided enforcement mechanisms to back up its principles. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Under Section 5 of the 1965 law, jurisdictions with a history of discriminatory election practices were subject to federal supervision, requiring preclearance from either the U.S. Justice Department or a federal court in the District of Columbia for any proposed election changes. With its 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder, the U.S. Supreme Court severely damaged the Voting Rights Acts enforcement powers by ruling that the coverage formula for determining which jurisdictions should be supervised no longer applied and needed to be thrown out. That left only one way to hold state and local governments accountable for discriminatory election policies: legal challenges from private parties. Last week, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided to take away that critical tool of democracy. The court ruled that private entities cannot bring lawsuits under a provision of the Voting Rights Act. The issue will likely head to the U.S. Supreme Court. Melissa Murray, professor of law at New York University, said last week that the circuit courts decision was based on a very radical, very fringe theory but also noted that its a theory already endorsed by at least two U.S. Supreme Court justices: Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Murray said that if the Supreme Court affirms the 8th Circuit Courts ruling, it will completely decimate what is left standing of the Voting Rights Act. FILE - Amanda Zurawski, left, who developed sepsis and nearly died after being refused an abortion when her water broke at 18 weeks, talks with Samantha Casiano, who was forced to carry a nonviable pregnancy to term and gave birth to a baby who died four hours after birth, outside the Travis County Courthouse, July 19, 2023, in Austin, Texas. On Tuesday, Nov. 28, the Texas Supreme Court scrutinized efforts to clarify exceptions to the state's abortion ban, which a growing number of women say forced them to continue pregnancies despite serious risks to their health. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) AUSTIN, Texas (AP) The Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday scrutinized efforts to clarify exceptions to the state's abortion ban, which a growing number of women say forced them to continue pregnancies despite serious risks to their health. The Texas lawsuit is among the biggest challenges to abortion bans in the U.S. since Roe v. Wade was overturned last year. In July, several Texas women gave emotional testimony about carrying babies they knew would not survive and doctors unable to offer abortions despite their spiraling conditions. A judge later ruled that Texas' ban was too restrictive for women with pregnancy complications, but that order was swiftly put on hold after the state appealed. The decision now rests with Texas' highest court, and during arguments Tuesday, one justice on the all-Republican panel signaled concerns about potentially giving physicians too broad discretion to provide exceptions. This very well could open the door far more widely than you're acknowledging, Justice Jimmy Blacklock said. A ruling from the court could take months. The lawsuit does not seek to repeal Texas abortion ban but to force more clarity on when exceptions are allowed under the law, which is one of the most restrictive in the U.S. Under the law in Texas, doctors who perform abortions risk life in prison and fines of up to $100,000. Opponents say that has left some women with providers who are unwilling to even discuss terminating a pregnancy. Among those in the packed court gallery Tuesday were women who joined the lawsuit after being denied abortions, some of whom criticized justices for questioning whether women should instead sue physicians for failing to provide care. There was no point to sue my doctor who was already giving me the best care that our state offers. I think it falls back on the legislation," said Kimberly Manzano, who traveled to New Mexico in May for an abortion after doctors said her baby would not survive outside the womb. Women across the U.S. have continued to file lawsuits challenging abortion restrictions that went into effect in Republican-led states after the Supreme Court overturned Roe last year. What has set the Texas case apart is that the women are believed to be the first in the U.S. to have sued a state and testify over being denied abortion following newly enacted bans. Thanksgiving took on a whole new meaning this year for a woman and her family. Shaquanta Youngblood was fighting for her life at this time last year after a shooting in Gastonia. PAST COVERAGE: She could have died last year after a shooting on Bond Avenue in Gastonia. Youngblood was with her boyfriend in Gastonia when there was an argument. Robert Adams, of Gastonia, shot her as she walked out of the home, police say. She collapsed. A year later, Channel 9 reporter Ken Lemon asked her, Did you think we would get to this day? No. At first, I didnt, she said. The most scariest thing I ever had experienced in my life. Youngblood could have died that day, but neighbor Anthony Whisnant saw the shooting on his security camera. Whisnant grabbed his own gun and protected her from Adams while performing CPR. If it wasnt for him, I probably wouldnt be here right now, Youngblood said. She remembers talking to Whisnant as he defended her. I said, Hold my hand, please. I got children, she said. Youngblood was able to drive to Syracuse, New York, to be with family last week and on Thanksgiving Day, she called Whisnant to thank him. You cant see it, but Im telling you, Im happy to be able to talk to you and thank you, Youngblood said. She said it feels like he is part of the family now. Her mother, Theresa Youngblood, said she gives thanks and says a prayer for Whisnant every day. I still want to thank the man. Im going to always thank him, that he saved my daughters life, she said. Meanwhile, Adams remains in jail under a $750,000 bond. He is waiting for court officials to set a trial date. The TSA said it screened 2.9 million people on Sunday the busiest ever day for air travel. Over 900 flights were delayed but just three canceled as snow fell at Chicago O'Hare. And American Airlines said it canceled fewer flights than any other Thanksgiving period in its history. Thanksgiving travel broke records in the aviation sector, with the Transportation Security Administration screening more than 2.9 million people on Sunday. The TSA said it was a new agency record for the busiest ever day for air travel. The previous record, set in June this year, was 2.88 million. Before the Thanksgiving period started, TSA Administrator David Pekoske said: "In 2023, we have already seen seven of the top 10 busiest travel days in TSA's history." The TSA's other three busiest travel days were all in 2019. And while last year's Thanksgiving travel numbers still lagged behind pre-pandemic levels, it now looks like the industry has officially recovered. Records were set despite 1.8 inches of snow falling at Chicago O'Hare International Airport on Sunday, per local station WWTV. More than 900 flights were delayed at the major travel hub, but just three were canceled, per data from FlightAware. Airlines saw new highs for Thanksgiving travel as well. American Airlines said it had nearly 6.5 million customers a record for the holiday period. Between November 16 and 26, it said it had canceled just 55 of its 59,400 scheduled flights, around 0.09% and fewer cancellations than any other Thanksgiving period in its history. United Airlines also said it reached record highs ahead of Thanksgiving, from November 17 to 23, with 3.2 million travelers, per ABC News. And Delta Air Lines said it canceled just seven out of over 39,000 flights between November 17 and 26. Read the original article on Business Insider Third time the charm: Will George Santos survive the latest move to oust him from the House? Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., has survived two other efforts to oust him from Congress in recent weeks. But the third time may be the charm for lawmakers who believe Santos is unfit to serve. The House likely votes in the coming days on a measure to expel Santos for his myriad of alleged misdeeds, campaign finance abuses and generally, contriving an entire, faux life story and lying his way into a seat in the House of Representatives. The House sidetracked two previous efforts to expel Santos never directly casting a ballot on his worthiness to be a House member. Those who opposed the plan to expel Santos werent defending him. They just noted that a court has never convicted Santos of alleged wrongdoing. Prior to Thanksgiving, the House Ethics Committee hadnt completed its investigation into the conduct of Santos. SANTOS ACCUSES COLLEAGUES OF VOTING HUNGOVER, SLEEPING AROUND IN PROFANITY-LADEN TIRADE AGAINST ETHICS REPORT Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution grants each body of Congress authority to have the ultimate authority of who gets sworn-in, determine its own rules of proceedings, mete out discipline and "with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member." READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP Expulsions are extremely rare in the House. The two-thirds threshold is steep. The worst thing to happen to those pushing to give Santos the boot would be to have a failed expulsion vote. A majority certainly may have wanted to expel Santos. But the House needs two-thirds to do so. Thats 290 yeas needed to expel if all current 434 members cast ballots. Just hours into the job, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., expressed concern about providing Santos "due process." Lawmakers were mindful of the precedent set to expel other lawmakers. In 1861, the House voted to expel late Reps. John Bullock Clark, D-Mo., John William Reid, D-Mo., and Henry Cornelius Bennett, D-Ky., for siding with the Confederacy during the Civil War. Representative Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, speaks after becoming US House speaker in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. The House voted to expel former Rep. Ozzie Myers, D-Penn., after he was convicted of taking bribes as part of an FBI sting in 1980. Lawmakers expelled late Rep. Jim Traficant, D-Ohio, in 2002. A court found Traficant guilty of conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion charges. So, the House has expelled a grand total of five lawmakers in history. And Santos didnt associate with the Confederacy (as far as we know). Santos faces a litany of criminal charges. But his trial doesnt start until February. Therefore, is the bar high enough for expulsion? MIKE JOHNSON ON THE CLOCK Well know in a few days. The House Ethics Committee published an incriminating report at the conclusion of its inquiry into Santos just before Thanksgiving. Within hours, House Ethics Committee Chairman Michael Guest, R-Miss., announced he would introduce a resolution to expel Santos. The lack of an Ethics Committee report gave lawmakers pause as well as a fig leaf to hide behind to hold off on expelling Santos. That may not be the case now. And as always, its about the math. The House leadership brass may want to make sure it has the votes to expel Santos before calling this vote. As bad as a failed expulsion vote would have been before, the damage would be exponentially worse if the body stumbled to toss Santos after the Ethics Committee report. Note that previous resolutions to expel Santos and even censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. were what the House terms as "privileged" resolutions. Lawmakers craft a privileged resolution such as one for expulsion in a way that it advances to the front of the legislative line. The House must consider a privileged resolution immediately or within two legislative days. But heretofore, Guest introduced his measure in a way that is NOT privileged. It isnt automatically in the queue to come up when lawmakers return to Capitol Hill. Moreover, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., did not post anything about expulsion for Santos on the official House docket late last week. This may be a safety valve for leaders on both sides to make sure they have the votes to actually expel Santos, if and when Guests plan comes to the floor. This could also give Santos a chance to resign ahead of time. If lawmakers dither with pulling the trigger on Santos, one wonders if Santos might even draft his own expulsion resolution, make it privileged, and dare the House to expel him. Former House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, would occasionally summon lawmakers to his office and beseech them to resign when their conduct ran afoul of acceptable standards. In fact, Boehner and other House Speakers often didnt have to plead with offending members. Expectations were implied. Lawmakers who strayed from the straight and narrow knew what they had to do. THE DIVIDE: HOW A PROTEST OVER ISRAEL EXPOSED A SERIOUS RIFT IN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY Late last week, Santos took to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, to rant about his potential expulsion. "I know Im going to get expelled when this expulsion resolution goes to the floor," declared Santos, characterizing himself as the "Mary Magdalene of the United States Congress." Santos claims that the House is populated "by felons galore" and lawmakers "with all sorts of sheisty backgrounds." Santos also said that his time in Congress should be "done when I say its done. When I want it to be done. Not when they want it to be done." Santos contends he wont resign from Congress. However, the New York Republican did reverse himself, announcing he would not stand for re-election. Santos also announced a press conference on the steps of the Capitol at 8 am et on Thursday. Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., poses for a photo outside the U.S. Capitol after the House failed to pass the Spending Reduction and Border Security Act on Friday, September 29, 2023. Santos cant just summon the press to the Capitol steps if hes no longer a member by that point. But the House schedule is far from clear at this writing. A removal of Santos will drop the GOP majority to 220 Republicans compared to 213 Democrats. That means Republicans can only lose three votes on their side and still pass a measure without Democratic support. However, Rep.-elect Celeste Maloy, R-Utah, is set to succeed former Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, this week. Maloy just won a special election earlier this month. But the numbers game in the House isnt done. Reps. Brian Higgins, D-N.Y., and Bill Johnson, R-Ohio are scheduled to resign early this year to accept other jobs. This means the state of the GOP majority remains fluid over the next few months if fragile. But maybe not as tenuous at the grasp on the Long Island House seat by George Santos. His future is likely decided in a matter of days. Original article source: Third time the charm: Will George Santos survive the latest move to oust him from the House? The third wave of the Russian offensive on Avdiivka, ongoing since early October, has intensified, an officer from the Yakov Handziuks 59th brigade told Radio Liberty on Nov. 28. "It's obvious from all the signs of their actions, said the officer, identified only as Serhiy. Read also: Fierce fighting continues around Avdiivka, poor weather conditions add to defenders problems It never stopped, there was not a single day when there was no action on their part, but now the intensity has increased," he said, adding that "it is clear that they are pressed for time." The threat comes from all sides - the Russian troops use a tactic where they hit one point and then hit another, while maintaining strength of the attack on the first one. The Russians have tried several times to storm Avdiivka, throwing several mechanized columns at the city, but they lost 80% of their equipment, the spokesman for the Joint Press Center of the Tavria Defense Forces, Oleksandr Shtupun, said on Nov. 22. Read also: Russia plans to encircle Avdiivka, avoid entering the city Estonian intelligence Earlier, Shtupun reported that Russia had sharply increased the number of assault operations near Avdiivka. Before that, the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said that during a month of active assaults on Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast, Russia had lost about 10,000 soldiers. The Russian military is losing soldiers and equipment near Avdiivka "faster and on a larger scale than, in particular, near Bakhmut," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier. 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 Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released data that brought attention to a horrifying trend: the infant death rate in the U.S. increased by 3 percent in 2022. The rise in infant mortality marked the first significant increase in about two decades. After the news broke, some people took to social media to spread anti-vaccine misinformation and attempt to fabricate a story that COVID-19 vaccines were to blame. Its no secret that online pregnancy support groups are rife with vaccine misinformation, and the power of misinformation has real-life impacts. Pregnant women, who are at a higher risk for severe illness, have relatively low vaccination rates against COVID-19. Yet a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences adds to ongoing scientific evidence that there are benefits to getting vaccinated against the coronavirus while pregnant, like decreasing the likelihood of a premature birth. The PNAS study specifically looked at the trend of preterm births in California by comparing the premature birth rates between siblings, meaning the birth of an infant before COVID-19 and a birth of an infant, to the same woman, who later had COVID-19. According to the study, the likelihood that a mother with COVID-19 in California would have a premature birth grew from 6.9 percent to 12.3 percent as COVID-19 quickly spread between July to November of 2020. On average during the pandemic, between 2020 and 2023, the risk of preterm births increased by 1.2 percentage points. In an interview with Salon, the researchers behind the study emphasized that even a 1.2 percent increased risk is very large, and akin to "almost three weeks of being exposed to intense wildfires." At the population level that means a substantial change with enormous costs for those families, for the healthcare system and for society, co-author of the study, Florencia Torche, a Stanford University sociology professor, told Salon. In November 2022, March of Dimes reported that preterm births were at an all-time high in the United States. At the time, the nonprofit estimated more than 1 in 10 babies born in the U.S. in 2021 were delivered at least three weeks before what's considered full term at 40 weeks, putting them at a higher risk for physical and intellectual disabilities. Their most recent report published this month showed that rate only declined about 1 percent over the last year, stressing that overall premature births remain a problem nationwide. But as the data revealed in California, there seemed to be a significant drop in the number of premature births after May 2021 after vaccines were rolled out. Want more health and science stories in your inbox? Subscribe to Salon's weekly newsletter Lab Notes. The patterns we see also align both with the timing of vaccine rollout and differentially so by the level of vaccine uptake, Jenna Nobles, a University of WisconsinMadison sociology professor, told Salon. The researchers found that in ZIP codes with high vaccination rates the risk of preterm birth declined faster as opposed to ZIP codes with low vaccination rates. While variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus likely had something to do with the decline, the researchers said, the fact that there were faster declines in more vaccinated ZIP codes underscored the evidence that vaccines played a role. At this point in time, we have no evidence that the variants in some ZIP codes were different from the variants in others in a way that would drive this, Nobles said. It's very hard to come up with an alternative explanation for this sharp divergence and patterns after vaccines were rolled out. Researchers say the biggest takeaway from their research is that there are significant benefits to pregnant women getting vaccinated against COVID-19. While a lot of attention around COVID-19 vaccines has gone to vulnerable populations like older adults, the researchers said that their study shows that pregnant women need to be prioritized, too. The research also adds to previous literature showing that COVID-19 vaccines are safe for pregnant women. Early in the pandemic, the fact that pregnant women were left out of vaccine trials left little to no vaccine safety data, which wasn't always reassuring for many people, acting like fertilizer for the misinformation that followed. But this most recent study is one of several showing that vaccines are safe for pregnant women, and could save them from having adverse birth outcomes like a premature birth. Here, we find evidence that there are very strong, important and consequential adverse effects of avoiding vaccination, Nobles said. Vaccines are important and likely prevented thousands of preterm births in the United States. PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) The Prince Georges County Police Department (PGCPD) said three suspects were arrested for a murder in Landover Hills that happened on Thanksgiving. Officers responded to the shooting at about 7:15 p.m. on Nov. 23 in the 7100 block of Webster St. There, they found a man suffering from gunshot wounds. He was taken to a hospital where he later died. Man shot, killed in Prince Georges County He was identified as 45-year-old Frederico Cruz Ojeda of Landover Hills. 47-year-old Eris Lopez, 20-year-old Omar Valdez Granados, and 20-year-old German Escobar Hernandez were arrested on Monday and are being charged with the murder. Police said the suspects shot Ojeda during a dispute they were known to each other. Anyone with information is asked to call PGCPD (301) 516-2512. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. Be stars are weird. They are rapidly rotating stars about 4 to 18 times larger than the sun, but a pleasing blue color surrounded by discs of gas, not unlike the rings of Saturn. They spin so fast that they approach "critical velocity" or the point where they would otherwise blast apart due to centrifugal force overpowering the star's gravity. And what they say about living fast and dying young holds true: these stars only live to be about be about 5 to 10 million years before sputtering out a short life for a star. These fascinating celestial bodies have captivated astronomers for generations, in no small part because of their mysterious nature. Among other things, astronomers were puzzled by how Be stars which were first discovered by Italian astronomer Angelo Secchi in 1866 were even formed in the first place. Now a group of scientists have published a study in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society which offers a tantalizing clue in answer to that question: It postulates that massive Be stars which were previously thought to exist as double stars may in reality be triple stars. As the authors explain in their study, Be stars "are rapidly rotating stars surrounded by a disc; however the origin of this rotation remains unclear," with the previous main hypothesis being that that two close stars transfer mass between themselves. Yet by analyzing data from the European Space Agencys Gaia satellite, the researchers found surprising evidence that Be stars exist in triple systems, meaning that three bodies interact with each other instead of two. vampire star We observed the way the stars move across the night sky, over longer periods like 10 years, and shorter periods of around six months," University of Leeds PhD student Jonathan Dodd, the lead author of the study, explained in a statement. "If a star moves in a straight line, we know theres just one star, but if there is more than one, we will see a slight wobble or, in the best case, a spiral." Dodd added, We applied this across the two groups of stars that we are looking at the B stars and the Be stars and what we found, confusingly, is that at first it looks like the Be stars have a lower rate of companions than the B stars. This is interesting because wed expect them to have a higher rate. Dr. Rene D Oudmaijer, a physics professor from the University of Leeds who co-authored the paper, speculated that this may happen because some of the stars are too faint to be detected by Gaia. "Such stars would go undetected by the measures used within this paper, as they are too close, low-mass and dim to induce a significant enough deviation of the photocentre from the centre of mass," the paper's authors explain. Want more health and science stories in your inbox? Subscribe to Salon's weekly newsletter Lab Notes. In addition to unlocking mysteries about the origins of Be stars, the new research may also shed light on the enigmatic phenomenon known as gravitational waves. Gravitational waves are ripples in the space-time fabric which are created in the aftermath of two black holes colliding with each other. They were first speculated to exist by acclaimed physicist Albert Einstein back in 1916, but they were not confirmed to be real for another century. Since that time, scientists have used what they have learned about gravitational waves to observe a black hole devour a neutron star, glimpse inside neutron stars and even discover the wobbliest black hole ever seen. "There's a revolution going on in physics at the moment around gravitational waves," Oudmaijer explained in his statement. "We have only been observing these gravitational waves for a few years now, and these have been found to be due to merging black holes." Oudmaijer added, We know that these enigmatic objects black holes and neutron stars exist, but we don't know much about the stars that would become them. Our findings provide a clue to understanding these gravitational wave sources. In addition to Dodd and Oudjmaijer, the scientists behind the recent discoveries include University of Leeds PhD student Isaac Radley and a pair of former Leeds academics, Dr Abigail Frost at the European Southern Observatory in Chile and Dr Miguel Vioque of the ALMA Observatory in Chile. EYEWITNESS NEWS (WBRE/WYOU) Three people have been charged for allegedly selling fentanyl and heroin in Monroe County. The United States Attorneys Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced the following individuals have been indicted by the federal grand jury for selling drugs; 40-year-old Rosa Duran from Davenport, Flordia 32-year-old Tony Oliver from Paterson, New Jersey 23-year-old Dewayne Hutton from East Orange, New Jersey According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, Oliver, Duran, and Hutton conspired to sell fentanyl and heroin between April 2021 and September 2023 in Monroe County and elsewhere. Arrest made after man stabbed in face Attorney Karam says Oliver was charged with conspiring to distribute over 400 grams of fentanyl which is equivalent to 16,000 grams of potentially lethal doses of fentanyl. Allegedly three suspects sold and possessed fentanyl on three dates in May, July, and September of 2023. Officials say Oliver can serve a minimum of 10 years and a maximum life of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Duran and Hutton can serve up to 20 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PAhomepage.com. A three-year cruise, hosted by Life at Sea, has allegedly left several passengers stranded after it suddenly cancelled the excursion just weeks before its scheduled departure. According to CNN, the once-in-a-lifetime experience was called-off just two weeks before the boat was set to sail due to a lack of ship availability. The boat was initially scheduled to depart from Istanbul, Turkey, on 1 November, but the trip was postponed a number of times. The next confirmed date was 11 November with a relocation from Turkey to Amsterdam. Then, the company pushed the date back again, this time to 30 November. Ticketed guests, who paid between $29,999 a month and $109,000 per year depending on room size, were planning on visiting seven continents, 135 countries, and 375 ports aboard the ship. On 17 November, without any word from the company for weeks, per an ABC report, guests who had sold their homes, shipped their belongings, and had already travelled to Turkey, were notified of the voyage cancellation. The former CEO of Life at Sea, Kendra Holmes, sent out a 15-minute video to explain the devastating situation. According to the outlet, Holmes had resigned from her post a few days before. Many passengers who had reserved one of the 111 cabins werent anticipating the last-minute cancellation, and now reportedly have nowhere to return home to. The company is promising to refund all passengers who were prepared to set sail aboard the ship, but payments will only be made in monthly installments, resulting in an estimated full refund around late February. Additionally, Life at Sea has offered to pay for transportation and accommodation until 1 December for any guest who has already travelled to Istanbul. Speaking to CNN, a passenger who chose to remain anonymous, said: Theres a whole lot of people right now with nowhere to go, and some need their refund to even plan a place to go - its not good right now. Another guest named Kimberly Arizzi sold her entire apartment, all her clothes and furniture to pay for the luxurious trip, which shed hoped would kick off her retirement, according to Insider. Miray International, the parent company for Life at Sea, had started accepting payments and booking for the first-of-its kind trip at sea on 1 March. At the time, the plan was to use the MV Gemini Ship. Yet, upon further evaluation, Miray reportedly decided the vessel wasnt big enough. The next ship that was supposed to be used was the AIDAaura, which Life at Sea was meant to buy and rename the MV Lara for the excursion, according to CNN. Life at Sea had notified guests that the purchase of MV Lara was taking a bit longer than theyd expected. However, word reportedly got out that Celestyal Cruises purchased the ship on 16 November. On 19 November, two days after passengers were made aware of the trip cancellation, Vedat Ugurlu, the owner of Miray International, confirmed that the company could not afford to purchase the ship. Whats more, Ugurlu explained that Miray presented the project to investors and had official approval from some of them to buy the vessel, but after the down payment was made, investors declined to support us further due to unrest in the Middle East. In conversation with CNN, one would-be world traveller described themselves to be sad, angry and lost. I had the next three years of my life planned to live an extraordinary life, and now [I have] nothing, they went on to say. Im having a hard time moving forward. I was proud and feeling brave, now I dont trust anyone or anything. I know itll work out and life will go on, but Im uncertain of the direction. Following the cancellation, many people online voiced their opinions and expressed sympathy for those left stranded or disappointed by the failed trip. The Independent has contacted Miray International and Life at Sea for comment. Molly Duane, a Center for Reproductive Rights attorney, answers questions from media after the Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the Zurawski v Texas case, a major challenge to Texas abortion ban led by more than 20 women suing for clarified medical exemptions, at the state capitol on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, in Austin, Texas. The plaintiffs Duane represents say they were denied care and their health was jeopardized because the law is overly vague. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News Dr. Austin Dennard of Dallas holds her son as they walk out of the Texas Supreme Courtroom with Lauren Miller of Dallas on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, in Austin, Texas. Both women are part of the Zurawski v. Texas case, a major challenge to the states bortion ban led by more than 20 women suing for clarified medical exemptions. The women on the lawsuit, which was filed in March, say they were denied care and their health was jeopardized because the law is overly vague. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News Plaintiffs in the Zurawski v Texas case stand outside of the Texas State Capitol on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, in Austin, Texas, after the Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments for their case, a major challenge to Texas abortion ban led by more than 20 women suing for clarified medical exemptions. The women on the lawsuit, which was filed in March, say they were denied care and their health was jeopardized because the law is overly vague. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News Ashley Brandt, center left, embraces Dr. Austin Dennard, both of Dallas, after the Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the Zurawski v Texas case, a major challenge to Texas abortion ban led by more than 20 women suing for clarified medical exemptions, at the state capitol on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, in Austin, Texas. The plaintiffs on the lawsuit, including Brandt and Dennard, say they were denied care and their health was jeopardized because the law is overly vague. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News Deirdre Cooper, a public policy analyst for Texas Alliance for Life, holds one of her daughters as she shares her experiences with pregnancy complications and her support for the states abortion laws on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, in Austin, Texas, after attending the Texas Supreme Courts hearing on the Zurawski v Texas case. Cooper shared that her son Bosco, one of her 10 children, was diagnosed with Edwards syndrome, a severe chromosomal abnormality, and died in childbirth in April 2021. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News Attorney Molly Duane with the Center for Reproductive Rights holds Dr. Austin Dennards son as they talk outside of the state capitol on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, in Austin, Texas, after the Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments for the Zurawski v Texas case, a major challenge to Texas abortion ban led by more than 20 women suing for clarified medical exemptions. The women on the lawsuit, including Dr. Dennard, say they were denied care and their health was jeopardized because the law is overly vague. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News Kaitlyn Kash of Austin shares her experience with pregnancy complications after the Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the Zurawski v Texas case, a major challenge to the Texas abortion ban led by Kash and 21 other women suing for clarified medical exemptions, at the state capitol on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, in Austin, Texas. Kash and the other women on the lawsuit, which was filed in March, say they were denied care and their health was jeopardized because the law is overly vague. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News Amy ODonnell, center, Director of Communications for Texas Alliance for Life, answers questions from media after the Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the Zurawski v Texas case, a major challenge to the states abortion ban led by more than 20 women suing for clarified medical exemptions, on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, in Austin, Texas. ODonnell and a few other Texas Alliance for Life workers attended the hearing to show support for the states pro-life laws. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News Deirdre Cooper, a public policy analyst for Texas Alliance for Life, shares her experiences with pregnancy complications and her support for the states abortion laws on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, in Austin, Texas, as several of her children listen to a press conference following the Texas Supreme Courts hearing on the Zurawski v Texas case. Cooper shared that her son Bosco, one of her 10 children, was diagnosed with Edwards syndrome, a severe chromosomal abnormality, and died in childbirth in April 2021. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News Plaintiffs Kristen Anaya, from left, Amanda Zurawski and Kimberly Manzano talk outside of the Texas State Capitol on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, in Austin, Texas, after the Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments for the Zurawski v Texas case, a major challenge to Texas abortion ban led by more than 20 women suing for clarified medical exemptions. The women on the lawsuit, which was filed in March, say they were denied care and their health was jeopardized because the law is overly vague. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News Dr. Austin Dennard and her patient Lauren Miller, both of Dallas, share their experiences with pregnancy complications after the Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the Zurawski v Texas case, a major challenge to the Texas abortion ban led by Dennard, Miller and 20 other women suing for clarified medical exemptions, at the state capitol on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, in Austin, Texas. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News Several of the Texas Supreme Courts Republican justices appeared hesitant on Tuesday to clarify an emergency exception in the states abortion ban despite claims from nearly two dozen women that they were forced to continue medically dangerous pregnancies. Our job is to decide cases, not to elaborate and expand laws in order to make them easier to understand or enforce, Justice Brett Busby said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The case was initially filed in March by five women a number that has since ballooned to 22 as more plaintiffs have been added who say they were denied abortions despite having dangerous or unviable pregnancies. They say their doctors feared violating the law, which could result in lengthy prison sentences, tens of thousands in fines and the loss of their medical licenses. Unlike other litigation, their lawsuit is not trying to overturn the Texas ban or others like it, but instead clarify exactly how physicians can provide abortions during dangerous or unviable pregnancies. The ban currently allows the procedure only when there is a substantial risk to a mother. Lawyers with the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is representing the women, say the exception is overly vague and that the lack of care their clients received violates the Texas Constitutions guarantee of equal rights regardless of sex, among other provisions. The states attorneys, meanwhile, argue that doctors are at fault for failing to intervene in each of the cases, not the law, and that the women dont have the right to sue the state because theyre not actively in danger. Justice Jeff Boyd said he was having trouble understanding the states argument about the womens right to sue, pointing to one of them, Amanda Zurawski, who developed sepsis while her doctor made her wait for an abortion. Because of her complications, Zurawski will likely not be able to conceive again without medical intervention. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Why doesnt she have standing to say, Hey, we need someone to tell us what this statue means so that I know what my rights are going forward, and my doctor knows what he or she can do moving forward? he asked. Beth Klusmann, a lawyer for the state, argued the plaintiffs concerns moving forward are hypothetical. A plaintiff would have to know theyre going to be pregnant and that they would face this particular circumstance again, Klusmann said, though she conceded that perhaps there is a plaintiff that meets that in this case. Molly Duane, a Center for Reproductive Rights lawyer, said the states interpretation of standing would require that a woman needs to have blood or amniotic fluid dripping down their leg before they can come to court. The plaintiffs include patients who are trying to get pregnant now and pregnancy complications are likely to occur, she said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Justice Evan Young pushed back, comparing doctors to police officers who have to work out how to comply with the state constitution in use-of-force cases. Here we have a statement in the statute that describes the risk of death or the serious risk to a substantial bodily function how is that so much more nebulous than the entire body of constitutional law that law enforcement has to apply? Young said. Duane said the situations are not similar at all, as police officers have qualified immunity against being sued. Klusmann said the problem is with doctors, not the law. The ban was not written with the intention of discriminating based on sex, the state has said in filings, and abortion care is not ordinary medical treatment because it involves potential life. Were just trying to identify when its appropriate to end the life of an unborn child, and the Legislature has set the bar high, Klusmann said. But theres nothing unconstitutional about their decision to do so. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Busby noted the cases might have made more sense as medical negligence suits against the doctors. Duane said her clients dont blame their doctors for acting within the constraints of the law. Many physicians and hospitals have feared immediately intervening in emergency cases even when there is a clear danger, given the states stiff penalties for anyone who violates the ban. Two Houston physicians who say theyve been constrained from providing necessary health care because of the law are also part of the suit. New protections don't go far enough, plaintiffs say The case was before the all-Republican high court Tuesday after the state this summer appealed a Travis County district judges ruling this summer that found the laws are unconstitutional. It is believed to be the first lawsuit brought by individual women against state abortion restrictions since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Since the suit was filed, Texas lawmakers passed a bill that protects health care providers and pharmacists from criminal, civil and professional liability if they perform an abortion on a patient with two particular life-threatening conditions. Those are ectopic pregnancies, in which the egg implants outside the uterus, and previable premature rupture of membranes, or PPROM, in which a patients water breaks before the pregnancy reaches viability. The plaintiffs attorneys say the new law does not cover all situations addressed in the suit, such as fetal abnormalities incompatible with life. They also say doctors remain under legal threat because a separate law, Senate Bill 8, allows any private citizen to sue over an abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy for damages of at least $10,000. After the arguments on Tuesday, Duane told reporters she was optimistic that the court heard us, heard them (the plaintiffs) and saw them. But if the justices fail to intervene, Texans will be in the exact same spot that we are today where physicians remain constrained and patients suffer the consequences. While I was sitting in the courtroom, my telephone rang, Duane said. It was a call from another patient. This is real. It is happening every single day, and it is not going to stop until someone with accountability in this state can put a stop to it. Plaintiff Lauren Miller and her doctor, Austin Dennard, became emotional when describing the hardship they went through as they tried to navigate the law and save Miller and her babys life. Miller, from Dallas, learned at 12 weeks pregnant that one of her twins had a fetal abnormality, trisomy 18, and was unlikely to survive. Despite the risks for her second fetus, Miller was denied an abortion, and she had to travel to Colorado for the procedure. She has gotten me through two pregnancies, one of which was clearly horribly traumatic, Miller said of Dennard. That is a good doctor. That is not the person I should be suing here. I place the blame firmly at the feet of the state. She delivered him and gave him to me, and my words were, You made it, Miller recalled. It wasn't, Hi, little one. It was, You made it. And I thank you for that. The two then embraced. Dennard added, through tears: Our two healthy boys are here because of the abortions we received. PARIS (Reuters) - French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna on Tuesday welcomed news that three young French nationals were among the hostages released by Hamas on Monday, saying they were in good health. "We have indirect news and that news is good... It is a great, great relief," Colonna told RTL radio, when asked about the health of Eitan, 12, Erez, 12, and Sahar 16. "Three French children were finally freed, now we must work relentlessly for the release of all the other hostages," she said, adding that five French nationals were still missing or believed to be held hostage. Hamas on Monday released 11 hostages from Gaza, also including two with German nationality and six with Argentinian nationality. (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten, Kirsten Donovan) In the beginning there was nothing. Silence. Then: a bang. And then everything else. And though nobody was around (obviously) to hear the birth of the cosmos, the echoes of that primordial detonation linger, shaping matter and light and permeating the whole, vast, fathomless firmament. The universe, in a meaningful way, is made of noise. Noise is, for Thurston Moore, singularly meaningful: He is obsessed with its implications, its possibilities, and its sheer noisiness. In the early 1980s, Sonic Youthwhose evolving lineup was based around Moore and fellow guitarist-songwriters Lee Ranaldo and Kim Gordon, who was married to Moore for nearly 30 yearswas the squealing edge of the so-called noise rock movement. Drawing inspiration from the avant-garde and the hard-core punk underground, noise rock prized volume, atonality, and wild waves of amplifier feedback, provided by cheapo guitars played in odd, unconventional tunings. The premise, basically: What if they made a whole song out of the bad parts of songs? Noise rock took the ostensible defects of amplified rock music and made virtues of them. From hard-core, noise rock borrowed a sense of confrontation, and a reclamation of the ugly. Drumsticks were jammed under fretboards; modified guitars were whacked against amps; and the music, such as it is, rises to impossibly loud, tinnitus-inducing pitches. Feedback had been deliberately deployed before, by artists from composer Steve Reich to the Velvet Underground, to The Beatles on I Feel Fine. But bands like Sonic Youth crafted whole sonic spectacles out of the conscious, wildly improvisational wielding of feedback and noise. In Sonic Youths music, noise was a texture, accruing like the layers of paint on a Rothko canvas. The sound challenged audiences and pushed dinky in-house P.A.s to their limits. We were at war, Moore declares, with the soundmen of America. Groups like Sonic Youth bucked good standards of signal-to-noise ratios. The noise was the signal. Moores new memoir, Sonic Life, may be accused of being too signal-driven. For all the messiness of his music, this account of Moores life is conspicuously tidy, assiduously painting Moore as a thoughtful, humble, and fundamentally shy person. He shuns the allure of sex and drugs (just not a defining factor for me) in favor of a wholly other kind of eros than the one found by those blessed bed-hoppers. No compliment paid to the band, or to Moore himself, is left unremembered (Nirvana wore our T-shirts and sung our praises). Even digs are framed as backhanded compliments: When Minutemen bassist Mike Watt tells Moore that record collectors shouldnt be in bands, the diss ultimately redounds to the authors benefit. The more he goes on in this vein, the harder it is to square the Thurston Moore of the book with the Thurston Moore who played in the singular band that was Sonic Youth. Sonic Youth formed in 1981, when Moore and Gordon ditched their previous bands and linked up (musically and romantically). Lee Ranaldo, a veteran of New York underground guitar orchestras, would add far-out, experimental texture to the group: three guitars melding, chasing, and spiraling into one another, as Moore writes. Over early albums, the chaos and sheer noise of the groups live shows settled into a more conventional (but still boundary-pushing) rock sound. The band found fans in Americas emerging punk clubs, and in Europe, where they were feted as the next big thing. By 1988s Daydream Nation, the band were standard-bearers of the indie underground that now included hard-core punk groups like Black Flag alongside more melodic, even tuneful groups like REM and The Replacements. (Critic Robert Christgau, an early doubter of the group, was forced to gulp and admit that Daydream Nation constituted a philosophical triumph.) Major labels came knocking. By 1990, Sonic Youth had signed with David Geffen, effectively charting the undergrounds pathway into the byways of more MTV-friendly rock styles. Lollapalooza followed. And a Simpsons cameo. By 2008, the band was releasing compilations displayed exclusively at Starbucks coffee stores. Even more than Nirvana, Sonic Youths arc tells the story of American indie rock, and its move from the margins to mainstream, in miniature. But youd never get this sense reading Moores book. Sonic Life is basically a by-the-numbers rock star bio, about a dweeby small-town kid who falls in love with music, raids the cheap bins at records stores, cuts his hair to look like Iggy Pop, and, in the late 1970s, moves to lower Manhattan to make the scene. For its first hundred or so pages, Moore rattles off the names of bands he saw, like a birdwatcher recounting their life list: Patti Smith, Television, Suicide, New York Dolls, Siouxsie & the Banshees, The Nuns, Wire, PiL, Crass, Ut, DNA, 8 Eyed Spy, Bush Tetrasbored yet? He rubs shoulders with William Burroughs, Sun Ra, and Joey Ramone, casting himself as a Zelig-like figure in the New York underground he would, in time, come to rule. Moores writing is often possessed of a grating imperiousness. He was living in this city for the ineffable connection it afforded us, he writes of New York City in the late 1970s, the wild community of artists, poets and musicians giving voice to an environment rife with trash, chaos, and absurdity. He is ahead of the curve on hard-core, on hip-hop, and on any other genre regarded charily by the snootier members of New Yorks seen-it-all scenesters. To walk into a CBGB matinee and see Bad Brains was to share a room with one of the greatest bands in the history of rock n roll beyond any doubt, he writes, with the air of some conquistador of cool who believes hes discovering something. Of course, the thing about coolness is that it diminishes the minute someone insists upon it. And Moores repeated invocations of his impeccable taste, his progressive politics (he spends two pages in anguish over the feminist, and anti-feminist, implications of hanging a nudie calendar on his apartment wall), and his own downtown art-punk bona fides can feel a little unrelenting. Especially because Sonic Youth and their music are already synonymous with a certain strain of disdainful cool. Of course, not everyone bought it. In his classic chronicle of the American indie rock underground, Our Band Could Be Your Life, Michael Azerrad notes that certain segments of the scene regarded the group as charlatans borrowing promotional ideas from the art world to browbeat the underground into building a consensus of cool around them. It wasnt just their mix of hypnotic guitar noise and punk-rock energy. Their lyrics conveyed a sneering nihilism (I cant get laid cause everyone is dead, Moore mewls on Stereo Sanctity). They built a totalizing aesthetic, trading in images of serial killers, a borrowed beat lexicon (yr, becuz, kool), and art school meta-jokesthe cover of their 1995 record Washing Machine features two fans wearing Sonic Youth T-shirts; the band also released its own T-shirt emblazoned with the image of a woman wearing a Sonic Youth T-shirt. Like all truly cool bands, basically anything Sonic Youth did became cool, by mere virtue of their doing it. They got away with underground no-nos: like sending promotional clips to MTV, covering Madonna tunes, or signing with a major label. Their shrugging, whatever-man attitude managed to insulate them from the standard sell-out criticisms. And that attitude, as Azerrad has written, proved particularly useful to music industry honchos, among whom there existed, an unspoken understanding that [Sonic Youth] were so cool that their chief function was as a magnet band, an act that would serve mostly to attract other, more successful bands. This status wasnt lost on their contemporaries either. The pioneering riot grrrl punk band Bikini Kill sang: If Sonic Youth thinks youre cool Does that mean everything to you? Moore, of course, quotes these lyrics as further evidence of his groups role model status. He frames everythingfrom Sonic Youths move from exploratory wailing to four-minute rock singles, to the changing power dynamics of the bandas natural and intuitive, never opportunistic or crassly commercial. Perhaps thats true. But the constant flexing, and general lack of reflection, grows tedious. One presumes that anyone reading Thurston Moores autobiography already believes that Sonic Youth is a great, and very influential, band. Where Sonic Life really sings (or squeals) is as an encyclopedia of noise, and noises. Moore is keenly attuned to the sounds of the world around him. And he describes them with great relish. An early encounter with the primitivist garage rock classic Louie Louie altered his whole soundworld. Fledgling excursions on an electric Stratocaster produced squalling, squealing, screeching electric noise. At one point he dreams of making wet noise (yuck). Heroes and contemporaries are themselves praised on the basis of their purely sonic qualities. A 1976 Lou Reed concert produces golden frequencies of music streaming and whirling around. New York violinist Boris Policeband is a living noise sculpture. A Blondie show at CBGB opened a portal to a wholly new sonic dimension. Punk rockers Mission of Burma operate in sonic overdrive. A new drummer has the effect of recalibrating a bands sonic engine. A bodega refrigerator captivates, with its subsonic drone. Everything is sonic-this, and sonic-that. Sonic Youth itself is not a mere band, but a sonic democracy. Their own music is a psychedelic heavy metal no wave rainbow. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, meanwhile, purvey swap-drench gothic gush. Its like Moore is battering his thesaurus to shake out fresh new synonyms for noise, and sound, and a whole broad concept of the sonic. And when no words exist, Moore invents his own. Crunge, describing a type of amateurish, high-volume guitar yowling, is a great one. His more philosophical reflections on the artistic possibilities of noise are also worthwhile. Avant-garde composer Glenn Branca, who recruited Moore and Ranaldo for his guitar orchestras, tore away at the fabric of reality, creating singular moments in which musicians and audiences couldwhen the alignment was just rightexperience extrasensory, soul-shifting explosions. An early Sonic Youth performance has our three guitars melding, chasing, and spiraling into one another. If these passages scan as a bit hyperbolic, or even cheesy, it is only because Moore seems genuinely in love with noise. He comes by his professorial tone honestly, as both dean and lifelong student of a sound he practically invented. Or rather, co-invented. What most undermines Sonic Life is not its author or voice. Its the existence of another, better, book about Sonic Youth, its associated personages, and its tangled interpersonal dynamics. What most undermines Sonic Life is not its author or voice. Its the existence of another, better, book about Sonic Youth. Kim Gordons Girl in a Band was published in 2015, in the more immediate aftermath of Sonic Youths breakup, which was itself precipitated by the breakdown of Gordon and Moores marriage. In brief: Moore cheated on Gordon with a poet and publisher 20 years his junior. In her book, Gordon is unsparing. She calls Moore a coward and a serial liar, whose actions turned their lives into another cliche of middle-aged relationship failure. As her memoirs title suggests, Gordon cast herself as a little on the outside of her own band. This perspective grants her a clarity, both about her experience and her music: The girl anchors the stage, sucks in the male gaze, she writes of her role in Sonic Youth, in what could also double as one of her acerbic lyrics. Moore shows little interest in revisiting the breakup. The affair, and subsequent dissolution of the band, doesnt figure until his books last pages. Naturally, Moore has his own spin on the infidelity: We kept our communion to ourselves to some time, before eventually coming out with the news. (In Gordons telling, she basically badgered him into a confession, after coming across a trove of incriminating correspondence.) The circumstances that led me to a place where I would even consider such an extreme and difficult decision, Moore writes of his split, are intensely personal, and I would never capitalize on them publicly, here or anywhere. Hes entitled to his privacy, of course. But this reticence, framed as a form of respect, raises another, more fundamental question: Why write a whole book about your life if you dont like talking about yourself? For decades, in the minds of their fans, Moore/Gordon were an inseparable dyad. She was the intellectually oriented aesthete who wrote tour diaries for Artforum. He was the sneering punk who shoved into audiences, heart on his sleeve. But their books suggest that very much the opposite is true. Gordon managed a frank, ruthless accounting of her own life and feelings. Moore seems entirely more at ease talking about things outside of himself: other musicians, other records, other scenes, the rattle and hum of a convenience store fridge, droning subsonically. The raw, unselfconscious intensity of a musician who boasts, on several occasions, about slicing his fingers on guitar strings because hes caterwauling too ferociously is, in these nearly 500 bound pages, nowhere to be found. Maybe that kind of revelation is beneath the standards of hip, downtown disaffection that Moore worked so diligently to cultivate. Maybe theres just not much there. Or, most likely, Sonic Life embodies a fact of so many musicians memoirs: that whatever they have thats worth saying is better said through the music itself. Put on Bad Moon Rising, or Daydream Nation, or the epic, mesmeric, 20-minute-long Diamond Sea. There youll find a Thurston Moore thats passionate, enthralling, and altogether more engaged. While remaining just as cool. Tiffany Haddish has addressed her recent arrest for a suspected DUI offence, claiming that it will never happen again. The Girls Trip star was taken into custody on Friday (24 November) after she was found asleep at the wheel of her car for the second time in two years. According to witnesses, the Tesla was stopped in the middle of the road in Beverly Hills, California, reportedly with the engine running. Haddish, 43, was arrested when officers arrived at the scene for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. She was released from custody hours later. In a conversation with Entertainment Tonight on Monday (27 November), the actor declared that this will never happen again. Tiffany Haddish (Getty Images) Im going to get some help so I can learn balance and boundaries, she added. In January 2022, Haddish was arrested for a similar incident in Atlanta, Georgia, after she was found asleep at the wheel on a highway. Police officers believed she had been under the influence of marijuana and charged her with a DUI. She only remained in police custody for a few hours after posting $1,666 (1,218) bond, with her trial scheduled to take place next month. Soon after her 2022 arrest, Haddish appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and offered a light-hearted take on her predicament. Ive been praying to God to send me a new man, a good man. God went ahead and sent me four in a uniform, Haddish quipped. I wasnt expecting it. I was not expecting that at all. Now, Ive got a really great lawyer, and were going to work it out. Ive got to get my asking of things to God a little better. Tiffany Haddish (Getty Images) Later in 2022, Haddish and fellow comedian Aries Spears were accused of child sexual abuse by a 22-year-old woman. Under the pseudonym Jane Doe, the woman alleged that the actors had forced her and her 15-year-old brother separately to perform inappropriate acts on camera when they were both children. Representatives for Haddish and Spears denied the allegations in separate statements. On 20 September 2022, Doe asked the judge to dismiss the case, which they agreed to. However, in an interview shortly after the dismissal, Haddish claimed that the damage to her career had already been done. I lost everything, she told TMZ at the time. All my gigs, gone. Everything, gone I dont have no job. I dont have no job, bro. In the year since the historic sexual abuse allegation, Haddish has starred in several projects, including the sci-fi comedy Landscape with Invisible Hand, Disneys family horror comedy The Haunted Mansion, and the second season of Apple TV+s whodunnit series The Afterparty. If you or someone you know is suffering from alcohol addiction, you can confidentially call the national alcohol helpline Drinkline on 0300 123 1110 or visit the NHS website here for information about the programmes available to you. In the US, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration can be reached at 1-800-662-HELP FILE - Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Kenta Maeda throws during the fourth inning in Game 1 of an American League Division Series baseball game against the Houston Astros, Oct. 7, 2023, in Houston. Right-hander Maeda and the Detroit Tigers agreed to a $24 million, two-year contract, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023, because the agreement was subject to a successful physical and had not been announced. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) DETROIT (AP) Kenta Maeda gave the Detroit Tigers what they were looking for in free agency, a veteran talented enough to bolster their rotation with an approach they want pitchers on model on the mound. We think hes going to both help us win games and influence our young starters, general manager Scott Harris said Tuesday after Detroit and the 35-year-old Japanese right hander finalized a $24 million, two-year contract. Maeda joins a projected rotation with pitchers in their 20s, a group that potentially includes Matt Manning, Alex Faedo, Reese Olson, Tarik Skubal, Joey Wentz and perhaps Casey Mize. He does a lot of things that we really like, and hope will rub off on our young starters, Harris said. Harris, entering his second full season in charge of the franchise, may add more players to the mound. You'll never hear me say we have enough pitching, he said. Maeda is 65-49 with a 3.92 ERA in 155 starts and 35 relief outings for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota. He spent the past three years with the Twins and was 6-8 with a 4.23 ERA in 20 starts and one relief appearance this year in his return from Tommy John surgery two-plus years ago. Harris said Maeda's velocity returned to pre-surgery levels, giving him even more confidence that it was wise to sign him. Maeda's four-seam fastball averaged 90.9 mph this year, up from 90.8 mph in 2021 but down from a peak of 92.3 mph in 2018. We felt pretty comfortable with offering two years," he said. It gives gives us a little bit more continuity in our rotation. As part of the deal, Maeda will donate $70,000 next year and $50,000 in 2025 to the teams charitable foundation. ___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/ The logo of Chinese internet company Bytedance, parent company of popular social media application TikTok. ByteDance has confirmed that it will significantly downsize its gaming business after reports of job cuts. The Beijing-based company, which also owns popular social network TikTok, entered the gaming market in 2019 to compete with industry leader Tencent. But it has failed to grab market share. The BBC understands that games with active players, such as Crystal of Atlan and Earth: Revival will continue. Titles which have not yet launched will be shut down in December. The decision will likely impact hundreds of employees. A spokesperson from ByteDance told the BBC the company regularly reviews its business and it has "made the difficult decision to restructure our gaming business". The global video game market was estimated to be worth $217bn (172bn) last year, according to market research and consulting company Grand View Research. ByteDance's creation of its gaming division Nuverse in 2019 was widely seen as a major push into a once booming sector. In 2021, the company formalised its status as one of six business units under a broader structural overhaul. To build up production capacity, Nuverse acquired external studios such as C4games. But Nuverse's performance has been patchy with none of its games becoming a commercial hit. The latest move marks a retreat from the competitive video gaming sector. ByteDance's competitor Tencent is the world's biggest gaming company in terms of revenue. Formed in 2012, ByteDance created the global smash-hit app TikTok which has an estimated 1.1bn active monthly users. Its massive popularity has meant it has been scrutinised by governments around the world, including in the US and China. During his term, US President Donald Trump regularly attacked ByteDance, accusing TikTok of being a threat to US national security. Politicians and officials raised concerns about users' personal data being passed to the Chinese government. TikTok has denied accusations that it shares user data but its CEO Shou Zi Chew faced hours of questioning at a US congressional hearing in March. There has been growing pressure on ByteDance to spin off its shares in TikTok or risk facing a ban. Senator Tommy Tuberville thinks the U.S. military is the weakest its been in history, but he conveniently blames it on wokeness instead of something that has recently become a far more damaging problem for our armed forces: his own blockade on military promotions. Tuberville has blocked nearly 400 military promotions since March as a part of a one-man protest against the Defense Departments policy of reimbursing travel costs for service members who have to travel out of state for an abortion. The Pentagon has repeatedly warned that his actions harm military readiness, but Tuberville refuses to budge. Instead, the Alabama Republican trotted out a familiar Republican scapegoat Monday night. $114 million on diversity training, youve got to be kidding me, Tuberville said on Newsmax. Weve got the weakest military that weve had in probably your or my lifetime. Now weve got a lot of good military people, but infiltrating our military is all this wokeness. And its coming from the top. Tuberville: We have the weakest military than weve probably had in my lifetime pic.twitter.com/vEXe9ow09Z Acyn (@Acyn) November 28, 2023 This isnt the first time Tuberville has blamed military shortcomings on wokeness. In September, he said the Navy was headed downhill because weve got people doing poems on aircraft carriers over the loudspeaker. Tuberville does think, though, that diverse ideologies should be allowed in the militaryspecifically white nationalists, who he believes should be allowed to serve. The lawmaker has repeatedly refused to accept that white nationalists are racist, despite this being, for all intents and purposes, the defining characteristic of white nationalism. If anything is weakening the military, its Tubervilles stunt. The Pentagon has warned repeatedly that the lawmakers blockade is doing ongoing harm to military readiness, with the secretary of the Navy accusing Tuberville of aiding and abetting Communist regimes by holding up promotions. Tubervilles crusade has led to multiple high-level positions remaining unfilled, leaving different military branches scrambling whenever something goes wrong. In early November, General Eric Smith, the commandant of the Marine Corps, was hospitalized after suffering a heart attack. There is no indication that Smiths workloadwhich was double its normal size thanks to Tubervillecontributed to his heart attack, but it likely didnt help. Even Tubervilles fellow Republicans have grown sick of his shenanigans. One of the most scathing rebukes the Alabama lawmaker has received came from Senator Dan Sullivan, who called Tubervilles belief that he wasnt damaging military readiness ridiculous and patently absurd. How dumb can we be, man? Sullivan demanded. Pretty dumb, apparently! Influential Iowa evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats is doubling down on his disdain for former President Trump and his support for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to take the GOP presidential nomination next year. Vander Plaats, CEO of the Iowa-based Christian conservative group The Family Leader, told the Blazes Steve Deace this week that hes never supported Trump, after the former president went on the attack. The number one hurdle for Donald Trump is Ive never met a dad or a mom or a grandpa or a grandma who have told me they want their son or daughter, grandchild to grow up to be like him, Vander Plaats said. Thats a big deal. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. Iowa will rise up, he continued. This is not leadership our country needs. Trump, who remains the clear front-runner in the race for the GOP presidential nomination, came out against Vander Plaats soon after he endorsed DeSantis. Both candidates have been campaigning hard ahead of the Iowa Caucuses in January. Bob Vander Plaats, the former High School Accountant from Iowa, will do anything to win, something which he hasnt done in many years, Trump wrote over the weekend. Hes more known for scamming Candidates than he is for Victory, but now hes going around using Disinformation from the Champions of that Art, the Democrats, he added. The former presidents reelection campaign also sent a fundraising email with the subject line: Bob Vander Plaat$ Endorses A Candidate Who Will Never Be President. The evangelical leader also has not been shy about voicing his disapproval of Trump. He told NewsNation earlier this year that voters were exhausted and tired, and he felt it was time to turn the page. NewsNation and The Hill are both owned by Nexstar Media Group. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Celebrations erupted after a ruling from the Panama Supreme Court that a contract allowing a Canadian company to operate a copper mine in the country was 'unconstitutional' (Roberto CISNEROS) Panama's Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that a contract allowing a Canadian company to keep operating Central America's biggest copper mine was unconstitutional. The government said after the ruling that it will close the mine. Panama has faced nationwide protests and roadblocks since Congress approved a law in October allowing First Quantum Minerals to operate the copper mine for 20 years, with an option to extend for another two decades. Protesters were concerned over the potential environmental impacts of Central America's largest open-pit copper mine, as well as other terms of the deal. "We have unanimously decided to declare the entire law 406 unconstitutional," said Supreme Court president Maria Eugenia Lopez, referring to the law governing the contract with the Canadian mining firm. The decision came after four days of deliberations between the nine members of the court. The announcement was followed by celebrations by a group of protesters who spent the night in front of the court. "It is a victory for popular democracy," environmentalist Raisa Banfield, who was among those outside the court, told the Telemetro television channel. Protesters also began to remove some of the roadblocks they had set up, local media reported. President Laurentino Cortizo wrote on social media: "I receive and abide by the decision of the Supreme Court." In a television address to the nation, Cortizo said later that once his government receives formal notification from the court, it will start a transition period to shut down the mine in an "orderly and safe" fashion. The protests against the mine deal were the largest since the fall of dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega in 1989. Roadblocks, including of the Pan-American Highway, have led to more than $1.7 billion in losses, report business associations. The Supreme Court had declared the original mining contract unconstitutional in 2017, but the government argued that the new version set out a minimum annual contribution from the mining company to the state of $375 million, 10 times the amount of the initial agreement. In addition, the company and the government pointed out that the mine generates 8,000 immediate jobs and 40,000 indirect jobs, and would contribute four percent to Panama's gross domestic product. Since February 2019, the open-pit mine has been producing about 300,000 tons of copper concentrate per year. Critics say the mine has wrought destruction on forest areas in a key biological corridor linking Central America and Mexico. First Quantum Minerals, which has invested more than $10 billion dollars in Panama, has notified the government of its intention to "present arbitration claims", under a free trade agreement between the two nations. At the same time, the company has said it prefers to resolve the situation through dialogue. Panama's government said Sunday on social media it was prepared to defend its national interests in the face of an arbitration process. However, experts believe the Supreme Court ruling could make it easier for the government to break the contract. jjr/fj/sf/fb/caw/md Toxic pollutants released during gas flaring are endangering millions more people than previously feared, a BBC investigation suggests. Flaring - the burning of waste gas during oil drilling - is taking place across the Gulf, including by COP28 hosts the United Arab Emirates. New research suggests pollution is spreading hundreds of miles, worsening air quality across the entire region. It comes as the UAE hosts the UN's COP28 climate summit on Thursday. The UAE banned routine flaring 20 years ago, but satellite images show it is continuing, despite the potential health consequences for its inhabitants and those in neighbouring countries. Analysis for BBC Arabic shows gasses are now spreading hundreds of kilometres across the region. Pollution from wells in Iraq, Iran and Kuwait were also analysed as part of the study. All of the countries involved either declined to comment or did not respond. Oil companies, including BP and Shell, who are responsible or partly responsible for sites where flaring took place said they were working to reduce the practice. On Monday, BBC News revealed leaked documents showed how the UAE had planned to use its role as the host of UN climate talks as an opportunity to strike oil and gas deals. David R. Boyd, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment said the BBC's findings were: "Very disturbing. Big oil companies and states in the Middle East are violating the human rights of millions of people by failing to tackle air pollution from fossil fuels. "Despite the massive human suffering, Big Oil and petrostates carry on with business as usual with total impunity and zero accountability." BBC iPlayer Breathless How the hidden toxic air pollution of the oil giants is spreading hundreds of kilometres, putting the health of millions of people at risk in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Iran and Iraq. The documentary is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer (UK only) and is also being broadcast on BBC World News at 09:30 GMT on Saturday 9 December. BBC iPlayer Flaring is avoidable and the gas can be captured and used to generate electricity or heat homes - yet it continues to take place across the world. Pollutants from flaring include PM2.5, Ozone, NO2, and benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) which at high levels or continued exposure have been linked to strokes, cancer, asthma and heart disease according to international experts including the World Health Organisation (WHO). Global flaring is also a major source of the planet-warming greenhouse gases CO2 and methane. Two decades ago, the UAE national oil company, Adnoc - run by the president of this year's COP28 climate summit, Sultan al-Jaber - committed to ending "routine flaring". Yet assessment of satellite images by the BBC shows it is taking place on a daily basis at offshore sites. The UAE is one of the biggest sources of oil for the UK market. More on the COP28 climate summit UAE offshore gas site, Adgas can be seen flaring across four days in September and October 2022 in satellite images Reliably measuring air pollution from the flares on the ground is challenging and there is little official data. Each time gas is flared it is known to release a certain amount of pollution. Working with BBC Arabic, environmental scientists combined this information with the volumes of gas flared - which the World Bank publishes - to work out total pollution. A simulation based on current weather conditions then estimated how gases moved across the region. The model suggested, for example, that three offshore fields in the UAE were adding to air pollution in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, hundreds of kilometres away. Studies have shown that children exposed to elevated levels of PM2.5 are more likely to develop asthma and persistent wheezing than those who are not exposed. Respiratory disease is one of the leading causes of death in the region, with the rates of asthma in UAE amongst the highest in the world. Gas flaring across the Gulf region from oil drilling and gas capture sites Pollution from Iraq The BBC analysis indicates that in the case of Kuwait, some of this man-made pollution is coming from flares 140km away in Iraq. Iraq has the second highest volume of flaring in the world, according to World Bank data, after Russia - burning nearly 18 billion cubic metres of gas a year. This could power nearly 20 million European homes annually. The biggest single source of flaring in the world is from a giant Iraqi oil field called Rumaila, managed by BP and Petrochina. It is in southern Iraq, just over 30km (20 miles) from the border with Kuwait. The BBC research suggests one cancer-causing pollutant called benzoapyrene was ten times higher in northern Kuwait than European safety standards. In villages close to the flares in Iraq itself, levels of PM2.5 were also extremely high, reaching hourly peaks of 100 micrograms per cubic metre. The WHO's recommended safe limit is 5 micrograms per cubic metre. Even 100km away in Kuwait City, levels still reached 5 to 10 micrograms per cubic metre. Dirty air in parts of the Gulf is often blamed on the region's regular dust storms, but Dr Barrak Alahmad, research fellow at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, found that wasn't necessarily the case. He and his team spent two years analysing Kuwait's air and dust to find out where the pollution was coming from. "Actually, what we found out is that only 40% comes from the desert. "Forty-two percent comes from sources that involve power plants, and involve the oil industry, and involves all the industry that is in Kuwait and outside of Kuwait." According to his team's study the remaining pollution comes from high levels of traffic in the country. "This is man-made air pollution that we can regulate, we can reduce, we can in fact eliminate," he told the BBC. Dr Alahmad said PM2.5 particles get into the bloodstream of those who breathe it in and can then quickly get into their organs. "Your kidneys, your brain, your heart, everywhere. This can lead to an acute asthmatic attack. At some point, it could be very life threatening," he said. Abdulrahman Alameeri, a 39 year-old engineer, lives with his family in Kuwait City and his two sons struggle with asthma. Particularly his six year-old Jassem, who has been hospitalised on multiple occasions. He told the BBC: "The first time [Jassem] had an asthma attack, he was unable to breathe. He turned blue." Jassem regularly goes to hospital with asthmatic attacks, made worse by air pollution Dr Akshaya Bhagavathula, associate professor of epidemiology at North Dakota State University, who was not involved in the BBC study, reviewed the results of our research. "This preliminary modelling study highlights potentially substantial impacts of flaring on air quality in the Gulf region, but additional measurements and analysis are needed to comprehensively quantify health burdens." The oil fields in Iraq and Kuwait have complex ownership structures, allowing international oil companies like Eni, Lukoil and BP who work here to not declare all emissions from their activities. BP is a major player in the region. It is a leading contractor working at Rumaila oil field and for Kuwait Oil Company which is responsible for 82% of flaring in the country. BP reported that it made 53m in profit last year from its operations in Kuwait. In response BP told the BBC: "As we have stated before, BP is not and has never been the operator of the Rumaila field. Nevertheless, we continue to actively support the lead contractor in its work to help the operator of the field to reduce its flaring and emissions." Rumaila is operated by Rumaila Operating Organisation which is a consortium of organisations including Basra Energy Company - a partnership between BP and PetroChina. Instead of burning the gas, it could be captured and used to power people's homes, according to the World Bank. The initial cost of installing the technology to do so is high - the World Bank estimates globally it would cost $100bn. But if captured and sold the gas could fetch $16bn annually. In 2013, the Iraqi government and oil and gas giant Shell set up the Basrah Gas Company to capture gas at the three biggest fields, Rumaila, Qurna and Zubair. But since then, overall levels of flaring have remained steady - and actually increased at two of the fields, according to World Bank data. Shell told the BBC: "Basrah Gas Company's sole purpose is to capture gas that would otherwise be flared from three giant oilfields, which are operated by other companies. It captures more than 63% of the gas from those fields, but does not have the capacity to capture all of it." Lukoil told the BBC it operates "in accordance with Iraqi law". And ENI said it "collaborates to reduce and minimize gas flaring". PetroChina told the BBC that they are working with BP to support the rehabilitation of Rumaila. And expressed that they are extremely concerned by the issues raised by the BBC. Although the UAE did not respond, its national oil company, Adnoc said: "Across all our operations, we are focussed on our goal of eliminating routine flaring by 2030. We flare at a lower rate than the global industry average." Methodology The contribution of flaring to the regional burden of air pollution is estimated through regional chemical-transport model (CTM) simulations. The air quality over the region has been reconstructed with and without the flare's emissions. The use of CTM simulations allows for an estimation of how the pollutants emitted from the flares are dispersed, and their interaction with background atmospheric composition, the production of secondary pollutants and their contribution to local air quality. The pollutant emissions from the flares were estimated from the flared gas volumes reported by the World Bank Gas Flaring Tracker and emission factors available in peer-reviewed publications and reference emission inventories guidebooks. The simulation was limited to two monthly periods. A full year would be desirable to thoroughly describe the impact of weather variability on the atmospheric composition and air quality, but we believe that the simulation of two full months is an acceptable option to obtain a first reliable estimate of the flare's impact under different seasonal conditions. The atmospheric composition over the area has then been reconstructed using a three-dimensional modelling system obtained by the coupling of WRF meteorological model, and FARM CTM. Environmental modelling: AriaNet. Methodology review from Barrak Alahmad, Dr Aidan Farrow, Dr Eric Kort, Dr Karn Vohra, Dr Akshaya Bhagavathula, Dr Ravi Ravishankara. Get in touch banner What questions do you have about COP28? In some cases your question will be published, displaying your name, age and location as you provide it, unless you state otherwise. Your contact details will never be published. Please ensure you have read our terms & conditions and privacy policy. Use this form to ask your question: If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or send them via email to YourQuestions@bbc.co.uk. Please include your name, age and location with any question you send in. The Burbank Police Department is looking for a transient they say vandalized several locations with antisemitic graffiti on Friday. Klinton Dion mugshots Klinton Allister Dion, 32, is wanted for a hate crime after he allegedly vandalized the Temple Emanu El at 1302 N. Glenoaks Blvd., the underground garage of an apartment complex in the 400 block of East Cypress Avenue and a nearby city-owned utility box. Klinton Dion surveillance photos He is known to frequent Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Temple City, El Segundo and Los Angeles, police said in a news release, adding that he has a faint tattoo above his left eyebrow. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective J. Voorhis at 818-238-3210 or email jvoorhis@burbankca.gov. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. The vanishing plane, Malaysia Airlines' MH370, disappeared almost 10 years ago. Recent rumors raised hopes to put the victims' disappearance to rest after claiming that the passenger aircraft was discovered. Unfortunately, authorities debunked these speculations. As of writing, the MH370, which disappeared back in 2014, is still missing. Now, victims' families are starting to file lawsuits against Malaysia Airlines, as well as other manufacturers involved in the creation of the vanishing airplane. Malaysia Airlines MH370 Victims' Families Start Filing Lawsuits The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines' MH370 passenger plane shocked the world in 2014, especially since it was carrying over 230 people. For the past 10 years, questions of victims' families have been left unanswered since the airplane is still nowhere to be found. They were only met by assumptions and speculations explaining what could have possibly happened to the aircraft. Because of this, over 40 families decided to file lawsuits against Malaysia Airlines and other companies that played a role in designing and manufacturing the MH370 airplane, as reported by Yahoo News. These include engine manufacturer Rolls Royce, insurance group Allianz, as well as aircraft maker Boeing. Lawyer Zhang Qihuai said that their legal actions focus on demanding compensation from the mentioned companies, as well as requesting the truth behind the airplane's disappearance 10 years ago. CNN reported that a Chinese court started hearing claims for compensation for MH370 victims' families on Monday, Nov. 27. Plaintiffs said that the disappearance of the airplane not only deprived them of their loved ones but also put them in financial distress. "Almost 10 years on, the family members (who refused to accept settlement offers) did not receive any apology or a penny of compensation," said 50-year-old Jiang Hui, the son of Jiang Cuiyun, one of the victims. Read Also: MH370 Search: Chinese Relatives Demand Truth Behind Aircraft's Mysterious Disappearance Was MH370 Airplane Found? In the early months of 2023 (around May), numerous rumors claimed that the MH370 airplane was finally found underwater. However, this was debunked by fact-checkers and authorities. They said that the photo claimed to be of MH370, which quickly went viral online, was actually an old image of the Lockheed Martin L1011 Tristar aircraft, which crashed in the Red Sea. The photos originated from a video posted by the Deep Blue Dive Center, a Jordan-based scuba diving company. Right now, the families of the victims are still in distress since the Malaysia Airlines M370 airplane is still missing. Related Article: Experts Use New Technology To Trace Flight MH370 in its Final Journey in 2014, Hope To Solve the World's Most Elusive Aviation Mystery @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. SOLON, Ohio (WJW) A 32-year-old man is behind bars, accused of attacking his father with an object and killing him. Just before 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 22, responded to a report of a man who was not breathing at a home in the 34700 block of Sherwood Drive, according to a Monday news release. 3 rounds of snow coming; Heres a timeline This embedded content is not available in your region. There, they found Theodore A. Gullia, 65, dead with severe visible injuries to his head and other areas, reads the release. His 61-year-old wife had found him and called 911. Detectives determined the mans son, 32-year-old Robert J. Gullia, also of Solon, was responsible. They learned Robert, who lives at the Sherwood Drive home, had spent the prior night there alone with Theodore, according to the release. Deadly head-on collision draws prison sentence Robert was arrested at the scene and is now being held in the Solon jail on a charge of aggravated murder. Hes believed to be the only suspect. The family has experienced tremendous loss with the tragic death of a family member and the arrest of another, reads an email from Solon police Lt. Bill Vajdich. We express our condolences. Solon detectives continue to investigate, along with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiners Office. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW. WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) A tribute service honoring the life of first lady Rosalynn Carter will take place Tuesday at Emory University in Atlanta. Among those expected to attend the service is her husband, former President Jimmy Carter, who is currently in hospice care. The fact that everything they did, they did together in such a collective way of being supportive of each other is just indicative of a 77-year marriage, said Paige Alexander, CEO of the Carter Center. Shes not just his wife, but shes a force to be reckoned with herself. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden are also set to be among the guests attending the service. The president and the first lady certainly look forward to being there and to offering, you know, offering their condolences, said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. All of the living former first ladies Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, Michelle Obama, and Melania Trump are set to attend. Carter died on Nov. 19 at the age of 96. Three days of tributes for the former first lady began Monday, with past and present members of the Carters Secret Service detail accompanying her casket from a medical center in Sumter County, Georgia. A wreath-laying ceremony was held at Carters alma mater, Georgia Southwestern State University, to honor one of her many contributions, advocating for the millions of unpaid caregivers in U.S. households. The familys motorcade then traveled to Atlanta, where Carter will lie in repose at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Center Monday night. The White House is honoring the former first lady with flags flying at half-staff and a mourning drape hanging over her portrait. Carter will be laid to rest Wednesday in her hometown of Plains, Georgia. Her burial is private. Jessi Turnure contributed to this report. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. WASHINGTON (DC News Now) The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) is investigating a triple shooting that happened in Northeast, D.C. on Monday evening. Police got a call about the shooting, located in the 600 block of Rhode Island Ave., NE, at around 6:08 p.m. There, they found three people who had been shot. Shih Tzu stolen out of car at Prince Georges County gas station Two of the victims were men and one was a woman. The were transported to a hospital conscious and breathing, MPD said. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. Daniel J. Griffin of Belmont leaves U.S. District Court during a break in his federal trial Tuesday. WORCESTER The conduct that led to overtime theft charges against two former state police commanders was common practice among troopers for years, their lawyers argued at the opening of their federal trial Tuesday. Lawyers for the troopers Lt. Daniel J. Griffin of Belmont and Sgt. William R. Robertson of Westborough did not contest their clients left federally funded overtime shifts early, but argued others had done so for years and that nobody considered it stealing. A lawyer for Robertson accused of ordering a subordinate to shred documents related to the overtime shifts did not contest the order was given but asserted the documents were irrelevant. The lawyer, Stanley W. Norkunas, suggested Robertson, despite ultimately not believing hed done anything wrong, may have temporarily panicked in an emotional state prior to giving the order. William R. Robertson of Westborough leaves U.S. District Court during a break in his federal trial Tuesday. Griffin and Robertson, the commanding officers of the state police Traffic Program Section, were indicted by federal prosecutors in 2020 in an overtime scheme separate from the larger scandal that led to the disbandment of Massachusetts State Troop E. Opening statements In opening statements in U.S. District Court Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Chao told a 14-person jury in Worcesters U.S. District Court that the case was simple. Griffin, Robertson and several other troopers under their direction, he said, overlapped regular shifts with overtime and left those shifts early in violation of federal law. You will conclude stealing is stealing, whether youre a civilian, noncivilian or a member of the Massachusetts State Police, Chao said. The grift, he alleged, took place during seat belt and distracted driving campaigns, as well as drunken driving checkpoints. Flashing a map of the state onto courthouse monitors, Chao said a bevy of evidence including data that tracks troopers cruiser locations proves Griffin, Robertson and others lied, over and over, about what hours they worked on documentation. Prosecutor: They were checking out early He compared cruiser location data from one day 2016 Robertson worked to the hours he should have been working, saying it showed that the sergeant got home before 5 p.m. despite getting paid for an overtime shift that was to end at 7:30 p.m. Chao said there should have been hundreds of documents from Robertson and a handful of other troopers regarding the overtime shifts they performed, but that only a dozen or so were ever recovered. The rest, he said, Robertson ordered destroyed by a subordinate officer. Ladies and gentlemen, that is a conspiracy, and that is what the evidence will prove in this case, Chao said, adding that multiple subordinate officers will testify in the case for the government under immunity agreements. Norkunas suggested to jurors that Robertsons order was the result of a man concerned about 30-plus years of admirable service being sullied. He suggested that the order was the result of a very emotional state, but should not be held against Robertson. He suggested evidence at trial would show the information on the shredded forms was memorialized elsewhere, making their destruction irrelevant. Griffins lawyer, Thomas M. Hoopes, argued that his client was out on medical leave at the time the order was given. Hoopes told jurors that the collective bargaining agreement for state troopers is silent on the process for overtime in the grant-funded traffic enforcement programs at issue. 'Gap' in protocol There was a gap in protocol as wide as the Grand Canyon, Hoopes argued, and troopers for years had acted as Griffin and Robertson did. (This) had been going on for years, he said, referring to it as accepted and common practice. Lawyers for the men noted that in other overtime practices, such as court overtime, troopers are routinely paid for more hours than they appear in court. They argued that legitimate practices and logistical concerns might cause troopers to end a traffic shift early. If enforcement during the afternoon was causing traffic to back up, for instance, that might be a legitimate reason to end a patrol early, they said. These were troopers who did their jobs, Hoopes said, arguing that the government, which renewed federal funding used for the enforcement year after year, was pleased with their results. Not a one of them thought they were a thief, he said of the troopers, adding they were following things they had been taught. Evidence opened following opening statements Tuesday, with the government calling one of the former troopers testifying pursuant to immunity. The trial is expected to last several weeks. Both Griffin and Robertson are charged with one count of conspiracy to steal federal funds, one count of aiding and abetting theft of federal funds and three counts of aiding and abetting wire fraud. Griffin is facing four additional counts of wire fraud and 11 counts of aiding and assisting in the filing of false tax returns. However those charges were not mentioned to jurors Tuesday, despite being included in prosecutors latest jury verdict form from Nov. 20. Hoopes declined to comment on the other charges his client is facing Tuesday. Spokespersons for Acting U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Joshua S. Levy did not immediately return a request for comment. This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Troopers accused of OT fraud: actions were 'standard practice' at Mass. State Police People gather around a fire at dusk amid homes destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023. (Yousef Masoud/The New York Times) JERUSALEM The decision by Israel and Hamas to extend their brief truce in the Gaza Strip has created short-term benefits for both sides but amplified uncertainty about how, when and whether Israel will continue its invasion of Gaza. The agreement, announced by Qatar, to prolong the cease-fire from four days to six has raised expectations that both sides will agree to more short extensions. And if the cease-fire does grow longer, there will be greater external pressure on Israel to make it permanent, and greater internal pressure to end it. Each side accused the other Tuesday of violating the truce, the first time either has made such an allegation since the agreement went into effect last Friday. The Israeli military said explosive devices were detonated near its troops in two places in northern Gaza, and that militants in one area fired on them. Hamas said its fighters had engaged in a field clash provoked by Israel, without offering additional details. Sign up for The Morning newsletter from the New York Times But neither side signaled that it was pulling out of the agreement. For now, small extensions serve both Hamas and Israel. Hamas can prolong its control of most of Gaza after being routed in northern parts of the territory since Israel invaded more than a month ago. A longer pause would give Hamas more time to regroup and reposition its forces, and more aid could be delivered from Egypt to Gazas 2.2 million residents, most of whom have been displaced by the fighting and face profound food and fuel shortages. Israel gets to welcome back more of the roughly 240 hostages who were captured by Hamas and its allies at the start of the war on Oct. 7. For every extra day of the cease-fire, the two sides have agreed to exchange roughly 10 Israelis for 30 Palestinians jailed by Israel. The return of the missing Israelis, many of them women and children, has provided a huge boost for the Israeli public, much of which follows every exchange closely. But the longer that dynamic lasts, the greater Israels conundrum. Each daily prisoner release boosts Hamas popularity in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where many of the freed Palestinians have returned, and where Hamas and other armed groups are waging a low-level insurgency. A long pause slows the momentum of Israels invasion, endangering its stated goal of removing Hamas from power. Already, Biden administration officials say they have pushed Israel to fight more surgically once it returns to its invasion, as international pressure builds on Israel to stop its attacks entirely. Most of all, some Israelis fear that a prolonged extension would give Hamas too much influence over the Israeli psyche, said Anshel Pfeffer, a political commentator for Haaretz, a left-leaning Israeli newspaper. The capture of so many hostages, including a 9-month-old baby, traumatized many Israelis. The complicated hostage release process, fraught by delays and disagreements between Hamas and Israel, has heightened that torment. Israel faces a real dilemma, Pfeffer said. With each hostage release, Hamas holds the whip hand over Israeli emotions. Ultimately, Israel will have to decide between freeing more hostages or preventing Hamas from dictating the mood of the country. Some analysts say domestic pressures will probably prompt Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to revive the invasion sooner rather than later. A delayed resumption of the attack would put Netanyahu on a collision course with far-right government ministers who grudgingly supported the cease-fire because they were assured that the invasion would continue after only a short truce. c.2023 The New York Times Company Donald Trump filed a request in a New York appeals court Monday seeking the termination of a gag order he is under after making disparaging remarks publicly about the judge, law clerk and other court staff involved in his civil fraud trial. The former presidents latest filing in the case claims that, contrary to Judge Arthur Engorons ruling, the remarks Trump made about him and his law clerk on Truth Social and other social media platforms were not threats and did not justify the gag order Engoron placed him under on Oct. 3, banning him from making public comments about the court staff. Engoron extended that order to Trumps legal team last month. The gag order was extended to include Trumps lawyers a month later. Mondays filing asserts that the sweeping, unconstitutional Gag Orders have infringed upon Trump and his lawyers First Amendment rights to demand basic fairness and to highlight publicly the very open, public, and partisan conduct that has infected and permeated the trial. The gag order shields Justice Engoron and his openly partisan clerk from the precise scrutiny essential to maintaining public confidence in the judiciary and ensuring a fair trial, the filing says. The social media post that landed Trump under the gag order makes similar claims about the court staff that theyre politically biased against him. In the original Truth Social post that prompted the order, Trump posted the name, photo and social media accounts of Engorons law clerk and claimed with no evidence that she was the girlfriend of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). Weeks later, the judge fined Trump $5,000 for not removing that post from all of his social platforms. Days after the first violation, Engoron fined Trump $10,000 for telling reporters in the courthouse that hes a very partisan judge with a person whos very partisan sitting alongside of him, perhaps even much more partisan than he is. Since Trumps post, the law clerk has been receiving 20 to 30 harassing calls a day to her personal cellphone and 30 to 50 harassing messages a day via email and social media, an officer with the court systems threat assessment unit said last week. But Trumps team argued Monday that he and his attorneys are not responsible for third-party actors making those threats. Mondays filing comes just over a week after an appellate judge temporarily lifted the gag order so that a full panel of judges could review its merit later this week. Since then, Engorons lawyers say that the number of threatening messages have increased and that about half of them are antisemitic. The legal fight over the gag order is taking place during the civil fraud case brought by Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, whose office alleges that Trump, the Trump Organization and members of the Trump family involved with the company vastly inflated the value of their real estate holdings. Related... Donald Trump claimed that he deliberately mixes up Joe Biden and Barack Obamas names as he angrily denied that he is cognitively impaired. Mr Trump took to Truth Social to defend himself and claimed he had deliberately mistaken Mr Biden for Mr Obama to show that others may have a very big influence in running the country. Whenever I sarcastically insert the name Obama for Biden as an indication that others may actually be having a very big influence in running our Country, Mr Trump wrote in the post on Monday. Ron DeSanctimonious and his failing campaign apparatus, together with the Democrats Radical Left Disinformation Machine, go wild saying that Trump doesnt know the name of our President, (CROOKED!) Joe Biden. He must be cognitively impaired. And he added: No, I know both names very well, never mix them up, and know that they are destroying our Country. Mr Trumps denial came as Forbes reported that the 77-year-old Republican had mixed up their names seven times in the past several months. During a speech in New Hampshire, Mr Trump said he had watched an interview of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and claimed the politician had been asked What would you advise President Obama? The whole world seems to be exploding. During a rally in Iowa on 1 October, Mr Trump referred to Mr Obama when he meant Mr Biden, and did the same thing twice in an 11 October interview on Fox News Radio. He also made the same mistake three times during a 15 September speech before a faith summit in Washington DC. Mr Trumps 2024 rivals have picked up on the mistakes, with the DeSantis War Room account on X posting a string of the gaffes. Trump has been having serious trouble with names lately. On a number of occasions, hes confused Obama and Biden. Heres a really concerning moment, the account stated. In response, Mr Trump has said that he Aced a cognitive test as part of his latest medical exam. Mr Biden, 81, is the oldest ever US president and would be 86 at the end of his second term if he wins in 2024. Former President Trump is fundraising off the 14th Amendment case unfolding in Colorado to keep him off the ballot based on claims that he is disqualified under the amendment. A fundraising email sent by Trumps campaign Tuesday highlighted the case brought by a number of citizens and advocacy groups who allege that the former president is disqualified from appearing on the ballot under the 14th Amendment. It will be our campaigns FINAL close of books before our campaign attorney appears before a State Supreme Court as Soros-funded Democrats make a serious attempt to remove my name from the 2024 ballot, reads the email, signed by Trump. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. These left-wing radicals failed to beat us in a district court. Now, theyre appealing to a State Supreme Court. This showdown may very well end up at the U.S. Supreme Court, it added. The plaintiffs claimed that the former presidents actions related to the attacks on the Capitol on Jan. 6 were in violation of the amendment, which states that those who engage in acts of insurrection are no longer eligible to run for elected offices. A Colorado district judge ruled earlier this month that while Trump incited the riots at the Capitol on Jan. 6 he can remain on the Colorado ballot. The judge ruled that the laws wording does not apply specifically to the office of the president. Both Trump and the group of plaintiffs appealed the ruling, which is now slated to be taken up by the Colorado Supreme Court. Trumps lawyers said while they agreed with the part of the ruling that allowed the former president to remain on the ballot, they have issues with other parts of the ruling. But the district court nonetheless made legal and factual findings wholly unsupported in the law, and these errors demand review especially if the Petitioners in this matter also seek review of the sole dispositive issue upon which President Trump prevailed, Trumps attorneys wrote in the appeal to the state Supreme Court. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), which filed the lawsuit on behalf of the individuals, asked the state supreme court to rule that the amendment does apply to the presidency. The Trump campaign emphasized in its email that Democrats were attempting to steal its supporters rights to vote. They want to take away my freedom, because I will never let them take away yours, Trump said in the email. They want to take away my rights, because I will never let them take away your God-given rights. Now, we must look forward to our next battle to peacefully defend YOUR rights the December 6th State Supreme Court hearing in which Communist Democrats are trying to disenfranchise the majority of the American electorate, the email continued. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Former President Trump often made support for Israel a cornerstone of his foreign policy during his first term in office, but in recent weeks he has offered mixed messages about how he would handle Israels battle with Hamas if he were chief executive. Trump initially criticized Israeli leadership over the Hamas terrorist attacks on Oct. 7 but has since reiterated his support for the country. He has insisted he would take a much harder line against Iran, which has long backed the military wing of Gazas governing body, but has suggested the Israel-Hamas conflict will have to play out. Trumps comments and policy stances have offered clues about how he would handle the situation, providing a glimpse into how he and President Biden the two men most likely to be on the ballot next November differ on a major foreign policy issue. Hostage efforts Trump has joined a chorus of Republicans critical of the Biden White House for its dealings on hostages, which include Israelis, Americans and other foreign nationals, taken by Hamas. Over the weekend, in a deal brokered by the U.S., Israel and Hamas agreed to a pause in fighting to allow more humanitarian aid into the enclave and Palestinian prisoners to be released in exchange for a wave of hostages being freed. The first two waves, however, included no Americans. Has anybody noticed that Hamas has returned people from other Countries but, so far, has not returned one American Hostage? There is only one reason for that, NO RESPECT FOR OUR COUNTRY OR OUR LEADERSHIP, Trump wrote Saturday on Truth Social. That soon changed, however, when 4-year-old Abigail Idan, an American Israeli citizen, was among the 13 hostages released as part of the pause Sunday. Former advisers said if Trump were president, he would likely have deployed Robert OBrien, his former national security adviser and one-time chief hostage negotiator, to the Middle East to work on securing the release of Americans taken by Hamas. Trump also would likely reach out directly to Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani of Qatar to push for the release of Americans, former advisers said. Biden has been in regular contact with al-Thani throughout the course of the fighting and brokered the latest deal with Israel, Egypt and Qatar officials. Humanitarian situation in Gaza One key component of the Biden administrations approach to the war has been its growing support for humanitarian aid pauses that in part also allow for civilians to leave Gaza for safer places. Trump has said he would reject refugees from Gaza from entering the United States, and he has called for ideological screenings for those entering the country. The former president had a thorny relationship with Palestinian leaders while he was in office. In 2018, the Trump administration said it would not spend roughly $200 million in funding set aside for aid to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. And the Trump administrations Middle East peace plan released in 2018 infuriated Palestinian leaders, as it aligned largely with what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had laid out. But its unclear how Trump would have handled getting humanitarian aid into Gaza during the ongoing conflict, in which tens of thousands of Palestinians have died in Israeli airstrikes as well as a ground offensive. Trump has not spoken about that part publicly, and his campaign did not respond to requests for comment. Gen. Keith Kellogg, who served on the National Security Council during the Trump administration, said in an interview that he would have advised for a much harder approach than the Biden administration is taking in terms of aid into Gaza. I think you have to look at it across the board holistically, and then the president would have looked at it holistically, Kellogg said. Calls to limit civilian casualties Trump has not publicly called for Israel to show restraint or try to limit civilian casualties, and doing so would be at odds with his often bellicose rhetoric while in office, when he would frequently antagonize the likes of Iran and North Korea. Instead, Trump has suggested prolonged fighting between Israel and Hamas may be unavoidable because of long-standing animosity between the two sides. So you have a war thats going on, and youre probably going to have to let this play out, Trump told Univision. Youre probably going to have to let it play out because a lot of people are dying. There is no hatred like the Palestinian hatred of Israel and Jewish people. And probably the other way around also, I dont know. You know, its not as obvious, but probably thats it too. So sometimes you have to let things play out and you have to see where it ends, he added, calling what was taking place in Gaza unbelievable. Trump did suggest in the Univision interview that Israel had to do a better job of public relations, frankly, because the other side is beating them at the public relations front. Thats a very important front worldwide. Thats a very important front. So they do have to do a better job. Protests domestically One area where Trump himself has been outspoken is in response to a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that have taken place across the United States in the weeks since the war began. When you look at the demonstrations going on in the United States, people are very surprised when they see, you know, 50 and 100,000 people demonstrating, and they say, Palestinians, were for were on the side of the Palestinians, Trump told Univision. I would say, Wait a minute, whats going on here? There has also been a rise of both antisemitic and Islamophobic fears that has sometimes resulted in violence on college campuses across the U.S. Trump has pledged at recent campaign events that his administration would revoke the student visas of radical anti-American and antisemitic foreigners at our colleges and universities, and we will send them straight back home. Trump has in the past lashed out at protesters he believes are opposing him. One of the most notable events during his presidency was when protesters demanding justice for George Floyd were tear-gassed outside the White House by military personnel. It is likely Trump would have weighed in on a major pro-Palestinian protest in Washington, D.C., earlier this month in which demonstrators shook the White House gates and slapped red handprints on the concrete outside the complex. The Biden administration has routinely defended peaceful protests but has condemned antisemitic demonstrations on college campuses in recent weeks. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The federal judge overseeing Donald Trumps election interference case has rejected what she likened to a bad-faith fishing expedition for documents from the congressional committee that investigated the events surrounding the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. US District Judge Tanya Chutkan shot down the attempt from the former presidents legal team to obtain what it labelled missing records from the committee, which had turned over reams of documents to federal archivists and publicly shared thousands of pages of transcripts from hearings and interviews as part of its mammoth report. The broad scope of the records that [Mr Trump] seeks, and his vague description of their potential relevance, resemble less a good faith effort to obtain identified evidence than they do a general fishing expedition, the judge wrote in a filing on Monday. Last month, Mr Trumps attorneys requested subpoenas for several executive and congressional offices, including House lawmakers and the US archivist, to review what they called an overlap in evidence and testimony from the committees investigation and the federal criminal probe into Mr Trumps attempts to overturn 2020 presidential election results. Mr Trump seeks to retrieve certain missing records and uncover information about their disposition, according to their request. Democratic US Rep Bennie Thompson, who chaired the committee, said that all permanent records of the committee were archived according to House Rules. Interviews and depositions were transcribed by nonpartisan, professional official reporters and were reviewed for errors by both the witnesses and committee staff, he wrote. A trial stemming from a grand jury indictment and investigation under US Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith is expected to begin in March 2024, as Mr Trump navigates four criminal indictments and several lawsuits as he seeks the Republican nomination for president in his run for the White House. An indictment with federal charges in the election interference case alleges three criminal conspiracies and a multi-state scheme to undermine the democratic process and obstruct Joe Bidens victory. Mr Trump is separately charged in a state case in Georgia along with more than a dozen co-defendants as part of a Fulton County investigation and grand jury indictment outlining an alleged criminal enterprise to subvert the states election results. That trial is expected to begin in August 2024. President Joe Biden, addressing the nation from Nantucket, Massachusetts, expressed optimism following the release of 24 hostages by Hamas. As a part of a four-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, this occurrence indicates a remarkable progression in the continuous negotiations, as per The New York Times. Biden's Resolve in Hostage Crisis The exchange saw Hamas freeing hostages in Gaza while Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Biden highlighted that no Americans were among the first group released but remained hopeful for their imminent freedom. Particularly poignant was the release of four-year-old Edan, who spent her birthday in captivity. The president, visibly moved, shared Edan's harrowing story of losing her parents during a terror attack by Hamas on October 7 and being held hostage for over 50 days. Biden's empathy was evident as he expressed his wish to comfort the child personally. The White House confirmed Biden's phone conversation with Edan's relatives in the US and Israel, underscoring the administration's commitment to the situation. The president vowed relentless efforts until all hostages are reunited with their families. Despite not having direct information about Edan's current condition, Biden conveyed his and the First Lady's prayers for her well-being. He acknowledged the need for significant support for Edan, given the severe trauma she endured. Biden's involvement in the crisis was crucial. He credited his team's persistent efforts and close collaboration with leaders from Israel, Egypt, and Qatar for the progress. Thanks to Qatar's Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, for facilitating the hostage's release. In addition to addressing the hostage situation, Biden emphasized the broader implications of the truce. He viewed it as an opportunity to increase assistance to Gaza civilians affected by the conflict and to facilitate further hostage releases. The president expressed support for prolonging the pause in hostilities to ensure the release of more hostages and to provide humanitarian aid to those in need in Gaza, according to Mail Online. Read Also: Vladimir Putin Restricts Media Coverage Ahead of Russia's 2024 Presidential Election Biden Highlights Need For Ongoing Focus in Gaza Crisis Despite the successes, Biden remained cautious, noting the delicate nature of the situation and the need for a continuous, concerted effort to maintain progress. He stressed the importance of seeing more hostages released and enhancing humanitarian efforts in Gaza. The president's comments came as he concluded a six-day Thanksgiving vacation with his family, a tradition dating back to 1975. He apologized to reporters for the hastily arranged press event, explaining the urgency and sensitivity of the situation. Meanwhile, Hamas released a third group of hostages, including another American child, in a continued exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Israeli officials confirmed the safe return of 17 hostages to Israeli territory, with one elderly hostage in critical condition. The truce, mediated by Qatar, the United States, and Egypt, has brought some respite to families of captives and allowed for increased aid to reach Palestinians. French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna and President Biden echoed sentiments for extending the truce to ensure the release of all hostages, including French nationals. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on a historic visit to Gaza, emphasized the commitment to freeing all hostages and eliminating Hamas. He stressed Israel's resolve and determination in achieving the war's goals. As the situation evolves, the international community watches closely, hopeful for a lasting resolution that brings peace and stability to the region, NDTV reported. Related Article: Putin Prepares Russia's Meteorite Hypersonic Nuclear Missile That Can Strike Targets Around the World Within Minutes @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A New York appeals court reinstates the gag order imposed on former President Donald Trump that prohibits him from making critical comments about Judge Arthur Engorons court staff, including his clerk. Upon learning that news, Engoron tells Trumps lawyers that he intends to enforce the gag orders rigorously and vigorously. Here are the latest updates from the legal cases brought against the man looking to return to the White House. New York financial fraud Appeals court reinstates Trump gag order Key players: Judge Arthur Engoron, clerk Allison Greenfield, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Trump lawyer Christopher Kise On Thursday, a New York state appeals court reinstated the gag order imposed on Trump by Engoron that prevents him from commenting about the judges staff, Politico reported. The ruling by the judges states, upon reading and filing the papers with respect to the motion, and due deliberation having been had thereon, It is ordered that the motion is denied; the interim relief granted by order of a Justice of this Court, dated November 16, 2023, is hereby vacated. After Trump spread an unfounded rumor about Greenfield, Engoron issued a gag order that was designed to prevent the former president from attacking his staff. But Trump went on to violate the order, and was fined a total of $15,000 by the judge. After Engorons gag order was paused by a justice on the appeals court on Nov. 16, Trump resumed attacking Greenfield and lawyers for Jamess office told the appeals court that Greenfield received a flood of threats, many of them antisemitic, from Trumps supporters. Trump regularly criticizes Engoron and has begun attacking his wife in social media posts, accusing the two of being biased against him, but those comments are not prohibited by the gag order. On Thursday, Engoron responded to the appeals court ruling, saying: I intend to enforce the gag orders rigorously and vigorously. I want to make sure that counsel informs their clients of the fact that the stay was vacated. Kise, who had sought to have the gag order permanently lifted, called its reinstatement a tragic day for the rule of law. Why it matters: Trumps persistent attacks on the witnesses, judges, prosecutors and court staff in the many legal cases against him have created a legal gray area in which appeals courts are having to weigh the former presidents First Amendment rights with the safety of those he targets as well as the impact the attacks may have on finding an impartial jury. Recommended reading NBC News: Trump financial watchdog informs judge of $40 million in undisclosed cash transfers ___________________ Wednesday, Nov. 29 ___________________ Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images, Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images, Samuel Corum/Getty Images, Getty Images (3) In a filing made to the Colorado Supreme Court, lawyers for former President Donald Trump say that he never took an oath to support the Constitution of the United States and should therefore not be banned from the states presidential ballots in 2024 based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. In the New York financial fraud civil trial, an executive with Deutsche Bank testifies about the favorable loan rates the bank gave Trump and the decision to part ways with one of its most famous clients. Here are the latest developments in the legal cases involving the man looking to return to the White House. Jan. 6 election interference Trumps lawyers say he never took oath to support the Constitution Key players: Colorado Supreme Court, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Colorado District Judge Sarah Wallace Filings submitted to the Colorado Supreme Court this week from lawyers for Trump and CREW presented opposing views on whether Trumps role in the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol violated his oath of office and, under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, made him ineligible to run again, Truthout reported. Section 3 bars those found to have engaged in insurrection or rebellion and who had previously taken an oath to support the Constitution from holding elected office again. But Trumps attorneys argued it was not applicable due to the stature of the presidency and the wording of the oath. Section Three does not apply, because the presidency is not an office under the United States, the president is not an officer of the United States, and President Trump did not take an oath to support the Constitution of the United States,' Trumps lawyers wrote . Instead, the attorneys noted, Trump swore to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. CREW, which is representing six Colorado voters appealing Wallaces ruling that Trumps name could remain on state ballots, argued Trumps argument was merely semantic. The Constitution" CREW stated in its brief to the court, "explicitly tells us, over and over, that the Presidency is an office. The natural meaning of officer of the United States is anyone who holds a federal office. And the natural reading of oath to support the Constitution includes the stronger Presidential oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution. The court has scheduled a hearing to hear arguments in the matter on Dec. 6. Why it matters: Whatever the Colorado Supreme Court decides, its ruling will likely be appealed and the case will likely make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. At the heart of the case is the question of what limits the Constitution puts on presidential power. New York financial fraud Deutsche Bank executive testifies about ending relationship with Trump Key players: Former Deutsche Bank managing director Rosemary Vrablic, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Judge Arthur Engoron In testimony Wednesday the court saw evidence that Vrablic expressed concern about the public nature of Trump's 2012 acquisition of the Old Post Office building in Washington, D.C., fearing the deal might publicize the favorable loan terms offered by the bank, ABC News reported. "Will our terms and conditions with you be made public? Not a credit issue, but we want to be prepared if 'other clients' see it and ask for the same deal," Vrablic wrote in a 2013 email shown at trial. "He was president of the United States going to become president of the United States and the bank's position was they did not want to increase its exposure at that time," Vrablic testified. Earlier, however, Vrablic described efforts the bank made to court Trumps business and disclosed that it made millions off of loans to his business. Trumps lawyers argue that there was no crime committed because he kept up payments on the loans and the lenders were happy with the arrangement. In her $250 million lawsuit, James alleges that Trump reaped more than $1 billion in profits by lying about his financial condition to banks and insurers, who then gave him favorable terms for loans and rates. Engoron, who has already ruled Trump, his adult sons and their family business committed fraud, said this week that "the mere fact that the lenders were happy doesn't mean the statute wasn't violated." Why it matters: While the trial will decide what penalties the defendants must pay after being found liable for fraud, Engoron will also rule on Jamess argument that the Trump Organization should be barred from purchasing New York real estate for five years and that Trump and his adult sons should not be permitted to serve as officers of any company in the state, Politico reported. ___________________ Tuesday, Nov. 28 ___________________ Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images, Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images, Darron Cummings/AP, Department of Justice via AP, Jon Elswick/AP, Getty Images In a new court filing, lawyers for former President Donald Trump make their case that former Vice President Mike Pence spoke to special counsel Jack Smiths team in an effort to curry favor and avoid being charged in a Justice Department investigation into Pences handling of classified documents. A new report recounts what Pence told Smith, including his decision to oversee the certification of the Electoral College tally showing that Joe Biden won the 2020 election despite his view that doing so would be hurtful to Trump. Meanwhile, the judge in the election subversion case denies a Trump motion requesting records from the House Jan. 6 select committee and seeking testimony from its members and witnesses. Jan. 6 election interference In a filing, Trump says Pence cooperated with the special counsel to avoid charges in a documents inquiry Key players: Former Vice President Mike Pence, President Joe Biden, Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira, Trump valet Walt Nauta In a Monday court filing, Trumps lawyers accused Pence of trying to curry favor with Smiths team by providing information that is consistent with the Biden Administrations preferred, and false, narrative regarding this case, Rolling Stone reported. Trumps filing noted that the Justice Department closed its investigation into Pences handling of classified documents in June without filing any charges against him, implying, without evidence, that the former vice presidents testimony had factored into that decision. In the filing, Trumps lawyers requested that Smith provide information into the decision not to charge Pence. Trump is charged with 40 felony counts for his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House, including 32 violations of the Espionage Act and eight charges alleging efforts to obstruct the investigation. Two Trump employees, Nauta and De Oliveira have also been charged with aiding the efforts to obstruct the recovery of the documents. Pence and President Joe Biden both cooperated fully with investigators seeking the return of other documents with classified markings. Why it matters: Smith is likely to call Pence to the witness stand in the election interference case against Trump that is scheduled to begin on March 4, and the former president is attempting to discredit him beforehand. What Pence told Smiths team Key players: former Vice President Mike Pence, special counsel Jack Smith, President Joe Biden In interviews with Smiths team conducted earlier this year, Pence described the pressure Trump applied to persuade him to refuse to certify the Electoral College votes showing Biden had won the 2020 election, sources told ABC News . While Pence told Trump in December of 2020 that he saw no evidence that the election was stolen, he considered simply not showing up on Jan. 6, 2021, to certify the results because doing so would be too hurtful to my friend. "Not feeling like I should attend electoral count," Pence wrote in notes he wrote to himself obtained by ABC News. "Too many questions, too many doubts, too hurtful to my friend. Therefore I'm not going to participate in certification of election." But Pence, who will almost certainly be called by Smith as a witness in the election subversion case against the former president, ultimately informed Trump that he would oversee the certification. "I told him I thought there was no idea more un-American than the idea that any one person could decide what electoral votes to count," Pence allegedly told Smith's team, according to sources. "I made it very plain to him that it was inconsistent with our history and tradition." Why it matters: Pence is the highest-ranking member of the Trump administration who will testify in the case. He will be able to describe firsthand conversations he had with Trump prior to the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and the efforts to subvert the election results. Judge denies Trump motion for Jan. 6 committee records Key players: Judge Tanya Chutkan On Monday, Chutkan denied a motion filed in October by Trumps lawyers that sought records from the House Jan. 6 select committees investigation and the issuance of subpoenas for some of its Democratic members and witnesses, BBC News reported. Trumps request, Chutkan wrote, provided only a "vague description of their potential relevance" that the records and subpoenas would provide. She also noted that the transcripts of video interviews with witnesses had already been given to Trumps lawyers. In their October motion, Trumps lawyers said they sought missing materials relating to the 2020 election. But Chutkan called the request a fishing expedition. Trump is charged with four felony counts relating to his efforts to subvert the 2020 election results. Why it matters: Trump is seeking to relitigate the handling of the 2020 election to try to show that he had good reason to contest his loss to Joe Biden. Seeking additional records and testimony could also drag the trial out past the 2024 election. ___________________ Monday, Nov. 27 ___________________ Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images, Shannon Stapleton-Pool/Getty Images, Getty Images (3) In a Monday appeals court filing, lawyers for former President Donald Trump argue that hundreds of recent threats made against Judge Arthur Engoron and his law clerk do not justify keeping a gag order in place in the New York financial fraud trial of Trump, his adult sons and their family business. While Trump already faces 91 felony charges, he could yet see even more pending the results of ongoing state investigations in at least four states into the fake elector scheme to keep him in power. Here is the latest legal maneuvering in the criminal and civil cases facing the man seeking to become the next president. New York financial fraud Trump lawyers: Threats to judge and his clerk dont justify gag order Key players: Judge Arthur Engoron, clerk Allison Greenfield, New York Attorney General Letitia James On Monday, lawyers for Trump said in a court filing that threats made toward Engoron and Greenfield by Trumps supporters did not justify keeping a gag order put in place by the judge of the financial fraud trial, CNN reported. At base, the disturbing behavior engaged in by anonymous, third-party actors towards the judge and Principal Law Clerk publicly presiding over an extremely polarizing and high-profile trial merits appropriate security measures," the filing stated. "However, it does not justify the wholesale abrogation of Petitioners First Amendment rights in a proceeding of immense stakes to Petitioners, which has been compromised by the introduction of partisan bias on the bench. Engorons gag order, which the appeals court has paused until it issues a final ruling on the matter, was designed to prevent Trump from attacking the judges staff. Since the October start of the trial, Engoron and Greenfield have been deluged with threats that have been serious and credible, Jamess office told the court, with hundreds coming in the past week alone. Engorons clerk receives dozens of messages each day on her personal cellphone, on social media platforms and at her personal email addresses, court papers filed by Engorons lawyers stated, about half of them expressing antisemitic views. Why it matters: Trump has repeatedly criticized Engoron and Greenfield, which James has characterized as a form of intimidation that endangers their safety. Trumps attorneys counter that leaving the gag order in place is a violation of the former presidents First Amendment rights. Jan. 6 election interference More states could file charges stemming from fake elector plot to keep Trump in power Key players: Pro-Trump lawyers John Eastman, Kenneth Chesebro, Jenna Ellis and Sidney Powell, former Georgia GOP chair David Shafer, Georgia state Sen. Shawn Still, Georgia GOP official Kathleen Latham, Georgia bail bondsman Scott Hall State attorneys general in at least four states are continuing to investigate whether to bring charges stemming from the fake elector plot to keep Trump in power following his loss in the 2020 election, The Hill reported. Officials in Arizona, Nevada, Michigan and Pennsylvania are among those weighing whether to charge more people with crimes in the scheme pushed by Eastman for states to certify an alternate slate of electors to try to block Joe Bidens victory. In Georgia, Eastman, Shafer, Still and Latham have all been charged with felonies stemming from those efforts. Chesebro, one of the architects of the fake elector plan, has already pleaded guilty and may yet face charges in other states, as have Ellis, Powell and Hall. In Michigan, 16 people who posed as "duly elected and qualified electors" are already facing charges. Why it matters: Trump and his allies held meetings with officials in multiple states in their efforts to overturn his 2020 losses in key swing states. Already charged with 91 felonies heading into the 2024 Republican primary, he could yet be hit with even more. The federal judge overseeing the 2020 election case against former President Donald Trump denied a request from his legal team for permission to subpoena members of the House Jan. 6 select committee and others for evidence in his upcoming trial. Judge Tanya Chutkan on Monday denied Trump's request, after his lawyers had asked the court in October to approve subpoenas for records from the National Archives and Records Administration, the House Administration Committee, Rep. Bennie Thompson, the Democratic chair of the House Jan. 6 panel, and others. Attorneys for Trump allege there are missing records from the now-disbanded committee that they would like for pretrial preparation. But members of the committee say there is no missing material. Trump's attorneys have not yet said whether they'll appeal Chutkan's decision. The former president has pleaded not guilty to four felony charges accusing him of trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. Trump's attorneys had asked Chutkan to recuse herself from the case, but she said she would not. Scott MacFarlane and Rob Legare contributed to this report. Fighting the good fight against ALS Georgian winemakers restoring countrys ancient grape varieties | 60 Minutes The tragic costs of e-waste Former President Trump plans to retake the witness stand in his civil fraud trial next month as the final witness in the defenses case. Trump will testify Dec. 11, this time under questioning by his legal team, attorney Chris Kise said Monday. With his own team at the helm, Trump could have a wider latitude to set the narrative and espouse his thoughts. But hell also face cross-examination by New York Attorney General Letitia Jamess (D) office over what he says. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. Trumps last stint as a witness in the sweeping case accusing him, his business and several executives including his adult sons of decades of fraud was nothing short of bombastic. The former presidents testimony oscillated between defending his business practices and decrying people involved in the case as politically motivated Trump haters namely Judge Arthur Engoron. Im sure the judge will rule against me, because he always rules against me, Trump said at one point during his Nov. 6 testimony. Trumps attacks against the judge and other political statements persisted throughout the day, causing Engoron to repeatedly object to the former presidents makeshift stump speeches from the witness stand. Mr. Kise, can you control your client? This is not a political rally, Engoron said. Trumps status as the undisputed front-runner in the 2024 GOP presidential primary ensured that grievances tied to his legal troubles and the purported political forces behind them remained center stage throughout his testimony. Unprompted, the former president testified that Democrat prosecutors and state attorney generals all Trump haters, he said began to come after him. Weaponization, they call it, Trump said. As state lawyer Kevin Wallace questioned Trump about whether he believed his properties were undervalued on his statements of financial condition documents at the heart of the New York attorney generals case Trump ignored him and ranted against Engoron and James, calling them frauds and political hacks. Trumps second son, Eric Trump, will also take the witness stand for a second time Dec. 6. He testified earlier this month that he never had anything to do with the statement of financial condition. A Trump Organization executive testified Monday that the company no longer produces such statements. Donald Trump Jr. Trumps eldest son already took the witness stand a second time and painted an idyllic picture of the Trump Organization and its real estate ventures, lauding its many great, iconic projects and his fathers vision to do things differently. With Trump expected to be the last witness in the defense case, the fraud trial threatening his business empire is expected to conclude mid-December. The New York attorney generals office has requested some $300 million in financial penalties and to ban Trump and his sons from operating businesses in New York. Engoron, who will decide the verdict in the bench trial, has already found Trump and his business liable for fraud. The Associated Press contributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The News Republican Senators are reacting cautiously after Donald Trump said over the weekend that he might try to repeal the Affordable Care Act if he returns to the White House, with some suggesting another push to fully scrap the health law was unlikely. At the same time, GOP lawmakers didnt close the door on attempting to enact conservative reforms to the program. I dont think thats going to happen, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, one of three Republicans who voted in 2017 against eliminating Obamacare, told reporters on Monday when asked about full repeal. Clearly the program could be improved, and Im always open to improvement. GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who led a last-ditch effort to replace the law, told Semafor he was only learning about Trumps remarks for the first time and declined to comment. Other senators said they were willing to hear the former president out if he introduced a plan. I think the ACA has been a fraud committed on the American people, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas told Semafor, adding hed be interested to see how Trump proposes replacing it. On Saturday, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that he was seriously looking at alternatives to the law since the cost of Obamacare is out of control. But its unclear how much appetite exists among Republicans to try and fulfill a campaign promise that animated their party a decade ago. Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, a Trump ally in the Senate, said key planks of Obamacare are broadly popular with the American public including Republicans, such as rules barring insurers from denying coverage to individuals with pre-existing conditions or charging sick people more for healthcare. I dont think theres any effort to try to change them. I think there is a recognition though that we spend a lot of money and we dont get a whole lot out of our healthcare system relative to some of our peer countries, Vance told Semafor. So that provides some pretty ripe ground for reform. Josephs view Its not a surprise that Republicans are treading carefully, given how their last attempt to repeal Obamacare sank the party during the 2018 midterms. But it could get harder for lawmakers to shrug off questions about the issue as next years election gets closer. Even an effort to merely reform the law, without fully tearing it down, could have profound consequences for parts of the health insurance market. And no matter what, Congress will also have to decide whether to extend President Bidens beefed up subsidies for Americans who purchase coverage on the ACAs exchanges, which are set to expire after 2025. The View From Democrats As Semafors Shelby Talcott reported, the Biden campaign is already seizing on Trumps comments to underscore their message that he will rip away peoples health coverage. And Biden brought it up as well on Monday: My predecessor has once again, god love him, called for cuts that could rip away health insurance for tens of millions of Americans and Medicaid. And Democratic strategists will ensure it filters on down to House and Senate races. It lines up with our current message of them constantly trying to take away individual health freedoms and access to care, one Democratic strategist involved in Congressional campaigns told Semafor. Whos ready to hear the phrases pre-existing conditions and lifetime spending caps in 2024? Former President Donald Trump will take the stand in his own defense next month in his $250 million civil fraud trial, his attorneys said in court Monday. Trump will be the defense's last witness, on Dec. 11, his attorney Chris Kise said. In the week preceding the former president's testimony, his son Eric Trump is scheduled to take the stand Dec. 6, Kise added. Both have already testified in the case as witnesses for New York Attorney General Letitia James' office, who's suing the Trumps and their company alleging they inflated financial statements to the tune of billions of dollars. Separately, Trump's attorneys told a New York state appeals court Monday that he's not responsible for what court officials have called a "deluge" of threats against the law clerk of the judge presiding over the civil fraud trial. They also dismissed the assertion in a court filing last week that Trump has endangered the clerk's safety. The "purported security concerns lack good faith and substance," and "the communications themselves, while vile and reprehensible, do not constitute a clear and present danger of imminent harm," Trump's lawyers argued in a filing to the state Appellate Division, urging it to leave in place a pause of Judge Arthur Engoron's gag order barring Trump and his attorneys from publicly discussing the clerk. In last week's filing, lawyers for the state court system urged the appeals court to end a temporary pause on the gag order, arguing that ever since Trump posted about the clerk on social media last month, she has been subjected to "hundreds of threatening, harassing, disparaging and antisemitic messages," including on her personal cellphone and email. A court security official, Charles Hollon, submitted a sworn affirmation saying that some of the threats against the judge and the clerk "are considered to be serious and credible and not hypothetical or speculative" and that they led to increased security. Trump's attorneys said that their client had no involvement with the threats and that he shouldnt be prohibited from airing his belief that the clerk is biased against him. "The Constitution does not permit Justice Engoron to curtail [Trump's] speech simply because people may react to things that President Trump says," they wrote. The state Office of Court Administration, on behalf of Engoron, argued differently in its filing. "The First Amendment does not prohibit courts from limiting speech that threatens the safety of the courts staff," its lawyer Lisa Evans wrote. In a statement Monday, Kise said the gag order "seeks to shield the Court from the scrutiny essential to maintaining public confidence in the judiciary and the rule of law. So, it is beyond outrageous that an unconstitutional gag order could prevent the frontrunning presidential candidate from speaking about obvious, public, and partisan conduct which has denied him a fair trial. The state attorney general's office didnt respond to a request for comment on Trump's filing. Engoron issued the gag order on the second day of the trial after Trump posted a picture of the clerk posing with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and baselessly claimed that she had a romantic relationship with him, an allegation Schumer's office has called "ridiculous, absurd, and false." The picture was taken at a political event while the clerk was running for a judgeship, and it had originally been posted on her campaign's Instagram page. Personal attacks on members of my court staff are unacceptable, inappropriate and I wont tolerate it, Engoron said after he found out about Trump's social media post and comments he made to reporters about the clerk. In their filing Monday, Trump's lawyers called it "manufactured outrage," because the clerk "herself initially posted the very same photograph on a public Instagram account explicitly linked to her judicial campaign, with her name in the handle." The clerk made the page private after Trump's post appeared on Truth Social. After the gag order was imposed, Trump's lawyers repeatedly complained about the clerk in court, saying she'd been showing bias by rolling her eyes and whispering to the judge while they were questioning witnesses. They also took issue with her physical proximity to Engoron and said she appears to be acting as a "co-judge," an allegation that Engoron has repeatedly and angrily denied. Engoron expanded his gag order to include the lawyers this month and said he will continue to consult with my staff, as is my unfettered right, throughout the remainder of the trial. Trump's lawyers countered that Engoron "feels compelled to repeatedly justify his abnormal practices and assure the public that he, not his law clerk, is fulfilling his judicial duties, underscores the bizarre and deeply problematic nature of his practices. There is simply no room in the judicial system for openly partisan individuals to participate at all in the decision-making process." They also contended that the clerk's "heightened public role" in the case, including allowing herself to be photographed in court sitting by the judge, "renders her a public figure, subject to public criticism, for purposes of the proceeding." The "purported security concerns are disingenuous given the Principal Law Clerks voluntary public, partisan posts and political activities and her insistence in remaining as a constant and unprecedented presence on the bench, allowing herself to be filmed and then viewed by an audience of millions since the underlying, extraordinarily high-profile trial commenced," the lawyers argued. It's unclear when the appeals court will rule on the gag order. During Monday's court proceedings, Trump's attorneys moved to call as a witness Barbara Jones, the retired federal judge whom Engoron appointed as a monitor of financial activity at the Trump Organization. Engoron rejected the request, which came weeks after Trump's team began presenting their case. Engoron called the request "untimely" and "inappropriate." "Im not aware of a single instance where a litigant asks to examine an independent monitor," he said. The witness who was on the stand Monday, Trump Organization executive Mark Hawthorn, testified that he had a good relationship with Jones and her team and that they seemed satisfied with how the company is being run. "There were concerns they highlighted that required more, and we responded diligently and adequately, but I would say no one from that team communicated to us that they uncovered any fraud or irregularities," Hawthorn said. On cross-examination, Hawthorn was asked whether he was aware that Jones had reported to the judge that some of the information she'd gotten from the company was "incomplete" and that the company had "also not consistently provided all required annual and quarterly certifications attesting to the accuracy of certain financial statements." He replied, "Yes." This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) dug into President Bidens border policies Monday, arguing they will result in 9/11-style attacks every few weeks. The Biden administration is going to get us in so much trouble, Tuberville said in an interview with Newsmaxs The Balance. Were going to have a 9/11 attack every few weeks if we dont watch it. It is out of control, but this group could care less, Tuberville continued, adding later, I was an educator, and Im up here, watching whats going on Im thinking who cares? Who cares about the American people? Who cares about the taxpayers of this country? I cant find anybody on both sides of the aisle. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. Tubervilles remarks were first highlighted by Mediate. Pointing to Hamass Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel that left more than 1,200 people dead, Tuberville argued the Biden administration should have directed Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to send every available military personnel to the U.S. border to shut it down in the wake of such attacks. Tuberville claimed hundreds of terrorists cross over the U.S. border, echoing arguments made by several Republican lawmakers pushing for tighter border security. A report from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) released earlier this month showed that from October 2022 to September of this year, officials arrested 169 individuals at the southern border whose names appeared on the U.S.s terrorist watch list. The previous fiscal year saw 98 arrests of those on the watch list, and 15 in 2021. The CPB noted encounters of individuals on the watch list are very uncommon, though some lawmakers have used this statistic to highlight their growing concern. The White House has faced increased pressure from both Republicans and even some Democrats in recent months who have expressed concerns about the flow of migrants across the southern border. Tuberville himself was among a group of 13 Republicans last month who called on Biden to expand the border wall, weeks after the White House announced it was waiving certain environmental laws to allow for wall construction along the southern border in Texas. Many Congressional Republicans have said their support for additional aid to Ukraine is dependent on it being paired with border security measures. Earlier this month, Senate Republicans specifically laid out a list of immigration reforms they are demanding be attached to any foreign aid package for Ukraine, including the resumption of the southwestern border wall, increased pay for Border Patrol agents and reformed asylum laws. These demands are setting up for potentially challenging budget negotiations, with Democrats already speaking out against some of their counterparts proposal. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called the package of proposed border security reforms a total non-starter. The Hill reached out to the White House for comment. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) Detectives are requesting the publics help to solve the deadly shooting that took place at a New London Halloween Party, the Tulare County Sheriffs Office announced on Monday. 1 dead after shooting in New London, deputies say Deputies are asking for the publics help in finding more information about the deadly Halloween party shooting of Oct. 28. Sheriffs officials say the shooting left one person dead. Deputies say around 12:30 a.m. they were patrolling the area of the 37700 block of Road 60 for a loud music complaint. The Tulare County Sheriffs Office says about 200 people were at the party that night and investigators believe several people witnessed the homicide. If anyone has any information is asked to contact the Tulare County Sheriffs Office at (559) 733-6218. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com. Tulsa Teacher Opens School To Teach Black History After Oklahoma Passed Law To Censor Americas Past: Creating Our Narrative | Photo: pixdeluxe via Getty Images An Oklahoma activist has opened a private school to teach Black history after the state passed a law that aims to cover Americas troubling past. The 2021 law, adopted by Republican legislators, restricted the teaching of race and gender in the states public schools. As many teachers feared the possibility of losing their jobs if they violate the law, Kristi Williams started a grassroots initiative she calls Black History Saturdays, NPR reported. Williams, who has received funding from the National Geographic Society to launch the initiative, is leading the Black history sessions once a month in Tulsa. The private school is free for children and adults. Dewayne Dickens, a Tulsa Community College professor, is teaching the high school students in the Black History Saturdays program. Were reclaiming this, Dickens told NPR. We can teach our children, we can teach ourselves, and we can do it better. According to H.B. 1175, teachers are prohibited from promoting several discriminatory principles. Those principles, according to the law, include the idea that people from a certain race are inherently racist or sexist. The law states that teachers may not promote the idea that some people have responsibility to fix the errors of their ancestors. Additionally, H.B. 1175 proponents say educators must be prohibited from teaching lessons that make people of certain races or genders guilty. Educators who are speaking out against the law say they never had intentions of teaching the outlined principles. The ambiguous guidelines have left some educators confused. The vagueness in the law means that teachers never know what trap theyre going to fall into, Williams told NPR. Angela Mitchell, a first-grade teacher at a Tulsa, is another educator who has accepted an offer to teach at Williams Saturday school. It gave me the opportunity to do what I love, Mitchell told NPR. To teach kids not only the safe information they can get at a public school, but also to dive deep and teach history that even I was never taught. MItchell has been teaching first-grade students about the Greenwood District, the thriving Black business district in Tulsa which was burned down by a white mob during the 1921 Tulsa Race massacre. Areyell Scott, another educator at Black History Saturdays, was teaching one kindergarten student last month. Scott taught her student about Ruby Bridges, the Black first-grade student who faced an angry white mob in 1960 as she was on her way to desegregate an elementary school in New Orleans. She was able to change the trajectory of what all little colored children could be exposed to, and thats what we want to show, Scott told NPR. Williams is proud of the teachers who have decided to teach at her school. She also understands that other teachers are fearful of accepting her offer because could face harassment from critics. I totally understand that, Williams said. But the teachers who said yes, theyre on the front lines. And were here creating our narrative. FILE PHOTO: Supporters of Tunisia's Free Destourian Party take part in a protest in Tunis TUNIS (Reuters) - Abir Moussi, a prominent opponent of Tunisian President Kais Saied, went on a hunger strike in prison on Tuesday to protest what her lawyers said was a violation of her rights to freedom and political activity. A judge last month ordered Moussi's imprisonment after police arrested her at the presidential palace entrance on suspicion of assault intended to cause chaos, part of a crackdown on opposition politicians. Moussi is the leader of the Free Constitutional Party (PDL), which warned in a statement against "attempts to fabricate legal obstacles to remove her from participating in the presidential elections" expected next year. Her lawyers said in a statement that Moussi would be on hunger strike for 16 days, coinciding with a campaign to highlight violence against women in Tunisia. Police this year have detained more than 20 leading political figures, accusing some of plotting against state security. Saied has described those detained as "terrorists, traitors and criminals". Saied, a retired law professor who was elected president in 2019, shut down the elected parliament in 2021 and moved to rule by decree, actions his opponents described as a coup and which he rejects. In recent months, the PDL has organised protests against Saied. Moussi accuses Saied of ruling outside the law. Moussi is a supporter of late president Zine El Abidine ben Ali who was toppled by mass protests in 2011, an uprising that later spread throughout the Middle East and became known as "the Arab Spring". (Reporting by Tarek Amara; editing by Grant McCool) The former chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation knocked the agencys current leadership over allegations of widespread sexual harassment, saying that the issue must be dealt with swiftly. Sheila Bair, who led the federal banking regulator from 2006 to 2011, called for heads to be knocked over the sweeping allegations of a hostile work environment for women and rampant sexual harassment. The FDIC, she told The Financial Times on Monday, should be laser focused on restoring employee morale, energizing employees again. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. People are not feeling good about the FDIC right now, she said. And that breaks my heart. When I left in 2011, we were at the top of the best places to work. Morale was high, turnover was low. It was really an energized agency, she continued. That is the agency I know and that is the agency that I that the FDIC can be. The agency announced Tuesday that it is launching a special inquiry into how its leadership has handled the allegations, following widespread criticism over its response from members of Congress. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), chair of the Senate Banking Committee, led calls for an Inspector General investigation into FDIC leadership earlier this month, calling the allegations extremely concerning. The House Financial Services committee announced its own investigation into the FDIC last week. Bair said that more investigation is needed to determine how FDIC leadership was involved in the allegations, but that one possible outcome is the removal of Martin Gruenberg as the agencys chair. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, convicted of the murder of George Floyd, faces new challenges as details emerge about a stabbing incident in the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, Arizona. Chauvin's family and his attorney, Gregory M. Erickson, expressed frustration over the lack of transparency by federal prison officials, highlighting broader concerns about security lapses and staffing shortages, as per NBC New York. Derek Chauvin's Stabbing Exposes Prison System Failures Chauvin was reportedly stabbed on Friday by another inmate, leading to severe injuries, as reported by an anonymous source to The Associated Press. Brian Evans, a Minnesota attorney general's office spokesperson, stated on Saturday that Chauvin is expected to survive. Still, crucial information about his condition was not promptly communicated to his family or legal representatives. Erickson criticized the Federal Bureau of Prisons for the lack of cooperation, stating that Chauvin's family had contacted the prison multiple times but received no updates. Despite being in stable condition, this information was not relayed to the family, raising questions about the effectiveness of the prison's communication procedures. Attempts to gather information about the attack hit a roadblock, with Erickson emphasizing the flawed procedures in place. The attorney highlighted that emergency contacts on record for Chauvin were not notified, further contributing to the frustration of Chauvin's family and legal team. Legal experts, including St. Paul defense attorney Jack Rice and Hennepin County District Court Judge Kevin Burke, condemned the handling of the incident as a systemic failure. Judge Burke stressed that prisons must not be dangerous places, pointing to apparent severe shortages of guards within the federal system, according to KSTP-TV. Read Also: Musk-Herzog Talks: Tesla CEO To Meet With Israeli President Amid Antisemitism Controversy on X Chauvin's Transfer Raises Safety Concerns Post-Assault Chauvin's transfer to the medium-security federal prison in Tucson in 2022 aimed to provide a safer environment after a period in solitary confinement at Minnesota's Oak Park Heights maximum-security prison. However, the recent assault challenges the expectation of enhanced safety. The Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson has been marred by security lapses and staffing shortages, as reported by the Associated Press. The stabbing incident involving Chauvin is the second major security issue at the facility in just over a year, raising concerns about overall inmate safety. It also reflects on the broader societal impact of Chauvin's case, portraying him as a symbol of the systemic police racism narrative that unfolded in 2020. The piece suggests that Chauvin's notoriety may have contributed to his vulnerability in prison and raises questions about the justice system's ability to ensure the safety of all inmates. The details surrounding Chauvin's stabbing remain sparse. This emphasizes the need for prisons to prioritize transparency, accountability, and adequate resources to protect inmates and personnel from further incidents and ensure their safety. The lack of details regarding the incident and Chauvin's condition shows the critical nature of resolving these concerns to instill trust in the prison system, New York Times reported. Related Article: North Carolina: Resto Bouncer Shouts Transphobic Slurs to Transgender Woman, Punches Her in Face, Leaving Horrific Black Eye @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Two men accused of robbing another person at gunpoint in a residential neighborhood in early November, allegedly stealing jewelry and personal items, were later arrested by Sacramento Police Department officers and found with nearly $9,000 and guns, police said Monday. A man was robbed along Rexleigh Court in Sacramentos Valley Hi / North Laguna neighborhood earlier this month, police wrote in a social media post. The investigation led police to arrest two men from Elk Grove one of whom was being held with no bail at the Sacramento County Main Jail and another who wasnt in custody as of Monday. Police declined to say what personal items were allegedly stolen. Officers executed a search warrant at residences for both suspects and their vehicles, the social media post said. They found $8,850, an AK-style pistol with a 20-round magazine, four empty magazines and another handgun, police said. Basil Husein, whos in custody after being booked into jail Nov. 9, faces felony charges of robbery, having marijuana or hashish for sale and being prohibited from owning firearms. Court records show Husein, 28, was arraigned Nov. 13 and is scheduled to appear in court Thursday for a bail review hearing. The second suspect, 28-year-old Sam Alnassiri, is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 4 for a bail review hearing and a settlement conference. Its unclear what charges he faces in connection with the robbery, but court records show he was arraigned Nov. 13. Two Columbia men were charged with federal hate crimes following a crime spree where they targeted people they identified as Mexican or Hispanic, the U.S. Attorneys Office said Tuesday. Charles Antonio Clippard, 26, and Michael Joseph Knox, 28, were charged with three hate crime counts, one count of conspiracy, one count of carjacking and three firearms offenses, the U.S. Attorneys Office said in a news release. Both Clippard and Knox are also facing dozens of state charges related to the crime spree, including multiple counts of armed robbery with a deadly weapon and kidnapping, Richland County jail and court records show. Clippard is currently being held in the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, while Knox posted $150,000 bond in October 2023, according to the records. On Monday, Clippard and Knox were indicted by a federal grand jury in Columbia for their roles in a string of bias-motivated armed robberies that happened between January and February of 2021, according to the release. What happened The armed crimes happened in public places, including gas stations and grocery stores, the U.S. Attorneys Office said. The indictment said that Clippard and Knox committed three armed robberies as part of the conspiracy, including one carjacking, because of the victims race and national origin and because those individuals were using places of public accommodation, the U.S. Attorneys Office said. When they were arrested, the Richland County Sheriffs Department said Clippard and Knox might be connected to 17 armed robberies that happened in Richland County, Columbia and Forest Acres. At least 23 people in the Columbia areas Hispanic communities were robbed at gunpoint during the crime spree, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said in 2021. Lott described Clippard and Knox as wolves, adding the sheep were our Hispanic community. Crime Spree According to deputies, on Jan. 30, 2021, Knox was one of two men who put a gun to a mans head as he got out of his car at his house on the 400 block of Percival Road, deputies said. They demanded money and the victims car keys. On Feb. 6, 2021, deputies said Clippard and another man, armed with guns, wearing ski masks and all black clothes, kicked in the door of a home on the 8500 block of Old Percival Road. They demanded money and cell phones from people inside the home and threatened to kill them. Clippard and Knox are also suspected in 11 other Richland County armed robberies that happened between Jan. 19 and Feb. 6, 2021, according to the sheriffs department. In nearly all of the cases, cash and cell phones were stolen and the victims were Hispanic. The robbers often held up people at the end of the week, when the victims had just been paid by their employers, Lott said. Hispanic communities of Richland County, particularly in northeast Columbia, endured three solid weeks of terror, Lott said. Criminal records Clippard and Knox both have prior records and were out on bond for previous charges when the armed robberies occurred, according to Lott and court records. Between 2017 and 2019, Clippard pleaded guilty to first-degree assault and battery, burglary, strong arm robbery, having a stolen vehicle and gun offenses, records show. He was out on bond from a 2020 arrest when he was charged with having tools used for stealing and two gun offenses, according to records. Police previously charged Knox with burglary and, in 2018, resisting arrest and receiving stolen goods. He was out on bond on the latter charges and failed to appear in court, records show. Consequences If convicted on the federal charges, both Clippard and Knox face a minimum penalty of 21 years in prison for the firearms offenses, a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on each hate crime count and a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison on the carjacking count, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. Along with the sheriffs department, the FBI Columbia Field Office is investigating the case as well as the Lexington Police Department and Columbia Police Department, according to the release. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Garner and Andrew Manns of the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case. Lexington attorney Ola Johnson is listed as Knoxs lawyer, court records show. Clippard is being represented by attorney Zoe Bruck of the Richland County public defenders office, according to court records. ROBERTSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) While there are several unsolved cold cases in communities across Tennessee, investigators in Robertson County have been haunted by two major cases that have remained open for decades. One case involves the abduction and murder of a young girl, but all that is known of the suspect is a sketch created based on witness descriptions and two vans possibly connected to the crime. The other case is a mysterious disappearance of a mother and her daughter. Search continues for Jennifer and Adrianna Wix 19 years after their disappearance While its still unclear exactly what happened to Jennifer and Adrianna Wix, the case was reclassified as a homicide about 10 years ago. Both cases have rocked the communities where they occurred, with a former police chief calling the murder of Morgan Violi horrific. However, the search for answers continues, with one case getting a new set of eyes earlier this year. In many cases, tips from the public no matter how seemingly insignificant can be vital. Below is any known information on the two unsolved cases out of Robertson County. Anyone with information on either case is asked to contact the Robertson County Sheriffs Office at 615-384-7971 or submit a tip online by clicking here. Abduction of Morgan Violi Morgan Jade Violi was only 7 years old when she was reportedly kidnapped from her Bowling Green, Kentucky home on July 24, 1996. Investigators said the abduction happened in broad daylight almost directly in front of her familys unit at the Colony Apartments. Numerous witnesses reported seeing a white male driving a 1978 maroon Chevrolet van grab Violi, place her in the passenger side of the van, and speed off in an unknown direction. According to the FBI, that van had also been reported stolen out of Dayton, Ohio. RELATED: FBI seeks tips on two vans connected to 1996 Morgan Violi cold case Morgan Violi (Courtesy: RCSO) The vehicle was recovered just a few days later on July 26, 1996. FBI agents said it was found more than 80 miles away at the Union 76 truck stop in Franklin, Tennessee. Three months later, on October 20, Violis family got a knock on their door from an FBI agent. Her remains had been found near an old barn on North Swift Road at Webster Road in White House, Tennessee. The sheriffs office said an older model white Ford van had been seen parked outside the barn for nearly four hours the day after Violi went missing. The FBI, in conjunction with the Robertson County Sheriffs Office and Bowling Green Police, is still looking for information on the van, which reportedly had a slatted trailer-door type window on the side. Despite hundreds of tips, the case still hasnt been closed. In a 2020 interview, former Bowling Green Police Chief Bill Waltrip told News 2 its a case that will always be burned into his memory. Unsolved cases: 18 missing people who disappeared from Nashville A sketch of the man suspected of kidnapping Morgan Violi. (Courtesy: RCSO) The maroon van connected to Morgan Violis kidnapping. (Courtesy: RCSO) The maroon van connected to Morgan Violis kidnapping. (Courtesy: RCSO) A sketch of the white van believed to be connected to Morgan Violis kidnapping. (Courtesy: RCSO) What stands out is just the horrific nature of the case, and then how complicated and how many leads came in, Waltrip said. As frustrating as it is for law enforcement, its nothing at all compared to what the family goes through. The man suspected of taking Violi appeared to be in his 20s at the time, according to the sheriffs office. Witnesses described him as having collar length sandy brown hair, a slender build, defined muscles and facial hair. One outstanding feature that investigators said was noticed by all witnesses was that the man reportedly had a sharp, distinct nose. Anyone who has any information about this case is asked to call the Robertson County Sheriffs Office at 615-384-7971, the FBI in Bowling Green at 270-781-4734, or the Bowling Green Police Department at 270-393-4244. Disappearances of Jennifer and Adrianna Wix Its been nearly two decades since then-21-year-old Jennifer Wix and her 2-year-old daughter, Adrianna Wix, were reported missing on Saturday, March 27, 2004. The last time Jennifer and Adriannas family saw them was a few days earlier on March 24. Jennifers boyfriend at the time, Joey Benton, told police he dropped them off at a gas station on March 25 near Exit 112 off Interstate 65 in Cross Plains and watched them leave in a white car. The next day, Benton said Jennifer came to his house in the same white car without Adrianna. SEE ALSO: Jennifer Wixs mother grieves on what would have been daughters 40th birthday However, investigators have never been able to confirm Bentons story. The case was reclassified as a homicide in 2013, and according to investigators, Benton remains a person of interest. A new detective recently took over the investigation in 2023 and has been reviewing the case. Jennifer and Adrianna Wix Adrianna Wix Adrianna Wix An age progressed photo of Adrianna Wix (Courtesy: NCMEC) An age progressed photo of Jennifer Wix (Courtesy: NCMEC) Although Jennifer and Adrianna Wixs family members want the person responsible brought to justice, they told News 2 in a February 2023 interview they wont rest until they are able to bring Jennifer and her daughter home. Even if we were to find Jennifer and Adrianna, be able to lay them to rest and we never found out who did it, thats all my mom wants. Thats all that we want, Casey Robinson, Jennifers sister and Adriannas aunt, said. Investigators believe its possible that Adrianna is still in the company of her mother. Adrianna has a birthmark on her right thigh and may go by the nickname Nina. She has blue eyes and brown hair and would now be 21 years old. UNSOLVED TENNESSEE: Find more of the states cold cases, missing persons, and other mysteries Jennifer had brown hair with red highlights when she was last seen. She has brown eyes and sometimes wears glasses. Jennifer also has a tribal tattoo on her back. Today, she would be 41 years old. Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the Robertson County Sheriffs Office at 615-384-7981 or the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND. Callers can stay anonymous and may be eligible for a reward. Tips can also be submitted online by clicking here. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. Two Modesto residents have been identified as those killed in a head-on collision near Atwater early Thanksgiving morning, according to the Merced County Coroners Office. Bryant Noyola, 22, and Norma Rodriguez, 49, were killed when Noyola, driving a 2002 Hyundai Elantra the wrong direction on Highway, collided with a Chevy Tahoe at about 4:15 a.m. The Tahoe flipped onto its roof and caught. Its driver, 43-year-old Modesto resident Gonzalo Ahumbra, and two rear passengers escaped the vehicle as it burned. California Highway Patrol officers pulled Rodriguez from the Tahoe, but she died from her injuries. Both Rodriguez and Noyola were pronounced dead at the scene. Ahumbra suffered major injuries. His other passengers, Mountain View resident Cecilia Jimenez, 19, and a 17-year-old Modesto girl, suffered moderate injuries. All were taken to Doctors Medical Center in Modesto. The preliminary investigation indicated that Noyola was traveling north in the southbound lanes between 80 and 90 mph when his Hyundai hit the Tahoe, which was going about 65 mph. CHP officers initially received a call regarding a wrong-way driver, but moments later were informed there had been a collision north of Westside Boulevard. As of Monday, it had not been determined if Noyola was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Police are investigating after two people were found dead inside a home in Searsmont on Monday afternoon, state police said. At approximately 1:50 p.m. Monday, the Waldo County Sheriffs Office responded to a home on Borough Road, where two adults were found dead, state police said. The Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit-Central is investigating. An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause and manner of deaths. There is no risk to the public, authorities said. Searsmont is a small town in Maine, east of Augusta. The town, in Waldo County, had a population of 1,400 for the 2020 census. The deaths in Searsmont were reported two days after two people were found dead inside a Denmark home on Saturday, authorities said. A 53-year-old caretaker, Tzara Jones of Denmark, has been charged with two counts of murder in the Denmark deaths. Denmark is a small town in Maine, just northwest of Sebago Lake. The town, in Oxford County, had a population of 1,197 for the 2020 census. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) Two local schools go on lockdown after a woman was shot on Monday. The shooting happened in the Springhill Court area. The woman was transported to a hospital by helicopter. Man shot, hit in head with machete in Montgomery County At the time of the shooting, Dora Kennedy French Immersion School and Greenbelt Middle and Elementary Schools were placed on a temporary lockdown as a precautionary measure. The lockdowns were lifted soon after the shooting. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. NEW YORK - The NYPD says it has arrested two women who assaulted a Jewish woman in Manhattan during a confrontation over Israeli hostage posters. Authorities say that Mehwish Omer, 26, and Stephanie Gonzalez, 25, have been charged with assault as a hate crime. Omer has also been charged with criminal mischief as a hate crime, while Gonzalez has been charged with attempted robbery. According to police, just before 10 p.m. on November 9, the victim, a 41-year-old woman spotted Omer and Gonzalez taking down Israeli hostage posters from a light pole at he corner of Riverside Drive and West 82nd Street. The victim got into an argument with the suspects as she recorded them with her cell phone. Police say the two suspects then assaulted the victim, forcibly ripping off her Star of David necklace. The suspects also knocked the victim's cell phone out of her hand and onto the ground, before fleeing the scene. The victim sustained minor injuries to her face and neck but refused further medical attention at the scene. The NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force is continuing to investigate the incident. On November 26, former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy posted a video on X (formerly Twitter) where he remarks that the United States has never asked for land after any of its wars. Think for one moment. In every single war that America has fought, we have never asked for land afterwardexcept for enough to bury the Americans who gave the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. pic.twitter.com/XbReeVvWPX Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) November 27, 2023 McCarthys remarks came during an October 28 appearance at the Oxford Union Societya debating society in Oxford, England, that draws members primarily from the University of Oxfordwhere he debated the proposition, This House Believes US Interventionism Has Done More Harm Than Good. The response may have been a paraphrase of a statement made by then-Secretary of State Colin Powell during the 2003 meeting of the World Economic Forum where he said that we have asked for nothing except enough ground to bury them in, in reference to the sacrifice of U.S. soldiers in military operations during the preceding century. History features numerous examples, however, of the United States acquiring territory following military conflicts. The comments reflect a common historical shortsightedness that mistakes Americas post-World War II image of itself for historical reality, which is that much of the United States current dominion was won in wars of conquest, Dr. John W. Hall, a professor of U.S. military history at University of Wisconsin-Madison, told The Dispatch Fact Check. The most notable cases are certainly the Mexican-American War, which was actually designed as a war of conquest, and the Spanish-American War, by which the United States acquired an overseas empire. In May 1846, the United States declared war on Mexico in a conflict that centered around the 1845 annexation of Texas and disputes over territory between the Rio Grande and Nueces River. The war formally ended after the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (famously featured in an iconic Jimmy Fallon sketch) which established the Rio Grande as the U.S.-Mexico border. The treaty also obligated Mexico to recognize the annexation of Texas and sell its remaining territory north of the Rio Grandeincluding Californiato the United States. Later that century, the United States also intervened in Cubas war of independence against Spain after the explosion of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor and years of violence on the island. The resulting Spanish-American War ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in December 1898, granting the United States control over Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. Both Puerto Rico and Guam remain U.S. territories today, and the Philippines was not granted full independence until 1946. If you have a claim you would like to see us fact check, please send us an email at factcheck@thedispatch.com. If you would like to suggest a correction to this piece or any other Dispatch article, please email corrections@thedispatch.com. Read more at The Dispatch The Dispatch is a new digital media company providing engaged citizens with fact-based reporting and commentary, informed by conservative principles. Sign up for free. London The U.K. government has cancelled a meeting between Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Greek counterpart amid a diplomatic row over which of the two nations should hold a collection of ancient Greek sculptures. Greece and Britain have long argued over the Parthenon Sculptures, also known as the Elgin Marbles, which were once part of the Temple of Athena on the Acropolis in Athens. For years they have been part of the permanent collection at London's British Museum. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had been expected to meet Sunak in London on Tuesday, but late Monday night, the Greek leader issued a statement to "express my annoyance at the fact that the British prime minister has cancelled our planned meeting a few hours before it was due to take place." A photo taken on Sept. 7, 2023 shows a metope that forms part of the Parthenon Marbles, a collection of stone objects, inscriptions and sculptures also known as the Elgin Marbles, in the British Museum in London. / Credit: Li Ying/Xinhua/Getty Speaking Sunday to the BBC, Mitsotakis said that having half of the Elgin Marbles in the U.K. was like "cutting the Mona Lisa in half," describing the sculptures as having been "essentially stolen" from Greece. According to the BBC, Sunak's office at 10 Downing Street believed it had received assurances that the Greek leader would not mention the Parthenon sculptures on his trip to the U.K., but the BBC quoted a Greek official as denying that. Sources close to the Greek government told the BBC that Mitsotakis was "baffled" and "annoyed" by the snub. The U.K. opposition Labour party, who are leading Sunak's Conservatives in the polls by a wide margin ahead of an election year, called the row "pathetic." Labour leader Keir Starmer met with Mitsotakis on Monday. The British Museum is not allowed to return the sculptures to Greece under U.K. law, but officials at the museum have discussed a long-term loan deal with Greek officials, something Labour has said it wouldn't oppose. "Our position is clear," the BBC quoted a senior Conservative lawmaker as saying: "The Elgin Marbles are part of the permanent collection of the British Museum and belong here. It is reckless for any British politician to suggest that this is subject to negotiation." Visitors to the British Museum in London, England, walk around a selection of items from the collection of ancient Greek sculptures known as The Elgin Marbles, Aug. 23, 2023. / Credit: LEON NEAL/Getty The sculptures that formerly decorated the Parthenon temple were removed more than 200 years ago by Lord Elgin of Scotland. They have been displayed at the British Museum in London since 1817, when Elgin sold the marbles to the British government. The year before the sale, a British parliamentary committee deemed his actions "entirely legal." The Greek culture ministry tells a different story, however. "By using methods of bribery and fraud, Elgin persuaded the Turkish dignitaries [of the then Ottoman Empire] in Athens to turn a blind eye while his craftsmen removed those parts of the Parthenon they particularly liked," reads a since-deleted page on its website. "Elgin's team was active on the Acropolis, hacking off and causing considerable damage to the sculptures and the monument, eventually detaching and dismembering a significant part (more or less half) of the remaining sculpted decoration of the Parthenon." In 1983, Greece formally requested that all Parthenon sculptures be returned and, in 2009, it built the Acropolis Museum in Athens to house originals from the temple and "plaster copies of those retained in the British Museum and other foreign Museums." On Tuesday, former Greek culture minister Irene Stamatoudi told the BBC the squabble "makes Rishi Sunak look no better than Lord Elgin." The British Museum has been embroiled in multiple controversies over artifacts obtained during the colonial period. Egypt, Nigeria, Iran and other countries have demanded the return of what they insist are stolen artifacts over the years. Since 1997, the British Museum has been researching whether, "works that had previously been stolen by the Nazis in the period 19331945 had unwittingly been acquired" and become part of its collections, according to its website. Georgian winemakers restoring countrys ancient grape varieties | 60 Minutes Grieving Ukrainians attend Austrian Alps climbing camp to recover from war | 60 Minutes As electric vehicle popularity grows, one startup is using old tires to make new batteries The Biden administration will stick to its promise to reimpose sanctions on Nicolas Maduros regime in Venezuela unless he takes concrete actions no later than Thursday to release U.S. hostages and begin democratic reforms, a White House official told McClatchy. The White House eased sanctions on the countrys oil sector last month after Maduro agreed in principle with Venezuelas opposition platform to allow a competitive presidential election to proceed next year. But Biden administration officials set two conditions on the U.S. sanctions relief at the time, and told Maduro he had to meet both by Nov. 30. Maduro first must begin the release of all American hostages currently detained in the country, according to a statement released by the White House. Three U.S. citizens in Venezuela are designated as wrongfully detained, and more are being held there, including one who was abducted within hours of the October agreement. Second, Maduro must define a specific timeline and process for the expedited reinstatement of all candidates who want to run for president, ensuring their freedom of movement and physical safety. Juan Gonzalez, senior director for the Western Hemisphere at the National Security Council, stated publicly that this must include Maria Corina Machado, who is widely considered the most viable competitor to Maduro in a free and democratic election. A White House official told McClatchy on Tuesday that the administration is committed to the Nov. 30 deadline. Our statement still holds, the official said. The U.S. government has been waiting for Caracas socialist regime to comply with the commitments it made in a series of negotiations held throughout the year with members of the Biden administration. The talks culminated in the signing last month in Barbados of an accord with opposition leaders to hold presidential elections next year. Those commitments included allowing any opposition leader to compete, implementing deep reforms to the often criticized electoral system, allowing international observers to monitor the election and freeing all political prisoners. In exchange, the administration granted a six-month general license temporarily authorizing U.S. transactions involving the oil and gas sector in Venezuela, and a second general license authorizing the operations of state-run Minerven, a previously sanctioned gold-mining enterprise that had been trading on the black market. According to press reports, Maduro has already taken steps to take advantage of the new licenses, setting up a number of tentative deals with international oil companies to boost the countrys production. In addition to Spains Repsol and Italys Eni, which already have been working with Venezuela on gas projects for some time, French company Maurel & Prom announced that it will be resuming operations in Lake Maracaibo, in eastern Venezuela, Spanish newspaper El Pais reported. Other companies looking to return to the South American country include China Petroleum and Indian Oil, which have already contacted Caracas, while Maduro officials have confirmed talks to develop gas projects with Colombias Ecopetrol. And yet, the Maduro regime has shown few signs it is willing to uphold its side of the October agreement with Washington. Instead of lifting its ban prohibiting a number of top opposition leaders from running for public office as was expected the Venezuelan government, through its Supreme Court, issued a new ruling dismantling the results of a primary election held by the opposition last month, in which Machado won more than 92% of the vote. That was seen in the United States as a sign that Maduro has no intention of keeping his word. Its taken them just two weeks to violate the agreement, Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio told Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a recent Senate hearing. They canceled the oppositions primary election and they continue to ban the winner of the primary. They basically wiped out the election. Theyve broken the deal. Are we going to reimpose sanctions? the senator asked. That option is on the table, Blinken replied. Theyre not getting a free pass for actions they take that are in contradiction to the commitments that theyve made to move toward free and fair elections, he said. Were tracking that very carefully, and happy to come back to you further as this moves along. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, deliberately engineered its social platforms to engage and hook children. The documents, part of a lawsuit filed by attorneys general from 33 states, claim that Meta knew about millions of complaints regarding underage users on Instagram but only disabled a fraction of those accounts, as per AP News. Meta Has Big 'Open Secret' According to the complaint, Meta officials acknowledged that the company designed its products to exploit shortcomings in youthful psychology, such as impulsive behavior, susceptibility to peer pressure, and underestimating risks. The lawsuit alleges that since at least 2019, Meta knowingly refused to shut down most accounts belonging to children under 13 while collecting their personal information without parental consent. The attorneys general from 33 states accuse Meta of receiving over a million reports of under-13 users on Instagram between early 2019 and mid-2023. Despite this, the complaint states, "Meta disabled only a fraction of those accounts." The federal complaint calls for court orders to prohibit Meta from practices that allegedly violate the law, with potential civil penalties reaching hundreds of millions of dollars. The lawsuit contends that Meta violated state-based consumer protection statutes and the Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule, which prohibits companies from collecting personal information from children under 13 without parental consent. The complaint points out that Meta's records reveal millions of children under 13 using Instagram, some spending over five hours daily on the platform, according to KSL. Read Also: Joe Biden To Skip COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai; But Why? Meta's Algorithmic Impact on Instagram Internal communications cited in the complaint reveal Meta's awareness that its algorithm could steer children toward harmful content, impacting their mental well-being. Concerns were raised about Instagram's algorithm amplifying unfavorable social comparisons and content that could make users feel worse about their bodies or appearance. Despite internal research confirming these concerns, the lawsuit alleges that Meta refused to change its algorithm, prioritizing engagement over user well-being. The complaint accuses Meta of profiting from children's pain by intentionally designing platforms with manipulative features fostering addiction and lowering self-esteem. Meta responded to the allegations, stating that the complaint "mischaracterizes our work using selective quotes and cherry-picked documents." The company acknowledged the complexity of verifying ages online but emphasized its commitment to safe online teen experiences. The lawsuit argues that Meta chose not to build effective systems to detect and exclude underage teen users, viewing them as a crucial demographic for future growth. It further accuses the tech giant of "automatically" ignoring some reports of under-13 users and allowing them to continue using the platform. As Meta faces this legal firestorm, the lawsuit reflects growing concerns about the impact of social media on youth mental health. The allegations underscore the need for accountability and regulatory measures to address the alleged exploitation of children on these platforms, prompting a reexamination of ethical practices in the tech industry, The Independent reported. Related Article: Amazon Workers Launch Black Friday Strike Worldwide Amid Shopping Season @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. GRANITE CITY, Ill. Up to a thousand employees at U.S. Steels Granite City Works plant will be out of a job after the holidays, as the steel producer announced Tuesday that it would idle the facility indefinitely. In a statement, a spokesperson for U.S. Steel said the Granite City mill is being idled in order to help ensure melt capacity is balanced with our order book and will meet demand by leveraging its active iron and steelmaking plants. Employees at the Granite City facility who will be affected have been notified of these changes, according to the spokesperson. The layoffs will occur in January 2024. The move comes two months after U.S. Steel temporarily idled furnace B in a move the company described as risk mitigation in response to the now-resolved UAW strike. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Breaking News The affected workers include 400 who have been on temporary layoff since Oct. 1, plus an additional 600. United Steelworkers Local 1899 will host an informational meeting for the workers who have lost their jobs. Meanwhile, shares of U.S. Steel are up more than 53% over the past five years as the company solicits potential buyers. Illinois State Representative Amy Elik (R-Alton) said shes disgusted and saddened by Tuesdays announcement. Granite City employees and their families have provided loyal, skilled labor to the steel industry for decades, and U.S. Steel is pulling the rug out from under them, she said in a statement. U.S. Steel should be doing everything it can to keep the Granite City steel mill operating at capacity, and I dont see the company making that effort. Elik has advised all affected employees to contact the Southwestern Illinois WorkNet Center in Wood River for job search help or job training opportunities. How time-of-use pricing plan is impacting electric bills Eliks colleagues in the region, State Reps. Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea) and Katie Stuart (D-Edwardsville), expressed disappointment over the layoffs and support for the workforce. The people of this community have given a lot over the years in support of this plant, and our significant local resources, infrastructure, and workforce should be encouraging further investment, not abandonment, Hoffman said. A lot of families are going to be hurt by this. Stuart said the community needs to stand together and officials need to prioritize the affected families in the short and long term. I look forward to doing what it takes to welcome businesses that believe in fair play and value people, she said. In the meantime, Im standing by to assist affected workers in any way that I can, including by prioritizing career training and other resources. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. Leading climate figures have reacted with horror to news that the United Arab Emirates has been allegedly planning to leverage the upcoming UN climate summit for new oil and gas deals. Days before the start of Cop28, leaked briefing documents revealed the UAEs intention to discuss fossil fuel projects with representatives of other countries, who have traveled to Dubai under the auspices of tackling the climate crisis. The UAEs Cop28 team prepared talking points for meetings with 15 foreign governments, indicating intentions to explore oil and gas deals, according to reporting from the Centre for Climate Reporting and BBC. The Independent has reached out to the Cop28 presidency for comment. The revelations have heightened concerns over a conflict of interest at the climate summit. The UAE Cop28 presidency has already come under fire after appointing Sultan al Jaber, CEO of state-owned oil company Adnoc, to lead proceedings. Former US vice president and environmentalist Al Gore said the allegations were utterly appalling. The chances for real progress at COP28 were badly damaged early this year when an oil company CEO was appointed to lead the negotiations, he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. And now investigative journalists have confirmed some of the worst fears of those who criticized that absurd appointment. Using international climate talks as leverage to shore up support for pumping more oil and gas at a time when we urgently need to phase out fossil fuels is to say the least utterly appalling. The chances for real progress at COP28 were badly damaged early this year when an oil company CEO was appointed to lead the negotiations. And now investigative journalists have confirmed some of the worst fears of those who criticized that absurd appointment with the shocking https://t.co/jDJwofmrWs Al Gore (@algore) November 27, 2023 The investigative journalists uncovered documents that said Adnoc was willing to explore oil and gas in Mozambique, Canada and Australia, while in Colombia it stands ready to help develop its oil and gas reserves. The company also suggested discussing commercial opportunities with other countries including Germany and Egypt. The reports found that on at least one occasion, one country followed up on commercial discussions. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres was asked about the BBC findings at a press conference following his trip to the Antarctic where he witnessed the catastrophic melting that the rising global temperature is causing. I cant believe it is true, he responded. This is the 'Volkswagen 2015' moment for the #COP28 Presidency. Caught red handed, the COP Presidency has no other option but to now unequivocally step up the transparency, responsibility and accountability with which they lead the process. [1/2]https://t.co/mOpmYDfTaL Christiana Figueres (@CFigueres) November 27, 2023 Christiana Figueres, former executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) who oversaw the 2015 Paris Agreement, said the Cop28 presidency must step up the transparency now that they are caught red handed. This COP Presidency will be under public scrutiny like no other ever before. This is a deep challenge and a transformational opportunity for them. The planet cannot afford for them to not step up, she added. In a statement to the BBC, UAE Cop representatives did not deny using climate meetings for business talks, adding thatprivate meetings are private. A Cop28 spokesperson also told The Guardian: The documents referred to are inaccurate and were not used by Cop28 in meetings. They did not specify in what ways they were inaccurate. Cop28 takes place in a year that is tracking to be the hottest on record and after months of wildfires, floods and droughts around the world. Climate activists, some lawmakers and even Pope Francis have been highly skeptical about the ability of an oil-dependent nation to lead the fight in cutting the fossil fuel emissions causing global heating. Climate campaign group 350.org said making Mr Jaber the Cop28 president was like appointing the CEO of a cigarette company to oversee a conference on cancer cures. Kaisa Kosonen, policy coordinator at Greenpeace International, called the BBC findings a real scandal ahead of Cop28. The climate summit leader should be focused on advancing climate solutions impartially, not backroom deals that are fuelling the crisis. This is exactly the kind of conflict of interest we feared when the CEO of an oil company was appointed to the role, she said. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. A study by two Arkansas health care providers has been approved for $17.5 million to study and reduce prenatal health issues. The study by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the Community Health Centers of Arkansas comes in the face of troubling statistics. According to study authors, Arkansas is ranked worst for both maternal health and food insecurity and has the third highest infant mortality rate of U.S. states. UAMS has $17.6 million grant renewed to increase primary care doctors numbers in Arkansas An additional issue in Arkansas maternal health is overweight mothers. Statistics show Arkansas has the second highest rate of obesity among women in the country, with approximately 65% of women in Arkansas being overweight when they become pregnant. This leads to health complications, including complications during pregnancy, according to study authors. The study will examine two methods of intervention in maternal health: Enhanced Standard of Care and Delivering HOPE ESoC provides weight gain counseling for pregnant women, as well as helping them sign up for WIC and SNAP benefits and other food programs. Philander Smith University holds Maternal Outcomes Matter Shower Delivering HOPE includes the same practices as ESoC but also includes grocery delivery of healthy foods to participants homes. The study will include determining the health of mothers in rural and low-income areas. Authors stated that pregnant women living in rural and low-income areas have worse outcomes due in part to more challenging social conditions for health, such as higher rates of food insecurity and lack of transportation access to healthy food. The Community Health Centers of Arkansas participation in the study was due to it having health centers throughout the state, including federally funded health centers in rural and low-income areas. Study finds link between drinking some diet soda during pregnancy and autism in boys Funding was provided by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Instituteas part of an $80.5 million national package announced Tuesday. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK. The UKs Defence Intelligence says the Russians have made little progress in the battle for Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast, and it has cost them thousands of casualties. Source: UK Defence Intelligence review dated 28 November, as reported by European Pravda Quote: "Although modest, this advance [of the Russian army ed.] likely represents one of the greatest Russian gains since spring 2023. It has cost the units involved thousands of casualties." Details: UK Defence Intelligence noted that the Russians have not stopped trying to encircle Avdiivka. They have managed to move the front line forward by up to 2 km since the beginning of October. The update added that these actions are bringing the Russians closer to the Avdiivka Coke and Chemical Plant, where the Armed Forces of Ukraine hold one of their main defensive positions. While Avdiivka has become a salient or bulge in the Ukrainian contact line, Ukraine retains control of a roughly 7-km-wide corridor through which it continues to supply the city. Background: In a previous update, UK Intelligence reported that over the past six weeks, Russian forces have suffered their heaviest losses since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The agency previously reported that Russia had moved strategic air defence systems from Kaliningrad Oblast in November to replace those lost in the war with Ukraine. Support UP or become our patron! Ownership of the Parthenon Marbles, also known as the Elgin Marbles, has been a bone of contention for decades (Daniel LEAL) UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cancelled a meeting with Kyriakos Mitsotakis because his Greek counterpart failed to keep a promise not to publicly dispute ownership of the Parthenon Marbles, the UK leader's spokesman said on Tuesday. An angry Mitsotakis cut short his three-day visit and headed back to Greece, according to his office, after the meeting scheduled for Tuesday was pulled. According to a government source in Athens, "the marbles issue was on the agenda, among other bilateral and international issues, as it had been in the past". "Downing Street was aware of it," the source added. But in London, Sunak's spokesman maintained that the Greek government, when requesting the meeting, had "provided reassurances that they would not use the visit as a public platform to relitigate long, long settled matters relating to the ownership of the Parthenon sculptures". "Given those assurances were not adhered to, the prime minister (Sunak) felt it would not be productive to hold a meeting dominated by that issue, rather than the important challenges facing Greek and British people," he told reporters. The sculptures were taken from the Parthenon temple at the Acropolis in Greece in the early 19th century by British diplomat Thomas Bruce, the earl of Elgin, and are now on display at the British Museum. Athens maintains the marbles were stolen, while Britain claims they were obtained legally, and the issue has been a source of contention between the countries for decades. Athens had been lobbying London for a deal that would return the sculptures under some kind of loan arrangement. It is believed the UK leader was angry about an interview Mitsotakis gave with the BBC on Sunday, in which he said having some of the marbles in London and others in Athens was like cutting the Mona Lisa in half. A Greek source denied to the BBC that it had made the assurances claimed by Downing Street. Mitsotakis said in a statement: "I would like to express my displeasure at the British Prime Minister's cancellation of our meeting just a few hours before it was due to take place." He reportedly declined a UK offer to meet Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden instead. Despite the spat, Downing Street insisted that "the UK-Greece relationship is hugely important, from our work together in NATO to tackling shared challenges like illegal migration to joint efforts to resolve the crisis in the Middle East and war in Ukraine". jwp/phz/bc/acc Kyiv has commenced a first round of consultations with Italy on a bilateral security guarantees agreement, the Ukrainian presidents office reported on Nov. 27. "Ukraine has already started bilateral consultations with all of the G7 countries, including Italy, said President's Office Deputy Head Ihor Zhovkva, who is leading the Ukrainian negotiating team. Read also: G7 leaders officially announce security guarantees package for Ukraine Italy will chair the G7 next year. Italy's provision of security guarantees to Ukraine will be an important step towards Ukraines membership in the EU and NATO," Zhovkva said. The content and format of the future bilateral agreement and a schedule for further talks were discussed. Read also: Yermak discusses security guarantees for Ukraine with Macrons special envoy Kyiv is already negotiating bilateral security guarantees with the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Japan, Germany, and other countries. The European Unions diplomacy chief, Josep Borrell, reported earlier that a European Union mission would visit Ukraine in early December 2023 to discuss potential security guarantees. On July 12, G7 leaders issued a declaration on joint security guarantees for Ukraine. Subsequently, Ukraine began negotiations on bilateral security guarantees with the United States, the UK, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, France, Sweden, and other countries. 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 Ukraines SBU security service has pressed charges against Russian Lieutenant General Sergey Kobylash, whom it says ordered a strike on a high-rise building in the central Ukrainian city of Uman in April, the SBUs press service announced on Nov. 28. Kobylash is the commander of the long-range aviation group of the Russian Air Force, the SBU said. Read also: Documenting Russia's deadliest strikes against Ukrainian civilians After collecting evidence, law enforcement officers found that the Russian military carried out an air strike on the city with two X-101 missiles fired from a Russian TU-95MS heavy bomber. "The official gave the order to conduct missile strikes on a residential multi-story building and a parking lot in Uman, Cherkasy Oblast, on April 28 this year," the SBU said. Kobylash has been involved in the full-scale war against Ukraine since its outbreak. He is also though to have ordered the bombing of civilian infrastructure in Syria and Georgia. He received a general's rank and the "Hero of Russia" star for his activities. Kobylash was also the first Russian military officer to be declared a suspect by Ukraine in January for his alleged involvement in attacks on civilian infrastructure. Read also: The SBU has now filed new charges against the Russian general under Part 2 of Article 28 and Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with premeditated murder. On April 28, Russia carried out a massive attack across Ukraine, launching a missile attack on a high-rise building in Uman. Twenty-three people were killed, including six children. Nine people were reported injured. Seven neighboring buildings, six businesses, and 70 cars were also seriously damaged. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine The wife of Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate, has been poisoned, a spokesman for the countrys military intelligence has confirmed. Andriy Yusov was quoted telling Radio Free Europe that Marianna Budanova is currently undergoing treatment for suspected heavy metals poisoning. Earlier, an intelligence source told the Kyiv Post that reports about 30-year-old Budanova falling ill were true. She went to the doctor on time, if a week later, the consequences would be more severe, the source added. The source did not give additional information, but according to Ukrainian news site Babel, Budanova has been hospitalized after being poisoned with heavy metals. These substances are not used in any way in everyday life and military affairs, a source told Babel. Their presence may indicate a purposeful attempt to poison a specific person. Both outlets reported that an investigation has been opened for Budanovas attempted murder. Her husband has been targeted in 10 Russian assassination attempts, according to the Post, including in a car explosion which left him seriously injured. Read it at Kyiv Post Read more at The Daily Beast. Ukraine and Italy have started the first round of negotiations on bilateral security commitments, as provided for in the G7 joint declaration. Source: Press service of the Ukrainian President; European Pravda Details: The Ukrainian negotiation group was headed by Ihor Zhovkva, Deputy Head of the Presidents Office. Zhovkva noted that Ukraine has started bilateral consultations with all G7 countries. "Italy's provision of security guarantees to Ukraine will be an important step towards our country's membership in the EU and NATO," he emphasised. The parties discussed approaches to the format and content of the future bilateral agreement and agreed on a schedule for further communication during the talks. Background: Negotiations between Ukraine and Germany on a bilateral agreement on security guarantees began on 17 November. At the NATO summit in Vilnius, the Group of Seven countries agreed on a framework document on security guarantees for Ukraine. The leaders agreed on a framework rather than specific parameters of security guarantees, and specific bilateral agreements will be signed later. So far, about 30 countries have joined the G7 declaration on long-term security assurances for Ukraine. Support UP or become our patron! Ukraine and Italy began negotiations on a bilateral agreement on security guarantees under the Group of Seven (G7) Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine, the Presidential Office reported on Nov. 28. Italy has become the last G7 country to start the bilateral security guarantees discussion with Ukraine. The G7 also includes Germany, the U.K., the U.S., Japan, France and Canada. "We appreciate the significant contribution of our Italian friends to the defense of Ukraine and to bringing a joint victory closer, said Ihor Zhovkva, the President's Office deputy head leading the Ukrainian negotiation team. Italy's provision of security guarantees to Ukraine will be an important step towards our country's membership in the European Union and NATO." The Group of Seven (G7) members presented their long-term security commitments for Ukraine at the NATO summit in Vilnius in early July. Under this plan, individual countries would provide bilateral support to help Kyiv repel the ongoing Russian invasion and deter any future aggression. The security guarantees would entail explicit and long-lasting obligations, as well as bolster Ukraine's ability to resist Russian aggression. The guarantees would also cover sanctions, financial aid, and post-war reconstruction. Around 30 countries have so far joined the security guarantees declaration. Ukraine has said that the best security guarantee for it would be to become a full-fledged NATO member after Russia's war ends. Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Kanye West has once again found himself at the center of controversy, this time for rapping along to lyrics that many have deemed antisemitic. In a recently surfaced video, Kanye enthusiastically enjoys a party in Dubai, where he joins fellow artists Ty Dolla $ign, Bump J, and Chris Brown. However, a specific lyric in one of his songs ignited a storm of criticism, as per Mirror. Kanye West's Antisemitic Lyrics Spark Outrage The lyrics in question go: "How I'm antisemitic? I just fked a Jewish bch." As the controversial line played loudly over the speakers, Kanye and his entourage rocked out, seemingly unfazed by the offensive content. The video quickly went viral on social media, sparking outrage among fans and the general public. One critic expressed their disgust by calling Kanye "disgusting," while another exclaimed, "Shame on you!!!!!!!!" Many questioned whether the lyrics or the artists' reactions to them were more sickening. This incident comes on the heels of a string of controversies surrounding Kanye West, including a series of antisemitic outbursts that began late last year. In one tweet, he vowed to go "death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE," a statement that drew widespread condemnation. In subsequent interviews, he attempted to clarify his remarks, claiming he was targeting specific individuals within the Jewish community whom he felt had exploited him. One particularly shocking interview with right-wing talk show host Alex Jones saw Kanye praising Adolf Hitler for his "redeeming qualities" and promoting conspiracy theories about the Holocaust and the identity of Black people as the real Jews, according to Mail Online. Read Also: Former Andrew Cuomo Aide Files Civil Lawsuit Against Former New York Governor Kanye West, Chris Brown Face Cancel Culture Backlash These remarks led to severe consequences for the rapper, including the loss of lucrative contracts with major brands like The Gap, Adidas, and Balenciaga and being dropped by his management team at Creative Artists Agency. Despite the controversy surrounding him, some fans have remained loyal and supportive of Kanye. Comments like "Love all the way Ye " and "It's nice seeing Yeeee smiling again" can still be found alongside controversial video clips. However, the backlash against Kanye West and Chris Brown has been significant. Chris Brown, who has a history of legal troubles, including a highly-publicized assault on Rihanna in 2009, may see his public image tarnished further due to his association with the song and the video. The calls to "cancel" Kanye West have grown louder in light of this incident, echoing the cancel culture that has affected numerous public figures in recent years. It's worth noting that Kanye faced a form of cancellation last year when he was dropped by major brands and faced social media restrictions after his antisemitic tirades. Currently, Kanye West and Chris Brown representatives have not responded to requests for comment regarding this latest controversy. However, the fallout from this incident will continue to reverberate, and the debate over where to draw the line between artistic expression and offensive content remains ongoing, Pages Six reported. Related Article: [UPDATE] Jamie Foxx Denies Sexual Assault Claim After 'Victim' Files Lawsuit Accuses Actor of Malicous Acts While She's Intoxicated @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO, commenting on the state of the war in Ukraine, said that it is necessary to prepare for increased hostilities and missile attacks by Russia. Source: Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels, as reported by European Pravda Details: At the meeting of foreign ministers of NATO countries in Brussels on 28 November, the Secretary General of the Alliance noted that the front line in Ukraine currently sees intense fighting. In addition, "we have seen waves of drone attacks on Ukrainian cities," he added. Quote: "We need to prepare for increased fighting and increased aerial missile attacks on Ukrainian cities. NATO allies support for Ukraine is even more important now." Details: Stoltenberg welcomed the recent announcements of aid to Ukraine by NATO member states, in particular Germany, the Netherlands and Romania. Background: On 28 November, Stoltenberg stated that he was confident that the allies would continue to provide Ukraine with significant amounts of military aid. He also explained why it is not right to talk about the lack of military successes of Ukraine in the 2023 campaign, although the contact line is barely moving. Support UP or become our patron! Finland will close its entire border with Russia on Wednesday night after accusing Moscow of orchestrating a surge of asylum seekers. Prime minister Petteri Orpo said the last remaining open border crossing at Raja-Jooseppi in the far north will shut for two weeks until 13 December. This is an organised activity, not a genuine emergency, interior minister Mari Rantanen said. The closure comes after weeks of rising tensions between the countries after more than 1,000 migrants were given bikes and scooters by Russia to cross Finlands 830-miles border without a visa since August. Finland has steadily closed its border crossings in protest against the increase in migrants, most of whom are from Africa and the Middle East. Russia warned of counter-measures when Finland joined Nato in April. 03:10 PM GMT Thank you for following today's blog Thats all for today from the Telegraphs coverage of the war in Ukraine. 03:06 PM GMT Today's headlines A Ukrainian drone struck an aircraft factory nearly 200 miles behind enemy lines A Russian court extended the pre-trial detention of reporter Evan Gershkovich by two months Volodymyr Zelensky sent a delegation to meet Republican leaders in the US Germany sent Ukraine 259m ($328m) to repair and modernise its energy grid The wife of Ukraines military intelligence chief was hospitalised after being poisoned Russias Black Sea Fleet was forced back to base after the storm of the century hit southern Ukraine and occupied Crimea Russias pincer advance on Avdiivka is one of its greatest gains since spring, the MoD said Ukraines foreign minister insisted the West is not pressuring the country into peace talks Finland closed its entire border with Russia after a surge in illegal migration 02:53 PM GMT Cold War-era tank confirmed on frontline for first time The Cold War-era Leopard 1 tank is being used by Ukraine against Russia, it has been confirmed for the first time. The AFP news agency filmed a freshly-painted Leopard 1A5 a model which first entered service in the 1980s near the front-line and interviewed its crew. Weve already had combat missions with this tank, and on the Russian side, theyve lost a lot of fighters because of it, said tank crew member Grigorii, whose surname and rank were not disclosed. We can hit targets at distances of up to 3.5 to 5km, added another called Vitalii. We can, at a distance that does not allow us to be destroyed, shoot at them. The tanks are expected to be used primarily from range because of their light armour, which leaves them vulnerable to rocket-propelled grenades and drone explosives. The tank was donated by Denmark and then refurbished and delivered by Germany, which has delivered 30 out of a promised 195 refurbished Leopard 1A5s to Ukraine so far. 02:43 PM GMT Finland closes entire border with Russia Finland has closed its entire border with Russia after accusing Moscow of orchestrating a surge of illegal migration. Prime minister Petteri Orpo said the final remaining open border crossing at Raja-Jooseppi in the far north will be closed until 13 December. Finland has steadily closed its border checkpoints with Russia in protest against an uptick in asylum seekers from Africa and the Middle East. Russias behaviour is a hybrid warfare tactic, the Institute for the Study of War think tank has said previously. 02:39 PM GMT Kuleba: West is not pressuring us to start peace talks Ukraines government has dismissed suggestions that its Western allies are pressuring it to enter peace talks with Russia. Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraines foreign minister, said Ukraine is not feeling any such pressure to negotiate. 02:07 PM GMT Ukraine does not need to change strategy, says Canada Ukraine does not need to change its strategy in the war against Russia, Canadas foreign minister has said. We have a good strategy and Ukraine has a good strategy, but we need to implement it, said Melanie Joly. 01:28 PM GMT Nato must 'stay the course', says Stoltenberg Nato must stay the course and fulfil its obligation to supply Ukraine with the weapons it needs to defeat Russia, secretary general Jens Stoltenberg has said. Its our obligation to ensure that we provide Ukraine with the weapons they need, he told reporters as he arrived at a meeting of Nato members foreign ministers in Brussels. We just have to stay the course. This is about also our security interests. 01:00 PM GMT Ukraine and Baltic states boycott meeting after Russia invited Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will boycott a European security conference after Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov was invited. Russia was banned from last years meeting of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), of which it is a member. But Mr Lavrov plans to attend this years summit in Skopje, North Macedonia when it starts on Thursday after being invited by the Balkan country. The Baltic states said in a joint statement that the invite risks legitimising aggressor Russia as a rightful member of our community of free nations. Oleg Nikolenko, Ukraines foreign ministry spokesman, said we must work together to save the OSCE from Russia. Lavrovs place is at a special tribunal, not the OSCE table, added Estonias foreign minister Margus Tsahkna. 12:45 PM GMT Slovak truckers threaten to join Poland blockade Slovak truckers have threatened to block the countrys main border crossing with Ukraine from Friday unless measures are taken to limit competition from Ukrainian hauliers. The UNAS truckers association said it would shut the crossing at Vysne Nemecke, the only one which is open to heavy trucks. UNAS is awaiting a response to the threat from the Slovak transport ministry and will make its final decision on Thursday. Polish truckers have been blocking a number of crossings with Ukraine for three weeks in protest against what they see as unfair competition from Ukrainians. 12:30 PM GMT Germany to hit Nato spending target next year Germany will hit Natos spending target next year, its foreign minister has said. Annalena Baerbock told a meeting of Nato defence ministers in Brussels that the country would spend at least two per cent of its GDP on military expenditure in 2024. Germany has not met the target since 1991, the year the reunification of West and East Germany was completed. 12:24 PM GMT Spy chief Budanov is Russian 'hate figure' Kyrylo Budanov, the Ukrainian military intelligence chief whose wife Marianna is said to have been poisoned, is a key figure in clandestine operations against Russia. The apparent poisoning represents the most serious targeting of a senior Ukrainian leaders family since the war began. Ukrainian officials have previously said that more than 10 attempted assassinations of Mr Budanov have been foiled during his espionage career A Moscow court charged him in absentia with terrorism in April and he is a hate figure in the Russian media, Reuters have reported. He has previously said he would keep killing Russians anywhere on the face of this world until the complete victory of Ukraine. 11:57 AM GMT Businesswoman charged with treason for sending Russia troop locations A Ukrainian businesswoman has been charged with treason after being accused of sending Russia the location of army units. The information provided by the unnamed woman, who is from the southern city of Odesa, was then used to conduct targeted air strikes using Shahed drones, the SBU said. She is also accused of telling the Russians what damage was caused by the strikes. If convicted, the woman could be given a life sentence. 11:37 AM GMT Other Ukrainian intelligence officials poisoned by heavy metals A number of Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) officials have fallen ill after being poisoned with the same heavy metals that hospitalised the wife of its chief, the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper has reported. The HUR has confirmed reports that Marianna Budanova, the wife of Kyrylo Budanov, was taken ill. 11:19 AM GMT Russia's pincer advance on Avdiivka one of 'greatest gains' since spring Russias pincer advance on the eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka is one of its greatest gains since spring, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said. In its latest defence intelligence briefing, the MoD said Russian forces have advanced by up to 2km around the industrial centre in Donetsk since October. Although modest, this advance likely represents one of the greatest Russian gains since spring 2023, it said. It has cost the units involved thousands of casualties. It added: Although Avdiivka has become a salient or bulge in the Ukrainian front line, Ukraine remains in control of a corridor of territory approximately 7km wide, through which it continues to supply the town. 11:04 AM GMT Stoltenberg: I'm confident US will keep backing Ukraine Jens Stoltenberg has said he is confident the United States will keep sending weapons to Ukraine. Im confident that the United States will continue to provide support because it is in the security interest of the United States to do so and its also in line with what we have agreed, Natos secretary general said at a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels. 10:50 AM GMT Watch: Ukrainian drone strike on Smolensk aircraft factory 10:34 AM GMT Pictured: Blinken arrives at Nato Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, has arrived at Nato headquarters for a two-day meeting of the alliances defence ministers. Blinken speaks to US ambassador to Nato Julianne Smith as they arrive at the summit - Geert Vanden Wijngaert 10:13 AM GMT Scholz: Supporting Ukraine 'existential' for Europe Supporting Ukraine in its defence against Russia is of existential importance to Europe, Olaf Scholz has said. The German chancellor said his country will continue to provide as long as it is necessary. This support is of existential importance, he said. For Ukraine but also for us in Europe. None of us want to imagine what even more serious consequences it would have for us if Putin won this war. Germany is Ukraines second largest provider of weapons and ammunition, behind the United States. 09:59 AM GMT Russia's Black Sea Fleet forced back by biggest Crimea storm in 100 years Russias Black Sea Fleet has been forced back to base after the storm of the century hit southern Ukraine and occupied Crimea. No Russian ships are able to operate on the Black Sea and the Azov Sea because of the blizzards, giant waves and winds of up to 90mph, Ukraines navy and southern army command said. The storm has destroyed coastal defences in occupied Crimea and one Russian military blogger claimed minefields have been swept across the seas. The Institute for the Study of War think tank said heavy snowfall elsewhere in Ukraine has slowed down fighting because of poor visibility. But it said Ukrainian forces have used the harsh conditions to secure their positions on the bridgehead over the Dnipro river. Read the full article here 09:50 AM GMT Putin signs off record military spending Vladimir Putin has signed off a 70 per cent increase in Russian military spending that will take it to its highest level on record. Approximately 30 per cent of government spending will go on the armed forces in 2024, a figure that rises to 40 per cent when internal security is included. The increase of nearly 70 per cent from 2023s budget has been working its way through Russias legislatures in recent months. 09:38 AM GMT Watch: Russia's Black Sea Fleet forced back by storm 09:24 AM GMT EU official praises Ukraine's anti-corruption measures A European Union official has praised Ukraines anti-corruption measures. I think that Ukrainians are fed up with old Ukraine, and they want a new system, said Vera Jourova, vice-president of the European Commission. They will want to see institutions well-functioning, prosecuting and investigating cases of organised crime corruption at all levels, not only the big fish but also lower levels. The Commission recommended earlier this month that the EU start formal accession talks with Ukraine once it satisfies several remaining conditions for membership, including stronger anti-corruption measures. 09:04 AM GMT Wife of Ukraine's military intelligence chief 'poisoned' The wife of Ukraines military intelligence chief has been poisoned by heavy metals, a Ukrainian newspaper has claimed. Babel reported that Marianna Budanova, the wife of Kyrylo Budanov, is in hospital after a prolonged deterioration in her health, citing a military intelligence source. She is now completing the course of treatment, then she will be monitored by doctors, the source was quoted as saying. These substances are not used in any way in everyday life or military affairs. Their presence may indicate a deliberate attempt to poison a particular person. The military intelligence agency (HUR) has told the Kyiv Independent that Babels story is accurate. Marianna Budanova married Kyrylo Budanov in 2013 08:55 AM GMT Germany sends 259m in aid for Ukraine's power grid Germany has sent Ukraine 259m ($328m) to repair and modernise its energy grid. Together, we keep the lights on, said Martin Jaeger, Germanys ambassador to Ukraine. Russia is expected to launch a major bombardment on Ukraines power infrastructure this winter, just as it did last year. Britains Ministry of Defence (MoD) said last week that Russia has been building up its cruise missile stockpiles to cause maximum damage in the strikes. 08:47 AM GMT Kadyrov sending 3,000 more Chechens to Ukraine An additional 3,000 Chechen fighters are being sent to Ukraine, leader Ramzan Kadyrov has said. The men will form part of new Russian army and national guard units. They have the best equipment and modern weapons, he said. In addition, the guys are highly combative and very motivated to achieve results. Mr Kadyrov said in May that Chechnya had sent more than 26,000 men to fight in Ukraine. 08:44 AM GMT Ukraine revises storm death toll to 10 Ukraine has said 10 people are confirmed to have died in the storm, revising the figure up from five. 23 people were injured, including two children, interior minister Ihor Klymenko said. Four are dead and 10 have been injured in Moldova. In Russia and the occupied Ukrainian territories it controls, four people have died. There is no injured total for Russia as things stand. 08:27 AM GMT WSJ statement on Evan Gershkovich The Wall Street Journal has issued this statement after reporter Evan Gershkovich had his pre-trial detention in Russia extended by two months. Evan has now been unjustly imprisoned for nearly 250 days, and every day is a day too long. The accusations against him are categorically false and his continued imprisonment is a brazen and outrageous attack on a free press, which is critical for a free society. We continue to stand with Evan and call for his immediate release. 08:21 AM GMT Zelensky sends delegation to meet US Republicans Volodymyr Zelensky has sent a delegation to meet Republican leaders in the United States amid the continuing deadlock in Congress over new funding for Ukraine. The New Voice newspaper said Oksana Markarova, Ukraines ambassador to the US, would lead the delegation of MPs, officials, veterans and children affected by the Russian invasion. Joe Bidens 83bn ($105bn) funding package, including 48bn ($61bn) for Ukraine has met fierce opposition from Republicans in Congress. The Senate announced a vote on the Ukraine aid bill could take place as early as December 4. 08:05 AM GMT MP should be sacked for criticising Zaluzhny, say colleagues An MP who criticised Ukrainian army chief Valery Zaluzhny should be expelled from Volodymyr Zelenskys Servant of the People party, fellow MPs have said. Mariana Bezuhla, deputy head of the Ukrainian parliaments national security committee, said on Sunday that Zaluzhny should step down for not providing a plan for next years operations. Roman Kostenko, secretary of the national security committee, told Suspilne that Zaluzhny had not been asked to submit the plan. Most lawmakers are outraged by Bezuhlas behavior and propose excluding her. However, it is not guaranteed to be put to a vote, one party colleague told Ukrainian newspaper Suspilne. The party has distanced itself from Ms Bezuhlas comments, saying she is responsible for her own words. 07:51 AM GMT Russia extends detention of Evan Gershkovich A Russian court has extended the pre-trial detention of Evan Gershkovich by two months. He has been detained for eight months and will now remain in custody until January 30 2024 after the ruling by Moscows Lefortovsky Court. The Wall Street Journal reporter was arrested on March 29 in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg on charges of espionage that carry up to 20 years in prison. He denies the charges. Evan Gershkovich stands inside a defendants' cage during a hearing on the extension of his pre-trial detention - Lefortovsky Court 07:40 AM GMT Watch: Russian railway line damaged by storm A Russian railway line has almost been washed away by the ferocious storm that has hit the Black Sea. The line between Sochi and Tuapse was teetering on the edge of the coastline as waves crashed on the shore, a video shared by a prominent Ukrainian blogger shows. The weather has lashed the southern regions of Dagestan, Krasnodar and Rostov and the occupied Ukrainian territories of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea since Sunday. Russias energy ministry said about 1.9 million people have been affected by power cuts. 07:35 AM GMT Ukraine strikes aircraft factory 200 miles behind enemy lines A Ukrainian drone has struck a Russian aircraft factory more than 200 miles behind enemy lines. Ukraines military intelligence agency (HUR) claimed responsibility for the explosion at the Smolensk Aviation Factory. Footage of the blast showed plumes of black smoke billowing up from the plant, which also produces Kh-59 cruise missiles. Baza, a Russian Telegram channel with links to the military, said two drones were downed over the factory, one of which crashed into the roof and exploded. It said there were no casualties. It is the second time Ukraine has sent drones to attack the factory. A previous raid in October caused widespread damage to production lines. The attack appears to have been part of a wave of 35 drones Ukraine launched over the weekend in retaliation to a dawn attack by 70 Russian Shahed drones on Saturday. 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. Ukraine says its Vampire bomber drone is a nightmare for Russian troops and has an evil nickname. Vampire drones are harder to spot, are fast, and can drop bombs on targets in the dead of night. The domestically produced drones are best for nighttime attacks thanks to thermal imaging. Ukraine says its Vampire bomber drones are becoming such a nightmare for Russia that they've earned a menacing nickname among its troops. The fast, hard-to-detect drone has apparently earned a reputation during its nighttime raids, with Russian forces calling it "Baba Yaga," an evil witch from Slavic folklore. Ukraine says the capabilities of the bomber drone allow them to fly close to Russian tanks and armor at night before hitting them with major explosives. On Tuesday, the defense ministry of Ukraine shared a video of the Vampire drone from United24, a Ukrainian government-run crowdfunding and digital-media site, calling the unmanned aerial vehicle "the Russian's nightmare." The short video focuses on a specific drone unit, Unit Code 9.2, outside Bakhmut, explaining that the operators use DJI Mavic drones small UAVs that Ukraine has been using in combat, sometimes crudely attaching explosives to them during the day. Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) November 28, 2023 "But at night, it's time for the Vampires to fly," the video says. These UAVs can fly fast usually about 23 meters a second and carry hefty explosive payloads to enemy targets. "With a capacity of carrying up to 15kg and a flight distance of up to 10km, this drone has become a true nightmare for the Russians," the video narration says. Part of the appeal of the Vampire, Ukraine says, is its thermal imaging, which allows operators to identify and target enemies at nighttime. Some other UAVs also have thermal-imaging capabilities, but the ability to fly during both day and night with a heavy explosive payload makes the Vampire a valuable asset. A Ukrainian drone operator testing new military equipment including FPV drones in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, in August. Wojciech Grzedzinski/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images The Vampire drones, which are domestically produced, have been used to drop various types of munitions on Russian enemies, most often targeting tanks. They also wrecked a Russian warehouse near Bakhmut back in August and have proven effective at avoiding Russian jamming, which has become so prevalent on the front lines. Back in August, Mykhailo Fedorov, the vice prime minister of Ukraine for innovation, education, science, and technology, posted a video showing off a room full of Vampire drones. He said 270 of the UAVs would be headed to the front lines "to back up our Ukrainian soldiers during the counteroffensive." Fedorov had previously shared footage in June of what he said was a Vampire drone delivering humanitarian aid to people on the Russian-occupied southern bank of the Dnipro River. Drones of all types, from modified hobby drones to high-end systems built to military specifications, are playing an increasingly prominent role in Ukraine and shaping modern conflict. Both sides are churning out thousands of them for surveillance, fire correction, bombing runs, and one-way attacks, forcing troops to keep an eye on the skies. Read the original article on Business Insider A massive cyclonic storm that hit the Black Sea area Monday is a vivid illustration of how weather effects combat operations. With wind speeds of up to 90 mph, it was the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane. The storm's impact could allow Ukraine to exploit gaps that emerge, even if temporarily, in air and port defenses, sea surveillance, among others. Major logistical disruptions to the war effort are also a given. Roman Vilfand, the head of Russias national meteorological service, told RIA Novosti that a similar storm hit the region in November 1854 during the Crimean War and sank at least 30 ships, The Associated Press reported Another immediate concern for Russia is that the storm apparently wiped out trenches and other defensive lines it has been building up in Crimea. The full extent of the damage, however, won't be known until after the storm subsides. https://twitter.com/gerashchenko_en/status/1728867065015009785?s=12 https://twitter.com/Aviation_Intel/status/1728877302728278367 https://twitter.com/CovertShores/status/1728877073740214505 https://twitter.com/glasnostgone/status/1729064539990438169?s=12 Official Russian governmental Telegram channels have discussed widespread damage only to civilian facilities across Crimea and southern Russia. However, given the ferocity of the winds and the damage seen in Sevastopol and other regions of Crimea, there have to be concerns as well about the air defenses and radars set up across the peninsula in addition to the defensive lines created. These systems can be relocated and some are hardened to a degree, but gaps will likely exist in the immediate aftermath of such a severe weather event, if not over a longer term. Ukraine has been attacking these assets repeatedly to improve the success of its long-range missile and drones strikes for months prior to the storm While the storm has also affected Ukrainian logistics, the Kremlin-connected Rybar Telegram channel on Monday raised another worry for Russia. "In Ukraine, dozens of roads in the Odessa, Kyiv, Kherson and Nikolaev regions were blocked due to a large amount of snow, which will affect the logistics capabilities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces," Rybar noted. "However, the consequences of the natural disaster will also affect Russian defense: the enemy will try to attack Crimea with surface drones, since the booms could have been damaged by a strong storm." As we have noted in the past , Sevastopol, home of the Black Sea Fleet, increased its defenses dramatically after repeated seaborne attacks . Russia has constructed multiple boom obstacles across the mouth of Sevastopol harbor as part of a layered sea, land, and air defense concept. You can see that in action in this video below from the aforementioned USV attack in March. https://twitter.com/Capt_Navy/status/1638849437798920192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1638849437798920192%7Ctwgr%5E1ac8b7fc3327526e1647d6b4af65a2f1da8238b8%7Ctwcon%5Es1_\u0026ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedrive.com%2Fthe-war-zone%2Fsea-drones-attack-russian-landing-craft-in-crimean-port Russia also installed a system of sunken barges to protect the Kerch Bridge, hit by Sea Baby uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) on July 17 (more on that later). https://twitter.com/CovertShores/status/1696261789435183367?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1696261789435183367%7Ctwgr%5E7554c7ba3bf624293ccaf1a863cbb198f03d811c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_\u0026ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedrive.com%2Fthe-war-zone%2Frussia-sinks-line-of-its-own-ships-to-protect-kerch-bridge Satellite imagery appears to show that due to recent storms that hit Crimea, these defenses have been removed or washed away. https://twitter.com/BrianE6B/status/1729243227503603924 It is unknown at the moment the status of the Russian maritime defenses in either Sevastopol or near the Kerch Bridge. The resort city of Sochi, where Russian President Vladimir Putin often visits, was also slammed by the storm as giant waves pushed in from the Black Sea. https://twitter.com/WeatherSarov1/status/1729176265088025066 https://twitter.com/Rainmaker1973/status/1729109298343563308 https://twitter.com/UKikaski/status/1729242403855335450 The storm also damaged the rail lines there, causing delays in passenger and freight train traffic. That's at least a temporary hit to Russian logistics, which relies heavily on rail transportation, especially during the winter months when many roads become harder to navigate. https://twitter.com/Tendar/status/1729214287959425266 https://twitter.com/maks_nafo_fella/status/1729070786433184182?s=12 The wide scale destruction caused by this storm will likely cost Russia billions of dollars and months, if not years, to repair. This is a boon for Ukraine in several ways. Russian defensive lines, installations and equipment have likely been damaged or at least adversely affected in a temporary manner. Visual evidence, as we noted above, as already emerged of the effect on Russian logistics in terms of damaged rail lines. https://twitter.com/Tendar/status/1728891013324779982?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1728891013324779982%7Ctwgr%5Ea4c248fece41ab3b7b55792da8be09d9437eb9d2%7Ctwcon%5Es1_\u0026ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kyivpost.com%2Fpost%2F24688 We'll know more in the coming days as the weather settles and satellites capture the results of this storm and more imagery emerged online. But clearly, this is good news for Ukraine. Before we head into the latest updates from Ukraine, The War Zone readers can catch up on our previous rolling coverage here . The Latest On the battlefield, the Russians continue to strike around Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry (MoD) said that Russians conducted 24 unsuccessful assaults in the area Monday. The Russian MoD did not specifically address Avdiivka. The Russian losses from its assaults there continue to mount, as you can see in this video below showing nearly two dozen destroyed vehicles in a crater-pocked hellscape near the embattled Donetsk Oblast city. https://twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1729100167763390689?s=12 A Bradley Fighting Vehicle was seen in this video below operating near the Avdiivka Coke Plant, a key tactical strongpoint given its buildings, walls and other structures. https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1728532776851571035?s=20 Elsewhere on the battlefield, here are some key takeaways from the latest Institute for the Study of War assessment : Russian forces reportedly complained about the vulnerability of Russian ground lines of communication (GLOCs) in the east (left) bank of Kherson Oblast amid continued complaints about weak Russian capabilities on the east bank. Russian forces continued attacks along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line, near Bakhmut, near Avdiivka, west and southwest of Donetsk City, in the Donetsk-Zaporizhia Oblast border area, and in western Zaporizhia Oblast and advanced in some areas. https://twitter.com/TheStudyofWar/status/1729176497393483907 Mother Nature wasn't the only force raining havoc on power supplies in Russian-occupied portions of Ukraine. A large-scale Ukrainian attack damaged the Starobeshevo Thermal Power Plant in Donetsk Oblast, the Ateo Breaking news outlet reported on Telegram. The attack damaged the region's power grid, head of the so-called Donetsk Peoples Republic (DNR), Denis Pushilin, said on Telegram Sunday. "At night, the enemy tried to damage the region's power grid," he said. "Unfortunately, due to the massiveness of the attacks, not everything was shot down. Damage is recorded, as a result of which part of the territory of the Donetsk People's Republic was de-energized. Some cities and regions of the Republic were left without electricity. As a result, a number of boiler houses are not supplying heat, and emergency crews are working. The government has been instructed to carry out work at headquarters level." The situation "is not easy, but by this time the power engineers had already restored power supply in a number of settlements, work continues, everything possible is being done to return light and heat to our citizens as soon as possible," Pushilin added. https://twitter.com/pravda_eng/status/1728745416739467523 A day after Russia launched its largest drone attack against Ukraine, Kyiv struck back with a "mass attack by drones" inside Russia on Sunday, according to Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin, per the official Russian RIA Novosti news outlet's Telegram channel. "According to him, drones flying towards Moscow were shot down in the Naro-Fominsk area and the Odintsovo urban district of the Moscow region, and air defense intercepted and destroyed several drones in the Bryansk, Tula and Kaluga regions," RIA Novosti reported. "According to preliminary data, there were no casualties or serious damage." https://twitter.com/Maks_NAFO_FELLA/status/1728737691095994794 Moscow Region Governor Andrey Vorobyov offered an updated take on his Telegram. "Tonight, five UAVs were intercepted by air defense forces of the Ministry of Defense over four municipalities of the Moscow region: in Naro-Fominsk, Odintsovo, Ramensky and Podolsk urban districts," he said. "In three cases there was damage to buildings on the ground; fortunately, there were no deaths or injuries. On the ground, municipal leaders will head operational headquarters and provide assistance to residents where necessary. I ask everyone to remain calm." https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1728669675293495653 There was also a reported Ukrainian drone attack in Tula, about 100 miles south of Moscow. "A Ukrainian Armed Forces drone crashed into a residential high-rise building in Tula," the Russian MASH media outlet reported on Telegram. "According to our information, ite flew into an apartment on the 12th floor of a building on Khvorostukhina Street. One person was injured - he had a foot injury. The children living on the floor below also asked for help - they were scared. Emergency services are on the scene. All residents are being evacuated from the building right now." https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1728683987894501499 As we previously noted, there had been a months-long lull in high-volume, long-range Ukrainian drone strikes into Russia. That peculiar move was possibly due to Ukraine conserving its assets to conduct counter attacks after Russia opened up its long-range drone campaign against Ukrainian power infrastructure during the cold winter months. Following the first major onslaught on over the weekend by Russia , that pause has seemingly ended. Repeated attacks by Ukraine on Russia's advanced S-400 air defense systems appears to be causing Moscow to move systems from its Kaliningrad enclave, according to the U.K. Defense Ministry. "Exceptional Russian air transport movements through November 2023 suggest that Russia has likely moved strategic air defense systems from its Baltic coast enclave of Kaliningrad, to backfill recent losses on the Ukraine front," the U.K. MoD stated. "This follows an uptick in losses of SA-21 [S-400] air defense systems in Russian-occupied Ukraine in late October 2023." Moving these systems from Kaliningrad, bordered on three sides by NATO member states, "highlights the overstretch the war has caused for some of Russias key, modern capabilities," the U.K. MoD said. https://twitter.com/DefenceHQ/status/1728719618317910451 Turkish exports of goods to Russia that Moscow uses for military production have spiked in 2023, exacerbating concerns about sanctions circumvention, the Financial Times reported Monday . Turkey recorded $158 million in exports of 45 goods like microchips, marked by the U.S. as "high priority," to Russia and five "former Soviet countries" suspected of serving as intermediaries for Moscow over the first nine months of 2023, the outlet noted. This was three times the number recorded over the same period last year. The average figure for 2015-21 was $28 million, according to the Times' analysis. https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1729082693307265421?s=20 In a documentary released Friday, the head of Ukraine's SBU security service Vasyl Maliuk released new details about the July 17 attack on the Kerch Bridge using Sea Baby uncrewed surface vessels. You can read more about them in our report here . Maliuk said the drones were designed to take out the bridge pillars. There were five Sea Baby USVs involved, with two leading as scouts. The drones were to approach the bridge at 2 a.m., a strategic time given the shorter stretch of darkness in July. There was also an attempt to hit a target of opportunity, the Admiral Grigorovich class frigate Admiral Essen, which was considered high value. However, the Admiral Essen slipped into port before it could be attacked and the three Sea Baby USVs self-destructed near Yalta. The two drones that hit the bridge damaged six to eight struts, Maliuk said. The documentary also revealed the general route, a roughly 400 mile trek across the Black Sea starting south of Odessa. A new documentary laid out the route Ukrainian Sea Baby unscrewed surface vessels took to attack the Kerch Bridge July 17. The documentary brought up other details about Ukrainian operations as well. For instance, the SBU relies heavily on Russians taking videos and still images of military facilities and equipment in Crimea that is then used to help target those things, the SBU said. https://twitter.com/clashreport/status/1728343606849585578?s=20 You can watch the entire documentary in this video below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boFFJRuxhPA Russia's long focus on electronic warfare (EW) is paying off, The Economist reports . The Russians, according to the publication, are downing 2,000 Ukrainian drones a week via EW, the publication reported. "Russia, says Seth Jones of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think-tank in Washington, has for many years placed a 'huge focus' on using its military-industrial complex to produce and develop an impressive range of EW capabilities to counter NATOs highly networked systems," the publication nation reported Monday. "But Ukraine, according to its commander-in-chief, General Valery Zaluzhny , found itself at the beginning of the war with mainly Soviet-era EW systems. Initially the discrepancy had only limited impact , but as relatively static lines of contact have emerged Russia has been able to position its formidable EW assets where they can have the greatest effect." https://twitter.com/euromaidanpress/status/1728232034387235216?s=12 Speaking of EW, the Russians say they recently conducted a demonstration of a jamming system installed on one of its T-80BV tanks that prevented drones from working within a five-meter range. That range is unlike to effect drones that drop munitions from much further away. They could, however, affect First Person View (FPV) drones, already degraded at low altitude, as they try to strike moving targets. https://twitter.com/TankDiary/status/1728754950413467652?s=20 You can see the dangers Ukrainian drones present to Russian equipment, and how little five meters would matter, in this video highlight reel compiled by the 93rd Mechanized Brigade. https://twitter.com/DefenceU/status/1729191857106661534?s=20 The AZOV brigade also showcased its FPV drone efforts against a Russian truck and two armored vehicles - a Typhoon-K armored car and a Tiger combat vehicle. https://twitter.com/front_ukrainian/status/1728851576243265728?s=20 Ukrainian paratroopers showed off one of their French-donated 155mm CAESAR wheeled self-propelled howitzers , flexing their muscles as one of the shells heads downrange, all set to the soundtrack from Good Morning, Vietnam . https://twitter.com/HerryRodinNapit/status/1728684977129500906?s=20 More images of the U.S.-donated M1 Abrams main battle tank reportedly in Ukraine have emerged on social media. All 31 Abrams promised by the U.S. arrived in Ukraine last month, the Pentagon said. It is unclear from these two images below when or where they were taken or even if they were the same tank. However, given the appearance of the ground and trees in each, it seems like they could have been taken in different locations. https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1728721159749820444?s=20 https://twitter.com/front_ukrainian/status/1728484079455088652?s=12 Ukrainian tanks, carrying troops aboard, are seen rumbling through the snow through an unidentified location in this video below. Though the video is undated, the presence of snow would indicate that it is fairly recent. https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1728896509662662741?s=20 More than a year ago, Russia announced plans to "modernize" 800 T-62M tanks for service in Ukraine. An image of at least one of those, in Russian-occupied Luhansk Oblast, has emerged for the first time on social media. It reportedly features Relikt Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA) and PNM-T/Sosna-U gunner's sight among its improvements. https://twitter.com/naalsio26/status/1728932527212032431?s=12 The Russian soldier seen in this video below complained that 120mm mortars received from a factory in Russia did not have enough explosive charges to reach their maximum 9 km range. While previous deliveries of those mortars each had nine propellant charges, about 200 from this particular factory had only four. https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1729073003076452373?s=12 And finally, ancient Scythian artifacts from museums in Russian-occupied Crimea have been returned to Ukraine after a legal dispute over ownership rights, the Guardian reported . During that time, the artifacts spent almost a decade in the Netherlands, a Ukrainian museum has said. More than a thousand artifacts, including a solid gold Scythian helmet and golden neck ornament, were on loan to Amsterdams Allard Pierson Museum when Russian troops seized and annexed the peninsula in 2014. Both Ukraine and the museums located on the Moscow-controlled territory claimed ownership rights when the exhibition ended. https://twitter.com/glasnostgone/status/1729122468789465418?s=12 That's it for now. We'll update this story when there's more news to report about Ukraine. Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com The wife of Ukraines top intelligence official has been poisoned by heavy metals and is receiving treatment in the hospital, according to multiple reports. Local Ukrainian media reported Marianna Budanova, the wife of Ukraines spy chief Kyrylo Budanov, was poisoned with heavy metals in what some are suspecting may be an assassination attempt. Budanov is one of Ukraines top military officials and has reportedly survived at least 10 assassination attempts, according to local media. Its unclear what the nature of the heavy metals was and whether they were intentionally given to Budanova. Andrii Yusov, the agencys spokesman, confirmed Budanova was hospitalized due to heavy metal poisoning to multiple news outlets. He did not suggest who could be behind the attempt, if purposeful, in his statement. Yusov previously told local media the military intelligence chiefs wife lives with Budanov in his office, which could suggest an alleged poisoning could have been meant to target him. Ukrainian news outlet Babel was the first to report the news, which said Budanova sought treatment after a prolonged period of not feeling well. A source with the intelligence agency told the outlet that metals found in her system were uncommon in everyday life and military affairs, and suggested that it could be an intentional attempt to poison a specific target. Sources told the publication Ukrainska Pravda that she was most likely poisoned through food. Russia, which launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has been accused of poisoning opponents in the past. In August, the U.S. sanctioned four Russian operatives over their alleged role in the August 2020 poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The Associated Press contributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Kyrylo Budanov and his wife Marianna, who has been diagnosed with heavy metals poisoning, attending a memorial ceremony for a Ukrainian interior minister in January (Reuters) The wife of Ukraines intelligence chief has been diagnosed with heavy metals poisoning and is undergoing treatment in hospital, it emerged on Tuesday. Meanwhile, deadly winter weather has hit the front lines of the conflict with Russia. Marianna Budanova is the wife of Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraines military intelligence agency known by its local acronym GUR. Her condition was confirmed to AP by Andriy Yusov, the agencys spokesman. He did not provide more details about the alleged poisoning, nor did he say if it was believed to have been intended for Mr Budanov or whether Russia was thought to be behind it. Earlier this year, he told Ukrainian media that the military intelligence chief had survived 10 assassination attempts carried out by the Russian state or federal security services. There was no immediate comment from the Russian government, which has long been suspected of poisoning opponents. Emergency workers release a car stuck in snow in the Odesa region of Ukraine on Tuesday (via Reuters) The exact nature of the heavy metals that caused the poisoning has not been made public. However, local media said the metals were not used domestically or in military equipment, so the GUR representatives presume the poisoning was carried out intentionally, possibly through food or drink. Several GUR personnel were also diagnosed with the same poisoning, according to the newspaper Ukrainska Pravda. More than 100,000 people were still without power on the Crimean peninsula and some still had no water supply, the Russia-installed governor said on Tuesday, after a winter storm that brought blizzards from Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova across Ukraine and into central Russia. Ukrainian servicemen take part in a training exercise in the frozen Donetsk region (AFP via Getty) President Volodymyr Zelensky said at least five people died in the Odesa region of southern Ukraine, and that engineers were working to restore electricity. Crimea, which was annexed from Ukraine by Russia in 2014, is a key military and logistics hub for Russia as it pursues its war in Ukraine. The damage caused by the storm affected the tempo of military operations along the frontline in Ukraine but has not stopped military activity entirely, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said. In the Vologda region, about 310 miles northeast of Moscow, more than 10 days worth of snow about 25cm (10in) fell in one day. The Moscow region was also blanketed with snow, piling drifts up to 25cm deep. A storm-flooded street in Pribrezhe, Crimea, on Tuesday (Reuters) Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin has cast Moscows military action in Ukraine as an existential battle against purported attempts by the West to destroy Russia in a ranting speech. Mr Putin, who has been in power for more than two decades, is expected to declare his intention to seek another six-year term in a presidential election next March. We are defending the security and wellbeing of our people, the highest, historical right to be Russia - a strong, independent power, a country-civilisation, Mr Putin said, accusing the US and its allies of trying to dismember and plunder Russia. We are now fighting for the freedom of not only Russia, but the whole world, Mr Putin said. Associated Press contributed to this report The wife of Ukraine's spy chief Lt Gen Kyrylo Budanov, Marianna Budanova, has been poisoned with heavy metals, a spokesman for the country's military intelligence has told BBC Ukrainian. Andriy Yusov said several other agency employees also had mild symptoms of poisoning. He did not specify how many. Reports in Ukrainian media did not say whether or not Russia was thought to be behind the alleged attack. There were no suggestions that Gen Budanov may also have been targeted. The general, who leads the Main Directorate of Intelligence (DIU) of Ukraine's defence ministry, has played a key role in planning and sometimes executing major military operations against Russian forces, following Moscow's full-scale invasion in February 2022. A Ukrainian intelligence source earlier told the BBC Mrs Budanova was being treated in hospital after falling ill. News website Babel, which on Tuesday was the first to report the alleged poisoning, said Mrs Budanova had been taken to hospital after feeling unwell for a "prolonged period of time". Citing its own sources in Ukrainian intelligence, Babel said she was now completing a course of treatment and would be monitored by doctors. No detail has been given of the type of heavy metal suspected in Mrs Budanova's poisoning. However, the unnamed official made clear the substances were "not used in any way in everyday life or military operations". Gen Budanov said earlier this year that he and Marianna Budanova had lived in his office since February 2022 for safety reasons Ukrainska Pravda later quoted its own sources as saying the poisoning had been confirmed after tests. She had most likely been given poisoned food, it reported, but was now "feeling better" after completing an initial course of treatment. Separately, Ukraine's Unian news agency quoted its source as saying that Mrs Budanova was being treated in a hospital in Ukraine, not abroad. Mrs Budanova - born in 1993 in Kyiv - has a master's degree in psychology. She later became involved in politics, working as an adviser to the mayor of Kyiv. In 2022, she told Elle magazine that she had also worked as a volunteer in Kyiv's military hospital in 2015-17. In September, Lt Gen Budanov, 37, told the War Zone website that he and his wife had been staying in his office "since the February invasion" in 2022 for safety reasons. "She's [Marianna] actually a professor at our national police academy. She's teaching legal psychology. It's not a problem for her as it might have been for someone else." Mr Yusov told Ukrainska Pravda earlier this year that more than 10 assassination attempts had been made against Gen Budanov. A Ukrainian drone has struck a Russian aircraft factory more than 200 miles behind enemy lines. Ukraines military intelligence agency (HUR) claimed responsibility for the explosion at the Smolensk Aviation Factory. Footage of the blast showed plumes of black smoke billowing up from the plant, which also produces Kh-59 cruise missiles. Baza, a Russian Telegram channel with links to the military, said two drones were downed over the factory, one of which crashed into the roof and exploded. It said there were no casualties. This is the second time Ukraine has sent drones to attack the factory a previous raid in October caused widespread damage to production lines. The attack appears to have been part of a wave of 35 drones Ukraine launched over the weekend in retaliation to a dawn attack by 70 Russian Shahed drones on Saturday. It comes at a critical time in the war, with front lines frozen and major question marks about military support and funding for Ukraine from the West. On Tuesday NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said he was confident the United States would keep up weapons deliveries, despite a political blockage in Washington. The US has provided over $40 billion in security aid to Ukraine since Russias invasion and pledged to back Kyiv for as long as necessary. But opposition from hardline Republicans has thrown into question the future of this assistance. Im confident that the United States will continue to provide support because it is in the security interest of the United States to do so and its also in line with what we have agreed, Stoltenberg said at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels. The European Union is currently also struggling to agree a plan for its own long-term support for arming Ukraine in the face of opposition from Hungary. I urge allies and allies are also committed to continue to deliver support, Stoltenberg said, pointing to 10 billion (8.6 billion) pledged recently by Germany and the Netherlands. Even though the frontline has not moved so much, the Ukrainians have been able to inflict heavy losses on the Russian forces. NATO secretary general Jen Stoltenberg is confident the US will continue to support Ukraine - Reuters/Yves Herman Latvian foreign minister Krisjanis Karins said Ukraine needs more long-range missiles so that they can impede Russias logistic capabilities. Its in our direct interest to continue supporting Ukraine to make sure that Russia does not win this war that Ukraine can win the war, he said. Ukraines top diplomat Dmytro Kuleba will join the meeting on Wednesday and NATO members are set to agree on a plan for reforms aimed at helping Ukraine towards eventual membership in the alliance. Ukraine is pushing to join NATO, but the US-led alliance has so far refused to issue a formal invitation despite promising that Kyiv will be in its ranks one day. 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. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who is currently on a two-day visit to Brussels, has held his first meeting with the newly appointed Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar on Tuesday, 28 November. Source: Kuleba on Twitter, as cited by European Pravda Details: Kuleba described the meeting with his Slovak counterpart as "constructive" and expressed gratitude for Slovakia's unequivocal support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders. "It is also important that Slovakia will continue to participate in the joint work on [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyys Peace Formula and is ready to support the European Commission's decision on December to open accession talks with Ukraine," the minister added. The Ukrainian senior diplomat further expressed gratitude to his Slovakian counterpart for confirming that cooperation in the defence industry between the two countries will continue and that the repair hub in Slovakia will stay up and running. Before being appointed to the post of Slovak Foreign Minister, Juraj Blanar had been known for his remarks that Ukraine's leaders "kept silent about extreme Ukrainian nationalism". He claimed that the 2014 Revolution of Dignity "led to the fragmentation of Ukraine and civil war". Constructive meeting with my new Slovak counterpart Juraj Blanar. I thank Minister Blanar for reaffirming Slovakias unequivocal support for Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity within our internationally recognized borders. It is also important that Slovakia will pic.twitter.com/GHgdusd8T8 Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) November 28, 2023 Blanar serves as a minister in the new government of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, formed in October. Upon his appointment, Fico confirmed that he would not support military aid to Ukraine. The prime minister also opposes EU sanctions against Russia and seeks to block Ukraine's accession to NATO. However, the Slovak PM vowed not to block humanitarian and, under certain conditions, financial aid to Ukraine and private supplies of Slovak weapons. Support UP or become our patron! KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania on Tuesday said their foreign ministers would boycott a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in North Macedonia this week because Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov intends to take part. It would be the first time Lavrov takes part in a meeting of the OSCE since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, prompting sweeping Western sanctions. The meeting of the 57-member OSCE is due to take place on Thursday and Friday in North Macedonia's capital, Skopje. Russia's top diplomat has said he will join the meeting if Bulgaria, North Macedonia's eastern neighbour, opens its air space for him. Lavrov said some Western countries had requested meetings with him. Bulgarian air space is closed to Russian aircraft as part of European Union sanctions imposed in response to Russia's war in Ukraine. "The Ukrainian delegation will not participate in the OSCE ministerial meeting at the level of the minister of foreign affairs," Oleh Nikolenko, spokesman for the Ukrainian foreign ministry, wrote in a statement on Facebook. Nikolenko said Russia had abused the rules of consensus in the organisation, resorted to "blackmail and open threats" and had also been holding three Ukrainian OSCE representatives in prison for 500 days. "In such conditions, the presence of a Russian delegation ... at minister-level for the first time since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine will only deepen the crisis into which Russia has driven the OSCE," he said. BALTIC SOLIDARITY In a gesture of solidarity with Kyiv, the foreign ministers of the three Baltic countries later issued a statement saying they too would not take part in the meeting if Lavrov attends. His participation "risks legitimizing aggressor Russia as a rightful member of our community of free nations, trivializing the atrocious crimes Russia has been committing", they said. Top U.S. diplomat Antony Blinken will attend the meeting as planned, a senior State Department official told reporters, adding that doing so would show solidarity with the hosts and the OSCE, which the official called "a really important institution for dealing with political and human rights issues across Europe." Russia has demonstrated "obstructive behaviour" within the OSCE by blocking it from activities in Ukraine, and preventing Estonia's bid to chair the organisation in 2024, said the joint statement by Estonia's Margus Tsahkna, Latvia's Krisjanis Karins and Lithuania's Gabrielius Landsbegis. Russia has in the past accused the West of undermining the OSCE through the "reckless enlargement" of NATO into central and eastern Europe. (Reporting by Tom Balmforth and Max Hunder in Kyiv and Andrius Sytas in Vilnius; Editing by Alexandra Hudson, Gareth Jones and Mark Porter) The latest California beach incident led to the death of a 5-year-old girl after the victimalong with her grandfatherwas swept away by waves. Authorities said that the terrifying incident occurred on Saturday, Nov. 25, at Martins Beach in California; near Half Moon Bay. They added that the victims were swept by the waves into the sea at around 1:00 p.m. Unfortunately, the search and rescue operation for the grandfather, who is still missing, has been suspended. Here are other details about the latest California beach incident. California Beach Incident: 5-Year-Old Girl Dies, Search for Missing Grandfather Suspended According to Fox News' latest report, the San Matero County Fire was able to rescue the 5-year-old girl. Responders rushed her to a nearby hospital. Unfortunately, she was pronounced dead. Meanwhile, the 54-year-old grandfather is still missing, as confirmed by officials on Sunday, Nov. 16. The U.S. Coast Guard said that they suspended the search and rescue for the missing man after responders scoured 100 square miles for over 22 hours. "The decision to suspend search efforts is one of the hardest decisions to make, but our crews searched for nearly 24 hours without any sightings of the missing person," explained Capt. Jordan Baldueza. "Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends affected by this very tragic event," added the Coast Guard Sector San Francisco's deputy commander. Based on his statements, they already consider the grandfather dead. But, they haven't officially released a statement about the poor man. As of writing, the U.S. Coast Guard hasn't confirmed if they will conduct another search to find the missing man (or his body). Read Also: Gilgo Beach Murders: Rex Heuermann Tied to More Sex Workers' Death; New Witnesses Come Forward California Waves Getting Worse In August, the Los Angeles Times reported that ocean waves along California's coast and other areas were getting higher and more powerful. Experts said that this is because of the worsening climate change, which left no part of the sea unaltered. Waves are becoming worse due to the melting glaciers, as well as increasing temperatures. To inform Californians and other people visiting the U.S. state, the National Weather Service issued a warning regarding the increased risk of dangerous rip currents and sneaker waves, especially along the Bay Area. "Long period swell and big tidal swings mean a lot of water will be moving at the coast and in the Bay," said NWS after the unfortunate incident that killed the 5-year-old girl. Related Article: Headless Body Found in New York Beach Weeks After Irish Filmmaker Ross McDonell Vanishes @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A total of 56 combat engagements have taken place across the contact line in Ukraine over the past 24 hours. The Russians have launched 11 missile strikes and 35 airstrikes and conducted 42 attacks from multiple-launch rocket systems. Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook, information as of 18:00 on 28 November Quote: "Our forces are holding their positions on the left bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast. They continue to inflict fire damage on the enemy. During the day, Ukraine's Air Force launched 13 strikes on the areas where [Russian] military personnel, weapons and equipment were concentrated and three [strikes] on the enemy's anti-aircraft missile systems. Units of Ukrainian Rocket Forces [and Artillery] hit a command post, five air defence systems, nine artillery systems, and the enemy's electronic warfare station." Details: On the Kupiansk front, Russian forces conducted assault operations near the settlements of Synkivka and Petropavlivka in Kharkiv Oblast, where Ukraines Defence Forces repelled four attacks. On the Lyman front, Russian forces conducted unsuccessful assault operations near the settlement of Terny in Donetsk Oblast, where Ukraines Defence Forces repelled three attacks. On the Bakhmut front, Russian forces conducted assault operations near the settlements of Bohdanivka, Klishchiivka, Andriivka, and Pivnichne in Donetsk Oblast. Ukraines Defence Forces repelled 16 attacks there. On the Avdiivka front, Russian forces conducted unsuccessful assault operations near the settlement of Stepove, Avdiivka, south of Tonenke, and Pervomaiske in Donetsk Oblast, where Ukraines Defence Forces repelled 15 attacks. On the Marinka front, Ukrainian soldiers repelled 12 Russian attacks near the settlements of Krasnohorivka, Marinka, and Novomykhailivka in Donetsk Oblast. Russian forces did not conduct any offensive operations on the Shakhtarsk front. On the Zaporizhzhia front, Russian forces twice failed to restore their lost position near the settlement of Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Support UP or become our patron! Andrii Yermak, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, was included in the ranking of the most influential people in Europe according to Politico in the category of Doers. Yermak himself was called the "green cardinal" of Ukraine. Source: Politico Quote: "Andrii Yermak is reportedly known in some circles as Kyivs Green Cardinal. Thats because Yermak is the head of office to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose last name relates to an East Slavic word for green and also because he has a habit of attending photo-ops in the military-inspired khaki outfits his boss popularised Yermak is the mastermind behind Kyivs push to engage with developing countries in a bid to wrestle them away from Russian President Vladimir Putins warm (and oil-rich) embrace. With Zelenskyys own foreign travel limited, Yermak has taken business trips around the world on his bosss behalf, meeting top-level foreign officials, conducting negotiations and striking deals (which, under Ukraines constitution, ought to be the remit of the president, not his No. 2)." Details: The publication notes that in 2024, Zelenskyy may face a re-election campaign in the middle of the war, and "the prospect of the prolonged invasion eroding public morale at home," making Yermak "ever more important as the presidents dealmaker and his shock-absorber." Yermak's possibly greatest achievement is "getting China to the negotiating table during last Augusts Saudi-hosted peace talks." His other salient achievement as co-chair of the International Working Group on Russian Sanctions, also known as the Yermak-McFaul Expert Group, was to intensify and broaden anti-Russian sanctions alongside former US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul. Photo: politico As the main figure in Zelenskyy's war cabinet, Yermak has accumulated enormous some would say excessive power as Ukraine prepares to join the EU and NATO and fights for its territory. He allows the president to keep his hands (and his reputation) spotless while essentially controlling the government and parliament of Ukraine. Reference: Politico annually publishes its own ranking of the most influential people in Europe. In addition to the most influential person on the continent, the list is divided into three categories: Doers, Disruptors and Dreamers. Currently, the publication has published general lists in each category but did not name those who topped the rating and became the most influential person in Europe and the leader of each of the categories. Last year, the most influential person in Europe according to the publication was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Support UP or become our patron! Ukraine's spy chief confirmed that his wife, Marianna Budanov, was poisoned and is recovering. Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, commander of Ukraines Defense Intelligence Directorate (GUR) , confirmed to The War Zone Tuesday that his wife, Marianna Budanova, was hospitalized after being poisoned. Its true, he told us in a short message Tuesday. But right now the situation is good. We finished therapy and are waiting for results of a check-up. Everything will be fine, GUR spokesman Andrii Yusov told us. The doctors say they [treated her] in time." The poisoning is being investigated as a case of attempted murder, Yusof said. According to the Ukrainian Babel media outlet , which first reported on the situation, Budanova was poisoned by an unspecified heavy metal. https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1729420986934493335 "These substances are not used in any way in everyday life and military affairs. Their presence may indicate a purposeful attempt to poison a specific person," GUR sources told the publication. In addition to Budanova, several GUR employees were also poisoned, Yusov told us. Everyone has survived and received medical attention, he added. The poison was administered through food, according to the Ukrainian Obozrevatel news outlet . The poisoning of Budanova, 30, would represent the most serious targeting of a high-profile Ukrainian leadership figure's family member since Moscow began its invasion in February last year, Reuters noted . Yusov did not provide any details about a motive or suspects. The investigation is still ongoing, he said. Yusov, however, previously said that Russia had made more than 10 attempts on Kyrylo Budanov's life and Russia has a history of carrying out chemical and poison attacks on its enemies. Clearly Budanov is a hated man in Russia due to repeated, often spectacular attacks conducted or assisted by GUR as well as his taunting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and threats of future action . Among the attacks are personal watercraft raids on Crimea , the first attack on the Kerch Bridge , the destruction of an S-400 system in Crimea , attacks inside Russia and uncrewed surface vessel (USV) strikes on Russian Navy vessels . There have been many others reported and untold. GUR released video of an attack it claimed on Russian landing ships earlier this month, which you can see below. https://youtu.be/GG_hFTFVNX8 In April, a Russian court issued an arrest warrant for Budanov in connection with the Oct. 8, 2022 attack on the Kerch Bridge . On April 21, the Lefortovo Court of Moscow arrested Budanov in absentia for what it called "the terrorist attack" on the bridge, the Russian official TASS news agency reported . Budanov "was put on the international wanted list," according to TASS. "The period of arrest is calculated from the moment of extradition to the territory of the Russian Federation or detention on Russian territory. Its a pleasure for me, Budanov told us at the time. It shows that I work in the right way and in the future, Ill work harder and with higher quality - to show that Moscows court was right. https://twitter.com/mhmck/status/1578606537802911744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1578606537802911744%7Ctwgr%5Ecddc5f5946608d1b7a0067857745653fbbb52457%7Ctwcon%5Es1_\u0026ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedrive.com%2Fthe-war-zone%2Fukraine-intel-chief-says-russian-arrest-threat-is-a-pleasure-for-me In an exclusive interview from his hotel room when he visited Washington D.C. in September, Budanov told us that Marianna Budanova has been living in his office since the start of the full-on invasion in February 2022. Asked what that was like and if the Russians were trying to kill him, Budanov responded by saying: We're absolutely fine. She has been living with me since the February invasion. And she's a police officer herself. She's actually a professor at our national police academy. She's teaching legal psychology. Its not a problem for her as it might have been for someone else. During a September interview with The War Zone, Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov talked about what it was like living with his wife in his office. (Howard Altman/Staff photo) The two were married in August 2013, according to Babel. Budanova unsuccessfully ran for the Kyiv City Council as a candidate of Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko's UDAR party in 2020, the Kyiv Independent reported . In 2021, she worked as Klitschko's advisor on combating corruption in youth politics and sports. "During the election campaign, I heard and read a lot of what could be considered insults," Budanova said in an October 2020 post on the UDAR Facebook page . "But I understand that in many cases it is more like the desperate cry of those who have lost hope. Those who have only dirty words left instead of arguments. They say that everything that does not break us only makes us stronger." Given the tight security surrounding the Budanov and GUR personnel, this incident underscores the dangers even closely guarded Ukrainian leaders and their families face. This is a developing story and we will update it when more details become available. Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com Marianna Budanova, the wife of Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of Ukraine's Defence Intelligence (DIU), has been poisoned with heavy metals. She survived and has undergone the first stage of treatment, Ukrainska Pravda's sources in the security services have reported. Source: Ukrainska Pravda sources Quote: "It's true about Budanov's wife (that she's been poisoned). She complained of feeling unwell, so we ran some tests and they revealed that she had been poisoned." Details: The sources said Budanov's wife was "most likely poisoned through food". "She is doing better now as she has undergone the first stage of treatment," the sources said. "Since Budanov's wife is quite petite and lightweight, she developed symptoms quickly. And several other employees were confirmed to have been poisoned: 'They are just bigger-built, so they didn't notice any signs of it; they are now receiving treatment'," the sources said. Marianna Budanova, photo: ELLE Background: In June 2023, Andrii Yusov, a representative of DIU, told Ukrainska Pravda that Kyrylo Budanov had survived over 10 assassination attempts. Budanov said in an interview with Radio Svoboda (Liberty) that his wife Marianna lives with him in his office and that the couple are together 24/7 for security purposes. Budanov told American outlet The War Zone that Marianna teaches at the Department of Legal Psychology of the National Academy of Internal Affairs. "It [living together ed.] is not a problem for her," Budanov emphasised. Support UP or become our patron! United Launch Alliance and Aerojet Rocketdyne are celebrating the successful history of their Centaur-RL10 rocket-engine tandem, which dates back 60 years to the formative days of the Space Race. Meanwhile, both companies are busily making preparations for their team's future. Two of Aerojet Rocketdyne's workhorse RL10 engines will power a ULA Centaur V upper stage during the maiden flight of the ULA's new Vulcan rocket on Christmas Eve at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The Vulcan Centaur's instantaneous launch is scheduled for 1:49 a.m. Dec. 24 at Launch Complex 41. Sixty years ago today and just five days after the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy an Atlas-Centaur launch vehicle, AC-2, took flight from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 36A with a Centaur propelled by two RL10 engines," Julie Arnold, ULA director of strategic communications, told the media Monday during an anniversary event. Jim Maus, Aerojet Rocketdyne vice president of program execution and integration, talks about the company's RL10 rocket engine behind him Monday during a celebration of the 60th anniversary of the engine and United Launch Alliance's Centaur second-stage rocket. "The mission carried no payload. But the powerful Centaur scored a significant milestone: the first firing of a liquid-hydrogen, liquid-oxygen rocket engine in outer space," Arnold said. "We're celebrating that achievement today and looking forward to whats next in the program," she said. Monday afternoon, ULA and Aerojet Rocketdyne marked the Centaur-RL10 combo's 60th anniversary during a media event at ULA's Advanced Spaceflight Operations Center at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Inside the ASOC's cavernous "high bay," photographers snapped images and video of a life-sized chrome model of an RL10 engine alongside two ULA second-stage rockets and a trio of far-larger first-stage rockets, stored horizontally. The venerable United States upper stage rocket that created the pathway to the Moon and every planet in the solar system ULA's Centaur and RL10 engine from Aerojet Rocketdyne, an @L3HarrisTech company are marking 60 years of their successful pairing. https://t.co/YpalRMoEm9 pic.twitter.com/3xklUCHGk0 ULA (@ulalaunch) November 14, 2023 ULA is a joint venture formed in 2006 by Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Aerojet Rocketdyne was acquired by L3Harris Technologies in July for $4.7 billion. The Vulcan Centaur mission will carry Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander, which is expected to touch down on the northern surface of the moon. The mission will also carry a Celestis memorial payload into deep space. Fundamentally, the Centaur's architecture remains the same as it was in the early 1960s with a stainless-steel tank wall thinner than a dime, said Gary Wentz, ULA vice president of government and commercial programs. "Centaur and the R10 have made it possible for us to launch spacecraft of greater size and weight over any of the other upper-stage designs in use," Wentz said. "It's delivered scientific missions to the sun, our moon, asteroids, every planet in the system," he said. Jim Maus, Aerojet Rocketdyne vice president of program execution and integration, said more than 522 RL10 engines have successfully flown in space. Engineers have integrated eight major upgrades over the years to improve reliability and performance. "It's flown on Saturn I, Atlas, Titan, Delta, and even most recently on the SLS for Artemis, powering the upper stage for that vehicle as well," Maus said. First lady Jill Biden toured the ASOC last month alongside Veteran Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough. The duo visited Brevard County's Space Force facilities during an afternoon promotional swing touting the White House's Joining Forces initiative, which supports military families. When are the next launches from the Space Coast? SpaceX's Starlink 6-30 mission launched Monday night. Then later this week, a National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency navigational warning shows another 4-hour rocket launch window will open late Friday night and extend beyond midnight into Saturday morning. SpaceX has not yet confirmed this mission: About: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of Starlink internet satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Launch window: 11 p.m. Friday to 3:11 a.m. Saturday. Location: Launch Complex 40. Trajectory: Southeast. Local sonic boom: No. Booster landing: Drone ship out on the Atlantic Ocean. Live coverage: Starts 90 minutes before liftoff at floridatoday.com/space. More: Rocket launch schedule: Upcoming Florida launches and landings Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories, click here.) Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1 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: ULA, Aerojet Rocketdyne mark 60-year rocket-engine partnership at Cape Shoppers set their bags down on Black Friday at City Creek Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. | Megan Nielsen, Deseret News A group promoting a parallel economy made up of businesses friendly to conservatives and their causes has devised a new shopping day for consumers whose wallets may already be thin because of Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday. Its called UnCancel Wednesday, and the aim, according to the group, RePlatform, is to support businesses that uphold traditional principles that inspire free speech, liberty and American values. The group is urging Americans to spend money at these businesses on Wednesday, Nov. 29. The list of companies promoted include Patriot Mobile, billed as the Christian conservative wireless provider in America, and American Woman Beauty, which sells a lipstick endorsed by OutKick podcaster Riley Gaines. In a news release, Megan Greene, an executive at Patmos, an internet hosting company that offers full-scale cloud solutions without the threat of censorship, lauded the freedom focused parallel economy, and the movements to shop at small businesses and to buy products made in America. These movements proactively enable small and American-made businesses to stand firm in the communities where big business and cancel culture threaten their survival, Greene said. This movement encourages a shift towards the Parallel Economya realm fostering free speech, traditional values, and American liberties. On November 29, following Giving Tuesday, join us in celebrating UnCancel Wednesday by championing silenced voices, embracing free speech, and pic.twitter.com/KJNBhiw0Dk RePlatform (@RePlatformVegas) November 28, 2023 Its unclear if UnCancel Wednesday will get much traction this year; Tuesday on X, there were just a smattering of mentions, most of them by the sponsoring organization. There is also some mixed messaging going on in the promotion of the event, with CEO David Ragsdale saying in a news release, UnCancel Wednesday is not a boycott; its a response to corporations endorsing authoritarian Covid policies for profit. Related Before launching RePlatform, Ragsdale led the anti-vaccine initiative Defeat the Mandates. But his new group is primarily focused on promoting the growing ecosystem of conservative-friendly businesses. Among its plans are a Freedom Economy Convention in Las Vegas in March 2024, billed as the single largest gathering of parallel economy businesses, services and consumers in one place. Even with the growing number of businesses and companies courting conservatives, it will be difficult for UnCancel Wednesday to come close to Black Fridays numbers, especially in its first few years. CNN reported that sales for both Black Friday and Cyber Monday were up from previous years. Shoppers spent $15.7 million every minute during the peak hour on Cyber Monday, and online sales alone on Black Friday reached $9.8 billion, according to Adobe Analytics. If youre charged with murdering someone who is queer or trans in Kentucky, you may have a powerful legal defense on your side. Kentucky is one of a plethora of states that allows for you to excuse that murder on the basis that your violence was a justified reaction to the victims sexual orientation or gender identity. That may sound outrageous, because it is. It's also true. It's called the "gay panic defense" and it is nothing new in Americas legal system. Thankfully, it is on a rapid decline. In the past decade, eighteen states have expressly banned the use of the gay panic defense. This year alone, both New Hampshire and Delaware joined those states in outlawing the defense. Why hasn't Kentucky outlawed the gay panic defense to murder charges? The gay panic defense relies on the assumption that it is reasonable for a perpetrator to react violently to discovering a victims sexual orientation or gender identity or in responding to a romantic advance by a queer or trans person. The defense has allowed for individuals accused of murder to have their charges and sentences reduced because of their justification for responding violently to the knowledge that an individual identifies as LGBTQ+. I am a retired child psychologist. Kentucky's anti-trans bill is legislative malpractice The gay panic defense is not a passive and never-before-used legal tactic. Since the 1960s, the defense has been frequently used in court opinions in roughly half of the states. The gay panic defense has been used in Kentucky to excuse the murders of queer people. In the summer of 2003, Joshua Cottrell lured Guin Richie Phillips, a 36-year-old gay man, into an Elizabethtown hotel room, where he was brutally murdered. Phillips' body was found days later in a suitcase that was dumped into Rough River Lake. Kentucky has permitted sexual identity as justification for murder After Cottrells lawyers invoked the gay panic defense at trial, arguing that Cottrell was justified in responding violently to Phillips alleged romantic advance at the hotel, the jury rejected the murder charge and instead found Cottrell guilty of a lesser charge: second degree manslaughter. Cottrell was sentenced to 20 years for his killing of Phillips, but was eligible for parole merely two-and-a-half years after his conviction. Beyond the devastating influence of the gay panic defense in excusing the murders of queer and trans civilians, the defense sends a clear message that an individuals sexual orientation or gender identity is a valid basis to justify violence. By continuing to allow for the gay panic defense to be a valid legal excuse under Kentucky state law, Kentuckys legislature sends a message to our LGBTQ+ community that our identities are worthy of rejection, cruelty and violence. Behind the statue of Abraham Lincoln, students look on at a Family Freedom rally in the capitol rotunda Wednesday. Hundreds of students from throughout Kentucky rallied in Frankfort Wednesday to oppose SB 150, the bill that would ban gender-affirming care for trans youth. March 29, 2023 Anti-LGBTQ+ agenda of Kentucky's conservative lawmakers is expanding But for those witnessing the ever-expanding anti-LGBTQ+ agenda of Kentuckys conservative state lawmakers, it is no surprise that nothing has been done to address the gay panic defense. Kentuckys lawmakers proudly overrode Gov. Andy Beshears veto of Senate Bill 150 and allowed the bill to become law. The bill bans all gender-affirming medical care for trans youth and permits teachers to openly misgender and discriminate against students. Christian Academy of Louisville homework shows indoctrination happening in private schools Against this backdrop, it is no wonder that so many within Kentuckys LGBTQ+ community remain pessimistic about the prospect of prohibiting the use of the gay panic defense. It is nonetheless crucial that we continue to call out Kentucky's lawmakers for their inaction on banning a malicious legal tactic that excuses violence against queer and trans people in the state. And hope may be found in the re-election of Gov. Beshear, who has been a noteworthy champion for LGBTQ+ Kentuckians in his advocacy to ban conversion therapy and vetoing legislation that attacks members of our community. With his final term approaching, Beshear has the unique opportunity to build on his pro-equality legacy and call on Kentuckys legislature to join the growing number of states in rejecting the gay panic defense, an issue that has avoided the political spotlight. Although the prospects of banning the defense with a conservative super-majority in Kentuckys legislature remains disturbingly slim, we owe it to past, present, and future victims of sexuality- and gender-motivated crimes to call for an end to a defense that skirts justice where it is needed most. Until then, as more and more states rid themselves of the gay panic defense, Kentucky will unfortunately remain at the tail-end of progress for LGBTQ+ equality. Robert Blake Watson Robert Blake Watson is a native of Louisville, Kentucky, and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Can you kill someone for being gay? KY says 'panic defense' is valid Israel is attempting to get the United Nations to recognize and condemn Hamas sexual crimes against Israeli women and girls, allegedly perpetrated during the Hamas-led terror attack on Oct. 7. During a meeting at the U.N. in Geneva on Monday, Israeli officials attempted to raise awareness of the alleged sexual violence against women and urged the international body which often condemns global injustices and human rights violations not to keep quiet about the issue. Ruth Halperin-Kaddari, an associate professor at Bar-Ilan University who spoke at the event, told Reuters that the U.N. rights bodies have "downplayed" and "minimized" sexual violence to perpetuate Israel as "the aggressor" in the current conflict. "Among the war crimes and the crimes against humanity that Hamas committed on Oct. 7 were also sexual crimes, sexual assaults, rapes, that were part, that were a systematic part of their attack, of the massacre, and we are expecting a strong condemnation," she said. "We expected recognition of that. We expected a clear and loud statement that says that there is no justification for using the bodies of women as a weapon of war. None of this came up until now." US LOOKS TO INCREASE AID INTO GAZA THROUGH EGYPT, INCLUDES WARNING FOR ISRAEL This view shows a home riddled with bullets in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, Israel, on Nov. 2, 2023. The house was destroyed in the deadly Oct. 7 attack by Hamas terrorists from Gaza. The professor said she was "deeply concerned because of the complete lack of acknowledgment, of recognition by United Nations bodies and entities and by the international human rights world, lack of recognition that indeed Hamas committed horrific sexual crimes against women, against women and girls, on Oct. 7 in Israel." READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP Halperin-Kaddari theorized that the U.N. has attempted to perpetuate an image that Israel is "the aggressor" in its current war with Hamas, a war that was triggered when Hamas-led forces invaded Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, slaughtering 1,200 people and taking about 240 people hostage. Since Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks, Israel has launched a ground invasion into Gaza. "For many of these organizations, the fact that Hamas committed such horrific acts, such atrocities, and that citizens in Israel, civilians, women, girls, children in Israel, and men and the elderly, fell victims to such horrific acts, it turns around the conventional framing of viewing Israel as the aggressor and Palestinians as the ultimate victim," she said. "So, I would associate these bodies and U.N. entities in Geneva with downplaying and minimization of these types of atrocities that took place on Oct. 7." WHO SAYS DISEASE COULD BE BIGGER KILLER THAN BOMBS IN GAZA UNLESS IMMEDIATE ACTION IS TAKEN Halperin-Kaddari said she wants the international body to remain independent in the discovery of facts and to condemn them appropriately. "I would like to see independent international bodies that are accepted also for Israel and for civil society in Israel, unbiased, that would investigate specifically the issue of the sexual violence that was committed as part of the Oct. 7 attack," she said. A man spray-paints a slogan on a barrier along Highway 1 to show support for the families of the hostages taken by Hamas as demonstrators arrive in Jerusalem on Nov. 18, 2023. In Israel, authorities have opened an investigation into sexual violence after evidence emerged that pointed to sexual crimes, such as victims being found disrobed and mutilated. Hamas denies such abuses. ATTORNEY GENERAL GARLAND EXPRESSES HOPE HAMAS WILL RELEASE MORE AMERICAN HOSTAGES IN THE DAYS TO COME The U.N. human rights office has condemned the Oct. 7 attacks as "heinous, brutal and shocking." The private U.N. event was attended by diplomats, rights groups and U.N. agencies. It was the first Israel-organized event outside the country to address acts of sexual violence by Hamas. The U.N. human rights office has condemned the Oct. 7 attacks as "heinous, brutal and shocking" but has said Israel has not yet granted its monitors access to the country. Reuters contributed to this report. Original article source: United Nations 'downplayed' Hamas violence to perpetuate image of Israel as 'the aggressor': Israeli professor The Wills Memorial Building is one of the most recognisable parts of Bristol's skyline A university is pledging 10m to help "address racial injustice" but will not change the name of its buildings named after people with slave trade links. The University of Bristol said it will alter its logo to remove the dolphin emblem of slave trader Edward Colston. The changes come after a consultation about buildings named after people with links to slavery such as Wills and Fry. A university spokesperson said the decision to not change the names might not "please everybody". The university will instead be "presenting the institution's founders' historic links to enslavement in a proper context". It comes after Colston's city centre statue was pulled down and thrown into the harbour during a protest in 2020. Vice-Chancellor and president, Prof Evelyn Welch, added: "I am deeply sorry for these damaging and hurtful experiences which continue to the present day, and I apologise to everyone impacted by those injustices. "We aspire to be an inclusive institution and we must do better." The money will be used for a "Reparative Futures" programme which will invest in schemes such as the current Black Scholarship programme. Student Ebube Enweani said you cannot pretend links to the slave trade do not exist Ebube Enweani - president of the African and Caribbean society (ACS) at the University of Bristol said: "It is important they acknowledge the links because you cannot pretend it doesn't exist. "We all remember the BLM (Black Lives Matter) protest and how the statue was toppled, it shows people who live here knows it exists." She said by removing the Colston dolphin logo the university has taken out "the most direct link and cause". "But from the 10m they've pledged, the main I would like is for it not to just go under the radar." Ms Wallace said more transparency on what the university are doing with the money would be good Desha Wallace, the Caribbean representative of ACS, said she is "proud of Bristol for acknowledging there is a history of racial inequality and social injustice... which is a very big step". Speaking on name changes, she said: "We don't really pay much attention to the to the building names. Most students I speak to call the Fry's building the maths building so I understand why the university doesn't want to change those." The strong ties to slavery with Colston made the removal of the dolphin logo understandable, but "removing stuff and changing names does very little to combat the issue of racial injustice, it's already done. You can't change history", she added. Student Lisa Inneh said it was important students are not left to improve the student experience Lisa Inneh said although change is welcome, "how does it actually help students at the university?". "[We're] seeing institutions throwing money at a problem but they're not really saying what they're going to do with it. "How is money going to help people? It doesn't directly go to them. This is something so small, in a week or a year, it will probably be forgotten by most students." Many of the University of Bristol's most well-known buildings are named after people who were beneficiaries of the slave trade, who then made donations. The main city centre location for the university - the Wills memorial building - was named after the Wills family who made their money from tobacco production, and gave "considerable financial support". "They were not enslavers, but their business and financial success benefitted from slavery as they traded in tobacco grown by enslaved Africans and their descendants," the university said. The university said it will make a 10m donation over slavery links Other families who had buildings named after them included: Fry family: Chocolatiers who were at one point using 39% of the UK's import of cocoa beans. Though not directly involved in slavery, the university said the cocoa was "produced from ingredients cultivated by enslaved people" Colston family: Edward Colston was a "major figure in the Royal Africa Company which developed the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans", the university said Goldney Family: Records show that Thomas Goldney II funded several voyages associated with the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans Local historian Mark Steeds said he questioned renaming buildings and thinks they should be recognising all victims of enslavement with a memorial in the city centre to commemorate the people who lost their lives. "Bristol is light years behind in recognising its involvement with the West African slave trade" he said. "Renaming buildings is not necessarily the way forward... there needs to be an interpretation centre people can go to to make their own minds up," he added. Other organisations in Bristol have taken a different approach over similar names. The Bristol Beacon, which is due to reopen later in the week after a massive refurbishment, changed its name from Colston Hall. It said the change would be "a fresh start for the organisation and its place in the city". Mr Steeds was involved in campaigning to change the name of Colston Hall and said he was "pleased they changed the name". However he added: "Perhaps they should have called it Freedom Hall... they seem to have absolved the history." He also said the legacy of the Wills and Fry organisations is "far more complicated". Follow BBC West on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: bristol@bbc.co.uk Nov. 27 (UPI) -- The doctoral student charged with the murder of a University of North Carolina associate professor in August is incapable of standing trial due to mental illness, a judge ruled Monday. Orange County, N.C., Superior Court Judge Alyson Grine ruled that Tailei Qi, accused of slaying UNC applied physical science professor Zijie Yan, is suffering from severe mental illnesses and tried to harm himself in jail, WRAL-TV, Raleigh, and The News & Observer reported. In making her ruling, the judge cited a psychiatric evaluation supplied by a state-appointed doctor, which concurred with an earlier finding by a psychologist hired by Qi's defense. "The defendant, Mr. Qi, demonstrated delusional thinking, experienced auditory hallucinations, engaged in self-harm in the detention center and showed fragmented thought processes and that impeded his communication," the report stated. Rather than continuing to trial, Grine ordered that Qi be committed to a mental health facility for treatment with the understanding that should his condition improve, a murder trial may then proceed. Prosecutors say Qi, 34, was carrying a 9mm handgun when he was arrested after the fatal shooting of his adviser, Yan, 38. An autopsy revealed the professor had been shot seven times. The killing inside Caudill Laboratories sent the UNC campus into lockdown as students cowered in classrooms a week into the fall semester. In addition to first-degree murder charges, Qi also stands accused of a misdemeanor firearm possession on educational property. He enrolled at UNC in 2022 after earning a master's degree at Louisiana State University. The first human infected with the new swine flu strain-influenza A(H1N2)v-in the United Kingdom. After this alarming discovery, the U.K. Health Security Agency said that they are now assessing any risk possibly posed by the virus to human health. UKHSA officials announced the alarming discovery on Monday, Nov. 27. They said that the infected individual experienced only mild illness. They added that the patient was able to make a full recovery without any problems. However, further investigation is needed since this is the first time a human was infected with the new swine flu variant. First Human Infected With New Swine Flu Detected in UK Time Magazine reported that it is not uncommon for flu viruses to infect one species to another. This means that they can also infect people. However, health experts fear that this animal-human infection could allow the pathogen to adapt to the new host and become transmissible among humans. In 2009, a swine flu virus even sparked a pandemic, which affected millions of people across the world. This is why UKHSA experts are now focused on analyzing the first H1N2 human infection case. "Influenza A(H1N2)v is similar to flu viruses currently circulating in pigs in the UK. This is the first detection of this strain of flu in a human in the UK," said the British health organization via its official press release. As of writing, the U.K. Health Security Agency said that it is working very closely with partners to identify the pathogen's characteristics when infecting humans, as well as its possible risks to human health. Read Also: Cholera Outbreak Returns in Zimbabwe With More Than 8,000 Suspected Cases, Confirm Hundreds of Deaths UKHSA Shares Details About Infected Human The U.K. Health Security Agency said that the H1N2 infection in the patient was detected as part of a routine national flu surveillance. The infected individual was tested by their GP after developing respiratory symptoms. UKHSA used PCR (polymerase chain reaction) testing to detect the swine flue strain, as well as genome sequencing to characterize the variant. "The individual concerned experienced a mild illness and has fully recovered. The source of their infection has not yet been ascertained and remains under investigation," said the British health agency. UKHSA officials said that they are ensuring to reach people who made close contact with the patient. They will be necessary health tests to determine if they are also infected by H1N2. Related Article: China Claims Respiratory Illness Surge Isn't Caused by Novel Virus-Here's What Chinese Health Ministry Says @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Tampa (BLOOM) CBD (cannabidiol) has garnered immense popularity in recent years as a potential natural remedy for various health conditions. In this article, we delve into the world of CBD to explore its healing potential, specifically focusing on pain management and anxiety relief. By understanding how CBD interacts with our bodies, we can better comprehend its therapeutic effects and consider it as a potential option for improving our well-being. Understanding CBD: A Brief Overview CBD is a compound derived from the cannabis plant, which is distinct from THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the psychoactive component that produces a high. Unlike THC, CBD does not have intoxicating effects and is legal in many countries. However, regulations may vary, so its important to be aware of the specific guidelines in your region. CBD for Pain Management Living with chronic pain can be debilitating, affecting both physical and emotional well-being. CBD has shown promise in relieving pain by interacting with our bodys endocannabinoid system, which plays a crucial role in pain perception. Research suggests that CBD has analgesic properties and can potentially alleviate pain symptoms. Numerous studies and anecdotal evidence support the use of CBD for pain management, with many individuals reporting significant relief. CBD for Anxiety Relief Anxiety disorders are prevalent and can have a profound impact on our daily lives. CBD has emerged as a potential natural solution for anxiety relief. By targeting certain receptors in the brain, CBD may have anxiolytic effects, helping to reduce anxiety levels. Scientific research and clinical studies have demonstrated the potential of CBD in alleviating symptoms of anxiety, such as generalized anxiety disorder and social anxiety. Individuals seeking alternative options for anxiety management have reported positive experiences with CBD. Other Potential Therapeutic Uses of CBD Beyond pain management and anxiety relief, CBD shows promise in addressing various other health concerns. For instance, individuals struggling with sleep disorders and insomnia may find CBD beneficial due to its calming properties. CBDs interaction with neurotransmitters may also offer potential benefits for individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or those seeking mood stabilization and relief from depression. Ongoing research is uncovering additional potential applications of CBD, including its role in addressing neurodegenerative disorders, epilepsy, and skin conditions. As the scientific community continues to investigate CBDs therapeutic properties, we may witness more breakthroughs in the future. CBD Products Available: Oils, Capsules, Edibles, Topicals, and Vaping CBD products come in a variety of forms, each offering different delivery methods and characteristics. Understanding the differences between these products is essential for choosing the most suitable option based on your preferences and specific health concerns. Lets explore the various CBD products available, including oils, capsules, edibles, topicals, and vaping, and discuss their differences, bioavailability, and potential effectiveness for different conditions. 1. CBD Oils: CBD oils are one of the most popular and versatile CBD products on the market. They consist of CBD extract infused into a carrier oil, such as hemp seed oil or MCT oil, for easy ingestion. CBD oils are typically taken sublingually (under the tongue) using a dropper, allowing for quick absorption into the bloodstream. Bioavailability and Effectiveness: When taken sublingually, CBD oils offer relatively high bioavailability, as the sublingual glands absorb the CBD directly into the bloodstream. This method allows for faster onset of effects compared to oral ingestion. CBD oils are commonly used for general well-being, anxiety relief, and pain management, as well as for conditions that may require immediate relief. 2. CBD Capsules: CBD capsules are convenient and discreet oral supplements that contain pre-measured doses of CBD. They are similar to regular capsules or pills and are swallowed with water. Bioavailability and Effectiveness: When ingested orally, CBD capsules have lower bioavailability compared to sublingual administration. The digestive process and liver metabolism can reduce the amount of CBD that reaches the bloodstream. However, the effects of CBD capsules tend to be long-lasting. They are commonly used for systemic conditions, general wellness support, and long-lasting pain relief. 3. CBD Edibles: CBD edibles are a wide range of food and beverage products infused with CBD extract. They can include gummies, chocolates, cookies, beverages, and more. CBD edibles offer a tasty and enjoyable way to consume CBD. Bioavailability and Effectiveness: CBD edibles undergo digestion and liver metabolism, resulting in lower bioavailability compared to sublingual administration. The effects may take longer to kick in, typically within 30 minutes to 2 hours. CBD edibles are commonly used for long-lasting relief, promoting relaxation, and improving sleep quality. 4. CBD Topicals: CBD topicals include creams, lotions, balms, and salves that are applied directly to the skin. They are designed to target localized areas and provide relief from pain, inflammation, and skin conditions. Bioavailability and Effectiveness: CBD topicals are not intended to enter the bloodstream and, therefore, have minimal systemic absorption. Instead, they interact with cannabinoid receptors in the skin and underlying tissues, offering localized effects. CBD topicals are commonly used for muscle and joint pain, skin irritations, and dermatological conditions. 5. CBD Vaping: CBD vaping involves inhaling CBD-infused vapor using a vaporizer or vape pen. It provides rapid absorption into the bloodstream through the lungs. Bioavailability and Effectiveness: Vaping offers high bioavailability, as CBD bypasses the digestive system and directly enters the bloodstream. The effects are typically felt quickly, making it an appealing option for immediate relief from symptoms such as anxiety or acute pain. However, its important to note that vaping may not be suitable for everyone, especially those with respiratory issues or concerns about lung health. Choosing the Right CBD Product: When selecting a CBD product, consider your desired effects, the speed of onset, and your personal preferences. For fast-acting relief or addressing acute symptoms, sublingual CBD oils or vaping may be more suitable. If you prefer a convenient and pre-measured option, capsules can be a good choice. CBD edibles offer a tasty and discreet option for longer-lasting effects. Topicals are ideal for localized relief from pain or skin conditions. Its important to note that the effectiveness of CBD products can vary based on individual factors, including metabolism, dosage, and the specific condition being addressed. Consulting with a healthcare professional experienced in CBD use can provide personalized guidance on product selection and dosage considerations. The wide range of CBD products, including oils, capsules, edibles, topicals, and vaping, offer diverse delivery methods and characteristics. Understanding their differences in bioavailability and potential effectiveness for different conditions allows you to make informed choices when incorporating CBD into your wellness routine. Safety, Side Effects, and Considerations While CBD is generally considered safe, its essential to be aware of potential side effects. These may include dry mouth, drowsiness, changes in appetite, and interactions with certain medications. Its crucial to consult with a healthcare professional before incorporating CBD into your routine, especially if you have existing medical conditions or are taking other medications. Finding the right CBD product and dosage is also important. Different forms of CBD, such as oils, tinctures, topicals, and edibles, offer varying levels of effectiveness and absorption. Consulting with a healthcare professional or knowledgeable CBD provider can help you determine the best product and dosage for your specific needs. CBD holds significant promise as a natural remedy for pain management and anxiety relief. While more research is needed to fully understand its potential and establish concrete guidelines, the existing evidence and numerous personal experiences suggest that CBD can be a valuable addition to our health and wellness routines. CBDs interaction with the endocannabinoid system (ECS) lies at the core of its potential therapeutic effects, including pain management and anxiety relief. The ECS is a complex network of receptors, endocannabinoids (naturally occurring cannabinoids produced by the body), and enzymes that regulate various physiological processes. By influencing the ECS, CBD can modulate neurotransmitter activity, reduce inflammation, and contribute to pain and anxiety regulation. Within the ECS, two primary receptors have been extensively studied: cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1) and cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB2). CB1 receptors are primarily found in the central nervous system, including the brain, while CB2 receptors are predominantly located in peripheral tissues, especially immune cells. Pain Management: CBDs interaction with the ECS plays a crucial role in pain modulation. When pain signals are triggered, endocannabinoids are released to bind with CB1 receptors in the spinal cord and brain, inhibiting the transmission of pain signals. CBD can enhance this process by inhibiting the breakdown of endocannabinoids, thereby prolonging their pain-relieving effects. Additionally, CBD influences other pain-related receptors outside the ECS, such as vanilloid receptor 1 (TRPV1) and serotonin receptors. By interacting with TRPV1 receptors, CBD may reduce the sensation of pain, heat, and inflammation. CBD also interacts with serotonin receptors, which are involved in pain perception and mood regulation, potentially contributing to pain relief. Moreover, CBDs anti-inflammatory properties can indirectly alleviate pain. Inflammation often accompanies pain, and CBD has been shown to modulate the immune response and reduce the release of pro-inflammatory molecules, thus mitigating pain associated with inflammation. Anxiety Relief: CBDs potential as an anxiolytic agent is linked to its interaction with the ECS and modulation of neurotransmitter activity. Anxiety disorders involve imbalances in neurotransmitters such as serotonin, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and glutamate. CBD influences serotonin receptors, particularly the 5-HT1A receptor, which is associated with anxiety regulation. By activating this receptor, CBD may increase serotonin levels, promoting feelings of well-being and reducing anxiety symptoms. CBD also interacts with GABA receptors, which are inhibitory receptors involved in anxiety modulation. By enhancing GABA receptor activity, CBD may promote relaxation and decrease anxiety levels. Furthermore, CBDs impact on glutamate receptors can contribute to anxiety relief. Excessive glutamate activity can lead to excitotoxicity, a state of overstimulation that can exacerbate anxiety. CBDs ability to modulate glutamate receptors may help regulate glutamate levels, potentially reducing anxiety-related excitotoxicity. CBDs interaction with the endocannabinoid system, specifically CB1 and CB2 receptors, along with its modulation of neurotransmitters and inflammatory responses, underlies its potential in pain management and anxiety relief. By targeting these receptors and pathways, CBD can influence pain perception, reduce inflammation, and regulate neurotransmitter imbalances associated with anxiety. Further research is needed to fully elucidate the precise mechanisms by which CBD exerts its effects, but the existing evidence highlights its promising role in promoting well-being. Incorporating the Latest Studies and Clinical Trials on CBDs Efficacy in Pain Management and Anxiety Relief The therapeutic potential of CBD in pain management and anxiety relief has garnered significant attention from researchers and clinicians. Numerous studies and clinical trials have been conducted to explore the effectiveness of CBD in these areas, providing valuable insights into its therapeutic potential. Lets delve into some of the latest research findings and highlight the strength of the evidence supporting CBDs efficacy. Pain Management: A systematic review published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine in 2020 analyzed multiple studies investigating the use of CBD for chronic pain management. The review found that CBD demonstrated significant pain reduction in conditions such as neuropathic pain, fibromyalgia, and multiple sclerosis-related spasticity. The studies consistently reported improvements in pain intensity, physical function, and overall quality of life with CBD treatment. Moreover, a randomized controlled trial published in the European Journal of Pain in 2020 examined the effects of CBD in individuals with chronic low back pain. The study found that CBD treatment resulted in a significant reduction in pain and improved functional outcomes compared to the placebo group. The researchers concluded that CBD could be a viable option for managing chronic back pain. The evidence supporting CBDs efficacy in pain management is strengthened by preclinical studies as well. Animal studies have demonstrated CBDs analgesic effects through modulation of the endocannabinoid system, reduction of inflammation, and interaction with pain-related receptors. These preclinical findings provide valuable mechanistic insights and further support the potential of CBD as a pain-relieving agent. Anxiety Relief: Multiple studies have explored the anxiolytic effects of CBD in various anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A 2019 study published in The Permanente Journal investigated the effects of CBD in patients with anxiety and poor sleep. The study found that CBD treatment was associated with significant reductions in anxiety scores and improved sleep quality in the majority of participants. Another notable study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology in 2020 examined the use of CBD in individuals with social anxiety disorder. The findings showed that CBD significantly reduced anxiety levels and cognitive impairment during a simulated public speaking test. The study concluded that CBD holds promise as a potential treatment for social anxiety disorder. Furthermore, a systematic review and meta-analysis published in Frontiers in Psychology in 2020 evaluated the overall evidence on CBDs efficacy in anxiety disorders. The review analyzed a range of clinical trials and concluded that CBD demonstrated consistent anxiolytic effects across different anxiety disorders. However, the researchers also highlighted the need for further high-quality studies to strengthen the evidence base. These studies collectively contribute to a growing body of evidence supporting the potential of CBD in anxiety relief. While further research is warranted to fully understand CBDs mechanisms of action and its long-term effects, the existing evidence underscores its therapeutic potential in managing various anxiety disorders. While the current evidence is promising, it is important to note that more high-quality studies, including large-scale clinical trials, are needed to further establish the optimal dosage, long-term safety, and potential interactions of CBD. Continued research and scientific exploration will refine our understanding of CBDs therapeutic applications and pave the way for evidence-based recommendations. If youre considering incorporating CBD into your lifestyle, consult with a healthcare professional who can provide personalized guidance and recommendations. By being well-informed and making informed decisions, you can harness the healing potential of CBD and explore the possibilities of a more balanced and fulfilling life. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA. This 2016 image provided by Mark Mansfield shows his son Canyon Mansfield and dog Kasey playing in the grass in Pocatello, Idaho. The boy was seriously injured in 2017 and his dog was killed when a cyanide device that is used to kill coyotes and other predators emitted a cloud of poison while they were hiking near their home. The Bureau of Land Management made public its decision to end the use of the devices on public lands Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023. (Mark Mansfield via AP) RENO, Nev. (AP) The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has halted the use of spring-loaded traps that disperse cyanide powder to kill coyotes and other livestock predators, a practice wildlife advocates have tried to outlaw for decades due to safety concerns. The M-44 ejector-devices that critics call cyanide bombs have unintentionally killed thousands of pets and non-predator wildlife, including endangered species, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services. They have a scented bait and emit a poisonous cloud when triggered by a physical disturbance. The Bureau of Land Management quietly posted a notice on its website last week that it no longer will use the devices across the 390,625 square miles (1,011,714 square kilometers) it manages nationally an area twice the size of California much of it where ranchers graze cattle and sheep. Other federal agencies including the National Park Service, and the Fish and Wildlife Service already prohibit the devices. But the Forest Service and 10 states still use them in some form. Eight unsuccessful bills have been introduced in Congress since 2008 to ban the the traps on federal and/or state lands. Sponsors of legislation pending in the U.S. House and Senate that would ban them on both say they're optimistic the bureau's new position will help pave the way for broader support. Brooks Fahy, executive director of the Oregon-based watchdog group Predator Defense, has been working for 40 years to ban the use of sodium cyanide in the traps. He emphasized that it's registered under the Environmental Protection Agency as a Category 1 toxicant, the highest level of toxicity. I cant believe theyre still being put on the landscape and they continue to harm people, Fahy said. Ive seen M-44s set right on the edge of a trail. M-44s consist of a stake driven into the ground with a spring and canister loaded with the chemical. Marked inconsistently and sometimes not at all, humans have mistaken them for sprinkler heads or survey markers. Federal agencies rely on Wildlife Services to deal with problem animals whether in remote areas or airports across the country using lethal and non-lethal forces. The change on Bureau of Land Management land came under a recent revision of a memorandum of understanding with Wildlife Services obtained by The Associated Press on Monday. It's effective immediately but can be canceled by either side with 60 days' notice. Wildlife Services has used M-44s for decades, mostly in the West, as part of a broader program to control predators that dates to the 1930s. The American Sheep Industry Association and National Cattlemens Beef Association were among 100 industry groups that wrote to Congress this year, stressing the importance of the program. They said predators cause more than $232 million in livestock losses annually. About a dozen people have been seriously harmed over the past 25 years by M-44s on federal lands, according to Predator Defense. Between 2000-2016, Wildlife Services reported 246,985 animals killed by M-44s, including at least 1,182 dogs. From 2014-2022, the agency said M-44s intentionally killed 88,000 animals and unintentionally killed more than 2,000 animals. Public outcry over the devices grew after a family dog was killed in 2017 in Pocatello, Idaho, and Canyon Mansfield, then 14, was injured after accidentally triggering a device placed on public land about 400 feet (122 meters) from their home. In 2020, the federal government admitted negligence and agreed to pay the family $38,500 to resolve a lawsuit. We are so happy to finally see one federal government department banning anothers reckless and indiscriminate actions, Canyon Mansfield's father, Mark Mansfield, said last week. Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman, of California, who is the lead sponsor of the bill that would outlaw use of M-44s on all state and federal lands, has named the current version Canyon's Law, after Mansfield. Cyanide bombs are a cruel and indiscriminate device that have proven to be deadly for pets, humans, and wildlife and they have no business being on our public lands, Huffman said last week in praising the bureau's move. Fahy, from Predator Defense, acknowledged efforts in Congress to ban the use of M-44s have gained little traction over the past 15 years. But he said publicity over the Mansfield case has changed the political landscape more than anything he's seen since 1982 when President Ronald Reagan revoked an executive order issued by President Richard Nixon in 1972 that had banned use of all poisons by federal agents on federal lands. Several weeks after Canyon Mansfield was poisoned, Fahy said Wildlife Services agreed to stop using M-44s in Idaho. Two years later, Oregon banned them statewide and a partial ban soon followed in New Mexico where some state agencies can still use them. Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, West Virginia and Wyoming also still allow M-44s. Animal Wellness Action President Wayne Pacelle helped lead successful ballot initiatives in the first two states that banned M-44s more than two decades ago California in 1998 and Washington in 2000. He said the bureau's move should prompt a fresh look at other land management agencies' policies. There is simply no reason for the federal government to keep spending millions of dollars every year to use poisons to kill wildlife on behalf of a small group of ranchers, Pacelle said Tuesday. Fahy said the change should help build on the momentum for a nationwide ban. This is the most that the needle on the use of federal poisons has moved in over 40 years, he said. I think M-44s' days are numbered. __ This story has been corrected to show that M-44s are part of a broader program to control predators that has been around since the 1930s. M-44s have not been used that entire time. Protesters wave laser pointers during a rally in Hong Kong. More usually it is Chinese military and security forces who use lasers against their opponents, including Western forces - Kin Cheung/AP The recent announcement by the US Air Force that it will equip its aircrews with 42,000 sets of anti-laser glasses comes in the wake of a worrying increase in laser attacks against American aviators and others by Chinese military forces. Documented instances of Chinese aggression underscore the urgency of the not-so-insignificant purchase, as recently declassified documents reveal approximately 180 dangerous encounters with Chinese military aircraft over the South and East China Seas in the last two years. These incidents, many involving the use of high-spec military-grade lasers rather than the laser pointers were all familiar with, are putting the vision and sometimes the lives of American personnel at risk but not only that they put the stability of the region at risk. The danger of these attacks lies primarily in their ability to cause flash blindness, a usually temporary loss of vision that occurs when the intense light from a laser floods the retina. Such attacks can be particularly hazardous during critical flight phases like take-off and landing, where pilot visibility is essential. Beyond the immediate danger of disorientation there is the risk of permanent eye damage as exposure to high-intensity lasers can lead to retinal burns, posing a severe threat to the vision and career of pilots and, by extension, the safety of the aircraft and its occupants. Furthermore, the operational disruption caused by these laser attacks including distraction, temporary incapacitation, and confusion in the cockpit can lead to severe accidents. Beyond the physical, there is also a psychological dimension to consider; repeated exposure to such threats can exacerbate stress and anxiety among aircrew, potentially impairing their effectiveness. One relatively well-known example of this kind of attack occurred in 2020 when a Chinese Navy ship targeted a US surveillance aircraft with a laser near the Philippine Sea. The incident was condemned as unsafe and unprofessional by the US and her allies, but it wasnt the first and wouldnt be the last such incident caused by Beijings increasingly bold and assertive forces. While the focus here is on China, the necessity for protective gear is a global concern, as evidenced by reports of laser attacks on various US bases worldwide. For example, Aviano Air Base in Italy reported 13 lasing incidents in a year targeting search-and-rescue helicopters. Moreover, the US Federal Aviation Administration has recorded a staggering 10,300 lasing incidents and 28 injuries in 2023 alone which far exceeds the previous years figures. These incidents are not limited to US forces alone. Earlier this year, the Philippines lodged a protest against China for using lasers near Ayungin Shoal, which temporarily blinded their coast guard personnel. This event, along with a similar one involving a Chinese Navy destroyer and a Royal Australian Air Force plane is a very clear signal that non-American forces are also vulnerable to Chinas aggressive tactics. China is similarly aggressive in the waters around Taiwan. These recurring incidents led to a formal diplomatic complaint by the US in 2018, citing instances where American pilots suffered eye injuries due to Chinese personnel using military-grade lasers near the US base in Djibouti. China has a military base in Djibouti. The protest, however, fell on deaf ears and attacks continued. Laser attacks are quite interesting in a way as they represent a classic grey zone form of action, enabling an adversary to engage without officially firing a shot. This grants Chinese forces, at least theoretically, a degree of deniability. Since laser beams are often invisible and leave no physical trace it is challenging to definitively attribute these attacks which often allows the aggressor to evade direct responsibility and potential diplomatic consequences. Furthermore, lasers offer a low-risk, high-impact method of engagement. They can be employed at a relatively low risk to the attacker while causing significant operational and psychological impact on the target. This shadowy method of engagement makes them an attractive option for a regime that spends much of its focus on bullying and harassing its neighbours and the armed forces of its opponents. More strategically, lasers allow an adversary to probe the defences and responses of the US forces without escalating to conventional military engagement. Shining lasers helps to shine a light on valuable intelligence on the readiness and capabilities of the target, basically. Introducing anti-laser gear is therefore crucial. It not only affords physical protection to aircrew but allows the US Air Force to maintain operational superiority and crew safety. However, this development raises a pressing question: when will US allies that face the very same threats equip their forces with comparable protective gear? It is concerning that there are currently no plans for British forces to receive them despite the fact that HMS Prince of Wales will lead a Carrier Strike Group to the Far East relatively soon. What happens if a British aircraft crashes due to a laser attack? In the face of an ever more assertive Beijing, US allies should adopt similar measures to safeguard their aircrew in the interest of their own personnel and to maintain order in the region. If not, it is only a matter of time before someone pays the ultimate price due to the lack of investment. 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. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Energy Community Secretariat have signed an agreement on the US grant contribution to the Ukrainian Energy Support Fund for US$25 million (23 million). Source: Ukraine's Ministry of Energy Details: The ministry noted that this is the first US governments contribution to the Fund, which was established following the initiative of Ukraines Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko and European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson. Thus, the total amount pledged by donors contributions to the Ukrainian Energy Support Fund reached over 329 million. About 192 million of this amount was actually transferred to the Fund's account from 15 public and private sector sponsors from different countries. The rest of the amount is the announced and formalised contributions, which are expected to be in the Fund's account in the near future. Quote: "The funds will be used to purchase equipment needed to rehabilitate energy companies. In particular, between 1 January and 27 November 2023, 132 agreements for the purchase of energy equipment, fuel and materials totalling almost 100 million were concluded within the framework of the Fund." The ministry also emphasised that the Ukrainian Energy Support Fund was created in the spring of 2022 and that it enables governments, international financial organisations, and private donors to provide substantial support to the Ukrainian energy sector. Support UP or become our patron! The US deputy defence secretary has been given a guided tour of an RAF base thought to be the destination of the first American nuclear weapons on UK soil for 15 years. Kathleen Hicks visited RAF Lakenheath on Tuesday for a tour of infrastructure improvements, on a site where the US government is planning a 39.5 million dormitory for troops. US budget documents said the site was for surety, jargon used by the Pentagon to describe operations related to nuclear weapons, and would be constructed next year. Both the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the US Department of Defense have refused to comment on whether the Suffolk base will become home to the first American nuclear weapons in the UK since 2008, when 110 warheads were removed. But Ms Hickss visit is the latest indication that the site has major strategic importance to the US Air Force, which is in charge of storing and maintaining the weapons. Eric Pahon, a Pentagon spokesman, said Ms Hicks visited the base as part of a three-day trip to the UK to meet with British counterparts. While at RAF Lakenheath, deputy secretary toured infrastructure improvements designed to improve base resilience and support for the bases F-35 squadron and see demonstrations of US capabilities, he said. A US budget request earlier this year revealed the Pentagon planned to construct a new 144-bed surety dormitory in what is thought to be a high-security bomb-proof bunker for nuclear warheads. It said the purpose of the building was to house the increase in enlisted personnel as the result of the potential surety mission. A previous document, published in 2022, referred to a Nato project to build new secure sites and facilities to store special weapons in countries including the UK. Following reports of the plans, RAF Lakenheath was hit with a planning objection by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), which argued that the MoD and West Suffolk Council failed to conduct an environmental impact assessment for the stationing of nuclear weapons on their former site. RAF Lakenheath was chosen as one of three sites for US nuclear weapons at the height of the Cold War. The warheads were removed at the end of George Bushs administration as the likelihood of nuclear warfare reduced, but may return amid new tensions with Russia. The Pentagon declined to offer additional detail on Ms Hicks visit. The MoD was contacted for comment. 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. The U.S. said it had delivered more than 54,000 pounds of humanitarian supplies to Gaza on Tuesday as a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas was extended amid prisoner releases. The ceasefire has provided a window for humanitarian efforts in the small territory, where people have been running out of fuel, water and food amid bombing by Israel. Gaza is controlled by Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government. In a release, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) said it had airlifted 24.5 metric tons, more than 54,000 pounds, of UN humanitarian supplies to provide vitally needed medical supplies and food and nutrition assistance to the people of Gaza. A U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft delivered the items to Egypt, where they will be transported via ground into Gaza and then distributed by UN agencies, it said. The release said the U.S. is planning more flights in coming days and that it already has delivered over 500,000 pounds of food assistance in the last week. The flight Tuesday included medical supplies and ready-to-use foods. The pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas was extended on Monday by two days after an initial truce was to last only for four days. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby has said the longer truce is expected to allow for the release of 20 more hostages taken by Hamas. We want to see all the hostages out, and this is the best way to get them out, Kirby told reporters. We wont breathe a sigh of relief until we know weve got todays hostages out. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The United States and Germany continue to insist that decisions about Ukrainian membership in NATO should be made based on Ukraine's progress in implementing reforms, rather than political will, Euractiv news outlet reported on Nov. 28, citing sources. Read also: EU sets March deadline for Ukraine to strengthen anti-graft reforms to advance membership bid According to the publication, the recommendations for Ukraine's reform progress at the NATO-Ukraine Commission meeting on Nov. 29 should "give Kyiv an impetus to reform the state of its armed forces and security-related domains." Additionally, a "checklist" of tasks and criteria to be met by Ukraine will be presented that can be reviewed by NATO members. However, several diplomats have stated that NATO allies have yet to agree on whether the reforms listed in the Annual National Program (ANP) are prerequisites for Ukraine's entry into NATO or merely tools to bring Kyiv closer to the Alliance. The report also states that Germany and the United States are not in favor of completely exempting Ukraine from the necessity of conducting reforms before NATO accession. They also do not wish to impose a lengthy membership process through the Membership Action Plan (MAP), thus agreeing on Ukraine's execution of an "adapted annual national plan." Read also: Ex-NATO heads membership proposal, economic optimism, making things work with Hungary Euractiv writes that unlike previous reform plans, the Ukrainian "adapted annual national program" is much shorter and less detailed: a 10-page document instead of 300, with a list of priority areas, rather than a "checklist." According to a source familiar with the negotiations, this complicates the demonstration of Ukraine's successes in aligning with NATO standards. Read also: Ukraine confident Brussels will be satisfied with reforms progress Two NATO diplomats said that Washington and Berlin are emphasizing the need for Ukrainian accession to depend on condition fulfillment, rather than political will. This means that membership discussions can begin only after the listed conditions in the program are met. Other NATO members believe that the program does not list conditions and instead serves as a set of guidelines. Read also: Washington and Brussels explore ways to reallocate Russian assets to rebuild Ukraine The publication notes that the general description of reform areas leaves "room for maneuver," allowing NATO members to assess progress without being tied to a rigid evaluation of achievements. However, with fewer details, "there is a risk that the reforms will always be [deemed] inadequate," complicating the permission for admission, writes Euractiv. On Nov. 29, the first NATO-Ukraine Commission meeting at the foreign ministers level will take place in Brussels. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will participate. Ahead of the meeting, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stated that NATO members would align recommendations on reforms Kyiv needs to implement for accession. 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 Donald Trumps claim that he is not suffering from age-related cognitive decline despite frequent campaign trail gaffes, including seeming to think Barack Obama is still president has not only attracted widespread mockery, but it has also produced claims that the US media ignores such slips while focusing relentlessly on Joe Bidens age and fitness for office. Related: Robert De Niro says anti-Trump speech censored at Gotham awards ceremony Trump gets names wrong all the time, said Andy Levy, co-host of The New Abnormal, a Daily Beast podcast. Forbes recently listed seven instances in which Trump has appeared to confuse Obama and Biden recently, amid other notable gaffes. Levy, whose remarks were published on Tuesday, continued: He gets historical facts wrong all the time and theyre not small things. What we tend to do is when Joe Biden says something, everyone pounces. But when Donald Trump does it, we shrug it off and say, Oh, thats just Trump. Or, Hes kidding. The media needs to start focusing on Trumps cognitive skills with every bit of concentration that it does on Joe Bidens cognitive skills, because theyre simply not doing so. Biden is 81, Trump 77. Polling shows significantly more Americans believe Biden is too old for a second term in the Oval Office than think the same of Trump. Trump faces 91 criminal charges and assorted civil threats, creating a crowded courtroom schedule. Nonetheless, two months out from the Iowa caucuses he remains the clear frontrunner for the Republican nomination to face Biden in 2024. Polling has also shown Trump competing with his Democratic rival or leading in battleground states, though such support falls off when voters are asked what they will do if Trump is convicted. Trumps latest protestation on the issue of his age and mental fitness came on Monday morning. In a post to his Truth Social platform, he said: Whenever I sarcastically insert the name Obama for Biden as an indication that others may actually be having a very big influence in running our country [his opponents and the media] go wild saying that Trump doesnt know the name of our president Joe Biden. He must be cognitively impaired. No, I know both names very well, never mix them up, and know that they are destroying our country. Ron DeSantis, the hard-right Florida governor challenging Trump for next years Republican nomination, has seized on his rivals gaffes. Earlier this month, DeSantiss rapid response operation said: Here is a running list of every one of Donald Trumps fumbles, accidents, and confused moments from this year. (NOTE: this is why his handlers wont let him debate). Trump has said he sees no need to debate, telling Fox News: When youre 40 points up Why would I let these people take shots at me? In his Monday post, Trump also boasted that he just took a cognitive test as part of my physical exam, and ACED it. Also ACED (a perfect score!) one taken while in the White House. He did not say what was in the cognitive exams a physician last week called exceptional, in a one-page report notably light on details. Nor did Trump appear to take into account the mockery that followed his boasting, in 2020, about being able to recognise Person, woman, man, camera, TV in the test he took in the White House. Rosalynn Carters family spoke of her remarkable journey during a moving tribute service for the former first lady in Atlanta on Tuesday, sharing memories of life at home, her loving relationship with former President Jimmy Carter and the lasting legacy she leaves behind as a tireless advocate for those who needed her help. My mother was the glue that held our family together, through the ups and downs and thicks and thins of our familys politics. As individuals she believed in us and took care of us, James Earl Chip Carter, said during the service, attended by US presidents and first ladies who served after her and her husband. His mother was informed of any ongoing topics during her husbands presidency and was always able to speak with authority on issues across our country and the world, he said. She told me that when dad started running for president, that the thing that she enjoyed the most were the people that she met across the country, he said. And he shared his mother was influential in helping him get treatment for drug and alcohol addiction, noting: She saved my life. Guests arrive before a tribute service Tuesday for former first lady Rosalynn Carter at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church at Emory University in Atlanta. - Brynn Anderson/Pool/Getty Images Rosalynn Carter, who spent most of her life working on humanitarian projects alongside her husband and was a fierce advocate of mental health reform and destigmatizing mental illness, died on November 19 at the age of 96. Kathryn Cade, Rosalynn Carters longtime aide, said the former first ladys compassion and empathy for those who are suffering was boundless; her passion for action even more so. The former first lady dedicated her life to alleviating the plight of other people and other creatures, helping raise awareness for the endangered Monarch butterflies and found joy in acts of service, Cade said. Today, we do indeed mourn a remarkable person, one of the truly good people in this world, may those of us who knew and loved her as a friend and colleague honor her life by building on her legacy of caring deeply for the most vulnerable among us, she added. Carter family, presidents attend service Former President Jimmy Carter, who is 99 and receiving hospice care at home, was seated at the front row of the Atlanta church where the service took place. But he is coming to the end of his life and is very physically diminished and would not deliver any remarks, grandson Jason Carter said before the service. But we all know that he wouldnt miss it for the world, he added. The casket of former first lady Rosalynn Carter is carried into the Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church for a tribute service in Atlanta on Tuesday, November 28. - Will Lanzoni/CNN The former presidents daughter, Amy Lynn Carter, was seen holding her fathers hand. My mom spent most of her life in love with my dad, Amy Carter said during the service. Their partnership and love story was a defining feature of her life. Because her father couldnt speak during the service, his daughter shared a letter he wrote to Rosalynn Carter 75 years ago, while serving in the Navy. In it, he said: My darling, every time I have ever been away from you, Ive been thrilled when I returned to discover just how wonderful you are. When I see you, I fall in love with you all over again, he wrote. The Carters were married for more than 77 years. Their sons John William Jack Carter and Donnel Jeffrey Jeff Carter were also at the service and 11 of their living grandchildren were expected to attend. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, former President Bill Clinton and former first ladies Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, Michelle Obama, and Melania Trump were in attendance. President Joe Biden looks on as First Lady Jill Biden speaks with former President Bill Clinton before the tribute service in Atlanta. - Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images Sen. Raphael Warnock, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens were also among those at the tribute service. Rosalynn Carters surviving grandchildren were to serve as honorary pallbearers, the Carter Center said. Tuesdays invite-only service was planned to be exactly what the former first lady had envisioned, Jason Carter told CNN earlier in the day, saying she designed the program herself before she died. Private funeral service set for Wednesday Ceremonies honoring Rosalynn Carters life and legacy began across Georgia on Monday, with a motorcade traveling from her small hometown of Plains to Atlanta, where she laid in repose for several hours as hundreds came to pay their respects. On the way to Atlanta, the former first ladys motorcade made a few brief stops, including at her alma mater, Georgia Southwestern State University, where officials laid wreaths at a bronze statue dedicated to her. Rosalynn Carter founded the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers on the schools campus to help advocate for the support of those caring for their loved ones. Her motorcade departed Tuesday morning from the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, and made a short drive to Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church at Emory University, where the tribute service took place. Tuesdays service featured some of Rosalynn Carters favorite scripture passages and songs, according to the center. Country musicians Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, who have participated in Habitat for Humanity projects in honor of the Carters, performed John Lennons Imagine. On Wednesday morning, a private funeral service for family and invited friends is scheduled to take place at the Carters beloved Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, where the couple lived since their return from the White House in 1981. Wife, mother, political strategist, advocate In the days since her death, family members and leaders from across the United States remembered Rosalynn Carter as a lifelong humanitarian and a passionate advocate for a number of causes, including mental health and caregiving and that legacy was vividly reflected in the speeches given at her tribute service. What a remarkable woman she was: wife, mother, business manager, political strategist, diplomat, advocate, author, Cade, her aide, said. From a young age, she joined the fight against racial discrimination, advocated for the Equal Rights Amendment and, later on, worked to ensure women were represented in government, Cade added. Among the issues she was most passionate about were mental health reform, providing support for caregivers, childhood immunization, problems faced by the elderly and addressing neglected tropical diseases, Cade said. She began her work on many of those issues in the White House, but continued it for decades after. Her advocacy for mental health was a 50-year climb, Jason Carter said during the tribute service. If you imagine just how far our society has come in the last five years on issues of mental health and you think that she decided in 1970 to tackle the ancient stigma associated with mental illness. It is remarkable how far she could see and how far she was willing to walk, he said. And that effort changed lives and it saved lives including in my own family. Side by side, the Carters revolutionized the post-presidency, creating the Carter Center and working toward world peace and human rights on behalf of the nonprofit. The two traveled to hot spots around the world, including Cuba, Sudan and North Korea, monitoring elections and working to eradicate Guinea worm disease and other neglected tropical diseases. Before the center began leading the Guinea Worm Eradication Program in 1986, there were roughly 3.5 million human cases, according to the nonprofit. In 2022, just 13 human cases were reported. Were in the last mile, because she could see far, and she kept going, was not afraid of these long journeys, her grandson said. She was made for these long journeys. This story has been updated with additional information. CNNs Devon M. Sayers, Eva McKend, Nick Valencia and Jaide Timm-Garcia contributed to this story. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com The United States on November 28, 2023 sent the first of three C-17 military planes, like the one seen here in 2022, to Egypt to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza amid the truce between Israel and Hamas (Allison Joyce) The United States on Tuesday sent the first of three military planes to Egypt to bring vital humanitarian aid for Gaza, promising to assist Palestinians during a truce between Hamas and US ally Israel. The relief flights carrying food, medical supplies and winter gear are the first by the US military since the conflict began with the October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel. The flights start a day after President Joe Biden said he would use an extension of the truce to get more aid into Gaza, and as international efforts continue to further prolong the pause. "The humanitarian needs in Gaza demand that the international community do much more. The United States is committed to this effort," Jake Sullivan, Biden's national security advisor, said in a statement. Sullivan said Biden would work to "rally the international community to urgently increase support" to a UN appeal for Gaza. The first Air Force C-17 aircraft landed Tuesday in Egypt with 24.5 metric tons (54,000 pounds) of medical supplies and ready-to-eat food, the US Agency for International Development said. The United Nations will take the aid from Egypt's North Sinai region, which borders the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, into the stricken Palestinian territory itself, US officials said. "These UN supplies will save lives and alleviate the suffering of thousands in Gaza," Sullivan said. Two further planeloads will arrive in the coming days, officials said. Mediator Qatar on Monday announced a 48-hour extension of an initial four-day truce, opening the way for further releases of hostages seized by Hamas during its attack on Israel. - 'Significant surge' - Eight hundred aid trucks reached southern Gaza from Egypt in the first four days of the truce, with some aid also reaching badly hit northern Gaza, the US officials said. "The movement over the last four or five days of assistance has been so significant in volume that a backfill... is now needed and these planes are part of that backfill," a senior US official told reporters on Monday. While Washington has deployed two aircraft carriers in the region to deter Iran and its allies, and ferried military assistance to key ally Israel, it has not previously used military assets during this conflict to deliver humanitarian aid. Biden, who has firmly backed Israel while calling on it to reduce civilian casualties, said on Monday that the truce had allowed a "significant surge" in aid. The White House said on Monday however that Israel had made it clear it would continue its war on Hamas whenever the truce ended. US officials said Biden had warned Israel that it must not cause the same kind of mass displacements in southern Gaza that its offensive in the north triggered earlier this month. "From the president down we have reinforced this in a very clear way for the government of Israel," another US official said. Hamas staged the deadliest attack in Israel's history when it broke through Gaza's militarized border on October 7. Israel says the attack killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and around 240 more were taken hostage. In response, Israel launched a relentless bombing campaign and ground offensive in Gaza, which the Hamas government says has killed 15,000 people, thousands of them children. dk-sct/md Hong Kong: HK, Mainland sign quarantine pact Secretary for Health Prof Lo Chung-mau today met Vice Minister of General Administration of Customs of the Peoples Republic of China (GACC) Lv Weihong to sign the Co-operation Arrangement for Entry-exit Health Inspection & Quarantine between the GACC and the Health Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. In addition to thanking the GACC for its support on the signing of the co-operation arrangement, Prof Lo pointed out that the Hong Kong SAR Government has all along been maintaining close co-operation with the entry-exit health inspection and quarantine authorities of the Mainland to safeguard the well-being and safety of residents and travellers of the two places. Prof Lo said: Having consolidated experiences in the prevention and control of infectious diseases such as COVID-19, the GACC and the Health Bureau will further strengthen the joint efforts in disease prevention and control in terms of entry-exit health inspection and quarantine between the Mainland and Hong Kong through the co-operation arrangement, with a view to facilitating the smooth operation of the communication and collaboration mechanisms between the two parties. At the meeting, the health chief and Ms Lv also exchanged views on issues including entry-exit health inspection and quarantine, as well as the Policy Address initiative regarding the discussion with other Greater Bay Area cities on the provision of direct cross-boundary ambulance service. This story has been published on: 2023-11-28. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Yangtze belt development to get boost 08:12, November 28, 2023 By Xu Wei ( China Daily A library situated on a tranquil bank of the Yangtze River in Tongling, Anhui province, April 20, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua] Political Bureau emphasizes advancing high-level, green growth of major region A key meeting of the Communist Party of China highlighted on Monday the need to advance the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, calling for unwavering efforts to protect its ecology and environment and propel innovations in science and technology. The meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee the Party's core leadership reviewed a guideline on policies and measures to further promote the high-quality development of the economic belt, a region of 11 provincial-level areas along the Yangtze River. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, presided over the meeting, which also deliberated a set of regulations on CPC leadership over foreign affairs. The meeting came after Xi chaired a symposium on Oct 12 with high-level officials in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, to deliberate on steering the economic belt's high-quality growth the fourth meeting of its kind that he has presided over since 2016. Policymakers stressed on Monday the significant changes in the region since the implementation of the strategy to build the economic belt, including in the ecology and environment, development modes, regional integration, and reform and opening-up. According to official statistics, the economic belt covers more than 2 million square kilometers, or one-fifth of China, and accounts for over 40 percent of the total national population. Its GDP reached 55.98 trillion yuan ($7.86 trillion), over 46 percent of the national total, in 2022. According to an official summary of the meeting, policymakers underlined that a high-quality ecology and environment in the Yangtze River basin is the fundamental guarantee of the economic belt's high-quality growth. It is important to continue to promote well-coordinated environmental conservation and avoid excessive development, with greater efforts set to be made on high-quality protection to guard the ecological red lines and coordinate efforts to cut carbon emissions and pollution, expand green areas and promote growth, the summary said. The meeting also emphasized the necessity to take innovation in science and technology as the driving force and actively explore new sectors and tracks for development, adding that integration of innovation chains in the region must be reinforced and the modernization of supply and industrial chains must be moved forward. The planning and transfer of industries along the Yangtze River must be coordinated in order to better connect the domestic and international markets and make good use of both markets, the policymakers said. The dynamism and reliability of the domestic market must be further enhanced, and more work must be done to increase the attractiveness to the international market, they added. The meeting also stressed the importance of inter-provincial consultation, of shared ecological governance and common development, including steps to improve the level of integration in regional transportation, deepen market-oriented reforms and promote coordinated regional development. The economic belt must coordinate development and security, ensure the security and stability of key industrial and supply chains for the nation, and bolster its capacity in disaster prevention and mitigation, the summary said. It also called for greater policy support to enable the rollout of major reform measures in key sectors. As for the regulations on CPC leadership over foreign affairs, the meeting highlighted the significance of the document in institutionalizing the Party's long-term leadership over foreign affairs, including concepts, systems and successful practices. It stressed the need to further strengthen the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee over foreign affairs, and to accelerate efforts to create a sound system of laws and regulations on foreign-related matters. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Wu Chaolan) Israel allegedly purchased the Hamas.com website as part of its propaganda against the Palestinian militant group, which killed thousands of Israelis and injured hundreds of them. The Hamas websitewith the domain "hamas.com"was first spotted by Haaretz, an Israeli news organization, on Nov. 19. However, the source clarified that the domain was already registered since December 1999. It only became active again after it was purchased earlier in November after the deadly Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7. Israel Allegedly Buys Hamas.Com Website as Part of Propaganda The Daily Dot reported that the new Hamas website is pretty suspicious, and there are numerous reasons why. One of these is the Hamas.com page is not the official website of the Palestinian militant group. Hamas' official webpage has the domain "hamas.ps," which has been down since Oct. 8. The Indian Cyber Force claimed that they were the ones who breached the terrorist organization's official online site. Another thing suspicious about Hamas.com is that most X accounts (formerly Twitter) that share it are linked to the Israeli government. Here are some of the X accounts connected to Israel that shared screenshots and links to the Hamas.com webpage: Interesting. Someone purchased the domain name https://t.co/7msN13iqLQ and uploaded many of the October 7th footage pic.twitter.com/ndVQ84Csk8 Open Source Intel (@Osint613) November 20, 2023 Joe Truzman, a Palestine-focused research analyst, said that the Palestinian militant group was forced to issue a proclamation of fake news because of the newly established website. "Hamas has been forced to issue a proclamation of fake news or, in this case, forged news, that the website Hamas.com does not belong to the organization," said Truzma via his official X post. Aside from these, another factor proving that Hamas.com is not owned by Hamas terrorists is that the website uses SpaceX launch images to depict the missiles fired by the militant organization. Among many amusing things about this website, I'd just like to note that this photo of a "Hamas missile" on https://t.co/ct7uCq9XeT is actually a stock image of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch. https://t.co/3icNAvhbJH pic.twitter.com/4mHrsfDezT Aysha Khan (@ayshabkhan) November 23, 2023 Many netizens quickly noticed it, saying that it is amusing how the website claims that a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch is a Hamas missile. Read Also: Benjamin Netanyahu Visits Troops in Gaza, Receives Security Briefings What Hamas.Com Contains If you visit the Hamas.com website, you will see on the front page that the webpage describes the militant group as an Islamic resistance movement that aims to liberate Palestinians by "all possible means." Once you scroll down, you will see details about the Oct. 7 terrorist attack. These include the numbers of civilians killed, captured hostages, and injured Israelis. What's worse about this website is that it also shows photos of babies that were murdered and burnt alive by terrorists, as well as burned Jewish houses. The last image section is a collection of Hamas missiles fired against major cities and villages in Israel; the thumbnail is an image of a SpaceX rocket launch. If you want to learn more about the Hamas.com website, you can click this link (viewers' discretion is advised). Related Article: How Israel's AI Usage Can Reduce Unwanted Civilian Casualties, Collateral Damage in War With Hamas @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. U.S. Speaker Mike Johnson expressed confidence and optimism in Congress' ability to secure additional funding for both Israel and Ukraine, he said in Florida on Nov. 27. The Speaker has consistently maintained the stance that funding for Israel and Ukraine should be kept separate. He has urged the U.S. Senate to consider a bill passed by the House, which linked aid to Israel with cuts in funding to the Internal Revenue Service. Johnson emphasized that support for Ukraine should be contingent upon implementing changes to U.S. border policies. Ukraine is another priority. Of course, we cant allow Vladimir Putin to march through Europe. And we understand the necessity of assisting there. What weve said is that if there is to be additional assistance to Ukraine which most members of Congress believe is important we have to also work on changing our own border policy, Johnson said. And so theres been a lot of thoughtful negotiation ongoing with that. I think most of our Senate colleagues recognize that those two things need to move together because we owe that to the American people. To date, the U.S. has provided approximately $44.2 billion in military assistance since Russia launched its full-scale invasion against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and more than $47 billion in military assistance since Russias initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014. Read also: Francis Farrell: Ukraine could still lose the war. Lets get some things straight Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. US suspends, reduces vehicle processing along southern border at select Texas and Arizona ports of entry U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced on Monday that it will temporarily suspend and reduce vehicle processing at ports of entry in Texas and Arizona, in response to a surge in migrant encounters along the southern border. In a statement from the CBP, the agency said beginning at 3 p.m. local time, vehicle processing operations at Eagle Pass International Bridge 1 in Eagle Pass, Texas will be temporarily suspended, and at 2 p.m. local time, vehicle processing will be reduced in Lukeville, Arizona. The actions are being taken to allow CBP to redirect personnel to assist the U.S. Border Patrol with taking migrants into custody. BORDER PATROL SAYS IT'S PAUSING SOCIAL MEDIA TO DEAL WITH MIGRANT SURGE An officer directs traffic at the Eagle Pass International Bridge 1 in Eagle Pass, Texas, US, on Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2022. Texas Republicans success in winning over Latinos seemed to stall this election cycle, with the GOP losing two of three US Congressional seats in heavily-Hispanic South Texas and Governor Greg Abbott seeing a drop in support among the fast-growing demographic. "In response to this influx in encounters, we will continue to surge all available resources to expeditiously and safely process migrants," the statement read. "We will maximize consequences against those without a legal basis to remain in the United States. CBP will continue to prioritize our border security mission as necessary in response to this evolving situation." Several sectors along the U.S.-Mexico border have seen major spikes in migrant encounters over the past few weeks. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP The U.S. Border Patrols Tucson Sector in Arizona reported having 15,300 illegal crossings last week, marking the highest weekly total ever. NORTHERN BORDER SECTOR SEES 550% INCREASE IN MIGRANT APPREHENSIONS LAST FISCAL YEAR Asylum seekers wait to be processed by U.S. Border Patrol agents after crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico into the United States on September 30, 2023 in Eagle Pass, Texas. Border security and immigration have become major issues in ongoing negotiations to fund the U.S. government. A recent surge in immigrant crossings at the U.S. southern border has overwhelmed authorities. Along with the crossings, agents seized 117 lbs. of fentanyl, filed 78 federal criminal cases, made 17 rescues, and intercepted 14 human smuggling events and three narcotics events. The sector is routinely overwhelmed with 2,000 to 2,500 illegal crossings per day, many of which are said to come from all over the world, including parts of Africa, Asia and the Middle East. GOP LAWMAKER SOUNDS ALARM ON DANGEROUS THREAT TO US COMING FROM POROUS BORDER, AND IT'S NOT FROM MEXICO Eagle Pass city officials posted an important notice on social media, pertaining to the bridge closure. "Due to recent increase in the number of immigrant crossings, Bridge 1 will suspend northbound operations (Mexico to United States) effective November 27, 2023 3pm and until further notice," the city said, adding that southbound operations would not be affected. "This decision was made by the federal Government and NOT the City of Eagle Pass. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause." Original article source: US suspends, reduces vehicle processing along southern border at select Texas and Arizona ports of entry As the Republican Party remain sharply divided on future U.S. military aid to Kyiv, NV spoke with former U.S. Secretary of State and CIA chief Mike Pompeo, exploring the question of how Washington should structure its Ukraine policy. Read also: Dutch defense chief downplays Republican threat to Ukraine aid, stresses Pentagons commitment I am indeed a member of this party [the Republicans]; I was one of the leading figures in the [Donald Trump] administration that first actually provided Ukraine with lethal weapons, Pompeo recalls. I hope the Ukrainian people remember that the Obama administration denied Ukraine the tools necessary to defend against the Russian aggression [in 2014]. The Trump administration held Russia in check. And my main criticism of President [Joe] Biden and frankly, NATO, is that they have failed to deter [Vladimir] Putin from the senseless destruction that has been occurring since February 2022. On the current hurdles with passing a support package for Ukraine, which has arisen due to the stance of Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives, Pompeo expressed confidence that the United States would ultimately continue to provide Ukraine with the resources and tools it needs. I personally, as Mike, would like us to do more and quicker, the former official said. Read also: Argentinas new President proposes hosting Latin American Summit on Russias war on Ukraine And I hope that everyone in the U.S. government, across America, and even within my party, where there are those who have different views than mine, will understand that it's deeply in the interests of Ukraine, deeply in the interests of Europe, and deeply in the interests of America to provide the tools for an actual victory in this conflict, to push Vladimir Putin to finally stop, to ensure that the conquest of Ukraine remains forever out of his reach. Read also: Senate Democrats block aid to Israel separately from Ukraine I am confident that America will continue to do this, and I will continue to work to make sure that happens. On Nov. 26, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced that he plans to hold a Senate vote on Dec. 4 regarding President Joe Biden's request for $106 billion in aid to Ukraine and Israel. Read also: US Congress uncertain Ukraine aid bill could pass before 2024 On the same day, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Mike Turner, expressed doubts that Congress would approve funding for Ukraine and Israel by the end of the current year. On Oct. 20, the White House requested nearly $106 billion from Congress for Ukraine, Israel, and other U.S. national security priorities. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine The Biden administration is issuing urgent warnings to Israel over the next phase of its military operation in Gaza, saying a campaign in the south of the strip must not be carried out to the same level of destruction as took place in the north of the territory. The administration is proposing that Israel agrees to areas of deconfliction, which is to include United Nations facilities and shelters that would not be subject to active military fighting, a senior administration official said in a call with reporters Monday night. You cannot have the sort of scale of displacement that took place in the north, replicated in the south, the official said, as part of a call discussing efforts to scale up humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. The majority of the population of Gaza, more than 2 million people, are now concentrated in the center and south of the strip. The entire enclave is a mere 141 square miles. They were displaced by Israels assault against Hamas in the north by air and a ground incursion carried out in response to the groups unprecedented attack against Israel on Oct. 7. Pause in fighting has allowed in humanitarian aid Hamass agreement last week to release hostages it kidnapped from Israel in exchange in part for a temporary cease-fire has allowed humanitarian groups to scale up assistance to address dire shortages of food, water and fuel. Aid groups say that more than 1 million Palestinians in Gaza are displaced from their homes, and that massive overcrowding in temporary shelters risk spreading communicable diseases. Some estimate as many as 14,000 of people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its war against Hamas, but those numbers have yet to be independently verified. President Biden has rejected calls to pressure Israel to halt its military operation against Hamas despite intense opposition from the international community and divisions within his own party. To reiterate what youve already heard from the president, from other senior officials of the government, we want the objectives of this campaign, the elimination of Hamas as a governing, as a threatening force in Gaza and the threat to Israel, ended, the official said. But how the campaign is conducted, particularly in the south, is exceedingly important, because of the fragile situation with this very significant internal displacement already occurred on the ground. Israeli government says it will finish campaign to annihilate Hamas Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until Hamas is eliminated, saying that the U.S.-designated terrorist group is still intent on launching attacks against Israel like it did Oct. 7, when militants killed an estimated 1,200 people, the majority of them civilians, and took more than 240 people hostage. But world leaders, the United Nations, U.S. lawmakers, aid groups and advocates are alarmed that civilians caught in the crossfire are facing an even more daunting humanitarian catastrophe. It is extremely important that the conduct of the Israeli campaign when it moves to the south must be done, in a way, that is to a maximum extent, not designed to produce significant further displacement of persons, the official said. It will be beyond disruptive, it will be beyond the capacity of any humanitarian support network, however reinforced, however robust to be able to cope with. It cant happen. The administration is therefore pushing Israel to agree to areas of deconfliction, which it says are distinct from the safe zones that Israel encouraged Palestinian civilians to flee to while it carried out its military operation in the north. What we are discussing is not the safe zone, the humanitarian zone, that almost a month ago was proposed by the government of Israel, the official said. What we are talking about are practical arrangements on the ground, multiple arrangements, what you might call areas of deconfliction. Continuing damage in northern Gaza complicated by conflicting claims The administrations guidance is unclear at the moment. Israel accuses Hamas of conducting military operations out of civilian areas, hospitals and United Nations facilities such as schools and medical centers. These facilities have in turn become targets of Israels military campaign, inflaming anger toward Israels attacks on Gaza. Hamas has denied using those areas as conflict centers. Israel has surrounded Gazas largest hospital, al-Shifa, and the Israeli military said it has exposed tunnel entrances surrounding the hospital that Hamas uses for military activities, that the hospital was used as a place to hide hostages and that the bodies of hostages were found in the area. Those allegations have not been independently vetted. Still, Israel has claimed that rockets fired from the Gaza Strip by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another terrorist group in the strip, have misfired and fallen back on Palestinian civilian sites. Human Rights Watch on Sunday published a report saying a misfired rocket from the Gaza Strip was likely behind the Oct. 17 explosion at al-Ahli hospital, which supports earlier assessments by Israeli and U.S. intelligence. The senior administration official Monday said that it is pressing Israel to carry out its campaign in Gazas south extremely carefully, and prioritizing protection of civilian sites, such as electricity and water stations, humanitarian sites, hospitals and other facilities including the many U.N.-supported shelters located throughout south and central Gaza. The areas of deconfliction, the official said, would be areas where based on the best judgment of people there, or people who may wish to come there, would not be subject to kinetic activity. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The U.S. has warned all commercial ships transiting the Indian Ocean to exercise caution after several clashes in the Red Sea this month involving pirates and Iranian-backed groups around the Middle East. The Maritime Administration, an agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation, issued an alert Monday directing all ships to exercise caution when transiting these areas and remain cognizant of evolving threats in this region. The alert, which will automatically expire Dec. 4, comes after two previous advisories from the Maritime Administration in September and October warning commercial boats to exercise caution and take preventive actions in waters around the Middle East. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. The U.S. is suggesting ships avoid Irans international waters and the ports of Yemen as best as possible and to maintain vigilance for small boats and drones that could pose a threat. In the event an Iranian group attempts to seize the boat, the advisories suggest the crew contact U.S. 5th Fleet. Iranian fighters seized two vessels in the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz over the spring and attempted to seize two more in July. The Israel-Hamas war that broke out on Oct. 7 sparked another round of clashes in the waters around the Middle East. The Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen seized an Israeli-linked commercial tanker on Nov. 19, and a container ship owned by an Israeli billionaire was attacked by Iranian drones last week. Somali pirates also attempted to seize a commercial tanker with Israeli ties in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday but were thwarted by a U.S. Navy boat, according to the Pentagon. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. John Strauss is a professor of economics at the University of Southern California (USC). Earlier this month, he confronted pro-Palestinian students who had staged a protest calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. After hearing some of the students call for the destruction of Israel, Strausswho is Jewishbecame angry. "Hamas are murderers," he shouted in response, according to The Los Angeles Times. "That's all they are. Everyone should be killed, and I hope they are killed." Student-protesters captured his statements on video and shared them on social media. In response, several activist groupsincluding the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the campus's Muslim Student Unioncalled on the university administration take action against Strauss. A petition demanding his termination garnered 7,000 signatures. These students swiftly got their way. Following "multiple complaints to USC's equity, diversity and Title IX office," the university placed Strauss on leave pending an investigation and barred him from campus. Administrators subsequently relented in part, allowing him to continue teaching his classesremotely. That's all according to the Los Angeles Times, which interviewed Strauss about the incident. The professor claims that he was misquoted: he clearly expressed a desire for all members of Hamas to be killed, not at all Palestinians. "The allegation was that I said, 'Kill all Palestinians,'" said Strauss. "I never said that and I never would say that. I said, 'Kill all Hamas.' That's quite different." Free speech groups have criticized USC for caving to the mob. Both PEN America and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) called on the university to end its investigation on Strauss. "The fact that some protesters characterized Strauss's comments as 'hate speech,' or even threatening to students, does not deprive them of protection under USC's policies," wrote FIRE's Jessie Appleby. "The standards for punishing speech as a true threat or harassment are high, and Strauss's remarks to a group of protesters fall far short." The university did not respond to a request for comment. The weaponization of Title IX bureaucracy against free speech is nothing new, but it is lamentable, nevertheless. Students and faculty members have the right to express provocative opinions that are pro-Israel, pro-Palestinian, and everything in between. They do not lose their free speech rights simply because someone on the other side of the issue is sufficiently perturbed to file a complaint. Just as it is wrong for pro-Israel political figures to censor pro-Palestinian activistseven when the activism in question is genuinely loathsomeso too is it wrong to punish a Jewish professor for desiring Hamas' destruction, something that isn't even particularly controversial. The post USC Censors Jewish Professor for Saying Hamas 'Should Be Killed' appeared first on Reason.com. As demand for electric vehicles continues to grow, one start-up company is looking to make the cars even more sustainable by turning used tires into batteries. Most electric vehicles rely on lithium-ion batteries for their power. But critics say that those batteries are far from being as efficient, environmentally friendly and sustainable as they could be. That's where one Chile-based company says old tires come into play. The company, called T-Phite is putting used car tires through a process called pyrolysis, which entails putting the tires under extreme heat so that they break down into smaller molecules. T-Phite CEO Bernardita Diaz says those molecules become three primary byproducts pyrolytic oil, steel and carbon black, a substance that contains graphite material essential to providing an electric pathway within batteries for energy to surge. According to black carbon supplier Imerys, which is not involved with this project, carbon black is usually produced "by the incomplete combustion of heavy petroleum products such as FCC tar, coal tar, ethylene cracking tar, and a small amount of vegetable oil." Along with having "excellent electrical conductivity," Imerys says that the substance is also known for being wear-resistant. Making this substance out of used tires solves two problems, Diaz told Reuters. "One is the final disposal of tires and the second is the demand that is being generated for electromobility materials," she said. "And when you obtain materials from other waste, you are generating what is known as the circular economy." In the U.S. alone, roughly 250 million tires are left for scrap every year, according to the Federal Highway Administration. Of those tires, less than half are either recycled into new products or used to create tire-derived fuel, the agency said. "Natural resources are already very limited and the fact that new solutions can be found from waste is very important," Diaz said, adding that their process can go beyond lithium-ion batteries and extend to sodium batteries, "the next-generation batteries in electromobility." "It is very important and gratifying for us that this innovation has not only focused on a business niche, but that it provides much more openness," she said. Diaz's company told Reuters that potential investors have shown significant interest in the process and may be looking to help scale it up to an industrial level. But while their process is certainly impressive, it is built on years of research into this possible solution. In 2014, scientists from Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee found that carbon can be isolated from tire rubber-derived materials, and that the substance performed better than when derived from other materials. Further research from separate scientists published in 2021 found that carbon black can "systematically improve" battery performance so that they can charge faster. Georgian winemakers restoring countrys ancient grape varieties | 60 Minutes Grieving Ukrainians attend Austrian Alps climbing camp to recover from war | 60 Minutes Mourners gather to honor Rosalynn Carter at tribute service This embedded content is not available in your region. Rescuers in India have freed 41 workers who had been trapped in a collapsed Himalayan tunnel for 17 days. Miners drilled the final section by hand to reach the workers in the 4.5km (3-mile) tunnel in Uttarakhand. The men, who were brought out in wheeled stretchers through a 90cm (3ft) wide pipe, were taken to hospital for check-ups. No one was injured. Marathon efforts to free them from the Silkyara tunnel which collapsed on 12 November overcame numerous setbacks. The mission was ultimately completed on Tuesday evening thanks to the efforts of a group of "rat-hole" miners, who used hand-held drills to break through the rock. India's president Droupadi Murmu wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that she was "relieved and happy" to hear the men had been freed. She also praised the rescue effort, which she said was met with obstacles that had been "a testament of human endurance". The workers were greeted with wild cheers and flower garlands as they emerged from the tunnel. Friends, family and local residents gathered outside the tunnel, setting off firecrackers and distributing sweets. Since early in the rescue, those above ground were able to communicate via walkie-talkies with the men, who were supplied with oxygen, food and water through a separate narrow pipe. This embedded content is not available in your region. The Silkyara tunnel is part of the $1.5bn (1.19bn), 890km-long flagship Char Dham project connecting key Hindu pilgrim sites via two-lane roads in the Himalayas. Since a landslide caused a portion of the tunnel to cave in, teams have tried to clear about 60 metres of rubble - made up of rock and metal - which lay between the men and the tunnel mouth. The aim was to create a horizontal exit passage with crawl-out pipes for the trapped workers. Having to cut through metal rods in the rubble repeatedly impeded the rescue efforts, and loose soil slowed progress. Last Friday, officials said the workers would be out in a matter of hours - until the complete breakdown of the main drilling machine inside the tunnel. When that happened, two dozen "rat-hole" miners were deployed to manually drill and clear the passage to the trapped workers. Trained in narrow tunnel navigation, they used handheld tools for excavation to clear the last few metres of debris to get to the workers, who came from some of India's poorest states. Rescue workers equipped with ropes, ladders and stretchers then entered the tunnel, with 41 ambulances positioned outside to transport the men to a hospital some 30km away. Rescuers had also begun drilling vertically from the top of the mountain under which the men were trapped to bore an alternate rescue passage. The workers from some of India's poorest states had been stuck in the tunnel since its collapse on 12 November One of the rescuers told the BBC that "the moment we broke through the last part of the debris, there was an outburst of happiness inside the tunnel". "The trapped men started clapping and shouting in excitement. Then the officials asked them to keep calm, be patient. They told them: we will get you out one by one." The Uttarakhand government put out a statement saying the rescue had been successful "thanks to both science and God". The men - who are mostly in their 20s - are said to be in good health. An official from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) told news agency ANI: "Their condition is first-class and absolutely fine just like yours or mine. There is no concern about their health." However, they were taken to a nearby hospital for a medical assessment. The prolonged rescue operations had India on the edge as millions of people prayed for the men rescuers. On 21 November, the first images of the trapped men emerged as a medical endoscopy camera was pushed through a pipeline drilled into the debris. Some 12 men in helmets and construction worker jackets were captured standing in a semi-circle in the glow of tunnel lights. How rescuers reached the trapped workers - graphic Environmentalists and residents have blamed rapid construction, including the Char Dham project, for land subsidence in the region, saying this contributed to the tunnel collapse. The Uttarakhand region, the birthplace of the Ganges and its major tributaries, sustains more than 600 million Indians with water and food. The landscape is dotted with forests, glaciers and water springs. Crucially, India's climate is influenced by this area, as its topsoil serves as a significant carbon sink - naturally absorbing and storing carbon dioxide to mitigate the impact of greenhouse gas emissions. There are two main road tunnels in the project - the Silkyara tunnel and a shorter 400-metre tunnel in Chamba - as well as planned tunnels for railways and hydropower projects. "There has been an intensification of tunnel work in the last 15-20 years", Hemant Dhyani, an environmentalist, told the BBC. "These mountains are not built for such massive building of infrastructure." The Department of Veterans Affairs has postponed planned changes to its ambulance reimbursement rates -- a proposal that was to go into effect in February despite concern from the companies that provide air and ground transport services and veterans who potentially will be affected by the change. In response to a 2018 VA inspector general report that found the department paid roughly 60% more than Medicare rates for air ambulance services, the VA announced earlier this year that it would change its structure for reimbursing ambulance companies in an effort to address the difference and "be good stewards of taxpayer money." The change was to go into effect on Feb. 16, 2024. But the VA announced last week that it would delay the change until February 2025. In an announcement posted on the VA website, officials said they were committed to changing the rates but also would ensure that veterans would not receive bills for the services. Read Next: As Laser Pointer Incidents Spike, Airmen Are Getting Updated Eyewear That Provides Better Protection "VA will pay the lesser of actual charge associated with an air ambulance service, or the standard [Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services] rate for that service, unless a separate rate has been established based on local contracts between air ambulance providers and local VA medical centers," officials wrote. "VA intends to include terms in these contracts to ensure that veteran care will not be adversely impacted." Industry representatives and members of Congress had raised concerns that the change would translate into a reduction in reimbursement rates to the Medicare levels -- a move that could negatively affect veterans who live hundreds of miles from an emergency room. In a recent interview with Military.com, Ben Clayton, a former Marine Corps pilot and CEO of the nonprofit ambulance company Life Flight Network, said companies rely on receiving the market rate from the VA and commercial insurers to cover their costs and provide services for all patients experiencing emergencies, including Medicare and Medicaid patients, veterans and the insured. He said an ambulance provider in a rural county in Montana ceased operations as a result of reimbursement shortfalls and more would likely follow if the VA reduced reimbursements. "So, now that community has to wait for an out-of-county ambulance or rely on volunteers to try to get the lifesaving care the communities need," Clayton said. Claytons company serves Oregon, Washington, Idaho and western Montana, covering roughly 322,000 square miles. Speaking at the National Press Club earlier this month, VA Secretary Denis McDonough said the goal of the new rule was not solely to reduce rates. Instead, he said, it was intended to encourage providers to enter into formal contracts with the VA for services. "The way the VA pays for emergency ambulance services puts at risk taxpayer interests," McDonough said. "VA alone among health care systems in the country pays for each individual ambulance, cash we are just paying cash for each run. We cannot find another hospital system that does it that way." Earlier this year, lawmakers, including Chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas, the committee's ranking Republican, pressed McDonough to delay the rule change while the VA undertakes outreach with industry and individual companies on the contracting process. The two have introduced legislation along with Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., that would bar the VA from reducing rates unless it can guarantee that the change would not reduce veterans' access to ambulance services. In a statement Wednesday, Tester praised the decision to extend the rule. "The availability of emergency air and ground transportation services in Montana and rural America can be the difference between life and death," Tester said in a statement. "VA's hasty implementation of its rate change for these services could have been the final straw for providers in rural America, and I'm glad to see VA answering my call and taking steps to fix this reimbursement issue." Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Military.com. Related: VA Set Records for Number of Appointments, Claims Processing, Compensation over the Past Year Rep. David Valadaos office was vandalized Monday morning in Hanford by someone the California Republican congressman described as anti-Israel protestors, according to a post on social media. Photos on Valadaos feed on X, formerly known as Twitter, showed fliers placed on the glass doors and a few on the brick wall that included photos of children and the words, Murdered by Israel. This morning, my Hanford office was vandalized by anti-Israel protestors. I strongly support the right to peaceful protest, but violence and vandalism are never acceptable, Valadao tweeted. In a democracy, harassment and intimidation is not how you make your voice heard. The images shared by the congressman also appeared to show a dark liquid splashed on the doors and wall. If these protestors truly cared about Palestinian children they would also support the eradication of Hamas terrorists, who are actively using Palestinian hospitals and schools as cover for their military operations and putting thousands of Palestinian civilians at risk, Valadao also tweeted on Monday. This morning, my Hanford office was vandalized by anti-Israel protestors. I strongly support the right to peaceful protest, but violence and vandalism are never acceptable. In a democracy, harassment and intimidation is not how you make your voice heard. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/f2OHRuqeLu Rep. David Valadao (@RepDavidValadao) November 27, 2023 Hanford police Lt. Justin Vallin said the vandalism appeared to happen between 11 p.m. Sunday and midnight though police were still reviewing surveillance footage. It involved three to five people, he said. The liquid on the wall appeared at first to possibly be blood, he said, but police found some discarded bottles that revealed the liquid to be a dark red syrup. The office on Douty Street is a highly foot trafficked area about a block south of downtown and two blocks north of Highway 198, he said. Valadao has previously tweeted pro-Israel statements, including a Nov. 3 message that denounced Antisemitism and called for sanctions against Hamas Israel and Palestine have recently committed to a four-day ceasefire after the war erupted on Oct. 7, when Hamas militants in Gaza burst across the border into southern Israel, killing at least 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting some 240 others, including, women, children and older people. Israel immediately declared war, carrying out weeks of airstrikes and a ground offensive that have left over 13,300 Palestinians dead, according to health authorities in the Hamas-controlled territory. Roughly two-thirds of those killed in Gaza have been women and minors. Both sides have expressed claims to the land. Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza in the 1967 Mideast war. Settlers claim the West Bank as their biblical birthright. Most of the international community considers the settlements home to 700,000 Israelis illegal. Valadao said his office remained open by appointment, phone, email or mail. America must send a clear message that we support Israel and Jewish people here at home and abroad. This week, the House passed bills to: Provide emergency funding for Israel Sanction foreign terrorist organizations like Hamas Condemn Anti-Semitism on college campuses pic.twitter.com/hSRi6ZjXX9 Rep. David Valadao (@RepDavidValadao) November 3, 2023 The Associated Press contributed to this report. This week might be the end of that Google account you have not used in years. Starting this coming Friday, December 1, the tech firm will resume its effort to remove accounts that have not been utilized for at least two years. The new policy was introduced in May by the corporation with the stated goal of preventing security concerns. According to internal research, accounts that are older are considerably more prone to phishing, hacking, and spam since they use recycled passwords and fail to implement modern security measures like two-step verification. Terminating Old, Inactive Accounts According to CNN, multiple notifications have been issued to vulnerable accounts and user-provided backup emails since August, as Google has been issuing warnings to affected customers. Google said in May that it would start eliminating accounts in a staged method. The accounts that were established but never revisited by the user will be deleted first. In an update to its policies from August, Google said, "We want to protect your private information and prevent any unauthorized access to your account even if you're no longer using our services." Oren Koren, chief product officer and co-founder of cybersecurity company Veriti, argues that erasing outdated accounts is an important step in ensuring security since, despite their perceived low risk, they may really be opportunities for criminals to exploit. Hackers may be compelled to establish new accounts in order to avoid account deletion, which now requires phone number verification. Not only that, but the deletion also removes any previously disclosed data from a breach long ago. Also Read: Google's New Personal Search Experience Test Comes With Follow Button, Personalized Rankings Who May Still Use Their Accounts? Because a Google account encompasses all of Google's services--from Gmail and Docs to Drive and Photos--any data stored throughout an inactive user's Google suite might lose its existence. A few cases represent an exception to the rule against deletion. Those who have YouTube channels, those who still have money on gift cards, those who bought digital items like books or movies, and those who have published apps on platforms like the Google Play store will not be affected, the business said in August. To make sure yours will not be deleted, keep your Google account active by logging in and using one of the services provided by the firm, such as Gmail, Drive, Photos, or Google Play. CBS News reported that Google's account policy outlines the following steps to confirm that your account is active: Read or send an email Use the Google Drive and Google Search Watch a YouTube video Download an app via the Play Store Sign in with Google to access a third-party app or service The decision to remove accounts is more drastic than a previous policy. According to Google, customers will be able to have their material removed from services they no longer use in 2020, but their accounts will remain intact. Also Read: Google's Artificial Intelligence Advancement Includes Generative AI-Powered Search Engine @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Rep. David Valadaos office was vandalized Monday morning in Hanford by someone the California Republican congressman described as anti-Israel protestors, according to a post on social media. Photos on Valadaos feed on X, formerly known as Twitter, showed fliers placed on the glass doors and a few on the brick wall that included photos of children and the words, Murdered by Israel. This morning, my Hanford office was vandalized by anti-Israel protestors. I strongly support the right to peaceful protest, but violence and vandalism are never acceptable, Valadao tweeted. In a democracy, harassment and intimidation is not how you make your voice heard. The images shared by the congressman also appeared to show a dark liquid splashed on the doors and wall. If these protestors truly cared about Palestinian children they would also support the eradication of Hamas terrorists, who are actively using Palestinian hospitals and schools as cover for their military operations and putting thousands of Palestinian civilians at risk, Valadao also tweeted on Monday. This morning, my Hanford office was vandalized by anti-Israel protestors. I strongly support the right to peaceful protest, but violence and vandalism are never acceptable. In a democracy, harassment and intimidation is not how you make your voice heard. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/f2OHRuqeLu Rep. David Valadao (@RepDavidValadao) November 27, 2023 Hanford police Lt. Justin Vallin said the vandalism appeared to happen between 11 p.m. Sunday and midnight though police were still reviewi[-ng surveillance footage. It involved three to five people, he said. The liquid on the wall appeared at first to possibly be blood, he said, but police found some discarded bottles that revealed the liquid to be a dark red syrup. The office on Douty Street is a high foot-traffic area about a block south of downtown and two blocks north of Highway 198, he said. Valadao has previously tweeted pro-Israel statements, including a Nov. 3 message that denounced Antisemitism and called for sanctions against Hamas Israel and Palestine have recently committed to a four-day ceasefire after the war erupted on Oct. 7, when Hamas militants in Gaza burst across the border into southern Israel, killing at least 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting some 240 others, including, women, children and older people. Israel immediately declared war, carrying out weeks of airstrikes and a ground offensive that have left over 13,300 Palestinians dead, according to health authorities in the Hamas-controlled territory. Roughly two-thirds of those killed in Gaza have been women and minors. Both sides have expressed claims to the land. Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza in the 1967 Mideast war. Settlers claim the West Bank as their biblical birthright. Most of the international community considers the settlements home to 700,000 Israelis illegal. Valadao said his office remained open by appointment, phone, email or mail. America must send a clear message that we support Israel and Jewish people here at home and abroad. This week, the House passed bills to: Provide emergency funding for Israel Sanction foreign terrorist organizations like Hamas Condemn Anti-Semitism on college campuses pic.twitter.com/hSRi6ZjXX9 Rep. David Valadao (@RepDavidValadao) November 3, 2023 The Associated Press contributed to this report. The ban will take effect from January Australia will ban imports of disposable vapes from January, in an effort to curb nicotine addiction in children. New laws to stop single-use vapes from being made, advertised, and supplied in the country will also be introduced. It comes amid a broader push to phase out recreational vaping completely. Vaping has been marketed as a way to quit smoking, but Australia's health minister says it has created a "new generation of nicotine dependency". Vapes, or e-cigarettes, are lithium battery-powered devices that have cartridges filled with liquids containing nicotine, artificial flavourings, and a range of other chemicals. It has been illegal for any Australian to purchase or import e-cigarettes or nicotine vapes without a doctor's prescription since 2021, but despite those restrictions rates of addiction have continued to skyrocket. A study from the University of Sydney earlier this year found that over a quarter of teenagers aged 14-17 had vaped, while research from Australia's Cancer Council charity found that nine out of 10 teenagers in the same age group found it easy to access nicotine vapes. "All Australian governments are committed to working together to stop the disturbing growth in vaping among our young people," said Mark Butler, the federal health minister who is leading the ban. In May, the Australian government signalled its intention to phase out the use of single-use vapes, but until now it had provided no concrete timeline. Mr Butler says that the import ban on disposable vapes will start on 1 January, and that by March refillable non-therapeutic vapes will also be banned from entering the country. Importers and manufacturers supplying therapeutic vapes will also have to comply with tighter government regulation concerning the flavours, nicotine levels, and packaging of their products. Experts have warned that not enough is known yet about the long-term impacts of vaping. Research from Johns Hopkins University has linked the practice to chronic lung disease and asthma. And in Australia, scientists who have studied the liquids used in vapes have warned that they contain "a suite of chemicals" known to impact lung health. Australia's announcement comes just days after New Zealand's government scrapped its world-leading smoking ban to pay for tax cuts. Schools have been cracking down on vape use Schools have been clamping down on vaping following a rise in kids using e-cigarettes since the pandemic. Teachers have been left frustrated by the attractiveness and availability of the products to teenagers. At Ysgol y Strade in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, staff patrolling the grounds at lunch time have a zero-tolerance approach. Pupil caught vaping are excluded, with further punishments for repeat offenders. Before Covid lockdowns, vaping was not a big issue for schools, but the 1,300-pupil Ysgol y Strade, like others, saw things change when pupils returned. Two years ago it decided to introduce tougher sanctions and raise awareness of the rules and the risks of vaping. Assistant head teacher, Daniel Hughes, said the number of children caught with vapes had fallen "substantially". First time offenders usually get excluded for one day, after which the number increases. Ysgol y Strade assistant head teacher, Daniel Hughes, wants disposable vapes banned Mr Hughes said: "For most, the once works and we try and work with the parents to try and reduce and change the behaviours and attitudes." Patrols try to deter those tempted to vape, with staff monitoring corridors while the senior team walk woodland on school grounds. The toilets have proved problematic as some are "hidden away", but stopping pupils using the loos in groups has helped. Year 8 pupils said encountering vapers could be uncomfortable. "There is a small group who do it quite a lot," Ioan, 13, said. Bryn, 12, blamed "peer pressure" while Steffan, 13, said it was "too easy" for children to get hold of vapes. Ysgol y Strade pupils Steffan, Bryn, Ioan, Rhys were aware vaping was a problem Exclusions have been in single figures so far this term, the school said. Mr Hughes said he was sticking with the approach as part of the school's commitment to supporting good behaviour, adding that he favoured completely banning disposable vapes. At Ysgol Cwm Brombil in Port Talbot, vape sensors have been installed in toilets and when they are activated, staff can check CCTV cameras outside to see who was in there. Deputy head teacher Eurig Thomas said fewer pupils now left lessons to go to the toilet, adding: "What we want to do is eliminate that distraction within schools." He said he wanted tougher legislation on vaping and questioned who companies were trying to appeal to when they sold vapes in bright colours. Blue Sky Digital rents out sensors to schools for about 200 a month. Managing director, Neil Brewer, said that cost was cancelled out by extra costs associated with the problem. "We've come across instances where schools are paying 2,000 to 3,000 just to have toilets unblocked because of the disposable vapes," he said. Ceiling tiles and basins had also been damaged by pupils hiding vapes, he said. Ysgol Cwm Brombil deputy head teacher Eurig Thomas said vape sensors had been installed in the school toilets What are the rules on vaping? It is illegal to sell vapes to under-18s or to buy them for a child and the UK government has outlined plans to tax them and tighten restrictions. The Welsh government has called for a ban on disposable vapes but does not have the power to do so itself. Industry representatives said they did not condone targeting children and backed punitive action against those that did. UK Vaping Industry Association boss John Dunne said: "Smokers trying to quit rely on disposable vapes and to ban them could potentially have fatal consequences." Anti-smoking charity Ash Cymru said children addicted to nicotine should be supported not punished. Chief executive Suzanne Cash said: "It's the people selling vapes to underage young people who are the criminals, not the children." CARACAS/WASHINGTON/HOUSTON (Reuters) - The Venezuelan government may allow appeals from opposition politicians seeking to remove bans barring them from public posts to progress in court, as a way to partially comply with U.S. demands ahead of a deadline tied to loosened sanctions, sources told Reuters. The United States in October announced a six-month roll back on some oil industry sanctions and lifted a bond trading ban in exchange for a deal on 2024 elections between the government of President Nicolas Maduro and the opposition. Washington has said it will reverse the sanctions relief if Maduro has not taken steps by Nov. 30 to release political prisoners and "wrongfully detained" Americans and progress toward lifting the public office bans. The winner of the opposition's presidential primary, Maria Corina Machado, is among those barred from office. It was unclear how strongly or when the U.S. could react if the Venezuelan government takes no action or what minimum Maduro could meet to avert or delay a U.S. response. There are ongoing deliberations within the Biden administration - which has come under pressure from Republicans to reinstate sanctions- and a decision will depend on what, if anything, Maduro does by Thursday, a Washington source said. Other sources were skeptical of much of an immediate response from the U.S. and anticipated a reaction could come weeks later. Two opposition sources and another with knowledge of the matter said Maduro's government could allow progress on the appeals at the Supreme Justice Tribunal. And the U.S. itself expects some sort of announcement on the legal process for the bans, a Washington source said, though the person added any movement on the issue would not necessarily come this week. The government is aware of discontent among people in the OPEC-member country - who are suffering renewed economic pressures after a brief respite thanks to dollarization - and needs the money from increased oil sales, that source added. Analysts have previously told Reuters increased oil income could allow the government to raise social spending and try to woo voters for the 2024 election. UNCERTAINTY ABOUT PRISONERS The government released five prisoners in October but there have been no releases since. There remains uncertainty about which or how many political prisoners could eventually be released, the opposition sources said. The U.S. is focused on the release of the three Americans it classes as 'wrongfully detained', as well as a fourth American whose exact whereabouts are unknown, a second source in Washington with knowledge of the matter said, adding they could be released in December or early January. The State Department said in a statement it would not comment on private diplomatic discussions. "Failure to abide by the terms of the arrangement will lead the United States to reverse steps taken," the statement added. The U.S. is serious about reinstating sanctions if Maduro fails to meet his commitments by the end of this month and has no intention of backing down from its repeated threats to reverse sanctions-easing measures, according to another person in Washington familiar with the matter. That source said it was not yet clear how fast the U.S. might act and how far it could go, but two sources said it may reinstate sanctions on state gold company Minerven. U.S. and Venezuelan officials have maintained contacts since their representatives last met in Qatar, two of the Washington sources said, but declined to say if any progress had been made. (Reporting by Mayela Armas and Vivian Sequera in Caracas, Marianna Parraga in Houston and Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Alistair Bell) Five Venezuelan migrants were arrested in two separate incidents last week after stealing hundreds of dollars in merchandise from retailers in the suburbs outside of Chicago, authorities said. The latest incident happened just before 1 p.m. Saturday at a Macys store in Oak Brook, the DuPage County States Attorneys Office said. Lenguieyer Guevara-Muro, 27, and Jinder Moises Angulo-Aparicio, 20, allegedly stuffed the $770 worth of clothing into a foil-lined bag and left the store without paying. Guevara-Muro left the store carrying the bag and refused to stop when loss prevention officers and an Oak Brook police officer on patrol approached him, according to authorities. He allegedly resisted when the police officer attempted to take him into custody and was taken to the ground and handcuffed. FLASH MOB RANSACKS NIKE STORE IN LOS ANGELES, STEALS $12K IN MERCH: POLICE Lenguieyer Guevara-Muro, left, was detained pre-trial while Jinder Moises Angulo-Aparicio was released. Both men are charged with burglary and retail theft. Angulo-Aparicio left the store a short time later and was taken into custody without incident. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP In a separate incident on Friday, three Venezuelan migrants stole more than $500 worth of merchandise from a Kohls store in Elmhurst, the states attorneys office said. Elmhurst police arrested Ilys Mary Ledesma Zapata, 37, Christian Johan Saavedra-Omona, 21, and 33-year-old Braud Pineda Avendano. Police allege that Ledesma Zapata was in possession of a large magnet used to bypass anti-theft devices in the store. Ilys Mary Ledesma Zapata, left, Christian Johan Saavedra-Omona, center, and Braud Pineda Avendano, right, were also charged with burglary and retail theft in a separate incident. All three were released pre-trial. "For the second day in a row, my office has filed charges against individuals from Venezuela accused of stealing merchandise from a retail store," DuPage County States Attorney Robert Berlin said. OVER 100 HANDGUNS STOLEN FROM MICHIGAN VENDOR All five migrants were charged with burglary and retail theft. Only Guevara-Muro was being detained pre-trial, while a judge ordered the other four defendants released. Earlier this month, Oak Brook Deputy Chief of Police Reid Foltyniewicz warned citizens of an uptick in criminal activity after a series of retail thefts involving Venezuelan migrants. CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP "We want everyone to be aware of the increase in criminal activity from the migrant community coming from Chicago," Foltyniewicz said at the time. Original article source: Venezuelan migrants caught stealing from retailers in Chicago suburbs, authorities say New details are emerging about Jason Eaton, the suspected gunman who shot three Palestinian students in a possible hate crime near the University of Vermont campus. The three 20-year-olds Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ahmad were ambushed by a gunman in a shooting as they walked to a family Thanksgiving in Burlington on Saturday night. Mr Awartani suffered the most severe injuries, with a bullet lodged in his spine, his mother Elizabeth Price told CNN. Doctors fear he may never walk again. Mr Eaton, 48, was arrested on Sunday near the scene of the attack. On Monday he pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted murder at his arraignment. In 2019, his ex-girlfriend reported Mr Eaton harrassed her, per NBC News. The two had several domestic disputes in the past, according to a police write-up obtained by NBC. Mr Eatons resume, seen by The Daily Beast, reveals he has worked as a Boy Scouts scoutmaster, Harvard research assistant and ski instructor. His mother told the outlet she was shocked by his alleged involvement. While he previously struggled with depression, they had enjoyed Thanksgiving together just days earlier, she said. Key points Suspect pleads not guilty during arraignment Ex-girlfriend of suspected gunman told police he harassed her One student discharged from hospital as other two remain in ICU Mother of student says its unlikely hell be able to use his legs again' Injured student Hisham Awartani speaks out about the attack Families of students release joint statement calling for hate crime charges What is a hate crime? 15:43 , Megan Sheets US Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on Monday that the shooting of three Palestinian students in Vermont would be investigated as a hate crime. Under federal law, a hate crime is defined as a criminal act motivated by bias against people or groups with specific characteristics that are defined by the law. Examples of these criminal acts include assault, murder, arson, vandalism, or threats to commit such crimes, the DOJ website states. The hate crime investigation in the Vermont shooting came a month after the DOJ launched a probe into the stabbing of a Palestinian-American boy and his mother in Illinois. The boy was killed, his mother injured, and their landlord arrested for the attack. In his statement on Monday, Mr Garland said: There is understandable fear in communities across the country. Even as we speak, the ATF and FBI are investigating the tragic shooting of three men of Palestinian descent in Vermont. That investigation, including whether this is a hate crime, is ongoing. The Justice Department is poised to provide any assistance that our state and local law enforcement partners need as we work together to protect our communities. The violence in the US comes amid Israels ongoing siege in Gaza following Hamas attacks on 7 October. Students families condemn media reports that link suspects mental health to the attack 14:26 , Katie Hawkinson The families of the three wounded students are calling on the media to report on suspected gunman Jason Eaton responsibly and respectfully by not attempting to turn their attacker into a victim. Millions of people in America and across the globe struggle with mental health challenges. That does not make them pick up a gun and attack people based on their identity, the statement shared by the Institute for Middle East Understanding reads. The statement comes after Mr Eatons mother told The Daily Beast he had struggled with depression in the past. We do not accept what this wrongfully implies about people who struggle with their mental health, nor do we accept it as justification or context for this heinous, hate-driven crime, the statement reads. Further, we see the clear double standard; when white men commit crimes, they are described as victims struggling with their mental health and testimonies from family members are shared to describe them as good peoplepeople of color are not given this same treatment, the statement continues. BREAKING: NEW (11/28) joint statement from the families of Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmad, three Palestinian college students shot in Vermont pic.twitter.com/xn1PcT9eth IMEU (@theIMEU) November 28, 2023 Protesters call for divestment from Israel during university presidents speech at vigil for injured student 13:00 , Katie Hawkinson On Monday evening, Brown University President Christina Paxson spoke at a vigil for student Hisham Awartani, one of three 20-year-olds injured by a gunman in Burlington, Vermont last week. Although we dont know the details yet, it is horrific that the mere fact that Hisham and his friends were simply being who they are, proud Palestinians, wearing keffiyehs, speaking in Arabic, that may be what prompted the shooting, she said at the vigil, per The Providence Journal . Several attendees shouted at Ms Paxson that Brown University must divest from Israel and held signs carrying a similar message, the Journal reported. This is how you want to honor your friend? Im sorry, Ms Paxson told the crowd when she walked away from the podium, per the Journal. Students chanted shame as she left. Suspected gunman could face life in prison if found guilty 12:00 , Katie Hawkinson Suspected gunman Jason Eaton could face 20 years to life in prison if convicted on three counts of second-degree attempted murder, according to Sarah George, the Chittenden County States Attorney. Mr Eaton pleaded not guilty to all three counts on Monday following his arrest the day prior. While they have not yet made a decision, federal investigators are looking into whether the attack could be considered a hate crime . The three students all of Palestinian descent were wearing keffiyehs and speaking both Arabic and English at the time of the attack, police previously said. Suspected gunmans resume revealed new details about professional, personal life 11:00 , Katie Hawkinson Jason Eaton has worked as a Boy Scouts scoutmaster, Harvard research assistant and ski instructor, according to his resume reviewed by The Daily Beast . The 48-year-old accused of shooting three Palestinian students in Vermont last week studied general studies at the University of Idaho in 2001 but did not graduate. According to his resume, he also worked as a research assistant at Harvard Forest run by Harvard University in Massachusetts in 1999. Afterwards, he reportedly taught science to 5th and 6th graders at the McCall Outdoor Science School in Idaho. In the past, he also led survival courses and acted as an assistant scoutmaster for a Boy Scouts of America unit in New York, according to his resume. Jason Eaton harassment claims revealed 09:00 , Katie Hawkinson New details about suspect Jason Eaton continue to emerge, including an ex-girlfriends claims that he was harassing her with sexual messages. NBC News obtained police reports detailing the harassment allegations made by the then-36-year-old woman in 2019. She told officers in DeWitt, New York, that Mr Eaton had sent her numerous text messages, emails and phone calls, after making it clear she did not want any contact with him, according to reports seen by NBC. She said the messages were sexual in nature but not threatening. The woman contacted police after allegedly seeing Mr Eaton outside her home. She had also had several domestic disputes with Mr Eaton, an officer wrote in their report per NBC. She did not press any charges against Mr Eaton. Injured students father thought his son would be safer in US than Israeli-occupied West Bank 07:00 , Katie Hawkinson The father of Hisham Awartani one of three Palestinian students shot and injured by a gunman in Vermont didnt want his son to come home for Christmas, believing the US would be safer than the West Bank. My husband didnt want Hisham to come back for Christmas, Mr Awartanis mother Elizabeth Price told NPR . He thought our son would be safer than in Palestine. Doctors fear Mr Awartani will never walk again after the gunman lodged a bullet in his spine in a possible hate crime over the weekend. As of Tuesday afternoon, Ms Price was traveling to the US from the West Bank to be with her son during his treatment. Jason Eaton posted videos about government surveillance and psychic powers online 05:00 , Katie Hawkinson The online activity of Jason Eaton the suspected gunman who shot three Palestinian students over the weekend has come to light in recent days. A YouTube account said to belong to the 48-year-old suspect also contains a wide array of videos, including those that discuss government surveillance, economics, and long COVID-19, NBC News reported. Mr Eaton also posted a video called Expose Fauci, in which he tells viewers to use brain crystals for psychic powers, per NBC. Mr Eaton is charged with three counts of attempted murder over Saturdays shooting. Injured student spoke out about the attack against him and two others 04:00 , Katie Hawkinson Hisham Awartani, a junior at Brown University, released a statement on the attack against him and his two friends through Brown Universitys Students for Justice in Palestine. Its important to recognize that this is part of the larger story, Mr Awartani wrote in a statement posted on the organizations Instagram . This hideous crime did not happen in a vacuum. As much as I appreciate and love every single one of you here today, I am but one casualty in this much wider conflict. Mr Awartani grew up in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. His mother, Elizabeth Price, told NPR her husband didnt want their son coming home to Ramallah for Christmas because he believed Mr Awartani would be safer in the US than in Palestine. Had I been shot in the West Bank, where I grew up, the medical services that saved my life here would likely have been withheld by the Israeli army, Mr Awartani wrote in the statement. The gunman shot Mr Awartani in the spine during the 25 November attack. His mother told CNN doctors fear Mr Awartani may never walk again because of his injuries. I understand that the pain is so much more real and immediate because many of you know me, but any attack like this is horrific, be it here or in Palestine, Mr Awartani wrote. Suspect told arresting officer Ive been waiting for you 03:00 , Katie Hawkinson Jon Murad, chief of police for the Burlington Police Department, told reporters on Monday that suspected gunman Jason Eaton told an ATF officer he was waiting for them when they knocked on his door on Sunday. Agents were greeted by a man who stepped out of the hall out of the door towards them with his palms up at waist height, Mr Murad said. He stated something to the effect of: Ive been waiting for you. Mr Murad then told officers hed like a lawyer and that he had one gun in the apartment. Officials say the 48-year-old suspect came to Vermont from Syracuse, New York over the summer. Suspected gunman moved to Vermont just months before attack, police say 02:00 , Katie Hawkinson Investigators believe suspected gunman Jason Eaton moved to Vermont over the summer, just months before the shooting of three Palestinian students last week, Burlington Chief of Police Jon Murad said on Monday. Mr Murad said the suspect previously lived in or near Syracuse, New York. Mr Eatons ex-girlfriend had previously called the police in DeWitt, New York a town just a few miles outside of Syracuse to report Mr Eaton had sent her numerous text messages, emails and phone calls, after making it clear she did not want any contact with him, according to reports reviewed by NBC News . Burlington mayor addresses gun violence in Vermont in the wake of attack against three Palestinian students 01:00 , Katie Hawkinson Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger told reporters Monday that Vermont must reckon with incidents of gun violence in the state after a gunman shot three Palestinian students walking to a Thanksgiving celebration last week. We must reckon with the reality that Vermont has one of if not the highest rate of gun deaths in New England, Mr Weinberger said on Monday. The mayor also called on residents to stand against hate in the wake of the attack. We must see the humanity in each other and unite as one community and one state that will not tolerate this hate, Mr Weinberger said. Federal officers are looking into whether the attack was a hate crime . The suspected gunman, Jason Eaton, faces three charges of attempted murder. He pleaded not guilty on Monday. Injured Brown University student previously spoke at a vigil honoring those killed in Israel-Hamas conflict 00:00 , Katie Hawkinson Hisham Awartani, a junior at Brown University in the ICU with a spinal injury following Saturdays shooting, previously spoke at a vigil for those killed in the Israel-Hamas war. The vigil was organized by Brown Universitys Students for Justice in Palestine just days after the ongoing Israel-Hamas war began on 7 October. If Palestinians had to hold vigils every time our people were massacred, we would be bankrupt from buying candles, Mr Awartani said at last months vigil, per the Brown Daily Herald. There is no respite for us. The same organization posted a statement from Mr Awartani following the gunmans attack last week. Its important to recognize that this is part of the larger story, Mr Awartani wrote in a statement posted on the organizations Instagram . This hideous crime did not happen in a vacuum. As much as I appreciate and love every single one of you here today, I am but one casualty in this much wider conflict. Hundreds in Burlington, Vermont rallied to honor the three students attacked by the gunman Tuesday 28 November 2023 23:00 , Katie Hawkinson Hundreds attended a rally in Burlington, Vermont on Sunday in support of the three Palestinian students shot by a random attacker over the weekend. Local outlet Vermont Public spoke to several attendees, including Wafic Faour, a member of Vermonters for Justice in Palestine. Today, I received so many calls from my family members to ask me, How am I? Is that possible? In Vermont? Yes, it is possible, Faour told Vermont Public. Vermonts Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman also spoke at the rally. I just felt it was really important to be there in solidarity with the community that was feeling such trauma and grief, Zuckerman told Vermont Public on Monday. This is a real awakening, or another awakening, for many Vermonters that, that were not free from hate here in our amazing little state, he added. Student with spinal injury immobilizing his legs is very resilient and trying to keep spirits up, mother says Tuesday 28 November 2023 22:00 , Katie Hawkinson As 20-year-old Hisham Awartani rests in the Intensive Care Unit of a Vermont hospital, hes trying to remain calm and keep everyones spirits up, his mother says. Hes just a very resilient young man and hes been trying to keep everyones spirits up by joking and just trying to be as calm as possible, Elizabeth Price told CNN . We are determined to work with him and support him and get the best possible care. Mr Awartani has a bullet lodged in his spine and will likely remain in the ICU for at least a week, his mother previously said. He has lost mobility in his legs but can still feel them, according to Ms Price. Now that the initial shock of Saturdays attack has worn off, Mr Awartani is grappling with the larger implications of the attack on him and his two friends, Ms Price told NBC News . The short-term shock is now evolving into something more complex as he tries to frame who he is in the world and what it means to be safe in America, particularly when you get shot down the street from your grannys house in a street hes basically grown up on. Federal investigators are currently looking into whether the gunman can be charged with a hate crime. Mother of student with spinal injury traveling to US from West Bank Tuesday 28 November 2023 21:00 , Katie Hawkinson Elizabeth Price, mother to Hisham Awartani, is traveling to the US from Ramallah, West Bank to be with her son. Ms Price spoke to CNN while in Amman, Jordan on Tuesday morning on her way to Vermont. She said Jordans King Abdullah II had reached out to offer his support. Mr Awartani is in the Intensive Care Unit of a Vermont hospital as of Tuesday afternoon while he receives treatment for a bullet lodged in his spine. Ms Price told CNN Mr Awartani also has a broken clavicle and broken thumb. Mr Awartani can feel but not move his legs doctors fear he will never walk again, Ms Price previously said. Students call on Brown University to divest from Israel during vigil for injured student Tuesday 28 November 2023 18:52 , Katie Hawkinson Students at Brown University staged a protest calling for the school to divest from Israel during a vigil in support of injured student Hisham Awartani. Christina Paxson, the schools president, spoke at the Monday evening vigil for 20-year-old student Hisham Awartani, who is receiving treatment in the ICU after the gunman struck him in the spine. Although we dont know the details yet, it is horrific that the mere fact that Hisham and his friends were simply being who they are, proud Palestinians, wearing keffiyehs, speaking in Arabic, that may be what prompted the shooting, she said at the vigil, according to The Providence Journal . The three students targeted by the gunman were wearing keffiyehs, scarves typically checkered in black and white or red and white that symbolize Palestinian identity. Several attendees shouted at Ms Paxson to divest from Israel and held signs carrying a similar message, the Journal reported. This is how you want to honor your friend? Im sorry, Ms Paxson told the crowd as she walked away from the podium, per the Journal. Students chanted shame as she left. Ex-girlfriend of suspected gunman told police he harassed her Tuesday 28 November 2023 18:07 , Katie Hawkinson An ex-girlfriend of suspected gunman Jason Eaton told police four years ago he was harassing her with sexual messages, NBC News reports. The then-36-year-old woman told police in DeWitt, New York on 21 October 2019 that Mr Eaton had sent her numerous text messages, emails and phone calls, after making it clear she did not want any contact with him, according to department reports obtained by NBC. She said the messages were sexual in nature but not threatening. The woman contacted police after allegedly seeing Mr Eaton outside her home. She had also had several domestic disputes with Mr Eaton, an officer wrote in their report per NBC. She did not press any charges against Mr Eaton. One student discharged from hospital as other two remain in ICU: family member Tuesday 28 November 2023 17:11 , Katie Hawkinson Elizabeth Price, mother of Hisham Awartani, says one of the injured students has been discharged from the hospital while the other two remain in the Intensive Care Unit. One of [the students] who had a more superficial wound has been released from the hospital, Ms Price told ABC News Monday evening. Another one has a chest wound which I think is quite painful and hes remaining in the ICU for the for the timebeing. Mr Awartani, whose injuries are the most severe, is expected to stay in the ICU for at least another week before hes transferred to the spinal injury ward of the hospital, Ms Price told ABC News. The gunman struck Mr Awartani in his spine, and doctors fear he may never walk again, his mother previously said. Mr Awartani is tired but resolute after the bullet lodged in his spine has left him unable to move his legs, Ms Price said. Injured student speaks out about the attack Tuesday 28 November 2023 16:36 , Katie Hawkinson Hisham Awartani, a 20-year-old Palestinian student at Brown University, released a statement on the attack against him and his two friends through Brown Universitys Students for Justice in Palestine. Its important to recognize that this is part of the larger story, Mr Awartani wrote in a statement posted on the organizations Instagram . This hideous crime did not happen in a vacuum. As much as I appreciate and love every single one of you here today, I am but one casualty in this much wider conflict. Mr Awartani grew up in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. His mother, Elizabeth Price, told NPR her husband didnt want their son coming home to Ramallah for Christmas because he believed Mr Awartani would be safer in the US than in Palestine. Had I been shot in the West Bank, where I grew up, the medical services that saved my life here would likely have been withheld by the Israeli army, Mr Awartani wrote in the statement. I understand that the pain is so much more real and immediate because many of you know me, but any attack like this is horrific, be it here or in Palestine, Mr Awartani added. The gunman struck Mr Awartani in the spine during the 25 November attack. His mother told CNN doctors fear Mr Awartani may never walk again because of his injuries. WATCH: Suspect pleads not guilty in shooting of Palestinian college students Tuesday 28 November 2023 15:40 , Rachel Sharp Jason Eaton describes himself as a radical citizen online Tuesday 28 November 2023 15:20 , Rachel Sharp The suspected gunmans online history has come to light since the shooting, revealing that he describes himself as a radical citizen. Jason Eaton is charged with three counts of attempted murder over Saturdays shooting. On an X account believed to belong to the 48-year-old, he calls himself a radical citizen...pa-trolling demockracy and crapitalism for oathcreepers, NBC News reported. A YouTube account said to belong to the suspect also contains videos pushing theories about Dr Antony Fauci including one that reads: Expose Fauci. Other videos, NBC News reported, are about using brain crystals for psychic powers and long Covid. PICTURED: Jason Eaton seen in mug shot Tuesday 28 November 2023 15:00 , Rachel Sharp Jason Eaton (AP) Palestinian students family said they thought hed be safer in US than West Bank Tuesday 28 November 2023 14:40 , Rachel Sharp The family of one of the Palestinian students shot in a possible hate crime in Vermont has spoken out to say they believed he would be safer in the US than in the West Bank, where relatives live. Hisham Awartanis mother Elizabeth Price told NPR that the family had decided he should stay in the US for the holidays rather than return to Ramallah, due to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. My husband didnt want Hisham to come back for Christmas, she said. He thought our son would be safer than in Palestine. On Saturday, Mr Awartani a student at Brown University was shot by suspected gunman Jason Eaton. Vermont shooting suspects chilling words during arrest revealed Tuesday 28 November 2023 14:20 , Rachel Sharp The suspect in the Vermont shooting that wounded three students of Palestinian descent knew police officers were looking for him, officials told a press conference. The Burlington Police Department is working with federal agents to investigate the 25 November shooting of Hisham Awartani, Tahseen Ali and Kenan Abdulhamid, three 20-year-old college students walking to a Thanksgiving celebration in Burlington, Vermont. The suspected gunman, 48-year-old Jason Eaton, is being held without bail on three charges of attempted murder. Mr Eaton pleaded not guilty to all three counts. At a Monday press conference, Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad said officers identified Mr Eaton while canvasing at an apartment complex. Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives knocked on an apartment door on Sunday. Mr Eaton emerged with his hands displayed and told officers he had been waiting, per Mr Murad. Read the story here: Vermont shooting suspects chilling words during arrest revealed One of the students sustained a spinal injury in shooting, uncle says Tuesday 28 November 2023 14:00 , Graeme Massie During a press conference on Monday afternoon, Rich Price, a Burlington resident and uncle of Hisham Awartani, said that the student sustained a spinal injury in the shooting and faces a long road to recovery. All of the men are in the intensive care unit at the University of Vermont Medical Center. Tahseen Ahmad is in a lot of pain, Mr Price added, while Kinnan Abdalhamids injuries are difficult. Still, Mr Price said that Mr Abdalhamid is expected to make a full and speedy recovery. I want to say that these three young men are incredible, Mr Price, who was hosting the students for Thanksgiving, said. They have their lives in front of them. They are committed to building incredible lives. They each go to great schools. The men have visited the family for Thanksgiving in the last few years, Mr Price said, adding that he never imagined that this sort of thing could happen. The incident occured after the men attended a birthday party for Mr Prices 8-year-old twin boys. When they arrived back at the uncles home, they decided to go for a walk. Thats when police believe Mr Eaton encountered the men. WATCH: FBI investigating Vermont shooting as possible hate crime Tuesday 28 November 2023 13:40 , Rachel Sharp New details revealed about suspect Jason Eatons resume Tuesday 28 November 2023 13:20 , Rachel Sharp New details are emerging about the suspect accused of shooting three Palestinian students near the University of Vermont campus in an attack that is being probed as a possible hate crime. Jason Eatons resume, seen by The Daily Beast, reveals that he has worked as a former Boy Scouts scoutmaster, a Harvard research assistant and a former ski instructor. The 48-year-old studied general studies at the University of Idaho in 2001, but fell short of graduating. According to his resume, he also worked as a research assistant at Harvard Forest in Massachusetts in 1999. After that, he reportedly taught science to 5th and 6th graders at the McCall Outdoor Science School in Idaho. He has also ran survival courses in the past and acted as an assistant scoutmaster for a Boy Scouts of America unit in New York, his resume claims. Families of students release joint statement calling for hate crime charges Tuesday 28 November 2023 13:00 , Graeme Massie The families of the students released a joint statement through the Institute for Middle East Understanding calling on authorities to continue investigating the incident with the aim of bringing hate crime charges against Jason Eaton, the suspect in the shooting. The families referred to the attempted murder charges brought against the man an important and welcomed first step towards bringing justice and accountability for our sons. The statement continued, We welcome the decision by law enforcement and the Vermont Attorney Generals office to continue the investigation and pursuit of hate crimes charges. We believe a full investigation is likely to show our sons were targeted and violently attacked simply for being Palestinian. Full justice and accountability is important, and needed to ensure that this type of brutal and violent attack does not happen again. The statement went on to describe the men as friends from childhood. Each of the men are uniquely brilliant, kind, and talented, the statement said. We were so excited for them to attend prestigious universities in the United States, and believed that they would be safe here, the families said. Instead, they were viciously targeted in a brutal attack that plunged us as parents into our worst nightmares. BREAKING: NEW joint statement from the families of Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmad, three Palestinian college students shot in Vermont: pic.twitter.com/cYo2UYJPcb IMEU (@theIMEU) November 27, 2023 Uncle of one of the men says he feels somehow betrayed by decision to bring him to US Tuesday 28 November 2023 12:00 , Graeme Massie Radi Tamimi, the uncle of Kenan Abdulhamid said his family feels somehow betrayed by the decision to bring his nephew to the United States. He said Mr Abdulhamid grew up in the West Bank, a territory east of Israel, home to roughly 3 million Palestinians. We always thought that that could be more of a risk in terms of his safety and sending him here would be the right decision, he said during a news conference. We feel somehow betrayed in that decision here. Mr Tamimi, who flew from California to Burlington ahead of the news conference stated that its hard to imagine in this time, and with everything that's happening that it was just a random act. It doesn't doesn't feel that way, he said. But we're absolutely willing to wait to find out let due process take its course. The FBI is investigating a potential hate crime motive Tuesday 28 November 2023 09:20 , Graeme Massie Federal law enforcement agencies are investigating whether the shooting of three Palestinian college students in Vermont was a hate crime. US Attorney General Merrick Garland, in remarks from New York on Monday addressing the work of the US Department of Justice to combat hate-fuelled violence, confirmed the FBI and ATF have launched investigations in the wake of Saturdays shooting. There is understandable fear in communities across the country, Mr Garland said in remarks from the US Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York on Monday. Read more from Alex Woodward here. FBI investigating hate crime motive in shooting of Palestinian students in Vermont Biden releases statement on shooting Tuesday 28 November 2023 07:35 , Graeme Massie President Joe Biden released a statement on the shooting Monday afternoon following a call he had with Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger. Read the full statment below: Jill and I were horrified to learn that three college students of Palestinian descent, two of whom are American citizens, were shot Saturday in Burlington, Vermont. They were simply spending Thanksgiving gathered with family and loved ones, the president said. We join Americans across the country in praying for their full recovery, and we send our deepest condolences to their families. While we are waiting for more facts, we know this: there is absolutely no place for violence or hate in America. Period. No person should worry about being shot at while going about their daily lives. And far too many Americans know a family member injured or killed as a result of gun violence. We cannot and we will not accept that.Earlier today, I spoke to Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger to offer my support. We are grateful to the Burlington Police Department as well as the FBI, ATF, and other law enforcement partners for their swift work identifying and arresting a suspect. Our Administration will provide any additional federal resources needed to assist in the investigation. A gunman shot three Palestinian students in Vermont. Now theyre in the ICU as their families seek answers. Tuesday 28 November 2023 06:04 , Graeme Massie Last week, a gunman ambushed and injured three college students of Palestinian descent as they walked to a Thanksgiving dinner celebration in Burlington, Vermont. John Murad, chief of the Burlington Police Department, called the attack an unprovoked and terrible crime at a 27 November press conference. Now, the suspected gunman 48-year-old Jason Eaton is in custody and federal officials are investigating whether the shooting was a hate crime, as the three students receive treatment at a nearby hospital and their families seek answers. Read more from Katie Hawkinson here. Everything we know about the attack on three Palestinian students in Vermont Jason Eaton could face life imprisonment if convicted Tuesday 28 November 2023 05:10 , Graeme Massie Sarah George, the Chittenden County State's Attorney, said that Jason Eaton could face 20 years to life imprisonment if convicted on three counts of second-degree attempted murder, a felony crime. Mr Eaton was handed the charges when he was booked on Sunday. He plead not guilty to all three counts on Monday during a court arraignment. Ms George said that officials do not currently have enough information to charge Mr Eaton with a hate crime. However, I do want to be clear that there is no question this was a hateful act, she said. In the meantime, as our community grapples with this reality, my office will continue to work closely with the Burlington Police Department and our federal partners to hold Mr Eaton accountable, and any others who commit such horrendous violence in our home, she said. Ms George stated that in order to charge Mr Eaton with a hate crime, prosecutors would need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt an additional element of the crime. Such evidence might come from anything that mightve been said by the defendant at the time of the attack or statements made online prior to the incident. Still, Ms George said that even if prosecutors did charge Mr Eaton with a hate crime, the possible punishment of 20 years to life would not change. The Chittenden County Public Defenders Office, which is representing Mr Eaton, said it was not prepared to comment on the case. One of the students sustained a spinal injury in shooting, uncle says Tuesday 28 November 2023 04:07 , Graeme Massie During a press conference on Monday afternoon, Rich Price, a Burlington resident and uncle of Hisham Awartani, said that the student sustained a spinal injury in the shooting and faces a long road to recovery. All of the men are in the intensive care unit at the University of Vermont Medical Center. Tahseen Ahmad is in a lot of pain, Mr Price added, while Kinnan Abdalhamids injuries are difficult. Still, Mr Price said that Mr Abdalhamid is expected to make a full and speedy recovery. I want to say that these three young men are incredible, Mr Price, who was hosting the students for Thanksgiving, said. They have their lives in front of them. They are committed to building incredible lives. They each go to great schools. The men have visited the family for Thanksgiving in the last few years, Mr Price said, adding that he never imagined that this sort of thing could happen. The incident occured after the men attended a birthday party for Mr Prices 8-year-old twin boys. When they arrived back at the uncles home, they decided to go for a walk. Thats when police believe Mr Eaton encountered the men. Suspect pleads not guilty during arraignment Tuesday 28 November 2023 03:03 , Graeme Massie Jason J Eaton, the man who officials believe shot the students, has pleaded not guilty to all three counts of aggravated assault, officials announced on Monday. Investigators said that information inside Mr Eatons home led them to believe he was involved in the shooting. The mans residence is located in front of where the attack took place, police said. He was arrested on Sunday. Bernie Sanders releases statement on the shooting Tuesday 28 November 2023 02:03 , Graeme Massie Bernie Sanders, the independent US Senator from Vermont, released a statement regarding the shooting on X, also known as Twitter, on Sunday. It is shocking and deeply upsetting that three young Palestinians were shot here in Burlington, Vermont, he said. Hate has no place here, or anywhere. I look forward to a full investigation. My thoughts are with them and their families. Suspect told ATF officer Ive been waiting for you Tuesday 28 November 2023 01:04 , Graeme Massie During a press conference on Monday afternoon, Jon Murad, chief of police for the Burlington Police Department, said that the suspect, Jason Eaton, told an ATF officer something to the effect of Ive been waiting for you, when they arrived to his apartment on Sunday during a canvas of the mans residential building. The ATF officer replied, why is that? Mr Murad said. To which he responded, I would like a lawyer. Chief Murad said that before the man made the comment, he came out of his apartment with his palms up. Officials then asked him if he had any firearms in his possession. He said he had one. At that point, Chief Murad said, the man was detained. Authorities later found a .380 that Mr Eaton had recently purchased. Officials believe the man came from Syracuse, New York and only had one traffic infranction ever since he moved to the area over the summer. Heres what we know about the victims Tuesday 28 November 2023 00:01 , Graeme Massie Three men of Palestinian descent were shot in Burlington, Vermont over the weekend as they walked to a family Thanksgiving dinner. Theyve been identified as Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ahmad, all 20. Two of the students are US citizens and one is a legal resident. The incident is being investigated as a possible hate crime. Officials have arrested a suspect, 48-year-old Jason J Eaton, in connection with the shooting. According to a press release from the Burlington Police Department, the men remain under medical care. Two of them are stable, while one sustained serious injuries. Officials did not provide additional information about the students conditions. The men are not related but had been headed to the home of Mr Awartanis grandmother during the holiday weekend. They had been walking along Prospect Street on Saturday around 6.30pm when they were attacked by the gunman, who was on foot, the release states. The man did not speak to the victims before he fired four shots in their direction. Two of the students were shot in the torso and one was shot in the lower extremities. The shooter fled the scene following the attack. Mr Awartani is a student at Brown University in Rhode Island. Mr Abdalhamid attends Haverford College in Pennsylvania and Mr Ahmed is at Trinity College. Haverford College president comments on shooting Monday 27 November 2023 23:01 , Michelle Del Rey Wendy Raymond, the president of Haverford College, released a statement regarding the shooting on Monday, announcing that the university would be taking measures to support students and staff following the incident, including implementing Islamic grief counseling, a candlelight vigil and additional psychological services. Kinnan Abdalhamid, a junior at the university, was wounded in the shooting. This attack has the power to terrify because it shows how vulnerable we are, in so many ways, Ms Raymond said. Together, we will walk in and through it. In October, while speaking to the Haverford Clerk, the universitys student newspaper, Mr Abdalhamid, criticised the presidents response to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, stating that she did not mention the Palestinians killed by Israel in her early comments immediately after the fighting began that month. She did not mourn the Palestinian citizens who were killed, or the children who were killed by this ruthless bombing, Mr Abdalhamid said. The newspaper said the student had lived under Israeli military occupation from when he was three until he began studying at the university. I dont expect much from Western media or the college to mention much about Israels oppression and apartheid, said Mr Abdalhamid, But I at least expect the thousands who were killed to be mentioned and mourned. Mother of student says its unlikely hell be able to use his legs again' Monday 27 November 2023 22:18 , Michelle Del Rey Elizabeth Price, the mother of Hisham Awartani, 20, told NPR that doctors believe its unlikely that her son may be able to walk following the shooting. Hes confronting a life of disability, a potentially irreversible change to his life and what it means for his future, she told the outlet. Her son is currently attending Brown University, where he is studying mathematics and archaeology. He recently graduated from a Quaker-run K-12 school in the West Bank called Ramallah Friends School. Ms Price, who lives in the West Bank with her husband, Marwan Awartani, said the couple is struggling to get out of the territory and into the US. They plan to cross by land into Jordan before taking a flight to the US, the outlet reported. The students have been friends ever since childhood, she said. These are boys who grew up in my house, I consider all three of them my children, Price says. I am so glad Im going to see them and care for them. The students were staying with the womans brother, Rich Price, at his home in Vermont for Thanksgiving. The mother told the outlet that her and her husband decided to keep her son in Burlington over the holidays rather than have him travel back to the West Bank given the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. My husband didnt want Hisham to come back for Christmas, she told the outlet. He thought our son would be safer [in the U.S.] than in Palestine. Now, she said, My husband is so bitter. Mother of suspected shooter said he has history of mental illness Monday 27 November 2023 20:30 , Michelle Del Rey According to The Daily Beast, Mary Reed, the mother of Jason Eaton, the suspect in the shooting, said her son had previously struggled with depression and other mental health issues. The family celebrated Thanksgiving just days prior to the incident, she said. It was the best Thanksgiving we had in years, the woman told the outlet. We were all together. Ms Reed described her son as a kind and loving person. Still, Jason has had a lot of struggles in his life, she said. I am just shocked by the whole thing. She said her son had not mentioned the war between Israel and Hamas during their recent interaction. She said he was totally normal during the meal and in such a good mood. Ms Reed only learned of the shooting Monday morning, when her daughter came over to wake her up, she told the outlet. I just dont understand, she said. I cant believe he would do something like this. President Joe Biden has been briefed on shooting Monday 27 November 2023 19:09 , Michelle Del Rey During a briefing on Monday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Joe Biden has been informed about the incident and is wishing the men a full recovery. The President and the First Lady were horrified to learn about the three college students of Palestinian descent, two of whom are American citizens who were shot Saturday in Burlington, Vermont, Ms Jean-Pierre said. The President continues to receive updates from his team about the ongoing investigation. These students were taking part in a uniquely American tradition, gathering with family and loved ones to celebrate Thanksgiving. They should be back in school with their classmates not in a hospital room, she coninued. The President First Lady and everyone here at the White House, join Americans across the country in praying for their full recovery and we send our deepest condolences to their families and the broader Palestinian Arab and Muslim American communities. While we are waiting for more facts, we know this there is absolutely absolutely no place for violence or hate in America. No person should worry about being targeted while going about their daily lives and far too many Americans know a family member injured or killed as a result of gun violence. We cannot and we will not accept that. One shooting victim expected to be released from hospital today Monday 27 November 2023 17:12 , Michelle Del Rey One of the three Palestinian students shot in Burlington, Vermont on Saturday in a potential hate crime is expected to be released from the hospital, The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee announced in a statment posted to X, also known as Twitter on Monday. Two of the students will stay in the hospital, the organisation said. One remains seriously injured, while another is critically injured. The organisation did not say which student is suffering from what injuries. ADC is working closely with the students and their families, including working tirelessly to ensure that they are reunited, the organisation said. We are calling on law enforcement in Vermont to additionally prosecute this shooting as a hate crime. ADC has reached out to the DOJ and the FBI to also call on an immediate hate crimes investigation. All three victims survived the initial shooting, one remains seriously injured, one remains critically injured, and one is expected to be released from the hospital today. ADC is working closely with the students and their families, including working tirelessly to ensure that pic.twitter.com/SLI15IXkt0 ADC National (@adc) November 27, 2023 Officials to give update on shooting during press conference Monday 27 November 2023 16:53 , Michelle Del Rey Law enforcement officials are expected to provide an update on the shooting at 12pm on Monday during a press conference being held at Burlington City Hall. Mayor Miro Weinberger, Chief of Police Jon Murad, Chittenden County States Attorney Sarah George, and United States Attorney for the District of Vermont Nikolas Kerest are scheduled to attend, as are representatives of the victims families, and others, a press release distributed by the Burlington Police Department states. The event is set to be livestreamed here. US Attorney General Merrick B Garland says DOJ poised to assist in shooting investigation Monday 27 November 2023 16:47 , Michelle Del Rey Speaking at the US Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York, US Attorney General Merrick B Garland said FBI and ATF investigators are working to determine if the shooting was a hate crime. There is understandable fear in communities across the country, Mr Garland said. Investigative updates by law enforcement officials in Vermont will be coming soon. The Justice Department is poised to provide any assistance that our state and local law enforcement partners need as we work together to protect our communities. Law enforcement officials in Vermont are set to hold a press conference at 12pm ET to give an update about the investigation into the shooting. Heres what we know about the shooting Monday 27 November 2023 16:26 , Michelle Del Rey Officials have not yet released a motive for the shooting of three Palestinian men who were attacked in Burlington, Vermont on Saturday. According to a press release distributed by the Burlington Police Department, the men, Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ahmad, all 20, were walking along Prospect Street around 6.30pm on Saturday when a man fired four shots in their direction. They had been heading to Mr Awartanis grandmothers home for Thanksgiving dinner. Two of the students were wearing keffiyehs, a traditional headdress from the Middle East, at the time of the assault, a release states. According to the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee, the men were speaking to each other in English and Arabic. Two men were shot in the torso, while one was shot in the lower extremities, police said. Two of the men are in stable condition, while one suffered serious injuries, police said. Authorities did not provide further information regarding the students conditions. Officials believe the shooter to be 48-year-old Jason Eaton. Mr Eaton was arrested on Sunday around 3.38pm after he was located and detained by authorities. His residence is located in front of where the incident took place, officials said. Hes currently being held at Northwest State Correctional Facility in Swanton. Officials have denied Mr Eaton bail. Hes facing three charges of second-degree attempted murder, to which he pleaded not guilty on Monday during an arraignment. Jason J Eaton to face arraignment Monday 27 November 2023 15:30 , Megan Sheets Mr Eaton is expected to appear in court on Monday for his arraignment. Police have yet to announce the specific charges he is facing following his arrest on Sunday afternoon. The Independent will stream the arraignment live here. Suspect arrested in Vermont shooting Monday 27 November 2023 15:22 , Megan Sheets Suspect Jason J Eaton, 48, was arrested on Sunday afternoon in connection with the shooting of three Palestinian students. He is alleged to have ambushed the three University of Vermont students Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ahmad near campus in Burlington on Saturday night. The attack is being investigated as a hate crime. The Burlington Police Department said in a press release that the suspected gunman lives in an apartment building near the scene of the shooting. A search of his home uncovered evidence that gave law enforcement probable cause to believe Mr Eaton was behind the attack, police said. It is not clear what charges the 48-year-old is facing but he is expected to appear in court for his arraignment on Monday. The IndependentsRachel Sharp has more: Suspect arrested in Vermont shooting of three Palestinian students Vera Jourova, the Vice-President of the European Commission and European Commissioner for Values and Transparency stated that the position of Ukraine must be taken into account in any negotiations regarding the war with the Russian Federation. Source: Reuters reports this, as cited by European Pravda Details: Jourova stated that she will consider "unacceptable" any talks about the war in Ukraine that do not include Kyiv or involve Ukraine giving up its territory. She also stated that she would be "disappointed" if the proposals for increasing financial aid to Kyiv and the recommendation to start negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union are not approved at the summit of EU leaders on 14-15 December. Jourova, who worked on her own country's accession to the EU almost 20 years ago, expressed her understanding of the challenges Ukraine is facing, recalling how difficult it was to meet the requirements for joining the European Union. The Vice President of the European Commission declined to speculate on whether Hungary would lift its veto in December to allocate money to Kyiv and start membership talks, saying there was now "very intense" diplomatic pressure to convince Prime Minister Viktor Orban. As she said, the European Commission will adopt a draft EU law this year on the use of funds received from frozen Russian assets in the amount of about 200 billion euros for the benefit of Ukraine. Earlier, during her visit to Kyiv on Monday, Jourova discussed the process of Ukraine's accession to the European Union with members of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament). Reminder: In the report published on 8 November, the European Commission recommended starting accession negotiations with Kyiv, but before that, Ukraine must conduct some of the reforms that have not yet been implemented. The Ukrainian government speaks of Ukraine's high level of readiness for accession and promises to complete the negotiations in two years. At the summit of EU leaders in December, a decision will be considered on whether to start accession negotiations with Ukraine. Currently, the green light may be hindered by Hungary, which promises to block a positive decision for Kyiv. Support UP or become our patron! GREENBELT, Md. (DC News Now) The Greenbelt community is grieving the death of a well known city councilmember Ric Gordon. On Monday night, dozens of people gathered at Roosevelt Center for a candle light vigil in his honor. Loving, caring and hardworking are just some of the few words used to describe Gordon. Many loved ones and community members were heartbroken when they learned about his sudden death on Sunday. Shih Tzu stolen out of car at Prince Georges County gas station Hes one of the nicest guys youd ever want to know, its a shame that he met his end so soon, said his former co-worker and longtime friend, Frank Gervasi. Gordon was married to his wife of nearly 10 months, Carla Gordon. She said she was at their Franklin Park home where he died on Sunday. No further details were released about his death. It was devastating I dont know that Im coping, Im just existing right now, said Carla. Seeing and hearing the impact Gordan made on the community lifted her spirits at Mondays vigil. Ric made the community come together like this was the thing that he would do a bringing everybody together for for different events. So for the community to come together for him. Im blown away, she continued. Gordon was a Prince Georges County native according to the City of Greenbelts website. He was known as a community activist that held many events including rallies against community violence. He was dedicated to the betterment of the community. Really everything he did try to better our life together, said Gervasi. The Frederick Rescue Mission prepares for Giving Tuesday The sudden passing of Ric Gordon is a great loss to the Greenbelt community, Prince Georges County, and the state of Maryland, said Mayor Emmett V. Jordan. Ric Gordon was very passionate about Greenbelt, politics and his important role as a council member. He will be missed tremendously. As dozens held candles, cried and hugged one another, many say his impact and uplifting spirit will be missed dearly. He loved with his whole heart, always made sure that others were taken care of even if he wasnt. Im getting messages and calls from all over the state and that just shows me how much of an impact he had on everyone that he touched, said Carla. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC. The latest aviation innovation is under way. The first transatlantic passenger flight using only sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, took off from London Heathrow airport, destination New York, shortly before 12 noon on Tuesday 28 November. The Boeing 787, Lucy in the Sky, had to be specially certified by the aviation authorities in the UK, Ireland, Canada and the US, the nations it is flying over. No paying customers were on board instead, around 100 invited guests made the 3,500-mile journey. Ahead of departure, Virgin Atlantics chief executive, Shai Weiss, told The Independent:This is a proof-of-concept of what can be done and what should be done. But environmentalists dispute some of the claims made for SAF, and say the only real solution to the impact of aviation on the planet is to reduce the amount of flying. These are the key questions and answers. Whats the big idea? The aviation industry says that sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, can reduce overall emissions by 70 per cent and the aim of this flight is to show that if the world gets to the point where it can make enough of SAF, there would be no need for oil-based fuel. Unlike any previous transatlantic flight, this one used zero fossil fuel instead flying mainly on a mix of recycled vegetable oil, animal fat and household waste. The two Rolls-Royce engines are mainly fuelled by processed waste fats, known as HEFA (hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids). But 12 per cent of plant-based synthetic aromatic kerosene (SAK) is added to provide the necessary mix for the engines to function normally. Send off: Sir Richard Branson and the Virgin Atlantic team at Heathrow before departure (Simon Calder) So zero emissions? Far from it. The amount of fuel burnt (about 45 tons) and carbon dioxide generated by the seven-hour Virgin Atlantic Flight 100 is exactly the same as if normal Jet A1 kerosene had been used. The difference is: over the lifecycle of the fuel, the net amount of greenhouse gases generated is much lower. For example, by converting household waste to SAF, it wont end up generating methane as landfill. Another example is with plant-based fuel: while those plants are growing, they absorb CO2 from the atmosphere and then, when burnt an aircraft engine, they release it back. Which, says the aviation industry, is a pretty good example of moving towards net zero. But they are desperate for wider availability of affordable SAF. Rania Georgoutsakou, managing director of Airlines for Europe, says: Todays transatlantic trailblazing trip is an exciting glimpse into the future of flying but if we want to move from it being a one-off stunt to a daily reality, we need action now. Across Europe there is enormous airline appetite for sustainable aviation fuels combined with ambitious mandates for SAF use under new EU rules. But we are starting from a low base. However, with the right level of government incentives and support we could supercharge supply in Europe adding 30 sustainable fuel factories across the continent by 2030 and truly transform our industry. Media scrum: Journalists ahead of the departure of Flight100 to New York (Simon Calder) Does everyone agree? Far from it. Anna Hughes, director of Flight Free UK, says: This relies on the emissions-savings-claims from SAF being accurate. There is no difference in emissions when the fuel is burned; any savings come from the life-cycle of the product. But converting these to aircraft-grade fuel is very energy-intensive, meaning that on balance, you might as well just use kerosene. Campaigners also say that growing crops specifically to be converted to fuel can damage biodiversity and cause deforestation making it worse than using fossil fuels. The Royal Society calculates that the energy crops considered rapeseed, miscanthus, and poplar wood would require more than 50 per cent of the UKs available agricultural land to replace aviation fuel. The UK government is keen to champion the processing of waste into SAF, saying: Repurposing waste products into jet fuel to cut emissions provides the most immediate solution to help decarbonise our skies. But the Royal Society says: Waste feedstocks including sewage, solid municipal waste, or forestry residues, could contribute towards net zero fuel demand, but there is competition from established markets for these feedstocks and significant investment in fuel production and collection infrastructure is required. In terms of inedible animal fat, T&E (Transport and Environment), Europes leading NGO campaigning for cleaner transport, calculates: A flight from Paris to New York needs 8,800 dead pigs. Waste disposal: Simon Calder in front of one of the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines powered with sustainable aircraft fuel (Simon Calder) Should we simply fly less? Anna Hughes of Flight Free UK thinks so. She fears some passengers may be soothed into believing there is a simple and painless solution to the impact of aviation on the planet. This is a seminal moment for the industry and government, allowing them to pretend that we can continue to fly as much as we like with no harm to the environment. The reality is that we still havent worked out how to meaningfully reduce the environmental harms of flying, so the short-term answer must be that we need to do it a lot less. While it sounds promising that a flight can be fuelled with 100 per cent SAF, we are many years away from seeing so-called sustainable fuels in widespread use. The reality is that in order to reliably bring down flight emissions, we need to be flying less, which is certainly not what the industry wants to hear. Helen Coffey, the travel editor of The Independent, agrees: The branding of this type of fuel has been, Ill admit, extremely clever. The seductive words sustainable aviation fuels suggest they produce fewer emissions than regular jet fuel when the plane is airborne; this simply isnt the case. But Virgin Atlantics boss, Shai Weiss, told The Independent: Flying is something that island nations need. We need to do business, we need to do science, we need to visit friends and family. To think that we can magic up elimination of flying, I think is naive to an extreme. Earlier this year, the UK government made domestic air travel significantly more attractive by halving Air Passenger Duty. Sky gazing: Lucy in the Sky, the Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787 Dreamliner used for the first SAF transatlantic flight (Simon Calder) When will passengers fly routinely in SAF-powered planes? They are already but using only a fraction of SAF alongside normal fuel. And that highlights the real problem: SAF is in very short supply worldwide, and consequently costs a fortune. The aviation industry says governments must come to the rescue, and support this nascent industry to enable the goal of net zero aviation in 2050 to be achieved. What about other solutions? Electric aviation using batteries or hydrogen is zero emission. But the Transport Select Committee says: Electric batteries are unlikely to become small or light enough to make them suitable for anything beyond short-haul flights. Hydrogen is likely to demand large amounts of storage space and is highly flammable. New dawn? Sunrise over London Heathrow airport as the Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787 is towed onto stand 1 at Terminal 3 (Simon Calder) Sustainable Aviation Fuels are seen as the main tool for decarbonising the sector over the coming decades, but the technology is still in its infancy and production remains very expensive (Oli SCARFF) British airline Virgin Atlantic on Tuesday operates the first transatlantic flight powered entirely by Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), but environmental groups criticised the event as "greenwashing". The flight will leave London's Heathrow airport at 1130 GMT bound for New York's JFK. It is the first time that SAF will be used "in both engines, by a commercial airline, for long-haul flight", the airline said in a statement. However, the Boeing 787 plane equipped with Rolls-Royce engines will not carry any paying passengers or cargo. SAFs are produced from renewable biomass and waste resources and can be used in jet fuel to a maximum of 50 percent, having been blended with kerosene, in modern aircraft. They are seen as the main tool for decarbonising the aviation sector over the coming decades, but the technology is still in its infancy and production remains very expensive. Also, they are used in combustion engines that still generate carbon dioxide, with decarbonisation taking place further upstream by reusing plant matter instead of extracting hydrocarbons. The UK government last December announced that it was providing up to 1 million ($1.26 million) in support of the project, led by Virgin in collaboration with the University of Sheffield, US aircraft manufacturer Boeing and British engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce. Environmental group Stay Grounded called the operation "greenwashing" -- a term used for companies that use deceptive claims to convince the public that their products or operations are environmentally friendly. "While public focus is on this one seemingly green flight, there are 100,000 daily flights using fossil fuels," said Magdalena Heuwieser, from the Stay Grounded network. Finlay Asher, an aerospace engineer who has worked for Rolls-Royce, quoted by Stay Grounded, said that the production process was a "technological dead-end" that "can't be sustainably scaled beyond a few percent of existing jet fuel use". Greenpeace also criticised the event, with its chief scientist Doug Parr warning that "the two potential sources of genuinely sustainable aviation fuel are both severely limited in scale". "The waste used as feedstock for the bio-kerosene in this flight is not available in quantities large enough to make a big impact on aviation's emissions. "And the CO2 from Direct Air Capture and green hydrogen from electrolysis -- both used to make e-kerosene -- are very expensive to produce. "The only effective way to deal with aviation emissions in the short term is by tackling demand, and any suggestion otherwise is just pie in the sky," he added. The flight comes two days before the UN's COP28 climate conference in Dubai, where the future of fossil fuels will be hotly debated. jwp/phz/lth Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis criticizes his British counterpart, Rishi Sunak, for canceling their scheduled meeting over a row revolving around Parthenon sculptures. Mitsoktakis had been hoping that he would have the chance to raise the issue at the talks as disagreements over the antiquities were renewed. Aides described Sunak's decision as "wrong and undignified," the Greek PM expressed his irritation at the meeting being canceled at the last minute. Kyriakos Mitsoktakis Slams Rishi Sunak As the center-right leader visited London, he released a statement saying that traditionally strong ties of friendship unite Greece and Britain. He added that the two countries' bilateral relations framework is exceptionally broad. Mitsotakis said that he was looking forward to discussing Greece's views on the Parthenon sculptures along with other international challenges. These include Gaza, Ukraine, the climate crisis, and migration, among other issues. The statement ended with the Greek PM berating his British counterpart for supposedly failing to rise to the challenge of talking about the fate of the antiquities. The Guardian says these sculptures have spawned the West's longest-running cultural row. It added, "Whoever believes in the correctness and justice of his views is never afraid of opposing arguments." Mitsotakis had been due to visit Downing Street around lunchtime on Tuesday, the last day of his UK trip. But on Monday evening, while speaking with the Labour Party leader, Keir Starmer, he was told that Sunak was canceling their meeting. Officials who were traveling with Mitsotakis said that there was no doubt that his comments regarding the sculptures played a role in Sunak canceling their appointment. On Sunday, the Greek leader interviewed Laura Kuenssberg, reiterating his country's longstanding request for the Parthenon antiquities to be reunited with other sculptures. The latter are located beneath the temple they had once adorned. Mitsotakis added that the division of the artwork between London and Athens was like cutting the Mona Lisa in half. Read Also: Far-Right Leader Geert Wilders Wins Dutch Parliamentary Elections Row Over Parthenon Antiquities The 2,500-year-old sculptures were removed by British diplomat Lord Elgin in the early 19th century when he was ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. According to Reuters, the Greek government had been talking with British Museum chair George Osborn about the possibility of a loan deal for the sculptures. Mitsotakis also expressed his disagreement over the fact that discussions of the potential return of the Parthenon antiquities were not progressing fast enough. On the other hand, a British government official, who asked to be anonymous, said that the row over the sculptures meant that it was not suitable for the meeting. After the cancellation of the meeting, the British government offered Mitsotakis to meet with Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden instead of Sunak. A senior Conservative source noted that it became impossible for the talks to move forward following commentary regarding the Elgin Marbles. He added that their position is clear that the Elgin Marbles are part of the permanent collection of the British Museum and belong within. He said that it was reckless for any British politician to suggest that this is subject to negotiation, according to BBC. Related Article: Minister Boris Johnson Joins London March Against Antisemitism @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. This story was updated on 11/30 with the correct spelling of Greene and Culpeper counties and to include additional candidates. The field of Congressional hopefuls aiming to claim Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger's seat in Virginia's 7th District is growing. Ten competitors have filed statements of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission as of Thursday. That number includes five Republican candidates and one Independent, along with four Democrats who filed after Spanberger announced that she will not seek re-election. Spanberger, a prominent moderate Democratic, plans to run for Governor in 2025. Spanberger was the first Democrat elected to represent the district, once considered a Republican stronghold, since 1971. Her predecessors, David Brat and Eric Cantor, both rose to prominence within their party as House Republican leaders. Spanberger, a former United States Postal Service federal agent and later a CIA officer, defeated Brat, a member of the caustic House Freedom Caucus, in 2018 when the column-shaped district stretched from rural Culpeper to Blackstone and included most of the suburbs to the west of Richmond. Why does the 7th district matter to Virginia? The 7th Congressional District map, redrawn in time to be implemented ahead of the 2022 contest, now includes Republican strongholds such as rural King George, Culpeper, Orange and Greene counties, along with two urban Democratic strongholds Alexandria and Fredericksburg, which overwhelmingly went to Spanberger in 2022. Despite the shift, she beat her Republican contender, Yesli Vega, by a 4% margin in 2022, her largest margin of victory since winning the 2018 General Election. Regardless of Vega's defeat, the Virginia GOP is hopeful in their effort to flip the battleground district with the incumbent Democrat out of the running. Virginia Republicans are ready to compete to win everywhere in 2024. That includes in the 7th Congressional District, where fake moderate Abigail Spanberger has for years pretended to care about the interests of her constituents while voting with Joe Biden 100% of the time, Ken Nunnenkamp, executive director for the Virginia GOP, said. The Virginia Democratic Party did not respond to a request for comment. Folks interested in running for federal office can explore the possibility of becoming a candidate prior to formally announcing their candidacy. A person becomes a candidate once they raise or spend more than $5,000 in contributions or expenditures and submit a statement of candidacy to the Federal Elections Commission, according to the FEC website. These people have filed statements of candidacy with the FEC as of Thursday: Derrick Anderson, Republican Filed original statement of candidacy with the FEC on October 15, 2021 for the 2022 election. Filed an amended statement of candidacy on September 21 for the 2024 election. Formally announced? Yes. A former U.S. Army combat veteran and attorney, Derrick Anderson is the only reoccurring candidate so far in the race to represent Virginias 7th Congressional District. He threw his hat in the ring for the 2022 election but lost the Republican primary to Vega. He garnered the second most votes in the primary race, 23.8% to Vegas 28.9%. He has been featured repeatedly on Fox News where he has criticized President Joe Bidens foreign policy in the Middle East and blamed the Biden Administration for the ongoing conflict in Gaza. His campaign had $158,763 cash on hand at the end of September. Craig Ennis, Independent Filed original statement of candidacy with the FEC on March 17. Formally announced? No. No verifiable information about Craig Ennis could be found online. William Bill Moher, Republican Filed original statement of candidacy with the FEC on May 8. Formally announced? Yes. A self-described businessman, William Moher led the pack of Republican contenders with $286,454 cash on hand at the end of September, the most out of any conservative candidate for Virginias 7th Congressional District at that time. Cameron Hamilton, Republican Filed original statement of candidacy with the FEC on August 13. Formally announced? Yes. Not to be confused with the Love Is Blind season 1 cast member, Congressional candidate Cameron Hamilton is a former Navy SEAL and a former Department of Homeland Security employee. Hamilton has also appeared repeatedly on Fox News, where he discussed the possibility of US Special Forces involvement in the conflict in Gaza. His campaign had $64,287 cash on hand at the end of September. Jonathon Paul Myers, Republican Filed original statement of candidacy with the FEC on August 14. Formally announced? Yes. A former Marine and intelligence officer, Jonathon Paul Myers has appeared repeatedly on Fox News and News Max recently to discuss the conflict in Gaza. He has also been an outspoken critic of the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan. His campaign had $8,144 cash on hand at the end of September. Terris Todd, Republican Filed original statement of candidacy with the FEC on October 7. Formally announced? Yes. A former advisor at The Heritage Foundation, a Washington, D.C., based conservative think-tank, Terris Todd was appointed by the Trump Administration in 2020 as the executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans within the U.S. Department of Education. Todd filed his statement of candidacy with the FEC after the Q3 campaign finance deadline. Yevgeny Eugene Vindman, Democrat Filed original statement of candidacy with the FEC on November 16. Formally announced? Yes. Famous for the role he and his twin brother played as whistleblowers in the 2019 Trump impeachment inquiry, retired Army Colonel Yevgeny Vindman entered the race after Spanberger announced she would seek state-wide office. Vindman joined the military and became a JAG officer after completing law school. He has appeared on MSNBC to announce his campaign for Congress and is not to be confused with his twin brother, Alexander, who appeared on a season 11 episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Vindman filed his statement of candidacy with the FEC after the Q3 campaign finance deadline. Margaret Franklin, Democrat Filed original statement of candidacy with the FEC on November 16. Formally announced? Yes Margaret Franklin is currently serving as the Woodbridge District Supervisor, and was elected Vice-Chair of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors in January 2022. During her time on the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, she led initiatives to create the countys first child advocacy center, housing assistance program, small business grant program and led the creation of a racial and social justice commission. Franklin filed her statement of candidacy with the FEC after the Q3 campaign finance deadline. Briana Sewell, Democrat Filed original statement of candidacy with the FEC on November 20. Formally announced? Yes. Del. Briana Sewell currently represents Virginias 25th District in the House of Delegates. Prior to serving in the statehouse, she worked as the chief of staff to the Chair At-Large of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors and advocated for paid family medical leave for Virginian residents. Elected to represent the 51st district in the House of Delegates in 2021, Sewell has sponsored legislation to support veterans, students and teachers. She won her re-election to the represent the 25th District in the House of Delegates with nearly 62% of the vote, following state-wide redistricting. Sewell filed her statement of candidacy with the FEC after the Q3 campaign finance deadline. Elizabeth Guzman, Democrat Filed original statement of candidacy with the FEC on November 30. Formally announced? Yes Del. Elizabeth Guzman currently represents Virginia's 31st District in the House of Delegates serves as but she will be out of office once the 2024 legislative session begins due to redistricting. Guzman was redistricted into the same area as another incumbent Democrat, with new legislative maps in play for the November 2023 elections, and instead of running against that incumbent, she ran for state senate in District 29 and lost by 50 votes to Jeremy McPike. As a Delegate, Guzman advocated for paid sick leave, a living wage for workers, collective bargaining rights, the establishment of a new mental health crisis center, and a ban on assault weapons. She has also supported in-state tuition for children of military families and expedited licensure for military spouse nurses. This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Virginia's 7th Congressional District 2024 election Digital floats are projected onto Bangkok's Ong Ang Canal during the annual Loy Krathong festival celebrations (MANAN VATSYAYANA) Luscious greens, egg-yolk yellows and delicate oranges flickered across waterways in the Thai capital Bangkok, as virtual projections of the Loy Krathong festival's traditional offerings reduced waste at the popular event. The annual festival, celebrated on Monday, sees millions ask forgiveness from the river goddess Khongkha by releasing colourful floats into waters across Thailand under a full moon. In recent years environmentalists have expressed concern as Bangkok's already clogged waterways are increasingly choked by the plastic and foliage "krathongs", as the offerings are known. To combat this, a Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) initiative took a fresh approach to the centuries-old tradition. Rather than floating the elaborately constructed offerings -- which include leaves, flowers, plastic, candles, incense sticks and sometimes coins -- people were asked to create digital krathong. After colouring-in drawings of krathong on paper, or on their phones, attendees' sketches were scanned and then projected onto the city's Ong Ang Canal. "The tradition still remains. But we must integrate the festival to be up-to-date, in order to create less impact and less pollution on nature," attendee Chainarong Tumapha, 27, told AFP. After colouring-in her krathong, Phattarika Kiltontiwanich agreed change was needed. "I'm quite concerned since the environmental issues have grown much bigger," the 23-year-old told AFP. The BMA said about 3,700 images were projected across the nighttime waters. "We can see that it's getting a lot of attention, especially among young people," Bangkok official Pornphrom Vikitsreth told AFP. But the numbers were dwarfed by Bangkokians choosing to release the more traditional floats, with officials saying that more 600,000 were removed from the city's waters. The BMA said polystyrene usage was down three percent from last year, with the vast majority of offerings made from natural materials. As people cast off their floats, tugs and small vessels bobbed in the Chao Phraya River, with workers scooping krathongs from the choppy waters. The collected material will be sorted, with biodegradable elements turned into compost and plastic sent to landfill. Near the Icon Siam luxury mall, where the krathongs were guided into the Chao Phraya by golden-painted slides, revellers enjoyed a more traditional celebration. "If we don't continue [Loy Krathong], our children and grandchildren will not see this," said 57-year-old Tanaporn Karueksom. wjt-rbu/dva MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) The Africatown Heritage House was named a nominee in the USA Today 10Best Readers Choice Awards for Best New Museum. The home was nominated by journalists who have visited Mobile and seen its progress over the years. The exhibit, operated by the History Museum of Mobile, Mobile County Commission and the City of Mobile, opened in July 2023. Mobile will collect your scrap tires totally free Its home to Clotilda: The Exhibit, which tells the story of the last known slave ship to arrive in the New World. The ship carried 110 slaves in 1860 52 years after the slave trade became illegal. Those slaves would eventually settle down in what is now known as Africatown, which is the only community that African-born Americans entirely ran. Voting began Monday and will last through Dec. 25 at 10:59 a.m. You can cast your vote here. Tickets to the museum cost $15 for adults, $9 for guests 65 and older, students aged 18 or more with a school ID and active or retired military with ID. Tickets for children ages 6-18 are $8, and those under 5 get in for free. The museum is also free to Mobile County residents with proof of residency, although donations are encouraged. In Case You Missed It: Africatown celebrates Clotilda discovery For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRG News 5. The public lighting of the Holiday Kids Tree at the Washington state Capitol Rotunda in Olympia will be at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1. This is the first time since the pandemic began in 2020 that the festivities have occurred. Live seasonal music will be provided by students from the Washington Middle School Bulldog Concert Choir, and Santa will pose for photos with kids after the tree lighting ceremony. The free event is part of a 35-year tradition, according to a news release from the Association of Washington Business. Three noble fir trees of heights from 17 feet to 21 feet tall will be included in the display. Weyerhaeuser is donating the trees, and they will be set up by the Washington Department of Enterprise Services after delivery Tuesday, Nov. 28. The tree display will have a video game theme and will be decorated with 7,000 LED lights, traditional decorations and stuffed toys. After the holidays, some of the toys and books will be donated to patients at Mary Bridge Childrens Hospital in Tacoma. The AWB Holiday Kids Tree Project began in 1989, and since then it has donated over $500,000 to families in need, identified by local firefighters. The money and gifts are passed along to firefighters by local chambers of commerce and community groups. Ricardo Santee, a firefighter and volunteer community leader from West Thurston Regional Fire Authority, will light the tree Friday along with his wife, Trisha, and their 4-year-old daughter Eleanor. Chief Rob Smith from the West Thurston Regional Fire Authority said that the family serves as a beacon of light to our community and our fire department with a mission to give back. The Santee family mission, as we affectionately refer to it, is their unselfish and continued, consistent internal driver to help anyone and everyone in need. Lt. Gov. Denny Heck and AWB President Kris Johnson will host the ceremony. A North Carolina state trooper wont face charges for shooting and killing a man after a high-speed chase that ended in a crash last summer. Troopers with the N.C. State Highway Patrol exchanged gunfire with a Fayetteville man Sept. 1 after a chase in Johnston County ended with a crash in a neighborhood near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Raleigh. Jaylen Routt, 22, allegedly fled from officers and then fired a gun at them before he was fatally shot by Trooper Harrison Nazal off of Exit 299 on Interstate 40. Nazal wont face criminal charges because he acted lawfully in using deadly force, Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said Tuesday evening. Nazal was placed on administrative duty during a review of the shooting by the State Bureau of Investigation, which is routine procedure when a law enforcement officer kills someone. North Carolina law gives law enforcement authority to use deadly force in protecting themselves and others from a threat of being killed, Freeman wrote in her summary of the case. The evidence supports a finding that officers on scene had a reasonable belief that they were in imminent danger of deadly harm. A review of all the available evidence in this case leads to a conclusion that the use of force was lawful and that a prosecution is not sustainable. According to a review of evidence that included troopers dashboard camera footage, radio traffic and witness testimony of nearby residents, Routt did not heed troopers demands to exit his car when his vehicle came to a stop. Instead, Routt attempted to flee the scene in the gray Nissan Rogue that he had been driving at 100 mph in Johnston County at around 1 a.m. that night, which triggered the chase. Routts car got stuck when he tried to reverse in the direction of the troopers. Nazal broke the glass out of one Routts windows with a flashlight and officers tried to use a taser through the window to subdue Routt, according to Freeman. Routt then raised a gun toward a Johnston County sheriffs deputy at the scene and fired. The deputy fell to the ground and yelled Gun!, though he and other officers were not injured. Nazal then opened fire, emptying his magazine at the man in the car. A Glock 22 .40 caliber handgun was found in the car. Routt, died from his injuries at a WakeMed hospital. He had six gunshot wounds, according to preliminary autopsy results. The City-County Bureau of Investigation processed evidence from the scene and determined that a shell casing in Routts vehicle matched the Glock firearm. Routt was wanted in Cumbeland County on charges of first-degree murder in the January 2021 shooting of a minor, according to WRAL. The Conservatives and Plaid Cymru have criticised the delays to the scheme Opposition parties in the Senedd have voiced concern that a revamped Welsh government scheme to help people make their homes more energy efficient will not be introduced until after the coldest part of the year has ended. Ministers are currently considering bids to run the Warm Homes programme. On Tuesday, the first minister said the scheme would be rolled out "by the end of this financial year" in April. He added that current arrangements were being extended in the meantime. The Warm Homes programme, which was due to come in from April this year, is the Welsh government's "primary mechanism to tackle fuel poverty", according to ministers. The new scheme will be demand-led and will "assist those least able to pay to respond to the cost-of-living crisis". At the same time, all households will be able to access advice on how to make their homes more energy efficient. The Welsh government claims that over the last 12 years, 73,000 lower income households have benefitted from the Warm Homes programme and that 176,500 people have received energy efficiency advice. During First Minister's Questions in the Senedd on Tuesday, Mark Drakeford was asked by the Welsh Conservative MS Mark Isherwood to confirm the roll-out arrangements for the new programme. Mr Drakeford said: "I do expect the Warm Homes programme to be implemented by the end of this financial year. "The tender documents are ready and, in the meantime, we have extended existing arrangements to tide us over until the new programme can be implemented." 'Government dragging its feet' However Plaid Cymru's spokesperson on social justice, Sioned Williams said it was "unforgivable" that the new programme was not already in place. "When it comes to tackling fuel poverty, we're talking about helping those in extreme poverty, those who cannot afford to keep their home warm during the coldest months. "What's worse is that the Warm Homes programme has already been budgeted for. "This isn't a matter of finding the cash, it's the government dragging its feet while those who are in severe fuel poverty, living in the poorest households and residing in the least fuel-efficient homes, are left out in the cold." Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has discussed plea talks or has left open the possibility of talks with all other co-defendants involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia except for former President Donald Trump, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Trumps former lawyer Rudy Giuliani, according to The Guardian. The DA has no plans to extend plea deals to the three defendants in the case, two people familiar with the matter told The Guardian. Instead, the prosecutors are opting to proceed to trial, compelling the individuals to face the charges in court. Her hope is to encourage other co-defendants to consider the option of becoming cooperating witnesses in the case against the former president, sources told The Guardian. While the decision hasnt been communicated formally, it remains subject to potential changes, especially if there is a shift in the prosecutors' strategy, the news outlet reported. But typically with organized crime and racketeering conspiracies, there is either one or a couple big fish who pose enduring risks if they are not convicted, Nathan Chapman, a professor of law at the University of Georgia, told Salon. The big fish remain insulated by little fish who do the dirty work. In this case, Trump's alleged conspiracy to keep himself in power by any means makes him the mastermind behind the effort to overturn election results in Georgia. By getting lower-level defendants in the criminal enterprise to cooperate, the DA can unravel the intricate web of activities orchestrated by the mastermind. It is easier to get direct evidence against the little fish than the big fish, so you flip the little fish to testify against the big fish in exchange for a reduced sentence, Chapman said. The risk of not convicting the big fish is that he'll go back to his old ways with new little fish, this time more carefully. In August, Trump and 18 co-defendants initially pleaded not guilty to a comprehensive indictment, which charged them with violating the RICO statute in an effort to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia. The charges included promoting false Trump electors and tampering with voting machines. But prosecutors quickly secured plea deals with lawyers Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, Kenneth Chesebro and local bail bondsman Scott Hall. The four of them agreed to plead guilty to reduced charges and avoid jail time in exchange for their cooperation in the case. The district attorney's office prefers persuading as many of Trump's co-defendants as possible to cooperate, one source told The Guardian. Prosecutors have formally requested Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee to extend the final deadline for plea deals, proposing a deadline as late as June 2024. The lack of a plea deal for Meadows and Giuliani illustrates that they are either fairly significant within the conspiracy or not credible enough to seek out as witnesses, Atlanta defense attorney Andrew Fleischman told Salon. Another possibility could include the prosecutors potentially building evidence against the two co-defendants until they have an air-tight case to get them to plead in exchange for testifying against Trump, Chapman said. There are probably several reasons to not offer a plea dealso farto the biggest fish in this case: the prosecutors are still building their evidence against them, he added. They want them to squirm or even proffer a plea deal on their own Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course. It is also more politically advantageous for Trump to not accept any plea deal prosecutors are willing to offer since the whole political benefit of the case is trying the thing and getting national media coverage, Fleischman said. The most obvious explanation is that the former president won't take a deal before the election, Chapman pointed out, suggesting Trump is using the prosecution to fire up his base and continues to deny any responsibility. He would lose both of those if he pleaded guilty. Trump wants to avoid any criminal liability, and certainly prison, and he probably believes that his best path forward is to win the general election and allow the people to exonerate him, Chapman said. So, it would be a waste of time to offer a plea deal to him. Meanwhile, if they wait long enough, there is always the chance he will give them more evidence because he has a very hard time keeping his mouth shut. Ted Goodman, Giuliani's political advisor and spokesman, called the report "yet another unethical leaklikely by the prosecutor's officeto create publicity around a phony case where the highly partisan prosecutors office in Georgia can't prove any wrongdoing." "The only deal Mayor Giuliani is making is to tell the truth and unfortunately, every single prosecutor in this case is a partisan Democrat focused on their own political ambitions and keeping President Donald Trump out of the White House," Goodman said in a statement. "Fani Willis is doing great and lasting damage to our country by continuing to weaponize our criminal justice system to keep President Trump out of the White House and to take down the people around him. VISALIA, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) A 33-year-old wanted fugitive from Colorado was arrested in Tulare County Tuesday morning, according to the Visalia Police Department. The Tulare County Agencies Regional Gun Violence Enforcement Team (TARGET) received information from law enforcement in Denver, Colorado that wanted fugitive 33-year-old Marc Morales-Cisneros, was possibly in Tulare County. 33-year-old Marc Morales-Cisneros According to police, Morales-Cisneros who was considered armed and dangerous, was contacted and taken into custody for numerous outstanding arrest warrants for his alleged involvement in the thefts of over 50 high-end vehicles as well as an investigation for an assault on a peace officer. Officials with the Visalia Police say at 6:10 a.m. the TARGET Task Force with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and their SWAT Team, Denver Police Department, Tulare County Sheriffs Office (SWAT Team, K-9, and Air Support), Investigators from the Tulare County Regional Auto Theft Task Force (T-RATT) and agents from the California Department of Justice, served a search warrant at a home in the area of Avenue 288 and Road 160 in Visalia. The Colorado fugitive was booked into the Tulare County Pre-Trial Detention Facility without incident, pending his extradition to Colorado. According to officials, an indictment was also filed on September 29, 2023, from the Seventeenth District Grand Jury in the District Court of Adams County, Colorado of which 29 counts were against Morales-Cisneros related to violations of the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act Pattern of Racketeering Participation in an Enterprise and Conspiracy. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com. Washington's warning came with the implicit suggestion the US is shifting its position on the Israeli offensive - MAHMUD HAMS/AFP Israel cannot unleash an offensive on southern Gaza on the scale it did in the north, the US said on Tuesday, in its strongest warning yet to Benjamin Netanyahus government. The stern rhetoric came with the implicit suggestion the US is shifting its position on the Israeli offensive. It comes as the families of Israeli hostages said their relatives had been moved from house-to-house by Hamas in the southern city of Khan Younis to avoid detection and have been supplied with little food. Hamas released 12 more hostages last night, 10 Israelis and two Thai nationals. Two of the Israelis are dual Argentinian nationals and another is a dual Austrian national. The youngest, 17-year-old Mia Leimberg, was released alongside her mother Gabriela, 59, and the familys dog, a shih tzu named Bella. The others were named by Israeli media as Ditza Heiman, 84, Tami Metzger, 78, Ada Sagi, 75, Ofelia Roitman, 77, Noralin Babadila Agojo, 60, Rimon Kirsht Buchshtav, 36, Clara Marman, 62, and Meirav Tal, 54. Hamas ally, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, said it had been involved in the release of some of the hostages. Journalists at the scene of the handover confirmed that members of both Hamas and Islamic Jihads armed wings were present. In return, 15 Palestinian children and 15 women were released from Israeli jails in the fifth night of exchange. Many of those released had not been convicted of any charges. Hit back harder Israel has vowed to renew its offensive once the fragile truce comes to an end. Yoav Gallant, the Israeli defence minister, said its forces intend to hit back harder than before, fighting in the entire Gaza Strip with the same amount of power and more. Khan Younis is expected to be a key target of Israels next offensive. Yahya Sinwar, Hamass leader in Gaza and one of the alleged architects of the Oct 7 attacks, is among those rumoured to be hiding out in the city, amid speculation the group could make their last stand in the area. However, the city has also become a refuge for Palestinians driven out of the north by Israeli strikes. An offensive in Khan Younis, which has seen its population of around 200,000 double in the last few weeks, would involve yet another mass displacement. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have dropped flyers in southern Gaza encouraging civilians to flee to a dedicated safe zone - the small coastal spot of al-Mawasi. Critics have noted it would be impossible for Gazas more than two million residents to mass in the area, which is roughly the size of Los Angeless LAX airport. Around 15,000 Palestinians have been killed since the Israeli offensive began, according to Gazas Hamas-run health ministry. International aid groups have also warned a lack of food, power and water has caused dire conditions in the small coastal territory, with disease rampant amid poor sanitary conditions. No red lines Washington said it had reinforced its stern warnings to Israel over the next stage of its offensive from the president on down. During a briefing in Washington, a senior US official said: We cannot have the sort of scale that took place in the north, replicated in the south. It will be beyond disruptive. It will be beyond the capacity of any humanitarian support network, however reinforced, however robust, to be able to cope with. Israel must operate with far greater precision and avoid significant further displacement of civilians, the official said. The expected campaign must avoid attacks on critical infrastructure and humanitarian sites including hospitals in south and central Gaza, according to Washington and has now 80 per cent of the population of the Gaza Strip. It comes a month after the White House said it had set no red lines for Israels response to Hamas Oct 7 attacks, when they killed 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, and seized around 240 hostages. Details of the conditions some hostages endured were shared with The Telegraph after their release. Osnat Meiri said she was shocked to see her aunt, 78-year-old Ruti Munder, and cousin 55-year-old Keren Munder when she met them in a hospital outside Tel Aviv on Friday night. The pair were released in the first group of hostages alongside Rutis grandson, nine-year-old Ohad. They were a lot thinner, they were very tired and they were undernourished, she said. They were themselves but there was that terror you could see in their eyes. While some hostages were kept in Hamass sprawling network of tunnels, the Munder family were taken to the city of Khan Younis. They were shuttled from one house to another without beds to sleep on, with some of the residences clearly commandeered from civilians. Her aunt told Ms Meiri, one flat they moved to had been so hastily abandoned by its residents the washing machine was still running. Food allocations were gradually cut as the IDF offensive disrupted supplies. Meanwhile, the heads of the CIA and Israels Mossad intelligence agencies met Qatars prime minister in Doha on Tuesday to discuss a possible deal to extend the truce between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas. A source briefed on the visit said Bill Burns, the CIA chief and David Barnea, head of Mossad, met prime minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani to discuss the potential terms of a deal beyond the two-day truce extension. 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. Former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and all five living current and former first ladies Jill Biden, Melania Trump, Michelle Obama, Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton gathered at a memorial on Tuesday for former first lady Rosalynn Carter in Atlanta. Carter was wheeled into the church in a wheelchair with a blanket wrapped around his legs and positioned in the front row. Melania Trump was dressed in a gray coat, the other first ladies in dark blue or black attire. Former Presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama did not attend the event, which was billed as a tribute service at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church on the Emory University campus. The casket of former first lady Rosalynn Carter is seen during a memorial service at Glenn Memorial Church in Atlanta on Tuesday. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters) Former PBS NewsHour anchor Judy Woodruff, Rosalynn Carter and Jimmy Carter's daughter Amy and their grandson Jason Carter delivered eulogies. Jason Carter began by welcoming the former first ladies and their "lovely husbands," drawing laughter. The last time all of the living first ladies attended an event together was in 2018 at the funeral of former President George H.W. Bush at the Washington National Cathedral. All living current and former presidents and first ladies, including Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter and the Trumps, attended the service. Before that, in 2007, all current and former presidents and first ladies at that time, including George H.W. Bush, Barbara Bush, the Carters and Nancy Reagan, attended the funeral of former President Gerald Ford in Washington. Rosalynn Carter died last week at 96. She had entered home hospice care in Plains, Ga., after being diagnosed with dementia. Former President Jimmy Carter arrives at a tribute service for former first lady Rosalynn Carter at Glenn Memorial Church in Atlanta on Tuesday. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images) Jimmy Carter, the 39th and longest-living president in American history, turned 99 on Oct. 1. In February, he decided to forgo further medical treatment for an undisclosed illness and entered hospice care at his home. The Carters made their last public appearance in September, when they attended the Plains Peanut Festival a week before Jimmy Carters 99th birthday. The couple waved to parade attendees from the back of an SUV. Following Tuesdays memorial service in Atlanta, Rosalynn Carter will be taken back to Plains for a private funeral on Wednesday at Maranatha Baptist Church, the couple's home church. From there the casket will then be transferred to a hearse and depart for private interment at the Carter family residence. Jimmy Carter plans to be buried next to her. A guest looks at the program prior to a tribute service for former first lady Rosalynn Carter at Glenn Memorial Church on the campus of Emory University in Atlanta on Tuesday. (Brynn Anderson/Pool/AFP via Getty Images) Recommended reading A military honor guard carries the casket of Rosalynn Carter in Atlanta Tuesday. (Erik S. Lesser/Pool/AFP via Getty Images) Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protestors, calling for a permanent ceasefire amid the Israel-Hamas war, blocked the Manhattan bridge on Sunday in New York City. The demonstration caused heavy traffic in both directions between Manhattan and Brooklyn. Pro-Palestinian Protestors Shut Down Manhattan Bridge The New York Police Department reported hundreds of protestors, including the anti-Zionist group Jewish Voice For Peace (JVP), blocking the Manhattan bridge. The police arrested several people, but the NYPD spokesperson said the confirmed number of people arrested was not immediately available. Since the October 7 attack, the demonstration on Manhattan bridge was followed by a series of orchestrated pro-ceasefire disruptions, including sit-ins at Grand Central station that also resulted in traffic and commuter disruption. The report said loud horns and screams were heard during the demonstration as cars loaded onto the bridge. "I support their protest, but I don't think it's a good idea to close the bridge," a man on the bridge told Fox News. The protestors chanted, "Let Gaza live," and other messages that called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. JVP spokesperson Jay Saper said the US government could not ignore the polling and the demonstrations as most Americans called for a permanent ceasefire. He added that they knew that business-as-usual could not continue while the US government was continuously funding and fueling genocidal attacks against the Palestinians of Gaza. "We know that taking mass action is necessary to help build international outcry that can stop the bombings permanently," he said. The mass protests made it impossible for politicians to continue to support the actions of Israel unless they were willing to withstand escalating pressure. Saper assured that they would continue to speak out until all Palestinians were free. Read Also: France: 6 Teenagers Stand in Court for Beheading French History Teacher Samuel Paty in 2020 Ceasefire Amid Israel-Hamas War On Monday, Saper announced the two-day extension of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The militants freed 11 more hostages, who were handed over directly to Israel, while others left through Egypt. The series of mass protests in US cities and Western capitals made it possible and effective to continue the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Egypt sent two delegations to monitor the ceasefire in Tel Aviv and Gaza. But they were also looking for ways to maintain the pause permanently. President Biden said that the ceasefire brought genuine opportunity for progress. The European Union also said in the statement that they commend Egypt, the UN, the US, and others who played a role in facilitating the temporary ceasefire. China also supported Israel and Hamas to continue the ceasefire. Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said both sides must find a durable solution to the conflict. Related Article: Biden Hopes for Israel-Hamas Truce Extension as Temporary Ceasefire Enters Final Day @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Nov. 28 (UPI) -- Sanitation workers in New Hampshire went digging through 20 tons of trash to locate a resident's lost wedding ring. Windham General Services Director Dennis Senibaldi said he received a call from a town selectman, who put him in touch with a resident whose wedding band had accidentally gone out with the trash. "She gave me some particulars: at what time her husband threw the trash out, what was in the trash bag, what kind of car he was driving," Senibaldi told WHDH-TV. Senibaldi reviewed surveillance camera footage to try to pinpoint the location of the woman's trash. "So, I knew where the first scoop went, I knew where exactly on the floor it was, but it's still a lot of stuff to go through," Senibaldi told WMUR-TV. He said his team had to dig through 12 feet of trash bags to reach the right bag. The ring was found about 2 hours after the search began. "I grabbed the ring, brought it up, cleaned it up for her, called her up," Sendibaldi said. "She was heartbroken on Wednesday and more than ecstatic on Friday." Sendibaldi said it was the third time in two years that his team has sifted through trash at the transfer station to find a lost wedding ring. He said the last time was almost exactly one year earlier. WAUSAU The Wausau School Board is back to the drawing board as it looks for new ways to address declining enrollment and increasing costs of providing services within the Wausau School District. The board's Education/Operations Committee met Monday night to discuss its next steps after the board voted at its Nov. 13 meeting to remove a plan to combine Wausau West and Wausau East high schools from consideration to address those concerns. The board had originally approved a plan to combine the high schools in February. Instead, board members who supported the change in direction pointed toward a reduction in the footprint of the elementary schools. These members pointed to Elmbrook School District in Brookfield, which has a comparable districtwide student population to Wausau but only has five elementary school buildings compared to 13 in Wausau. Thats what were trying to get to, School Board member Jon Creisher said during Mondays meeting. A position to where we have more of our resources in fewer buildings and fewer buildings that we have to (regularly) go to the community to fix something or do referendums. The focus on elementary schools signals a return to an idea proposed prior to a referendum in 2020. Voters rejected the referendum in November 2020 that would have consolidated Grant and Lincoln elementary schools into a new building on the Grant Elementary property and renovated six other elementary school buildings. I understand the passion for our neighborhood schools because I had it as well, School Board President James Bouche explained to the Wausau Daily Herald last week. But at the same time, we need to take a look at economics and academics. Throughout Mondays meeting, School Board member Patrick McKee, who introduced the districts new planning direction, reiterated several points he made during the Nov 13 meeting. He wants the board to decide on goals and to consider every option including ones board members and school staff may not have enough information or expertise to fully present including moving school boundaries or transportation options for students and staff. McKee suggested some broader goals to define a direction including equal curriculum offerings between schools to benefit both students and staff and to relieve the districts increasingly limited budget. If you really want to start getting towards what does that ideal culture look like or what that ideal school looks like from a student, parent, staff perspective, I think it needs more thought, McKee said. One other source of pressure on the board is the districts two charter schools, Montessori and Red Granite. These two schools operate largely independently but are still part of the Wausau School District. Under the boards previous plan, Montessori was going to move into newly remodeled space at Horace Mann Middle School and Red Granite was going to grow into space at Hewitt-Texas Elementary School, adding classes in the coming years. Red Granite was recently awarded a nearly $2 million grant over five years based on their plan to operate at the Hewitt-Texas building. Montessori has been making plans to use its space. The new plan to reconsider elementary school spaces leaves many unknowns for the two charter schools, and representatives from each made their case for communication and consideration in the boards new plan. The board asked Superintendent Keith Hilts to meet with leaders from the charter schools and to bring more info on specific points to upcoming meetings. The school board has its regular meetings on the second Monday of each month. More local education news: Wausau students' standardized test scores bounced back last year. Here's a breakdown of the data More local news: There was 'no place like' Bill's Fine Food | Wausau restaurants our readers miss most Erik Pfantz covers local government and education in central Wisconsin for USA-TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin and values his background as a rural Wisconsinite. Reach him at epfantz@gannett.com or connect with him on Twitter @ErikPfantz. This article originally appeared on Wausau Daily Herald: Wausau School Board looks for new plan to address district concerns KANSAS CITY, Mo. Its Giving Tuesday, meaning today is the globally recognized day of philanthropy. Instead of asking for donations this year, Literacy KC is working to give back to other non-profits. KCK non-profit makes worldwide impact with help from popular actor Leaders say they cant continue their mission without other community partners and those who support them. This year they want to give other non-profits the same kind of support. The Kansas City non-profit started its Giving Tuesday initiative Monday night with a donor appreciation event at the Restless Spirits distillery. They partnered with Band of Angels, a non-profit that provides musical instruments and music camp scholarships to metro children in need. Overland Park veterinary technician warns of respiratory illness for dogs Literacy KCs CEO, Gillian Helm, said the holidays are the perfect time to think about others who may need help. Without the support of our community, we wont be able to do what we do and change lives in really tangible, incredible ways, and so, you know, just keeping that in mind, especially during this season when things can get so hectic, Helm said. On Tuesday, theyre continuing Giving Tuesday efforts with Ruby Jean Juicery for a neighborhood cleanup at 31st and Troost at 3 p.m. Anyone in the community is welcome to volunteer. Download the FOX4 News app on iPhone and Android Toys for Tots is another non-profit participating in Giving Tuesday by collecting items for the holiday season. Trucks are waiting in the northland to store and move donations from the community. You can go to their warehouse near 39th and Randolph in Kansas City with your donation. They ask for toys to be unwrapped and inside their original packaging. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. Yahoo Sports 49ers-Eagles is set up to be an instant classic but it's not the only game on the Week 13 slate with juicy storylines. CBS Sports Jacob Gibbs joins Matt Harmon for another edition of the fantasy viewer guide and helps identify which games to binge, stream and skip in Week 13. The U.S. Military Academy at West Point in New York has fired its deputy brigade tactical officer following a second-degree criminal sexual conduct charge in Michigan. William F. Gentry, 56, a civilian employee at the academy since February, previously served as an Army infantryman, retiring as a sergeant major, Lt. Col. Terence Kelley, an academy spokesman, told Army Times Tuesday. Details of the alleged crime were not available in court records. The U.S. Military Academy takes these allegations very seriously, Kelley said in the statement. The charges are unrelated to his role at West Point, and we assisted New York State law enforcement in his arrest and extradition to Michigan, terminated his employment, and he will not return to West Point. Gentrys LinkedIn page lists service as a curriculum development and education senior enlisted advisor from 2015-2018 at Fort Bliss, Texas. The site also lists him as serving in the position of deputy director of education at the Noncommissioned Officer Center of Excellence from 2016 to 2018. From early 2018 to 2019, Gentry lists contract work at Keybridge Technologies for the Army. According to Michigan court records the alleged incident took place on Nov. 1, 2022, in Livingston County, Michigan. The county prosecutors office issued the criminal complaint on Oct. 24, 2023. Gentry was extradited from New York state to Michigan following the complaint. He was arraigned on Nov. 20 and posted a $50,000 bail bond on Nov. 27. A probable cause hearing was scheduled for Tuesday. He is scheduled to return to court on Dec. 5, according to Michigan court records. Gentry served in the Army from February 1986 until February 2018, according to information provided by Army officials. He made sergeant major in April 2007. He served on a 2004-05 Afghanistan deployment, a 2007 and 2009-2010 Iraq deployment. His service awards include the Legion of Merit, six Meritorious Service Medals, 10 Army Commendation Medals, a Combat Infantryman Badge, and Drill Sergeant Identification Badge. The officer has been suspended from duty A student police officer has been charged with off-duty sexual offences. West Yorkshire Police officer PC Charlie Valente is due at Leeds Crown Court on Wednesday charged with three counts of sexual touching. The alleged offences are said to have taken place in Leeds on 4 and 5 November last year involving two women. The 23-year-old, who is based at the Learning and Organisational Development, is currently suspended from duty, the force said. Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk. A missing New York college student was last seen driving away from his home near the Rochester Institute of Technology campus on Nov. 20, according to police. Matthew Grant's family reportedly believes the 22-year-old may now be in the Adirondack Mountains based on his phone search history. He was last seen wearing a green jacket and jeans and was driving a 2014 charcoal gray Jeep Cherokee with Michigan license plate ESR8141. In a Monday update posted to social media, Grant's family suggested he may be near Whiteface Mountain. New York State Park Police confirmed to Fox News Digital that they are "assisting in checking parks in the area during regular patrol," though the Monroe County Sheriff's Office is leading the missing persons case. MISSING WISCONSIN FISHERMAN'S KAYAK FOUND DAY AFTER DISAPPEARANCE ON LAKE Matthew Grant's family believes the 22-year-old may now be in the Adirondack mountains based on his phone search history. He was last seen wearing a green jacket and jeans and was driving a 2014 charcoal gray Jeep Cherokee with Michigan license plate ESR8141. Grant's family told WHAM that he searched maps of the Adirondacks, North Country and Appalachian Trails. He told roommates he was going to meet a friend, but his vehicle was last traced to Exit 36 outside Syracuse, the outlet reported. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP TRAVELING NURSE PRACTITIONER GOES MISSING ON HIKING TRAIL IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA RIT said in a Monday Facebook post that Grant's family "reported that he wanted to explore the outdoors beyond Rochester, prompting authorities to broaden their search area." New York State Park Police confirmed to Fox News Digital that they are "assisting in checking parks in the area" of the Adirondack Mountains "during regular patrol." "RIT Public Safety is actively collaborating with the Monroe County Sheriff's Office in this search effort," the school added. 5-YEAR-OLD GIRL DIES, SEARCH SUSPENDED FOR GRANDFATHER AFTER WAVE SWEEPS THEM OUT TO SEA AT CALIFORNIA BEACH Grant's father, Mark Grant, said in a Saturday statement posted to his daughter's Facebook page that there "isn't any new news to report." "The roller coaster we are on is relentless, many dead ends. We are hoping he is just off the grid doing a complete reset for himself and doesnt have any idea what is happening," Mark wrote. "The area we suspect he traveled, if thats whats happening, is very remote, which adds to our concern. I am sending this out to try comforting everyone who is worried, I can honestly say that in my life I have never felt more supported. Thank you, I intend my next message to be a group photo of my family reunited. Thank you, one and all." CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Authorities are asking anyone with information about Grant's whereabouts to contact 911 or RIT Public Safety at 585-475-3333. Original article source: Western New York college student Matthew Grant disappears near RIT campus President Biden had some lofty education goals during his 2020 campaign. The president made promises that included increased education funding and reforms to higher education and student debt. Biden is proposing a bold plan for education and training beyond high school that will give hard-working Americans the chance to join or maintain their place in the middle class, regardless of their parents income or the color of their skin, the presidents 2020 campaign website said. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. Now, with three years on the books and less than a year until voters decide if he deserves another four in office, here is where he stands on fulfilling his education pledges. Student debt relief The campaign promise that has been under the biggest spotlight is universal student debt relief. While Biden on the trail did not go as far as his primary opponents, he did pledge at least $10,000 in student debt relief for borrowers making less than $125,000 a year. We should forgive a minimum of $10,000/person of federal student loans, as proposed by [Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren] and colleagues, Biden tweeted in 2020. Young people and other student debt holders bore the brunt of the last crisis. It shouldnt happen again. The president did attempt to make this promise a reality. The Department of Education had applications and plans to cancel $10,000 for all borrowers making less than $125,000, and $20,000 for those who were on Pell Grants in school with the same income requirement. However, the plan was shot down at the Supreme Court in June, with the justices ruling that the provision Biden cited did not grant him the authority to cancel that much debt. Now, the administration is looking at making a new plan through a different process but it seems this version of loan forgiveness will not be universal but instead target certain groups. And while advocates have stood behind Biden and his efforts to cancel student debt, they want to see more from him. Braxton Brewington, press secretary for the Debt Collective, previously told The Hill he believes Biden should use an executive order to clear all student debt. I think well sort of until that changes continue to push Biden on executive action, who in our ideal world would say, Im canceling student debt, you know, or, Im keeping student loan payments paused for the rest of my administration, Brewington said. The Biden administration has, however, taken steps to forgive student debt for some borrowers, including people with disabilities and those on the Public Service Loan Forgiveness programs. The Biden-Harris Administration has cancelled more than $127 billion in loan debt for nearly 3.6 million borrowers, and we are not done helping borrowers, a White House spokesperson said in a statement. We are also instituting a 12-month on-ramp to protect borrowers from the harshest consequences from missed, partial, and late payments as borrowers prepare for repayment this fall. Student debt Part 2: income-driven repayment The administration has, however, seen broad success in Bidens promise to reform income-driven repayments (IDR) to lower monthly student loan payments. Were going to cut student loan payments in half by using those income-based payments, Biden said at the start of the presidency, and his administration launched its Saving on Valuable Education (SAVE) IDR plan this fall. Already more than 5.5 million people have signed up for SAVE and of those, more than 2.9 million have a payment of $0 thanks to the Presidents plan, the White House said. The first part of the plan changes the income exemption from 150 to 225 percent above federal poverty guidelines, meaning monthly payments will be based on a smaller portion of a persons income. The plan also stopped the growth of unpaid interest. Next year, SAVE will also cut monthly payments from 10 percent of a persons discretionary income to 5 percent. Im thrilled to see that in less than three months, nearly 5.5 million Americans in every community across the country are taking advantage of the SAVE Plans many benefits, from lower monthly payments to protection from runaway student loan interest, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said. The Biden-Harris Administration will not rest in its efforts to fix the broken student loan system and make paying for college more affordable. Free community college One of Bidens biggest education promises was to make two-year community college free for all students, a target that has remained out of reach. In the presidents Build Back Better plan in 2021, he did include two years of free community college. The plan had $45.5 billion going to states, so they could afford free two-year degrees for all students over the next five years. But in negotiations with Republicans, Biden had to scale back the larger proposal, which included slashing the money for this effort. One year ago, I told this group that Joe was going to fight for community colleges, first lady Jill Biden said. But Joe has also had to make compromises. Congress hasnt passed the Build Back Better agenda yet. And free community college is no longer a part of that package. Biden has continued to push funding for the issue, with his 2024 budget proposal asking Congress for $90 billion through the next decade for free community college. At this point, the goal is unlikely to be achieved by the end of Bidens first term. President Biden knows that investing in education and supporting student borrowers is a downpayment on Americas future, while Republicans think its fair game to sell out young people and their education, said Biden-Harris 2024 spokesperson Seth Schuster. Since taking office, President Biden has secured historic investments in our public education system and has worked tirelessly to make education beyond high school more affordable. Title I funding The president at the beginning of his term wanted to triple the amount of funding that went toward Title I. Title I funding is used to help low-income students and had a 2023 budget of $18 billion. While the president was able to secure an 11 percent increase, nearing $2 billion, for Title I schools, it does not hit the mark he initially set out at the beginning of the campaign. Biden has pushed for even more funding but has not been successful. Under the Presidents leadership, we secured the largest increase in Pell Grants in a decade, provided HBCUs with more than $7.3 billion in cumulative investments, and secured a nearly $2 billion increase in Title I funds, the White House said. While education advocates have been happy with the push for more money toward low-income schools, it has been acknowledged for a while that federal funding will not change much without more efforts from state and local governments. With just a handful exceptions, Im concerned that most states do not sufficiently prioritize funding for high poverty districts and communities of color, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the previous chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said back in 2021. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Students from Wasatch Elementary School hurry down the sidewalk for recess near a sign about the schools possible closure on Sept. 12. A new report says Salt Lake Citys youth population is now the lowest it has been in more than a century. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News The youth population in Utahs capital is now the lowest it has been in more than a century after falling drastically again over the past decade, even though it is now more populated overall than it has ever been, a new report finds. Salt Lake City's under-18 population fell to 37,101 at the time of the 2020 census, down about 12% or nearly 5,000 fewer children than what was reported in 2010. That's despite the fact that the citys population grew by over 13,000 residents over the past decade, or 7% overall, according to researchers at the University of Utah's Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. Their findings, released Monday, underscore why the city's school district is now looking to close four elementary schools as it deals with a drop-off in student enrollment. "Our city population is changing," said Heidi Prior, a public policy analyst for the Gardner Institute and the report's lead author. "This move toward being a city with fewer kids is a big change in that it's pervasive. ... We saw it in renters and in homeowners. We saw it in multiple racial groups. We saw it in neighborhoods across the city. So, it's not just one little corner of our population or city; it's happening everywhere." Salt Lake's child population decline The Gardner Policy Institute began looking into Salt Lake City's under-18 population right after deeper 2020 census data was released. The initial data listed Salt Lake City as having nearly 200,000 people, the most it has ever had, yet Prior and Mallory Bateman, the institute's demographic research director, quickly noticed that the under-18 population didn't account for any of the growth. Salt Lake City's under-18 population had already declined from nearly 30% of the city's population in 1970 to 22.5% by 2010 as a result of various trends. The percentage dropped another 3.9 points from 2010 to 2020. By then, they started to hear that Salt Lake City School District could close some schools, especially after a state audit found that the student-age population dropped by nearly 29% from 2014 to 2022. Prior and Bateman wanted to know what happened and which areas were most affected. Some statistics jumped out immediately: The number of households with children dropped from about 1 in 4 to about 1 in 5. The number of married-couple families with children also dropped from 46% in 2010 to 39% in 2020. Other trends emerged as the researchers dug further into the data. Other key findings include: Salt Lake City's under-10 population dropped by more than 6,000 over the course of the decade, erasing gains in the population of children aged 10 to 17. The older group actually grew by 974 in 10 years. Aside from some gains near downtown and the Central Ninth district, almost every other section of the city reported drop-offs within the zero to 9 population. The most "substantial" declines came in neighborhoods like the Fairpark, Glendale, Poplar Grove, Rose Park and Westpoint the city's west side. Child population declines were reported across most racial and ethnic groups, but changes to census questions from 2010 and 2020 may have impacted some of these results. These maps, published Monday by the University of Utah Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, show population changes in Salt Lake City residents aged zero to 4 and 5 to 9 from 2010 to 2020. The largest declines happened in the city's west side, though populations of children aged 10 to 17 grew over the decade. | University of Utah Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute What's more, the 2020 census figure ended up being the lowest since residents reported 39,480 children in 1980, which was the previous low point since at least 1930. "I sort of suspected that the share of our under-18 (population) would have declined, but I was really surprised that the actual count of children was lower in 2020 than it had been for a century prior," Prior said. The high since 1930 remains 65,792 children in 1960, just ahead of Salt Lake City's "suburban flight." The most recent dropoff, a part of the city's "adult-driven growth," can have major impacts beyond school closures. Bateman says this can lead to changes in transportation options and community amenities, such as investing more in transit options and less in playgrounds to meet the community needs of an aging population. Not just Salt Lake City This trend isn't unique to Salt Lake City, though researchers say that it may be more magnified in the city. It's something that seems to have started countywide, statewide and nationwide since 2008 and there are no indications that it will slow down soon. The Census Bureau estimated earlier this year that the percentage of children in Utah fell to 27.6% in 2022, about 1.4 percentage points below the 2020 census and nearly 4 percentage points below what was recorded in 2010. That means the conversations happening in Salt Lake City now may be ones other parts of the state will have in the future. The federal agency also found Utah remains nearly 3 percentage points ahead of any other state in the country in this category, as the national rate slid from 22.2% in 2021 to 21.7% last year. This graph, created by the University of Utah Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, shows Salt Lake City's youth share percentage of its population along with Denver; Boise, Idaho; and Reno, Nevada. All three cities have reported regular declines in the under-18 population since 1950. | University of Utah Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute The new Gardner Institute study acknowledges that cities across the West also seem to have the same problem as Utah's capital. Major child percentage drop-offs were also found in places like Denver, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Seattle all cities that still ended up growing in adult population. Bateman explains that the overall child population decline is primarily due to a decline in fertility rates, something that is often attributed to economic uncertainty. She said cities may be impacted more because of growing suburbs in the West, but possible reasons for the under-18 population declines are something that the researchers did not look into in the new report. "That's something we'd have to research further," she said. A possible fix? Salt Lake City leaders are already turning to affordable housing and other measures as they try to keep families with children or woo them back. Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said Monday that $10 million in the city's perpetual housing fund is expected to add 1,500 units. A "majority" of these are intended to have three or four bedrooms to accommodate families. The units will be a mix of condominiums or "wealth-building" rental units that residents can build equity on even as renters. This is on top of measures the Salt Lake City Council took to give K-12 students and parents access to public transit at no additional cost. City residents also approved an $85 million bond last year to help improve city parks that children and families can play in. "Those are just a few of the high-level things we're doing to increase family affordability and quality of life in the city," the mayor said. Only time will tell if that will help reverse the trends that grew over the past decade. Emotions built up over the past four years overflowed at Madera County Superior Court on Monday as the family of a 15-year-old girl killed by a drunk driver called for the defendant to receive the maximum punishment allowed. A jury convicted Marcos Miguel Torres of felony gross vehicular manslaughter last month for a crash he caused while under the influence of alcohol Nov. 8, 2019. According to social media posts from the Madera County District Attorneys Office, Torres refused a ride home after drinking and later drove through a residential stop sign in Chowchilla at 81 mph, crashing his truck into a Suzuki and injuring several passengers, including 15-year-old Jaycee Willet. She died of her injuries. During victim impact statements, friends and family members described Jaycee as someone who always put others first, loved gymnastics, children and her dog, Gypsy. She dreamed of becoming a mother. Jaycee was the only daughter, said her mother, Melody Willet. She was daddys girl and mommys world and loved by her brothers. She was the sunshine in our lives, but on Nov. 8, 2019, Marcos Torres turned our world gray. Melody Willet has counted the days since her daughters death, five Thanksgivings, four Christmas mornings and four birthdays with no one to open presents, no one to blow out candles, no one to sing happy birthday to. There is one day that is her day, Nov. 8, thanks to Marcos Torres, she said. Torres, who posted bail after the crash, was set to be sentenced Monday. But letters commenting on his behalf and translated from Spanish still need to be reviewed by the court, so the sentencing was rescheduled for Dec. 11. His attorney, Mark Coleman, told the court that other comments on Torres behalf would wait until that date as well. Colemans law office did not immediately respond to a call requesting a comment Monday. Statements by those who cared for Jaycee described grief that they said has been extended by the dragging out of the case, as well as severe mental health impacts. Kevin Willet, Jaycees father, died from heart failure shortly after his daughters death a result of what family members said was intolerable grief. Jaycees death was devastating to our entire family and made her father lose his will to live, Melody Willet said. The grief was too much for his heart. He died 11 days later. She added that the Willet family held a double memorial for the father and daughter. Jeremy Willet, one of Jaycees brothers, was overcome with emotion during the statements and had to step out of the courtroom. Steve Burke, of Chowchillas Cornerstone Community Church, read Jeremy Willets comment for him. I still remember my dads scream when I called and told him she was dead, Burke said on behalf of Jeremy Willet. At 19 years old, I had to deliver the devastating news to my father. Jeremy Willet told the Bee after the hearing that his brother, Jordan Willet, has been barred from the court due to an outburst during a past hearing. In her statement, Melody Willet said flashbacks of seeing EMTs try to save his sister caused him trauma that has led him to spend time in a mental health facility. Other statements from supporters of the Willet family noted what Jaycee Willet will never experience due to her death. Marcos Torres, of Chowchilla was arrested the night of Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, for driving under the influence and killing a juvenile female in Chowchilla. Chowchilla Police Department Estee Robinson, a family member, contrasted the choices that Marcos (Torres) made with the absence of choice for Jaycee Willett. Where was Jaycees choice in all of this? Robinson said. Jaycee never got to choose how she would style her hair for her walk across the stage while accepting her diploma. She never got the choice of which young man at school would escort her to homecoming dance, the choice to celebrate her 16th birthday, the choice to apply for colleges. Lisa Barragan, the wife of Chowchilla Mayor Ray Barragan Jr. and an aunt of Jaycee Willet, noted that Torres is himself a father. When this is done, Marcos (Torres) will be able to hold his kids again, Barragan said, but my sister will never be able to hold her daughter again. Melody Willet said she found out Torres had pulled her daughter from the vehicle after the crash, and had at one point felt sympathy for the defendant. However, she said she realized Torres did not show regret when she faced him after an arraignment hearing in 2019 and he told her it was an accident with a slight grin. She added that she is expecting comments on behalf of Torres to say hes a great guy with children of his own, and that his family will plead for a lesser sentence. Well, this isnt about what his family will feel or what they might go through or how much theyre going to miss him, Melody Willet said. Its about what he stole from Jaycee and what her family has, and continues to go through, because of him. In response to comments that Torres showed no remorse or accountability, Coleman, Torres attorney, told the court that his client has been willing to plead guilty to the charges he was convicted of and offered to meet with those impacted in a mediated setting. After the hearing, the prosecuting attorney, Benjamin Levy, said mediation would have gone nowhere because the defense was offering a guilty plea for gross vehicular manslaughter alongside a dismissal of a murder count. That was not something we were willing to settle the case for, Levy said. Several people who commented on behalf of the Willet family called for a maximum sentence for Torres, adding that making an example of him could help deter others from driving drunk and save lives. A maximum sentence in this case could be between 11 and 14 years of prison time, Levy said. He expects the defense to argue in favor of probation for Torres a sentence he said would be surprising if it went through. La Abeja, a newsletter written for and by California Latinos Sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter centered around Latino issues in California. European Union regulators expressed concern over Amazon's acquisition of vacuum maker iRobot, saying the deal would harm competition. The EU's executive arm and top antitrust enforcer, the European Commission, said it has already informed the e-commerce company of its "preliminary view" regarding the deal. This follows an investigation that started in July. Amazon's Acquisition Deal With iRobot The acquisition news raised concerns from investors and sent shares in Bedford, Massachusetts-based iRobot Corp. down more than 17% on Monday. European regulators said the buyout could hinder the company's rivals from effectively competing in Amazon's marketplace. They said it is an important platform for selling robot vacuum cleaners in various regions, including France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. If the acquisition deal goes through, the commission said that Amazon could be incentivized to prevent competitors from selling their products on its marketplace or make it more difficult for them to do so, as Yahoo News. It added that, among other things, the e-commerce company could reduce the visibility of a competitor's product on its platform or limit access to certain labels. These include "Amazon's Choice," which could help sellers attract more consumers. Amazon could also find other ways to raise the costs of iRobot's rivals to advertise and sell their products on its marketplace. The commission has until Feb. 14 to make a final decision regarding the deal, and Amazon could respond to some of the objections that could be raised. A spokesperson for Amazon, Alexandra Miller, said that the Seattle-based company is already working with the commission and is prioritizing addressing its questions. She noted that iRobot faces intense competition from other vacuum cleaner supplies but offers practical and inventive products. The acquisition deal was announced in August of last year amid increased regulatory scrutiny around the world of Big Tech acquiring smaller rivals. According to Reuters, this particular effort could boost their market dominance or help them expand into other markets. Read Also: This Year's US Black Friday Online Sales Surge by 7.5% to Staggering $9.8 Billion Scrutiny From European Regulators On top of concerns from the European Commission, the acquisition deal is also under review by the US Federal Trade Commission. In June, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority said that the deal would not result in a "substantial lessening of competition" in the UK. The commission's announcement comes after iRobot's shares skyrocketed 39% on Friday after reports that the deal would "win unconditional EU antitrust approval." The report cited three sources who were familiar with the matter. On the other hand, an EU spokesperson declined to comment regarding the development, said CNBC. The deal between Amazon and iRobot would have the former acquire the latter for roughly $1.7 billion. However, the deal's value declined by 15% after the vacuum maker company incurred new debt. Amid the scrutiny by regulators, anti-monopoly organizations have also voiced their opposition to the Amazon-iRobot deal, arguing that it would broaden the e-commerce company's dominance in the smart home market, where it already holds significant influence. On Monday, the firm's stock finished up less than 1%. Related Article: Tesla Sues Sweden Transport Agency Over License Delivery Halt of Striking Workers @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. CAMERON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) Birders who flocked to a state park in the Rio Grande Valley recently enjoyed an incredibly unusual sighting that excited a Texas agency enough to declare a rare bird alert to its followers on social media. The Texas State Parks account posted on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, that someone photographed a gray-collared becard at Resaca de la Palma State Park in Brownsville, which marks the first time anyones ever seen the bird in Texas. State leaders further noted its only the third sighting in the U.S. What is the least-visited state park in Texas? Heres the top 10 countdown for 2023 The gray-collared becard just had its FIRST EVER SIGHTING in Texas at Resaca de la Palma State Park! the social media post read. This speciess first US sighting was in 2009; the second was just six months ago, in May of 2023! Brandon Nooner, who works as a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, snapped the photo of the bird perched on a tree branch. Texas State Parks shared other pictures of a group of people at the park carrying cameras and binoculars to observe birds in that area. The Valley really is an amazing place to spot some once-in-a-lifetime wildlife! the X post further read. A group of birders visited Resaca de la Palma State Park in Brownsville, Texas, according to a social media post on Nov. 27, 2023. (Courtesy: Texas State Parks) A group of birders visited Resaca de la Palma State Park in Brownsville, Texas, according to a social media post on Nov. 27, 2023. (Courtesy: Texas State Parks) According to a report published by the American Birding Association, the gray-collared becard is normally found living in northwestern Mexico, specifically in the eastern Sonora area, as well as El Salvador and Nicaragua. The birds appearance includes a combination of brown cap and mantle, broad white collar (gray in adults), black wings with broad white feather edgings, and very pale underparts, the report detailed. The place where people saw the gray-collared becard happened at one of the least-visited state parks in Texas. A recent look at the data showed Resaca de la Palma State Park welcomed 14,427 visitors in FY 2023. While thats a 29% increase over the previous fiscal year, KXANs findings showed it placed #6 on the Top 10 least-visited Texas state parks. Referred to as a Rio Grande treasure, the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department further described the Resaca de la Palma State Park as a semi-tropical paradise, offering a peaceful refuge for people and wildlife. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA - JULY 30: (RUSSIA OUT) Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) talks to the Russian Navy's Commander-in-Chief Nikolai Yevmenov (R) during the annual Navy Day Parade on July 30, 2023, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. (Photo by Contributor/Getty Images) There seems to be a recurring point made in the current discussion around the Russo-Ukrainian War. Ukraine will always struggle with manpower as a smaller, democratic country. And Russia will always thrive in the manpower fight because it is larger and run by an autocrat. So Ukraine and Russia are two battling animals, and Russia can bleed for longer than Ukraine can fight. But...what? Did we all forget that Russia announced a conscription of 300,000 last year and saw hundreds of thousands of Russians flee the country? Indeed, over 1 million Russians entered Georgia in the nine months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. So, let's interrogate the idea that Russia has an endless pool of manpower. But first, we should acknowledge that Ukraine also faces real manpower shortages. Ukraine's manpower struggles KYIV, UKRAINE - NOVEMBER 27: People stand around a memorial to fallen Ukrainian soldiers after a snowfall on November 27, 2023 in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Photo by Danylo Antoniuk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images) We should get this out of the way because, while the author unabashedly supports Ukraine, it would be quite dishonest to discuss Russia's manpower woes without admitting that Ukraine faces a lot of the same problems. Ukraine has the much smaller population of the two countries. Ukraine has just shy of 14 million men aged 15-64 years . Russia has over 45 million . Ukraine's pool is literally less than a third of the size. And Ukraine has faced problems with draft dodging. An estimated 20,000 fighting-age men fled by November of 2023 . That's five brigades worth, an entire division, if Ukraine was into divisions. Meanwhile, it has already lost an estimated 200,000 casualties among its troops and over 26,000 civilian casualties . Ukraine, in theory, has millions more men that it can press into service. But in practical terms, its military has tripled in size since February 2022 but probably couldn't double again without major strain. Russia's manpower struggles So, yes, Russia's population is nearly triple the size of Ukraine's. And it's taking losses at just 1.5 times the rate of Ukraine ( an estimated 300,000 Russian casualties to 200,000 Ukrainian ones ). If Russia and Ukraine both poured their men's blood into a pit at the current rates, Ukraine would run out long before Russia. But Russia is fighting a war of choice and aggression very poorly. And its poor and disenfranchised masses understand that they're being used as fodder for Putin's vanity war. Russia's population is surprisingly diverse, with five minorities representing over 1 percent each of the population, and over 23 percent of Russians not claiming Russian ethnicity. But Russia is disproportionately calling up its ethnic minorities , and they've noticed. And, believe it or not, oppressed minorities would typically rather not die subjecting other ethnicities to oppression. Remember, when Russia called up 300,000 men for military service and an estimated more than 200,000 fled the country in a week ? And AP just released phone calls of Russian soldiers who want to flee their units . Russia can barely keep up the bonuses needed to keep drawing volunteers into the military, and that's without paying many of the death bonuses. Because, yes, Russian families are supposed to get death gratuities, but Russia is reportedly hiding many deaths to prevent paying out. Meanwhile, the Russian economy continues to flash warning signs, the economy that's needed to provide those bonuses. As well as pay for the massive amounts of destroyed war material. A conscription further damages the economy, requires more money for training, money for enforcement, and then more money for death bonuses and funerals. Indeed, Putin is reportedly afraid to call another mass mobilization precisely because of the damage to the economy and popular sentiment. The Russian economy is in the toilet Most media credulously prints whatever economic numbers that Russia claims. But more skeptical economists have double-checked Russia's claims. First, the bulk of Russia's income, as always, comes from the sale of Urals Crude. But Urals Crude is trading at less than $62 a barrel as of the time of writing . And that's despite massive OPEC production cuts and Russia restricting exports. So Russia is collecting little per barrel while also selling fewer barrels. The exact numbers are hidden since so much Russian oil is smuggled on a "dark" tanker fleet , that Russia had to buy, but oil revenues are definitely down. Meanwhile, Russia claims that its economy has grown while admitting that large portions of it now exclusively produce war goods instead of consumer goods. But even those numbers are suspect, since researchers at the European Central Bank found that Russia claimed its factories were humming at full-strength even as air quality data and energy consumption showed quite clearly that Russian factories must have either gone entirely solar or else were sitting dormant . Economist Dr. Joeri Schasfoort held a YouTube live with one of the European Central Bank researchers on his channel Money & Macro. He said academics largely trusted Russia's numbers before the war, but its data since sanctions started are entirely suspect. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZMi9QZqy6M So, yes, Russia is the larger country with the larger population. But with its economy already strained, its men already fleeing conscription at nearly the pace that men are accepting it, and it taking heavier losses than Ukraine, it's not actually clear that it has some endless pool of soldiers. Instead, we should see Russia as an already wounded animal. We may not know how much blood it has left. But we also know it will pass out or die before it hits zero. Imagining that Russia can bleed forever is a weird, dark fantasy. Logan Nye was an Army journalist and paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division. Now, hes a freelance writer and live-streamer. In addition to covering military and conflict news at We Are The Mighty, he has an upcoming military literacy channel on Twitch.tv/logannyewrites. The gunfire, bombardment and cries of anguished relatives have for days now largely been replaced by the relief and joy of hostages reunited with loved ones and growing diplomatic murmurs of an extended cease-fire. But while the U.S. and others push for a broader deal, government rhetoric and public opinion in Israel seem unequivocal: Sooner or later the intense military campaign in the Gaza Strip must and will resume. A four-day pause in Israels war against Hamas has been extended by two days. And CIA Director William Burns is in Qatar, which hosts Hamas leaders and has mediated negotiations, focusing on ways to extend the reprieve so more hostages can be released, according to a senior administration official. Negotiations now include groups other than women and children, said a diplomat with knowledge of the talks, who said the proposal is for a pause longer than two or four days. "Ideally we would not keep coming back to the table but instead agree a longer pause to get all the remaining hostages released," the diplomat told NBC News. It is just one of the many pressures being visited on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: from the U.S., to moderate his military response; from the families of the hostages, to prolong the pause in fighting; and from members of his hard-right government, who disavow any letup at all, regardless of hostages, in the war against Hamas. While the military campaign has paused in the past week to secure the release of dozens of hostages, Netanyahu and his officials have been clear that uprooting Hamas is still very much the plan. Palestinians flee north Gaza and move southward, near Gaza City (Ibraheem Abu Mustafa / Reuters) In a speech Sunday, Netanyahu said that the pause would be welcome but that then we will go to realizing our goals with full force: eliminating Hamas, ensuring that Gaza will not go back to being what it was. Meanwhile, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, the chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, said at a news briefing Tuesday that his troops were ready to resume fighting today if necessary and were using the pause for learning and strengthening readiness to dismantle Hamas. Our eyes are on the prize Such statements are being made against a backdrop of colossal pressure on the Israeli government being exerted from multiple sides. Following Hamas Oct. 7 attack, in which 1,200 people were killed and 240 were kidnapped, the vast majority of Israelis support the goals of toppling Hamas and freeing the hostages more than 90%, according to a poll the Israel Democracy Institute released Friday. But there is a latent tension within that consensus. The same survey said 49% of people deemed the hostages most important, while 37% prioritized toppling Hamas. The first group is led by the victims families, who have campaigned tirelessly for a longer cease-fire, partly because they fear their loved ones will be killed in the fighting. Our eyes are on the prize, and we still have a lot of work ahead of us, said Zohar Avigdori, whose sister-in-law, Sharon Avigdori, and nephew, Noam, were kidnapped from the Beeri kibbutz and released Saturday. He spoke in a call with journalists Tuesday of the families determination of the pause not stopping until the last hostage is back. But he acknowledged there was a concern that wont happen. In fact, Israel has indicated that it may expand its ground campaign into southern Gaza, where it told northern residents to flee but where it says some Hamas leaders have also taken refuge. Thats prompting concern in the U.S. government. The U.S. has been calling on Israel to do more to protect Palestinian civilians, 15,000 of whom have been killed so far, including more than 5,000 children, according to Palestinian officials. And a senior Biden administration official said the White House doesnt want a repeat once the fighting restarts. You cannot have the sort of scale of displacement that took place in the north replicated in the south, the official said on a call with journalists. We dont support them moving in the south unless or until they can demonstrate a plan that accounts for the additional civilian life that is now in south Gaza. And despite the devastation wrought on the Palestinian enclave, the challenges of truly eliminating Hamas from Gaza were highlighted in a video the militant group released over the weekend showing it handing over prisoners in a neighborhood of Gaza City, which had been the focus of Israels assault in the days before the truce. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday November 26, 2023 met with commanders and troops inside the Gaza Strip. (EyePress News / Reuters) The pause has allowed Palestinians there some semblance of normal life, with people setting out fruit and vegetable stalls and cooking over makeshift stoves, albeit through the grief and amid the rubble of their lives. Gazans are clear they need a fuller cease-fire, and the wars diplomatic brokers have expressed some hope that the truces could build to one. But few in Israel expect anything but a resumption in the fighting and sooner rather than later. At some point, we will run out of hostages, or Hamas will want a new deal for men and soldiers, said Aviv A. Oreg, a major in the Israeli reserves whose career has included senior roles within Israels intelligence services. And at that point Israel will have to decide what to do. Right now I think that all of Israel is in support of fighting Hamas. Ultimately Netanyahus own political future may play a part. He faces nosediving opinion polls and a looming court case over allegations of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, which he denies. His hold on power relies on a fragile coalition with right-wing parties, whose influence could be seen Tuesday as, even amid the temporary truce, his Cabinet approved a contentious wartime budgetary change that will direct more money toward security for Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are considered illegal under international law and whose inhabitants have been accused of rising violence and intimidation against Palestinians. Given the widespread loss of faith in its institutions after Oct. 7, Israel cannot allow itself to stop the war with any less than the goal, which is uprooting Hamas politically and militarily from the Middle Eastern panorama, said Uzi Rabi, the director of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University. It poses distinct challenges for Netanyahu, he said. Why? Because Israel has to repair the damage and the loss of confidence with its own society. For people such as Avigdori, that wont be easy or quick. In terms of repairing the contract between the Israeli state and its citizens, I think it will take much, much longer, he said. We are talking decades here. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com The White House announced Tuesday that the first relief flight facilitated by the U.S. military is set to arrive in Egypt to provide humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza. The flight is the first of three relief flights facilitated by the unique capabilities of the U.S. military that will be arriving into North Sinai in Egypt, a senior administration official told reporters. The flights will bring medical supplies, food, and winter items ahead of the winter in Gaza, and those goods will then be delivered to civilians by the United Nations. The next two flights with humanitarian aid will be coming in the coming days, the official said. Five commercial flights, supported by the U.S., have brought goods into Egypt since the conflict began, but these flights are the first facilitated by the military. The military planes head to Egypt amid the temporary truce in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, which was extended by two days Monday. Since Friday, the pause in the deadly fighting in Gaza has allowed for some hostages held by Hamas to be released and for a surge of humanitarian aid to get into Gaza. The military planes full of aid add to the roughly 200 trucks per day that have gone into Gaza to deliver fuel, food and water. The White House said the surge in movement of goods into Gaza during the pause has created a need to backfill items, which led to the decision to send military planes into the Middle East. The movement over the last four or five days of assistance has been so significant in volume that a backfill into El-Arish is now needed. These planes are part of that backfill, an official said. Theres quite a quantity of goods on route to El-Arish from other destinations, but this is a significant contribution at a moment when that fill is very much needed. When questioned on whether the optics of U.S. military planes carrying humanitarian aid could put pressure on Israel to keep up the pause in fighting, an official said that while they would like to see the pause extended for as long as possible, the intent here is simply to ensure that significant flow of humanitarian assistance are arriving quickly into Arish. El-Arish is a city in North Sinai, Egypt, and goods taken there by the U.S. will be transported into civilians in Gaza by the United Nations. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The White House is opting to ditch the annual Christmas tradition of hanging stockings for President Biden's grandchildren, a move that allows it to avoid devoting a decoration for the president's seventh grandchild, who he only recently acknowledged for the first time. In a ceremony Monday afternoon, first lady Jill Biden unveiled the White House's 2023 Christmas decorations, which included various themed trees, rooms and displays. However, in a departure from the 2021 and 2022 displays, the fireplace in the White House State Dining Room was decorated without any stockings and, instead, with garland and toy soldier robots, The New York Post reported. "The holidays offer a time for reflection and a break from our hurried lives, a season to be fully present with our friends and our families," Jill Biden remarked Monday. "It's also a season of gratitude." The first lady described the decorations in the White House State Dining Room as bringing the "magic wonder and the joy of the holidays" all together in a recreation of Santa's workshop. She failed, though, to mention that the Christmas stockings would be removed from the room's fireplace this year. First Lady Jill Biden described the decorations in the White House State Dining Room as bringing the 'magic wonder and the joy of the holidays' all together in a recreation of Santa's workshop. FORMER TOP UKRAINE PROSECUTOR COMES OUT SWINGING AGAINST JOE AND HUNTER BIDEN: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW The decision to forego stockings for the Bidens' grandchildren comes four months after Biden first acknowledged his seventh grandchild, Navy Joan Roberts, for the first time in July. Navy, who is five-years-old, is the daughter of Biden's son Hunter and ex-stripper Lunden Roberts. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP "Our son Hunter and Navys mother, Lunden, are working together to foster a relationship that is in the best interests of their daughter, preserving her privacy as much as possible going forward," Biden said in a statement to Fox News Digital on July 28. "This is not a political issue, its a family matter. Jill and I only want what is best for all of our grandchildren, including Navy." DEVON ARCHER 'ABSOLUTELY' REVEALED SMOKING GUN ABOUT BIDENS, SAYS REP PAT FALLON First lady Jill Biden speaks about the holiday season and unveils the White House holiday decor during a ceremony on Monday. That statement came after years of Biden ignoring the fact that he had seven grandchildren, instead referring to his "six grandchildren." At a White House "take your child to work day" event in April, Biden again claimed to have just six grandchildren. "I have six grandchildren, and I'm crazy about them. And I speak to them every single day. Not a joke," he said. President Biden repeatedly refused to acknowledge Hunter Biden's daughter, Navy Joan Roberts, before late July. Hunter Biden had long denied being Navy Joan's father, but a 2019 DNA test proved otherwise. He has since fought to lower child support payments. Navy Joan was born in August 2018, and Roberts filed a paternity suit in May 2019. Both parties agreed to temporary child support following the DNA test results. Hunter Biden and Roberts reached an agreement to settle their paternity and child support suit in March 2020, according to the Democrat-Gazette. The case was then reopened after he requested changes to the child support payments. In June, Hunter settled his Arkansas child support case with Navy Joan's mother. A court filing showed Hunter agreed to give his daughter some of his paintings, and the child's mother agreed to withdraw her counterclaim to change their child's last name to "Biden." The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Fox News Digital reporter Joe Schoffstall contributed to this report. Original article source: White House scraps Christmas fireplace stockings after Biden acknowledges grandchild for first time FILE - San Francisco Giants' Paul DeJong runs the baseline during a baseball game, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, in Philadelphia. DeJong has agreed to a one-year contract with the Chicago White Sox, a person familiar with the agreement told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023, because the agreement was subject to a successful physical. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) CHICAGO (AP) The Chicago White Sox finalized a $1.75 million, one-year contract with shortstop Paul DeJong on Tuesday and designated outfielder Adam Haseley for assignment. DeJong can earn an additional $250,000 in performance bonuses for plate appearances: $150,000 for 400 and $100,000 for 500. The 30-year-old DeJong, who grew up in Antioch and attended Illinois State, played for the St. Louis Cardinals from 2017 until he was traded to Toronto this past Aug. 1. He was released by the Blue Jays on Aug. 21 and signed two days later with San Francisco. An All-Star in 2019 when he batted .233 with 30 homers and 78 RBIs, DeJong hit .226 with 14 homers and 37 RBIs this year in the final season of a $26 million, six-year contract. He has a .229 career average with 116 homers and 344 RBIs. Tim Anderson, Chicagos shortstop since 2016, became a free agent after the White Sox declined a $14 million option for 2024. Haseley was 8 for 36 with two RBIs and six runs in 28 games with Chicago last season. ___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb European Parliament Building in Brussels, Belgium on Jan. 8, 2022. Credit - Dursun AydemirAnadolu Agency/Getty Images The soap opera-like ousting and swift return of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman produced plenty of fodder for ironic quips online but it also exposed some serious fault lines. One such critique I enjoyed was: How are we supposed to solve the AI alignment problem if aligning just a few board members presents an insurmountable challenge? As the company behind ChatGPT, OpenAI may be one of the more recognizable names, but artificial intelligence is more than one company. It's a technology of immense consequence, yet it remains almost entirely unregulated. The E.U. has a chance to meaningfully tackle that challengebut not if it bends the knee to Big Techs ongoing onslaught. Inspirational Members of the European Parliament have so far been standing firm in the face of incredible pressure, in an effort to save this landmark legislation. On the weekend, E.U. Commissioner Thierry Breton spoke out against what he claims are self-serving lobbying efforts by Frances Mistral AI and other AI companies that do not serve public interest. These lawmakers need and deserve our support at this crucial moment. Europe is poised to lead in a world that is waking up to the need to regulate AI. From the U.S. Executive Order to the recent AI Safety Summit hosted by the U.K. at Bletchley Park, countries everywhere are recognising that if we are going to share the benefits of this incredible technology, we must mitigate its risks. The E.U. AI Act will be the first comprehensive legal framework aimed at doing precisely this, but a handful of technology firms are holding the political process hostage, threatening to sink the ship unless their systems are exempt from regulation. To capitulate will damage European innovation, put profits before public safety, and represent an affront to democracy. Our lawmakers must not bend the knee. On Nov. 10 negotiations broke down after France and Germany pushed back against proposed regulation of foundation models. Together with Italy, they subsequently released a nonpaper that articulated these demands, asking that companies building foundation models only be subject to voluntary commitments. Foundation models are general-purpose machine learning systems, such as Open AIs GPT-4 (which underpins ChatGPT), that can be subsequently applied to a large range of downstream applications and functions. Regulating these foundation models will force AI corporations to make sure they are safe before deployment, rather than waiting to act until after dangerous systems are released, which comes with clear danger of public harm. Given growing concern on the potential risks presented by these advanced systems, including mass misinformation, enabled bioterrorism, hacking of critical infrastructure, large-scale cyber attacks and more, this is a sensible provision to include. Read More: E.U.s AI Regulation Could Be Softened After Pushback From Biggest Members We have seen first-hand the need for codified legal protections, rather than relying on corporate self-regulation. For example, the psychological harm wrought by social media on young women and girls has become increasingly apparent. The companies that ran the platforms and channels that hosted harmful content were aware of this damage for years yet failed to act. Voluntary commitments are neither sufficient nor reliable. We need prevention, rather than cure, if we want to stop people getting hurt. We need enforceable safety standards and risk mitigation for powerful AI from the start. So why the objection? Holdouts claim that it will hinder innovation for businesses who want to adapt and use AI, but this simply isnt true. Regulating foundation models is essential for innovation as it will protect downstream smaller European users from the requirements of compliance, and from liability if things go wrong. There are only a handful of very well-resourced companies that are developing the most impactful foundation models, but there are thousands of small companies in the E.U. that have already adopted them for concrete business applications, and many more who plan to do so. We need balanced obligations across the value chainthe broadest shoulders should bear the biggest load. This is reflected in the makeup of the opposing sides. The European DIGITAL SME Alliance, comprising 45,000 business members, wants to regulate foundation models. Two European AI corporations (Frances Mistral AI and Germanys Aleph Alpha), along with a handful of giant U.S. firms do not. Their argument is also not borne out by real-world experience. My own country Estonia is bound by the exact same E.U. rules and regulations as Germany, yet has a vibrant and thriving startup ecosystem. If those who oppose regulation of foundation models, like Mistrals Cedric O, are looking to point the finger, they must look elsewhere. In truth, while those opposing regulation claim to be protecting the E.U.s innovation ecosystem, such a step-down would more likely transfer financial and legal burdens away from large corporations and onto startups, which have neither the ability nor the resources to change the underlying models. France and Germany also claim that regulating foundation models will stifle Europes ability to compete in AI on the global stage. This doesnt hold up. The tiered approach proposed, which is already a compromise between the Parliament and the Council of the E.U., allows for targeting so that competitors to major AI companies can emerge without onerous restrictions. European lawmakers should close their ears to fearmongering pushed by Big Tech and its newest allies, and remember the Acts purpose: To achieve a fair and balanced framework that safeguards innovation while preventing harm. It must not be a legislative device for anointing a few Silicon Valley-backed AI leaders with sectoral supremacy and zero requirements, while preventing thousands of European businesses from maximizing the technologys potential. The Parliament supports regulating foundation models, as do many in the Commission and the Council. The business community endorses it, as do the thousands of AI experts who have profound concerns about the dangers of these increasingly powerful systems if left unchecked. A handful of tech firms should not be allowed to hold our political process to ransom, threatening to detonate this landmark legislation and throw away three years of work. They must not be allowed to put their profits before our safety, and to put market capture before European innovation. Contact us at letters@time.com. This article is part of The D.C. Brief, TIMEs politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox. To find the closest historical precedent to what George Santos is about to face, you have to go back 21 years, when James Traficant was standing in the well of the House, spinning his latest colorful tale of victimhood, and dang was it a doozy. With his last chance to convince his colleagues not to kick him out of the House, Traficant had a laundry list of defenses at the ready. That the 10-count racketeering indictment against the Ohio Democrat was the result of a personal vendetta by former Attorney General Janet Reno. That there was no truth to the allegation that he was involved in a murder-for-hire scheme to eliminate a horse trainer who might testify against him. That Traficant had done nothing wrong when congressional staffers voluntarily worked on his farm and houseboat, and he only borrowed his aides paychecks in what prosecutors alleged was a kickback scheme that had staffers sliding cash under his office door. That Traficant allegedly had plenty of his pals confessing on tapes that the feds had bullied them into testifying against him, that one of those agents attempted to rape a constituent to coerce her to testify, and that a friend had seen his business curiously firebombed to destroy evidence that exonerated him. They didnt allow witnesses to testify, he lamented as the presiding officer repeatedly told Traficant to drop his blue language that, by todays standards for profanity, seems quaint. They allowed none of my tapes. All of my tapes were exculpatory. Maybe Traficant truly believed his conspiracy-tinged paranoia that July day back in 2002, his last in the House. Nonetheless, it was an embarrassing day for those of us who ever called Traficants Youngstown-based district home. In that northeast Ohio district, Traficant may have been the kook who ended his out-of-nowhere speeches with the Star Trek slogan of beam me up but he won re-election easily. I still have a flag that flew over the House as a graduation present from a man I once interviewed as a high school intern at The Warren Tribune-Chronicle; he knew how to keep the locals happy and when to feed the media appetite for colorful quotes that made it seem like he really mattered. Yet as a newly convicted felon, his colleagues wanted Traficant gone and didnt want to rely on Mahoning Valley voters to get it right. Traficant didnt take the hint and used 30 minutes of floor time to mount a last-minute, long-odds pitch to keep his job, though at times he seemed to know his effort was doomed from the start. Im prepared to lose everything. Im prepared to go to jail. You go ahead and expel me, he said with contemptuous fatalism. And they did. By a 420-to-1 vote, Traficant became just the second House member since the Civil War to be expelled from the House. It turns out, even Congress has the occasional limit to its patience. More than two decades later, the House will face the same question again: Has the behavior of one of their own gone so far as to warrant expulsion? Santos, a New York Republican, would be just the third House member to meet that fate since lawmakers expelled 10 Confederates from their ranks during the first year of the Civil War. Santos is accused of serial misconduct in a scathing bipartisan, 56-page ethics report that spans the deceiving of donors, the embezzlement of campaign cash, and the use of it on Botox and subscriptions to a website mainly used for porn. A resolution to expel him from Rep. Robert Garcia, a California Democrat, was expected Tuesday afternoon, and under the House rules he would merit a vote within two days. Read more: What I Learned Investigating George Santos But rather than argue his innocence as Traficant mostly did in his unhinged final appeal to his colleagues (notwithstanding his allegation that donors bought Senators girlfriends gifts), Santos seems determined to burn down the House as he heads toward the exits. In a three-hour rant on Friday on the platform formerly known as Twitter, Santos unfurled invectives, insults, and insinuations. While he was objectively accurate when he said lawmakers cast the occasional vote while drunk, he was on potentially shakier ground when accusing others of skipping work on the regular because theyre too hungover after a night of booze and sex with lobbyists. Within the ranks of the United States Congress, theres felons galore, there's people with all sorts of sheisty backgrounds, and all of a sudden, George Santos is the Mary Magdalene of the United States Congress, posited Santos, whose reported drag name was not Mary Magdalene but rather Kitara Ravache. In the days since that online rampage, Santos has told anyone who will listen that hes heading toward expulsion, no matter what he does. Hes probably right. Still, there is a non-zero chance that some of his colleagues will stick with him. There are two reasons that lawmakers may summon for defending a fabulist with a dodgy understanding of campaign finance laws and a totally unmoored relationship with the truth: 1) the GOP majority currently stands at a paltry four seats and the odds Republicans can hold Santos district are slim at best; and 2) absent a criminal conviction, as Traficant had, some members may feel that even an Ethics Committee report as damning as this one isnt enough to override the will of the voters. That second justification could play with lawmakers who would be on the fence in other circumstances. After all, an ethics lapse isnt unheard of in Congress. Facing 23 criminal indictments, Santos survived a first attempt to expel him. The effort fell well short of the two-thirds tally291 votesto expel him; only 179 members said he should go and another 19 simply said they were present. While Santos seems determined to become a parody of himself worthy of Bowen Yangs yeoman work on Saturday Night Live, he may be playing the long game within a party where truth has become a standing victim. And that might be what feeds a third bucket of reluctant Santos apologists: he might never go away, and making him a victim only gives him an easier glidepath back to relevance. On his way out the door in 2002, Traficant spun up a credulity-stretching tale explaining his innocence, offering up as evidence that the feds didnt bother to tap his phones, didnt have his fingerprints on dollar bills, and no FBI or IRS agents who investigated him ever testified against him. He added scores of non sequiturs as well, such as the fact the forensic accountant injured his groin in a courtroom accident and the spouse of the judge worked for a law firm representing one of the witnesses. To cap off his yarn, Traficant said that when pulled over late one night, he passed a field sobriety test meant to bust a political opponent. Theres no physical evidence, he said defiantly before saying his colleagues implicated in a House page sex scandal got to stay in power so he should, too. (The whole video is cringeworthy and a masterclass in political theater.) A few months after his expulsion, the booted nine-term lawmaker still earned 15% of the vote from his Pennsylvania jail cell while running as an independent. After serving seven years of an eight-year sentence, Traficant tried to make another comeback as an independent. That time, in 2010s Tea Party wave, he snagged 16% of the vote. Which is why, while most of Washington is eager to rid itself of Santos, there is a slice of the population that believed Traficants nutty version of reality and will believe Santos claim that he is actually cleaner than most of his colleagues at the Capitol. After all, Santos is barely trying to defend himself against any of the numerous allegations against him, noting he has given 40 speeches, taken 100 meetings, cleared 1,200 constituent cases, and repeatedly defended President Donald Trump. Americans love a comeback story, and there will always be room on far-right platforms to reward a panderer, no matter how ridiculous the record. Doubt it? A 91-times-charged ex-President who has his own tenuous relationship with reality is the far-ahead leader of the current Republican Party and, just seven weeks from the Iowa caucuses, is seemingly unreachable. If Trump can make a comeback while fighting four separate criminal cases and a raft of other legal troubles in the wings, Santos might believe he could do the same in miniature. Given the state of the current GOP, Santos could be making the most fact-based assessment of his political prospects in an alternative reality where facts are actual liabilities and fabricated credentials are strengths. Make sense of what matters in Washington. Sign up for the D.C. Brief newsletter. Write to Philip Elliott at philip.elliott@time.com. In recent decades, both churches and youth have faced significant challenges. Across the board, church attendance has seen a decline, particularly among young people. Additionally, many teens who do attend church drift away after graduation. It is not surprising that the decline in church attendance parallels the decline in adolescent well-being. The prevalence of social media platforms, celebrity idol worship, drugs, alcohol and pornography simultaneously connect and isolate our youth. Sam Currin Many churches are struggling to attract and keep youth engaged. Denominational leaders and church growth consultants have been promoting various revitalization ideas, with varying degrees of success. This disheartening situation calls for a proactive response to shape future generations with culture-transforming, Christian worldview thinking. To prevent the next generation of Christian children from falling away, we must create an environment that allows them to be educated in alignment with Christian values. It is no longer sufficient to rely solely on the brief hour or two spent at church on Sundays to counterbalance the influence of secular school culture during the remaining 35 hours of the week. Outsourcing the education of our children to the state is not always the best option, as it often fails to prioritize the values of the church and the home. So, is starting a school within the church an option worth considering? Fortunately, the N.C. General Assembly has made religious schooling economically feasible by significantly expanding the Opportunity Scholarship program. It now offers tuition assistance to all students in the Tar Heel state. Scholarship amounts are based on family income, with low and middle-income families receiving the largest awards. This expansion benefits parents who previously could not afford private school tuition. For the 2023-2024 school year, students are eligible for scholarship grants from $3,246 to $7,213. Since the advent of North Carolinas voucher program a decade ago, the number of religious affiliated schools across North Carolina, including some started by churches, has grown. Private school enrollment overall has surged significantly outpacing the percentage of growth in traditional public schools. Most of the scholarship money already goes to religious schools. Statewide, about two-thirds of private school students are now attending religious schools Private Christian schools maintain their own academic, religious and admission standards. The state respects the autonomy of non-public schools in terms of religious and educational philosophies. Many church buildings remain underutilized during the school week, offering potential space for classrooms, food service facilities, and recreational areas. Remodeling or constructing additional facilities to accommodate more students is an option, as is sharing space with nearby churches or leasing additional space. Private schools have the flexibility to determine class sizes, and research suggests that smaller class sizes lead to better academic outcomes. With the expansion of Opportunity Scholarships, churches should seize the opportunity to invest in a Christian school and extend their reach into the community. Often, Christian education offers benefits such as better academic outcomes, lower costs and development of discipline and moral foundations now scarce in public schools. With the monopoly on public education funds held by government-run schools, parents often find themselves ineffective in influencing curricula and values. With scholarship vouchers parents can choose schools that align with their beliefs and more effectively pass on their faith to their children. Starting a Christian school allows churches to actively engage and educate youth in alignment with Christian values. It is a valuable investment that aligns with the mission of the church and provides a much-needed alternative to secular education. Sam Currin lives in Raleigh. He is a former judge, law professor and US Attorney. Hes also an ordained Baptist minister and longtime advocate for K-12 Christian education. Makatla Ritchter wades through flood waters after having to evacuate her home when the flood waters from Hurricane Idalia inundated it on August 30, 2023 in Tarpon Springs, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) (Getty Images) Earlier this year, Chicago native Steve Swanson decided to move full-time to Sanibel Island, Fla., where he had vacationed as a child. A boomerang-shaped barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico, Sanibel was devastated by Hurricane Ian last year, but Swanson did something that would have been unthinkable anywhere in the country a few years ago: He purchased a small house but declined to purchase homeowners insurance, which would reimburse him in case of another disaster. You self-insure, Swanson said in an interview with Yahoo News, describing how he adds each month to a rainy-day fund against natural disasters instead of paying a premium to an insurance company. And then you just hope that it never happens. Swansons experience is becoming increasingly common. He landed on the frontline of a budding home insurance crisis that has hit coastal and inland states alike. Insurance companies are pulling out of states where evermore frequent natural disasters mean those companies have to pay out large claims after a home is destroyed in a wildfire, leveled by a mudslide or wrecked by a flood, I never thought I would see in my lifetime houses that are flat-out uninsurable, insurance broker Robb Lanham told Axios over the summer. Recommended reading A global problem A firefighter points at a potential hot spot of the Rabbit Fire, which tore through Moreno Valley, Calif., in July. (Jon Putman/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) (SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett) Research has shown that rising ocean temperatures are causing hurricanes to gain strength more quickly, and to dump more rain than they did in the past. When those hurricanes destroy homes, insurance companies pay for the damage. To cover those expenses, they raise premiums. Thanks to mounting hurricane losses, home insurance premiums in Florida have risen an astonishing 300% in the last five years, according to the financial news site Benzinga. Residents there now pay an average of $4,200 per year for home insurance, more than double the national average of $1,700, a stark increase that could lead to the reversal of torrid population growth that has made Florida the third-most-populous state in the country. The soaring rates in Florida reflect how frequently the state is battered by devastating storms. No other state has reported sustained losses for property insurers like Florida has since its last profitable year in 2016, Mark Friedlander, spokesman for the insurance lobby group Insurance Information Institute, recently told the New York Times. A destroyed house is seen in Keaton Beach, Florida in August after Hurricane Idalia made landfall. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images) (AFP via Getty Images) Florida is hardly alone. Climate change makes wildfires more likely in states like California. Flooding is also exacerbated by climate change not only in low-lying coastal states like Louisiana, but also in parts of the Midwest. Kentucky and West Virginia are among the several states particularly vulnerable to landslides. Its a global problem, insurance expert Lara Mowery recently told the Associated Press. In all, the United States saw 23 weather-related disasters in 2023 that each caused more than $1 billion of damage. According to the First Street Foundation, which studies climate risk, 35.6 million homes across the country could see their insurance policies become more expensive, or disappear entirely, as insurers flee high-risk states. That is crippling. Absolutely crippling, First Street CEO Matthew Eby told CBS News. And so those homes are not, from an investment scenario, something that you would invest in. Recommended reading Yahoo News: How climate change is causing housing market chaos A very stark lack of leadership Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa in September. (Jeffrey Becker/USA Today Sports) (USA Today Sports / reuters) Governors from both parties have struggled to help homeowners with rocketing insurance costs, but critics of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is currently running for the Republican presidential nomination, say he has played politics instead of engaging in sound policy. Home insurance costs are expected to rise by 40% in Florida in 2023; state governments have some power to limit those hikes, or to make cheaper government insurance available, but they cannot entirely halt or reverse market or climate forces. And when those forces descend on homeowners, it is inevitable that chief executives get blamed. Ron DeSantis doesnt believe theres a climate change crisis, says Swanson, the recent Sanibel Island transplant. He is ignoring the problem, by and large. And hes not really addressing the insurance crisisf either. It is a very stark lack of leadership on his part. Some in the insurance industry say that the diminishing number of insurers in Florida is due to the fact that it is too easy to sue insurance companies there. And those lawsuits could be especially damaging to the smaller insurers who now operate in Florida, now that larger companies such as Farmers have bailed on the state. This is a man-made crisis, Insurance Information Institute spokesman Friedlander told CNN in June. That volume of lawsuits will drive more of these regional companies out of business. Earlier this year, DeSantis signed a new law that makes it harder to sue insurance companies, but critics charge that he and the laws supporters have greatly exaggerated the frequency of frivolous lawsuits. They say the power to take legal action against an insurance company is important for policyholders who do not believe they have been adequately compensated for damage caused to their properties. Recommended reading Whats next? Stedi Scuderi looks over her apartment after flood water inundated it when Hurricane Ian passed through the area on September 29, 2022 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) (Getty Images) In August, Florida residents of a retirement community in Pembroke Pines staged protests after they saw their home insurance rise. We have no choice, we have to sell, one resident said. As a matter of fact, I just put my house on the market 10 minutes ago. Younger prospective homeowners face similar challenges. Many of them are saddled with college debt and a job market geared either toward narrow expertise or service work. To make matters worse, housing has gotten more expensive across the country. Soaring insurance rates are the proverbial cherry on a homeownership cake nobody wants to take the responsibility for having baked. Overall, Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather recently told Yahoo Finance, the picture looks like its going to get harder and harder for people to break into the housing market and buy their first home. Recommended reading Ukraine's NATO membership is now being finalized by North Atlantic Treaty Organization members. This was confirmed by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. He said that before November ends, a NATO-Ukraine meeting will be held in which allies will discuss how the European country can completely gain its membership. They will specifically discuss recommendations for reforms that Kyiv must implement if it wants to join the international alliance. Ukraine's NATO Membership Being Finalized Jens Stoltenberg is quite sure regarding their decision to reinforce the collective agreement among NATO allies that Ukraine will soon be a member of the intergovernmental military organization. However, he clarified that giving Ukraine a full membership during its ongoing conflict with Russia is impractical. Although this is the case, Stoltenberg still emphasized their efforts to bring Ukraine closer to the alliance. "The allies agree that Ukraine will become a member of NATO," said the NATO secretary-general via Yahoo News. "At (the NATO-Ukraine) meeting, we will agree on recommendations for Ukrainians ... reforms, as we continue to support Kyiv on this path to NATO membership," he added. The upcoming NATO-Ukraine Council meeting is scheduled in Brussels on Wednesday, November 29. This conference is a big deal since it will be the first at the foreign ministers' level. Even Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will attend the meeting. But will a NATO membership help Ukraine, or will it only make the war against Russia worse? Read Also: Justin Trudeau Blames 'MAGA Influence' for Sinking Ukraine Support in Canada Russia Urging Ukraine Not to Join NATO According to Business Insider, a Ukrainian politician claimed that Russia had already proposed ending the war so that Ukraine would leave its NATO membership ambitions. David Arkhamia, the Servant of the People party leader, said the Russian government offered its war resolution in spring 2022. He claimed that peace talks happened during the early stages of the Russian invasion. The Ukrainian official explained that Russia wants Ukraine to take a neutral position. However, he said that if the European nation considers shifting towards neutrality, Kyiv will have to make constitutional changes. Aside from these complicated adjustments that Ukraine must make, Arakhamia said they don't trust Russia since the Kremlin tends to double-cross such a deal if ever it happens. The Ukrainian politician said that they don't have any trust in the Russian government and that it will end the invasion if Ukraine abandons its NATO membership goals. He added that they would only consider taking a neutral position if the Kremlin kept its word of ending the war. Related Article: New NATO Chief Front-Runner Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte Faces Criticism Over Poor Defense Spending @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Visitors view the Parthenon Marbles, also known as the Elgin Marbles, at the British Museum in London on Jan. 9, 2023. The ancient sculptures were taken from the Parthenon temple at the Acropolis in Athens in the early 19th century by British diplomat Thomas Bruce, the earl of Elgin. Credit - DANIEL LEALAFP via Getty Images Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and opposition leader Keir Starmer engaged in a heated debate on Wednesday over Sunaks decision not to meet with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday while he was in London. Were always happy to talk about important topics like illegal migration and strengthening security with our allies but when it was clear that the purpose of the meeting was not to discuss substantive issues for the future but rather to grandstand and relive issues of the past, it was inappropriate, said Sunak in Parliament today when explaining why he canceled the meeting. The Greek Prime Minister had hoped to discuss the return of the Elgin Marbles, a collection of sculptures from ancient Greece currently housed in the British Museum. The Elgin Marblesa collection of sculptures from ancient Greeceare just a few of thousands of items amassed by the British during the days of its global empire. But recent years have seen more countries demand the U.K. repatriate items: Nigeria is asking for its Benin Bronzes back, China says its cultural relics must be handed over, and Greece wants its sculptures. We feel that the sculptures belong to Greece and that they were essentially stolen, Mitsotakis told the BBC. Instead, Mitsotakis met with U.K. opposition leader Keir Starmer on Monday, a move that is rarely welcomed by those in government. In an effort to hide from his failures, the Prime Minister spent this week arguing about an ancient relic that only a tiny minority of the British public have any interest in, Starmer said in Parliament today. [Greece] is one of our most important partners in tackling illegal immigration, but instead of using that meeting to discuss these serious issues, he tried to humiliate him and canceled at the last minute. While both Suank and Starmer have opposed a permanent return of the Elgin Marbles, they have laid out different approaches for how to deal with the issue. What are the Elgin Marbles? The Elgin Marbles were created between 447 and 432 B.C. as architectural decor for the Parthenonthe temple of the Greek goddess Athenaon the Acropolis in Athens. The sculpture collection in the British Museum consists of 15 metopes (sculpted relief panels), 17 pedimental figures, and 247 ft. of the original 524-ft. Parthenon frieze which shows a procession held during Athenas birthday. How did they end up in British possession? During the early 19th century, at a time when Greece was under Ottoman control, an aristocrat named Thomas Brucemore popularly known as Lord Elginwas British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. Elgin had sought to improve the level of artistic appreciation in Great Britain then, and so he had a plan to create drawings and plaster casts from Athenian architecture at his own expense, according to British historian William St. Clairs book Lord Elgin and the Marbles. Elgin eventually received a permit to do so from Ottoman authorities, as well as take away any pieces of stone with old inscriptions or sculptures thereon. Debate remains over whether or not the document exists and is legally binding. From 1801 to 1805, Elgin and his team of artists removed about half of the remaining sculptures in the Parthenonas well as other architectural decor across the Acropolis. It took a series of shipments to send all of the Elgin Marbles to England. A U.K. Parliamentary Select Committee in 1816 ruled he had acquired them legally, and the collection was sold to the British government for some 35,000. The sculptures were then transferred to the British Museum by an Act of Parliament later that year. How has Greece demanded for the Elgin Marbles? While Greece has demanded the return of the Elgin Marbles since the country's independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1832, the last four decades have seen a slew of public relations and diplomacy offensives from Athens to regain them. In the early 1980s, Greek minister for culture Melina Mercouri launched a campaign calling for the return of the Elgin Marbles to Athens. In 1983, she even met with the British Museums then-director, David Wilson, to demand the sculptures return. That year, the first formal request for restitution was filed to the British government. In 2009, Athens opened the Acropolis Museum, in part to dispel arguments from the British that they would have nowhere to house the Elgin Marbles safely. The British Museum's public call to help to locate over 2,000 lost artifacts earlier this year also prompted Greek culture minister Lina Mendoni to question if the safety arguments holds. Talks between Greece and the British Museum have been ongoing since November 2021, according to the New York Times, mainly between Kitsotakis and former U.K. finance minister George Osborne, who is now chair of the British Museum. More From TIME Do the British want to return the Elgin Marbles? The 1963 British Museum Act bans the museum from parting with any items in its collection. Sunak has also repeatedly said that he would not change British law to allow the Parthenon sculptures to leave the museum. Under this law, however, the museums trustees may lend items in its collection for public exhibition, even outside the U.K. Conservative lawmakers have long rejected any sort of removal from the British Museums collection. But Starmer, who polls suggest will become the next Prime Minister when an election is called by January 2025, has said he would not oppose a temporary loan. Public support for the repatriation is high, a YouGov poll commissioned by the Parthenon Project, a campaign to return the sculptures to Athens, found that 64% of polled British were in favor of returning the sculptures if Greece would lend other artifacts to British museums. Some 52% are also in favor of a return without conditions. On its website, the British Museum says constructive discussions for a partnership with Greece on the Parthenon sculptures are ongoing. Correction, Nov. 28 The original version of this story misstated the name of a Greek minister for culture in the 1980s. Her name was Melina Mercouri, not Melinda. Contact us at letters@time.com. [Source] New research has revealed a widening gender gap in life expectancy in the U.S., with women projected to live about six years longer than men, marking the largest disparity since 1996. A growing disparity: Published in JAMA Internal Medicine on Nov.13, the study led by the University of California, San Francisco and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health attributes the rise in life expectancy gender gap to the COVID-19 pandemic and the opioid overdose epidemic. In 2010, the U.S. gender gap was 4.8 years, which subsequently grew to 5.8 years at the height of the pandemic in 2021. During this period, the average life expectancy stood at 73.5 years for men and 79.3 years for women. Pandemic's disproportionate toll: From 2019 to 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic emerged as the primary factor widening the gender life expectancy gap, disproportionately impacting men. Other factors identified were unintentional injuries, drug overdoses, accidents and suicide. Trending on NextShark: S. Korean lawmaker proposes imposing fines on video game hackers Key contributors to this phenomenon include health behaviors, occupational risks, reluctance to seek medical care, as well as incarceration and housing instability, all of which played pivotal roles in the surge of what is commonly termed "deaths of despair" a phrase encapsulating fatalities associated with economic hardship, depression and stress. Ties to mental health: Brandon Yan, the paper's first author, told the Boston Herald that men also constitute an increasingly disproportionate share of deaths from causes like drug overdose and homicide. Theres been a lot of research into the decline in life expectancy in recent years, but no one has systematically analyzed why the gap between men and women has been widening since 2010," Yan said. "While rates of death from drug overdose and homicide have climbed for both men and women, it is clear that men constitute an increasingly disproportionate share of these deaths. Trending on NextShark: China hails 'good old friend' Henry Kissinger, who visited country over 100 times Calls for action: The study emphasizes the need for specialized care, particularly in mental health, to address the growing life expectancy disparity. Howard Koh, senior author of the study, underscored the importance of a proactive approach to addressing societal factors contributing to men's increased vulnerability. We need to track these trends closely as the pandemic recedes, Koh explained. And we must make significant investments in prevention and care to ensure that this widening disparity, among many others, do not become entrenched. Trending on NextShark: Man wanted for attempted burglaries of Vietnamese temples in San Diego Download the NextShark App: Want to keep up to date on Asian American News? Download the NextShark App today! The wife of Ukraines top military intelligence official has been hospitalized with apparent heavy metals poisoning, according to Ukrainian and western officials. Marianna Budanova is the wife of Kyrylo Budanov, whose military intelligence agency GUR has been deeply involved in Ukraines efforts to oust Russia from its territory, and western officials have been immediately suspicious that Russian agents may have paid off a staff member to carry out the poisoning. Test results show that Ukrainian Defense Intelligence staff have also been sickened, according to Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for the agency, and Ukraine is investigating the situation. American and western intelligence officials have not independently verified the poisoning but believe Ukrainian reports to be accurate, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN. The seriousness of Budanovas condition was not immediately apparent. According to the GUR representative, she has been hospitalized for a week and had felt poorly for some time prior to being hospitalized. A source with Defense Intelligence told CNN, on the condition of anonymity because the information has not been made public, Budanova tested positive for arsenic and mercury. CNN has reached out to Budanova for comment. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told CNNs Erin Burnett on OutFront Tuesday evening that its highly likely that Russia is behind it but that he was not making any official conclusions. It would be premature for me to make any conclusions, but when you fight such a vicious enemy as Russia, you have to be ready for anything, and Russia has proven itself many times before as a country that uses poison as a mean to kill its opponents and its enemies, Kuleba told Burnett. And definitely our intelligence chief is the enemy of Russia as all of us are. All those who are fighting against Russia, he continued. So its highly likely that Russia is behind it, but Im not making any official conclusions, so I leave it to the to the experts to make. Dr. Edward Boyer, a professor of emergency medicine at Ohio State University College of Medicine, said that without a more detailed understanding of the test results and patient history including their symptoms and potential exposure to certain foods its impossible to judge the likelihood that any of the victims were deliberately poisoned. What is going to be really important to suss out are the actual symptoms. Different metals have different toxicities associated with them, Boyer said. Its important to get not only an environmental exposure history but also a food intake history, coupled with the honest-to-goodness symptoms. Russia and the Soviet Union before that has been known to carry out extra-territorial poisonings against its enemies. In England in 2018, Russian agents used a nerve agent to poison Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military officer and double agent for British intelligence agencies. In the 1950s, the KGB used thallium a heavy metal used in rat poisons and insecticides to poison one of its own agents who had defected to the United States. During Ukraine-Russia talks in March 2022 in Turkey, a Russian billionaire and two Ukrainian negotiators suffered minor skin peeling and sore eyes, a source close to the Ukrainian negotiation team told CNN at the time. While initial reports indicated that they suffered from poisoning, later reports indicated the they were sickened due to an environmental factor, not poisoning. This story has been updated with additional details. CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct Dr. Edward Boyers title. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com (Bloomberg) -- Far-right lawmaker Geert Wilders attempts to form a cabinet began anew with the appointment of a former Labor Party minister as coalition negotiator after an earlier failure to make headway in talks. Most Read from Bloomberg Wilders Tuesday picked Ronald Plasterk as a so-called scout tasked with exploring the various options available for the formation of a new cabinet. He was previously a minister of education and interior as part of the Dutch Labor Party and is nowadays a conservative columnist for local newspaper De Telegraaf. Despite Plasterks current political views, the fact that he has served in government in another party suggests a wide network and understanding of the other parties. He has also worked with the outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Vera Bergkamp, the speaker of the Dutch parliament, said Plasterk can count on broad support. His former Labor affiliation isnt expected to play a role in Wilders talks with the Green Left and Labor alliance as Plasterk drifted away from his party over time. The Labor Party is alienated from the peopleand presented a disappointing election program, Plasterk said in an opinion article. The Left alliance, which finished second, has ruled out cooperation with Wilders. In his last opinion piece, he echoed Wilders election speech, arguing that a right-wing coalition should be formed by the far-right Freedom Party, liberal Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy, or VVD, center-right New Social Contract and the Farmer-Citizen Movement. Plasterk is a biologist by profession and last year sold Frame Cancer Therapeutics, the startup he co-founded, to German biopharmaceutical company CureVac NV for 32 million ($35.1 million). Plasterks appointment comes a day after Wilders first scout Gom van Strien, a Freedom Party senator, resigned from the position over media reports that his former employer had filed a complaint alleging fraud and bribery. Van Strien had denied the accusations. Wilders is now courting parties to form a coalition after the VVD on Friday ruled out accepting any positions in his cabinet but said it is prepared to lend him its parliamentary support. If the VVD supports Wilders as a kind of a tolerating partner as signaled by its leader, Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius, then his hopes of forming a working majority in parliament will hinge on the party that came fourth in Wednesdays election: the newly launched New Social Contract group. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) The Mayor of Wilkes-Barre has issued a CODE BLUE, warning for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week due to freezing temperatures. Wilkes-Barre Mayor George C. Brown announced Monday that the City of Wilkes-Barre will enact the CODE BLUE designation for the nights of Tuesday, November 28, Wednesday, November 29, and Thursday, November 30, due to severe cold temperatures. The Code Blue Emergency Shelter Program will be administered by Keystone Mission. The Emergency Shelter is located at the Keystone Mission Innovation Center, 90 East Union Street, Wilkes-Barre. During a Code Blue, the shelter will be open to guests who should arrive between 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. and must leave at 7:00 a.m. the following morning. Route 435 southbound closure postponed The city will assist with the administration of the program by making the determination of when a Code Blue is necessary, publicizing when it will be in effect, and having city personnel attempt to notify the homeless of the activation of a Code Blue. A Code Blue will be initiated when the National Weather Service forecasts temperatures of 20 degrees or below, or when there is an expected snowfall of 12 inches or more. The public will also be notified of a Code Blue situation by the lighting of a blue light on Public Square in downtown Wilkes-Barre. People interested in volunteering to assist with the Code Blue Program or seeking more information about the program should contact Keystone Mission at (570) 871-4795 ext; 404 or by email at Volunteer@KeystoneMission.org. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PAhomepage.com. The Wilson County Sheriff's Office has arrested the wife of a man who died Monday after a fatal shooting near the DeKalb County line, the department said Tuesday. Lindsay D. Harris, 39, is facing one count of first degree murder in connection with her husband's death. Jacob A. Harris, 40, was found dead inside a house in southeastern Wilson County after deputies responded to a shots fired call early Monday morning. Lindsay Harris is jailed in Wilson County awaiting an initial bond hearing, sheriff's department Captain Scott Moore said. The shooting occurred on Round Top Road in the Liberty portion of Wilson County, Sheriff Robert Bryan said. No motive has been released in the case, but the sheriff's department said the shooting appears to be isolated. Reach Andy Humbles at ahumbles@tennessean.com or 615-726-5939 and on X, formerly known as Twitter @ AndyHumbles. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Wilson sheriff arrests wife after husband shot, killed at home Police are used to dealing with people on the worst days of their lives. This day was different. Businessman Troy Goldschmidt enlisted members of Wisconsin's Eau Claire Police Department for a marriage proposal on a cold November afternoon. The couple had a "very positive" prior interaction with Officer Maggie Andersen, according to the Eau Claire Police Department's public information officer, Josh Miller, when Moriah Prichard lost her cellphone on an earlier trip to the city. So, Goldschmidt specifically asked for Andersen to be involved in the scheme, Miller said in a statement. STRANDED ATOP THE EIFFEL TOWER, MAN PROPOSES TO HIS GIRLFRIEND: THIS IS THE MOMENT Troy Goldschmidt enlisted the Eau Claire Police Department in Wisconsin for his marriage proposal to girlfriend Moriah Prichard. She said yes. The next time they were in town, which is 90 miles east of Minneapolis, Goldschmidt and Miller coordinated the stop. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP The couple had just arrived and got pulled over at an intersection before they'd even checked into their hotel. "Is this like recently issued or anything?" an officer asks after pretending to run Goldschmidt's license. "I mean I got the new ID thing," Goldschmidt replied with a slight smirk that Prichard couldn't see at the time. The officer asked him to get out of the car. Once they're out of earshot, he whispers, "You all set?" The clip cuts to Andersen's bodycam as she knocks on the passenger-side window, speaking with Prichard. She escorts her out of the car as well while her partner pretends to put Goldschmidt's hands behind his back over a supposed issue with his license. But he pulls out a ring, drops to one knee and holds out his hand. "Moriah," he said, as she turns around. "I love you so much. You're my best friend. I want to spend the rest of my life with you." Moriah Prichard's reaction to her fiance's surprise marriage proposal was caught on bodycam video in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. 15 TIPS TO PREPARE FOR THE PERFECT MARRIAGE PROPOSAL Then he popped the question. She said yes. Goldschmidt told Fox News Digital that the two police officers both volunteered for the mission on their day off. "Our parents were waiting inside a restaurant across the street watching the whole thing," he said. "After it was over, they came out, which was an additional surprise." But he wasn't done there. The newly engaged man also planned ahead at the hotel planting a dozen roses each placed with a card, detailing a dozen traits he said he loves about Prichard. In a Facebook post, he thanked police for preserving the moment on bodycam. "I'm glad you had the video because I barely remember what I said," he wrote. "Neither Moriah and I have been able to stop smiling!" Prichard wrote separately that while she doesn't post much on social media, she had to post about her big moment. "Thank you SO much Eau Claire Police Department for volunteering your time, and Troy Goldschmidt for your love, care and creativity," she wrote. "I couldn't be happier, and I can't WAIT to spend the rest of my life with you!" In a statement, city police said it was their pleasure. "You never know what's going to happen on a traffic stop," Eau Claire police wrote on Facebook when they posted the video, accompanied by a wedding ring emoji. Fox News' Mitch Picasso contributed to this report. Original article source: Wisconsin police help man stage marriage proposal in heartwarming bodycam video Nearly 300 children and young adults in the Tri-Cities are living with foster families this holiday season. Each will receive a mix of gifts reflecting what they need and what they want for Christmas if the Richland office of the Department of Children and Youth Services (DCYS) has its way. Makenna Burmeister, manager of the office serving the Tri-Cities and Goldendale, invites would-be foster Santas to contact her to get started. The agency gathers gifts and supplies year-round, but it is working on a Dec. 18 deadline for Christmas. The department is the main clearinghouse for people who want to fulfill Christmas wishes for children in foster care. Earlier this year, the mental health nonprofit Heads Up Tri-Cities notified supporters it would end its foster kids committee to focus on organizations that provide for unmet mental health needs in the community at large. Those interested in sponsoring one or more children in foster care can reach Burmeister by calling the the Richland office, 509-585-3000. Ask for the office manager. Burmeister said DCYF is grateful for any support for the children who are living away from their families. While the holidays are a great time to support them, the office collects donations all year to meet needs as they arise when kids are removed from their homes. That can include children celebrating birthdays or children entering the system without any of personal belongings. At the holidays, Burmeister keeps a spreadsheet of the children her office serves, as well as their personal wish lists. Wish lists contain a mix of needs and wants. Needs include hygiene supplies, toiletries, clothing, socks, shoes, underwear and blankets. Wants include books, toys and even electronics. Sponsors can spend as little or as much as they wish. There is no minimum or maximum. Sponsors can be individuals, families, organizations and businesses. Burmeister said the need is greatest for those ages 12 to older teens up to age 20 in the extended foster care system. The older youth draw less attention than the younger ones but their needs are just as great, she said. Top needs Hygiene items such as deodorant and lotions. The agency provides basic necessities, but donations ensure the child gets what they need as quickly as possible. Clothing: T-shirts, underwear, socks, shoes. Luggage: Duffel bags and suitcases. Kids often are forced to stuff their belongings into garbage bags or cardboard boxes. Top wants Brand-name clothing and shoes. When shopping for older children, including teens, consider purchasing brand-name items. Kids may need shoes, but they want Nikes, she said. Kids living in foster care are as interested in those items as their peers. Books, electronics, dolls, infant sensory toys. Burmeister said they tend to be well stocked with items for toddlers, but they need gear for infants who come into its care as well. Dont expect to be given more than basic information about the children and their wish lists. DCYS cannot provide details that might reveal the identity of a child in its care. It shares the childs gender, age and size. Case workers encourage children to be specific about the items on their lists. So, if a child wants a Barbie, they may be asked to specify exactly which Barbie. Otherwise, sponsors should make their best guess about fulfilling wishes. Other places to donate Giving Tree Columbia Center mall in Kennewick is again hosting the Salvation Armys annual Giving Tree program to support children living in low-income households. You can pick a tag from the tree, which is in the commons area near Barnes & Noble. Tags provide the age, gender and wishes of the children. Shoppers bring items back to the tree for distribution to needy families in the community. The program is also known as the Angel Tree. Toys for Tots Toys For Tots Tri-Cities, a joint venture of the Pasco Chamber of Commerce and JMS Construction in support of the U.S. Marine Corps giving program, is gathering toys through Nov. 30. Drop off new, unwrapped toys at the Pasco chamber office, Speck Hyundai of Tri-Cities, Pasco Grocery Outlet, Magills, JMS Construction or the Red Lion Pasco. Arrange pick ups by calling 509-460-1279. Sign Up: Boom Town Tri-Cities Stay up to date on Tri-Cities growth and development with our weekly business newsletter. Get the latest on restaurant and business openings and closings, plus the regions top housing and employment news. Click here to sign up. In your inbox every Wednesday. An 83-year-old woman died after she fell nearly 50 feet through the kitchen floor into a hidden well under the home, a South Carolina coroner said. The woman was identified as Dorothy Louise Downey of Salem in a news release from Oconee County Coroner Karl Addis. Downey was helping her daughter move out of a home near Salem the afternoon of Nov. 26, Addis said in the Nov. 27 release. Property records showed the home was over 100 years old. And underneath the home, unknown to the family, was a hidden well shaft, according to Addis. The floor in the kitchen had weakened over time, the coroner said. At around 2 p.m. when Downey was in the room, the floor gave way, and she fell 48 feet down the well to her death. I have not had a death like this occur in my 31-year career as Oconee County coroner, Addis said, according to WYFF. It took nearly four hours for the Salem Fire Department and Oconee County Emergency Services to pull her from the well, which had a small pool of water at the bottom, according to the coroner. An autopsy conducted the next day revealed she died of blunt force injuries sustained in the fall. Her death was classified as accidental. Salem is a small town in Upstate South Carolina about 140 miles northwest of Columbia. Body of man missing for 2 months found in depths of a well outside his home, cops say 36-year-old avid ice climber dies after fall near Montana waterfall, rescuers say Woman hunting shark teeth needs rescue when excavation collapses, Florida cops say Puppy gets stuck in sewer line for hours. Heres how rescuers used cameras to save her ALEXANDRIA, Va. - On Monday morning, just before 8:15, the Alexandria Police Department received a call from someone who found a woman's lifeless body at a gas station on King Street. The woman was inside a vehicle when officers arrived, and the first responders who came to the scene to see her confirmed she was dead when they got there. At this point in the investigation, police have not revealed how the woman passed away or if there was foul play involved. They did say that they didn't believe the nearby residential neighborhoods should be alarmed. Detectives from the Alexandria Police Department are asking anyone with information regarding the incident to contact them. This is a developing story. Check back with FOX 5 for updates. A cyberattack on New Jersey hospitals prompted officials to reroute ambulances and knocked down systems for the last five days. The attack initially forced ambulances from hospitals in East Texas to be diverted on Thanksgiving Day. It has since been discovered that it also forced hospitals in New Jersey, New Mexico, and Oklahoma to reroute their emergency vehicles. Cyberattack on Hospital System The Ardent Health Services owned or partly owned all affected hospitals struck by the cyberattack. The company, based in Tennessee, owns over two dozen hospitals in at least five states. Some hospitals currently unable to accept ambulances include a 263-bed health center in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico, a 365-bed hospital in Montclair, New Jersey, and a network of hospitals in East Texas. The latter is known to serve thousands of patients every year. This is the latest example of how the ransomware scourge has disrupted healthcare providers' services throughout the coronavirus pandemic. On Monday, according to CNN, Ardent Health Services confirmed that a cyberattack caused the disruption. It added that its facilities were "diverting some emergency room patients to other area hospitals until systems are back online." Furthermore, hospital facilities were forced to reschedule some non-emergency surgeries. Ardent Health added that patient care is still delivered safely and effectively in hospitals, emergency rooms, and clinics. A nurse working at one of the hospitals in New Jersey that was affected by the cyberattack said that staff rushed to print out as much patient information as they could. This was done after it became clear that the hospital would be shutting down networks because of the disruption caused by the ransomware attack. The nurse noted that they were doing everything on paper. Ardent Health also said it shut down many of its computerized services following the cyberattack. According to NBC News, these include clinical programs and Epic Systems, a program that tracks patients' health care records. Read Also: Vermont Police Investigate Shooting of 3 Palestinian Students as a Potential Hate Crime Threat of Ransomware Attacks The company said it had reported the incident to law enforcement authorities and retained third-party forensic and threat intelligence advisors. It now works with specialist cybersecurity partners to restore its information technology operations and capabilities. It noted that it cannot confirm the extent of any patient health or financial data compromised in the cyberattack. The company said that the investigation and restoration of access to electronic medical records and other clinical systems is ongoing. Reports also noted that officials with the federal US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) had contacted Ardent Health on Nov. 22. They warned the company of malicious cyber activity affecting its computer systems. A spokesperson for the company, Will Roberts, confirmed that CISA officials contacted them to make them aware of suspicious activity. The chief information security officer at cybersecurity company Centripetal, Jess Parnell, said that cybercriminals are constantly probing and doing surveys to determine what can or cannot go through the network, said Fierce Health Care. Related Article: Derek Chauvin Expected To Survive Prison Stabbing @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A woman tied to the killing of a 5-year-old Cairo Jordan, who was found in a suitcase, was sentenced to decades in prison by an Indiana judge last week. Dawn Coleman faced severe charges, including neglect of a dependent resulting in death, obstruction of justice, and aiding, inducing, or causing murder in connection with the case, prompting her to plead guilty, WTHR reported. She received a 30-year sentence with five years suspended. Police have charged Dejuane Anderson (bottom right) with murder in the April death of her son Cairo Jordan (top right), who was found in a suitcase (left). (Photos: YouTube screenshots/NBC Bay Area) Jordan of Atlanta, Georgia, was found dead in carry-on size luggage with a Las Vegas sign on it in April 2022 in southern Indiana. Washington County, Indiana, prosecutors argued that the 41-year-old Coleman, along with the childs mother, identified as 38-year-old DeJaune Ludie Anderson, worked together to dispose of his body. According to WTHR, Coleman, who is from Shreveport, Louisiana, admitted that he walked into the bedroom of their home in Louisville, Kentucky, and saw the child lying face down on the mattress with Anderson on top of him, saying: Its already done. Thats when the duo placed Jordan inside the suitcase and traveled to Indiana to toss it into the woods. Per her plea deal, Coleman will have to testify against Anderson, who is currently on the run. You packaged Cairo like trash, the judge told Coleman during her sentencing hearing, the outlet reported. He was an innocent little boy who wanted to be loved. WTHR reported that Anderson, who is from Atlanta, is 5 feet 5, 135 pounds, with dark brown hair. Shes previously described Jordan as being possessed on social media. Officials said Jordan died from an electrolyte imbalance most likely caused by gastroenteritis, which in common laymans terms would be vomiting and diarrhea, and that resulted in dehydration. His father created a GoFundMe last year for financial assistance to bring the childs body from Indiana to Atlanta. A woman suing the Chop't salad chain says she 'was chewing on a portion of a human finger' mixed into her arugula A woman is suing Chop't after she says she said there was a severed finger in her salad. Eliza McKelvey/Business Insider A woman is suing the Chop't salad chain says she chewed on a severed human finger in her salad. An employee chopped a portion of her left pointer finger into arugula, according to the suit. Allison Cozzi filed a lawsuit Monday after her April experience in the Mt. Kisco, NY, location. A Greenwich, Connecticut woman is suing the fast-casual salad chain, Chop't, after she says she discovered a portion of an employee's severed finger mixed into her meal. Allison Cozzi visited the Chop't location in Mt. Kisco, New York, on April 7 and as she ate her salad she realized she was "chewing on a portion of a human finger" that was mixed into her salad, her complaint alleges. Earlier that day, a manager at the store chopped a piece of her finger off while cutting arugula and left for the hospital, the complaint, filed Monday in a Westchester County court, says. The contaminated arugula was left on the service line and served to customers, according to the lawsuit. Cozzi is accusing the restaurant of negligence, and says that it caused her injuries including "severe and serious personal injuries, including shock, panic attacks, migraine and the exacerbation of migraine, cognitive impairment, traumatic stress and anxiety, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and neck and shoulder pain." The restaurant was cited for health code violation by the Westchester County Department of Health, according to the complaint. The Chop't location was fined $900 in September, for violating a code that requires food establishments to operate in a way to "avoid imminent health hazards," according to the complaint and public records seen by Business Insider. A message seeking comment left with the Mt. Kisco Chop't location was not immediately returned. Cozzi's attorney Marc Reibman declined to comment on her behalf. "She is not interested in anything that is going to increase the stress or anxiety that this has caused her," he said. Read the original article on Business Insider Mr Waller, 72, decided hed rather work for himself than have others tell him what to do - Geoff Pugh In a new series, Telegraph Money speaks to those who have found success without earning a degree. For Gary Waller, a teenager from a working class family in east London during the 1960s, going to university wasnt an option. When he left school after completing his O Levels, he did a year at college but it wasnt for him. I was a square peg in a round hole, he says. Mr Waller, now 72, soon decided hed rather work for himself than have others tell him what to do and set up his own business. The group, which has a presence in Britain and America, had sales that reached about $60m (48m) last year. He says university has since become a box-ticking exercise demanded by many employers, but what helped him succeed as an entrepreneur was street smarts that are not taught in school. Mr Waller, who now lives in a rural part of Essex, says his aunt helped him get his first job at a bank where she had also been working. It was an admin role for overseas offices, which he says was like watching paint dry. I cant tell you how boring it was, he says. He remembers his office having strict rules, such as requiring permission from the bank manager to get married, have long hair and take your coat off during the summer. That regimented attitude was not for me, he says. If I thought someone was being stupid, I had trouble not saying anything else. I was a bit of a rebel. That was the start of it: I thought, I cant work for anyone else. Mr Waller says university has been reduced to a box-ticking exercise demanded by many employers - Geoff Pugh He soon moved on to a job supplying ships with cargo, then to a job doing logistics work in the cargo division at a steamship company. When I was 23, I just thought, this doesnt really seem like its going anywhere, he says. But he had learnt a lot about freight forwarding the coordination of the shipment of goods from one carrier to another and decided to set up his own company, The Alliance Group of Companies Ltd. He secured a 100pc mortgage in 1975 and used the money he had saved up for the deposit to get started. Waller had many promises of business from people hed known. Probably one in 100 came to fruition, he says. It was a case of literally banging on doors, making telephone calls, trudging around and trying to pull the show together. My wife was working at BP, and she was actually earning far more than me. She was really singularly responsible for us surviving and paying a mortgage rate of 17pc in those days, it was quite shocking. It was just really the hunger and the desire not to go back and be working for a large organisation and the freedom of being on your own was what really kept me at it. I had no children then either. For young people with similar dreams, he says they should be ready to make sacrifices. Be prepared to forego vacations, he says. Be prepared to forego the holidays in Greece and what appear to be the obligatory meals out and theatre. In the first five years of my business, I didnt go on vacation at all. Make the sacrifice while youre still young enough and you still have the energy. Quite honestly, when I look back on what I achieved, I couldnt do it again. He says young people should not be disheartened by setbacks, as they are inevitable. The essential difference between here and the States is that the Brits tend to go, What if it goes wrong?. The Americans go, Lets do it, and if it goes wrong well deal with it. Theres more of a can-do attitude in the States than there is in Europe generally, not just the UK; people talk themselves out of it. Mr Waller says he talked prospective clients into giving him a chance by telling them it would not hurt to get a quote from him, even if they already had a freight forwarder. Once you get a quote, youve opened the door to keep talking to them about working with you, he says. Sometimes they will tell you to p--- off but other times it will work. He says people were kind, and he played up how young he was and in need of help. My logic was, if I phoned up enough people, I would eventually break through. I took people out to lunch and swore Id get work out of them because the lunch would cost me what Id make from the job. Now he has large multinational companies as some of his biggest clients. Mr Waller did not take loans for banks but piled in his own savings and had clients who paid upfront for his services. He also branched out, buying up residential and commercial property outright and using the rent to help finance his business. Not everyone is cut out to be a leader Mr Wallers biggest mistakes include expecting people that work for me to be as switched on as me. I know that sounds immodest, but theres leaders and theres followers, he says. Theres middle management and top management. He remembers his company growing from a four-man band and that one of his staff members did not have the management skills to adjust to the expansion and the increase in responsibilities. I had to let him go, because he felt that he was owed something because hed been there from the start, he says. But people had joined after him and they had demonstrated they were pretty smart and they had grown with the company. Mr Waller says he learned that not everyone wants to be king of the castle, or is capable of being upper management. You must not assume that everyones got the same ambition or the same drive that you and your senior staff have got, he says. He also says a university degree is not the panacea it is necessary in some industries such as medicine and law, but in commerce it doesnt mean you are going to be a success. Some young people could be better off saving their money and getting real world experience, he says. Another tip is to trust your instincts. If he gets a gut feeling about something, he says it is amazing the amount of times it turns out to be true. Have you found success without a degree? Wed love to hear from you. Email money@telegraph.co.uk 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. HOUSTON - Civic Heart Community Services hosts its annual World AIDS Day Block Party on December 1, 2023. FOX 26 Houston is now on the FOX LOCAL app available through Apple TV, Amazon FireTV, Roku, Google Android TV, and Vizio! The 5th annual event will not only celebrate the World AIDS Day but also provide HIV, HCV, and Syphilis testing (using Civic Heart's mobile testing clinic) in addition to education about Mpox and COVID-19. The block party will be held 6102 Scott Street, Houston TX 77021 (Planet Fitness parking) from 3pm - 6pm. The City of Houston will provide both COVID-19 and Mpox vaccinations. To encourage testing and vaccinations, Civic Heart will provide the following gift cards: $10 for testing (HIV, syphilis, and HCV) $15 gift card for their first dose of the Mpox vaccination and $10 for the second dose a $25 gift card for receiving the COVID-19 or influenza vaccine. DOWNLOAD THE FOX 26 HOUSTON APP BY CLICKING HERE There will be both food and music to entertain the community. Civic Heart representatives can be available to discuss the event and their year-round services focused on HIV and other STIs wellness, mpox and other vaccinations and other health resources and programs, including Project FORCE (Focusing on Reducing Crisis through Education). Project FORCE uses high impact prevention strategies to eradicate new HIV cases, locate HIV-positive individuals unaware of their HIV status, and link HIV-positive individuals out of care to HIV medical care in the greater Houston Area. For more information, go to: https://www.changehivtogether.org/ The worlds first passenger flight powered by 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) made from waste products took off Tuesday morning from London to New York. While the journey marks a major milestone for the aviation worlds low-carbon future goals, environmental advocates have cautioned against the industrys optimistic and ambitious outlook for SAF-fueled flights. While fuel standards allow only for a 50% SAF blend in commercial jet engines, the Virgin Atlantic flight proves that SAF can be used as a safe, drop-in replacement for fossil-derived jet fuel and its the only viable solution for decarbonizing long-haul aviation, the companys CEO Shai Weiss said in a press release. Virgin is a founding member of the UKs JetZero Council a government-led initiative to deliver at least 10% SAF in the countrys fuel mix by 2030 and zero emission flights within a generation. Theres simply not enough SAF and its clear that in order to reach production at scale, we need to see significantly more investment, Weiss said. Reaching the industrys goal of net zero emissions by 2050 means that flights will have to use 65% SAF fuel by 2030 an ambitious target given the high costs and low volume of sustainable fuel today. SAF accounts for less than 0.1% of the worlds total jet fuel right now and costs three to five times as much as regular jet fuel, Reuters reports. And while companies like Rolls Royce are making plane engines compatible with sustainable fuel for future flights, there is more than a 90% risk that the industry will not meet the E.U.s goals for SAF availability by 2025, the head of the International Airlines Group warned. Environmental advocacy groups have accused the UK government of greenwashing with the claim that SAF-fueled flights will make guilt-free flying a reality. Without enough cooking oil to meet aviation demands, and the lack of agricultural land in the UK to ramp up biofuel production, advocates are accusing airlines of misleading flyers about the impact of SAF. For now, the only way to cut CO2 from aviation is to fly less, one environmental activist told iNews. A group of scientists have warned that the UK alone would need an area at least half its size to grow enough crops to meet biofuel demands, leading to extensive deforestation. When ChatGPT launched a year ago, headlines flooded the internet about fears of student cheating. A pair of essays in The Atlantic decried the end of high-school English and the death of the college essay. NPR informed readers that everybody is cheating. Meanwhile, Teen Vogue ventured that the moral panic may be overblown. The more measured tone in Teen Vogue tracks better with preliminary findings from our 2023 survey that examined attitudes and feelings about artificial intelligence among college faculty who teach writing. Survey responses revealed that AI-related anxieties among educators around the country are more complex and nuanced than claims insisting that AI is outright and always bad. While some educators do worry about students cheating, they also have another fear in common: AIs potential to take over human jobs. And as far as teaching, many educators also see the bright side. They say they actually enjoy using the revolutionary technology to enhance what they do. The survey Our 64-item survey included a scale of AI anxiety and was conducted March 2-31, 2023. The 99 survey respondents included faculty, writing program administrators and others interested in the teaching of writing. More than 71% worked in the disciplines of English, writing or rhetoric, and the sample represented all types of institutions, from small liberal arts colleges to large research universities and everything in between. A complex picture of cheating concerns AI anxiety among writing instructors is complicated. While 89% of survey participants feared "misuse by students, misuse means different things to different people. Specifically, less than half of respondents 44% were concerned or very concerned about students turning to AI to compose entire essays. Only 22% were very concerned about students relying on such technologies to co-write their essays without providing appropriate attribution. Additionally, less than half 42% reported they were concerned or very concerned about the need to revise university honor codes and plagiarism policies in light of AI. And only 25% said their institutions should enforce increased plagiarism detection through apps and websites such as Turnitin. Regardless of whether respondents had deep worries or mild concerns, only 13% favored any ban on AI entirely in college courses and classrooms. Instead, instructors reported varying levels of anxieties about a range of issues, including learning how to use AI tools and job security. As one participant wrote, While I want students to compose original works in my writing courses, I see no reason to ban them from using AI tools at their disposal during the writing process. Fears beyond cheating Survey participants had wide-ranging reactions to the prospects of AI replacing their jobs as writing instructors. At times, their feelings seemed conflicted, depending on the circumstances and conditions described in our survey questions. As some critics have already suggested, there is genuine fear about colleges using AI not as a means to enhance the work of instructors, but instead to replace them. For instance, more than 54% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the prospect of AI technology replacing human jobs scared them. And 43% agreed or strongly agreed that they were anxious over the possibility of becoming unable to keep up with advances in AI techniques and products. The anxiety among tenured and tenure-track faculty was significantly lower than that of adjunct instructors, graduate teaching assistants, instructors and administrative faculty and staff. This implies that college writing instructors who are most likely to fear losing their jobs because of AI are those who are most vulnerable anyway. The potential for using AI in writing instruction Despite their worries, many respondents reported being eager to use AI writing tools with their students. About 47% said they would very likely teach their students how to use AI in brainstorming and idea generation. In fact, some respondents fully embraced the technology as a teaching tool. Im not anxious about AI, wrote one respondent. When the computer first entered the writing classroom, there was a fear that it would change writing instruction, which it did. We needed to figure out how to help students use the affordances computers offered. Now, few people would suggest teaching writing without a computer. Our survey results suggest that writing instructors see the potential for AI to do much more than write a paper for a student. Sixty-one percent said they were likely or very likely to use AI in drafting and revision, and 63% were likely or very likely to use AI to show students how to alter genre, style or tone in their writing. To be sure, 46% agreed or strongly agreed that teachers and students could grow dependent on AI. But only 20% agreed or strongly agreed that their own use of AI as a teaching tool would make students become dependent and cause their reasoning skills to deteriorate. Now that ChatGPT has been available to students for a year, even the headlines in the news are beginning to reflect the opportunities it can offer in the classroom, in addition to the risks. The Washington Post highlighted all the unexpected ways ChatGPT is infiltrating students lives including checking for grammar mistakes. The Wall Street Journal spoke to teachers who said they should encourage students to learn how to use the tool for its potential in their future jobs. And Time magazine reported on the extra hand that ChatGPT gives to busy teachers who are continuously making lesson plans. Clearly, students and teachers are using AI. The question now is how, why and for what purposes? This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Daniel Ernst, Texas Woman's University and Troy Hicks, Central Michigan University. Read more: Troy Hicks is affiliated as an occasional consultant with Writable, a web-based platform to support writers and the teaching of writing which also includes an AI-enhanced revision assistant. Daniel Ernst does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. WWE Hall of Famer Tammy Sytch is escorted to the defense table by Volusia Couty Sheriff's bailiffs for her sentencing, Monday, Nov. 27, 2023, at the S. James Foxman Justice Center in Daytona Beach, Fla., for a DUI crash that killed a man in 2022. (David Tucker/The Daytona Beach News-Journal via AP, Pool) DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) Former pro wrestler Tammy Sunny" Sytch has been sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for drunkenly colliding with another car, killing a 75-year-old man, while her blood alcohol level was four times the legal limit, authorities in Florida said. Sytch, who was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011, pleaded no contest in August to driving under the influence manslaughter and other charges. She also had an unsealed bottle of vodka in her vehicle and cannabis in her system at the time of her arrest in Volusia County in March 2022, authorities said. She had faced up to more than 25 years in prison during her sentencing hearing on Monday. During the hearing, Sytch said she felt remorse and regret "deep in my soul" for killing Julian LaFrancis Lasseter of Daytona Beach. Sytch, 50, previously had been arrested multiple times from driving under the influence in Pennsylvania, where her driver's license had been suspended. She didn't have a Florida driver's license. The defendants history of drinking and driving is horrendous," State Attorney R.J. Larizza said in a statement after the sentencing. It was only a matter of time before her drunk driving killed an innocent and unsuspecting individual. Sytch first signed a contract with the WWE in 1995 and became a fan favorite. She also managed other WWE personalities and did broadcasting. Former WWE star Tamara Sunny Sytch was sentenced to 17 years in prison and eight years of probation on Monday following a hearing related to a DUI manslaughter case in Volusia County. Sytch was arrested last year on charges including DUI manslaughter in connection to a crash that killed 75-year-old Julian Lasseter from Ormond Beach. Court records show she pleaded no contest to DUI manslaughter and other charges in August. A pre-sentencing memorandum said that on March 25, 2022, Sytch was under the influence of drugs and alcohol and driving at a high rate of speed on North Yonge Street in Ormond Beach when she collided into Lasseters car, which was stopped at a red light. Lasseters car then crashed into another car in front of it. Lasseter, a former teacher and property appraiser, was taken to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach, where he was pronounced dead. Sytch was also taken for treatment and was later released. She was arrested weeks after the incident at the Hard Rock Hotel in Daytona Beach. A toxicology report found her blood alcohol levels were more than four times the legal limit, according to the office of State Attorney R. J. Larizza. Ormond Beach Police said they found an opened bottle of vodka in her vehicle and cannabis in her system. Sytch faced up to 26 years in prison for one count of DUI manslaughter and one count of driving while license suspended with death. She also faced four counts of DUI with damage to person and two counts of DUI with damage to property. Her record shows she has been arrested repeatedly for impaired driving in the past, including at least six arrests involving DUIs in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. State Attorney Larizza called the defendants driving record horrendous. She was death on wheels, he said in a news release about the sentencing. It was only a matter of time before her drunk driving killed an innocent and unsuspecting individual. Her public defense attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sytch quickly rose to fame in the 1990s as one of WWEs first female performers. She was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011. arabines@orlandosentinel.com Chinese President Xi Jinping (C) said officials must ensure 'comprehensive, open and transparent' legal treatment of foreign entities (Brendan SMIALOWSKI) Chinese leader Xi Jinping has ordered greater protection for international firms' rights and intellectual property, state media reported Tuesday, as Beijing works to lure in foreign companies spooked by a crackdown and an ailing economy. US and European firms in China have said that doing business is harder than ever as geopolitics, an anti-espionage law, raids on multinationals and favourable treatment for domestic competitors weigh on morale. But Beijing has shown signs that it is now seeking to draw foreign companies back. Xi in a written speech to an APEC summit of chief executives this month invited firms to invest, promising "heart-warming" measures "to make it easier for foreign companies to invest and operate in China". And at a meeting on Monday of China's Communist Party Politburo -- the country's top decision-making body -- he said China must ensure "comprehensive, open and transparent" legal treatment of foreign entities, state broadcaster CCTV said. China's legal system should "strengthen protection of intellectual property rights", he said, as well as "safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of foreign enterprises". Beijing must "create a market-oriented, legal and international first-class business environment", Xi said. Foreign entrepreneurs have long complained about vague and arbitrary regulations in China, chief among them being intellectual property theft -- an issue raised by US officials during visits to China this year. US and European enterprise lobbies warned in September that foreign business confidence in China had reached its lowest in years as slowing growth and geopolitical tensions hit investment prospects. But the business lobby is seeing signs that things could be improving following increased US-China engagement and a meeting between Xi and President Joe Biden this month. pfc-oho/je/dan Gregorian Bivolaru was arrested in Romania in 2004 for having sex with a minor French police have arrested a fugitive yoga sect leader called Gregorian Bivolaru and 40 of his followers. A reported 175 officers carried out morning raids on different arms of the group, often called Misa or Atman. Police also found 26 women being held in "deplorable conditions", according to AFP news agency. French prosecutors began investigating the group in July for alleged abuse, rape, human trafficking and kidnapping. Its 71-year-old Romanian leader was arrested at a house in the Paris suburb of Ivry-sur-Seine, along with other sect leaders. French prosecutors began investigating the sect during the summer on suspicion of rape, people trafficking and kidnapping. There are allegations of followers being forced to have sex and perform in pornography. The raids were coordinated by France's Central Office for the Repression of Violence against Persons (OCVRP), after complaints were made by victims who spoke of women being held against their will, according to judicial sources quoted by French media. Bivolaru was convicted in Romania in absentia in 2013 for sex with a minor and he was extradited from France three years later. He fled Romania in 2017 when he was conditionally released. He is also wanted in Finland on suspicion of human trafficking. He founded Misa - the Movement for Spiritual Integration into the Absolute - in Romania in the 1990s. It later became known as Atman as it spread beyond Romania promoting "erotic tantric yoga" and boasting schools in nearly 30 countries. People who have left the group have said that Bivolaru, who refers to himself as a guru, forced them to have sex with each other and with him, and hand over large amounts of money. In the past, Bivolaru has denied accusations of criminal activity and the website for the Atman International Federation for Yoga and Meditation calls some past allegations "fabricated facts". He published a book on tantric yoga and relationships in 2010 that describes him as a teenager achieving "a whole series of psycho-mental accomplishment that are generally considered paranormal" and says he started teaching yoga in 1978. David Walliams, one of the UK's best-known television personalities and children's book authors, reconciled with Britain's Got Talent production over exposed explicit remarks during an ITV talent show at the London Palladium in January 2020. Walliams, the show's judge between 2012 and 2022, filed a lawsuit against producer Fremantle for misuse of private information and for breaching the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. Fremantle Apologizes to David Walliams The high court documents that were released last month noted that Walliams accused the company of causing him mental trauma and financial loss. Fremantle has now apologized and settled with Walliams as they reached a resolution. A Fremantle spokesperson said that they were pleased to achieve an amicable resolution to their dispute with Walliams, and they were sincerely sorry that the private conversations were published, which caused great distress to Walliams. The spokesperson has already reviewed their production practices on the show to ensure that the production fully respects their talent's expectations while meeting the show's requirements. They also said they had enjoyed a great relationship with Walliams for many years. They thanked Walliams for playing an important role in the Britain's Got Talent family and the show's enduring success and hoped to have more opportunities to work with him in the future. Read Also: California Beach Incident: 5-Year-Old Girl Dies After Getting Swept by Wave; Search Suspended Despite Grandfather Still Missing Walliams' Explicit Remarks at ITV Talent Show Walliam's lawyers, Thames TV, and producer Fremantle argued that the comments were part of a private conversation never intended for broadcast. Walliams was recorded referring to one contestant as a "cunt." The remarks were captured in the transcript, and an older performer engaged in some lighthearted banter with the judges in which he slammed Walliams. The transcript said that Walliams called the contestant "cunt" three times. His comments were heard by microphones used to capture discussions between the judges while sitting at their desks in the center of the auditorium. The comments were recorded for potential broadcast in Britain's Got Talent or other spin-off shows featuring the judges' candid remarks between auditions. Another incident occurred after a female contestant auditioned on the same show. Walliams commented after her performance and described the contestant as a boring girl you meet in the pub. He added, "It was the last thing on your mind. I was saying she thinks you want to fuck her, but you don't." Walliams released an apology statement after the incident and said he apologized to the people he made disrespectful comments during breaks in filming for Britain's Got Talent in 2020. He said the remarks were private conversations with his friends and never intended to be shared. He left Britain's Got Talent last year after apologizing for his disrespectful remarks to the contestants who auditioned at the London Palladium. Related Article: Biden Issues Apology for Doubting Palestinian Death Toll Released by Gaza Ministry of Health @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. PROVIDENCE TOWNSHIP, Pa. (WHTM) Pennsylvania State Police in Lancaster are investigating a fatal shooting that occurred during the late evening hours of Monday, Nov. 27. According to State Police, at 11:30 p.m., troopers responded to the area of the 60 block of Main Street in Providence Township, Lancaster County for a report of a shooting. The investigation showed that a fight occurred inside the residence between Bryan Hollister and another man. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now WHTM Severe Weather Alerts State Police said that during the struggle, Hollister allegedly shot the man multiple times with his pistol. The victim received treatment by EMS on scene and was then transported to Lancaster General Hospital, where he died from his injuries. State Police have said that Hollister has been charged with first-degree murder, assault, possession of instruments of crime, and recklessly endangering another person Man convicted in York County school machete attack dies in prison Hollister, of Windsor, was arraigned and is currently incarcerated at the Lancaster County Prison without bail. Troopers said that the Lancaster County Coroners Office responded and assisted in the investigation, which is currently ongoing. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27. It began with the death of a 20-year-old mom, just a month after her baby boys first birthday. She was one of 70,000 Americans lost to the scourge of fentanyl in 2021. Police officers couldnt save Diamond Lynch, who overdosed in her Washington, D.C., apartment after taking a pill laced with the powerful and dangerous chemical opiate. But they quickly began investigating how she died, with the help of federal prosecutors and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Starting with some text messages and a handful of pills, authorities unraveled a massive fentanyl distribution network that extended from the D.C. area to California to Mexico. So far, 25 people have been charged. Court documents say the dealers did business largely in the open, largely on Instagram, and smuggled fentanyl-laced pills in candy boxes. The pills were made to look like Percocet and other pharmaceutical opiates. Its part of a DEA initiative called "OD Justice, an effort to work backward from overdose deaths to try to hold traffickers accountable and make a dent in the flow of fentanyl. We are doing hundreds of investigations like this across the United States, Anne Milgram, head of the DEA, told NBC News. Investigators used messages on Diamond Lynchs phone to find the dealers who sold her the fatal dose, Milgram said. Then we expanded it out to who was supplying them. We traced that back to Los Angeles, San Diego and ultimately to Mexico. Diamond Lynch. (Drug Enforcement Administration) In an investigation dubbed "Operation Blues Brothers," after the color of the deadly pills, federal agents benefitted from the carelessness of the accused drug traffickers, who communicated via social media messages that can easily be obtained with warrants. This also showed how, as Milgram put it, social media has become the superhighway of drugs. What we see day in and day out across the United States, she said, is that these pills the fentanyl thats killing Americans are being sold on Snapchat, on TikTok, Facebook marketplace, Instagram, openly. These individuals were using Instagram for almost every part of their business. They were using it to pick the blue color of the [pills] that they were buying from the wholesalers to sell on the streets. They were using it to coordinate shipments from L.A. to D.C. They were using it to arrange payments. So basically every part of the business is being facilitated by Instagram, in this case that ultimately resulted in Diamonds death, Milgram noted. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, declined to comment on the record. The company has said drug sales are banned from its platform and that the problem of fentanyl crisis is a whole of society problem. Two of the 25 defendants have pleaded guilty Larry Jerome Eastman and his sister, Justice Michelle Eastman, who admitted to supplying the drugs that killed Diamond Lynch. He was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison and she got just over three years. The other defendants have pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy, drug trafficking, gun and other charges. Fentanyl pills found in Andre Edmond's house. (Drug Enforcement Administration) According to court records and an internal DEA document obtained by NBC News, investigators seized nearly 95,000 fentanyl-laced pills linked to the network and more than 14 pounds of the drug itself, enough to kill more than 400,000 Americans. At the same time, Milgram acknowledged that enforcement does not appear to be putting a dent in the overall flow of fentanyl into the U.S. and that the risk for drug users is greater than ever. Weve seized almost 70 million fake pills containing fentanyl this year to date, the DEA administrator said. Last year, the entire year, we seized about 58 million. Now, seven out of 10 of those pills contain a potentially deadly dose. Last year it was six out of 10. Said Milgram, Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat weve ever seen in the United States. Court records say investigators found Larry and Michelle Eastman through CashApp transactions on Diamond Lynchs phone, which led them to Instagram photos of him displaying cash and drugs. Larry Eastmans iCloud account contains photos of him with large amounts of cash. (U.S. District Court for D.C.) Evidence from the Eastmans led authorities to a larger retail network in D.C., which was purchasing drugs from a wholesale network in California, the records show. Instagram photos showed members of the California group posing with illegal guns, some of which were seized in court-ordered searches. The Californians were buying their drugs from the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico, which manufactures them using precursors imported from China, officials say. Why are the cartels sending more pills and fentanyl to the U.S.? Milgram asked. Why are they making them stronger and more deadly? And the short answer is that all they care about is making money and selling more. They want to get people addicted to fentanyl. Its how they sell more. So the fact that some people die they see it as the cost of doing business. Weapons found at the home where Craig Eastman and Charles Taylor were located on March 22, 2023. (Drug Enforcement Administration) Diamond Lynchs mom, Paula Lynch, was aware her daughter had a drug problem. She had overdosed once before, only to be saved by two doses of Narcan, which can counteract the effects of opiates. But Paula told NBC News she had no idea just how much risk her daughter was taking by purchasing what she thought were prescription opioid pills from a street dealer. We didnt know, she said. I thought it was more of a recreational thing. We never heard the word fentanyl until she was deceased. Paula, who is now raising her grandson, says she will live with regret forever that she couldnt help her daughter. What I would say to young people is definitely one pill can kill, she said. Its chemical warfare on American citizens, period. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com A defense attorney for the rapper Young Thug accused prosecutors of misrepresenting evidence and ridiculed the idea that the Grammy-winning, world-renowned artist would be focused on running a small-time Atlanta street gang in opening statements of his racketeering trial Tuesday. He is not running this criminal street gang in Cleveland Avenue area of Bleveland, to gain property, money or power. Jeffery Williams did it on will and hard work and determination without anybodys help except for the people from that area who he will not turn his back on, attorney Brian Steel told jurors, referring to the rapper by his given name. Hes not sitting there telling people to kill people, Steel added. He doesnt need their money. Jeffery is worth tens of millions of dollars. The defenses opening statements come at the start of whats expected to be a monthslong trial that will be a test of the states expansive Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis similarly used the law to indict former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants in connection with their alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election. The trial is also a prominent example of the controversial prosecutorial tactic of using rap lyrics as evidence. Young Thug, 32, is one of the music industrys most innovative and influential artists, pushing both musical and cultural boundaries such as in his decision to wear a purple dress for the cover of his 2016 album, Jeffery. He had a featured appearance on Camila Cabellos hit song Havana, has collaborated with leading artists including Travis Scott and Drake, and won the Grammy for Song of the Year in 2019 for co-writing the track This is America with Childish Gambino and Ludwig Goransson. Last May, he was among more than two dozen people charged under the states RICO act and accused of heading a criminal street gang. A number of the defendants took plea deals, including the rapper Gunna, while others had their cases severed from this trial. Young Thug also faces drug and gun charges stemming from a search of his home. He has been held behind bars since his arrest last year and released his latest album, Business is Business, from jail over the summer. He and five other people are standing trial in Fulton County, and all have pleaded not guilty to the charges. On Monday, prosecutors laid out their case against the group, arguing that Young Thugs label, Young Stoner Life Records or YSL, was in fact an Atlanta-based criminal street gang that was guilty of armed robbery, hijacking, motor-vehicle theft, possession of a machine gun and murder. The gangs members all answered to Young Thug, the proclaimed leader of the group, Fulton County Chief Deputy District Attorney Adriane Love said. They created a crater in the middle of Fulton Countys Cleveland Avenue community that sucked in the youth, the innocence and even the lives of some of its youngest members, Love said. Defense attorneys concluded their opening statements Tuesday evening and prosecutors are expected to begin presenting their case with witness testimony Wednesday. Attorney says Young Thug stands for Truly Humble Under God Young Thug, seen here at the 2021 BET Hip Hop Awards in Atlanta, has been held behind bars since his arrest in May 2022. - Paras Griffin/Getty Images In his opening statements, Steel laid out for jurors Young Thugs life story, saying the rapper grew up in poverty in Atlanta with his 10 siblings, often sharing clothes with them to give the appearance he could afford more outfits. He focused his talent and work ethic on finding success as a rapper and pledged that if he did so he would help lift up those around him, Steel said. The rap moniker Young Thug was a riff on the Tupac song PYT (Playa Young Thugs) and stands for Truly Humble Under God, Steel said. He also said the rappers Young Stoner Life record label was a reference to the fashion line Yves Saint Laurent, whose YSL acronym was emblazoned on the tight-fitting pants he favored. Steel walked through and dismissed each of the overt acts in the indictment accusing Young Thug of wrongdoing and said there was no evidence to support the rappers involvement in the crimes. He said prosecutors and police had targeted him, turning his charity for his neighborhood into a supposed conspiracy. For example, prosecutors alleged Young Thug rented a car that was used by YSL members in a murder. However, Steel said the rapper rented cars for people all the time and did not have control over their use. Hes not the crater. Hes trying to pull people out of poverty, he said. The prosecution also repeatedly referenced Young Thugs own songs, highlighting lyrics that Love said bore a very eerie significance to real-life crimes. But Steel said the lyrics were simply a form of art and were not a confession. Hes not the head of a conspiracy. Hes not in a conspiracy. They are lyrics, he said. Other defendants attack RICO charges Marquavius Huey, Deamonte Kendrick, Quamarvious Nichols, Rodalius Ryan and Shannon Stillwell are the other five defendants in the trial. In their opening statements, multiple defense attorneys criticized the prosecutions approach to the trial, which is expected to last months and could feature hundreds of witnesses. Nichols attorney told the court he will reserve his remarks until the state concludes its case. Poor, young, convenient; thats all it takes to become the target of the state, said Angela DWilliams, Ryans attorney. This is not justice, this is a circus. E. Jay Abt, the attorney for Kendrick, who raps under the moniker Yak Gotti, said the prosecution was trying to confuse and distract the jury like a bad magic trick. If the case were direct and the evidence were true, it wouldnt take long to try, because theyd bring to court someone to say I saw Mr. Kendrick kill Donovan Thomas, Abt said. They dont have that. Were gonna talk about what else they dont have. They dont have enough evidence to prove my client guilty of any of these charges. He further said the prosecutions use of Kendricks rap lyrics was un-American and violated his freedom of speech and association. They want to present evidence that Mr. Kendrick is guilty by who he hangs out with, the color of the clothes that he wears, the symbols he makes with his hands and the beautiful lyrics that he writes and sings. Those arent actual crimes, thats just free speech, and that is what is on trial here: the First Amendment of the Constitution, Abt said. Careton R. Matthews, who is defending Huey, also told the jury his client is innocent. Stillwells attorney, Maxwell Schardt, delivered his opening statements Monday afternoon, saying his client was not guilty of murder and that his past work selling drugs was for his own benefit and had nothing to do with YSL or anyone else involved in this case. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com The hotly-anticipated trial of the rapper Young Thug is underway in a courtroom in Atlanta, Georgia, following almost a year of delays. In May 2022, Young Thug, real name Jeffery Williams, was arrested and charged in a sprawling RICO indictment along with 27 other defendants. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis who is using the same law to prosecute Donald Trump in his Georgia election interference case accused the suspects of being part of a criminal street gang named YSL. According to prosecutors, the gang is responsible for a series of violent crimes, including murders, shootings, carjackings and racketeering. Young Thug has denied the accusations and insisted that YSL is simply Young Thugs record label Young Slime Life. After several defendants took plea deals or had their cases severed, the Grammy Award-winning rapper and five others are finally on trial. The trial got off to a rocky start on Monday with a late juror delaying the trial start by an hour and a half followed by the defence filing a motion for a mistrial; the bid was denied. After two days of opening statements, the prosecution is expected to present evidence on Wednesday. Key points Thursday 30 November 2023 22:55 , Kelly Rissman The court will not be in session on Friday The court is adjourning for the day and will return on 4 December. The judge told jurors that they needed to tell him immediately if someone on social media reached out to them, perhaps anticipating people trying to contact jurors after some of their faces were accidentally exposed on camera yesterday. Thursday 30 November 2023 22:45 , Kelly Rissman Mr Brian Steel cross-examined Mr Monheim Mr Steel, the defence attorney, pointed out that Mr Monheim was not a part of the burglary investigation. He also suggested that Mr Williams was cooperative, to which Mr Monheim agreed. Mr Steel then picked up the gun in question. He was making everyone nervous by how he was holding the weapon, the judge joked, but asked him to hold the firearm differently. Thursday 30 November 2023 22:28 , Kelly Rissman The stolen gun, discussed Mr Monheim said the gun recovered from the Dodge Challenger was reported stolen for a burglary in Buckhead on 10 July 2013. He said he took out a warrant for Mr Williams arrest, including possession of a controlled substance. When asked where Mr Williams was sitting and what he was wearing, he described Mr William sin front of him, adding that he was wearing a black turtleneck sweater. The officer has identified the defendant Jeffery Williams, Ms Love said. Mr Williams remained stoic. Thursday 30 November 2023 22:11 , Kelly Rissman The expected last witness takes the stand The prosecution called Senior Patrol Officer Michael Monheim of the APD to the stand. Mr Monheim talked about the traffic stop of a Dodge Challenger; the driver said he didnt have a drivers license, the patrol officer said. The driver gave his name as Jeffery Williams, Mr Monheim said, and described him as a young Black man with long braids. The officer said he arrested the driver, and noticed a clear plastic bag with blue pills in the cup holder and a 9mm handgun underneath the front passenger seat. Thursday 30 November 2023 22:00 , Kelly Rissman Cross-examination of the witness Keith Adams, a defence attorney, cross-examined Mr Phillips. He asked him about the serial number; Mr Phillips said that law enforcement confirmed the serial number was the same as the one he told them. Mr Adams asked if he could tell the jury that this gun was his by the serial number. Mr Phillips said he couldnt recall the serial number off the top of his head. The witness was temporarily released him. Thursday 30 November 2023 21:46 , Kelly Rissman As the jury breaks, a defence lawyer makes some asks Young Thug's attorney Brian Steel has a motion about the state's next witness to ensure some things are not mentioned. Jozsef Papp (@JozsefPapp_) November 30, 2023 Thursday 30 November 2023 21:40 , Kelly Rissman Andrew Phillips is now testifying Mr Phillips was living in Buckhead, GA with his wife. He is testifying about the first overt act that deals with Young Thug. After returning from vacation, he noticed one of his house doors was ajar, prompting him to call the police. There were no signs of any forced entry, Mr Phillips said. He said he noticed some items were missing: his wifes Apple laptop, a blanket, a handgun and a shotgun. The prosecution showed him a gun; Mr Phillips said the gun looked like his, with one notable feature being an insignia that is only issued to Navy SEALs. (He is not a Navy SEAL, he said, but liked it.) Like the last three witnesses, Mr Phillips is also not being shown on camera. Thursday 30 November 2023 21:30 , Kelly Rissman WATCH: This week in review as the fourth day of the trial is underway Thursday 30 November 2023 21:12 , Kelly Rissman Scott Jimenez takes the stand In the fourth witness of the day, the prosecutions next witness is an APD lieutenant. He was also discussing the incident involving Mr Stillwell in 2013. Thursday 30 November 2023 20:56 , Kelly Rissman Who is Shannon Stillwell? Sgt Jonathan Heeb is discussing an August 2013 incident involving Mr Stillwell. According to the indictment, Stillwell is an associate of YSL, did commit the felony offense of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, in violation of Georgia law pursuant to O.C.G.A. 16-13-30)(1), which is an act of racketeering activity under O.C.G.A. 16-14-3 (5)(A) (xxxvi), and an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy. Thursday 30 November 2023 20:30 , Kelly Rissman ICYMI: Drama has consumed the court after jurors faces were exposed During the third day of the trial on Wednesday, a camera mistakenly panned across the jury panel as a witness made their way to the stand to testify. Screenshots of the footage, in which parts of at least two of the jurors faces are shown, inevitably spread like wildfire online. The incident prompted a lengthy delay of proceedings along with fears that a mistrial would ensue after a grueling 11 months of jury selection, no less. But that didnt happen. Instead, Judge Ural Glanville instructed members of the media in the courtroom to stop filming the expert witness, an Atlanta Police detective, due to some security issues relating to the inadvertent recording of some of our jurors in the front row. At the start of Thursdays proceedings, Judge Glanville opened by reminding the media: Please make sure that you do not take any photosof any of our jurors. We had a problem with that yesterday. He acknowledged that yesterdays incident wasnt intentional. Thursday 30 November 2023 20:00 , Kelly Rissman Sergeant Heeb takes the stand The judge asked the media to not take a photo or video of the witness, Sgt Heeb of the Atlanta Police Department. Mr Heeb talked about the green store, where he testified that narcotics were sold. Thursday 30 November 2023 19:45 , Kelly Rissman WATCH: Viral moment this morning when a prosecutor voices concern about jurors exposed faces Prosecutors in Young Thugs trial are concerned about the virality of the screenshots showing the jurors yesterday, but Judge Glanville isnt and says stop drawing attention to it. He indicates the court hasnt told jurors about this. Im not going to weird them out, he said. pic.twitter.com/rSEdShLY5V Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) November 30, 2023 Thursday 30 November 2023 19:23 , Kelly Rissman Trial delayed again The trial of YSL was supposed to resume at 2pm after an hour-long lunch break but 20 minutes after 2pm, the trial is yet to restart. This morning showed two witnesses, a woman whose car was hijacked in 2013 and a police captain who was dressed as a plain clothes officer who responded to the incident. Thursday 30 November 2023 18:15 , Kelly Rissman The firearm that Trontavious Stephens allegedly had during the incident was shown to the witness The gun Trontavious Stephens allegedly had during the incident was just shown to Pettis and the jury after a quick inspection from Young Thugs attorney Keith Adams. @ajc #YSL pic.twitter.com/M7NI3GSqCM Jozsef Papp (@JozsefPapp_) November 30, 2023 Thursday 30 November 2023 18:03 , Kelly Rissman The court is on lunch and will resume at 2pm After hearing from two witnesses this morning about the events leading up to and following a carjacking incident that occurred in January 2013, the court is taking a lunch break. Thursday 30 November 2023 18:00 , Kelly Rissman A bit about Trontavious Stephens Mr Stephens took a plea deal in 2022, saying he committed aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on 25 January, 2013 by pointing at, toward and in the direction of Reginald Pettis with said firearm, placing Reginald Pettis in reasonable apprehension of immediately receiving a violent injury, according to the indictment. Thursday 30 November 2023 17:45 , Kelly Rissman Reginald Pettis testifies Captain Pettis works for the Atlanta Police Department covering southeast Atlanta. He is not being shown on camera. Mr Pettis was asked about an incident on 25 January, 2013 a carjacking. The cars OnStar system tracked the vehicle to where it was parked at an apartment complex. Mr Pettis said he saw the driver of the car, who was described as a Black man in black clothing. The driver and other men came out of the apartment that he was monitoring yelling obscenities while signaling to roll the windows down. He said there were middle fingers and gang sings being thrown. One man, who was most violent with his hand signals, showed that he had a pistol, and then pointed the weapon at Mr Pettis and his partner, he testified. Some defence attorneys questioned the police captains knowledge of gang signs. What was the gang sign being thrown that day? Keith Adams asked, to which the witness replied, No idea. Thursday 30 November 2023 17:30 , Kelly Rissman Ms Rosser is cross-examined Her car was recovered six days by law after it was stolen, the defence attorney said, and then asked whether Ms Rosser was told who had stolen the car. She said police had given her two names, which she did not recognize; Ms Rosser was never asked to identify anyone at the time, she said. Thursday 30 November 2023 17:15 , Kelly Rissman Jurors were exposed on video but the case is still continuing Drama consuming the Young Thug trial reached new heights as some jurors faces were exposed on a livestream from the courtroom. Rapper Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, has spent the week in court in Fulton County, Georgia, fighting gang and racketeering charges in connection with what prosecutors say is a violent street gang he co-founded called Young Slime Life (YSL). During the third day of the trial on Wednesday, a camera mistakenly panned across the jury panel as a witness made their way to the stand to testify. Screenshots of the footage, in which parts of at least two of the jurors faces are shown, inevitably spread like wildfire online. The incident prompted a lengthy delay of proceedings along with fears that a mistrial would ensue after a grueling 11 months of jury selection, no less. But that didnt happen. Read the full story... Young Thug trial jurors were exposed on video. The case is continuing anyway Thursday 30 November 2023 16:59 , Kelly Rissman Ms Rosser on the stand She described an incident after leaving the club on a Friday morning in January 2013, after working overnight, driving a 2012 Chevrolet Malibu around 4.30am. As Ms Rosser was turning into her subdivision, she felt a car hit her, she testified. Thinking it was a fender bender, she got out of her car, greeted the other driver a Black young man who greeted her back, when she saw someone else rising up from the other car while the first person got into her car. She initially tried to grab something sentimental from her car from the left passenger door, when she ultimately decided against it. Both cars then drove off, Ms Rosser said. She then sought help from a neighbour. Thursday 30 November 2023 16:43 , Kelly Rissman What is YSL? It depends who you ask. YSL is Young Thugs own record label Young Slime Life. Artists on his record label are considered part of the Slime Family, and a compilation album, Slime Language 2, rose to number one on the US charts in April 2021. Its artists include Gunna and Lil Keed, though several contemporary artists, including Future, Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, Lil Baby, and Travis Scott have also expressed allegiance to YSL without being contractually signed. However, according to prosecutors, YSL is actually a criminal street gang, which started out in the Cleveland Avenue area of Atlanta and claims affiliation to the national Bloods gang. According to a sprawling 88-page indictment, the members of YSL use a variety of identifiers including colours, clothing, tattoos, and hand signs to show their allegiance to the group. The most predominant colours used by members of YSL are red for Bloods and green for Slime. Defence attorneys meanwhile insist that YSL is just a music label. Thursday 30 November 2023 15:28 , Kelly Rissman Mellissa Rosser takes the stand Ms Rosser said she works three jobs; one of them entails her being a house mom of adult entertainment clubs, ensuring that everyone has a permit, interviewing the women who work there, and breathalyzing everyone in the club. Shortly after she was introduced, the court is already taking a recess. Thursday 30 November 2023 15:07 , Kelly Rissman Judge acknowledged camera slip-up Yesterday in court, a livestream captured some members of the jurys faces. Photos of the livestream then circulated social media, prompting fears that a mistrial would ensue. But that didnt happen. Today, the judge started by saying, please make sure that you do not take any photos or the camera is not visible...to any of our jurors. We had a problem with that yesterday. He acknowledged that yesterdays incident wasnt intentional. Thursday 30 November 2023 14:52 , Kelly Rissman Day 4 of the trial is about to begin In just a 20 minute delayed start today, the witness testimony is expected to continue into the fourth day of the trial. Thursday 30 November 2023 14:00 , Kelly Rissman Detective discusses YSL identifiers In court on Wednesday, Detective Belknap discussed some identifiers often associated with YSL, which he called a street gang. He described a hand sign that depicts the letters Y, S, and L with fingers. The detective also talked about another hand sign in which ones index finger sits under ones nose. He also said certain tattoos and clothes, like a hoodie or a hat that includes Slime on it. The word SLATT, which apparently stands for slime life all the time, is often seen in graffiti and tattoos. Thursday 30 November 2023 12:00 , Kelly Rissman What is a studio gangster? Detective Belknap said the term is used when someone takes on the persona of being violent when entering the studio, but may not be in real life. He said calling someone that is a slur and a huge sign of disrespect to those actually involved in a criminal gang. Thursday 30 November 2023 10:00 , Kelly Rissman What are the charges against YSL members? The YSL members named in the indictment are charged with conspiracy to violate Georgias Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. The act is similar to its federal counterpart, which is used to convict large-scale organisations such as the mafia. According to the indictment, associates of YSL conspired to associate together and with others for the common purposes of illegally obtaining money and property through a pattern of racketeering activity. It claims that YSL members were involved in murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, theft, drug dealing, carjacking, and witness intimidation. Other activities include the posting of messages, images, videos and songs, demonstrating allegiance to the enterprise and willingness to engage in violence on its behalf. Prosecutors claim they can show that some of the groups lyrics are related to crimes that they are accused of committing. Through these activities and more the gang aimed to preserve, protect, and enhance the reputation, power and territory of the enterprise, prosecutors said. Thursday 30 November 2023 08:00 , Kelly Rissman Who is Young Thug? Born in 1991 as Jeffrey Lamar Williams, Young Thug is an Atlanta-born rapper. He also goes by the name Slime. After starting his career at the age of 19, he signed with Gucci Manes record label, and went on to become one of the most influential artists on the contemporary hip-hop and trap music scene. His first two albums So Much Fun, in 2019, and Punk, in 2021, debuted at the top of the Billboard 200, as did his 2021 joint compilation album with Gunna, Slime Language 2. Young Thug has also featured in multiple collaborations that have earned him several number one hits. These include guest spots on Camila Cabellos Havana in 2018, Travis Scott and MIAs Franchise in 2020 and Drake and Futures Way 2 Sexy in 2021, all of which topped the Billboard Hot 100. He also co-wrote the hit song This Is America with Childish Gambino, real name Donald Glover, which became the first hip-hop track to win Song of the Year at the Grammy Awards in 2019. Young Thug Trial-Guide (2021 Invision) Thursday 30 November 2023 06:00 , Kelly Rissman YSLs ties to other gangs, according to an expert witness 30 Deep gang was based in the Mechanicsville neighbourhood and consisted of over 100 members, according to the detective. This gang was affiliated with YSL, ROC, and Goodfellas gangs, Detective Belknap added. He said 30 Deep was identifiable by its distinctive hand signs, red bandanas, graffiti, and tattoos. Thursday 30 November 2023 05:00 , Kelly Rissman Detective laid out roots of YSL Detective Belknap described what he discovered about YSL: it was founded in late 2012 it has over 100 members and associates many YSL members previously claimed to be members of ROC crew it used red and green bandanas SLATT [ slime life all the time] and snake emojis were often used by its members and assoicates its sometimes referred to the group as Rudy Gang after a member who died named Rudy a rivalry between Inglewood Family gang, which Donovan Thomas was allegedly a part of he said Young Stoner Life is not the same entity as Young Slime Life Thursday 30 November 2023 04:00 , Kelly Rissman ICYMI: What is the trial about? The rapper, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, and 27 other defendants have been charged in a sweeping 65-count indictment. Mr Williams has been charged with eight counts, including possession of a firearm while committing a felony and possession of a machine gun. He has pleaded guilty to all counts. All defendants have been charged with racketeering. Prosecutors say YSL is a gang; the defence insists it is just a record label. Read the full story... Young Thugs YSL trial kicks off with scoldings, wasted time and no tempo Thursday 30 November 2023 03:00 , Kelly Rissman A notable exchange Prosecutor Adriane Love asked the expert witness, In your opinion, Young Slime Life is a criminal street gang? Detective Mark Belknap replied: Yes maam. Thursday 30 November 2023 02:00 , Kelly Rissman Truly Humble Under God One clip of Brian Steel, Young Thugs lawyer, has gone viral after he told jurors that thug stands for truly humble under god. Young Thugs lawyer explains what Young Thug means: "Truly Humbled Under God. That's what Thug means." pic.twitter.com/MCf04Rn5m4 philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) November 28, 2023 Thursday 30 November 2023 01:00 , Kelly Rissman YSLs ties to other gangs, according to an expert witness 30 Deep gang was based in the Mechanicsville neighbourhood and consisted of over 100 members, according to the detective. This gang was affiliated with YSL, ROC, and Goodfellas gangs, Detective Belknap added. He said 30 Deep was identifiable by its distinctive hand signs, red bandanas, graffiti, and tattoos. 22:45 , Kelly Rissman A studio gangster defined by the witness Detective Belknap said the term is used when someone takes on the persona of being violent when entering the studio, but may not be in real life. He said calling someone that is a slur and a huge sign of disrespect to those actually involved in a criminal gang. 22:42 , Kelly Rissman The court recesses for the evening Mr Belknap was temporarily dismissed as the defence deferred cross-examination for now. They are expected to start tomorrow at 9.30am. The judge also said the court will not be in session on Friday, but will reconvene on Monday, 4 December at 9am. 22:22 , Kelly Rissman Music and gangs Before, we didnt see the kind of overt gang references in music to the extent that we do now, Mr Belknap said, adding that they directly reference their own gang and their rivals more than previously. He said hes come across lyrics that are explicitly and directly related to the crimes theyve committed. We even today have some of our gangs that will go into the studio tonight and make a song about the shooting they did that afternoon, the detective said. When asked about how a gang promotes themselves through music, the detective said music can be a way for the gang to talk about what theyre doing...and establish who they are, what they do, and whats going to happen to people if they go against them. 22:15 , Kelly Rissman Social media usage How have gang members traditionally used social media to elevate their status or represent their gang? Prosecutor Adriane Love asked. Detective Belknap said gang members have posted photos wearing particular clothing associated with a gang or other hand signs, and also posted captions representing their gangs. He also said that posting on social media to intimidate someone who could be a witness to a crime or posting overt threats. 21:54 , Kelly Rissman The show goes on Due to some security issues, relating to the inadvertent recording of some of our jurors in the front row, the judge asked the media to stop filming the detective. 21:40 , Kelly Rissman Drama after jurors faces captured on camera Photos, as captured by one of the streaming services, revealed jurors faces. Now some social media accounts are reposting that snapshot. 21:30 , Kelly Rissman Update on an ever-delayed trial YSL trial: Judge Glanville is meeting w/ all of the attorneys in chambers. Somethings going on Shaddi Abusaid (@ShaddiAbusaid) November 29, 2023 21:17 , Kelly Rissman What has happened today at the YSL trial? Detective Mark Belknap took the stand. He is a detective in the Atlanta Police Departments gang unit. Mr Belknap started the morning by discussing gangs generally and how he has identified them, like through tattoos, symbols, and other communications. In the afternoon, the detective testified that YSL is a gang. He clarified that Young Stoner Life is not the same entity as Young Slime Life. He also gave insight into YSL, saying it was founded in late 2012, has over 100 members and associates, who often wear red and green bandanas and use the abbreviation SLATT, which stands for slime life all the time and frequently post snake emojis on social media. The defence has made a number of objections, frequently interrupting the witness, but most of them were not sustained. 21:00 , Kelly Rissman ICYMI: What Young Thugs lawyer has said The topic of the origins of YSL also came up. Mr Steel argued that YSL stemmed from the YSL logo on Yves Saint Laurent pants, coming in sharp contrast to the prosecutions claim that YSL is a criminal enterprise that stands for Young Slime Life. Mr Steel has also described the lyrics, a pressure point of this case, as being art and part of the rappers freedom of speech. Yesterday, Ms Love portrayed the lyrics as bearing a very eerie significance to real life. Other lawyers made their opening remarks, telling the jurors that their clients were not guilty. 20:45 , Kelly Rissman ICYMI: What happened on Monday The trial began nearly an hour and a half behind schedule because a juror was late. The prosecutor, Adriane Love, was finally able to begin her opening statements but was stopped a few times with objections. Defence attorney Brian Steel made three objections to her opening statement, all of which were sustained. The trial then came to a screeching halt when the jury was asked to leave the room and the defence team said that Ms Love hadnt provided certain Powerpoint slides, which she was presenting to the jury, to the defence ahead of the trial, prompting Mr Steel to motion for a mistrial. The motion was denied. After the court returned from lunch, the judge snapped at attorneys from both sides for having wasted two hours. Finally, Ms Love resumed her opening statement. 20:30 , Kelly Rissman A notable exchange Prosecutor Adriane Love asked the expert witness, In your opinion, Young Slime Life is a criminal street gang? Detective Mark Belknap replied: Yes maam. 20:15 , Kelly Rissman YSLs ties to other gangs, according to an expert witness 30 Deep gang was based in the Mechanicsville neighbourhood and consisted of over 100 members, according to the detective. This gang was affiliated with YSL, ROC, and Goodfellas gangs, Detective Belknap added. He said 30 Deep was identifiable by its distinctive hand signs, red bandanas, graffiti, and tattoos. 20:00 , Kelly Rissman Detective discusses YSL identifiers Mr Belknap discussed some identifiers often associated with YSL, which he called a street gang. He described a hand sign that depicts the letters Y, S, and L with fingers. The detective also talked about another hand sign in which ones index finger sits under ones nose. He also said certain tattoos and clothes, like a hoodie or a hat that includes Slime on it. The word SLATT, which apparently stands for slime life all the time, is often seen in graffiti and tattoos. 19:40 , Kelly Rissman Detective laid out roots of YSL Detective Belknap described what he discovered about YSL: it was founded in late 2012 it has over 100 members and associates many YSL members previously claimed to be members of ROC crew it used red and green bandanas SLATT [ slime life all the time] and snake emojis were often used by its members and assoicates its sometimes referred to the group as Rudy Gang after a member who died named Rudy a rivalry between Inglewood Family gang, which Donovan Thomas was allegedly a part of he said Young Stoner Life is not the same entity as Young Slime Life 19:30 , Kelly Rissman Who are the 28 codefendants? Kahlieff Adams A/K/A Bobby Hunt Martinez Arnold A/K/A Duke Derontae Bebee A/K/A Bee A/K/A B Damone Blalock A/K/A Bali Javaris Bradford A/K/A Tuda Justin Cobb A/K/A Duwap Cordarius Dorsey A/K/A Polo A/K/A Juicy Christian Eppinger A/K/A Bhris Miles Farley A/K/A Slato A/K/A Lil Miles Jevon Fleetwood A/K/A 4tray A/K/A Psycho Damekion Garlington A/K/A Dee A/K/A Sxarfaxe Quantavious Grier A/K/A Unfoonk Marquavius Huey A/K/A Qua Deamonte Kendrick A/K/A Yak Gotti Sergio Kitchens A/K/A Gunna W U Nnie Lee A/K/A Slimelife Shawty Demise Mcmullen A/K/A Nard Tenquarius Mender A/K/A Nard A/K/A Stunna Walter Murphy A/K/A Dk Jayden Myricka/K/A Settrip A/K/A Jayman Quamarvious Nichols A/K/A Qua Rodalius Ryan A/K/A Lil Rod Antonio Sledge A/K/A Mounk Tounk Trontavious Stephens A/K/A Tick A/K/A Slug Shannon Stillwell A/K/A Shannon Jackson A/K/A Sb Antonio Sumlin A/K/A Obama Jeffery Williamsa/K/A Young Thug A/K/A Slime Jimmy Winfrey A/K/A Roscoe 19:15 , Kelly Rissman Truly Humble Under God One clip of Brian Steel, Young Thugs lawyer, is going viral after he told jurors that thug stands for truly humble under god. Young Thugs lawyer explains what Young Thug means: "Truly Humbled Under God. That's what Thug means." pic.twitter.com/MCf04Rn5m4 philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) November 28, 2023 18:53 , Kelly Rissman ICYMI: What is the trial about? The rapper, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, and 27 other defendants have been charged in a sweeping 65-count indictment. Mr Williams has been charged with eight counts, including possession of a firearm while committing a felony and possession of a machine gun. He has pleaded guilty to all counts. All defendants have been charged with racketeering. Prosecutors say YSL is a gang; the defence insists it is just a record label. Read the full story... 17:28 , Kelly Rissman Jury is on recess for lunch After taking a brief comfort break, Judge Glanville said the court will recess for lunch. Testimony will continue at 1.45pm. 17:07 , Kelly Rissman Gang identifiers, according to an expert witness Blood gang members typically and often will disrespect the rival Crips by avoiding the use of the letter C, often replacing it with a B or an X or by crossing out the letter entirely, Detecttvie Belknap said. 16:38 , Kelly Rissman Expert discusses gang identifiers As the case in part revolves around the defintion of YSL whether its a criminal street gang, as the prosecution alleges, or a record label, as the defence insists, Detective Belknap discussed gang identifiers. The prosecution has argued that certain emojis, like a green snake, hand signs, and other symbols are indicators of the YSL gang. 16:09 , Kelly Rissman Mr Belknap said he has interacted with thousands of gang members The Atlanta Police detective has been laying out his experience investigating gangs. He estimated that he has interacted with thousands of gang members at this point. Gang members will often be forthcoming about their affiliation and their activities, he said, but thats not always the case. When asked if he takes the information at face value when talking to people in the community, he said he did not. Instead, he said his unit compared what he was hearing from sources with monitored phone calls, wiretaps, and other evidence in the case. He said many of his interactions with gang members are not only when they commit a crime but also when they are victims of a crime. 15:42 , Kelly Rissman The first expert witness testifies Detective Mark Belknap works in the Atlanta Police Departments gang unit. 15:35 , Kelly Rissman The trial resumes The jury is about to be let in after another hour and a half delay. 14:45 , Kelly Rissman The trial is delayed once again The prosecution is set to present evidence this morning, but the trial is once again postponed. The reasons for the delay are unknown. 14:30 , Kelly Rissman Day 2 recap: Defences opening statements continued Mr Steel, who is representing Mr Williams, kicked off the day by describing the rappers upbringing. Mr Williams was born into an environment and a community and a society that was filled with depression, despair, hopelessness and helplessness, Mr Steel said of the housing projects in which the rapper grew up. Mr Steel tried to distance Mr Williams from the rest of the defendants while simultaneously emphasising his musical talent and subsequent success. The defence attorney said that Young Thug doesnt need money, doesnt know many of his codefendants, and doesnt live in Georgia anymore. Hes got his own source of legitimate income, he said after listing his appearances on SNL, Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and NPRs Tiny Desk, his collaborations with superstars like Rihanna and Elton John, as well as his musical accolades, including a Grammy. The topic of the origins of YSL also came up. Mr Steel argued that YSL stemmed from the YSL logo on Yves Saint Laurent pants, coming in sharp contrast to the prosecutions claim that YSL is a criminal enterprise that stands for Young Slime Life. Mr Steel has also described the lyrics, a pressure point of this case, as being art and part of the rappers freedom of speech. Yesterday, Ms Love portrayed the lyrics as bearing a very eerie significance to real life. Other lawyers made their opening remarks, telling the jurors that their clients were not guilty. Prosecutors are expected to start presenting evidence this morning. 14:00 , Kelly Rissman ICYMI: What has happened so far in the Young Thug YSL trial? The trial began nearly an hour and a half behind schedule because a juror was late. The prosecutor, Adriane Love, was finally able to begin her opening statements but was stopped a few times with objections. Defence attorney Brian Steel made three objections to her opening statement, all of which were sustained. The trial then came to a screeching halt when the jury was asked to leave the room and the defence team said that Ms Love hadnt provided certain Powerpoint slides, which she was presenting to the jury, to the defence ahead of the trial, prompting Mr Steel to motion for a mistrial. The motion was denied. After the court returned from lunch, the judge snapped at attorneys from both sides for having wasted two hours. Read the full story... Young Thugs YSL trial kicks off with scoldings, wasted time and no tempo 13:00 , Kelly Rissman WATCH: Defence attorney describe the prosecutions case as a donut hole E. Jay Abt, who represents Deamonte Kendrick aka Yak Gotti, said prosecutors want to convict Kendrick by who he hangs out with, the color of the clothes that he wears, the symbols that he makes with his hands, and the beautiful lyrics that he writes and sings. pic.twitter.com/Y0ryM6frqg Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) November 28, 2023 11:00 , Kelly Rissman ICYMI: What the defence said on Monday Attorney Max Schardt argued that his client, Shannon Stillwell, is an innocent man. Mr Stillwell is one of a few charged with Thomas murder; he has been previously charged with distributing drugs. Mr Schardt said that his client was trying to make it in rap, sold marijuana and pleaded guilty. He tried to separate Mr Stillwells past as being totally separate from YSL. He said he had done his time for the drug charges. Were not hiding that Shannon Stillwell sold drugs...or was found in possession of a firearm. These are his pasts and his truths, he added. But the evidence will show that Shannons decisions had nothing to do with YSL or any other organisation. Mr Schardt also claimed there were no eyewitnesses of Thomas murder. He said there is surveillance footage of the incident, which jurors will be able to watch. The defence teams opening statement continues into the second day. 09:00 , Kelly Rissman Lyrics in court The use of lyrics in the courtroom has been a point of contention leading up to the trial. Ms Love mentioned some lyrics right off the bat in an effort to demonstrate to jurors that some of the groups lyrics are related to crimes that they are accused of committing. We didnt chase any of the lyrics to solve any murders. Law enforcement in Fulton County chased the murders and found the lyrics, Ms Love clarified. The lyrics [defendants] chose to speak...bore a very eerie significance to real life. By contrast, Mr Steel called the lyrics art and part of the rappers freedom of speech. 19:19 , Kelly Rissman Testimony plagued by objections, perhaps summed up best by a reporter in the courtroom Back from lunch. The detective is trying to discuss wiretaps of ROC crew members, but YT's attorney is objecting to just about everything he says. There was talk of getting through the state's first six witnesses today. I don't think that's happening Shaddi Abusaid (@ShaddiAbusaid) November 29, 2023 07:00 , Kelly Rissman How long has Young Thug been behind bars? Young Thug has been in prison since his arrest in May 2022. Earlier this month, a jury was finally selected after almost one year with over 2,000 people having been summoned to possibly serve. Now, opening statements in the trial are set to begin on 27 November. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the trial could end up being the longest in Georgias history. 06:00 , Kelly Rissman ICYMI: Who is Young Thug? Born in 1991 as Jeffrey Lamar Williams, Young Thug is an Atlanta-born rapper. He also goes by the name Slime. After starting his career at the age of 19, he signed with Gucci Manes record label, and went on to become one of the most influential artists on the contemporary hip-hop and trap music scene. His first two albums So Much Fun, in 2019, and Punk, in 2021, debuted at the top of the Billboard 200, as did his 2021 joint compilation album with Gunna, Slime Language 2. Young Thug has also featured in multiple collaborations that have earned him several number one hits. These include guest spots on Camila Cabellos Havana in 2018, Travis Scott and MIAs Franchise in 2020 and Drake and Futures Way 2 Sexy in 2021, all of which topped the Billboard Hot 100. He also co-wrote the hit song This Is America with Childish Gambino, real name Donald Glover, which became the first hip-hop track to win Song of the Year at the Grammy Awards in 2019. 05:00 , Kelly Rissman The origin of YSL, according to the defence The defence argued that YSL stemmed from the YSL logo on Yves Saint Laurent pants, cutting into the prosecutions argument that YSL is a criminal enterprise that stands for Young Slime Life. 04:00 , Kelly Rissman ICYMI: What are the charges against YSL members? The YSL members named in the indictment are charged with conspiracy to violate Georgias Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. The act is similar to its federal counterpart, which is used to convict large-scale organisations such as the mafia. According to the indictment, associates of YSL conspired to associate together and with others for the common purposes of illegally obtaining money and property through a pattern of racketeering activity. It claims that YSL members were involved in murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, theft, drug dealing, carjacking, and witness intimidation. Other activities include the posting of messages, images, videos and songs, demonstrating allegiance to the enterprise and willingness to engage in violence on its behalf. Prosecutors claim they can show that some of the groups lyrics are related to crimes that they are accused of committing. 03:00 , Kelly Rissman Lil Wayne invoked Mr Williams idolized Lil Wayne, Mr Steel saying, adding that growing up, he emulated his style and tattoos. Lil Wayne was mentioned yesterday by the prosecution and is mentioned in the indictment, as one defendant was accused of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after he allegedly shot at a bus that Lil Wayne was riding in 2015. 01:00 , Kelly Rissman Where does Young Thug fit in to the trial? The indictment portrays Young Thug as the leader of the criminal gang, which was responsible for multiple violent crimes, including murders, shootings and carjackings. Prosecutors say the rapper also used his music and social media posts to promote the gang, He is also alleged to have committed multiple crimes that he has not been charged with. While he is not being charged for such overt acts, they lend credence to the allegation that the group of defendants were together engaged in a criminal conspiracy. Brian Steel, Young Thugs lawyer, told The New York Times: Mr Williams came from an incredibly horrible upbringing, and he has conducted himself throughout his life in a way that is just to marvel at. Hes committed no crime whatsoever. 00:00 , Kelly Rissman Defending the lyrics Whatever the listener takes from it, you will learn, thats what the song means, Mr Steel said during his opening remarks on Tuesday. This is art. This is freedom of speech in America. The attorney pointed out the series of accolades that Young Thug has won, including a Grammy. He said he has performed with Elton John, Rihanna, Drake everyone in music. The emphasis on his success in the field comes after the prosecution said yesterday: The lyrics [defendants] chose to speak...bore a very eerie significance to real life. Tuesday 28 November 2023 22:09 , Kelly Rissman The court is taking a 10 minute comfort break A defence attorney for Marquavius Huey said he had 30 minutes left of his opening remarks, which will resume shortly. Tuesday 28 November 2023 21:32 , Kelly Rissman Who are the 28 codefendants? Kahlieff Adams A/K/A Bobby Hunt Martinez Arnold A/K/A Duke Derontae Bebee A/K/A Bee A/K/A B Damone Blalock A/K/A Bali Javaris Bradford A/K/A Tuda Justin Cobb A/K/A Duwap Cordarius Dorsey A/K/A Polo A/K/A Juicy Christian Eppinger A/K/A Bhris Miles Farley A/K/A Slato A/K/A Lil Miles Jevon Fleetwood A/K/A 4tray A/K/A Psycho Damekion Garlington A/K/A Dee A/K/A Sxarfaxe Quantavious Grier A/K/A Unfoonk Marquavius Huey A/K/A Qua Deamonte Kendrick A/K/A Yak Gotti Sergio Kitchens A/K/A Gunna W U Nnie Lee A/K/A Slimelife Shawty Demise Mcmullen A/K/A Nard Tenquarius Mender A/K/A Nard A/K/A Stunna Walter Murphy A/K/A Dk Jayden Myricka/K/A Settrip A/K/A Jayman Quamarvious Nichols A/K/A Qua Rodalius Ryan A/K/A Lil Rod Antonio Sledge A/K/A Mounk Tounk Trontavious Stephens A/K/A Tick A/K/A Slug Shannon Stillwell A/K/A Shannon Jackson A/K/A Sb Antonio Sumlin A/K/A Obama Jeffery Williamsa/K/A Young Thug A/K/A Slime Jimmy Winfrey A/K/A Roscoe Tuesday 28 November 2023 21:20 , Kelly Rissman WATCH: Defence attorney describe the prosecutions case as a donut hole Abt just finished. One recurring theme in his opening was that @KrispyKreme doughnuts are absolute crap. The prosecutions case is a doughnut hole. Its a Krispy Kreme doughnut hole. You dont get the glaze. You dont get the doighnut. You just get air in the middle. pic.twitter.com/j6ZdUfw0wg Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) November 28, 2023 Tuesday 28 November 2023 21:08 , Kelly Rissman Opening statements continue A lawyer for Quamarvious Nichols told the court that he reserved his opening statement until the prosecution has concluded its case. Careton Matthews, who is representing Marquavius Huey, is now making his opening statement. Tuesday 28 November 2023 20:30 , Kelly Rissman WATCH: Young Thugs attorney Brian Steel discusses the rappers upbringing in opening statements Jeffery Williams was born into an environment, a community, a society that was filled with oppression, despair, hopelessness and helplessness. Steel skillfully used this intro about Young Thugs background to transition into criticism of police and credibility of witnesses. pic.twitter.com/0iDMjOjfbc Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) November 28, 2023 Tuesday 28 November 2023 20:15 , Kelly Rissman Opening statements continue Each of the defendants lawyers is giving opening statements. There are 28 defendants. Many of their opening statements hinge on the destitute nature of the defendants upbringing in parts of Atlanta. They have also made an effort to separate any previous crimes from this case. Tuesday 28 November 2023 20:06 , Kelly Rissman The trial resumes post lunch The attorney for Rodalius Ryan pointed out that the defendant grew up poor so poor, she said, that he was born on a couch, despite a hospital being just five minutes away. Mr Ryan is 100 pounds soaking wet, the attorney said. So, he had to defend himself by posting on Instagram. He has just been charged with the RICO count. He is listed in eight of the overt acts. Tuesday 28 November 2023 19:54 , Kelly Rissman What is YSL? It depends who you ask. YSL is Young Thugs own record label Young Slime Life. Artists on his record label are considered part of the Slime Family, and a compilation album, Slime Language 2, rose to number one on the US charts in April 2021. Its artists include Gunna and Lil Keed, though several contemporary artists, including Future, Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, Lil Baby, and Travis Scott have also expressed allegiance to YSL without being contractually signed. However, according to prosecutors, YSL is actually a criminal street gang, which started out in the Cleveland Avenue area of Atlanta and claims affiliation to the national Bloods gang. According to a sprawling 88-page indictment, the members of YSL use a variety of identifiers including colours, clothing, tattoos, and hand signs to show their allegiance to the group. The most predominant colours used by members of YSL are red for Bloods and green for Slime. Defence attorneys meanwhile insist that YSL is just a music label. Tuesday 28 November 2023 19:30 , Kelly Rissman Differing accounts To make the prosecutions point, that YSL is functioning as a cohesive unit, she underscored some codes and symbols that the group uses to communicate. She said YSL substitutes the letter C with the letter B, like Bleveland instead of Cleveland, uses certain emojis, like the green heart, green snake, and green vomit emojis, and uses certain hand signs. We dont criminalize association, Mr Steel said, as he tried to debunk the prosecutions claims about certain symbols and gestures being linked to YSL. Tuesday 28 November 2023 19:15 , Kelly Rissman What you missed yesterday Attorney Max Schardt argued that his client, Shannon Stillwell, is an innocent man. Mr Stillwell is one of a few charged with Thomas murder; he has been previously charged with distributing drugs. Mr Schardt said that his client was trying to make it in rap, sold marijuana and pleaded guilty. He tried to separate Mr Stillwells past as being totally separate from YSL. He said he had done his time for the drug charges. Were not hiding that Shannon Stillwell sold drugs...or was found in possession of a firearm. These are his pasts and his truths, he added. But the evidence will show that Shannons decisions had nothing to do with YSL or any other organisation. Mr Schardt also claimed there were no eyewitnesses of Thomas murder. He said there is surveillance footage of the incident, which jurors will be able to watch. Tuesday 28 November 2023 18:42 , Kelly Rissman The court breaks for lunch Jeffery is not guilty, Mr Steel said at end of his hours-long opening statement. The court will resume at 2.45pm after a lunch break, Judge Granville said. Tuesday 28 November 2023 18:19 , Kelly Rissman Who is Donovan Thomas, a central focus of this case? Like many things in this trial, it depends on who you ask. Thomas was shot to death in a drive-by shooting on 10 January, 2015. Some defendants are accused of murdering him, while others are accused of being involved in his killing. The defendant Jeffery Williams words and actions betrayed his participation in the conspiracy, Ms Love said. He rented a car, despite owning a car, that other YSL members used to notoriously gun down Donovan Thomas, the prosecutor added. Defence attorney Brian Steel said Thomas was a friend of Mr Williams. The indictment says that Thomas was an associate of a rival gang, which both sides said was the Inglewood Family gang, or IF. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said that Thomas killing sparked a gang war that created violence like Atlanta has never seen. Tuesday 28 November 2023 18:12 , Kelly Rissman Defence issue takes issue with symbols accused of being used by YSL We dont criminalize association, Mr Steel said, as he tried to debunk the prosecutions claims about certain symbols and gestures being linked to YSL. He argued that Mr Williams is holding up a P not a B in one of the videos that the prosecution used as evidence of his alleged involvement with the YSL gang A photo shows the rapper wearing a YSL pendant and a bracelet that says slime and a tattoo with the leader B, which the prosecution said furthered YSL group Mr Steel accused the prosecution of looking through the rappers lyrics to search for evidence. These are not confessions or admissions. This is art, he said. Tuesday 28 November 2023 17:39 , Kelly Rissman The court takes a break The jurors are taking a break after listening to Young Thugs defence attorneys opening statement this morning. He has analysed each of the overt acts mentioned in the indictment that involve his client. Brian Steel has highlighted Young Thugs music career which arose from an upbringing plagued by poverty and growing up in an environment riddled with crime. Mr Steel has also represented the lyrics, a pressure point of this case, as being art and part of the rappers freedom of speech, coming in sharp contrast to Ms Love, who portrayed the lyrics as bearing a very eerie significance to real life. Tuesday 28 November 2023 17:00 , Kelly Rissman What you missed on Day 1 The highly anticipated Young Thug trial got off to a slow and rocky start consistent with a pretrial process, as jury selection took nearly 11 months to complete. The prosecution portrayed the rapper as the head of the so-called criminal street gang YSL (Young Slime Life), and used lyrics in its opening statement to support its case, but not without many delays and a fiery Judge Ural Glanville, who seemed upset with both sides on Monday. The rapper, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, and 27 other defendants have been charged in a sweeping 65-count indictment. Mr Williams has been charged with eight counts, including possession of a firearm while committing a felony and possession of a machine gun. He has pleaded guilty to all counts. All defendants have been charged with racketeering. Prosecutors say YSL is a gang; the defence insists it is just a record label. Read the full story... Young Thugs YSL trial kicks off with scoldings, wasted time and no tempo Tuesday 28 November 2023 16:27 , Kelly Rissman Young Thugs lawyer distancing him from codefendants Mr Steel that Young Thug doesnt need money, doesnt know many of his codefendants, and doesnt live in Georgia anymore. Hes got his own source of legitimate income, he said after listing his appearances on SNL, Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and NPRs Tiny Desk, his collaborations from superstars like Rihanna and Elton John, as well as his musical awards, including a Grammy. ATLANTA - Opening statements in the trial of rapper Young Thug and associates resumed Tuesday. The Grammy Award winner and five others face charges for violating Georgias anti-racketeering and gang laws. For day two of the trial, Attorney Brian Steel, lawyer for Young Thug, spent hours on his opening statement. Steel pushed back against prosecutors' accusations that the Atlanta-based artist used his music to promote violent gang activity and claims the rapper's song lyrics are just art. Steel explained to jurors how Young Thug, whose given name is Jeffrey Williams, grew up in poverty and had a distrust of the police. "It got to the point where when people saw police, they just ran," said Steel. "It's a different experience for different parts of America." He shared how his client looked up to rappers like Lil Wayne and Tupac and studied their content, branding and style. "Gangster rap is a subset of rap. That was the most popular music at that time," stated Steel. Steel touted Young Thug's many accomplishments since his career took off in 2014, including awards, endorsements, and his net worth. Steel told the jury the rapper isn't running any type of criminal activity to get money because he has plenty of it. "He's not sitting there, telling people to kill people. He doesn't need their money," said Steel. "Jeffrey is worth tens of millions of dollars." From there, Steel turned his focus to Young Thug's own lyrics. Some of which prosecutors were recently granted the ability to use as evidence. Stell claims those lyrics are not admissions, they are art. "Drive-by shootings. These are common themes," said Steel. "This is, you will learn, this is studio gangsters. They are in the studio. They are creating music for us to listen to," said Steel. An attorney for Quamarvious Nichols says that he is reserving his opening statement, allowing the state to present its case first. Young Thug, YSL RICO Trial: Day 1 Recap CLICK HERE FOR A FULL RECAP OF DAY ONE OF THE YSL TRIAL Opening statements proved to be just as tedious as everything that led up to the trial. Fulton County Chief Judge Ural Glanville admonished one juror, who reportedly had car problems, for pushing the start back by nearly an hour and a half. Fulton County Chief Deputy District Attorney Adriane Love finally began opening statements, telling jurors the evidence would lead them to conclude that the YSL organization is tied to the national Bloods gang and participated in organized violence. "They committed crimes such as armed robbery, hijacking, motor vehicle theft, theft by receiving, stolen firearms, possession of a machine gun, and narcotic sales and last but certainly not least, murder," said Love. It was during a slide show presentation by prosecutors that Young Thug's attorney objected and called for a mistrial because of multiple "inaccurate" slides on the prosecutor's PowerPoint. He also says the defense wasn't given the opportunity to review the material before Monday. The judge paused the trial and broke the jury for lunch. Around 1:30 p.m., the court reconvened with the judge denying the motion for dismissal, but instead instructed the jury to disregard parts of the presentation and warned prosecutors it risked having the whole slideshow thrown out. Defense attorneys are expected to continue outlining their case on Tuesday before witnesses are called. The trial is projected to last months and will likely include testimony from a number of high-profile music industry figures. Prosecutors are expected to take the controversial step of using Young Thugs rap lyrics as evidence against him. Who is Young Thug? Young Thugs eccentric style and mumble rap along with breakout hits such as "Stoner" and "Best Friend" have made him popular. His squeaky high-pitched vocals can be heard in the background of Childish Gambinos "This is America," a social-political hit that became the first hip-hop track to win the Song of the Year Grammy Award. ATLANTA, GEORGIA - MARCH 25: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been processed using digital filters.) Rapper Young Thug attends the game between Golden State Warriors and the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena on March 25, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images) (Getty Images) Young Thug won a Grammy in 2019 for his co-writing efforts on the track, which included 21 Savage, Quavo, BlocBoy JB, and Slim Jxmmi of the duo Rae Sremmurd. He has had several mixtapes and three studio albums including his recent "Business is Business" music project, which was released in June while he was in custody. Young Thug has collaborated with some of musics best, including Drake, Chris Brown, T.I. and Travis Scott. Elton John called working with Young Thug an "amazing moment" after recording the song "Always Love You" featuring Nicki Minaj and Gunna. Young Thug has three chart-topping songs, including "Havana" with Camila Cabello, "Way 2 Sexy" with Drake and Future and "Franchise" featuring Travis Scott and M.I.A. He signed with Gucci Manes 1017 Records in 2013. In a hyper-masculine hip-hop scene, Young Thug refused to play by traditional gender rules. He wore a dress on the cover of his 2016 mixtape "Jeffery" and said theres no such thing as gender as part of a Calvin Klein campaign. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - AUGUST 01: Young Thug performs during 2021 Lollapalooza at Grant Park on August 01, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Erika Goldring/WireImage,) On social media, some noticed Young Thug referencing his male friends as "bae," "lover" and "hubby." Young Thug grew up in a rough suburban Atlanta housing project where crime was the norm. He became a father at the age of 17 and currently has six children. Prosecutors have painted Young Thug as a gang leader known as King Slime, someone who calls the shots and directs others to engage in criminal activity. What are the charges young Thug faces? A Fulton County grand jury indicted Young Thug in May 2022, and more charges were added in a subsequent indictment in August of that year. The second indictment accuses Young Thug and 27 other people of conspiring to violate Georgias Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO. The rapper is also accused of participation in criminal street gang activity, as well as drug and gun charges. Prosecutors say Young Thug and two other people co-founded a violent criminal street gang in 2012 called Young Slime Life, or YSL, which they say is associated with the national Bloods gang. The indictment says Young Thug "made YSL a well-known name by referring to it in his songs and on social media." RAPPER YOUNG THUGS' RICO ACT CHARGES EXPLAINED In addition to specific charges, the August indictment includes a wide-ranging list of 191 acts that prosecutors say were committed between 2013 and 2022 as part of the alleged conspiracy to further the gangs interests. Included in that list is an allegation that Young Thug threatened in July 2015 to shoot a security guard who was trying to get him to leave an Atlanta-area mall. The indictment also says Young Thug rented a silver Infiniti sedan that was used in the killing of a rival gang member. And, on numerous occasions, he and others are alleged to have possessed various illegal drugs that they intended to distribute. Rapper Young Thug in court on Monday, Nov. 27, 2023. What do Young Thug's defense lawyers say? Young Thugs lawyers have said in multiple court filings that he is innocent of all crimes charged in the indictment. They argue that YSL is simply a record label. The rapper has pleaded not guilty. Multiple defense attorneys in the case have said prosecutors were overzealous in their use of the RICO statute and the anti-gang law, both of which carry heavy penalties. Who else is charged in the Young Thug YSL RICO trial? Rapper Gunna, whose given name is Sergio Kitchens, was charged with a single count of racketeering conspiracy. He entered an Alford plea in December, which means he maintains his innocence but recognizes that its in his best interest to plead guilty. RAPPER YOUNG THUG, ASSOCIATES ARRESTED FOR RICO ACT CHARGES IN ATLANTA During Gunnas plea hearing, the rapper responded, "Yes, maam" when a prosecutor said that "YSL is a music label and a gang" and that he had knowledge that its members or associates had committed crimes in furtherance of the gang. The other two people accused of co-founding the YSL gang Walter Murphy and Trontavious Stephens were also charged. They each pleaded guilty in December to one count of conspiracy to violate the anti-racketeering law. What has Young Thug been doing since his arrest? Young Thug has been in jail since his arrest on May 9, 2022, having been denied bond several times since then. More than a year after he was jailed, Young Thug surprisingly released his third studio album "Business is Business," which was executive produced by Metro Boomin. The album which featured Drake, Future and Lil Uzi Vert debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart. Young Thugs album dropped a week after Gunna released his new project. What penalties does Young Thug face if he's convicted? Young Thugs racketeering conspiracy charge and two gang charges each carry a penalty of five to 20 years in prison. The other five charges also carry potential prison time. What's next in Young Thug's case? Jury selection began in January . At that time, 14 of the 28 people charged in the indictment were set to be tried together. That number has dwindled to six after some defendants either took plea deals or were separated to be tried later. JURY SEATED AFTER NEARLY A YEAR IN YOUNG THUG YSL TRIAL It took nearly 10 months to seat a jury, which is highly unusual. It took so long for a variety of reasons. For one, the trial is expected to last for months, meaning many potential jurors had legitimate hardship excuses that allowed them to get out of hearing the case. There were also many complications that caused delays, including challenges in getting defendants housed in different jails to court each day, contraband brought to court, and the arrests of a defense attorney and a courtroom deputy. A jury of 12 people nine women and three men and six alternates was finally selected on Nov. 1. Opening statements are set to begin Monday and the trial is expected to last anywhere from several months to a year. The Associated Press contributed to this article. The highly anticipated Young Thug trial got off to a slow and rocky start consistent with a pretrial process, as jury selection took nearly 11 months to complete. The prosecution portrayed the rapper as the head of the so-called criminal street gang YSL (Young Slime Life), and used lyrics in its opening statement to support its case, but not without many delays and a fiery Judge Ural Glanville, who seemed upset with both sides on Monday. The rapper, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, and 27 other defendants have been charged in a sweeping 65-count indictment. Mr Williams has been charged with eight counts, including possession of a firearm while committing a felony and possession of a machine gun. He has pleaded guilty to all counts. All defendants have been charged with racketeering. Prosecutors say YSL is a gang; the defence insists it is just a record label. The trial began nearly an hour and a half behind schedule because a juror was late. The prosecutor, Adriane Love, was finally able to begin her opening statements but was stopped a few times with objections. Defence attorney Brian Steel made three objections to her opening statement, all of which were sustained. The trial then came to a screeching halt when the jury was asked to leave the room and the defence team said that Ms Love hadnt provided certain Powerpoint slides, which she was presenting to the jury, to the defence ahead of the trial, prompting Mr Steel to motion for a mistrial. The motion was denied. After the court returned from lunch, the judge snapped at attorneys from both sides for having wasted two hours. Finally, Ms Love resumed her opening statement. To make the prosecutions point, that YSL is functioning as a cohesive unit, she underscored some codes and symbols that the group uses to communicate. She said YSL substitutes the letter C with the letter B, like Bleveland instead of Cleveland, uses certain emojis, like the green heart, green snake, and green vomit emojis, and uses certain hand signs. The only time...that members of YSL dont want to call themselves and acknowledge that they are in fact a gang is when it would be to their detriment. The evidence will show that they are loudly and proudly promoting their criminal activities, Ms Love said. She zeroed in on Mr Williams, painting him as the ringleader of the group. The defendant Jeffery Williams words and actions betrayed his participation in the conspiracy, Ms Love said. He rented a car, despite owning a car, that other YSL members used to notoriously gun down Donovan Thomas, the prosecutor added. The case hinges on the killing of Thomas, who is called an associate of a rival gang in the indictment and whose death was described by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis as leading to a gang war that created violence like Atlanta has never seen. The use of lyrics in the courtroom has been a point of contention leading up to the trial. Ms Love mentioned some lyrics right off the bat in an effort to demonstrate to jurors that some of the groups lyrics are related to crimes that they are accused of committing. We didnt chase any of the lyrics to solve any murders. Law enforcement in Fulton County chased the murders and found the lyrics, Ms Love clarified. The lyrics [defendants] chose to speak...bore a very eerie significance to real life. In its opening statement, the defence also focused on Thomas killing. Attorney Max Schardt argued that his client, Shannon Stillwell, is an innocent man. Mr Stillwell is one of a few charged with Thomas murder; he has been previously charged with distributing drugs. Mr Schardt said that his client was trying to make it in rap, sold marijuana and pleaded guilty. He tried to separate Mr Stillwells past as being totally separate from YSL. He said he had done his time for the drug charges. Were not hiding that Shannon Stillwell sold drugs...or was found in possession of a firearm. These are his pasts and his truths, he added. But the evidence will show that Shannons decisions had nothing to do with YSL or any other organisation. Mr Schardt also claimed there were no eyewitnesses of Thomas murder. He said there is surveillance footage of the incident, which jurors will be able to watch. In the trials second day, the defence lawyers gave impassioned opening statements. Mr Steel, who is representing Mr Williams, kicked off the day by describing the rapper's upbringing. Mr Williams was born into an environment and a community and a society that was filled with depression, despair, hopelessness and helplessness, Mr Steel said of the housing projects in which the rapper grew up. Mr Steel tried to distance Mr Williams from the rest of the defendants while simultaneously emphasising his musical talent and subsequent success. The defence attorney said that Young Thug doesnt need money, doesnt know many of his codefendants, and doesnt live in Georgia anymore. Hes got his own source of legitimate income, he said after listing his appearances on SNL, Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and NPRs Tiny Desk, his collaborations with superstars like Rihanna and Elton John, as well as his musical accolades, including a Grammy. The topic of the origins of YSL also came up. Mr Steel argued that YSL stemmed from the YSL logo on Yves Saint Laurent pants, coming in sharp contrast to the prosecutions claim that YSL is a criminal enterprise that stands for Young Slime Life. Mr Steel has also described the lyrics, a pressure point of this case, as being art and part of the rappers freedom of speech. Yesterday, Ms Love portrayed the lyrics as bearing a very eerie significance to real life. Other lawyers made their opening remarks, telling the jurors that their clients were not guilty. Prosecutors are expected to start presenting evidence tomorrow morning. As any smoker will tell you, quitting tobacco isnt easy and its something New Zealands new government just isnt prepared to do right now. A year after passing a world-leading smoking ban designed to save thousands of lives and prevent new generations of young adults from smoking, New Zealand has announced a u-turn to help pay for tax cuts, infuriating public health officials and anti-tobacco groups. Introduced last year, the anti-smoking law banned the sale of tobacco to anyone born or after January 1, 2009. The legislation was due to be implemented by July 2024 and would have included harsh penalties for violations such as fines of up to NZ$150,000 ($96,000). The countrys new Prime Minister Chris Luxon, whose conservative National Party entered a coalition alliance with the populist New Zealand First party and the libertarian ACT New Zealand party following elections in October, defended the controversial move, saying he disagreed with parts of the policy and argued that a ban would result in a black-market boom. Luxon said smoking rates in the country had been on the decline and reiterated that he remained committed to reducing tobacco use. Speaking to CNN affiliate Radio New Zealand, Luxon said his government would continue education programs and encourage people to take up vapes as a cessation tool. New Zealand's new Prime Minister Christopher Luxon speaks to the media during the swearing-in of the new government at Government House in Wellington on November 27, 2023. - Marty Melville/AFP/Getty Images New Zealands initial smoking ban was hailed by public health officials around the world. Months after New Zealands announcement, Britain also unveiled plans to phase out smoking for new generations. A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that the British government remained committed to phasing out smoking, even after New Zealands reversal. We are committed to that, the spokesperson said. This is an important long term decision and step to deliver a smoke free generations. New Zealands new finance minister Nicola Willis on Saturday said the measures would be axed before March 2024, with revenue generated from cigarette sales going towards tax cuts. Packs of cigarettes on sale in a smoke shop in Los Angeles, California. - Mario Tama/Getty Images Smoking leads to more than eight million deaths globally each year, according to the World Health Organization with one in four people across the world using tobacco. Smoking rates in New Zealand, already among the worlds lowest, have been falling and were at their lowest since records began, experts noted, with an estimated 56,000 smokers quitting in 2022. New Zealands policy reversal drew shock and condemnation from public health officials and anti-tobacco groups, who criticized the new government for prioritizing the economy and the tobacco industry ahead of human lives. Ayeshea Verrall, the countrys former health minister told CNN affiliate Radio New Zealand that reversing the ban flew in the face of the previous government and would set the country back a long way. Whats going on here is that we had a set of measures that would have substantially reduced smoking, was modelled to save 80,000 lives and theyve (the new government) have reversed it and theyre doing it just to fund tax cuts, Verrall said. The anti-smoking group Health Coalition Aotearoa (HCA) expressed disappointment at the new coalitions plans to repeal the smoking ban. This is a major loss for public health, and a huge win for the tobacco industry whose profits will be boosted at the expense of Kiwi lives, the group said in a statement, adding that there was still massive support from New Zealanders for the world-leading smoke-free amendments. Turning the tide on harmful products that are entrenched in society cannot be done by individuals or even communities, HCA said. It takes good and brave population level policies. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the 2024 Ukrainian state budget into law on Nov. 28, following its passage in parliament. State budget revenues were set at Hr 1.78 trillion ($49 billion), while expenditures were almost double, at Hr 3.35 trillion ($93 billion). The primary item on the list of expenditures was funding for the military, at Hr 1.69 trillion ($46.4 billion), or roughly 22% of Ukraine's GDP. Within the allocation for military spending, Hr 43 billion ($1.1 billion) was earmarked for the production of drones and an equal amount for the domestic manufacturing of arms and ammunition. Funding for the domestic defense industry would come from internal revenue, such as taxes and other sources. In addition, Hr 15 billion ($413 million) would be allocated for veterans' services, including Hr 1 billion ($27.5 million) for prosthetics. It also included funding for other domestic spending and social services. The remaining expenditures would fall within the deficit, which was set at 1.57 trillion ($44 billion). The budget also entailed Hr 2 trillion ($55 billion) in external borrowing and internal government bonds. The budget was passed on a second reading by the parliament on Nov. 9, with 276 in favor, one against, and 22 abstentions. The lone lawmaker who voted against the measure said that he did not think it included enough funding for the military. Read also: Francis Farrell: Ukraine could still lose the war. Lets get some things straight Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. President Zelensky's office dispatched a delegation to the United States to meet and build relationships with Republican Party leaders, New Voice reported on Nov. 27. The Ukrainian delegation, headed by Ambassador Oksana Markarova, comprises Ukrainian parliamentarians, government officials, veterans, and children affected by Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. The delegation will seek to share information with Republican lawmakers about Ukraine's current defense capabilities, as well as advocate for the allocation of additional aid to Ukraine. No specifics were provided as to who the delegation will engage while in Washington. This development coincides with Republican Speaker Mike Johnson expressing confidence and optimism in Congress's ability to secure supplementary funding for both Israel and Ukraine. Johnson previously said that he would support a standalone bill that includes defense funding for Israel but not for Ukraine The decision to send a delegation comes as former President Trump continues to hold a large lead in Republican Presidential primary polling. U.S. support for Kyiv has been growing thin as the White House's $105 billion funding package, including $61 billion for Ukraine, meets opposition from Republican lawmakers. The Senate announced a vote on the Ukraine aid bill as early as Dec. 4, but some officials believe it would not be passed earlier than 2024. Read also: Ukraine war latest: Russia reportedly suffers some of highest casualty rates over past 6 weeks Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Following the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that the gathering has discussed reinforcing fortifications in the regions and air defence. Source: Zelenskyy's address on 28 November Quote: "First up fortification. We are significantly enhancing our fortifications. There were detailed reports at all levels: The General Staff, the Ministry of Defense, the Prime Minister, regional authorities, commanders of the operational and strategic military formations. All finances are available. All decisions are in place. There should be comprehensive corresponding work in the communities. Everything is fully itemized our country will definitely have enough mines and concrete. We need greater speed and efficiency, and everyone who is responsible for this has clear tasks." Details: The meeting also analysed recent Russian attacks on Ukraine and air defence tactics. Zelenskyy stressed the necessity of enhancing mobile fire groups and noted the effectiveness of Western-supplied Patriot and NASAMS air defence missile systems in Ukraine. The gathering also discussed the situation on the battlefield. Quote: "Special attention was paid to the Donetsk directions: Avdiivka, Maryinka, and the Bakhmut area. Over the last 24 hours, the most intense hostilities were observed there. I thank all our warriors for their strength and resilience. The Kupyansk direction I want to particularly highlight the holding of our positions there. We also discussed our actions on the southern fronts." Support UP or become our patron! Jill and I were horrified to learn that three college students of Palestinian descent, two of whom are American citizens, were shot Saturday in Burlington, Vermont. They were simply spending Thanksgiving gathered with family and loved ones. READ ALSO: Readout of President Biden's Call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel We join Americans across the country in praying for their full recovery, and we send our deepest condolences to their families. While we are waiting for more facts, we know this: there is absolutely no place for violence or hate in America. Period. No person should worry about being shot at while going about their daily lives. And far too many Americans know a family member injured or killed as a result of gun violence. We cannot and we will not accept that. Earlier today, I spoke to Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger to offer my support. We are grateful to the Burlington Police Department - as well as the FBI, ATF, and other law enforcement partners - for their swift work identifying and arresting a suspect. Our Administration will provide any additional federal resources needed to assist in the investigation. READ MORE: Readout of President Biden's Call with President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi of Egypt @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A deputy commissioner of behavioral health will lose his job as part of a reorganization of the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. Commissioner Nelson Smith told department employees earlier this month that he will eliminate the job of deputy commissioner for administrative services, held by Cort Kirkley, who has been with the department for nearly five years after a career that included high-ranking finance positions at the former Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, the Medical Society of Virginia and the Rockbridge Area Community Services Board. Kirkley, who also serves as the agencys chief administrative officer, has not yet left the department in the layoff, according to Meghan McGuire, the departments deputy commissioner for policy and public affairs. Administrative services will report instead to Smiths chief of staff, Andrew Diefenthaler, who has worked at the department for more than 10 years after spending nearly 16 years as a senior budget and policy analyst at the Department of Planning and Budget. Smith told employees on Nov. 13 that he is making the change to expand our strategic planning, project management, and quality capabilities. The shakeup is aimed at carrying out the Right Help, Right Now reforms promised by Gov. Glenn Youngkin to improve delivery of services for people facing psychiatric or substance use crises. The reorganization includes the creation of an Office of Strategic Planning and Execution, which will report directly to the commissioner, who told staff that he also is considering the creation of a new office for delivery of behavioral and developmental disability services at the community level. Youngkins reforms have focused on expanding crisis services, launching new mobile crisis teams and expanding places where people in a mental health crisis can go for immediate help, including an innovative effort to set up psychiatric emergency rooms, one in Hampton and a second in Chesapeake. Youngkin and Secretary of Health and Human Resources John Littel have said the initial focus on crisis services is a first step toward a transformation that would include beefed-up preventive and post-hospitalization services. However, the reorganization at DBHDS also comes as Youngkin is pushing state agencies to find savings of up to 10% in their operating budgets as he prepares a two-year budget for presentation to the General Assembly money committees on Dec. 20. Two prominent state government operations the Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority and the Department of General Services recently lost their longtime leaders to early retirement, while under pressure to reduce operating costs. There is certainly nothing wrong with looking for efficiencies, but I remain concerned that this administration is not looking for ways to better serve those in need, but rather is trying to justify further tax cuts, said Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, chairman of the Virginia Behavioral Health Commission and a budget negotiator with the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee. McGuire said the changes at the behavioral health agency are designed to improve the delivery of critical services. Last year, the department reorganized its state facilities division, which oversees nine mental hospitals, a training center for people with severe developmental disabilities, a general medical center and a facility for behavioral rehabilitation of sex offenders who have served criminal sentences. McGuire said the reorganization enabled the facilities to function more like a true hospital system with better coordination, more efficiencies, and targeted metrics. Smith, in his message to staff, wrote the department is seeing a multitude of benefits from the new structure, which is why he is making more changes, beginning with the elimination of the role of deputy commissioner for administrative services. McGuire said the new organization, by consolidating oversight by the commissioner and his chief of staff, works to break down the traditional silos that develop as a state agency. This change helps (DBHDS) administrative offices better achieve programmatic and operation objectives while keeping the trains moving day-to-day, she wrote in an email message. And it allows us to shift limited resources to develop more capability to implement plans and meet strategic goals to improve Virginias behavioral health system. Based on precipitation over the last week, Pottawattamie County Emergency Management requested the State Fire Marshall lift the current ban in Pottawattamie County effective Monday. Open burning is now allowable throughout the county except in any municipality, where there is a standing ordinance prohibiting open burning on a regular basis, according to a news release. Before burning within any city limits, check with your local fire department or city clerk to determine whether a community has such an ordinance. Council Bluffs has such an ordinance. Residents are to continue using extreme caution whenever burning. The county is still experiencing abnormally dry conditions and seasonal outlooks indicate that will remain the case or even deteriorate in the upcoming months. All residents are encouraged to sign up for Alert Iowa emergency notifications at pcema-ia.org. During emergencies or critical events communication is key, and the Alert Iowa system is the county's primary method of distributing alerts and information. The Council Bluffs I-80 sanitary pump station continues to discharge sewage into the Missouri River as the city prepares a second attempt to repair a damaged force main pipe. The discharge began the morning of Nov. 14 after the city discovered a leak in the 36-inch diameter steel pipe. The leak is located within an undeveloped area of Lake Manawa State Park, Council Bluffs Communications Manager Ashley Kruse said. In order to repair the pipe, the city has diverted the sewage flow into the river and has had to lower the groundwater level using dewatering wells to create a safe work zone at the leak site, Kruse said. Kruse said that city employees have been working tirelessly to come up with a new repair strategy after an initial attempt was unsuccessful. Theyre all hands on deck, Kruse said Monday. They were working through the weekend, too. Its all hands on deck to get it figured out. Groundwater from the dewatering wells, which has included some sewage, has been discharged to a wooded area east of Catfish Road, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Iowa DNR warns the public to avoid this area, including bike trails running through the wooded area. The public should also avoid contact with the Missouri River downstream from Interstate 80. The City of Council Bluffs estimated that approximately 4 million gallons of untreated wastewater has been discharged per day, according to an earlier Iowa DNR news release. Emily Morse of Council Bluffs is a recipient of the Eunice Goldgrabe Health and Human Performance Scholarship at Concordia University. The scholarship is annually given to those who lead a lifestyle deemed exemplary in the HHP Department, according to a news release It honors the legacy of professor emeritus Eunice Goldgrabe. Concordia is a private university in Seward, Nebraska, affiliated with the Missouri Synod of the Lutheran Church. Nolan Harms, associate professor and chair of the Health and Human Performance Department, praised Morse and another student who received the scholarship. "It has been a joy to see each of them grow in their knowledge and abilities within their chosen major of exercise science," Harms said in the release. "I look forward to following their academic and personal achievements in the years to come." Morse said she is thankful for the support and encouragement she has received at the university. "Concordia Nebraska has provided me with multiple opportunities to advance my education and strengthen my faith throughout my time here," she said in the release. "The support from the faculty, staff, and students at Concordia Nebraska is amazing, as they have helped shape me into who I am today. I am extremely grateful to have been chosen for this scholarship and am so thankful for all that Concordia has offered. After graduation, I plan to go to occupational therapy school and obtain my doctorate." Members of the public are invited to pay their respects to a Glenwood man who was a Nebraska police officer during his funeral procession Tuesday. A 22-year veteran of the Bellevue Police Department, Christopher Abbott, 48, died unexpectedly after a medical emergency Nov. 18. The procession for Abbott will begin around 11:30 a.m. at the Bellevue Christian Center and last until noon with his interment at the cemetery in Glenwood. The procession will be preceded by Abbotts funeral service at the Bellevue church. The procession route will cover about three miles in Bellevue. From the church, the procession will go west along Harvell Drive to Galvin Road South. The procession will then travel southeast down to Mission Avenue, where it will go directly east into Iowa and over to Glenwood. Abbott lived with his wife, Amie, and their two sons, Gaven and Brecken, in Glenwood. In Bellevue, police ask that people line up along Mission Avenue to view the procession. The procession route in Glenwood will go along Sharp and Coolidge Street and then head north along North Locust Street. The route will then bend northwest where North Locust Street turns into 221st Street. Abbotts body will be taken to the Glenwood Cemetery just off 221st Street. DES MOINES Seven Iowa students are named as plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday that challenges a new, sweeping state law that places restrictions on LGBTQ students and school materials. The ACLU of Iowa joined two law firms in filing a lawsuit challenging Iowa Senate File 496, which prohibits the instruction of gender identity and sexual orientation through sixth grade, prohibits books with descriptions of sex acts and requires parental notification when a K-12 student wants to be referred to by a different pronoun or name in school. The law was passed by Republican state lawmakers and signed into law in May by Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds. The lawsuit asks the court for an immediate halt to enforcement of the law during the legal challenge. Attorneys said the lawsuit argues the state law violates the First Amendment right to free speech of Iowas LGBTQ students, and asks the court to find the entire law unconstitutional. The students are identified in the lawsuit only by initials, but some chose to speak Tuesday at a news conference hosted by the ACLU of Iowa. Like it or not, sex and sexuality are parts of the teenage experience. Refusing to provide adolescents with information about it means theyll seek out their own information from the internet or from others in ways that are significantly less safe than books reviewed by teachers and librarians, Puck Carlson, a senior from Iowa City who is one of the seven student plaintiffs, said Tuesday in a statement read during an online news conference. Removing books that discuss queer topics of people from schools tells our creative students that they do not belong there, that they are shameful. I am not shameful. The federal lawsuit was filed in the Southern District of Iowa. The ACLU of Iowa, Lambda Legal and the law firm Jenner & Block are representing the seven students and Iowa Safe Schools, a nonprofit that advocates for LGBTQ students in Iowa. (The state law) is a clear violation of public school students First Amendment rights to speak, read and learn freely, ACLU of Iowa lawyer Thomas Story said during the news conference. The First Amendment does not allow our state or our schools to remove books or issue blanket bans on discussion and material simply because a group of politicians or parents find them offensive. A similar law in Florida was unsuccessfully challenged in federal court there. Lawyers representing the plaintiffs in Iowa said they believe the outcome will be different here. They pointed to other cases in other states where courts did intervene, but the cases they noted involved higher education or public libraries, not K-12 schools. We are committed to continuing to challenge any restrictions on students speech wherever they appear. These latest attacks are just another chapter, said Nathan Maxwell, a senior attorney with Lambda Legal. We think that the (Iowa) law is so clearly unconstitutional as its written and as its applied, and were very confident in our case. We expect the court will agree with us. Iowa Statehouse Republican leaders issued statements Tuesday defending the new state law that they passed, with some of them arguing that pornography should not be in Iowas schools. The new law does not actually ban pornography; it bans books or curriculum that describe sexual acts. That has led some schools to remove from their libraries some books that contain depictions of sexual acts, including classics like To Kill a Mockingbird and 1984, plus books with LGBTQ themes or by LGBTQ authors that contain passages describing sexual acts. The law exempts religious texts, including the Bible. Protecting children from pornography and sexually explicit content shouldnt be controversial. The real controversy is that it exists in elementary schools, Reynolds said in a statement. Books with graphic depictions of sex acts have absolutely no place in our schools. If these books were movies, theyd be rated R. Said Republican Iowa Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver in a statement, The State of Iowa has a legitimate interest in protecting elementary school children from being provided pornography in taxpayer-funded schools. Senate File 496 put parents first in the education of their children and Senate Republicans will continue to advance policies to empower parents so Iowa students receive the best education in the country. Added Republican Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley in a statement, House Republicans stand behind the law that overwhelmingly passed our chamber. The sexualization of children in schools does not have a place in Iowa. This is a responsible and reasonable law that I believe all Iowans could get behind if the far left and the media would stop playing politics and accurately represent what is actually in the law. Reynolds joined Grassley in criticizing media outlets for their coverage of the topic. The new law went into effect this summer, and enforcement is scheduled to begin Jan. 1. The Iowa Board of Education recently advanced new state rules for implementation of the law. Education groups criticized the proposed rules in the same way they did the law itself as being too vague. PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) Tossing tent poles, blankets and a duffel bag into a shopping cart and three wagons, Will Taylor spent a summer morning helping friends tear down what had been their home and that of about a dozen others. It wasn't the first time and wouldn't be the last. Norfolk Junior High principal Jennifer Robinson announced her resignation from Norfolk Public Schools on Monday afternoon after she was hired as executive director of human resources and elementary operations at Fremont Public Schools. Her resignation is effective on Sunday, June 30. Over the past 20 plus years as an administrator at Norfolk Public Schools, I have had the opportunity to work alongside an amazing staff who are passionate about educating students and helping them grow. While NPS will always be an important part of my life, the position at Fremont Public Schools is a tremendous professional advancement opportunity, Robinson said in a press release. The NPS board of education will consider approval of her resignation at their next board meeting on Monday, Dec. 11. The school district will immediately begin the search for a new principal at the junior high, according to the release. Superintendent Jami Jo Thompson said it was a pleasure working with Robinson during her time at the school district. She has been a champion for all students and staff at the junior high and will be missed by both, Thompson said. We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. Vermont police arrested a man suspected of shooting three Palestinian students and charged him with attempted murder. The individual, identified as 48-year-old Jason J. Eaton of Burlington, was charged with attempted murder for the shooting on Saturday. The incident occurred outside of the building where the suspect is said to live. Suspect Arrested in Shooting of Three Palestinian Students The charges against Eaton include three counts of attempted second-degree murder over the weekend shooting of three young Palestinian men. It was a violent incident that stunned the small city of Burlington. As investigators in the case sought to determine the motive for the shooting, with officials initially considering it a hate crime, local officials called the attack one of the most shocking events in the city's history. They noted that it was a grave setback for a town that strives to be welcoming to everyone. During a news conference on Monday afternoon, Burlington police chief Jon Murad said that whether or not the shooting was a hate crime by the law, there was no question that it was a hateful act, as per the New York Times. Eaton pleaded not guilty to the charges filed against him as he was being held without bail. He was seen in court through a remote video link from jail and did not utter a word during the brief hearing except to thank the judge in charge. If he is convicted, he could face life imprisonment. The victims were identified as all young men in their 20s and were staying at the home of an uncle of one of them. They were out for a walk at around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday when the suspect approached them, pulled out a handgun, and started shooting from roughly two yards away. An affidavit revealed that the three men were Hisham Awartani, Tahseen Ali Ahmad, and Kinnan Abdalhamid. The victims were Brown University, Trinity College, and Haverford College students, respectively. They have been friends since they were kids; two were US citizens, while the third was a legal resident. Two of the Palestinian students were shot in the torso, while the third was shot in the lower extremities. The first two were said to be in stable condition, but the last suffered more serious injuries from the attack, according to BBC. Read Also: Vermont Police Investigate Shooting of 3 Palestinian Students as a Potential Hate Crime Potential Hate Crime The unprovoked attack comes as the United States is dealing with a surge in Islamophobic and antisemitic incidents amid the Israel-Hamas conflict. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warned of potential attacks by "homegrown violent extremists" since the beginning of the Middle Eastern war. Murad said that one of the victims suffered a spinal injury with long-term implications. Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger said that the lives of the Palestinian students have been changed forever because of the shooting. During a news conference, he noted that one of the young men faces a tremendous struggle and recovery and is looking at injuries that could have lifelong effects. The families of the victims expressed their relief that the suspect had been arrested, noting that the crime was "fueled by hate," said CNN. Related Article: Derek Chauvin Expected To Survive Prison Stabbing; Family Blasts Officials for Not Reporting Incident @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website. You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings . The Washington Institute for Near East Policy has called on the Biden administration to be cautious in engaging Algeria as such approach does not guarantee it will shift away from Moscow and Beijing or defuse tension with Rabat. In an analysis focusing on U.S. policy in North Africa, the Institute experts Sabina Henneberg and Amina Goulidi urged the United States to be cautious in its overtures to Algeria which has failed to prevent the recent Polisario rockets attack against the Moroccan Saharan city of Es Smara exacerbating Rabats tensions with Algiers. Weeks before the deadly attack, the Algerian coast guard fatally shot two Moroccan-French jet skiers, underlined the analysts, stressing that these are worrisome signs of military escalation between the two neighboring countries. They also urged Washington to continue supporting the UN-led process to resolve the Sahara dispute, while upholding the American recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the territory and protecting Moroccos crucial relations with Washington and Israel which are paramount importance to U.S. regional interests In late 2020, the Trump administration recognized Moroccos sovereignty over Sahara as part of a wider tripartite agreement with Israel, bringing Rabat into the landmark normalization process launched by the Abraham Accords. After securing the support of the United States, Moroccos longstanding ally and penholder on the UN Security Council resolution on the Sahara, Rabat is pushing international process aimed at ending the conflict, said the Washington Institute analysts. Since then, Rabat has deepened its bilateral ties with Israel. The relationship has also facilitated Moroccos acquisition of advanced weaponry like the Barak MX Defense systema strategic move meant to counter Algerias growing arms purchases from Russia and China. However, the Gaza war has affected Moroccos relations with Israel. The Israeli Foreign Ministry issued an evacuation order for its Rabat liaison office last month, while the kingdom has expressed concern over the Israeli military campaign in Gaza. In September, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Josh Harris visited the region and met with senior Algerian officials and Polisario leader Brahim Ghali, said the Washington Institute, noting that these meetings raised questions over the U.S. nuanced approach which was smashed by the Gaza war and the Polisario rocket attack. The United States could disrupt its longstanding relationship with Morocco if it does not use caution in navigating its evolving ties with Algiers, warned the Washington Institute, saying that Rabat is already diversifying its foreign partners amid growing regional skepticism about Washingtons reliability, betting on China and Russias strong push in Africa. In the past month alone, several Chinese companies have announced new investments in the kingdom, including the establishment of cathode materials plants, a critical component in the burgeoning electric vehicle industry. The U.S. efforts to engage Algiers could wind up injecting ambiguity into Moroccos relations with the United States and Israel at a time of regional crisis, warned the experts of the Washington Institute. They urged the U.S. administration to use its careful engagement with Algeria to mitigate tensions with Rabat and discourage further military escalation in the Sahara. Furthermore, Moroccos diplomatic ties with Israel could contribute to humanitarian and reconstruction efforts in Gaza after the war, serving broader U.S. interests in the region. Mercenaries from the Wagner Group are reportedly making $10 million per month through their involvement in the ongoing conflict in Mali as it exchanges African gold to help fund Vladimir Putins war machine, experts have said. US intelligence experts believe the Russian-backed private military company, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin until his violent death in August, is profiting from the proxy war, which has seen hundreds of civilians killed and wounded. According to Express.co.uk, Wagner mercenaries have maimed and murdered to feed Vladimir Putins war machine, bringing chaos and sparking horrific bloodshed in Mali and other countries in Africa. The military junta in Bamako which seized power in a coup invited Wagner in to smash Islamic State terrorists in 2021 and since then they have propped up the military regime. Mali and Russia claim that the fighters are not mercenaries but trainers assisting local troops in combating an insurgency. However, Washington holds a different view when it has accused the Russian-backed mercenary group of helping to engineer the exit of United Nations peacekeeping troops from the West African state. This view is supported by US intelligence experts who assert that Moscow has been accused of earning huge profits on the back of Wagners turning Mali into a battleground, which has seen hundreds of civilians killed and wounded. Professor Salvador Sanchez Tapi, an expert in conflict analysis at the University of Navarra, says that Wagner offers a broad portfolio of violence, atrocities and human rights violations, adding that in Mali anything related to buttressing the junta takes precedence over improving the overall security situation in the country. Military juntas from Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have recently met to strengthen the newly formed Alliance of Sahel States (AES), pledging security and political collaborations, which some analysts describe as an attempt to legitimize their grip on power. In his first foreign trip since the July coup that brought him into power, Nigers junta leader, General Abdourahmane Tchiani held separate meetings last week (23 November) with his counterparts from Burkina Faso and Mali. During their meetings, leaders from the three West African nations pledged security and political collaborations under the AES that was announced in September as a measure to help fight the extremist violence they each struggle with and across the Sahel. Gen. Tchiani told reporters he views the alliance as providing a path of sovereignty for the countries and for their citizens that they can fulfill the objective of making this area of the Sahel, not an area of insecurity, but an area of prosperity. However, according to Nate Allen, an associate professor at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, in reality, the partnership is in part an effort to entrench and legitimize (their) military governments more than to tackle the violent extremism which they have limited capacity to fight. In fact, experts say that the series of recent coups detats and the associated political instability may have a negative impact on the fight against terrorism and violent extremism in the Western Sahel. But Gen. Tchiani has again partly blamed the escalating violence on foreign powers, repeating claims his government has often made against France and against West Africas regional bloc of ECOWAS. Peter Szijjarto, Hungarys Foreign minister, is expected to visit Chad from December 07 and will ink cooperation deals with his Chadian counterpart KASSIRE Isabelle Housna, local media Alwihda Info reports citing the Foreign ministry of the African country. Laszlo Mathe, the European countrys ambassador to Chad informed Housna about Szijjartos future visit, on Monday November 27. Szijjartos visit will enable both countries set up programs linked to education, agriculture, and assistance for Sudanese refugees, not forgetting the host population, the Chadian foreign ministry said. The two sides will sign cooperation deals to spur the programs, Mathe also indicated. Szijjartos visit will also take place in the wake of the deployment of up to 400 troops to Chad to protect the interests of the European country and assist international forces in the region in the fight against terrorism. The troops will arrive as late as December 31. The Hungarian legislature rubber-stamped the decision on November 06. The deployment comes in response to an invitation dating back to September 19 from Chads leader Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno. China to consolidate ties, promote cooperation with Kazakhstan: vice premier Xinhua) 08:36, November 28, 2023 Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Astana, Kazakhstan, Nov. 27, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Yan) ASTANA, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- China stands ready to work with Kazakhstan to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, promote the high-quality construction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and push the permanent comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Kazakhstan to a higher level, said Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang on Monday. Ding, who paid a visit to Kazakhstan from Nov. 26 to 27, made the remarks when meeting with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Astana. Ding, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, conveyed Chinese President Xi Jinping's cordial greetings and best wishes to Tokayev. Noting that China-Kazakhstan cooperation enjoys a solid foundation, huge potential and broad prospects, Ding said China stands ready to work with Kazakhstan to cement the foundation of mutual trust, strengthen the synergy of development strategies, enhance policy coordination and expand mutually beneficial cooperation to help each other achieve their development goals. Ding called on the two sides to promote the synergy of the BRI and Kazakhstan's Bright Road initiative, actively explore new forms and paths of cooperation, and deepen cooperation in culture, tourism, education, sports, youth and at sub-national levels to carry forward the traditional friendship between China and Kazakhstan. China is ready to work with Kazakhstan to promote the stable operation of China-Central Asia mechanisms to jointly maintain regional peace and stability, he added. Tokayev asked Ding to convey his sincere greetings to Chinese President Xi, and said Kazakhstan firmly supports high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and welcomes Chinese enterprises to invest in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is willing to work with China to deepen practical cooperation in various fields, resolutely crack down on the "three forces" of terrorism, strengthen people-to-people exchanges and sub-national cooperation, and push for new achievements in the permanent comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, Tokayev said. During his visit to Kazakhstan, Ding also met with Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov, and co-chaired the 11th Meeting of the China-Kazakhstan Cooperation Committee with Kazakh First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar. Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Astana, Kazakhstan, Nov. 27, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Yan) Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov in Astana, Kazakhstan, Nov. 27, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Tao) (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan) A trove of leaked documents suggests that the United Arab Emirates planned to use the COP28 Climate Summit to push for new oil and gas deals with foreign governments. The documents were first published by the UK-registered Centre for Climate Reporting and appeared to be briefing notes for Sultan Al Jaber. He would be presiding over the UN climate negotiations in Dubai. UAE's Plans To Push for Oil and Gas Deals The documents were meant for meetings with foreign officials in the run-up to the COP28 summit. They were also found to be organized as country profiles, with each paper describing talking points for Al Jaber to raise during the discussions. They also detail each country's climate progress in various key areas, including finance, decarbonizing food systems, and uptake of renewables, and identify how their ambitions could be raised. However, among the points listed in the documents, there were also several suggestions to offer new oil and gas projects with the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). Al Jaber leads the company and it did not reply to requests for comments regarding the leaked documents, as per CNN. However, the firm previously said that any suggestion of using the COP28 climate summit to promote itself was "incorrect and is baseless." A spokesperson for the global summit said in an email that the leaked documents are inaccurate and were not used by COP28 in meetings. The situation comes as the UAE has already been at the point of widespread criticism for appointing its top oil and gas chief to preside over the climate summit. An analysis from a fossil fuel watchdog noted that ADNOC plans to expand its oil and gas production as Al Jaber leads the event. Read Also: British PM Rishi Sunak Faces Criticism for Canceling Meeting with Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis On top of the leaked documents' talking points revolving around climate issues and promoting ADNOC, other suggestions sought to promote projects with the UAE's main renewables vehicle, Masdar, which Al Jaber also heads. For example, briefing notes for Germany noted that Al Jaber stood ready to expand LNG supplies to the European nation. On the other hand, documents meant for China said that ADNOIC was willing to jointly evaluate international LNG opportunities, according to Politico. Upcoming COP28 Climate Summit The leaked documents also proposed telling oil-rich giants Saudi Arabia and Venezuela that there was no conflict between the sustainable development of any nation's natural resources and its commitment to climate change. They also showed the UAE's hope to get off the Brazilian "tax haven" list to help facilitate new investments from Msadar. Additionally, the UAE is looking to consider a possible deal with China over liquefied natural gas projects. The COP28 Climate Summit is the UN's upcoming round of global climate negotiations. The summit, which will last for two weeks, will be held in Dubai and include scores of world leaders and g government ministers from nearly 200 nations. Furthermore, roughly 70,000 delegates are expected to attend the event. The summit is a pivotal opportunity to accelerate action to address the current climate crisis. It comes at a time when global temperatures are hitting record highs and extreme weather events are affecting millions worldwide, said CNBC. Related Article: Javier Milei To Meet With Top Biden Adviser, Other Officials Over Economic Policies @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Security cooperation between Morocco and Austria was reviewed at a meeting held in Vienna this Tuesday between Director General of Moroccos National Security and Territorial Surveillance, Abdellatif Hammouchi, and Austrias Director of the State Protection and Intelligence Directorate, Omar Haijawi Pirchner. The meeting took place on the sidelines of Hammouchis participation in the 91st session of the General Assembly of the International Criminal Police Organization, Interpol, held from November 28 to December 1 in the Austrian capital. The meeting between Hammouchi and his Austrian counterpart focused on ways of strengthening cooperation between the two countries in all security-related areas, as well as on mechanisms for developing collaboration to meet the various security challenges and threats. It was attended by executives and officials from the Directorate General of National Security (DGSN) and the Directorate General of Territorial Surveillance (DGST), as well as officials from Austrias State Protection and Intelligence Directorate. Hammouchis visit and participation in Interpol session is part of Moroccos commitment to consolidating international security cooperation. It also illustrates the Kingdoms willingness to share its experience and expertise in the fight against terrorism and organized crime with the security services of various friendly and brotherly countries, as well as with all international partners. Morocco called for strengthening the working methods of the African Unions Peace and Security Council (PSC), to enable this body to fulfill its mandate to promote peace, security and stability in Africa. During the 15th annual retreat of the AU/PSC, which wrapped up Monday in Tunis, the Moroccan delegation, led by Moroccos Permanent Representative to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Mohammed Arrouchi, called for strict compliance with PSC decisions and the rules and procedures in force, in particular those related to early warning, mediation, and preventive diplomacy to reduce the risk of conflict and violence on the continent. At the opening ceremony of this annual retreat on Saturday, the Moroccan delegation highlighted the primacy of the role of the UN Security Council and the multidimensional approach. The Moroccan delegation recalled the primacy of the UN Security Council as the main body in charge of issues related to international security, the principle which was unanimously reiterated in the draft resolution on the financing of peacekeeping operations, discussed during this retreat and which will be examined by the UN Security Council next week in New York. The Moroccan delegation also reiterated the importance of adopting global and multidimensional approaches that integrate and strengthen coherence between political, security and development activities in the management of crisis and conflict situations on the continent to effectively address the root causes of insecurity and instability, including the socio-economic challenges and the vital needs of African populations. In addition to reviewing the PSCs working methods, this annual retreat examined reference documents that will contribute to improving the work of the council, particularly regarding the AU sanctions regime against unconstitutional changes of government, the PSCs engagement mechanism with African members of the UN Security Council (A3) and the AU Committee on Counter-terrorism. On Thursday, Mid-Plains Community College will host Native American dancer Garan Coons for two performances. One will take place at 11 a.m. in the Weeth Theater on the McCook Community College campus and the other will take place at 2 p.m. in the McDonald-Belton Theater on the North Platte Community College South Campus. Coons, an Oglala Lakota and Navajo, is the founder of the Native American Many Moccasins Dance Troupe, an international and professional Native American dance ensemble that blends traditional and contemporary dance. Coons also is the communications officer for the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. There are over 500 different tribes in North America and each tribe has its own set of language, songs and dance, Coons said. But, whats unique is that every tribe kind of has a unique moccasin. So, its many nations, many tribes, many moccasins, because you need moccasins when you dance to have that connection with the earth. The Nebraska Art Councils touring program, which Coons is a part of, allows him to travel across the state and share his dances and experiences with the community. Coons son and daughter will be joining on stage. His son will be performing the Grass Dance, which originated from the Omaha tribe. Coons daughter will perform a fancy shawl dance. Coons himself will be performing a fancy feather dance. The family ensemble will be wearing their handmade regalia, which for Coons includes horse hair and eagle feathers in the bustle. Fancy feather dancing dates back to the days of the Buffalo Bill shows, according to Coons. He would come to the reservations and he would ask to be shown the best dancers, Coons said. The dancers would come and hes like this is really cool, but if were gonna do a show i need you to dance faster, I need you to be more fierce. The dances evolved a lot during that time and since, according to Coons, who has been doing fancy feather dances since he was 8 years old, and he is now 42. An important reason for why Coons dances is to keep the traditions alive, he said. We have a beautiful culture, he said. We like to say that we live in two different worlds. We have to live in the modern world, you know, well come to the performances in our truck, so I think what I really look forward to is sharing some of my knowledge. The dances carry meaning for Coons and his family. Theres a lot of emotions, he said. I was just talking to my son about this, and I asked him, What do you feel when you go out there, because theres always a certain emotion that comes over you, a certain power. And he told me, Dad, I dance for the people that cant dance, and its a pretty unique feeling. It kind of reverberates through your soul and your heart. Coons said that there are still issues with misconceptions about Native Americans to this day, and that those misconceptions can have a harmful lasting effect, but that he hopes by showing people his culture and their traditions, that he can educate. Ive been kind of on a mission to inform communities and people, he said. Theres some misconceptions and also some negative stereotypes about Native Americans that I try to address. So, were kind of on a mission to combat that and let them know were all of the same blood. We all have a heart, we all have a soul. The performances are free to attend on both the McCook and North Platte campuses. Anytime that we get to share our culture with the community we always share the message that you should take something back to your family and spread the good word, Coons said. We have a beautiful culture. Im blessed to dance, and to dance with my kids. National Bishop Ludwig Mueller whoops it up with fellow Nazis in 1933 outside the church where Martin Luther launched the Protestant Reformation. Photo: Hulton Deutsch/Corbis via Getty Images Conservative Christian Never Trumpers frequently lament the MAGA allegiances of many of their fellow believers. Last week, in the wake of Trumps ominous description of his domestic enemies as vermin, The Atlantic published another unhappy take on the alleged apostasy in the Sunday pews by Peter Wehner, a speechwriter for Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush. He wrote: It is a rather remarkable indictment of those who claim to be followers of Jesus that they would continue to show fealty to a man whose cruel ethic has always been antithetical to Jesuss and becomes more so every day. Many of the same people who celebrate Christianitys contributions to civilization championing the belief that every human being has inherent rights and dignity, celebrating the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount and the parable of the Good Samaritan, and pointing to a transcendent order of justice and hope that stands above politics, in the words of my late friend Michael Gerson continue to stand foursquare behind a man who uses words that echo Mein Kampf. The agony of Wehner, Gerson, former Southern Baptist leader Russell Moore, and others over the intense loyalty most of their fellow conservative Evangelicals have displayed to Donald Trump, even as his record and rhetoric have grown more heathenish, is understandable. But they shouldnt be all that surprised. In the mid-20th centurys great battles over fascist and quasi-fascist threats to parliamentary democracy, support for authoritarian and totalitarian leaders of the political right was generally concentrated among religious Christians who had incorporated secular conservative cultural views (especially nationalism and in many cases antisemitism) into their faith. Most conspicuously, the ascension to power of Adolf Hitler, the author of Mein Kampf, was accompanied by rapturous support from German Protestants. This was especially true in small-town and rural parts of the country, where the fear of socialism and communism was intense and Nazi racial ideology fed on an antisemitic tradition exemplified by Reformation founder and German cultural icon Martin Luther. A radically racist faction of Protestants calling itself the Faith Movement of German Christians went so far as to advocate the expulsion of Hebrew scriptures from the Bible, and temporarily gained control of the state-subsidized national Protestant Church. But the Nazis soon learned that more orthodox Protestant leaders including many of those associated with the Confessing Church that resisted state interference in church administration would pose no threat to Hitlers regime; all but a few loyally supported the Fuhrer to the bitter end. Meanwhile, limited Catholic resistance to the Nazis, which was concentrated in the church-backed Center Party, ended with a Vatican agreement (negotiated by the future Pope Pius XII) that protected church privileges in exchange for its abandonment of political advocacy. In a very real sense, both the Protestant and Catholic churches of Germany paved the way to the Third Reich. Christian complicity with fascism was hardly confined to Germany. The Vatican was from the beginning a staunch supporter of the original fascist regime of Benito Mussolini in heavily Catholic Italy. And to an even greater extent, the Vatican and Spanish ecclesiastical authorities backed Francisco Francos rebellion against the democratic Spanish Republic, accompanied by horrific atrocities and leading to decades of brutal recession. Less clear-cut but still significant was Catholic clerical involvement in the lethal World War IIera fascist leadership of Hungary and Croatia, alongside Orthodox Christian support for Romanias similar regime. Is this well-known, if often ignored, history simply too ancient to be relevant today? I dont think so. Like todays MAGA Christians (as well as Vladimir Putins Orthodox Christian supporters and Viktor Orbans Catholic and Protestant admirers), the 20th centurys Christian fascists believed degenerate leftists, atheists, and Jews were threatening traditional family values and the liberty of religious people to educate their children and live out their faith. And like churchy Trump fans who consider his enemies demonic (a particularly common tendency among the Pentecostal/charismatic Christians, who are the fastest-growing phenomenon in global Christianity) and politics spiritual warfare, past Christian apologists for fascism often made anti-communism an excuse for total war and the physical annihilation of unbelievers. This history does not Ill repeat, does not mean Trump is Hitler or that his conservative Evangelical and traditionalist Catholic supporters are eager for totalitarian murder. What it does mean is that Trumps religious supporters should not be relied on to restrain his more dangerous tendencies. When you have come to believe that politics represents a metaphysical battle between absolute good and absolute evil on which the salvation of humanity depends, then moderation in the conduct of ones leaders in that battle is not a high priority, or any priority at all. The great American tradition of separation of church and state is important not just because it protects people of different faiths, or no faith, from persecution by the government or a religious majority. It can also help prevent the contamination of faith traditions by secular political movements that prey on those who regard cultural change i.e., the loss of a mythical American Greatness as unholy. Those who now watch with alarm as the political conservatism of Christians morphs into something anti-democratic and even proto-fascist should have sent up some flares back when the Christian right was just a noisy faction in a relatively conventional Republican Party. Photo: Government Press Office of Israel/Anadolu via Getty Images Earlier this month, someone posted an antisemitic diatribe on Elon Musks social-media platform. The X user in question argued that Jewish communities have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them. He went on to declare that he didnt give the tiniest shit that Jewish populations in the West were coming under threat from resurgent antisemitism. After all, this Jew hatred was coming principally from nonwhite immigrants, and it was Jews who had enabled those hordes of minorities to flood Western countries in the first place. These remarks not only conveyed disregard for Jewish welfare, but also endorsed a conspiracy theory that, just five years earlier, had inspired the deadliest attack ever committed against Americas Jewish community. There are multiple, reasonable ways to respond to someone posting these sorts of sentiments on your social-media platform. For example, you could ban the posters account on the grounds that obstructing the dissemination of hate must take precedence over promoting the open exchange of ideas. Or you could refrain from such punitive action, on the grounds that social-media platforms shouldnt be in the censorship business (and/or that suppressing antisemitic speech only reinforces conspiratorial resentments). But Elon Musk chose a third option. He posted a reply to the X user, announcing, You have said the actual truth. This was not out of character for the entrepreneur. Although he was once an Obama supporter, Musk has been playing footsie with the far right for years now. He has peddled conspiracy theories about political donor George Soros, suggesting that the Jewish billionaires philanthropies are seeking nothing less than the destruction of western civilization. He has suggested that liberals who favor the removal of Confederate monuments want the extinction of southern whites (if not of white people writ large). Through his reinstatement of myriad formerly banned far-right accounts, Musk enabled a massive increase in antisemitic speech on X and then threatened to sue the Anti-Defamation League for spotlighting that increase. Given all this, it might seem strange that the prime minister of Israel would take time away from managing his national and personal crises to lend Musk some helpful PR. Yet Benjamin Netanyahus meeting with Musk on Monday is consistent with his governments broader strategy of legitimizing antisemitic political actors abroad, in exchange for their help in abetting Israels subjugation of the Palestinians. When Musk declared that claims of Jewish hate-mongering against white people were the actual truth, his platform lost a great many advertisers. These included IBM, Apple, and Disney. Altogether, the exodus could cost X up to $75 million in ad revenue by the end of the year, according to the New York Times. Musk is therefore desperate to shed his newfound reputation as a virulent antisemite (albeit not desperate enough to delete his offending tweet or issue an apology for it). Instead of disavowing his own antisemitic speech, the CEO has sought to placate powerful Jewish entities by banning certain forms of pro-Palestinian advocacy. In a brazen betrayal of his supposed commitment to free speech, Musk pledged to ban the pro-Palestinian slogan from the river to the sea from his platform. In response, the Anti-Defamation League and Israeli government certified Musk as kosher, with ADL president Jonathan Greenblatt praising Musks leadership in fighting hate, and Israels ministry for diaspora affairs thanking the billionaire for standing on the right side of history. The Israeli government further rewarded Musk Monday by allowing him to stand on the right side of Netanyahu, as the two visited an Israeli kibbutz devastated by Hamas on October 7. The Israeli governments embrace of an unrepentant promulgator of anti-Semitic speech is unseemly. Israel styles itself as the protector of the Jewish nation the world over. Helping an ally of the American far right with his crisis PR is antithetical to upholding the interests of the Jewish diaspora. Yet Netanyahus willingness to lend Musk a hand after the latter agreed to suppress certain forms of pro-Palestinian speech is wholly unsurprising. For years now, Israel has been cultivating alliances with right-wing nationalist political actors throughout the West, including notoriously antisemitic ones. Israels alignment with the Western far right derives from a combination of geopolitical imperatives and ideological affinity. Israel and far-right parties in Europe share an antipathy for the E.U.s preciousness about so-called human rights, a commitment to ethnic nationalism, a fear of Muslim immigration, and a valorization of heroic sacrifice in service of ones people. These commonalities have led several formerly fascistic western parties to develop an admiration for the Jewish state, which they see as a model for their own ethno-nationalist projects. Yet there is also a transactional symbiosis between Israel and the western right. European parties tarred by their association with fascism are desperate to shed the stigma of their antisemitic reputations. Israel, meanwhile, is eager to thwart any European efforts to frustrate its settlement project in the West Bank. As the Jewish newspaper Haaretz writes, this has led to a quid pro quo, in which Israel gives legitimacy to authoritarian nationalists with disgraceful records on antisemitism, Holocaust denial, and anti-Muslim bigotry, in return for a commitment to Israeli policies. The most egregious manifestation of this strategy came in August, when Israels ambassador to Romania met with the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians party. The AUR lionizes Romanias Nazi collaborationist regime, and describes the Holocaust as a minor issue in Romanian history. Israeli policy had long forbidden diplomatic recognition of such ultranationalist parties. But the Netanyahu government decided to break that taboo in exchange for AUR leader George Simions endorsement of Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank. More consequentially, Israel has developed warm relations with Hungarys Viktor Orban, who glorifies his nations antisemitic World War IIera government and fulminates antisemitic conspiracy theories about George Soros, and Polands Law and Justice Party, which denies its nations complicity in the Holocaust. Along with other Eastern European nations, Poland and Hungary serve as a bulwark against adversarial policy toward Israel within the European Union. In the United States, meanwhile, Netanyahu is an unabashed supporter of the Republican Party in general and Donald Trump in particular. Last year, the Israeli prime minister addressed the Republican Jewish Coalitions conference. Of course, the GOP does not venerate Nazi collaborators. But its brand of right-wing nationalist politics is nevertheless contrary to the Jewish diasporas best interests. In 2018, Donald Trump warned the public that Democrats want illegal immigrants, no matter how bad they are, to pour in and infest our country, like MS-13 because liberals view them as potential voters. Trump went on to say that the caravan of Central American migrants that was then heading toward the U.S. didnt just happen, and that the Democrats had something to do with it. Republican cable-news hosts echoed that charge, reporting that Democrats were plotting a coup against the U.S. government, using illegal immigrants as their shock troops. GOP congressman Matt Gaetz suggested that migrants were being paid possibly by George Soros to storm the US border @ election time. Taken together, Republicans were telling millions of U.S. citizens that the (Jewish-funded) Democrats were orchestrating an invasion of the United States by Central American migrants, so as to steal an election in the immediate term, and permanently disempower real Americans in the long run. Shortly thereafter, a neo-Nazi who believed that Jews were orchestrating an invasion of the United States by Central Americans migrants as part of a broader plan to render the white race incapable of reclaiming power in the U.S. murdered 11 people in a Pittsburgh synagogue. This is not to say that the GOP was responsible for the Tree of Life shooting, either. But the overlap between shooter Robert Bowerss worldview and that promulgated by Trumps GOP illustrates the perils that Trumpism poses to Jewish Americans. If Trumps party flirted with an endorsement of the great-replacement conspiracy theory, however, it also served Israels geopolitical interests, unencumbered by any sense of fealty to international law or Palestinian welfare. Indeed, the Trump administration sought to secure Israel many victories that were supposed to be reserved for a final status agreement with the Palestinians, such as the relocation of Americas embassy to Jerusalem, a recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and normalized relations with many of Israels Arab neighbors. There is no inherent conflict between the interests of Jews in Israel and those who live everywhere else. Yet there is an inescapable contradiction between the values of Israels far-right government and those that best serve the Jewish diaspora. As minority populations, diasporic Jewish communities have an interest in pluralism, egalitarianism, and inviolable human-rights protections. By contrast, as the vanguard of a Jewish supremacist project that aims to either ethnically cleanse Palestinians in the occupied territories or subject them to unending apartheid, the current Israeli government is hostile to all of those values. Therefore, its search for allies abroad inevitably leads it into the arms of parties and political figures who are bad for the (diaspora) Jews. In a better world, Israel would feel no need to align itself with the Musks of this world. By making a good-faith effort to secure peace with the Palestinians and honor its obligations under international law, Israel could liberate itself from the fear of E.U. boycotts or Democratic Party condemnations and pursue the stigmatization of far-right antisemites as energetically as it currently pursues that of the far-left variety. In the world we live in, however, a man can condemn the Jewish peoples persecution of the white race one day and shake hands with the Israeli prime minister the next. Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer; Photo: Gado/Getty Images This holiday season, Amazon will cheerily assert its dominance on doorsteps across the country. There will be the stacks of Amazon boxes, of course, delivered in many cases by workers wearing Amazon uniforms and driving Amazon-branded vehicles. But there will also be the small mysteries: packages delivered by Amazon, but ordered from somewhere else. In terms of packages delivered, Amazon is now the largest private carrier in the United States only the post office moves more parcels. In 2020, Amazon eclipsed FedEx. In 2022, according to data reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, it surpassed UPS and is on track to widen the gap this year. Most of this volume is products sold through Amazon. For years, though, the company hinted that it had ambitions to compete more directly with other delivery companies, and it has tested delivery services beyond its ecosystem that is, stores that dont primarily sell through Amazon. With more than 200,000 delivery people running routes between its customers, the thinking goes, it might as well. Amazon is best known as a retailer, but going into 2024, Amazon is better understood as a massive logistics operation with a vestigial retail operation strapped to its back. Much in the way that it sells cloud computing to other firms with AWS, Amazon rents out its physical logistical capacity more than 500 million square feet of warehouse space as of 2021, more than a million employees in the United States, and globe-spanning systems to streamline supply chains to third-party sellers, who account for a majority of products purchased on Amazon. Gradually, Amazon started offering some of these services beyond its core seller base, putting it in direct competition with other warehousing and logistics firms but also with the big parcel services. Independent e-commerce sites can warehouse and ship products through Amazon and include a Buy with Prime checkout option on their sites. Your next purchase on eBay, Etsy, or that Shopify store you found on Instagram could well be fulfilled and/or delivered by Amazon, with no direct interaction with the company required on your part. This puts Amazon on a bit of a collision course with FedEx, UPS, and the USPS, so its worth trying to understand what kind of shipping operation Amazon is actually building here. The WSJ reports: In 2018, Amazon launched a program where entrepreneurs could start their own franchise delivering Amazon packages for as low as $10,000. It has similarities to FedExs Ground unit, which also uses a contractor model for local routes. The Amazon program has around 200,000 drivers in the U.S., helping the company rapidly accelerate the number of packages it was able to deliver each day, say former executives. Amazons delivery business outwardly resembles other delivery firms, with fleets of branded vehicles and couriers that often wear uniforms (through a gig-work platform called Flex, Amazon also pays drivers to deliver packages in their own cars, which occasionally causes them to get shot at). In contrast with UPS and the USPS, which are heavily unionized and employ many carriers on a full-time basis, Amazons new delivery infrastructure is built on a contractor model, in which local and regional delivery service providers employ workers to deliver packages on Amazons behalf. Its a fuzzy arrangement with obvious appeal to a company as large as Amazon. It also has a reputation for producing brutal work conditions. Amazon dictates a great deal about how these businesses operate but doesnt technically run them, which presents some interesting issues when their workers decide theyd like to be in a union, too, and claim, for all intents and purposes, they do actually work for Amazon. For Amazons customers, these logistical changes have felt relatively seamless, manifesting as different trucks and different workers offering approximately the same service. But the stakes are pretty high. If Amazons delivery business keeps growing and starts competing with FedEx, UPS, and the USPS on their turf, it could remake an entire sector of the economy in its image: faster, cheaper, and subcontracted out to the greatest extent possible. Sign Up for John Herrman column alerts Get an email alert as soon as a new article publishes. Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has awarded a grant to an Opelika center that supports victims of domestic violence, the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs announced Monday. Gov. Kay Ivey awarded two grants totaling $261,763 to the Domestic Violence Intervention Center of Opelika, which provides services to victims in Chambers, Lee, Macon, Randolph, Russell and Tallapoosa counties. Those services include emergency shelter, counseling, mental and legal support and case management. Domestic violence is a crime that affects people of all walks of life, and it does not discriminate, Gov. Ivey said. These four agencies provide victims with a path toward overcoming the mental and physical pain caused by these abusive acts. The funds are part of the $4.3 million in funding that Ivey awarded in grants to four agencies that will aid victims across 19 counties in the state. Formerly known as East Alabama Taskforce for Battered Womens, the DVIC of Opelika was founded in 1980 as a nonprofit. The agencys shelter accepted its first client in 1981. The center primarily serves the five-county area of Chambers, Lee, Macon, Randolph and Tallapoosa Counties with a 24-hour crisis line, emergency shelter, child advocacy, case management, counseling, referrals to community agencies, support groups, transportation and legal advocacy. In serving Russell county, the center cannot provide legal advocacy but it can provide support through the SAIL program, which provides financial assistance for low-income families. According to the alabama.crime.gov database, there were 927 occurrences of domestic violence in Lee County in 2021, which was the third-highest in the state according to the database. This is also a statewide issue according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. The NCADV data indicated that 37.5% of Alabama women and 29.5% of Alabama men experience intimate partner physical violence in their lifetimes and that in 2017, there were 3,867 domestic violence aggravated assaults and 32,178 domestic violence simple assaults in Alabama. The following agencies also earned grants from Ivey: Montgomery Area Family Violence Program, also known as The Family Sunshine Center, was awarded two grants totaling over $875,600 to provide safe shelter, counseling, legal support and other services in Autauga, Butler, Chilton, Crenshaw, Elmore, Lowndes and Montgomery counties. Selma and Blackbelt Regional Abuse (SABRA) Sanctuary was awarded two grants totaling over $182,400 to provide safe shelter and housing, emotional and legal support and court accompaniment for victims in Dallas, Greene, Marengo, Perry, Sumter and Wilcox counties. Columbus Alliance for Battered Women Inc., also known as Hope Harbour, was awarded two grants totaling over $117,500 to provide crisis intervention, shelter, legal advocacy and other services for victims in Russell County. The four agencies will use the grants to raise awareness for domestic violence across the state through education programs while providing crucial services to domestic violence victims. Gov. Ivey is dedicated to ensuring that victims wanting to escape from the brutality of domestic abuse have a way out and a way to rebuild their lives, ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell said. ADECA joins Gov. Ivey in supporting these agencies in their efforts to assist victims of domestic violence. AHN Canonsburg Hospital basket raffle underway Tickets are available through Dec. 11 for the Allegheny Health Network Canonsburg Hospital basket raffle in the hospitals main lobby. Tickets are $1 each, or 8 for $5. Winners need not be present. Gift baskets are on display in the hospitals main lobby and hallways. All proceeds will benefit Canonsburg Hospital. Priest at North Strabane church accused of stealing more than $117K A priest at All Saints Greek Orthodox Church in North Strabane Township faces criminal charges alleging he stole more than $117,000 from the church. North Strabane police charged George Frank Athanasiou, 37, of Cecil Township, Wednesday with more than 220 felonies related to theft and fraud. According to the criminal complaint, the church became aware of discrepancies in the books in September, and learned soon after that multiple checks had been stolen and deposited into an unauthorized bank account. Investigators obtained security footage from an ATM that showed Athanasiou depositing checks into the machine. On Nov. 19, police served a search warrant at Athanasious home at the ... Washington County Sheriff Office and South Strabane Township Police Department engaged in a friendly competition on Nov. 22 to raise money for the local chapter of The Salvation Army. The "Battle of the Badges" saw members of the Sheriff office and South Strabane police ringing bells and collecting donations for the Salvation Armys Red Kettle campaign. Members of the Sheriff Office staked a space outside Washington Giant Eagle while South Strabane police manned the kettle at Sam's Club. South Stabane police won the battle, edging out the Deputy Office $593.05 to $527.37. "We were bummed, but it all goes to a good cause and the community wins," said Sheriff Office Deputy ... The Washington County Sheriff Office and South Strabane Township Police Department engaged in a friendly competition on Nov. 22 to raise money for the local chapter of The Salvation Army. The Battle of the Badges saw members of both departments ringing bells and collecting donations for The Salvation Armys Red Kettle campaign. Members of the sheriffs office staked out a space at Washington Giant Eagle, while South Strabane police manned the kettle at Sam's Club. South Strabane police won the battle, edging out the sheriffs office $593.05 to $527.37. "We were bummed, but it all goes to a good cause and the community wins," said sheriffs Deputy Elizabeth Davidson. She ... Saltlick Township man jailed for attempted homicide November 30, 2023 1 min read State police arrested a Saltlick Township man Tuesday afternoon after he allegedly tried to run over his roommate with his car. David Kolarik, 59, faces felony charges of attempted homicide and criminal mischief. Police were called to the 200 block of Melcroft Road shortly before 2 p.m. after Kolarik crashed the car into his home. According to the criminal complaint, Kolarik told troopers he, wants to murder Andy, in reference to Andrew Graf, his roommate. Graf told troopers that he went outside when he saw Kolarik pull into the driveway. According to court records, Kolarik accelerated towards Graf, who was able to get out of the way and back into the house. Police said that ... Michigan man charged in 2021 overdose death of Georges Township woman November 30, 2023 1 min read State police have charged a Michigan man in connection to the fatal overdose of a woman in Georges Township nearly two years ago. Franklin Donald Hiles, 40, of South Haven, Mich. faces felony charges of drug delivery resulting in death and possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. According to the criminal complaint, the afternoon of Dec. 3, 2021, police found a 52-year-old woman who had overdosed at a home in the 200 block of 2nd Street. She was declared dead shortly after. Police did not identify the woman in court records. An autopsy found she died from a combination of methadone and fentanyl. According to the complaint, police looked through the womans ... Sassi Mizrahi and his brother, co-defendant Motty Mizrahi, were sentenced to over seven years in federal prison after scamming more than 40 people, including the San Fernando Valley's orthodox Jewish Israeli community, out of a $7 Million investment. Sassi and his brother ran an investment and money management firm called MBIG Company from 2012 to 2019, which promised risk-free investments and an annual return rate of 30% to double the original investment. Mizrahi Brothers' Sentence to Over 7 Years Motty labeled himself a licensed broker, certified accountant, and veteran trader to add legitimacy to MBIG. However, according to the court documents, the Mizrahi brothers never used their client's invested money. Instead, Motty put the funds into his personal trading accounts at E*TRADE and TD Ameritrade. The brothers also took more than $3m in losses from the trading and submitted false reports that presented fake monthly gains in the MBIG account totaling between $6m and $9m. The prosecutors claimed in a sentencing memorandum, "For years ... Sassi Mizrahi and his brother, co-defendant Motty Mizrahi ... operated a Ponzi scheme that targeted victims they knew had reason to trust them: fellow members of the close-knit, Orthodox Jewish Israeli community of the San Fernando Valley." They added that when the victims asked for their money back, Sassi told them lies about the safety of their investments, made promises of repayment, and showed forged documents to corroborate his continuous excuses for why the money was unavailable. They added that the brothers exploited the goodwill engendered by such affinity and scammed millions of dollars from their victims with false promises of risk-free investments and secured returns. The brothers were first arrested in 2019, and Motty pleaded guilty to six counts of wire fraud at the beginning of 2023. Furthermore, Sassi also went to trial and was found guilty of five counts of wire fraud. Sassi's attorneys requested a lenient sentence and explained that Sassi was minimally involved in his Motty's scheme. The sentencing memorandum also noted that family members needed Sassi more than Motty. After a decade in federal prison, a judge required Sassi to pay back almost $4.5m in restitution to victims. While Motty was scheduled to be sentenced on December 18. Read Also: George Floyd's Killer Derek Chauvin Expected To Survive Prison Stabbing; Family Blasts Officials for Not Reporting Incident Most Notorious Ponzi Schemes in History In the 1990s, Gerald Payne and leadership at his Greater Ministries International Church scammed nearly 20,000 investors into handing over millions in a program that claimed that investing could double your blessings. Scott Rothstein convinced his investors to buy into bogus legal settlements and used his Fort Lauderdale law firm to run a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme in 2010. Ian Bick, an East Coast businessman, attracted more than two dozen investors with promises of lucrative profits but was using the invested money to pay back previous ones. Bick was convicted of defrauding his business investors of nearly $500,000 in 2013. Related Article: Kim Phuong Taylor Convicted in Fraud Scheme Case for Helping Husband Fraudulently Win Votes @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Wisconsin Roofing Contractor Cited for Fall Protection Violations Overhead Solutions LLC now faces $180,000 in proposed penalties. Overhead Solutions LLC, a Wisconsin roofing contractor, now faces OSHA citations for repeated safety violations, including proposed penalties of $180,000 for putting workers at risk. According to a release dated Nov. 27, OSHA inspections at two separate Wisconsin worksites identified employees and subcontractors working at significant heights without proper fall protection within two weeks. These violations align with previous citations OSHA issued to the company in 2022, demonstrating a pattern of neglecting federal fall protection standards. On May 25, 2023, inspectors observed employees 30 feet above ground at an apartment complex in Menasha without adequate fall protection. Shortly after, an inspection at an Appleton site saw a company project manager failing to correct visible fall protection hazards on a 10-foot-high roof. As a result, OSHA issued citations for four repeat and one serious violation. Overhead Solutions continued willingness to ignore federal safety regulations is putting its employees and subcontractors at risk of potentially serious and fatal injuries, OSHA Area Director Robert Bonack in Appleton, Wisconsin, said in a statement. By failing to ensure fall protection equipment is used properly and train workers and supervisors to recognize hazards and safety procedures, the company continues to invite disaster. Overhead Solutions now has 15 business days from the receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHAs area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Zeroavia has raised more than $250m (198.3m) in equity investments since it was founded in 2017. The financing will help the company produce hydrogen fuel cell engines. Aircraft developer Zeroavia has secured the backing of the UK infrastructure bank. Aircraft developer Zeroavia has secured the backing of the UK infrastructure bank in its latest fundraising round, as it looks to build hydrogen-electric engines for low-carbon flying. The firm, which has bases in London, Kemble and California, said it had raised a total of $116m (91.9m) in Series C funding from a number of investors, including 32m from the UKs state-owned infrastructure investment bank. Zeroavia also secured backing from Airbus, Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital and the Saudi-backed NEOM Investment Fund. The financing will help the company produce hydrogen fuel cell engines, as aviation puts its backing behind the nascent technology in the race to deliver zero-emission flights. It has set a goal of developing a 19-seat aircraft, flying distances of up to 300 miles, for commercial flying in 2025. Zeroavia has raised more than $250m (198.3m) in equity investments since it was founded in 2017, by chief executive Valery Miftakhov. Miftakhov said: This backing by such a preeminent investor as the UK Infrastructure Bank will help us deliver the first commercial zero-emission flights, and help the UK realise substantial export potential. We are looking forward to working with UKIB over the next few years. Ian Brown, head of banking and investments at the UK Infrastructure Bank, said: Aviation and hydrogen are sectors that need significant private investment to get to net zero. By providing confidence to investors, our equity has helped to crowd in the private investment needed for the continued development of this cutting-edge technology and should help stimulate the development and deployment of hydrogen technology across other hard-to-decarbonise sectors. The government has set a target of decarbonising aviation by 2050, with clean propulsion technologies expected to start flying between UK airports by the end of this decade. Hydrogen is among a host of technologies suggested to bring the sectors emissions to near-zero emissions. Virgin Atlantic is set to make history this week with the first transatlantic flight using 100 per cent sustainable aviation fuel, a biofuel made from food waste such as cooking oil and plants. Bill Gatess investment firms Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Horizons Ventures, Alaska Airlines, Ecosystem Integrity Fund, Summa Equity, AP Ventures and Amazon Climate Pledge Fund also participated in the funding round. ADVERTISEMENT By CityAM More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The Middle East, North and West Africa are some of the worlds most important fossil fuel hubs, producing nearly half of the planets oil and gas. Hardly surprisingly, resource-rich countries tend to have little to no interest in renewable energy, with the exception of countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates which are currently developing some of the worlds biggest renewable energy projects. One Arab nation is, however, quickly positioning itself as a potential supplier of renewable energy to energy-hungry Europe: Morocco. Although the North African country is not as well endowed with oil and gas as its neighbors, it has managed to develop a vibrant solar energy sector by taking advantage of year-round sunshine, wide open spaces for infrastructure projects and access to abundant development funding by Europe. Located on Europes doorstep and harboring ambitions to generate 52% of its electricity from renewables by 2030, Morocco has emerged as a promising energy partner. In 2016, Spain, France, Portugal and Germany signed a Joint Declaration with Morocco for future cooperation on renewable energy. Spain has also been upgrading its submarine connection to the Moroccan electrical grid. Earlier this year, the EU pledged 624 million ($688.6 million) in funding to support Moroccos green energy transition. The transition requires substantial investment, with the country needing an estimated $52 billion to achieve its 2030 targets. Currently, Morocco imports more than 90 percent of its energy, mostly from fossil fuels. Related: Why Gasoline Prices Fall Almost Every Year Between August and November The world's largest concentrated solar project will be the Noor Ouarzazate Solar Complex. The 580 MW power plant under development is situated 10 km northeast of Ouarzazate. Large rotating mirror arrays, commonly referred to as heliostats, are used in CSP technology to focus and reflect sunlight onto a receiver. To reflect sunlight onto a sizable solar receiver, the mirrors are tilted. This heat, also referred to as thermal energy, can be used to power a number of industrial processes, such as enhanced oil recovery, mineral processing, water desalination, chemical production, and food processing that is done far from the point of harvesting. It can also be used to spin a turbine or power an engine to generate electricity. Meanwhile, Morocco is developing a giant 300 MW wind farm in Tarfaya, just across the border from the Western Sahara. The wind farm is the largest in Africa. Greenwashing Western Sahara occupation? But Morocco's clean energy sector has one little dirty secret: its largely powered by the occupied Western Sahara territory. Western Sahara is a disputed territory on the northwest coast of Africa, with 20% of the territory controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic while 80% of the territory is occupied and administered by neighboring Morocco. With a surface area of 266,000 square kilometers and a population of just 587,000, Western Sahara offers vast swathes of sparsely populated land that Morocco has exploited for its green energy projects. The NGO Western Sahara Resource Watch has revealed that ~81% of the land allocated for such projects will be located in Western Sahara territory which Morocco annexed in the 1970s. Indeed, Morocco has gone to great lengths to try and buy the acquiescence and cooperation of its European energy partners, who consider its occupation of Western Sahara illegal. A few weeks ago, Politico featured the Qatargate scandal that delves into how Qatari and Moroccan lobbyists bribed their way into the European parliament. The Moroccan monarchy is trying to greenwash its occupation. It is trying to present itself as a leader in the energy transition, but most of its new projects are in the Western Sahara. By involving foreign companies, like Siemens, they are making Europe complicit and creating a sense of normalcy in the occupation, Mahfoud Bechri, the coordinator of the Western Sahara is Not for Sale campaign (WSNS), has lamented. The EU has explicitly said that it would not import energy from the territory due to the status of the Western Sahara. In fact, no country has officially recognized the occupation as legitimatethough some do in practice. Its going to be interesting to see how the EU will separate imports from Morocco proper and the occupied territories even as it continues to pump in millions of dollars into the Moroccan clean energy sector. ADVERTISEMENT By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: China is ramping up coal and natural gas production, imports, and consumption as its electricity demand jumped in the year's second half and looks to hit a record-high winter peak demand. Chinese authorities have been keen to avoid a repeat of last year's shortages and spiking prices and have instructed utilities and producers to maximize imports and output before the winter. Ahead of the 2023/2024 heating season, China looks better prepared to meet peak power demand than in the previous winter. China sees its peak power demand potentially rising by 12.1%, or by 140 gigawatts (GW), this winter, a spokesperson for the National Energy Administration (NEA) said at the end of October. Generally, China is certain that its winter power supply is guaranteed, but shortages could occur in the Yunnan province and Inner Mongolia, according to NEA spokesperson Zhang Xing, quoted by Reuters. Previously, figures by the NEA have shown that the peak power demand in China was at 1,159 GW last winter. This winter, peak demand is expected to be higher due to increased consumption in the second half of the year, including a hotter-than-normal summer. Related: China Issues Additional Fuel Import Quotas China will continue to provide high levels of coal volumes to ensure stability in power supply this winter, according to the official. Energy major CNOOC said in September that China's natural gas demand is set for an 8% increase this year compared to 2022, with imports of both LNG and pipeline gas expected to rise by around 11%. Much lower LNG prices this year than last have helped drive Chinese LNG imports higher, potentially sapping the global market at the expense of Europe, which relies on LNG to offset the loss of Russian pipeline gas supply. Demand in Europe and Asia is rising in November compared to the warmer October, but LNG spot prices in Asia have either dropped or remained steady in the past few weeks amid high inventories in both Asia and Europe and weak demand. Last week, the LNG price for January delivery into Northeast Asia averaged $16.40 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), slightly down from $16.70 per MMBtu, per industry sources estimates cited by Reuters. Last month, China told its largest natural gas suppliers to fill up their storage sites ahead of the peak winter season. The National Energy Administration noted China's gas market was "generally in balance," but full storage could better manage supply in case of disruptions in the international market. Beijing has also asked Chinese coal miners to ramp up production ahead of peak demand season this winter. A spokesperson for the National Reform and Development CommissionBeijing's planning agencysaid that the central government would encourage local authorities and companies to work on boosting coal supply, Reuters reported earlier this month. China relies on coal to avoid blackouts as the economy reopened after the Covid lockdowns. During the first half of this year, coal production, coal imports, and coal-fired electricity generation surged and offset a significant decline in power output at China's massive hydropower capacity due to insufficient rainfall and drought. ADVERTISEMENT Chinese coal production rose by 3% year-on-year between January and September. October output fell by 1.1% from a six-month high in September due to more safety checks at mines, but was still up by 3.8% compared to October 2022, per official Chinese data quoted by Reuters. China continues to rely on coal and coal-fired power generation to meet its growing power demand, and despite being the world's top investor in solar and wind capacity, it also plans a lot of new coal-fired electricity capacity. During the first half of 2023 alone, China approved more than 50 GW of new coal power, Greenpeace said in a report this year. That's more than it did in all of 2021, the environmental campaign group said. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Brent climbed back above $80 on Tuesday as storms disrupted oil and product exports from Russias Novorossiysk port, but it is U.S. inventories and the upcoming OPEC+ meeting that will drive oil price movements this week. Chart of the Week - This years Thanksgiving has recorded the busiest air traffic day ever according to the US Transportation Security Administration, with more than 2.9 million people traveling through the countrys airports. - Returning jet fuel demand has been a hallmark of this years crude oil demand, with India recently reporting the highest kerosene consumption figures since March 2020 at 177,000 b/d. - Jet fuel has been the most sizable product category to grow this year, adding more than 900,000 b/d year-on-year to hit the highest post-pandemic annual reading of 6.2 million b/d, largely boosted by higher Asian aviation activity. - Consequently, jet fuel prices in Asia rose to their highest since early 2019 against peer product diesel, with swaps trading at a premium of 85 cents per barrel, despite arbitrage being narrowly open to both Europe and the US. Market Movers - Brazils national oil firm Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) has presented its 2024-2028 strategic plan, pledging to invest $102 billion over that period and expand into the renewable and fertilizer markets. - UK energy major BP (NYSE:BP) has received government approval to enter Japans electricity market with its BPEJ subsidiary, eyeing renewable energy and power market investments. - Canadas leading oil producer Suncor Energy (TSE:SU) has restarted production at its Atlantic coast Terra Nova oil field after completing a life extension project until at least 2031. Tuesday, November 28, 2023 The postponement of last week's OPEC+ meeting put downward pressure on oil prices, but storms blocking Russian export terminals have added some pricing upside as Kazakhstans oil producers are considering production cuts to avoid storage tanks overfilling. With ICE Brent now back above $80 per barrel, US inventory data and the OPEC+ meeting will shape price developments in the second half of this week. OPEC Clashes with the IEA. OPEC Secretary General Haitham al Ghais accused the International Energy Agency of vilifying the oil and gas industry, adding that the IEA plays down issues such as energy security and affordability, calling for a dangerous phase-down in energy investment. Tanker Distress Now Moves to the Gulf of Aden. The US military prevented a commercial vessel in the Gulf of Aden from being seized by armed individuals, with the Central Park chemical tanker being most probably targeted due to it being managed by a company owned by Israels Ofer family. China Set for Peak Power Demand. According to Chinas National Energy Administration, the Asian country will see both electricity and gas consumption peak in the winter of 2023/2024, with the former soaring 12% year-on-year to 140 million KW yet shortages should be largely avoided. Alberta to Defy Federal Governments Policy. The premier of Alberta province in Canada Danielle Smith pledging to shield provincial power companies from Ottawas federal clean electricity regulations that aim to reach a net-zero emissions power grid by 2035, defending gas-burning plants. Chinese Major Expands into Indias Underbelly. The government of Sri Lanka is expected to approve a bid from Chinas oil major Sinopec (SHA:600028) to build a $4.5 billion refinery, outbidding commodity trader Vitol for the deal, expanding its Belt and Road Initiative to a long-time India ally. Eyeing Higher Output, Libya Seeks More Investment. Libyas state oil company NOC stated it needs an annual budget of $17 billion to increase national output from the current 1.2 million b/d to 2 million b/d over the next three years, saying replacing old pipelines would require the most funding. Storms Disrupt Russias Crude Exports. Oil and product exports from Russias Novorossiysk port located on the countrys Black Sea coast have been halted for days due to severe storms, most probably forcing exporters to move sizable parts of this months loading schedule to December. ADVERTISEMENT Hefty Fine Adds Salt to Unipers Wounds. One of Europes most battered companies, Germanys utility giant Uniper said its compelled to pay 550 million ($600 million) to Italys ENI (BIT:ENI) after an arbitration court ruling that found the firms retroactive pricing to be unjustified. Chinese Solar Giant Warns of Consolidation. Gao Jifan, the head of Chinas Trina Solar, has warned that extremely low solar panel prices have left the entire supply chain bereft of profit and that further capacity expansion from solar majors will start a wave of consolidation as early as 2024. Intervention Fears Push Iron Ore Prices Lower. Chinas state economic planner NDRC announced its intent to deepen its understanding of how iron ore prices are compiled, sending iron ore prices down to $133 per metric tonne and cutting short the longest streak of weekly gains since January. India Steps Up Purchases of Russian Coal. India is ramping up imports of Russian coking coal as deliveries from Australia have been hindered by maintenance outages and high prices, surging as high as $350 per metric tonne, making use of new payment mechanisms between the two nations. France Starts Selling Green Nuclear Bond. Frances utility giant EDF started selling its first green 500 million bond maturing in 2027 that could be used to finance nuclear energy projects, with the French company specifically targeting nuclear reactor upgrades within its own fleet. Markets Start to Lose Faith in Oil. Net positions in the WTI futures contract have shrunk for the seventh consecutive week, bringing the total of net long positions to the lowest reading since June at 104 million barrels equivalent and reflecting a general decline in bullish sentiment By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Despite storms in the Black Sea disrupting loadings, weekly crude oil shipments out of Russia rebounded in the week to November 26, rising by around 370,000 barrels per day (bpd) from the previous week, just before a crucial OPEC+ meeting this week, tanker-tracking data monitored by Bloomberg showed on Tuesday. In the week to November 26, observed shipments of crude oil from Russian ports averaged 3.24 million bpd, up by 370,000 bpd compared to the flows in the week to November 19, according to the data reported by Bloombergs Julian Lee. Still, the four-week average crude shipments from Russia were down for a third consecutive week. In the week to November 26, the four-week average crude oil exports from Russian ports was 3.16 million bpd, a decline of around 100,000 bpd compared to the four-week average flows to November 19, per Bloombergs calculations. The rebound in Russias weekly crude oil shipments comes days before OPEC+ is set to hold its meeting on Thursday, after delaying it by a few days over disagreements about quotas. At the end of last week, reports emerged that the OPEC+ group had made progress in talks with its African producers over their oil output quotas next year. OPECs African members Angola and Nigeria have reportedly asked to have a higher production ceiling next year, after taking a cut in their quotas at the June 2023 meeting of OPEC+ as they had consistently failed to pump to their quotas. Expectations are that Saudi Arabia will at least roll over its additional voluntary cut of 1MMbbls/d into next year. Clearly, if we do not see this, it would put further downward pressure on the market, given the surplus over 1Q24, ING strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote in a note this weekend. We believe that the Saudis will roll over this cut and there is a growing possibility that we see a deeper cut from the broader group. In doing this, the group would provide good support to the market going into 2024. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com ADVERTISEMENT More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The natural gas industrys domestic sales pattern over the past two decades makes one wonder whether the industry has much of a future. Okay, sales volume has gone up, at a slow pace, but most of that growth is due to increasing sales to wholesale electric power generators. The rest of the market has shown barely any growth. Table 1 shows annual rates of growth for major customer classifications as well as an estimate of the growth in propane usage. The table calculates growth using both compound annual and average annual growth rates. Either way, the numbers are dreadful. But not out of line with other energy growth rates, generally above the rate of population growth and below the rate of real economic growth. TABLE 1. ANNUAL % RATES OF GROWTH (2002-2022) Source: Energy Information Administration What does the future look like? Warmer winter weather means lower sales. So do more efficient appliances. And so do more efficient competitive products that use electricity like heat pumps. The Energy Information Administration projects that growth in overall demand will hover just below zero, although slightly higher for industrial use and lower for electric generation. Could be worse. Related: India Looks to Triple Underground Coal Mining Production What does the stock market think of that grim outlook? Presumably, investors have priced gas utility stocks as potential losers, selling at low ratios of price to earnings and paying ultra-high dividends, because they want immediate returns before the growth fizzles and the companies disappear. But not so. These stocks sell in line with what one might expect for reasonably safe, slow-growth utilities, not companies in terminal decline. What did the company's senior management tell investors to convince them to take an optimistic view? The companies have a simple strategy. They invest in rate base, having convinced regulators thatlike a perpetual motion machinethey must continuously spend money on plant expansion and on refurbishing of the network and strengthening connections to pipelines. A larger rate base requires higher earnings to cover costs, including cost of capital. The old regulated utility game is fairly straightforward. Expand rate base (i.e. assets) in order to grow earnings. As an aside, this is the same policy adopted by electric companies a few years ago, when they could anticipate little growth but they spent money on capital expansion anyway and got away with it. The difference, however, is that electric companies can now look forward to acceleration in demand, but gas companies cannot. Our question, then, is how long can gas utility managers continue with this strategy of making consumers pay more for a commodity when they keep using less of it? Especially when the sale of the product produces carbon dioxide which governments are attempting to limit. That does not sound like a sustainable business model to rational people, so why invest more money in such an industry? Okay, but consider this. Gas industry executives claim in response that their customers typically save $1000 per year over the alternatives. Thats not much of a sales pitch at a time when both residential and major business customers will pay more to get low carbon or no carbon alternatives, whether to be virtuous or to satisfy corporate green initiatives. What sensible marketer promises a low price for an inferior product? Now, technical developments offer the possibility of a cleaner (non carbon emitting) product. Renewable natural gas (from agricultural and municipal waste) could provide about 15% of end user needs. Hydrogen injected into the network might displace. another 15%. And gas derived from municipal wastewater treatment could displace another 15% of natural gas consumption. But here is the message for the gas distributors. The municipal wastewater plants will likely sell directly to generators of electricity, not inject the gas into the networks. The 30% reduction in total natural gas usage (through use of renewable gas and hydrogen) translates to a 40-50% replacement of natural gas within the networks of the distributors, the companies we are talking about, some of which, by the way, are making significant investments in renewable gas producers, opening up another avenue of growth for their stockholders. It means that gas companies could sell carbon-free gas to a large part of their customer base. That gives the companies time to figure out how to replace the rest of its gas supply, if possible. The smart companies are already telling shareholders that their networks can carry anything. So, to answer our opening question, the domestic gas industry does have a future, we think, at least over the medium term, despite stagnant sales, as long as it takes advantage of an opportunity to transform itself from a purveyor of carbon dioxide emitting products into a smart marketer of something else thats cleaner and greener. By Leonard Hyman and William Tilles for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: A plan by the Connecticut government to institute a ban on internal combustion engines modeled on Californias legislation appears to be dead on arrival, with a vote that was scheduled for today getting canceled. The reason for the cancelation, according to media reports, was the significant chance of the ICE car ban bill being voted down by the majority of Connecticut legislators from the Regulation Review Committee. By withdrawing the bill, Governor Ned Lamont preserved the possibility for a second chance, to be proposed to the states full General Assembly in 2024, local CT Mirror reported, explaining that had the bill been voted by the Regulation Committee now, it would have been killed without a chance for revival. I think that it's a wise move on the governor's part in response to the public outrage about the potential that this policy would have on consumer cost across the board; whether it's being required to buy electric vehicles that are more expensive, the grid's inability to supply enough power and the risk of blackouts, the cost of having to install charging infrastructure throughout the state, which would increase electric rates, said the president of the Connecticut Energy Marketers Association, the trade body for fuel wholesalers and retailers. California, the state perhaps most active in its low-carbon efforts, earlier this year asked the Environmental Protection Agency to greenlight its plan to ban the sales of internal combustion engine cars from 2035. There has been opposition to this move in Congress but this has not prevented other states from drafting their own ICE car ban bills. As well as Connecticut, these states include Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington. New Jersey was the latest addition to the list. The states legislators are scheduled to vote on the ban in mid-December. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Environmental campaigners are suing Norway, again, for having approved the development of new oil and gas fields without properly assessing the climate impact of three new fields. Greenpeace Nordic and Natur og Ungdom (Young Friends of the Earth Norway) have filed a lawsuit with the Oslo District Court, the hearings of which begin on Tuesday. The campaigners are seeking a temporary injunction for the three projectsEquinors Breidablikk and Aker BPs Yggdrasil and Tyrving in the North Sea. Equinor last month began production from the Breidablikk field in the North Sea, four months ahead of schedule and within budget. Breidablikk is being developed with 22 subsea wells drilled from four templates. Aker BPs Yggdrasil and Tyrving fields are planned to start production in 2027 and 2024, respectively. Now the environmental organizations assert in their new lawsuit that the development violates both Norways Constitution and international human rights law and must be stopped immediately. Greenpeace and Natur og Ungdom asked for a temporary injunction for the three projects as they believe that development and further production must cease until the court has assessed the legal basis. The new climate lawsuit in Norway is part of a larger movement to hold states and corporations accountable for the climate and nature crisis, they added. According to a filing to the court by Goeran Oesterman Thengs, who represents the Norwegian government, The impact assessments are in line with current regulations. In December 2020, the Norwegian Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit from Greenpeace and Natur og Ungdom that had sued Norway for opening up acreage in the Arctic to oil drilling. The new lawsuit follows the Norwegian governments approval of the development of 19 offshore oil and gas projects worth more than $18.8 billion (200 billion Norwegian crowns) in investments. The projects include new developments, additional development of producing oil and gas fields, and investments to increase resource recovery in producing fields. ADVERTISEMENT By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: What would an OPEC+ meeting week be without the parade of strawman, market-testing headlines dropped to gauge traders' stress levels. OPEC is set to hold an online meeting on Thursday, ahead of OPEC+ meeting later in the day to decide future oil production policy, a source said according to Reuters. The meeting, which was postponed two days ago, is rescheduled at 4:00 PM KSA on Thursday according to a draft agenda seen by the news agency. This morning, Reuters reports that, according to four sources: "talks are difficult " (well, no news there) "a further delay is possible" (possible... not probable) "policy rollover is a possibility" (that's the kicker, we suspect, as bulls are clearly hoping for more cuts) Bloomberg also confirms that, according to delegates, OPEC+ is no closer to resolving the deadlock over oil-output quotas for some African members that has already forced the group to delay a critical meeting amid faltering prices. The Saudi-led alliance hasnt been able to reach an agreement with Angola and Nigeria, which are pushing back against lower quota limits for 2024, which reflect their diminished production capabilities. The first reaction from the algos to sell was swift, but prices veered back within the hour. ADVERTISEMENT We await the denials - or confirmations. By Zerohedge.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Jay Brown, pictured in 2019, is the CEO of Crown Castle. The company's primary business is building, leasing and selling cellphone towers. Brett Coomer/Staff photographer A traditional cell phone tower, owned by Crown Castle, is shown near the Texas Medical Center on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2014, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle ) Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle Activist investor Elliott Investment Management disclosed a $2 billion stake in Houston-based telecommunications infrastructure company Crown Castle on Monday and called for a new CEO and board leadership, setting up for a potential proxy fight next year. Crown Castle owns, operates and leases more than 40,000 cell towers and approximately 85,000 miles of fiber across every major market, according to a Monday statement from the company, and Elliotts primary grievance is its strategy for fiber optic cable, a technology used to transmit information as pulses of light along a glass or plastic fiber. In its letter to Crown castle's board, Elliott said it believes the company has been profligate in its fiber spending and wants it to reevaluate all aspects of that strategy, including whether the company is the best owner of its fiber businesses. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Elliott called the the companys strategy a failure, as demonstrated by the breathtaking magnitude of its underperformance, placing the blame on CEO Jay Brown. Crown Castle has lagged behind its peers over all time periods in the last 15 years and has recently seen its stock hit a six-year low, according the letter from Elliott Managing Partner Jesse Cohn and Senior Portfolio Manager Jason Genrich. The campaign against Crown Castle comes one week after the Elliott succeeded in pushing Houstons NRG Energy to replace its CEO and add four independent directors to its board. In its statement, Crown Castle said it remained confident in its executive leadership and was open to commencing a constructive engagement with Elliott. Both companies declined to comment. The Monday letter from Elliott is the latest salvo in a years-long effort to reshape the company. Elliott first called on Crown Castle to rethink its fiber strategy in 2020 when the investor had a roughly $1 billion stake in the company. In that campaign, it successfully pushed Crown Castle to replace five board members. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Three years later, Elliott is still not satisfied with Crown Castles board, which the investor blamed for the companys irresponsible stewardship and flawed financial policy. Only one of five new members of the board had prior experience in the fiber industry, which means the refreshed board still does not have the expertise or credibility to challenge Crowns unwavering Fiber strategy, Elliott wrote in its presentation to Crown Castle. Elliott also demanded that Crown Castle tie management compensation to return on invested capital, a measure of how much value the companys investments have created. Elliott intends to present a majority slate of alternative directors at Crown Castles annual meeting of shareholders in May 2024, though it prefers a constructive engagement with Crown Castle, the investor wrote in its letter. India is still considering whether to allow a now-sanctioned tanker carrying Russian oil to approach and dock at one of its portsa sign that the U.S. clampdown on Russian crude trade could limit Indias ability to buy and import cheaper oil. The NS Century tanker is owned by Russias state-owned fleet owner Sovcomflot and is flying the flag of Liberia. The Aframax vessel has been floating for 10 days about 1,600 miles off the Indian port of Vadinar, where it was planned to deliver its cargo of Russias Sokol grade, Bloomberg reports, citing tanker-tracking data. NS Century has been floating off Sri Lanka since November 17, a day after the U.S. sanctioned several maritime companies and three vessels for transporting Russian oil above the G7-set price cap. The U.S. said on November 16 that the vessels Kazan, Ligovsky Prospect, and NS Century engaged in the export of Russian crude oil priced above $60 per barrel after the crude oil price cap took effect. The Kazan, Ligovsky Prospect, and NS Century used U.S.-person services while transporting the Russian-origin crude oil. The Directorate General of Shipping in India told Bloomberg last week that it was still waiting for government guidance on whether the NS Century would be allowed to unload its cargo at the Indian port. The West is considering toughening up the sanction enforcement on evaders of the price cap on Russian oil, almost none of which now trades below the ceiling of $60 per barrel. Last month, the United States took a tougher stance on the sanctions against Russia and sanctioned two vessels for violating the price cap. Last week, Reuters reported that three major Greek shipping firms had halted the transport of Russian crude due to the heightened risk of facing U.S. sanctions. ADVERTISEMENT Greek shippers Minerva Marine, TMS Tankers, and Thenamaris have stopped carrying Russian oil to customers in the Middle East, Asia, Turkey, Africa, and South America, Reuters reported, citing trade sources and shipping data. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Hedge funds and other institutional traders have reduced their bullish position on oil substantially ahead of the OPEC+ meeting on Thursday. In the week to November 21, bullish bets were slashed - with net-long positions being cut by over 19,000 positions to the lowest since June, Bloomberg reported, citing data from ICE Futures Europe and the CFTC. Long-only positions, meanwhile, also dropped by nearly 19,500 to the lowest since April. OPEC+ is meeting on Thursday to discuss production policies. News of internal disagreements added volatility to oil prices last week, while the possibility for deeper cuts from Saudi Arabia lent upward potential to benchmarks. Even with the potential of deeper cuts, oil began the week with a decline, extending a series of daily losses that began last week. Earlier today, however, the mood changed and both Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate began to trade with gains. Analysts attributed these to the nearing OPEC+ meeting and the predictions of deeper cuts. Oil bears should be careful not to underestimate Saudis resolve, Vishnu Varathan, Asia head of economics and strategy at Mizuho Bank, told Bloomberg. But it will be hard for them to secure buy-in from all member states. Last week, African members of the cartel were reported to have asked for higher production quotas despite Saudi Arabias attempts to keep a cap on production to keep prices higher. The latest reports suggest disagreements have been ironed out, after OPEC announced a postponement of the meeting, originally planned for last Sunday. This should help the group agree on net steps that, according to Eurasia Group analysts, could include additional cuts of up to 1 million bpd on top of Saudi Arabias voluntary cuts of the same size. In the absence of additional cuts, the Eurasia Group team said, Brent crude could drop to the low $70s, Bloomberg reported. This forecast suggests worries about economic growth have remained enduring despite factual data about oil demand so far this year. ADVERTISEMENT By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Nebraska animal health officials are urging veterinarians and pet owners to watch for signs of an unusual respiratory illness that has sickened dogs in several states, including Colorado, Oregon and New Hampshire. Dr. Dustin Loy, director of the Nebraska Veterinary Diagnostic Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said animal health officials dont know what is causing the illness or whether it is something new or a flareup of a known respiratory disease, which periodically occur in dogs just as they do in people. As in humans, canine respiratory illnesses can be caused by different types of bacteria and viruses. Researchers are investigating to determine the cause of the illness, which they say is causing lasting respiratory disease and pneumonia and doesnt respond to antibiotics. Some cases of pneumonia have progressed rapidly, making the dog severely ill within 24 to 36 hours. The Lincoln-Lancaster Health Department and Lincoln Animal Control sent an alert about the illness last week. Loy, a member of the Lincoln-Lancaster Board of Health, said he is not aware of any cases in Nebraska. But agency officials sought to warn veterinarians across Nebraska state about the illness and provide residents with basic precautions to protect their dogs. At the top of the list for dog owners, he said, is to make sure their dogs are up to date on vaccines. Dog owners should consult with their veterinarian to determine which ones are most appropriate, given dogs needs can vary according to their activities and the places they live and visit. Respiratory illnesses in dogs typically are transmitted through respiratory droplets, Loy said. Transmission is more likely to occur if multiple dogs mingle, particularly indoors. Therefore, other precautions include reducing contact with large numbers of unknown dogs and with sick dogs, as well as avoiding sharing pet water bowls. Dog owners, he said, should consult a veterinarian if they believe their dog is showing signs of a respiratory illness, including coughing, sneezing, runny nose, tiredness and rapid or labored breathing. Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of November 2023 An Omaha man who allegedly shot and killed his 10-year-old son on Thanksgiving night has been charged with manslaughter and possessing a firearm as a felon, according to court documents. Prosecutors filed charges of manslaughter, use of a firearm to commit a felony and possession of a firearm by a felon-second offense against Will McDonald, 47, on Monday. He is accused of shooting and killing his son Kendrick McDonald, 10, outside their home late Thursday as a car alarm sounded outside. Police and fire were called to reports of a shooting at 1112 N. 31st Ave. around 11:30 p.m. Thursday, the Omaha Police Department said. Omaha Fire Department personnel found Kendrick outside the home suffering from a gunshot wound and transported him to the Nebraska Medical Center, where he died. Omaha Police Capt. Jeremy Christensen said on Friday that there was allegedly a car alarm going off, and for whatever reason the suspect/father went outside to maybe investigate that. In a GoFundMe set up to raise money for Kendricks family, the shooting is described as an awful accident. The Douglas County Attorneys Office could not be reached for comment Monday for additional information about what led up to the shooting and the decision to pursue manslaughter charges. The charge of manslaughter, a felony that is punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison, alleges that McDonald killed Kendrick without malice, either intentionally upon a sudden quarrel, or unintentionally while in the commission of an unlawful act. According to court records, McDonald is a convicted felon for robbery offenses in the 1990s, and a conviction of possessing a firearm as a felon in 2008. McDonald will appear in court for a bail hearing Tuesday morning. The accomplishments and deficiencies in recent test score data was discussed by several Omaha Public Schools board members Monday. During Mondays school board meeting, OPS officials presented detailed results from the Nebraska Student-Centered Assessment System (NSCAS), a state test that includes the subjects of English language arts, math and science, plus the junior ACT exam. We are bringing this to you regularly and often because it is the core of our work, said Matt Ray, interim superintendent. It guides our teaching and support for our students. OPS experienced an overall improvement in scores and school classification, but came up short in areas such as the junior ACT test and proficiency gaps between the district and Nebraska. Both OPS and statewide scores released Wednesday showed an improvement from the 2021-22 school year to 2022-23 in all subjects, which appeared to be a rebound in achievement since the COVID pandemic caused an academic slide. But its not completely accurate to compare test scores from both years after the state adopted different achievement levels for the 2022-23 test, causing the standards to be different from previous tests. While grades 3-8 take English and math assessments, the science portion is administered only to grades 5-8. NSCAS also includes junior ACT exam results. The summative results weve shared this evening reveal progress and the results of commitment and hard work while shedding light on areas where we must continue to focus our efforts, said Susanne Cramer, executive director of school improvement for OPS. Test data shows that similar to the statewide results, OPS increased its proficiency scores in English, math and science from the 2021-22 school year to 2022-23. In English language arts, 37% of students score proficient meaning they were either on track or advanced in the subject an increase from 27%. Proficiency in math jumped from 20% to 32% while science proficiency increased from 40% to 46%. While the overall scores increased, the proficiency gap between OPS and Nebraska results widened this year in English and math. For the 2022-23 school year, there was a 21-point proficiency gap between OPS and Nebraska in English, a 1-point increase from the previous year. In math, OPS had a 29-point proficiency gap from the state, a 3-point increase from the previous year. In science, OPS experienced a decrease in its proficiency gap. The districts had a 24-point gap from state scores, a 2-point decrease. Many demographic factors impact achievement gaps between the district and Nebraska. OPS has a higher number of students in poverty, special education and in English-learner programs than statewide levels, according to data from the Nebraska Department of Education. The district also has a lower attendance rate than the state average. Cramer said while the NSCAS scores for the junior ACT exam also slightly improved, they still remain below the districts pre-pandemic baseline. In the 2022-23 school year, juniors received a 12.8 in English, 14.2 in math and 14.6 in science. This is an increase from 12.6 in English, 13.9 in math and 14 in science in 2021-22. ACT scores showed lots of room for improvement, board member Jane Erdenberger said. On the other hand, I am a firm believer that ACT scores reflect the interest students have in taking the ACT test in the first place. Officials also discussed the progress of English learners Monday, saying that in 2022-23, 3% more students were measured as on track in English-learner proficiency than the previous year. The district administers a different proficiency test to English learners, who make up 22% of the district. English proficiency, along with achievement in other subject areas, and factors such as chronic absenteeism and graduation rates, are all considered into the classification a school district receives with each assessment year. Nebraska gives districts a label of excellent, great, good or needs support to improve. OPS is one of six school districts in Nebraska classified as needs support to improve, according to state data. Cramer said within the district, 40 schools need support to improve, a decrease from 48 in the previous year. There also were 27 schools that were classified as good, 11 titled great and eight as excellent, all increases from the previous year. Nebraska students rebound in English and math test scores to pre-pandemic levels Nebraska student proficiency in math and English language arts has skyrocketed as public schools recover from a COVID academic slide. Syracuse middle school teacher receives second Milken Educator award for Nebraska Leslie McIntosh, an English language arts teacher at Syracuse-Dunbar-Avoca Middle School, received the Milken Educator Award on Tuesday. She's the second Nebraska recipient of the award this year. Omaha-area program aiming to spread positivity, boost retention for teachers Amid staffing shortages, a metro Omaha program pulls together dozens of teachers from various districts to develop better ways to encourage educators to remain in the profession. Photos: Bellevue West High School teacher surprised with Milken Educator Award, $25,000 BURLINGTON, Vt. Three college students of Palestinian descent out for a walk in Vermont were seriously injured over the weekend when a man shot them at close range on a city street an attack being investigated as a possible hate crime, authorities said Monday. Jason J. Eaton, 48, made his initial court appearance by video from jail on three counts of attempted murder, and a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf on Monday. He was ordered held without bail for the time being. The U.S. Department of Justice, along with Vermont authorities, are investigating whether Saturday's shooting was a hate crime amid an increase in threats against Jewish, Muslim and Arab communities across the U.S. since the Israel-Hamas war began, Attorney General Merrick Garland said. "There is understandable fear in communities across the country," he said. The three men, all age 20, who were spending their Thanksgiving break in Burlington, were walking during a visit to the home of one of the victims' relatives when they were confronted by a white man with a handgun, police said. "They stated that the person had not made any comments to them and had merely approached them while they were walking down the street, essentially minding their own business," Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad told reporters. Two were struck in their torsos, while one was hit in the lower extremities, Murad said. All three were being treated at University of Vermont Medical Center, and one faces a long recovery because of a spinal injury, a family member said. The Institute for Middle East Understanding, in a statement from victims' families on social media, identified the men as Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmad. "We are extremely concerned about the safety and well-being of our children," the statement said. "We call on law enforcement to conduct a thorough investigation, including treating this as a hate crime. We will not be comfortable until the shooter is brought to justice." The three have been friends since first grade at Ramallah Friends School, a private school in the West Bank, and all are "remarkable, distinguished students," said Rania Ma'ayeh, head of the school. Awartani is studying mathematics and archaeology at Brown University in Rhode Island; Abdalhamid is a pre-med student at Haverford College in Pennsylvania; and Ali Ahmad is studying mathematics and IT at Trinity College in Connecticut, Ma'ayeh said. Awartani and Abdalhamid are U.S. citizens while Ali Ahmad is studying on a student visa, Ma'ayeh said. "Our students are not safe in their own country because of the occupation. They're studying abroad and have a bright future ahead of them, and look at what happens," she said. "This has deeply shaken us." Abdalhamid's uncle Radi Tamimi, who flew from California and spoke Monday at the news conference, shared a similar sentiment. "Kinnan grew up in the West Bank and we always thought that that could be more of a risk in terms of his safety and sending him here would be a right decision," the uncle said. "We feel somehow betrayed in that decision here and we're just trying to come to terms with everything." Eaton moved to Burlington over the summer and legally purchased the gun used in the shooting, Murad told reporters. According to a police affidavit, federal agents found the gun in Eaton's apartment on Sunday. Eaton came to the door holding his hands palms up, and told the officers he'd been waiting for them. Rich Price, Awartani's uncle, said the gunman "shot them without saying any words" and that the family suspects they were targets of a hate crime. "The family's fear is that this was motivated by hate, that these young men were targeted because they were Arabs," Price said. The victims were speaking in a mix of English and Arabic and two of them were also wearing the black-and-white Palestinian keffiyeh scarves when they were shot, Murad said. Speaking at a news conference, Sarah George, state's attorney, said law enforcement officials do not yet have evidence to support a hate crime enhancement, which under Vermont law must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. But, she said, "I do want to be clear that there is no question that this was a hateful act." Murad echoed George's language. "Whether or not this is a hate crime by the law, it was a hateful act. It's one that we abhor," he said. "And anybody who steps out from a porch and attacks three random passersby for whatever reason, he's expressing a form of hate." Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger, who called it "one of the most shocking and disturbing events in the city's history," said he spoke to President Joe Biden on Monday. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president and first lady Jill Biden were "horrified" to learn of the shooting. The Vermont-New Hampshire chapter of Jewish Voice For Peace, which has urged an end to the Israel-Hamas war, released a statement saying it was "appalled by the shooting." "We are in solidarity with the students, their families and all those affected by this clear act of hate," the organization said Sunday. "We are in solidarity with all Palestinian people in occupied Palestine, around the world, and here in Vermont and we are committed to creating a Vermont that is safe and welcoming for all." Have a Google account you havent used in a while? If you want to keep it from disappearing, you should check on it before the end of the week. Under Googles updated inactive-account policy, which the tech giant announced back in May, accounts that havent been used in at least two years could be deleted. Eligible profiles will start being impacted on Friday. Google attributed its inactive-account update to security concerns. The easiest way to keep your Google account active (and thus prevent it from being deleted) is to sign in at least once every two years. Other actions that fulfill account activity include scrolling through emails, using Google search and watching YouTube videos all while signed into your Google account. LINCOLN Nineteen years ago, Gov. Jim Pillen wanted nothing to do with adding another child to the family. He and his wife, Suzanne, already had three children on the threshhold of adulthood. And back then, he didnt fully understand how someone could love an adopted child as their own. That changed soon after his wife brought home a 4-week-old baby boy, he told a gathering of foster and adoptive families and child advocates Monday. Pillen said the child had been born to a troubled 15-year-old his wife was mentoring through a teen mothers program. But the boy couldnt stay with his mother, and Suzanne Pillen didnt want him to end up in the child welfare system. The Pillens started taking care of the boy on a temporary basis only. But the then-livestock operator and businessman had a change of heart one day, when his wife left him in charge of the tiny infant and the boy, Izic, locked eyes with him. It was an extraordinary, extraordinary day that the gift of grace took place, Pillen said, choking up. Being able to have a son thats now 19 (was) the greatest gift of grace. The governor told his story at an event celebrating foster and adoptive parents and marking November as adoption month. The Pillens raised Izic as their own since he was an infant. They made the adoption official in August, after Izic reached the age of majority and was able to agree to the relationship on his own. The governor urged other Nebraska families to consider becoming adoptive or foster parents, as well. He said 331 children have been adopted out of the states child welfare system through the first 10 months of this year. But some 200 others are still waiting for an adoptive family. I encourage every Nebraskan to answer your heart, answer the promptings of the Holy Spirit, Pillen said. He was joined by other adoptive families, including Craig and Miranda Coleman, the adoptive parents of Husker wide receiver Malachi Coleman, and Shannon Bingham, Mrs. Midwest International 2024, and her adopted son, Seth Stickman. Laura Opfer, an adoptive parent to three daughters, is deputy director of children and family services within the Department of Health and Human Services. She said that, along with getting children adopted, the state child welfare system has successfully reunited 855 children with their parents so far this year and found permanency for 142 through guardianship. Opfer celebrated the important role that foster parents, including relatives and kinship caregivers, have on children in need. Kinship caregivers are people known to a child, such as a family friend or teacher. We have 1,027 relative and kinship caregivers in Nebraska, who support their grandchildren, nieces, and nephews, students and neighbors when they need support the most, she said. In addition, we have 2,321 foster families who exemplify what it means to have perseverance, resilience and hope. More foster families are needed, especially those willing to take sibling groups, children with complex medical needs and teenagers. The Colemans said they fostered Malachi Coleman and his younger sister, Neaveh, before adopting the two. Now they lead the Fly Like Chi Foundation that their son started to help pay for sports, arts and other extracurricular activities for foster children. Miranda Coleman urged others to consider fostering or adopting, saying that it had changed their lives. Our kids have made us better humans, more compassionate neighbors, more confident advocates, and taught us how to live looking forward, she said. They have opened our world view, and we are forever grateful we are a family. Bingham, who has focused past pageant platforms on adoption, adopted her son as an infant through the Nebraska Childrens Home Society. Now 16, he said his birth mother knew he would have more opportunities through adoption. I have been shown boundless love by my adoptive parents, he said. I have many people I can count on who are willing to provide for me and care for me when needed. Without adoption, I wouldnt have these people around me in such great numbers. Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of November 2023 LINCOLN Nebraskas largest state employee union is challenging Gov. Jim Pillens order requiring state employees to return to working in their offices by Jan. 2. The Nebraska Association of Public Employees, which represents more than 8,000 state employees, announced Tuesday that it had filed a formal demand to bargain over the issue. The demand letter was sent Monday to the states chief negotiator, Dan Birdsall. Saying that time is of the essence, the letter asks the state to respond by Dec. 12. Some of our members have already begun applying for new jobs with outside employers because of their preference to work remotely, the letter said. We are already critically short staffed in many areas, and we cannot afford to lose a single one of our public servants right now. If we do, all Nebraskans pay the price. The union letter followed a Nov. 13 directive from the governor requiring state employees to work in their offices from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Pillen said he issued the order after a survey of state agencies found many employees working from home. The surveys showed that at least 20% of 12,494 full-time equivalent employees are working full-time remotely or working hybrid schedules, in which they spend some days in the office and some days at home. The governor said he doesnt believe in working from home, calling it a commonsense expectation that people are most productive when they are working together in the office, where they can communicate face to face and build workplace culture and engagement. Pillen said Nebraska has an obligation to deliver services in a way that uses tax dollars most responsibly. However, he did not offer evidence to show that productivity has suffered from employees working from home or elsewhere or that service to taxpayers has deteriorated. Justin Hubly, executive director of the employees union, said Tuesday that state employees working remotely provide vital services to Nebraska and work tirelessly to deliver those services. Remote work assignments, where appropriate, are beneficial to both the taxpayer and the employees. Our top priority is ensuring that we can continue to provide effective and efficient services to our fellow Nebraskans, while also respecting the rights of our members, our contract, and the law, he said. We must do everything in our power to ensure the state is able to retain its current workforce and attract a new generation of public servants for the future. The demand to bargain letter said the terms and conditions of employment are mandatory subjects of bargaining under the State Employees Collective Bargaining Act and the Industrial Relations Act, as well as the current labor contract. But Birdsall disputed whether the contract requires bargaining over the issue of remote work. In a statement, he said that the state has discretion over the determination as to work locations and schedules and that agencies have been directed to make preparations to carry out the governors executive order. Pillens order provides for some exceptions to be authorized by agency heads. Those exceptions include employees whose assigned work hours fall outside the 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday schedule and situations in which office space is unavailable without additional cost. Exceptions also can be made for employees who move away from their original office location and no reasonable in-office arrangement is possible, as long as the employee remains in Nebraska. In addition, exceptions can be made to sustain critical operations in a business area with a workforce shortfall. The last exception is subject to the governors approval. The surveys of code agencies, meaning those under the governors control, showed that half or more of the employees in some agencies are working full- or part-time remotely. Some agencies reported they had reduced their office space by having some employees work remotely. Some have had telework policies in place well before the practice expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of November 2023 One person died and two others were injured Monday in a two-vehicle crash near Milford, Nebraska. The collision occurred about 3:50 p.m. just north of Interstate 80 in Seward County. The names of the deceased and injured were not released. Investigators from the Seward County Sheriffs Office determined that a 2014 Toyota Sienna was westbound on the Exit 382 off-ramp. The Toyota failed to yield and collided with a 2002 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck that was southbound on 238th Street. A passenger in the Toyota was pronounced dead at the scene. The Toyota driver was taken to a Lincoln hospital with injuries that were not thought to be life threatening. The driver of the pickup was treated at the scene by Milford Fire Department personnel and released. A win for former Houston hedge fund operator George Jarkesy would reduce the SECs leverage to extract expensive settlements. Andrew Harnik/Associated Press Houston hedge-fund manager George Jarkesy said he didnt recall more than 800 times during questioning at the SEC about deceiving investors. A judge at the agency said he was so evasive his testimony was all but worthless. A decade later, Jarkesy may have the last laugh. The U.S. Supreme Court is now using his case to consider stripping the Securities and Exchange Commission of a key weapon in its arsenal the ability to go before its in-house judges to seek multimillion-dollar penalties. The court hears arguments Wednesday with a ruling likely by June. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Jarkesy, a former Wall Street broker and television commentator, is the new face of a long-running effort to undercut what critics say is an unfair advantage the SEC holds when it tangles with alleged wrongdoers. The SEC uses its in-house system for hundreds of cases a year even after scaling back in response to a 2018 loss at the Supreme Court. Backed by Elon Musk and Mark Cuban, Jarkesy contends that defendants in SEC cases have a constitutional right to make their case to a federal jury. A win for Jarkesy would reduce the SECs leverage to extract expensive settlements. The effect for defendants would be significant, said Nicolas Morgan, a lawyer with Paul Hastings and former SEC litigator who filed a friend-of-the-court brief for Musk, Cuban and three other business leaders who have clashed with the commission. Potentially, you would see fewer defendants settle if they know theyre going to be able to plead their case to a jury. Depending on the courts reasoning, the case could also affect the Federal Trade Commission, which uses in-house judges as well. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Jarkesy in 2007 set up the first of two Houston-based funds that eventually raised $24 million from 120 investors. He became a conservative commentator on Fox Business News and CNBC, talking about the financial markets and government regulation. His radio show was distributed in at least eight markets, giving him a forum to opine on politics as well as business. In one segment, he said the US Civil War was driven by northern states overtaxation and their need for money from the South. Evasive Manner It all came crashing down in 2013, when the SEC accused him of misleading investors about who served as the funds prime broker and auditor and about their investment strategies and holdings. Jarkesy testified during a 12-day hearing at the SECs New York office in 2014. Administrative Law Judge Carol Fox Foelak was left unimpressed, saying he generally testified in an evasive manner that did not provide any assurances of the reliability of his testimony. Advertisement Article continues below this ad He lost again when he appealed to the SECs commissioners, who imposed almost $1 million in penalties on Jarkesy and his firm. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the award, saying he was entitled to a jury trial, and the Biden administration turned to the Supreme Court. Jarkesy and his allies say the process is fraught with injustice. Defendants have fewer rights to obtain evidence in administrative hearings than federal court, and SEC lawyers can rely on third-party hearsay testimony. Appeals go to the same SEC commissioners who approved the complaint in the first place. Making matters worse is the fact that the SEC decides which cases go in-house, says Susan Hurd, a securities defense lawyer at Alston & Bird in Atlanta. It feels fundamentally unfair put aside all the niceties of constitutional law for the SEC to decide whether you get an Article III judge or you dont, said Hurd, referring to the part of the Constitution that established the federal judiciary. The commission in June dropped 42 other cases amid revelations that enforcement staff members improperly had access to restricted records from the SEC general counsels office. Jarkesy this month filed a Freedom of Information of Act request seeking information about the handling of his case. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Jarkesy declined to be interviewed. A spokesperson said he sees this journey as his patriotic journey and believes the appeals court decision clears his name and proves the unfairness and unconstitutional nature of SEC in-house tribunals. Protecting Investors Congress has steadily expanded the types of cases eligible for administrative hearings, most recently in 2010. The SEC began to ramp up its use of the administrative process after losing a series of jury trials in insider-trading cases, including a 2013 verdict favoring Cuban, the Dallas Mavericks owner. The SEC shifted course again after the Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that the commissions judges were appointed unconstitutionally. The SEC now uses the system primarily to handled uncontested matters, including settlements. Defenders say the in-house tribunals provide needed flexibility and let regulators better protect investors from fraud and other abuses. Advertisement Article continues below this ad It reflects Congresss determination that pre-existing common-law mechanisms were inadequate to safeguard markets and protect the investing public, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar told the justices on behalf of the SEC. BLOOMINGTON The newly created Special Commission for Safe Communities requested additional data from the Bloomington Police Department on gun violence trends during its first meeting on Tuesday. The City Council voted to create the commission in June in order to collect gun violence and weapons violation data within the city that may be spread across multiple community groups. The commission would consist of nine members appointed by the mayor. As of Tuesday, two seats are still available. The commission was formed at the request of Alderwoman Mollie Ward, who said the reason she agreed to join the City Council was to address gun violence after an incident of violence occurred on her property just before her appointment. She also commended the commission for having members who live in and outside Bloomington. "Division Street divides a lot of things (and) it's a barrier to a lot of things, but it's not a barrier to gun violence," Ward said. "And the city limits aren't a barrier to gun violence and the answer can't just be limited at the city." Aaron Veerman, assistant chief of the Bloomington Police Department, said there have been 30 shootings in the city so far this year, not counting accidental discharges and suicides. Last week, Bloomington reported three shooting incidents involving a juvenile. However, the combined number of shooting incidents in Bloomington-Normal dropped from 57 in 2022 to 46 as of Tuesday. On average, Veerman said 42.6 shootings have occurred in Bloomington-Normal over the past five years. "Historically, shootings in the Bloomington-Normal area have been driven by gang disputes and this has changed somewhat over the past two years," Veerman said. "Shooting violence is now more predicated by spontaneous altercations where one or more party is armed at the point of conflict." This is true for both adult and juvenile shootings, he added. Liz German, president and CEO of YWCA McLean County, requested information on the frequency of shootings or threats of gun violence as a result of domestic issues. Commissioners also asked for data on where the victims and perpetrators of gun violence were from and whether there is any community outreach to individuals associated with these incidents. Veerman also reported that the average age when known of suspects or arrestees of shootings was 23.3 years old in 2022. However, the average age of the victims of shootings was 18.6 years old. Jay Shannon, program director of school services for Project Oz, said he has been involved with the Bloomington-based nonprofit for 20 years and has seen generations of families experience similar challenges within the community. He asked about the possibility of data that would show how many shooting victims have family members who had also been connected to violent crime in the community. "I'm wondering if there are any statistical indicators that might be able to connect some of those (families) so we can target some of our efforts directly towards the families that we need to support," Shannon said. Veerman said he would look into the commissioners' requests. He also stated that the BPD is in the process of launching the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network in its crime lab, which will help to expedite the process of tracking projectiles and whether they were used in other crimes. Watch now: March for Our Lives in downtown Bloomington Watch Now: Dozens gather downtown to demand gun regulation 061222-blm-loc-march8 061222-blm-loc-march1 061222-blm-loc-march4 MARCH FOR OUR LIVES 061222-blm-loc-march2 061222-blm-loc-march7 061222-blm-loc-march6 061222-blm-loc-march5 CLINTON The Sangamon County Coroner's Office confirmed the identity of a man involved in a fatal structure fire in Clinton last week. According to a news release from Clinton Fire Chief Stephen Page, crews were dispatched to Brush College Road at about 4 p.m. on Nov. 20 for a reported structure fire. A second alarm was requested after crews noticed visible fire at the scene. First responders discovered a fully involved house fire and a victim inside the residence, the release read. First arriving chiefs assisted medical teams with the patient's care and transport. The last Clinton emergency crews cleared the scene at 8:30 p.m. Crews transported the victim, who was identified by Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon on Monday as 79-year-old Lubertus Van Apeldoorn, to Springfield Memorial Hospital where he died as an inpatient two days later. Preliminary findings from an autopsy indicate that Van Apeldoorn died from thermal injuries sustained during the fire, according to the coroner's office. The incident remains under investigation by the Sangamon County Coroner and the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal. The Clinton Fire Department was assisted by crews from Wapella, Kenney, Hickory Point, Warrensburg and Maroa as well as the DeWitt County Sheriff, DeWitt County CenCom, DeWitt County Emergency Management Service and Abbot EMS. The Waynesville Fire Department provided station coverage for Clinton during this incident. 5 most common causes of reported house fires 5 most common causes of reported house fires #5. Smoking materials #4. Intentional #3. Electrical distribution and lighting equipment #2. Heating equipment #1. Cooking Ghana and Germany have concluded bilateral talks, agreeing on 145.9 million (US$158 million) in climate and energy aid, good governance, and long-term economic development. The new aid package was finalised last week in Berlin, amid high-level discussions between Ghanaian and German officials at the G20 Compact with Africa summit. The German aid package intends to foster good governance, sustainable economic development, and public-private partnerships in Ghana. The delegation was in Berlin to attend the G20 Compact with Africa 2023 summit, as well as to conclude annual bilateral negotiations with the Federal Republic of Germany. During the Working Lunch of Africa Finance Ministers and representatives of international institutions on the margins of the G20 Compact with Africa Conference in Berlin, Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, engaged International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Ghanas IMF programme. Mr. Ofori-Atta lauded the agreement, saying Germanys expertise in renewable energy technologies can help support Ghanas efforts to expand its renewable energy capacity. According to him, Ghana is committed to transitioning to a more sustainable energy future, and added, We have made considerable strides in harnessing renewable energy sources, such as solar. He believes that Germany, with its expertise in renewable energy technologies, can play a critical role in assisting Ghana in expanding its renewable energy capability. Already, President Nana Akufo-Addo has announced plans for 10,000 megawatts of renewable energy capacity to be developed through solar and wind projects. Ghana welcomes expanded cooperation with Germany in the renewable energy industry, including joint efforts and technology transfers to boost efficiency and competitiveness, according to the Finance Minister. Improving energy efficiency is a shared goal. Germanys renowned engineering and innovation can contribute significantly to enhancing energy efficiency in Ghanas industries and infrastructure, he said. Through joint initiatives and technology transfers, we can reduce energy wastage and enhance the competitiveness of our businesses, he stressed. Mr. Ofori-Atta also stressed the importance of combating climate change through emission reductions and other green efforts. Recognising the importance of addressing climate change and its related issues, he stated that Ghana was seeking stronger collaboration on programmes to cut carbon emissions, safeguard natural resources, and advance green technologies. In light of Ghanas vulnerability to climate-related challenges, especially extreme weather events, partnering with Germany on climate resilient projects and disaster preparedness is crucial, he stated. Mr. Ofori-Atta urged German firms to look at investment prospects in fields such as education, technology, and manufacturing in Ghana. He cited German automaker Volkswagens new vehicle assembly plant in Ghana, intimating, We recognise the crucial role of public-private partnerships which can drive innovation, create jobs and boost economic growth. Source: A Daily Guide Report Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Merriam-Webster has picked its word of the year - and it's legit. "Authentic" is the top word of 2023, according to America's oldest dictionary. Merriam-Webster said it saw a "substantial increase" in online searches for it this year. The interest was "driven by stories and conversations about AI [artificial intelligence], celebrity culture, identity, and social media", the dictionary publisher said. One reason many people search for the word is because it has a number of meanings, including "not false or imitation" and also "true to one's own personality, spirit, or character". "Although clearly a desirable quality, 'authentic' is hard to define and subject to debate," Merriam-Webster said. The publisher added that the popularity of the word, which had been highly searched in the US in the past, grew this year as "the line between 'real' and 'fake'" became increasingly blurred. The AI boom helped with the blurring, spurring interest in the authenticity of text, images and videos, the company said. One of the runner-ups for the top was "deepfake", used to describe videos and photos that are digitally altered with AI. Meanwhile, brands, social media influencers and celebrities also popularised the word, including Elon Musk, the owner of X, formerly Twitter, who has said people should be more "authentic" on social media. Other top words from 2023 include the internet slang "rizz" - short for charisma, meaning romantic appeal or charm - and "indict", which saw a surge in interest after former President Donald Trump was indicted, or charged, in four separate legal cases. The top words in the US were not immune to British influence. Coronation was also highly searched after Charles III was crowned the new king in May. In 2022, the word of the year was "gaslighting", a colloquial term for manipulating somebody to cause them to question their own realities or beliefs. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Minister for the Interior, Ambrose Dery, has officially declared Friday, December 1, 2023, as a public holiday for the observation of the annual Farmers Day. The announcement comes ahead of the countrys commemoration of Farmers Day, a significant event honouring the contributions of farmers across the nation. In a statement released today, Ambrose Dery emphasized that December 1, 2023, which marks Farmers Day, will be observed as a Statutory Public Holiday throughout the country. He urged the general public to respect and observe this declaration accordingly. Farmers Day is a cherished occasion in Ghana, recognizing the vital role played by farmers in sustaining the nations agricultural sector and ensuring food security. The holiday serves as an opportunity to appreciate the hard work, dedication, and invaluable contributions of farmers to the socio-economic growth of Ghana. This years Farmers Day celebration is expected to be particularly significant, as it coincides with the governments ongoing efforts to promote and advance agriculture in the country. The event will showcase the achievements and successes of farmers, as well as highlight innovative agricultural practices and technologies that have contributed to increased productivity and sustainable farming methods. The event is taking place in Tarkwa in the Western region. The day will be marked by various activities and ceremonies across the country, including agricultural exhibitions, awards ceremonies, cultural displays, and speeches by government officials. These events will not only honour the farmers but also provide a platform for stakeholders in the agricultural sector to engage in discussions and exchange ideas on ways to further enhance the industry. Furthermore, the Minister for the Interior urged all Ghanaians to embrace the spirit of Farmers Day by recognizing the importance of agriculture and supporting local farmers. He emphasized the need for collective efforts to ensure the growth and development of the agricultural sector, which remains crucial to the nations prosperity. As the public holiday approaches, Ghanaians are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to reflect on the vital role of farmers, appreciate their hard work, and show gratitude for their contributions to the nations food security and economic stability. Source: dailyguidenetwork.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Board of Directors of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has expressed its readiness to furnish the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) with any documentation necessary to ensure transparency regarding the proposed TOR Rehabilitation Project. TOR was responding to recent criticisms made by the OSP and the Attorney General, who had circulated letters questioning the validity of the rehabilitation project and its lease structure to investors. TOR has been looking for a credible solution to return the refinery to profitability in order to sustain itself from internally generated funds and restore its infrastructure. The board and management have always maintained that the rehabilitation project would set the refinery on a path for sustained recovery, even though it is not an attractive proposition for established investors due to TORs heavy debt issues. TOR has selected Decimal Capitals special lease structure over other offers as it would not result in additional liabilities being imposed on an already heavily indebted TOR balance sheet. Read statement from TOR Board of Directors below: PRESS RELEASE November 26, 2023 Oil Refinery statement addressing the recent letters issued by the Office of The Special Prosecutor and the Attorney General in relation to the proposed TOR Rehabilitation Project. It is with deep regret that the Board of Directors of Tema Oil Refinery finds itself in the position of having to set the record straight in response to letters issued by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and the Attorney General, which have been circulated in the public domain. By way of background, the TOR Rehabilitation Project was tasked to the Board of TOR with a remit to secure a credible solution to return TOR to sustained and profitable refining activity. The refinery has not processed a barrel of oil since April 2021. For several years TOR has been unable to meet its operating costs and has found itself reliant on government to cover its perennial cash flow shortfalls. The proposed rehabilitation project was to ensure that TOR could sustain itself from internally generated funds and restore the infrastructure at the refinery to allow for the resumption of refining activity on a profitable basis. The Board of Directors of TOR is comprised of highly reputable and experienced individuals fully committed to finding a path to restore activity and profitability at TOR for the benefit of the company and the country. The board has held more than 40 board meetings since its inauguration in March 2022, seized with the determination and responsibility to find a robust and sustainable solution for TOR. The financial health of TOR has been challenged for a number of years and has subjected the workforce to the misery of having to survive on salaries that have been stagnant over the last five years. TOR has witnessed the continual exit of key engineering skills in search of productive opportunities in other parts of the world. The board and management is committed to overcoming these challenges, and to executing a plan that promises to set TOR on a path to sustained recovery. This task is complicated by the fact that the TOR Rehabilitation Project is not one that readily attracts many of the established players in the industry. This is especially not helped by the fact that TOR does not have up to date audited financial statements, is currently unable to meet all of its financial obligations and is carrying debt exposure in excess of US$400 million. The management of TOR approached several prospective investors to participate in a competitive tender to submit proposals for the TOR Rehabilitation Project. Three proposals were forthcoming and were reviewed in great detail over several weeks, culminating in an invitation for the various parties to present their ideas in person and submit themselves to questions from the board. Two proposals required that TOR take on additional debt, and that such debt be either government guaranteed or supported by a letter of credit. Neither of these proposals were supported by a tolling partner. The third proposal, that of Decimal Capital, proposed a novel lease structure that would not result in any liabilities being imposed on the already heavily indebted TOR balance sheet. This proposal envisaged the establishment of a special purpose vehicle (Baybridge Asset Management) to perform the role of the lessee, supported technically and financially by one of the worlds leading energy trading companies. The substance of the Decimal Capital proposal, underpinned by the support of a market-leading tolling partner, was deemed far superior to any other offer and was selected as the preferred option, subject to confirmation of contractual arrangements between the parties to provide sufficient comfort to the board and its stakeholders. This proposal was always underpinned by a credible supply of crude oil, a business model that demonstrated their financial capacity to undertake their obligations, and a comprehensive build out of their technical capabilities. It is a fundamental misunderstanding to suggest that the proposal was selected on the basis of the balance sheet of Decimal Capital or Baybridge alone, nor that they were representatives of an international partner. It was rather the case that this innovative structure pulled together the various required components. Following the evaluation process, the Decimal Capital proposal was then shared with various stakeholders for review and comment. In November 2022, one of the principals of Decimal Capital encountered legal problems related to an incident that had occurred several years earlier, and the Board directed that the individual be eliminated from any shareholding or association with Baybridge Asset Management (Baybridge). In consultation with the stakeholders of TOR, it was deemed preferable to replace Baybridge with a new special purpose vehicle, Torrentco Asset Management (Torrentco), to ensure no historic association with the said individual. Of paramount importance to the board was confirmation of the continued support of the structure by the leading energy trading company. Such support was confirmed, and despite the various challenges encountered in attempting to complete the transaction agreements, the Board has always insisted that Torrentco demonstrate a credible source of crude oil supply, the continued involvement of the leading global energy trader to support both the offtake of the products and the build-out of the technical teams. TOR has never waivered from these conditions, and has always maintained this as one of the conditions precedent to the agreement becoming effective. More recently, Torrentco has established a special purpose vehicle, Tema Energy & Processing Limited (TEPL), with the express objective of broadening the benefit in the transaction beyond the single Torrentco shareholder. In so doing, Torrentco sought to establish an entity for the benefit of all the workers of TOR to secure an interest in the lease agreement through a minority shareholding in TEPL. The establishment of this Workers entity appears to have been done in haste, and the board of TOR has instructed the management of TOR to supervise an engagement between the various workforce stakeholders in a bid to establish clear rules and a governance structure for the proposed Workers entity. It is envisaged that proceeds from its shareholding will be applied to various initiatives such as the refurbishment of the TOR medical facilities, TOR clubhouse, purchase of new company buses, worker training and development, and other broad-based benefits to be identified. Key financial highlights of the proposed lease agreement are as follows: TEPL pays: Annual Rent US$1 million per annum Additional Rent US$1.107 million per month (US$13.28 million per annum) Fixed Maintenance Fee US$423,000 per month (US$5.08 million per annum) Variable Maintenance Fee US$3.2 million per annum (based on 8 million barrels of crude oil processed) Bonus payment US$0.5/barrel processed beyond 8 million barrels Annual utilities/insurance premium US$8 million One off payment of US$2.5 million into the TOR provident fund If the Lessee fails to meet its ongoing obligations TOR may terminate at its own option TOR reserved the right to Early Termination at its own option It is important to note that this transaction requires demonstration of significant financial commitments and payments by TEPL even before they have a chance to generate profit from the lease agreement. A significant amount of maintenance and refurbishment work will need to be concluded at the refinery to allow for operations to commence. It is estimated that in excess of US$20 million will be disbursed by TEPL as advance payment of the Fixed Maintenance Fee to enable TOR to conduct the necessary works during the early months of the lease. Over the life of the lease, it is estimated that approximately US$50 million will have been invested in the maintenance and refurbishment of the plant and infrastructure, and TOR will have received in excess of US$170 million in lease rental and maintenance fees from TEPL. In spite of the proposed transaction, the board of TOR has continued to motivate management to seek and welcome alternative proposals to ensure that all avenues continue to be pursued. Indeed, TOR has negotiated the right to terminate the proposed lease agreement with TEPL at any point during the proposed six-year lease term by exercising its Early Buyout Option per the terms of the Lease Agreement, ensuring maximum flexibility for TOR throughout the period, and eliminating the prospect of any sellers remorse. Indeed, management has received visits and proposals from two such alternative prospective investors during the course of the past year but neither has, so far, matured much beyond the early engagement with those investors. The door remains open for them and others to advance credible and robust proposals for the consideration of the company. Prior to the closing of the lease agreement, several conditions precedent remain to be completed including the following: Upfront payment by TEPL of US$2.107 million Approval of NPA Refiner License Approval of the transaction by TOR stakeholders (SIGA, MoE, MoF) Funding of a maintenance reserve account with US$800,000 (this account has already been established and TEPL is currently poised to deposit US$ 1 million to assist with necessary early remedial works at the refinery) Completion of the final due diligence report to the satisfaction of TOR stakeholders The Board is saddened and disappointed by the precipitous action taken by the leaders of the GTPCWU, both nationally and at TOR, who have taken it upon themselves to jump to baseless and, frankly, insulting conclusions without engaging management or the Board to ascertain the facts. It is unclear what has motivated such behaviour by the leaders of GTPCWU, but the board and management will conduct an internal process to understand and deal with this. They continue to express concerns about the impact of the lease on the rights of the workers, but even this has not been articulated. Enquiries at the refinery indicate that the vast majority of workers are hopeful for the conclusion of the proposed transaction, in direct contrast to the assertions made by leaders of the GTPCWU. Their other callous allegations are completely without merit and thoroughly refuted by the board. The Board would have hoped for the opportunity to engage both the Office of The Special Prosecutor and the Attorney General prior to the publication of their letters. These letters which have been widely circulated by the media, and consumed by well-intentioned members of the public, have naturally caused a degree of consternation in the public domain. The Board and management of TOR will avail to the OSP any and all documentation required, and we are certain that a better understanding of the issues and processes will allow for this important project to have a chance of being implemented. The alternative would require that TOR continues its ongoing search for viable options in a very difficult market. The issues raised in the Attorney Generals letter are well understood by the board and management of TOR but happen to be items that are expected to be confirmed as part of the final due diligence and the completion of the various conditions precedent to the transaction. The Board of TOR is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity, ethics and governance in the discharge of its duties, and in keeping with the personal values of its members. The return to a thriving work environment where the staff can once again be proud to be employed by TOR, and the general upliftment of staff morale is also a key priority for the board. TOR is an important national asset that has the potential to make a positive contribution to the economy of our dear country, and the board is determined to discharge its responsibility to the best of its collective capability. An important outcome of the transaction will be the ability for the company to put in place a concrete repayment plan to settle its current outstanding statutory debts, and then to use the period of stability in TOR to allow management, under a separate exercise, to develop a broader restructuring plan for the residual significant commercial debt liabilities. The proposed lease agreement offers the prospect of returning TOR to profitability, ensuring rehabilitation of its equipment and securing the consistent processing of crude oil, ultimately positioning the company with a wider range of longer-term strategic options. The Board of Directors, Tema Oil Refinery. Source: dailyguidenetwork.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Ghana is collaborating with other ECOWAS member states to develop a five-year risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) strategy for public health emergency response. To validate the strategy document, ECOWAS in collaboration with the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) has organised a regional technical workshop on risk communication and community engagement in public health emergency situations in Accra. It was supported by the EU and the German Development Cooperation (GIZ) through its Regional Programme Support to Pandemic Prevention in the ECOWAS Region (RPPP2). The three-day event was aimed at helping WAHO to focus on the risk communication and community engagement readiness and response during public health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants, among other things, discussed the internal and external communication and coordination, public communication, communication engagement with affected communities, and misinformation management and shared experiences from the implementation of previous regional risk communication strategy and also formulated a draft framework for the launch of the new strategy. Addressing the conference, a Deputy Minister of Health, Mahama Asei Seini, said over the years, the ECOWAS region had been experiencing disease outbreaks such as Ebola, monkeypox, influenza, yellow fever, rabies and more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. The ECOWAS region, he said earned a lot of praise for how it handled the COVID-19 pandemic and put emphasis on how communities and risk communication would enhance such efforts. He said he was optimistic that the regional RCCE strategy would address the human and financial resources for health needs, including building capacity for risk communication to strengthen communities ahead of the next pandemic. He recommended that all RCCE interventions should be based on data and research that focused on previous gains and challenges during disease outbreak responses in the region. Prioritising risk communication The Director of Health Promotion at the Ghana Health Service, Dr Da Costa Aboagye, explained that there was the need to prioritise risk communication through allocation of adequate funds. In many cases, he said during disease outbreaks, more attention was paid to laboratory, surveillance and case management yet risk communication and community engagement were crucial as diseases start from the communities and end in the communities. Dr Aboagye, who is also the Chairperson of ECOWAS RCCE Strategy, said the new strategy would focus on prioritising the allocation of enough resources towards communities in curbing outbreaks. RCCE Network, he said had become one of the key pillars of the region in addressing emerging outbreaks and pandemics. To develop human resources, he said there had been training programmes for member countries to build their capacity in RCCE, while a centre had been established in the University of Ghana to train Anglophone members of the network. EU support The head of programme at the GIZ RPPP, Damien Bishop, said the EU was committed to help the ECOWAS region to develop effective RCCE strategy to improve communication preparedness of communities and health workers for disease outbreak. RCCE is for ensuring accurate health information sharing, adoption of protective behaviours by the affected people during disease outbreak, and collaborative participation by all stakeholders, including the local community structures. Source: graphiconline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The government is working towards achieving universal access to electricity by the third quarter of next year, the Minister of Energy, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has said. Currently, the country's electricity coverage is 88.8 per cent. By the definition of the United Nations (UN), attainment of universal access is to have 90 per cent of the population enjoy electricity either in the form of grid, off-grid or a combination of both. "We have a number of projects that are being implemented to achieve this target. The 88.8 per cent we have now is as of the second quarter of this year. We will be updating the figures as and when we complete ongoing projects, he added. This was contained in a speech delivered on behalf of the minister by the Deputy Director of Power in charge of Renewable Energy of the ministry, Seth A. Mahu, at the launch of an ECOWAS Regional off-grid Electricity Access Project (ROGEAP) in Accra yesterday. The $338.7 million ROGEAP project seeks to provide countries with the needed support to foster sustainable access to electricity. The project is being funded by the World Bank with co-financing from Clean Technology Fund (CTF) and the Directorate General of International Cooperation (DGIS) of the government of Netherlands. Among key objectives of the project are identifying policy barriers to the growth of standalone solar market, helping countries to adopt Common External Tarifffs (CETs) to facilitate cross-border trade of standalone solar products and providing access to finance solar companies and beneficiaries. It covers 19 countries, including Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso, the Gambia, Nigeria, Togo, Senegal and Mauritania. Significance Dr Prempeh described the initiative as timely, saying it had the potential to facilitate efforts being made by the government to achieve 100 per cent electricity coverage by 2030 in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Seven. He said to achieve the remaining 10 per cent electricity coverage by 2030, the government was promoting mini-grids and standalone systems. "The governments objective is to deploy 200 of such solutions by 2030, reaching half a million people," the minister added. Dr Prempeh said five of the mini grids had successfully been piloted under the Ghana Energy Development project with funding from the World Bank, while the Swiss government had also funded the construction of three mini-grids in communities in the Ada East District, bringing the number to eight. "We also received funding from the Climate Investment Fund to scale up and we are constructing 35 mini-grids, he said. Collaboration The Coordinator of ROGEAP, Sylla El Hadji, described the project as a game-changer in the provision of electricity to hard-to-reach communities in Africa. He urged the beneficiary countries to work together to ensure the effective implementation of the project to benefit their citizens. Source: graphiconline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Director-General of the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) under ECOWAS, Mr. Edwin W. Harris Jnr. has appealed to Ghanaian journalists to help deepen efforts in identifying and exposing money laundering and terrorist financing activities. According to him, the media remains a veritable channel of increasing awareness, especially on money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF), among the populace. He said this at a 2-day programme by GIABA for media outreach and advocacy activities held at the Alisa hotel in Accra from Monday, November 27 to Tuesday, November 28, 2023. In a speech read on his behalf by Timothy Melaye, the Head of Communications at GIABA, the objective of GIABA AML/CFT media outreach is to harness the massive potential of the media to increase awareness on money laundering and terrorist financing (AML/CFT) issues in West Africa. The outreach activities involved a day each for official advocacy and sensitization visit to the management and editorial team of selected media organizations and an interactive session with reporters in Accra aimed at establishing desk officers for GIABA in media houses. It is also to liaise with the media to educate the populace on the negative impact of money laundering and terrorist financing and raise their interest in supporting the AML/CFT efforts spearheaded by GIABA. A total of 15 selected journalists will benefit from the sensitization workshop on the roles of the media in the fight against economic and financial crimes. The delegation sent by the Director General of GIABA will pay an advocacy visit to 5 media organizations. The GIABA Director General stated that they have been working and building partnerships with media groups and individual journalists to bring to public awareness the negative consequences of ML/TF. The media plays critical role to promote good governance, ensures optimal deployment of state resources, facilitates the protection of rights of citizens and ensures that corrupt officials and corrupt practices are exposed. The media serves as a change agent particularly as an anti-corruption crusade. Therefore, this is another effort to establish and sustain further partnerships with media practitioners across the region. Desk Officers are to be selected through this initiative to attend and publicize GIABAs activities, he emphasized. He added; Since 2009, GIABA has engaged the media through sensitization programs to facilitate their understanding of AML/CFT issues. A significant outcome of the program is forming a regional network of journalists involved in reporting economic and financial crimes. The network is a platform for information sharing and dissemination on the essence of implementing robust AML/CFT measures by GIABA member States. More importantly, the media must not allow itself to be used by suspected money launderers and looters of public treasury to truncate the course of justice. The workshop serves the following purposes: To bring together a broad section of the media from across the country under one group to identify and track down money laundering and financial terrorism activities within and outside the country. Equip the journalists with the right tool to cover, report, and investigate money laundering and other financial crimes in the best way that would help to stem the tide in the country. Equip journalists with the necessary knowledge to educate others in their respective organizations, region, cities, and towns. Touching on the core mandate of GIABA, he said GIABAs core mandate among others includes ensuring the implementation of AML/CFT standards in compliance with acceptable international standards and practices which includes the FATF 40 recommendations. He admitted that though the challenges have been complex with its accompanying onerous task, GIABA has risen to the challenge through various high impact capacity-building programmes, technical assistance to various institutions of member States, sustained partnership with the international community and advocacy and sensitization programmes to a wide range of stakeholders. GIABA promotes the implementation of AML/CFT measures by member States, while taking into account regional peculiarities and environment. It also acts as a forum where members can discuss regional issues and share their experience. GIABA organises self and mutual evaluations to measure the effectiveness of the measures taken as well as their technical compliance with acceptable International Standards and conducts researches on trends and methods with far-reaching outcomes and recommendations to address the menace of ML/TF GIABA coordinates and supports member States in the implementation of AML/CFT systems and legislations regarding the proceeds of crime through mutual legal assistance and further assists member States in establishing and sustaining Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs). The GIABA Director General was confident that this training workshop will become a springboard for renewed commitment by all journalists to identifying the key roles they play in raising awareness as they are crucial in the information chain on money laundering and terrorist financing. As the people bearing responsibility for the content of the news media, editors decide whether to give a news story on money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) prominence or to relegate it. On his part, Minister of Information, Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah called for us to be more committed to programmes like this to help shape and build capacity as well as educate the public. It is critically important for our colleagues in the media, who shine the light on the things that should concern us the most in our democracy, to be abreast with the key developments in the anti-money laundering and terrorist financing ecosystem as we continue our journey in very turbulent times, he stated. The Minister of Information was also optimistic that the GIABA media outreach and advocacy programme will provide the media with the necessary skills to aid them contribute in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing. Our region is increasingly becoming unstable. With the incidents on terrorism and insecurity on the rise. Recent events even in Northern Ghana where efforts to apprehend persons suspected to be associated with terrorism were thwarted by local youth, give cause for concern- that more needs to be done to raise the awareness of the society to her obligations in this fight, Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah observed. He further indicated the role of the media in securing the needed level of public awareness and cooperation saying weak regulatory frameworks, political instability, highly informal economies, transactions across porous borders as well as growing sophistication in cyber activities are creating greater avenues for money laundering and terrorism financing. Money laundering and terrorism divert resources away from legitimate economic activities, hindering economic development and contributing to persistent poverty. They exacerbate income inequality as the proceeds often benefit a small group of individuals or entities, widening the wealth gapThey can deter foreign investors, by signaling weaknesses in a countrys regulatory and governance frameworks. Persistent issues with money laundering can harm a countrys international reputation, affecting its standing in global financial markets and diplomatic relations. The media like other agencies has an important if not peculiar role to play in helping fight back. The media can educate the public about the dangers of money laundering and terrorism, its consequences, and how individuals can contribute to combating it, he added. Source: Peacefmonline Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Minister of information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has called for effective collaboration between journalists and an inter-governmental action group against money laundering in West Africa, GIABA, in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing. According to Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the ECOWAS region is becoming unstable with the increasing incidents of terrorism and insecurity. The Minister speaking at the opening of a two-day national anti-money laundering and combating financing of terrorism media outreach activity at Alisa Hotel in Accra cited a recent incident in the Upper East Region where efforts to apprehend persons suspected to be associated with terrorism were thwarted by local youth. The capacity-building workshop is to equip the 16 participating journalists with the necessary information to educate the public on the negative impact of money laundering and terrorism financing. GIABA is a specialized institution of ECOWAS with the mandate to protect the economies of West African countries from the exploitation of laundering proceeds and crime The Minister admonished there should be enhanced education through awareness creation to keep the people abreast of the negative effects of money laundering and terrorism financing. He also mentioned weak regulatory frameworks, political instability, highly informal economies, transactions across porous borders and growing sophistication in cybercrime as some activities creating avenues for money laundering and terrorism financing. Money laundering and terrorism divert resources away from legitimate economic activities, hindering economic development and contributing to persistent poverty. They exacerbate income inequality as proceeds often benefit a small group of individuals or entities, widening the wealth gap. Persistent issues with money laundering can harm a country's international reputation, affecting its standing in global financial markets and diplomatic relations, he noted. He appealed to the media to increase education on the dangers of money laundering and terrorism saying good quality reporting can shed light on weaknesses in regulatory frameworks and enforcement, encouraging governments to strengthen anti-money laundering measures. The media can provide a platform for whistleblowers to come forward with information on money laundering and terrorism financing activities. It is my expectation that this event will provide our colleagues in the media with the necessary skills required to aid their contribution in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing, he added. He continued; With the right tools, our colleagues in the media will neither bastardize every successful person, nor blindly promote anything that seems wealthy. They will be equipped to assist the society eschew persons involved in or baiting others to assist with money laundering and terrorist financing. Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Fall take on burrata salad at I Bracco, with figs, grapes and walnuts. Alison Cook Crispy artichoke with olive aioli at Il Bracco, a new Italian restaurant opening fall 2021 at 1705 Post Oak. Kathy Tran Meatballs with house-baked focaccia at Il Bracco. Alison Cook Whole-leaf Little Gem Caesar salad at Il Bracco. Alison Cook Housemade linguine with shrimp, lemon and breadcrumbs at Il Bracco. Alison Cook Orzo salad with olives and feta at Il Bracco. Alison Cook Assorted dishes at Il Bracco, a new Italian restaurant opening fall 2021 at 1705 Post Oak. Kathy Tran Pasta with Bolognese sauce and kale salad at Il Bracco, a new Italian restaurant opening fall 2021 at 1705 Post Oak. Kathy Tran The Bracco, a frozen greyhound cocktail with Aperol and fresh grapefruit at Il Bracco, a new Italian restaurant at 1705 Post Oak at San Felipe. Il Bracco Spicy gemelli pasta and meatballs at Il Bracco, a new Italian restaurant at 1705 Post Oak at San Felipe. Il Bracco New York strip steak at Il Bracco, a new Italian restaurant at 1705 Post Oak at San Felipe. Il Bracco Assorted desserts at Il Bracco, a new Italian restaurant at 1705 Post Oak at San Felipe. Il Bracco Assorted dishes at Il Bracco, a new Italian restaurant at 1705 Post Oak at San Felipe. Il Bracco Pesto-crusted salmon, crudo, and pasta with lemon shrimp at Il Bracco, a new Italian restaurant at 1705 Post Oak at San Felipe. Il Bracco Interior design details at Il Bracco, a new Italian restaurant at 1705 Post Oak at San Felipe. Il Bracco Interior design details at Il Bracco, a new Italian restaurant at 1705 Post Oak at San Felipe. Il Bracco Restaurants at Levcor's renovated Post Oak Plaza include il Bracco, an Italian restaurant. More restaurants are coming soon. Levcor Exterior of Il Bracco, a new Italian restaurant at 1705 Post Oak at San Felipe. Il Bracco Walking into Il Bracco, a current of deja vu can sweep your neural system. Youve been here before, in this dim, low-slung room with its clubby booths, its womblike walnut paneling, its prosperous crowd of grown-ups. To one side the travertine bar beckons, like the worlds longest and skinniest horseshoe. The place seems buffered from reality. Neither harsh daylight nor automobile headlights can burst in to spoil the idyll. If youre thinking Hillstone, the restaurant chain we used to know here as Houstons, youd be right. The duo behind Il Bracco, Robert Quick and Matt Gottlieb, are Hillstone group veterans who launched their prototype Italian restaurant four years ago in Dallas Park Cities, a rough equivalent to our River Oaks. Now they seem intent on colonizing Houston, where they recently opened the seafood-centered Balboa Surf Club just across the parking lot. Advertisement Article continues below this ad They brought on noted Texas architect Michael Hsu, who gave the Hillstone-like Il Bracco setup at Post Oak and San Felipe a sleeker, fresher look, while maintaining that trademark clubby calm. They created a menu of what they bill as takes on Italian standards, interwoven with dishes the well-heeled American diner has come to expect in the 2020s: steak tartare; Caesar salad; the inescapable burrata plate; the kale salad; the grain bowl. Theres even an Italianized version of the Hillstones culty French Dip sandwich. Call Il Bracco Italian-ish rather than Italian. The food at the Houston edition can be good, although I wouldnt call it solid. There are too many puzzling missteps for that. But the hospitality and service are top-notch (another Hillstone tradition). The super-vintage R&B soundtrack is just quirky enough to make an impression. And there are enough dishes that hit the mark to bring me back when I want a little vacation from reality. First and foremost: a heap of crispy artichokes thats the real deal, the leaves of baby specimens flash-fried until theyre glassy. They are beautiful and easy to love, with their evanescent crunch so appealing that the side dish of olive aioli, with its spirited tartar-sauce effect, is unnecessary. Artichokes famously clash with wine, but mine were swell with an Il Bracco cocktail, a frozen Greyhound of gin and fresh-squeezed Ruby Red grapefruit that gave it a gorgeous apricot flush. It is one of the better frozen cocktails in town. Id happily eat the tender meatballs, with their unusual blend of pork, lamb and beef; or the mini casserole of eggplant parm swamped in a little too much bright, punchy tomato sauce. The use of fresh, spongy mozzarella lightened things up, and while the discreetly breaded eggplant slices were not crispy, as advertised, they were thick enough to taste like themselves. I appreciated that. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Il Bracco Details: 1705-A Post Oak Blvd., 713-532-9950; ilbraccorestaurant.com/post-oak Food: Italian and Italian-ish staples. Vibe: Clubby, dim Houstons/Hillstone feel, with low-slung room, booth seating, horseshoe bar and lots of wood paneling. Prices: Starters $11-$22; salads & sandwiches $13-$24; entrees $22-$35. Hours: L&D daily; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday Reservations: Walk-ins welcome at both the bar and in the dining room. Book via @resy.com for parties of four or fewer; call 713-532-9950 for four or more. Whos there: Mature crowd peppered with UT Greek alums, drawn from the surrounding Post Oak neighborhood of luxury high-rises and prosperous subdivisions. What to order: Crispy artichokes; whole leaf Caesar; meatballs; linguine al limone with shrimp; eggplant parm; Italian combo sandwich; chopped salad; cheesecake; the Bracco frozen cocktail Service: Unusually cordial and well-trained. Mixtape: Vintage R&B. Noise level: Mostly moderate; can get loud-ish when at capacity. Vegetarian/vegan options: Not so designated on the menu, but there are at least a dozen choices on the menu. Parking: Large, free lot in front. Outdoor seating: Nice patio. Ventilation: Good air movement. Should you want wine to go along, Il Braccos wine-by-the-glass list offers surprisingly good choices, including some versatile and suitable Italians. (My eyes bugged out when I saw the elegant Domaine Ott, one of my favorite French Roses, on the roster.) Il Bracco makes its own pasta, and I liked the al dente bounce and lemony snap of linguine with big, pearly grilled shrimp and a crackly scatter of breadcrumbs for texture. My other forays into the menus pasta section were considerably less pleasant. A Bolognese based on mafaldine was like eating long, crinkled ropes of lasagna noodles encased in salty meat sludge, aka beef, pork and lamb ragu. The mafaldine themselves were so radically al dente, I found them all but inedible. Cacio e pepe, now ubiquitous on local Italian menus, was seriously chewy and strangely flat-tasting, without the aromatic bite that more fresh-ground peppercorn would have imparted. Salads and sandwiches have long been a key to Hillstones appeal, and Il Bracco does some good ones. The combo sandwich is terrific, its Italian salumi (here billed as charcuterie) pumped up with cherry pepper spread, cushioned with a spongy slab of fresh mozzarella, set off by a burst of iceberg chiffonade and melded together with oil and vinegar. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The whole-leaf Caesar an entire head of Baby Gem romaine charmed me with its blossom effect, its spunky dressing and its emphatic crunch of bread crumbs. The big salami-spiked chopped salad scored with its variety of greens, its strips of roasted piquillo peppers, Castelvetrano olives and high-octane peperoncini vinaigrette. I even enjoyed a lively little orzo salad with feta; and the kale salad (which came with a forgettable, very fried version of chicken piccata) featured a nice balance of citrus, almond and ricotta salata. Balance. Theres the word thats been a bit of a hang-up for this kitchen when Ive visited. A handsome edifice of Prime steak tartare arrived with sinus-clearing amounts of Dijon mustard in its beautifully chopped mix. (And what about those pale toast points, with all the charms of hardtack?) An autumnal special of burrata salad could have been great, with its tumble of fresh figs, grapes and walnuts. Too bad that it was doused in way too much vinaigrette for comfort. And Im still puzzling over the Italian Sundae with olive oil, sea salt, pistachios and a tall cloud of whipped cream. It sounded so amusing, but it was composed with way too much olive oil and way too much whipped cream, so that the ice cream was trounced rather than accentuated. Never mind. The sleeper dessert here is a slice of classic New York cheesecake that has zilch to do with Italy and happens to be one of the best versions in Houston. It is modeled after the recipe of one of the partners moms. Its rich, smooth tartness emphasized by the layer of sour cream racing along the top does the family credit. What else do you need to know? That Il Bracco is open daily and continuously, right through afternoon, which makes it even more of a useful amenity. And sometimes, especially at Post Oaks ground-zero intersection, in a moment crammed with choices and irritations and uncertainties, a useful amenity is just what you want. Coup leaders in Niger have overturned an eight-year-old law criminalizing migrant smuggling in the country. The legislation allowed authorities to take action against smugglers who transported migrants through Niger's vast desert onto Libya and Europe. But President Mohamed Bazoum - who had worked with the EU to stem the flow of people across the Mediterranean - was overthrown in July in a coup. Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani has since declared himself the new head of state. His ruling junta announced the repeal in a statement, saying the law "did not take into account the interests of Niger and its citizens". It also said convictions handed down under the 2015 law would be "erased". The move is an indication that the junta in Niger's capital Niamey plans to assert its authority over the country's sovereignty, in defiance of international pressure. Following the coup in the summer, the EU suspended all security cooperation with the landlocked country in West Africa. Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief, joined the US and France in July by refusing to recognize Gen Tchiani as leader. He also said budgetary aid to Niger would be suspended indefinitely. It is not yet clear how the European bloc will respond to what is a huge blow to its strategy for managing migration flows from Africa. In 2015, more than a million asylum seekers and migrants tried to reach Europe, prompting the push for Niger to pass the now-overturned law. Numbers reduced significantly as a result - but traffickers bemoaned its implementation in the years that followed. One, Bachir Amma, told the BBC back in 2019: "If the law was eased I would go back to people trafficking, that's for sure. It earned me as much as $6,000 [4,700] a week, far more money than anything I can do now." He added that the law's strictness meant, if caught, traffickers could go to prison for a "long time" and have their vehicles confiscated. There are now concerns that trafficking gangs could see the repeal of the law as an opportunity to once again push migrants into countries that border Niger, such as Libya or Algeria, for onward transport to Europe. Niger is a key part of the African region known as the Sahel - a belt of land that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The case in which a former National Service person, Deborah Seyram Adablah dragged a former banker, Ernest Kwasi Nimako to court over his failure to fulfil his promise during their amorous relationship has been thrown out by the High Court in Accra. The court presided over by Justice John Bosco Nabarese in his ruling noted that, the relationship is not in conformity to public acceptance, adding the writ raises no reasonable cause of action. The court has also awarded a cost of GH10,000 against Deborah Seyram Adablah. After the ruling, Lawyer Nana Ama Amponsah representing Ernest Kwasi Nimako (Respondent) requested for a GHc 50,000 cost. She contended that, the GH50,000 cedis cost is immeasurable to the damage caused to the former banker especially in this day of social media. Her request was, however, opposed by lawyers of Deborah Seyram Adablah. They were of the view that, the two were lovers, therefore, the court should waiver (do away with the cost). The court after listening to both parties awarded a cost of GH 10,000 against Deborah Seyram Adablah. Deborah Seyram Adablah, a former National Service person in January this year dragged a former banker, Ernest Kwasi Nimako to court after their amorous relationship hit the rocks. Among the things she sought from the court were that, Ernest Kwasi Nimako should pay her a lump sum of money to start a business and also pay her two years rent as agreed. The Defendant, Ernest Nimako on the other hand filed counter application praying the court to dismiss the case. They argue that, the case was frivolous and Warrants no court action. Background Deborah Seyram Adablah's suit, filed on Monday, January 23, 2023, alleges that Ernest Kwasi Nimako, whom she refers to as her "sugar daddy," made several promises to her. According to the plaintiff, Nimako agreed to buy her the car, pay for her accommodation for three years, provide a monthly stipend of GH3,000, marry her after divorcing his wife, and offer a lump sum to start a business. The plaintiff claims that although the car was initially registered in Nimako's name, he later took it back, depriving her of its use after just a year. Additionally, she asserts that Nimako paid for only one year of accommodation, despite promising to cover three years. The plaintiff was seeking an order from the court directed at the sugar daddy to transfer the title of the car into her name, and also give her back the car. She was also asking the court to order the defendant to pay her the lump sum to enable her to start a business to take care of herself as agreed by the plaintiff and the defendant. Another relief is for the court to order the sugar daddy to pay the outstanding two years' accommodation as agreed between her and the defendant. Again, she wanted the court to order the defendant to pay her medical expenses as a result of a side effect of a family planning treatment the defendant told her to do in order not to get pregnant. Source: Philipa Atanga/Court Reporter/Despite Media Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Malawi's government has announced plans to send 5,000 young people to work on Israeli farms, despite criticism for sending 221 young people to the country last weekend. "We are looking at an initial figure of around 5,000, that's what we are targeting now," Malawi Information Minister Moses Kunkuyu told the BBC Newsday programme on Tuesday. "Others [Malawians] have been there for more than five years and we're just adding to those figures." The minister defended the much-criticized move, saying that it was part of the government's ongoing program of providing employment to young people locally and abroad. "This has been happening in Malawi for decades and we've been exporting young people to countries in Africa and outside Africa," Mr Kunkuyu added. Malawian opposition leader Kondwani Nankhumwa had on Monday bashed the government during an interview with BBC Newsday, accusing it of endangering Malawians by sending them to a country at war. Mr Kunkuyu, however, said that Israel had assured Malawi that its citizens would work in safe zones unaffected by the fighting. The Malawians will replace some of the more than 10,000 foreign farm workers who have left Israel due to the war. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The National Farmers Day was instituted by the Government in 1985 in recognition of the vital role farmers and fishermen play in the Ghanaian economy. This was to emphasize the highly commendable output of farmers and fishermen in 1984 (about 30% growth registered), after the bad agricultural years of 1982 and 1983. The annual celebration of National Farmers Day is here with us. The event is the biggest statutory obligation that provides the platform to celebrate Ghanaian farmers and fishers for their contribution to the economy. This event is not just about awards, but a celebration of the entire agriculture and fishing community, from innovative farming techniques to sustainable practices in fishing. The overwhelming consensus around the celebrations attests to the nations profound appreciation of the role and contribution of farmers to national development. It is important to keep reminding ourselves that farmers and fishers are indeed indispensable in the national economic fortunes It is hard to imagine our fate without farmers and fishers. This years National Farmers Day Celebration therefore provides us with an opportunity to highlight the importance of sustainable agriculture practices,celebrate the contributions of farmers, and reflect on the positives, as well as challenges currently impacting the well-being of farmers and Ghanas agriculture in general. The logical response of the Ministry under the leadership of the current Minister Dr. Bryan Acheampong has been to undertake a diagnosis of the the sector. This action has given a full understanding and appreciation of issues that have informed the appropriate course of action for tackling the problems identified, and for enhancing the implementation of interventions. Given the above, The Planting for Food and Jobs Phase II (PFJ 2.0) Programmewas launched in the Northern Region by H.E. the President in October 2023. This provides an innovative and comprehensive approach building on the successes of the initial/first PFJ campaign. PFJ 2.0 takes a holistic view of the value chain approach by focussing on strengthening linkages among actors along selected agricultural commodity value chains and improving service delivery to maximize impact. The programme substitutes direct input subsidy with smart agricultural financial support in the form of comprehensive input credit with provision for in-kind repayment. The theme for the 2023 National Farmers Day The Theme for this years Farmers Day Celebration, is Delivering Smart Solutions for Sustainable Food Security and Resilience. This is appropriate and relevant to achieving food security in Ghana within the context of an increase in population growth and its accompanying food system issues. Ghana, like many developing countries, faces challenges in ensuring sustainable food security. The country has to grapple with low agricultural productivity, limited market access, and a changing climate. As a result, it is critical to identify and deliver smart solutions that can enhance the food system's resilience and ensure sustainable food security. Mode of Celebration for 2023 The National Farmers Day at the National Level in many years was celebrated in a day, this was however revised to a 5-Day Agricultural Fair and a Grand Durbar. The essence was to allow farmers to network with industry players and learn and adopt new technologies, machinery, and research innovations in agriculture. The fair also offered a business platform for various stakeholders to link up and form partnerships that will ensure the overall benefit of their farm enterprises. Mode of Celebration 2023 The year's celebration would as usual be preceded by a 5-Day National Agricultural Festival, Agrifest Ghana 2023 which is slated from Monday, 27th November to Friday, 1st December 2023. Agrifest Ghana 2023 is expected to be held on the principal streets of the Ministerial enclave in Accra. The last day of Agrifest which marks the first Friday of December will be celebrated with an Awards Night Ceremony at the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), Auditorium where H E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana will confer national honours on best-performing farmers and fishers. A total of fifteen award categories will receive recognition at the Award Night in Tarkwa, namely: 1. Overall National Best Farmer 2. 1st Runner-Up National Best Farmer, 3. 2nd Runner-Up National Best Farmer 4. National Best Livestock Farmer 5. National Best Female Farmer 6. National Best Physically Challenged 7. Farmer Overall National Best Fisher 8. National Best Marine Fisher 9. National Best Inland Fisher 10. National Best Fisher Farmer 11. National Best Fish Processor 12. National Best Cocoa Farmer 13. National Best Most Promising Young Cocoa Farmer 14. National Best Most Enterprising Cocoa 15. Female Farmer and National Best Shea Nut Picker. Regional-Level Celebration Regional Farmers' Day celebration will continue to be held in all sixteen (16) regions. Accordingly, Honourable Regional Ministers will confer regional honors on the best-performing farmers in their region on behalf of His Excellency the President. There would be five (5) regional award categories per region, namely: The Regional Best Farmer, Regional Best Livestock Farmer,Regional Best Female Farmer, Regional Best Fisher, and Regional Physically Challenged Farmer. District-level celebration District-level celebrations are expected to be held in the Two Hundred and Sixty-One Districts (261). District award categories will be three (3) per district, namely: District Best Farmer, District Best Livestock Farmer, and District Best Crop Farmer. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video President Cyril Ramaphosa has told South Africans they could learn a thing or two about supporting their own government from Chinese people. "Everyone must be a messenger. We must be like China. In China nearly everyone is a messenger - every Chinese is a messenger for their country, they never badmouth their own country. Never badmouth your country," he said at a community meeting in Durban. China is a one-party state where people who criticize the government are subject to arbitrary arrest and detention, rights groups say. South Africa, which has strong business and diplomatic links which China, is a multiparty democracy that has been governed by the African National Congress since apartheid ended in 1994. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Blueberry exports are growing faster in Zimbabwe than anywhere else in the world, according to industry analysts East Fruit. South Africa, European Union countries, the UK, Russia and the Middle East are said to be Zimbabwe's main markets. "On average over the past five years, Zimbabwe has increased blueberry exports by 63% each year. In 2022, exports grew by 85%... which allowed the country to enter the top 15 countries in blueberry exports and overtake Serbia in volume," East Fruit quotes a UN Food and Agriculture Organization official as saying. The news has been welcomed by Zimbabwean media, with the state-owned Herald declaring it as proof that the country was regaining its status as a breadbasket. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Uganda's finance ministry has announced plans to borrow a $150m (118m) loan from China's Exim bank to develop the country's internet infrastructure. Uganda's ICT minister and junior finance minister presented the proposal on Monday to the parliamentary committee on national economy. The move highlights Uganda's growing reliance on China for funding after the World Bank, one of its largest funders, suspended funding in August due to Uganda's adoption of a contentious anti-homosexuality law. Uganda previously took out a controversial $200m loan from the Chinese bank to expand the Entebbe International Airport. The loan has been criticized by some as imposing exploitative terms on Uganda. Uganda is also in talks with Chinese export credit agency Sinosure for a loan to help fund a $5bn pipeline through which Uganda plans to export crude oil to Tanzania. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration is contemplating a raise in passport application fees in the coming days, citing a scarcity of raw materials and equipment needed to meet the surging demand at the passport office. The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong, underscored the necessity for a fee adjustment, pointing to rising production costs and the current affordability compared to other West African countries. He highlighted ongoing discussions with Parliament to determine and finalize the approved fees. Mr. Ampratwum-Sarpong expressed concern that Ghanaians currently pay $8, while citizens of neighbouring countries shell out approximately $40 for the same service. Plans are underway to introduce chip-embedded passports in the second quarter of 2024 to bolster security in alignment with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards. Liberia charges $50, we charge $8, meaning we have to subsidize every passport. So the money to buy the printers is used to subsidize the passports And also, we are thinking of upgrading our passport from biometric to chip-embedded. So the chip-embedded version is going to cost more. If we continue charging at $8, we will continue to face the problems that we are having at the passport office So we have to raise the fees, he said. Source: graphiconline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The government of Sierra Leone has designated Sundays unrest as a failed coup attempt. It's the first time the authorities are acknowledging that the co-ordinated attack on barracks and prisons in the capital were an attempted military takeover. Sierra Leonean Information Minister Chernor Bah called Sundays violence an attempt to illegally subvert and overthrow the elected government of Sierra Leone. Thirteen military officers and one civilian have been arrested. On Tuesday morning, shots were fired in the Murray Town neighbourhood of Freetown. Police say the gunshots were part of an operation to apprehend some of the perpetrators of Sunday's attack. They added that a person of interest had been detained and that no one was hurt. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Cardinal Peter Appiah Turkson, seen by some as a candidate to become the first African Pope in about 1,500 years has reiterated his position on why LGBTQIA+ should not be an imposition. In a Hard Talk interview with the BBC on Monday morning, [Nov 27, 2023], Cardinal Turkson said although he thinks that gay people or LGBTQIA+ may not be criminalised, it shouldn't be an imposition. "Neither should these positions be imposed on cultures which are not ready for that," he said in the BBC interview with Stephen Sackur. Stephen Sackur: Lets start with something which is very current, that is the discussion in the church on key issues of sexuality and gender. Now I refer the beginning of this interview to Pope Francis and the hopes that have been vested in him to show leadership. I will put it to you that on some of these key issues for example, the churches attitude to homosexuality, for example the possibility of giving blessing to gay marriages in church, the attitude to LGBTQ community generally. Pope Francis has sent a confusion, not a clear message. Cardinal Turkson: No, but lately about a week or so ago he came out with a small document just saying clearly what his position on all of these are, that LGBT people can be blessed, they can be admitted to church, and all of that, they can even become God parents of children and people who are being baptised and all of that. So he [Pope] himself has signalled, partly stuff that used to be left neck belows, undecided and all that and come clearly with these Stephen Sackur: So you see him [Pope] as now following a policy which many people regard as, within the Catholic perspective liberal, doesnt that put you [Turkson], personally in a very difficult position. Because your own position for example on homosexuality seems quite clear, I have looked at your record over many years, you have been a consistent conservative on these issues. Cardinal Turkson: Those are the expressions again, conservative, progressive, you know, my thing has been this, and Ill refer you to an interesting episode, a situation I got into responding to an invitation to go speak in Slovenia at one point and then the Bishops were wondering whether to allow it because there was a lot of media agitation. My position has simply been this, that LGBT, gay people may not be criminalised because theyve committed no crime, but neither should this position also become something to be imposed on cultures, which are not yet ready to accept stuff like that. Stephen Sackur: You are Ghanaian, this summer, the Ghanaian Parliament passed, it is called the Appropriate sexual rights and family values at which a tougher regime for gay people clearly criminalises homosexuality in Ghana, up to 10 years in prison for LGBT The Ghanaian Catholic Bishops Conference said that western countries must stop in certain attempts to impose unacceptable foreign cultural values on us. Are you backing that statement and therefore defending the criminalisation of homosexuality? Cardinal Turkson: What I just said to you is, my position is contrary to what has just been passed, to criminalise anybody, if you are able to identify the crime, LGBT cases are not to be criminalised but neither, and this I think is basically what caused all of this in Ghana, the Ghanaian culture has known of people, with some such tendencies, and I say this because there is an expression in the local Akan language of men who act like women, and women who act like men, there is an expression for them [Kojo Besia], which means that this phenomenon is been known in the culture in the community and all of that. But nobody went round to make any policy out of that, now I think what caused all of these was our attempts to link some foreign donations and grants to certain positions, which needed to be imposed in the name of freedom, in the name of respect for rights and all that. I think that is what led to this thing going to Parliament. Reacting to the suggestion that Cardinal Peter Appiah Turkson could become the first African Pope in about 1,500 years, he jokingly, and interjecting while the question was still being posed said, "I pray a lot also against it." Later in the BBC Hard Talk interview on Monday morning, monitored by Graphic Online, the interviewer, Stephen Sackur asked, "I just want to end with a more personal form. I began by saying you have been widely tipped as a possible first African Pope." It was at this point that Cardinal Turkson injected and stated, "I greatly, I pray a lot also against it" amidst a laugh, he, however said, it will be in God's own time. The interviewer, Stephen Sackur continued and said, "you have addressed the possibility in the past. In 2013 you said it will certainly mean a lot to me [Turkson] if I had to be Pope, if I was elected, it will signal a very big personal change, but it wouldn't just be a personal change, would it, it would also be a recognition of the change, extremely important role that Africa is now playing in the Catholic Church. My final question, is it time, for an African Pope, for a black Pope?" Cardinal Turkson's answer This was Cardinal Appiah Turkson's answer: "It will be time if it is time in God's time table, because the church belongs to its Lord. And the Lord has never abandoned the church and left the church, so I believe, and I have been in St Peter's Square at the election of three Popes in the past, and my thing has always been that of prayer." "May the Lord who founded the church provide for the church always the type of leadership that he considers suitable for the church at this point in history and if this time round...[Stephen Sackur interjects: Has it reached that time now] Cardinal Turkson answers: "Ok, so it is up to him [Lord] to decide, not me [Turkson], I pray for it but he [Lord] decides." Source: Daily Graphic Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Starbucks logo is seen on a shop, March 14, 2017, in downtown Pittsburgh. Police are investigating acts of vandalism graffiti at two Houston-area Starbucks locations Sunday night as the company draws controversy amid the Israel-Hamas conflict. Gene J. Puskar/AP A Starbucks at 23227 Gosling in Spring was vandalized with apparent Pro-Palestine messaging Sunday night. Another Spring Starbucks at 5911 FM 2920 also had messages left in graffiti. Claire Partain A Starbucks at 23227 Gosling in Spring was vandalized with apparent Pro-Palestine messaging Sunday night. Another Spring Starbucks at 5911 FM 2920 also had messages left in graffiti. Claire Partain A Starbucks at 23227 Gosling in Spring was vandalized with apparent Pro-Palestine messaging Sunday night. Another Spring Starbucks at 5911 FM 2920 also had messages left in graffiti. Claire Partain A coalition of unions and supporters join Starbucks workers at a rally outside a midtown Manhattan Starbucks coffee store calling for a "fair schedules and wages," Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in New York. A Starbucks at 23227 Gosling in Spring was vandalized with apparent Pro-Palestine messaging Sunday night. Another Spring Starbucks at 5911 FM 2920 also had messages left in graffiti. Bebeto Matthews/AP A coalition of unions and supporters join Starbucks workers at a rally outside a midtown Manhattan Starbucks coffee store, calling for a "fair schedules and wages," Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in New York. A Starbucks at 23227 Gosling in Spring was vandalized with apparent Pro-Palestine messaging Sunday night. Another Spring Starbucks at 5911 FM 2920 also had messages left in graffiti. Bebeto Matthews/AP New York Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, center, uses a megaphone to address a coalition of unions and supporters of Starbucks workers, during a rally outside a midtown Manhattan Starbucks coffee store, calling for "fair schedules and wages," Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in New York. Bebeto Matthews/AP Police are investigating acts of vandalism at two Houston-area Starbucks locations after messages calling to boycott Starbucks and free Palestine were spray-painted on the buildings in red Sunday night. The messages were painted on the drive-thru and front entrance of Starbucks locations at 23227 Gosling and 5911 FM 2920 at Kuykendahl in Spring. The vandalism comes as both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli leaders and activists have called to boycott the global coffee chain after a polarizing social media post from a union organizing its workers. Advertisement Article continues below this ad A Starbucks spokesperson told the Chronicle via email that the company is aware of the situation. We are aware of the incidents occurring overnight at our stores in Spring, the spokesperson said. The experience and well-being of our partners and customers is core to our operation. Other acts of vandalism have occurred at locations nationwide. A Starbucks spokesperson told the Associated Press its workers have faced hostile customers, and the company received hundreds of complaints about the unions pro-Palestinian post. It is unclear if the Spring vandalism is related to the social media response or current lawsuits. Harris Countys Precinct 4 Constables Office is investigating vandalism at the Kuykendahl location, Constable Mark Herman said. Herman said Free Palestine was spray painted onto the coffee shops exterior walls and that the department was going through surveillance footage to identify a suspect. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Graffiti at the Gosling location read boycott Starbucks, Stop killing children, Free Palestine and Stop genocide. Starbucks and the union organizing its workers have filed lawsuits against each other after a polarizing social media post regarding the Israel-Hamas war Oct. 9. Starbucks Workers United posted Solidarity with Palestine! on X, formerly known as Twitter, two days after Hamas members invaded southern Israel. The post was up for about 40 minutes before it was deleted, and the organization said the post was not authorized by its union leaders. The group posted in support of Palestinians Oct. 20 but said it does not support any acts of violence. Advertisement Article continues below this ad We are opposed to violence, and each death occurring as the result of violence is a tragedy, Starbucks Workers United said in the post. We absolutely condemn anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. Starbucks executive vice president Sara Kelly said in a statement the companys leadership strongly disagreed with views expressed by Starbucks Workers United. The company filed a lawsuit alleging trademark infringement, demanding that the group stop using its title and the symbol that resembles the companys logo. Some perceive Starbucks' reaction as being pro-Israel, although its official statements express sympathy for both innocent Israelis and Gazans. ALSO SEE: New Caney BBQ restaurant closes indefinitely after Thanksgiving fire Starbucks unequivocally condemns acts of hate, terrorism and violence, Kelly wrote in a letter to employees. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Five months after Parliament had passed the Criminal Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which makes it an offence to accuse any person of being a witch, the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, is yet to assent to it to become law. So, technically, there is no such law which makes it an offence to refer to someone as a witch. The Minority, championed by the MP for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu, maintained that the failure of the President to assent to the bill constituted a constitutional breach which should not be countenanced. Article 106 (7) (8) (9) (10) state: Where a bill passed by Parliament is presented to the President for assent, he shall signify, within seven days after he refuses to assent to the bill, unless the bill has been referred by the President to the Council of State under Article 90 of this Constitution. Where the President refuses to assent to a bill, he shall, within 14 days after the refusal - (a) state in a memorandum to the Speaker any specific provisions of the bill which in his opinion should be reconsidered by Parliament, including his recommendations for amendments, if any; or (b) inform the Speaker that he has referred the bill to the Council of State for consideration and comment under Article 90 of this Constitution. Parliament shall reconsider a bill taking into account the comments made by the President or the Council of State, as the case may be, under clause (8) of this article. (10) Where a bill reconsidered under clause (9) of this article is passed by Parliament by a resolution supported by the votes of not less than two-thirds of all the members of Parliament, the President shall assent to it within 30 days after passing of the resolution. Current state However, the President has not offered any official explanation yet, raising eyebrows of members from the Minority side. In the ensuing debate, the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, jumped to the defence of the President by saying that he (the President) had noticed some technical challenges in the bill and had arranged to meet with the Speaker to iron them out before passing it into law. Speaker The Speaker, Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, noticed yesterday that the bill, even though it had been passed by the House, had found its way back into the Order Paper for consideration. He, subsequently, ordered that it be taken out of the Order Paper immediately. The Speaker said Parliament was a serious organ and must therefore be taken seriously. The Bill The Bill sought to explicitly criminalise the practice of witchcraft accusation and proscribe the declaration, accusation, naming or labelling of another person as a witch, and its related matters. The object of the bill is to amend the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), to prohibit the practice by any person as a witch doctor or witch finder. It formed part of the broad policy measures to deal with attacks and human rights violations arising out of witchcraft accusations. Unanimous support During the debate that preceded the third reading of the bill, all the Members of Parliament, who took part in the debate, unanimously called for the criminalisation of all witchcraft activities and accusation of witchcraft, as well as the abolition of all witch camps in the country. Initiative The bill was laid in Parliament on March 31, 2023, by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Madina, Francis-Xavier Sosu, on behalf of other co-sponsors. They were Mr Sosu, MP for Pusiga, Hajia Laadi Ayii Ayamba; MP for Wa East, Dr Godfred Seidu Jasaw; MP for Krachi, Helen Adjoa Ntoso, and MP for Afram Plains North, Betty Nana Efua Krosbi Mensah. Source: graphiconline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Embarking on a mission to alleviate the burden of medical bills on the less fortunate, the Vodafone Ghana Foundations Annual Homecoming Program has once again demonstrated its steadfast commitment to humanitarian causes. The Middle Belt edition, conducted from November 22nd to 24th, has successfully discharged 61 insolvent patients from key government hospitals in the region. The compassionate initiative, which began in 2011, has been a beacon of hope for those unable to settle their medical bills, providing relief to over 2,000 patients since its inception. This years Middle Belt edition continued the tradition, focusing on government hospitals in the Western North, Brong Ahafo, and Bono East Regions. This years journey commenced with the launch in the Southern Belt at the Tema General Hospital, cascading through Winneba and Keta General Hospitals in the Volta and Central Regions. The Middle Belt edition of the program extended its benevolent touch, transforming the lives of 13 patients at Bibiani Government Hospital, 37 at Asunafo South District Hospital, and 11 at the Abrafi Government Hospital. Mr. Kwakye, a beneficiary who underwent surgery for an obstruction of the large intestines and was facing a challenging health crisis, found solace in the support of the Vodafone Ghana Foundation. Nick-named the class prefect of the ward due to his prolonged stay at the male ward at Bibiani Government Hospital, he expressed his heartfelt appreciation to the Vodafone Ghana Foundation. He said, I eagerly anticipate reuniting with my family. I extend my sincere gratitude to the Vodafone Ghana Foundation for putting an end to my prolonged stay. I am profoundly thankful and stand as evidence of the positive impact the Foundation is making in our country, he said. The Homecoming Program, with its three-phase approach, aims to discharge 200 patients across the Northern, Middle, and Southern belts of Ghana. As it progresses, it continues to embody the essence of compassion and community uplifting, making a tangible difference in the lives of those who need it the most. In a world often filled with challenges, the Vodafone Ghana Foundations unwavering commitment to the well-being of the less fortunate shines as a beacon of hope, proving that collective efforts can truly bring about positive change. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video An 18-year-old girl has allegedly been killed by her own family after being sentenced to death by village elders for dancing with a boy in a video that went viral on social media in Pakistan. The killing occurred on Sunday, November 26, in the village of Barsharyal in Pakistan's mountainous Kohistan region. The incident is being investigated by Pakistani police as a potential honour killing. It was gathered that a friend who also appeared in the video was sentenced to death as well but was rescued by police before it could be carried out. Masood Khan, deputy superintendent of police in the Kolai-Palas district, said: 'They shot dead one of them while police rescued the second one. 'We have launched an investigation to trace those who killed the girl and who either advised or convened a jirga (the village elders) and sentenced her to death.' He added that nobody was above the law and all those involved in the brutal killing would be brought to justice at any cost. The second girl, who was rescued by the police due to the expected threats to her life, was returned home with her father soon after, as a senior civil judge ruled that her life was not in any danger. The boys who appeared in the videos have also gone into hiding, fearing reprisals. Dr Farzana Bari, a human rights activist told Geo.tv of her concern for the safety of the second girl. She believed that she would likely be murdered sooner or later and remains under serious threat, continuing that 'she has probably been misguided by her family. Knowing the kind of mindset that exists in the area, I think this girl would be killed.' The caretaker chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Syed Irshad Hussain Shah, said he had ordered police to arrest those responsible. 'We are investigating,' Khan said, adding that male relatives of the young woman were believed to be involved in the killing, as public images of women are considered taboo in the area. Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Member of Parliament for Juaben and Deputy Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ama Pomaa Boateng, has funded a comprehensive training programme in Robotics for 120 students in the Juaben Constituency. The initiative, aimed at equipping the youth with valuable skills in the rapidly evolving digital landscape, saw participants engage in an intensive and hands-on learning experience. The programme covered key aspects of web development and the Internet of Things (IoT), providing the students with a solid foundation in these crucial technological domains. To ensure the continuity of their exploration, Ama Pomaa Boateng donated smart watches and phones to the participants. Additionally, she donated STEM kits to the ICT centres, fostering continuous practice and creating opportunities for more children to benefit from similar training. Through her educational Tech Club, the Pomaa Tech Club, she donated one thousand Ghana Cedis to the ICT centres to help with operational activities. In collaboration with the Juaben Municipal Education Directorate, I am excited to announce the upcoming Training of Trainers programme for ICT teachers. This initiative ensures the continuous training of communities in Juaben, reinforcing our commitment to excellence in robotics education, she said at the event. The event provided a platform for the students to showcase their projects and achievements, offering a glimpse into the innovative solutions they developed during the training. The Municipal Chief Executive for Juaben, Omane Aboagye, commended the deputy minister for the thoughtful initiative and emphasised the positive impact such programmes have on community development. Parents and guardians in attendance expressed their appreciation for the initiative, noting the transformative effect it had on their childrens lives. They highlighted the foresight of Ama Pomaa Boateng in recognising the need for practical skills that align with the demands of the contemporary job market. As the Deputy Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ama Pomaa Boateng reiterated the governments commitment to fostering digital inclusion and ensuring that no one is left behind in the digital era. The success of this programme serves as a testament to Ama Pomaa Boatengs dedication to the well-being and progress of the constituents in Juaben. The Member of Parliament expressed gratitude to all partners and stakeholders who supported the initiative, including the dedicated trainers who played a crucial role in imparting knowledge and skills to the participants. The graduation ceremony was graced by the presence of esteemed dignitaries, including the MCE for Juaben, Municipal Director of Education, Assembly Members, Presiding Members, ICT Coordinators, dedicated teachers, proud parents, head teachers from various schools and the constituents. 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. Featured Video President Akufo-Addo has sent a strong note of caution to elements in the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and others who may want to foment trouble before, during and after the 2024 elections to exercise restraint. It follows a supposed clean-up exercise organised by the NDC at the office of former President Mahama last week. The NDC youth were seen brandishing machetes and other dangerous weapons to distract a pro-New Patriotic Party (NPP) group from holding a demonstration at the office of the former President. Speaking at the Valedictory Service for outgoing Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana Rt. Rev. Prof. Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante yesterday, President Akufo-Addo said it is my earnest hope that the machetes and weapons brandished last week at the residence of the NDC presidential candidate, the former President John Dramani Mahama are not signs of things to come up in the run-up to the 2024 elections. Then came an assurance, if it is, I can assure you that they will find no success with them, whilst noting with emphasis, I want to state for the record that under my watch, no person or group of persons, no matter their political correlation will distabilise our country or destroy the peace that all of us are enjoying. It will not happen. He, however, asked all believers to continue to pray for Ghanas peace and unity so we can continue to move forward as a united nation; as a beacon of stability and freedom in Africa. I need the support of every Ghanaian, together with the press and the church to help me and my government to carry out our mandate successfully, he prayed. He asked for the church and Ghanaians to also remember him in prayers, for the Lord to give him wisdom, strength, integrity, courage and compassion to enable him execute his duties as a good leader since it is his conviction that with him (God) all things are possible. On the economy, he said, I want to assure you that the Akufo-Addo government is working hard to return the economy to the high rates of growth as characterised the management of the economy in the years preceding the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, which made our economy one of the fastest growing in the world at the time. He stressed the belief that we can only do so if we forge ahead in unity and faith and have the belief that by the grace of the Almighty God, the fortunes of Ghana under the presidency of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will be restored. Whilst he admitted that times have been hard, he indicated It is clear that our economy is rebounding back and we are returning the economy back to growth and development. The President disclosed that the government had to take some very difficult and hard decisions to improve the economy, insisting the policies and programmes we are implementing are meant to address the challenges, and it is evident that they are doing so. Nevertheless, I will continue to need your understanding and active cooperation; we can make it if all of us work at it. Source: dailyguidenetwork.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Socialite and music entrepreneur Stephanie Benson has cautioned against the popular cosmetic procedure known as Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL), emphasizing potential health risks and a significant chance of death. Speaking on TV3 about her health challenges and recovery from a recent surgical procedure, Benson expressed her strong stance on prioritizing health. She disclosed, The chances of you dying on Liposuction is a lot less than going to do a BBL. BBL is at least a 70% chance you might pass away. Benson, who recently underwent gallbladder removal surgery while battling cancer, emphasized the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle before considering any surgical enhancements. She encouraged women to focus on their well-being, cautioning against the allure of cosmetic procedures without addressing underlying health concerns. Highlighting that reputable surgeons in the UK and America discourage BBL procedures, Benson shared a personal tragedy of a close friend who lost her life due to the same cosmetic surgery. The Brazilian Butt Lift, a procedure aimed at augmenting the size and shape of the buttocks, has become increasingly popular globally. Stephanie Bensons warning serves as a timely reminder for individuals, especially women, to prioritize health and make informed decisions when considering cosmetic procedures, urging a careful evaluation of associated risks before opting for surgeries with potentially life-threatening consequences. Source: dailyguidenetwork.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video 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 Experts from the University of Birmingham are calling for global cooling and cold chain to be considered as critical infrastructure as the planet continues to heat. The report, "The Hot Reality: Living in a +50C World," comes as world leaders, businesses, scientists, and environmental agencies gather in Dubai for the start of COP 28. The Hot Reality: Living in a +50C World project is led by the Center for Sustainable Cooling and the Africa Center of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold-Chain (ACES) in Kigali, Rwanda. The report outlines the need to formally designate cooling infrastructure systems as critical infrastructure, central to our climate adaptation strategy for a fast-warming world. It describes the benefits this would bring and proposes important next steps that must now be taken towards this vital goal. Toby Peters, Professor of Cold Economy at the University of Birmingham and Heriot-Watt University, and one of the co-authors of the report said, "The provision of cooling is not an optional extra or a lifestyle luxury. It is a critical service for a well-functioning, well-adapted, resilient, and healthy society, and economy, enabling access to the basic essentials of life, such as food and health, and providing safe environments to live, work, learn and play." "However, despite cooling being vital to every nation's productivity, prosperity, and economic well-being, it is typically absent from lists of important national infrastructure." Professor Peters added, "In recent years we have seen record-breaking summer temperatures in the high 40Cs and low 50Cs being measured in places where this would have previously been unimaginable." "As the world continues to warm our need to adapt to increasing seasonal ambient temperatures as well as more frequent, prolonged, and intense heat waves, the energy resources, equipment, assets, people, business and finance models and other components that form the infrastructure systems delivering the critical service of cooling will be at the core of adaption and resilience strategies." The challenge is that cooling already accounts for already account for more than 7% of all GHG emissions. It is estimated that these emissions could double by 2030. Moreover, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are the fastest-growing source of GHG emissions in the world because of the increasing global demand for space cooling and refrigeration. Dr. Leyla Sayin, Deputy Director for the Center for Sustainable Cooling, said, "Cooling's central role to the economic functioning of society, as well as its impact on energy, demands that it should be a distinct cross-cutting sector within the suite of 'economic infrastructure' considered by Governments, particularly in the context of future climate change and the impact of higher temperatures. Taking a high-level, holistic, whole systems thinking approach is a prerequisite for an optimized outcome to planning, building, operating, maintaining, adapting, and decommissioning such infrastructure sustainably." The report sets out five main recommendations to improve adaptability to our rapidly heating planet. National governments and international governance bodies worldwide should recognize that cooling is a critical service and designate the infrastructure which delivers it as critical infrastructure. National governments should develop integrated, future-proofed strategies for adaptation to climate change-induced heat impacts with the provision of sustainable cooling infrastructure at their core, including policies based on a comprehensive assessment of the food, health, digital industrial and economic security implications of sustainable cooling for their citizens. Governments, infrastructure designers, developers and operators, and academia should take a holistic, whole systems thinking approach to planning, building, operating, maintaining, adapting, and decommissioning cooling infrastructure. Governments, academia, infrastructure designers and civil society should recognize that the majority of the energy services required to support a modern society are thermal and adopt a thermal thinking approach to energy system policymaking, research, and design worldwide. Governments need to quantify the wider social impact of the cold chain to understand their stakeholder role and justify active investment in the development of the cooling and cold chain as a part of the country's critical infrastructure. Professor Peters concluded, "A lot of work needs to be done now, on the global cold chain and cooling infrastructure to meet the myriad of challenges that living in a +50C world presents. We simply do not have the luxury of time to put this off. We need to realize that treating cooling as critical is a matter of survival." 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: Prevalence of community beliefs about the necessity of corporal punishment by age groups across the community and by parental status. Credit: Australian Journal of Social Issues (2023). DOI: 10.1002/ajs4.301 Australia should join 65 other nations that have passed laws against corporal punishment of children in all settings to advance its goal of reducing all forms of violence against children, QUT researchers say. 6 in 10 of 8,500 Australians surveyed were smacked or physically punished as children Survey shows only 14% of parents aged 1624 have used physical punishment; among those surveyed aged 65 and over, 64.2% had used it 7 in 10 parents think smacking children is not necessary A public health strategy including non-violent alternatives to accompany potential legislative change is needed. Dr. Divna Haslam and Professor Ben Mathews, from QUT School of Law, said the time was right for legislation to ban corporal punishment. Dr. Haslam led the first national Australian study of prevalence and attitudes to corporal punishment which analyzed data regarding corporal punishment contained in the Australian Child Maltreatment Study. The study, "The prevalence of corporal punishment in Australia: Findings from a nationally representative survey," is published in the Australian Journal of Social Issues. "Corporal punishment is defined here as the use of physical force to cause pain, but not injury, for the purposes of behavioral discipline or correction," Dr. Haslam said. "We asked 8,503 Australians aged 16 and over if an adult had ever smacked or physically punished them to discipline them for misbehavior and 6 in 10 people said 'yes.'" "Decades of research has shown corporal punishment is associated with a range of adverse outcomes including increased aggression, both externalizing and internalizing behavior problems, decreases in cognitive ability, mental health problems, and even neurological changes." Dr. Haslam said only a quarter (26%) of those surveyed believed corporal punishment was necessary in raising a child. "Of note, Australians aged under 45 are much less likely to view corporal punishment as necessary than those over 45, " she said. "This suggests the Australian community may be receptive to attempts for law reform in this area. "There's also evidence suggesting the use of corporal punishment may be declining. Younger parents were only a tenth as likely to use physical punishment as the oldest parents." Dr. Haslam said corporal punishment by parents was lawful in Australia because legislation and common law in all states and territories permitted parents to use "reasonable" physical force for the purposes of discipline or punishment. "A study of eight countries that instituted legal bans against corporal punishment found rates of corporal punishment and beliefs about its necessity decreased in only three of the eight countries following legislative change," she said. "However, the countries with greater positive change had a public health strategy that raised awareness about corporal punishment's adverse effects and provided parenting education on alternative strategies to respond to children's behavior." Dr. Haslam and colleagues argue Australia needs legal change to create a new social norm prohibiting violence against children, combined with a public health strategy promoting appropriate responses to challenging child behaviors. The study also showed: Overall, half of Australian parents (53.7%) have used corporal punishment, with younger parents being much less likely to use it than older parents. Men are more likely to believe corporal punishment is necessary than women. Mothers and fathers were equally likely to use corporal punishment. Parents are slightly more likely to believe corporal punishment is necessary than non-parents (30.9% compared to 19%) People who had experienced corporal punishment as children were more likely to use corporal punishment and believe it was necessary, (60.4% versus 53.7%) suggesting intergenerational patterns. Dr. Haslam said the results were consistent with a steady decline in the use of corporal punishment over time, with fewer younger parents using it and believing it was necessary compared with older parents. "It's very reassuring to see younger parents are less likely to use physical discipline. "Corporal punishment is associated with harm and it has no long-term benefits and we know there are effective non-violent alternatives. "This study has some good news regarding beliefs about corporal punishment, although an area of concern is that 6 in 10 young people aged 1624 reported receiving physical discipline in childhood." More information: Divna M. Haslam et al, The prevalence of corporal punishment in Australia: Findings from a nationally representative survey, Australian Journal of Social Issues (2023). DOI: 10.1002/ajs4.301 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: Northern Arizona University Diverse ecosystems support the web of life and in the process, provide food, water, medicine and materials for humanity. But the butterfly effect tells us all things are connected. So, when biodiversity loss threatens the foundation upon which we live, what does that mean for the future of Earth and humanity? Currently, more than 1 million species are on the verge of extinction due primarily to habitat destruction, especially the conversion of forests to agriculture, and overexploitation like hunting and fishing. Owing to the gravity of the challenge, global consensus has emerged on the urgency to develop better ways to map and monitor biodiversity at large scales, like we do for climate change. In a first-of-its-kind study, recently published in Environmental Research: Ecology, NAU research professor Chris Hakkenberg illustrates how state-of-the-art technologies can be used to mitigate the impact of global biodiversity loss: by monitoring biodiversity across the United States using NASA's Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) space-borne lidara safe, invisible laser that can detect 3D forest structure from the International Space Station. This study was inspired by coordinated international efforts, including the Convention on Biological Diversity's plea to scientists to explore using satellite remote sensing to monitor trends in global biodiversity. The logic is simple: If the biodiversity of Earth's forests can be accurately mapped, and biodiversity trends over time become apparent, researchers and policymakers can use these data to help develop mitigation efforts. The key, however, is making these maps as accurate as possible. Previous research on the topic used satellite imagery (like that seen on Google Maps) to get a coarse view of where forests are and, by extension, to predict where species might be. However, this view is two-dimensional, only showing the top of forest canopies with little insight into what is happening belowthe habitat for ground plants, mammals and birds. Hakkenberg's research shows it is possible to go beyond this simple bird's-eye view and use the entire 3D structure of forests to predict habitat for plants and animals. "We are using NASA's Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) space-borne lidar to estimate the entire 3D structure of forests which we can then use to predict the biodiversity contained within," he said. GEDI emits invisible laser pulses toward the Earth's surface, and like radar, tracks the time difference between when the laser is emitted and when it returns to measure how far those sensed objects are. "This means we can go beyond just measuring tree heights but also get a clear picture of the entire vertical distribution of branches, leaves and needles from the ground to the top of the canopy." Gridded forest structure across the contiguous United States. A 6 km2 resolution map of aggregated mean GEDI metrics, where pixels are represented as red-green-blue (RGB) combinations of maximum height (H max ), foliage height diversity (FHD), and total plant area index (tPAI), respectively. Forested NEON sites used in this study are labeled in white. For map purposes, forested areas correspond to those RGB pixels possessing mean RH98 values 4 m, while non-forest pixels (RH98 < 4 m) appear as off-black. Credit: Environmental Research: Ecology (2023). DOI: 10.1088/2752-664X/acffcd Because forest structure is related to variation in the size and form of different species of trees, Hakkenberg and colleagues were able to use these 3D waveform profiles of forest structure to model a relationship between tree structure and tree biodiversity measured with field data from the National Ecological Observation Network across the United States, excluding Alaska. "While attention to biodiversity-structure relationships has been growing in the international research communities over the last decade, it has generally focused on tree species diversity because trees form the essential building blocks of forests and are large enough to be detected from space," Hakkenberg said. "But what was really interesting about our findings is that these biodiversity-structure relationships extend to plant biodiversity too. Even though we can't directly detect individual ground plants from the space-borne platform, we can predict the diversity of those plants from the 3D characteristics of the trees that surround them." These same relationships can be used to predict habitat for birds and arboreal mammals that each require different forest structural types. Over the coming years, increasing amounts of remote sensing data from airplanes and space-borne sensors will be paired with field observations, providing scientists with efficient ways to monitor biodiversity at global scales. Through these detailed maps, more can be learned about biodiversity loss and thus where to shift efforts to slow and eventually stop it. Hakkenberg and his colleagues from the School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, including research associate Pat Burns; research professors Patrick Jantz and Zaneta Kaszta; Regent's professor Scott Goetz; and graduate students Colin Quinn and Melissa Rose, are excited about their findings. They hope this study moves the needle on continental-scale biodiversity research by employing state-of-the-art NASA technologies and brings increased attention to biodiversity loss. "It is extremely urgent that we devise better ways to map and monitor biodiversity at large scales, like we do for climate change," Hakkenberg said. "This study is a part of that greater effort, giving us a fighting chance to address these issues before it's too late." More information: C R Hakkenberg et al, Inferring alpha, beta, and gamma plant diversity across biomes with GEDI spaceborne lidar, Environmental Research: Ecology (2023). DOI: 10.1088/2752-664X/acffcd 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 Unrelenting wildfires in Canada and Hawaii. Catastrophic floods in Libya. Sweltering temperatures across the globe. These climate disasters, which once would have happened every decade or longer, all took place in 2023. As the planet warms, extreme weather events like heat waves, hurricanes, droughts and floods are undeniably becoming more frequent and intense, said Pedro DiNezio, an associate professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at CU Boulder. On the eve of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 28, set to kick off in Dubai later this month, DiNezio spoke with CU Boulder today about weather extremes becoming the new normal and what can be done to mitigate future climate disasters. Were there a lot of extreme weather events that happened in 2023? Oh, gosh. There were so many, and many have been predicted for decades by scientists. I think the most important one, which has been predicted for years, is heat waves during the past summer. Summer used to be a season that we would all wait for excitedly. But summers are now hellish, especially in the Northern Hemisphere. This past summer, we had so many heat waves here in North America, as well as in Europe and Asia. We also have had really warm temperatures in the Southern Hemisphere since June. It was their winter, but the temperatures in countries like Brazil reached 100F. Then we had Hurricane Danielle in the Mediterranean that flooded Libya and overwhelmed dams. What this is showing us is that an extreme event that goes above what's normal can destroy our infrastructure in extremely destructive ways. We saw that in Libya, but also New York City a few months ago when heavy rainfall drenched the city. Why are we seeing more extreme weather events? What role does climate change play? Heat waves are normal phenomena in the climate system. But if the climate is already warm, then an event that would happen once every 50 years in the past is happening once every five years because of that extra warmth. That's why climate change is making heat waves more frequent and intense. Also, as the climate warms, Earth's atmosphere can hold more water vapor. When storms happen, all that water vapor will become rainfall, leading to higher rain rates and longer storms. In terms of wildfires, the atmosphere gets thirsty as it warms up due to well-know physics. The atmosphere quenches this thirst by extracting water from soil and plants. As they dry up, they are easier to catch on fire. Scientists have said 2023 is on track to be the hottest year on record. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the 10 warmest years in the historical record have all occurred since 2010. Are we expecting another hottest year next year? Now we are in the middle of an El Nino event, which is a warming of the ocean surface as a part of the natural climate fluctuations. When global warming and El Nino conspire, which is what happened this summer, we can have these extremely high temperatures. Next summer, we are anticipating a La Nina event, where the ocean surface cools. It will reverse some of these warming effects. Obviously, it will not reverse global warming, but next year's heat waves would be less intense than this year's. What else are we expecting next year? El Nino will continue through next spring in the Northern Hemisphere. For regions like Southeast Asia, we should expect massive heat waves before the onset of the monsoon rains in spring. In addition, as we enter La Nina next summer, we may see droughts in some areas. Combined with global warming, these droughts could be very intense. In places like the Southeastern U.S. and South America, where I'm from, there has been a prolonged drought over the last 20 or 30 years. Every La Nina event exacerbates droughts. In East Africa, particularly in countries like Ethiopia and Somalia, which have been ravaged by war and famine, we are seeing extreme rainfall this year. Next year, the weather will swing back to drought. The good news is we can actually predict these events quite well. That gives us a lot of opportunities to prepare for these disasters, mitigate some of the disruptions and sufferings. But more importantly, we can take advantage of these inevitable natural swings to build resilience and international cooperation to adapt to climate change. Have the recent, extreme weather events influenced the public's perception of climate change? It's been a challenging time climate-wise. We've been experiencing a roller coaster of La Nina, El Nino and La Nina. Earlier last year, we were just coming out of a La Nina, and then we went right into an El Nino. These swings in climate patterns are putting tremendous stress on our society. In some way, we no longer have to try really hard to convince people that the climate is changing, which was what I had to do when I started my Ph.D. less than two decades ago. Now everyone can see it. Everyone experiences it. Are you hopeful? I am a very optimistic person. Industrialization has produced immense progress, but this is an opportunity to rethink how we relate to nature and learn that we depend on nature to maintain our society and civilization. We're entering a new phase in the climate crisis where we need to communicate more about the tools we have to address it. We need to tell people, particularly the younger generations, that the future will be better, because we are improving our relationship with nature, and we are developing better technologies to produce the energy we need. Scientists have been predicting climate change is going to happen for decades. Now is the time to act, and we should act in a way that is just, fair, inclusive, and includes everyone on this planet. A whooping crane is seen at the Port Aransas Whooping Crane Festival. Kathy Adams Clark/KAC Productions The Dallas Zoos mission includes a focus on saving whooping cranes, an endeavor it recently pushed forward by releasing into its natural habitat the first-ever whooping crane chick hatched at its Whooping Crane Center of Texas. This momentous achievement is a major win for whooping crane conservation and brings us one step closer to a sustainable population of these majestic birds, the Dallas Zoo said in a statement. Since 2018, our off-site breeding facility, the Whooping Crane Center of Texas, has been working tirelessly towards this goal. With the help of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries-Whooping Cranes, the Audubon Nature Institute and the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation, the Dallas Zoo released its juvenile whooping crane plus three more from the Audubon Institute on Nov. 12. Officials released the endangered species at the White Lake Wetlands Conservation Area in Louisiana. Advertisement Article continues below this ad With this release, the whooping crane population in Louisiana now stands at 85 cranes, according to a statement from the Dallas Zoo. Were so proud to be a part of the ongoing effort to save this iconic species from extinction. Back in June, the zoo announced the whooping crane hatched. It received the egg from a breeding pair at the International Crane Foundation. Initially, it was placed with foster parents Huckleberry and Juniper. At the time, the Dallas Zoo said that to ensure successful reintroduction, the whooping cranes interactions with humans would be minimal, but that its team of bird zoologists would be helping. To date, whooping cranes remain one of the rarest bird species in North America. In fact, its been on the endangered species list for nearly six decades. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the bird faced near extinction in the 1940s. The whooping crane population suffered from not only habitat loss but also from being hunted for its eggs and feathers based on research from the Outdoor Illinois Journal. Reliant on wetland habitats such as marshes, theyre not easily able to adapt to human landscapes like sandhill cranes. But thanks to conservation efforts similar to that of the Dallas Zoo, the number of whooping cranes in the wild continues to rebound. Due to extensive conservation efforts of federal, state and private landowners, whooping crane populations have increased significantly, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in a statement. When the bird was listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1967, only 50 of the birds existed with 43 wintering at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and seven in captivity. The long-term annual population growth rate for whooping cranes has averaged 4.34 percent. Advertisement Article continues below this ad 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: Reproductive individuality. Credit: Nature Communications (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43069-6 According to current knowledge, individuality is determined by either differences in genome or in the apparent environmental conditions. However, studies show, the paradigm of twin research is currently crumbling. A research team from the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) and the Cluster of Excellence "Science of Intelligence" (SCIoI) has now found that clonal fishi.e., fish with identical genetic materialthat are reared under nearly identical, highly standardized environments systematically differ in the number and size of offspring per reproduction cycle, two crucial indicators of biological fitness. The study is published in the journal Nature Communications. The researchers studied the behavior and reproductive profiles of 34 Amazon mollies (Poecilia formosa) over a period of 280 days. These fish naturally reproduce clonally, and all offspring is therefore genetically identical to the mother, with the species only consisting of females, and reproduction (i.e. cloning of the mother) occurring through activation through sperm of males from similar species. The fish are born alive and there is no brood care after birth. They can therefore be kept under identical, highly standardized conditions from day one. With the help of an automated high-resolution video tracking system, the researchers recorded activity and food intake during the first month of life. They then characterized the reproductive profile of each individual, i.e. reproductive onset, brood size and offspring size. These are indicators of life history productivity and, ultimately, biological fitness. The team studied 2,522 offspring from 152 broods. Individual differences in activity and food intake As shown in a previous study ("The emergence and development of behavioral individuality in clonal fish," also published in Nature Communications), the individual fish differed systematically in their activity patterns and food intake. "Our experiment confirms that behavioral individuality develops at a very early stage even without genetic and obvious environmental variation," said Max Wolf, leader of the study and researcher at IGB and in the Cluster of Excellence SCIoI. Individual differences in reproductive profiles and productivity The researchers studied an average of four broods per individual and found that individuals consistently differed in how large their offspring were and how many offspring they produced per brood. In other words, individuals differed in how productive they were. "This is the first evidence that genetically identical animals growing up under near-identical environmental conditions differ quite substantially in their biological fitness," said Ulrike Scherer, lead author of the study and researcher in the Cluster of Excellence SCIoI and guest scientist at IGB. There is a reason for that: It was found that the fish that spent more time feeding grew larger, and larger fish produced larger offspring, though those fish started reproducing later. However, food intake seemed to have no effect on brood size, and there was no correlation between individual activity levels and reproduction. "Our study also reveals, how little we understand so far about the emergence of individuality and the possible role of epigenetics, stochasticity and micro-environmental differences," said Ulrike Scherer. More information: Ulrike Scherer et al, Reproductive individuality of clonal fish raised in near-identical environments and its link to early-life behavioral individuality, Nature Communications (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43069-6 Journal information: Nature Communications This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: The method developed at Empa resulted in an even distribution of the antimicrobial coating on textile fibers. Scanning electron microscopy, 30,000x magnification, colored. Credit: Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology Countless times a day, patients, visitors and medical staff in hospitals touch surfaces of all kinds. Door handles, railings or elevator buttons can serve as transport vehicles for pathogens such as hospital germs or viruses. Smooth surfaces are comparatively easy to clean after contamination. With porous structures such as textiles, however, this is not that simple. Empa researchers have solved this problem together with experts from BASF, Spiez Laboratory and the Technical University of Berlin: A new coating process can now be used to treat fabrics in such a way that bacterial and viral pathogens are killed or inhibited in their growth. In hospitals, the coated textiles could be used in the future as antimicrobial curtains between patient beds, for example. The research is published in the journal Scientific Reports. Active for months "We were looking for a process that reliably prevents germs from contaminating textiles that come into contact with a large number of people during use," explains Peter Wick from Empa's Particles-Biology Interactions laboratory in St. Gallen. In this way, chains of infection could be interrupted in which multi-resistant bacteria or viral pathogens, for example, settle on hospital curtains and can then be spread by people. The researchers ultimately developed a coating process in which a benzalkonium chloride-containing disinfectant was evenly applied to hospital curtains. After optimizing parameters such as concentration, exposure time, processing pressure and drying, the coating adhered stably to the textile surface. But did the coated textiles also exhibit a germicidal effect? This was to be shown by analyzing the antimicrobial activity of the first fabric samples. "The results of the laboratory tests were very encouraging," says Wick. When the bacterial cultures of some typical problem germs were incubated with the fabric samples, the coated textiles inhibited the growth of staphylococci and pseudomonas bacteria, for example. "The hospital germs were significantly reduced or even killed after just 10 minutes of exposure," says the Empa researcher. Moreover, the coating was also active against viral pathogens: More than 99% of the viruses were killed by the coated fabric samples. Another advantage is that the coatings remained effective even after several months of storage. This allows production in stock. With the new process, other textiles, filters or cleaning utensils could also be quickly and safely treated with antimicrobials in the future, for example in the event of an epidemic, says Wick. More information: Philipp Meier et al, Quaternary ammonium-based coating of textiles is effective against bacteria and viruses with a low risk to human health, Scientific Reports (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-47707-3 Journal information: Scientific Reports 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: Graphical abstract. Credit: Talanta (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2023.125260 Air quality in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area continues to miss safety levels set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and is unlikely to meet EPA goals anytime soon, according to new research from The University of Texas at Arlington. Purnendu "Sandy" Dasgupta, professor of chemistry and biochemistry and the Hamish Small Chair of Ion Analysis at The University of Texas at Arlington, said the region's low population density, lack of widespread public transportation, and reliance on cars contribute to its poor air quality. Its ozone values have exceeded safety levels set by the EPA for the last 20 years. "Compared to other metro areas, DFW is unique in that the majority of the nitrogen dioxide and ozone in the air comes from auto emissions, construction equipment, and airport traffic rather than discharge from industrial sources like petrochemical manufacturing or steelmaking," said Dasgupta, co-author of a new study published in Talanta. "Although automobile traffic and thus ozone levels declined during COVID-19, DFW is now at 'severe' nonattainment of the EPA air quality standards. Now that the transient lull of vehicular traffic is gone, with the rapid growth of the region, our chances of attaining regulatory limits are slim." Poor air quality can lead to health problems such as heart disease, asthma, and low birth weight. In addition to the human toll, companies in the region can face steep fines from the EPA for violating the federal Clean Air Act. Researchers were surprised to find that Tarrant County overall has a greater incidence of poor air quality, primarily caused by high ozone concentrations, despite having a significantly smaller population than Dallas County. "This suggests some of the pollution seen in Tarrant County may actually be transported into it from bordering regions, notably Dallas County, which lies to the east," said co-author Seth Horn, who was an undergraduate research assistant in Dasgupta's lab and is now a graduate student at Purdue University. Ozone exceedances occur more in the summer than in any other part of the year. The researchers noted that the summertime wind data from Arlington Municipal Airport and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport indicated that prevailing winds can transport a significant amount of the air mass from Dallas County over to Tarrant County. "This trend can be further noticed when one plots the Dallas County air quality values against the difference between the air quality values in the two counties," Horn added. "Although the magnitude in difference can be small, the trend is consistent." More information: Seth A. Horn et al, The Air Quality Index (AQI) in historical and analytical perspective a tutorial review, Talanta (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2023.125260 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 In a new article titled "Using virtual simulations of future extreme weather events to communicate climate change risk and published in PLOS Climate," Singapore Management University Assistant Professor of Urban Sustainability Terry van Gevelt and his research team have completed part one of a larger study. The work outlines how researchers from a range of universities in the US, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, Nanjing, and Guangzhou in China sought to reduce the psychological distance of climate change by showing a 3D virtual simulation of a storm surge in Hong Kong to a representative sample of 1,507 Hong Kong residents to see if it would change their behaviors and attitudes regarding climate change. "The main goal was how do you communicate the risks of future climate impacts to the general public, but also to other stakeholders and decision-makers," Professor van Gevelt said. "Traditional methods of communication do not seem very effective in reducing the psychological distance of climate change to the average person or policymaker, and so we are interested in testing a range of novel or non-traditional approaches. This is the very first part of the project that we decided to put out there to see what would happen." Psychological distance refers to how important an event is to a personthe greater the psychological distance, the less important the event is perceived to be. The 3D virtual simulation focusing on the impact of a typhoon-induced storm surge on Hong Kong's business district, Central, was developed by former Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) VFX artist Alex Scollay. Professor van Gevelt said the synthetic typhoon depicted in the experiment was a near-worst-case scenario. "Everything that it's modeled on, the calibration and so forth, that's all possible," he said. It was based upon an actual event, Super Typhoon Mangkut of 2018, but with a projected rise in the sea level and wind speed maintained at "high intensity, which is what we expect to happen in the future. Also, the track of the storm was shifted to make it a worse impact for Hong Kong at high tide, and again that's completely feasible. "So, everything is plausible. The modelingthe inundationthat looks pretty accurate, but the simulation doesn't really give justice to the detail that went on in the modeling. But this is what a completely plausible typhoon, amplified by the impacts of climate change, could look like." The 3D virtual simulation was shown to participants via mobile phones, tablets, and computer screens. Professor van Gevelt said the experiment had more of an impact than he had expected. "The average impact across the whole sample was small, but the finding that was particularly interesting was that it sparked a pretty negative response among a subset of respondents, the skeptics. It seems to have made it a lot worse for that group." As for the reason for that, he said, "We can hypothesize, but one of the main reasons given was that it didn't actually seem to reduce the psychological distance of climate change for climate skeptics, and the lack of realism of the simulation seems to have made that worse." So the researchers are now looking to develop a "much more photo-realistic, immersive experience" to see if they have a different finding. "This simulation was very rudimentary. What we have in the works right now is an immersive virtual reality version where you experience this at ground level. The final part of the project will look to test a narrative approach involving a VR cinema/documentary approach using a VR camera and actors. With this, you will have conversations with people as to what is going on. We want to see if there are any differences between these three different ways of representing the same event." Up to now the focus has been on Hong Kong. Professor van Gevelt, who was previously a faculty member at HKU when the project was launched, is currently exploring the possibility of conducting further research in Singapore. Seeing is not believing? Although the virtual simulation of the storm surge lacks the drama of, say, footage of the 2003 tsunami, Professor van Gevelt says storm surges have historically proven to be deadly in the New Territories of Hong Kong, wiping out entire communities. "A lot of people said the visualization had no effect as it was only showing one area of Hong Kong." Ironically, the impact of the predicted storm surge on the Central business district was relatively mild in the modeling, Professor van Gevelt said, and parts of Kowloon and the New Territories where many of the participants live, "was hit far worse in the modeling." "Maybe it was an error, but we made the decision to go with the Central district, which is a very recognizable landscape (albeit with no people shown in the virtual simulation, although it did have cars for scale). The VR version we're currently developing is going to take place in Kowloon, probably Mongkok, which is a much denser residential area. It's interesting that while perhaps scientifically pretty accurate, if it doesn't show a level of realism and detail that people expect, it may backfire," he continued. "Hong Kong is probably the most resilient city in Asia to typhoons and their impacts. And it's so resilient that it really doesn't invest in increasing its resilience anymore. You can have a super typhoon hit and no one will die. But in the future these kinds of amplified versions of the same extreme weather events are going to hit and you're not going to be able to deal with them, because you haven't made those investments as you're so resilient in the present. In the literature, we call this a resilience trap." While the first part of the research project over the past couple of years has been "very disjointed" due to the COVID outbreak, the VR version should be ready this coming February with the experiments expected to take place in April 2024. As for the third and final part involving actors, that should take place in the next two years. Why then publish in PLOS Climate? Professor van Gevelt said he was looking for a journal "where there's a good space for a non-traditional climate change research question as it's a little bit away from what you normally see. Most of this would be in a psychology journal, but we wanted to reach a more mainstream audience. PLOS Climate is a new journal, which is growing rapidly and is open-access, so we should get a good readership. The sub-result of this first study is basically that this initial simulation made it worse for climate skeptics, which I think it the most interesting part of this paperthat something that was supposed to help, made it worse. "I'm really interested to see what happens with the next two parts of the study as it becomes more immersive and realistic. It could well be that we don't see any changes but that would be interesting too because, until you test it, you won't know. There's almost an expectation that it should change people's behavior and even if we find it has no real effect that would be an important finding." More information: Terry van Gevelt et al, Using virtual simulations of future extreme weather events to communicate climate change risk, PLOS Climate (2023). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pclm.0000112 Journal information: PLOS Climate This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: A California newt (Taricha torosa) from Napa County, California, USA. Credit: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Tetrodotoxin, the neurotoxin that makes a blue-ringed octopus deadly, also protects Taricha newtsbut we don't understand how they produce it, or what purposes it serves for them. A first step to answering these questions is understanding whether different levels appear in males and females. In sexually-reproducing animals, dimorphic traits such as color or canine tooth size can be key for survival and reproductive fitness. Investigating whether toxin production is a sexually dimorphic trait in newts gets us closer to understanding it. "It had long been considered that newts' toxin concentrations do not change in their lifetime and that males and females tend to have the same toxin concentrations. Now, we have shown that female newts actually contain more toxin than male newts," said Dr. Gary Bucciarelli of the University of California Davis, corresponding author of the article in Frontiers in Amphibian and Reptile Science. "We observed significantly greater and more drastically fluctuating toxin concentrations in females, which may have numerous causes, like mate selection." A toxic trait The scientists already knew that Taricha newts were sexually dimorphic in other traits, like tail height, size, and mass. The tetrodotoxin seeps from the newts' skin, so they took small samples from more than 850 newts across 38 different sites in California. They recorded sex, size, mass, and tail height for all newts, and whether female newts were pregnant. They also marked newts that had been captured and released so they would know which newts had previously been sampled. They analyzed the skin to quantify the levels of toxin present and compared this between males and females. They also analyzed the relationship between the variables already known to be sexually dimorphic and toxin levels, and how toxin levels changed at sites where it was possible to sample more than once across the breeding season. The female is deadlier than the male They found that females carried more toxin than males. The differences in levels produced by females were not significant, compared to those between females and males. Males and females' levels fluctuated at the same times and in the same direction, but the change in females' levels of toxin was greater. "For would-be predators, these higher concentrations pose a serious threat," said Bucciarelli, confirming that this means female newts are more dangerous than males. "Taricha newts should not be handled unless by knowledgeable personnel, because they can contain up 54 milligrams of tetrodotoxin per individual. Doses up to 42 micrograms per kilo of bodyweight can lead to hospitalization or death." Tetrodotoxin also appeared to interact with other sexually dimorphic traits, suggesting that there may be a cost to high toxin levels: heavier newts produced higher levels of the toxin than lighter newts. The median concentration of toxin was always higher in females regardless of size or weight. The females' higher levels of toxin, and the similarity of levels between different females, indicate that the mechanisms of toxin production could be different between the sexes. It's possible that resources needed to produce the toxin are invested differently by females, or females' skin may be able to carry more toxin. Higher levels of toxin could protect females that are vulnerable while reproducing, or they may make it possible for females to transfer toxin-producing bacteria to eggs, potentially protecting their offspring. Pick your poison Although the toxin has previously only been thought of as a defense against snakes, the sex differences and fluctuating levels of toxin suggest it may have a more complex role. For example, the toxin may act as a cue that helps newts decide where they seek mates and which mates they choose. "Taricha newts' breeding patterns are highly dependent on precipitation patterns," said Bucciarelli. "Given the drought conditions of California, we did not always have a balanced design when field sampling. However, we feel the pattern is still very strong." "Our next plan is to explore how drought and fire affect newts and their toxin concentrations and how each sex responds to these natural disasters." More information: An amphibian toxin phenotype is sexually dimorphic and shows seasonal concordant change between sexes, Frontiers in Amphibian and Reptile Science (2023). DOI: 10.3389/famrs.2023.1279848. www.frontiersin.org/articles/1 023.1279848/abstract Provided by Frontiers 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: Lifetime plots of Sr:Ca for all common snook otoliths in our dataset, plotted from the otolith core (reflecting natal habitat conditions) to edge (reflecting habitat conditions near the time of capture). Strip text for each otolith indicates the site number S, then the fish number F (1 through number of fish collected) in the pattern, SS-FF. Lines are colored by otolith growth region, composed of Core, Edge (last observable growth band), and Mid (all growth bands between core and edge) regions. Note that the length of the transect in the otolith core does not indicate otolith core size: YOY otoliths 03-17 through 03-20 were sectioned on a different axis than adult otoliths allowing more core material to be sampled, and variation in transect line placement among remaining otoliths with respect to the otolith core origin resulted in variation in the amount of core material sampled and the overall length of the transect. The light gray area is the range of otolith Sr:Ca ratio values typically associated with estuarine water habitat use (0.003 < Sr:Ca < 0.008) and the dark gray is the range typically associated with salt water habitat use (Sr:Ca > 0.008). Plots reflect four general patterns of migration among freshwater, estuarine, and marine habitats illustrated in Figure 4. Migratory pattern I (saltwater natal conditions, freshwater juvenile conditions, returning to saltwater at larger size) is illustrated in Figure 4A. Migratory pattern II (same as pattern I but with a protracted saltwater phase prior to juvenile migration to freshwater) is illustrated in Figure 4B. Migratory pattern III (freshwater natal conditions, then initial juvenile growth in saltwater followed by a migration to freshwater) is illustrated in Figure 4C. Migratory pattern IV (persistent freshwater- or estuarine-only signal) is illustrated in Figure 4D. Credit: Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems (2023). DOI: 10.1002/aqc.4003 Allison Pease grew up fascinated by river fish, spending countless summers in a mask beneath the surface of Texas creeks. Now a fish ecologist in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources at the University of Missouri, Pease studies the common snookan iconic game fish that has filled a significant cultural, ecological, and economic niche in Mexico for centuries. Her latest study focuses on this species' migration patterns and the effects of proposed hydro dams on their population in southern Mexico. For the study, Pease traveled to the states of Tabasco and Chiapas, where she investigated the snook's almost 400-mile migration up into the rainforest habitat of the Usumacinta River. She and colleagues have found that the snook, which connects aquatic food webs and supports fisheries, spawns and starts its life in coastal nursery habitats before moving into river habitats that offer an array of food resources. Using otolith microchemistrythe measuring of the chemical composition of the layers of bone that grow in a fish's ear as it maturesPease determined approximately where each snook had lived during its lifetime. This gave her insight into not only the snook's migration patterns but also whether the fish returned to the coast of the Gulf of Mexico to spawn or spent their adult lives in the river ecosystem. "This is a fish that is important both culturally and economically, but it's in danger of facing a collapse due to overharvesting," Pease said. For instance, since the 1980s, there have been recurring proposals to construct hydropower dams in this river system, which would restrict the migratory domain these fish currently occupy when they go up to 400 miles into the rainforest from the Gulf of Mexico. "The more we can understand what the fish needs and where it's moving, the more we can inform conservation efforts in terms of identifying places to restrict harvest during certain times of the year to keep this fishery going." From Indigenous fisheries to commercial operations, snook has been celebrated as a high-quality river fish since the time of Mayan rule, making river fisheries in Mexico necessary for food, Pease said. She explained that diminishing environmental resources are spurring scientists to address the conservation of these historic fish to ensure their species' protection. "I suspect that because people really love this fish, they might be open to accepting some more conservative regulation," Pease said. "The fisheries are mostly self-regulated with some places that have closures and limits on what kind of net you can use. We may need to strengthen some of those restrictions, if possible, to maintain the harvest of this fish." In the future, Pease hopes this research will not only advance the science of understanding how the common snook functiontheir migration patterns, habitat preferences and spawning sitesbut also serve a critical role in informing fisheries conservation. With continuing environmental change, species that depend on many different connected habitats are often the most at risk of becoming endangered. "Otolith microchemistry highlights the importance of extensive connectivity for conservation of an iconic migratory fish in a large tropical river basin" was recently published in Aquatic Conservation. More information: Allison A. Pease et al, Otolith microchemistry highlights the importance of extensive connectivity for conservation of an iconic migratory fish in a large tropical river basin, Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems (2023). DOI: 10.1002/aqc.4003 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain The link between human rights and climate change adaptation policy has not been a major source of discussion in national policies, according to a new Concordia-led study. Moreover, the researchers say the topic should play a bigger role in the upcoming COP28 conference, which opens this week in Dubai. The paper was published in the journal Climate Policy. Assistant professor in Concordia's Department of Geography, Planning, and Environment Alexandra Lesnikowski co-authored the study with researchers from McGill University's Faculty of Law. What they discovered should be no surprise to close observers of international climate talks. In the study, the researchers assessed the existing national adaptation policies of 147 countries. They found that human rights are distant considerations for most countriesif they are considered at all. "While many countries identify structural drivers of climate vulnerability like poverty or gender, only a third of countries mention human rights in any way," Lesnikowski says. Vulnerable groups appear to be largely excluded from planning and decision-making processes. And half of the world's countries do not identify specific measures to reduce their vulnerability. Finally, no accountability measures are proposed for groups seeking redress due to harms suffered by adaptation policies. "The countries that signed the Paris Agreement in 2015 committed themselves to respecting and promoting human rights alongside the different types of actions taken to address climate change," Lesnikowski explains. "It is now eight years after the agreement has been signed. We are asking whether countries are meeting their obligations to recognize the relationship between climate change and human rights, and integrating a human rights lens into the policies they are adopting." "Overall, we are not seeing the level of commitment that we were hoping to find." Sebastien Jodoin, Jean-Philippe Lemay, Verity Thomson and Kasia Johnson from McGill University's Faculty of Law co-authored the paper. Geography and income drive language The researchers did note a geographical clustering of countries that mentioned human rights in adaptation policies versus those that did not. Countries in Latin America, the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa were more likely to include language that addresses human rights. Most high-income countries did not, though Canada and Norway are the exceptions. References to structural inequalities in adaptation policies were also notably different depending on geography and income. Seventy-eight percent of the countries in the dataset had at least one policy that recognizes the role structural inequality plays in shaping climate change-related vulnerability. However, non-industrialized or industrializing countries were more likely to discuss structural inequality than industrialized countries. The most frequently cited types of inequality in adaptation strategies were social (often age-related, particularly regarding the very old and the very young), economic, and gender. The least mentioned types concerned Indigeneity, disability, and ethnic/racial identity. Converging interests Lesnikowski points out that it is the economically, socially, and politically marginalized who tend to bear the greatest health burdens resulting from climate change. Examples include subsistence farmers, poor people, and elderly people living in urban heat islands. "We also see clear regional patterns regarding the recognition of Indigenous peoples as being particularly vulnerable to climate change." "That distinction reflects differences in global distribution of Indigenous communities and how countries recognize them." Despite the lack of formal language in adaptation policies, Lesnikowski does see a growing interest in recognizing the relationship between climate change and human rights. "A growing scholarship is looking at how the structural drivers of climate change vulnerability are tied to issues of marginalization, exclusion and oppression," she says. "Interest in bringing those two different domains together, both on the research side and the policy discourse side, is expanding." More information: Alexandra Lesnikowski et al, Human rights in climate change adaptation policies: a systematic assessment, Climate Policy (2023). DOI: 10.1080/14693062.2023.2261881 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 International Criminal Court judges have taken a "cautious" attitude to considering the impact of mental health issues on witnesses and the accused, a new analysis shows. The study outlines how the issue of mental health in international criminal law and justice hasfinallygathered momentum as the potential trauma of victims and witnesses who testify is being given more attention. But it also shows how judges have been strict in their consideration of mental health, both in their admissions of testimonies of traumatized witnesses and in their assessments of the mental capacity of the accused. The study says all those involved in investigation and prosecution of atrocities should ensure they are familiar with languages, beliefs and cultures of the defendants, the witnesses and the victims if the International Criminal Court is to achieve its global mandate. As part of the research, published in the "Routledge Handbook of Mental Health Law," Professor Caroline Fournet, from the University of Exeter Law School, read the ICC trial judgments and appeal judgments in their entirety. Professor Fournet said, "The increasing judicial recognition ofand emphasis onthe mental health repercussions of crimes of sexual violence on victims is obviously to be welcomed, encouraged and strengthened as a first step towards a more general acknowledgement of the psychological impact on victims of all international crimes and atrocities. Judges have taken a cautious attitude so far. "But those involved in cases must be familiar with languages, beliefs and cultures of the defendants, the witnesses and the victims if investigations and trials are to be run fairly and successfully." Mental health explicitly appears in the definitions of certain international crimes as well as in specific rules designed to protect victimsparticularly, although not exclusively, victims of sexual violenceand to facilitate the testimonies of traumatized witnesses. The mental health of the defendant is also taken into consideration, both at the time of the trial since he or she must be fit to stand trial, and at the time of the commission of the crimes. The birth of contemporary international criminal law may be traced back to the aftermath of the Second World War and the establishment of the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg (1945) and of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo (1946). In the 1990s the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda were created to prosecute the individuals responsible for international crimes. The Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) came into force in 2002. Mental health harmthe psychological impact of atrocitiesis recognized in the text of the law and increasingly acknowledged by the court. Professor Fournet found when approaching mental health issues judges do not deviate from the text of the law but appear to be exercising a degree of caution. Expert testimonies relating to the impact on the mental health of the victims of crimes of sexual violence have been heard in court and are cited in judgments. For instance, during the trial of Bemba Gombo, the ICC Trial Chamber heard the testimony of a forensic psychiatric who presented his expert report on sexual violence based on the medical examinations of 371 victims. More information: Brendan D. Kelly et al, Routledge Handbook of Mental Health Law, (2023). DOI: 10.4324/9781003226413 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: (A) Cartoon of a DNA-coated colloidal particle bound to parts of a long bacterial genomic DNA. Short single-stranded DNA probes, which are grafted on the surface of a colloid, form complementary connections with the target genomic DNA. (B) Colloidal aggregation and subsequent sedimentation resulted from the cooperative binding of many DNA-coated particles to denatured bacterial DNA. Credit: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2023). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2305995120 Far too many antibiotics are used around the world. As a result, bacteria are becoming resistant to these drugs. Curing bacterial diseases is becoming more difficult than before because antibiotics are perhaps our foremost weapons in the fight against them. An important step towards using fewer antibiotics is to find better methods for identifying pathogens, and here is the good news. "We have developed a simple tool that can identify all of the genetic material in bacteria. This allows us to find out more quickly what kind of bacteria a sick person or animal is affected by, or what kind of bacteria are found in food or the environment. We can then also decide whether it is necessary to use antibiotics against the bacterium, and if so what kind, so we don't have to use as much medication," says Professor Erika Eiser at NTNU's Department of Physics. No need to copy genetic material An international research group is behind the latest findings. The results have been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Playing a key role in the work was Peicheng Xu from the Institute of Physics Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, for whom Eiser was previously an academic supervisor. One reason why the new method is faster is that users do not have to go through a step called "gene amplification." This involves making several copies of the genetic material so it is easier to analyze, but this step can now be skipped. "We can analyze all of the bacterium's DNA without gene amplification by using a method previously used in simulations," says Professor Eiser. Eiser was part of a research group led by Tine Curk from Johns Hopkins University that developed the theory behind the method, which also works in reality. "We get excellent results when we apply the theoretical method to real samples," says Eiser. Professor Erika Eiser was in the group that proved that it is possible to identify bacteria and viruses more effectively with a new method. Credit: Marie-Laure Olivier, PoreLab, NTNU The method creates clumps This paragraph might be a bit difficult to understand, but basically, DNA is made up of rows of so-called nucleotides. The new method enables researchers to find short sequences of the bacteria's DNA. They do this by seeing how these sequences bind to different variants of DNA that are grafted onto colloids, which are particles dissolved in a liquid. If you are interested in finding out more, you can read about the process in more detail here. What it means, however, is that researchers can quickly identify the bacteria, because they bind themselves to these colloids in various ways and cause them to clump together. The bottom line is that you don't have to analyze so much material. You can skip the step of having to copy them, and this saves time and money. "Using this method, we saw how as few as five E. coli bacteria caused the colloids to create clusters," says Professor Eiser. Still a way to go All of this is currently in its early stages. Eiser has published a proof-of-principle experiment. This means that there is still a lot of work to be done before it becomes a widely used method. "The findings can provide us with a reliable method for identifying pathogens in disciplines such as food safety, disease control and environmental monitoring," says Professor Eiser. In a world where more and more bacteria are becoming resistant to antibiotics, this is particularly good news. 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: Temperature dependence of resistivity of Cu 2 S, LK-99 including Cu 2 S. Credit: Institute of Physics In a study published Nov. 24 in Matter, researchers led by Prof. Luo Jianlin from the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have provided solid evidence that LK99 is non-superconducting, thus disproving earlier superconductivity claims. Sukbae Lee and colleagues from South Korea earlier asserted that LK-99 behaves as a superconductor at ambient pressure, with a critical temperature (T c ) up to 127C (400 K). The groundbreaking news excited scientists as well as people on social media due to its potential impact on technology. As reported by Nature News, claims about the supposed superconductivity of LK-99 became a viral sensation, prompting numerous replication efforts by scientists and amateurs alike. Several groups have attempted to replicate the results, but none have provided direct evidence of superconductivity. The most puzzling question is what causes the sharp drop in resistivity and why it occurs only in a few samples. In this study, the researchers observed that the LK-99 generated by Lee and colleagues contained a certain amount of Cu 2 S impurity, which undergoes a structural phase transition from a hexagonal structure at high temperature to a monoclinic structure at low temperature around 400 K. They found that the resistivity of Cu 2 S decreased by three to four orders of magnitude around 385 K, close to the transition temperature reported in references. In addition, they measured the resistivity of the mixture of LK-99 and Cu 2 S, identifying a sharp resistivity transition at the temperature consistent with the reported findings but without zero resistance. It is important to note that this first-order structural transition differs significantly from the second-order superconducting transition. The researchers observed thermal hysteresis behavior in the resistivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements, confirming that it is a first-order transition and cannot be a second-order superconducting transition. More information: Shilin Zhu et al, First-order transition in LK-99 containing Cu 2 S, Matter (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.matt.2023.11.001 Journal information: Matter Sam Gonzalez Kelly is an education reporter for the Houston Chronicle covering the Houston Independent School District. He can be reached at sam.kelly@houstonchronicle.com. A Chicago native, Sam joined the Chronicle in 2021 to cover marginalized communities after two years covering breaking news at the Chicago Sun-Times. Sam has a bachelor's degree from Pomona College. 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 In recent months, rivers overflowing their banks have caused property damage and loss of life in France, Italy, Mexico, and South Africa, underscoring the increasing perils of climate change. To prepare for such floods, governments deploy mathematical models. However, due to time constraints and lack of data, these models sometimes incorporate "off-the-shelf" damage calculations based on previous unrelated floods. Unfortunately, these predictions are often inaccurate, leading to inadequate interventions and failing to sufficiently protect property and human life. A Johns Hopkins expert on natural disaster risk modeling has developed a reliable and affordable way for governments to estimate expected damage from riverine floodsthose caused by rivers overflowing their banks. This new method not only provides users with step-by-step instructions but also measures and assigns numerical values to the level of uncertainty in individual flood damage forecasts, giving governments a clearer picture of how reliable their predictions are. "The bottom line is that accurate predictions are crucial to the safety and well-being of people and property. If a government acts based on inaccurate information, its preparation can be off by orders of magnitude, with very serious results," said Gonzalo Pita, an associate research scientist in the Whiting School of Engineering's Department of Civil and Systems Engineering and director of its master's degree program in Systems Engineering, as well as an instructor in the Johns Hopkins Engineering for Professionals' civil engineering program. The study is published in the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. It builds upon previous work published in the Journal of Hydrology. In the new study, Pita first investigated the accuracy of using expert opinion alone to estimate and predict flood damage. He surveyed multiple authorities and simulated thousands of expert surveys in numerous combinations to analyze how the composition of the expert team influences prediction accuracy. "What I found was a variability in accuracy of between 10% and 46% among experts, which is a wide range," Pita said. "I also learned that accuracy was enhanced by adding additional expert voices, rather than simply adding more questions to the survey." Pita then tackled the issue of "damage functions," a fundamental component of natural disaster risk simulations. A function refers to the mathematical relationship between two variablesin this case, a depth-damage function describes the correlation between the depth of flood waters and the level of damage it causes, as in "1 foot of flood water in a home causes $10,000 in damage." According to Pita, creating these functions accurately is out of the reach of many governments. "It is a very expensive process in terms of money and time, and poor countriesand even wealthy onessometimes may not have the expertise, time, or data to develop them within an acceptable timeframe. So with this method, these functions can be built inexpensively but with a useful level of accuracy that governments can use provisionally until they get better data that will enable them to generate more accurate functions." The new approach works by helping quantify the uncertainty in experts' predictions by assigning weights to each expert, resulting in amore detailed analysis of the uncertainties involved. The result is a method that Pita expects to be "very useful" for flood modelers and influencing preparedness policy. "These types of insights could inform policy directly and indirectly, from enabling smarter zoning laws and budgeting for asset maintenance to designing disaster insurance programs. All of this is to say that better flood damage data and predictions have the potential to have far-reaching benefits," he said. More information: Gonzalo L. Pita, Expert-opinion depth-damage functions: what's the variability introduced by the survey setup?, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.104077 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 On a crisp, sunny day high in the Peruvian Andes, two German judges gaze across a mountain lake to the towering white glaciers in the distance. Dark spots are visible on the pristine ice and, in quiet moments, the cold wind carries the sounds of creaking and cracking. The judges, from the German city of Hamm, have flown more than 6,500 miles to witness the melting glaciers for themselves. It is May 2022 and their visit has taken more than three years to organizeand some intensive diplomatic negotiations between Peru and Germany. Also here, more than 4,500 meters above sea level, are five German and Austrian scientific experts flying drones to assess whether Lake Palcacocha poses a significant risk of flooding to the thousands of people in the valley below. A throng of local Peruvian officials have tagged along too, to share their concerns about glacier hazards with the judges. Around two-dozen international journalists and four documentary film teams are in the area to cover the event. But the judges have requested they stay away from the lake so the court can do its work. The deep-blue water glistens ominously in the sunshine. The lake is fed by the region's accelerating glacial melt, powered by warming temperatures that were long ago shown to be the result of human climate emissions. Lake Palcacocha is the subject of an unprecedented climate justice lawsuit. On one side, a German energy giant that is said to be responsible for 0.47% of the world's industrial greenhouse gas emissions. On the other, a Quechua-speaking farmer who had never traveled outside Peru until he joined this groundbreaking legal challenge. The unlikely plaintiff The Cordillera Blanca mountain range in the northern Peruvian Andes is a region shaped by disaster. In 1941, Lake Palcacocha's banks broke, probably due to an avalanche, devastating the city of Huaraz downstream and killing around 2,000 people. The region's most devastating disaster occurred three decades later in 1970, when an earthquake caused another massive avalanche that destroyed the town of Yungay and nearby villages, burying 30,000 people (although many of the town's children survived because they were attending a nearby circus show). The disaster left a deep impact on the area's social and cultural fabric. Yungay was permanently relocated and authorities stepped up their efforts to monitor glacial hazards. As well as being a farmer, Saul Luciano Lliuya works here as a mountain guide, leading tourists up the icy peaks year after year. Now in his early 40s, he came of age at a time of unprecedented environmental change in his homeland. Avalanches and glacial floods happen more and more often, and he has lost a number of colleagues and friends. Flood modeling studies show that Luciano Lliuya's family home is in the danger zone if another large avalanche was to fall into Lake Palcacocha, causing its banks to burst. As in many parts of the world, climate change has intensified existing vulnerabilities in the rural Andes while creating new dimensions of risk. Luciano Lliuya comes from an Indigenous population subjugated by Spanish colonizers that still faces marginalization today. He grew up speaking Quechua at home and faced discrimination at school in Huaraz. Teachers only used Spanish and beat children for speaking their Indigenous language. In recent decades, an upsurge in mountain climbing tourism has created new opportunities for villagers such as Luciano Lliuya, who have traversed high altitudes since an early age. To them, mountains are more than just boulders and ice. "A mountain is a geological formation," he says, "but another perspective is that the mountains nurture us. They are powerful beings of some sort For me, the mountain is someone who gives you everything." Many of the local people make tribute payments to these mountains, hoping to avoid their wrath and guarantee plentiful harvests. Up at Lake Palcacocha, the villagers who oversee an early-warning flooding system installed by the Ancash region's government also present ritual offerings to the mountains every month. They say that when they missed one in 2017, an avalanche crashed into the lake causing waves of several metersbut that time, the old safety dams held steady. Luciano Lliuya too feels a deep responsibility for the mountains that are suffering as they lose their white covers. Before summiting a peak on a climbing tour, he pays respect by laying coca leaves on the glacial ice. If he fails to show respect, he fears the mountain will show its anger. Almost ten years ago, Luciano Lliuya was introduced via his father to a group of climate activists from the environmental NGO Germanwatch. They discussed the chance to ask one of the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters, German energy giant RWE, to make a tribute payment to these mountains too. If the case succeeds, it could set a global precedent to hold major polluters responsible for the effects of climate change, even on the other side of the world. Already, it has had a significant impact. After the case was declared admissible by the German judges in November 2017meaning that Luciano Lliuya had won a key legal argument, if not yet the scientific onesRWE's stock value took a hit. This reflects a broader trend: international companies and their investors are waking up to the financial risks posed by climate litigation. Taking on a German energy giant Meeting Luciano Lliuya in his tiny village of Llupa, you'd hardly think he'd become something of a climate justice celebrity. The case has taken him to German courts and international UN summits. Having once been nervous about speaking at his local village assemblies, he has now addressed thousands of people at major climate marches and given countless interviews to the world's press. At home, his quiet life is periodically disturbed by visiting film teams. He says he doesn't care much for stardom, but appreciates the interest in his legal case: "I want people to know what we're facing here in Peru. The people in wealthy countries like Germany should understand how climate change is making our lives more dangerous. Perhaps that will motivate them to stop polluting so much." I first visited his two-story family home in December 2014, when I was asked to interpret for three representatives from Germanwatch (I've since worked with Luciano Lliuya as a legal strategist, scientific adviser and academic researcher). We were treated to a special meal of guinea pigs and potatoes with red chili sauce. Halfway through, he smiled and glanced around the table at his fellow diners including his father, Julio. Then he told us all quietly: "I'll do it. I'll do the claim." That moment marked a transformation of Luciano Lliuya's lifeand mine. In the run-up to the 2014 UN Climate Summit (COP20) in Peru's capital, Lima, Germanwatch employees had been taking an interest in the Cordillera Blanca mountain rangea region of particular concern for its vulnerability to climate change. Having recently lived in Peru, I joined the team as they looked for local people in the Andes to help voice this concern. A Peruvian friend who was working with local farmers in the region suggested Julio Luciano Lliuya, who had recently told him how badly climate change was affecting their community's livelihood. Following two weeks of intense UN negotiations at the COP20 summit, I embarked on an eight-hour bus ride to Huaraz with three Germanwatch representatives. Father and son met us in the city with their rickety old Toyota van. Navigating uneven dirt-track roads, they took us on a tour of the mountains and told us about their climate-related concerns: in the short term, glacial retreat causing disastrous avalanches and floods; in the longer term, water scarcity threatening their very way of being. Keen to show us the glaciers up close, Julio's only son Saul took us on a six-hour trek up to Lake Palcacocha. The hike was so strenuous that two of my colleagues had to turn around halfway, struggling with altitude sickness. Whatever breath I had left was taken away when I first glimpsed the lake, with those shiny white glaciers framing its deep blue water. Walking along the lake's edge, a distant crash broke the silence. "It's just a small avalanchethat happens all the time," explained one of the villagers working for the local government who are present here around the clock to watch over the lake. Far away on the glacier, I spotted a flurry of falling snow. "You see? This one didn't even reach the lake." I wondered about the consequences of a bigger avalanche on the residents of the valley below, including the Luciano Lliuya family. Back down in the village over our guinea pig lunch, Julio (who was in his seventies) explained he had transferred his property in the flood danger zone to his seven children. To our surprise, the youngest of them, Saul, offered to make the claim against RWE. "All right then," said Christoph Bals, Germanwatch's policy director. "We're going to court!" An outlandish idea When I began working on this project nearly a decade ago, holding a major emitter responsible for climate change occurring across the world seemed an outlandish idea. German lawyers had come up with the idea of bringing a claim under the country's neighborhood law (part of the extensive German Civil Code)but this idea had yet to be tested in court. When Saul Luciano Lliuya first heard about this option, he said his preferred option was to confront a major polluter, so we settled on a claim against the German multinational RWE. Based some 6,500 miles away in the industrial city of Essen, RWE has produced coal-fired energy since it was founded in the 19th century. Much more recently, its plans for the huge new Garzweiler open-cast coalmine in western Germany have been met with sustained protests and some controversy about RWE's relationship with the regional police. Over the past 25 years, the energy company has diversified into renewable energy, and states that it will be "climate neutral by 2040". A 2014 study, commissioned by the Climate Justice Programme in Australia, estimated that RWE had produced 0.47% of all the world's industrial greenhouse gas emissions between 1854 and 2010. In Luciano Lliuya's homeland, the local government plans to build a new dam and drainage system at Lake Palcacocha to reduce the risk of flooding, at a projected cost of about US$4 million. Luciano Lliuya, via the lawsuit, wants RWE to cover 0.47% of that sum, or around US$20,000. The case's central argument is simple: that climate change makes everyone in the world potential neighborsso, RWE should be a good neighbor and accept its responsibility for contributing to climate change impacts in Peru. Initially, a lower court in Essen ruled (in December 2016) that the lawsuit against the energy giant was unfounded. However, the following November, this was overruled by the Higher Regional Court in Hamm, which declared the case admissible and began examining the evidence. The requested sum of US$20,000 is a symbolic amount of money, of courseRWE's legal costs are likely to go much higher. Yet, when the judges suggested an out-of-court settlement at a hearing in 2017, the company's lawyer refused, stating: "This is a matter of precedent." The estimated cost of future climate-related claims extends into the billions. The legal strategy "This feels like we're at 5,000 meters in the Andes," remarks Saul Luciano Lliuya as, fighting a biting wind, we walk to the Essen courthouse. It is November 2015 and this is his first trip outside Peruaccompanied by his father. Acting as guide and interpreter, I freeze alongside them in my thick winter coat while these two hardy Peruvians sport only light jackets. A TV crew is filming as Luciano Lliuya enters the courthouse with his lawyer to submit the claim against RWE. They emerge a few minutes later, and he gives a statement to the awaiting journalists and TV cameras: "I'm making this claim because the mountains in Peru are suffering. The glaciers are melting. We haven't caused this problemit's big companies like RWE. Now they must take responsibility." Speaking to the press is a new and nerve-wracking experience for him. But when he thinks about the mountains and why he is taking this action, a fire seems to light up inside. Later that day, after we escape the cameras, I ask what his neighbors back in Peru think about the lawsuit. His only aim, after all, is to benefit his community in the face of dramatic changes to their Andean environment. He seeks no personal gain; only that RWE covers part of the costs of a public infrastructure project to reduce the risk of flooding from Lake Palcacocha. "I don't know what [my fellow villagers] think," Luciano Lliuya replies. "I haven't told anyone." Acknowledging my surprise, he says he isn't sure how to explain it to them: "They live with climate change in their own way, but they don't all have the scientific facts. I'm afraid that some people might not understand how me going to Germany helps us in Peru." It turns out that his fear is well-founded. When his neighbors find out about his legal claimwhether from news reports, social media or word of mouthsome are confused by it. Rumors begin to spread: that he is making lots of money from the claim, or selling the lake to the Germans. Upon his return home, he explains to his neighbors that nobody is paying him to make the claim, and that success would ultimately help them all. Still, many remain suspicious. The irony that this case, revolving around neighborhood law, risks upsetting his own neighbors in Peru is not lost on Luciano Lliuya. The lawsuit applies nuisance law, which is typically applied in neighborhood disputes, to climate change impacts. Imagine this: your neighbor has a wall that borders on your property. The wall is old and crumbling, and you're afraid it could fall over and damage your house. If that happens, you can sue your neighbor for damages. But you'd rather not waityou don't want to live with the uncertainty. So instead, you sue your neighbor using the nuisance law. If you win, the court will order them to fix the wallor in Luciano Lliuya's case, get rid of the flood hazard. Around the world, others have attempted similar lawsuits before, to no avail. In 2008, for example, the Native Alaskan community of Kivalina filed a claim against ExxonMobil and other oil majors in the US. Their village is threatened by rising sea levels, so the complainants demanded support for adaptation costsbut that case was dismissed on the grounds that climate change is a political issue that should not be resolved in the courts. Since then, political progress has proved largely inadequate in mobilizing support for those who are most vulnerable to climate change. At the same time, climate science has evolved rapidly, drawing ever more precise links between major emitters and impacts around the world. Since 2017, around 40 US states and cities have filed lawsuits against the fossil fuel industry, arguing that companies such as ExxonMobil knew about the dangers of climate change decades ago but hid this knowledge from consumers. The plaintiffs have included cities such as New York and San Francisco that are threatened by sea level rise and have demanded billions of dollars to cover their adaptation costs. Their actions have received support from US president Joe Biden's administration, and earlier in 2023, the Supreme Court ruled the cases should be heard in state rather than federal courts. Many legal analysts believe these cases have a better chance of success in state courts, and they are likely to go to trial soon. After Dutch NGO Milieudefensie filed a lawsuit against the oil and gas multinational Shell, in 2021 a Dutch court ordered that the company should reduce its emissions by 45% by 2030. (There are, though, enforcement challenges with multinational corporations, and since the verdict Shell has moved its corporate headquarters from the Netherlands to the UK.) Lawsuits in numerous countries have forced governments to increase climate action. But, almost eight years after he delivered the complaint to the snowy Essen courthouse in November 2015, Luciano Lliuya's case has made it furthest of all. Most fossil fuel companies are no longer engaging in climate denial. RWE acknowledges the dangers of global warming and claims to be "at the leading edge of the shift to sustainable energy." Yet the company is still making massive profits with fossil fuels, and refuses to pay up for damage caused by past emissions. A battle over the science "I know of no other case where attribution science is so important. This is a real battle of science," says Roda Verheyen, Luciano Lliuya's lead lawyer. In early 2021, Luciano Lliuya's legal team submitted a new piece of impartial evidence: a scientific study linking flood risk in the Peruvian Andes to global warming. It found that around 95% of the glacier's retreat at Lake Palcacocha is due to human-made climate change. One media article called it a "smoking gun". After RWE's lawyers challenged the legal validity of the study, in July 2021 the court acknowledged it as a piece of independently produced evidence, meaning it is "of higher value than private expert opinions commissioned by the parties". In response, RWE's legal team presented a study in the scientific journal Remote Sensing, which analyzed satellite data for the glacier above Lake Palcacocha and found there was "no evidence of significant glacial instability" within a three-year observation period. RWE's lawyers used this study to argue that a large avalanche is unlikelya position that has been strongly contested by Luciano Lliuya's legal team. RWE states that as well as modernizing its coal-fired power plants to reduce CO emissions, it has invested billions in renewable energy, reflecting Germany's policy to phase out fossil fuels. Within an article about the case on the climate investigations website SourceMaterial, RWE spokesperson Guido Steffen commented, "Individual emitters are not liable for universally rooted and globally effective processes like climate change. It is judicially impossible to relate specific or individual consequences of climate change to a single person." 'This close to winning' In the years since I first met Luciano Lliuya in 2014, as well as working with him as a legal adviser and strategist, I've also completed a Ph.D. on how climate change affects people in the Peruvian Andes, linking their concerns with legal and political discussions across the world. But the case is still far from over: legal proceedings move slowly, and the next hearing is due to be held in the first half of 2024. But the case has already inspired other claims: in July 2022, Indonesian islanders threatened by sea-level rise filed a similar lawsuit against the Swiss cement producer Holcim. A recent case in Italy asks for a declaration of responsibility for climate damage from ENI, an Italian oil company. And in September 2023, the European Court of Human Rights heard a legal action posed by Portuguese young people aged 11-24 against 33 European governments over what they claim is a failure to adequately tackle global heating. Meanwhile, the plight of Luciano Lliuya's community has been covered by media outlets across the planet. When his lawsuit began, it felt to all involved that victory was nearly impossiblewe might get past a few legal hurdles, then move on to the next case. Almost a decade on, we never imagined we'd get this far, and be this close to winning the case. Back in Luciano Lliuya's village, the criticism of his motives has slowly subsided. "A big step was when the court came to visit us [in 2022]," Luciano Lliuya explains. "People saw that this is something serious. It wasn't just me." Community leaders joined the court's inspection at Lake Palcacocha and shook the judges' hands. At the same time, Luciano Lliuya has helped establish a local NGO that supports farmers in adapting to climate change through sustainable agriculture. The organization is called WayintsikQuechua for "our house". While the legal process moves slowly on, they have no choice but to adaptand not just to the threat posed by the lake. Weather patterns are becoming less reliable. The Peruvian Andes usually have a dry season from May to August, and farmers rely on the first rains in September to plant their crops. Now, the rains sometimes begin too early, or not until November. New pests are also harming their potato harveststhe warming climate has brought rats to higher altitudes, for example. In the long term, climate change could have even more devastating impacts on Luciano Lliuya's community. Glaciers are natural water storage devices so, as they disappear, the people here will face water scarcity. "If there's no more water," he says, "we'll lose our livelihoods. There will be nothing left." No water for the fields, no glaciers to climb. But Luciano Lliuya is stubborn. In the face of malicious rumors and unwanted attention, others might have given up. He just climbed more mountains. After attending COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh in November 2022, he went on an all-night trek which included climbing Mount Sinai, following in the steps of Moses. The sandy landscape was a sharp contrast to the glaciers and green pastures he is used to in Peru. Squinting into the rising sun, he reflected on the perils of life on a warming planet. He said it made him imagine a bleak future in which the whole world resembles these surroundings: "That's why I'll continue fightingso that our mountains back home don't turn to desert too one day." This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. 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: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Servicewomen in the British military are being badly let down when reporting sexual violence, with some victims even punished for breaches of military rules when making a report, new research reveals. Researchers say there is an urgent need to overhaul the "military's misogynistic gender culture", as well as end the misuse of disciplinary procedures against victims who breach codes of conduct when they report sexual violence. The research, led by the University of York and published in the The RUSI Journal, found that women who experienced sexual violence often feel betrayed by responses to their reports, both by the chain of command and by their peers. They often felt isolated and bullied, and, in some cases, punished by their commanders because, at the time of the assault, they had been drinking or fraternizing with subordinates. The authors of the report say the findings are particularly compelling coming in the immediate aftermath of the Service Inquiry report into the death of Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley-Louise Beck, who was found dead at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire in December 2021 after experiencing "an intense period of unwelcome behavior." One participant who took part in the University of York study described how the camp they were based at turned into a "hostile environment" after she reported her assault. Colleagues stated that they did not believe her and refused to work with her. She was told by her commander that she was becoming an "inconvenience" because of the bad atmosphere it was creating. Some of her fellow servicewomen, she told the interviewer, "would come to me and be like 'it happened to me, I believe you,' it was kind of like a small MeToo movement [but] if you spoke out, you [were] ostracized." Reputation Several participants believed that there was an overriding concern with keeping negative stories out of the media to protect the military's reputation. One participant told the authors of the report that, following her report of rape, her superiors ordered that potential evidence be deleted from mobile phones, because of a concern that photos or videos would end up on social media: "Basically they couldn't have anything that would expose them to anything. Basically covering up," she said. Others suggested that the concern over keeping stories of sexual violence out of the media was particularly powerful when there were senior officers involved: "anything that they can keep out of the media they will especially if there's rank involved, you know, if there is a high-ranking officer, abuse of power, they absolutely don't want that making the media." Understudied While sexual violence in the British military remains understudied by academics, the 2021 Armed Forces Continuous Attitudes Survey reported that 11% of female personnel (and less than 1% of male personnel) had experienced sexual harassment in the Service environment in the previous 12 months. Respondents to the Army's 2021 Sexual Harassment Survey revealed that 19% had experienced unwanted attempts to establish a sexual relationship, 7% had been treated badly for refusing to have sex with someone, 4% had been subjected to a sexual activity to which they were unable to consent, 2.6% had been seriously sexually assaulted, and 1.8% had been raped. Further harm Lead author, Dr. Harriet Gray from the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of York, said, "Sexual violence and harassment within the British military is a serious and widespread problem. "We find that responses to reporting sexual violence in the British military can cause further harm to victim-survivors above and beyond that engendered by the violence itself. "Some of these harms are caused by a gendered military culture that belittles the importance of and/or normalizes sexual violence. This leaves victim-survivors vulnerable to bullying and ostracization. "Change will require real, serious, and widespread efforts to transform the military's misogynistic gender culture, even where this might impede the perceived benefits of maintaining a masculine culture." Betrayed Clinical advisor to the Center for Military Justice, Dr. Nicola Lester, said that the response of organizations to trauma can either be a source of comfort and support or serve to exacerbate the distress of victim survivors. "Unfortunately, our research has indicated that servicewomen are betrayed by the organization when they report the sexual violence that they have endured, leading to experiences of shame, blame and dehumanization," she said. Emma Norton, founder and director of the Center for Military Justice, a charity that represents and supports women in the armed forces who have suffered sexual harassment and violence, added, "Sexual violence is an issue that affects the whole of societybut for women in the military, our research shows how they must navigate very particular additional challenges that can have career-ending, life-changing consequences. "An organization that professes to have 'zero-tolerance' of these behaviors must ask itself what it needs to do to address these wider problematic attitudes towards women that speak out." More information: Harriet Gray et al, Servicewomen's Experiences of the Aftermath of Sexual Assault in the British Military, The RUSI Journal (2023). DOI: 10.1080/03071847.2023.2276305 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: A blue whale spotted close to shore at D'Arros Island. Credit: Justin Blake | Save Our Seas Foundation. Seychelles is a special place for whales and dolphins. And yet, while its corals, turtles and sharks are relatively well studied, little is known about its cetaceans. Now scientists from the University of Seychelles, Florida International University and Oregon State University are uncovering how remarkable Seychelles is for these mammals. In two field seasons they have recorded 23 species. But one discovery looms large: the confirmation that blue whales frequent the same ocean where they were historically hunted. "It is remarkable to know that the largest animal on earth swims here," says Dr. Jeremy Kiszka, a biology professor at Florida International University and a research associate at the Island Biodiversity and Conservation Center, at the University of Seychelles. Dr. Kiszka is a Save Our Seas Foundation (SOSF) project leader investigating the importance of Seychelles for cetaceans. Kiszka co-authored "Acoustic detections and sightings of blue whales Balaenoptera musculus in the Seychelles, western tropical Indian Ocean (20202022)," which has been published in the journal Endangered Species Research. Seychelles was a hunting ground for Soviet whalers in the 20th century. As a new member of the International Whaling Commission in 1978, the Republic of Seychelles lobbied successfully to protect the Indian Ocean from whaling. And today, there have been five confirmed sightings over the course of five years. "Never in my life would I have imagined that the biggest animal on planet earth cruises our oceans here in Seychelles," says Dillys Pouponeau, a research assistant at the SOSF D'Arros Research Center (SOSF-DRC). Pouponeau joined the expedition as a digital imaging technician with Oceanic Films who were filming "Blue WhalesReturn of the Giants" (https://bluewhalesfilm.com/). "To me, this was big news because it reflects the productivity of our oceans," she continues. "It shows how regulations have helped to protect this species after whaling." "Blue whales are protected because they are no longer legally hunted, but they still face a range of threats," expands Dr. Kiszka. "Shipping traffic causes noise pollution and can lead to collisions. Climate change is changing the distribution and abundance of their key food, krill." Of the four subspecies we know exist, it's the pygmy blue whale that visits Seychelles. Scientists confirmed that the songs of the Sri Lankan acoustic group were recorded on their hydrophones. "We now need to increase our research efforts to assess the abundance of these blue whales and discover why they are using Seychelles' waters. We also need to raise awareness and help the government to protect them better," says Dr. Kiszka. He and his colleagues will be asking some critical questions, such as what do these whales do in Seychelles from December to April? What do they eat and how could climate change impact their persistence in Seychelles? Pouponeau is excited by the potential. "The Amirantes Islands, of which D'Arros Island is a part, is known to have hosted blue whalesand suffered atrocious whaling events. We can't wait to understand the whales' population status around D'Arros. Have they returned? How many are there? Their presence will add value to our marine protected area." For Dr. Kiszka, Seychelles' ocean is only beginning to reveal its magic. "Of course, recording blue whales was a big moment," he says. For Pouponeau, the research is part personal fulfillment. "The coolest thing is that our work here involves studying not only the smallest animals alive, zooplankton, but also the biggest, blue whales." Dr. Kiszka continues, "I hope that we can share this with more students from Seychelles, and from further afield." Pouponeau agrees. "Since I am also a scientist, I was involved in everything happening on the boat. Here on D'Arros, the research involves surveying in the boat and deploying hydrophones. This gives me hope as an emerging scientist. It also gives me a new sense of stewardship." And that responsibility extends across the oceans. "These blue whales have no borders; we need to conduct research on an appropriate scale. And we need to collaborate internationally. It's a phenomenal opportunity to understand these blue whales," concludes Dr. Kiszka. More information: KM Stafford et al, Acoustic detections and sightings of blue whales Balaenoptera musculus in the Seychelles, western tropical Indian Ocean (2020-2022), Endangered Species Research (2023). DOI: 10.3354/esr01277 Journal information: Endangered Species Research Provided by Save Our Seas Foundation 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: Autonomous University of Barcelona/University of Almeria A research team from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona and the University of Almeria discovered in the latest excavations carried out at the site of El Trigal III, in the archaeological area of La Puntilla (Nasca, Ica, Peru), a new type of settlement. It is an architectural complex of large dimensions, consisting of a two-story building and a courtyard with warehouses from the time of the Wari State Researchers made the discovery thanks to the digs they conducted at the end of 2022, under the framework of the La Puntilla Archaeological Research Project. Since 2005, the team or researchers have been working on the sites of El Trigal, next to the Aja River, on the northern slope of the La Puntilla mountain range. The archaeological site is located near the Orcona community (Nasca Province, Department of Ica, Peru). Since 2012 the digs have focused on El Trigal III, where a settlement was discovered from the period of the Cahuachi State, dating back to between the 1st and 5th century CE, a period that corresponds to the making of geoglyphs with animal figures known at the Nasca Lines. In 2021, digs began in what is known as the North Precinct, and in 2022 researchers confirmed that the building had been constructed at a later time, during the time of the Wari State. Pending confirmation of the dates obtained by carbon 14, it is estimated that its chronology is between the 7th and 10th centuries CE. The Wari State had its center in the city of Wari, located in the Andean highlands, in the Peruvian department of Ayacucho. From the 7th century onwards, it extended its political control from that region to territories in the highlands and the coast, up to the north of Peru. It is considered that this political expansion constituted an empire, with an important weight of the military activity of territorial conquest, but also with alliances and pacts with dominant groups of different regions, as could be the case of the Nasca valley. The building of the North Precinct of El Trigal III measured about 130 square meters and was built with large stone walls, on top of which adobe walls were built. It had two floors, given the thickness of the walls and the volume of the collapsed material found. The walls were plastered in white and yellow, due to the remains adhered to the stones that made up the architectural material. And on the first floor, the one that has been preserved, there is evidence of food preparation and storage spaces. Attached to this building was a large space formed by a courtyard with small rooms for storage, still in the process of excavation, inside the area known as the South Precinct. This area measured more than 500 square meters, and was delimited by walls made with large stones. This type of architectural complex had not been documented so far in extensive excavations. However, knowledge existed of a ceramic model with this same configuration, found in a burial site in Ayacucho. The existence of a model indicates that the construction was previously planned. This fact is also known in the case of the territorial control centers where the Wari Empire located the warehouses in which they stored the tributes of the communities of the regions under state control. The settlement of El Trigal III represents a new type of enclave, of rural character, in the territory of Wari, probably owned by a group of the imperial ruling class, which through servile labor could maintain the various crafts, food preparation and maintenance of warehouses, in the house and in its annexes, and also carry out agricultural work in the lands of the valley of the Aja River. In the time of the Wari State, political centers are well known, such as the city of Wari, as are a series of territorial centers in different regions, as well as some establishments where there are singular buildings, apsidal in shape and most likely places of political and religious use, and also a great number of burial sites, many times without clear contexts, but with funerary offerings from that time. However, the settlement found by researchers of the La Puntilla project corresponds to a small rural place, albeit with an architectural component needing a great amount of work, most probably because it was inhabited by members of the upper class. A preview of the results was recently published in the journal Informes y Trabajos, No. 21, of the Spanish Cultural Heritage Institute, and will also be presented at the 10th National Archaeology Congress of Peru, which begins on 28 November. 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: Finite element analyses of feeding behaviors among three longirostrine gomphothere families and reconstruction of their feeding ecology. AC, von Mises stress color maps of Choerolophodon (A), Gomphotherium (B), and Platybelodon (C) models, with the full muscle forces exerted, and an additional 5000 N external vertical force applied on the distal end of the mandibular symphysis. D, Strain energy curves of the three mandibles under the following three steps: 1, muscle forces linearly exerted; 2, a 5000 N external vertical force suddenly applied on the distal end; and 3, the 5000 N external force gradually changed from vertical to horizontal. E, Sum of equivalent plastic strain from total elements (SEPS) of twigs cut by mandible models in three different directions (i.e., twig horizontal, 45 oblique, and vertical). Larger SEPS values indicate higher efficiency of twig cutting. F, Scenery reconstruction of feeding behaviors of the three longirostrine gomphothere families (by X. Guo), represented by Choerolophodon (Choerolophodontidae), feeding in a closed forest, Gomphotherium (Gomphotheriidae), feeding at the margin between the closed forest and open grassland, and Platybelodon (Amebelodontidae), feeding on open grassland. G, Detailed 3D reconstruction of Platybelodon feeding by grasping the grass-blades using their flexible trunk and cutting the grass blades using the distal edge of their mandibular tusks. Credit: eLife (2023). DOI: 10.7554/eLife.90908.1 Researchers have provided new insights into how ancestral elephants developed their dextrous trunks. The study, published Nov. 27 as a Reviewed Preprint in eLife, combines multiple analyses to reconstruct feeding behaviors in the extinct longirostrine elephantiformselephant-like mammals characterized by elongated lower jaws and tusks. The editors describe the work as fundamental to our understanding of how the elongated lower jaw and long trunks evolved in these animals during the Miocene epoch, around 1120 million years ago. It provides compelling evidence for the diversity of these structures in longirostrine gomphotheres, and their likely evolutionary responses to global climatic changes. The findings may also show why modern-day elephants are the only animals able to feed themselves using their trunks. Longirostrine gomphotheres are part of the proboscidean familya group of mammals including elephants and known for their elongated and versatile trunks. Longirostrine gomphotheres are notable as they underwent a prolonged evolutionary phase characterized by an exceptionally elongated lower jaw, or mandible, which is not found in later proboscideans. It is thought that their elongated mandible and trunk may have co-evolved in this group, but this change among early to late proboscideans remains incompletely understood. "During the Early to Middle Miocene, gomphotheres flourished across Northern China," says lead author Dr. Chunxiao Li, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. "Across species, there was huge diversity in the structure of the long mandible. We sought to explain why proboscideans evolved the long mandible and why it subsequently regressed. We also wanted to explore the role of the trunk in these animals' feeding behaviors and the environmental background for the co-evolution of their mandibles and trunks." Li and colleagues used comparative functional and eco-morphological investigations, as well as a feeding preference analysis, to reconstruct the feeding behavior of three major families of longirostrine gomphotheres: Amebelodontidae, Choerolophodontidae, and Gomphotheriidae. To construct the feeding behaviors and determine the relation between the mandible and trunk, the team examined the crania and lower jaws of the three groups, sourced from three different museums. The structure of the mandible and tusks differed across the three groups, indicating differences in feeding behaviors. The mandibles of Amebelodontidae were generally shovel-like, and the tusks were flat and wide. Gomphotheriidae had clubbed lower tusks and a more narrow mandible, while Choerolophodontidae completely lacked mandibular tusks, and their lower jaw was long and trough-like. Next, the team conducted an analysis of the animals' enamel isotopes to determine the distribution and ecological niches of the three families. The results indicated that Choerolphontidae lived in a relatively closed environment, whereas Platybelodon, a member of the Amebelodontidae family, lived in a more open habitat, such as grasslands. Gomphotheriidae appeared to fill a niche somewhere in between these closed and open habitats. A Finite Element analysis helped the team determine the advantages and disadvantages of the mandible and tusk structure between each group. Their data indicated that the Choerolophodontidae mandible was specialized for cutting horizontally or slanted-growing plants, which may explain the absence of mandibular tusks. The Gomphotheriidae mandible was found to be equally suited for cutting plants growing in all directions. Platybelodon had structures specialized for cutting vertically growing plants, such as soft-stemmed herbs, which would have been more common in open environments. The three families also showed differences in their stages of trunk evolution, which could be inferred from the narial structurethe region surrounding the nostrils. The narial region in Choerolophodontidae suggested that they had a relatively primitive, clumsy trunk. In Gomphotheriidae, the narial region was most similar to modern-day elephants, suggesting they had a relatively flexible trunk. The trunks of Platybelodons may be the first example of a proboscidean trunk that can coil and grasp. The evolutionary level of the trunk appeared to relate to the ability of the mandible to cut horizontally, strongly suggesting a co-evolution between the trunk and the mandible in longirostrine gomphotheres. During the Mid-Miocene Climate Transition, which caused regional drying and the expansion of more open ecosystems, Choerolophodontidae experienced a sudden regional extinction, and Gomphotheriidae numbers also declined in Northern China. The study suggests that the development of the coiling and grasping trunk in Platybelodon allowed this group to survive in greater numbers in their open environments. This may also explain why other animals with trunks, such as tapirs, never developed such dextrous trunks as elephants, as they never moved into open lands. "Our cross-disciplinary team is dedicated to introducing multiple quantitative research methods to explore paleontology," says co-author Ji Zhang, associate professor of structural engineering at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China. "Modern computational mechanics and statistics have injected new vitality into traditional fossil research." The main limitation of this work is the lack of discussion comparing the team's results with the development of gigantism and long limbs in proboscideans from the same period, according to eLife's editors. The authors add that such analysis could add to our understanding of how changing feeding behaviors related to wider differences in the animals' body shapes and sizes during this time. "Our findings demonstrate that multiple eco-adaptations have contributed to the diverse mandibular structure found in proboscideans," concludes senior author Dr. Shi-Qi Wang, professor at the Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. "Initially, the elongated mandible served as the primary feeding organ in proboscideans and was a prerequisite for the development of the extremely long trunk. Open-land grazing drove the development of trunk coiling and grasping functions, and the trunk then became the primary tool for feeding, leading to the gradual loss of the long mandible. In particular, Platybelodons may have been the first proboscidean to evolve this grazing behavior." More information: Chunxiao Li et al, Longer mandible or nose? Co-evolution of feeding organs in early elephantiforms, eLife (2023). DOI: 10.7554/eLife.90908.1 Journal information: eLife Provided by eLife 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: Drone image of swidden fields in rainforests of Belize, taken as part of the study of slash-and-burn agriculture impact on biodiversity. Credit: Sean Downey The slash-and-burn agriculture practiced by many Indigenous societies across the world can actually have a positive impact on forests, according to a new study done in Belize. Researchers found that in areas of the rainforest in which Indigenous farmers using slash-and-burn techniques created intermediate-sized farm patchesneither too small nor too largethere were increases in forest plant diversity. This contradicts what had long been the standard view in the past, promoted by the United Nations and others, identifying slash-and-burn as a significant cause of deforestation around the world, said Sean Downey, lead author of the study and associate professor of anthropology at The Ohio State University. "Our study provides quantitative evidence that these traditional agricultural practices can have positive outcomes on forests," said Downey, who is also a core member of Ohio State's Sustainability Institute and a member of the Translational Data Analytics Institute. "Indigenous communities deeply understand forest ecology on their own terms, and that knowledge leads to practices that can increase biodiversity and help enhance the ecosystem." The study was published online recently in the journal Communications Earth & Environment. Researchers from Ohio State teamed up with local researchers and community members to study two Q'eqchi' Maya villages in southern Belize. The approximately 18,000-acre study area is in the Toledo District of Belize and encompasses the Maya villages of Crique Sarco and Graham Creek. Downey has been working in the villages since 2005. More than three-quarters of residents of the two villages rely on slash-and-burn agriculturecalled swidden by anthropologistsas one of the main sources of their livelihood. Corn is the most important crop. Swidden agriculture occurs on lands owned by the community and used under their customary rules and norms. Local households will clear a section of the forest for farming based on their needs. They will burn the trees they cut down to return the nutrients to the soil. They will farm the land for a few years and then let it return to its natural state while they use a new parcel of forest to farm. The researchers used a variety of techniques, including remote sensing from drones and mapping on the ground, to estimate the number of plant species in specific areas and link that to landscape disturbance in the primary swidden-use areas of both villages in the study. During April 2018, the researchers used long-range drones flying at 1,500 feet and fitted with a 5-band multispectral sensor to scan the study area. The sensors picked up small variations in the light reflected from trees and other plants that make up the overstory of the forestswhat scientists call spectral diversity. Sean Downey, associate professor of anthropology at The Ohio State University, with drone used in study. Credit: Sean Downey Higher levels of spectral diversity correspond with a greater diversity in the tree and plant life, Downey said. Because the drones flew so close to the top of the overstory, the sensors were able to capture high-resolution imagery that is not available by satellites, he said. That allowed researchers to get a very fine-grain analysis of biodiversity. It also allowed the researchers to locate small disturbances in the forest, including those from swidden agriculture, and calculate a "fragmentation index" for regions of the forest. In addition, the researchers worked with a local mapping team that collected land-use history data to determine how long it had been since a particular patch of forest had been used for swidden agriculture. "When you have a mature forest, the large trees create a canopy that blocks sunlight from getting to the forest floor, preventing other plant species from growing," Downey said. "What swidden agriculture does is open a patch of forest that lets the sunshine in and allows other plant species to take root and grow. And when that happens, you're increasing the diversity in the forest, which is a good thing." Downey noted that this happens naturally through lightning strikes, hurricanes, and other storms that open up forest areas. Indigenous farmers are leveraging the same kind of processes, creating patches that are just the right size to maximize species diversity. The intermediate-sized patches are key to making this work, he said. Mature forests naturally have very low numbers of rare species that operate as seed banks. If cleared patches are too small, these rare plants don't have the opportunity to grow. If the patches are too big, that can eliminate the seed bank for the area so that the rare species can't come back. "You have to get the spatial scale of these clearings just right to actually increase the biodiversity," Downey said. "That's what we found the local farmers were normally doing with swidden agriculture." The evidence provided by this study about the positive impact of swidden agriculture is especially important now as the international community focuses on Indigenous agriculture in terms of climate change, Downey said. COP28, the United Nations climate summit that started Nov. 28 in the United Arab Emirates, will have an "Indigenous Peoples Dialogue" session during the meeting on Dec. 5. In the summary for the session, the UN notes that Indigenous peoples protect 80% of biodiversity on Earth. Downey said this research suggests that top-down regulation of swidden agriculture by national and international groups is not optimal. Rather, climate change programs should be willing to support practices and institutions that may seem distantly related to conservation but which may be critical to Indigenous cultures and livelihoods. "Our study demonstrates that Indigenous communities, supported by their customary practices and cultural norms, can maintain this intermediate level of disturbance in forests that supports or even enhances biodiversity," he said. More information: Sean S. Downey et al, An intermediate level of disturbance with customary agricultural practices increases species diversity in Maya community forests in Belize, Communications Earth & Environment (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s43247-023-01089-6 Journal information: Communications Earth & Environment 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 In 1970, there were approximately 10 billion birds in North America. Now, there are around 7 billion, representing a loss of over a quarter of the continent's birds. Of the 3 billion birds lost, 90% come from just 12 families, all various types of songbirds: a broad suborder of perching birds including everything from painted buntings, dainty and colorful with a melodic whistle, to the common crow, large and black with a scratchy caw. Songbirds face a variety of threats, with outdoor cats, building collisions and habitat destruction among the most pervasive and well understood factors in their decline. A new threatsongbird traffickinghas emerged, though, and Texas is thought to be a big part of the equation. "It's so important for us in Texas to care about [songbirds], because we're the pathway that they all travel through [during migration]," said Chris Corpus, the director of conservation at the Dallas Zoo. "If we're not doing something here, it's going to affect songbirds in Ohio, it's going to affect songbirds in Illinois. We're the gatekeeper, so it's important for us to take action here." Songbird trafficking in North America has only recently come under the microscope, according to experts including Mike Kreger, the co-chair of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' initiative for the conservation of North American songbirds. Around five years ago, Kreger and his partner Sara Hallager, the curator of birds at the Smithsonian National Zoo, thought "the time was right" to begin such an initiative under the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Saving Animals from Extinction umbrella. The North American songbird conservation program, known as SAFE NAS, now has over 80 members. Those participants, including the Dallas Zoo, commit resources to save the birds almost anyone can see in their backyard, and trafficking is one of seven of the program's focus areas encompassing all manner of population threats. "We are working very hard to get the baseline information," said Kreger, who is also vice president of conservation at the Columbus Zoo. "And hopefully, in the near future, we'll understand the trade better and its impacts, and we'll be able to make some policy decisions." Experts understand why songbirdsincluding many native to Texas and that travel through Texasare trafficked and where they end up, but the extent of the issue is still being researched. Captured birds are used in singing competitions. It's a popular practice in many cultures in which wild-caught songbirds, as opposed to birds bred in captivity, are the preferred competitors, according to Kreger. Authorities such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and SAFE's researchers have found North American songbirds for sale in pet stores in foreign countries, Corpus said, and domestically on Facebook and Craigslist. These practices violate multiple century-old conservation laws, including the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Lacey Act. The treaty prohibits the capture, trade, transport, possession and killing of migratory birds, among other things, and the Lacey Act prohibits the trade of any illegally taken wildlife or plant. Law enforcement agencies have made major arrests for violations of these laws, and, according to Corpus, they are actively investigating many more cases. In August, U.S. Fish and Wildlife arrested and charged six men in Houston in connection with songbird trafficking, confiscating over 300 illegally trapped songbirds. In February, a man prosecutors referred to as "one of New York's finch-smuggling kingpins" was sentenced to a year and a day in prison for trying to sneak songbirds through the JFK airport in New York by stuffing them in hair curlers. He had previously pleaded guilty to a similar crime in 2018. Kreger said he has noticed law enforcement action being taken against songbird trafficking, but quantifying the extent, and whether it's getting more common, is difficult. Though songbird populations, including birds known to be the favorites of traffickers, are declining, it's hard to parse how much of that is trafficking and how much comes from the myriad other threats birds face. "It's hard to dig up the numbers, because Texas Parks and Wildlife has some numbers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife has numbers," Corpus said. "When you start to compare their numbers, you see small batches of 10s and 30s here and there, but it all starts to add up to thousands." In Southeast Asia, where bird singing competitions are very common, the damage done by songbird trafficking has been well known and understood among conservation and wildlife enforcement groups for decades, according to Corpus. Then, around the turn of the century, they started noticing songbirds native to the Americas popping up in these competitions, prompting conservation groups to look into songbird trafficking at home in the U.S. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora is an international agreement signed by 183 parties to ensure that illegal trade does not harm wildlife populations. In December, CITES will host a workshop gathering member nations to piece together "the scale and scope" of songbird trafficking worldwide. In 2021, international researchers across disciplines introduced the Songbirds in Trade Databasewhich provides information on nearly 7,000 songbird species' relationship to illegal tradeto support CITES. According to the dataset, several beloved Texas songbirds, like painted buntings and northern cardinals, are at moderate to high conservation concern due to trade. The painted bunting is one of just a handful of species with observed population decline due to trade even with limited data available. The American Bird Conservancy, a conservation organization, works with a nonprofit in Brazil to educate local police on identifying trafficked birds; SAFE NAS has researchers trying to figure out how to give songbird traffickers an alternate livelihood. Still, it's just as important to combat trafficking at home. Texas acts as a funnel from North America into South America and vice versa during songbird migration. Two billion birds passed through Texas in fall, representing a quarter of all migratory birds in the U.S. "Poachers are no dummies. They know that if you set up these traps at the right time of year, when all these birds are going through, they're going to be able to catch them," Corpus said. Law enforcement agents have found songbird traps in North Texas, Corpus said. Poachers use box traps, nets and glue spread onto branches to catch songbirds, and the consequences are deadly. Around 80% of songbirds that are captured die, according to Corpus, both from the traps themselves and the stress of captivity. Those who find a trap, can report it to state and federal wildlife agencies, but there are more effective ways to help. "With songbirds, unlike so many other species, you can tell people how you can take actions in your own backyard," Kreger said. "People feel ownership of the birds that spend some part of their annual lifecycle in their own backyards, so you can do a lot more for birds directly." Kreger noted that many people who make up the market for trafficked songbirdsthose who keep them as pets or to compete in singing competitions, for exampledon't know how detrimental those practices can be for the birds, so education is a huge component of combating the trade. People can also support bird populations by turning their lights off at night, keeping their cats indoors and growing native plants, thereby contributing to a healthy habitat for songbirds, Kreger said. "They're beautiful, and they're wonderful to see and to hear in the landscape, but without songbirds, we would lose some of our habitats that we all love, our grasslands, our wetlands, our forests," Corpus said. "These birds are vital for spreading seeds, for helping pollinate things, or helping manage the insects that are in these habitats. Without these birds, our habitats would change dramatically." 2023 The Dallas Morning News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain An inquiry into the death of a 19-year-old soldier in the British army found that relentless sexual harassment by her line manager was "almost certain" to have been a causal factor in her death. Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley-Louise Beck took her own life after receiving more than 4,500 messages and voicemails from her boss over two months. Beck felt unable to report the harassment, as a previous alleged sexual assault she experienced by a different senior colleague had not been handled effectively. She did not want to be labeled a "serial troublemaker". Our new peer-reviewed study co-authored with Emma Norton, a founder of the Centre for Military Justice, suggests that Beck's fears of reprisal were well founded. We conducted in-depth interviews with six female veterans in the UK who experienced sexual violence perpetrated by a serviceman while in the armed forces. They told us that how their peers and the chain of command responded caused further harm beyond the assault itself. This created an environment where they were afraid to speak out. As one participant said, "After seeing what happened to me for saying something, no one would ever speak up again." The vast extent of sexual harassment and assault in the British armed forces is well documented in official reports, including the Atherton report and the Army sexual harassment survey. A report commissioned by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and published in 2021 described sexual harassment as "part of the landscape" for women working in defense. As one of our interviewees put it, if personnel acknowledged every incident of harassment, "people would be [discussing it] 24/7". Echoing the findings of the Atherton report, we found that women who report sexual violence in the military are not always believed. Instead, they may be belittled, blamed, shamed and bullied. Several of those we interviewed said that responses from their commanding officers focused on their clothing or the amount of alcohol they had consumed, rather than on the assault itself. Others reported being ostracized and bullied by colleagues, including other women, after their disclosures. One participant recalled: "When you hear your own officer commanding saying, 'you drink too much you wear short skirts so you deserve it' [it] sends your mind all over the place." "Sexual offenses and unacceptable sexual behavior have no place in the armed forces and we are committed to stamping them out," an MoD spokesperson told the Guardian. "All allegations are taken extremely seriously and crimes are investigated by the service police." How the military handles sexual misconduct and assault Generally speaking, alleged crimes involving service personnel go through the service (not civilian) justice system, investigated by military police. If the evidence supports it, cases are referred to the service prosecuting authority, the military's equivalent of the crown prosecution service. They decide whether to bring charges against the accused in a court martial. Conviction rates for completed rape trials in the service justice system are significantly lower than completed rape trials in the crown court. Some offenses, such as murder and manslaughter, are generally considered unsuitable to be tried in the military system due to their severity. But efforts to have serious sexual offenses added to that category have so far been resisted by the MoD. For offenses that don't reach the level of criminal conviction, the military also has a system of administrative or disciplinary sanctions to punish misconduct or breaches of military personnel rules. These can range from a verbal telling off and extra duties, to dismissal from the military. Alarmingly, the sanctions used to hold perpetrators of sexual violence to account appear to be used against victims as well. Our participants described facing punishment or formal warnings for breaches of the military's rules that came to light when they reported their sexual victimization. For example, if they had consumed alcohol when they were not meant to, been in an out-of-bounds location, or fraternized with lower ranks. As one participant described: "I knew that if I reported it that we'd all get into trouble for staying out We'd get done for drinking." Changing procedures and changing culture In response to significant criticisms of its management of sexual misconduct and sexual offenses in recent years, the military has made some welcome changes. Most notably, in 2022 it introduced a new zero-tolerance policy. This means that personnel who have been criminally convicted of a sexual offense should automatically be discharged. "We have set up an independent defense serious crime unit, created a victim witness care unit and strengthened our ability to discharge from service anyone who has committed an offense or engages in unacceptable sexual behavior," the MoD spokesperson said. While we welcome these reforms, our research suggests that they are far from sufficient. Given how the culture in the British military treats victims of sexual violence and women generally, broader cultural changes are needed, as well as far more support for victims. For civilian victims of sexual violence, the decision to report and seek justice is complex and traumatic. Our findings, and the tragic death of Jaysley-Louise Beck, show that servicewomen face additional barriers due to the standards, procedures and culture within the military. As long as this remains unaddressed, servicewomen's careers, well-being and even their lives remain at risk. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. 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: Ron Lach from Pexels We've all experienced dreams that have left us feeling a little anxiouslike writing a test we're not prepared for, losing a loved one, or being chased by something threatening. But David R. Samson, an associate professor in the department of anthropology at University of Toronto Mississauga, has discovered that dreams like these play out much differently across different socio-cultural environmentswith dreamers from forager communities in Africa experiencing more social support within their dreams, while Western dreamers tending to focus more on individual stress and anxiety. "Dreams are a universal human experience, but their content and significance can differ widely," explains Samson. "We wanted to explore how the content and emotional function of dreams might vary across different cultural contexts. By comparing dreams from forager communities in Africa to those from Western societies, we aimed to understand how cultural and environmental factors shape the way people dream." As part of his research, Samson and his colleagues from University of Geneva worked closely with the BaYaka in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Hadza in Tanzania to record their dreams daily over a two-month period. For Western dreamers, they looked at dream journals and detailed dream accounts, collected between 2014 and 2022, from people living in Switzerland, Belgium and Canada. While studying these dreams, the team began to notice a common theme. "The dreams of the forager communities often began with threats but ended with resolutions involving social support, reflecting their strong social bonds," Samson says. "In contrast, Western dreams tended to focus on less social aspects. This suggests that dreams are not solely products of neurophysiology, but are influenced by the cultural and social contexts of the dreamers." For example, Samson says an individual from a forager community might dream that they are facing a threat such as being attacked by a wild animal, or falling down a well. That dream was usually resolved with the person being rescued by a member of their communitywhich highlights the role of social support within their communities. In contrast, when individuals from Western societies faced a threat in their dreamlike failing an important test or learning that a loved one had diedthere was less emphasis on social support, and more on the stress and anxiety that the person was feeling within their dream. While the research doesn't solve the question of why people dream, Samson says it sheds light on how culture influences the emotional function of dreams. "The ultimate purpose of dreaming is still a subject of ongoing research and debate," he says. "Some theories suggest that dreaming serves to simulate threatening or social situations, helping individuals prepare for real-life challenges. However, the exact function of dreams continues to be a fascinating and evolving area of study." Samson adds that the researchers hope their findings encourage further studies into the relationship between culture, society and the emotional function of dreamswhich could help inform important mental health research. "Understanding these connections can offer insights into the human mind and emotions," he says. "Additionally, it may have practical applications in fields such as psychology, where dream analysis could provide a culturally sensitive approach to understanding and addressing mental health issues." Migrants await processing beneath one of the two international bridges in Eagle Pass in September. The latest surge in migrant crossings prompted federal authorities to close one of the bridges to U.S.-bound traffic on Monday, Nov. 27 Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News A pedestrian crosses one of the two international bridges in Eagle Pass in September. The latest surge in migrant crossings prompted federal authorities to close one of the bridges to U.S.-bound traffic on Monday, Nov. 27 Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News The latest surge of migrants into Texas has prompted federal authorities to close one of two international bridges in Eagle Pass. Starting at 3 p.m. Monday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection closed International Bridge I to people and vehicles crossing into the country from Mexico. The span remained open to traffic in the opposite direction. The bridge is normally open to pedestrians and vehicles from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. Customs and Border Protection said it was closing the bridge and reducing vehicle crossings at an international bridge in Lukeville, Ariz., to cope with increased levels of migrant encounters at the Southwest Border, fueled by smugglers peddling disinformation to prey on vulnerable individuals and encourage migration. Advertisement Article continues below this ad FEDERAL PROBE: Recent migrant drownings along Rio Grande in Eagle Pass prompt federal inquiry Closing the one bridge and limiting traffic at the other allows authorities to redirect personnel to assist the U.S. Border Patrol with taking migrants into custody, CBP said in a statement. In response to this influx in encounters, we will continue to surge all available resources to expeditiously and safely process migrants, the statement said. We will maximize consequences against those without a legal basis to remain in the United States. CBP will continue to prioritize our border security mission as necessary in response to this evolving situation. International Bridge I connects downtown Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras, Mexico. Its one of two international bridges in Eagle Pass. The other, International Bridge II, also known as Camino Real International Bridge, remains open. That bridge is larger and is open 24 hours a day. Bridge I was closed for several weeks starting in late September after thousands of asylum-seekers crossed into Eagle Pass, according to the news site Border Report. Authorities closed Bridge I so they could divert CBP personnel to help process migrants beneath Bridge II. Advertisement Article continues below this ad That earlier closure cost the city at least $500,000 in trade and cargo traffic, Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas Jr. told Border Report. Maverick County officials announced the latest bridge closure on Monday by posting a Traffic Alert to Facebook. Eagle Pass has been a busy crossing point for migrants entering the U.S. between legal ports of entry. For that reason, it has been a focus of Texas Gov. Greg Abbotts border security measures, which include construction of a state-built border wall. In July, Abbott had a 1,000-foot line of massive buoys installed in the middle of the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass to discourage border-crossers. Texas National Guard soldiers and state troopers also have installed coils of razor along the rivers banks. Advertisement Article continues below this ad 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: Wetlands boost flood storage capacity and promote the preservation and restoration of natural ecosystems. Credit: Tulane University Adding multiple smaller wetlands to the landscape can make large reservoirs more effective at flood control, according to a new study from Tulane University published in Environmental Research Letters. Using the Brazos River basin in Texas as a case study, researchers modeled more than 140 wetland scenarios and compared performance against existing dams. They found a series of decentralized wetlands provide significant cumulative flood reduction and additional storage. "Our analysis provides science on how to plan nature-based solutions to improve efficiency of built infrastructure," said lead investigator Reepal Shah, a research scientist at Tulane University's Bywater Institute. "Properly sited wetland portfolios can provide comparable flood mitigation on a per-storage basis." Key findings of the study include: Multiple small wetlands offer greater cumulative benefit than a single large wetland of the same total area, highlighting the value of distributed natural infrastructure. Wetlands ranked by flood storage capacity and sequentially added to portfolios provide diminishing returns after approximately 30 sites, indicating not all wetlands perform equally. The top 18 wetlands could expand the basin's flood pool by 10% of the largest reservoir's capacity, showcasing wetlands' potential as complementary storage. An index comparing impact per unit storage found well-designed wetlands efficacy is comparable to existing dams in flood control efficacy. "This suggests wetland construction may relieve pressure on aging reservoir systems if done strategically," said John Sabo, co-author and director of the Bywater Institute. "The findings can help practitioners identify robust wetland portfolios to sequence implementation and maximize gains." The modeling framework couples established land surface and hydrodynamic models to assess flood mitigation outcomes under different wetland scenarios. The researchers plan to further refine the approach and engage stakeholders on utilizing natural infrastructure to improve basin flood resilience. The findings have important implications for flood management strategies globally. By incorporating strategically placed wetlands into existing infrastructure, communities can enhance their resilience to flooding events. This approach not only provides additional flood storage capacity but also promotes the preservation and restoration of natural ecosystems. More information: Reepal Shah et al, Design principles for engineering wetlands to improve resilience of coupled built and natural water infrastructure, Environmental Research Letters (2023). DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/acfdba Journal information: Environmental Research Letters Affordable 2 story, 3 bedroom home in the heart of Egg Harbor City! Offering a little over 1300 sq ft of living space, this home features a large kitchen with an even larger living room. The kitchen offers reasonable enough space for a table right in front of the bay windows or you can enjoy your coffe and tea in the breakfast nook overlooking the living room. The stainless steel microwave and electric stove fit perfectly against the brick accent wall in the kitchen. The BONUS SUNROOM gives plenty of natural light for plants while the fireplace in the living room can provide you with a wonderful ambiance just in time for the holidays. 3 bedrooms and 1 bath will greet you upstairs with walk up stairs to a very large attic that can house all of those holiday decorations! Two sheds are housed in the backyard that can fit all of your gardening tools. You can turn the backyard into your garden oasis and bring back to life the former fish pond. The potential this home has is endless and it is also offered for a reasonable price! All of the electric was just upgraded in 2021. Current owner has ran a gas meter to the home and it is ready for the new owner to connect to natural gas. Bring your toolbelt, add some love and TLC and call this home!! View More PLEASE BE ADVISED: Soon we will no longer integrate with Facebook for story comments. The commenting option is not going away, however, readers will need to register for a FREE site account to continue sharing their thoughts and feedback on stories. If you already have an account (i.e. current subscribers, posting in obituary guestbooks, for submitting community events), you may use that login, otherwise, you will be prompted to create a new account. OCEAN CITY With the mail-in votes counted, voters did not return Robin Shaffer to the local Board of Education, with candidate Corey Niemiec edging ahead in the final count. Shaffer, who won his seat last year on a ticket backed by the group Moms for Liberty and sought reelection this year on a three-person ticket touting conservative values, has conceded the election. I wish to congratulate the three successful candidates, Michael Allegretto, Jocelyn Palaganas and Corey Niemiec and wish them much success when they begin their tenure on the board in January, Shaffer said in a statement. Allegretto has previously served on the school board, while Palaganas and Niemiec will be new to the body. The three ran together, while Shaffer ran on a ticket with Steve Flogaus and Kevin Schaffer. The three were not specifically endorsed by Moms for Liberty in this years race but did campaign against state education standards under the slogan conservative family values. Niemiec, a Realtor and member of the Ocean City Education Foundation, could not be contacted for comment Monday. In a social media post, he thanked supporters and said, I am beyond grateful and humbled for the opportunity. The morning after the election, the unofficial count had Shaffer ahead by just four votes, a narrow enough margin to change when the count of mail-in votes was completed. Neither side claimed the win until the election results were official. Longtime board member Joe Clark decided not to seek reelection this year, and another incumbent, Cecelia Gallelli-Keyes, fell well short in her reelection bid. Allegretto was the highest vote getter by a healthy margin, according to the official statement of the vote posted by the Cape May County Clerks Office, with 2,082 votes. Palaganas came next, with 1,782, followed by Niemiec with 1,492. Shaffer took 1,450, with 1,265 for Schaffer (no relation) and 1,140 for Flogaus. Gallelli-Keyes total was 1,055. Shaffer had cast the campaign as a fight between Ocean City values and state overreach and said the ticket did not seek the backing of Moms for Liberty this year. Others in the community presented the ticket as bringing politics into school board elections and argued that it was the conservative family values ticket that was too extreme for Ocean City. In his concession, Shaffer called on the board members to fight for the children and families in this district, saying if they do that, everything will fall into place. He said he would pray for the success of the board. To the incoming board members, and to my colleagues, you have my sincerest hope for the blessings of a bright future. May God grant you much wisdom and judgment as you undertake your responsibilities, he wrote. ATLANTIC CITY Atlantic County Clerk Joe Giralo said Monday he has certified the results of the Nov. 7 general election, making them official. While incumbent Democrat LaToya Dunston is now the official winner of Atlantic Citys 2nd Ward race, her Democratic opponent, Viana Bailey, is contesting the results, and that trial starts Tuesday morning before Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Michael Blee. In her lawsuit against elections officials and Dunston, Bailey alleges illegal votes were cast and improper assistance was given to some voters by political operative Craig Callaway, who supported her opponent. Neither candidate nor Callaway could be reached for comment Monday. Bailey is asking the judge to either order she be named the winner or order a new special election for the ward seat. She lost to Dunston by just three votes (300-297) on primary day and by six votes (303-297) after an Aug. 21 recount, which happened at Baileys request. According to the lawsuit, filed Sept. 1 by attorney Dan Antonelli, 14 voters who cast ballots in the 2nd Ward race do not live in the ward. Of those, seven are registered to vote from Dunstons Atlantic City address but do not live there, the lawsuit alleges. Bailey contests primary election, but Nov. 7 ballots already at printer Viana Bailey, one of two Democratic candidates for Atlantic City's 2nd Ward council seat, has filed a lawsuit to contest the June 6 primary and seek a new election. In addition, the lawsuit says 35 disability certificates for assistance in voting contain irregularities requiring further investigation. At least 28 disability certificates for assistance were completed by voters without swearing or affirming to a disability contrary to and in violation of (state law), the suit states. Of those, 26 were assisted by Callaway, according to the suit. In one case, a voter assisted by Callaway said she needed help with reading, but that person is a college graduate who has been on her schools deans list, the suit states. Petitioner hereby contests (the election results) on the grounds that illegal votes were received, and that the votes received were sufficient to change the result of the election, Antonelli wrote. Dunstons win relied on a large number of mail-in ballots coming in for her. Callaway is known for generating large numbers of mail-in ballots for candidates he supports. On primary day, Bailey won the machine count 179-84 but lost overall 300-297 due to mail-in ballots, according to election officials. Both Callaway and Dunston are critics of Mayor Marty Small Sr. and the Atlantic County Democratic Committee, which supported Bailey. Election night 'a disaster' for Atlantic County Democrats Atlantic County Democrats took some hard losses Tuesday night, as well regarded Sheriff Eric Scheffler lost his reelection bid and Republicans swept all three county commissioner races, according to unofficial results from the county clerk. Blee also is hearing another election-related case, with that trial set to start Dec. 11. Early this month, the New Jersey Republican State Committee sued the independent expenditure committee Jersey Freedom, saying the dark money group was trying to split the GOP vote with sham conservative candidates to benefit Democrats in the 2nd and 4th legislative districts and hadnt properly filed disclosure reports. On Nov. 3, Blee ordered Jersey Freedom, based in Queens, New York, to stop any further expenditure of funds, political communications or electioneering in connection with the Nov. 7 general election. Since then, Jersey Freedoms attorney William M. Tambussi, who has been counsel to the Camden County Democratic Committee since 1989, filed papers with the court saying the lawsuit against the group is not based on facts or law. He is seeking a dismissal. Jersey Freedom continued to air TV ads supporting Libertarian Shawn Peck for state Senate in the 2nd District, which covers most of Atlantic County, even after he dropped out of the race over concerns that a pro-Democratic Party group was behind the ads for him. Peck got 3% of the vote in the election, and Polistina won handily with 53% of the vote to Democrat Caren Fitzpatricks 44%. Local Democrats have denied any involvement with Jersey Freedom. Republicans also alleged Jersey Freedom promoted phantom GOP candidates in the 4th District, which covers parts of Camden and Gloucester counties, to split the Republican vote there. PAC that backed third-party candidates moves to dismiss GOP lawsuit The independent expenditure committee Jersey Freedom, which had its assets frozen by a Superior Court Judge Nov. 3, has filed a request to dismiss the New Jersey State Republican Committee lawsuit against it and have the court unfreeze its assets. Blee has set a trial date for 9:30 a.m. Dec. 11 and ordered Jersey Freedom and Treasurer Eric Peterson to appear. Government has a long conflicted record on tobacco use. The harms of smoking have been well-known since the 1960. Instead of banning cigarettes, though, government greatly increases taxes on them, delivering state and federal revenue windfalls from addicted smokers. Government has kept the sale and use of tobacco legal, while relentlessly hounding people who smoke cigarettes, pipes or cigars. Smoking was banned from government properties and public places such as restaurants and bars. An exception was made in New Jersey and other states for legal gambling establishments, making casinos one of the few public places smokers could light up. For 15 years, many casino workers and legislators have urged that the gambling exemption be repealed, making casinos smoke-free. They have failed so far. A new push the past year or two is considered to have the best chance of success yet in the state Legislatures lame duck session as this year ends. New Jersey banned indoor smoking in 2006 while allowing it to continue on a quarter of each casinos gaming floor. Two years later a smoking ban in casinos was tried. The test lasted less than three weeks after casinos experienced double-digit declines in revenue. The trial, however, coincided with the U.S. financial collapse that led to the severe recession of 2009, exaggerating the effect of the ban and making policymakers wary of weakening casino companies as the nation headed into a near-depression. The recognition that consuming tobacco causes a large number of cancer cases was the foundation in this century for a crusade against all forms of tobacco. Still, instead of declaring tobacco an illegal harmful substance and possibly provoking public opposition, a vast unbounded campaign arose to vilify tobaccos existence. Research that conflicted with that campaign was swept aside and ignored. A 2013 study of more than 76,000 women published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found no link between lung cancer and secondhand smoke (the smoke inhaled by nonsmokers when around smokers). The studys authors said the strongest reason to avoid passive cigarette smoke is to change societal behavior: to not live in a society where smoking is a norm. A 2014 evaluation of 40 studies on secondhand smoke, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, could only say secondhand smoking may increase the overall risk of cancer for never smokers, particularly lung and breast cancer. Or it may not. Studies were soon produced that supported the anti-tobacco crusade, sometimes with findings that seem to defy logic and history. The Cleveland Clinic warned there is inescapable danger in thirdhand smoke, which is when a third party smells secondhand smoke on someones clothes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns, Even brief exposure to secondhand smoke could trigger a heart attack. The crusade looks more questionable in light of government politicization of medicine during the Covid pandemic, but its absolutism against tobacco use (but not sales and taxes) has supported efforts by casino workers to have their workplaces designated smoke-free too. New Jersey is one of 13 states and District of Columbia, the CDC says, that allow smoking in their gaming facilities. A bill that has languished in the Legislature is expected to see action soon. It has many sponsors in both the Assembly and Senate, including South Jersey legislators who support their casino worker constituents in their quest to work smoke-free. Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, the Senate health committee chairman and a chief sponsor of the bill, is an absolutist on casino smoking. He rejects compromises such as higher pay for workers exposed to secondhand smoke or isolating casino smoking sections. (Casinos already deploy powerful ventilation and air-filtration systems to clear the air.) There cannot be any amendments, Vitale said recently, and proposing them is just really offensive. The casino industry has made its own questionable claims regarding the harm to its business if smokers are banned. The Casino Association of New Jersey commissioned a report released in 2022 that said smokers account for 21% of Atlantic City gamblers. Smoking gamblers also are more profitable for casinos than nonsmokers because they tend to lose more money and spend more on nongaming items, the report said. It concluded that banning smoking could cost up to 2,500 casino jobs and nearly 11% of casino revenue. And yet, gaming halls are smoke-free in many states. Casino smoking may not be a partisan issue, but it always has been political. State government and many New Jersey programs get substantial funding from casino gaming, and protecting that revenue has had political support. Now the politics seems to be swinging in favor of a uniform smoking ban that doesnt exempt casinos maybe just enough to push it through during lame duck. Juan Cordova has never held a construction job before this fall. But in a few months time hes learned how to hang drywall, fix plumbing issues and do electrical work. Cordova is a recent graduate of Thurgood Marshall Learning Center in Rock Island and helping to refurbish a space in Rock Island to be used as a shelter for women escaping domestic and sexual violence. Every year students from Thurgood Marshall Learning Center, Black Hawk College Adult Ed and Rock Island High School learn how to rebuild or refurbish homes in the community through the YouthBuild Quad Cities program. It is celebrating its 20th anniversary in the Quad-Cities this year, while the global organization is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. The goal is to providing vocational training for youth aged 16-24. YouthBuild has had a big impact on me. These are like my brothers, Cordova said of the men around him. Rufus Greer Jr. leads the local chapter and has been with the organization since 2007. Every year, YouthBuild will take 12 to 15 students and teach them every skill they need for fixing up a home. The students are recommended for the program by their guidance counselor and receive class credit for their attendance. Instead of spending their afternoon in a classroom, students spend it in collaboration with Project NOW to spruce up area homes. Its a perfect marriage, Greer said. They needed some work done and some individuals to get it done. We needed a place to have these young adults learn these transferable skills. To qualify for the program students must be enrolled in school to earn either their high school diploma or GED, be at the job site 90% of the time and be willing to learn, he said. The current project is in Rock Island, converting a space into a womans shelter. At the site, students get a hands-on experience with carpentry, heating and air conditioning, plumbing, drywall and landscaping. Dwight Ford, executive director of Project NOW, said the organization has partnered with YouthBuild Quad Cities in the past. Last year, the group worked on Honor Homes, fully renovated and furnished, affordable houses and duplexes for military veterans, members of the military and essential workers. These young people are not the generation of tomorrow. They are the generation of today, he said. I like to say this is a project with a purpose. For the last five years Koffi Gbenyo has been the program manager. By day Gbenyo is a teacher at Thurgood Marshall and said he has seen a huge benefit when his students join in. This gives them the opportunity to explore the world around them, get dirty and learn to use their hands, he said. Most of the students in the program have a desire to get into the trades, he said. The YouthBuild program allows them the chance to try out trades and learn what they like before signing an apprenticeship. There to help students learn is Al Carter, the project manager. Carter has been on the site since August and has taught students everything from which screws to use to team work. Monday he offered advice to a variety of students as they attempted to hang drywall in one of the bedrooms. One of those students was Chastin Barker, who started in the program last year with the Honor Homes project. Barker has since graduated from high school, but decided to come back and continue working with the program. After learning skills like mudding and drywall, he said he felt he found a place where he could confidently learn the types of skills he may need for the future. Once its complete, the project will be able to house six women who are escaping abusive situations. Greer said the program moves at its own pace as the students are still learning how to renovate the home. It will be finished as soon as we can, but it will be done right, he said. The quicker they learn, the quicker we can move onto the next phase of this. Typically students are on site four to five days a week and are paid a stipend of $13 an hour for one to three hours of work a day. If they work all 10 days students receive a $25 bonus. Theyre getting paid for doing what they will be doing for the rest of their lives: working, being somewhere on time and being responsible, Greer said. Anyone 16-24 years of age who have not completed their high school diploma or GED is eligible for the program. Those interested can contact YouthBuild Quad Cities at 309-788-0899. A man is facing life-threatening injuries after a crash Monday evening on the Centennial Bridge. Just before 5 p.m. a man was Illinois bound on the bridge when his car became disabled, a news release from the Davenport Police Department said. He got out of the car and stood in front of it, attempting to perform maintenance. The disabled vehicle was struck from behind by a second vehicle. The disabled vehicle then hit the driver who was working on it. The Rock Island Arsenal Ambulance transported the man to a local hospital where he was reported to have serious, life-threatening injuries. The driver of the second vehicle sustained minor injuries. No names had been released as of Tuesday morning. The Centennial Bridge was closed for about an hour following the crash. The incident remains under investigation. A pine cone grows in the original seed orchard of Virginia pine trees at Holiday Acres Christmas Tree Farm on Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023 in Manvel. Trees at Holiday Acres are part of a decades-long effort to grow better Christmas trees in Texas. Brett Coomer/Staff photographer Hoping to skip out on a fake Christmas tree this holiday season? There are plenty of spots around Houston to look for a real tree to brighten your home. Real trees can be better for your health compared to artificial ones. They are also shown to improve mental health, reduce anxiety and boost productivity. Here are a few options for finding the perfect Christmas tree this holiday season. Advertisement Article continues below this ad A-C Christmas Tree Farm 135 Armadillo Dr. Huntsville, TX 77320 The Christmas tree farm is about an hour north of the city. It is open every Saturday until Christmas Eve from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for customers to pick out choose-and-cut trees. Dewberry Farm Advertisement Article continues below this ad The farm is open during the first two weekends of December, offering visitors the chance to cut down a tree or have a staff member cut it. Dewberry Farm has Murray Cyprus trees left for sale. The farm does not accept cash. 'IT'S THE HOLIDAYS FOR THIEVES TOO': How to stay safe while shopping during the holiday season Oh What Fun It Is The family-owned and operated Christmas tree farm has 15 acres of Virginia Pines. It will be open Wednesday through Friday until Dec. 17 or while supplies last. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Old Time Christmas Tree Farm With more than 40 acres of planted trees and thousands of Virginia Pines, the family-owned farm has a mix of chose-and-cut and pre-cut trees. Pine and Cypress trees are grown on the farm, and pre-cut Fraser Fir and Blue Spruce are sourced from other farms. The farm will be open until Dec. 10. THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT: Where to give back in Houston with donations and volunteering High Star Christmas Tree Farm Advertisement Article continues below this ad 19020 Becker Rd Hockley, TX 77447 The family-owned farm is open to customers throughout the week and on weekends. The farm offers choose-and-cut and grows Virginia Pines. Double Creek Farm A woman accused of causing a fatal crash in Rock Island has pleaded guilty as part of an agreement with prosecutors. The crash occurred just after midnight on Aug. 8, 2021, at 2311 78th Ave. W., authorities said. The collision killed 49-year-old Cecilia (Ceci) Nache, of Rock Island. On Monday, Brittany Griswold, 37, of Geneseo, pleaded guilty to a single count of aggravated driving under the influence, according to Rock Island County court records. In that court case, Griswold also faced another count of aggravated DUI and one count each of reckless homicide and unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle, court records state. As part of the plea agreement, the Rock Island County States Attorneys Office will drop those other charges at sentencing. The court set Griswolds sentencing for Feb. 23, records state. Judge Peter Church, who oversaw Mondays hearing, also ordered a presentence investigation. Such investigations are designed to produce background reports on defendants awaiting sentencing to aid a judge in determining the appropriate sentence. There were two other criminal filings related to the crash. In Rock Island County, police initially cited Griswold with DUI, while Henry County prosecutors charged her with unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle. Authorities dropped both of those cases in 2022, records state. Naches estate has also sued Griswold, Rock Island County court records state. That suit remained pending as of Monday. Photos: Looking back at J.I. Case in the Q-C Eastern Iowa Community Colleges has received more than $875,000 in grants to expand its truck driving/Commercial Truck Driving (CDL) program. Of these funds, $797,000 was awarded through the Iowa Workforce Development's "CDL Infrastructure Grant." This will allow EICC to widen access to the program and its facilities, which is backlogged up to three times its available capacity. The college plans to use Iowa CDL Infrastructure Grant funds by: Establishing a new CDL training site in Muscatine. Adding three more DOT-approved training ranges at the Blong Technology Center (Davenport). Purchasing four tractor-trailer combinations, equipped with modern Electronic Logging Devices. Due to constraints related to equipment and the number of facilities, the demand for our CDL program is outpacing our ability to train everyone. By establishing a new training facility in Muscatine and expanding those at the Blong, we will more than double our capacity for students, Matt Schmit, EICCs dean of manufacturing and skilled trades, said in a news release. With an immediate need for qualified drivers in eastern Iowa, Schmit said interest is high across the board. In our region, truck drivers are consistently in high demand," he said. "We have the interest from students, demand from local employers and funds to connect more students to employment." According to the state, Iowa will need more than 10,000 commercial drivers each year through 2030. The pathway to finding a job as a truck driver, one of our most-needed occupations, runs through getting a CDL license, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said. Its important that we do everything we can to not only make it easier for individuals to obtain these licenses, but also to support the long-term viability of the programs that made it possible to gain that experience right here in Iowa. In total, Iowa awarded $4.8 million in CDL Infrastructure Grants to 10 community colleges expected to train an additional 1,305 drivers a year. Additionally, EICC received $80,460 from the federal Commercial Motor Vehicle Operator Safety Training (CMVOST) grant program. This program aims to reduce the severity and number of United States road crashes by expanding the number of CDL holders who have enhanced operator safety training. Set by U.S. Congress, the priority is to assist entities that recruit and train current or former members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their spouses in earning a CDL. At EICC, this funding will establish a program focused on training service members. Photos: Trucker school bustles amid US driver shortage SIOUX CITY The Woodbury County Sheriff's Office said in a social media post that there is "no evidence or indication" that a Monday traffic stop is connected to a missing Wall Lake, Iowa, truck driver. The sheriff's office made the announcement on its Facebook account Monday evening in response to information circulating on social media about a traffic stop near Highway 20 and the bypass and the disappearance of 53-year-old David Schultz. Schultz was last heard from in the early morning hours of Nov. 21, according to the Lake View Police Department. The department and the Sac County Sheriff's Office began an investigation into Schultz's whereabouts the afternoon of Nov. 21. At 1:01 a.m. Monday, the Woodbury County Communications Center received a 911 call concerning a reckless driver near Moville. Deputies conducted a routine traffic stop on the vehicle at 1:18 a.m. The driver was subsequently arrested for possession of cocaine and felon in possession of a firearm. There were two other adults and four children also in the vehicle at the time of the arrest. "There is no evidence or indication that this traffic stop has any connection to the missing driver referred to in the post," the sheriff's office said. "The suspects nationality has nothing to do with the case and all suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law." The sheriff's office noted the caller "did the right thing" by calling in suspicious or reckless activity. Over the weekend, volunteers searched for Schultz in Wright, Webster, Calhoun and Sac County. The search continued Monday. So far, nothing has been found. Sarah Schultz, Schultz's wife, told The Journal his red truck was found the afternoon of Nov. 21 northeast of Sac City. It was parked on northbound Highway 71, about five miles north of the old Highway 20 intersection. She said the vehicle was turned off, but it wasn't pulled over to the side of the road. The trailer was still loaded with young pigs. The truck was pointing the wrong direction from where Schultz was headed -- north, rather than south. There was no sign of David, but Sarah Schultz said his coat was located in a ditch on the opposite side of the road. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations is assisting the Sac County Sheriffs Office and the Lake View Police Department in this investigation. The United Cajun Navy, a nonprofit organization that organizes search and rescue teams, has been involved in the searches. Northeast Sac County property owners have been asked to check their property and outbuildings for "anything out of the ordinary." The Lake View Police Department has asked anyone who has seen or heard from Schultz to contact them at 712-657-2513. Photos: Missing children in Iowa Jade Colvin Fredrick Workman Benjamin Roseland Erin Pospisil Marc Allen Eugene Martin John Gosch Kimberly Doss Colleen Simpson Daquan Nelson Alivia Beeding For more than two years, South Dakotans have grappled with the fact that the South Dakota State Penitentiary, in use since the state was a territory, needs to be overhauled. That overhaul includes shutting down the prison in Sioux Falls and shifting incarcerated men to a new location within 20 miles of the city, ensuring the Department of Corrections has access to the workforce. And in early October as combining concluded, DOC officials announced a 300-acre field owned by the state in Lincoln County would be the future site of the prison, much to the chagrin of area landowners and elected officials. State officials and lawmakers have had since February, when the Legislature passed the funding bill to purchase the land for the prison, to communicate with area officials and constituents that their backyard could be the prison's future site. Lincoln County residents have revolted, filing a lawsuit in the county against the DOC and the state. DOC officials have shut down communication, including answering simple questions about the prison, citing the lawsuit is too broad in nature, so they cant talk about pending litigation. And area lawmakers and county commissioners say while they had conversations with the department about potential locations, they werent notified about the final land selection until the week of. That's the complete reverse of what happened in Rapid City, when one local lawmaker reached out to the former mayor early in the process of selecting the new site for the women's prison. The lack of communication surrounding the mens prison has led to a bad taste in the mouth for residents and their representatives. And that could hurt public and state officials in the long run by making residents more hesitant about state projects where they live, according to a government ethics expert. How did we get here? In June 2021, the state paid a Nebraska-based consulting firm $323,000 to conduct a study on the future needs of the South Dakota prison system. The firms recommendation: shut down the mens prison and build a $338 million state-of-the-art facility that would ease overcrowding at the prison, as well as the Mike Durfee State Prison in Springfield, which would be safer for everyone. Modifying the facility to meet contemporary standards would be near impossible, the DLR Group report concluded. The location DLR recommended was within 20 miles of Sioux Falls, including parts of Lincoln County. Noem included the overhaul of the current incarceration system in her December 2021 budget address, asking lawmakers to set aside $600 million for the entire prison upgrade project, including the construction of the new mens prison, the womens prison in Rapid City and other needed upgrades across the prison system. By the end of the 2022 Legislative session, lawmakers had earmarked $3.8 million for the Rapid City womens prison and had appointed several lawmakers, including Sioux Falls Reps. Linda Duba, Greg Jamison and Chris Karr, to sit on a summer study about incarceration project costs. The summer study recommended in its 2022 report to the legislative Executive Board that the state fund the costs for the new mens prison. By the time lawmakers reconvened in Pierre in January, prisons were top of mind. DOC Secretary Kellie Wasko presented plans to the Appropriations Committee in February about what the 1,500-bed prison would entail, including a more modern, spread-out facility that would meet safety and programming needs. Pheasantland Industries would also be shifted to the new facility. She added land selection would begin in the spring. The Jameson Prison Annex would remain operational, serving specialty populations such as disabled inmates, mentally ill inmates and elders in the prison. The pen itself would be decommissioned. When Rep. Dennis Krull, R-Hill City, asked about zoning for the new prison in the February meeting, Wasko said she was unsure what the zoning requirements would be, after explaining the new prison would be within the vicinity of Sioux Falls but would be outside city limits. I have been involved in numerous prison projects, I have been the warden of four prisons and none of them were in town, she said. They were all outside city limits. Lawmakers voted to approve the $52 million needed for the land purchase and design phase of the project. An additional $271 million of state funds were set aside for the construction of the facility. Rumors abound in summer, concrete plan made in fall DOC officials issued a request for information for the land it was looking for in May. Its unclear at the time where the state was looking at around the Sioux Falls area. Wasko explained in an October letter to the Lincoln County Commission there was little land for sale and when DOC officials reached out to private landowners about discussing a potential site, it was turned down. But it wasnt until late in the summer that Lincoln County Commissioner Jim Schmitt learned DOC officials were looking at a location in Lincoln County. Schmitt had known DOC officials were looking at a site near Highway 18 and Interstate 29, but that site didnt materialize. When he and Sen. Jim Bolin, R-Canton, sat down with DOC officials, it was an informal meeting, Schmitt said. DOC talked about the land that they did own in Lincoln County. We were told that this was confidential and that there were no decisions, he said. There was nothing and we were not to talk about it. Neither Bolin nor DOC officials answered questions from the Argus Leader about the what the communication process looked like. Weeks later, Schmitt learned alongside the public that DOC had chosen the 300 acres in Lincoln County for the new prison site. Residents reached out to him to see if the commission could do anything. Counties dont have any say in this matter, he said. This is a state-run matter and they will make that decision and pretty well do what they want to do. Rep. Kevin Jensen, R-Tea, said that Ryan Brunner, a senior policy director in the Governors Office, called him in June to ask about finding a property near the interstate for the prison. They talked about a possible site southwest of Harrisburg. By August, when Jensen and Brunner talked again, there was another location near Worthing. But two days before DOC officials made the announcement in October that the Lincoln County location was going to be selected, Bruner gave Jensen a heads up that neither the Harrisburg or Worthing locations were going to work. It was a bit of a shock, he said. What happened in Rapid City The lack of conversation between the state and local officials is a marked change from what happened with the new womens prison in Rapid City. Construction has already started on the 288-bed facility with a completion date of either late 2025 or early 2026. Former mayor Steve Allender said Rep. Becky Drury, R-Rapid City, had reached out early in the selection process for the new site in Rapid City and asked if there were concerns about the location. My take on it has been that a good share of the prisoners from the womens prison come from our area, he said, explaining that overcrowding in the womens prison in Pierre has probably led to some women missing out on rehabilitation programming. Allender said he chose not to have public meetings about the new prison, adding there had been enough coverage about it during the legislative session and he felt even if the community opposed it, I think it wouldve fallen on deaf ears. Drury said she wanted Allender in on the conversation about the womens prison early because of his law enforcement experience. I had that reliance that he knew what was going on, she said. He was in favor of it. I just really relied on his expert opinion. What about transparency? Larry Jacobs, a professor of politics at the University of Minnesotas Humphrey School of Public Affairs, said officials who withhold information from the public about state projects sometimes assume they can announce the project and move on. But thats not actually what history shows, he said. What we often see is really the opposite. It really can stir animosity, distrust and then a protracted legal battle. It sounds like theyve really made their life more difficult. Without an open and honest conversation, residents are then left scrambling to find answers, which can lead to conspiracy theories and the spread of disinformation as they try to make sense of something that seems unfair, Jacobs said. Jensen said he wished DOC officials had put out a public notice that the department was looking at the location in Lincoln County, so an open conversation between the public and the state could have been held. When DOC officials didnt appear at a public forum organized by Neighbors Opposed to Prison Expansion, or NOPE, earlier this month because of the lawsuit filed by the group, there were moments of deep silence and frustration as people asked questions that could only be answered by the department. For Cass Swanson, a Lincoln County resident in attendance, she said she wanted more transparency from DOC, including a list of what locations had been proposed. It speaks volumes that shes not here, Swanson said, referencing Secretary Waskos absence. Ultimately in the future, Jacobs said it could be even more difficult for the state to pitch projects in Lincoln County. Distrust is a very potent, long-lasting curse on communities and if the government really poisoned the well of community trust, its very hard to win that back, he said. And thats a real shame. This story originally appeared in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader. Tomi Lahren, a Rapid City native who has risen to national prominence as a media personality, is known for her bold and unfiltered conservative commentary on cultural trends and politics. Hosting "Tomi Lahren is Fearless" on OutKick.com and contributing to FOX News Media, Lahren's voice has become a staple on more than 160 FOX News Radio stations. With her roots deeply planted in the heartland of America, Lahren brings a unique perspective to the national conversation, advocating for what she calls a "new era" in U.S. politics, as the country approaches the presidential election. Born and raised in Rapid City, Lahren's upbringing on a ranch played a pivotal role in shaping her viewpoints, she said. A graduate of Central High School, she fondly recalls her childhood, describing Rapid City as a blend of small-town ambiance and mid-sized city amenities. It's the best place to grow up, Lahren said. Lahren currently resides in Nashville with her husband, J.P. Arencibia, and their dog, after having moved from California in 2020. She was drawn to Nashville for its similarities to the Midwest, and she expressed appreciation for the city's culture. Lahren hopes to strengthen connections between Nashville and her hometown. "I live in Nashville, Tennessee, which is beautiful, but nothing compares to South Dakota and Rapid City," she said. "I love my hometown." Lahren's career is deeply influenced by her South Dakota roots, she said. She felt mainstream media often overlooked middle America, driving her to become a voice for the region. "They skipped over South Dakota; they skipped over Rapid City," she said. Lahren's political journey began in 2010 with an internship for Kristi Noem, then a freshman Congresswoman. "I learned a lot about politics (from) Kristi Noem," Lahren said. "That experience gave me a lot of context for what I do now." Lahrens media career, fueled by a passion for TV and public speaking, started early. Her leadership roles in school led to her venture into media. After studying at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and gaining journalism experience, she began her media career in San Diego at One America News. "I've always been opinionated," she said. Lahren gained prominence while hosting "Tomi" with Blaze Media, particularly through her "Final Thoughts" video segments, where she often criticized liberal politics. A high-profile controversy over her abortion stance led to a legal battle over her social media accounts and her departure from the network in 2017. "I'm (a) limited government type of gal, she said. I'm personally pro-life, but I'm pro-choice when it comes to a government overstepping its bounds. After leaving Blaze Media, Lahren joined Fox News. Fox provided a supportive environment that valued her Midwestern perspective she said, as Fox News operates like middle America. Before joining Outkick, Lahren hosted "Final Thoughts" and "No Interruption" on FOX Nation and had been providing commentary across FOX News Media's programming since 2017. In her role at OutKick, now part of Fox Corporation, Lahren has been expressing her views unfiltered for over a year. The platform's focus on sports, politics, and pop culture aligns with her interests, allowing her to speak openly on various topics, she said. OutKick is a perfect fit for me. I can always say what I need to say, and I speak very plainly, Lahren said. Despite her success, Lahren faces challenges as a public figure. "Having an opinion makes some people happy and others very angry, and I have a knack for upsetting people on both the left and the right," she said. Staying true to her roots is important for Lahren. She never saw herself as a big city or spotlight person, which helps her stay grounded. Her family's continued residence in South Dakota also contributes to her sense of belonging. Being able to stay grounded and remember where I'm from means a lot to me, she said. Lahren is determined to inspire young Americans and conservatives to advocate for change in the United States. My goal is to keep doing what I'm doing. I want to inspire young people to get involved in politics, she said. I want to inspire young people to have a voice, especially young people who are conservative. Lahren sees a critical opportunity for change with the upcoming presidential election. She believes it will be the most important election of her lifetime and advocates for new leadership in the Republican Party, expressing her support for Ron DeSantis. "It's a big deal for everyone in America," she said. Known for her early support of Donald Trump, Lahren acknowledges his strong backing in South Dakota, especially among farmers and ranchers. However, it's time for a new era in the Republican Party, she said. Lahrens political insight extends beyond party lines, as concerns about national issues affecting states like South Dakota are at the forefront, she said. She urged a united effort to steer the country back on track, cautioning that issues prevalent in states like California and New York such as what she called the 'woke agenda' are spreading nationwide. South Dakota is no longer going to be a safe haven if we don't get this country back on track, Lahren said. The 78th annual Corvallis Community Christmas Celebration will feature the lighting of the Marty Litvin memorial tree in front of Corvallis High School on Tuesday, Nov. 28. Community events like our Christmas Tree Lighting bring our entire school community together, and it shows the importance of family and tradition that makes Corvallis a special place to live and work, Corvallis School Superintendent Pete Joseph said. The event starts with horse-drawn trolley rides at 4:30 p.m., visiting with Santa (Don Tibbs) and the lighting of the tree at 5:30 p.m. Community members are invited to carol around the tree, consume the hot chocolate, popcorn balls and cookies, and enjoy the high school choir and jazz band. Carol Peterson has been attending the Corvallis Community Christmas Celebration for 35 years, organizing it for over 27 years. She said the tradition goes back to 1945 when Bob and Alice Carmichael started the community singalong right after World War II. In 1989, Corvallis High School biology teacher Marty Litvin died in an avalanche and in 2000 a 6-foot Douglas fir tree was planted in his honor. It became the communitys Christmas tree and is now nearly 55 feet tall. On Wednesday, Marlin Hochstetler of Bitterroot Tree Service hung the large star facing Main Street and approximately 700 feet of colored lights on the tree. Peterson, Rocky Jones and Galen Brubaker (Bitterroot Tree Service owner) assisted. For the tree lighting Peterson wears her traditional Norwegian dress and has kept the tradition alive through her involvement with the American Legion Auxiliary, Corvallis Civic Club and Bitterroot Womans Club that each have a part in the annual event. After watching the Hallmark movies on TV last year, I realized we have our own Hallmark event and its all free, Peterson said. What a way for all generations to get in the Christmas Spirit. Sarah Fryer, Bitterroot Womans Club president, said the nonprofit organization is delighted to assist with the celebration by bringing sweet treats. We are so lucky to have a supportive community who always make sure to come out and join in with the celebration, Fryer said. Each year it gets even better because of the community involvement. We have many great organizations who help make it happen, we appreciate each and every one of them. Fryer reported that the Bitterroot Womans Club wreath was bought for $1,350 at the live auction of the Festival of Trees, Nov. 20. All that money goes to Loads of Dignity, Fryer said. Our designers were Deborah Monson, Adriann Monson, Charlene Rye and myself. The wreath had lots of hidden secrets like all the spices for gingerbread and marshmallows in the clear ornaments. I dont know that everyone caught the details but the bidder must have appreciated it. The tree lighting tradition that spans over three quarters of a century is made possible by many community organizations. This year the Corvallis Community Christmas Celebration partners include the American Legion Auxiliary, Bitterroot Tree Service, Corvallis Civic Club, Corvallis Community Church, Crossroads Church, Greater Federation of Womans Clubs (GFWC) Bitterroot Womans Club and the Corvallis School District. Fryer said the Bitterroot Womans Club enjoys participating in the traditional tree lighting. One of our favorite things is to provide cookies to all the patrons who come in, she said. All the groups provide different things. Someone does hot cider, another does hot chocolate. The Auxiliary makes popcorn balls from a long-standing recipe. Last year the Corvallis Primary School gifted kids with take-home ornament decorating kits, Fryer said. One of the churches brought jingle bells and Jasmine Shinn at One Horse at a Time, Draft Horse Rescue brought a huge horse just for people to pet. She dresses up as Mrs. Claus. It is super cute. The Corvallis Community Christmas Celebration is also part of the Corvallis Primary Schools Family Fun Night. Join the festivities on Tuesday, Nov. 28. A previous version of this story stated that the Corvallis Community Christmas Celebration would take place Dec. 5. The Ravalli Republic regrets the error. Heather Voorhees admits she tries to create critics with her innovative new Health Misinformation class at the University of Montana. Dr. Voorhees, an assistant professor in UMs Department of Communication Studies, works to instill her students with the critical thinking skills to question everything especially in regard to their health. Health is everything, and you have to protect it, she said. I want our students to hear or read about something and go, I bet there is more to that story. If they gain those tools, they are going to be a happier, healthier person. They are going to become a smarter consumer as they move through the world. Voorhees arrived at UM in fall 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when all her classes were taught remotely and competing health information flooded the internet. She also kept noticing grocery store products blaring claims like Lightly Sweetened or Heart Healthy. What does any of it even mean? And as a specialist in interpersonal health communication, she wondered about other areas where people hear or read something but dont fully understand the truth behind it. It all kind of got me thinking, why do people fall for this stuff? she said. Why do we trust certain people but turn our back on other people or sources of information? This idea stew led to the creation of her Health Misinformation class. Voorhees believes its the first class of its type in Montana. In fact, outside of medical schools, the only comparable class she found was a grad-level health misinformation class in Florida. She said her class covers how to recognize mis-, mal- and disinformation. Misinformation is incorrect information spread person to person. It can cause harm but isnt purposely malicious. Malinformation strays from the truth with intentional exaggeration to mislead someone. Disinformation is patently false and purposely used to fool someone. It can be extremely harmful. To combat such information issues, students in Voorhees class spend the first month learning about science and peer-reviewed research. They learn what scientists do, how long it takes a research project to come to fruition and how maybe you shouldnt trust one study that goes against a full body of research. When you dont understand science, its easier to distrust it, she said. Say you see a headline that says, Apples cure cancer. OK, what are some things you can look at to determine for yourself if that headline is accurate? Lets read the empirical research that article is based on. Lets look at how big was the sample size, when was the research conducted and who is paying for the study. Voorhees said long before COVID vaccines, public health was a hard sell. Take the case of Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis in the 1800s. The Hungarian physician and scientist learned that male doctors in his Viennese hospital had a much higher mortality for women giving birth than those using female midwives. He eventually came to suspect this was because the men worked with cadavers and completed autopsies between delivering babies. When he suggested hand washing between procedures to lower the death rate, he was ridiculed. Semmelweis died in obscurity after being committed to an asylum, and it was only later the world learned he had been right all along. He was laughed out of academic conferences for suggesting hand washing, Voorhees said. The doctors were like, If you are implying that Im killing these patients, how dare you! It was an ego thing. A lot of the same things that occurred in the 1800s occur today. I use this story to show this is not new. This is what people do. Voorhees starts her class by assuring students she isnt there to tell students how to vote, who to believe and what to do with their health. I tell them your choices are absolutely your choices, she said. What I am here to do is get you to stop and think. I want you to make sure your decisions are thoughtful and that you have the right information and that you are thinking about these things in the most well-rounded way you possibly can. Student Holly Mahon is a UM senior from Hamilton. She said the Health Misinformation class helped her fulfill a requirement for her major while teaching important subject matter before launching a career in public health. Learning about the foundations of how to be a smart health consumer is the most valuable thing I learned in the class, Mahon said. The ability to recognize the different markers for mis-, mal- and disinformation also is extremely important. Voorhees teaches that people who fall for health misinformation arent idiots. Misinformation is not an individual issue, its a societal issue, she said. There are things in our society that prime us to want to believe things. And there also are people out there working really hard to fool us. We all have a capacity to believe people who are telling us things that we really need and want to hear. She said the major themes of her class include understanding the types of information out there, understanding why people are trying to fool us and understanding its not always your fault if you believe people selling really convincing things. So we try to build the capacity of our students to reason and have a bit more empathy for people, too, Voorhees said. Then maybe we can spread some good information out there and keep people safer. Montana's rules governing attorneys may violate their free speech rights, Republican Attorney General Austin Knudsen argued Monday in response to a 41-count complaint of professional misconduct against him. In September the complaint against Knudsen became public after it was filed by the special counsel with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which acts as a sort of prosecutor before the Commission on Practice. That body serves as a professional licensing board capable of disbarring attorneys, ordering them to rehabilitation or a probationary period. The complaint hung largely on statements Knudsen or his office made during a high-voltage separation of powers dispute in 2021 while he was representing the Legislature as it sought to wrest records from the judicial branch. The crux of the complaint alleges Knudsen violated the Montana Rules of Professional Conduct intended to preserve public confidence in the fairness and impartiality of the state's judicial system. Knudsen stuck to his guns in the response filed Monday, contending he didn't violate the rules about questioning the integrity of the Supreme Court because the "circumstances giving rise to this dispute gave the Attorney General legitimate and legal and factual support" for his statements. "There is simply no indication that the Attorney General made any statement he '(knew) to be false,' nor any 'with reckless disregard as to its truth or falsity,'" his attorneys wrote. Knudsen's defense team includes his solicitor general, Christian Corrigan, and Mark Parker, a Billings attorney who just before Knudsen's case became public had endorsed the disciplinary system in Montana Lawyer, a publication of the State Bar of Montana. Knudsen is also represented by Tyler Green, former Utah solicitor general and now an attorney at Consovoy McCarthy, a high-profile conservative law firm that in July won its client's case in the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down race-based college admissions. In an interview earlier this month about his re-election campaign, Knudsen said he offered that the U.S. Supreme Court might not uphold the rules against criticizing the court. "I think the U.S. Supreme Court is probably going to look on that pretty dimly," Knudsen said in the Nov. 7 interview. Asked if he had any plans to take his professional misconduct proceedings to that venue, Knudsen said, "It's too soon for us to tell." Knudsen's tenure at the Attorney General's Office has indeed included sharp criticisms of the judicial branch. Kyler Nerison, a spokesman for the AG's Office, in a statement to the media called the Supreme Court's conduct over the course of one case "unethical," "embarrassing for the state" and "shameful." That language came as the Supreme Court found that the Legislature had overstepped its authority when GOP lawmakers subpoenaed records from the justices without a legislative purpose. Along the way, Knudsen's office, representing the Legislature, had requested the justices recuse themselves because the case had become about their own materials. The high court rejected that motion, contending the Legislature was attempting to manufacture a conflict to disrupt the judicial process. In the backdrop, Republicans had recently expanded their majority in the Legislature and retaken the governor's office for the first time in 16 years, and had plenty of policy ambitions they hoped would stand through judicial scrutiny. Anthony Johnstone, who has since been appointed to the Ninth Circuit, said at the time of the recusal ruling that "the court's unanimous opinion is a reminder that this is law, not politics, at work." In his response on Monday, Knudsen argued his office had a duty to speak out about perceived misconduct from the bench. "The Attorney General acknowledges that he pressed his client's position firmly, at times employing strong language," his attorneys wrote. "But far from violating rules of professional misconduct, the Attorney General was upholding them: Montana attorneys have an affirmative obligation to report judicial misconduct and all attorneys are obligated to act with zeal in advocacy upon the client's behalf." Now that his response is filed, the case begins to move forward similarly to legal proceedings. A scheduling conference takes place within 30 days and attorneys begin swapping motions and discovery. The Commission on Practice meets for three days, four times a year. If the parties don't settle, the case will go to a public hearing before the commission, although that timeline is largely dependent on the lawyering that takes place in the coming months. Ward "Mick" Taleff chairs the commission but recused himself from this case. The Great falls attorney said he said he doesn't know Knudsen but felt he had reasons to withdraw from the case, which he has so far declined to share publicly. Taleff said the commission will form a new panel, with different members than those who have already reviewed the complaint against Knudsen in order for it to reach this stage in the proceedings, something of a clean slate. "We deliberate only after we hear the evidence," Taleff said. "We have some pretty robust discussions." The panel will decide on the potential discipline. Anything more serious than an admonition will have to be finalized by the Supreme Court. (Reuters) - Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said on Monday that another 3,000 of his fighters were ready to go to fight in Ukraine as part of new units of the Russian defence ministry and the Russian National Guard forces. For Kadyrov, who has often described himself as President Vladimir Putin's "foot soldier" and who has at times been a vocal critic of Russia's performance in the conflict, the war in Ukraine is a bulwark against Western aggression. "They (the fighters) have the best equipment and modern weapons," Kadyrov said on the Telegram messaging app. "In addition, the guys are highly combative and very motivated to achieve results." In May, Kadyrov said that Chechnya, which is a federal republic of Russia, had sent more than 26,000 fighters to Ukraine from the start of the war, including 12,000 volunteers and that at the time 7,000 of them were actively fighting. Kadyrov's claims could not be independently verified and estimates of the Chechen fighters deployed to Ukraine vary. There have been also been several Chechen armed formations fighting on the side of Ukraine in the war that began with Russia's full-scale aggression in Ukraine 21 months ago. Earlier in November, Kadyrov said that a large group of Russia's former Wagner mercenaries, who had played a prominent role in some of the fiercest fighting in Ukraine before their group fell into disarray after a brief mutiny against the Russian defence establishment, had also started training with special forces from Chechnya. China's basic medical insurance fund tops 2.6 trln yuan in revenue in first 10 months Xinhua) 08:48, November 28, 2023 BEIJING, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- China's basic medical insurance funds, including maternity insurance, saw a total revenue of around 2.62 trillion yuan (around 368.2 billion U.S. dollars) from January to October, data from the National Healthcare Security Administration showed. The revenue for basic medical insurance funds for urban employees, including maternity insurance, stood at 1.85 trillion yuan. The revenue for basic medical insurance funds for rural and non-working urban residents was around 768.36 billion yuan. The expenditure for the basic medical insurance funds reached 2.25 trillion yuan in the first ten months of this year, according to data. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan) Cars fill the parking lot early in the morning as H-E-B prepares to open in Manvel, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. Kirk Sides/Staff photographer H-E-B is hosting a drive-thru event Saturday outside NRG Stadium as part of its annual Feast of Sharing, aiming to distribute 20,000 free meals to 5,000 families. The gathering, which will take place one day before the Texans host the Denver Broncos, will last from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The three-hour long event in the Yellow Lot of NRG Stadium is one of 25 Feast of Sharing events put on by H-E-B in the United States this November and December. VOLUNTEER YOUR TIME: Where to give back in Houston with donations and volunteering during the holidays Advertisement Article continues below this ad The company also does events for the promotion in Mexico. "H-E-Bs Mobile Kitchens will serve traditional Texas-style meals at all its dinner locations in the state," according to the company's website statement. "Each event is filled with music, activities for the family, and a variety of free services such as health and wellness screenings and flu shots." The first Feast of Sharing happened in 1989, the company said, and H-E-B has served more than 340,000 meals during that time at locations across Texas and Mexico. Last year was the first time since before the pandemic that the food distribution event was held in person. BEST OF THE BEST: H-E-Bs in Bunker Hill and Buffalo Heights voted best in Houston's suburbs by Chronicle readers CAPE TOWN, South Africa South Africa, Colombia and other countries that lost out in the global race for coronavirus vaccines are taking a more combative approach towards drugmakers and pushing back on policies that deny cheap treatment to millions of people with tuberculosis and HIV. Experts see it as a shift in how such countries deal with pharmaceutical behemoths and say it could trigger more efforts to make lifesaving medicines more widely available. In the COVID-19 pandemic, rich countries bought most of the worlds vaccines early, leaving few shots for poor countries and creating a disparity the World Health Organization called a catastrophic moral failure. Now, poorer countries are trying to become more self-reliant because theyve realized after COVID they cant count on anyone else, said Brook Baker, who studies treatment-access issues at Northeastern University. One of the targets is a drug, bedaquiline, that is used for treating people with drug-resistant versions of tuberculosis. The pills are especially important for South Africa, where TB killed more than 50,000 people in 2021, making it the countrys leading cause of death. In recent months, activists have protested efforts by Johnson & Johnson to protect its patent on the drug. In March, TB patients petitioned the Indian government, calling for cheaper generics; the government ultimately agreed J&J's patent could be broken. Belarus and Ukraine then wrote to J&J, also asking it to drop its patents, but with little response. In July, J&Js patent on the drug expired in South Africa, but the company had it extended until 2027, enraging activists who accused it of profiteering. The South African government then began investigating the companys pricing policies. It had been paying about 5,400 rand ($282) per treatment course, more than twice as much as poor countries that got the drug via a global effort called the Stop TB partnership. In September, about a week after South Africas probe began, J&J announced that it would drop its patent in more than 130 countries, allowing generic-makers to copy the drug. Christophe Perrin, a TB expert at Doctors Without Borders, called J&J's reversal a big surprise because aggressive patent protection was typically a cornerstone of pharmaceutical companies' strategy. Meanwhile, in Colombia, the government declared last month that it would issue a compulsory license for the HIV drug dolutegravir without permission from the drugs patent-holder, Viiv Healthcare. The decision came after more than 120 groups asked the Colombian government to expand access to the WHO-recommended drug. This is Colombia taking the reins after the extreme inequity of COVID and challenging a major pharmaceutical to ensure affordable AIDS treatment for its people, said Peter Maybarduk of the Washington advocacy group Public Citizen. He noted that Brazilian activists are pushing their government to make a similar move. Still, some experts said much more needs to change before poorer countries can produce their own medicines and vaccines. When the coronavirus pandemic hit, Africa produced fewer than 1% of all vaccines made globally but used more than half of the worlds supply, according to Petro Terblanche, managing director of Afrigen Biologics. The company is part of a WHO-backed effort to produce a COVID vaccine using the same mRNA technology as those made by Pfizer and Moderna. Terblanche estimated about 14 million people died of AIDS in Africa in the late 1990s-2000s, when countries couldnt get the necessary medicines. Back then, President Nelson Mandelas government in South Africa eventually suspended patents to allow wider access to AIDS drugs. That prompted more than 30 drugmakers to take it to court in 1998, in a case dubbed Mandela vs. Big Pharma. Doctors Without Borders described the episode as a public relations disaster for the drug companies, which dropped the lawsuit in 2001. Terblanche said that Africa's past experience during the HIV epidemic has proven instructive. Its not acceptable for a listed company to hold intellectual property that stands in the way of saving lives and so, we will see more countries fighting back, she said. Challenging pharmaceutical companies is just one piece to ensuring Africa has equal access to treatments and vaccines, Terblanche said. More robust health systems are critical. If we cant get (vaccines and medicines) to the people who need them, they arent useful, she said. In its annual report on TB released earlier this month, the World Health Organization said there were more than 10 million people sickened by the disease last year and 1.3 million deaths. After COVID-19, tuberculosis is the world's deadliest infectious disease and it is now the top killer of people with HIV. WHO noted only about 2 in 5 people with drug-resistant TB are being treated. Zolelwa Sifumba, a South African doctor, was diagnosed with drug-resistant TB in 2012 when she was a medical student and endured 18 months of treatment taking about 20 pills every day in addition to daily injections, which left her in immense pain and resulted in some hearing loss. Bedaquiline was not rolled out as a standard treatment in South Africa until 2018. Since her recovery, Sifumba has become an advocate for better TB treatment, saying it makes little sense to charge poor countries high prices for essential medicines. TB is everywhere but the burden of it is in your lower and middle income countries, she said. "If the lower income countries cant get it (the drug), then whats the point? Who are you making it for? Authorities have identified the body discovered at the scene of a vehicle fire at the University of Virginias Fontaine Research Park on Sunday morning. Chandler Lee Goins, a 19-year-old resident of Barhamsville in New Kent County, was found dead in a burning pickup in a parking lot on the Fontaine campus, according to a UVa police statement issued Monday evening. According to his obituary, Goins was a 2022 graduate of New Kent County High School and a heavy equipment operator for Williamsburg construction company Henderson Inc. He was a skilled contractor and a beloved member of the Henderson team, the obituary reads. Chandler left behind a legacy of hard work, contagious positivity, and a promising future that was cut short far too soon. In a statement on Monday, UVa police said: Upon preliminary review of this incident, no obvious evidence of foul play or criminal conduct was found. This case is still under investigation and anyone with information is asked to contact The University of Virginia Police Department. The Charlottesville Fire Department responded to a report of a vehicle fire at around 5:18 a.m. Sunday at 480 Ray C. Hunt Drive. The address is the location of the Sheridan G. Snyder Translational Research Building, which houses the UVa School of Medicines Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging research. Upon arrival, they found a vehicle fully engulfed in flames, UVa police said in a statement Sunday. Virginia State Police were called in to investigate the matter. Local and state law enforcement agencies are asking for the publics assistance investigating the case. Anyone with information related to the incident is urged to contact UVa police at (434) 924-7166. A GoFundMe page has been created to help support the Goins family. We are all completely heartbroken and devastated by his loss, Maddie Weiler, its creator, posted on the page. If you knew Chandler you knew he was truly the life of the party, and was the sweetest soul. We would like to relieve the financial stress from the Goins family as they embark on a difficult journey. Any donation or kind words are greatly appreciated. Margaret Angela Franklin, a member of Prince William Countys Board of County Supervisors, has jumped into the growing candidate pool for Virginias 7th Congressional District. With Rep. Abigail Spanberger seeking to become Virginias next governor, a growing number of Northern Virginia Democrats have announced campaigns to become her successor. Other Democratic candidates include Del. Briana Sewell, D-Prince William, and retired U.S. Army Col. Eugene Vindman. Del. Elizabeth Guzman, D-Prince William, said in a recent message congratulating Spanberger that she is forming a committee to raise money and organize a campaign. She said she looks forward to releasing a formal announcement soon. Seven Republicans and an independent have also declared candidacy for the district, according to Ballotpedia. Though the district has skewed Democratic in its voting, it offers a competitive chance for Republicans to represent it. Meanwhile, Franklin said she is jumping into the race to build on the public policy work she has done over the years at the local and federal levels. Recently reelected to her second term on the board representing the Woodbridge portion of the county, Franklin said she is ready to bring her legislative experience to the federal level. As a local government official, she spurred Prince Williams Board of County Supervisors to establish its first Child Advocacy Center to provide wraparound services for victims of child abuse. The center recently won awards from the Virginia Association of Counties. Im proud to have led that effort, and its been really effective in servicing victims, Franklin said. Amid continued reports of gun violence nationwide, the issue is a top priority for Franklin. At the local level, she helped find ways to reduce gun violence in her district that involved multiple agencies. More than her work in local government, Franklin noted her work on Capitol Hill for over a decade. While she currently works at a political consulting and strategy firm, she spent much of the last decade working for Democratic members of Congress. Her former bosses included Florida Rep. Al Lawson, North Carolina Rep. Alma Adams and New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand with positions ranging from legislative aide to legislative director. Lawson and Adams were quick to endorse Franklins campaign. Franklin said she had the ability to work with Gillibrand on a gun trafficking bill aimed at cracking down on illegal gun sales through black markets. Thats one of the issues that I think is still prevalent today, particularly up and down the I-95 corridor, Franklin said. Obviously, we have to push for additional screening and background checks, and I think all of those things still need to be addressed to help reduce gun violence on a very local level. Spanberger, Stoney prepare for showdown in governor's race Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-7th and Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney are about to kick off their long-rumored competition for the 2025 Democratic nomination for governor. In hoping to be elected to fill Spanbergers seat, Franklin said she appreciated the congresswomans continued efforts to show up in the county and around the 7th District. What has to continue is the constituent work that she does. Shes been in Prince William County quite often, Franklin said. While Franklin said she can bring her local and federal experiences to the position, she has personal insights that can inform her policy proposals as well. After her mother died of cancer, Franklin recalled how her father handled being a single working parent, raising her and her sister. She said he did a pretty good job of giving them the resources to be successful, and she believes the experience helps her remember various types of families with struggles and needs that elected people represent. Its another reason she has pressed for Prince William to adopt an affordable housing ordinance. Seeing some of those issues up close and personal I think has allowed me to understand these issues a lot better and some of the policy parameters around them, Franklin said. Spanberger would face Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, who is also expected to announce plans to run for governor in the coming months, for the Democratic Party nomination. From the Archives: The Virginia state Capitol building A tree trimmer tragically died on Tuesday in a woodchipper incident while working a job at a Saltville, Va., home. Saltville Police Chief Erik Puckett said the man was part of a crew working to trim trees at a residence in the 600 block of First Avenue. The man, whose name is being withheld pending notification to his family, was pulled in head-first, he said. First responders got the call just after 11:30 a.m. A portion of Panther Lane was closed off while they investigated. Puckett said no one on the work crew saw what caused the man to get caught up in the machinery, but noted that the mans death is believed to be a tragic accident. Its an unfortunate incident and I hate that it happened, Puckett said. OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) officials are expected to conduct their own investigation as per protocol, Puckett said. The Smyth County Sheriffs Office is assisting in the investigation. 09-20-1950 (cutline): Breaking ground for health center--ground is broken for the new South Side Health Center to be erected at Fourteenth and Bainbridge Streets. 01-09-1952 (cutline): Mrs. Jean Pipes, R.N. (left), fills a cotton container for her bag at the South Richmond Health Center before leaving for bedside nursing duty and Miss Frances Allen, supervisor of the center, checks her shears. 01-09-1952 (cutline): Mrs. A.S. Hatch (left), watches as Miss I. Marienfeld, R.N., prepares Arland Hatch, age 7 months for a doctor's examination at the South Richmond Health Center. From the Archives: South Richmond Health Center The South Richmond Health Center on Fourteenth and Bainbridge Streets formally opened in January 1952. The Health Center, which was set up on an experimental basis in December 1947, was not the first of its kind but, it was the first in Richmond. The center originally served the south section of the city and was set up to avoid duplication of nursing care by the Instructive Visiting Nurse Association (IVNA) and the City Health Department. Nurses from the two organizations had frequently been called in on the same case, but the center alleviated conflict by assigning one nurse to follow all the way through in caring for a family. Eight nurses worked at the center on a voluntary basisfour from IVNA and four from the City Health Department. Two of the nurses in 1952 were African American. Supervisors of the center and nurses were rotated on a three-month period to obtain proper orientation in preparation for what would later become a city-wide program. In the 1950s, the center was open Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm and Sundays and holidays for the acutely ill. Two well-child clinics were held each week on Tuesdays and Fridays and a prenatal clinic on Thursday mornings. All clinic services were without charge. Other organizations in Richmond also helped with the center including the James River Womans Club and the Girl Scouts of Richmond. Interested in a copy of any of these photos? Click here. Virginia Democrats won a tremendous victory on Election Day, holding onto their Senate majority and flipping the House of Delegates. Democratic spokesmen around the country are crowing over the victory and writing the political obituary of Gov. Glenn Youngkin. (The Washington Monthly headlined their election coverage: Glenn Youngkins Big Fat 15-Week Abortion Ban Belly Flop). But the razor-thin majorities the Democrats gained in the General Assembly election obscure some pertinent facts about the 2023 election and what it portends for 2024. A careful examination of the votes cast reveals some interesting stats. (These figures are all based on the returns, as recorded by the Virginia State Board of Elections, as of Nov. 13.) Adding up the votes in all 40 State Senate races, the Democrats won 1.190 million votes to the Republicans 1.179 million, a difference of only about 11,000, or 0.5% of the total. Adding up the votes in all 100 House of Delegates races, the Democrats won 1.148 million to the Republicans 1.132 million, a difference of less than 16,000, or 0.7% of the total. Thus, for all the hype, ball-spiking and Youngkin-bashing that Democrats have indulged in since Election Day, they barely managed a tie against Republicans. Some might say that one party or the other padded their statewide total with the votes cast in uncontested races. (Uncontested here means races in which there was no major-party competition. Races with libertarians, independents or write-ins are essentially uncontested.) When the votes cast in the 35 uncontested House of Delegates races (20 for the Dems, 15 for the GOP) are eliminated, Republicans actually won the statewide vote, 832,213 to 821,933. Put differently, in the House races where voters knew their vote might make a difference, Republicans came out slightly ahead. The very small differences between the major parties come into even sharper relief when the closest races for each chamber are considered. As of Nov. 13, the two closest House races won by Democrats District 21 (Prince William) and District 97 (Virginia Beach) were decided by 2,134 votes. A switch of only 1,068 votes in those two districts and the Republicans would have a majority in the House. In the Senate, the two closest Democratic wins District 30 (Prince William and Manassas) and District 31 (Fauquier and Loudon) were decided by 6,788 votes. A switch of 3,395 votes (out of 145,170 cast) in those districts, and Republicans would have a Senate majority, too (and Youngkin would look like a genius!). The Democrats lackluster performance is also underlined by the advantages their party had going into the 2023 campaign. Independent analyses of the new House and Senate district lines showed 56 of 100 Delegates races solid or leaning Democratic. Winning 51 seats, while certainly an accomplishment, is far short of the outcome Democrats should have had. The continued Democrat majority in the Senate draws attention from the fact that the Democrats lost a seat. Republicans were also seriously outspent in the 2023 campaigns. According to the Virginia Public Access Project, Democratic House candidates raised $48 million to Republican candidates $36 million. The difference in the Senate was even greater: $62 million to $41 million. With only one other genuinely contested race in the country, the Kentucky governors race, Democrats from across the U.S. could pour money into Virginia. With recent polls showing Democrat Joe Biden behind Donald Trump in six battleground states, and behind former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in those states by considerably more, Democratic money will have to go to states like Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, leaving little for Virginia. In 2020, Biden won Virginia, according to the official returns, by over 10 percentage points, the best showing by a Democrat in Virginia since the days of Franklin Roosevelt. Virginia was almost universally considered a solid blue state. But with Youngkins victory in 2021 and the Democrats underperformance in 2023 (with so many baked-in advantages), they have good reason to worry about Virginia in 2024. Republicans, for their part, have good reason to be hopeful. Virginia is a closely (and bitterly) divided commonwealth that is bright purple. Patrolling Cancun police spot boat of Cubans making a run for it through Hotel Zone Cancun, Q.R. A dozen Cuban nationals were arrested early Monday morning from the Cancun Hotel Zone after making landfall. Hotel Zone Tourist Police made the arrests after seeing the group make a run for it from the beach where they landed. Their boat was seen by police docking on a sandy area of Playa Chac Mool in the Cancun Hotel Zone around 5:30 a.m. Once on land, the group headed for Kukulcan Boulevard. Police patrolling the area saw the boat land and people from inside running toward the main boulevard. Four women and eight men were taken into legal custody by Cancun Tourist Police who have since handed them over to National Immigration Institute (INM) officers. A collection of essays by New Right thinkers has a lot to say about what is wrong with the establishment Right and America itself. But their solutions ironically reflect a neglect of constitutional order that got us in our current state to begin with. In his introduction essay to Up from Conservatism, a collection of essays by New Right authors, editor Arthur Milikh remarks that the goal of this volume is to correct the trajectory of the Right after several generations of political losses, moral delusions, and intellectual errors. Should the New Right overtake the establishment Right and succeed over the Left, a recognizable America could reemerge. Then we are told: But this volume is not a dogmatic statement. And that seems an understatement. The contributions to the volume are uneven: some contain well-developed arguments that deepen our thinking about the project of reclaiming Americas constitutional order, while others are on the level of podcast interventions or political rally speeches. The book aims to forge a policy and politics path that greatly departs from the entire postwar conservative movementthe alleged source of the losses, delusions, and errors. The New Right enterprise, from its early embrace of Donald Trump to its insistence that the conservative intellectual movements thinkers and politicians gave us only defeat, asserts that it alone possesses the merit, moxie, and muscle to reclaim America. But this volume is unlikely to increase the political strength of the Right in America to the point where it might win national elections. You would need to bring along the entire conservative movement and then some to do that. It does, though, clarify where the New Right stands and the direction it is moving. Losing, though, depending on ones time horizon and understanding of strategy and tactics, can encompass many things. The 2014 and 2016 federal elections were the last real successes for the Republican Party. Since then, weve had a party increasingly defining itself as a populist/workers/nationalist party. The GOP traded support in prosperous suburbs in much of the country for lopsided margins in rural areas, whose voter turnout is lower and less certain. It hasnt been an even electoral trade thus far. Gains with Latino voters in Florida, Texas, and other states have also occurred. The authors of this volume, as is the measure of the New Right generally, refuse to consider what it means that Republicans on a national level have lost or underperformed in every election post 2016, the election that turned the party in favor of the New Right. Before this the Republicans won and kept control of the House and Senate with regularity since 1994. Charles Cooke observes that since the Republican takeover of 1994, the party has controlled the House for 20 years out of a possible 28 (thats 71 percent of the time), and the Senate for 16 years (thats 57 percent of the time). This was not a party that had trouble winning elections. So losing elections, at least, is something the New Right does better than what this volume terms the establishment Right. But those former victories, we are told, were the days of moral weakness, cowardice, and establishment sellouts. Milikh informs us that much of the decay we are experiencing originated in the Rights own ideas, its failure to grasp the nature of the Left, and to arrest the latters growth. The Republican Party won elections but refused to govern well. It declined to engage progressivism in hand-to-hand combat. The problem wasnt just intellectual error but also fear of the Left, combined with underlying belief in the Lefts moral superiority. In short, as New Right initiates and their leaders inform us, they didnt know what time it is. But as Wall Street Journal editorial page editor Paul Gigot recently retorted, the point is not to know what time it is but rather to determine what time you want it to be. There is something characteristic of the progressive notion that history constitutes truth in much of the New Rights thinking. But what really matters is how youre going to rule now. Or, as Milikh invokes, in tones evocative of a totalized, spiritualized politics, The New Right must become the party of beauty, vitality, strength, truth, high purpose, and fierceness. It must view itself as the guardian and ruthless defender of a sacred thing: our civilization. These words, especially the word ruthless, suggest something close to the noble New Pagan, situated as it is between denunciations of the Left as the enemy and the establishment Right as its gelded servant. Ruthlessness and fierceness invoke acts that are volatile, violent, without limit in pursuit of their objects. What are we to be ruthless about and to what measure? What limits our ruthless actions? What about fierceness? Do we really believe that the ends justifies the means? Is this the politics of a constitutional republic, premised on natural right, limited by law, governed through deliberation and the belief that both man and law are under God? Most conservatives dont disagree with the observation that much of the Left, in its devotion to transgenderism, critical race theory, rejection of the American founding, and wholesale denunciation of Western civilization, has become an enemy to that civilization. But what the non-new Right conservatives reject is the notion that, in confronting them politically, we should be willing to become progressives in actionthat is, employ the federal government in civil society and markets to direct an economy, for example, something that makes sense according to New Rightaligned technocrats. In short, should conservatives rule under and through the law or in an extra-constitutional manner? In saying this, I do not deny that a strong imperial presidency now exercises greater authority than Congress and that it commands power through an administrative state that often refuses to follow even its own procedures for formulating administrative rules that govern entire sectors of the economy. But where does the Constitution and its norms and order fit in this New Right analysis? Surely we should still aim to be constitutional in our politics. Michael Antons essay purports to demonstrate many untoward elements of contemporary America. Ill list a few of his many observations: the double standards of justice enforced by the FBI and Department of Justice against conservatives and Republicans; the DEI war, and how this negatively impacts numerous institutions, including the military; nothing works anymore in this country; bosses can no longer tell their employees to do their jobs. Our religious faith has declined, along with marriage rates and birth rates, making our society unstable. The disembodiment of sex has led now to transgenderism. We also have income inequality, a fake economy, foreigners who own our economyoh, and the ruling class hates us and education at all levels is evil. What should be done if this is true is probably just give up on America. Anton says in no uncertain terms that these threatening situations are caused by the fact that we are a corrupt people. As he states, I dont know what the future holds. But to call optimistic the assertion that the present regime has a long time to run presupposes that one favors it. Giving up is easy to do. Anton dismisses the harder part here, and refuses to consider that within these Progressive trends is a dramatic contest for our country and its Constitution. Moreover, even within the problems he identifies, it doesnt really seem that the hard Left has convinced a majority of Americans to view the world as it does. Despite the many advantages the Left has in our country, they struggle to bring a substantial number of Americans along with them on their core claims. Some contributors to the volume do have as their aim the restoration of the separation of powers, equality under law, along with the rule of law itself. Theodore Wolds essay, A Century of Impotency: Conservative Failure and the Administrative State, rightly notes that legal and political conservatism have not been able to curtail sufficiently the size and reach of the administrative state. His solutions involve Congress passing universal sunset rules for all agency regulations, repealing large segments of the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883 and Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, and banning private-public partnerships. These are substantial measures, useful for orienting action. But, as Wold notes, restricting the power and reducing the size of the administrative state will require Congress to exercise authority over the executive branch. Congress obviously holds the constitutional weapons to bring the other branches to their knees should it choose to do so; its ineptness, however, in the face of the administrative stateits zombie creationisnt likely to change. Wold does not mention that originalism, textualism in statutory interpretation, and increasing aversion to regulatory power by a skeptical public are also apt tools for reining in the power of the regulatory state. Might Congress act in a more deliberate manner in statutory construction under a revived Non-Delegation Doctrine, thus making future growth in the administrative state harder to enact? You must start with a principle in law, a limited measureone favored by the sellout establishment conservativesand then build from there. Richard Hanania outlines an approach of strongly curtailing the powers of government and public entities that have been expressly constructed to make war on basic norms like equality under law or that insist upon vast DEI weapons to slowly construct a new morality in educational institutions, corporations, and the country at large. The public school systems, where possible, he argues, should be redirected toward universal school-choice plans. We should also dismantle the public teacher accreditation system of progressive teacher colleges, which certify who can teach. State legislatures, where possible, should vastly limit the size of administrative bureaucracies at state universities and prevent any element of their governments from aiding or participating in ESG laws or initiatives. At the federal level, the civil rights bureaucracy should be tamed, and disparate impact should be eliminated. Much of the madness in this country, Hanania and other contributors argue, stems from the arbitrary powers given to government to implement race and gender categories into law, particularly in the private sector. The essays in this volume were, apparently, written before the verdict in Students for Fair Admission v. Harvard (2023), which also joined claims made against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill regarding affirmative action programs. The U.S. Supreme Court held that the use of race in admissions violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, while Justice Gorsuch in a concurring opinion stressed that it also violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Courtesy of the conservative movements longstanding if often fainthearted opposition to racial preferences as well as its belief in the colorblind Constitution, and its originalist interpretive method, it is now the case that the use of race in admissions is unconstitutional. As Progressives understand, this principle imperils the use of race for preferential purposes in any number of contexts. Perhaps New Right thinking can build on this incredible achievement of establishment conservatism, one that took decades to reach. Carson Holloways essay argues that conservatives invested in a bad ideathe Propositional Nationand ignored the deeper and more particular lessons from the founding for what it means to be a proper country. Much of modern American conservatism has been based on foolish and self-defeating appeals to the Founders, Holloway warns. More than this, No error has had quite the effect of claiming, on the authority of the Founders, that we are a propositional nation. One cant help but think of Harry Jaffa, who built his career and that of the Claremont Graduate School and the Claremont Review of Books on Abraham Lincolns statesmanship. Jaffa is not even mentioned in the present volume, although Patrick Buchanan is cited favorably. Jaffas masterful Crisis of the House Divided (1959) emphasized that Lincoln had reinvigorated the American founding by recovering its essential teaching: the equality and hence liberty of persons under law. But this essential teaching, Jaffa and his students have repeatedly argued, did not amount to egalitarianism, nor was it the occasion for libertinism, the charges urged against it by Holloway. Holloway argues that propositional nation teaching has meant precisely this, making it impossible for conservatives to think coherently about what it means to be a nation, which, he insists, requires a much more guarded use of military force, restrictive immigration policies, social conservatism, and economic nationalism (protectionism). Overemphasis on propositional nation teaching has led to the opposite of these policies, making us a universal nation with no core national identity. But this seems too much. To the extent we are led by libertinism, open borders ideology, and an overly expansive notion of military deployment, the genesis for these policies stems more from a progressive insistence on egalitarian ideology than establishment Right thinking, let alone the American founding. Second-wave neoconservatism did contribute to our willingness to employ the military to engage in democracy promotion abroad, but that was an error and does not inexorably follow from believing in the dignity of the human person and his equality under law because of mans creation in the image of God or merely because of our capacity for reason and self-government. Holloway is on better grounds when he notes that constitutionalism, practical wisdom, and equality under law should be held together by the love of country. It should be noted, finally, that this volume omits the word conservatism except when it is being insulted, and rarely ties its aims explicitly to the recovery of our constitutional order. I dont want to sound like an American exceptionalist, but our country is inherently defined and articulated by a written Constitution built on an essential idea for limiting and channeling power through self-government. What is the constitution of the New Right? They have pledged fierceness and ruthless action in the political realm. Well might we know exactly what it is all for, and if these acts are bound by a promise to securing liberty under God and the law. A Floyd County-grown Christmas tree will be on display this holiday season on the Virginias Executive Mansion. The Virginia Christmas Tree Growers Association (VCTGA) presented Gov. Glenn Youngkin and first lady Suzanne Youngkin with the tree and two wreaths Monday, according to a news release from the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The tree, a 10-foot Fraser fir, is from Sweet Providence Christmas Tree Farm in Floyd County and the wreaths, featuring Fraser fir, white pine, arborvitae, and red cedar, were made by Lori Grove of Caritas Tree Farm in Mount Solon in Augusta County, according to the release. The governor presented the VCTGA with a proclamation Monday proclaiming December as Virginia Christmas Tree Month. The Christmas season and time spent with loved ones around the tree spark so many wonderful memories for many Virginia families, said the governor, in the release. We thank Sweet Providence Christmas Tree Farm, Caritas Tree Farm and the Virginia Christmas Tree Growers Association for the stunning tree and wreaths. Christmas trees are an important sector of Virginias agriculture and forestry industries as there are more than 460 Christmas tree farms throughout the commonwealth, according to the release. Virginia is the seventh leading U.S. state in terms of total Christmas tree inventory, sixth in total tree acreage in production, and 13th in the number of operations with Christmas tree sales, according to the release. April Chavez is the Santa Maria City Reporter for the Santa Maria Times. If you have information, or a story idea that you would like to share, send her an email at AChavez@SantaMariaTimes.com. President John F. Kennedy (back left), Jacqueline Kennedy (back right), begin the motorcade from Love Field to downtown Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963. Texas Gov. John Connally is waving. Tom Dillard/TNS Two bloody leather swatches from the limousine John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 60 years ago in Dallas has sold for nearly $47,000. The bidding, which was conducted by RR Auction, ended Nov. 8 with the buyer securing the item at a $46,865 price tag. The RR Auction estimate was $6,000 or more. The two swatches, both colored blue but one darker than the other, come from the limo's seats and were taped together. They are a combined size of 7 inches by 3 inches. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Kennedy was assassinated Nov. 23, 1963 in Dallas during a motorcade ride through the city. It was the fourth time a sitting United States president had been assassinated while in office. A PICTURE SAYS A THOUSAND WORDS: On the anniversary of Kennedy assassination, a look back at the story behind a Houston journalist's iconic photo In addition to the swatches, a letter from F. Vaughn Ferguson was included that provided context and background about how the swatches came to be in his possession. Ferguson was a White House technical service representative whose job was to take care of the presidential limo, which was a black 1961 Lincoln Continental four-door convertible with special modifications. Dated Nov. 22, 1982, Ferguson explained to noted collector Raleigh DeGeer Amyx how he ended up in possession of the swatches. "Four days after the Assassination the White House upholsterer and I removed this leather at the White House," Ferguson wrote. "The light blue leather is from the center of the rear seat. The dark blue leather is from the border of the rear seat. The spots on the leather are the dried blood of our beloved President, John F. Kennedy." This is not the first time swatches from the presidential limo have landed on an auction block. The RR Auction website has multiple former listings of the swatches from the past year but none compare to the size and price of the one sold earlier this month. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. The latest swap of hostages held by Hamas militants in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel started with the release of 10 Israeli hostages nine women and a 17-year-old girl as well as two Thais handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. City of Oakland calls for permanent cease-fire in Israel-Hamas war, urgent humanitarian aid to Gaza Oaklands City Council has passed a resolution calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war after hours of hearing impassioned rhetoric about the deaths of thousands of civilians in Gaza When DNA profiling first came to use in criminal cases, it was often difficult for prosecutors and defense attorneys, as well as the experts they hired to testify, to explain the significance of their DNA match to the jury. Fingerprints are still an ironclad way to identify someone, but an expert testifying about fingerprints discusses them in terms of "points of similarity." An expert discusses DNA matches in terms of statistical probability using what is currently known about DNA similarity within the general population. This often confused the jury or they interpreted it incorrectly. Advertisement " " A scientist views an autoradiograph, which is one of the first methods of DNA profiling. Rob Melnychuk /PhotoDisc/Getty For example, an expert testifying about DNA profiling for the prosecution might say that the DNA profile created from the crime scene evidence has a 4-to-5 probability (or 80 percent chance) of matching the DNA profile created from the defendant's sample. Saying that the probability of the match is 80 percent, however, is not the same thing as saying that the probability of the accused person's guilt is 80 percent. On the other hand, an expert testifying about DNA profiling for the defense could say something like, "The likelihood that this person's DNA was found at the crime scene, but he did not commit the crime, is 1 in 10 (or 10 percent)." That isn't a very high probability, but it doesn't take into account the fact that the accused isn't some random person plucked off the street. It's not likely that the DNA profile is the only reason why he or she was arrested for the crime; DNA is just one piece in a very large puzzle. Margin of Error DNA profiling and its interpretation have come under fire. RFLP analysis was in part discontinued because of the possibility for error. The risk of a coincidental match using RFLP is 1 in 100 billion. However, in laboratory settings, this risk is probably higher because technicians may misread similar patterns as identical or otherwise perform the analysis incorrectly. A 2002 study of the accuracy of DNA laboratories in the United States conducted by the University of Texas showed that 1 in 100 profiles may give a false result. STR analysis is not as subjective, but any DNA profile can give a false result if it ends up contaminated. Although there have been no documented cases of a laboratory worker intentionally contaminating a DNA sample, DNA samples have been contaminated or even faked by criminals to avoid prosecution. Manipulating Evidence In 1992, a patient of Dr. John Schneeberger accused him of sexually assaulting her while she was sedated. A DNA profile was created using the sample that he left on the victim. A profile from a sample of his blood did not match the crime scene sample, and the case was closed. The victim persisted, and eventually, Dr. Schneeberger was convicted after additional DNA samples showed a match. He was able to avoid the initial match by implanting a drain in his arm filled with another man's blood and an anticoagulant, and skillfully getting the technician who drew his blood to do so from that spot. Ultimately, DNA profiling has proved to be an amazing tool. However, it's just one of the many tools used to find the truth in criminal investigations, genealogy searches and testing for disease. There is rarely a 100 percent certainty of anything. Screenshots from a 'Neon-Seed Integrated ITER Baseline Plasma Scenarios in D-T' pulse video recorded during the EUROfusion DTE3 campaign at JET, showcasing pivotal experiments at the forefront of fusion research. Credit: Image composed by Karl Tischler, EPFL, courtesy of EUROfusion, based on screenshots from a video courtesy of the UK Atomic Energy Authority EUROfusion announces the successful completion of its third and final deuterium-tritium experimental campaign (DTE3) at the Joint European Torus fusion device (JET). The experiments explored fusion processes and control techniques under similar conditions to and in preparation for future fusion power plants, marking an important leap ahead in our understanding of fusion plasmas. The experimental campaign at JET was conducted by over 300 scientists participating in EUROfusion from across Europe together with engineering and scientific technical staff at the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. JET is the only existing facility of its kind that can already operate with the high-performance deuterium-tritium fuel mix that will be used in future fusion power plants. While most fusion experiments use fuels like hydrogen or deuterium alone, testing with this deuterium-tritium mix is essential to get as close as possible to the conditions of a real fusion power plant. The experiments at JET have optimized fusion reactions in deuterium-tritium and developed techniques to manage fuel retention, heat exhaust and materials evolution. This has generated crucial insights for the design and operation of future reactors like the international ITER experiment and the DEMO demonstration fusion power plant as well as for all other efforts worldwide to develop fusion power plants. Tony Donne, Programme Manager (CEO) at EUROfusion, highlights, "These experiments at JET are a testament to the collaborative spirit and innovation in the EUROfusion community, paving the way for the next generation of fusion research and technology." EUROfusion's experimental campaign at JET highlights Europe's pivotal role in advancing fusion research and underscores its leadership in the global pursuit of clean, sustainable energy. This campaign marks a significant step forward in developing the technologies and methodologies essential for future fusion power plants. Screenshot from a 'Neon-Seed Integrated ITER Baseline Plasma Scenarios in D-T' pulse video recorded during the EUROfusion DTE3 campaign at JET, showcasing pivotal experiments at the forefront of fusion research. Credit: Screenshot by Karl Tischler, EPFL, courtesy of EUROfusion, from a video courtesy of the UK Atomic Energy Authority. Why this experimental campaign matters Bridging Past and Future in Fusion Research: The experimental campaign built on experiments at the end of 2021, enhancing our understanding of deuterium-tritium plasmas. This campaign's insights into optimizing fusion reactions and developing novel operational strategies link past learnings with future applications in fusion technology. Validating Physics Across Scales and Fuels: Researchers tested new concepts developed in smaller European tokamaks in JET, initially with deuterium and then with a deuterium-tritium fuel mix. This research is key to help understand how processes observed in smaller devices will scale to larger future fusion projects. Advancing Tritium Fuel Management: JET has made significant strides in managing the fuel component tritium, pioneering novel monitoring and cleaning technologies including laser-based diagnostic methods like LID-QMS (Laser Induced DesorptionQuadrupole Mass Spectrometry). These innovations are crucial for ITER's future operations, ensuring accurate tritium accountancy and enhancing operational safety. Replicating Operational Scenarios: A major success of the DTE3 campaign was its ability to replicate the high-fusion-energy experiments from 2021's second deuterium-tritium experimental campaign (DTE2). This accomplishment highlights the reliability and maturity of JET's operational methodologies that are essential for the ITER project's future success. Integrated Scenarios with Compatible Exhaust Solutions: The campaign involved testing diverse operational scenarios to efficiently manage heat exhaust from the hot, ionized gas fuel (plasma). Researchers focused on dispersing energy at the plasma edge while maintaining high energy levels in the plasma core, a critical balance for reactor feasibility. This included minimizing or eliminating energy outbursts from plasma edge instabilities and implementing innovative heat load management techniques like feedback-controlled impurity gas injections to create a localized radiator plasma zone around the X-point. Additionally, the team demonstrated real-time control of the D-T fuel mix by injecting gas and frozen deuterium pellets, a key method for controlling fusion reactions. These advancements are instrumental for the successful operation of future fusion reactors. Enhancing Knowledge of High-Energy Neutron Effects: Focusing on the impact of fusion-born 14.1 MeV neutrons that carry the energy from fusion reactions out of the plasma, the campaign provided insights into their effects on cooling systems and electronics, the latter in collaboration with CERN. This knowledge is essential for designing safe, more efficient future fusion reactors. The Joint European Torus (JET) is a fusion experiment of the donut-shaped tokamak design located at Culham Centre for Fusion Energy in Oxfordshire, UK. The facility uses magnetic fields to keep the hot, ionized gas (plasma) away from the vessel's interior walls, enabling safe operation at 150 million degrees Celsiusten times the temperature at the core of the sun. JET commenced operation in 1983 as a joint European project, undergoing several enhancements to improve its performance over the years. In 1991, JET became the world's first reactor to operate using a 5050 mix of tritium and deuterium. The facility set numerous fusion records including a record Q-plasma (the ratio of the fusion power produced to the external power put in to heat the plasma) of 0.64 in 1997 and a fusion energy record output of 59 megajoules in a five-second pulse in December 2021. Built by Europe and used collaboratively by European researchers over its lifetime, JET became UKAEA property in October 2021, celebrated its 40th anniversary in June this year, and will cease operations at the end of 2023. Provided by EUROfusion GREENVILLE, S.C. Duke Energy is wrapping up a monthlong initiative to support organizations that address food deserts, insecurities and inequities across South Carolina by announcing nearly $240,000 in surprise microgrants and contributions to community organizations across the state. This funding will allow us to continue to provide over 7,000 individual meals to our neighbors monthly. The demand for our services has increased by over 20% in the past six months, and this funding from Duke Energy will allow us to keep up with the continued demand for our food-insecure community, said Melinda Waddell, executive director of The Manna House in Florence. The announcement wraps up a monthlong initiative that provided more than $400,000 to more than 60 feeding programs throughout the month of November supporting organizations including Mill Village Farms, FoodShare South Carolina, Harvest Hope Food Bank and AIM and many more. Duke Energy employees and retirees also provided their time volunteering with these and other organizations throughout the month by providing sweat equity to feeding programs in their neighborhoods. If you grew up in South Carolina, you likely know that a surcee is a small, unexpected gift, said Mike Callahan, Duke Energys South Carolina president. Giving Tuesday is the perfect opportunity to give a little something extra and highlight the great work these organizations do throughout the year to help keep our friends and neighbors from going hungry. The microgrants and contributions were not solicited by the receiving organizations. The surcee funding opportunities recognize the important gaps these typically smaller agencies fill in the neighborhoods they serve. In addition to the Manna House, other Pee Dee agencies that received grants included the Darlington County Council on Aging, Dillon County Council on Aging, Felician Center Food Pantry, Help 4 Kids Florence, Help for Veterans Inc. Dillon, Low Country Food Bank, Marlboro Council on Aging, My Brothers Keeper, Performing Arts and Science Academy, Pick 42 Foundation, United Way of Greater Hartsville and Vital Aging of Williamsburg County. Every bit of support to local food banks or soup kitchens is helpful any time of year but particularly during the holiday season. To find a community feeding partner near you, search online at SC211.org or text FOOD to 211211. High Court ruling: Lee Hsien Yang directed to compensate Ministers Shanmugam and Balakrishnan for defamatory remarks on Ridout Road state bungalows. (PHOTO: MCI/YouTube and ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP via Getty Images ) ((PHOTO: MCI/YouTube and ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP via Getty Images )) SINGAPORE The High Court in Singapore has directed Lee Hsien Yang to pay damages to ministers K. Shanmugam and Vivian Balakrishnan for defamatory statements made in Facebook comments regarding their rental of black-and-white bungalows on Ridout Road. The court issued a default judgment favouring the two ministers after Lee - the youngest son of Singapore's founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and brother of current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong - failed to address the defamation lawsuits brought against him. Lee had, among other claims, insinuated that the ministers engaged in corrupt practices and received preferential treatment from the Singapore Land Authority for their bungalow rentals. The exact amount of damages will be evaluated in a subsequent hearing. Restricted from spreading defamatory claims against ministers Not only did Justice Goh Yi Han grant the default judgment on 2 November, but he also imposed an injunction to prohibit Lee from further circulating false and defamatory allegations. In a released written judgment on Monday (27 November), the judge highlighted "strong reasons" to believe that Lee might persist in making defamatory statements again, noting his refusal to remove the contentious Facebook post on 23 July, despite receiving a letter of demand from the ministers on 27 July. Among other things, Lee stated in the post that "two ministers have leased state-owned mansions from the agency that one of them controls, felling trees and getting state-sponsored renovations." A report released by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau in June concluded that no wrongdoing or preferential treatment had occurred concerning the two ministers. However, Lee continued referencing this post and the ongoing lawsuits, drawing attention to his remarks under legal scrutiny. Justice Goh emphasised that the ministers met the prerequisites for a default judgment against Lee. The suits, separately filed by Shanmugam, the Law and Home Affairs Minister, and Dr Balakrishnan, the Foreign Affairs Minister, were initiated in early August. Story continues Lee Hsien Yang alleges in his post that two ministers leased state-owned mansions, 26 and 31 Ridout Road from an agency, one of which they control, involving tree felling and receiving state-sponsored renovations.(SCREENSHOTS: Google Maps) He failed to respond within 21 days Lee and his wife, Lee Suet Fern, had left Singapore in July 2022, after declining to attend a police interview for potentially giving false evidence in judicial proceedings over the late Lee Kuan Yew's will. His absence from Singapore prompted the court to permit Shanmugam and Dr Balakrishnan to serve him legal documents via Facebook Messenger in mid-September. Despite no requirement for proof that Lee saw these documents, his subsequent social media post on 16 September confirmed his awareness of the served legal papers. Although Lee had the opportunity to respond within 21 days, he chose not to do so. Additionally, the judge noted the novelty of the ministers' request for an injunction during this legal process, highlighting updated court rules allowing such measures since April 2022. Justice Goh clarified that despite the claimants' application for an injunction, the court needed independent validation for its appropriateness, considering its potentially severe impact on the defendant. He reiterated being satisfied with the circumstances and granted the injunction, given the continued accessibility of the contentious Facebook post. Lee acknowledges court order and removes allegations from Facebook Following the court's decision, Lee acknowledged the court order on 10 November and removed the statements in question from his Facebook page. In the judgment, Justice Goh noted that there were substantial grounds to anticipate Lee's repetition of the "defamatory allegations by continuing to draw attention to them and/or publish further defamatory allegations against the claimants." The judge mentioned that if Lee had contested the ministers' claims, there could have been grounds for a legally enforceable case under defamation law. According to Justice Goh, a reasonable reader would interpret Lee's Facebook post as insinuating that the People's Action Party's trust had been squandered due to the ministers' alleged corrupt conduct, from which they gained personally. While Shanmugam and Dr Balakrishnan were not explicitly named, the post made it evident that it referred to them, and these posts remained accessible to the public, as noted by the judge. Justice Goh pointed out that by choosing not to respond to the lawsuits, Lee prevented the court from considering any opposing evidence related to the claims. Do you have a story tip? Email: sgnews.tips@yahooinc.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. Also check out our Southeast Asia, Food, and Gaming channels on YouTube. SIOUX CITY This has been a red-letter autumn for Libby Skarin. In September, the Sioux City born-and-raised attorney, a 2004 graduate of East High School, was named deputy executive director of the ACLU of South Dakota, North Dakota and Wyoming. A little more than a month later, on Nov. 6, she was named the acting executive director. Skarin, 37, joined the ACLU's office in Sioux Falls in 2014 as policy director for the group's South Dakota operations. In 2020, she became the campaigns director, overseeing the organization's advocacy staff and programming in the ACLU's three-state region. A graduate of the University of Iowa, Skarin began her career in Sioux City. While still a law student, she worked with the Sioux City Human Rights Commission in the summer of 2009. After graduating from law school, she moved back to Sioux City and worked as an assistant attorney general in the child support recovery unit in 2012 and 2013. The Journal spoke with Skarin about this new turn in her career. Questions and answers have been edited for style and clarity. Libby Skarin Libby Skarin, shown here at her desk, was named the acting executive director of the ACLU of South Dakota, North Dakota and Wyoming in early N What are some of the top issues the ACLU of South Dakota, North Dakota and Wyoming is trying to address? "Our mission at the ACLU of North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming, is to protect and defend and advance civil rights and civil liberties that are guaranteed to everyone in our states, under both state and federal constitutions. We take, what I would describe as like a three-pronged approach to our work. And those three prongs would be legal work, advocacy work and then communications work. So we use those three different types of work, and different tactics, to achieve the civil rights and the civil liberties that we are all guaranteed. Sometimes we're defending them, sometimes we're trying to advance them or expand them, but fundamentally that is the work that we do. In terms of our priority issues, they change a little bit from state to state. But looking at the region as a whole, I would say our priorities are working on fighting against attacks on abortion access, and fighting against the criminalization of abortion. We do a lot of work on transgender rights. Indigenous justice is a big part of our work in this region on the country. Immigrants' rights, criminal justice reform, and then I think one of the things that the ACLU is perhaps most known for is our First Amendment work. And I think we're in a really interesting era, where we're seeing more and more threats to the First Amendment, and we're finding ourselves working on these issues that have been long-established as rights. Especially when we look at things like book bans, or censorship in classrooms and things of that nature." From your perspective, are civil liberties in South Dakota, North Dakota and Wyoming in a good place, or are they under threat? "The nature of civil rights and civil liberties is that they are always under threat, right? Like, once you've got a right established, you truly have to approach it with a vigilance, and approach it, keeping in mind that rights that have been gained could be lost, right? And that is a thing that I think a lot of people maybe don't recognize, or assume doesn't happen, but we are living in an era where we are absolutely seeing the rights that have been long-established under attack. And in some cases, like with abortion and the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision, we're seeing rights being rolled back. So I would say, in general, civil rights and civil liberties are always a thing that requires vigilance and protection. I would say that, when we're talking about civil rights and civil liberties in this region -- I mean they certainly are under threat. And I think part of the reason that our priority issues are what they are is in response to what we are seeing happening in our three states, right? I think you'll find that from state to state and from government to government, the sorts of things we're seeing legislated, do differ somewhat. But here in this region, it feels to me like we are working on things that feel very foundational and fundamental. For example, some of this First Amendment work that we do. I truly wouldn't have thought, if you had told me in 2014 when I started this job that we'd be fighting book bans, I might not have believed you. Because, it's such a clear violation of the First Amendment, to ban books. To me it seemed, this is so well-established, that certainly we couldn't see this right being eroded. And now we're watching it happen in real time. And I think that really just speaks to the nature of civil rights and the fact that once rights are established we have to fight to maintain them and to ensure that they remain in place for future generations, and for people today." Does the legal, political or social climate in South Dakota, North Dakota and Wyoming make for a different calculus or a more challenging environment for the ACLU than in other states? "I think so. The political environment and the legal environment informs how we do our work and the ways we're able to get things done. And I would say that, a lot of people think that it must be so hard doing this work in North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. And there are elements of it, of course, that are very difficult. But I think the thing that probably makes it most challenging, especially when we're talking about advocacy work and lobbying and state legislatures, is not necessarily the underlying politics, but rather the fact that we've got these supermajorities in all of our statehouses. When you have a supermajority, I think regardless of which party is in power, you truly see so many barriers to getting things done. And I think you, in general, see less good policy coming out. Because there is this stifling of dissent and true debate, and a really coming-together, when you've got one party that essentially rules, both a supermajority of the legislature but also sort of the executive branch. So, yeah, it is challenging. I think there are a lot of assumptions about the type of person, maybe quote-unquote, who supports the ACLU. It happens to me fairly often where I'll encounter someone and they'll ask where I work and, they'll say 'Oh, well, the ACLU -- I like some of what you guys do, but don't tell anyone.' And it's kind of this joke of like, some people might not want to say publicly that they support the ACLU, but given the nature of our work and just the sheer amount and number of issues we take on, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't agree with our position on at least a couple of things. And I think that part of being successful in our mission is that we have to be able to build bridges with people, and we have to be able to find common ground where it exists." What drew you to the career path you've chosen? "I went into college thinking I wanted to be a writer, that I wanted to be a journalist. I remember, I don't know how old I would've been or if it was some sort of like, career day thing, but I remember I spent like a Saturday at The Sioux City Journal office, pretending to be (a journalist). They had kids set up at computers and stuff. It was a long time ago. But back then, I thought that's what I would do when I grew up. But in college, I was a political science major, and a journalism major. And I really loved my classes on Constitutional law, in particular. And so that kind of pushed me in the direction of thinking about law school, and exploring what law school might look like. And of course when you're in journalism school, like you've got your legal and ethics classes. If you're going to do media work, if you're going to do work with the press, you have heard of the ACLU. Because the ACLU has won some of the most seminal First Amendment cases out there. Some of those of course on press freedom, but in general on freedom of speech. So I would say, between those classes and Constitutional law, I became very enamored with the idea of doing that sort of work, and especially drawn to civil rights. And that only strengthened throughout my time in law school. And I knew, like at that point, I would've told you my dream job was working at the ACLU. But I didn't necessarily think that that would happen. Because I thought, to work at the ACLU, you probably have to live in New York, or some big city. Which is not what I wanted." Did your early experiences in Sioux City shape your worldview? "Yeah! I mean of course, I think it's inevitable that the way you grew up, and the time and the place that you grew up in, shapes your worldview. Born and raised in Sioux City, my parents still live in the same house that they lived in when they brought me home from the hospital. And so, I do think my worldview has been shaped by experiences I had growing up in Sioux City. And even now, I think it's interesting, and I thought it was very interesting when I first moved to Sioux Falls, sort of getting this comparison between Sioux Falls, versus Sioux City. And the things you learn about Iowa history, or like Sioux City history -- for whatever reason those fourth-grade lessons really stuck in my brain. But I think it's just interesting to sort of compare the two, and think about all the context, and especially the more I've learned about the Indigenous people of this region. And we did learn a decent amount of that in school, when I was a kid in Sioux City. But seeing that in a different perspective, by moving to Sioux Falls and moving to South Dakota, which is a state with a very large, comparatively, population of Indigenous people. I think having that sort of basis for comparison has helped sort of shape my worldview even today." Abby Church is a City Hall reporter for the Houston Chronicle. She can be reached at abby.church@houstonchronicle.com. Before coming to the Chronicle, Abby covered local politics at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She graduated from James Madison University with a bachelor's degree in media arts and design. SIOUX CITY The Woodbury County Sheriff's Office said in a social media post that there is "no evidence or indication" that a Monday traffic stop is connected to a missing Wall Lake, Iowa, truck driver. The sheriff's office made the announcement on its Facebook account Monday evening in response to information circulating on social media about a traffic stop near Highway 20 and the bypass and the disappearance of 53-year-old David Schultz. Schultz was last heard from in the early morning hours of Nov. 21, according to the Lake View Police Department. The department and the Sac County Sheriff's Office began an investigation into Schultz's whereabouts the afternoon of Nov. 21. At 1:01 a.m. Monday, the Woodbury County Communications Center received a 911 call concerning a reckless driver near Moville. Deputies conducted a routine traffic stop on the vehicle at 1:18 a.m. The driver was subsequently arrested for possession of cocaine and felon in possession of a firearm. There were two other adults and four children also in the vehicle at the time of the arrest. "There is no evidence or indication that this traffic stop has any connection to the missing driver referred to in the post," the sheriff's office said. "The suspects nationality has nothing to do with the case and all suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law." The sheriff's office noted the caller "did the right thing" by calling in suspicious or reckless activity. Over the weekend, volunteers searched for Schultz in Wright, Webster, Calhoun and Sac County. The search continued Monday. So far, nothing has been found. Sarah Schultz, Schultz's wife, told The Journal his red truck was found the afternoon of Nov. 21 northeast of Sac City. It was parked on northbound Highway 71, about five miles north of the old Highway 20 intersection. She said the vehicle was turned off, but it wasn't pulled over to the side of the road. The trailer was still loaded with young pigs. The truck was pointing the wrong direction from where Schultz was headed -- north, rather than south. There was no sign of David, but Sarah Schultz said his coat was located in a ditch on the opposite side of the road. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations is assisting the Sac County Sheriffs Office and the Lake View Police Department in this investigation. The United Cajun Navy, a nonprofit organization that organizes search and rescue teams, has been involved in the searches. Northeast Sac County property owners have been asked to check their property and outbuildings for "anything out of the ordinary." The Lake View Police Department has asked anyone who has seen or heard from Schultz to contact them at 712-657-2513. SIOUX CITY The Sioux City Community School District calendars will now have two-hour early outs on Fridays beginning next year. A public hearing was held for proposed calendars for the 2024-2025, 2025-2026, and 2026-2027 school years on Monday. The board unanimously approved the new calendar. The biggest change is moving the weekly time for teacher professional development. Instead of a one-hour early out on Mondays, the district is moving to two-hour early outs on Fridays. Human Resources Director Jen Gomez said the change is based on feedback received from district staff, parents and committees. Superintendent Rod Earleywine said he has heard from other school districts in the state who have been making the same switch. "I've heard really good things from those school districts that the parents are fine with it and the staff really likes it," he said. He said of the more than 4,000 responses to a survey, 63 percent of the responses said they were in favor of Friday early outs. Another change to the calendar is the timing of school conferences. For years the district has had parent/teacher conferences on Mondays and Tuesdays with no school on Mondays twice a year. The proposed calendar would switch the conferences to Tuesdays and Thursdays, with no school on Thursdays. Due to when Halloween falls next year, the conferences will be held on Oct. 22 and Oct. 24 instead of the earlier proposed Oct. 29 and Oct. 31. The district is continuing to base the school calendars on hours instead of days. In Iowa, a school year must consist of either 180 days or 1,080 hours of instruction. Historically, the Sioux City Community School District follows the number of days, often resulting in more than 1,100 hours of instruction. This school year, the district changed the calendar to be based on hours. The original 2023-24 calendar has 180 days of education, resulting in 1,132 hours of instruction. The current calendar has 178 days and 1,136 hours of instruction. Gomez said the district received positive feedback about the change and plans to continue the format. The proposed calendar for next year has 178 days and 1,098 hours of instruction. SIOUX CITY -- The Sioux City CROP Walk committee presented a $7,250 check to the Community Action Agency of Siouxland. The money was raised during the Sioux City CROP Walk held Oct. 15. More than 180 walkers from 26 groups raised more than $28,800 and brought in 369 pounds of food. 25 percent of the money raised will go directly to the Community Action Agency to support their food programs. The Community Action Agency of Siouxland will use al of the food and 25 percent of the money raised to help fight hunger locally. The remainder of the funds will be use to fight hunger around the world. "The money we raise here in Sioux City helps people in our own community and around the world," said Sioux City CROP Walk committee member Shelly Hexom. "We are able to provide life-saving support such as emergency food, along with the tools, education and programs to help families learn how to feed and sustain themselves in the future." The CROP Walk is Sioux City's only annual interdenominational event that raises money to help people, locally and in other countries. At a glance - Evidence for global warming Posted on 28 November 2023 by John Mason, BaerbelW On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a "bump" for our ask. This week features "Evidence for global warming". More will follow in the upcoming weeks. Please follow the Further Reading link at the bottom to read the full rebuttal and to join the discussion in the comment thread there. At a glance It's now 14 years since Sarah Palin was on the record as having provided the above quote, at a logging conference in California. In that time, much has happened in the world of climate change. We can have a quick catch-up, by examining the 2022 State of the Climate report, published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society in 2023. In 2022, the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere rose to 417 ppm. That's 50% greater than the pre-industrial level. Global mean methane abundance was 165% higher than its pre-industrial level, Nitrous oxide was 24% higher. Record or near-record heat was widespread in 2022 and even more so in 2023. In 2022, Europe observed its second-warmest year on record, with sixteen individual countries observing record warmth at the national scale. Records tumbled, many with huge increases as summer heatwaves plagued the region. On 18 July, 104 weather-stations in France broke their all-time temperature records in a single day. On the 19th, England recorded a temperature of 40C for the first time. China experienced its second-warmest year and warmest summer on record. In the Southern Hemisphere, the average temperature across New Zealand reached a record high for the second year in a row. Western Australia reached 50.7C on 13 January, equaling Australia's highest temperature on record. Sea-surface temperature patterns in the tropical Pacific were characteristic of La Nina, a phenomenon that should have mitigated against atmospheric heat gain at the global scale. However, the annual global surface temperature across land and oceans was among the six highest in records dating as far back as the mid-1800s. 2022 was the warmest La Nina year on record. At the time of writing, there is still about a month of 2023 to run. Yet once again we have record-breaking temperatures, with some records smashed by huge margins, so that 2023 looks as though it may well go down as the hottest on record. 'Snake oil science'? No, these are records of things actually happening, right now. Not only are they being recorded, they are being witnessed by countless people worldwide. They add to the growing mountain of scientific evidence, showing without any doubt that Earth's climate system is overheating, as predicted by the laws of physics from more than a century ago. If some politician or other insists to the contrary, just ask yourself what particular expertise entitles them to make such utterances? Are they really smarter than all the tens of thousands of scientists who work hard to collect and analyse the data? Beware. politicians tend to be good at talking politics on most topics and they are especially adept at telling people what they want to hear. But in cases like this, we can clearly see that events have a tendency to catch up with them in the longer term. Beware. Please use this form to provide feedback about this new "At a glance" section. Read a more technical version below or dig deeper via the tabs above! In case you'd like to explore more of our recently updated rebuttals, here are the links to all of them: If you think that projects like these rebuttal updates are a good idea, please visit our support page to contribute! Elon Musk visited Israel Monday. He toured Kfar Aza, a kibbutz that Hamas attacked on Oct. 7, killing dozens, and was photographed alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The two then recorded a conversation on X, the social media platform Musk owns, and where he has spread antisemitic conspiracy theories. Just this month, for example, Musk wrote, You have just said the absolute truth in response to a post that read: Jewish communities have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them. Im deeply disinterested in giving the tiniest shit now about western Jewish populations coming to the disturbing realization that those hordes of minorities that support flooding their country dont exactly like them too much. This did not come up in Musks conversation with Netanyahu, a talk that consisted mostly of defending Israels methods of war in Gaza, which Musk vaguely promised to help rebuild. Nor did either man mention other Musk posts from earlier this year, like when he likened Hungarian-born Jewish billionaire philanthropist George Soros to supervillain Magneto and said that Soros hated humanity, or when Musk blamed the Anti-Defamation League, which was founded to fight against the defamation of Jews, for advertisers leaving his social media platform. Advertisement It is tempting to look at these comments and compare them, for example, to head of the ADL Jonathan Greenblatts recent decision to praise Musk for his leadership in fighting hate after Musk said that using the terms decolonization and from the river to the sea would be considered violations of his platforms terms of service. But there is another context in which to consider Musks visit to Israel: The Israeli prime minister, head of the worlds Jewish state, has a long history of laundering far-right figures so long as they support him and waving away their antisemitic comments. Advertisement Advertisement Perhaps most famously, there is Netanyahus long-standing political alliance with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. For years now, Orban has pushed anti-Soros smears. (Recently, the prime minister has moved on to attacking Alex Soros, the billionaires son, who has taken over the elder Soros Open Society Foundations.) In 2018, after promoting the idea that Soros was flooding the country with migrants, Orban passed Stop Soros legislation, which made it illegal for individuals or groups to try to help undocumented immigrants seeking asylum. Mere months prior, he was quoted as saying, at a reelection rally, We are fighting an enemy that is different from us. Not open, but hiding; not straightforward but crafty; not honest but base; not national but international; does not believe in working but speculates with money; does not have its own homeland but feels it owns the whole world. Later that same year, Orban took a trip to Israel, where he visited Yad Vashem and was praised by Netanyahu for Budapests opposition to antisemitism. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Related From Slate Why Elon Musk Cant Stop Himself From Posting Antisemitic Tweets Read More Netanyahu also offered former U.S. President Donald Trump protection from charges of antisemitism. This was true not only during his presidency, when Trump moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem but also failed to denounce those chanting Jews will not replace us, in 2017, in Charlottesville, Virginia, but also after he left office. In 2022 the former president posted a social media screed against ungrateful American Jews, whom he instructed to get their act togetherbefore it is too late. (Trump has repeatedly expressed the idea that more American Jews should have been supportive of him, given his support for Israel.) Asked in an interview about allegations that Trumpwho, in addition to regularly calling liberal American Jews disloyal, has a long history of using in his political rhetoric what are widely regarded as antisemitic tropesis antisemitic, Netanyahu offered, He has a Jewish son-in-law and his daughter converted to Judaism and his grandchildren were raised as Jews: I dont think so. Advertisement Advertisement Other members of Netanyahus government have shared his practice of laundering their allies antisemitic views. For example, Amichai Chikli, Israels minister of diaspora affairs, took it upon himself in May to defend Musk from charges of antisemitism after he attacked Soros. Eli Cohen, Israels foreign affairs minister, pushed to change his countrys policy toward, and establish ties with, Romanias far-right party, despite that partys history of Holocaust denial. There is various speculation as to why Netanyahu and company have taken this stance toward far-right figures across the world. Netanyahu once boasted about close ties to strongmen like Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in order to suggest that he was in a different political league from his domestic opponents. But there is perhaps more to it than a shared admiration for strength: In an interview last year, Jelena Subotic, a political science professor at Georgia State University, said that right-wing figures in Israel and around the world bond over anti-Muslim sentiment and the idea that nationalism is good while multiculturalism is bad. (Or, as Slates Ben Mathis-Lilley put it in October, Netanyahu, Orban, Trump, and other right-wing leaders have found solidarity in ethnic purity, cultural conservatism, and the rollback of democratic institutions.) There is also the reality that Netanyahu is the right-wing leader of Israelnot the leader of Jews, liberal-leaning or otherwise, around the world. That helps Netanyahu take and use those who support ethnonationalism but do not mind Jewsso long as they are in the Jewish state. Advertisement Musks visit signified continuity, not change. Netanyahu may speak about fighting antisemitism, but he has repeatedly embraced people who use rhetoric widely considered to be antisemitic so long as they serve his political purposes. He must know that those who meet him use these meetings to slap down accusations of antisemitism. Look at my relationship to Netanyahu and Israel, Musk might say, like Trump and many Hungarian officials before him. And we will. Well look at his relationship to Netanyahu, and well look at his antisemitic posts, and well see that the one does not preclude the other. It never has and never will. It seems that skipping all of the GOP primary debateswhile simultaneously, you know, facing 91 felony countshasnt hurt Trump at all in the polls. Why is his popularity so enduring? He has one advantage the other candidates cant touch, Ben Jacobs writes: Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley have partisans. Donald Trump has fans. Reporting from a Trump rally in Fort Dodge, Iowa, Jacobs reflects on how the former president has managed to merge fan culture with American politics. Plus, in case you missed it: Shirin Ali wrote about how Trumps attacks on Jack Smith play into his act. Dahlia Lithwick took a close look at Trumps vermin speech and its implications. And Ben Mathis-Lilley homed in on two key things we know about Trump, less than a year out from the presidential election. An abortion care obstacle Even in states where voters have chosen to protect abortion, crisis pregnancy centers are still thwarting abortion-seekers attempts to get care. Susannah Baruch and Carmel Shachar make the case for how to overcome the biggest obstacle to abortion care in blue states. The dangers of pregnancy at 45 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a doctor herself, Grace Glassman thought she knew the risks of giving birth at 45. But she wasnt prepared for how bad it would get. In a powerful personal essay, she describes her own experience nearly dying in childbirth, and what the experience cost her. Hes baaack After being briefly deposed, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is back, now with more powerand fewer constraintsthan ever. Alex Kirshner takes a look at what that might mean. The perfect pants Good news: There exists a pair of comfortable pants that actually look professional! Hillary Frey has all the detailsand a perfect nickname to boot. Sounds fake Did Napoleon really fire cannons at the pyramids? Ellin Stein sorts out whats true and whats legend in Ridley Scotts epic about the French general. Today, Slate LIGHTS A GIANT CANDLE WITHOUT GIVING IT ANOTHER THOUGHT But if you, like Sophie Vershbow, are too nervous about burning your house down to be that kind of person, she has a great solution for you. Thanks so much for reading! Well see you tomorrow. The Iowa caucus that opens Republican presidential primary season is less than two months off, and, as he has been for some time, Donald Trump is the heavy favorite to win both the caucus and the whole shebang. (He leads Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley by roughly 30 points each.) Besides Haley and DeSantis very slowly switching between second and third places, there is little action in this race, although it does feature all the usual amount of activity. (DeSantis is almost done visiting each of Iowas 99 counties, after which he will presumably be expected to hand in a report to his social studies teacher.) And yet political news sections, or verticals, as theyre called on the World Wide Web, still need to be filled with stuff; the Iowa caucus and the elections that follow it are also still important, because they help decide who is going to be president of the country. This is how we have arrived at the current crop of Iowa check-ins from national publications, which seek to make up, in dramatic metaphors and linguistic contortions, for what the largely static race lacks in drama. In its piece about the Countdown to Iowa, for instance, the New York Times writes that Donald J. Trumps top rivals are running out of time to catch him as DeSantis and Haley thrash each other in the final sprint to the starting line. Its the final sprint, the runners are thrashing each other, and theres a clock counting downit sounds a little like a sequence in a movie from the 1970s meant to convey the experience of using drugs, especially when you consider the absolutely mind-blowing concept of a race that ends at a starting line. Trump, the piece says, is aiming for a win that could constitute a knockout punch. And according to a Republican operative who is quoted, all the candidatesincluding Trump, Haley, and DeSantis but also Vivek Ramaswamy and Chris Christieare pushing the chips into the middle of the table. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At CNN, meanwhile, the caucus race is careening (vehicle metaphor) toward its final act (theater metaphor). The non-Trump contestants are running each other off the road (cars again) while Trump remains comfortable on his perch above them (birds) despite Haleys argument that the ex-president is past his sell-by date (Food and Drug Administration). The Washington Post says that Haley has hurdles ahead despite her success in the pack of candidates jockeying for position beneath Trump (somehow, our first actual horse-race reference). It also says the winning candidate will be picked in a beauty contest, although to be fair thats in an article about how the White House chooses a Christmas tree. Related From Slate The GOPs Alternate Universe Front-Runner Read More As for how the candidates beneath Bird Trump are faring in the moment, DeSantis earned an endorsement last week from evangelical Iowa caucus kingmaker Bob Vander Plaats, while the confusingly named and Koch-funded super PAC Americans for Prosperity Action (whats prosperity action?) announced that it will be backing Haley. (In this context, backing means sending out mailers, buying TV ads, and deploying door-knocker personnel to speak with voters in person.) The group, which announced its intention to support someone besides Trump in February, issued a memo outlining why it thinks Haley has the best chance of beating Trump; it basically boils down to she is more likable than Ron DeSantis, who is a gremlin. (Thats Slates paraphrase, not AFP Actions own wording.) Of course, as every piece about Haley must acknowledge, her path to the presidency is a narrow one, because she is currently losing to Trump by 27 points in her best state. And if theres one thing we can say for sure about being a runner who is also a car that is playing poker, its that a narrow path is a hard one to ride your horse down. Ensuring the safety of your workplace is not just a legal obligation, but also a cornerstone of your businesss success and employee well-being. Recognizing this, the team at Small Business Trends, in collaboration with the innovative capabilities of ChatGPT, has crafted a specialized prompt that transforms the way you approach workplace safety. The ChatGPT Prompt A Safety Expert in Your Pocket Imagine having a safety expert on call, 24/7, ready to tailor a safety checklist specific to your businesss unique needs. Thats exactly what this ChatGPT prompt offers. Whether you run a quaint cafe in Oregon or a bustling retail store in New York, this prompt adapts to your specific scenario. Drive Traffic to Your Website Sell Your Business Discover the Zoho Ecosystem Advertise Your Business Here Why a Customized Safety Checklist Matters Standard safety checklists are useful, but they often overlook the nuances of individual businesses. The ChatGPT prompt considers factors unique to your setting be it a staircase that requires extra attention, the challenges posed by a location in a bustling urban area, or specific industry hazards. Step-by-Step Safety, Simplified Upon activating the prompt, youll receive a step-by-step safety checklist. This isnt a generic list; its a comprehensive guide that considers everything from OSHA requirements to those unique elements your business presents. Small Business Deals Beyond the Checklist: Essential Safety Gear But thats not all. Alongside the checklist, youll also receive a list of essential items to purchase or have on hand. This ensures that youre not just aware of what needs to be done but are also equipped to do it. The Added Convenience: A Downloadable PDF Convenience is key. Thats why the output of this prompt includes a downloadable PDF. You can easily share this with your team, refer to it during safety drills, or use it as a reference for future safety audits. Take the First Step Towards a Safer Workplace Whether youre setting up a new business or looking to revamp your existing safety protocols, this ChatGPT prompt is an invaluable tool. By leveraging the power of AI, youre not just ensuring compliance with safety standards; youre fostering a culture of safety and care within your workplace. Just copy-paste this prompt into ChatGPT and provide it with the answers it needs when asked: Vice President Kamala Harris greets Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo at an event in U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcias district on Monday, Nov. 27, 2023, in Houston. Brett Coomer/Staff photographer Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo told Houstonians on Monday that they'd be hard pressed to find an administration that has done more for the Hispanic community than President Joe Bidens and Vice President Kamala Harris.' Federal dollars from the Biden-Harris administration have been used to help the Hispanic community with issues such as wraparound services for people with diabetes and high blood pressure, as well as mental health, Hidalgo told a crowd at the Hardy Senior Center ahead of a conversation with Harris hosted by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. She brought up her recent stay at a mental health facility as she treated depression. Advertisement Article continues below this ad I never thought that I would end up in that situation, she said. It was a big step for me to get a therapist. When referred to a psychologist, Hidalgo said, she was even reluctant to take medication. It's just something we don't talk about in our culture, Hidalgo said. But that doesn't mean it's not happening. It's just like the high blood pressure. It's just like the diabetes. You cannot exercise your way out of it. You cannot pray your way out of it. You cannot rest your way out of it. You cannot will your way out of it. She encouraged broader conversations about mental health. Advertisement Article continues below this ad If it's not you, it's your mom, Hidalgo said. It's your sibling. It's your significant other. So let's talk about it. Mondays discussion came days after Biden officially filed to be on Texans ballots in 2024. Among topics discussed were gun violence and abortion. The visit was part of a broader nationwide initiative by White House officials and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to highlight accomplishments among Hispanic voters. Hidalgo told the crowd it was a big deal Harris was there she doesnt show up to these often. Advertisement Article continues below this ad She knows we named the county after her, Hidalgo joked, before adding that the vice president contacted her during her stay at the Ohio mental health facility. Later on during the discussion, Harris applauded Hidalgos strength in seeking treatment. The Hardy Senior Center is in U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia's district, which is 75% Hispanic. Hidalgo and Garcia sit on Bidens national reelection advisory committee. Among the other public officials at the event were County Attorney Christian Menefee, state Rep. Armando Walle of Houston and Mayor Sylvester Turner. Turner, who endorsed Bidens 2020 Democratic primary opponent Mike Bloomberg in the 2020 election, gave the events opening remarks. Advertisement Article continues below this ad TURNER ENDORSEMENT: Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner endorses Mike Bloomberg for president He thanked the Biden-Harris administration for the $607.8 million the city received through the American Rescue Plan, which he said helped Houston avoid massive budget shortfalls. Turner also said the federal dollars helped fund public safety initiatives that helped lower violent and nonviolent crime and provided mental health services. In our vice president, we have a fighter, Turner said. We have an advocate and a good friend, and we are honored to have her to the best city in the entire United States H-Town. Advertisement Article continues below this ad U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a candidate for Houston mayor, told the crowd that Houston is on the rise, with a growing Latino community that reflects the nations growth and serves as an economic engine to Houston businesses. The congresswoman also said she was excited about the communitys rally around education and keeping the school districts together. That is why the vice president as she deplaned said that the nation is watching Texas, Jackson Lee said. As Texas goes, so goes the nation. Jackson Lee said as they talked about the Biden-Harris administrations outreach to the Latino community, the crowd could be assured they would be victorious in 2024. I believe that we are together, she said. And you know I will say mi casa es su casa. That is why we're here today. The Honorable Judge Dalton Wood Jr., 88, passed away peacefully at his home on November 25, 2023, surrounded by his loving family. He lived most of his life in Lexington Park, MD. Having moved to Maryland in 1978 with his wife, three sons and daughter from Virginia Beach, VA. Dalton was born in St. Petersburg, FL on September 9,1935 to Dalton Wood Sr. and Valerie West Wood. Being part of a Coast Guard family, they moved frequently. Dalton started school in Savannah, GA, moved up the east coast to North Carolina and then to Princess Anne County, VA, where he attended Kempsville elementary and high schools. In 1953 during his junior year he joined the Coast Guard Reserve and attended boot camp that summer. He graduated from high school with honors in 1954. After high school Dalton attended the College of William and Mary for two years studying electrical engineering. On July 29, 1956, Dalton married Sally Mae Baines, a beautiful red headed country girl. Together they had four children, six grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. He then received an appointment to the Norfolk Naval Air Station apprentice program. After graduating with honors as a certified aircraft electrician he worked on various land and carrier based military aircraft, both in the states and overseas. After moving to Maryland to help establish the Naval Air Logistics Center he supported Naval Air Stations around the country as an Industrial Specialist. In 1995, he retired from both Civil Service after 39 years and from the Coast Guard Reserves as a Chief Warrant Officer after 42 years. Mentoring, encouraging and helping to guide young Coasties in their careers was something that Dalton was very proud of and enjoyed tremendously. He was a very civil-minded individual who served as an election judge and served on the Alcohol Beverage Board of St. Mary's County for a total of eight years, including six as vice-chairman and another year as the President of the Maryland State Alcohol Beverage Board. In 1998, Dalton once again felt the desire to serve and entered politics by running for a seat on the St. Mary's County Board of Commissioners. Although unsuccessful, he met many wonderful people and made many friends that he remained close with over the years. In 2002, he again ran for elected office and was elected as a Judge of the Orphans Court for St. Mary's County. This was the first time that a republican had been elected to that position since 1777. His responsibilities as a Judge was something he took very seriously and he was reelected three more times, serving a total of 16 years as a judge. Serving his final four years as Chief Judge, Dalton finally retired for good in 2018 at the age of 83. In 2017, he was honored by the St. Mary's County Republican Party with their Lifetime Achievement award. He never had a job he didn't love, because to him if you love what you do then it's not really a job. He was a man of amazing energy, intelligence and passion who loved to work with and around people. He always worked two jobs, while also serving in the Coast Guard Reserves. Dalton was a member of the Thomas J. Shryock #223 Masonic Lodge in Hollywood, MD, the Southern Maryland chapter of The Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, and the American Legion Post #221 in Avenue, MD. He spent over 25 years in local and state leadership, including one year as Associate Grand Guardian with the International Order of Jobs Daughters. Dalton also served as 1st and 2nd Vice President of the National Association of Active and Retired Federal Employees. He will be deeply missed by his Sally, who lovingly remembers him for his steadfast support, quirky sense of humor and the wild range of adventures during their 67 years of marriage. Along with his wife Sally, he is survived by: sons; Kirk, Brett (wife Carolyn), Todd (partner Debbie); daughter Lisa (husband Stacey); grandchildren; Todd Jr, Jamison, Madison, Victoria, Dylan and Elizabeth; great-grandchildren; Bianca, Hailey, Shelby, Dalton and Camden; as well as many nieces, nephews and cousins. All of whom will miss hearing his favorite saying "It is what it is"! Memorial contributions may be made to Patuxent Presbyterian Church, the Wounded Warrior Program, Shriners Children's Hospital and/or Hospice of St. Mary's. Funeral Services will be private. Internment will take place at Princess Anne Memorial Park in Virginia Beach, VA. Plans for a celebration of life will be announced at a later date. The Coffee Brewery is a premier co-working coffee brand offering versatile spaces, exceptional brews, & a vibrant atmosphere for professionals & freelancers spaces, offering a range of flexible and comfortable work environments equipped with high-speed Wi-Fi, ensuring a seamless working experience for professionals, free lancers, and coffee enthusiasts alike. The focus on sourcing premium coffee beans and employing skilled baristas has created a distinct identity for the brand in the market. Additionally, the strategic placement of outlets in prime locations across Bangalore has contributed to the brand's accessibility and popularity. Sumit Singla's strategic vision is evident in the expansion beyond coffee, with a diverse menu featuring healthy snacks, meals, and beverages. Incorporating ecofriendly practices, zero plastic use, and organic packaging further align the company with contemporary consumer values. The Coffee Brewery's growth journey is not just numerical but is also marked by a loyal customer base, reflected in a high rating of 4.7 out of 5. The brand's agility in adapting to challenges, commitment to quality and focus on customer satisfaction positions it as a dynamic and customer-centric force in the co-working coffee industry, says Sumit.The Coffee Brewery is a dynamic co-working coffee shop offering diverse products and services that redefine the coffee shop experience. At the heart of its offerings is a meticulously curated selection of exceptional coffee crafted by skilled baristas using premium beans, encompassing everything from espressos and cappuccinos to unique cold coffee blends. The establishment also provides flexible co-working spaces equipped with long meeting tables, comfortable seating, and individual sockets, fostering a productive professional environment. The menu extends beyond coffee to feature a variety of healthy and freshly prepared snacks, meals, desserts, and a vast range of refreshing beverages such as mojitos, iced teas, and Frappuccinos. The Coffee Brewery stands as a unique blend of co-working efficiency and a delightful coffee experience, adds Sumit.The Coffee Brewery distinguishes itself through a convergence of factors that redefine the co-working coffee experience. Unparalleled in its luxury and affordability, the company democratizes premium spaces, making them accessible to a wide demographic. The innovative concept of a 'sit and work all day with a single order' simplifies the experience for professionals and freelancers. Emphasizing inclusivity, adding board games and a mini library creates a diverse ambience appealing to all age groups. The Coffee Brewery is more than a coffee destination; it's a co-working haven. Its flagship services encompass high-speed Wi-Fi and exceptional coffee and extend to a holistic co-working environment, fostering collaboration and networking. Incorporating the FOCO (Franchise Owned Company Operated) and FIFO (Franchisee In, Franchisee Out) models, coupled with minimal royalty, highlights the brand's commitment to sharing its success with aspiring entrepreneurs. Moreover, the company has skillfully integrated technology, leveraging a robust online presence, thereby enhancing customer engagement. The Coffee Brewery is honored to be recognized as the 'Most Promising Franchise of the Year 2023.The Coffee Brewerys future roadmap involves expanding the franchise network throughout Bangalore and into new cities, with a keen focus on eco-friendly packaging and delivering top-quality food and beverages. The company is actively working on enhancing its digital presence and exploring new additions to the portfolio, including packed fresh coffee beans, cookies, dry fruits, and sustainable merchandise. These offerings will be made available not only at all outlets but also in supermarkets and various digital retail platforms. MFA Juraj Blanar talked to Hlavne Spravy on November 27. MFA Juraj Blanar interviewed by the disinformation and pro-Russian website Hlavne Spravy on November 27, 2023. (Source: Hlavne Spravy) Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Share Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar of the ruling Smer party agreed to an interview with the pro-Russian and disinformation website Hlavne Spravy (Main News), which the outlet ran on Tuesday. The video interview, in which Blanar repeats Slovakias position on the war in Ukraine and stresses the importance of cooperation within the V4 region, lasts more than 20 minutes. The interview was carried out by the notorious Czech-speaking anti-vaxxer Zdenek Kedroutek. The previous government blocked the website, a popular source of information for a certain group of news readers, for a few months last year over the alleged links to Russia. The temporary ban came a week after Russia invaded Ukraine. Pro-Russian contributors Several people who have written and published their stories on the website have links to the Kremlin. Russian spy Bohus Garbar, who contributed to Hlavne Spravy, was convicted of espionage and corruption in Slovakia earlier this year. Russian Yevgenij Palcev writes for the website under the name of Eugen Rusnak and spreads Kremlin propaganda. He is said to have contacts with the Russian media group Russia Today, which is financed by the Kremlin. In recent years, the pro-Russian website Armadnymagazin.sk has also been incorporated into Hlavne Spravy. Avoiding the media critical of administration Paradoxically, the Slovak Foreign Ministry is one of the ministries that has been fighting Russian disinformation in recent years. But the new foreign ministers appearance on Hlavne Spravy comes several days after it surfaced that the current government plans to eliminate the work of the teams dealing with the agenda. Conversely, PM Robert Fico (Smer) and ministers for Smer decided to boycott four leading media outlets in Slovakia. The administration, which has halted military support of Ukraine, sees these outlets as liars. The pro-Russian website Hlavne Spravy was unblocked after a few months as the early decision to block it was not made by the court, and the National Security Authority (NBU) failed to inform the website about the reasons why it decided to block it. The populist party Sme Rodina, one of the ruling parties in the previous OLaNO-led governments, paid the website for advertisement. In December of last year, the European Union passed a law banning the import of commodities linked to deforestation. These include chocolate, leather, beef, furniture, rubber, charcoal, palm oil derivatives, and coffee. Aiming to mitigate the amount of forestland being destroyed for the sake of commodities, the law has since come under fire, both from large corporations like Lavazzawho first voluntarily accepted the ban before raising concerns about its implementationand industry watchdog groups, who fear it may negatively impact small-scale farmers the most. But now, a new wrinkle in the laws implementation may have a big impact on the coffee trade. Green coffees stored at the Intercontinental Exchanges European warehouses may have to be destroyed. As reported by the Financial Times, the law went into effect in June of this year, but allowed for a transition period through December 2024. During that period, coffee can be traded without meeting the new transparency requirements, but in 2025, they must adhere to the full force of the law. The issue for coffee and cocoa is that they are particularly impacted because they are not immediately cleared through customs on arrival in the EU and can spend more than 18 months in bonded warehouses. This means that coffee produced during the transition period may nonetheless not be available for sale until after that timeframe has transpired. And in that case, those coffees stored in European warehouses, which must act under the law, will need to be moved or simply dumped. There are an estimated 150,000 metric tons (330 million pounds) of green coffee being held in ICE-licensed warehouses across Europe. Per the article, there are discussions with member states to find a solution for stored crops imported during the transition period. Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge. https://sputnikglobe.com/20231128/border-security-funds-should-not-be-tied-with-money-for-losing-ukraine--rep--1115249842.html US Border Security Funds Should Not Be Tied With Money for 'Losing Ukraine' Rep US Border Security Funds Should Not Be Tied With Money for 'Losing Ukraine' Rep Settling the raging US border crisis should not be tied to channeling further funding for the losing war in Ukraine, Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). emphasized on X social media platform. 2023-11-28T12:01+0000 2023-11-28T12:01+0000 2023-11-28T12:12+0000 world us joe biden ukraine republicans proxy war us arms for ukraine marjorie taylor greene us-mexico border /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/0b/1c/1115249048_0:160:3072:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_c8c0e9cce78f6340687b4daf1466ee7d.jpg Settling the raging US border crisis should not be tied to channeling further funding for "losing Ukraine, Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) emphasized on social media.Slamming the southern border as the worst national security crisis in US history, the Republican firebrand pointed out that Ukraine is NOT the 51st state, and Americans do not support continuous funding for the Kiev regime.As for the US-Mexico border, struggling with a huge influx of migrants under the Biden administration, the congresswoman pointed to the H.R. 2 Secure the Border Act, already passed by the GOP-controlled House. Referencing it as the strongest border bill in history, the polictician deplored the fact that the Senate wont pass it, and the WH wont sign it or enact it.The Republican, known sometimes simply by her initials MTG, concluded the post by reiterating that any pairing of US border security with additional billions for Ukraine was a slap in the face to the American people.Marjorie Taylor Greene has consistently argued that instead of bankrolling Ukraine, American taxpayer money would be better spent on solving some of the problems that have plagued the country with Joe Biden at the helm. One of these has been the US border crisis. More than 10 million people may have illegally entered the United States since President Joe Biden took the reins in January 2021, Center Square, a US conservative website, revealed in October. Republicans have pummeled President Joe Biden's border policy since the beginning of his tenure, when he wasted no time issuing immigration-related executive orders. The Democrat effectively gutted many of his predecessor Donald Trump's strict migration policies, including halting construction of the Republican's signature border wall project, although he has since done a U-turn on that. The result was that the country's border has been flooded with illegal migrants, leaving border services swamped, border towns overrun, and budget coffers strained.The burning border issue adds to the plummeting approval numbers of President Joe Biden, who has his eyes set on a reelection effort in 2024. Biden's approval rating has sunk to its lowest level, reaching 40%, a US media poll showed in November. In addition, for the first time in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup between Biden and former POTUS Trump in a NBC News poll, the latter was ahead of Biden and received the support of 46% of respondents, while 44% supported the incumbent president.As for funding Ukraine, every time the Biden administration signed off on yet another package of military assistance worth billions, Marjorie Taylor Greene argued that Washington was dragging the US into an unwanted war with Russia. One of a growing chorus of Republicans opposed to how the Biden administration has been bankrolling the regime in Kiev, MTG has repeatedly told constituents that Ukraine is not even a NATO member nation. The Republican politician also point out that the Americans were being blatantly lied to.Indeed, the Ukraine counteroffensive has failed, turning into a meat grinder, and leaving President Volodymyr Zelensky with a growing human toll and destroyed NATO weaponry increasingly littering the battlefront. Furthermore, "Ukraine fatigue" creeping across both the US and Europe is throwing into question further Western funding for the proxy war against Russia.A US government shutdown was narrowly averted when Biden signed another stopgap spending bill into law shortly before the funding deadline expired on November 17. The legislation funds separate portions of the government through January 19 and February 2 in a so-called "laddered" approach. However, it does not include Bidens funding requests for Ukraine and Israel. It should be noted that House Speaker Mike Johnson has consistently maintained that funding for Israel, which is fighting Hamas in the latest Middle East conflagration, and for Ukraine should be kept separate.While Washington persists in fanning the flames of the Ukraine conflict, Russia is building its policy in accordance with the realities, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230901/marjorie-taylor-greene-biden-dragged-us-into-proxy-war-with-russia-that-moscow-is-winning-1113041167.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20231128/kremlin-on-natos-remark-on-escalation-with-russia-moscows-policy-guided-by-realities-1115249691.html ukraine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Svetlana Ekimenko Svetlana Ekimenko News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Svetlana Ekimenko congresswoman marjorie taylor greene, raging us border crisis, biden's border crisis, us southern border crisis, migrant influx at us-mexico border, losing war in ukraine, ukraine's botched counteroffensive https://sputnikglobe.com/20231128/chinas-new-loonsong-processor-blows-intel-out-of-water-secures-beijings-tech-sovereignty-1115258631.html Chinas New Loonsong Processor Blows Intel Out of Water, Secures Beijings Tech Sovereignty Chinas New Loonsong Processor Blows Intel Out of Water, Secures Beijings Tech Sovereignty Beijing has made a huge step towards securing its tech sovereignty, launching a new generation of homegrown computer CPU, Loongson 3A6000, China Central Television (CCTV) reported. 2023-11-28T18:45+0000 2023-11-28T18:45+0000 2023-11-28T18:45+0000 world china chip joe biden cctv chinese academy of sciences (cas) amd intel huawei semiconductors /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/107918/74/1079187450_0:105:3059:1826_1920x0_80_0_0_4f5c8bb3cbc58f5f2a0b4739a510319f.jpg Beijing has made a huge stride towards securing its tech sovereignty, launching a new generation of homegrown computer CPUs, China Central Television (CCTV) reported.Undaunted by Washingtons relentless efforts to hinder the Asian giant's technological rise, China's flagship computer central processing unit designer, Loongson Technology Corp, unveiled the Loongson 3A6000 desktop-grade CPU on Tuesday.According to a Loongson announcement previously made on the Chinese site QQ.com, the Loongson 3A6000 uses proprietary instruction set architecture (ISA), Loongson Architecture (LoongArch), that has nothing to do with architectures designed outside China. The self-developed CPU can be used in multiple applications, across different platforms, for complex tasks, as per Loongson, cited by local media reports. Furthermore, the company also unveiled a printer main control chip, the Loongson 2P0500. The trailblazer chip is described as being the first based on an independent command system.According to Loongson, which was added to a US trade blacklist this year, the performance of the quad-core 3A6000 processor, which integrates four compute cores boasting 2.5 GHz CPU clock speed, is on par with Intels desktop models. Performance tests of Loongson 3A6000 carried out by the China Electronics Technology Standardization Institute reportedly suggested that the processor rivals Intels 10th generation quad-core processors launched in 2020.Founded by chief architect Hu Weiwu, Loongson Technology Corp originated as a research team under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It has been on a mission to achieve independent CPU design, and slash China's reliance on American semiconductor producers like Intel and AMD.LoongArch, which the company has been working on for over 20 years, was originally based on the MIPS32 / MIPS64, as well as RISC-V ISAs. MIPS (Microprocessor without Interlocked Pipelined Stages), is developed by MIPS Computer Systems (currently MIPS Technologies), based in the United States. In late 2020, Loongson is said to have launched its home-grown 3A5000 CPU, based on process node of 14 nm. However, the US government prohibiedt Chinese semiconductor manufacturers from acquiring instruments and technologies required to produce chips with dimensions of 14 nm/16 nm or less, among other restrictions. As the US-China tech rivalry heated up, the Chinese government pledged more resources to support the development of crucial technologies.Semiconductor Trade WarAs competition with China became the primary strategic focus of US foreign policy, the tit-for-tat between Washington and Beijing over microchip manufacturing techniques escalated on October 7, 2022. That is when the Biden administration rolled out extensive restrictions on Beijings chip manufacturing industry. The measures required licenses for those companies that export chips to China using US tools or software, irrespective of where they are made in the world. The restrictions were preceded by President Joe Biden signing into law a bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, which includes more than $52 billion for US companies producing semiconductors, as well as billions more in tax credits to encourage investment in the industry. Prior to that, under the Trump administration, the US and its Western allies targeted the People's Republic's telecom giants, such as Huawei, citing "security" concerns.Forced to import technology for its massive tech manufacturing industries, the Chinese government has embarked on a massive effort in recent years to master advanced chipmaking. Furthermore, in response to US restrictions, the East Asian country has moved to restrict exports of some of the key minerals used to manufacture those chips. New export controls on gallium and germanium came into force on August 1, restricting the sale abroad of eight products containing gallium and six containing germanium - two metals used to make semiconductors.However, despite industry warnings that Biden's semiconductor spat with China could backfire and threatened to sink the administrations ambitious domestic microchip manufacturing goals, Washington was undeterred. Earlier this year, the White House warned the People's Republic of China about its intent to further tighten export rules for chipmaking tools and AI chips.China, the largest global semiconductors market, has repeatedly warned that by imposing restrictions on normal trade, the United States will end up harming itself as well as other market players."The US measures to restrict chip exports to China violate market rules and lead to fragmentation in the global semiconductors market, which not only harms lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies, but also significantly affects the interests of semiconductors manufacturers throughout the world, including in the US," China's Commerce Ministry spokesman He Yadong said in September. https://sputnikglobe.com/20231122/us-china-chip-rivalry-finds-new-flashpoint-1115134803.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20231006/us-chipmakers-warn-bidens-semiconductor-spat-with-china-could-backfire-1113973804.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20231009/us-bound-to-lose-big-if-it-chips-away-at-chinas-tech-sector-1114040146.html china Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Svetlana Ekimenko Svetlana Ekimenko News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Svetlana Ekimenko china's new generation of homegrown computer cpu, loongson 3a6000, us-china tech race, semiconductor; investment fund; china; chips act, us-china trade war https://sputnikglobe.com/20231128/chinese-military-calls-on-tokyo-to-stop-illegal-activities-near-disputed-islands-1115255411.html Chinese Military Calls on Tokyo to Stop 'Illegal' Activities Near Disputed Islands Chinese Military Calls on Tokyo to Stop 'Illegal' Activities Near Disputed Islands BEIJING (Sputnik) - China calls on Japan to immediately stop illegal activities in the waters of the disputed Diaoyu Islands in the South China Sea, also known... 28.11.2023, Sputnik International 2023-11-28T12:40+0000 2023-11-28T12:40+0000 2023-11-28T12:40+0000 military japan china south china sea dispute south china sea senkaku islands /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e4/0a/17/1080860466_0:154:3000:1842_1920x0_80_0_0_2204df8eee319f39a6d54b09d9fcfae9.jpg The command said several Japanese vessels entered the waters of China's Diaoyu Islands earlier in the day, while Chinese coast guard vessels took the necessary control measures in accordance with the law and warned the Japanese ships to leave the said waters. "We call on Japan to immediately stop all illegal activities in the said waters and ensure that such incidents never occur again," it added. China and Japan continue to have a territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands. After World War II, the islands were controlled by the United States and then handed over to Japan in 1972. Beijing disagrees with the decision, recalling that the islands were marked as Chinese territory on Japanese maps from 1783 and 1785. The conflict escalated in 2012 after the Japanese authorities bought out five islands from a private Japanese owner. https://sputnikglobe.com/20231113/beijing-to-hold-military-drills-in-south-china-sea-on-november-14-18---officials-1114920780.html japan china south china sea senkaku islands Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International japan, china, south china sea dispute, south china sea, senkaku islands https://sputnikglobe.com/20231128/flip-flop-after-mostly-uncritical-support-biden-allegedly-wants-israeli-restraint-1115270414.html Flip-Flop: After Mostly Uncritical Support, Biden Allegedly Wants Israeli Restraint Flip-Flop: After Mostly Uncritical Support, Biden Allegedly Wants Israeli Restraint Amidst dismal polling and fierce criticism from the Democratic Partys base, US officials say theyre warning Israel against further deepening the humanitarian crisis the country has created in the besieged Gaza Strip. 2023-11-28T22:09+0000 2023-11-28T22:09+0000 2023-11-28T22:07+0000 world us joe biden benjamin netanyahu palestinians gaza strip israel hamas democratic party white house /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/0b/1c/1115245025_0:160:3074:1889_1920x0_80_0_0_a54a9e1bac4e2f2b4baaa6e085cfa95b.jpg Senior Biden administration officials have urged Israel to exercise restraint in their expected upcoming military incursion into southern Gaza, according to a report by the New York Times.The reporting, released Tuesday, suggests the White House wants to prevent a deepening of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which international bodies like the UN have consistently labeled an unfolding catastrophe. Anonymous Biden officials claimed the US would be ramping up humanitarian aid during the cease-fire that took effect last week, according to the report.The officials also expressed optimism that humanitarian assistance could continue even after Israel resumes fighting. Israel was receptive to American demands to maintain access to water and power in southern Gaza and allow for hospitals and UN shelters to operate, according to the report.Our team has prioritized getting much-needed relief into Gaza to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian civilians there, said White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby recently. Kirby claimed Washington would take advantage of every hour of every day that theres a pause to try to help the people of Gaza.But President Joe Biden has been mostly supportive of Israels military action in recent weeks after a lifelong political career of strong support for the US ally. In the days after Hamas October 7 operation in Israel, Biden repeated alleged atrocity propaganda that Palestinian fighters had beheaded Israeli babies during the attack.Sometime later, Biden publicly questioned reports of mass civilian casualties emanating from authorities in Gaza, which have proven to be accurate and verifiable in the past. The move forced him to apologize after a recent meeting where Muslim-American leaders slammed the US presidents apparent ambivalence over Palestinian suffering in Israel-occupied territories.Bidens about-face comes as the Democratic Party has shown signs of fracturing in recent weeks over the issue of Israel. The reporting in the Times, which is often viewed as strongly supportive of Western military efforts, demonstrates the presidents attempts to assuage his political base while still ultimately supporting Israels purported effort to destroy Hamas.Netanyahu has adopted genocidal language regarding Palestinians in recent weeks, equating the fellow semitic peoples with the Biblical Amalekites. The Israelites were instructed to wipe out the enemy people according to Jewish legend, killing men and women, children and infants.The language has been adopted by other prominent Israeli politicians as well; recently Minister of the Knesset Michal Woldiger said, "They [the Palestinians] are Amalek and we need to erase them. We just need to wipe them off the face of the earth, because there is not a single gram, not a single speck, of humanity in what they did.""We saw burned babies, burned elderly, burned women, Woldiger added. Recent reporting has shown that the charred corpses recovered after the October 7 Hamas attack were the result of indiscriminate Israeli shelling amidst the countrys chaotic response to the operation.But the reports played a key role in Israeli government attempts to dehumanize Palestinians amidst a military bombardment that has reportedly killed more than 15,000 in Gaza, including 6,000 children and 4,000 women.Recently, Florida Governor and US presidential candidate Ron DeSantis said the United States should refuse entry of Palestinians into the United States, claiming the ethnic group are all antisemitic.The rhetoric demonstrates the social liberal rhetoric that has undergirded Western imperialism in recent decades, after a US invasion of Iraq staged to spread democracy and a 20-year occupation of Afghanistan frequently justified under the banner of improving conditions for women in the country.In recent days, Biden administration officials have claimed Israel should ensure electricity and water remain available to Palestinians in southern Gaza during their upcoming invasion of the area. Officials have also reportedly warned their Middle Eastern ally against impeding humanitarian efforts at hospitals and UN shelters.The Biden White House has remained mum on the question of Internet access for Gazans as Israels deadly military operation continues. In the immediate days after October 7, social media became an important way for Palestinians on the ground to share video and testimony directly from the besieged territory, with personalities such as racial justice advocate Shaun King amplifying Gazans on-the-ground journalism.Israel soon made attempts to ensure Palestinians in the Gaza Strip lost access to the internet. In recent days, US tech magnate Elon Musk has rejected calls to provide telecommunications services in Gaza via his Starlink satellite technology. https://sputnikglobe.com/20231106/leaked-memo-reveals-us-diplomats-concerns-over-biden-administrations-israel-policy-1114772330.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20231127/biden-administration-split-over-gaza-conflict---reports-1115224166.html gaza strip israel Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International palestine-israel conflict, biden stance on gaza conflict, israeli actions in gaza strip, israel-hamas ceasefire https://sputnikglobe.com/20231128/how-taxpayer-money-is-squandered-on-obama-era-power-plant-at-us-baghdad-embassy-1115256454.html How Taxpayer Money is Squandered on Obama-Era Power Plant at US Baghdad Embassy How Taxpayer Money is Squandered on Obama-Era Power Plant at US Baghdad Embassy The construction of a US Embassy power plant in Baghdad has been mired in controversies with deficiencies found at each stage of the project, and the plant continues to need costly repairs at US taxpayers' expense, as per the State Department's Office of Inspector General (OIG). 2023-11-28T13:24+0000 2023-11-28T13:24+0000 2023-11-28T13:23+0000 us americas barack obama baghdad afghanistan oig us special inspector general for afghanistan reconstruction (sigar) us embassy middle east sigar /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/107760/61/1077606182_0:1:1001:564_1920x0_80_0_0_0f5821acad60370fc5239e78395f9ebe.jpg A multimillion power plant project at the US Embassy in Baghdad has come into the crosshairs of the State Department's inspector general, who carried out an audit to determine whether the US government followed specific federal requirements and guidelines "in the planning, design, construction, and commissioning" of the energy facility.The audit results were released in November 2023, shared by US independent media outlet Just the News, indicating errors and procedural violations which eventually led to excessive costs, deficiencies in construction, and costly repairs.The energy facility started operating in 2018; however, since then the plant has experienced serious performance issues, including multiple unplanned power outages and generator failures that have raised security and safety concerns.The problem is that "the Department did not always follow federal and Department requirements and guidelines in the planning, design, and commissioning of the new central power plant at Embassy Baghdad and missed opportunities to correct identified deficiencies at each project phase, even during the construction phase when the deficiencies became apparent," the OIG report stated.For instance, AQM and OBO did not comply with requirements for selecting "the most highly qualified architect-engineer to design the power plant at a fair and reasonable price."Yet another requirement was not to share an independent government cost estimate (IGCE) with a prospective contractor except when it is used in a bargain to obtain a better price. Still, government officials at AQM broke that rule and announced a "guesstimate" price ($1.5 million) for this part of the project prior to any bargaining with the initial contractor, Einhorn Yaffee Prescott (EYP). In response, EYP sent a proposal saying that it would do the work for $1,499,247. After that, the OBO sent an email advising AQM of EYP's selection.When it comes to the whole project's price tag, the OIG found that it cost $76 million more than planned. That included 23 contract modifications, many of which were not approved or related to the original project, and "did not comply with federal and Department requirements for ensuring fair and reasonable prices," according to the watchdog.The commissioning of the power plant was also carried out with massive delays. "OIG found that delaying the commissioning process for the power plant project could have resulted in missed opportunities to adequately plan for commissioning and identify and correct deficiencies earlier in the project," the report read. Still the problems did not end there because "mitigation measures taken since the power plant came online in 2018, while needed, have been and will continue to be costly," the watchdog pointed out.Per Just the News, the State Department did not respond to a request for comment on the findings of the OIG report.This is not the first time US overseas construction efforts have been mired in controversy, with American officials being accused of money waste and alleged corruption. In March 2021, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) found that of the nearly $7.8 billion in US capital assets in Afghanistan, about $2.4 billion had either been unused, abandoned, not used for their intended purposes, deteriorated, or destroyed since 2008. This was just one of a series of issues red-flagged by SIGAR. Back in November 2014, the watchdog raised the alarm over renovating Pol-i-Charkhi prison, which had remained incomplete despite five years of construction and $18.5 million spent."The Department of States (State) Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) paid Al-Watan Construction Company (AWCC) $18.5 million for work performed on a contract valued at $20.2 million, even though AWCC only completed about 50% of the required work," SIGAR's report stated at the time.The OIG report comes amid an eruption of tensions in the Middle East, with US bases in Iraq and Syria being routinely attacked by Shiite militias. Some conservative US lawmakers and scholars are advocating for Washington's complete withdrawal from the countries, as the US presence there has proven to be costly for Americans in many respects. https://sputnikglobe.com/20231029/militants-ignore-bidens-warning-rain-down-fire-on-us-forces-in-iraq-syria-1114572582.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20221118/pentagons-chaotic-inventory-failed-to-accurately-track-us-weapons-given-to-kabul-sigar-says-1104408166.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20231127/four-reasons-us-troops-should-pull-out-of-syria-and-iraq-asap-1115238924.html americas baghdad afghanistan Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Ekaterina Blinova Ekaterina Blinova News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Ekaterina Blinova us embassy in baghdad, us military presence in iraq, iraq war, us invasion of iraq, us money waste, office of inspector general, sigar, afghanistan, us invasion of afghanistan, us withdrawal from syria and iraq, us withdrawal from afghanistan, barack obama https://sputnikglobe.com/20231128/idf-says-pause-in-gaza-strip-violated-some-israeli-soldiers-injured-1115257895.html IDF Says Pause in Gaza Strip Violated, Some Israeli Soldiers Injured IDF Says Pause in Gaza Strip Violated, Some Israeli Soldiers Injured The operation pause in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas was violated on Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said, adding that several soldiers were lightly injured during armed incidents. 2023-11-28T13:46+0000 2023-11-28T13:46+0000 2023-11-28T13:46+0000 world palestine palestine-israel conflict israel-gaza conflict israeli-palestinian conflict israel israel defense forces (idf) gaza strip gaza gaza blockade /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/0b/11/1115013958_0:0:3072:1728_1920x0_80_0_0_46a9614c91baf1296b0435e94235ab0c.jpg "Over the last hour, three explosive devices were detonated adjacent to IDF troops in two different locations in the northern Gaza Strip, violating the framework of the operational pause. In one of the locations, terrorists also opened fire at the troops, who responded with fire. A number of soldiers were lightly injured during the incidents," the IDF wrote on its Telegram channel.Last week, Israel and Palestinian movement Hamas declared a four-day ceasefire to exchange some prisoners and hostages and to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. On November 27, Qatar announced that an agreement had been reached between the sides on a two-day extension of the humanitarian truce.On October 7, Palestinian movement Hamas launched a surprise rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip and breached the border, killing and abducting people. Israel launched retaliatory strikes and ordered a complete blockade of Gaza, cutting off supplies of water, food, and fuel. On October 27, Israel launched a large-scale ground incursion into the Gaza Strip. The conflict has so far resulted in the deaths of an estimated 1,200 people in Israel and over 16,000 in the Gaza Strip. https://sputnikglobe.com/20231128/shooting-heard-in-gaza-strip-despite-extension-of-truce---eyewitnesses-1115246486.html israel gaza strip gaza Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International truce violation, ceasefire violation, humanitarian disaster, humanitarian catastrophe, humanitarian ceasefire, israel-hamas conflict, gaza strip crisis, shelling of gaza, gaza devastation, israel-palestine conflict, palestine-israel conflict, israeli-palestinian conflict, palestinian-israeli, zionist regime, zionists, hamas attack, israeli strikes, israeli forces, hostages, israeli military, hamas fighters, hamas soldiers, hamas military, killings of civilians, civilian infrastructure, civilians dead, civilians die, israel kills civilians, civilian casualties, civilian deaths Days after pleading guilty to federal charges, a U.S. court compels Binance founder Changpeng Zhao to remain in the U.S. until his prison sentencing. A court order released on Monday forbids the former Binance CEO from returning to his home on the United Arab Emirates before his sentencing hearing on Feb. 23. Prosecutors said allowing Zhao "from returning to the safe haven of the UAE" may present risks as the UAE does not have a formal extradition treaty with the U.S. Zhao's lawyers previously filed a petition to a court in Seattle to reverse his bail conditions after the billionaire pleaded guilty for violating U.S. anti-money laundering and sanctions laws. Zhao was released on a bond last week for $175 million. Also Read: Binance CEO Steps Down, to Pay $4.3B Settlement for Federal Charges Charges Against Zhao and Binance Zhao and Binance, the largest cryptocurrency in the market, pleaded guilty to money laundering charges last week. The crypto entrepreneur agreed to pay a $50 million settlement with the Department of Justice and to step down from his position as CEO. Binance itself received a $4.3 billion fine. Zhao and Binance are guilty of unlicensed money-transmitting business, violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and a conspiracy charge. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the company "pretended to comply" with the federal law, failing to report over 100,000 transactions with criminal groups on its platform. The cryptocurrency commerce has been under the department's tracking since 2018. It was earlier reported that terrorist groups like Hamas, al Qaeda, and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria are using Binance to move its money abroad. The Justice Department is aiming to serve an 18-month prison time to Zhao. Related Article: French Investors Hit Binance With A $2.4 Million Fraud Lawsuit Changpeng Zhao Current Status Zhao remains in the US as his legal team persuades the federal court to allow him to take flight outside the US. The Binance founder previously said to continue investments in blockchain, AI, or biotech firms but will not lead a tech start-up anymore. Zhao, who is worth $10.2 billion, retains a considerable stake in Binance. https://sputnikglobe.com/20231128/israel-hamas-truce-extended-west-bank-detentions-continue-1115243375.html Israel-Hamas Truce Extended, West Bank Detentions Continue Israel-Hamas Truce Extended, West Bank Detentions Continue On this episode of 'The Backstory,' Host Rachel Blevins covered the latest extension of the ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, the ongoing battle between Ukrainian President Zelensky and his top military general, and the ongoing concerns in Hawaii, months after devastating fires in Lahaina. 2023-11-28T04:05+0000 2023-11-28T04:05+0000 2023-11-28T10:54+0000 the backstory radio bild germany nato maui 2024 us presidential election hawaii volodymyr zelensky /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/0b/1b/1115243216_0:0:1920:1080_1920x0_80_0_0_25254c1f5388b8b2b969e2c98204cd11.png Israel-Hamas Truce Extended, West Bank Detentions Continue On this episode of 'The Backstory,' Host Rachel Blevins covered the latest extension of the ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, the ongoing battle between Ukrainian President Zelensky and his top military general, and the ongoing concerns in Hawaii, months after devastating fires in Lahaina. In the first segment, Rachel and International Relations and Security Analyst Mark Sleboda discussed the latest infighting and tensions in Ukraine, where President Zelensky continues to battle with Valery Zaluzhny, Commander of Ukraine's Armed Forces. A top member of Ukraine's parliament is now accusing Zaluzhny of having no strategic plan for the country's military for the year to come, aside from forcing thousands of new recruits into service each month, and the accusation comes, as Sleboda noted, amid fears that Zaluzhny is Washington's choice to replace Zelensky.While U.S. President Biden is watching Ukraine closely, he's also watching his poll numbers. Rachel was joined by Ed Martin, a New York Times bestselling author and president of the Phyllis Schlafly Eagles, to discuss the latest pollsand the numbers aren't looking great for the current president. With the US in ongoing turmoil over support for Ukraine and Israel, Martin noted that some of the main factors contributing to Biden's drop in popularity include the state of the economy and his out-of-touch demeanor with voters. On the other hand, Martin said that former President Trump continues to gain support, likely because of the relative peace and clarity during his presidency prior to the pandemic.On the effects of US support for Israel amid its war on Hamas, veteran war correspondent Elijah Magnier discussed the latest news of a temporary truce extension mediated by Qatar. While Israel is releasing detainees, and Hamas is releasing hostages, Magnier pointed to the fact that Israel is still actively detaining hundreds of Palestinians in the West Bank. While Biden claims the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas was carried out because his administration was pursuing "peace" in the region, Magnier noted that Biden's efforts to normalize ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia swiftly fell apart after Israel began its bombardment of Gaza, and that the Saudis were never keen on giving Biden that victory to begin with.In the final segment, Rachel was joined by Journalist Craig "Pasta" Jardula to discuss the latest from Lahaina, where residents are still in desperate need of housing, after devastating wildfires swept the island in August. Jardula just returned from his second trip to the island, where he noted that the community has come together to provide aid and support for fellow survivors, but frustration still exists with the Biden administration's inadequate relief response. With so much at stake, Jardula said it's crucial that we continue to spread awareness and advocate for a more robust and effective response to this ongoing crisis.The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the position of Sputnik.We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.comCatch us in the US at 105.5FM, 104.7FM, 102.9FM, 1390AM, 1140AM germany maui hawaii israel saudi arabia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Rachel Blevins Rachel Blevins News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Rachel Blevins zelensky zaluzhny conflict, israel-hamas war, truce in gaza, who leads us 2024 presidential race, lahaina fires, hawaii news https://sputnikglobe.com/20231128/ive-been-waiting-for-you-suspect-apprehended-in-us-shooting-of-palestinian-students-1115243658.html Ive Been Waiting for You: Suspect Apprehended in US Shooting of Palestinian Students Ive Been Waiting for You: Suspect Apprehended in US Shooting of Palestinian Students An arrest has been made after the weekend shooting of three Palestinian college students underscored an increase in violence and hate faced by Muslims and Arabs living in the United States. 2023-11-28T00:36+0000 2023-11-28T00:36+0000 2023-11-28T00:36+0000 americas palestinians palestine-israel conflict israeli-palestinian conflict gaza israel-gaza conflict gaza strip shooting university of vermont /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/0b/1c/1115243500_0:156:3000:1844_1920x0_80_0_0_2668582c818bb28c3c6aab6f404c5424.jpg An arrest has been made after the weekend shooting of three Palestinian college students underscored an increase in violence and hate faced by Muslims and Arabs living in the United States.Jason J. Eaton, 48, of Burlington, Vermont, was apprehended Sunday afternoon after a police search of his apartment near the scene of the shooting one day prior. Eaton has been charged with three counts of attempted murder in the second degree and has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He is being held without bond.Local officials said they are working to confirm the motive for the crime, with Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad saying, We still do not know as much as we want to know, at a press briefing on Monday. We are working hard to find out this information, he added.But the law enforcement official echoed the immediate sentiments of many when the crime was reported over the weekend. In this charged moment, no one can look at this incident and not suspect that it may have been a hate-motivated crime, said Murad in a news release on Sunday.Murad also confirmed that two of the three young men, all of them 20 years old, had been wearing the keffiyeh on the evening of the shooting, a traditional scarf thats a symbol of Palestinian culture. They were also reportedly speaking a mixture of English and Arabic.All three are students at nearby colleges and universities: Hisham Awartani attends Brown University in Rhode Island, Kinnan Abdalhamid attends Haverford College in Pennsylvania, and Tahseen Ali Ahmad studies at Trinity College in Connecticut. As of Monday they are recovering at an intensive care unit in Burlington.All three are stable, although Awartani reportedly suffered a serious injury to his spine.Their lives have been changed forever, said Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger at a Monday press briefing. One in particular faces a tremendous struggle and recovery, with injuries that may be lifelong, he added, referring to Awartani.We are praying that he can walk, said Rania Maayeh, the headmaster of Ramallah Friends School where the men attended high school in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.Agents from the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reportedly encountered Eaton around 3:30 pm local time on Sunday during a canvass of the shooting area.After obtaining a search warrant, investigators retrieved a Ruger .380 semi-automatic pistol from his apartment. ATF investigators are currently working to confirm the pistol was the one used in the shooting Saturday evening.Burlington police say Eaton had only been a local resident for a short time; its believed he moved to the city from the Syracuse, New York, area over the summer. He faces up to life in prison if convicted of the charges against him.Tragically, this incident is yet another example of the diminished regard for the lives, suffering, and inherent humanity of Palestinians, read a statement released by the Ramallah Friends School Monday.Family members of the victims spoke at a news conference Monday, saying they had believed the young Palestinian men would be safe in the United States.Kinnan grew up in the West Bank, and we always thought that that could be more of a risk in terms of his safety, and sending him here would be the right decision, said Radi Tamimi, the uncle of Abdalhamid. I feel somehow betrayed in that decision here, and were just trying to come to terms with everything.Elizabeth Price, the mother of Awartani, currently lives in Ramallah and is reportedly seeking to travel to the US to see her son. Palestinians living in Israel-occupied territories often face severe difficulties in traveling abroad.Residents there are currently suffering severe economic challenges amidst Israel-ordered shutdowns. And in recent weeks, at least 200 Palestinians in the West Bank have been reportedly killed by Israeli settlers and military forces.Meanwhile, the death toll in the besieged Gaza Strip reportedly stands at at least 14,000 since an October 7 surprise attack by Hamas which killed some 1,200 Israelis.Christina H. Paxson, the president of Brown University, called the shooting of the three young Palestinian men a heinous and despicable act of violence this latest evidence of anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian discrimination and hate spiraling across this country and around the world. However, Brown has been accused of encouraging such discrimination after they had pro-Palestinian protesters on the universitys campus arrested earlier this month.Pro-Palestine protesters including members of explicitly Jewish groups like If Not Now and Jewish Voice for Peace have faced challenges after being banned at Columbia University, George Washington University, and other campuses throughout the United States. In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis is facing a lawsuit after attempting to ban the group Students for Justice in Palestine from college campuses in the state.Meanwhile, some Zionist students on college campuses have complained that being confronted with opposing views makes them feel unsafe. https://sputnikglobe.com/20231127/three-palestinian-college-students-shot-in-vermont-1115222664.html americas gaza gaza strip Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International palestine, israeli-palestinian conflict, gaza, gaza strip, bias, islam bias, palestinian students shot, arrest, shooting, university of vermont https://sputnikglobe.com/20231128/mass-production-of-first-russian-naval-drones-scheduled-for-2024---company-1115244509.html Mass Production of First Russian Naval Drones Scheduled for 2024 - Company Mass Production of First Russian Naval Drones Scheduled for 2024 - Company The drones will be able to reach a speed of up to 80 kilometers per hour (49.7 miles per hour) and have a payload of about 600 kilograms (1,322 pounds), with a cruising range of more than 200 kilometers (124 miles). 2023-11-28T03:35+0000 2023-11-28T03:35+0000 2023-11-28T03:35+0000 military russia drone military /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/08/10/1112651758_0:51:1200:726_1920x0_80_0_0_b458813770ca5046f5b571b67f6a4836.jpg "If they are successfully tested during the special military operation [in Ukraine], we plan to move to mass production in 2024," Danilenko said. Danilenko told Sputnik earlier that the first Russian naval drones would be delivered to the Russian armed forces by the end of 2023 and tested in the zone of the special military operation in Ukraine. The drones will be able to reach a speed of up to 80 kilometers per hour (49.7 miles per hour) and have a payload of about 600 kilograms (1,322 pounds), with a cruising range of more than 200 kilometers (124 miles). The KMZ holding specializes in the production of boats for Russian law enforcement agencies, including the Russian National Guard, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Emergencies Ministry. russia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International russian naval drones, kmz, russian federal security service, fsb, military https://sputnikglobe.com/20231128/new-gaza-aid-flotilla-attempts-to-break-israeli-siege-1115250169.html New Gaza Aid Flotilla Attempts to Break Israeli Siege New Gaza Aid Flotilla Attempts to Break Israeli Siege The US has backed Israel to the hilt in its latest conflict with the occupied Palestinian population. Medea Benjamin said Washington only paid lip-service to the Middle East peace process. 2023-11-28T17:09+0000 2023-11-28T17:09+0000 2023-11-28T17:09+0000 analysis israel israel-gaza conflict palestine-israel conflict gaza palestine gaza freedom flotilla flotilla medea benjamin code pink /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/105644/28/1056442869_0:261:4964:3053_1920x0_80_0_0_bfc2df789caea1bb1a4a952ac8fc6763.jpg A veteran US peace campaigner has told of the latest attempt by citizens to break the Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip.The four-day ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement, brokered by Qatar, was extended for two more days on Monday.The death toll in the tiny Palestinian enclave after almost two months of Israeli bombing and ground incursions has reached 16,000, according to the Palestinian Authority, with 35,000 wounded and 6,000 still missing under the rubble. Gaza's 2.3 million inhabitants have been subjected to a total siege by Israel, which has cut off supplies of electricity, running water, food, fuel and medicine.Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin told Sputnik that media reports of a flotilla of 1,000 small craft heading from Turkiye to Gaza were exaggerated.The Turkish passenger ship MV Mavi Marmara was part of the original Gaza Freedom Flotilla in May 2010 which attempted to deliver aid to the strip, 16 months after Israel's Operation Cast Lead bombing and ground invasion. Israeli commandos on helicopters forcibly boarded the vessel and others, shooting dead nine people on board and fatally wounding a tenth."There is now a Mavi Marmara Foundation run by the sons of some of the people who were murdered on that ship, and they're part of this coalition," Benjamin explained. "The idea is to have two large cargo ships and then some passenger ships. And we're even talking about maybe a women's boat."She said the new flotilla would set sail as soon as the organizers could raise enough funds, which she expected to take one or two months.The aim of the voyage would be not only to deliver large quantities of humanitarian aid, but also to show that "Israel should not be allowed to control Gaza by land, by air and by sea." The peace activist lamented that US leaders were eager to support Israel in any conflict with its neighbors while only paying lip-service to the peace process with Palestine. Pretext for War With IranRepublican Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton has blamed Iran for the October 7 raid into southern Israel by the armed wing of Hamas and other groups, along with a spate of guerrilla attacks on US military forces in Iraq and illegally occupying parts of north-west and southern Syria. Cotton has demanded President Joe Biden launch a bombing campaign against the regional power which controls access to the oil-rich Persian Gulf.The Code Pink founder said those comments reflected "widespread agreement among Republicans" which leads to "all kinds of crazy positions."The USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier Strike group entered the Persian Gulf on Monday, further escalating tensions in the region."They've always wanted to go after Iran for decades," she added. "And this is one more pretext that they hope would be enough to push the US military to get involved in Iran." Yemen Strikes BackAnother unexpected escalation in the conflict occurred on November 19, when helicopter-borne Yemeni Republican Guard commandoes seized the Israeli-owned vehicle carrier ship Galaxy Leader in the Red Sea.The huge 49,000-ton ship, which sails under the flag of the Bahamas, had been chartered by Japanese firm Nippon Yusen, but was owned by Ray Car Carriers based in the Isle of Man a British Crown Dependency and tax haven which is itself a subsidiary of Ray Shipping, owned by Israeli tycoon Abraham Ungar.The US Department of Defence announced on Monday that the US Navy destroyer USS Mason had foiled a second Yemeni attempt to commandeer a ship, this time the tanker Central Park. But that report was swiftly corrected to say the would-be hijackers were in fact five modern-day pirates from Somalia in a small boat, who were captured by the US warship.Yemen's Supreme Political Council government, led by the Ansarallah movement and the dominant Houthi clan, had previously launched a series of indigenously-produced cruise missiles and drones at Israel some of which were intercepted by US Navy ships and has shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper armed drone near its coast.The peace campaigner said she understood the Yemeni's anger at Israel, but could not condone their actions."In terms of motivations, I think there are definitely Houthis who are very upset about what's happening in Palestine and want to show their support by these acts of piracy," Benjamin said. "But I don't think they are helping. And I think they could really lead to a wider regional conflict."For more unique commentary on world events, tune in to our Sputnik Radio show Political Misfits. https://sputnikglobe.com/20231121/us-may-want-wider-war-in-middle-east-to-take-out-iran-1115085990.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20231120/israeli-or-not-what-we-know-about-car-carrier-hijacked-by-houthis-in-red-sea-1115076890.html israel gaza palestine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 James Tweedie https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e4/08/1c/1080307270_0:3:397:400_100x100_80_0_0_7777393b9b18802f2e3c5eaa9cbcc612.png James Tweedie https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e4/08/1c/1080307270_0:3:397:400_100x100_80_0_0_7777393b9b18802f2e3c5eaa9cbcc612.png News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 James Tweedie https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e4/08/1c/1080307270_0:3:397:400_100x100_80_0_0_7777393b9b18802f2e3c5eaa9cbcc612.png code pink, medea benjamin, israeli bombing and invasion of gaza, hamas attacks on israel, israel-hamas ceasefire, 2010 gaza freedom flotilla https://sputnikglobe.com/20231128/north-koreas-spy-satellite-makes-pyongyang-full-fledged-member-of-space-club-1115270011.html North Koreas Spy Satellite Makes Pyongyang Full-Fledged Member of Space Club North Koreas Spy Satellite Makes Pyongyang Full-Fledged Member of Space Club North Koreas new reconnaissance satellite has placed it among an elite group of nations with autonomous space capabilities, but the device will have powerful strategic effects, too. 2023-11-28T21:39+0000 2023-11-28T21:39+0000 2023-11-28T21:37+0000 analysis alexei leonkov pyongyang north korea spy satellite ballistic missiles /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/0b/16/1115123475_0:24:900:530_1920x0_80_0_0_3d7fb3499bc9467b5648a4f79d2bd1f5.jpg Last week, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) announced it had successfully launched a reconnaissance satellite into orbit. Called Malligyong-1, the satellite was launched on a Chollima-1 carrier rocket from the Sohae Satellite Space Launching Station on the countrys western coast.On Tuesday, Pyongyang said the new satellite had already been tested out on its chief adversary, photographing the White House, Pentagon, and aircraft carriers at the Norfolk naval base. The US said it couldnt verify the North Korean claims.Moscow-based military expert Alexey Leonkov told Sputnik on Tuesday that the DPRKs accomplishment had placed it on par with a handful of other space-faring nations.Leonkov said accusations from the United States that Pyongyang had help from Russia with the satellite launch are not true.The fact is that back in 2016, American intelligence reported that Ukraine was actively involved in the DPRK's missile program and, in particular, named such two structures as the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau and Yuzhmash, he said, referring to two Ukrainian state-owned design bureaus, the former of which produced the Zenit rocket and the latter of which produces rocket parts such as engines.It was in 2016 that tests of new intermediate- and intercontinental-range ballistic missiles began. In the end, it resulted in the appearance of the reconnaissance satellite, which, I think, will not be alone.Both the US and Japan will likely be annoyed by this because the images from this satellite can and will be used for military purposes, he added. That is, they will be used to determine coordinates and objects. If the satellite operates in a coordinate system, then further photographic images will be quite enough to provide target designation for an intercontinental ballistic missile.Leonkov further said the emergence of a North Korean space program would make the small socialist state a member of the club of space powers, something even South Korea has not achieved, thanks to a domineering hand by Washington that limited Seoul to launching its satellites on American rockets.In other words, calling South Korea a full-fledged member of the space club can be conditional. South Korea most likely belongs to the states that do not have their own spaceports and use the services of spaceports of other states. And after the launch of such a satellite, North Korea entered not just the club of space powers, but the club of those powers that have military reconnaissance satellites, he said. https://sputnikglobe.com/20231127/north-korea-launches-satellite-to-keep-up-with-us-military-moves---un-envoy--1115238712.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20231124/japan-to-splurge-1-trillion-in-asian-space-race-with-india-china-and-dprk-1115184109.html pyongyang north korea Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Fantine Gardinier Fantine Gardinier News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Fantine Gardinier does north korea have a spy satellite, did north korea photograph the white house, korea nuclear weapons https://sputnikglobe.com/20231128/pentagon-says-cant-verify-claim-north-koreas-satellite-took-photos-of-us-govt-buildings-1115244239.html Pentagon Says Can't Verify Claim North Korea's Satellite Took Photos of US Gov't Buildings Pentagon Says Can't Verify Claim North Korea's Satellite Took Photos of US Gov't Buildings Earlier in the day, KCNA reported that North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un received photos recently taken by their spy satellite of the White House, Pentagon, and US aircraft carriers at the naval base in Norfolk, Virginia. 2023-11-28T02:02+0000 2023-11-28T02:02+0000 2023-11-28T02:02+0000 world north korea washington, dc pentagon kim jong-un satellite /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/0b/03/1114690764_0:93:1898:1161_1920x0_80_0_0_dfc6f85ae9196fa50732710feabfb533.jpg Earlier in the day, KCNA reported that North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un received photos recently taken by their spy satellite of the White House, Pentagon, and US aircraft carriers at the naval base in Norfolk, Virginia. "We cannot confirm the accuracy of this claim," the spokesperson said on Monday. The White House National Security Council did not immediately respond to Sputnik's request for comment on the matter. Last week, North Korea's KCNA state news agency reported that Pyongyang had successfully carried out the previously announced launch of its Malligyong-1 military reconnaissance satellite and announced plans to launch several more satellites in a "short span of time." north korea washington, dc Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International pentagon, north korea, white house, satellite, white house national security council https://sputnikglobe.com/20231128/putins-civilizational-approach-russia-is-key-factor-in-global-fight-for-sovereignty-1115262541.html Putin's Civilizational Approach: Russia is Key Factor in Global Fight for Sovereignty Putin's Civilizational Approach: Russia is Key Factor in Global Fight for Sovereignty Russian President Vladimir Putin on November 28 addressed the plenary session of the World Russian People's Council, dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the organization's founding, via videoconference. 2023-11-28T18:11+0000 2023-11-28T18:11+0000 2023-11-28T18:21+0000 us patriarch kirill vladimir putin russia world world russian people's council russian orthodox church opinion ukraine west /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/09/0f/1113392167_0:0:3162:1779_1920x0_80_0_0_436695e39da2aa2ec655a51eb50f9874.jpg The XXV World Russian People's Council began its work in Moscow on November 27 dedicated to "the present and future of the Russian World." On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the gathering and its head, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Rus.'Russia Fights for Freedom of Whole World'Addressing the World Russian People's Council plenary session, the Russian president expressed his gratitude to the forum's participants for their support for Russian soldiers at the front, and the people of the Donbass, Zaporozhye, and Kherson regions, who made the decision to reunite with Russia in 2022.Vladimir Putin underscored that Russia's special military operation, launched on February 24, 2022 is a battle for sovereignty, a battle for the right to be Russia, a "country-civilization." Per him, it is a "national liberation" fight being waged against the "global hegemon."A lasting peace and stable world order are impossible without a sovereign and strong Russia, Putin underscored."For several centuries, the idea of one scheme of development was imposed on humanity," Sergey Perevezentsev, doctor of historical sciences, professor at the Department of History of Socio-Political Doctrines at Lomonosov Moscow State University, told Sputnik."This concept is being developed in Russia, and these theoretical provisions are becoming the basis of domestic and international politics. Russia is now offering this approach to the whole world: to consider the world as a collection of civilizations, each of which has the right to develop according to its own laws," the professor underscored.Western Elites Guided by Russophobia, Racism, and Neo-NazismVladimir Putin pointed out that a multinational Russia doesn't fit into the West's grand design. The Western elites "want to plunder and dismember Russia," the president remarked.Having failed to subdue and dismember Russia by force, the West may try to use various tools to destabilize the country from within, Putin said, warning against "interference or provocations with the aim of causing an interethnic or interreligious conflict in Russia."According to the president, any attempts to instrumentalize "terrorism and extremism" against Russia would be seen as "aggressive actions against our country" and would be followed by an appropriate response."Under these [anti-human] values the anti-Russian campaign was begun [by the West] in Ukraine, which they tried and, in fact, turned into a battering ram to destroy the Russian World. Thus, in modern Ukraine, unfortunately, there is a rejection of traditional Orthodoxy, of the traditional friendship of peoples, and of the traditional union, and of traditional culture, and even of the traditional language."Real Freedom and SovereigntyTruly free people are those responsible for their country, the present, and future generations, the president continued, stressing that they are the only source of sovereign power."A free people who understand their responsibility to today and future generations is the only source of power, sovereign power, which is obliged to serve everyone - the entire people - and not, of course, someones private, corporate, class, or, especially, foreign interests," he highlighted.The president emphasized the role of the Russian people, stressing that being "Russian" is more than belonging to some specific nationality."Being Russian is, first of all, a responsibility. I repeat, a huge responsibility for preserving Russia. This is where true patriotism lies," he said.At the same time, without Russians as an ethnic group there cannot be Russia and the Russian World, according to Putin.During his speech, the Russian president emphasized the inextricable historical connection between Ancient Rus', the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and the Russian Federation, and condemned those who instigated separatism and artificially divided the peoples of Russia."The Russian World is, among other things, a multicolor [coexistence] of religions. There is the diversity of various religious organizations, with the dominant role of the Russian Orthodox Church. [] The basis of the Russian World is the East Slavic Orthodox civilization. The connection of all three main Slavic peoples today: Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians is in a single religious, Orthodox, historical development," the professor said.'West's Sanctions Blitzkrieg Failed'Russia has become stronger, the Russian president said, calling for further industrial, cultural, and demographic development of the country.Putin placed emphasis on the role of the state and national business in withstanding the pressure of Western sanctions which were unleashed on Russia in the wake of the beginning of the special military operation. The president highlighted that the West's "sanctions blitzkrieg have failed."Meanwhile, Russian industries and creative businesses should step up domestic investments and create fair and decent conditions for their employees.'Russia Needs a Cultural Breakthrough'The Russian president pointed out that sovereignty is impossible without a flourishing national culture. He stressed the importance of traditional values, including family, education, culture, and "wise words from spiritual guides."Putin singled out the unique harmonious collaboration between the Russian Orthodox Church and the state in the country. He noted that despite the church and state being separate in Russia, the church cannot be separated from a person or a society. The Russian president also emphasized the importance of all traditional religions in Russia.The president announced that next year would be dedicated to family, stressing that a big traditional family is a source of spiritual strength and moral values.The World Russian People's Council, an international public organization and forum, was founded in May 1993. Patriarch Alexy II, then head of the Russian Orthodox Church, was the first head of the entity. In 2005, the World Russian People's Council was granted special consultative status with the United Nations (UN), and a representative office of the organization was created at the UN. Since February 1, 2009 the council has been led by Patriarch Kirill.The organization promotes the spiritual, cultural, social, and economic revival of Russia; places emphasis on strengthening Russian statehood and bolstering the role of the Orthodox Church in the life of society. Representatives of the authorities, the highest clergy of traditional religions of Russia, leaders of public associations, figures of science, education and culture, delegates of Russian communities from near and far abroad take part in the meetings of the World Russian People's Council. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230221/putins-speech-russia-ready-to-protect-its-god-given-sovereignty--independence-scholar-says-1107675828.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20211022/why-putins-conservatism-of-optimists-approach-resonating-with-traditionalists-in-us-and-eu-1090128178.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230524/fundamental-changes-taking-place-in-global-arena--putin-1110565696.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230912/putins-eastern-economic-forum-message-how-western-sanctions-have-boosted-russias-asia-grip-1113320347.html russia world ukraine west Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Ekaterina Blinova Ekaterina Blinova News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Ekaterina Blinova russia, russian world, world russian people's council, vladimir putin, sovereignty, anti-colonialism, racism, russophobia, neo-nazism, western elites, us proxy war in ukraine, putin conservatism, russian orthodox church, multipolarity, traditional values, western sanctions, western anti-russia sanctions failed, patriarch kirill, russian economy, russian industrial development, russia's rise https://sputnikglobe.com/20231128/russia-never-aimed-to-conquer-ukraine-but-west-and-zelensky-dragged-us-into-hostilities---medinsky-1115263324.html Russia Never Aimed to Conquer Ukraine, but West and Zelensky Dragged Us Into Hostilities - Medinsky Russia Never Aimed to Conquer Ukraine, but West and Zelensky Dragged Us Into Hostilities - Medinsky Russia never had a goal to conquer whole of Ukraine, but its President Volodymyr Zelensky and the West dragged Moscow and Kiev into hostilities, Vladimir Medinsky, who lead a Russian delegation during negotiations with Ukraine in spring 2022, said on Tuesday. 2023-11-28T17:55+0000 2023-11-28T17:55+0000 2023-11-28T18:00+0000 russia's special operation in ukraine ukraine crisis ukraine russia ukrainian conflict donbass donbass autonomy ukrainian crisis boris johnson /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/02/1c/1093447814_0:48:3471:2000_1920x0_80_0_0_eaff534688fdcc59091b3985cd1da96c.jpg Russia never set the goal of conquering Ukraine. The West and Zelensky dragged our countries into full-fledged military action, Medinsky told reporters, adding that Russians and Ukrainians are one people with common past and future, but Zelensky does not want peace.During 2022 talks, Russias goal was to ensure protection of Russian-speaking people in Donbas and the recognition of independence of two Donbas republics.According to Medinsky, UKs former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, heads of US State Department and Department of Defense, as well as other advisers arrived in Kiev in 2022 and recommended Kiev not to sing the treaty with Moscow. Ukrainian authorities themselves admit that they are controlled from outside, the former Russian negotiation added.Signing a peace treaty between Russia and Ukraine is possible if all goals of Moscows special military operation are achieved, Medinsky emphasized.Russia never refused negotiations with Ukraine, Medinsky added. https://sputnikglobe.com/20231127/uk-media-mum-on-shocking-claims-boris-johnson-sabotaged-russia-ukraine-peace-talks--1115230732.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20231128/the-west-has-lost-confidence-political-dysfunction-in-ukraine-may-cost-zelensky-his-job---analyst-1115244616.html ukraine russia donbass Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International ukrainian troops, ukrainian losses, russian special military operation, ukrainian crisis, failed counteroffensive, us weapons, nato equipment, nato-supplied military equipment, us arms for ukraine, foiled counteroffensive, counteroffensive attempt, thwarted counteroffensive, counteroffensive effort, nato arms for ukraine, nato support for ukraine, europe for ukraine, us weapons for ukraine, us aid to ukraine, us funding of ukraine, crimea, donbass, russian language https://sputnikglobe.com/20231128/scholzs-recovery-plan-made-bundestag-burst-with-laughter-dubbing-him-plumber-of-power-1115256083.html Germany's 'Plumber of Power'? Bundestag Bursts Into Laughter over Scholz's Recovery Scheme Germany's 'Plumber of Power'? Bundestag Bursts Into Laughter over Scholz's Recovery Scheme Germany's coalition has agreed on a 2023 supplementary budget, suspending the debt brake for the fourth year. Consultations on the 2024 fiscal plan are in progress, demonstrating a deliberate and thoughtful approach to budgeting. However, the German leadership accentuates the urgency in advancing green energy and digital infrastructure. 2023-11-28T15:36+0000 2023-11-28T15:36+0000 2023-11-29T06:53+0000 economy europe olaf scholz christian lindner ukraine berlin germany democrats social democrats union /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/0b/18/1115195348_0:0:3369:1895_1920x0_80_0_0_bacb1e494831ac6bf8ef7a9cb046fc10.jpg Chancellor Olaf Scholz was mocked by his peers in the Bundestag while talking about the supplementary budget for the year 2023. In his speech, he stressed that the German economy is facing an energy crisis and that a declaration of state of emergency is a legal way to suspend the debt brake. This was met by the bitter laughter of opposition members.Olaf Scholz tried to downplay the significance of the measure, saying that his government was merely confirming what we had already decided at the end of [20]22, which was necessary and right then and is still just as necessary and right today. He added that these steps would not affect the well-being of German citizens, triggering another burst of laughter from Bundestag members.Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Friedrich Merz openly questioned the chancellors competence, dubbing him a plumber of power, meaning that Scholz lacks in education and understanding of how to run a state. Merz verbally laced into Scholz, asserting that "the shoes you currently occupy as the chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany are clearly two sizes too large for you."AfD leader Alice Weidel remarked: The crisis is a crisis of trust - one breach of trust at the traffic light is followed by another.Other politicians stressed that they were expecting Scholz to resign instead of addressing the Bundestag with a new useless economic plan.Over-Indebted German Economy After a court decision on November 15, Scholz's coalition, consisting of the Social Democrats, Greens, and Free Democrats, prepared a supplementary budget for 2023. As part of their plan, they intend to continue suspending the debt brake for the fourth year in a row.This move contradicts a rule designed to limit new borrowing. Despite German Finance Minister Christian Lindner's weak assurance that this does not mean additional debt for the year, the figures tell a different story. The net borrowing for 2023 has skyrocketed from a mere 25 billion to a staggering 70.6 billion. Such a dramatic increase casts doubt over the coalition's ability to handle the nation's finances responsibly.Internally, Scholz's ruling alliance is buckling under pressure to contemplate yet another suspension of the debt brake in 2024. Adding to this debacle, the opposition, spearheaded by the Christian Democrats, who initiated the lawsuit leading to the court judgment, is calling for an overhaul of the borrowing rules.The actions of the Scholz government has plunged the German economy into crisis, leading to challenges such as dealing with high energy costs resulting from sanctions on Russian gas supplies, as well as the need for significant investments in renewable energy and technological advancements. According to the International Monetary Fund, Germany faces a decline of 0.5 percent this year. https://sputnikglobe.com/20231120/german-courts-decision-stops-scholz-governments-budget-maneuver-amid-dire-economic-straits-1115074069.html ukraine berlin germany Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Chimauchem Nwosu https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/09/01/1113046371_0:99:1536:1635_100x100_80_0_0_9c5c627283eca931c39fe4852bbb301c.jpg Chimauchem Nwosu https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/09/01/1113046371_0:99:1536:1635_100x100_80_0_0_9c5c627283eca931c39fe4852bbb301c.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Chimauchem Nwosu https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/09/01/1113046371_0:99:1536:1635_100x100_80_0_0_9c5c627283eca931c39fe4852bbb301c.jpg olaf scholz, german chancellor, economic modernization, budget constraints, court verdict, debt brake, investment plans, digital infrastructure, climate-friendly technologies, supplementary budget, debt brake suspension, fiscal challenges, environmental sustainability, technological progress, federal states, chip industry, climate-friendly steel, battery factories, unforeseen crises, christian democrats, renewable energy, finance minister christian lindner, germany constitutional court judgment. https://sputnikglobe.com/20231128/senior-official-confirms-iran-buying-russian-mi-28-helicopters-su-35-jets---reports-1115250471.html UK to Invest $153Mln to Develop New Nuclear Submarines UK to Invest $153Mln to Develop New Nuclear Submarines UK engineering and defense company Babcock has received two contracts worth 121 million pounds ($153.6 million) from the UK government and the country's major arms maker, BAE Systems, to develop new Dreadnought-class nuclear submarines, the UK Defense Ministry said on Tuesday. 2023-11-28T10:52+0000 2023-11-28T10:52+0000 2023-11-28T18:31+0000 military united kingdom (uk) nuclear submarines british royal navy bae systems uk defense ministry submarines ballistic missiles /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/0b/1c/1115266151_0:0:3213:1807_1920x0_80_0_0_71467cd79a3d2fd03a22c663293f1954.jpg The new Dreadnought-class nuclear submarines are expected to replace the Vanguard-class boats in the early 2030s, according to the ministry.Under the first contract, worth 66 million pounds and signed with the UK government, Babcock will provide the defense ministry with "technical and management support, engineering best practice and submarine maintenance achievability" over the next four and a half years. It will also support 250 jobs, primarily in Bristol, the ministry added.The second deal with BAE totals 55 million pounds will see Babcock provide the necessary equipment for the boats.The UK currently has four Vanguard-class submarines, which have been in service since the 1990s, armed with Trident ballistic missiles, which is the only weapon of nuclear deterrence in the country's arsenal. https://sputnikglobe.com/20231120/uk-lawmakers-say-military-personnel-forced-to-live-in-rat-infested-barracks-1115085104.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20231012/us-ill-prepared-to-face-nuclear-challenges-from-china--russia-report-reveals-1114154480.html united kingdom (uk) Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International british submarines, uk submarines, bae systems, nuclear submarines, british royal navy, royal navy, royal submarines, dreadnought-class submarines, british armed forces, british army, british fleet, british nuclear fleet, ballistic missile submarines, ballistic missiles Apple products manufacturer Foxconn will be investing $1.5 billion in India as it gears to expand operations outside of China. The world's largest electronics supplier said the investment pledge will help meet "operational needs" amid the rising demands from its major clients. Foxconn has been expanding its facilities in southern India over the past years, having an iPhone factory in Tamil Nadu with 40,000 employees. A company executive previously said in September that Foxconn aims to double its investment efforts in India, stating that the "several billion dollars in investment is only a beginning." The investment was made via Foxconn's subsidiary, Hai Technology India Mega Development. Foxconn did not provide further details on the deal in its stock exchange filing on Monday. Also Read: Apple Contractor Foxconn Invests $500 Million in India to Diversify Supply Chain Reassessing Operations on China Foxconn has been considering moving most of its operations outside of China after COVID-19 lockdowns had an impact on the company's operations in 2022. Apple has also started to redirect 25% of its iPhone manufacturing in India due to working issues in Chinese factories and the growing geopolitical tension in the country. Employees have called out against harsh working conditions in Foxconn's factory in Zhengzhou, China, halting production. The tech giant said it sees potential growth for device manufacturing in India. Foxconn Products Aside from iPhones While Foxconn is known as the largest supplier of iPhones, the Taiwanese company has been manufacturing other electronics for other big tech wigs. The electronics supplier provides smartphones, wearables, computers, and networking devices for Meta, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon. In order to further expand its deliverables, Foxconn has started to provide other electronic services to other companies, prompting the need for more facilities. Foxconn earlier signed a deal with Nvidia to build "AI factories" for the chip builder's new line of AI chips. Related Article: NVIDIA Revenues Soar Beyond Expectations Amid AI Chip Boom https://sputnikglobe.com/20231128/spain-ready-to-ink-deal-on-status-of-gibraltar-with-uk-on-november-29-1115262303.html Spain Ready to Ink Deal on Status of Gibraltar With UK on November 29 Spain Ready to Ink Deal on Status of Gibraltar With UK on November 29 Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on Tuesday that Madrid is ready to sign a "generous and balanced" agreement on the status of Gibraltar with London as early as on November 29. 2023-11-28T17:22+0000 2023-11-28T17:22+0000 2023-11-28T17:22+0000 world gibraltar strait of gibraltar gibraltar talks united kingdom (uk) spain brexit post-brexit hard brexit european union (eu) /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/07/15/1083428413_0:0:1535:863_1920x0_80_0_0_138433bfb4bb29d180ab078cc22e9263.jpg The status of Gibraltar, a UK-controlled enclave located at the southern tip of Spain, has been unclear since the United Kingdom left the European Union in 2016, as the territory was excluded from the exit agreement concluded between the UK and the bloc. Albares said before setting off to the NATO ministerial meeting on Tuesday, that he would meet with his UK counterpart, David Cameron, on the sidelines of the meeting to discuss post-Brexit status of Gibraltar. Gibraltar has been a stumbling block in relations between Spain and the UK for three centuries. Following the War of the Spanish Succession of 1701-1714, Gibraltar was ceded to the UK. Since then, the British have controlled the rocky section of the Iberian Peninsula's southern coast with an area of 6.5 square kilometers (2.3 square miles) and a population of 30,000 people. Spain continues to claim Gibraltar as its own, but during the referendums that took place in 1967 and 2002, more than 90% of Gibraltar residents voted to remain part of the UK. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230718/bregret-poll-claims-more-than-half-of-british-voters-want-to-re-join-eu-1111962868.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20220829/gibraltar-officially-becomes-uk-city-with-180-years-delay-1100120295.html gibraltar strait of gibraltar united kingdom (uk) spain Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International gibraltar, spain-uk relations, spain-britain relations, spain-uk talks, spain-britain talks, gibraltar's status, status of gibraltar, uk-controlled enclave, post-brexit status, brexit results, britain after brexit, brexit ruined britain, gibraltar deal, gibraltar agreement, agreement on gibraltar https://sputnikglobe.com/20231128/strong-stable-world-order-impossible-without-a-sovereign-russia-putin-1115258288.html 'Strong, Stable World Order Impossible Without a Sovereign Russia': Putin 'Strong, Stable World Order Impossible Without a Sovereign Russia': Putin Vladimir Putin made the comments in an address before the World Russian People's Council, an international public organization and forum headed up by Russian... 28.11.2023, Sputnik International 2023-11-28T13:39+0000 2023-11-28T13:39+0000 2023-11-28T15:00+0000 vladimir putin /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/0a/12/1114285122_0:93:3310:1955_1920x0_80_0_0_7f1c63a481e26989ff929aac86cd72f1.jpg Russia is at the forefront of the effort to build a more fair, stable world order, and the latter's creation will be impossible without sovereignty, President Vladimir Putin has said."It is our country specifically that is at the forefront of creating a more equitable world order," Putin said. "As has happened more than once in history, it has fallen to our country today, to the Russian World, to block the path of those who claim world domination and 'exceptionalism.' We are fighting for the freedom of not only Russia, but the entire world.""Today, Russophobia and other forms of racism and neo-Nazism have become practically the official ideology of Western ruling elites," Putin said. "They are directed not only against ethnic Russians, but also against all the peoples of Russia - Tatars, Chechens, Avars, Tuvinians, Bashkirs, Buryats, Yakuts, Ossetians, Jews, the Ingush, the Mari, and the Altai people. There are many of us, I won't name everyone now, but I will repeat that this is directed against all the peoples of Russia."Pointing to the failure of the West's sanctions "blitzkrieg," Putin stressed that Russia's adversaries have often sought to "dismember and plunder Russia, if not by force, then through chaos.""We have become stronger. Our historic regions have returned to Russia. Society is abandoning the superficial and turning to its true, authentic values," Putin suggested.Sovereignty is a precondition for true freedom, for Russia, its people and each individual, Putin said. "Because in our tradition, a person cannot feel free if his loved ones, children and homeland are not free. And it is precisely this true freedom that our boys, men, soldiers officers and daughters of the fatherland are now defending. A free people who understand their responsibility for today and for future generations."Russia, without any exaggeration, is engaged in a struggle for "national liberation," Putin said, suggesting that the country is "defending the safety and well-being of our people, the highest historical right to be Russia - a strong, independent power, a nation civilization." https://sputnikglobe.com/20231126/just-bojos-fault-zelensky--west-equally-responsible-for-killing-peace-deal-unleashing-bloodshed-1115219479.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20231128/putin-notes-importance-of-establishing-palestine-within-1967-borders-1115258006.html Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Ilya Tsukanov Ilya Tsukanov News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Ilya Tsukanov vladimir putin https://sputnikglobe.com/20231128/tehran-conference-80-years-since-meeting-that-changed-course-of-wwii-1115251261.html Tehran Conference: 80 Years Since Meeting That Changed Course of WWII Tehran Conference: 80 Years Since Meeting That Changed Course of WWII Today marks the 80th anniversary of the Tehran Conference (November 28, 1943 December 1, 1943). The extraordinary significance of this event (codenamed Eureka) was forever inscribed in diplomatic history books. 2023-11-28T15:22+0000 2023-11-28T15:22+0000 2023-11-28T15:22+0000 multimedia winston churchill joseph stalin franklin d. roosevelt tehran united kingdom (uk) ussr soviet red army us army /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/0b/1c/1115258144_0:0:769:432_1920x0_80_0_0_db821972b1f3e1bd80ad6206f8e34df3.jpg Tehran hosted the very first meeting of the "Big Three" Allied leaders, Joseph Stalin (Soviet Union), Franklin D. Roosevelt (US), and Winston Churchill (UK). The lofty idea of fighting against a common enemy is what brought the three nations together.The Big Three met against the backdrop of monumental victories of the Soviet Red Army, which had liberated over half of its Nazi-occupied territory.Both US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill recognized the indisputable fact that the Soviet Union not only had its own national interests, but also the might to defend them on the battlefield.Despite the fact that in many ways the leaders held opposing beliefs and ideals, the Tehran Conference saw the Western Allies' affirm their commitment to opening a second front against Nazi Germany in 1944 (Operation Overlord). The Conference also addressed the Allies' relations with Turkiye and Iran, operations in Yugoslavia and Japan, and the envisaged the subsequent post-war world order.Check out Sputnik's gallery to learn more about the meeting of the Allies. tehran united kingdom (uk) ussr Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International ussr, soviet union, uk, britain, us, united states, tehran conference, tehran, eureka, joseph stalin, franklin d. roosevelt, winston churchill, stalin, roosevelt, churchill, iran, wwii, world war ii, world war, western allies, allies, nazi germany, germany, nazis, operation overlord https://sputnikglobe.com/20231128/the-west-has-lost-confidence-political-dysfunction-in-ukraine-may-cost-zelensky-his-job---analyst-1115244616.html The West Has Lost Confidence: Political Dysfunction in Ukraine May Cost Zelensky His Job - Analyst The West Has Lost Confidence: Political Dysfunction in Ukraine May Cost Zelensky His Job - Analyst Analyst Mark Sleboda joined Sputniks Political Misfits crew Monday to discuss the ongoing political drama in the country in the wake of the countrys failed counteroffensive this year. 2023-11-28T03:56+0000 2023-11-28T03:56+0000 2023-11-28T04:32+0000 analysis world politics russia ukraine volodymyr zelensky military /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/0b/0c/1114898477_0:161:3071:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_d056db3b3f705748db3b28e13a57d654.jpg Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is on thin ice.Thats the conclusion of international affairs and security analyst Mark Sleboda, who joined Sputniks Political Misfits crew Monday to discuss the ongoing political drama in the country in the wake of the countrys failed counteroffensive this year.He fears another Maidan he fears a coup, said Sleboda, referring to the 2014 protests that saw far-right mobs drive elected president Viktor Yanukovych out of Ukraine. The unrest, openly backed by Western powers, was supported by only a minority of the Ukrainian population but succeeded in firmly shifting the politics of the country towards a Russophobic stance.Sleboda believes the primary challenger to Zelenskys power is Valerii Zaluzhny, the current commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian military. Political forces inside and outside the country may be coalescing around Zaluzhny as an alternative to Zelenskys leadership, according to Sleboda.Aware of the threat, Zelensky has replaced several of Zaluzhnys generals in the past weeks fired them without any consultations with him, said Sleboda. The analyst also noted the recent death of Major Gennadiy Chastyakov, a top aide to Zaluzhny, who was killed earlier this month when a grenade given to him as a birthday gift exploded. Sleboda speculates that the strange incident may have been a political hit by Zelenskys administration.Most of the Ukrainian social media channels believe it was a political hit, a warning to Zaluzhny, said Sleboda.Sleboda discounted a story that has recently re-emerged chiefly blaming former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson for Ukraines unwillingness to seek peace with Russia in early 2022, calling it a salvo in the quite opaque political infighting that is now going on in Kiev.I dont think they [the Ukrainian government] were ever more serious about this than they were about the Minsk accords, said Sleboda, noting the ideological nature of the countrys firmly anti-Russian leadership since 2014.Zelensky has faced criticism over Ukraines counteroffensive earlier this year which failed to significantly challenge Russian forces as the countrys special military operation in Ukraine continues. Sleboda noted recent comments by Zelenskys officials in US media calling the Ukrainian president delusional.Host Michelle Witte noted the damage to morale in the Ukrainian armed forces caused by the chronic political dysfunction, saying constant purges of relatively high ranking military officers during war would seem to perhaps have a negative effect on your war effort.Sleboda agreed, claiming President Zelenskys western backers are looking for a way to replace the Ukrainian leader.It seems quite obvious to me that the US and in general the West has lost confidence in Zelensky and theyre trying to find a way to replace him with Zaluzhny without another blatantly obvious US-backed coup in the country so soon after the last one, said Sleboda, referring to widely-reported evidence of US involvement in the 2014 ouster of Yanukovych.Sleboda noted that last week, for the first time, Zaluzhny was invited to a NATO meeting discussing Ukrainian military policy in Ramstein instead of Zelensky.Slebodas analysis comes amidst recent comments by a senior Ukrainian MP lamenting that the countrys military leadership has been unable to provide a [strategic] plan for 2024. The countrys Western backers have reportedly encouraged Ukraine to draft the elderly, teenagers, and women into the army.Sleboda also commented on the state of politics in the Netherlands, where the party of populist rightwing figure Geert Wilders recently won elections.He [Wilders] has also come out publicly as being against aid for Ukraine, which is the big foreign policy kicker against the Western orthodoxy, said Sleboda.That gets interesting from an international perspective, said Sleboda, speculating that the politicians support (or lack thereof) for the Western proxy conflict against Russia may ultimately be more important to leaders than his controversial anti-immigrant views. russia ukraine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International volodymyr zelensky, western powers, military, russia, ukraine, world politics https://sputnikglobe.com/20231128/ukraine-loses-up-to-135-soldiers-in-donetsk-direction-in-past-day---mod-1115253387.html Ukraine Loses Up to 135 Soldiers in Donetsk Direction in Past Day - MoD Ukraine Loses Up to 135 Soldiers in Donetsk Direction in Past Day - MoD Ukraine has lost up to 135 soldiers in the Donetsk direction in the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday. 2023-11-28T11:30+0000 2023-11-28T11:30+0000 2023-11-28T11:30+0000 russia's special operation in ukraine kiev ukraine donetsk russia /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/08/19/1112881448_0:127:3191:1922_1920x0_80_0_0_45dc79b3f8029be41f1d369923390369.jpg During the given period, the Russian armed forces have repulsed three attacks by Ukrainian troops in the Donetsk direction and another one in the Zaporozhye direction. "In total, the enemy lost up to 135 military personnel in this [Donetsk] direction, as well as three pickup trucks," the ministry said in a statement, adding that Kiev has also lost up to 65 soldiers in the Zaporozhye direction.The Ukrainian counteroffensive began on June 4. Kiev has thrown into battle brigades trained by NATO instructors and armed with Western equipment, including Leopard and Challenger tanks. Three months later, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Kiev's push had failed, with Ukraine suffering severe casualties. Several Western officials also admitted that the Ukrainian counteroffensive had not been successful so far. On November 1, Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi said in an interview with the Economist that Kiev's counteroffensive had reached a "stalemate." https://sputnikglobe.com/20231123/ukraine-loses-up-to-280-soldiers-in-donetsk-direction-in-past-24-hours---moscow-1115163875.html kiev ukraine donetsk russia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International donetsk direction, russian defense ministry, ukraine has lost https://sputnikglobe.com/20231128/ukraines-use-of-private-recruitment-firms-another-sign-of-desperation-1115264630.html Ukraines Use of Private Recruitment Firms Another Sign of Desperation Ukraines Use of Private Recruitment Firms Another Sign of Desperation Kievs counteroffensive has bled the military dry, accelerating the nations depopulation as fighting age men are killed or flee to avoid being conscripted into a senseless meat grinder. Authorities are looking at private recruitment, but thats likely just an attempt to suck more resources out of Western countries, an observer tells Sputnik. 2023-11-28T19:05+0000 2023-11-28T19:05+0000 2023-11-28T19:33+0000 analysis congress pentagon united kingdom (uk) washington ukraine volodymyr zelensky alexei leonkov alexander danilov /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/0b/17/1115173705_0:0:3249:1828_1920x0_80_0_0_222965530700c6504a0669fdaf4c5c12.jpg Ukraines government is reportedly planning to use a pair of commercial recruitment firms to engage in the targeted recruitment of conscripts to make it so that recruits can get jobs which match their skills, some of them behind the frontlines, instead of just being sent to the front indiscriminately.Authorities expect the new approach to convince skilled Ukrainians who may want to help the war effort but dont want to die senselessly at the front to stop hiding from the draft.President Zelensky announced a mystery new package of mobilization measures proposed to him by recently appointed businessman-turned defense minister Rustem Umerov, saying last Friday that he would be seeing the plan in the week starting Monday. The plan will be worked out and all the answers will be there, Zelensky promised, without elaborating.The Russian military has reported on the horrific losses suffered by Ukraines army over the course of its disastrous summer counteroffensive, which has failed to break through heavily fortified Russian lines, and which Ukrainian top general Valery Zaluzhny admitted earlier this month had turned into a WWI-style stalemate.Recent estimates by Russian Defense Minister Shoigu placed Ukrainian losses at over 90,000 troops, nearly 600 tanks and some 1,900 armored vehicles since the start of the counteroffensive on June 4, with US intelligence officials saying privately as far back as August that total deaths and injuries had approached half a million.The lack of bodies has prompted Ukraines recruiters to resort to desperate and cruel tactics, including grabbing people off the streets from public places, and reports swirling of growing reliance on female soldiers (including even pregnant women) and men over 40 as younger men are either killed, flee abroad, or hide from authorities inside the country.Too Little, Too Late?With the conflict approaching its second year, the new flexible or smart mobilization measures arent expected to attract new troops, as Ukrainians are already aware of the extent of corruption throughout the system, and consequently show an extremely skeptical attitude toward military structures overall.Leonkov told Sputnik that he sees the public-private recruitment scheme as a possible hidden form of financing for Ukraine.Because recruiting agencies can receive money for these events from various funds, bypassing mandatory inclusion in the budget, for example, of the United States or other countries. In other words, it will be a sort of hidden financing. Whether such a number of cooks and drivers are actually needed is an open question.What Ukraine really needs is money, the observer stressed, pointing to debates in Congress about additional funding to Kiev as Washington struggles to plug holes in its own budget.So I believe that the recruiting drive is a cover, a hidden form of financing for Ukraine. This will become clear when light is shed on the figures involved, and how much these recruiting agencies actually receive for their activities in Ukraine, Leonkov summed up.River Turns to TrickleIndeed, as Ukraine faces tightening support from its Western patrons, Ukrainian officials top concerns include questions not only about where theyre going to get the fresh troops theyre looking for, but also the money and equipment to pay for and equip them. In the spring the flow of military supplies was a broad river. In the summer it was a stream. Now it is a few drops of tears, one frustrated Ukrainian source told British media Monday in a piece about the Wests growing Ukraine fatigue.The United States and its allies have now spent over $175 billion providing military and economic support for Ukraine, with funding dropping precipitously in recent months as lawmakers in Washington faced the prospect of a government shutdown, and what officials deemed to be the more immediate need to help Israel in its war in Gaza. The Pentagon indicated recently that it now has less than $1 billion in cash in its war chest for aid to Ukraine, with some US civilian agencies indicating separately that theyre already totally tapped out. https://sputnikglobe.com/20231120/draft-dodgers-say-ukraine-unable-to-take-on-russia-slam-counteroffensive-as-senseless-killing-1115063928.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20231108/ukrainian-women-to-be-zelenskys-new-cannon-fodder-1114818359.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20231118/new-report-offers-revelations-about-foreign-mercenaries-in-ukraine-1115042955.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20231128/russia-never-aimed-to-conquer-ukraine-but-west-and-zelensky-dragged-us-into-hostilities---medinsky-1115263324.html united kingdom (uk) washington ukraine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Ilya Tsukanov Ilya Tsukanov News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Ilya Tsukanov ukraine, proxy war, russia, conflict, crisis, recruitment, recruiting, company, private, public, state, government, zelensky https://sputnikglobe.com/20231128/us-warns-ships-to-exercise-caution-in-red-sea-gulf-of-aden-after-ship-attacks-1115262080.html US Warns Ships to 'Exercise Caution in Red Sea, Gulf of Aden After Ship Attacks US Warns Ships to 'Exercise Caution in Red Sea, Gulf of Aden After Ship Attacks In response to several attacks and seizures of commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean in recent weeks, the US government has issued a warning to navigators to exercise caution when transiting the waterways. 2023-11-28T19:09+0000 2023-11-28T19:09+0000 2023-11-28T19:07+0000 world red sea indian ocean gulf of aden houthi movement somali pirates israeli-palestinian conflict hijacking /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/08/17/1112823748_0:165:3027:1868_1920x0_80_0_0_c4327c85e8a06dafb510054149e93012.jpg Exercise caution when transiting these areas and remain cognizant of evolving threats in this region, the US Department of Transportation said on Monday in an alert about the seizure of several ships in recent days.The southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden have long been dangerous areas to traverse, especially due to the war in Yemen between the Yemeni government and its Sunni allies and the insurgent Shiite Ansarallah movement, better known as the Houthis, that has raged since 2015. However, Somali pirates, driven by desperation from decades of civil war, have threatened nearby commercial vessels for nearly two decades.Recently, however, things have taken a new turn with the war between Israel and Palestinian militant groups that re-erupted on October 7. Seemingly triumphant in the Yemeni civil war, Ansarallah has declared itself allied with the Palestinian resistance groups and launched a series of drone and ballistic missile attacks against the southern Israeli city of Eilat, as well as US warships in the region.A few days after the Galaxy Leader was seized, the Liberia-flagged chemicals tanker Central Park was boarded and temporarily seized in the Gulf of Aden. The ship is owned by Zodiac Maritime, which is chaired by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer. However, after the US Navy boarded the vessel on Monday and returned control to the owners, it was revealed the hijackers were Somalis, not Yemenis, and that Ansarallah was not involved.Nonetheless, the Yemeni group fired a pair of ballistic missiles at the USS Mason, the American destroyer that responded to the distress call, a few hours after the incident with the Central Park had ended. The missiles fell into the sea roughly 10 nautical miles from the warship.Another vessel, the Maltese-flagged container ship CMA CGM Symi, was allegedly targeted by an Iranian-made drone carrying a small bomb, while in the Indian Ocean. Anonymous US officials told US media they believed the attack had been coordinated by Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), although they provided nothing to substantiate that claim. CMA CGM is part of the Singapore-based company Eastern Pacific Shipping, another part of Ofers shipping empire.According to Gazas Ministry of Health, nearly 15,000 people have been killed in the territory, although thousands more remain unaccounted for amid the widespread destruction and massive population transfer by the Israeli Defense Forces. Some 1,200 Israeli civilians were killed on October 7 amid a cross-border attack by Gazan militant forces, and according to the IDF, at least 66 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the Gaza invasion, although Hamas and other Palestinian groups have claimed dozens of strikes on Israeli armored vehicles. https://sputnikglobe.com/20231121/economic-implications-of-the-houthi-seizure-of-the-galaxy-leader-1115096767.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20231115/houthi-leader-threatens-to-attack-israels-ships-in-red-sea-1114964602.html red sea indian ocean gulf of aden Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Fantine Gardinier Fantine Gardinier News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Fantine Gardinier ship hijacking red sea, did the houthis hijack an israeli ship, is the red sea dangerous https://sputnikglobe.com/20231128/where-does-israel-buy-its-weapons-from-1115267784.html Where Does Israel Buy Its Weapons From? Where Does Israel Buy Its Weapons From? The extended Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage deal has called into question whether the aid requested by Biden will be relevant by the time it clears Congress. What share of its arms does Israel get from its top ally? 2023-11-28T20:04+0000 2023-11-28T20:04+0000 2023-11-29T09:39+0000 military israel tel aviv germany benjamin netanyahu joe biden military & intelligence middle east isaac herzog stockholm international peace research institute (sipri) /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/105744/02/1057440216_0:270:5184:3186_1920x0_80_0_0_41f1895bea638af58605c4c5d46e4305.jpg Sputnik has already explored the capabilities of Israels military-industrial complex in detail, pointing to the nations status as a major regional powerhouse when it comes to the development and production of advanced armaments, rivaled only by Iran.The Israeli defense sector produces a broad array of armaments, from small arms and radio equipment, drones and remote-control weapons platforms, to main battle tanks, air and missile defense systems and even nuclear-capable ballistic missiles. Israel is also a major arms exporter selling over $12.5 billion in weapons to nearly a dozen foreign buyers last year, with top clients including India, Azerbaijan, the Philippines and the United States.But unlike established defense giants such as Russia and the US, Israel is not capable of developing and producing all of its militarys weaponry independently. For this reason, Tel Aviv has come to rely on its highly symbiotic (and some might say opportunistic) relationship with Washington when it comes to arms imports, with American defense contractors getting guaranteed contracts, Israel enjoying billions in what are effectively free weapons, and ordinary American taxpayers left holding the bill.Mr. President, for the people of Israel, theres only one thing better than having a true friend like you standing with Israel, and that is having you standing in Israel, an emotional Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Joe Biden during his trip to Israel in mid-October.A year earlier, during a visit to the US by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Biden repeated his favorite Israel-related line, that if there were not an Israel, wed have to invent one. The second part of the quote, which Biden has been selectively using since at least the mid-1980s going back to his days as a senator, is ...to make sure our interests were preserved.Who's Arming Israel?Given this close relationship, it should come as no surprise the United States accounts for the vast majority of Israeli arms imports - a whopping 92% from 2017 to 2021. According to figures compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Germany accounted for 6.9% of Israeli arms purchases over the same period, with Italy third with 1.0%. In other words, according to SIPRI's calculations, between 2017 and 2021, just three countries accounted for 99.9% of the Middle Eastern nations arms imports.Across a longer timeframe, from 2011 to 2020, SIPRI determined the US accounted for 70.2% of Israeli imports of major conventional weapons, with Germany, Italy and Canada rounding out the top four with about 23.9%, 5.9% and 0.05%, respectively.Smaller contracts, consisting of spare parts, small arms and light weapons systems, have also traditionally been dominated by US suppliers, which penned some $8.7 billion in arms agreements with Israel from 2015 to 2019, according to research by the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT). Over the same period, Germany, the UK, and Italy issued licenses for arms sales to Tel Aviv worth $944 million, $474.5 million and $374.5 million, respectively.What Kind of Bang Does Israel Get for Its Buck?More than any other field, Israel depends on US weaponry to assure the capabilities of the Israeli Air Force (IAF), including the service's new F-35I Adir fleet (Tel Aviv ultimately expects to get 75 of the fifth-generation jets). Israel has been reliant on the US for the IAF's needs for over 50 years, buying and modifying hundreds of Boeing F-15 Eagles and F-15E Strike Eagles, and General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons over the years. US aircraft dominate Israels fleet of utility, electronic intelligence, transport and aerial refueling planes, and its chopper inventories, including the Bell AH-1 Cobra, the Boeing AH-64 Apache, and Sikorsky CH-53 and S-70 lineup of combat and transport helicopters.Northrup Grumman subsidiary Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi, generously built Israels fleet of Saar 5-class navy corvettes. And Israels Rafael Defense System got help from Raytheon to build its Iron Dome anti-rocket and drone system.Less costly and flashy but no less significant weapons made in the USA and delivered to Israel include an array of submachine guns, assault and sniper rifles, M60 general-purpose and Browning M2 heavy machine guns, M72 LAW 66-mm shoulder-launched rocket systems, M203, Mk 19 and Mk 47 grenade launchers, and TOW anti-tank missiles.On the vehicles front, the US has sold M113 APCs, Humvees, M35 and HEMTT trucks, and Caterpillar bulldozers, excavators and wheeled loaders, which Israel has armored up and sent to level buildings suspected of being used by Palestinian militants or members of their families.Additional equipment includes the M88 recovery vehicles, customized M109 155-mm self-propelled howitzers, modified M270 multiple launch rocket systems (which Israel has altered to be compatible with Israeli-made rockets), and MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile systems.The list of weaponry sold to Israel by other countries besides the US is far more modest, and includes arms such as the German-made Heckler & Koch P11 underwater pistols used by Israeli special forces, Italian-made Beretta M1951 pistols, Belgian FN MAG machine guns, German Mauser 86SR sniper rifles, customized British-Israeli MDT David utility vehicles, and German Unimog 437 heavy trucks. In the air, Israel relies on German-made G-120 and Italian Aermacchi M-346 Master trainer jets, and a handful of French-made Eurocopter Panther maritime patrol helicopters.At sea, along with its US-built Saar 5-class corvettes, Israel has taken delivery of four German-made missile launching corvettes known as the Saar 6, plus Germanys Dolphin 1 and Dolphin 2 diesel-electric submarines, which in addition to torpedoes are also capable of launching nuclear-armed cruise missiles (formally, Israel neither confirms nor denies possessing such weapons).American Taxpayers' GenerosityThe best thing about Israels weapons contracts with the United States is that the majority are effectively given to the Middle Eastern nation free of charge. Between 1948 and 2023, the United States provided Israel with over $260 billion in military and economic assistance, plus at least $10 billion more for the joint development of weapons like the Iron Dome.The US has devoted over $3 billion in aid to Israel like clockwork since 2004, including some $3.2 billion in 2022. Amid the Gaza crisis, Biden more recently asked Congress for a whopping $14.3 billion in additional assistance, which if passed would be the largest funding package to Israel since at least 1979.Over 99% of the US assistance to Israel is of a military nature, with spending effectively a win-win proposition for the Israeli government, which needs to spend less of its own money on arms purchased abroad and can subsequently redirect cash to other priorities, like health care, and for American defense contractors, who are assured steady, guaranteed, subsidized orders courtesy of Uncle Sam.In fact, the only party that loses from the arrangement is the ordinary US taxpayer, which is left picking up the tab for Israels defense, and facing the ever-growing danger of the US defaulting and obliterating the economy as America's national debt inches toward $34 trillion. https://sputnikglobe.com/20231127/live-updates-more-aid-trucks-enter-gaza-amid-israel-hamas-ceasefire-1115223765.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20231011/israels-defense-industry-can-tel-aviv-survive-without-american-weapons-1114097192.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20231128/how-taxpayer-money-is-squandered-on-obama-era-power-plant-at-us-baghdad-embassy-1115256454.html israel tel aviv germany Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Ilya Tsukanov Ilya Tsukanov News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Ilya Tsukanov israel, weapons, arms, guns, bombs, missiles, united states, funding, assistance, aid, purchase, manufacture, made, usa, who else chips in to israel aid, what share of its arms does israel get from its top ally https://sputnikglobe.com/20231128/white-house-holiday-events-set-to-exclude-certain-journalists---reports-1115244102.html White House Holiday Events Set to Exclude Certain Journalists - Reports White House Holiday Events Set to Exclude Certain Journalists - Reports The White House sent out invitations to two media parties two weeks ago, the report said on Monday. However, a number of outlets included in the press corps were not invited, the report added. 2023-11-28T01:13+0000 2023-11-28T01:13+0000 2023-11-28T01:13+0000 americas white house white house joe biden biden administration journalism journalists /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/0a/1f/1114616206_0:69:3260:1903_1920x0_80_0_0_36579f2f8d9ff644f336267daf42341c.jpg The White House sent out invitations to two media parties two weeks ago, the report said on Monday. However, a number of outlets included in the press corps were not invited, the report added. "If youre hosting a reception for the press, invite the entire press corps or just call it what it is, a private party for your friends," one longtime White House journalist reportedly said. Another White House journalist alleged that the Biden administration limits access to such events as part of a pay-to-play system, the report said. The journalist claimed that members of the press are expected to cover certain stories in order to gain access, the report said. One White House journalist who has attended such holiday parties for years under both Democratic and Republican administrations reportedly said that only Biden has barred him from the events. The White House said on Monday that its theme for the holiday season is "magic, wonder and joy," for which volunteers decorated the presidential residence with 98 Christmas trees, nearly 15,000 feet of ribbon and more than 33,892 ornaments. americas white house Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International white house, white house holiday events, biden administration, white house banning journalists, journalists in america, pay to play journalism Art Stafford Jr. swept both $20,000 first-round Delaware Standardbred Breeders' Fund (DSBF) events for three-year-old trotting fillies on Monday (Nov. 27) at Bally's Dover, driving his trainees She Is Strong and Last Nights Hit to victory in their respective divisions. In the first division, a three-horse non-wagering event, She Is Strong coasted to the 13th win of her career, defeating Tymal Jacquelyn by 25-3/4 lengths in 1:58.2. The daughter of Anders Bluestone-Nidaros, who was a seven-length winner in the $110,000 DSBF final at Harrington Raceway in July, rolled unopposed through splits of :29.1, :58.3 and 1:28.3 en route to her 10th win in 16 starts this year. She has now banked $221,625 for owner Jeffery Clark, who bred the filly in partnership with Vernon Cannon. Tymal Jacquelyn (Robert Sampson) kept 1-3/4 lengths of clearance on Abettabeatya (Ross Wolfenden) to preserve second after giving futile chase to She Is Strong throughout the entire mile. Stafford completed his stakes double in the second division with Last Nights Hit ($8), who rated a comfortable early tempo before staving off 3-5 favourite Starlight Lounge for a gritty 2:00.3 score. Last Nights Hit asserted herself to establish early control, seating Starlight Lounge (Cody Poliseno) into a loose pocket on approach to the first turn. The Iron Mine Bucky-Overnight filly coasted through early fractions of :29.2, :59.3 and 1:28.4 before Starlight Lounge began to work closer and make her move out of the pocket with three-sixteenths to go. Starlight Lounge stuck her neck in front off the corner for home, but Last Nights Hit fought back under a Stafford drive to reclaim the lead 70 yards before the winning post and win by a half length. Royal Flirt (Justin Vincent) finished third, three lengths farther in arrears. Stafford bred and co-owns Last Nights Hit, now a two-time winner with $40,465 in career earnings, with Wyatt Starkey. DSBF series action for three-year-olds continues Tuesday (Nov. 28), with male trotters contesting a pair of $20,000 first-round preliminary events at Bally's Dover. The non-wagering split is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. (EST), while the second split kicks off a 15-race pari-mutuel program at 4:30 p.m. (Delaware Standardbred Breeders' Fund) (Photo : Unsplash/ Clay Banks) Tensions are rising in the complex web of immigration as newcomers and immigrants with extended ties to the country become entangled in a fight for desired work permits. This changing environment highlights the various experiences and difficulties encountered by different immigrant demographic groups and the intricacies of the immigration system. Diverse Perspectives Within the Immigrant Spectrum The contrast between "newcomers" and "immigrants with deeper U.S. roots" highlights the diverse immigrant community. Recent arrivals, or "newcomers," may encounter difficulties navigating the intricate process of obtaining work permits. Conversely, immigrants with more established roots and extended stay in the nation face different challenges, reflecting how immigration laws have changed. The Competitive Struggle for Work Permits Immigrants in a city-run shelter in New York complain that family members who moved in before them won't give them a bed. A Chicago-based organization that provided mental health services to illegal immigrants also catered to those who were sleeping at the police station across the street. Some immigrants in South Florida claim that those who arrive later are granted work permits that are inaccessible to them. Mayors, governors, and others have been vocal supporters of recently come migrants seeking work permits and shelter nationwide. Tensions have emerged between immigrants who have been in the country for years or even decades but do not have the same benefits, notably work permits-as a result of their efforts and the laws currently in place. Furthermore, some recent arrivals believe long-time immigrants have treated them poorly. In Washington this month, thousands of immigrants marched, urging President Joe Biden to extend work authorization to long-time residents. Their signs read, "Work permits for all!" and "I have been waiting 34 years for a permit." Despite a brief slowdown due to new asylum restrictions in May, illegal border crossings from Mexico exceeded 2 million for the second consecutive year, ending on September 30. Additionally, hundreds of thousands of migrants were legally admitted to the country in the past year through new policies aimed at discouraging illegal crossings. U.S. Rep. Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, a Chicago Democrat representing a predominantly Latino district with a sizable immigrant population, acknowledged the challenges posed by the growing wave of arrivals. He noted that the arrival of new immigrants has sparked tensions and raised questions, especially among those waiting for decades to obtain a green card and pursue a pathway to citizenship. READ ALSO: Future of Remote Work: Millennials Spearheading The Transition While 80% of asylum seekers complete their processing in 1.5 months, there is a six-month waiting period for work authorization, according to U.S. Services for Citizenship and Immigration. There is no waiting period for those who use the new legal routes created by the Biden administration. While 324,000 people used a mobile app for land crossings with Mexico, 270,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela applied online with a sponsor for a temporary legal status known as parole. In September, the administration promised to shorten the 30-day waiting period for work permits for individuals utilizing the new routes. Prominent city mayors request $5 billion, while the White House only asks for $1.4 billion in services for recent immigrants. They emphasize the need for work permits for longer-term residents and support temporary status for newcomers. Many recent arrivals live in terrible conditions, and some have trouble joining family. Financial strains have had an impact on immigrant services organizations, such as Chicago's Latino Treatment Center, which has adapted to support recently arrived immigrants with special needs. Economic Impact Diego Torres of the Latin American Coalition in Charlotte, North Carolina, indicated that they are working towards maintaining a balance between assisting individuals who have been in the community for an extended period and those who are newly arriving. He conveyed that, to date, they have been able to serve everyone successfully. Pursuing work permits for immigrants with more established U.S. roots is intertwined with general inquiries about identity and integration. In addition to legal obstacles, they face social barriers that limit their ability to fully engage in the nation's economic and social life. The economic impact is profound, influencing not only people's daily lives but also the direction of the economy as a whole. RELATED ARTICLE: With Only 75,000 New Jobs Added In May Job Growth Dramatically Decreased And Disappointed 2017 Jobs & Hire All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. SkyWest Airlines will continue providing air service from Scottsbluff to Denver for the next three years. The Airport Board at Western Nebraska Regional Airport approved an essential air service agreement with the airline during a special meeting Tuesday. The Essential Air Service program provides for the Department of Transportation to subsidize airline costs and maintain service from rural airports to regional hubs like from Western Nebraska Regional Airport to Denver International Airport. SkyWest served as the airports previous EAS carrier, but had been without a contract for roughly 18 months. Through the EAS program when contracts expire, the DOT can place a hold-in order continuing the previous contract and forcing the airline to provide service until a new contract is approved. EAS bids carry certain requirements that must be fulfilled for the contracts to be approved by the DOT. These include maintaining the service that the community currently receives for Scottsbluff that was 12 roundtrip flights a week to a regional hub on an aircraft that seats more than 30 passengers. SkyWest currently operates the flight on a Bombardier CRJ200 jet that seats 50 passengers. SkyWest submitted its EAS proposal to the DOT for the airport here in Scottsbluff, as well as airports in North Platte and Salina, Kansas. The DOT had rejected SkyWests previous proposal for North Platte and Salina and placed another hold-in on Scottsbluff in October. The DOT also sent out another request for proposal for Scottsbluff with the statement. Through that most recent request for proposals, the airport received two bids for essential air service at the airport for the next three years. One of the bids, from Boutique Air, did not meet the minimum standards for EAS, airport officials said. The airline offered to fly a different flight schedule with a propeller aircraft that seats nine passengers. Airport Director Raul Aguallo agreed that the airport would not have accepted the proposal. If we were to switch back to Boutique and give up our jet service, we might have a really difficult time going back to jets, Aguallo said. Over the years, my predecessor and I have always tried to stay away from the prop aircraft. Aguallo explained to the board that the new contract from SkyWest is very similar to the previous one and passengers were unlikely to notice any changes. The flight schedule and aircraft will remain the same when the contract takes effect in January. Passengers should not see much difference in cost, according to Aguallo. He maintained that the average roundtrip airfare to Denver should remain around $95. He did concede that it could be higher or lower and encouraged passengers to book their flights well ahead of time. The contract projected SkyWests annual revenue to be roughly $2.3 million while the airline expected its annual operating cost to land around $6.7 million, according to information presented at the meeting. The difference will be covered by the DOT through the EAS program with the subsidy totaling nearly $5 million dollars in the first year of the contract. The agreement also included the airport contracting with a New York marketing firm, Advanced Media, for $20,000 through SkyWest to advertise. Aguallo said that the airport had previously worked with Advanced Media and they do some really great marketing for us. Since the contract has been approved, Aguallo said confirmation will be sent from himself, airport board chairman Neal Smith and Scottsbluff Mayor Jeanne McKerrigan to the DOT, at which point they will write up the contract to be signed before the new year. In other news, Aguallo informed the board that the environmental impact study for a new taxiway had been completed and sent to the FAA for authorization. The Airport Board will meet again in the conference room of the Donald E. Overman Terminal on Dec. 13 at 9:30 a.m. Three people were displaced as the result of a fire in Gering Saturday, Nov. 18. The Gering Fire Department received a call about a structure fire around 2:30 p.m. Gering Fire Chief Nathan Flowers said firefighters were on scene in roughly five minutes. They discovered a fire coming out of a garage at an apartment complex and quickly went to work. Flowers said that firefighters had the situation under control after about five minutes of fighting the fire. The building was empty and no one was injured. He said that the fire started when a tenant was working on a go-kart and it backfired, igniting gasoline in the garage. From there, the fire swelled and caused between $60,000-70,000 worth of damage. Seven Gering firefighters were on scene as well as five from the Scottsbluff Department. Firefighter Ministry provided temporary assistance to three occupants of the home, according to Carissa Schank, organizer of Firefighter Ministry. An Omaha man who allegedly shot and killed his 10-year-old son on Thanksgiving night has been charged with manslaughter and possessing a firearm as a felon, according to court documents. Prosecutors filed charges of manslaughter, use of a firearm to commit a felony and possession of a firearm by a felon-second offense against Will McDonald, 47, on Monday. He is accused of shooting and killing his son Kendrick McDonald, 10, outside their home late Thursday as a car alarm sounded outside. Police and fire were called to reports of a shooting at 1112 N. 31st Ave. around 11:30 p.m. Thursday, the Omaha Police Department said. Omaha Fire Department personnel found Kendrick outside the home suffering from a gunshot wound and transported him to the Nebraska Medical Center, where he died. In a GoFundMe set up to raise money for Kendricks family, the shooting is described as an awful accident. The Douglas County Attorneys Office did not respond to requests for comment Monday seeking additional information about what led up to the shooting and the decision to pursue manslaughter charges. The union representing thousands of state employees has filed a demand to bargain after Gov. Jim Pillen ordered them to return to the office full time beginning in January. The Nebraska Association of Public Employees, which represents more than 8,000 state workers, sent a formal demand to Dan Birdsall, the governor's chief negotiator, on Monday. In the letter, NAPE Executive Director Justin Hubly said most state employees are working in offices across Nebraska, but remote work assignments, when appropriate, have been beneficial to both employees and taxpayers. Approximately 2,855 state employees have been working in hybrid or remote settings, with some of those arrangements existing since long before the COVID-19 pandemic as Nebraska's state agencies have sought to recruit and retain top talent. Pillen, however, in his Nov. 13 executive order, said believed public servants "have a duty" to be in office Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., adding he believed "face-to-face engagement" results in greater efficiency. "We're running state government like a business, and the best way to do that is face to face," Pillen told reporters last week. "I don't believe in doing it from home." Hubly said NAPE understands the governor's preference for having state employees be in office or at a worksite, but said the dramatic change in work situations and flexibility should be subject to bargaining. "While we respect the governor's right to have a preference, the terms and conditions of employment are mandatory subjects of bargaining under both the Nebraska State Employees Collective Bargaining Act and the Industrial Relations Act," he added. Under NAPE's contract with the state, any changes to the terms and conditions of employment that are mandatory subjects of bargaining and are not otherwise covered by the contract require the state to bargain with the union. "Remote work is not currently covered by the agreement, and, therefore, must be bargained," Hubly wrote. The union gave the state until Dec. 12 to respond, and it is planning a media briefing on Dec. 7, according to a news release. The executive order goes into effect on Jan. 2, meaning state employees will no longer be able to work remote or hybrid after that date, which Hubly said could exacerbate staffing shortages at several state agencies. Since the executive order, NAPE has gained nearly 150 new members, he added, which he attributed to the potential change in work arrangements for some. "Our top priority is ensuring that we can continue to provide effective and efficient services to our fellow Nebraskans, while also respecting the rights of our members, our contract, and the law," he said. "We must do everything in our power to ensure the state is able to retain its current workforce and attract a new generation of public servants for the future," Hubly added. Pillen's office did not immediately return a request for comment. In the weeks since the governor's executive order, more than two dozen workers have raised concerns about the loss of remote work or flexibility in their schedules. Those employees said the cost of commuting, inability to find child care, after school supervision, or transportation would lead them to consider leaving their positions. Before Pillen's order, the state had more than 2,500 unfilled jobs. This is a developing story. Stay with journalstar.com for updates. Top Journal Star photos for November 2023 A Statesville man faces a felony charge of death by distribution after he was arrested on Friday. The charge stems from an overdose death in 2022. Dakoda Michael Drake, 26, of Statesville, was arrested on Friday and issued a $350,000 secured bond. According to Iredell Sheriff Darren Campbell, on July 23, 2022, patrol deputies responded to the 3900 block of Hickory Highway west of Statesville. Deputies and Iredell County EMS determined that the victim, Julius Chance Gunter, 26, was suffering from an apparent drug overdose. He was treated at the scene and transported to Iredell Memorial Hospital, where he later died. During an investigation, which included interviews along with a forensic examination of phone and social media records, the investigators identified Drake as the suspect who provided fentanyl to the victim, Campbell said. An autopsy was conducted at the North Carolina Medical Examiners Office. After months of waiting, Sheriff Campbell said the toxicology report indicated the cause of death as a fentanyl overdose. Drake is currently on probation for felony possession of a weapon by an inmate. Drake is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law. Iredell County Commissioner Gene Houpe has announced his plan to file for re-election for a fifth term on the board. It has been an honor and privilege to serve and represent the citizens of Iredell County on the Board of Commissioners and in the region as the District 12 Director of the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC), Houpe said. In addition to Iredell County, the Republican brings the concerns of Cabarrus, Gaston, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Stanly, and Union counties to the attention of the NCACC. Houpe is in his third term as the elected District 12 Director on the statewide board. Representing our region on this board has given an important voice from Iredell County to advocate for projects and funding for the needs of Iredell County, Houpe said. Houpe serves on various boards and committees as a commissioner and represents the Board of Commissioners on the Statesville Airport Commission. In his campaign announcement, Houpe touted his work, alongside local, state and federal elected officials, to advocate for millions of dollars in grant funding for the airport, schools, agriculture, and other projects in the county, which saves tax dollars. Houpe said he is proud of the excellent working relationships he has built with all elected officials to help get things done for Iredell County. He said he believes that his experience and knowledge is necessary to help the county navigate through these uncertain economic times. He said he takes great pride in his constituent services when citizens call needing assistance with a problem. In a county that spans 574 square miles, with a population of almost 200,000 residents, Houpe said he is dedicated to serving the vastly different and unique needs of Harmony, Love Valley, Mooresville, Troutman, Statesville and Union Grove. Iredell County is the 14th largest county by population in the state, yet has one of the lowest property tax rates in the region Houpe said. Houpe said he is proud of their continued efforts to sustain balanced growth. Iredells economy is ranked second in the state, Houpe said in his news release. Houpe said he has worked to keep Iredell County as a premier place to work, live and raise families. The success of the county, he said, is built with investments in safe communities, education, and all county services while balancing growth and economic development. Houpe said he believes his experience matters to the residents of Iredell County. Houpe touted that during his tenure as a commissioner, the county has continued to improve services in the countys 26 departments, 19 volunteer fire departments and the rescue squads. The board, he said, has worked with the sheriff, other law enforcement agencies and school officials to make schools safer. I look forward to continuing the work and projects that we have begun and will continue to help grow our tax base instead of our tax rate, Houpe said. The 2024 Republican primary will see who advances to hold or fill the incumbent seats of Houpe, Scottie Brown and Melissa Neader. (Photo : Unsplash/ LaTerrian McIntosh ) Disruptions to provincial education services will persist across the province of Quebec. Activists could call for more strikes. Similar protests are likely to occur close to government offices and educational facilities. Protest sites are likely to experience increased security and localized transportation and business disruptions. On Thursday, the 65,000-teacher union, Federation autonome de l'enseignement (FAE), announced that it had halved its demands to move the government-teacher dialogue along. Teachers affiliated with the federation intend to carry out an indefinite strike throughout Quebec. Participants ask for increased pay and working conditions. The outcome of the negotiations will probably affect how long the work stoppage lasts. Struggles of Teachers For a considerable amount of time, teachers in Quebec have been on strike, demanding better working conditions, pay increases, and more support for the education sector. The strike will continue due to the impasse in the negotiations between the teachers' unions and the provincial government. According to Matt Wilson, president of the Pearson Teachers' Union, "we're at a critical moment as a society and we need to invest in our education system, we need to invest in our healthcare system, and we need to invest in our people." Teachers participating in the walkout expressed frustration about what they considered a lack of response to their issues. Their demands center on fair compensation, classroom resources, and workload. The teachers stress how important these issues are for their health and the general standard of instruction that students receive. Schools under Montreal's biggest service centre, the Centre de services scolaire de Montreal (CSSDM), will be closed indefinitely as of Tuesday, locking more than 100,000 students out of the classroom. The Lester B. Pearson School Board's teachers are only striking for three days - Nov. 21st, 22nd, and 23rd - but all classes, including daycare services, have been canceled. It's also the case for the English Montreal School Board except for FACE School, which has canceled classes indefinitely since November 23rd. READ ALSO: Quiet Quitting Explained: A Coping Mechanism After Pandemic Where People Just Work for the Money Calls for Resolution Teachers and the province have been negotiating for a year now, with educators asking for a pay increase and more student resources. They also say the job has become more demanding, and they're exhausted. According to the union, this recent action is deemed historic, representing a significant moment as they haven't engaged in a strike of this scale since 1982. Government sources tell Global News that they've put a fair and realistic offer on the table, which includes creating permanent teaching positions and adding teacher's aides in elementary and high school. While teachers are also asking for a better student-teacher ratio, the government says it's unrealistic given the ongoing staff shortage and is waiting for a counter-offer from teachers. Given the ongoing teachers' strike in that province, the future of education in Quebec is a matter of concern. There is hope for a solution that meets the government's and teachers' needs as long as negotiations continue. RELATED ARTICLE: Key Leadership Skills for Our Rapidly Changing World 2017 Jobs & Hire All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A fire broke in a residential house in Azaz led to the death of a woman suffering from chronic respiratory disease, Zaman al-Wasl writes. Eight fires have erupted in various locations across northwestern Syria, with four incidents reported in residential homes, as disclosed by White Helmets. According to the organization, within the last 24 hours, eight fires have been recorded in northwestern Syria. Among them, four blazes occurred in civilian residences in the city of Idleb, the town of Hamra in its western countryside, and the city of Jindires. Tragically, a fire broke out in a residential house in the city of Azaz in Aleppo countryside, leading to the unfortunate death of a woman suffering from chronic respiratory disease. Additionally, incidents included a fire in a bakery in the city of Dana, north of Idleb, a fire in a clothing store in the city of Azaz, a fire involving a civilians car in the town of Termanin, and a fire affecting an oak tree in the town of Sharran, north of Aleppo. The White Helmets have confirmed that their teams successfully extinguished several fires and took measures to cool the affected areas. This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. The Iranian plane discreetly entered Syrian airspace, deactivating its navigation devices over Iraqi territory, Sawt al-Asima says. A video captured at Damascus International Airport on Sunday, November 26th, documented an Iranian Yazd Airlines plane, identified by its code EP-DZA, present at the airport without prior notice of flights between Damascus and Iran. Verification by Sawt al-Asima website confirmed the aircrafts movements. The Airbus-310, EP-DZA, arrived at Damascus airport at 2:00 PM on Sunday, three hours before the reported Israeli airstrikes on the airport. The Iranian plane discreetly entered Syrian airspace, deactivating its navigation devices over Iraqi territory, indicating a potential transport of weapons and military equipment between Iran and Damascus. Flight records for the same aircraft indicated covert flights between Tehran and Latakia airport from November 22 to 25. Notably, Syrian Air did not publicly announce any passenger flights during this period. A source at Damascus International Airport disclosed that the Iranian plane departed from the northern runway at midnight on Monday, en route to Iran. The northern runway, reserved for small-sized or low-tonnage aircraft due to damage to the second runway, was the only operational option. The southern runway remained non-functional due to ongoing maintenance. The flight path of Yazds plane revealed a departure from Syrian airspace similar to its entry, activating air tracking and navigation systems only upon entering Iraqi airspace toward Khomeini International Airport in Tehran. 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. UNDP labelled food insecurity in Syria as reaching a "historic level", according to Shaam Network. Websites associated with the Assad regime recently published a report from the so-called Central Bureau of Statistics, claiming collaboration with international entities, on household food security in Syria. The report asserted that none of the surveyed families received three meals a day. The survey, covering approximately 34,000 families across Syria, purportedly encompassed the entire geography, excluding the liberated north, and was conducted by trained teams. Adnan Humaidan, the office director, emphasized the uniformity of nutritional living conditions across Syria, highlighting high rates of marginalized individuals, limited food-secure families, and widespread contentment with two meals a day, with some settling for just one. Rabih Kalaji, a Peoples Assembly member, lamented the allocation of over 6,000 billion Syrian pounds in the 2024 budget for support while acknowledging the grim reality of some families consuming only one meal. Kalaji acknowledged the challenging living situation discussed regularly in the Council, attributing difficulties to resource constraints. Despite a 3% decrease in the 2024 budget deficit from 2023, he considered it a positive sign amid challenging circumstances, noting the impact of exchange rate differences on expenditures and revenue difficulties in the Syrian pound. The Central Bureau of Statistics described its survey as a groundbreaking effort to assess food security levels in Syria, aiming to inform future government and societal strategies. Conducted electronically using tablets provided by the Food Security Program, the survey involved 400 devices, transforming paper forms into a digital format. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) labelled food insecurity in Syria as reaching a historic level due to a deteriorating socio-economic situation, coinciding with heightened humanitarian needs. Dr. Shafiq Arbash, a former director of the Central Bureau of Statistics and Damascus University economics professor, warned that food security in regime-controlled areas faced threats, contributing to an increase in the poverty rate. Despite this, the pro-regime economist, Arbash, projected a poverty rate exceeding 90% in Syria, attributing it to rising prices in 2021. Contradicting these findings, the World Food Program of the United Nations reported that over half of Syrias population grappled with food shortages. Meanwhile, Amr Salem, the former Minister of Internal Trade in the regimes government, claimed food security is secure and more than excellent, diverging from UN data and international reports on Syrias food insecurity. 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. Syria emphasized the connection between these recent Israeli aggressions and the brutal assault on the Gaza Strip, according to al-Baath. The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates expressed grave concern over the recurrent Israeli airstrikes targeting Syrian civilian airports. The ministry asserted that these actions pose a significant threat to regional and international peace and security. It called upon United Nations (UN) bodies to fulfill their responsibilities by condemning and preventing these attacks to ensure their non-recurrence. In a statement, the ministry detailed that on Sunday, at approximately 16:50, Israeli forces conducted an aerial missile attack from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, directly targeting Damascus International Airport and certain areas in the countryside of Damascus. This attack resulted in the suspension of airport operations shortly after they had resumed, causing disruption to the United Nations humanitarian air services in Syria. The ministry emphasized the connection between these recent Israeli aggressions and the brutal assault on the Gaza Strip, characterizing it as a war crime and a crime against humanity. Furthermore, it underscored that these repeated strikes on Syrian civilian airports posed a direct threat to the stability and security of both the region and the world. The ministry contended that such acts of hostility were part of the occupying authorities efforts to divert attention from their own failures, defeats, and inability to achieve their stated objectives during their aggressive actions in Gaza. Despite committing grave war crimes and acts of genocide, they sought to deflect attention by targeting Syrian airports. Syrias Ministry of Foreign Affairs called upon the United Nations, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), and other competent international bodies to take a stand, condemn these attacks, and take measures to prevent their recurrence. It emphasized the necessity of implementing relevant UN resolutions that would lead to the end of the occupation and put an end to Israels transgressions against the people of the occupied Arab territories, including Palestine, the Syrian Golan Heights, and southern Lebanon. The ministry issued a stern warning to the Israeli entity, cautioning them about the consequences of their attacks on these Arab territories and affirming that Israel would bear a heavy price for its unwarranted actions. 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. RIDGEFIELD When Renee Serface and her husband, Justin, bought the old white church in downtown Ridgefield in May 2021, they thought it would take about six months to renovate the space and reopen it as a cocktail lounge. Although much has changed in the intervening two and a half years, their goal remains the same. Serface said they want to create a space their patrons will experience, not just visit. We wanted a special place where the community could come and be proud of it, a place that could be their hangout, Serface said. When the property, located at 113 S. Main Ave., reopens as The Neighborhood Refuge which the Serfaces hope happens in April visitors will find much has changed since it was used as a church. Four days a week, it is going to be a cocktail lounge with a private, high-end liquor membership area downstairs. The other three days, were looking for groups like Young Life some of the nonprofits to have a space they can use and socialize, Serface said. The Refuge will host events and have multiple bars to serve attendees. On the main floor, cozy little seating areas inspired by those found in Irish pubs will offer space for people to enjoy their cocktails while reading books and perusing old yearbooks. Serface has been encouraging yearbook donations to build up the Refuges library. People dont look at their yearbooks. If theyre sitting here, having a cocktail, they might go grab their yearbook and look up people they were friends with, Serface said. Its about the stories that get told here. Downstairs, patrons will find a plush liquor lounge with elegant leather furniture and drinks served in Waterford crystal glasses. There will be food, too whether its from the commercial kitchen theyve added or nearby food trucks. Weve added a 200-square-foot covered pavilion, and weve added the kitchen that we purchased, Serface said. In the cooler, wetter months, the outdoor pavilion will be used for gatherings, such as wine walks and holiday photos. In the summer, live music will drift up from the new outdoor event space featuring fire pits and tiered seating. Serface said the pavilion and event space will offer patrons a spectacular view as the sun sets over Lake River and the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, and the occasional visit by deer, squirrels, birds and other wildlife. Thats one of the reasons why my husband picked (the name) The Neighborhood Refuge, Serface said. In addition to all of the work to be done on the land and building, there have been various delays along the way, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, material shortages, supply chain issues and permits to acquire. A year ago, the Serfaces learned they would have to install a sprinkler system, which proved costly. Now, they are awaiting a tenant improvement permit from the city. But nothing has dampened their enthusiasm for the project. Locals have flocked to the former church property since it was first built by Henry and Stephen Shobert in 1884 to house Union Ridge Presbyterian Church. Additions in 1907 and 1927 expanded the buildings size. From commissioning a new stained-glass window to reusing the buildings original wood, the Serfaces said they have paid close attention to preserving and respecting the history of the property. Justin Serface, who is a licensed contractor, reused some of the original wood planks to create a new bar. In other areas, they preserved the original wood flooring and siding on an addition, which will be visible to patrons. Another bar was upcycled from an old mobile post office. We want to keep it as authentic as possible, Renee Serface said. The couple also hope to attract new tourists to the area. Along with advertising in other cities, Serface said she has been putting out stickers with QR codes in places such as Maui, Panama City and Nashville, Tenn. When scanned, the codes will provide information about the history of the site and the new business. Serface said they also plan to advertise to get the word out. In addition to the events planned for the venue, the area offers boating, kayaking, fishing and the nearby ilani casino. A Longview man who assaulted a woman and a police officer in the parking lot of St. Helens Elementary School in the spring was sentenced to five years in state prison Monday morning. Timothy Anthony Cain Brewer, 37, of Longview, pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery and two charges of third-degree assault. He also received a sentence of 18 months of community custody, and the presiding judge issued a no-contact order. On May 31, Brewer, a students parent, tried to gain entry into St. Helens Elementary, located at 431 27th Ave. in Longview, but was denied. He then walked to the school parking lot and attempted to steal the car keys out of the hands of a senior citizen who was donating books to the school at the time of the incident, breaking the victims hand in the botched robbery. Several staff members would later escort the victim into the school, and officials called 911 to report the assault. A police officer confronted Brewer in front of the school, and even after multiple commands for him to surrender, Brewer charged the officer with a closed fist, as stated in the probable cause statement. The officer deployed his pepper spray and taser, causing Brewer to fall to the ground. However, Brewer got back up, charged at the officer, and engaged in a fight. Brewer fought a second officer and was detained after backup arrived. At one point, Brewer struck the second officer in the face with a closed fist. Even after being handcuffed, Brewer persisted in struggling with the officers, thrashing his body around and flailing his legs, reports the probable cause statement. Donate Blankets Through Feb. 12, Three Rivers Christian School, 257 Alpha Dr., Longview. The Kelso-Longview Kiwanis Club is collecting new blankets for their Kwilts for Kids campaign. New blankets, or fleece blanket kits from JOANN Fabric and Craft stores, can be dropped off at Three Rivers Christian School through Feb. 12. People can also call Carol at 360-636-1600 to arrange a pick up. All blankets will be given to Community House on Broadway and the Emergency Support Shelter. Mount St. Helens Club hike Nov. 29, Whipple Creek. Join the club for an easier hike along a 4-mile path through forested farm land in Whipple Creek. For more information, contact hike leader John R. at 360-431-1122. Mark Morris Class of 66 luncheon Dec. 1, noon, Stuffys, 804 Ocean Beach Hwy., Longview. The Mark Morris class of 66 is hosting its monthly luncheon this Friday. All classmates, spouses, friends and teachers are welcome and encouraged to attend. For more information, reach out to Cathy Cleek Healea at 360-425-5191. Longview Ski & Outdoor Club meeting Dec. 1, 6:30 p.m., at St. Stephens Episcopal Church, 1428 22nd Ave., Longview. The Longview Ski and Outdoor Club is holding its a potluck and gift exchange alongside its monthly meeting. Cowlitz Valley Runners club run Dec. 2, Keebler Coffee Roasters, 1101 Commerce Ave., Longview. Free. Meet up with the Cowlitz Valley Runners Club at 8:30 a.m. for this free run. Parks and Rec planting party Dec. 2, 9 a.m., Lake Sacajawea Park. Join Parks and Recreation Board member Glenda Johnson, along with the Longview Parks and Recreation Foundation for a bulb planting party. The event is outdoors, and it will be held rain or shine. Mount St. Helens Club Hike Dec. 2, Lake Sacajawea, Longview. Come along for one more easier hike around Lake Sacajawea with little elevation gain. This walk is designed to be approachable for people with physical limitations and seniors. For more information, contact Susan S. at 360-430-9914. Mark Morris Class of 67 luncheon Dec. 5, 1 p.m., at The Regent, 3353 Washington Way, Longview. Cowlitz Valley runners club run and meeting Dec. 9, Red Leaf Organic Coffee, 209 W Main St., Kelso. Free. Meet up with the Cowlitz Valley Runners Club at 8:30 a.m. for this free run. A meeting will be held after the run. Cowlitz Valley Runners club run Dec. 16, Luckman Coffee Company, Mountain Timber Market Place, Port of Kalama. Free. Meet up with the Cowlitz Valley Runners Club at 8:30 a.m. for this free run. Cowlitz/Wahkiakum Pomona 7 Dec. 16, 1 p.m., Sunnyside Grange, 214 Cowlitz Ave. W, Castle Rock. Join the Cowlitz Wahkiakum Pomona for a 1 p.m. potluck lunch and celebrate the installation of grange officers. This months Pomona Project is to bring canned food. YMCAs 100th birthday party Dec. 17, 1-3 p.m., YMCA of Southwest Washington, 766 15th Ave., Longview The YMCA of Southwest Washington is hosting an open house in honor of its 100th birthday on Dec. 17 with music, raffles, historical photos, a scavenger hunt, and, of course, cake. The local nonprofit was founded alongside the city of Longview in January 1923, while its original facility was located at 500 Oregon Way, according to the YMCAs website. Cowlitz Valley Runners club run Dec. 23, Castle Rock Bakery, 160 Huntington Ave., Castle Rock. Free. Meet up with the Cowlitz Valley Runners Club at 8:30 a.m. for this free run. Cowlitz Valley Runners club run Dec. 30, Starbucks, 100 N. Minor Rd., Kelso. Free. Meet up with the Cowlitz Valley Runners club at 8:30 a.m. for this free run. Lutefisk and meatball dinner Jan. 14, seating times between noon and 3:30 p.m., at 224 Catlin St., Kelso. The Sons of Norway is hosting its annual lutefisk and meatball dinner this January. The menu features lutefisk with cream sauce and melted butter, meatballs and gravy, potatoes, green beans, coleslaw, coffee, tea and lefse. Assorted cookies will also be sold for dessert. Tickets for adults are $30 and children aged 3-10 are $10. Seating times are spread throughout the afternoon and evening and include noon, 12:30 p.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. To reserve tickets, call 360-431-6472. Beginning Beekeeper Workshops Tuesdays, 6-8:30 p.m., Jan. 30-Feb. 20, at the Cowlitz County Training Center, 1942 First Ave., Longview. Join beginners workshops, hosted by the Washington State University Master Gardeners and the Cowlitz Beekeepers Association. Registration for the event is $50 and must be completed by Jan. 15. Only 25 spots are available. Event registration includes the attendance of an extra family member who can audit the class, as there is no graduation certificate. To register, head to bee-keepers-workshops-2024.cheddarup.com, or reach out to Gary Fredricks at 360-577-3014 or fredricksg@cowlitzwa.gov. Submit an event online at tdn.com/events or email frontdoor@tdn.com. On Sept. 18, the presence of quagga mussels was confirmed within the Snake River near the town of Twin Falls, Idaho, during regular invasive species monitoring by the Idaho State Department of Agriculture. This is the first time that this invasive and dangerous species has been detected within the Columbia River Basin, the last major river system in North America that was free of these species. Dangerous species If these mussels gain a foothold in the basin, the results would be catastrophic. Quagga mussels are native to Russia and the Ukraine. They first arrived in the Great Lakes region during the 80s. They are filter feeders, have no natural predators, and have spread rapidly throughout the continent. Justin Bush, the executive coordinator at the Washington Invasive Species Council, recently spoke about the threat this species poses, and the multi-state effort to keep them out of the basin. I can tell you that each state in the Columbia River Basin has a response plan, said Bush, and there is also a regional response plan between all the states. Idaho enacted their plan, and they did it pretty well from an outside perspective. The regional plan has also been activated so the states can share information about this invader. Bush mentioned that no quagga mussels have, as of yet, been detected in the state of Washington. The economic effects alone could be staggering, let alone what it would mean to the Columbia River fisheries. We have really good economic information based on what other states have experienced, Bush said. We know that quagga mussels would cost over 100 million dollars in impacts annually to our hydroelectric system. Thats not solving the problem, thats not eradicating it, that is just to keep our hydroelectric system running. He adds that other infrastructure, including irrigation, would also be impacted. It would also affect shipping along the river, as well as recreational activities, boat launches, and of course, the fisheries themselves. Quagga mussels take over water bodies, and become the main biomass within the systems they colonize. They filter out nutrients needed to sustain fish populations, while not removing any toxins. The water becomes literally too clear, bringing catastrophic changes to the plant life. Their shells are also razor sharp, and they will collect on any solid surface, such as rocks, pilings, and concrete structures. Waders and swimmers would need to stay clear of hard surfaces, or they could risk slicing their feet on the shells. These changes would certainly add stressors to the already strained salmon and steelhead populations within the Columbia Basin You can imagine a fish ladder covered in razor-sharp shells? Bush added. Idahos response The Idaho response has been quick, and so far, it has seen some success. Nic Zurfluh is the Bureau Chief of Idahos Invasive Species section of the Idaho State Department of Agriculture. He reports that, upon detection, the Idaho response plan was quickly put in motion. Stakeholders along the river were brought together with state biologists and scientists. Treatment options were discussed. Chelated copper emerged as the best option for treatment, and the plan was put in motion. The contaminated area of the middle Snake River was treated with the copper at one part per million for 96 hours, then the treatment was halted for 40 hours, followed by another round of 96 hours of treatment. Initial results showed no remaining veligers, or larvae, and a single adult mussel found during initial surveys died from the treatment. However, it is too early to breathe a sigh of relief, and there are consequences from copper treatment. Chelated copper is very toxic to fish, Zurfluh said. It affects the gill itself, and early on we started to see mortality: carp, suckers, pike minnow, and sturgeon. The sturgeon are all of hatchery origin, and the area will be restocked. Anxiety is high among state managers and scientists. It will be a long winter and field season next year, he added, as state teams will keep an eye on the situation. It could take as long as five years of repeated treatments and surveys before the river can be declared clean. What you can do The seriousness of the situation should come as a warning to any one engaged in recreational and commercial fisheries within the Columbia. The incident reveals how important it is to keep these dangerous species from making their way into the Columbia River Basin. They can only be moved by people, Zurfluh said. That means it is up to every boating recreationist out there to take measures to keep the invaders out. That brings us to the strategy of Clean, Drain, Dry. When transporting any kind of water craft, it is the law to follow these steps. Drain refers to lake water that is typically kept in the live wells, and the bilge area. That means simply pulling the plug. The boat must then sit dry for a few days, and be meticulously cleaned. If boaters did that many threats could be eliminated, including quagga mussels. Boaters can also call the invasive species hotline and schedule an inspection and cleaning appointment. It is also the law to stop at the state-run check stations, which are set up near state borders and other main arterials that boaters use. Washington may be running at least five of these stations during peak boating season. If a boat is found to be contaminated, a cleaning agent is used to remove any hitch hikers. Anyone in southwest Washington that enjoys recreating on the Columbia, be they fishermen or recreational boaters, has a responsibility to take all necessary steps to help keep the Columbia River free of dangerous invasive species, such as quagga mussels. This is especially true for anyone that enjoys fishing for anadromous species such as salmon and steelhead. The threat to these fish is massive. If the Columbia becomes the next victim of these invasives, the results would truly be devastating to these species, which are so important to the Northwest, and southwest Washington. Did you miss the twelfth and final day of this year to visit one of Washingtons state parks for free? Not to worry, the Washington State Discover Pass Program has announced designated free days for 2024. Every year, Washington State Parks has 12 Discover Pass free days in which people are able to visit any of the over 140 state parks or lands managed by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources and the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife for free. Free days do not apply to Sno-Parks permits, which are available for purchase during the winter season, from November through April. Below is a list of the Discover Pass free days in 2024: Jan. 1: First Day Hikes and New Years Day Jan. 15: Martin Luther King Jr. Day March 9: Billy Frank Jr.s Birthday March 19: State Parks 111th Birthday April 22: Earth Day June 8: National Get Outdoors Day June 9: Free Fishing Day June 19: Juneteenth Sept. 28: National Public Lands Day Oct. 10: World Mental Health Day Nov. 11: Veterans Day Nov. 29: Autumn Day Why are state parks free on specific dates? Washington state parks are free on New Years Day, Billy Frank Jr.s birthday, Juneteenth, National Public Lands Day. Heres why the parks are free on Jan. 1 and March 9. New Years Day, the first free day of 2024, provides people the opportunity to participate in Washington State Parks annual First Day Hikes event. First Day Hikes is a national initiative led by Americas State Parks. It encourages people to ring in the new year surrounded by nature. Last year, more than 1,500 participants hiked, biked and snowshoed 2,652.67 trail miles at Washington state parks. Distance and rigor vary from park to park, but all hikes aim to create a fun experience for the whole family. Billy Frank Jr. (1931-2014) was an environmental activist and former chair of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. His lifelong dedication to protecting endangered salmon and restoring justice for the Nisqually Tribe helped shape Washingtons environmental laws and expand treaty rights for Native Americans nationwide. Juneteenth has been celebrated in Black communities since June 19, 1865, when enslaved people in Texas learned they were free. The news reached them two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Juneteenth became an official federal holiday in 2021. National Public Lands Day was established in 1994 and is held annually on the fourth Saturday in September. It celebrates the connection between people and green spaces in their communities inspiring environmental stewardship and encouraging the use of open space for education, recreation and health benefits. World Mental Health Day was designated as a free day to acknowledge the power of nature to restore mental health. Studies show time spent in nature boosts serotonin, dopamine and vitamin D and lowers blood pressure and cortisol levels, helping our bodies combat stress. An annual Washington State Discover Pass costs $30 or $35 after added transactions and dealer fees if it is purchased at a license vendor, online or by phone. A one-day pass costs $10 or $11.50 after added transactions and dealer fees if it is purchased at a license vendor, by phone or online. Over 50 Washington state parks have automated pay stations from which visitors can visit one-day passes or annual passes. These pay stations only accept credit cards. Beaver LBM-M1-23, better known as Norman, temporarily moved into a drained pool at Columbia Springs in east Vancouver to get sorted out after being booted from his Camas dwelling earlier this month. The nonprofit environmental education center operates a seasonal AirbnBeaver for those like Norman, who are labeled a nuisance for damaging or flooding property. Columbia Springs partners with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to operate a hatchery to raise trout and steelhead, although not all of its pools are always full. Here, beavers reside for up to two weeks in an emptied fish-hatching pool until the environmental nonprofit Cascade Forest Conservancy can move them to the Lewis River watershed inside the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Relocating these beavers is a way to avoid euthanizing them, said Amanda Keasberry, the conservancys science and stewardship manager. Norman, the 50-pound and coarsely haired guest, snoozed within the plastic walls of his igloo-shaped shelter in mid-November. A tree stump, branches and water helped make him feel at home. He wasnt a rowdy guest but pretty lethargic. He preferred silence, said Kylie DaCunha, Columbia Springs community engagement specialist. The goal was to keep his stay stress-free so he could snore without interruption. Beavers are a keystone species whose habitat-altering skills help shape wetlands, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The furbearers engineering, however, often redirects water toward nearby homes, upsetting the humans who live there. Theyre doing what theyve always done, but were the ones who are moving in, Keasberry said. Relocation rundown Cascade Forest Conservancy is one of two Clark County agencies approved for trapping and relocation, with the Cowlitz Indian Tribe being the other. Keasberry said most of the nuisance beaver calls she receives are from homeowners, although complaints sometimes come from government departments, too. When a landowner contacts Keasberry, she spends time fleshing out the details: How long has the beaver been on the property? What damage are they causing, if any? Is relocation necessary, or is the beaver simply being a beaver in its habitat? Say a beaver chewed down a tree and a property owner is concerned about those still standing. Keasberry may make a recommendation to install field fencing as a protective measure. However, if the situation is more complex a beaver dam is causing flooding or plugging culverts shell do a site visit to examine the damage. Sometimes, human-beaver intermingling is unavoidable. Beavers and humans kind of want the same thing when it comes to landscapes, Keasberry said. They have their homes in the back of your home. An ultimate beaver habitat contains water year-round a small creek or river that flows through a wide floodplain and is rife with shrubs, grasses and aquatic plants for the rodents to munch. The fine sediment near water makes it easy for beavers to dig tunnels from their lodges and dams to transport food. Deep pools and woodsy cover provide protection from predators. If relocation is best for the beaver and property owner, Keasberry will start trapping a process that lasts for that two-week period, so she can capture as many of the beavers family members as possible. Beavers are released from their AirbnBeaver space once their family is together or close to the end of their stay at Columbia Springs, per state regulations. Fortunately for Norman, he was reunited with his mate, LBM-F1-23, before he was moved to a new home. Avoiding damage Earlier this fall, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife proposed a training program and tweaks to its permitting process to expand beaver relocation efforts. At its root, the goal is to keep beavers in the landscape rather than killing them, whether they live in a backyard or on public land. Although the state is still revising its rules surrounding beaver relocation, landowners can take steps to minimize the critters damage on their property and learn how to coexist with nature. Property owners can mitigate beaver damage by wrapping trees with wired fencing or coating trunks with a sand and latex paint mixture, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. General hardware stores carry these materials, while specialized companies sell nonlethal deterrents. Cascade Forest Conservancy doesnt want to remove a beaver if its only causing minor issues. Relocation is the last resort in human-beaver conflicts, Keasberry said. Once one beavers gone, another often moves in to take over the territory. Instead, educating people on how to live with them is more important. Relocation is an amazing option as opposed to lethal removal, but it doesnt fix everything, she said. (Photo : Unsplash/Milan Csizmadia ) U.S. labor board dismissed claims that Tesla illegally fired Autopilot software employees at a New York factory to thwart union organizing. The complaint, filed by Workers United in February, alleging Tesla fired workers after a union campaign, was rejected by a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regional official. Tesla maintains the dismissals of employees from its Autopilot division were performance-related, not related to union activities. Legitimate Complaints The labor board representative admitted Tesla's two legitimate complaints: upholding an illegal policy regarding the use of technology at work and pursuing complaints to discourage union support. If Tesla fails to address these problems, the NLRB will file a complaint that an administrative judge will hear. Requests for comment from Workers United and Tesla have not been answered. The national unionization drive for Tesla facilities includes the Buffalo campaign, which has given rise to multiple complaints accusing the company of unlawful union-busting. With support from President Joe Biden, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union intends to organize Tesla and other non-unionized auto plants in light of recent victories in Detroit. Tesla was found in violation of the NLRB judge's April ruling for prohibiting pay discussions in Florida. Tesla disputes any misconduct in these cases, notwithstanding recent court rulings. READ ALSO: Digital Transformation in Manufacturing: Top Opportunities and Challenges Tesla Prevails Against U.S. Allegations Workers United claimed that Tesla had unlawfully fired workers to stop union organizing at its Buffalo, New York "gigafactory." The union filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which dismissed it. Workers United said that Tesla had fired dozens of Autopilot department workers soon after a union campaign was announced earlier this year. Tesla strongly denied the claims, asserting that performance reviews had nothing to do with the terminations and unionization efforts. Amidst a more prominent national push to unionize Tesla facilities, the NLRB's decision in favor of Tesla represents a significant victory for the company. Numerous complaints alleging illegal anti-union activities were filed with the labor board in response to the ruling. Although neither Workers United nor Tesla responded to requests for comment immediately, this legal dispute highlights the solid opposition for unionization within the electric vehicle manufacturer. The decision, in this case, could impact the current arguments and discussions about labor practices, union representation, and workers' rights in the quickly changing electric vehicle market. The settlement of this disagreement takes place in the midst of increased criticism of Tesla's labor policies. Following successful negotiations with major automakers, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union is fervently pursuing unionization at Tesla plants and other non-unionized auto companies. President Joe Biden has stated that he supports the UAW's attempts to organize Toyota and Tesla employees. It's important to remember that Tesla has previously encountered legal issues with labor practices. The business has previously been involved in lawsuits alleging that it violated federal labor laws; the results of those cases varied depending on the circumstances. The automotive industry's evolving narrative is heavily influenced by the broader implications of Tesla's actions and the ongoing discussions surrounding workers' rights, even as the company navigates these legal and labor relations challenges. RELATED ARTICLE: Netflix's Masterclass: Eliminating "Company as Family" Illusion to "Dream Team" To Redefine Corporate Culture 2017 Jobs & Hire All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: An Amazon company logo is seen on the facade of a company's building in Schoenefeld near Berlin, March 18, 2022. European regulators said Monday, Nov. 27, 2023, that Amazons proposed acquisition of robot vacuum maker iRobot may harm competition. Credit: AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File European regulators said Monday that Amazon's proposed acquisition of robot vacuum maker iRobot may harm competition. The European Commission, the European Union's executive arm and top antitrust enforcer, said it has informed Amazon of its "preliminary view" regarding the deal following an investigation that began in July. The news raised investors' concerns about the acquisition, sending shares in Bedford, Massachusetts-based iRobot Corp., most famous for the circular-shaped Roomba vacuum, down more than 17% Monday. The European regulators raised concerns that the buyout may hinder iRobot's rivals from effectively competing on Amazon's marketplace, which they said is an important platform for sales of robot vacuum cleaners in France, Germany, Italy and Spain. If the deal goes through, the commission said Amazon may be incentivized to prevent competitors from selling their products on its marketplace or making it difficult for them to do so. Among other things, it said Amazon could reduce the visibility of a competitor's product on its marketplace or limit access to certain labels, such as "Amazon's choice," that may attract more shoppers. It may also find ways to raise the costs of iRobot's rivals to advertise and sell their products on its platform, the commission said. The commission has until Feb. 14 to make a final decision on the deal. And Amazon may respond to some of the objections raised. Alexandra Miller, an Amazon spokesperson, said the Seattle-based company is working with the commission and is focused on addressing its questions. "IRobot, which faces intense competition from other vacuum cleaner suppliers, offers practical and inventive products," Miller said. "We believe Amazon can offer a company like iRobot the resources to accelerate innovation and invest in critical features while lowering prices for consumers." Amazon's acquisition iRobot was announced last year for $1.7 billion, but the value of the deal has since declined by 15% after vacuum maker incurred new debt. Anti-monopoly organizations have voiced concerns about the deal, saying that it would broaden the e-commerce giant's dominance in the smart home market. But British antitrust regulators cleared Amazon's purchase of iRobot back in June. The acquisition is still facing a review in the U.S. by the Federal Trade Commission. Amazon's stock finished up less than 1% Monday. 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Taiwanese tech giant and key Apple supplier Foxconn is planning an additional $1.54 billion investment in India for "operational needs", as it seeks to diversify production away from China. The firmalso known by its official name Hon Hai Precision Industryis the world's biggest contract electronics manufacturer and assembles devices for many companies, most notably Apple's iPhones. The company said in a filing to Taiwan Stock Exchange late Monday that its Indian subsidiary plans to spend around $128 billion rupees on "engaging others to build on owned land" for "operational needs". The statement did not provide any details, only saying "a supplemental announcement will be made after the transaction is confirmed". Foxconn operates in more than two dozen countries but the bulk of its operations is based in Chinaa dependence it is looking to reduce after production was impacted by three years of strict COVID policies, a bout of industrial unrest and diplomatic tensions with the United States. Chairman Young Liu had said during an earnings call in August that the company saw the potential to invest "several billion dollars" in India. Foxconn in May announced the purchase of a huge tract of land on the outskirts of Indian tech hub Bengaluru for $37 million. It currently operates about nine production campuses and has more than 30 factories in India, according to Liu. The company is planning to expand its India operations to "critical components" for consumer electronics and electric vehicles to boost its competitiveness, he said. 2023 AFP 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: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Amazon workers at a fulfillment center that services Philadelphia and South Jersey walked out of work on Monday, demanding better pay and working conditions as part of a multistate organizing effort. About two dozen workers walked out of the West Deptford, New Jersey, facility about 3:50 p.m. on Cyber Mondaythe Monday after Thanksgiving when Amazon and many other online retailers run numerous discounts and promotions. Workers who walked out gathered in the facility's parking lot and spoke about mandatory overtime they've been working, as well as difficulties faced by seasonal hires when transitioning to full-time status. "I was here as a seasonal for over a year before I was finally converted," said Gaeton Grasso, adding that it was unclear throughout that time whether seasonal workers were going to be laid off at some point. "I should be making more," he said, but that time as a seasonal worker didn't count toward semiannual raises. Pay starts at $19 per hour for the "tier-one" warehouse workers who protested Monday. Eli Lotz, a worker who helped organize the walkout, said many workers were told they could be fired for participating in the action. Organizers were unsure how many participants to expect in the walkout, but Lotz said they were pleased with the outcome. "We wanted to get a group together to show that we could do this without getting fired, and that's what we did," Lotz said. "This is the kind of thing we need to do to get what we want." Monday's action arose out of a larger organizing effort at Amazon facilities. More than 20 Amazon organizing committees, including organizers from West Deptford, gathered in October to create a list of demands for their employer. The organizers are seeking pay increases, including a starting wage of $25 per hour and a $2 per hour bonus for peak times and safety improvements, including the presence of trained health-care professionals on site. They also want the ability to wear one earbud in roles where that would not cause a safety problem. More broadly, the organizers are calling on Amazon to end retaliation against organizing efforts and recognize its drivers as employees rather than subcontractors. They also want the company to end automated performance write-ups based on productivity metrics and disciplinary measures based on those metrics. "They hold people to unreasonable expectations of rate, and they write up people who don't meet those expectations," Lotz said. "There's a pretty high rate of injuries because of people working constantly in repetitive motions. Mentally, it's really draining." Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the walkout. Representatives from other unions and a few workers from other Amazon facilities rallied outside the West Deptford fulfillment center on Monday in support of the walkout, serving pizza to the workers who participated. "This is the time of year when they push us to our breaking limit," said Nate Gosweiler, an employee of the Amazon delivery station in Northeast Philadelphia, who went to support West Deptford workers. "Unless all the workers are involved together this company won't change their actions." Gosweiler said his facility and the West Deptford fulfillment center are two of three Amazon locations in the Philadelphia region that have taken collective action with the Amazonians United organization. The other is a delivery station in South Jersey. Workers and various labor organizations around the United States and world have been holding actions against Amazon on Black Friday and Cyber Monday for several years, including strikes at certain locations this year. Organizing Amazon workers have seen some high-profile wins, such as one fulfillment center in Staten Island successfully unionizing last year, but they have also faced resistance and legal challenges. The company has numerous facilities in the Philadelphia region, including one that opened this fall. 2023 The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Kyle Kacal announced Monday he will retire as the representative for Texas House District 12, which includes part of Brazos County and all of Grimes, Madison, Robertson, Walker and Washington counties. Kacal, 53, who has represented District 12 since 2013, announced his decision not to run for reelection in a press release, saying he needs to focus on spending more time with his family. Now its time to return home to tend to my family and my business, he said in the statement. I am ready to pass the torch to someone else who will help write the next chapter of our great Texas story. In the statement, Kacal said he was proud of what he and fellow Republicans accomplished. They didnt come about by accident, and they certainly werent the result of pandering, grandstanding, or stoking divisions within the Republican Party, he said. Instead, they have been the direct result of serious conservatives coming together to govern like responsible adults, which is increasingly rare in politics today. Although he did not mention any future political aspirations, Kacal did not rule out the possibility completely. While I do not know what the future has in store for me, as long as I am able, I plan to continue being engaged in public policy, working to find positive solutions to the challenges we face, he said in the statement. Kacal will remain in office until Jan. 14, 2025, and his successor will be elected in the November 2024 general election. Kacals announcement comes several months after District 14 Rep. John Raney, R-Bryan, announced he would not seek reelection after 12 years in office. That means both house districts representing Brazos County will be up for reelection next November. In the recent fourth special legislative session called by Gov. Greg Abbott, Raney authored an amendment that ultimately killed the most recent attempt to pass a school voucherlike program. Raney, Kacal and 19 other Republicans joined with the Democrats to pass the amendment, sending the bill back to committee where it is likely to die. Just three days after the amendment blocked Abbotts agenda, the governor released a list of 2024 endorsements for House candidates and thanked five retiring house members. Kacal, who had not yet announced his retirement, was not among the 58 endorsements and Raney was not listed as one of the five Republicans thanked for their tenure in office. Both Kacal and Raney voted to impeach Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton last spring, another contentious split among Republicans. Currently, Raney has endorsed Paul Dyson for Texas House District 14, the only candidate who remains in the race. Soon after Kacals announcement, Huntsville businessman and community leader Trey Wharton announced he filed paperwork with the Republican Party of Texas and is an official candidate for House District 12 for the March 5, 2024 primary. By Park Han-sol Shim Moon-Seup, regarded as a pioneering force in modern Korean sculpture, presents a series of his meditative, seascape-inspired abstractions at Perrotin Paris. The exhibition in the French capital features 13 paintings and two sculptures by the artist and follows his first solo presentation held at the international gallerys Hong Kong outpost last year. Born in 1943 in the southern port city of Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, Shim first dove into the countrys postwar art scene through anti-academic experimentations challenging conventional sculptural norms. In the 1970s, influenced by minimalist artist Lee U-fan and the Mono-ha (School of Things) movement, Shim used simple materials such as stones, paper, tree trunks and steel plates in their raw state and arranged them in a way that turns viewers focus onto the idea of relationships those between the natural and manmade elements and between the materials and space while minimizing his own intervention. Along with his fellow avant-garde creators of this time, Shim is one of the artists featured in the ongoing group exhibition, Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea, 1960s-1970s, at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. His artistic repertoire began to expand beyond 3D installations in the 2000s when he turned to oil paintings a medium which, in his eyes, shares fundamental overlaps with sculptures. On view at the Paris gallery are the canvas works, "The Presentation," born from repeated and layered brushstrokes, which evoke the azure waves and tides of his childhood. The dominant blue tones are a reference to his past and the sea, which he carries within him, and which have taught him to both look at nature and collaborate with it, Mael Bellec, curator of Chinese and Korean art at the Musee Cernuschi in Paris, noted in a statement. Shim Moon-seup runs through Jan. 13, 2024, at Perrotin Paris. Carter Bank responded Nov. 20 to a federal lawsuit filed Nov. 13 by the Justice family and many of their companies alleging that the bank prevented the family from securing financing from other creditors. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia in Beckley, West Virginia. Lawyers for Carter Bank argue in the six-page response that the new lawsuit is nearly a carbon copy of a lawsuit filed in 2021 and ultimately dismissed. They also contend the attorney for the Justice family filed the suit in the wrong court. The filing accuses the Justices of trying to stave off confession of judgment proceedings pending against them in Martinsville Circuit Court that was scheduled for Nov. 15. Many of the allegations in the new lawsuit are lifted whole cloth from the previous suit and others are slimmed-down versions, with the exception of the suits request that the court declare Virginias statutory confession of judgment procedures unconstitutional. Lawyers for Carter Bank argue the Justices have signed approximately 350 documents involving promissory notes, guaranties, loan agreements, releases, and other contracts all designating either the federal court in the Western District of Virginia or the state court in Martinsville as the mandatory forum for any disputes between the parties, making the lawsuit filed by the Justices in West Virginia the wrong venue. The response states that a motion will be filed on behalf of Carter Bank to dismiss the most recent lawsuit by the Justices or transfer for lack of proper venue. The hearing, scheduled earlier this month in Martinsville, has been continued to January and involves more than $300 million in confessed judgment claims that Carter Bank aims to collect. The Justices claim a business and personal relationship between Jim Justice, who is also the governor of West Virginia, and Worth Carter, founder of Carter Bank, ended with Carter died and other bank officials took over operations of the bank and became adversarial with the Justices. STEM Education Apple to Add 50 Distinguished Winners Category to Annual Swift Student Coding Challenge For its 2024 Swift Student Challenge, opening in February, Apple has announced it will add a special category called 50 Distinguished Winners, who will be named for outstanding submissions. The challenge has been held since 2020, with students using the professional programming language Swift to create apps. Apple's Swift Playgrounds app was developed to introduce learners to coding and allow them to create their first app on iPad or Mac. The company has been working with educators globally to teach Swift Playgrounds. It has also developed four new Everyone Can Code Projects to help teachers guide students through coding and app development. The projects can be integrated into any subject area and introduce students to SwiftUI, which builds interfaces with little coding involved but uses app techniques found in Swift Playgrounds. As students work, they can see how the app changes in real time with App Preview. The four new projects, which can be created on iPad or Mac, are: Design a Simple App: Creating in Keynote, students learn the basics of app design, rapid prototyping, and collecting feedback, just as professional developers do. Build with Stacks and Shapes: With user interface design in Swift Playgrounds, students can build an app and code a self-portrait or artwork. Build Custom Shapes: Using SwiftUI and the AboutMe sample app, students can design a custom shape and plot coordinates. Design an App Icon: Students can create an app icon to communicate an idea, practice rapid prototyping, collect feedback, and upload the icon to Swift Playgrounds to be included in an app. These new projects are available in the Apple Education Community, where educators can find resources for teaching Swift Playgrounds. Version 4.4 is available now and includes support for Swift 5.9, and software development kits for iPadOS 17 and macOS Sonoma. Students can sign up here to be notified when the Swift Student Challenge will open. The challenge submission window will be open for three weeks in February. The company said that out of 350 overall winners, "the 50 Distinguished Winners will be invited to Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California, next summer, where they'll have the opportunity to connect with each other and the Apple team. All winners will receive a one-year membership into the Apple Developer Program, which enables them to submit apps to the App Store and receive support from Apple." "At Apple, we believe that everyone can learn to code and build apps, and we're proud to support and recognize aspiring student developers with the Swift Student Challenge each year," said Susan Prescott, Apple's vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations and Education & Enterprise Marketing. "We can't wait to see the app playgrounds students submit next year." State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington D.C. West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Puerto Rico US Virgin Islands Armed Forces Americas Armed Forces Pacific Armed Forces Europe Northern Mariana Islands Marshall Islands American Samoa Federated States of Micronesia Guam Palau Alberta, Canada British Columbia, Canada Manitoba, Canada New Brunswick, Canada Newfoundland, Canada Nova Scotia, Canada Northwest Territories, Canada Nunavut, Canada Ontario, Canada Prince Edward Island, Canada Quebec, Canada Saskatchewan, Canada Yukon Territory, Canada Zip Code China's Shaanxi province, Tanzania's Dar es Salaam region explore further cooperation Xinhua) 08:54, November 28, 2023 Li Mingyuan (L), a member of the Standing Committee of Communist Party of China Shaanxi Provincial Committee, and Albert Chalamila, the Dar es Salaam regional commissioner, sign an agreement for developing sister provinces between Shaanxi and Dar es Salaam in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on Nov. 27, 2023. Shaanxi province in northwest China and Tanzania's Dar es Salaam region on Monday signed an agreement aimed at exploring investment opportunities to support economic development of both sides. (Xinhua/Herman Emmanuel) DAR ES SALAAM, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Shaanxi province in northwest China and Tanzania's Dar es Salaam region on Monday signed an agreement aimed at exploring investment opportunities to support economic development of both sides. The agreement, which is the letter of intent for developing sister provinces between Shaanxi and Dar es Salaam, was signed between Li Mingyuan, a member of the Standing Committee of Communist Party of China Shaanxi Provincial Committee, and Albert Chalamila, the Dar es Salaam regional commissioner. Chalamila said the agreement will enable investors from Shaanxi province and Dar es Salaam region to explore investment opportunities available in Dar es Salaam region. Chen Mingjian, the Chinese ambassador to Tanzania, said Shaanxi province has a modern metropolis as well as impressive educational and industrial resources, while Dar es Salaam region is the commercial and transportation hub serving eight landlocked countries, which has the potential for exchange and cooperation in various fields. The signing ceremony was followed by a business forum. Speaking at the forum, Prince Katunzi, policy analyst for the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF), said the TPSF recognized the importance of international collaboration in achieving sustainable economic growth. "We believe that partnerships between Chinese and Tanzanian enterprises can unlock new avenues for innovation, trade and investment, contributing to the prosperity of both our nations," said Katunzi. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan) Root cause of undervaluation shifts from NK risks to structural problems: experts By Yi Whan-woo Despite South Korea's remarkable economic progress over the past decades, major companies here are still grappling with the weight of the so-called Korea discount in the stock market, a phenomenon where their equities are undervalued compared to global peers. Analysts now claim that the key culprits behind this unfavorable situation have shifted from geopolitical risks associated with North Koreas military threats to structural problems, such as opaque corporate practices, ineffective regulations and unfriendly dividend policies. They point out that non-transparent corporate practices primarily benefit a select few investors, notably the owners or largest shareholders, while regulations have failed to effectively curb these unfair practices, only restricting the returns of small investors. Kim Kyu-shik, chairman of the Korean Corporate Governance Forum, which monitors transparent business management, argued that the leaders of family-controlled conglomerates are exploiting business strategies to wield rights as controlling shareholders without respecting small investors in a clear manner. The practices addressed by Kim include corporate split offs and paid-in capital increases. Corporate split offs were often criticized for being misused by conglomerates as a means for overly aggressive business expansion, and in return, reduce the value of the parent company that initially attracted small investors to buy stocks. Paid-in capital increases often led to concerns of lowered values of relevant stocks. Kim pointed out the aforementioned strategies are exploited by both family owned and non-family owned businesses. They include mid-sized underwear company BYC and Kakao, once a startup that grew into an internet giant. You can see ill-rooted practices live on over time across listed companies, thus hindering the stocks from being properly valued. Jung Eui-jung, head of the Korean Stockholders Alliance, said that geopolitical risks associated with North Korea's provocations are no longer the main factor for South Korean stocks' undervaluation. Does South Korea face a bigger, more imminent threat than Taiwan? I dont think so. Yet, Seoul's stock market is more undervalued than Taipeis, said Jung. He was referring to Taiwan being dwarfed by Chinas economic and military power in the midst of Beijings growing ambition to forcefully annex the self-ruled island. South Korea is more than 50 times larger than North Korea in terms of gross domestic product (GDP). The Souths military is considered more robust than the Norths despite Pyongyangs evolving nuclear and missile threats and asymmetric warfare tactics. Under the circumstances, data from the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), the countrys main bourse, showed its price book-value ratio (PBR) has stood at around 2.0 for years, compared to Seouls benchmark KOSPI whose PBR was 0.92 on Nov. 24. PBR is used to compare a companys market price to its book value. A ratio below 1 means a firms stock price is less than the money it would get by selling all of its assets at book price. As of Nov. 24, nearly 70 percent of the KOSPI's domestic stocks, except for preferred shares, had a PBR below 1. Many large-cap KOSPI stocks were less appreciated in their value, including POSCO Holdings whose PBR stands at 0.68, Hyundai Motor at 0.45 and its sister company Kia at 0.86. Korea's four largest banking groups also suffered from underestimated stock values. The PBR of No. 1 market player, KB Financial Group, stood at 0.43, while its archrival Shinhan Financial Group stood at 0.39. The smaller players, Hana and Woori, remained at 0.33 and 0.32, respectively. The PBR of market bellwether Samsung Electronics was at 1.24. It, however, was behind rival TSMC of Taiwan, whose ratio was at 4.89. The comparison between South Korea and Taiwan evidently shows that the Korea discount does not mainly stem from North Koreas threats, Jung said. He also said that, considering South Korea is the worlds 13th largest economy, the KOSPI should have surpassed the 4,000 point mark already if it had not been negatively affected by the Korea discount. The index broke the 1,000 mark in 2005, 2,000 in 2007 and 3,000 in 2021 each for the first time but has remained in the 2,000 range this year in the aftermath of the pandemic. In its recent report, titled "Korea's Next S-Curve," McKinsey & Company pointed out that Korea ranked ninth out of 12 Asian countries in an assessment by the Asian Corporate Governance Association in 2020. The rank remained unchanged from 2016 and 2018. "This is mainly due to the assessment that dividends, rules on the composition of nomination committees for outside directors, and auditor appointment standards are below global ones," the company said. In their joint move, the Korean Stockholders Alliance and the Korean Corporate Governance Forum are correspondingly calling on the government to revise Clause 3 under Article 382 of the Commercial Act. They find the clause to be most responsible for leaving the door open for businesses to be negligent in guaranteeing shareholders return. The clause stipulates that a company's board of directors, in accordance with the law and corporate articles, should faithfully carry out its duty on behalf of the company it serves. But the clause does not address its responsibility to shareholders. The Korean Stockholders Alliance also finds that the regulation should be eased on capital gains taxes on major shareholders who own KOSPI stocks worth more than 1 billion won ($771,900) in a single company. Those whose stakes exceed 1 percent of total shares on the KOSPI or 2 percent of total shares listed on the secondary Kosdaq market are also subject to capital gains taxes. The regulation leads to massive offloadings of shares every end of the year to avoid taxes, and lower the valuations of related stocks, Jung said. BAMBERG -- Denmark Technical College, with Voorhees University, hosted a Nov. 14 community meeting to educate students and community members about the digital divide as well as give information on broadband equity, accessibility, and funding through the Affordable Connectivity Program. Get The Times and Democrat app today Local news has never been this personal. Free to download. Subscribers enjoy unlimited access. The meeting was sponsored by the Student Freedom Initiative. William Metts of Metts Engineering also briefed the audience on how the $12 million United States Department of Agricultures (USDA) ReConnect Grant will be utilized in Bamberg County. DTC meeting Denmark Technical College, with Voorhees University, hosted a Nov. 14 community meeting to educate students and community members about the di According to Metts, With the USDA ReConnect funding, Bamberg County is proposing to construct a Fiber-to-the-Premise (FTTP) buried project to increase infrastructure throughout portions of Bamberg County where there is no 25/3 Mbps broadband service available. Bamberg County will place approximately 210 miles of buried fiber across the central portions of the county that will pass approximately 2625 potential subscribers. Community meeting Bamberg County Administrator Joey Preston said, This is the first of a series of community meetings in which Bamberg County leaders will shar "This area includes the communities of Hunters Chapel, Denmark, and portions of the City of Bamberg. Bamberg County is one of 12 counties in the state of South Carolina designated as a Persistent Poverty County, which means the residents of this community face specific challenges and will rely on broadband internet services to help grow their local economy and increase their opportunities for the future. Claflin meeting takes aim at internet deserts Representatives from the Orangeburg community and the Student Freedom Initiative discussed a lack of internet accessibility during a Nov. 13 community meeting held on Claflin Universitys campus. Bamberg County Administrator Joey Preston said, This is the first of a series of community meetings in which Bamberg County leaders will share the good news about broadband expansion. We also encourage residents to apply for the Affordable Connectivity Program; households with students on free or reduced lunch qualify as well as all college students who receive a Pell grant. We are thrilled that affordable and accessible broadband internet is finally coming to Bamberg County! Elloree Police Chief Shawn Edward Murphree is accused of scratching the paint on a mans pickup truck in the parking lot of the Orangeburg County Courthouse. Murphree, 54, is facing one misdemeanor count of malicious injury to personal property valued at $2,000 or less. He was taken into custody by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division on Monday. Elloree Mayor Mike Fanning said that Murphree remains the towns police chief, but is on unpaid administrative leave pending the outcome of the case. Murphree became the towns police chief in 2017. The towns assistant police chief is now acting chief. Murphrees warrant accuses him of willfully causing injury to a mans 2013 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup while it was parked in the courthouse parking lot, located at 1406 Amelia Street, on Oct. 31. Surveillance video allegedly shows Murphree approaching the pickup and using an unknown object to scratch the truck. The cost to repair the damage was $1,216.15. The warrant claims that Murphree and his accuser, have prior knowledge of each other and were involved in a Family Court hearing inside the courthouse just prior to this incident. During a Monday afternoon bond hearing, Murphrees accuser claimed the chief is in a relationship with the mother of the accusers child. The accuser alleges that Murphree has harassed him during custody exchanges. The accuser told the court, The harassment has been going on for about 14 months. He claims to have video evidence of Murphrees behavior during the custody exchanges, which take place at Holly Hill Town Hall. His accuser also claimed that he has a hearing for a restraining order against Murphree next week. Murphrees attorney, Lewis Lanier, told the court that Murphree has been a law enforcement officer for 31 years and has no criminal record. According to Murphrees personnel/training record provided by the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy, Murphree was previously employed by the department from Nov. 6, 2007 until Jan. 29, 2015. Between 2015 and 2016, Murphree worked for the S.C. Department of Corrections. He rejoined the Elloree Police Department on Dec. 8, 2016. Murphree has also worked for the following agencies during his career: the St. George Police Department, Santee Police Department, Bowman Police Department, North Police Department, Norway Police Department and the Calhoun County Sheriffs Office. Orangeburg County Magistrate James Rickenbacker released Murphree on a personal recognizance bond for $1,000. That means Murphree didnt have to put up any money to be released from jail. Rickenbacker also ordered Murphree not to be within 1,000 yards of his accusers residence in North Charleston. If convicted, Murphree faces a fine of up to a $1,000 and 30 days in jail. (TBTCO) - Tai Hoi nghi Cong uoc khung cua Lien hop quoc ve bien oi khi hau lan thu 28, du kien dien ra tu ngay 30/11 en het 12/12/2023 tai Dubai. Ngan hang Phat trien Lien My (IDB) cho biet, se tang so tien tai tro tu 50 ty USD hien tai len 150 ty USD trong 10 nam toi cho cac du an phuc hoi va giam nhe nham giai quyet cac cuoc khung hoang khi hau o My Latinh va Caribe. The Red Cross confirmed it is en route to Israel with twelve hostages freed by Hamas this evening. The WHO said there is a serious risk that more people in Gaza could die of disease than from Israeli bombings if the health system was not restored. The US urges Israel to take greater care during its offensive in southern Gaza, saying that the same thing done in the north of the strip cannot be replicated in the south. An explosion was heard in the southern Lebanese village of Aita al-Shaab with its origins being unknown -- the situation did not escalate. The Polish left is set to return to government after 18 years out of power. But with vote shares down and a muddled strategy, it risks losing visibility among other coalition partners. From the Polish Politics blog. In recent years, the Polish left has enjoyed considerable influence on public debate. Many of its policy stances on both socio-economic and moral-cultural issues now have widespread support and have been adopted by more liberal and centrist political groupings. However, this has not been matched in electoral success. For much of the post-1989 period, the most powerful political force on the left was the communist successor Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), which governed Poland from 1993-97 and 2001-5. However, the Alliances support collapsed at the 2005 parliamentary election following a series of spectacular, high-level corruption scandals. It contested the 2015 election as part of the United Left (ZL) coalition but narrowly failed to cross the 8% parliamentary representation threshold for electoral alliances (5% for individual parties). As a result, left-wing parties did not secure parliamentary representation for the first time since 1989. The Alliance faced a challenge on its radical left flank from the Together (Razem) party, which gained kudos among many younger, left-leaning Poles for its dynamism and programmatic clarity. It accused the Alliance of betraying left-wing ideas by pursuing orthodox liberal economic policies when in office. Together won 3.6% of the vote in 2015, which was not enough to obtain parliamentary representation but was enough to peel away sufficient left-wing votes, preventing the United Left from crossing the 8% threshold. However, Together failed to capitalize on its early promise and attract a broader range of support beyond the well-educated, urban hipsters that formed its core electorate. In 2019, another left-wing challenger party emerged in the form of the social liberal Spring (Wiosna). The group was formed by the longstanding LGBTQ+ advocate Robert Biedron, at the time the Polish lefts most popular and charismatic politician. However, after a promising start, Spring struggled to carve out a niche for itself and only just crossed the 5% representation threshold in that years European Parliament (EP) election, well below expectations. Consequently, these three parties contested the 2019 legislative election as a united Left (Lewica) slate and finished third with 12.6% of the votes, regaining parliamentary representation for the left after a four-year hiatus. Many left-wing activists and commentators hoped that the new Left parliamentary caucus would use this platform to shift the terms of the debate decisively to the left and challenge the right-wing and liberal-centrist duopoly that has dominated Polish politics since 2005. The Democratic Left Alliance changed its name to the New Left (Nowa Lewica) and merged with Spring, although Together chose to maintain its organizational independence and distinctive ideological identity. In fact, last months parliamentary election results were bittersweet for the Left. On the one hand, opposition parties won enough seats to secure a parliamentary majority, and it looks set to become the first left-wing grouping to join a Polish government in 18 years. On the other hand, the Left lost half-a-million electors as its vote share fell to 8.6%, which translated into only 26 seats in the 460-member Sejm, Polands more powerful, lower parliamentary chamber. This was 23 fewer than in 2019, making it only the fourth largest parliamentary grouping; the Left will return to office as the smallest member of a governing coalition dominated by liberal- and agrarian-centrist parties. Lacking a Distinctive Appeal So why did the Left perform so badly? Firstly, its election campaign often came across as dull and imaginative, with even politically sympathetic commentators acknowledging that it lacked emotional impact and a strong and clear overarching narrative about what the grouping stood for and how it would govern differently from other parties. Indeed, during much of the campaign, the Left behaved as if its overriding priority was simply to work with other opposition parties and remove the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) grouping, Polands governing party since 2015, from office. This encouraged many of its potential supporters to switch to the larger liberal-centrist Civic Platform (PO), Polands ruling party between 2007-15, and subsequently the main opposition grouping. Put simply, the Left did not do enough to stress its distinctiveness as an independent political actor, particularly given that over the last few years, Civic Platform has pivoted strongly to the left on both socio-economic and moral-cultural issues. The fact that the Left focused much of its fire on the smaller, radical right, free-market Confederation (Konfederacja) grouping also helped create the sense that it was competing for voters on the periphery rather than at the core of the Polish party system. Indeed, the Left appearing to acknowledge that it would only be a junior partner in a future anti-Law and Justice government also had a de-mobilizing effect on its potential supporters, which even the most effective political marketing would have had difficulty in overcoming. An exit poll conducted for the Ipsos agency found that only 57.6% of 2019 Left voters stuck with the grouping in 2023, while 23.8% switched to Civic Platform (which secured 30.7% support overall and 157 seats) and a further 12.9% to the Third Way (Trzecia Droga), an agrarian- and liberal-centrist electoral coalition (which also finished ahead of the Left with 14.4% and 65 seats). Not Winning Enough Younger Women, Losing Older Voters The Left had hoped to tap into the political mobilization generated by the huge demonstrations that erupted in October 2020 when Polands constitutional tribunal ruled that abortions in cases of fetal defects were unconstitutional. Poland already had one of Europes most restrictive abortion laws, and the tribunals ruling meant that the procedure was legal only in cases where pregnancy put the life or health of the mother in danger or if it resulted from incest or rape. The abortion protests were among the largest in Poland since 1989. Many young Poles were no doubt attracted by their carnival atmosphere at a time when the scope for social interaction was severely limited by coronavirus pandemic restrictions, but some commentators also argued that they were a formative political experience for those who participated in them, particularly younger women. However, although several of the Lefts leading figures were at the forefront of these protests, they did not appear to provide the grouping with an electoral boost. While the Left secured an above-average vote share of 10.1% among women (compared to 6.9% among men) this was considerably less than it was hoping for given how much of its campaign messaging was focused on trying to attract female voters. The Left did attempt, to some extent at least, to showcase some of its most effective female leaders who promoted the groupings policy promises on issues such as liberalizing the abortion law. The Left was, for example, the only political grouping to be represented by a woman, Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus, during the sole televised party leaders debate. However, for a political formation that professed to be in favor of greater womens representation (by mandatory quotas if necessary), it foregrounded male politicians during many of the most high-profile campaign moments. For example, it was New Left joint leaders Biedron and veteran ex-communist Wlodzimierz Czarzasty who spoke on the main platform during the oppositions huge March of a Million Hearts (Marsz Milion Serc) in Warsaw two weeks prior to the election. For sure, the Left secured the support of 17.7% of under-30s, among whom there was also a huge increase in turnout, the second highest vote share after Civic Platform on 28.3%. But this was the same proportion as the grouping won in 2019 and, again, it was hoping for considerably more, particularly given that in 2020 the CBOS polling agency found that the number of Poles aged 18-24 who identified with the political left had nearly doubled from 17% in 2019 to 30% in 2020 (the highest number recorded since the collapse of communism), rising to 40% among young women. However, particularly disappointing for the Left was the massive defeat that it suffered among older voters: it only secured 5.1% of 50-59-year-olds and 5.2% among over-60s. For years, this demographic had comprised one of the Polish lefts most important electoral constituencies, especially the (admittedly declining) section of the electorate that had some kind of positive sentiments toward, or direct material interests linking them to, the previous communist regime, such as those families who were connected to the military and former security services. Responsibility Without Influence? Moreover, although the 26 Left deputies are theoretically indispensable to a future government formed by the current opposition parties, the grouping risks being absorbed into an administration dominated by larger centrist parties whose instincts are more economically liberal or socially conservative and, therefore, unable to implement its flagship policies. For example, the expected new governments preliminary coalition agreement lacked a specific pledge to liberalize the abortion law in line with the Lefts program because the Polish Peasant Party (PSL), the moderately socially conservative grouping that makes up one-half of the Third Way, made it clear that they are in opposition. The Left really needs to carve out a niche for itself by securing control of ministerial portfolios where it can make an impact either by advancing its political agenda on moral-cultural issues or where its socio-economic policy pledges are not reined in by overall government budget constraints. In fact, the Left is divided on how to operate most effectively in the new parliament. While politicians from the more centrist New Left will take up government ministerial positions, the seven deputies who represent Together have decided not to formally join the coalition, having failed to secure firm pledges on abortion and financial guarantees for the implementation of its social policy programmes in areas such as health care and housing. However, Together has said that it will vote to install the new government in a forthcoming parliamentary confidence vote. The problem with this approach is that it risks leaving Left supporters feeling that their votes have been wasted while, at the same time, Together is propping up and, therefore, still being held responsible for (while having even less influence upon) the new government. The Polish Lefts Strategic Dilemma In fact, even if the Left can finesse this and carve out a distinctive role for itself within the new administration, it still faces a long-term strategic dilemma. Many more Poles declare their attachment to left-wing views (around 20% according to 2020 CBOS data) than actually vote for the Left. However, in Poland, declarations of left-right self-placement are generally determined by attitudes toward moral-cultural issues rather than include traditional left-wing socio-economic concerns. Indeed, less well-off, economically leftist voters tend to be more socially conservative, so often incline toward parties such as Law and Justice that are right-wing on moral-cultural issues but also support high levels of social welfare and greater state intervention in the economy. For example, only 5.1% of workers voted for the Left (its highest vote share, 21.9%, was actually among students) while 50.4% supported Law and Justice. Although the Left did include social programs in its election platform, for most Poles it was associated primarily with moral-cultural rather than socio-economic issues. At the same time, the kind of younger, better-off, socially liberal voters who in Western Europe would incline naturally towards left-wing parties, in Poland are often also quite economically liberal. So, there is always a risk that these voters will support larger liberal-centrist groupings such as Civic Platform, particularly if they (as many of them did in this election) prioritize keeping Law and Justice out of office above all else. Aleks Szczerbiak is a professor of politics and contemporary European studies at the University of Sussex. He can be followed on Twitter at @AleksSzczerbiak. Reprinted with permission from his Polish Politics Blog. French spirits maker bets big on non-Scotch whiskey, Redbreast By Ko Dong-hwan Distributing global whiskeys, spirits, wines and Champagnes in the Korean market, Pernod Ricard Korea CEO Frantz Hotton has recently introduced the Redbreast 15 Year Old from Irish Distillers in Dublin. The non-Scotch whiskey is Hotton's gambit to spur Irish whiskeys in the market, where Scotch varieties still dominate. Nevertheless, the CEO, who has been watching the market closely, believes Redbreast is creating a revolution among the increasing whiskey consumers here. To him, the most exciting consumer group is Generation Z. He says they are giving vitality to the market with their fresh ideas and needs from the brands they enjoy. And he has learned insights from them. "Korean consumers are now enjoying whiskey not just for its flavor but for the enjoyment of delving into the philosophy and history of the brand behind it," Hotton said. "This has led us to diversifying our categories beyond blended Scotch whisky to broaden consumer choices, like Irish whiskeys and bourbon whiskeys. We are suggesting diverse rituals for enjoying whiskeys such as highballs and cocktails and, through collaborations with restaurants and bars, creating a new culture of enjoying whiskeys which extends beyond taste alone." Hotton believes Redbreast 15 Year Old, launched in Korea earlier this month, will infiltrate the minds of Gen Z and other adventurous whiskey lovers here who are increasingly looking beyond Scotch whiskies. With last year's introduction of Redbreast 12 Year Old, the label's presence here is no longer a risky business. After he introduced a new bourbon whiskey, Rabbit Hole, in Korea last year, the non-Scotch whiskey market here has become even more colorful and attractive. "We are seeing that Irish whiskey is growing rapidly here thanks to younger drinkers, cocktail culture and rising premiumization," said Hotton. "It means that a greater variety of whiskeys appeals to those trend-sensitive Korean consumers who value unique experiences. We have seen this with a recent pop-up event Jameson another Irish whiskey Pernod Ricard distributes in Korea hosted, which drew over 170,000 visitors. Redbreast, which faithfully adheres to the production method of Irish whiskey from the 1800s, has successfully made its mark in the Korean market, establishing itself as a leader in the premium non-Scotch whiskey segment." To Kevin O'Gorman who is the master distiller at Midleton Distillery in Ireland, Redbreast is the pride of his "beloved" whiskey-making career. Visiting Seoul for the first time earlier this month to promote the label, he said the heritage of traditional crafting practices sets Irish whiskey apart from its rivals such as using a mash of malted and unmalted barley and triple-distilling it in a single pot still, a practice kept since the 1800s. "Our whiskey has stood the test of time," O'Gorman said. "Having delivered uncompromising quality for over 240 years, we are well-placed to talk about heritage and quality." THE current financial imbalance, which has the potential to deplete the National Insurance Boards assets by 2035, is not rooted in investment issues but rather stems from the challenges posed by this countrys ageing population, the acting chief operating officer, Business Services at NIBTT, Andy Edwards has said. Nailah Blackman believes shes entering her creative prime. Nailah, on the eve of her 26th birthday celebrations, says she is creatively firing and feels evolved. The Sweet & Loco singer will mark the occasion with a special performance, at La Tropical nightclub in San Fernando, tomorrow night. The public is invited to purchase tickets to the festivities at the door. A nursing manager waiting for two years to get an echocardiogram (ECG) appointment for an urgent heart condition is the reality and experience of patients in the public healthcare system. Members of the public ventilated several negative experiences they have had at health centres and hospitals to a Joint Select Committee (JSC) town hall meeting on Social Services and Public Administration on Wednesday at the Parliament Complex, Cabildo Building, St Vincent Street, Port of Spain. Ultimately, the fate of the Report of the Commission of Enquiry (CoE) into the Paria Diving Tragedy is as important as the report itself. From all indications, the Commissions report contains a cauldron of hard truths. We can easily extrapolate from comments by CoE chairman Jerome Lynch, KC, that those truths will rock many a boat. But we too agree that the public interest demands immediate public view of its contents. WHITERIVER A White Mountain Apache Police officer has been arrested in connection to a fatal hit-and-run accident in northeastern Arizona, authorities said Monday. Officer Josh Anderson was arrested Friday evening by fellow tribal officers at his home in Whitewater on the Fort Apache reservation following last weeks crash, according to the Navajo County Sheriffs office, which released the information on behalf of the White Mountain Apache Police. Anderson resigned immediately after his arrest. The sheriffs office said Iris Billy was walking when he was struck by a vehicle that fled the scene early Thursday on state Route 73. The statement did not provide Billys age or other details. Tribal police soon determined that Andersons patrol car had damage consistent with a collision with a pedestrian. He was booked into the White Apache Adult Detention. He could be charged with death caused by a vehicle and leaving the scene of a fatality collision, according to officials. It was unknown whether Anderson had an attorney or anyone else who could speak for him. The tribal police department referred questions about his legal representation to the sheriffs office, which did not immediately return an email or phone call. The White Mountain Apache Police Department turned the case over to the FBI, which will investigate. The U.S. Attorneys Office will later review the findings and decide on any formal charges. North Korea said Tuesday the country's military spy satellite has taken photos of the White House, the Pentagon and nuclear aircraft carriers docked at a U.S. naval base. Leader Kim Jong-un viewed the photos as he received an operations report from the Pyongyang General Control Center of the National Aerospace Technology Administration on Monday morning and at dawn Tuesday, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). He observed satellite photos of the White House and the Pentagon taken at 11:36 p.m. Monday, the KCNA said. The spy satellite also took photos of Naval Station Norfolk, Newport News Shipyard and a Virginia airfield at 11:35 p.m. Monday. Four U.S. Navy nuclear aircraft carriers and a British aircraft carrier were spotted in the photos, the KCNA said. North Korea launched the Malligyong-1 spy satellite on a new type of Chollima-1 rocket Tuesday night after two failed attempts in May and August, respectively. The country vowed to launch several more satellites within a short span of time. Since its successful launch, North Korea has claimed the satellite took photos of major military facilities in South Korea and the U.S. territories of Guam and Hawaii. But the North has not released related satellite photos. North Korea said Monday that a "fine-tuning" process on the satellite is under way and is one or two days ahead of schedule. The country earlier said the Malligyong-1 will begin its official mission Friday. South Korea's military said it is closely monitoring whether the satellite is normally functioning, though it appears to have entered an orbit. (Yonhap) Tucson is getting a double dose of hometown fave Ryanhood when the acoustic duo plays back-to-back shows at Hotel Congress on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 1-2. The show on Friday celebrates Ryan Green and Cameron Hoods 20 years as a duo. The pair met in high school in Tucson when they were members of competing bands in local contests and became a duo after college; Hood graduated from the University of Arizona, Green from Berklee College of Music in Boston. Saturdays show, the holiday-themed A Winters Evening with Ryanhood, draws from their award-winning album, On Christmas, which earned them spots as finalists in the USA Songwriting Competition Christmas Song Contest. Expect to hear original Ryanhood holiday compositions, wintry covers and reworked classics that the pair weaves in with holiday stories and memories. If youre expecting a gather-around-the-fireplace kind of pace this weekend, you might want to recall past Ryanhood performances. They may be acoustic, but they arent quiet. The pair puts on a high-energy show with sweet, big harmonies and dueling guitars that keep fans on their feet. This is the second year that Ryanhood has come home for the holidays. Last year, Mother Nature spoiled their back-to-back December plans with rain, forcing them to postpone the concerts for a week. Good news: The early weather forecast calls for overcast skies but no chance of rain. Fingers crossed. Both shows at Hotel Congress Plaza, 311 E. Congress St., begin at 7 p.m. with doors opening at 6:30. Tickets are $25 through hotelcongress.com. Tucson is the first stop on Ryanhoods monthlong A Winters Evening with Ryanhood 2024 tour, which includes stops in Flagstaff on Dec. 15 and Phoenix on Dec. 22. Travelers returning from Arizonas beach in Sonora are likely to face longer wait times at the border, after U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced reduced vehicle processing capacity at the Lukeville port of entry, beginning Monday. Port-of-entry staff have been temporarily reassigned to assist border agents with taking migrants into custody and processing them, amid an ongoing surge in migrant arrivals in the Tucson sector. The U.S. is continuing to see increased levels of migrant encounters at the Southwest Border, fueled by smugglers peddling disinformation to prey on vulnerable individuals and encourage migration, a Monday CBP statement said. As we respond with additional resources and apply consequences for unlawful entry, the migration trends shift as well. In September, field office agents were also reassigned from the Nogales ports of entry to help with processing migrants, leading to longer average wait times. Another border crossing in Eagle Pass, Texas was closed to vehicle entry on Monday. Jannette Aguayo, of Casa Grande, said she and her family sat through a three-hour wait at the Lukeville crossing on Monday afternoon, as they returned from a Thanksgiving weekend trip to Puerto Penasco, known in the U.S. as Rocky Point or Arizonas beach. Aguayo, who works remotely, owns a second home in Rocky Point and travels there whenever her 10-year-old son has time off from school, she said Tuesday. The family had decided to delay their return to Arizona until Monday, to avoid Sundays holiday weekend traffic. Expecting a five-minute wait at the border, Aguayo was shocked at the long line of vehicles she encountered. Learning about CBPs staffing changes made her worry for the future, she said. If, in case of emergency, I cannot come back to my regular work activities in the U.S., or my sons education in the U.S., thats going to be a problem, she said. Whats going to happen to the investment I made, and many have made, in Rocky Point? She said if she didnt already own a home there, she might reconsider visiting if the return trip was too difficult. If I were a person whos going to go to Rocky Point for the weekend, and I see Im going to be facing these issues at the border coming back, Im sorry, Id drive two more hours and go to California, she said. Puerto Penascos tourism secretary, Martin Martinez, said he understands the need for CBPs decision but is worried about the impact on tourism. We are concerned, of course, he said Tuesday. But tourism officials are hopeful that long delays will only happen occasionally, and that the addition of a new priority Sentri lane at the Lukeville crossing will help ease the pressure. The Sentri lane, for Sentri-pass holders, is under construction now and expected to be operational by January, Martinez said. Arizona tourism, and real estate investment, is crucial to Puerto Penascos economy, he said. I would say 80 percent of our tourism comes from Arizona, he said. Our job is to make sure they come to Penasco, they have a good time and return safely, because we want them to come back. Business community optimistic The business community in Rocky Point is optimistic that changes at the border will have minimal impact, said Keith Allen, sales director for the tourist destinations Encantame Resort. Allen lives in Rocky Point full-time, but travels to Tucson and Phoenix monthly. When Allen heard about CBPs reassignments, obviously, I was a little disappointed, but I understand why theyre doing it, he said Tuesday. Theyve got their hands full. But Allen isnt too worried. Congestion was common at the Lukeville border crossing even before the staffing changes, and many Rocky Point visitors are experienced in avoiding peak border-crossing hours, said Allen, a member of the Penasco Business Coalition. Most of our savvy travelers know the border opens at 6 a.m., and theyre in the car at 4:30 or 5, and they have no wait, he said. Other visitors spend the day on the beach and head back to Arizona in the evening to avoid peak hours, he said. We have so many people that love Rocky Point and they come down here as often as they can. They will adjust accordingly, he said. Its a little hiccup, and Im hoping its just for a few months. Hopefully our U.S. government will give them the budget to add more agents. Short-term fix Migrant-aid workers in the region say this temporary fix doesnt address a longstanding reality facing the border enforcement agency: the need to hire more agents, and medical personnel, to receive and process the massive number of migrant arrivals. Under-staffing not only strains the agents; it means migrants who intend to surrender and request asylum are waiting in harsh conditions for hours, or even days, before border agents reach them, said Laurie Cantillo, water-truck driver and board member for nonprofit Humane Borders. The humanitarian-aid group has an office in Ajo, about 38 miles north of Lukeville. Many of these people are not equipped to be even for a few hours, let alone overnight or longer, in the middle of this harsh desert environment, Cantillo said. They may be told by their coyotes (human smugglers), Oh yeah, you cross the border and in 30 minutes, theyll pick you up. Its anything but that. They may be miles away from a safe environment where they can be processed for asylum. Aid workers often see a couple hundred asylum seekers per day entering Arizona near Lukeville, which is located within Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. The asylum seekers arrive from all over the world, including Guatemala, Ecuador, Mauritania, India and Colombia. But on some recent busy days, as many as 1,000 people have entered there, Cantillo said. On Monday, Humane Borders volunteers saw a mother and her child being medically evacuated from the Lukeville area, she said. About 700 migrants arrived there that day, she said. The Tucson sector has been the busiest of the nine southern border sectors since July. In October, border agents encountered 55,000 migrants between official ports of entry in the Tucson sector, up from 51,000 the month prior, even as the number of migrant encounters border-wide fell in October. The border wall at Lukeville is littered with a patchwork of welding repairs, showing how often, and how easily, migrants or human smugglers have been able to cut through the steel bollards to enter Arizona, Cantillo said. Humane Borders has a good relationship with CBP officers in the region, she said, helping them locate migrants awaiting processing, and providing basic first aid side by side with Border Patrols search-and-rescue teams. Weve been pressuring CBP to do a better job of staffing, she said. Everyone who is there is doing the best they can. But they have been vastly understaffed to handle the situation. The Mexican border town of Sasabe, Sonora is becoming a ghost town as gunfights between criminal factions have forced desperate residents, who never intended to leave their homes, to flee to Arizona, migrant-aid workers say. Less than 100 people remain in the small border town, about 75 miles from Tucson, as organized crime groups battle for control of the region, said Dora Rodriguez, a migrant-rights advocate in Tucson. Shes co-founder of Casa de la Esperanza, a migrant resource center in Sasabe, Sonora, which previously had a population of about 2,500. The resource center has closed due to the extreme violence, but opened its doors in a few emergency situations last week, she said. Sasabe residents report being trapped, unable to escape to the south, as the roads to Saric and Caborca are surveilled by criminal groups who have kidnapped people traveling there. The arrival in Arizona of hundreds fleeing Sasabe coincides with a much larger surge in migrants traveling mostly from Central America and southern Mexico, whom human smugglers have increasingly channeled to the Tucson sector of the U.S.-Mexico border, aid workers and immigration experts say. That includes thousands of recent arrivals at the normally quiet San Miguel gate, on the Tohono Oodham Nation. Over the weekend, hundreds of families huddled together near a remote opening in the border fence, about 15 miles east of Sasabe, Arizona, where aid workers have been focusing their efforts recently, Rodriguez said. "I called Border Patrol at least six times yesterday (Sunday) and all I got was, 'Were overwhelmed. Were busy. Were doing what we can,'" Rodriguez said Monday. As previously open gaps in the border wall near Sasabe, Arizona have been closed by construction crews, asylum seekers have been funneled eastward, to the closest remaining opening in the border fence, about an hours drive from Sasabe, over rough terrain. Agents did make a couple of small transports of migrants on Sunday, but the larger transport vans struggled to make it over the steep and rugged roads, Rodriguez said. "By closing those three gaps, theyve pushed these people toward death pretty much," she said. On Sunday, Rodriguez and volunteers with the Tucson Samaritans spent 12 hours with about 400 migrants at that remote location, offering food, water, blankets and other supplies as migrants waited in increasingly chilly temperatures. About 200 of the asylum seekers were children, Rodriguez said. Rodriguez recounted migrants asking, "'Are they coming? Did you call? We need food, do you have a bottle for my baby?'" "Ive never experienced that before, not in that area, and not with so much desperation," she said. "It was one of the worst days of my life." Some Guatemalan women, with infants strapped to their chests and backs, opted to try to walk west to Sasabe, Arizona, instead of waiting anxiously for border agents to arrive, she said. "I kept telling them it will take you two days to get there walking," she said. One unaccompanied minor was an 8-year-old girl with Down syndrome. Like many of the arrivals, now traveling in chilly temperatures, the girl was sick with flu symptoms, Rodriguez said. "She had fever, she was coughing and we had nothing to give her," she said. After 12 hours, Rodriguez and her two fellow volunteers had to leave, but she made a final call to the Border Patrol at 6:30 p.m. "I was pleading with them, pleading. The agent said, 'I am so sorry. We know they are there, but we have no resources at this moment,'" she said. Under dark skies, "we just left these people behind," Rodriguez said. "It was an experience I had never had before." Tucson sector agents continue to respond to migrants surrendering at multiple points on the border, according to an emailed statement Monday from CBP. "Many of these locations are not easily accessible and require the use of smaller rough terrain vehicles for transportation," the statement said. "CBP officers and agents prioritize the health and safety of all those they encounter by providing appropriate medical care and humanitarian assistance as needed and by routinely coordinating with emergency medical services to assist individuals in need." Fear in Sasabe Warring criminal groups have unleashed violence in northern Sonora and the residents there face gunfire and kidnappings, and are low on food and supplies, aid workers say. Insight Crime reported the recent violence stems from conflict between two factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, which has long dominated the area: In October, a criminal cell with ties to the Chapitos a faction led by sons of former Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquin Guzman Loera, known as "El Chapo" moved into the region amid internal conflicts over drug trafficking. But Insight Crime reported the recent violence has centered on control of migrant smuggling routes. Residents of Sasabe have reported being turned away when they sought protection at the Sasabe port of entry, said Gail Kocourek of the nonprofit Salvavision and the Tucson Samaritans. Two weeks ago a large group of Sasabe residents were refused the opportunity to request asylum at the Sasabe port of entry, she said. Desperate, they used a $50 saw to cut a hole through the border fence and cross as a group, in order to present themselves to border agents, she said. Kocourek said she and other aid workers sat with the families near the wall until the Border Patrol picked them up. The agents were kind, she said. They had empathy. They understood these people were caught in the crossfire, she said. Most are in Tucson now. At least theyre alive and were helping them as much as we can. Rodriguez and her team have been able to secure humanitarian parole for some Sasabe families. Among them is a 19-year-old woman who arrived in Tucson on Nov. 19, with her mother, two sisters and a brother. She asked that her name not be used because she fears for her and her familys safety. The week of Oct. 20, everything changed in the quiet town of Sasabe, she said. Our lives were in danger, the woman said, in text messages written in Spanish. There was not a day when shots were not heard. You no longer slept comfortably, thinking that at any moment a bullet could hit us. For days residents were on their own, without Mexican security forces to protect them. But even after military units arrived, residents didnt feel protected from the heavily armed criminal groups, she said. There really is no authority, she said. The soldiers are really of no use, because they dont do anything. They are only for decoration in the town. (The violence) is something that not even the government can control. The woman said she was devastated to leave the previously tranquil town where she grew up. Coming to Tucson, she had to leave behind a 26-year-old cousin, whom CBP officers wouldnt allow to join her familys humanitarian aid petition, and their three dogs. Its difficult to leave your home, in which you have lived all your life, she said. Leaving your house, leaving pets, separating yourself from people we did not want to leave. This whole situation is very sad. Surge in Tucson sector The Tucson sector has been the busiest of the nine southern border sectors since July, according to CBP data. In October, agents encountered 55,000 migrants between ports of entry in the Tucson sector, even as the number of encounters border-wide fell by 14%, CBP data show. Over the weekend the Border Patrols Tucson Sector Chief John R. Modlin posted on X, formerly Twitter, that the sector would pause social media updates so all staff can focus on operational support. In light of the ongoing migration surge, all Tucson Sector Border Patrol social media accounts will be temporarily reduced to maximize our available staffing in support of our current operational challenges, he wrote. At this time, all available personnel are needed to address the unprecedented flow. On Monday, CBP reduced vehicle processing at the Lukeville, Arizona, port of entry, and suspended vehicle entry entirely at a port in Eagle Pass, Texas, in order to redirect personnel to assist the U.S. Border Patrol with taking migrants into custody, a Monday statement from CBP said. In response to this influx in encounters, we will continue to surge all available resources to expeditiously and safely process migrants. We will maximize consequences against those without a legal basis to remain in the United States. Crime groups profit from the U.S governments efforts to limit legitimate ways to enter the country, advocates say. The criminal groups who control the lucrative human-smuggling routes in northern Mexico often charge between $3,000 and $7,000 per person, said Randy Mayer, pastor and co-founder of the Green Valley Samaritans. The CBP One app, which the Biden administration describes as the only legitimate way to request asylum, has too few appointments for the sheer number of people seeking asylum, Mayer said. Theyre desperate to get out of their situation, he said. Theres too much of a need. Mayer said hes at the border weekly, providing aid to migrants. Until recently, he never saw the criminal groups who lead migrants to the border, he said. But lately, theyve been driving pickup trucks right up to the border, with military-style weapons visible, to unload migrants, he said. It just seems like theyre more brazen now, he said. Humanitarian crisis To return an individual seeking asylum to their country of persecution is known as refoulement, a practice that asylum laws are meant to protect against, said Stephanie Brewer, Mexico program director for the Washington Office on Latin America, a D.C.-based research and advocacy group that promotes human rights and social justice. The principle of non-refoulement is an essential protection under international human rights law, according to the United Nations. Brewer said her organization has heard concerns from aid workers in Arizona about Mexican nationals being sent back to Mexico without having the opportunity to request asylum, even in the face of imminent danger. Here we have this concrete, extreme example of violence in Sasabe, and people who are trapped with nowhere to go, she said. Unlike all other nationalities, if the U.S. pushes Mexicans back into Mexico without giving them the chance to request asylum, what they could be doing is taking people who could have a protection claim and pushing them back into their country of persecution. Thats the biggest red line in domestic and international asylum law. Rodriguez said she knows the Border Patrol is overwhelmed and she believes other agencies must step in to aid vulnerable migrants waiting at the border. This is a humanitarian crisis, she said. Our governor needs to come up to the plate and say, We are calling the National Guard, we are calling the Red Cross, we are calling FEMA. Politics are irrelevant now, she said. At this point, it doesnt matter. Youre going to have a massive graveyard in those areas if you dont attend to those people, she said. WENDEN A blanket of bright green alfalfa spreads across western Arizonas McMullen Valley, ringed by rolling mountains and warmed by the hot desert sun. Matthew Hancocks family has used groundwater to grow forage crops here for more than six decades. Theyre long accustomed to caprices of Mother Nature that can spoil an entire alfalfa cutting with a downpour or generate an especially big yield with a string of blistering days. But concerns about future water supplies from the valleys ancient aquifers, which hold groundwater supplies, are bubbling up in Wenden, a town of around 700 people where the Hancock family farms. Wenden is about 215 miles northwest of Tucson. Some neighbors complain their backyard wells have dried up since the Emirati agribusiness Al Dahra began farming alfalfa here on about 3,000 acres several years ago. It is unknown how much water the Al Dahra operation uses, but Hancock estimates it needs 15,000 to 16,000 acre feet a year based on what his own alfalfa farm needs. He says he gets all the water he needs by drilling down hundreds of feet. An acre-foot of water is roughly enough to serve two to three U.S. households annually. Hancock said he and neighbors with larger farms worry more that in the future state officials could take control of the groundwater they now use for agriculture and transfer it to Phoenix and other urban areas amid the worst Western drought in centuries. I worry about the local community farming in Arizona, Hancock said, standing outside an open-sided barn stacked with hay bales. Concerns about the Earths groundwater supplies are front of mind in the lead-up to COP28, the annual United Nations climate summit opening this week in the Emirati city of Dubai. Gulf countries like the UAE are especially vulnerable to global warming, with high temperatures, arid climates, water scarcity and rising sea levels. Water shortages have driven companies to go where the water is, said Robert Glennon, a water policy and law expert and professor emeritus at the University of Arizona. Experts say tensions are inevitable as companies in climate-challenged countries like the United Arab Emirates increasingly look to faraway places like Arizona for the water and land to grow forage for livestock and commodities such as wheat for domestic use and export. As the impacts of climate change increase, we expect to see more droughts, said Karim Elgendy, a climate change and sustainability specialist at Chatham House think tank in London. This means more countries would look for alternative locations for food production. Without groundwater pumping regulations, rural Arizona is especially attractive, said Elgendy, who focuses on the Middle East and North Africa. International corporations have also turned to Ethiopia and other parts of Africa to develop enormous farming operations criticized as land grabbing. La Paz County Supervisor Holly Irwin welcomes a recent crackdown by Arizona officials on unfettered groundwater pumping long allowed in rural areas, noting local concerns about dried up wells and subsidence thats created ground fissures and flooding during heavy rains. Youre starting to see the effects of lack of regulation, she said. Number one, we dont know how much water we have in these aquifers, and we dont know how much is being pumped out. Irwin laments that foreign firms are mining our natural resource to grow crops such as alfalfa ... and theyre shipping it overseas back to their country where theyve depleted their water source. Gary Saiter, board chairman and general manager of the Wenden Domestic Water Improvement District, said utility records showed the surface-to-water depth at its headquarters was a little over 100 feet (30 meters) in the 1950s, but its now now about 540 feet (160 meters). Saiter said that over those years, food crops like cantaloupe have been replaced with forage like alfalfa, which is water intensive. I believe that the legislature in the state needs to step up and actually put some control, start measuring the water that the farms use, Saiter said. Gov. Katie Hobbs in October yanked the states land lease on another La Paz County alfalfa farm, one operated by Fondomonte Arizona, a subsidiary of Saudi dairy giant Almarai Co. The Democrat said the state would not renew three other Fondomonte leases next year, saying the company violated some lease terms. Fondomonte denied that, and said it will appeal the decision to terminate its 640-acre lease in Butler Valley. Arizona has less control over Al Dahra, which farms on land leased from a private North Carolina-based corporation. Glennon, the Arizona water policy expert, said he worked with a consulting group that advised Saudi Arabia more than a decade ago to import hay and other crops rather than drain its aquifers. He said Arizona also must protect its groundwater. I do think we need sensible regulation, said Glennon. I dont want farms to go out of business, but I dont want them to drain the aquifers, either. Seeking crops for domestic use and export, Al Dahra farms wheat and barley in Romania, operates a flour mill in Bulgaria, and owns milking cows in Serbia. It runs a rice mill in Pakistan and grows grapes in Namibia and citrus in Egypt. It serves markets worldwide. The company is controlled by the state-owned firm ADQ, an Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company. Its chairman is the countrys powerful, behind-the-scenes national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a brother of ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The company did not respond to numerous emails and voicemails sent to its UAE offices and its subsidiary Al Dahra ACX in the U.S. seeking comment about its Arizona operation. But on its website, Al Dahra acknowledges the challenges of climate change, noting the continuing decrease in cultivable land and diminishing water resources available for farming. The firm says it considers water and food security at the core of its strategy and uses drip irrigation to optimize water use. Foreign and out-of-state U.S. farms are not banned from farming in Arizona, nor from selling their goods worldwide. U.S. farmers commonly export hay and other forage crops to countries including Saudi Arabia and China. In Arizonas Cochise County that relies on groundwater, residents worry that the mega-dairy operated there by Riverview LLP of Minnesota could deplete their water supplies. The company did not respond to a request for comment about its water use. The problem is not who is doing it, but that we are allowing it to be done, said Kathleen Ferris, a senior research fellow at the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University. We need to pass laws giving more control over groundwater uses in these unregulated areas. A former director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources, Ferris helped draw up the states 1980 Groundwater Management Act that protects aquifers in urban areas like Phoenix but not in rural agricultural areas. Many people mistakenly believe groundwater is a personal property right, Ferris said, noting that the Arizona Supreme Court has ruled theres only a property right to water once it has been pumped. In Arizona, rural resistance to limits on pumping remains strong and efforts to create rules have gone nowhere in the Legislature. The Arizona Farm Bureau has pushed back at narratives that portray foreign agribusiness firms like Al Dahra as groundwater pirates. The state is the wild West when it comes to groundwater, said Kathryn Sorensen, research director at the Kyl Center. Whoever has the biggest well and pumps the most groundwater wins. The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer: After decades of political gridlock over urgently needed gun safety measures, with horrific mass shooting after horrific mass shooting, it appears that important steps toward Universal Background Checks could finally become a reality in the new year. All of us are aware of whats come to be known as the gun-show loophole, whereby gun sales can be regularly made by private sellers who are not required to be licensed by the Federal Government, and therefore not required to run background checks on any of their buyers. These private sellers typically make up about a third of all gun show sellers and have become regular participants in the online market. Gun safety advocates, doctors, and public safety personnel have warned for years that this situation is an accident waiting to happen. Without a background check, there is nothing preventing a prohibited buyer from purchasing weapons and nothing to prevent the straw purchase of weapons to be illegally run into Mexico. This last September, the Justice Department proposed Rule Change 2022R-17 to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), in order to implement the provisions of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), which was enacted June 25, 2022. Among other things, the proposed change broadens the definition of when a person is considered engaged in the business as a dealer in firearms other than a gunsmith or pawnbroker. Rule Change 2022R-17 incorporates the BSCAs definition of predominantly earn a profit...and amends the definitions of principal objective of livelihood and profit and engaged in the business to ensure each conforms with the BSCAs statutory changes and can be relied upon by the public.(posted by ATF 9/7/23) In plain language, these clarifications would close the dangerous gun-show loophole and mandate that all gun sellers who consistently make a profit from selling guns and ammunition be required to have a federal license and to conduct background checks on all buyers before selling any weapon. When it comes to gun safety, Universal Background Checks have long been considered low-hanging fruit. While this common-sense gun regulation is blocked by a small majority of politicians, the vast majority of Americans gun owners and non-gun owners alike are in support of it. With the implementation of this ATF rule change, our country can begin to move forward in a safer, saner direction. ATF is seeking public comments up through midnight EST, Dec. 7. Please go to Regulations.gov and type in ATF Rule Change 2022R-17. Its time for the voice of the majority to be heard. Curtis Killman Tulsa World Staff Writer Follow Curtis Killman Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today A Jenks woman who admitted stealing from her employer and using a pandemic-era government loan program to buy a Corvette and a 40-foot boat was sentenced to prison Monday. Senior U.S. District Judge Terence Kern sentenced Lauren Michelle Owen, 40, to serve 27 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Owen pleaded guilty Jan. 26 as part of a plea agreement with federal prosecutors to one count of bank fraud, one count of wire fraud and one count of tax evasion. In her plea agreement, Owen admitted that between 2016 and 2020 she made unauthorized payments from the bank account of the company where she worked to her personal credit card accounts. She also admitted making unauthorized debit card payments from the companys bank accounts and depositing unauthorized company-drawn checks made payable to herself and other business entities that she controlled. Hired by LandEnergy LLC in 2010 as a secretary, Owen worked her way up the company ladder until she was promoted to vice president and the companys sole financial officer, according to court records. Owen also admitted to committing wire fraud when she denied that she was under indictment when she applied for a U.S. Small Business Administration loan. At the time she sought the loan, Owen was facing one count of embezzlement by employee in Tulsa County District Court. Those charges were later dismissed after federal prosecutors filed a three-count felony information charge against her in January. Owen admitted that after she received the SBA loan proceeds meant for Platinum Assets LLC, a company she controlled, she spent the money to buy an $82,000 2018 Chevrolet Corvette and a $64,655 1998 40-foot Carver 405 Aft Cabin Motor Yacht and to pay off a $38,603 balance on a loan for a 2018 Ford F-250 pickup. She also admitted failing to pay about $61,000 in income tax based on the income she received in 2018 but failed to report. The plea agreement called for Owen to pay $1,216,489 in restitution, with LandEnergy LLC of Tulsa receiving about $768,125; the Small Business Administration receiving about $384,100 and the IRS receiving about $61,383. Finally, Owen admitted to a money judgment of at least $1,152,225, which represents the total amount she received from her actions. Federal prosecutors requested that Owen be sentenced at the low end of the 27 to 33 months range established by the U.S. Probation Office. Prosecutors urged the judge not to approve the noncustodial sentence sought on behalf of Owen. The federal government credited Owen for her prompt cooperation after being notified that she was the target of a federal investigation, according to a government sentencing memorandum filed in the case. On the first day she was approached by federal officials about the case, Owen agreed to surrender the Corvette, yacht and pickup for forfeiture purposes. She faced a statutory maximum of 30 years imprisonment on the bank fraud charge, 20 years on the wire fraud charge and five years on the tax evasion charge. Owen has also gone by the following last names: Osborn, Haberhehl and Sons, according to prosecutors. The new Tulsa World app offers personalized features. Download it today. Kevin Canfield Tulsa World Staff Writer Follow Kevin Canfield 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 At the end of the day, the Tulsa Global Alliance is about bringing people together even those living far, far apart. No one embodied that spirit better than Cathy Izzo. Izzo, who served as the Global Alliances Sister Cities program coordinator for 17 years, died in 2022. But on a cold, clear Monday afternoon, those who knew her and loved her gathered outside the entrance of City Hall to honor her with the unveiling of a directional sign pointing the way and the distances from Tulsa to the citys eight Sister Cities. She would love it and probably (be) a bit embarrassed, said Izzos husband, Joe Izzo. She loved to travel, and the bug hit early, he said. She studied in Colombia and France and worked for the Moroccan government in Chicago before moving to the Tulsa area in the early 1990s. She spoke several languages, and together, Joe and Cathy Izzo traveled to Asia and lived in Ireland. She always believed in the culture and that we can overcome anything if we understand each others cultures, Joe Izzo said. She wanted to spread not just our culture but others. Mayor G.T. Bynum credited Cathy Izzo with coming up with the idea of creating directional signs and posting them in and around the city of Tulsa. Bynum said she was with him in 2020 when the first sign was installed at the Port of Catoosa. We wanted a way not just to honor that work but also Cathys work as someone who facilitated so many people learning about Tulsa and taking the message of Tulsa around the world and helping make us a better city by learning about the great things that our Sister Cities are doing around the world, Bynum said of Mondays sign unveiling. As part of Mondays ceremony, City Council Chairwoman Crista Patrick read a proclamation from the City Council and the mayor honoring Izzo. Tulsa now has five Sister Cities directional signs, with more in the works. In addition to the sign at the Port of Catoosa, River Parks, McCullough Park and GRC Business Park each have one. Each points the way to Amiens, France; Celle, Germany; Tiberias, Israel; Zelenograd, Russia; Beihai, China; Kaohsiung, Taiwan; and Utsunomiya, Japan. And soon Mwanza, Tanzania, will be added to the list of Sister Cities. Bynum recently visited Mwanza with a delegation of Tulsans. I will always remember sitting down with the mayor of Mwanza, Bynum said. And within five minutes, were both talking about infrastructure policy and education and economic development. It was a reminder that the things that unite us as people around the world are so much greater than the things that divide us. Almost nothing could divide Cathy Izzo from her work on Tulsas Sister Cities program not even pancreatic cancer. They gave her two months, and she lasted 2 years, Joe Izzo said. And she worked the whole time except the days she was at chemo, and she worked up to two weeks before she died. That was work, Tulsans were reminded Monday, that continues to live on not just here but around the world. The new Tulsa World app offers personalized features. Download it today. Felix Clary Tulsa World Indigenous Affairs Reporter Follow Felix Clary 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 While the interim president of Bacone College was scrolling the news, she was surprised to find the Muskogee institution is going up for auction Dec. 14. We should have been notified that appraisal was done. Instead we found out by reading in the newspaper that their appraisal was at $4 to 6 million, Interim President Nicky Michael said Tuesday in a Tulsa World interview. Until we read it the same as everybody else did, our attorneys never got served. We never got served. Nobody even knew that was happening. The sale would resolve a lawsuit filed by MHEC LLC against Bacone for over $1 million. The firm alleges the school failed to pay for extensive HVAC work done on campus work Michael said was never supposed to happen before the institution was financially capable. Michael is now asking for monetary support as Bacone makes another attempt to keep the college off the market by settling with MHEC, beginning their hopeful climb to financial freedom. MHEC was hired for the work by former Bacone President Ferlin Clark amid his plan to bring the schools finances in line. Michael said that 2019 plan never came to fruition as the then-president rededicated his efforts to turning Bacone into a tribal college. To become a tribal college, an institution must be approved by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). If Clark had gotten this approval, Michael said Bacone would have been looking at a possible $1 million annually for students. Students would actually be able to pay their bills, she said. But that didnt happen. Apparently, the BIE had told him no, and we never got that notification. It didnt trickle down to the rest of us. Well just put it that way. Michael is calling on Muskogee leaders, state authorities and the tribes of Oklahoma to help Bacone in a fundraising effort. Donations can be made at bacone.edu/give. It is not Bacones future as a school on the line, Michael said, but rather the land and the building. If the land and building are lost to the auction, Bacone is left with only two options. Either we go online completely, or we also work with another college to make sure that we get students through the education system, she said. Bacone is unique for Indigenous students in that it accepts applicants without SAT or ACT scores. Usually, our students are the ones that are left behind and perhaps didnt get the type of education that someone in, you know, an upper-middle-class society might. Those are the ones that are ACT-prepping all their lives for school. Theyre going to good schools, and I hate to say it that way, but were the ones catching those (other) students Because the BIE did not approve Bacone as a tribal college, it is now considered an Indigenous-serving institution. This means that all students, even tribal citizens, must apply to get a Pell grant, tribal scholarships or other financial aid. We have Native students, and if theyre not Native, theyre usually from the surrounding community, and lets face it, Muskogee is not a middle-class, wealthy town. It has the same kind of troubles as any other poverty-stricken area, Michael said. Asking students for tuition payments, she said, is like squeezing from a dry sponge, as they already have more-urgent bills and financial needs to meet on their own. Bacones interim president said she is facing the institutions colorful past head on. We are the only boarding school to have apologized for those actions that many people experienced in boarding school, Michael said. Weve tried as hard as we can to turn around and be as positive and accepting of everybody. The college works to provide a sense of cultural community and connection for Indigenous students that would be hindered by moving online, Michael said, including a notable art exhibit. Bacone is one of the best schools Ive been to, concerned freshman Jordan Kerby said in a text message sent to Michael last week. It feels more like a family than anything. If I were to lose (it), I dont know what Id do or where Id go. Michael said she sympathizes with the Bacone students but feels positive for their future. We are not by any stretch of imagination out of the woods, even if it werent for MHEC, but once we have a few more financials finished, we can move on to our audit, and then, well be back in good shape with accrediting agencies, she said. The new Tulsa World app offers personalized features. Download it today. Editors note: In 1983, French Professor Francoise Barre-Sinoussi, a co-discoverer of HIV, the virus which causes AIDS, was honored with the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. She first visited Vietnam in 1988, and over the past 35 years, she has returned to the Southeast Asian country more than 20 times to contribute to HIV prevention efforts. On November 14, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hosted the professor in Hanoi to discuss and explore collaboration between France and Vietnam in the realms of HIV, tuberculosis, hepatitis, and prevention of emerging infectious diseases. During her visit, she engaged in a conversation with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper regarding HIV prevention in Vietnam. First collaboration Reflecting on her first visit to Vietnam in 1988, Professor Francoise Barre-Sinoussi noted that the country was not yet open to the world at that time. Upon returning in the early 1990s, she found Vietnam unrecognizable, prompting her team to initiate collaboration. During this period, a challenging time unfolded in Ho Chi Minh City as an epidemic emerged among intravenous drug users. Together with the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City, the professor and her team isssued a warning about HIVs presence in Vietnam. The team then conducted a small study on intravenous drug users, contemplating the difficulty of treating the condition. The very first and big obstacles at that time were ethical issues. While they were confident in their ability to introduce antiretroviral treatment to Vietnam, ethical concerns compelled them to suspend the research. Barre-Sinoussi recalled a conversation with the head of Vietnams AIDS program at that time, expressing their inability to continue working with intravenous drug users but proposing collaboration on other projects, such as tuberculosis in HIV patients. The official responded, Once we are ready and there are no more moral barriers, what I will do is come to you. In 2008, just before Barre-Sinoussi received the Nobel Prize, that official reached out, stating Vietnam was ready. This marked the beginning of Vietnams methadone treatment program for HIV patients. Barre-Sinoussi commended Vietnams development, noting the journey from a challenging situation to the current state where HIV elimination in intravenous drug users is achievable -- a model for other regions in Vietnam and beyond. Goals for Vietnam On the challenges in HIV/AIDS prevention in Vietnam, following her work in the country, Barre-Sinoussi observed that significant improvements are necessary. According to the professor, while it is evident that Vietnam is making strides in addressing intravenous drug users, there are still population groups, such as men who have sex with men (MSM), with alarmingly high rates of HIV infection. Hence, it is imperative that Vietnam concentrate on implementing measures to prevent and treat HIV among MSM. One of the future goals for Vietnam should be enhancing access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for MSM, she suggested. In addition, the professor highlighted Vietnams notable success in skillful intervention negotiation. This achievement is particularly evident in the differentiated interventions tailored for both MSM and transgender individuals, making the interventions highly specific. Data has revealed that integrating testing into community campaigns focused on MSM has significantly improved testing accessibility and made it free. This approach ensures that most individuals, unaware of their positive status, can easily access testing. Once testing identifies positive cases, the implementation of treatment and PrEP for HIV-negative individuals follows. Therefore, understanding the need for targeted measures for specific communities is crucial, Barre-Sinoussi emphasized. Finally, she underscored the significance of anti-stigma measures against people living with HIV. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! PARIS - Italy, Saudi Arabia and South Korea are battling it out in Paris on Tuesday for the right to host the Expo 2030 world fair, a five-yearly event that attracts millions of visitors and billions of dollars in investment. The three countries' delegations have been in horse-trading overdrive over the past few months to win votes from the 182 member states of the Bureau International des Expositions, holding splashy lobbying events in the French capital. South Korea's southeastern city of Busan is competing against Saudi Arabia's Riyadh and Italy's Rome. Rome has placed a heavy emphasis on human rights and democracy in its bid to host the Expo, painting itself as a more ethical option than Riyadh, which is widely seen as the frontrunner. "Rome is the most credible city for an expo which has as an objective sustainable development, an expo which respects human rights, diversity, dialogue, inclusion, women, the LGBTQ+ community, unions," City Mayor Roberto Gualtieri told a conference last week. "Certainly we have less economic capital to spend than others have done in asking for a direct vote (but) if money that comes from the sale of fossil fuels is worth more than anything else, then we tell the world, 'watch out how these events will turn out'," he added. Horse-trading A win for Saudi Arabia would be the icing on the cake for de-facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's ambitious Vision 2030 program, which aims to wean the country off its oil dependency. Critics say Prince Mohammed is using the event to improve his country's image after the 2018 murder of prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which Western leaders believe was ordered by the crown prince. Riyadh won French support for the first round of voting, with Macron advisers saying it was in return for some Saudi help on other issues at the heart of French diplomatic priorities. A European official said it had to do with Lebanon, without specifying. But the Macron adviser has said the commitment is limited to the first round of voting. More than one vote will be necessary if no country gets a majority at the first ballot. Meanwhile, campaigning has been in full swing in Paris. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol made a final push during a trip to Paris, saying the Expo would be a chance for South Korea to give back to the world after benefiting from international aid in the aftermath of the 1950-53 Korean War. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni personally got involved in trying to persuade international leaders to back the Rome bid, giving it her full political backing. However, she is not scheduled to travel to Paris on Tuesday a sign for some that she believes it is likely to be a lost cause. Rome is looking to use the Expo as a way of attracting investment, much as Milan did when it successfully hosted the 2015 Expo. That was the last Expo to be staged in Europe and Rome says it is only fair the continent get it back in 2030, given Dubai staged it in 2020 and Osaka, Japan will in 2025. North Korea's actions taking place along the inter-Korean border are raising the risk of military tensions and miscalculations, a State Department spokesperson said Monday, as the recalcitrant regime began reinstalling guard posts and heavy firearms there. Seoul's defense ministry has said that North Korean troops were spotted installing temporary guard posts and carrying weapons inside the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, after Pyongyang declared it would not be bound by a 2018 inter-Korean military tension reduction deal, called the Comprehensive Military Agreement (CMA). "Now, the actions that the DPRK is taking along the DMZ following its abrogation of the CMA are increasing the risk of military tensions and miscalculations on the Korean Peninsula," the spokesperson said via email in response to a question from Yonhap News Agency. DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. "In light of these developments, the United States remains in close and continual contact with the ROK through multiple channels to ensure that our alliance remains in lockstep," the official added, referring to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea. The North announced its decision to back out of the CMA after the South suspended part of the agreement in response to the North's defiant launch of a space rocket to put a spy satellite into orbit last week. Seoul and Washington view the launch as a violation of U.N. Security Council (UNSC) resolutions. The CMA called for demolishing border guard posts within 1 kilometer of the border, banning military drills and maneuvers near the land and sea borders, and establishing no-fly zones along the border, among other measures aimed at reducing cross-border tensions and accidental clashes. The spokesperson stressed that the North's "escalatory rhetoric and destabilizing actions" inflame tensions in the region but reiterated Washington's openness to engagement with Pyongyang. "The door has not closed on diplomacy, but Pyongyang must immediately cease its provocative actions and instead choose engagement," the spokesperson said. "In particular, we encourage the DPRK to return to substantive discussions on identifying ways to manage military risks and create lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula." The official added, "As always, the U.S. commitment to the defense of the ROK remains ironclad." Touching on the North's launch of the satellite, the spokesperson said that the U.S.' national security team is closely assessing the purported launch in close coordination with U.S. allies and partners. "We are also watching for any developments in cooperation between the DPRK and Russia on space-related technology transfers," the official said. "The DPRK's developments in its space program have implications for regional and global security, and we call on all nations to abide by relevant UNSC resolutions." In an apparent message to the U.S., the North's official Korean Central News Agency said Monday (Washington time) that the spy satellite has taken photos of the White House, the Pentagon and nuclear-powered aircraft carriers docked at a U.S. naval base. (Yonhap) Vietnam and Japan on Monday issued a joint statement on the elevation of their relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership on the occasion of Vietnamese State President Vo Van Thuongs official visit to Japan from Monday to Thursday, making Japan the sixth country to see its relationship with the Southeast Asian nation reach the highest level in Vietnam's international relations. The upgrade of the two countries ties coincides with the two sides celebrating the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations. Vietnam previously established comprehensive strategic partnerships with China, Russia, South Korea, India, and the United States. At a press conference following his talks with State President Thuong in Tokyo, Japanese PM Fumio Kishida said they discussed orientations for the two countries bilateral relations in the future and agreed to elevate the relationship. The two sides will promote cooperation in several sectors, including economy, the Japanese premier said, affirming that Vietnam is an indispensable partner to Japan during the implementation of Tokyos 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific' initiative and an important link in its supply chains. The two countries will jointly work to create forward-thinking industries, focusing on high-tech and human resource training, he added. The Vietnamese workforce is indispensable to Japans socio-economic development, according to PM Kishida. The two countries will expand exchanges between their young people and localities in terms of culture, sports, and tourism, he noted. Vietnam and Japan will also boost their cooperation at regional and international forums and join hands to consolidate and maintain international order and freedom in a law-based manner. Speaking at the press briefing, State President Thuong said, We issued the joint statement on the elevation of the Japan-Vietnam relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia and the world. This is an important event that opens a new chapter in the two countries ties, which will develop in a more comprehensive, effective, and closely-linked manner to meet the interests of both sides and contribute to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world. In politics, national defense, and security, the two sides agreed to enhance exchanges at high levels with flexible forms. Hanoi and Tokyo will continue effectively deploying existing cooperation mechanisms and establish new ones to intensify the practical and effective collaboration in national defense and security, State President Thuong added. Vietnam and Japan also reached a consensus on bolstering economic cooperation and expanding coordination in new sectors, such as innovation, technological transfer, digital transformation, and green transition. Both leaders welcomed Japan's official development assistance (ODA) loans for Vietnam, which will likely exceed 100 billion yen (US$671 million) this year, the Vietnamese state leader said, adding that it is a prerequisite for the two countries to maintain and foster their ODA cooperation in the years to come, with a focus on strategic infrastructure, digital transformation, green transition, climate change response, and healthcare. He spoke highly of PM Kishidas affirmation that Japan would keep supporting Vietnams industrialization, modernization, and development of an independent and self-reliant economy, as well as Hanoi's important role in the diversification of Tokyos supply chains. The Vietnamese leader also treasured the Japanese prime ministers pledge to facilitate Vietnamese enterprises joining more deeply in the global supply chains of Japan's firms, and support the Southeast Asian country to realize commitments, including the net zero emissions target by 2050. The two countries will enhance manpower connectivity and the cooperation between localities in tourism and culture, as well as people-to-people exchanges, he shared. Vietnam and Japan set up diplomatic ties on September 21, 1973 and established a reliable, stable, and long-term partnership in 2002. The two countries elevated their ties to a strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia in 2009 and an intensive strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia in 2014. State President Thuong, his spouse, and a high-ranking delegation of Vietnamese representatives arrived in Tokyo on Sunday evening (local time), starting their official visit to Japan through Thursday at the invitation of the Japanese state. This is President Thuongs first visit to Japan since taking office in March this year. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Vietnamese State President Vo Van Thuong and his spouse had a meeting with Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Tuesday (local time), as part of the top Vietnamese officials visit to Japan from Monday through Thursday. This was their first meeting since they took office. Japan's Emperor Naruhito proclaimed his enthronement to the world in October 2019, while Thuong was elected as the Vietnamese state president in March this year. Naruhito has cherished Vietnam since he was a prince, said Nguyen Phu Binh, Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan during the 2008-11 period. After his trip to Vietnam in 2009, Naruhito received an invitation to visit the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan due to his deep love for the Southeast Asian country. This was the only visit to a foreign embassy made by the Japanese royal family, Binh told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper. Vietnamese State President Vo Van Thuong (R) meets with Japanese Emperor Naruhito. Photo: Vietnam News Agency Emperor Naruhitos deep affection for Vietnam was also reflected through his participation in a conference held in 2009 at a Japanese university to mark the 10th anniversary of Hoi An Ancient Towns recognition as a world heritage site. President Thuong held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday. The two leaders announced their decision at a press briefing on the same day to elevate their relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership. Accordingly, Vietnam and Japan issued a joint statement on the elevation of their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia and the world. Vietnamese State President Vo Van Thuongs spouse, Phan Thi Thanh Tam (L), meets with Empress Masako on November 28, 2023. Photo: Vietnam News Agency Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Check out the latest news from Vietnam today: Politics -- Vietnam and Japan on Monday issued a joint statement on the elevation of their relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership on the occasion of Vietnamese State President Vo Van Thuongs official visit to Japan from Monday to Thursday, making Japan the sixth country to see its relationship with the Southeast Asian country reach the highest level in the latters international relations. -- President of the Cambodian National Assembly (NA) Samdech Khuon Sudary will pay an official visit to Vietnam from Thursday to Saturday at the invitation of her Vietnamese counterpart Vuong Dinh Hue, according to an announcement released by the Vietnamese NAs Committee for Foreign Affairs. Society -- Police in Vinh Long Province, southern Vietnam are investigating an incident in which a house fire plus a big explosion killed a 39-year-old man and his 12-year-old son on Monday. -- Residents living on Duong Quang Ham Street in Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City have dismantled their houses to hand land lots over to local authorities to expand the street, which is usually congested during rush hours. -- Police in Quang Nam Province, central Vietnam said on Monday that they had arrested two men for allegedly trafficking in a 14-year-old girl at VND38 million (US$1,564) and forcing her to serve customers at a local karaoke parlor. -- Can Tho City in southern Vietnam has completed the rebuilding of 501 bus stops, replacing deteriorated ones, a local official informed on Monday. -- The High Command of Coast Guard Region 4 under the Vietnam Coast Guard said on Monday that it seized a vessel for allegedly transporting 80,000 liters of smuggled diesel oil in the waters of Vietnam on Sunday. -- Police in south-central Phu Yen Province captured a man who fled away 24 years ago after stealing assets from a fishing boat in 1999, police reported on Monday. Sports -- The Vinpearl DIC Legends Vietnam 2023, the first international professional golf tour in Vietnam, kicked off in Nha Trang City of the south-central province of Khanh Hoa on Monday, attracting many world-renowned golfers. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! More than 50 scientists from Vietnam and 12 countries and territories are participating in the 2023 SAGI astrophysics workshop on dust polarimetry and applications in astrophysics in Binh Dinh Province. The hybrid event is being hosted by the scientific and educational organization Rencontres du Vietnam (Meeting Vietnam) between Monday and Friday at the International Center for Interdisciplinary Science and Education (ICISE) in the provincial capital city of Quy Nhon. Were living a golden era of dust polarimetry in which dust polarization is observed by the most powerful observatories, such as ALMA, NOEMA, IRAM/Nika2-Pol, and others, spanning all scales of the universe, from the galactic scales to the interstellar medium, molecular clouds, to star-forming and planet-forming regions to debris disks, as well as envelopes of dying stars, said Associate Professor Dr. Hoang Chi Thiem from Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute in South Korea. In this workshop, the fundamental theory underlying dust polarization plus quantitative and qualitative research methods will be applied to numerical modeling and computational simulations, so as to create synthetic polarization data that directly compare with real observational data. The synergy of theory, computation, and observations promises to turn dust polarimetry into an accurate diagnostic of astrophysics, which can help resolve long-standing questions and potentially open new frontiers of astrophysics, Thiem added. Dr. Nguyen Trong Hien from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who is the head of the Simons Astrophysics Group at the Institute For Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Education under the ICISE, said that the event will enable researchers at home and abroad to get involved in discussions about dust polarization as well as help young researchers and students in Vietnam meet with international astrophysicists. Many young scientists arrived in Binh Dinh Province, south-central Vietnam to attend the workshop. Photo: Lam Thien / Tuoi Tre The association Rencontres du Vietnam,' a non-profit organization and an official partner of UNESCO, was founded in 1993 by Jean Tran Thanh Van, with the aim of promoting international exchanges between Vietnam and the international community, particularly in the areas of science and education. As for the Simons Astrophysics Group at ICISE (SAGI), it was established last year thanks to the grant awarded by the Simons Foundation to foster collaborative research in astrophysics between international experts and local researchers and to train young researchers in astrophysics. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Cruise ship Zhao Shang Yi Dun brought 721 Chinese passengers to Quang Ninh Province, northern Vietnam on Tuesday to visit its world-famous Ha Long Bay and other popular tourist sites. This was the first group of Chinese cruise passengers to pass through the Ha Long international cruise port this year, according to the provincial Department of Tourism. As scheduled, these cruise passengers will spend one day exploring Ha Long Bay, and another day touring Ha Long City as well as visiting some tourist destinations in Hanoi. The cruise ship is set to travel to Da Nang City in central Vietnam and Hong Kong before returning to the port of Shekou in Shenzhen, located in Guangdong Province, mainland China. The first cruise ship from the port of Shekou entering Ha Long City showed a positive sign of Quang Ninhs inbound tourism and Chinese travelers soaring return after the COVID-19 pandemic. The first Chinese cruise passengers are given flowers after they enter Quang Ninh Province, northern Vietnam. Photo: T . Duong / Tuoi Tre Cruise ship Zhao Shang Yi Dun is expected to make five port calls in the city and take over 4,000 Chinese guests to the bay from now until the end of the year. By March 2024, the Chinese-flagged ship will have brought more than 12,000 passengers to Quang Ninh Province. The province will also welcome multiple Chinese ships in 2024. A representative of the Ha Long international passenger port said that the 2023 cruise season started in October, with many international cruise ships from Europe and America docking in the city. The province has received 60 registrations from international cruise ships to dock at the Ha Long international passenger port in 2024. Among them are Mein Schiff, Celebrity Solstice, Noordam, MSC Splendida, and Westerdam. Accordingly, over 70,000 international cruise passengers will visit the province next year. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Son Doong Cave, the worlds largest known cave, and Hang Va (Va Cave) in Quang Binh Province, north-central Vietnam are featured in the popular British nature documentary series Planet Earth, commissioned by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The two stunning caves imposingly appear in an episode, named 'Extremes,' of Planet Earth III, which is set to be premiered in the United States, Canada, and many other countries worldwide in early December, Nguyen Chau A, CEO at Oxalis Adventure Tours, which organizes tours to Son Doong Cave, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper. Son Doong Cave is featured in Planet Earth. Video: Oxalis The episode was aired on BBC One on November 26. Oxalis was in charge of all relevant preparations to smooth the path for the BBC film crew. After the episode debuted on BBC One, Chau A was so touched to see the beautiful images of Son Doong and Va Caves featured in Planet Earth for the first time, he recounted. Some filming groups had previously used low-resolution cameras or drones to film the landscapes, so the charming corners of the caves had yet to be spotted, he said. The Planet Earth film crew used two drones equipped with a light and a camcorder to capture the caves eye-catching and spectacular landscapes that other film crews failed to capture, Chau A said. The BBC crew included six members led by producer Theo Webb. They worked hard from January 27 to February 19 last year, while spending 18 consecutive days shooting scenes in the dark. The film crew made a huge investment in the episode shot in the caves, with the cost surpassing the funds for American morning television program Good Morning America or Alan Walkers music video Alone Pt.III, which was filmed in the caves. The BBC film crew brought over one metric ton of equipment and machines to the caves to film Vietnams natural beauty, Chau A unveiled. I expect the nature documentary to contribute to spurring Vietnams tourism, said the Oxalis representative. Speaking of Planet Earth III, David Attenborough, a 97-year-old British broadcaster, biologist, and natural historian, said that in this fast-changing world, they are the earths greatest natural wonders that you will never see again. Attenborough also unveiled the extraordinary survival from fights between wild animals that are featured in the hit documentary. The deepest place of Son Doong Cave is also one of the worlds greatest natural wonders, he said, adding that white blind fish were found alive in some puddles there. The Planet Earth film crew brings over one metric ton of equipment to Quang Binh Province, north-central Vietnam to shoot Son Doong Cave. Photo: Oxalis After entering Son Doong Cave, associate producer Georgina shouted out, Unbelievably, it is too dark here. We just knew that we were standing near a river and had to cross the first river to travel deeper into the cave. After we lit it up with lights, we were really surprised by its bigness, he said. The vastness of the cave was unimaginable, so filming it was surely a challenge, Theo Webb said. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Documentary special Barry Humphries: In His Own Words is a tribute to the life of iconic Australian comedian Barry Humphries, told using only his own words from an in-depth interview recorded in 2015 for the ABC series Stop Laughing this is Serious. It will screen on the same day as the NSW State Memorial Service. Best known for writing and playing his stage and television characters Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson, Humphries biographer Anne Pender described him in 2010 as not only the most significant theatrical figure of our time [but] the most significant comedian to emerge since Charlie Chaplin. Humphries characters brought him international renown. He appeared in numerous stage productions, films, and television shows. Originally conceived as a dowdy Moonee Ponds housewife who caricatured Australian suburban complacency and insularity, Dame Edna Everage evolved over four decades to become a satire of stardom a gaudily dressed, acid-tongued, egomaniacal, internationally feted Housewife Gigastar. Production Credit: An ABC Factual production. Commissioning Editor Stephen Oliver. Friday 15 December at 8:30pm on ABC. Former Australian soldier and Seven network executive Ben Roberts-Smith has been ordered to pay the legal costs of media outlets party following his failed defamation action. But a magistrate found the newspapers had proven to a civil standard on the balance of probabilities that Roberts-Smith was complicit in the murder of four unarmed prisoners while serving in Afghanistan, including kicking a handcuffed man, a father of six named Ali Jan, off a cliff before ordering him shot dead. Yesterday Roberts-Smith was ordered to pay the outlets legal costs estimated at exceeding $25m. Roberts-Smith is also appealing the defamation decision to the full bench of the federal court, to be heard in February. Roberts-Smith, who resigned from Seven in June, is also the subject of an upcoming Stan documentary, Ben Roberts-Smith: Truth On Trial to screen on December 10. Source: The Guardian Joel Creasey will host a Reunion special of The Real Housewives of Sydney next month on Binge / Arena. RHoS cast to appear in the one-hour special are Caroline Gaultier, Dr Kate Adams, Krissy Marsh, Nicole ONeil, Sally Obermeder, Terry Biviano and Victoria Montano. The Reunion special will revisit all the hilarious, memorable, and jaw-dropping moments, plus the extravagant, high-end fashion, that have kept audiences entertained across the series. The Reunion special also reflects on the most heartfelt moments, including conversations around motherhood, friendships, love and fun shared amongst them. Fans can get more housewives with the The Real Housewives of Sydney podcast hosted by Joel Creasey on Nova which will continue to recap each episode with a different housewives week to week, along with a special reunion recap episode alongside Sydney Confidentials Jonathon Moran dissecting all the best moments from the reunion. The Real Housewives of Sydney is produced by Matchbox Pictures, which is part of Universal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group. The Real Housewives franchise is licensed globally by NBCUniversal Formats, which is part of Universal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group. There are currently 24 international adaptations of the global hit format including recently announced or launched versions in Lagos, Amsterdam, Warsaw and Durban. 8:30pm Tuesday December 19 on Binge / Arena. Seven News Brisbane last new debuted a new look studio -the biggest change for the Mount Coot-Tha broadcasting facility in almost two decades. The project has been months in the making, with the studio being completely stripped and re-built from scratch. A new LED video screen now comprises the Brisbane background, spanning 14 metres in total. Director of 7NEWS for Brisbane and the Gold Coast, Michael Coombes said: Every day, were committed to delivering the news that matters to south-east Queensland. This new set builds on that promise and gives us exciting ways to enhance how we tell your stories. Sharyn Ghidella said: Our priority is bringing Queenslanders the best news service every day, seven days a week. Were grateful for the people who trust us with their stories, and to the viewers who tune in every night. Max Futcher said: Wed also like to acknowledge the great number of people who have worked for months behind the scenes to build this new set. Its truly been a team effort and we are excited about how these changes will increase our capability to deliver a quality news service to our viewers every night. North Korea said Tuesday there were votes against candidates for deputies to local assemblies in the latest local elections, marking the first time in decades that the repressive regime has reported opposing votes in its elections. A total of 27,858 workers, peasants, intellectuals and officials were elected new deputies for local assemblies of provinces, cities and counties in the local elections Sunday, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The voter turnout was recorded at 99.63 percent. Among voters who cast ballots, 99.91 percent voted for the candidates for deputies to provincial people's assemblies and 0.09 percent voted against them, the KCNA said. In terms of deputies to city and county people's assemblies, 99.87 percent voted for selected candidates and 0.13 percent voted against them. North Korea's state media carried a report of opposing votes in local elections for the first time since the 1960s, according to Seoul's unification ministry. In the 1950s, there were reports of approval rates staying below 100 percent in two local elections. Elections in the North are widely viewed as a formality, as the candidates are hand-picked by the North's ruling Workers' Party and rubber-stamped into office. In the elections to pick deputies to local assemblies in July 2019, the voter turnout was 99.98 percent and 100 percent voted for the candidates. In March of that year, North Korea reported 99.99 percent voter turnout and 100 percent approval in the elections to select deputies to the Supreme People's Assembly, the country's parliament. North Korea's rare revelation of opposing votes in the latest local elections may be intended to show that it democratically held the election following the revision of the election law. For Sunday's voting, Pyongyang allowed two candidates to be recommended in some constituencies and held a preliminary election to decide on a final single candidate. The unification ministry said the North's report of opposing votes does not mean that the country guarantees people's political rights. "The move appears to be intended to show that people in North Korea adequately expressed their opinions in elections, but this is still far from the guarantee of people's suffrage," a ministry official told reporters on condition of anonymity. At polling stations, North Korea set up two separate ballot boxes of different colors -- one for approval and the other for disapproval -- a move that hampers the principle of secret voting as it is easy to see whether people vote for or against, the ministry said. In regard to a fall in voter turnout compared with four years earlier, the official said North Korea may have manipulated it in order to give an impression that the latest elections were free elections. The Korea Institute for National Unification, a state-run think tank, said in a report Monday that the lower voter turnout could indicate North Korea's control over its people may have weakened, as the number of citizens who are elusive from state supervision probably rose. (Yonhap) As Disneys The Artful Dodger would have us believe, Dickens famed character became something of a Doogie Howser in colonial Australia. Who knew? According to literature the Oliver Twist character, a notorious pickpocket, was ultimately caught with a stolen silver snuff box, so his transportation to a penal colony is entirely within reason. Say no more for a rambunctious, hypothetical sequel to his life in the hands of lively Australian creatives as an 8 part series. In the title role is Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Maze Runner, The Queens Gambit) whose energetic Dr Jack Dawkins has grown into a young man making a new life as a skilled surgeon. In the colony of Port Victory his days of crime and misdemeanours are behind him. Like the gruesome scenes of HBOs The Knick, his pioneering procedures -not for the squeamish- are part medicine, and part showmanship for a leering crowd. Hes a liberal and radical, he takes too many risks and he doesnt follow the rules. Yet he also owes the dastardly Darius Cracksworth (Tim Minchin) a hefty debt and if it isnt paid henceforth, will literally lose one of his hands. Life gets more complicated when his former partner-in-crime, the crooked Fagin (David Thewlis) turns up in town, threatening to expose Jacks history unless he helps spare him from the chain gang. This isnt London theres nowhere to hide here, Jack warns him. Meanwhile, Lady Belle Fox (Maia Mitchell) is stifled as the daughter of Governor Edmund Fox (Damien Garvey) and Lady Jane Fox (Susie Porter) and has aspirations of becoming the colonys first female surgeon. It doesnt take Charles Dickens to know these two young minds will be thrown together before long. And with just a little assist from Fagin, Jack may overcome is personal debt. But does it mean returning to his old ways in order to keep his reputation (and his hand, for that matter?). Creators James McNamara, David Maher and David Taylor, set the scene for a lavish, rollicking miniseries where all of the money is on the screen: sets, costumes, props, crowd scenes bursting with extras. In the hands of director Jeffrey Walker it is fused with energy from the get-go, seamlessly weaving together all the moving parts so as to expand on the backdrop without losing the personal connections in the foreground. The show even uses a contemporary rock score which, will driving the narrative, also took me out of the time period unnecessarily. Also on the music, composer Antony Partos will likely win awards for his original score. Thomas Brodie-Sangster is a star in the lead role, with such pin-up looks and charisma youd be forgiven for thinking Harry Styles was in the world of Dickens. How has David Thewlis never played Fagin before? He was born for this role, and its a pleasure to sit back and watch him with Brodie-Sangster. Maia Mitchell brings zest to her disruptor role, while Tim Minchin and Damon Herriman -the latter as Captain Lucien Gaines- are two more treats in a brilliant ensemble which includes Miranda Tapsell, Luke Carroll, Kim Gyngell, Vivienne Awosoga, Jessica De Gouw, Andrea Demetriades. Given the series is drawing upon Dickensian lead characters (with import actors) the show does feel more British than Australian, at least in early episodes. Youd hope Disneys early commitment to producing Australian drama can remain true to Australian voices and stories, rather than as a shooting location. But there is plenty to like here. Its a bold idea, handsomely executed and deserving of your best binge time. The Artful Dodger premieres Wednesday on Disney+ Tweakers maakt gebruik van cookies Tweakers plaatst functionele en analytische cookies voor het functioneren van de website en het verbeteren van de website-ervaring. Deze cookies zijn noodzakelijk. Om op Tweakers relevantere advertenties te tonen en om ingesloten content van derden te tonen (bijvoorbeeld video's), vragen we je toestemming. Via ingesloten content kunnen derde partijen diensten leveren en verbeteren, bezoekersstatistieken bijhouden, gepersonaliseerde content tonen, gerichte advertenties tonen en gebruikersprofielen opbouwen. Hiervoor worden apparaatgegevens, IP-adres, geolocatie en surfgedrag vastgelegd. Meer informatie vind je in ons cookiebeleid. In a crackdown spearheaded by France, 31 men implicated in a child pornography network that was primarily operated via the encrypted messaging service Signal have been arrested across Europe. Between 13 and 17 November, police made 10 arrests in France, 10 in Spain, five in Hungary, four in Belgium and two in Bulgaria, said Colonel Pascal Peresse, head of the operations division at France's Centre for the Fight Against Internet Crimes. The operation was prompted by a tip-off from the US Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which flagged a 30-year-old man residing in southwest France. An investigation by cyber police from the Bordeaux Research Section made it possible to identify seven discussion groups, eight administrators and three secure storage spaces. Around 700 individuals of 73 different nationalities were identified by more than 70 investigators, including 25 specialising in new technologies, Peresse said. More arrests to come Undercover French gendarmes conducted an investigation and uncovered over 200,000 illicit files within the network. Forty child crime groups were investigated and 49 digital materials were seized. New arrests are also planned soon in Finland, Romania and Ukraine, Peresse said. Several suspects have been placed in pre-trial detention. Some are also being prosecuted for rape of a minor under 15 and corruption of minors. (with AFP) Read more on RFI English Read also: French anti-incest body publishes recommendations to protect children French PM's plan to tackle violence against children met with luke-warm response French Catholic Church in upheaval following sexual abuse revelations Graduating as Riflemen from the Infantry Training Centre at Catterick Garrison, the recruits of Gurkha Company took part in a pride-filled ceremony on the parade square at Helles Barracks Picture: MOD More than 200 Gurkha recruits at Catterick Garrison marked the end of their military training with a pass off parade inspected by Defence Minister, Dr Andrew Murrison. Graduating as Riflemen from the Infantry Training Centre, the recruits of Gurkha Company took part in a ceremony on the parade square at Helles Barracks. The minister for defence people, veterans and service families, Dr Andrew Murrison MP, watched the 204 soldiers on parade to mark the end of their nine-month training programme. It began in February in Nepal with a selection process to earn their place on the course. The trainee Riflemen have learnt soldiering skills, a new language and culture, as well as adjusting to life thousands of miles away from their families. They will now join their chosen regiment in the Brigade of Gurkhas. Darlington and Stockton Times: Graduating as Riflemen from the Infantry Training Centre at Catterick Garrison, the recruits of Gurkha Company took part in a pride-filled ceremony on the parade square at Helles Barracks Picture: MOD Addressing the Gurkhas, Dr Murrison said: You are in the foothills of a career in an increasingly uncertain world. But remember you are joining a force for good in the world. You are joining a cadre that makes up nearly five per cent of that force for good. And what a cadre it is. In recent times Gurkhas have served in Cyprus, Macedonia, Romania, Germany, Japan, Papa New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand. You are a global force part of the best Army in the world. Darlington and Stockton Times: Graduating as Riflemen from the Infantry Training Centre at Catterick Garrison, the recruits of Gurkha Company took part in a pride-filled ceremony on the parade square at Helles Barracks Picture: MOD Trainee Rifleman Anand Limbu is joining the Queens Gurkha Engineers and will now head to 3 Royal School of Military Engineering Regiment in Minley to complete his trade training. He said Every part of the training had its challenges, but it was interesting, and a lot of things were included. We gave our best and it was a very good course. Darlington and Stockton Times: Graduating as Riflemen from the Infantry Training Centre at Catterick Garrison, the recruits of Gurkha Company took part in a pride-filled ceremony on the parade square at Helles Barracks Picture: MOD Platoon Commander 6 Platoon, Sergeant Manoj Gurung added: I was involved at the start of the selection process in Nepal. Arriving in the UK the culture shock for the recruits is huge, and the training to mould the young men into Gurkha soldiers is rigorous. Darlington and Stockton Times: Graduating as Riflemen from the Infantry Training Centre at Catterick Garrison, the recruits of Gurkha Company took part in a pride-filled ceremony on the parade square at Helles Barracks Picture: MOD They will take part in a lot of parades in their Army careers, but their pass off parade is probably the most important parade in their Army career. When I spoke to them, I told them to be very proud of who they are and most importantly what they have become. Story continues As an instructor I am enormously proud. There are no other words really to express it. We are all immensely proud of what they have become, and we wish them all the very best of luck as they leave here. Darlington and Stockton Times: Graduating as Riflemen from the Infantry Training Centre at Catterick Garrison, the recruits of Gurkha Company took part in a pride-filled ceremony on the parade square at Helles Barracks Picture: MOD The Gurkhas have been part of the British Army for more than 200 years. More than 200,000 Gurkhas fought in the two world wars, and their bravery is legendary. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov plans to travel to North Macedonia later this week to attend a conference, a trip that would mark his first visit to a NATO member country since Moscow sent troops to Ukraine. Russia is one of the 57 members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, set up during the Cold War to help defuse East-West tensions. North Macedonia, which holds the group's rotating chairmanship, last week invited Lavrov to an OSCE foreign ministers' meeting that starts Thursday in Skopje, the capital of the small, landlocked Balkan country. NATO members banned Russian flights after Moscow launched its military action in Ukraine in February 2022. To reach North Macedonia, Lavrov's plane would need to fly through the airspace of Bulgaria or Greece, which also belong to the Western military alliance. Bulgarias Foreign Ministry on Monday said it has granted permission for the overflight of Lavrovs plane through Bulgarian airspace. The permission was granted on a request from North Macedonia "for participation in the meeting of the Council of Ministers of the OSCE in Skopje to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov and falls under the exceptions from the application of the EU sanctions regime against him," the statement read. The permission, however, "does not apply to members of his delegation, who are also sanctioned persons, according to the current EU law, which is explicitly mentioned in the reply note of the Bulgarian side. In Moscow on Monday, Lavrov said his office has received requests for bilateral meetings from several foreign ministers of other countries who plan to be in Skopje. Of course, we will meet with everyone," he said, Story continues His deputy, Sergei Ryabkov, told reporters that Lavrov wasn't going to meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who also is expected to attend the OSCE foreign ministers' meeting. Lavrov argued that the security situation in Europe is more dangerous now than at any time during the Cold War. In the past, he maintained, the Soviet Union, the US and its NATO allies back then sought to restrain their rivalry with political and diplomatic practices and never expressed such serious concerns about their future, their physical future. Now such fears are all too common, he added. Lavrov further declared that Moscow isn't thinking about rebuilding ties with Europe but how instead we should safeguard ourselves in all key sectors of our economy, our life on the whole and our security. The defiant stand appeared to reflect Moscow's hope that Western support for Ukraine could wane amid the forthcoming elections in the US and Europe, the Israel-Hamas war and the state of the battlefield where a Ukrainian counteroffensive has failed to make any significant gains. Lavrov charged that while some in the West may want to freeze the conflict to buy time for Ukraine to rearm itself, well think over and weigh all those offers 10 times to see how they comply with our interests and how reliable those European counterparts are. Theyve undermined their reputation very, very badly," Lavrov said. "Maybe not completely yet. President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday the government's all-out campaign to bring the World Expo 2030 to Busan was aimed at bringing balanced development and rapid growth, as the vote to select the host city was hours away. Yoon made the remark during a Cabinet meeting as the 182 member states of the Bureau International des Expositions, the body in charge of overseeing the World Expo, were set to vote during a general assembly in Paris later Tuesday (local time). The candidate cities are Korea's southeastern city of Busan; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and Rome, Italy. "The Busan Expo was strongly pursued for the balanced development and rapid growth of the Republic of Korea," Yoon said, noting he held more than 150 meetings with state leaders as part of the campaign. "Even during my recent overseas trip, I continued to hold phone calls with the leaders of each nation at every opportunity and appealed for their support for Busan for the Expo 2030," he said, referring to his recent trips to San Francisco, Britain and France. Yoon claimed the world was deeply impressed by Korea's dynamism and potential after witnessing how the country's public and private sectors came together to campaign for the event. Yoon also urged the National Assembly to quickly pass a revision to the Labor Standards Act to punish employers who habitually fail to pay their employees on time. Such delayed payments threaten the lives of workers and their families, and especially young people who are just starting their careers, leaving some of them with bad credit ratings, he said. "Our law handles overdue wages as a criminal offense. The principle of the rule of law in labor and management affairs should be applied fairly to both workers and employers," Yoon said. "I urge the National Assembly to pass the revision to the Labor Standards Act during the current session without fail to restrict employers that habitually make delayed payments from participating in the government's various assistance projects and disadvantage them in public bids and financial transactions," he said. Yoon also addressed recent disruptions in the government's online civil service networks, saying the matter calls for a proper investigation into the root cause, including whether there was chronic mismanagement by splitting contracts and frequently changing management companies, or a cyberattack from outside. "Only when we know the fundamental cause can we prevent something. If security against cyberattacks was the issue, we have to reinforce the security wall, and if management and response are the issue, we must immediately improve the system so that it can operate organically," he said. On his recent overseas trips, Yoon said he stated Korea's commitment to leading action on climate change during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, while upgrading bilateral tries to a global strategic partnership during his state visit to Britain and meeting with diplomats in Paris to deliver a final push to bring the World Expo 2030 to Busan. (Yonhap) HA NOI - The opportunity for offshore wind power export could slip away if Viet Nam does not finalise the framework for the development of this renewable energy type within the next year, said industry insiders and exports. Earlier, the Singapore government approved in principle the sale of 1.2GW from a 2.3GW offshore wind farm under the management of the PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PTSC) - a member of the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN), to the Southeast Asian island nation through a high-voltage undersea cable. The project, the first wind power sale from Viet Nam approved by Singapore, has received approval from the Vietnamese Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) for monitoring, investigation, survey and assessment of marine resources (survey licence). Meanwhile, PTSC's Singaporean partner, Sembcorp Utilities Pte Ltd (SCU), a subsidiary of Sembcorp Industries Ltd, has received a letter of intent from the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry approving the project. As the first Vietnamese company to receive the Singapore Government's approval for the implementation of the offshore wind farm project with a capacity of 2.3GW in Vietnam, exporting 1.2GW to the "Lion City" through a high-voltage undersea cable, the PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PTSC), a member of the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN), is collaborating with Sembcorp Utilities Pte Ltd (SCU), a subsidiary of Sembcorp Industries Ltd, on the initial steps in the investment cooperation. Director-general of PTSC Le Manh Cuong said the Singaporean Government had announced plans to import up to 4 GW of low-carbon electricity by 2035 and had outlined a progressive carbon tax schedule to achieve a net-zero carbon emission target by 2050. The island nation had approved power imports for several renewable projects, including 2GW from Indonesia, 1GW from Cambodia, and 1.2GW from Viet Nam. Cuong said so far it had been smooth sailing thanks to PTSC and PVN's extensive experience in the field. To date, PTSC had successfully won contracts for over 10 offshore wind projects with a total capacity of 5.2GW and a contract value exceeding US$1.2 billion, all of which would be for export. He added the successful implementation of this deal would bring significant benefits, such as establishing Viet Nam as a hub for offshore wind power services for the region, contributing to Viet Nam's sovereignty over its islands, enhancing collaboration among ASEAN countries, and realising the goal of connected power grids in ASEAN. In addition, the underground power transmission cable could be used to set up a fibre optic cable connection to Singapore, which would bring substantial economic benefits in the future. However, the Energy Market Authority (EMA) of Singapore could still look elsewhere if Viet Nam failed to come up with a framework to implement the deal within the next year. There was competition to look out for. In August this year, the southernmost province Ca Mau submitted a proposal to the MoIT outlining a plan to export up to 5,000MW of renewable energy by 2040, Cuong said. Nguyen Quoc Thap, Chairman of PVN, said offshore wind projects were complex, large investments and would require substantial incentives to encourage additional investors to jump in. Based on international case studies, Thap said it would typically take 6-8 years for an offshore wind project to be fully implemented. Therefore, the establishment of policy mechanisms for the development of this renewable power source must be planned in a timely manner to prevent unnecessary delays. VNS HCM CITY Carbon accounting and biodiversity accounting are among the foundations that Vietnamese companies must implement right now in order to reach the net-zero target by 2050, experts said at a seminar discussed about the circular economy in HCM City on Monday. At the seminar, experts shared that along with financial reports, carbon accounting is now so important and needs to be in focus immediately. During a discussion at the seminar, Nguyen inh Tho, general director of the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment, stressed that carbon accounting and auditing do not cost enterprises; they are valuable for enterprises. Reaching the three goals of financing, improving capacity and technology transfer, enterprises will successfully transform to a circular and green economy, he said. In terms of capital, experts at the seminar shared information about green credits and carbon credits which have been used globally. They also discussed the importance of setting up a transparent carbon credit market with a clear legal framework to encourage companies to boost their practices on ESG, cut down carbon emission as well as take advantage of the financial benefits brought by carbon credits. In fact, the Government is piloting carbon credits in some places and experts suggested that carbon credits should be developed on the same platform with the stock exchange. In addition to carbon credits, during the seminar, representatives for companies shared experiences and lessons learnt during the time implementing the transformation into a circular economy. Accordingly, companies all agreed that improving knowledge of both their staff and customers is an important element. First Green Media Award launched The seminar was an event that Green Media Hub, a club of journalists reporting about green economy, organised in co-operation with Natural Resources and Environment newspapers and the Viet Nam Journalist Associations Centre for Press Culture. On the same day, the seminars organisers announced the first edition of the annual Green Media Award. The Green Media Award is important, contributing to communication activities as well as policy consultation and criticism. The award also particularly updates activities of the Government and companies in implementing the commitment of Viet Nam at COP26. In addition, the award contributes to raising the awareness of people and the business community about the necessity and responsibility in transitioning to a circular economy and developing a green economy, towards a commitment to reach net zero by 2050. It honours solutions and initiatives as well as models in developing a carbon market and protecting the environment. Members of Green Media Hub are journalists and writers from Viet Nam and foreign countries. The award will be presented in June 2024, and the prize is VN100 million (US$4,000). VNS HA NOI Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh pledged the Governments continued support for young entrepreneurs while addressing a ceremony marking 30 years of the young Vietnamese entrepreneurs movement in Ha Noi on Monday. From a club of 15 initial members, the Vietnam Young Entrepreneurs Association (VYEA) now gathers nearly 19,000 members nationwide. Its member businesses earn more than US$40 billion in annual revenue, contribute over 10 per cent to national GDP, and create jobs for over five million people. In particular, the VYEAs participation in the ASEAN Young Entrepreneurs Council and the Young Entrepreneurs Group of Asia-Pacific is an important stride in the assertion of young Vietnamese entrepreneurs stature in the regional and global communities of businesspersons and companies. In his remarks, PM Chinh attributed the countrys common achievements partly to substantial contributions by entrepreneurs, including young ones. Entrepreneurs and businesses of Viet Nam form one of the factors in successfully implementing industrialisation and modernisation and making breakthroughs in national socio-economic development, he stressed, highlighting their unceasing development in both quantity and quality and major contributions to national construction and safeguarding. He applauded their sense of social responsibility as seen in their active participation in poverty reduction, community activities, and assistance for the public to respond to natural disasters and epidemics, especially COVID-19. The efforts and growth of Vietnamese young entrepreneurs have generated a positive influence on the community of Vietnamese entrepreneurs as a whole, he opined. The PM expressed his belief that despite intertwined opportunities, advantages, difficulties, and challenges in the future, businesses and those run by young entrepreneurs will still manage to weather them. The Government will join hands in developing a strong Vietnamese business community that has high competitiveness, deeply engages in global value chains, and is resilient to external shocks, he stated, adding that it will focus on making three strategic breakthroughs in terms of institutions, infrastructure, and human resources. PM Chinh called on businesses and young entrepreneurs to keep maximising their youth to take the lead in growth model reform, innovation, science and technology application, digital transformation, and green transition. He asked them to improve their capacity, human resources quality, and leadership and governance capacity; develop the corporate culture; unceasingly make self-improvement and equip themselves with more knowledge, conditions and mettle to stretch their reach to the region and the world; and tighten connectivity with one another to promote the stature of Vietnamese businesses. The Government leader also told the VYEA to enhance their role in assisting companies of young entrepreneurs to connect with one another, strongly apply technology, and boost innovation, and help perfect legal documents on businesses activities. The Party and State always protect the rights and legitimate interests of young entrepreneurs and create conditions for them to contribute further to national construction and safeguarding, PM Chinh affirmed, voicing his belief that the Vietnamese business community will join efforts by the Party, State, and Government to surmount challenges, grasp new opportunities, and enhance the internal strength to help build a powerful and prosperous nation with happiness and wealth for all. VNS HA NOI Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien urges China to open its market for more Vietnamese agricultural products, including lobster, and provide support to Vietnamese businesses building trademarks in China. Dien was speaking at the 12th meeting of the Viet Nam-China Economic and Trade Cooperation Committee which took place in Ha Noi on Monday. Dien suggested the Chinese side support Vietnamese businesses in building trademarks in China, and open its market for more Vietnamese agricultural products, urging the signing of a framework agreement on rice trade between the two nations. The minister called on Chinese authorities to set a transition period for spiny lobsters imported into China, and expand the list of border gates between China and Viet Nam that are allowed to import agricultural and aquatic products, and food. Dien also mentioned Viet Nams plan to complete procedures to establish a trade promotion office in Haikou, Hainan, China in 2023; and strengthen economic and trade cooperation and work coordination between two sides. He urged the Chinese side to effectively implement signed agreements and support Vietnamese businesses to increase their presence, rent warehouses and export goods through China's e-commerce pilot zones or free trade pilot zones. For his part, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao stressed that the Chinese market has great demand and welcomes high-quality agricultural products from Viet Nam. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce will continue to coordinate and push Chinese Customs to open the market for Vietnamese agricultural products, he affirmed. Regarding problems in exporting spiny lobsters, Wang said that Vietnamese businesses need to urgently register production and packaging facilities with Chinese Customs, while authorities of the two countries need to soon carry out inspection and assessment of businesses and cultivating areas either in direct or online form so that spiny lobsters of Viet Nam can be exported to China. On Viet Nams proposal to coordinate customs activities to avoid the recurrence of goods congestion at border gates, Wang said that the Chinese Ministry of Commerce attaches great importance to and is ready to coordinate in implementing measures to facilitate customs clearance, thus ensuring the interests of Vietnamese farmers. The Chinese side will provide a favourable business environment and create conditions for Vietnamese businesses to build a foothold in the Chinese market, he said, expressing joy that Viet Nam has built national pavilions on some major e-commerce platforms of China. Economic and trade relations among Vietnamese and Chinese localities play an important role in promoting economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, Minister Wang affirmed, adding that the Chinese side highly values efforts by the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) to build cooperation mechanisms with Guangxi and Yunnan provinces of China. The Chinese ministry will support the Vietnamese ministry in establishing cooperative relationships with Chinese localities with economic strengths, and expanding relations between the two sides localities. China supports Viet Nam in setting up its trade promotion offices in China, he said, suggesting the Vietnamese side enhance exchange and reach agreements with authorities of localities where it plans to place offices. He urged the two sides to discuss and push their ministries of Foreign Affairs to speed up related procedures to establish a trade promotion office of Viet Nam in Haikou. Responding to the Chinese side's proposal, Dien stressed that the MoIT is willing to help relevant sectors and localities of Viet Nam coordinate in opening/upgrading border gates and building smart border gates in Lang Son. He expressed hope that China would coordinate and share experiences in trade defence and e-commerce. Regarding investment, the Vietnamese side proposed China continue to implement projects using the Mekong - Lancang Cooperation Special Fund. Meanwhile, the Chinese side also shared the hope to promote digital economic cooperation and green development, industrial cooperation, and improve business and investment environment with Viet Nam. On this occasion, the two sides also discussed issues related to cooperation, and negotiations to join, upgrade and implement commitments within multilateral frameworks. They reached significant consensus to promote economic and trade cooperation between Viet Nam and China in the new period and agreed on a plan to organise the 13th meeting in China. Before the meeting, the two ministers affirmed their determination to coordinate closely and make more efforts to effectively implement the common perceptions reached recently by the two countries' senior leaders on expanding bilateral economic and trade ties. China has been Viet Nam's largest trading partner and goods supplier, and the second biggest export market of the Southeast Asian nation, for many years. Notably, Viet Nam became the fourth biggest trade partner of China in the world in 2022, and also China's largest in ASEAN. Vietnam Customs statistics showed that the bilateral trade between Viet Nam and China reached US$175.56 billion in 2022, a rise of 5.47 per cent against 2021. The export value to China was estimated at $50 billion in the first ten months of this year, an increase of 5.1 per cent. VNS HCM CITY Adherence to the EU sustainability regulations would strengthen Viet Nams existing trade relations with the bloc and offer new development opportunities for the country, a forum heard in HCM City on Monday. Speaking at the Viet Nam-EU Trade Forum on Sustainability The Pathway to Create Future Value Chains, Ta Hoang Linh, director general of the European American Market Department, said the EU is now Viet Nams third largest export market and fifth largest import market. Viet Nam has surpassed Singapore to become its largest trading partner among ASEAN members and is its 11th biggest supplier of goods, he said. The Viet Nam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which took effect in August 2020, has enabled Vietnamese and EU goods to access each others markets, meeting the supply diversification needs of both sides, he said. Viet Nam is making efforts to pursue a green growth road map for sustainable development. With the great advantages accruing from the EVFTA and the upcoming EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement, Viet Nam wants to attract more investment, technology transfer and support projects from EU partners to make its economic structure green and sustainable. EuroCham Chairman Gabor Fluit said Viet Nam's commitment to responsible environmental management and sustainable energy gives it a competitive edge. Viet Nams commitment to robust sustainability standards is a key driver of FDI, especially from Europe. By setting comprehensive green benchmarks in response to the growing demand for eco-friendly commodities and products, Viet Nam becomes a more dependable export market. This, in turn, encourages fresh European capital inflows and business opportunities in Viet Nam while simultaneously fostering consumer trust. This route also promises to create jobs and long-term prosperity. Within this framework, adherence to EU regulations like the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) and the corporate sustainability due diligence directive (CSDDD) is key to strengthening Viet Nam-Europe economic ties, he said. Viet Nam's embrace of carbon pricing policies in line with CBAM will keep its exports competitive, and adhering to the CSDDD directives demonstrates its commitment to transparent, sustainable business practices, he said. With compliance in place, Viet Nam will safeguard its existing trade relations with the EU and open the door for new ones. However, this regulatory compliance requires substantial investments in infrastructure modernisation, green technology advancement, and human capital development. This includes attracting skilled talent, implementing training programmes, adapting educational programmes, and establishing rigorous standards for emissions reduction, environmental monitoring and compliance enforcement. Collective efforts in these areas, along with investments in data tracking systems, are critical for Viet Nam's success. Linh said: Businesses need to proactively reform and improve their awareness and capacity to achieve green and sustainable growth. It is an irreversible trend globally and mandatory if businesses want to embed themselves deeply in the global value chain. Nguyen Quoc Khanh, R&D executive director at Vinamilk, said his company had adopted the circular economy model a long time ago. Not just Europe but also many other markets around the world would soon require products to meet green and sustainable standards, and businesses would be unable to compete if they do not transform, he said. The initial investment needed for green transformation can be a barrier and a challenge to businesses, but then operating costs after the conversion are lower and their brands are more appreciated and trusted by consumers, thus helping businesses easily access more markets. It can be said that the benefits gained when businesses convert to green and sustainable production will be greater than the cost of conversion." Airbus to expand supply chain in Viet Nam Airbus is determined to expand its supply chain in Viet Nam though it is not an easy task, Hoang Tri Mai, the European aircraft makers chief representative in Viet Nam, told the forum. It demonstrates our confidence in the future of Viet Nams aerospace sector. Viet Nam has great potential to play a pivotal role in the regional and global aviation markets thanks to its burgeoning workforce, dynamic manufacturing sector and robust infrastructure, she said. To capitalise on opportunities, Vietnamese suppliers need to meet the high quality, safety and sustainability standards of global companies like Airbus, she said. The aviation industry is taking steps towards reducing CO2 emissions, including introduction of new-generation aircraft and moving from conventional fuel to sustainable aviation fuel or SAF, she said. We believe that SAF is one of the best decarbonising solutions in the aerospace sector. An aircraft flying with 100 per cent SAF can reduce up to 80 per cent CO2 emissions. SAF, made from sustainable feedstock, is still in its nascent phase, she said. Viet Nam has potential for SAF production thanks to its availability of molasses and biomass residues, she said. So the Government and other agencies should work together to develop policies and incentives and mandate the production and use of SAF, she added. VNS HA NOI Passengers at Noi Bai International Airport (NIA) in Ha Noi can learn about the capital citys culture through folk music performances or demonstrations of artisans from craft villages taking place right in the airport terminals. These activities are part of the on-going cultural week themed Huong Sac Ha Noi (Colours of Ha Noi) held by the NIA until November 30. Passengers can enjoy music performances or join hands with artisans to create handicraft products at several spots that have been set up in both T1 and T2 terminals. Specifically, at the international terminal, T2, passengers can take check-in photos at Village Gate, Traditional Triple Gate and Bamboo Range on the 3rd floor. Nearby is a small stage with background depicting mossy-tiled houses in the Old Quarter, featuring traditional performances. Guests can enjoy different traditional music genres such as cheo (traditional opera) and hat xam (blind busker's singing). Guests can also learn about the handicraft process of making to he (traditional toy figurines), palm-leaf conical hat, clay objects and embroidered pictures. Under the guidance of artisans, they can also join in the process to create a piece for themselves. The performances and demonstrations take place from 9am until 10pm. A small exhibition on the third floor showcases images of Ha Noi, and a replica of Ha Nois symbolic Quan Chuong Gate has been set up on the first floor. A mini landscape imitating Ha Nois most poetic street Phan inh Phung, has been created on the 1st floor. Guests not only can take picture with a colourful flower bicycle of street vendor, but can also taste Hanoi specialties such as o mai (salted fruits) and com lang Vong (Vong Villages young sticky rice). According to NIA Deputy Director Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, Colours of Ha Noi is the opening event of a series of annual activities to honour Vietnamese traditional cultural values. The event not only aims to create a unique impression for passengers, but also to introduce and promote the image of Viet Nam, together with its culture and people to all tourists going through Noi Bai International Airport. We will continue to coordinate with agencies and organisations to host other meaningful events for passengers," she said. Explaining the events theme, Colours of Ha Noi, Ngan said that Ha Noi is the countrys biggest centre of politics, economy and culture. In addition, the well-known yet elegant lifestyle of Hanoian people is a specific feature of the city. Those features recreated here can offer a unique experience, making NIA special and different from any other airport in the region and the world, she added. VNS By Kim Hyun-bin The Korea Foundation (KF) successfully wrapped up the 22nd Korea-India Dialogue in Seoul, Tuesday. The two-day event was co-hosted by the Seoul Forum for International Affairs (SFIA) and the Ananta Centre, aimed at enhancing cooperation in diverse sectors between the two countries. The Korea-India Dialogue, a renowned 1.5-track dialogue platform, brought together key figures from various sectors in Korea and India. Serving as a crucial channel for discussing mutual interests spanning politics, economy and society, the event is aimed to foster forward-looking cooperative relationships. This year marks a significant return to an offline format after the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing for the resumption of crucial face-to-face interactions. The event's six sessions covered vital topics such as Indo-Pacific regional security, economic cooperation, defense-space, semiconductor collaboration, green hydrogen initiatives and small modular reactor (SMR) industry and technology cooperation. Distinguished experts from politics, business and academia in both countries engaged in profound discussions on bilateral and multilateral cooperation strategies. A notable addition this year was a business roundtable session, welcoming major domestic companies to participate. This session provides a platform to explore opportunities for enhancing economic cooperation and improving supply chain resilience fostering mutual benefits. The first session, titled "Indo-Pacific Geopolitics and Security Situation and Korea-India Cooperation," delved into pressing issues, including the Israel-Hamas conflict, U.S.-China strategic competition, foreign policies of both nations, maritime security and the North Korean threat. The second session, "Indo-Pacific Economic Situation and Korea-India Cooperation," focused on strengthening economic security and enhancing supply chain resilience. The high-profile attendees from the Korean side included Korea Foundation Chairman Kim Ghee-whan and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoon Young-kwan. Key participants included Ananta Centre Chairman Naushad Forbes, Ananta Centre President Indrani Bagchi, Confederation of Indian Industry Deputy Director General Seema Arora, Ambassador of India to Korea Amit Kumar, former Defense Secretary Ajay Kumar, former Indian Ambassador to Korea Deepa Gopa Wadhwa and Confederation of Indian Industry Chief Adjudication Officer Seema Arora. "The Korea-India Dialogue, amid the rapidly changing strategic environment in the Indo-Pacific region, discussed ways to expand substantial cooperation between the two countries. It is expected to contribute to deepening and advancing the special strategic partnership between Korea and India," a KF official said. QUANG NINH Chinese-flagged cruise ship Zhao Shang Yi Dun docked at the Ha Long International Cruise Port in the northeastern province of Quang Ninh on Tuesday, bringing 721 visitors to the world-famous tourist destination. This is the first cruise taking Chinese tourists to Ha Long since China reopened borders and resumed international tourism activities earlier this year. The visitors are scheduled to explore a number of tourist attractions in Ha Long City, including the UNESCO-recognised World Natural Heritage Site - Ha Long Bay, before leaving for the central city of a Nang and Hong Kong (China). According to the provincial Department of Tourism, this event has great significance for the locality, showing a sign of recovery of the Chinese tourist market after the COVID-19 pandemic. As scheduled, Zhao Shang Yi Dun ship plans to carry a total of over 12,000 visitors to Quang Ninh by March 2024. There will be many cruise ships bringing Chinese tourists to Viet Nam through the Ha Long International Cruise Port next year. So far, nearly 60 cruise ships with over 70,000 travellers have registered to visit Ha Long in 2024. Quang Ninh aims to turn tourism into a spearhead and sustainable economic sector and attract at least 25.5-26 million visitors, including about 8.6-9 million foreigners, by 2030. It targets between 16 million and 17.5 million tourist arrivals by 2024 and 2025, including at least 3 million and 4.5 million international guests, respectively. VNS HCM CITY A collection of photos and memorabilia of Vietnamese soldiers and people during the resistance war is displayed at the HCM City War Remnants Museum. The exhibition titled Ky Vat Thoi Khang Chien (Remembrances of Resistance Days) features 177 photos, documents, and memorabilia belonging to Vietnamese leaders, soldiers and journalists such as water bottles, lighters, hammocks, document bags, and radios. The exhibits also include medical instruments and tools of military medical corps, and props from art troupes. Letters sent by people on the frontline and prisoners to their loved ones and families are showcased as well. Tran Xuan Thao, director of the museum, said: The exhibition helps both local and foreign visitors understand Vietnamese patriotism, bravery, humanistic traditions, and love of peace during the war and today. He added, It is a chance to educate young generations about the nations patriotic tradition and heroic and indomitable spirit, and national construction and defence. Sharing his thoughts on the exhibition, Alan Sedgley, a British visitor, told Viet Nam News that "I was born in 1949, some of these conflicts were on the television screens in ones' youth. ... gradually as the 1960s went on you appreciated more and more that this was a horrendously awful conflict, with terrible things happening. So it's right that this place is here to remind people of what happened, and it has ongoing significance on the status of the world." The exhibition will run to the end of March. The museum is at 28 Vo Van Tan Street in District 3. VNS Nguyen Thanh Trung from the northern province of Quang Ninh said he has travelled to nearly all of Viet Nams provinces and cities. As a foodie, he always tries to find a specialty dish at each location. Recently, he visited Bac Giang and Yen The chicken completely won his interest. For him the free-range chicken is most tasty when boiled, done to a turn. HA NOI Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will announce Viet Nam's new initiatives and commitments at the 28th UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in joint efforts against climate change, said Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs o Hung Viet. In an interview granted to the press ahead of the PMs trip to attend the World Climate Action Summit (WCAS) within COP28, hold bilateral activities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and pay an official visit to Turkey from November 29 to December 3, Viet stressed the significance of the summit in the context that climate change remains the biggest challenge and the greatest public concern globally this year. Therefore, Viet Nam hopes that COP28 will reap tangible outcomes, especially in the areas of top concern, according to the official. Viet elaborated that the participating countries are expected to take stronger measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and embark on sustainable, just energy transition. Developed countries should fulfill their commitments, especially to financial support and technology transfer to developing nations in this process, he continued, adding that the conference is expected to put forth a clear, feasible global adaptation target framework. The Loss and Damage Fund should be put in place soon for a new, larger financial source in support of developing countries and others most severely affected by climate change, he said. For Viet Nam, after the PM announced the countrys commitments to net zero emissions by 2050 at COP26, which was held in the UK in 2021, the Government and ministries, agencies, and localities have taken drastic, specific actions to achieve the goal, Viet noted, taking the examples of the approval of National Power Development Plan VIII, and the countrys joining the political declaration on the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) in order to attract resources to its just energy transition. Asked about Chinh's Turkey visit and bilateral activities in the UAE, the Deputy FM said they are of special importance as Viet Nam is celebrating the 45th anniversary of its diplomatic ties with Turkey, and the 30th anniversary of its diplomatic ties with the UAE. This is also the first official visit by a Vietnamese PM to Turkey, Viet emphasised. The trip is expected to contribute to consolidating political trust and creating new, breakthrough momentum for cooperation between Viet Nam and Turkey and the UAE in all fields, from economy, trade and investment to new areas like innovation, science-technology and energy. It will also help implement Viet Nam's foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, and multilateralisation, and diversification of foreign relations, the official said. This is the PM's second visit to the Middle East within two months, following his attendance at ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council (ASEAN-GCC) summit and bilateral activities in Saudi Arabia in October, reflecting Viet Nam's clear interest in promoting multifaceted cooperation with the region, he went on. Apart from meetings with high-ranking leaders and politicians from other countries, the PM will attend and deliver speeches at business forums and seminars, and receive representatives from leading enterprises, corporations, and investment funds of Turkey and the UAE, thereby facilitating Vietnamese exports, attracting new, high-quality investment flows, and expanding collaboration in new fields, towards the goal of sustainable development, Viet said. VNS HA NOI Viet Nam and France have continuously made efforts to deepen the relationship and strategic partnership over the past 50 years, working towards "cooperation in peace and sharing in trust". The past 50 years had proven the uniqueness of the "good fate" relationship between the two peoples that overcame the ups and downs of history, looking forward to the future, trusting and sticking together, becoming each other's important friends and strategic partners, said Nguyen Thuy Anh, chairwoman of the National Assembly's Committee for Social Affairs cum president of the Viet Nam-France Friendship and Cooperation Association at the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and France (1973 - 2023) on Monday evening in Ha Noi. The ceremony was co-organised by the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) and the Viet Nam-France Friendship and Cooperation Association. Anh also said the 1993 visit to Viet Nam by France's President Francois Mitterrand, the first western president visited Viet Nam, was always mentioned as a diplomatic "breakthrough", marking the success of the Vietnamese policy of "multilateralisation and diversification", and Viet Nam's extensive international integration process, which in the following years often bore the mark of cooperation with France and close coordination between the two countries in international forums, especially at the United Nations, Asia-Europe Cooperation Forum and Francophone. She added that France was not only Europe's leading economic and trade partner as well as the largest European sponsor for Viet Nam for many decades, but also was the country that Viet Nam had the most vibrant people-to-people exchange relations. Medicine, education, university teaching, science and technology, culture, tourism were all areas where the people of the two countries were contributing to foster a strong and cohesive relationship, establishing mutually beneficial partnerships, she said. She said that solidarity and mutual support were the common legacy of the two peoples of Viet Nam and France. It had remained a source of pride and inspiration for the activities of the association over the past time. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the peoples of the two countries witnessed solidarity and effective cooperation when the two sides strongly supported each other on masks, vaccines and medical equipment necessary to cope with the pandemic, she said. Viet Nam and France had a solid basis to build the future of cooperation and sharing together because we shared the dynamism of an emerging Viet Nam in Asia, the superiority in science and technology of France, the creativity of the community of more than 300,000 Vietnamese people in France as well as the community of 11,000 French people in Viet Nam, she said. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and 10 years of strategic partnership, at a recent high-level phone call on October 20, Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed to build a vision for the next 20 years for the relationship between the two countries, sharing views on many important issues in bilateral relations as well as peace, security, stability and prosperity in the world, and combating climate change following cooperative programmes, including the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), she said. Speaking at the ceremony, chairman of the VUFO Phan Anh Son said 2023 was a special year, having a very important meaning when the two countries celebrated 50 years of establishing diplomatic relations. The Governments and peoples of the two countries had always treasured and constantly cultivated the two countries relations in all fields and at all levels, he said. The two countries also always valued and gave high priority to the Viet Nam- France strategic partnership, promoting multi-faceted cooperation in the fields of politics, diplomacy, economics, trade, culture, education and environment, he said. He believes that the friendship between the two peoples would become increasingly stronger; the coordination among the VUFO, the Viet Nam-France Friendship and Cooperation Association, and Vietnamese people's organisations with French partners and friends would become increasingly effective, contributing to creating a solid foundation to deepen the cooperation between Viet Nam and France in the future. Also at the event, French Ambassador to Viet Nam Olivier Brochet highly appreciated the role of the VUFO, the Viet Nam-France Friendship and Cooperation Association and the people's friendship organisations of the two countries in organising many foreign affairs activities that helped consolidate and develop the friendship, solidarity, and cooperation between the two nations over the past years. He said that he was willing to support and create favourable conditions for strengthening people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. At the celebration, participants enjoyed some famous French music performances staged by Vietnamese artists and students. Within the framework of the 50th anniversary of Viet Nam - France diplomatic relations, under the sponsorship of the Viet Nam-France Friendship and Cooperation Association and the French Embassy in Viet Nam, the musical Paysage dans l'oubli (Landscape of Oblivion) will be performed at Ho Guom Theatre on Tuesday. VNS HA NOI Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, his wife, and a high-ranking delegation of Viet Nam left Ha Noi Tuesday afternoon to attend the 28th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP28) and have several bilateral activities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and pay an official visit to Turkey from November 29 to December 3. The PM is accompanied by Minister and Chairman of the Government Office Tran Van Son, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment ang Quoc Khanh, Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs ao Ngoc Dung, Deputy Minister of Defence Pham Hoai Nam, Deputy Minister of Public Security Le Van Tuyen, Deputy Chief of the Communist Party of Viet Nam Central Committee Office Bui Van Thach, and Deputy Foreign Minister o Hung Viet, among other officials. The trip reaffirms Viet Nam's consistent policy on green growth and climate change response as well as its role and position in regional and international cooperation frameworks. Furthermore, it contributes to consolidating political trust and enhancing the effectiveness of cooperation between Viet Nam and the UAE, as well as Turkey. It sends a message about the Southeast Asian nations strong commitment and responsible contribution as a peaceful, sincere, and reliable partner. Viet Nam is ready to enhance friendship, dialogue, and mutually beneficial cooperation, thereby joining other nations in building a regional and international environment of peace and stability. The PMs Turkey visit and activities in the UAE are meaningful as Viet Nam is celebrating the 45th and 30th anniversary of its diplomatic ties with Turkey and the UAE, respectively. VNS HA NOI Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hosted a reception in Ha Noi on November 28 for Brazilian Minister of Science and Technology Luciana Santos, who is also President of the Communist Party of Brazil. Chinh expressed his belief that Santoss visit will contribute to raising the efficiency of the comprehensive cooperation between the Brazilian Party and the Communist Party of Viet Nam (CPV) as well as the two countries, especially in science-technology and innovation. The PM asked the official to convey his regards to Brazilian President Lula da Silva, saying Vietnamese high-ranking leaders wish to welcome the President to the Southeast Asian nation on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties. The leader noted his hope that the Brazilian government will accelerate the process so that Brazil will soon recognise Viet Nams market economy mechanism, contributing to deepening the bilateral economic and trade ties. He also urged Brazil to promote consensus within the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) on the early launch of free trade agreement negotiations with Viet Nam. Chinh also expressed his hope for more specific cooperation projects to make the bilateral relationship more practical and effective. Viet Nam stands ready to accompany Brazil in multilateral and international issues, including promoting priorities of shared concern at the G20 Summit scheduled to take place in Brazil next year. For her part, Santos handed over a letter from the Brazilian President to PM Chinh, and informed the host leader about outcomes of her talks with the Vietnamese Minister of Science and Technology, during which the two sides agreed to strengthen collaboration, particularly in science-technology, and emerging technologies like quantum technology, AI, biotechnology, and semiconductor industry. VNS TOKYO President Vo Van Thuong on November 28 thanked generations of Tokyo leaders for actively supporting the multifaceted cooperation between the capital city of Japan and Vietnamese localities, especially Ha Noi. The leader, who is paying an official trip to Japan, made the remarks while joining Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko in visiting Banh mi Xin chao, a Vietnamese sandwich restaurant opened by two former students from Viet Nam, on the morning of the same day. The chain of Banh mi Xin chao restaurants was established in 2016 by Bui Thanh Duy, 37, and Bui Thanh Tam, 32, who are brothers from the central province of Quang Nam. Weathering numerous initial difficulties, they have created many new flavours from the original banh mi of Quang Nams Hoi An City. The chain now has 15 restaurants across Japan. Via banh mi, they hope to help popularise Vietnamese cuisine and culture as well as the enthusiasm and wisdom of young Vietnamese people to locals, contributing to the solidarity and development of the Vietnamese community in Japan and to the cultural and economic ties between the two countries. At the restaurant imbued with Vietnamese characteristics in Tokyo, President Thuong, his wife, and Japanese officials tasted typical dishes of Viet Nam such as banh mi, the Quang noodles, pho, coffee, fresh spring rolls, and sweetened porridge. Appreciating generations of local leaders promotion of multifaceted ties between Tokyo and Vietnamese localities, President Thuong also highly valued their facilitation for Vietnamese enterprises and people to do business and work in the city. He noted that Viet Nam and Japan share many cultural and culinary similarities which have contributed to the particularly good relations between the two countries and their peoples. The State leader said he is proud that more and more young people of Viet Nam like the two founders of Banh mi Xin chao have been exerting efforts to grasp development opportunities in Japan. He also considered their efforts as a contribution to the popularisation of the Vietnamese culture here and the enhancement of bonds between the two peoples. Governor Koike congratulated President Thuong on his successful talks with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, and on the leaders adoption of a joint statement on the elevation of the countries relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia and the world. She described this as a greatly significant moment during the Vietnamese leaders visit, organised amid the 50th anniversary of the two countries diplomatic ties with numerous celebrations being held in both countries. She expressed her belief that the visit will be successful and create a particularly important hallmark in bilateral relations. The Governor added that Tokyo is deploying a high-tech anti-flooding system, and it is ready to cooperate with Vietnamese cities in this field. President Thuong called on Koike to continue creating favourable conditions for Vietnamese people to work, live, and study in Tokyo. He also took this occasion to thank leaders of major Japanese enterprises for investing in Viet Nam, thus substantially helping with the countrys socio-economic development and life quality improvement. The establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership is an important milestone heralding a new chapter of bilateral relations, he went on. He also asked the Tokyo Governor to promote the sharing of the citys anti-fire and anti-flooding experience with Ha Noi and other Vietnamese localities. VNS HA NOI President Vo Van Thuong affirmed that the unity of leadership and citizens of Viet Nam and Japan has established a solid foundation for the development of the friendly cooperation and the elevation of ties between the two countries. He made the remarks on Tuesday during an audience with Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako as part of his official visit to Japan. In a warm atmosphere, both sides expressed joy over the good and comprehensive development of the Viet Nam-Japan relationship and the increasingly friendly sentiments between the people of both countries. On behalf of the State and the people of Viet Nam, President Thuong expressed gratitude to the Emperor, Empress, and other members of the Japanese Royal Family for their beautiful sentiments and deep concern for the people of Viet Nam, as well as the friendly cooperation between Viet Nam and Japan over the years. Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako expressed his joy in welcoming President Thuong and his spouse on their official visit to Japan on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The Emperor and Empress stated that the historical connections, cultural similarities, and the shared human factors were fundamental elements for the profound development of the Viet Nam-Japan relationship, which firmly connected in various areas as currently. They expressed confidence that cultural exchange activities and people-to-people exchanges organised in various localities of both countries in 2023 would enhance understanding between the people of both nations, significantly contributing to promoting people-to-people exchanges and the friendly cooperation between Viet Nam and Japan. President Thuong expressed his impression of Japan, its people, and shared profound memories of his previous visits in various capacities. He said the natural affection between the people of both nations involved sharing common values and mutual concerns, adding that the unity of leadership and citizens of both countries has laid a solid foundation for the development of the bilateral relationship. President Thuong emphasised the historical visits to Viet Nam by Emperor and Empress in 2017 in their capacities, as well as the official visit to Viet Nam by the Emperor in 2009 as Crown Prince, and the recent visit in September by Crown Prince Fumihito Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, have left a positive impression on the leadership and people of Viet Nam. These visits have contributed to deepening mutual trust, understanding between the people of the two countries, and elevating the Viet Nam-Japan relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia and the World. On this occasion, President Thuong invited the Emperor and Empress to visit Viet Nam. On Tuesday afternoon, Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako hosted an intimate reception for President Thuong and his spouse at the Imperial Palace. VNS TOKYO President Vo Van Thuong hosted in Tokyo on Tuesday separate receptions for leaders of Japanese parties and Japanese lawmakers and friends who are close to Viet Nam. Receiving former Prime Minister and Vice President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Aso Taro, President Thuong wished that Aso, with his reputation, would continue making effective contributions to strengthening the Viet Nam-Japan cooperative ties and the relationship between the LDP and Viet Nam, especially facilitating exchanges between the two parties and lawmakers, as well as enhancing bilateral economic, trade and investment ties. Aso expressed his desire to bolster Viet Nam-Japan ties in economy and people-to-people exchange. He praised Viet Nam as a preferred destination for Japanese investors in the supply chain shift, given its attractiveness in terms of labour resources and potential market. During a reception for President of the Komeito party Yamaguchi Natsuo, President Thuong proposed continuing to increase cooperation between the two countries, especially in high-level exchanges, coordination between the Komeito party and the Communist Party of Viet Nam (CPV), as well as locality-to-locality cooperation. Yamaguchi, for his part, affirmed that the Komeito party will continue deepening ties with Viet Nam in the near future, especially in high-quality infrastructure, healthcare, labour, and education in which Komeito party members hold ministerial positions and leadership roles in the Japanese Cabinet. Talking with Chairman of the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) Kazuo Shii, the Vietnamese President suggested that Shii continue supporting and promoting further cooperation and exchanges between the two countries. This includes developing ties between the two communist parties, flexibly and effectively upholding Party exchange mechanisms, sharing information and experience in Party building, theory and practices related to socialism building, and assisting Vietnam in carrying out the three strategic breakthroughs adopted by the 13th National Party Congress. Shii wished to step up exchanges between the two communist parties, thanked Vietnam and sought its continued support for nuclear non-proliferation efforts. Meeting with close Japanese parliamentarians, President Thuong affirmed that the exchange between young leaders and parliamentarians, as well as people of the two countries is a crucial factor in building trustworthy and sustainable relations between the two nations. The parliamentarians vowed to do their best to contribute to the development of Viet Nam-Japan ties, including enhancing exchanges between young leaders and parliamentarians. VNS Beijing accused of deliberately lying despite mountain of evidence By Jung Min-ho Human rights advocates were shocked last month to find out that hundreds of North Korean escapees were forcibly deported by China after three years of pandemic border restrictions came to an end. Recently, they were shocked again by Beijings claim that the principle of non-refoulement cannot be applied to its policy because there is no evidence of torture in North Korea. In its letter to the OHCHR, the Chinese government denied that there are any systemic abuses of human rights in North Korea and maintained that none of those being repatriated have raised objections on the grounds that they will be subjected to torture. The U.N. offices revelation of the Chinese document last week has received plenty of flak from experts who know the decades-long truth of the torture and other forms of extreme violence enancted against North Koreans who have dared to flee their country. In a perverted way, the PRC (Peoples Republic of China) is telling its version of the truth. It returns North Koreans to a hostage situation where they cannot document how they have been abused, then says there is no evidence the hostages are being mistreated and please stop nagging them about it, said Casey Lartigue Jr., co-president of Freedom Speakers International, a Seoul-based NGO that supports North Korean refugees. Like the getaway driver from a crime scene, the PRC looks straight ahead and denies what happened behind it. He said Beijing forces North Korean escapees into a situation where they are not free to independently testify in a public setting, and cannot speak publicly with lawyers or activists who could help them. In that way, yes, it is understandable that China can claim it has seen no evidence of torture because it dumps North Koreans into a country that violates their human rights, disregards refugee testimonials and ignores the mountain of reports about North Koreas rampant abuse of human rights, he added. Suzanne Scholte, a renowned U.S. activist promoting North Korean human rights for nearly three decades, thinks the Chinese government is simply lying for its national interest despite its awareness of the widespread state violence in the reclusive country. There is overwhelming decades of evidence of eyewitness testimony that any or all North Korean children, women and men will be subjected to imprisonment and torture when they are repatriated, Scholte, the 2008 Seoul Peace Prize Laureate, said. If it is found that you were trying to get to South Korea or came in contact with Christian humanitarian workers, you could be sent to immediate death or a slow death in a political prison camp again, this is based on eyewitness testimony. In the letter, Beijing made it clear that it had no intention of changing its repatriation policy, insisting that it has been fulfilling its international obligations given that the U.N. Convention against Torture applies only to refugees and that North Korean escapees do not belong to that category. Scholte and other rights activists said the only realistic way to bring about any change in the Chinese policy is to sanction those responsible. The international community must name and shame Chinas 10/9 forcible repatriation and urge respect for the principle of non-refoulement by adopting joint government statements or parliamentary resolutions, said Shin Hee-seok, a legal analyst at Transitional Justice Working Group, a Seoul-based rights group. A NANG Vice Chairman of a Nang Peoples Committee Ho Ky Minh hosted a reception for Country Director for Viet Nam at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Shantanu Chakraborty on Tuesday. At the event, Minh highlighted the central coastal citys key products such as seafood, garment and textiles, building materials, and handicraft products, adding the city has shifted focus to developing hi-tech industries, particularly the IT industry, into an economic spearhead. Touching on external activities and international cooperation, Minh said that a Nang has set up cooperative ties with 47 localities of 22 countries and territories worldwide. The city has been honoured with a number of awards, including Viet Nam Smart City Award, and the Seoul Smart City Prize in the category of the Human Centricity Bronze. Minh expressed his hope that the ADB director will continue with its support for a Nang in the development of policies for startup, climate change response, and improvement of labour productivity and competitive edge, among others. Chakraborty, for his part, described a Nang as a young and dynamic city and an economic hub of the central and Central Highlands region, which holds numerous advantages in attracting investment. Hailing the sound cooperation between ADB and the city, he pledged continued assistance in fields of mutual interests like training management officials and climate change response. The ADB has provided assistance for a Nang in several projects, improving the land use index to better handle natural disasters and building a pre-feasibility study to relocate a Nang Station. VNS TRA VINH More and more farmers in Tra Vinh Province are using safe and hi-tech farming methods to improve the quality of their produce and meet market requirements. The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province has more than 24,300ha of land with hi-tech farming, where rice or vegetables are grown or aquatic species such as shrimp are bred, according to its Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. In Duyen Hai District, farmers in Ngu Lac Commune have set up 23 net houses with a total area of 3ha to grow clean vegetables. Le Minh Tan, deputy chairman of the commune Peoples Committee, said farmers were encouraged to build net houses to improve efficiency. The net houses are equipped with automatic irrigation facilities which help save labour costs and protect vegetables from inclement weather and pests. Farmers who build them are given a subsidy of up to VN100 million (US$4,000) for building a 1,000sq.m net and also provided with soft loans. The profits from vegetables in net house are 30-50 per cent higher than from traditional growing methods because of the lower expenses on labour and fertilisers and pesticides, and increased yields and quality, according to farmers. Thach Khanh, who has a 5,000sq.m field on which he grows rice and vegetables in Ngu Lac, built a 1,000sq.m net house at a cost of VN100 million ($4,000) to grow morning glory in 2021 with encouragement from local authorities. He received a subsidy of VN50 million ($2,000) and a soft loan of VN50 million. He earned VN150 million ($6,000) from growing morning glory in the net house last year, VN50 million more than from traditional methods, he said. "The net house model requires less tending than traditional models, faces lower risks of diseases and protects vegetables from heavy rains," he said. The province plans to spend VN390 billion ($15.9 million) to help restructure agriculture in 2021-25, and spent nearly VN50 billion ($2 million) this year. Le Van ong, deputy director of the department, said the province also supported localities with adopting Vietnamese good agricultural practices (VietGAP) standards, improving mixed orchards and switching to high-value crops on unproductive rice fields. It was also helping locals participate in the national One Commune One Product programme, he said. The department was co-operating with localities to encourage farmers to apply farming models that produce clean agricultural products to ensure sustainable farming, adapt to climate change and meet market requirements, he added. VNS HA NOI Public bicycles bring huge benefits, but businesses investing in the services face many difficulties and challenges in maintaining their work, say experts. o Ba Quan, Chairman of the Tri Nam Digital Transport Company, told a recent discussion panel that public bicycles had been deployed in six cities including HCM City, Ha Noi, a Nang, Quy Nhon, Hai Phong and Vung Tau. The service not only received attention of the Government and people, but also foreign politicians such as Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte who recently visited Viet Nam. This was the driving force and basis to develop stronger public bicycle services, he said. However, Quan admitted that after nearly two years of piloting, the biggest difficulty was the lack of infrastructure for the vehicle. Therefore, Tri Nam Company proposed that as the country does not have separate infrastructure for bicycles, it could allow bicycles to share pavements with pedestrians. In practice, many other countries in the world allow bicycles to use the same paths as pedestrians. Phan Truong Thanh, head of the Planning and Finance Division under the Ha Noi Department of Transport, said that Ha Noi had licensed Tri Nam Company to build bicycle stations at nearly 80 locations. Locations at the best places in Ha Noi were given priority. They are all in inner-city districts, near stations, schools, parks, shopping centres and tourist areas. Infrastructure specifically for bicycles in Ha Noi is not synchronised. Even though it is already in the traffic planning, it has not been implemented in reality, said Thanh. Currently, the transport department is urgently researching two separate bicycle routes that are eligible to be deployed next year, including the To Lich riverside road and the one around the Hoa Binh Park. In the long term, to encourage people to switch from motorbikes to bicycles, Thanh suggested measures such as 70 per cent of the parking spaces would be for bicycles and only 30 per cent for motorbikes. In addition, the Ha Noi transport department will also have specific policies for public means of transport in general and public bicycles in particular in the Law on Road Traffic and Law on Capital. According to Nguyen Hoang Hai, Vice Chairman of the Ha Noi Public Transport Association, conditions for people to access public transport services have many shortcomings and obstacles. Some small alleys cannot be accessed by buses, so people's main means of transport is motorbikes. The target should be converting motorbikes to walking or bicycles, he said. According to the municipal planning, Ha Noi will develop 10 railway lines and along the lines, the city can arrange parking places for public bicycles. Hai recommended that the Tri Nam Company closely follow the urban infrastructure development and new routes. "New transportation corridors are fertile ground to survey and expand the public bicycle transportation network," Hai said. Huge potential Regarding whether it is necessary to give subsidised prices for public bicycles, Hai said that the State supported the effort with policies and legal regulations so that the service could be developed in the right direction, and then would subsidise the price later. Compared to other means of transport, the current price of public bicycles is still cheap, affordable for the people, said Hai. Affirming that the State had only supported but not subsidised prices for public bicycle services, Thanh added that renting parking infrastructure had been supported by the city throughout the past year in the pilot programme. State agencies always aimed to harmonise the interests of the State, the people and businesses. The viewpoint of specialised agencies and the Ha Noi People's Committee is that they will provide continuous and regular support for public bicycles during its work. In the future, a comprehensive review and assessment are needed to provide more complete and perfect policies," said Thanh. In the coming time, Ha Noi plans to have cities in the northern and western areas of the Hong (Red) River. They are potential centres for developing public transport services, including bicycles. VNS CEO Mau (eighth from left) and representatives from the World Green Building Council at the Asia-Pacific Leadership in Green Building event in Bali With the mission to pioneer and promote the creation of a better lifestyle for public health and a sustainable humanistic ecological environment in accordance with global green standards, Phuc Khang Corporation (PKC) continues its focus on perfecting and developing green products in line with international standards. Green buildings are considered a vehicle for the company to make good on the right products in line with the worlds trends, Mau said. It spreads a spirit of green living to everyone and contributes to the national strategy on green growth towards the countrys overall sustainable development and creating appeal to international partners. PKC has implemented many strategies to maintain its internal resources in parallel with global integration to elevate its business. The corporation has held regular training programmes and seminars at home and abroad, while PKCs key staff have actively participated in professional forums such as CSI 2022 on corporate sustainability; International Built Environment Week 2022; a workshop on realising green building development towards sustainable architecture; the M&A Forum, and BCI Equinox 2022 on net-zero carbon and wellness. Last year, CEO Mau was honoured as the only Vietnamese representative to win at the Asia-Pacific Leadership in Green Building Awards. Hosted by the World Green Building Council in Bali, the international recognition has helped Mau improve her position in the dialogue arena with friends and partners across five continents. In terms of M&As, according to Mau, investor appetites are changing, shifting the focus to sustainable growth of businesses rather than just profits as before. As a result, the corporation has pursued sustainable development goals very early, she said. Every year, PKC implements environmental initiatives through activities like greenification, clean-up, environmental protection, sponsoring scientific research on climate change impacts, and promoting green education for employees and the community through green study tours with universities and research institutes. In the journey towards sustainable development and extending its international reach, PKC has transitioned from corporate social responsibility to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations to create green buildings, a green community, and a green future. The adoption of ESG is also a way for Mau as well as PKC to share common goals with international partners. Our ESG strategy aligns closely with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, and it also helps provide stakeholders with better understanding of how the corporation manages risks and opportunities, thereby advancing the journey of cooperation with PKC to develop sustainably, the CEO explained. We will join forces to develop many green buildings, green communities, and living places for global citizens and global families towards sustainable and responsible development, she added. The Diamond Lotus Riverside green building initiated the strategy of working with international partners to develop green buildings One example is the Diamond Lotus product line, in which PKC teamed up with Japans Mitsubishi Corporation in 2017 to set up Phuc Khang Mitsubishi Corporation Holding (PKMC). The following year, PKMC disbursed the first investment of $30 million into the Diamond Lotus Riverside project in District 8 of Ho Chi Minh City. Through PKMG, the two partners jointly researched and developed PKCs existing land, worth over $500 million and covering 20 hectares in the downtown area of Ho Chi Minh City and 1,000ha in surrounding areas. Diamond Lotus Riverside stands out as a green symbol in the heart of the city. It was not only built according to LEED standards from the US Green Building Council and the LOTUS standards of the Vietnam Green Building Council, but it also attained the Gold level for both. Phuc Khang hands Diamond Lotus Riverside over to residents Diamond Lotus Riverside, developed by Phuc Khang Mitsubishi Corporation Holdings a joint venture between Phuc Khang Corporation and Mitsubishi Corporation saw certificates of land use and housing rights handed over to residents on October 30. Phuc Khang Corporation pioneers shift to ESG ideals Vietnams pledge in 2021 to achieve net-zero emissions by mid-century has catalysed a significant shift in the corporate landscape. This move, especially vital for the construction and real estate sectors, is transitioning businesses towards sustainable, green development. Phuc Khang focuses on strategy developing high-rise green buildings Dr. Le Thi Hong Na, Sustainable Development Strategy consultant at Phuc Khang Corporation, spoke at VIR's Sustainable Development conference on November 16. The government is, as a result, working on regulations for the development of Vietnams carbon market, including regulations on carbon credit management, quota exchange activities, and the operation of carbon credit trading floors. Connecting the local carbon market with the regional and global markets is also a key focus. Vietnam Citi country officer discussed green finance at CEO 100 Tea Connect 2023 in Ho Chi Minh City According to the Statistical Yearbook 2019, Vietnam has almost 15 million hectares of forest, and protecting and restoring tropical forests could play an important role in the emissions reductions needed to stave off global warming. Thus, Vietnams forestry sector could generate revenue from the market for carbon credits. It would require finding ways to protect the forest, to reduce deforestation, and planting more trees to increase forest acreage. Carbon markets have increasingly been seen as part of the solution to climate change. They have mostly been dominated by the private sector, but this will soon change. More than two-thirds of countries are planning to use carbon markets to meet their climate commitments. According to a 2023 Citi report, the voluntary carbon market is currently valued at approximately $2 billion. This market is needed as it is difficult for certain companies, especially those in hard-to-abate sectors, to reach net-zero without investing in carbon credits. Collectively, the sectors of steel, cement, aviation, shipping, and road freight account for a quarter of todays global carbon emissions, but this has the potential to rise by 50 per cent through to 2050, given the growth expectations. Hard-to-abate sectors are not the only ones requiring carbon credits. In the limited time available, it is inherently difficult to reach net-zero across many sectors, especially regarding Scope 3 emissions. Companies still need to reduce their emissions and invest in low-carbon solutions both investors and the general public demand that this occurs, and many companies are working hard to achieve this. To support the net-zero ambitions of clients, Citi closed the very first voluntary carbon credit (VCC) transaction in May 2022. Base Carbon Capital Partners Corporation facilitated the development of a cookstove and water purifier carbon reduction project in Vietnam, with Sustainability Investment Promotion and Development JSC as in-country project developer. Citigroup Global Markets Ltd. acted as the carbon credit offtaker to the company for the project. The project is expected to generate approximately 26.6 million VCCs over an estimated 10-year period from the distribution of approximately 850,000 cookstoves and 364,000 water purifiers to participating households in Vietnam. The transaction is a first for Citi within an exponentially growing market, and puts the bank at the forefront of the carbon credit market. Finance is being used to support people low-income areas through cleaner drinking and cooking methods This transaction is expected to support five million people living in low-income households where cookstoves and water purifiers will be given to them for free and access provided to clean drinking water and cleaner methods of cooking, significantly reducing the emissions. Previously, the open fire cooking method was used, which is unhealthy and environmentally unfriendly. Following this transaction, Citi facilitated the World Banks five-year principal protected emission reduction-linked bond of $50 million in February 2023, which provides investors a return linked to the issuance of VCCs expected to be produced by a project in Vietnam. The project aims to manufacture 300,000 water purifiers and distribute them to approximately 8,000 schools and institutions up and down the country. It is also expected to make clean water available to around two million children and to cut almost three million tonnes of carbon dioxide over the five years in question. The bond is an outcome-based financial instrument that mobilises private capital to support the financing of a project with positive climate and development impacts with outcomes measured by the generation of VCCs. This marked a first-of-its-kind innovative structure which also attracted landmark investors to participate in the transaction, and one which is replicable and can be scaled further to channel more private capital for developmental and climate related activities. These VCC transactions demonstrate Citis ability to innovate and tap into the growing carbon credit market. The world is in a race against time, as it needs to reduce emissions by 45 per cent from 1990 levels by 2030 to have any chance of limiting a temperature increase to a 1.5 degree Celsius rise. There is currently a $1.7 trillion investment gap that needs to be closed to limit the negative impacts of climate change on both people and the planet. As the public sector does not have the fiscal capacity to reach this investment figure alone, 70 per cent of all climate finance needed must come from the private sector. Regionally, and globally, many companies have chosen to reduce their emissions voluntarily, either by investing in new technologies or the use of carbon credits. The carbon markets have been able to provide a bridge for meeting the rising demands. With a boom in demand for carbon credits over the past couple of years, Vietnam has several opportunities to develop the carbon market. Domestic businesses could create high quality carbon credits and sell them regionally and globally, helping international companies cover their carbon credit commitments. Citi is pioneering the carbon market in Vietnam, and it is implementing transactions that can serve as a model for replication to support other carbon credit generating projects. These transactions contribute to the MoU launched between Citi and the Vietnamese government in 2022 and is a testament to the excellent opportunities for carbon credit projects in Vietnam and Citis ability to support this sector. Citi wins 2023 Asiamoneys Best International Bank in Vietnam Citi Vietnam has been recognised as the Best International Bank in Vietnam in the 2023 Asiamoney Awards. Nearly 300 delegates participates conference to foster investment and trade between Hanoi and northwest provinces The conference was taken place on November 23 in Lao Cai province, and demonstrated Hanois commitment to accompanying businesses in these provinces to accelerate the consumption of Vietnamese products in local and foreign markets. Nearly 300 delegates joined the conference, including leaders of the departments of industry and trade; departments of planning and investment; centres for investment, trade and tourism promotion of Lao Cai, Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Hoa Binh, Son La, Yen Bai, and others. About 100 delegates of which are representatives of business associations, businesses, investors, domestic and foreign distributors. The event aimed to better introduce the investment and business environments of Hanoi, Lao Cai, and other provinces in the Northwest region, and their potential for investment, trade and tourism. It is expected to support enterprises to advertise their products and seek cooperation opportunities, said deputy director of Hanoi Promotion Agency Le Tu Luc. Luc added that the event also demonstrated the capital city's commitment to accompanying businesses in these provinces to accelerate the consumption of Vietnamese products in local and foreign markets, with an attempt to speed up their socioeconomic development. According to Hanoi Promotion Agency, Hanoi wants to take continue to take a lead in attracting foreign investment as the city has been constantly improving the investment and business environment, actively reviewing administrative procedures, and simplifying and speeding up the time for businesses and investors to fulfil procedures. Nearly 300 delegates participates conference to foster investment and trade between Hanoi and northwest provinces During the conference, several MoUs were signed among businesses and associations, including an MoU inked between The Lao Cai Business Association and the Hanoi Association of Small and Medium Enterprises; an MoU between TraphacoSapa One Member Co. Ltd. and the Hanoi Association of Small and Medium Enterprises. Business matching sessions to help businesses seek new cooperation opportunities were also held along with the event. In addition, an exhibition showcasing typical products from Hanoi and some northwest provinces such as One Commune, One Product goods, handicrafts and farm produce opened its doors. In the first 10 months of 2023, Hanoi attracted over $2.6 billion of foreign invested capital, ranking third in the country. From January to October, the city welcomed 20.7 million tourists, up 34.4 per cent on year. Of the sum, international arrivals hit 3.6 million, 3.5-times higher than the same period last year, while the remaining 17.1 million were local visitors, up 19 per cent on-year. The city acquired a revenue of $3.2 billion from tourism activities during the 10 months, surging 66.7 per cent over the same period last year. Lao Cai is considered a trade transit point on the Kunming-Lao Cai-Hanoi-Haiphong-Quang Ninh Economic Corridor that connected Vietnam and ASEAN countries with China's southwest localities. Every year, a large amount of agricultural and seafood products are exported through Lao Cai International Border Gate. Ha Duc Binh, director of the Lao Cai Centre for Industry and Trade Promotion said, The province is striving to become a centre that could facilitate economic relations among Vietnam, and other ASEAN countries with the southwest region of China with open mechanisms and preferential policies to attract investment and promote trade and tourism. Currently, the province is home to 28 valid foreign-invested projects with a total registered investment capital of nearly $686 million. It also has 12 domestically financed projects worth over $238.8 million. The province's trade turnover topped $1.76 billion over the past 10 months, equivalent to 35.2 per cent of the yearly target. In terms of tourism, it received over 6.49 million visitors including 416,000 foreigners in the reviewed period, up 66 per cent on year or 8 per cent higher than the yearly goal. Lao Cai's tourism revenue also saw a strong growth of 45 per cent to over $837.1 million. Hanoi trade show to promote products from northern regions A conference to bolster trade connection between producers, distributors, and exporters in the northern and north central regions will take place at Cong Doan Vietnam Hotel, Hanoi on June 16. Hanoi promotes trade, investment, tourism cooperation with central provinces Hanoi Centre for Investment, Trade, and Tourism Promotion (HPA) on July 7 held a conference to promote investment, trade and tourism cooperation with central provinces. Vietnam, Switzerland look to expand trade, investment cooperation As many as 150 economic experts, and representatives from ministries, sectors, and localities, financial investment funds and businesses of Switzerland and Vietnam gathered together at a seminar on Vietnam - Switzerland cooperation in trade, investment and technology in Zurich on September 8. The factory which specialises in producing liquid-filled power and distribution transformers stands out as a pivotal hub for Hitachi Energy's global transformer production in Vietnam. This expansion empowers utilities, industries, and infrastructure sectors across the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa to enhance transformer asset performance while minimising environmental impact. As an example of the business commitment to developing innovative solutions for the energy industry, the factory will produce distribution transformers with Transient Voltage Protection technology. This revolutionary solution significantly enhances the reliability of distribution transformers, offering complete protection against transient voltages in multiple applications like data centres, solar, and wind renewable generation. With a history of over three decades in Vietnam, Hitachi Energy has played a pivotal role in supporting Vietnam's infrastructure and industry, contributing to the country's energy transformation by integrating more than 30 per cent of its renewable energy into the grid. Vietnams Power Development Plan sets clear pathways for a carbon-neutral energy system by 2050, including strengthening its position as a leading manufacturing base in the region, said Chandan Singh, country managing director of Hitachi Energy in Vietnam. This factory underscores our continued commitment to advancing a sustainable energy future for all. The investment also aligns with the companys global capacity expansion plan to meet the accelerating energy transition demand. The Bac Ninh factory inauguration will help us in advancing the worlds energy system to be more sustainable, flexible and secure, said Bruno Melles, managing director of Business Unit Transformers at Hitachi Energy. Hitachi Asia eyes business expansion in Vietnam Hitachi Asia Vietnam is planning to expand business activities and cooperation in Vietnam, with e-money being a target. Hitachi Group proposes to develop railway projects in Vietnam Hitachi Group has expressed its interest in expanding its operations in Vietnam in numerous sectors, especially railway. The forum attracted the participation of policymakers, experts, and the business community. They discussed practical issues and suggested solutions for forming and developing local innovation startup support organisations, as well as proposed mechanisms to mitigate the difficulties organisations are facing when supporting startups. Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Hoang Minh giving his speech at the policy forum According to the deputy minister, the ultimate goal of developing an innovation startup ecosystem is to create a favourable environment for the formation and development of startups, creating outstanding value for the economy and society. Therefore, there needs to be legal corridors, policies, and strong supporting entities, specifically innovation and startup support centres to mobilise, connect, and optimise resources in the ecosystem locally and centrally, from the private sector and from abroad Developing innovation startup centres, especially in localities with newly formed ecosystems, needs to be promoted in the coming period, he noted. Pham Hong Quat, head of the National Agency for Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialisation Development, added that the model for innovation startup support centres is very diverse, currently being implemented by many parties with many different methods. The issue of coordination and linking resources together has to be raised, especially public-private and three-party cooperation. Developing centres in Vietnam will require resources and infrastructure, as well as a suitable location to connect everything. Personnel are critical, so there must be programmes to tap into and integrate these resources, he noted. According to the deputy minister, the Ministry of Science and Technology has been assigned by the government to build a scheme to develop a system of organisations to support innovation startups until 2035, and submit it to the government in January 2024. The content exchanged and discussed at the forum will be summarised and updated within the plan. We also expect to submit a decree to the government on mechanisms, policies, and incentives for organisations supporting innovation startups and related support centres. With a specific, clear, and transparent legal framework, and resources from national programmes and projects, we hope to develop a stronger ecosystem, he said. Since implementing Project 844 that has been supporting the national innovation startup ecosystem since 2016, Vietnam has seen improvements in its global ranking. According to the Global Innovation Index report released by the World Intellectual Property Organisation in October, Vietnam has moved up two places to 46th out of 132 countries and territories. The 2023 StartupBlink global startup ecosystem ranking index also shows that the ecosystems in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have improved and continued to grow. The venture capital in Vietnam has grown from $634 million in 2022 to nearly $500 million in the first half of 2023. Technology startups betting big on Vietnamese landscape Tech startups in Singapore are eyeing the burgeoning Vietnamese market to tap into local growth potential, showing Vietnams promising landscape and Singapores emerging as part of a new wave of deep-tech attraction. Final round of Techfest Vietnam 2023 held in Ho Chi Minh City Techfest Vietnam 2023 aims to promote innovative solutions in the technology sector while attracting experts, intellectuals, entrepreneurs, and overseas Vietnamese to ignite creative thinking in the innovative startup ecosystem. This achievement celebrates Maricos commitment to fostering an exceptional workplace culture and nurturing an environment where employees thrive and excel. Marico is one of India's leading consumer product companies in the global beauty and wellness space. In Vietnam, Marico leads in the personal care category for men with the X-Men brand. Marico also has a portfolio of traditional Vietnamese condiments under the Thuan Phat brand and personal care products for women under the brands - LASHE, Purite de Provence and Oliv. Marico SEA has been honoured with this prestigious award for the third year in a row, underscoring its dedication to creating a workplace that prioritises wellbeing, growth, happiness, and fulfilment. The "Vietnam 100 Best Places To Work" recognition is a testament to the company's continuous efforts in ensuring a positive, inclusive, and engaging environment for its workforce. At Marico SEA, the corporate ethos is crafted to prioritise people-centric values. The company is deeply invested in nurturing its members, aligning individual growth trajectories with shared goals and vision. Maricos culture of empowerment actively encourages the exchange of groundbreaking ideas, a pivotal factor contributing to its sustained success. This commitment is echoed in consistently high engagement scores, surpassing 85 per cent in quarterly employee engagement surveys from 2021 to 2023, underscoring the dedication to both individual and collective prosperity within the organisation. Marico SEA has introduced an array of initiatives geared towards ensuring the growth of its members, including the "Lead with Impact'' leadership development programme and employee empowerment endeavours such as "360-Degree Feedback" and "1:1 Skip Meetings." The company prioritises the mental and overall wellbeing of its members, by offering attractive welfare benefits, nurturing a cohesive and deeply engaged workforce. Reflecting on Marico SEA's recent award, Vineet Jain - Business Head of Vietnam expressed, "I am honoured to be part of Marico SEA, and it is particularly rewarding to witness the organisation consistently achieve prestigious awards in the realm of human resources." "This recognition underscores the collective efforts of the entire Marico SEA team and signifies a genuine commitment to the wellbeing and empowerment of every member. I am committed to upholding and perpetuating this culture, ensuring Marico SEA remains as an exemplary environment for nurturing and developing talent within Vietnam," he said. Marico SEA has consistently been recognised in prestigious HR awards and rankings, marking its dedication to crafting exceptional workplaces within the fast-moving consumer goods industry. The company has been acknowledged on various prestigious platforms, including two consecutive years among Top Representative Enterprises with Happy Workforce in Vietnam, and earning the title of Best Employer of Choice 2022 by Vietnam students through Anphabe surveys. Marico SEA COO receives 'Visionary Leader' award Vaibhav Bhanchawat, chief operating officer of Marico South East Asia and South Africa, has just been honoured with the "Visionary Leader Award" at the Vietnam Excellence Awards 2023. FMCG groups made aware of trends Fast-moving consumer goods groups are bearing the brunt of disruptions caused by pandemic restrictions, leading to price hikes and product shortages in the market. Paul Verhulst - Vice president, Mainland Southeast Asia, Medtronic Improving patient access Among them, expanded patient access has been one of the top priorities for the industry. In this region, 30 per cent of the population lack access to reliable healthcare, largely due to high costs, geographical barriers and distance, limited skillsets of healthcare professionals, and antiquated hospital facilities and medical infrastructures, among others. Take the case of Nguyen, a 60-year-old patient who has colorectal cancer one of the most common cancers in the country. She lives in a remote village in the north of Vietnam and it takes her a day to reach Hanoi for treatment. Nguyens case mirrors challenges facing Vietnamese patients who come from remote provinces with a lack of specialised healthcare. Many people are forced to travel a long distance to reach hospitals in large cities, which boast cath labs, surgical rooms, and experienced doctors to perform advanced procedures. Without these journeys, many of those people will suffer from the risks of late diagnosis and treatment. Indeed, Vietnam has made great strides in improving its healthcare sector in recent times, by increasing both the ratio of patient beds and ratio of doctors. The country is making efforts to achieve the goal of universal healthcare coverage by 2030 as part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. More than 90 per cent of Vietnams population have been covered with health insurance. However, despite significant improvements in its populations health, the gap between the quality of Vietnams healthcare systems in rural and urban areas remains a critical issue to be resolved. Transforming healthcare through technology and partnerships The transformation of the healthcare sector would not be possible without technology. Medtronic has taken the responsibility to help address these patient access challenges together with our partners. We have bolstered collaboration with relevant stakeholders to increase the number of trained healthcare professionals to operate advanced medical devices in Vietnam. Through this approach, we aim to enhance patient access to the best treatment solutions, meeting patients needs as articulated by patients themselves. Last year, Medtronic signed a MoU with the Ministry of Healths Medical Examination and Treatment Administration Department to elevate healthcare professionals clinical skill sets in intensive care unit departments and centres. In 2023, Medtronic inked MoUs with Hue Central Hospital, the Vietnam National Heart Association, and Hospital E. Under such partnerships, Medtronic has actively implemented capacity-building initiatives for doctors and medical staff across the country, primarily focusing on key areas of minimally invasive and innovative therapies with proven safety and efficacy in cardiovascular, medical surgical, and neuroscience. In addition, technology also plays a critical role in treating chronic diseases. The World Health Organization estimated that non-communicable diseases now account for 77 per cent of all death and disability in Vietnam. Of these, cardiovascular disease and cancer are the two most common contributors to premature death and loss in disability-adjusted life years, followed by diabetes/chronic kidney disease. Many of these deaths can be prevented with improved diagnosis, monitoring, and tech-enabled early-stage interventions, according to a Digital Health in Vietnam report released by KPMG. Medtronic has harnessed the power of technology to close the worlds health gaps. By putting people first, the company continues to innovate to bring the most transformative healthcare technologies. This, coupled with partnerships, education, and advocacy, helps Medtronic dismantle barriers to care. As a result, more people can benefit from these life-transforming innovations. In Vietnam, Medtronic has accelerated patient access to the latest medical technologies in cardiovascular, diabetes, medical surgical, and neuroscience. Take deep brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinsons disease, for example. DBS uses a small pacemaker-like device, placed under the skin of the chest, to send electrical signals through extensions and very thin wires to an area in the brain that controls movement. By managing some of the movement symptoms of Parkinsons, DBS may help patients regain control. Few hospitals can perform DBS therapy in Vietnam, and it is also difficult to provide mass training for these advanced procedures. Medtronic has collaborated with leading Vietnamese hospitals to provide training for physicians to perform DBS therapy. As a result, more Parkinsons patients in Vietnam can enjoy an improved quality of life compared to those taking medication alone. In addition, Medtronic also offers technology to treat atrial fibrillation with cryoablation. As one of the latest therapies, this technique is only performed at interventional cardiovascular centres, which are home to professionally trained heart rhythm specialists and modern cath lab equipment. Clinical treatment in Vietnam and around the world shows that it is one of the safest and most effective measures to treat atrial fibrillation, with a short procedure time. Following the procedure, patients only need to stay in the hospital for one day of observation. They do not need to take medication to treat atrial fibrillation. They need to strictly follow the monitoring schedule and follow-up examinations with cardiologists. Medtronics therapy offers new prospects in the treatment of atrial fibrillation in Vietnam. It not only helps reduce the risk of complications for patients but also reduces the number of hospital admissions related to atrial fibrillation, thereby contributing to reducing the burden on the medical sector due to atrial fibrillation in particular and cardiovascular disease in general. Last year, Medtronics therapies improved the lives of 120,000 patients in Vietnam. This year, we strive to serve 150,000. Globally, our healthcare technologies transform the lives of two people every second of the day. Specifically, our technologies reimagine the treatment of over 70 health conditions across cardiovascular, diabetes, medical surgical, and neuroscience. Stakeholders need to act as one, putting patients first Stakeholders the government, businesses, and hospitals alike are responsible for enhancing patient access. This could mean the government launching campaigns to raise health awareness among people, businesses designing more advanced technologies, and hospitals increasing investments in healthcare facilities. To bridge the gap in the healthcare sector, Medtronic will cement partnerships with more key stakeholders to improve the capacity of health professionals and the quality of medical technology to create a healthy and sustainable society for Vietnam. Medtronic Vietnam recognised as one of Best Companies to Work for in Asia Medtronic Vietnam, a subsidiary of Medtronic Plc. (NYSE: MDT), a global leader in healthcare technology, has been named as one of the Best Companies to Work for in Asia 2021 by leading human resources magazine HR Asia. Saudi Arabia's Riyadh won the vote to host the World Expo 2030 on Tuesday after beating Korea's Busan and Italy's Rome by a large margin. Members of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the body responsible for overseeing the international fair with the potential to generate economic benefits and stimulate job creation, held a ballot in Paris after representatives from the three candidates made final presentations of their proposals. In the first round of voting, the Saudi capital won a two-thirds majority with 119 votes out of BIE member states against Busan's 29 votes and Rome's 17 votes. Riyadh had been widely seen as the frontrunner due to a significant marketing campaign from the early stages, despite Korea's last-ditch lobbying efforts over the past few months. The World Expo, officially known as International Registered Exhibitions, has a legacy of fostering global innovation and cultural exchange since the first one took place in London in 1851. The fair can last up to six months, with international participants constructing their pavilions on the Expo site. (Yonhap) A member of the Pha Le Group ecosystem, Neo Floor completed its plan to expand production scale to 14 million square metres in Vietnam in October. The company is preparing for a multi-million dollar investment plan to expand its rigid core vinyl floor production system to 26 million sq.m of floor space annually to meet the growing needs of its customers. Le Quang, COO of Neo Floor Le Quang, COO of Neo Floor, said that the company holds the belief that upon the completion of the distribution system and the attainment of a sufficient level of output, it will be capable of satisfying the demands of major purchasers, including Tucsun, CA Flooring, Discount Hardwood Floors, Old Master, and Town and Country Ceramic Tiles. Neo Floor disclosed its intention at its shareholders meeting conducted this summer to allocate domestic consumption to a mere 10 per cent, with the remainder of its product portfolio being designated for export. Additionally, the corporation has acquired from a European partner the copyright for key locking technology. The competitive advantage of Neo Floor is founded upon two factors. Firstly, CaCO3 stone powder comprises three-quarters of the basic materials used in the production of rigid core vinyl floors. The company presently possesses a CaCO3 quarry situated in the central province of Nghe An, which boasts reserves exceeding five million cu.m. As a result, the project benefits from a raw material area that guarantees American origin and quality. Secondly, the firms substantial research and development expenditures of hundreds of thousands of US dollars have yielded specific outcomes. Neo Floors scientists have developed a formula for combining additives after two years of research, thereby refining and dominating the entire rigid core vinyl floor production line. Neo Floor research indicates that the demand for such flooring in the US market reaches approximately 15,000 containers per month, with China supplying more than 10,000 containers, Vietnam 4,000, and India, Thailand, and Cambodia comprising the remaining suppliers. The value of Vietnams rigid core vinyl flooring exports in the US market has increased on an annual basis. The total export value of such flooring from Vietnam to the US reached $939 million in 2022, representing 17 per cent of consumption value. Export output reached 125 million sq.m, which represents 28.7 per cent of US consumption, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs. Neo Floor has implemented a state-of-the-art management system and forged a collaborative alliance with major distributors of construction materials in the US, Quang said. Commencing in 2021, the largest supermarket chain in the US, Home Depot, has carried the organisations rigid core vinyl flooring products. Significant orders are also being finalised with additional significant distributors such as T&A Supply, Menards, Ollies, and numerous others. Hanoi Centre for Investment, Trade, and Tourism Promotion (HPA) held a ceremony on November 22 to open the Vietnam local specialities fair for 2023, aiming to promote trade between different regions. The event was attended by Le Duc Thinh, director of the Department of Cooperatives and Rural Development under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Le Viet Nga, deputy director of the Department of Domestic Markets under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, as well as representatives from other authorities and organisations. The fair provided an opportunity for businesses and localities to promote their specialities to local consumers, as well as domestic and foreign tourists. It also serves as a chance for distributors to select supply partners. The fair lets distributors take a look at potential supply partners Bui Duy Quang, deputy head of the HPA, said that Hanoi Peoples Committee has assigned it to coordinate with relevant departments and agencies to organise many trade promotion activities, connecting Hanoi with provinces throughout the country. The goal is to promote socioeconomic cooperation between provinces and cities while supporting the promotion of new products, enabling them to join the citys supply chain, Quang said. The fair has received a positive response over the past 10 years and strong participation from numerous provinces and cities throughout the country. It is a trade link between domestic producers, traders, and the distribution system, including shopping centres, supermarkets, and consumers, he added. Taking place until November 26, the fair boasted nearly 300 booths and the involvement of 250 businesses and cooperatives from more than 56 cities and provinces nationwide. It brought together typical products and specialities of localities, including many products protected by geographical indications, and high-quality One Commune, One Product items. Items included tea cakes made from the hundred-year-old Shan Tuyet tea trees of the northwest region, fragrant Central Highlands coffee beans, Ly Son garlic, Cat Hoa Loc mangoes, Phu Quoc pepper, Ca Mau crab, and many other regional specialities. As part of the event, there were activities to promote tourist destinations, traditional cultural features, and culinary shows. There were also business and trade connection activities with prominent distributors such as AEON, Lotte, Central Retail, and more. Dao Duy Hung, a resident in Ha Dong district who visited the event, said, The regional specialities have good quality, and the prices are especially reasonable. We hope that through this programme, domestic and foreign tourists will know more about the delicious dishes in the regions of Vietnam, thereby introducing and promoting them to the international market. The HPA has been working as a regional link for years by hosting a series of similar events, bringing specialities of cities and provinces to the citys supply chain, thus promoting domestic trade and international cooperation. Also last week, it organised a seminar connecting investment, trade, and tourism in Hanoi and provinces in the northwest region; a programme to connect and trade between organisations, businesses, and investors in Lao Cai province; and an exhibition space for typical products and goods between Hanoi and provinces in the northwest region. At long last, Union Grove food hall has opened at 8100 Woodway Drive, offering a mix of food and drinks spread over 30,000 square feet of freshly remodeled space. It is a production of Union Brands Texas, which also owns Union Hall at Eighth Street and Franklin Avenue downtown, and will build in College Station, according to managing partner Todd Behringer. Vendors at Union Grove include King's Chicken Wings, Health Camp, Curry Up and Wok This Way, Huaco Eatery, Pho My Vietnamese Cuisine, Pop's Lemonade, S.O.S. Cotton Candy, Southern Charm Creamery, The Village Pizzaria & Gelato Bar, Wacool Tacos & Tamales, Zuke's Tea Bar, Sam's Front Porch Bar and, appropriately, Sam's Back Porch Bar. Union Grove offers patio dining, and some lease space is available. A tour of Union Grove, its architecture, colorful interior, vendor profiles and hours of operation are viewable at unionbrandstexas.com. Chamber spokesperson Gabriella Colurciello has been named marketing and communications director for the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce. Colurciello joined the chamber in March 2019, having received a bachelor's degree in mass communications with a minor in psychology from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in May 2016. She grew up in Lockhart "but has demonstrated her commitment to the organization and community," according to a newsletter announcing her appointment. Building permit roundup Yours truly mentioned in my last column that someone in Waco City Hall's inspection services department no doubt developed a hand cramp Nov. 7 writing permits to build 31 apartment buildings at 1210 N. Old Robinson Road, where Wayfare Development Group plans luxury units. Well, that was just the start of things. Wayfare on Nov. 8 secured permits for 19 more buildings, each valued at $341,300 or $511,950, and housing four units or six units. Separate permits were issued for a trash compactor valued at $67,500 and a mail kiosk valued at $52,000, according to the local Associated General Contractors of America office that tallies permits issued by Waco and its neighbors. Also recently, Baylor University received permits for Phase 2 and Phase 3 of renovations to its law school, which has a new dean, Jeremy Counseller, whose appointment the school recently announced. Counseller, who now occupies the school's Abner V. McCall Chair of Evidence Law, will become dean effective July 1, 2024. A permit valued at $400,000 was issued by Woodway to prepare lease space at 193 Archway Drive, Suite 100, for a Starbucks. Diesel workforce Holt Cat in Waco and Texas State Technical College have joined to meet critical demand for employees in the diesel technology industry. A press release from TSTC says the country will need 177,000 such professionals within five years, and schools are not coming close to meeting that pace. The press release says 10,699 students successfully completed postsecondary training programs in diesel tech in 2021, the last year cited. Holt Cat, 1700 W. Loop 340, sells Caterpillar equipment. But more than that it repairs and maintains Cat-branded machines. It has joined TSTC on an internship program allowing teens to work there making $12 to $18 an hour while completing high school or taking courses at TSTC. With a two-year certificate, they can earn $20 to $48 an hour, depending on experience. "Through the internship program, we're able to reach young people at a pivotal time in their lives, at 15 or 16, when we can show them how rewarding a career in the trades is before they have been influenced to set their minds on a four-year college," Holt Cat service manager Matthew Bell said. Holt Cat also is looking into tuition reimbursement and other assistance to create a pipeline from TSTC to Holt Cat, according to the press release. Victorian's Barbecue Joey Victorian, who previously operated a food trailer in Houston's Heights neighborhood and is featured on the Netflix series "Barbecue Showdown," has opened a permanent location in downtown Mart called Victorian's Barbecue. A writeup on the restaurant at ExpertTexan.com references the abundance of farmland on the 20-minute drive from Waco to Mart, the preponderance of wind turbines near that community, and Mart's connection to railroad travel back in the good old days, a distant memory memorialized with a single railroad car parked on Mart's main street, East Texas Avenue. The reviewer said parking is plentiful in front of Victorian's Barbecue. It is accessible, smallish and nostalgic. The staffers and Victorian himself are courteous and free with conversation. The menu includes chicken, ribs, brisket, sausage, sides and drinks. The writer said he and three others ate for $60, including drinks. Jorge's Cantina progress The transition to Jorge's Cantina is going well at 4225 Franklin Ave., where Sammy and Kyle Citrano and their business partners are converting the former El Paso Mexican Grill into a larger Tex-Mex restaurant. Reached by phone, Kyle Citrano said the team continues to predict an opening in April or May. Kyle Citrano said a slab was poured two weeks ago, and Barsh Construction is keeping a steady pace. The finished product, which includes an addition to the existing building, will cover nearly 12,000 square feet, making it larger than either of the George's locations the Citranos control, one on Hewitt Drive and the original on Speight Avenue in South Waco. "There should not be any waiting to be seated," Citrano said. Baylor University senior piano lecturer Bradley Bolen, globetrotting ambassador in cultural exchanges far and wide, recently returned from teaching master classes to young pianists in war-torn Ukraine and increasingly anxious next-door neighbor Poland. The trip reaffirmed the everyday resilience of courageous Eastern Europeans and the everyday fickleness of Americans who forget the perils of appeasing dictators. While some of us, whether in politics or business or as neighbors, co-workers and family, now echo the deluded America First rhetoric of 1940 when aviator Charles Lindbergh and other patriots pressed Americans to ignore the Nazi conquest of Europe, Bolen sees latter-day Russian aggression in Ukraine as another step toward impending crisis in Europe. He knows such tyranny and conquest is capable of again engulfing America. I continue to believe that this is the most important conflict of my lifetime, and people here dont have a clue as to why that might be the case, Bolen, 63, told me upon returning from an occasionally nail-biting two and a half weeks in Eastern Europe, including several days of conducting classes in Ukraine where piano chords clashed with air-raid sirens. Civilization is at a turning point, to paraphrase [American democracy scholar] Timothy Snyder or [President] Biden. Serious discussion of serious music cant avoid politics, whether it involves Paderewski, Ellington or Bob Dylan. Such discussions of music, musicians and global dynamics compel the thinking citizen to reflect more deeply on events around him. Beethovens Eroica Symphony supposedly challenged the great composer to think twice about his manuscript dedication to Napoleon. And musical purists still argue if Leonard Bernstein was right to change the Ode to Joy text to Ode to Freedom in a memorable 1989 performance of the Ninth on occasion of the fall of the Berlin Wall. One cultural impact of Russian warfare and genocide: Russian composers are no longer programmed in concerts in Ukraine and, Bolen says, theyre an iffy proposition in neighboring Poland. Music amid crisis When Bolen and I first met at Uncle Dans BBQ to talk of his upcoming trip (which I learned about via a mutual friend), we got sidetracked discussing Krzysztof Pendereckis Resurrection piano concerto, written by the famed Polish composer in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and reflecting not only the rancorous tenor of our times but something foundational, fortifying and noble. As an ambassador of American Voices, which forges vivid cultural dialogue in far-flung lands, Bolen grasps the magic of music. He saw it on his first trip for the nonprofit to Syria, Lebanon and Iraq in summer 2010. You hear people rationalize how music is the universal language, but I was not prepared to understand how hard people worked for the arts and ways of expression in Iraq, places in crisis like that, he told me. One of my students drove six hours from Baghdad [for master classes]. Two of my students were from Mosul, only 40 miles from where I was. If they had been found out, they wouldve been killed because theyre not allowed to have musical instruments. But thats how bad they wanted it. I just felt I touched more lives faster doing that than I had in years and years of work in the traditional Western art world, he said. His trip to Poland and Ukraine, pursued partially under his own auspices, confirmed his conclusion that many of us embrace the arts all the more amid crisis. I dont know if it has something to do with the spiritual nature of humanity or just a way of deflecting from what could otherwise be peril, he said. Im always a little bit surprised, but it confirms what I see in other places Ive been where it seems that would be the last thing they want to think about and yet its one of the first things they think about. The week in Ukraine was particularly revelatory, even as he conducted his classes well away from the fighting, which news reports indicate has settled into something of a stalemate. Bolen quickly fell into a routine in which Ukrainian civilians continued their daily lives amidst the dangers. The city in which he taught, Odesa, is a port on the Black Sea at the nations midsection, yet remains a regular target of Russian weaponry in the east partially because of pivotal grain shipments. I experienced about 12 to 15 air raids, Bolen told me. But I had an app that told me where the threats were coming from and where they were going. The way I would describe it is if somebody says McLennan County is under a tornado warning, you would simply get on media to find out exactly where it was in the county. You know the chances of it hitting you arent zero, but youre also not totally panicked yet. Id say its very similar to that. The only difference is you have this many times a day. Of course, I slept through the first air raid, I was so tired. But when they would go off, youd get on your phone and it would tell you that a certain aircraft just took off capable of carrying a certain type of missile and you would know that, OK, that airplane can shoot missiles but it isnt necessarily very likely its going to be shooting at me. Or it might say, 10 [Iranian-made] Shahed drones headed toward Odesa city, in which case I would worry more. About an hour after Bolen boarded a train back to Poland, explosions began to rock Odesa. Do you know how many soldiers and how much military equipment I saw at the city center? Bolen asked rhetorically of his friends in a Facebook post on his personal page. Zero. But I did see lots of students. There is nothing of interest militarily there. But this is what Russia does. This, he insists, is nothing less than terrorism. Democracy, dysfunction As for neighboring Poland, pro-democracy forces won enough seats in October elections before Bolens visit to reject the populist rule of Jaroslaw Kaczynski and his erratic Law & Justice Party. Yet Bolen found citizens realistic about the struggles between authoritarianism and democracy, even after a record mobilization of voters 74 percent. Poles know what many do not that authoritarianism can sneak up on an unwitting population waving the national colors and claiming patriotism. It came up with several of the people I interacted with [in Poland], Bolen said. The feeling I got was one of relief but not the kind of relief where the battle is over. Nonetheless, it gave them hope that they could now move on to something more constructive. They had to have a coalition [of different political parties] to get some things done and I think that gives them a hope it can happen, but I dont think theres really been time for that to happen yet. Bolens wife Lynne understands his occasional trips to perilous stretches of the world to conduct classes and establish or fortify cultural ties defying the Machiavellian melodramas of our times. As an eminent conservation biologist, she has spent a significant period of time in Nigeria hardly a land without dangers all to conduct intensive field research involving Sclaters guenon, a small endangered arboreal monkey found only in a small region of southern Nigeria. For her, Im sure it was, Theres a species in danger. How can I help protect it? I asked Bolen about the virulent Putin wing of the Republican Party, led by Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and dedicated to stifling U.S. military aid to Ukraine. Some Republicans argue that aiding Ukrainian defense should cease when our southern border is under attack. Others such as Republican Congressman Michael McCaul of Texas argue citizens and politicians must better educate themselves about the multiple risks America assumes in ignoring Russias invasion of its neighbor. If Ukraine falls, Chairman Xi in Chinas going to invade Taiwan, McCaul declared in a CNN interview about the unwillingness of some fellow Republicans to battle authoritarianism. Its Russia, China. Iran is putting drones in Crimea, and North Korea is putting artillery into Russia. They have to understand the case. And they talk about the border, not mutually exclusive at all. We can do both. Were a great country. We can walk and chew gum at the same time. While Hamas terrorism and Israels military response have drawn the spotlight in recent weeks, Ukraine clearly remains a priority, judging from supportive visits in recent days by British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and, most surprisingly, Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch. Bolen suggests such interest reflects the very real fear of allowing Ukraine to fall to Russian President Vladimir Putin and in five years youre facing a [Russian] war with Poland and NATO. I think theyre acutely aware of the things were bickering over, Bolen said of Ukrainians viewing strife over continuing U.S. aid to battle Russian aggression. [Ukrainian commentator] Denys Davydov said recently that American politics is a bit dysfunctional and needs to be modernized. Theres a perception that some of our institutions like Congress are antiquated to the extent it doesnt function well for the people. But theyre all very supportive of us and theyre all very hopeful that well work it out. CEDAR FALLS In 1853, the U.S. signed a treaty with Mexico, purchasing territory that would eventually become southern Arizona and New Mexico, while in Great Britain, Queen Victoria sat on the throne. That same year, Black Hawk County commissioners decided to locate the county seat in Cedar Falls, which boasted 450 residents. The Blackhawk steamboat churned on the Cedar River between Cedar Rapids and Waterloo. And the Winslow House Hotel was built and opened for business in downtown Cedar Falls. Now operating as the Black Hawk Hotel, the historic property has welcomed weary travelers for 170 years. Eagle View Hospitality is hosting a 170th birthday party celebration of the Black Hawk Hotel from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the hotel, 115 Main St. The open-house style event will include tours of the hotel, live music by Randy Clemons, drink specials from Bar Winslow and birthday cake from the hotels neighboring patisserie and cafe, La Petit. Guests will receive a birthday card with a discount or gift, including one grand prize giveaway for a weekend getaway at the hotel. The Black Hawk Hotel stands as Cedar Falls oldest business and the second longest continuously operating hotel in the U.S. The hotel was restored after burning down in the 1900s and has undergone several other renovations. The hotel is listed on the National Historic Register of Historic Places and recently received the publics most first-place votes for the Best of the Best award in The Couriers annual voters favorite competition. Eagle View Hospitality is the management company behind the hotel, both owned and operated by Mark Kittrell. The Black Hawk has been around through the Civil War to COVID and persevered. Its a landmark in the community. Everyone from Bill Clinton to Tony Bennett has stayed here, said Kittrell, who is intent on protecting and celebrating the hotels lengthy history and its place in the community. Eagle View President Audrey Kittrell said, Theres no other business or building thats older, that has a longer history in Cedar Falls, and that in itself is noteworthy. Its taken so much care and support from the community to make it landmark. People in the community come here to spend a lot of special occasions. It feels like the community has helped preserve the Black Hawk. The Black Hawk Hotel was acquired by Eagle View in 2018. The company has spent the last five years focusing on reinstating the original purpose of the hotel as a place for the community to gather and celebrate. Today, the 28-room boutique hotel has modern amenities travelers expect, wrapped in layers of historic charm. We are actually developers thats our day job and as much as we enjoy building new properties, its impossible to build something with the kind of character and details you find at the Black Hawk, Mark Kittrell explained. Catering to business travelers on weekdays and leisure travelers on weekends, he said the hotel is ideally suited for people to set down anchors and set off to explore the community. Last year, the hotel officially added events venue to its offerings and has since hosted dozens of weddings, bridal and baby showers, holiday parties, corporate events and other special occasions. The hotel comes alive on weekends with folks coming to enjoy downtown Cedar Falls and celebrating special occasions. I think people would be surprised to know the hotel hosts a lot of Cedar Valley locals, too! Its a great place to celebrate a birthday, anniversary, or weekend getaway, said Deanna Hoffmann, vice president of hospitality. The highly-trained concierge staff are local experts when it comes to connecting guests with events and activities in the Cedar Valley, Audrey Kittrell said. Theater tickets, dinner reservations and excursion planning are among services offered. Bar Winslow, the Prohibition-inspired craft cocktail bar at the hotel, has become a gathering place for hotel guests and the community. We saw a niche in the community and decided to try our hand at it. We call it the little engine that could because its one of our biggest surprises. Were proud of being flexible and creative and pushing the envelope in business, she noted. The cocktail bar partners with University of Northern Iowas School of Music and Jazz Studies to host live jazz on the first and second Saturdays each month from 7:30 to 10 p.m. Other hallmark events includes wine and spirits tasting events and the hotels annual winter Murder Mystery Party. The top hotels in the U.S., Europe and more Caribbean 1. Dorado Beach, A Ritz-Carlton Reserve 2. Jade Mountain 3. Cheval Blanc St-Barth Isle de France 4. Tortuga Bay 5. Round Hill Hotel and Villas United States 1. Four Seasons Resort Lanai 2. The Langham, Chicago 3. The Peninsula Chicago 4. Acqualina Resort & Residences on the Beach 5. Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort Mexico 1. One&Only Palmilla 2. Esperanza, Auberge Resorts Collection 3. Las Ventanas al Paraiso, A Rosewood Resort 4. Rosewood Mayakoba 5. Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal Canada 1. Fairmont Pacific Rim 2. Rosewood Hotel Georgia 3. Wickaninnish Inn 4. Auberge Saint-Antoine 5. Wedgewood Hotel & Spa Europe 1. La Reserve Paris - Hotel and Spa 2. The Lanesborough 3. The Connaught 4. Grand Hotel Tremezzo 5. The Gritti Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Venice Bermuda 1. Rosewood Bermuda 2. Hamilton Princess Hotel & Beach Club 3. The Loren at Pink Beach 4. Cambridge Beaches Resort & Spa 5. Fairmont Southampton ___ (TravelPulse is a leading travel authority on the web, providing consumer travel news and insider tips and advice for an ever-changing travel world. Read more stories at travelpulse.com) If youre trying to motivate yourself or someone else to go outside and exercise its definitely going to be easier during the warmer months of the year. But as temperatures drop nationwide, you might be surprised to find that there are several benefits to training outside, even though its WATERLOO Attorneys for a Denver man accused of killing his friend by setting his Waterloo home on fire said they think the blaze started under a living room couch. John Walter Spooner, 61, is charged with murder and was convicted of first-degree arson in the August 2022 fire that claimed the life of Tony Lewis Grider, 60. Authorities allege Spooner used gasoline to set fire to the front porch of the East Second Street home, trapping Grider in his second-floor bedroom. Sentencing had been set for Monday in Black Hawk County District Court. But the defense was granted a delay to allow it to pursue further forensic testing based on the possibility the fire started another way. The main goal here should be justice, and if he didnt set this fire then we should be able to pursue that, defense attorney Nichole Watt told the judge during a brief hearing Monday, arguing for a new trial on the arson charge. She said experts hired by the defense following the arson trial believe the fire didnt start on the porch. It originated within the house underneath the couch. It would show a burn on the carpet and a burn pattern that goes up the couch in a way thats consistent with the fire starting in that living room, Watt said. She said surveillance video from a neighboring property appears to show fire coming from a window on the side of the house and then making its way to the porch. She also said the defense experts believe gasoline wasnt used to ignite the fire. The experts determined the gasoline found in samples from the porch didnt match gasoline in the gas can found in the street. In addition, the defense is seeking to test sample of Griders blood that was drawn during autopsy. Defense experts want to look for traces of hydrogen cyanide, which can be found in smoke generated from burning furniture stuffing. That chemical, toxic gas, has the ability to spread wherever it possibly can. We know Tony Griders door was open and Tony Grider would have been rendered unable to move because of the hydrogen cyanide in the home, Watt said. She said other items in the home are being tested for the deadly compound. Neighbors saw Spooner sparking a cigarette lighter and mumbling something about a fire across the street before walking up to Griders house. Surveillance video also shows him throwing a gas can into the street before the porch began smoking. Assistant County Attorney Charity Sullivan resisted the sentencing delay, arguing the defense could have initiated additional tests before the start of the arson trial. She said the defense decided to rush into the arson trial because a lesser verdict there would hamper the states ability to take the murder charge to trial. Sullivan said state forensic experts would argue that the gasoline samples from the porch could include other items from the porch. Whether or not the debris sample, which is very different from a straight gasoline sample, had other things poured on it previously, had other debris, which could include a carpet remnant or a door mat, that those things can impact the results, Sullivan said. Griders porch and property contained sundry lawn care equipment and other items. Sullivan said there was sufficient evidence presented at the arson trial that Spooner set the fire. Judge David Odekirk set a review hearing for early January. PHOTOS: Arson Trial November 2022 111522jr-arson-trial-1 111522jr-arson-trial-3 111522jr-arson-trial-2 111522jr-arson-trial-4 111522jr-arson-trial-5 111422jr-arson-trial-1 111422jr-arson-trial-2 111422jr-arson-trial-3 111422jr-arson-trial-5 111422jr-arson-trial-4 111622jr-arson-trial-4 111622jr-arson-trial-3 111622jr-arson-trial-1 111622jr-arson-trial-2 111722jr-arson-verdict-1 111722jr-arson-verdict-2 111722jr-arson-verdict-3 111722jr-arson-verdict-5 111722jr-arson-verdict-6 111722jr-arson-verdict-7 WATERLOO Bond has been set at $10,000 for a Waterloo man charged in a stabbing outside a downtown bar in September. Jacob Wayne Boots, 33, was arrested Monday for one count of willful injury causing serious injury. Authorities allege Boots became involved in an argument outside the Karma Bar on West Fourth Street around 12:45 a.m. Sept. 16. During the argument, Boots allegedly punched Tristan Wilson in the face several times and then pulled out a knife and continued the attack with the weapon, according to court records. Two women pushed Boots away, and he left the area. Wilson suffered stab wounds to his stomach, shoulder, back and hand. He was treated at a local hospital. At the time, Boots was on supervised release for a 2014 federal gun charge and his probation officer identified him from a video of the incident, records state. Small cities and towns are getting safer, while violent crime in large cities is on the rise Small cities and towns are getting safer, while violent crime in large cities is on the rise 7 of the 10 safest small cities are in the Northeast Are small cities and towns safer than big cities? Korea will push for using commercial satellites in low Earth orbit in a military communication system to efficiently enhance combat capability of the armed forces, the state arms procurement agency said Tuesday. The Defense Rapid Acquisition Technology Research Institute under the state-run Agency for Defense Development signed a 39.6 billion-won ($30.6 million) project with Hanwha Systems for development of the military communication system using Hanwha's commercial satellites operating below an altitude of 2,000 kilometers, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). Under the program, Hanwha Systems will develop military-specific gateways, small ground stations and satellite terminals for low Earth orbit communication satellites over the next two years. When the development is complete, the military will run a pilot program for six months. DAPA said the integration of low orbit satellites in the military communication system is expected to enhance operational capabilities of various combat platforms and ensure continuous communication even in challenging terrain, such as mountainous areas. The agency also outlined plans to develop anti-hacking technology to safeguard the satellite-based military communication system from potential hacking attempts. Following the launch of the first military-only communications satellite in 2020, the Korean military has been seeking to place more satellites into orbit to further upgrade the overall communications system. Korea is set to launch its first military reconnaissance satellite on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the U.S. Vandenberg Space Force Base in California later this week, with additional plans to deploy four more spy satellites by 2025. (Yonhap) WATERLOO A second person has been arrested in connection with a staged robbery at Waterloo discount store in 2022. Police arrested Markez Alexander Fox, 27, of Waterloo, on Nov. 22 on a count of second-degree theft. Bond was set at $10,000. Authorities allege Foxs girlfriend, Michaela Lea Bush, worked at Family Dollar, 2206 Kimball Ave. Bush didnt like working at the store and planned to quit her job, according to court records. As part of the plan, Bush and Fox decided to fake a hold-up to steal the stores money. Fox entered Family Dollar around 9:45 a.m. Dec. 30, 2022, wearing a mask and coat while Bush was working. He handed Bush an alleged robbery note and collected $3,660 in cash, police said. He then got a ride back to Bushs home where they later split the proceeds. The robbery note he passed read I love you, court records state. Bush, 25, of Cedar Falls, was arrested for second-degree theft in June in connection with the bogus heist. Her trial is tentatively set for January. Small cities and towns are getting safer, while violent crime in large cities is on the rise Small cities and towns are getting safer, while violent crime in large cities is on the rise 7 of the 10 safest small cities are in the Northeast Are small cities and towns safer than big cities? WATERLOO A Waterloo high school student is one of several students who are part of a lawsuit challenging the state law that silences LGBTQ students and restricts books in public schools. Attorneys for Lambda Legal, the ACLU of Iowa and the law firm Jenner and Block LLP filed a lawsuit Tuesday in federal court to block provisions of SF 496, saying it seeks to erase any recognition of LGBTQ people from public schools. Percy Batista-Pedro, 16, a transgender West High School junior who is president of the schools Gender Sexuality Alliance, and mother Belinda Scarrott are plaintiffs in the suit. I am scared of being harassed if I wear pride apparel, or if I talk about my identity in class. This fear, which is shared by my transgender friends, is why I have chosen to be a plaintiff in this case, Batista-Pedro said in a prepared statement. During his freshman year, Batista-Pedro was performing a play, and middle school student in the crowd threated to shoot him, calling him out by name, according to the lawsuit. The incident was reported to police but, as far as he knows, no action was taken. I believe the student knew me because of a protest I had staged earlier that year at my high school. Now, after SF 496 and the climate it has created to shame and invite violence against transgender people, I would be terrified of organizing another protest, Batista-Pedro said. Transgender youth should not have to live in fear at their schools. We should not have to take unnecessary steps to gain the respect of being called by the correct name and pronouns that no cisgender kid ever has to ask for. The law also requires teachers, counselors, school psychologists and other staff to report students to their parents or guardians if a student asks to be referred to by names or pronouns that align with their gender identity. This law claims to protect parental rights, but it does the opposite. Instead of sending my child to school and assuming he will be safe, as every parent of a cis-gendered, straight child does, I spend my days worrying about what potential damage this school day might do to my childs physical or mental well-being, Scarrott said. The law forbids any program, curriculum, test, survey, questionnaire, promotion, or instruction relating to gender identity or sexual orientation in grades K-6. It also requires public schools K-12 to remove all books containing descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act with the explicit exception of the Bible. The law has caused the number of members of the West High School GSA to dwindle this year because students fear being outed to unsupportive family members and increased bullying and harassment, according to the lawsuit. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court for Southern Iowa in Des Moines, and other plaintiffs include the Des Moines-based GLBT Youth in Iowa Schools Task Force/Iowa Safe Schools and students from Iowa City, Sioux City, Urbandale and West Des Moines. Defendants named in the suit include Gov. Kim Reynolds, Director of Education McKenzie Snow, the Iowa State Board of Education and officials from the Waterloo Community School District as well as school districts in Iowa City, Sioux City, Urbandale and West Des Moines. PHOTOS: Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally at Capitol Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally Iowa LGBTQ Rights Rally WATERLOO Veridian Credit Union is celebrating Giving Tuesday with $35,000 in donations to six nonprofit organizations across Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota. Recipient organizations were nominated by the public for the credit unions Veridian Gives Back for Giving Tuesday campaign and drawn at random to receive the donations. We want the selection of our Giving Tuesday donation recipients to include input from our members and communities, said Areli Solorio, Veridian public relations strategist. We also hope it prompts a reminder about this important day and helps more of us think about what we can do individually to participate. One organization in each of the credit unions five market areas is receiving $5,000. Recipients in the Cedar Valley include the Cedar Falls/Waterloo YWCA of Black Hawk County. The Iowa Giving Crew, which serves Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, Iowa City and Waterloo, received a $10,000 donation. DES MOINES A relatively dry week with snow falling at the weekend resulted in 6.1 days suitable for fieldwork during the week ending Sunday, according to the U.S. Department of Agricultures National Agricultural Statistics Service. Fieldwork activities started to slow down this week with reports of fertilizer and manure application wrapping up. With this years strong harvest nearly complete and the snow beginning to fly, Iowa farmers are looking ahead to next year by considering input choices, conservation practices and marketing decisions, said Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig. Following three consecutive La Nina winters, this winter is expected to be impacted by a moderate to strong El Nino, which typically means warmer temperatures and more variability in precipitation. As we head into the 2024 growing season, replenishing soil moisture will be of utmost importance. Topsoil moisture condition rated 22% very short, 45% short, 33% adequate and no surplus. Subsoil moisture condition rated 33% very short, 40% short, 26% adequate and 1% surplus. Corn harvested for grain is virtually complete with farmers in the southern part of the state still running a few combines, nine days ahead of the five-year average. Cattle grazing on stalk fields continued this week, while no reports were received regarding livestock conditions. Weather summary Unseasonably warm temperatures early in the reporting period were balanced out by a late-week cold snap that brought measurable snow across most of Iowa, according to Justin Glisan, state climatologist with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. Overall temperatures were generally near normal with the statewide average coming in at 31.9 degrees, 0.6 degree below normal. Several disturbances brought measurable precipitation, both rain and snow, to most of Iowas stations. Northwestern Iowa missed out on higher totals, receiving under 25% of normal weekly precipitation. Weekly precipitation totals ranged from no accumulation at a few northwestern stations to 0.85 inch in Clarinda. The statewide weekly average precipitation was 0.33 inch, while the normal is 0.41 inch. Lamoni (Decatur County) reported the weeks high temperature of 63 degrees on the 19th, 14 degrees above normal. Estherville (Emmet County), Mason City Municipal Airport (Cerro Gordo County) and Swea City (Kossuth County) reported the weeks low temperature of nine degrees on the 24th, on average 11 degrees below normal. DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip Hamas and Israel released more hostages and prisoners under terms of a fragile cease-fire that held for a fifth day Tuesday as international mediators in Qatar worked to extend the truce. The United States, meanwhile, urged Israel to better protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza if it follows through on its promise to resume the war. In the latest swap since the cease-fire began Friday, Israel said Hamas freed 10 of its citizens and two Thai nationals who returned to Israel. Soon after, Israel released 30 Palestinian prisoners. The truce was due to end after one more exchange Wednesday night. For the first time, Israel and Hamas blamed each other for an exchange of fire between troops and militants in northern Gaza. There was no immediate indication it would endanger the truce, which enabled some humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza. CIA director William Burns and David Barnea, who heads Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, were in Qatar, a key mediator with Hamas, to discuss extending the cease-fire and releasing more hostages, a diplomat said on condition of anonymity. A U.S. official confirmed Burns was in Qatar, speaking anonymously because the director's travel plans are not publicized for security reasons. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was scheduled to visit the region this week, also with an eye to extending the truce. Israel vows to resume the war with "full force" to destroy Hamas once it's clear that no more hostages will be freed under the deal. The Biden administration told Israel it must avoid "significant further displacement" of and mass casualties among Palestinian civilians if it resumes its offensive, and must operate with more precision in southern Gaza than it has in the north, according to U.S. officials. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House. Hamas and other militants still hold about 160 hostages out of 240 seized in their Oct. 7 assault into southern Israel that ignited the war. Israel says it is willing to extend the cease-fire by one day for every 10 additional hostages Hamas releases, according to the deal brokered by the Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. Hamas is expected to make much higher demands for the release of captive Israeli soldiers. Israel vows to end Hamas' 16-year rule in Gaza and crush its military capabilities. That would almost certainly require expanding its ground offensive from northern Gaza to the south, where most of Gaza's population of 2.3 million is now crowded. It's unclear where they would go if Israel does so as Egypt refuses to accept refugees and Israel sealed its border. Captives released The latest group of Israeli hostages freed from Gaza nine women and a 17-year-old was flown to hospitals in Israel, the Israeli military said. Tuesday's hostage release brought to 60 the number of Israelis freed during the truce. An additional 21 hostages 19 Thais, one Filipino and one Russian-Israeli have been released in separate negotiations since the truce began. Before the truce, Hamas released four Israeli hostages, and the Israeli army rescued one. Two other hostages were found dead in Gaza. The latest swap brought to 180 the number of Palestinian women and teens freed from Israeli prisons. Most were teenagers accused of throwing stones and firebombs during confrontations with Israeli forces. Several released women were convicted by Israeli military courts of attempting to carry out deadly attacks. The prisoners are widely seen by Palestinians as heroes resisting occupation. Northern Gaza in ruins The cease-fire allowed residents who remained in Gaza City and other parts of the north to venture out to survey the destruction and try to locate and bury relatives. In northern Gaza's Jabaliya refugee camp, which Israel bombarded heavily for weeks and which troops surrounded in heavy fighting with militants, "you come across whole city blocks that have been demolished, just a pancake of concrete layered as buildings have collapsed," said Thomas White, the Gaza director for the U.N. agency caring for Palestinian refugees. The agency delivered six trucks of aid to the camp, including supplies for a medical center. Footage of White's visit showed streets lined with destroyed buildings, cars and piles of rubble. A U.N.-led aid consortium estimates that, across Gaza, more than 234,000 homes have been damaged and 46,000 destroyed, amounting to about 60% of the territory's housing. In the north, the destruction "severely compromises the ability to meet basic requirements to sustain life," it said. More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, about two-thirds of them women and minors, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. Israel says more than 1,200 people have been killed on its side, mostly civilians killed in the initial attack. Authorities were able to reopen the dialysis department at Gaza City's Shifa hospital after medical teams brought a small generator. About 20 patients there went two or three weeks without dialysis, Dr. Mutasim Salah told Al-Jazeera TV from the hospital. Two weeks ago, Israeli forces seized the hospital, which Israel claim was used as a major base by Hamas, an accusation that the group and hospital staff deny. Tiegan Prigge was recognized as the Winona County 4-H Youth Representative for the month of November. She is a senior at Lewiston-Altura High School, a member of the Valley View Volunteers 4-H Club and the daughter of Terri and Trevor Prigge. Following graduation Tiegan plans to get her bachelor's degree in radiography. Tiegan has exhibited rabbits, goats and dairy steers as well as quilting, crafts and fine arts, cake decorating, photography, youth leadership, archery wood working and foods projects at the Winona County Fair. Her favorite project is showing dairy steers. I love building a connection with my steer and tend to do very well in showmanship, which shows off the hard work and dedication I put into my project, Tiegan said. The people I show with also make the experience very enjoyable. Tiegans favorite 4-H memory was getting Grand Champion Intermediate Showman at the Minnesota State Fair. Tiegan has participated in many community service activities, including Operation Christmas Child, Soles4souls, spring yard clean-up and more. She shared that participating in 4-H has taught me hard work, dedication and how much volunteering impacts the community. It takes a lot of patience, hard work and dedication to work with your animal every day, but the persistence pays off in the end, she said. I love helping people around the community and encourage everyone to volunteer as much as they can. Winona Sunrisers Kiwanis Club honors one outstanding Winona County 4-H member during its breakfast meeting the fourth Wednesday of each month. The club meets on a weekly basis every Wednesday at 7 a.m. at the Winona Family Restaurant in Winona. Ninety people are expected to lose their jobs when a manufacturing plant with a long history in the city of Tomah closes early next year. Transcontinental Packaging plans to shutter its Tomah plant at 501 Williams St. sometime after Jan. 15, 2024. The company said the plant closure and layoffs are permanent in a Nov. 16 letter to the state Department of Workforce Development. The Tomah plant first opened in 1945 and has operated through multiple ownership changes since then. Canada-based Transcontinental purchased the plant from Coveris in 2018. According to Yahoo Finance, Transcontinental will transfer operations to packing plants in Battle Creek, Michigan; Clinton, Missouri; Elgin, Illinois; Lenexa, Kansas; and Spartanburg, South Carolina. The Yahoo report says Transcontinental issued a statement from senior vice-president Jeff Lasley. We regret the impact of this decision on our employees who have been a strong team of contributors since the acquisition of the plant by TC Transcontinental in 2018, Lasley said We thank our 89 employees and will ensure they receive the respect they deserve, including support in their career transition. Transcontinental didnt respond to a Tribune request for comment by press time. Tomah city clerk Becky Weyer, issued the following statement on behalf of the citys four-member executive team: We have not been in direct contact with the owners, but the city of Tomah was saddened to hear about the announced closing of Transcontinental Packaging, a longstanding employer in our community. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the employees affected by the closure. DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) The fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas appeared to be back on track Sunday after the release of a second group of militant-held hostages and Palestinians from Israeli prisons, and Egypt said it had received new lists for an expected third release. In a separate development, Hamas announced that one of its top commanders had been killed, without saying when or how. Israel's military confirmed it. The second exchange was delayed for hours Saturday after Hamas accused Israel of violating the agreement, which has brought the first significant pause in seven weeks of war marked by the deadliest Israeli-Palestinian violence in decades and vast destruction and displacement across the Gaza Strip. Hamas later released 13 Israelis and four Thais, while Israel freed 39 Palestinian prisoners. Diaa Rashwan, chair of the Egyptian State Information Services, said Egypt had received a list of 13 hostages that Hamas will release Sunday, and another list of 39 Palestinians that Israel is expected to free. Get the full story here: Misinformation about Israel-Hamas war floods social media; here are the facts Claim: Kim Jong Un blames Biden for war Claim: Turkish president threatens to intervene Claim: Israel confirms it bombed hospital Claim: Qatars emir threatens to cut off worlds natural gas supply Claim: BBC reports Ukraine provided weapons to Hamas Claim: Video shows actor in fake blood for propaganda Claim: Hamas fighters storm sports field to attack Israelis Claim: Putin warns US to stay away from war Gas stations and grocery stores in Wisconsin could more easily operate electric vehicle charging stations under legislation introduced this week aimed at assuring buyers they wont be stuck without a place to recharge their vehicles. The bill co-authored by Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, and Rep. Nancy VanderMeer, R-Tomah could position the state to receive about $78 million in federal funds to expand Wisconsins EV charging infrastructure. If you dont have the infrastructure, you dont have those charging stations out there, you cant expect people to buy cars that are needing that because where are they going to charge? said Beata Wierzba, government affairs director with the renewable energy advocacy nonprofit Renew Wisconsin. In order to get more EVs, you need the infrastructure. Under current law, businesses that want to operate EV charging stations must be regulated as a utility. The legislation introduced Monday would provide private businesses an exemption from the rule and require that they sell electricity by the kilowatt-hour that is, by the amount used rather than by the length of time it takes to charge a vehicle. The state would impose a 3-cent per kilowatt-hour excise tax on any electricity sold through an EV charging station. This bill changes the law to allow for EV charging without this cumbersome regulation, Marklein and VanderMeer said in a joint statement. The bill also requires retailers to purchase their power from a utility and to collect an excise tax per kilowatt hour (sold) that will be dedicated to the states Transportation Fund like the gas tax. The proposal also bars the state and local governments from selling EV charging to the public. It does, however, allow those entities to lease property to private businesses that could own and operate EV charging stations. Allison Carson, executive director of the Wisconsin Local Government Climate Coalition, a collection of local governments across the state, said the proposal is critical to help the state secure much-needed EV charging funds, but also noted lawmakers will want to be careful to not craft the measure in a way that might stifle infrastructure investments being made by local governments, which are often leaders in the states clean energy transition. If local governments are unable to charge for the use of their EV charging stations, it could be more difficult for them to recover costs associated with building out of those chargers, Carson said. The main consideration is that piece where local governments are offering charging stations for free, whereas that might not be their current economic arrangements now, because they want to be able to recoup their initial investments, Carson said. Federal funding The two-year-old National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure formula program, which provides funding to states for electric vehicle charging stations and infrastructure, has pledged $78.6 million to Wisconsin if it allows charging stations to sell electricity by the kilowatt-hour. The state can also apply for another $2.5 billion in competitive funding if it meets program requirements, including that charging stations bill by the kilowatt-hour. Francisco Sayu, emerging technology director with Renew Wisconsin, said the federal funds should support the installation of 62 charging stations along Wisconsin travel corridors. Federal funds are expected to cover about 80% of the total cost. The state is also on a timeline, he noted. Wisconsin will need to implement the proposed changes in order to be eligible for federal funds by March 31, 2024. Marklein said hes hopeful the proposal will be taken up by a committee early next year. Shifting the sale of electricity for EVs to the kilowatt-hour rather than by the amount of time it takes to charge a vehicle also makes charging more equitable, Wierzba said. Cheaper electric vehicles often take longer to charge, she said. That means it can cost more to fill up than recharging a quicker-charging, more expensive vehicle under the current regulations. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers proposed in his 2023-25 biennial budget changes to allow private entities to operate EV charging stations without needing to be regulated as a utility in order to secure the federal NEVI funds. The proposal was ultimately removed by the Legislatures budget committee. Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard, D-Madison, said in an email that, with the proposed legislation, we have the opportunity to capitalize on federal funding while building infrastructure in Wisconsin that prioritizes green, renewable energy. Marklein and VanderMeer said the proposed legislation was drafted with input from several organizations and state agencies, including the state departments of revenue and transportation, Kwik Trip, Madison Gas and Electric, Tesla and the Wisconsin Counties Association. Elderly hospitalization peak 'may come around New Year's Day'; hospitals optimize resources to support respiratory wards 09:08, November 28, 2023 By GT staff reporters ( Global Times While the peak of pediatric treatment for influenza and other respiratory diseaseshas not yet passed, the number of adult patients in emergency rooms and fever clinics is on the rise. Meanwhile, medical experts predict that infections among the elderly will increase by mid-December, when the number of severe cases may increase, and there could be a peak of hospitalization around New Year's Day in 2024. The Global Times on Monday dialed the appointment hotline of multiple Beijing hospitals such as Peking Union Medical College Hospital, China-Japan Friendship Hospital and the Children's Hospital of the Capital Institute of Pediatrics (Children's Hospital) and found that many pediatric outpatient departments, departments of infectious diseases and respiratory departments are fully booked for the next seven days. Since late September, the number of children with respiratory infections has gradually increased, and the outpatient receptions at the emergency department of the Children's Hospital have continued to be at a high level, with the highest number of daily receptions being 9,378. In the past two months, the hospital's capacity has reached full capacity, according to local media. While infections are surging, medical experts expressed their confidence in dealing with the situation as there are adequate medical resources and timely response mechanisms have been optimized, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. On Thursday, Chinese authorities told the WHO that the rise in respiratory illness has not resulted in patient loads exceeding hospital capacity. The Children's Hospital, for instance, has increased infusion seats by 48.7 percent compared with usual numbers. Air purifiers and air conditioners have been installed in observation areas to improve air quality and control temperature. Also, the hospital has increased the number of beds for patients with pneumonia by 40.58 percent, local media reported on Monday. To cope with the clinic peak, the number of visiting doctors has increased by 86.36 percent. In particular, the hospital has set up refractory pneumonia clinics to ensure medical quality. For critically ill children, the hospital has opened a green channel that gives them priority so they may quickly receive a diagnostic report. Also the hospital launched an online follow-up clinic for respiratory infections, with the number of internet diagnosis and treatment increasing by 13.36 percent. In order to alleviate the contradiction between the hospital's capacity and demand, the hospital, along with the Beijing Chaoyang District Maternal and Child Healthcare Center, opened an extra ward at the respiratory department in Chaoyang, and dispatched backbone medical staff. Also, it plans to set up a respiratory tract infection clinic in the district to further spread out patients. The Global Times learned that some other hospitals also launched similar responses to deal with the surge in respiratory patients. Media has reported that there have been small outbreaks in families. Some schools across the country have been suspended after multiple students got fevers, according to media reports. Several senior physicians revealed that the flu is currently one of the major factors contributing to the mounting pressure at emergency departments. Li Tongzeng, the chief physician of the Infection Department at Beijing You'an Hospital, told the Global Times on Monday that it was seeing mostly mycoplasma pneumoniae infections until mid-October. Since mid-November, influenza has increased significantly. Also, there are still many people infected with respiratory syncytial virus and adenovirus. The flu peak may last another one or two weeks, with children and young people the most affected groups as many of them have to gather together when going to school or work, Li said. It is expected that by New Year's Day, those groups will have gained immunity from infections, Li said. However, he noted that he is worried that the elderly could be the main group for respiratory diseases during the upcoming New Year's Day holidays as family gatherings surge, thus possibly ushering in another peak for respiratory diseases. Zhang Zhenhua, director of the Infection Department at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, was quoted by a Chinese medical journal as saying that as respiratory viruses spread, the number of elderly infected people will increase by mid-December. Severe infections in this group may also increase, leading to a peak in hospitalization for the group around New Year's Day. A doctor from a community clinic in the Chaoyang district told the Global Times on Monday that that day alone she received around 100 patients, most elderly residents. "For patients with fever symptoms, we recommend they be tested for both mycoplasma pneumonia and influenza," said the doctor. If it is confirmed a patient is infected with the above-mentioned diseases, doctors will keep a record of the patient's personal information, family address and phone number. This information will be reported to local health authorities, said the doctor. Medical experts suggest that in addition to the elderly and other vulnerable groups, their family members, medical staff as well as nursing home staff should also get flu vaccinations, which can help protect these vulnerable groups. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Wu Chaolan) Dog meat traders up in arms over gov't plan to end dog meat consumption We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form 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. FILE - Kenya's president William Ruto arrives to be sworn in to office at a ceremony held at Kasarani stadium in Nairobi, Kenya Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022. The International Criminal Court prosecutor's office announced Monday, Nov. 27, 2023, it is halting its long-running investigation into deadly violence that broke out in Kenya after the African nation's 2007. IFM Investors, a global institutional investment manager owned by Australian superannuation funds, will today sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of the United Kingdom, announcing its intention to invest 10 billion in the UK by 2027. Supported by its major shareholders, the MoU is between IFM and the Department for Business and Trade of the Government of the UK. The objectives of the MoU are to drive IFMs investment in the UK across large-scale infrastructure and energy transition projects by working with the government to identify commercially viable opportunities for investment. It reflects the appetite of IFM and Australian super funds to invest in the UK market. The Australian pension system is currently approximately 1.8 trillion and expected to grow to approximately 4.7 trillion by 2040. Increasingly more capital will need to be deployed in aligned economies such as the United Kingdom. The MoU intends to facilitate collaboration between IFM and UK Government departments to provide greater understanding of policy priorities and the ongoing development of the infrastructure and energy transition sectors. IFM Investors opened an office in London in 2006 and is continuing to grow its presence in the UK, including through infrastructure equity and debt, such as IFMs infrastructure portfolios investments in major UK toll roads, utilities and airports, and IFMs extensive portfolio of loans to UK-based infrastructure and energy transition businesses and projects. A key example of how the MoU may support further UK investment is Nala Renewables, a portfolio company of one of IFMs funds and a renewable energy business headquartered in the UK, which is actively seeking investment opportunities in the UK as it looks to achieve a renewable capacity target of 4GW by 2025. The MoU is an increase on IFMs commitment in 2022 to invest 3 billion in its UK-based infrastructure portfolio assets, which IFM is on track to meet. The MoU will be signed at the Global Investment Summit 2023 in London between IFM Investors and the Minister for Investment Lord Johnson at Hampton Court Palace. Quotes attributable to UK Business & Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch: This 10bn commitment from IFM Investors is a very important investment for the UK's innovative energy and infrastructure sectors. The increasing flows of new capital into our country, combined with the forthcoming Global Investment Summit, show how the UK is fast becoming the most exciting and innovative place in the world to invest. Quotes attributable to IFM Investors Chief Executive David Neal: Australias super funds system can be a trusted long-term partner with the United Kingdom. Were proud to sign this Memorandum of Understanding with the UK Government, which is a signal of the confidence IFM and Australian super funds have in the UK as a place to invest. Our presence in the UK continues to grow and we look forward to working closely with the Government to drive investment into large-scale infrastructure and energy transition projects across equity and debt funding. Partnerships between governments and long-term investors are necessary to unlock the potential of pension funds to invest to help mitigate system-level risks such as climate change. Quote attributable to IFM Investors Head of Infrastructure Europe Deepa Bharadwaj: The UK is taking steps to help facilitate long-term investment in infrastructure and we currently see significant deployment opportunities, particularly as part of the UK energy transition in areas such as offshore wind, solar, battery storage, renewable fuels, and pumped hydro. Quote attributable to IFM Investors Head of Infrastructure Debt Europe David Cooper: We believe the UK market continues to supply attractive infrastructure debt opportunities and we look forward to working with the government to identify future projects in the years ahead. For more information about offshore wind farm projects across the globe, click here . Artificial intelligence (AI) writing programs are growing in popularity as a tool to communicate your thoughts clearly. AI creates an interactive experience similar to familiar online search engines like Google and Bing and smart speaker voice recognition systems Alexa and Google Home. But AI is taking the user experience to the next level, adding a layer of connectivity and processing accessible data more intuitively to put the words youre looking for right into your mouth. AARP Membership Join AARP for $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP The Magazine. Join Now With thousands of AI tools entering the market, it is easy to organize, create and learn virtually anything you can imagine with ease and speed. These tools will soon be found in kiosks, robotics, automation and virtual reality to help you craft your thoughts and get what you need more easily. You can try it now. When you sit down to write your holiday cards, consider enlisting the help of (AI) tools like ChatGPT (Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer), Jasper or Copy.ai, among others. You can subscribe here to AARP Experience Counts, a free e-newsletter published twice a month. If you have feedback or a story idea then please contact us here. You may scoff at the thought of using a heartless tool to express personal greetings, but I am betting it wouldnt be the first time you borrowed a sentiment. Ever buy a Hallmark card or quote an artist or philosopher? If so, then you have used someone elses ideas. No big deal. This time, the source information is just a little more synthetic. Consider Edmond Rostands famous play Cyrano de Bergerac, the tale of an unattractive man in love with a beautiful woman but too afraid to tell her so. Instead, he helps the object of the womans affection say the words the man cannot think for himself, hoping she falls in love with his superior intellect over the other guys good looks. It is the ultimate tale of putting words into another persons mouth. Written in 1897, the Cyrano story has inspired many great movies, including Roxanne, with Steve Martin, Darryl Hannah and Rick Rossovich. Other versions include The Truth About Cats & Dogs and Green Book, where a renowned black concert pianist helps his mob-connected bodyguard write love letters to his wife while touring through the Jim Crow South. The story is so ubiquitous that even an AI program called Cyrano.AI touts itself as providing real-time artificial empathy for customer interactions. AI writing tools excel at crafting compelling narratives and captivating prose, but they can only develop with the help of humans who can give the prose creativity and connection. AI best helps you tailor your messaging with your style, tone, audience and theme to reflect your personality, mood, charisma and charm. I tried out ChatGPT to see if it could work this holiday season. I entered the prompt, Help me write a thoughtful, loving holiday greeting to my dad. ChatGPT generated this message: The Armed Forces Retirement Home is a well-kept secret, even among veterans. More than 200 former enlisted men and women reside on the sprawling, off-the-beaten-path, gated campus in Washington, D.C. The former soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen who live here served in conflicts dating to World War II. A majority are Vietnam veterans, while other residents wore the uniform in Korea, Grenada, Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan. Although combat duty isnt required, 20 years of service is the top criterion. AARP Membership Join AARP for $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP The Magazine. Join Now Affordability and amenities are big draws. The grounds boast a nine-hole golf course, a softball diamond, fishing ponds, a bowling alley, a pool, a gym, pickleball courts, a library and two chapels. Seven centenarians in residence This is, first of all, a beautiful place. I wouldnt want to be any other place on this earth than right here, says Emmy Lu Daly, 100, one of seven centenarians in residence. To me, its a sanctuary. Emmy Lu Daly, 100, participates in a meditation class at the Armed Forces Retirement Home. Michael A. McCoy for AARP Nearly 9 in 10 residents are men. Women who served before June 12, 1948, when women won a permanent place in the military, need not to have put in 20 years. Daly, a yeoman, served in the Navy as a member of the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) at a supply depot in Utah during WWII. Her responsibilities included driving a jitney and collecting parts needed to build and repair ships. The residents, on average, are 83 years old. James A. Diamond, at 92, is almost a decade older. Hes a Soldier for Life, as his ball cap says. President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed Tuesday to work together with the United States and Japan to strengthen deterrence against North Korea's nuclear threat and improve the human rights situation in the country. Yoon made the remarks during a meeting of the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council, a presidential body that helps establish and implement bipartisan policies on democratic and peaceful unification. "North Korea tries to neutralize our people's will for security and break up our coordination with allies by threatening to use nuclear force. But that is absurd," Yoon said in front of more than 10,000 members of the council at the KINTEX exhibition center in Goyang, just northwest of Seoul, arguing the North's nuclear and missile programs are a means to unite the forces that protect the regime. "The history of mankind proves that peace dependent on the other side's goodwill is nothing but a dream and an illusion," he continued. "True peace is built on overwhelming and strong power, and a firm will to use that power at any time to protect oneself." Yoon outlined his administration's efforts to build stronger deterrence against North Korea, such as by accelerating the completion of the so-called three-axis system and including South Korea and the United States' commitment to immediately punish any nuclear provocation by the North in the Washington Declaration he and U.S. President Joe Biden adopted in April. "Moreover, the missile warning data sharing system established among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan, and the joint military exercises the three countries will systematically enforce will strengthen our deterrence against North Korea a step further," he said. Yoon also called attention to the human rights abuses in North Korea, noting his administration was the first to publicly publish a North Korean human rights report earlier this year. "South Korea, the U.S. and Japan will strengthen cooperation to enhance North Korea's human rights situation," he said, citing the Washington Declaration and a joint statement produced after the three countries' trilateral summit at Camp David in August. "Without an improvement in North Korea's human rights situation, the path to a democratic and peaceful reunification is far off," he added. "The democratic and peaceful reunification we aim for is a reunification that allows everyone in both South and North Korea to enjoy freedom and prosper." Yoon said South Korea will use its 2024-2025 term as a non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council to strengthen cooperation with the international community on North Korea's human rights situation. The Peaceful Unification Advisory Council, which is chaired by the president, has 21,000 members at home and abroad. (Yonhap) Vox $3M Deferred Payment Received in Shares Perth, Nov 28, 2023 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Horizon Minerals Limited ( ASX:HRZ ) is pleased to advise further information on the deferred payment of AUD$3 million in cash or shares from Vox Royalty Corp. ("Vox"). As previously mentioned in an announcement dated 27 October 2023, Vox has advised of their option and intention to issue shares instead of cash for the deferred payment. The Company received notice from Vox that an amount of 948,448 Vox common shares have been issued on 24 November 2023 in the name of Horizon Minerals Limited. The calculation to issue AUD$3 million of Vox (TSX: VOXR) common shares is based on the following: - The trigger date of 13 November 2023 was used as the basis for exchange rate and the 30- day VWAP - CAD: AUD exchange rate of 0.8782 equates to CAD$2,634,600 - 30-day VWAP of Vox shares is CAD$2.7778 per/share - Shares issued = CAD$2,634,600/$2.7778 = 948,448 common shares Further that the shares now issued are subject to a four-month escrow period. Horizon has strengthened its balance sheet over the past six months and now has a cash and investments position of $16.1 million. About Horizon Minerals Limited Horizon Minerals Limited (ASX:HRZ) is a gold exploration and mining company focussed on the Kalgoorlie and Menzies areas of Western Australia which are host to some of Australia's richest gold deposits. The Company is developing a mining pipeline of projects to generate cash and self-fund aggressive exploration, mine developments and further acquisitions. The Teal gold mine has been recently completed. Horizon is aiming to significantly grow its JORC-Compliant Mineral Resources, complete definitive feasibility studies on core high grade open cut and underground projects and build a sustainable development pipeline. Horizon has a number of joint ventures in place across multiple commodities and regions of Australia providing exposure to Vanadium, Copper, PGE's, Gold and Nickel/Cobalt. Our quality joint venture partners are earning in to our project areas by spending over $20 million over 5 years enabling focus on the gold business while maintaining upside leverage. Related Companies Outstanding Progress made on Concentrator Engineering Study Melbourne, Nov 28, 2023 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Lithium Universe Limited ( ASX:LU7 ) is pleased to report the outstanding progress made in the Engineering Study by Primero Group Limited (Primero) on the Company's Quebec Lithium Processing Hub (QLPH) stand-alone multi-purpose concentrator. The Concentrator is rated at a 1 Mtpa processing rate with an assumed feed grade of 1.1% Li2O. The output is expected to be around 140,000 tpa of spodumene concentrate at a grade of around 5.5% Li2O to maximise recoveries. The finalized design flow sheet outlines a four-stage crushing process to generate crushed ore ranging from 0.85mm to 6mm in size. Any crusher fines smaller than 0.85mm identified by the screens will undergo processing in a dedicated flotation unit. The spodumene recovered from this process will filtered and blended with the final spodumene concentrate. Additionally, any mica present in the crushed ore will undergo removal using a reflux classifier. Subsequently, the material will be split into two streams: one less than 3mm and the other greater than 3mm. Both streams will be directed through two-stage dense media separation units. The less than 3mm stream will undergo mica removal via a reflux classifier at the initial stage. The recovered spodumene from both streams will be combined through blending and stored in a dedicated storage shed. To ensure functionality in the Quebec climate, the entire plant will be winterized. See Figure 1 for final flow sheet. The design closely resembles that of the Mt Cattlin plant, except for the inclusion of the flotation unit. This addition aims to create a more resilient plant capable of processing various types of ore from the James Bay, Quebec region, enhancing its capacity to handle a broader range of ore types and ensuring robustness in operations. So far, the Primero Study team has provided a Block Flow Diagram (BFD) and Process Flow Diagrams (PFD). They've also delivered a Mass Balance along with Process Design Criteria (PDC), which showcase mass flows, splits, and anticipated tonnages concerning significant equipment. The team has initiated work on the Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams (P&IDs) to present a more intricate layout of equipment, process streams, instrumentation, and control logic. Leveraging the information derived from the Mass Balance and PDC, Primero has begun generating datasheets. These datasheets will serve to gather pricing details from vendors, facilitating the procurement process. Mr Iggy Tan, the Chairman of LU7 said "The engineering study's progress for the QLPH stand-alone concentrator by Primero has been exceptional, setting the stage for the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS). Considering our listing in early August this year, the pace and quality of work demonstrated by Primero, guided by the Company's Lithium Dream Team, has been truly remarkable. Most companies conducting a study of this calibre typically take at least six to nine months to reach this point. Looking ahead, finalizing equipment specifications and data sheets represents the next step, enabling us to approach suppliers for concrete pricing. The ongoing progress and achievements continue to impress us". *To view tables and figures, please visit: https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/1HHPW6J0 About Lithium Universe Ltd Lithium Universe Ltd (ASX:LU7), headed by industry trail blazer, Iggy Tan, and the Lithium Galaxy team has a proven track record of fast-tracking lithium projects, demonstrated by the successful development of the Mt Cattlin spodumene project for Galaxy Resources Limited. Instead of exploring for the sake of exploration, Lithium Universe's mission is to quickly obtain a resource and construct a spodumene-producing mine in Quebec, Canada. Unlike many other Lithium exploration companies, Lithium Universe possesses the essential expertise and skills to develop and construct profitable projects. Related Companies ISX Financial Announces the Launch of PaidBy(R) in the United Kingdom Nicosia, Nov 28, 2023 AEST (ABN Newswire) - ISX Financial UK Ltd, a leading electronic money institution renowned for providing multi-currency corporate accounts and diverse online payment solutions, is proud to announce the official launch of its innovative product, PaidBy(R), in the United Kingdom. PaidBy(R) represents a significant leap in online payment processing, seamlessly linking businesses to the UK's expansive banking network, whilst being cost competitive with online card payment processing. This account-to-account solution empowers online customers to make instant payments directly from their bank accounts, enhancing the efficiency and security of digital transactions. "Our mission at ISX Financial is to revolutionise the way businesses manage their financial transactions," said Nikogiannis Karantzis, CEO of ISX Financial. "With the launch of PaidBy(R) in the United Kingdom, we are taking a significant step forward in providing our clients with a tool that not only simplifies but also secures online transactions, whilst improving cashflow and aligning with the consumer's expectations in today's digital economy." The launch of PaidBy(R) is set to transform the e-commerce landscape in the UK. By enabling direct bank payments, customers can enjoy a more streamlined and secure checkout experience. Businesses on the other hand, benefit from the immediate confirmation of payments, same day FPS settlement 24Hrs/365 days per year, reduced transaction costs and minimised fraud risks. PaidBy(R) is designed to integrate effortlessly with existing online platforms, ensuring a seamless adoption process for businesses of all sizes. With its user-friendly interface and robust infrastructure, PaidBy(R) stands out as a reliable and innovative solution in the fintech sector. For more information on PaidBy(R), please visit www.paidbybank.com. About ISX Financial ISX Financial EU PLC is a 'banktech' company that leverages its own technology to provide financial services to merchants across the EEA & UK. The company's combined payments stack and infrastructure provides a complete end-to-end transactional banking, FX, remittance and payment processing capability. ISXMoney's multi-Currency IBAN accounts coupled with PaidBy Bank instant open banking provide merchants with a tailored payment solution to reach any UK or EEA bank account holders. ISX Financial's consumer product "flykk" is a digital wallet that combines all its financial technology and infrastructure to create a retail product. flykk(R) is a two-sided network developed on ISX's own platform that links both merchants and consumers around the globe to facilitate the processing of payment transactions. flykk(R) allows customers to use their account for both purchase and paying for goods, as well as to transfer and withdraw funds, with the benefits of a Diners card for point of sale transactions. ISX Financial's subsidiary Probanx(R) also develops payment infrastructure for third parties, and provides connectivity to central banks, banks around the world and major card schemes. Related Companies INSTARimages.com/startraksphoto.com Celebrity The former 'The Hughleys' star calls out the rapper's son for trashing his parents' memory and accomplishment for clout, insisting that the teen is only famous because his father is. Nov 28, 2023 AceShowbiz - D.L. Hughley has given his two cents on T.I.'s latest family drama. Claiming to have known the Harris family "for a long time," the comedian has nothing but praises for the couple and solely blames King Harris for his "insulting behavior." On Monday, November 27, D.L. was asked his opinion on the matter when met by TMZ at LAX. "I've known T.I. and Tiny for a long time, and I watched how hard they worked, and I watched how they value their family," he began, noting that he saw the video of the altercation. "And to have somebody that you worked so far and sacrificed for to s**t all over your memory and your accomplishment for clicks, it's insulting." "When we grew up, we were poor," the 60-year-old admitted, before adding, "But you don't want your children to grow up in the same [circumstances]. No parent would want their children to have as hard as they did." "He's insulting the effort they put into raising him...just for clicks, for what," D.L. continued to weigh in, before claiming, "You're famous 'cuz your daddy famous. You grew up in a reality show, the only roaches he knew were paid actors." When asked how he raised his children, D.L. said that his kids "won't talk like that." Although he admitted there were moments when he thought that his children didn't sufficiently appreciate what he has done for them, the father of three believes that his kids, who are much older than King, realize how "silly" what King was doing. Also weighing in on King's recent fight with his parents was Charleston White. The controversial YouTube star, who previously had an online back-and-forth with the teen and his father, blamed the rapper for not disciplining his kid. "If T.I. would've kicked that boy a**, he wouldn't have had to jack him up today," he opined in a video posted on social media. King got involved in a heated argument that turned physical with his parents at the Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints game on Sunday. At first, things seemed to be all fun as the teen filmed it on livestream before he was roasted for going to his grandma's house. "They try to say I was there trying to suck a paci but they ain't going to tell you everything like that. They trying to hide it. He cappin', he cappin'. You want to hide it for the world? I'mma put it out there for them to see. Hey man I ain't s**t!" King said after his mother joined in the roast. As things got heated, King appeared to confront his mother Tiny Harris a.k.a. Tameka Cottle, who claimed that it was a joke. "I know you though! You know me. What's wrong with y'all. Why y'all doing that to me? You know I stay on business. Don't give a f**k who you are. Why did you let somebody play me like that? Why did you let him play me like that? Ain't no jokin! What you mean?" the teen screamed. T.I. then stepped in to stop his son. "You are embarrassing yourself and your family! You are embarrassing yourself!" the actor/rapper told King. The camera started shaking as it seemed that Tip got his kid in a headlock. King shouted, "Get off me n***a," to which his father replied, "You can't do nothing with me! There ain't s**t you can do with me!" Following the altercation, King shared a series of cryptic messages on his Stories. "I stand on BUSINESS. DON'T GIVE A F**K WHO U ARE," he wrote. He added, "IDGAF u are MF can't play wit me n my face not goin for da Im a grown a** man now [sic]." King has also dedicated a song to his grandma following the fight. "As long as you stay by my side @diannecottlepope love you," he captioned a post featuring a throwback picture of him as a baby with his grandmother along with the new track titled "Grandma Boy". You can share this post! Media Punch/INSTARim/John Palmer Celebrity If a new report is to be believed, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are planning to make a return to Los Angeles to make it easier for their career in Hollywood. Nov 28, 2023 AceShowbiz - Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are eyeing to get close to the glitz and glamor of Hollywood. According to a new report, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are planning to return to Los Angeles. Sources told TMZ that the couple is interested in different L.A. neighborhoods other than Malibu. They haven't done house hunting, but one thing for sure is that Harry and Meghan put a lot of attention to privacy and community when it comes to their new house. They previously toured a $8 million estate off Pacific Coast Highway in September. However, the royal couple seemingly passed on it after the news attracted paparazzi and news coverage. Harry and Meghan, who share 2 children together, are currently living in Montecito. With them moving to Los Angeles, it will make it easier for them to attend Hollywood events in the future. Prior to living in Montecito, the British prince and the "Suits" alum resided in the Los Angeles area briefly after they stepped down as senior working royal family members in 2020. The two secretly lived in Tyler Perry's mansion in Beverly Ridge Estates for several weeks at the time. On their Netflix docuseries "Harry & Meghan, the couple gushed over Tyler's place. Recalling that time, Harry said that it was "bliss because no one knew we were there ... We were there for six weeks, and no one knew. My family still thought I was in Canada." After word got out that the Sussexes lived there, the actor and TV/movie producer was forced to secure the property with a fence to stop paparazzi from snapping photos. Still, drones and helicopters were flying over the home with one person sneaking onto the mansion and cutting holes in the fence. You can share this post! Instagram Celebrity The 'Sex and the City' actress is among the people who are on a hunger strike to demand President Joe Biden use his power to permanently end war in Gaza. Nov 29, 2023 AceShowbiz - "Sex and the City" star Cynthia Nixon has started a hunger strike as she calls on President Joe Biden to ask for an Israel-Hamas ceasefire. The 57-year-old actress and activist - who previously ran for New York Governor - feels "sick and tired" of people dismissing civilian casualties as a "routine toll of war" and has pleaded with the world leader to use his power to put an end to the brutality for good. Two of Cynthia's three children are Jewish, and she has been inspired by her son to use her voice to "affirm as loudly as possible" for a permanent ceasefire. She said, "I have been asked by my son to use any voice I have to affirm as loudly as possible that never again means never again for everyone. In seven weeks, Israel has killed more civilians on a tiny strip of land than was killed in 20 years of war in the entire country of Afghanistan." "I am sick and tired of people explaining away by saying that civilian casualties are a routine toll of war. There is nothing routine about these figures. There is nothing routine about these deaths. I would like to make a personal plea to a president who has, himself, experienced such devastating personal loss, to connect with that empathy for which he is so well known and to look at the children of Gaza and imagine that they were his children." Cynthia joined politicians from five US states outside The White House in Washington D.C. to protest with a hunger strike to mark what would have been the end of a four-day truce, which will now continue for two more days. One of the placards she held up read, "Biden, you are starving Gaza. Permanent ceasefire now!" At the time of writing, Israel has released 117 of 150 Palestinian prisoners while Hamas has released 51 Israeli hostages as the conflict is paused. You can share this post! A disability rights advocacy group said Tuesday it will file a complaint with the state human rights watchdog against police for arresting the group's leader without informing him of his Miranda rights. The Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination (SADD) claimed the police used violence and failed to announce the Miranda warning while arresting its leader, Park Kyoung-seok, during a subway protest last week. Park, 63, was apprehended on the platform of Seoul's Hyehwa Station at 8:50 p.m. on Friday on charges of obstruction of business and violation of the Railroad Safety Act. He was released two days later, after prosecutors turned down an arrest warrant for him. The disability rights advocacy group said it will lodge the complaint with the National Human Rights Commission. Police say they have informed Park of his Miranda rights. (Yonhap) Bira 91s parent company, B9 Beverages Ltd, announced the appointment of Manoj Kohli, Former MD of Bharti Airtel and former Country Head at SoftBank India, and Bharat Anand, Partner, Khaitan & Co. as Independent Directors on its Board. With this appointment, Bira 91 expects to leverage the significant global business experience of the new appointees as it expands its business in India and overseas, as well as strengthen its corporate governance. In a career that spans over four decades, Manoj Kohli has played a pivotal role as the former MD and CEO of Bharti Airtel. He has led the transformation of Bharti Airtels business into the number 3 telco in the world, from 2 million customers to over 400 million customers, and played a key role in driving Airtels global expansion. He was also the Country Head for Softbank India, and in this capacity helped guide leading startups such as Ola, Paytm, Lenskart, Snapdeal, and WeWork. Manoj currently serves on the Board of prominent companies including WeWork India and Triveni Engineering, and is a senior advisor for Deloitte India, and Masters Union. Bharat Anand is amongst Indias leading corporate lawyers and serves as the Partner and Office Head, New Delhi at Khaitan & Co., Indias oldest full-service law firm. Renowned for his expertise in mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and private equity transactions within the Indian business landscape, Bharat is ranked by both Chambers Asia Pacific and UK as a Band 1 Lawyer for M&A work in Delhi and is recognised as a Global Leader by Whos Who Legal for M&A and Governance issues. Additionally, he holds notable leadership roles in industry associations, presently serving as a member on the national executive committee of FICCI and as a member of CIIs Committee on Transparency and Governance. In these roles, Anand actively contributes to fostering a transparent and resilient business environment in India. Speaking on the newly appointed independent directors, Ankur Jain, Founder and CEO, Bira 91 said, I am truly excited to bring on-board Manoj and Bharat as independent directors at Bira 91. We are at an important inflection point as a business, and as we continue on our journey of high growth, we would want to ensure that we develop a business that has long-term sustainability, improved risk management and increased quality of corporate governance. With Manojs and Bharats experience, I am sure we will be able to strengthen Bira 91 considerably on these aspects." Commenting on his appointment, Manoj Kohli, said, Over the next decade, my mission is to support entrepreneurs in building successful businesses that can scale not only in India, but also create a strong presence globally. Bira 91 is amongst the fastest growing beer brands in the world and is at an exciting phase of its business journey. I am excited to partner with their team and help take the business to newer heights." Speaking on his appointment, Bharat Anand, said, "Bira 91 has done a great job of disrupting a really promising, high growth category. As B9 evolves into a large business, I hope to help support its transition into a well-run corporate and facilitate sustained growth Bira 91s parent company, B9 Beverages Ltd, was established in 2015 and is now the countrys fourth largest beer company. It has six manufacturing units spread across the country, and a portfolio of flavorful beers and sells its products across 1000+ cities in 24 countries. In 2023, B9 Beverages entered the Beyond Beer category and launched Hill Station Ciders its portfolio of alcoholic ciders and Grizly Seltzers its line of hard seltzers inspired by cocktails. Bira 91 operates four taprooms in Bangalore and Delhi-NCR, where it releases one new beer every week. It has also recently acquired The Beer Cafe, Indias leading pub chain, to strengthen its play in pubs and taprooms. B9 Beverages is backed by leading investors from across the world including Japan's leading beer company, Kirin Holdings, Japans largest bank, MUFG Bank, Sofina of Belgium, and Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia India). Authored by Gaurav Kaushik, CEO, Technians. In an era characterized by the relentless advance of technology, AI has emerged as a potent force reshaping the very fabric of the marketing sector. This transformation transcends the traditional dichotomy of humans versus machines, ushering in an era of partnership and collaboration. Not long ago, the marketing landscape was a different terrain. The potential of AI was largely untapped, lurking in the realm of science fiction. Fast forward to today, and AI has become an indispensable part of the marketing arsenal. It's transformed the way we work, from predictive analytics guiding decisions to chatbots offering instant customer support. Looking ahead, AIs role in marketing is set to expand even further. The journey has only just begun, and the future promises to be even more exciting, challenging, and rewarding for marketers willing to embrace the AI-powered winds of change. AIs Impact on Job Roles in Marketing: Navigating the Winds of Change The ascent of AI has necessitated a fundamental redesign of job roles in the marketing sector. Its no longer a matter of human versus machine, but rather a partnership between them. The shift is evident in the way marketers now work alongside AI, relying on it for various tasks. Automation of routine, time-consuming jobs, such as data analysis, has liberated marketing professionals to focus on the more strategic and creative aspects of their work. This transition has, in turn, led to a significant improvement in campaign efficiency and effectiveness. However, this transformation is not without its challenges. For marketing professionals, there is the need to adapt to working alongside AI tools. The evolution of roles, particularly those dealing with data analysis and content creation, requires a deeper understanding of AI and the ability to collaborate effectively with these intelligent systems. The prospect of job displacement in some areas is another concern, as certain routine marketing tasks become automated. As AI continues to permeate the marketing sector, adaptability becomes the linchpin for professionals in the field. Job roles, as we know them today, will continue to evolve, making it imperative for marketers to become more tech-savvy and AI-literate. This adaptation involves reskilling, upskilling, and fostering a mindset of continuous learning. No doubt, the future belongs to those who embrace the winds of change with open arms, making AI an ally in the marketing revolution. Transforming Workplaces and Supercharging Campaigns The integration of AI into marketing workplaces is already well underway. Companies like Starbucks utilise AI-powered chatbots, revolutionising customer service while gathering valuable data for future marketing endeavours. E-commerce giant Amazon leverages AI to recommend products based on customer behaviour, creating a personalised shopping experience that drives sales and cultivates customer loyalty. AI-powered tools like ChatGPT are at the forefront of content creation, aiding marketers in producing high-quality content with ease. Furthermore, platforms such as Google Ads harness AI for ad campaign optimisation, ensuring that ad placements and budgets are fine-tuned in real-time, ultimately improving campaign efficiency and maximising ROI. Thats not it. AIs predictive capabilities are equally impactful. Netflix, a prime example, employs AI to predict user preferences, leading to a highly personalised content recommendation system. Additionally, AI facilitates A/B testing and campaign optimisation, continuously improving campaign performance with each iteration. AIs influence is not limited to digital realms; it enhances immersive experiences in virtual reality and augmented reality campaigns, and is employed in dynamic pricing strategies on e-commerce platforms, adapting prices based on demand and user behaviour. The benefits derived from these AI-driven features are multifold, ranging from heightened customer engagement and increased revenue to the optimisation of resource allocation and data-driven decision-making. In today's real-time marketing landscape, the transformative potential of AI is evident. Embracing AI is not just an option but an imperative for those seeking to thrive and remain competitive in the digital era. Transforming the Marketing and Advertising Sector In summary, AI, including models like ChatGPT, is poised to transform the marketing and advertising sector. Its streamlining processes, improving efficiency, and delivering more personalised experiences to customers. As AI continues to evolve, its essential for marketing professionals to adapt, learn, and collaborate with these intelligent systems to stay competitive in the ever-evolving industry. The marketing landscape is becoming more data-driven, with AI-driven insights shaping strategies and customer interactions. While AI offers tremendous benefits, its crucial to address its potential drawbacks, such as data privacy concerns and the need for upskilling the workforce. Ultimately, the future of marketing and advertising is intricately tied to AI, and those who harness its power effectively will be at the forefront of a rapidly evolving and highly competitive industry. As we move forward, the ability to strike a balance between human creativity and AI-powered data analysis will be the key to success in the marketing and advertising sector. Over the past 10 years, tiger conservationists have been making strides in increasing wild tiger populations. However, these animals may come into conflict with the communities living in their territories, presenting dangers to humans and tigers alike. In the next episode of Mission Tiger, Senior International Correspondent Will Ripley reports on conservation efforts in India and Nepal and, traverses the jungles of Thailand, hearing the stories of the people conserving tiger habitats and preventing human-wildlife conflict. CNN travels to Madhya Pradesh, known as Indias tiger state. Here, a 2,000 square mile corridor of forest that joins Kanha Tiger Reserve with Pench Tiger Reserve is essential for the tiger population. However, the corridor is also home to around 600,000 people, placing them and their livelihoods at risk of tiger attacks. Piyush Yadav, a Conservation Technology Fellow at Resolve introduces the Trailguard AI-based camera system which captures images, identifies the subject and sends these images to forest rangers. Forest rangers then use this information to warn villages of tigers in their area, creating an early alert system to protect not just humans, but the tigers as well. CNN then goes to Nepal, where humans and tigers co-exist in the Khata Corridor, an area of around 80 square miles joining Bardia National Park in Nepal with Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary in India. The coexistence between tigers and humans in the corridor is complex. Increasing wild tiger populations and humans encroaching on their habitats has led to more tiger attacks, yet homestay owners highlight how the growing tiger population attracts tourists and drives the local economy. Umesh Paudel, a wildlife researcher for Nepals National Trust for Nature Conservation, emphasises the importance of investing in community development in order to manage this human-wildlife conflict. CNN also visits Thailand to explore the Western Forest Complex 7,000 square miles of protected woodland that is home to much of Thailands wild tiger population. Ripley starts his journey at Khao Kho Wildlife Breeding Center and learns how the facility breeds vulnerable species like Sambar deer. These deer are released into the wild to recover their population in the ecosystem, filling a gap in the food chain, and hopefully lead to a boost in the tiger population as their natural prey. Ripley then joins WWF Thailand as they track a tiger in the Mae Wong National Park. COFE, the regions most loved online coffee marketplace, recently obtained a win in Most Innovative Companies 2023 in E-commerce at the Fast Company Annual Ranking Event. The e-commerce category showcased brands that are making shopping easier for consumers, making COFE the all-in-one solution for coffee lovers around the region. This year, the newly introduced E-commerce category has taken center stage, recognizing and applauding firms who have altered the retail industry. The award category, which was created with the goal of optimizing the purchasing experience for customers, acknowledges the creative advancements achieved by organizations in the field of E-commerce. As the digital marketplace evolves, this award emphasizes the necessity of improving ease and accessibility for today's buyers. Commenting on the award, Founder & CEO of COFE, Ali Al Ebrahim said: This award is a great testimonial to the whole team's tireless work. COFE Market is more than simply a retail outlet; it's a dynamic platform that's realigning the wheel to fit with technology-driven lifestyles, offering a selected range of premium beans, cutting-edge equipment, and accessories that enrich the coffee brewing experience for modern aficionados. This award validates our dedication to innovation and user-centric design, cementing COFE Market's position as a trailblazer at the crossroads of e-commerce and coffee homebrewing. The platforms e-commerce segment, COFE Market, was launched in mid-2022 and has quickly established itself as the go-to destination for home-brewing enthusiasts. COFE Market distinguishes itself by offering a broad selection of high-quality coffee beans, cutting-edge brewing devices, and a diverse selection of related accessories. More than simply a home-brewing shopping outlet, COFE Market is continuously amping efforts to be a dynamic force aiming to empower brewers. COFE Market is poised to maintain its devoted commitment to the thriving e-commerce sector. Just recently, COFE signed a trilateral partnership with DeLonghi and JAZEAN, a Saudi Coffee Company brand. The partnership was set to create a new home-brewing niche with premium Italian coffee machines and the finest Saudi coffee beans. In 2022, COFE reached a collaboration with the Saudi Coffee Company to become their premium online marketplace, making significant strides to drive the Kingdom's coffee sector toward digitization. The Most Innovative Companies Middle East list, established in 2022, acknowledges pioneering enterprises and organizations impacting the region's environment in numerous industries such as climate tech, advertising, healthcare, and education. This platform recognizes and highlights the significant contributions these organizations make to driving positive change in the Middle East. With the Most Innovative Companies list, our aim is to recognize brands that are pushing boundaries and creating value for consumers, businesses, and the economy as a whole. This years nominations and honorees reflect that goal. Apart from the exponential jump in the number of entries, we are enthused by the quality of the submissions too, says Ravi Raman, publisher of Fast Company Middle East. Inclusion on the list acts as a motivator for employees, potential employees, and investors alike. Receiving recognition as a Most Innovative Company indicates to the industry that the company has a strong connection with customers. Several companies competed in over 20 categories, while a dedicated team of judges analyzed and sorted through submissions to make the final selection. This year's annual awards event saw a notable shift with an increase in the number of victories for emerging startups, highlighting the dynamic panorama of innovative ventures that have won this year's celebration of excellence. The focus is now on the dynamic landscape of new startups and larger organizations that have won this yearly celebration of achievement. Furthermore, COFE has taken numerous measures in order to strengthen its e-commerce operations. Starting with the acquisition of Kaffeen, a well-known coffee pickup, followed by the launch of its maiden coffee line created from Saudi Khawlani beans, that was sold out in under 48 hours of its launch. COFE app users have shown continued support on the e-commerce and entire coffee sector. coto, an exclusive social community platform for women and Pee Safe, India's leading personal hygiene and wellness brand entered a strategic partnership as a step towards normalising discussions and conversations among women about personal care and sexual wellness. This collaboration aims to urge women to have bold conversations on taboo topics pertaining to personal hygiene and wellness without worrying about the likelihood of being judged. In todays day and age, women still feel embarrassed to talk about topics such as menstruation, sexual health amongst other matters of personal hygiene. Moreover, they have diverse healthcare needs and questions for which they are seeking answers. coto and Pee Safe together aspires to drive the importance of women to not Shush themselves but have open conversations and receive the required knowledge. To support this endevour, the community "Pee Room Conversations" by Pee Safe, a dedicated space for women to share experiences, seek advice, and find support is introduced on coto. Speaking about the partnership, Tarun Katial, Founder & CEO, coto, said, "At coto, we're committed to purpose-driven collaborations, and our association with Pee Safe will act as a catalyst for breaking barriers and fostering open discussions on womens personal care and sexual wellness. Womens health and hygiene has always been a pressing issue that has been brought to the forefront in recent times, however we still have a long way to go. Our collective efforts will strive to make a difference in this regard through authentic, relevant and knowledge driven conversations. Vikas Bagaria, Founder and CEO at Pee Safe, said, "Teaming up with coto, our aim is to encourage and reshape conversations around women's wellness positively. By challenging societal norms, we envision coto as the perfect space that not only encourages discussions but also instills confidence, fostering empowerment and self-care in women. Through the "Pee Room Conversations" community on coto, the platform seeks to offer a responsible and safe virtual environment to women to share knowledge and further build connections. The Indian government has reportedly warned social media giants like Facebook and YouTube to consistently inform users about local laws prohibiting the dissemination of deepfakes, obscene content, and misinformation. IT minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar emphasized the need for companies to update usage terms in line with 2022 regulations. The government's "non-negotiable" demand includes urging platforms to remind users regularly, either upon login or through notifications, about the prohibition of such content. The move reflects the growing global concern over deepfakes, with India actively working on regulations to address the issue. All platforms are said to have agreed to align their content guidelines with government rules. Thoothukudi Anthem, released in Thoothukudi (formerly called Tuticorin), also known as Pearl City, commemorating the 37th anniversary of Thoothukudi Foundation Day on 20th Oct 2023. The anthem is a wonderful initiative to honour the rich cultural heritage and history of Thoothukudi. The involvement of Vedanta Ltd. - Sterlite Copper in bringing the anthem to Thoothukudi and collaborating with Big Boss fame and choreographer Amir adds a significant touch to the celebration. The combination of music by composer Ofro and meaningful lyrics capturing the essence of the occasion sounds like a delightful musical feast for the audience. It's also commendable that Sterlite Copper has been actively engaged in supporting the communities around Tuticorin and contributing to various cultural and social initiatives in the region. Recognizing and celebrating the historical significance of Thoothukudi, known for its pearl diving, fishing, and salt pans, is a meaningful way to connect with the roots and heritage of the place. Thoothukudi's historical importance, being the homeland to national heroes and visionaries like VOC, Kattabomman, adds another layer of significance to the celebration. Such initiatives not only showcase the cultural vibrancy of the region but also contribute to community development and engagement. Meera Haridas, Chief Communications Officer at Sterlite Copper, aptly says: "Music is the universal human language transcending beyond cultures and boundaries. Thoothukudi is an amazing place being the home to many illustrious visionaries, seat of South Tamil Nadu culture and many industrious people. At Sterlite, we are delighted to have dedicated the 'Thoothukudi Anthem,' to people of Thoothukudi on the 37th anniversary of formation of this illustrious district." This musical tribute sings praises about the bustling town of Thoothukudi, its history, old world charm and the vibrant culture. This song promises to be a source of pride and unite the people of Thoothukudi, allowing them to come together to celebrate their heritage as a testament to the enduring spirit of this district in many years to come. In a short span the song has caught the attention of Thoothukudi people and beyond with more than a million hits on social media. Thoothukudi is one of the few locations in India well connected by road, rail, airport and sea port. Besides fishing, some of the biggest industries in engineering, chemicals, power, metals, food processing have their plants here which include SPIC, NTPC, DCW, Sterlite Copper, VV Titanium etc. This port city of Thoothukudi has an intrinsic entrepreneurial culture and has large export houses, with the government taking several measures to encourage diverse industries. On the way to becoming a Smart City, Tuticorin has much to offer. Home to temples dating back to 1000+ years, the strategic port city is only two hours away from ancient towns like Madurai, Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli Thoothukudi is a interesting mix of emotions and cerebral outlook. Thoothukudi Anthem from Sterlite Copper brings out the spirit of its people and culture with its peppy beats and vibrant tune. Zee TV, a pioneer in groundbreaking television content, is set to captivate audiences with its latest offering, Kaise Mujhe Tum Mil Gaye. The show, premiering on 27th November at 10 pm, is an impossible love story, weaving the journey of two contrasting characters - Amruta and Virat, portrayed by the immensely popular heartthrobs - Sriti Jha and Arjit Taneja respectively. It unfolds against the vibrant backdrop of Mumbai, where Amruta, a 29 year old unmarried Marathi Mulgi and worldly wise Punjabi Munda find their paths crossing in the most unexpected of ways. While she believes in the power of love and the sanctity of a meaningful life partnership that both sides need to constantly work on, he harbors a skeptical view on marriage after having burnt his fingers. He is anti-marriage, having concluded that most women are gold-diggers. Produced by Mukta Dhond, the show has a layered narrative, replete with twists and turns, making for an entertaining viewing experience. The show delves into the intricacies of todays love dynamics. This ideological clash sets the stage for an intriguing narrative encapsulated in the shows one liner- Ek ka pyaar mein yakeen atoot hai, toh dooja mane ishq hi jhoot hai. With each episode, viewers can expect to be drawn deeper into the lives of Amruta and Virat, witnessing the evolution of their relationship against the canvas of their differentiated family backgrounds and the inevitable challenges that love must overcome. Aparna Bhosle, Zee TV Business Head, said, "Kaise Mujhe Tum Mil Gaye presents an interesting take on modern love and relationship dynamics where our lead protagonists not only hail from diverse sociocultural backgrounds but represent diverse outlooks towards the institution of marriage. And when their contrasting worlds collide, viewers are in for a delightful love story." Producer Mukta Dhond said "I am excited about our very first association with Zee TV, that too, with some of the finest actors we have on television at the moment. The story tries to depict the two most predominant outlooks the youth seems to have, today, about love and marriage. While half of them seem to be optimistic about finding a suitable match, theres an equally large and growing number who have begun to question the institution or even view marriage in an unfavourable light. Writing Amruta and Virat, who represent these diverse schools of thought, has been a joy as theyre so culturally different with opposing mindsets, and still have one thing in common they can go to any lengths for their families. Viewers will relate with both the characters and hopefully, find this unique love story intriguing!" For the first time, the audience will get to see besties Sriti Jha and Arjit Taneja cast opposite each other. The show also boasts of an ensemble cast with Kishori Shahane Vij who will play the role of Babita Ahuja (Virats mother), an elitist Punjabi mother from South Delhi who is very proud of her social status and Hemangi Kavi as Bhavani Chitnis (Amrutas mother) who is a true blue, middle-class, Maharashtrian woman for whom her family is everything! Actress Sriti Jha said "Being a part of Kaise Mujhe Tum Mil Gaye is a thrilling experience and Zee TV has been my home for the longest time. Returning to the channel is homecoming and working opposite Arjit, will always be a delightful experience. We are not just co-stars but great friends, and I hope our friendship and chemistry translates onto screen. I must say that Arjit is an exemplary professional and with our relatable show, we hope to touch the hearts of the audience in a unique and unforgettable way. It's a journey filled with love, drama, and unexpected twists that will keep everyone hooked." Actor Arjit Taneja said, It feels great to be back on Zee TV with a show as special as Kaise Mujhe Tum Mil Gaye. The added excitement of being cast opposite my best friend is like a cherry on top. When I heard Sriti has been locked for Amrutas character, I guess that was it, I immediately said yes too. Amruta's optimism clashes with Virat's wariness towards marriage and this paves the way for a rollercoaster of emotions. We cant wait for audiences to see the show! Tune in to Kaise Mujhe Tum Mil Gaye starting 27th November, every day at 10 pm, on Zee TV Federal Office of Civil Aviation Bern, 24.11.2023 - Alternative fuels are to reduce CO2 emissions from international aviation by 5 percent by 2030: This was agreed by over 100 participating states at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Alternative Aviation Fuels Conference in Dubai on 24 November 2023. In the negotiations, Switzerland worked towards an outcome that is compatible with the Confederation's climate policy. This is a decisive step towards achieving the global international aviation goal of net zero CO2 emissions by 2050. Net zero CO2 emissions by 2050 - this long-term goal was set by the General Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) back in October 2022. The ICAO Conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels (CAAF) has now specified this goal for alternative fuels. After sometimes challenging negotiations, which took place in Dubai from November 20 to 24, 2023, the member states agreed that the share of these fuels should reduce the net CO2 emissions of global international aviation by 5% by 2030. The outcome of the negotiations identifies sustainable aviation fuels as the most important contribution to achieving the net-zero CO2 target for international aviation by 2050. With this negotiation outcome, ICAO and the international community are sending out a clear signal that they want to promote the global production of sustainable aviation fuels. The Swiss National Council is currently discussing the revision of the Swiss CO2 Act, including measures to reduce the climate impact of aviation. The outcome of the negotiations in Dubai is in line with the national policy in the area of aviation fuels. Address for enquiries Media contacts: Communications FOCA, Telephone +41 58 464 23 35 Publisher Federal Office of Civil Aviation http://www.bazl.admin.ch Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Bern, 28.11.2023 - Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis will travel to Skopje on 29 November to represent Switzerland at the annual Ministerial Council meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). The meeting will focus on the security situation in Europe and the challenges facing the OSCE. In the North Macedonian capital, Mr Cassis will seek to ensure that the OSCE's values and principles are upheld and that the organisation remains capable of taking action. Russia's military aggression against Ukraine presents major challenges for the OSCE. It constitutes a serious breach of international law and the OSCE's founding document, the Helsinki Final Act. The war has eroded trust among the participating states. Important decisions within the OSCE are often not reached because the necessary unanimity is lacking. For some time now, the participating states have been unable to agree, for example, on the chair for next year, the extension or replacement of key top positions, or a budget. Shortly before the Ministerial Council meeting, an important preliminary decision has now been taken: Malta will chair the OSCE in 2024. The Ministerial Council now needs to endorse the decision in Skopje. Opinions still differ on extending the mandates of key officials. Efforts will be made to reach a decision at the Ministerial Council meeting. Europe needs an effective OSCE At the Ministerial Council, Mr Cassis will strive to ensure that the OSCE's values and principles are upheld and the organisation remains effective and capable of fulfilling its role. Mr Cassis welcomes Malta's willingness to act as chair in 2024. In Skopje, he will stress the need to reach a consensus on extending the mandates of key positions, and to provide the organisation with an adequate budget. Mr Cassis will meet with counterparts from other countries on the margins of the Ministerial Council meeting. Important platform for dialogue For Switzerland, the OSCE is central to Europe's security, as it enables dialogue with non-like-minded states in the region and has instruments at its disposal to prevent conflicts and manage crises. With 57 participating states in Europe, North America and Asia, the OSCE is the world's largest regional security organisation. In the OSCE, participating states exchange views on politico-military issues, economic and environmental matters, and human rights. North Macedonia currently holds the OSCE chair. The Ministerial Council meeting in Skopje will run from 30 November to 1 December. Address for enquiries FDFA Communication Federal Palace West Wing CH-3003 Bern, Switzerland Tel. Press service: +41 58 460 55 55 E-mail: kommunikation@eda.admin.ch Twitter: @SwissMFA Publisher Federal Department of Foreign Affairs https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home.html A prison in the southeastern city of Daegu was relocated for the first time in 52 years Tuesday, with heavily armed police guiding some 2,200 inmates to a newly built facility 18 kilometers away. The Daegu Correctional Institution moved from its current location in Hwawon-myeon to the new facility in Habin-myeon after residents complained the prison was hindering local development by taking up space in the urban area of the town. On Tuesday, the inmates were transported in some 30 buses to the new prison amid heavy security. The police deployed some 300 personnel armed with stun guns and handguns loaded with live ammunition, along with squad cars, to prevent the convicts from breaking loose during the relocation. Among the prisoners were Moon Hyung-wook, the creator of the notorious "nth room" chatrooms on Telegram, who received a 34-year prison term in 2021, and Kim Seong-soo, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2020 for murdering a part-time worker at an internet cafe in Seoul. The new facility, whose construction began in 2014, consists of 28 buildings, including an emergency shelter for employees, and is equipped with a cutting-edge electronic security system. The previous prison facility had an execution chamber, but it was removed during the relocation. That left only three prisons or detention centers with execution chambers in Korea: the Seoul Detention Center, the Busan Detention Center and the Daejeon Correctional Institution. (Yonhap) Amid the ongoing hearing of the disqualification pleas of the Shiv Sena MLAs, Speaker Rahul Narwekar said on Monday that he is taking all the efforts to adjudicate the petitions within the stipulated time given by the Supreme Court. Narwekar also said that he will ensure that principles of natural justice are followed and that the rules of the legislative assembly cannot be violated during the process. Narwekar told mediapersons in Sindhudurg I have planned to complete the hearings and adjudicate the petitions within the time frame given by the apex court. I am taking care not to affect the principles of natural justice. I will decide on the disqualification of (Shiv Sena) MLAs at an appropriate time. Setting the timeline, the Supreme Court had last month directed Narwekar to adjudicate disqualification petitions of rebel Sena MLAs by December 31. The apex court had come down heavily on Narwekar over the delay in adjudication of the petition against Shinde-led Sena MLAs, saying the Speaker cannot defeat the orders of the top court. Dismissing Sena UBT MP Sanjay Rauts allegation over the instability of the state government, Narwekar said that the government has already achieved the magic figure of majority in the Assembly. Narwekar also slammed Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray over his comments on violating anti-defection laws, stating that it is the Speaker who will decide whether there has been a violation of the anti-defection law and not Aaditya Thackeray. The Assembly Speaker will decide whether or not there has been any violation of the anti-defection laws. Thackeray should not make any comments about it. If the violation has taken place, I will make an appropriate decision. I can assure the people of the state that I will not take any wrong decisions, he told the media. Meanwhile, Narwekar will resume the hearing of the disqualification on Tuesday, during which Sena MLA Sunil Prabhus cross-examination by Chief Minister Eknath Shindes lawyer will continue. Image: PTI Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has ordered an assessment of crop losses caused by unseasonal rain and the payment of compensation to affected farmers. Authorities have been directed to conduct the panchnama of the damaged crops and affected farmers should be paid adequate compensation, Shinde said. He attended various programmes in Thane City on Monday when he spoke to reporters. This is the government of farmers and workers. The government will always stand behind these classes, the chief minister said. Notably, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray targeted Shinde on Tuesday for campaigning in poll-bound Telangana, even though farmers in Maharashtra are suffering due to unseasonal rains. He said preliminary information suggests that nearly 1 lakh hectares of land under cultivation in Marathwada, Vidarbha, and north Maharashtra regions were affected by unseasonal rains over the last three to four days. Meanwhile, Shinde said Gadchiroli district and Naxal-hit areas in the region are transforming. Instead of giving jobs, we want to create job-givers. I am satisfied that Balasaheb Thackerays dream of Maharashtra becoming a job-giver is finally coming to fruition, he said. The chief minister said Naxalism cannot be crushed only by the bullet and underlined the need to create development opportunities for the people living in the affected region. Queried on recent incidents of Naxalite violence in Gadchiroli district, the chief minister said the C60 commando force has proved to be very effective. Naxalism menace in Gadchiroli is almost over. They are not getting new recruits, forcing the remaining cadres to shift their base to neighbouring Chhattisgarh, he added. Meanwhile, Union minister Kapil Patil on Tuesday urged the chief minister to expedite the assessment of the damage caused to crops by rain and hailstorms in the Bhiwandi Lok Sabha constituency. In a letter addressed to the chief minister, Patil said crops in Bhiwandi, Shahapur, Murbad and Wada talukas have suffered heavy losses and the paddy thrashing work was also affected. He urged the CM to order relief for the affected farmers and due compensation. Others Specials Global Dental Services, parent of Clove Dental, secures USD 50MM investment from Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) New Delhi (India), November 27: Global Dental Services, parent of Clove Dental, India's largest tech-enabled-dental-platform, is delighted to announce a strategic equity investment of USD 50 MM from Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar. Combined with USD 66 MM raised in December 2022, in a round led by Investcorp, this investment underscores the groups historical performance and confidence in the significant growth potential. The total investment of USD 116 MM (INR 963 Crore) will be used to rapidly grow the Clove Dental clinical network, expand world-class smile-enhancing solutions, and develop a therapeutic oral care product range. Founded in 2011, by Amarinder Singh, the group, as on date, operates 422 company-owned & managed dental clinics under the Clove Dental banner, spread across 24 cities in 12 states. This investment in Clove Dental comes as QIA looks to further diversify its portfolio in Indias fast-growing economy and comes on the back of recent investments in India within the technology, media and telecoms sector, retail sector, and in green energy investments. Sheikh Faisal Thani Al-Thani, Chief Investment Officer, Africa & APAC at QIA, added, QIA is committed to supporting innovative companies with high-growth potential and sees great potential in Indias fast-growing healthcare and retail markets. We have been impressed by Cloves rapid expansion across India, commitment to quality, and innovative approach to dental care and look forward to welcoming them to our diverse global healthcare portfolio." Louis Shakinovsky, Chairman of Global Dental, stated, "From inception, we have been, and are, very selective in whom we bring on as partners and shareholders. QIA is an outstanding example of a shareholder who is aligned with the long-term vision of the group. At Global Dental, we have made significant investments in people, technology, equipment, and infrastructure. Amarinder Singh, Founder & CEO of Global Dental, said, This investment from QIA will enable our group to pursue its ambitious growth plans in both existing and new tier I & II cities across India, ensuring that more Indians have access to reliable, high-quality, & affordable dental care. Clove clinics are equipped with state-of-the-art dental equipment and managed by a team of over 1,010 highly qualified dentists. 78% of Clove Dentists are women and 61% of Dentists hold advanced Masters (MDS) degrees in Dentistry. Clove has extensive standard operating procedures (SOPs), standardized pricing, non-commission-based compensation systems, in-clinic audits, peer-to-peer case (treatment) reviews and AI-based chair sterilization systems that collectively, have set new benchmarks in dentistry in India and globally. About Qatar Investment Authority: Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) is the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar. QIA was founded in 2005 to invest and manage the state reserve funds. QIA is among the largest and most active sovereign wealth funds globally. QIA invests across a wide range of asset classes and regions, as well as in partnership with leading institutions around the world to build a global and diversified investment portfolio with a long-term perspective that can deliver sustainable returns and contribute to the prosperity of the State of Qatar. Media Contact: media@qia.qa About Global Dental Services: Global Dental Services (GDS) is a tech-enabled comprehensive end-to-end dental platform providing products and services for oral health, dental beauty and everyday at-home care. GDS operates Clove Dental, the largest network of company-owned & managed dental clinics in India. GDS recently also launched a new dental beauty brand - Whistle, that offers customized smile-enhancing solutions, including invisible aligners. In addition, GDS operates a third D2C business offering therapeutic toothpaste and related everyday care products under the Clove banner. Finally, GDS also has several B2B businesses, including Yarrow Dental Laboratory a custom dental prosthesis laboratory and xMedco a dental equipment and consumables distribution company. About Clove Dental: Clove Dental is the largest network of dental clinics in India. Since its inception in 2011, the brand has been consistent t in its vision and ardently strives to offer global standards of dentistry in every neighbourhood across the subcontinent. Clove manages more than 45,000 patients every month, has over 15 Lakh satisfied patients, and has completed over 30 Lakh treatments over the last twelve years. Clove Dental is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and technology and has more than 1,000 dentists on its payroll in its 422+ company-owned and managed clinics across India. Clove standards have become the industry benchmarks in the highest standards for hygiene & safety, clinic quality, transparency, ethics, and customer service. Birmingham-Southern College President Daniel Coleman said he wants the executive branch to review State Treasurer Young Boozers denial of a $30 million loan to the private liberal arts college. We think its important the executive branch reviews the decision that he made, Coleman said. Coleman and Boozer engaged in a heated public written exchange after Boozer denied the loan. Coleman criticized the decision and Boozer fired back. Theres no personal animosity, Coleman said on Tuesday. I just disagree with him completely. Coleman and Boozer seem unlikely to work out the disagreement between the two of them. Were not personal friends, but we werent personal friends before, Coleman said. We dont have a relationship professionally. On Tuesday, Coleman was at the Birmingham City Council meeting, where the council approved $5 million in loans for the college. Next, he plans to ask for a similar package of support from the Jefferson County Commission. Hes hoping that would guarantee the college staying open past next year, but hes not sure how far it would carry the school into the future. Thats hard to measure, he said. I really dont want to go into timelines versus money. City and county funding could prompt movement on the state loan, though, he hopes. I do think that getting county support puts, Id say, a little pressure on the state to step up, Coleman said. That would be really helpful. Some critics of public money going to BSC addressed the media after Tuesdays council meeting. This is outlandish, said Ronald Jackson, a community activist for Citizens for Better Schools. This is not Birminghams problem, said Walter Faulkner Floyd, former president of the East Thomas Neighborhood Association. This is the problem of the Methodist church. Birmingham-Southern College is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and traces its history to 1858. BSC formed from a 1918 merger of Southern University, dating to 1856, and Birmingham College, dating to 1898, both founded by the Methodist Church. The headquarters building of the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church is on the campus. Floyd said he agreed with Boozers stance against the state selectively financing a private college. The city of Birmingham does not supersede the state of Alabama, Floyd said. They didnt touch it, and neither should we. Floyd expressed concern BSC will need further bailouts in the future. Id also like to know, before they spend $5 million of Birmingham taxpayers money, when does it stop? Floyd said. Before you spend any of Birminghams money, the public deserves to know. For full coverage of Birmingham-Southern College, click here. The bassist on every album credited to Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit is no longer a member of folk/rock star Isbells longtime backing band. Jimbo Hart, a Muscle Shoals native, announced his departure this morning via X/Twitter. Im no longer a member of the 400 Unit, Hart wrote. Im grateful for all the years, all the faces Ive played for in the course of the bands history and proud of all we accomplished. Im happy to be moving forward into a new chapter of life and open to all possibilities, as they may arise. Hart contributed bass on seven of nine albums Isbell has released since Isbell parted ways with his former band, Drive-By Truckers. Harts nimble, soulful lines first appeared on the 2009 self-titled album Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit. The only Isbell albums he doesnt appear on are Isbells 2007 solo debut Sirens of the Ditch and 2013 breakthrough LP Southeastern. With Isbell, a North Alabama native known for songs like 24 Frames and If We Were Vampires, Hart has won at least one Grammy Award. Onstage, Hart and 400 Unit drummer Chad Gable wove elastic grooves for Isbell and 400 Units Sadler Vadens Allmans-esque guitar runs. Harts first live gig with Isbell was in 2006 at a now-closed fried chicken joint in Chattanooga. However, when Isbell and the 400 Unit hit the road in support of the latest album, 2023s Weathervanes, Hart was not part of the touring band. In June, Hart announced he was stepping away then temporarily from Isbells band. Hey yall, you wont see me for the first week of this next tour, Hart wrote at the time. Im taking some time to take care of my mental health and resolve some old-school traumas, he wrote. Thank you, @jasonisbell, for giving me the grace and space to allow this process. In Harts absence, Isbell has enlisted replacement bassists, including Anna Butterss (known for her work with the likes of Phoebe Bridgers and Bright Eyes) and Catherine Popper (whose recording credits include the likes of Willie Nelson, Jack White and Ryan Adams). For this tour, Isbells augmented his bands lineup with multi-instrumentalist/backing vocalist Will Johnson, formerly of the band Centro-Matic. In addition to Isbell, Harts played bass with artists such as Josh Ritter, Bahamas, Morgan Wade and Isbells wife Amanda Shires. Hes also contributed to solo album by 400 Unit guitarist Sadler Vaden. The 400 Units core lineup also includes drummer and Tuscumbia native Chad Gamble and keyboardist Derry deBorja. In a June interview with AL.com about new album Weathervanes, Gamble discussed his rhythm-section chemistry with Hart. Jimbos just the sweetest guy, Gamble said, and at the same time just a monster on the bass. Its one of those things where you feel like youve got a brother in music and in life. Hart began playing bass at the age of 11, learning songs like Pink Floyds Money early on, as well as material by Pearl Jam and Metallica. Dr. Dres hip-hop classic The Chronic also played a formative role in Harts approach to bass. Later as an adult, Hart lived in Austin, Texas, and played with touring blues-funk artist Papa Mali. After returning to the Shoals and before joining up with Isbell, the bassist worked with Gary Nichols, later a Grammy-winning artist with bluegrass outfit The SteelDrivers. Hart first met Isbell back in high school at a marching band competition. Isbell played trumpet for Florences Rogers High and Hart played bass and tuba for Sheffield High. Hed already heard of Isbell and his guitar skills. You cross paths when youre kids in a small town, Hart told me in 2017. There was a Mexican joint [the now-closed La Fonda Mexicana] we could always go to underage and hang out and eat nachos and watch the bands. They would get us to sit in and play stuff. In terms of Harts current headspace, his recent X/Twitter posts have been upbeat. On Nov. 7, replying to a fans tweet asking him how he was doing, Hart replied: Im the best Ive ever been, thank you! On Nov. 10, Hart posted, Grateful that the work I did for the Weathervanes album has garnered three Grammy nominations. Thank you to any and everyone who voted for its nomination. On Nov. 21, he wrote, 6 months, today! No weed and not a single thought of doing harm to myself since I put it down. Amazing how changing things really changes things. Peace and love, yall! On Thanksgiving, Hart posted, Im grateful for all of you and hope its a wonderful day of friends and family! His scrappiness remains intact, too. After announcing his departure from Isbells band today, a X/Twitter user asked Hart, Are you a conservative, by chance? Isbell is an outspoken liberal. Harts reply, Hell no. As of publishing, Isbell hasnt posted yet on social media regarding Hart leaving the 400 Unit. AL.com reached out to publicists who work with Isbell for a statement, and if we receive one it will be added to this story. Update: At 10:37 p.m. Isbell replied to a fan on X/Twitter asking Isbell if he had any comment on Hart leaving The 400 Unit: I love Jimbo and Ill miss touring and playing with him. Very glad hes taking care of himself. Everything else anybody needs to know is in the statement he released. MORE ON MUSIC: Lynyrd Skynyrd legend talks Ronnie Van Zants genius, remembers 77 plane crash Is this the next music from Alabama everyone will be talking about? 5 bootlegs of classic Huntsville rock concerts you can listen to on YouTube Inside hit-making Alabama bands reunion tour, first new songs in 25 years How Prince, Michael Jackson fit into 80s rock band Warrants story After months of book challenges, half of the Autauga-Prattville Library board resigned Monday. The resignations of three of the seven-member board come one week after the Autauga County Commission appointed Doug Darr to the board without going through the official procedure of waiting for recommendations from the board. A fourth member had resigned in October and has yet to be replaced. We didnt even know that there was going to be a vote until that day for this candidate, said library director Andrew Foster. Foster said they were caught completely off guard by this move and scheduled possible appointments for the Dec. 10 county commission meeting. The initial commission recommendation was for Tony Moore, who Foster said has been a controversial candidate supporting Clean Up Alabamas efforts, an organization started in Prattville that has challenged mainly books with LGBTQ or race themes. Foster said at one point, Moore threatened a library board member. Moore unfortunately has a bit of a reputation for being very hot tempered, said Prattville resident Angie Hayden, a member of the library advocacy group Read Freely Alabama. I know for a fact that he has made physical threats against city leaders. I know that he put his finger in the face of a library board member at one of the city council meetings. When community members such as Hayden spoke up at the commission meeting, Moore withdrew his name. The commission immediately voted in Doug Darr, who wasnt listed on the meeting agenda. Its odd that they jumped the gun and it was even more odd that they did it with such little transparency and such secrecy, Hayden said. She said Read Freely Alabama is petitioning the county commission to reconsider the appointment. Hayden added no one in RFA has considered running for the board because they desire neutral candidates. We are very concerned that this Moms for Liberty affiliated group (Clean Up Alabama) is trying to stack the board and I think that has been their intention for a while now, Hayden said. And we hope that the county commission is not going to help them do that. The resigning board members include chair Susan Poteat, whos been a member since 2015, and vice-chair Wayne Lambert and Pam Frederick, whove been members since 2022. Sandra Harvey, who had served on the board for more than 20 years had resigned in October for an unrelated reason and has not yet been replaced. The remaining board members are Tommy Gamper, a board member appointed in 2014, and newcomers Doug Darr and Christie Sellers. The city council appointed Sellers this month. AL.com couldnt reach current and former board members for comment at the time of publication. In October, Darr shared on his Facebook page the Clean Up Alabama event, Fighting to End the Sexualization of Children in Public Libraries. I dont know much of anything about Mr. Darr, Foster said. So I dont know if its going to be a good thing, a bad thing, or a neutral thing. Im certainly hoping hes not going to come in with any kind of agenda, but I dont have any assurances on that. The county hasnt even sent me the official information on him yet. So I dont have all that much to work off of, sadly. Earlier this month, the board voted to move the young adult novel Red Hood, written by Elana K. Arnold, to the adult section after consulting with the book reconsideration committee, according to library director Andrew Foster. I think it was a conversation that the committee took very seriously, Foster said in an earlier interview. The committee is comprised of two library staff members and a board member. The board voted to keep four other challenged books in the juvenile and young adult sections, including If Youre a Kid Like Gavin, The Civil War of Amos Abernathy, Felix Ever After, and I Am Margaret Moore. This story was updated at 5:08 p.m. Tuesday Nov. 28 to clarify that Harvey had resigned in October for an unrelated reason. A Birmingham mother is recovering after she was shot four times on Saturday. Amber Scotts 15-year-old daughter was in the vehicle with her when the shooting happened, but the teen was not injured. Scott, 33, had gone to check on a family member who was in a possible domestic argument. When she was leaving, shots rang out. I was driving, and they shot inside my car, Scott said. The shooting happened at 4:12 p.m. at 23rd Place S.W. and South Park Road, according to Birmingham police. Scott said she didnt even realize she was hit. Her daughter was the one to tell her. It happened so fast, Scott said. I started blowing my horn and drove to Piggly Wiggly in West End. I didnt panic, she said. I have children I had to think about. Scott is the mother of four children, ages 15 and under. She remains hospitalized with bullet holes in her back, arms and breast area. No formal charges have been announced. Scott said shes thankful to be alive and knows firsthand that it could have been worse. Her friend, Koreyanta Koko Davis, was fatally shot in Midfield in September. The Escambia County School Board is set to meet for the first time since one of its board members, who is also a publisher of a local newspaper, was indicted on a variety of charges in a case that is generating national news over whether a local prosecutor is suppressing free speech rights of local journalists. Sherry Digmon, 72, publisher of The Atmore News, is expected to be at the boards meeting later today. The School Boards work session is scheduled for 3:30 p.m., followed with a regular meeting at 4:30 p.m. at the schools central office building in Atmore. Digmon faces an impeachment charge in addition to two counts of criminal ethics violation and for violating the states grand jury secrecy law related to her dual role as an elected school board member and a newspaper publisher. Digmon could be the first local school board member impeached in Alabama in 17 years. My understanding is she will be there, said her attorney, Ernest White of Brewton. But what the board is set to discuss, or even vote on, is unknown. As of Monday night, no agenda had been published to the schools website. A school board receptionist said its likely that an agenda will not be released before the meeting starts. The boards meeting last October sparked fireworks and began a series of events that have captured a rare bit of national focus on Escambia County. The meeting last month focused over the future of the school districts leadership behind Superintendent Michele McClung. The board voted 4-3 not to renew McClungs contract on Oct. 12, during a contentious meeting in which District Attorney Steve Billy -- who is prosecuting the cases against Digmon -- attended and vocalized his support for the renewal of McClungs contract. An attorney representing the Escambia County School System denied on Monday AL.coms request for the boards reviews of its current and past superintendents. A few weeks after the meeting, Digmon and Don Fletcher, a reporter at The Atmore News, were indicted on a charge of revealing grand jury secrets. The alleged offense stems from a news report revealing that authorities were investigating the Escambia County School Boards handling of COVID-19 relief funds. The newspapers report was based on an alleged copy of a grand jury subpoena that was left at the publications office. A preliminary hearing into that case is set for 9 a.m. on Dec. 4, before Judge Ben Fuller at the Escambia County Courthouse in Brewton. White said he plans to argue to have the case dismissed. Billy has not returned repeated calls for comment. Digmon also faces two counts of ethics violation for using her school board position for personal gain by selling ads in the Atmore Magazine and/or Grace Publishing LLC. Digmon reportedly has a financial stake in both entities and received a financial gain in excess of $2,500, which authorities claim is a violation of Alabama ethics law. Her impeachment case is also going through the court system. The Alabama Association of School Boards (AASB) has confirmed it will back Digmon, calling the impeachment proceedings as corrupt. An impeachment indictment, filed on Oct. 27 and provided to AL.com by White and the AASB accuses Digmon of violating the 11-year-old School Board Governance Improvement Act of 2012 that establishes training requirements, and accountability measures for all local school board members. Under the indictment, Digmon is accused among other things of ignoring all the positive things that McClung had accomplished since her hiring in 2021. The indictment also accuses Digmon of not providing a basis for her No vote except to say she was concerned because she had been contacted by employees, which clearly reflected her lack of concern for children, which Billy claims is also a violation of the 2012 school board law. The impeachment indictment also accuses Digmon of violating her duty as an elected school board member by refusing to publish articles which promoted the school system and the superintendent, which were written by a contract writer of the school system. Digmon also never abstained from voting to approve payments to her own business while serving as a school board member, the indictment reads. McClung, according to the indictment, had previously questioned payments to Digmons business, and that Digmon turned against McClung because she questioned payment made to her business from the Escambia County School Board. The AASB has since claimed that Billy is not using the 2012 state law as it was originally intended. That law was adopted at the end of the Great Recession and at a time when school boards were wrestling with contract renewals of school officials amid horrific budget situations, Sally Smith, executive director with the AASB, told AL.com earlier this month. Airline operators in Korea will be required to warn passengers against indiscriminately opening aircraft emergency exits, the government said Tuesday, following a recent mid-air plane door opening incident. The transportation ministry said such a measure was included in a draft amendment of the operating guideline for airline operators made available for public review until Dec. 14. Currently airlines are required to announce warnings against in-flight smoking, use of electronic devices and actions that interfere with the duties of the cabin crew, and that such behavior can become subject to criminal prosecution. Passengers who tamper with plane entrances, emergency exits or devices that hinder the security or operation of an aircraft could face imprisonment for up to 10 years under aviation security laws. The measure came following an incident in May in which a 30-something man opened an aircraft door on board an Asiana Airlines flight just minutes before landing at Daegu International Airport in Daegu, 237 kilometers southeast of Seoul. (Yonhap) Former WWE star Tamara Sunny Sytch was sentenced to 17 years in prison and eight years of probation on Monday following a hearing related to a DUI manslaughter case in Volusia County, Florida. Sytch was arrested last year on charges including DUI manslaughter in connection to a crash that killed 75-year-old Julian Lasseter from Ormond Beach. Court records show she pleaded no contest to DUI manslaughter and other charges in August. A pre-sentencing memorandum said that on March 25, 2022, Sytch was under the influence of drugs and alcohol and driving at a high rate of speed on North Yonge Street in Ormond Beach when she collided into Lasseters car, which was stopped at a red light. Lasseters car then crashed into another car in front of it. Lasseter, a former teacher and property appraiser, was taken to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach, where he was pronounced dead. Sytch was also taken for treatment and was later released. She was arrested weeks after the incident at the Hard Rock Hotel in Daytona Beach. A toxicology report found her blood alcohol levels were more than four times the legal limit, according to the office of State Attorney R. J. Larizza. Ormond Beach Police said they found an opened bottle of vodka in her vehicle and cannabis in her system. Sytch faced up to 26 years in prison for one count of DUI manslaughter and one count of driving while license suspended with death. She also faced four counts of DUI with damage to person and two counts of DUI with damage to property. Her record shows she has been arrested repeatedly for impaired driving in the past, including at least six arrests involving DUIs in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. State Attorney Larizza called the defendants driving record horrendous. She was death on wheels, he said in a news release about the sentencing. It was only a matter of time before her drunk driving killed an innocent and unsuspecting individual. Her public defense attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sytch quickly rose to fame in the 1990s as one of WWEs first female performers. She was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011. arabines@orlandosentinel.com 2023 Orlando Sentinel. Visit orlandosentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Country music stars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood sang John Lennons ballad Imagine at former first lady Rosalynn Carters private tribute service this afternoon at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church in Atlanta. Pianist David Osborne will perform Wind Beneath My Wings and members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chamber Chorus will sing America the Beautiful. Those details are included in a 12-page program the Carter Center released this morning ahead of the invitation-only event. The Celebration of Life service at the church, located on Emory Universitys campus. A longtime champion for the most vulnerable, Carter died this month with her family at her side at her home in Southwest Georgia. She was 96 and had been battling dementia. WATCH: Country music stars Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks perform a cover of John Lennon's "Imagine." The couple shared a special friendship with the Carters through their work with Habitat for Humanity. https://t.co/RQUhmNcAEM pic.twitter.com/nl7Xp1WsBX WSB-TV (@wsbtv) November 28, 2023 Former President Jimmy Carter, 99, who entered home hospice care in February after a series of brief hospital stays, is expected to attend the service today. A Nobel Peace Prize recipient, he is the longest living former president in U.S. history. Eleven of the Carters grandchildren will serve as honorary pallbearers. Son James Earl Chip Carter III will welcome mourners. Daughter Amy Carter will present a reading. A grandson and three of Rosalynn Carters great-grandchildren will read from scripture, including Galatians 5:13-14: Serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: Love your neighbor as yourself. Longtime aide and friend Kathryn Cade, journalist Judy Woodruff and grandson Jason Carter will deliver tributes. The Rev. Mark Westmoreland, Glenn Memorials senior pastor, will give the call to worship and invocation. The Rev. Tony Lowden, the Carters personal pastor, will deliver opening remarks. Meanwhile, the pews are expected to be full of national political figures from both sides of the aisle. Among them: President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, second gentleman Douglas Emhoff, former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former first ladies Laura Bush, Michelle Obama and Melania Trump. The program for Carters service features photos of her visiting refugees in Cambodia and testifying before Congress about mental health in 1979 and then receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom with her husband two decades later. It also includes quotes from her about caregiving and the importance of diagnosing and treating mental illnesses. Do what you can to show care about others, Carter said, and you will make our world a better place. The church was already near capacity, hours before the service was set to start. Escaping from the cold, mourners packed the house of worships bottom level, save for the front section reserved for the Carters relatives and other dignitaries. Seated in the fifth row, former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young and his wife, Carolyn, shook hands with people passing by. Rosalynn Carter carefully planned the guest list, music and speakers, said Carter Center CEO Paige Alexander, who called Tuesdays event a celebration of everything she has done. Alexander added that thousands of people paid their respects at the Carter Library on Monday, arriving on foot, on bikes and in shuttles. In an apartment at the Carter Center, Alexander said, the former president rested for todays service. Relatives streamed in and out of the apartment and gathered with him for a family dinner. Meanwhile, several dozen Carter Center employees lined up, awaiting the departure of a hearse that would carry Rosalynn Carter to the church. Police on motorcycles prepared to escort her. Shannon Boone, 38, who lives a short distance from the center, took her dog, Forrest, for a walk nearby. She was among many who paid respects at the center Monday evening. It was very beautiful, she said, adding that her parents donated money toward the construction of the Carter Center and have supported its work. I hope it continues. Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains is set to hold a private service for the former first lady on Wednesday. Afterward, she will be buried at the home she shared with the former president nearby. AJC staff writers Matt Kempner and Ernie Suggs contributed to this report. 2023 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at ajc.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Hunter Biden on Tuesday offered to testify publicly before Congress in response to a subpoena from Republicans investigating nearly every aspect of his business dealings as they pursue an impeachment inquiry into his father, President Joe Biden. The Democratic presidents son slammed the inquiry as a fishing expedition and refused to give closed-door testimony but said he would answer any pertinent and relevant question in front of the House Oversight Committee next month, setting up a potential high-stakes face-off. Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, subpoenaed Hunter Biden in early November in the inquirys most aggressive step yet and one that tests the reach of congressional oversight powers. Comers office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. So far, Republicans have failed to uncover evidence directly implicating President Biden in any wrongdoing. But lawmakers insist their evidence paints a troubling picture of influence peddling in the Biden familys business dealings, particularly with clients overseas. The subpoena demanded Hunter Biden appear before the Oversight Committee for a deposition by mid-December. His uncle James Biden was subpoenaed same day, as well as former business associate Rob Walker. Hunter Bidens attorney Abbe Lowell said in Tuesdays letter that his client had misgivings about your motives and purpose but had previously offered to speak with the committee without a response. Your empty investigation has gone on too long wasting too many better-used resources. It should come to an end, Lowell wrote. From all the individuals you have requested depositions or interviews, all you will learn is that your accusations are baseless. However, the American people should see that for themselves. He offered to appear on Dec. 13, the date named in the subpoena, or another day next month. The subpoenas were bitterly opposed by Democrats, and the White House called for the subpoenas to be withdrawn. Richard Sauber, special counsel to the president, wrote that the subpoenas are irresponsible and the product of an overzealous House GOP majority that weaponized the oversight powers of Congress. Congressional Republicans are also probing the Justice Departments handling of a criminal investigation into Hunter Bidens business dealings. That long-running case had been expected to end with a plea deal, but it imploded during a July plea hearing. Hunter Biden is now charged with three firearms felonies related to the 2018 purchase of a gun during a period he has acknowledged being addicted to drugs. No new tax charges have been filed, but prosecutors have indicated they are possible in Washington or California, where he now lives. A north Alabama emergency management official said Monday the federal government has made no move to reverse a severe weather broadcasting decision that is probably going to cost some lives in northeast Alabama. Paul Smith of the Jackson County Emergency Management Agency has been fighting a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decision to reassign Jackson County from the Huntsville Designated Market Area (DMA) to the Chattanooga DMA based on Nielsen viewing data. That could mean less live storm coverage for approaching storms, Smith fears. U.S. Rep. Dale Strong (R-Huntsville) has formally requested Jackson County go back in the Huntsville coverage area. The county had been getting the non-stop severe weather coverage from Huntsvilles three television stations, he said. Now, it is primarily getting Chattanooga weather coverage although one Huntsville station, WAFF, is still available in Jackson County. Smith said the issue is complicated by county geography. The Tennessee River divides Jackson County and residents atop the mountains east of the river can be on Eastern Standard Time. Many watch Chattanooga channels via cable, streaming and antennas, he said. But people west of the river and those in the largest Jackson County city of Scottsboro typically watch Huntsville stations, Smith and Strong said. Thats 60 percent of the countys population, he said, and they live 20 miles closer to Huntsville than Chattanooga and often work in the Rocket City. Chattanooga stations are not going to cover (Jackson County) in time, Smith said he fears. Philip Buehler, news director with Sinclair Broadcast Group in Chattanooga, told the Scottsboro Sentinel the switch isnt really new. Jackson County has been in the Chattanooga coverage region since 2022, Buehler said, and Chattanooga stations will track Jackson County weather as it has always. Our Storm Track 9 weather team has always provided severe weather coverage for Jackson County, as well as DeKalb County, Alabama, and will continue to do so, Buehler told the Sentinel. Viewers in those counties can watch our over the air signal, and also turn to our WTVC Storm Track 9 weather app for the latest forecast and severe weather alerts. But Smith said the Emergency Management Agency wants Jackson County residents to see bad weather a long way off. The wall-to-wall coverage Huntsville stations frequently provide means elderly people can watch with the meteorologist as a storm approaches and respond to an on-air warning to take cover. But the biggest issue is Nielsen (ratings), not the Federal Communications Commission, is making this decision, Smith said. Strong agreed with Smith and asked the FCC in his letter to reevaluate the process utilized to determine this (Designated Market Area) reassignment. A call to the FCC for a comment Monday was not immediately returned. All use-of-force reports involving Mobile police officers will be submitted and body camera footage turned over to the citys new executive director of public safety. The new policy was announced Tuesday amid elevated tensions in Mobile over recent deadly and violent encounters involving Mobile police officers and Black residents. I am asking every use of force report to come to my office, and I will review the body cameras that I can, said Rob Lasky, a Special Agent in Charge of the Mobile Division of the FBI who took over as the public safety director overseeing the citys police and fire departments in October. Ill review (the body cam footage) and if there is something that should be acted on or not, it will be the supervisor who is held accountable, Lasky told the council. Passionate remarks Jawan Dallas (Contributed) His remarks occurred during a council meeting dominated by impassioned remarks from speakers and some council members less than one week after attorneys representing the family of Jawan Dallas recounted chilling details over what they viewed on police-worn bodycam footage taken shortly before Dallas death. The footage, the attorneys claim, showed Dallas repeatedly tased while officers were investigating a burglary report in Theodore on July 2. Dallas, who attorneys said pleaded for his life, died after his encounter with the two Mobile police officers. The attorneys for the Dallas family likened his death to George Floyd, a Black man who was killed by a white Minneapolis police officer in 2020, that ignited protests across the country over police brutality and racial injustice. Derek Chauvin, the police officer convicted of killing Floyd, is serving a 21-year prison sentence. Mobile city officials and District Attorney Keith Blackwood have said that the cause of Dallas death was due to health factors and drug use. The officers who encountered Dallas have since been allowed to return to their patrols. Dallas is the fourth Black man to have a fatal encounter with Mobile police this year. The most recent involved a 16-year-old teenage boy who was shot and killed following a police raid on Nov. 13, which prompted Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson to call for a halt to most pre-dawn raids. The teenage boy was not the intended target of the raid. Were calling on the ministers in Mobile, this needs to be one of our top priorities to see our citizens of our community, all citizens, feel safe and protected, said the Rev. Tonny Algood, pastor of the United Methodist Inner City Mission. People dont feel that way now. The attorneys representing the Dallas family are also calling on the Mobile city officials and police to release the bodycam video footage to the public. That appears unlikely to happen, and Alabama state law does not include any provisions for police to release bodycam video footage. Mobile council members are discussing whether to adopt an ordinance regulating bodycam footage, but it cannot be written to require police to release footage. Carrie Williams of Mobile speaks during the Mobile City Council meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, at Government Plaza in downtown Mobile, Ala. The meeting featured impassioned remarks from residents over the future of policing in Mobile less than one week after attorneys for the Jawan Dallas family spoke about what they saw from the video of a police-worn body camera. The family's attorney has likened Dallas' death to George Floyd in 2020 in Minneapolis. Dallas died that day after his encounter with police, and family members and supporters have since called for the release of police-worn body camera footage.John Sharp/jsharp@al.com My question is, where do we go from here? said Carrie Williams of Mobile. We cannot bring Jawan back, and the other gentlemen (who died while encountering police) back. There does nee to be some policy changes. She added, My heart goes out to the police officers, but people are dying. Something needs to be done. Council reacts Some council members offered up their own viewpoints, led by Councilman Cory Penn who called for a permanent halt to predawn police raids. Former Mobile City Councilman Clinton Johnson Sr. speaks during the Mobile City Council meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, at Government Plaza in downtown Mobile, Ala. The meeting featured impassioned remarks from residents over the future of policing in Mobile less than one week after attorneys for the Jawan Dallas family spoke about what they saw from the video of a police-worn body camera. The family's attorney has likened Dallas' death to George Floyd in 2020 in Minneapolis. Dallas died that day after his encounter with police, and family members and supporters have since called for the release of police-worn body camera footage.John Sharp/jsharp@al.com His comments came after former Councilman Clinton Johnson Sr. spoke about how someone would reasonably be protective of their house and their family if someone including a police officer was attempting to enter his house at 5 a.m. If you burst in with boldness and loudness, Im going to grab my gun too, said Johnson. Not because you are a police, but because I dont know who you are. Penn, echoing Councilman William Carrolls remarks from two weeks ago, chastised the police department for Nov. 13 predawn raid over a marijuana-related concern. Thats ridiculous, Penn said. There should be in a policy in place (to prevent predawn raids related to a marijuana-related offense). It doesnt need to be a temporary thing. It needs to be banned, period. Thats what Im requesting. Penn said his concerns should not suggest he is verbally attacking the Mobile Police Department. Its attacking the situation, he said. I have family members who are police officers. I have friends (who are police officers). Im not saying they are bad. But we are talking about a situation. This needs to be changed. Aside from Dallas and the teenager killed on Nov. 13, the others who died this year following an encounter with police include: Kordell Jones Kordell Jones, 25, as shot by authorities on March 7 as he ran out of a house naked and carrying an AR-style gun while police were raiding a home in search of his brother. Christopher Jones, 24, was shot and killed October 2 on Glenwood Street during an altercation with police while he was on the roof of a residence . Officers ordered Jones to come down from the roof, and he complied, only to produce a shotgun and point it at police. Jones was shot and killed. Committee, meeting Some of those changes are expected to surface during discussions with members of a newly formed committee of citizens and community activists who will be charged with providing feedback on police policies and procedures. Johnson said he will be one of its members. But its unclear on when the committee will officially form, or if they will meet in public. The fallout from the news conference on Nov. 22, will continue into this week. An emergency community meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday at All Saints Episcopal Church in Mobile. The meeting will be hosted by Rev. William J. Barber II, president of Repairers of the Breach, and will be attended by Atlanta-based civil rights attorney Harry Daniels, who is representing the Dallas family and who got to see the bodycam footage last week. What is being reported to me by the lawyers and the family is worse than tragic, Barber said in a statement. It is a form of police terror and deep unjust abuse of power. Dallas, in essence, was begging for his life. Now we see why they did not want the video seen by the public. Some City Council members said they are hopeful the city administration will provide a response to the Nov. 22 news conference. Council members, like the general public, have not been allowed to see the bodycam video footage. Mobile City Attorney Ricardo Woods speaks while Mayor Sandy Stimpson listens on during the Mobile City Council meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, at Government Plaza in Mobile, Ala.John Sharp/jsharp@al.com City Attorney Ricardo Woods said he was willing to lay this out in detail for the council at a future date. Timothy Hollis, a former candidate for the Mobile City Council, blasted council members for not taking a tougher stance against Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpsons administration, and the police department. Timothy Hollis of Mobile speaks during the Mobile City Council meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, at Government Plaza in downtown Mobile, Ala. The meeting featured impassioned remarks from residents over the future of policing in Mobile less than one week after attorneys for the Jawan Dallas family spoke about what they saw from the video of a police-worn body camera. The family's attorney has likened Dallas' death to George Floyd in 2020 in Minneapolis. Dallas died that day after his encounter with police, and family members and supporters have since called for the release of police-worn body camera footage.John Sharp/jsharp@al.com We are not saying all cops are bad, said Hollis. Thats not what we are saying at all. But how many times does this have to happen and how many times do they expect us to come down here and speak from the heart and gather community members together just so we can hear fluff from the city attorney and hear about this ... good cop/bad cop narrative? A mysterious and potentially deadly respiratory illness in dogs has spread to 14 states, according to a veterinary organization. The largest number of cases 200 are in Oregon, USA Today reported. The other 13 states California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington havent reported individual numbers. Dr. Rena Carlson , president of the American Veterinary Medical Association told USA Today the cause of the illness remains under investigation. Symptoms start with a cough that can last for weeks, runny eyes and sneezing. The most serious cases evolve into pneumonia. It can be deadly, most likely for dogs with weakened immune systems or underlying health issues, experts said. If a dog has a cough that wont stop along with other respiratory symptoms, experts recommend contacting a veterinarian immediately. Advice for pet owners: Make sure all dogs are up-to-date on all their vaccines including canine influenza, Bordetella and parainfluenza. For event organizers: Dogs should have a health check 12-24 hours before the event. Have a DVM onsite checking dogs for health issues (mild nasal discharge, cough, elevated temperature, being off food). Consult with your veterinarian for dog-specific advice before attending any events where dogs are congregated. The Oregon Veterinary Medicine Association offers additional recommendations: NewsNation, the cable TV network host of the Republican presidential debate next week, will kick off its Debate Week broadcasts on Monday and will have almost its entire TV lineup at the University of Alabama on Wednesday. The network, in a press release Tuesday, announced its schedule of programming with several live programs from the University of Alabama, where the debate takes place from 7-9 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 6. Monday broadcasts Beginning Monday, the networks chief Washington correspondent, Blake Burman, will moderate the political ensemble program, The Hill, live in front of the Frank Moody Music Building. The debate will take place inside the music building, home to the universitys School of Music. Tuesday schedule On Tuesday, Dec. 5, NewsNation Now with Connell McShane (weekdays, 2-4 p.m.) and On Balance with Leland Vittert (weeknights, 6 p.m.) will broadcast live from The Quad, the center of the universitys campus. Wednesdays pre- and post-debate programming On the day of the debate, nearly the entire NewsNation lineup will broadcast live from Alabama, including NewsNation Now with Connell McShane, The Hill and more. NewsNation's Chris CuomoBusiness Wire via The Associated Press Before the debate, NewsNation will air Countdown to the NewsNation Republican Primary Debate, a two-hour news special hosted by Chris Cuomo with Vittert, the chief Washington anchor. That show will take place live from inside the debate hall. Immediately following the event, the network will present a special post-debate show hosted by Cuomo and Vittert, with additional analysis and commentary from Political Editor Chris Stirewalk and a variety of NewsNation reporters and contributors. Sean Spicer talks with reporters and members of the media outside the West Wing on July 25, 2017. CREDIT: Washington Post photo by Jabin BotsfordThe Washington Post Throughout debate day, NewsNation contributors will offer commentary and analysis, including senior political contributor George Will, as well as former Trump administration officials Sean Spicer and Mick Mulvaney, and former Obama administration official Johanna Mask. Additional news coverage will be provided by Washington correspondents Kellie Meyer and Brooke Shafer. An encore presentation of the debate will be available on NewsNation at 11 p.m. Debate Day programming schedule 5 to 9 a.m.: Morning in America with co-anchors Adrienne Bankert and Markie Martin 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.: NewsNation LIVE with Marni Hughes 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. NewsNation Now with Nichole Berlie 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.: NewsNation Now with Connell McShane - Live from the University of Alabama 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.: The Hill - Live from the University of Alabama 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.: Countdown to the NewsNation Republican Primary Debate anchored by Chris Cuomo - Live from the University of Alabama 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.: NewsNation Republican Primary Debate - live from the University of Alabama 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.: NewsNation Republican Primary Debate Special Report anchored by Chris Cuomo - Live from the University of Alabama 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. - An encore presentation of The NewsNation Primary Debate with partners Megyn Kelly Show on SiriusXM Radio and The Washington Free Beacon. Where else to access debate It will be simulcast in the countrys Eastern and Central time zones on Nexstars broadcast television network, The CW. Viewers in the Mountain and Pacific time zones will be able to watch the debate on their local CW TV affiliate. The debate will also be livestreamed on NewsNations website, www.NewsNationNow.com, and on Rumble. An audio broadcast of the debate will be available on SiriusXM Triumph channel 111. Thursday broadcasts The station will close out the week on Thursday, Dec. 7, with NewsNation Now with Connell McShane, The Hill, and Elizabeth Vargas Reports live from the University of Alabama. One person is dead following a plane crash in the northern part of Etowah County Monday. Etowah County Deputy Coroner Dantez Robinson said Charles Walker Pickering Jr., 65, of Fairhope, was identified as the pilot killed during the crash. A Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson said a single-engine Piper PA-32R crashed near Northeast Alabama Regional Airport in Gadsden around 5:45 p.m. Deputies, along with fire departments from Attalla, Ivalee and Gallant, responded to the area of Rocky Hollow Cutoff Road. Only the pilot was on board. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate. Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville said nothing has changed regarding his months-long blockade of military promotions in protest to the Pentagons abortion policy. Speaking to CNNs Manu Raju, Tuberville on Monday said he has been told by members of the military to continue, but gave a suggestion on how to end the impasse. Tommy Tuberville told me nothing has changed in his military blockade. Ive talked to admirals and generals, Ive had people call me I have had people call me over the holidays and say keep doing what youre doing, were not having any problem. Declined to name them. Manu Raju (@mkraju) November 27, 2023 Tuberville says there's one way to resolve blockade: Ensuring the Senate includes language in its final version of the NDAA to eliminate the Pentagons abortion policy. Tuberville said "it probably would" resolve his objection, though very doubtful Dems will agree to this Manu Raju (@mkraju) November 27, 2023 Tuberville is at odds with a Defense Department policy that covers travel expenses if military members are stationed in a state where abortion is illegal. Last month, Tuberville said he is open to different options to end the blockade. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has said he plans to advance a Rules Committee resolution that would allow all the promotions blocked by Tuberville to be considered en bloc, or in large groups, to the full Senate sometime in the next month. Speaking to Newsmaxs Eric Bolling, Tuberville said weve got the weakest military that weve had in probably my lifetime, according to Newsweek. Specifically, Tuberville took issue with the $114 million requested by the Pentagon for its diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) programs in the 2024 budget. Infiltrating our military is all this wokeness, and its coming from the top, coming from Joe Biden, coming from Secretary of Defense (Lloyd) Austin. Its coming from (former Joint Chiefs Chair General Mark) Milley, who is recently gone. Its a disaster. They cant get anybody to join the military. Theyre begging people to come back that left because they didnt take the vaccine. Were in huge trouble. Our country is in huge trouble. Tuberville said Biden should send military personnel to the border to close it down. Were going to have a 9/11 attack every few weeks if we dont watch it, Tuberville said. Tuberville has been criticized by several senators, including his Republican colleagues, for weakening the military through the promotions blockade, which has held up more than 350 promotions since February. Its possible that parts of Alabama could get up to 6 inches of rain in the next week, which could be a big help in fighting Alabamas ongoing drought. No severe weather is expected in Alabama, according to the National Weather Service, but periods of what forecasters called soaking rain will be possible in the state starting Thursday night and lasting through the weekend. After a calm and cool start to the week, the weather becomes more active Thu-Sat across the southern United States. Interests in Southeast TX and Southwest LA should keep an eye on Thu for an increasing severe thunderstorm risk. Visit https://t.co/n8GNQBg4f9 for more. pic.twitter.com/bHYjyYJBIy NWS Southern Region (@NWSSouthern) November 28, 2023 And the rain could add up, according to forecasters. The Weather Prediction Centers seven-day precipitation outlook suggests all of Alabama could get at least an inch of rain over the next week -- but parts of central and Alabama could get up to 5 inches (see that outlook at the top of this post). The National Weather Service in Birmingham was even more optimistic when it comes to central Alabama. The office put out a forecast that showed parts of central Alabama getting up to 6 inches from Thursday night through Monday morning: Here's the rainfall forecast for central Alabama through Monday.NWS Any rain will be beneficial when it comes to Alabamas drought, which has worsened a good deal thanks to a drier-than-average September and October. The last report from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows that Level 4 out of 4 drought conditions were continuing in parts of north Alabama, and Level 3 drought had expanded to cover more of the state. As of last week only 0.4 percent of Alabama was not considered to be in drought. It was a mixed bag of news on the drought front in Alabama last week. Parts of north Alabama remained in Level 4 out of 4 drought, but not as much as last week. However, most of the state was either in some level of drought or on the verge of drought.U.S. Drought Monitor The next Drought Monitor report is scheduled to be released on Thursday. The Ministry of Health and Welfare has refused to accept the state human rights watchdog's recommendation that guidelines be devised for the hospitalization of transgender people, the agency said Tuesday. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) made the recommendation early this year after receiving a petition from a trans woman who unsuccessfully tried to be hospitalized in a female ward two years earlier. The trans woman wanted to be admitted to a Seoul university hospital in October 2021 due to drug allergy. But the person was informed she had to be hospitalized in a male ward because she was listed as male on the resident registration. The petitioner, who had not undergone sex change surgery, eventually gave up hospitalization after arguing with the hospital and filed a complaint with the NHRCK, claiming discrimination based on gender identity. The NHRCK said the petitioner was treated unfairly and recommended that separate guidelines are needed regarding transgender people's use of medical institutions. Dismissing the watchdog's advice, however, the health ministry said there are limits to predicting the circumstances of all transgender people in advance and establishing guidelines. "Establishing and recommending uniform guidelines for the use of hospital rooms for transgender people at all medical institutions across the country requires careful review based on social consensus," the ministry was quoted as saying. (Yonhap) Shane Ware, currently a captain with the Vestavia Hills police department, on Monday was named the departments new chief. City Manager Jeff Downes appointed Ware, effective immediately, following the unexpected death of Chief Danny P. Rary on Aug. 1. Ware began his career as a police officer in Bessemer in 1996 and started with the Vestavia Hills Police Department in 2000. He progressed through the ranks, serving as a police officer, corporal, sergeant, lieutenant, captain and now police chief. This is a dream-of-a-lifetime opportunity and I am both humbled and honored to have been selected as the new police chief. I am eager to continue the mission of this great organization, Ware said. The number of internal candidates eligible for the position speaks highly of our organizations talent and capable leadership. Vestavia Hills Police Chief Shane Ware(Contributed) Ware holds a masters degree in Justice Administration from Faulkner University, a bachelor of arts in Business Administration from Birmingham-Southern College and many law enforcement related certifications. Ware is also a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy. As the City Manager and appointing authority for Vestavia Hills, I had the honor of evaluating some of the most talented individuals in our region who sought to fill the position of Police Chief for Vestavia Hills the safest city in Alabama, Downes said. Chief Ware has supervised every division within the department during his two-plus decade career, been the recipient of multiple college degrees, both undergraduate and graduate, and proudly graduated from the FBI National Academy. Shane is a strategic thinker who will embrace the legacy of his mentor and predecessor, deceased Chief Dan Rary, while focusing on the opportunities to move the department forward in a cutting-edge manner. The Mayor, City Council and I have the greatest confidence in our new law enforcement leader and welcome him to this prominent role. The formal swearing-in ceremony for Ware will be at the upcoming City Council meeting on Monday, Dec. 11 at 6 p.m. at Vestavia Hills City Hall. English News Allianz strengthens relationships and affirms brand affiliation through sponsorship of institute dinners Alwihda Info | Par Alwihda - 28 Novembre 2023 Allianz Commercial, a leading global corporate insurance carrier and a key business unit of Allianz Group, proudly sponsored two prestigious institute dinners in November 2023. The Insurance Institute of KwaZulu-Natal (IIKZN) and the Insurance Institute of the Western Cape (IIWC) hosted these events, which aimed to foster stronger relationships and maintain a robust brand presence in the local market. The IIKZN Gala Dinner, held on November 25 at The Durban International Convention Centre, brought together approximately 700 insurance and reinsurance professionals. Allianz Commercial employees, including Senior Cyber Underwriter, Santho Mohapeloa, Senior Account Technician, Venessa Lakay, Senior Liability Underwriter, Helga Edwards, Head of Claims, Lulu Pule, CEO Thusang Mahlangu, Natural Resources and Energy Underwriter, Dineo Ramesega, Property Underwriter, Thokozane Mthiya, Senior MidCorp Underwriter, Connie Nkosi, and Marketing and Communications Officer, Olivia Smith engaged with existing and potential business partners to explore growth opportunities. Following these productive discussions, they networked with other industry leaders during the event. South Africa's oldest insurance institute, the IIWC, hosted its gala dinner in Cape Town on November 24 for around 800 delegates. Allianz employees including Senior Property Underwriter, Jaleel Fakir, Claims Technician, Somandla Ncube, Financial Lines Underwriter, Clement Khoza, Business Development Manager, Senzile Ndlozi, Senior Liability Underwriter, Curtis Rigney, Head of Marketing and Communications, Lesiba Sethoga, and Head of MidCorp, Geoff Tanton, gathered to connect with existing and potential business partners. This networking opportunity allowed them to strengthen relationships and expand their professional networks. The IIKZN, established to promote efficiency, progress, welfare, knowledge, and education among insurance professionals, played a pivotal role in organizing the IIKZN Gala Dinner. Their dedication to the industry's growth and development is commendable. Meanwhile, the IIWC, founded in 1898, holds the distinction of being the oldest insurance institute in South Africa and possibly Africa. It was established by passionate professionals within the Western Cape short-term community who sought to create a platform for like-minded peers to connect, share knowledge, and foster growth. Allianz Commercial South Africa's CEO, Thusang Mahlangu, emphasized the importance of supporting and networking with brokers in KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape. He stated, "Allianz Commercial has brick-and-mortar offices in Johannesburg only, so it's always important for us to support and network with brokers in KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape particularly during the annual gala dinners." Dans la meme rubrique : < > China voices to lead global AI governance A glimpse into express packaging box's carbon reduction journey in China Strengthening partnership the right choice for future of China-U.S. relations Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena) English News China contributes to improving global AI governance Alwihda Info | Par pd - 28 Novembre 2023 Countries should increase the representation and voice of developing countries in global AI governance, and ensure equal rights, equal opportunities, and equal rules for all countries in AI development and governance. Efforts should be made to conduct international cooperation with and provide assistance to developing countries, to bridge the gap in AI and its governance capacity. By Liu Yao In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) technology has been rapidly advancing around the world and finding increasingly wider applications. However, while driving economic and social development, the surge of AI also brings with it security risks and challenges. In particular, the impacts of AI technology on legal, ethical, and humanitarian aspects, as well as its complex effects on international politics, economy, military, and society, have drawn attention and sparked discussions in the international community. The need for international cooperation and regulatory governance of AI has become particularly urgent. Earlier this month, 28 countries and regions including China, the United States, the UK and the European Union signed the "Bletchley Declaration" at the first AI Safety Summit, agreeing to build an "internationally inclusive network of scientific research on frontier AI safety." This October, China launched the Global AI Governance Initiative, which systematically outlines China's proposals on AI governance from three aspects, namely, the development, security and governance of AI, and presents a constructive approach to addressing universal concerns over AI development and governance. The initiative stresses it is important to uphold a people-centered approach in developing AI, with the goal of increasing the wellbeing of humanity and on the premise of ensuring social security and respecting the rights and interests of humanity, so that AI always develops in a way that is beneficial to human civilization.. As an "enabler" for social development, AI primarily serves to enhance human wellbeing, thus it is important to ensure the robustness and safety of AI technology, said Zeng Yi, director of the International Research Center for AI Ethics and Governance of the Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. China explicitly emphasizes a people-centered approach in the Global AI Governance Initiative, which proves that the initiative is globally oriented and aims to benefit all humanity, Zeng added. "The risks associated with AI technology are characterized by their hidden nature, cross-domain impact, global reach, and long-term effects. Capital's pursuit of profit may lead to the alienation of technology, necessitating sustained, systematic, and collaborative governance efforts at the international level," said Zhang Xin, director of the Digital Economy and Legal Innovation Research Center, the University of International Business and Economics. In the Global AI Governance Initiative, China proposed that countries should adhere to the principle of developing AI for good, respect the relevant international laws, and align AI development with humanitys common values of peace, development, equity, justice, democracy, and freedom. They should work together to prevent and fight against the misuse and malicious use of AI technologies by terrorists, extreme forces, and transnational organized criminal groups. China is a major player in the AI sector. Statistics show that the scale of China's core AI industry has exceeded 500 billion yuan ($70.42 billion), with the number of AI enterprises surpassing 4,300 and innovative achievements continue to emerge. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization, Chinese enterprises and institutions applied for nearly 30,000 AI-related patents in 2022, accounting for over 40 percent of the world's total. While advancing in technology and related industries, China has been committed to enhancing the security, reliability, controllability, and fairness of AI technology. In the Global AI Governance Initiative, China proposed that countries should gradually establish and improve relevant laws, regulations and rules, and ensure personal privacy and data security in the R&D and application of AI. It said countries should put ethics first, establish and improve ethical principles, norms, and accountability mechanisms for AI, formulate AI ethical guidelines, and build sci-tech ethical review and regulatory system. Besides, it is also important to adhere to the principles of fairness and non-discrimination, and avoid biases and discrimination based on ethnicities, beliefs, nationalities, genders, etc. A study by the International Monetary Fund found that AI and other new technologies may lead to increased investment in developed economies that have already achieved automation, thereby further widening the gap between wealthy and impoverished nations. Experts noted that in the field of AI, there exist a digital divide and a governance gap between developing and developed countries. That's why China, in the Global AI Governance Initiative, proposed that all countries, regardless of their size, strength, or social system, should have equal rights to develop and use AI. Countries should increase the representation and voice of developing countries in global AI governance, and ensure equal rights, equal opportunities, and equal rules for all countries in AI development and governance. Efforts should be made to conduct international cooperation with and provide assistance to developing countries, to bridge the gap in AI and its governance capacity. According to Zhang Li, a researcher with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, the Global AI Governance Initiative responds to the widespread concerns and attention of the international community, especially developing countries, regarding the development of AI. China's advocacy for governance in the field of AI represents a voice for developing countries and demonstrates its role as a responsible major country in improving global governance, Zhang added. Dans la meme rubrique : < > China voices to lead global AI governance A glimpse into express packaging box's carbon reduction journey in China Strengthening partnership the right choice for future of China-U.S. relations Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena) Dear liberal friends: let's talk about colonization and colonizers, that everyone agrees is the worst thing in the world. That is why all the devoted activists of the world are presently engaged in mostly peaceful protests in support of the Hamas regime in Gaza. Because they know that the Israelis -- meaning "The Jews" -- are the very acme of White colonizers and imperialists and oppressors. Bless their hearts. The reason that nice White college girls are peacefully protesting with charming handwritten protest signs for innocent Palestinians is that they have been carefully taught the political formula of today's ruling class, the White European educated class. And that political formula is that "we," the rulers, are the Allies of the Oppressed Peoples in their fight against the White Oppressors. What do you think the gubmint school system, K thru "experts agree," is for? Other than to carefully teach the political formula of the educated ruling class? But the peasants don't like it. Why do you think the Irish in the U.S. decided to build their own schools? Because they were damned if they were going to let the Boston Transcendentalist ruling class force feed anti-Catholic lies to their kids. Fast forward to today and the homeschoolers that are damned if they are going to let Randi Weingarten's union shock troops teach regime lies to their kids. Do you get the point, dear liberal friends? It is that the horrors of western imperialism and colonization ain't nothing compared to the colonization of the modern world by liberal totalitarians and colonialists. It all started, of course, with the Germans -- the Gutenbergs -- and their printing press. Before the printing press, you pretty well had to be a monk to get educated. But with the printing press everybody could get an education. That's why the first thing that happened was the Reformation, with educated middle-class Dissenters reading their printed Bibles and thinking things out for themselves. After reinventing religion, the educated class decided to reinvent philosophy and decided that the medieval monarchs and feudal lords had reached their sell-by date. It was time for the educated middle class to set the rules of politics. So we got the British Glorious Revolution, the American Revolution, and the French Revolution to put kings and lords in their place. And serve them right. But then what? What would the educated middle class do with its newly-won power? It was the genius of Marx and a host of other lefty intellectuals to declare that the new regimes would fight for the workers against the capitalists. Every ruling class has its "political formula" according to Italian Gaetano Mosca, and the new regime's political formula was to fight for the lower class against its oppressors -- as defined by the educated ruling class. Since the days of Marx, the political formula of the educated ruling class has been refined and adapted by people like the Frankfurt School and the postmodernists, so that now it amounts to Allyism, where The Allies fight for the Oppressed Peoples against the White Oppressors. Over the years, the intellectuals have colonized the minds of the educated class so that the average educated class member believes in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, not to mention the climate change crisis caused by a trace gas in the atmosphere, and the systemic racism of the ultra-MAGA White racist insurrectionists. And the colonial educated-class administrators have enthusiastically colonized the rest of the mental world, particularly the minds of blacks, educated women, and sexual minorities. Meanwhile, the educated class gussied up two world wars. First there was World War I, encouraged by educated Brit Foreign Office bureaucrat Sir Eyre Crowe, who wrote in 1907 that German naval power was "incompatible with the existence of the British Empire." So how about a jolly old war, chaps. Pity that it all ended with the Bolshevik Revolution, with lefty murderers colonizing Russia and causing millions of deaths in the famine in the Soviet Union's Ukraine colony. After World War I, the educated-class President Woodrow Wilson helped enforce a punitive peace on Germany that provoked the rise of Hitler and World War II. Pity that the aftermath of World War II was the triumph of mass murderer Mao Zedong, who colonized China and caused the death of about 70 million Chinese in famines and purges. Now the lefty colonizers are putting the finishing touches on a Thousand-Year Woke Reich in the U.S., forcing all the natives to bow to the gods of Race, Gender, and Climate, or else. Fortunately, experts agree that the Green Energy Transition will not lead to poverty and economic collapse. Of course, back in the day, all those colonials -- the District Officers, the Christian missionaries, the Spanish West Indies Fleet and the Brit East India Company -- thought they were just bringing civilization to ignorant savages, all over the world. So nothing has changed. Christopher Chantrill @chrischantrill runs the go-to site on US government finances, usgovernmentspending.com. Also get his American Manifesto and his Road to the Middle Class. Image: RawPixel.com This week was a sad awakening for me. I attended a discussion group regarding the situation in the Mideast at my synagogue. Of the ten attendees I was the only one to express concern about the level of anti-Semitism which was occurring around the USA. Others that spoke expressed their concern about the aggressiveness of the Israeli government and negative treatment of Arabs. I entered the room somewhat depressed that so many people will die because of the Oct 7th attack but left even more upset. These people were approaching the issue based upon their dislike of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and admiration for the socialist origins of Israel rather than the present facts. For 50 days I have been glued to the news. I expected some young college students who have been indoctrinated by Marxist and progressive professors to support the Hamas attack, but I was not prepared for the level of Jewish support for the Palestinian Arabs. The merging of Marxist ideology and Islamic theology is troubling. Less than 80 years since the end of the European Jewish Holocaust seeing Jews carrying signs calling for Free Palestine demonstrates their ignorance of history. But young, uninformed students should not be confused for middle-aged and older persons holding such uniformed views. Last week the group protesting at the entrance to Binghamton University was composed of older persons carrying signs such as Free Palestine and End Support of Israel Ultra-Orthodox groups such as the Satmar Hasidim and Neturei Karta (an offshoot of Haredi Jews that originated in Jerusalem in 1938) reject political Zionism and therefore reject the state of Israel. They are waiting for a messianic period when the state of Israel would be created by God. They are small in numbers, in the thousands, but quote Rashi (the great Talmudic commentor) as their source. These people have never accepted the existence of Israel. But to see them protest with the Pro-Palestinian Arabs groups is frightening. They march with signs saying Free Palestine, End Israeli Occupation. Israel has not had any presence in Gaza since 2005. They have a presence in the West Bank. They mean the elimination of the state of Israel. The alliance between Marxism and Islam has encouraged young Jews to carry signs saying Jews for Palestine because they are ignorant of its meaning. Classical Marxist philosophy never took hold in America because of the lack of official class status and the ease with which economic mobility exists in this country. The migration of critical theory from the Frankfurt School via Columbia University in the 1930s allowed an approach that could be adapted to the American society. Eventually its transformation into critical race theory has provided an avenue for student indoctrination. The outcome is seen in the streets of our major cities where youth are marching for the Palestine cause with signs that say From the River to the Sea. The meaning is clear, they advocate an Islamic state instead of the Jewish state of Israel. The Jews and Christians living in Palestine would do so under Dhimmi in which they pay a head tax and have secondary status, though protected from annihilation. Christians regularly tell me of their support for Israel. But among middle-aged and older Jews I find lukewarm support with some hesitant to express strong support for the Gaza incursion. In my area many of the older Jews are retired academics and teachers, so I would expect a progressive orientation. Years ago, I attended a series of lectures locally about the 1960s Columbia University uprisings led by the Student for a Democratic Society (SDS), many of whom were Jewish. At that time, I was surprised to hear many in the audience stating that their parents were Marxists. My father was a soft socialist as a youth, but became more conservative as an older adult. I found myself a philosophical minority in the room during those meetings. Generally, I find that I am politically alone in meetings, so I do not engage unless I am forced to do so. The bright spot is among younger Jews, who generally are Left of center politically, but see the attack by Hamas as intolerable and requiring retribution. With the release of 40 Israeli hostages there is some hope that the Gaza incursion might be limited. If the elimination of Hamas is not accomplished, then Israel will be under threat indefinitely. Destroying Hamas, though, does not mean that another radical Islamist group will not emerge. Al-Fatah (the PLO organization governing in the West Bank) is hardly a comfort to anxious Israelis. In Irael it is apparent that some on the political Left has recognized that their strategy for land for peace and coexistence with Palestinian Arabs has not succeeded. This will affect the political landscape for years to come. Whether this reaches American Jews is not clear. Golda Meir noted that The world hates a Jew who hits back. The world loves us only when we are to be pitied. Progressives have generally supported the little guy or the underdog. Now Israel is the mightier player in the war game. Will more Jews recognize that as Golda Meir also said, We Jews have a secret weapon in our struggle with the Arabs; we have no place to go. Image: Ted Eytan Police officers are under the poorest perception possible these days. Its true. The whole defund the police campaign has done irreparable damage to police officers across the U.S., not only turning them into the enemy of the people, but also convincing key politicians to revoke their funding when they need it the most. That said, there are still officers out there making a difference, despite the backlash theyre receiving on all ends officers like the brave NYPD Marine veteran who risked it all to talk a fellow serviceman from jumping off the Queens Bridge in New York City. While the rescue took place back in July, video footage recently popped up on Fox News, via bodycam footage from a fellow officer. The New York Police Departments 110th Precinct received a distress call regarding the serviceman, who had made his way onto a ledge on the bridge, ready to jump. Upon arriving, the brave officer made his way close to the ledge in an effort to talk to the man, assuring him that everything would be okay. In the end, he was able to talk him out of jumping, and Im sure that the Marine is getting the help he needs now. At a time when police officers motives are under question and bullying politicians refuse to provide them funding when criminal activity is sky-high across cities like San Francisco and Seattle, its good to see that humanity can still shine through. This unidentified officer went out of his way to assure someone who was certain that his world was falling apart that everything would be all right. In this day and age, you know and I know this isnt always the case. I think its easy for the media to overlook something like this. I actually did a search for this video, and aside from Fox News, Ive seen it pop up on only a couple of websites. Thats it. A police officer performs a heroic deed such as this, and major news outlets cant raise a finger to give him the praise he deserves. Fortunately, the department was more than capable of giving this officer said praise. The New York Police Department was quick to express pride over his actions, noting the departments commitment to transparency and showcasing instances of officers who make a positive impact in their communities. Too often especially these days we dont see that enough. Again, the medias to blame for a good part of this. Aside from not sharing this video, more often than not, theyve got their shovels out to bury police officers whenever they get a chance. There needs to be better balancing of this, especially considering the suffering officers are going through. Think about it for a second. Theyre already in for the fight of their lives keeping innocent people safe while putting their own lives at risk. Now add to that the scrutiny that came from the Defund the Police riots, as well as the pressure from their upper governments when their budget is suddenly whittled down. Thats money that couldve easily been used for better mental health care. Imagine if this poor Marine who was ready to take his own life had gotten this care, instead of some Democrat bigwig using the money for something useless. Just imagine. This holiday season, please keep police officers in mind. For the most part, theyre out there trying to do the greater good, taking care of their communities while also keeping everyone safe. Theyre not out to get you, and theyre not out to make anyone miserable; theyre just doing their job before going back home to their families and friends. Its my holiday wish that theyre given the respect and care they truly deserve. Oh, and to the officer who helped his fellow serviceman off the ledge, I commend you. I hope you continue to shine like the bright star you are. You set an example for all of us officers to follow. Michael Letts is the Founder, President, and CEO of InVest USA, a national grassroots non-profit organization that is helping hundreds of communities provide thousands of bulletproof vests for their police forces through educational, public relations, sponsorship, and fundraising programs. He also has over 30 years of law enforcement experience under his belt, hence his pro-police stance for his brothers and sisters in blue. Those interested in learning more about Letts can visit his official website. Image via Raw Pixel. In December 2019, right before a presidential election that seemed certain to reelect a president who was trying to corral China, we started seeing videos from China showing people crowding emergency rooms and collapsing on streets. By the time COVID madness ended, it had almost upended the West, along with destroying Trumps reelection and vastly increasing Chinas reach. Now its December 2023, right before a presidential election that might reinstate a president who will again try to corral China, and were starting to see videos from China showing children crowding emergency rooms. Color me cynical, but I smell a rat. Here are some examples of that footage: Indications of a large outbreak of viral respiratory disease in China. Videos are from various Chinese hospitals. Emergency room wait times are up to 24 hours. Deaths of children as well as the elderly have been reported. Take precautions, the U.S. government won't protect you. pic.twitter.com/5BCatpzxpe Dr. Lawrence Sellin (@LawrenceSellin) November 22, 2023 The situation is getting worse due to new Chinese Virus in China. Visual from The Emergency Room of #Tianjin Hospital, Nov. 23. pic.twitter.com/nhxbELFZDS Baba Banaras (@RealBababanaras) November 24, 2023 I have two theories about whats going onand keep in mind that my theories are probably just as good as Miss Anne Elks theories about dinosaurs from the famous Monty Python sketch. Theory No. 1: China is telling the truth when it says this is just a seasonal flu: Beijing insists a new virus is not to blame for scenes of chaos, which have prompted officials to encourage residents to don coverings, socially distance and stay home if unwell. Instead, health chiefs have pinned the rise on flu and other routine bugs, with China now battling its first full winter without a Covid-induced lockdown. Thats entirely believable. The flu ebbs and flows, with some years being worse than others. This may just be a bad year. And because this is the first time children have been fully exposed to the flu virus without a lockdown, their immune systems may be inadequately developed, making them especially vulnerable. It probably doesnt help that China has a socialized medicine system. Waiting rooms tend to be crowded when theres no profit motive to move things along. Of course, with COVID, China also engaged in the denial, denial, denial game, all while making sure that everyone knew it was responding to the worst plague since the Black Death, complete with people hauled away in vans and howling citizens locked in darkened cities. The effect on the West was powerful and destructive, which leads me to Theory No. 2. Theory No. 2: What we are seeing is the first act in a replay of the COVID epidemic. This time, however, because China knows that it wont be able to stir up the same level of panic with a virus that hits the general population, the new narrative is that this is a virus that targets children. For all we know, the footage from Tianjin Hospital, while real, was manipulated because authorities told the citys parents that only this one hospital would treat sick children. The other hospitals might have had empty emergency rooms. Yes, thats completely hypothetical on my part but, as I said, Im cynical. I feel strongly the old saying that goes, Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. The feeling of deja vu all over again that Im currently experiencing simply doesnt allow me to look upon this footage with anything but a jaundiced eye. Image: X screen grab. I dont speak Arabic, so I cant decipher what theyre saying, but the video below depicts a recent eruption of protest in the Netherlands after the election of Geert Wilders: Islamic extremists march in Netherlands. Geert Wilders will have a lot to work on. pic.twitter.com/KiLCd3slBU RadioGenoa (@RadioGenoa) November 27, 2023 What stands out to you? Well, the total absence of any Dutch flags, and the very conspicuous presence of Al Qaeda, Taliban, and ISIS flagswe dont see them reaffirming their desire to be included as Dutch citizens that they claimed upon admission to the country, but their true nature is on display for all to see. They clearly didnt come to the Netherlands to assimilate (but we already knew that), and they have no allegiance or loyalty to the country that welcomed them; they came to conquer, which is exactly why the people just voted in anti-migration Wilders. But wait, the people elected a conservative white man in a democratic process? The horror! Thats not Sharia law, and thats not how governments are supposed to work! Its also striking that we dont see a single Palestine flag or the Hamas flag for their beloved freedom fighters scattered around Gaza and in the Gazan tunnels; like I said above, these are Al Qaeda, Taliban, and ISIS flags. The average demented leftist who argues that the cause of Hamas is legitimate, would not say the same of Al Qaeda, or the Taliban, or ISISso wouldnt you agree that the optics of waving flags of groups that nearly everyone deems terroristic a little ridiculous? But this is the third-world Muslim modus operandialls fair in war and conquest, and by its very nature, their doctrine is exactly that. First the terrorism and slaughter, then the subterfuge and exploitation of Western values, then the victim card. They literally march in the streets, under a sea of terrorist banners, protesting against the democratic system of their host country, and then cry Islamophobia when Westerners want them out. They break a ceasefire, invade Israel, rape women, slaughter families, and kidnap children, then immediately demand a new ceasefire, for the innocent people caught in the crosshairs of course, and then the accuse initial victims of being aggressors, oppressors, and Western colonizers.. They use human shields, even their own children, and intentionally target civilians, then denounce any Western peacekeeping force of inhumane treatment, and cry foul. During all those years in Afghanistan, Taliban militants were notorious for shooting at Afghan forces and American troops, then throwing down their guns knowing the Americans were hogtied by Western Rules of Engagementdid they tauntingly yell nana nana boo boo as they stuck out their tongues and waved their fingers from their ears too? The Muslim demonstrations unfolding in the Netherlands represent the choice that the entire Western world has to make: do we want to preserve the cultures and societies rooted in the unalienable rights of the Judeo-Christian worldview, or do we allow political Islam to conquer? Image from X. Economic and social costs should be considered amid record-high inflow of migrant workers By Jung Da-hyun Debate has been heating up over the government's immigration policies, including a plan to introduce a record number of foreign laborers, including construction workers and domestic workers, to tackle labor shortages caused by worsening demographic issues. On Monday, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that it plans to bring in an unprecedented 165,000 non-professional migrant workers next year under the Employment Permit System (EPS). It also plans to expand the scope of industries where foreign workers, arriving with an E-9 non-professional employment visa, can work. This expansion will now include the restaurant, mining and forestry sectors. In terms of distribution by industry, manufacturing is set to accept the largest number of E-9 visa holders at 95,000, followed by 16,000 for agriculture and livestock, 13,000 for services, 10,000 for fishing, 6,000 for construction and 5,000 for shipbuilding. The remaining 20,000 visas will be distributed irrespective of industry, according to the ministry. The move is facing strong backlash from critics, who argue that temporary employment of skilled foreign workers and active use of female workers are more effective in securing labor than an influx of unskilled foreign workers as pushed by the government. In a lecture given at the Bank of Korea (BOK), Monday, Kim Sun-bin, a professor of economics at Yonsei University, directly challenged President Yoon Suk Yeol's immigration policies, saying that they will be ineffective in addressing worsening labor shortage issues. Kim presented the results of a simulation on foreign workforce utilization policies. The simulation assumed that a certain number of foreign workers aged 25 to 44 would enter 5 percent of the domestic population over the next 200 years. Based on the results of his study on the foreign workforce, he found that temporarily hiring skilled foreign workers is the most effective method, surpassing immigration by about 30 percent to 40 percent. The economic impacts of four cases were analyzed in the experiment: temporary work and permanent residence of unskilled workers, and temporary work and permanent residence of skilled workers. He also raised concerns about the social acceptance of foreign immigrants, emphasizing the potential for complex problems such as racial conflicts during their settlement. It's a matter of the change in composition of people, so there's a potential for intricate challenges, he said. Kim proposed the active use of female workers as a significant alternative to the workforce shortages, pointing out the remarkably low participation of women in economic activities from their late 30s to early 40s. "Failing to leverage well-educated and trained female labor is a significant national loss from a broader perspective," he said. He debunked the misconception that the fertility rate would decline further if women were encouraged to participate in the workforce. He argued that viewing childbirth and labor as opposing concepts leads to the misunderstanding that women avoid having children because of their work. In June, President Yoon ordered the exploration of ways to integrate and manage foreign workers. The labor ministry announced a pilot project in July, aiming to bring about 100 foreign workers from the Philippines to perform housework and child care in Seoul households. Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon also argued that relying solely on policies to boost the birth rate has its limitations, stating that the solution should be sought in immigration policy. The Uncommon Valor was a Common Virtue headline for this article was first said about Marines in the battle for Iwo Jima. Marines assaulting the island fortress showed innovative courage and total dedication to the mission. It was a very deadly battle with an estimated 25,000 Marines killed or wounded. Marine tanks became an amazing combat differential in helping carry close combat engagements to a relentless fanatical fight-to-the-death enemy. Eight flame tanks called Zippos were credited as being instrumental in turning the tide of this very up-close combat engagement and USMC historical files stated that the Japanese feared this weapon greatly. Image by Life Magazine photographer Mark Kauffman (1922-1994) (Official USMC photograph) Taking Iwo Jima was crucial in the eventual strategic bombing campaign against mainland Japan. Unconditional surrender was necessary in order to eradicate the Japanese way of the warrior called Bushido. That code taken to extremes led to the death of millions. It was a culture of cruelty that had to be completely defeated Once the war ended and the culture of cruelty was eradicated, Japan emerged into a beacon of hope and stability in Asia. The island nation prospered and became a tremendous force for good. Now two generations later, half a world away from Iwo Jima, Israeli tankers carried their fight to begin to eradicate the fanatical death-loving Humas army that invaded to kill and capture. This time all-female Israel Defense Force tank crews showed their uncommon valor as a common virtue: Female IDF tank crews ran down dozens of Hamas terrorists on October 7 ... Another of the armored crew commanders, Karni, spoke of the devastation they witnessed on the approach to Kibbutz Holit: We realized were at war. They told me there were terrorists in all the trees around me, so we just started firing. We started firing bunker busters at the terrorists that were up close, and then mortar shells at those further away, Michal, another officer in the unit, said in the Channel 12 report. I could see the hits, I saw [the terrorists] fall down, she added. When the tanks arrived, they broke up the battles, Raviv told Channel 12. Once they took those two positions the terrorists understood they could either run or they would die. And the girls in those tanks, the warriors, with three tanks at that point in the attack, they fought in a most impressive way. They operated in such a way that they were seemingly not trained for. They fired inside Israeli communities, drove on main roads, and I believe that thanks to their actions in that area, we prevented the attack from moving further south. As one said in the video: You just run over the terrorists and move on. But these soldiers werent quick to accept accolades for their historic battle. So what? What does it matter? Did the terrorist know there were girls in the tanks? No. You think they saw Michals hair sticking out of the helmet? No. Boys, girls what does it matter? Hila said. Tamar agreed. You keep saying heroines and historic I dont feel like a hero. I feel like Im a soldier that was given a job, and I did my job. I think anyone would have done that. This was not a battle with human beings. There was no humanity here, and my aim is to protect people. Their aim was to kill people, Hila added. A historic chapter in successful tank warfare was written on that horrific day, Oct. 7, 2023 for the nation of Israel. The modesty of accomplishment for the all-female tank crews speaks for itself. And going back to the ferocity of the World War II island campaigns against Japan, the fight had to be engaged in order to destroy a fanatical army which ultimately included the U.S. fire-bombing of Tokyo and the destruction by atomic weapons of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Sadly such necessary yet horrific in-the-moment tactical and strategic combat engagements ultimately saved many lives of both of U.S. troops and Japanese civilians. So if the Allied forces in World War II had to use every military means available to fight and win, the world should now be in full support of Israel doing what is necessary to survive as a nation. After all, it is now time for all to recognize it is always a win-or-die situation for Israel. Hamas fanatics must be destroyed wherever they are found or they will attack and murder again. As expressed by these female tank crews, undaunted combat warriors all, they fight to save lives Hamas fights to take lives. It is pure evil on the terrorists' part, so flattening them and running them down is a very appropriate response. Edward Thomas Timperlake served in the U.S. Marine Corps and was named for his uncle killed on Iwo Jima who had just turned eighteen. A few days back, Samsung released the Android 14-based One UI 6.0 update for the Galaxy Tab S9 series in Europe. The big update is now available for the flagship tablets in the US too. The company has bundled the November security patch with One UI 6.0. Galaxy Tab S9 gets Android 14 in the US Samsungs Android 14 update for the Galaxy Tab S9, Galaxy Tab S9+, and Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra comes with the firmware build number BWK6 (last four characters) in the US. Both Wi-Fi and cellular (5G) variants appear to be picking up the new Android version stateside. The update is rolling out in batches but should reach all eligible units over the next few days. Advertisement Advertisement The new firmware release for the Galaxy Tab S9 trio brings all the goodies that are part and parcel of Android 14. Additionally, Samsung is pushing a bunch of new camera features, editing tools, improved system animations, revamped notification panel, redesigned Quick Settings layout, and many more changes and improvements through One UI 6.0. On top of this, the update brings the November security patch. The latest SMR (Security Maintenance Release) from Samsung contains fixes for more than 60 security issues. Among those are 50-odd Android patches coming from Google, which has labeled four vulnerabilities as critical. The rest are Galaxy-specific vulnerabilities affecting various system apps, services, and components. If you are using a Galaxy Tab S9 model in the US, all of these new features and security enhancements will reach you shortly. You can check for updates from the Software update menu in the Settings app. Tap on Download and Install to see if you have an update pending download. If not, wait a few more days and repeat the steps. The OTA (over-the-air) file for Android 14 weighs multiple GBs. The Galaxy Tab S8 will get the update but not the Galaxy Tab S7 Android 14 and One UI 6.0 will also be available to Samsungs Galaxy Tab S8 series. However, the Galaxy Tab S7 lineup wont get the update. The 2020 flagship tablets miss out on the big update because they arrived with Android 10 onboard and have been updated to Android 11, Android 12, and Android 13. The Galaxy Tab S7 FE, on the other hand, debuted in 2021 running Android 11 out of the box. It is eligible for Android 14. Samsung plans to update the device to the new Android version before the end of the year. We will let you know when the rollout begins. Samsung is rolling out the November security update to the Galaxy S20 FE in the US. The latest security patch is also now available for factory-unlocked variants of the Galaxy S21 FE. Both phones have already received the update widely in international markets. The Galaxy S20 FE gets the November security update in the US The Galaxy S20 FE debuted in late 2020 running Android 10 out of the box. Over the past three years, Samsung has pushed Android 11, Android 12, and Android 13 updates to the phone. Unfortunately, that is all it will ever get. Android 14 will never reach the FE model. However, security updates will come for at least another year. Advertisement Advertisement A few days back, Samsung rolled out the November SMR (Security Maintenance Release) to the Galaxy S20 FE in international markets. The US version of the phone is now picking up the latest security patch. The update is available for carrier-locked units with the firmware build number G781USQSDHWK1. Unlocked units should get it soon. This update only brings the latest security fixes to the phone. Samsung isnt pushing anything more. The November SMR contains fixes for 65 security issues. These include Android OS patches and Galaxy-specific patches. At least five of those are critical vulnerabilities, potentially allowing an attacker to gain remote access to an affected phone. If you are using a Galaxy S20 FE in the US, watch out for an update with these security fixes in the coming days. You will receive a notification prompting you to download the update over the air (OTA). You can also manually check for OTA updates from the Settings app. Go to the Software update menu and tap on Download and Install. The new security patch is widely available for the Galaxy S21 FE The Galaxy S21 FE is eligible for Android 14 but has yet to pick up the new Android version. In the meantime, Samsung has released the November security patch for the phone. Earlier this month, the latest security update was rolled out to the international versions of the device, followed by carrier-locked units in the US. The unlocked counterparts are now joining the party. The November SMR for factory-unlocked Galaxy S21 FE is rolling out with firmware version G990U1UES9EWK1. The update will be available nationwide within the next few days. Samsung is expected to push Android 14 to the phone in the coming weeks. We will let you know when the update is released in the US. After the Galaxy S24 Ultra, Samsungs Galaxy S24+ has now started showing up on certification websites. The upcoming phone recently received approval from Indias BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards). The base Galaxy S24 should soon follow suit. Galaxy S24+ receives the BIS certification Last week, the BIS certified the Galaxy S24 Ultra, confirming dual-SIM support in the country. The device has since picked up certifications from Thailands NBTC and the Safety Korea certification from the Korea Testing & Research Institute (KTR). The listings didnt reveal much information but indicated a nearing launch of the phone. Samsung should be working on getting approvals for the Ultra from more regulatory bodies, including the FCC in the US. Advertisement Advertisement In the meantime, the BIS has now certified the Galaxy S24+. The official website of the Indian regulatory agency lists the model number SM-S926B/DS, which is the global version of the phone (the US version is SM-S926U and the Korean version is SM-S926N). The DS at the end confirms dual-SIM support. As expected, the listing doesnt include any other information. However, Samsungs rapid picking up of regulatory approvals for the Galaxy S24 lineup suggests that it is preparing for the launch. We are expecting the company to unveil the new flagships in January 2024. Reports say the launch event will take place on January 17 in San Jose, USA. The Korean firm will open pre-orders for the phones immediately after the Galaxy Unpacked event. General sales will begin on January 30. If you remember, the Galaxy S23 series debuted on February 1 with sales beginning on February 17. So the 2024 lineup is arriving on the market more than two weeks earlier. Samsung reportedly plans to capitalize on a growing demand for premium smartphones. It is investing heavily in on-device AI features for the Galaxy S24 series, aiming to make them the best AI phones ever. AI features could be Samsungs USP for its 2024 flagships The Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+, and Galaxy S24 Ultra will bring a handful of hardware upgrades over the 2023 lineup. However, software may be the biggest talking point of the next-gen Samsung flagships. More precisely, AI features could be the Korean firms USP for the new phones. It has reportedly baked AI into One UI, offering intuiting AI tools for all your needs. All tasks are processed locally on the device, so it will work offline and wont send your data out of the phone. Samsung may show us a demo at the Galaxy Unpacked event in January. In a recent update Google introduced a user interface (UI) tweak to its Messages app, aiming to simplify the process of sharing photos. This update prominently places a camera icon directly on the Google Messages home screen. It provides users with a quick and accessible way to initiate the photo-sharing process. The camera icon is positioned adjacent to the search icon on the top right of the app. The camera icon in Google Messages home screen aims to make photo sharing more convenient Previously, sending photos through Google Messages involved navigating to the conversation. Then users were to click on the Add button or capture a photo separately in the camera app. Then they would be able to select it from the conversation. Advertisement Advertisement In contrast, the newly introduced camera shortcut makes this process a bit faster and easier. It now allows the user to directly capture the photo from the apps home screen. Upon tapping the camera icon, the app seamlessly transitions to the camera app UI and viewfinder. Once you take the photo, Google Messages prompts you to select a recipient. Then it automatically attaches the photo to a new message for the recipient you choose. You still get the option to add additional text before sending it, notes PhoneArena. However, this feature appears to have another scope for improvement. The Select recipients prompt doesnt yet provide the New message option. That means you will have to start the chat first before you try to share photos directly from Messages home screen. Nonetheless, Google has seemingly focused on its Messages app for a while now and this is also expected to be fixed in the near future. Google continues to improve Messages to keep up with the competition The camera shortcut is part of the apps ongoing efforts to introduce experimental features. These include an animated emoji, an updated voice recorder, and Google Account login capabilities for the web version. The camera shortcut was initially in a limited rollout phase. However, it is now being widely deployed to Google Messages users. This new addition reflects Googles commitment to continuously improving the Messages apps functionality to keep up with alternatives like WhatsApp. It also ensures that people who have been using Google Messages dont have to shift their usage to another unfamiliar app just to make use of available new features. Samsung has announced a leadership shuffle, promoting some executives and moving others to new roles. The company is keeping its dual-CEO structure with no change of personnel there. This means its mobile boss TM Roh isnt promoted as the third co-CEO of the conglomerate. Samsung decided not to promote TM Roh to CEO TM Roh has led Samsungs mobile division, aka Samsung MX, for the past few years. He is usually on the stage at Galaxy Unpacked events unveiling the latest flagships and foldables. We expect to see him in San Jose in January 2024, introducing the Galaxy S24 series. The company has stuck with him through the recent ups and downs in the business. Advertisement Advertisement The unit has been doing better lately, leading to reports that Roh may get a promotion to CEO, serving Samsung as the third co-CEO. However, the Korean behemoth has decided not to do that and stick to its existing dual-CEO structure. That means Han Jong-hee and Kyung Kye-hyun will remain the two Chief Executive Officers of the company. Han, who is also a Vice Chairman at Samsung, will continue to head the DX DivisionDevice Experience unit encompassing Visual Display Business, Digital Appliances Business, Health & Medical Equipment Business, MX Business, and Networks Business. He is the head of the Home Appliances Division too. He is relinquishing his role as the head of the Visual Display Business (TV unit), though. Samsung says Yong Seok-woo, who was previously the Vice President of the Visual Display Business, will now outright lead the unit as the President. Co-CEO Kyung, meanwhile, is taking up the role of SAIT (Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology) Director while continuing to lead the DS Division (Device Solutions or semiconductor unit). SAIT is the companys research and development unit. Samsung has established a Future Business Planning Group Samsungs latest leadership shuffling also sees Kim Won-kyung, who was the Head of the Global Public Affairs Team under the Management Support Office of the DX Division, promoted to the Head of Global Public Affairs for the whole company. Additionally, it has formed a Future Business Planning Group and appointed Jeon Young-hyun as its Vice Chairman and Head. Jeon was previously the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Samsung SDI (battery unit). According to the company, the Future Business Planning Group is a dedicated organization working on discovering new businesses and business opportunities that can change the future industry landscape. The businesses shouldnt be an extension of the existing business, so Samsung is looking for ways to expand itself to new territories in the coming years. The firm will announce its lower-level executive shuffling soon. Sony has completed the second round of testing its in-camera authenticity technology. The camera maker collaborated with the Associated Press and Camera Bits to build a tool that will help mainly news organizations identify manipulated images. It will be available on Sony Alpha 9 III, Alpha 1, and Alpha 7S III cameras via a firmware update. Sony has been working on this technology for several years, and it is now coming in Spring 2024. Sony concludes the second round of in-camera authenticity testing With its upcoming in-camera authenticity technology, Sony wants to take on manipulated media, including AI-generated media. It says this technology will bring a digital signature that will mark a birth certificate for images. These photos will store lots of metadata for images, including if they were edited at any time. Advertisement Advertisement Neal Manowitz, Sony Electronics President and COO, explains that manipulated images not only harm photojournalists or news agency partners but society as a whole. Fake and manipulated images are a major concern for news organizationsthey erode the publics trust in factual, accurate imagery, said David Ake, APs Director of Photography. Ake noted that AP is proud to work alongside Sony in this process. It looks promising on camera, but would it come to phones too? Sony hasnt mentioned its plans to incorporate its in-camera authenticity technology into its flagship Xperia phones. Most likely, the Japanese tech major will launch its next flagship with Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which boasts several AI advancements for image and video processing. It offers features like photo expansion where it smartly fills out a picture and video object eraser. The latter works as the name suggests, it can even remove individuals from a video. Most importantly, Sony isnt the first company to come up with this idea. Leica had unveiled the M11-P. Similar to the upcoming tech, its photos carry a Content Credential Label. It contains the time and date of when the photo was taken and if any potential edits have been made. But it costs an arm and a lega whopping $9000. In contrast, it is much more than Sonys Alpha models. TikTok parent, Bytedances gaming division Nuverse, has reportedly started layoffs. According to a Reuters report, the China-based company began mass layoffs on Monday. However, the exact number of people who were fired remains under wraps. Nonetheless, some individuals familiar with the matter told Reuters (via The Verge) that it is likely to impact hundreds of employees. The mass layoffs began on Monday, with the companys restructuring efforts likely completed over the weekend. The report adds that employees were instructed to stop working on unreleased titles by December. Bytedances gaming division, Nuverse, comes to a halt We regularly review our businesses and make adjustments to center on long-term strategic growth areas. Following a recent review, weve made the difficult decision to restructure our gaming business, Nuverse told Reuters. Advertisement Advertisement Bytedance set up Nuverse as a gaming division in 2019, focusing on developing mobile and web games, including the popular Marvel Snap. Interest in gaming grew as China became a gaming major after the success of publishers such as Tencent and NetEase. However, Bytedances gaming endeavor comes to a halt with reports suggesting that it has no plans to return to the global market. The published games will continue to stay TikTok-owner Bytedance plans to continue running certain games like Crystal of Atlan and Earth: Revival while seeking new companies to take over these games. This ensures that players can continue enjoying these games in the long run. It includes Marvel Snap as well. Bloomberg reported that Bytedance is considering selling Shanghai Moonton Technology. Notably, it had acquired it for $4 billion in 2021. All of this hints that the companys focus has shifted. It aims to concentrate more on apps like TikTok and online shopping, contemplating the sale of some gaming companies and retaining those with new and exciting ideas. Bytedances intentions regarding its video game operations remain unclear, with the possibility of a complete cessation or a regular company restructuring remaining open. (ANSA) - ROME, NOV 28 - Italy is the only EU country to have got the fourth installment of its National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) approved by the European Commission, NRRP and European Affairs Minister Raffaele Fitto said Tuesday. "We are the only country to have obtained the fourth instalment of the NRRP," said the Minister for European Affairs, South, Cohesion and NRRP at a press conference. "Germany got the first and Greece the third. This is an important sign of great work done together with the European Commission. We have worked intensively. I feel I want to thank all those who have worked without limits and without hours to achieve this result,' Fitto said. (ANSA). President Yoon Suk Yeol is expected to carry out a major reshuffle of the Cabinet and presidential secretaries starting next week, as he prepares to push key agenda items in his third year in office, officials said Tuesday. The shakeup is expected to affect five of the six senior presidential secretaries and around half of the 19 Cabinet ministers, including those for finance, justice and land, as many of them depart to run in next April's parliamentary elections. "The upcoming Cabinet reshuffle and reorganization are meant for the implementation of key administrative tasks and the placement of capable people who can execute policies felt by the people, in our third year in office," a presidential official told Yonhap News Agency. The reshuffle of the presidential office will likely take place sometime next week, after parliamentary deliberations on the government's 2024 budget proposal and before Yoon heads to the Netherlands for a state visit. Yoon is widely expected to retain his chief of staff, Kim Dae-ki, while replacing all but one senior presidential secretary, Lee Kwan-sup, the senior secretary for policy planning. The senior secretary for economic affairs, Choi Sang-mok, is rumored to be Yoon's next pick for finance minister, as current Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho is certain to run for parliament. Choi's replacement is likely to be Park Chun-sup, a monetary policymaker of the Bank of Korea. Han Oh-seop, presidential secretary for state affairs monitoring, is being considered to replace Lee Jin-bok as senior secretary for political affairs, while presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon could be promoted to replace Kim Eun-hye as senior secretary for public relations. Vice Education Minister Jang Sang-yoon is believed to be a strong candidate for senior secretary for social policy, and former KBS news anchor Whang Sang-moo is considered a top contender for senior secretary for civil and social agenda. A reorganization of the presidential office is also reportedly under review. Yoon is almost certain to newly establish the position of senior secretary for science and technology, while splitting the responsibilities of the senior secretary for social policy with three newly created senior secretaries for the environment, labor and welfare. Meanwhile, the Cabinet shakeup will likely see the replacements of Land Minister Won Hee-ryong and Veterans Minister Park Min-shik, as both are expected to run for parliament, along with Finance Minister Choo. The presidential office is also vetting potential candidates to replace Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon, who is widely expected to be assigned a role in the upcoming elections. Other ministers potentially subject to replacement include Foreign Minister Park Jin, and the ministers of labor, SMEs and startups, science, agriculture, and fisheries. (Yonhap) (ANSA) - ROME, NOV 28 - Italy's big three unions CIGl, CISL and UIl confirmed their opposition to Italy's 2024 budget and said they would continue strike action after talks on the package with the government Tuesday. "It confirms all the reasons for (last week's) strike because beyond listening, at the moment the government has changed nothing about the budget," said the general secretary of the CGIL, Maurizio Landini, at the end of the meeting at Premier Giorgia Meloni's office at Palazzo Chigi in Rome. Landini said that on a controversial cut to doctors' pensions, in article 33 of the package, "they merely said that they are thinking (about rescinding it), it continues to be a wrong budget". UIL secretary general Pierpaolo Bombardieri said "the government has confirmed the approach of the budget. Article 33, the one on pension rates, is confirmed: only on this they are evaluating possible changes". He went on: "Once again the insensitivity to the many requests that come from the (recent) demos is confirmed. "To the question of whether it is true or false that they are making cash on pensions, they did not answer, as we expected." The government has said it will revise the cut to doctors' pensions. CISL chief Luigi Sbarra was more emollient after the talks saying "it was a very important meeting both in method and in merit" and calling it a "sign of respect after the demonstrations". He confirmed that the unions had asked the government to withdraw article 33 and said they had pledged to make "changes and improvements to the norm. "We asked to withdraw Article 33, the government assured us that there will be changes and improvements to the regulation: rates and returns of future pension treatments of doctors, nurses, staff of local authorities, kindergarten teachers should remain the current ones for old age pensions. And they are thinking in these hours of introducing improvements for the early retirement pension as well'. (ANSA). (ANSA) - ROME, NOV 28 - A pizzeria in Sicily has got racist comments over the two black pizzaioli it employs, with customers vowing not to return until the establishment gets rid of them. "I'm not eating your pizza if it's prepared by blacks," said one of the comments posted earlier this month to Gianluca Graci, owner of the "La fuazzeria" pizzeria at Licata, in the province of Agrigento. Other comments included "I'm not saying they're dirty but just seeing them put their hands in the ingredients turns my stomach" and "you make me feel sick and afraid too". Graci says he has no intention of parting company with the two young pizza makers, whom he described as "very talented and very hard working". The incident follows another one at the chic Ginger restaurant at Agrigento where some clients left the eatery after finding out that their food was being prepared by multi award winning Senegalese chef Mareme Cisse. (ANSA). (ANSA) - ROME, NOV 28 - Filippo Turetta admitted to killing his ex-girlfriend Giulia Cecchettin in a statement he gave to a preliminary investigations judge at Verona prison on Tuesday, the young student's lawyer Giovanni Caruso said. Cecchettin's murder on November 11 has shocked Italy, in part because of the age of the victim and the alleged murderer, both 22, and because of the brutality of the killing. Her body was not found until a week after the homicide, confirming she was dead and had not gone missing after days of intense anxiety for her family. Turetta, who took flight after the killing and was arrested near Leipzig in Germany on November 19, made the confession in a "spontaneous statement" before the judge. The Padua university biomedical engineering student wept during Tuesday's interrogation and otherwise used the right to remain silent when asked questions, sources said. The questioning took place at Verona's Montorio prison, where Turetta arrived on Saturday morning following his extradition from Germany. He is being held under 24-hour protection for his own safety and will have no contact with prisoners suspected or accused of other types of crimes. He is said to be "quiet" and has reportedly asked for books and to meet his parents after the interrogation. On Sunday he met with the prison chaplain. Turetta is currently being probed for kidnapping and aggravated voluntary homicide but this could change to premeditation in light of the results of the autopsy on December 1 and examination of the car used by the suspect in the alleged kidnapping and femicide. (ANSA). (ANSA) - ROME, NOV 28 - Rome's getting just 17 votes in the Expo 2030 final with Riyadh running out a comfortable winner to host the event with 119 was a "bad defeat and we're very disappointed," Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri said after the decision at the BIE in Paris Tuesday. Replying to reporters at the end of the BIE delegates' meeting in Issy-Les-Molineaux, on the outskirts of Paris, he said "one must sportingly accept defeat'. Riyadh's was a "crushing victory" said the first citizen of the Italian capital, stressing however that Rome's bid was "a beautiful project". South Korea's second city Busan came second with 29 votes. (ANSA). (ANSA) - ROME, NOV 28 - Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said Tuesday that he was happy to report to parliament after sparking a furore by warning of elements within the judiciary forming "judicial opposition" to Premier Giorgia Meloni's government in an interview published in Corriere della Sera on Sunday. In the interview, the minister was reported as saying he had "heard about meetings of a faction within the judiciary in which they talk about how to 'stop the anti-democratic drift Meloni is leading us to'. "Since we have seen all sorts of things in the past, if I know this country, I expect this season to open soon, before the European elections," said Crosetto, a member of Meloni's right-wing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party. The interview sparked an angry reaction from Italian magistrates union ANM, with its president Giuseppe Santalucia accusing Crosetto of spreading "fake news which has no foundation and hurts the institutions". Santalucia called on Crosetto to "dispel suspicions and shadows". Opposition parties also moved to condemn the remarks, with ex-premier and 5-Star Movement (M5S) leader Giuseppe Conte saying they amounted to accusing part of the judiciary of being "subversive" and many MPs calling for Crosetto to report to the Lower House as soon as possible. There have also been calls for him to file a report on the allegations to criminal prosecutors. Crosetto has denied waging an attack on the Italian judiciary, saying his comments were an expression of concern. "Having spoken about public meetings held by associations, it seems to me that there is not much to report (to prosecutors)," Crosetto said Tuesday. "If they want me to report on it in parliament I'll gladly do so "However, since I am not the justice minister, I prefer to do so, out of institutional respect, in committees such as as the anti-mafia commission or Copasir (the intelligence-oversight commission). "I'll let them decide which they think is best". (ANSA). (ANSA) - ROME, NOV 28 - Premier Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday chaired the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Cyber security to assess "the current state of cyber security" in the light of "the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East", according to a statement from the premier's office at Palazzo Chigi. The crises have led to "an increase in cyber attacks and hacker activism" also "towards institutional sites", the statement added. Tuesday's meeting "identified and defined the digital safeguards needed to ensure the best protection of Italy's critical and essential infrastructure in the current context". (ANSA). (ANSA) - ROME, NOV 28 - Pope Francis has cancelled his trip to the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, later this week at the request of his doctors, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Tuesday. "Although the Holy Father's general clinical picture has improved with regard to his flu-like condition and inflammation of the respiratory tract", doctors have asked him "not to make the planned trip to Dubai for the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change", said Bruni. "Pope Francis accepted the doctors' request with great regret and the trip is therefore cancelled," he continued, adding that the pontiff and the Holy See still wanted "to be part of the discussions taking place over the next few days". "The manner in which this might happen will be worked out as soon as possible," said Bruni. On Saturday the Holy See Press Office said Pope Francis was suffering from a "slight flu-like condition" but that a CAT scan had yielded negative results, ruling out the risk of "pulmonary complications". Some of his engagements were subsequently cancelled and others - including his long-awaited participation at COP28 - were confirmed. (ANSA). (ANSA) - ROME, NOV 28 - The commitment to tackling the climate crisis "is a question of inter-generational justice" said Pope Francis on Tuesday ahead of his trip to the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, later this week. In a message to the participants in the International Development Law Organisation's Assembly of Parties in Rome, the pope insisted on the need for climate justice" and the "sustainable use of natural resources", elements that can contribute to "a fairer and more peaceful world". "The degradation of the planet not only prevents a serene and harmonious coexistence in the present, but it also greatly diminishes it when measuring the integral progress of future generations. "Justice, human rights, fairness and equality are fundamentally intertwined with the causes and effects of climate change," he added. Francis has made protecting the environment a central theme of his pontificate and in 2015 he issued the encyclical letter Laudato si' on care for our common home. (ANSA). A relative whose mother was a victim of necrophiliac killer David Fullers mortuary abuse said the hospital boss where he worked should be sacked. An independent probe looking at how Fuller was able to offend for 15 years without being suspected or caught at hospitals where he worked exposed serious failings of management in a report released on Tuesday. The maintenance worker sexually abused the bodies of at least 101 women and girls aged between nine and 100 while employed at the now-closed Kent and Sussex Hospital and the Tunbridge Wells Hospital, in Pembury, between 2005 and 2020. Family accounts detailed in the report share the reactions and impact on victims relatives. One anonymous relative whose mother was a victim said: Even though I love the NHS, I blame them for this. Well, that particular hospital I blame for this They need to sack the CEO, as I cant believe hes still in the hospital. Another account, from a victims husband read: (T)he staff of the NHS are fantastic. We all know that theyre doing a fantastic job with the resources that theyve got. Dont blame the foot soldiers, blame the generals. Blame the leaders. Blame the people who have put the procedures into place. The chief executive of Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, Miles Scott, who took on the role in 2018 two years before Fuller was arrested, said in a statement he was deeply sorry for the pain and anguish suffered by the families of Fullers victims. He said the vast majority of the reports recommendations have been put in place, but others will be actioned as quickly as possible. A few of the victims relatives said they were offered a call with Mr Scott and that it was good to speak to him but felt he seemed quite lax about the whole thing. They added: He admitted that the swipe card data had never been checked. And then tried to excuse that by saying how many staff there were in the hospital. Thats not good enough for me. Thats not good enough for anybody. Another person who spoke with Mr Scott said her contact with the trust was useless, and said their biggest problem was holistic lessons learnt and no-one is held accountable. A relative dubbed F30 also said the chief executive and the whole trusts board should have resigned. They went on: The Secretary of State for Health in my opinion, should have dismissed the whole lot Was it his fault that Fuller carried out those crimes? No, of course its not. But he is responsible, as the top person, to make sure that the systems and the practices and the procedures within that trust are being adhered to. Unveiling the findings at a press conference in London, inquiry chairman Sir Jonathan Michael said Fullers victims and relatives were repeatedly let down by those at all levels of responsibility who needed to ensure their loved ones were appropriately cared for in the mortuary. Sir Jonathan added there were missed opportunities to question Fullers work, such as routinely working beyond his contracted hours and carrying out tasks which should not have been done by him because of chronic back problems. The inquiry spoke to 54 family members, representing 33 of David Fullers victims during the course of the first part of the investigation. The Fuller inquiry also found that 79% of relatives they spoke to decided to keep the abuse secret, while nearly all of them (92%) described the harm to their physical and mental health. Around 50% of families also described how Fuller tainted the memory of their loved ones and they could longer look at photographs or remember happier times. The trust said it was not notified of any potential disciplinary offences or breaches of professional codes of conduct identified by the inquiry team but added: We will be studying the report carefully to make our own assessment. Law firm Irwin Mitchell, which represents 18 families of victims abused by Fuller, responded to the inquirys report saying that the failings are astonishing. The firms legal expert, Sallie Booth, said: Whilst the families have yet to read the detail of the report, they expect all of those individuals who had responsibility for governance and management of the hospital to reflect seriously about their own failures, acknowledge those failings and take personal responsibility for them. The fact that failures occurred for such a long period and during different regimes of management of the hospital and the Trust should not cloud issues of personal responsibility. The inquiry also revealed details over two allegations of serious misconduct in the mortuary in 1998 which were investigated this year, after Fuller started working at the hospitals in 1989. While the report said it could not find evidence to support the allegations, it added the inquiry is unable to rule out someone senior at the trust may have known about them. The allegations were referred to Kent Police earlier but no further criminal offences took place in this time period and no new evidence of more victims has been identified. One instance involved a conversation between trust directors at then-Mid Kent Healthcare NHS Trust about a report of an electrician using the mortuary at Kent and Sussex Hospital at night for necrophilia. The second allegation was over a suspected incident of a deceased person being scalded in a trust mortuary in 1998 or 1999. The suspect was a mortuary technician anonymised by the inquiry. The report said: The inquiry considers this to be a missed opportunity to strengthen controls in security of the mortuary in the late 1990s, which pre-dates David Fullers first known offence by six or seven years. In 2022, a government scheme was launched to allow family members of victims to receive compensation for the psychiatric trauma of Fullers crimes and financial losses. Channel 4 boss Alex Mahon has said its internal investigation into the allegations raised against its former presenter Russell Brand is weeks away from being completed. In September, the 48-year-old comedian was accused of rape, assault and emotional abuse following a joint investigation by The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4 Dispatches. Brand has strongly denied the allegations which span between 2006 and 2013, when he was at the height of his fame while working for Channel 4 on Big Brother spin-off shows EFourum and Big Brothers Big Mouth as well as on BBC programmes and starring in Hollywood films. Appearing in front of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on Tuesday, the chief executive said she was very happy to take questions on the report after it is published. Asked by the committee how the inhouse investigation is going, she said: I am certainly very proud of that programme because we had investigative journalists working on it for three to four years. Although, of course it may historically implicate Channel 4 programmes. Thats why Im particularly glad that we did that programme and called it to account. She added: We are doing a full investigation in a separate team to the people who made the programme and any allegations about criminal activity goes straight to the police. Ms Mahon said they have commissioned a team who are going through around 60,000 documents which they have historically on record and they are now in the process of interviewing people who may have been involved at the time. She said: As it stands, were not quite finished. Were probably in the process of weeks, not months. The chief executive added that she was very happy to take questions on the report after it is published. The allegations against Brand also include claims of controlling, abusive and predatory behaviour and the force has said it had since received a number of allegations of sexual offences in London as well as elsewhere in the country since the investigation was shared. Reflecting on the revelations within the investigation, Ms Mahon said: I think if youve seen the documentary, what we see on air not that long ago is deeply shocking and troubling when one sees it again and were talking 10-15 years ago, and I think all of us have to consider what impact that has on programmes going forward. She explained that the broadcaster has its own code of conduct for internal staff as well as one for suppliers and producers which she said they repeatedly share and refresh and update. Channel 4 Chief Executive Alex Mahon @mahonalex has just told the Committee she is not leaving C4 and says most of the speculation has been incorrect. Watch our session live: https://t.co/tRkRS3YAqM pic.twitter.com/p3sZUpifdW Culture, Media and Sport Committee (@CommonsCMS) November 28, 2023 In relation to monitoring cases, she said they have a whistleblowing line which is provided to everyone who works on Channel 4 productions and that they investigate everything that comes through it. She added: Everything that comes in through whistleblowing or that safe calling line I have to know about within 24 hours so each individual report comes to me unless its something to do with me, in which case it goes independently to the chairman and Im unaware and then we investigate each of those. We report back on each of those to the audit committee as well so were following those all up. The chief executive said they do tend to see a spike with whistleblowing reports after cases like Brand are brought to light, which she said she feel is very important because it shows that the message of please tell us about things gets through. Earlier this month, The Times reported that a man, understood to be Brand, was interviewed under caution by the Metropolitan Police over allegations of sexual offences. The BBC and Banijay UK, which bought Endemol, the company commissioned by Channel 4 to produce the Big Brother spin-off shows the presenter hosted, are also investigating Brands behaviour while he was working on its programmes. Elsewhere in the committee meeting, Ms Mahon said speculation that she is leaving the broadcaster is untrue. She added: I think that one has to accept that that is not abnormal for there to be that kind of conversation around executives, particularly in broadcasting. I dont think its anything outside of the ordinary course. A man who was seriously injured in the loyalist bombings of Dublin in 1974 has died. Derek Byrne was 14 when he was pronounced dead following an explosion in Parnell Street almost 50 years ago, but woke up three hours later in a morgue and was rushed to hospital for emergency life-saving surgery. His death at the age of 63 came just days after he attended court in Belfast as part of a long-running claim for damages on behalf of victims. On May 17 1974, three no-warning bombs went off across Dublin city centre and one in Monaghan town. No-one has ever been convicted over the bombings but the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) admitted responsibility in 1993. Thirty-five people, including two unborn children, died in the 1974 bombings (Niall Carson/PA) An official memorial in the Irish capital honours the 35 victims of the bombings, which include two unborn babies. It remains the single greatest loss of life on any single day of the Troubles. The families, who allege collusion in the atrocities, have been pursuing damages in Belfast High Court since 2014. Mr Byrnes lawyer, Kevin Winters from KRW Law, said his client has joined the long list of Troubles victims who did not live to see the conclusion of their legal cases. Mr Winters said: We issued High court proceedings against the police, military and the Secretary of State for damages for conspiracy to murder and misfeasance amongst other torts in relation to collusion allegations around the Dublin-Monaghan Bombings. In December 2018 Derek was part of a large group of families of victims and survivors who travelled to Belfast to listen as the High court ordered the release of documents in their case. However the state immediately appealed the order and issued motions to strike the case out. Nearly five years on Derek returned to the same court to hear the defendants arguments to prevent discovery of material. He travelled wheelchair-bound on the train from Dublin. He did so knowing he was severely life-limited and very much against medical advice. Five days later he succumbed to his many illnesses and died. His incredible survival of that bomb blast was bookended 50 years on by his defiant act of attending court when at deaths door. Mr Winters said there was a real poignancy that Mr Byrne had died before hearing the outcome of the court case. Kevin Winters of KRW Law said it was poignant that Derek Byrne had died before hearing the outcome of the case (Liam McBurney/PA) He added: The recent positive soundings of the new (PSNI) Chief Constable (Jon Boutcher) on sharing of Troubles-linked information makes Dereks passing even more acute. The anticipated impactful outworkings of Jon Boutchers culture change vision on information sharing is a welcome antidote to the last five years of attritional litigation on the Dublin-Monaghan bombings case. However his pronouncement comes too late for Derek Byrne. He is the latest victim of a litigation system which has timed out on hundreds of other next of kin and survivors who never lived to see the end of their cases. Mr Winters said: Derek Byrnes sad passing really ought to be a timely reminder of the need for urgent implementation of the litigation culture change recently advocated. Three gangsters have been jailed for plotting to sell a gun to a terrorist planning an attack in central Londons Hyde Park. Edward Little, 22, was travelling in a taxi from Brighton to the capital with 5,000 to buy the firearm and bullets when police swooped on September 23 last year. His target was a Christian preacher at Speakers Corner and he had spoken of his desire to get a gun in encrypted chats on the Threema messaging platform, the Old Bailey was told. At one point, he wrote: I dont think there has been an attack in the UK with guns so a semi-automatic rifle would send a (sic) even stronger message. In May, Little, of Pelham Street, Brighton, admitted preparing terrorist acts. He will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on December 15. Caleb Wenyeve has been jailed for 12 years (CTPSE/PA) On Monday, three members of a crime gang were jailed at Inner London Crown Court for conspiring to provide him with a gun. They plotted to sell Little the firearm and ammunition which had been adapted into a viable lethal weapon, Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTPSE) said. After Littles detention, police searched addresses controlled by the group, recovered the firearm and made multiple arrests. Tyler King, 21, Caleb Wenyeve, 21, and Reis Forde, 27, admitted being party to the plot even though it was accepted they did not know the gun was for a terror attack, police said. Tyler King has been jailed for 10 years and nine months (CTPSE/PA) King, of Denmark Hill, Lewisham, was jailed for 10 years and nine months for conspiracy to transfer a prohibited firearm, possession of a prohibited firearm and three counts of possession of ammunition without lawful authority. Wenyeve, of Blidworth Close, Strelley in Nottingham, was jailed for 12 years for conspiracy to transfer a prohibited firearm along with Forde, who was jailed for 13 years and six months. After a trial, a jury cleared them of conspiring to supply a firearm with intent to endanger life. Detective Chief Superintendent Olly Wright, head of CTPSE, said: King, Wenyeve and Forde were working together to supply a viable firearm along with ammunition. Reis Forde has been jailed for 13 years and six months (CTPSE/PA) Although they didnt know Edward Littles plan to commit a terrorist attack with the firearm, they entered into an agreement with Little to sell him a fully functioning gun and live ammunition. They went a step further by sending a video of the working mechanisms of the weapon as proof to the buyer that it was a viable firearm. This organised crime group was unravelled quickly. The case is a prime example of the skill of our teams in counter-terrorism Policing and our determination to disrupt and bring to justice criminals whose activity could facilitate terrorism or harm our national security. All cases linked to terrorism will be vigorously pursued and brought before the courts. Rishi Sunak will chair Cabinet on Tuesday after reportedly being warned that attempting to opt out of international rights treaties could delay his Rwanda plan. The aim of sending asylum seekers on a one-way trip to Rwanda forms a key plank of the Prime Ministers pledge to stop boats of migrants from crossing the English Channel. But a ruling by the Supreme Court that the proposal is unlawful has seen the UK Government look at measures to satisfy judges concerns. Mr Sunak has been urged, including by sacked home secretary Suella Braverman, to adopt tough legislation that includes notwithstanding clauses that can prevent judges from applying protections in the Human Rights Act and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to asylum cases. Former home Secretary Suella Braverman has been critical of the Prime Ministers handling of the migrant crisis (Jonathan Brady/PA) The Times reported that the Government has received advice from its lawyers that says instructing the courts to ignore the ECHR risks opening up more avenues for migrants to challenge the legality of deportation flights, on the basis that it would breach Britains convention obligations. The newspaper quoted an anonymous Government source as saying: If we take the Supreme Courts ruling at face value and play a straight bat, that will be the quickest way of getting flights off the ground, instead of starting a big fight that may invite more challenges. No 10 has previously appeared to accept that looking to circumvent international human rights treaties would take longer than other measures at ministers disposal. The Prime Minister has set the target of having migrant flights take off by spring. Mr Sunaks plan to save the policy involves the signing of a new treaty with Kigali, which has already been paid 140 million for the asylum scheme, and the introduction of emergency legislation allowing Parliament to deem the east African country safe. The legal advice from Government lawyers is said to have been discussed at a meeting on Saturday between the Prime Minister, Home Secretary James Cleverly, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk and Attorney General Victoria Prentis. PA news agency understands the purpose of the meeting was to run through multiple options for the emergency legislation that Downing Street has promised in a bid to break the legal logjam preventing deportation flights from taking off. Home Secretary James Cleverly said he would not prejudge what would be in the emergency Rwanda legislation (Yui Mok/PA) Mr Cleverly has stoked right-wing Tory ire after suggesting in a newspaper interview that the plan to deport asylum seekers to Kigali was not the be all and end all of the Governments immigration approach following the Supreme Court judgment. In his first Home Office questions as Home Secretary on Monday, he said he would not prejudge the content of the Governments emergency legislation. Energy minister Andrew Bowie said he would not speculate when asked if the legislation would be published before the end of the year. He told LBC: All I know is that between the Home Office and 10 Downing Street, they are working very hard to ensure that this legislation, when it does appear, delivers what the Prime Minister says it will, which is to help deliver the Rwanda scheme. Separately, Mr Sunak was involved in a diplomatic spat with the Greek prime minister after it was claimed the Prime Minister cancelled a meeting between the pair at the 11th hour. The row comes after Greek leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis had used an interview ahead of the anticipated talks on Tuesday to push for the return of the Elgin Marbles, saying the current situation was like the Mona Lisa painting being cut in half. A source on the Greek side said Mr Mitsotakis and his team had been left baffled after the talks were ditched given preventing migrant sea crossings one of Mr Sunaks top five priorities as part of his stop the boats pledge was high on the agenda. Downing Street would not say whether the meeting had been cancelled as a result of the Greek premiers marbles comments, but said an offer of a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden had been made instead. Laurence Fox has apologised from a witness box to two people he called paedophiles in a Twitter row that sparked a High Court libel battle. The Reclaim Party founder claimed he had been diminishing the ridiculousness of being labelled a racist amid exchanges on the social media platform, now known as X, about a decision by Sainsburys to provide a safe space for black employees during Black History Month. Mr Fox, 45, called for a boycott of the supermarket in October 2020 and was called a racist by the drag artist Crystal, former Stonewall trustee Simon Blake and actress Nicola Thorp. Laurence Fox, right, accepted calling someone a paedophile was a very serious allegation if it was a genuine allegation (Lucy North/PA) The actor and politician subsequently termed each of the trio a paedophile, prompting the libel action by Mr Blake and the drag star, also known as Colin Seymour. Mr Fox, who denies being a racist, is counter-suing the trio over their tweets and continued to give evidence for a second day at a hearing in London on Tuesday. During his cross-examination, Mr Fox accepted calling someone a paedophile was a very serious allegation if it was a genuine allegation and not a rhetorical device. Lorna Skinner KC, representing Mr Blake, Mr Seymour and Ms Thorp, asked that after the two men gave evidence earlier in the trial, Mr Fox still maintained that they were not caused distress by it. Mr Fox replied: Distress? The both said they were distressed by it. I can only take their words for it. Simon Blake, left to right, Nicola Thorp and Colin Seymour are being counter-sued by Mr Fox (Lucy North/PA) Addressing the pair, he added: Im sorry to both of you individually for that. The actor said his use of the term was rhetorical and there was no inference at any point that I thought they were a paedophile. I was diminishing the ridiculousness of calling me a racist, he said. In his written evidence for the case, Mr Seymour, a Canadian artist, said he had faced overwhelming and distressing abuse after Mr Foxs tweet, adding that he felt less safe as a drag performer. Mr Blake, who is now chief executive of Mental Health First Aid England, told the court the incorrect suggestion that gay men were paedophiles was a trope as old as the hills. Mr Fox earlier said his approach to the Twitter exchanges had been: If youre going to throw around pointless, meaningless words then lets start now. The libel trial was being held at the Royal Courts of Justice (Andrew Matthews/PA) He said the paedophile allegation was a serious allegation in exactly the same way that calling someone a racist is a serious allegation. He told the court that he had faced a Twitter pile-on and triple-pronged attack, adding that since then, my life has been utterly, totally destroyed as an actor. During questioning, Mr Fox rejected suggestions from Ms Skinner that he had expressed stupid and offensive views and twisted humour over previous matters relating to race. Mr Fox defended his views on a number of issues, claiming it was anti-British to take the knee, criticising the progressive religion and alleging that posting black squares on Instagram in support of the Black Lives Matter movement was pointless virtue signalling. In October 2020, the actor said he would boycott Sainsburys, accusing it of promoting racial segregation and discrimination. In court, he said his reaction was that the supermarket chain was corporate virtue signalling dreadful people and that the safe space move was a ludicrous idea. Mr Fox said in his written statement: My understanding of a safe space is that it is the opposite of a dangerous space suggesting that it is dangerous for any white employees to be able to go into those spaces. I think that this is wrong, harmful and racist. Ultimately it has come over from America: it is a cultural import from America. Ms Skinner said segregation in America was enforced on black people and was completely different to creating a safe space in Sainsburys. Mr Fox claimed the language was hyper-emotive and accused the supermarket of allegedly encouraging segregation. Ms Skinner suggested this was an example of Alice in Wonderland thinking, with the actor disagreeing with her suggestion that he had misread the supermarkets intention to have a virtual safe space amid Covid restrictions. She said Mr Foxs choice of the word dangerous was revealing about whats really going on in your head about black people. The actor said: For the record, I dont think black people are dangerous at all and I think thats a pretty nasty assertion to make. Patrick Green KC, representing Mr Fox, has previously said in written arguments that neither Mr Blake, nor Mr Seymour has suffered any actual, real-world consequences due to the actors tweets. The barrister said that the posts did not cause people to think worse of Mr Blake and Mr Seymour and that people did not believe they were paedophiles. Instead, Mr Green said readers would have understood that Mr Foxs posts were a retort to an allegation of racism rather than a factual allegation. Ms Skinner has previously said that Mr Blake, Mr Seymour and Ms Thorp honestly believed, and continue honestly to believe, that Mr Fox is a racist. In written submissions, the barrister said Mr Fox has made a number of highly controversial statements about race, adding: If, and to the extent that Mr Fox has been harmed in his reputation, it is his own conduct and not the claimants comments on it that caused that harm. Mr Fox is due to conclude giving evidence on Wednesday. The trial before Mrs Justice Collins Rice is due to end later this week, with a decision expected at a later date. Hilda Weges Krakow in Poland and Spains Valencia have beaten more famous destinations to be named the UKs favourite European city breaks. The cities were ranked by consumer group Which? on a number of different criteria including value for money so you might be tempted to make them your next destinations to visit. Of the 31 popular destinations rated, Krakow and Valencia jointly topped the list with scores of 92%. Krakow scored a full five stars for its cultural sites and attractions, and boasts a wealth of historic gems, from the famous Wawel Royal Castle to its town hall tower. Visitors can while away the hours drinking in the atmosphere in the citys medieval square, the largest of its kind in Europe, or head out to explore the sights in the citys vibrant Jewish quarter. Read more: Are you missing out on thousands of pounds in lost pension income? Just a few miles outside of the city, the Wieliczka salt mine also proved popular with survey respondents, with one visitor saying they were "amazed" by the scale of the underground attraction. Visitors to Valencia awarded it five stars for attractions, lauding the citys intriguing blend of old and new, with its charming old town sitting in sharp contrast to the "spectacular" and "futuristic" City of Arts and Sciences. The latter is home to attractions including an open air oceanographic park, opera house, museum of science and planetarium. Swedens capital Stockholm followed closely behind with a destination score of 91%. The Scandinavian city scored five stars for ease of getting around, and four stars for food and drink, accommodation and cultural sites and attractions. Visitors praised the ABBA museum as great fun while the Vasa museum also proved popular, offering an unmissable opportunity to see a salvaged 17th century ship. The city did fall down on value for money however, receiving just two stars in this category. Tied in third place with a score of 89% were Berlin, Funchal and Seville. Germanys capital city Berlin scored five stars for ease of getting around, with one respondent noting that there is so much to see and visit and all within a relatively compact area. It also received five stars for its cultural sites and attractions, which include the Berlin Wall memorial, Brandenburg Gate and Pergamonmuseum. It scored four stars both for accommodation and for quality of food and drink. Read more: UK houses selling at a 25k discount in London and 18k lower in rest of the country Funchal, the largest city on the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira, scored five stars for accommodation and for food and drink, with visitors praising the array of restaurants to choose from in the old town district. It scored highly for ease of getting around, and was also one of just three destinations in the survey to score four stars for value for money, with a hotel room costing 108 a night on average. Seville, capital of Spains sunny Andalusia region, scored five stars for food and drink, as well as for its cultural sites and attractions. Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: The weak pound has made holidays to most European countries more expensive, but our survey shows that looking beyond the most famous destinations for your next city break pays off. Watch: Mum jets off on for 16 holidays making it back in time for her nightshifts Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android. The individual with the swine flu strain has now 'fully recovered'. (Getty Images) The swine flu strain H1N2 very similar to viruses currently circulating in pigs has been found in a human in the UK for the first time. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has detected a single confirmed human case and is working to better understand the new strain and assess the risk to our health. "It is thanks to routine flu surveillance and genome sequencing that we have been able to detect this virus. This is the first time we have detected this virus in humans in the UK, though it is very similar to viruses that have been detected in pigs," says Meera Chand, incident director at UKHSA. "We are working rapidly to trace close contacts and reduce any potential spread. In accordance with established protocols, investigations are underway to learn how the individual acquired the infection and to assess whether there are any further associated cases." There have been about 50 reported human cases worldwide of the H1N2 virus since 2005, none of them related genetically to this strain. This UK case was detected as part of routine national flu surveillance undertaken by the UKHSA and the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP). While there is no need to panic, with the UKHSA working hard to determine how transmissible the strain is or if there are any other cases in the UK, it's useful to be aware of any possible signs or symptoms of swine flu. But first, let's recap what 'swine flu' actually is. UKHSA has detected a single confirmed human case of influenza A(H1N2)v, which is the first detection of this strain of flu in a human in the UK. We are monitoring the situation closely. Read more in our news story: https://t.co/TqZ3kt1uEG UK Health Security Agency (@UKHSA) November 27, 2023 What is swine flu? 'Swine flu' was the name given to the virus responsible for a pandemic in 2009-2010. It became known as swine flu because it's similar to flu viruses that affect pigs. "Overall, the outbreak was not as serious as originally predicted, largely because many older people were already immune to it," the NHS website explains. "Most cases in the UK were relatively mild, although there were some serious cases." The scientific name given to the swine flu strain behind the 2009 outbreak is A H1N1(pdm09), shortened to H1N1. "The relatively small number of cases that led to serious illness or death were mostly in children and young adults particularly those with underlying health problems and pregnant women," the health service adds. The UKHSA points out H1N1 is now circulating in humans seasonally and is no longer referred to as swine flu. "It is distinct from the viruses currently circulating in pigs." The scientific name given to the strain recently detected in a Brit (similar to viruses currently found in pigs), is A(H1N2)v, or H1N2. The source of their infection remains under investigation, though the PA news agency reports they are not known to have worked with pigs. Chief Veterinary Officer, Christine Middlemiss, says, "We know that some diseases of animals can be transferred to humans which is why high standards of animal health, welfare and biosecurity are so important." H1N1, H1N2 and H3N2 are all major subtypes of swine influenza A viruses in pigs and occasionally infect humans, usually after direct or indirect exposure to pigs or contaminated environments. If you experience respiratory symptoms, follow existing guidance. (Getty Images) (JulPo via Getty Images) Swine flu signs and symptoms In 2009, swine flu symptoms were detailed to cause: A fever Tiredness A cough Sore throat Other symptoms also listed include a headache, aching muscles, chills, sneezing, a runny nose, loss of appetite, vomiting and diarrhoea. Looking to the individual in the UK recently found to have the H1N2 strain, the UKHSA reports they experienced "a mild illness" (but have fully recovered). They were tested by their GP after experiencing respiratory symptoms. Symptoms of respiratory infections, including COVID-19 and the flu, can be very similar, making it harder to identify the type of infection based on symptoms alone. The specific influenza strain H1N2 is still being looked into. "As is usual early in emerging infection events, UKHSA is working closely with partners to determine the characteristics of the pathogen and assess the risk to human health," the UKHSA states. However, common symptoms of respiratory infections include: Continuous cough High temperature, fever or chills Loss of, or change in, your normal sense of taste or smell Shortness of breath Unexplained tiredness, lack of energy Muscle aches or pains that are not due to exercise Not wanting to eat or not feeling hungry Headache that is unusual or longer lasting than usual Sore throat, stuffy or runny nose Diarrhoea, feeling sick or being sick "People with any respiratory symptoms should continue to follow the existing guidance; avoid contact with other people while symptoms persist, particularly if the people they are coming into contact with are elderly or have existing medical conditions," the UKHSA advises. "UKHSA is monitoring the situation closely and is taking steps to increase surveillance within existing programmes involving GP surgeries and hospitals in parts of North Yorkshire. To assist in the detection of cases and assessment of transmission, those people who are contacted and asked to test are encouraged to do so," it adds. The UKHSA has also urged pig keepers to report any suspicion of swine fly in their herds to their local vet immediately. For more information on what to do if you have symptoms of a respiratory infection, see this UKHSA website page. If you are concerned about your symptoms, or they are worsening, seek medical advice by contacting NHS 111. In an emergency dial 999. A teenage boy and a man caught on CCTV using machetes to kill a 50-year-old father have been found guilty of murder and conspiracy to murder their victims son. Footage played to a jury showed Kelvin Ward being attacked by 17-year-old Tyrone Hollywood and Leighton Williams, 28, after his sons car was rammed in a busy road in Castle Bromwich, Birmingham. Edited sections of the footage, released by West Midlands Police with the permission of the victims family, show Mr Ward trying to evade machete blows in Chester Road on April 18. The force also released footage of Williams, of North Roundhay, Birmingham, being arrested by armed police after the killing. Jurors at Coventry Crown Court convicted two other defendants Rusharn Williams-Reid and Aaron Coates of conspiracy to murder Mr Wards 19-year-old son, who managed to flee the scene. Williams-Reid, of Orchard Meadow Walk, Birmingham, was cleared of unlawfully killing Mr Ward, while Coates, of Sydney Way, Birmingham, was acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter. Kelvin Ward, who was stabbed to death in April (Family handout/PA) In a statement released after the verdicts, the partner of Mr Ward, whose sons Vauxhall Corsa was initially rammed by a Ford Kuga at a KFC branch and then forced to a halt less than a mile away, called for greater penalties for offenders caught carrying knives and machetes. The identity of Hollywood, of Findon Road, Birmingham, had been protected because of his age but the trial judge ordered he should be named after his conviction for murder. All four defendants will be sentenced on January 26. West Midlands Police said all four defendants were in the stolen Ford just before 8pm on the day of the killing. Hollywood is believed to have used the car to crash into the vehicle carrying Mr Ward and his son, who drove away but was repeatedly rammed until its airbags were activated, forcing it to stop. Tyrone Hollywood, aged 17, who was convicted of murder (West Midlands Police/PA) Mr Wards son fled as the gang from the Kuga shouted: Get him now, keep chasing. Kill him, everyone kill him. He was chased by Hollywood, along with Williams and Williams-Reid, but managed to escape with the help of a man on an e-bike, police said. Mr Ward then jumped into the empty Kuga and drove in the direction which his son had run off in, before colliding with a set of railings. Hollywood and Williams were then caught on CCTV attacking Mr Ward, who suffered a fatal wound to the heart and was struck again as he lay dying in the road. A police investigation found that Mr Wards son had been friends with some of the attackers, but they had fallen out. Detective Superintendent Shaun Edwards said: This is an absolutely horrific attack on a man who was simply going about his day, ordering a takeaway with his son. You can see from the video evidence the ruthless determination that the attackers had as they chase down Mr Ward and his son, and ultimately kill Mr Ward. Leighton Williams, who is facing life for murder and conspiracy to murder (West Midlands Police/PA) Our investigation was absolutely painstaking, and was able to place the defendants at the scene. In a statement, Mr Wards partner, Tammy, said: Kelvin was the love of my life. He was a fantastic partner, father, son, brother and good friend to many. He always put himself out for other people and if anyone needed a job doing or shoulder to cry on, hed be there. He was very unique and there was never a dull moment when he was around. He was funny, the life and soul of a party, he worked hard to provide for his family, he had so much more to live for and loved life. We didnt even get to say goodbye instead we got to watch videos of his last moments which was horrific. To see the man I love stabbed by savage people then left to die like road kill dumped on a road is disgraceful and no-one should have to go through that. Tammy added: Knife crime is a huge problem in the UK. We hear about it every day. The levels of violence are increasing and this is why we need longer sentences on those caught with knives or machetes. Its our news today and could be yours tomorrow. We need to send a message to the young people that life is not a computer game, but it appears that this is exactly what the younger generation are treating life as. It appears that they believe they have the authority to decide on someones fate? Nurses have called on the Government to reopen pay talks after expressing dismay over the pay deal struck by the nations top doctors. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) reacted angrily over the pay award offered to the nations top doctors, suggesting that the news would make nursing strikes more likely in the future. The union said on Tuesday that nurses would be appalled by the deal agreed between the Government and consultants in England, which will see some get a pay rise of around 19%. The RCN did not agree to the pay deal which saw nurses get a 5% pay rise 2023/24 and a cash sum for last year, but union members decided not to continue with strikes after it was imposed in the summer. While there is no current mandate for nurses in England to strike, the union warned that more than 100,000 nurses voted for strike action in the last ballot. And it said that it remains in formal dispute with the Government over the pay deal. Now the union has written to Health Secretary Victoria Atkins calling for fresh talks. The letter, penned by RCN chief executive and general secretary Pat Cullen, states: It is time for nurses and nursing to be treated with the respect they deserve and for nursing pay also to be reformed. Nursing is one of the most diverse and female-dominated professions within the public sector, and the injustice of nursing pay is also a gender issue. The greatest pay inequality in the NHS relates to nursing. This must be addressed as a matter of urgency. NEW | Following the announcement on NHS consultants' pay, we've written to the Health Secretary demanding new negotiations. More than 100,000 RCN members voted for more strike action in June and we remain in dispute with the UK govt. Read the latest.https://t.co/XURO5A3Van The RCN (@theRCN) November 28, 2023 She added: The Government should invest less time and attention in its attempt to impose draconian anti-strike laws on nursing staff and get back around the table and discuss nursing pay. Every slight discourages another individual from choosing nursing as a profession and puts more patients at risk. The NHS requires the stability of a nursing foundation and now more than ever, this must be resolved. We want to be part of the collective effort to rebuild our NHS. It is your responsibility to act now. Nursing staff deserve better. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: We hugely value the hard work of NHS nurses and that is why we provided a 5% pay rise. We also provided two significant non-consolidated awards, which for nurses at the top of Band 5 was over 2,000, equivalent to an extra 6.1% of their basic pay. This deal was accepted by the NHS Staff Council and we continue to work collaboratively, including with the RCN, to deliver a series of agreed reforms but we will not be reopening negotiations on pay. The offer for consultants includes significant reform for a pay scale that has not been modified since 2003. Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris has insisted that talks with the DUP over the trade border impasse are making progress, but has refused to put a timeline on the restoration of Stormont. Mr Heaton-Harris, who was part of a UK Government delegation which attended a meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference in Dublin, said the negotiations were in their final, final stages. Tanaiste Micheal Martin said fiscal challenges for Northern Ireland are growing and a restored Assembly is needed to tackle them. The DUP has been blocking powersharing at Stormont for more than a year and a half in protest at the internal UK trade barriers created by Brexits Northern Ireland Protocol. Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris arrives for a press conference at Farmleigh House, Dublin (Niall Carson/PA) The party has been involved in negotiations with the Government about the Windsor Framework, which reformed the protocol, and is seeking further assurances, by way of legislation, over Northern Irelands place in the UK internal market. Speculation has been growing in recent weeks that the DUP could be closing in on an agreement with the Government which could restore the Assembly at Stormont. The powersharing institutions in Northern Ireland cannot function without the involvement of the largest unionist party. During the conference, ministers from the two governments discussed progress in the talks and agreed that the institutions need to be restored on a sustainable basis. Speaking to the media afterwards, Mr Heaton-Harris was asked repeatedly if there was a timeline for a deal which would pave the way for a return of Stormont. He said: On the timeline, I dont give a timeline. Ive learnt in my time as Northern Ireland Secretary, dont give timelines, dont give deadlines, just get on with the job. He added: We are all working very hard to make sure Stormont is back as soon as possible but I am not going to set a timeline to it. We are in the final stages. I could go further and say we are in the final, final stages of this. We are really working hard to try and close this down. I believe there is an ever diminishing number of questions we have to answer from the DUP. I do see progress in this space. I am very keen when we get the Executive back that it is a sustainable Executive that lasts the course. I think thats imperative for all the people of Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Secretary continued: I wish Id reached a deal with (DUP leader) Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, we are not at that point yet, we are still clarifying points. Tanaiste Micheal Martin, arrives for a press conference at Farmleigh House (Niall Carson/PA) Mr Martin said it was extremely important that the powersharing institutions were restored. He said: I think the people of Northern Ireland deserve that. I have long said that once an election is held in any democracy the natural consequence is the formation of a parliament or an assembly in this case and a government and an executive. The absence of the institutions damage politics, damage democracy. The challenges for Northern Ireland in fiscal terms, in budgetary terms and in health are growing, the situation requires an Executive and an Assembly and I would hope that sooner rather than later we could get the institutions back. By Doh See-hwan Recently, two notable studies have been reported in relation to the Japanese Society of International Law. First, the Takeshima documents study group, which has claimed Japan's sovereignty over Korea's Dokdo, is openly researching the Daijokan directive, which can be said to be the Achilles' heel of its sovereignty claim over Dokdo. Second, the issue of the theory of protectorate related to the Korea-Japan Treaty of 1905, which has been debated several times and remains controversial, is being discussed again. The key themes of both are the invasion of Dokdo and the Korea-Japan Treaty of 1905, ultimately both pointing to 2025. Moreover, it is noteworthy that 2025 marks the 120th anniversary of Japan's invasion of Dokdo and the coercion of the treaty by Japan, and that such discussions are being led by the Japanese Society of International Law. On that premise, when I examine the state practices of Japan, a late-imperialist country, before and after the invasion of Dokdo sovereignty in 1905, I can see that it is building a legal foundation for international law in foreign policy by mobilizing the Japanese Society of International Law, established in March 1897. The Japanese Society of International Law was established mainly by international law faculty from Tokyo Imperial University and the Army and Naval Universities, and working-level officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also participated. On the surface, the Japanese Society of International Law presented its purpose as academic research into international law, but in reality, its true purpose was to utilize international law as a tool to adjust interests between imperialist countries. Moreover, seriously, the Japanese Society of International Law is problematic in that it has taken the lead in presenting a paper that seeks not to simply justify or legalize Japan's foreign policy, specifically the policy of aggression against Korea, after the fact, but to proactively develop a policy and logic of invasion and urge its realization. The "International Law Journal," published since February 1902, contains many discussions about the Japanese government's policy of invading Korea, especially before the Korean Empire's declaration of neutrality on Jan. 21, 1904, and the forced annexation on Aug. 10, 1910. Even taking into account the time it takes to publish in academic journals, the distortion of international legal principles through treaty coercion related to Korea's protectorate status and forced annexation were presented several years in advance and insisted on their realization. However, ultimately, even though international law before and after 1905 was at a point where Japanese-style legal positivism as an extreme form of nationalism associated with aggressive state practices was in decline and the normativity of universal international norms was being enhanced, it went directly against this and was used as an argument for invasion. We cannot help but point out that the mobilization of international law itself is an illegal act that is invalid under international law. At this point, it is urgent to identify the distortion of international law principles based on Japanese colonialism of Temporary Investigation Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs linked to the Japanese Society of International Law, which provided the international legal basis for the aggression policy against Korea. The Japanese government concealed the Temporary Investigation Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which existed from March 1904 to February 1906 and referred to it as an institution established solely to investigate the theory of protectorate. Moreover, it is worth noting that its duration not only coincides with the period of Dokdo's invasion and treaty coercion in 1905 but also its members were international law scholars who led the theory of subsequent forced annexation after the denial of the Korean Empire's neutrality declaration. Then, it will be necessary to review the founder and members of the Temporary Investigation Committee. It was organized by Yamaza Enjiro, the director of the political affairs bureau who planned to invade the continent starting with Dokdo. Yamaza wanted to establish the foundation for the Japanese invasion policy by mobilizing international law to enhance Japanese colonialism in that he formed a committee with international law scholars, not Seven doctors at Tokyo University, who declared the theory of opening a war against Russia on June 10, 1903. It is composed of all international law scholars, including Tokyo Imperial University professors Toru Terao, Sakutaro Tachi and Tetsukichi Kurachi, Kakushuin University professor Shingo Nakamura and diplomat Sakuye Takahashi, to embody Yamaza's plan to conquer Korea as the basis for invasion of the continent. Most of all, in relation with the purpose of the concealed committee, as Sakue Takahashi, a member of the committee, mentioned in the Tokyo Nippon newspaper in 1904, the temporary investigation committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs linked to the Japanese Society of International Law presupposes the development of nominal international law research but emphasizes the purpose of the establishment as the link between the ministry and international law scholars to resolve international law issues in the 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War in favor of Japan. In order to neutralize the Peace Line Declaration' announced by our government on Jan. 18, 1952, the Japanese government sent a verbal note claiming Japan's sovereignty over Dokdo four times since 1953. However, it can be confirmed that the 17th century inherent territory theory, first insisted by the Japanese government in the fourth verbal note in 1962, did not even exist at the time of Japan's invasion of Dokdo in 1905. On the other hand, regarding the claim that Japan denied the link between the invasion of Dokdo and Japan's compulsory protection and annexation, it is necessary to pay attention to the invasion of Dokdo and the coercion of the treaty subsequent such as the Korea-Japan Protocol and the Korea-Japan Agreement in 1905, which are illegal and invalid under international law, starting from the occupation of Jinhae Bay and Masan City on Feb. 6, 1904, on the Korean Empire, which declared wartime neutrality on Jan. 21, 1904. Ahead of 2025, the 120th anniversary of Japan's usurpation of Korea's Dokdo sovereignty, I am tracking and reviewing attempts to distort not only historical facts but also international legal principles through the Japan Society of International Law, which is building the policy basis for the Japanese government's Dokdo sovereignty claim. We must clearly recognize that the essence of Japan's deep-rooted violence and greed over Korea's sovereignty over Dokdo is Japanese colonialism, as declared in the Cairo Declaration. Therefore, as a symbol of Korea's true territorial sovereignty and the cornerstone of the East Asian peace community, I would like to once again urge Japan's true historical and international legal obligations regarding Korea's sovereignty over Dokdo. Dr. Doh See-hwan is a senior research fellow at the Northeast Asian History Foundation. Here are five prominent claims and quotes from Omid Scobies book about the royal family called Endgame: The King likes to have his shoelaces ironed Scobie claims about Charless footwear: When laces get even the smallest bit threadbare, a staff member must quickly switch them out with a fresh, ironed pair. Charles is said to like his shoelaces to be ironed (PA) Two people not one raised questions about the skin colour of Meghan and Harrys son Archie before he was born In their interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex alleged an unidentified member of the monarchy but not Queen Elizabeth II or her husband the Duke of Edinburgh had, as Meghan said, raised concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when hes born. Scobie claims in Endgame that two people, named in private letters between Charles and Meghan, raised questions about Archies skin colour. He wrote: But in the pages of these private letters, two identities were revealed. Laws in the United Kingdom prevent me from reporting who they were. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex during their interview with Oprah Winfrey (Harpo Productions/PA) Former prime minister Boris Johnson irritated the King over late Queens Speech Last May, Charles deputised for his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, during the state opening of Parliament where he read the Queens Speech, the outline of Government business for the next session. But the book claims: Boris Johnson didnt send over the speech until the very last minute, so an irritated Charles wasnt given ample time to practice reading it. (Johnson has done everything he can to become the most unpopular prime minister the Windsors have ever known, an aide said with a laugh.) Former prime minister Boris Johnson is alleged to have irked Charles (PA) Buckingham Palaces vision of a scaled-back coronation to reflect the cost-of-living crisis lost out to Downing Streets full-fat celebration The Kings coronation on May 6 saw national celebrations staged and a concert held in the grounds of Windsor Castle. But according to Endgame, the event may have looked different: Prime Minister Sunak and the government approached the coronation from the opposite position. While Charles wanted to downsize, Sunak and Whitehall (the government) envisioned a full-fat celebratory weekend the full monty of carriages, a big concert, and national celebration. Scobie goes on to write: Downing Street prevailed, and Charles ceded his vision for a leaner affair. The book claims the King wanted a scaled-back coronation but lost out to Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks desire for a grander affair (PA) What next for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex? Meghan has spent time keeping her head down to focus on building her own business, according to Endgame. Scobie wrote: a source said Meghan is building something more accessiblesomething rooted in her love of details, curating, hosting, lifes simple pleasures, and family. Harry appears to have come to terms with his fractious relationship with his brother and father, according to Scobie: As Harry later explained to a friend, Im ready to move on past it. Whether we get an apology or accountability, who knows? Who really cares at this point?' Robert De Niro appeared confused during his live speech at the Gotham Awards, claiming the autocue had been edited to remove comments which included criticism of former US president Donald Trump. The 33rd annual ceremony took place at Cipriani Wall Street in New York with Hollywood stars including Leonardo DiCaprio, Penelope Cruz, Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore and Laura Dern among those attending. During the live ceremony, Martin Scorseses Killers Of The Flower Moon was honoured with the historical icon and creator tribute award. Leonardo DiCaprio attends the Gotham Independent Film Awards at Cipriani Wall Street in New York (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/PA) Two-time Academy Award winner De Niro appeared on stage to honour the US filmmaker, but appeared to struggle reading the autocue before noting there was a mistake. He said: Im going to go back, Im sorry. There was a mistake in this. Ill keep going. Just keep scrolling. Can we go back? Sorry. After a short film about Scorsese was shown, De Niro told the audience: I just want to say one thing. The beginning of my speech was edited, cut out, I didnt know about it. And I want to read it. He continued: History isnt history anymore. Truth is not truth, even facts are being replaced by alternative facts and driven by conspiracy theories and ugliness lying has become just another tool in the charlatans arsenal. The former president lied to us more than 30,000 times during his four years in office, and hes keeping up the pace in his current campaign of retribution, but with all his lies, he cant hide his soul. He attacks the weak, destroys the gifts of nature and shows disrespect for example by using Pocahontas as a slur, referencing the former presidents nickname for Senator Elizabeth Warren. This is where I came in and I saw that they edited all that. Lily Gladstone (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/PA) De Niro appeared to suggest he was supposed to thank the Gotham Awards, but did not want to for what they did, referencing cutting his speech. How dare they do that actually, he added. Flowers Of The Killer Moon star Lily Gladstone accepted the award on behalf of Scorsese and later picked up the top prize, winning outstanding lead performance for her role in The Unknown Country. Barbie, Maestro, Ferrari and Rustin also received tribute awards. Margot Robbie attends the Gotham Independent Film Awards (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/PA) Margot Robbie and director Greta Gerwig appeared on stage to collect the global award for Barbie, with star Robbie noting: Having audiences around the world wear pink and show up to the movie theatre has literally been a dream come true. Gerwig said the most charming part about Robbie is that she cant sing. Maestro star Bradley Cooper said it is an understatement that playing late composer Leonard Bernstein in the upcoming Netflix biopic had a profound impact on my life. The journey that we went on in telling the story as authentically and as truthfully as we could, it never would have happened without the support and love of Jamie, Alexander and Nina (Bernstein), Cooper said on stage. The Bernstein children defended Coopers use of make-up to amplify the resemblance of the late composer, which came under fire for what critics called not using acting to get the power of the mans story and Jewishness. Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan attend the Gotham Independent Film Awards (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/PA) Ferrari star Adam Driver praised filmmaker Michael Mann for his upcoming biography of Enzo Ferrari. He profoundly cares and will go to great lengths to create something that is immersive and deeply felt as films are to him humanity to Michael is key, Driver said. Ali Wong, who won outstanding performance in a new series, thanked creator Lee Sung Jin for taking a chance on her to star in Beef because I know you originally envisioned the role for Stanley Tucci. Beef also won breakthrough TV series under 40 minutes. Charles Melton won outstanding supporting performance for his role in May December, opposite Moore and Portman who gave him a hug after it was announced. He beat Ryan Gosling for his role in Barbie, British star Claire Foy for All of Us Strangers and Jamie Foxx in They Cloned Tyrone, a week after Foxx was accused of sexual assault while at a New York rooftop lounge in 2015. A representative for Mr Trump has been contacted for comment. Rishi Sunak decided to scrap talks with his Greek counterpart after it was felt a reassurance to avoid focusing on the Elgin Marbles was not adhered to, Downing Street said. A meeting with Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday was unexpectedly cancelled after he spoke publicly about wanting the ancient artefacts, also known as the Parthenon Sculptures, returned to Athens from the British Museum. The decision has caused a diplomatic fallout, with a source on the Greek side telling the PA news agency that Mr Mitsotakis and his team had been left baffled, surprised and not a little bit annoyed at the 11th hour cancellation. No 10 said it felt Mr Mitsotakis had rowed back on reassurances that his administration would not use the UK visit as a public platform to lobby for the return of the sculptures. During an interview on Sunday, Mr Mitsotakis described the current situation as being akin to the Mona Lisa painting being cut in half. Following the comments, Mr Sunak felt any talks were likely to be dominated by the marbles row, according to Downing Street. Athens has long demanded the return of the historic works, which were removed from Greece by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century when he was the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. The Prime Ministers official spokesman told reporters: The UK and Greece relationship is hugely important, from our work together in Nato, to tackling shared challenges like illegal migration and joint efforts to resolve the crisis in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine. The Parthenon Sculptures, also known as the Elgin Marbles on display in the British Museum (Matthew Fearn/PA) When requesting a meeting with the Prime Minister this week, the Greek government provided reassurances that they would not use the visit as a public platform to relitigate long settled matters relating to the ownership of the Parthenon Sculptures, which would only serve to distract from those important issues outlined. Given those assurances were not adhered to, the Prime Minister felt it would not be productive to hold a meeting dominated by that issue, rather than the important challenges facing Greek and British people. The Deputy Prime Minister was available to meet the Greek prime minister to discuss the wider topics and we are disappointed the prime minister opted not to take this meeting. Mr Sunaks spokesman said Athens was welcome to make its position known on the marbles but felt those conversations are best had in private. Downing Street, which has pushed back against the Greek leaders Mona Lisa comparison, had indicated that Mr Sunak would reject pleas for the ancient Greek artefacts, on display at the British Museum in London, to be handed back. In a strongly-worded statement on Monday, a spokesman for the Greek prime ministers office said: The prime minister is disappointed that Prime Minister Sunak cancelled their bilateral meeting at the 11th hour today. Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis made public comments about wanting the Elgin Marbles to be returned ahead of talks with Rishi Sunak (Jordan Pettitt/PA) Greece and Britain have a very deep history of friendship and co-operation, and the Greek government is extremely surprised by this decision. The prime minister was looking forward to discussing a range of topics of mutual interest including the Israel/Gaza conflict, Russias illegal invasion of Ukraine, climate change, as well as common challenges such as migration, and of course the Parthenon Sculptures. A Greek source said they were particularly confused by Mr Sunaks decision given preventing migrant sea crossings one of Mr Sunaks top five priorities was high on the agenda. Mr Mitsotakis used a social media post on Monday to express dismay that the meeting had been cancelled just hours before it was due to take place. According to an online translation, he said: Anyone who believes in the correctness and justice of their positions is never afraid of opposing arguments. . . pic.twitter.com/hc2aap9OUs Prime Minister GR (@PrimeministerGR) November 27, 2023 While No 10 said it offered talks with Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden instead, the usual protocol would normally mean a visiting prime minister would meet Mr Sunak, rather than a more junior minister. Greek minister Adonis Georgiadis said Mr Sunak had made a bad choice in scrapping the bilateral meeting. He told BBC Radio 4s World At One: I think it was not a good move to cancel the meeting with the prime minister. It was a mistake. It was a bad day for our relationship. I hope that we will find a way out soon. Mr Georgiadis said Mr Mitsotakis, in his interview arguing for the return of the marbles, had been expressing the view of the Greek people. Elgin stole the marbles, that is it, he added. On Monday, the Prime Ministers official spokesman stressed Mr Sunaks support for the law that prevents the marbles from being permanently returned and suggested he would not be in favour of any loan arrangement. British Museum chairman George Osborne, a former chancellor, has previously said he is exploring ways for the Elgin Marbles to be displayed in Greece, with speculation that this could involve a loan deal in which part of the set would be sent to Athens. Mr Sunaks spokesman said the Government thinks that the museum is the right place for them. The official has also said that ministers have no plans to change the 1963 British Museum Act which prohibits the removal of objects from the institutions collection. Sir Keir Starmer and Labour colleagues met Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday (PA) Mr Mitsotakis did manage to meet Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer during his visit to the UK. Sir Keir had indicated he would tell the Greek premier that a Labour government would not change the law but that he would not stand in the way of a loan deal that was mutually acceptable to the museum and the Greek government. Labour criticised Mr Sunaks decision to cancel his meeting with his Greek counterpart. A Labour Party spokesman said: To pick a fight with a Nato ally for the sake of a headline shows just how weak Rishi Sunak is. The Prime Minister should have been talking about the economy, immigration, the Middle East, thats what the country would expect from a leader but Rishi Sunak is no leader. Rishi Sunak is still considering how to ensure his Rwanda plan is legally watertight following reports Government lawyers warned that attempting to opt out of international rights treaties could delay flights. The Government had promised a treaty with Rwanda and emergency legislation in Parliament after the Supreme Court ruled against the plan to send some asylum seekers on a one-way trip to the African nation. No 10 had said in the hours after the November 15 Supreme Court defeat that the treaty would be laid before Parliament in the coming days so deportation flights could take off as soon as possible. Alongside the new treaty with Rwanda, domestic legislation was planned to ensure that flights could take off without further legal challenges. But the Prime Ministers official spokesman said policy options were still being considered. Former home Secretary Suella Braverman has been critical of the Prime Ministers handling of the migrant crisis (Jonathan Brady/PA) The Government still hopes the first flights carrying asylum seekers to Rwanda will take off by the spring. Mr Sunak has been urged, including by sacked home secretary Suella Braverman, to adopt tough legislation that includes notwithstanding clauses that can prevent judges from applying protections in the Human Rights Act and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to asylum cases. But The Times reported that the Government has received advice from its lawyers that says instructing the courts to ignore the ECHR risks opening up more avenues for migrants to challenge the legality of deportation flights, on the basis that it would breach Britains convention obligations. The newspaper quoted an anonymous Government source as saying: If we take the Supreme Courts ruling at face value and play a straight bat, that will be the quickest way of getting flights off the ground, instead of starting a big fight that may invite more challenges. The legal advice from Government lawyers is said to have been discussed at a meeting on Saturday between the Prime Minister, Home Secretary James Cleverly, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk and Attorney General Victoria Prentis. The PA news agency understands the purpose of the meeting was to run through multiple options for the emergency legislation that Downing Street has promised in a bid to break the legal logjam preventing deportation flights from taking off. Home Secretary James Cleverly said he would not prejudge what would be in the emergency Rwanda legislation (Yui Mok/PA) Downing Street said it was not unusual under Mr Sunak for meetings to be held at the weekend, but no decisions have yet been made on how to proceed. The Prime Ministers official spokesman said: As the Prime Minister has said, we will do whatever it takes to stop the boats and there are policy discussions ongoing about how we meet that objective. We remain focused on making the Rwanda plan operational as swiftly as possible and addressing all the concerns of the Supreme Court. The spokesman said the precise form of the legislation and the devices used are still being discussed, and no final decisions have been taken. It is a matter of regret that a diplomatic row has erupted over the Elgin Marbles, a Cabinet minister said, after Rishi Sunak snubbed Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The Greek leaders meeting with the Prime Minister due on Tuesday was unexpectedly cancelled following Mr Mitsotakiss comments about the Parthenon Sculptures, which he wants returned to Athens from the British Museum. He was offered a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden instead but turned that down. The usual protocol would normally mean a visiting prime minister would meet Mr Sunak, rather than a more junior minister. Transport Secretary Mark Harper rejected the assertion that it amounted to a snub to Mr Mitsotakis. The Deputy Prime Minister offered to meet the Greek prime minister today and it proved not possible to make that happen, Mr Harper told BBC Breakfast. Thats a matter of regret. That offer was made. But the Government set out its position about the Elgin Marbles very clearly, which is they should stay as part of the permanent collection of the British Museum. Asked whether it was a snub, he told Sky News: The Prime Minister wasnt able to meet the Greek prime minister. He was offered a meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister, which proved not to be possible for him to take up. So, I dont think Id characterise it the way you have. Discussions continue between our governments about important matters. A source on the Greek side told the PA news agency that Mr Mitsotakis and his team had been left baffled, surprised and not a little bit annoyed at an apparent sudden cancellation, especially when preventing migrant sea crossings one of Mr Sunaks top five priorities was high on the agenda. The diplomatic spat comes after Mr Mitsotakis used an interview ahead of the anticipated talks to push for the return of the sculptures, saying the current situation was like the Mona Lisa painting being cut in half. Athens has long demanded the return of the historic works, which were removed from Greece by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century when he was the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. Downing Street, which pushed back against the Greek leaders Mona Lisa comparison, had indicated that Mr Sunak would reject pleas for the ancient Greek artefacts, on display at the British Museum in London, to be handed back. Asked about the Greek prime ministers claims of a last-minute cancellation, a No 10 spokeswoman would only say that the UK-Greece relationship is hugely important. . . pic.twitter.com/hc2aap9OUs Prime Minister GR (@PrimeministerGR) November 27, 2023 In a statement, a spokesman for the Greek prime ministers office said: The prime minister is disappointed that Prime Minister Sunak cancelled their bilateral meeting at the 11th hour today. Greece and Britain have a very deep history of friendship and co-operation, and the Greek government is extremely surprised by this decision. The prime minister was looking forward to discussing a range of topics of mutual interest including the Israel/Gaza conflict, Russias illegal invasion of Ukraine, climate change, as well as common challenges such as migration, and of course the Parthenon Sculptures. Mr Mitsotakis used a social media post to express dismay that the meeting had been cancelled just hours before it was due to take place. According to an online translation, he said: Anyone who believes in the correctness and justice of their positions is never afraid of opposing arguments. Sections of the Parthenon Marbles are in the British Museum (PA) On Monday, the Prime Ministers official spokesman stressed Mr Sunaks support for the law that prevents the marbles from being permanently returned and suggested he would not be in favour of any loan arrangement. British Museum chairman George Osborne, a former chancellor, has previously said he is exploring ways for the Elgin Marbles to be displayed in Greece, with speculation that this could involve a loan deal in which part of the set would be sent to Athens. Asked about such an agreement, Mr Sunaks spokesman told reporters: We have no plans to change our approach and certainly we think that the museum is the right place for them. The official also said the Government had no plans to change the 1963 British Museum Act which prohibits the removal of objects from the institutions collection. Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer met Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis during his trip to London (Leon Neal/PA) Mr Mitsotakis did manage to meet Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer during his visit to the UK. Sir Keir had indicated he would tell the Greek premier that a Labour government would not change the law but that he would not stand in the way of a loan deal that was mutually acceptable to the museum and the Greek government. Labour criticised Mr Sunaks decision to cancel his meeting with his Greek counterpart. A Labour Party spokesman said: To pick a fight with a Nato ally for the sake of a headline shows just how weak Rishi Sunak is. The Prime Minister should have been talking about the economy, immigration, the Middle East, thats what the country would expect from a leader but Rishi Sunak is no leader. Grieving family members whose loved ones have been killed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will lead a vigil this weekend for all those suffering because of the most recent outbreak of fighting. They will gather outside Downing Street at 3pm on Sunday to speak out against both antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate, organisers said. The event, called Building Bridges, together for Humanity, will see faith leaders and politicians join grieving families in the first mass event of its kind since Hamas militants entered Israel on October 7. Thousands of lanterns are expected to be lit to bring people together in shared grief for all those who have been lost. Speakers will include British-Israeli Magen Inon, whose parents were both killed by Hamas on October 7, Palestinian peace activist Hamze Awawde, and Brendan Cox, who co-founded the Together coalition which is helping to organise the event. Mr Cox, whose wife, MP Jo Cox, was murdered by a far-right extremist in 2016, told the PA news agency he hopes the vigil will give voice to the vast majority of the British public who are upset when a child is killed whether it is Palestinian or Israeli. He added: The loudest and most extreme voices have drowned out the vast majority of the public. What this is designed to do is give them that voice. We know communities in the UK live alongside each other very well and what we dont want to do is import the dynamics of the conflict in Israel and Palestine. People want to be able to express their grief and their pain for what they are seeing, but they dont want to do that whilst taking a side or, even if they have, they dont want to do it in such a way which excludes others. He described the vigil as just the beginning, with more events planned across the UK on December 13, adding that people are crying out for this kind of opportunity. Mr Inon said: It is unbelievable that while mourning the murder of both my parents I have to witness extremists use our grief and tragedy to promote their hatred. This wouldnt have been my parents wish. They had friends and colleagues from diverse backgrounds and always treated people with respect. They would have wanted the society in which their grandchildren grow up to be based on those values of humanity and solidarity. It is up to us to continue their legacy, for them, for us, and for our children. Mr Awawde, who lives in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, said: The pain and suffering this war has unleashed is unimaginable. In the West Bank where my immediate family live we are deeply traumatised by the current and ongoing situation. Just last week my cousin was shot in the leg in West Bank town of Dura. But if anyone thinks stoking antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred is the best response, you are wrong. We can only solve this conflict in the long term if we stop dehumanising each other. Please dont make this conflict even worse by importing its tensions into the UK. Instead people should channel their energies into lobbying the Government to support peace and reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians. WWE Hall of Famer Tammy Sytch is escorted to the defense table by Volusia Couty Sheriff's bailiffs for her sentencing, Monday, Nov. 27, 2023, at the S. James Foxman Justice Center in Daytona Beach, Fla., for a DUI crash that killed a man in 2022. (David Tucker/The Daytona Beach News-Journal via AP, Pool) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) Former pro wrestler Tammy Sunny" Sytch has been sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for drunkenly colliding with another car, killing a 75-year-old man, while her blood alcohol level was four times the legal limit, authorities in Florida said. Sytch, who was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011, pleaded no contest in August to driving under the influence manslaughter and other charges. She also had an unsealed bottle of vodka in her vehicle and cannabis in her system at the time of her arrest in Volusia County in March 2022, authorities said. She had faced up to more than 25 years in prison during her sentencing hearing on Monday. During the hearing, Sytch said she felt remorse and regret "deep in my soul" for killing Julian LaFrancis Lasseter of Daytona Beach. Sytch, 50, previously had been arrested multiple times from driving under the influence in Pennsylvania, where her driver's license had been suspended. She didn't have a Florida driver's license. The defendants history of drinking and driving is horrendous," State Attorney R.J. Larizza said in a statement after the sentencing. It was only a matter of time before her drunk driving killed an innocent and unsuspecting individual. Sytch first signed a contract with the WWE in 1995 and became a fan favorite. She also managed other WWE personalities and did broadcasting. Minnehaha County will soon have new election precincts, going from 75 to 81 precincts. The change comes after months of review by the Minnehaha County Auditors Office, which presented the plan to the Minnehaha County Commission on Tuesday morning. The commission passed the changes to the boundaries unanimously. Our goal with these proposed changes was to reduce the number of precincts with their multiple legislative districts to a minimal number and to balance the population of each precinct to a more manageable number, said Minnehaha County Auditor Leah Anderson. Anderson provided the commission with descriptions and maps of each precinct location. The smallest precinct has 600 voters, while the largest, located in Brandon, has over 2,500 voters. Overall, 10 precincts were added while four precincts were taken away. Additionally, two locations within Sioux Falls will become their own precincts. Dakota Post and Your Best Address, both mail forwarding addresses, have 4,700 registered voters and 1,200 registered voters, respectively, at each location. Anderson said that the locations would have the same polling place but that by having a separate precinct it helped to draw down the size. The mail forwarding addresses have allowed voters to register in South Dakota and vote here but live out of state. Its a practice that has been controversial for a number of years and there have been a number of attempts to tighten the voter registration laws. On Tuesday, Anderson said she was hoping the legislature, scheduled to convene at the start of January for the 99th Legislative Session, would find a solution to the issue. We're expecting and hoping for legislation that would directly impact those voters, and that would be maybe creating a federal only ballot, she said. How will I know my precinct has changed? Anderson said her office would be providing more information to voters about if their precinct location has changed in the next few months ahead of the April election in Sioux Falls for city councilors. She added that she would be asking candidates to let voters in their districts know about the upcoming precinct changes as well. Voters can also access information about their voting location on the Secretary of State Offices voter information portal. Is there going to be a need for more poll workers? Yes. Anderson told commissioners Tuesday that she was hoping to find more poll workers for the upcoming elections by utilizing the political parties in Minnehaha County. Shed already received a number of interested applicants from the Republican Party. Shes also hoping to install a number of greeters at each polling location to make sure people are aware of if theyre in the right precinct and the right polling location. If youre interested in working at a polling location, reach out to the Minnehaha County Auditors Office. This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: New election precinct boundaries in Minnehaha County A New York City high school has fallen into the spotlight after 400 students ran and jumped through the halls waving Palestinian flags and calling for the removal of a Jewish teacher who shared her pro-Israel stance on social media. Now officials are seeking to turn the fallout into a "teachable moment," NYC Schools Chancellor David Banks said Monday. Videos of the protest on Nov. 20 at Hillcrest High School, which teaches about 2,500 students in Jamaica, Queens, circulated online showing hordes of students running in the halls, dancing and waving flags. But the clip drew sharp criticism, including from Mayor Eric Adams, who condemned it as a "vile show of antisemitism." In a news conference Monday, Banks pleaded for understanding, noting the protest is yet another example of tension from the Israel-Hamas war having spillover effects in schools and college campuses in the U.S. New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks during a meeting with students and educators at Hillcrest High School in Queens on Nov. 27, 2023. (Uli Seit / The New York Times / Redux) How the protest unfolded The protest targeted a Jewish teacher who changed her social media profile photo to a photo of her holding an I Stand with Israel sign, the schools chancellor said during the news conference. When the protest unfolded, "the teacher was never in direct danger," Banks said, countering prior reports and social media posts that the teacher was barricaded and hid for her safety. "The teacher was moved to safety and the school swiftly took steps to make the school calm," Banks said. Officials said that the teacher was in the assistant principal's office on the first floor speaking to police regarding an earlier report when the protest erupted on the third floor. The New York City Police Department said that day it received a report from a 45-year-old female saying she received a "threat from an unknown person at the school on social media." School safety agents inside the school worked to calm the crowd and requested the response of the school sergeant, the NYPD said. Ultimately, the protest was dispersed and students returned to classrooms without further incident, police said. Banks said disciplinary action has been made against some of the students, which included suspensions. He said that "dozens if not hundreds of the kids involved in that protest had no idea what was going on." Students say the protest unfolded in the wrong way Banks said that he and other local leaders spoke with students and staff on Monday to understand how the protest unfolded. About 30% of the students at Hillcrest are of Muslim faith, Banks said, and "feel a kindred spirit with the folks of the Palestinian community." He said that in his conversations with students he learned that the young people weren't learning about the war in the Middle East from news organizations but from social media and TikTok. "What theyre seeing on a daily basis is Palestinian families being blown up," the schools chancellor said. Because this is a very visceral and emotional issue for them and that is what they are seeing, those images every single day, when they all of a sudden saw the image of the teacher that said I Stand with Israel," the students articulated to me they took that as a message that I am affirming whatever is happening to the Palestinian family and community, he continued. Student Khadija Ahmed told reporters at the news conference: The message that we really wanted to get out there was we wanted Palestine to be free but the message got lost and lots of people were hurt mentally and our teacher was in danger." Banks condemned public outrage that has vilified the students who participated in the protests, saying, The notion that these kids are radicalized or antisemitic is the height of irresponsibility. To speak of every child in this school as antisemitic is simply wrong, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards echoed. Senior class president, Muhammad Ghazali, also spoke before reporters, saying: For us to be called terrorists by certain news channels and certain people ... they call us certain names because of what we did or the way things happened, it wasnt right." It was meant to be a peaceful protest from the very beginning. But some of these students lacked maturity, he added. 'The ultimate teachable moment' Banks also said that administration officials, including the mayor, have spoken with the teacher targeted and assured she has their full support. He stressed that students and staff should be free to express themselves and their views, while not spewing hate, and said theyre working on fostering an inclusive environment. "Look at these kids. This is the ultimate teachable moment. Not to cast judgment on our children but to make sure that we as a school community live up to what we need to live up to. Every teacher or anyone else needs to be affirmed in their humanity, religion or their own personhood and I will make sure that that happens," he said. The officials noted that other incidents were reported at the school last week including police responding to a report of a threat Tuesday that led to the arrest of an 18-year-old were unrelated to the protest and unrelated to the Israel-Hamas war. Akron, Ohio, Police Chief Steve Mylett addresses the media during a press conference in April following the grand jury decision in the Jayland Walker case as Clarence Tucker, left, deputy mayor for public safety, and Mayor Dan Horrigan listen. Eight Ohio police officers who shot and killed Jayland Walker didnt violate police policies, the Akron Police Department concluded in an internal investigation. I found that the facts and circumstances of this tragic shooting show that the officers had an objectively reasonable belief that Mr. Walker was armed and by his conduct presented an imminent risk of serious bodily injury or death to them and/or their fellow officers, Chief Steve Mylett said in an executive summary of the investigation. Walker was shot by police on June 27, 2022, after fleeing first in his car and then on foot. He was unarmed as he ran away but a state investigation found that he fired a gun out of his car window while fleeing. A gun was recovered in his car after he was shot and killed. Mylett asked the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation to handle the criminal investigation into the shooting. BCI presented its findings to a special grand jury, which declined to indict the officers for any criminal offenses. Jayland Walker The police department then conducted its own investigation into whether the officers violated any policies or procedures. Mylett released the results of that investigation Thursday afternoon. The city declined to comment further on the internal investigation, pointing to a pending federal lawsuit filed by Walkers family. The eight officers were initially placed on administrative leave, but later were returned to desk duty and have since returned to regular duty. More: 8 Akron officers back on full duty as Jayland Walker shooting probe nears end This is a developing story. Check back for updates Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com and on X, formerly known as Twitter @swarsmithabj. This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Internal investigation clears police officers who shot Jayland Walker China vows to enhance institutional cooperation with Kazakhstan Xinhua) 09:09, November 28, 2023 Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, holds talks and co-chairs the 11th Meeting of the China-Kazakhstan Cooperation Committee with Kazakhstan's First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar in Astana, Kazakhstan, Nov. 27, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Yan) ASTANA, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- China stands ready to work with Kazakhstan to enhance the role of the institutional platform of their cooperation committee and strengthen exchanges and contacts among the subcommittees to add new impetus to mutually beneficial cooperation, said Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang on Monday. Ding, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks when holding talks and co-chairing the 11th Meeting of the China-Kazakhstan Cooperation Committee with Kazakhstan's First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar in Astana. Ding spoke highly of the new achievements made by the two sides in the fields of economy and trade, production capacity, financial cooperation, interconnectivity, people-to-people exchanges and security cooperation since the 10th meeting of the committee. He called on the two sides to advance cooperation in key areas such as economy, trade, production capacity and interconnectivity. The vice premier encouraged the two sides to actively explore cooperation in the fields of modern agriculture, new energy, big data and artificial intelligence to upgrade China-Kazakhstan practical cooperation. He also stressed that China and Kazakhstan should properly handle challenges, firmly oppose external interference, enhance stable and transparent policy support and legal guarantees, and create favorable conditions for cooperation between enterprises of the two countries. Kazakhstan attaches great importance to the permanent comprehensive strategic partnership with China, said Sklyar, adding that Kazakhstan is willing to enhance the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, give full play to the committee, deepen practical cooperation with China and lift bilateral relations to a new level. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan) NIS mired in power struggle amid security crisis President Yoon Suk Yeol sacked National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director Kim Kyou-hyun and his two deputies last Friday. It was unprecedented for a president to simultaneously dismiss the top three officials of the nations spy agency. He has since filled the two deputy director posts but left the top NIS position vacant. That was another first. Chief executives usually appoint an NIS director first and pick the deputies based on the director's recommendations. The presidential office said selecting the NIS chief takes time as it requires a confirmation hearing in the National Assembly. However, critics suspect the move reflects Yoons intention to bring the NIS under his direct control. Maybe, maybe not. The reversed appointment could lead to disharmony or mutiny at the top echelon of the spy agency. These concerns are valid, given the ongoing turmoil was caused by friction among the three officials. Few outsiders know whats going on inside the spy agency. Only time will tell. There are things even the general public knows well, however. Since Yoon took office in May last year, the NIS has been embroiled in a power struggle between the old and new cadres. That is not news itself. Whenever a new government begins business, the spy agency undergoes a personnel reshuffle. The change is especially big when the power shifts from conservatives to progressives and vice versa. Still, the internal strife accompanying the power change used to end after a few months. In this government, however, it has lasted 18 months. That reportedly was because Kims attempts at a sweeping purge of the previous governments staff ran into stiff resistance from the existing officials who called for a more gradual change. Yoons foot-dragging has also aggravated the conflict. It may be due to the chief executives lack of leadership or hidden intentions. Whatever the case, the NIS is now in shambles. Why the president abruptly sacked the top three officials after procrastinating for so long needs to be clarified. Yoon doesnt even have a candidate for the next NIS chief. Media reports say he was upset to hear they kept fighting when the entire government was busy in Paris trying to bring the World Expo 2030 to Busan. If true, that only shows the incumbent leader is more emotional than calculating. Opposition parties blamed Yoon for letting the NIS go astray and called for convening the Assembly's Intelligence Committee. We agree. The turmoil at the NIS couldnt have come at a worse moment. Wars are going on in Europe and the Middle East, and North Korea is more hostile than ever. Now is not the time, and there has never been such a time, for the NIS to be mired in an internal struggle. The world is returning to the Cold War era under which the intelligence war will intensify. South Koreans are unsure whether their spy agency is prepared for the Norths sophisticated cyberwarfare tactics. Industrial espionage is also of increasing importance. Rapid chasers, including China, try to steal Koreas manufacturing technology. The NIS has no time to waste. We know most NIS officials work hard for their country. However, there have been some dark sides to the top spy agency since its beginning as the Korea Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA). It once cracked down on pro-democracy activists and meddled in politics later. Liberal presidents tried to turn it into an apolitical agency focusing on intelligence-gathering duties. Such efforts should continue regardless of changes in political power. The NIS must not go back to its politicized past. Inter-Korean relations show signs of going back several decades, but the top spy agency must not follow suit. Monitoring political opponents and manipulating spies should have no place in a 21st-century intelligence agency. The country's president must pick the next NIS chief among politically neutral experts. NIS agents may need to cooperate with their counterparts from friendly countries, but must be able to outflank them when needed. When lawmakers pressed the former NIS director on the allegation that the U.S. installed surveillance devices in the presidential office, he kept mum. The next NIS chief must display more capability and independence. Former President Jimmy Carter made a rare public appearance when he attended Tuesday's memorial service for his late wife, Rosalynn Carter, who died earlier this month. Jimmy Carter, who has been in hospice care since February, paid tribute to his wife -- who served as first lady from 1977 to 1981 -- at Glenn Memorial Church at Emory University in Atlanta. The 99-year-old former president had a new suit made Monday for the occasion, and was accompanied by a physician when he left his home in Plains en route to the church. He was seated in the front row draped in a blanket with her face etched on it. MORE: Rosalynn Carter remained her husband's rock of support to the end Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter were married for 77 years, the longest marriage of any first couple in U.S. history, and both built a lasting legacy outside the White House through their humanitarian work. Rosalynn Carter became a champion for mental health advocacy. PHOTO: Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter attends a tribute service for his wife former first lady Rosalynn Carter, at Glenn Memorial Church in Atlanta on Nov. 28, 2023. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters) Amy Carter, the first couple's only daughter, tearfully read a letter Jimmy Carter wrote to Rosalynn 75 years ago while he was serving in the Navy. Amy Carter, who was seated next to her father, was often seen holding his hand throughout the service. "My mom spent most of her life in love with my dad. Their partnership and love story was a defining feature of her life," she said. "Because he isn't able to speak to you today, I am going to share some of his words about loving and missing her." PHOTO: Amy Carter, daughter of former US President Jimmy Carter, touches the casket after speaking during a tribute service for former US First Lady Rosalynn Carter, at Glenn Memorial Church in Atlanta, on Nov. 28, 2023. (Brynn Anderson/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) In the letter, Jimmy Carter wrote, "While I am away, I try to convince myself that you really are not, could not be as sweet and beautiful as I remember. But when I see you, I fall in love with you all over again. Does that seem strange to you? It doesn't to me." A dozen political leaders were present at the the invitation-only tribute service for the former first lady, who died on Nov. 19 at the age of 96. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden sat in the front row along with former President Bill Clinton and former first lady Hillary Clinton, as well as former first ladies Laura Bush, Michelle Obama and Melania Trump. PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden arrives for a tribute service for former first lady Rosalynn Carter at Glenn Memorial Church at Emory University, Nov. 28, 2023, in Atlanta. (Brynn Anderson/Pool/AFP via Getty Images) The Clintons and Obama traveled to Georgia on Air Force One with the Bidens, according to the White House. PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden and US First Lady Jill Biden walk to their vehicle after disembarking Air Force One at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Nov. 28, 2023, in Marietta, Ga. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images) Also in attendance were Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Georgia Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. The service began shortly at 1 p.m. and featured music from members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood performed a rendition of "Imagine." The program was designed in accordance with her wishes, including the songs, scriptures and who would speak. Remarks were given by the Carters' personal pastor and readings were done by some of the former first lady's children and grandchildren. Journalist Judy Woodruff also gave a tribute, saying what the country witnessed when they were in office was "a first lady who saw her role as going well beyond the essential warm and welcoming host to being a close and trusted, yes, adviser." PHOTO: James 'Chip' Carter kisses the head of his father, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, during a tribute service for former U..S First Lady Rosalynn Carter, at Glenn Memorial Church, Nov. 28, 2023, in Atlanta. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images) PHOTO: Former U.S. first ladies Michelle Obama, Melania Trump and Laura Bush attend a tribute service for former first lady Rosalynn Carter at Glenn Memorial Church in Atlanta, on Nov. 28, 2023. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters) Jason Carter shared personal anecdotes of his grandmother, including the birthday cards she sent to all her grandchildren every year and how she practiced tai chi. He called her the "rock" of their family but also an "adventurer." "As Rev. Warnock told me, my grandmother doesn't need a eulogy, her life was a sermon," he said. President Biden was not slated to speak, the White House said Monday, but press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters he and first lady Jill Biden looked forward to "offering their condolences and participating in the event by attending." MORE: Former first lady Rosalynn Carter, wife of the 39th president and advocate for mental health care, dies at 96 PHOTO: Former U.S. first lady Michelle Obama arrives before a tribute service for former U.S. first lady Rosalynn Carter at Glenn Memorial Church at Emory University, Nov. 28, 2023, in Atlanta. Brynn Anderson/Pool via REUTERS (Brynn Anderson/Pool via Reuters) PHOTO: Former Secretary of State and first lady Hillary Clinton arrives for a memorial service for former first lady Rosalynn Carter at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church at Emory University, Nov. 28, 2023, in Atlanta. ( Brynn Anderson-Pool/Getty Images) Biden's relationship with the Carters spans decades, back to when he endorsed Carter for the presidency while serving as a first-term senator in 1976. Biden said earlier this year that former President Carter has asked him to deliver his eulogy. PHOTO: Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood perform 'Imagine' at a tribute service for former US first lady Rosalynn Carter at Glenn Memorial Church at Emory University on Nov. 28, 2023 in Atlanta. (Brynn Anderson/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) PHOTO: Georgia Governor Brian Kemp arrives at a tribute service for former U.S. First Lady Rosalynn Carter at Glenn Memorial Church in Atlanta on Nov. 28, 2023. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images) After Rosalynn Carter's death earlier this month, Biden said the former first couple shared great integrity. "First Lady Rosalynn Carter walked her own path, inspiring a nation and the world along the way," the Bidens said in a statement. PHOTO: Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter arrives for a tribute service for former U.S. First Lady Rosalynn Carter, at Glenn Memorial Church, Nov. 28, 2023, in Atlanta. (Andrew Caballero-reynolds/AFP via Getty Images) PHOTO: A woman holds a photo of former U.S. First Lady Rosalynn Carter as her body lays in repose at the Carter Presidential Library, Nov. 27, 2023, in Atlanta. (Christian Monterrosa/AFP via Getty Images) ABC News' Joshua Hoyos and Janice McDonald contributed to this report. Jimmy Carter attends memorial service for wife of 77 years, Rosalynn Carter originally appeared on abcnews.go.com The coldest air of the season is roaring into the central, eastern and southern U.S. Tuesday, sending temperatures nosediving to mid-winter levels all the way from the Midwest to Florida. Although not expected to be record-breaking, it is a shock to our system, as the first cold waves of the season often are, AccuWeather said. In all, some 100 million Americans are experiencing the cold blast. And while most of us won't see measurable snow, areas around the Great Lakes are enduring the first significant lake-effect snow event of the season, with one spot in New York already picking up nearly two feet of snow. Where is it snowing? Folks around the Great Lakes are seeing a winter wonderland this morning thanks to a visit from the lake-effect snow machine. Indeed, the snow was already piling up Tuesday, especially in western New York, northwestern Pennsylvania, and northeast Ohio. Over a foot of snow has fallen along Lake Ontario in New York. The highest total so far was 23 inches reported near Constableville, New York, which is east of Lake Ontario in the Tug Hill Plateau region, AccuWeather reported. "Heavy snow rates and gusty winds will make travel treacherous," the weather service said. Several school districts in the affected areas were closed Tuesday due to the heavy snow, WIVB-TV reported. In northeast Ohio, the 36,000 students in the Cleveland school district had a snow day Tuesday. Forecasters said they expected up to 16 inches of snow in the greater Cleveland area. Travel was also impacted, as at least two multi-car pileups were reported due to the heavy snow: A 10-car pileup near Buffalo on Monday, which seriously injured one child; and a 13-car pileup Tuesday south of Cleveland, in which multiple non-life-threatening injuries were reported. A few other locations downwind of Lakes Erie and Ontario could see well over two feet of snow by the time this event winds down Wednesday. How cold will it be Tuesday? "Highs Tuesday will be in the 30s and 40s for New England, the mid-Atlantic, and even into the Carolinas, with 50s for the Southeast and Gulf Coast/north Florida," the National Weather Service said. "Chilly highs in the 20s and 30s are expected for the Great Lakes/Midwest with 30s and 40s from the central Plains into the middle Mississippi and Ohio Valleys. Highs will be in the 50s for Texas and the lower Mississippi Valley." This translates into high temperatures that will be 10 to 20 degrees below average Tuesday across the entire eastern half of the nation, the weather service said. Snow surprises morning commuters on the New Jersey Turnpike in Robbinsville Tuesday, November 28, 2023. Where is the cold coming from? How long will the cold last? This unusually cold air mass comes to us all the way from northern portions of Canada, AccuWeather reports. Fortunately for cold-weather-haters, this cold blast is expected to be short-lived: "During the second half of the week, the temperature trend will reverse and recover to near the historical average over much of the eastern third of the nation," AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said. A man clears his driveway in Beachwood, Ohio, after heavy lake-effect snowfall arrived overnight, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. A winter storm shut down schools in Cleveland and other areas Tuesday. 'Difficult to impossible' travel: 1-2 feet of lake-effect snow to paste Great Lakes region Contributing: The Associated Press; Bryce Buyakie, the Akron Beacon Journal This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Snow, winter weather forecast: NWS says snow, freezing temps are here WASHINGTON The CIA has sent out an internal email cautioning employees against posting political messages on social media after a senior officer posted a pro-Palestinian image on Facebook. The email to staff members was simply a reminder of existing policy, a U.S. official told NBC News. The warning was issued after the agencys associate deputy director for analysis posted an image depicting a man waving a Palestinian flag that is sometimes used in commentary critical of Israel. The Financial Times first reported on the social media post. The career analyst who posted the image has not been disciplined, a person with knowledge of the situation said. The analyst has extensive background in all aspects of the Middle East and this post was not intended to express a position on the conflict, the person said. The analyst also has posted messages condemning antisemitism, the person added. Follow live updates on the Israel-Hamas war A CIA spokesperson said in a statement: CIA officers are committed to analytic objectivity, which is at the core of what we do as an Agency. CIA officers may have personal views, but this does not lessen their or CIAs commitment to unbiased analysis. The social media post and the CIAs internal admonishment for staff members to stay apolitical comes amid divisions inside the federal government over President Joe Bidens handling of the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza. Hundreds of federal government employees have endorsed an open letter demanding that the Biden administration push for a cease-fire to protect Palestinian civilians. In addition, dozens of staff members at the State Department have questioned the White Houses approach in confidential dissent cables, and hundreds of employees at the U.S. Agency for International Development have backed a letter critical of the administrations policy. A deer trapped on a snowy shore beside a frozen Colorado lake got a helping hand from a nearby crane, a video and photos show. Oh dear! This guy was in the wrong place at the wrong time near Evergreen Lake on Friday, read a Sunday, Nov. 26, post on X, formerly branded as Twitter, by Colorado Parks & Wildlife. A video with the post shows the stranded deer pacing back and forth on snow-covered rocks between a road and the frigid lake. A nearby crane truck operator in the right place at the right time gave our wildlife officers a hand with the #rescue, a later post reads. Wildlife officers tranquilized the deer and strapped it up so the crane could lift it over a fence along the road, photos show. The deer was relocated to (a) better habitat and hopefully had a quiet holiday weekend, wildlife officers wrote on X. Evergreen Lake is about 30 miles southwest of Denver. Injured hunter crawls to phone, calls for help after fall from tree, Michigan cops say Lost hunter wanders 8 hours before rescuers find him on dark, foggy trail, WA cops say Missing 25-year-old hiker found alive at Texas national park, officials say A haul of Ukrainian treasures sent to Europe for an exhibition nearly 10 years ago have been returned to Kyiv from the Netherlands after a lengthy legal battle. The collection of ancient artifacts was dispatched to the Netherlands from four museums in Crimea before Russias annexation of the region in 2014. But the annexation meant their return has not been straightforward. This spiraling torque from the second century CE had been in storage, together with the rest of the collection, for almost a decade. - Peter Dejong/AP/File After almost 10 years of litigation, artifacts from four Crimean museums that were presented at the exhibition Crimea: Gold and Secrets of the Black Sea in Amsterdam have returned to Ukraine, the National Museum of History of Ukraine said in a statement. The collection comprised 565 items, including antique sculptures, Scythian and Sarmatian jewelry, and Chinese lacquer boxes that are 2,000 years old, the museum said. Rostyslav Karandieiev, Ukraines acting minister of culture and information policy, described the treasures homecoming as our great historical victory. It is very important for us to save and protect our history, traditions, and heritage. This is what we are fighting for at the battlefield. We are fighting for our identity and freedom, he told CNN. The exhibition in the Netherlands was showing the history of Ukrainian Crimea, therefore it is exclusively the people of Ukraine who should possess these treasures, he added. In a statement published on its website, the Allard Pierson museum in Amsterdam confirmed that the collection had been kept in storage while the legal dispute raged on over whether items should be returned to Ukraine or the four museums in Russian-controlled Crimea, with both sides claiming ownership rights over the historic pieces. Ultimately, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands ruled on June 9 of this year that the collection should be returned to Kyiv. In its statement, the Allard Pierson museum went on to say that the items were independently checked and carefully packed in accordance with museum rules last month and arrived back in Kyiv on Sunday. Els van der Plas, director of the museum, said in the statement: This was a special case, in which cultural heritage became a victim of geopolitical developments. After it became clear in 2014 that the judge would consider the case, we focused on safely storing the artefacts until the time came to return them to their rightful owner. We are pleased that clarity has emerged and that they have now been returned. Welcoming the development, Ukraines Ministry of Culture and Information Policy said in a statement: Until the de-occupation of Crimea, the Scythian Gold will be temporarily stored on the territory of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Somewhat mysterious and fearless, Oscar-winning British actor Jeremy Irons has played a host of different characters during his decades-long career, from Adrian Veidt in Damon Lindelofs TV series Watchmen, to Rodolfo Gucci in Ridley Scotts House of Gucci, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in Munich: The Edge of War and Alfred Pennyworth in the DC Extended Universe films, including the latest Justice League. Reteaming with Palme dOr winning Bille August for the third time, Irons will next play Abbe Faria, a noble and wise character, in the prestige limited series The Count of Monte Cristo, starring opposite fellow British actor Sam Claflin as Edmond Dantes. The premum limited series is distributed worldwide by Mediawan Rights, in cooperation with CAA (for North America). Currently on the sprawling set of Monte Cristo in sun-drenched Malta, a cheerful Irons spoke to Variety about the timeliness of Monte Cristos story, the fun of getting into his characters skin, working again with August and his desire to slow down and possibly do more projects closer to home, in Europe. The English-language series is produced by Mediawans banner Palomar, the leading Italian company behind That Dirty Black Bag and The Name of the Rose, in collaboration with another Mediawan label, Frances DEMD Productions. More from Variety What do you like about the story of The Count of Monte Cristo? Were you a fan of the novel? Im ashamed to say Id never read it. I bought it to read once I knew I was going to be involved in this. But Alexandre Dumas is a wonderful writer and this feels rather topical. His overall view is that really we have to empathize with each other and forgive each other, and that just seeking revenge is not good for you as a person and and not good for society. But, you know its such a large book. Theres so much there. But I think it has something to say about modern society. We havent changed as people. So it sticks with us today, with all the conflicts that are happening. What about your character in the series, the Abbe Faria? How did you relate to this character? I dont necessarily have to relate to the characters I play. But I always try to understand them. And here was a man who had lived a pretty full life and has done things he wasnt proud of at all. Nevertheless, he was imprisoned unfairly, but that gave him a lot of time to think about life and how hed behaved and in a way, hes being given a second chance by meeting this fellow prisoner and is able to pass on what little wisdom he had to him and change this mans life for the better. Would you say that your character, Abbe Faria, is on a path of redemption? I think so. Whether he realizes or not. But hes a character who keeps in Edmunds mind throughout the story and what Edmund learned from him. Edmund Dante is sort of a very simple man to start with. So Abbe Faria is sort of a mentor, a father figure and a man with a great appetite for life. Not a retired ascetic, but a man who had seen his fair share of the ups and downs of life and finding that human companionship and an empathy for someone else lifted him out of his depression as well. So I think they both, in some strange ways, found each other. You have a lot of scenes with Sam Claflin. How has it been? Hes a wonderful actor. Very clear. Works deep. Id worked with him briefly in a film called Their Finest some while ago, but my son had also worked with him and now hes very highly regarded. And I found him, like all good actors, very easy to play with. I read that you care a lot about costumes. What was your input on Abbe Farias outfit? Yes, youre dealing with a man in a cell so its very constricted. So, how you can tell his story and costume, what he wears, how he spends his time, of which he has a great deal. Its all very interesting to build up somebody in relatively short scenes, somebody you can empathize with, and costume is, of course, a big part of that. Did you have any discussions with filmmaker Bille August about the look of your character? Bille wanted him to wear a sort of prison uniform. But then, of course, Abbe Faria spends most of his time digging a tunnel. So one had to adapt the costume a little bit so that he could protect himself from stones, rockfalls, sore knees, sore elbows, sore hands or feet. So we had a bit of fun doing that. Its the first time in your career that youre working with the same director three times, isnt it? For the third time, I think it might be, yes. With Cronenberg only twice. Its always nice to be asked back. Its lovely because you know the director by then, and, I mean, I love Bille. Hes a lovely man. What is it about him that you love? Hes a man who has clear thoughts. He knows what he wants to do. Hes very fast as a filmmaker and doesnt hang about. He connects with a good crew around him, a lot of Danish, but some Italian and some French. So theres always a very nice atmosphere on set. And thats important because if everyones happy, they do better work for sure. He seems very calm! Hes very calm and out of that calmness, he makes the right decisions. Because each decision is a small part of the finished product. God is in the details as they say. And so its been a very happy shoot. What do you think about this trend of modernizing literary classics? I think anything that helps connect with an audience is good, but its a difficult task because human beings basically havent changed. Whats around them has changed. So I suppose our dialogue is a little bit more contemporary than Dumas, but what you dont want is for the period, either in dialogue or in the look or whatever, to get in the way of what the characters are feeling and what theyre communicating. So its a compromise. I read that the female character in the series is going to be more prominent than in the book. Maybe itll come across like that. Its difficult to say until one sees the finished product, but when youre dealing with the book of this length, you have to simplify in some ways and restructure. There are only 10 episodes and its a very long book. With any production, whether it be a play or Shakespeare or whatever, you as a director come at it from a certain angle, a certain perspective and maybe point up different areas. Ridley Scott with Napoleon, I think thats probably what hes done. Rather than making it servile to the book. When youre having to shorten so much, I think you have to concentrate on certain aspects. Youve starred in many franchise-based blockbusters, like Batman v. Superman and the series Watchmen. How fulfilling is it for you to do those projects given that you arent a fan of comics? They all have different qualities which are attractive. Watchmen is such an iconic story, it was interesting to be involved in that and it was a very strange and rather interesting character. Theres a different reason every time for why one is attracted to different things. But I love contrast in life, and the same in my work things that are completely different. But some movies or series that will get a wider audience will draw people towards some of the work Ive done which has a smaller audience. But I have no plan. If its a project that fascinates me and I think Id love to be part of that. Or if its a character I hadnt played before and theres a great story, with people that I like and people that I trust, then Ill do it. Youve probably done a fair amount of shoots with green screen. Lately, some filmmakers like Shawn Levy have insisted on filming on location. Whats your position on that? Well, my preference is always to shoot on location and to have as little green screen as possible. Ive escaped green screen for most of my career. I find it very arid. You are affected by your environment as a person and as an actor. And I think its a great help and it adds something very difficult to pinpoint. But I do think it makes a difference to the final product. How has it been to shoot Monte Cristo on location? Malta is a wonderful place, its very easy to shoot here and the locations are fantastic. The building that were using for the castle is the same age as in the novel. So its really helpful. It feeds into your performance. And the weather is lovely! And what can you tell me about your next movie, Beekeeper? Its a great what I call Jason Statham movie. Lots of violence and explosions and pace. And I think for those people who love that sort of movie, its going to be really great. Youve been busier than ever these past few years. Do you have any plans to slow down or even retire? No, no, no, Im not retiring. But I am slowing down. Im trying to slow down, travel less, enjoy the things life has given me. What prompted this desire to slow down? Age. Knowing that there were fewer summers left than when I was in my 30s. Do you want to make more independent projects from Europe? Yes, indeed. Im always available to read those because I like working close to home and Europe is closer than America. And there are such wonderful directors in Europe. Of course, the problem is language. You know that my French I speak a little, but not that well. My favorite movie with you is Louis Malles erotic drama movie Fatale (a.k.a. Damage) with Juliette Binoche. Really?! Well, I believe theyre making a series out of it. So that will be a modern take. I think its from the womans point of view. Itll be very interesting to see this. Do you have any European projects in the pipeline? I was supposed to be doing a Palestinian film in Palestine at the moment, directed by Annemarie Jacir. Sadly, we were going to be shooting now and I was going to go there from Malta to do it. Its about 1948 that period in Palestine. Thats a very timely story, for sure. Such a shame that we werent able to make it a year ago, but for now its been delayed and she doesnt want to have to shoot it somewhere else because its about Palestine. So, you know, I think COVID and war is getting in the way of many things. And also the SAG-AFTRA strike. How has it been for you? Yes Im SAG as well but I was able to get permission to work on independent productions in Europe. So that was not an issue. What about the deal that was made? Well, I think its a big step in the right direction. We have to guard against AI being used in a derogatory way. And I also think its very important that the residual situation is sorted out because more and more actors are being asked to take a buyout. And really, if theyre part of a film which is worthy and which becomes very successful, then I think the actors and the crew should see the rewards for that. So you worked the entire time during the strike? No, I spent time in Ireland. I have no problem living life when Im not working. Were always improving the land and working with the animals. I go sailing sometimes I have plenty to keep me occupied! Best of Variety Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If you look at the history of Hollywood, 50%, 60%, maybe 70% of the stories are based on books or IP or games. Theres a big gap between how Europe thinks about developing television and the Hollywood system, producer Erik Barmack reflected a few months back. Theres just tremendous opportunities now as the markets tightening to find source IP where, you know, theres an installed audience, he added. More from Variety Now Europe and indeed Latin America is catching up. In one of its biggest innovations of 2023, Ventana Sur has launched a Buenos Aires version of Shoot the Book! offering IPs from a clutch of Argentinas highest rated novelists and a best-selling French author, as one star attraction of its multitudinous titled El Principio del Film. In another departure, Brazil and Andalusia offer screenplays whose themes capture the zeitgeist whether in the battle to reconstitute family, odes to sorry, the exploration of cross-generational relationships, or withering takes by women on men and the inevitable disappointment of romantic love. Brief profiles of major sections in El Principio del Film: Shoot the Book! I Must Have Dreamt Too Deeply, (Jai du rever trop fort, Michel Bussi; Editorial: Editis) A literally jet-setting second chance romantic mystery thriller as Nathy, 49, realises the destinations, dates, crew and even some clients of her latest schedule to Montreal, Los Angeles and Jakarta are exactly the same as 20 years before in 1999, when, though married, she met the love of her life. A 2019 hit from one of Frances best-selling authors. Happiness is a Cliche, (La felicidad es un lugar comun, Mariana Skiadaressis, Argentina; Publisher Entropia, ) The debut novel from a breakout young woman author from a country which has multiple talents and a prestige Argentine publishing house, a withering take on Argentinas literary scene, the traumas of creation and the expectations of romantic love. The Resentful Boy, (El Nino Resentido, Cesar Gonzalez, Argentina; Editorial: Penguin Random House) The just out autobiography of Gonzalez, a poet and prolific filmmaker, and criminal, dog addict and ex con born in Buenos Aires Carlos Gardel slum villa, who turned to crime as revenge to recover what fate had never given me. A brutal eye opener on one side of Argentinas gaping social divide. This book is scary.I beg you to read it. Lets see if we can go together somewhere other than war, says Lucrecia Martel. Patagonia, Road 203, (Eduardo Fernando Varela, Spain; Ediciones Metailie) A surreal road trip on Patagonias second roads, in which Parker, described as an enigmatic saxophonist, falls in love with the cashier of a funfair and, takes to the roads with her, pursued by her ex husband. Published in Spanish, a 2020 novel from the Venice and Buenos Aires-based author. The Second Coming of Hilda Bustamante, (Salome Esper, Editorial: Sigilo) Another acclaimed Argentina debut from a young woman novelist, combined terror and hour, the story of a 79-year-old, who dies, but breaks out of her coffin, returns home after her resurrection. A feel-good humor laced second-chance fable. Some Music, (Una musica, Hernan Ronsino; Editorial Eterna Cadencia) Winner of this years Buenos Aires Book Fair Critics Award as best book of 2022, the latest from Ronsino, reckoned one of Argentinas most powerful contemporary voices, the story of a musician who inherits his fathers small farm in the Buenos Aires suburbs, which reveals little by little, ratcheting up he tension, his fathers true nature. The Threads Of The Heart, (Le Coeur Cousu, Spain, Carole Martinez, France; Editorial Madrigall) Frasquita, who has a extraordinary gift for embroidery, battles to find a way out of her remote village in Spain. Hailed in 2007 as a triumph of magic realism, though the summary presented by El Principio del Film stresses the novels more contemporary themes such as female empowerment and a womans continual disappointment with men. Treacherous Indies, (Les Indes Fourbes, Alain Ayroles (writer) Juanjo Guarnido (illustrator); Editorial: Delcourt) The most awaited French graphic novel of 2019, from Ayroles and Guarnido, a trenchant sequel to Francisco de Quevedos 1626 tale of roguish adventure, El Buscon, continued in the New World. Guest Projects, Brazil Dezembro, (Lucas Justiniano) Writer-director of Barqueiro, which won best short at 2014s Rio Fest, Justinianos Dezembro turns on two teen sons who suddenly have to care for their father when he loses his memory after an operation. Filha Da, (Thays Berbe) Estefania, 9, living in a Sao Paulo shanty hood, believes her mother is an undercover secret agent, when she works in reality as a prostitute. The lie finally causes problems, forcing mother and daughter to go into hiding. Filha Da won Bebe a Projeto Paradiso scholarship to pursue a screenwriting masters degree at Cubas ECTV. Filha Da Preferred Seating, (Assento Preferencial, Marcela dos Santos Servano) Marcela, 38, a nurse, takes a job at a nursing home, to access Cannabidiol, in order to treat her grandfather who suffers Parkinsons disease. She strikes up an unlikely relationship with Alfonso, 78, seen as an old grouch. Winners of an honourable mention in Brazils 2021 Script and Narratives competition. The Sphinxes, (As Esfinges, Sandra Menezes, Carol Ao) Bene gathers together her lifetime friends at a European festival which is screening her latest pic, based on her memoirs. Left to their devices, her friends go off to Portugal and live extraordinary adventures. The Sphinxes Yellowcake, (Larissa Estevam, Celina Ximenes) A thriller, from Caera writer-directors Estevam and Ximenes, Cassandra, a Black geologist investigates the exploration of a uranium deposit near her hometown, exposing its inhabitants to radiation poisoning. She and her people take drastic action. Malaga Film Festival & Mafiz Ahora Somos del Viento, (Juan Ezequiel Comesana, Amanda Gutierrez Del Castillo) Billed as a tragi-comedy, an Argentine father and teen daughter move to small mountain town in Spain, where she is driven to attempting suicide. An unseen screenplay from Comesana (La Vid(a) and Gutierrez (Emma y el mundo). Bolonia, (Javier Gomez Bello, Malaga) From multi-prized doc short filmmaker Gomez Bello (Malakooti) who presented The Night of the Judas at this years Malaga CoPro Forum, a second chance comedy in which Carmela, 42, attends a spiritual retreat near Cadiz. Its not what she expects but proves a profoundly strange, hilarious, and revealing experience. Bolonia Cruising Blood Love, (Salva Martos Cortes, ) Klaus, a German vampire serial killer, and Soledad, an investigating cop, intersect in Torremolinos, in a neon night labyrinth of sex, love, blood and death. A horror drama thriller from multi-prized short film director whose feature debut as a writer, Reflejos en una habitacion, won at Huelva. Digital Dolls, (Julia Ponce Diaz, Seville) Deep Andalusia, early 2000s. Stuck in a hidebound hometown, Laura, 13, seeks escape in the Internet, befriends Mima, the only person who gets her, as real and virtual worlds entangle. A hybrid fiction-animation coming of age tale from an AFI and UCLA alum. Digital Dolls No Soy Universal, (Celia de Molina, Jaen) A comedy from the creator of Atresplayers Antivlog and screenwriter on Disney+s Invisible. Celia attempts to sell a screenplay about the taboos shes faced since deciding to become a mother which is rejected by industry execs as not being universal. Official Section Before The Future Comes (Antes que o Futuro Chegue, Gabriel Di Giacomo Rocha, Brasil) In a dismal virtual future, Enzos faith is restored after meeting vivacious neighbor Valentina, who teaches him to smile again though the world around them is falling apart. The project participated in the itinerary development program Historias Que Viajam. Before The Future Comes Birthing, (Alumbramiento, Sirenee Limon-Lason Blanco, Mexico) In 1870s Mexico, Matilde defies gender norms, becoming the first female student at the National School of Medicine. Limon-Lasonis a communication science graduate with three awarded film scripts, including Birthing, developed under FONCA Young Creators. The script, which received the IMCINE Film Creators Incentive in 2022, advised by Elisa Miller, has sparked interest for a series adaptation. Bonaventura, (Hector Canas, Sergio Salgueiro, Argentina) In this science fiction narrative, three crew members are stranded on a dilapidated space freighter with dwindling oxygen after an accident, leading to a grim set of circumstances that test their bonds. The script was chosen as a Ventana Sur/Blood Windows 2022 Tinta Oscura finalist. Bonaventura Carroloco, (Robert Brand Ordonez, Colombia) Nine-year-old Eduardito, a.k.a. Carroloco, dreams of buying a superhero suit to heal his paralyzed leg. However, he gets entangled with a dangerous gang, revealing the harsh reality of his isolation. A 2023 Talents Buenos Aires Alumnus, Afro-Amazonian filmmaker Brand explores violence in Colombia through spiritual realism, merging Afro beliefs with Amazonian magic. Hes developing short Once the Herons Return. Electric Angel, (Angel Electrico, Carlos Franco Esguerra, Colombia) Selected in BAM Stories, Cinefilia Intl Script Lab, story revolves around lawyer Horacio, who once sacrificed humanitarian ideals for family wealth and now faces a crisis when son Ernesto rejects a job at his firm to pursue a macabre Electric Angel device. A celebrated scriptwriter, series creator, Francos credits include Men of God, Cazando Luciernagas. The Escape, (La Fuga, Rolando Melendez, Puerto Rico) In this neo noir police drama, agent Belen Santiago seeks redemption by investigating a murder in a Puerto Rican mountain town. Driven by guilt over her mothers death, she uncovers corruption and moral dilemmas, realizing those closest to her cause the most harm. Received development support from the Ibermedia Program and Cine Qua Non Lab in 2022. Floating Floor, (Piso Flotante, Lorenzo Tocco, Uruguay) In Montevideo, Cuban immigrant El Papi (36) survives by singing boleros in an abandoned house. When owner Walter (70) returns, they bond while renovating. Tensions rise when Papi prioritizes singing, causing irreparable cracks. Filmmaker Toccos multi-award-winning short Bodas de oro was acquired by HBO MAX. Floating Floor secured ACAU funds in 2022, mentored by Leo Garcia. Give Me Your Tired, (Horacio Ramirez, Mexico) In road movie-drama, American border patrol officer Chris accidentally kills a migrant child during a drug operation. To salvage his career, he escorts the grieving mother, Leticia, cross-country. Their journey exposes racial prejudices, guilt, and shattered illusions of the American Dream. Developed under Peter McPhees mentorship, the film gained IMCINE support and accolades at the Colombia Guion Lab. The Passion of Lorenzo, (La pasion de Lorenzo,Francisco Javier Carreno Fernandez, Chile) After Chiles 1973 Coup detat, Navy Captain Lorenzo attempts to save his son, a prominent leftist figure, from government persecution. Script development was financed by the Audiovisual Development Fund, sponsored by Chiles Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Patrimony. Spellbound, (Amarrados, Lucila Las Heras, Matias Alejandro Gamio, Argentina) A woman casts a love spell on her crush who tragically dies. His spirit threatens to eternally torment her unless she can reverse the incantation. Authors were mentored by Luiso Berdejo, Axel Kuschevatzky, Pablo Guisa, Alejandro Brugues and Franz Novotny at Mexicos Fantastic Fest. Through the Fog, (Nevoa Baixa,Eugenia Kimura, Brasil) Saki lives under the rule of her oppressive mother until she takes her daughter on vacation. After a flight cancellation she decides to roam Sao Paulo, a choice that further complicates matters. The project was a semifinalist for the Cabiria Award in 2023 Uky and Lola in the Land of Fire, (Uky y Lola, en tierra del Fuego,Fabian Andrade, Chile) The project, featured at Cannes Marche du Film, follows Young Selknam Uly and Shaman in training, Lola, as they work to unlock ancient magic and save their tribe from encroaching ranchers. Uky and Lola in the Land of Fire Valizas, (Rodolfo Santullo, Uruguay) In 1970s Valizas during the Uruguayan military dictatorship, fisherman Ulises shelters his sister Penelope and her partner, Mario, from persecution. Tensions escalate as old feuds surface, endangering everyone. Santullos The Eagles Heist, won SoloSerieS at Ventana Sur 2021. Valizas is backed by Uruguays 2022 Film Script Development Fund. Wild Horse, (Cimarron,Mariana Chiesa, Juan Sabio, Argentina) Marginalized teen, Aaron, spends his summer tending to a racehorse where he meets the daughter of a pastor and contorts his personality to attract her affections, betraying his beliefs in the process. The project was selected by INCAAs Raymundo Gleyzer contest in 2020. Yaguar, (Roberto Gervitz, Brasil) Leo looks for his uncle, trained as a Cuban guerrilla in the 60s. The search leads him to El Negro, a vet who asks him to join in the rescue of an endangered jaguar. Inspired by true events, the script won the Projeto Paradiso sponsorship. Y si Adelita, (Maria de la Luz Jaimes Miranda, Mexico) Twelve-year-old Adela flees the Mexican Revolutions brutality after witnessing her mothers assault. Over ten episodes, Adela matures, finding refuge in various places, experiencing loss, love, and even joining a womens army. Writers eponymous short film Y si Adelita has won 21 awards. Screenplay recognized with a Toast for Moet & Chandon at FICG 2023, with Manolo Caro, Karla Souza and Gabriel Nuncio advising. Best of Variety Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. While many baby boomers have now entered retirement, many more remain in the workforce with retirement upcoming. As this generation transitions into retired life, many may choose to move to a city more suitable for their new cash flows and routines. Some places may offer better tax advantages, lower cost of living, proximity to family, comfortable weather and other amenities for retirees. Ultimately, the migration of boomers and their economic power will impact the local economies they move to and from. With this in mind, SmartAsset examined Census Bureau data for 268 of the largest U.S. cities to see where people between the ages of 55 and 74 are moving. Cities are ranked by the rate at which baby boomers moved in in 2022. Key Findings These Florida, Arizona and Nevada cities dominate the top 10. The three states are home to eight of the 10 cities with the biggest boomer inflows, including Clearwater, FL; Reno, NV; Orlando, FL; Cape Coral, FL; Surprise, AZ; Henderson, NV; Mesa, AZ; and St. Petersburg, FL. Nearly 30% of the population are boomers in these cities. Baby boomers account for almost three out of every 10 people in Cape Coral, FL (29.9%), Scottsdale, AZ (28.1%) and Clearwater, FL (27.0%). Out-of-state boomers are moving to Billings, MT. Montana's largest city welcomed 1,842 baby boomers from different states in 2022, more than half of the total 3,401 new boomers. Billings, which ranked fifth studywide, is consequently one of the two states that made it to the top 10 outside of Florida, Nevada and Arizona. Foreign boomers are moving to these cities in Florida. 2,131 baby boomers moved to Orlando from abroad last year. Cape Coral, FL had the second highest rate of boomers moving from abroad, with 1,268 new individuals in this cohort. North Carolina boomers are flocking to High Point. Overall, High Point ranked 9th. Of the 3,051 baby boomers who moved here in 2022, 81% came from within the state of North Carolina. Top 10 Cities Where Baby Boomers Are Moving 1. Clearwater, FL Baby boomers who moved to Clearwater in 2022 accounted for 3.79% of the city's total population. 4,401 people from this age group moved into the city. Overall, the 31,349 baby boomers living in Clearwater made up 27.0% of the city's total population over the age of 1. 2. Reno, NV A total of 8,329 baby boomers relocated to Reno in 2022. These new residents represented 3.07% of the city's population. Overall, 62,688 baby boomers living in Reno accounted for 23.1% of residents. 3. Orlando, FL In 2022, Orlando welcomed 9,458 new residents from the baby boomer generation. Those newcomers accounted for 3.02% of the city's total population over the age of 1. Boomers now comprise 16.6% of the Orlando community, with a total of 51,927 individuals. 4. Cape Coral, FL Baby boomers who moved to Cape Coral in 2022 made up 2.90% of the city's total population over the age of 1. A total of 6,233 people from this age group moved into the city that year, as baby boomers made up 29.9% of the overall population. 5. Billings, MT Billings saw 3,401 baby boomers move into the city, accounting for 2.87% of the city's population. With the influx, baby boomers now comprise 22.5% of residents over the age of 1. 6. Surprise, AZ 4,372 baby boomers relocated to Surprise, making up 2.86% of the total population over the age of 1. This led to a total of 36,420 baby boomers living in Surprise in 2022. This generation constituted 23.8% of the overall community. 7. Henderson, NV The 9,219 boomers who moved to Henderson during 2022 made up 2.80% of the city's total population. Meanwhile, a total of 84,183 boomers were living in Henderson in 2022, accounting for 25.6% of residents. 8. Mesa, AZ Of the 108,881 baby boomers living in Mesa in 2022, 13,623 moved to the city that year. Newcomers in this age group made up 2.69% of the city's total population over the age of 1. 9. High Point, NC High Point welcomed 3,051 new residents from the baby boomer generation in 2022. In total, the city's 26,023 baby boomers comprised 22.9% of the overall population over the age of 1. Baby boomers who moved to High Point that year accounted for 2.69% of residents. 10. St. Petersburg, FL A total of 6,903 baby boomers moved to St. Petersburg in 2022, accounting for 2.67% of the total population over the age of 1. That year, 66,631 baby boomers 25.75% of all residents over the age of 1 called St. Petersburg home. Data and Methodology Data comes from the U.S. Census Bureau 1-Year American Community Survey for 2022. The study included 268 cities that had available data and 100,000 or more people ages 1 or over. Boomers were defined as people ages 55 to 74. Cities were ranked by the percentage of the total population represented by boomers who moved into the city in 2022. Retirement Planning Tips Optimize your Social Security. Social Security plays an important role in most people's plans for retirement. Remember, waiting until you reach your full retirement age will ensure you receive your full benefit. Filing for Social Security as early as age 62 will mean you'll collect up to 30% less. However, the flipside is also true: waiting until age 70 will mean your benefit will increase by up to 24%. Anticipate your income needs. While spending typically decreases in retirement, inaccurately predicting your consumption could spell trouble for your budget. The experts at T. Rowe Price recommend you start by aiming to replace 75% of your pre-retirement income. From their, your exact income replacement target will depend on your savings rate during your career and other factors. Work with a financial professional. Whether you're a baby boomer or a member of a later generation, saving and planning for retirement is critical. A financial advisor can help but finding one doesn't have to be hard. SmartAsset's free tool matches you with up to three vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can have a free introductory call with your advisor matches to decide which one you feel is right for you. If you're ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now. Photo credit: iStock.com/Robert Daly The post Where Baby Boomers Are Moving 2023 Study appeared first on SmartReads by SmartAsset. From left, director Alexander Payne and actor Paul Giamatti after wrapping a scene for "The Holdovers" shot on the Worcester Common Feb. 26, 2022. WORCESTER If you see the critically acclaimed crowd-pleaser The Holdovers this holiday season, you might recognize a familiar face, as well as a familiar place. The familiar face is that of versatile, Oscar-nominated character actor Paul Giamatti. The familiar place is our very own Worcester Common oval. Sporting a bushy moustache and tweed hat, Giamatti plays Paul Hunham, a feared and despised teacher of ancient history at a fictitious all-boys New England prep school, Barton Academy. As the corduroy suit-wearing, pipe-smoking, Jim Beam-swigging, Roman Empire-referencing academic who regularly butts head with the prep schools headmaster (a former student of his) and gleefully whistles Wagners The Ride of the Valkyries while passing back failed final exams, Giamatti's Hunham makes John Housemans Professor Kingsfield in The Paper Chase look like a pushover. In the movie, which takes place during Christmas break in 1970, Hunham finds himself alone with a smart but ill-tempered student Angus Tully (played by newcomer Dominic Sessa) and the schools grief-stricken head cook Mary Lamb (DaVine Joy Randolph), who recently lost her son in Vietnam. More: 'Letters to Santa': What to know about new Hallmark Channel Christmas movie shot in Worcester After the three unlikely companions share Christmas dinner, Hunham and Angus set out on an impromptu field trip to Boston, which includes driving by factories on Route 110 in Clinton, seven minutes before the scene shot in Worcester. While a majority of film was shot in the buildings and on the campus of St. Marks School in Southborough during the spring of 2022, Worcester is the spot for a crucial scene in which teacher and troubled student bond and a well-guarded secret about Hunhams past is revealed. In a scene lasting three minutes, Worcester takes center stage roughly around the movie's 90-minute mark. As the acoustic guitar strains of Cat Stevens The Wind permeate the background, Angus is seen smiling as he skates on the Worcester Common Oval, which doubles for the Boston Common, though the viewer can clearly see Worcester City Hall in the background. With a fresh bed of white snow courtesy of a snowstorm the day before, the production crew didnt have to put artificial snow down as they did in 2021 for the downtown filming of Dexter: New Blood. Overlooking the Oval was the citys Christmas tree, covered with blue, red and green lights, which was put up especially for the shoot. New Christmas decorations go up in downtown Worcester during the February 2022 filming of "The Holdovers." An estimated 100 extras, including skaters and walkers, wearing '70s-appropriate woolen coats or leather jackets, were used in the scene. Filmed on Feb. 26. 2022, Worcesters big scene in The Holdovers was originally intended for Boston, but Alexander Payne, the films director, liked what Worcester had to offer. The scene that we shot here in Worcester was actually scripted for Boston, but I preferred the look of the skating rink in Worcester to that of Boston, Payne said to the Telegram & Gazette minutes after wrapping up the scene. So, folks from Worcester and Boston will have to forgive us for cheating in the movie, but its just a movie. Walking together up the steps that lead to the back entrance of City Hall, Hunham and Angus (Sessa) run into one of Hunhams old Harvard University classmates, Hugh Cavanaugh (Kelly AuCoin), and his wife, Karen (Colleen Clinton). During the uncomfortable encounter, the four pause on the stairs and speak a few minutes before parting ways. Over Cavanaughs shoulder you can see the old Telegram & Gazette building at 20 Franklin St. and the neon Worcester PopUP sign. Over Hunhams shoulder, you can see a long stretch of Franklin Street, including the intersection at Portland Street and the illuminated sign of Bay State Savings Bank at 28 Franklin St. The Holdovers doesnt mark the first time the Worcester Common has featured prominently in a film project, nor the first time the Worcester Common doubled for the Boston Common on film. Despite taking place in Boston but primarily shot in Richmond, Virginia, the 2010 movie A Christmas Kiss from Princeton-based filmmaker John Stimpson whose latest Christmas movie, Letters to Santa, made its debut on Black Friday on the Hallmark Channel shot such a scene. We were pretending to be the Boston Common because Boston Common wouldnt let us bring a horse and buggy into the Common, nor would we be able to navigate all the logistics and the permitting to get it done it Boston," Stimpson said. "So, we did it here in Worcester. The Common also prominently featured in Stimpsons Lifetime TV movie Christmas on Ice from 2020. With the skating oval on Worcester Common in the background, Dominic Sessa and Paul Giamatti film a scene of "The Holdovers." This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: 'The Holdovers' Boston Common scene actually filmed in Worcester By Lee Min-hyung Kolon Group appointed Lee Kyu-ho, the eldest son of the groups honorary chairman, as its new vice chairman during a year-end reshuffle of top management, the company said Tuesday. Lee has been recognized for successfully reorganizing the business portfolio of the groups automobile retail business over the past three years and launching Kolon Mobility Group this year. Lee, 39, started his career at Kolon Industries in 2012 and has since taken on key roles at the group's key affiliates. The latest executive reshuffle is seen as Kolons push for a generational shift, to tackle growing global economic uncertainty. He will be in charge of mapping out the groups key strategies after the promotion. Previously, he served as president at Kolon Mobility Group. The company is an authorized dealer for major overseas brands, such as BMW and Audi. Under the leadership of Lee, Kolon Mobility has diversified its revenue channels and widened its service areas. It recently launched a rent-a-car business, called 702 Drive Plus. After the latest reshuffle, Lee has tightened his footing as the groups heir apparent. He has also worked as the groups chief strategy officer since 2021 while serving as the former top executive of its mobility arm. Lee places his management focus on setting the groups hydrogen business value chain more concretely and establishing its future growth strategy. Business uncertainties are growing day after day at a time when each economic bloc across the globe reinforces their ties, an official from Kolon Group said. We focused on unwaveringly enhancing the groups future value and preemptively grabbing opportunities through the reshuffle of executives. The group also named a group of 16 new vice presidents and displayed a strong willingness for innovation and change through the generational shift. More than 70 percent of them are in their 40s. Kolon also split its holding firms structure into strategy and management support. Lee will set strategies for the group while Vice Chairman Ahn Byung-duk will lead the support unit. All 41 workers trapped in a collapsed tunnel in the northern Himalayas have been rescued after 17 days stuck underground. Wearing yellow safety jackets, the workers crawled through an opening that was drilled through the debris of a landslide by hand. People across India had been glued to their televisions to watch live coverage of the rescue operation, which had seen two failed attempts to free the miners. Hundreds of locals assembled near the site to cheer on the rescue workers. They also distributed sweets outside the Silkyara tunnel as the trapped workers emerged. The rescue mission saw skilled rat miners manually dig through the last 12 metres following a setback with a drilling machine attempting to create a wider opening. Harpal Singh, a tunnel engineer at the scene, told The Telegraph, It is such a relief. I am happy we have been able to safely evacuate the workers. Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, said: The success of the rescue operation of our labour brothers in Uttarkashi is making everyone emotional. I want to say to the friends who were trapped in the tunnel that your courage and patience is inspiring everyone. I wish you all well and good health. Mr Modi applauded the bravery and determination of the rescuers, adding: Everyone involved in this mission has set an amazing example of humanity and teamwork. Rescue teams inserted pipes into dug-out areas and welded them together so the workers could be brought out on wheeled stretchers. The evacuation process began at 8pm, when the first worker was brought out. The miners will receive immediate medical attention within the tunnels makeshift medical centre before being transferred to a nearby makeshift hospital for further care, said Mr Singh. For family members like Dhanpati, whose son Ram Sundar was among the trapped workers, the successful rescue has marked an end to 17 days of anguish. He is my only son, and I am happy he was safely rescued, said Dhanpati. In Mirzapur, in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, a small crowd gathered nervously at the home of trapped worker Akhilesh Singh to await news. Family members anxiously watched on TV, hoping to catch a glimpse of his face. On Sunday, rescuers also began to create a vertical channel with a newly replaced drilling machine as a contingency plan. An attempt to break through with heavy machinery horizontally had failed last week. Most of the workers are migrant labourers from across the country. Many of their families had travelled to the location, where they have camped out for days to get updates on the rescue effort and in hopes of seeing their relatives soon. Authorities supplied the trapped workers with hot meals through a 15cm (6in) pipe after days of surviving only on dry food sent through a narrower pipe. They received oxygen through a separate pipe, and more than a dozen doctors, including psychiatrists, have been at the site monitoring their health. The tunnel the workers were building was designed as part of the Chardham all-weather road, which will connect various Hindu pilgrimage sites. Some experts say the project, a flagship initiative of the federal government, will exacerbate fragile conditions in the upper Himalayas, where several towns are built atop landslide debris. Large numbers of pilgrims and tourists visit Uttarakhands many Hindu temples, with the number increasing over the years because of the continued construction of buildings and roadways. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer. A four-day cease-fire between Hamas and Israel has been extended by two days, Qatari officials announced on Monday. Dozens of the more than 200 people taken hostage during Hamas' Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel and held in the war-torn Gaza Strip for nearly two months were released over the last few days during the truce. During the cease-fire, Hamas has freed 81 of the hostages in exchange for 180 Palestinians released from Israeli prisons. Click here for updates from previous days. Latest Developments Nov 29, 12:25 PM 'All my dreams were shattered,' bride in Gaza says A young couple from southern Gaza planned to marry on Oct. 8 -- but the Israel-Hamas war changed all that. PHOTO: Palestinians inspect the destruction caused by Israeli strikes in Wadi Gaza, in the central Gaza Strip, Nov. 28, 2023, amid a truce in battles between Israel and Hamas. (Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images) PHOTO: Israeli soldiers walk past Palestinians fleeing the north along the Salaheddine road in the Zeitoun district on the southern outskirts of Gaza City, Nov. 28, 2023. (Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images) The house they were going to live in was destroyed by Israeli bombs. The couple -- not yet married -- spoke to ABC News as they sifted through the rubble, trying to salvage whatever they could. "How do I feel? Sad. I wanted to be like any bride, to have a house," Heba Abu Taima told ABC News. "Everything was beautiful before the 7th of October. After the 7th of October, everything ended." PHOTO: Heba Abu Taima, right, and her fiance, Saif Abu Taima, had planned to marry on Oct. 8. The couple returned to their home in Bani Suheila in southern Gaza on Nov. 29, 2023, to find it bombed during the Israeli campaign. (ABC News) "All my dreams were shattered," she continued. "Everything in the house is gone, the house in which we planned to have a sweet and happy life is gone." "I dreamed of beautiful things, for example, children," said her fiance, Saif Abu Taima. "I used to say, 'Boy,' and she used to say, 'No, girl.' And we also used to go out and [I'd] tell her, 'We will live a beautiful life and achieve our beautiful dream.'" PHOTO: Saif Abu Taima had planned to marry his fiancee on Oct. 8 before the Hamas attacks the next day. The couple returned to their home in Bani Suheila in southern Gaza on Nov. 29, 2023, to find it bombed during the Israeli campaign. (ABC News) She added, "We desperately want to live in safety like other countries. To have a good life, to live freely and in peace." -ABC News' Sami Zayara Nov 29, 11:59 AM UN calls for 'irreversible' move toward 2-state solution Tatiana Valovaya, director-general of the United Nations at Geneva, is calling for an "irreversible" move toward a two-state solution. "We must be united in demanding an end to the occupation and the blockade of Gaza," Valovaya said. "It is long past time to move in a determined, irreversible way towards a two-state solution, on the basis of United Nations resolutions and international law, with Israel and Palestine living side-by-side in peace and security, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states." Nov 29, 11:54 AM Hamas says it released 2 Russian female hostages Hamas officials said on Wednesday that they've released two female Russian hostages. "They were handed over to the Red Cross a short while ago as a prelude to handing them over to representatives of the Russian Foreign Ministry," Hamas said in a statement via Telegram. Nov 29, 11:40 AM Hamas claims 3 hostages, including 10-month-old, were killed by previous Israeli strikes on Gaza Hamas' military wing al-Qassam Brigades alleged Wednesday that three hostages have died as a result of the Israeli military's previous bombings in the Gaza Strip. In a statement posted on a Telegram channel associated with the al-Qassam Brigades, the slain hostages were identified as Shiri Silverman Bibas, Kfir Bibas and Ariel Bibas. It was unclear when the trio had allegedly died and ABC News was unable to verify the claim. PHOTO: Ofri Bibas Levy, whose brother Yarden was taken hostage with his wife Shiri and 2 children Kfir and Ariel holds with her friend Tal Ulus pictures of them during an interview with Reuters in Geneva, Switzerland, Nov. 13, 2023. (Denis Balibouse/Reuters) Several members of the Bibas family, including 32-year-old Shiri, her 4-year-old son Ariel and her 10-month-old son Kfir, were kidnapped from their kibbutz in southern Israel during Hamas' attack on Oct. 7 and taken hostage to Gaza, according to relatives and Israeli authorities. The Israel Defense Forces confirmed in a statement Wednesday that it is investigating the reports of their deaths. "IDF representatives spoke with the Bibas family following the recent reports and are with them at this difficult time. The IDF is assessing the accuracy of the information," the IDF said. "Hamas is wholly responsible for the security of all hostages in the Gaza Strip. Hamas must be held accountable." In a statement obtained by ABC News, the Bibas family said Wednesday that they are "updated on the latest Hamas publication." "We are waiting for the news to be confirmed or hopefully refuted soon by military officials," the family added. "We thank the people of Israel for the warm embrace but ask to maintain our privacy at this complex time." -ABC News' Ayat Al-Tawy, Anna Brund, Jordana Miller, Dana Savir and Morgan Winsor Nov 29, 11:31 AM Returned hostages not in immediate danger: Israel hospital director Itai Pessach, director of Edmond and Lily Safra Children's Hospital at Sheba Medical Center, praised the newly released hostages who arrived at the hospital Tuesday, calling them "extraordinary women" who "endured the hardships of their captivity in a remarkable fashion." PHOTO: Hostages who were abducted by Hamas gunmen during the October 7 attack on Israel, are handed over by Hamas militants to members of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the Gaza Strip, Nov. 28, 2023. (Al-qassam Brigades via Reuters) "Some of them had complex underlying illnesses and some suffered injuries when they were abducted or during their time in captivity," Pessach said. "They will need further medical treatment and attention, but there's no immediate danger to any of them." Twelve hostages were released on Tuesday in the most recent prisoner swap: 10 Israelis and two foreign nationals from Thailand. Nine of the Israelis were women. One was a 17-year-old girl, Maya, and her dog, Bella. PHOTO: A hostage who was abducted by Hamas gunmen during the October 7 attack on Israel holds a dog while she and others are handed over by Hamas militants to members of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the Gaza Strip, Nov. 28, 2023. (Al-qassam Brigades via Reuters) Pessach called Maya "a very brave young woman. " "Bella also was examined last night by the veterinarian service of the Sheba Medical Center, and she's also fine, and she would stay with Maya for as long as she needs while they are still here," Pessach said. Nov 29, 9:18 AM Israel receives list of hostages to be released Wednesday, notifies families The Israeli Prime Minister's Office confirmed that it has received the list of hostages due to be released by militants in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. The families of the hostages on Wednesday's list have all been notified, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said. The truce between Gaza's militant rulers, Hamas, and Israel is set to expire on Thursday morning, but the possibility of extending it further is reportedly under negotiation. -ABC News' Dana Savir and Morgan Winsor Nov 29, 9:08 AM Israeli forces allegedly kill 2 Palestinian children in West Bank Two Palestinian children were allegedly gunned down by Israeli soldiers operating in the militant stronghold of Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Wednesday, according to Palestinian health officials. The Palestinian Authority, the Fatah-led governing body that oversees parts of the West Bank, identified the two victims as an 8-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy who it said "were killed by occupation bullets in Jenin." PHOTO: Palestinians check damage following a raid in Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Nov. 29, 2023. (Raneen Sawafta/Reuters) The Palestine Red Crescent Society confirmed that its crews had transported the younger child from Jenin's al-Basateen neighborhood before he was pronounced dead. Surveillance footage reviewed by ABC News purportedly shows the moment both boys were shot, but the perpetrators were out of sight. ABC News has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment. PHOTO: An Israeli military vehicle maneuvers on a road during a raid in Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Nov. 29, 2023. (Raneen Sawafta/Reuters) The alleged incidents occurred as the Israeli military carried out hourslong raids on the Jenin refugee camp. Deadly violence has surged in the West Bank since Hamas, the rival Palestinian faction that governs the Gaza Strip, carried out an unprecedented attack on neighboring Israel on Oct. 7, prompting Israeli forces to retaliate. -ABC News' Nasser Atta and Morgan Winsor Nov 29, 7:23 AM Cease-fire is 'matter of life or death' for 1.3 million displaced in Gaza, WHO warns Approximately 1.3 million people are currently living in shelters in the war-torn Gaza Strip, according to head of the World Health Organization, who warned Wednesday that "a sustained ceasefire" between Israel and Hamas is "a matter of life or death for civilians" in Gaza. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said "overcrowding and lack of food, water, sanitation and basic hygiene, waste management and access to medication are resulting in a high number of cases of" various contagious diseases, including 111,000 cases of acute respiratory infections, 12,000 cases of scabies, 11,000 cases of lice, 75,000 cases of diarrhoea, 24,00 cases of skin rash, 2,500 cases of impetigo, 2,500 cases of chickenpox and 1,100 cases of jaundice. 1.3 million people are currently living in shelters in #Gaza. Overcrowding and lack of food, water, sanitation and basic hygiene, waste management and access to medication are resulting in a high number of cases of: - acute respiratory infections: 111,000 - scabies: 12,000 - pic.twitter.com/ZhiRDodqWL Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) November 29, 2023 "On top of all this: heightened risk of disease outbreaks," Tedros wrote in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. "Given the living conditions and lack of health care, more people could die from disease than bombings," he added. "We need a sustained ceasefire. NOW. It's a matter of life or death for civilians." Gaza, a 140-square-mile territory governed by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, is home to more than 2 million people. -ABC News' Morgan Winsor Nov 29, 5:34 AM Israel says 161 hostages, including children, remain in Gaza The Israeli Prime Minister's Office said Wednesday that 161 hostages are still being held in the Gaza Strip. Of the 161 remaining hostages, 126 are male and 35 are female. Among them are 146 Israelis and 15 foreigners, including Americans. Ten of them are age 75 and older, four are 18 or 19, and four are under the age of 18, according to the Israeli Prime Minister's Office. So far, 86 hostages -- 66 Israelis and 20 foreigners -- have been freed since last Friday in exchange for the release of dozens of Palestinians from Israeli prisons as part of a cease-fire agreement between Gaza's militant rulers, Hamas, and Israel. Another prisoner swap is expected to take place Wednesday. -ABC News' Jordana Miller, Joe Simonetti and Morgan Winsor Nov 29, 4:28 AM America's top hostage negotiator travels to Israel The United States' Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, often referred to as the country's top hostage negotiator, will travel to Israel on Wednesday, according to a senior official in the U.S. Department of State. The official said that Carstens "will support Secretary Blinken's visit to the region, meet with Israeli government counterparts and visit the families of Americans held hostage in Gaza." U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to arrive in Israel on Wednesday night. It will be Carstens' first known trip to Israel since Oct. 7, when Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack on southern Israel and took hundreds of people hostage back to the neighboring Gaza Strip. Carsten's deputy, Steven Gillen, visited Israel shortly after the war broke out and has spent a substantial amount time in the region during the weeks that followed, largely coordinating with Israeli officials on efforts to free the hostages. Earlier this month, Carstens met with family members of some of the hostages in Washington, D.C. -ABC News' Shannon Crawford and Morgan Winsor Click here to read the rest of the blog. By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - The University of California, Berkeley was sued on Tuesday by Jewish groups who said it has become a hotbed of "unchecked" antisemitism, including at its elite law school. According to a complaint by the nonprofit Louis D. Brandeis Center, UC Berkeley's leadership turns a blind eye to the long-festering problem of antisemitism on campus, even after displays of harassment and physical violence against Jews following Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel. The complaint filed in San Francisco federal court is among the first against a major university since the war between Israel and Hamas sparked protests on many college campuses. It described two protesters striking the head of a Jewish undergraduate draped in an Israeli flag with a metal water bottle, and how a faculty member allegedly cut short a class for 1,000 freshmen to go on an 18-minute anti-Israel rant. The complaint also said "no fewer" than 23 law school groups have anti-Jewish policies. It said these include requirements that invited speakers repudiate Zionism, and Jewish students wanting to provide pro bono legal services undergo "Palestine 101" training that emphasizes Israel's supposed illegitimacy. In a statement, UC Berkeley said it has long been committed to confronting antisemitism, and that while it cannot censor offensive speech it recognized that some demonstrations have been "upsetting and frightening" to Jewish students. "While we appreciate the concerns expressed by the Brandeis Center, UC Berkeley believes the claims made in the lawsuit are not consistent with the First Amendment of the Constitution, or the facts of what is actually happening on our campus," the university said. Law school dean Erwin Chemerinsky, a constitutional law specialist, said the complaint painted a "stunningly inaccurate" picture of the school. He said the school is dedicated to a conducive learning environment for all students, and that student groups have a First Amendment right to choose speakers. The law school, UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ, the University of California system and its President Michael Drake are among the other defendants. Other plaintiffs include the Brandeis Center's Jewish Americans for Fairness in Education, a nationwide group whose members include UC Berkeley staff and students. The lawsuit says UC Berkeley's "inaction" violates the plaintiffs' religious and equal protection rights under the Constitution and federal civil rights laws. It seeks a permanent injunction requiring that UC Berkeley end the hostile environment toward Jews, enforce its nondiscrimination policies, and neither fund nor recognize student groups that exclude Jews. UC Berkeley's law school routinely ranks among the top 10 law schools nationwide in academics and reputation. On Nov. 14, New York University was sued by three Jewish students who accused that school of tolerating pervasive antisemitism, including by allowing chants such as "gas the Jews" and "Hitler was right." NYU said it took antisemitism "extremely seriously" and would challenge the lawsuit in court. The case is Louis D. Brandeis Center Inc et al v Regents of the University of California et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 23-06133. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Richard Chang) The King has met business and finance leaders from across the world at a Buckingham Palace reception to mark the conclusion of the UKs Global Investment Summit. Charles was introduced by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to attendees from the summit including Stephen A Schwarzman from Blackstone, Jamie Dimon from JP Morgan Chase and Nissans Makoto Uchida. In the Palaces White Drawing Room, Charles also met Yasir Al-Rumayyan, who is governor of Saudi Arabias public wealth fund and chairman of Newcastle United, as well as Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, managing director of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. Mr Sunak praised Microsofts very good announcement today investing billions in building the infrastructure for AI here in the UK, as he introduced Charles to Microsoft UK chief executive Clare Barclay. Other business leaders who were introduced to Charles on Monday evening included Goldman Sachs David Solomon, Bank of Americas Bernard Mensah and Dame Anne Richards from Fidelity International. The King during a reception at Buckingham Palace (Daniel Leal/PA) Charles then met other financial leaders and chief executives at a reception in the Palaces Picture Gallery, attended by senior Government ministers including Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Home Secretary James Cleverly. The reception came ahead of Charless attendance at the opening ceremony of the World Climate Action Summit at Cop28 in Dubai on Friday. The Global Investment Summit was hosted by the UK Government at Hampton Court Palace earlier on Monday. A great day for the British economy. The #GIS2023 has secured 29bn of investment which will: Create 12k jobs across the country Support our fastest-growing industries Make the UK one of the best countries in the world to do business pic.twitter.com/k1VIv6U5ai UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) November 27, 2023 In a speech to open the summit, Mr Sunak highlighted the UKs low rate of business taxation, despite official forecasts suggesting the overall tax burden will reach a post-Second World War high. The Prime Minister said there was positive momentum behind the UK economy as around 200 chief executives gathered at Henry VIIIs former palace, with Mr Sunak rolling out the red carpet to global investors for the summit aimed at attracting funding and jobs to the UK. Downing Street said leading investors had committed 29.5 billion in new UK projects and capital triple the sum raised at the last Global Investment Summit in 2021. No 10 said the investments had sealed the UKs reputation as one of the best places in the world to do business. K9 Samba will join the Lake County Sherriff's Office School Resources Unit in central Florida to sniff out vapes. A Florida sheriff's office has brought on a new member of the K9 unit to help sniff out and detect vapes in schools. Lake County Sheriff's Office announced Monday that a 1-year-old yellow Labrador retriever named Samba (a very good girl), will be joining the School Resource Unit. She will be trained to sniff out vapes, nicotine and narcotics to deter students from bringing them to school and combat the "vaping epidemic," according to a Facebook post by the LCSO. One in ten middle school and high school students use at least one tobacco product, the most popular of which is vaping. In Florida, it is illegal for anyone under 21 to possess any tobacco product. War against vaping in schools Lake County Schools spokesperson Sherri Owens told USA TODAY in an interview Tuesday that Lake County has been battling vape usage like many other places. "We see the dog as a partner in the effort to help keep students healthy and safe," Owens said. Samba will have to complete 160 hours of training before her first official day on the job. She will work with K9 Colt, a chocolate Labrador retriever, who sniffs out chemicals that are a part of ammunition and explosives. Contributing: Sara Chernikoff 'It was so special': Kids raise $400 through lemonade stand to help with neighborhood dog's vet bills This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Vape-sniffing K9 dog 'Samba' hired in Florida schools to detect vapes Editor's Note: For the latest news on the Israel-Hamas conflict, please see our live updates file here. Eleven more hostages were released and reached Israel late Monday, according to the Israeli military, and the truce that gained freedom for them and dozens of other captives was extended by two days, bringing relative calm to the war-devastated Gaza Strip. "After they undergo an initial medical assessment, our forces will accompany them until they are reunited with their families,'' the Israel Defense Forces said of the newly freed hostages. As part of the deal, Israel released 33 Palestinian prisoners who were driven early Tuesday to the West Bank city of Ramallah, where they were greeted by cheering crowds. The truce had been scheduled to end Monday, but Israeli and Palestinian leaders had expressed support for extending it and freeing more militant-held hostages and Israeli-held prisoners. Israel had previously offered to extend the cease-fire by one day for every 10 additional hostages released. Hamas said in a social media post it had "agreed with Qatar and Egypt to extend the temporary humanitarian truce for an additional two days." Almost 70 women and children hostages have been released since Friday, 50 of them Israelis, along with 150 women and teen Palestinians from Israeli prisons. "The humanitarian pause has also enabled a significant surge in additional humanitarian assistance to the innocent civilians who are suffering across the Gaza Strip," President Joe Biden said in a statement, adding: "We will not stop until all of the hostages held by Hamas terrorists are released.'' National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the administration believes eight or nine Americans are still being held captive, but the U.S. doesn't have firm information on all of them. He said he was hopeful some of them would be released during the extended truce. An estimated 240 people were taken hostage by militants in the Oct. 7 raid into Israel, and more than 1,200 people were killed, according to Israeli authorities. Another 77 Israeli soldiers have died in the subsequent military operation in Gaza. The Gaza Health Ministry says more than 13,000 Palestinians have been killed in the fighting. Biden is sending $100M in aid into Gaza: Is any of it ending up in the hands of Hamas? Developments: The IDF said 200 trucks brought humanitarian aid into Gaza on Monday, including eight carrying fuel. The rest transported food, water, medical supplies and shelter equipment, to be given for distribution to aid organizations. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will make his third trip to the Middle East since the war started, traveling to Israel and the West Bank later this week, the Associated Press reported. Representatives of European Union members and Middle Eastern and north African countries gathered Monday in Barcelona to discuss diplomatic efforts to stop the Israel-Hamas war. U.N. experts on arbitrary executions, torture, and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment called for a "thorough and impartial investigations into crimes allegedly committed" by Hamas and Israel in the war. A Red Cross bus carrying Palestinian prisoners arrived in the West Bank city of Ramallah early Tuesday, the Associated Press reported. The Israeli military said the 11 hostages released late Monday included two women and nine children, who will "undergo an initial medical assessment" in Israeli territory. American freed: Avigail Edan, 4, among hostages released Sunday; Hamas seeks truce extension Israeli government approves potential release of 50 Palestinians Following the extension of the temporary truce, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that the Israeli government has approved the potential release of 50 additional Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. According to Netanyahu's office, the Palestinians in Israeli detention would be eligible for release "in the event that a release of additional Israeli hostages is carried out." Netanyahu's office described the 50 Palestinians as "female" prisoners. All Palestinians that have been released from Israeli detention as part of the temporary truce have been women and children. Three relatives of New York family released Among the 11 hostages released are Sharon Alony Cunio, 34, and her 3-year-old twin daughters, Emma and Yuli. The Cunio family has relatives in New York who have worked desperately for their release. One of Sharon Cunios American cousins, Alana Zeitchik of Brooklyn, launched a campaign called Bring Our Family Home to tell the stories of several Israeli relatives held hostage since the Oct. 7 Hamas rampage. Cunio's sister, 44-year-old Danielle Alony, and her 5-year-old daughter Amelia were among the first group of hostages freed last week. Sharons husband, David Cunio, remains in Hamas captivity in Gaza. All six family members were together in Kibbutz Nir Oz near the Israel-Gaza border when Hamas militants attacked. Our second miracle! Zeitchik wrote on Instagram Monday. Sharon and our babies Emma and Yuli are on their way home. To see them being carried out of there is an indescribable feeling. Slowly our hearts are mending. However, David and his brother Ariel remain in captivity, so we still need our third miracle. Joey Garrison Musk tours ravaged kibbutz with Netanyahu Elon Musk joined Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli President Isaac Herzog for a tour of Kfar Aza kibbutz, where dozens of residents were killed in the militant attack Oct. 7. Video released from Netanyahu's office showed Musk, in a protective vest escorted by a security team, taking video and photos with his phone. Musk has drawn fire in recent weeks amid claims that social media platform he owns formerly Twitter, now X is awash in antisemitism. Herzog told Musk the world is "inundated" with antisemitism. "I think we need to fight it together because on the platforms which you lead, unfortunately, there's a harboring of a lot of all the hate, which is Jew hatred, of antisemitism," Herzog said. The billionaire Tesla CEO said he was troubled by video and photos Netanyahu showed him of children being killed by the militants. "It was jarring to see the scene of the massacre," Musk later said in an X Spaces conversation with Netanyahu. Avigail Edan 'safe,' getting evaluated, family says Avigail Edan, the Israeli-American girl taken hostage by Hamas after her parents were murdered in the militant group's Oct. 7 rampage, is being cared for by family members who provided an update Monday. Avigail was "still being evaluated at Schneider Childrens Medical Center, where she was taken immediately upon her release," the family said in a statement. "She is safe and in the care of her Aunt Liron, Uncle Zuli, and Grandparents Shlomit and Eitan." Avigail turned 4 on Friday, two days before becoming the only American so far to be freed by Hamas under the current truce. U.S. authorities say another eight or nine remain in captivity. "I spoke with Abigails family following her release, and we are working closely with our Israeli partners to ensure she gets the care and support she needs as she begins to recover from this unspeakable trauma," Biden said in a statement. Bidens 'horrified' by shooting of 3 men of Palestinian descent in Vermont President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden were "horrified" to learn about the three college students of Palestinian descent who were shot in a Burlington, Vermont, street, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday. She said Biden is receiving updates about the ongoing investigation. "These students were taking part in a uniquely American tradition: gathering with family and loved ones to celebrate Thanksgiving," Jean-Pierre said. "They should be back in school with their classmates, not in a hospital." Jason Eaton, 48, of Burlington was taken into custody Sunday afternoon after investigators encountered him during a canvass of the shooting location, police said. He pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted murder at a court hearing Monday and is being held without bail. The victims, all age 20, were identified in a tweet from the Institute for Middle East Understanding as Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid, and Tahseen Ali Ahmad. Police said two of them were in stable condition and the third one suffered serious injuries. They have been friends since first grade at Ramallah Friends School, a private school in the West Bank, and all are "remarkable, distinguished students," said Rania Maayeh, head of the school. The victims wore keffiyahs, traditional Palestinian neck scarves, and were speaking Arabic at the time of the attack, leading authorities to investigate the incident as a possible hate crime. Two of the victims are U.S. citizens and one is a legal resident, police said. Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad urged the public not to jump to conclusions but said that "in this charged moment, no one can look at this incident and not suspect that it may have been a hate-motivated crime." Cybele Mayes-Osterman andJoey Garrison Will US humanitarian aid for Gaza help fund Hamas? The Biden administration has pledged $100 million in humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians amid the crisis triggered by the Israel-Hamas war. But the administrations desire to send much-needed aid has run up against fears that some of it could end up in the hands of Hamas, the militant group that governs Gaza and whose surprise, deadly attack on Israel on Oct. 7 touched off the latest conflict. The U.S. has designated Hamas as a terrorist organization. Why would we spend a minute of our time to figure out how to get more aid to Gaza to help terrorists? This makes no sense, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla. Michael Collins, Kim Hjelmgaard and Josh Meyer Details emerge on conditions faced by hostages in Gaza The families of the hostages released by Hamas say their loved ones survived difficult conditions for the seven weeks in captivity. Merav Raviv, whose three relatives were released by Hamas on Friday, said they had been fed irregularly and had eaten mainly rice and bread. She said her cousin and aunt, Keren and Ruth Munder, had each lost around 15 pounds. Raviv said shed heard from her freed family members that they had slept on rows of chairs pushed together in a room, and they sometimes had to wait hours before using the bathroom. Yocheved Lipschitz, 85, who was freed on Oct. 24 along with another elderly woman, said she was held in a web of tunnels by captors who told her they "believe in the Quran and wouldnt hurt us." She said she and other hostages received medical care and were given one meal a day of cheese, cucumber and pita the same meal her captors ate. Biden is sending $100M in aid into Gaza: Is any of it ending up in the hands of Hamas? Contributing: The Associated Press This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Israel, Hamas war updates: 11 more hostages released in Gaza Nasas Message in a Bottle will send peoples names to Jupiter aboard the Europa Clipper spacecraft (Nasa) Nasa is offering people the chance to send their names billions of kilometres into space aboard its next mission to Jupiter. The Message in a Bottle initiative will see peoples names engraved on the Europa Clipper spacecraft, with members of the public urged to submit their names for free before the end of 2023. Also engraved on the Europa Clipper is a poem by US Poet Laureate Ada Limon, titled In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa. The poem was presented at the Library of Congress earlier this year when Nasas campaign was first unveiled. Writing this poem was one of the greatest honours of my life, but also one of the most difficult tasks Ive ever been assigned, Ms Limon said. Eventually, what made the poem come together was realising that in pointing toward other planets, stars and moons, we are also recognising the enormous gift that is our planet Earth. To point outward is also to point inward. Surface of Jupiters moon, Europa (Nasa/JPL-Caltech) The mission is set to launch in October 2024, reaching Jupiter orbit 2.9 kilometres (1.8 billion miles) away in 2030. It will aim to investigate whether the ocean beneath the icy crust of Europa can harbour life. The radiation-tolerant spacecraft will enter a looping orbit around Jupiter, performing close flybys of the icy moon to study it with its onboard instruments. Scientists are hopeful that Europa contains all the ingredients for life to emerge and evolve. If there is life in Europa, it almost certainly was completely independent from the origin of life on Earth, said Robert Pappalardo, a project scientist on the Europa Clipper mission. That would mean the origin of life must be pretty easy throughout the galaxy and beyond. It is not the first time Nasa has sent messages from Earth to space aboard a rocket, having sent gold-plated phonograph records with its Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft in the 1970s. The US space agency said the golden records were a kind of time capsule, intended to communicate a story of our world to extraterrestrials. Ten ancient, cone-shaped tombs were unearthed just a stones throw away from a bustling street in the heart of Mexico City, officials said. The underground chambers were discovered along Constitucionntes Avenue, which runs parallel to the Chapultepec Forest, a sprawling park in the Mexican capital, according to a Nov. 24 news release from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH). Photos show the round, tapered chambers clustered alongside one another amid a grove near the road. The graves which measure up to nearly 7 feet wide long predate the arrival of Europeans in the region and are believed to be around 3,000 years old, officials said. They represent a particular type of funerary architecture found in other parts of Mexico. They were likely constructed by inhabitants of a large village that existed during the Early and Middle Preclassic periods, which spanned from 2500 to 400 B.C. The Preclassic period saw the transformation of many villages into larger urban cities, the most prominent of which was Teotihuacan, which became Mexico City, according to a 2017 study published in the Journal of Anthropology and Archaeology. Skeletal remains believed to belong to four women and one man were discovered inside five of the graves, officials said. Alongside the bones, archaeologists found tools, a cup and a handful of female figurines, among other artifacts, which provide evidence of complex social practices. The fact that the soil, and the graves encased inside, were preserved for 3,000 years is fantastic, Maria de Lourdes Lopez Camacho, the archaeological coordinator, said in the release. The artifacts were transported to the National Museum of History for further analysis, officials said. Google Translate was used to translate a news release from INAH. Ancient archives burned down 2,000 years ago in Turkey. The ruins were just found Huge sea creature feeds on fishermans bait in New York. See incredible sight Dwarf-like creature found at resort in India turns out to be beautiful new species Photo 57655971 Syda Productions | Dreamstime.com Charter schools provide students with greater educational gains per dollar spent than traditional public schools (TPS). That's the finding of a new report from University of Arkansas researchers that studied public and charter schools across nine American cities. Despite receiving far less money per pupil than TPS, students in charter schools perform better and are estimated to earn more per dollar invested in their education "Charter schools use their funding more efficiently, achieving better short- and long-term outcomes per dollar invested, relative to" traditional public schools (TPS), the study reads. "Relative to similar TPS students, charter school students, on average, perform slightly better on standardized tests, graduate high school at higher rates, enroll in college at higher rates, and have more positive behavioral outcomes." In the nine cities studied by the researchers, public schools received an average of $29,168 per pupil in FY 2020. Charter schools received around 70 percent of that at only $20,230 per student. But despite this gap, students in charter schools performed several points higher on a national standardized test. While the actual achievement gap between the average public school student and charter school student was fairly smallbetween 0.05 and 0.07 of a standard deviation depending on the year studiedthe researchers argued that, when considering the large funding gap, this small difference is significant. Researchers estimated that across the nine cities, for every $1 spent per pupil, public school students can expect $3.94 in lifetime earnings. But for charter schools, that number shoots up to $6.25, meaning that the return on investment for students attending charter schools is 58 percent higher than for those attending traditional public schools on average. In two of the cities studied, charter schools provided an ROI 100 percent higher than TPS. "Charter schools tend to demonstrate greater efficiency on both metrics of cost-effectiveness and return on investment, using fewer dollars to achieve better outcomes," the researcher wrote. "Part of the mechanism that allows charter schools to produce better outcomes with less funding could be related to the fact that charter schools are released from some restrictions placed on public schools, which may allow them to customize the way they spend their dollars to be more efficient and achieve better outcomes for students." These results are hardly surprising. While it's long been a mantra in progressive politics that increased funding is the key to improving school performance, per-pupil spending actually has a weak relationship with academic results. A 2012 report from Harvard and Stanford researchers found that an additional $1,000 in per-pupil spending was "associated with an annual gain in achievement of one-tenth of 1 percent of a standard deviation," adding that such a small amount "is of no statistical or substantive significance." While individual charter school performances vary, reports like this show that charters are a solid academic optionone that seems to return similar or better results as public schools using less taxpayer funding. The post Charter Schools Get Less Funding but Achieve Similar Test Scores to Public Schools appeared first on Reason.com. The UK and Spain are close to agreeing a deal on the post-Brexit status of Gibraltar, the Spanish foreign minister has indicated. A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said Lord Cameron had underlined the UKs desire to get a UK-EU treaty on Gibraltar as soon as possible during his discussion with counterpart Jose Manuel Albares. Mr Albares first revealed he had been in crunch talks with Rishi Sunaks new foreign secretary David Cameron on resolving the long-running row over trade and immigration arrangements. He told Spanish media that he had spoken with Lord Cameron over the phone on Monday, and they had also agreed to meet in person during a Brussels summit on Tuesday. The Spanish minister suggested the outline of a deal was now in place for a zone of shared prosperity in the Spanish area next to the British territory to avoid a hard border on the flow of people and goods. I would sign a deal with Britain over Gibraltar tomorrow, Mr Albares told the television channel Telecinco saying both sides agree that we have to move forward as soon as possible. A UK-EU deal on arrangements for Gibraltars border primarily on trade and free movement was not struck in time for the Brexit deal worked out by Boris Johnsons government. Conservative ministers have been nervous about signing any bilateral deal that could be viewed as reducing British influence over the territory. The Spanish foreign ministry has said the deal would allow Spain to use the Schengen agreement which allows for the free movement of EU citizens around the bloc to ease controls on the movement of people. Spain, the UK and the EU have previously agreed to the principle that Gibraltar should remain part of EU agreements on free movement. Spanish officials patrol border between Gibraltar and Spain (AFP/Getty) Mr Albares suggested the UK was also now keen on a frictionless border when it comes to the movement of goods something akin to the thorny arrangements for Northern Ireland His ministry said a zone of shared prosperity deal would see limited checks without increasing the risks for the EU internal market meaning the UK would have to agree to alignment on Brussels regulations. The Spanish foreign minister told reporters in Brussels: I think this deal is better for everyone than the application of European legislation after British citizens democratically decided to leave the European Union. Theres already been political will on the part of the Spanish government for many months, Mr Albares said on the generous and balanced deal on the table. He added: Whats needed now is that political will on the part of the United Kingdom to move forward decisively, which is what Ive seen so far. But we wont know until the end. Nothing will be agreed until its all agreed. Despite optimism that a deal is now close, there was no word from Lord Camerons team on the prospects of an agreement being signed within days. Lord Cameron leaves cabinet on Tuesday ahead of trip to Brussels (Getty) Britains decision to leave the EU was very unpopular in the British overseas territory, where thousands of people cross the border with Spain every day for work. Just over 95 per cent of the territorys population voted to stay in the EU in the 2016 referendum. The territorys business leaders have been keen for a deal to be struck. Brian Reyes, editor of the Gibraltar Chronicle wrote: Seven years on [from the Brexit referendum], the Brexit levanter still hangs over our heads. Meanwhile, Lord Cameron is expected to try to meet EU Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic during his Brussels summit visit his first trip to the EU capital since his fateful Brexit referendum. The foreign secretary is reportedly ready to raise the issue of post-Brexit tariffs set to be imposed on the automobile industry into force in January if he meets Mr Sefcovic this week. Mr Sunaks government is pushing the EU Commission to agree to delay the costly new rules of origin set to damage the electric vehicle (EV) market due to come in at the start of 2024 as part of Mr Johnsons trade deal. The Independent has contacted Lord Camerons team and the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) for comment. Former Binance chief Changpeng Zhao must stay in the United States for the time being, a federal judge said on Monday, after the founder of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange pleaded guilty to violating U.S. anti-money laundering laws. Zhao will be required to stay in the United States until the Seattle court considers whether he should remain through his sentencing hearing in February, or if he should be allowed to return to the United Arab Emirates, where he is a citizen. Zhao, who is also a citizen of Canada, stepped down as CEO of Binance last week after pleading guilty to willfully causing the exchange to fail to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program. U.S. District Judge Richard Jones in Seattle said he would review whether Zhao should have to stay in the United States after the U.S. government appealed a decision by another judge allowing Zhao to return to the UAE before his Feb. 23 sentencing hearing. Zhao agreed to a $175 million bond as part of the bail agreement. Binance Holdings agreed to pay over $4.3 billion and pleaded guilty to breaking U.S. anti-money laundering and sanctions laws. Binance said last week it had worked hard to make the company "safer and even more secure." Lawyers for Zhao did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday. Last week, Zhao conceded: "I made mistakes, and I must take responsibility." Zhao faces a maximum prison sentence of 18 months under federal guidelines and has agreed not to appeal any sentence up to that length. Prosecutors will take a position on how much jail time to seek closer to Zhao's sentencing, a Justice Department spokesperson said last week. The government had said it may be unable to secure Zhao's return to the United States given it has no extradition treaty with the UAE. Lawyers for Zhao disputed that he was a potential flight risk, noting that he paid a "substantial" bail package and voluntarily came to the United States to accept responsibility for his actions. (Reuters) Sharon and Ellie Vaughan say domestic abuse had a serious impact on their mental health A County Tyrone mother has told of the "horrific" abuse that she claims led to her trying to take her own life. Sharon Vaughan said treatment by her ex-partner severely affected her mental health and that of her children. Her comments came in a BBC Spotlight programme in which a leading women's charity called for a change in the law. It would allow for prosecutions to be made if there's a proven link between domestic abuse and a suicide. Similar laws have already been introduced in France, where perpetrators can be jailed for up to 10 years if their actions led the victim to kill or attempt to kill themselves. The Women's Aid Federation fears legislation will not be introduced in Northern Ireland in the absence of a power-sharing government at Stormont. Last year, a coroner said the link between domestic abuse and suicide needs to be better recognised following the death of a woman in East Yorkshire. Sharon Vaughan now works with other women who have suffered domestic abuse Sharon claimed her former partner, with whom she had four children, used to violently shake her, making her fear for her life. "It's horrific. It's totally draining, it just drains your whole life from you," she said. "As the years went on, and I suppose the abuse increased, my mental health got worse." BBC Spotlight put the claims made in the programme to the man allegedly involved, but did not get a response. 'Totally changes you' Sharon described the level of abuse and controlling behaviour as "pure terror". "It did take me a while to register that the relationship was abusive because he had a very good way of explaining things away. "He could always justify his actions or put the blame on something else and then I would excuse his behaviour." She added: "It just totally changes you as a person." Sharon's four children were at risk of physical and emotional abuse from their father, according to a social services assessment. The children were all placed on the child protection register. It was later agreed their father would have limited access to help care for the children. Sharon's daughter Ellie said she felt "stuck", describing her childhood as "a mix of emotions". "It's as if you want to do something but also, you're that child that just can't," she said. Ellie believes living in an abusive household contributed to her developing an eating disorder. "When I went into secondary school I couldn't cope, like I needed control," she said. "I would literally wake up buckled with hunger pains, I wouldn't be able to go to college because I was crying all the time, I was constantly emotional. "I couldn't walk to the college because by the time I got there I would nearly pass out." Campaigners have been leaving pairs of red shoes in public spaces to highlight the number of women lost to violence Since 2021, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has made 13,000 referrals to schools as a result of domestic abuse incidents. Sonya McMullanz, from the Women's Aid Federation, said there is growing support to change the law to make abusers accountable when their victims take their own lives. "The evidence would have to be really, really good from the police," she said. "The women who have died by suicide, we want them to be accounted for in our femicide reports. "We want their families to have that recognition that, actually, this was a contributing factor in the death of their loved one." Sonya McMullan from Northern Ireland's Women's Aid Federation "They're the lost women, they're never even going to be a statistic," said Marie Brown, chief executive of Foyle Women's Aid and the Foyle Family Justice Centre in Londonderry. "Think of a woman that's living with her perpetrator day in, day out and having the same crime perpetrated against her. "It's going to be more intense, the impact is going to be worse and why aren't we recognising that mental unwellness comes with domestic violence." 'Grave area of concern' District Judge Barney McElholm, who deals with many domestic abuse cases in Londonderry, said society had a duty to victims and their families "to look into these cases and establish what happened". Mr McElholm stressed he was speaking in a personal capacity, rather than as a judge, but added: "I would suggest very strongly that this is a grave area of concern." He said that the government should look at whether there is a need for new laws and, if so, what they should be. Northern Ireland's mental health champion Prof Siobhan O'Neill Northern Ireland's mental health champion, Prof Siobhan O'Neill, said people living in abusive households could be classed as a specialist group in the suicide prevention strategy. It is due to be reviewed in 2024. "We don't have enough data on this to really understand what the numbers are and how many women have sadly died by suicide, who have been in these terrible situations of domestic violence," Prof O'Neill said. "That data is not captured in any systematic way at the minute, but there is lots of anecdotal evidence of people who are trapped in situations like this where they feel suicidal and feel that they have no other way out." If you have been affected by issues raised in this article, there is information and support available via the BBC Action Line. You can watch BBC Spotlight's The Fear Inside on the BBC iPlayer now or on BBC One Northern Ireland at 22:40 GMT on Tuesday 28 November. Members of the emergency services observe the damage caused by the earthquakes. (Raul Moreno/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) (SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett) Its been more than two weeks since residents from an Icelandic fishing village were evacuated from their homes over extreme seismic activity. Since Nov. 10, tens of thousands of earthquakes and tremors have hit the Reykjanes Peninsula causing roads to split in half and houses to buckle. Iceland continues to wait for the looming eruption from the Fagradalsfjall volcano. Whats the latest from Icelands Meteorological Office? In the early hours of Monday morning, the Icelandic Meteorological Office detected the strongest earthquake to hit the affected area in the last 48 hours. Of the swarm of 300 earthquakes that were recorded between 7 p.m. ET and 6 a.m. ET, the most powerful had a magnitude of 3.0. At least 170 of the documented earthquakes occurred 3-5 kilometers below the surface. Since 6 a.m. ET, there have been an additional 200 earthquakes bringing the daily rate to 500 earthquakes per day. Last Friday, the Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management downgraded the public safety level from an emergency level to a dangerous level. The Alert Phase that is now implemented means that there is a heightened risk in the area and that restrictions, closures and evacuation procedures are likely to be put in place. Assessments from the Meteorological Office stated that the possibility of a sudden eruption near Grindavik has been decreasing every day and is now considered small. Although the town of Grindavik remains relatively safe, an eruption is still possible above the magma tunnel that lies between Sylingafell and Hagafell. Recommended reading The more than 3,600 residents of Grindavik have been allowed to return to their homes for a number of hours to check on livestock and to collect personal belongings. However, until scientists can state that there is no danger, the locals will be unable to return home for good. Due to the damage to the major infrastructure including the sewage system, it is most likely to be months before Grindavik residents can return home. Those who have been forced into temporary accommodation have been given financial support by the government to cover rent. Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir said that Parliament is set to discuss housing support for the evacuees this week and a bill on financial assistance is expected to be passed. A fissure passes through one of Grindavik's central streets. (Raul Moreno/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) (SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett) The last time that an evacuation of an entire sizable settlement took place was 50 years ago, in 1973, when a volcano unexpectedly erupted on the island of Heimaey off the south coast of Iceland, Dave McGarvie, a volcanologist at Lancaster University in England, told Yahoo News. What travel warnings have been issued? Three major roads that connect Grindavik to other areas have been temporarily closed as a precautionary measure. No flights have been affected as of Monday. However, Grindavik is located roughly 40 miles from Icelands capital, Reykjavik, and less than 20 miles from Keflavik International Airport. A popular tourist attraction, the Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa, will remain closed until Nov. 30. Damage from earthquakes and magma in Grindavik. (Micah Garen/Getty Images) (Getty Images) The last major volcanic eruption The last time eruptions like this occurred in this area was circa 800 years ago, when the area was sparsely populated, McGarvie said. The Reykjanes Peninsula has experienced a relatively small eruption every year for the last three years, and all three occurred far from residential areas. The last volcano in Iceland to cause trouble internationally was Eyjafjallajokull, which erupted in 2010. A huge ash cloud that blew five miles into the sky grounded flights across Europe, forcing a shutdown of its airspace. One of the three Palestinian college students who were shot while walking in Vermont may not be able to move his legs for the rest of his life after a bullet became lodged in his spine, according to his family, who shared his account of the attack with CNN. A 20-year-old junior at Brown University, Hisham Awartani, is starting to come to terms with the very long road he has in front of him after he and two longtime friends from the Israeli-occupied West Bank were shot while strolling through Burlington on Saturday, his mother, Elizabeth Price, said. Awartani has an incomplete spinal injury, meaning he can feel his legs but cant move them, Price told CNNs Poppy Harlow from Amman, Jordan, Tuesday morning. She said she is working to travel to the US to be with her son and hopes to arrive in about 24 hours. The last I knew, he was still in the ICU, immobilized, to try and get the swelling down on his back, Price said. Awartanis clavicle is also broken and he has a fractured thumb, Price said. And because of the spinal injury, he has difficulty regulating his body temperature. He is expected to have between one and four weeks in spinal trauma care, followed by months in physical therapy, Price said. King Abdullah II of Jordan has offered his support, Price said. The kings personal physician has reached out to me to convey his majestys concern for Hisham and the other boys, and is hoping to send a specialist to meet Hisham and identify what kind of support Hisham needs, she told CNN. Price previously said she believes her son has the determination to regain movement in his legs, though the doctors told her it was currently not possible. Hes just a very resilient young man and hes been trying to keep everyones spirits up by joking and just trying to be as calm as possible, Price said. We are determined to work with him and support him and get the best possible care. The suspect in the attack, 48-year-old Jason J. Eaton, was arrested Sunday and charged with three counts of attempted murder, to which he has pleaded not guilty. Authorities say they havent determined a motive in the attack but have said they are investigating whether the incident was motivated by hate. Eaton is accused of shooting the three students as they walked in front of his apartment building Saturday night having a conversation in Arabic and English, according to Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad. Two of the men were also wearing traditional Palestinian scarves known as keffiyehs at the time of the attack, he said. One casualty in this much-wider conflict In a text from Awartani, read aloud by a Brown University professor Monday night during a vigil for the three students, the young man said: Who knew that all I had to do to become famous was to get shot? Beshara Doumani, a professor of Palestinian Studies, jested that those who knew Awartani would have expected that opening line. On a more serious note, its important to recognize that this is part of the larger story, said Doumani, reading from Awartanis statement. This hideous crime did not happen in a vacuum. I, meaning Hisham speaking, said about a month ago that Palestinians cannot afford to hold vigils every time this happens, the statement continued. As much as I appreciate and love every single one of you here today, I am but one casualty in this much-wider conflict. Awartani went on to allege in his statement, had he been shot in the West Bank, the medical services which saved my life here would likely have been withheld by the Israeli army. The soldier who wouldve shot me would go home and never be convicted. The lines were met with boos and shouts of shame from students in attendance. Israel has accused terrorists of using emergency vehicles to smuggle people or weapons out of the occupied territories. I understand that the pain is so much more real and immediate because many of you know me. But any attack like this is horrific. Be it here or in Palestine. This is why when you send your wishes and light your candles for me today; your mind should not just be focused on me as an individual but rather as a proud member of a people being oppressed, Doumani read, concluding Awartanis statement. The professor said the 20-year-old will continue the struggle and all Palestinians will continue the struggle until they can live in freedom and dignity and equality, leading to cheers from the crowd. The victims families and several civil rights groups have called on investigators to treat the case as a hate crime, as the attack comes amid a reported rise in anti-Muslim and anti-Arab bias incidents in the United States since the war between Israel and Hamas ignited last month. But police and prosecutors said Monday that they have yet to uncover sufficient evidence to establish Eatons motive. This absolutely was a hateful act, Murad told CNN Monday. But whether or not we can cross the legal threshold in order to determine that it is a hate crime is a different matter. The victims families called for full justice and accountability in a joint statement Monday. We believe a full investigation is likely to show our sons were targeted and violently attacked simply for being Palestinian, the families statement said. Our children, Palestinian children, like everyone else, deserve to feel safe. Mayor Miro Weinberger in a statement called for support for the citys Palestinian, Muslim and Arab residents. He invited residents to attend a candlelight vigil Tuesday evening. The terrible, unprovoked attack of three young visitors to Burlington was a shocking violation of the values of this welcoming and inclusive community, he said. We cannot let the terrible actions of one man define this vibrant and diverse place. Victim recalls believing the shooter was going to kill him, family says The two other victims have been identified by family representatives as Kinnan Abdalhamid, a student at Haverford College in Pennsylvania, and Tahseen Ali Ahmad, a student at Trinity College in Connecticut. In addition to Awartanis life-altering spinal injury, the two other men were shot in the upper torso and lower extremities and hospitalized in the ICU, according to police. One of the victims was released from the hospital Monday, a source close to the victims families told CNN. Kinnan Abdalhamid (left) and Tahseen Ali Ahmad have been identified by family representatives as victims of the shooting. - Institute for Middle East Abdalhamids parents said in a statement Tuesday evening they are extremely relieved he was released from the hospital but know that this tragedy will shape the rest of our lives. Kinnan told us that he was afraid to leave the hospital, they said. Our child may be physically well enough to be out of the hospital, but he is still shaken from this horrific attack. We are extremely proud of our son. In the face of hate, he has exhibited courage and strength. No child should have to endure this pain. As parents, our primary focus is our sons health, safety, and future. The students were visiting Burlington for the Thanksgiving holiday and were staying with Awartanis uncle, Rich Price, the uncle told CNN. They had attended a birthday party for the uncles 8-year-old twin sons just hours before they were attacked, he said. We had just come back from the birthday party, and they decided to take a stroll around the block to get some fresh air, Rich Price said. They were just walking, talking amongst themselves. They were wearing their keffiyehs, which are traditional Palestinian scarves, and this gentleman stepped out of the dark, pulled out a handgun and fired four times. Awartani told his mother he suddenly found himself on the ground when the shooting began, she said. Awartani recalled one of his friends screaming with pain from a chest wound, Elizabeth Price said. The third victim, who thought his friends had been killed, tried to escape to get help, she said. The shooter hovered over them for a short time and Awartani thought he would continue to shoot them and kill them, the mother said. Once the shooter fled, Awartani was able to call 911. Rich Price noted the three students grew up in Ramallah before coming to the US for college. They grew up under military occupation and who would imagine that they would come to a place like this to celebrate Thanksgiving and this is when their lives would be at risk. Hisham Awartani, with his mother, Elizabeth Price, and his father, Ali Awartani. - Institute for Middle East It was a shock to us that this would happen, and Burlington is a quiet place, Elizabeth Price said Tuesday. When you have a gun, and when you act on something, it can have lethal consequences, or in the case of these children, life-changing consequences, she said. Electronic evidence may shed light on motive, police say A search of Eatons apartment, which is next to the scene of the shooting, uncovered a pistol and ammunition that were connected to bullet casings found at the scene, according to Murad, the police chief. But while investigators say they have found enough evidence to connect Eaton to the attack, they are still searching for a motive. Jason Eaton - Burlington Police Department A trove of electronic devices seized from the Eatons apartment may offer some insight, and police plan to work with the FBI to analyze the devices, Murad said on CNNs Erin Burnett OutFront Monday night. During their search, authorities found five cell phones, an iPad and a backpack full of hard drives, according to an affidavit. Are there writings, are there social media or email histories that are indicative of a thought pattern that would lead us to a motive, particularly one that is directed at a group of people? said Murad, detailing what investigators will look for. Federal prosecutors in Vermont are also investigating whether the shooting may have been a hate crime, officials said. After Eatons arraignment on Monday, his attorney, Margaret Jansch, said it was premature to speculate about a possible hate crime motivation. Eaton showed no emotion when police told him what charges he faced, Murad said. He was affectless in his response in a way that was certainly notable to detectives. Robert Sand, a former prosecutor and professor at Vermont Law School, said, For offenses such as attempted murder that have a maximum penalty of five years or more, the hate crime enhancement does not raise the maximum possible sentence, but the hate motivation becomes a relevant factor at sentencing. Proving hate motivation expands the prosecutions burden, Sand said via email Tuesday. The prosecution would not only need to prove the elements of the underlying crime in this case, attempted murder but also prove the motivation for the crime. Sand said a prosecutor in Vermont could elect not to charge a hate crime since attempted murder already contains the possibility of a life sentence and there might be strategic reasons not to overly complicate the evidence for the jury. That there are multiple victims, Sand said, is already considered an aggravating factor at sentencing. I suppose a prosecutor could also elect not to charge the Hate Motivation aspect and then present evidence at a sentencing hearing of the motivation to seek a greater sentence within the range allowed by law, he added. This story has been updated with additional information. CNNs Ray Sanchez, Kaitlan Collins, Laura Coates, Rob Frehse, Polo Sandoval, Celina Tebor, Khalil Abdallah, Laura Dolan and Mark Morales contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com 30 properties were raided in Kyiv, Cherkasy, Rivne and Vinnytsia last week European cyber police have arrested a 32-year-old suspected of being the ringleader of a ransomware gang operating in Ukraine. In raids across the country authorities seized laptops and arrested four other alleged hackers. The gang are accused of successfully extorting "several hundred millions of euros" from victims in 71 countries. The arrests are the latest efforts by international police to control the rising problem of ransomware. Ransomware is malicious computer software that locks up systems until a ransom is paid to a hacker, usually in cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. Europol says officers searched 30 properties last week resulting in the arrests of the five Russian speakers. Investigators have not said which nationality they were. For years Russia has been accused of harbouring ransomware gangs and arrests are extremely rare in the country. Ransomware operations are often run as a "software as a service" scheme, where hackers pay a percentage of profits to the leaders of gangs who develop the malicious software needed for attacks. Hacker "affiliates" can carry out attacks anonymously from anywhere in the world. In the last few years arrests of affiliates have taken place in South Korea, Poland, Switzerland, Canada and increasingly in Ukraine. The most recent arrested individuals are accused of using various types of ransomware as part of their attacks including LockerGoga, MegaCortex, HIVE and Dharma ransomware. Seized laptops suggest they scrambled data on more than 250 servers belonging to large corporations, causing huge disruption until the victims paid a ransom or rebuilt IT set ups from back ups. Police say the suspects had different roles in this criminal organisation with some of the them involved in compromising the IT networks of their targets, while others were in charge of laundering cryptocurrency payments made by victims to restore their files. Europol says these new suspects were identified after 12 others were arrested in 2021 in Ukraine and Switzerland. A spokeswoman said more details would be released but that the operation to arrest more people is still ongoing. Earlier this month the British Library revealed its IT systems were being held to ransom by cyber criminals preventing customers from accessing online services. Last week the US Cyber Security and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) issued a warning of a fresh wave of ransomware attacks taking advantage of a widespread vulnerability in popular software. The UK authorities says ransomware is the biggest cyber threat facing the country currently. (Reuters) - The December inauguration of Argentina's President-elect Javier Milei will likely not count former U.S. President Donald Trump among the attendees, a person familiar with matter told Reuters on Monday. The press office of the Argentine libertarian had announced on Nov. 23 that his fellow conservative would travel to Buenos Aires, but did not specifically say Trump would attend Milei's formal swearing in as president on Dec. 10. But a source close to the campaign of Trump, who is currently seeking his party's nomination to win back his old job in next year's U.S. election, cited a tight campaign schedule as the likely impediment. "There's nothing that's currently planned," said the source. "With the Iowa caucuses, New Hampshire and the rest of the primaries approaching so quickly, it is something that would be difficult in the short term," the source added, ticking off the first U.S. states with presidential primary votes scheduled early next year. The first nominating context for Trump's Republican party is set for Iowa on Jan. 15, followed by New Hampshire on Jan. 23. Trump also faces several criminal and civil court cases in the U.S. over the same time period, which is also seen as competing for his time as the presidential race heats up. Milei, a far-right outsider who won Argentina's run-off presidential vote by a 12-point margin earlier this month, has often drawn comparisons to Trump for his abrasive style and conservative policies. (Reporting by Nathan Layne; Editing by Josie Kao) EVANSVILLE Treegate, they might have called it in the 70s. But the saga of Evansville's city Christmas tree is more a matter of embarrassment than scandal. Monday brought an ending of sorts to the ridicule and sometimes not-so-friendly back and forth that greeted Facebook photos of the tree at the Civic Center after the initial lighting ceremony earlier this month. Workers from Wilde Horticulture, a local landscaping company, were seen restringing the lights that many Facebook users had denounced as a disjointed, unsightly mess. Mayor Lloyd Winnecke then turned on the lights again. There was no denying the backlash that brought the city to this point. One photo of the lighted and donated tree posted by community organization Downtown Evansville Indiana on Nov. 16 generated 1,400 comments. Many commenters compared it unfavorably to nearby Owensboro, Kentucky's Christmas tree. But Owensboro had purchased its tree for more than $75,000. Just four days later, Wilde Horticulture took down the lights in front of the Civic Center. The tree remained bare for days. Monday's restringing was done free of charge to the city and the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Building Authority, which owns the Civic Center and its grounds. The work actually began on Saturday, said Brian Wildeman, owner of Wilde Horticulture. A worker restrings the lights on Evansville's Civic Center Christmas tree on Monday, Nov. 27. Wildeman freely admitted on the scene that the original version of the tree, with its vertically strung lights and uneven horizontal patterns, had been a "fiasco." He spoke of a committee, including the mayor's office, that had efforted to fix the tree in time to unveil it anew Monday night. "I know theyre doing something tonight with whatever they're doing, so the official answer from the committee is to not make a comment," Wildeman said Monday afternoon. So what happened when the city took its first pass at stringing the lights? The work was done by employees of city government's Street Maintenance department, said Dave Rector, the Building Authority's director. But one employee was missing this time. "There was one fella that was many years involved in it. He did retire," Rector said. The city employees who initially strung the tree did so during the workday, Rector said, so yes, they were being paid. "It took one day probably a good part of a whole day," Rector said, noting the tree's size. Josh Armstrong, Downtown Evansville Indiana's director, was taken off guard by the reaction to his group's Nov. 16 Facebook post about the lighting of the tree in its earlier incarnation. "We were just sharing that it happened, and then it just kind of blew up," Armstrong. "I mean, it's a natural tree. It always is not going to look real even." But Armstrong also thinks Monday's restringing needed to happen. "There is a team working on restringing it with lights in a more, uh, conscientious way, let's say," he said Monday afternoon. This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Restringing of Evansville's Christmas tree aims to start anew The key sticking point in border talks among US Senate negotiators remains how to handle an immigration authority that gives the administration broad discretion to allow certain migrants into the United States on a temporary basis. The Biden administration has leaned on the so-called humanitarian parole authority in urgent situations, including to admit Afghans after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and Ukrainians following Russias invasion. Other times, the administration has used the authority to allow migrants from designated countries to temporarily live and work in the US as a way of attempting to mitigate surges at the US-Mexico border. But Republicans argue the administration is using the authority too broadly and are seeking to curb its use. This president needs to understand that the Republicans simply dont trust him, said Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina who has been working with senators to find a path forward. If we dont have certainty on exactly what the parole process is going to be, he could have thousands of people. Parole is supposed to be dealt with on a case by case basis. Hes probably going to learn that the courts agree with that, but now he is using it as a mass tool for permitting people into this country. The administration is already facing headwinds in its use of parole which is different than that of the criminal justice system. Earlier this year, Republican-led states filed a lawsuit against the humanitarian parole program, arguing that the administration exceeded its authority in its use of the program and requesting the court block it. The case is ongoing. But its not clear what Democrats can accept when it comes to changing how parole authority is used in part because its a key component of the administrations border strategy. Two ideas that have been floated are capping the number of people who could be paroled or subjecting use of the authority to the Congressional Review Act, according to two sources familiar with negotiations. There are currently specialized humanitarian parole programs for immigrants from countries such as Ukraine, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba and Nicaragua. Parole is also used on a case-by-case basis to reduce congestion in border processing. It is a tool that Democrats say is incredibly important for the administration to maintain. Let me tell you, the president has said that is a nonstarter and I agree with him, said Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois. He has to have the authority in emergency situations to come to the aid of people who are dying. It just happens all over the world on a regular basis and he has to have the authority to do this. To eliminate parole would be to tie his hands. Its a very grave situation. When pressed on if hed be open to limiting parole, Durbin said, The president needs the authority he currently has on parole, and Im opposed to changing it. The White House has refused to publicly wade into the negotiations, punting instead to Congress, but sources said conversations between White House officials and those involved in the negotiations are happening behind the scenes as are regular conversations between Republican negotiators and House Speaker Mike Johnson, according to two sources familiar with those talks. Durbin added he hoped the group could come to a consensus soon because a lot is riding on a border security agreement, including aid to Ukraine and Israel. Theyve had bad time and good times. I just hope they resolve it soon because what is at stake is assistance for Ukraine to stop Putin and assistance to Israel to try to bring an end to the violence that is going on there, Durbin said. Aides familiar with the negotiations told CNN that there has been a lot of progress on raising the credible fear standard for migrants seeking asylum. Negotiators have agreed that raising the bar for the initial interview could have a major impact. Democrats are also pushing to make sure that there is a significant financial investment to speed up the adjudication process and invest in immigration judges and case workers to also reduce the number of people in the pipeline who are seeking asylum in the United States. The White Houses supplemental request also includes $14 billion for border security. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Robert Carter and Lee Taylor are working to open a new restaurant in Downtown Staunton. STAUNTON Soon after graduating high school, Robert Carter enlisted in the Marine Corps where he served four years, including a tour of duty during Operation Desert Storm. Carter left the Marine Corps in 1991, but life as a civilian wasn't for him. Three years after getting out, Carter went back to the military life, enlisting in the Army in 1994. He served 17 years, doing two tours of duty in Afghanistan and another in Iraq, before retiring in 2011. At the time he retired he was in Georgia, but family drew him back to Staunton. While he's made his home in Staunton since retiring from the military, he did return to the Middle East as a civilian contractor, spending time in both Afghanistan and Iraq. He finally returned to Staunton for good last year. One thing he noticed that was different from where he was stationed in Georgia was the lack of Black-owned businesses. In Georgia there was a large Black community with lots of businesses. Returning to Staunton, Carter said it was like traveling back in time. He wanted to do something about that. Both his girlfriend, Lee Taylor, and his cousin, Nikeya Garland, are talented chefs, so he is trying to start a restaurant. It will be called The Upside Down Breakfast Spot. Upside down because the hours will be outside of the normal breakfast ones. "Food is universal," Carter said. "But this is something Black-owned, veteran-owned. And this is my cousin's dream." Staunton's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission did address minority owned businesses in its preliminary report, saying that the city government should develop and maintain a list of minority owned businesses within Staunton and consider specific resource allocations for minority owned businesses. At this point, the commission chair, Sabrina Burress, said she wanted to wait until the final report is available before further discussing strategies to encourage more Black- and Brown-owned businesses in Staunton. The DEI is scheduled to present the report to city council in December. Carter found a location at 217 West Beverley Street in the historic former Stonewall Jackson School Building. He said Garland and Taylor are the food experts and he is focusing on the business part of the restaurant. It's been a long process. Carter said a lot of the funding has come from his own pocket, but he needs some funding to cross the finish line. In order to do that, Carter's talked with several organizations including the Shenandoah Community Capital Fund (SCCF). Anika Horn is the SCCF's director of ecosystem building. She works with communities throughout the Shenandoah Valley and said the support system for Black-owned businesses isn't as strong in Staunton as in other areas of the Valley. "I think that is one of the reasons we don't see more Black businesses here in town," Horn said. "They don't really have a voice and they don't have tailored support. We're talking about mentoring, programming, workshops, and advocates for their needs when starting a business." While her organization does provide training for entrepreneurs of all backgrounds, they don't have any specifically geared toward Black- and Brown-owned businesses like Harrisonburg and Lexington do. Horn said she'd love to build partnerships with existing programs to help minority owned businesses in Staunton. Or maybe the Staunton community could start their own. The first step is finding out what is needed. It hasn't been easy, but Carter said his girlfriend is there to encourage him when he gets down. "She hasn't given up on me because there's been some time I'm like, let's just close it down, sell everything, whatever," Carter said. "But we're still pushing on." The dining and kitchen areas are in pretty good shape. There are a few electrical issues that need to be straightened out before the health inspector will say they're in compliance. Once that's done, Carter will need to get all the proper licenses and the rest of the funding to open. He hopes that is sooner than later. So while close, there is still work to be done. He'd love advice from anyone who has opened a restaurant. He can be reached at carter14610@yahoo.com. The plan is to be open Tuesday through Saturday 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. with a menu that includes eggs, biscuits and gravy, waffles, and Monte Cristo sandwiches, along with sides and drinks. More: Since 1896, Hidden Spring Farm has been a Valley treasure More: Kate's Mercantile & Co. offers creative workshops in Staunton Patrick Hite is a reporter at The News Leader. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Contact Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @Patrick_Hite. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Staunton native, and Marine and Army veteran, working to open downtown restaurant Israel's president told Elon Musk on Monday that the tech mogul has "a huge role to play" to combat anti-Semitism, which his social media platform is accused of spreading. The meeting came after the world's richest person visited a kibbutz community devastated in attacks by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defense officials. Musk has been criticized over what critics say is a proliferation of hate speech on X, formerly Twitter, since his takeover of the social media site in October 2022. He has been accused by the White House of "abhorrent promotion" of anti-Semitism after endorsing a conspiracy theory seen as accusing Jews of trying to weaken white majorities. Israel's figurehead President Isaac Herzog told him: "Unfortunately, we are inundated by anti-Semitism, which is Jew hatred." "You have a huge role to play," he said. "And I think we need to fight it together because on the platforms which you lead, unfortunately, there's a harboring of a lot of... anti-Semitism." Musk did not mention anti-Semitism in his video remarks released by Herzog's office, but said Hamas militants "have been fed propaganda since they were children." "It's remarkable what humans are capable of if they're fed falsehoods, from when they are children; they will think that the murder of innocent people is a good thing." On Oct. 7 Hamas militants broke through Gaza's militarized border into southern Israel to kill around 1,200 people and seize about 240 hostages, according to Israeli officials, in the worst-ever attack since the nation's founding. Vowing to destroy Hamas in response, Israel has carried out a relentless bombardment of targets in Gaza, alongside a ground invasion, that the Hamas government says has killed almost 15,000. A temporary truce has been in effect since Friday. Talk of satellites Earlier Monday, Netanyahu and Musk discussed "security aspects of artificial intelligence" with senior defense officials, the Prime Minister's Office said. Musk and Netanyahu held a conversation on X following their tour of Kfar Aza, one of the communities attacked by Hamas. "We have to demilitarize Gaza after the destruction of Hamas," Netanyahu said, calling for a campaign to "deradicalize" the Palestinian territory. "Then we also have to rebuild Gaza, and I hope to have our Arab friends help in that context." Netanyahu told Musk he hoped to resume United States-mediated normalization talks with Saudi Arabia after Hamas's defeat and "expand the circle of peace beyond anything imaginable." The war stalled progress towards a Saudi-Israel normalization deal, and in early November Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler denounced the conduct of Israeli forces fighting Hamas in Gaza. Israel's Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said his country had reached an understanding in principle on the use of Starlink satellites, operated by Musk's company SpaceX, in Israel and the Gaza Strip "with the approval of the Israeli Ministry of Communications." Starlink is a network of satellites in low Earth orbit that can provide internet to remote locations, or areas that have had normal communications infrastructure disabled. In September, Netanyahu urged Musk "to stop not only anti-Semitism, or rolling it back as best you can, but any collective hatred" on X. Musk said at the time that while his platform could not stop all hate speech before it was posted, he was "generally against attacking any group, no matter who it is." X Corp is currently suing nonprofit Media Matters on the grounds that it has driven away advertisers by portraying the site as rife with anti-Semitic content. Musk has also threatened to file suit against the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish advocacy group, over its claims that problematic and racist speech has soared on the site since he completed his $44-billion takeover. (AFP) When ATF agents knocked on the apartment door of the suspect accused of shooting three Palestinian college students two of them U.S. citizens in Burlington, Vermont, over the weekend, he held out his empty palms at his waist and responded, "I've been waiting for you," authorities said. But when agents of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives asked him why, Jason James Eaton replied that he wanted a lawyer and advised he had a gun in the apartment, Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad said of the initial interaction on Sunday afternoon. "There was shakiness and a sense of concern," Murad told reporters on Monday of Eaton's demeanor, "but also something of a lack of affect." The details of law enforcement's encounter with Eaton, 48, were revealed as he pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted murder in the second degree and was ordered held without bail at the Northwest State Correctional Facility. The shooting, coming amid a rise in gun violence in Vermont's largest city and a surge in Islamophobia in the wake of the conflict in Gaza, has prompted calls from civil rights groups for authorities to investigate it as a hate crime. Law enforcement officers stand by police tape near where three men of Palestinian descent were shot and injured, in Burlington, Vt. (WCAX-TV / via AP) According to a probable cause affidavit, Eaton would not identify himself to federal agents or say whether any other firearms were in the apartment. Murad said Eaton appeared nervous when agents came to his apartment complex on Sunday as part of an ongoing canvas of the area. Eaton was detained as a result of his statements and later appeared emotionless upon learning of the attempted murder charges against him, the police chief added. Meanwhile, Burlington police executed a search warrant, which they said led to the discovery of a Ruger .380 pistol and ammo inside the top dresser of a bedroom. Agents said they confirmed Eaton had purchased the pistol in April. The weapon was obtained legally through a federally licensed firearms dealer, and there were no flags raised from the purchase, Murad said. The ammunition recovered from Eaton's apartment featuring bright red tips on the projectiles matched the brand of bullets, Hornady, located at the scene of the shooting, according to police. The three victims Kinnan Abdalhamid, Tahseen Ali Ahmad and Hisham Awartani, all 20 told investigators they were walking past a white house Saturday evening near the University of Vermont campus when a white male emerged, pulled out a gun and opened fire. Abdalhamid, a student at Haverford College in Pennsylvania, and Ali Ahmad, a student at Trinity College in Connecticut, were guests at Awartani's grandmother's house in Burlington for Thanksgiving. Awartani is a student at Brown University in Rhode Island, and the trio longtime friends who graduated from the same school in the occupied West Bank had spent the night at a bowling alley for a birthday party before returning to the home and walking around the neighborhood to smoke cigarettes. Authorities, including the FBI, on Monday said they were continuing to investigate a motive, but added they still did not have enough evidence to support additional hate crime charges. Computer evidence was being reviewed as well. "Whether or not it was a hate crime by the law, there is no question it was a hateful act," Murad said. Public defenders representing Eaton declined to speculate on such charges following his arraignment. Two of the three victims were wearing kaffiyehs, a symbol of Palestinian nationalism, and said they spoke a mix of English and Arabic during their walk, according to investigators. The friends said they did not know the shooter and didn't recall him saying anything to them. The attack was "unprovoked," Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger told reporters. Awartani had yelled for help, and a man in the neighborhood came outside and provided blankets as medics were called. Awartani was shot in the spine, Ali Ahmad was struck in the chest and Kinnan in the glute, court documents said; all three victims were being treated in intensive care. "Hard to imagine this time and everything that's happening that it was just a random act," Radi Tamimi, Abdalhamid's uncle, told reporters Monday. "It doesn't feel that way." Suspect under scrutiny Police believe Eaton moved to Burlington in recent months from Syracuse, New York. Public records show he has family living in Vermont, and those reached by phone declined to comment Monday. A LinkedIn page appearing to belong to Eaton show a support for "causes," including "children," "civil rights and social action" and "economic empowerment." The most current job listed for him was as a sales assistant for CUSO Financial Services in the Burlington area. A company spokesperson said Eaton had worked there for less than a year and was terminated on Nov. 8. Eaton, who referred to himself on social media as a "farmer and craftsman," was also recently a registered financial adviser, financial industry regulatory records show, and had a podcast in 2021 on financial services. "I want to live in a peaceful, just, and free society," he said in the podcast's description. "Together we can build it." Eaton also worked as a farm assistant at a nonprofit wilderness expedition school in New Hampshire in 2022. The school, Kroka Expeditions, said his primary responsibilities were landscaping and livestock care. A representative said Eaton did not work directly with students, and no red flags arose from a background check, but the person declined to comment about any possible concerns from staff while he was employed there. Eaton also volunteered as an assistant scoutmaster in upstate New York with a unit of the Boy Scouts of America as recently as 2021. The organization said he is not currently a member and has been banned from registering in any scouting capacity following his arrest. On a YouTube account that appears to belong to Eaton, a playlist includes a video titled "Expose Fauci" and recommends using "brain crystals" for "psychic powers." Videos in the playlist cover a variety of topics, such as long Covid, government surveillance and economics. An Instagram account that appeared to belong to him showed photos of farm life, cooking and machinery before it was taken down. An archived version of an account on X that appeared to belong to Eaton included posts about economics and skepticism of Covid vaccines. That account is locked. On Reddit, an account that appeared to belong to him posted about agriculture, economics and mental health. Before Saturday's shooting, Eaton did not appear to be known by local law enforcement in Burlington. Police said Monday they became aware of traffic-related infractions against Eaton over the decades. Vermont state court records appear to show he has six traffic and vehicle-related tickets since 1998, with the most recent in 2016. Following a dry end to the post-holiday weekend, AccuWeather meteorologists say that the pattern during the first half of the week across the interior West will highlight a similar theme. Residents across Oregon, Northern and Central California and Nevada into the Rocky Mountains experienced mostly sunny skies and dry conditions through Tuesday afternoon as high pressure dominates the region. However, a new storm started to push into the California coast Tuesday night with rounds of showers. Locations such as San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego will share chances of showers as this feature tracks into the Southwest and brings slightly cooler conditions. Temperatures are likely to fall between 5 and 10 degrees Fahrenheit from early in the week to late in the week along the California coast. Places like Santa Monica, California, are expected to range in the mid-60s F through Tuesday then dip to the upper 50s F from middle to late parts of the week. Similarly, San Diego residents are on track to have afternoon highs near 70 through Tuesday, but temperatures will reach only the lower to middle 60s by late in the week. Many locations will tip the scales this week from starting out slightly above typical late-November conditions to temperatures falling just below the historical averages. The midweek storm will be far from a drenching atmospheric river, but it will be enough to have Californians reaching for their umbrellas. Rain will taper off in most of California by Wednesday night as the system loses some steam as it tracks inland. As it continues its journey eastward over the Four Corners and eventually the South Central states, it will draw in moisture from the Gulf of Mexico that will deliver rain and thunderstorms to more than a dozen states. Forecasters say that by later this week into the weekend, the activity will ramp up even more across portions of the West. "After a short dry stretch across Washington and Oregon, a series of rain and snow is expected to move into the Northwest beginning Thursday and continuing through early next week," AccuWeather Meteorologist Haley Taylor explained. GET THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP Have the app? Unlock AccuWeather Alerts with Premium+ The first of many storms will advance into the British Columbia coast, Washington and Oregon on Thursday, spreading periods of coastal rain and even wintry conditions to the Cascades and Olympic Mountains. Even metro areas like Seattle and Portland, Oregon, are expected to have damp conditions to finish the last day of November. "Some of this rain could be heavy at times, and we could be looking at some flooding concerns for the region going into next week although the rain will be beneficial for the drought," said Taylor. Portions of the Northwest are currently facing moderate to severe drought levels, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. In addition to the rain and mountain snow, gusty winds are expected to accompany the rounds of storms, especially for locations along the coast. Gusts directly along the shorelines could reach speeds of 45-55 mph as storms approach over the coming week. Mariners operating small craft should exercise caution and closely monitor area watches and warnings. Beginning Thursday night, snowfall can begin to accumulate across the higher terrain in the Northwest. Through the weekend and even into early next week, chances will remain high for snow to spread into the northern and central Rocky Mountains. "Snow levels can drop as low as 2,500 feet by Thursday night as the first storm moves through," Taylor said. Snow levels are predicted to rise by Sunday, but snow could still potentially impact travel through major passes, like Snoqualmie Pass. The heaviest snow totals could occur across the Cascade range, which can quickly disrupt travel across the higher terrain heading into the weekend. Even travelers on roads across the lower elevations near the coast could face travel delays due to rain and wind alone. The influx of moisture will continue to target the West through the weekend and into early next week. From Saturday to Sunday, a setup for significant rainfall can develop in western Washington and Oregon as yet another storm advances inland. As ample rainfall persists into the first half of next week, it is not out of the question for some upslope regions on the western sides of the Cascades and coastal locations in Washington and Oregon to collect anywhere from 3-5 inches of rain from Thursday to Tuesday, with locally higher amounts possible. AccuWeather meteorologists will continue to monitor the upcoming weather pattern across the West and provide the latest updates as the storms approach the region. Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer. Four swing-states are reportedly still investigating the slates of so-called "fake electors" which Donald Trump allegedly hoped to use to falsely certify that he had won the 2020 election. The results of those investigations could bring more charges down onto the already embattled former president, according to The Hill, which contacted numerous state attorneys general offices to determine if investigations were ongoing. The investigations are being carried out while Mr Trump faces four criminal cases, including one in Georgia focused on his alleged efforts to steal the 2020 election. The "fake elector" scheme was reportedly concocted by Mr Trump's attorney, John Eastman, and boosted by other attorneys loyal to the former president. It hinged on then-Vice President Mike Pence choosing to certify the slates of Trump-loyalist "fake" electors in swing-states. The plotters theorised that it would allow Mr Pence to effectively force the election in Mr Trump's favour, and in doing so disenfranchise all of the voters who selected Mr Biden. Mr Pence has insisted that the plan was illegal and could not work, and instead chose to certify the true results of the election. On the day of the certification, 6 January 2021, Mr Pence penned a letter refusing to go along with the plot, saying his oath to support and defend the Constitution constrains me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not. Mr Trump's supporters, who had gathered in Washington DC at his request, were then told by the former president to walk to the Capitol, where the certification was taking place. The Trump loyalists then attacked the Capitol and threatened lawmakers. At least one gallows was erected outside the Capitol, around which rioters chanted "hang Mike Pence." The slate of Trump-loyal alternate electors were arranged in Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Nevada, and Wisconsin, according to ongoing investigations into the scheme. Donald Trump may face additional charges stemming from state attorneys general office investigations into the 2020 election fake elector scheme (via REUTERS) Three of Georgia's 16 electors have been charged alongside Mr Trump and his allies in Fulton County's racketeering case focused on the plot to steal the election. Several others have reportedly accepted immunity deals from the prosecution. The three electors David Shafer, a former GOP state chair, Shawn Still, a sitting state senator, and Cathleen Latham, a local Republican official, have argued that they were acting on the orders of Mr Trump. Another Georgia co-defendant, Kenneth Chesebro, has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to file false documents. After his guilty plea, his attorneys asked the court to modify his probation rules to allow him to travel to Nevada, Arizona and Washington DC for ongoing "investigations of the 'election fraud' cases." Mr. Chesebro needs to be able to travel to these jurisdictions in order to meet with counsel, a court filing revealed. That may suggest that he is being pulled into broader investigations into other Trump-loyal elector investigations in other states. One such investigation has already been confirmed; Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford is investigating six activists who met and signed false paperwork saying they were the state's true electors, according to Politico. Former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani may find himself implicated in another ongoing investigation in Arizona, where he spearheaded the effort to convince state officials to use the Trump-loyal alternate electors. In Michigan, 16 people have already been charged for falsely stating they were the states "duly elected and qualified electors," according to the state's attorney general's office. The state attorney general's office of New Mexico also confirmed to The Hill that it was investigating a slate of Trump-loyal alternate electors. Presidential candidate and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy clapped back at Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, a longtime vocal critic of former President Trump, after he said he would rather support "a number of Democrats" over Trump and Ramaswamy in the 2024 election. "Turns out he's opposed to America-First itself, not just one man. Newsflash, Mitt: I didn't vote for you either, and I still call on your niece Ronna to resign," Ramaswamy told Fox News Digital in a statement Monday. Ronna McDaniel is chair of the Republican National Committee. Ramaswamy's response comes after Romney said to CBS' Norah O'Donnell that he'd "be happy to support virtually any one of the Republicans" except Ramaswamy, and that a "number of the Democrats" would be an upgrade from Trump. "Maybe not Vivek, but the others that are running would be acceptable to me, and I'd be happy to vote for them," Romney stated. FOX NEWS POLL: SUPPORT FOR TRUMP HITS 62% IN GOP PRIMARY Sen. Mitt Romney talks to members of the press on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., on June 1, 2023. "I'd be happy to vote for a number of the Democrats, too. I mean, it would be an upgrade, in my opinion, from Donald Trump and perhaps also from Joe Biden," he continued. READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP Romney's comments, which aired on CBS last month, went widely unnoticed until this week. In an emailed statement Tuesday to Fox News Digital, a Trump spokesperson said, "Voters aren't going to take advice from a loser and quitter like Mittens." Romney, a former presidential candidate, will not be running for re-election in 2024 and announced in September his retirement from the Senate. "I have spent my last 25 years in public service of one kind or another. At the end of another term, Id be in my mid-eighties. Frankly, its time for a new generation of leaders. Theyre the ones that need to make the decisions that will shape the world they will be living in," Romney said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital in September. "We face critical challenges mounting national debt, climate change, and the ambitious authoritarians of Russia and China. Neither President Biden nor former President Trump are leading their party to confront them," Romney said. Trump called Romney's retirement "fantastic news" for America, Utah and the Republican Party on TruthSocial shortly after his announcement, NBC News reported at the time. Romney was one of the Republicans who voted to impeach the former president twice. BLACK VOTERS SAY THEY'RE TURNING AWAY FROM WEAK BIDEN IN 2024: HE DIDNT CHANGE ANYTHING' Former President Trump speaks at a campaign rally on Sept. 25, 2023, in Summerville, South Carolina. Romney's term ends in January 2025. He was first elected to the Senate from Utah in 2018, winning the GOP primary in a landslide. But his willingness to reach across the aisle and criticize other national Republicans has caused friction with the Utah GOP. Last month, more than 60 GOP Utah state lawmakers endorsed Utah state House Speaker Brad Wilson to mount a primary challenge against Romney. Fox News Digital has reached out to Romney's office and the RNC for comment. UTAH REPUBLICAN SEEKING TO REPLACE ROMNEY ACCUSED OF FALSIFYING ENDORSEMENTS, STRONG-ARMING GOP FOR SUPPORT Original article source:Trump, Ramaswamy campaigns clap back after Romney says he wouldn't vote for them in 2024 U.S. Senate candidates Matt Dolan, Frank LaRose and Bernie Moreno discuss campaign issues during a forum at Portage Country Club in Akron on Oct. 26. As politicians in Washington tangle over America's role on the world stage, a proxy fight is playing out in Ohio's U.S. Senate race. On one side, Secretary of State Frank LaRose and state Sen. Matt Dolan, R-Chagrin Falls, have urged unwavering support for both Israel and Ukraine. In the other corner sits Cleveland businessman Bernie Moreno, who wants the U.S. out of Ukraine and has offered conflicting takes on the war between Israel and Hamas. The three Republicans are vying for the chance to take on Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who's seeking his fourth term in office next year. As Congress contends with how much aid to send each country, Ohio's GOP primary candidates must grapple with foreign policy on the campaign trail, in addition to domestic issues like the economy. And the rifts mirror larger disagreements within the Republican Party over whether America should take a more isolationist approach to global politics. "Theres no way to escape talking about it," said David Cohen, a political scientist at the University of Akron. "There are large Jewish and Muslim communities in the state of Ohio, and its a very sensitive topic. Its not going away as long as the war continues to rage." Debate over Israel prompts campaign attacks The war in the Middle East has dominated headlines and Ohio's Senate race since Hamas attacked Israel in early October. LaRose, a former Army Green Beret, reflected on training with the Israel Defense Forces and called for the U.S. to show resolve as the war escalates. Dolan's campaign sent a fundraising request saying a GOP Senate majority is "the only way we can solidify our support for Israel." Moreno said Israel needs to "end Hamas" but he also told Cleveland.com that it didn't need more money from the U.S. "We support Israel by doing the following: Expedite the weaponry that they've already paid for, that they've already ordered," Moreno said during a forum in Medina last month. "Let's expedite that and get that to them. Israel doesn't need America's help to do what they need to do in Hamas, other than for us to give them the space to do it." LaRose and Dolan panned their opponent's comments, and Moreno has since changed his tune. In New Albany last week, he said the U.S. should replenish the resources Israel has exhausted so far. But he also said President Joe Biden may be proposing more money than necessary. "Certainly, they never anticipated 5,000 rockets in a three-week period of time, so we have to spend more money to replenish the Iron Dome and other things like that," Moreno told reporters. "We should be looking at what are the exact requests that Israel's making of America? I suspect the aid package that Biden is trying to slide in there is a creation of Washington, D.C. and not an actual, formal request from Israel." Sen. Sherrod Brown speaks during a community vigil for Israel at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Columbus on Oct. 9. Moreno hasn't been the only target. LaRose said Brown "chose to cater to terrorists" after Senate Democrats blocked an Israel funding bill that also included cuts to the Internal Revenue Service. Brown supports a package that would supply aid to Israel and Ukraine, along with funding for the U.S.-Mexico border. In a statement, Brown said the U.S. must also provide humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza and ensure Israel is "taking all possible measures to protect civilian lives." Democrats have fought internally over whether Israel aid should come with conditions to reduce civilian deaths. "Its vital to our national security that we stand with Ukraine and Israel as they fight back against two of the biggest threats facing the world: Putin and Iranian-backed terrorists like Hamas," Brown said. "The House bill was nothing more than a political stunt and members of both parties have said so. This isnt a time to play politics." Ukraine funding divides GOP Senate candidates The divisions between candidates are even more stark when the Ukraine-Russia war enters the picture. Moreno doesn't want more American aid going to Ukraine and said he wouldn't support a package coupling that with funding for Israel. The U.S. has so far committed over $75 billion to Ukraine, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a research institute in Germany. Moreno and other critics including Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio contend the Biden administration hasn't been transparent about how the funds are used. I think Republican primary voters will probably be more attracted to Bernie Morenos message and will probably favor cutting off aid to Ukraine and will be more in line with Donald Trumps worldview than the worldview of Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush," Cohen said. Moreno, Dolan and LaRose agree on one thing: They say Biden does not project enough strength, which emboldened Russian President Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine. But that's where the consensus ends. Both LaRose and Dolan believe the U.S. has an interest in helping Ukraine defend itself. LaRose did mention one caveat during the Medina forum: He said the U.S. must secure the southern border before sending more aid to Ukraine. "This isolationist idea that we're just going to hide on our continent and pretend that the problem's going to go away is not what you get to do when you are the world's sole superpower if we want to stay as a superpower," LaRose said. In an interview, Dolan said he doesn't agree with Biden's approach to the conflict. He believes the president should have established clear goals for Ukraine and conveyed them to the American public. Even still, he said, the U.S. risks showing weakness to other adversaries if it appeases Russia. Dolan noted that helping Ukraine can boost U.S. manufacturers including one in Lima that sent tanks to Ukraine, according to PBS News. And he criticized members of his party who want to take a step back. They put a shelf life on American support and strength," Dolan said. "Our enemies dont have a shelf life." Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio. This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio U.S. Senate race: Israel, Ukraine consume GOP primary Holiday travel season is here and many people are dusting off their suitcases. For those who havent traveled in a while, heading to the airport can seem daunting, but a little planning and some know-how can help make the trip relatively smooth. Theres some good news for travelers this year: While its expected to be a hectic holiday season, airlines have become more reliable in the past year, Haley Berg, lead economist at travel planning site Hopper, told USA TODAY. Even with improved disruption rates headed into the holiday season, travelers should plan ahead for potential disruptions, she said. Extreme weather and technical failures can have outsized impacts during these busy travel periods." Certain days and times are better for travel than others, especially during the holidays when airports are extra crowded. And its usually better to be protected by travel insurance. Heres what you need to know as we approach this busy time for flying: Christmas is longer in Puerto Rico: What you can expect in a holiday getaway What are the worst and best travel days? According to Hopper, more travelers are expected to hit the skies this December compared to last, with an 11% increase in airline capacity. Most people are predicted to fly out for their holiday trips on Thursday, Dec. 21, and Friday, Dec. 22. And expected to return home on Thursday, Dec. 28, and Friday, Dec. 29. Travelers can anticipate up to 3.7 million travelers at airports on these days. The least busy travel days are going to be on the holidays themselves, including Christmas Eve, Christmas and New Years Eve. Not only will you encounter smaller crowds on these unpopular flying days, but you may actually save some cash. What are the busiest airports during holidays? Traffic builds up outside terminals at the Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Friday, July 1, 2022. The July Fourth holiday weekend is off to a booming start with airport crowds crushing the numbers seen in 2019, before the pandemic. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) During the Christmas week of Dec. 21 and Dec. 27, the busiest airports will be the ones known for connecting flights. Brace yourself for over 1.4 million passengers are expected to be at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Denver International Airport and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport are closely behind, with over 1 million travelers going through their respective terminals. Other busy airports include Los Angeles International Airport and Orlando International Airport. According to Hopper, these airports will be especially packed in the morning time between 8 a.m. and noon. Like with hectic Thanksgiving travel, people should consider flying to a smaller, regional airport, such as Long Island MacArthur Airport, instead of John F. Kennedy International Airport to save money. How can I make it to my destination on time? Add a buffer day: Dont just arrive at the airport early; add an extra day to your travels if theres an event you cant miss. This way, youll have some wiggle room, should any delays or disruptions interfere with your travel plans, Hopper said. Travel early in the day to avoid delays: Loulu Lima, founder of the Texas-based travel agency Book Here Give Here, said morning flights are typically less likely to be delayed, but there are some tradeoffs. The chances of having delays and things like that are going to happen later in the day than they are earlier, but the earlier flights are going to be the more expensive ones, she said. If youre budget conscious, know you might have delays later on. Lima added that if you have the flexibility to travel on the actual day of a holiday, that can be a great way to avoid crowds and save some money. The day before is insane, but flying the day of, most people have already gotten to their destination, she said. If you are willing to forego hanging out in the U.S. during the holidays, as an example, Thanksgiving, hanging out in Europe, its low season for them. You get a chance to go and experience a little bit of Europe for a lower price. Book early to save: Amy Annis, a senior travel adviser at Ciao Bambino, said its a good idea to book your tickets early if possible. Im getting a lot of requests right now for last-minute festive trips and theres a premium. Youre getting whats left over and youre paying a premium for it, she said. Airlines know that holidays are popular travel times and charge a premium to those who want to do it. Leave yourself plenty of time at the airport: Not just to go through security but to make connections too. Both Lima and Annis said winter weather could snarl air traffic, and crowds can make security lines extra long. Especially for infrequent travelers, its a good idea to get to the airport early and leave yourself at least an hour or more between connecting flights. Lima said it usually takes at least 20 minutes to get off the plane if youre sitting near the back, and that can quickly eat away at your connection time, leaving you to sprint across the airport or worse, miss your next flight. Be nice and patient: The perennial advice to make any travel go more smoothly is to be nice to the other people in the airport. You cannot travel with your diva-ness, Lima said. If you pack your entitlement with you, you are going to have a problem moreso during the holiday than during the rest of the year because nobody wants to put up with your BS. Kathleen Wong is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Hawaii. You can reach her at kwong@usatoday.com. Zach Wichter is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in New York. You can reach him at zwichter@usatoday.com. Travelers queue up to check in at the Southwest Airlines counter in Denver International Airport after a winter storm swept over the country packing snow combined with Arctic cold, which created chaos for people trying to reach their destinations before the Christmas holiday, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, in Denver. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: When should I fly for Christmas? Holiday air travel tips from experts. Rapper Young Thug speaks onstage at the 2021 REVOLT Summit at 787 Windsor on November 13, 2021 in Atlanta Rapper Young Thug's racketeering trial has begun with Georgia prosecutors accusing him of being a gang leader in charge of a "wolf pack". The Atlanta rapper, born Jeffery Lamar Williams, is accused of co-founding a violent street gang in his hometown. Prosecutors are using the critically acclaimed performer's own lyrics as evidence against him. The rapper is accused of racketeering - the same charge facing ex-US President Donald Trump in the state. Mr Williams, 32, has been in jail since his May 2022 arrest on charges that also include participating in criminal street gang activity. He is being tried alongside five co-defendants. Fulton County Deputy District Attorney Adriane Love told the jury the rapper oversaw dozens of crimes that left a "crater" in Fulton County. That crater "sucked in the youth, innocence and even the lives of some of its youngest members", she alleged. In Monday's colourful opening statement, which was interrupted several times by defence attorneys, Mrs Love said that Mr Williams' lyrics "bore a very eerie significance to real life" and the crimes the gang is alleged to have committed. Her opening statement included portions of lyrics, including one from another allegedly associated gang member referring to a murder. "We didn't chase any of the lyrics to solve any murders," she said. "Law enforcement in Fulton County chased the murders and found the lyrics." Prosecutors in Fulton County argue that the rapper's music label YSL is not a true business, despite its success at producing Grammy-winning talent. Instead, they allege, it is a street gang affiliated with the US-based Bloods gang. In an indictment in May, the district attorney's office alleged the YSL co-defendants were linked to offences including murder, armed robbery and carjacking. Mrs Love said that the group "moved like a pack" that "had an agreement - unspoken, but no less an agreement" to obtain "things of value" and property through illegal activity. If found guilty, Mr Williams could face decades in prison. The opening day of the trial, however, was marred by repeated objections, delays and a call for a mistrial, prompting Judge Ural Glanville to remark that he is "not happy about this". Georgia prosecutors used the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (Rico) Act - famously used in mafia prosecutions - to charge the rapper and 27 associates who were allegedly involved in the criminal enterprise at various levels. Fulton County prosecutors also cited the Rico Act to build a case against Mr Trump and 18 co-defendants, alleging they "unlawfully conspired" to change the 2020 election outcome as part of a "criminal enterprise". Neama Rahmani, a trial lawyer who is closely watching both cases in Fulton County, says that if prosecutors can win their case against YSL, they are more likely to succeed in prosecuting Mr Trump and his alleged co-conspirators. The challenge, he says, is that "organisation" under the Rico law is "really loosely defined". In both YSL and the Trump campaign's case, prosecutors are wading into "uncharted waters", Mr Rahmani says, as it is unclear whether they will meet the legal standard. Prosecutors say they plan to call up to 400 witnesses in Mr Williams' trial to clarify the "organisation" at its centre. Popular rappers such as Killer Mike, Lil Wayne, and TI could be among those set to testify. The trial, which is expected to last around six months, is part of an investigation that prosecutors said has been ongoing for about 10 years. During that period, Young Thug - who co-wrote the Donald Glover song This is America - has been a growing force in hip-hop. This month Judge Glanville ruled that prosecutors would be allowed to use some of Mr Williams' rap lyrics as evidence that crimes had been committed by the defendants. That lyrics from his songs are being used as evidence in the case has raised questions about free speech, artistic expression and racial bias, but prosecutors dismissed those arguments. The judge's ruling allowed 17 sets of lyrics to be introduced, but only as long as prosecutors could tie them to crimes that they say were committed by YSL members. Prosecutors argue that lyrics from the 2018 track Anybody featuring Nicki Minaj refer to a killing authorised by Mr Williams. "I never killed anybody, but I got something to do with that body," he repeats in the song's chorus, adding that he is the "general" of the group. Another lyric cited by prosecutors refers to a "hundred rounds in a Tahoe". They allege that one of YSL's murder victims was inside a Chevy Tahoe when he was gunned down. Kevin Liles, the CEO of Warner Music's 300 Entertainment, which represents Mr Williams, was present at the trial on Monday and is among the witnesses expected to be called to testify. "If this were country music, rock music," he told reporters outside court, "we wouldn't be here." remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Germany's ruling coalition unveiled a supplementary budget on Monday that will temporarily lift a self-imposed cap on borrowing after a constitutional court ruling tore up the government's spending plans. The budget, which parliament must approve, will see Germany suspend its constitutionally enshrined debt brake for a fourth year in a row to borrow roughly an extra 45 billion euros ($49 billion) as Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government fights its way out of a crisis that has triggered warnings about growth and an industry exodus. Berlin was forced to freeze most new spending commitments after the court blocked plans to re-purpose billions of euros of unused pandemic funds towards green projects and industry subsidies. It will suspend the debt brake for the 2023 budget to allow higher borrowing prompted by the court's ruling, before finalising a 2024 budget that could see cuts in some ministries in order to keep spending commitments elsewhere. The brake sets a limit on new borrowing, though it can be exceeded in "exceptional" circumstances. Friedrich Merz, who leads the resurgent opposition Christian Democratic Union party that launched the initial lawsuit before the constitutional court, warned that fresh legal action was possible should the government seek to suspend the debt brake for next year's budget, too. "We have no confidence," he said. The government said the spillover effects from the energy crisis that hit in 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and caused rocketing prices had created an emergency situation that justified suspending the debt brake. "There was and is a risk that falling household consumption could trigger a downwards spiral in the German economy, causing significant declines in prosperity and employment," the draft law said in its justification. The new borrowing will not fully cover the 60 billion euro hole blown in the budget by the court ruling: 2023 expenditures will fall by 15.1 billion euros, but the government said this would be sufficient to cover all commitments. Time was now running out for parliament to approve a 2024 budget this year, meaning this could get delayed until the end of January, a government spokesperson earlier said. Companies Worried The leader of Scholz's SPD urged the government to consider suspending the debt brake next year, a move rejected in particular by the fiscally hawkish Free Democratic Party (FDP). "We don't have a revenue problem," FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Duerr said. "The debt brake must remain." FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai, in remarks to the broadcaster ZDF, on Monday also spoke out against reforming the debt brake, a move that has found growing support elsewhere in the wake of the crisis. The court ruling has called into question Germany's traditionally strict fiscal policy and sparked warnings that German companies could be starved of support to keep them globally competitive. Germany has by far the lowest debt in the G7 grouping of major economies, but memories of how frugality paved the way for postwar reconstruction and how costly it was to re-integrate indebted ex-communist East Germany have shaped a uniquely debt-averse political culture. A spokesperson said the government believed the latest budget measures were on a sound legal footing but could not rule out another legal challenge. The conservatives, who brought the original challenge, have said they will not do so again. In order to keep backing industry, Finance Minister Christian Lindner from the FDP has ruled out tax rises and said savings would have to be found elsewhere, backed up by reforming the welfare state. The debt brake, introduced after the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, was first suspended in 2020 to help the government support firms and health systems during the COVID-19 pandemic. Economy Minister Robert Habeck, from the Greens, has criticised the debt brake as inflexible and as blocking vital support for industry to stop jobs and value creation from moving abroad. On Monday he stressed the need to give companies, which have been worried by the uncertainty caused by the budget crisis, clarity as quickly as possible. "We can't waste a lot of time," he said, adding it was not clear whether the government would extend an energy price cap that supports industry into next year. (Reuters) 17-day Silkyara tunnel saga ends, nation relieved Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Union Minister of State VK Singh with rescue officials after the successful evacuation of 41 workers from the collapsed Silkyara Tunnel, in Uttarkashi, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. (PTI Photo) NEW DELHI/DEHRADUN: After a long 17-day ordeal, all 41 workers trapped in the partially collapsed Silkyara tunnel were pulled out in a multi-agency rescue operation around 8.30 pm on Tuesday. Union minister V.K. Singh and Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami welcomed the workers as National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) men brought them out through a steel chute that lined a 60-metre passage. There was hugging and cheering as the ordeal ended. Some local villagers burst crackers. Outside the tunnel, some chanted "Har Har Mahadev", "Bharat Mata ki Jai" and slogans in praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr Dhami. The Prime Minister lauded the relief workers. "Everyone involved in the mission has created an amazing example of humanity and teamwork," he posted on X, adding, "It is a matter of great satisfaction that these friends of ours will meet their dear ones after a long wait." Announcing the evacuation of the workers, Mr Dhami said, "Now we will work according to the advice of the doctors and medical teams. They have come out of deep darkness after 17 days. Now they will be kept under medical observation and then a final decision will be made if they have to be sent home. "The 12 rat miners' work proved decisive in rescuing the stranded workers," the Uttarakhand CM said, adding that the construction of Baba Baukhnath temple will be taken up before resuming tunnel work. After evacuation, all the stranded workers were examined by the medical team stationed at the temporary medical facility set up by the rescuers inside the tunnel. Later, they were sent to a 41-bed temporary hospital prepared for them at the Chinyalisaur airstrip, nearly 40 km from Silkyara. Besides, AIIMS Rishikesh management was also kept on alert. According to officials overseeing the rescue operations, the last steel pipe was successfully pushed into the escape passage and the stage was set to evacuate trapped workers at around 7.15 pm. Prior to that, rescuers completed 59 metres of escape passage drilling in the evening. Earlier, rescuers at the collapsed tunnel got a major success as they were able to further drill a 4-metre horizontal escape passage that had been on hold for nearly three days. The officials said that the rat mining method was a great help for speedy drilling of the escape passage. The rat miners did a phenomenal job by digging 10 metres in less than 24 hours. "Rat-hole mining may be illegal, but it is rat miners' talent, experience and capability that proved critical," NDMA member Lt. Gen. Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd) said. The 4.5 km tunnel is part of the Centre's ambitious Char Dham project aimed at providing all-weather connectivity between four prominent Hindu shrines -- Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri -- in Uttarakhand. The tunnel connects Silkyara and Dandalgaon in Uttarkashi district and is known as the Silkyara tunnel. On November 12, a section of tunnel between 205 and 260 metres from the Silkyara side collapsed. Workers who were beyond the 260-metre mark were trapped, with their exit blocked. Fortunately for them, the part of the tunnel where they are stuck had power and water supply. The BJP fielded over two dozen new faces for the Rajasthan election, for which the voting took place on November 25 New Delhi: With the counting of votes to begin on Sunday, five days from now, political parties in Rajasthan are brimming with speculation and rumours. With most predictions, including those in the satta bazaar, talking of the BJP returning to power in the desert state, the saffron party is abuzz with speculation on whether the top brass will back the Maharani, former CM Vasundhara Raje, considered as the frontrunner for the CMs post within the organization, or bring in a new face to check factionalism. The BJP fought the election in a state with many claimants for the top post, without a chief ministerial candidate, under Prime Minister Narendra Modis leadership. While the result is yet to be announced, the race has begun in the BJP on the post of chief minister. Besides Ms Raje, the names of MP and member of Jaipur royal family, Diya Kumari, who contested the Assembly polls, former state unit chief Satish Poonia, Leader of the Opposition Rajendra Rathore are also doing the rounds. Another name that some BJP leaders claim could be considered is that of a first-time MP, Mahant Balaknath Yogi, whose constituency saw the highest voting percentage. Some BJP leaders also claim that Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawats name is also under consideration. Speculation is also rife that a senior BJP leader, with whom Ms Raje mended her ties recently, is in touch with leaders of his community to back her candidature for the top post. While most poll predictions have given a clear majority to the BJP, there are rumours that the higher the margin of the partys victory, the lesser are the chances of Ms Raje getting the top post. The BJP fielded over two dozen new faces for the Rajasthan election, for which the voting took place on November 25. The counting of votes will take place on December 3. Led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the partys campaign focused on its promise of benefits of a double-engine sarkar and the attack on the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress governments failures, including deteriorating the law and order situation, the rampant spurt in crimes against women, failed promises and appeasement politics. The image of the military as an apolitical entity has been getting compromised and drawn into vicious and divisive polarisation. To believe that there is no deliberate diminishing, misuse or even usurpation of various governmental institutions is to live in denial. Admittedly, such manipulation was done by all earlier governments, but the extent now is simply unprecedented. Supposedly apolitical institutions risk bending and compromised partisanship, to the detriment of a healthy democracy. One critical component of democracy is to ensure an apolitical and distanced military from the unrestrained passions of society and partisanship, thereby guaranteeing institutional steel, professionalism, and civilian control over the military. In survey after survey, the military has been seen to be the most respected institution by the citizenry, and this owes immeasurably to a vital distance from the un-uniformed citizenry. The Indian soldier is unlike civilians, and that healthy difference was carefully cultivated. Restraint and measure (in bearing, conduct and speech) borne out of keeping that necessary distance was ensured through a carefully guarded culture of restricted cantonments and curbs within on external social engagements, allowed/disallowed content, and ensuring the ways of the service. The air of inviolable discipline mandated no frivolity, social leniency, and certainly no partisan discourse: the soldiers were constitutionalists. Life in uniform was as much about social disallowances (especially with the external world) as it was about protocol rules, full of dos and donts. This institutional denialism was expected to be respected by the external world, and especially by the political class, who could axiomatically inject partisanship, in the virtually quarantined environment. The founders of Indias Constitution had wisely wired the role of supreme commander onto the apolitical President of India and explicitly denied the same onto the decidedly more political and partisan post of Prime Minister. Thus, military offices, messes and museums all bore the photos only of the President. While raising a toast, commissioning, at the pleasure of et al was solely in the name of the President, no one else. Like between executive and the judiciary, the military and executive too warranted distance with the practical administrative facilitation by the defence ministry, which too respected the delinking of uniform from the civilian bureaucrats of the defence ministry. Not any more, as now the twain unusually converge. From the seemingly innocuous task of laying mattresses for civilian events, building pontoon bridges for shadowy godmen, clearing waste from hill stations everything was initially rationalised with an admixture of whataboutery or why the fuss, didnt they always do such things? Leading the defence of such partisan transgressions (a term used for far more serious issues) were the unprecedented optics of some bristling veterans in their regimental regalia and tilted hats on prime-time TV as newsroom warriors. The politicos had already put a wedge in the apolitical institution, but many didnt see it coming. Drama and bluster offered short-term covering fire to partisan platforms but the image of the military as an apolitical entity was getting compromised and drawn into vicious and divisive polarisation. Soon the cantonment roads were literally ordered to be opened up, and even then, many justified the same as unnecessary segregation. They were happy to bask in the cool muscularity of hows the josh dished out by an increasingly partisan Bollywood. Convenient invocations and manufactured outrage over our brave soldiers was done condescendingly and insincerely, even as unfulfilled promises of parity on OROP, etc., was kept away from reportage. Emboldened with lack of indignation or even a pushback, wholly civilian events like the G-20, which were milked for a lot more than they were worth, soon found themselves on facades and hoardings within the cantonments; and they also bore the image of the head of the executive (not the President), yet this too got normalised. Then came the substantial change of the new normal, with the plan for Agniveers announced and implemented in record time. How such a conceptualisationcould improve the kinetic ability of the military was handled with mealy-mouthed platitudes of nation building. Military logic from nowhere in the world could justify this. The juggernaut continued with asking soldiers (supposedly voluntarily) to disseminate government schemes to citizenry, while on home leave! As the armed forces internalised the new normal, emotions oscillated from regret and fear to even incredulity as the latest triviality arrived: 822 geo-tagged selfie points to showcase good work done in defence with a picture of the Prime Minister for the citizenry to partake in! Such comicality would have been hilarious, if only it werent true. The timing of this latest misstep on the heels of elections, the hard-sell of government schemes and the gentle suggestion of the PMs photo dont add up to naive intent. Its important to question if 822 selfie spots will help retain the distance of the institution or bring the protected realm closer to the risk of civil-societal passions. By conflating civilian governance initiatives with undeniable partisan stamps affixed on them, the risk of partisanship is no longer inching itself into the military realm, but instead it is boldly manifesting as selfie points to announce and celebrate it. It is surreal how even the military is no longer spared the platforming of a stage now with selfie-points to broadcast official achievements. It is walking the path of the half professional-half ideologue Communist Party of Chinas PLA (Peoples Liberation Army), where the soldier belongs to a party and not to the nation. A sad regression indeed, even though its still not too late to sit up and question what exactly is happening. The trivialities like selfie points are a continuation of the bizarre. by Steve Suwannarat Dozens of companies have been blacklisted for failing to comply with regulations in construction, agriculture, and fisheries. Some recruitment agencies have seen their licences temporarily revoked. The move comes as thousands of Myanmar nationals seeking refuge and opportunities across the border are turned back. Bangkok (AsiaNews) The Thai Ministry of Labour has started cracking down on irregular immigrants, as well as those who exploit them. According to data released today, scores of Thai companies have been blacklisted for not complying with the law that protects workers from other countries, estimated to be around four million, mostly from Myanmar. According to the ministry, 126 Thailand-based companies are affected by the measure along with about 20 Thai recruitment agencies. Thai authorities have also temporarily revoked the licences of eight Myanmar-based recruitment agencies for up to a year, while permanently cancelling the licences of 43 other entities active in Thailand. Under international pressure to guarantee the rights and well-being of immigrants, but also faced with labour shortages in crucial sectors such as construction, agriculture, fishing, etc., Thai authorities have made major changes to their policy towards immigrants. On the one hand, the government has eased stay and work permits for workers on official lists, while taking a tough line against employers who exploit foreign workers; on the other hand, it has detained or turned back thousands of Myanmar nationals seeking opportunities across the border without the papers required for legal protection. So far, the system for finding and selecting Myanmar citizens willing to work in Thailand has relied on 150 agencies authorised by the government, with a certain degree of tolerance for irregularities and abuses by agencies and employers. With the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, dealing in a less arbitrary and simplified way with foreign migrants stranded in Thailand has come up again. For this reason, on 5 July the government extended the work permits for migrants until 25 February 2025 and required employers to regularise workers within 90 days. This deadline also applies to minors living with parents employed in Thailand, while adult children are allowed to seek employment if they wish. As the new rules are implemented, immigrant workers who already have a contract for four years or more can apply for an extension. Photo: Flickr/ILO Asia Pacific by Vladimir Rozanskij The death of a girl in the province of Cardzevskij has brought to the forefront the phenomenon of the growth of abortions among underage girls who turn to improvised midwives. The law forbids abortion after the fifth week. Sometimes the parents agree and force the children into marriage, sometimes it is they themselves who indicate the clandestine route to avoid gossip. Ashgabat (AsiaNews) - As Khroniki Turkmenistana correspondents inform, the problem of underage abortions in Turkmenistan is growing significantly. Out of fear of the reactions of their parents and adults, the girls seek every possibility to carry out clandestine abortions, turning to improvised midwives, without any qualification or education, who only in difficult cases ask for advice from professional gynecologists, for illegal payment. Clandestine abortion, carried out with medicines or operations of dubious effectiveness, costs around 2500-3000 manat (130-150 dollars at the black market rate), a truly remarkable sum for young Turkmens, and often entails unpleasant consequences for the girls' health . In recent days, a girl from the agricultural unit of Amu Darya, in the Cardzevskij province, was brought to the neonatal department of the Turkmenabat hospital in rather serious conditions. The police found that the girl had stopped going to school for 12 days, because after learning that she was pregnant she had gone to the city, where in a "green" bar, one of those in the local market, she had found a shopkeeper who performs abortions at home. Together with her helpers, the woman had tried to perform the abortion in her apartment, but the pregnancy appeared to be in a rather advanced state, and the improvised midwife did not have much experience. The girl was saved by doctors in hospital, but she is unlikely to be able to have children in the future. Pregnancies among students starting from middle school is not a rarity throughout the country, although obviously there are no official statistics on the matter. In the agricultural communities of the Amu Darya area, at least a dozen cases have been reported in the last months of this year. Sometimes the parents of the interested children agree and force their children to marry, but often it is the parents of pregnant girls who seek the solution of clandestine abortion, to avoid gossip and exposure to public shame. According to an investigation by Radio Azatlyk, representatives of the local authorities have also begun to deal with the issue, calling children from the more advanced classes and their parents to "educational conversations". Students are warned to abstain from sexual relations, and parents are asked to follow their children with greater severity, taking care of their "moral education". Sexual education lessons are not held in Turkmen schools, while since 2015 the permission to terminate a pregnancy has been reduced from 12 to 5 weeks. The International Family Planning Federation (IPPF) claims that the majority of women in their fifth week do not yet know they are pregnant and that this "restricted" rule actually encourages illegal methods. Again according to data collected by the IPPF, the vast majority of Turkmen women are not in a position to make autonomous decisions on issues concerning their health, especially on contraception and consent to sexual acts, which makes their condition increasingly vulnerable to risk. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi did not appear on Tuesday at a summit in Ankara that Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan had earlier announced to reporters -- but which Tehran itself never officially confirmed. The confusion around Raisi's visit underscores the tensions that linger between the two regional powers despite their shared views on the Israel-Hamas war. The Turkish presidency told AFP that Erdogan had no meetings planned for Tuesday and did not explain whether the visit had been cancelled or postponed. Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that Raisi's visit to Turkey had "been postponed". It also provided no reason or other details. Erdogan had personally announced the Iranian president's first official visit to Turkey on his return flight from a summit between regional leaders in Riyadh on November 11 that was also attended by Raisi. "Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is coming to us on the 28th of the month," Erdogan told reporters on board the flight. The visit was also announced by Turkey's state media and discussed extensively on television as late as Monday. But it was never officially confirmed by Raisi's office or Iran's official media. The two presidents and the countries' top diplomats had phone conversations over the weekend focused on the Gaza war. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian expressed "his hope that with the continuation of high-level diplomacy between the two countries, the two (sides) can see the strengthening and deepening of mutual cooperation", the Iranian foreign ministry said after the call. AFP/LEONARDO MUNOZ - Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi addresses the 78th United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City on September 19, 2023 Complex relations Erdogan has emerged as one of the Muslim world's most outspoken critics of Israel's onslaught on Gaza in response to Hamas militants' October 7 attack. He has branded Israel a "terrorist state" and called Iran-backed Hamas "a liberation group". But analysts believe that Iran wants Turkey to move past the rhetoric and sever its blossoming trade and energy ties with Israel. "Iran expects Turkey to end its direct and indirect trade with Israel," Istanbul's Centre for Iranian Studies director Hakki Uygur told AFP. "Turkey, on the other hand, has taken an attitude that cares about separating political and commercial issues." Gaza's Hamas-led government says nearly 15,000 people -- mostly civilians and including thousands of children -- have died since Israel began to retaliate for Hamas's unprecedented cross-border attacks, in which Israel says 1,200 people died. Iran and Turkey share a 535-kilometre (330-mile) border and a complex history of close economic relations and opposing views on regional disputes. PHOTO/REUTERS - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Turkey backed rebel efforts to topple Iranian- and Russian-backed President Bashar al-Assad during Syria's civil war. Ankara's support for Azerbaijan's two victorious wars over Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh also created deep unease in Iran. Tehran fears that Baku's resurgence in the Caucasus region could feed the separatist ambitions of Iran's large ethnic Azerbaijani minority. Iran is also anxious about a proposed trade route running along its northern border between Azerbaijan and Turkey that could potentially complicate its access to Armenia. "The most important conflict between Turkey and Iran was over the Caucasus and Karabakh," Ankara-based Iran expert Arif Keskin said. "With the Gaza conflict, this issue was pushed to the back burner but it still remains there as an important issue," Keskin told AFP. An Israel-Hamas truce in the Gaza Strip stretched into a fifth day on Tuesday as the two sides completed the release of Israeli hostages and detained Palestinians and looked poised to free more as the pause in fighting was extended by two days. Hamas took about 240 hostages during an Oct. 7 incursion into southern Israel that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli figures, prompting Israel to retaliate by bombing the coastal enclave and launching a ground offensive in its north. Israel said 11 Israelis had returned to the country from the Gaza Strip on Monday, bringing to 69 the total of Israeli and foreign hostages the Palestinian group has freed since Friday under the truce. The White House and Qatari negotiators said on Monday the original four day pause in fighting, due to expire at 0500 GMT on Tuesday, had been extended for two more days. Israel has not commented on any agreement to extend the truce but, in what may be an implicit confirmation, the Israeli prime minister's office said the government approved the addition of 50 female prisoners to its list of Palestinians for potential release if additional Israeli hostages are freed. Hamas said it had sought to revise terms under which it would free hostages beyond the women and children it has already released. "We hope the Occupation (Israel) abides (by the agreement) in the next two days because we are seeking a new agreement, besides women and children, whereby other categories that we have that we can swap," Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya told Al Jazeera late on Monday. That, he said, would entail "going towards an additional time period to continue swapping people at this stage". Among hostages Hamas still holds are fathers and husbands of those it has freed in recent days. Israel previously said it would extend the truce by one day for every 10 more hostages released, providing some respite from the war. Israel's government has received a list of hostages who are expected to be released on Tuesday, Israel's Army Radio reported, citing the Israeli prime minister's office. The Axios news website reported the list contained 10 hostages. There was no immediate comment from the prime minister's office. Clashes outside prison The Israel Prison Service said 33 Palestinian prisoners were released on Monday from Israel's Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank and from a detention centre in Jerusalem, bringing the total number of Palestinians it has freed since Friday to 150. Israeli forces clashed with some of the dozens of Palestinians who gathered outside Ofer prison to await the prisoner release, the Palestinian health ministry said. Some of the protesters waved the flags of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian militant group. The ministry said a Palestinian was killed in the area, and that it was unclear if he had participated in the clashes. Palestinian media reported he was shot dead. Israel had no immediate comment on the incident. In response to the Oct. 7 attack, Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip and mounted a ground offensive in the north. More than 15,000 Palestinians have been killed, Gaza's Hamas-run government says, and hundreds of thousands displaced. Each day since the truce began on Friday, Hamas has released some hostages while Israel has freed some Palestinians it holds. Of the 69 hostages freed by Hamas were 51 Israelis and 18 foreigners. Ido Dan, a relative of Israelis Sahar Calderon, 16, and Erez Calderon, 12, spoke of the joy at their release on Monday mixed with anxiety about their father, Ofer, who is still being held. "It is difficult to go from a state of endless anxiety about their fate to a state of relief and joy," Dan said. "This is an exciting and heart-filling moment but ... it is the beginning of a difficult rehabilitation process for Sahar and Erez, who are still young and have been through an unbearable experience." The U.S. State Department said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken would visit Israel, the West Bank and the United Arab Emirates this week to discuss sustaining aid flows to Gaza and freeing all hostages as well as U.S. principles for the future of Gaza and the need for an independent Palestinian state. The original truce agreement allowed more aid trucks into Gaza, where the civilian population faces shortages of food, fuel, drinking water and medicine. An estimated 1.8 million of the territory's 2.3 million population are internally displaced, according to the United Nations. While describing the extension as "a glimpse of hope and humanity," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said two more days was not enough time to meet Gaza's aid needs. (Reuters) Still not available in the United States, the second-generation Hyundai Kona Electric is en route to Canadian dealerships. Available to configure as a 2024 model, the all-electric crossover is listed with a base price of 46,399 maple bucks, which means 34,185 freedom eagles at current exchange rates. kWh kW FWD AWD Photo: Hyundai How does it stack up against the internal combustion-engined Kona? The short answer is not great, although that's not exactly fair to the Kona Electric, which is pricier due to its high-voltage battery. To whom it may concern, the combustion-engined Kona for Canada is CAD $25,999 (circa USD $19,155).The battery in question is listed with a capacity of 64.8. This battery is dubbed Long Range in certain markets, including Europe. Over in the Old Continent, the Standard Range packs 48.6 kWh. Turning our attention back to the Kona Electric for Canada, the Natural Resources Canada-estimated range is 420 kilometers (that would be 261 miles).Fast charging at 400V from 10 to 80 percent takes around 43 minutes, and the only powertrain that prospective customers get is a front-mounted electric motor with 150to its name. In other words, 204 metric horsepower or 201 mechanical horsepower.Something that Hyundai Auto Canada forgot to mention in the attached press release is that Kona Electric features a multi-link setup for the rear end. The internal combustion Kona comes with a torsion beam inguise, although thesystem elevates the Kona to a multi-link rear suspension.At launch, the CAD-spec Kona Electric is available in two main specifications: Preferred and Ultimate, with the ultimate starting at CAD $51,199 or USD $37,720. Both feature frunk storage, i-PEDAL driving mode, active grille shutters, and a smart regenerative braking system that adjusts the level of regeneration according to the traffic conditions.Also standard is wireless connectivity for iOS and Android devices via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system joined by a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, 17-inch aluminum alloy wheels, a heat pump, battery heating and preconditioning, and Smartsense. The latter is a suite of driver-assist systems such as forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot warning and lane-keeping assist, rear cross-traffic alert, and high-beam assist.An electronic parking brake and auto hold are shared between the Preferred and Ultimate, although the Ultimate does have a few extra standard goodies to differentiate itself from the lesser grade. Highlights include Digital Key, a wireless charger for your mobile phone, a head-up display, BOSE premium audio, Remote Smart Parking Assist, a wide-type power sunroof, and Surround View Monitor.Scheduled to hit dealer lots in December 2023, the 2024 Hyundai Kona Electric doesn't have big shoes to fill. After all, Hyundai sold a meager 24,579 units last year in Canada, those 24,579 vehicles comprising both combustion-engined and electric Konas. SUV Toyota has had a slew of important releases in North America this year the Prius 'Hybrid Reborn' Prime plug-in hybrid, the 2023 Corolla Cross Hybrid, more Nightshade special editions than ever, GR limited series GR86 Trueno, GR Corolla Circuit, GR Supra 45th Anniversary, and a lot more. It also had some major introductions like the 2024 Grand Highlander, N400 Tacoma, 2024 Land Cruiser (Prado or 250 in specific markets), and the 2025 Camry plus 2025 Crown Signia crossoverFor sure, one of the superstars was the all-new fourth-generation N400 Tacoma a model that has "dominated the mid-size pickup truck segment for nearly two decades." Now we also know how much it costs "to set a new standard for modern trucks." As such, the "completely redesigned and reimagined" Tacoma is starting from $31,500 (plus a $1,495 destination fee) with the standard i-Force 2.4-liter turbocharged mill with up to 278 hp and 317 lb-ft. Even better, Toyota just announced that first deliveries will start in December when the model arrives across nationwide dealerships.Unfortunately for those seeking to go hybrid with the new Tacoma, the more powerful i-Force Max with 326 hp is expected to reach showrooms starting next spring. Pricing details will also be confirmed closer to the start of deliveries. The 2024 Tacoma is built on Toyota's TNGA-F global truck platform shared with the Tundra, Sequoia, and upcoming Land Cruiser, among others. As such, it boasts excellent workhorse capabilities, including a maximum towing capacity of 6,500 lbs. on SR5, TRD PreRunner, and XtraCab grades with the i-Force mill, while the maximum payload capacity increases to 1,710 lbs. for i-Force Max models.Meanwhile, the bed has an optional 400W AC inverter outlet for the gasoline model, while hybrid versions raise output to 2400W AC. Most grades will feature the 278 horsepower rating, but the entry-level SR's powertrain is limited to 228 horsepower and 243 lb.-ft. of torque, and there's also a six-speed intelligent manual transmission (iMT) available for purists that one is rated at 270 hp and 310 lb.-ft. of torque.Dubbed the "ultimate adventure machine," Toyota's Tacoma has up to a 34.4-degree approach, 26.1-degree breakover, and 26.1-degree departure angles the maximum ground clearance is also 11.5 inches on TRD Off-Road models. By the way, if you want the MSRPs for splashing out on other grades, Toyota has made public only the SR, SR5, TRD PreRunner, TRD Sport, TRD Off-Road, and Limited that's because the Trailhunter and TRD Pro are both available only with the hybrid i-Force Max.Anyway, here it goes: the 2024 Tacoma SR is $31,500, as we said before, followed by the $36,200 SR5, $38,100 TRD PreRunner, $39,400 TRD Sport, $41,800 TRD Off-Road, and $52,100 for the Limited trim level. Cool or not? Back in 2008, Boeing flew one of its planes, operated by Virgin Atlantic, with a new type of fuel called Sustainable Aviation Fuel. It was the first commercial trial of a solution that could help shave up to 70 percent off CO2 lifecycle emissions of an aircraft, thus generating a huge impact on the environment. And now, 15 years later, we are on the verge of the first-ever cross-Atlantic flight of a commercial airliner burning only SAF. The same Virgin Atlantic and Boeing are involved in this effort. One of the airline's 787s will leave today from London Heathrow Airport heading for New York JFK. There will be no paying passengers in it, and its tanks will be filled exclusively with SAF.The fuel is a substance resulting from plants or waste and as a result it generates a lot less CO2 emissions than conventional aviation fuel. It is not the only alternative means of propulsion for airplanes being considered, but compared to the electric or hydrogen solutions currently being researched, SAF is available for use now.On top of that, it is fully compatible with today's airplanes and infrastructure, and thus it does not need modified hardware to be adopted. It is, as per Virgin, "the only mid-term viable solution for decarbonizing long-haul aviation."Today's flight will be the first to attempt a crossing of the Atlantic in a plane this size using SAF. The tanks of the plane will be filled with a mixture comprising 88 percent hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) and 12 percent synthetic aromatic kerosene (SAK).Both substances are supplied by AirBP. The HEFA is made from waste fats, while SAK from plant sugars. SAK is there to ensure the fuel has the required aromatics to be burned properly in the plane's Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines.As said, the historic flight will not have average Joes traveling inside, but a number of high-profile people will be on board. Among them are Virgin's own Richard Branson and British transport secretary Mark Harper.The journey, titled Flight100, is intended to prove SAF works and is safe on planes of this size flying such long routes. At the moment regulations don't allow for airplanes to use more than 50 percent SAF blend in their tanks and engines. In part because of that only about 0.1 percent of aviation fuel currently being burned is SAF.Virgin, Boeing and Rolls-Royce will also use Flight100 to see how the fuel "affects the flight's non-carbon emissions." The companies will also look at how SAF impacts contrails and particulates in a bid to "implement contrail forecasts in the flight planning process. "After it's all done and the numbers are punched in, Virgin and its partners will share whatever data results from the flight with the wider industry. BYD has just hit a major milestone. The Chinese carmaker rolled out the sixth million car, an SUV with a name that is next to impossible to pronounce, at its factory in Zhengzhou. kWh Photo: BYD The new Fang Cheng Bao Leopard 5 is number six million. It is an off-roader set in motion by a plug-in hybrid powertrain. The model was good to go into the hands of its new owner on November 24. But the first example had been delivered to the first customer who ordered it a day before.The manufacturer debuted the vehicle back in August and refers to the impossible-to-pronounce Fang Cheng Bao Leopard 5 as a "super hybrid hardcore SUV."Underpinned by BYD s Dual Mode Off-road (DMO) Super Hybrid System architecture, the model is equipped with a 31.8-battery pack, which provides it with a range of up to 78 miles (125 kilometers), as per the CLTC testing procedure.According to the same CLTC, the vehicle can drive as far as 746 miles (1,200 kilometers) before it needs to be plugged in again.Two more models from Fang Cheng Bao will arrive in 2024, the Bao 3 and Bao 8, helping BYD speed up in the attempt to remain the world's most productive car manufacturer.It is a record number, considering that no other manufacturer has produced that many electric cars yet. Tesla sits at little over 5 million units built so far.BYD rolled out the latest million within three months. There were more than 3 million all-electric cars and almost 3 million plug-in hybrid vehicles that rolled off the production lines of the companys plants. BYD is the worlds largest car manufacturer of plug-in hybrids and is now chasing after Tesla in the all-electric car segment.The Chinese brand sells cars in 58 countries and regions worldwide. Over 200,000 units have been exported so far, with China still being the most important market, just as it is for many European carmakers as well. Furthermore, BYDs electric public transport solutions currently operate in over 400 cities from more than 70 countries.Almost 30 years ago, BYD had just founded the battery company. The auto division saw the light of day in 2003 and in 2008, they rolled out the first rechargeable vehicle.In 2021, they ticked the one million new energy vehicles milestone. They hit 3 million in 2022 and reached 5 million nine months later. On November 24, three months after the fifth million, BYD marked 6 million NEVs.The car giant BYD integrates brands such as Dynasty, Denza, Yangwang, and Ocean. Back in April 2022, the company decided to discontinue the production of internal combustion cars, focusing exclusively on electric, electric with range extenders, and plug-in hybrid models. kW Deemed a blue-collar supercar due to its layout and affordable pricing (compared to the real exotics), the C8 Chevy Corvette is about to blow four candles off its birthday cake in a couple of months.It was the normal Stingray that initially broke cover with its 6.2L naturally aspirated V8 rated at 490 hp (497 ps/366) and 465 lb-ft (630 Nm) of torque, or five horses and five pound-feet (7 Nm) more when equipped with the performance exhaust system or the Z51 package. At 2.5 seconds from 0-60 mph (0-97 kph), the Corvette Stingray is quicker than most exotics and doesn't break the bank with a sub-$70,000 MSRP.The bowtie brand then expanded the offering with the track-focused Z06. Featuring a 5.5L flat-plane crank V8 developed with Ferrari's indirect know-how , it enjoys 670 hp (680 ps/500 kW) and 460 lb-ft (624 Nm). Pricing for this version starts at $112,700 before destination. The electrified Corvette E-Ray completes the offering with its $104,900 MSRP, all-wheel drive, and 655 horsepower (664 ps/469 kW) combined.Chevy's ties with the Corvette moniker date back to the early 1950s when the original came out. Depending on whom you ask, chances are you'll get different answers as to which generation is their favorite. The one pictured in the gallery is a C6, which was made from 2004 to 2013. Making out the exact spec is very tricky, as this 'Vette has seen much better days. Almost every component was destroyed in a crash that we know nothing about, though some things can still be salvaged.Hopefully, the driver managed to walk away from the accident and find a different addiction besides cool cars and illegal substances. The latter is a reference to the sticker visible above the left rear quarter panel on the left side, which may have been partially scratched, but it clearly reveals that this person took Breaking Bad a bit too literally.The car is in possession of azcycle parts, which released a short video of it on social media recently, announcing that the components that were saved from this C6 Chevy Corvette are on sale on their eBay store. Truth be told, we wouldn't have dedicated an entire story to this machine if it wasn't for the controversial sticker, as it is not every day that we come across someone who dares to display their addiction proudly. Either that, or they found this sticker to be extremely hilarious. We hope it's the latter. A Virgin Atlantic passenger jet flying from London to New York powered by 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) took off at 1149 GMT on Tuesday, as the aviation world seeks to showcase the potential of low carbon options to secure its future. As the world de-carbonises, airlines are banking on fuel made from waste to reduce their emissions by up to 70%, enabling them to keep operating before electric and hydrogen-powered air travel becomes a reality in the decades to come. The flight operated by a Virgin Boeing 787 powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines, is the first time a commercial airline has flown long haul on 100% SAF. It follows the successful transatlantic crossing by a Gulfstream G600 business jet using the same fuel last week. Virgin Atlantic's billionaire founder Richard Branson, the airline's chief executive Shai Weiss, and Britain's transport minister Mark Harper are among the passengers on board. The flight is scheduled to arrive at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport at 1440 EST (1940 GMT). There will be no paying passengers on board or cargo on what Virgin has dubbed Flight100, which comes days before the start of COP28 climate talks in Dubai on Thursday. SAF is already used in jet engines as part of a blend with traditional kerosene, but after successful ground tests, Virgin and its partners Rolls-Royce, Boeing, BP and others won permission to fly using only SAF. Aviation accounts for an estimated 2-3% of global carbon emissions. SAF is key toward reducing those emissions, but it is costly, at about three to five times as much as regular jet fuel right now, and accounts for less than 0.1% of total global jet fuel in use today. The fuel used to power Tuesday's flight is mostly made from used cooking oil and waste animal fat mixed with a small amount of synthetic aromatic kerosene made from waste corn, Virgin Atlantic said. Industry challenges Many European airlines - including Virgin, IAG -owned British Airways, and Air France - have said they want to be using 10% SAF by 2030, and the industry's goal of "net zero" emissions by 2050 relies on that share rising to 65%. Rolls-Royce's CEO Tufan Erginbilgic said SAF was the only solution to decarbonise commercial flights in the medium term. "I think on the big planes, I'm talking about commercial planes if you like, really the next 15-20 years solution is genuinely SAF. We are making our engines compatible with SAF, so that transformation actually takes place," he said on Tuesday after announcing his strategy for the aerospace engineer. Yet the 2030 target looks challenging given SAF's small volumes and its high cost. In October, the head of IAG warned that there was more than a 90% risk the industry would not meet the European Union mandate for SAF availability in 2025. Environmental advocacy group Stay Grounded called the flight "a greenwashing distraction." "(Fuel substitutes) are nowhere close to being scalable in the necessary timeframe to avoid climate collapse. What is urgently needed is to reduce the burning of fossil jet fuels, which means reducing flights wherever possible," said Magdalena Heuwieser, who represents the network. The aviation industry hopes that the Virgin Atlantic flight will highlight to governments the need for them to provide financial support to make SAF more readily available. Virgin said the engines on the flight would be drained of SAF and tested before it returns to service using regular fuel. (Reuters) Coming courtesy of the Environmental Protection Agency, the fuel economy ratings for the 2024 model year Ford Ranger are out. Considering the similarities between this generation of the Ranger and the 2019 to 2023 models, it shouldn't come as a surprise that pickups equipped with the 2.3-liter EcoBoost I4 return the very same 22 miles per gallon (10.7 liters per 100 kilometers) on the combined test cycle. 4WD Photo: Ford The 22-mpg estimate is shared between two- and four-wheel-drive trucks. However,results in worse ratings for city and highway driving. As opposed to 21 (11.2) and 25 (9.4) with rear-wheel drive, going 4WD means 20 (11.8) and 24 (9.8).Previously a forbidden fruit in the United States of America, the Ranger Raptor which is due to reach dealer showrooms in the first quarter of 2024 gets 17 miles per gallon. Those who prefer the metric system should read that as 13.9 liters per 100 kilometers, which is pretty good for the 3.0-liter EcoBoost V6 in a body-on-frame pickup truck.Twinned with the 2.7-liter version of the sixer, the 3.0-liter EcoBoost is a member of the Nano engine family. At press time, the Dearborn-based automaker uses this powerplant in the Ranger-based Bronco, unibody Explorer, as well as the Lincoln Aviator.Not exactly a shocker, the Bronco Raptor isn't as frugal as the Ranger Raptor at 15 miles per gallon (15.7 liters per 100 kilometers) in the EPA's combined test cycle. The Explorer is rated between 21 and 20 (11.2 and 11.8), whereas the Lincoln Aviator offers between 23 and 19 (10.2 and 12.4).Manufactured at the same facility where Ford makes the Bronco, the redesigned Ranger carries a base price of $32,565 for the XL 4x2. Unlike the 2023 model, the 2024 comes only as a crew cab. Four-wheel drive hikes up the sticker price to $36,210.The XL comes with a plethora of standard kit, including the STX Appearance Package, reflector-style headlamps with LEDs, 17-inch alloys instead of steelies, all-terrain rubber boots, remote keyless entry and a remote-locking tailgate, as well as 8.0 inches of digital instrument cluster display. The 10-inch touchscreen infotainment system runs SYNC 4A.Starting at $36,005, the XLT levels up to a wireless phone charging pad, in-bed power and LED lighting, the Ford Co-Pilot360 suite, and Sport Appearance Package with slightly fancier 17-inch wheels than the XL. The Lariat comes with quite a few more stuff, but the most interesting thing about the Lariat is the available 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6. Unfortunately, the EPA has yet to release fuel economy ratings for it.$55,365 may be top dollar for a midsizer, but the Ranger Raptor isn't your usual mid-size pickup truck. From the class-exclusive Fox shocks with Live Valve Technology to the Watts linkage out back, locking front and rear axles, the aforementioned 3.0-liter EcoBoost sixer, and the available beadlock wheels, the Ranger Raptor is one seriously capable truck. It's said that in the dog days of World War Two, Reichsmarschall Hermann Goring, the deranged, rotund head of the German Luftwaffe, once said the day he saw P-51s over Berlin, the jig was up. Almost 80 years later, 31 American M1A1 Abrams tanks have all arrived safely on Ukrainian soil. Will it be the "jig is up" moment for Russia's Armed Forces like Mustangs were to the Goring Luftwaffe? The answer remains to be seen. But for now, understanding how America's main battle tank wound up on Ukrainian soil is of the utmost importance. The road that led to M1 Abrams tanks arriving in Ukraine is one paved in perpetual controversy, explosive U.S. Congressional politics, and the ever-present most horrendous battlefield in Europe since the 1940s. Along with the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon jet fighter, the M1 Abrams is among the high-ticket items negotiated between the U.S. Pentagon and the government of Volodymyr Zelensky, among the proverbial sea of NATO-chambered assault rifles and HIMARS missile systems also sent to the front.With the coming Eastern European winter looming down on Russia and Ukraine like a freight train, all 31 Abrams tanks, turbine engines, and all are now accounted for. With a proverbial hoard of T-72s, T-80s, T-90s, and possibly even a few advanced T-14 Armatas prowling behind Russian lines, these Abrams MBTs, fresh from Iraq and Afghanistan, seem set to clash with their Soviet and post-Soviet rivals on a battleground quite unlike First Gulf War or even the War on Terror.In truth, it's perhaps these adverse winter weather conditions that have kept Abrams tanks in Ukraine since at least October away from the front lines friendly Army barracks, where the above photo was likely taken at one of these undisclosed Ukrainian bases. For now, it appears Ukraine's Army is perfectly happy training to get to grips with operating Abrams tanks on their home soil. With a mechanical makeup far different than the Soviet T-80s and a handful of native T-84s native to Ukrainian armored divisions, the time spent familiarizing its personnel with their new American MBTs should pay dividends over the brutal winter stalemate expected to come between December 2023 and April 2024.Although rumors abound that at least one Abrams tank was spotted near the Russian front lines in the City of Kupiansk in the Kharkiv Oblast, these reports remain unconfirmed. But with Polish PT-91s, German Leopard 1s and Leopard 2s, and British Challenger 2 tanks already slugging it out with Russian armor, it's only a matter of time before the most capable main battle tank in the history of warfare brings its 120 mm smoothbore cannon to bare down on the relentless forces of Vladimir Putin. Besides quality, comfort, and performance, the new young-minded generation of yacht owners values flexibility and adaptability when it comes to their recreational watercraft. Italian shipyard Cantiere delle Marche (CdM) is quick to oblige by creating vessels that are meticulously tailored to meet the owner's preferences. Photo: Cantiere delle Marche The latest vessel launched by the Ancona-based shipbuilder is the 146-foot (44.3-meter) Maverick, an explorer yacht that is both luxurious and capable of long-range journeys.Maverick is the first of three hulls in the Flexplorer 146 line that are currently under construction at the Italian yard and was commissioned by seasoned yacht owner Tom Schroder, who is the major shareholder of CdM. Its exterior lines were penned by Hydro Tec, who is also responsible for the yacht 's naval architecture and engineering, while the interior design was a joint effort between Francesco Paszkowski and Margherita Casprini.Designed to raise the standards of aesthetics, comfort, and livability, Maverick boasts a custom layout and luxurious features that set it apart from the other two hulls in the series, such as a large infinity pool on the aft deck, a vast outdoor beach club, and lavish living quarters."The three Flexplorer 146s currently under construction perfectly show the concept's inherent flexibility, with each unit being significantly distinct from one another," commented CdM's CEO and sales director Vasco Buonpensiere. "Despite each one being unique in its own way, they all share the same features that enable safe exploration of remote destinations while providing utmost comfort and all the amenities expected of a true luxury yacht."The very essence of the Maverick yacht lies in its flexibility and adaptability. Touted as a "true explorer vessel," it features a robust displacement hull and a lightweight aluminum superstructure and is able to offer a transatlantic range of well above 5,000 nautical miles (9,260 km).Moreover, it is designed with a range of features geared toward functionality, so it can adapt to different sailing situations and carry big tenders, all the while offering guests onboard the highest degree of comfort. One of these features is a custom-built A-frame crane with a lifting capacity of 4.4 tonnes. This powerful crane is used to launch and retrieve a custom 31-foot (9.5-meter) Rivellini tender and an A27 sailing boat, and it neatly conceals in the aft deck's flooring when not in use.A 22-millimeter "ice belt" above and below the waterline is also part of the build and ensures safe navigation at high latitudes where it is likely to encounter frosty waters. This is a feature that will surely come in handy, as the owner of Maverick plans to put the yacht's strength to the test in the waters surrounding Iceland, Greenland, and the northern Canadian coasts and estuaries.Characterized by a contemporary design with neutral colors, high-end materials, and expansive glazing throughput, the interior is created to reflect the owner and his family's personal style. Accommodation onboard Maverick is offered for up to 13 guests across seven spacious cabins, including two owner's staterooms on the main deck and upper deck, and a staff of six.In terms of luxury amenities, the explorer yacht includes a large infinity pool on the aft deck that can be covered to serve as additional storage space when underway. It also has collapsible bulwarks on either side that extend to the cockpit and fold down while at anchor to create a vast outdoor beach club spanning nearly 1,500 square feet (135 square meters). A gym, a sauna, and a diving center add up to the list of luxury amenities onboard this boat.As for the yacht's performance, Maverick is equipped with twin Caterpillar C32 ACERT engines that propel it to a top speed of 14 knots and additional zero-speed stabilizers that guarantee enhanced comfort on board. kW PHEV One ride that deserves to be on the hairy-chested side of things is the Jeep Grand Cherokee . But for the fifth and latest generation, it is basically a crossover that tries its best not to step on the toes of other similarly-sized vehicles from Stellantis. And if you forgot, it shares its Giorgio construction with the Alfa Romeo Stelvio (and not only).Revealed almost three years ago, the WL generation Jeep Grand Cherokee has Ralph Gilles to thank for its design, who has some impressive machines under his styling belt, like the 2013 Dodge SRT Viper and the 2005 Chrysler 300. Depending on where it is sold, it comes with a small 2.0L gasoline engine, a 3.6L Pentastar V6, or a Hemi V8, with a plug-in hybrid model, the 4xe, completing the offering.At $36,495, which is the MSRP of the entry-level Laredo A for the 2024 model year, the Grand Cherokee is a lot of car for the money. All versions, including the range-topping Summit Reserve with its $70,435 starting price, use the same 293 hp (297 ps/219) 3.6L V6. You can also get it with three rows of seats in the version that adds the L suffix. Thefamily comprises six members and costs between $59,865 and $79,120, excluding destination.The previous generation Jeep Grand Cherokee stayed in production for twelve years, from 2010 to 2022. It received two mid-cycle refreshes and multiple other upgrades to remain on the competitive side of the segment. As for the latest, we reckon the facelifted iteration is one or two years away, and if anything, it should stick around until the end of the decade. Thus, it doesn't make any sense yet to try and decipher the looks of its successor, which will likely go electric.Nonetheless, that hasn't stopped several rendering artists from trying to imagine what the next-gen Jeep Grand Cherokee might look like. We've seen a couple of such unofficial takes recently, and the latest we came across sticks to the boxy recipe , as well. If anything, it kind of looks like an exaggerated concept to some extent, albeit one that is easily recognizable as a Jeep and, more importantly, as a Grand Cherokee due to its size.We think this styling suits the nameplate, and in this guise, it would be a larger alternative to the mighty Wrangler if given the right underpinnings. But do you think the Grand Cherokee should return to its boxy roots, or should it stick to the softer styling of the latest iteration? Lancia has been a brand with a single model for years. The Italians are still counting on the Ypsilon to show them the way to an expanded lineup. They are now teasing a special edition based on the upcoming generation, which will be electric. EV ICE The Lancia Ypsilon Edizion Limitata Cassina will be, just as the name implies, a limited edition and will come as the debut variant of the next generation.Struggling with financial issues and a shrunk lineup, long gone are the days of motor racing glory with the Lancia Fulvia , Stratos, Delta, or 037. The Ypsilon has been on the market for 12 whole years and is finally getting redesigned. A new integration of the subcompact model will arrive in February 2024. An official teaser reveals the imminent arrival of the-only Edition Limitata Cassina.Hidden under the dark-colored cover, the Ypsilon does not show much. But we can indeed guess there is a short hood underneath and a swept backward front grille, which should be flanked by headlights with a new light signature.There will be a tavolino on board, which is Italian for small table, referring to the circular-shaped item placed between the front seats. The Ypsilon Edition Limitata Cassina will have one, too, covered in what seems to be blue leather. With the presence of the tavolino, Lancia wants to give future owners the sensation that they are at home on board the car.For this special edition, Lancia teamed up with Cassina, an Italian firm that specializes in high-end furniture. It is not the first time the two entities get together. They have also worked on the Pu+Ra HPE, a radical concept car, which, Lancia said, was set to preview the upcoming design of the brands models. Or model, since the Lancia has been the only one in the line for years.The Italians will only build 1,906 examples of the limited-edition Ypsilon, a number chosen as a tribute to the 117th anniversary of the brand. This variant will only be available as an EV, but the Ypsilon will come with an internal combustion engine integrated in a mild-hybrid powertrain.Therefore, the upcoming third-generation Ypsilon will be the brands first EV as well as the brands last-powered car. Lancia is going electric in 2028.We are to see the new model in February 2024. Before that happens, Lancia promises to come up with details about it over the coming weeks. Sales should start sometime next summer. The subcompact car will roll off the assembly line in Zaragoza, Spain, alongside the Opel Corsa.Lancia will expand its lineup with the Gamma electric crossover in 2026. The carmaker will revive the Delta nameplate with a hatchback set to arrive in 2028. Founded in 1899, Fiat is a colossus of the automotive world both on a standalone basis and through the lens of the Stellantis NV conglomerate that brought FCA and PSA together as the world's fourth-largest automaker. But as far as the brand is concerned in the United States of America, the Italian marque never managed to make a splash in this part of the world. Photo: Fiat WLTP The question is, why? In the aftermath of World War II, the company returned to the US with the likes of the 500, 600, 1100, 1200, and 1300. All these cars were small by American standards of the 1950s and 1960s. The 124 and X1/9 can't be described as land yachts either. From a high point of 100,511 deliveries in 1975, sales in the United States market fell to a meager 14,113 vehicles in 1982. As a result, Fiat understandably pulled out of the US market in 1983.After Fiat acquired a stake in Chrysler in 2009, it was pretty obvious that Fiat would try its luck once again. But alas, the Italian automaker didn't learn anything from its past experiences in North America. Small cars aren't popular in the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave, hence Fiat's extremely poor sales volume for calendar year 2022. How poor? Think 915 deliveries nationwide compared to 2,371 in 2021.Fiat's website for the US reveals a single model on sale at the moment of reporting, that model being the 500X crossover. Think of it as Fiat's take on the Jeep Renegade (or the other way around). With Stellantis being so invested in the extremely lucrative North American market, it's no wonder that Fiat has yet to admit defeat. Rather than packing its bags yet again, Fiat has gone on the offensive with wait for it yet another small vehicle that obviously won't sell.That vehicle is the 500e, and you shouldn't mistake this fellow for the original 500e from the 2010s. Speaking of which, remember when the late Sergio Marchionne said that Fiat lost in the ballpark of $14,000 for every 500e sold? Good times, indeed!Internally referred to as Tipo 332, the New 500 comes with electric propulsion exclusively. Because of that, it's called 500e in the United States of America. Scheduled to arrive in dealer showrooms in the first part of 2024 for the 2024 model year, the all-new 500e will first stop by Art Basel Miami Beach 2023 on December 7 for an exclusive auction. A grand total of three vehicles will be auctioned, pint-sized vehicles designed by Armani, Bvlgari, and Kartell.Said cars are directly inspired by the 500e concepts revealed in November 2022 at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Considering the names mentioned just earlier, they're certain to be auctioned for big money. Rather than laughing at whoever ends up owning these vehicles for blowing their money on flashy city cars, bear in mind that proceeds will benefit an environmentally-oriented nonprofit organization.The environmental part should come as no surprise due to the e in 500e, which stands for of course electric. As to which nonprofit will benefit all proceeds from the December 7 auction, that remains to be decided after the auction.Even though 2024 is right around the corner, Fiat didn't bother giving any specs for the 500e intended for the United States of America. Over in Italy, prospective customers are presented with a choice between hatchback, 3+1 hatchback , and convertible. Exclusively front-wheel drive, the all-electric Cinquecento for Europe offers acombined driving range of up to 330 kilometers (205 miles). SUV A new C-HR is running around, a Corolla Cross Hybrid, lots of special editions especially in America where the Nightshade family is growing and the GR models are getting a lot of attention as well as North American superstars like the first-ever Grand Highlander three-row family crossover, all-new N400 Tacoma mid-size pickup truck, the returning 2024 Land Cruiser, and more.Under that category fall the 2025 Toyota Camry mid-size sedan and the 2025 Toyota Crown Signia crossover SUV that's (quite unfortunately) supposed to send the popular and affordable Venza hybrid CUV into retirement. However, if we transcend the real world into the imaginative realm of digital car content creators, there are many more novelties to look forward to.For example, the rumor mill has gone berserk over the past few months about the latest Toyota trademarks that may or may not be related to the all-new Land Cruiser (Prado or 250 in some regions). First, there was the 'Land Hopper,' but that one turned out to be just a mobility concept presented at the inaugural Japan Mobility Show, formerly known as the Tokyo Motor Show, for almost seven decades.Most recently, there have been numerous reports that Toyota's upcoming TNGA-F body-on-frame compact off-road SUV may be, in fact, christened as the Land Cruiser FJ drawing parallels both with the larger mid-size and full-size Land Cruisers as well as the popular FJ Cruiser retro SUV. Well aware of them, Vince Burlapp (aka vburlapp on social media), who is a prolific virtual artist who loves to dream of all the latest models across the wide-ranging automotive realm, has also tried his CGI brush at envisioning the potential SUV that will clash with the Ford Bronco Sport, among others.Interestingly, some say it also sends out Rivian vibes, so perhaps the author is thinking ahead of the moment when the US automaker will show the more compact Rivian R2S off-road SUV, not just about clashing with the Ford Bronco Sport. Anyway, there's also another fresh video from the good folks over at Real Automotive about the subject in case you want something different.If that's not enough, no worries, Vince also thought about the looks of the upcoming 2025 or 2026 Toyota 4Runner, the seemingly eternal SUV that absolutely needs to steal the cues of the N400 Tacoma and adapt them to the old-school format of a dune-bashing and rock-crawling SUV if it wants to have a chance against the Ford Bronco and Jeep Wrangler. His separate phone calls followed Bakus cancellation of a meeting in Washington of the Armenian-Azerbaijani foreign ministers scheduled for November 20. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry blamed the move on what it described as pro-Armenian statements made by James OBrien, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasia. Speaking during a congressional hearing in Washington on November 15, OBrien condemned Azerbaijans September 19-20 military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh and warned Baku against attacking Armenia to open a land corridor to its Nakhichevan exclave. Weve made clear that nothing will be normal with Azerbaijan after the events of September 19 until we see progress on the peace track, he said, adding that Washington has cancelled high-level visits by Azerbaijani officials and suspended military and other aid to Baku. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev complained about OBriens comments during his phone conversation with Blinken. According to Azerbaijani media, Aliyev agreed to receive the senior U.S. diplomat in Baku in December in return for Blinkens pledge to lift the unfounded ban on Azerbaijani officials visits to the United States. The Secretary welcomed President Aliyevs commitment to conclude a durable and dignified peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Matthew Miller, the U.S. State Department spokesman, said in a statement on the call. Blinken also noted recent points of concern in U.S.-Azerbaijani relations and discussed opportunities to strengthen cooperation, especially around the peace process, added Miller. He did not say whether Blinken and Aliyev agreed on a new date for the Armenian-Azerbaijani talks in Washington. The press offices of Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian also did not report such an agreement. Aliyev and Pashinian had been scheduled to meet on the fringes of the European Unions October 5 summit in Granada, Spain. Pashinian hoped that they will sign there a document laying out the main parameters of an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty. However, Aliyev withdrew from the talks at the last minute. He also cancelled another meeting which EU Council President Charles Michel planned to host in Brussels later in October. A senior EU diplomat indicated last week that the onus is on the Azerbaijani side to revive the stalled peace process. OBrien questioned Aliyevs commitment to signing a Western-backed treaty with Armenia when he testified before a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee two weeks ago. The peace accord would commit Baku to formally recognizing Armenias current borders. Speaking to journalists earlier on Monday, OBrien said there is still a real opportunity for Azerbaijan and Armenia to make peace. He warned at the same time that the U.S. is ready to use whatever tools we could to prevent Baku from forcibly opening the corridor through Armenian territory. So weve been very clear with the parties about what we hope to see and about the consequences of moving forward otherwise, added the U.S. official. 28 November 2023 19:30 (UTC+04:00) Qabil Ashirov Read more Iran introduced a new home-grown Deylaman destroyer in its Nothern (Caspian) fleet that many believe it could pave the way for the arming of the region. It says the destroyer weighs 1,500 tons, it was built by the Marine Industries Organization affiliated with the Iranian Defense Ministry, and it is equipped with various types of homegrown defense systems and gears. It is worth noting that the Caspian Sea is a closed basin and it is free of terrorism and terrorist organizations. At a time when all littoral countries are talking about disarmament, such a move by Iran is incomprehensible. In a comment on the issue for Azernews, the military expert Adalet Verdiyev noted that at a time when two US aircraft carriers with large military potential are entering the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, it is not considered a logical step to strengthen Iran's existing naval fleet in the Caspian Sea. He said that in other words, there is currently no danger for Iran from the Caspian Sea, and the threats that exist for Iran are definitely not related to the states located in the Caspian basin. Besides, the pundit added that the experience of the Iranian Navy is not so big. During 1980-1988, the Iranian Navy participated in operations against Iraq on a limited scale. After that, the operations of the Iranian navy usually took place in the waters of the Persian and Oman Gulf, which were limited-scale operations. Besides, they conducted again limited operations against pirates in Somalia, Adalet Verdiyev said. He also stressed that the entire defense industry of Iran is carried out in a form of plagiarism, usually based on projects obtained as a result of industrial espionage from other countries. The Deylaman destroyer will, of course, increase Iran's capabilities in rescue operations to a certain extent and will also have a positive effect on the navy's combat readiness. However, it is very important to equip the ship with modern systems. The ship has a speed of 26 knots and the anti-aircraft artillery complex and rocket launchers can be seen on the ship. The firing range of Iran's main anti-aircraft weapons is 2 km. So this is a fairly short distance. However, if the launchers of the missiles are equipped with Qadr missiles, their firing range can increase up to 300 km. Radar systems are also observed on the ship, with the help of which it is possible to detect surface and underwater targets. This detection distance does not exceed 200 km in the most advanced radar stations in Iran, Adalet Verdiyev noted. Besides, the former military serviceman does not think that the deployment of a new destroyer dubbed Deylaman to the existing Iranian fleet in the Caspian Sea will radically change the existing balance of forces here. According to him, it is impossible to change the balance of power in Iran with a single ship. However, of course, the Caspian littoral countries will definitely take adequate measures against these steps of Iran. Iran, which does not want to see warships or other military equipment of other countries around it, declaring the Caspian Sea open for armament will lead to the increase of warships of other countries in the Caspian and as a result, the rapid armament of the region, which is not in Iran's own interests, the expert. --- Qabil Ashirov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @g_Ashirov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 28 November 2023 12:15 (UTC+04:00) Abbas Ganbay Read more The Ministry of National Economy of Kazakhstan informs that the volume of gross inflow of foreign direct investment from Azerbaijan to Kazakhstan for the first half of 2023 amounted to... Access to paid information is limited Find the plan that suits you best. 28 November 2023 17:26 (UTC+04:00) The 7th meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Economic and Humanitarian Cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan has been held in Turkmenistan, Azernews reports. Headed by the Economy Minister Mikail Jabbarov, the Azerbaijani delegation took part in the event. At the meeting, it was stressed that strong fraternal ties between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan are successfully developing in all spheres. Intensive development is observed in the economic and trade sphere, which plays an important role in bilateral relations. Last year, the trade turnover with Turkmenistan increased by more than 5 times, in 2023 the growth trend continued. There is a great potential for further increase in turnover due to the expansion of the range of products supplied. The free trade regime between our countries has a positive effect on the growth of trade turnover. Successful cooperation in the field of trade can become an incentive for mutual investments. Turkmenistan cooperates with various industries, investments, energy, customs, transport, agriculture, food security, Baku International Commercial Sea Port, etc. The opportunities for cooperation are huge. The meeting participants provided insight into Azerbaijan`s growing economic indicators, a favorable business environment, including the business potential of the liberated territories, opportunities created for investors, the importance of constant business events in terms of identifying new areas of cooperation was emphasized, Turkmen investors were invited to active cooperation. The Co-Chairman of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan Batyr Atdayev stressed that there are good prospects between our countries for further development of mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, and Turkmenistan attaches great importance to deepening ties. The meeting discussed initiatives that serve the common interests of our countries in the economic sphere, as well as prospects for cooperation in various fields. At the end of the meeting, a protocol was signed on the results of the 7th meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. The document was signed by the co-chairs of the commission - Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikail Jabbarov and Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan Batyr Atdayev. The document provides for the expansion of partnership in trade, industry, energy, transport, agricultural and other sectors. As part of the working visit to Turkmenistan, the Azerbaijani delegation took part in the opening ceremony of the international exhibition Agro Pack Turkmenistan 2023. At the exhibition, where innovative production mechanisms were presented, the delegation got acquainted with the services of international companies operating in industry, agriculture, food, ICT, construction, logistics, textiles and other industries, as well as with innovations that ensure increased economic efficiency, efficient use of resources and modern solutions for various sectors of the economy. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 28 November 2023 17:07 (UTC+04:00) Abbas Ganbay Read more "Armenia fully supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan," Armenian Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan told journalists, Azernews reports. Simonyan noted that the Garabagh issue does not exist for Yerevan. The Republic of Armenia has no such issue now," he said, adding that Armenia fully supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, which includes Garabagh. "We have probably talked about it eight times in the last year and a half," Simonyan added. According to him, the most important thing for Armenia now is to sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. "If desired, the peace agreement can be signed within the next 15 days. We have reached an agreement on almost all principal issues. I don't want to disclose details so as not to damage the process," the Speaker emphasized. It should be noted that some time ago the Armenian Foreign Ministry announced its response to the next peace treaty proposal of the Azerbaijani side. The Armenian Foreign Ministry said that after the statement of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on 18 November on the intensification of diplomatic efforts to sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan, the Armenian side presented Azerbaijan with the sixth package of proposals on the peace treaty and undertook to finalize and sign a document on normalization of relations on the basis of previously stated principles. As a reminder, on 18 November, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at the opening ceremony of the autumn session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Yerevan that Azerbaijan and Armenia had agreed on the main principles of the peace agreement. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 28 November 2023 12:37 (UTC+04:00) On November 27, Baku hosted a trilateral meeting between the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov, the Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Turkiye, Mr. Yashar Guler, and the Minister of Defense of Georgia, Mr. Juansher Burchuladze. Azernews reports At the meeting, it was noted that our peoples have lived in good neighborliness and friendship for centuries, and today these ties are developing steadily under the leadership of the three countries heads of state and government. It was emphasized that cooperation based on mutual trust is of great importance in terms of ensuring the well-being of our peoples. The importance of joining efforts in the fight against factors that may pose a threat to regional security was mentioned at the trilateral meeting. The Defense Ministers highlighted the significance of expanding the scope of trilateral exercises and training. Sides expressed confidence that the expansion of trilateral cooperation in the field of defense will contribute not only to our countries but also to strengthening peace, stability and security in the region. The meeting exchanged views on the development prospects of cooperation in the fields of military, military education, military medicine and other aspects of mutual interest. At the end, a press conference was held for media representatives and a protocol was signed on the conclusion of the trilateral meeting. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 28 November 2023 11:32 (UTC+04:00) President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to President of Albania Bajram Begaj on the occasion of the Independence Day. Dear Mr. President. On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I sincerely congratulate you and through you, your entire people on the occasion of the national holiday of the Republic of Albania. Over the past 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Albania, the friendly ties between the two countries, which stem from the will of our friendly peoples, have strengthened, our mutually beneficial cooperation has developed dynamically. The establishment of the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Albania last year, including our reciprocal visits, gave an impetus to raising our interstate relations to a new level, and expanding our cooperation in various areas, particularly in the energy sector. I believe that we will successfully continue our joint efforts to strengthen our relations of friendship based on mutual trust and support, and deepen our beneficial cooperation both bilaterally and in the framework of international organizations. On this festive day, I wish you good health, happiness, success in your endeavors, and the friendly people of Albania everlasting peace and prosperity. Sincerely, Bajram Begaj President of the Republic of Albania Baku, 25 November 2023 --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 28 November 2023 11:46 (UTC+04:00) President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani. Dear Mr. President, On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I extend my most sincere congratulations to you and all your people on the occasion of the national holiday of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania Independence Day. I believe that we will continue to make joint efforts to develop our friendly relations and cooperation on a bilateral and multilateral basis, taking advantage of the existing opportunities for the welfare of our peoples. On this remarkable day, I wish you robust health, success in your activities, and your friendly people everlasting peace and prosperity. Sincerely, Ilham Aliyev President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Baku, 25 November 2023 --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 28 November 2023 13:06 (UTC+04:00) Abbas Ganbay Read more The EU will continue to support Azerbaijan in the field of humanitarian demining, the Head of the European Union (EU) Delegation to Azerbaijan, Peter Mihalko, said speaking at the II International Conference on "Combating the Mine Threat: Innovations and Best Practices" organized by the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA), Azernews reports. "Demining is absolutely essential to ensure dignified life, security, prosperity and safe return. The European Union has been Azerbaijan's reliable partner in demining and is the largest international donor in this field. Since 2020, we have successfully implemented several projects together with ANAMA, as well as with international partners such as UNDP, UNICEF, and other international organizations," Mihalko stressed. According to Mihalko, the EU is a world leader, globally supporting demining initiatives. Mikhalko also mentioned that the EU plays the role of a peacemaker in the region, contributing to peace, stability, and sustainable development. It should be noted that the II International Technical Conference organized by Azerbaijan is attended by more than 100 representatives of international organizations, operating and production companies engaged in mine clearance activities from 25 countries, government officials, as well as representatives of state structures and diplomatic corps accredited in Azerbaijan. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 28 November 2023 15:41 (UTC+04:00) Abbas Ganbay Read more "UNDP will continue to work together with Azerbaijan in the field of demining in the coming years." According to Azernews, Alessandra Roccasalvo, the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme in Azerbaijan, said at the II International Conference on "Combating the Mine Threat: Innovations and Best Practices" organized by the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA). "As women are also at risk from landmines, they are able to make a significant contribution to mine clearance. We are actively developing the potential of every Azerbaijani citizen to tackle this problem. With the support of the European Union, we have established six demining teams. Today we are certifying two of them, which are women. That is significant for many countries and for us, and we endeavor to share that experience with the world. Our efforts in mine clearance in Garabagh must be an example of dedication, financial resources, expertise, and global partnership. This is a task that cannot be accomplished by a country alone," she noted. Roccasalvo also emphasized that it is necessary to develop partnerships to spread Azerbaijan's positive experience in the field of demining around the world. It should be noted that more than 100 representatives of international organizations, operating and production companies engaged in mine clearance activities from 25 countries, government officials, as well as representatives of state structures and diplomatic corps accredited in Azerbaijan are taking part in the II International Technical Conference organized by Azerbaijan. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 28 November 2023 08:00 (UTC+04:00) Reports that China and Russia are planning to build an underwater channel beneath the Kerch Strait to create a safer alternative to the Crimean Bridge are unfounded, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said, Azernews reports, citing TASS. "The press article [making such claims] is unfounded and I cannot comment on it," he said at a briefing. The Washington Post wrote earlier that Moscow and Beijing had purportedly discussed plans to build an underwater tunnel beneath the Kerch Strait, which would be protected from Ukrainian attacks. Crimea Head Sergey Aksyonov slammed the report as disinformation, while Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov also refuted the report. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 28 November 2023 23:50 (UTC+04:00) Iran plans to launch five new satellites into space before the end of the Iranian calendar year ( March 20, 2024), Azernews reports, citing Iranian media outlets. According to the information circulated by the media outlets, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the Iranian Defense Ministry will launch two satellites each. Another satellite belongs to a foreign state. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 28 November 2023 23:20 (UTC+04:00) Russian diplomats have become the first in the list of non-payers of parking fines in Japan, Azernews reports, citing Japanese media outlets. In the five years to 2022, a total of 2.338 unpaid parking fines were accumulated on vehicles with diplomatic plates of the Russian Embassy in Tokyo or one of its four consulates throughout Japan. This is 59% of all similar cases involving diplomats` cars in this country. In second place by a large margin is China, whose embassy has accumulated 246 parking fines. Further down the list are the diplomatic missions of Kazakhstan, Egypt, Iran, and Ukraine. The total amount of overdue debt is unknown today, but in 2021 it amounted to $268 thousand per all foreign embassies in Japan. "We expect all diplomats to respect Japanese laws," said an employee of the diplomatic missions department of the Japanese Foreign Ministry in Asia. Diplomatic immunity provided for by the Vienna Convention does not apply to parking fines. At the same time, the Japanese authorities cannot confiscate the personal property of diplomats, which makes calls for the payment of fines largely fruitless. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 28 November 2023 22:45 (UTC+04:00) In Finland, the Turku City Council unanimously decided to purchase the building of the former Consulate of Russia and erect a new structure in its place, Azernews reports, citing foreign media outlets. The city will buy the building from its current owner, Senate Properties for 1.6 million euros. The area of the acquired land plots is 3.5 thousand square meters, and the transaction includes the Consulate General building with an area of 2 thousand square meters. The demolition of the building built in 1974 and the construction of a new structure in its place was also approved. It is also necessary to clean the soil, since in the early 1990s a foundry and a galvanizing plant were located on this site. The City Council decided that the purchase would be made without waiting for consideration of possible appeals. To recall, on July 6, Russia closed the Finnish consulate in St.Petersburg and expelled nine employees of the Finnish embassy in Moscow, accusing Helsinki of anti-Russian policy and arms supplies to Ukraine. In response, Finland closed the Russian consulate in Turku on October 1. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 28 November 2023 22:15 (UTC+04:00) The European Commission (EC) will send its proposal to the EU member states on a ban on the sale of diamonds from Russia for consideration, Azernews reports, citing foreign media outlets. "The European Commission has adopted a proposal that will be sent to the member countries for consideration. If all 27 member countries approve it, they can vote unanimously," the foreign media outlets said. Earlier it was reported that the 12th package of sanctions against Russia will include a new list of personal restrictions from more than 120 defendants, as well as export sanctions, including on diamonds, measures to tighten control over Russian oil prices, and steps to counter circumvention of EU sanctions. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 28 November 2023 16:38 (UTC+04:00) Qabil Ashirov Read more The 7th meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on economic and humanitarian cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan was held within the framework of the visit of the delegation headed by Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov to Turkmenistan, Azernews reports. At the meeting, co-chairman of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission, Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov expressed his gratitude for the warm hospitality shown to the Azerbaijani delegation. It was emphasized that strong friendly and brotherly relations between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan are successfully developing in all fields. The meetings of our heads of state, the agreements reached and the joint decisions taken have given a new impetus to the comprehensive development of bilateral relations. Intensive development is observed in the field of economy and trade, which plays an important role in bilateral relations. Last year, the trade turnover with Turkmenistan increased more than 5 times, and the growth trend continued in 2023. There is great potential to further increase trade turnover by expanding the range of products supplied. The free trade regime between the two countries has a positive effect on the increase in trade turnover. Successful trade cooperation can be an incentive for mutual investments. Various fields of industry, investment, energy, customs, transport, agriculture, food safety, Baku International Sea Trade Port, etc. opportunities for cooperation are great. At the meeting, information was provided on the growing economic indicators of Azerbaijan, favorable business environment, including the business potential of Azerbaijan's liberated territories, opportunities created for investors, the importance of continuous business events in terms of determining new directions of cooperation was stated, Turkmen investors were invited to active cooperation. Batir Atdayev, co-chairman of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan, emphasized that there are good prospects for the future development of mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries in various fields, and Turkmenistan attaches importance to the deepening of relations. Initiatives serving the common interests of the two countries at the economic level, as well as perspectives of cooperation in various fields were discussed at the meeting. At the end of the meeting, the protocol on the results of the 7th meeting of the Azerbaijan-Turkmenistan Joint Intergovernmental Commission was signed. The document was signed by the co-chairmen of the Commission - Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan Mikayil Jabbarov and Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan Batir Atdayev. The document envisages expansion of partnership in trade, industry, energy, transport, agriculture and other fields. As part of a business trip to Turkmenistan, the Azerbaijani delegation participated in the opening ceremony of the international exhibition "Agro Pack Turkmenistan 2023". At the exhibition the delegation presented innovative production mechanisms, the services provided by international companies operating in the fields of industry, agriculture, food, ICT, construction, logistics, textiles, and other fields, as well as providing modern solutions for increasing economic efficiency, effective use of resources and various sectors of the economy got acquainted with the innovations. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 28 November 2023 21:10 (UTC+04:00) Argentina`s President-elect Javier Milei has decided to convert from Catholicism to Judaism, Azernews reports, citing foreign media outlets. According to the agency, the Argentine leader took part in a Jewish service in Buenos Aires on November 25, where he received a blessing from a rabbi. Upon arrival in New York on November 27, Milei went to the grave of the famous Jewish rabbi Menachem-Mendl Schneerson in the Queens neighborhood. The gesture demonstrates "how committed the future leader is to deepening Argentina's cultural and political ties with Israel," the agency said. Thus, Milei can become the "most pro-Israeli leader in the history" of the country. It should be noted that Argentina is home to the largest (more than 200 thousand people) Jewish community in Latin America. As the foreign media outlets remind, Milei has repeatedly started earlier that he intends to go to Israel, and also plans to move the Argentine embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Javier Milei, who heads the Libertarian Party, which is part of the right-wing alliance "Freedom is Coming", won the presidential election in Argentina. On the night of November 20, Mileiwas congratulated on his victory by his rival in the elections - Argentine Economy Minister Sergio Massa, who was a candidate from the ruling coalition "Union for the Motherland" - as well as a number of leaders of Latin American states. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz On Tuesday, the Central Bank of Uzbekistan updated the price of gold bars and coins, Azernews reports, citing Kun.uz News Agency. One gram of precious metal now costs 819,960 soums, or 0.5% more than the day before. An ingot weighing 5 grams is sold for 4.1 million soums. Quotes of commemorative coins showed a corresponding increase. For example, 15-gram gold coins are now sold at 12.4 million soums. Since the beginning of the year, the price of the precious metal has repeatedly reached new highs. In March, the cost of the smallest bar for the first time crossed the mark of 3.8 million soums, and in early May - 3.9 million soums. In the summer, gold fell in price, and twice dropped below the 3.7 million soums mark per five grams. However, on August 14, quotes showed their strongest rally, rising by 3%, and since then they have continued to grow gradually. The Central Bank began selling commemorative gold coins to the public in 2018, and gold bars joined them two years later. Individual buyers are allowed to export them from Uzbekistan, subject to conditions. These steps were explained by the desire to reduce the dependence of the Uzbek economy on foreign currency. In addition, according to experts, access to gold will expand investment opportunities and help secure savings. According to the Central Bank, since 2020, Uzbeks have purchased 255 kg of measured ingots. The most popular were 10-gram bars. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 28 November 2023 18:30 (UTC+04:00) A leading German opposition figure on Monday called for early elections parallel to European polls in June next year amid a worsening government budget crisis, Azernews reports, citing Anadolu Agency. The government should pose the question of trust not in parliament, but in front of the German people, Markus Soeder, the leader of the Christian Social Union (CSU) and Bavarias prime minister, told reporters in Berlin. Soeder stressed that he did not believe that the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz is still able to solve the country's problems. Following the early election, a new edition of the grand coalition with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) is a conceivable government option, said Soeder. He once again rejected a Christian Democratic-led government coalition with the Greens, saying such a coalition would be a good model for good times, but simply not for difficult times. He also does not believe "that the FDP (Free Democratic Party) is still in a position to be a stable government partner in the long term." Earlier in the day, Germany's ruling coalition of the SPD, Greens and FDP agreed on a supplementary budget that would temporarily lift a self-imposed cap on borrowing limits after a constitutional court ruling tore up the government's spending plans. The budget would see Germany suspend its constitutionally enshrined debt brake for a fourth year in a row as the center-leftist government coalition fights its way out of a crisis that has sparked warnings about growth and an industry exodus. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 28 November 2023 18:59 (UTC+04:00) North Korea on Tuesday claimed that its military spy satellite has taken photos of various US sites and installations, including the White House and Pentagon, Azernews reports, citing Anadolu Agency. The National Aerospace Technology Administration briefed the country's leader Kim Jong-un on operations conducted by the reconnaissance satellite on Nov. 25-28. Last week, North Korea said it "successfully" launched its surveillance satellite into space on its third attempt this year. Kim viewed photos of Italy's capital Rome, the US' Anderson Air Force Base taken above the Pacific island of Guam, and images of other regions, the Pyongyang-based Korean Central News Agency reported. He was also presented detailed photos of the US naval station in Norfolk and the Newport News Dockyard, both in Virginia, taken at 11.35 p.m. (1435GMT) on Nov. 27, as well as the White House and the Pentagon in Washington and "other objects," it said. "Four U.S. Navy nuclear carriers and one British aircraft carrier were spotted in the photos of the Norfolk Naval Station and the Newport News Dockyard," the report added. Last week, Pyongyang claimed it received photographs of US military bases in Guam from North Korea's first spy satellite. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Brief Highlights of Washington Coast King Tides So Far (and Some Oregon Video) Published 11/26/23 a 7:55 p.m. By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff (Westport, Washington) Things be gettin' craaazy already for this king tides event along the Oregon coast and Washington coast. Videos and photos of the wild tides are surfacing already on social, while showing a sunny, lovely stretch of blue skies against the foreground of unruly tides rather than the usual gray and stormy days. Few things are as captivating as big tides on the beach as the sun pours down instead of the rain. While the Oregon Coast King Tides Project has not posted any of its captures yet, the Washington coast side of the border has plopped a few online. Among them: the above shot of Westport, Washington, showing the observation tower there looking like it's going to get swatted. That's only a matter of the perspective. Photographer Stefanie Baltzell snapped the photo at 10:13 a.m. on November 25 (Saturday), across the bay from the tower, which would require a zoom lens to get that close. Zoom lenses create a kind of compacting effect, causing objects in their view to become compressed, and things like these large waves that are in the foreground can appear much larger when looking at objects in the background. Thus, the waves which are undoubtedly much closer to Betzell appear as if they're the same height as the tower that's much farther back, and thus much smaller. That being said, data from the Washington Coast King Tides page shows the water level in the bay was over 9 feet at this moment in Grays Harbor, which definitely creates some large waves. Project data says this was taken 26 minutes before high tide, which was predicted to be just over 10 feet. Photo King Tides / Cherie Fisher Further north on Saturday, contributor Cherie Fisher snapped Ocean Shores in a bit of a wild state. She had situated herself at the north jetty of Grays Harbor, which is normally a vast expanse of flat sands and calm conditions. These photos were done about 20 to 40 minutes after 11 a.m., sometime after high tides. Water levels were reported at 9.5 feet at the time. Here, the jetty is battered by large breakers. Conditions are unruly enough to seemingly cause some churning up of mud in the bay, which is likely what the brown waves are in the photos. Oregon Coast Beach Connection will feature more highlights of this season's event later, as images become available. King tides are back! King tides refer to the highest tides of the year and along the Oregon Coast these tides are typically 9 to 10 feet. There are four series of king tides, so mark your calendars. To learn more about these tides and/or to participate in some cool citizen science visit: https://www.oregonkingtides.net King Tide Dates: November 25th-27th December 13th-15th January 11th-13th February 8th-10th Posted by Seaside Aquarium on Sunday, November 26, 2023 Seaside Aquarium recently reposted this amazing video of tidal conditions completely scouring Hug Point just south of Cannon Beach. This rather hair-raising video was taken years ago, but is still chilling to watch today. That cove is normally accessible to humans. It's nowhere close to that at this moment. On the Washington coast, submit them to https://mycoast.org/wa. On the Oregon coast, submit them to www.oregonkingtides.net or the projects Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/orkingtide/albums. Oregon Coast Hotels for this event - South Coast Hotels - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours MORE PHOTOS BELOW More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight 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. LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on Oregon Coast Beach Connection All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright Oregon Coast Beach Connection. Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted Deep Oregon Coast History at Seaside, Coos Bay Events: of Coroners and of Local Names Published 11/27/23 a 7:15 p.m. By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff (Coos Bay, Oregon) Two distinctive Oregon coast towns and one long stretch between them: but Coos Bay and Seaside will have something in common soon. Both are are taking deep dives into regional and local history. While Seaside boasts a history talk with a somewhat true crime but macabre slant, Coos Bay fills your head up with the reasons for south coast names in the coming weeks. (Photo of Conde McCullough Memorial Bridge courtesy Coos Bay's Oregon's Adventure Coast) First up: History & Hops is the monthly talk series from the Seaside Museum & Historical Society, this time happening on November 30 at Seaside Brewing Co. The always-scintillating talks make for surprising finds as local historians lay out the eye-popping trivia and factoids starting at 6 p.m. On this occasion, Clatsop County Historical Societys executive director, Mac Burns will present The Book of the Dead - Clatsop County Coroner Inquests 1905 - 1909. It's quite a mix that will hit your dark humor funny bone. A fascinating and sometimes graphic talk, it highlights death and the attitudes towards death in the early 1900s, not just on the north Oregon coast but in those post-Victorian days in general. There will be an interactive game of Dead Guy Bingo which will keep the audience engaged. Photo courtesy Clatsop County Historical Society Mac Burns is the Executive Director of the Clatsop County Historical Society and has served in this capacity for 20 years. Seaside Brewing Co. is at 851 Broadway in Seaside. For further information, please contact Emily Halverson during museum hours at 503-738-7065, or send an email to seasidemuseum@gmail.com. Then, on the south Oregon coast, find out why some of those beloved landmarks have those names. After a one-year hiatus, the Coos History Museum's Steve Greif will host its winter class. This eight-week lecture series, Stories Behind the Names: South Coast Geography, will take place every Monday evening at 6:30 pm-7:30 pm from January 8 to February 26, 2024. This program will be hosted in-person at the Coos History Museum with an admission price of $75 for CHM Members and $80 for the general public. All proceeds support the Coos History Museums Annual Fund. Pre-registration is required as space is limited for this popular program. Reservations can be made by phone at 541-756-6320 or by registering in person at the museums front desk. Hotels in Seaside - Where to eat - Seaside Maps and Virtual Tours - South Coast Hotels - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours MORE PHOTOS BELOW Astoria area Wreck of the Sujameco, courtesy Coos History Museum More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight 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. LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on Oregon Coast Beach Connection All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright Oregon Coast Beach Connection. Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted Chinese premier congratulates New Zealand's new PM Xinhua) 09:10, November 28, 2023 BEIJING, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Monday sent a congratulatory message to Christopher Luxon on his taking office as prime minister of New Zealand. China and New Zealand are each other's important partners. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties more than 50 years ago, the China-New Zealand relationship has long been at the forefront of China's relations with Western countries, Li said in the message. The two countries have jointly created many "firsts" and yielded fruitful results in many fields of practical cooperation, bringing tangible benefits to their people, Li added. The Chinese government highly values China-New Zealand relations, he noted, adding that he stands ready to work with the new government led by Luxon to maintain high-level exchanges, strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation and enhance friendly communication, so as to push for new progress in China-New Zealand comprehensive strategic partnership and greater benefits for their people. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan) This post appears here courtesy of the Carolina Journal . The author of this post is CJ Staff State Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls has filed a federal lawsuit against North Carolina's Judicial Standards Commission. She alleges the group wants toThe commission notified Earls on Aug. 15 that she is the subject of an investigation based on an interview published online in June.Earls said in a court filing Tuesday.Earls is seeking an injunction, along with a declaration that the commission's investigation and possible punishment of her violates her constitutional right to free speech.according to the complaint filed Tuesday in US District Court.Earls' lawsuit argued.Appeals Court Judge Chris Dillon chairs the Judicial Standards Commission. Judge Jeffery Carpenter co-chairs the group. Dillon and Carpenter are Republicans. Earls is a Democrat.Earls' suit names the commission and 14 individual members as defendants.The lawsuit says the commission has initiated two investigations of Earls this year related to her public commentsEarls cited a notice letter the commission sent her on Aug. 15.according to the complaint.The publication Law360 published a June 20 interview titledShe was responding to a May 17 article in the North Carolina Bar Association's publication. That article focused on the race and sex of lawyers arguing cases as the state's highest court.Earls' lawyers wrote.according to the complaint.Earls' complaint continued.The First Amendmentthe complaint added.Earls argues that the investigation into her commentsShe accuses the commission ofThe justice labels the August notice part of aher free-speech rights. Her complaint cites an earlier investigation in March. It related to comments Earls made about rule changes and a proposed legislative change linked to the state's courts. Considering the deep morass of complete incompetence at the Federal level, in the executive branch of our self-governed People, unarguably the worst in modern times; if certain changes could be made by Impeachment of those most qualified: Who would be your best choice because of abject Corruption, incompetence, or both? 40.82% Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas12.24% Attorney General Merrick Garland20.41% President Joseph R. Biden2.04% Are you a MAGA Extremist, and do not know any better? These are our best of days, not our worst.24.49% FBI Director Christopher Wray Online: Public Comment Portal: Permanent Photo ID Rules Email: rulemaking.sboe@ncsbe.gov Mail: Attn: Rulemaking Coordinator, PO Box 27255, Raleigh, NC 27611-7255 Verification of Photo Identification During In-Person Voting 08 NCAC 17 .0101 (PDF): This proposed rule describes how election officials must determine whether the photograph on the ID reasonably resembles the voter and whether the name is the same as or substantially equivalent to the voter's name in their registration record. It also addresses voting options for voters who are unable to present photo identification. Photo Identification for Absentee-By-Mail Ballots 08 NCAC 17 .0109 (PDF): This proposed rule provides details about the requirement for absentee-by-mail voters to provide a copy of an acceptable photo ID with their ballot return envelope, or to complete a photo ID exception form. It also describes the process county boards of elections must follow in reviewing copies of IDs or exception forms returned with absentee ballots. The State Board of Elections invites the public to comment on two proposed permanent rules for implementing the photo ID requirement for in-person and absentee-by-mail voters in North Carolina. The photo ID requirement was enacted into law by the General Assembly in 2018.These rules are necessary to ensure uniform implementation of the photo ID requirement by all 100 county boards of elections and in all 3,000-plus polling locations. They are similar to rules adopted by the State Board and approved by the Rules Review Commission in prior iterations of the photo ID law.The public comment period opens Wednesday, November 15, 2023, and closes on January 16, 2024.Members of the public may comment on the rules in any of the following ways through January 16:An in-person public hearing will be held at 11 a.m. December 13, 2023, at the State Board of Elections Office on the Third Floor of the Dobbs Building at 430 N. Salisbury St., Raleigh, NC 27603.Information and links to the two proposed rules are below:The Board also proposes to repeal four previous photo ID rules adopted under a different law, which is now obsolete, to avoid any misunderstanding about what rules should be followed by election officials and the public. View the text of the four rules proposed for temporary repeal (PDF) Submitted comments will be compiled and provided to the State Board before its final consideration of the proposed temporary rules, which will take place at a public meeting after the end of the comment period. The Rules Review Commission would then consider the proposed rules.For more information about the rulemaking process, please visit Rulemaking BackgroundVoters will be asked to show photo ID when voting in North Carolina. Most voters will simply show their driver's license. But there are many other acceptable photo IDs. See Acceptable Photo IDs for Voting.If a voter does not have an acceptable photo ID, they can get one for free from their county board of elections . For details, see Get a Free Voter Photo ID All voters will be allowed to vote with or without a photo ID. If a voter cannot show photo ID when voting in person, they can still vote by filling out an ID Exception Form, explaining why they are unable to show ID. Or they can vote a provisional ballot and return to the office of the county board of elections with their photo ID. If an absentee-by-mail voter is unable to include a photocopy of their photo ID with their ballot return envelope, they can also fill out an ID Exception Form with their ballot.For more information on the photo ID requirement, see Voter ID Patrick GannonPublic Information Director A group of American cowboys from Montana and Arkansas answered a call for help from Israelis in need of labor as the war with Hamas has caused foreign agriculture workers to flee, and reservists to leave their day jobs to fight in Gaza.Ezekiel Strain, a farmer from Montana, told The Daily Wire.Strain is joined by his brother Yoseph Strain, John Plocher from Montana, and Luke Hutslar from Arkansas.Since they arrived a couple of weeks ago, the group has worked in Judea and Samaria building security roads and volunteering on farms. It filled hundreds of boxes with peppers picked for a local farmer that had been called up to the reserves.said Joshua Waller, the director of operations of HaYovel, the group that brought the cowboys.HaYovel is an organization started by Waller's father nearly twenty years ago that brings Christian Zionists to volunteer in agriculture, primarily at vineyards in Judea and Samaria.Waller said, explaining that its never been more important than right now.The cowboys have gone viral in Israel, catching the attention of many Israelis who are thankful for American support.said Plocher.The group has all been to Israel before to volunteer for Waller's group, and plans to stay for a few weeks. The cowboys said they are not deterred by Israel being at war because they realize how essential it is that agriculture and construction projects keep moving.said Ezekiel Strain. His brother, Yoseph Strain, said that the need of Israel surpasses any concern of his about safety.he said.Plocher said the group wanted to do more than just support Israel with words.he said.The cowboys have also been making trips to meet Israelis including attending a barbecue with locals, visiting the wounded, and visiting the family of Rose Lubin - an American killed in a terrorist attack earlier this month.Waller said that bringing the cowboys is part of their mission they titled,after the non-Jewish commander in King David's army in 2 Samuel 15:19-23.Waller said.HaYovel is also raising money to give equipment to Jewish villages and towns in Judea and Samaria that are in risky areas.Waller saidSo far the group has raised $2 million of the $29 million that it hoped to raise to fulfill requests given by the Jewish villages.Waller said.The group contributed 26 drones, two of which caught terrorists, according to Waller.Plocher said. The DOD just released drone footage of US strike aircraft leveling an IRGC Quds Force headquarters in Eastern Syria two days ago.The strikes were conducted in response to continued attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria. pic.twitter.com/1ZoBoe8bi0 OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) November 14, 2023 The U.S. Department of Defense released footage this week of recent airstrikes that it conducted on facilities in Syria used by the Islamic Republic of Iran in response to the constant attacks that U.S. forces have faced in the region from Iran's terrorist proxy groups.The strikes come after Iran's terrorist proxies have launched at least 52 attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria over the last three weeks, with dozens of soldiers suffering concussions or traumatic brain injuries.said Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.A senior U.S. defense official said that approximately 6-7 Iranian-backed terrorists were killed at one of the locations and thatThe New York Times reported that Biden hasto keep U.S. forces safe because he is afraid ofIran.The U.S. has shifted multiple assets to the Middle East in recent weeks after Hamas, a Palestinian Islamic terrorist group that is backed by Iran, murdered 1,200 Israelis last month in one of the worst terror attacks in world history.The U.S. deployed the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group to the Central Command area of responsibility late last month in addition to moving the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. The U.S. also deployed Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) batteries as well as additional Patriot battalions to locations throughout the region and placed additional forces on "prepare to deploy" orders. The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will present a plan at the climate conference next month in Dubai that will call for drastic reductions in meat consumption in developed countries, but more meat consumption in the Third World. Instead, they want the common people to eat bugs and worms and fake meat. They say this is to address their bugaboo of "climate change / global warming". https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/11/eat-bugs-live-pod-united-nations-tell-first/ https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/gop-rep-livid-un-proposal-western-nations-reduce-meat-consumption Conservative run countries are moving the other direction. Earlier this year, for example, the Italian parliament passed a law banning the sale of lab grown "meat" in their country, citing safety issues. At the same time, another UN agency, UNESCO, is working overtime to push draconian censorship against freedom of speech. President's Reagan and Trump both took the US out of the radical UNESCO, but subsequent Democrat presidents took us back in. The war between globalist open borders Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar and the Irish people has ratcheted up another notch. The village of Dromahair in County Leittrim learned that Ireland's government planned to send a bus full of "asylum seeker" migrants to be housed in their village and took matters into their own hands to stop it. Villagers set up blockades on all three roads leading into the village and are stopping all vehicles to check for migrants. https://rmx.news/migrant-crisis/irish-villagers-erect-roadblocks-to-stop-government-from-bussing-migrants-into-their-community/ This comes a few days after a massive demonstation and riots in the capital of Dublin against illegal immigration after an immigrant from Algeria made a mass knife attack against children at an elementary school leaving two of the victims in intensive care. In the Dublin riots, the police were driven out of the city center. Varadkar has introduced draconian "hate speech" censorship legislation to goose step all over freedom of speech and stifle expression of opposition to his open borders policies. The Irish people voted overwhelmingly only a decade or so ago to end automatic citizenship for everyone born in Ireland, and amend the Constitution to limit citizenship by birth to children who had at least one Irish parent. Ireland had been the last European country to recognize everyone born there as a citizen. Tech companies such as Oracle, Google and Microsoft are looking toward a potential new disruption in healthcare: organ donation, Bloomberg reported Nov. 27. President Joe Biden signed legislation in September allowing multiple contractors to operate the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network for the first time since it was formed in 1984, according to the story. OPTN is in need of a tech upgrade, observers say. The software "reminds me of the 1980s," Alvin Roth, PhD, a Nobel Prize-winning economist at Stanford (Calif.) University who studies kidney matching, told the news outlet. Valeos, a nonprofit advocating for better technology for organ transplants, is collaborating with EHR vendor Oracle Health, Bloomberg reported. "Oracle is proud to volunteer our expertise as a design partner to Valeos to help bring their vision to life and hopefully make an impact on the outcomes of patients in need of transplants," Stephanie Trunzo, senior vice president of Oracle Health, said in a statement to the news outlet. Oracle said in a May blog post that its Oracle Cloud Infrastructure technology could improve OPTN. Nearly 300 organizations attended an informational meeting on OPTN contracts earlier in November, according to the story. More than 100,000 people are on the organ waiting list. The American Hospital Association is throwing support behind the Assistance for Rural Community Hospitals Act, which would extend for five additional years the Medicare-dependent hospital program and enhanced low-volume Medicare adjustment. In a Nov. 27 letter to Reps. Carol Miller, R-W.Va., and Terri Sewell, D-Ala., the letter breaks down the economic and care access backbone that rural hospitals provide to communities, despite facing continued financial and clinical challenges. "Your legislation will help keep the doors open at rural hospitals and allow them to continue serving their local communities during this time of sustained financial pressure and historic changes in care delivery," AHA Senior Vice President of Advocacy and Political Affairs Lisa Kidder Hrobsky wrote in the letter on behalf of the association. The ARCH Act, introduced by Ms. Miller and Ms. Sewell on Nov. 16, would provide stronger rural hospital financial stability and also require a Government Accountability Office report to ensure Medicare rural hospital designations are strengthening rural healthcare. Nurses at three Ascension hospitals in Texas and Kansas are planning one-day strikes Dec. 6, their second round of strikes this year shortly after their coordinated confrontation with hospital management. Approximately 2,000 nurses at Ascension via Christi St. Joseph Hospital in Wichita, Kan.; Ascension via Christi St. Francis Hospital in Wichita; and Ascension Seton Medical Center in Austin, Texas, plan to strike for one day Dec. 6 to call attention to equipment and staffing problems at their organizations, according to National Nurses United. NNU represents 900 RNs at the two Wichita hospitals, which have been in contract negotiations since February 2023. The union represents more than 700 RNs at the 391-bed Austin hospital, which have been in negotiations since November 2022. The union claims that Ascension Seton Medical Center in Austin is beset by equipment problems, namely "a lack of functional IV pumps, hospital gowns, blankets, and thermometers, as well as persistent problems with hospital-issued phones that nurses use during their shift for communication." The Dec. 6 strike is also in response to staffing problems, according to NNU. Specifically, unionized nurses are protesting what it deems an "unsafe 'floating' policy" at the Wichita hospitals, in which nurses are assigned to units where they do not usually work "and may not have the training or expertise to care for those patients." At the Austin hospital, nurses are protesting management's assignment of charge roles to nurses with 18 months of experience. "We are disappointed National Nurses United has made the decision to proceed with these strikes, once again creating unnecessary uncertainty for our associates and their families, and concern for our patients and their loved ones," an Ascension spokesperson told Becker's Nov. 27. "Patient safety is our top priority, and our hospitals are well-prepared to remain open and care for our patients during these strikes. We have comprehensive contingency plans in place to ensure there is no disruption in care or service for those we are privileged to serve. "While we respect the right of our represented associates to participate in these strikes, we believe that differences are best resolved respectfully at the bargaining table, and continue to focus on our upcoming scheduled bargaining sessions as we work together to reach mutually beneficial agreements for all," the Ascension spokesperson said. The Dec. 6 strikes will mark the second round for each hospital this year. Nurses at Wichita's Ascension Via Christi St. Francis and St. Joseph hospitals organized a one-day strike this summer, marking the hospital's first. Nurses at the Austin's did the same, marking the largest nurse strike in Texas history. The winter strikes were announced shortly after nurses' planned "march on management" Nov. 22 to confront Ascension via Christi St. Joseph, Ascension via Christi St. Francis and Ascension Seton Medical Center administration amid contract negotiations. Healthcare has long been a favored target of philanthropists, and in most cases, the process is smooth; a new hospital wing is built and named in honor of the donor. However, with millions of dollars changing hands, sometimes donations aren't as simple as signing a check. In November, Barbie-maker Mattel made headlines after it was accused of walking back a $49 million donation to Los Angeles-based UCLA Health. According to a lawsuit brought by the health system, the toy maker had pledged the money to the health system in 2017 but put a pause on the donations in 2021 due to its poor financial state. "As a last resort, UCLA Health has taken legal action to compel Mattel Inc. to honor its $49 million pledge," a UCLA Health spokesperson said. "Litigation is not the University's preferred path. UCLA Health made multiple good-faith attempts to resolve this matter through meaningful dialogue, and those efforts were unsuccessful." Unexpected market swings can lead to healthcare philanthropists backing away as they reevaluate their priorities. In 2020, Evergrande, a Chinese real estate giant, pledged millions to Boston-based Harvard University for the fight against COVID-19. However, as the company wracked up $300 billion in debt liabilities it failed to make good on the second tranche of its donation, according to the university. The real estate company had also worked with Boston-based Mass General Brigham on a number of initiatives that, according to The Boston Globe, failed to materialize. The tricky contractual gray area of philanthropy can also result in donors taking healthcare providers to court. In 2012, country music star Garth Brooks was awarded $1 million after Integris Canadian Valley Regional Hospital failed to use his $500,000 donation to build a women's center honoring his mother. Mr. Brooks sued the hospital when he learned that his donation was being used for other construction projects. Hospital officials claimed that Mr. Brooks did not put any restrictions on the donation and only later asked to build the women's center. For health systems that rely heavily on fundraising and philanthropy as part of their brand identity, legal battles over donations can be more common. In 2022, ProPublica reported that Memphis, Tenn.-based St. Jude raised $7.5 billion in the previous five years. Since bequests in wills to the research hospital made up 20% of the fundraising in that time period, the investigative outlet found that the health system has engaged in costly legal battles relating to estate planning. Lawyers for St. Petersburg, Fla.-based Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital filed for a retrial on Nov. 22 against a $261 million verdict in a case made famous by a Netflix documentary, alleging that the jury foreman violated stringent conduct rules during the trial, Tampa Bay Times reported Nov. 23. In a motion submitted in Sarasota County, the hospital's attorneys asserted that juror Paul Lengyel disclosed case information to his wife, who subsequently shared it on various social media platforms. The motion also claimed that Yolanda Lengyel attended at least one day of the trial in Venice, potentially exposing her to attorney discussions with the judge that occurred outside the jury's presence. According to the news outlet, throughout the trial, Ms. Lengyel consistently shared updates on live YouTube feeds of the proceedings and participated in a Facebook chat group that largely supported the Kowalski family, who won the case against the hospital. Screenshots from social media, included in the legal submission, reveal Ms. Lengyel's interactions with a social media influencer named Jules, who, according to the motion, has connections to the Kowalski family. The motion presents as evidence a video posted by Jules on her TikTok page, where she mentions giving Maya Kowalski her rosary beads before Maya's live testimony on Oct. 9. The motion also states Ms. Lengyel used social media to discuss her husband's intended questions for witnesses and shared information about a juror note received while the jury was deliberating, despite repeated daily reminders to jurors not to discuss the case or read media coverage. The motion calls for a retrial. It also requests an interview and investigation of Ms. Lengyel to uncover any additional potential misconduct. "The evidence reveals a shocking level of involvement in the case and palpable bias in favor of plaintiffs on the part of Juror #1s wife, Mrs. Lengyel, as well as social media posts sharing 'inside' information Mrs. Lengyel could only have obtained from her husband," the motion reads. According to the news outlet, in the concluding week of testimony, the hospital's legal representatives had previously attempted to have Mr. Lengyel disqualified from the jury. This comes after Mr. Kowalski filed a lawsuit against Johns Hopkins All Children's on behalf of his 17-year-old daughter, Maya, and the estate of his late wife, Beata. The lawsuit alleged medical malpractice, asserting that the hospital contacted child protective services over suspected Munchausen syndrome by proxy and retained custody of Maya for nearly three months. Beata Kowalski took her own life during that period, having been denied access to her daughter. A Netflix documentary titled "Take Care of Maya," released in June, has garnered millions of views. Following an eight-week trial, the jury sided with all the Kowalski family's claims, encompassing false reporting and medical negligence, and awarded them $261 million, including $50 million in punitive damages. Johns Hopkins All Children's intends to pursue an appeal. Covina, Calif.-based Emanate Health is accusing UnitedHealth Group's Optum of pressuring the system not to compete with Optum in the primary care business, and of steering patients away from their physicians who left Optum to join Emanate's practices. On Nov. 20, Emanate Health filed a lawsuit in federal court in California accusing Optum of anticompetitive practices, including a "concerted effort to prevent patients from contacting their doctors who chose to leave [Optum] to join competing medical groups." "Emanate Health, Emanate Health Medical Group and Emanate Health Independent Physicians Association have taken joint legal action to protect the rights of our respective patients, physicians and employees," a spokesperson for the system said in a statement shared with Becker's. "Good faith efforts to resolve these issues with Optum have been rebuffed or met with retaliation. We continue to focus our efforts on helping people keep well in body, mind and spirit by providing quality healthcare services in a safe, compassionate environment." According to court documents, several physicians employed at an Optum-owned clinic in Covina left to join Emanate Health in and after December. Optum then transferred patients to other Optum-affiliated physicians without informing them of their physicians' departure, Emanate Health alleged in its complaint. The health system alleged Optum instructed its employees not to inform patients their physicians had moved practices, telling patients their physicians had retired or were on vacation. "It is one thing if a [patient] is given the information needed to knowingly choose who will be his or her physician when the doctor changes employers. It is quite another for [Optum] to lie to patients and deliberately conceal the circumstances and whereabouts of the patients' established physicians," the system said in its complaint. Emanate Health also alleged that Optum pressured the system to stay out of the primary care business. Optum did not renew its hospital service agreement contracts with Emanate's three hospitals for its commercial and Medicare Advantage HMO members after the system did not agree to limit its primary care business, the system said in court documents. "These are baseless assertions related to a contractual dispute in a highly competitive market, and we will defend ourselves vigorously," an Optum spokesperson said in a statement shared with Becker's. The cancellation of the contracts has led to a "significant decline" in admissions at Emanate Health's hospitals, the system alleges. Optum is the largest employer of physicians in the U.S., with more than 70,000 employed or affiliated physicians across more than 2,000 locations. Women are increasingly taking on the top executive positions at hospitals and health systems across the U.S., bringing an important perspective to the organization. Becker's is thrilled to honor the following women hospital and health system CEOs. We accepted nominations for this list and selected members based on their leadership roles and accomplishments. Individuals do not pay and cannot pay to be featured. Members are listed in alphabetical order. Click here to find 2023 list nominations. Contact Laura Dyrda at ldyrda@beckershealthcare.com for more information about this list. Nancy Agee, RN. President and CEO of Carilion Clinic (Roanoke, Va.). Ms. Agee is president and CEO of Carilion Clinic, a nearly $2 billion integrated health system serving more than 1 million people in Virginia and West Virginia. Carilion Clinic features seven hospitals at all scales, operates home health, imaging services, pharmacies and freestanding surgical clinics while employing more than 1,000 physicians. She helped to co-lead the clinics reorganization to the fully integrated, physician-led clinic it is today. Ms. Agee also has experience chairing the American Hospital Association and Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association. LaSharndra Barbarin, MHA, FACHE. CEO of Medical City Arlington (Texas). Ms. Barbarin has more than 20 years of healthcare leadership experience. She became CEO of Medical City Arlington, a 433-bed hospital, in June. She is leading the hospital's $132 million expansion that will add 60 more patient beds to support community growth. Ms. Barbarin has previous experience as CEO of Medical City Lewisville. Under her guidance, the hospital enhanced its services and expanded access points. She has also worked to make the hospital more diverse, equitable and inclusive, which has been accomplished via patient care, board representation, hiring practices and promotions. Caitlin Beck Stella. CEO of Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital (Hollywood, Fla.). Ms. Stella, whose chief career focus is children's healthcare, joined Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital as CEO in 2018 with the goal of aiding the hospital in its growth. Prior to this role, she served as chief administrative officer for UC Los Angeles Mattel Children's Hospital and Women's Health. There, she created a systemic approach for the expansion of Southern California's children's health services and developed the "Everyday Wish Fund" at Mattel, which grants daily wishes to children at the hospital. Mary Ellen Clyne, PhD. President and CEO of Clara Maass Medical Center (Belleville, N.J.). Dr. Clyne oversees the medical center's initiatives for the delivery of patient care and safety, financial stability, strategic planning, capital improvements, renovations, performance improvement, and community relations. Her leadership has resulted in the medical center's national recognition for excellent performance in quality and patient safety by Healthgrades. She has also implemented several initiatives designed to enrich underserved communities, including the Center of Excellence for Latino Health and the Clara Cares program for the elderly. Lisa Deering, MSN, RN. CEO of Regency Hospital Company-Cleveland East at Select Medical (Mechanicsburg, Pa.). Ms.Deering is responsible for the operations of a 44-bed critical illness recovery hospital. Alongside her duties as chief executive, she's present for her team and celebrates wins big and small, including birthdays and work anniversaries. With a hands-on leadership style, she also offers clinical support to her teams and facilitates improvements in quality metrics and patient satisfaction. Pamela Delagardelle. President and CEO of UnityPoint Health - Waterloo (West Des Moines, Iowa). Ms. Delagardelle acts as President and CEO of UnityPoint Health-Waterloo and CEO of UnityPoint Health-Marshalltown, a dual role that involves the oversight of two hospitals, 40 specialty clinics, an outpatient surgery center, a community mental health center, four urgent care clinics, two affiliate hospitals and Allen College, a school that trains healthcare students. In 2021, she stepped in to serve as UnityPoint Health's interim chief nursing officer as well. Using her extensive healthcare experience, she guided care team members through the strain of COVID-19, helped recruit new talent, and implemented programs and bonuses to aid in-house talent retention. Her leadership contributes greatly to patient safety, care, and satisfaction at the hospitals she oversees. Marcy Doderer. President and CEO of Arkansas Children's Hospital (Little Rock, Ark.). Ms. Doderer leads the only pediatric health system in Arkansas, which provides care for over 700,000 children. She directs strategic vision and ensures financial and operational stability for the organization's two hospitals, research institute, philanthropic foundation, regional clinics and alliance, telemedicine and statewide outreach programs. She also acts as chair of the Children's Hospital Solutions for Patient Safety Board of Directors, member of the Children's Hospital International Executive Forum, and board member of Fifty for the Future. Her main objective is to transform Arkansas into a safer and healthier place for children. Danielle Drummond. President and CEO of Lakeland (Fla.) Regional Health. In her role as president and CEO, Ms. Drummond works to ensure the optimal performance of all aspects of the health system, from the day-to-day operations to the long-term strategic development initiatives. One of her standout achievements was the creation of the Center for Behavioral Health and Wellness, a facility that provides access, service, safety and programming for those with behavioral health needs. She has also demonstrated her commitment to advancing women's empowerment via her capstone project, the Carol Jenkins Barnett Pavilion for Women and Children, which is a dedicated pediatric emergency room for women and children. Stephanie Duggan, MD. Regional President and CEO of Ascension Michigan Mid and Northern Region (Warren, Mich.). Dr. Duggan oversees four hospitals in Ascension Michigan's mid and northern regions and is responsible for strategic growth, business partnerships and clinical program development, talent development and retention, quality and fiscal outcomes, and community reputation, engagement and advocacy. She was a key player in securing a $125 million investment from Ascension in 2021, which has supported continued growth in the region. She also serves as a board member for several organizations, including the American Association of Physician Leadership, the Saginaw County Board of Public Health, the Saginaw Future Economic Development Corporation, and Saginaw Promise. Karen Duncan, MD. President and CEO of JPS Health Network (Fort Worth, Texas). Dr. Duncan leads all clinical, operational and financial aspects of the JPS Health Network, which includes 27 locations and serves over a quarter-million patients each year. As the health system moves forward with its planned clinical and physical plant upgrades, Dr. Duncan will take ownership of this next phase of the system's growth. She previously served as the organization's COO and is now the only female and minority healthcare CEO in Tarrant County, Texas. Liz Dunne. President and CEO of PeaceHealth (Vancouver, Wash.). Ms. Dunne's leadership of PeaceHealth's operations, finances, community investments, philanthropy and strategic direction has resulted in a 7 percent year-over-year growth for the organization. She is the first laywoman leader of the health system, so chosen because of her commitment to modernizing the organization in service of its mission to provide accessible and affordable care to the community. Thanks to her background in nutrition, she has a particular interest in addressing social determinants that act as barriers to wellness. One of her chief steps towards the pursuit of health justice was incorporating social determinants into EHRs. Jill Hoggard Green, PhD, RN. President and CEO of The Queen's Health System (Honolulu). Since joining The Queen's Health System in 2019, Dr. Hoggard Green has led the organization in quality improvement, cost reduction, market share growth, innovation and the attainment of a positive operating margin. She also facilitated the system's three-party affiliation agreement that led to the creation of Queen's University Medical Group, which will improve education and training for healthcare professionals. Her service extends to her community as well, as she serves on the boards of Child and Family Services, Hawaii Cancer Consortium, Hawaii Homeless Healthcare Hu and the Girls Scouts of Hawaii. Emily Holliman. Chief Hospital Executive of Hackensack Meridian Pascack Valley Medical Center (Westwood, N.J.). Ms. Holliman brought over 16 years of health care experience to her current role, 11 of which were spent serving as a hospital CEO. Her leadership contributed to the acquisition of Bergen Medical Associates, which nearly tripled the amount of employed providers in the system, helped bring physicians back to the community and ultimately gave residents in the area more care options. As a leader, she actively listens to the feedback of community members and focuses on providing them with the services they most want and need. Her innovative approach to patient satisfaction has won the hospital numerous awards for a bedside concierge program, a digital platform where patients can use their smartphones to communicate while in the hospital. Wendy Horton, PharmD. CEO of UVA Medical Center (Charlottesville, Va.). Ms. Horton directs the UVA Medical Center towards high-quality, affordable, patient-centric care and provides support to almost 9,000 healthcare employees. She began working at UVA Health in April 2020 as COO of the UVA Medical Center, and became CEO in November 2020. During her tenure at the UVA Medical Center, she has focused on operational optimization and creating a culture of innovation to address the health system's underlying challenges. Shubhada Jagasia, MD. President and CEO of Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital, Midtown and West Campuses (Nashville, Tenn.). Dr. Jagasia brings 30 years of clinical and healthcare administration experience to the role and is responsible for the midtown and west campus facilities, which house 879 beds and produce over $4.1 billion in revenue. Presently, she is managing the expansion of the heart transplant, neuroscience and critical care programs on the West campus, as well as a $300 million reconstruction of the Midtown campus. Her other role as a practicing endocrinologist gives her a unique insight into the needs of caregivers and informs her passion for improving patient access, forming new models of healthcare delivery, and building clinical programs with physicians. Laura Kaiser. President and CEO of SSM Health (St. Louis). Ms. Kaiser, who brings over 30 years of experience in health care, directs SSM Health, a system that includes 23 hospitals, 40,000 team members and over 11,000 providers. In her role, she leads strategy, increases clinical quality and innovation, drives growth, and develops advantageous partnerships. Prior to her role at SSM Health, she was executive vice president and COO at Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City. Vicki Lewis. CEO of Coffee Regional Medical Center (Douglas, Ga.). Ms. Lewis joined Coffee Regional Medical Center as CEO in 2014, bringing more than 25 years of healthcare leadership experience to the role. She leads the 88-bed hospital, which delivers both emergency care and a range of nonemergent services. Prior to this, she served as the president of two acute care hospitals in Wisconsin, where she aimed to enhance patient experience and form a strong bond with the community. Amy Mansue. President and CEO of Inspira Health (Vineland, N.J.). Ms. Mansue, who has a nearly 30 year background in the healthcare field, was named president and CEO of Inspira Health in 2020. She is particularly dedicated to educating future healthcare professionals and plays a key role in forming and strengthening partnerships with the local medical community and educational institutions. Before taking on her current role, she acted as executive vice president and chief experience officer at RWJBarnabas Health Holly McCormack, DNP, RN. CEO of Cottage Hospital (Woodsville, N.H.). After 12 years of advancing through the ranks at Cottage Hospital, Ms. McCormack was named CEO of the 35-bed critical access hospital in 2021. Thanks to her background as a practicing nurse and her prior role as chief nursing officer, she brings an intimate understanding of hospital staff's experiences and needs. Her main goal is to bring high-quality care to the rural area's local community. Michele Morrison, RN. President and Chief Hospital Executive of Hackensack Meridian Southern Ocean Medical Center (Manahawkin, N.J.). Ms. Morrison leads Southern Ocean Medical Center's business economics, strategic development, philanthropy and hospital operations. Notably, she led the hospital in treating patients, tripling critical care space and operationalizing daily needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her ability to solve complex problems, create strategic vision plans and build community contributed to making the 2021 fiscal year the medical center's most successful yet. Margaret Peterson, PhD. CEO of AHMC Anaheim Regional Medical Center (Los Angeles). Dr. Peterson has worked in nonprofit, for-profit, system and independent hospitals across four states, giving her a well-rounded perspective of the healthcare system. She specializes in forming strategic visions that help hospitals grow and stabilize within their communities. She has experience managing a medical group, forming a population health program, working with medical residency programs, and overseeing hospital building developments. Candice Saunders. President and CEO of Wellstar Health System (Marietta, Ga.). Ms. Saunders is responsible for the strategic vision and direction of all aspects of Wellstar Health System's delivery of care, operations, financial performance and community outreach. Her leadership extends to over 14,000 team members across 10 hospitals, more than 300 medical offices, 74 rehabilitation centers, 34 imaging centers, 17 urgent care locations, nine cancer centers, five health parks, three inpatient hospice facilities, two assisted living facilities, and a pediatric center. Her work focuses on improving access to vital healthcare needs, implementing new and improved care models, instituting more efficient operational processes, and enriching the overall patient care experience. Deanna Sperling, RN. President and CEO of RWJBarnabas Health Behavioral Health Center (Toms River, N.J.). Ms. Sperling serves as president and CEO of RWJBarnabas Health Behavioral Health Center, a psychiatric facility that provides both inpatient and outpatient behavioral healthcare services and mental health treatments. Under her leadership, staff is trained to deliver trauma-informed care and to treat patients with respect, kindness, and compassion. Yielding the knowledge that behavioral health does not exist in a vacuum, she strives to bridge the gap between behavioral and non-behavioral health services. Johnese Spisso. President of UCLA Health and CEO of UCLA Hospital System (Los Angeles). Ms. Spisso brings over 30 years of experience to her role and is responsible for overseeing all functions of UCLA's hospitals and clinics, along with the organization's regional outreach strategy. Prior to joining UCLA in 2016, she served as chief health system officer and vice president of medical affairs for the University of Washington. There, she assisted in the expansion of partnerships with nearby hospitals, helped key community hospitals integrate into UW Medicine, and led the creation of a statewide trauma system. Airica Steed, EdD, RN. President and CEO of MetroHealth (Cleveland). Dr. Steed stepped into her new role as MetroHealth's CEO in December, after having served as executive vice president and system COO of Sinai Chicago Health System and president of Mount Sinai and Sinai Children's Hospital. During her time at Sinai Chicago, she was the guiding force behind clinical, operational, financial and cultural changes that generated over $200 million in improvements across three years. Her work also led to enhanced publicly reported quality indicators and a 40 percent decrease in mortality rates and infections caught in the hospital. Amie Thornton. President and Chief Hospital Executive at Hackensack Meridian JFK University Medical Center (Edison, N.J.). Ms. Thornton leads operational divisions that include the JFK University Medical Center, the Johnson Rehabilitation Institute and the New Jersey Neuroscience Institute. Her efforts also drive all facets of performance excellence and strategic positioning for the medical center. Her results-oriented approach has led to the growth of several departments, services, and operations throughout the medical center. Among her key triumphs was the successful development of hospital-physician joint ventures that resulted in multimillion-dollar bottom-line improvement. Beth Walker. CEO of Ochsner Baptist (New Orleans). Ms. Walker directs all hospital operations, including the management of over 900 physicians, over 1,000 employees and 124 beds. She has worked within the Ochsner Health organization since 2002 and has held various leadership roles across clinical departments. Her notable career achievements include coordinating patient, outpatient and long-term care and successfully transforming a pediatric clinic into a general medicine clinic while acting as manager of general internal medicine at Ochsner Medical Center when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005. Police are searching for a man who escaped custody at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital on Nov. 27, according to ABC affiliate WPVI. The man exited the Philadelphia hospital around 6 a.m. and fled in an unknown direction, according to police. The man's identity has not been released, and it is not clear why he was brought to the hospital. He is wanted for multiple warrants in New York, police said. Police described the man as in his 50s with brown hair and a thin build. He was last seen wearing a hospital gown or hospital shirt. Authorities also said the man is unhoused and does not have a current address. Becker's has reported on at least seven other in-custody hospital escapes since early August. While custodial officers escorting prisoners to hospitals are primarily responsible for ensuring they remain safe and in custody, hospital police and security officers can take steps to mitigate the risk of escapes, experts have said. Respiratory virus season is in full swing across the U.S., with flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus metrics all on the rise. In a recent Becker's LinkedIn survey, 75% of respondents indicated some level of concern that this virus season will strain resources and capacity at their hospital or health system. A quarter of the respondents indicated they are not concerned at all. Fifteen percent said they were "very concerned," 32% said they were "moderately concerned," and 28% said they were "somewhat concerned." The poll was published Nov. 14 and 894 people responded, though Becker's has no insights on their organizations or roles. Two hospital trends to know: New admissions: New COVID-19 hospitalizations are ticking back up after mostly declining or remaining flat since early September. The latest CDC data shows there were 18,119 admissions for the week ending Nov. 18, up nearly 10% from the week before, marking the second consecutive week of increase. Flu hospitalizations are also rising, with 3,296 patients admitted to a hospital for the week ending Nov. 18, up 21% from the week prior. Projections published earlier this fall estimate U.S. hospitalizations from the three viruses to peak at the end of January. Emergency department visits: Emergency department visits for COVID-19, flu and RSV have all increased since the start of the month. There were nearly 94,000 combined visits for all three viruses for the week ending Nov. 18, CDC data shows. Of those, nearly 39,000 were diagnosed with COVID-19, 35,072 with flu and 19,683 with RSV. To prevent resource and capacity strain on hospital emergency departments, hospital and public health officials have urged patients to consult their primary care providers or an urgent care clinic for non-emergent situations. RSV has hit children's hospitals especially hard. Amid the strain, some hospitals are expanding outpatient services. In Ohio, Dayton Children's Hospital is opening a new express location for children Nov. 28, the fifth such location in the region. Households that increase usage or add green technology would also see rising bills, Utility Regulator says A body representing manufacturers in Northern Ireland have said it's "frankly scandalous" that their electricity bills could soar by 19% in 2025 under proposals from the NI Utility Regulator. Stephen Kelly, Manufacturing NI chief executive, said he would be seeking an urgent meeting with the regulator. Manufacturers like Encirc in Co Fermanagh are among the biggest electricity users in the province. Its understood network charges represent up to 5% of a large businesss total electricity bill. The regulator published the details today as it scrutinised plans for pricing by NIE Networks, which builds and maintains electricity transmission networks. Electricity prices for consumers could fall by 13 from April 2025, though the watchdogs proposals would also bring a 19% increase in the network element of their bill for the biggest business users of electricity. Mr Kelly said it would carry out a detailed study of the determination from the regulator. However, after a quick review it is frankly scandalous that it could result in our largest energy users seeing bills rise by up to 19%. He said NIE Networks had made an operating profit of 117m last year, resulting in a dividend to its parent company ESB in Dublin of 37m. This is an eye watering margin of 39% but even after finance costs their margin was still 25% levels their customers could only dream of. We have also seen our electricity generators secure obscene profit levels to the point where Governments have introduced new emergency tax powers. The regulators own analysis shows that local firms already pay the second highest energy bills in Europe, significantly higher than in GB or Ireland. This is hugely damaging to our economy and our ambitions. A NIE Networks spokesperson said it welcomed publication of the determination. NIE Networks will take some time now to carefully consider the detail... We look forward to collaborating with the Utility Regulator to achieve the best outcomes for the Northern Ireland consumer and society as a whole as we move towards a net zero future. Mr Kelly said rising energy bills had contributed to the decisions of Michelin and Gallahers to shut their sites in Ballymena. He added: The energy sector is the most profitable and largest financial contributors to lobbying in Northern Ireland. All of this is at the expense of consumers who pick up 100% of the bill. However, the regulator is supposed to be there to protect consumers, all consumers. From first glance, there is little evidence that all consumers are being treated equally. We will be seeking an urgent meeting with the regulator to discuss. As NIE Networks has a natural monopoly, it is subject to regulation by the Utility Regulator. The watchdog determines the amount which NIE Networks collects through bills through price control reviews after scrutiny of the companys business plans. RP7 is the seventh regulatory price control for NIE Networks, which will run from April 2025 to March 2031. Tanya Hedley, director of price controls at the Utility Regulator, said RP7 was aimed at delivering investment to facilitate the energy transition while providing for a more efficient use of the electricity transmission and distribution system. This additional investment will provide more capacity within the electricity network enabling electricity suppliers to purchase cheaper renewable energy for their customers. It will also provide households and businesses with the infrastructure that will allow them to make use of new greener technologies. The electrification of public transport and vehicles will also be supported through new infrastructure. She said business was being hit with different increases due to the way transmission and distribution costs are allocated through the network element of a bill. Transmission charges are rising higher than distribution costs. The electricity bill for large energy users is made up with a higher percentage of transmission charges because they do not pay all of the costs associated with the distribution network. Therefore, as the transmission charge is increasing higher, they will see a larger increase. John French, Utility Regulator chief executive, said: Our decisions within this draft determination will ensure NIE Networks is fully able to support the energy transition in Northern Ireland. Whilst this additional investment will increase the network cost for electricity consumers, we will ensure that the transition is affordable, fair and inclusive for all. The Utility Regulator proposes that NIE Networks spends 2.21bn over the period 16% lower than the amount request. There would be 1.349bn spent on capital expenditure, which includes investment in the distribution and transmission networks and metering work. The regulator added: Bills for typical domestic consumers who dont change their usage or adapt to green technologies, will be 13 lower under our proposals than NIE Networks RP7 Business Plan. Domestic consumers who do increase their electricity usage and install heat pumps or use a home charger for an electric vehicle, will see their electricity costs increase. However, this additional electricity cost will be offset by a reduction to their home heating and transport costs. It added that small businesses would see a 3 to 9% increase in the network element of their bill, based on usage, while large energy users would see an 11% to 19% increase in the network element of their bill. The draft determination is open for consultation until March 22. Move over John Lewis...the retail giant known for its festive TV campaigns hails bar after tear-jerking promo video starring Martin (74) as lonely OAP proves massive hit online The star of a Co Fermanagh pubs Christmas ad has said I dont feel lonely today after a short video racked up millions of views online and made headlines around the world. Rosslea man Martin McManus (74) is the central character in the promo, which focuses on the themes of isolation and companionship. A member of Knock Drama Group, he had no idea when he accepted the part it would make him famous. Martin McManus with co-stars Meagan Daley, Alex Middlemas and Missy at Charlies Bar He explained: It was quite simple how this came about. A friend of mine who comes in here, who I had worked with in drama several times over the years, was asked if he could recommend anyone. He instantly thought of me, and had my photograph on his phone, which they thought looked good. Now Im the face of Charlies Bar, which is just amazing. The two-minute ad begins with an elderly man standing alone at a graveside, before being shunned as he strolls along Church Street in Enniskillen. The character is finally befriended by a couple and their dog as he sips on a pint of Guinness beside a pub open fire. It has resonated with people around the world after going viral online. The short film even caught the eye of retail giant John Lewis, which is well-known for its annual festive advert. Were not crying, you are, the company posted on TikTok. Mr McManus is not surprised that the clip has struck a chord with so many people. I live on my own and I feel lonely at times you do when you get old, he said. I was always busy with work, and then Covid changed everything, so I decided it was time to retire. But I dont feel lonely today. He has been contacted by old friends as a result of his newfound fame, and has been getting stopped in the street by passers-by who now exclaim: Youre the guy in the video! Its been very nice, Mr McManus added. The film has a very simple plot with a very real message and Im glad people are seeing it. I cant believe the response, it caught me completely unawares. Its fantastic that John Lewis has seen it; it just goes to show that you dont need millions of pounds to pull it off. Regulars at Charlie's Bar are interviewed by the media He has even managed to wangle a few free pints from the bar because of the success of the ad, but insisted upon keeping the exact number a secret. Meagan Daley (27) and her fiance Alex Middlemass (32) star as the young couple in the ad with their pet pooch Missy. Charlies Bar regulars from nearby Kesh, they were approached by the owner who thought they would be the perfect fit. They never expected to rise to fame as a result. Ms Daley explained: We said: Give us a couple of pints and yes, well do it. I dont think any of us thought the traction it has gained would be this much. We had a lot of fun and we wanted to make sure the message was conveyed. I think it came across beautifully and it has resonated with people. The couple spent what was supposed to be a quiet Monday doing local and national media interviews. For people to turn on the TV and see us on Lorraine and This Morning is massive, she said. This is a tiny little rural town and everyone is really enjoying the fact that we are still standing together as a community and saying this is Enniskillen. I have received messages from friends in Canada who I havent spoken to in years and the number of views on the video is just going up and up and up. Her partner has also been inundated with messages from friends who recognised him from the video. Its great to take on the big companies and get back to an ad that really pulls on the heart-strings and what Christmas means which is about getting family around you. Bar owner Una Burns chats to the Belfast Telegraph Publican Una Burns came up with the theme after someone suggested the bar, which is known for humorous social media posts, produce a Christmas ad. She said: Unfortunately, it (Christmas) does look like this for a lot of people. Its a sad time and its a tough time. I wanted that to come across in the video. I also wanted it to be a reminder for people to be kind because sometimes a friendly smile can make all the difference. Anyone comes in here who wants company wont be long waiting. She never expected to strike a chord with so many people and has been blown away by the response. She added: Never in our wildest dreams did we expect this reaction. We thought its a nice video that might stir up some emotions. But I think its a universal message you dont have to be from Enniskillen to feel something when you see it. It has gone far and wide and even made headlines in America. Aoife Teague shot the ad Ms Burns recruited local content maker Aoife Teague (23) to shoot the advert two weeks ago and it was done within three hours on a shoestring budget. She explained: I sent the final cut to Una, and obviously you are so critical of your own work, I kept saying if there is anything that needs changed, Ill change it. You doubt yourself, but then she put it up and this has happened. The marketing graduate from Lisnaskea has also been overwhelmed by how many people have embraced her work and still cant believe she pulled off what companies spend millions trying to do. I look forward to Christmas adverts every year, so Ive definitely been inspired by them in a general way, Ms Teague said. But all the concepts were different this year from what we have done. It was just me and my iPhone, it was no more than a few hundred pounds. I live and breathe this work and cannot believe that it caught the attention of so many people, including John Lewis. A US judge overseeing the estate of singer Aretha Franklin has awarded real estate to the late stars sons, citing a handwritten will from 2014 that was found between couch cushions. The decision came four months after a Detroit-area jury said the document was a valid will under Michigan law, despite scribbles and many hard-to-read passages. Franklin had signed it and put a smiley face in the letter A. The papers will override a handwritten will from 2010 that was found at Franklins suburban Detroit home around the same time in 2019, the judge said. Judge Jennifer Callaghan listens during a jury trial over Aretha Franklins wills at Oakland County Probate Court in Pontiac, Michigan (Sarahbeth Maney/Detroit Free Press via AP) One of her sons, Kecalf Franklin, will get that property, which was valued at 1.1 million dollars (866,000) in 2018, but is now worth more. A lawyer described it as the crown jewel before trial last July. Another son, Ted White II, who had favoured the 2010 will, was given a house in Detroit, though it was sold by the estate for 300,000 dollars (236,000) before the duelling wills had emerged. Teddy is requesting the sale proceeds, Charles McKelvie, a lawyer for Kecalf Franklin, said on Tuesday. Judge Jennifer Callaghan awarded a third son, Edward Franklin, another property under the 2014 will. Aretha Franklin had four homes when she died of pancreatic cancer in 2018. The discovery of the two handwritten wills months after her death led to a dispute between the sons over what their mother wanted to do with her real estate and other assets. One of the properties, worth more than one million dollars (788,000), is likely to be sold and the proceeds shared by four sons. The judge said the 2014 will did not clearly state who should get it. Lawyer Charles McKelvie delivers closing arguments at a jury trial over Aretha Franklins wills at Oakland County Probate Court in Pontiac, Michigan (Sarahbeth Maney/Detroit Free Press via AP) This was a significant step forward. Weve narrowed the remaining issues, Mr McKelvie said of the estate saga. There is still a dispute over how to handle Aretha Franklins music assets, though the will appears to indicate that the sons would share any income. A status conference with the judge is set for January. Franklin was a global star for decades, known especially for hits in the late 1960s such as Think, I Say A Little Prayer and Respect. Now Thats What I Call music is celebrating its 40-year anniversary (PA) Now Thats What I Call Music is celebrating 40 years since the release of the first compilation series. The genre-hopping record first launched in 1983, featuring the biggest stars and the latest pop hits, and has remained a frontrunner of mainstream music. It is commemorating its 40th anniversary with a special edition vinyl featuring 43 tracks which honours the first edition up until present day titled Now Thats What I Call 40 Years. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content Across four decades, there have been volumes one to 116 featuring more than 2,400 artists. British pop star Robbie Williams has made 38 appearances, 32 as a solo artist and six with Take That, while DJs Calvin Harris and David Guetta have both featured on 36 numbered volumes. Little Mix are the most featured group with 28 appearances, ahead of Coldplay, U2 and Girls Aloud who are set to reunite for an arena tour in memory of their late bandmate Sarah Harding next year. The girl band, who formed in 2002 on reality show Popstars: The Rivals, have also clocked up the highest number of consecutive appearances on 13 volumes with a track in every album from Now 54 released in April 2003 to Now 66 in April 2007. Australian pop star Kylie Minogues appearances span five different decades, having made her first appearance on volume 11 in March 1988 with her number one UK chart debut I Should Be So Lucky, to her 32nd appearance on Volume 116 in November 2023 with Tension. He told me that he had been intentionally trying to pass HIV to me. He told me to go to the police. He told me he had done similar to other backpackers. I was the darkest and most broken person. I didnt want to be alive stark words from Another World Belfast co-founder Connor Kerr regarding the trauma, mental breakdown and relationship breakdowns triggered by harrowing experiences with intimate partner coercion and sexual violence. Back in 2017, Connor, who was born in east Belfast and grew up in Carrickfergus, was in the midst of travelling around the world. A relationship with a man in Bolivia, who later admitted he had been trying to transmit human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), turned what should have been a life-enhancing time into a spiral of trauma. Ultimately Connor received negative test results but the 34-year-old told the Belfast Telegraph it is counselling and the passage of time that have provided enough strength to speak publicly about it now for the first time. And Connor is keen to highlight that shame and stigma is a killer when it comes to HIV status. Six years ago, working and volunteering with aid organisations led Connor to Bolivia, and a new relationship. I hadnt been well. I was sick and unhappy and wasnt looking for a relationship, but then I met the most stunning, beautiful, sweet person. We were very attracted to each other. It was so romantic and we had an amazing time together. I started to develop feelings I didnt expect to have. Connor takes sexual health seriously and has been STI (sexually transmitted infection) tested at The Rainbow Project in Belfast every three months for nearly two decades. When asked to consider not using condoms for sex, Connor agreed after setting some ground rules. We talked about it, agreed to be exclusive, not to have other partners, and he showed me a document written in Spanish about his HIV status that said negativo. I was coerced into risky sexual behaviour and sexual behaviour more likely to transmit HIV. My gut told me there was something off. He told me on St Patricks Day, when he was drunk, high, emotional and crying, that he was HIV positive and had been intentionally trying to pass HIV to me. He told me to go to the police. He told me he had done similar to other backpackers. My whole world crashed. I was a mess. I found prescription drugs in the house, to just get out of it, so I could sleep. I was absolutely convinced I had HIV. It is mad that I do not. Connor Kerr while travelling Connor never received a proper explanation about why their partner did what he did. He told me about some of his life experiences and he seemed to focus on Why him? Why did he have HIV?. I think if you started hitting someone in that situation you wouldnt stop. I was out in the mountains and had nobody else in the world. I was in shock. I skipped anger and just went straight to forgiveness. After counselling, I know that was about self-preservation. Connor received a negative test result at a Bolivian health facility but was told another test would have to take place in three months time as HIV could become present in the blood during that period. I wasnt in a good place with drugs. I spent months contemplating topping myself. I wanted to go missing. In my madness I thought I would take myself to the Amazon rainforest and go missing. Before leaving Bolivia Connor was told there had been a misunderstanding about what had happened. There was no misunderstanding: he was gaslighting me. He had already told me he had tried to infect others. I knew I was being duped by someone I had opened my heart to. Connor then travelled to Peru and Columbia before returning home. At the time, I had three months to wait for the final all-clear, and I was still suicidal. I had very little regard for my own life. Read more Couples with HIV to gain access to fertility treatment under new laws Back in Belfast Connor was still struggling mentally. The next test result came back negative, as did the following test a month later. It felt like forever waiting to find out. I know how lucky I am. Connor feels the reaction to what happened from some loved ones amounted to victim blaming and led to a breakdown in close relationships. I was told not to tell anyone and treated like it was my fault. Following therapy and counselling with LGBTQIA+ charity The Rainbow Project, Connor decided to give back and so Another World Belfast (AWB) and Show Some Love was born. What started as a six-week pop-up to raise funds for The Rainbow Project is now our sixth year as a CIC [community interest company] and soon-to-be Show Some Love charity that builds practical projects and provides people with clothing, toiletries and underwear. Our mission is to bring together people who are marginalised. Connor wants people to know that paying attention to your sexual health is extremely important, that professional counselling is available for any trauma, and that HIV pre- and post-exposure treatments are also available. Connor is now in a better place, feeling content, and has found purpose and happiness with partner and Show Some Love co-founder Becky Bellamy. I am f*****g ecstatic. My trauma led to AWB and Show Some Love. I have been healing. I still have an open heart. I am strong enough and brave enough to speak out. I have done the work. I have the tools I need to live well. A former school bus driver accused of taking hundreds of upskirt photos and videos of schoolgirls and women in Portrush was today granted bail despite police objections. Omagh man Robert John James Arnold (46) is alleged to have taken the pictures while staying at a holiday caravan on the north coast hes now banned from going to the caravan as part of his bail conditions. Arnold had been in custody for five months accused of outraging public decency by taking underskirt photographs of girls, possessing indecent photographs of children and making an indecent photograph of a child. The offences allegedly occurred between July 2019 and April 2022. Bail was previously refused earlier this year but a further bid was mounted today at Omagh Magistrates Court where a detective constable said police opposed the application. She explained Arnold was arrested and during interview admitted having 923 pictures and 77 videos of upskirting schoolgirls and women while staying in a caravan owned by his family. There were also admissions to downloading and making images of child pornography, she said. The officer said that when asked if he was attracted to children, Arnold replied, As I get older those are the sort of images I am attracted to, along with slimly-built women. He admitted travelling to Portrush and taking upskirting images of young girls, many in their school uniforms. The detective told the court: In the last two weeks we have found more victims and we are in the process of identifying them. There are currently 22 victims of which two have been identified. When first charged, the cybercrime team who examined the defendants devices described his conduct as persistent and targeted. The images have to be viewed to understand the full scale of offending which go back over several years. She said there are 540 illegal files on Arnolds devices and while others fall short of being in the category of illegal images of children, they meet the criteria for voyeurism and outraging public decency. She said there is alleged, targeting of the children involved by focusing on their genital and backside areas showing the images were captured for sexual gratification. The officer said it was police view that it demonstrated the defendant does have a sexual interest in children and has admitted this himself We are currently in the process of establishing contact with victims parents. The officer added: From our viewing, its clear offending had been going on for a period of years and was simply undetected. Under defence cross-examination, the detective said while the original material was found on a mobile phone, all Arnolds devices have now also been examined including laptops which have led to a further 254 images being recovered. A defence barrister said his client adopted an attitude of partial admissions, adding, While I do not suggest the number of images found is a small number, its certainly less than 1,000. He pointed out there was no reoffending while Arnold was on bail prior to being charged. Concerning Arnolds own safety, the lawyer said: Bail should not be denied because of concerns around how bad actors may behave towards him. The police, the court and everyone has obligations to look after his rights He cannot be at the mercy of those who wish him harm. The court has powers to withhold his bail address or that he has been granted bail. Deputy District Judge Peter Prenter decided bail could be granted which he set at 500 with residence at an address approved by police and a curfew from 9pm to 7am. Contact with the victims is prohibited as is the use of all internet-capable devices, mobile phones and recording devices. He must have no unsupervised contact with children and is banned from going to the caravan. The case will return to court next month. A former police officer who lost his job for accessing the PSNI computer system without authority and unlawfully obtaining personal data has been fined at Armagh Magistrates Court. Sam Williams (33), whose address was given as PSNI Headquarters at Knock Road in Belfast, committed the offences on various dates between June 9, 2020 and May 31, 2021. These involved four counts each of causing a computer to perform a function with intent to secure access to a program or data and obtaining or disclosing personal information. Two of these charges related to information held on two women, while the remainder refer to entries and associated records of occurrences and personal data in respect of criminal incident, which allegedly occurred in May 2021. It is understood Williams was based in the Armagh PSNI Station at the time of offending. While imposing the fine on Williams, District Judge Peter Magill acknowledged the officer had already suffered through the loss of his job as a result of his actions and said it was not an egregious data breach, adding that he had come across much worse cases. The court heard Williams was arrested on March 24, 2022, and asked to explain his knowledge of the use and access of the PSNI computer system. He was specifically asked if he had done this without a lawful reason to do so, however in response to that and all questions he provided no comment replies. Records revealed in the first instance in June 2020 Williams had searched the system in respect of one person and viewed all details held against them. Examination of his phone revealed he was in a sexual relationship with this person, but this only began after the access had taken place. Then in July 2020, he again carried out a series of checks on a second person, and likewise viewed all information held, and in this instance, phone examination showed he and the person were friends. It emerged this individual had asked Williams for help as a police officer in regard to Covid legislation and what constituted a violation. The final matter occurred in May 2021 when someone asked Williams to find out details of an incident, which he initially refused, but then did look up on the PSNI computer. District Judge Peter McGill remarked: He was checking out two people he knew. Information was obtained but not disclosed. A lot of this was nosiness more than anything else. Williams admitted the four counts of accessing, but his barrister argued there was a level of duplication in the remaining matters. The prosecution maintained they are separate issues as one could not be done without the other stating: In order to obtain or disclose, access had to be gained and steps taken to cause it. That step could be done without obtaining or disclosing the information in question. District Judge Peter Magill queried the point around obtaining information because: He didnt do that. He looked up stuff he shouldnt have. It seems to be obtaining and disclosing is more serious than looking something up. One is a person being nosy but the other goes further. Its complicated. I think technically the prosecution is correct. However, factually there is force in the argument of duplicity between accessing and obtaining/disclosing. Imposing fines totalling 600 the judge told Williams: Im not entirely unsympathetic. You lost your job because of this. Obviously, this should not have been done. We require a certain standard of our public servants and unfortunately, you fell short. That said, this was not an egregious data breach. It was done for an extremely underhand reason. I have come across much, much worse cases. Youve already suffered a pretty severe penalty in the loss of your career. When the case first reached court last month, the PSNI was asked to clarify his current employment status and a spokesperson replied: The individual is no longer employed by the Police Service of Northern Ireland. A dodgy builder jailed for two years for cheating 20 customers out of nearly 180,000 is now facing a series of motoring charges including driving a van without a licence or insurance. Enniskillen fraudster Paul McAloon is accused of a string of offences which allegedly happened while he was awaiting sentencing for cheating customers. Last week, Paul McAloon was jailed at Dungannon Crown Court for 30 counts of fraud by false representation on various dates between April 2020 and March 2022. But now at has emerged at Enniskillen Magistrates that just two months before the frauds were to be dealt with the rip-off building contractor had another encounter with police. It is alleged the 38-year-old drove a Ford Transit van without a licence, insurance, MOT certificate, or road tax and fraudulently used a registration plate. Offending is alleged to have occurred at Cornagrade Road, Enniskillen on September 2 this year. A defence barrister explained to the magistrates court that McAloon has since been jailed and requested a short adjournment for consultations. District Judge Alana McSorley agreed and ordered McAloon to appear by video-link on December 4. Earlier this month, Dungannon Crown Court heard how McAloon was arrested over the building frauds at Belfast International Airport in March 2022 as he disembarked from a flight. It was revealed that McAloon, from Eshnadarragh Road, initially ran a successful building company but when it ran into financial difficulties, he began taking money from victims as deposits for work contending this would commence as soon as possible but never did. He would also obtain material from building supply companies which were never paid for. Victims all reported him as presenting in a charming and confident manner while seeking significant deposits to secure jobs. Jailing McAloon for two years imprisonment to be divided equally between custody and on licence, Judge Brian Sherrard noted: The most significant aspect for me is that so many people were affected by your fraud. They are people who worked hard and saved hard for the home improvements they paid for but did not receive. Windows were left unfinished as was a dog run and even a sensory room for a child with autism was left uncompleted. The inconvenience, loss, stress and distress of the victims is obvious. A man accused of threatening violence at a backpackers hostel has been jailed for four months. Belfast Magistrates Court heard Sean McCullough targeted another man who had to lock himself into a room at the accommodation in the city to ensure his safety. The 56-year-old, from Drumawillin Park in Ballycastle, Co Antrim, was convicted of common assault and attempted criminal damage to a computer. Prosecutors said police were called to the hostel at Fitzroy Avenue in south Belfast on July 23 this year. The victim told officers McCullough had threatened him and put him in fear of being attacked. The injured party locked himself in an office while the defendant hit the door, causing a computer to fall on the floor, a Crown lawyer said. During interviews McCullough stated that he had little recollection of the events due to his intoxication. He had sustained an injury to his head and explained that much of the incident was a blur, his lawyer added. Passing sentence, District Judge Steven Keown confirmed: There will be four months custody. Two men jointly charged with violently attacking a street drinker have been granted bail despite police objections. The injured man was allegedly punched and stamped on, Londonderry Magistrates Court was told today. Objecting to bail for co-accused Daniel Colgan (27) and Josh McLaughlin (28), both from Strabane, police said they had a propensity for violence. The pair have recently been jointly charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent to a man in Derry City centre in a case dating back to 2021. A police officer also told Deputy District Judge Noel Dunlop that in 2013 both men were also convicted of assaulting a man. The officer said the victim in the 2021 alleged assault had to have a metal plate inserted into his jaw. Colgan, from Lisnafin Park, and McLaughlin, from Melmount Mews, have also been charged with disorderly behaviour. The police witness, objecting to bail, said officers were alerted by the city centre CCTV operators to an incident at Shipquay Gate at 5.40pm on a Sunday evening. The footage showed the two defendants wrestling with each other. The injured party, who has not made a statement of complaint, then spoke with the defendants. He was then violently punched. One of them threw a haymaker which missed but he threw a second which hit the injured party on the head. The other defendant is then seen punching him to the back of the head and stamping on his head as he lay on the street where they both left him lying lifeless. The CCTV operators continued to follow them as they made their way to the nearby bus depot and they were arrested there by the police, the officer added. The police witness said both defendants had a propensity for violence. He said the victim, whom he described as a vulnerable street drinker, had sustained a gash to the head which was treated at the scene by ambulance staff. Solicitors for both defendants said both men could be managed with strict bail conditions. The Deputy District Judge said he would reluctantly release both men on bail and adjourned the case until January 9. As part of their bail conditions, the defendants are banned from entering Derry, banned from consuming alcohol and banned from contacting each other. SERC principal Ken Webb writes to staff with unwelcome news South Eastern Regional College (SERC) is set to shed almost 60 teaching jobs across full and part-time staff in a move the college says is due to budgetary pressures. SERC currently employs 833 permanent staff and 156 part-time lecturers across campuses in Bangor, Newtownards, Downpatrick, Lisburn, Newcastle, Holywood and Ballynahinch. While not unexpected, the news of redundancies comes just a few weeks before Christmas and will be seen as another blow to the education sector in Northern Ireland. It will also spark fears there could be further redundancy schemes at other colleges in the New Year after a further budget warning from The Department for the Economy. When comparing the secretary of states budget to the draft budget 2022-25, the Department for the Economy must deliver its services with 100m less and in addition, fund pressures of 30m identified for 2023/24, the Department said. Therefore, currently the Departments overall resource spending power is reduced by 130m, or 16%. The Department has informed Northern Irelands further education colleges that it will consider a staff redundancy proposal from them with funding to be made available by the Department if a proposal is approved. In a letter to staff, principal and chief executive Ken Webb outlined that full-time staff could be offered a redundancy package of one months gross basic salary for every full year of continuous service up to a maximum of 21 months, subject to approval. The college has suggested redundancy for 32 full-time staff with no prospect of hours for a further 27 part-time staff. The college anticipates that these proposed redundancies will be achieved entirely through volunteers and does not envisage any requirement for compulsory redundancy, he said. I appreciate this is unwelcome news and whilst perhaps not unexpected, may be unsettling for you. At this stage, we remain fully committed to protecting our front-line delivery wherever possible and working with staff representatives to ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to reduce the number of staff to be made redundant. The college is due to meet unions next week over the proposals. In terms of SERC, our estimated budget pressure into 24/25 is 7.086m, the document from SERC said. At this stage it appears the budget pressures can only be addressed by reducing the number of staff employed. The Further Education (FE) sector is facing recurrent pressures totalling 35m for 2023/24. This pressure comprises 29m inescapable pressures and 6m non-contractual pay (including outstanding 2023/24 teaching and non-teaching staff pay settlements), the document continued. Over 50,000 students take hundreds of courses at Northern Irelands six FE colleges. The redundancy process is expected to be completed between March and June 2024. Staff at all six regional colleges had been alerted to the possibility of potential redundancies in September. Wave of infection hits China: What do we know and is it time to worry? Police are appealing for former patients of Michael Watt to come forward and report any concerns they may have had with the former Consultant Neurologist as they confirm a probe is being launched into his clinical practices. PSNI detectives launched Operation Bergain today, jointly led by Detective Chief Inspector Neil McGuinness and Detective Inspector Gina Quinn. Mr Watt worked for the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, and also held private clinics at Hillsborough Private Clinic and the Ulster Independent Clinic. In 2018, he was at the centre of Northern Ireland's largest ever recall of patients when more than 4,000 of his patients attended recall appointments. A previous Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) tribunal had granted the Belfast-based doctor voluntary removal from the medical register. However, the High Court quashed that ruling due to concerns it was "not sufficient to protect the public". An assessment report into the ex-neurologist found that he repeatedly failed to make correct diagnoses, which led to patients inappropriately being given drugs with "serious and toxic side-effects", another recent fitness to practise tribunal had heard. The MPTS hearing into Watt in September was also told that the assessment found his use of "idiosyncratic diagnostic criteria" had led to patients receiving unnecessary invasive treatment. At the end of last month, Watt withdrew his legal representative from the same tribunal. The tribunal then determined Watt's removal was the only available option it had to protect the public. Removal from the medical register takes place 28 days after a tribunal's decision, unless an appeal is made. In the meantime, Watt's registration has been immediately suspended. Detectives now leading the investigation into his practices have put in place a number of options for former patients to report any concerns including a dedicated online reporting platform and a phone helpline. Detective Chief Inspector Neil McGuinness said: We are appealing to former patients, or their next of kin and representatives, who wish to report concerns regarding their medical treatment by Michael Watt, to contact police. In order to make this as easy as possible, we have ensured there are a number of ways that people can report their concerns. A dedicated online reporting platform has been created on our police website which contains all relevant information, including a QR code and link to the Major Incident Public Portal. Here, there are two separate forms with a number of key questions. One is specifically for, or on behalf of, patients and the other is for representatives of patients who have sadly died. We would encourage you to use the online reporting form where possible as it will guide you through the questions we need answered and is available 24 hours a day. It is the quickest and easiest way to report. However, for anyone unable to use the online reporting facility, we have set up a helpline number which will operate between 9.30am and 3.30pm from Monday to Friday. If you use the phone line you will be guided through the same online reporting form, assisted by a member of police staff. The dedicated webpage https://www.psni.police.uk/op-begrain also contains an email address for the investigation team for general queries in relation to Operation Begrain. Detective Inspector Gina Quinn outlined that following a report, you will receive a letter by email from the investigation team explaining how you can contact the team in the future and outlining to you what the next steps will be. Once we have a better understanding of how many people wish to engage with police, we will be able to update on predicted timeframes, she said. What I can say with confidence at this stage though is it will be a long, protracted and complex investigation. We realise this will be a traumatic time for many people and we will endeavour to give regular updates throughout this investigation. SDLP Health Spokesperson Colin McGrath has welcomed confirmation that a police investigation into the practices of former consultant neurologist Michael Watt will now take place. The South Down MLA said: Given the massive scale of this case and the number of patients involved its only right that police have decided to launch an investigation, in the circumstances its the only proper course of action. "However, every effort must be made to keep those impacted updated every step of the way, they have already been through so much. The patients and families caught up in this case have already waited far too long for answers and I dearly hope that this police investigation will help to provide them. "I would encourage everyone affected to cooperate with police and hope that the officers involved will be given the resources necessary to carry out their investigation as quickly and comprehensively as possible. Sinn Fein MLA Caral Ni Chuilin added that the patients and families affected by the scandal deserve openness, transparency and justice. Patients and families were subjected to years of distress due to misdiagnosis and mistreatments, they deserve to get to the full truth and it must never happen again, she said/ I urge former patients of Michael Watt who have concerns about their medical treatment to come forward to the police. The web address for the major incident public portal is mipp.police.uk - select Police Service of Northern Ireland then Op Begrain Michael Watt. The helpline is 0800 051 6071 (lines open 9.30am to 3.30pm Monday to Friday). An email address for general queries is OpBegrain@psni.police.uk. DUP MP Jim Shannon has likened grey squirrels to Palestinian terrorists during a Westminster debate on the animals on Tuesday. The Strangford politician told fellow MPs that grey squirrels are the Hamas of the squirrel world in a debate on considering control of the grey squirrel population in the UK. Mr Shannon began his statement by praising the Ards Red Squirrel Group, saying that volunteers work tirelessly to protect the future of the red squirrel in my constituency of Strangford, particularly at Mount Stewart. The organisation is led by the National Trust Mount Stewart ranger team, and they are in constant contact with local landowners to monitor red squirrels and eradicate any greys that venture in, he continues. Indeed, the issue is the very presence of grey squirrels; grey squirrels are the Hamas of the squirrel world. Islamic terrorist group Hamas launched a series of raids on Israel last month. More than 1,400 people, most of them civilians, were killed in the incursion on October 7, and about 240 people were taken hostage by Hamas gunmen. Since then, Israeli forces have killed approximately more than 14,000 Palestinians. Last month, Mr Shannon had called for strict, strong action by the PSNI against those involved in protests and shows of support for Palestine. He had said that Hamas deserve to be liquidated and called for the PSNI to be aggressive in taking action against the groups supporters. In response to Mr Shannons Westminster Hall comments, a Campaign Against Anti-Semitism spokesman said: "While Jim Shannon likely does not mean any harm by his comments, they risk trivialising the atrocities that Hamas has committed over decades, culminating in the massacre of October 7. All parliamentarians should be measured in their choice of words." The DUP has been contacted for a response. During Tuesdays Westminster debate, Mr Shannons party colleague Gregory Campbell added that he feared allowing grey squirrels to continue unchecked would eventually lead to the annihilation of the red. Grey squirrels normally replace the red squirrel population in an area within 15 years by outcompeting them for food and space and passing the squirrel pox virus, which kills the red squirrel but has no known lasting effect on the grey squirrels. Conservative backbencher Virginia Crosbie called on ministers to take action to control the numbers of greys, and said she wanted grey squirrels to be given contraceptives to stop them breeding. In 2021, a conservation project carried out by The Ballygally Biodiversity Group, Belfast Zoo and Ulster Wildlife successfully reintroduced red squirrels in Carnfunnock Country Park, Co Antrim. The park saw red squirrels breeding for the first time in more than 30 years by sectioning off feeding boxes and monitoring the squirrels activity. There are an estimated 2.7 million grey squirrels in Britain compared with 287,000 reds - including fewer than 39,000 in England. Outlining further measures the government could take, Ms Crosbie also suggested reintroducing pine martens, which are a threat to grey squirrels. A 45-year-old man, wanted for rape in Co Armagh, has been extradited from Poland to stand trial in Northern Ireland. Officers from the PSNIs International Policing Unit extradited the suspect on Tuesday. He is wanted to stand trial in Northern Ireland for rape, sexual assault and assaults in the Newry area between 2011 and 2019. The man is due to appear before Newry Magistrates Court on Wednesday (November 29). Sergeant Davey from the International Policing Unit said: This demonstrates our commitment to work with International Law Enforcement partners to track down wanted persons and bring offenders to justice. "Our message is clear to anyone who has left Northern Ireland to avoid arrest or the consequences of their actions. We will relentlessly pursue those that are trying to delay or deny justice to victims of crime. The PSNI is keeping an open mind after launching a major investigation into allegations of criminality linked to the clinical practice of disgraced neurologist Dr Michael Watt. Operation Begrain will also focus on the Belfast Trust where the former consultant was employed as well as Hillsborough Private Clinic and the Ulster Independent Clinic where Dr Watt treated patients in a private capacity. So far 20 people who were assessed by the medic, or relatives of deceased patients, have contacted police claiming they have come to harm as a result of the treatment they received. Today, a senior officer who is jointly leading the probe said there is prima facie reason that warrants investigation. Detective Chief Inspector Neil McGuinness confirmed that Dr Watt, who was struck off the medical register earlier this month, has been informed of the move through his solicitor. However, the former medic is not officially deemed a suspect and has not been arrested or interviewed by police. This is the launch of an investigation I dont think it would be appropriate to go into specific offences because we simply havent gathered the information that we require to make those determinations, Mr McGuinness explained. Detective Chief Inspector Neil McGuinness. Pic by Pacemaker Press. What I can say is that throughout this investigation and from its inception we will be conducting the investigation with an open mind. One of Dr Watts former patients told BBC News NI that she is in complete shock and is now hoping that at last justice will be done. Danielle O'Neill said she and others have endured a long and difficult five years and it is not over yet. More than 5,000 individuals were re-assessed during the largest-ever patient recall in NI back in 2018. Mr McGuiness acknowledged that the decision to name an individual who has not been arrested or interviewed by police is unprecedented in NI. Officers are receiving advice and support from colleagues in other parts of the UK where some cases have featured similar elements. We are seeking former patients of Michael Watt to come forward to provide us with their lived stories, or representatives of people who have sadly passed away, to provide us [with] the information that we need to then consider and assess carefully to seek medical and legal advice and then to determine whether there indeed appears to be any criminality. In which case, does anything meet the criminal standard for prosecution. Dr Watt and his former colleagues will be contacted by police after information has been gathered from witnesses. Police have designed a Major Incident Public Portal and set up a helpline to accommodate the potentially large number of people may come forward. Mr McGuinness defended launching the operation five years after concerns first came to light insisting that technical medical and legal facts had to be established. He said now is the right time as officers have the benefit of reviewing thousands and thousands of pages produced during numerous independent reviews and inquiries already conducted. An assessment by the General Medical Council (GMC) previously found that some patients were put at unnecessary risk due to be being wrongly diagnosed with conditions including epilepsy and multiple sclerosis, and inappropriately given treatments which caused "serious and toxic side-effects". Earlier this month, the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) upheld the finding that Dr Watts fitness to practise was impaired due to stark, serious, repeated and numerous failures. The tribunal found that the Queen's University Belfast graduate who worked at the Royal Victoria Hospital between 1996 and 2017 had an unacceptably low performance across several categories including maintaining professional performance, the assessment of patients' conditions, clinical management, record-keeping, and relationships with patients. In June last year, an independent inquiry found that the Belfast Health Trust failed to intervene quickly enough. Chair, Brett Lockhart KC, concluded that the combined effect of the failures ensure that patterns in the consultant's work were missed for a decade. The speed at which the current police investigation proceeds will depend on how many witnesses contact detectives who have set up a dedicated online reporting platform and telephone helpline. PSNI Detective Inspector Gina Quinn said those who make a report can expect to receive an email within weeks. Detective Chief Inspector Neil McGuinness (right) and Detective Inspector Gina Quinn (left). Pic by Pacemaker Press. Once we have a better understanding of how many people wish to engage with police we will be able to update on predicted timeframes, she said. What I can say with confidence at this stage though, is it will be a long, protracted and complex investigation. We realise this will be a traumatic time for many people and we will endeavour to give regular updates throughout this investigation. The PSNI is aware of complaints about Dr Watts clinical practice lodged with the Department of Health which is cooperating with detectives. The Belfast Trust has also fully engaged with investigators as the probe continues. Sir Robert Buckland has become the new chairman of Westminsters Northern Ireland Affairs Committee (UK Parliament/PA) Conservative MP Sir Robert Buckland has become the new chairman of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee at Westminster. He replaces Simon Hoare, who left the role after he was appointed as a local government minister at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities as part of Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks recent reshuffle. Sir Robert takes up the position with immediate effect and will serve until the end of the current Parliament. The committee is currently carrying out a number of inquiries, including into a massive PSNI data breach in which personal details of all police officers and staff members in Northern Ireland were published online, and into the implications of a Court of Appeal ruling for applicants in the regions renewable heat incentive (RHI) scheme. Sir Robert said: I am thrilled to have the opportunity to chair the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee. With thanks to my colleagues who nominated me and supported my appointment, I am honoured to take on this privilege and at such a critical time for Northern Ireland politically. I will bring to the role experience and knowledge of Northern Irelands political landscape gained throughout my career, first as UK Government law officer, where I handled issues related to devolution and oversaw the passage of legislation through the Assembly, then latterly as Lord Chancellor, where I worked closely with senior judges in Northern Ireland to overcome judicial issues. Simon Hoare left his role as committee chairman when he was promoted in the recent reshuffle (Brian Lawless/PA) He added: As chair, I will not shy away from the necessary scrutiny required of the Northern Ireland Office, particularly as we see events unfold without a functioning Executive in Stormont. Northern Ireland is a valued and vital part of our United Kingdom, with communities and a history for which I have deep respect. I will work tirelessly, together with my fellow committee members, to provide effective scrutiny and, ultimately, improve the policies affecting the lives of people in Northern Ireland. Derek Byrne, who survived the Dublin bombing in 1974 has died at the age of 63 (Family handout/PA) A man who was seriously injured in the loyalist bombings of Dublin in 1974 has died. Derek Byrne was 14 when he was pronounced dead following an explosion in Parnell Street almost 50 years ago, but woke up three hours later in a morgue and was rushed to hospital for emergency life-saving surgery. His death at the age of 63 came just days after he attended court in Belfast as part of a long-running claim for damages on behalf of victims. On May 17 1974, three no-warning bombs went off across Dublin city centre and one in Monaghan town. No-one has ever been convicted over the bombings but the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) admitted responsibility in 1993. Thirty-five people, including two unborn children, died in the 1974 bombings (Niall Carson/PA) An official memorial in the Irish capital honours the 35 victims of the bombings, which include two unborn babies. It remains the single greatest loss of life on any single day of the Troubles. The families, who allege collusion in the atrocities, have been pursuing damages in Belfast High Court since 2014. Mr Byrnes lawyer, Kevin Winters from KRW Law, said his client has joined the long list of Troubles victims who did not live to see the conclusion of their legal cases. Mr Winters said: We issued High court proceedings against the police, military and the Secretary of State for damages for conspiracy to murder and misfeasance amongst other torts in relation to collusion allegations around the Dublin-Monaghan Bombings. In December 2018 Derek was part of a large group of families of victims and survivors who travelled to Belfast to listen as the High court ordered the release of documents in their case. However the state immediately appealed the order and issued motions to strike the case out. Nearly five years on Derek returned to the same court to hear the defendants arguments to prevent discovery of material. He travelled wheelchair-bound on the train from Dublin. He did so knowing he was severely life-limited and very much against medical advice. Five days later he succumbed to his many illnesses and died. His incredible survival of that bomb blast was bookended 50 years on by his defiant act of attending court when at deaths door. Mr Winters said there was a real poignancy that Mr Byrne had died before hearing the outcome of the court case. Kevin Winters of KRW Law said it was poignant that Derek Byrne had died before hearing the outcome of the case (Liam McBurney/PA) He added: The recent positive soundings of the new (PSNI) Chief Constable (Jon Boutcher) on sharing of Troubles-linked information makes Dereks passing even more acute. The anticipated impactful outworkings of Jon Boutchers culture change vision on information sharing is a welcome antidote to the last five years of attritional litigation on the Dublin-Monaghan bombings case. However his pronouncement comes too late for Derek Byrne. He is the latest victim of a litigation system which has timed out on hundreds of other next of kin and survivors who never lived to see the end of their cases. Mr Winters said: Derek Byrnes sad passing really ought to be a timely reminder of the need for urgent implementation of the litigation culture change recently advocated. Conor McGregor is one of a large number of people who are being investigated by gardai for alleged incitement to hatred in relation to last Thursdays riots in Dublin city centre. Last Friday the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI) commenced a major investigation into incitement of hatred over the violence that broke out. There has been no arrests yet in this strand of the investigation. Gardai are examining posts that Conor McGregor made to determine if this led to anyone being later incited to commit criminal acts, a source said this afternoon. However there are a lot more people than him who are being investigated for allegedly inciting those riots including plenty of who might be described as so-called ordinary members of the public who were not previously known to gardai. While an exact figure for the amount of people who are under investigation is not yet available, it has been confirmed that a number of them are what gardai describe as the usual far-right agitators who were inciting hatred online on Thursday and encouraging their followers and associates to travel into the city centre. At least five of these individuals have been identified so far by the NBCI team in relation to their internet activity on Thursday night in terms of inciting hatred. These people have previously been investigated for similar offences linked to anti immigration protests. Exact total figures are still not available because gardai are still in the process of identifying how many were involved in this alleged offence on the day. This will take time, the source pointed out. This is ongoing as a large number of social media platforms need to be examined. This is not just Twitter, it is Facebook, it is Instagram and a large variety of other social media, the source added. In the aftermath of the riots, Tanaiste Micheal Martin criticised comments from Conor McGregor as absolutely disgraceful. The Minister for Foreign Affairs was asked to respond to comments posted online by McGregor where he said Ireland, we are at war and you reap what you sow. Watch: 34 arrests, 11 garda vehicles destroyed as Dublin city wakes up to aftermath of night of chaos While Mr Martin did not name McGregor, he said comments of that type are essentially inciting hate. There has been many comments Ive watched online of that type which are absolutely disgraceful, Mr Marin told reporters. We have a parliamentary democracy, we value that, Irish people do as well. Isolated voices like that and voices that essentially are inciting hate and to some degree incitement is unacceptable. On Thursday, the Crumlin MMA star launched an astonishing attack on allowing immigrants to vote on his X account declaring: Ireland, we are at war. In a series of messages posted on his feed he adds: Do not let any Irish property be took over (sic) unannounced. Evaporate (sic) said property. Its a war. As the riots were in full flow in the city centre at around 10pm last Thursday, he wrote: I dont care about president higgins statement. Or Varadkars statement. Or Mary Lous. Or Justice McEntees. Or Garda commissioners. "Announce our plan of action!! What are we waiting for? Your statements of nothing are absolutely worthless to the solving of this issue. Take Action!! Fix this situation IMMEDIATELY! Later McGregor posted a photo of vehicles on fire on OConnell Street and wrote: What would Daniel O Connell say I wonder? "What would our Irish leaders past say on the situation we face today? God bless Ireland. However McGregor also described scenes in Dublin as despicable while also criticising the Government. People looting shops amidst the anger and rage Ireland has for the many failed policies of government, he wrote on X. Yesterday Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said social media was actively monitored from an intelligence and investigative point of view during the riots last week. He told the Dublin City Joint Policing Committee that very serious disinformation was put online over a seven to eight-hour period. Some companies were fast at responding and taking offensive material down but he said it was "a constant battle". It is a criminal offence to produce and circulate threatening abusive or insulting text or recordings, if designed or likely to stir up hatred. The offence carries a maximum penalty on indictment of two years and prison and/or a fine of up to 12,000. Conor McGregors spokesperson has been contacted for comment. Finnish border guards escort two migrants at the Raja-Jooseppi international border crossing (Emmi Korhonen/Lehtikuva via AP) Finland will close its last remaining road border with Russia due to concerns over migration, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has said, accusing Moscow of undermining Finlands national security. Finland had already closed seven of the eight checkpoints along its long border with Russia this month following a surge in arrivals of migrants from the Middle East and Africa. The government accuses Moscow of ushering the migrants toward the Finnish border. The government has decided to close the entire eastern border, Mr Orpo told reporters, saying the country faced an exceptional situation. Finlands Prime Minister Petteri Orpo announced the border closure (Hannu Huttu/Lehtikuva via AP) We dont accept any attempt to undermine our national security, he said. Finnish authorities say about 900 migrants crossed the border from Russia this month, significantly more than normal. It has accused Russia of trying to create a migration crisis in Finland following the Nordic nations entry into Nato this year. Interior minister Mari Rantanen said the last border crossing for vehicle traffic that remains open, Raja-Jooseppi in Finlands Arctic north, would close at midnight on Wednesday. A railway crossing between the two countries remains open but for cargo traffic only. DUPs absence has done so much damage, Donaldson needs a lot to show for it but likelihood is he doesnt have much DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson says he won't be 'calendar led' on a return to Stormont Yet still theres no government at Stormont, but a DUP decision on any return will not be ruled by a calendar. Tell that to the cancer patient on a waiting list; tell that to a family struggling to make ends meet just a few weeks before Christmas; tell that to teachers who have been trying for three years to have pay parity with the rest of the UK at a time when funding has been cut, waiting lists are growing and nothing substantial is being done to address the concerns of the people of Northern Ireland. The business community too is struggling. Cafes and restaurants are closing, unable to meet the bills. With no one at Stormont able to make the key decisions for the good of the country were seeing far too many hospitality places fall by the wayside. DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson might say he will not be calendar-led when it comes to making a decision on whether or not his party return to the NI Executive and enable the Stormont institutions to get back up and running. But schools run successfully as they stick to their calendar. Patients in need of urgent care have a health plan laid out before them appointments, procedures and operations all done to timescales. In England, measures are already in place to support the hospitality industry with a scheme for a 75% reduction in business rates. Where is the support in Northern Ireland? Do we not deserve similar financial support? Where too is the budget which, before the collapse of Stormont, was supposed to enable planning across all departments for several years ahead? We can see all too clearly where the lack of a long-term plan for education has left the system. Its in chaos. Tomorrow, teachers across Northern Ireland will be striking again. We are single-mindedly focused on our aims and objectives. We are determined to secure further progress, Sir Jeffrey told DUP party members in an internal memo over the weekend. If only those left to wait for urgent medical intervention had the same luxury. Life and living are all too precious. Should they not be the priorities for those elected to help us all do just that? Instead another day of no government is ticked off the calendar. Christmas should be the time of glad tidings, comfort and joy. The tidings are non committal, there is little comfort for anyone and joy is in very short supply. Philippine Coast Guard personnel and journalists sail on a rigid inflatable boat as they head back after filming the BRP Sierra Madre, a World War II-era ship deliberately grounded by Manila to serve as its territorial outpost in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, in the South China Sea, Nov. 10, 2023. The Philippines has green-lighted a large convoy of civilian boats to bring Christmas cheer to troops stationed on its outposts in the South China Sea, the government said Tuesday, despite some tense standoffs lately with Chinese ships in those disputed waters. Citing a risk of a heightened confrontation with China, the Philippine National Security Council compelled the organizers of the planned convoy a civilian coalition called Atin Ito! Or This Is Ours! to veer away from their original plan to sail directly to the BRP Sierra Madre. The World War II-era ship was deliberately grounded at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, a reef that lies within the Philippiness exclusive economic zone, to serve as Manilas military outpost there. Organizers told BenarNews that as many as 40 civilian boats would participate in the convoy, which will conduct its trip from December 10 to 12. Both parties agreed that a convoy to the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal would not be advisable at this time since the safety of the civilian convoy is of paramount consideration, Jonathan Malaya, assistant director general at the National Security Council, said in a statement on Tuesday. The agreement ensures the safety and security of the Christmas Convoy and the timely delivery of donated items to our fisherfolk and front-liners and upholds our sovereign rights to the West Philippine Sea, he added. Malaya said the convoy would still pass through the general vicinity of Ayungin Shoal as far as practicable on its way to other Philippine-occupied features in the West Philippine Sea, the part of the South China Sea within Manilas 200-nautical mile EEZ. The convoy will make a stop at Pag-asa (Thitu) island, a territory occupied by the Philippines, to transfer Christmas gifts and donated supplies to the navy. The items will then be delivered to marines stationed in Ayungin via the navys routine rotation and resupply missions. Pag-asa, located beyond the Philippine exclusive economic zone, is the largest of the nine features occupied by Manila in the South China Sea and the only one with a civilian population. The waters around Ayungin Shoal have grown increasingly perilous due to heated encounters between Philippine and Chinese ships in recent months. China Coast Guard ships and Chinese maritime militia ships have persistently tried to block or pursue Philippine Coast Guard vessels, as well as wooden boats delivering supplies to the marines stationed on the Sierra Madre. Philippine authorities also explicitly recognized that the potential for escalating tensions with China had played a role in their decision to prevent the civilian convoy from traveling to the Sierra Madre. It could add to the tensions between us and China, Malaya said. They cannot go inside the lagoon, and they cant board the BRP Sierra Madre. What is paramount is their safety and security. Chester Cabalza, a security expert and founder of the International Development and Security Cooperation based in Manila, said even though the convoy would avoid Ayungin Shoal, the trip could still be viewed by China as a provocation. In Manilas version, its an exercise of a right to travel and for its own citizens to explore the territories of the Philippines, which perhaps may be misconstrued by China again as a provocation, Cabalza told BenarNews. China lays claims over a large swath of the South China Sea. In 2016, an international arbitration court, using the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, ruled against Beijings expansive claims and sided with the Philippines based on a complaint. But China, a signatory to UNCLOS, has ignored the landmark ruling. Antonio Lagdameo Jr., special assistant to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (front, left) and Luis Jalandoni, representing the Communist Party of the Philippines, shake hands at the Oslo City Hall in Norway after signing a joint vision for peace, Nov. 23, 2023. The Philippines and leaders of the countrys long-running communist insurgency have agreed to resume peace talks after their representatives took part in low-key meetings in Norway, officials from both sides and the Norwegian government confirmed on Tuesday. Oslo said it facilitated confidential discussions last week that led to the two sides signing an agreement on a common vision for peace and committing to re-start formal peace negotiations that were broken off six years ago by then-Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Antonio Lagdameo Jr., special assistant to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and Carlito Galvez Jr., Manilas adviser on the peace process, signed a joint statement to that effect in Oslo on Nov. 23, along with Luis Jalandoni and other representatives of the Communist Party of the Philippines. In the document, both sides said they recognized the need to unite as a nation and seek a solution for ending the 54-year-old conflict Asias longest-running current insurgency which has left tens of thousands of people dead since 1969. The parties agree to a principled and peaceful resolution of the armed conflict. Resolving the roots of the armed conflict and ending the armed struggle shall pave the way for the transformation of the CPP-NPA-NDFP, the statement said. It used acronyms for the Communist Party of the Philippines, its military wing, the New Peoples Army, and its political wing, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines. The parties acknowledge the deep-rooted socioeconomic and political grievances and agree to come up with a framework that sets the priorities for the peace negotiation with the aim of achieving the relevant socioeconomic and political reforms towards a just and lasting peace, it said. Philippine military chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. called the resumption of talks good news, according to media reports. If this conflict will finally end, your Armed Forces of the Philippines will be able to shift our focus to external or territorial defense, Brawner said. CPP spokesman Marco Valbuena said the joint statement was a first half-step toward resuming the talks. To clear the road for peace negotiations, it is the distinct responsibility of President Ferdinand Marcos to take the initiative to sweep away the Duterte-period thorns and spikes which litter it, he said. Marcos, according to Valbuena, can order the release of more than 800 political prisoners as part of a confidence-building measure to create conditions conducive to peace. Meanwhile on Tuesday, Norways top diplomat congratulated the warring parties in the Philippines on their decision to start formal peace negotiations. This is an important and timely step towards securing lasting peace in the Philippines, Espen Barth Eide, the Norwegian minister of foreign affairs, said in a news release. Extensive work remains and we look forward to continuing to support the Parties in the process towards a final peace agreement, he said. Talks canceled In November 2017, Duterte canceled peace talks with the communists after accusing the NPA of launching deadly attacks in the southern region of Mindanao. Dutertes government subsequently blacklisted the CPP-NPA as a terrorist organization and launched offensives against the group which has been waging a Maoist rebellion since 1969. For its part, the NPA is known for hitting government targets in the countryside. In November 2022, then-armed forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Bartolome Bacarro, reported that the NPA had about 2,100 fighters scattered across the nation. At its peak in the 1980s, the communist guerrillas had at least 20,000 fighters. Following the December 2022 death of CPP founder Jose Maria Sison, 83, in the Netherlands, the government has intensified its anti-insurgency campaign. A protester calls for peace talks with communist rebels during a rally marking the 36th anniversary of the People Power Revolution that toppled dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, Feb. 25, 2023. [Jojo Rinoza/BenarNews] Earlier this year, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. said he would not recommend the resumption of talks. It was not immediately clear what caused the apparent change of heart on the side of the Marcos administration. To enter into peace talks, I am always against that. Why do we enter into peace talks when they can go back and run for public office? This is really a violation of our democratic processes, he said in June, according to Philippine media. They cant take up arms and just violate the constitution, the same way we dont want rightists to also take up arms against the government. It works both ways. The Royal Thai Police and the immigration authority have arrested 11 Montagnard Vietnamese who were taking refuge near the capital city of Bangkok, according to a member of an organization representing the ethnic group. Y Quynh Buondap is a member of Montagnards Stand For Justice (MSFJ) and has been living as a refugee in Thailand for many years. Speaking on Monday to Radio Free Asia (RFA), a news service affiliated with BenarNews, he said thousands of Montagnards in Thailand are living in fear. Strangers follow them when they go out and often take photos of their rental homes, he said. On the morning of Nov. 24, many cars from Thailands police and Immigration Department came to a Montagnard peoples residential area. They asked them to open the door in the Vietnamese language. He said most of the Montagnard people there were sleeping and did not know what was happening. As some did not open their doors, the police broke them down to search for people. They arrested all the men they found. They said that these people are living illegally in Thailand regardless of their having the U.N. card [recognizing refugee status] or not and that Thailand did not accommodate people coming illegally. Then the arrestees were taken to and detained at Bang Yai police station. He said the current situation was very tense, and some sources told him that women could be arrested if they do not have children. According to the human rights activist, the UNHCR (United Nations Refugee Agency) and law firms havent taken measures to help those arrested. He added that other refugees were extremely worried. Men left home to avoid being arrested. Some hid themselves in pagodas, while others slept in bushes. Thoan Siu and his family left Vietnam for Thailand in 2018 and have all been granted refugee status by the UNHCR. However, his son Nay-Luyn was still arrested during Fridays raid. Eleven Central Highlands [Montagnard] people, who were sleeping at home in Bang Yai, were arrested at 6 a.m. on November 24 Thai police even arrested people having been granted refugee status, he said. Thoan Siu said he had to leave Vietnam for Thailand because his land had been stolen and he was prevented from practicing freedom of religion. [We are] very confused and anxious as we were chased in Vietnam and now we are also being chased in Thailand. Many refugees are worried about their lives on a daily basis, not knowing how their future could be. Hleo Nie is the mother of two primary school children. Despite fleeing Vietnam to Thailand two years ago, her family did not obtain an interview by UNHCR until last month. Her husband, Y Khuong Eban, was among the 11 Montagnard people arrested last week. I am very worried and scared. I dont know where to go, she said. My family hasnt got refugee status yet. We just had the interview a month ago. We have to worry about everything here: No money for rent, no money for daily necessities, and we are always sick. The Thai police are still chasing us. They said they would even arrest women. Royal Thai Police and Bang Yai police did not respond to RFA requests for comment. RFA also tried to contact the UNHCR office in Bangkok but its telephone line was busy. An attorney from a law office in Bangkok specializing in providing assistance to refugees who wished to remain anonymous for safety reasons, confirmed the arrest of the 11 Vietnamese. The attorney said that on Sunday morning, all 11 people had been put on trial and convicted of illegal entry into Thailand as well as illegal residence. He also said each had to pay 5,000 baht (U.S. $144) as a trial fee and would be sent to the Immigration Detention Center (IDC) in Bangkok this week. According to the attorney, one of the requirements for a detainee to leave the IDC is to pay a bail of 50,000 baht ($1,440), which could be a fortune to a refugee without a legal and stable job. He added that his organization is looking for funds to help the arrestees and their families. Y Quynh Buondap said 17 Montagnard people have been arrested over the past few months, of whom nine have been granted refugee status. Among them, two were arrested in August, four on Nov. 20, and 11 on Nov. 24. All are being held in the IDC. Montagnard is the largest ethnic minority Vietnamese group taking refuge in Thailand, with around 2,000 people, followed by Hmong and Khmer groups, with hundreds of people each. Dozens of Vietnamese activists are living in Thailand to avoid persecution by the Vietnam government. Chatchai Bangchuad (second from left), Thailands then-deputy chief negotiator in peace talks with BRN rebels, looks on as top negotiator Gen. Wanlop Rugsanaoh receives a petition from Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, director of the Cross Cultural Foundation, at a Bangkok hotel, Feb. 24, 2023. Thailands new government has appointed the first civilian to lead the country in Malaysia-brokered peace negotiations with separatist rebels in the mainly Malay Muslim Deep South, officials confirmed Tuesday. Zulkifli Zainal Abidin, the Malaysian facilitator, said he planned to meet soon with the new head of the Thai delegation, Chatchai Bangchuad. Their first meeting likely will not include representatives from Barisan Revolusi Nasional the largest and most powerful of insurgents groups in Thailands southern border region Zulkifli said, adding he expected BRN to welcome the change. Chatchai did not immediately respond to BenarNews requests for comment. I think he is the best candidate to take over the role as head of the Thai team for peace talks as he was the deputy when Gen. Wanlop Rugsanaoh led the team, Zulkifli told BenarNews. I will be meeting him next week either in Bangkok or in Kuala Lumpur to discuss further steps. The announcement was made on Monday and we only found out about it today so give us time, but I think BRN also wants the negotiations to continue. Chatchai, appointed by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin as the new chief negotiator for the Thai side, serves as deputy secretary-general at the National Security Council and has been involved in peace talks since before Malaysia began brokering efforts in 2013. The Thai government held a series of direct negotiations with BRN rebels, beginning in 2020, but the talks went into a hiatus after the insurgents indicated earlier this year that they would hold off until after the outcome of the May 2023 general election. Srethhas government came to power in early September after a post-polls impasse that lasted at least three months. Before 2020, government negotiators had met with MARA Patani, an umbrella panel representing Deep South rebel organizations and factions including the BRN. Officially termed the Peace Dialogue Panel, the delegation consists of the army commander for the southern region, the director general of civilian affairs group Southern Border Provinces Administrative Center, and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice. The Deep South encompasses Pattani, Narathiwat, Yala provinces and four districts of Songkhla province. Since the insurgency reignited in January 2004, more than 7,000 people have been killed and more than 13,600 were injured in violence in the mainly Muslim Malay border region, according to Deep South Watch, a local think-tank. Anwar, Srettha meet After his trip to the southern Thai border town of Sadao to meet Srettha on Monday, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he believed his counterpart wanted to reach a peace agreement in the Deep South. I saw there is willingness by the Thai PM to seriously find solutions we will continue our role as the facilitator led by Tan Sri Zulkifli, Anwar told reporters after the visit. An analyst, meanwhile, said Chatchais appointment could have a positive effect on the negotiations. Being a civilian, Chatchai changes the past image of the panel which utilized retired soldiers, Panitan Wattanayagorn, former chief security adviser to the Prayuth Chan-o-cha administration who is a scholar on security and foreign affairs. To have a civilian official take the leading role could yield positive results and [bring] progress [to peace talks] more than in the past. But the limitations are that he could not decide on sensitive and crucial issues such as weapon disarming, agreement to refrain from violence and safety zone [creation]. A civil servant cannot decide and it must be the prime ministers call. Another analyst said he anticipated no change. I dont believe the new chief could make a change, Prasit Meksuwan, an independent academic, told BenarNews. Thailand should delegate the persons who know the matter best, incorporate intelligence and include soldiers because the BRN has its military wing in its delegation. A BRN youth sympathizer argued that the Thai government needed sincerity to bring about a peaceful settlement to the decades-old conflict. Im glad [that to have a civilian peace talk chief] but in the past Thailand did not have sincerity, so the process failed, the sympathizer who requested anonymity over safety concerns told BenarNews. I want the violence to end with my generation. Bennington, VT (05201) Today Partly cloudy early then becoming cloudy with periods of rain this afternoon. High 49F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Rain showers this evening with overcast skies overnight. Low 36F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%. Bennington, VT (05201) Today Partly cloudy early then becoming cloudy with periods of rain this afternoon. High around 50F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Rain showers this evening with overcast skies overnight. Low 37F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%. PAWLET A controversial 30-acre property owned by Daniel Banyai Slate Ridge, in West Pawlet was the subject of a long-awaited inspection by town officials Monday morning to verify compliance with a court-ordered mandate issued in June. Inspectors toured the property, taking photographs and measuring any remaining structures for about an hour as Banyai followed closely behind. Banyai the controversial figure long in the middle of a dispute with the town walked down a muddy, rutted road with his attorney, Robert Kaplan, to the front gate of his Briar Hill Road property. He escorted a three-person contingent from the town that included Zoning Administrator Nancy Morlino, Select Board member Bob Jones, and town attorney Merrill Bent, along with two Vermont State Troopers. Just prior to the inspection, Bent informed Banyai and his attorney that earlier that morning the Vermont environmental court, where this legal battle began, issued a protective order for the inspection officials for their safety, as a cohort of Banyais friends and family were at the property for the time of the inspection. It was then negotiated between the two parties that everyone except Banyai, Kaplan, the troopers, and two cameramen from the compound would be escorted off the property during the inspection. Shortly after, about a dozen individuals exited the gate, including a woman and a small child. The Banner was also permitted to be present for the inspection. The hilly, forested 30 acres in the foothills of West Pawlet once the site of a firearms training facility that was alleged by town officials to be a paramilitary training facility appeared to be mostly now agricultural land with farm equipment, dozens of animals, corrals, tall stacks of hay, several grain silos, and few if any structures to be seen. The visible structures appeared to be small storage buildings and a single residential building. Most everywhere were cows, chickens, pigs, goats, and rabbits many of whom roamed the property freely. Several areas appeared to be former shooting ranges in open areas with earthen backstops and rock formations around the perimeter and some signage indicating their former purpose. Each of the former ranges was free of structures of any kind, except for what looked like remaining fencing around the area and what appeared to be an abandoned, shot-up vehicle at the far end of one of the former ranges. All three inspectors were free to wander the property, taking photographs and measurements of remaining buildings, all under the watchful eye of Banyai and his attorney who both kept their distance from the team. One of the state troopers followed along, his partner standing guard at the gate until the inspection concluded. A film cameraman and a still photographer under Banyais direction followed the group documenting all aspects of the inspection. After the inspection was over, Bent the lead attorney in the case seemed to breathe a sigh of relief after exiting the property. Im glad its over, she said, smiling briefly. When asked about any initial thoughts from the towns perspective, Bent said, We havent reached any conclusions at this point. The town will have to discuss it. Bent then departed with the two other officials and both troopers. This case is always a challenge, Kaplan said following the inspection. We came to a compromise and just to get the site inspection done. The town will have an opportunity to report to the court what they think is correct or incorrect. It's difficult when you come back a year and a half later. We were here in May of 2020. To remember precisely what was here the things that the court listed is difficult. When asked about the current property, the history, and what he sees as the future of Slate Ridge, Kaplan said, So, at this point, this is an organic farm, period. That's the only purpose, the only use of the property currently. Daniel can struggle with people, but he's incredible with animals. That's his big passion, tending to these animals. "As far as what used to be here, originally, there were two firing ranges. The concept was to provide an environment where people could shoot and get firearms instruction in a setting that wasn't just simply a flat range without being able to move around dynamically. That isn't paramilitary training. This paramilitary training thing is an untrue characterization of what was actually happening here. And Daniel has really taken a beating in the media based on things that were just wild exaggerations to the point of being untruths. This whole idea of a paramilitary training facility where militias were invited to train as if this is some kind of backwoods setting where anti-government extremists are coming that was never here. There was a group of people who called themselves a militia, a rainbow coalition of all different people, sexual orientations, genders and races, who liked to go shoot guns and then drink beer. They came here, I think, two or three times just using the range with no connection to any extremist, secretive anti-government group or movement. Kaplan claims the Vermont legislature passed a ban on paramilitary training facilities based on lies about Banyais property, and that they never had anybody who visited Slate Ridge to testify about what actually happened there. They never contacted us. They never invited Daniel. It was just a hysterical reaction to a perception by people who see the world through a particular filter, and are incapable of seeing what's actually in front of them. There's a lot of those people in the Vermont Legislature. I built Slate Ridge to embrace every religion, every race, every creed, every social class of people to come here and to be able to shoot guns safely for free, Banyai said. I think that scared the local populace. I think that when it scared them, they just started this whole thing instead of trying to collaborate with me by coming here. They put us under the microscope, some of the eccentric things about my race, my religion, and my blended family. I mean, there's a lot of innuendo about that. I think that also antagonizes people. When asked how that has affected him personally, Banyai answered, It's terrible. I've lost my career. I'm all over the news. I have zero credibility. No matter what I say, no one believes it. I've lost a lot of personal relationships because of these allegations, and the town is 100% responsible for it. It's not just about me. It's about anyone the community doesn't want in their community, period. This is my home, Banyai said. What we're really hoping is that we've reached a point where the town will be satisfied that there's nothing left really to argue about and that their concerns about this being some kind of dangerous property have been more than satisfied, Kaplan said. At this point, we expect the town to find that there has been compliance, and we can just move on rather than continuing to argue about chicken coops and silos. The Town of Pawlet has not yet determined whether Banyais property, as it stands today is compliant with the court order. An arrest warrant for Banyai is expected to resume 48 hours after the inspection if it is deemed non-compliant according to the town. Meanwhile, fines of $200 a day still accumulate while the property is non-compliant. Those fines now equal well over $100,000. Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Stay up to date on Berkshires news with Berkshires in Brief, our free daily newsletter RICHMOND It may not be neon with flashing lights, but town leaders are hoping a newly installed warning sign will be enough to stop errant truckers from venturing down an unpaved, residential dead end. The sign was installed Nov. 20 on Beach Road before the turnoff to Richmond Shore Road, under the supervision of Highway Superintendent Pete Beckwith, with guidance from Select Board members and Town Administrator Danielle Fillio. Its goal: Deter drivers bound for Interprint on State Road (Route 41) who are following erroneous guidance from errant GPS apps. As many as a half-dozen big-rig drivers have turned off Swamp Road, opposite Bartlett's Orchard, onto Boys Club Road, then Richmond Shore Road, which leads to a dead end. In one notorious case last July, a tractor-trailer snagged utility wires across from the home of Stevan and Paula Patterson on the shore of Richmond Pond. That incident caused an intense power surge, sparking what could have been a catastrophic fire if no one had been there to alert first responders, Fire Chief Steven Traver has said. Fortunately, the Pattersons were home and swiftly summoned emergency aid, averting the potential disaster. Signage installed after that close call still failed to deter truck drivers misguided by GPS. In one case, a wayward 18-wheeler nearly brought down utility lines in the same area. Last summer, Interprint communications director Peter Stasiowski brainstormed ideas with local residents and with the Select Board members. He was able to follow up with drivers after residents provided photos of wayward trucks. "Always, it's a younger driver, new to the trucking business, making a first trip to Interprint, he said. You'd think common sense would say that on a narrow dirt road, you're probably not finding a big factory at the end of that. But you find common sense is in short supply sometimes these days." The 100 percent guaranteed solution, Stasiowski acknowledged, was difficult, ugly and expensive a physical barricade such as an archway to prevent trucks from entering the neighborhood. Predictably, that suggestion did not fly. The only access to Interprint, at 101 Central Berkshire Blvd, is from Route 41, the state highway connecting West Stockbridge, where theres a Massachusetts Turnpike exit, Richmond and Pittsfield. All major GPS apps give correct information, but inexpensive or free apps used on bargain-basement devices are either outdated or otherwise misuse the guidance system. "We're under a good deal of pressure from our residents to do more than just accept the fact that we're going to have trucks come in and pull wires down," Selectman Neal Pilson said. "That doesn't work for us. We have to be more aggressive than we have been. We have to step up to another level." Since 2019, Gentile has been taking in rescues of draft horses, mules, ponies and standardbred horses whose next stop would otherwise be to Mexico or Canada to slaughterhouses. But now, she cant take in any more animals. At least not for the near future. BillOReilly.com is not available in this country. We apologize for any inconvenience. Source: Wan-ifra Wan-ifra Gianluca Costantinis drawings of the journalists and media workers killed in the Hamas-Israeli conflict since 7 October Costantini did the same for the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Gazas journalists are risking death every hour of every day to do whatever they can to get news to the outside world. Over the past five weeks, 53 journalists and media workers have been killed since 7 October in the Hamas-Israeli conflict. The overwhelming majority of casualties have come from Gaza where 37 journalists have died. There have also been deaths in Israel and Lebanon. Gaza, a Palestinian enclave run by the militant group Hamas, has been under bombardment since 7 October when Hamas gunmen burst through the Gaza border into Israel and brutally murdered an estimated 1,400 innocent civilians. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is investigating all reports of journalists killed, injured, detained or missing in the war, including those hurt as hostilities spread to neighbouring Lebanon. On 22 November the CPJ reports: 53 journalists and media workers confirmed dead: 37 Palestinian, four Israeli, and one Lebanese 11 journalists reported injured 3 journalists reported missing 18 journalists reported arrested See all the drawings here. Parliament has overridden Treasury's receommendations, advancing the launch of the two-pot retirement system to March 2024. The Treasury and the industry preferred the implementation of the system in 2025, emphasising the need for the South African Revenue Service (Sars) and the industry to establish necessary systems. They argue that this process can only commence once the Draft Revenue Administration and Pension Laws Amendment Bill has been signed into law. They said implementing the two-pot retirement system by March next year would give the industry very little time to comply. We are surprised by the vote [in Parliament] in favour of bringing the two-pot implementation to less than four months from now," Richard Carter, head of assurance at Allan Gray, said. "This is a tough ask as most retirement funds and their administrators will simply not be ready in time. Given that consultations on the detail are still in progress and that regulation is still being finalised, we believe that moving it forward is premature." But retirement-fund members who are facing dire financial challenges, have been disappointed with the delay in the implementation of the two-pot retirement system, as is the The Public Servants Association, which represents more than 240,000 public-sector employees. For them, the news that the two-pot retirement system will kick off in March next year, has been welcomed with open arms. On Thursday 23 November 2023, South Africas increasingly global fashion industry turned out in well-heeled force at a dazzling gala event that succeeded in being even more glamorous thanks to its mindful host, Twyg, an independent media non-profit organisation working at the intersection of fashion and sustainability. Image supplied Celebrating designers who use sustainable practices, this was the fifth annual edition of the Twyg Sustainable Fashion Awards, with the 2023 ceremony taking place at a consciously decked-out Centre for the Book in the heart of Cape Town. Designers, members of the media, finalists, judges, sponsors and visionaries gathered to usher in the 2023 cohort of sustainable fashions finest. While they waited in anticipation for the 10 category winners and one overall winner to be announced out of 31 finalists revealed earlier in the month, the prestigious guests were guided to watch a series of XR sustainable fashion film projects created by the Design Futures Lab, and to explore bespoke activations created for the occasion by fashion labels Polo South Africa and Foschini. Once the formal proceedings kicked off, the awards adjudicator John Shija introduced the jury and explained the rigorous judging process. Facilitating the process, emcee Danielle Bowler introduced each of the category awards, the winners of which were then announced and presented by a Twyg partner. Emerging Designer Award presented by SKYY Vodka and Pantone Sundays: Handed over by Nandi Dlepu, founder of Pantone Sundays, this award is given to a current student or young emerging designer who is challenging fashions status quo, and engaging with environmental and social responsibilities in a playful and creative way. The 2023 winner is Khumo. Accessories Award: Handed over by Twygs partnerships manager Benn Ndzoyiya, this award recognises a brand or designer who implements ethical labour practices, limits the use of toxic chemicals and utilises sustainable materials in the design and production of accessories. The 2023 winner is Verse. Footwear Award: Handed over by Electric South producer Tshireletso Tshwenyane, this award recognises a brand, cobbler or designer who makes quality, durable footwear using sustainable materials, implements ethical labour practices and limits the use of toxic chemicals. The 2023 winner is Reefer Shoes. Innovative Design and Materials Award presented by POLO South Africa: Handed over by Valecia Beukes of POLO, this award recognises a designer who uses innovative techniques to reduce textile waste and the negative environmental impact of the industry. The 2023 winner is sinCHUI. Trans-seasonal Design Award presented by Country Road: Handed over by Connie Swartbooi, head of marketing at Country Road Group RSA, this award acknowledges quality design that aspires to be timeless and made to last through versatility and multi-functionality. The winning brand/designer is also invested in the life of their garments and supports slower production cycles. The 2023 winner is Munkus. Farm-to-Fashion Award: Handed over by Petrone Oelofse of Cape Wools SA, this award celebrates brands or designers committed to cultivating transparent and traceable supply chains and advocating for regenerative textile practices, making garments from 100% natural fabric, and using no fossil-fuel-based synthetics and as few toxins and chemicals as possible. The 2023 winner is Botanical Nomad. Nicholas Coutts Artisanal Fashion Award presented by the V&A Waterfront: With a R10,000 cash prize from the Coutts family, this award was handed over by Sylvia Tekanyo, Senior Manager: Digital Marketing at the V&A Waterfront, in honour of the late Nicholas Coutts who explored traditional techniques in his designs. This award recognises a designer who uses artisanal methods to create fashion that foregrounds the skills of garment workers and local communities. The 2023 winner is UNI FORM by Luke Radloff. Social Impact Award: Handed over by jury member Esethu Cenga, the CEO of Rewoven, this award is open to organisations working in the fashion and textile system, and honours those who have a direct positive impact on people, such as raising awareness about social concerns, creating employment opportunities, and encouraging good and fair working conditions. The 2023 winner is Taking Care of Business. Retail Award: Handed over by Andrea Nagel, the editor of Sunday Times Lifestyle, this award recognises a retailer or retailing initiative that prioritises sustainability by including pre-loved and gently worn clothes, swap shops, garment rental and similar activities, as well as supporting local producers, vertical and regional supply chains, and sustainable design and manufacturing. The 2023 winner is Style Rotate. Tastemaker Award: Handed over by jury member Sharon Armstrong, fashion director of the Sunday Times, this award goes to a photographer, stylist, influencer or content creator who has actively promoted slow, sustainable fashion and/or slow living over the last 12 months, and who has sparked relevant conversations. The 2023 winner is Felipe Mazibuko. While the prizes themselves were presented to only a few, This significant occasion would not have been possible without all 31 of the finalists, who are all making changes across the industry, said Jackie May, founder of Twyg. To change everything, we need everyone and Twyg is incredibly proud of the finalists who are playing their role in this mission. Each and every finalists dedication to sustainable and circular design practices is a testament to the power of conscious creativity. We are delighted to celebrate this year's winners and look forward to seeing how they continue to shape the future of the fashion industry. After the ten individual category awards were given out, it was time to name the overall winner of the evening, the recipient of the coveted annual Changemaker Award presented by Foschini. Changemaker Award The winner of the Changemaker Award is selected by the judges from the highest scorers in the various categories and receives a substantial R100,000 cash prize to further their career. The Foschini group chief strategy officer, James Wilkinson, was called on stage to say a few words, before his colleague Robyn Wenlock, managing director of Foschini, had the honour of announcing the overall winner. The prize went to Thando Ntuli for her brand Munkus, which also won the Trans-seasonal Design Award earlier in the evening. Founded in 2019 by Ntuli, MUNKUS creates intergenerational modern pieces influenced by the classic silhouettes of 1980s and 90s South African fashion. Each MUNKUS garment is designed to improve with age, thanks to the use of sustainable textiles that are treated to withstand time. Congratulations must go to Thando and all involved in Munkus. This success only helps to further inspire the entire industry and we cant wait to see what they do next! said an enthusiastic May. She added, Id also like to extend heartfelt thanks to all the sponsors and partners who make this annual project possible Foschini, V&A Waterfront, Country Road, SKYY Vodka, POLO South Africa, Cape Wools SA, British Council, Electric South and Spier. They all help us move the dial! Supply of locally produced medium-density fibreboard (MDF) in the Southern African market has been constrained for many years. That is set to change in July 2024, when PG Bisons supply of MDF from their R1,875bn MDF Contiroll line investment in Mkhondo increases their installed capacity of MDF up to 1,180 cubic metres per day across its two MDF plants (Boksburg and Mkhondo). The new MDF line and recently completed particleboard line will position the PG Bison Mkhondo cluster as a globally competitive site for the production of wood-based panel products in Southern Africa. The manufacturing facility will soon be the only one in Africa to house a particleboard line, an MDF line, upgrading facilities, resin manufacturing and paper treaters on one site. Our Proudly South African quality products are cost-effective compared to imports, says PG Bisons CEO Gerhard Victor. They enable our customers to hold lower stock levels, which means better stock turns and improved cash flow, rather than tying up working capital in large tranches of imported products. Locally produced products have significantly better lead times than importing, so our customers can meet the growing demand for MDF substrate products well into the future. Localisation is a critical consideration in PG Bisons investment strategy. As trends evolve, consumers look for newer and more exciting products, says Victor. If PG Bison cannot supply the products needed to make those trends a reality, the demand does not go away. Instead, customers downstream turn to imports. The sad reality is that these imports are more likely to be finished products, putting many fabricator and installer jobs within the local industry at risk. PG Bisons Boksburg plant has been the businesss only MDF site for many years, but when the time came to green-light the investment for another MDF line, Mkhondo was chosen thanks to the sites proximity to critical raw materials and existing infrastructure. These factors greatly assist in managing input costs and improving overall cost competitiveness. Although there have been some rumours regarding the future of the MDF plant in Boksburg, PG Bison has made it clear there is no intention of mothballing it. PG Bison will produce MDF at two sites as it already does with its particleboard. The Mkhondo and Boksburg plants are well-placed to serve the growing MDF demand across PG Bisons local and export markets. Site preparation for the MDF expansion project at Mkhondo began in April 2021, with construction and installation following in March 2023. Victor confirms that the project is on track to meet its committed start-up date of July 2024. Neighbour slashed my tyres because Im black, then ran away from the police, states complainant in criminal case. Cape Town attorney Gary Trappler is accused of slashing the tyres of a Green Point neighbours car in a racially motivated attack. Photo: Sandiso Phaliso | GroundUp In February 2020, Green Point resident Thandi Mgwaba had the tyres of her car slashed. She believes the perpetrator was attorney Gary Trappler, who lived two houses down from her. The case was initially withdrawn due to lack of evidence, but reinstated when CCTV footage was put before the court. Trapplers advocate argues everything Mgwaba alleges is in dispute. A former Green Point resident who has charged a local attorney with malicious damage to property, believed the reason he slashed her cars tyres was simply because she is black, and was defenceless. The Cape Town attorney, Gary Trappler, allegedly slashed the tyres of Thandi Mgwabas hired car on 19 February 2020. Appearing in court on Thursday and Friday last week, Trappler pleaded not guilty. The case against Trappler was initially withdrawn in 2021 due to lack of evidence, but with CCTV footage of the incident made available by Mgwabas neighbour, Mgwaba successfully petitioned the Director of Public Prosecutions for the case to be reinstated. Taking the stand on 23 November, Mgwaba presented the CCTV footage and photos, and, led by prosecutor Sikho Mkonto, gave her version of events before being cross-examined by Trapplers advocate Anel Du Toit. At one point Mgwaba broke down, leading to Mkonto asking magistrate Venge Qula to briefly halt proceedings. Mgwaba said she was sitting near the window in her residence at about 9.25pm on 19 February 2020 when she saw Trappler, who lives two houses down from her, walk to her car. He went to the passengers side and bent down. There was something that looked like it was flashing. I realized that I must quickly rush so that I dont miss him before he enters the gate (of his home). She said she inspected the car before approaching him as he went to his home. Two tyres were slashed. She said she asked him what he had done to her car. According to her, Trappler said he did nothing and showed her the middle finger. She immediately called her daughter, who called the police, who arrived shortly afterwards. But when the police went to Trapplers house, he fled. The police ran after him but he got away. She said she went to the police station the next day to file a criminal complaint. Thereafter, she got hold of people she knew in the EFF who joined her in confronting Trappler. At this point, Trappler called the police. But when the police arrived, they arrested Trappler, given a case had been filed against him that morning. He was released on warning the same day. She said a week later she found lilies on her doorstep with a note stating Trappler had done nothing and that this is how neighbours should live. That same day, she said her grandchild, who was about five-years-old, asked Trappler why he had slashed the tyres on his grandmothers car. Trappler allegedly responded that it was because the family is black, adding he had a gun. Mgwaba said hearing this from her grandchild led her to become fearful. She has since moved away to KwaZulu-Natal. Du Toit argued that other than the place of the incident, everything Mgwaba had said was in dispute. She said it was Trapplers version that he was a member of the neighborhood watch and a neighbour had alerted him that Mgwabas car tyres were deflated and he went to inspect. He will also testify that even his wife had also noticed the tyres had deflated, said Du Toit. He will come and deny everything you have said. She said Mgwaba and a minibus taxi full of EFF members had gone to Trapplers house, threatening and intimidating him. My clients version of events is that he went to the police station and asked to be escorted, thats how scared he was. My client does not deny he spoke to your grandchild but he denies the allegations of racism, said Du Toit. Du Toit told the court she had also been receiving letters threatening herself and her business. The next court date was set for 25 and 26 January when Trappler is expected to be in the dock. This article was originally published on GroundUp. 2023 GroundUp. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Community and rural radio stations across South Africa have expressed their frustration because many of them are struggling to obtain a broadcasting licence which will allow them to get advertising and expand their reach. Multiple applications The Bulungula Community Radio (BCR), based in Nqileni Village, Xhora Mouth, has had multiple applications denied by Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa). The stations current low power sound broadcasting service licence allows them to broadcast in the immediate vicinity to dozens of surrounding villages. The community sound broadcasting service licence, for which they had applied, would not only allow the station to make money through advertising, but it would also mean they could expand to broadcast to hundreds of villages. This would create additional employment opportunities at the station and bring more money into the community. Representatives from BCR believe that the bureaucratic nature of the Icasa application process is hindering the growth of community radio stations. The BCR is part of the Bulungula Incubator under the Mbhashe municipality, where poverty and unemployment rates are high. The radio station started seven years ago. At the time, ICASA had a moratorium on new community broadcast service licences (from 2015 to 2019), and BCR could only obtain a low power sound broadcasting service licence. Dave Martin, a director on the Bulungula Incubators board, said the new licence could see the station grow from a semi-professional operation to something that can run as it should. Appeal Once the moratorium ended, BCR applied for a community sound broadcasting service licence in April 2020. The application was rejected in March 2021, reasons stated by Icasa included that the organisation had only had 51% quorum for annual general meetings as well as issues with the appeal mechanism for members. After fixing these issues, the station applied again in June 2022 and was rejected in May 2023. This time, ICASA said, the rejection was due to another clause in the constitution related to the separation of powers between management and its board of directors, the stations membership appeals mechanism and because the application did not stipulate what the stations proposed peak hours would be should the application be granted. Bulungula Community Radio appealed this rejection in July 2023 and has not yet received a response. The decision [to reject] was based on two reasons: a minor, correctable error in our constitutional document; and an erroneous reading of the application, the station said in its appeal to Icasa. Martin told GroundUp that the strict licensing application process has had a negative impact on community radio stations in rural areas. It costs over R3,800 each time stations submit a licence application to Icasa. The Bulungula Community Radio station started seven years ago and currently broadcasts to dozens of villages. He said community radio has been and still is the most effective way to share information in different local languages. This radio station broadcasts from probably one of the most remote villages, to other surrounding villages. Thats totally unique, he said. In its appeal letter, the station said that Icasas decision to reject them was not in keeping with Section 192 of the Constitution which guarantees broadcasting services to operate in the public interest, to encourage a diversity of views and to provide a wide range of programming that reflects South African attitudes, opinions, ideas, values and artistic creativity. Comply Asked to comment on Bulungulas rejection, Icasa wrote to GroundUp that the Applicant failed to comply with ALL the provisions of the licence application invitation. Icasa didnt respond to our question on why Bulungula has not been informed of the outcome of its appeal process. During the 2020 application cycle, only two of the 142 applications for the Community Sound Broadcasting Service and Radio Frequency Spectrum licences were successful. In 2022, five out of 105 applications were accepted, according to ICASA spokesperson Milly Matlou. There are currently 221 community radio stations with licences across South Africa. Icasas applications are bound by regulations like the Electronic Communications Act 36 of 2005 and Community Broadcasting Service Regulations of 2019. Matlou said Icasa does offer workshops to prospective applicants. Brenda Leonard, managing director of Bush Radio, said, Community radio initiatives such as Bulungula are crucial to educating and informing communities. Because they did not get a licence, this negatively affects the villages they want to broadcast to. Sakkie van der Schyff, manager at Koepel Stereo (KSFM) in the Free State, believes their issues with obtaining the licence from ICASA are also hurting the community. KSFM originally received a licence in 2011. The licence expired in 2017, and KSFM was taken off air and couldnt apply for a new broadcast licence due to the moratorium. After the moratorium ended, KSFM applied for a new licence in 2020 and again in 2022. But both applications were rejected. Van der Schyff said KSFM has chosen to stream their shows, but this limits who is able to listen to them. Were missing out on an important part of the community, he said. Its a devastating situation not having communication. Published originally on GroundUp. Russia's Nornickel will pay $18m to pass its 50% stake in Nkomati nickel mine in South Africa to its partner African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), ARM said on Friday, ending years of Nornickel's attempts to exit Africa. The logo of Russia's mining company Norilsk Nickel (Nornickel) is seen during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Source: Reuters/Maxim Shemetov Nickel prices in London are heading for a 46% fall this year, the largest slump since the financial crisis in 2008, due to rising production in Indonesia and a build-up of bets on even lower prices. Nkomati was part of Nornickel's $6.5bn purchase of LionOre Mining with assets in Africa and Australia in 2007 after outbidding Xstrata. It was the largest foreign acquisition by a Russian company at that time. By 2013, the metals prices had fallen and Nornickel, the world's top palladium producer and a major refined nickel producer, started selling LionOre's legacy to focus on its lucrative mines in the Arctic home territory in Russia. "With this agreement Nornickel underscores its commitment to developing its unique resource base and Tier-1 assets portfolio in Russia as well as its long-term strategy to exit non-Tier-1 assets," the Russian miner said in a statement. The deal is expected to close in 2024. ARM picks up the spoils and environmental responsibility ARM will buy the stake for R1m but will also take over the environmental liabilities of the Nkomati mine - together with the share of Nornickel's subsidiary - with a R325m contribution from the subsidiary, ARM said. Nkomati has been on maintenance after it stopped mining two and a half years ago amid low nickel prices. ARM, whose profit has been hit by South Africa's rail logistics problems on top of weaker metals prices, said that the mine's prospects continue to be challenging due to maintenance costs and the uncertain nickel market outlook. Drastic climate change and overpopulation have rendered traditional agricultural practices unsustainable. Even more economically affluent countries suffer from constantly increasing household food insecurity. Source: pressfoto via Freepik In Canada, for example, one-in-six families find it difficult to provide food to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle, and the situation is getting worst year by year. Food insecurity is a rapidly escalating global problem that challenges agriculture companies to find radically new ways to produce crops efficiently: with less waste, fewer pesticides and shorter time to market, while also reducing their energy footprint. As traditional outdoor farming is unable to address these challenges, indoor farming techniques, such as controlled environment agriculture (CEA) are becoming of particular interest. However, they require proper computer-aided support. Such computer-aided methods and tools are developed in our lab on Sustainable Systems and Methods (SSM) at McMaster University. Digital twins CEA is the technique of growing crops in an isolated environment artificially controlled by complex machinery HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), irrigation and lighting systems, alongside an array of sensors to measure environmental conditions. Thanks to automation, controlled environments achieve better yield and quality than traditional farming settings, while also reducing waste. As these improvements come with increased complexity, finding the optimal growth strategy that is, the sequence of environmental conditions that stimulate growth at the most appropriate pace and reduce energy consumption is particularly challenging. This is another complex challenge that requires continuous monitoring of the environment, real-time decision-making and high-precision control of the environment tasks that are beyond the limits of human capabilities. Computer-aided support, such as digital twins, can play an important role. Digital twins are digital representations of physical objects, people or processes. They aid decision-making through high-fidelity simulations of the twinned physical system in real time and are often equipped with autonomous control capabilities. In precision agriculture, digital twins are typically used for monitoring and controlling environmental conditions to stimulate crop growth at an optimal and sustainable rate. Digital twins provide a live dashboard to observe the environmental conditions in the growing area, and with varying autonomy, digital twins can control the environment directly. Reducing energy consumption or rather, improving the crop-to-energy ratio is one of the obvious goals at precision agriculture facilities as heating and cooling the facility consumes a lot of energy. Digital twins can also be used for designing new greenhouses. For example, a digital twin that collected data over a long period in a greenhouse can be used for experimentation purposes when a new greenhouse is designed. Is this economically feasible? Developing digital twins and improving the digital maturity of farming companies are the main cost drivers in the adoption of digitally enhanced CEA. The costs associated with the development of the digital twin are mostly related to hardware elements and software development. Home-brew solutions, experimentation with cheap devices and gradual expansion of functionality are good first steps and help adopt the right digitalization mindset. However, professional grower settings require industry-grade sub-systems, which are in a completely different league in terms of costs, and employing them requires a carefully prepared organizational digital strategy. Agriculture is among the lowest-digitalized sectors, and digital maturity is an absolute prerequisite to adopting digital twins. As a consequence, costs related to digital maturity often overshadow technical costs in smart agriculture. A company undergoing the early stages of digitalization will have to think about choosing a cloud provider, establishing a data strategy and acquiring an array of software licences, to name just a few critical challenges. Organisational costs are hard to assess, but they might render the economic outlook of a company bleak. This is a particularly painful growing stage that requires proper consulting. There have been recent success stories of industrial-academic collaborations that helped scope ongoing digitalization efforts at agricultural companies. Whats next? The need for food security and sustainable production is as urgent as its ever been. Amid dramatic climate change, forest fires all across Canada, extreme air pollution in Europe, an ongoing energy crisis and the continuous growth of population, food self-sufficiency is among the top goals of humankind. Meeting the second sustainability development goal of the United Nations General Assembly that is, to eradicate global hunger by 2030 will require a complete paradigm shift in agriculture. One way to meet this ambitious goal is by advanced digitalization and digital twins. There are still obstacles to tackle before we get there, but with the constantly decreasing price of hardware and computing power, digitally driven smart agriculture is becoming a reality. Istvan David, Assistant Professor, Computer Science, McMaster University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Eskom on Sunday reported a substantial increase in its power generation capacity. This improvement is attributed to the successful return of several generating units that had previously been out of service, as well as the replenishment of emergency reserves at the pumped storage and Open Cycle Gas Turbine (OCGT) power stations. Eskom's Palmiet pumped storage hydro plant has an installed capacity of 400MW. Source: Eskom As a result of these positive changes, Eskom has announced a reduction in load shedding from Stage 6 to Stage 4. This change took effect on Sunday, starting at 12pm and will continue until 5am on Monday. We have seen significant improvement from Friday when we implemented Stage 6 load shedding and on Saturday. We have made progress as a result of the intensification of load shedding. The [diesel] volumes at Ankerlig Power Station are sitting at 55%, Acacia Power Station at 50% and Port Rex Power Station at about 55%," said Minister in the Presidency responsible for Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa in a media briefing on Sunday. Once they are above these levels we should be able to manage them. In relation to our pump storage at Drakensberg [we have] additional generation hours, it is about 90 hours of generation, Ingula we have 58 hours of generation and at Palmiet 33 hours of generation. He made these remarks while providing an update on electricity generation performance following the implementation of Stage 6 load shedding by Eskom. Stage 3 and 4 for the rest of the week The power utility said Stage 3 load shedding will be implemented from 5am until 4pm on Monday, followed by Stage 4 load shedding from 4pm until 5am on Tuesday. This pattern of implementing Stage 3 load shedding in the morning and Stage 4 load shedding in the evening will be repeated daily until Thursday. Ramokgopa noted that Matla unit 2 has come back, Arnot unit 3 has come back and Tutuka has come back. Two things have happened that we promised. We have replenished our emergency reserves and some units have come back Kriel unit 3 has come back. Theres an expectation that on Sunday Medupi 5 [will come back] and [on Monday], we are planning to receive two units, Majuba and Lethabi, Ramokgopa said. He explained that on Friday there was a spike in the demand of above by 1,500MW. We had to do one of two things - either continue to deploy the emergency reserves, which we were depleting faster than anticipated, so that was not an option." He explained the second option as a plan to intensify load shedding. "That is the option that we followed because it is the most judicious option, with the challenges that were confronting us.The major problem started the week preceding the last one where we had significant number of losses and this meant that we had to engage our emergency reserves. Relief was anticipated Eskom took a decision to engage the emergency reserves because we they were anticipating generating units to come back on time to provide relief. Indeed, those units that were scheduled to come back were able to come back on time but then we had a significant number of units that were failing. When we opened the week of 13 November, the emergency reserves were at levels below 70%." This includes our pump storage and the OCGT. As we continued to deploy them, there was significant reduction in those reserves, which is the dam levels and OCGT," he continued. "There was a significant dip on 21 November and that significant dip in relation to the emergency reserves coincided with us losing units because we must compensate the megawatts that are lost as a result of the dip." Once it [the dip] reached critical levels, our primary preoccupation was to protect the grid and we pulled the emergency reserves back and as we pulled them back, it means that there were less megawatts available." He reiterated that if Eskom builds an additional buffer, it means that the country will be less prone to major fluctuations in the intensity of load shedding. Thats why unit 2 and 5 at Kusile Power Station are important. We are targeting those to come back by the third week of December. Once you build that buffer, even if you had to have extraordinary events, there is some degree of buffer and therefore the rate at which we intensify load shedding might not be as severe as we have experienced over the last 30 hours or so, he concluded. In the dynamic landscape of OOH advertising, an alarming issue has been quietly spreading, and it poses a significant risk to brands, clients, and media agencies alike: the issue of brokering, which often includes false representation of sites and blatant deception regarding site ownership. This concern requires immediate attention and strategic intervention to safeguard the integrity of campaigns and protect stakeholders from potential legal ramifications. Unfortunately, the misconduct of some reflects poorly on the whole hence its in the best interests of those media owners who conduct themselves with integrity to clean up the overall brokering act. Over the past year, an issue that has long lingered in the shadows of the industry has become increasingly unmanageable. Media owners, responsible for selling advertising spaces, are now venturing into questionable territory by attempting to sell sites they either do not own or have only a joint venture affiliation with. This practice, often referred to as 'brokering sites' has created a pervasive challenge for media agencies, clients, and brands alike. Whilst brokering is not a new practice, the layer of deception by some by deliberately misleading agencies is new and its doing the good guys a disservice. The gravity of the situation becomes apparent when examining the scale of the problem. In a standard practice, media agencies reach out to various media owners when seeking advertising spaces for their clients. However, it has become routine for media agencies to receive site proposals from owners who, in reality, have no ownership stake in the sites they are marketing. This misinformation not only confounds media planning efforts but also presents a serious risk for OOH buying teams. The core issue lies in media owners presenting themselves as legitimate owners of advertising sites, even when the reality is quite different. Marketing materials and company branding further perpetuate this facade, making it challenging for media agencies to distinguish between genuine site owners and those merely brokering the spaces. In recent incidents that underscore the severity of the problem, media owners have gone beyond misrepresentation and engaged in site 'hijacking'. This involves one media owner illegitimately claiming ownership of another's site, leading to legal disputes that ensnare media agencies in the middle of a complex and potentially litigious situation. A particularly troubling case involved a media owner who, after 'hijacking' a site, claimed it was a mistake. This excuse, however, was undermined when the same incident occurred a second time. The resulting legal battles between the media owners, compounded by the cancelled contracts and subsequent fallout, highlight the urgent need for industry-wide awareness and decisive action. In light of these challenges, media agencies and brands must tread carefully in the OOH advertising space. Vigilance in verifying site ownership, conducting due diligence on media owners, and implementing contractual safeguards are imperative to mitigate risks. Additionally, industry stakeholders, including regulatory bodies and trade associations, must collaborate to establish and enforce ethical standards that discourage deceptive practices. The escalating trend of media owners brokering or falsely claiming ownership of OOH advertising sites poses a serious threat to the industry's credibility. Brands, clients, and media agencies must unite to address this issue head-on, fostering transparency, ethical conduct, and legal compliance. Only through collective effort can the OOH advertising landscape be cleansed of deceptive practices, ensuring a trustworthy and secure environment for all stakeholders involved. In the meanwhile, choosing to work through those media partners in whom we can place our trust and our clients budgets will ensure that that ethics win at the end of the day. To these ethical partners, we thank you. Contributed by The AMF Board About the AMF The Advertising Media Forum (AMF) is a collective of media agencies and individuals including media strategists, planners, buyers and consultants through whom 95% of all media expenditure in South Africa is bought. The AMF advises and represents relevant organisations and aims to create open channels of communication and encourage and support transparent policies, strategies and transactions within the industry. For more information on the AMF, visit amf.org,za. ESG, the bedrock of global ethical and sustainable practices, is making waves in South Africa and for good reason. It compels organisations to reflect on their environmental impact, social responsibilities, and governance structures. Yuneal Padayachy, chief support officer at The BEE Chamber With over 13 years of working in the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) space, Yuneal Padayachy, chief support officer at The BEE Chamber, has witnessed an evolving landscape of transformation. From verifying compliance to fostering inclusivity, his path has taken him from corporate corridors to government initiatives. Now, as business moves from transactional to transformational strategies, environmental, social and governance (ESG) is the new, emerging force that he urges organisations to focus on: Over the years, I have seen many organisations moving from the transactional approach to the transformational one in implementing their B-BBEE strategy which the BEE Chamber advocates for quite aggressively. The concepts that I am hearing more and more often in discussions is the concept of ESG environmental, social and governance - which looks at the implementation of initiatives in these areas. ESG principles have gained worldwide prominence as a framework for evaluating an organisations ethical and sustainable behaviour. This framework encourages organisations to consider the environmental impact of their operations, their social responsibilities, and their governance structures. While ESG is a global phenomenon, its relevance to South Africa is particularly significant. B-BBEE is a uniquely South African concept aimed at addressing the historical economic inequalities for Black People. B-BBEE focuses on increasing the participation of Black People, in the economy. This initiative includes Ownership, Management Control, Skills Development, Enterprise & Supplier Development, Socio-Economic Development, and the Youth Employment Service Initiative as its core components. There are a few linkages between ESG and B-BBEE in South Africa that drive sustainability; Padayachy unpacks them below: Economic transformation: ESG principles encourage responsible business practices, including fair labor practices, ethical procurement, and community engagement. These aspects closely align with the objectives of B-BBEE, which seeks to drive economic transformation in South Africa for Black People by promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion within organisations. Social equity: The "S" in ESG emphasises the social dimension of business operations, including promoting diversity and inclusion, philanthropy, and community development. B-BBEE directly addresses these concerns by empowering Black People in the workforce and fostering social development, which contributes to social equity, explains Padayachy. Governance and transparency: The "G" in ESG underscores the importance of strong governance and transparency within an organisation. Similarly, B-BBEE emphasises governance and compliance to ensure that transformation is not just a superficial exercise but a structural change in the business landscape. So what are the benefits of linking ESG and B-BBEE in South Africa? Enhanced corporate reputation: Aligning with both ESG and B-BBEE principles can significantly improve an organisations reputation in South Africa. This is particularly valuable in a society that values ethical and sustainable practices. Market access and competitive advantage: Organisations that embrace ESG and B-BBEE not only meet regulatory requirements but also gain preferential access to new business and retain existing business, which is a strategic advantage in South Africa. Innovation and risk mitigation: Embracing ESG and B-BBEE encourages organisations to innovate and adapt to changing societal and environmental conditions. This not only mitigates risks but also positions them to seize emerging opportunities. Economic growth and social development: The linkage of ESG and B-BBEE accelerates economic growth in South Africa by fostering entrepreneurship and empowering marginalised communities with a specific focus on Black People. This, in turn, contributes to the overall development of the nation. Global attractiveness: Companies that are ESG and B-BBEE compliant become more attractive to international investors and partners, facilitating foreign investments and trade relationships. Long-term sustainability: By integrating ESG principles and B-BBEE into their core operations, companies in South Africa ensure long-term sustainability, which is vital in an ever-changing global business landscape. The synergy between ESG and B-BBEE in South Africa is a powerful catalyst for economic transformation, social equity, and sustainable development. Companies that embrace these frameworks not only benefit from improved reputations and market access but also contribute to the broader goal of creating a more inclusive and prosperous South Africa, says Padayachy. The convergence of ESG and B-BBEE embodies a vision for a South Africa that is economically vibrant, socially equitable, and environmentally sustainable. It is a path forward that holds promise for both businesses and society. A senior Volkswagen executive involved in a global cost-cutting strategy said on Friday, 24 November, he was "very worried" about the future of the company's operations in South Africa, which is fighting persistent power cuts and logistics snarls. Thomas Schaefer, Volkswagen's CEO of the VW Passenger Cars Brand speaks with Reuters about the future of VW production in Africa, in Johannesburg, South Africa, 24 November 2023. Reuters/Sumaya Hisham The company's VW passenger car brand is in the midst of defining the key measures of a global scheme to boost its flagging margin - the first of a series of savings drives aimed at improving group profitability and staying competitive in the transition to electric cars. The German automaker has been in South Africa for nearly 80 years. Factors like competitive labour costs once placed it among the company's higher-ranking bases globally, VW brand chief Thomas Schaefer said during a visit to the country. But the costs of mitigating power outages caused by chronic production shortfalls at state-owned utility Eskom as well as rising labour costs and logjams on railways and at ports have eroded that advantage, he said. "Eventually you have to say, why are we building cars in a less competitive factory somewhere far away from the real market where the consumption is?" Schaefer said. "I'm very worried about it ... We're not in the business of charity." He said the company's team in South Africa had done what it could to overcome what he called an "uphill battle" but that ultimately the South African government needed to step up to solve the problems. Volkswagen produced some 132,200 Polo and Vivo models at its South African facility in Uitenhage last year, most of them for export. Those export markets now risk disappearing, however, as wealthy countries move to electric vehicles (EVs). The European Union and Britain are planning to ban sales of new internal combustion vehicles from 2035. Schaefer said there were no current plans to introduce EV manufacturing in South Africa, since electric cars are currently priced out of the reach of most domestic consumers. Producing them for export would not be environmentally sustainable, he said. With the proper government policies aimed at leveraging the country's proximity to critical minerals like lithium and cobalt, however, it could become a battery manufacturing hub, he said. "There's a realistic chance that South Africa, with enough focus, with all the raw materials in the neighbourhood, they could be a champion," Schaefer said. The South African Health Professionals Collaboration (SAHPC) - a newly formed national group of nine medical and allied healthcare practitioners associations representing more than 25,000 dedicated private and public-sector healthcare workers - is disappointed that the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) Committee on Health and Social Services has not made any amendments to the NHI Bill. It also says the NCOP Committee failed to adequately consult, or consider submissions made by numerous clinician bodies, whose primary objective is to safeguard the future of healthcare in the country. This follows the NCOP Select Committee on health and social services final vote on the NHI Bill on Tuesday, 21 November 2023, where, despite objections, eight of the nine provinces voted in favour of the NHI Bill. It appears that comments and recommendations were not sufficiently taken into account in the final committee vote and therefore, the SAHPC urges the NCOP plenary to send the Bill back to the Committee on procedural grounds, when it votes on the NHI Bill on 29 November. The SAHPC, which includes family medicine GPs, specialist doctors, dentists, and allied healthcare workers, is deeply concerned about the unintended consequences that are likely to arise from the hasty adoption of the NHI Bill in its current format. The potential consequences of rushing through the NHI Bill without critical amendments are far-reaching and will further undermine the countrys ability to deliver quality healthcare to the very patients it seeks to protect. The SAHPC does not believe that this version of the Bill is in the best interest of patients, who are at the heart of any healthcare system. The Bill will also have severe repercussions for the economy and the countrys long-term economic sustainability. A call for stakeholder consultation Simon Strachan, a spokesperson for the SAHPC says: "The NHI Bill recommends a complete overhaul of the countrys healthcare sector. While reforms to the public and private healthcare sectors are urgently needed, there is too much at stake for the countrys healthcare system to get the NHI wrong. We are concerned that the Bills hasty progression through the legislative process, without taking into account the diverse perspectives and expert insights delivered through numerous prior expert submissions, is a lost opportunity to put the country on a pathway to quality healthcare for all. In the same way that healthcare workers primary responsibility is to their patients, we believe that Parliaments chief responsibility is to the people of our country. This required thorough interrogation of the NHI Bill to ensure that the final product is workable, affordable, and that it improves the quality and sustainability of available care. We do not believe that the Bill, in its current format, achieves this. The SAHPC remains committed to collaborating with policymakers and stakeholders to contribute valuable insights that will shape a healthcare system that serves the best interests of every South African. Business Unity South Africa (Busa) and Business for South Africa (B4SA) have written to the presiding officers of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) as well as to the deputy president, in his capacity as leader of government business in Parliament, to register their deep concern regarding the lack of due process in the NCOP select committee on health and social services on their adoption of the NHI Bill without any amendments on 21 November. Busa and B4SA say that no consideration was given by the select committee to the many constitutional issues, both procedural and substantive, in the Bill, which were raised by four provinces and a wide range of stakeholders. This amounts to a serious and significant procedural lapse and a violation and disregard of parliaments own public-participation model, fundamentally undermining the principles of participatory democracy on which our constitution is based. Busa and B4SA have consequently requested, in their letters to the NCOP and the deputy president, that the NCOP does not consider the Bill during its plenary session on 29 November, but rather defers consideration of the Bill until the select committee has substantively discussed and engaged on the comments and proposals put forward by stakeholders, as well as those of the provincial legislatures and the Department of Health itself. A thorough and proper legislative process would require these constructive inputs and proposed amendments to be circulated, properly considered and only then voted upon. Cas Coovadia, chief executive officer of Busa says: For the National Assembly and the NCOP to disregard proposed amendments that will have a beneficial and tangible impact on citizens, or indeed would prevent harm to citizens, in the interest of rushing the Bill through Parliament, is unconstitutional. It makes a mockery of due process and portrays the NCOP as nothing more than a rubber stamp. Our belief is that the Bill in its current form is utterly unimplementable, and will have severe consequences for South Africa, the economy and every citizen, for generations to come. The self-evident truth is that there is no money to fund this NHI Bill, and there is no clarity over its benefits, contracting terms, capacity, systems, management, governance or even a plan that begins to outline a viable approach to these fundamental considerations. "We have also repeatedly cautioned against a single fund for the NHI that, inter alia, will require taxes to be raised to unsustainable levels. This is unaffordable, unsustainable and presents a material risk to the economy, says Coovadia. Critically, the Bill does not provide for public-private sector collaboration, which is essential for the NHIs success. To address this, Busa and B4SA have proposed an amendment to Section 33 of the Bill, which currently says that when the Minister of Health declares that the NHI is fully implemented, medical schemes will not be able to cover or pay for any health service offered by the NHI. This impacts all employed citizens, including public-sector employees who currently enjoy medical aids as a material employee benefit through ParMed, Gems, PolMed and others. By limiting the role of the medical aids, it also imperils the entire private healthcare sector, which depends on them for financing. As currently drafted, the bill limits access to healthcare for over 9 million South Africans, infringing their constitutional rights. No other country in the world has a legislated limitation on the role of private health insurance, not even the wealthy countries with a substantial tax base and extensive publicly funded healthcare. Concerns on the NHI Bill implementation Martin Kingston, B4SA steering committee chair says: Governments mandate is to act in the best interest of all of its citizens. It is totally irresponsible to rubber stamp into law legislation that will have such a severe impact on the country and her people, ignoring the legitimate and substantive inputs that have been made by multiple stakeholders to date. We recognise that the passing of this Bill is a key aspect of the upcoming election but it must properly take into consideration due process and afford the necessary time and engagement to achieve that. The ramifications are significant. There are bound to be numerous legal challenges to the Bill, and the consequence will be that the NHI will not be implemented at a time when we all agree that it is imperative to address the many challenges facing the countrys healthcare sector. The private sector has made repeated suggestions as to how reforms can be immediately implemented in order to improve access to quality healthcare for many more millions of South Africans. The introduction of low-cost medical-aid options is one such example. All that is required is for the Council of Medical Schemes and the Minister of Health to approve them. These proposals have been on the table since 2015 but no satisfactory explanation has been provided as to why there appears to be regulatory paralysis. Executing recommendations Furthermore, the cost of private medical-aid cover could be reduced by over 20% if the 2019 recommendations of the Government's Health Market Inquiry are urgently and responsibly implemented. All of these initiatives can start now. This will take further pressure off the public healthcare sector and move universal health coverage forward in a way that supports the NHI, in a meaningful and visible manner. The approach adopted with respect to the NHI Bill, including certain key aspects thereof, has created substantial and widespread uncertainty, which is already impacting investment into the sector, and more broadly for the country. By amending Section 33 and clarifying a number of other critical aspects of the NHI Bill, introducing low-cost medical options, and reducing the cost of private care, the country can build a better overall healthcare system with immediate benefit for all. This will attract more capital and investment into the healthcare sector without the Government needing to raise taxes to unsustainable levels or take on additional debt, while retaining the countrys precious healthcare workforce. These proposed amendments and reforms will strengthen the NHI, to secure access to quality healthcare for all citizens, for generations to come, concludes Kingston. The processes for reporting dangerous workplaces can significantly differ from one organisation to another. Notably, there seems to be a lack of consideration for an anonymous reporting mechanism, leaving individuals raising concerns vulnerable to potential identification by others within the organisation who may take issue with the report. There is no apparent contemplation of an anonymous process through which reports of dangerous workplaces can be provided and those raising the alarm are not protected from identification from other personnel who may be aggrieved by the report. Protection and safeguards Section 26 of the OHSA prohibits any victimisation, by an employer, against an employee that discharges a duty or exercises rights under the OHSA. However, this may be of little comfort to employees who are genuinely scared of, or intimidated against, raising concerns about workplace safety or instructions issued by supervisors which may be unsafe. South Africa's existing Protected Disclosures Act is designed to safeguard whistleblowers from any form of retribution by their employers from an "occupational detriment" which is any negative action taken against a whistleblower, other than dismissal. This includes disciplinary action, suspension, demotion, harassment, or intimidation in the workplace. Secondly, outside of reporting of immediate possible harm and the use of the right to refuse work, where an element of protection does already exist, employers should consider the potential value of the use of whistleblowing systems and whistleblower protections as part of accident and incident investigations. Although not free from its own shortcomings, there is scope for employers and employees alike to assess the usefulness and appropriateness of the Protected Disclosures Act in the context of occupational health and safety management. In addition, when developing systems for employees to exercise their rights under health and safety legislation, or whether employers implement systems in line with best practice in excess of which the legislation requires, the guidelines in ISO 37002: Whistleblowing management systems guidelines (ISO guidelines) can be relied upon. This document "provides guidance for organisations to create a whistleblowing management system based on principles of trust, impartiality and protection". Direction The ISO guidelines provide direction on establishing, implementing, and maintaining effective whistleblowing management systems. Within the contemplated management system, a structured framework is set out in respect of receiving, assessing, and addressing whistleblower reports as well as concluding cases involving whistleblowing. The policies and procedures that constitute a whistleblowing management system promote early reporting, preventing detrimental treatment of whistleblowers, and foster a culture of safety reporting. The processes and principles set out in the ISO guidelines would enhance workplace safety through early identification and remedial action in response to harm or risk of harm to safety and safe working practices. The guideline provides a clear process for receiving and assessing reports of wrongdoing including safety-related issues that provides for prompt evaluation and action, increasing an organisation's capacity to intervene in unsafe circumstances before harm occurs. Reporting mechanisms Where an employee is apprehensive about making a report of an unsafe work practice or environment to an immediate supervisor for any reason, it is advantageous to establish additional reporting channels that are visible, accessible, and secure. The ISO guidelines set out practical recommendations as to the types of channels that may be considered for this purpose as well as the factors to consider in maintaining the integrity and confidentiality of any disclosures made through those channels. Making employees aware of existing reporting channels, be it manually written complaints in a record book or updated channels via an online portal, is crucial to avoid employees claiming impossibility for reporting a complaint or concern. Employers should remain mindful of the multi-language requirements of the workforce and facilitate engagements in a language that the whistleblower is comfortable with. Fear of intimidation Even though employees bear a statutory duty to report actual or perceived unsafe or unhealthy situations, many fail do to so, citing intimidation as the reason for such failure. Facilitating anonymous and confidential disclosures, as well as continued information exchange is advantageous in circumstances where harm has occurred for the purposes of gathering evidence of an incident while mitigating circumstances that lend themselves to employees claiming intimidation as the basis of their failure to report. In turn, this lays a foundation for robust accident and incident investigations. Such guidance covers the information that should be sought from whistleblowers to ensure that an organisation has information at hand to properly assess the incident itself as well as the likelihood of the whistleblower suffering detrimental conduct as a result of making the disclosure and the severity of the detriment should it occur. Procedure and protocols Establishing protocols or guidance on how to engage with a whistleblower during and after a disclosure will limit or avoid compromising accident and incident investigations. This enables an organisation to prioritise reports based on risk. Additionally, the type and frequency of feedback that should be provided to the whistleblower during an investigation into a reported issue builds and maintains trust and provides an opportunity for a whistleblower to share additional information. A fast and reliable method of collecting and securing evidence of an accident or incident empowers an organisation to act swiftly. Assessing appropriate measures in addressing dangerous working places or practices should include considering factors such as whether the incident necessitates additional procedures such a disciplinary proceedings; assessing if the incident involves a criminal offence and warrants referral to the Department of Mineral Resources and the South African Police Service; considering the timing of the incident, its potential to disrupt business activities, immediate threats to health and safety, human rights, or the environment; and addressing the need to preserve evidence. Potential risk factors There are, of course, possible risk areas if this is not managed carefully, particularly where the disclosures are not made in good faith, regulators intervention that may require identification of complainants (including where incidents are subject to statutory investigations or inquiries particularly as the current legislative regime does not expressly provide for anonymity, although employers may offer this to employees to encourage disclosure) and whether a system designed to protect employees against retaliatory conduct by an employer would work optimally in an environment where the protection may be required from other employees or supervisors, and the employer is already committed to protection of employees who raise health and safety concerns. The existing legislative frameworks do not provide protection or clear consequence for retaliation beyond the realms of the employment environment and in respect of which employers may have little influence or control. Anticipated changes to whistleblowing legislation may then be of interest to health and safety managers and employers, particularly if legal reforms introduce stronger penalties and consequences for those who retaliate against whistleblowers, serving as a more effective deterrent, whether legislation will require financial and legal support mechanisms to those who expose wrongdoing coupled with the possibility of rewards and incentives to encourage individuals to step forward. Borsa Italiana non ha responsabilita per il contenuto del sito a cui sta per accedere e non ha responsabilita per le informazioni contenute. Accedendo a questo link, Borsa Italiana non intende sollecitare acquisti o offerte in alcun paese da parte di nessuno. Sarai automaticamente diretto al link in cinque secondi. TOKYO, Nov 28 ( NHK ) - Two 18-year-olds have surrendered to police after their attempt to rob a jewelry store in Tokyo was thwarted by an employee. The attack took place on Sunday night in the capital's Ueno district. Three assailants wearing full-face motorcycle helmets forced their way into the shop and began smashing the showcases with a crowbar. The scene was recorded by a bystander. A heavy-set employee is seen confronting the would-be robbers with a long two-pronged pole. He repeatedly hits their getaway motorcycle with the device, forcing the assailants to flee empty-handed on foot. Police say the two 18-year-old men turned themselves in on Monday night. They were arrested for alleged robbery and an assault that left one employee slightly injured. Investigators say the two appear to be acquainted with each other, and are admitting that they carried out the attack. Police are searching for the third assailant. Lightning, rain-related incidents kill 24 in India's Gujarat Xinhua) 09:23, November 28, 2023 NEW DELHI, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- At least 24 people were killed and 23 others injured due to lightning and rain-related incidents in India's western state of Gujarat, officials said on Monday. The deaths took place during the last 48 hours. Apart from human casualties, the unseasonal rains perished cattle and damaged crops. "Unseasonal rains triggering lightning, rains and strong winds have killed 24 people and injured 23 others across the state," an official said. "The rains lashed 234 sub-districts, damaging crops and perished 71 animals." According to the officials, the deaths have been reported from across 16 districts of the state. "Four deaths have been reported in Dahod, three in Bharuch, three in Banaskantha, two in Tapi and one each in Amreli, Surendranagar, Mehsana, Botad, Panchmahal, Kheda, Sabarkantha, Ahmedabad, Surat, Devbhoomi Dwarka, Patan and Anand," the official said. Reports said some districts received up to 144 mm of rainfall. The Meteorological Department has predicted heavy rain in Gujarat accompanied by strong winds and lightning strikes. An orange alert has been issued in south Gujarat, while a yellow alert declared in Saurashtra. Based on color-coded warnings, a red alert signifies taking immediate action, an orange alert suggests being prepared for action, and a yellow alert is an indication to wait and watch for updates. Indian Home Minister Amit Shah has expressed grief and extended condolences to the families of the victims. He said the local administration had begun the relief work in affected areas. "I am deeply saddened by the news of the death of many people due to bad weather and lightning in various cities of Gujarat. I express my deepest condolences for the irreparable loss to those who lost their loved ones in this tragedy. The local administration is engaged in relief work, praying for the speedy recovery of the injured," Shah said in a statement. Local media quoting data from the Ministry of Earth Sciences reported 907 people were killed in 2022 due to lightning strikes across India. Disaster management officials always caution people to avoid venturing out during thunderstorms and lightning strikes. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan) Blog Archive: Dec 2023 (5) Nov 2023 (150) Oct 2023 (155) Sep 2023 (150) Aug 2023 (155) Jul 2023 (155) Jun 2023 (150) May 2023 (155) Apr 2023 (150) Mar 2023 (155) Feb 2023 (140) Jan 2023 (155) Dec 2022 (156) Nov 2022 (150) Oct 2022 (155) Sep 2022 (150) Aug 2022 (155) Jul 2022 (154) Jun 2022 (150) May 2022 (155) Apr 2022 (150) Mar 2022 (155) Feb 2022 (140) Jan 2022 (156) Dec 2021 (156) Nov 2021 (150) Oct 2021 (155) Sep 2021 (150) Aug 2021 (155) Jul 2021 (155) Jun 2021 (150) May 2021 (155) Apr 2021 (150) Mar 2021 (155) Feb 2021 (140) Jan 2021 (155) Dec 2020 (155) Nov 2020 (150) Oct 2020 (158) Sep 2020 (150) Aug 2020 (130) Jul 2020 (124) Jun 2020 (120) May 2020 (124) Apr 2020 (120) Mar 2020 (124) Feb 2020 (116) Jan 2020 (125) Dec 2019 (126) Nov 2019 (120) Oct 2019 (124) Sep 2019 (120) Aug 2019 (125) Jul 2019 (124) Jun 2019 (120) May 2019 (123) Apr 2019 (121) Mar 2019 (124) Feb 2019 (112) Jan 2019 (125) Dec 2018 (126) Nov 2018 (120) Oct 2018 (124) Sep 2018 (121) Aug 2018 (124) Jul 2018 (125) Jun 2018 (120) May 2018 (124) Apr 2018 (121) Mar 2018 (124) Feb 2018 (112) Jan 2018 (123) Dec 2017 (124) Nov 2017 (124) Oct 2017 (141) Sep 2017 (135) Aug 2017 (138) Jul 2017 (137) Jun 2017 (134) May 2017 (138) Apr 2017 (135) Mar 2017 (139) Feb 2017 (129) Jan 2017 (143) Dec 2016 (135) Nov 2016 (138) Oct 2016 (142) Sep 2016 (128) Aug 2016 (133) Jul 2016 (136) Jun 2016 (138) May 2016 (164) Apr 2016 (311) Mar 2016 (348) Feb 2016 (320) Jan 2016 (348) Dec 2015 (314) Nov 2015 (338) Oct 2015 (363) Sep 2015 (358) Aug 2015 (399) Jul 2015 (374) Jun 2015 (331) May 2015 (337) Apr 2015 (319) Mar 2015 (320) Feb 2015 (271) Jan 2015 (286) Dec 2014 (254) Nov 2014 (238) Oct 2014 (287) Sep 2014 (267) Aug 2014 (259) Jul 2014 (260) Jun 2014 (238) May 2014 (241) Apr 2014 (228) Mar 2014 (240) Feb 2014 (217) Jan 2014 (263) Dec 2013 (226) Nov 2013 (254) Oct 2013 (256) Sep 2013 (252) Aug 2013 (263) Jul 2013 (261) Jun 2013 (251) May 2013 (250) Apr 2013 (221) Mar 2013 (193) Feb 2013 (164) Jan 2013 (157) Dec 2012 (155) Nov 2012 (240) Oct 2012 (526) Sep 2012 (411) Aug 2012 (394) Jul 2012 (284) Jun 2012 (229) May 2012 (213) Apr 2012 (213) Mar 2012 (253) Feb 2012 (269) Jan 2012 (298) Dec 2011 (273) Nov 2011 (219) Oct 2011 (204) Sep 2011 (201) Aug 2011 (236) Jul 2011 (217) Jun 2011 (211) May 2011 (206) Apr 2011 (215) Mar 2011 (215) Feb 2011 (186) Jan 2011 (215) Dec 2010 (107) Nov 2010 (98) Oct 2010 (55) Westports status as the global production capital of Botox was further enhanced last year as worldwide sales of the treatment from a local manufacturing plant increased by $1.25 billion (1.14 billion) to a record $4.88 billion ($4.43 billion). New accounts filed by Allergan Pharmaceuticals Ireland UC show that the Westport-based firm recorded a 14 per cent jump in pre-tax profits to $1.51 billion as it benefited from a global surge in the demand for Botox produced at the plant. Advertisement Hollywood stars and celebrities, Nicole Kidman, Cameron Diaz, Courteney Cox and Kim Kardashian have all admitted that they have used the wrinkle erasing drug, Botox in the past. Allergan first set up on a greenfield site outside Westport 46 years ago, and it has provided a bonanza to the Co Mayo town and the north-west region. The new accounts show that the company's overall revenues increased by 25 per cent or $1.1 billion, rising from $4.34 billion to $5.44 billion. Advertisement The Mayo plant is parent company Abbvies sole manufacturing facility for the production of Botox worldwide. Advertisement The accounts for Allergan Pharmaceuticals Ireland UC show that Botox sales increased by $1.25 billion or 34 per cent, rising from $3.63 billion to $4.88 billion as eye care pharmaceutical sales declined by 22 per cent from $716 million to $561.39 million. Numbers employed increased by 127 from 1,210 to 1,337 in 2022 and the businesss contribution to the local economy is underlined with staff costs totalling $109.28 million last year. The companys largest market is the US accounting for 68 per cent or $3.25 billion in sales followed by Europe, Africa and the Middle East which account for 14 per cent of revenues at $742.4 million. The accounts show that its revenues from the Asia Pacific region increased 13-fold from $43 million to $567 million while Latin America revenues increased from $5.96 million to $154 million. Advertisement The profit in 2022 takes account of combined non-cash depreciation and amortisation of $1.59 billion. The accounts - signed off on November 16th - show that the business recorded an operating profit in 2022 of $2.27 billion and net interest payments of $753 million reduced the profits to $1.5 billion. The business recorded post-tax profits of $1.32 billion after incurring a corporation tax charge of $190.72 million. In 2022, staff numbers were made up of 656 in production, 349 in quality, four in administration and 328 under the heading of indirect. Pay to directors totalled $1.39 million, which included emoluments of $1.33 million and $57,000 in pension contributions. The directors state that the company has major capital projects in progress to expand its production capability and to strategically position its manufacturing facility for the introduction of new products. At the end of December 2022, the companys shareholder funds totalled $8.2 billion, which included accumulated profits of $1 billion. Abbvie's $63 billion purchase of the Allergan group was completed back in 2020. The son of businessman Ben Dunne has described him as a good, decent, generous, loving Irish man, who had a passion for business. Mr Dunne died over a week ago after suffering from a heart attack in Dubai. Advertisement Ben Dunne's casket is carried into St Mochta's Church. Photo: PA The popular Cork-born man was a high-profile figure in Irish life, and was a former director of family firm Dunnes Stores as well as the owner of a chain of gyms. Hundreds of people attended his funeral mass on Tuesday, including Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald and businessman Larry Goodman. Advertisement Businessman Larry Goodman arrives for the funeral mass of Ben Dunne. Photo: Niall Carson/PA Ben Dunne gym staff formed a guard of honour at the gates of St Mochtas Church in Porterstown, Clonsilla. Mr Dunnes wicker coffin was carried into St Mochtas Church in Porterstown, Clonsilla, for a funeral mass on Tuesday. Advertisement Addressing mourners in a Dublin church, Mark Dunne said his father was brilliant and loving to his children and grandchildren, and had been philosophical on the trip in Dubai. Advertisement Mary Lou McDonald arriving at St Mochtas Church in Dublin. Photo: Collins Mark Dunne told mourners his father never liked going to funerals but wanted a full report from ones his son had attended. This is one funeral that, sadly, he must attend, Mark Dunne told the congregation, adding he would be pleased to see so many people in attendance. A man who threatened and exposed himself to a female garda while in a garda vehicle has been jailed for three years. Keith McDonnell (34) of Back Lane, Dublin 8, pleaded guilty to two counts of making threats to kill or cause serious harm to two members of An Garda Siochana on May 12th, 2020. Advertisement Imposing the sentence on Tuesday, Judge Orla Crowe said McDonnells comments to the female garda were misogynistic and vile and said he made persistent threats towards her and her colleagues as well as exposing himself. She accepted that he had a difficult background and had struggled with addiction, noting a letter from McDonnells partner outlined the impact his addiction has had on their family. Judge Crowe accepted evidence that McDonnell became homeless at eight years of age and was smoking, drinking and taking drugs at a very young age. Advertisement He disrupted a police operation who were simply upholding the law. His behaviour was appalling, Judge Crowe said before she added that the threats were real, credible and nasty. Advertisement The judge said the case warranted a headline sentence of four years before she imposed a sentence of three years, taking into account the mitigating factors including McDonnells plea of guilty. Detective Sergeant Tim O'Sullivan told Eoghan Cole SC, prosecuting, that gardai were carrying out a search at La Touche Drive in Bluebell in the early hours of the day in question, when McDonnell became verbally aggressive towards them. The court heard McDonnell was staying nearby, but was not connected to the property being searched. Gardai observed McDonnell appeared to be intoxicated, and a male officer went to speak with him. Advertisement McDonnell picked up a sweeping brush, then charged towards the officer, threatening to slap him. The garda took out his pepper spray and baton and McDonnell retreated, but continued to be abusive. He then grabbed a brick and threatened to smash the garda's skull. Other members of An Garda Siochana came to help and McDonnell went back into the house. The homeowner told gardai that McDonnell was not welcome and wanted him to be removed from the property. Advertisement Gardai found McDonnell hiding under a bed upstairs. A number of gardai physically removed him from the house, but he resisted and was kicked out. Advertisement McDonnell was arrested and placed in a garda van to be taken to the station. During the 10-minute journey, McDonnell was sitting within a clear Perspex box and was accompanied by a female garda. McDonnell continued to be abusive, calling the female garda a tramp. He told her he would make sure she never has a family of her own and said he would find every member of her family and where she was living. McDonnell managed to pull his tracksuit down, then exposed himself to the garda before banging his penis against the Perspex. He told the garda to suck it. Oisin Clarke BL, defending, said his client was extremely intoxicated and said it was a completely unnecessary offence. Advertisement He described the offence as squalid, offensive and misogynistic, before he added that it was distasteful and very unpleasant for the gardai involved. He said from the age of eight, McDonnell was left to his own devices and was left living on the streets and was associating himself with people much older than he was. He said McDonnell began smoking cannabis and drinking at the age of eight years old and was taking cocaine at 15. Mr Clarke said his clients entire lifestyle has been blighted by drug abuse, homelessness and antisocial behaviour, before he outlined that one of his twin sons has a chronic condition and he and his partner have previously lost a child. Tanaiste Micheal Martin has criticised Sinn Feins response to the riots in Dublin last week as a knee-jerk attempt to go for the political jugular. Sinn Fein has called for Minister for Justice Helen McEntee and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris to resign. Advertisement Mr Martin said he has absolute confidence in Ms McEntee and regretted Sinn Feins calls for her resignation. The Tanaiste and Fianna Fail leader said he has a longstanding position of not calling for the resignation of a Garda Commissioner, calling it a slippery slope. You stand by the leadership of An Garda Siochana, you deal with the issues, he said. Because once politicians get into the operation and area of policing, then we are in trouble. The most fundamental takeaway from my perspective is the rapid mobilisation of so many people via social media platforms which culminated in rioting, and also the significant articulation of hate towards foreigners, essentially, if you read some of the messaging on social media. Advertisement Advertisement And then the looting and so on, so we have to respond to that, he said, speaking on Tuesday at the end of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference at Dublins Farmleigh House. Tanaiste Micheal Martin arrives at Farmleigh House, Dublin (Niall Carson/PA) Mr Martin said he was also concerned with attacks on gardai and workers during the disorder in the capital on Thursday night, saying it represented an assault on institutions of the state. Advertisement He said: Because if you loot a shop, if you attack shopkeepers, youre attacking workers. If you stop buses, youre attacking bus drivers. If you attack gardai, youre attacking your friends, your family, your community. Mr Martin admitted there are issues that arose from the riots, which saw vehicles and bins set alight and shops raided and damaged. But he said Sinn Fein has tried to exploit them. I think Irish politics, and the significant divide in Irish politics, is very evident. Its divided between those who want to sort out problems and resolve issues and those who want to exploit them, he said. Advertisement Ive observed Sinn Fein now for the last four to five years. It is, without question, a party that seeks to exploit every issue that arises as opposed to coming forward with constructive ideas as to how to resolve them. And, in fact, if you go back over all the various stances they have taken on a whole variety of issues, you see incoherence and inconsistency. Most recently, in the context of the Middle East, we saw it again, seeking to exploit what is a horrendous conflict bringing devastation and death to thousands of people. Sinn Feins focus has been, How do we drive a wedge between Government and opposition on this issue? How do we exploit it with a view to try to gain electoral advantage? Detectives have launched an investigation into the clinical practices of a former neurologist who was at the centre of Northern Irelands largest recall of patients. The Police Service of Northern Irelands (PSNI) Operation Begrain will probe the work of Dr Michael Watt and an appeal has been issued for former patients to come forward. Advertisement A senior detective said the investigation would be long, protracted and complex. Detectives from our Major Investigation Team have launched Operation Begrain, an investigation into the clinical practices of Michael Watt, former Consultant Neurologist. Read more: https://t.co/6f3eMctfvg pic.twitter.com/CYVa4ykff0 Police Service NI (@PoliceServiceNI) November 28, 2023 Advertisement In 2018, more than 4,000 of the neurologists patients attended recall appointments amid concerns over his clinical practice. Earlier this month, Dr Watt was struck off the medical register after a tribunal found his fitness to practise was currently impaired and that his professional performance was unacceptable. Advertisement Advertisement The police probe will be jointly led by Detective Chief Inspector Neil McGuinness and Detective Inspector Gina Quinn. Mr McGuinness said: Operation Begrain is the Police Service of Northern Irelands investigation into the clinical practices of Michael Watt, who is a former consultant neurologist. Michael Watt worked for the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, and also held private clinics at Hillsborough Private Clinic and the Ulster Independent Clinic. We are appealing to former patients, or their next of kin and representatives, who wish to report concerns regarding their medical treatment by Michael Watt, to contact police. Advertisement Detective Chief Inspector Neil McGuinness is joint lead of the investigation (Liam McBurney/PA) A dedicated online reporting platform has been created on the PSNI website so people can report their concerns. Mr McGuinness said: We would encourage you to use the online reporting form where possible as it will guide you through the questions we need answered and is available 24 hours a day. It is the quickest and easiest way to report. Advertisement However, for anyone unable to use the online reporting facility, we have set up a helpline number which will operate between 9.30am and 3.30pm from Monday to Friday. He added: We recognise wholeheartedly that this will be a harrowing time for many. Importantly, the webpage includes details of various available support networks. Advertisement Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Detective Inspector Gina Quinn urged patients to come forward (Rebecca Black/PA) Ms Quinn said patients who come forward will receive a letter by email from the investigation team explaining how to contact detectives and setting out the next steps. She said: Once we have a better understanding of how many people wish to engage with police we will be able to update on predicted timeframes. What I can say with confidence at this stage though is it will be a long, protracted and complex investigation. We realise this will be a traumatic time for many people and we will endeavour to give regular updates throughout this investigation. People can contact the police in relation to the investigation into the clinical practices of Michael Watt in a number of ways outlined below. The phone helpline number is 0800 051 6071. A on call radiographer at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda who failed to respond to repeated efforts to contact him to carry out an urgent scan on a seven-month-old baby with a serious head injury, has accepted he is guilty of professional misconduct. A fitness-to-practice inquiry of CORU the regulatory body of health and social care professionals heard the radiographer, Ugochukwu Owoh, made admissions to a series of allegations about his conduct at the hospital last year. Advertisement They included that he drove home around four hours before his shift was due to finish at a time he was on-call and supposed to stay within the hospital on April 24th, 2022. Mr Owoh also accepted that he had failed to close out an urgent review of an elderly man with a suspected stroke in a timely manner and failed to notify a consultant radiologist that scans on the patient had been completed. Advertisement That incident occurred within hours of his failure to respond to numerous calls and texts requiring him to carry out an urgent scan on the baby boy on July 24th 2022. Mr Owoh, who has been registered as a radiographer in Ireland since May 2015, acknowledged that the admissions he made in relation to three different allegations constituted professional misconduct and poor professional performance. Advertisement Counsel for CORU, Caoimhe Daly BL, said Mr Owohs actions also represented several breaches of the code of professional conduct and ethics for radiographers. Ms Daly said the inquiry arose on foot of a complaint submitted to CORU by the radiography services manager at Our Lady of Lourdes, Jacqui McGovern, about Mr Owoh who has worked in the hospital since July 2016. The inquiry held on Tuesday heard that the radiographer was meant to work an on-call shift at the hospital from 5pm on April 23, 2022 until 9am the following morning. In a statement provided to CORU, a senior radiographer who was on-call from home, Sarah Tully, said she could not believe it when she noticed Mr Owoh driving out of the hospital in his car at around 5am as she was responding to a call to return to Our Lady of Lourdes. Advertisement Advertisement I knew he should still be on site, said Ms Tully. Another radiographer, Chanda Kalumbi, said Mr Owoh had told him he was going to spend a designated rest period in a room in the hospital. Mr Kalumbi said there was nothing unusual about his colleagues behaviour earlier in the shift. The inquiry heard the hospital provided an apartment within its grounds for staff to take rest periods during long shifts. Advertisement The hospitals radiology services manager, Stephanie Kelso, told CORU that Mr Owoh had no reason to explain why he left his shift early when she confronted him about it. However, Mr Owoh subsequently informed the hospital that he had been feeling unwell but maintained that it had adequate radiographer cover on the night. Ms Kelso expressed concern that his absence could have caused serious problems if there had been a major trauma incident at the hospital. The inquiry also heard how hospital staff made repeated unsuccessful attempts to contact Mr Owoh over a six-hour period when he was rostered on call but allowed to be at home on July 24th, 2022. Advertisement Urgent scan Ms Daly said Mr Owoh was allowed to be at home on the strict understanding that he was available on his phone. Advertisement Counsel said staff at Our Lady of Lourdes had tried to contact the radiographer by phone and by text between 12.12 am and 5.57am to inform him that he was required to carry out an urgent scan on a seven-month-old baby boy. Ms Daly said the baby has sustained a head injury in a fall and had multiple episodes of vomiting coupled with drowsiness. Another colleague who was required to perform the scan said Mr Owoh has subsequently told him that he had not heard the calls to his phone. A switchboard operator at the hospital also noted that Our Lady of Lourdes had no policy on what should be done when consultants cannot be contacted, even though staff had highlighted the need for one. The inquiry heard that Mr Owoh eventually replied to a WhatsApp message to Ms Kelso at 5.57am by stating: Im sorry, Steph. I didnt hear my phone. He subsequently told her that his failure to answer calls and texts was not done on purpose as he believed his phones ringtone had inadvertently been turned down while it was in his pocket. Ms Daly noted that the radiographer had informed the hospital that he was getting a landline installed in his home to prevent a similar situation arising again. Advertisement She said a few hours later on the same morning, hospital staff had ordered a very urgent scan on an 80-year-old man suspected of having a stroke where time was of the essence. However, Ms Daly said that although Mr Owoh carried out the scan, he had failed to record contrast details and close out the review in a timely manner together with failing to report back to a consultant radiologist about the patient. The inquiry heard that he just left and went home. The radiographers legal representative subsequently informed the hospital that Mr Owoh was suffering from anxiety and extreme nervousness from his error a few hours earlier about not being contactable and its consequences. She also outlined a report from an expert witness which found Mr Owohs actions represented professional misconduct and poor professional performance because of their impact on patient care. The inquiry heard that Mr Owoh was issued with a written warning in October 2022 and has been removed from on call duties until the completion of the CORU inquiry. The inquiry is due to conclude on Wednesday. Details of any sanctions imposed by the Health and Social Care Professionals Council on foot of recommendations from its fitness-to-practise committee will not be made public until they are confirmed and ratified by the High Court. The Governments response to riots in Dublin is and will be robust, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar insisted as Sinn Fein levelled accusations of delusion. Mr Varadkar said he has full confidence in gardai, Garda management and Minister for Justice Helen McEntee after Sinn Fein president Mary-Lou McDonald pressed for her removal. Advertisement Ms McDonald said the riots were a situation that had been building for months and noted that the Canadian, Australian and UK have issued warnings to citizens travelling to Dublin. She said control of Dublin city centre was lost during the rioting centred on OConnell Street last Thursday, which came shortly after a knife attack on children and a carer outside a school. The government isnt listening. We need safe communities, safe towns and cities for all. Nothing less will do. I have confidence full confidence in an Garda Siochana. I have zero confidence in the Garda Commissioner and the Minister for Justice @MaryLouMcDonald pic.twitter.com/G1tJM2Co6C Advertisement Advertisement Sinn Fein (@sinnfeinireland) November 28, 2023 Ms McDonald accused the Government of not listening and said she has full confidence in gardai but none in Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and Ms McEntee. Advertisement Minister McEntee refused to accept that control of Dublin city centre was lost. It seems the Minister has moved from denial to full-blown delusion, and she is clearly not the person to provide the leadership needed to restore public confidence in policing, she said. Her position is now untenable, Taoiseach. You must do what is necessary and remove Helen McEntee as Minister for Justice. Dublin was rocked by riots last Thursday (PA) Advertisement She said: The truth is the confidence in policing and public safety is at rock bottom I am telling you straight, and Im telling you clear: we need a fresh start and Minister McEntee is not the Minister is not the person to give the leadership that is required at this critical time. Mr Varadkar outlined measures including retaining two public order units in Dublin until at least Christmas, as well as accelerating plans for more gardai, more equipment for gardai, and more prison places. He said the Governments response is immediate, medium term and long term, and is going to be and is very robust. He accused the Sinn Fein leader of playing politics and looking for heads. Advertisement Advertisement Minister for Justice Helen McEntee (PA) He described Ms McEntee as a minister who has been leading and extremely active on the issues of law and order and criminal justice during her term in office. In exchanges during Leaders Questions in the Dail on Tuesday, Labour leader Ivana Bacik called for an independent review of Thursday evenings events, describing a Policing Authority review as not enough. We need to see an independent review of what went wrong, she said. We also need to see a real commitment from the Government to tackle and target the far right to ensure intelligence-led policing is tackling and taking them on. And thirdly, we need a commitment from Government to give gardai the resources they need, frontline guarding, to ensure that we have more personnel that we dont allow the numbers to drop, as they now are below 4,000. She also called for political unity, highlighting grandstanding not only from the opposition, but also from Fianna Fail senators. Thats grandstanding, thats play acting at a time when what the people in this country and this city are calling out for is political leadership, a common unity of purpose against the really awful threat of the far right, and we need to see that unity because were not even seeing it from Government, she said. Advertisement Mr Varadkar said he would consider an independent review. There had been pressure on Ms McEntee to respond to safety issues in the capital before disorder broke out last week, resulting in cars, buses and trams being burned and shops being damaged and looted. Speaking on her way into Cabinet on Tuesday, when Ms McEntee was due to update her colleagues on the Dublin riots, she said her focus remained on her job, saying: Thats always been my priority. Green Party leader Eamon Ryan and Minister for Finance Michael McGrath said they backed Helen McEntee. A bus is removed from OConnell Street in Dublin following Thursday's riots (PA) Mr McGrath said on Tuesday: I believe she has the full support of her Cabinet colleagues this is not about personalities. He said that generally he believes the capital is safe but the Dublin riots would rock the confidence of many. What happened last Thursday in Dublin was an affront to our democracy and the entire political system and all of our public bodies need to stand together in unison to take on these thugs, he said. And that is why we need to have a very strong response to what has happened, and the public want to see there are consequences to the type of violence and disorder that we witnessed in the streets of our capital city last week. Advertisement Mr Ryan said he would support Ms McEntee in any confidence motion, but Dublin is not safe enough. Asked about Green Party TD Neasa Hourigan saying she could not support Ms McEntee in a confidence motion, Mr Ryan said: Well be voting support for the Government. Were in Government in government you work collectively, you work together. So, yes, Ill be voting confidence in (the) Minister of Justice and I think its important at this time that actually we deliver that increased safety. Both Drew Harris and the Minister of Justice, rather than just a political, Oh, get rid of them, thatll solve the problem, (I) dont think it will. We need to get down to work in Government, and we will, collectively. The 2024 Ironman triathlon event set to take place in Youghal, Co Cork, has been called off, according to the event's organisers. A statement released on the Ironman Ireland website said: "Ironman Ireland, Cork will be taking a hiatus in 2024. Advertisement "We are thankful for the support of Cork County Council, and we appreciate their continued partnership and commitment as we work collectively under our host agreement towards bringing back the event in the strongest way possible in 2025 and beyond." It said other Ironman race options are available for competitors, including Ironman Wales which takes place on September 22nd next year. The statement also said: "TriNations will also be paused in 2024. However, those who only have Ironman Wales left to complete can still achieve TriNations status at Ironman Wales 2024." The announcement came after two competitors died in the event back in August. Advertisement Ivan Chittenden (65), from Toronto in Canada, was holidaying in Ireland when he decided to take part in the event in Youghal. The other competitor killed was Brendan Wall (44), who was originally from Co Meath but was living in Solihull in the UK. The organisers of Ironman said they were "deeply saddened" to confirm their deaths. The men had been taking part in the 1.7km swim portion of the event when they got into difficulty. More people could die from disease than from bombings in the Gaza Strip if its health system is not repaired, a World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson has warned. Gaza health authorities deemed reliable by the United Nations say more than 15,000 people have been confirmed killed in Israel's bombardment of Gaza, around 40 per cent of them children, with many more dead feared to be lost under rubble. Advertisement Israel has sworn to annihilate Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, after its gunmen burst across the fence and killed around 1,200 people and seized 240 captives on October 7th. "Eventually we will see more people dying from disease than we are even seeing from the bombardment if we are not able to put back (together) this health system," said the WHO's Margaret Harris at a UN briefing in Geneva. Advertisement She repeated concerns about a rise in outbreaks of infectious diseases, particularly diarrhoeal diseases. Citing a UN report on the living conditions of displaced residents in northern Gaza, she said: "(There are) no medicines, no vaccination activities, no access to safe water and hygiene and no food. We saw a very high number of cases of diarrhoea among infants," she said. Advertisement She described the collapse of Al Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza as a "tragedy" and voiced concern about the detention of some of its medical staff by Israeli forces during a WHO evacuation convoy. James Elder, a spokesperson from the UN Children's Agency in Gaza, told reporters by videolink that hospitals in Gaza were full of children with war wounds and gastroenteritis from drinking dirty water. "I met a lot of parents... They know exactly what their children need. They don't have access to safe water and it's crippling them," he said. He described seeing one child with part of his leg missing lying on the hospital floor for several hours, without receiving treatment for lack of medical staff. -Reuters The wife of Ukraine's military intelligence chief has been poisoned with heavy metals, several Ukrainian media outlets reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed intelligence sources. Marianna Budanova is the wife of Kyrylo Budanov, who heads Ukrainian military intelligence agency GUR, which has been prominently involved in clandestine operations against Russian forces throughout the 21-month war. Advertisement Budanov's public profile has surged in Ukraine, where he is portrayed as a behind-the-scenes mastermind of efforts to strike back at Russia. In Russian media, he is a hate figure. If confirmed as deliberate, the alleged poisoning of his wife would represent the most serious targeting of a high-profile Ukrainian leadership figure's family member since Moscow began its invasion in February last year. Ukraine's military intelligence and domestic security services did not respond to requests for comment. Advertisement The reports did not make any suggestions of who was behind the alleged poisoning or clarify when it took place. Advertisement One media outlet, Babel, cited an unnamed source who said Budanova had been in hospital, and was finishing a course of treatment for the effects of the poisoning. Public broadcaster Suspilne and online outlets Ukrainska Pravda and RBC Ukraina also reported she had been poisoned. Ukrainska Pravda cited a source saying the poison had likely been administered in her food and that several other GUR staff members had also been poisoned. Russian media has reported that a court in Moscow had arrested Budanov in absentia in April on terrorism charges. Moscow has previously blamed Ukrainian secret services for the murders of a pro-war Russian blogger and a pro-war journalist on Russian soil. Kyiv denies involvement in those deaths. Budanov has previously said he would "keep killing Russians anywhere on the face of this world until the complete victory of Ukraine". -Reuters Three social media posts calling Laurence Fox a racist were an organised pile on that ended his career, the actor and politician has told the High Court in London. The Reclaim Party founder continued giving evidence for a second day in a libel trial over an exchange on Twitter, now known as X, about a decision by Sainsburys to provide a safe space for black employees during Black History Month. Advertisement Mr Fox called for a boycott of the supermarket in October 2020 and was called a racist by the drag artist Crystal, former Stonewall trustee Simon Blake and actress Nicola Thorp. The 45-year-old, who denies being a racist, told the hearing on Tuesday that the trios posts were an organised pile on designed to destroy my career and (thats) exactly the result that it was intended to do. Advertisement In her tweet, Ms Thorp alleged that any company giving future employment to Laurence Fox, or providing him with a platform, does so with the complete knowledge that he is unequivocally, publicly and undeniably a racist. Mr Fox told the hearing: Thats that person saying to my industry that I work in if youre hiring this man, youre hiring a racist. Advertisement Laurence Fox of the Reclaim Party (Jordan Pettitt/PA) He added: My career ended that moment. After the tweets calling him a racist, Mr Fox termed each of the posters as a paedophile, prompting the libel action by Mr Blake and the drag star, also known as Colin Seymour. Advertisement Mr Fox is counter-suing the trio over their tweets with a trial over the disputes on its fifth day. In his written evidence, the actor has said he was horrified when he saw he had been called a racist, which he later described as a career-ending word, and a reputation-destroying allegation. He said his life was destroyed by hurtful racism allegations, and he was left unable to get a mortgage. Earlier in the trial, Lorna Skinner KC, representing Mr Blake, Mr Seymour and Ms Thorp, said the trio honestly believed, and continue honestly to believe, that Mr Fox is a racist. Advertisement Advertisement In written submissions, the barrister, who questioned Mr Fox on Tuesday, said he has made a number of highly controversial statements about race, adding: If and to the extent that Mr Fox has been harmed in his reputation, it is his own conduct and not the claimants comments on it that caused that harm. The trial before Mrs Justice Collins Rice is due to conclude later this week with a decision expected at a later date. Former British prime minister Liz Truss has signalled that she would support a return of Donald Trump to the White House. In an article for the Wall Street Journal, Ms Truss hailed historical US leadership in helping to successfully hold off the communist threat from the Soviet Union. Advertisement She said: The world would benefit from more of that kind of American leadership today. Advertisement I hope that a Republican will be returned to the White House in 2024. There must be conservative leadership in the US that is once again bold enough to call out hostile regimes as evil and a threat. Mr Trump is the front-runner in the race to be the Republican candidate next year in what could be a rerun of the last presidential election. Democratic incumbent Joe Biden defeated Mr Trump in the contest in 2020. Advertisement Advertisement Mr Trump is currently embroiled in a civil fraud trial in New York over claims he and his company misled lenders and insurers between 2014 and 2021 by giving them financial statements that greatly inflated his asset values and overall net worth. Liz Truss is in Washington this week (Yui Mok/PA) Ms Truss is in Washington this week as part of a delegation with the Conservative Friends of Ukraine. Advertisement She became the shortest serving prime minister in modern British political history when she was forced out of Government after a chaotic 49 days in Downing Street last year following her mini-budget which caused the economy to tumble. In her article for the US publication, Ms Truss, who has also served as foreign secretary, pressed for Ukraine to be given the weapons it needs to deliver a knockout blow to Russia. She also called for more defence support for Taiwan in the face of Chinese aggression and said a nuclear deal with Iran should be abandoned and tougher sanctions imposed. No more cash should be funnelled to a regime that has been funding terrorists and their murderous exploits, she said. UK minister Michael Gove was slapped down at the UK's official inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic when he suggested there is a significant body of judgment that believes the virus was man-made. TheUK levelling up secretary went further than any Cabinet minister so far in questioning the viruss origins still a matter of intense scientific debate as he explained the challenges faced by the UK government as the crisis unfolded in 2020. Advertisement Asked about shortcomings in preparedness for a new virus, the senior Tory said: There is a significant body of judgment that believes that the virus itself was man-made, and that presents challenges as well. Hugo Keith KC said the divisive issue of Covid-19s origins is not part of the inquirys terms of reference (UK Covid-19 Inquiry/YouTube/PA) He was quickly cut off by Hugo Keith KC, lead counsel to the inquiry, who said the divisive issue is not part of the inquirys terms of reference. Advertisement Advertisement Were not going to go there, he said. Mr Gove replied that it is important to recognise that the virus presented a series of new challenges that required the science to adjust. Covid-19s origins are still being examined nearly four years after the first cases emerged in Wuhan in China. Some believe the virus accidentally leaked from a laboratory in the city which was looking into similar viruses. But many scientists say the weight of evidence suggests a natural origin the virus spreading from animals to humans via Wuhans wet food markets is the most likely scenario. Advertisement Downing Street said the UK governments position is for the World Health Organisation (WHO) to investigate the genesis of the virus. Advertisement UK prime minister Rishi Sunaks official spokesperson said: The governments view is that the WHO needs to continue to examine all possibilities. We think there is still work to be done. But it is for the WHO to investigate. It is the long-standing position of the government that it is for the WHO to consider all possible avenues and to come to a conclusion. The spokesperson acknowledged it is not a secret that people have differing views about the origins of Covid-19. Advertisement Advertisement The WHOs first origins study in China in early 2021 was inconclusive, with difficulties in collaborating with Beijing cited as part of the reason. Scientists offered their assessment after Mr Gove waded into the debate. Professor James Wood, infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Cambridge, said: There is strong evidence from virus genomics that the Covid-19 virus was not artificially engineered, or made by humans, but likely arose from another virus infecting wildlife. He said epidemiology can only identify where cases are first transmitting which appeared to be around the Hunan seafood market not where the first case may have occurred. With current knowledge, it is clear that some species of animal, e.g. ferrets and other mustelids, may be easily infected by infected humans in close contact. So animals in the market could have been the route of transmission to animals or could have been infected by humans. Genomics cannot however distinguish whether the virus transmitted to humans via traded wildlife in the Hunan seafood market or through a laboratory accident, where a laboratory worker was inadvertently infected from a sample they were processing, subsequently infecting other people. A lab leak is not the same as the leak of a man-made virus, but is frequently confused. Advertisement He added that it may never be possible to know with confidence how the Covid-19 virus passed to humans. Professor Alice Hughes, from the University of Hong Kongs School of Biological Sciences, said: There may be a body of judgment, but sadly this has come from a political and not a scientific basis There is no data to support a man-made origin, whilst the infections of mink and other wildlife highlight the ability of the virus to jump between hosts, and similar viruses circulating in wildlife highlight that, like the majority of viruses, Covid is almost certain to have a natural origin. A plan to kill transgender teenager Brianna Ghey was found in the bedroom of one of the 16-year-olds accused of her murder, a court in the UK has heard. The defendants, referred to as girl X and boy Y, are charged with murdering Brianna, a 16-year-old who was stabbed in Culcheth Linear Park, near Warrington, Cheshire, on February 11th. Advertisement Deanna Heer KC, prosecuting, on the second day of the trial at Manchester Crown Court, told the jury eight days before Brianna was killed that girl X sent boy Y a picture of a handwritten note headed: Saturday 11th February 2023. Victim: Brianna Ghey. The note, found in girl Xs bedroom after her arrest, said: Meet boy Y at wooden posts 1pm. Walk down to library bus stop. Wait until Brianna gets off bus then the 3 of us walk to linear park. Go to the pipe/tunnel area. Advertisement I say code word to boy Y. He stabs her in the back as I stab her in the stomach. Boy Y drags the body into the area. We both cover up the area with logs etc. Advertisement Ms Heer said: It is clearly, the prosecution say, a plan to kill Brianna Ghey. The two teenagers deny murdering Brianna Ghey. Photo: Family handout/Cheshire Police/PA. On February 10th, girl X arranged to meet Brianna and later told boy Y she was excited as f*** for February 11th after they discussed which knife he would bring, the court heard. Advertisement The next day, girl X and boy Y met shortly before 1pm. Brianna left her house and boarded a bus to Culcheth, sending her mother a text message at 1.41pm which said: Im on the bus by myself, Im scared. The three met just before 2pm and walked to the park. Deanna Heer KC said there were some Snapchat messages between Brianna and girl X while they were in the park. Advertisement At 3.06pm a message from Briannas phone was sent to girl X, saying: Girl where are you? Ms Heer said girl X deleted a chat from her Snapchat account seconds later. She told the jury it was at about that time that the killing must have occurred. Advertisement A 999 call was made by Kathryn Vize at 3.13pm, reporting that somebody had been attacked and she had seen the attackers run away. Advertisement Brianna was pronounced dead at 4.02pm and a post-mortem examination found her cause of death was multiple stab wounds. Ms Heer KC said: The number of wounds and the pattern of injuries, taken as a whole, suggests that Brianna was subjected to a sustained and violent assault with a knife. She told the court bottles of soft drinks were found at the scene with DNA from girl X and boy Y on, indicating they had been present. She said they remained together as they walked away from the park and were spotted on dashcam footage. When the area was searched by police, Briannas mobile phone was found hidden in a drain, the jury was told. The two defendants then separated and went home, Ms Heer said, but kept in contact on their telephones. She said they kept each other informed of press reports about the incident in Linear Park while also feigning ignorance about what had happened. Boy Y was also searching online for ways to combat anxiety, the court heard. The court heard the two defendants exchanged messages shortly after 11pm in which girl X asked boy Y: Do you have anxiety about getting caught? Advertisement When boy Y replied probably, girl X responded: Youre not going to get caught dont worry. Police are s**** here. The next day, girl X messaged Brianna saying: Girl, is everything okay? Some teenage girl got killed in Linear Park. Its on news everywhere. And why did you ditch us for some random man from Manchester. Like wtf. That is so f***** up. Ms Heer continued: The prosecution say that was an obvious attempt by girl X to set up a sort of false defence, were anybody to look at her phone in due course. Girl X then lied to her mother and, as a result, her mother called police at about 5pm the day after the murder. Ms Heer said: Girl X was with her at the time she called the police and told the police operator that they had been sitting on a bench in the park when Brianna looked at her phone and said she needed to meet some boy, a 17-year-old from Manchester who was going to meet her in his car. She said Brianna just stormed off and that was the last time she saw her. Girl X later messaged boy Y, repeating the story she had told police and telling him: Make sure story adds up. Advertisement She then posted a tribute to Brianna on Snapchat, describing her as an amazing friend and that it was so f****** sickening what had happened. Police forensics officers at the scene of the attack. Photo: Jason Roberts/PA. Meanwhile, boy Y was online using the Crown Prosecution Service website, looking up penalties for supplying or withholding information. Both defendants were arrested at their homes at about 7.30pm on February 12th. Police searched girl Xs bedroom, finding a number of handwritten notes, including the plan to kill Brianna and another plan to kill which said: Give them alcohol with sleeping pills, slit throat, dismember body, place pieces in bin bags. There were also notes about serial killers including Jeffrey Dahmer, Richard Ramirez and Harold Shipman, the court heard. In Ys bedroom, police found trainers and a jacket with Briannas bloodstains on them. Ms Heer said the pattern of staining showed Y was right there when Brianna was being stabbed. A knife with blood matching Briannas DNA was also found during the search, Ms Heer said. When interviewed by police, girl X said she had gone to Linear Park with Brianna but she left to go and meet a 17-year-old boy from Manchester. Boy Y told police that girl X had stabbed Brianna. Afterwards, he went to check if she was alive, got blood on his hands and then panicked, and went with girl X when she ran. Advertisement He said he sent girl X messages about torture to make her laugh and was only joking when he spoke about wanting to stab a boy. He answered no comment when he was asked about the hunting knife found in his bedroom with blood on the blade. Closing the prosecution opening, Ms Heer said both defendants accepted being present with Brianna at the time she was killed and boy Y accepted taking a hunting knife with him. Both denied inflicting any injuries, participating in the killing in any way and each blamed the other. She said: Plainly, they cant both be telling the truth, can they? But the prosecution does not have to prove who it was that wielded the knife whether it was one of them or both of them. She added: While each now blames the other, they are both guilty. Ms Deer said it was telling that they left the scene together and remained in contact, acting together until they were confronted with the evidence and had no choice but to turn on each other. The trial continues. The foreign ministers of the three Baltic states and of Ukraine have said they will boycott a meeting of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) being held this week in North Macedonia, in objection to the participation of Russias foreign minister. The top diplomats of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania issued a joint statement, saying they deeply regret the decision enabling the personal participation of Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov. Advertisement It will only provide Russia with yet another propaganda opportunity, they said. Mr Lavrov said on Monday that he planned to travel to North Macedonias capital Skopje for the OSCE foreign ministers meeting, which would mark a rare visit to a Nato member country since Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Advertisement He has also visited Nato member Turkey, which has no ban on Russian flights. Advertisement In September, he was in New York to attend the UN General Assembly. Ukraine also said it would boycott the meeting because of Mr Lavrovs participation, with its Foreign Ministry issuing a statement accusing Russia of coercing and undermining the OSCE through the abuse of the rule of consensus. Advertisement By resorting to blackmailing and open threats, the Russian Federation systematically blocked the consensus on key issues, the statement said, citing the blocking of Estonias candidacy for the chairmanship of the organisation in 2024. Alexander Grushko, a Russian deputy foreign minister, told reporters on Tuesday that the Baltic nations decision to boycott the meeting doesnt mean anything for the future of the OSCE, either way. At the meeting, the Russian delegation will insist on the return of the OSCE to its origins, original principles, original purpose, Mr Grushko said. Advertisement Actually, it is called the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, but now there is no security or co-operation. If the OSCE wants to play at least some role, then it must return to what it was created for. And if this does not happen, it will not be in demand among the participating states, he added. Mr Grushko did not comment on Ukraines announcement that it was also boycotting the meeting. Advertisement Advertisement With the exception of close Moscow ally Belarus, Mr Lavrov has not visited any European country since the war in Ukraine started. In March 2022, Mr Lavrov was barred from flying to Geneva for a UN conference after European Union members banned Russian planes from their skies as part of sanctions against Moscow. He denounced the move as outrageous in a video address to the session, charging that the EU countries are trying to avoid a candid face-to-face dialogue or direct contacts designed to help identify political solutions to pressing international issues. The 57-nation OSCE was set up during the Cold War to help defuse tension between East and West. North Macedonia holds the organisations rotating presidency, and its foreign minister invited Mr Lavrov to the two-day meeting starting on Thursday. For the past two years we have witnessed how one OSCE participating state has actively and brutally tried to annihilate another, the Baltic foreign ministers said in their statement. Let us be very clear: Russias war of aggression and atrocities against its sovereign and peaceful neighbour Ukraine blatantly violate international law. They also accused Russia of obstructive behaviour within the OSCE itself, citing Russias prevention of an OSCE presence in Ukraine and by blocking Estonias chairmanship of the organisation in 2024. Advertisement Mr Lavrovs attendance at the Skopje meeting risks legitimising aggressor Russia as a rightful member of our community of free nations, trivialising the atrocious crimes Russia has been committing, they added. Speaking to reporters at Nato headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday, North Macedonias foreign minister Bujar Osmani said he believed he would be meeting Mr Lavrov in Skopje. Lavrov is not coming to Skopje, in a way. Lavrov is coming to the OSCE just as he went to (the) UN in New York a few months ago, Mr Osmani said. I wont be meeting him as the foreign minister of North Macedonia, but as the OSCE chairman in office. Asked what he would say to Mr Lavrov, Mr Osmani said: I think the Russian Federation has violated (the) commitments of OSCE principles that we have voluntarily subscribed to 50 years ago. We have condemned the aggressor throughout our chairpersonship. And also we have turned (the) OSCE into a platform for political and legal accountability of the Russian Federation for its deeds in Ukraine, and we will continue to do so. And this is what I am going to tell to Mr Lavrov as well. Fast-fashion retailer Shein has filed confidentially with US regulators for an initial public offering that could take place next year, according to a person familiar with the matter. The online retailer, which was founded in China but is now headquartered in Singapore, is working with Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley on the listing, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the filing wasnt public. Representatives for Shein, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley declined to comment. A spokesperson for Goldman Sachs didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. The filing was reported earlier by Shanghai Securities News. Shein is believed to be moving forward with its long-rumoured IPO. Credit: Bloomberg Shein (pronounced she-in) has become popular thanks to its trendy clothing at ultra-low prices. The company has been hoping for a valuation of as much as $US90 billion ($136 billion) in a US IPO, Bloomberg News reported earlier this month. Sheins estimated sales now far surpass Zara and H&M in the US fast-fashion market. Charlie has always emphasised, Lets buy truly wonderful businesses, Buffett told the Omaha World-Herald in 1999. That meant businesses with strong brands and pricing power. Munger nudged Buffett into acquiring California confectioner Sees Candies in 1972. The success of that deal Buffett came to view Sees as the prototype of a dream business inspired Berkshires $US1 billion investment in Coca-Cola stock 15 years later. The acerbic Munger so often curbed Buffetts enthusiasm that Buffett jokingly referred to him as the abominable no-man. At Berkshires 2002 meeting, Buffett offered a three-minute answer to the question of whether the company might buy a cable company. Munger said he doubted one would be available for an acceptable price. At what price would you be comfortable? Buffett asked. Probably at a lower price than you, Munger parried. Cardboard cutout From Los Angeles, Munger spoke frequently by phone with Buffett in Omaha. Even when they couldnt connect, Buffett claimed he knew what Munger would think. When Munger missed a special meeting of Berkshire shareholders in 2010, Buffett brought a cardboard cutout of his partner on stage and mimicked Munger saying, I couldnt agree more. Under the management of Buffett and Munger, Under their management, Berkshire averaged an annual gain of 20.1 per cent from 1965 through 2021. Credit: Bloomberg Munger was an outspoken critic of corporate misbehavior, faulting as demented and immoral the compensation packages given to some chief executives. He called Bitcoin noxious poison, defined cryptocurrency generally as partly fraud and partly delusion and warned that much of banking had become gambling in drag. I love his ability to just cut to the heart of things and not care how he says it, said Cole Smead, CEO of Smead Capital Management, a longtime Berkshire investor. In todays society, thats a really unique thing. Though Munger aligned with the US Republican Party, and Buffett sided with Democrats, the two often found common ground on issues like the desirability of universal health care and the need for government oversight of the financial system. But while Buffett would tour the world urging billionaires to embrace charity, Munger said a private company like Costco Wholesale Corp. he served on its board for more than two decades did more good for society than big-name philanthropic foundations. With his own donations, Munger promoted abortion rights and education. He served as chairman of Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles. Multimillion-dollar bequests to the University of Michigan and the University of California at Santa Barbara for new housing facilities gave him an opportunity to indulge a passion for architecture though his vision for a 4,500-person dormitory on the Santa Barbara campus drew howls of protest in 2021 because the vast majority of bedrooms are to have no windows. Wesco groupies Though he never rivalled Buffett in terms of worldwide celebrity, Mungers blunt manner of speaking earned him a following in his own right. He used the term groupies to refer to his fans, often numbering in the hundreds, who gathered to see him without Buffett. Hosting the annual meetings of Wesco Financial Corp., a Berkshire unit, in Pasadena, California, Munger expounded on his philosophy of life and investing. At the 2011 meeting, the last before Berkshire took complete control of Wesco, Munger told his audience, You all need a new cult hero. Charles Thomas Munger was born on January 1, 1924, in Omaha, the first of three children of Alfred Munger and the former Florence Russell, who was known as Toody. His father, the son of a federal judge, had earned a law degree at Harvard University before returning to Omaha, where his clients included the Omaha World-Herald newspaper. Mungers initial brush with the Buffett family came through his work on Saturdays at Buffett & Son, the Omaha grocery store run by Ernest Buffett, Warrens grandfather. But the two future partners wouldnt meet until years later. Munger entered the University of Michigan at age 17 with plans to study math, mostly because it came so easily. When I was young I could get an A in any mathematics course without doing any work at all, he said in a 2017 conversation at Michigans Ross Business School. Nome to Harvard In 1942, during his sophomore year, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps, soon to become the Air Force. He was sent to the California Institute of Technology to learn meteorology before being posted to Nome, Alaska. It was during this period, in 1945, that he married his first wife, Nancy Huggins. Lacking an undergraduate degree, Munger applied to Harvard Law School before his Army discharge in 1946. He was admitted only after a family friend and former dean of the school intervened, according to Janet Lowes 2000 book, Damn Right! Behind the Scenes with Berkshire Hathaway Billionaire Charlie Munger. Munger worked on the Harvard Law Review and in 1948 was one of 12 in the class of 335 to graduate magna cum laude. With his wife and their son, Teddy, Munger moved to California to join a Los Angeles law firm. They added two daughters to their family before divorcing in 1953. In 1956, Munger married Nancy Barry Borthwick, a mother of two, and over time they expanded their blended family by having four more children. (Teddy, Mungers first-born, had died of leukemia in 1955.) Not satisfied with the income potential of his legal career, Munger began working on construction projects and real estate deals. He founded a new law office, Munger, Tolles & Hills, and, in 1962, started an investment partnership, Wheeler, Munger & Co., modelled on the ones Buffett had set up with his earliest investors in Omaha. Like Warren, I had a considerable passion to get rich, Munger told Roger Lowenstein for Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist, published in 1995. Not because I wanted Ferraris I wanted independence. I desperately wanted it. I thought it was undignified to have to send invoices to other people. 1959 introduction His fateful introduction to Buffett had come during a 1959 visit home to Omaha. Though the precise venue of their first meeting was the subject of lore, it was clear they hit it off right away. In short order they were talking on the telephone almost daily and investing in the same companies and securities. Their investments in Berkshire Hathaway began in 1962, when the company made mens suit linings at textile mills in Massachusetts. Buffett took a controlling stake in 1965. Though the mills closed, Berkshire stuck around as the corporate vehicle for Buffetts growing conglomerate of companies. A crucial joint discovery was a company called Blue Chip Stamps, which ran popular redemption games offered by grocers and other retailers. Because stores paid for the stamps up front, and prizes were redeemed much later, Blue Chip at any given time was sitting on a stack of money, much like a bank does. Berkshire Hathaway could not have been built to its present status without Charlies inspiration, wisdom and participation. Warren Buffett Using that pool of capital, Buffett and Munger bought controlling shares in Sees Candies, the Buffalo Evening News and Wesco Financial, the company Munger would lead. In 1975, the US Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that Blue Chip Stamps had manipulated the price of Wesco because Buffett and Munger had persuaded its management to drop a merger plan. Blue Chip resolved the dispute by agreeing to pay former investors in Wesco a total of about $US115,000, with no admission of guilt. The ordeal underscored the risks in Buffett and Munger having such complicated and overlapping financial interests. A years-long effort to simplify matters culminated in 1983 with Blue Chip Stamps merging into Berkshire. Munger, whose Berkshire stake rose to 2 per cent, became Buffetts vice chairman. China bull Loading In recent years, Mungers fans continued to travel to Los Angeles to ask him questions at annual meetings of Daily Journal Corp., a publishing company he led as chairman. He displayed his knack for investing by ploughing the companys money into temporarily beaten-down stocks like Wells Fargo & Co. during the depths of the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Munger was for many years more bullish than Buffett when it came to investing in China. Berkshire became the biggest shareholder of Chinese automaker BYD Co., for instance, years after Munger began buying its stock, though Berkshire began trimming that stake in 2022. The Chasers Craig Reucassel will take over breakfast, James Valentine will return to afternoons and Indira Naidoo will hand over the reins of the evening show to producer Renee Krosch as ABC Radio Sydneys weekdays line-up undergoes a shake-up in 2024. The moves, revealed on air on Wednesday morning, come two weeks after high-profile afternoon host Josh Szeps announced he was leaving the ABC at the end of the year to concentrate on his subscriber-based podcast business. That has triggered a major reshuffle of the deck. Craig Reucassel will take the reins of Breakfast from January 2024. Credit: James Brickwood Reucassel, who has produced three seasons of War on Waste for ABC-TV since 2017, last held down a regular radio job almost 20 years ago, when he co-hosted Triple Js drive show Today Today with fellow Chaser member Chris Taylor. More recently, he spent a week filling in for Richard Glover in the drive slot, an experience he describes as insanely busy. Menopause is having a moment. It seems like its everywhere. Women are sharing experiences of their frustration in getting the help they need. Could you imagine five years ago the idea of a journalist having a perimenopausal moment live on TV and having that moment spark support from hosts and people across social media? For those who didnt see it, were talking about the moment this month on ABC breakfast TV when Imogen Crump called out a hot flush while struggling to articulate her report. Im so sorry, she said, fanning herself with a notebook. I could keep stumbling through this, but Im having such a perimenopausal hot flush right now. The two morning show hosts Lisa Millar and Michael Rowland who joined her on the couch, praised her candour. Imogen, the point about this is that we need to make it normal to have these kinds of conversations, Millar said, to which Crump responded, I dont think hormones respect national television. I couldnt agree more, Imogen, hormones certainly do have a life of their own. The mother of special-needs teacher Catiuscia Cati Machado, who allegedly died at the hands of her partner in their Sydney flat, says her daughter had refused to follow Diogo de Oliveira to the United States before her death. Snippets of their lives together, gleaned from family and photographs on social media, reveal the fracturing couple planned to leave Australia in the days before Oliveira allegedly killed the teacher. Cati Machado (far right), who was allegedly killed by her partner in a Sydney flat, photographed with her family. Machado, 43, was found dead in the bathtub of the Bechert Road unit she shared with her partner, Oliveira, 40, in the Sydney suburb of Chiswick. Earlier this month Oliveira posted images of the apartment in a Facebook group for Brazilians in Sydney offering to sub-lease their home from November 24 until January. Higgins said that at a meeting on April 1, 2019, after the alleged rape on March 23, Reynolds asked her to keep the office informed if she ultimately decided to go to the police. I wasnt asked to recount the event, she said. She said Reynolds said she was sorry and these are things that women go through. She said, I didnt think he was capable of this, and from that I inferred she was talking about Bruce. Higgins said she was pretty traumatised because the meeting took place in the same room as the alleged assault, and she was completely disassociated; I was a mess. The alleged assault Higgins told the court she was very, very inebriated in the early hours of Saturday, March 23, 2019, when she joined Lehrmann in an Uber after a Friday night out drinking with colleagues in Canberra. I thought I was going to go home, Higgins said. She said Lehrmann told her he needed to stop in at Parliament House. Bruce Lehrmann leaves court on Wednesday afternoon. Credit: James Brickwood Higgins said she waited for Lehrmann in the office for what felt like a long time. Her next recollection was waking up in Reynolds ministerial suite, she said. She said the first thing she remembered was a pain in my leg and realised Bruce was on top of me having sex with her. I told him no on a loop. I told him to stop. I couldnt scream for some reason, she said. She told the court her body felt water-logged and heavy. Higgins said Lehrmann left after the alleged assault but she couldnt get up off the couch and passed out. She woke early in the morning in Reynolds office with light coming through the blinds, she told the court, and was sick in the toilet. Asked at one stage if she needed to take a break after she started crying in the witness box, Higgins said: Just give me a second. Ill be fine. Higgins alleged during her evidence that Lehrmann attempted to kiss her days before she alleges he raped her in Parliament House and took her phone in jest when they first met on March 2, 2019, to stop her from leaving a Canberra pub. He has denied those incidents occurred. Not here to destroy your life Higgins was taken by Tens barrister, Dr Matt Collins, KC, to an email she sent Lehrmann on Monday, March 26, 2019, asking him for help with a work task and writing that she was phoning a friend. I didnt consider him a friend, Higgins said. She said she was attempting to soften the situation and show she was not a threat and not here to destroy your life because they still had to work together and he was more senior in the office. Higgins said a work email Lehrmann sent her hours after the alleged rape with a smiley face really freaked me out, and still does because wed never had a friendly social relationship and then suddenly after he raped me there was this familiarity. Drinks at The Dock Higgins gave evidence that from her observation of CCTV footage from The Dock hotel in Canberra on March 22, 2019, which captured her drinking with Lehrmann and other staffers hours before the alleged rape, she had 11 vodka-based drinks at that venue. Higgins said this was an abnormality and an excessive amount. I was very drunk, Higgins said. Loading Lehrmann has denied during cross-examination that he encouraged Higgins to get drunk in the hours before the alleged assault. A second bar Higgins said she had some recollection that she went to a second bar in Canberra, 88mph, with Lehrmann and two other staffers, and that she was very inebriated by this stage. I do remember taking a form of shot, she said. She remembered Lehrmann having his arm around her and touching her legs and thigh area, she told the court, and recalled a thought process of discomfort. Email from Bruce Lehrmann to Brittany Higgins dated March 23, 2019, tendered in Lehrmanns defamation case. Credit: Federal Court of Australia I felt him being handsy with me. I was in the field of tolerance. I didnt push him away. I didnt snap at him. I was dealing with him touching me. I didnt want it, but I was tolerating it. Lehrmann has denied touching Higgins or putting his arm around her. Asked if he did anything else, Higgins said: Not that I recall. Lawsuit bound to fail Collins said on Tuesday that Tens interview was an important exercise in public interest journalism and it stands behind its report. Teachers who engage in a campaign to show solidarity with Palestine face misconduct processes if they are found to be in breach of their professional code of conduct. Premier Jacinta Allan said on Tuesday the Education Department was working with schools in response to the teachers week of action, which encourages them to show support for Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war by wearing a traditional keffiyeh scarf or inviting advocates into classrooms. Students rally in support of Palestine in Melbourne last week. Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui More than 200 teachers are also expected to attend a vigil outside the State Library on Thursday night. Allan would not say what specific action could be taken but Education Department deputy secretary David Howes warned in a letter to principals on Monday that teachers who took part in the campaign risked breaching their obligation to maintain impartiality and public trust. Emergency services have warned communities across the state to prepare for riverine and flash flooding as heavy rain and strong winds sweep across Victoria. Gippsland and the Surf Coast are among the areas at risk of flooding with the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting rainfall as high as 200 millimetres in some parts of the state. Flooding hit Swan Hill in the states north on Wednesday after a deluge of rain, while bureau figures revealed Ultima - about 30 kilometres south-west of Swan Hill experienced Victorias highest total of 90.2 millimetres in the 24 hours to 9am on Wednesday. The bureaus senior meteorologist Kevin Parkyn said rainfall was expected to continue throughout Wednesday night and into Thursday. He said rainfall totals could reach 200 millimetres in the Otways and Gippsland. Ride-share giant Uber is listing taxis on its app in Melbourne from Wednesday a partnership that in the past would have been unthinkable, with both camps bitterly opposed. When Uber launched in Australia in 2014, taxi drivers went on strike and took to the streets to protest, but Uber is now signing up taxis to its platform for a service rolling out in Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat and the Mornington Peninsula. Passengers can book taxis using Uber in Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat and the Mornington Peninsula. Credit: Simon Schluter The push into the taxi space shows Ubers increasing dominance in the Australian market. The companys most recent filings with the corporate regulator recorded collections of $9.2 billion for the past year. Uber Australia chief executive Dom Taylor said the country had been a laggard compared with the rest of the world when it came to offering taxis on the Uber app. Cannington police are on the hunt for a man in his 20s who broke into a Rivervale home on Friday and bashed an innocent man who was asleep on his couch. The victim, a man in his 70s, woke at around 10.45pm to a stranger in his Acton Avenue home. Detective First Class Constable Tom Palmer of Cannington Detectives. Credit: Nine News Police said the offender punched the mans head, causing lacerations, swelling and bruising to his nose and behind his ear. The perpetrator forced open the mans front door, Detective First Class Constable Tom Palmer of Cannington Detectives said. Tighter lending restrictions and soaring property prices are forcing Queenslanders to hand over bigger deposits to secure a home loan, with the average buyer now putting down $85,163 in Brisbane, and $78,143 across the state. The figures for fiscal 2023 were released in the property settlements company PEXAs Buyer Deposits Report on Wednesday, which also revealed the median statewide deposit amount rose 8.5 per cent over the past 12 months. Home deposits are sky-high in a handful of sea-change suburbs. Credit: Dan Peled During that time, the average deposit-to-value ratio (DVR) climbed to 19.8 per cent, which is a year-on-year increase of 1.5 per cent. The report explored the deposits used by buyers to purchase residential property and found that rising interest rates and tougher lending criteria fuelled the northward DVR trend. Long lunches Lunch, in my humble opinion, is the best meal of the day, and the one I want to last the longest. This is where I want to socialise with family and friends, eat multiple courses of delicious food, drink some wine, eat some sweets, finish with a black coffee and then have a little lie down. And the good people of Spain are in total agreement. Lunch is the main meal. Lunch is the long meal, the one to settle in for and really enjoy. Im all for it. Siesta A fruit shop closed for siesta. Its still a thing. Credit: Getty Images There are plenty of Spaniards who will swear black and blue that siesta isnt a thing anymore, its a dated stereotype and no one does it. And thats probably true for the big cities. However, in much of the country, shops still close for a few hours every afternoon, people still go out for long lunches and have a little rest afterwards. And how civilised is that? How nice is it? Once you get used to not being able to buy anything from 1pm to 4pm, youre all set. Walking I met a guide recently in Cadiz, and she mentioned she lived in the new part of the city. I asked how long it took her to get to the old town and I was really struck by her answer: Its not far, I can walk here in 40 minutes. An Australian would rarely say that we would say you can drive there in 10 minutes. We drive places. Were a car nation. In Spain, however, people walk. They walk to the shops, they walk to work, they walk to the bar or the cafe. And they can do that, of course, because they have Integrated neighbourhoods You know this whole thing about the 15-minute city? Where everything you need shops, schools, workplaces, parks, restaurants, healthcare is available within 15 minutes of your home? Much of Spain is already like that. There are no sprawling housing developments without even a single corner store in Spain. Spanish neighbourhoods have everything you need to survive and enjoy your life, meaning less time in cars or on public transport, and more time doing things you actually love and need. Tapas Yes, Australia has tapas bars, but we dont have tapas culture. Credit: Getty Images Yes, we have tapas in Australia, but we dont have tapas culture. To have tapas culture, you need many tapas bars. You need precincts where there are 10, 15, even 20 bars serving small plates of food and little hand-held snacks. These plates and snacks also need to be affordable enough for people to have one or two, paired with a beer or a glass of wine, every evening before they go home for dinner. Sadly, I just cant see it happening here. Creative swearing Australians love to curse, but the words and phrases tend to be more shouty and rough than particularly creative. In Spain, there are a whole litany of sweary phrases that sound fairly horrifying to foreigners, and yet are just a standard part of the lexicon over there. This is a family publication, so I cant write too many of them down, though for a teaser I would suggest translating: Me cago en tus muertos. Festivals The Giants Parade during the La Merce Festival in Barcelona. Credit: Alamy Spain is a nation of festivals. Every city, every town, every region has all these deeply ingrained cultural rituals that are expressed on what can feel like a daily basis. You have fire festivals, food festivals, wine festivals, bull-running festivals, religious festivals, music festivals spend some time in Spain and you cant help but feel that Australia is culturally a little bereft in comparison. Fresh, local, seasonal food Whats the best season for eating tuna in Australia? When would you expect to see sardines? When are citrus fruits at their best? When would you get the tastiest fresh peas? You probably dont know the answers to any of these questions. I dont. And yet in Spain, I can guarantee everyone knows. There is a focus on seasonality there, on only enjoying foods when theyre naturally at their best, and then moving on to the next fresh ingredient. You cant buy everything all the time, which makes it all more special. Loading In a significant step forward for Bendigo Bank, brokers are now able to recommend Bendigo Bank branded home loans. From today, Bendigo Bank Broker will gradually be rolled out to more than 3,000 brokers who use aggregator Finsure, before being rolled out to mortgage brokers nationwide in calendar year 2024. Chief customer officer at Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, Richard Fennell (pictured above left) said with around 70% of Australian borrowers choosing a broker to obtain a home loan, the bank would be able to leverage its reputation as Australias most trusted bank to better compete in the broker market, bringing in new customers and driving growth. This is a really important strategic initiative to allow us to leverage the Bendigo Bank brand through the broker channel and take advantage of the investments we continue to make into our brand and our reputation as Australia's most trusted bank, Fennell said. To become Australias bank of choice we need to continue to consolidate and simplify our current processes and reduce complexity to allow us to better serve our customers and meet their banking needs. Digital by design, human when it matters Fennell said the new experience for brokers and customers is centred around a digital by design, human when it matters approach to the broker lending experience. We will start with Finsure to introduce our new lending platform with enhanced automation and digital capability that will see much faster and consistent credit decisioning, giving brokers a far richer experience, Fennell said. Fennel said Bendigo Broker customers would also get more choices with a new simple and flexible home loan offering and will have the opportunity to access the full range of value-adding Bendigo Bank products, services, and support, with seamless onboarding experience and improved e-banking facilities. Brokers will have all the support they need with a new dedicated website and will continue to have access to some of the best BDMs in the business, with Bendigo and Adelaide BDMs consistently ranked top three by brokers in Momentum Intelligence Third Party Lending report 2023, Fennell said. Objectives align with aggregator partner Finsure The partnership between Bendigo Bank and longstanding aggregator partner Finsure, means the aggregators brokers will be the first to have the opportunity to try the new product offering. General manager of third-party banking Darren Kasehagen (pictured above centre) said Bendigo Bank will be working hard behind the scenes to make sure the broker and customer experience is a smooth one. Our dedicated processing team will closely monitor each loan application, to make sure processes and technology capability are meeting expectations resulting in a quicker time to decision for the customer, Kasehagen said. By the middle of next year, we expect to be satisfied with the lending capability performance and will commence rollout to our remaining aggregators and their brokers Australia wide with completion anticipated during calendar year 2024. Finsure CEO Simon Bednar (pictured above rght) said the company was excited to be the first aggregator partner to be involved in Bendigo Banks new offering. Finsure has evolved into one of Australias largest mortgage broking groups and our business ethos is to provide the strongest value proposition to all our broker partners, Bednar said. This objective aligns perfectly with what Bendigo Bank is doing to consolidate and simplify their current process and reduce complexity for both brokers and their customers. With our objectives aligned, together we can shape a better future for the industry and deliver results that benefit everyone. What do you think about Bendigo Bank Broker? Comment below. Bryan, OH (43506) Today A steady rain this morning. Showers continuing this afternoon. High near 45F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a half an inch.. Tonight Light rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers overnight. Low 39F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%. Jessica Flores is a reporter for The San Francisco Chronicle. Before joining The Chronicle in 2021, she worked for USA Today, NPR affiliate KPCC and Curbed LA. Originally from L.A., she received her masters degree in journalism from the University of Southern California and a bachelors degree from Mount Saint Marys University in Los Angeles. She can be reached at Jessica.Flores@sfchronicle.com. The 737 Max helped boost Boeing's figures, with 21 jets delivered in the month. (Photo: REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson/File Photo) Nearly a decade after the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, Chinese relatives of the passengers have initiated a legal battle for compensation. In a significant development, a Beijing court commenced hearings on Monday to address the claims of the families. The flight, carrying over 150 Chinese passengers, vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014, sparking one of the most baffling aviation mysteries in history. The relatives are seeking compensation from Malaysia Airlines, Boeing, aircraft engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce, and Allianz insurance group, among others. The claims range from 10 million to 80 million yuan ($1.4 million to $11.2 million) per claimant, as reported by state media. Despite the lack of definitive answers on the plane's fate, pieces of debris believed to be from MH370 have been discovered along African coasts and islands in the Indian Ocean. The case has garnered significant attention, with a heavy police presence noted outside Chaoyang District People's Court in Beijing. Security measures restricted media access, and reporters were cordoned off, unable to interact with the family members. Despite these limitations, some relatives expressed their views post-hearing, emphasizing their desire for renewed search efforts and direct communication with Malaysia Airlines, alongside psychological counseling. For many, these demands hold greater significance than monetary compensation. The disappearance of MH370 not only remains a source of profound grief but also a subject of various theories, including mechanical failure, hijacking, or deliberate actions by cockpit personnel. The Boeing 777, believed to have crashed into the Southern Ocean south of India, has eluded discovery, despite extensive search efforts. The plane's disappearance has particularly resonated in Beijing, where citizens held daily briefings and vigils for the missing. The lawsuit's details are somewhat unclear, but it appears to center around the airline's alleged failure to adequately respond following the plane's disappearance from air traffic control. Relatives have been coordinating online, with expectations that the hearings will continue into mid-December. This legal pursuit in China contrasts with similar cases in the United States, which were dismissed on the grounds that they fell under the jurisdiction of the Malaysian legal system. This case also occurs amidst ongoing investigations into another aviation tragedy, the crash of a China Eastern Airlines jetliner in 2022, which resulted in 132 fatalities. As the legal proceedings unfold, the world watches with anticipation, hoping that the families of MH370's passengers will find some measure of solace and closure in their long-awaited quest for justice. Alipay Singapore Holding plans to sell its entire 3.44 per cent stake in food delivery giant Zomato on Wednesday. The Chinese firm has set the floor price at Rs 111.28 per share for the transaction. Shares of Zomato last closed at Rs 113.8. At the base price, Alipay will be able to raise Rs 3,290 crore. BofA Securities and Morgan Stanley are the investment banks handling the share sale. Alipays sister concern Antfin Singapore Holding held another 6.39 per cent stake in Zomato at the end of the September 2023 quarter. Last month, SoftBank had sold 1.1 per cent equity in Zomato at Rs 111.2 apiece to raise Rs 1,040 crore following the end of its lock-in period. Earlier in August, Internet Fund III, a venture capital fund managed by Tiger Global, and Apoletto Asia, a fund backed by Russian billionaire Yuri Milner, had sold shares worth Rs 1,412 crore in the food delivery major. Shares of Zomato are up nearly 90 per cent so far this calendar year amid improved profitability. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has expressed confidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party will form government for the fifth time in the state, where the assembly elections were held earlier this month. Referring to his government's flagship 'Ladli Behna Yojana' for women, Chouhan on Monday night said the BJP workers have made sincere efforts and "ladli behnas" (beneficiaries of the scheme) have removed all hurdles to ensure the party's victory. He was addressing the party workers at his home turf Budhni in Sehore district. The state assembly polls were held on November 17 and votes will be counted on December 3. The Chouhan-led state BJP government first announced the Ladli Behna Yojana, under which eligible women are now given Rs 1,250 per month, in March this year and started disbursement of the financial aid from June. Initially, a financial aid of Rs 1,000 was being provided to women under this scheme and it was increased to Rs 1,250 in August. The BJP earlier formed governments in the state in 2003, 2008, 2013 and in 2020. Chouhan said the BJP will form government for the fifth time in MP on December 3. There is no doubt (about forming government). It is being said that there is 'kante ki takkar' (close contest). There is no such situation. The workers have toiled and ladli behnas (beneficiaries of the scheme) have removed all 'kante' (obstacles), he said. People will bless the BJP for the works done by it in the state, the CM said. Chouhan contested the November 17 election from Budhni assembly seat for the sixth time. The Congress fielded actor Vikram Mastal, who played the role of Hanuman in a TV serial, against Chouhan. The Samajwadi Party fielded Mirchi Baba, who performed a 'hawan' using chillies for the victory of Congress candidate Digvijaya Singh from Bhopal Lok Sabha seat in 2019. Singh was defeated by sitting MP from Bhopal Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur. Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, D K Shivakumar , has responded to the notice sent by the Election Commission of India (ECI). The notice was about Karnataka government advertisements in several newspapers circulated in poll-bound Telangana. Shivakumar said that the ads do not ask people to vote for Congress, an ANI report said. Shivakumar added that the notice sent by the Election Commission of India is not as per the law. The Congress leader told ANI, "Politically, we have not asked for votes. Whatever our government has done in our state, there are a lot of Telugu-speaking people here, a lot of other language-speaking people also live here, so we have given advertisements what we have done in our government. We've not asked for votes. We only gave advertisements on the works done by our government here." On Monday, November 27, the Election Commission issued a notice to the Karnataka government for publishing advertisements about welfare schemes and achievements in several newspapers in poll-bound Telangana and said that it was a violation of the Model Code of Conduct. "The Commission has observed that certain advertisements highlighting welfare schemes and achievements of the central government and state governments are being published by some non-poll-going state governments in the editions of newspapers in the States where elections are going on. The Commission considers this to be a violation of the spirits of the Model Code of Conduct," the ECI said, according to the ANI report. The ECI said that it has been brought to the notice of the Commission by the BJP vide their representation dated November 27 and by Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) vide their representation dated November 25 that the Karnataka government has published advertisements of various welfare schemes and achievements in Telangana on November 24 to 27 in the Hyderabad edition of several newspapers. The Commission further said that in future, all such advertisements issued by non-poll-going state governments during the Model Code of Conduct period shall be forwarded to it for clearance before they are sent for publication in newspapers having editions or having circulation in the poll-bound states. Also Read IPL 2024 auction: Full list of released & retained players, remaining purse Telangana polls: ECI app that allows citizens to flag MCC violations IPL 2024 auction: Full list of released, retained players by Delhi Capitals IPL 2024 auction: Full list of released and retained players by KKR IPL 2024 auction: Full list of released, retained players by Mumbai Indians Uddhav targets CM Shinde over T'gana poll campaign amid crop losses in Maha BRS MLC K Kavitha calls Congress guarantees 'unreasonable,' 'absurd' My aim to end hatred in country, Modi needs to be defeated for it: Rahul Telangana polls: Schools, colleges in Hyderabad to be closed until Nov 30 Union minister Anurag Thakur slams CM KCR, accuses him of selling govt land The elections in Telangana will be held on November 30, and the results will be declared on December 3. The Telangana Assembly has 119 seats, and a party needs to win at least 60 to gain a majority. (With agency inputs) Bokaro administration has imposed prohibitory orders in a 5km radius of the place where a clash between villagers and cops took place on Monday, an official said. Around 12 people including some policemen were injured in the clash that took place outside the main gate of ESL Steel Limited, a Vedanta Group company, in Jharkhand's Siyaljori, around 140km from Ranchi. The clash took place after the villagers, who were staging a dharna outside the company's gate demanding jobs for unemployed youths of the area, allegedly tried to enter the premises of the company when they were stopped by the firm's security men. Later, when police personnel were deployed to bring the situation under control, villagers pelted stones at them in which several cops were injured. A number of villagers also sustained injuries when police used mild lathi-charge to disperse them. On Tuesday, former Nirsa MLA Arup Chatterjee launched an indefinite agitation in the area with the support of villagers to press for their demand. Chas sub-divisional officer (SDO) Dilip Kumar Singh Sekhawat said security forces have been deployed in the plant area. "As a precautionary measure, Section 144 CrPC was imposed in a 5km radius of the plant gate on Tuesday evening," he said. According to a company official, the plant's production dipped by 70 per cent on Tuesday. Also Read Noida Police invokes Section 144; no namaz, puja at public places, roads Karnataka Bandh: Schools closed, flights cancelled, Section 144 imposed Section 302 is not murder and Section 420 not cheating: Proposed Code Jharkhand BJP chief booked for 'derogatory' remarks against CM Hemant Soren Sec 144 imposed after mob set police station on fire in Odisha's Kandhamal 'Toughen up', not 'man up': Govt releases gender-neutral language guide Uttarakhand tunnel collapse: How workers were rescued after 17 days Mumbai cops seek withdrawal of 'fake' TRP case involving Arnab Goswami India, International Energy Agency hold meet to discuss cooperation Punjab farmers end protest, warn of 'bigger agitation' if promises not met It's been 17 days since the 41 workers were trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand. The rescue operation is in process, and currently, manual drilling is underway. Multiple agencies have been leading the rescue operation since November 12. However, multiple obstacles halted the operation several times. Initially, the company was planning to rescue workers with horizontal drilling with the aid of international tunnelling experts. After working on this plan, the operation had to stop on November 24 when Auger drill blades broke. Thereafter, plasma and magna rod cutter machines were transported to the site to take out the stuck auger blades. On Munday, rat-hole mining experts began manual drilling vertically through the rubble to rescue the trapped 41 workers. The rescue team had to drill to a depth of around 86 metres in total to reach the trapped workers. On the first day, the rescuers are implementing the new approach of drilling into the hill above the Silkyara tunnel. According to CNBCTV18, the rescuers were able to cross around the 20-metre mark. It is looking positive, Chris Cooper said On Tuesday morning, Chris Cooper, the micro-tunnelling expert told ANI news agency that the drilling work went well last night, which helped the rescuers team to cross the 50 metre mark. He added that the rescue team were adding another pipe, and another 5 to 6-metre drilling was left. "It is looking positive," Chris added. On the other hand, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) teams were engaged in the process of recovering the auger machine's broken parts while vertical and manual drilling operations were underway to create a route to escape for the trapped workers. Harpal Singh, Former DG of Border Roads Organisation, said that 800 mm pipe frames are being prepared and will gradually move from half a metre to one metre gradually. If everything goes well without obstacles another 10-metre stretch can be covered in 24 to 36 hours. 86-metres drilling required A total of 86 metres of drilling was required to create an escape route for 41 trapped workers and this involved laying pipes of 1.2 metres broad from the top of the tunnel. Also Read Uttarakhand tunnel collapse update: Vertical drilling underway, 86 mts left 40 trapped in tunnel Collapse in Uttarakhand: Here is what we know so far Steel rods blocking rescue efforts removed at Slikyara Tunnel collapse site U'khand tunnel rescue: Efforts on to retrieve broken parts of auger machine Uttarkashi tunnel collapse: Laying of 12-metre pipeline still left SC refuses to entertain DMK minister's plea seeking bail on health grounds India's subsidies may cost the govt Rs 50,000 cr more than its FY24 Budget US 'bent backwards' in response to Canada allegations against India: Expert NEET aspirant from WB found hanging in Kota, 25th suicide case this year Uttarkashi tunnel collapse: Will bring them out soon, say workers Tehri Hydro Development Corporation (THDC) is working on a project to create a rescue tunnel from Barkot end with the fifth blast that took place recently at 2.25 am on November 26. Some top officials including Principal Secretary to the PM; Pramod Kumar Mishra, Union Home Secretary; Ajay Kumar Bhalla and Uttarakhand Chief Secretary; SS Sandhi visited the Uttarkashi Silkyara tunnel today to inspect the ongoing rescue operation. Mishra inspected the tunnel site, had a conversation with the family of trapped workers, and also inquired about the food being sent every day. The foreign ministers of the three Baltic states have said they will boycott a meeting by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe being held this week in North Macedonia, in objection to the participation of Russia's foreign minister. The foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania issued a joint statement on Tuesday saying they deeply regret the decision enabling the personal participation of Russia's Sergey Lavrov. It will only provide Russia with yet another propaganda opportunity. Lavrov said on Monday he planned to travel to Skopje for the OSCE foreign ministers' meeting, a trip which would mark his first visit to a NATO member country since Russia invaded Ukraine. In September, he was in New York to attend the United Nations' annual gathering of world leaders. The 57-nation OSCE was set up during the Cold War to help defuse tension between East and West. North Macedonia currently holds the organisation's rotating presidency and its foreign minister invited Lavrov to the two-day meeting starting on Thursday. For the past two years we have witnessed how one OSCE participating state has actively and brutally tried to annihilate another, the Baltic foreign ministers said in their statement. Let us be very clear: Russia's war of aggression and atrocities against its sovereign and peaceful neighbour Ukraine blatantly violate international law. They also accused Russia of obstructive behaviour within the OSCE itself, citing Russia's prevention of an OSCE presence in Ukraine and by blocking Estonia's chairmanship of the organisation in 2024. Lavrov's attendance at the Skopje meeting risks legitimising aggressor Russia as a rightful member of our community of free nations, trivializing the atrocious crimes Russia has been committing, they added. Speaking to reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday, North Macedonia's foreign minister, Bujar Osmani, said he believed he would be meeting Lavrov in Skopje. Lavrov is not coming to Skopje, in a way. Lavrov is coming to the OSCE just as he went to (the) UN in New York a few months ago, Osmani said. I won't be meeting him as the foreign minister of North Macedonia, but as the OSCE chairman in office. Asked what he would say to Lavrov, Osmani said: I think the Russian Federation has violated (the) commitments of OSCE principles that we have voluntarily subscribed to 50 years ago. Also Read Int'l centre opens to help hold Russian leadership accountable for Ukraine Nearly 50,000 Russian men died in conflict with Ukraine, shows report Russia fines Wikipedia, Apple for 'false information' on Ukraine conflict Trade between Russia, Africa reached $18 billion in 2022: Vladimir Putin Offered Wagner mercenaries option to keep operating as a single unit: Putin UAE likely to invest upto $25 billion in cash-strapped Pakistan: Report Sri Lanka implements free tourist visas for India, six other countries China warns Australia over naval operations in the South China Sea Current solar cycle intensity's peak in 2024, may impact Earth's satellites Greek PM Mitsotakis claims Sunak cancelled meeting over Elgin Marbles row We have condemned the aggressor throughout our chairpersonship. And also we have turned (the) OSCE into a platform for political and legal accountability of the Russian Federation for its deeds in Ukraine, and we will continue to do so. And this is what I am going to tell to Mr. Lavrov as well. There was no immediate reaction from the Russian Foreign Ministry to the statement by the three Baltic states. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has reportedly cancelled a planned meeting on Tuesday with his Greek counterpart, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, during a visit to the UK amid a deepening row over the return of the 'Elgin Marbles'. The ancient Greek sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens are among the controversial historic items which were brought to the UK by British diplomat Lord Elgin in the early 19th century giving them their English name. The Parthenon Sculptures now form part of the British Museum's collection and have long been demanded by the Greeks to complete their series at the Acropolis Museum in Athens. The latest standoff is reminiscent of India's demands for the Koh-i-Noor diamond and other historic artefacts taken from India during colonial times. Most recently, the Maharashtra government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Victoria and Albert Museum for a three-year loan of a set of 17th century Tiger Claws', or wagh nakh, believed to have belonged to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. It is destined for Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) as part of Maharashtra's 350th anniversary celebrations of the coronation of Chhatrapati Shivaji. The UK-Greece standoff seems to have erupted after Downing Street claimed that it had been agreed that the issue would not be raised during any bilateral between Sunak and Mitsotakis, a claim denied by the Greeks. On Sunday, the Greek Prime Minister told the BBC that having some of the Parthenon treasures in London and others in Athens was like cutting the 'Mona Lisa' painting in half. That seems to have triggered the row, as Mitsotakis then told reporters on Monday evening that he was deeply disappointed by the abrupt cancellation of his meeting with Sunak, which had been planned for Tuesday afternoon. Those who firmly believe in the correctness and justice of their positions are never hesitant to engage in constructive argumentation and debate, said the Greek Prime Minister. Britain's attitude shows no respect for the Prime Minister and our country, his government spokesperson later told SKAI TV. Also Read Heading to India with a clear focus, says Rishi Sunak ahead of G20 Summit G20 Summit 2023: UK PM Rishi Sunak shares his vision for UK-India relations UK leader Rishi Sunak signals plan to backtrack on some climate goals UK PM Sunak unveils tech partnership to crack down on illegal migration UK PM Sunak appoints Grant Shapps as new defence minister in mini reshuffle As Dubai prepares for COP28, some world leaders won't attend climate talks $13.5 trn needed to fast-track decarbonisation of key sectors: WEF New Zealand reverses ground-breaking smoking ban to fund tax cuts Ex-Pak PM Imran Khan's party to conduct intra-party polls within 20 days Avoid further Palestinian civilians' displacement in Gaza: US tells Israel He added that although cancelling a meeting was not common, the Greek government did not want to escalate the issue with a country with which we have good relations. The Greek leader was offered a meeting with UK Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden, which his team declined and chose to head back instead. The row comes against the backdrop of the British Museum chair, former chancellor George Osborne, indicating recently that he was open to considering a loan of the sculptures to Greece. Many within the governing Conservative Party are opposed to such an idea but the official government stance has been that it is a matter for the museum. Sunak, preparing for a general election next year, is seemingly positioning himself decisively on one side of that argument that is against any sort of return of the treasures. The Opposition Labour Party has been stinging in its reaction, expressing shock at the government opening up a fight with a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) ally. To pick a fight with a NATO ally for the sake of a headline shows just how weak Rishi Sunak is. He should have been talking about the economy, immigration, the Middle East, that's what the country would expect from a leader but Rishi Sunak is no leader, a Labour spokesperson told the BBC. The Opposition party, currently ahead in the opinion polls, says its position is that if the British Museum and the Greek government came to a loan agreement, a future Labour government would not stand in the way. While the 1963 British Museum Act prevents the world-famous museum from giving away objects from its collection except, in very limited circumstances, a loan of its artefacts would not require a law change. Annualized revenue crosses Rs. 1,500 C r. Facilitated over Rs. 640 crores of loans to its merchants in October on its platform; 36% increase on a Y-o-Y basis. BharatPe, one of Indias leading players in the fintech sector, today announced that it has turned EBITDA positive in October 2023. Additionally, it shared that its annualized revenue has surged past Rs. 1,500 Cr, a growth of 31% from c. This financial milestone is attributed to consistent growth across all its business lines. The company has also significantly cut down its EBITDA burnwhich was averaging at Rs. 60 Cr per month in FY23to attain EBITDA positivity. This significant milestone in conjunction with strong growth is a testament to the efforts of the team, enabled by strategic guidance from the Board. The company will continue taking strides toward being a market-leading financial services platform for the 50 million small businesses across India. The company has experienced consistent growth in its lending vertical over the past several months. In October, it facilitated loans exceeding Rs. 640 crores for its merchants in partnership with its NBFC partners, demonstrating a spike of 36% Y-o-Y. BharatPe has facilitated loans totaling over Rs. 12,400 crores since its foray into this segment in late 2019. Additionally, it recorded growth across verticals - including its payment products. The company also saw remarkable growth in the number and amount of transactions done on its soundbox devices. BharatPe, in October, also recorded a monthly TPV of over Rs. 14,000 crores across its diverse range of payment products. Speaking on the milestone, Nalin Negi, CFO and Interim CEO, BharatPe, said, BharatPe was started with the vision of empowering millions of offline merchants and MSMEs across the country, with best-in-class fintech products. This milestone reflects the trust bestowed upon us by our vast network of over 1.3 crores merchant partners. October was a great month for us- we achieved significant growth with loans facilitated on our platform. Also, our digital payments verticals grew considerably, boasting a monthly transaction count exceeding 37 crores. We will continue to cater to the needs of our merchant partners as well as customers and our strategic focus will be to ensure sustained profitability across our business lines. In the coming months, we'll focus on scaling our lending, POS, and soundbox businesses. We will also focus on launching new products tailored for our merchant partners while concentrating on the development of our consumer and NBFC businesses." Nalin added, This achievement is a testament to the dedication and hard work of our team. I would like to congratulate each and every team member of BharatPe for achieving this milestone. Moving forward, we continue to stay committed to building a sustainable business with growth across business lines. We will continue to focus on driving financial inclusion across Bharat, empowering more offline merchant businesses. Our goal is to establish BharatPe as one of the largest merchant-first fintech companies in the country. A rendering of the proposed mixed-use development at 156 California Ave. in Palo Alto. Courtesy Studio Current Rendering of the mixed-use project proposed for 156 California Ave., Palo Alto Courtesy Studio Current A rendering of the mixed-use project proposed for 156 California Ave., Palo Alto Courtesy Studio Current Street scene of California Avenues shopping district in Palo Alto. Liz Hafalia/The Chronicle Beth Concoby, right, director of environmental health and safety at Genencor International, prepares to board a Caltrain car with co-worker Rick Bott, left, at the California Avenue station near the Genencor International office in Palo Alto. Jeff Chiu/The Chronicle A 17-story, 382-unit apartment complex that would tower over a key shopping corridor in mostly low-slung Palo Alto has been proposed by a developer invoking the builders remedy a California law that lets builders skirt some restrictions in cities that lack state-approved housing plans. The three-building complex proposed by Redco Development of San Francisco is a joint venture with Mollie Stones Markets, which operates a grocery store and parking lot on the site, at 156 California Ave., across the street from the Caltrain station just east of El Camino Real. The plan would include a replacement Mollie Stones in its ground-floor retail plan. The complexs central tower would rise to 177 feet, more than three times the citys height limit of 50 feet, according to a planning department document. Its density of 267 units per acre would far exceed the 40 typically allowed, Palo Alto Online reported. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The pre-application was filed under SB330, the Housing Crisis Act of 2019, which seeks to streamline the permitting of residential projects by local agencies to help ease the states severe housing crunch. California cities were also given a deadline in February to have in place state-certified housing elements plans that map out how they will meet their mandated goals for number of new units over the next decade. But many cities across the Bay Area are still struggling to comply. According to state data, 54 out of 109 jurisdictions in the nine-county region, or 49.5%, do not yet have state-certified plans. Among them is Palo Alto, which has adopted a housing element for building its required 6,086 housing units through 2031 but has not yet gotten the states sign-off. A rendering of the proposed mixed-use development at 156 California Ave. in Palo Alto. Courtesy Studio Current On a web page about the 156 California Ave. project application, the city states that builders remedy does not apply in Palo Alto because the city has adopted a housing element which it believes is compliant with the basic requirements of state law. Advertisement Article continues below this ad But developer Chris Freise, managing partner of Redco, says the proposal qualifies as a builders remedy project. While the projects Tower A height is ambitious, this a site that should embrace height due to its immediate proximity to the Caltrain stop, said Freise in a prepared statement. There are several existing Palo Alto projects like Palo Alto Square, The Channing House, 101 Alma, City Hall and others that are often forgotten about that are similar in height. The preliminary application was submitted Nov. 21. The developer has 180 days to submit a formal plan for review by the Palo Alto Planning & Development Department. The mixed use development is slated for market-rate rental housing, including 77 affordable units making up 20% of the mix fulfilling a builders remedy requirement. But Palo Alto Mayor Lydia Kou, an outspoken critic of state laws that force cities to build housing, said the affordable total is about 30% short of what it should be, given the density of the proposed project. Advertisement Article continues below this ad It is a ridiculous plan. It undermines the community with little benefit, said Kou, noting that the project seeks to take advantage of state requirements meant to ensure that cities and towns build more housing at all levels. This project is using state mandates that limit democracy and do not address housing affordability issues that we are facing, Kou said. It is not helping our middle class or lower class with affordability. A rendering of the mixed-use project proposed for 156 California Ave., Palo Alto Courtesy Studio Current But Jordan Grimes, a lead member of Peninsula for Everyone, a pro-housing advocacy organization, called the projects proposed location an ideal place as far as new housing goes. He noted that the Caltrain station is right there, with electrification on its way, delivering more trains per hour. You are looking for BART-style headways with Caltrain, coming in the next year, Grimes said. You want as many amenities as possible within a short distance, and having a grocery store nearby will reduce excess car trips. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Amie Ashton, executive director of Palo Alto Forward, a small organization that supports housing and transportation choices in town, called the project groundbreaking in terms of housing heights and density near transit, which is exactly what we want if we want to build a more sustainable future. In addition to 156 California Ave., Ashton noted that there are five projects either in the process or about to enter it, all of which could qualify as builders remedy projects. They include a proposed seven-story building with 380 units farther south on El Camino Real, which would replace the Fish Market restaurant. There are already tall housing complexes in Palo Alto, the most obvious being 101 Alma, a blocky apartment building constructed in 1960, at 10 stories rising 141 feet. Condos there sell for between $1 million and $2 million. The market is there, said Ashton. People want to live near shops, services and jobs, and thats what we need in order to reach our climate goals. According to Freise, 156 California Ave. represents great urban design 101. Advertisement Article continues below this ad A rendering of the mixed-use project proposed for 156 California Ave., Palo Alto Courtesy Studio Current Add in the projects heavy mass timber structural frame and it provides a beautiful sustainable aesthetic to set the standard for new mixed-use projects to come along the Peninsula Caltrain corridor, he said. Rafa Sonnenfeld of YIMBY Action, a nationwide organization of grassroots housing advocates based in San Francisco, called it a beautiful project that is exactly the kind of thing that Palo Alto needs. He cited research showing that there are 95,000 jobs in the city of Palo Alto and that only 36,000 of these employees live within city limits. The proposal lies at the west end of the California Avenue retail corridor, a strip south of downtown that has been closed to through traffic since the onset of COVID-19 in 2020. The Stanford Research Park off Page Mill Road is just west of El Camino Real and within walking distance of the proposed development. Tara Duggan is a staff writer in The Chronicles climate and environment team who focuses on the ocean, fisheries, food and agriculture. Previously in the Food+Wine department, where she earned a James Beard Foundation Award and other accolades, Tara is also the author of several cookbooks, including Steamed: A Catharsis Cookbook, Root to Stalk Cooking and The Working Cook. Her articles and recipes have appeared in the New York Times, Food & Wine Magazine and the Wall Street Journal. She can be reached at tduggan@sfchronicle.com. Certain days of the year are designated for particular causes and celebrations. Some of these days are fixed and occur on the same date every year. There are occasions when specific days are specified rather than dates, in which case the date changes every year. Also, sometimes, and more frequently than not, more than one observance will fall on the same day. Let us have a look at the numerous key days in December List of Important Days in December 2023 1st December World AIDS Day 2nd December National Pollution Control Day 2nd December International Day for the Abolition of Slavery 2nd December World Computer Literacy Day 3rd December World Day of the Handicapped or International Day of Persons with Disabilities 4th December Indian Navy Day 5th December International Volunteer Day for economic and social development 5th December World Soil Day 6th December BR Ambedkar's death anniversary 6th December National Microwave Oven Day 7th December Armed Forces Flag Day 7th December International Civil Aviation Day 9th December International Anti-Corruption Day 10th December Human Rights Day 10th December Death Anniversary of Alfred Nobel 11th December UNICEF Foundation Day 11th December International Mountain Day 12th December Universal Health Coverage Day 14th December National Energy Conservation Day 16th December Vijay Diwas 18th December Minorities Rights Day in India 18th December International Migrants Day 19th December Goa's Liberation Day 20th December International Human Solidarity Day 22nd December National Mathematics Day 22nd December Winter Solstice 23rd December Kisan Diwas (Farmer's Day) 24th December National Consumer Rights Day 25th December Christmas Day 25th December Good Governance Day (India) 31st December New Year's Eve Breif on Important Days in December 2023 December 1st - World AIDS Day World AIDS Day is observed on December 1st. One of the most important days in December is World AIDS Day. Every year on December 1st, it is marked to promote HIV awareness and a call to action to stop the pandemic. It was discovered for the first time in 1988. December 2nd - National Pollution Control Day On December 2, India observes National Pollution Control Day to remember the victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, one of the world's deadliest industrial disasters. Its goal is to create awareness about the adverse consequences of pollution while also supporting eco-friendly practices for a better environment and human well-being. December 2nd - World Computer Literacy Day The 2nd of December is World Computer Literacy Day, which promotes digital literacy and access to technology globally. It was founded in 2001 by NIT and promotes fundamental computer skills for education, employment, and empowerment, with a focus on closing the digital divide for equal chances. December 4th - Indian Navy Day On this day, the Indian Navy's actions are discussed and acknowledged. The goal of Navy Day is to create public awareness of the Indian Navy. On this day, navy meetings, parades, and other public events are held. For Indian citizens, this is one of the most important days in December 2023. December 7th - Armed Forces Flag Day Every year on December 7th, India celebrates Armed Forces Flag Day. This day honours the brave men and women of the armed forces who selflessly protect the country. People across India proudly raise the Armed Forces Flag on this occasion to show their support and solidarity. The day honours the sacrifices made by military members and their families. It also strives to create public awareness about the financial requirements of military troops by urging civilians to contribute to the Armed Forces Flag Day Fund. December 10th - Human Rights Day Human Rights Day is observed on December 10 to commemorate the promulgation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The day promotes equal rights for all by recognising accomplishments and addressing concerns. December 16th - Vijay Diwas In India, December 16 celebrates Vijay Diwas, which commemorates the Indo-Pakistan War victory and the liberation of Bangladesh. Special rituals, including one at India Gate, pay respect to martyrs and veterans. December 22nd- National Mathematics Day National Mathematics Day is one of the most important days for Indians in December 2023 because it commemorates the birth anniversary of Srinivasa Ramanujan, an Indian mathematician. Ramanujan is well-known throughout the world for his contributions to number theory and mathematical functions. December 24 - National Consumer Right Day In India, December 24 is National Consumer Rights Day, which aims to educate and empower consumers about their rights and duties. It honours the Consumer Protection Act of 1986 by raising awareness and encouraging activism. December 25 - Christmas Christmas is observed worldwide on December 25 to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ, who embodies joy, peace, love, and hope. Church services, gift exchanges, decorations, carolling, and festive dinners are all part of the festivities. Christmas marks the beginning of the holiday season, which lasts until New Year's. Aggregate Industries to use waste ceramics as alternative fuel 28 November 2023 Thousands of tonnes of waste ceramics from one of the UKs largest ceramic tile manufacturers will be recycled to make cement as part of a new initiative from Aggregates Industries. Aggregate Industries has agreed a four-year deal with Johnson Tiles to take 20,000t of legacy waste and broken production scrap a year from its Stoke factory. The tiles will make the short trip from the factory to Aggregate Industries Cauldon cement plant in Staffordshire, where it will be used as an alternative raw material. It will be crushed and mixed with limestone and other raw component parts before going through the chemical heat process in the kiln to make cement. The recycled ceramics will replace virgin materials, such as shale, meaning less materials need to be extracted from the ground and natural resources can be prolonged for longer, says Aggregate Industries. Andrew Whyatt, Geocycle UK general manager at Aggregate Industries, said, We are delighted to be working with such a Potteries stalwart as Johnson Tiles in order to recycle what would otherwise be a waste product. Materials such as this offer a great alternative to excavating fresh raw materials, preserving our local natural resources, whilst offering a solution whereby 100 per cent of the material will be upcycled into new local cement. It demonstrates our continued commitment to circularity at the plant and is firmly part of our sustainability strategy. We are continuously looking at alternative fuels and materials for cement production in order to lower our carbon emissions and boost circularity. Both companies share a drive towards sustainable manufacturing and partnerships like this are vital as Aggregate Industries aims to reclaim or recycle 3Mt of materials by 2025. Published under Fecto Cement Ltd is in discussion to install solar plant 28 November 2023 According to AHL Research, Fecto Cement Ltd (FECTC) management held a corporate briefing session on 24 November to discuss the FY22-23 and 1QFY23-24 financial results and future outlook. The management is in discussion of installing additional solar plants to become cost-efficient. In FY22-23 The company generated about 42 per cent of its power through captive plants, and the rest was taken from the Water & Power Development Authority. In 1QFY23-24 captive generation rose by 44 per cent. The company posted a loss after tax of PKR133m in FY22-23 versus a profit of PKR287m in FY21-22. Due to the implementation of the axle load factor, the manufacturing price in the north is trading at PKR1200-1250/bag. As per management, local coal is anticipated to surge by PKR1500/t. The company sources 50 per cent of its coal locally and imports the rest from Afghanistan. The ongoing mining issues persist, forcing the company to outsource its raw materials. Therefore, the company does not want to expand on its existing location. Published under In an unprecedented wave of lawsuits, scores of people who attended Bay Area schools in the past half century are taking advantage of a landmark California law to confront educators they say raped or sexually abused them and the administrators who they say didnt take basic steps to protect them. The suits represent a statewide effort at atonement for child sexual assault survivors, some of them now in retirement age. Some either couldnt understand the abuse they suffered or didnt want to face it when they were young. Others say they or their parents tried to report abuse to their schools at the time but were brushed off. For schools, the accusations are a reckoning, and one that could carry a heavy price. The suits could trigger hundreds of millions of dollars in payouts by districts in settlements and judgments, experts say. Insurance costs for schools have already increased as a result. The court actions are the result of a law that took effect in 2020. It gave people until age 40 to file claims, and opened a three-year window for people to file lawsuits for even older allegations. That window closed at the end of 2022, prompting a rush of lawsuits in the weeks before the deadline. In dozens of civil cases filed across the Bay Area and reviewed by the Chronicle, former students say school leaders ignored or mishandled complaints that educators were sexually abusing them. In some cases, they say, the inaction allowed teachers to continue harming them or other students. In at least two cases in which schools did investigate, officials found evidence that an alleged abuser had behaved inappropriately with students but allowed the employee to continue working with children, the suits claim. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The law that enabled the lawsuits has prompted hundreds of abuse accusations spanning decades against institutions like the Catholic Church and the Boy Scouts. The cases against the schools, though, have introduced unique tensions: What do schools owe to the children they were entrusted to protect? And how will they balance payouts while maintaining services for current students? One of those former students is a Bay Area resident identified in court documents as Jane Doe 2, whom the Chronicle is not naming because she is an alleged victim of sexual assault. She is suing her former school, Miramonte High in Orinda, alleging administrators didnt take her complaints about her English teacher seriously. She says the teacher, Mark Christopher Litton, groomed her and touched her inappropriately during the 2008-09 school year. He was later convicted of raping a different student. Jane Doe 2, who is suing Miramonte High School in Orinda, told the Chronicle she wants to hold school officials accountable for failing to take warnings about her English teacher seriously. It was entirely preventable if anyone had listened, she said. Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle Left: English teacher Mark Christopher Litton, bottom right, is shown in a Miramonte High School yearbook portrait. Right: Another yearbook photo shows Litton, right, in a classroom situation. (Photos by Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle) Top: English teacher Mark Christopher Litton, bottom right, is shown in a Miramonte High School yearbook portrait. Above: Another yearbook photo shows Litton, right, in a classroom situation. (Photos by Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle) Advertisement Article continues below this ad Jane Doe 2 told the Chronicle in an interview that her mom persuaded her to sue after reading a story about the new law. Jane Doe 2 didnt feel mentally ready to come forward at the end of last year, but decided to bring the civil complaint because she believed it was her only remaining opportunity to seek justice. Even years later, she felt she hadnt done a good enough job protecting herself and the other girls who say Litton abused them. Suing seemed like an opportunity to correct that mistake. At the time, I think I lessened my own trauma because I felt like other people had had so much worse, and I considered myself lucky. But now, looking back, Im like, None of this should have ever happened, she said. It was entirely preventable if anyone had listened. Officials with the Acalanes Union High School District, which includes Miramonte High, did not respond to requests for comment, but the district is fighting Jane Doe 2s lawsuit. The case is pending in court. To gain a clearer picture of the new reckoning over sexual abuse in schools, the Chronicle sifted through court records in five Bay Area counties, interviewed lawyers and examined more than 1,000 pages of legal filings from the last six months of 2022. Thats when courts became flooded with the cases, which the state is not centrally tracking. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The Chronicle identified 52 lawsuits filed during that time against local public school districts alleging sexual abuse. Some districts are contending with several lawsuits at once, including Oakland Unified, the second largest district in the Bay Area. Oakland Unified faces at least eight lawsuits from the time period the Chronicle reviewed, with some alleged abuse dating to the mid-1970s. At least one of the teachers identified in the lawsuits is still credentialed to teach in California. In the older claims, many of the perpetrators left teaching or died years ago. In most instances, the administrators alleged to have covered up or ignored complaints of abuse have retired or moved on to other jobs. Still, districts may be held liable. All superintendents and school officials reached by the Chronicle declined to comment on pending litigation. Most districts are fighting the cases in court and, in legal filings, generally deny the former students claims. In some cases, superintendents said they were unaware of lawsuits against their own district until contacted by the Chronicle. The former students accounts are in line with some common trends experts see in cases of child sexual abuse in schools. Sexual assault cases can be so damaging to a schools reputation and so difficult and time-consuming to handle that administrators often ignore warning signs or complaints, said David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Typically, there were people in these organizations or environments who had inklings or complaints about what was going on and failed to act, Finkelhor said. They didnt want to be the person on whose watch things turned so sour. They just dismiss it Most of the lawsuits the Chronicle reviewed allege students or parents complained about sexual misconduct, but administrators failed to act. People dont like to believe that the people they work with or that the teacher everyone loves could do these things, said Dawn Blacker, a psychologist who studies childhood trauma at UC Davis. They just cant wrap their head around it initially, so they just dismiss it. Some lawsuits allege administrators transferred students to different classes after they or their parents complained to the school about abuse, but didnt fire the teacher or report them to police. Advertisement Article continues below this ad At Crocker Highlands Elementary in Oakland, a man alleges that when he and his friend were 10-year-old students in 1972, a student teacher, William Skip Allara, drove them to his house and forced them to perform sex acts. Both boys told a receptionist at the school, but administrators did nothing in response, according to the lawsuit. The next week, the teacher took the boys to his house again and repeated the same behavior. A former student at Crocker Highlands Elementary School in Oakland alleges that when he and his friend were 10 years old in 1972, a student teacher drove them to his house and forced them to perform sex acts. Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle A different lawsuit filed by another man alleges the same teacher molested him four years later at a different Oakland school, Jefferson Elementary. An obituary published in the East Bay Times says Allara died in the 80s. Another man suing the district alleges officials at McClymonds High should have investigated an after-school program director he says raped him when he was 17 because she began bragging about their relationship to other teachers when he turned 18. He alleges he was raped during the 2016-17 school year. The teacher, Kharyshi Wiginton, argued in a court filing that she violated no laws because their sexual relationship did not begin until the man who is suing was 18. Lawyers for Wiginton did not respond to a request for comment. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Oakland Unified is fighting the claims in court. John Sasaki, a spokesperson for Oakland Unified, declined to comment on the specifics in the lawsuits filed against the district, but said Wiginton worked for a community-based organization, not the district. He did not respond to questions about the organizations relationship to the school and whether district staff supervised its employees. In court filings, the district argues the alleged abuse occurred off campus and denies that any of the alleged abuse occurred during school-sponsored activities. Kandyce Robinson, a Contra Costa County woman suing Berkeley Unified, alleges administrators turned a blind eye to red flags in the behavior of a teachers aide who she says abused her in 1986, when she was 4. The aide would take her out of her kindergarten class and assault her in the school auditorium. School officials failed to investigate why he would remove Robinson from class for extended periods of time, her lawsuit alleges. Another woman suing alongside Robinson alleges the same aide abused her, and that he would often take her alone to the library, which other adults should have noticed and investigated. In 1992, Robinson reported the abuse to the district, but she alleges administrators still did not investigate or report the aide to police. Berkeley Unified Superintendent Enikia Ford Morthel did not respond to requests for comment. At least one of the teachers in the lawsuits the Chronicle reviewed is still credentialed to teach in California. That teacher, Ann Tonette Drake, is accused by a former sixth-grade student of sexual assault. The former student is suing Antioch Unified School District, alleging Drake, her P.E. teacher at Black Diamond Middle School, would isolate her in the locker room after gym class and grope her under the pretense of helping her dress. Its not clear whether Drake is still working in education. The lawsuit alleges the district received prior complaints from students and parents about the teacher, including that she spent a significant amount of unsupervised time alone with minor students on campus with no justification or authorization and would flirt with and inappropriately touch minor students, but failed to investigate. Antioch Unified Superintendent Stephanie Anello and a lawyer for Drake did not respond to messages seeking comment. Both Drake and the district deny Does accusations in court filings. Rush of suits, rise in costs The stream of civil cases traces back to 2019, when state lawmakers extended the deadline to file child sexual abuse lawsuits. They argued the previous law, which required people to file before they turned 26 in most cases, didnt allow enough time for survivors to grapple with their trauma. The 2019 law has considerably increased school districts insurance and liability costs, said Mike Fine, CEO of the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, which helps California schools manage their finances. In some cases, financial damages in court judgments are so high that liability insurance doesnt fully cover them, which means a more direct hit to a districts finances, Fine said. In some cases, payouts can be astronomical. Last year, a jury determined Union School District in Santa Clara County owed two former students $102.5 million because school officials failed to prevent a middle school teacher from grooming and abusing them, despite repeated complaints from parents. The district is appealing. In a separate criminal case, the teacher was convicted of abusing the two girls in 2009 and 2014, and is serving a 50-year prison sentence. School districts liability insurance costs for all types of claims has gone up 300%-600% in the past five years, said Dave George, CEO of the School Excess Liability Fund, which provides excess liability insurance for about half of California school districts. The oldest claims the Chronicle reviewed date to the 60s and 70s, before school districts regularly obtained the kind of liability coverage they have today. As a result, the districts current insurance might not cover them, George said, meaning they could take a big financial hit if they are found liable or decide to settle. Meanwhile, California lawmakers are debating whether to further expand the ability of adults to sue over assault they experienced as children. Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, and Assembly Member Dawn Addis, D-Morro Bay, introduced a bill that would end the statute of limitations for such claims, though it was amended to apply only to future cases amid concerns more lawsuits would cut into funding for current students. Even with the amendment, groups representing school administrators and risk pools, including the School Excess Liability Fund, oppose the bill. The current situation is becoming dire, Craig Schweikhard, executive director of the San Mateo County Schools Insurance Group, told lawmakers earlier this year. We are currently paying hundreds of millions of dollars into lawsuits. The financial and reputational consequences of lawsuits are important, Skinner argues, because they incentivize schools to prevent abuse from happening in the first place. Victims of child sexual abuse often only grapple with what happened to them later in their lives, she said. Minors who are sexually assaulted often dont think they will be believed, are too ashamed to tell anyone or fear there will be negative consequences if they speak out. You cant put a timeline on when you are going to fully grapple with the abuse you suffered as a child, Skinner told the Chronicle. Addis called the current statute of limitations cruel and arbitrary, and noted that most victims dont come forward until they are 50, according to some studies. Among the cases the Chronicle reviewed, the average age was roughly 49. Despite the influx of lawsuits, Addis told the Chronicle she believes there are still many victims who didnt come forward in time. Im incredibly glad that the survivors who were able to come forward did come forward during that window, she said, but we know there are probably many others. Stabbed in the gut The 2009 Miramonte High graduate known as Jane Doe 2, who alleges administrators mishandled her complaints about Litton, said she first confided in her friends about the English teachers persistent attention. He would keep her after class, she said, to talk to her alone and give her books as gifts, including The Unbearable Lightness of Being, a Soviet-era novel that includes a story line about a professor who has a sexual relationship with his much younger female student. One of her friends told her Litton had raped another student the year before. Hearing that was like being stabbed in the gut, Jane Doe 2 told the Chronicle. A woman known in court filings as Jane Doe 2 alleges former Miramonte High School English teacher Mark Christopher Litton groomed her and touched her inappropriately during the 2008-09 school year. He was later convicted of raping a different student. Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle She said she and her friend reported the alleged rape and Littons behavior to a teacher and a school counselor. But the counselor dismissed their concerns, she said. Jane Doe 2 said the counselor told her later she had asked Litton directly whether he raped anyone, and that he said no. As far as Jane Doe 2 knows, her counselor did not report her complaint to police. Under Californias mandated reporter laws, which have been in effect for decades, teachers and school counselors are required to report suspected child abuse to county officials or police. Many of the lawsuits the Chronicle reviewed allege school officials violated those laws by failing to report complaints or suspicious behavior. Jane Doe 2 said Littons behavior became worse after she told her counselor. He followed her to more of her classes and wrote her more notes, she said. It felt like a clingy stalker, she said. One of her other teachers would sometimes ask Litton to leave her classroom after he followed Jane Doe 2 there, she said, something Jane Doe 2 says in hindsight should have triggered more of a response from the staff at Miramonte. In one instance, he asked her to come after school to his classroom, where he embraced her in a bear hug from behind, pressing his erect penis against her, according to her lawsuit. Her counselors dismissal of her concerns and Littons behavior made her feel she couldnt trust the adults at her school, she said. I felt I was the only adult in the situation, she said. She was 17. Seeking justice In 2009, when Litton was arrested and charged with raping another student, many people seemed to think Jane Doe 2 was the victim. Parents started calling her house to ask about it, she said. Orinda police called her, too. She said she told them about Littons grooming behavior, but didnt mention the incident where he had hugged her inappropriately, because at the time she didnt realize such behavior could be illegal or relevant to the case. At the time, I didnt consider what I went through to be assault, she said. I thought it was rape or nothing. Police never called her again, she said. She still regrets not telling them more. Litton was later convicted of raping the other student, in a crime that took place nearly a year after Jane Doe 2 says she complained about the teacher to her counselor. A third woman now says Litton raped her earlier. All three are suing the district as co-plaintiffs. The first student Litton is alleged to have raped says in the lawsuit that he also gave her books as gifts, including Lolita. In court filings, Acalanes Union High School District has sought to dismiss the womens lawsuits. Like many other districts, Acalanes haschallenged the constitutionality of the state law the women are suing under. Many of those challenges in other cases have been dismissed. But Contra Costa Superior Court Judge Danielle K. Douglas upheld part of one of those challenges in the Miramonte case in June, effectively throwing out Jane Doe 2s allegations and the allegations of one of her co-plaintiffs, while allowing the third womans case to proceed. A former Black Diamond Middle School student is suing Antioch Unified School District, alleging her P.E. teacher would isolate her in the locker room after gym class and grope her under the pretense of helping her dress. Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle The district has not commented on the veracity of the womens claims, but rather has argued their complaints against the district are invalid and that the district is not liable for Littons criminal actions. Lawyers for other school districts have since cited Douglas rulings in their own attempts to have cases they are facing thrown out. The former Miramonte students lawyer, Jessica Dayton, told the Chronicle that she disagrees with the judges determination and argues it is based in part on inaccurate information from the district about when the alleged abuse of Jane Doe 2 occurred. She has filed a motion challenging the ruling, which is set to be heard later this month. The disgusting thing is that the school district is trying whatever it takes to absolve itself of responsibility, she wrote in an email to the Chronicle. Not only have they come up with an antiquated constitutional argument to prevent victims from seeking relief, but they are actively engaging in misrepresentation to the court. Acalanes Superintendent John Nickerson did not respond to multiple requests for comment on this story. Jane Doe 2 told the Chronicle she doesnt think she ever wants to have children because she doesnt think she can trust other people with them. The ordeal precipitated a full-on identity crisis as she attempted to rid her life of Littons influence. In college, she abandoned her dreams of studying the Russian literature she had loved so much. I didnt pick up a single book to read for pleasure for 10 years, she said. I was an avid reader. He gifted me books as presents. Those were some of the last books I ever read. When Jane Doe 2 decided to sue her old high school district, she reached out to the other women Litton had allegedly assaulted. It was the first time the three of them had fully heard one anothers stories. Talking to the other women has helped her heal, she said. Justice isnt only about money, Jane Doe 2 said, but about getting the school to admit fault so that it doesnt fail another student like her. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close Jordan Parker is a breaking news reporter for The San Francisco Chronicle. He graduated from Sacramento State University in May 2022 with a degree in journalism. During his time there, he spent three years as a reporter and editor for the university's award-winning student newspaper, The State Hornet. He spent his senior year of college serving as The Hornet's first Black editor in chief, leading the organization to two Pacemaker awards and several other national honors from the Associated Collegiate Press. When he's not chasing down a story, he likes watching movies, traveling and trying new restaurants. He can be reached at Jordan.Parker@sfchronicle.com. Thirteen female students are helping to blaze a new career path for women in the welding profession thanks to Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC). This semester GNTC Welding and Joining Technology instructor Billy Brown is working with seven female students at GNTCs Whitfield Murray Campus in Dalton and six female students in GNTCs Dual Enrollment program at Dade County High School. Brown said 15% of his students at GNTCs Dalton campus and 27% of his Dual Enrollment students at Dade County High School are female students breaking down barriers to become non-traditional students. Women are desperately needed in the trades. The easiest way to close the pay gap is for women to get out there and get their hands dirty, GNTC student Sophia Shepherd said. Brown and Daniel have flipped the script on the traditional tradesperson, Shepherd said. The most difficult part about learning a trade is overcoming self-doubt, Shepherd said. Ever since I can remember, I have always wanted to work in what has been traditionally considered a mans job and to show everyone that a woman can also do it, said Heidi Martinez, who is working towards diplomas in Welding and Joining Technology and Industrial Systems Technology at GNTC. She expects to graduate in spring 2026. Welding is generally less challenging for women because they have steadier hands, better attention to detail and more patience, Brown said. I treat them with the same expectations that I have for the men. I couldnt be prouder of them. The female welders would not be where they are without the support of Brown and Shawn Daniel, instructor of Welding and Joining Technology at GNTC, who inspire them with the confidence that they can do anything, Vicente said. Molly Satterfield said she has always loved tinkering and troubleshooting in the shop. She currently works as a general residential contractor. She has earned an Electrical Systems Technology diploma at GNTC and is working to earn an Industrial Systems Technology diploma while attending classes full-time in Welding and Joining Technology at GNTC. Satterfield said she was terrified three years ago when she became a single mother without a job and with no idea what to do. She felt she had failed her daughter. Today she is proud of herself and grateful that her daughter inspired her to reach higher. Thats when I decided to start pursuing my goal of becoming a private, multi-craft contractor for residential, commercial and industrial settings, she explained. I want to be my daughters example. She will see and know that if her mom can do hard things, so can she. As a welder, Satterfield said she wants to dabble in it all. She would love to work on bridges, fabricate custom work, create sculptures and do anything on a farm setting, from constructing stalls and cattle shoots to repairing farm equipment. Martinez said she plans to work as an underwater welder or travel welder. I really admire boilermakers, Shepherd said. They weld in tight, challenging positions, and I believe that makes the work more satisfying. Shepherd, who described her step-father as pretty much a trade master, said she has been inspired by working with her hands and feeling rewarded by her hard work instantlybefore she even gets a paycheck. Shepherd, Satterfield and fellow GNTC student Yosdel L. Castaneda expect to earn their Welding and Joining Technology diplomas next year. Castaneda, 19, is the youngest of the students. Castaneda said welding intrigued her when she attended GNTCs Industrial Career Day and lost track of time while using a virtual reality welding simulator. A Dual Enrollment student at GNTCs Whitfield Murray Campus, she was taking culinary classes next door at the Northwest Georgia College & Career Academy when she asked to take welding classes at GNTC to explore whether she would like doing the real thing. Welding fused Castanedas passion for STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) with the opportunity to study in the field of her choice, thanks to the Georgia HOPE Career Grant, she said. This grant covers tuition costs in specified high-demand careers at any college in the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG). Castaneda said she initially considered being a traveling pipe welder, but as she learned more about the field, she realized she would love to do any welding job. At the time Castaneda changed her career focus, she had already been accepted by a private college in Tennessee, she said. She had attended classes at GNTC since her sophomore year of high school, so she knew GNTC would provide the help she needed to make the best career choice. Arianna Rodriquez, another of Browns students at GNTC, recently qualified to compete in Welding at the SkillsUSA Georgia Region 1 Qualifying Competition next month; SkillsUSA is a student-led partnership of education and industry that focuses on preparing graduates for careers in the skilled workforce. I cannot express how excited I am to compete. It feels like a dream, Rodriguez said. Now all I have to do is work hard and get prepared for the day of the regional competition. Georgias Dual Enrollment program allows qualified high school students in GNTCs nine-county service area to maximize their education and career training by taking college-level courses that earn college and high school credit at the same time for free. Degree-level core classes will transfer to any institution in the University System of Georgia (USG) or the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG). College credits also count toward HOPE Scholarship rigor requirements. Brown said he began teaching welding at Dade County High School last year; he had one female student in the first class and has six currently. The students are taking an introductory course now and will then take Shielded Metal Arc Welder (SMAW). When asked why they are interested in learning to weld, the female students most frequently reply that they like the attention to detail the job requires, Brown said. I got into welding because my freshman agriculture teacher let me weld, and now I love it, Dual Enrollment student Haley Sullivan said. Sullivan a junior at Dade County High School, will have already earned a Basic SMAW certificate through GNTC when she graduates. This certificate is a prerequisite to the advanced certificate at GNTC. Courses cover arc welding in the flat position, oxyfuel and plasma cutting. My plan after high school is to be either an underwater welder or a pipeline welder, Sullivan said, adding that she leans toward selecting underwater welding. Audi Williams and Michelle Tatro will graduate from Dade High in 2024 with a Basic SMAW certificate. Williams explained that she got interested in welding because I wanted to be like my dad, step-dad and papa and know how to do a little bit of everything. Williams said she is undecided about her future after high school but knows that if she continues welding, she wants to be a pipeline welder. Taking welding classes through Dual Enrollment posed a good opportunity, said Tatro, who aspires to use her welding skills to become a sculptor. She is weighing her finances, unsure whether she will get a job immediately after high school or continue classes at GNTC. Martinez said she chose GNTC because students receive hands-on experience from instructors that care about their students. People who have an interest in welding should definitely give the Welding and Joining program at GNTC a chance, Castaneda said. Its affordable compared to other colleges, and the instructors are very helpful. If you are really struggling, they give you advice while showing you how to weld certain joints. Shepherd chose GNTC because of its proximity to home and the support students receive as they start their careers, she said. The coursework has set me above the majority of welders these days, Shepherd said. Graduates will be not just ready to enter their industry, but highly qualified for most welding jobs. For more information on GNTCs Welding and Joining Technology program, visit www.gntc.edu and click on Explore Our Programs at the top of the web page. Georgia Northwestern Technical College provides quality workforce education to the citizens of northwest Georgia. Students have the opportunity to earn an associate degree, diploma or a certificate in aviation, business, health, industrial or public service career paths. This past year, 11,601 people benefited from GNTCs credit and noncredit programs. GNTC has an annual credit enrollment of 8,071 students and an additional enrollment of 3,530 people through adult education, continuing education, business and industry training and Georgia Quick Start. For more information about GNTC, visit us at www.GNTC.edu. GNTC is a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia and an Equal Opportunity Institution. A Candlelight Climate Vigil will be held Sunday at 6:30 p.m. at the Ruth Holmberg Bridge by Hunter Art Museum. Representatives of 197 countries will assemble in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from Nov. 30-Dec. 12 for the COP28 conference. They will engage in key negotiations around climate actions intended to keep Earths temperature from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. For more information email tninterfaithpl2@gmail.com. Here is the latest Hamilton County arrest report: BALLARD, RICHARD DALE 2353 AMBER MEADOW RD COOKVILLE, 385067669 Age at Arrest: 51 years old Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff LEAVING SCENE ACCIDENT BILLINGSLEY, DARLENE RENEE 3814 FAGAN ST APT A CHATTANOOGA, 374101716 Age at Arrest: 61 years old Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff (VOP) VIOLATION OF ORDER OF PROTECTION OR RESTRAIN (VOP) VANDALISM/MALICIOUS MISCHIEF CAROUTHERS, THOMAS GLEEN 760 RIVER ROAD DECATUR, 37322 Age at Arrest: 27 years old Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff NONSUPPORT AND FLAGRANT NONSUPPORT COUSIN-MCGHEE, TANIKA CHANTEL 926 PEMBROOK LANE CHATTANOOGA, 37421 Age at Arrest: 45 years old Arresting Agency: East Ridge Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) CRUMLEY, DANA MICHELLE 385 NE DOOLEY STREET APT 7 CLEVELAND, 37311 Age at Arrest: 44 years old Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff FAILURE TO APPEAR DAVIS, JOSHUA MICHAEL 919 BELLVAR EAST RIDGE, 37412 Age at Arrest: 43 years old Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD ASSAULT DENNIS, ANTHONY MIKALE 727 E 11TH STREET CHATTANOOGA, 37403 Age at Arrest: 59 years old Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff NONSUPPORT AND FLAGRANT NONSUPPORT FORD, DALVIN DESHAE 2563 TUNNEL BLVD CHATTANOOGA, 37406 Age at Arrest: 25 years old Arresting Agency: East Ridge Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) GILDON, KYAIR JONTE 1819 CHARLIE SHIFFORD DR LOS ANGELES, 37411 Age at Arrest: 34 years old Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD BURGLARY HALL, ANDREW MORGAN 1115 CONCORD STREET CHATTANOOGA, 37405 Age at Arrest: 40 years old Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff THEFT OF PROPERTY FAILURE TO APPEAR HALL, ANTHONY DUSTIN 201 MORRISSON SPRINGS RD. Here are the mug shots: BALLARD, RICHARD DALE Age at Arrest: 51 Date of Birth: 02/21/1972 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): LEAVING SCENE ACCIDENT BILLINGSLEY, DARLENE RENEE Age at Arrest: 61 Date of Birth: 07/15/1962 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): (VOP) VIOLATION OF ORDER OF PROTECTION OR RESTRAIN (VOP) VANDALISM/MALICIOUS MISCHIEF CAROUTHERS, THOMAS GLEEN Age at Arrest: 27 Date of Birth: 08/23/1996 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): NONSUPPORT AND FLAGRANT NONSUPPORT COUSIN-MCGHEE, TANIKA CHANTEL Age at Arrest: 45 Date of Birth: 09/16/1977 Arresting Agency: East Ridge Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) CRUMLEY, DANA MICHELLE Age at Arrest: 44 Date of Birth: 11/12/1979 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): FAILURE TO APPEAR DAVIS, JOSHUA MICHAEL Age at Arrest: 43 Date of Birth: 09/19/1980 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): ASSAULT DENNIS, ANTHONY MIKALE Age at Arrest: 59 Date of Birth: 10/13/1964 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): NONSUPPORT AND FLAGRANT NONSUPPORT FORD, DALVIN DESHAE Age at Arrest: 25 Date of Birth: 05/07/1998 Arresting Agency: East Ridge Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) GILDON, KYAIR JONTE Age at Arrest: 34 Date of Birth: 10/03/1989 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): BURGLARY GOOD, CHLOE MARISA Age at Arrest: 23 Date of Birth: 08/28/2000 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): POSS. OF HANDGUN WHILE UNDER THE INFLUENCE POSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIA HALL, ANDREW MORGAN Age at Arrest: 40 Date of Birth: 01/24/1983 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): THEFT OF PROPERTY FAILURE TO APPEAR HALL, ANTHONY DUSTIN Age at Arrest: 39 Date of Birth: 04/03/1984 Arresting Agency: Red Bank Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): DOMESTIC ASSAULT HAYES, ALBERT Age at Arrest: 41 Date of Birth: 02/23/1982 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): DRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSE HEARD, DEMARCUS MONTEZ Age at Arrest: 32 Date of Birth: 03/21/1991 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): NONSUPPORT AND FLAGRANT NONSUPPORT NONSUPPORT AND FLAGRANT NONSUPPORT HOLLAND, DUSTIN LEE Age at Arrest: 29 Date of Birth: 10/31/1994 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) HOOPER, JERROD HEATH Age at Arrest: 42 Date of Birth: 05/11/1978 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): (VOP) DOMESTIC AGGRAVATED ASSAULT HOWARD, SAMANTHA DANIELLE Age at Arrest: 31 Date of Birth: 03/14/1992 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): (VOP) POSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIA JOHNSON, TREVON MALIK Age at Arrest: 22 Date of Birth: 08/09/2001 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): FUGITIVE (WHITFIELD COUNTY GA) MANGRUM, LUCAS CALEB Age at Arrest: 24 Date of Birth: 08/22/1999 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): (VOP) DOMESTIC ASSAULT MCCULLOUGH, JUSTIN QUATIOUS Age at Arrest: 33 Date of Birth: 06/17/1990 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) MCGLAMERY, COLLEN LEE Age at Arrest: 23 Date of Birth: 07/13/2000 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): THEFT OF PROPERTY OVER $2,500.00 METSCH, ROBERT EUGENE Age at Arrest: 56 Date of Birth: 09/25/1967 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): FOLLOWING TOO CLOSELY FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY DRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSE DRIVERS TO EXERCISE DUE CARE MONTESINOS, GABRIEL JOSE Age at Arrest: 26 Date of Birth: 03/21/1997 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) MORRIS, HARVEY ALEXANDER Age at Arrest: 58 Date of Birth: 07/27/1965 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): CRIMINAL TRESPASSING NELSON, QUINTRELL JAQIES Age at Arrest: 24 Date of Birth: 05/14/1999 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): FALSE REPORTS PARKER, AMIE BROOK Age at Arrest: 44 Date of Birth: 09/03/1979 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE POSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIA CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE IN SCHEDULE II CONTRABAND IN PENAL INSTITUTIONS PARMELEE, ERIC JASON Age at Arrest: 49 Date of Birth: 06/11/1974 Arresting Agency: Red Bank Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): VIOLATION OF ORDER OF PROTECTION PENN, TIMOTHY LAMAR Age at Arrest: 64 Date of Birth: 04/23/1959 Arresting Agency: East Ridge Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): RESISTING STOP, FRIST, HALT, ARREST VANDALISM SHOPLIFTING PLECKER, ROBERT MATTHEW Age at Arrest: 43 Date of Birth: 10/20/1980 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): AGGRAVATED CRIMINAL TRESPASS VANDALISM/MALICIOUS MISCHIEF DISORDERLY CONDUCT REEDER, LAURIE ANN Age at Arrest: 34 Date of Birth: 08/31/1989 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) RIVERA-PAGAN, GERARDO GABRIEL Age at Arrest: 35 Date of Birth: 05/29/1988 Arresting Agency: East Ridge Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) ROBINSON, DARRIUS LEVON Age at Arrest: 33 Date of Birth: 08/02/1990 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) SIMMONS, TRAMELVIN DEJUANTE Age at Arrest: 29 Date of Birth: 08/17/1994 Arresting Agency: East Ridge Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): DRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSE STEELE, GARRISON DRAKE Age at Arrest: 25 Date of Birth: 09/18/1998 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): VANDALISM/MALICIOUS MISCHIEF DOMESTIC ASSAULT STONER, COLBY TYSON Age at Arrest: 54 Date of Birth: 07/03/1969 Arresting Agency: Signal Mountain Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): SPEEDING DRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSE STOUDERMIRE, JEROME CURTIS Age at Arrest: 72 Date of Birth: 12/19/1950 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): DOMESTIC ASSAULT SWEAT, ALBERTA Age at Arrest: 76 Date of Birth: 10/15/1947 Arresting Agency: Chattanooga PD Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): ASSAULT TAYLOR, RICHARD LAVORIS Age at Arrest: 42 Date of Birth: 08/20/1981 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OPEN CONTAINER LAW DRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSE REGISTRATION, EXPIRED TERRERO, CANDICE MARIE Age at Arrest: 21 Date of Birth: 11/13/2002 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): DISORDERLY CONDUCT THOMAS, DOUGLAS JOHN Age at Arrest: 59 Date of Birth: 06/11/1964 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): (VOP) AGGRAVATED CRIMINAL TRESPASS TURNER, KAREN DENISE Age at Arrest: 53 Date of Birth: 02/24/1970 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): THEFT OF PROPERTY OVER $5,000.00 UNAUTHORIZED USE OF AUTOMOBILE (JOY RIDING) WHIDDON, COURTNEY ANGELL Age at Arrest: 35 Date of Birth: 09/13/1987 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Booked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s) WHITTEMORE, BRANDON EUGENE Age at Arrest: 34 Date of Birth: 08/26/1989 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): VIOLATION OF PROBATION (DOMESTIC AGGRAVATED ASSAUL VIOLATION OF PROBATION (SEXUAL BATTERY) WILSON, KENNETH C Age at Arrest: 51 Date of Birth: 02/24/1972 Arresting Agency: HC Sheriff Last Date of Arrest: 11/27/2023 Charge(s): DRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSE RED BAMK, 37415Age at Arrest: 39 years oldArresting Agency: Red BankDOMESTIC ASSAULTHAYES, ALBERT1949 NORTHPOINT BLVD APT 5 HIXSON, 37343Age at Arrest: 41 years oldArresting Agency: HC SheriffDRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSEHEARD, DEMARCUS MONTEZ6335 FISK AVE CHATTANOOGA, 374212338Age at Arrest: 32 years oldArresting Agency: HC SheriffNONSUPPORT AND FLAGRANT NONSUPPORTNONSUPPORT AND FLAGRANT NONSUPPORTHOLLAND, DUSTIN LEE107 PINE FOREST LN CHATTANOOGA, 37415Age at Arrest: 29 years oldArresting Agency: HC SheriffBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)HOWARD, SAMANTHA DANIELLE2209 KENSINGTON RD CHICKAMUNGA, 30721Age at Arrest: 31 years oldArresting Agency: HC Sheriff(VOP) POSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIAJOHNSON, TREVON MALIK5416 CONNELL STREET APT# A EAST RIDGE, 37412Age at Arrest: 22 years oldArresting Agency: HC SheriffFUGITIVE (WHITFIELD COUNTY GA)MCCULLOUGH, JUSTIN QUATIOUS25 S GERMANTOWN APT16 CHATTANOOGA, 37410Age at Arrest: 33 years oldArresting Agency: HC SheriffBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)MCGLAMERY, COLLEN LEEHOMELESS CHATTANOOGA, 37403Age at Arrest: 23 years oldArresting Agency: Chattanooga PDTHEFT OF PROPERTY OVER $2,500.00METSCH, ROBERT EUGENE7718 HARPER ROAD HIXSON, 37343Age at Arrest: 56 years oldArresting Agency: Chattanooga PDFOLLOWING TOO CLOSELYFINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITYDRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSEDRIVERS TO EXERCISE DUE CAREMONTESINOS, GABRIEL JOSE701 SUMMIT AVE CHATTANOOGA, 37417Age at Arrest: 26 years oldArresting Agency: HC SheriffBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)MORRIS, HARVEY ALEXANDER4528 HIGHLAND AVE APT 5 CHATTANOOGA, 374101917Age at Arrest: 58 years oldArresting Agency: Chattanooga PDCRIMINAL TRESPASSINGNELSON, QUINTRELL JAQIES2112 MCCALLIE AVE CHATTANOOGA, 374043118Age at Arrest: 24 years oldArresting Agency: Chattanooga PDFALSE REPORTSPARKER, AMIE BROOK111 JANE MANNER CIRCLE SODDY DAISEY, 37379Age at Arrest: 44 years oldArresting Agency: HC SheriffPOSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCEPOSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIACONTROLLED SUBSTANCE IN SCHEDULE IICONTRABAND IN PENAL INSTITUTIONSPENN, TIMOTHY LAMARHOMELESS LIVES IN CAR NEAR BRAINERD WALGREENS CHATTANOOGA, 37411Age at Arrest: 64 years oldArresting Agency: East RidgeRESISTING STOP, FRIST, HALT, ARRESTVANDALISMSHOPLIFTINGPLECKER, ROBERT MATTHEW1414 HARDING AVE WAYNSBORO, 22980Age at Arrest: 43 years oldArresting Agency: Chattanooga PDAGGRAVATED CRIMINAL TRESPASSVANDALISM/MALICIOUS MISCHIEFDISORDERLY CONDUCTREEDER, LAURIE ANN4260 MCKENZIE LANE HIXSON, 37343Age at Arrest: 34 years oldArresting Agency: HC SheriffBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)RIVERA-PAGAN, GERARDO GABRIEL930 DOUGLAS STREET CHATTANOOGA, 37403Age at Arrest: 35 years oldArresting Agency: East RidgeBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)ROBINSON, DARRIUS LEVON1220 GROVE STREET CHATTANOOGA, 37411Age at Arrest: 33 years oldArresting Agency: HC SheriffBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)SIMMONS, TRAMELVIN DEJUANTE1247 CYPRESS STREET CT CHATTANOOGA, 37402Age at Arrest: 29 years oldArresting Agency: East RidgeDRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSESTEELE, GARRISON DRAKE14251 STORMER ROAD SALE CREEK, 37373Age at Arrest: 25 years oldArresting Agency: HC SheriffVANDALISM/MALICIOUS MISCHIEFDOMESTIC ASSAULTSTONER, COLBY TYSON350 GRIFFIN RD LOOKOUT MTN, 30750Age at Arrest: 54 years oldArresting Agency: Signal MountainSPEEDINGDRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSESTOUDERMIRE, JEROME CURTIS733 N HIGHLAND PARK AVE CHATTANOOGA, 37404Age at Arrest: 72 years oldArresting Agency: HC SheriffDOMESTIC ASSAULTSWEAT, ALBERTA959 GATEWAY AVE APT 1121 CHATTANOOGA, 37402Age at Arrest: 76 years oldArresting Agency: Chattanooga PDASSAULTTERRERO, CANDICE MARIE303 GUILD DR CHATTANOOGA, 37421Age at Arrest: 21 years oldArresting Agency: HC SheriffDISORDERLY CONDUCTTHOMAS, DOUGLAS JOHN5840 LAKE RESORT TER N212 CHATTANOOGA, 374152689Age at Arrest: 59 years oldArresting Agency: HC Sheriff(VOP) AGGRAVATED CRIMINAL TRESPASSTURNER, KAREN DENISECAMPER CLEVELAND, 37312Age at Arrest: 53 years oldArresting Agency: HC SheriffTHEFT OF PROPERTY OVER $5,000.00UNAUTHORIZED USE OF AUTOMOBILE (JOY RIDING)WHIDDON, COURTNEY ANGELL2914 HAYWOOD AVENUE CHATTANOOGA, 37415Age at Arrest: 35 years oldArresting Agency: HC SheriffBooked for Previous Charges or Other Reason(s)WHITTEMORE, BRANDON EUGENE335 PARKER LANE WHITESIDE, 37396Age at Arrest: 34 years oldArresting Agency: HC SheriffVIOLATION OF PROBATION (DOMESTIC AGGRAVATED ASSAULVIOLATION OF PROBATION (SEXUAL BATTERY)WILSON, KENNETH C2620 BOYCE STREET LOT 27 CHATTANOOGA, 37406Age at Arrest: 51 years oldArresting Agency: HC SheriffDRIVING ON REVOKED, SUSPENDED OR CANCELLED LICENSE More than 150 professors from throughout the UC system signed a letter asking UC President Michael Drake to rescind a plan to require viewpoint-neutral instruction about Middle East history. Students on both sides of the Israel-Hamas conflict have been protesting since Oct. 7. Bronte Wittpenn/The Chronicle A plan to teach a viewpoint-neutral history of the Middle East at University of California campuses has roused controversy, judging by a letter sent Tuesday to UC President Michael Drake from 150 professors who object to his effort to navigate the raw tensions between Palestinian and Israeli sympathizers up and down the state. Amid persistent campus conflicts between the groups following the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas and Israels huge military retaliation in Gaza, Drake announced a series of measures on Nov. 15 intended to tamp down anger and improve relations between the groups. Included in the measures, UC expects to spend $2 million to develop education programs at each campus that include a viewpoint-neutral history of the Middle East. The idea, Drake told the UC regents, was to improve the public discourse and create a better understanding of antisemitism and Islamophobia. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Now 150 professors from UCs nine undergraduate campuses including historians, Middle East scholars and department heads say that Drakes plan is improperly prescriptive and amounts to a form of censorship. We are all committed to inclusivity and academic excellence, but to suggest that the UC administration should determine how and what we teach will set a chilling precedent for our field, the letter said. One danger, they wrote, is that such a neutral approach could spread to other fields that have generated discord, including climate change, the history of racism, and genocide. As an example, the authors pointed to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has called for opposing viewpoints about slavery and has restricted classroom discussions of structural racism. At one point, the letter also takes an indignant tone, noting that Drakes call for neutrality appears to question how professors currently teach about the Middle East. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The idea that they should do it differently is an unneeded rebuke of the rigorous work done by our colleagues who spend significant time developing and delivering world-class curriculum and pedagogy, the letter said. And besides, the professors added, what they teach and how they teach it is their decision under the shared governance principle that the university relies on. A final point of the letter criticizes Drakes use of the word preventative. In his announcement, Drake said his goal was to ensure that university policies are supportive, preventative, and viewpoint-neutral. Citing examples from the United Kingdom and France, which historically used a prevent strategy to justify spying, silencing and intimidating students and faculty who were critical of the government, the professors called the word one of the most controversial and damaging terms to be introduced into higher education. The letter ultimately demands that Drake rescind the call for a viewpoint-neutral history of the Middle East. Asked to respond, a spokesperson for Drake underscored UCs commitment to the facultys academic freedom and said the education programming recommended by the president was voluntary. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In his remarks on Nov. 15, Drake said that UC has an important role to play in creating educational spaces where we can all find factual information, guidance, support and practical tools to better understand and respond to what is happening around us. Although he and the campus chancellors had already issued a joint statement condemning the alarming acts of bigotry, intolerance and intimidation seen on campuses since the Hamas attack, Drake said his office would spend $7 million on three practical initiatives because words alone are not enough. The plan calls for spending $3 million on emergency mental health resources, $2 million on educational programs to improve the public discourse and to better understand antisemitism and Islamophobia, and $2 million to train employees on how to navigate their roles as educators in this space. Drake said the university must be guided by a moral compass that helps us find our way to compassion and understanding in difficult moments. Llewellyn Barrow departed this earthly life for heavenly reward on Sunday, November 26, 2023. Llewellyn was born to the late Frank Barrow and Julia Coleman Barrow on March 29,1943, in Chattanooga. The first of two sons, Llewellyn was easy-going, kind, and generous with a passion for education. On Dec. 10, 1966, he married his college sweetheart, the love of his life, Mary Alice Ringer Barrow. This union of 56 beautiful years was blessed with two children, Charita Lynn Barrow and Brian Lamar Barrow. Llewellyn attended West Main Street Elementary, Second District Junior High School, and graduated from Howard High School in 1961. In 1966, he earned both a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Master of Science in Education at Tennessee State University. Throughout his life, Llewellyn held many titles, but his favorite roles were that of husband and father. He was always present, beaming with pride, for every game, recital, and important milestone. He also valiantly and selflessly cared for and supported his family during every illness and difficult moment. Llewellyn enjoyed a successful professional career as a school psychologist for the Chattanooga School System. Later in his career, he was promoted to the director of Resource Services for the school system and was responsible for leading and managing the school systems psychologists, guidance counselors, social workers and systemwide testing. Service to the community was also an important facet of his life. Llewellyn joined the Rho Psi chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity in 1966 and served as the president of the Kappa Iota chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity from 1981 to 1983. He was also treasurer of the Carateers and a graduate of the third class of Leadership Chattanooga in 1987. Llewellyn embraced Christianity at an early age and was christened at Wiley Memorial United Methodist Church, where he was a member. He later joined Bethel AME Church and then Second Missionary Baptist Church. He will be remembered for his love and compassion to both family and friends, his unfailing work ethic, his infectious smile,and his two favorite sayings: You do what you have to do andSave and invest your money. Llewellyn was preceded in death by his wife of 56 years, Mary Ringer Barrow. His memory will be cherished and kept alive by his children, Charita Lynn Barrow; Brian Lamar Barrow (Emily); brother Joseph Barrow (Ruth), granddaughter, Ada Marie Barrow, sisters-in-law Velma Ringer Jackson (Reginald), Thelma Ringer Smith, Willena Ringer Isom Cameron (James); brothers-in-law, Howard Edward Ringer Sr. (Olivia), Windon Ringer (Carole); dear friend, Lynda McCowan, and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, relatives, and friends. Funeral serviced will be on Saturday, Dec. 2, at Second Missionary Baptist Church 2305 E. 3rd St. at 11:30 a.m. with visitation one hours before at the church. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee presented the Education Freedom Scholarship Act of 2024, his administrations legislative proposal to establish statewide universal school choice, alongside members of the General Assembly, Tennessee families and education stakeholders. This legislation aims to provide every Tennessee parent with the opportunity to choose the right education for their child, while prioritizing families with the greatest need. View the Education Freedom launch event here. A high-quality education has the power to change the trajectory of a childs life, and theres no question that now is the time to make school choice a reality for every Tennessee family, said Governor Lee. Tennessees Education Freedom Scholarships will empower parents with the freedom to choose the right education for their child, while also giving them a say in how their taxpayer dollars are invested. In the coming months, I look forward to working with Tennessee families and members of the General Assembly to accomplish this historic legislative initiative and establish Tennessee as a leader in providing choice for families while also striving toward the best public school system in the country. "Working to expand the educational choices parents and students have available to them is always a worthy goal, said Lt. Governor Randy McNally. I am grateful Governor Lee has brought forth this proposal and I look forward to working with him, Speaker Sexton and all members of the General Assembly in pursuit of that goal." We all agree that every child should have an opportunity for a quality education that meets their needs, and I strongly believe the ultimate decision should be made by parents, not government bureaucrats, said House Speaker Cameron Sexton. This scholarship opportunity is funded outside the current K-12 funding model, TISA, which means dollars do not follow students. We all know a quality education changes ones life and reduces poverty and crime within communities. In the future in Tennessee, students and parents will be in control of their education success, without the government limiting their opportunities. Across the state, parents should be empowered to make the best education decisions for their children by having input over where their taxpayer dollars are spent, said Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson. Students should not be boxed in to attending a school that doesnt fit their needs. I am grateful to Governor Lee for proposing the Education Freedom Scholarship Act to give Tennessee parents the ability to make a fundamental choice: where their child goes to school. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the General Assembly and Governor Lee and his team to pass this legislation." Tennessee is serious about student achievement, said House Majority Leader William Lamberth. This is a bold idea that will empower families and change lives. This initiative, combined with our historic investments in public education, will launch a new era of student success in Tennessee. The Education Freedom Scholarship Act will empower Tennessee parents with the freedom to choose the right school for their child and give families a choice where their taxpayer dollars are spent. Tennessee residents entitled to attend K-12 at a public school, including homeschoolers enrolled in umbrella or church-related schools, will be eligible for the program. The bill is structured to prioritize eligibility for the most at-risk students before ramping up to universal eligibility. 2024-25 school year: A total of 20,000 scholarships will be awarded on a rolling first-come, first-served basis. 10,000 scholarships available for Tennessee students who are at or below 300% of the federal poverty level, have a disability, or are eligible for the existing ESA pilot program. 10,000 additional scholarships available to a universal pool of students entitled to attend a public school. A total of 20,000 scholarships will be awarded on a rolling first-come, first-served basis. 2025-26 school year and beyond: Universal eligibility for all students entitled to attend a public school. If applications exceed available scholarships due to funding, lower income, public-school and returning scholarship students will receive priority. Since taking office in 2019, Governor Lee has been passionate about expanding choices for parents regarding their childs education, while also making historic investments in Tennessees public schools, with an emphasis on funding students, not systems. In 2022, the Lee administration worked in partnership with the General Assembly to pass the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) Act, transitioning Tennessees K-12 public schools to a student-based funding approach and investing an estimated $9 billion into education funding for the state, which included an additional recurring state investment of $1 billion annually. In 2023, Governor Lee signed Teacher Paycheck Protection Act, a landmark bill giving teachers the largest pay raise in state history. As a result, Tennessee is currently on track to become a top ten state for starting teacher pay by 2026. Paul McCartney said one of his Wings songs sold 100,000 copies a day. He contrasted this with record sales in the modern music industry. Paul McCartney said one of his Wings songs sold 100,000 copies a day. He contrasted this with record sales in the modern music industry. While the tune in question was a massive hit in the United Kingdom, it made no impact whatsoever in the United States. Paul McCartney got to experience the best of the music industry through 1 of his songs During a 2016 interview with Rolling Stone, Paul discussed music sales. The scene has changed, but it doesnt disturb me, because I had the best of it selling 100,000 a day on something like Mull of Kintyre,' he said. Ive had the joy of that. If I dont have it now, its not just about me, he added. All of my contemporaries, who are still pretty cool, dont have it, because things have moved on. And you know what? We had it. And it was great. Paul McCartney said only Rihanna and Beyonce can cross certain milestones today Paul was asked what qualified as a hit in the modern era. Ive given up trying to figure it out, he said. You cant. Like this Pure album Ill get rung up: Its No. 3. Wow, thats cool, man. What did it sell? 15,000. I think inside, Its a joke, man 15,000 a day was not good then.' Paul may have been referring to the 2016 album Pure by the heavy metal band In the Woods But thats the new world in record sales, unless youre Rihanna or Beyonce, he explained. Ill put out my next album, but I wont think Im gonna sell a lot. Im putting it out because I have songs that I like. And I will do my best job. Interestingly, Paul collaborated with Rihanna on the 2015 hit FourFiveSeconds. The song helped create the former Beatles musical reputation Mull of Kintyre was not a hit in the United States as it didnt chart on the Billboard Hot 100. Considering nine of Pauls post-Beatles singles topped the Billboard Hot 100, the performance of Mull of Kintyre is a bit surprising. The song appeared on some editions of the record London Town. That album reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and lasted on the chart for 28 weeks. On the other hand, The Official Charts Company reports the song became massive in the United Kingdom. There, Mull of Kintyre was No. 1 for nine of its 17 weeks on the chart. Meanwhile, the album London Town peaked at No. 4 in the U.K. and stayed on the chart for 23 weeks. Perhaps the single has special appeal to U.K. audiences because its about a place in Scotland. Considering it came out in 1977, the track mustve sounded like an old-fashioned antidote to the punk rock revolution that was dominating British radios. While Mull of Kintyre was famous, it was one of the songs that gave Paul a reputation for being archaic. Mull of Kintyre isnt one of Pauls groundbreaking songs but it struck a chord with the British public in 1977. If South Mumbai is flooded in seven years, 20 million people will lose their homes. The number of cases of cancer in children will rise by 37 percent this year. The mountains of garbage in his homeland are getting bigger and bigger. As one of eight finalists in the Innovation Challenge 2023 of the International sustainable chemistry Collaborative Centre (ISC3), Raj Tanna highlights the consequences of increasing plastic production from fossil raw materials with three alarming facts: global warming, the release of harmful substances and poor end-of-life options. With his start-up, Schutzen Chemical Group, the founder is researching and developing biobased and biodegradable solutions with polymers from the fruit seeds of the tamarind tree, which can replace many fossil raw materials such as silicone, acrylates or polyurethane in certain industries. For this contribution to Sustainable Chemistry, the international expert jury of the Innovation Challenge honoured the start-up with the ISC3 Innovation Award 2023, endowed with 15,000 euros. Raj and his mentor and father Mahendra Tanna Founder Raj Tanna, who initially worked in fossil chemistry and later studied textile technology in Manchester, was motivated to work in Sustainable Chemistry by the ISC3 initiative, among other things. The collaborative centre has been supporting Schutzen as part of the ISC3 Global Start-up Service since 2020 with success: the Indian start-up has developed a functioning technology to optimize the benefits of polymers from the fruits of the tamarind tree. For example, chemicals such as sodium hydrosulphite can be replaced in indigo dyeing for jeans production. Water consumption can be reduced by up to 60 percent as no rewashing is necessary. Another innovative solution is the replacement of silicone in skin and hair care products with more sustainable tamarind-based conditioning agents. "The ISC3 is a catalyst for sustainable change. Schutzen has been directly motivated and inspired by interactions with ISC3 to develop more Sustainable Chemicals, which over the years have set the direction of thinking regarding the world's needs," says Raj Tanna. Tamarind: a valuable, sustainable raw material for many applications Background: Tamarind is a fruit tree that is widespread in India and, unlike the guar bean, for example, from which substances with similar properties to those of Schutzen polymers for textile printing are obtained, requires less fertile soil. Tamarind seeds have a low value in the food industry as only fruits (also known as Indian dates) are used, and the seeds remain a waste product. This makes tamarind seeds an inexpensive raw material. During his studies, Raj Tanna researched the processing of a tamarind polymer to use it as a natural thickening agent in the textile printing process with fiber-reactive dyes. First success: Biobased Resin for wrinkle free finishing of fabrics "Tamarind polymer has been used in the industry for almost 60 years, and many companies in India have used it for polyester printing over the past 20 years," explains Raj, who is supported by his father Mahendra Tanna and his experience, including in an internationally active German company for textile specialty chemicals in India. "So it's not about a new polymer; it's more about understanding how this polymer can be processed and repurposed sustainably in a wide range of industries and new applications," says Raj Tanna. Following his research at the university, the Schutzen Chemical Group launched its own Biobased Resin finishing package to achieve wrinkle free effect of fabrics without the use of toxic Dimethyloldihydroxyethyleneurea (DMDHEU) resins, and in that way enabling more sustainable approach to cellulosic fibres such as cotton. Vulcan officially opened its lithium Extraction Optimisation Plant (LEOP) in Landau, Germany, in a ceremony attended by local community, shareholders, politicians, strategic partners and industry. The start of operations at LEOP will signify the first lithium chemicals which will be produced in Europe with an entirely locally sourced value chain. The renewable heat in the lithium brine resource at the Zero Carbon Lithium Project will also enable Vulcan to produce with a net zero carbon footprint and coproduction of renewable energy, a world-first in the lithium industry. Vulcan has successfully tested and piloted lithium production using in the Upper Rhine Valley Brine Field for nearly three years, including at its pilot plants in Insheim and Landau. Over 10,000 hours of successful in-house pilot plant performance testing has been conducted to date, showing high lithium recoveries and thousands of cycles of sorbent life with no degradation. Vulcan uses its proprietary in-house sorbent, VULSORB, which has shown a high-performance relative to off the shelf products. Vulcan has proven that the sustainable lithium production process Adsorption-Type Direct Lithium Extraction (A-DLE), which accounts for 10% of global lithium production today, can be successfully applied in the Upper Rhine Valley, heated and powered by geothermal renewable energy. This means that Europe can not only produce its own locally-sourced lithium for battery electric vehicles, but also do so with a world-leading net zero carbon footprint. Vulcans LEOP will serve as an optimisation facility and training ground for its production team, producing tonnes of lithium chloride, whilst the Phase One commercial plant is being constructed and commissioned over the next two and a half years. Currently, the EU has set a target of 100% of vehicles to be zero emissions by 2035, indicating Europe will see a 57fold increase in lithium demand in the coming years; until now, there has been zero local lithium supply. Vulcans Zero Carbon Lithium Project, with integrated renewable heat, renewable power and lithium production, will pave the way for Germany and more broadly Europe toward achieving a net zero shift in mobility and energy. With lithium offtake agreements in place with Stellantis, Volkswagen, Renault, Umicore and LG, Vulcan is delivering towards a competitive and sustainable battery industry in Europe across the entire value chain. Once Phase One commercial production commences, Vulcans ZERO CARBON LITHIUM business will produce enough lithium hydroxide for 500,000 BEVs, as well as providing renewable heating to local communities and generating thousands of direct and indirect energy transition jobs. The opening of LEOP is timely given the EU reached a resolution and agreement on the Critical Raw Materials Act last week, as lithium is at the top of the Critical Raw Materials list for the BEV industry. This creates a policy tailwind for Vulcan as it readies for Phase One commercial project execution production. Cherokee Nation citizen and Northeastern State University alumnus Stephen Highers will serve as the speaker at the universitys fall commencement ceremony on Dec. 9 in Tahlequah. While thousands of incredibly brave men fought in the countrys biggest wars, many women also made significant contributions that dont get nearly enough credit. For instance, have you ever heard of Sarah Bradlee Fulton? Sarah was known as the Mother of the Boston Tea Party and was a significant figure during the Revolutionary War. Sarah was born in the Boston area of Massachusetts in 1740. She was passionate about patriotism from a young age. Sarah married John Fulton in 1762 and began participating in boycotts and protests against the British as she got older. Sarah became an active member and leader of the Daughters of Liberty, a female association full of women who were passionate about fighting for independence and liberty. With the group, she helped plan the iconic Boston Tea Party, the protest against the British taxes on tea where demonstrators threw chests of tea into the Boston Harbor in 1773. As some may know, some of the men who participated in the Boston Tea Party were disguised as Native Americans during the protest to hide their true identities. That was actually Sarahs idea, and she helped the men dress in Native American headdresses, clothing, and face paint. Not only that, but Sarah discreetly waited for the disguised men to return home so she could help them remove and dispose of their disguises and take the red paint off their faces in order to avoid getting caught. Sarahs contributions to the war did not stop there. Two years later, Sarah rallied a group of women to bring medical aid and support to American soldiers in the war. They traveled to deliver medical supplies and other remedies for them. In 1776, John was asked to deliver a message to General George Washington from Major John Brooks, but Sarah decided to do it. She bravely crossed enemy lines to deliver the message to George Washington near the Charleston waterfront. He later went to her home to thank her personally. Sign up for Chip Chicks newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox. China's efforts to "build people up" admirable, says parliamentarians from Pacific island countries Xinhua) 10:49, November 28, 2023 FUZHOU, China, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- China's ability to communicate with people and its efforts to "build the people up" are admirable, said a group of visiting parliamentarians from Pacific island countries. China's whole-process people's democracy "is a unique mode of democracy of the people of China," and its commitment to putting people first is remarkable, Papali'i Li'o Taeu Masipa'u, speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Independent State of Samoa, told Xinhua here in a recent interview. Papali'i said he was impressed by how China "looks after the most vulnerable people" and takes care of "the needs of the grassroots." The legislative assembly speaker is one of the 21 parliamentarians from five Pacific island countries -- Samoa, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Niue, Tonga, and the Solomon Islands -- who participated in a seminar in Beijing last week that aimed to strengthen legislative exchanges between China and these countries. They went on a six-day field trip afterward to villages, factories, parks, museums, and agriculture centers in Jiangxi and Fujian provinces to better perceive Chinese society. The series of events concluded Wednesday are organized by the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress. Minister of Social Services of Niue, Sonya Talagi, said, "I admire the Chinese people for their vision and fortitude" and the "political will and commitment to bring everybody in the country up to the same level." After observing how the municipal people's congress practices the whole-process people's democracy during the trip, Talagi spoke highly of the "scientific approach used in doing research, and of using fact and logical-based approaches in decision-making." "There is no one-size-fits-all model of democracy, and it's important for the government to recognize the best solution that serves and protects its people," she noted. "People tend to air their views in where they want to see the country go," and the Chinese government won't "turn blind eyes and deaf ears to the people ... that's how people will really take the ownership," said Joseph Yopyyopy, a national parliament member of PNG. Practicing the whole-process people's democracy is the key factor in China's rapid economic development and long-term social stability, said Kapelieli Militoni Lanumata, a member of the parliament of Tonga. Lanumata, an expert on agriculture, said that China's commitment to achieving "harmony between humanity and nature" is an important feature of modernization, and this is the value to be shared by all. While visiting an electric car plant in Jiangxi province, Frederick Kologeto, Minister for Commerce Industry, Labour and Immigration of the Solomon Islands, said the rapid development of electric vehicles shows the modernization accomplishment of China, and the country's sustained efforts in addressing climate change, a huge concern for Pacific island countries. Many parliamentarians expressed the hope that such exchanges could be held frequently in a bid to further promote mutual understanding. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan) Nora Mishanec is a San Francisco Chronicle breaking news and enterprise reporter. She joined the paper in 2020 as a Hearst fellow and returned in 2022 after a stint at The Houston Chronicle. She can be reached at nora.mishanec@sfchronicle.com. In 2021, Springtide Research Institute put out a report on the State of Religion and Young People. From the data, the institute identified a trend they called faith unbundled. 53% of young people said, I agree with some, but not all, of the things my religion teaches. 55% of young people said, I dont feel like I need to be connected to a specific religion. 47% of young people said, I feel like I could fit in with many different religions. These figures werent a surprise to me. Gen Z is at once the most racially and ethnically diverse and the least religious age cohort in American history. In 2019, the polling firm Barna Group found that, among practicing Christians, millennials report an average (median) of four close friends or family members who practice a faith other than Christianity; most of their Boomer parents and grandparents, by comparison, have just one. Id presume this figure is even higher among my Christians peers, as we find ourselves in community with those of other faiths and with nones. Data also shows that members of Gen Z are wary of traditional religious spaces. From the Springtide report: 55% of young people said, I dont feel like I can be my full self in a religious congregation. 45% of young people said, I dont feel safe within religious or faith institutions. 47% of young people said, I dont trust religion, faith, or religious leaders in those kinds of organizations. Almost 50% of young people told Springtide they dont turn to faith communities due to a lack of trust in the people, beliefs, and systems of organized religion. When older Christians hear about the ways that Gen Z is unbundling or deconstructing their faith, they can become fearful. Perhaps open-mindedness equates to moral relativism. Perhaps lost trust cant be regained. As a member of Gen Z myself, I dont share this concern. Oftentimes, being in dialogue with people of other perspectives leads us back tonot away fromobjective, capital-T Truth. As we come of age in the faith, we need older believers to support us in our reckoning, rather than shying away from our questions and concerns. This fall, as part of our NextGen Initiative and in partnership with TENx10, CT hosted a series of writing workshops for Christians in their late teens and early twenties. Our hope: to see more young people appear in our pages, reflecting the generational diversity of the church, and allowing older believers to better understand the strengths and challenges of their younger brothers and sisters in the faith. Article continues below As a start, weve selected a handful of responses, submitted by workshop participants, to the following prompt. Claire Nelson, Impact Project Coordinator, CT How can older believers better support Gen Z Christians? Older believers can better support Gen Z Christiansby letting go of the dont ask, dont tell mentality around sex and intimacy that has pervaded Christian circles in recent decades. During my middle school and high school years in the 2010s, I endured many of the repercussions of purity culturebody-shaming, the sexualization of young women, and the use of fear tactics to ward teens off from premarital sex. My experience in youth group was a bizarre fusion of a hyper-fixation on womens bodies and the threat we posed to our male counterparts, combined with an aversion (and often fear) of topics like intimacy and sexuality. The narratives I was taught in church led me to believe that my body was dangerous, that men were lustful monsters who couldnt be trusted, and that as long as I waited until marriage, my sex life would be blessed and fulfilling. I stumbled into my twenties without any practical knowledge on how to approach healthy relationships or sexual brokenness. The only thing I knew for certain was that the women in my church didnt feel comfortable discussing the things I needed to talk about. Recently, as I have begun to shyly approach topics around sexuality with women my own age, I have found that we are all desperate for wise counsel on our bodies, on marriage, and on godly womanhood. I have also discovered that most of us dont feel there are many women in the church who are safe to discuss these topics with. As I began to date, I realized that men my own age are searching for help too. The men of Gen Z are searching for help with sexual brokenness, yearning for male mentorship as they consider marriage and fatherhood. As Christ said, The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few (Matt. 9:37). The older generation can better support Gen Z by caring enough to overcome their own embarrassment on these topics and to foster vulnerable conversations with the younger generation. The secular world has plenty to say about what it means to be a man or woman in the modern world. Popular culture is not shy when it comes to sex, and the church shouldnt be either. Article continues below Gen Z Christians want and need older Christians to get honest about what it means to be a woman of God. What it takes to overcome sexual addiction. What it means to have a Christ-centered marriage. Its not a question of whether or not the younger generation will get taught about marriage or sex or pleasure. Its a question of whos doing the teaching. My plea to the Christians who come before me is: Please, let the teacher be you. Olivia Voegtle is a writer, musician, and freelance editor living in New York City. She received her BA in English from The Kings College. We cant let generational gaps impede our spiritual siblinghood. Older believers attempting to support Gen Z shouldnt be thinking about how they can better cater their discipleship methods and ministry strategies to youth culture. That too quickly feels artificial and pandering. Instead, how can older believers be constructive to Gen Z culture? So much of the conversation around generational differences is about how the divide is irreparable. What if Christians were a demographic that countered that trend? What so many Gen Z believers are looking for is to no longer be viewed as children but to be given a measure of respect. Not the honor earned by professionals, professors, or politiciansbut the respect naturally allocated to adults. An effective but often overlooked way to respect someone is to consider them worthy of friendship. Often, older Christians want to disciple younger believers without any kind of preexisting relationship. Young Christians dont want to be discipled by just any older Christian but by someone they want to emulate. How can they know they want to emulate someone without knowing them? If we are mindful of the fact that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, there is room for those who are one, two, even three generations apart to be genuine friends. When older generations approach a connection with someone in Gen Z as an opportunity for service or outreach, that often leaves the younger generation feeling pitied, demeaned, even likened to a project (1 Tim. 4:12). What would be far better is if an older generation of Christians could look to Gen Z as their brothers and sisters in Christ; their very own family (1 Tim. 5:12; Eph. 3:1922; Gal. 6:10; Titus 2:18). Article continues below It wouldnt be unreasonable or unimaginable, but in todays culture, this cross-generational friendship would certainly be unconventional. Practically, sharing coffee, meals, and authentic conversation are ways to foster this spiritual siblinghood (1 Pet. 4:9). Imagine the influence that would emanate from a church that could successfully foster these kinds of relationships. Life not just as peers or equals but as spiritual siblings, parents, cousins, aunts, unclesspiritual family reflective of the kingdom. Elijah ODell is an associate preacher and worship leader based in the Midwest. In Titus 2, Paul presses godly men and women to not only live in accordance with Gods Word but to also teach, train, and encourage younger believers to live the life to which God has called them. When Gen Z believers flourish spiritually, that flourishing doesnt stay in their churches or campus ministries. It extends beyond their Christian circles, implanting seeds of Gods Word among the people around them. Not only does spiritual mentorship strengthen a young Christian, it also equips a young believer to share love and wisdom with the nonbelievers around them, allowing them to be beacons of light and truth for the gospel. In Matthew 5:16, Jesus says, In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. By living in Christlike love, holiness, and righteousness, believers reach the world. If there isnt fellowship and genuine friendship between older believers and Gen Z, young believers lose encouraging examples of Gods power. Hannah Davis is a college senior studying English. She spent last summer in South Africa on a Christian journalism internship. Canadian evangelical scholar and commentator John G. Stackhouse lost his job as a religious studies professor following a six-month investigation into accusations of inappropriate behavior toward students, spurred by an online campaign. Students said Stackhouse made sexist remarks and unacceptable jokes in the classroom, according to an independent investigator commissioned by Crandall University, the Baptist college in New Brunswick where Stackhouse had taught since 2015. The investigator also said the professors email exchanges with a female student amounted to sexual harassment. A statement from Stackhouses legal counsel to CT said he categorically disagrees with the reports findings and disputes the universitys decision to publish them online, turning a private matter into a public spectacle. The summary of findings, released last Wednesday, also noted unanswered questions about sexual harassment complaints against Stackhouse from before he worked at Crandall. Regent College in Vancouver, where Stackhouse was on faculty for 17 years, declined to comment, citing privacy law; a CBC news program reported Sunday that Regent and Stackhouse agreed to a settlement following a 2014 investigation. When asked about allegations at other institutions, Stackhouse told the investigator, I do not see how its in my interest to answer that question, the report said. Stackhouse said there had been no open complaint at the time he left Regent, but the investigator concluded that, whether directly or by omission, he misled Crandall prior to his hiring about the circumstances of his departure. Stackhouse has been a voice calling for accountability at evangelical institutions and womens inclusion in leadership, and he was among the earliest critics of the late Ravi Zacharias. He wrote books about ethics, apologetics, evangelicalism, and gender roles, including Finally Feminist: A Pragmatic Christian Understanding of Gender and Partners in Christ: A Conservative Case for Egalitarianism. Starting last spring, an Instagram account called DoBetterCrandall began anonymously sharing stories of inappropriate jokes, behavior, and treatment from an unnamed Crandall professor. More than 100 students signed an open letter calling for the university to respond. Crandall launched an investigation in April and announced Stackhouses dismissal last Wednesday. University leadership issued a letter expressing deepest regret to all of its students, and particularly to any student or students who were made to feel threatened, diminished, or victimized. Paramount at Crandall University is the safety and security of its students, stated former board chair Sheila Cummings, who oversaw the investigation, current chair Douglas Schofield, and university president Bruce Fawcett. We cannot and will not tolerate behaviour from its administration, faculty, or staff that in any way violates the Universitys mission and identity. While Stackhouse became the key subject of the investigation, the summary of findings mentioned other faculty as well as recommendations for strengthening the universitys policies. Stackhouses attorney Denis Grigoras issued a statement to CT on Monday. While Dr. Stackhouse acknowledges and respects the importance of addressing any misconduct allegations thoroughly and fairly, including by way of a workplace investigation that complies with best practices, the manner in which Crandall has chosen to handle this matter is profoundly concerning to him, the statement read. Crandall had released a six-page summary of findings from the investigation, which was led by Joel Michaud of the law firm Pink Larkin. In the report, Stackhouse is referred to as the faculty member, though he is identified by name in a university press release. Students and former students recounted how the 63-year-old professor would make gender-based comments, sexist remarks, comments about a persons looks, dress and appearance. According to the report, Stackhouse said Crandalls president spoke to him about his remarks in class following complaints from a few students prior to the launch of the DoBetterCrandall Instagram account. Michaud wrote that jokes (or stories) that might have come across as charming 25 years ago are no longer acceptableinstead, the investigator considered them sexual harassment and said that Stackhouses behavior bordered on abuse of authority as defined in the universitys policy. He also said that he believed Stackhouses antics detrimentally affected the learning environment. Stackhouse also had a reputation for being brash and abrasive, students said. While that is not uncommon in academia, the investigator stated, the line is crossed where the behavior rises to the level of harassment or abuse of authority. Michaud believed that Stackhouse was deserving of severe disciplinary action. The investigator also reviewed around 100 pages of emails with a student that he believed constituted sexual harassment. The student did not engage in the email banter or otherwise encourage the inappropriate messages, Michaud wrote. During the investigation, according to the report, Stackhouse acknowledged that his email exchanges with the student were inappropriate, unhealthy, unbecoming of a professor. Stackhouse said he would not defend it but argued the banter was something of an aberration from a long career. Stackhouses attorney has referred to the findings as a private investigative report and plans to explore legal avenues in response to their publication since these matters have caused significant harm to Dr. Stackhouses reputation and career. This approach is unnecessary and damaging, his statement said, impacting not just Dr. Stackhouse but the very fabric of privacy and due process within private academic institutions. On Threads, Baylor University historian Beth Allison Barr commented that she was grateful that @crandalluniversity did the right thing in public. It is time for us to stop allowing Christian churches and institutions to sweep this behavior under the rug. Cummings, the universitys former board chair, quoted Micah 6:8 in a segment with CBC and told the outlet, I think its important that we are open and honest about everything that we do. Would it have been easier to just try to sweep this under the carpet? Perhaps, but it was not what was right and honest. Stackhouse regularly comments on evangelical issues in outlets including CBC and Christianity Today. Years before the death of Zacharias and the news of the apologists abuse, Stackhouse was a leading voice calling out Zachariass inflated credentials. He has also spoken about concerns around transparency and ethics in ministry, including finances. And Stackhouse has addressed womens roles in the church and been involved with organizations such as Christians for Biblical Equality. As an apologist, he recognized how the churchs missteps on gender and abuse hurt those within it and its mission, lamenting in a 2022 blog post that many women and girls suffer unwanted flirting, condescension, sexual harassment, and sexual assaulteven in our Christian homes and churches, as too many studies now prove. Days before Crandall announced the findings of the investigation, Stackhouse shared pictures on social media from the American Academy of Religion / Society of Biblical Literature annual meetings in San Antonio. A week before his termination, he published a post on his blog announcing a series on salvation. Before that, he wrote about Psalm 23: Far from the pastoral sentimentality of too many well-meant Sunday School lessons and funeral sermons, it depicts the life of faith as the Bible actually depicts it: fraught with perils, dark with threats, and terrifying to everyone who does not walk beside the Good Shepherd. Home Podcast Can Christians be demonically possessed? Evangelist Ray Comfort answers Evangelist Ray Comfort has said that while Christians can be oppressed by demons, they can never be demonically possessed. In a recent interview with CBN News, the 73-year-old New Zealand-born ministry leader explained that the way a Christian experiences the demonic realm will always be vastly different from how unbelievers do. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed, Comfort said. I dont believe a Christian can be demonically possessed. He can be oppressed." "We all have battles with demonic forces, with thoughts in our head. But, when someone becomes a Christian, they are set free. Comfort confirmed that, in his ministry work, he doesn't incorporate deliverance sessions into his services, believing that the way a person can combat evil forces is through Scripture. One key Bible verse that can help with the battle is James 4:7, which states, Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. And if Satan isnt fleeing from someone, I believe its probably because theyre not totally submitted to God, said Comfort. According to Comfort, there are people who praise the idea of engaging in exorcising prayers. On many occasions, they are holding onto bitterness in their hearts, which can be related to resentment toward their parents, for example. Thats one way to get spiritual problems is to hate your father, hate your mother, he said. Ephesians 6:1 says, Honor your father and mother, that all may be well with you and your days may be long upon the earth.' Comfort said that bitterness can give a stronghold to the enemy." He encouraged others to fix their hearts on love and forgiveness rather than on hatred or enmity. Remember, Satan goes about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, Comfort said, referring to 1 Peter 5:8. If you're in Satans territory if youre lying, or stealing, or looking at porn, or blaspheming and doing things you know are morally wrong youre opening the door; youre giving foothold to the devil. Listen to the Playing with Fire podcast about demonic possession and oppression The evangelist said he engaged in prayer, oftentimes for hours on end, for people at various churches. He described the process as "exhausting," and said that over time, he came to understand that each person has to close the door themselves, because deliverance starts with the person who is being oppressed having a willingness to cling to the Lord. If someone has demonic problems, I say, Well, lets go through the Gospel. Lets see what sin is,' Comfort said. And then you renounce everything youve been into, turn from it, say, God, Im totally yours. I give myself. I submit myself to your Lordship. I present myself as a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable to you, which is my reasonable service.'" Thats when youre a new creature in Christ. Old things pass away. Old things become new. Last month, Comfort shared a story about a woman, identified as "Jane," who was experiencing blackouts and other spiritual dilemmas. When she sought help, she was showing evidence of being in the midst of a demonic attack. [She was] sitting down in my office, manifesting all these different weird demons, Comfort said. And, at one point, the dexterity was quite amazing. With one hand, she reached into a blouse and pulled out a safety pin and tried to swallow it." I think three times she grabbed cords from lights in the office and tried to strangle herself, and the demon screamed out, Were going to kill. And I said, You cant touch us, because were Christians. Comfort said the voice clarified that Jane wasnt a Christian and could suffer harm as a result of that. She eventually was delivered and set free. The topic of spiritual warfare and demonic possession has been a hot topic in Christian circles in recent years. In a video posted on YouTube by the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2018, theologian Stephen Wellum stressed that Christians cannot be possessed. "To be demon-possessed would mean one is outside of Christ," said Wellum at the time. "When you think of Christian salvation, it is depicted in Scripture as a transfer. It is a transfer from being in Adam, and the entire age controlled by sin and death and the devil, and being transferred into Christ." "In Christ, we are no longer dead in transgressions and sins, we are born of the Spirit, we have new life, we are forgiven of our sins, we are joined to the Savior, we have the power of the Savior." Home Politics DeSantis ad blasts Nikki Haley's views on trans issues, China, free speech A new political ad slams Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley for her stances on trans issues, China and free speech as the former South Carolina governor spars with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other candidates seeking to establish themselves as the best alternative to former President Donald Trump in the Republican presidential primaries. The DeSantis War Room, which describes itself as Rapid Response for Governor Ron DeSantis, released an ad titled Meet the Real Nikki Haley on Nov. 17. The three-minute video comes less than two months before the Iowa Caucuses, where Haley and DeSantis are among several Republican candidates looking to score an upset victory over Trump in the first presidential nominating contest ahead of the 2024 presidential election. The ad begins with an on-screen message reading: Nikki Haley is not a conservative. It features a clip of the candidate declaring, The reason I got into politics was because of Hillary Clinton, and another clip where she recalled attending a conference where Clinton, the 2016 Democratic nominee for president and a figure loathed by many Republicans, was a speaker. I walked out of there, and I said, 'Im running for office,' Haley said, referring to the conference that Clinton spoke at. The ad also highlights concerns about Haleys apparent support for cracking down on anonymous accounts on social media, unlimited immigration into the United States based on the wishes of business leaders and allowing a Chinese Communist Party-connected company to open a manufacturing facility in South Carolina when she was governor. The ad then transitions into talking about her stances on trans issues. One clip shows Haley's appearance on Fox News to discuss how when I was governor, [the Legislature] wanted to bring in a bathroom bill, a transgender bathroom bill," which she opposed. I strong-armed and said, We are not going to have that in South Carolina, she asserted. State laws barring students from entering opposite-sex bathrooms, locker rooms and showers in K-12 schools have become law in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Tennessee. Supporters of such measures point to safety and privacy concerns for female students who'd be forced to share intimate spaces with male students under policies that allow trans-identified individuals to use bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their self-declared gender identity rather than their biological sex as the reason for enacting bathroom bills. The issue received particular attention when news broke of the sexual assault of a female student in a girls bathroom at a Loudoun County, Virginia, high school at the hands of a biologically male student who identified as gender-fluid. The political ad shows additional footage of Haley telling CBS News, I think the law should stay out of it when asked, What care should be on the table when a 12-year-old child in this country assigned female at birth says, Actually, I feel more comfortable living as a boy. And what should the law allow the response to be? The use of the word care refers to puberty blockers and opposite-sex hormones and body-mutilating surgeries, including castration and unnecessary mastectomies. The American College of Pediatricians has identified potential side effects of puberty blockers as osteoporosis, mood disorders, seizures, cognitive impairment and, when combined with cross-sex hormones, sterility. Meanwhile, the organization of pediatricians and other healthcare professionals warned that cross-sex hormones put trans-identified youth at an increased risk of heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, blood clots and cancers across their lifespan. Earlier this year, DeSantis office released images of mutilated bodies showing scars left behind after skin and tissue are removed from girls forearms to create a fake, flaccid penis and the scars left behind following the removal of healthy breasts from trans-identified females. Several states have taken action to prohibit some or all gender transition procedures due to concerns about their long-term effects: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia. Haleys remarks in the video suggest she doesn't support such laws. The release of the Meet the Real Nikki Haley ad comes as DeSantis and Haley are increasingly viewed as the two candidates most likely to emerge as the alternative with the best chance of defeating Trump in the Republican primary. The RealClearPolitics average of polls measuring Republican primary voters intentions shows both DeSantis and Haley far behind Trump, who remains the frontrunner. The average of polls taken between Nov. 9 and Nov. 20 shows Trump with 61.6% support, followed by DeSantis at 13.7% and Haley at 9.8%. All other candidates have less than 5% support. The RealClearPolitics average of polls taken in Iowa from Oct. 22-Nov. 15 shows a closer race although Trump is still in the lead. According to the polling average, Trump has 47% support in Iowa, followed by DeSantis at 17.3% and Haley at 14.3%. On the other hand, the RealClearPolitics average of polls taken in New Hampshire, the second state to hold a presidential nominating contest and the first state to hold a presidential primary, shows Haley as the second-place candidate. Based on an average of polls taken between Nov. 9 and 14, 45.7% of New Hampshire Republican primary voters plan to support Trump, while 18.7% favor Haley and 11.3% prefer former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. DeSantis is in fourth place at 7.7%. In addition to producing the Meet the Real Nikki Haley ad, the DeSantis campaign has launched a website titled therealnikki.com asserting that Nikki Haley isnt the conservative she says she is and is supportive of every liberal cause under the sun. Home Politics Jewish, Muslim groups back religious protections as Catholic school challenges LGBT law Jewish and Muslim interest groups have stressed the importance of religious freedom protections amid a Catholic school's legal fight for a religious exemption to a state law banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. In a legal brief filed last week, the Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty and the Religious Freedom Institute's Islamic Religious Freedom Action Team expressed support for the idea of "the coreligionist exemption and its protection of the right of religious groups to make religiously-informed decisions regarding which roles and activities within the organization should be limited to coreligionists." The friend-of-the-court brief was filed in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Nov. 20 in the case of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which is suing the state's Democrat Attorney General Dana Nessel and Michigan Department of Civil Rights Executive Director John Johnson. The lawsuit follows an amendment enacted this year to the Michigan Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The school argues that the amended law could require religious schools to enforce views of sexual orientation and gender identity that conflict with their beliefs and hire staff members who violate the tenets of the Catholic faith. The two organizations stress that they take "no position on which party should prevail in this specific appeal." However, they filed the brief to "aid the Court's understanding of the coreligionist exemption and to explain the deleterious effect that a limitation or revocation of that right would have on religious groups in general and minority groups in particular." "The coreligionist exemption allows religious organizations to determine that certain positions, including non-ministerial ones, are so imbued with religious significance that those positions should be occupied only by employees who assent and adhere to certain religious tenets," the brief, submitted by attorney Miles Coleman of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP, argues. "The coreligionist exemption is a critical precedent that allows religious groups to continue their existence and their purpose by guaranteeing their right to associate, through employment, with those who share the faith of the religious group and exemplify that faith by the way they live." The brief warned that the Bona Fide Occupation Qualification Process that Michigan has set up to consider exemptions to the law "entangles the state in evaluating, reviewing, and deciding the validity, sincerity, reasonableness, and religious necessity of decisions made by religious groups regarding the religious nature and role of specific responsibilities." "The alternative proffered by the defendants in this appeal a discretionary exemption scheme that starts with a burdensome application process and ends by hoping that a bureaucrat will deign to dole out an exemption does not alleviate amici's concerns. Rather, it exacerbates them, raises significant entanglement concerns, and shows that the state regime is not a neutral and generally applicable law." The Catholic church, along with parents who send their children to the parish-run school, have asked the appellate court to weigh in after a lower court dismissed the lawsuit. In her ruling, Judge Jane M. Beckering, a Biden appointee, ruled that state laws "recognize religious freedoms like those asserted by Plaintiffs." "Even assuming arguendo that either of these acts 'might' be applied against Sacred Heart's intended conduct in the future, Plaintiffs have failed to supply some indication of imminent enforcement, and mere allegations of a 'subjective chill' are alone insufficient to establish an injury-in-fact for standing purposes," Beckering stated. The opening brief filed by the plaintiffs before the 6th Circuit two weeks ago argues that the changes to Michigan's non-discrimination law will have an adverse impact on the plaintiffs. The opening brief states that changes to state law make it "illegal for Sacred Heart to hire and retain only faculty and staff who support, live and model the Catholic faith and its doctrines." This leads to concerns that "Sacred Heart cannot hire only those employees who agree with Catholic teaching on marriage, sexuality, and gender identity" while facing pressure to "hire and retain those who advocate a vision of human flourishing that is antithetical to Church doctrine." Asserting that state law now "prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in student admission, retention, and discipline," the document suggested that "Sacred Heart can't secure student agreement to abide by the Church's teachings on sexual orientation and gender identity" and will lose the ability to take "disciplinary action against students who violate the Church's doctrine on these matters." The school's brief, filed by the Alliance Defending Freedom, argues that the law could require the Catholic school to refer to students based on their stated gender identity as opposed to their biological sex and forbid it from posting a statement summarizing its beliefs on sexual orientation and gender identity on its website. "Michigan is forcing Sacred Heart to make an unconstitutional and unconscionable choice between teaching and practicing the Catholic faith or closing their doors forever, while denying parents of the right to direct the upbringing and education of their children," Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel and Vice President of Appellate Advocacy John Bursch said in a statement. "Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish has faithfully served Grand Rapids families for more than a century, and its school provides a rich academic and spiritual environment for hundreds of children," he added. "We and the groups that have filed briefs in support of our clients are urging the 6th Circuit to allow their lawsuit to continue so they can take steps toward serving their community without fear of government punishment." Another amicus brief was filed for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Samaritan's Purse, Concerned Women for America, The Family Foundation, Illinois Family Institute, International Conference of Evangelical Chaplain Endorsers, Pacific Justice Institute and the National Legal Foundation. Home Politics Judge rejects Nevada ballot initiative seeking to make abortion a right A judge in Nevada has rejected a ballot initiative that would have allowed voters to decide whether to add a right to an abortion in the state constitution, having ruled that the proposal was misleading. In a decision released last week, District Judge James T. Russell rejected a ballot initiative aimed at creating a constitutional amendment that would establish a fundamental right to reproductive freedom. Russell concluded that the proposed amendment embraces a multitude of subjects that amount to logrolling and that there was no limiting language in the proposal to circumscribe that right such that the section embraces a single and articulable subject. For instance, it is unclear how a vasectomy relates to infertility care or postpartum care. Likewise, it is unclear how postpartum care is related to abortions or birth control, he wrote. Thus, it is improper to characterize these broad categories as a single subject because there is no explanation as to how these provisions are functionally related. The judge also took issue with subsection 3 of the petition, which would bar the government from punishing any person on the basis of the actual, potential, perceived or alleged outcome of the pregnancy of the individual, including, without limitation, a miscarriage, stillbirth or abortion. This section of the Petition would essentially bar the State from making any investigation of a miscarriage or stillbirth. It is unclear how this provision functionally relates to postpartum care, birth control, tubal ligation, vasectomies, and infertility care, he continued. The Coalition for Parents and Children PAC, which filed a lawsuit to block the proposed state constitutional amendment, released a statement on Monday celebrating the ruling. Coalition spokesperson and attorney Jason Guinasso claimed in the statement that the ruling marked the first time that a legal challenge of this kind has been successful in the country since the overturning of Roe v. Wade last year. It is the correct decision as the initiative is in violation of Nevada law. The initiative covers more than a single subject and is grossly misleading in part due to the ambiguity of what reproductive freedom is meant to represent, said Guinasso. The proposed right encompasses an abyss of subjects and the proponents have not thought through the foreseeable consequences of what they are proposing in their initiative. This includes the potential fiscal impact on Nevada taxpayers. Nevadans for Reproductive Rights, which had filed the proposed amendment in September, released a statement on Monday saying they will likely appeal the ruling. [We] will not let one judges misguided ruling deter us from giving Nevadans the opportunity to vote to permanently protect their reproductive rights in the Nevada Constitution, said NRR President Lindsay Harmon, according to The Associated Press. Home Politics Ted Cruz urges 'milquetoast' pastors to resist 'spiritual component' of Left: 'They've killed God' 'The truth is intolerable to those who are spreading lies,' Cruz said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, urged Christian pastors to push back against the "spiritual component" of the modern Left, which he claimed is rooted in Marxist thought and fundamentally opposed to God. During a Monday interview with BlazeTV host James Poulos, Cruz said America "desperately needs" revival but claimed many pastors are too afraid to take a stand on crucial issues. "America desperately needs a spiritual revival. The church needs to be active and engaged. So many pastors are afraid of offending anyone in their congregation. If you're a pastor and what you say on Sunday morning offends nobody, you're doing it wrong." - @tedcruzpic.twitter.com/ctBApDWxKn TheBlaze (@theblaze) November 28, 2023 "So many pastors are afraid of offending anyone in their congregation, and they end up, from the pulpit, just preaching milquetoast truisms that offend no one," said Cruz, who noted his father, Rafael Cruz, is a pastor who encourages other pastors to be engaged in public affairs. "And, look, I gotta say, if you're a pastor, and what you said on Sunday morning offends nobody, you're doing it wrong," Cruz continued. "That's not how Jesus did it. When He was flipping over the tables of the moneychangers in the temple, He offended a lot of people, because the truth is intolerable to those who are spreading lies." "And we live in a world that is surrounded by lies," he added. Cruz, who recently wrote Unwoke: How to Defeat Cultural Marxism in America, went on to pinpoint what he sees as the fundamentally "spiritual component" of Marxism, which he claimed finds its modern iteration in the "woke" Left. "Today's Left is very much a religion," he said, adding that young people especially are susceptible to it because they want to live for something greater than themselves. "I think that is a fundamental human desire," he said. "And for much of human history, it was filled by faith, it was filled by God and in a relationship with God. Today, for much of the modern Left, in their mind they've killed God. There is no faith." Recounting stories members of his family told him about growing up in communist Cuba, Cruz compared the tactics of the modern woke Left to the communists in that country, both of whom he said desire to seize the hearts of children in service of their ideology. He remembered a story his grandmother, who was a sixth-grade teacher in Cuba, told him about how Fidel Castro would send members of his army into elementary schools to actively deceive and demoralize the youngest children about the existence of God. "That's Marxism, that's who they are," Cruz said. "They always, always, always start with the kids; they start with indoctrination. And at the heart of it is destroying any loyalty you might have to anything else to God, to family, anything other than the all-powerful state, because Marxism fundamentally is about power, and an excuse for the rulers to have total power and total devotion over you." Home Opinion Indi Gregory: Third infant to die at hands of UK government Good parents do everything in their power to protect their children. But what happens when the government takes that power away? Once again, the United Kingdom has given us the answer. Dean Gregory and Claire Staniforth, a British couple from the Derbyshire region, are grieving the death of their infant daughter Indi, who passed away on Nov. 13 after suffering from a mitochondrial disease. But baby Indis illness isnt what killed her. The blame lies at the feet of the U.K. government. Doctors from the National Health Service (NHS) determined that Indis treatment at the Queens Medical Centre could no longer continue, citing concerns about the pain caused by prolong[ing] her life. The case went to the Family Division of the High Court in London, where a doctor (unnamed in media reports) reported, We feel very sad ... We have tried to treat [Indi] to the best of our abilities. Despite that fatal determination, Indis parents felt her life was worth fighting for. Our daughter responds to us, pleaded her father, and on her good days, she is babbling, making noises, moving all her limbs ... We know she is disabled, but you dont just let disabled people die. We just want to give her a chance. That chance was stolen from Indi and her parents. Not only was she denied life-saving treatment from the NHS, but she was also cruelly prevented from obtaining it elsewhere. In her final days, Indi and her family became prisoners of the U.K. government. Treatment denied Indi was offered an alternative by the Italian government and the Vatican. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni offered not only free health care to the child but even transportation and Italian citizenship. Meloni urged the British government to defend the right of [Indis] mom and dad to do whatever they can for her. In response, Gregory and Staniforth jumped at the lifeline. They requested that their daughter be allowed to be treated at Romes renowned Bambino Gesu (Baby Jesus) Pediatric Hospital, which is under the jurisdiction of the Holy See. According to the Washington Post, doctors there offered a treatment that they said would more likely than not enable Indi to survive without artificial ventilation. Unfortunately, Justice Robert Peel denied the request, claiming that Indis best interests would be served by withdrawing treatment that is, by letting her die in Britain. I do not think she experiences any meaningful quality of life, Peel asserted, and sadly she never will. Indis parents appealed Peels decision but to no avail. Once again, they were denied the right to seek treatment for their daughter, this time by Justice Peter Jackson. The British pro-life community was outraged. Andrea Williams of the Christian Legal Centre, which represented Gregory and Staniforth, said, It is very concerning that a child can be held against the parents wishes when they have alternative treatment available. She added: "Transferring Indi to Italy involves no cost to the taxpayer or the NHS. What is at the heart of this case that is preventing Queens Medical Centre from allowing Indi to be transferred to Rome?" Meloni expressed her sorrow at the verdict of Britains judges. We did everything we could, everything possible, Meloni wrote on Facebook. Unfortunately it was not enough. Happy journey little Indi. Not the only victim Tragically, baby Indi is not the first such victim of the U.K. courts. Readers may be aware of the heartbreaking cases of Charlie Gard and Alfie Evans, two infants who died in 2017 and 2018, respectively, when the NHS blocked their medical treatment against the will of their parents. Charlie suffered from a mitochondrial disease similar to Indis; Alfie, a neurological condition. Rome extended offers of treatment to both, and Charlie was even offered an experimental treatment by a New York doctor. The case of Alfie was hauntingly similar to Indis, with Pope Francis intervening and the Italian government, the National Catholic Register reported, even sending a military air ambulance helicopter, fully equipped with medical equipment, to fly Alfie from London to Bambino Gesu. Alfie and his parents were helpless, blocked by the state from leaving the hospital room. And the victims are not only infants. Earlier this year, a 19-year-old British teenager with a degenerative disease, identified as ST, passed away after being denied treatment. The court had even acknowledged that the woman displayed an overwhelming desire to live. No amount of suffering and no disability can take away the value of a human beings life and that persons right to keep it. Those who deny this right must be held accountable. Spark of hope As for Indi and her family, her father Dean Gregory described fighting for his daughter as the catalyst for his own religious awakening. When I was in court I felt like I had been dragged to Hell, he said. I thought, if Hell exists, then Heaven must also exist. It was as if the devil was there. I thought that if the devil exists, then God must exist. It was this realization that led Gregory to have Indi baptized before her death. He plans to be baptized as well. Perhaps his newfound hope is the only appropriate response to such evil. Home U.S. All-female Catholic college will admit men who identify as women, cites Pope Francis An exclusively female Catholic college will now allow men who identify as women to enroll, with the school's revised non-discrimination policy stating that an "inclusive campus experience" is essential to empowering women through education. Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana, will allow men who present themselves as women to apply for undergraduate admission in the fall of 2024. Notre Dame's student newspaper, The Observer, first reported the news about the change last Tuesday. College President Katie Conboy told the faculty in an email last Tuesday that the institution will consider trans-identifying applicants. However, the school is still considering how to put the policy change into practice. Earlier this year, Conboy assembled a "President's Task Force for Gender Identity and Expression" to gather information from other Catholic colleges and make recommendations about student housing policies. "We are by no means the first Catholic women's college to adopt a policy with this scope," Conboy wrote. "In drafting the language for this update, I have relied on the guidance of the Executive Team and others to ensure that our message is not only in line with best practices for today's college students, but that it also encompasses our commitment to operate as a Catholic women's college." Saint Mary's College did not immediately respond to The Christian Post's request for comment. Clare Ann Ath, a St. Mary's alumna who serves as the government affairs manager for the pro-life group Human Coalition, criticized the decision in a Nov. 21 social media post questioning whether the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend had responded to the situation. "Just found out my alma mater @saintmarys, an all-women's Catholic college, will be accepting BIOLOGICAL MEN starting next fall," Ath wrote. "This decision is blasphemous & a complete rejection of the Church and it's teachings on gender and sexuality." According to the school's website, St. Mary's Board of Trustees approved a change to the college's non-discrimination policy in June 2023, a change that states the school considers admission for undergraduate applicants whose sex is female or who consistently live and identify as women. Graduate degree programs are open to all." The policy further states that the college does not discriminate based on sexuality or gender identity, adding that it's in compliance with all federal laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. "The mission of Saint Mary's College is to empower women, through education, at all stages in life. Essential to this mission is fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive campus experience," the website states. In the email sent to faculty members, Conboy cited Pope Francis' quote about loving people for who they are and how that love "'moves us to seek the best for their lives,'" The Daily Signal reported. "The revised non-discrimination clause seeks to advance just this kind of community, where we honor the dignity of all persons who work at the college and we follow an inclusive admission process that retains our identity as a Catholic women's college," Conboy wrote. As CP previously reported, Pope Francis invited a group of trans-identifying men to join him and about 1,000 other poor and homeless people for a lunch last Sunday. The event was intended to commemorate the Catholic Church's World Day of the Poor, according to The Associated Press. According to the AP, Pope Francis grew closer to the group of trans-identifying individuals after he helped them during the COVID-19 pandemic. The group that joined him for the lunch consisted of Latin American migrants and prostitutes who lived in Torvaianica near Rome. The luncheon came after the Vatican's doctrinal office issued a document explaining that trans-identified individuals can be baptized and serve as godparents in some circumstances. However, Pope Francis has criticized transgenderism in the past, describing it to La Nacion in March as "one of the most dangerous ideological colonizations." He also noted that there is a difference between pastoral care for LGBT-identifying people and endorsing the lifestyle. Home World 5-year-old girl remains in critical condition after stabbing at Irish Catholic School Stabbing prompted riots throughout Irish capital The archbishop of Dublin and Dominican friars called for prayer amid riots that roiled the Irish capital last week in response to a stabbing attack at a Catholic school that injured three children and an adult. A 5-year-old girl remains in critical condition Monday after being stabbed last Thursday outside the Colaiste Mhuire primary school, according to the Irish Independent. A 6-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy were also stabbed but have since been released from the hospital. Dominican Father Conor McDonough, who serves at the priory about 1,300 feet from the school where the attack took place, said all of them are shocked and "the whole community here are praying for all involved," according to OSV. Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell echoed McDonough's sentiments. It was with utter disbelief that I heard the news of the horrific attack on Parnell Square here in Dublin," he said on Nov. 23, according to Catholic News Agency. "An attack like this outside a school, involving innocent victims including children, is particularly distressing." I invite the people of Dublin to join me in praying especially for the recovery of those who have been injured. Grant them strength to endure this awful attack, and grant each of us the grace to live our lives in holiness, free from all violence. The suspect in the stabbing, who has yet to be identified by Irish police, is an Algerian man in his 50s who was previously arrested in 2003, according to the Sunday Times. He reportedly became a naturalized Irish citizen in 2008 after his deportation order was revoked following a review by Ireland's High Court. "He was due to be deported 20 years ago, but fought the order for five years," according to a Department of Justice source who spoke to the Sunday Times. "He eventually obtained an Irish passport. He is a naturalized Irish citizen." The suspect also appeared before the District Court in Dublin in June after being charged with possessing a knife and criminally damaging a car, according to the Times. The suspect had been incensed over his social welfare payments, according to Sunday World. Riots that erupted in the Irish capital in the wake of the stabbing attack led to a double-decker bus being lit on fire and businesses being ransacked. In addition to the suspect, Irish police reportedly arrested 34 people in Dublin in relation to the riots. Irish politicians have since aimed their rhetoric against the rioters, accusing them of being driven by the "far-right." We have a complete lunatic hooligan faction driven by far-right ideology, and also then this disruptive tendency engaged in serious violence, Ireland's top police officer Drew Harris said, according to The Associated Press. The scenes we are witnessing this evening in our city center cannot and will not be tolerated, Justice Minister Helen McEntee said. A thuggish and manipulative element must not be allowed to use an appalling tragedy to wreak havoc. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar condemned the riots and assured that police would resist the "waves of ignorance and criminality," according to The New York Times. "Those involved have brought shame on Dublin, brought shame on Ireland and brought shame on their families and themselves," Varadkar said. "This is not who we are. This is not who we want to be, and this is not who we will ever be." Mario Cortez joined The Chronicle Food & Wine team in 2022. He is originally from San Diego, where he contributed to local and online publications. He last worked at the Eureka Times-Standard, where he was sports editor and a staff reporter. Cortez was also a regular writer for Eater San Diego. He likes analog photography, playing soccer and, naturally, great food. He can be reached at mario.cortez@sfchronicle.com. Home Church & Ministries Dunbar heir donates $5M to Christian college for 'Glory Hall' construction A West Virginia college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) has received a $5 million donation from an heir to the Dunbar Armored fortunate to construct a new residential building named Glory Hall." Davis & Elkins College, an Appalachian College Association member school based in Elkins, is constructing the new facility expected to open in the fall of 2024. The small college, founded in 1904, has a student body of less than 700 and offers 45 degree programs. The institution was named after Henry G. Davis and his son-in-law Stephen B. Elkins, who both represented West Virginia in the U.S. Senate. College President Chris A. Wood said in comments emailed to The Christian Post that the building was funded by a donation made by alumna Kathy Ramsdell, who graduated in 1974. Ramsdells father founded Dunbar Armored, known for its iconic red, black, and white trucks. Following Mr. Dunbars death, Kathy decided to donate a portion of her inheritance from her fathers estate to D&E, providing the college with needed financial support, Wood stated. In addition to the new residence building, renovations will be done to the preexisting Booth and Gribble Halls, with the three structures comprising a new Freshman Village at the campus. The new resident building will be co-ed, though it will contain pods of three students of the same sex with their own bathrooms. The decision to name the new Glory Hall was made by Ramsdell after she considered naming the building after her late father, who had no direct ties to the college. During my years at Davis & Elkins College, I sought Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, Ramsdell said in a statement emailed to CP. God came through for me, in spirit and in truth. Glory means He shows you who He is His glory His miracle. Wood said the donation is a testament to Ramsdells convictions and her faith in the future of the college. Kathy has chosen to give back to her alma mater in generous fashion because her transformative years on campus included her mind, heart, and spirit, stated Wood. As a student on this faith-based campus, Kathys faith journey led to an encounter with Jesus Christ that has charted her life course. When offered the naming rights to our new residence hall, she opted not for the family name but rather chose to glorify God and remind future residents of the divine blessings surrounding them. Wood added that Glory Hall reminds all that D&E is a blessed place, and Kathys gift is a blessing that will remind D&E Senators for decades to come who they are and whose they are. Home World Hamas releases 11 more hostages; Israel frees 33 Palestinians prisoners Hamas has released 11 more hostages as part of a multi-day agreement made with Israel in return for Palestinians serving time in Israeli prison for security offenses. Majed al-Ansari, the foreign ministry spokesperson for Qatar, one of the countries involved in mediating negotiations between Israel and Hamas, announced Monday that 33 Palestinians detained in Israel had been released in exchange for 11 hostages taken by Hamas during the terror group's Oct. 7 surprise attack in southern Israel. The releases come on the fourth day of the humanitarian truce agreement reached by both sides last week after more than seven weeks of fighting sparked by the Hamas attack that killed over 1,200 people, mostly civilians and 31 Americans. Over 240 people were abducted. In response, Israel launched airstrikes and a ground offensive in Gaza, seeking to free the hostages and eradicate Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007. The Hamas-led Gaza Health Ministry says that over 13,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began. "Those released from Israeli prisons include 30 minors and 3 women, while the Israelis released from Gaza include 3 French citizens, 2 German citizens, and 6 Argentinian citizens, were handed over to the ICRC," al-Ansari said. Al-Ansari announced earlier on Monday that both sides agreed to extend the four-day ceasefire an additional two days. As part of the agreement, Hamas agreed to release 10 hostages on Tuesday and 10 more on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Israel agreed to release 30 prisoners each day. The 11 Israeli hostages released Monday include two women and nine children who had been held for over 50 days by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, according to The Times of Israel. The 33 Palestinian prisoners released Monday had been charged with various criminal offenses, of which three were women and 30 were minors, reports Reuters. The Monday exchange marked the last of the initial four-day ceasefire made between the two sides to allow for the exchange of prisoners and hostages, as well as trucks of humanitarian aid, to enter Gaza. While part of the agreement reportedly involved releasing family members together, Hamas was accused of violating the deal when it released 12-year-old Hila Rotem Shoshani on Saturday but has reportedly kept her mother hostage. "Hila is returning home without her mother, Raya [Rotem], who remains in captivity. Hamas grossly violated the agreement and separated mother and daughter," Kibbutz Be'eri, a community in which 13 people had been taken hostage, said in a statement, according to the Jewish News Syndicate. "Three children from two families from the kibbutz were torn from their only remaining parent." Last week, it was announced that Hamas and Israel agreed to a four-day truce in which 50 hostages would be freed in return for the release of 150 Palestinian prisoners, as well as the allowing of humanitarian aid to enter Gaza to help civilians impacted by the fighting. At a White House press briefing held Monday, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the Biden administration "welcome[s] the announcement" of an extension on the ceasefire. "This humanitarian pause has already brought a halt to the fighting, together with a surge of humanitarian assistance," Kirby continued. "We would, of course, hope to see the pause extended further and that will depend on Hamas continuing to release hostages." Kirby said President Joe Biden has been "deeply engaged" in the mediation process, having spoken with multiple parties to ensure the truce agreement is fulfilled. Home World Over 10 Christians slain in Fulani attacks, ongoing massacres terrorize farmers ABUJA, Nigeria Suspected Fulani herdsmen and other terrorists on Friday attacked villages in Taraba state, Nigeria, killing at least 10 Christians, sources said. The assailants attacked an area from the Yangtu Special Development Area near Takum to villages in Ussa County at about 6 p.m., area residents said. Rampaging Muslim bandits on the evening of Nov. 24 attacked and killed over 10 Christians in some communities in Yangtu Development Area and Ussa Local Government Area, area resident John Chinyang said in a text message to Morning Star News. The bandits launched attacks against Rubur Ribasi, Nyicwu, and Ruwah communities of Yangtu Special Development Area. Another resident, Yakubu Tinya, said the terrorists shot at anyone they saw. Some the Christians were killed while they were returning from their farms, while others were killed in their houses in the affected villages, Tinya said in a text message. Peter Shamwun, a member of the Ussa Local Council, said Kpambo Yashe in Ussa County was attacked. There have been issues of Fulani bandits attacks in our area, and theyre constantly attacking our villages, Shamwun told Morning Star News in a text message. The bandits also laid siege along Takum-Ussa road and other areas around the Yangtu community, where they killed many more Christians. And these terrorists have been attacking our communities without restraint from security agents. The attacks have brought untold misery and hardship on area Christians, he said. More worrisome is the fact that Christians are being attacked as they work on their farms, Shamwun said. We are at the mercies of these herdsmen bandits and terrorists. Usman Abdullahi, spokesman for the Taraba State Police Command, said police had verified only 10 killed on Nov. 24, including nine, identified as Hope Hassan, Rimamsomtse Lamadi, Holiness Enoch, Rimamtsiki Enoch, Egwu Hassan, Saleh Kyatiki, Ephraim Atenji, Manasseh Atenji and Hassan Songure. Residents said five predominantly Christian communities were attacked: Tukwog, Kpambo Yashe, Rubur Ribasi, Nyicwu and Ruwah. One resident, Ure Caleb, said 20 Christians were killed in attacks on Ussa County and the Yangtu Special Development Area near Takum, while another, Thomas Samuel, said 10 Christians were killed in Takum and Ussa counties. These Christians were killed at about 6 p.m., Samuel said in a text message. Some of them were killed as they were on their way back from their farms, while others were killed in their homes. Emmanuel Bello, a spokesman for Taraba Gov. Agbu Kefas, said in a press statement that the governor has received with utmost shock the horrific attacks on Yangtu by suspected gunmen that reportedly claimed many lives. It is the latest in the dastardly acts of worrisome banditry in the area, Bello said. Dr. Kefas noted that he was doing everything humanly possible to bring an end to such carnage in the state. He added that his recent visits to all security heads at Defense headquarters in Abuja was primarily geared towards attracting federal government support in the fight against banditry in the state. Nigeria led the world in Christians killed for their faith in 2022, with 5,014, according to Open Doors 2023 World Watch List (WWL) report. It also led the world in Christians abducted (4,726), sexually assaulted or harassed, forcibly married or physically or mentally abused, and it had the most homes and businesses attacked for faith-based reasons. As in the previous year, Nigeria had the second most church attacks and internally displaced people. In the 2023 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian, Nigeria jumped to sixth place, its highest ranking ever, from No. 7 the previous year. Militants from the Fulani, Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and others conduct raids on Christian communities, killing, maiming, raping and kidnapping for ransom or sexual slavery, the WWL report noted. This year has also seen this violence spill over into the Christian-majority south of the nation. ... Nigerias government continues to deny this is religious persecution, so violations of Christians rights are carried out with impunity. Numbering in the millions across Nigeria and the Sahel, predominantly Muslim Fulani comprise hundreds of clans of many different lineages who do not hold extremist views, but some Fulani do adhere to radical Islamist ideology, the United Kingdoms All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom or Belief (APPG) noted in a 2020 report. They adopt a comparable strategy to Boko Haram and ISWAP and demonstrate a clear intent to target Christians and potent symbols of Christian identity, the APPG report states. Christian leaders in Nigeria have said they believe herdsmen attacks on Christian communities in Nigerias Middle Belt are inspired by their desire to forcefully take over Christians lands and impose Islam as desertification has made it difficult for them to sustain their herds. Home U.S. Pastor and wife hold on to faith as both are struck with deadly cancers After spending years trying to fight Follicular Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, Cory Schibler, the worship pastor at Beacon Baptist Church in Bryan, Texas, is now facing a deadly mutation of the cancer as his wife, Crystal, now grapples with a grave cancer diagnosis of her own. My wife has told me multiple times that she would have peace about it if this is the end for her. Me and her closest friends, we don't have peace about that, Schibler, who is also director of the Association of Baptist Students, a Baptist missionary association located just off of the campus of Texas A&M University, told The Christian Post Monday. Still, the 37-year-old husband and father of a 10-year-old daughter and a 4-year-old son says, we really do have faith that God is bigger than our circumstances and so just trust that whatever happens, we're going to continue to praise Him. In a GoFundMe campaign seeking to raise $50,000, Schibler recounts how two weeks after he and his wife got engaged in 2012, he discovered he had Follicular Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma only by divine intervention. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a cancer that starts in white blood cells called lymphocytes, which are part of the bodys immune system, according to the American Cancer Society. Follicular Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma is a slow-growing form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The day we got engaged, we had a car accident, and in the course of receiving treatment in the emergency room, the doctors found what they thought was cancer, he recalled. My treatment plan was officially watchful waiting which is medical speak for we won't do anything until it starts trying to kill you. I remained in that care plan until December of 2020. Over the prior few months, I had begun having difficulty swallowing, he said. In December 2020, Schibler said doctors found that his cancer, which had been localized to my abdomen, had spread to my throat. My doctor did not expect this, and after a series of other tests, it was found that my cancer had gone through a Richter transformation. My cancer was no Diffuse Large B Cell lymphoma, a much more aggressive but much more treatable cancer, he wrote. According to the Leukemia Foundation, Richters syndrome (or Richter transformation) is a serious complication of CLL/SLL and unfortunately is often fatal. If Richters syndrome is diagnosed, it is advised that the person should seek recommended treatments, but also to get their lives in order to prepare for any outcome. Schibler would do chemotherapy for six months starting in 2021 and he was declared cancer free that June. For the last two years however, the worship pastor says he struggled with the after-effects of chemotherapy. Crystal, 43, had also been struggling with her health as well and just two weeks ago, on Nov. 11, they both learned from their doctors that they were both struck by different cancers. This morning, Saturday November 11, 2023, my wife, and I received the news from our scans that we had yesterday, with the news that we dreaded we would hear. I have multiple lymph nodes in my throat and upper abdomen that are consistent with recurrence of my cancer. Obviously, not great news, but it is at least confined to a small area, Schibler wrote. However, my wife's scan showed that she also has cancer, which has metastasized to multiple areas in her body: lungs, abdomen, etc. To say that we are gutted would be an understatement. This was about the worst possible news that we could receive this morning. We have faith that God is good, but we would be lying if we said that we understood what He was up to with what we are now going through, Schibler wrote. On Monday, the worship pastor told CP that his wifes cancer is a rare neuroendocrine cancer which is treatable. As for his cancer, he said his doctor is holding off on making any decisions. Well, we just don't know yet. My doctor wasn't comfortable making any decisions until he saw the actual pathology report. Most likely, I'm going to be going to a bigger Cancer Center to get an opinion from them. Probably MD Anderson in Houston, because it's the closest to where we are, but he was waiting until he got the full results back before he made a referral to them for me. That's most likely what we're gonna do next, he told CP. When asked how his children were coping having to deal with both parents battling cancer, Schibler said it has been more challenging for his 10-year-old daughter. Our son is only 4. He knows that we're sick and that we haven't been feeling good. He doesn't really understand what's going on, the pastor said. Our daughter is 10, and she's an extremely smart kid. She was starting to freak out about not knowing stuff and so we've basically had to tell her everything just to keep her from being upset because she felt like we were keeping things from her, which we were, because we didn't want to worry her until we knew more firmly what was going on, Schibler explained. It's been difficult. She still has a lot of residual hurt and stuff from [when] I went through chemo three years ago. She has a lot of anxiety and stuff from going through the first time with me going through treatment. So we're having to talk with her a lot about what's going on because she's very, very upset about it, the pastor said. What has been helpful for the family as they go through their fight with cancer, says Schibler, is the support they have been receiving from their church and blood relatives. When I was going through treatment the first time, I just saw so much in the way that God was working in the hearts of other people as they watched us go through treatment. And then this time around, I've seen even more of that, Schibler noted. We've had people that we haven't talked to in 20 years reach out to us. They saw our story through something and reached out, sent us stuff. I had a former student who messaged me just the other day and I haven't talked to him in 10 years, and he messaged me and was telling me about how his family was praying for us. And then he donated money to our GoFundMe, Schibler said. We trust that God is bigger than a single person's circumstances. And even though it sucks. I'm not gonna lie, it sucks that I had to put my family through me going through treatment and now my family's having to go through me and my wife both having cancer, he added. We're just seeing God do so much through us experiencing the hardships and these trials because we do trust that God works all things together for good even if our personal circumstance might suck. Home World Respiratory virus surging in China raising concerns about new global pandemic Cases of respiratory illnesses are surging in northern China, especially among children, raising global concerns about a potential new pandemic threat, four years after the emergence of COVID-19 in the country. Chinese health authorities claim the increase is due to a mix of known viruses, coinciding with the countrys first full cold season post the lifting of strict COVID restrictions last December. On Nov. 13, Chinas National Health Commission reported a significant rise in respiratory illnesses, predominantly in children, according to France 24, which, citing authorities, said the increase was linked to the end of COVID restrictions, the onset of the cold season and the circulation of known pathogens, including influenza, mycoplasma pneumonia, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and SARS-CoV-2. Last Monday, ProMED, a public disease surveillance system, highlighted overwhelmed hospitals in Beijing and northeastern Liaoning province due to a pneumonia outbreak. Symptoms observed include fever, lung inflammation without a cough and pulmonary nodules, with no reported deaths. Several parents at a Beijing childrens hospital confirmed their children had mycoplasma pneumonia, or walking pneumonia, a treatable bacterial infection common in children. Similar surges in diseases like RSV and flu were observed in the U.K. and U.S. post-pandemic restrictions, The Telegraph noted. Symptoms of walking pneumonia include sore throat, fatigue and a lingering cough, which can deteriorate into pneumonia in severe cases. However, the World Health Organization, recalling Beijings past opacity during the COVID pandemic, has sought more details from China about these undiagnosed pneumonia cases, France 24 said, adding that Beijing assured that no unusual or novel pathogens were detected. The WHO noted the expected increase in such illnesses with winters arrival. Experts like Francois Balloux from University College London and Paul Hunter from the University of East Anglia suggest the surge is likely due to the end of COVID restrictions and a lack of prior immunity in children. Catherine Bennett from Deakin University in Australia highlighted the reduced exposure of young children in China to common pathogens due to prolonged lockdowns, impacting their immunity levels. The WHO advises people in affected areas to follow standard precautions against respiratory illnesses, including vaccination, isolation if symptomatic and testing or mask-wearing as needed. It currently advises against travel restrictions to China. Local media last month reported nationwide hospital increases in infections, often clustered in schools and nurseries, according to the Telegraph. Zhou Huixia of the Chinese PLA General Hospital noted a fierce wave of mycoplasma pneumoniae infections, with more patients showing mixed infections and drug resistance, the newspaper said, adding that Li Yuchuan from Beijing Childrens Hospital described a high level of pediatric respiratory diseases throughout the year, with multiple peaks linked to various pathogens. The recent surge has also raised concerns about growing antibiotic resistance, as mycoplasma pneumonia increasingly evades macrolides, a preferred treatment class. The British newspaper cited a February 2022 study, which found macrolide resistance in over 80% of mycoplasma pneumonia cases in hospitalized children in China. However, Chinese experts emphasize the low mortality rate, with few critical cases and no related deaths reported so far. Some social media images, unverified, show children in schools with intravenous lines, The Times said. Paul Hunter, professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, commented on the difficulty in diagnosing the cause but suggested a bacterial rather than viral infection, given the symptoms and pulmonary nodules observed. The predominance of cases in children suggests its unlikely a new viral respiratory pathogen, Hunter said. Francois Balloux from the UCL Genetics Institute referred to the phenomenon as immunity debt, a consequence of the prolonged lockdown in China suppressing the circulation of respiratory bugs and hence decreasing immunity to endemic bugs. Home Opinion Down with the colonizers! What moved hundreds of thousands of people around the world to support the BLM cause? Was it a bleeding heart for Black Americans? Or did something else animate this global phenomenon? Today, we can ask in a similar spirit, What unites tens of millions worldwide around the Free Palestine cause? Is it a heart of compassion for the needs of the Palestinians? Or is something else animating this global phenomenon? When it comes to the latter, there is no question that hatred of the state of Israel, and more broadly, hatred of the Jewish people, helps animate the pro-Palestinian cause. If people really cared about the Palestinians themselves, there would not be Palestinian refugee camps in countries like Lebanon and Syria, and the Palestinians would have been granted full citizenship in the surrounding Arab countries at some point after the 1948 war. When it comes to Black Americans, since when have the other nations that joined in the BLM protests, such as S. Korea, Bulgaria, Denmark, and many others, cared about the plight of Black Americans? Since when was alleged American police brutality a point of concern for the international community? Surely there is no international concern about the plight of suffering Blacks in other parts of the world, such as Nigeria, where tens of thousands of Black Christians have been slaughtered in recent years. No, there is something else that animates these worldwide protests, something that unifies these widely disparate cultures and peoples, straight out of the Marxist playbook. As explained by Jeff Fynn-Paul in his book Not Stolen: The Truth About European Colonialism in the New World, The origins of todays radical anti-Europeanism the same anti-Europeanism that has gone mainstream in the past few years lie in the intellectual ferment of the 1960s and 70s. As New Left campus Marxism reached a high-water mark in the 1970s, Marxist historians began a concerted assault on the foundations of American history. The problem with American history from their perspective was that it made capitalism look too good: American democracy empowered the people; its melting pot welcomed everyone, albeit not without serious friction, and its economic system rewarded hard work more often than not. Marxist historians therefore determined to rewrite American history to show their version of the truth: that America was a system rooted in unrelenting oppression. This view was popularized by the radical American historian Howard Zinn. As Fynn-Paul explains, In Zinns view, history always consists of precisely two groups: the oppressor and the oppressed. The system perpetuates conflict between these two groups, ensuring the domination of one group over another. In Zinns pessimistic view, oppression rather than freedom was the very foundation of the United States and its Constitution. Thus, critical feminist scholars discovered that history revolved around males oppressing females, while critical race theorists discovered that history revolved around the oppression and slavery of black people by white people. Post-colonial theorists accordingly discovered that history revolved around the oppression of Indigenous People by Europeans. Soon, critical intersectionality theorists lumped all these identity-based oppressions together, discovering that wealthy, straight, white European males were the ultimate oppressors in history, while poor, black, gay or gender-fluid Indigenous women of color were the ultimate victims. Put another way, Down with the evil colonizers! Down with the oppressor class! The connection to Israel is not hard to see, as the Jewish people are portrayed as European colonizers and oppressors, the evil intruders who displaced the native peoples of Palestine. Add to this a little antisemitism to help fuel the fires, just as a little anti-Americanism helped fuel the worldwide BLM protests, and you have an explosion. To be clear, Fynn-Paul does not deny the sins of our European forebears, writing, Though we now find it difficult to believe, the extent of European cruelty toward Native Americans was well researched and publicized before the rise of social media. Thus, it was common knowledge among historians that Europeans were responsible for population decline, forced conversions, provoking wars, countless treaty violations, the Trail of Tears, the California Indian massacres, the extinction of the buffalo, racial prejudice and discrimination, confinement on reservations, and continued marginalization of many Native groups. He simply pushes back against highly biased, academically imbalanced reconstructions of American history. Similarly, sound historians today do not paint an entirely blameless picture of the State of Israel. They simply resist the distorted, even propagandistic retelling of recent Middle Eastern history. As Fynn-Paul notes with regard to rewriting American history, These narratives have been filling the minds of Western journalists, bureaucrats, and politicians with the same old 1970s theories, dressed in alluring new clothes. (For an in-depth treatment of the impact of Marxist ideology on America today, see Christopher Rufo, America's Cultural Revolution: How the Radical Left Conquered Everything.) Thats why Kyle Morris was right to note that, The anti-Israel movement roiling major American cities and college campuses following the outbreak of Israel's war with Hamas bears a striking resemblance to other movements favored by social justice activists, experts suggest. And Morris quoted Rufo, who said, The left-wing academics who have been cheering on violent 'decolonization' against Jews have been pushing the same hideous rhetoric against 'whiteness' for years. Same ideology. Same hatred. Same bloodlust. Absolutely, undeniably true. Rufo pointed out that the academic left treat the Hamas fighter as a noble savage who symbolizes revolt against the West and through whom the academic can experience the thrill of violence. And he explained that, The fighter is seen as the physical embodiment of the jargon: decolonization, resistance, power. Time to connect the dots and fight it together. Time to connect the dots indeed. And time to fight back together, with the truth serving as our most powerful weapon. Bethlehem Christians visit US with appeal or peace plan A trio of Christian leaders are visiting the US capital carrying a letter signed by churches in Bethlehem, the city in the occupied West Bank long heralded by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus Christ, urging President Joe Biden and congressional lawmakers to push for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and work to establish lasting peace in the region. The leaders which include two prominent ministers and a young Palestinian Christian activist arrived in Washington DC, on Monday morning in hopes of brokering a meeting to present Biden and other political leaders with the letter. "God has placed political leaders in a position of power so that they can bring justice, support those who suffer, and be instruments of God's peace," the letter reads. "We want a constant and comprehensive ceasefire. Enough death. Enough destruction. This is a moral obligation. There must be other ways. This is our call and prayer this Christmas." The letter was signed by representatives from Bethlehem's major Christian communities, listing churches affiliated with Greek Orthodox, Syriac, Armenian, Catholic and Lutheran traditions. The letter noted that Advent, a liturgical season when Christians prepare spiritually for Christmas, begins next week. But the signatories pointed out that Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem, which draw thousands of pilgrims and tourists from all over the world to the city annually, have been largely cancelled this year to express solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. "This should have been a time of joy and hope. This year, it is a season of death and despair," the letter reads. "This year, Christmas prayers are the only moment of hope in the middle of this human catastrophe caused by the war. There will be no manifestation of joy for the children. This year, Christmas celebrations are cancelled in Bethlehem." Speaking on the phone Monday morning, the Rev Munther Isaac, pastor of Bethlehem's Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church, said he traveled to the US to present policymakers with the letter because he considers stopping the war a religious mandate. "I truly believe that God is in solidarity with those who are victims of injustice and oppression, and thus the church should have the same position," said Isaac, who also serves as academic dean at Bethlehem Bible College. "God is under the rubble." Isaac lamented the brutal October 7 attack by Hamas in southern Israel, which left around 1,200 dead and hundreds kidnapped. But he also expressed outrage at the subsequent assault of Gaza by Israel, which has resulted in more than 13,000 deaths in the region and displaced most of the area's roughly 2 million residents, sparking an ongoing humanitarian crisis. "We want (lawmakers) to hear a different perspective," he said. "We want to think that there must be other ways. Killing children like this can never bring peace." The visit from Isaac and his companions which include the Rev. Jack Sara, who serves as president of Bethlehem Bible College and as the General Secretary of the Middle East and North Africa Evangelical Alliance for the World Evangelical Alliance comes amid an ongoing multi-day cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. On Monday, officials announced the pause in hostilities would be extended for two more days, allowing additional aid to enter Gaza and for the release of more hostages held by Hamas as well as Palestinians imprisoned by the Israeli government. But Isaac stressed that a short-term pause would not be enough to achieve the greater goal of a lasting peace. "This cannot be a 4 or 5-day cease-fire and then go back to the same destruction," he said. "All we want for Christmas is a constant and comprehensive cease-fire and an end to this war." The pastor expressed deep concern for his fellow Palestinians, railing against Israel's decades-long occupation of the Palestinian territories including Bethlehem in the West Bank. He voiced gratitude for some of his religious partners in the US and other prominent Christian voices who have been among those calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. But Isaac said that overall, he and others in Bethlehem have been "very disappointed" in the response of many Christians to the war. "Western churches have, sadly, continued to weaponize the Bible," he said. "The narrative of some Christians and churches is completely dehumanizing to Palestinians labeling all Palestinians as Hamas or terrorists, or not getting the whole history." Isaac also noted that Gaza is home to a small Christian community that is among the oldest in the world. The fighting has destroyed or damaged churches, including an Israeli airstrike on the campus of the Church of St Porphyrius in Gaza City that killed more than a dozen people taking shelter there. "We have Christians in Gaza who are literally fighting for their lives," Isaac said. "Right now we're concerned that this long and continuous Christian presence might come to an end." Religion News Service New report reveals changing attitudes to death and dying A new report by Theos think tank has revealed changing attitudes towards death and dying. The study, 'Love, Grief and Hope', contains data compiled from YouGov on behalf of the think tank which finds that only 47% of Brits want any kind of funeral, with financial pressures a strong consideration. The report said, "This is not a neutral trend, but may have significant implications for how effectively grief is managed across society ... In a society which generally tries to push death away, the funeral is one of the few places where it is explicitly acknowledged." In his foreward to the report, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said it was "shocking to discover that death may be seen as expensive, time-consuming and irrelevant, and that it is better just to move on". "A sea-change in our culture means that as people around us are increasingly sheltered from the physical reality of death, they know less and less about how they will die and how to cope with loss," he said, as he warned people against avoiding the topic. "We seem to have short memories. It was only recently that Covid meant that we often could not mourn our loved ones in person even if we wanted to. If we avoid what death means, we can also lose a meaningful vocabulary for death and dying. "As a hospital chaplain during the pandemic, I sat with people as they died when their families couldn't. I found that presence of someone willing to face death was a comfort not just to the person, but to those who cared for them. "It assured people that we are not alone, even in death. In fact, it is often when death approaches that we might feel love and connection most strongly." The study also found that many Brits have had no direct experience of death - only 15% of 18 to 24 year olds had been present at the moment of someone's dying. Even among people aged 55 and over, who were more likely to have lost a loved one, only 54% had been with someone as they died. This rose to 80% among widowed respondents - a finding that Theos said raised important questions about people's ability to cope. The survey delved into respondents' feelings about their own death, with half saying they felt sadness. This was followed by 46% who felt acceptance, over a third (38%) who felt fear and a similar number who reported feeling anxiety (35%). People who attended a worship service were less likely to feel fear (27% of frequent attenders) and sadness (37% among regular attenders) than those who only attended infrequently or not at all. Around one in five self-identified Christians (19%) felt hope when contemplating their own death, compared to 9% of their non-religious counterparts. "Religious attendance was a better indicator of emotional response than religious affiliation on its own, which made little difference in most cases," the report said. Asked what elements they would like at their own funeral, respondents were more likely to choose a talk given by a secular celebrant (16%) than a religious leader (11%). Just over a quarter wanted a period of silence or reflection (27%) and only one in five wanted prayers (19%). The most popular items on the wishlist were stories or tributes (52%) and popular songs (46%). "Christian options are not being outcompeted by an alternative belief framework, so much as the desire to personalise," said Theos. Only 4% said they would reach out to the faith community for support after bereavement. Most selected family (72%) or friends (59%). "[The] fact remains that religious affiliation (and especially Christian affiliation) is declining, with significant implications for the way we think about our own death and grieve the loss of our loved ones," Theos said. "Perhaps more than any other factor, this is driving the realignment of approaches to death and dying in the UK." Despite declining religious and especially Christian affiliation, the report concludes that churches still have an important, if evolving, role to play. It concluded, "[As] increasing numbers of people forego formal funeral ceremonies, access to informal reflective spaces will become an increasingly important service to the nation in its own right. "Here, churches and other faith groups are uniquely well-placed to respond to the emerging pastoral need because of their historic witness in this area, alongside their continued assets in the community. "This is a distinctly modern opportunity to meet people in their grief." Climbers ascend the face of El Capitan in September. Bolting new routes and maintaining established ones could become more difficult or be regulated out of existence if the National Park Service approves a new climbing policy proposal. Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle Could big-wall rock climbing in places like Yosemite Valley soon face an existential crisis? Thats a question swirling around the climbing community this week in the wake of new proposals by federal land agencies to tighten regulations on outdoor pursuits like rock climbing, ice climbing, mountaineering, canyoneering and caving, all of which typically depend on the use of fixed anchors for protection. Climbers have bolted new climbing routes and maintained established ones with liberty in Yosemite and other federal lands for decades. But new draft policy guidance put forth by both the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service would subject those practices to higher scrutiny and more oversight. Advertisement Article continues below this ad This is an existential crisis for Americas climbing community, Erik Murdock, interim executive director of the Access Fund, a national nonprofit advocacy group, told the Chronicle. Its a paradigm shift from how federal land agencies have managed climbing for the past 59 years, since the Wilderness Act of 1964 was signed into law. In a statement provided to the Access Fund, El Capitan climbing legend Lynn Hill said she is dismayed to see federal leaders propose policies that could erase historic climbs in places like Yosemite National Park. In a written statement to the Chronicle, a parks service spokesperson underscored that careful and thorough planning for the impact of climbing activity is necessary to protect and preserve wilderness. Popular big-wall climbing crags like El Capitan have long been categorized as vertical wilderness zones by the park service, a designation that seeks to preserve their untrammeled and undeveloped character. "This proposed guidance affirms existing NPS policy that climbing (rock climbing, snow and ice climbing, mountaineering, canyoneering and caving) is a popular and appropriate activity in national parks, including wilderness, and across public lands," park service spokesperson Cynthia Hernandez wrote to the Chronicle. The proposed guidance will help park managers create consistency in managing climbing activities and give climbers a clear and more predictable process for installing new or replacing existing fixed anchors in wilderness. I also want to note that under the proposed guidance, existing fixed anchors may continue to be used. Its unclear what prompted new draft guidelines or when they might take effect. The park service did not respond to follow-up email questions from the Chronicle. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Modern rock climbers rely on a mix of permanent anchors generally 5-inch steel or titanium bolts drilled and glued into a rock face that climbers clip their ropes into and removable protection like nuts and cams that climbers place temporarily as they ascend their routes. Creating a new route generally requires some bottom-to-top bolting, a laborious process commonly done with hand drills and hammers. Bolting is allowed in national parks under a 2013 directors order. However, the order states that bolt-intensive face climbs (are) considered incompatible with wilderness preservation and management due to the concentration of human activity which they support, and the types and levels of impacts associated with such routes. The park services new draft guidance build on that premise. They contend that fixed anchors constitute a prohibited use under the Wilderness Act and seek to restrict places where they may be installed by requiring that a minimum requirements analysis be conducted on any route where a bolt might be placed (or replaced). Climbing advocates worry such guidance would grant unilateral control of climbing access to park superintendents and potentially reverse decades of precedent. Bolts in popular climbing areas occasionally need to be replaced for safety, and instituting a new bureaucratic hurdle would make the sport more dangerous and stymie the creative freedoms that have driven and defined the sport since its inception, Murdock said. The climbing community is not opposed to regulation, but this level of restriction is a direct threat to the history of climbing, he said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad It could also penalize and chill the actions of Good Samaritan climbers who replace old, sometimes corroding bolts on popular climbing routes, Murdock said. The threat Murdock describes is not theoretical, he said. A similar approach to managing fixed anchors is under consideration at Joshua Tree National Park, Southern Californias sport-climbing mecca, and rankled outdoor advocates there who worry that historic climbing routes will be red-tagged by regulators. In a comment provided to the Access Fund, Matt Wade, executive director of the American Mountain Guides Association, expressed concern about the proposed guidelines. The draft policies would create a significant administrative burden that would limit the ability of guides to provide safe outdoor experiences for the public at a time when more and more Americans are seeking to experience the outdoors, he said. A public comment period on the park services draft guidelines opened this month and closes Jan. 16. Comments can be submitted online at the park services website. Correction: A previous version of this article gave an incorrect status for a new climbing management plan under consideration in Joshua Tree National Park. It is still being finalized. Remote working and cloud computing are among the most significant trends in the global business landscape, unlocking innovation but also increasing attack surfaces and creating opportunities for cyber attackers. To mitigate these threats, businesses are turning to a new generation of cybersecurity solutions with research showing Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) at the forefront. An exclusive survey of 207 companies conducted by Foundry for Palo Alto Networks and Accenture across North America, the UK, Germany, and France, revealed that boosting IT and data security was their top priority for 2023. But it also revealed a lack of clarity about the best way to implement SASE, leading to a need for managed SASE solutions which ensure businesses fully leverage the benefits of this technology. The evolving threat landscape Many businesses are feeling pressure to meet growing customer needs, as they seek to optimize their IT stacks to stay ahead of competitors. The report found that only 25% regard their digital transformation program as advanced. With staff logging in via a myriad of devices, networks and locations, the threat perimeter now exceeds the coverage that most traditional security solutions provide. Perhaps reflecting this acute and complex challenge, the survey found only 11% of businesses felt their security was perfect. Why SASE? SASE is a framework that combines software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) and network security services like Cloud Access Security Brokers, Firewall-as-a-service, and Zero Trust into a single, cloud-delivered service model. Comprehensive and scalable, it brings together multiple security and networking solutions into a single platform which can simplify management, reduce costs and improve overall security posture. Businesses are cognizant of the need for new security solutions and SASE is leading the way. The survey revealed that it was already the most widely deployed modern solution (44%). Identifying the best solution But with a complex and an ever-changing threat landscape, IT decision makers take different routes when it comes to SASE adoption. Many (37%) still adopt a best-of-breed (BoB) strategy toward security. In this piecemeal approach, companies onboard an array of different siloed solutions, which do not necessarily work together and put pressure on IT and security teams to manage them in concert. BoB differs markedly from an integrated approach, which combines multiple security capabilities into a unified platform enabling cross-capability data-sharing and significantly higher automation. But although 36% say they do take an integrated approach to security, only 14% think that the benefits of these two security strategies were highly differentiated. An integrated approach works best Those turning toward a combined networking and security solution are reported to be experiencing a wide range of tangible benefits: greater agility (42%), lower cost (41%), reduced complexity (39%), threat prioritization (39%) and improved security (37%) among them. And this makes sense because a single-vendor platform approach provides a holistic solution to address the entire attack surface, ensuring consistent policies while providing a clear understanding and control of whats happening in the network. Conversely, BoB point solutions built into a multi-vendor approach only provide fragmented results, leading to partial insights and unacceptable trade-offs between security and usability. Benefits of external expertise with the right technology While SASE is easy to deploy, bringing in a trusted partner such as Accenture enables organizations to take advantage of managed SASE and leverage the full benefits of the solution. In fact, the report found that more than half (52%) of respondents considered engaging a managed service provider (MSP) for rolling out SASE. A solution like Palo Alto Networks Prisma SASE, gives organizations unique benefits like superior ZTNA 2.0 security, simplified operations, and exceptional user experience. And, it offers best of breed networking and security technology all delivered through a consolidated, cloud-based platform thus solving many key dilemmas mentioned above. Meanwhile, managed service providers like Accenture can help businesses mitigate costs and adapt to changing needs. Read the full White Paper now to understand the growing popularity of SASE. Alternatively read the German or French versions of this White Paper. The State Bar of California has accused a longtime Dublin criminal defense lawyer of wrongfully taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from a client who was convicted of human trafficking in Bay Area day care centers. ftwitty/Getty Images A veteran criminal defense lawyer has been accused by the State Bar of California of wrongfully taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from a client who was convicted of human trafficking in Bay Area day care centers owned by the client and his family. The attorney says the bar is relying on a complaint by his former client, who was found by a jury to have defrauded his employees. In disciplinary charges announced on Monday, the bar said David J. Cohen of Dublin had misappropriated at least $276,000 from Joshua Gamos after charging him an unconscionable fee of $632,000. The bar also said Cohen had drained most of Gamos $562,000 trust fund while representing him in the criminal case, and had overcharged a client by more than $14,000 in another case. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Gamos and two family members were convicted in June 2022 of trafficking and defrauding hundreds of Filipino immigrants who worked at the Gamoses Rainbow Bright residential care centers in Daly City, Pacifica and South San Francisco. Prosecutors presented evidence that the employees were required to work extremely long days and to sleep on floors and garages, and were threatened with deportation if they reported the wrongdoing. Joshua Gamos was sentenced in February to nine years and eight months in prison. Cohen, who represented Gamos in pretrial proceedings, has practiced law for 36 years and formerly chaired the bars now-disbanded criminal law advisory commission. He said Monday the charges were based on unfounded accusations by Gamos and that he had done nothing wrong. In charging documents filed Nov. 14, the State Bar said Cohen had accepted more than $562,000 from Gamos trust fund between September 2018 and January 2019, while Gamos was in jail awaiting trial, and then deposited the money in his own business account. In those and later transactions, the bar said, Cohen intentionally misappropriated a minimum of $276,741.00 that belonged to (his) client. Cohen had sole control and authority over assets of the living trust which he used to pay himself attorney fees and legal costs incurred in Gamoss criminal law matter, State Bar attorney Rizamari Gonzaga Sitton wrote in the charging documents. By taking the entire $562,000 as payment of attorney fees and legal costs, she said, Cohen failed to safeguard the funds for the benefit of the beneficiaries of the trust, and he failed to avoid self-interest transactions. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The bar also said Cohen had deposited $320,000 from Gamos into the attorneys business account in March 2019 without notifying Gamos of his right to place the funds in a separate account until Cohen had done additional work in the criminal case. Cohen is not accused of any criminal wrongdoing but could be suspended or disbarred if the State Bar Court finds he committed misconduct after a trial of his case. While Cohen is presumed innocent until a judgment is reached, said Stacia Laguna, a State Bar attorney and administrator, we believe significant discipline is warranted, given the severity of the alleged misconduct. In response, Cohen told the Chronicle, I represented this guy very well. I did a lot of work for him, and he paid me. It was the most complex fraud case in the history of (San Mateo) County, he said, with considerable expenses and legal work required, all of it properly charged and collected. The eventual prison sentence was considerably less than prosecutors had sought, Cohen said, but Gamos nevertheless told the bar that his attorney had cheated him, and bar officials dont listen to what I tell them in more than a year of discussions preceding the disciplinary charges. BNM anunta concurs pentru postul vacant de expert principal, pe durata determinata, responsabil de supraveghere bancara continua (transparenta actionarilor) OSCR A charity has been directed not to spend any of its assets without consent from the regulator, an interim inquiry report shows. The Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) opened an inquiry into the AK McCosh Trust for Coulter Church in April 2023 after receiving concerns that the church no longer remained a place of Christian worship. OSCR tried to engage with the charity, but at the time of publishing the report it had been unable to determine whether the church remains a place for Christian worship. We also have concerns regarding the governance of the charity, a statement from the Scottish regulator adds. As part of the inquiry work so far, OSCR has told the charity that it needs the regulator's permission to spend any assets. The regulator states: OSCR considers it appropriate to safeguard the assets of the charity whilst our inquiries are ongoing by directing the charity not to part with its assets without OSCRs consent. Our inquiries are ongoing, this direction does not pre-empt the outcome of those inquiries. This direction is valid for six months and expires on 23 May 2024. OSCR needs to undertake further inquiries to determine whether the charity is providing public benefit in furtherance of its charitable purposes and to consider the charitys governance. The regulators website reports that the charity failed to provide all of the information on its finances by its annual submission deadline. Documents are 1,733 days overdue. Civil Society was not able to contact the charity for comment. sign up to receive the free Civil Society daily news bulletin here . For more news, interviews, opinion and analysis about charities and the voluntary sector, They came from across Mexico and they had stories to tell. A journalist from Guadalajara said grenades were set off in front of his office. An editor from northern Mexico spoke of armed men forcing their way into the newsroom and issuing threats. Another reporter said drug cartels bribed journalists at his publication to sabotage the work of their colleagues. Others didnt speak. They didnt need to. Everyone in the room knew that top editors at their publications had been murdered by the cartels. All told, sixteen journalists had come to Mexico City for a safety workshop held on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the Inter American Press Association, a regional industry group that defends press freedom (and where I was invited to speak). Javier Garza Ramos, an independent journalist from the northern city of Torreon, and Maria Idalia Gomez, who leads a Mexico Citybased digital outlet called Eje Central, showed participants how to evaluate risk and develop appropriate security protocols. They plan to follow up with individual newsrooms over the next several months. The focus is preventative, Garza told me. If the authorities are not going to protect us, then we need to protect ourselves. The Hamas-Israel conflict is the deadliest for journalists in recent memory, with nearly sixty killed in a matter of weeks. But Mexicos failing drug war is the most intractable. Year after year, Mexico is among the deadliest countries for the press. Over the past two decades, more than a hundred and sixty journalists have been killed and thirty more disappeared, according to a local human rights group, Propuesta Civica (other groups using different methodologies cite a lower number). The impunity rate, by the same measure, is a staggering 95 percent. The primary challenge for journalists in Mexico is simply staying alive. Journalists often wear bulletproof vests when they fear assassination. But as Garza pointed out, a protective vest will do nothing for you if you are kidnapped before being murdered, as is often the case in Mexico. In fact, there is only so much a small, underfunded news organization can do to build defenses against adversaries armed with assault rifles and grenades. Before, with organized crime, you got three warnings, one editor noted. Now there is no warning. In response to the waves of violence, the Mexican government has initiated programs designed to keep journalists safer, including the appointment of a special federal prosecutor for crimes against free expression and a safety mechanism that provides threatened journalists with personal protective equipment, bodyguards, and panic buttons. Participants described such efforts as well intentioned but ineffective. I was shot at twice and didnt have a chance to push the panic button, said one journalist. Sign up for CJR 's daily email In fact, the journalists often described the federal government as more of an adversary than a protector. The current president, Andres Manual Lopez Obrador, known as AMLO, has relentlessly attacked and criticized journalists, adopting Trumpian terms like fake news. Journalists have also faced an onslaught of defamation suits in many cases brought by officials, along with surveillance and spyware attacks. I knew my phone was tapped even before Pegasus, said a workshop participant of the Israeli-made spyware, which has been widely deployed against journalists in Mexico. Living with danger every day while reporting on the countrys relentless drug-fueled violence has also taken an emotional toll. I identify so deeply with the mother who has lost a child, and this has affected me tremendously, said one reporter of the trauma of interviewing survivors. So why has Mexico been so uniquely unable to protect journalists from violence? Impunity is a form of corruption that has existed for a long time and permeates all levels of government, said Daniel Rosas, a top editor at El Manana in Nuevo Laredo, who is still affected by the murder of a colleague nearly two decades ago. It will be very difficult to overcome, because people have lost confidence in the authorities. Theres no accountability. Sara Mendiola, a lawyer and the executive director of Propuesta Civica, has also been involved in the fight against impunity and through her legal efforts helped secure convictions in two key cases: the 2017 murders of Javier Valdez in Sinaloa and Miroslava Breach in Chihuahua. But Mendiola calls such cases exceptions and notes that many prosecutors across the country have been corrupted by organized crime. Jan-Albert Hootsen, the Mexico representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists (where I served as executive director for many years), believes that, ironically, criminal justice reform in Mexico has complicated efforts to bring the killers of journalists to justice. Legal reforms intended to protect suspects from police abuse and improve respect for the rule of law have created higher evidentiary standards that Mexicos woefully unprepared prosecutors struggle to meet. With escalating violence across the country, impunity is now the norm, Hootsen told me. You have an entire generation of police officers, of prosecutors, of lawyers, of judges, but also of citizens who simply take it for granted. Mexicos president serves a six-year term, known as a sexenio. Impunity and violence against the press has remained a critical and unaddressed feature of Mexicos political landscape for the past four administrations, yet press freedom has not emerged as a major issue in the 2024 presidential campaign. I admire the courage and determination of the journalists I met at the safety workshop and agree with Garza that if the government will not protect them, journalists must protect themselves. But given the array of threats they are facingfrom drug-related violence to spywarethat is a lot to ask. Mexican journalists deserve the support of their government and their society. It is unconscionable and a stain on Mexicos democracy that no president in the past quarter century has been able to provide it. Joel Simon is the founding director of the Journalism Protection Initiative at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. On October 4, about a hundred people began filing into a community hall in Stroud, a pretty town in southern England that, like many of its peers, has a vein of disaffection and despondency running just under the surface. They were gathering to discuss the appearance of a new paper in the town called The Light. It is handed out in streets across the UK by volunteers; in some cases, stacks of copies are left in grocery stores. It offers readers a simple vision of reality: the worlds bad stuff, like COVID or war in Ukraine, can be explained by an elite cabal that is intent on pushing through a new world order. Just like the Times, it has a bold logo in a commanding serif font, skyboxes that preview content, a splash, a large image. Headlines include WHO wants to rule the world, Democracy a failed experiment, Jabs linked with seizures, How to stop 5G rollout, and Medicines can destroy health. It says it provides the uncensored truththrowing doubt on established narratives about war in Gaza, net-zero efforts, radiation poisoning, and more. Toward the back of its twenty-eight pages are the adsprivacy screens for laptops and phones, a holistic dental clinic (with a focus on the natural healing abilities of the human body), an ad for gold bullion that promises you can be your own central bank. Throughout, The Light wants its readers to get active. For the price of 190 ($237), you can buy five hundred copies. It urges: Wake up your neighbours! Research from 2021 found that 25 percent of all articles were conspiracy-related. The Light has run stories by Nazi blogger Lasha Darkmoon (that elites brainwash people against questioning the Holocaust) and recommended a book by author Eustace Mullin (who also wrote Adolf Hitler: An Appreciation). BBC journalist Marianna Spring reported that the paper publishes as many as one hundred thousand copies monthlycosting almost $300,000 a yearand is distributed in thirty UK hubs, all funded by ads and subscribers. That gives it perhaps a sheen of legitimacy that it wouldnt have if it was just an online magazine, David Lawrence, a researcher at anti-far-right-extremism charity HOPE Not Hate, told me. The Light didnt respond to an interview request from CJR. But Darren Smith (sometimes Darren Nesbitt), the founder and editor, was interviewed this year by the BBC in a pub near Manchester. Ive been awake for ten years, he said. Smith said reading the paper should be exciting to people, we dont have to accept what the BBC tell us, we dont have to accept what the official narrative ison topics such as science, history, geography, cosmology, you name it, health, et cetera. The appeal of conspiracy theories, according to Rod Dacombe, director of the Centre for British Politics and Government at Kings College London, is that they offer psychological comfort in uncertain times, and that, like a game, they demand participation. QAnon Q drops asked followers to decode cryptic posts, inventing the mythology as they went along; The Light publishes puzzles and quizzes that tell readers to go and do your own research. One evening, Dacombe decided to follow along. He chose a crossword word-search game. I found I was following another link and another link, he told me. The Light will not present information as finished. It will say, Dont take my word for it, go and look for yourself, allowing its readers to undergo a process of revelation. They become true believers all on their own. Sign up for CJR 's daily email The market for new sources is wide open. Just 40 percent of ninety-three thousand people surveyed globally said they mostly trusted the news, this years Oxfords Reuters Institute Digital News Report found. Even if it doesnt persuade people outright, Lawrence said, The Light and its twenty-thousand-strong Telegram channel make people think, Maybe there is something in this. In 2020, around the time The Light came to be distributed in the town, people began to appear in Strouds town center to promote 9/11 and fluoridation hoaxes, or to express their support for the American conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, or their loathing for Anthony Fauci, who had been the face of Americas scientific response to the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a strong theme of punishment and retribution throughout The Light, Dacombe said. In June last year, the paper ran a story that read under the 1947 Nuremberg Code, MPs, doctors and nurses can be hanged if found guilty of medical experimentation with the COVID vaccine. The event in Stroud was organized by a volunteer group, Community Solidarity Stroud District (CSSD), that had grown concerned about the popularity of the newspaper, and who equate it with the rise of fascism. The goal of CSSD is not to silence people involved with The Light, Denise Needleman, an organizer, said, but to counter any arguments with good reason, argument, and evidence. The event in Stroud was timed for the anniversary of a spontaneous uprising against fascism in Britain, on October 4, 1936, that is credited with humiliating the movement into submission as a mainstream force. One of the speakers invited was the lawyer and historian of fascism David Renton. Watching over the packed room, about ten volunteer stewards from CSSD stood in yellow vests. But theyd allowed people associated with the paper to enter, to defuse tension. The Light is, in the end, a far-right propaganda sheet, Renton told the audience. A few Light fans tried starting a debatethey mentioned 9/11, Needleman saidbut found no receptive audience. They appeared embarrassed. And to Needlemans eye, when she saw them handing the paper out in the following days, they looked really quite glum. Jem Bartholomew is a freelance reporter. He was previously a Reporting Fellow at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism. Jems writing has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Economist, Time, New York magazine, and others. At least 11 people died at a mine owned by Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. when an elevator transporting workers to the surface failed, the worst accident in the South African companys history. On Monday afternoon, a cage hoisting miners to the surface, unexpectedly started descending, before its plunge was halted when the lifts counterweight became trapped, Johannesburg-based Implats said Tuesday. Another 75 workers were hospitalized. South Africas mining industry has been struggling to reduce such fatalities. Deaths have climbed by almost a fifth to 52 so far this year, the highest tally since 2021, according to data provided by Implats and Minerals Council South Africa, an industry lobby group. This is the darkest day in the history of Implats, Chief Executive Officer Nico Muller said in a statement. Operations have been suspended and the cause of the accident is being investigated. The accident at Implatss sprawling Rustenburg complex comes as falling prices add to the pressure on some of the deep-level shafts, which are running out of commercially viable ore. In 1995, in the worst post-apartheid mining accident 105 workers plunged more than 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) to their deaths at the Vaal Reefs Mine, then operated by a unit of Anglo American Plc, after a cable supporting a cage was severed by a runaway ore train. Implats shares fell as much as 8.7% and traded 8.5% lower by 3:44 p.m. in Johannesburg. The mining industry is a difficult sector, its a dangerous sector, its a dirty sector, Mineral & Energy Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe said in a briefing broadcast on Johannesburg-based SABC. When you get into mining, we understand that. Mantashe, a former union leader, said theres been an effort to improve safety and called for patience in allowing processes to run their course. All safety systems on the lifts had been tested and were operational, so the investigation needs to determine how the accident happened, CEO Muller said at the briefing. There are a number of ways relatives of the deceased workers would be compensated, including offering their job to family members, he said. After the accident at Implats 11 Shaft in the northern city of Rustenburg, ambulances from other operations were sent to the mine to transport injured employees to nearby hospitals, Japie Fullard, chair of the Minerals Councils CEO Zero Harm Forum, said in a separate statement. Implatss Rustenburg operations which take place at an average depth of 870 meters (2,853 feet) underground account for about a third of production. Impala gained control of Royal Bafokeng Platinum Ltd. in May to extend the life of the complex, from which the company has been producing platinum for more than five decades. Its a painful situation that cant be accepted, Livhuwani Mammburu, spokesman for the National Union of Mineworkers said by phone, adding that South African mineworkers typically support 10 dependents. Its a big loss. A Texas judge has ordered a Houston plaintiffs attorney to reimburse an insurer $137,000 for the legal fees it expended to defend itself against a frivolous and groundless lawsuit that was filed solely for the purpose of harassment. Harris County Civil Court Judge LaShawn A. Williams said in a final judgment that Houston attorney Eric B. Dick acted in bad faith when he filed a lawsuit against Standard Casualty Co. on behalf of property owner Carmen Aleman. Dick submitted no evidence that the insurer owed coverage and filed expert designations that had not been approved or even reviewed by the purported experts he named as witnesses, the judges order states. Eric B. Dick and the Dick Law Firm, PLLC obstructed the discovery process by failing to timely tender each designated witness for deposition, forcing Standard to incur substantial expense in issuing and serving subpoenas, forcing Standard to incur costs to issue multiple deposition notices and having to depose each witness to discover the falsity of the designations, the final judgment states. Dick told the Claims Journal that the judges order is 100% political. He said Williams has weaponized the justice system and using it against him because she is a Democrat and he is an elected Republican. Dick is an elected trustee on the Harris County Board of Education. This is how these corrupt judges do it, Dick said. This is the same way they are doing it with Donald Trump. Judge Williams signed the final judgment in Alemans case on Oct. 17, but there was little public knowledge about it until insurance defense attorney Steve Badger, a partner with the Zelle law firm in Dallas, posted a copy of it on his LinkedIn page on Nov. 21. Badger was not involved with the Aleman case, but court records show that he has defended insurers against other lawsuits filed by Dick. This is another example of what happens when attorneys try to apply the mass-torts model to first-party property insurance claims, Badger said in an email. He said Dick ran into the same trouble that befell McClenny Moseley & Associates, the Houston law firm that opened a New Orleans office and filed thousands of hurricane-damage lawsuits before being sanctioned by federal judges and fined $2 million by the Louisiana Department of Insurance. These are not cookie cutter matters, Badger said. Every matter is different. Experts must formulate specific opinions as to each individual matter. And of course that needs to happen before, rather than after, a lawsuit is filed. Dick is well known in the Houston area because of his billboard advertisements, many of which use crude puns. Dick also is known for using aggressive tactics to obtain new clients. Hawaii News Now reported last month that the Hawaii Office of Disciplinary Counsel was investigating flyers that Dicks law firm had distributed to obtain clients after the Maui wildfires. Chief Disciplinary Counsel Bradley Tamm told the television station that Dick is one of 22 attorneys under investigation for improperly soliciting clients. Dick is not licensed to practice law in Hawaii. Dick has also been accused of violating campaign finance laws. On Sept. 29, the Texas Elections Commission ordered him to pay a $10,000 civil penalty for failing to report $151,166.43 in campaign expenditures during his 2022 campaign for Harris County treasurer. The Elections Commission also fined Dick $30,000 in 2022 for mailers that falsely suggested Black Democrats had endorsed him and failing to accurately report campaign expenditures during his unsuccessful 2015 campaign for Houston City Council, the Houston Chronicle reported. Dicks fight with Standard Casualty stems from a lawsuit he filed after the insurer denied Alemans hail-damage claim. The judges order states that Dick failed to present any evidence that coverage was owed after the insurer filed a motion for summary judgment. During discovery, Dick named four expert witnesses who would testify about the loss: Richard Gadrow, Billy Bray, Matt Morgan and Shiran Perera. The order says Gadrow, Bray and Morgan testified that they were unaware that they had been named as experts. Perera, an engineer, testified that he had never inspected the property but did review photographs that showed wind damage, not the hail damage that had been alleged. Dick said in an interview that Gadrow was in the final stage of a fight with cancer when he testified and was delusional because the cancer had spread into his brain. The other experts said he had a good case against the insurer and damage should be covered, he said. A lawsuit filed Tuesday accuses UC Berkeley Law School of promoting anti-Semitism and discriminating against Jews. Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle UC Berkeley law school Dean Erwin Chemerinsky has said he disagrees with student organizations exclusion of Zionist speakers but that they have a right to invite only speakers who agree with their views. Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle A Zionist organization sued the University of California on Tuesday, accusing the UC Berkeley Law School of promoting anti-Semitism and discriminating against Jews by allowing student groups to bar Zionists as speakers at their meetings. Zionism is an integral component of Jewish identity, attorneys for the Louis D. Brandeis Foundation said in a lawsuit filed in federal court in San Francisco. Anti-Zionism is discrimination against those who recognize the Jews ancestral heritage in particular the Jews historic connection to the land of Israel. The suit says it targets the longstanding, unchecked spread of antisemitism at the University of California Berkeley. Advertisement Article continues below this ad They cited a policy announced in August 2022 by Law Students for Justice in Palestine and now followed, according to the suit, by 23 of the 100 organizations in the 1,100-student law school. Saying Zionism is used to justify the displacement and oppression of Palestinians, the groups have adopted bylaws saying they would not invite pro-Zionist speakers, who describe Israel as a Jewish state. The lawsuit said the climate on campus has become more hostile since the Oct. 7 assault on Israel by military forces from Hamas, which rules Gaza, followed by weeks of attacks by Israels military on Gaza and the West Bank. A Jewish student draped in an Israeli flag was attacked by two protesters who struck him in the head with a metal water bottle, Brandeis lawyers said. Jews on campus have been receiving hate emails calling for their gassing and murder. And Jewish students have reported being afraid to go to class, which would require them to pass through the pro-Hamas rallies taking place in Berkeleys main thoroughfares. The lawsuit asked a federal judge to prohibit the university from funding or recognizing any student organization that excludes Jews. But the student groups say they do not exclude Jews or Zionists, only pro-Zionist speakers. And UC Berkeley spokesperson Dan Mogulof said Tuesday the university has long been committed to confronting antisemitism, and to supporting the needs and interests of its Jewish students, faculty, and staff. He cited UC Berkeleys establishment last year of an Antisemitism Education Initiative, the first of its kind by a major university, with workshops and lectures on Zionism and discrimination against Jews. UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ said in a message to students Nov. 3 that hateful speech and actions against either Jews or Palestinians has no place on our campus or in our discourse. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Christ also said she condemns the harassment, threats, and doxxing that have targeted our Palestinian students and their supporters, as well as the alarming increase in antisemitic expression in our country, in general, and on our college campuses, in particular. UC President Michael Drake announced last week that the university was establishing an office to combat discrimination and would provide training against both antisemitism and Islamophobia. But Steven Solomon, a UC Berkeley law professor and a plaintiff in the suit, said Jewish students at the school are not being protected. The students are cowed, theyre fearful, harassed. Some of them are not attending class, Solomon told the Chronicle Tuesday. Theyre dehumanized in ways that would not be tolerated for any other group on campus. In a column published by the Wall Street Journal on Oct. 16, Solomon described the student groups that rejected Zionist speakers as antisemitic and urged law firms not to hire any of his students who agreed with the groups. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The law schools dean, Erwin Chemerinsky, has said he disagrees with the student organizations exclusion of Zionist speakers a policy, he told the groups, that might bar him from speaking because he supports the existence of Israel. But he has also said they have a right to invite only speakers who agree with their views. The new lawsuit, with its attacks on the policies and climate at the school, describes a place that doesnt exist and gives short shrift to the students' constitutional right of free speech, Chemerinsky said Tuesday. The student groups rejection of pro-Zionist speakers was challenged last November in a civil rights complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Education by two lawyers, who said in their complaint that the groups policies were contributing to the creation of a hostile environment for Jewish students, faculty and staff. In response to that complaint, Zoha Khalili, an attorney at Palestine Legal, said the student groups care about human rights and have a legal and moral right to boycott Zionist speakers. Chemerinsky said the law school filed its response to the complaint early this year. He said the Department of Education notified a number of law schools this month that their policies were being investigated and that UC Berkeley was not on the list. Advertisement Article continues below this ad But in Tuesdays lawsuit, the Brandeis Foundation said that in order to join or meet with groups at the Berkeley law school, Jewish students, faculty, and guest speakers must deny a central part of their cultural, ancestral heritage and a fundamental tenet of their faith. CLEVELAND, Ohio - Nearly a foot of snow blanketed parts of Northeast Ohio early Tuesday, with more on the way. The late morning update of the lake-effect snow warning from the National Weather Service calls for up to 6 more inches, with the highest amounts in eastern Northeast Ohio. The advisory runs until midnight. By the end of the advisory, some areas may get up to 16 inches of snow, with some areas well on their way in Geauga and Lake counties. Other places were hit less, but snow affected nearly every county in Greater Cleveland. The weather service provided an update at 10:58 a.m. based on snowfall reports gathered by trained spotters shortly after dawn. Pepper Pike saw the highest accumulation in Cuyahoga County, with 6.9 inches of snow by 7:30 a.m. This was followed by Chagrin Falls (6.3 inches), Cleveland Heights (5.8 inches), Parma (4 inches) and Rocky River (3 inches). Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, where official snow accumulation is measured for the area, only received 0.1 inches of snow in the last 12 hours, according to a spotters report at 7:00 a.m. In Greater Cleveland, Lake County saw the highest snow accumulation in the last 12 hours, with 11.6 inches reported in South Madison at 7:00 a.m., the most throughout the seven-county region. This is followed by Concord (7.4 inches) and Painesville (7 inches). South Thompson in Geauga County had 8.7 inches of snow at 7:57 a.m., the second highest in Greater Cleveland. This is followed by Montville and Chardon with 8 inches each, and Burton and Novelty with 6 inches each. In Portage County, Hiram received 4.5 inches at 9:00 a.m. The most snow in Summit County was 1.6 inches in Sagamore Hills at 8:00 a.m. In Lorain County, Elyria saw 0.4 inches at 8:00 a.m. Only Medina County made it through the lake-effect snow warning without any measurable snow in the last 12 hours, although trace amounts were found in Sharon Township. The hazardous weather is expected to end by Wednesday morning, although there is now a slight chance of snow showers on Wednesday night. Zachary Smith is the data reporter for cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. See previous stories at this link. Maile Chand, a community researcher for the Abundant Birth Project, shows her daughter Melilani Scott the contents of her doula bag on Sept. 14, 2020, in San Francisco. A conservative group is suing to stop the program, alleging its discriminatory. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle To support some of its neediest families, San Francisco started a program in 2020 to provide $1,000 a month to 150 pregnant Black and Pacific Islander women, and then to their newborn children. Since then, the city and the state have offered similar subsidies to minority artists and to transgender and nonbinary residents, with a priority for non-white recipients. But the U.S. Supreme Court altered the legal landscape this June when it ruled that affirmative-action programs that allowed colleges to consider an applicants race or ethnicity violated the constitutional rights of white and Asian American students. And now a conservative group is claiming similar constitutional violations by San Francisco and the state of California. The programs funded by San Francisco and the state unlawfully choose their beneficiaries based on race, ethnicity, gender/gender identity, and sexual orientation, an organization called the Californians for Equal Rights Foundation argues in a lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court. Each of the programs is currently engaging in precisely the kind of intentional racial discrimination the Constitution forbids. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The suit seeks court orders barring state and city funding of the challenged programs. It was first reported by the nonprofit KFF Health News. The Supreme Court ruling had a limited impact in California, whose voters had outlawed affirmative action in state colleges and universities in 1996 and refused to reinstate it in 2020. The ruling went further by banning consideration of applicants race at private schools like Stanford and the University of Southern California. But the outcome of the new lawsuit could signal whether state and local governments have any remaining authority to enact programs that benefit minority groups. The suit was initially filed in May, in apparent anticipation of the Supreme Court ruling. The only response so far has been a filing from the city attorneys office denying that any of the citys programs are illegal or unconstitutional. The challenged actions were undertaken in good faith, were neither arbitrary or capricious, were a proper exercise of discretion and represented a good faith and reasonable construction of the applicable laws, Deputy City Attorney Kaitlyn Murphy wrote in July. Advertisement Article continues below this ad When San Francisco announced its subsidies for pregnant women, called the Abundant Birth Project, officials said Black families accounted for 4% of all childbirths in the city but for more than 15% of infant deaths and half of all maternal deaths each year. Pacific Islander babies had the second-highest premature birth rate in the city at 10.4%, according to the same records. The project has been funded by the city and philanthropic donations. According to the lawsuit, similar programs have begun in other Bay Area communities and Los Angeles, and the state had provided $5 million in funding as of last November. San Francisco denies that the Abundant Birth Project is unlawful or unconstitutional in any manner, Alex Barrett-Shorter, spokesperson for City Attorney David Chiu, said in a statement Monday. We look forward to discussing these matters further in court. The state Department of Public Health declined to comment on the case. Another project challenged in the suit was the Guaranteed Income Plan for Artists, which provided $1,000 a month to participating artists. The Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the nonprofit that oversees the program, does not limit participants by race or ethnicity but the suit contended it accomplishes the same thing by asking applicants whether their practice is, in the centers words, rooted in a historically marginalized community. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Yerba Buena and San Francisco Mayor London Breed largely achieved their intended discriminatory goals, attorney Bradley Benbrook wrote in the lawsuit. As a result, he said, the grants have been awarded to Native American, Black and LGBTQ artists at rates far above their shares of the citys population. But the city attorneys office said San Francisco no longer funds or takes part in the program and it is run by an independent organization called Creative Communities Coalition for Guaranteed Income. The city said it has continued funding another target of the lawsuit, a program called Guaranteed Income for Transgender People, or GIFT. It provides $1,200 per month for 18 months to low-income transgender or non-binary residents. The suit said applicants who are non-white or Indigenous are given priority. The Supreme Court has stated repeatedly that addressing past societal discrimination is not a compelling interest that justifies preferential or unequal treatment to racial groups, Benbrook wrote. It would be impossible for (San Francisco or the state) to specifically identify discrimination they are attempting to remedy. Joe Garofoli is the San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer, covering national and state politics. He has worked at The Chronicle since 2000 and in Bay Area journalism since 1992, when he left the Milwaukee Journal. He is the host of Its All Political, The Chronicles political podcast. Catch it here: bit.ly/2LSAUjA He has won numerous awards and covered everything from fashion to the Jeffrey Dahmer serial killings to two Olympic Games to his own vasectomy which he discussed on NPRs Talk of the Nation after being told he couldnt say the word balls on the air. He regularly appears on Bay Area radio and TV talking politics and is available to entertain at bar mitzvahs and First Communions. He is a graduate of Northwestern University and a proud native of Pittsburgh. Go Steelers! He can be reached at jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com. Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford (Kings County), seen speaking in May, said his office was vandalized by anti-Israel protesters. Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Republican Rep. David Valadao said his Hanford (Kings County) district office was vandalized by anti-Israel protesters, he posted Monday. Valadao shared a photo of the outside of his office in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. The photo showed a red liquid splattered across the front doors and facade of the building and flyers that read MURDERED BY ISRAEL with photos of children and what appears to be information about each child. I strongly support the right to peaceful protest, but violence and vandalism are never acceptable. In a democracy, harassment and intimidation is not how you make your voice heard, Valadao wrote. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Valadao represents a swing district in California and won his last election by just 2 percentage points. His challenger in 2022, Assembly Member Rudy Salas, is running against him again in 2024. Valadao will be battling for his congressional life over the next year. His district is one of the most competitive in the country and is considered a key seat for Democrats to take the House majority. Hanford police responded to the reported vandalism Monday morning, they said in a statement to the Chronicle, and found a red substance had been splattered and smeared on the walls and windows of the business and fliers of unknown people had been taped to the window. Detectives found video surveillance of four people taping the flyers and throwing a red syrup on the walls. Police believe the incident happening between 11 p.m. and midnight Sunday. The future of Israel and Palestine is an issue that doesnt fall along traditional partisan lines, with both Democrats and Republicans having internal party disagreements about how best to handle the Israel-Hamas war. In a recent vote on whether the House should censure Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan (whose parents are Palestinian immigrants) over her rhetoric on the Israel-Hamas war, two other California Republicans bucked their party and voted against doing so Reps. John Duarte of Turlock (Stanislaus County) and Tom McClintock of Modesto. Duarte is in a similarly competitive position; McClintock is not. Valadao supported both a measure to bring that censure to a vote and the censure itself. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The division among Democrats is exposing long-standing tensions between progressive and moderate members. Some progressives believe Israels treatment of Palestinians in Gaza is a form of systemic oppression and see it as parallel to injustices within the U.S. For the first time since it began tracking the issue, Gallup found in March that Democrats sympathized with Palestinians more than Israelis. A few hundred pro-cease-fire demonstrators from a nearby march breached convention security at the California Democratic Party convention Nov. 18, leading party officials to cancel the rest of that evenings program and put the center on lockdown. Shein has confidentially filed to go public in the U.S. as the Chinese-founded fast-fashion juggernaut looks to expand its global reach with a long-rumored initial public offering, CNBC has learned. The retailer was last valued at $66 billion and could be ready to start trading on the public markets as soon as 2024, people familiar with the matter said Monday. It is unclear how much the company is currently worth, but its valuation has been a central point of debate among Shein and the advisors it's working with, people familiar with the matter said. Read more: Shein has to clear key hurdles before U.S. IPO A confidential filing is common, as it allows companies to communicate with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and make any necessary adjustments to their filings in private. Over the next few months, Shein will likely make tweaks to its paperwork and answer numerous questions from the agency. The filing will be made public once the company is ready to move forward with its IPO. At that point, those communications with the SEC and any adjustments to its paperwork will be released as well. Shein has been on a meteoric rise over the past few years after it won over consumers across the globe with its fashion-forward designs, endless assortment and dirt-cheap prices. But Shein has faced a series of challenges along the way and faced accusations of using forced labor in its supply chain, violating labor laws, harming the environment and stealing designs from independent artists. The company is currently under investigation by the newly formed House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and has faced scrutiny over its ties to Beijing. Numerous lawmakers, including 16 Republican attorneys general, have called on the SEC to ensure Shein isn't using forced labor in its supply chain before it's allowed to start trading in the U.S. In October, Marcelo Claure, the company's newly minted group vice chair and former SoftBank CEO, told CNBC in an interview that Shein is cooperating with lawmakers and taking time to meet with them to explain the business. He said, "there's no such thing as forced labor" in the Shein factories that he has visited. But the company has repeatedly acknowledged that forced labor has been found in its supply chain and noted that it's taking steps to fix it. As Shein grew from an obscure Chinese retailer into a global behemoth with headquarters in Singapore, it largely stayed in the shadows. It said and did very little publicly until this year, when it began to open up in an apparent attempt to prepare for a U.S. IPO. With Chinese CEO Sky Xu still at the helm, Shein tapped former Bear Stearns investment banker Donald Tang to be its executive chair and public face earlier this year. It has hosted a series of well-publicized pop-up events, sent influencers to its Chinese factories in a poorly received public relations campaign and courted the business press with splashy parties that featured its independent designers and other friends of the company. Shein has worked hard to beat the many negative accusations that have come to define the company and has made its executives available for interviews as it worked to change the narrative. Recently, it acquired about one-third of Sparc Group a joint venture that includes brand management firm Authentic Brands Group and mall owner Simon Property Group and in doing so, made a powerful U.S. ally that could help legitimize the company in the eyes of U.S. regulators. As part of the deal, Shein has partnered up with former rival Forever 21 to unveil a co-branded clothing line that will see Shein design, manufacture and distribute the clothes primarily on its website. Shein has been hosting pop-up events inside of Forever 21's stores. Shein still has more work to do before it can win the trust of U.S. regulators. Beyond its myriad of issues, its CEO remains a mysterious figure who doesn't give interviews or speak publicly about the company. The practice is a major departure from other firms that are publicly traded in the U.S., which regularly make their CEOs available. In October, the company did not tell CNBC whether Xu is still a Chinese citizen. The company has tapped Goldman Sachs , JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley to be the lead underwriters on the offering, the people said. Shein declined to comment. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley did not comment. Earlier Monday, Chinese media reported on Shein's filing. Jeff Lawson, co-founder and chief executive officer of Twilio Inc., center, rings the opening bell on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Sept.17, 2018. Activist investors are pushing software maker Twilio to sell the entire company, or divest one of its two business units comprising less than 20% of its revenue, two people familiar with the matter tell CNBC. Anson Funds has built a stake in Twilio and sent a letter to the enterprise software company's board pushing for the sale of the entire business, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC. The fresh push comes months after another activist firm, Legion Partners, made a similar push with the company, another person familiar said. Both spoke anonymously to discuss private communications freely. Twilio shares closed up 3.6% Tuesday. The company implemented a reorganization in February, creating two new business units: Communications, its larger historic business focused on messaging software and connecting to systems like SMS text messaging, and Data & Applications, which is newer and includes additional tools for improving customer engagement. A Twilio spokesperson told CNBC that the February reorganization "reflected input" from Twilio's shareholders. Nonetheless, Anson and Legion have urged the board to divest the former business unit if it can't secure a full sale to a strategic buyer. Anson did not hold any Twilio stock for the period ended Sept. 30, according to securities filings, but has since built a stake valued at around $50 million, one person familiar said. Its letter to the board urges Twilio to either sell itself or, at a minimum, divest its data and applications business, this person familiar said. The growth of the stake coincided with Anson's hiring of Sagar Gupta from Legion Partners. Gupta led Legion's activist engagements with Twilio and Nutanix , a cloud computing firm. Legion Partners continues to maintain its $50 million stake in Twilio and has been making a similar pitch to Twilio's leadership and advisors: sell the company or refocus around its Communications business unit, the other person familiar said. Those efforts have continued even after Gupta's departure from Legion. The news was previously reported by The Information. "Twilio regularly engages with shareholders and appreciates constructive input that furthers our goal of creating sustainable long-term value," a Twilio spokesperson told CNBC in a statement. The continued activist attention caps off a challenging year for Twilio, which makes software that helps businesses engage with their customers. The company's stock is up around 28% year to date but remains well off its 2021 highs. In February, the company cut around 1,500 employees, or 17% of its workforce citing a need for heightened efficiency. Those layoffs followed a similar headcount reduction in September 2022. Tech acquisitions, while muted compared with pandemic levels, have seen some significant plays in 2023. In March, Silver Lake and CPP Investments announced a deal to take survey software company Qualtrics private in a $12.5 billion deal. IBM acquired software maker Apptio in a $4.6 billion cash deal announced in June. Cisco said it would take cybersecurity firm Splunk private in a $28 billion cash deal in September. Co-founder and CEO Jeff Lawson helped start Twilio in 2008 and guided the company through its 2016 IPO. Twilio has a market cap of around $11.6 billion. Don't miss these stories from CNBC PRO: Rocket Lab shares have the potential to take off, according to Bank of America. Analyst Ronald Epstein reiterated his buy rating on the space stock while shaving his price target down by $2 to $10. Epstein's new price target implies the stock could soar 134.2% from Monday's close. "We continue to see Rocket Lab as the strongest pure-play space name within our coverage despite the recent Electron anomaly," Epstein said in a note to clients Monday. After investigating the September midflight failure of its Electron rocket, Rocket Lab is aiming to get its launch business back on track by the end of the year. Epstein noted Rocket Lab's launch business is poised to "bounce back" next year, with 22 Electron missions slated for 2024. While Rocket Lab has been aiming to launch its next-generation Neutron rocket for the first time next year, Epstein doesn't expect that vehicle to debut until 2025. "While development continues at a steady pace, we believe it may be difficult to achieve our prior target of two Neutron launches by end of 2024," Epstein wrote. Rocket Lab's space systems business has been ramping up for the first delivery under its contract for space tech company MDA , which is valued at $143 million, in the first quarter of 2024. Epstein said the deal should contribute $100 million to revenue throughout 2024, making it Rocket Lab's largest single contract. The analyst's price target cut followed a reassessment of the discount rate following the Electron launch snafu. Still, he said the company's 2023 loss per share should be narrower than previously anticipated as lower operating expenses and a higher share count outweigh margin softness. CNBC's Michael Bloom and Michael Sheetz contributed to this report. U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about administration plans to forgive federal student loan debt during remarks in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., August 24, 2022. Around 813,000 student loan borrowers will soon receive an email from President Joe Biden notifying them that their debt has been forgiven because of his actions, the White House said Tuesday. Many borrowers who will get the email likely already knew about the loan cancellation and may have already received that relief. The message directly from the president, less than a year ahead of the 2024 presidential election, makes it clear who was responsible for the relief. "Congratulations your student loan has been forgiven because of actions my administration took to make sure you receive the relief you earned and deserve," the email reads. Biden has erased $127 billion in student debt so far for more than 3.5 million borrowers more than any other president in history. Cannabis stocks aren't the only ones that were riding high in early 2021. In the wake of a brief Covid-19-related bear market, investors were bidding up just about anything exciting, including cryptocurrency, nonfungible tokens and meme stocks. Unlike some of the more speculative plays, though, cannabis seemed to be approaching a turning point in a promising long-term story. A slate of Democratic electoral victories, including in the White House, analysts thought, would be good news for cannabis. A more liberal government would, in theory, cut legislative and legal red tape that has kept the weed business from taking off nationwide. Those changes have yet to come on a federal level, and dimming enthusiasm from investors, among other factors, has led to a major slide in pot stocks. The AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF, which holds U.S.-based cannabis companies, currently trades for $6.80 a share, down from nearly $52 in February 2021. But for experts in the space, the question surrounding cannabis legalization (and a subsequent boom in the industry) isn't if, but when. "Legalization of cannabis is inevitable," says Jaret Seiberg, a policy analyst at TD Cowen. "It's just a question of how bumpy the next several years are going to be." Here's what potential investors need to know. Roadblocks for cannabis firms Medicinal marijuana use is legal in 38 states, and following a ballot initiative earlier in November in Ohio, 24 states now allow recreational use among adults. All told, more than half of Americans now reside in states where marijuana is legal, and even more some 70% are in favor of legalization, according to a recent Gallup poll. So why isn't the marijuana business already booming? The drug is still federally illegal and listed among the world's deadliest substances as a Schedule I narcotic. That means U.S.-based businesses can't transport their product across state lines, so any cannabis business looking to expand nationwide has to set up shop in multiple states. Similarly, pot's illicit status makes it difficult for cannabis firm to secure financing and investments from major financial institutions. And thanks to tax rules aimed at crippling drug cartels, pot purveyors must file taxes but can't take normal business deductions. "You basically get zero write-off. So the effective tax rate, depending on state and local tax, can be as high as 65%," says Brady Cobb, founder and CEO of Sunburn Cannabis. 3 potential pathways to marijuana legalization Currently, cannabis advocates are pursuing three paths toward legalization, which could pave the way for an explosion in pot firm profitability. 1. Legislative The so-called SAFER Banking Act has been in the works in Congress in one form or another since 2019. The legislation would bar federal regulators from penalizing banks for offering services, such as bank accounts, credit card transaction processing and payroll services, to cannabis firms. The bill has enjoyed bipartisan support in the past, but looks to be in a precarious position thanks to Mike Johnson's ascendency to House speaker. Johnson opposes marijuana legalization and has called it a "gateway drug." "We had this euphoric moment when it cleared the Senate committee it felt like we had a path," says Cobb. "Then the Speaker of the House drama starts and the guy who gets elected is one of the few people who voted against it." 2. Judicial A group of cannabis businesses in Massachusetts filed a lawsuit in October alleging that the federal Controlled Substances Act represents an unconstitutional infringement on the power of the states who have legalized pot. A ruling in favor of cannabis operators wouldn't unravel problems surrounding interstate commerce, but would make life much easier for weed businesses as currently set up. Cannabis sellers would no longer have to do nearly all their business in cash, for instance. 3. Executive In October 2022, President Joe Biden asked the Department of Health and Human Services to review marijuana's Schedule I status. The process is still ongoing, but in a letter obtained by Bloomberg dated Aug. 29, 2023, a top official at HHS recommended to the Drug Enforcement Agency that marijuana be rescheduled to Schedule III. It remains to be seen how the process plays out, but a move to Schedule III "would be a huge positive bigger than SAFER would be," says Jason Wild, founder of JW Asset Management, and investment advisor focused on health care. Wild is also the executive chairman of TerrAscend, a New Jersey-based cannabinoid company. The main reason, he says, is that it could spell the end of the rule prohibiting pot firms from taking business deductions. Investors may have to wait for returns Sara Lkhagva buys lunch at Julies Kitchen in the Crocker Galleria in San Francisco. Lkhagva is a regular, coming once or twice a week to the restaurant that is now facing eviction. Michaela Vatcheva/Special to the Chronicle Financial District workers braving the commute into downtown San Francisco could soon find themselves with one less lunch option. Julies Kitchen, long a go-to buffet restaurant for the citys office lunch crowds before the pandemic, this month received notice that its landlord is moving to evict the family-run business from the roughly 2,000-square-foot space that it has occupied for close to a decade inside the Crocker Galleria, a semi-indoor mall at 50 Post St. The notice caught owners Julie and Jisoo Yoo off guard. Not only is Julies Kitchen one of the last three remaining businesses in Crocker Galleria which features a glass pavilion soaring above three levels that were once filled with more than three dozen specialty shops and eating places but the Yoos say they havent missed rent during the pandemic. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Despite the challenges of the pandemic, weve faithfully paid our rent and maintenance fees in full and on time, even during the state and local mandates against buffet style restaurants, a letter posted by the Yoos at the business entrance states. Thanks to your unwavering support, our business has rebounded close to pre-pandemic levels. Julies Kitchen sits in the Crocker Galleria, which is mostly vacant. Michaela Vatcheva/Special to the Chronicle The restaurants performance, rather than rent payments, appears to be at issue. Per the notice sent by the attorneys of landlord Post-Montgomery Associates which is registered to PGIM Real Estate, a branch of insurance provider Prudential Julies Kitchen has not met the annual revenue threshold of $500,000 that is required in its lease for the space, signed in 2014. According to the lease which expires in 2025 but gives Julies Kitchen an option to renew for another five years the malls landlord retains the right to terminate the restaurants lease by providing a 30-day written notice if sales fall short of $250 per square foot annually. Advertisement Article continues below this ad On Nov. 10, the Yoos received that notice, with their landlords attorney stating that gross sales have steadily decreased since the start of the pandemic, dropping from $420,606 in the 2020-21 fiscal year to $149,435 earlier this year. PGIM and the Crocker Gallerias manager, Michael Shum of real estate firm JLL, did not respond to multiple messages seeking comment on Monday. But the Yoos have challenged their landlords claims regarding the restaurants revenues and are describing the lease termination as unjust. They say the revenue threshold outlined in the lease was impossible to meet during the pandemic due to shelter-in-place orders, social distancing guidelines and maximum occupancy orders. The restaurant was also required to close for several months in early 2021 as COVID-19 cases increased. Sara Lkhagva buys lunch at Julies Kitchen in the Crocker Galleria in San Francisco. Restaurant owners say business has been returning after pandemic doldrums. Michaela Vatcheva/Special to the Chronicle Advertisement Article continues below this ad We had to close down for a while, and after that we changed to lunch boxes we did to-go orders only, Jisoo Yoo said. This year in May, we reopened the buffet. Since then, business has improved steadily, according to Yoos wife, Julie. Julies Kitchen recovered about 90% of its pre-pandemic gross sales in the third quarter of 2023, and in October the Yoos approached the landlord to discuss extending its lease for five years. Instead, they received the lease termination notice a few weeks later. Now our gross sales are up so we can meet the requirement in the lease, she said, adding that the restaurant is required to report its gross sales quarterly. We will report next in December, and I think they are doing this now because they know that our sales are going up. The Yoos said that issues with their landlord predate the pandemic, and are likely tied to long-standing redevelopment plans for the mall, which is attached to a 38-story office tower also owned by PGIM at 120 Kearny St. Julies Kitchen owners, Julie and Jisoo Yoo, say their restaurant in the Crocker Galleria is facing eviction despite never missing a rent payment. Michaela Vatcheva/Special to the Chronicle Advertisement Article continues below this ad In 2019, San Francisco planning department officials approved a remodeling project for the mall that involved converting a slice of its retail space to offices, among other things. The project has yet to get underway. Public records show that the malls ownership again approached the planning department in February for a project review meeting, though the only available details on what was discussed are contained in a two-page application that was filed. It suggests modifications to the entrance, ground floor and upper floors of the mall. Julies Kitchen is on the propertys third floor. The application states the projects design has evolved since the project was approved by the Planning Commission in December 2019, and proposes converting close to 25,000 square feet of the roughly 75,000 square feet of retail space at Crocker Galleria into offices. Dan Sider, San Francisco Plannings chief of staff, said that it is unclear, even to department staff, where the project stands or what tweaks, if any, are moving forward. The planner who met with the malls representatives earlier this year is no longer with the department. Empty stores have become common in the Crocker Galleria at 50 Post Street in San Francisco. Michaela Vatcheva/Special to the Chronicle Advertisement Article continues below this ad The project review meeting is a chance for anyone a new project or something we have already seen before to effectively talk it over with our staff and understand what the road map might be. Its a very informal process, said Sider, who added that any changes to the approved remodeling project would likely require new approvals. I imagine the question that they would have been asking was: What kind of approval? Can it be done administratively by staff or does it require a return to the Planning Commission? Sider said. The San Francisco Standard reported in October that the malls managers confirmed that the renovation is still on, and scheduled for 2025. But the Yoos say they met with the landlords representatives last month and were told that they have no plans for this empty mall. The Yoos say theyve gotten mixed messages about the malls future for some time. When the restaurant opened in 2014, the mall was 100% occupied, and by the time the renovation was proposed and approved by the end of 2019, 90% of the tenants were gone, the Yoos said. They also said that they were told, in 2018, as the renovation plan was shaping up, that the space housing Julies Kitchen would not be demolished. The Yoos said they were facing an expiring lease for a second Julies Kitchen at 50 Fremont St., which they declined to renew based on assurances by a representative of the Crocker Galleria landlord that their business would not be displaced by the renovations. Julies Kitchen owner Julie Yoo said this escalator in Crocker Galleria has been broken for months. Michaela Vatcheva/Special to the Chronicle When the renovation plan was submitted, the Yoos learned that their restaurant space would be impacted after all. The malls landlord then tried to relocate Julies Kitchen twice to spaces that were inadequate for the restaurants operations, the Yoos say, adding that they tried to negotiate a buyout in 2019. However, the parties could not come to terms. During the pandemic, the Yoos say, they requested rent abatement, but instead received express mail asking five times as much rent including reconciled CAM, referring to expenses that a commercial property owner bills back to tenants in return for maintaining shared spaces. We had to pay even though we didnt understand their calculation or their reason for charging us this much, Jisoo Yoo said. The couple also says the malls management took apart an escalator and scattered parts all over the first floor of the mall for several months, and failed to keep up with cleaning at the property. A man walks past an ATM outside Bank of America Corp. headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, May 2, 2016. WASHINGTON The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Tuesday fined Bank of America $12 million for reporting false mortgage lending data to the federal government. "Bank of America violated a federal law that thousands of mortgage lenders have routinely followed for decades," CFPB director Rohit Chopra said in a statement. "It is illegal to report false information to federal regulators, and we will be taking additional steps to ensure that Bank of America stops breaking the law." Bank of America did not admit or deny any of the facts or findings in the CFPB consent order. According to a CFPB consent order, Bank of America violated part of the 1975 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) that requires lenders to accurately report demographic data about mortgage applications to financial regulators. Data collected under the law can expose potentially discriminatory lending practices. Starting in 2020, Bank of America identified hundreds of distributed loan officers, each of whom did not ask for demographic data, including race, ethnicity, and sex then falsely reported that applicants declined to provide it for at least one three month period between 2016 and 2021, the consent order said. The violations by the loan officers began occurring as early as 2013 for loan applications collected by phone, yet Bank of America failed to take appropriate action for at least four years and did not begin monitoring phone calls for its distributed loan officers until 2021, the CFPB found. The Biden administration has prioritized tackling racial discrimination in housing and mortgage lending. The CFPB settlement corresponded with a separate announcement the same day from the Justice Department that it has recovered $107 million in relief for communities targeted by illegal redlining, the practice by mortgage providers of not lending money to home buyers in certain areas, often communities of color. Bill Halldin, a representative for the bank, disputed the four-year time frame but agreed that the violations took place over a span of three months. Bank of America "properly collected demographic data in more than 99% of applications in the years reviewed by the CFPB," said Halldin. But he acknowledged that some officers reported a rate of applicants who declined to disclose their race that was lower than the annual industry averages. "As the CFPB notes, we took additional steps in 2020 and 2021 to enhance our monitoring and training to ensure employees ask applicants for required racial, ethnic and gender information," Halldin said. "This data collection issue had no impact on applications." The $12 million fine issued Tuesday will be paid to the CFPB's victims relief fund. Bank of America is among the largest mortgage lenders in the country. The bank reportedly funded $53.7 billion in first mortgage loans in 2021 through its digital application service. The firm also employed over 4,500 loan officers, and averaged over 300,000 mortgage loan applications per year between January 2016 and the present day, the CFPB said. Bank of America has come under fire from the CFPB before. In July, the bureau fined the banking giant $150 million for charging customers multiple junk fees, among other alleged violations. Flight100, Virgin Atlantic's world first 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) transatlantic flight by a commercial airline is fuelled ahead of its take off from London Heathrow to New York JFK on Tuesday 28 November 2023. LONDON The first trans-Atlantic flight using 100% sustainable aviation fuel departed London for New York on Tuesday as the industry seeks to prove the viability of greener air travel. Virgin Atlantic's Boeing 787 burned a blend of 88% waste fats supplied by AirBP, and 12% synthetic aromatic kerosene made from plant sugars. Test flight VIR100, which did not carry paying passengers, departed London's Heathrow Airport for New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport at 11:49 a.m. U.K. time (6:49 a.m. ET) and landed at 2:05 p.m. ET, according to Flightradar24. Sustainable aviation fuel also known as SAF is an umbrella term for non-fossil-derived fuels, including biofuels derived from plant or animal materials, municipal waste and agricultural residues. It still produces emissions, but proponents argue the overall "lifecycle emissions" from the fuel are significantly lower than from regular petroleum-based fuel. Other airlines have used SAF on commercial flights, although generally on shorter journeys and in up-to-50% blends with regular fuel, which was previously the regulatory limit. Tuesday's Virgin Atlantic flight was approved by the U.K.'s Civil Aviation Authority earlier this month. A group of 60 companies across the airline, transport and cargo industries pledged in 2021 to reach 10% SAF use for global jet aviation fuel supply by 2030. An advantage of SAF is that it can be run in existing aircraft engines with no adaptions. A number of airlines have pledged to make investments into increasing use of the fuel as they seek to cut overall flying emissions, including through the use of more fuel-efficient aircraft. However, numerous challenges remain to its widespread adoption, not least supply shortages, higher costs and concern over the sustainability of its generation. There are relatively few SAF production plants or companies transporting it globally, with incentives for producers hampered by low margins. The U.K.'s Royal Society cautioned in a report earlier this year that only some biofuels could be described as net low carbon, and that the availability of feedstock was a challenge to scale. Some groups argue that higher production of biofuels risks worsening deforestation and food scarcity, and say reducing the number of flights taken is the only way to cut aviation's environmental impact, which contributes to around 2% of man-made CO2 emissions. Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss said the flight would show SAF "can be used as a safe, drop-in replacement for fossil-derived jet fuel and it's the only viable solution for decarbonising long haul aviation." "There's simply not enough SAF and it's clear that in order to reach production at scale, we need to see significantly more investment. This will only happen when regulatory certainty and price support mechanisms, backed by Government, are in place," he added. Rupert Murdoch arrives at the Sun Valley Resort of the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 10, 2018. Rupert Murdoch is being deposed Tuesday as part of the $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit filed against Fox Corp. by the voting technology company Smartmatic, a source familiar with the matter told CNBC. Murdoch is expected to sit for questioning in Los Angeles on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the source. It is the second time this year that Murdoch, 92, has been deposed in a high-stakes defamation lawsuit accusing Fox News of airing damaging lies about the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Under questioning in January as part of a similar defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems, Murdoch admitted that some Fox News hosts and personalities "endorsed" the false narrative that the election was stolen from then-President Donald Trump. Fox paid $787.5 million to settle Dominion's lawsuit, nearly half the $1.6 billion figure initially demanded by the voting company. Smartmatic's lawsuit accuses Fox and a handful of its hosts and guests of knowingly lying, or acting with reckless disregard for the truth, by entertaining or endorsing the false claim that the company rigged the election for President Joe Biden over Trump. Smartmatic, which is suing in New York Supreme Court, is seeking "in excess of $2.7 billion" in damages it says were caused by the defendants' "disinformation campaign." Murdoch is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, which was filed against Fox personalities Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro and former opinion host Lou Dobbs. Trump's former attorney Rudy Giuliani and pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell are also included as defendants. A New York appeals court in February declined an attempt by Fox to dismiss the defamation suit. Murdoch officially stepped down as chair of Fox and News Corp. earlier this month, putting his son Lachlan in charge of both. The elder Murdoch is now chairman emeritus of the companies. Fox spokesman Brian Nick declined CNBC's request for comment on Murdoch's latest deposition. Don't miss these stories from CNBC PRO: Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, walks with family members in Nantucket, Massachusetts, U.S, November 24, 2023. The defiant letter came weeks after House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., subpoenaed the president's son and brother to sit for closed-door depositions, as he conducts an impeachment inquiry into the Democratic president. "Consequently, Mr. Biden will appear at such a public hearing on the date you noticed, December 13, or any date in December that we can arrange," wrote Lowell. "Your empty investigation has gone on too long wasting too many better-used resources. It should come to an end," Hunter Biden's attorney Abbe Lowell wrote in a letter to the chairman of the House Oversight Committee. Hunter Biden said Tuesday he would testify before Congress in December, as part of a Republican-led impeachment investigation into President Joe Biden and his family. Comer later Tuesday appeared to reject Hunter Biden's proposal for a public hearing on Dec. 13 but left the door open for him to testify before Congress at a later date. "Hunter Biden is trying to play by his own rules instead of following the rules required of everyone else," Comer said in a statement. "That won't stand with House Republicans. Our lawfully issued subpoena to Hunter Biden requires him to appear for a deposition on December 13." "We expect full cooperation with our subpoena for a deposition," Comer said, adding that investigators "also agree that Hunter Biden should have opportunity to testify in a public setting at a future date." Comer and other Republicans accuse the president of being involved in, and profiting from, influence-peddling schemes devised by his family members, intended to enrich one another by virtue of their ties to a powerful politician. The White House has roundly denied any wrongdoing by the president. Democrats have blasted the impeachment efforts as a political fishing expedition. "Your Committee has been working for almost a yearwithout successto tie our client's business activities to his father," Lowell wrote in Tuesday's letter. He accused Comer of hypocrisy, for claiming that he wants to probe potential conflicts of interest surrounding the business activities of a president's family, while "turning a blind eye toward former President Trump and his family's businesses." "Unlike members of the Trump family, Hunter is a private person who has never worked in any family business nor ever served in the White House or in any public office," wrote Lowell. "Notwithstanding this stark difference, you have manipulated Hunter's legitimate business dealings and his times of terrible addiction into a politically motivated basis for hearings to accuse his father of some wrongdoing," Lowell wrote. Lowell said they were offering Comer a public hearing with Hunter Biden, instead of a deposition behind closed doors, because, "We have seen you use closed-door sessions to manipulate, even distort the facts and misinform the public." "We therefore propose opening the door," he wrote. A Palestinian holds Hamas flags while waiting for the release of prisoners in exchange for Israeli hostages held by Hamas, in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on November 27, 2023. John Macdougall | AFP | Getty Images Financial investigators in Israel have identified a significant increase in donations to Hamas-linked charities since the group's deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel, according to current and former Israeli officials, some of whom requested anonymity to discuss sensitive national security information. "We saw a 70% increase in money given to Hamas-linked charities," said Uzi Shaya, a former high-ranking officer in Mossad, Israel's intelligence service. In pure dollar amounts, this is equal to an increase of about $100 million in the past seven weeks, according to Israeli Defense and Foreign Ministry officials who requested anonymity. CNBC could not independently confirm the amount of money flowing to Hamas-linked charities. But current and former U.S. intelligence officials said Israel is capable of tracking this data. Since the Oct. 7 attack, Israel's retaliatory campaign has halted commerce in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, making international aid, which only recently started to flow, its only lifeline. In addition to waging war on the land, sea and air, Israel is battling on a fourth front: the international financial system. Stopping the inflows of money to Hamas is difficult, because the charity groups that collect the funds are scattered around the world and their structures can be fluid. Charities suspected of funneling money to Hamas often change their names, too, making them all the more difficult to monitor. "We don't want to designate charities and cut off funding for things that are legitimate," a Foreign Ministry official told CNBC. At Mossad, Shaya was responsible for stopping the flow of money to organizations such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Lebanon-based Hezbollah. Following the October attacks, he returned to assist the Israeli government, where he is once again following the money bound for organizations the U.S. and Israel consider terrorist groups. Traditionally, he said, foreign money has flowed into Hamas accounts from one of three main sources: Iran, the Islamic person-to-person banking system known as Hawala, and cryptocurrency. A fighter from Izz al-Din al-Qassam stands in front of a tunnel during an exhibition of weapons, missiles and heavy equipment for the military wing of Hamas in the Maghazi camp in the central Gaza Strip, during the commemoration of the 2014 war that lasted 51 days between Gaza and Israel. Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images Money from Iran While Iran sometimes directly supplies allies with weapons, over the past four years, Iran has given Hamas between $70 million and $100 million annually in cash for guns, missiles, communication systems and other military purposes, Israeli officials said. This money is believed to have paid for many of the missiles and small arms used in the Oct. 7 attack. Hamas also has siphoned off foreign aid from other countries earmarked for the citizens of Gaza and used the money to build a massive underground network of tunnels and bunkers that has stymied the Israeli army. Many of the hostages taken on Oct. 7 are believed to be held captive inside those tunnels. Hawala Another significant source of funding comes from an ancient Islamic money transferring system called Hawala, which is based on trust rather than hard assets. Akin to a network of IOUs, Hawala helps money move from one party to another, bypassing Western-style banks. Charitable money funneled to Hamas via Hawala is sometimes intended for legitimate humanitarian needs in Gaza such as medical care, food and education. But Israel says much of it ends up being spent by Hamas for military purposes. The movement of money within Gaza's insular networks is both highly fluid and opaque, making the task of Israeli financial trackers that much more challenging. "We recognize that people in Gaza are desperate, and that there is severe distress and difficulties," one Israeli official told CNBC. "The complication is making sure charity is going to the right places, because in the past that hasn't happened." Israel's National Bureau of Counter Terror Financing maintains a list of charitable organizations that it accuses of directly aiding Hamas' military. Many of them prominently feature the crisis in Gaza on their home pages. One group even promises to match any donation, up to $1.5 million, that is made on Nov. 28, the global charity awareness day known as "Giving Tuesday." Egyptian and Qatari Red Crescent members and other workers unload a shipment of humanitarian aid bound for the Gaza Strip off a Qatar Emiri Air Force C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft after landing at Arish International Airport in North Sinai province in northeastern Egypt on November 9, 2023 amid ongoing fighting between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. Karim Jaafar | AFP | Getty Images Cryptocurrency Shaya said a third major source of funding for Hamas comes from both charitable and direct contributions through cryptocurrency. He said officials in the U.S. and Israel haven't fully caught on to the extent of the transfers because Hamas and its donors don't use the same cryptocurrencies Western officials typically monitor, such as bitcoin and ethereum. Instead, Hamas' donor network uses smaller cryptocurrencies. Shaya specifically cited crypto company Tron, which he accused of dodging requests from Israel to cut off accounts. Tron has recently emerged as a major crypto operator in Iran, according to a recent Reuters report. Officials agreed that Hamas had become adept at raising and transferring money through crypto, but they also said most of the blockchain companies they had been in touch with were helpful in stopping financial transfers. They gave particular credit to Binance for complying with requests. Not everyone thinks Binance deserves credit, however. On Nov. 21, U.S. authorities announced a massive $4.3 billion settlement with Binance over alleged violations that included "failure to implement programs to prevent and report suspicious transactions with terrorists including Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades," according to a Treasury Department release. Hard lessons Ensuring that individual Gazans have economic opportunity without simultaneously funding Hamas militants has proven to be a difficult challenge for Israel. Palestinians wait to fill up canisters with fuel at a gas station in Gaza City, Wednesday, March 21, 2012. A test of wills between Egypt and Gaza's Hamas government has produced the worst energy crisis here in years: Gazans are enduring 18-hour-a-day blackouts and the fuel supply is running low. (AP Photo/Adel Hana) Adel Hana An Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza, imposed in 2007 when Hamas took political control of the territory, has kept the unemployment rate at around 47%, for the population of approximately 2 million people. In recent years, Israel has provided a direct avenue for Qatari financial assistance for Gaza, enabling the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars into the region as part of a broader effort to ensure that Gazans could develop a functioning economy. Israel feared that without one, Hamas would be more likely to resort to violence. Beyond direct funding, Israel also allowed 18,000 Gazans to enter Israel to work, again hoping that a stable economy would pacify Hamas. But these hopes were shattered on Oct. 7. "We made a big mistake in thinking with Western values," Shaya said in a Zoom interview from his home in Israel. "We believed that Hamas was most interested in staying in power and staying funded; we forgot we don't live in the West." What comes next Israeli officials believe that ever since Israel's bombardment of Gaza drove Hamas' leadership there into hiding, some funds have been diverted to Hamas in the West Bank. Still more money has been held up in various accounts around the world. Even Iranian funding has dried up for now, the officials said, as Iran's leaders wait to see what happens in Gaza before they commit any more money to Hamas. A picture taken from a position near Sderot along the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing during an Israeli bombardment on the northern Palestinian territory on November 21, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. Fadel Senna | AFP | Getty Images Hugging Face CEO Clement Delangue (R) departs the closed-door "AI Insight Forum" outside the Kennedy Caucus Room in the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on September 13, 2023 in Washington, DC. Artificial intelligence startup Hugging Face says it's seeing increased interest from potential customers following the chaos at rival OpenAI. "I think a lot of companies, organizations now are kind of wondering about the risk about outsourcing their AI to just one AI provider," Hugging Face CEO Clement Delangue said Tuesday on a call with reporters. "It creates, obviously a single point of failure for them a little bit for the field too so they're investigating different solutions." Hugging Face, whose platform is used by developers to share AI model code, isn't the first high-valued startup in the space to share that observation in the 11 days since Sam Altman was ousted as OpenAI CEO and then quickly reinstated following an uproar among employees and investors. Cohere, the Toronto-based large language model (LLM) startup valued at more than $2 billion, has also seen more inquiries from prospective customers, according to spokesperson Josh Gartner. Companies "want outstanding, reliable business solutions, not soap operas," Gartner told CNBC on Tuesday. Multiple companies told CNBC they'd considered switching from OpenAI to competitors' services as the confusion swelled inside the company. Cohere's top executives, CEO Aidan Gomez and COO Martin Kon, sent a note to investors last week, prior to Altman's return, informing them that the company's mission and strategy are "shared fully" by its leadership team, company, enterprise customers and investors. The letter didn't name OpenAI but referred to "the events with one of our competitors over the weekend." OpenAI has a unique structure in that the parent entity is a nonprofit, with a so-called capped-profit company underneath that umbrella. The board represents the nonprofit and oversees the activities of Altman and the rest of the corporate team. Cohere's executives laid out a clear contrast in how their company is run. "Cohere is fortunate to have a board of extremely experienced external board members who are professional investors with significant stakes in the company, in addition to founder control of the board," they wrote. With the challenges at OpenAI, they added, "We believe enterprises feel more than ever that they need a stable and reliable LLM provider," Hugging Face, which is based in New York, raised $235 million in August at a valuation of $4.5 billion. Investors include Google, Amazon, Nvidia, Salesforce, AMD, Intel, IBM and Qualcomm. Anthropic, founded by ex-OpenAI employees, declined to comment on whether it's seen increased interest in the past couple weeks. The company is valued at $4.1 billion. A representative for Google's Bard team, which competes with OpenAI's ChatGPT, also declined to comment. WATCH: If the U.S. doesn't win on AI, the emerging China alliance will ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates Amid a turbulent global environment, hedge fund titan Ray Dalio sees one particular part of the world as holding promise for investors: the Middle East's Gulf states. The Bridgewater Associates founder specifically highlighted the United Arab Emirates, while speaking during a CNBC panel at Abu Dhabi Finance Week. "We're talking today about how the world order is changing, and how the region, the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) region is becoming an important region. It's very classic. It's a renaissance state. We're now talking about a renaissance state here that happens within this greater geopolitical and economic environment," Dalio told CNBC's Dan Murphy on Tuesday. Dalio's Bridgewater Associates is the world's largest hedge fund, which had $97.2 billion in assets under management as of September 2023, according to the latest annual report by Pensions & Investments. The billionaire financier in April opened a new branch of his family office, the Dalio Family Office, in Abu Dhabi, expanding his push into the Middle East and supplementing the business' existing locations in the U.S. and Singapore. The UAE "is a renaissance state," Dalio said. "What I mean is, I look for fundamentally, do you earn more than you spend? So [do] you have a good income statement? Do you have a good balance sheet? Are your assets greater than your liabilities?" He added, "Do you have a culture in which there's the development of people and the working together of those people to be productive?" "And No. 4 would be, are you outside of a great power conflict? Are you in the middle of the war? Or are you outside the war? And so, I look at that around the world as to the places I want to invest in, the places I want to be. And this region is very, very attractive and is at the takeoff point for the reasons that were discussed in the other sessions." Investors looking to cash in on the holiday trade may have missed the boat on Amazon , according to Bank of America. While Amazon tends to outperform retail stocks on Cyber Monday, history shows that the e-commerce giant typically lags the market between the popular online shopping day and Christmas, the bank's trading desk noted. Since 2016, Amazon has lagged the market during this period every single year, underperforming the SPDR S & P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) by the widest margin, 6%, in 2022, data shows. In 2020, the stock experienced the smallest performance lag, trailing the market by 1.8%. Amazon shares rose less than 1% Monday and have gained about 11% this month. Year to date, the stock has rallied more than 75%. AMZN YTD mountain Amazon's year-to-date performance This Cyber Monday, Amazon outperformed the SPDR S & P Retail ETF by 1.3%. It experienced the largest outperformance in 2018 at 3.3%. Other major winners this Cyber Monday included Wayfair , Shopify and Affirm , which rallied about 7%, 5% and 12%, respectively. On Tuesday, however, Amazon fell slightly while the SPY ticked higher. CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed reporting. A cameraman takes video footage of a stock index board showing South Korea's benchmark stock index (L) after a ceremony celebrating the New Year's opening of the South Korea stock market at the Korea Exchange in Seoul on January 2, 2023. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP) (Photo by JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images) Jung Yeon-je | Afp | Getty Images South Korea's stock market, despite being home to Asia's fourth largest economy, is often considered undervalued by analysts, leading to what is sometimes referred to as the "Korea discount." Data from the Korea Exchange showed that the Kospi benchmark index as a whole has a price-to-book ratio of 0.92, and its price-to-earnings ratio stood at 18.93. A price-to-book ratio measures whether a company's share price is undervalued, with a number below 1 indicating the stock may be below fair value. The "Korea discount" refers to a tendency for South Korean securities to be assigned lower valuations or bear an inflated risk premium by investors, explained Vikas Pershad, portfolio manager for Asian equities. For investors who subscribe to the idea that prices will gravitate toward fair value, an undervalued market could be a great investing opportunity. But it may be more complex than that. If stocks continue to be undervalued, what appears to be a value buy for investors could quickly turn into a so-called value trap where investors buy what appears to be a relatively cheap stock, only for the stock price to continue falling or remain stagnant. So, why is there the "Korea discount"? There are a number of reasons for this, according to Jiang Zhang, head of equities at investment firm First Plus Asset Management. They include geopolitical risks involving North Korea, corporate governance, limited foreign investor participation and most notably, the company's management or corporate structure, he told CNBC. Chaebol challenge In South Korea, most market heavyweights are corporations called "chaebols," large family-owned global conglomerates that are usually controlled by the founder's family. These may consist of a group of companies or several groups of companies. Notable chaebols include market heavyweights such as Samsung Electronics, LG, SK and Hyundai. Chaebols make up a huge part of the South Korean economy. One such example is Samsung and its affiliated companies, which contributed 22.4% to South Korea's GDP in 2022. However, these very same companies are part of the reason behind the Korea discount phenomena. Chaebols "often have complex corporate structures which have resulted in poorer governance, transparency, and shareholder rights," said Jeremy Tan, CEO of Tiger Fund Management, the fund management arm of online brokerage Tiger Brokers. Zhang pointed out that under the family-owned structure of chaebols, investors hold little sway over the company's strategic direction. He highlighted that family owners, by virtue of having a dominant stake in the company, may pursue businesses that are unrelated to the core business or are loss-making, which will destroy shareholder value. Dividend dilemma Some investors may take the position that a lack of capital gains is acceptable for their portfolio because they plan to hold stocks for dividend payouts. However, IHS Markit highlighted in June last year that in South Korea, the ex-dividend date comes before the companies' dividend announcement dates. As such, shareholders of South Korea stocks face a unique set of risks and opportunities as they are expected to hold their share through the ex-dividend date without knowing how much dividend will be distributed. The ex-dividend date refers to the date that an investor needs to own a stock in order to receive the dividend. This is unlike companies in most other advanced markets, which announce their dividend payout and ex-dividend date before the ex-dividend date passes. watch now Zhang also said South Korean companies historically "do not have a habit of returning money to the shareholder because they view the money to be theirs, rather than that of the shareholder." Those that do have an average dividend payout ratio of about 15% to 20%, he added. In comparison, Chinese and Japanese companies have a payout ratio of 30% to 40%, while those in Southeast Asia have a ratio of 40% to 50%, according to Zhang. Sink money or stay away? With such challenges, should investors be putting their money into South Korea stocks or should they stay away? Most analysts say South Korean equities are attractive for long-term investors, as long as the country continues its proposed reforms. South Korea's Financial Services Commission claimed this year that it had made "notable progress" in capital market reforms. Efforts include improving foreign investors' access to capital markets, improving dividend distribution practices and including English language disclosures. Hebe Chen, market analyst at IG International is of the view that the South Korean market "unquestionably merits more attention from global investors." If the proposed reform increases accessibility to global investors and resolves corporate issues, it will draw more attention to South Korean equities, Chen said, adding it will "hopefully consign the 'Korea discount' to history." However, she advocates that before any meaningful changes take effect, investors should exercise more patience for the time being. South Korea's inclusion to the MSCI World Index could be another factor. The country is currently part of of the MSCI Emerging Markets index, but has expressed interest in being recognized as a developed market, which could lead to being included in the MSCI World Index. Efforts by Korean authorities to promote investment are good signals, said Ryota Abe, economist from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation's global markets and treasury department. "If authorities continue to improve the investment environment further, the chances for the South Korean stock index to be included in the [MSCI World Index] will grow," he said. However, improvements will take a long time, he pointed out, adding that should it materialize, more inflows will be expected, which will be "optimal" for the South Korean market. Where to invest Nonetheless, not all sectors are equal. While South Korean companies are prominent in sectors like semiconductors, automotive and finance, there are also other bright spots. There are promising long term opportunities in sectors such as defense, battery supply chain and infrastructure, M&G Investments' Pershad said. He pointed out that "the strengthening partnerships between South Korea and West Asian countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, are creating additional investment opportunities." Zhang, from First Plus, said investors should look for small- and mid-cap companies that are subject to less family influence, are better positioned for change in corporate governance, and open to a more friendly shareholder return policy. On the other hand, large cap companies that are have extensive family influence may not be willing to change the existing status quo. Zhang suggested looking at small- and mid-cap companies that have "global exposure, a proven business model, consistent revenue and earnings growth." When the global economy shifts into recovery mode, he said, these companies can easily capitalize on the broader opportunities. Such companies also have a higher likelihood of delivering generous payouts, he added. "Investors will be ultimately rewarded with both attractive dividend returns and stock price appreciation." LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 23: Visitors to the British Museum walk around a selection of items from the collection of ancient Greek sculptures known as The Elgin Marbles on August 23, 2023 in London, England. LONDON British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak canceled a scheduled meeting with Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday amid a diplomatic dispute about the Parthenon Sculptures. Greece has long maintained that the 2,500-year-old sculptures, removed by British diplomat Lord Elgin in the early 19th century and currently held in the British Museum, should be returned. The statues, also known as the Elgin Marbles, have been a source of disagreement between the two nations for centuries. Mitsotakis told the BBC on Sunday that renewed talks over a possible loan deal for the sculptures were not progressing quickly enough, and that the British Museum continuing to hold some of the artefacts while the rest remain in Athens is like cutting the "Mona Lisa in half." Sunak snubbed the Greek leader on the eve of their planned diplomatic meeting. "The UK-Greece relationship is hugely important. From our work together in NATO, to tackling shared challenges like illegal migration, to joint efforts to resolve the crisis in the Middle East and war in Ukraine," a Downing Street spokesperson said. Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden was available to meet Mitsotakis in Sunak's place. The tower at 222 Second St. could have a new tenant. Connor Radnovich/The Chronicle In recent weeks, multiple sources have indicated that the bank, known as SVB, is nearing a deal to take on roughly 60,000 square feet of office space leased by social networking company LinkedIn at the top of 222 Second St., a 26-story skyscraper in SoMa. S.F. Bay Area property map: Heres who owns every building in region Advertisement Article continues below this ad On Tuesday, a spokesperson for SVB confirmed the pending deal, describing it as a relocation. The bank which now operates as a division of North Carolina-based First Citizens Bank after the latter acquired it earlier this year following its takeover by federal regulators will be exiting its current office at 505 Howard St. The new SVB office space, just down the street, will continue to enable us to provide a high quality work environment for our employees as well as collaboration and event space to host and interact with our clients, SVBs spokesperson said in an email to the Chronicle. The spokesperson declined to comment further, but sources say that SVB has a letter of intent for LinkedIns space, which is a preliminary negotiation that precedes an official contract. At least one source with insight into the negotiations said that while the deal is not done, the terms are agreed to. The entrance at 222 Second St. in San Francisco could be used by Silicon Valley Bank employees if a planned deal to move into the tower becomes reality. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle LinkedIn, which is owned by Microsoft, pre-leased the entire 450,000-square-foot Second Street building, owned by Tishman Speyer, while it was still under construction in 2014. The Sunnyvale-based company grew massively during the pandemic, but laid off over 700 workers earlier this year and announced in October that it planned to lay off another 660 workers. Advertisement Article continues below this ad A portion of its San Francisco office was officially listed as available for subleasing last month, though LinkedIn is said to have been quietly marketing the space for some time amid a broad shift to hybrid work that was accelerated by the pandemic. Roughly a year before SVBs failure became the second largest of a financial institution in U.S. history, the bank was expanding in San Francisco, even as many companies were actively relinquishing their local offices. In January 2022, SVB agreed to add 17,000 square feet to its footprint at 505 Howard St., bringing the size of its office there to 83,000 square feet. The expansion was made possible by way of a sublease in the building by tech giant IBM. SVBs relocation to 222 Second St. means that the bank will be taking less office space than it has leased in years. This has been the common trend in the citys office market since the start of COVID-19 with many companies in San Francisco increasingly incorporating remote work, their appetite for physical spaces has been shrinking. Roughly one-third of San Franciscos offices are estimated to be vacant, and according to real estate services firm Colliers, about 10% of the citys currently available spaces are subleases. Some have been gobbled up in recent months as demand from office tenants measured by the total square footage of tenants in the market reached 5.2 million square feet, the highest level since the first quarter of 2020, according to real estate services firm CBRE. Advertisement Article continues below this ad LinkedIn has occupied much of the office space at 222 Second St. in San Francisco. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle Late last month, OpenAI the maker of ChatGTP and the company thats been at the forefront of San Franciscos artificial intelligence boom committed to a 486,600-square-foot sublease at Ubers new headquarters campus in Mission Bay. The deal marked the largest office lease signed in San Francisco since 2018. Even before zeroing in on a new office in San Francisco, SVB was building its presence in the city following its near-death experience. In the spring, it opened the SVB Experience Center, the 120-seat venue at 532 Market St., where it has hosted events featuring venture capitalists and tech founders. Obviously this past spring we had our challenges, but the great news is that six months on, were back, said Andy Tsao, managing director of SVBs Global Gateway a division that works with tech firms and investors in emerging global markets said last month while speaking at an event held inside of the experience center. This space and the events that we do highlight the fact that we are back and eager to reengage with the community. Advertisement Article continues below this ad As the U.S. gears up for its next presidential election in 2024, the country needs a "strong middle" political ground and bipartisan cooperation, according to Ray Dalio, founder of investment company Bridgewater. "If you bring the sides together in a bipartisan way, and you create a strong middle, that's what the country needs in order to be healthy, I believe," Dalio said Tuesday in conversation with CNBC's Dan Murphy onstage at the Abu Dhabi Finance Week. Two things are crucial for the U.S. in this process, Dalio said: Firstly, he assesses that those with extreme political views should be alienated. Secondly, the country needs to "bring together the smart moderates to work together, and then to be able to make important reforms" to enable addressing issues such as the wealth gap. Concerns about wealth inequality have grown in recent years and been accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic. In the second quarter of 2023, the wealthiest 10% of U.S. households held around $7 million on average, whilst the bottom 50% had an average of $51,000, according to a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis released last month. "The wealth gap is a productivity gap. You have to make most people, in one way or another, productive. You can't just give them money," Dalio said Tuesday. Dalio's comments come as the U.S. heads for its next presidential election, and recent polls have pointed to potential trouble ahead for incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden. Former President Donald Trump, who could become the Republican presidential candidate again, leads against Biden in five out of six so-called swing states, a survey by The New York Times and Siena College found earlier this month. Dalio on Tuesday said that both parties face questions about their prospective presidential nominees. Dalio expects the emergence of an alternative candidate to Trump among Republicans, as the party narrows down its final choice. Democrats are meanwhile facing internal divisions and concerns about Biden's age, he added. Sembcorp Industries on Monday announced that it has signed two separate agreements to acquire 428 MW of wind power assets in China and India for 200 million Singaporean dollars (about Rs 1,247 crore). Share Market Live NSE The Singaporean energy company, backed by state-owned investor Temasek Holdings Pte, will acquire 228 MW of operational wind power assets of Leap Green Energy Pvt Ltd for 70 million Singaporean dollars and 200 MW of Qinzhou Yuanneng for 130 million Singaporean dollars, the firm said in a statement. Sembcorp has been operating in India for more than 12 years, with a presence across 18 states. With this acquisition, the company now has a balanced portfolio of 3.7 GW of renewable assets, comprising 2.25 GW of wind and 1.45 GW of solar assets. Last year, it announced the acquisition of Vector Green to add 583 MW of renewable assets in India. "Sembcorp's wholly-owned subsidiary, Sembcorp Energy (Shanghai) Holding Co Ltd has signed an agreement with Envision Energy Co Ltd to acquire 100% of the share capital in Qinzhou Yuanneng Wind Power Co Ltd (Qinzhou Yuanneng) for an equity consideration of approximately 130 million Singaporean dollars. Qinzhou Yuanneng owns 200MW of operational wind assets in Guangxi, China," the statement said. Separately, its "wholly-owned subsidiary, Green Infra Wind Energy Ltd (GIWEL), has signed an agreement with Leap Green Energy Private Ltd (Leap Green Energy), an independent power producer in Tamil Nadu, India. Under the agreement, GIWEL will acquire from Leap Green Energy, 100% of the share capital in two special purpose vehicles (SPVs) for an equity consideration of approximately 70 million Singaporean dollars. The SPVs own 228MW of operational wind assets in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, India," it said. Sembcorp has signed agreements to secure 673MW of renewables capacity since it announced its 2028 target to achieve 25GW of gross installed renewables capacity. This includes the proposed acquisition of 245MW of renewables assets in Vietnam, announced on November 10, 2023. Upon completion of these acquisitions, Sembcorp's gross renewables capacity will reach 12.6 GW globally. "The acquisitions will be funded through a mix of internal cash resources and external funding, and are expected to be completed by the first half of 2024, subject to fulfillment of applicable conditions precedent in each case, including regulatory approvals," the statement said on the buyouts announced on Monday. These acquisitions are in the ordinary course of business and will not have a material impact on the earnings per share, and net tangible assets per share of Sembcorp for the financial year ending December 31, 2023, it added. Sembcorp is a leading energy and urban solutions provider, holding a balanced energy portfolio of 20.1GW, with 12.6GW of gross renewable energy capacity comprising solar, wind and energy storage globally. The company also has a proven track record of transforming raw land into sustainable urban developments, with a project portfolio spanning over 14,000 hectares across Asia. Sembcorp is listed on the main board of the Singapore Exchange. BharatPe turns EBITDA positive for the first time Fintech major BharatPe has turned profitable five years after being founded in 2018, CFO and interim CEO Nalin Negi announced. The firm reported that its annualised revenue has crossed 1,500 crore, an uptick of 31% compared to the same month previous year. The company has also significantly cut down its EBITDA burnwhich was averaging at 60 crore per month in FY23to attain EBITDA positivity. The firm added that it has facilitated total loans worth 12,400 crore. Negi said the Peak XV Partners-backed unicorn will focus on further scaling its lending, Point of Sale (POS), and soundbox businesses. PhiCommerce gets $10 million from BEENEXT and Opus Ventures PhiCommerce, an omnichannel payment solutions startup, has raised $10 million in a Series A1 funding round led by BEENEXT, a Singapore-based venture capital firm, along with participation from US-based Opus Ventures. The startup intends to use the funds to expand into international markets and develop solutions to bolster the payments ecosystem. PhiCommerce offers the underlying technological layer to empower businesses to enable the collection of payments digitally at customers' doorstep, lending, subscriptions, online payments interface, business-to-business payments, tokenisation, and vendor payments. Miraggio raises $1.2 million in Pre-Series A funding Miraggio, a fashion accessories brand, has bagged 10 crore ($1.2 million) in a Pre-Series A investment round co-led by Seven Rivers Holding, and Magnetic. The brand claims to have achieved 140% year-on-year growth and aims to achieve an Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) target of 100 crore by 2024. The startup will use the funds to to expand product categories such as Backpacks, Wallets, and SLGs. This investment paves the way for a future where Miraggio sets the standard for opulent elegance, inspiring discerning individuals to elevate their style to new heights, said Mohit Jain, Founder and CEO, Miraggio. HempStreet bags $1 million in Pre-Series A funding round Ayurvedic cannabis startup HempStreet has raised has $1 million in Pre-Series A funding round led by its existing investor Carl Waahlin of Waahlin Holdings. The funding round also saw participation from Andre Rodrigues of TK 88 Holdings, HempStreet founder and CEO Abhishek Mohan, among others. The funds will be utilised to expand HempStreets product range and further build upon the companys capabilities towards solving menstrual (Dysmenorrhea) pain, a statement said. Having achieved remarkable revenue growth in the past, we anticipate a 100% revenue growth in the current fiscal year, said Abhishek Mohan, Founder and CEO, HempStreet. SustVest bags $250,000 from WEH Ventures to expand its sustainable investment Platform SustVest, a sustainable investment platform, has bagged $250,000 in a fresh funding round led by WEH Ventures. The company is aiming for 100 crore in Assets Under Management (AUM) within the next six to twelve months. The firm allows users to buy fractional ownership of renewable energy projects like solar with an inventive minimum ticket size of 25,000 and help them earn energy income from the projects installed for top industrial consumers. The company claims to have already sold 20 crore worth of solar projects and generated 1 crore in energy income to its expanding user base. This injection of capital will empower us to amplify our impact in the Indian market, fostering positive change through sustainable investments, said Devansh Shah, Co-founder, SustVest. Cannarma receives undisclosed investment from Zero to One Fund Medicinal cannabis brand Cannarma has raised an undisclosed capital from Zero to One Fund at pre-money valuation of 17 crore ($2.04 million). The startup said it will use fresh funds for expansion into new geographies, building technology, expand presence in over 10,000+ Medical Stores, Clinics, and Hospitals across India. We are delighted to receive this funding from Zero to One Fund which will enable us to expand our net level of growth in the country and prepare ourselves for global expansion next year, said founders Rohit Chauhan and Keshav Agarwal in a joint statement. Woovly raises undisclosed capital from Sony Innovation Fund and others Woovly, a social commerce platform has secured an undisclosed capital from investors including Sony Innovation Fund, SOSV, RTAF, and ViNners. The platform said its user base surged by an impressive 600% over the past 18 months. The company plans to expand its reach and explore new market segments such as fashion, home decor, and lifestyle categories. This funding round will enable us to further enhance our platform and continue our mission of offering a seamless and engaging social commerce experience to our users, said Neha Suyal and J Venkat, Co-founders of Woovly. Cuemath launches its first physical centre in Gurugram Edtech startup Cuemath has forayed into offline space and launched its first offline math learning center in Gurugram. The learning centre is a physical setup that includes maths classrooms, maths play areas with physical maths manipulatives, and a maths library. It will be accessible to students from grades K12, the firm said in a statement. The Peak XV-backed startup aims to open more learning centers in other cities and the UAE in 2024. This comes after Cuemath let go over 200 employees in two layoff rounds in May and August, this year. Tier III markets lead Black Friday sales with 43% increase in volumes: Unicommerce Unicommerce, an e-commerce enablement SaaS platform, said it clocked a sharp 23% increase in e-commerce order volumes this Black Friday sale as compared to 2022. Brand websites reported robust growth, with order volumes rising by 28% during the weekend, the report stated. The marketplaces reported a relatively lower growth of 19%, the report added. Over 8.5 million order item demand was received on the platform during the occasion, it added. Tier III cities reported the highest growth of 43%, followed by 19% growth for Tier I cities and 16% in Tier II cities. Amazon India launches 'Aurora' to employ differently abled individuals E-commerce giant Amazon India has launched new programme Aurora to increase the employment of differently abled individuals. The business has completed Auroras pilot programme in partnership with Mumbai-based non-profit organisation Sol Arc. The pilot leaders worked with differently abled young adults across Amazon India delivery stations in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, and Hyderabad to nurture their talent and facilitate their completion of work-related tasks. The company plans to expand it plans to create support networks for its differently abled employees. Chargeup elevates Satish Mittal as Co-Founder Chargeup, a builder of network of EV charging and battery swapping solutions, has elevated Satish Mittal to co-founder. According to the company, Mittal who was formerly the Chief Technology Officer at Vodafone and a senior leader at Meta, brings a wealth of experience to his new position after initially joining Chargeup as the Chief Digital Officer earlier this year, overseeing tech, data, and partnerships initiatives. My aim is to enable digital empowerment and neighbourhood physical support to build trust among drivers, develop an on-the-go business ecosystem for stakeholders, and lead Chargeup towards becoming a mobile first organization, said Mittal. Quantum Energy ties up with RevFin to electrify last-mile delivery Electric vehicle startup Quantum Energy has forged a strategic partnership with RevFin, a digital consumer lending platform to electrify the last mile delivery space. Under this collaboration, Revfin will provide financing for fleet companies to add Quantum Energys Bziness and Bziness Pro e-scooters. With the increasing trends of e-commerce, quick commerce and fast adoption of electric scooters in logistic sector this association aims to play an important role for the fleet companies to add large number of Quantum Energy e-scoooters, a statement said. GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY & STARTUP NEWS Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao must stay in US for time being, judge says Former Binance chief Changpeng Zhao must stay in the United States for the time being, a federal judge said, after the founder of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange pleaded guilty to violating U.S. anti-money laundering laws. Zhao will be required to stay in the United States until the Seattle court considers whether he should remain through his sentencing hearing in February, or if he should be allowed to return to the United Arab Emirates, where he is a citizen. Zhao, who is also a citizen of Canada, stepped down as CEO of Binance last week after pleading guilty to willfully causing the exchange to fail to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program. Google, Symphony unveil AI JV to help banks manage voice calls compliance risk Symphony, the markets infrastructure and tech firm, is teaming up with Google to ramp up its voice analytics offering to banks and investment firms, executives told Reuters, as regulators get tough on communications compliance. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has imposed more than $2 billion in fines for missteps in this space, largely linked to the failure to track or record business-related text messages sent over unauthorised platforms during COVID-19 lockdowns. Symphony, which counts banks like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan among its 1,000-strong client base, will use Google Cloud's generative artificial intelligence platform, Vertex AI, to enhance its Cloud9 voice product with more sophisticated speech-to-text and natural language processing (NLP) capabilities. AI legal framework needs to promote innovation: Senior Google executive Rules governing the use of artificial intelligence should support innovation, Google's chief legal officer Kent Walker said, echoing pleas by a wide swath of businesses and tech groups as the European Union races to agree AI rules next month. EU countries and EU lawmakers are now thrashing out the final details of a draft proposal by the European Commission and aim to get a deal on December 6. One of the biggest issues is foundation models, such as OpenAI's ChatGPT, which are AI systems that are trained on large sets of data, with the ability to learn from new data to perform a variety of tasks. Walker said Europe should aim for the best AI rules, not the first AI rules. AI threatens wages, not jobs - so far: ECB paper The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence could reduce wages, but so far is creating, not destroying jobs, especially for the young and highly-skilled, research published by the European Central Bank showed. Firms have invested heavily in artificial intelligence, or AI, leaving economists striving to understand the impact on the labour market and driving fears among the wider public for the future of their jobs. At the same time, employers are struggling to find qualified workers, despite a recession that would normally ease labour market pressures. In a sample of 16 European countries, the employment share of sectors exposed to AI increased, with low and medium-skill jobs largely unaffected and highly-skilled positions getting the biggest boost, a Research Bulletin published by the ECB said. UK regulator says Adobe's $20 billion Figma deal could harm sector Britain's competition regulator said Photoshop owner Adobe's $20 billion buyout of cloud-based designer platform Figma could harm innovation for software used by the vast majority of UK digital designers. The deal would eliminate competition and remove Figma as a threat to Adobe's flagship Photoshop and Illustrator products, according to findings from an in-depth probe that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched in July, after Adobe refused to offer concessions to ease its concerns. "We are reviewing the provisional findings and will reengage with the CMA on the facts and merits of the case," Adobe said in a statement. Australia to amend law to regulate digital payments like Apple, Google Pay Australia's government said it would bring Apple Pay, Google Pay and other digital payment services under the same regulatory umbrella as credit cards and other payments as part of legislation set to be introduced to parliament this week. Digital wallets from the likes of Apple, Google and WeChat developer Tencent have exploded in popularity but are not captured by Australian payments law. The legislation, first flagged last month, will broaden the legislation that empowers the Reserve Bank of Australia to regulate payments so that it applies to new and emerging technology. European tech startup funding to fall to $45 billion in 2023: Atomico Total capital invested into European tech startups is projected to fall to $45 billion this year, down 55% from 2021, when investment volumes surpassed $100 billion for the first time, according to a report from venture capital firm Atomico. The decline was mostly due to later-stage companies delaying fundraising, as well as a slower pace of deployment by investors, the report said. In 2022, capital invested in Europe was $82 billion. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 28) The Philippine government has no direct contact with the 17 Filipino seafarers taken hostage by Yemen's Houthi rebels, with officials relying on previous assurances that they won't be harmed, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said. It is a problem that we are not able to be in touch with them because the Houthi rebels are not in touch with us either, DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega told CNN Philippines The Source on Tuesday. So we are just going by their assurances that they would not be harmed because they precisely want to give a message...to the international community that they are the legitimate government in Yemen, he added. The Filipino seafarers are part of the 25 crew members taken hostage by the Houthis on Nov. 19. De Vega earlier told CNN Philippines that they are safe. The group, allegedly backed by Iran, hijacked a cargo ship in the Red Sea. It previously said it will attack all ships belonging to Israel. Israel has denied any connection to the vessel. De Vega said the government is using its diplomatic contacts with other countries and international organizations to get the Filipino seafarers out. He said while the information the DFA got last week was that the crew members will soon be released, officials will see what else has to be done. They (Houthis) certainly are not making any demands beyond the political demands so were still targeting the release by Christmas or much sooner, De Vega said. If they are harmed, this will engender a reaction from the international community, he added. Families warned of scammers De Vega also asked families of the 17 Filipino seafarers to tell the government if they are making efforts to contact the hostages. The foreign affairs official said one of the Filipinos was able to contact his family but his cellphone was eventually confiscated by the rebels. Were in touch with the family, because we are telling the family that if there are any attempts to contact them to inform the government as well because these may well be scammers, he said. De Vega such an issue arises during hostage-taking incidents as some people claim to be related to the hostage takers to ask money in exchange for the release of the captives. Israel, Hamas agree to extend truce, more int'l mediation in place Xinhua) 13:11, November 28, 2023 DOHA/GAZA, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- With the four-day truce expiring on Tuesday, Israel and Hamas have agreed to extend the pause by two days, said a Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson on Monday. "The State of Qatar announces, as part of the ongoing mediation, an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian pause for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip," the spokesperson said on X, formerly Twitter. Deeming the extension as "a glimpse of hope and humanity in the middle of the darkness of war," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, "I strongly hope that these will enable us to increase even more the humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza that (are) suffering so much." On Monday, the last day of the Israel-Hamas truce, Israel confirmed that Hamas released another 11 captives in the Gaza Strip, while 33 Palestinians released by Israel arrived early Tuesday in the West Bank town of Ramallah. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) special forces and Israel Security Agency (ISA) forces are currently accompanying 11 released hostages in Israeli territory, the statement read. "After they undergo an initial medical assessment, our forces will escort them until they are reunited with their families." They were released 52 days after being taken hostage by Hamas militants in their deadly attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7. Of the about 240 hostages captured by Hamas, less than one-third have been released so far, according to IDF figures. Under the original four-day truce deal, Hamas will release 50 Israelis in exchange for some 150 Palestinians from Israel. The humanitarian pause in the Gaza Strip entails a cessation of hostilities and an increased flow of aid trucks carrying relief supplies and fuel through the Rafah crossing. Hamas said in a statement to Xinhua that the extension of the truce will be carried out "under the same conditions as listed in the previous cease-fire deal." Over the weeks since the Israel-Hamas fighting began, Qatar has played a crucial role in facilitating the truce, while more international efforts of mediation are coming soon. As the rotating president of the UN Security Council for November, China will hold a Security Council high-level meeting on the Palestinian-Israeli issue on Wednesday. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will travel to New York to chair the meeting. China expects the UN Security Council to fulfill its primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security, and to play a constructive role, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a daily press briefing on Monday. China hopes that by holding the high-level meeting, all parties can promote in-depth exchanges and build consensus, take concrete actions and make due contribution to easing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, realizing a ceasefire and cessation of fighting, protecting civilians and ultimately promoting a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Palestinian question through the two-state solution, said the spokesperson. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan) The apartment building at 726 Bush St. is among several properties in San Francisco that were sold by Veritas, one of the citys largest landlords. Google Street View Prado Group has officially taken over more than half a dozen troubled loans backed by 20 apartment buildings in San Francisco from Veritas Investments, which for years has been one of the citys largest and most controversial landlords. Veritas confirmed the sale, which was recorded in September and resulted in the transfer of the properties last week, but declined to disclose the buyer of the loans, which total just over $124 million. S.F. Bay Area property map: Here's who owns every building in region Advertisement Article continues below this ad Public records identify Prado Group as the buyer, but how much the San Francisco-based developer paid for the loans has not been disclosed. The San Francisco Business Times reported last month that Prado purchased the loan portfolio in September from New York-based Mack Real Estate Credit Strategies, Veritas original lender. Veritas Investments is one of the most active managers of small unit-count multifamily on the West Coast, and we continue to be a leading firm with many thousands of apartments under management in the Bay Area and Los Angeles, even after this portfolio sale, a Veritas spokesperson said in an email to the Chronicle. Despite the current headwinds facing the real estate markets, we remain as committed as ever to San Francisco, to our residents and our properties, and see tremendous opportunities ahead. Prados real estate portfolio includes mixed-use projects such as 3333 California St., a low-density office building on 10 acres thats slated for redevelopment into more than 700 new homes, offices, retail and open space. The loan portfolio is one of two that Veritas put up for sale this year after its affiliates defaulted on the loans starting last November. The second, much larger portfolio is tied to 75 apartment buildings in San Francisco. Taken together, the portfolios total $1 billion in delinquent loans and are backed by buildings containing 2,452 units and 45 commercial suites. Advertisement Article continues below this ad According to notes sent to bondholders in April, Veritas lenders and special servicer an entity appointed to help work out a resolution were in talks to either sell the properties or loans. The notes indicated that Veritas wanted to find a partner to recapitalize the properties. Real estate investment bank Eastdil Secured was hired to market the loan portfolios. The Chronicle reported in September that Canadian investment giant Brookfield Corp. had emerged as the buyer for the larger portfolio in partnership with Ballast Investments, and sources confirmed that negotiations between the parties continue. The maturing debt and subsequent loss of control of nearly one-third of its multifamily portfolio represents a sea change for Veritas, which over the past decade has massively expanded its holdings in San Francisco, acquiring buildings even after the pandemic turned the real estate market on its head. As of last year, Veritas affiliates owned about 6,500 units in the city, across some 293 buildings valued at $3 billion, representing about 2% of all rental properties in the city. The companys practice of working with investors to acquire rent-controlled properties through a list of entities like limited liability companies, or LLCs, to maximize financial benefits has come under fire by tenant advocates, who have criticized Veritas for launching extensive renovations and passing bundled costs for repairs and debt service to its tenants. The promise of renovating and then re-leasing rent-controlled units at market rates as they turn over has been a central draw to financiers, according to a 2013 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. In 2019, the city passed legislation aimed at disincentivizing large, so-called corporate landlords from driving up rents through legal pass-through costs, and Veritas last year promised to expedite a hardship waiver program and waive new fees for many tenants. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The UK competition authority has objected to Adobe's proposed $20 billion acquisition of cloud-based design company Figma, on grounds that it might stifle innovation. According to the results of an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Adobe's refusal to provide concessions to alleviate worries about the deal has led to findings that the acquisition would eliminate competition and remove Figma as a threat to Adobe's main products, Photoshop and Illustrator. Last year, Adobe revealed its intention to acquire Figma, whose platform is designed to enable collaborative app and website design, for $20 billion. Figma is viewed as a significant competitor to Adobe in the design software arena. Adobe and Figma are two of the world leading providers of software for app and web designers, and our investigation so far has found that they are close competitors, Margot Daly, chair of the independent group conducting the UK investigation, said in a news release on Tuesday The CMA is considering ways to address its concerns about the merger. Possible remedies include stopping the merger completely or requiring Adobe to sell off parts of its business that overlap with Figma's, especially in areas where the deal might reduce competition. The investigation into Adobe's bid isn't finished yet. Besides the UK's CMA, the EU and the U.S. Department of Justice are also looking into Adobe's move to acquire Figma. The EU recently sent Adobe a formal complaint regarding competition concerns, and there were reports that the US Department of Justice might sue to stop the deal. The CMA has given a preliminary decision, pointing out the main problems that must be fixed for the deal to go through. Now, the CMA will ask for opinions on these issues and their possible solutions. Adobe and Figma have until December 19 respond before the CMA makes its final decision on February 25th next year. The challenge will now be for the merging parties to persuade the competition regulators that they have got the analysis wrong in their provisional assessments, Alex Haffner, competition partner at UK law firm Fladgate, said in a statement to the media. Or, more likely, to come up with a package of remedies which can satisfy their stated concerns. The European Commission (EC) has put Amazon on notice that regulators believe its proposed $1.4 billion acquisition of robot vacuum cleaners (RVCs) iRobot may leave its European competitors in the dust. EU legislators are worried that purchasing the makers of the popular Roomba vacuum, which Amazon said it aimed to do in August, might cause the online retail giant to restrict or discourage the sale of competitive products on its European websites. The commission sent a formal statement of objections to Amazon this week after it opened an investigation in July into the potential implications of the deal originally valued at $1.7 billion before a reevaluation dropped the price. The Commission is concerned that Amazon may restrict competition in the European Economic Area (EEA)-wide and/or national markets for RVCs by hampering rival RVC suppliers ability to effectively compete, according to the statement. Specifically, legislators are concerned that Amazon may have the ability and the incentive to foreclose iRobots rivals by engaging in strategies aimed at preventing rivals from selling RVCs on Amazon's online marketplace and/or at degrading their access to it, the commission stated. These may include delisting rival products or reducing their visibility in both paid and nonpaid advertising results displayed in Amazons marketplace. The online giant also could limit access to certain site widgets referring customers to related products from competitors. Amazon may try to squeeze out rivals because of economic incentives, therefore restricting competition in the market for RVCs, leading to higher prices, lower quality, and less innovation for consumers, the Commission stated. Cleaning Up the Details The objections are not a sign that the deal is effectively squashed in Europe, although the Commissions statement did send shares of iRobot tumbling nearly 20 percent after its release. The news also has come as a bit of a surprise to investors, as a report in Reuters published just last week predicted unconditional support by EU regulators for the deal. The US Federal Trade Commission is still examining the deal, while the UK antitrust agency has already cleared the deal unconditionally after a preliminary review. Typically regulators put proposed buyouts by Big Tech companies of smaller rivals under significant scrutiny over competitor concerns, as consolidation is known to stymie competition. Its rare a tech deal gets away without this level of scrutiny these days, noted Lewis Crofts, a correspondent for the MLex Market Intelligence news agency, in a comment on X, formerly known as Twitter. Indeed, formal objections are a way for purchasing companies to understand some of the potential future competitive issues of a deal and to give them a chance to clean up those details before delivering final approval or not. The EU Commissions deadline to decide is February 14. No Stranger to Scrutiny The probe is not the first time the EU has expressed concerns over Amazons competitive practices in the region. Late last year, the Commission settled two investigations with the company; one was over antitrust concerns about Amazons use of merchant data to prop up its own retail business; the other probed how the company was operating its Buy Box and Prime programs. To end the investigations, Amazon had to agree to a series of actions a pledge to treat all sellers equally, for example and the iRobot deal may well require a similar arrangement. The company acknowledged that it is currently working to address the concerns raised by EU regulators. iRobot, which faces intense competition from other vacuum cleaner suppliers, offers practical and inventive products, an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement. We believe Amazon can offer a company like iRobot the resources to accelerate innovation and invest in critical features while lowering prices for consumers. Two weeks ago at its Ignite event, Microsoft made something of a snoozy announcement: the company was rebranding its generative AI-based Bing Chat and calling it Copilot instead. Ho-hum. Another day, another change in the companys branding strategy. Par for the course, right?. But the announcement was more consequential than you might think. It signaled Microsoft has thrown in the towel on the internet search war with Google and is turning its full attention to AI. Copilots everywhere To understand why, lets take a look at Microsofts innocuous-sounding announcement. The company is renaming Bing Chat and Bing Chat Enterprise, both of which will now be called Copilot. From a branding perspective, it makes perfect sense because it unifies all of the companys genAI efforts under one brand. Microsoft already has several AI tools under the Copilot moniker, including Copilot in Windows, Copilot for Microsoft 365 (currently only available for enterprise customers), and Microsoft Security Copilot, with others to be released. Microsoft is also making the chat version of Copilot available for free on the web. No longer do you have to use Bing to access it. You do, however, need a Microsoft ID or an Entra ID, which is issued by businesses as part of the companys cloud identity and access management solution. The Copilot site works with Edge and Chrome in both Windows and macOS. Microsoft also announced its Copilot line will support OpenAI GPTs, allowing businesses and individuals to create their own customized versions of Copilot. So whats the big deal? It was an unsurprising announcement that made plenty of sense, given that Microsoft is betting the company on AI. But dig a little deeper, and youll find its a signal Microsoft is ceding the search market to Google, believing search is the past and AI is the future. Microsoft in February launched Bing Chat, powered by ChatGPT from OpenAI, in which Microsoft has invested $13 billion. Burying the most-powerful genAI on the planet inside an also-ran search engine and the also-ran Edge browser seemed an odd decision. Why hide it inside products the vast majority of computer owners never use? Microsoft did so because it apparently hoped to grab search market share from Google. People would flock to Bing for its genAI tool, the company believed, and eat into Googles dominance. Microsoft had to do something to support the flagging Bing. In the first quarter of 2023, when Bing Chat was released, Google had 85% of the worldwide search market, with Bing far behind with only 9%. Even if Microsoft didnt immediately dominate internet search with Bing Chat, simply grabbing a few points of market share from Google could have added up to billions in new revenue. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella knew drastic measures were needed if his company wanted to eat into Googles search monopoly. As he explained recently in testimony in the US Department of Justices antitrust suit against Google, You get up in the morning, you brush your teeth, and you search on Google. Google was so dominant, he said, that the internet should now be called the Google web. And he all but admitted Bing couldnt catch Google because Google has a better search engine. Its better, he said, because far more searches are done on Google than are done on Bing, so Google has more data that can be used to improve its search than Microsoft has. Given all that, embedding a genAI chatbot into Bing and making a big splash with the move was about the only hope Microsoft had to catch up. Big publicity, small payoff Despite the publicity and all the hype Bing Chat garnered, the decision didnt move the needle in the search market. Between May 2023 and July 2023, the latest figures available, Googles share of internet search ranged between 83% and 87% and Bings share between 7% and 9%. Google remained as dominant as ever. Nadellas big bet didnt pay off. That brings us to today. Nadella recognized trying to eat into Googles search market share was a lost cause, even when piggybacking onto one of the most hyped products the world has seen. So, it chose to cut its losses and focus on bigger game. By one estimate, AI will generate nearly $2 trillion by 2030, dwarfing internet search. Unifying Microsofts AI efforts under a single brand will help it keep its AI lead over Google and other rivals. Making its genAI product available for free to anyone with a Microsoft-related ID who uses Chrome or Edge might even help it extend that lead. Nadella is betting that some day people will wake up, brush their teeth, and have a chat with Copilot. A San Francisco police officer watches as a vendor at 16th and Mission streets packs up after being informed of the citys temporary ban on street vending. Vendors were encouraged to relocate to nearby indoor locations. Loren Elliott/Special to the Chronicle A woman selling spiky rambutan and bags of Spanish limes erected her tent opposite the 24th Street BART Station early Monday in defiance of San Franciscos temporary ban on street vending on Mission Street that took effect hours earlier. A handwritten sign stating that she was taking a risk to sell there announced her opposition to the ban, which city officials hope will suppress the profusion of vendors many allegedly selling stolen goods that have overtaken the neighborhoods sidewalks in recent years. The womans silent protest was largely ignored by the San Francisco Public Works employees and police officers on scene to enforce the ban. Mission Street and the BART plaza, usually swarmed with vendors, were otherwise clear but for the lone fruit seller. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The 90-day embargo is the citys latest attempt to crack down on the sale of stolen goods that has plagued the area in recent years. Officials temporarily closed the 24th Street BART plaza last summer, saying the vending had created chaos and frustrated brick-and-mortar business owners in the neighborhood. San Francisco Public Works inspectors and police officers gather at the 16th Street Mission BART Station in San Francisco. They were there to enforce San Franciscos temporary ban on street vending on Mission Street. Loren Elliott/Special to the Chronicle Today we are beginning a temporary enforcement ban on street vending in the Mission because the problem has gotten out of control there, Mayor London Breed wrote in a Medium post Monday. But to be clear, this is only a temporary solution. What we are dealing with is not something that just popped up overnight and it will require significant changes. Breed said she is working with other California mayors to change state law to better address illegal vending. She has previously expressed frustration with state law SB946, which decriminalized street vending statewide in 2018, making it harder for cities to police illegal street resale operations. Supervisor Hillary Ronen, who represents the Mission District, said Monday it was possible the ban could be extended after the 90-day period ends in late February. Advertisement Article continues below this ad By 11 a.m., a group of vendors who normally sell food and flowers at the BART plaza had gathered to register their dissent with Ronen, who pushed for the ban amid what she described as worsening conditions in the neighborhood. Ronen has long decried the 2021 arrival of a fencing ring she said has hawked stolen goods, used intimidation tactics and threatened established sellers with extortion. Its a huge fencing operation and it has become extremely dangerous in the Mission, Ronen told assembled vendors in English and Spanish. Ronen said Public Works had delayed the ban until her office could secure 48 indoor stalls available to vendors free of charge at two indoor locations overseen by the nonprofits Clecha SF and Calle 24 Latino Cultural District. On Monday morning, many stalls sat empty. The vendors gathered at BART plaza urged Ronen to delay the ban until January and said they were fearful lack of work would leave them broke at Christmastime. Our most important month is December, vendor Gladys Maigua said. I have children. There are others who dont have children, but who have to eat. Advertisement Article continues below this ad A Public Works inspector speaks with street vendors near the entrance of an indoor location set up for vendors on Mission Street in San Francisco. Vendors were encouraged to relocate to indoor locations as the citys temporary ban on street vending went into place. Loren Elliott/Special to the Chronicle A vendor who identified herself as Dona Cecelia told Ronen, We dont have any work. What are we going to do? The temporary ban, announced in October, comes after Public Works inspectors said they faced repeated threats while trying to crack down on illegal vending in the area. Some began wearing bulletproof vests because they feared for their safety, while others refused to work in the area or requested reassignments, Public Works officials said. Ronen has been vocal about the illegal vending and broader crime, drug use and homelessness in the Mission, and has repeatedly said the district is being neglected by City Hall. She defended the ban as a way to reset conditions in the neighborhood and balance the needs of brick-and-mortar businesses, residents, city workers and legitimate vendors. While the vendors and Ronen debated the ban at BART plaza, one business owner, Sam Lueng, took in the relative calm of his store, Kings Bakery Cafe, where trays of pink pan dulce sat piled high in the window. Lueng said he understands both sides of the issue, but would prefer to see the sidewalk outside his Mission Street panaderia free of vendors. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The old power station on Potrero Hill in San Francisco is now the site of a housing project. A measure advanced by a Board of Supervisors committee will help the city ease red tape and speed approvals of new housing. Jessica Christian/The Chronicle Faced with threats of losing control of local zoning and jeopardizing funding from the state for housing and transportation, a committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors advanced legislation Monday that would reform how the city approves residential development. Under a set of state mandates laid out in an Oct. 25 San Francisco Housing Policy and Practice Review, the California Department of Housing and Community Development, or HCD, gave the city 30 days to pass Mayor London Breeds constraints reduction ordinance, which would slash red tape and allow many projects to go forward without a hearing at the Planning Commission. While that deadline came and went on Monday the state is likely to issue a warning letter on Tuesday the city has another 30 days to pass the streamlining ordinance. The full Board of Supervisors will hear the ordinance Tuesday. Advertisement Article continues below this ad While the legislation was sent to the full board with no recommendation, it was amended to include some protections likely to make it more palatable to some board members. This includes amendments from Supervisor Rafael Mandelman that will prohibit demolition of rent-controlled units the initial legislation allowed two-unit, vacant rent-controlled units to be razed to make way for denser developments as well as a provision that would protect historic resources. Mandelman also introduced an amendment to withhold streamlined approval of so-called monster homes, jumbo single-family structures that have proliferated in some of the citys more affluent neighborhoods. I dont think this is easy or simple but hopefully we can get to an ordinance that both increases housing production in San Francisco and also makes us a better city, Mandelman said. Looming over the debate is the threat that HCD could decertify San Franciscos so-called housing element, an eight-year plan approved earlier this year under which the city is obligated to plan for 82,000 housing units, 46,000 of which are supposed to be affordable to low- and moderate-income families. That, in turn, would allow developers to file builders remedy projects, allowing them to bypass all local planning review. The city could also lose out on money for affordable housing and transportation as long as its housing element is not certified. While the members of the pro-housing YIMBY movement have cheered on the states interference as a long-overdue correction to San Franciscos position as Californias most expensive and time-consuming place to build housing, others see it as a heavy-handed form of blackmail that will allow market-rate developers to run roughshod over neighborhoods while doing little to promote housing for poor or moderate-income households. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Committee chairwoman Myrna Melgar said that her office, working with the city attorney and the Mayors Office of Housing and Community Development, has come up with collaborative legislation that does its best to protect tenants while making it faster and cheaper to construct much-needed housing. A lot of people had their doubts, Melgar said. I think it is a really good piece of legislation, and its compliant (with state law). The deadline comes a month after HCD released its first-ever review of city housing practices, which included 18 actions the state said San Francisco must take in order to remain in compliance with housing laws. At the time of the review, HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez said San Franciscos byzantine planning process has created an entrenched system that is so hard to navigate that many developers have given up on building in the city. The result is a housing market that only wealthy households can crack, unless people are lucky enough to win the lottery for a subsidized affordable unit. People who were born and raised in San Francisco cannot afford to stay and raise their own families there, Velasquez said. It is egregious and must be addressed. Advertisement Article continues below this ad On Monday, committee member Supervisor Dean Preston blasted HCD for using the threat of withholding affordable-housing funding to force a streamlining bill that he said would just lead to superfluous luxury units. The premise the state is operating from here that if the city doesnt sufficiently streamline and deregulate housing for rich and upper-class people, the state is going to cut housing for poor and working-class people is completely outrageous, Preston said. It is very clear to me that HCD is not going to do a thing to insist that our city actually produce the 46,000 affordable homes required in the housing element. Numerous critics pointed out that San Francisco exceeded the number of market-rate units required by the state in the last housing cycle while falling short by 40% in producing homes for low-income families. Li Lovett, communications director of the Council of Community Housing Organizations, called housing production in San Francisco a tale of two cities. Affordable housing developers know the real challenges to building the housing we need, she said, while market-rate development is where the money is at. Advertisement Article continues below this ad But others blamed the citys current rules for making it one of the least affordable cities in the United States. Ingleside resident Steve Marzo said the citys unaffordability is the result of empowered special interest groups and landed gentry working together to preserve the city in amber. Jake Price of the Housing Action Coalition urged board members to pass the legislation as quickly as possible We are tempting fate, flirting with disaster and stomping on thin ice if we delay this any further, he said. The committee tabled a non-binding resolution from Supervisor Aaron Peskin that urged City Attorney David Chiu and the city lobbyist to work with state officials to extend the deadlines. The resolution, co-sponsored by Supervisor Connie Chan, also takes issue with what it calls HCDs singular focus on private development policies and practices, and without sufficient measures to address racial equity, fair housing practices, affordability and displacement. Advertisement Article continues below this ad HCD spokesperson Pablo Espinoza said the agency does not plan on revising the timelines or content of the review, which he said was informed by extensive community outreach that included city staff, appointed and elected officials, community-based organizations, housing advocates, affordable developers, market-rate developers, attorneys and others. John Avalos, Executive Director at the Council of Community Housing Organizations, suggested San Francisco had been unfairly targeted by the state. Cities that have historically shirked their fair share of developing affordable and market-rate housing should be held accountable, but San Francisco is not one of these bad actors, he said. San Francisco overproduced its market-rate housing goals and has one of the best track records on building affordable housing in California. Robert Fruchtman, a volunteer organizer with YIMBY Action, said the state report was clear in finding San Francisco had introduced barriers to building housing that were not necessary and caused the cost of housing to go up. It's no exaggeration to say that The Simpsons has influenced every writer you've ever read on this site (or any other comedy site). So this week, Cracked is taking a closer look at the town of Springfield and all of our favorite residents ... If The Simpsons evoke feelings of '90s nostalgia for you, we invite you to enter to win one of three advanced copies of The Nineties: A Book by Chuck Klosterman, courtesy of Penguin Random House. Submit your email below to enter and learn more here. Sign up for the Cracked Newsletter Get the best of Cracked sent directly to your inbox! SIGN ME UP Back in 1990, a terrible scourge was ravaging Americas schools. Was it drugs? STDs? A last gasp of communist sympathizers? No, it was Bart Simpson T-shirts. While that video is worth watching just to see a kid mess up and say Swart Simpson on television, the larger story is about schools banning Simpsons T-shirts. Supposedly, seeing a T-shirt that said Underachiever and Proud Of It was going to send children into a spiral of shame and failure. Its an even-handed reporta psychologist points out that it can be good for kids to see fictional characters who struggle to behavebut its just a sample of the Great Bart Panic of the early '90s. A Los Angeles school board bigwig complained that Bart represents an anti-intellectualism that is not healthy, while a principal from a school that enforced a ban said the show teaches the wrong things to students. Newspaper editorials warned that Bart was egotistical, aggressive and mean-spirited, and he was called a bad role model for children by, uh, Bill Cosby. Well, he would know. Advertisement If that feels like an overreaction, thats because it was, but you have to understand that in 1990 Bart was everywhere. At least 15 million Bart T-shirts were sold that year, and that was just a fraction of the Simpsons merchandise that poured out of sweatshops. 1990 was also the year we got the chart-topping Do the Bartman, featuring none other than Michael Jackson, from the novelty album The Simpsons Sing the Blues. The show had only aired 19 episodes when Do the Bartman came out! It wasnt even that good yet! Advertisement Advertisement Some parents and educators defended Bart, and the shirt kerfuffle soon died down, but Bart faced accusations of being a bad influence throughout the '90s. Even President Bush sounded off on the poor guy. In retrospect, thats adorably quaint. Barts edgy brags in Do the Bartman include Droppin' banana peels all over the floor and I put mothballs in the beef stew. Yeah, he said damn and hell and was sometimes rude to his dad, but 11 years later, Cartman was tricking a kid into eating his own parents. In retrospect, Bart looks like a damn role model. Theres an episode where he finally realizes the importance of buckling down and studying even as every other kid in Springfield is enjoying a snow day. Whenever he crosses from committing obnoxious pranks to actual crimes, like when hes pressured into stealing a video game, hes wracked by guilt and eventually does the right thing. Fox It's a cartoon world, but he's a grounded fourth grader. How bad can he be? Advertisement The Simpsons also toys with Bart having an undiagnosed learning disability; when the prospect of one day becoming a cop excites him he starts getting great grades, and he outwits his genius sister when she tries to make him the subject of her science experiment. Hes not stupid, he just doesnt quite fit in, despite making the effort. Damn, how could such a character have resonated with real children? Were not going to get a character quite like Bart again, for multiple reasons. In the futuristic year 2000, a Time interview with Matt Groening was amazed that families watch The Simpsons together, in the same living room despite the show airing In an age of meals-on-the-move, three-television households, computer games and the Internet. With the media landscape as fractured as it is today, were not going back to that kind of national appointment viewing; family-friendly cartoons like Bobs Burgers are successful but not juggernauts, while adult cultural phenomena like Game of Thrones werent exactly shows you sat down with the kids for. HBO So, no articles called 10 Reasons Joffrey Is A Bad Role Model For Kids Advertisement Advertisement Beavis and Butt-Head was accused of taking Barts behavior a step further, and after South Park debuted in 1997 it soon had its own T-shirt scandal. Cartmans narcissistic sociopathy made Bart look like a saint, but South Park always aired late and with an explicit warning that it wasnt for kids. About 20% of its viewers were kids anyway, but thats what most of the scandal and criticism boiled down to; while the Simpsons was called inappropriate for school, South Park was called inappropriate for minors, full stop, and thats a different debate. Even in 1998 the Chicago Tribune noted that the South Park debate was fueled by the fact that it went further than The Simpsons, which once seemed on the edge with their language and behavior but now have seeped into the public mainstream. That was also around the time the show began its slide into forgettable mediocrity. Over the course of a decade Bart had gone from a sign of cultural degradation to being about as menacing as Family Circus. He hadnt really changed, but our standards for edginess sure did. Who gave a shit about Bart flunking yet another test after pundits tried to connect South Park to Columbine? Comedy Central South Park even had Bart pop by so they could mock his modest prankster resume. Advertisement Today, you (hypothetically) dont have to hang around a school for long to see a kid with some Rick and Morty gear, and thats arguably an even darker show than South Park. But parents either think its okay for their kids to watch it, or they have no idea what its about because their kids are streaming it in another room. Rick and Morty had a sentient jellybean try to rape its 14-year-old hero, but Barts the character that made national news for crossing some sort of moral Rubicon by not always doing his homework. You couldnt not know what The Simpsons was about in a way thats not really possible now. Grandmas knew Bart; ask the average grandma about Rick and Morty and theyll guess that theyre the latest Ticking-Tock stars. Advertisement President Bush's "Simpsons speech" called on Americans to be more like The Waltons, an almost tediously good-natured show where the cast of do-gooders always learned a moral lesson. In retrospect, The Simpsons almost was The Waltons of the '90s; the whole family sat down to watch, and they walked away with a decent message on any given night. The Simpsons arrived at a unique moment when mainstream comedy was getting edgier but television was still a monolith where you watched what was in front of you. If the outraged pundits of the day knew what was coming, their heads would have exploded. Fox "So this 'social media,' which shows kids all kinds of nonsense. Sounds like I'll be furious with it." "You will. When they ban your account." Advertisement The fact that The Simpsonsand Bart in particularalways had a weird patina of edginess is also why a show like Bobs Burgers is still going strong 12 seasons in while Season 12 of The Simpsons felt geriatric. If youre expecting to be as shocked by a shows 250th episode as its 50th, youre going to be disappointed. But if a show is merely considered good instead of groundbreaking, it can keep rolling for a while. Thats how those media reports work too, really; local news couldnt be perpetually worried about The Simpsons, but they could move on to being worried about what came next. But maybe the biggest takeaway here is that lazy readings of pop culture will never die. Much like the accusations that D&D and Harry Potter were magnets for witchcraft, the idea that Bart was some sort of avatar of cultural destruction was based on the shallowest possible interpretation of The Simpsons. Bart was a kid who cracked a few jokes before dutifully going to church with his family and trying his best to pay attention. If The Simpsons debuted today, the National Review would be praising it as a return to old-fashioned family values. Advertisement On the surface, The Simpsons presents Bart as an edgy rebel, and thats the angle all those news stories ran with. But if you actually sit down and watch the show, you realize hes a huge dork. All the girls in his class think hes lame, bullies repeatedly kick the shit out of him, his only friends are even bigger losers, half his attention-seeking stunts backfire, and he seeks refuge in comic books and television. The irony was that Bart was actually a pretty damn good role model, because he knew that adults often had no idea what the hell they were talking about. Mark is on Twitter and wrote a book. Top image: Fox Blis Technologies Limited (NZX: BLT ) has today announced the appointment of Scott Johnson as Chief Executive. Scott will replace Brian Watson, who announced his resignation in July 2023. Scott will take up the position of CEO effective from 15th January 2024. Scott is highly experienced with effective leadership and management roles across local and international markets. He has direct industry experience in his previous role as Group Chief Executive of The Better Health Company Group, which is known for its Go Healthy consumer brand amongst others. Geoff Plunket, Blis Technologies Chair, said We are extremely pleased to welcome Scott to Blis Technologies as CEO. He has a proven track record for building business capability to deliver profitable growth into global markets. His breadth of experience across sales, marketing and operations will be invaluable in delivering Blis growth aspirations. Ends For further information, please contact: Geoff Plunket Chair +64 21 229 8886 About Blis Technologies Ltd Delivering proven health benefits through evidence-based, advanced probiotics Blis Technologies is an NZX-listed manufacturer of advanced probiotic strains that go beyond the gut. Combining innovation with evidence-based research and the highest quality production controls enables the delivery of probiotic solutions for specific health targets including throat health, halitosis (bad breath), immune support, teeth and gum health and skin health. BLIS products are sold throughout New Zealand and in Australia, Asia, Europe and the USA. More information about Blis Technologies Ltd can be found at www.blis.co.nz. 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Related News: Me Today - Notice of Annual Shareholder Meeting FSF - Director Scott St John to retire from Fonterra Board Greenfern announces change in Chief Financial Officer AIA Provision of Financial Assistance - Employee Share Plan CBD - Recording and Presentation of Investor Call AUCKLAND CAR PARK CONCESSION AGREEMENT - HIGH COURT JUDGMENT CRP - Korella North Mining Lease Lodgement Approved Genesis Energy launches new strategy November 30th Morning Report IFT270 - Interest Rate Reset GOLD PRICE (XAU/USD), AUD/USD FORECAST: Gold prices climb and challenge technical resistance on the back of falling U.S. yields and U.S. dollar softness AUD/USD also pushes higher, breaking above its 200-day simple moving average This article looks at key technical levels to watch on XAU/ USD and AUD /USD this week Most Read: US Dollar Forecast - PCE, Powell to Set Market Tone, Setups on EUR/USD, USD/JPY Trade Smarter - Sign up for the DailyFX Newsletter Receive timely and compelling market commentary from the DailyFX team Subscribe to Newsletter GOLD PRICE TECHNICAL ANALYSIS Gold prices climbed on Monday, buoyed by the drop in U.S. yields and the U.S. dollars softness. With recent performance in mind, XAU/USD has risen more than 8% since October, firmly eclipsing its 200-day simple moving average and ascending beyond the psychological $2,000 level two technical signals that have strengthened the metals constructive bias. For stronger conviction in the bullish thesis and to validate the potential for further upward momentum, a clear and decisive move above $2,010/$2,015 is required a major resistance zone that has consistently thwarted advances since the beginning of the year. While clearing this hurdle might pose a challenge for bulls, a breakout could catalyze a rally towards $2,060, followed by $2,085, Mays high. In the event that gold gets rejected to the downside from its current position, the asset might trend towards support spanning from $1,980 to $1,975. Prices could potentially stabilize in this area on a bearish reversal, but a push below this floor could lead to a retreat towards the 200-day simple moving average situated around the $1,950 mark. Beneath this threshold, attention might refocus on $1,937. Acquire the knowledge needed for maintaining trading consistency. Grab your "How to Trade Gold" guide for invaluable insights and tips! Recommended by Diego Colman How to Trade Gold Get My Guide GOLD PRICE TECHNICAL CHART Gold Price Chart Created Using TradingView AUD/USD TECHNICAL ANALYSIS AUD/USD trekked upwards at the start of the new week, climbing above its 200-day simple moving average and coming within a whisker of taking out technical resistance located in the 0.6600-0.6620 band. With the RSI indicator approaching overbought territory, the recent rally could soon run out of steam, but a move above 0.6600-0.6620 could breathe new life into the pair and reinvigorate the bulls, propelling prices towards trendline resistance at 0.6670. On further strength, we may see a move towards 0.6815. On the other hand, if market sentiment shifts in favor of sellers and AUD/USD takes a turn to the downside, primary support looms at 0.6525, but further losses could be in store on a push below this threshold, with the next downside target corresponding to the 100-day simple moving average, followed by 0.6460. It is of utmost importance for the bulls to robustly defend this floor; any failure to do so could catalyze a pullback towards 0.6395. If you're wondering whats in store for the Australian dollar in the coming months, grab a free copy of the Aussies fundamental and technical trading guide. AUD/USD Bullish Data provided by of clients are net long. of clients are net short. Change in Longs Shorts OI Daily -2% 2% 0% Weekly -12% 0% -7% AUD/USD TECHNICAL CHART AUD/USD Chart Created Using TradingView SCHENECTADY After 23 years of service to the department, Schenectady police Lt. Thomas Kelly has accepted a position as the city of Ithacas new chief of police. Kelly bid his current colleagues farewell during a walk-out ceremony on Monday afternoon. Kelly began his stint with the Schenectady department as a patrolman in January 2001, receiving a promotion to a sergeants position in 2012, before becoming a lieutenant in 2018 initially serving as the agencys Commander of Professional Standards. Kelly most recently served as a traffic lieutenant. In his last role, he was responsible for ensuring that all subordinate staff complied with department regulations and policies. Hes done it all, Schenectady Police Chief Eric Clifford said of Kelly on Monday. Whenever I lose a commander with this much experience, theyre big shoes to fill. Its hard to lose somebody of his caliber and his drive. Monday was Kelly's last day with the Schenectady agency. He is set to begin his new job in Ithaca on Dec. 18. Clifford said the department expects to fill Kellys post with an internal promotion, with candidates expected to interview this week. Fortunately and Tom is a part of this, we have a structure in place where we are developing our future leaders daily, Clifford said. So I have no doubt that his replacement will come in and be ready to go on Day 1. Kelly was shot in the chest during a Maple Avenue police raid in 2010 by resident Adrian Parbhudial, who was subsequently convicted in February 2011 in Schenectady County Court of aggravated attempted murder and sentenced to 40 years-to-life in state prison. Kellys life was spared due to the body armor he was wearing at the time of the shooting. During his farewell remarks to his colleagues on Monday, Kelly praised the departments officers. Youre out there responding to help with some of the most challenging calls, Kelly said. Youre the backbone of the Schenectady Police Department and its because of the sacrifices you make. Ithaca Mayor Laura Lewis announced Kellys hire on Monday, with his appointment pending approval from the Ithaca City Council on Dec. 6. Today is a day of transition for the career of Lt. Kelly, who has served this city admirably and hes served it well and with a level of distinction that makes us all proud, Schenectady Mayor Gary McCarthy said Monday. But, other people are looking at that. Other communities are looking at how we do the work of policing within the city of Schenectady and how we deliver services. That attention were getting sometimes creates opportunities for other communities. Clifford said Kellys hiring in Ithaca speaks well of the Schenectady department. I feel proud whenever another city hires from the outside and they look to our department as a resource for them, Clifford said. The Schenectady chief said he has yet to give Kelly advice about taking on the role he has held in Schenectady for the last seven years. I told him that I look forward to him being a colleague and Ill be seeing him at the various statewide conferences that chiefs go to, Clifford said. My philosophy has always been that my door is always open if you ever need it. I know what its like to be a new chief, but, when you take on that job, its your reign and you want to chart your own course. Kelly coordinated the Field Training Officer Program at the Zone 5 Regional Law Enforcement Training Center in Schenectady from 2013 to 2020 and served as the treasurer of the Schenectady Police Benevolent Association from 2008 to 2012. Its a tremendous loss to the department and we wish him well, Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara, D-Rotterdam, said Monday. We do recognize what an impact hes had on public safety here in the city of Schenectady. Public safety is the No. 1 concern among the population of people that I represent and its people like Lt. Kelly that serve to improve public safety and to improve police and community relations. Prior to walking past the gathered officers lined up outside police headquarters on Monday, Kelly urged his colleagues to savor their time serving the city. Do your best to leave this place better than you found it, he said. Ive never interviewed a new officer candidate that didnt express a desire to help people. I believe most officers are idealistic. We see problems and we want to help them. Savor Limited (NZX: SVR ) (Savor, the Company, or with its subsidiaries the Group), New Zealands premier hospitality group, provides its results for the financial half year ended 30 September 2023. Highlights: Savors revenue was $29.1m for the period, an increase of over 40% compared to the prior period. EBITDA* was $3.1m, increasing over 132% compared to the prior year. Operating cash flow exceeded $2.5m, compared to $1.6m in the prior year. Net profit after tax was ($0.1m) compared to ($1.7m) in the prior year, after adjusting for one-off restructuring and interest costs during the year. Including those charges net profit after tax was ($0.4m). The Group continued to strengthen its Balance Sheet with the repayment of over $1.3m in debt principal throughout the period. These results continue to demonstrate the strong progress Savor is making to optimize business performance through sustained cost control. As mentioned at the Companys recent Annual Shareholders Meeting (ASM), labour and cost of goods sold are the Groups most significant costs. Labour costs have continued to track down by approximately 2% of sales compared to the prior year, as the efficiencies of rostering and headcount reductions have outperformed expectations during the winter trading period. Cost of goods sold for the period was a pleasing result, down 0.5% over the same period as a percentage of sales and ahead of the Groups long run target. Again, this is a significant result given the high cost pressures throughout the New Zealand economy. Savor continues to streamline its supplier base, seeking efficiencies through process as well as volume driven pricing and own brand products. Group revenue for the period has increased significantly again compared to the prior period, however has been impacted by fluctuating weather, macro-economic headwinds, and cost of living pressures. Lucien Law, Group CEO, says We are pleased to have achieved $3.1m of EBITDA and in excess of $2.5m of operating cash flows for the six months, despite relatively difficult market conditions and with adverse weather negatively impacting trading, as tight cost control measures take effect. *EBITDA means reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and restructuring costs, as reported in the Groups Statement of Comprehensive Income. -ENDS- Investor Enquiries Tim Peat CFO, Savor Mobile: 021 049 7442 Email: tim@savor.co.nz About Savor Savor, established in 2011, is one of New Zealands largest hospitality businesses with 20 iconic venues in Auckland, including Amano, Azabu Ponsonby, Azabu Mission Bay, Ebisu and Non Solo Pizza, each with its own unique concept, culture and offering. In 2022, Savor opened Bivacco in Aucklands Viaduct Harbour and brought iconic Melbourne concept MoVida to Britomarts Seafarers Building. Savor has a reputation for originality, the quality of its products and the high standard of service that is consistent across the company portfolio. Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: Me Today - Notice of Annual Shareholder Meeting FSF - Director Scott St John to retire from Fonterra Board Greenfern announces change in Chief Financial Officer AIA Provision of Financial Assistance - Employee Share Plan CBD - Recording and Presentation of Investor Call AUCKLAND CAR PARK CONCESSION AGREEMENT - HIGH COURT JUDGMENT CRP - Korella North Mining Lease Lodgement Approved Genesis Energy launches new strategy November 30th Morning Report IFT270 - Interest Rate Reset Atlas Honda, the leading motorcycle manufacturer in Pakistan, has announced the introduction of its electric bike on a trial basis in Pakistan. Honda Announces Electric Bike in Pakistan The company celebrated its 60th anniversary of doing business in Pakistan with a special ceremony at its Sheikhupura factory. The event was attended by Shinji Aoyama, Executive Vice President of Honda Motor Company, Abe Noriaki, Chief Officer of Motorcycle and Power Products, and others. In his speech, Abe Noriaki said that Hondas products have become a part of the daily lives of a large segment of the Pakistani population. He also announced the introduction of Hondas electric motorcycle, Honda e Benly, on a trial basis in Pakistan. Check Also Hyundai Santa Fe: A Premium SUV for Pakistan Detailed features and Price Saquib H. Shirazi, President and CEO of Atlas Honda, presented an overview of the companys performance, highlighting its sales, localization, parts business, employment, and tax contribution to the national exchequer. What is Honda e Benly? Honda e Benly is an electric scooter that is designed for business use. It has a simple and compact body that is easy to maneuver in urban traffic. It is powered by two Honda Mobile Power Packs, which are detachable and rechargeable batteries that can be swapped at charging stations. The scooter has a range of about 87 km on a single charge and a top speed of 53 km/h. It also features a digital display, LED lights, and a large rear carrier. What are your thoughts on Hondas electric bike in Pakistan? Do you think it will be a success or a failure? Would you buy one if it becomes available? Share your feedback and views in the comments section below. The Ukrainian government has allocated billions of dollars to encourage Ukrainian weapons manufacturers, and not just existing firms, but startups as well as small operations that never considered the possibility of a large expansion. This is nothing new for Ukraine, which has been a center for weapons development and production for over a century. When Ukraine was still part of the Soviet Union before 1991, a disproportionate share of Soviet weapons development and manufacturing took place in Ukraine. Since its independence in 1991, Ukraine continued to be a major arms exporter of weapons, ranking among the top 12 or 14 arms exporters worldwide. When Russia first attacked Ukraine in 2014, and took Crimea and portions of two other provinces, Ukraine realized that they had to export less Cold War surplus and concentrate on developing improved and new types of weapons. Ukraine is one of the new countries in the world that can do that besides the top five arms exporters (the U.S., Russia. China, Germany and Italy.) While the top three tend to remain the same, number four and five tend to change a lot. For example, South Korea has been expanding its arms production since the 1990s and now, because of demand from NATO nations that sent a lot of weapons to Ukraine, South Korea is poised to enter the Top Five. Ukraine first began exporting arms immediately after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 because it was where the Soviets stored huge quantities of weapons the Soviets planned to use to reinforce an invasion of Western Europe. That invasion never happened but all those weapons were still in Ukraine and the Ukrainians made the most of it by finding export customers. That included offers to upgrade or customize exported weapons when the customer requested it and was willing to pay for it. In 1993 Ukraine was the 19th largest arms exporter but a decade later they were number 8 and, after the first Russian invasion in 2014, Ukraine fell to 13th place and by 2022 had dropped to 25th place. Ukraine was developing and producing weapons but since Russia became more of a threat, the weapons were retained to deal with the Russians. After the 2022 Russian invasion there was also a huge increase in the activity of Ukrainian weapons developers who saw the need for new as well as improved existing weapons. The government responded with a program that had billions of dollars available to start or expand production of successful new weapons, notably UAVs. Many of these innovative and effective new weapons were developed by individuals or small groups. The success of these weapons, even in handmade prototype form, was enough to obtain cash for mass production. The Russians often come up with countermeasures eventually, but the Ukrainian entrepreneurs are ready so that no Russian countermeasure remains effective for long. In this way, Ukrainians use their innovative and creative problem solving to obtain an edge in fighting the Russians. That justifies the billions Ukraine is now investing in its inventors and entrepreneurs. When Suella Braverman used to arrive on the Commons frontbench, electric lightbulbs flickered, distant dogs howled and clouds scudded across a silvery moon. James Cleverly, her successor as Home Secretary, is a more emollient, centrist soul. That is not the same as saying he projects determination to get much done. He arrived for his first Home Office questions after a bumpy few days. First he had been caught by Commons microphones saying a rude word, either about the fine town of Stockton or (as he claims) about its uninspiring Labour MP. Then he gave a newspaper interview in which he tiptoed away from the Government's plan to fly asylum seekers to Rwanda. You will have been following these matters more closely than I but the Supreme Court apparently said it would contravene immigrants' human rights to force them to travel to Kigali by Queasyjet. Top judges are firmly of the view that foreign travel should be first-class or nothing. United Nations rapporteurs are with them on this. You will seldom find a UN rapporteur in goat class. Mr Cleverly's newspaper-interview shimmy away from Rwanda did not go down well with all Conservative backbenchers, but in the chamber none went so far as to attack him. You could sense they were not gruntled. But they were not yet ready to pull the lavatory chain on him. Cleverly's newspaper-interview shimmy away from Rwanda did not go down well with all Conservative backbenchers, but in the chamber none went so far as to attack him When Suella Braverman used to arrive on the Commons frontbench, electric lightbulbs flickered, distant dogs howled and clouds scudded across a silvery moon Jill Mortimer (Con), magnificently red-robed MP for Hartlepool, wanted human rights treaties renegotiated. Hear-hears from her Tory colleagues. Jonathan Gullis (Con, Stoke North) was fed up with delays to the Rwanda policy. James Morris (Con, Halesowen and Rowley Regis), another whose patience was fraying, provoked titters from Labour's frontbench by asking Mr Cleverly: 'What is our policy?' Mr Cleverly, a few feet away on the government frontbench, fiddled with his ballpoint pen. To be fair, he is quite good at this. He has mastered the art of twiddling a Biro on his thumb so that it revolves at speed without falling to the floor. He is the sort of boy who at school could make his yo-yo do a loop-the-loop. It may take greater dexterity to keep the Sunak government's immigration policy spinning at the same speed. READ MORE: New Home Secretary James Cleverly already under fire after he says: Rwanda plan is not the be all and end all Advertisement Watching from a safe distance: Tom Tugendhat, security minister. He had entered with hands in pocket, chewing something. There is something semi-detached about Mr Tugendhat. He may feel he himself should be home secretary. Yvette Cooper, shadow home secretary, throws herself at Tory home secretaries the way certain Jack Russells will chase and yap at passing Royal Mail delivery vans. Her two questions, thuddingly abusive, were found by forensic scientists to contain not a single trace of policy. Mr Cleverly, after watching Yvette wobble her head and yack-yack-yack, shimmered to the despatch box and said he admired her 'enormously'. Sir Desmond Swayne (Con, New Forest West): 'Noooooo!' Mr CLEVERLY left many questions on immigration to Robert Jenrick, a ministerial colleague. Jenrick is Solid. Stephen Kinnock, for Labour, put it about that Mr Jenrick was 'on resignation watch'. Mr Jenrick licked his lips a bit at that but made a decent show of loyalty to his new boss. Mr Cleverly was by now sitting with his two knuckles pressed down on the leather bench. At one point in proceedings, I think I saw him mouth a word that rhymes with 'rowlocks'. Later there was a cross set of exchanges between the Stockton man and Mr Cleverly. The minister stayed pretty calm under fire. Orderlies were called to sedate the Stockton man and usher him away for a week at a cure-home in Baden-Baden. So is Cleverly a good choice for Home Secretary? Too early to say. He is not dogmatic. Yet he has a lightness of touch evident in his breezy put-down of a gormless question from the Lib Dems' Richard Foord that the House enjoyed. Many found Suella hard to like. It may not be enough, but Mr Cleverly is hard to dislike. 1. 'Right, deep breath. Firstly, are you OK? I hope so.' In June, who introduced a television programme with these words? a) Clive Myrie b) Alan Carr c) Holly Willoughby d) Kirsty Wark e) Tinky Winky Right, deep breath. Firstly, are you OK? I hope so.' In June, who introduced a television programme with these words? 2. Match the quote with the 2023 movie from which it comes... a) 'It's the best day ever. So was yesterday, and so is tomorrow, and every day from now until forever' b) 'Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds' c) 'I don't see how a world that makes such wonderful things could be bad' d) 'There are many dark forces in this world, Mr Fielding. Not all of them are supernatural' e) 'In an insane world, it's the sane who are called crazy' i) Oppenheimer ii) The Super Mario Bros Movies iii) Little Mermaid iv) Barbie v) The Exorcist: Believer Match the quote with the 2023 movie from which it comes... 3. On the artwork on the invitation to the Coronation, the most prominent figure was: a) The Red Dragon b) The Green Man c) The Amber Spyglass d) The Pink Pound e) The Black Knight 4. Which of these politicians has never been deputy PM? a) Dominic Raab b) Grant Shapps c) Oliver Dowden d) Therese Coffey e) John Prescott Which of these politicians has never been deputy PM? 5. What is the name of the vessel upon which the Government plans to house around 500 migrants off the Dorset coast? a) Bibby Stockholm b) Burt Bacharach c) Mr Blobby d) Bobby Davro e) Biddy Baxter What is the name of the vessel upon which the Government plans to house around 500 migrants off the Dorset coast? 6. In September, who told their followers: 'I need your support, now more than ever. More than I imagined I would. More important than any of that is that you please, if you can, stay free.' a) Donald Trump b) Lizzo c) Russell Brand d) Gavin Williamson e) Laurence Fox 7. Pair the description by Nadine Dorries with the person described in her book The Plot: a) 'Puppet' b) 'Sadist' c) 'Smiling assassin' d) 'Man of little talent' e) 'Startlingly unimaginative' i) Michael Gove ii) Rishi Sunak iii) Dominic Cummings iv) Oliver Dowden v) Sajid Javid Pair the description by Nadine Dorries with the person described in her book The Plot 8. All but one of these people marked their 52nd birthday this year. Who is the odd one out? a) Nicole Kidman b) Therese Coffey c) Gary Barlow d) Amanda Holden e) George Osborne All but one of these people marked their 52nd birthday this year. Who is the odd one out? 9. In October, the price of a first-class stamp increased for the third time in 18 months. What does one now cost? a) 40p b) 65p c) 90p d) 1.10 e) 1.25 In October, the price of a first-class stamp increased for the third time in 18 months. What does one now cost? 10. How many Secretaries of State for the Environment have there been in the past 11 years? a) Two b) Four c) Six d) Eight e) Ten How many Secretaries of State for the Environment have there been in the past 11 years? 11. In January, Rishi Sunak received a fixed penalty fine from Lancashire police. Of what was he guilty? a) Impersonating a police officer b) Taking off his seat belt in a moving car c) Breaking and entering d) Reversing a vehicle down a one-way street e) Jumping a red light 12. 'If the truth is known, I am an opportunist.' In Norman Fowler's diaries, published this month, which politician admits this about himself? a) Matt Hancock b) David Cameron c) Michael Heseltine d) John Major e) Nigel Farage Answers: 1 c. 2 aiv; bi; ciii; dv; eii. 3 b. 4 b. 5 a. 6 c. 7 aii; biii; ci; div; ev. 8 a Nicole Kidman is 56. 9 e. 10 e. 11 b. 12 c. The Prime Minister's decision to cancel his meeting with his Greek opposite number over a breach of diplomatic courtesy can be seen as either petulant or opportunistic. For me, it was the latter: a feeble attempt to win a skirmish in the culture wars. I suspect Rishi Sunak was keen to underline his commitment to facing down the 'decolonisers' who would have Britain engage in a never-ending bout of breast-beating over its imperial past. In liberal circles, it has even become fashionable to call the Elgin Marbles the 'Parthenon Sculptures' in order to distance them from the story of how they came to be in Britain. But in goading Kyriakos Mitsotakis into cutting short his three-day visit to Britain, I fail to see what Mr Sunak has achieved. It has certainly done nothing to strengthen the case for the artefacts to remain in this country. Indeed by escalating the row with Athens which is, incidentally, one of our major allies when it comes to tackling Europe's mass-migration crisis No 10 will not only stiffen the resolve of activists but make it harder for us to form a united front on the small-boats issue. And this is unfortunate because the Government is absolutely right to insist that the Elgin Marbles should not leave the UK. In liberal circles, it has even become fashionable to call the Elgin Marbles the 'Parthenon Sculptures' in order to distance them from the story of how they came to be in Britain Rishi Sunak has snubbed talks with the Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis over his demand for the return of the Elgin Marbles If we were to send them back to Greece, we would not only set a dangerous precedent for further plundering of our museums but risk their further politicisation If we were to send them back to Greece, we would not only set a dangerous precedent for further plundering of our museums but risk their further politicisation when they are already bending over backwards to satisfy the sensitivities of everyone from 'anti-racism' activists to LGBT lobby groups. READ MORE: What are the Elgin Marbles and how did they end up in the British Museum? Advertisement If the Marbles go, what would the British Museum say to Egypt's president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, for example, if he came calling for the repatriation of the Rosetta Stone, discovered in the Nile Delta in 1799 and shipped to Britain three years later? Or the president of Nigeria Bola Tinubu if he demanded the return of the Benin Bronzes, a series of sculptures taken by the British in 1897? When the soldier and diplomat Lord Elgin came across these masterpieces of classical art sculptures and architectural details in 1801, Greece was part of the Ottoman empire. Elgin acquired the Marbles legitimately and shipped them here with the blessing of the Ottoman authorities. To insist on modern Greece's rights to them is to ignore centuries of invasions, redrawn boundaries and cultural mixing. In truth, they are the property of humankind. And the fact is the British Museum allows them to be viewed for free by millions of visitors who flock to London from all over the world. To those who argue that repatriating 'colonial' artefacts is a way for Britain to assuage its guilt over the sins of the past, I say: Don't be so absurd. No country's history is perfect. The ancient Athenians the very people who carved the Marbles out of stone slabs all those centuries ago were themselves ruthless empire-builders, who used slaves to build the Parthenon as a monument to their wealth and power. Yet we, correctly, do not ask today's Greeks to repent for this, still less pay 'reparations' to the descendants of those slaves, wherever they may be. The Prime Minister could have used his meeting with Mr Mitsotakis to make an important and nuanced case for our retention of the Marbles. But by pulling out of their meeting in a fit of pique, he missed a golden opportunity to reinforce relations with a country that could be a valuable partner in any global plan to tackle migration. At a time of global instability, the UK must look considered and level-headed, Instead, we were left looking petty and short-sighted. Inaya Folarin Iman is founder of the Equiano Project, a forum promoting freedom of speech on race, culture and politics What awful crimes might it take for a nation to be blacklisted by the UN on human-rights grounds? Detention without trial? Summary executions? Torture, public floggings and the persecution of racial minorities? Perhaps. But, in Britain's case, the answer may be rather more surprising. Merely to state that biological sex matters could be enough to confer this disgrace. Yesterday it was reported that Britain might soon be expelled from the UN's 'Human Rights Council' because our own Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has previously recommended that single-sex spaces should be protected according to a person's physical sex rather than their more nebulous 'gender identity'. In plain terms, that means that a male-bodied individual who wishes to use a female-only changing room could do so simply because they 'identified' as a woman. Anything else could be a breach of their human rights. Yesterday it was reported that Britain might soon be expelled from the UN's 'Human Rights Council' because our EHRC has previously recommended that single-sex spaces should be protected according to a person's physical sex Earlier this month, the British government received a lecture of inconceivable pomposity, as the UN's 'rapporteur on climate change and human rights', Ian Fry, took us to task over the imprisonment of two Just Stop Oil eco-zealots Following complaints against the EHRC from trans-rights groups including Stonewall a process has begun that could see the EHRC's ranking by the UN slip below that of comparable organisations in such bastions of liberty as Palestine and Zimbabwe, leaving us on a par with Libya and Venezuela. We would be, in short, a pariah. The Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions, an independent body that provides accreditation to the UN, will rule on the EHRC's fate next spring. Now, it goes without saying that Britain, like other Western countries, helped to shape human rights as the world understands them. It's frankly Orwellian that we should face censure on such grounds. But the truth is that no one should be surprised at this preposterous state of affairs. For this is only the latest in a series of increasingly bizarre tussles involving the UK and the UN. Earlier this month, the British government received a lecture of inconceivable pomposity, as the UN's 'rapporteur on climate change and human rights', Ian Fry, took us to task over the imprisonment of two Just Stop Oil eco-zealots. Marcus Decker and Morgan Trowland were convicted of halting traffic on the M25 last year by dangling off a bridge on the Dartford Crossing, and in April were jailed for two and three years respectively. Cue anguished wails from Fry over the 'severity' of these jail terms which strike me as having been lenient and limiting the rights of activists to mount 'peaceful protests'. Fry, an Australian-born environmental lawyer, even asked ministers to explain how the treatment of the pair 'is compatible with international norms and standards', as though Britain were a rogue state rather than the pioneer of parliamentary democracy. Yet Fry's employer, the UN, has itself an appalling record of support for genuinely oppressive regimes, barbarous terrorist movements and corrupt despots. Its 'Human Rights Council', so ready to censure Britain over whether trans women should enter female changing rooms, has members from the notably liberal regimes of China, Cuba and Pakistan. Only a few weeks ago, it appointed Iranian diplomat Ali Bahreini to chair its 'Social Forum' in Geneva. Bahreini is the representative of a savage theocracy that hangs gay people, executes protesters and deploys its squads of moral guardians to beat up women who refuse to wear the burka. Fry's absurd bleating about the Just Stop Oil bridge-climbers, coupled with the UN's ugly embrace of Iran, is typical of the body's repellent double-standards. This bloated bureaucracy trumpets its role as a global peace-keeper, yet stands accused of helping to bankroll Hamas through its mis-directed aid programmes and its collusion with Iran. It loves to shriek about the iniquities of racism yet is plagued by anti-Semitism. It is ferocious in denunciating oppression, yet its recent record is packed with sex scandals in which its own employees have oppressed women. The organisation is more bloated and ineffectual than ever under current leader, Portuguese socialist Antonio Guterres Nikki Haley, former U.S. Ambassador to the UN, estimates that since Joe Biden took office, U.S. subsidies to Hamas via the UN amount to 305 million Its Security Council has not made the world more secure; its Food Programme has not fed the world; and its African Development Programme has failed to develop Africa. The UN's efforts at disarmament have left the Mullahs of Tehran on the verge of acquiring nuclear weapons. In fact, the UN General Assembly made Iran the rapporteur of its Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Committee, despite the regime's refusal to co-operate with the International Atomic Energy Agency and its pledge to 'wipe Israel off the map'. And it takes particular delight in lecturing the West on perceived deficiencies. Only last month, UN 'special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights', Belgian Olivier De Schutter, said levels of poverty in Britain are 'simply not acceptable'. De Schutter follows a procession of other UN assessors whose negative verdicts on Britain seemed to be based on what they were told at a few meetings with Left-wing campaigners and academics. In 2019, Philip Alston another UN 'rapporteur on extreme poverty' produced a report that hysterically compared Tory economic policies to 'Victorian workhouses'. Just as overblown was the 2013 analysis of British housing policy by Brazilian academic Raquel Rolnik, yet another UN rapporteur. A former Marxist, Rolnik pronounced with dreary predictability that the Coalition government's restrictions on housing benefits were 'a violation of human rights'. Fortunately for the UN, it appears not to face the inconvenience of such financial constraints. The organisation is more bloated and ineffectual than ever under current leader, Portuguese socialist Antonio Guterres. Its 60 billion annual expenditure is a monument to waste; its 41,000-strong secretariat an arena for self-indulgence. One employee said: 'If the UN were a business, it would be out of business.' Its sorry record and relentless Left-wing groupthink have badly undermined the UN's credibility. But nothing does more damage to the organisation than its partisan approach to the conflict in the Middle East. Ever since the creation of the Jewish State in 1948, the UN has instinctively sided with the enemies of Israel, making a mockery of its rhetoric about striving for harmony. In May this year, the UN put on an event to commemorate 'the catastrophe' of 1948, at which Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas railed at length against Tel Aviv and, with cruel offensiveness, even invoked a parallel with Nazism: 'They lie and they lie, just like Goebbels.' At the UN General Assembly, meanwhile, there were 15 resolutions about Israel in 2022 and just 13 about all the other nations combined. The organisation is also deepening the conflict in Gaza by its failure to label Hamas and Hezbollah (in Lebanon) as terrorist organisations. This means that aid money can pour into the coffers of both groups, enabling them to maintain their capacity for war against Israel. Nikki Haley, former U.S. Ambassador to the UN, estimates that since Joe Biden took office, U.S. subsidies to Hamas via the UN amount to 305 million. That the UN should be channeling money in such a way is a bitter irony, since the organisation was established at the end of World War II to promote peace and justice across the world. But from the beginning it was a vehicle for extortion, a watering-hole for freeloaders and a plaything for tyrants. Given the UN's obvious failings, it is particularly galling that the West and the UK in particular should so consistently prove the targets of its criticisms. Any potential sanctioning of the EHRC would be clearly absurd. Many in Britain will be wondering how much longer we can endure the UN's pious lectures and hypocrisy. At least Scooby Doo's Endgame resolves any dilemma over the King and Queen's Christmas walk to church. With Harry and Meghan highly unlikely to be pulling festive crackers at Sandringham, Charles and Camilla along with William and Kate won't have to pose for seasonal photos with the relatives from California. A walk to church on Christmas morning with the brothers pretending all is well would be a step too far for the Prince of Wales. It was tried in 2018 when William and Kate had to cancel Christmas Day with her family (Carole Middleton had done an interview about how she had decorated rooms for the children complete with their own trees) to put on a show of unity with H&M. It fooled no one. With Harry and Meghan highly unlikely to be pulling festive crackers at Sandringham, Charles and Camilla along with William and Kate won't have to pose for seasonal photos with the relatives from California A walk to church on Christmas morning with the brothers pretending all is well would be a step too far for the Prince of Wales (Pictured: Harry and Meghan in 2021) Does Charles have his shoelaces ironed as claimed by Omid Scobie? Not according to those who make his bespoke footwear at Church's factory. His laces are round, not flat, so ironing them would serve little purpose. Does Charles have his shoelaces ironed as claimed by Omid Scobie (pictured)? Not according to those who make his bespoke footwear at Church's factory How will Sir Paul McCartney, confirmed for the sequel to classic rock band movie spoof This Is Spinal Tap, cope as a thespian? Richard Lester, directing The Beatles in A Hard Day's Night and Help!, wasn't impressed with Macca's acting saying: 'He was so enthusiastic, he perhaps tried too hard.' Admits Paul: 'I think, "I could be such a great actor." Then they say 'Action!' and turn the camera on, and I go "uh-uh-uh-uh" I just don't think I'm a natural.' Wasn't Ringo available? Meanwhile, Ringo's son Zak Starkey, these days drumming for The Who, dismisses fans' calls for him to form a band with John Lennon's son Sean and Macca's son James. 'If we had spent three years sleeping on flea infested mattresses in the back room of a Hamburg club, it might have chemistry,' he says. 'But we have been swaddled in silken robes in houses so big that it's too far to go and make a piece of toast.' Ringo's son Zak Starkey (pictured), these days drumming for The Who, dismisses fans' calls for him to form a band with John Lennon's son Sean and Macca's son James Sharon Osbourne condemns Russell Brand, remarking: 'I wasn't surprised. Not at all. An extreme, outrageous person. I saw the documentary about him and thought, "How the hell did anybody get away with that behaviour?"' Change of tune? During his 2009 heyday Sharon admitted to having a crush on Brand, announcing: 'Oh, he's a sexy old thing.' Sharon Osbourne condemns Russell Brand, remarking: 'I wasn't surprised. Not at all. An extreme, outrageous person' Invited to Sir Ben Kingsley's dressing room shortly after he'd won an Oscar for Gandhi, Ade Edmondson asked: 'Where's the tea and biscuits?' Ben pointed to the end of the room where his spot-lit Oscar stood. 'He said, "There. There you are",' recalled Ade. Dismissing him, Ben added: 'Thank you very much for coming.' Reflecting on Angela Rippon, 79, recently being eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing, Ab Fab star Jennifer Saunders now cheekily quips: 'I'm not sure how many more times her legs could have gone to ten to six they may never tell the time again.' Hospitality work certainly isn't easy - and having to deal with ungrateful customers surely makes the task at hand even more difficult. Perhaps every single bartender, waiter and host around the world has had an encounter with a rude guest in their establishment - meaning they all have a story to tell. Some fed-up hospitality staff have aired their grievances on a Reddit page, Serverlife, as they share images illustrating some of the worst customers ever to walk through their doors. Bored Panda has collated the best (or worst) into an online gallery. The images include one snap which showed a seating area in a restaurant covered in blue powder after a customer carried out a gender reveal of their baby without asking permission first - and presumably with no thought given to the amount of time it would take to clean up. Elsewhere, a patron left their serving staff a small tip because another customer's child was screaming while they ate - something the stingy punter expected the staff to control. Waiters and bar staff from around the world took to the Reddit page Serverlife to share the infuriated encounters and Bored Panda collated the best into a gallery. They included one server who was left a measly tip because her customer claimed she'd wished her happy birthday in a 'lazy' tone And for one unlucky server, a customer who sneezed with food in his mouth left quite an unpleasant mess to be cleaned up after he paid his bill and left the restaurant. Another customer wrote 'tip at the back' on the receipt, only to write seven passive aggressive tips to the server- including 'pretend like you give a sh**.' Here FEMAIL takes a look at some of the rudest customers hospitality staff have encountered... It's a... big mess! Some very inconsiderate customers held a gender reveal party for their unborn baby boy at a restaurant, leaving blue powder and confetti everywhere In an insulting move, one 'big tipper' in the US left a 'million dollar bill' for their server which, sadly, was a fake One waiter shared a photo of what they claimed was the bar in their establishment covered in bits of food after he sneezed with food in his mouth Elsewhere, one unreasonable customer gave a small tip for their server because the staff didn't control another customer's screaming child Another customer wrote 'tip at the back' on the receipt, only to write seven passive aggressive tips to the server- including 'pretend like you give a sh**' Another particularly sensitive customer decided not to leave a tip because the waiter didn't 'smile' while serving them One customer said she was not leaving a tip at all because the server called her 'hun' - and she left a watning not to do it again Another customer, in the US, left a note on the receipt asking the waiting to not tell her kids off, even though they were apparently throwing sugar at other patrons While a waitress, in Miami, received an unsolicited sexual advance from a customer who left a very brash note at the end of his meal asking her to come to his hotel room Russia is suffering a growing number of attacks, accidents or whatever incidents involving defense activities inside Russia. The government says recent railroad accidents include derailments and damage to signaling and communications equipment. The Russian railroads are state-owned and operated, and move over 40 percent of Russias freight, often through areas where there is no other form of freight transportation. Ukrainian sabotage teams have also caused fires or explosions in factories producing munitions or components for complex weapons like guided missiles. The Russian government prefers to avoid discussion of Ukrainian special operations forces being responsible for sabotage inside Russia. Railroads are particularly sensitive because Russia has a poorly developed highway system and depends on 85,000 kilometers of railroad tracks and thousands of rail cars moved by thousands of electric and diesel engines operated by over 700,000 railroad employees. These employees are government workers because railways in Russia are state-owned and operated. In addition to the track and hundreds of passenger and cargo stations, there are also 138 railroad tunnels and 30,727 bridges, each of them a vulnerable choke point of destruction or damage. There are also 0ver 160,000 remotely operated switches to keep traffic moving and avoid collisions. Ukrainian sabotage teams in Russian territory disrupt railroad movement by damaging key elements of the railroad signals and communications systems. This makes the railroads less reliable and often leads to accidents that derail supply trains and block further use of that line until the wreckage is removed and the rails repaired. Ukraine has even been able to get operatives deep inside Russia to damage the Trans-Siberian Railroad, which is currently used to move weapons and munitions from North Korea to Ukraine. Ukraine continues to concentrate on Russian logistics, using long range missiles and GPS guided aircraft bombs to destroy Russian supplies that have been stockpiled for troops to use. Russia responded by moving the stockpiled supplies farther from the front lines and, when possible, storing them in underground bunkers. Such bunkers are great in theory, but in practice there are not many of these bunkers and supply stockpiles often end up out in the open, on pallets and covered by tarps. The rail connection from North Korea to the Russian railroad network was made possible by the completion in 2013 when Russia completed a 54-kilometer rail line from Russia to the North Korea railroad system. The new rail link was built through some very rough terrain and required 18 bridges and 4.5 kilometers tunnels to be built or rebuilt. Now it only takes 14 days to get cargo to western Russia and Europe by rail. It takes twice as long via Chinese rail links or 45 days by ship. In the past decade North Korea and Russia have both acquired more sanctions and restrictions on who they can trade with. Currently that mainly consists of pariah state Russia trading with pariah state North Korea. The common rail link makes a big difference. Before that the overland trade required trucks to be used over roads that are not in the best shape because of the difficulty in maintaining them and shortages of cash to pay for upgrades or maintenance. Gayle King channeled her inner model while enjoying her annual swimsuit shoot with her niece over Thanksgiving. The 68-year-old CBS Mornings co-anchor spent her holiday soaking up the sun with her family at Rosewood Mayakoba, a five-star luxury resort on Mexicos Riviera Maya. Per tradition, she couldn't let the long weekend pass without spoofing her 27-year-old niece Mekenzye Schwab's bikini photos, which she has been doing since 2017. King took to Instagram on Monday to share photos of herself recreating Schwab's poses during their vacation. Gayle King, 68, and her niece Mekenzye Schwab, 27, struck a pose for their annual Thanksgiving photo shoot while celebrating the holiday at a resort in Mexico King and Schwab modeled complementary yellow one-pieces with plunging necklines on the beach while smiling for the camera In another set of images, they are walking down the stairs of a yacht in black and white swimsuits, the blue sea sparkling behind them 'Back by popular demand: Our annual Thanksgiving swimsuit photo shoot with fav niece @mknzschwb,' she captioned the images. 'It all started as a joke in 2017 where I was making fun of Mekenzye and now its turned into a thing.but full disclosure everybody looks good taking a picture at @rwmayakoba in Cancun! Highly recommend.' The first photo in the post shows King and Schwab wearing complementary yellow one-pieces with plunging necklines while walking on a sandy beach path together. When her niece grabbed a piece of shrubbery and smiled for the camera, she struck the same exact pose for her own shot. In another set of images, they are walking down the stairs of a yacht, the blue sea sparkling behind them. Schwab was modeling a black and white bikini, while her aunt had on a similar, albeit less revealing, one-piece. King included an unretouched closeup of her backside while she walked into the water and a sultry image of herself enjoying an outdoor shower. The journalist's hilarious post received more than 13,000 likes, and hundreds of fans praised her for continuing the tradition with the shoot. 'Gayle said let me show these youngings how it's done,' one fan responded. 'Your authenticity is a breath of fresh air!' someone else added. King has been hilariously recreating Schwab's swimsuit photos since 2017. 'I was making fun of Mekenzye and now its turned into a thing,' she explained in the caption The CBS Mornings co-anchor has a strict 'no photoshopping' rule when it comes to posting the pictures King included a sultry photo of herself imitating her niece in an outdoor shower this year 'How is it possible you just look better every single year?????' another asked. The post also attracted the attention of some of King's famous friends, including actress Tatum O'Neil and Jeff Bezos's fiancee Lauren Sanchez, who both posted heart emojis. 'Everything!!!!!' filmmaker Ava DuVernay gushed. 'Awww,' ABC News journalist Deborah Roberts replied. 'Babes!' The View co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin commented. King opened up about their annual shoot last year, telling Oprah Daily that she came up with the idea while watching her niece take vacation pictures in 2017. Her recreation of the images was a hit with fans, and she has continued to do it every year since with Schwab's help. 'Mekenzye always poses first, and then I try to imitate whatever shes doing,' she explained, noting that their 'no photoshopping' rule is 'part of the fun.' 'And Im not trying to be a sexy babe Mekenzyes got that... So when I play the "who wore it best" game, its clearly a joke and we're both in on it,' she added. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not expect Spotify to 'turn down so many of their ideas', Omid Scobie has claimed in his new book. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's 'cheerleader-in-chief' said the couple have learnt a 'mountain of lessons' about 'the business side of things' after 'rushing' to sign commercial deals once they had left their roles in the Royal Family. Writing in his book Endgame, which was published in the UK on Tuesday, Mr Scobie said the Sussexes 'might have thought twice' about signing some lucrative deals 'had they not been under so much financial pressure.' The couple's multi-million-pound Spotify deal was axed in June following a 'mutual' decision between the streaming giant and Archewell Audio the Duke and Duchess' company. For their next chapter, Meghan, 42, and Harry, 39, are 'embarking on a total system reboot', a source told PEOPLE, while an insider told Mr Scobie that the Duchess is building 'something rooted in her love of details, curating, hosting, lifes simple pleasures, and family.' The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (pictured) did not expect Spotify to 'turn down so many of their ideas', Omid Scobie has claimed in his new book Discussing the Spotify deal, Mr Scobie wrote: 'Neither of the two expected executives to turn down so many of their ideas. The streamer, said a company source, was only interested in paying out for juicy goods that could generate major headlines and bring in subscriptions.' He added that only a portion of the '$20million' (15m) deal was ever paid out, with a source quoted in the book as saying: 'There have definitely been a mountain of lessons learned when it comes to the business side of things.' Mr Scobie suggested Meghan's next move is building 'something more accessible... something rooted in her love of details, curating, hosting, lifes simple pleasures, and family,' according to a source. A friend of the Duchess told the author: 'Meghan is busy working on creating something safe and timeless. And something that wont be accused of riding on the back of anything royal.' Meanwhile, a source told PEOPLE magazine that the Duke and Duchess are 'all about the future.' They said: 'What were seeing - and will see more of I think - is Heghan 2.0. Part Deux. They know of their supposed failures and how its viewed, but they have almost gone more tech than Hollywood. Fail big and all that. 'They have swapped in and out all sorts of projects and people and are embarking on a total system reboot.' Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's 'cheerleader-in-chief' said the couple (pictured in September 2023) have learnt a 'mountain of lessons' about 'the business side of things' after 'rushing' to sign commercial deals once they had left their roles in the Royal Family Writing in his book Endgame, which was published in the UK on Tuesday, Mr Scobie said the Sussexes 'might have thought twice' about signing some lucrative deals 'had they not been under so much financial pressure' In October, Spotify's chief executive suggested that Harry and Meghan's podcast deal collapsed because it failed to make consumers happy after the Sussexes made just 12 episodes in two-and-a-half years. Daniel Ek, who was making a rare media appearance almost four months after it was announced that the Archetypes podcast would not be renewed for a second season, admitted that some of Spotify's innovative ideas have not gone to plan. Sources close to the couple's multi-million pound deal which was signed by them in 2020 said it was was dropped after the pair did not produce enough content to warrant the full payout. Shedding new light on the decision not to renew Harry and Meghan's deal, Spotify boss Ek told the BBC: 'We thought new innovation was needed to happen here. 'We thought we can come in and offer a great experience that both makes consumers very happy and allows new creators new avenues.' He added: 'And the truth of the matter is some of it has worked, some of it hasn't. We're learning from those and we are moving on and we wish all of the ones we didn't renew with the best of success they can have going forward.' Ek was speaking to the BBC's Zoe Kleinman who had questioned him on whether 12 podcasts across two-and-a-half years from the Sussexes was worth 18million. She said his response had been 'very diplomatic'. Meghan's podcast was one of the most high-profile casualties at the time. It came after Spotify's deal with Barack and Michell Obama's production company also ended last year. On a conference call with financial analysts earlier this year, Ek conceded mistakes were made during a spree of more than $1billion as it attempted to establish itself as the top competitor in the industry. After it was revealed that Harry and Meghan's podcast would not be renewed, Spotify exec Bill Simmons described the couple as 'f****** grifters', an Americanism for swindlers. Simmons, Head of Podcast Innovation and Monetization at Spotify, condemned the pair in an episode of his own podcast. 'The f***ing grifters. That's the podcast we should have launched with them,' he said. 'I've got to get drunk one night and tell the story of the Zoom I had with Harry to try and help him with a podcast idea. It's one of my best stories.' Mr Scobie today insisted that Harry and Meghan did not brief him for Endgame - but revealed 'people around them' were happy to tell all about 'the ins and outs' of their rows with Royal Family. The author appears to be in New York for a series of US TV interviews to promote his latest attack on the Royal Family, calling much of the criticism of it 'nonsense'. Speaking to the London Evening Standard, the Sussexes' preferred royal reporter said that he had met Meghan on a number of occasions. But he again denied being close to the former Suits star and her royal husband, repeatedly insisting that they had not helped him with the new book. He said: 'There's enough people around them and in their orbit who know the ins and outs of things', adding: 'If there's ever been a private encounter with Meghan, I've spoken about it'. Mr Scobie has denied he was biased towards the Sussexes, saying that he's drawn to 'injustice' and aims to highlight what he sees as the hypocrisy of the Windsors trying to be a 'perfect example of traditional family values'. Scobie's 'depressingly poisonous' Endgame was today written off as just another book by those inside Buckingham Palace, MailOnline can reveal. Omid is particularly cruel to Prince William and his wife, who he says is dubbed 'Katie Keen'. He also appears to blame them, especially Kate, for pushing Meghan out: There was a coldness towards Meghan from the very early stages that I always found quite surprising. 'I always found it interesting that when Meghan was going through the sort of toughest days of her life, and struggling with mental health issues someone within the family whos experienced that glare as a newcomer for the first time herself wasnt able to turn around and help a family member. To me, I think that speaks a lot to someones character'. He also said to the Evening Standard that as a 'woman of colour', Meghan becoming a royal is a 'really important moment in British history'. He said the Windsors should have tried harder to keep her close, 'regardless of whether shes likeable'. Not keeping her in The Firm sends a 'strong message about the institutions attitudes towards people from different backgrounds'. He told the Standard that the Prince William is now 'very consumed, very hot tempered, quick to react' and staff needing to 'check which way the wind's blowing before talking to him'. Scobie told the Standard: 'It makes me wonder how happy he is in his role', adding that he believes there is a 'widening divide between father and son'. William, Harry, Meghan and Charles speak together at Westminster Abbey in March 2019 Omid Scobie's new book Endgame about the Royal Family is released today Buckingham Palace has kept a contemptuous silence but a royal source has dismissed Scobie's Endgame as just another book on the Windsors that is not worthy of official comment. The insider told MailOnline when asked if there were truth in claims made by Mr Scobie: 'There are hundreds of books written about the Royal Family'. Endgame was released today but some of the reviews have been poor. Even the Sussex-sympathising New York Times was withering, comparing his writing to an AI chatbot with one section compared to a press release from Meghan and Harry. The new book on the royals was branded 'vicious' and 'plain nasty' last night. Well-placed sources described wild claims that Charles, Camilla and William conspired to undermine Harry and Meghan as 'depressingly poisonous'. Omid Scobie's book also takes aim at the Princess of Wales, branding her 'cold' and lambasting her for backing mental health causes while 'ignoring Meghan's cries for help'. Using the words 'slay', 'bet' and the laughing emoji makes you look old, according to Generation Alpha. The slang terms, popular with Gen Z (those aged 13-26), are 'out' and newer terms including 'GYAT', 'preppy' and the crying emoji are in. Influencer Nicole Pellegrino, 31, from New Jersey shared a clip to Tiktok speaking to her 'Gen Alpha' sister and her 'bestie'. Gen Alpha, those currently aged 13 and under, believe that when texting, if you laugh you should send the crying emoji instead. 'If something is funny, you do the crying emoji, no one laughs by laughing,' Nicole's sister explains in the clip. Influencer Nicole Pellegrino , 31, from New Jersey shared a clip to Tiktok speaking to her 'Gen Alpha' sister and her 'bestie' 'The skull is used if you're insulting someone, as a joke,' she adds. She then goes onto explain that if she got a text saying 'I have a bigger GYAT than you, she would reply saying BSFR ('be so for real') followed by a skull emoji to imply that she disagrees. A dictionary to the new Gen Alpha slang terms Gyat : A term used to describe a person's curvaceous behind (girl your a** thick) : A term used to describe a person's curvaceous behind (girl your a** thick) Rizzler : Someone who is a good at picking up women : Someone who is a good at picking up women Skibidi : Derived from the YouTube animated series Skibidi Toilet, used in gaming to describe someone who is evil or bad : Derived from the YouTube animated series Skibidi Toilet, used in gaming to describe someone who is evil or bad Fanum tax : Someone who steals your food, comes from a creator named Fanum who was often seen grabbing bites of his friends' meals : Someone who steals your food, comes from a creator named Fanum who was often seen grabbing bites of his friends' meals Preppy : Wearing pink or pastel : Wearing pink or pastel Vanilla girl : Wearing collegiate style clothes : Wearing collegiate style clothes Crying emoji : Something is funny : Something is funny Skull emoji : Something is funny in a jokey mean way : Something is funny in a jokey mean way Bet (favoured by Gen Z, now out): For sure (favoured by Gen Z, now out): For sure Slay (favoured by Gen Z, now out), you've done well Advertisement According to Gen Alpha, GYAT is an acronym meaning 'girl your a** thick'. 'If you have a BBL or your butt shakes when you walk you would shout GYAT,' Nicole's sister explains. Bet, meaning 'for sure' or used to agree to something is also out. Preppy, according to the video, refers to someone who wears yoga brand Lululemon and pastel colours, not the smart, old-money style dressed that's usually associated with the word. When asked if Ralph Lauren Polo, a brand synonymous with millenial preppy, was 'preppy' they said no it was instead 'vanilla girl'. The video quickly racked up thousands of comments, with many disagreeing with the takes. 'As a 21 year old, I feel like I have more authority on this slay is NOT out,' said one. 'Watching Gen Alpha come for Gen Z is gonna be the highlight of my Millennial life,' added another. 'They said polo isn't preppy. Polo invented preppy!' added another. Other wrote that GYAT comes from AAVE (African American Vernacular English) and that it isn't an 'acronym Gen Alpha invented'. 'Gen Alpha need to learn the etymology of their own slang,' wrote one. 'They're ACTUALLY using gyat like fully seriously?' questioned another. 'I'm still trying to learn all the Gen Z slang and now there's Gen Alpha slang too. Man I am so old!' wrote another. 'Gen Alpha is making their own memes now. It has begun,' one horrified TikToker wrote in response to the viral new song. 'We are the next cringe gen on the chopping block' 'Ok so preppy is the new bougie? And vanilla is the new sad beige?' asked a confused millenial. 'Y'all will have to pry the laughing emoji out of my cold dead millennial hands,' said another. Other bizarre slang terms like 'fanum tax' and 'skibidi' have sparked bewilderment among adults - with even Gen Z admitting that the phrases are making them feel out of touch. Last month, an influencer who goes by the username @papaboy020 shared a clip of a video game character dancing along to a song he had written, and the catchy tune quickly went viral. It was the lyrics that seemed to catch everyone's attention, since they were filled with Gen Alpha sayings and words that the other generations had never heard of - prompting many to question: 'What does fanum tax mean?' 'Sticking out your gyat for the rizzler. You're so skibidi. You're so fanum tax,' the lyrics read. It turns out, Gyat is slang for a person's behind, while rizzler is used to describe someone who is a good at 'picking up women,' according to Urban Dictionary. As for skibidi, that came from an animated YouTube series called Skibidi Toilet that followed a group of bizarre creatures who lived in toilets that were trying to take over the world. It became a meme among Gen Alpha - and is now a popular term used amongst gamers to describe people who are bad. Fanum tax is a term that was coined after a popular YouTube creator who goes by the name Fanum was seen stealing a small amount of food from his friends in numerous videos, and it is now used to describe someone who takes stuff from someone else's plate. 'Gen Alpha is making their own memes now. It has begun,' one horrified TikToker wrote in response to the viral new song. 'We are the next cringe gen on the chopping block.' 'Bro, what's fanum tax? Am I too old? I'm literally 16,' someone else joked. Last month, a young streamer who uploads videos of himself playing Roblox to TikTok under the username @papaboy020 shared a clip of his character dancing along to a song he had written People also flooded the comment sections of the videos with their thoughts. One person joked, 'Yet another generation I need to learn an entire new language for' What generation are you? From Silent Generation to Gen Alpha Many researchers disagree on the exact years of each demographic, with many falling at the start or end of each group known as 'cuspers'. The Greatest Generation: Born 1900-1925 The Silent Generation: Born 1925-1945 Baby Boomers: Born 1946-1964 Gen X: Born 1965-1980 Millennials: Born 1981-1998 Gen Z: Born 1999-2010 Gen Alpha: Born early 2010s-2025 Advertisement It comes as young people are turning their backs on WhatsApp and returning to old-fashioned 'chic' SMS as the pressure to be constantly contactable is leaving them with 'anxiety'. Mark Zuckerberg's messaging service is too 'invasive' with people saying the constant bombardment of notifications means they are switching back to iMessage and a simpler form of texting. WhatsApp is currently undergoing a makeover but the sleek new look may not be enough to win back those who have jumped ship. One of those is dating expert Clarissa Bloom, 34, who on average would receive around 300 messages a day from the 12 groups she was in. The sight of a WhatsApp message pinging up on her phone would leave her stomach in knots 'like I had just consumed copious amounts of caffeine' even after she had muted nine of the groups. 'It just felt overwhelming and stressful, even though the messages were always nice posts from friends and family,' she told MailOnline. She points to WhatsApp desktop wreaking havoc with her daily life with the constant stream of messages popping up on the screen hampering her work. 'It used to give me anxiety as I felt the need to instantly respond, however it would break up my rhythm,' she said. 'I would also try constantly to read messages on WhatsApp by flicking my phone down and seeing the opening line, rather than clicking on it, so people didn't see I read it, as I simply couldn't watch a movie or a show without having to constantly stare at my phone.' All that changed when Clarissa 'unintentionally' switched back to SMS when she got a new phone and didn't bother to install WhatsApp. Her life is better for it albeit she has to constantly explain to people to text her when they say to her 'I tried WhatsApping you'. 'My mind is definitely more relaxed for it, I don't feel the need to answer straight away and it has also pushed me not to check my phone between work hours, which has increased my concentration and productively significantly,' she says. One of the main bugbears is the 'nightmare' of people seeing you have read a message, meaning 'I would feel obliged to respond', Clarissa says. 'Another factor is the way people message on WhatsApp. When people used to write on texts or email, you would write a long message, then wouldn't expect a response for a day. 'MSN was the 'old school' instant chat messenger, where instant replies would be expected unless you were set to 'offline' or 'busy'. But with WhatsApp, it's like you're permanently set to 'online' and people can be offended if you take too long to respond.' Just months after visitors to a China zoo became convinced a sun bear was actually a human in disguise... conspiracy theorists are at it again. Animal fans now believe that pandas at another Chinese zoo are also no more than humans in cuddly suits. A video filmed at Chongqing Zoo shows three pandas gathering around a wooden table and chairs to eat food left out for them. As the trio sit down, a fourth panda enters the fray, before each panda stands on its hind legs to eat food from the table. After the video was posted to X, formerly Twitter, users were split over whether the bears are real pandas or humans masquerading as the black and white bamboo lovers. A video filmed at Chongqing Zoo shows three pandas gathering around a wooden table and chairs to eat food that has been left out for the animals. As the three pandas sit down to eat, a fourth can be seen entering the fray, with each panda standing on their hind legs over to eat food off the table After the video was posted to X, formerly Twitter , users appeared split over whether the bears are actually real pandas, or humans masquerading themselves as the animals in suits Some believed the animals were genuine, though plenty of others weren't so sure. One said: 'That's pretty damn good sitting at the end of the clip, [it] does it exactly how bears do. It would be hard for a man to sit back like that.' A second added: 'I wouldn't even be mad if it was someone in a suit. At least that's another bear free.' Another questioned: 'Sure it isn't someone in panda suits?' A fourth joked: 'This video just reinforces my theory that pandas are actually humans in panda suits. That's not a real animal.' Recently a pair of moon bears were captured laying on a slab of concrete at an unidentified zoo. The video sparked a firestorm on social media, with users in doubt over whether or not they were people posing as bears for the camera. A similarly mixed reaction came after Angela the sun bear baffled people around the world - with fans debating whether she really is a bear or merely a human in a costume. As the smallest of the bear family, sun bears are often not remarked for their size, but are more well known for their above average intelligence Dr Wong Siew Te, a Malaysian wildlife biologist and sun bear specialist, later said the sun bear is definitely not a 'human in disguise'. Dr Te said he 'didn't know whether to laugh or cry' when he heard the speculation surrounding the sun bear. 'There is no doubt that it is a sun bear. I currently have four rescue sun bears in my centre and it shows that people know very little about them,' he said. Prince William appeared 'tense' and 'struggling with a desire to fight back' upon his arrival at the Tusk Conservation Awards - amid the release of royal biographer Omid Scobie's new book, a body language expert has claimed. However, the Prince of Wales, 41, managed an apparent 'turnaround' as the evening continued at the The Savoy Hotel on The Strand in London, Judi James told FEMAIL. She said the royal performed 'some of his most socially relaxed and engaged body language signals to date' after initially expressing 'some clues that he might just be struggling with a desire to fight back against some of the claims in this new book'. Mr Scobie claimed in Endgame, which had been published in Australia at the time of William's outing before being released today in the UK, that the royal has rejected attempts by Prince Harry to set up meetings this year. The Sussexes' preferred royal reporter said the Duke of Sussex made two attempts to set up meetings with William in the wake of his bombshell memoir, Spare, which was released in January, but that the Prince of Wales refused both attempts. Prince William (pictured) appeared 'tense' and 'struggling with a desire to fight back' upon his arrival at the Tusk Conservation Awards - amid the release of royal biographer Omid Scobie's new book, a body language expert has claimed William smiled warmly as he greeted organisers upon his arrival at yesterday's awards, but Judi said: 'The prince tends to be the one who struggles most in the Firm when it comes to hiding his inner feelings during times of personal attack and his arrival body language at this event did throw out some clues that he might just be struggling with a desire to fight back against some of the claims in this new book. 'His teeth look slightly clenched to suggest tension as he parts his lips to smile and there is a lack of the kind of wrinkling around the sides of his eyes that helps form an eye-smile to signal genuine good humour. 'His feet are widely splayed in a gesture of physical strength and his trait of tugging at his cuffs suggests a subliminal desire to get ready for a fight.' She continued: 'These are suppressed leakage signals though that he contains beneath a charming exterior and as the event goes on the mantra What doesnt kill me makes me stronger seems to apply, because during the evening there is an apparent turnaround as he performs some of his most socially relaxed and engaged body language signals to date. 'His speech shows his ability to push any negative thoughts aside and focus on his cause. Mingling with guests he looks on sparking form. 'With a drink in one hand he is suddenly confident enough to put the other hand in one pocket, not in a desire to hide by stuffing the hand away, but in a gesture that deserves that old-fashioned word: suave. William and rock 'n' roll royalty Ronnie shared a chuckle as they both chatted during the awards The Prince of Wales (left) speaks with Sally and Ronnie Wood at the 11th annual Tusk Conservation Awards at the Savoy Hotel In his keynote address, the Prince hailed the ceremony as 'a rare moment to reflect on the significant achievements of our award winners and to recognise the challenges they face each and every day' 'Chatting to Ronnie Wood he even takes the lead in a rather tactile and immersive-looking conversation by holding Ronnies bicep as he talks. His smiles of pleasure now look relaxed and totally authentic, with that give-away eye-wrinkle that was missing on his arrival. 'Williams body language has often suggested some social shyness or awkwardness but if there is a "Scobie" effect it seems to have been nothing but positive when it comes to Williams new-found look of totally enhanced body language confidence here,' concluded Judi. As the Prince presented awards and made a speech in his role as patron at the ceremony yesterday, he was shaking off some explosive claims published in Endgame about his role in the royal family and the fractured relationship he now shares with his brother. In a chapter about the Prince of Wales, Scobie recounts meeting one of the royal's former aides and asking them whether William and Kate have made note of the 'difficulties of being the spare to the heir'. Will opted for a chic navy suit and printed tie as he arrived at The Savoy for the award ceremony William chatted with Franck Arnold - the Managing Director & Regional Vice-President at The Savoy London The source said: '[Prince William] has read passages but not the full thing... Harry's experience is very different to [that of William's] own children.' Elsewhere in the book, Scobie claims that Prince Harry tried to reach out to his brother on two separate occasions while he was in London. At the time, the royal's memoir had only been out for a matter of weeks - and his attempts at contacting Prince William fell on deaf ears. Scobie claims: 'In February and March, the Prince turned to a mutual friend in London to try to set up a conversation with his brother, but the attempts were ignored.' Prince Harry made a series of damaging claims about his brother in his memoir - including going into detail about one alleged incident where Prince William 'knocked him into a dog bowl that cracked and cut his back' within the Kensington Palace estate. Omid Scobie's new book Endgame about the Royal Family is released today What's more, the Duke of Sussex also claimed that the Prince and Princess of Wales 'told him to wear' the infamous Nazi fancy dress costume and 'howled with laughter' when they saw him in it. While promoting his memoir in January, Prince Harry invited The Daily Telegraph's Bryony Gordon into the family's Montecito home - where he revealed he 'worries' about the Prince and Princess of Wales' children. He said at the time: 'And though William and I have talked about it once or twice, and he has made it very clear to me that his kids are not my responsibility. 'I still feel a responsibility knowing that out of those three children, at least one will end up like me, the spare. And that hurts, that worries me.' Women posing in their underwear after overcoming an enormous challenge - be it related to body image, illness or surgery - has become a powerful way of showing the world that they are far from beaten. Often these photoshoots are portrayed as fun, with lots of dancing, chinking of wine glasses and laughing into the camera. Well, I can tell you it wasnt like that for me and the other brave women I posed with for this photograph. We were scared, we were nervous we were deeply moved as we shared our stories. No one felt like dancing. We drank tea, not wine. But afterwards, when we looked at the pictures and saw ourselves and each other how others will, we felt strong, beautiful and, yes, empowered. This gamut of emotions comes largely from the fact that our health battles are ongoing. We have all been fitted with stoma bags for a variety of reasons we are still coming to terms with our new reality. Petrina was diagnosed with cancer shortly after giving birth to her son in February 2014 but said participating in a Japanese art-inspired photoshoot (pictured) has made her feel 'empowered' Petrina Barber (pictured in hospital) has told of her 'heartbreak' after being diagnosed with cervical cancer and subsequently living with a stoma bag The former fitness influencer has turned her attention to advocating for anyone needing stoma surgery My stoma was fitted nine months ago, after cancer and then further complex health problems meant my bowel stopped working. Afterwards I felt both physically and emotionally changed it challenged my idea of myself as a woman. I felt totally broken. Since then I have made it my mission to help other women come to terms with their stoma. With these pictures I wanted people to know that a stoma isnt something that needs to be hidden; it neednt be a source of shame or make anyone feel somehow less than. Inspired by the Japanese art of Kintsugi, which takes broken objects and highlights any cracks and imperfections with gold, we similarly turned our scars into something beautiful. In the early days after my operation I felt anything but beautiful. Stoma surgery creates an opening on the surface of the abdomen through which the flow of bodily waste is diverted into a stoma bag attached to your body. Around one in 330 people in the UK have one, and for many their stoma is life-saving, especially if its part of cancer treatment. But of the 21,000 people who have one fitted each year, a large but unrecorded number are just like me theirs didnt save them, its simply a necessary part of an ongoing battle against complicated and devastating disease. Others, even if it is keeping them alive, still struggle to accept theyve had to have one in the first place. Our stories need sharing too. Stoma surgery creates an opening on the surface of the abdomen through which the flow of bodily waste is diverted into a stoma bag attached to your body (Pictured: Petrina poses with her stoma bag) The former HR specialist said her stoma was fitted nine months ago, following complications from cancer and further complex health problems After having the stoma fitted, she said: 'Afterwards I felt both physically and emotionally changed it challenged my idea of myself as a woman. I felt totally broken' Ten years ago my life was very different. I was living in New York with my husband, both of us enjoying high-flying careers I worked in HR for a global investment company. In February 2014 I gave birth to our baby son. Life felt wonderfully charmed. But I soon began to feel unwell. My stomach hurt and I was losing blood. I put it down to the aftermath of pregnancy and childbirth. It was only when I went for a postnatal appointment that my gynaecologist realised there was something seriously wrong with my cervix and sent me for a biopsy and scan. When I was diagnosed with advanced cervical cancer I remember saying, utterly bewildered: But my babys only five months old, as if that could somehow save me. My husband echoed those words. He couldnt imagine a world that saw our little boy motherless. I had a year of brutally strong chemotherapy and radiotherapy to shrink the tumour, which left me so weak my husband had to push me around in a wheelchair. I didnt even have the strength to hold my baby. As someone who took great pleasure and satisfaction from physical exercise and worked at having a strong and healthy body, this added another layer to my despair. Although the cancer was initially cured, she was soon diagnosed with pelvic radiation disease (PRD), a rare, incurable side-effect of chemotherapy and radiotherapy As someone who 'worked at having a strong and healthy body', Petrina said she has since struggled with her self image The mum said her illness has had a profound effect on her ability to mother her son, now nine: 'For the majority of his life, my husband has had to take on my role as his mother as well his own as a father' (Pictured: Petrina in hospital) Thankfully, the treatment worked and by March 2015 I was cancer free. But my relief was short-lived. By that summer I was in excruciating pain, caused by pelvic radiation disease (PRD), a rare, incurable side-effect of the very treatment that had saved me. The radiation had killed the cancer cells but it was now eating its way through healthy tissue. The only treatment for this is to remove the organs being attacked, which for me was my bladder, bowel and reproductive organs. Over five years of surgeries, Ive lost them all except my bladder eventually that might fail, meaning I could need another stoma and urostomy bag fitted. According to my surgeon at Londons Royal Marsden hospital, mine is the worst case of PRD hes seen in his 40-year career. As youd imagine, all this has profoundly affected my sense of womanhood. At one particularly low point that well-worn phrase, Its not how you are on the outside that matters, its whats inside that really counts, came into my head. What is a stoma? A stoma is a surgically-created opening made on the abdomen, which is made to divert the flow of urine and faeces. According to the NHS, this procedure may be needed if you cannot pass stools through your anus, which could be the result of an illness, injury or problem with your digestive system. In the UK, it is estimated that one in 335 people have had the surgery. The procedure can be part treatment for a number of illnesses, including cancer, diverticulitis, Crohns disease or any trauma to the abdomen. The stoma will generally be 'pink and most - like the inside of our mouths'. After the surgery, it will be swollen, but this will reduce in six to eight weeks. There is no sensation to touching a stoma - as there are no nerves - but different people will have theirs in a different size or shape. It is also possible to have a temporary stoma, which could later be reversed, if the diseased or damaged area in the bowel needs to heal over time. A stoma is a surgically-created opening made on the abdomen, which is made to divert the flow of urine and faeces. Stock image used TYPES OF STOMA COLOSTOMY This refers to an opening in the colon - the large intestine. During the operation, a part of the colon will be brought from inside the body through their abdomen. The output from this 'often resembles a traditional stool' and functions around one to three times a day. ILEOSTOMY For this procedure, the surgeon will bring a part of the small intestine - the ileum specifically - from inside the patient's body and bring it through the abdomen, stitching it down to secure it. The output for an ileostomy is looser than that of a colostomy. An ileostomy bag - which enables drainage into the toilet between three to six times a day' - is also worn. UROSTOMY A urostomy refers to an opening for a person's urine specifically. For this, the surgeon will take a piece of someone's small intestine and attach it to the ureters. This will 'form a passageway for urine to pass through'. For this, one of the tube is brought out through the abdomen. A urostomy bag will also have a 'bung or tap on the bottom to allow urine to be drained at regular intervals into the toilet'. Source: Colostomy UK, NHS Advertisement I remember thinking: Well, Im screwed then, because theres nothing left on the inside for me, so am I still even a woman at all? As women, so many of us struggle with body image at the best of times. We also beat ourselves up, convinced were never quite enough, when it comes to the roles that so often define us: whether thats as a mother, a wife or a daughter. And Im no different. As well as the physicality of having a bodily process normally hidden from view taking place outside of my body, Im still getting used to the practical side of looking after it. Dealing with it can be messy; sometimes it makes embarrassing noises in public. I wish I didnt need it. The psychological impact on my own sense of self has been huge. My sons nine now, and illness has meant that for the majority of his life my husband has had to take on my role as his mother as well his own as a father. That breaks my heart. As both a wife and daughter, my caring role has been reversed, my husband and my mum constantly having to take care of me. Meanwhile, my surgery has removed much of what physically makes your body female. Society sets the bar for what it means to be a woman ridiculously high as it is, so on bad days I have to fight really difficult feelings over my sense of self-worth. Six weeks after my stoma was fitted, I remember looking at some old photographs of myself wearing a bikini and completely breaking down. They were taken last summer on a trip to Ibiza with friends for my 41st birthday. Back then, I felt so relaxed about my body. I couldnt imagine feeling like that ever again. That girl has gone, I wept to my husband. Shes dead now. I felt physically broken, emotionally defeated and utterly grief stricken. To help myself, throughout this journey, I have focused on regaining my strength through exercise. In doing so, Ive become a fitness expert. I used to have a large following on social media as a fitness influencer. But since having my bag fitted, Ive become a campaigner and advocate for anyone needing this surgery, and thats where I now want my influence to count. My website, Beyond the Stoma, provides information, resources and a sense of community for people like me. The fitness photos I now post online all have my stoma on show. The idea for this campaign came to me back when I was in hospital waiting for my stoma surgery almost a year ago now. Also participating in the shoot were men and women who have been fitted with stoma bags (Pictured: Sophie Brown, 40, who has two stoma bags, one for her bladder and the other for her bowel) The Japanese art of Kintsugi, takes broken objects and highlights any cracks and imperfections with gold. (Pictured: Natalie Woodward, 41, who has a colostomy bag following treatment for bowel cancer) Pictured: Lucy Curran, 30, who lives in Warrington. She has a urostomy bag following treatment for cervical cancer Here, Dan Flood poses in this remarkable image with a stoma bag attached to his abdomen I was terrified of what lay ahead of me, and hadnt been able to find anyone speaking openly online about how its OK to feel the way I did. Once I was well enough, I vowed, I would start a new conversation surrounding stomas. Since launching the website, Ive heard from so many women who are just a few weeks into their recovery telling me they cant imagine ever feeling whole again. Thats why making the pictures speak to the art of Kintsugi feels so powerful. The women who joined me on the photoshoot have all experienced similar struggles. Natalie Woodward, whos 41, has a colostomy bag following treatment for bowel cancer. Sophie Brown, is 40 and has two stoma bags, one for her bladder and the other for her bowel. While Lucy Curran, whos 30 and lives in Warrington, has a urostomy bag following treatment for cervical cancer. Lucy describes taking the part in the shoot as a turning point in her stoma story. I felt brave and empowered and as though the part of me that had been missing since my surgery had somehow returned, she says. As for me, my body finally feels like it belongs to me again. I want other women to know that this shift can happen. Thats the whole point of these photographs, and why its important we posed for them. When I look at the ones of me, my scars adorned with gold, I realise that even though I might have felt broken at times, Im not damaged, Im just changed. And the reason behind that is not something I, or anyone else for that matter, should ever feel they ought to hide. For further information, advice and support visit beyondthestoma.com. As Told to Rachel Halliwell A British expat who's lived in Australia for four years was left 'mind blown' after finding out one little-known fact about Melbourne. Georgia Davies was struck down with a bad case of hay fever for the first time after returning Down Under from six months of travelling - but she had no idea why. Her nose was 'running like a tap' when a stranger at a cafe mentioned Melbourne is the world's 'allergy capital'. 'If you're moving to Melbourne, you need to know about this,' she warned in a TikTok video. British expat Georgia Davies was gobsmacked after being told Melbourne is the world's 'allergy capital' and had dreadful hay fever after retuning Down Under from travelling 'If you're moving to Melbourne, you need to know about this,' she warned in a TikTok video 'I've lived here for four years and only found this out today,' Georgia continued. 'So I've never had hay fever in my entire life and I've been out of Melbourne for six months travelling.' Since arriving back Down Under, Georgia said her nose has been 'running like a tap'. 'I was in a cafe telling a friend about this and someone overheard and told me that Melbourne is the allergy capital of the world. I Googled it and it's actually true?!' 'How did I not know about this until today?' The 20-second video has since been viewed nearly half a million times and other fellow Melbournians said they too had 'no idea' The 20-second video has since been viewed nearly half a million times and other fellow Melbournians said they too had 'no idea'. 'Omg did not know this!' one claimed, another said: 'Makes so much sense now.' Someone else wrote: 'Lived here all my life and just finding this out.' Another added: 'Never had hay fever in my life and right now I'm dying of blocked nose ... and sneezing non stop with a sore throat.' Read more: American expat 'blown away' by everyday kitchen essential that everyone in Australia and New Zealand has How I make an extra $1,400 a month from home on top of my regular job - and anyone can do it An American expat has revealed the one thing all Australians have in common - and it's that they 'love lying' to tourists. Emily Tollefson has lived in Sydney for over a year and often fell victim to classic Aussie 'pranks' when she first moved Down Under from Minnesota. 'One thing I've become very aware of since moving to Australia is how much Australians love to lie and troll tourists,' she said. 'If you're visiting a country and you say something wrong, the natives will usually correct it - but not Australians.' Emily has been previously misled about food, politics, geography, and especially animals - as the North American spent two months believing 'drop bears' were real. 'Not only will Aussies validate your misinformation, but they'll add ridiculous facts on top of it and they will lie about everything,' she said. Emily explained that Australia has an international reputation for being home to 'dangerous' wildlife. 'We always hear about the poisonous, scary animals Australia has but you don't really know what you're dealing with until you get here,' she said. 'I thought Australians would like to tell you the truth about snakes, spiders, and kangaroos - but no, they like to scare tourists and spread lies.' Emily added, 'It's not restricted to one area, it's a national thing that Australians seem to like to troll tourists.' The American believed in drop bears for two months when she first moved to Sydney. The drop bear is a longstanding urban legend in Australia which has often been used to prank tourists. The legend tell the tale of a wild animal related to the koala which pounces on its prey from above - hence the name 'drop bear'. Emily Tollefson has lived in Sydney for over a year and often fell victim to classic Aussie 'pranks' when she first moved Down Under from Minnesota What is a drop bear? The drop bear is a longstanding urban legend in Australia which has often been used to prank tourists. The legend tell the tale of a wild animal related to the koala which pounces on its prey from above - hence the name 'drop bear'. Worried foreigners are told that the bears are known to lurk in woodlands and wait as long as four hours to make a surprise kill. The story has it that the drop bear will grip on to its prey with its powerful forearms and bite its victims on the neck, the Australian Museum says. Folk remedies for fending off a drop bear attack include spreading toothpaste or Vegemite behind your ears or putting forks in your hair. Like the drop bear itself, there is no evidence to back up any of these claims. Advertisement A Canadian who frequently travels to Australia also issued a similar warning. Chris Zou said an Aussie friend successfully convinced him that koalas were poisonous during a previous trip and warned other tourists not to fall for other tricks. 'For any of you planning to visit Australia in the future, let me heed you a warning,' Chris said in a video. 'Take what Australians say with a grain of salt because for some reason one of their favourite pastimes is trolling tourists.' The Canadian said he is about to visit Australia for the third time this year and is determined not to fall for any local tricks. Chris Zou has travelled from Canada to Australia several times this year and issues a warning to other visiting. He said Australians love to 'troll' tourists and he's fallen for their tricks The first time Chris and his partner came to Australia they wanted to see if the rumour of the toilet flushing the opposite way to the northern hemisphere was true. 'The water spins the exact same f***ing way that it spins here and we stared at each other wondering why would any one make this up?' he recalled. The last time Chris came to Australia an Aussie friend told him a lie that he later shared with his 304,800 TikTok followers. 'I was chatting with an Australian friend of mine, or someone who I thought was a friend, and he just casually threw out you can't eat a koala because they're poisonous,' he explained. A friend of Chris's convinced him Koalas couldn't be eaten because they are poisonous. Chris shared the 'fact' on TikTok sending thousands into hysterics (stock image) The TikToker shared his newfound information online leaving hundreds of Aussies in stitches. 'The comment section was full of Australians being like, 'There go our people again, just tricking the tourist, we're so funny',' he said. 'I'm like why the f*** would my friend lie about this? Why would he be okay with me making a fool of myself in front of hundreds of thousands of people?' Chris also complained about how Australians speak in a 'confusing' manner specifically those who say 'Yeah, nah' or 'Nah, yeah'. 'The conversation keeps going and then I'm sitting there like a fucking idiot wondering wait did he mean yes or did he mean no?' he said. He finished by asking his Aussie followers if the recent news Melbourne Univeristy will be hosting a 'Swiftposium' academic conference to discuss Taylor Swift's impact on culture and the economy. READ MORE: I just arrived in Australia from America and I can't believe this one bizarre thing all Aussies do at the airport Advertisement Australian viewers thought Chris's experiences were hysterical and others shared their own Aussie 'facts'. 'Sarcasm is our unofficial language. We also get overexcited by tourists because they have so far to travel here,' a second explained. 'The money in Australia is called dollarydoos,' joked a third. 'All true. Sorry. But do be careful of the drop bears when you go to Melbourne,' a fourth added. Others cleared up the confusion over the way Australians speak. 'The 'yeah' part is to acknowledge what you're saying or your point of view. The 'nah' is the answer or response. Works the same opposite,' one view said. Vaccines for the disease could be cheaper and more accessible than other proposed treatments Alzheimer's disease is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States Advertisement They've cured countless childhood diseases and dragged us out of the Covid pandemic, and now, vaccines could be set to treat and prevent Alzheimer's disease. After decades of failed trials, ineffective drugs and billions of dollars spent, a new frontier of shots offer a glimmer of hope for current and future sufferers of the cruel condition that affects 5.8million Americans. While there have been recent breakthroughs with the approval of IV treatment Leqembi and the soon-to-be-approved drug donanemab, these require hours-long infusions multiple times a month and can cost up to $26,000 per year. And effects are marginal at best - giving patients a few extra months of health. Importantly, some doctors have raised concern about the safety of these drugs, amid reports of catastrophic brain bleeds - and even deaths - in patients on the clinical trials. Over the last decade, researchers have focused their attention on vaccines, which are cheaper, more accessible and have more accommodating administration schedules. There are currently at least six clinical trials either completed or in progress testing the safety and efficacy of vaccines to treat and prevent Alzheimer's disease that DailyMail.com has explained below, including how researchers hope they work and when they could possibly become available. There are at least six Alzheimer's vaccines currently in the works, and patients can expect to access them in a few years While two vaccines have shown promising results and earned them FDA fast track consideration for approval, patients will likely still have to wait a few years before they can access them. As the aging population of the US continues to grow, so will the rates of dementia. Currently, an estimated 5.8million Americans have Alzheimer's disease - the most common cause of dementia - the vast majority of whom are aged over 65. By 2050, this number is projected to rise to nearly 13 million. While the main cause of Alzheimer's disease is still debated, scientists believe the damage is likely to be the result of abnormal build-up of proteins - amyloid and tau - in and around brain cells. In Alzheimer's patients, amyloid proteins are not effectively cleared from the body and eventually form plaques in the brain. In AD, t au proteins detach from neurons and form tangles, causing neurons to die. When neurons die, messages can't be delivered as effectively throughout the brain, which scientists believe is what causes the thinking difficulties in dementia. For decades, Alzheimer's researchers have focused on developing drugs that target clumps of amyloids - a hallmark sign of AD. However, they have recently turned their focus to how tau proteins play a role in cognitive decline. Unlike amyloid, which accumulates widely across the brain and sometimes in people with no dementia symptoms at all, autopsies of AD patients reveal tau is concentrated precisely where brain atrophy is most severe. Accumulation of tau is also seen in specific locations that may explain the difference in patient's symptoms, such as language-related areas of the brain or memory-related areas. AD treatments have aimed to slow the build-up of these proteins, or destroy the deposits that have already formed. Vaccines for Alzheimer's disease have been in development for more than two decades, but the first trial was terminated when six percent of the volunteers developed a type of life-threatening brain swelling called meningoencephalitis. Research pivoted, with treatments instead focused on infusing man-made antibodies into patients via a drip in the arm, rather than vaccines. Trials of these treatments, such as Leqembi and donanemab proved removing the amyloid plaque clusters was key to fighting Alzheimer's in early stages. The above graph shows the estimated projection of Alzheimer's disease patients in the US through 2060. Following that discovery, many of today's vaccines - being studied in multiple doses and given at varying intervals throughout the year - are designed to provoke the body's immune system into producing antibodies that fight amyloids and tau. Most of the newer vaccines use immunotherapy - a treatment that uses a person's own immune system to fight a disease. Specifically, they increase the activity of B cells - immune cells that are primed to hunt and fight specific intruders. Scientists are hoping the vaccines will successfully recruit the body's own 'fighter' cells to track down and destroy amyloid plaques and tau tangles. Some of the shots are up to 98 percent effective at triggering this 'fighter' immune response, according to the small trials that have been conducted so far. Dr Reisa Sperling, an Alzheimer's researcher at Mass General Brigham in Boston, told Reuters that developing vaccines is 'where we need to go' when it comes to preventing the disease. And a vaccine given a few times a year could be a welcome alternative to Leqembi's expensive twice-monthly infusions. Leqembi is estimated to cost $26,500 per year. Similarly, donanemab is administered to patients via once-a-month intravenous injections for up to 18 months. A cost for the drug is yet to be revealed, but researchers have suggested it will be priced at $1,600 per dose or $20,000 annually. Dr Walter Koroshetz, director of the neurological disorders division of the National Institutes of Health, told Reuters that vaccines, 'could be worldwide, and not that expensive'. Here, DailyMail.com unveils the fascinating details of six promising anti-dementia shots - including how soon they could be available. Vaxxinity: 'Most advanced' immunotherapy When you hear immunotherapy, you normally think of cancer, but Vaxxinity's vaccine, dubbed UB-311, is an active immunotherapy vaccine that targets the toxic amyloid buildup in the brain associated with Alzheimer's. Among the several vaccines in production, Vaxxinity's may be the furthest along, having completed its Phase 2 trial. However, the company has been unable to find an international partner to help fund a larger, confirmatory trial. In May 2022, Vaxxinity received fast track designation for the vaccine, which it hails as the 'most advanced' immunotherapy. With an FDA fast track designation, the agency expedites its review process in order to get breakthrough drugs to market quicker. For drugs to be granted this status, they must show 'superior effectiveness,' avoid side effects of available therapies, improve diagnosis of a serious condition and be able to address an emerging public health need. Publishing results from its trial in August 2023, Vaxxinity said the vaccine proved to be safe and tolerable among the 43 participants who had mild Alzheimer's disease. Data showed there was a 97 percent antibody response and scientists saw a trend of slowing cognitive decline in people who received the vaccine compared to those who received placebo. Side effects of the vaccine were mild and included irritation at the injection site, injection-site pain and swelling. Six patients did experience slight brain bleeding, which is a side effect common with infusion treatments, but the company still reported the safety of the vaccine was comparable to that of the placebo. In the 78-week Phase 2 trial, UB-311 'elicited a robust, rapid... antibody response. UB-311 was generally well-tolerated.' There were three groups of participants. Group 1 received seven doses of the vaccine over the 78-week period. Group 2 received five doses of UB-311 and two doses of placebo and group 3 received seven doses of placebo. Dr Jeffrey Cummings, who co-authored the paper announcing the trial results, said in an August 2023 press release: 'The UB-311 Phase 2a program accomplished its goals of establishing safety and tolerability, while generating high levels of anti-amyloid antibodies. 'Vaccine approaches such as UB-311 represent important ways forward in advancing treatment and prevention of Alzheimers disease and offer the potential to transform the treatment landscape by providing participants with an accessible therapeutic option.' Axon Neuroscience: Positive trial results and seeking a partner for future studies Like UB-311, Axon Neuroscience's immunotherapy active vaccine has finished its Phase 2 trial with positive results but has been unable to find a partner to help with clinical development. The trial was a two-year study to assess the safety and efficacy of the vaccine, which, dependent on time of approval, could be the first tau-targeted vaccine offered to patients. While research into vaccines against amyloids have been around for decades, vaccines targeting tau proteins are fairly new. Results showed the vaccine demonstrated excellent safety and 'robust' antibody production in people with mild AD. The company reported there was no difference in adverse events between the group that received placebo and the group that received the vaccine. In the trial of 196 people, the treatment was shown to be highly effective in inducing a robust immune response, with 98 percent of patients generating antibodies against tau. The vaccine 'showed a strong efficacy signal, demonstrated by significant slowing of clinical and functional decline.' The trial found the vaccine slowed the progression of the neurodegenerative process seen in AD to that more typically seen in healthy people. Michal Fresser, CEO of Axon Neuroscience, said in a September 2019 press release announcing the results: 'Todays results mark an important milestone for Axon, and for the entire population of the world that suffers from this devastating disease. 'Our vaccine is the first to solely target pathological tau proteins, which drive the cognitive decline and memory loss seen in Alzheimers. These results, which strongly reveal a disease-modifying effect on the disease, underpin our confidence to take the next steps in bringing a life-changing treatment to patients as soon as possible.' Janssen/AC Immune: Could treat and prevent Alzheimer's A vaccine from AC Immune and the Janssen Pharmaceuticals arm of Johnson & Johnson also seeks to target tau. The anti-pTau vaccine is aimed to reduce the spread of tau and its tangles in the brains of people with AD. A Phase 1/2 clinical trial with 57 patients suffering from early AD was only just completed in September but preliminary data shows the vaccine 'rapidly leads to the strong and durable induction of antibodies' against Tau and is generally well tolerated. The vaccine was trialed in three different doses, with multiple shots administered at predefined times over a 48-week period. The average age of the trial participant was 65 years old, which indicates this vaccine could become both a treatment and preventative measure for Alzheimer's disease. The 'excellent performance' of the vaccine 'potentially opens promising avenues for Alzheimer's disease treatment and prevention, which could offer an important societal impact.' The company said the vaccine could be the first tau-targeted drug, dependent on time of approval. AC Immune: Received FDA Fast Track designation A second AC Immune vaccine is an anti-amyloid vaccine that received FDA fast track designation in June 2023. The company currently has an ongoing Phase 1/2 trial that includes 140 people. The active immunotherapy vaccine targets anti-amyloid beta and aims to elicit the production of antibodies. It is currently being trialed at six doses in people with mild AD. In January, the company said the drug produced an immune response and there were no safety concerns, demonstrating the vaccine was 'generally well tolerated,' and participants in the trial produced an antibody response as soon as two weeks after their second injection. The study is now testing a higher dose of the vaccine and the trial will run through June 2026. The company does not have published data yet. The vaccine is aimed to 'ultimately deliver significant benefits to patients, their caregivers, and healthcare systems in terms of potential safety and tolerability, low frequency dosing, low overall costs and durable responses.' AC Immune says the vaccine has the potential to block plaque formation and increase plaque clearance, possibly reducing or preventing Alzheimer's progression. Alzinova: Produces antibodies against amyloid plaques in brain A trial for a vaccine in development by Alzinova is ongoing through the end of next year, but preliminary data shows it also produces antibodies against amyloid plaque in the brain. The vaccine is currently being tested in a 20-week Phase 1 study in 27 people with early AD. The company said its shot, ALZ-101, neutralizes the toxic buildup of amyloid-beta, which is central to the onset and development of Alzheimer's. The study has three groups of participants: One receives four doses of placebo, one receives four low doses of the vaccine and one receives four high doses of the vaccine, all given over 16 weeks. The vaccine seems to be generally well tolerated, but no data in human trials has been published yet. The trial began in September 2021 and is estimated to be complete December 2024, but the company could see preliminary data before the end of 2023. In mice, rabbits and non-human primates, the vaccine did generate an immune response and was shown to be clinically well tolerated. National Institutes of Aging: Entered human trials in February A vaccine funded by the National Institutes of Aging, AV-1959D, entered human trials in February for people with early AD. Its Phase 1 trial includes 48 participants and is estimated to conclude February 2026. The trial will test the safety and tolerability of the vaccine at three doses compared to volunteers receiving a placebo treatment. Because the trial has only just begun, there is no information on the vaccine's safety, tolerability or efficacy in humans. However, the DNA-based vaccine showed in animal studies it was safe and effective at preventing amyloid accumulation and brain cell death associated with AD. MVAKWELITJE A truck driver jumped off the moving vehicle after realising that it had developed a brake failure. The truck, in the process, knocked five cars and eight people sustained injuries, including the driver of the truck. The accident happened at Mvakwelitje, in the early hours of yesterday. It was gathered that the truck was headed to Ezulwini, when it developed the brake failure. It has been gathered that the truck driver first told his passenger to jump off the moving vehicle, because it had developed a mechanical fault but he was reluctant. A few seconds later, the driver jumped off and was immediately followed by the passenger, almost being hit by oncoming traffic. According to witnesses, the truck, which had gained speed, hit two Mahindra, a red BMW, a red Haval, a Toyota Corolla and a Nissan NP 200. A motor mechanic said he saw the truck with no driver behind the steering wheel driving towards the Eswatini Electricity Company (ECC), damaging other peoples cars. The red Haval which was parked next to the road was hit from behind by the truck. Five people were on board, including three children. The woman sustained a cut on top of her left eye. The truck veered off the road before hitting the fence at EEC, he said. The driver of the NP 200 complained of injuries to his left shoulder as well as abdominal pains. He, however, said he was still not aware how the accident happened. Damage The owner of the truck arrived moments later to assess the damage caused. He was heard talking to some of the affected individuals and sympathising with them. He said he was still shocked by what happened. One of the police officers at the scene, when interviewed, said the driver lost control of the vehicle. The officer indicated that some of the injured people were attended to by paramedics, before being referred to hospital for further treatment. As you can see, more than five cars were damaged and we are still gathering more information regarding the accident, said the officer. At the Mbabane Government Hospital, an IV fluid was administered the truck driver. He sustained head injuries. In an interview, the truck driver, who preferred anonymity, said he was from Mahwalala heading to the City Centre to load some goods before driving to Ezulwini. I tried to apply the brakes along Kamjuda and NERCHA since the road was getting steeper. The truck started gaining speed and I panicked. I then told the passenger to jump off the truck after seeing that I could not control it, he said. The truck driver said he had managed to have a chat with those involved in the accident and said none was found to be in a critical condition. One of the children had pieces of glass removed from his head at the hospital while another woman had a bandage put on her left eye. At least 290 American children have suffered brutal, preventable deaths linked to marijuana over the last decade, according to an analysis seen exclusively by DailyMail.com. The highest proportion of deaths 95 involved extreme violence, the dossier of reports show. This includes the case of a Texan man who murdered his girlfriend and nine-month baby with a pocket-knife while suffering what was believed to be a cannabis-induced psychotic episode. Another perturbed example is the case of two year-old Jacob Pelletier from New Hampshire, who was beaten to death by his mothers boyfriend in December 2017. Two year-old Jacob Pelletier was killed in 2017 by his mother's boyfriend, who, shortly before the attack, had ran out of the marijuana he relied upon to 'manage his emotions' Court records reference the defendants regular use of marijuana to manage his emotions and self-medicate. Significantly, the killer admitted he had run out of his supply of the drug on the day of the offense, which was offered as an explanation of his extreme behavior in court. Studies show that regular use of marijuana is linked to a five-fold increased risk of psychotic illness. Also significant is the 2020 death of eight-month-old Josiah Guyton, who sustained fatal injuries after being forcibly hit against a table and dresser by his mothers boyfriend, Jermaine Abron. According to the petition filed in 2020 at the Family Division of Kent County Circuit Court, Abron and Josiahs mother Jada were often high on marijuana when taking care of him. Eight-month-old Josiah Guyton was unable to breathe yet his mother left him to go and smoke marijuana with her boyfriend Following the attack, Guyton is said to have left her baby face down and gasping in order to go into another room and smoke marijuana with Abron. The dossier has sparked a wave of uproar among campaigners, who say it proves that 'children are paying the price' for 'the disaster' that is cannabis legalization. The psychoactive drug is currently legal for recreational use in 24 states, and medicinal use in 38 states. 'It's the kids that ultimately suffer,' says Heidi Swan, campaigner and co-author of A Night in Jail: a story of teen drug use and mental illness. 'It is shocking how socially acceptable marijuana has become: there is no shame around using the drug - even around children. 'If you are a caregiver you should not be losing touch with time or reality, or become too "chill".' Other cases are classed as neglect with parents or guardians too intoxicated to manage parental responsibilities. This includes several alarming stories of suffocation, such as the Illinois mother who covered the nose and mouth of her four year-old daughter Emily Rose while shouting, 'I'm sending Emily to see Jesus'. The 36 year-old, who suffered mental health problems, smoked marijuana in the hour before the attack. In 2018, 20 year-old Eve Hallman, from Pennsylvania, was charged with involuntary manslaughter after she rolled over her two-month-old baby on the couch while sleeping after smoking marijuana. Emily Rose Perrin, who suffered cystic fibrosis, was suffocated and killed by her mother who is believed to have been experiencing psychiatric illness related to cannabis use Three years prior, Sean St Amand from Maine was sentenced to three years in jail for manslaughter after his 11-month-old son drowned in a bathtub. St Amand had failed to check up on him because hed been smoking marijuana in the adjacent room with a friend, according to local reports. Police said they smelled marijuana when they entered the apartment and that drug paraphernalia was in plain sight. Other, similar cases of neglect include the woman responsible for the fatal drowning of not one, but two, young children due to her weed high, and 18 year-old Henry Bartle, who accidentally shot his girlfriends baby in the head while stoned. Similarly, earlier this year, two-year-old Kiaire McCoy got hold of his mom's boyfriend's handgun and accidentally shot himself while the boyfriend was 'high on marijuana and scrolling on his phone'. These are just a small number of examples of horrific crimes that have taken place all over the US in which marijuana was somehow involved. Although not all of the evidence offers conclusive proof that marijuana contributed to the death, the drug is mentioned as a factor in local news reports, court and police documents. And speaking to DailyMail.com, experts say the lack of accurate testing and monitoring of the drug's role in such events means the true number of marijuana-related deaths are likely under-estimated. Kiaire McCoy got hold of his mother's ex-boyfriend's loaded gun and shot himself earlier this year. The gun owner was supposed to be watching Kiaire but 'zoned out' while high on marijuana 'There will likely be many more cases of child harm due to marijuana than the ones that we know about,' says Dr Timothy Fong, faculty leadership of the Cannabis Research Initiative at University of California, Los Angeles and clinical psychiatrist. 'Often when something awful happens, blood tests for marijuana aren't performed and it isn't always checked for in the emergency room either. 'We've had cases of, say, a dad coming into the ER who's fallen from a roof and no one is quite sure what's happened, and cannabis might be involved. 'Maybe they don't test for it because there's a lot going on and it's all very messy. 'Plus, marijuana is so normalized in so many states, there's not always a suspicion that the drug could be at least in part to blame.' Dr Fong says cases like these, in which someone comes to harm, occur 'every day and night'. 'But how many exactly? We just don't know. The country is not yet set up to monitor these types of cases.' For the new analysis, campaign group Parents Opposed to Pot scoured local reports and court documents for details on child abuse cases involving marijuana since 2012. 18 year-old Henry Bartle smoked marijuana next to his girlfriend's baby, Nathaniel Hitt, when his shotgun slipped from his lap and went off, killing the infant They uncovered at least 290 fatal cases of accidental shootings, drowning, arson, violence and mistaken ingestion involving marijuana. In a minority of cases, marijuana was not the only drug involved alcohol and narcotics were also referenced in local news reports and court records. However, experts say abuse or neglect cases involving marijuana are becoming increasingly common. One social worker, who works with neglect and abuse cases and is based in Florida - one of 26 states where weed is not legal recreationally - told DailyMail.com: 'I have had some more cases involving marijuana since the drug was made legal for medical use in the state. 'Often the parents are insistent that they need the drug because they see it as medicinal. 'In one case, the parents had stopped taking narcotics and had moved on to cannabis because they thought it was "safer", but then they got into a situation where they relied on it daily out of fear of turning to something stronger. Of all drugs, marijuana was the most common contributor to a child death in Arizona in 2019, according to the Arizona Child Fatality Review Team 'But I've seen that marijuana can make parents fall asleep or prioritise using it over looking after their kids - be that financially or with their time.' Dr Fong adds: 'Yes, we are seeing it [increasing cases of marijuana-related child harms]. 'If you look at the number of poision reports related to marijuana in children, they have risen in California. In other words, kids ingesting weed either with or without their parents' knowledge. 'And then there's cases where adults become intoxicated, and bad things happen. But there is a false sense of safety around cannabis. Where is the messaging that says to parents: this is not something to be done around children.' The destructive influence of marijuana is thought to be due to the impact of THC on the brain. Studies show that the substance interferes with signaling in parts of the brain involved with emotion, mood and movement. While some pro-marijuana activists say the drug is calming and even promote it as a treatment for anxiety and stress, experts say this is wildly misguided. 'There is not yet any proof that marijuana is useful for any mental health problem,' says Dr Fong. 'But what we do know, pretty conclusively, is that it can lead to psychiatric illness.' The findings come a week after Bille Sue VanDyke from West Virginia was charged with child neglect resulting in injury after her child was left comatose and needing hospital treatment after eating half a cannabis gummy containing 350mg of THC. Florida data shows marijuana to be the substance most commonly used by parents investigated for maltreatment, according to data from the state's Child Abuse Death Review Committee VanDyke told investigators she fell asleep for about two hours and when she woke up she found her child lying on the bed and had a hard time waking him up. A 2021 analysis of public health data found 7043 cases of accidental ingestion of marijuana in children under six between 2017 and 2021 an increase of more than 130 per cent. A fifth of these young people were hospitalized. During this time, the number of states where recreational marijuana use is legal doubled. Removing rules against the drug is said, by pro-cannabis lobbyists, to result in a range of social and health benefits. Reducing organized crime, freeing up space in prisons, generating tax revenues for states and regulation over the quality and potency of weed are just a few. However, recent major reviews into the net impact of legalization have concluded that the nationwide shift has had a number of negative consequences, and more research is needed to predict long-term impacts. Earlier this month Bille Sue VanDyke, 25, from West Virginia was charged with neglect after her child was hospitalized with complications related with marijuana. Her 3 year-old ate a gummy containing 350mg of THC, and began vomiting and before reaching a 'comatose' state Meanwhile, the illegal cannabis market in California is booming, estimated to be worth 6 billion twice that of the legal industry. Scott Chipman of Citizens Against Legalizing Marijuana previously told DailyMail.com: 'These operations charge far less for high-potency products because they have no overheads, which is popular with customers.' But two 2019 analyses concluded that the tax revenue from Californian dispensaries was 'far lower than expected'. Pro-legalization campaigners have also suggested that increased accessibility to marijuana will reduce the number of users of more potent, addictive drugs, like fentanyl. However, the latest data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention shows overdoses have reached record highs. More than 111,000 people died from a drug overdose between April 2022 and 2023 up roughly 1,000 from the year previously, the figures show. Also noteworthy is the rise in serious traffic accidents involving cannabis. A study published in the journal JAMA network open in September noted that marijuana-related accidents that led to hospital treatment rose 475 per cent since 2010. Some research has found that, while the rate of reported child maltreatment has increased with marijuana legalization, the number of related fatalities has dropped overall. A recent national analysis by a criminal justice expert from the University of South Florida found a 9.8 per cent increase in reported maltreatment cases since 1995 in states where marijuana is legal, compared to no rise in other states. Ja'Liyah Allen was just a year-old when she was accidentally killed by her uncle while he 'showed off' his gun to friends while high on marijuana The study also found that states allowing home cultivation of the drug have seen a 24.6 per cent increase in reported incidences of maltreatment in the last 18 years. Yet, interestingly, fewer children are dying of abuse and neglect. Researchers have put this dichotomy down to an increase in reporting of marijuana-related harms, as the drug has become more normalized and accepted in society. Meanwhile, the debate as to whether or not smoking marijuana in pregnancy constitutes neglect continues to grow. Growing evidence has linked using pot in pregnancy to low birth low birth weight, premature deliveries and admission to neonatal urgent care. 'But we still have so much to learn,' says Dr Fong. 'We haven't established anything as serious as foetal alcohol syndrome yet. 'But we also haven't studied many of the products that women these days are using, such as edibles with a high concentration of THC. 23-month-old Lawson Whitaker died after he was left strapped in a car seat in his father's pickup truck for eight hours in the summer heat. His father, who was ultimately convicted for his death, declined a drug test because he smoked marijuana 'My OBGYN colleagues see women who would rather take cannabis for symptoms like nausea and vomiting than treatments that are medically established - and they find this frustrating.' Two high-profile cases have thrust the issue further into the spotlight this year. In both, charges of neglect brought before mothers who smoked marijuana in pregnancy were redacted. A representative of the New York City child welfare agency, which ruled in favor of one of the mothers, said: 'A case should not be indicated solely because a parent is using marijuana, but instead CPS should assess the impact, if any, on the safety and wellbeing of the child.' However, in some states - including those in which marijuana is legal - using the drug in pregnancy is considered child abuse. And according to federal law, medical professionals treating these women must report them to social services. 'It's a huge ethical dilemma that hasn't been properly thought through,' says Dr Fong. 'On one hand you're exposing your unborn child to a federally banned substance. But on the other, it essentially falls under the same category of alcohol, and we don't report mothers who drink a glass of wine or two in pregnancy to authorites. 'Where do the mother's rights end and the foetus' begin? These are all questions we need to start thinking about.' A blood test is boosting survival of patients attending A&E with a suspected heart attack, a trial found. The test helps doctors diagnose patients with a heart muscle injury, reducing their chances of dying in the next five years. Experts said its increased sensitivity means it can spot signs of heart damage that previous tests fail to detect, allowing for better treatment. The red flag has the potential to stop thousands of repeat heart attacks and deaths, according to the British Heart Foundation funded research. University of Edinburgh researchers studied the results for nearly 50,000 people who arrived at 10 emergency departments across Scotland with a suspected heart attack between 2013 and 2016. The test helps doctors diagnose patients with a heart muscle injury, reducing their chances of dying in the next five years The test works by measuring very low levels of troponin in the blood, a protein released during a heart attack or when the heart is injured due to other heart conditions. More than 10,000 patients had high troponin levels, a protein released into the blood during a heart attack or when the heart is injured due to other heart conditions. With the high sensitivity test picking up more subtle warning signs, around one in five of these patients were spotted by the new test when previously they would have gone unnoticed. This meant they could receive the specialist heart care needed to avoid more serious events in the future. How does the test work? The test helps doctors diagnose patients with a heart muscle injury, reducing their chances of dying in the next five years. It works by detected very low levels of troponin in the blood. Troponin is released into the blood during a heart attack or when the heart is injured due to other heart conditions. Different troponin blood tests have been used for years by doctors to help diagnose these conditions in people with chest pains and related symptoms. Advertisement Dr Ken Lee, Clinical Lecturer in Cardiology at the University of Edinburgh, and the lead author of the study, said: 'In the past, clinicians could have been falsely reassured by the results of the less sensitive troponin test, discharging patients that appeared to not have heart disease. 'This new high sensitivity test is the tool they needed, prompting them to look deeper and helping them to identify and treat both heart attacks and less obvious heart problems. 'In our trial, introducing this test led to an impressive reduction in the number of future heart attacks and deaths seen in this at-risk group.' While the new test led to improvements for heart attack patients, those with a heart muscle injury caused by other heart conditions, such as heart failure, heart valve conditions and heart arrhythmias saw the greatest benefits. These patients saw a nearly 10 per cent drop in future hospital admissions and deaths in the five years after getting the new test, compared to those who had the less sensitive test, according to the findings published in the BMJ. Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, of the British Heart Foundation, said: 'Such a time-sensitive and life-threatening condition requires the very best diagnostic tests. 'It is very encouraging to see that the new test trialled here is better at predicting long-term outcomes for these patients, whether they had a heart attack or a different kind of heart injury.' The UK 'can and must' improve screening, diagnosis and treatment to boost cancer survival rates, experts say. Cancer Research UK has urged more action to speed up diagnosis, get people treated quickly and recruit 16,000 more full-time cancer staff by 2029. The charity warned the NHS target to diagnose three-quarters of cancers at the earliest stages by 2028 is going to be missed. But it said 20,000 lives could be saved every year in the UK if the Government adopts a bold new plan for cancer, including the smoking ban for the younger generation. In its new report, the charity has called for bolder action and the creation of a national cancer council accountable to the Prime Minster. Cancer Research UK urged more action to speed up diagnosis, get people treated quickly and recruit 16,000 more full-time cancer staff by 2029. Pictured: Doctor examining scan (stock) Analysis shows the years of life an average cancer patient in the UK is expected to lose NHS figures on cancer waiting times, meanwhile, showed every single national target was missed once again in September. Less than six in ten cancer patients (59.3 per cent) were seen within the two-month target in September 'Across the UK, cancer waiting times are being consistently missed, and some have not been met for over a decade,' it states. 'While they wait for diagnosis and treatment, patients and their families face an anxious and worrying time. 'Investment in prevention, NHS staff, equipment and facilities is needed to turn the tide.' Although cancer survival has doubled in the last 50 years, the UK is lagging behind most comparable countries for cancer outcomes. Previous poor performers, such as Denmark and Australia, have now 'raced ahead' of the UK, which it attributes to a steady central funding stream and effective long-term plans. READ MORE: Cancer's chokehold on Britain: Sobering charts show how disease is robbing sufferers of up to 25 YEARS - with cases of melanoma, breast and prostate having soared since the 90s Breast cancer is the UK's most common cancer with almost 56,000 cases diagnosed per year Advertisement Cancer inequalities in those get and die from cancer are stark, with more than 33,000 cases each year across the UK attributable to deprivation, the report said. But Professor Sir Mike Richards, former national cancer director at the Department of Health, who now advises NHS England, said these problems are 'fixable'. He attributed poor survival to a combination of diagnosing people too late and inconsistencies in treatment, both of which can be rectified. He told a briefing: 'The late stage problem is a big one. Nearly half of all patients with cancer are diagnosed at stage three and four. They have poor prognosis compared to those in stage one and two. 'We are not currently on target for the Government's target of 75 per cent being diagnosed (at early stages) by 2028. 'There's a lot we can do we can improve our screening programmes, we can improve our diagnosis of symptomatic patients and we can reduce inequalities in treatment.' He said UK breast screening 'could be better' by improving uptake and suggested the bowel screening programme age should be lowered from 60 to 50, with more people sent for colonoscopies. NHS England has set the sensitivity threshold for the FIT stool test at 120ug/g (micrograms of blood per gram of faeces) but Prof Richards said it should be lowered to 80ug/g in line with Scotland. He said: 'Why are we not doing that? Colonoscopy capacity has been the rate-limiting factor. 'We are training more but, in addition to that, we need to triage patients so that the existing capacity is used to its maximum effect.' More CT scanners, radiographers, radiologists and thoracic surgeons are needed to help tackle lung cancer, he added. While the Covid pandemic has hit cancer targets overall, they were slipping even before then, he added. In its report, Cancer Research UK said funding is needed to plug the 1billion gap in cancer research over the next decade. It said the proportion of research funded by the Government, as opposed to charity, is the lowest of any major condition, despite one of the highest disease burden costs. Within a year of the next general election, ministers should have raised the age of sale of tobacco products and should implement the 2022 legislation on TV and online advertising restrictions on foods high in fat, salt and sugar, the report said. Chief executive Michelle Mitchell said: 'Cancer is the defining health issue of our time. Avoiding thousands of cancer deaths is possible but it will take leadership, political will, investment and reform. 'The impact of cancer is immense. We estimate that half a million people - friends, colleagues and loved ones - will be diagnosed with the disease every year by 2040. Their lives are at stake if we don't act now.' An expert in sexual health has revealed the one habit that millions of Americans practice in the bedroom - but shouldn't. According to studies, some 40 percent of people admit to using their own - or a partner's - saliva as a lubricant during sex. Some research suggests that for men who have sex with men, the figure is nearly 90 percent. But Dr Danae Maragouthakis, a sexual health expert based at the University of Oxford in the UK, said in a TikTok video: 'Though saliva may always be available to you, it should not be used in place of lube.' But Dr Danae Maragouthakis, a sexual health expert based at the University of Oxford in the UK, explained why saliva should not be used in place of lubricant in a TikTok video Dr Maragouthakis explained in the clip, which has garnered over 719,000 views, that saliva contains enzymes that break down food but which can also lead to skin irritation. When the enzymes are introduced to the vagina, they can upset the vaginal microbiome - the healthy gut bugs inside the organ that help fight infection. This leaves you at risk of developing a yeast infection, such as thrush, or bacterial vaginosis. These occur when the balance of yeast and bacteria that naturally exist in the vagina is thrown off. Sometimes, saliva can also trigger inflammation that leads to itching and burning. It also does not make for an effective lubricant, as it evaporates and dries quickly, gynaecologist Dr Felice Gersh told Health.com. Saliva can also transmit STIs, according to Dr Maragouthakis. Saliva can carry infectious gonorrhea, but scientists are unclear as to how much saliva is needed for gonorrhea transmission. Gonorrhea is a bacterial infection that is spread when semen, vaginal fluids or saliva get on or inside your genitals, anus, or mouth. Less commonly, chlamydia is also present in saliva and can be spread via kissing, as well as oral-to-genital and genital-to-genital contact, Dr Sara Bares, an infectious diseases specialist, said. Syphilis is less likely to spread via saliva, but the bacteria that causes syphilis can be present in oral sores and can thus be transmitted via kissing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have previously described America's sexual health situation as an 'STI epidemic', with a record 2.53 million cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis in 2021. Swine flu could be silently spreading in Britain, experts fear as officials scramble to contain a potential crisis. It comes after a Brit was sickened by a strain never seen in this country before. The patient, who lives in North Yorkshire, was only caught because they were tested by their GP. They had 'mild' flu-like symptoms but recovered fully at home. UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) bosses don't know how the person caught the virus but investigations are 'ongoing'. MailOnline understands the infected Brit did not work with pigs. The unidentified individual, thought to be from north Yorkshire, tested positive after visiting their GP with 'respiratory symptoms'. UK Health Security (UKHSA) bosses have yet to identify how they caught the virus. Officials are now racing to track down all contacts of the Brit, who was left battling a 'mild' illness Dr Isabel Oliver, chief scientific officer at the UKHSA, revealed 'all possible routes of transmission' were being explored. Previous cases of H1N2, the strain carried by the infected Brit, have been traced back to country fairs in the US. She said: 'It's possible that there may have been some limited transmission between people. 'We are increasing surveillance efforts just to understand exactly if there's been any transmission and if so, how far the virus has been transmitted.' Professor John Edmunds, an influential infectious diseases expert who sits on SAGE and advised No10 during the Covid pandemic, said: 'It appears the case was picked up from routine surveillance. 'This is worrisome as it might imply that the virus has already spread to some extent.' Epidemiologist Professor Francois Balloux, from University College London, also said the lone case 'may indicate circulation in humans' and requires 'further monitoring'. GP Dr Helen Wall said that the detection was a 'pure fluke'. She told BBC Breakfast: 'Lots of investigations now will be going on to find out if it is more transmissible or more serious.' Only a fraction of patients who see their GP with respiratory symptoms, like a runny nose and cough, get tested. The Brit, who wasn't identified, was given a PCR test, which can take days for results to come back. UKHSA bosses did not confirm whether the infected Brit was made to self-isolate at any point. Swine flu itself can lurk in the body for days before causing tell-tale symptoms, too. Dr Azeem Majeed, an Imperial College London public health expert, told MailOnline: 'It is possible there may be other undetected cases.' Professor James Wood, an infectious disease epidemiologist from the University of Cambridge, cautioned that it is 'highly likely that a number of other people had also been infected'. Health chiefs are still hunting down all contacts of the individual who was sickened. Brits battling 'respiratory symptoms', such as a runny nose, cough and sore throat, are now being urged to avoid contact with other people. Similar advice is used for Covid. Symptoms of swine flu which sparked a pandemic that raced around the world in 2009 mirror those of regular flu and Covid. But it doesn't spread easily between humans. Most cases occur among people exposed to infected pigs, such as any visitors of country fairs and farmers. Swine flu cases surge in pigs in autumn and winter. Deaths are rare, and the illness usually clears up in a few weeks. As well as the usual flu symptoms, some may experience diarrhoea and vomiting. Symptoms of swine flu which sparked a pandemic that raced around the world in 2009 mirror those of regular flu and Covid. But it doesn't spread easily between humans. Most cases occur among people exposed to infected pigs, such as any visitors of country fairs and farmers. Swine flu cases surge in pigs in autumn and winter Only 50 human cases of H1N2 have been reported globally since 2005. But none of them have been in the UK. Equally, none are related genetically to this specific strain. Virologists, however, fear swine flu could eventually pick up mutations that allow it to rip through populations rapidly. Professor Edmunds said that spillover events are 'not unheard of', but they 'usually just result in viruses that 'struggle to transmit'. Meanwhile, Professor Wood said the solitary case was 'not in itself a great concern', adding: 'Occasional spillover and limited person to person transmission of viruses like swine flu probably happen far more than is detected.' Dr Majeed added: 'The enhanced testing the UKHSA will put in place should detect any increase in cases of H1N2. 'I would rate the risks of a large outbreak of swine flu in the UK as low although sporadic cases may continue to occur. People should be vigilant but not become over anxious about the risks from H1N2.' Anna Judson, president of the British Veterinary Association, said the human case of H1N2 is 'concerning'. She said: 'But this is so far an isolated case with mild symptoms and the patient has made a full recovery. 'However, this shows that zoonotic diseases, which can transfer from animals to people, do pose a threat to human health and so vigilance is key. 'It highlights the crucial role of disease surveillance and the importance of state veterinary services in protecting both animal and human populations from emerging diseases.' A swine flu pandemic was triggered in 2009 after a mutated version of H1N1 spilled over into humans. That variant, scientifically known as H1N1(pdm09), contained genetic material from viruses circulating in pigs, birds and humans. An independent review of the UK response to the 2009 pandemic confirmed 457 deaths were caused by swine flu in the country. But the strain which killed tens of thousands across the planet has barely spread in Britain since 2019. It now circulates in humans seasonally. The case fatality rate the proportion of patients that died from the disease was thought to have been around 0.02 percent. For comparison, when Covid first struck, it had a fatality rate of up to three percent. A Vietnamese man suffering headaches was found to have chopsticks lodged in his skull. Doctors claim the chopsticks were jammed into the unidentified 35-year-old's head five months earlier in a fight. His family told local media that he was 'injured' during the drunken brawl and that he was treated at the time. But he reportedly had no idea that he was stabbed by a pair of chopsticks. The CT scan of the 35-year-old man's skull shows chopsticks protruding out of his nose. The lodged chopsticks caused him to experience severe headaches and fluid discharge The family explained to medics that the chopsticks were stuck up his nose in a fight while he was out drinking Even doctors missed them when they initially cared for him, according to the daily Dan Tri newspaper. Cong Luan, another Vietnamese news publisher, reported the man sought medical help after suffering with severe headaches, fluid discharge and vision loss. Scans done by surgeons at the Cuba Friendship Hospital in Dong Hoi, Quang Binh province showed he had a 'foreign object' inside his skull. It penetrated through his nose up into his skull, it is claimed. He also had pneumocephalus, which is the presence of gas or air in the cranium. It is a life-threatening neurosurgical emergency, normally caused by head trauma. Although the man was initially baffled to how the chopsticks made their way into his skull, his family later remembered he was involved in a fight around five months ago while he was out drinking. His family recalled that during the fight he was stabbed in the face by something and was taken to first aid, according to the local paper. The mans condition is now stable and he has been discharged from the hospital. A mother-of-four battling a long Covid 'death sentence' that has left her bedridden, unable to care for her children and in constant agony wants to end her life in Switzerland. Kelly Louise Smith-May, of Chipping Sodbury in Gloucestershire, is seeking 10,000 to travel to an assisted dying facility 'to end her suffering'. The 39-year-old's condition has gradually deteriorated ever since she caught Covid in December 2021. Mrs Smith-May's family, who fully support her heartbreaking choice, said: 'She didn't come to this decision easily.' According to a heartbreaking GoFundMe post authored by a close friend, Mrs Smith-May is no longer able to look after her children Kai, Tawny, Zayn, and Jett 'whom she absolutely adores with every piece of her heart'. Kelly Louise Smith-May, 39, from Chipping Sodbury in Gloucestershire, is seeking 10,000 to travel to an assisted dying facility 'to end her suffering' According to a heartbreaking GoFundMe post authored by a close friend, Mrs Smith-May is no longer able to look after her children Kai, Tawny, Zayn, and Jett 'whom she absolutely adores with every piece of her heart' Mrs Smith-May, a stay-at-home mum, describes her illness as 'being poisoned every minute of the day' and a 'living death sentence', She has also become 'totally dependent' on her husband Stuart, who has to roll her over in bed. Mrs Smith-May, a stay-at-home mother, described own her illness as 'being poisoned every minute of the day' and a 'living death sentence', according to the fundraising note. Her family plan on taking her by campervan via the Euro Tunnel to France, then onto the Swiss Pegasos clinic. Mrs Smith-May, who described herself as 'bubbly', 'loud' and 'creative' in an interview with a local newspaper about her illness earlier this year, was struck down with Covid in December 2021. However, unlike the majority of people who shake off the cold-like symptoms within weeks, she continued to suffer. What is the current law on assisted dying in the UK? In England, Wales and Northern Ireland helping someone to take their own life is punishable with up to 14 years in prison. While no specific law exists in Scotland helping someone end their own life could lead to to prosecution for culpable homicide. This, in theory, includes helping someone go through assisted dying overseas. Charities say the current system leaves terminally ill Brits with little choice but to pay thousands to go overseas for their death. They also warned that those who can't afford to travel are deciding to take their lives at home, sometimes in pain, compared to a medically assisted death. UK charities currently estimated that one Brit travels overseas for assisted dying every eight days. There are currently proposals to change the law in some parts of the UK. Last September in Scotland, Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur lodged the final proposal to introduce a Member's Bill which would legalise assisted dying for people who are terminally ill, though no date has been given yet for when this might be considered. A public consultation on a Private Member's Bill on assisted dying closed on the Isle of Man at the end of January. A consultation on assisted dying proposals also took place in Jersey between October 2022 and January and publication of a consultation feedback report is expected in April. Advertisement Long Covid, a poorly-understood phenomenon, can leave sufferers with a persistent cough, fatigue, muscle aches and loss of smell. While many long Covid sufferers find their symptoms eventually fade, some people, just like Mrs Smith-May, experience them for months or even years. Some experts consider long Covid to be on par with chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) a historically disputed condition that has often been overlooked as laziness. However, it is now recognised as condition by both the NHS and World Health Organization. Mrs Smith-May's family claim her long Covid progressed into ME. Viral infections are hypothesised to be a potential trigger for people to develop the condition by both charities and the NHS. Much like long Covid, there is no test that can diagnose myalgic encephalomyelitis and no established cure. The NHS instead focuses on treating sufferers' symptoms to help people manage their condition. Mild cases are treated with cognitive behavioural therapy and 'energy management' a system to help patients utilise their limited energy throughout the day. Drugs can help sufferers with pain and insomnia they experience, as well as devices like wheelchairs to increase their mobility. Similarly, long Covid treatment also focuses on helping sufferers alleviate the dozen or so symptoms attributed to the condition. 'She spends all day every day in the dark, painfully sensitive to light, noise, smells, and movement,' a fundraising page for the family reads. 'She can no longer sit, stand, or walk. She can barely talk. She has severe insomnia and when she can get a few hours of sleep, its un-restorative. 'Due to painful neurological symptoms, she cant tolerate music, TV, or interacting with friends. 'She cannot care for her four children whom she absolutely adores with every piece of her heart,' the page reads. The fundraiser describes how Mrs Smith-May didn't come to decision to seek euthanasia overseas easily, describing the 22 months of suffering she's experienced as 'enough'. 'There is no cure and all possible treatments have failed her,' the page reads. 'Kelly has seen doctors, been to facilities, and exhausted every recommended means of improving her condition with no results. 'She suffers continuous pain throughout her body that doctors are unable to relieve, leaving her with no choice but to end her own suffering.' The fundraising page, penned by an unidentified family friend, asks people to please help the family fulfil Mrs Smith-May's last wish. 'Your kindness and generosity will give to Kelly the gift of freedom from pain with respect for her family, who support her choice and want to honour the woman she is,' it reads. Her condition has gradually worsened ever since she caught Covid in December 2021 Mrs Smith-May has become 'totally dependent' on her husband Stuart, who has to roll her over in bed Figures released earlier this year show as of the end of December 2022, there were 1,528 members of Dignitas from Great Britain, according to figures from the not-for-profit organisation, which assists dying patients with a 'self-determined end of life'. This has risen from 821 in 2012. Some 33 people from the UK had an assisted death at Dignitas in 2022 up on 23 people the year before The most common symptom of chronic fatigue syndrome is extreme tiredness but sufferers can also experience muscle and joint pain, flu-like symptoms, nausea and cognitive problems. In rare severe cases, people with the condition can no longer use the toilet or feed themselves independently. As both chronic fatigue syndrome and long Covid are poorly understood conditions, the relationship between the two is uncertain. Medically assisted dying, or euthanasia, is illegal in the UK, and can be prosecuted as manslaughter or murder with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Helping someone take their own life, called assisted suicide, is also an offence and punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Campaigners have been pushing ministers to reconsider the law on assisted dying for decades, wanting Britain to follow the likes of Australia and New Zealand in making the it legal. Earlier this year MPs were told terminally ill Brits are having to choose between 'suicide, Switzerland or suffering' and that future generations would be 'appalled' by current legislation. UK charities currently estimated that one Brit travels overseas for assisted dying every eight days. They have repeatedly warned that Brits unable afford the many thousands of pounds it can cost to go overseas for medically assisted dying are taking their own lives at home. This, they add, can lead to people experiencing pain and suffering as they die, compared to a painless medically assisted death. But a change in the law is opposed by many religious groups, who claim it would undermine the value society places on human life. Over the past 13 years, there have been 200 cases of assisted dying or assisted suicide referred to the Crown Prosecution Service by the police, with four successful prosecutions. Figures released earlier this year by Dignitas - the not-for-profit organisation assisting patients with a 'self-determined end of life' - revealed there were 1,528 members from Great Britain at the end of 2022. This has risen from 821 in 2012. Some 33 people from the UK had an assisted death at Dignitas in 2022 up on 23 people the year before. The former minister was reprimanded by the inquiry's counsel for the remark Michael Gove was today told 'we're not going to go there' during the Covid Inquiry when he suggested Covid was man-made. Quizzed about the Government's shortcomings in preparing for the new virus, the senior Tory said there was a 'significant body of judgement' that rubbished China's natural origin theory. Mr Gove, who was Cabinet Office minister and chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when the crisis began in 2020, said this presented its own 'challenges'. He was quickly cut off by Hugo Keith KC, lead counsel to the inquiry, who said the 'divisive' issue is not part of the inquirys terms of reference. 'Were not going to go there,' he said. Responding to Mr Gove's comments, No10 insisted that it was for the World Health Organization (WHO) to determine Covid's origin, given it is still a matter of intense scientific debate. The senior Tory , who was Cabinet Office minister and chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when the pandemic began in 2020, said the nature of the 'novel virus' made it challenging for the Government to prepare for the pandemic. It 'presented a different set of challenges from those that pandemic flu had', he told the Covid inquiry Some experts now say Covid may have emerged from within the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Here security personnel are pictured keeping watch during a visit by the WHO in 2021 Covid is originally thought to have come from an animal, most likely a bat. However, an ever-growing number of experts suspect experiments conducted in Wuhan may have sparked its spread among people. The so-called 'lab leak theory' poses that scientists in Wuhan were experimenting with Covid samples collected from the wild when the virus accidently leaked strict containment, infecting citizens of the city and then the world. While the theory has gained traction in years since the initial wave, many scientists maintain that Covid most likely emerged naturally. Such theories have largely pointed to Wuhan's Huanan seafood wholesale market, where numerous species of live animals were kept and sold, as the potential site where such an infection could have taken place. During the Inquiry, Mr Gove later attacked 'dysfunction' at the Cabinet Office and admitted the Government had been too late in locking down the UK. Asked about government shortcomings in preparing for a new virus, Mr Gove told the inquiry: 'We were in the middle of an evolving crisis. 'While the plan for pandemic flu that had been developed had many strengths and virtues, it was in the nature of the virus we faced that it presented a different set of challenges from those that pandemic flu had.' He added: 'We were not as well prepared as we should have been ideally. It's in the nature of the fact that the virus was novel. 'And indeed, I think this probably goes beyond the realms of the inquiry but there is a significant body of judgment that believes that the virus itself was man-made and that presents challenges as well.' Mr Keith responded: 'It forms no part of the terms of reference of this inquiry Mr Gove, to address that somewhat divisive issue, so we are not going to go there.' Mr Gove added: 'But I think it is important to recognise that the virus presented a series of new challenges that required both the science to adjust. 'And science, by definition, adjusts on the basis of accumulating evidence both about the operation of the virus and its effect on particular elements within the population.' Responding to Mr Gove's comments, Downing Street said the Government's position was for the UN health agency to probe the origins of the Covid pandemic. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'The Government's view is that the WHO needs to continue to examine all possibilities. 'We think there is still work to be done. But it is for the WHO to investigate.' It was the 'long-standing position of the Government' that it was for the WHO to 'consider all possible avenues and to come to a conclusion', they said. The spokesman added: 'I don't think it is quiet that people have differing views about the origins of Covid.' Scientists have largely pointed to Wuhan's Huanan seafood wholesale market, where numerous species of live animals were kept and sold, as the potential site where the virus spread naturally from animals to people. Many of the earliest cases in December 2019 and January 2020 had visited the site, where live animals were sold. Shi Zhengli - dubbed the 'Bat Lady' or 'Bat Woman' for her work on bat coronaviruses - investigated the possibility Covid could have emerged from her lab back in 2020 according to colleagues, she is also the editor Virologica Sinica Addressing the probe, Mr Gove also admitted he took some responsibility for the 'mistakes' made at the top level of politics when the crisis unfolded. He said: 'If I may... apologise to the victims who endured such pain, the families who endured so much loss as a result of the mistakes that were made by Government in response to the pandemic.' Pictured, arriving at the Covid inquiry in Paddington, London this morning But Beijing has also repeatedly been accused of a cover-up, stifling attempts to investigate a lab in Wuhan which was experimenting with similar viruses months before the disease emerged in the city. Regardless, some experts have warned experiments on high-risk pathogens, which are often conducted in labs located in high-population areas, could spark new pandemics. No concrete proof to support either Covid origin argument has been found, leaving experts fearing the truth behind the viruses origins will never be uncovered. Beyond just establishing a historical fact, experts also want to find how Covid emerged to help stop other similar pathogens becoming pandemics in the future. Professor James Wood, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Cambridge, said: 'There is strong evidence that the Covid virus was not artificially engineered, or made by humans, but likely arose from another virus infecting wildlife. 'Epidemiological evidence points to the first area where the virus transmitted widely was around, but not restricted to the Hunan Seafood market.' He added: 'Genomics cannot however distinguish whether the virus transmitted to humans via traded wildlife in the Hunan Seafood market or through a laboratory accident, where a laboratory worker was inadvertently infected from a sample they were processing, subsequently infecting other people. 'A lab leak is not the same as the leak of a "manmade" virus, but is frequently confused. 'What is important is that lessons are learned and that live wildlife trade, a well recognised route for zoonotic virus transmission, is reduced or banned and that laboratory safety is properly regulated.' In further revelations today, Mr Gove also attacked 'dysfunction' at the Cabinet Office. The inquiry was shown WhatsApp exchanges (pictured) between Mr Gove and Boris Johnson's chief of staff Dominic Cummings warning 'we are f**king up as a Government and missing golden opportunities' to get a grip on Covid infections In further revelations today, Mr Gove also attacked 'dysfunction' at the Cabinet Office and admitted the Government had been too late in locking down the UK. The inquiry was shown WhatsApp exchanges between Mr Gove and Boris Johnson's chief of staff Dominic Cummings warning 'we are 'f**king up as a Government' and failing to get a grip on the spread of Covid. Quoting Mr Gove from evidence dated March 4, 2020, Mr Keith said: 'You know me, I don't often kick off but we're f***ing up as a government and missing golden opportunities. 'I will carry on doing what I can but the whole situation is even worse than you think and action needs to be taken or we will regret it for a long time.' When asked to expand on his comments, Mr Gove said at the time he was concerned about the 'ability and structure' of the Cabinet Office to deliver Government's priorities. It was 'flawed' and not effective at dealing with crises, he added. Addressing the probe, he also admitted he took some responsibility for the 'mistakes' made at the top level of politics when the crisis unfolded. Mr Gove said: 'If I may... apologise to the victims who endured such pain, the families who endured so much loss as a result of the mistakes that were made by Government in response to the pandemic. 'As a minister responsible for the Cabinet Office, and was also close to many of the decisions that were made, I must take my share of responsibility for that.' MANZINI A first-year student at William Pitcher College was reportedly forced to stand half naked in class, with her classmates capturing videos and photos. The incident is said to have taken place during a presentation showcasing local traditional attire. It is said to have happened about two-weeks ago. Students studying SiSwati were said to have been making presentations on the local traditional attire and had to showcase it in class and present the best way to wear it. During the presentation, it was claimed the students started by presenting how the youth wore it and had to also present and showcase which attires were worn by married adults. As this happened, *Merlyn, 22, was said to have been dressed in sidvwaba (traditional gear worn by married women), when she was supposedly ordered to undress. Presentation It is said during the makoti presentation of the traditional attire, she was purportedly instructed to undo her umhelwane as she had not done it properly. Umhelwane is the kanga worn to cover the upper part of the body. Merlyn was said to have been ordered to remove the umhelwane, which resulted in her breasts being exposed for over 30 minutes. According to sources, it was claimed her means to try and cover her upper body while the presentation focused on the sidvwaba was frowned upon by the lecturer. As she stood half naked, fellow classmates were said to have captured videos and pictures of her. In light of this, Merlyn said she felt violated and embarrassed by the incident. She said: I reported the matter to my mother and she was worried that it could lead to me being victimised if any action was taken; yet I felt violated. Merlyn said the sad part was that she was being trained to be a teacher and if she were to engage in similar behaviour in a school, she would be arrested. She reiterated that the incident had affected her self-esteem and made her uncomfortable within the campus. Complaint Subsequent to this, she said her class reported the matter to the student representative council (SRC) and thereafter, a complaint was lodged with the administration by the SRC. Furthermore, she said, since the incident happened, students had boycotted classes of the lecturer for a whole week. However, it was claimed that as the students boycotted the lectures, the lecturer purportedly went to their residential block and knocked on doors calling for them to attend classes last Tuesday. However, it was gathered that the students remained locked in their rooms, while she waited for the duration of her period and also an additional 20 minutes, which included their tea break. It was gathered that while the lecturer supposedly stood outside the rooms of the students, they contacted their SRC to engage her, so that she could leave and allow them to attend other classes. The lecturer reportedly adhered to the SRC and left the residential block, while the students vowed not to attend any lecture by her, up until the issue was resolved by the administration. In fact, yesterday morning, students of the college boycotted classes and sang around the institution as they called upon the administration to intervene in the issue. SRC President Mthobisi Ndzinisa confirmed that the students were boycotting classes due to the incident. He said they wanted the administration to deal with the matter, as their fellow was violated. The class boycott resulted in the college failing to engage in lectures yesterday. In fact, within the campus, dust bins were burnt during the protest. It was gathered that at some point, police officers were called and they met with the administration before the latter later met with the SRC. Sources informed this publication that today, a meeting between the administration and students will take place with the aim to solve the impasse. Principal of the institution Ntombifuthi Mhlongo, said she was not aware of the matter as she was not at the college last week. She said: I cannot comment as I was not around as I was attending a workshop. Also known as green nail syndrome, it happens when bacteria gets under the nail Beware of acrylic fake nails - they could lead to a nasty infection that turns your nail bed crusty and green, a family doctor has warned. According to Dr Sermed Mezher, a general physician working in the UK, the false talons are all too often not applied correctly - leaving a gap between the actual nail and the acrylic. This allows bacteria to seep into the gap and grow in the moist environment, leading to a condition called chloronychia, also known as green nail syndrome. Posting on his TikTok channel, Dr Mezher shared a video of a woman suffering the problem - who had hard, crusty green-colored nails. According to Dr Sermed Mezher, a general physician working in the UK, the false talons are all too often not applied correctly - leaving a gap between the actual nail and the acrylic To minimize the risk of pseudomonas or other infections, Dr Mezher advises keeping a beady eye to ensure proper hygiene during the acrylic nail application process Dr Mezher said: 'Think of getting acrylic nails done on the cheap? Think again.' He points to images of a woman's nails, which have turned green after a manicure. He explained: 'Beyond being unsightly, they [green nails] can actually be a big problem as it can take between one to four months for the nail actually to grow out, even with treatment.' Green nail syndrome is caused by the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The condition usually responds well to treatment, usually topical antibiotics or vinegar (acetic acid). Sometimes, the nail may need to be removed. 'We can use things like acetic acid or antibiotics to try and get rid of this.' The bacteria doesn't just cause nail infections, he said, and in rare cases, it can transfer from your nail to other parts of your body, according to Dr Mezher. To minimize the risk of pseudomonas or other infections, he advises keeping a beady eye to ensure proper hygiene during the acrylic nail application process. Making sure the nail technician is regularly washing their hands, and using clean tools for every customer, for example. Allowing the acrylic nails to fully dry, can also help mitigate the likelihood of bacterial growth. Earlier this year, three Americans died, eight suffered vision loss, and four had eyeballs removed after using eye drops infected with the deadly strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The bacteria flourishes in wet environments, including jacuzzis, contact lens solution, sinks and sponges. Thousands of pre-term births may have been prevented by Covid vaccines, a new study suggests. Despite widespread misinformation about the vaccines causing fertility issues, researchers in California linked the shots to a 78 percent decrease in preterm births among mothers-to-be who were infected with the virus. They analyzed data on millions of births recorded in the state between 2014 and 2022 and detected a spike in pre-term births in 2020 when the virus was first spreading in the US. The study attributed this to Covid infections in pregnant women, which raise the risk of a pre-term birth because of inflammation and stress from an infection. But by 2022 the preterm birth rate had dropped back to pre-pandemic levels following the roll out of Moderna and Pfizer's vaccines. Thousands of pre-term births may have been prevented by Covid vaccines, a new study suggests (stock image) It's thought that the jabs primed mother's immune systems to recognize and attack the virus early in an infection, slashing the risk of severe disease. Mothers-to-be who were infected with Covid had an at least 60 percent higher risk of a preterm birth or giving birth to a child before 37 weeks gestation in the early stages of the pandemic compared to those who were not infected, studies suggest. Mothers-to-be are more vulnerable to severe infections because their immune systems are weaker during pregnancy. Scientists suggest Covid also raised the risk of a preterm birth because it could trigger a 'cytokine storm'. This is an over-reaction of the immune system which sees the body attack healthy tissue. About one in ten children in the US are born early or before 37 weeks gestation surveys suggest. In many cases, youngsters do not suffer ill effects. But those born early are at a higher risk of complications including infections, asthma and developmental delays. Researchers analyzed data from California because the state had recorded on birth certificates whether expectant mothers had been infected with Covid since June 2020. Mothers were tested for the virus before they were admitted to one of the state's 400 hospitals or birthing centers where possible. There are 400,000 births in California every year on average, equivalent to many countries and allowing results to be generalized worldwide. Results showed that the risk of a pre-term birth for a mother rose 78 percent for those infected with Covid in the year 2020 (or rose from 6.9 to 12.3 percent of all births being pre-term). The rate rose shifted again by 4.1 percent in 2021 with the emergence of the more severe Delta variant. But had dropped back to pre-pandemic levels by 2022, following the major roll out of the vaccine, mounting infections and the emergence of the milder Omicron variant. In areas where vaccine uptake was higher, scientists found that pre-term births in Covid infected mothers dropped a year earlier than in those areas with low uptake. California started rolling out the Covid vaccine on December 14, 2020, and in July 2021 also started dishing out the shots to pregnant women. By December 2022, 84 percent of California's residents had got at least one dose of the vaccine. Jenna Nobles, a sociologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who led the research, said: 'In ZIP codes with the highest vaccination rates, the excess risk of preterm birth declines much faster. 'By the summer of 2021, having Covid in pregnancy had no effect on preterm birth risk in these communities. 'It takes almost a year longer for that to happen in the ZIP codes with the lowest vaccine uptake. 'That highlights how protective Covid vaccines have been. By increasing immunity faster, early vaccination uptake likely prevented thousands of preterm births in the US.' Vaccines triggered immunity against the virus by priming the immune system to fight off the infection to avoid severe disease. But infections early in the pandemic likely also helped, scientists said, because these also taught younger women's immune systems how to fight the virus off. Recently widowed Patricia Skuce was left in tears after getting an email from BT suggesting a doctors note might be needed if she wanted help changing her phone service. The 87-year-old suffers from poor health, with hearing difficulties and mobility issues, and lost her beloved husband Ralph to cancer last year. Patricias daughter Pauline contacted BT after it sent her mother a letter in October saying that the phone line at her home in St Albans, Hertfordshire, would be switched over from analogue to digital. The switch is part of the Digital Voice roll out across the country. Pauline explained her mothers vulnerabilities and asked if she could receive help with the switch. Pauline says: I was staggered to receive an insulting email back that included details on how my mother could be registered as vulnerable by being put on a priority list that would require a doctors certificate. Sick note: BT said a frail 87-year-old pensioner would need a note from her doctor before they would agree to help her switch her landline over to their new digital network Pauline adds: It left us both in tears. Why would they not simply take my word? It was hurtful and I see no reason why she must be forced to visit the doctor and plead for vital help. Patricia is just one of thousands of vulnerable customers confused by the Digital Voice switch. The Digital Voice programme is running over the next couple of years and will move ten million customers to fibre cables that use new Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology for making calls. In total, 29 million homes in Britain must make the change. Phone numbers will not be affected by the digital switch. But customers have been left confused about how they can get help with the switch and what they need to do to prove they are vulnerable and therefore eligible for support. BT had sent Pauline an email from its resolutions team, about how her mother could be registered as vulnerable so she could receive extra support. It contained a link to a document entitled Putting you first. This asked for paperwork to be filled out by the BT customer and signed by a doctor or hospital consultant. The document explained that once we receive the application we will register your mothers account as vulnerable. Pauline assumed that she would have to provide this requested evidence in order for her mother to get help with the digital switchover. However, BT tells Money Mail that a form signed by a medical professional is not necessary. In order to be ready for the switch, households need to take various steps and make choices. For example, for your landline to continue working after the change, you need to plug your old handset line into an adapter that can be plugged into an internet cable socket, plug your old phone into an internet hub or buy a new digital phone. Digital switch: Landline users will need to plug old handsets into an adapter that can be plugged into an internet cable socket, an internet hub or buy a new digital phone Not all feel able to do it alone, but getting help can be confusing. BT halted the rollout a year ago after telecoms regulator Ofcom said it must provide better support for vulnerable customers. This is because digital phones must be plugged into an electricity socket to work, so in a power cut, households may not be able to contact 999 emergency services on the phone. Vulnerable households need to ensure they have an alternative in place, such as a mobile phone or an emergency battery pack to plug in for the old landline phone. Pauline says the family has suffered two power cuts over recent weeks when the landline still worked. As part of the digital switch, all householders vulnerable or not must pull their landline cable out of the traditional socket and plug it into a 20 adapter or new 200 hub that connects lines to the internet. Alternatively, they can get rid of the old analogue phone and buy a compatible new 30 digital handset. All BT customers should be given free upgrades as part of the move. You can choose to have the adapter for free and get 7 off a digital handset. New hubs can also be provided if you have an old one that is not compatible. Richard Martin, 75, of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, is also worried about how vulnerable neighbours are still in the dark about the move and is one of those having to step up to offer help. He says: The switchover is particularly confusing for the elderly who are not tech savvy and have no idea what is going on. I have vulnerable neighbours who rely on a landline for communication but do not use the internet. I worry that the first thing they will know about Digital Voice is when the phone stops ringing. Many will feel they have been abandoned. A BT spokesman says: If you have concerns get in touch on 0330 1234 150. Press option one, option one again and finally option five. At this point you should be put through to someone who can help. The telecoms giant says you do not need a doctors note but should explain clearly why you are vulnerable with those who have health pendants, use only landlines, have no mobile phone signal or have mental or physical disabilities, eligible for help. You could also ask for an engineer visit. toby.walne@dailymail.co.uk I have a booking with TUI for a seven-night holiday to Italy for August 2024. Since booking, my wife became pregnant and our daughter was born in the summer. I contacted TUI to add an infant and was told it would cost 1,200. I have contacted several departments at the company, only to be told each time that we must pay for a room upgrade. The TUI website shows that the room we have booked can accommodate two adults, one child and one infant, so why do we need to upgrade? TUI told me to contact the hotel directly myself, to resolve the issue. The hotel simply referred me back to TUI. Please help. A. B., Stoke-on-Trent New arrival: Tui is demanding an extra 1,200 for a customer to bring his infant daughter on their pre-booked holiday to Italy Sally Hamilton replies: How frustrating to be pushed from pillar to post with no proper explanation for this huge extra charge for simply adding your tiny daughter to your holiday booking. I asked TUI why it was charging this inflated price, especially as the description of the room you had already booked clearly stated it had plenty of space to accommodate your newly extended family. I struggled to get TUI's attention at first, with my email ignored. I had to chase to get an answer with several phone calls which eventually proved more fruitful. Frustratingly for us all, TUI was unable to provide me with an explanation as to why you were repeatedly quoted 1,200 for bringing along your baby, on my intervention the company acted quickly to cut the charge to just 45, the more usual fee for simply amending a booking. A TUI spokesman says: 'We were delighted to be able to amend their booking to accommodate their new arrival and wish them a wonderful holiday in sunny Italy.' Since many couples and families book holidays well in advance, a situation like yours must often arise. One issue to watch out for is that while most people wait until a child is safely born before amending holiday bookings, TUI advises on its website that if flights are involved, expectant parents should consider booking a little one's ticket before the birth. This is because the number of babies allowed on each flight is limited for several reasons, including the type of aircraft. As soon as the baby is born, parents need to contact the company to provide full details of the child's name. Straight to the point In July, I ordered a DVD player from Amazon for 104.99, but when it arrived it didnt work. Amazon refunded me but a few weeks later it claimed I didnt send the DVD player back and I would be charged again. Weve paid for a product we no longer have. C.W., Cheshire. Amazon is sorry that you did not experience the high standard of customer care it expects. It has apologised and refunded you in full. *** I paid 1,589 for two flights with travel agent GoToGate for my sister and me to visit Rio de Janeiro in August 2021. When we arrived at the airport, we could not board the plane due to Covid restrictions. I contacted customer services and was told that I could rebook the flights, but I would like a refund. T.D., Surrey. GoToGate has refunded 1,451.71, which it says is the value of your flights, minus the cost of its cancellation guarantee. *** My brother booked a table at Don Giovanni in Manchester. We used GPS to find the restaurant and thought we were in the right place when we arrived at an Italian restaurant called Gio. But it turned out to be a different restaurant and the next day Don Giovanni charged my brother a 100 no-show fee. Please help. R.N., Cheshire. Don Giovanni says its terms and conditions are clear when you make a booking on its website and it provides directions to the restaurant in the confirmation email. It has refunded 100 as a gesture of goodwill. *** I bought a shirt from Zara in Cambridge. But when I got home, it still had the security tag on it. Zara customer services said I would have to return to the store to get it removed. I did so but I have not been compensated for the inconvenience. G.D., via email. Zara has offered you a 30 gift card as a gesture of goodwill. Help find my son's missing 11,620 I closed my son's savings account with Halifax and the funds of 11,620 were transferred to a child's savings bond with Saffron Building Society. I spoke to Saffron a few days later and was told the funds were not in the account. Saffron says it had initially accepted the funds but then returned them to Halifax. Both Saffron and Halifax say they don't have my son's savings and both say they cannot do anything else to help me. I have no idea where to go now. Please can you help return my son's life savings? Z. K., Hertfordshire. Scam Watch Lloyds Bank customers are being urged to watch out for fake emails that claim to have been sent by the bank. The messages say that a new payee has been added to your bank account and your card has been temporarily deactivated. They claim that to reactivate your card, you must click the link in the email, via which you can verify your personal details. Once on the website, any details you fill in will typically go directly to the scammers. If you receive one of these messages you should contact the bank directly using the number on the back of your card. Never click on any links in unexpected emails and forward all scam emails to the Governments cyber security centre at report@phishing.gov.uk. Sally Hamilton replies: It's one thing to lose savings but to lose those precious funds carefully squirreled away for a child is another. I totally felt your sense of panic. Particularly after you had to go back and forth over the course of a few days. You tell me that you went to Saffron to explain that the Halifax account had been closed, but you were then told by Saffron that it didn't have the funds and to go back to Halifax. Halifax then told you that as the account is closed, the funds could not, and have not, been returned. What a headspin. I spoke to Halifax and urged the bank to move quickly so that you didn't have to lose any more sleep over this. After some detective work at its end, it seems it was an administrative error that caused the money not to reach its final destination and remain in the ether somewhere. A reference number was not sent with the funds transfer, which meant that when Saffron received the payment it didn't know who it belonged to or what to do with it. The rigmarole of having the money go missing was enough to put you off moving the cash even with better rates on offer elsewhere and you've settled for a new account within Halifax. It has agreed to make a 50 payment to you for the inconvenience it caused and giving you the incorrect information that the funds could not be returned. It will also backdate the interest on the Kids' Saver account paying 3.4 pc from the date the money 'disappeared'. Transfers don't always go to plan, but it's still important to make every effort to get the best rate possible. Children's savings accounts routinely offer great rates, whether you have a lump sum or want to pay in a monthly amount. Regular saver accounts which pay high rates of interest are suitable if you're saving each month and don't need to withdraw anything as they need you to leave the money untouched usually for 12 months. There are also fixed-term accounts, which is what you were drawn to at Saffron, which tend to pay decent rates. It's also important to consider investing for children because of the long-term nature of saving for kids. You can invest or save up to 9,000 per year in a Junior Isa. Sally Hamilton is away. Edited by Holly Thomas EasyJet has warned that first-quarter losses are not expected to improve due to recent disruption caused by the conflict in the Middle East. The low-cost airline said its winter schedule had been affected by reduced demand for travel to Egypt, and a temporary pause on flights to Israel and Jordan following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. Air carriers have noted that the uptick in violence across the region since October has weakened the volume of near-term flight searches and bookings across the airline sector. Fly away: EasyJet's pre-tax profits more than trebled to 122million in the last financial year Nonetheless, EasyJet said strong reservation levels for next summer and supply chain snags in Europe give the group a 'positive outlook' for the current financial year. EasyJet profits before interest and tax came in at 476million, just ahead of forecasts and a significant improvement from last year's loss of 27million. The Luton-based carrier's Holidays business saw pre-tax profits more than treble to 122million in the year ending September, thanks to a record second-half performance. Revenues in both July and August soared above 1billion despite industrial action across Europe and chaos over the August Bank Holiday period when the UK's air traffic control system suffered a technical glitch. For the full year, turnover climbed by 2.4billion to around 8.2billion as the firm also benefited from the complete absence of Covid-related travel restrictions. Meanwhile, EasyJet's ancillary revenues soared by over half to 2.95billion, which were boosted by 'rapid growth' in its package holiday business and total passenger numbers rising by 19 per cent to 82.8 million. It was able to grow passenger revenue per seat by 20 per cent year-on-year to 56.37, which the group attributed to its 'optimised network at primary airports, as demand remained strong through the year'. But group ancillary revenue soared by 51 per cent to just shy of 3billion, with extras-driven revenue per seat up 21 per cent to 23.47. 'This is a result of easyJet's ongoing efforts to increase conversion and revenue management, generating additional revenue for the airline,' easyJet said. EasyJet will pay shareholders a 4.5p per share dividend, totalling 34million, having handed out nothing to them in the previous three years. Johan Lundgren, EasyJet's chief executive, said: 'Our record summer performance demonstrates the success of our strategy and that demand for easyJet remains strong as customers choose us for our network and value.' He noted research showing that about three-quarters of Britons plan to spend more on their holidays than in the previous year as travel remains a 'top priority for household discretionary spending'. Lundgren added: 'We are confident about the future and the opportunity ahead, focusing on capital discipline and driving our low-cost model to achieve our ambitious medium-term targets.' EasyJet shares were 2.1 per cent higher at 413.6p on Tuesday morning, meaning they have grown by around 23 per cent since the year began. Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: 'The good news for easyJet is that its problems are all outside of its control, which tells the market that its proposition is about as good as it can be - and is waiting to take-off once conditions allow.' It also expects its civil aerospace margin between 15-17%, up from 2.5% in 2022 The engineering giant is targeting operating profits of up to 2.8bn The chief executive of Rolls-Royce has revealed plans to build a much more profitable business by targeting a leap in the group's civil aerospace margin. Rolls-Royce plans to deliver annual operating profits of up to 2.8billion in the medium term, compared with its forecast guidance for up to 1.4billion this year, and free cash flow of between 2.8billion and 3.1billion. The FTSE 100-listed engineering giant hopes to achieve this by growing its civil aerospace division's profit margin to between 15 and 17 per cent, up from 2.5 per cent last year. It also plans to improve defence margins from 11.8 per cent in 2022 to between 14 to 16 per cent. The FTSE 100-listed engineering giant said that it expects its civil aerospace margin to be between 15 per cent and 17 per cent, up from 2.5 per cent the previous year Tufan Erginbilgic, a former BP executive who took over in January, is the latest CEO to try to tackle Rolls-Royce's inefficiencies. He is targeting the major step change in civil aerospace margins by around 2027, boosting the profitability of an engine business that powers nearly half of long-haul aircraft globally. The new target would bring Rolls closer to its rivals, such as General Electric, its major competitor in the widebody subsector. Erginbilgic said: 'We are setting compelling and achievable financial targets for the mid-term which will take Rolls-Royce significantly beyond any previous financial performance.' Rolls-Royce boss Tufan Erginbilgic: Britain must win nuclear race The boss of Rolls-Royce is this week expected to urge the Government to throw its full weight behind ground-breaking British nuclear technology developed by the country's flagship engineering giant. Chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic is pushing through a whirlwind transformation of the company. He will on Tuesday unveil his blueprint for restoring Rolls to its former glory. > Read more here The company also announced a group wide divestment programme, targeting up to 1.5billion in cost savings over the next five years, as Rolls focuses capital on key parts of its business. The firm, which is synonymous with Britain's manufacturing prowess, went through years in the doldrums under previous bosses and came close to bankruptcy during the pandemic. Rolls was hit hard by the slow recovery of the airline industry from the pandemic when international restrictions on travel remained in some regions. Shares in Rolls-Royce have been among the best performers on the stock market this year, rising by 145 per cent so far as the City has been impressed with Erginbilgic's verve. However, they are still 18 per cent lower than they were five years ago. Erginbilgic added: 'We are building 'one Rolls-Royce'. A company that can fully realise its potential, ensuring the excellence and innovation that helped shape the modern world, endures long into the future.' Rolls-Royce shares were up 7.1 per cent to 260.5p in Tuesday morning trading. Chief executive of Saga, Euan Sutherland, will step down in January after four years in the role, the group said on Tuesday. Sutherland will be replaced at the helm of the holidays and insurance group with immediate effect, with group financial chief Mike Hazell taking on the role and the outgoing boss remaining with the group in the short term to ensure continuity. The over-50s specialist also told investors that Hazell, who only joined Saga last month, will be succeeded as finance chief by current group chief corporate development officer Mark Watkins. The Kent-based company said that Euan Sutherland will be standing down and will be replaced by the current group chief financial officer, Mike Hazell In a trading update the firm said: 'After joining Saga in January 2020, Euan stabilised the business, launched a new strategy and significantly strengthened the leadership team. 'He steered Saga through the Covid-19 pandemic and oversaw detailed work to strengthen the brand and identify new income streams. 'Mike and Mark, who have been working closely together since Mike's arrival at Saga, will assume their new roles with immediate effect.' In September, the company revealed that it anticipates a 'significant' double-digit expansion in sales and underlying pre-tax profits for the fiscal year ending January 2024. Sutherland said: 'The time is right for someone else to take Saga into the next phase of its development and I am delighted to hand over to Mike and Mark, who I know will lead this business with passion and determination.' Hazell added: 'I am delighted to take over from Euan and will continue to deliver against the Group strategy to maximise the performance of our existing businesses and reduce debt. 'I look forward to working with Mark and the rest of the executive team, the Board and all my wider Saga colleagues to take the Group to the next phase of its development.' Saga shares fell by 2.4 per cent to 121.80p in Tuesday morning trading. A Chinese fast fashion giant is closing in on a stock market listing in New York. Shein a staple for many British young women, with tops and dresses from 5 has filed papers for an initial public offering (IPO), according to Reuters. Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley have been hired as lead underwriters. NYC float: Shein, which counts Im A Celebrity star Georgia Toffolo (pictured), among its fans, has filed papers for an initial public offering, according to Reuters It is thought the listing could value the firm at as much as 70billion in what would be a big test of investor appetite following a string of lacklustre stock market debuts. In recent months, shares in German sandal-maker Birkenstock, grocery delivery app Instacart and British chip designer Arm Holdings dropped below their IPO prices after their US listings. Shares in Arm which chose New York over London in a major snub to the City are now trading above that price. Shein, which counts Im A Celebrity star Georgia Toffolo, among its fans, was founded in China in 2012 but is based in Singapore. It has faced criticism over its treatment of workers in China. Easyjet plans to pay dividends for the first time since Covid-19 struck as it cashes in on higher prices and booming demand. The budget airline said it will hand shareholders 34million a final dividend of 4.5p per share after returning to the black having made more than 2billion of losses over the previous three years. The company reported profits of 455million for the 12 months to the end of September 2023. This was up from a 178million loss in 2022. Take-off: Easyjet said it will hand shareholders 34m a final dividend of 4.5p per share after returning to the black having made more than 2bn of losses over the previous three years The airline flew over 82m passengers during the year despite hiking their prices. This included a record summer where 26m passengers jetted off. Revenues soared 42 per cent to 8.2billion. Over a quarter of these revenues came from Easyjet add-ons, which include charging flyers for extra baggage and seat allocation. The group raked in 2.2billion from these extras. This is roughly 23.47 extra per seat, up from 19.43 in 2022. Chief executive Johan Lundgren defended these charges by arguing it was down to increasing demand. People buy more than they did before, he said. The budget airline said its average fares increased by 9 to 72 over the year. Easyjet, however, warned that its next set of half-year results will be impacted by the conflict in the Middle East after it paused flights to Israel and Jordan. Services to Egypt are also being affected. These destinations make up around 4 per cent of its winter flying schedule. The airline recently revealed plans to order up to 257 aircraft to help meet growing demand. Easyjet shares up 27.6 per cent so far this year but almost a third below their pre-pandemic peak climbed 4 per cent. EZULWINI Prime Minister Russell Dlamini says restoration of peace, security and tolerance for one another, should be at the top of the 12th Parliaments priorities. The PM was speaking during the induction conference for the 12th Parliament yesterday. He said it was fitting that the event took place when they were fresh in government, full of ideas and carrying a clear mandate from the King from Sibaya. The premier said restoration of peace, security and tolerance for one another, should be at the top of their priorities. threats The threats to peace and security and sustainable development experienced a few years ago demonstrated the need to change course on our approach to engage, by being preventive rather than reactive. We must do all we can to ensure that the economy of this country never suffers such a down-turn again. Similarly, we have to work on the countrys preparedness programmes for unprecedented crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of ongoing global conflicts, he said. The PM said another area of urgent attention was poverty. He noted that he had been exposed to the needs of the people of Eswatini, therefore, he knew poverty was real in this kingdom. He pleaded with the 12th Parliament to find a lasting solution to poverty alleviation and job creation, through growing the economy. He also stressed the need of intentional strategies, with tangible sustainable results, to address the alarming high rate of youth unemployment. Rather than spending resources on activities that will distract them only for a short period, let us optimally utilise our resources to empower them with skills at primary and high school levels, he said. The premier added that there were youth empowerments that the nation established, while they were also investing in similar programmes. Dlamini said these policies needed to be revisited in order for them to work. He added that youth unemployment may seem to be an isolated problem but the reality was that it cascaded and triggered other challenges, therefore, it must be addressed as a matter of urgency. Integrity Furthermore, Dlamini said there was a need to execute the legislation, oversight and representation role with integrity and remain grounded by the dictates of the Constitution of Eswatini. I believe we were all taking keen interest in the politics of the country and we will align our contributions accordingly. We have also pledged kuba tintfungo leticotfo to His Majesty, therefore, I am confident that we will see no need to be comfortable in applying strategies that have proven to set us back as a nation, he said. Dlamini said service delivery must not only be just talk but Parliament must work together with the Executive and rid emaSwati of all burdens that were a result of centralised services. He then personally committed to working together with Parliament during his term and requested the legislators to put the country first and strive towards the common goal of a turnaround that His Majesty and the nation have entrusted them with. Transformation Meanwhile, the United Nation (UN) Resident Co-ordinator, George Wachira, said they were also looking forward to engaging with the parliamentarians on the newly-proposed six transitions or transformation that could help accelerate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as food systems, education, energy access and affordability, digital connectivity, jobs and social protection, climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. He emphasised on the need for legislators to continue engaing, with their constituencies. These engagements will enable MPs to understand their constituencies issues and the constituencies would understand the role of politicians, he said. Concerns: Bim Afolami said the UKs financial services industrys animal spirits must be unleashed The new City minister has fired a warning shot at regulators to loosen their grip on the UKs financial services sector, saying there was no point having the safest graveyard. Two weeks after he was promoted by Rishi Sunak, Bim Afolami said the industrys animal spirits must be unleashed at a time when some fear that subdued risk appetite is holding back growth. He delivered the broadside at the FTs global banking summit, where uncertainty facing the sector in the UK emerged as a key theme. His comments signalled a willingness to take on the likes of the Financial Conduct Authority in pursuit of growth. He added: Regulators need to realise if youre regulating a market in any area theres no point having the safest graveyard. Animal spirits need to be there, we need to drive growth and initiative. Criticism: Goldman Sachs's boss David Solomon He may be a master of the universe and was paid 20m last year but, Goldman Sachs's boss has admitted that he was still upset by a headline in which he was described as a 'jerk'. Questions have swirled around David Solomon's leadership amid the Wall Street giant's ill-fated flirtation with consumer banking. And Solomon, 61, revealed to the FT global banking summit that while he was focused on the business he could not help but take umbrage at a headline in New York Magazine which ran 'Is David Solomon Too Big a Jerk to Run Goldman Sachs?' 'I'm a human being nobody likes to be called names in a newspaper,' he said. Some of the criticism has centred on his hobby of performing as a DJ under the stage name D-SOL something he has given up doing publicly. Solomon insisted that despite reported sniping at his leadership 'broadly speaking morale at the firm is pretty good'. Losses: Multiverse was set up by Euan Blair in 2016 An education start-up founded by the son of former prime minister Tony Blair almost tripled its annual losses last year. Multiverse, which was set up by Euan Blair in 2016, failed to turn a profit for the seventh consecutive year, according to its latest financial statements. The London-based company uses software to match apprentices with corporate giants such as Facebook and Google. Multiverses revenue grew 66 per cent, or 45.2million, in the year ended March 31, company accounts showed. But losses widened from 14.2million to 40.5million as it invested in its US business and technology. The company yesterday axed 44 US jobs equivalent to 5 per cent of its global head count as it tries to reset its American business. It won unicorn status a term for a start-up worth more than 1billion last year when it was valued at 1.4billion, giving Blair, 39, a fortune of nearly 350million. IAP then dissolved but is alleged to have reemerged as American Muslims for Palestine, which has backed Rep. Rashida Tlaib Jaber was president of the Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP), which was ordered to pay $165 million to the American family of a Hamas terror victim Tlaib campaign event co-host Rafeeq Jaber refused to condemn Hamas' October 7th terror attack when contacted by DailyMail.com Rashida Tlaib had the crowd eating out of her hand. It was March 2018, and the hookah lounge in a working-class suburb outside of Chicago was packed. Warm and engaging, switching frequently between English and Arabic, Tlaib - a Michigan State representative with larger ambitions - pleaded for out-of-state donations to help her become the first Palestinian American in Congress. She unashamedly told the audience that her Detroit constituents often declared: 'Rashida is a warrior, and this is a war we're in.' Sitting in the front row, Rafeeq Jaber listened intently, seemingly impressed and knowing a thing or two about raising money to wage war. For Jaber's now-defunct charity, the Islamic Association for Palestine, was found legally liable for financing the Hamas murder of an American and ordered to pay a $165 million settlement to the victim's family. Jaber's 2018 attendance confirmed to DailyMail.com by a national security research institute at an event for a future-U.S. Congresswoman would likely shock most Americans. But he was far more than simply a guest. Rashida Tlaib had the crowd eating out of her hand. It was March 2018, and the hookah lounge in a working-class suburb outside of Chicago was packed. (Above) Tlaib's campaign event outside of Chicago, Illinois Sitting in the front row, Rafeeq Jaber (above, in red circle) listened intently, seemingly impressed and knowing a thing or two about raising money to wage war. Jaber was a prominent host of Tlaib campaign gatherings, and he remains unrepentant today - even refusing to condemn Hamas when asked to do so by DailyMail.com. What's more, he is not Tlaib's only major supporter with alleged ties to the vicious killers now responsible for the worst mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust. There's Wisconsin furniture salesman Salah Sarsour, who co-hosted a party for Tlaib in July 2018 in Milwaukee. His name appears on the official Tlaib invite to the event. Sarsour is known to U.S. counter terror experts as being a suspected fundraiser in one of the largest pro-Hamas money laundering operations in U.S. history. Then there's Abdelbaset Hamayel, whose name is listed alongside Jaber's as a co-host on an official 'Rashia Tlaib For Congress' invitation to a meet and greet at the Jerusalem Banquet restaurant in Bridgeview, Illinois in July 2018. Hamayel was a purported point person for another charity, named KindHearts, that was accused by the U.S. Treasury Department of financing terrorism in 2006. Tlaib's defenders claim it is unreasonable to expect her to know the background of all the guests at her campaign events or the 45,000 donors named on her Federal Election Commission records. That's fair enough. Yet she certainly should know the identities of her co-hosts. Perhaps most troubling of all is the thread tying these Tlaib's campaign boosters together, as a DailyMail.com investigation has now revealed that each of them are connected to an alleged pro-Hamas network that to this day is under investigation for supporting terror. 'DECEIVE & CAMOUFLAGE': HAMAS' PATRONS IN AMERICA The origins of the pro-Hamas network in America can be traced to an October 1993 meeting at a Marriott Courtyard hotel in Philadelphia. Shortly after the fledging terror group launched its first suicide bombing, killing one and injuring 10 people at a rest area on the Jordan Valley Highway in the West Bank, sympathetic activists met in Philly for a secret three-day conflab. They anticipated that the U.S. government would declare Hamas a 'foreign terror organization' which it did in 1997 and block the flow of donations to the group. The participants debated how they could continue providing support to Hamas, and they knew they had to be careful: U.S. law enforcement may be listening. So, the attendees were circumspect - pronouncing the terror group's name backward as 'Samah' or simply as 'the movement.' There's Milwaukee furniture salesman Salah Sarsour, who co-hosted a party for Tlaib in July 2018 in Milwaukee. His name appears on the official Tlaib invite to the event (Above, Sarsour's name is underlined). Tlaib (above, middle-right) attended a July 2018 fundraiser in Wisconsin hosted by Salah Sarsour (above, middle-left), and posed for photos with him (bottom right) in a now-deleted Facebook post The paranoia was justified. The Bureau was listening. FBI agents had bugged the meeting, and subsequent recordings were used to convict some of the participants for backing terrorism. 'I swear by Allah that war is deception,' one senior leader said, according to a FBI transcript. 'Deceive, camouflage, pretend that you're leaving while you're walking that way. Deceive your enemy.' Deceive they did. As Hamas found its footing, associates poured money into its coffers and it worked until the network was picked apart by American authorities. 'THE FACADE': PRO-HAMAS CHARITIES BUSTED Federal agents raided and locked down the headquarters of the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation of Relief and Development (HLF) on suspicion of fundraising for Hamas in 2001. Seven years later, the Justice Department secured convictions against HLF and its leadership for illegally funneling approximately $12.4 million to the terrorists. Five HLF leaders were sentenced to a collective 180 years in federal prison and the faux charity was shuttered. To date - it is the largest successful terrorism financing prosecution in U.S. history. But not everyone allegedly involved in the scheme faced justice. Salah Sarsour - the furniture store owner whose name appears on an invitation for a Tlaib campaign event in Milwaukee in July of 2018 - allegedly helped raise money for HLF, according to a 2001 FBI memorandum. He was never charged. Then there's Abdelbaset Hamayel, whose name is listed alongside Jaber's as a co-host on an official 'Rashia Tlaib For Congress' invitation to a meet and greet at the Jerusalem Banquet restaurant in Bridgeview, Illinois in July 2018. (Above, names of Hamayel and Jaber are underlined) Abdelbaset Hamayel (left) and Salah Sarsour (right) are seen together in a Facebook post from June 28, 2021 Tlaib's defenders claim it is unreasonable to expect her to know the background of all the guests at her campaign events or the 45,000 donors named on her Federal Election Commission records. That's fair enough. Yet she certainly should know the identities of her co-hosts. And HLF's pro-Hamas mission allegedly carried on. The U.S. Treasury Department claimed that HLF simply dissolved and reconstituted itself another as another charity called KindHearts, which was based in Ohio. 'KindHearts is the progeny of Holy Land Foundation and Global Relief Foundation, which attempted to mask their support for terrorism behind the facade of charitable giving,' Treasury officials claimed when they froze KindHearts assets in 2006. At the time, KindHearts' representative[i] in Illinois and Wisconsin was Abdelbaset Hamayel - another Tlaib campaign co-host. KindHearts challenged the order shut down, and a court in 2010 ruled the government action was unconstitutional as insufficient time was given to allow KindHearts to challenge the decision. In 2011 KindHearts settled with the government, denying involvement in terrorism financing but agreeing to dissolve their organization. The alleged network was increasingly exposed. And the murder of an American blew it wide open and into a U.S. courtroom. ISLAMIC CHARITY FOUND GUILTY IN MURDER OF AMERICA David Boim was born in Brooklyn, New York, but on May 13, 1996, he was living in Jerusalem and studying at a yeshiva. It was the day he was murdered. The 17-year-old student was waiting with friends at a bus stop near Beit El in the West Bank when two Hamas terrorists opened fire on the crowd from a moving car. One student, Yair Greenbaum, was hit in the chest and wounded. David was shot in the head and killed. David's devastated parents took their grief to civil court and, in 2000, after years of preparation they brought a case under a 1992 law that permits American victims to sue anyone providing material support to terror groups. Named as a defendant in that lawsuit was the Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP), which for decades had operated out of a nondescript office in a bland strip mall in the Chicago suburb of Palos Hills. Its benign appearance belied the allegation that it was founded in the 1980s by Hamas's de facto foreign minister, Mousa Abu Marzook. In the lawsuit, Rafeeq Jaber the man sitting front row at Tlaib's 2018 hookah lounge campaign event was identified as IAP's president. Jaber, at the time, denied any involvement in Boim's death. 'We are guilty because we happen to be Muslims, happen to be Palestinians,' he said. 'This is a sad day for justice.' David Boim (above) was born in Brooklyn, New York, but on May 13, 1996, he was living in Jerusalem and studying at a yeshiva. It was the day he was murdered. David's devastated parents (above) took their grief to civil court and, in 2000, after years of preparation they brought a case under a 1992 law that permits American victims to sue anyone providing material support to terror groups. A federal judge saw it differently and found IAP and its co-defendants legally responsible for the murder of David Boim, because they helped finance the terrorists. IAP and its co-defendants were ordered to pay the Boim family $156 million in damages, marking the first decision of its kind under the anti-terrorism law. Only IAP didn't pay up. Instead, the group closed its doors or at least it claimed to. According to a number of antiterror experts, like former U.S. Treasury Department analyst Jonathan Schanzer, IAP merely changed its name and re-emerged under another American Muslims for Palestine (AMP). That claim is currently the focus of an on-going lawsuit as the Boims allege that AMP is the alter ego of IAP. And if the Boim's contention is proven true, it would be truly disturbing the least of which for Democrats because AMP has thrown its weight behind several Democratic members of Congress, including Rashida Tlaib. TLAIB'S UNREPENTANT, PRO-HAMAS CAMPAIGN CO-HOST On Wednesday, November 15th, Jonathan Schanzer appeared before the House Ways and Means Committee and took the government to task for its failure to act on his warnings about Hamas financers in America. After all, Schanzer, who worked as a terrorism finance analyst for the Treasury Department from 2004 to 2007, has testified on this topic twice before. 'The Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF), the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), and KindHearts for Charitable Development were three organizations implicated in financing Hamas between 2001 and 2011,' Schanzer cautioned lawmakers. 'Many of them have gravitated to a new organization called American Muslims for Palestine.' Despite Schanzer's previous testimonies delivered seven years ago, AMP's influence has only grown. The group's lobbying arm now openly seeks to influence and elect members of Congress. Tlaib has spoken at multiple AMP events, including a 2019 annual gala in Chicago, a 2020 chapter meeting in St. Louis, Missouri and a range of online gatherings. Prominent AMP members have aided her congressional campaign. Salah Sarsour that alleged Holy Land fundraiser is now identified as an AMP National Board Member and the director of the group's tax-exempt charitable arm. Abdelbaset Hamayel that purported KindHearts point man is identified as AMP's Executive Director on the Facebook page of AMP's Chicago chapter and is reportedly active in the organization. Tlaib has spoken at multiple AMP events, including a 2019 annual gala in Chicago, a 2020 chapter meeting in St. Louis, Missouri and a range of online gatherings. Just two weeks after Hamas' October 7th terrorist attacks in Israel, AMP's representatives were back on Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers on their annual 'Advocacy Day'. Rashida Tlaib's picture was featured on their flier. (Above, Tlaib shown in lower right of flier) Finally, AMP's AJP Educational Foundation lists Rafeeq Jaber the former president of IAP as its tax preparer on recent IRS filings. To this day, Jaber works out of that same nondescript office building in Palos Hills. When contacted by phone, Jaber told DailyMail.com that he was exasperated by repeated calls to condemn Hamas and refused to do so. 'Whatever Hamas did, it does not justify this,' he said, referring to the October 7 massacre and Israeli's invasion of Gaza. Asked if he would condemn both Hamas and Israel, Jaber again demurred. 'Condemnation is not going to change anything,' he stated and defended his support for Tlaib. AMP, for its part, recently moved its headquarters from Palos Hills, Illinois to Falls Church, Virginia, where it has attracted the attention of Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares. Miyares is currently investigating allegations that AMP, 'may have used funds raised for impermissible purposes under state law, including benefitting or providing support to terrorist organizations.' AMP and Tlaib, however, don't appear to be fazed by the attention. When contacted for comment by DailyMail.com, Congresswoman Tlaib's office did not answer. And just two weeks after Hamas' October 7 terrorist attacks in Israel, AMP's representatives were back on Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers on their annual 'Advocacy Day'. Rashida Tlaib's picture was featured on their flier. Abbott, with help of Peta Credlin, used issue to become PM A Liberal Opposition leader campaigns on tough border protection policies as the Labor government slowly sinks in the polls. It's not the present - although it could be: It's Tony Abbott leading his 'stop the boats' campaign against the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd government in 2013. Abbott - advised closely by his team, including then-immigration spokesman Scott Morrison and closest adviser Peta Credlin - capitalised on the Coalition's reputation for being tough on national security and border issues to relentlessly hammer Labor. It was part of a campaign that helped propel Abbott into power at the 2013 Federal election. And now Peter Dutton is using the same playbook to turn voters against Labor in the wake of a High Court decision that has seen 141 criminal asylum seekers released into the community. The Coalition will hammer home to Australian voters three words Labor's 77 MPs hoped they wouldn't have to deal with as a cost-of-living crisis turns the public mood against the government just 18 months into their first term. Those three words are that Labor, once again, is 'soft on borders'. Like Mr Abbott, Dutton has positioned himself as the 'tough on borders' alternative PM who could singlehandedly clean up the predicament, should he be given the chance The 'soft on borders' mantra has grown louder since the High Court decision on November 8 that declared mandatory detention to be illegal. The latest Newspoll on Sunday shows voters have swung back toward the Coalition, which is now 50:50 with Labor on a two-party preferred basis. And Mr Albanese's personal approval rating is now level with Mr Dutton's on -13 - a dramatic plunge from his post-election high of 35 in July 2022. It's a devastating poll for the PM, who has struggled for momentum and direction amid the cost of living crisis following the failure of his signature Voice referendum. READ MORE: Released asylum seeker criminal goes missing Advertisement The loss of the Yes campaign led by Mr Albanese saw his approval rating fall into negative territory for the first time, while Mr Dutton enjoyed a five-point boost. Since the High Court decision - which Labor fervently opposed - Mr Dutton has been chipping away further, slamming Mr Albanese's government for allowing 'hardcore criminals' to be released onto the streets during Labor's watch. The High Court on Tuesday released its written decision on why all seven judges overturning a 20-year precedent and setting in motion the release of the detainees. Labor has repeatedly argued it had no choice but to free the prisoners after the High Court determined indefinite detention is illegal. But Mr Dutton says the government should have had legislation in place to deal with the possibility the court would rule against the indefinite detention of asylum seekers who were unable to be deported after completing jail sentences. The Coalition also last week capitalised on the arrival of an asylum seeker boat carrying 12 illegal immigrants into Australia. Mr Dutton linked the arrival of the boat to the High Court decision, warning that Labor's response would encourage an uptick in illegal boat arrivals. Some keen political watchers have drawn comparisons between Mr Dutton's response and the work of Tony Abbott back in 2013, when he was advised by Peta Credlin (pictured together) Peter Dutton has capitalised on the Liberal Party's 'tough on borders' reputation In a further damaging blow, Labor was forced to agree to a series of tough amendments from Peter Dutton to new laws they had rushed into parliament to ensure the asylum seekers were monitored. It was acting PM Richard Marles who was forced to accept the amendments because Anthony Albanese was in San Francisco for the APEC meeting - his fourth overseas trip since his Voice referendum was overwhelmingly defeated on October 14. To the public, it appeared the Opposition was writing the policies to deal with the crisis. Mr Abbott employed a similar strategy as Opposition leader, outmaneuvering Labor on border security. In 2013 some 300 vessels carrying illegal immigrants had reached Australian shores - with Mr Abbott repeating the mantra that his party was going to 'stop the boats'. The campaign appealed to Australians concerned about drowning deaths and migration levels in general after the arrival of tens of thousands of asylum seekers by boat under Labor. Then-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd had dismantled John Howard's Pacific Solution policy on winning the 2007 election, and was succeeded by Julia Gillard, who eventually resumed offshore processing in 2012. When Rudd returned to the Lodge in 2013 he tightened Gillard's policy further, announcing asylum seekers arriving by boat would never be settled in Australia. But the damage had been done, with 50,000 asylum seeker arrivals and at least 1,200 people drowned at sea during the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years, and Mr Abbott went on to win the 2013 election. Operation Sovereign Borders followed, involving boat turn-backs and offshore detention and processing, overseen by immigration ministers Mr Morrison and Mr Dutton, resulting in just one illegal boat arriving in Australia in 2014. Now Mr Dutton is again focusing on immigration and honing in on Labor's perceived weakness on border security. A vital member of Mr Abbott's 2013 team, Ms Credlin said she does not think Mr Dutton has put a foot wrong in dealing with the repeated challenged faced by Mr Albanese. 'He was brave on the Voice, he read the community mood far better than his opponents, and particularly in the Prime Minister's absences, he has dominated the parliament,' she said. 'For the Prime Minister, he's facing a torrid summer. And if this week is his best effort, so too are Australians.' Just last month - before the landmark High Court decision - Mr Dutton was asking: 'Why did they [Labor] lose control of our borders when they were in government?' And in the wake of the court ruling, he has hammered Labor for being unequipped and unprepared to handle the release of 141 asylum seekers - convicted murderers and child sex offenders among them. He has positioned himself, just like Mr Abbott did, as a 'tough on borders' alternative PM who could solve the asylum seeker issue should he be given the chance. During his time as Home Affairs Minister, a total of 1,310 visas were reinstated to asylum seekers which had previously been automatically cancelled as a result of a criminal conviction. One case involved William Betham, whose visa was initially cancelled after he was jailed for a decade in 2008 over his role in a drug trafficking syndicate. While serving indefinite detention on Christmas Island in 2017, Betham's visa was reinstated and he was allowed to move to the Gold Coast. Betham's lawyer later revealed she had acted on behalf of four other clients with similar convictions, whose visa cancellations were also overturned about the same time. Mr Dutton previously stated Betham's case 'did not come' to his office for consideration. Decisions on such matters can be made by an officer of the department, and do not always go before ministers or politicians. Ms Credlin was Mr Abbott's closest adviser in Opposition and as Prime Minister Prior to the High Court decision, the Albanese government had overturned 188 automatic visa cancellations. The Coalition put Labor under pressure to come up with a Band-Aid solution to the High Court order during the last sitting week, vowing to work through the night and into the weekend to pass legislation to keep the impacted asylum seekers under guard. Eventually, Labor and the Coalition did team up to pass a bill which allows released detainees to be fitted with ankle monitors and subjected to curfews. Even while supporting the legislation through both the House and the Senate, Mr Dutton later said he did not believe the restrictions went far enough. But Labor argues it is balancing its commitment to keep Australians safe with its responsibility to act in accordance with the law. Immigration Minister Andrew Giles said in Question Time on Monday that Labor is creating 'strong laws' and has a 'relentless focus on compliance... two things that members opposite know very little about'. 'It is not talking tough that keeps Australians safe,' Mr Giles said. Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil was just as scathing of the Coalition's border policies Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil was just as scathing of the Coalition's border policies. In the same Question Time sitting, she noted immigration and border policies had a 'long and wrinkly, highly-politicised history'. 'Many of the individuals who were engaged in the most egregious infringements on human rights and safety of people in our country came into the country under the Leader of the Opposition. 'The Leader of the Opposition talked a big game but when it came down to it, he cut funding for immigration compliance, making sure that our borders were not secure.' Ms O'Neil said in comparison, Labor has taken a 'deliberate approach' to ensure all laws are constitutional and effective in protecting Australians. 'Laws that do not work do not make us any safer, they actually make us more dangerous,' she said. Mr Dutton and Mr Albanese are neck and neck for personal approval ratings. The PM's rating fell two points to 40 per cent, while Mr Dutton trails slightly at 37 per cent A British businessman who fears he will remain in a Dubai jail cell until the day he dies has written to King Charles begging him to intercede. Ryan Cornelius has made the plea ahead of the Kings opening address at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 28, which takes place in the United Arab Emirates which includes Dubai - this week. A United Nations investigation has already ruled that his detention is arbitrary and called for his release. Mr Cornelius, who has already served 15 years, is backed by a cross party group of MPs, including Conservative Iain Duncan Smith and Labour's Chris Bryant, and by justice campaigner Bill Browder. They have condemned his treatment as tantamount to a death sentence. King Charles is due to make the opening address at the Cop28 climate change summit in Dubai this week British businessman Ryan Cornelius has been in a Dubai jail cell for 15 years and fears he will spend the rest of his life there Dubai Central Prison, where Mr Cornelius is held. The United Nations has described Mr Cornelius's detention as arbitrary and has called on the UAE to release him Charles and Camilla talk to heikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai at Ascot in 2022 An early day motion calling for Mr Corneliuss release earlier this year attracted support from all the main political parties. The 68-year-old businessman, a father of three, was arrested in 2008 on a stop-over at Dubai airport and convicted of fraud in a case described as a miscarriage of justice by his supporters. Even though he has served his sentence, Mr Cornelius has been told he must remain in jail until he repays his creditor but he is unable to do so as the Dubai authorities have seized his assets. In a letter to the King dictated from behind bars, Cornelius writes: You are due to visit the UAE for the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference next month, when you will probably meet the Ruler. He is someone who has long valued his relationship with your family, and I am sure he will listen to you. With apologies once more for being so bold as to address you directly, may I ask you to intercede with the Ruler of Dubai to show clemency towards me and my family. Mr Corneliuss lawyer, Rhys Davies, hopes that the Kings visit will give him the chance to urge Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum and his government to release Mr Cornelius and any British prisoners serving clearly disproportionate sentences. We have our King going to the UAE and opening this important event and yet we have British citizens who are languishing in prison mere miles away and that needs to come to an end, he said. The eyes of the world will be on the UAE.' Mr Cornelius wrote to the King a month ago. So far, his team has heard from neither the Palace nor the Foreign Office. Mr Cornelius had been a property developer in the Middle East building an upmarket polo estate when he was unexpectedly arrested in 2008 by plain-clothes policemen on a stop-over at Dubai airport. Ryan, wife Heather and their children Labour MP Chris Bryant has called for the release of Mr Cornelius Heather Cornelius and her children were left homeless after the Dubai authorities seized her husband's assets He was eventually sentenced to 10 years in prison for fraud, accused of breaking the terms of a 372 million loan received from the Dubai Islamic Bank. When he was due for release, the UAE authorities extended his sentence by 20 years behind closed doors with no trial. Mr Cornelius did not have a lawyers present, was taken to a judges office with no notice and, say his supporters, blocked from making an appeal. When his assets were seized by the Dubai authorities, his wife Heather and their three children were left without a home. In his letter to the King, Mr Cornelius continues: I will be 84 before I am eligible for release. But my captors tell me I will never be allowed out alive. I do not know why they are doing this to me. They have already taken from me everything which I ever possessed, I am bankrupt and my family lives precariously in rented accommodation in the UK. I am in poor health now and probably dont have much longer to live. The conditions in Dubai Central Prison are notoriously bad and Mr Cornelius suffered tuberculosis with no medical treatment available to him for 18 months. Mr Davies said: The conditions of imprisonment do not meet Western standards. These are conditions where medical treatment is not given, air conditioning is kept sufficiently low, they are kept in conditions of 12 degrees inside their prison cells which are overcrowded, they often have just one thin blanket and the lights are kept on 24/7. Any suggestion by the UAE that Ryan received a fair trial is plainly wrong. Ryan was subjected to a grossly unfair trial process. The UAE has breached basic international standards as well as its own constitution by imposing an illegal retroactive sentence. The United Nations has also determined that Ryan has been arbitrarily detained and has called for his immediate release. Mrs Cornelius has spoken in the past about her fears that her husband will pass away in prison. Speaking to MailOnline, she said: I believe they are determined to keep my husband in jail until he dies. I am terrified that he will pass away behind bars and that I will never get to see my husband again. The UAE Embassy did not respond when asked for comment but has previously said: 'Ryan Cornelius illegally obtained a loan of 372 million, by bribing staff members at Dubai Islamic Bank. Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith believes Mr Cornelius's treatment is unjust The Cornelius family. Ryan believes he might never see them again Following a fair trial in which all due processes were followed, Mr Cornelius was sentenced to ten years in prison, which was later lawfully extended as he had failed to repay the creditor (Dubai Islamic Bank) during this time - which is in line with UAE law. 'The whereabouts of the funds Mr Cornelius obtained are unknown. The UAE judicial system is independent and equitable and guarantees the mandatory presence of a translator at all stages, the right to seek a lawyer at all stages, the provision of a lawyer at the states expense if the defendant cannot appoint legal counsel, and the right to appeal. 'In line with international standards, the UAE has stringent laws, regulations and procedures in place to ensure the physical and psychological wellbeing of detainees in its prisons. A spokesman for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: 'We are supporting a British man detained in the UAE and have consistently raised his case with the UAE authorities.' A secretive CIA office has been coordinating the retrieval of crashed UFOs around the world for decades, multiple sources told DailyMail.com. One source said that at least nine apparent 'non-human craft' have been recovered by the US government some wrecked from a crash, and two completely intact. Three sources briefed on those alleged top secret operations told DailyMail.com that the Office of Global Access (OGA), a wing of the Central Intelligence Agency's Science and Technology Directorate, has played a central role since 2003 in orchestrating the collection of what could be alien spacecraft. The three sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid reprisals, have all been briefed by individuals involved in those alleged UFO retrieval missions. Though the shocking claims sound like they come from a science fiction novel, they are part of a growing body of evidence suggesting the US government could indeed be hiding advanced vehicles that were not made by humans. The Office of Global Access - a wing of the CIA - has played a central role in collecting alien spacecraft since 2003, sources tell DailyMail.com David Grusch - a former high-ranking intelligence official is one of three military whistleblowers who testified under oath about UFOs. Grusch claims he has evidence of secret programs involving technology far surpassing the US's capabilities In July Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer co-sponsored a bill to allow disclosure of 'recovered technologies of unknown origin and biological evidence of non-human intelligence' Former top intelligence officer David Grusch told Congress as much in an explosive public hearing in July. The same month, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer sponsored an extraordinary bill to allow disclosure of 'recovered technologies of unknown origin and biological evidence of non-human intelligence' which has now passed in the Senate. Sources who spoke to DailyMail.com shed light on how the CIA has allegedly coordinated the secret recovery and storage of these alleged crashed or landed UFOs. Late CIA expert Jeffrey Richelson wrote in his 2016 book, The US Intelligence Community, that the Office of Global Access helped provide 'worldwide collection capability' 'There's at least nine vehicles. There were different circumstances for different ones,' one source briefed by UFO program insiders told DailyMail.com. 'It has to do with the physical condition they're in. If it crashes, there's a lot of damage done. Others, two of them, are completely intact.' The source said the CIA has a 'system in place that can discern UFOs while they're still cloaked,' and that if the 'non-human' craft land, crash or are brought down to earth, special military units are sent to try to salvage the wreckage. Another source with knowledge of the OGA's role said that they specialize in allowing the US military to secretly access areas around the world where they would usually be 'denied' for example behind enemy lines. 'They are basically a facilitator for people to get in and out of countries,' the source said. 'They are very clever at being able to get anywhere in the world they want to.' Multiple sources briefed on the OGA's activities told DailyMail.com that most of its operations involve more conventional retrieval missions, such as stray nuclear weapons, downed satellites or adversaries' technology. But they claimed some missions coordinated by the OGA have involved retrieval of UFOs. 'The task at hand is simply to get it into custody and protect the secrecy of it,' one source said. 'The actual physical retrieval is by the military. But it's not kept under military control, because they have to keep too many records. So they start moving it out fairly quickly into private hands.' Documents published by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in December 2016 showed that the OGA was one of 56 offices in the CIA, with its chief and deputy making up two of a total 286 director-level officials in the spy agency. An unclassified organizational chart published by the CIA in October 2015 lists the OGA among nine offices in the 'Science and Technology' wing of the agency. Late CIA expert Jeffrey Richelson wrote in a 2016 book on the agency that the OGA was established in 2003, and cited a CIA description that it 'integrate[s] analysis, technology, and tradecraft to attack the most difficult targets, and to provide worldwide collection capability.' Doug Wolfe helped set up the CIA's Office of Global Access in 2003 and served as its deputy director. He managed 'unwarned access programs that deliver intelligence from the most challenging denied areas' according to a short biography published by a conference he attended in 2017 Schumer's bill requires all government agencies to turn over evidence of any 'recovered technologies of unknown origin and biological evidence of non-human intelligence' to a panel of experts, who can then choose to make the information public One source claimed at least nine 'non-human craft' have been recovered by the US government some wrecked from a crash, and two completely intact. A 3D rendering of a UFO A 255-word biography of former OGA deputy director Doug Wolfe, published by an aerospace conference in 2017, says that he 'helped start the Office of Global Access'. Wolfe's bio cryptically adds that he 'was responsible for leading and managing strategic, unwarned access programs that deliver intelligence from the most challenging denied areas' and 'served as program manager with responsibility for the end-to-end system acquisition of an innovative new source and method for the IC [Intelligence Community].' Two sources told DailyMail.com that the OGA coordinates with Special Operations Forces such as SEAL teams or Delta Force under the Pentagon's Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), or nuclear weapons experts such as the Nuclear Emergency Support Team (NEST), to collect the crashed or landed craft. But another source, who has briefed members of Congress on alleged crash retrievals, said that NEST had not been involved in any of these operations. A spokesperson for the agency also denied involvement. '[NEST] personnel encounter materials from unknown origins on a regular basis,' a spokesperson said. 'In fact, one of NEST's missions is to help determine the origin of nuclear material interdicted outside of regulatory control or used in a nuclear device. 'During its operations, NEST has never encountered any material related to UAP.' In a written statement, a JSOC spokesperson told DailyMail.com: 'We have nothing for you on this.' A former SEAL team member told DailyMail.com that they had been on operations coordinated by the CIA to retrieve high-value stray enemy weapons, and that they knew of colleagues who had been on similar operations where they recovered technology that appeared highly advanced though not necessarily out-of-this-world. 'Absolutely that happens,' the ex-SEAL said. 'Even ordinance or a weapon that we've never seen, we recover and bring it back.' One source said that the Air Force Special Operations Command's 24th Special Tactics Squadron, based at Pope Field Army Airbase in North Carolina, has also been involved in securing areas for UFO crash retrievals. Sources said the CIA office then often hands the wreckage or material over to private aerospace contractors for analysis, where it is not subject to rigorous government audits and can be shielded with protections for trade secrets. 'The CIA is the portfolio manager or owner of the UAP [Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena] crash retrieval operation,' one source, who has shared their information with Congress, told DailyMail.com. 'The Department of Energy national labs are materials analysis contractors whenever recovered radioisotopes are involved but not always just radioisotope materials. The aerospace-defense industry are also contractors that specifically do not handle any recovered radioisotopes, but they handle the other non-radioactive material and intact craft.' Multiple sources said that many of the people involved in these programs may not even realize they are dealing with non-human craft, due to the intense security and compartmentalization of information in such top secret programs. UFO whistleblower David Grusch appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast on Wednesday, repeating his claims of a secret US government program that is hiding crashed 'non-human' UFOs In an interview on Wednesday with podcaster Joe Rogan, whistleblower David Grusch gave an example of engineers in the Manhattan Project of the 1940s not realizing they were working on fuses for the atom bomb that would eventually be dropped on Japan. Late Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told the New Yorker in 2021 that top defense company Lockheed Martin was one of the private contractors holding potentially alien wreckage. 'I was told for decades that Lockheed had some of these retrieved materials,' he said. As majority leader, Reid was one of the 'Gang of Eight', a select group of top lawmakers given access to the country's most closely held secrets too sensitive to share widely in Congress. But even he was denied access to these alleged programs, he told the magazine. 'I tried to get, as I recall, a classified approval by the Pentagon to have me go look at the stuff. They would not approve that. I don't know what all the numbers were, what kind of classification it was, but they would not give that to me.' Reid helped set up a new UFO investigation office in the Pentagon in 2008 to probe the regular encounters US military pilots and other armed forces members had with strange objects in the sky and sea. In June, former top intelligence officer Grusch came forward with claims that while working for the Pentagon's UFO office he discovered the US had a secret program trying to glean new technology from multiple 'non-human' craft it had obtained, dating as far back as the 1930s. The former National Reconnaissance Office staffer's claims were deemed 'urgent and credible' by the Intelligence Community Inspector General, whom Grusch says he gave documents evidencing his story, and introduced to around 40 witnesses involved in the alleged 'reverse engineering' UFO programs in July 2021. The OGA is one of 56 offices in the CIA, according to documents published by the National Archives in 2016 The Office of Global Access sits inside the CIA's directorate of Science and Technology, one of five directorates at the agency according to a 2015 unclassified organizational chart Earlier this year Senate Intelligence Committee ranking member Marco Rubio told TV news station NewsNation that he had spoken to some of these 'first-hand' program insiders, who allegedly worked to glean new technology from potentially alien captured craft. 'There are people that have come forward to share information with our committee over the last couple of years,' Rubio said in the June 26 interview. 'Some of these people still work in the government. A lot of them are very fearful. Fearful for their jobs, fearful for their clearances, fearful of their career. Some of them are fearful of harm coming to them. 'Most of these people, at some point or maybe even currently, have held very high clearances and high positions within our government. 'Some of these claims are things that are beyond the realm of what any of us has ever dealt with. 'If it's even partially true, then somebody's broken the law. There's been some violations. Because these things have to be disclosed to Congress.' Top lawmakers appear to be taking seriously the claims of UFOs hidden in secret bunkers. Senate leader Schumer co-sponsored a bill to create a review board with presidential-level powers, with the aim of uncovering and disclosing any non-human craft or even bodies, held by the US government. Earlier this year Senate Intelligence Committee ranking member Marco Rubio said that he had spoken to some of these 'first-hand' program insiders, who allegedly worked to glean new technology from potentially alien captured craft Senate leader Schumer co-sponsored a bill to create a review board with presidential-level powers, with the aim of uncovering and disclosing any non-human craft or even bodies, held by the US government It requires all government agencies to turn over evidence of any 'recovered technologies of unknown origin and biological evidence of non-human intelligence' to a panel of experts, who can then choose to make the information public. The Senate has voted in favor of Schumer's bill. If passed in the House of Representatives, it will be added as an amendment to the annual military spending bill for 2024. 'The American public has a right to learn about technologies of unknown origins, non-human intelligence, and unexplainable phenomena,' Schumer said in a July press release announcing the amendment. Missouri Republican congressman Eric Burlison, part of an informal caucus of lawmakers campaigning for greater transparency on UFOs, told DailyMail.com that the sources' claims gave him and his colleagues a lead to follow in their investigations. 'These are the kind of specific programs we've been trying to get the names of,' he said. 'It's been so difficult because we can't get that information with specifics from Grusch or from the [Intelligence Community] Inspector General. 'I can't confirm it's true. But it certainly gives us a trail to follow. 'I think that if it does exist, even if they give us no information beyond that, I think we owe it to the world to disclose that.' The estranged British wife of an Indonesian businessman worth upwards of 35million has won the first round of a High Court battle to determine how much money she is entitled to after he claimed to have divorced her five years ago. In the first part of their lengthy battle, deputy High Court Judge James Ewins ruled today that Monisha Mahtani, 49, is still married to husband Vivek Mahtani, 51, under English law. Mrs Mahtani argued that an Indonesian divorce 'obtained' by her husband in 2017 left her with 'no rights' to his assets and should not be recognised in England. Mrs Mahtani told the judge that Mr Mahtani was a 'prominent businessman' worth more than 35 million and said the then-president of Indonesia had been a guest at their wedding celebration 20 years ago. She said she wanted to 'pursue financial claims' against Mr Mahtani 'before the English court'. Judge Ewins has ruled in her favour after concluding that Mr Mahtani had 'misled' an Indonesian court. A judge has ruled that the couple is still married under English law He has refused recognition of the Indonesian divorce and says the Mahtanis' marriage is 'still subsisting under English law'. The judge, who has outlined details of the case in a ruling after considering evidence at a recent hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in London, was told that the couple had married in London in 2003 then staged a Hindu wedding celebration in Indonesia. He said Mr Mahtani had, without 'any notice' to Mrs Mahtani, obtained a court order in Indonesia. That order appeared to give Mrs Mahtani 'no rights' to any of Mr Mahtani's 'assets or property' and meant that she 'may not claim anything back' from a 'joint property', except 'bed linen and personal clothing', said the judge. Mrs Mahtani said her husband came from a 'very wealthy and prominent family in Indonesia'. 'She states that during the marriage they lived a life of luxury where money was never an issue,' said Judge Ewins. 'She describes the respondent as a prominent businessman in his own right, being the director of and holding shares in several companies including those concerned with iron and steel and industrial chemicals, forestry products and spices and coconut plantations and related products. '(Mrs Mahtani) states that (Mr Mahtani) mixes with high society in Indonesia, including the president. 'Indeed, she states that the then-president of Indonesia was a special guest at their wedding celebration in 2003. '(She) conservatively estimates the respondent's wealth to be in the region of 45 million US dollars.' He added: 'With full respect to the Indonesian court, which was misled by (Mr Mahtani) in 2017, I refuse recognition of the Indonesian divorce.' Judge Ewins said Mr Mahtani had 'not participated at all in any of the English proceedings'. He had not 'acknowledged receipt or service of, or responded to, any of the documents' arising out of Mrs Mahtani's divorce petition, said the judge. Hong Kong: Tech chief meets Fujian officials Secretary for Innovation, Technology & Industry Prof Sun Dong met officials and visited a technology enterprise during his visit to Fujian today. In Fuzhou this morning, Prof Sun called on Fujian Vice-Governor Lin Ruiliang, Department of Science & Technology of Fujian Director Li Zhizhong and Department of Industry & Information Technology of Fujian Director Weng Yuyao. They exchanged views on co-operation between Fujian and Hong Kong in the areas of innovation and technology (I&T), new industrialisation and informatisation development. Prof Sun also briefed Mr Lin on Hong Kong's I&T ecosystem and the series of Policy Address initiatives implementing the Hong Kong Innovation & Technology Development Blueprint as well as the latest development plan of the Hong Kong Park of Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science & Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone. Prof Sun then proceeded to Ningde in Fujian Province where he met CPC Ningde Municipal Committee Secretary Liang Weixin. They exchanged views on promoting the development of high-end technology industries with a competitive edge and of strategic significance, which would in turn drive economic diversification and high-quality development of society, and create quality job opportunities. Prof Sun encouraged enterprises in Fujian to leverage Hong Kong's advantages of internationalisation and a highly market-oriented environment to expand their businesses overseas. In the afternoon, the tech chief visited the base of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. He toured the enterprise's technology building and smart production lines of Base Z to gain a better understanding of the enterprise's work in research and development, production and sales of new energy traction battery systems and energy storage systems as well as the enterprise's efforts in providing solutions for new energy applications around the world. Prof Sun also exchanged views with the company's Chief Investment Officer Wang Hongbo and other senior executives on the direction and strategies to launch its business in Hong Kong. This story has been published on: 2023-11-28. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Xi stresses foreign-related legal system development Xinhua) 13:20, November 28, 2023 BEIJING, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, has stressed the need to strengthen foreign-related legal system development, as he chaired a group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Monday. Xi highlighted the need to create law-based governance conditions and a favorable external environment for advancing Chinese modernization. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan) EZULWINI Clerk to Parliament Benedict Xaba has accused parliamentarians of failing to defend the Tinkhundla System of Government. Xaba made the accusation yesterday during the opening of the induction conference for the 12th Parliament, that was held at the Happy Valley Hotel in Ezulwini. He said as part of ensuring that Parliament performed at its level best, they engaged a consultant to assist in identifying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis of the institution. He said when conducting the SWOT analysis, they also consulted more than 33 stakeholders; external and internal, regional and international, including the Pan African Parliament (PAP) and ambassadors. Weaknesses The clerk stated that the analysis pointed out 37 weaknesses of the institution. Top of the list of weaknesses is that our parliamentarians fail to defend the Tinkhundla System. We have seen it in the past internationally and locally in serious meeting, where misinformation was spread about the country, he said. Xaba said what was surprising was to learn that some parliamentarians, who were part of those meetings where wrong information about the country was shared, none of them bothered to stand up and defend the kingdom. This is a failure of politicians to defend the system and hopeful by the end of the workshop, parliamentarians will be ready to defend the unique system, he said. Another weakness, the clerk said, was the lack of understanding of the politicians mandate. He said in some instances, parliamentarians did not deliver on their mandate because of lack of understanding by the community. He mentioned that even yesterday during the workshop, some of the MPs were greeted by community members who had come to report about activities that would take place in their constituencies. There is a need for the nation to be educated about the role of politicians in the country, he said. The statement was accompanied by a round of applause from the parliamentarians. Under strengths, Xaba said there was a lot of emphasis on the uniqueness of monarchical democracy. This is a strength because the system cannot be found elsewhere in the world but only in Eswatini. If it could be packaged and delivered accordingly, this would be the best model of government and people will travel all over the world to consult and get to know how the system works, he said. Further, Xaba stated that another strength that was noted was the presence of the Monarch during the opening of every parliamentary session. He said the fact that Parliament opening was one of the official assignments of His Majesty King Mswati III was a strength, as it showed the direction the country was taking. The use of committee systems in Parliament was another strength, because it made Parliament service easier, according to Xaba. For example, the 11th Parliament scored 98 per cent when it comes to Bill. They enacted most of the Bills that were tabled, into law. The 12th Parliament will not be starting new Bills but will be implementing and passing regulations, he said. The individual merit of the elections was also among the strengths as Parliament has records of each MPs origin. Xaba also cited the need for Parliament to continue affiliating to regional and international bodies. In these international meetings, we should have side meetings where we will talk about the Tinkhundla System, so that people understand it, he said. Scotland's last remaining oil refinery is on the brink of closure, but dont worry the SNPs Energy Secretary Neil Gray is on the case. He is exploring every possible opportunity to salvage jobs at Grangemouth, though his main concern appears to be expectation management. Last week, Mr Gray claimed the Ineos plant could have a future before only 24 hours later insisting that he did not want to raise unrealistic hopes of success. Its the least dynamic respon-se to a crisis imaginable especially when its one for which the Nationalists, in thrall to Patrick Harvies eco-zealots, are largely responsible. Green MSP Gillian Mackay posted on X, formerly Twitter, that her solidarity is with the workers, their families and the community in Grangemouth, and said she has reached out to trade unions. First Minister Humza Yousaf, centre, poses with Scottish Greens Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater. The Scottish Greens have accused the UK Government of having an obsession with fossil fuels 500 jobs are in jeopardy at Scotland's last remaining oil refinery INEOS at Grangemouth The SNPs Energy Secretary Neil Gray claims he is trying to salvage jobs at Grangemouth That will be scant comfort to the families affected, with 500 jobs in jeopardy but its also astounding hypocrisy from a party dedicated to driving the oil and gas sector out of existence. Only this month, the Scottish Greens accused the UK Government of having an obsession with fossil fuels and said the simple scientific fact is that new oil and gas licences are a disaster for our planets future. Mr Harvies co-leader Lorna Slater, who is also a Scottish Government minister, issued a statement calling for people to attend a rally against oil and gas. Its headline was No more fossil fuels join the march today, while her MSP colleague Maggie Chapman called for spending focused on green solutions to wean us off fossil fuels. Inexplicably, the SNP remains locked in a coalition of chaos with the Greens to preserve a mythical pro-independence majority at Holyrood. It has had to climb on board with Mr Harvie and his oafish chums as they trot out specious nonsense about the alleged evils of an industry that supports 200,000 jobs. And the SNP is the party which used to point out, all the time, that its Scotlands oil as it made the economic case for separatism. But times changed hence Nicola Sturgeons opposition to the Cambo oilfield, off Shetland, even though current owners Ithaca Energy believe that when production commences, it is expected to produce less than half of the amount of CO2 per barrel than the average UK field. Humza Yousaf claimed the decision to grant exploration licences for the Rosebank oilfield, west of Shetland, was wrong a project which Ms Sturgeon had described as the greatest act of environmental vandalism in my lifetime. Yet it will be able to produce up to eight per cent of Britains oil leading up to 2030 a huge boost for energy security in highly uncertain times. Against this bleak backdrop, its no real surprise that Sir Jim Ratcliffe has decided to end oil refining at Grangemouth, which began nearly a century ago. The mood music from the SNP/Green cabal was clear and Sir Jim has taken the hint. In 2013, long before the Nationalists at that time led by Alex Salmond began their pact with the Greens, Labour, SNP and Lib Dem politicians all went down on bended knee to keep Grangemouth open. It depends on shale gas as its raw material, shipped from the United States and at the time the debate over fracking was raging. The first Ineos tanker carrying American shale gas sailed under the Forth bridges in September of 2016, ready to start a virtual pipeline from the US to Grangemouth where the gas is converted into plastic for business use. But there were no SNP politicians to welcome the vessel, apparently due to diary commitments. Derek Mackay then Finance Secretary and his Cabinet colleague Keith Brown, the minister who was then in charge of the economy, were spotted in the Holyrood canteen shortly after the shipments arrival. An urgent prior engagement with their, er, lunch but also a juvenile snub to Ineos. At the time, Martyn Day, the Nationalist MP whose constituency Grangemouth lies within, welcomed the arrival of fracked gas from the US but tellingly said he would not advocate fracking in Scotland even if it were proved to be safe. He said: Even if they come back with evidence to say this can be done, technically, safely and without a problem, the issue then becomes reputational damage. Reputational damage was the SNPs priority, rather than the economy which seven years on continues to be little more than a footnote on the Nationalists agenda. In 2018, Sir Jim ruled out Scotland as a base for his 700million project to build an off-road car, known as the Ineos Grenadier, amid suggestions his strained relationship with the Scottish Government was a factor. It isnt hard to see why the tycoon is regarded as something of a pariah in Nationalist circles, given he once warned (persuasively) that an independent Scotland would end up like Greece and would have to be bailed out by the EU because of its spending and lack of growth. Its worth contrasting the treatment of Sir Jim and Ineos with Ms Sturgeons enthusiastic backing for Sanjeev Gupta and his supposed steel revolution in Scotland. Along with Mr Guptas GFG empire now being under investigation over suspected fraud and money laundering by authorities in the UK and France, he is trying to sell the Clydebridge steel mill in Cambuslang which he acquired from the Scottish Government with millions of pounds of financial help from Holyrood. Ministers also bizarrely admitted it broke state aid rules in their involvement in the sale of the Dalzell steelworks to Mr Guptas business. His company received a 7million publicly funded loan when it bought the plants which remains outstanding. Others in business are much more sceptical about the SNP including Lord Willie Haughey, founder of City Refrigeration. He said in a new podcast with Sir Tom Hunter that the Greens are partly to blame for the planned Grangemouth refinery closure, after years of railing against fossil fuels in effect creating a hostile environment for companies such as Ineos. No doubt many other entrepreneurs and business chiefs would agree with him and theyre already sick of sky-high business rates and punitive taxation. Jim Ratcliffe the founder of INEOS Chemicals The former leader of the Scottish Greens, Robin Harper, has called for Green Party members to oust the current leadership, branding them the ruling cabal and he should be taken seriously. Mr Harper resigned his life membership of the Greens this year over independence and transgender rights, accusing Mr Harvie and Ms Slater of having lost the plot. Grangemouth should be a turning-point for Mr Yousaf the moment the scales fall from his eyes and he jettisons the Greens from government, before finally making good on his many seemingly hollow promises about boosting growth. But that is an impossibility while his party remains wedded to the Marxist ideology of Mr Harvie and his cohort a toxic relationship with the potential to have devastating consequences for the Scottish economy. An author spent a night behind bars after hurling water at chip shop customers because she claimed they were disturbing her as they queued in a lane outside her home. Annie Harrower-Gray, 68, was arrested and detained overnight when she failed to turn up for sentence after being found guilty of breaching the peace. Sheriff George Way placed Harrower-Gray who was led into the dock at Dundee Sheriff Court on Friday in handcuffs under social work supervision for 12 months. He said: This has all arisen out of an unfortunate clash of personalities. She doesnt like the people in the shop and they dont like her. Thats very obvious. Annie Harrower-Gray was abusive to customers as they waited in line outside The Wee Chippy The Wee Chippy is a popular fish and chip shop in the Fife village of Anstruther The court heard how the author targeted customers as they waited in line outside The Wee Chippy in the Fife village of Anstruther. The chip shop is one of three in Scotland recently named as finalists in the Fish and Chip Takeaway of the Year category at the National Fish and Chip Awards. The fed-up pensioner who penned Scotlands Hidden Harlots and Heroines also grappled with a neighbour and blocked people from using the lane. The court was told that the freelance writer became a familiar figure in Tolbooth Wynd as she would regularly tackle visitors to the chip shop. Harrower-Gray was found guilty of acting in a threatening or abusive manner by acting aggressively, throwing water at customers and hurling offensive remarks on July 19, 2021. She was also found guilty of acting in a threatening or abusive manner on August 3, 2021 by standing in the lane and intentionally blocking it while staring at customers and throwing water at them. Additionally, she was found guilty of acting in a threatening or abusive way in Tolbooth Wynd on September 16, 2021 firstly by blocking Carla Young, 18, and then her mother, Lisa Young. Harrower-Gray was found to have acted aggressively by refusing to let them use the public lane, seizing hold of Lisa Youngs arm and grabbing her dog lead. She was found not guilty of a fourth charge which alleged she shouted and swore at a 16-year-old girl on September 18, 2021. Nursery worker Carla Young told the trial: I bumped into Annie and she said I could not go down the public lane to my house. She refused to let me past and pushed me against her wall. She was pretty aggressive and seemed under the influence as I could smell it on her. My mum came out and Annie still refused to let us past. She grabbed my mum by her wrist as she wasnt letting her past. I dont know if it was my mum or the owner of the chippy who called the police, but I remember the police turning up. A staff member at the chip shop told the trial: I have had run-ins with her before. She started assaulting customers, saying they were fat and if they had a fish supper theyd die. I dont know why, but she always starts it and she was the one standing with a menacing face. Harrower-Gray had been ordered to appear for sentence on September 25, but she failed to turn up and was arrested on a warrant. The St Andrews University graduate has written several books including Suspicion and Superstition. Mark Quinn made a total of 10,158,678 during his involvement with the drugs trade A drug dealer who made more than 10million has agreed to hand over just 1 to settle a proceeds of crime action and has six months to pay it. Prosecutors and defence lawyers agreed that 59-year-old Mark Quinn made a total of 10,158,678 during his involvement with the narcotics trade. But at the High Court in Edinburgh yesterday, lawyers concluded that Quinn, of Liverpool, has only 1 in available assets. Following a short hearing, Quinn, who is serving a seven-year prison term, was given six months to hand the sum over. He was jailed in September 2022 following proceedings at the High Court in Glasgow. Judge Lord Beckett heard how detectives had swooped on Alder Grange, a former care home in Liverpool which had been used to prepare and bulk out the drugs for trafficking in Scotland. Quinn had been on the run for seven years before being tracked to Holland in October 2021. He had pleaded guilty in July 2022 to being concerned in the supply of amphetamine between August 2013 and April 2014. Quinn was snared after police launched an investigation codenamed Operation Kapuas in 2013 into the activities of an Anglo-Scottish organised crime group. Detectives initially recovered drugs with a street value of 3million following a raid on a flat in Paisley, Renfrewshire, in August of that year. Prosecutor David McLean said Quinns fingerprints were on packaging. In February 2014, police then kept tabs on a Ford Transit travelling from Scotland to Liverpool. Quinn was later seen driving it in the grounds of the nursing home and loading items into the back. Police went on to raid the home and found drugs with a value of more than 2million stored in heat-sealed bags. Mr McLean said: A number of items were recovered which indicated the premises were being used for the production and preparation of amphetamine from amphetamine oil. Defence lawyer Gail Gianni said: He has no excuses, but if there had not been the financial climate at the time, he would not be in this court. Prosecutors can return to court if any of Quinns outstanding 10,158,677 of criminal assets are found. A Tasmanian man who gave himself two black eyes after bashing his head against a wall during an alcohol-fuelled rampage has issued a grim warning to kids of Australia after his life spiralled out of control. Battered and bruised Jeremy Slattery, 32, shared an honest account about his troubled life of drugs and alcohol addiction in an interview with Sydney-based YouTube star Jamie Zhu for an online documentary. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, Jeremy, who was dubbed an eshay by viewers, has shared a stark warning to youths who may be following a similar destructive path. 'Stay in school and don't use drugs. You might think it's cool now but in five years you might just have a needle in your arm,' he began. 'You don't want to be my age and entering detox for the eighth time.' Jeremy Slattery says he is feeling hopeful about his future ahead of his eighth stint in detox The father-of-one, who lives in Sandy Bay, Hobart, said he's now waiting for a place in a detox facility to tackle his substance abuse issues once and for all. 'I'm feeling hopeful,' he said. 'I'm going to detox not only for myself and my family, but for the hundreds of people that want to see me do well.' Vowing to turn his life around, he has now launched a GoFundMe in a bid to purchase a car so that he can see his seven-year-old son who lives 320km away in the northern Tasmanian town of Burnie. 'One thing I have managed to hold onto all these years is my licence and buying a car means I can begin mediation appointments to see my son,' Jeremy said. 'Life is heading in the right direction, I'm working with a drug and alcohol counsellor and I have a safe support network.' Jeremy's life spiralled out of control at age 17 when he was an apprentice mechanic and his drinking - including binges on his lunch break and after work each night - turned him into an alcoholic. Sporting two black eyes, Jeremy explained his injuries were self-inflicted after spending the night in a police cell several days earlier Jeremy (right) had an idyllic childhood growing up in the Tasmanian bush He began using crystal methamphetamine - better known as the drug ice - and ended up on the streets of Hobart. 'I was brought up proper, I had a typical pleasant childhood growing up in the bush, but for whatever reasons I made poor choices along the way,' he said. Jeremy became visibly emotional and full of regret during his interview with Zhu when asked what advice he had for his younger self. 'Stay, do better at school. I wish I could go back to school, you know? '... stop effing around and making your life harder in the future for you. 'Listen to your father and listen to the advice he gave you.' Jeremy said the only thing keeping him alive is the hope he will one day reconnect with his son Jeremy (pictured right), bruised and battered with bloodshot eyes, was interviewed by YouTube star Jamie Zhu (pictured right) for a documentary on life in Tasmania Jeremy explained his black eyes were self-inflicted after spending the night in a police cell several days earlier. He had been arrested for 'apparently assaulting a police officer'. 'I was heavily intoxicated and thought it was a good idea to bash my head against a wall,' he said. 'I got stripped naked. I was left in the cell with nothing, so in protest I started to smash my head against the wall.' The video has struck a chord with many people who were touched by his vulnerability, and flocked to his Facebook page to offer their support. 'Saw your vid too Jeremy. You seem intelligent and a genuine dude man. I really hope you pull through and connect to your dad's advice and what he wanted for you.' one commenter wrote, adding. 'You can be a living example to show your son that anything can be accomplished in this life if you really want it; let your son drive you mate. Don't give up.' The mother of a special needs teacher who was allegedly murdered and found dead in her bathtub in Sydney has broken her silence, as details emerge about how her body was allegedly found by detectives surrounded by frozen food bags. Catiuscia Machada, known as Cati, was found dead inside her apartment in Chiswick, in the city's inner west, at 9.50pm on Saturday night. NSW Police allege that her boyfriend, Diogo De Oliveira, fatally punched Ms Machada during an argument, causing her to topple into the bathtub and hit her head. De Oliveira has been charged with her domestic violence murder and is before the courts. Ms Machada's mother, Eliaide, of Canos, southern Brazil, told Portuguese language media last night that her daughter had left Brazil with her boyfriend in March last year to travel overseas. Cati Machado with her mother (above) who said that the family had been told the teacher's new boyfriend had allegedly been violent with one of his ex-girlfriends in Brazil Diogo De Oliveira has been remanded in custody accused of murdering Cati Machado, who he met in Brazil and travelled to Australia with last year The couple had flown to Australia where 43-year-old Catiuscia found work in her profession. However, she recently had decided to travel to the Maldives on her own. The grieving mother said police in Sydney had told her there was allegedly a fight between the pair and that her daughter had allegedly fallen and fatally hit her head, terra.com.br reported. Officers arrested De Oliveira at the unit block on Berchert Road, Chiswick on Monday, and he was taken to Burwood Police Station where he was charged. He appeared before Burwood Local Court on Monday and did not apply for bail. Ms Machado was a specialist in psychopedagogy which a field of study about educating children with mental health issues. 'I work in cognitive development, with a focus on learning difficulties,' she described her work online. Ms Machado was a specialist in psychopedagogy, educating children with mental health issues The body of the 43-year-old special needs teacher was allegedly founding floating in water in the bathtub which was packed with bags of frozen food In a recent post on Facebook, she wrote about her hopes for the future and vowed to make changes to her life. A post mortem examination will be carried out this week to determine Ms Machados exact cause of death, whether it was from a head injury or if she drowned. The Machado family want to bury Catiuscia in Canoas, but were uncertain about how they will transport her remains back to Brazil once forensic authorities have conducted the autopsy and released Ms Machado's body. A studio apartment listed for rent has raised eyebrows among tenants over a concerning detail about the kitchen. The landlord made the listing on Facebook advertising the property at North Richmond, in western Sydney, for $290 a week. The apartment was described as a 'large studio with a new bathroom' with photographs showing a modern and scantily furnished dwelling. An eagle-eyed viewer noticed one shocking detail in the listing sharing a photo to Reddit. The 'kitchen' in the corner of the studio. A microwave and other essentials are on shelves With no sink or running water, social media users have questioned if this should even be advertised The kitchen has no sink or running water for food preparation, or any counter space to make meals. It only has four cubed shelves in the corner of the room containing an electric kettle, hotplate, plates and other kitchen items, with a microwave on top. 'Does this qualify as a kitchen?' the caption read. He went on to say: 'Everyone talking about adverts listing microwaves with a cabinet and sink as a 'kitchen'. This takes the cake.' READ MORE: The video that has come back to haunt Anthony Albanese as the housing crisis worsens in Australia Advertisement To make matters worse, the fridge is in the bathroom opposite the toilet, furthering hygiene and safety concerns. Tenants Union of NSW policy and advocacy manager Jemima Mowbray told Yahoo it was a sign of the current rental shortage and cost of living crisis. 'It really shows how hard things are at the moment for renters when this is something that can be advertised as a home for someone,' she said. 'They don't have the option of creating a meal for themselves in a healthy and safe way, but I think some renters may feel forced and may actually look at this as an option for them.' Social media users were also angry at the studio listing, with one challenging the description by the landlord. 'This shouldn't be advertised as a studio. It's more like someone renting out a room or a portion of the property, but denying you access to the common areas and the actual kitchen of the property,' they wrote. Another pointed out the main facility missing from the accommodation: 'It does not have a kitchen.' Some social media users questioned the legality of the studio apartment not having a proper kitchen. Incredibly, the fridge is in the bathroom opposite the toilet, raising hygiene and safety questions Mowbray clarified that under the Residential Tenancies Act, kitchens are not covered. 'I think there's an assumption that there's going to be, in a principal place of residence in a home, a way for somebody to be able to prepare food and to do that in a healthy way, but it's not spelled out in the act,' she said. She did add that there could be room for tenants to complain as there is no running water in the kitchen, making healthy and hygienic food preparation impossible. 'If you were able to establish, 'actually I can't live here because I'm not able to, in a healthy way, make a meal for myself, which is essential for living', then you might be able to establish with the tribunal that it isn't fit for habitation,' Mowbray stated. 'I think in a lot of ways you would be able to make a case where a home without an adequate kitchen is really not liveable.' Mowbray noted that standing up to a landlord in the current rental crisis is a big ask. 'Renters really don't feel like they can press for that sort of standard in too many situations, and they feel like they would be putting their housing at risk if they were to try to assert that right,' she said. Rap star Young Thug sat atop a murderous criminal network that 'sucked in' and destroyed young people around him, a court heard today, as his long-awaited racketeering trial finally got underway. Georgia state prosecutor Adraine Love claimed the Grammy award winner accumulated drugs, cars, and guns as his followers competed to win favor by murdering, stealing and hijacking in a decade-long spree. His record label Young Stoner Life was just a front for 'Young Slime Life', a street gang affiliated with the LA-based Bloods gang, while the rapper was known to his followers as 'King Slime', she claimed. Young Thug, real name Jeffrey Williams, faces up to 20 years in jail in front of the same Fulton County team that is also prosecuting ex-president Donald Trump under the same racketeering laws. 'They created a crater in the middle of Fulton County's Cleveland Avenue community that sucked in the youth, the innocence and even the lives of some of its youngest members,' Love said. Young Thug, real name Jeffrey Williams (right) with fellow rapper Gunna in 2019 Georgia state prosecutor Adraine Love told the court that the Grammy award winner accumulated drugs, cars, and guns as his followers competed to win favor by murdering, stealing and hijacking in a decade-long spree Wearing a black tie and spectacles, Williams listened intently as Love described how he became the 'proclaimed leader' of YSL in 2012 And she warned Williams that his own violent rap lyrics would be used in evidence against him. 'Law enforcement didn't chase the lyrics to solve the murders, law enforcement chased the murders and found the lyrics,' she said. Stars including rappers Lil Wayne and Killer Mike are expected to give evidence in one of the most eagerly anticipated trials of the decade. The 32-year-old rapper was arrested and charged in May last year but jury selection alone took nearly 10 months amid farcical pre-trial scenes that saw one attorney led out in handcuffs and Williams accused of buying drugs as he sat in the dock. The bizarre theme continued in court on Monday as judge Ural Glanville ordered the court not to throw food to his service dog seated behind the bench. Wearing a black tie and spectacles, Williams listened intently as Love described how he became the 'proclaimed leader' of YSL after it split from the Cleveland-based ROC Crew in 2012. 'The evidence will show that these defendants, that the members and associates of YSL, they knew who their leader was and they knew the repercussions of not obeying their leader,' she said. 'You will hear evidence that when members and associates of YSL got in trouble, got locked up, the first person they called was either Williams or one of his family members.' She produced graphic photos of men allegedly killed by YSL members, as well as lyrics that 'bore a very eerie significance' to crimes that took place. And she said it was Williams who hired the getaway car used when rival gang member Donovan Thomas was gunned down in 2015. Cameras caught Williams' arrest in May last year and his admission to Fulton County Jail Williams was warned that his own murderous rap lyrics will be used in evidence against him Young Thug, who is accused of being the 'general' in criminal street gang Young Slime Life (YSL), faces six additional felonies related to possession of illegal substances and illegal firearms linked to the case. The initial indictment contained 56 counts against 28 people, including rapper Gunna for their alleged involvement in nearly 200 crimes. Pictured: Young Thug and Gunna in 2019 'You'll hear evidence that after the murder of Donovan Thomas, no less than 50 shootings occurred over the course of the next several months,' she added. 'You'll hear evidence that hundreds, hundreds of bullets were fired into cars, into homes and into people as a result of the rift Young Slime Life had with other people in the community.' She said a whistleblower will testify that Williams paid them to 'go to Miami and lay low in the wake of Donovan Thomas' murder,' but she admitted that the dynamic which sustained the gang was largely 'unspoken'. 'The state is alleging that these defendants had an agreement, unspoken but no less an agreement, to obtain property, things of value, cell phones, cars, stolen guns, through a pattern of illegal activity,' she explained. And she said that Williams 'knew he needed to have distance between himself and the crimes members and associates of YSL were committing on behalf of the gang.' Williams was one of 28 alleged gang members originally arrested last year and charged under Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Some have since accepted plea deals but Marquavius Huey, Deamonte Kendrick, Quamarvious Nichols, Rodalius Ryan and Shannon Stillwell are facing trial alongside their alleged leader. Williams, who has collaborated with stars including Camila Cabello, Travis Scott, Drake, and Childish Gambino has continued producing music behind bars since his arrest and released his chart-topping 'Business is Business' album this summer. The moment in January that Young Thug was handed a Percocet pill by his co-defendant during a pre-trial hearing at Fulton County Court Williams could face up to 20 years in jail if convicted under the same Georgia racketeering law being used to prosecute former president Donald Trump over alleged election interference His prosecution is taking place in the same Fulton County courthouse where Trump appeared this summer to answer charges of election interference, and is being led by the same district attorney, Fani Willis. Williams trial is expected to put rap culture under an unprecedented spotlight, but Judge Glanville's decision to allow Williams' lyrics to be admitted as evidence has been slammed by critics. Williams' former label boss Kevin Liles claimed that: 'If this were country music, rock music, we wouldn't be here.' His defense attorneys have argued that 'rap is the only fictional art form treated this way', while Professor Erik Nielson of the University of Richmond claimed that prosecuting rap lyrics 'resides in a much longer tradition of punishing Black expression'. The US has little grasp of how deep China's network of espionage and influence operations runs through the nation, a dire warning from Congress has revealed. The Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) presence on American soil has already revealed itself in the network of secret police stations in major cities and the 'Little Red Classrooms' in kindergartens. Now, members of the bipartisan House China Select Committee have released a memo detailing how the U.S. has failed to combat Beijing's infiltration - and it could get worse. The threat comes from the united front, a political strategy Xi Jinping has called his 'magic weapon'. It's the plan the CCP uses to influence beyond its circle without the information appearing to come directly from the Chinese government. China spends billions on the united front system each year. United front is affiliated with some 600 groups in the U.S., according to a 2020 Newsweek report, that are all in regular touch with the CCP. China's President Xi Jinping is pictured. Concerns are growing over his country's funding of America's public schools The Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) presence on American soil has already revealed itself in the network of secret police stations in major cities and the 'Little Red Classrooms' in kindergartens 'United front work damages U.S. interests through legal and illegal technology transfer, surveillance of Chinese diaspora communities, promotion of favorable narratives about the PRC through ostensibly independent voices, and the neutralization or harassment of critics of the CCP,' the new report found. 'The United States has no direct analogue, and the U.S. Government has struggled to counter united front work with traditional counterintelligence, law enforcement, and diplomatic tools,' it warned. The background memo is meant to guide Americans to remain vigilant if they are targeted by China's influence operations. 'Through its united front work strategy, which Xi Jinping has called a 'magic weapon,' the Chinese Communist Party uses every tool at its disposal, whether legal or illicit, to influence the American people and interfere in democratic societies,' Chairman Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., said in a statement. 'An important, but little understood, aspect of the Chinese Communist Party's misinformation, propaganda, and influence efforts both in the PRC and abroad is the CCP's united front system. This background memo provides information about united front activities, and can be a potentially helpful guide in addressing and countering them,' added ranking member Rep. Raja Khrishnamoorthi, D-Calif. President Joe Biden met with Chinese Leader Xi Jinping two weeks ago as concerns soar over issues including Taiwan, Beijing's actions in the South China Sea sanctions, heightened espionage, trade and human rights. The goal of united front work is to help China take over Taiwan and establish a new global order that revolves around CCP values and interests. At least seven contracts are still active in Texas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Oregon and Washington The United Front Work Department (UFWD), which reports to the CCP, controls ostensibly non-governmental groups like academic institutions, non-profits and media. It also oversees groups that operate within the U.S.: National Association for China's Peaceful Reunification, which operates in the Washington, DC, area and Alliance for China's Peaceful Reunification, USA. The UFWD also 'played a central role in formulating, implementing, and defending policies to 'Sinicize' China's ethnic minorities, including the ongoing genocide of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang,' according to the memo. The CCP uses united front affiliated groups to monitor and track Uyghurs and mobilize propaganda to counter criticism of its treatment of the Muslim minority group. The memo went on: 'In addition to promoting narratives favorable to the CCP abroad, the UFWD collects intelligence, exerts control over overseas Chinese-language media outlets, seeks to influence Chinese diaspora groups, facilitates illicit technology transfer, and interferes in politics in other countries, including by co-opting and influencing foreign academic, political, and business elites. 'The networks built by the UFWD are often viewed as prime operating grounds by the PRC's intelligence agencies, which seek to draw on members of united front organizations to support espionage and influence operations,' the report went on. DailyMail.com has identified the locations of three Chinese 'community centers' in the US, including the Chinese American Association in San Francisco (above), suspected by an NGO of being run by a branch of the Chinese Communist Party known to 'silence' its critics The memo warned united front work focuses on targeting key groups to win over liasons to spew its messages: members of China's eight minor parties, those without political affiliation, non-CCP intellectuals, ethnic minorities, religious leaders, business leaders and ethnic Chinese living abroad. It called to mind earlier this year when the FBI arrested two Chinese operatives on suspicion of running an illegal police station in downtown Manhattan to spy on and harass dissidents on US soil. In addition, 44 Chinese nationals were charged by federal prosecutors with waging a campaign of surveillance and harassment against dissidents living in the US. As many as six illegal Chinese police stations were operating within the U.S. as of earlier this year, according to a report from advocacy group Safeguard Defenders. After the Chinese police stations were uncovered, a DailyMail.com report revealed Chinese 'community centers' in San Francisco, Nebraska and Houston were suspected to be working in coordination with the CCP. In recent months the FBI's counterintelligence task forces have intensified their hunt for Chinese efforts to recruit spies within the U.S. The CIA, meanwhile, is believed to be focusing on Xi and finding out what his ambitions are with Taiwan. The Chinese Civic Center in Houston also has links to Beijing, DailyMail.com has found Over the summer a report by advocacy group Parents Defending Education revealed the CCP has pumped some $17 million into K-12 schools throughout the U.S. The close coordination between the CCP and U.S. schools to establish Confucius Classrooms has historically included 143 school districts in 34 states and Washington, D.C. At least seven contracts are still active in Texas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Oregon and Washington. It also states that the CCP has 'ties to school districts near 20 U.S. military bases' and three of the nation's top science and technology high schools have been infiltrated. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were left 'confused and upset' after not hearing from Prince William and Kate Middleton for two years following their explosive Oprah Winfrey interview, according to a new book by Omid Scobie. The royal author, whose new book Endgame comes out at midnight tonight, said the two couples had not spoken since the Sussexes' controversial comments about the royal family's treatment of Meghan. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex sparked the race row during their interview with Oprah in March 2021 by alleging that a member of the royal family, whom they did not name, had commented on their son Archie's skin colour. In the book, Mr Scobie claims the two royals who commented on Archie's skin colour have been revealed in letters between Megan Markle and King Charles. Mr Scobie also says that within these letters, King Charles encouraged Meghan to discuss her feelings with the Princess of Wales. However, in the aftermath of the interview, the reporter says the two brothers and their wives have yet to speak. The royal author, whose new book Endgame comes out at midnight tonight, said the two couples had not spoken since the Sussexes' controversial comments about the royal family's treatment of Meghan The Duke and Duchess of Sussex sparked the race row during their interview with Oprah in March 2021 by alleging that a member of the royal family, whom they did not name, had commented on their son Archie's skin colour Mr Scobie also says that within these letters, King Charles encouraged Meghan to discuss her feelings with the Princess of Wales The only comment made in public by Prince William following the interview was his defence of the family, saying: 'We are very much not a racist family.' Mr Scobie also says a palace source told him the Waleses pushed for a 'recollections may vary' style clause to be added to Buckingham Palace's public response to the interview, with Kate said to be 'really passionate about defending the family'. The royal reporter believes this response suggests Prince William and Kate may not have agreed with the Sussexes' words. A source close to Harry and Megan also told Mr Scobie that the silence has 'caused a lot of confusion and upset'. The writer claims elsewhere in the book that a source told him Prince William accused Harry of 'defecting' to the US, widening the already growing rift between the pair. The future king considers his brother to be an 'outsider', Mr Scobie writes, and wanted to distance himself from the Duke of Sussex ever since his marriage to Meghan - whom he 'disliked from the start'. According to the author, William and Kate have now become a 'committed and driven team', which is focused on their roles in the family. Mr Scobie said in the book: 'Though they were remarkably close when they grew up, Harry's decision to "defect" to America (William's choice of word, according to a source, not mine) widened an already growing rift between the pair. 'Disappointed in Harry's life decisions and rooted in his ignited, newfound dedication to the Crown, William now considers his brother an outsider, especially since the release of Harry's memoir.' Royal author Omid Scobie gave an interview broadcast on ABC's Good Morning America today The future king considers his brother to be an 'outsider', Mr Scobie writes, and wanted to distance himself from the Duke of Sussex ever since his marriage to Meghan - whom he 'disliked from the start' A source close to Harry and Megan also told Mr Scobie that the silence has 'caused a lot of confusion and upset' Mr Scobie also says a palace source told him the Waleses pushed for a 'recollections may vary' style clause to be added to Buckingham Palace's public response to the interview, with Kate said to be 'really passionate about defending the family' Kate and Meghan chatting together at Wimbledon in 2019 The book suggests Harry could be ready for reconciliation with his family, with the prince reported to have said: 'I'm ready to forget. Get an apology or explanation? At this point, who cares, right?' The claim emerged last week in Paris Match. Earlier this month it was suggested there was a thawing of relations after sources close to the prince leaked to chosen media that he had a warm conversation with his father when he rang to wish him a happy 75th birthday. However, the publication of Endgame is unlikely to do anything to bolster hopes that Harry may one day be reconciled with his family. This is doubly the case given Mr Scobie will make a series of new personal attacks on senior royals including Charles, William and Kate. Mr Scobie insists he is not friends with the Sussexes, nor was he in direct contact with them over the book, and the Sussexes have denied they are 'affiliated' with it. But there is a certain level of detail that, if true, could only have come from sources who are extremely close to the couple. The Vermont shooting suspect who allegedly shot three Palestinian students was fired from his financial services job just weeks ago, it has been revealed. Jason James Eaton, 48, was described by family as being a 'spiritual person,' who was acting normal on Thanksgiving - two days before the shooting. Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdel Hamid and Tahseen Ahmed were visiting Awartani's grandmother's house when they were shot on Saturday afternoon. The students were speaking in Arabic and English and two of them were wearing keffiyehs, leading police to believe it was a hate-motivated attack. Police say he confronted the students after emerging from a porch, shooting them all without saying anything about his motive. He was arrested on Sunday at his home, and is said to have told police: 'I've been waiting for you.' Eaton appeared before a judge at a virtual court hearing today where he pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted second degree murder Jason J. Eaton, 48, is in custody. He is accused of shooting the three Palestinian students on Saturday Eaton today pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted murder. The 48-year-old was a full-time sales assistant for CUSO Financial Services in Williston - but he was terminated on November 8. He worked at the company for less than a year before being sacked for undisclosed reasons. While he was still an employee, he described his role with the phrase 'laying down my life for my friends,' on his professional social media page. Elisabeth Rutledge, a company spokeswoman, told the Boston Globe: 'We are horrified by the shooting and are cooperating with law enforcement as they investigate.' Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad said investigators believe Eaton moved to Burlington, having previously lived in Syracuse. His work history is based mainly in New York State. According to his social media, he worked as an assistant scoutmaster for a Cub Scout troop until 2021. The Boy Scouts said in a statement: 'Mr. Eaton's alleged actions do not reflect the values of Scouting. Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdel Hamid and Tahseen Ahmed wearing keffiyeh scarves and speaking Arabic when they were shot on Saturday night Eaton's mother said he is a 'very religious' person but had seemed normal on Thanksgiving 'Upon learning of his arrest he was been banned from registering in Scouting any capacity and will be proactively placed in the Volunteer Screening Database, permanently preventing his registration or participation in the future.' Eaton did not receive any honors or awards during his time as a scout - and there were no complaints about him during his time with the organization. He is also a part-time farmer who describes himself as a 'radical' libertarian on the 'ADHD spectrum'. Eaton's shocked mother Mary Reed told The Daily Beast he has had his 'struggles' in the past but that nothing indicated he was capable of such violence. She said he is a 'very religious' person, but had seemed normal when she spent Thanksgiving with him on Thursday, two days before the shooting. 'He, like all of us, thinks the world is a mess. He is a spiritual person,' she said. 'Jason has had a lot of struggles in his life but he is such a kind and loving person. 'I am just shocked by the whole thing,' she said. Eaton once attended the University of Idaho, but did not finish his degree in natural resource ecology and conservation biology. On his LinkedIn, he wrote the bible verse: 'For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also, Matthew 6:21.' Hisham Awartani shared a hospital bed photo on Instagram. His family say he is unlikely to move his legs ever again Eaton is a 48-year-old former financial adviser and part-time farmer who describes himself as a 'radical' libertarian on the 'ADHD spectrum'. His social media pages are largely private, but hint at a disillusionment towards America Meanwhile, prosecutors said there is not yet enough evidence to charge Eaton with a hate crime, and that they do not yet know what his motive was. President Biden spoke with Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger and later released a statement to condemn the attack. Awartani's relatives told NPR earlier today: 'The doctors are currently saying it's unlikely he'll be able to use his legs again. 'He's confronting a life of disability, a potentially irreversible change to his life and what it means for his future.' The bullet pierced his spine and is now lodged there. Doctors say operating to remove it would be too dangerous. His family, who live in the West Bank, sent him to the US because they thought he would be safer here. The FBI in Albany, New York, posted a statement late Sunday on X, formerly Twitter, saying the bureau is actively investigating the shooting with the Burlington Police Department, the ATF and other federal, state and local agencies. The White House said President Joe Biden was briefed on the shooting and would continue to receive law enforcement updates. The Council on American-Islamic Relations released a statement offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest or conviction of the person or people responsible for the shootings. The Institute for Middle East Understanding posted a statement on X that the institute said was from the victims' families. 'We are extremely concerned about the safety and well-being of our children,' the statement said. 'We call on law enforcement to conduct a thorough investigation, including treating this as a hate crime. We will not be comfortable until the shooter is brought to justice.' Ramallah Friends School posted a statement on Facebook saying the three young men were graduates of the private school in the West Bank. First responders loading one of the victims into an ambulance after Saturday's shooting 'While we are relieved to know that they are alive, we remain uncertain about their condition and hold them in the light,' the school said. 'We stand united in hope and support for their well-being during this challenging time.' In response to the shooting, U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries encouraged people to 'unequivocally denounce the startling rise of anti-Arab hate and Islamophobia in America.' 'No one should ever be targeted for their ethnicity or religious affiliation in our country,' the New York Democrat said in the statement posted on X. 'We will not let hatred win.' Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont Independent, also denounced the shooting. 'It is shocking and deeply upsetting that three young Palestinians were shot here in Burlington, VT. Hate has no place here, or anywhere. I look forward to a full investigation,' Sanders said in a statement. Gov. Phil Scott called the shooting a tragedy, calling on the state's residents to unite and 'not let this incident incite more hate or divisiveness.' The Vermont-New Hampshire chapter of Jewish Voice For Peace, which has urged an end to the Israel-Hamas war, released a statement saying it was 'appalled by the shooting.' 'We are in solidarity with the students, their families and all those affected by this clear act of hate,' the organization said Sunday. 'We are in solidarity with all Palestinian people in occupied Palestine, around the world, and here in Vermont and we are committed to creating a Vermont that is safe and welcoming for all.' The American Jewish Committee, an advocacy organization for Jewish people worldwide, also said via X it was 'horrified' by the attack and urged 'law enforcement to investigate this act as a possible hate crime.' Last month, an Illinois landlord was charged with a hate crime after being accused of fatally stabbing a 6-year-old Muslim boy and seriously wounding his mother in Chicago. Police and relatives said he singled out the victims because of their faith. MBABANE Police investigations reportedly unearthed that meetings to overthrow the Government of Eswatini were held in the Republic of South Africa and Mozambique. It has been alleged that to attend these meetings, informal crossings were used by those who had been recruited to be part of the plot to overthrow the State. This information is contained in the opposing affidavit by the police, in the bail application filed by the two men who were allegedly found in possession of two explosives, live bullets and an Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF) uniform. Musa Clement Kunene and Msindiso Ntshalintshali were arrested by members of the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) on November 8, 2022 at Mbhuleni, Matsapha. The duo stands accused of having contravened the Suppression of Terrorism Act of 2018. In his opposing affidavit, the investigator of the matter, Assistant Inspector Justice Motsa, stated that he was in possession of communication of meetings, where there were discussions to overthrow the Government of Eswatini. Overthrow He told the court that if the duo was released on bail, they would still pursue their mission to overthrow the government and this would jeopardise the safety of the public. He also brought it to the attention of the court that the accused persons allegedly sourced the explosives and ammunitions from the Republic of Mozambique. He alleged that this was an indication that the duo had some connections in the Republic of Mozambique, where the ammunitions and explosives were sourced. The investigator went on to submit that the accused persons were in the process of recruiting emaSwati to be trained in certain camps in South Africa, so that after the training, they would come back to Eswatini to kill emaSwati and destroy their properties. The accused persons were hell bent on overthrowing the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini through violent means, argued Inspector Motsa. Investigations He narrated to the court that their (police) investigations further revealed that the accused persons and their accomplices, who were still at large, would time and again engage in meetings in the Republic of South Africa; Nelspruit and Johannesburg. It is alleged that it was during these meetings that plans to overthrow the government were orchestrated. Assistant Inspector Motsa argued that in the event the two were released on bail, they would abscond to Mozambique, where it would be difficult to extradite them. He highlighted that the Kingdom of Eswatini and the Republic of Mozambique did not have mutual legal assistance, where process of extradition could be made. The investigator further pointed out that it would not be in the interest of justice to release the accused persons, as they would attempt to influence State witnesses. He informed the court that witnesses to the case were known to the accused persons. The witnesses where they procured the explosives and ammunitions are well-known to them and they are from Mozambique. Even the people they had recruited who are now witnesses are known to them, he argued. He emphasised that if the accused persons were released on bail, there was a likelihood that they would influence the witnesses, as they were purportedly known to them. Assistant Inspector Motsa also brought it to the attention of the court that the accused persons were staying around Manzini at Mathangeni and KaKhoza, while the witnesses in their case also resided in the same places. He noted that in their bail application, the two did not provide the police with an alternative place to stay and this was an indication that they would go back to their usual place of abode, where there were witnesses, thus intimidating them (witnesses). Meanwhile, in their bail application, the accused persons claimed that they were sick and needed urgent medical attention. They further claimed that in prison, they were purportedly subjected to ill-treatment. The accused persons submitted that ever since they were arrested, they were suffering from various ailments, which doctors in prison and those from Mbabane Government Hospital were unable to treat. Inside prison, we are sometimes denied basic necessities in life, such as visits by our family members, relatives and friends. We are not allowed to make calls to our families or even purchasing consumables from the prison tuck shop, submitted Kunene. An unusually dense 'swarm sequence' of earthquakes has rocked the south-east coast of Australia with 17 separate rumbles recorded in just a week. The earthquake swarm struck areas spanning from upper South Australia through the south of Anglesea, 110km south of Melbourne, and to Tamworth, 400km north of Sydney. Most were so small they went unnoticed and registered between a magnitude 0.8 and 1.7 on the Richter scale. The largest - a magnitude 2.5 quake about 60km northeast of Tamworth - left some locals shaken. A 'swarm' of 17 earthquakes were recorded in just a week and spanned across three states, with the largest - a 2.5 magnitude quake - recorded 60km northeast of Tamworth in NSW Expert Adam Pascale, who works with the Australian Earthquake Engineering Society, said that the recent swarm was caused by fault lines in the tectonic plate which were releasing stress Although 17 earthquakes in one week is not common in Australia, earthquake expert Adam Pascale told Daily Mail Australia there is no need to worry. Clusters like last week's naturally occur when stress builds up in the earth's core - and they typically go unnoticed. READ MORE: Loud earthquake rocks ACT People who reported feeling the event, claimed the sound resembled thunder. Advertisement Mr Pascale, who works with the Australian Earthquake Engineering Society, said that nothing specifically caused the swarm to erupt. 'We have little swarms like that from time to time and there's no particular cause, theres nothing unnatural that has initiated it,' Mr Pascale said. 'Sometimes there are sections of the crust that need to settle back into a way that they can start building up stress again and sometimes thatll happen by releasing energy and by slipping in lots of little movements.' Australia sits in the middle of a tectonic plate which should make the country less susceptible to earthquakes. Mr Pascale said that fault lines were to blame for the swarm. A fault line is a fracture between two blocks of rock within a tectonic plate which allows the blocks to move along the earth's crust. When rocks in the crust fit naturally alongside each other, stress slowly builds which is released in the form of earthquake clusters which can last months. 'These swarm sequences can go on for some months and there might be some sort of event in the middle of it, but often they'll just burst for a little while, settle back in and then start building stress again,' Mr Pascale explained. 'Interfaces between bits of rock that might slip and when it slips it creates the earthquake, thats the energy release.' He said that although the amount of earthquakes in last week's swarm was 'unusual' it was nothing out of the ordinary. Mr Pascale said that the phenomena was not uncommon but that a recent uptick in national interest had stemmed from an especially large quake that shook Melbourne in 2021 The expert theorised that it seems as though there are more earthquakes in Australia recently because people have simply started paying attention to them. Mr Pascale pointed towards the 5.9 magnitude earthquake that was recorded in Mansfield, 200km north east of Melbourne, in September 2021. The earthquake was felt throughout Melbourne's CBD and was one of the largest recorded in the country in decades which caused minor structural damage to buidings and left one person injured. In comparison, last week's swarm only had five earthquakes register above magnitude two and most barely reached a rating of one on the Richter scale. Pauline Hanson has made explosive claims about why many Australians voted no to the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, before hitting out at the term 'Traditional Owners' in a fiery speech that sparked outrage in parliament. On Monday One Nation leader Senator Hanson approvingly read out to the Senate a comment on her Facebook page from 'Rebecca' while delivering a stinging post-mortem on the defeated Voice referendum. 'Can we stop using the term Traditional Owners?' Senator Hanson quotes the post as asking. 'Aborigines did not and do not own Australia. They were original inhabitants, and that is it.' 'Mother Nature provided all what Aboriginals claim as theirs. They did not build Ayer's Rock, the Three Sisters, Kakadu, the river systems, the mountains etc. 'They used the land and its natural resources and structures that were already there. 'They did not construct or design a damn thing and just as they continue they do today they use and take whatever is available to them. 'Thats how a lot of Australians feel.' Senator Lidia Thorpe's interjected: 'Not all Australians'. 'What people tend to forget, like Senator Thorpe, is that I was born here too so were millions of other Australians and the migrants who have come here,' Senator Hanson continued. 'All I have asked for is equality for all Australians. If you need it you get that helping hand. If you dont need it then fine you don't. 'If you work hard for what you need and that's been proven by the 11 Senators in this Parliament who actually are of Aboriginal descent and yet you want special treatment. 'And you dont deserve it, no more than millions of other Australians,' Senator Hanson said with a glare across the chamber. Senator Hanson said Indigenous Australians should be acknowledged solely as the original inhabitants of Australia but that should confer no special privileges The shouted interruptions increased until Senate President Sue Lines intervened and told both Senators to take their seats. After a telling pause she told Senator Hanson to resume but to address remarks to her as the chair. Senator Hanson resumed and asserted that Australia 'does not only belong to the Stone Age hunter gathers discovered by the British explorers and settlers'. 'I have to ask the question what special or unique contribution entitle Indigenous Australians to special or unique rights greater than anybody else. The answer is none whatsoever,' Senator Hanson said. 'There has only ever been one nation on this continent founded on the first of January 1901 so there cannot be a legitimate treaty and this means there is no requirement for so-called truth telling,' she said. 'This is rewriting history to maximise settlements in a treaty, just forget it. 'We are all Australians together and should be treated equally.' Earlier in the same speech Senator Hanson had singled Senator Thorpe out for special mention. 'There is no war on Indigenous Australians as Senator Thorpe pretends,' Senator Hanson said. 'That she sits in parliament along with other Indigenous people shows this claim for the lie that it is 'Senator is no victim on her taxpayer funded salary and most Indigenous people reject the idea they are victims.' Senator Hanson also accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and other proponents of the Voice of being 'out of touch'. Senator Pauline Hanson has angrily rejected the term 'Traditional Owners' in a fiery speech Senator Lidia Thorpe (pictured at a pro-Palestinian rally in Melbourne on Sunday) was singled out for special mention in Senator Hanson's speech 'Australians understood the Voice was a crucial first step towards a treaty, and they knocked it back,' she said. 'They understood the Voice, treaty and truth-telling would divide this country by race, and they knocked them back. 'They understood that failure to close the gaps would not be fixed by more bureaucracy and more billions of dollars wasted on the Aboriginal industry gravy train.' 'They were lectured by big business, big banks, academics, activists, the Greens, the Teals, Minister (Linda) Burney and Prime Minister Albanese. 'They heard these out-of-touch leaders tell them they were racist and stupid if they didnt do what they were told.' Senator Hanson said the 'Aboriginal industry and the 'Indigenous elites' were 'living large' on the Australian taxpayer 'while Aborigines in remote communities continue to suffer poverty, crime and welfare dependency'. They heard from this industry and the indigenous elites who live large on the Australian taxpayer while Aborigines in remote communities continue to suffer poverty, crime and welfare dependency. Senator Hanson argued 'governments do not sign treaties with their own citizens'. 'Equal rights for and special rights for none is an essential principle of Australian democracy,' she said. The proposed Indigenous Voice to Parliament was resoundingly defeated by a referendum that saw over 60 per cent of voters reject it. READ MORE: How the Voice went from being an easy win for Anthony Albanese to a catastrophic defeat with EVERY state rejecting the measure at referendum Advertisement Parts of Australia's east coast are set to be lashed with heavy rain over the next couple of days - with some areas already receiving three times the average rainfall for November. Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Brisbane are in the firing line for extremely wet conditions on Tuesday and Wednesday. Between 10mm to 30mm of rain is forecast for Sydney on Tuesday, with the city to be hit with up to 35mm on Wednesday. The nation's capital will also be hammered with rain and potentially thunderstorms, with up to 30mm of rain forecast for Tuesday while 25mm to 60mm of rain is possible for Wednesday. Melbourne won't be escaping the wet weather, with 10 to 25mm of rain expected on Wednesday. Australia's east coast is set to be lashed with heavy rain this week. Pictured is the total amount of rainfall expected by Sunday Above, a Weatherzone chart shows the areas forecast to be struck with the most significant rainfall in red and purple, at its most extreme. Blue and green depict lighter rainfall Brisbane residents can also expect a drenching, with between 2mm to 20mm forecast for Tuesday, and storms possible on Wednesday. By Thursday the Sunshine State will be in the clear with sunny conditions and temperatures in the low 30s forecast for the rest of the week. In NSW's southwest, a severe thunderstorm warning with damaging winds has been issued for Wentworth and Menindee. The miserable conditions come despite El Nino being declared in Australia - a climate pattern that typically brings below average rainfall and higher than average day-time temperatures. Sydney , Melbourne , Canberra and Brisbane are all in the firing line for extremely wet conditions over Tuesday and Wednesday While September and October were very dry months for Australia, some states have seen their wettest Novembers on record during El Nino this year. 'Some areas in Queensland, NSW, the NT, SA and WA have already collected more than three times their average November rainfall and there is more wet weather in store for the final days of the month,' Weatherzone's Ben Domensino said. The meteorologist said the reason for the wet conditions is because El Nino isn't the only factor influencing Australia's weather. Mr Domensino said individual weather systems are controlled by jet streams of very fast-moving air. While September and October were very dry months for Australia, some states have seen their wettest Novembers on record during El Nino this year (pictured weather forecast for Wednesday) 'There are two jet streams in each hemisphere, and they mostly flow from west to east. The strength and shape of the jet streams affects the movement of high and low pressure systems near the Earth's surface,' he said. He said that a 'meridional jet stream' was lingering over Australia which was causing adverse weather over a prolonged period of time. Adelaide was hammered with storms on Monday night, causing some flight delays and leaving thousands without power. By 9am on Tuesday, more than 33mm had been recorded in the CBD and 35.8mm at Adelaide Airport. Tuesday marked the wettest day in November at the airport in 59 years, and in the CBD it was the wettest day this month in 18 years. The SES responded to 170 calls for help across South Australia until 9am on Tuesday. Severe thunderstorm warnings remain in place around Adelaide on Tuesday. Meanwhile on the other side of the country, those living in Perth can expect a dry and sunny week ahead with tops of 33C on Friday. Hobart will see some chilly temperatures with tops of 17C forecast for Wednesday and Thursday, with rain also possible on these days. Darwin will linger around the low 30Cs with storms also on the horizon. An Esperance player was the sole Division One winner in the weekend's Saturday Lotto draw, taking home more than $5.1 million. The ticket was purchased from Boulevard News Esperance and is the first time a West Aussie has won the entire Saturday Lotto prize this year. Boulevard News Esperance owner Rochelle Rantanen says she was 'overcome with joy' after learning about selling the winning ticket. 'I went to the toilet and rang them back because it's very, very noisy at the restaurant,' Mrs Rantanen said. 'When they said 'I'm ringing you because (Boulevard News Esperance) sold the only first division (winning ticket) in the whole of Australia', I was jumping in the toilet like a mad cow,' they told the Kalgoorlie Miner. 'I was really, really happy, I couldn't stop thanking God, I feel so blessed.' Rochelle Rantanen, owner of Boulevard News Esperance, with her husband Jerry. Photo/Supplied Lotterywest spokesperson Emma Rogers said this year Saturday Lotto has created the most Division One winners out of any game, with this win marking the 51st Division One winner for 2023. 'The entire State is also a winner, with the profits from each draw funding Lotterywest grants,' Emma said. 'Thanks to WA players, Lotterywest has been able to provide a grant of $147,690 for refurbishments of Esperance Lotteries House which will help local not-for-profits continue to support the community.' Saturday's draw also saw eight West Australians score Division Two prizes of more than $15,000 each. This news comes with only five weeks until one of the biggest Saturday Lotto draws of the year, the $30 million Megadraw on 30 December. Tickets are available in-store, online and via the Lotterywest App until 6pm draw day. Prince William was said to be 'furious' when his godmother Lady Susan Hussey was embroiled in a race row at Buckingham Palace. In his new book Endgame, Omid Scobie claims that William had told his team that he 'needed to distance himself' from the incident swiftly. A source reportedly told the royal author that it was felt that the whole issue could have been easily avoided and that William had demanded to know how it had happened. 'Why was she there in the first place?' William had asked, according to the book. The late Queen's lady-in-waiting was forced to apologise and resign after she repeatedly asked Ngozi Fulani, a black charity boss, where she was 'really' from at an event in 2022. Prince William was reportedly furious when his godmother Lady Susan Hussey became involved in a race row, Omid Scobie claims in his new book Ms Fulani, said she was 'totally stunned' by the 83-year-old's comments after she had already informed the former royal aide that she was British. At the time, a Kensington Palace spokesman, said of the incident: 'This is a matter for Buckingham Palace but as the Prince of Wales spokesperson I appreciate you're all here and understand you'll want to ask about it. So let me address it head on. 'I was really disappointed to hear about the guests' experience at Buckingham Palace last night. 'Obviously, I wasn't there, but racism has no place in our society. The comments were unacceptable, and it is right that individual has stepped aside with immediate effect.' Lady Hussey, the late Queen's lady-in-waiting was forced to apologise and resign after she repeatedly asked Ngozi Fulani, a black charity boss, where she was 'really' from at an event in 2022 In his book Endgame, Scobie (pictured) said that William's actions showed him as able to take 'decisive action' independently from the palace, but that his decision didn't go down well with the King In his book Scobie described the statement as a 'swift rebuke' which he says was a contrast to that of the Palace. The royal author writes that the move shows that the heir to the throne is able to take 'decisive action' independent of the Palace. However, Scobie claims his actions did not go down well with his father the King and he was criticised for not thinking as a 'team'. A palace source reportedly said the statement was a 'rash' and knee-jerk response'. Lady Susan was welcomed back into the royal fold and performing official duties again several months later. An Australian nurse was left red-faced after bagging Fiji's health care system while on a plane only to learn she was sitting beside the Pacific Island nation's prime minister. Queensland repatriation nurse Millie May Ettenfield told the excruciating story on a video posted to social media viewed over 500,000 times. 'You want to hear the best story in the entire f***ing world?' Ms Ettenfield asks her listeners in the video posted on November 16. She then explained how she travels around the world to 'get sick people and bring them back home'. Australian repatriation nurse Millie May Ettenfield has related an embarrassing story of plane ride where she sat to the wrong couple to bag out Fiji's healthcare During one such job, she was flying back to Brisbane from Samoa via Fiji when she noticed she and another 'lovely couple' were the only people in business class. She said the man was 'blinged up, wearing a suit, looked like a million dollars' as was the wife who looked 'perfection'. Ms Ettenfield noted the couple 'were throwing back the champagnes' and she joined them while telling the wife what she did. Upon learning the couple was from Fiji Ms Ettenfield told them 'the health care system is so heart-breaking'. 'I then just proceeded for the next half an hour to 40 minutes to say how traumatic the health care system is and how sad it is,' she said. While asking the wife 'how can we allow people to live like this?' she noted the husband 'was listening but not engaging'. Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka (pictured with wife Suluweti Tuiloma) was an attentive listener to the tirade against his nation's healthcare system 'Mind you I am still drinking champagne,' Ms Ettenfield said, 'I'm probably rambling at this point about how bad the healthcare system is.' After the conversation has finished she said the hostesses started coming over and asking to her to take a photo of them with the couple. She said it was only as the plane was coming in to land that she asked who the man was. 'He doesn't want a bar of me, he's giving me the cold shoulder, like I was quite annoying and to be honest I probably f***ing was,' she said. 'All of a sudden I said to his wife: "Who is this man?".' 'At first the woman said: "Oh, he's no one". 'And then all of a sudden he's like "I am the prime minister of Fiji",' Ms Ettenfield said. 'The prime minister of the country I was just bagging out for how bad its health care system is for 45 minutes. 'We got off the plane and he was like: "Lovely to meet you Millie".' Ms Ettenfield said she still 'hasn't recovered from the embarrassment'. Fiji's Prime Minister is Sitiveni Rabuka who was elected to his current term in office in late December as head of a three-party coalition. As a colonel in the Fijian army he instigated two military coups in the 1980s. A 2018 global overview of health care access and quality ranked Fiji at 131 out of 195 nations, showing that it performed below the international average. Senator Patrick Dodson, who has long been known as the 'father of reconciliation', has retired from politics. Mr Dodson has represented Western Australia in the Senate since 2016, but has been known for his tireless campaigning for Indigenous rights for decades more. On Tuesday, Mr Dodson informed Labor of his decision to resign, effective from January 26, 2024 - Australia Day next year. Mr Dodson has been battling cancer, and said despite seeing 'slow improvements', his recent treatment has left him 'physically unable to fulfill satisfactorily my duties'. Senator Patrick Dodson, who has long been known as the 'father of reconciliation', has retired from politics READ MORE: Pat Dodson's message to voters during Voice campaign Advertisement He offered special thanks to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for his work toward reconciliation via the Voice to Parliament referendum, which Australia overwhelmingly voted against 60-40. 'I thank Prime Minister Albanese for his support and for his appointment of me as Special Envoy for Reconciliation and Implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart,' he said. 'I also place on the record my high regard for his decision to proceed with the recent referendum.' Mr Albanese later thanked Mr Dodson for his service and enduring friendship. 'It has been my great fortune to be able to count Senator Dodson as a colleague, and my enduring happiness to be able to count him as a friend,' he said. 'I have benefited time and time again from his wise counsel, and he has taught me so much over the years. 'Patrick is such a generous man. Through 7 years he has gifted every member of our Caucus his wisdom, his courage, his fearless conviction and his eternal good humour. 'Through the powerful example of his own life, he has given so many of us the gift of a greater sense of perspective. 'There are few more reassuring sights in Parliament House than seeing Patrick and his hat coming down a corridor towards you.' Australia's world-first crackdown on smoking has had a series of unintended consequences as illegal tobacco sales reach epidemic proportions and Chinese-made disposable vapes flood the market. And the proliferation of illegal products easily available in suburban shops across the nation has seen a disastrous rise in teenage smoking and nicotine vaping not seen in other countries around the world. When the laws were introduced in 2012 by the Labor government, they were hailed as a historic win against Big Tobacco. The laws saw plain packaging introduced and huge increases in taxes that will see the average packet pass the $50 mark in 2026. The measures were supposed to be a victory in health policy intended to stamp out nicotine addiction in future generations of Australian children. The plain packaging now includes pictures of extreme disease caused by smoking, such as gangrenous toes and rotting gums. The most disturbing pack features Bryan Curtis, a 34-year-old American who smoked two packets of Marlboro Reds a day for 20 years, close to death from lung cancer. Teenagers smoking vapes (about, out partying at Schoolies) are on the rise and the number of smoker in the 14-17 age group is also booming in Australia The federal government also removed any point-of-sale advertising and cigarettes must be hidden from view at all times. But as the legal sale of tobacco has been squashed under draconian laws and taxation, the sale of illegal tobacco and vapes has flourished. Smoking and nicotine-based vaping among 14-17 year olds in Australia has multiplied six-fold and 15-fold in the last five years. And according to a leading academic and researcher in smoking cessation and tobacco harm reduction, it's due to the availability of black market nicotine products from suburban shops. The rise in nicotine consumption among Australian teens has coincided with a fall in smoking in the 15-18 years age group in the US, the UK and New Zealand. Dr Colin Mendelsohn, who founded the Australian Tobacco Harm Reduction Association, cited alarming data from the Roy Morgan Institute and the Cancer Council of Victoria. The statistics say that in 2018 just 2.1 per cent of Australians aged 14-17 smoked, and 0.8 per cent used vapes - mostly nicotine vaping. By 2022, 6.7 per cent in this age group were smoking and 11.8 per cent were vaping. A teenage girl is pictured carrying a vape in her lanyard during Schoolies celebrations. Aussie teens are vaping at a rate of about 15 times more than just five years ago While fewer America, British and NZ teens are smoking, in Australia it's the reverse with six times the number of 14-17 year olds taking up cigarettes Vape supplies at absolute knockdown prices were being marketed with this flyer (above) to retailers and residents in Oberon NSW In the first quarter of 2023, the number of teenage smokers had risen to 12.8 per cent and vapers were at 14.5 per cent, which Dr Mendelsohn said included a significant number using high nicotine concentrated vapes. He told Daily Mail Australia the rise was due to the proliferation of black market tobacco/nicotine products. From the sweet smell of vapes outside offices, to empty packets of 'branded' illegal tobacco on the streets, the evidence of black market smoking is everywhere. And despite Australia 'declaring war' on vapes and cigarettes with tougher smoking bans for pubs, clubs, more young people are lighting up. The statistics show a staggering 30 per cent of Aussies between 14 and 30 have used a vape. While there's no data on how many smokers are turning to illegal tobacco, the proof they are is everywhere: from the shops selling them to the people smoking them. One Sydney smoker, Tom, regularly buys a packet of black-market cigarettes for $12 - or splashes out and pays $20 for an illegal packet of Marlboros. He says they are sold in every suburb - and blames the federal government's policy for their rise. 'I know hardly anyone who buys legitimate cigarettes; and I don't blame the little stores from selling them. 'Go to any pub and have a look around at the cigarette packets on the table - few are the legal, plain-package variety.' Tom said the illegal cigarettes tasted the same as the legal ones because 'they all come out of the same factory'. 'Marlboro are Marlboro, they are just packaged according to the rules of the country. A $1 a packet in Cambodia is the same as a $40 a packet in Australia.' A sign in broad daylight out on a street in Seaforth, South Australia, offering branded packs - not the legal plain-packaged cigarettes - for $20, about half the regular price In 2012, Australia earned praise for 'making world history in the fight against Big Tobacco' with high excise and plain packaging with health warnings (above) - but a decade later cheap smokes and illegal vapes flood the market With rising living costs, the temptation to do so is increasingly mainstream. Daily Mail Australia has obtained catalogues with price lists supplied to prospective suburban retailers of cigarettes sold with brand names such as Marlboro, Benson & Hedges, Winston and Camel. A catalogue of cigarettes from a company in Shenzhen, China which manufactures counterfeit cigarettes in Cambodia, is offering the smokes for $260 a carton, or ten packets of 20 cigarettes. The packaging, which carries the brand name and emblem, and doesn't have the health warnings Australian laws mandate, indicate the cigarettes are sold without excise and are part of a criminal enterprise. The price compares with legitimate Marlboros being sold for between $339 and $446.50 for a carton of ten packets each of 20 Marlboro Gold cigarettes. To put the prices into context, a pack-a-day smoker (20 pack) would currently spend $14,600 on cigarettes per year, compared with $9,490 for the Cambodian smokes. A smoke shop in regional South Australia is selling branded cigarettes for $25 for a packet of 20 - which is becoming more attractive as living costs rise A 'National Price List' for illicit smokes show the comparison of $260 for a carton to upward of $360 in shops An Adelaide shop advertising cheap cigarettes and 'chop chop', an Australian term for untaxed illegal loose tobacco The Australian Federal Police, the Australia Tax Office and Australian Border Force spend considerable resources to combat the brazen tactics of Australia's illicit tobacco racket. The racket means billions of dollars of potential tobacco excise will never reach government coffers. But as the price of food, electricity and fuel soar, the illegal tobacco industry will continue to make a mockery of government policy of plain packaging and steep tobacco excise. The health.gov.au website states that 'The Australian Government taxes tobacco products to make them less affordable through excise on tobacco products' and cites its Illicit Tobacco Taskforce set up in 2018. The ITTF says it does this 'by proactively targeting, disrupting and dismantling serious actors and organised crime syndicates that deal in illicit tobacco'. But, meanwhile, the trade goes on. Illegal operators in South Australia have been identified as particularly shameless marketers of illegal cigarettes and vapes. Branded cigarette packs for sale by a Chinese company and manufactured in Cambodia The SA government went on an enforcement blitz on illegal vapes in June, announcing stringent new licence conditions over nicotine e-cigarettes. These require retailers to show proof vaping products being sold are nicotine-free, and to provide information about their e-cigarette suppliers, importers or manufacturers. Enforcement blitzes over the previous financial year resulted in the seizure of about 15,000 illegal nicotine vapes. In September, the NSW government announced it would spend $6.8million in cracking down on illegal vapes. From January 1 to June 30 this year, NSW Health seized 187,000 products, up from 61,000 in the same period in 2022. The health body has also conducted more than 5,000 inspections and seized about 369,000 nicotine vapes and e-liquids with an estimated street value of more than $11.8million. According to a tobacco industry source, illegal products now account for about 25 per cent of all tobacco consumed, and the percentage is rising. Just days ago, a top health official blasted e-cigarette makers as 'vendors of death' as Victoria mulls over introducing a tobacco licensing scheme that could make buying the items a lot harder. Illegal vapes displayed during a September press conference about the NSW Government's $6.8 million crackdown Tom said despite the will of the Federal Government to crack down on the illegal trade, he did not believe they had the resources. An Australian Post Office contact told him that 'tonnes and tonnes' of illegal tobacco and cigarettes are mailed into the country each year, but that 'like illicit drugs' plenty of tobacco still 'made it through'. Dr Mendelsohn criticised new legislation proposed by the Health Minister Mark Butler - to ban disposable single-use vapes, and make personal importation of vapes or e-liquids from overseas - as likely to drive up the black market. 'History has repeatedly demonstrated that blanket bans and punitive measures simply dont work,' he said. 'Butlers approach will only fuel the black market and drive it underground. The losers are adult smokers seeking safe and effective alternatives and young people who will continue to have access to illegal products. 'The winners are organised crime and Big Tobacco.' A blanket ban on the importation of disposable vapes from January 1 has been announced by the Australian government, sparking concerns it could further fuel the dangerously unregulated black market. The crackdown on vapes has been slowly building since 2020, with nicotine vapes already banned unless medically prescribed, which has led to unauthorised sellers flooding the country with millions of the items. The products are sold online and in some vapes shops or convenience stores 'under-the-counter' while other sellers skirt the prohibition in novel ways, with one photo displaying a 'vape shop' inside a blinged-out Uber car. The new ban, effective from next year, goes further by outlawing the importation of all disposable vapes whether they are labelled as containing nicotine or not. The government will also introduce legislation to prevent domestic manufacture, advertisement, supply and commercial possession of non-therapeutic and disposable single-use vapes. The government will ban the importation all disposable vapes from next year sparking concerns it will fuel the black market with demand high and resources to enforce the prohibition stretched (pictured: a 'vape shop' inside a Telsa Uber) Under the new rules, vapes will still be able to be obtained via licensed retailers using a prescription from a medical or nursing practitioner as a smoking cessation tool. The government will be allocating an additional $25million to the Australian Border Force and $56.9million to the Therapeutic Goods Administration over the next two years to help enforce the ban. Further changes will apply later in the year, including a ban on importing all non-therapeutic vapes, people importing their own vaping products, and restricting the available flavours, packaging, and advertising. The law also includes penalties of up to two jail for those who break the ban on importing vapes. 'Vaping was sold to governments and communities around the world as a therapeutic product to help long-term smokers quit,' Health Minister Mark Butler said. 'It was not sold as a recreational product, especially not one targeted to our kids, but that is what it has become. The great majority of vapes contain nicotine, and children are becoming addicted.' The Australian Taxpayers' Alliance, headed by vaping advocate Brian Marlow recently took out billboards in the ACT and Queensland which show a picture of the Prime Minister with the caption: 'Under Albo's vape ban you could be jailed for two years'. University of Sydney tobacco control expert Professor Becky Freeman told The Guardian the billboards make it seem like the government is targeting individuals who buy vapes online from overseas for personal use, when that isn't the case. 'The new vaping laws are about holding the vaping manufacturing and retailing industry accountable for addicting Australian teenagers to cheap, flavoured and dangerous products,' she said. The Albanese government will introduce a range of measures next year in an attempt to make Australia the first country in the world where vapes are limited to therapeutic stop-smoking tools available on prescription But Mr Marlow claims Mr Butler's actions have 'single-handedly' created 'the largest black market in the history of Australia'. Health authorities have routinely called for better regulation, with NSW Health this month linking a fatal overdose to black-market vape juice refills containing an unlabeled opioid of the nitazene class. According to the World Health Organisation, nitazenes were discovered by Swiss chemists in the 1950s but were never approved for medical use due to their extreme potency. Mr Marlow claimed more than 100 million illegal unregulated vape products with no ingredient standards had been smuggled into the country from China and sold on the black market. 'For the Albanese government to think they can fix this crisis with a recreational vaping ban on adults and doubling down on the failed prescription-only prohibition model is completely out of touch with reality and community expectations,' Mr Marlow said. 'China is preying on Mark Butler's weakness by using tactics that can only be described as a reverse opium war.' Mr Marlow claimed there were similar outcomes in Australia to how the US failed with their prohibition on alcohol - an 'out-of-control black market run by criminals selling dangerous unregulated products to whoever will buy them'. The Therapeutic Goods Administration - which oversees the approval of prescription drugs and medicines - pitched the near complete ban in an official consultation paper earlier this year that largely went under the radar (pictured) 'China regulates their own domestic vaping industry in the same way as they do for alcohol and tobacco; however, the country lets its manufacturers put whatever they want into the unregulated vapes that are destined to be sold illegally in Australia,' Mr Marlow said. 'It is not a coincidence Australia has this out-of-control black market and is the only country in the world to restrict access to nicotine vapes on a prescription-only basis.' In October alone more than 400,000 individual vaping products - or 30 tonnes -were seized in a joint campaign between the ABF and the Therapeutic Goods Administration to target air cargo and international mail imports into Australia. About 376,000 items, or 92 per cent of the seized goods, were illegal and at least 68 per cent were disposable vapes from brands that previously failed to meet minimum safety and quality standards. The haul had an estimated street value of $11 million. MANZINI The Ministry of Health will now source drugs and other supplies through an emergency procurement process. This follows the stock-outs of various medical drugs and supplies in different hospitals. This means that the ministry will not use the normal procurement procedure that often takes long. In fact, it was stated that the Ministry of Health has an emergency list prioritised for an emergency procurement process, following medical drugs and pharmaceutical supplies shortage in public hospitals. Procurement This was said by the Deputy Dirtector of Health Services, Dr Bongiwe Malinga, yesterday. The deputy director said the ministry had received lists of items that were out of stock from various public health facilities and had compiled them into the crisis list for an emergency procurement process. Dr Malinga said heading the team responsible for the emergency procurement was the Minister of Health Mduduzi Matsebula and the Principal Secretary (PS), Khanya Mabuza. This intervention by the ministry follows a lengthy period where the public had reported that, instead of being accorded medical drugs in public health facilities, they were offered prescriptions so they could procure the medication from retail pharmacies. This resulted in an investigation by this publication, which uncovered that one room flats were used as retail pharmacies while other retail pharmacists, lacked qualifications to issue out medical drugs. Investigation The investigation by this publication resulted in the Ministry of Finance, through the Office of the Auditor General (AG), Timothy Matsebula, instituting a forensic investigation into the shortage of medical drugs and pharmaceutical supplies in public health facilities. While these investigations have ensued, upon assuming office as minister, Matsebula has visited various health facilities, which are critical in the health sector. In his visits, the minister discovered that the Central Medical Stores (CMS) electronically monitored drugs, both in its warehouse and when in-transit, but there was a case where employees tried to cover a camera in a car with an object. On the other hand, this publication established that over 22 medical drugs were reportedly on stock-out at the Mankayane Government Hospital. According to sources, there has been a challenge with medication at the hospital as at some point, the admission of women in labour had to be suspended due to the shortage of medication. The sources said some of the items which were in stock-out had been supplied; however, when they were made available other medical drugs became were exhausted as well. The sources claimed at that some of the medication which was on stock out included betadine which works on a broad range of germs and microbes that can that can cause infections, examination gloves, surgical gloves, abdominal swabs, gauze, primapore, bandages, elastoplasts, colostomy bags and sterilizing tapes, among others. Expressed The sources expressed fear that the shortage of medication could lead to certain departments failing to render their services as the items which were on stock-out were critical. The shortage of the medical drugs and pharmaceutical supplies at the public health facility is not isolated as there are a high number of government health facilities which have been reported to be experiencing challenges. Recently, this publication reported that patients were turned back as there were no doctors at the Mbabane Government Hospitals outpatient department (OPD). To this, the deputy director of health services said: The minister and PS are overseeing this process and they have tasked the teams working on the process to prioritise. Dr Malinga said the ministry was putting all necessary efforts to mitigate the issue of drugs and consumables shortage. She said this would not improve over night, as the supply chain processes were long and involved other stakeholders outside the ministry. On the other hand, the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) Secretary General (SG), Mayibongwe Masangane, said their organisation was urging government to deal with the issue of drug shortage. Masangane said failure to deal with it would result in the frustration of patients. Last week, this publication reported that the minister of Health revealed that in the spirit of hitting the ground running as commanded by His Majesty King Mswati III, he checked the level of available stock drugs across the country and shockingly, it stood at 46 per cent, much to his dismay. Matsebulas main worry was that the 46 per cent stock level of drugs was reflecting that people were still not getting the prescribed medicines, at least not in totallity, and that was enough to conclude that the country was still losing lives, owing to the situation. Matsebula, whose passion for health issues was magnified by the motions he moved in the 11th Parliament, expressed great concern on the issue, revealing that government needed to strengthen its efforts in restoring confidence in the countrys public health institutions. Matsebula mentioned that the ministry ought to come up with short-term practical solutions to alleviate the health crisis in the country. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health, in the past five years, has been awarded E12.66 billion trough the government budget. Recommendation The need for more financial allocation to the Ministry of Health was reportedly a recommendation made by the 11th Parliament Cabinet sub-committee which was established in June 2023. The sub-committee had comprised of four ministers, who were Neal Rijkenberg, (ex-minister) Jabulani Buy Cash Mabuza,(ex-minister) Lizzie Nkosi and Manqoba Khumalo. At the backdrop of this recommendation, the ministry has had E12.66 billion. In these five years, the ministry accumutively overspent with E327 471 225. This was in three separate financial years which are 2018/19 where the over expenditure was recorded as E91.3 million while in the 2020/21 financial year, the ministry recorded another over expenditure of E121.88 million while in the 2021/22 financial year there was E114.33 million. Meanwhile, within the same period, the ministry under spent in three instances which tallies E144 138 979. In the 2019/20 financial year, the ministry under spent E137.1 million while in the 2022/23 financial year, it under spent with E7.04 million. A disabled woman has sparked a furious online debate after she called a bus driver 'ableist' when he told her she wasn't allowed on board. Anastasiia Berezikova, 23, was denied entry onto the Melbourne bus on November 19 because the driver said it had reached maximum capacity. Despite being on a mobility scooter and qualifying for a priority seat, the driver told her it would be 'unfair' to kick off existing passengers. Ms Berezikova's TikTok video of her exchange with the driver divided viewers, with some supporting her and some saying she shouldn't have been allowed on the bus. Footage of the incident shows the driver (pictured) explaining to Ms Berezikova that the bus was at maximum capacity and kicking any of the existing passengers off would be 'unfair' The video shows the driver had changed the bus's destination signs to say 'sorry bus full' meaning he was unable to take on any more passengers. After being shot down for asking if able-bodied passengers were being prioritised, she then pleading with other riders. 'So none of the able-bodied people want to help a disabled person,' Ms Berezikova asked, singling out one woman who appeared uncomfortable. The driver told her that another bus heading in the same direction would be coming soon to pick her up. The video attracted hundreds of comments from TikTok users who disagreed on who they believed was in the right. 'I'm so sorry, Australia has a horrible attitude around these kinds of things, it really is a free for all,' one user wrote, agreeing with Ms Berezikova. 'Bloody hell how rude and inconsiderate are people nowadays they only think about themselves,' a second wrote, saying passengers should have moved for her. 'You definitely should have gotten a seat, people in wheelchairs should be first on so the people at your stop should have been told to wait,' a third wrote. A disabled woman from Melbourne, Anastassia Berezikova (pictured), has caused a fiery debate online after claiming a bus driver was 'ableist' for not letting her on However, others disagreed with Ms Berezikova, some praising the driver for handling the situation calmly. 'You're prioritised a seat/space on the bus if there is a space on the bus, they can't just kick someone off that's on before you,' one user wrote, siding with the driver. 'On the bus you get priority seating, yes. But you don't get priority to ride - if it's full it's full they can't just kick people off,' a second user agreed. Another disabled woman, bound by a wheelchair, said she believed that he 'did nothing wrong'. 'You're assuming people are discriminating you when they're not,' she wrote. In follow-up videos posted to her TikTok, Ms Berezikova claimed others had gotten on the bus after pushing in-front of her and was pleading with them to give her a space. Ms Berezikova was placed into a 12-day coma after suffering two cardiac arrests in July 2021 caused by undiagnosed Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), a disease that effects cells in the blood. The heart attacks also left her with Lance Adam's Syndrome which affects her motor skills, coordination and speech. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Berezikova and Public Transport Victoria for comment. Ron DeSantis' election fraud chief lay dying on the floor of the state Capitol for 24 minutes before someone ran to help him, a new report has revealed. Peter Antonacci died of a heart attack on September 23, 2022 - less than three months after the Florida Governor appointed him director of the Office of Election Crimes and Security. Antonacci, 74, had 'a long history of heart disease and cardiac issues that resulted in several surgeries,' according to the report into his death, obtained by Florida Bulldog. 'At approximately 1:46 p.m., Mr. Antonacci is observed standing up and walking out of the conference room [redacted],' the report by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement states. Peter Antonacci is seen on August 18, 2022 - having been appointed as election chief the month before. He would die of a heart attack on September 23 Antonacci died inside the Florida state capitol in Tallahassee (pictured) Antonacci is visibly unwell, the report states. 'He steadies himself on the left wall. The hall [redacted] when he falls and appears to strike his head on the door on the [redacted] (sic). 'There appeared to be no foul play in the Room (sic) or hallway.' Despite the drama of his collapse, no one in the building notices that Antonacci is lying on the floor for 24 minutes. 'At approximately 2:10:05pm, FDL Comm. [Mark] Glass appears to notice Antonacci down the hallway to his aid (sic).' Glass, an FDLE Commissioner and former deputy director of the Capitol Police, said he left the meeting to speak to General Counsel Ryan Newman when he noticed Antonacci. 'Commissioner Glass stated when looking down the hallway he observed what appeared to be dark slacks and black shoes laying on the ground toes face down,' the report states. 'Commissioner Glass stated he observed from the hip back and he looked at General Counsel Newman asking if that was Mr Antonacci who was in the meeting. 'Commissioner Glass stated General Counsel Newman and he ran over there, immediately rolled the subject over and identified him as Mr Antonacci.' Antonacci, 74, had a long history of heart trouble Glass and Newman called for help from the FDLE chief of staff, Shane Desguin. The three men tried to revive Antonacci with chest compressions and a defibrillator, but by this point Antonacci's face was 'purple and blue', Antonacci said. An unnamed caller, the report said, told 911 operators that Antonacci was not awake and needed CPR. The report said police arrived at 2:11pm and used an automated external defibrillator to try and save him. It added that at 2:34pm: 'The male subject was transported by Leon County Emergency Medical Services to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital (TMH) were he was pronounced deceased by medical staff. 'Initial investigation indicated that the death was the result of a medical condition.' DeSantis announced his death, and praised his years of service. Ron DeSantis announced Antonacci's death and praised his decades of work 'He (Antonacci) was a dedicated, tenacious, and assiduous public servant, lawyer, and respected professional a friend to all in the State of Florida,' said DeSantis in the statement. Antonacci had a decades-long resume in state government serving under Democrats and Republicans. He was appointed to various positions by Govs. Bob Graham, Jeb Bush, Charlie Crist, Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis and served as deputy attorney general under Democratic Attorney General Bob Butterworth from 1991-1997. His positions included statewide prosecutor, CEO of Enterprise Florida, a member of the Ethics Commission and executive director of the South Florida Water Management District. Senator Rick Scott, who appointed Antonacci to several position during his two terms as governor before running for the U.S. Senate, said Antonacci was a dedicated public servant and a devoted family man. 'Pete was a proud Floridian, raised in Hialeah, and devoted decades of his life to serving Florida families as a prosecutor, master of the law and leader,' Scott said in a statement. Both DeSantis and Scott attended his funeral, which was addressed by Antonacci's daughters Alexis Lambert and Claudia Hadjigeorgiou. A family have been left in 'absolute distress' because their tenants have refused to move out of their home despite being given four months' notice. The landlord, her partner and their adult son had planned to move back into their home in St Ives, in Sydney's upper north shore, this week. The family had been living abroad in the United States for the last few years and had rented out their house while they were away. 'The lease is expiring this coming Monday. We gave our tenants four months' notice and waived all financial penalties if they were to vacate the property early,' the mother wrote in a community Facebook page on Monday. 'Our tenants told us yesterday only that they will refuse to leave our property.' The landlord said they'd arranged for their furniture to be delivered and for their adult son to move in but now their plans had been thrown out of the window. A family have been left in 'absolute distress' because their tenants have refused to move out of their home despite being given four months' notice In her post asking for advice, the mother said she would be taking the matter to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal if her tenants didn't hand the keys back on Monday. READ MORE: Perth landlord stuns renters with bizarre list of living conditions for their house Advertisement Many St Ives locals were left speechless at the behaviour of the tenants and questioned why the family's property manager wasn't stepping in to help. The homeowner said legally she only had to give her tenants one month's notice before they had to leave. 'So giving four months' notice was more than generous and considerate,' she said. 'It's a massive logistical nightmare to move from overseas when you have kids and pets. 'You need to fix a date and work around this date. Never in our right mind have we thought that our tenants would do this to us.' One St Ives resident suggested the family call the police. 'If they don't hand back the keys on Monday, they will be trespassing on Tuesday!' they said. 'Absolutely ridiculous that you should even have to think about going to the tribunal.' In NSW, landlords can apply for a termination order at the NCAT if their tenants are evicted and don't move out by the time the lease ends. Daily Mail Australia has contacted the landlord for further comment. Rishi Sunak has snubbed talks with the Greek prime minister over his demand for the return of the Elgin Marbles. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who is visiting the UK, said he would be raising the issue directly with Mr Sunak during talks this week. But the meeting was never confirmed by Downing Street, and government sources last night said it would now not go ahead. A senior Tory source said Mr Sunak was clear that the priceless sculptures belong in the British Museum - and criticised Sir Keir Starmer after he indicated last week that Labour would not 'stand in the way' of their return to Greece. 'There's no point the PM having the meeting if this is what it is about,' the source said. 'Our position on this is clear - the Elgin Marbles are part of the permanent collection of the British Museum and belong here. It is reckless for any British politician to suggest that this is subject to negotiation.' Rishi Sunak has snubbed talks with the Greek prime minister over his demand for the return of the Elgin Marbles Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who is visiting the UK, said he would be raising the issue directly with Mr Sunak during talks this week. But government sources said it would now not go ahead Athens has long demanded the return of the Parthenon Sculptures, which were removed from Greece by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century, when he was the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. Mr Mitsotakis said on Sunday he planned to raise the issue during meetings with Mr Sunak and Sir Keir during his visit to London. He told the BBC that he would 'meet both Keir Starmer and of course the Prime Minister' to discuss the return of sculptures which he said were 'essentially stolen'. Mr Mitsotakis said British possession of the Marbles was a form of cultural vandalism akin to 'cutting the Mona Lisa in half'. Downing Street yesterday responded: 'Obviously that's not something we would agree with. 'These were legally acquired at the time, they're legally owned by the trustees of the museum. We support that position and there's no plan to change the law which governs it.' A Government source said Mr Mitsotakis would be offered a meeting with another minister but would not now see the PM. However, the Greek PM did discuss the issue with Sir Keir last night. A Labour source insisted the issue was not the 'focal point' of the meeting, adding: 'They talked about the importance of close cooperation in relation to wider European security, migration and climate action and the important cultural links between both countries.' Athens has long demanded the return of the Parthenon Sculptures, which were removed from Greece by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century, when he was the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire The Greek PM did discuss the issue with Sir Keir last night. A Labour source insisted the issue was not the 'focal point' of the meeting British Museum chairman George Osborne, the former chancellor, has previously said he is exploring ways for the Elgin Marbles to be displayed in Greece, with speculation that this could involve a loan deal in which part of the sculptures would be sent to Athens. Labour sources said that Sir Keir, whose Holborn and St Pancras constituency is home to the British Museum, would not 'stand in the way' of a loan deal. A Labour spokesperson said: 'Strong cultural and historical partnerships between countries are important to ensure the British Museum, and other UK cultural institutions, can maintain their world leading status. 'The next Labour Government will hear the case from the British Museum and its chair on any proposed changes to the Heritage Act as it stands. We've no current plans to change it.' Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said he was 'disappointed' that Rishi Sunak cancelled their planned meeting. In a statement, a spokesman said: 'The prime minister is disappointed that Prime Minister Sunak cancelled their bilateral meeting at the 11th hour today. 'Greece and Britain have a very deep history of friendship and co-operation, and the Greek government is extremely surprised by this decision. 'The prime minister was looking forward to discussing a range of topics of mutual interest including the Israel/Gaza conflict, Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine, climate change, as well as common challenges such as migration, and of course the Parthenon Sculptures.' A comedian who has accused Israel of 'ethnic cleansing' and 'genocide' in Gaza has been booked to host BBC panel show Have I Got News for You. Guz Khan, who is best known for his BBC Three comedy Man Like Mobeen, has prolifically posted on social media in support of Palestine since the Hamas terror attacks in southern Israel on October 7. On his X account (formerly known as Twitter), the 37-year-old has accused Israel of 'war crimes' in its response to the sneak assault by the terrorist group and has accused the Jewish state of 'occupying' the Palestinian territory for years. The Coventry-born comic has been chosen to take charge of this week's version of Have I Got News for You, which will be aired on BBC One on Friday, December 1. However, the decision has been criticised by one BBC staffer, who told the Times they were 'lost for words' he had been booked given the high probability the conflict in Gaza will be mentioned on satirical current affairs show. Comedian Guz Khan, pictured here at the MOBO Awards in Coventry in 2021, has accused Israel of 'ethnic cleansing' in Gaza Guz Khan has been outspoken in his support for Palestine since the Hamas attacks in Israel on October 7 The BBC has strict impartiality guidelines regarding its news output and on-air talent working in that area, although this does not apply to its comedy programmes. READ MORE HERE: Warped Hamas warlords REFUSE to release youngest hostage instead handing TEN-MONTH-OLD Kfir Bibas to separate Palestine terror group operating in southern city expected to be obliterated by IDF when ceasefire ends Advertisement The former Humanities teacher turned comic, who has also appeared on shows such as Taskmaster and Outsiders, has called the current situation in Palestine 'apartheid' and an 'occupation' by Israel. On the day of the Hamas attacks, Mr Khan retweeted Greece's former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, who wrote: 'The path to ending the tragic loss of innocent lives - both Palestinian and Israeli - begins with one crucial first step: the end of the Israeli occupation and apartheid.' Following Israel's response to the attacks, which saw it pound Gaza City and northern areas of the Palestinian territory with air strikes for weeks, he accused the country of war crimes. He tweeted: 'Ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians. The system is setup in the West so that Israel have total, utter impunity to commit these war crimes. How can they wield this level of power? It's frightening. Just know, one day, it could be you.' He has also retweeted social media posts accusing Israel of 'genocide' against the people of Gaza and criticised politicians in the UK for their support of the country. A BBC spokesperson said: 'Hat Trick are a very experienced production company who have been making Have I Got News For You for 30 years. They know how to make the programme and it has always had people with a broad range of political views. Their job is to deliver a programme that fully complies with the BBC's editorial standards.' More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, roughly two-thirds of them women and minors, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. More than 1,200 people have been killed on the Israeli side, mostly civilians killed in the initial attack. At least 77 soldiers have been killed in Israel's ground offensive. Palestinians walk amid debris of buildings hit in Israeli strikes near Al-Zawiya market in Gaza City on Monday Palestinians inspect the damage to a residential block caused by an Israeli strike in the village of Khuzaa, near the border Palestinians walk among the rubble of houses destroyed by IDF air strikes in Khan Younis on Monday In recent days there has been a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel to allow for the exchange of hostages taken by the terrorist group and prisoners held by the Jewish state. A total of 51 Israelis have been freed under the truce, along with 19 hostages of other nationalities. So far, 150 Palestinians have been released from Israeli prisons. After weeks of national trauma over the roughly 240 people abducted by Hamas and other militants, scenes of the women and children reuniting with families have rallied Israelis behind calls to return those who remain in captivity. 'We can get all hostages back home. We have to keep pushing,' two relatives of Abigail Edan, a 4-year-old girl and dual Israeli-American citizen who was released Sunday, said in a statement. Hamas and other militants could still be holding up to 175 hostages, enough to potentially extend the cease-fire for two and a half weeks. But those include a number of soldiers, and Hamas is likely to make much greater demands for their release. Conditions there have remained dire for 2.3 million Palestinians, battered by weeks of Israeli bombardment and a ground offensive that have driven three-quarters of the population from their homes. Israel has said it would extend the cease-fire by one day for every 10 additional hostages released. After the announcement by Qatar - a key mediator in the conflict, along with the United States and Egypt - Hamas confirmed it had agreed to a two-day extension 'under the same terms.' But Israel says it remains committed to crushing Hamas' military capabilities and ending its 16-year rule over Gaza after its Oct. 7 attack into southern Israel. That would likely mean expanding a ground offensive from devastated northern Gaza to the south. The Israeli assault has driven three-quarters of Gaza's population from their homes, and now most of its 2.3 million people are crowded into the south. More than 1 million are living in U.N. shelters. The IDF has barred hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled south from returning north. A BBC spokesman said: 'Hat Trick are a very experienced production company who have been making Have I Got News For You for 30 years. 'They know how to make the programme and it has always had people with a broad range of political views. Their job is to deliver a programme that fully complies with the BBC's editorial standards.' Struggling single-sex schools could be forced to choose between closure and co-education if Labour's VAT raid on fees cripples them financially, it has been suggested. Competition, rising costs, and parental demands have seen dozens of single-sex institutions close, merge, or decide to admit both sexes since 2014. There were 115 single-sex boy schools and 186 single-sex girl schools in the UK in 2014, Independent Schools Council (ISC) figures show. However this has dropped to 106 and 159 respectively in 2023. At least twelve have gone co-educational in the past two years, a Times study revealed. Independent schools can register as charities in return for acts that benefit the community. But Labour plans to charge schools 20 per cent VAT and scrap the 80 per cent relief they receive on business rates. Labour, led by Sir Keir Starmer, plans to charge schools 20 per cent VAT and scrap the 80 per cent relief they receive on business rates Sir Anthony Seldon, head of Epsom College, said schools operating 'close to the margin' will suffer the most if Labour's VAT plans go ahead as planned The move could force bursars to hit families with higher charges from as early as next September, potentially pushing 90,000 priced-out youngsters into the state sector and piling pressure on the finances of any single-sex schools already teetering on the brink of insolvency. Robin Walker MP said: 'Single sex schools could suffer as a result of a decision to increase VAT, and that is something I don't think has been thought through by the party. 'It lacks proper analysis of the second order impact like schools closing down and the more places it would create in the state secondary sector. 'It strikes me as a dangerous time to be experimenting with a significant change of this nature.' Sir Anthony Seldon, head of Epsom College, said schools operating 'close to the margin' will suffer the most if Labour's VAT plans go ahead as planned. Robin Walker MP said: 'Single sex schools could suffer as a result of a decision to increase VAT, and that is something I don't think has been thought through by the party' Melanie Sanderson, editor of the Good Schools Guide, told The Times: 'Schools that are savvy are looking at the target audience and adapting to their needs. That may be going co-ed for some. Single-sex education - particularly with boys' schools - is really falling out of fashion. 'Families are time-poor and want to educate their children together. If you're looking at boarding school [you] don't want to have to drop one at one school and another in the opposite direction. Schools are looking at the market and responding to it.' Britain's independent schools are supporting more than 160,000 pupils as part of a soaring rise in bursaries and scholarships, figures show. It has been driven by an increase in means-tested funding for the poorest pupils, with 494million handed out this year to struggling families. But the ISC, who represent 1,300 schools, say the extra financial burden of VAT could impact institutions' ability to help fund places for poorer pupils. Labour, citing a study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies think-tank, believes changes to the tax rules could raise as much as 1.5 billion per year. Donna Stevens, CEO of Girls' Schools Association, said single-sex girls schools are set to stay. She said: 'Girls' Schools Association can only speak for girls of course - enrolment in girls' schools has grown by 2.4 per cent in the last 10 years. 'It's important for people to know girls' schools are a popular choice for parents, and that there are so many kinds of girls' schools to choose from today. 'I want to see that chance for every girl to learn in a school built for her, one that puts her interests first, to increase further. We always champion more opportunity and choice for girls in our schools. A firm favourite with girls and parents, our schools are set to stay.' The mother of a Palestinian student who was shot in Vermont has said her son is grappling with what it means to be 'safe in America' after being attacked on the street near his family's home. Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdel Hamid and Tahseen Ahmed were visiting Awartani's grandmother's house when they were shot on Saturday afternoon. The three friends had known each other since attending school in the West Bank together. The trio, wearing keffiyehs, had finished bowling and went for a stroll when they were shot by a man who did not say a word to them, according to family members. Awartani's mother, Elizabeth Price, said it's a miracle the men are alive after the shooting - and revealed her shock considering it happened in an area where the entire community knows her son, who attends Brown University. Jason James Eaton, 48, the suspected shooter, pleaded not guilty on Monday. Elizabeth Price with her son, Hisham Awartani, who was shot outside his grandmother's house Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdel Hamid and Tahseen Ahmed wearing keffiyeh scarves and speaking Arabic when they were shot on Saturday night Price told NBC: 'The short-term shock is now evolving into something more complex as he tries to frame who he is in the world and what it means to be safe in America, particularly when you get shot down the street from your granny's house in a street he's basically grown up on. 'It's a really easy place to be. You sit on the porch, people walk by, and they talk to you. And they know us the entire community knows us. 'He's been going there since he was 8 or maybe 10. So for him to have that taken away from him, I don't know what that means for any of the boys and their ability to function normally. Jason J. Eaton, 48, is in custody. He is accused of shooting the three Palestinian students on Saturday 'He pulled out a handgun and he shot at them, without saying anything, and then he left. 'Hisham fell to the ground, and he didn't realize that he'd been shot. He didn't feel any pain. He didn't know what was going on, but he called the police.' She said that her son was afraid that the shooter was going to come back. The mom added: 'It's a miracle that they're all alive. These bullets should have ended their lives.' Talking about her son, she said: 'He's just a delight. Delight to talk to, and he's, he's a fascinating young man, and he has a lot of potential. 'I believe in him, because I believe his ability to see and be enriched by the world and be excited by the world, no matter what happens.' Suspect Eaton today pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted murder. The 48-year-old was a full-time sales assistant for CUSO Financial Services in Williston - but he was terminated on November 8. He worked at the company for less than a year before being sacked for undisclosed reasons. First responders loading one of the victims into an ambulance after Saturday's shooting Eaton's mother said he is a 'very religious' person but had seemed normal on Thanksgiving While he was still an employee, he described his role with the phrase 'laying down my life for my friends,' on his professional social media page. Elisabeth Rutledge, a company spokeswoman, told the Boston Globe: 'We are horrified by the shooting and are cooperating with law enforcement as they investigate.' Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad said investigators believe Eaton moved to Burlington, having previously lived in Syracuse. His work history is based mainly in New York State. According to his social media, he worked as an assistant scoutmaster for a Cub Scout troop until 2021. The Boy Scouts said in a statement: 'Mr. Eaton's alleged actions do not reflect the values of Scouting. 'Upon learning of his arrest he was been banned from registering in Scouting any capacity and will be proactively placed in the Volunteer Screening Database, permanently preventing his registration or participation in the future.' Eaton did not receive any honors or awards during his time as a scout - and there were no complaints about him during his time with the organization. Eaton appeared before a judge at a virtual court hearing today where he pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted second degree murder He is also a part-time farmer who describes himself as a 'radical' libertarian on the 'ADHD spectrum'. Eaton's shocked mother Mary Reed told The Daily Beast he has had his 'struggles' in the past but that nothing indicated he was capable of such violence. She said he is a 'very religious' person, but had seemed normal when she spent Thanksgiving with him on Thursday, two days before the shooting. 'He, like all of us, thinks the world is a mess. He is a spiritual person,' she said. 'Jason has had a lot of struggles in his life but he is such a kind and loving person. 'I am just shocked by the whole thing,' she said. Eaton once attended the University of Idaho, but did not finish his degree in natural resource ecology and conservation biology. On his LinkedIn, he wrote the bible verse: 'For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also, Matthew 6:21.' Prosecutors said there is not yet enough evidence to charge Eaton with a hate crime, and that they do not yet know what his motive was. A driver has been hit with multiple traffic offences A driver has received multiple offence reports after a wild road rage incident captured on video turned into a wider investigation. Video of the incident, where the driver of a black Ford sedan was seen pursuing a food delivery driver on a scooter on Henley Beach Rd in Brooklyn Park in Adelaide's west last week, went viral, prompting police to investigate. While it's unknown what prompted the incident, the Ford was seen driving close behind the scooter driver as he swerved to avoid being hit. The scooter driver veered from one lane to another trying to avoid the car before driving in front of a third vehicle to get out of reach. Shouts could be heard from the black Ford after the scooter got away. Traffic officers attended the Hendon address of the owner the vehicle was registered to in order to make inquiries about the incident. They pulled over the car in question as it approached the house. The 23-year-old female driver tested positive for cannabis and police checks revealed her licence had expired. 'She was also reported for traffic offences in relation to the Brooklyn Park incident, including aggravated driving without due care, driving unlicensed, fail to drive within marked lane and fail to stop on yellow signal,' an SA Police spokesperson said. Video footage captured a heated road rage incident involving a black Ford sedan pursuing a food delivery driver on a scooter on Henley Beach Rd in Brooklyn Park The 23-year-old female driver tested positive for cannabis and police checks revealed her licence had expired, as well as being slapped with multiple alleged traffic offences She would be summonsed to appear in court 'at a later date', the spokesperson said. Not only was she reported for the alleged offences, but the car was defected and impounded for 28 days. SA Police has warned drivers that they can be 'filmed anywhere, anytime - which dramatically increases the chances of being caught'. 'Police will follow up on vision showing dangerous or criminal acts and will take action where necessary,' a spokesperson said. 'There are many occasions where vision has been provided to police or we are directed to social media sites to review vision of dangerous driving.' With the fast-approaching UAE National Day weekend, dnata Travel has revealed the most popular holiday hotspots. In order of popularity, the top five most booked international destinations with UAE-based travellers are: Thailand, Maldives, Turkey, USA and Azerbaijan. As the most popular destination, Thailand is taking 15% of all dnata Travel bookings for the UAE National Day weekend. Bangkok, alongside the islands of Phuket and Krabi, are the top locations of choice. Azerbaijan is a new entry for this time of the year in 2023, with bookings up 50% compared to the same period in 2022. The capital, Baku, is proving popular with UAE travellers for a city break closer to home. Bookings to the UK, Switzerland, France, India and the Seychelles are also trending. For the long weekend, 80% of all bookings are for international travel, while the remaining 20% cover UAE staycations. Most local stays are booked in Dubai, followed by Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah. Meerah Ketait, Head of Retail and Leisure UAE at dnata Travel, said: "Travellers are exploring more of the world, including lesser-known places and new locations across popular hotspots. In addition to the ever-popular destinations of Thailand and the Maldives, we have seen a notable increase in travel to Azerbaijan in particular. "The popularity of Thailand continues, with demand driven by a rise in availability of flights, the countrys incredible value-for-money proposition, world-class accommodation and varied experiences." dnata Travel experts continuously monitor trends and work with long-standing international partners to offer exclusive rates and added extras for the local market, alongside the latest in travel inspiration. dnata Travels UAE National Day campaign is now live, offering savings and added benefits for UAE travellers across trending beach, city, mountain and desert locations across the globe. TradeArabia News Service Australia's highest court has revealed its reasoning behind a landmark ruling that led to the release of more than 140 detainees from immigration detention. The High Court found earlier this month that indefinite immigration detention was unlawful, overturning a 20-year precedent and setting in motion the release of the detainees. The court on Tuesday afternoon published the reasons behind its decision in a case that was brought by a Rohingya refugee who had completed a prison sentence for raping a 10-year-old boy. The plaintiff, who was given the pseudonym NZYQ, faced the prospect of life in detention because he was stateless and no country would agree to take him in. Australia's highest court has revealed its reasoning behind a landmark ruling that prompted the release of more than 140 detainees from immigration detention. (A released detainee is pictured wearing an ankle monitor at a Sydney motel. He is not the plaintiff NZYQ) The court unanimously found two sections of the Migration Act being used to detain NZYQ were beyond the legislative power of the Commonwealth and contravened the Constitution. NZYQ, who had been in detention for five years after being released from prison and denied a visa to stay in Australia, was being further punished rather than held in custody for a legitimate reason. There was no prospect of NZYQ being deported to any other country, there was no legal basis to continue holding him in immigration detention, and he must be freed. '.... The plaintiff's detention was not reasonably capable of being seen as necessary for a legitimate and non-punitive purpose in circumstances where there was no real prospect of the removal of the plaintiff from Australia becoming practicable in the reasonably foreseeable future,' the court said in a summary. The ruling does not prevent immigration detainees who have been released from being deported or being taken back into custody for a legitimate reason. Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil said the government was considering preventative detention measures to deal with asylum seekers who had serious criminal records. NZYQ's release into the community led to the other detainees being freed, including men previously convicted of serious crimes such as murder and sex offences against children. Although the detainees had already served prison sentences, growing outrage about a perceived danger to the community prompted the government to rush through emergency laws imposing strict visa conditions. One Afghan man pictured wearing a monitoring bracelet under his sock as he smoked behind his temporary accommodation said he had previously been in detention for eight years Of the 141 asylum seekers released from immigration detention, 132 were being electronically monitored, four were being investigated by the AFP over non-compliance, and two cases involved health issues. NZYQ arrived on Christmas Island by boat in September 2012 after fleeing a village in Myanmar, where his Rohingya people are persecuted and denied citizenship. He spent 11 months in immigration detention before being granted a bridging visa and allowed to live with a relative in Sydney. On January 8, 2015, NZYQ visited the home of a fellow Rohingya refugee who shared a bedroom with his 10-year-old son. While the father was out of the bedroom NZYQ walked in, shut the door and anally raped the boy on his bed. From outside the room the father had heard NZYQ say, 'I'll give you money to do this' and his son reply, 'My dad will hit me'. NZYQ, who was arrested the next day, does not have a birth certificate but believes he was born between 1995 and 1997, so was likely aged 17 to 19 when he raped the boy. Of the 141 asylum seekers released from immigration detention , 132 were being electronically monitored and four were being investigated by the AFP over non-compliance. (A released detainee is pictured. He is not NZYQ) Immigration authorities cancelled NZYQ's bridging visa a week after his arrest and he pleaded guilty a year later to one count of sexual intercourse with a person aged between 10 and 14. At a NSW District Court sentence hearing, NZYQ told a judge he did not know what he had done was wrong or a crime because he had been regularly raped as a child by older boys in his village. He claimed he asked the boy if they could have sex and he consented. 'The offender gave evidence that he did not think that what he asked was a bad thing or a crime and believed that males had sex with each other as occurred in Myanmar,' the judge said. 'The offender had a lack of insight into his actions, normalising them as culturally acceptable to excuse his offending behaviour. The offender maintained that the complainant consented and was a willing participant.' The subject of the High Court case, known as NZYQ, was transferred to Villawood detention centre after serving a minimum sentence of three years and four months in jail The judge sentenced NZYQ, who was assessed as a medium to high risk of re-offending, to five years' jail with a non-parole period of three years and four months. Upon being granted parole in 2018, NZYQ was immediately taken into immigration detention and had been there ever since. While NZYQ was in custody he applied for a protection visa and upon the expiration of his prison term in May 2018 he was detained as an unlawful non-citizen. NZYQ has in recent years expressed remorse for his crime but never undergone a sex offenders program despite expressing willingness to do so, the court heard. His protection visa application was refused in July 2020 when authorities found NZYQ was 'a danger to the Australian community' and that decision was affirmed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in March last. Chief Justice Stephen Gageler (above) was told some detainees were deemed less desirable to other countries because of their criminal record or the security risk they might pose NZYQ then took his case to the High Court which found in his favour. The decision overturns a 2004 ruling in a case known as Al-Kateb which allowed the indefinite detention of non-citizens without a visa even if they could not be deported. In Al-Kateb, Justice Michael McHugh had observed: 'A law requiring the detention of the alien takes its character from the purpose of the detention.' 'As long as the purpose of the detention is to make the alien available for deportation or to prevent the alien from entering Australia or the Australian community, the detention is non-punitive.' The current High Court, led by Chief Justice Stephen Gageler, disagreed. 'This court is unanimous in concluding that this is an incomplete and, accordingly, inaccurate statement of the applicable principle,' it said in Tuesday's reasons. The other judges of the High Court are Michelle Gordon, James Edelman, Simon Steward, Jacqueline Gleeson, Jayne Jagot and Robert Beech-Jones. She was last seen less than 48 hours before The body of a young woman who was last seen over the weekend has been discovered in dense bushland not far from where she was last seen. Amy Pike, 28, was reported missing on Sunday after last being seen at 4pm on Saturday in the Palmerston suburb of Gray, 20km east of Darwin. Police found Ms Pike's body in bushland near Gunn Point, 50km north of Gray, at 6:30pm on Monday after her car was spotted parked in the area. Friends and family desperately searched for Ms Pike in the time that she was missing and her partner had even asked whether he could borrow $1,500 to travel interstate to help. Since police confirmed the worst, tributes have steadily poured in for the young woman who will be remembered as 'a prankster with a heart of gold and a dreamer'. NT Police have found the body of Amy Pike (pictured) about 48 hours after she was last seen in a Darwin suburb Tributes have poured in from heartbroken friends and family who have paid tribute to the 'prankster with a heart of gold' READ MORE: Desperate search for Ute after woman's body found A massive manhunt has been launched for the driver of a missing Mitsubishi ute after police found a woman's body at a home in Adelaide on Tuesday. Advertisement Ms Pike's sister penned an emotional tribute to 'our daughter, sister, aunty and friend' and thanked everyone who had helped look for her. 'We are all beyond heart broken and are completely lost since receiving the news,' she wrote. 'May you fly amongst the galaxies and forever watch over us. We will miss you more than you'll ever know.' Initially police held out hope that Ms Pike had spontaneously travelled to see family in Ipswich, Queensland, as relatives took to Facebook asking her to come home. Ms Pike's partner had been trying to arrange travel to make it to the Northern Territory before hearing about the tragic news. 'I am forever broken now, just a shell of a man that I once was,' he wrote. 'I love you with every single part of me. Until I see you again darling.' A friend of Ms Pike also shared a touching story about how she found a polaroid of the two that had been slipped into her purse unknowingly. 'My nephew was grabbing a coin out of my wallet and he said "huh you must love her very much, if shes in your wallet" I was confused until I saw [the] photo,' she wrote. 'I then found one in my bag, in my paperwork, in my laptop bag. 'Rest in peace. I hope I never stop finding hidden photos.' Crisis Supporter on 13 11 14 (24 hours/7 days) Text Lifeline on 0477 13 11 14 (6pm midnight, 7 nights) Chat online at www.lifeline.org.au (7pm midnight, 7 nights) A truck has caught on fire on a major Melbourne highway causing major traffic disruptions. Firefighters were called to a cement truck on fire near the inbound exit to Todd Rd on the West Gate Freeway, in Port Melbourne, at about 1.10pm on Tuesday. The scene was under control by 1.30pm but fire crews remained for some time afterwards. The inbound exit was closed due to the fire and two left lanes of the freeway off the West Gate Bridge were also closed. A truck has caught on fire on the West Gate Freeway in Melbourne on Tuesday afternoon Emergency services attended the scene and attempted to put out the blaze Motorists have been urged to use the Montague Street exit instead. Police said the driver of the truck, a 35-year-old man, was able to pull the vehicle over safely and he did not sustain any injuries. Footage posted to X shows the truck engulfed in flames and smoke as firefighters work desperately to get the blaze under control. According to the department of transport, there are 'significant inbound delays on the West Gate Freeway from the M80 Interchange'. Drivers are being warned to remain vigilant for smoke in the area. The exact circumstances surrounding the fire are yet to be determined. A stolen car has been returned along with a typo-filled, handwritten note for its owner from the thief who sincerely apologised for their actions. Varun Chada, from Auckland in New Zealand, reported his car missing last week after he had ducked into the eatery he manages for five minutes to grab supplies. After returning back outside Mr Chada found that somebody had stolen his vehicle so he took to Facebook to ask the community for help in finding the recognisable dual-cab ute. Four days later he found his ute exactly where he had left it after the thief decided to return it with a quarter tank less petrol, no number plates, and a note explaining what happened. Unfortunately for the thief, police have confirmed that the hunt for whoever took it is still on. Varun Chada, from Auckland in New Zealand, posted on Facebook last week that someone had stolen his car and four days later the thief miraculously returned it A typo-filled apology note was left inside the car which explained that the thief was simply quite drunk and needed a lift home when they stole the vehicle READ MORE: Thief steals car with child inside Advertisement Mr Chada, who runs Kati Street eatery, said that the scrawled letter was left in the car along with his keys after the thief had a change of heart. 'Hey man braught your truck back sorry mate was drunk and needed a ride home,' the note read. 'Left your keys locked in trunk [and] here a lil something for your baby. 'Thak you and sori.' Mr Chada was shocked when he looked inside to find a pile of toys in the back seat and no damage to the vehicle. Initially he thought he had 'gone mad' when the ute vanished out of thin air but security footage from a neighbouring shop caught the culprit red-handed. The dodgy figure hopped in and drove off with ease thanks to Mr Chada accidentally leaving the keys in the ignition for the five minutes he was gone. 'Im not condoning what they did is fine, but I mean, they gave it back and they said sorry so, I dont know, Im just stoked to get it back, put it that way,' he told the New Zealand Herald. Officers confirmed that they would continue their search for the perpetrator using CCTV footage of the theft and forensic testing of the vehicle. Mr Chada thought he had 'gone mad' when his ute disappeared into thin air, but CCTV from a neighbouring store caught the thief red-handed Mr Chada had originally left the keys in the ignition for five minutes while he popped inside his eatery which gave the thief the perfect opportunity to casually drive away in it Mr Chada thanked the positive community response for drawing a guilty conscience out of the thief which led to his car being returned. Customers of the eatery and other locals rapidly shared his post online which is understood to have eventually reached the thief. 'Everyone kept an eye out and, yeah, its been like the topic for the whole week, lots of the customers shared it when it went missing as well and [had] been keeping an eye out for it,' he said. 'So I think that social media definitely helped me get it back.' A top Pentagon official has been arrested for allegedly paying an undercover agent for sex in a motel room - before claiming to cops he was only there for a massage. Stephen Hovanic, 64, of Sharpsburg, Georgia, entered the room with the woman, placed his sunglasses next to a condom and asked her if they could 'do a half hour,' before cops barged through the door. Video released by the Coweta County sheriff's office revealed the moment Hovanic was busted in the motel on November 15 - in the joint sting with the Department of Homeland Security's Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation unit. Hovanic was charged with pandering, which is misdemeanor solicitation of sex. He worked for the Department of Defense Education Activity for over two decades - and was in charge of the schools educating children of US military servicemen and women on bases across the world. Stephen Hovanic, 64, of Sharpsburg, Georgia, entered the room with the woman, placed his sunglasses by a condom, and asked her if they could 'do a half hour,' before police officers came barging through the door Hovanic was charged with pandering, which is misdemeanor solicitation of sex For the last 13 years, Hovanic was also a chief of staff for Department of Defense schools in the US. Hovanic's interaction with the woman - including giving her money - was captured on video. He can be heard introducing himself to the undercover cop, shaking 'Katie's' hand and saying: 'Nice to meet you. You're beautiful. 'I told you I would shower before I got here.' The video then reveals Hovanic telling the woman: 'Can we do a half-hour?' The agent tells him she does not 'play before he pays,' meaning he would have to give her money before any activity began. He says: 'I understand. That's fair.' Hovanic's interaction with the woman - including giving her money - was captured on video. His sunglasses sit next to a condom on the desk (far right of the frame) He shakes hands with 'Katie' - who is an undercover cop - and makes small talk before handing her cash Two officers then suddenly walk into the room and arrest the DOD administrator Full list of arrests made during Coweta County's human trafficking sting Miguel Garcia, pandering Davian Harding, pandering Deontavius Pittman, pandering and possession of ecstasy Octavian Brown, pandering and possession with intent to distribute Jose Gonzalez- Avarca, pandering Stephen Hovanic, pandering Michael Matherne, pandering Donald McGaha, pandering Victor O. Alvarez Martinez, pimping Juan Puente, pimping Prince Antoine, pimping Phillip Floyd, pandering Sergio J. DeArmas Alfaras, pimping, and law enforcement said it is investigating further Christopher Allen, pandering Advertisement Hovanic then hands her cash, before she moves into another part of the motel room. Soon after, two police officers rush into the room and handcuff him. He shouts out that he was only there to get a massage - which deputies have since said they doubt. The two-day operation also resulted in the rescue of six human trafficking victims, whose names were not released, Haralson County's sheriff said. In total, the sting led to 26 arrests, including eight prostitution arrests. The charges included prostitution, pandering, and pimping. Three individuals are currently under investigation for human trafficking and drug charges. One agent told FOX 5: 'This kind of operation is really important to us, because, number one, sex buyers are a huge problem in the industry. 'Without sex buyers, there wouldn't be a market for the females to continue to be victimized. 'Second, and probably most importantly for all of us, is the victimization of these females. 'There's not a good scenario for them in this lifestyle, so the goal is to get them out of this lifestyle.' The DoDEA, Department of Defense Education Activity, said it is 'aware of an alleged incident involving a DoDEA employee in the Americas Region.' 'As there are ongoing legal processes, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time. Any questions regarding the incident should be directed to the local law enforcement agency involved.' Earlier in November in a separate operation, prosecutors charged three people with running a high-end brothel network in Boston and northern Virginia, whose customers included elected officials. For the last 13 years, Hovanic was also a chief of staff for Department of Defense schools in the US The video reveals Hovanic telling the woman: 'Can we do a half-hour?' The two-day operation also resulted in the rescue of six human trafficking victims, whose names were not released, Haralson County's sheriff said Other clientele included tech and pharmaceutical executives, lawyers, professors and military officers, though federal prosecutors did not identify any of them. Prosecutors say they paid up to $600 per hour for sexual encounters with predominately Asian women who were being exploited through sex trafficking. Acting U.S. Attorney Josh Levy announced charges against the brothels' alleged operators, Han Lee, 41, and Junmyung Lee, 30, of Massachusetts and James Lee, 68, of California. As well as locations in Massachusetts, Virginia and California being raided, the government have also seized two websites tied to the ring. Speaking at a press conference, Levy said: 'This commercial sex ring was built on secrecy and exclusivity, catering to wealthy and well-connected clientele. 'They are doctors, they are lawyers, they're accountants, they are executives at high-tech companies, pharmaceutical companies, they're military officers, government contractors, professors, scientists. 'Pick a profession, they're probably represented in this case. Business is booming, until today.' Levy continued: 'We're committed to working closely with our federal, state and local partners to hold accountable the people who both ran this ring and the people who fueled the demand for this ring.' According to charging documents, the defendants, led by Han Lee, used high-end apartment complexes as brothels in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, and Fairfax and Tysons, Virginia. In an affidavit, it says that the women were advertised for commercial sex via two websites, under the guise of professional nude photo shoots. The affidavit also shows a text message sent from a phone related to the operation in Massachusetts which includes a 'menu'. According to the document, the 'menu' listed sexual services available, the hourly rate and the women available. The affidavit states that the term 'BB' is a term used in the prostitution industry to refer to unsafe sex, and that 'GFE' relates to a 'Girlfriend Experience'. The document states that this involves a service that 'blurs the boundaries between a financial transaction and a romantic relationship'. A Jewish museum director has written to a pre-eminent Australian theatre company announcing he is tearing up his subscription because of the lack of 'moral clarity' they showed over a 'sickening' onstage pro-Palestinian protest. Daniel Grynberg, 54, will abandon the Sydney Theatre Company after three of their actors wore Palestinian keffiyeh scarves during a curtain call for a performance of the Anton Chekov play The Seagull on Saturday night. While lead actress Sigrid Thornton did not wear the emblem associated with radical Palestinian causes, her castmates Harry Greenwood, Mabel Li and Megan Wilding sported the politicised neckwear at Sydney's wharfside Roslyn Packer Theatre. In his letter, Mr Grynberg, who is a director of the Sydney Jewish Museum and CEO of disability housing provider Specialised Accommodation Solutions, told the theatre company he would've felt 'sickened' had he been in the audience that night. Sydney Theatre Company cast-members for a production of The Seagull made a curtain call wearing keffiyeh scarves 'My two closest cousins in the world outside of Australia (thanks the pruning of my family tree by the Nazis) are two beautiful women who usually live in small farming communities close the Gaza border,' he wrote. He said on October 7 his cousins only survived the murderous incursion by Hamas militants from Gaza into Israel because of a small civil defence team. 'They spent 48 hours in their safe rooms with their children imagining they would die,' he wrote. 'They have been evacuated from their homes and are currently living as displaced persons in their own country. They are both school teachers, and literally hundreds of their friends, neighbours and students have been murdered or kidnapped.' He said his parents, uncle and aunt were at the Sydney Opera House, as subscribers to the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, on October 8 when a 'gang of thugs' gathered outside chanting 'gas the Jews'. Daniel Grynberg, whose relatives include Holocaust survivors, said he was tearing up his subscription to the theatre company because of their lack of 'moral clarity' 'I note that their grandparents, uncles, aunts and first cousins were, in fact, gassed,' he said. 'The event was triggering to say the least.' Mr Grynberg said he supported the actors' right to protest, but what dismayed him was the theatre company's limp response, which was in keeping with a general abandonment of Jews by the 'progressive left'. 'The STC, which has done so very much to show care for so many other minorities and historically disadvantaged groups (First Nations, LGBTQIA, women's voices), has done PRECISELY NOTHING to make this particular minority feel supported,' he wrote. 'As far as I can see, in response to the actors' protest, there has simply been one unidentified 'spokesperson' being quoted in The Australian. Nothing on your website. Nothing on Twitter. Nothing on your socials. 'So until I see or sense a serious response to the greatest slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust, and the most toxic rise of anti-Semitism across the globe, especially by those who drape themselves in the feel-good cultural shield of the Keffiyeh (no cultural appropriation there?), it's goodbye from me.' Mr Grynberg told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday he believes the theatre company and other cultural institutions are 'in a world of pain' because Jewish patrons will be voting with their feet over pro-Hamas stances. Mr Grynberg is a director of the Sydney Jewish Museum and the child of refugees from the Nazi genocide 'They have a major conflagration on their hands and they dont know how to manage it,' he said. 'They have so totally misread the needs of their Jewish subscribers and patrons and donors, and they are trying to sit on the fence. 'They are trying to speak out of both sides of their mouth at the same time and they have a problem on their hands. 'The arts community are all died-in-the wool lefties, who all think Israel is "Zionist genocidal ethnic cleanser", and they feel all so brave wearing a keffiyeh on stage because what's the consequence? 'Jews are not going to come and blow them up but Jews are going to say, "Actually that doesn't sound like a nice night out for me so I would rather spend my $150 on something else."' Mr Grynberg said his relatives did not hear the Palestinian protesters chanting 'gas the Jews' on October 8 but had been told by police to arrive early because of the rally on the steps of the Sydney Opera House. 'NSW Police have made some apologies in that regard but I note no one has been charged,' he said. However, he added that compared to the horror inflicted on Israelis, 'whatever we are putting up with here is annoying and stupid but I have some perspective'. Mr Grynberg's parents both came to Sydney as babies with his grandparents who escaped out of the European concentration camps where millions of Jews were murdered in the Holocaust during WWII. 'Both my parents grew up without aunts or uncles or cousins, [and] in my father's case grandparents,' he said. Daniel Grynberg's letter to the Sydney Theatre Company Dear STC, I am 54 years old. I have been a patron, subscriber, supporter and fellow traveller of the Sydney Theatre Company for over 35 years. My parents have been subscribers for my whole life. And my grandparents, all survivors of the Holocaust and refugees who came to Sydney to rebuild lives were long-time subscribers of to the STC and the Australian Opera and Sydney Symphony. Your databases, donor and customer, will tell you no doubt of the disproportionate interest and support of the arts which comes from our Jewish community. You come to us when you want to raise funds (I recall David Gonski chairing a capital appeal when the Ros Packer Theatre was being established), and we contribute well in excess of our numbers in the population would entail. I cant speak for every Jew in Sydney, but certainly it has been my experience to be brought up in a family which values the arts. Which values freedom of speech. Which values challenges in artistic representation. So Im not going to have a go at you for some actors donning keffiyehs in solidarity with Palestine in respect of the current war. I understand that this was not a choice of the STC, and that it was beyond your control. HOWEVER, you should know the following: 1. If I had been in the audience that night, I would have been sickened. My two closest cousins in the world outside of Australia (thanks the pruning of my family tree by the Nazis) are two beautiful women who usually live in small farming communities close the Gaza border. On 7 October they were lucky to have the infiltrations to their villages stopped by a small civil defence team. They spent 48 hours in their safe rooms with their children imagining they would die. They have been evacuated from their homes and are currently living as displaced persons in their own country. They are both school teachers, and literally hundreds of their friends, neighbours and students have been murdered or kidnapped. 2. On 8 October, before Israel had even responded to the inhuman assaults, we witnessed on the steps of the Sydney Opera House a gang of thugs chanting Gas the Jews. My parents and uncle and aunt were at the Opera House that evening (being subscribers to the Symphony as well as the STC). I note that their parents, uncles, aunts and first cousins were in fact gassed. The event was triggering to say the least. 3. We (Jews) in Australia have felt totally abandoned by the progressive left. Our pain is to be understood or contextualised. And Israeli suffering is ignored. So the STCs actors protest is viewed by me, and by most Sydney Jews in that light. We understand in the words of David Baddiel, that for much of the arts community, and those who consider themselves 'progressive'. 'Jews Dont Count'. The STC which has done so very much to show care for so many other minorities and historically disadvantaged groups (First Nations, LGBTQIA, Womens voices) has done PRECISELY NOTHING to make this particular minority feel supported. As far as I can see in response to the actors protest, there has simply been one unidentified 'spokesperson' being quoted in The Australian. Nothing on your website. Nothing on Twitter. Nothing on your socials. So, as far as this one time subscriber and supporter is concerned, you simply dont care about me. Or Jews. Let alone Israelis. And that is your right. But is it my right to judge you for it. And it is my right to decide where to take my custom. And it is my right to do whatever I can to encourage others to do likewise. And it is my right to remember these things when you next want to try to raise money or sell tickets or seek my support or endorsement in any way. Because as far as I am concerned we are a moment that requires real moral clarity. Certainly if Hamas and its Iranian overlords were to be victorious in their existential battle against Israel, it will not be happy time in Gaza for the type of theatre that the STC and its misguided keffiyeh-wearing actors, champion. So until I see or sense a serious response to the greatest slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust, and the most toxic rise of anti-Semitism across the globe, especially by those who drape themselves in the feel-good cultural shield of the Keffiyeh (no cultural appropriation there?), it's goodbye from me. So long and thanks for all the plays. Advertisement While he said he could 'count on one hand' the anti-Semitic incidents he had experienced in Australia, he believed the 'progressive left' would 'eat itself' by not equally condemning atrocities committed against Jews. 'For the progressive left to not visually and vocally condemn Hamas, the international womens movement to not condemn the raids, for UNICEF not to condemn the abduction of children, for this to be seen by all those progressive institutions as merely another expression of legitimate Palestinian resistance to a brutal occupation is, in my view, morally bankrupt,' he said. He said for the left to pander to such viewpoints 'renders them unelectable'. 'One by one, sensible smart people are getting it and we will leave the Adam Bandts and Lidia Thorpes behind,' he said. 'Thirteen to 15 per cent of people sign up for this crap and that's fine, but you cant win government.' He believes Australians are 'centrists' and although they do not want 'foreign wars' brought into the country, when 'push comes to shove' they would more align with the Jewish community. 'If they have a choice between lining up between me and my community, even if they don't like Jews - and I think by and large Australians don't have problems with Jews - and a bunch of people cheering rapists and baby murderers, most Australians will pick my community,' he said. 'I think the average Australian realises the threat of global Jihadism threatens this country too. 'When we have preachers in western Sydney mosques calling for Jihad in broad Australian accents that's scary to more than just the Jewish community.' While Mr Grynberg did not write his letter for public consumption and had only initially shared it with family members, he is happy for it become more widely read - even if it makes him a political target. 'As far as I am concerned, I am the grandchild of people who stepped out of the fire - concentration camps, refugees, their entire families were murdered,' he said. 'I have had the great privilege of being brought up in Australia with all the luxury and privilege really that entails. 'I think it is incumbent on us to speak responsibly and do what we can to protect this democracy, the civility of this country. I feel a great sense of responsibility but I dont feel scared.' After he appeared on stage wearing the keffiyeh, Greenwood, who is the son of actor and STC foundation director Hugo Weaving, shared a video of the moment stating it was a protest 'against the genocide in Gaza and ongoing occupation of Palestine'. On Monday, the STC apologised for 'any distress caused' by the actors actions. An off-duty Washington DC police officer has been arrested after leading Virginia state troopers on a 120mph car chase, which only ended when he smashed into another car and spun in the road. Peter McCauley, 25, was seen driving his Tesla, with a 28-year-old female passenger, at 95mph in a 55mph zone late on Wednesday night. Troopers attempted to pull him over, but McCauley sped away, heading south on the Interstate 395. McCauley, who joined the Metropolitan Police in 2020, took an exit ramp in Alexandria to try and flee the troopers, reaching speeds of 119mph. He ran a red light, and smashed into a Honda, causing both cars to spin. The moment of impact is captured on surveillance cameras as the Tesla runs a red light and smashed into a Honda at the intersection The Tesla begins to spin, and the Honda is forced off the road Tonight at 11 after the #UGAvsGT game, @7NewsDC is On Your Side pressing MPD for disciplinary policies after a 2nd officer is arrested in 2 weeks. This 2nd arrest comes after Virginia State Police said an off-duty officer led them on a high-speed chase, ending in a crash: pic.twitter.com/eK1qALEsjb Christian Flores (@CFloresNews) November 26, 2023 Peter McCauley, 25, is seen in the early hours of Thanksgiving, having been arrested for the off-duty high-speed chase The 22-year-old driver of the Honda suffered minor injuries and was taken to hospital, as was McCauley's passenger. McCauley was arrested in the early hours of Thanksgiving, and has been relieved of his policing powers. 'On Thursday, November 23, 2023, the Metropolitan Police Department was notified by the Virginia State Police that they arrested Officer Peter McCauley after he was involved in a traffic accident causing injury,' the force said. 'McCauley was off-duty and in a personally-owned vehicle at the time of the crash.' They said that McCauley is now under investigation. 'MPD's Internal Affairs Division responded and immediately revoked the officer's police powers and placed him on non-contact status,' they said. 'The incident is under investigation by MPD's Internal Affairs Division.' The Tesla is pictured spinning wildly, with its headlights pointing over the bridge The Tesla is seen on the bridge, spun the wrong direction with its lights pointing the wrong way They confirmed that he joined the force in June 2020. McCauley's arrest came less than two weeks after another officer was arrested for DUI and resisting arrest. John Bewley was arrested on November 11, having shown up at the scene of a DUI investigation involving his girlfriend Bewley was off-duty at the time, but drove to the scene in a patrol car. Bewley tried to get his girlfriend to leave the scene with him, but police smelled alcohol on Bewley's breath and arrested him too. A Chicago man who served 30 years for the cold-blooded murder of two pregnant women has been charged with murdering his wife just weeks after he was freed. Joseph Wingard, 49, avoided a life sentence because he was just 17 when he gunned down April Fields, 22, and Shedrene D. Handy, 20, in 1991. He went on the run in June this year after the body of his wife Lone P Williams, 60, was found by her son in a pool of blood at the couple's home in South Holland. Williams' family paid an emotional tribute to their mother in August and community groups put up a $5,000 for his recapture. Now he has been charged with first-degree murder after he was arrested by police at the weekend after five months on the run. Joseph turned himself in to police again in South Holland on Saturday night after five months on the run and was charged with first degree murder Lone P Williams was found dead in a pool of blood by her son at the home she shared with Wingard in June, five months after the murderer was released from jail 'It breaks my heart because she cared a lot about your family and you do that to my mom' said daughter Lone M Williams 'It breaks my heart because she cared a lot about your family and you do that to my mom,' said daughter Lone M Williams at a press conference in August. Fields was seven months pregnant, and Handy two months pregnant, when Wingard gunned them down on Super Bowl night in June 1991. He was going out with Fields' best friend at the time and was angry at what he saw as her interference in their relationship. After an argument with his girlfriend he went to the Calumet City apartment where Fields lived and told her that his girlfriend wanted to speak to her outside. As she began walking down the stairs he shot her in the back of the head with a handgun leaving her fatally wounded. He then walked back up to Fields` apartment, where he saw Handy talking on the telephone with his girlfriend. 'I could tell she was afraid, so I knew she knew I shot her,' he told police later. 'So I had to shoot her.' He blasted Handy in the eye, then took $180 from Fields` car outside before returning to the apartment for a third time and shooting Handy again. He was charged with two counts of murder, two additional counts of intentional homicide of unborn children and robbery before being sentenced in 1994. While in jail he joined a pen pal site for prison inmates in which he described himself as 'really a decent guy'. 'I am just looking to meet and greet a nice female, no strings attached,' he said. 'I'm really a decent guy and it's hard meeting someone who can see past the conviction and actually meet the person,' he continued. Wingard in his 2011 profile photo on a prison inmate penpal website Things are never what they seem on the surfice (sic) and inside these walls a human heart beats just like yours.' Williams' family said they got 'bad vibes' from Wingard who they feared was financially exploiting the church assistant after she was granted a settlement from a personal injury lawsuit. Daughter Lone said her brother spotted a car believed to be Wingard's come and go from her driveway long after her murder is thought to have taken place. 'The South Holland police have confirmed that Joseph Wingard shot Ms. Williams several times and moved her deceased body in a bedroom all while living there himself for several days,' the family said in August. 'Joseph Wingard, you are a coward, who targets women and we will find you,' said Early Walker who helped raise the $5,000 reward. In 1991 Wingard flagged down a Chicago police squad car on the South Side and surrendered, and he turned himself in to police again in South Holland on Saturday night. 'He had no relationship with this family,' said the murdered woman's cousin, the Rev D'Arcy Kent. 'When you deal with monsters, such as this guy, that happens.' Fort Johnson, LA (71446) Today Areas of patchy fog early. Cloudy early with scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 71F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Showers and thundershowers this evening, then cloudy with rain likely overnight. Low 56F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%. Brittany Higgins, Bruce Lehrmann and Lisa Wilkinson - the three main players in one of the messiest legal sagas in recent history - sat a few seats apart from one another on Tuesday afternoon. It was the first time the trio has ever been in the same room together. The tension was palpable. In fact, had Ms Higgins not been called to the witness stand to give evidence in the final moments of Tuesday's hearing, the three of them may have awkwardly run into each other on the way out the door of the Sydney courtroom. Ms Higgins swept into the small and crowded Federal courtroom just after 2.30pm alongside her usual entourage - lawyer Leon Zwier and best friend Emma Webster - with her fiance David Sharaz choosing to remain outside. She chose a spot in the front of the room, about four seats away from Wilkinson on the front row. Mr Lehrmann, who completed his evidence earlier in the day, was also in the front row - some nine seats away from Ms Higgins - at the other end of the room to former Project host Wilkinson, whom he is suing for defamation, along with Network Ten. Ms Higgins didn't appear to acknowledge or look at Mr Lehrmann on Tuesday, but she did greet Ms Wilkinson with a long hug after the day's proceedings had finished. Brittany Higgins (front, centre) walks into the Federal Court in Sydney on Tuesday with her lawyer Leon Zwier, best friend Emma Webster (left) and fiance David Sharaz (right) Brittany Higgins gave evidence for about five minutes on Tuesday before court was adjourned The former Liberal staffer was called to the witness stand on Tuesday afternoon after a full day of evidence by Mr Lehrmann, who was cross-examined first by Network Ten's lawyer, Matthew Collins KC, then by Wilkinson's lawyer, Sue Chrysanthou SC. Mr Zwier appeared to whisper in Ms Higgins' ear and ask if she minded getting up in the witness box for the final minutes of the hearing, and she agreed. Ms Higgins wasn't present in court when Mr Lehrmann admitted Network Seven had agreed to pay his rent for a year in exchange for interviews on Spotlight, and when he accused her fiance of sending him a threatening email titled 'coming for you'. She was visibly nervous during her brief appearance in the witness box, where she navigated questions about her height and weight - as a way to measure her intoxication - along with details about her political career up to 2021. Her voice wavered as she explained she was about 5'7" tall and weighed about 60kg in March 2019, when she alleged Bruce Lehrmann raped her in Parliament House. He strongly denies that allegation. She was then asked about her career and told the court she was studying a double degree at university and started working in politics because she really enjoyed it. Bruce Lehrmann finished his cross-examination on Tuesday. He is pictured leaving court Bruce Lehrmann is pictured walking into the Federal Court in Sydney on Tuesday morning 'I was campaigning on my university campus for freedom of speech on campus in relation to political and religious clubs,' Ms Higgins told the court. 'They wouldn't affiliate them, and so I harassed all my local MPs for it, and that was how I first came into contact with a few people in Liberal Party.' Ms Higgins gave evidence for little more than five minutes before court was adjourned to 9.30am on Wednesday, with the court standing while Justice Michael Lee left. It was almost certainly the first time the three of them sat in a room together, but it definitely won't be the last. Ms Higgins smiled, left the witness stand and embraced Wilkinson. She then high-tailed it out of the building. Mr Lehrmann had barely moved from his position on the other side of the room and was clearly more relaxed now the spotlight was off him, with his cross-examination over. Ms Higgins will have to finish being examined by Dr Collins and Ms Chrysanthou, before she is cross-examined by Mr Lehrmann's barrister Steven Whybrow. Wilkinson will then be called to the stand. She is expected to give evidence over three days or more. Lisa Wilkinson is pictured smiling as she left court on Thursday Lisa Wilkinson is represented by Sue Chrysanthou. They are pictured together outside the Federal Court Mr Lehrmann is suing Wilkinson and Ten over an interview with Ms Higgins on The Project on February 15, 2021, during which she first aired her rape allegations against him. He was not named in that broadcast, but he claims he was identified by friends, colleagues and family members as the man who allegedly raped Ms Higgins in Parliament House on March 23, 2019. He denies those allegations. Ten and Wilkinson filed a truth defence, which means they must prove that it is more likely that Mr Lehrmann raped Ms Higgins than not. That differs from a criminal trial, where the Crown must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Mr Lehrmann's version of events has been picked over by barristers with a fine-tooth comb, as Ten's barrister Matthew Collins KC fired questions at him for more than four days. The defamation hearing will resume on Wednesday. The five-year-old girl who drowned after being swept off a rock by a 'sneaker wave' with her grandfather has been identified. Yaretzi Noemi Biorato died and her 54-year-old grandfather Pascal Soriano is missing after the incident on Martin's Beach in California's Half Moon Bay on Saturday. Their heartbroken family paid tribute to her 'beautiful soul' and said she spent 'five bright and beautiful' years on earth loving everyone she met. Yaretzi, from Merced, California, was remembered for her love of unicorns, jewelry, painting her nails, and the color yellow, according to her devastated godfather. Her mother Yesenia Valenzuela wrote on Facebook: 'My babygirl, mommy's always going to love you and remember you . I love you baby girl I miss you so much.' Yaretzi Noemi Biorato, five, died after being swept up on Martin's Beach in California 's Half Moon Bay The little girl's family have paid tribute to the 'beautiful soul' who spent 'five bright and beautiful' on earth In another statement, she wrote: 'My babygurl I miss you so much. Hug your kids tight tell them you love them often. 'This is so hard . I hate it . Pls keep grandpa pascal in your prayers as well he still hasn't been found.' On a GoFundMe, created by the little girl's mom's cousin, the family member wrote: 'I am starting this on behalf of my cousin, Yesenia, who tragically lost her baby girl this past Saturday Nov 25th 2023. 'We lost a beautiful soul unexpectedly, we ask in whatever form that you are able to help so that we are able to lay to rest our beautiful baby girl Yaretzi. 'God called upon her to enter his kingdom after she shared 5 beautiful and bright years of her life with us. 'Please offer respect and condolences to her family she leaves behind, and if you are able to contribute to any foreseeable costs we greatly appreciate it.' The pair were reported in danger around 2 p.m. Saturday when San Mateo County firefighters and the U.S. Coast Guard were called to Martin's Beach Although the girl was rescued and taken to the local hospital for treatment, she was pronounced dead on Sunday San Mateo County firefighters and the U.S. Coast Guard responded to reports that the pair had been hit by a sneaker wave at around 2pm on Saturday on Martin's Beach in California's Half Moon Bay. Jordan Baldueza, deputy commander, Coast Guard Sector San Francisco said: 'The decision to suspend search efforts is one of the hardest decisions to make, but our crews searched for nearly 24 hours without any sightings of the missing person. 'Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends affected by this very tragic event.' Although the girl was rescued and taken to the local hospital for treatment, she was pronounced dead on Sunday. Coast Guard crews scoured over 100 square miles with helicopters and boats in search of her grandfather for around 22 hours before finally calling it off. The California coast, from Point Reyes to Big Sur, has been under a beach hazards advisory all weekend. The National Weather Service warned beachgoers to 'remain out of the water' as 'large, unexpected waves can sweep across the beach without warning, sweeping people into the sea from rocks, jetties, and beaches.' The weather service forecast the worst sneaker waves would be along west to northwest-facing beaches. Tributes poured in for little Yaretzi. Her godfather Jason Salcido wrote: 'Yaretzi, I know there was nothing I could of done. I just wish I could of said goodbye one last time knowing it would be the last. 'There was a last time, I just didn't know it. I had the privilege to be your godfather your Nino, which I will always be. 'I know you loved unicorns, you loved jewelry, you loved painting your nails, you loved yellow, you loved everyone and everyone loved you. 'I was supposed to take care of you but now I hope you watch over me. I miss holding you or holding your hand but I know I'll see you again. 'I don't know if you can hear me but I love you mi hermosa ahijada. I love you mamas. 'Would you hold my hand if I saw you in heaven?' Did YOU see what happened? Police are on the hunt for a pro-Palestine yob who branded Israel supporters 'killers' and 'child molesters' before a crowd of have-a-go heroes shouted him down. Officers from British Transport Police (BTP) are looking for the man in connection with a racially aggravated assault on a train in London on Sunday. Footage posted on social media shows a row breaking out between two men on the train, in which the Palestine activist threatens to 'smack' a pro-Israel supporter 'across the head'. He then turns and shouts to the other passengers, branding them 'clowns', 'donkeys' and 'r***rds' while the brave Israel activist films the incident on his phone. Did YOU see what happened? Email katherine.lawton@mailonline.co.uk The yob gets his phone out to record the crowd and says: 'Say hello guys, say hello that you support f****** killers. There are a lot of [...] absolute r***rds. Absolute jokes with your little stupid posters man.' The have-a-go heroes start heckling the Palestine activist, shouting 'shame on you' and 'you should be ashamed'. Violence appears to break out as the activist launches himself at another passenger but the footage, filmed by a pro-Israel supporter, does not show the scene. It came as more than 100,000 people marched through London in a peaceful protest against anti-Semitism on Sunday. Footage shows a Palestine activist (pictured) branding pro-Israel supporters 'killers' and 'child molesters' British Transport Police are looking to speak to the man in connection with a racially aggravated assault The video shows a row breaking out between two men on a train, in which the Palestine activist threatens to 'smack' the pro- Israel supporter 'across the head' A spokesperson for BTP told MailOnline: 'Detectives are investigating a racially aggravated incident on a Thameslink train from West Hampstead to Mill Hill Broadway yesterday (26 November) at around 17.30pm. 'Anyone who witnessed the incident or has information is asked to please contact the British Transport Police by texting 61016 or by calling 0800 40 50 40, quoting reference 528 of 26 November 2023.' It came after a London bus passenger yelled 'only Jews eat at McDonald's' in a sickening anti-Semitic rant on Armistice Day after interrupting a couple who were discussing the fast food chain's chips. The Metropolitan Police confirmed it was probing the shocking video taken in Kentish Town, Camden, as they warned: 'There is no place in London for hate.' The woman, who was wearing a black bandanna launched into the 'distressing' tirade on Saturday, November 11, when 300,000 people marched through central London in a pro-Palestine protest. The activist brands the crowd 'clowns', 'donkeys' and 'r***rds' as a brave pro-Israel supporter films the incident on his phone Have-a-go heroes start heckling the Palestine activist, shouting 'shame on you' and 'you should be ashamed' More than 100,000 people marched through central London in a peaceful protest against anti-Semitism on Sunday A child is seen holding a banner which reads 'No hate no fear' at the protest on Sunday The march gathering outside the Royal Courts of Justice on Sunday As brave have-a-go heroes filmed her and called out her abusive rant, she continued to be aggressive and took a violent swipe at a woman's phone despite shouting to others: 'Don't touch me.' Pro-Palestinian activists have widely called for people to boycott McDonald's after they reportedly donated free meals to IDF soldiers at the start of the Israel-Hamas war. On Sunday English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson was pepper sprayed by police as he was arrested during Sunday's March Against Anti-Semitism in London after being told by organisers to stay away. He was detained by dozens of officers near the Royal Courts of Justice, where the rally attended by tens of thousands of people started. Photos and video from the scene show the 40-year-old, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, with his eyes partially closed after synthetic pepper spray was used on him. The Metropolitan Police said the substance was used after he 'resisted as officers attempted to put him in handcuffs' having being 'warned repeatedly' it would be sprayed. Mr Robinson had claimed he was attending the rally, which was the biggest protest against anti-Semitism in London since 1936, 'as a journalist', but the march's organisers had raised concerns his attendance would 'cause fear for other participants'. On the day he was seen arguing with officers for around ten minutes outside Soho coffee shop opposite the Royal Courts of Justice before being led away by police. Scotland Yard said it arrested Mr Robinson after he refused to leave the area when asked to by police officers. Armed police would rather face down a combat-trained terrorist than a London gangster because they are less likely to be put in the dock or robbed of doing the job they love, Britain's top police officer declared today. Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has called on officers to be treated more fairly because they often face years of suspension, legal action and even prosecutions over their handling of life and death incidents. Armed police have shot dead six terrorists who launched attacks in London since 2017. None of the officers were arrested or subject to long probes in the aftermath by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). But armed officers from units who have been forced to shoot guns during other incidents in the capital, including targeting organised crime suspects, have been treated differently. Sir Mark said: 'One thing that's really startled me is I've had some of our firearms officers say to me they would rather end up confronting on the streets a well-trained terrorist than a gangster. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley says officers would rather face terrorists than gangsters due to the ramifications legally Jermaine Baker, pictured, was shot to death by armed police in north London as officers tried to foil a plot to spring a gangster from prison. The officer there is still in limbo after 8 years Sudesh Amman pictured on Streatham High Road in south London, moments before he stabbed two members of the public He told The Sun: 'Because even though they would face far more personal danger with the terrorist, they believe they'd get a fair hearing in terms of the legal processes that follow. 'Whereas with a gangster, they feel that campaign groups can influence accountability in a way that leads to something that's unbalanced and lasts forever'. It came after the Home Office launched a review into officers' accountability in such situations. One armed officer, known only as W80, is still in limbo. Eight years on after shooting dead Jermaine Baker, who was trying to spring another criminal from jail. Mr Baker, from Tottenham, north London, was shot at close range while sitting in the passenger seat of a stolen Audi A6 during a 2015 Met Police operation that thwarted a plot to snatch two prisoners from a van outside Wood Green Crown Court. W80 is still waiting for a gross misconduct hearing - despite being exonerated by the CPS and a public inquiry. Sir Mark said: 'An inquest has looked at that shooting and the inquiry was content with integrity. Yet the IOPC have mandated he is now going to go on a gross misconduct hearing and we are eight years post-events. 'Even regardless of the rights and wrongs of the IOPC decision, to have someone's career in suspended animation with that stress for eight years is not acceptable.' In September soldiers were offered to support armed police in London after dozens of Met officers stood down from their duties and handed in their guns when a colleague was charged with murder. PC Paul Fisher has been cleared of dangerous driving following the crash in Streatham Terrorists Usman Khan and Sudesh Amman were both shot dead by police. The officers faced no action Sir Mark last week hit out after one of his officers was dragged through the courts for four years over a crash on the way to a terror attack. A jury acquitted PC Paul Fisher, 46, of dangerous driving after he he crashed into three vehicles while racing to a stabbing spree carried out by extremist Sudesh Amman in Streatham, south London, in February 2020. Scotland Yard commissioner Sir Mark said it 'cannot be right' that an officer who made honest mistakes while rushing to a live terror incident faced a criminal trial nearly four years later. The system has to change or it would undermine the confidence of officers to keep the public safe, he added. 'No other country in the world would haul one if its most highly trained officers before a court for responding to one of the most serious incidents we can deal with and doing their utmost to preserve life,' an agitated Sir Mark said outside Southwark Crown Court following the verdict. 'Thank god for the common sense of British juries.' PC Fisher made a 'split-second error' when he lost control of his unmarked BMW X5 at four times the speed limit and smashed into the back of a taxi driver's Toyota, before hitting a Ford Fiesta and a wall. The officer described the moment he discovered Amman had been knifing people in the street as 'pandemonium' and said he drove at such high speed because he feared the terrorist had been wearing a suicide vest. The former Royal Marine conceded that he 'let people down' by crashing the car, but denied dangerous driving. Police officers racing to the scene of an emergency are exempt from certain driving laws, including following the speed limit, obeying traffic lights and keep left signs. Confronting footage has captured the moment a man and woman were arrested at a busy service station over a suspected stolen car. Video shows a young woman being pinned to the ground with her hands behind her back by multiple police officers at a busy petrol station on Railway Street, Rockdale, in Sydney's southwest, about 2.50pm on Tuesday. The woman, dressed in a midriff top and shorts, can be heard screaming out to a man who is also being restrained by other officers. Video shows a young woman being pinned to the ground with her hands behind her back by multiple police officers at a busy petrol station on Railway Street, Rockdale, in Sydney 's southwest, about 2.50pm on Tuesday She yells out 'baby' and 'please' multiple times during the tense incident. At one point, one of the officers places a knee on her back as she lays down flat on the concrete. A man can be seen also pinned to the ground before he struggles to his feet and then falls over again, as police try to contain him. Stunned onlookers gathered on the footpath at the entrance to the service station while the sirens of several police cars wailed in the background. The man and woman were then taken to Kogarah Police Station. A man can be seen also pinned to the ground before he struggles to his feet and then falls over again, as police try to contain him A teenage driver has died and three of his friends are injured after a horror car crash in Western Australia. The 17-year-old was killed when the Toyota LandCruiser he was driving left the Indian Ocean Drive near Leeman, about 260km north of Perth, and flipped, rolling several times. An 18-year-old woman who was travelling in the vehicle was airlifted to Royal Perth Hospital with serious injuries. Two male passengers, 1hed 16 and 20, were taken to Jurien Bay Hospital by ambulance. Police are investigating the crash. Feminists are in uproar after a library displayed pro-trans placards from an activist group which heckled JK Rowling during a women's rights conference. Glasgow Women's Library has been blasted for showing off the inflammatory posters, which allegedly include signs from Cabaret Against The Hate Speech. The group sparked outrage after staging a protest outside the the FiLiA conference in Glasgow in October, hosted by Harry Potter author Rowling, with activists holding boards reading 'keep TERFs out' while chanting 'trans women are women'. On Saturday, the library - which boasts of 'supporting thousands of women across Scotland every year' online - displayed placards, including 'trans women are women', 'trans people make Glasgow' and 'trans rights are women's rights'. But the display, which is part of the venue's 16 Days of Activism exhibition, ignited fury from feminists, who are now demanding women boycott the Landressy Street institution. Signs on display at the Glasgow Women's Library have sparked outrage from feminists Some of the placards were allegedly used by a pro-trans group that heckled JK Rowling and other women's rights campaigners during a conference in Glasgow last month JK Rowling was hosting the FiLiA conference in October when activists staged a protest holding signs saying 'keep TERFs out' Lashing out on X, formerly Twitter, one critic raged: 'I cancelled my membership. I've been a member for years but I cannot condone this. It's scandalous. And we marched for the suffragettes in 2018. I'm shocked, disgusted and downright appalled. Cancel their funding.' In a video one person said the library was for 'women only' and blasted the site for giving out a 'free pass' to transwomen, adding: 'Tell me, where's the justice in that? So bye bye women's library, you don't have me as a member anymore. I have cancelled my membership, cancelled my donation. You're all absolutely disgraceful. 'Honestly, I hope other people like me pull their donations and watch you go under. You do not deserve to be here.' A third furious feminist on X tweeted: 'The Glasgow Women's Library is now The Glasgow Trans Library,' before adding: 'They've lost all sense of being and completely forgotten why they were founded.' The library says it is the 'only accredited museum in the UK dedicated to womens history'. The site also hosts a number of 'women-only' events and workshops that are 'inclusive of trans and intersex women, as well as non-binary and gender fluid people', its website adds. But a critic on social media hit out and tweeted: 'It makes me feel a deep disappointment and anger that a womens library in Glasgow would do this. I love libraries, books, women, and Glasgow and yet here is something I have come to despise. Awful.' Caroline Ffiske, one of the directors of Conservatives for Women, said her movement was 'really worried' that they were 'losing ground' to pro-trans activists and that nobody was 'standing up for simple science'. She added the Glasgow Women's Library had made a 'mockery' of itself by saying its 'women-only' events and workshops were also open to trans women. 'A lot of women feel like we are losing,' she said. 'More people have to ask themselves do you want to live in society without single-sex women spaces and where vulnerable young people are irreversibly harmed by our NHS? Stand up and say no. ' Glasgow Women's Library has come under fire for its display over the weekend People blasted the library online for the display The library previously tweeted this as part of the 'Trans Day of Remembrance' READ MORE HERE: JK Rowling says she would 'happily do two years in jail' if a future Labour government makes it a hate crime to call someone by wrong pronouns Advertisement About 70 activists from Cabaret Against The Hate Speech and the Glasgow Trans Rally had attempted to shutdown the three-day event Anonymous organisers behind the Glasgow Trans Rally had attempted to shut down the three-day FiLiA conference, which features people from around the world to discuss topics including female genital mutilation. The venue Platform cancelled the event 12 hours before it was due to start amid a backlash online. But solicitors citing the Equality Act were able to reverse that decision. Protesters heckled attendees as they arrived at the venue, with protesters holding up signs saying 'keep TERFS out of Glasgow and 'transphobia kills and hurts all women'. The term 'TERF' is used to describe people whose views on gender identity are seen as hostile towards transgender people. JK Rowling. an outspoken critic of the trans movement - has previously faced online pile-ons from activists for her views. Speaking at the conference, the world famous author insisted she was prepared to 'take the hit' from campaign groups. 'I will always be able to feed my family Ive looked around and realised that it has to be someone who can take the hit. And it has to be me. I can afford it,' Rowling said. She added: 'This has never been about trans rights. This is about womens rights and activists demands to dismantle those rights. The protesters gathered outside the event with signs saying 'no feminism without trans women' The author and other attendees at a conference in Glasgow were barracked by trans activists. Pictured: Rowling aimed her ire at one particular male protester, labelling him a 'p****' 'I have nothing but profound sympathy for trans women who have experienced male violence. I want trans people to be safe. I just dont want women and girls to be any less safe.' As well as speaking at the event, Rowling also slammed protesters online, calling one of them a 'p***k'. Using footage of one of Cabaret's members singing along to Lily Allens song 'F*** You' as part of the protest, Rowling tweeted: 'Inside the venue: women from 35 different countries discuss their sex-based issues and concerns, including the harassment and intimidation they face from men. 'Outside the venue, this p***k.' MailOnline has approached Glasgow Women's Library for comment. This is the terrifying moment masked thieves brazenly barged into a village shop and tied up female staff with cable ties before jumping over the counter and raiding the store. Shocking footage shows two balaclava-clad men running into the shop in Etwall, Derbyshire before a woman is dragged across the tile floor and held down. One thief is seen passing cable ties to the other who has terrified the shopkeeper into staying on the ground. The video then cuts to show the thugs leaping over the counter and ransacking the shelves at speed. 'They tied up my hands and my feet and left me there for five minutes and then they jumped over and nicked all the stock,' store manager Abbie Saville told ITV News. 'People think you just work in a shop and it's not dangerous - but it is, it does get dangerous.' Shocking footage shows two balaclava-clad men running into a village shop in Derbyshire Store manager Abbie Saville said: 'They tied up my hands and my feet and left me there for five minutes' A woman is dragged across the tile flooring and held down to be tied up with cable ties When questioned about challenging the thieves, the shopkeeper said: 'Never do it, until you experience trauma like this do not go back at them, let them take whatever. 'Stock can be replaced but your life can't.' Derbyshire Police said a man was charged, pleaded guilty to the robbery and appeared at Derby Crown Court in August 2018 where he was jailed for 72 months. A second man was also charged with the same offence but no evidence was found and the case was dropped. New figures by the shop workers union USDAW reveal half of retail staff have no confidence that reporting serious abuse to the police will have an impact, according to ITV News. London store manager Yasmin Mohamed said: 'We're here to earn a living not to experience the threat we have to go through. The abuse whether it's physical or emotional, none of us deserve this. 'The police response is not as great as it should be. When the police come it feels as if the retail workers are not the priority.' Britain's 1billion shoplifting epidemic has led to a major spike in demand for security guards as retail chains crackdown on thieves and abusive thugs. Phil Bentley, boss of outsourcer Mitie, said he had seen revenues jump due to the need for security guards. The video shows the thugs leaping over the counter and ransacking the shelves at speed One of the thieves is seen raiding the shelves behind the till during the terrifying incident He said the problem was placing 'unprecedented pressures' on retailers, which were also seeking new technology to catch and prosecute offenders. The FTSE-listed company employs 7,000 people in retail and helped set up Project Pegasus, which will see chains including Tesco, Sainsbury's, Waitrose and Next share CCTV footage of serial thieves. The demand for store security helped Mitie raise its revenues by 11 per cent in the past six months. Recent figures from the Co-op revealed almost 300,000 incidents, often involving abuse, violence and anti-social behaviour, at its stores this year. And the retail giant complained that officers failed to attend four in five of these incidents, despite promises from forces and ministers to treat shop thefts more seriously. The shoplifting epidemic often involves organised criminal gangs stealing high-value electricals, alcohol and cigarettes. The crime has now extended to everyday items from meat, cheese and laundry liquid to nappies and baby formula amid rising living costs. Co-op said it has seen an average of around 1,000 incidents a day across its 2,400 stores so far this year, which is up by 43 per cent on last year. These include over 1,130 physical assaults, up 35 per cent, against store workers, and more than 36,000 incidents, up 39 per cent, of anti-social behaviour and abuse. The release of more hostages by Hamas to Israel last night saw officials agree to extend their ceasefire by another two days as both parties continue to negotiate terms to free yet more captees. But hopes that Hamas could eventually return all hostages to Israel without issue were dashed last night when it emerged that as many as 40 people taken during the ruthless October 7 attacks - including ten-month-old Kfir Bibas - are no longer under the captivity of the Palestinian group. IDF spokesman Avichay Adraee yesterday declared Kfir, his four-year-old brother Ariel and mother Shiri had been taken to Khan Younis in southern Gaza and handed to elements of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) - a jihadist group that seeks to destroy Israel and has historically rejected any diplomatic engagement with Tel-Aviv. Hamas officials also acknowledged that several of the hostages were now in PIJ custody, and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, who led the effort to broker the ceasefire, said they 'may never be able to reach them'. And in yet another layer of complexity, some Israelis are feared to have been scooped up by civilian gangs who capitalised on the chaos of October 7 to seize hostages of their own. The Qatari Prime Minister said yesterday that Hamas must locate the remaining hostages whom he said were being held by 'civilians and gangs'. 'If they get additional women and children, there will be an extension,' Sheikh Mohammed said. 'We don't yet have any clear information how many they can find... one of the purposes [of the pause] is they will have time to search for the rest of the missing people.' Baby Kfir (pictured) had just learned to walk when he, along with his brother Ariel, four, and his mother Shiri, 32, were taken from his family's home in Kibbutz Nir Oz Shiri Silberman Bibas, and sons Ariel, four, and Kfir, who are missing along with their husband/father Jordan (Yarden) Bibas after being taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Israel-Hamas conflict Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group gunmen are seen in the West Bank A woman walks along an alley near graffiti showing the logo of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, who led the effort to broker the ceasefire, said there is 'no clear information how many (hostages) Hams can find... one of the purposes [of the pause] is they will have time to search for the rest of the missing people' Israeli tanks are seen operating in the Gaza Strip Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), which seeks the destruction of Israel, has fought repeated battles with the Israeli military in recent years and has always rejected any political compromise. Hamas and PIJ are both militarised groups, but they differ in origins and focus. Hamas is a political and social movement with an armed wing, and governs the Gaza Strip. PIJ, on the other hand, is an independent jihadist group with closer ties to Iran. Unlike Hamas, PIJ is not involved in governance and concentrates on armed resistance. The two organisations are in competition in Gaza - but both are in opposition to Israel. Palestinian Islamic Jihad's chief, Ziad al-Nakhala, says his organisation remains opposed not only to normalising relations with Israel, but also to the entire peace process that started with the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt in 1978. 'We affirm that our resistance continues, and the Islamic Jihad Movement, born from the spirit of Islam, still perseveres in its path. It has not compromised and will not surrender to delusions,' he said. Baby Kfir had just learned to walk when he, along with his brother Ariel, four, and his mother Shiri, 32, was taken from his family's home in Kibbutz Nir Oz during Hamas' incursion on October 7. During the deadly attack on Israel, Shiri, her husband Yarden, 34, and the two young boys desperately hid in a safe room armed only with a pistol, only to be taken out as Hamas gunmen smashed down their door. The image of the two young boys being carried by their weeping mother, Shiri, as they were marched from their homes was one of the most striking to be published in the early days of the Israel-Hamas war. Yarden's fate is unknown, and it is believed that he is either dead or one of the roughly 200 hostages remaining in Hamas custody. But Shiri and the children are now thought to be in the custody of PIJ. Their family said in a statement last night: 'We are experiencing moments of great uncertainty. The realisation that we will not get the hug we wished for leaves us speechless.' It remains to be seen how closely Hamas and PIJ will coordinate on the treatment and potential release of the hostages, though Hamas official Osama Hamdan yesterday told Qatar's Al-Arabi news channel the two groups were 'preparing hostage lists'. But IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari later declared that Hamas will still bear responsibility for any and all Israeli hostages. 'Responsibility for the kidnapped people in general, including members of the Bibas family, who are detained by the factions in the Gaza Strip, lies with Hamas alone,' he said. Tal Goldstein-Almog, 9, (pictured) was seen being cradled by his loved ones after he and the other hostages arrived back in Israel Agam Goldstein-Almog, 17, (pictured, centre) is embraced by loved ones in Israel last night after spending weeks as a hostage One as-yet-unidentified hostage was seen leaving Hamas custody in a wheelchair, while several others were seen in bright pink clothes yesterday Israel said Hamas had returned 11 more hostages from the Gaza Strip on Monday, bringing to 69 the total of Israeli and foreign hostages the Palestinian group has freed since Friday under the truce. The White House and Qatari negotiators confirmed on Monday the original four day pause in fighting had been extended for two more days, while the Israeli prime minister's office said the government approved the addition of 50 female prisoners to its list of Palestinians for potential release if additional Israeli hostages are freed. Hamas said it had sought to revise terms under which it would free hostages beyond the women and children it has already released. 'We hope the Occupation (Israel) abides (by the agreement) in the next two days because we are seeking a new agreement, besides women and children, whereby other categories that we have that we can swap,' Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya told Al Jazeera late on Monday. That, he said, would entail 'going towards an additional time period to continue swapping people at this stage'. Among hostages Hamas still holds are fathers and husbands of those it has freed in recent days. Israel previously said it would extend the truce by one day for every 10 more hostages released, providing some respite from the war. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains resolute in his intentions to crush Hamas, declaring his forces would resume its offensive 'with all of our might' once the truce expires. After the Qatari-brokered deal was agreed last week, Netanyahu said the goals to 'eliminate Hamas and get the hostages back' would continue unhindered irrespective of when the truce finally comes to a close. 'At the end of the day we will return every one,' he said of the hostages, adding that 'we are continuing until the end, until victory. Nothing will stop us.' The UK and Greece are embroiled in a major diplomatic meltdown today after Rishi Sunak snubbed a meeting with his counterpart amid a flare-up over the Elgin Marbles. No10 abruptly dropped planned talks with Kyriakos Mitsotakis last night after he had ramped up public demands for the return of the ancient artefacts. And Downing Street ramped up the tensions again today, accusing the Greek PM of breaking a promise by grandstanding on the issue. 'They are welcome and able to make those positions known to us in private, as they have done before,' the PM's spokesman said. 'It is our view that for far too long constant attempts to relitigate in public the long settled issue of the ownership of the marbles has cast a shadow over an otherwise productive relationship with Greece and that those conversations are best had in private. 'Those were the assurances that were provided to us in advance of this meeting. Those assurances were not adhered to and you saw the subsequent action that was taken.' In an unusual open rebuke overnight, Mr Mitsotakis said he was 'annoyed' the discussions had been cancelled 'hours' before they were due to take place. He had used a BBC interview on Sunday to compare the situation with the marbles to the Mona Lisa being 'cut in half'. The spat could derail delicate negotiations that have been going on behind the scenes for a loan deal between the British Museum - which the government insists legally owns the marbles - and the Greeks. Rishi Sunak (left) has snubbed talks with the Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (right) over his demand for the return of the Elgin Marbles Athens has long demanded the return of the Parthenon Sculptures, which were removed from Greece by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century, when he was the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire Athens has long demanded the return of the Parthenon Sculptures, which were removed from Greece by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century, when he was the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. Mr Mitsotakis said on Sunday he planned to raise the issue during meetings with Mr Sunak and Sir Keir during his visit to London. He told the BBC that he would 'meet both Keir Starmer and of course the Prime Minister' to discuss the return of sculptures which he said were 'essentially stolen'. Mr Mitsotakis said British possession of the Marbles was a form of cultural vandalism akin to 'cutting the Mona Lisa in half'. Downing Street responded: 'Obviously that's not something we would agree with. 'These were legally acquired at the time, they're legally owned by the trustees of the museum. We support that position and there's no plan to change the law which governs it.' The PM's spokesman raised eyebrows yesterday by refusing to confirm that the talks would happen. And last night it was confirmed that they were off. 'There's no point the PM having the meeting if this is what it is about,' a Tory source said. A Government source said Mr Mitsotakis was offered a meeting with deputy PM Oliver Dowden instead - but he declined. Mr Mitsotakis said in a statement: 'I express my annoyance that the British Prime Minister cancelled our planned meeting just hours before it was due to take place.' 'Greece's positions on the issue of the Parthenon Sculptures are well known. I had hoped to have the opportunity to discuss them with my British counterpart. Anyone who believes in the rightness and justice of his positions is never afraid of confronting arguments,' he said. However, the Greek PM did discuss the issue with Sir Keir last night. A Labour source insisted the issue was not the 'focal point' of the meeting, adding: 'They talked about the importance of close cooperation in relation to wider European security, migration and climate action and the important cultural links between both countries.' Tory sources have criticised Sir Keir Starmer after he indicated last week that Labour would not 'stand in the way' of their return to Greece 'Our position on this is clear - the Elgin Marbles are part of the permanent collection of the British Museum and belong here. It is reckless for any British politician to suggest that this is subject to negotiation.' The Greek PM did discuss the issue with Sir Keir last night. A Labour source insisted the issue was not the 'focal point' of the meeting British Museum chairman George Osborne, the former chancellor, has previously said he is exploring ways for the Elgin Marbles to be displayed in Greece, with speculation that this could involve a loan deal in which part of the sculptures would be sent to Athens. In a round of interviews this morning, Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: 'The Deputy Prime Minister offered to meet the Greek prime minister today and it proved not possible to make that happen. 'That's a matter of regret. That offer was made. 'But the Government set out its position about the Elgin Marbles very clearly, which is they should stay as part of the permanent collection of the British Museum.' Asked on BBC Breakfast whether it amounted to a snub by Mr Sunak, Mr Harper said: 'I've set out the position. I can keep repeating it.' Labour sources said that Sir Keir, whose Holborn and St Pancras constituency is home to the British Museum, would not 'stand in the way' of a loan deal. A Labour spokesperson said: 'Strong cultural and historical partnerships between countries are important to ensure the British Museum, and other UK cultural institutions, can maintain their world leading status. 'The next Labour Government will hear the case from the British Museum and its chair on any proposed changes to the Heritage Act as it stands. We've no current plans to change it.' A heartbreaking photo taken moments before an elderly man died on a family trip to the Great Barrier Reef has emerged, showing him smiling with his son. Adrian Meyer, from Angaston in South Australia, died after he and a group of snorkellers were swept away by a strong current over the reef last Monday. The 71-year old was with his son, Nicholas Meyer, and daughter Angela Henson about 60km off the coast northeast of Cairns when disaster struck. Mr Meyer had travelled to Cairns to see the World Heritage Area as part of a belated 70th birthday present. Just moments before the tragedy struck, Mr Meyer (right) gave a thumbs up in a photo alongside his son Nicholas (left) Dangerous weather conditions had swept the snorkelers far from the boat and a strong current prevented them from swimming back. During the struggle with the current, it's believed Mr Meyer suffered a medical episode and was boarded onto a rescue vessel which sank a short time later. A touching photo taken on board the boat just before the tragic incident unfolded shows Mr Meyer smiling while giving a thumbs up alongside his son. Nicholas said he initially had plans to return to Cairns to collect his father's remains but had since had a change of heart. 'My poor mum doesn't fly and we're trying to support her right now,' he told News Corp. 'She needs us. With all the traumatic events that have happened we've decided it'd be better to stay.' Adrian Meyer (pictured) died after he and a group of snorkellers were swept away by a strong current over the Great Barrier Reef It is understood Mr Meyer will be cremated a later stage but the family have not yet decided where they would like to place his ashes. 'It's still raw,' Nicholas said. 'Dad was an avid traveller and so am I. We think we'd like to continue his memory by taking a little piece of him everywhere we go though, so we'll see.' Ms Henson described her father as a 'loving grandfather' with a keen interest in the outdoors. 'He always said, 'I love you.' His connection to nature really struck me', she said. 'He always loved to rattle off names of coral and fish.' Ms Henson was adopted at five weeks old and only met her biological father five years ago. Angela Henson (left) had only met her father five years ago after being adopted out at five weeks old The 71-year old was with his son, Nicholas Meyer, and daughter Angela Henson about 60km off the coast northeast of Cairns when disaster struck Nicholas said his father was a 'staunch environmentalist' and had been fascinated by the Great Barrier Reef. 'We'd love to do something for conservation. That's something that's important for dad's legacy,' he said. 'But we're not sure. We're still trying to grieve and get over the shock of everything.' Mr Meyer's memorial will be held Thursday, December 7, in the Barossa Valley. His death is being investigated by the Northern Coroner and Workplace Health and Safety. A brazen cleaner was caught stashing valuables in her bra while cleaning a British family's room at a four-star hotel in Benidorm - after they laid a crafty trap to catch her in the act. Alastair and Sue Conner had forked out 5,500 for the all-inclusive package holiday, staying at the Magic Natura Resort in Benidorm with their 15-year-old son Jack in September. But after packets of cigarettes and perfume bottles allegedly started disappearing, the family from Stockton, Durham, took swift action and installed secret cameras in their room to solve the mystery. Determined to catch the thief in the act, the couple took photos of their belongings before heading out for the day, and Alastair hid his laptop on the dressing table, set to record. The parents-of-three could not believe their eyes when the footage appeared to capture their cleaner rummaging through their belongings and apparently pocketing perfume and cigarettes while cleaning their room the following day. Alastair and Sue Conner, from Stockton, travelled with their 15-year-old son to Benidorm, Spain, and were shocked to find their personal belongings allegedly disappearing A woman believed to be the cleaner was seen appearing to go through the couple's bags 'We bought 400 fags on the plane and all the fags had gone within a week. I thought something isn't right,' said Sue Conner Video footage appears to show a woman dressed in white overalls entering the room and making a beeline for a stack of bags in the corner. She then moves to check around the bed area before the video cuts. The woman is then seen looking through a white shopping bag in the room, before removing what appears to be a packet of cigarettes and putting it in her pocket. Later, the woman is seen coming out of another room and appearing to put something down her shirt. The couple believe around 750 worth of items were taken from their hotel room - including 385 worth of cash, 100 worth of perfume and 260 cigarettes. Sue, a 53-year-old finance director, said: 'I noticed when we'd come back to the room stuff was missing, my bags had moved and I thought someone's been in my knicker drawer. 'So we decided to set some cameras up but the batteries weren't lasting. We thought something's definitely going on. 'We ended up taking photographs when we went out to show what the room was like and when we came back we noticed my bags had been moved. This was going on from practically day one. Things weren't in their place. 'I'd just bought a new bottle of Gucci perfume from the airport and that was gone. 'We bought 400 fags on the plane and all the fags had gone within a week. I thought something isn't right. 'And our son Jack said his clothes had been moved in the wardrobe. He had a necklace with a gold pendant with a ring on it and that was gone. Money, cigarettes, perfume - it was all gone.' After setting up a covert recording system to uncover whatever was going on, the couple returned from lunch to view the footage. And the horrified pair, who booked their holiday through Jet2, could not believe their eyes as they watched a staff member appear to search through their luggage for valuable items before putting some items in her pocket. Alastair, 47, said: 'It wasn't until coming on until the end of the holiday that I thought I'd set my laptop up. 'The first day we didn't get anything because it was a different cleaner then two days before we were due to leave, we went out to lunch, came back and I checked my laptop and we'd caught her. 'We never expected a staff member to rob us. I went from excitement to disbelief. 'I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I was disgusted.' Sue added: 'I was mortified. She's gone through our private drawers. We felt violated.' Alastair said: 'We've just spent 5,500 on a holiday that we didn't even enjoy.' In later footage, she appeared to put something down her top. The family say 100 worth of perfume disappeared Alastair (L) had the idea of setting up his laptop to record the room to catch the thief in the act Jet2 said: 'We are extremely sorry and disappointed to hear about this experience, and we understand that the hotel has taken appropriate action with the staff member in question. 'We have since been in contact with Mr and Mrs Conner to apologise, and to provide an appropriate gesture of goodwill.' Jet2 offered the couple 'an appropriate gesture of goodwill' - but the couple say they were only offered the 750 that was reportedly stolen and they won't accept anything less than a full refund. Magic Natura and the Spanish police have been approached for comment. Legendary NYC news anchor Pablo Guzman, dubbed 'the son of the Bronx', has died aged 73. Guzman died on Sunday morning from a sudden heart attack after decades of reporting on politics, crime, and the historic evolution of the city. He leaves behind his wife Debbie, his children Daniel and Angela, and his mother Sally. NYC Mayor Eric Adams paid tribute to the legendary New Yorker on X, formerly Twitter. He wrote: 'Pablo Guzman was a son of the Bronx who spoke truth to power and held leaders to account. Guzman died on Sunday morning from a sudden heart attack aged 73 after decades of reporting on politics, crime, and the historic evolution of the city CBS 2 reporter Tony Aiello called Guzman the 'real deal'. 'Pablo Guzman packed 150 years worth of life into 73,' Aiello wrote on X, formerly Twitter NYC Mayor Eric Adams wrote on X: 'Pablo Guzman was a son of the Bronx who spoke truth to power and held leaders to account' 'Our city is a better place because of the work he did and he will be truly missed. Rest in peace.' Guzman's most recent role was as a senior correspondent for CBS. He worked at WNEW-TV Channel 5 starting from 1984 before taking on a role at WNBC in 1992. During his time at WNBC-TV, Guzman received an Emmy Award for his reporting on the murder of a New York City Police Department officer. He also interviewed a number of A-list celebrities, such as Spike Lee, Robert DeNiro, Sting, Carlos Santana and John Fogerty. He then moved to CBS 2 a few years later, where he stayed for around 16 years. Guzman graduated from Bronx High School of Science and he attended the State University of New York at Old Westbury. He became a founder of the Young Lords, a street gang formed by Puerto Ricans in Chicago that evolved into a diverse revolutionary civil rights group active during the 1960s and '70s. Guzman leaves behind his wife Debbie, his children Daniel and Angela, and his mother Sally Pablo (Yoruba) Guzman, Minister of Information for the Puerto Rican activist group Young Lords, gestures at a news conference in the First Spanish United Methodist Church, which the Young Lords had taken over, in New York City on January 3, 1970 Fred Hampton, left, chairman of the Black Panthers, speaks during a press conference with the Young Lords on October 10, 1969, at Holy Covenant United Methodist Church in Chicago. With Hampton are, from left, Pablo 'Yoruba' Guzman, a Young Lord from New York; Jose 'Cha-Cha' Jimenez, founder of the Young Lords of Chicago; and Mike Klonsky, a spokesman for Students for a Democratic Society It campaigned for Puerto Rican independence, freedom of political prisoners, and withdrawal of military troops from Puerto Rico, Vietnam, and other areas. The Young Lords also advocated for change in their local communities. Guzman also wrote for several publications, including Billboard, Rolling Stone, the Village Voice and the New York Daily News. 'The veteran journalist covered crime, local politics, the courts, and, of course, his beloved New York Yankees,' CBS 2 wrote in an article announcing his death. 'I never knew what was going to come out of his mouth,' CBS 2 anchor Cindy Hsu added. 'Pablo was so original, and is going to be missed,' Hsu said. 'He knew everybody.' News Director Sarah Burke said Guzman was able to bring out 'the best in people', noting that 'people really trusted him'. CBS 2 reporter Tony Aiello called Guzman the 'real deal'. 'Pablo Guzman packed 150 years worth of life into 73,' Aiello wrote on X. 'His reporting pulsed with a vitality earned on the streets of El Barrio. He covered historic events, and with the Young Lords he authored a unique chapter of NYC's own history. Pablo was the real deal. Rest in peace.' Long-awaited legislation to ban the creation of new leasehold houses in Britain was welcomed today by two women who have tirelessly campaigned for reform. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill was finally introduced to Parliament yesterday, making its first step on the path to becoming legislation amid hopes from Housing Secretary Michael Gove that it will pass by the next general election. Other than in exceptional circumstances, new houses in England and Wales will be freehold from the outset, under the planned reforms. But campaigners remain concerned that the sale and purchase of leasehold flats will still not be banned. Rip-off charges will also be tackled, with a consultation on capping existing ground rents, to ensure leaseholders are protected from making payments that require no benefit or service in return and can cause issues when homeowners want to sell up. Former leaseholder Katie Kendrick said the news was 'momentous' and followed 'relentless' work by the National Leasehold Campaign (NLC) which she founded. Fellow campaigner Jo Darbyshire, also a victim of the freehold scandal, praised it as a 'huge step forward for leaseholders' but warned that 'the devil will be in the detail'. * Hit by the leasehold scandal? Please email: mark.duell@mailonline.co.uk * Paediatric nurse Katie Kendrick faced a huge bill to buy the freehold on her home in Cheshire Jo Darbyshire faced a five-figure sum to buy the freehold of her new-build home near Bolton Ms Kendrick is a paediatric nurse from Ellesmere Port in Cheshire who bought a leasehold home from Bellway only to find she faced a huge bill to buy the freehold. The mother was told she could buy the freehold on the new 214,000 property for between 2,000 and 4,000 after two years. But just 18 months after moving in, she received a letter saying the rights had been sold by house builder Bellway to an investment company known as Adriatic Land 4. The firm quoted Mrs Kendrick 13,350 when she asked about buying the freehold on the four-bedroom detached home. But bosses refused to explain why the price had risen so much. The cost was later cut to about 8,000 including legal fees and she purchased this around three years ago but Mrs Kendrick said many neighbours on her estate with more expensive ground rents could not afford such a price and were now having difficulty selling their properties. She added that some residents on her estate have also had to pay 300 to build an extension and 400 for the permission to switch from carpet to wooden floors. Ms Kendrick, who is also a Labour councillor in Cheshire, said she would continue campaigning for a commonhold system for new flats, which would see occupants jointly owning and having responsibility for a building with no expiring lease. But she welcomed the positive movement on the Bill, telling MailOnline today: 'To see this Bill introduced to parliament is momentous. Leaseholder service charges have risen 51.7% since 2018, according to Hamptons. Much of this increase came between 2018 and 2019, which predominantly reflected the large number of fire safety measures which were put in place in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster Other data from Hamptons shows that the average one-bed service charge stands at 1,287 per year, the average two-bed costs 1,326 and the average three-bed costs 1,876 'NLC, with our 28,000 members, and the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership have worked relentlessly to get to this point. What does the ban on creating new leasehold houses in England and Wales actually mean? A ban on the creation of new leasehold houses in England and Wales was set out in reforms outlined in the King's Speech earlier this month. Other than in exceptional circumstances, new houses will be freehold from the outset. Rip-off charges will also be tackled, with a consultation on capping existing ground rents, to protect leaseholders from making payments that require no benefit or service in return and can cause problems when homeowners want to sell up. The reforms aim to make it easier for leaseholders to purchase their freehold and tackle punitive service charges. The changes could make it easier for people to sell their properties and get mortgages. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill aims to improve homeownership for millions of leaseholders in England and Wales, by making it cheaper and easier for more leaseholders to extend their lease, buy their freehold and take over management of their building. The standard lease extension term will be increased from 90 years to 990 years for both houses and flats, with ground rent reduced to 0. This will ensure that leaseholders can enjoy secure ground rent-free ownership of their properties for years to come, without the hassle and expense of future lease extensions. The current leasehold system leaves many homeowners trapped in properties or facing high costs to buy their freeholds, according to the Government. In one case it highlighted, someone bought a flat in 2008 with a 300 ground rent and a 10-year doubling clause, meaning the homeowner now pays 600. The homeowner was quoted 25,000 to extend the lease. In another case, a homeowner who bought a new-build flat in 2020 has seen their ground rent rise from 350 to more than 450 per year. Around 752,000 households with children and 1.48 million over-65s are leasehold homeowners, according to the Government. Just over a fifth (22 per cent) of home sales in 2019 were leasehold, or around 238,000 transactions in total, Land Registry figures show. A requirement for a new leaseholder to have owned their house or flat for two years before they can benefit from the changes will be removed, so that more leaseholders can exercise their right to the security of freehold ownership or a 990-year lease extension as soon as possible. The changes will also enable leaseholders in buildings with up to 50 per cent of non-residential floorspace to buy their freehold or take over its management. This will mean an increase to the 25 per cent non-residential limit, which prevents leaseholders in buildings with a mix of homes and non-residential spaces such as shops and offices from buying their freehold or taking over management of their building. The Government also plans to improve leaseholders' consumer rights by requiring transparency over service charges in a standardised, comparable format. This will help leaseholders to challenge any charges which they feel are unreasonable. Access to redress schemes will also be extended, with more freeholders being required to belong to redress schemes. A presumption that leaseholders will pay their freeholders' legal costs when challenging poor practice will also be scrapped. The legislation follows the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rents) Act 2022, which put an end to ground rents for new, qualifying long residential leasehold properties in England and Wales. Advertisement 'The fact this Bill is being introduced so swiftly after the King's Speech is hugely positive and demonstrates that the Government recognised how important and urgently needed leasehold reform is. 'We hope all those involved work together to ensure there is enough time for the Bill to receive Royal Assent before the next election.' Bellway previously said some land was available only on a leasehold basis and added that freeholds were sold to firms better equipped to manage them. Reforms to make it easier for leaseholders to purchase their freehold and tackle punitive service charges were outlined earlier this month in the King's Speech. The changes could make it easier for people to sell their properties and get mortgages. Campaigner Ms Darbyshire was also caught up in the leasehold scandal when she faced a five-figure sum to buy the freehold of her home. The 53-year-old pensions administrator and her husband Mark, 54, bought a five-bedroom newly built detached house near Bolton in Greater Manchester for 395,000 in 2010. The Darbyshires purchased the home with a 250-year leasehold and could not afford to buy the freehold at the time, but claim to have been told they could do so at a later date for about 5,000. However the leasehold was sold a few years later to an investment company, which then raised the cost of buying the freehold to a whopping 40,000. The Darbyshires were also informed that unless they bought the freehold, their ground rent could double every decade soaring to a maximum of 9,440 a year after 50 years. Reacting to the latest news today, Ms Darbyshire told MailOnline: 'As always, the devil will be in the detail of the Bill, but this is a huge step forward for leaseholders. I hope this is the beginning of the end of this feudal system.' She also believes the ban on leasehold homes should be extended to all house owners. Campaigner Cath William, who is also with the NLC, also told MailOnline today: 'Leasehold is a cross-party issue. 'Now more than ever we need our elected politicians and peers to work together to ensure this bill succeeds. Many existing leaseholders remain trapped, and this Bill will be life changing for them'. The NLC was created in 2017 by Mrs Kendrick, Ms Williams and Mrs Darbyshire, who were all involved in extortionate leasehold arrangements. The organisation's Facebook group now has more than 28,000 members. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill aims to improve homeownership for millions of leaseholders in England and Wales, by making it cheaper and easier for more leaseholders to extend their lease, buy their freehold and take over management of their building. The standard lease extension term will be increased from 90 years to 990 years for both houses and flats, with ground rent reduced to 0. This will ensure that leaseholders can enjoy secure ground rent-free ownership of their properties for years to come, without the hassle and expense of future lease extensions. The legislation follows the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rents) Act 2022, which put an end to ground rents for new, qualifying long residential leasehold properties in England and Wales. Mr Gove said: 'People work hard to own a home. But for far too long too many have been denied the full benefits of ownership through the unfair and outdated leasehold system. 'That's why liberating leaseholders forms a vital part of the Government's Long-Term Plan for Housing. 'So today marks a landmark moment for millions of leaseholders across the country, as we unveil laws to deliver significant new rights and protections, slash unfair costs and crack down on exploitation.' Asked why there would still be leasehold sales of some flats, Mr Gove stressed that it is 'an incredibly complex area of law'. 'We can't at a stroke get rid of it, we are taking a huge step forward by ensuring that people, effectively, by having a 990-year lease, will be able to own their flat in effect,' he said. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill has been hailed by Housing Secretary Michael Gove as (pictured ahead of the Covid-19 inquiry in London today) as a 'landmark moment for millions' Leasehold changes were set out in reforms outlined in the King's Speech earlier this month. Pictured: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace last night 'We're also making it much easier for people to secure control of their property, to enfranchise themselves. READ MORE Should I buy a leasehold flat with a 5,000 yearly service charge? Advertisement 'The process in the past has sometimes been held up by the process of marriage value, the freeholder trying to extract even more cash from the leaseholder. Well, that will go. It means full ownership. 'Yes, leasehold will still exist as a form of tenure, but effectively people will have control of their property at last.' But Mick Platt, Director of the Residential Freehold Association, which represents the UK's largest professional freeholders, said: 'The Government's proposals to cap, or even abolish, ground rents would be a massive own goal. 'It will cost the taxpayer enormous sums of money to compensate investors while transferring the wealth to thousands of buy-to-let landlords and leaving ordinary leaseholders with burdensome legal responsibilities and escalating service charges.' 'The Government's own research shows there is limited interest from leaseholders for this kind of intervention. It's time for Mr Gove to stop ignoring the evidence and start bringing forward sensible reforms that would actually improve the tenure.' * Hit by the leasehold scandal? Please email: mark.duell@mailonline.co.uk * A college chaplain who worked at the University of Cambridge has launched legal action against a 40,000-per-year school after it sacked him and referred him to counter-terror police over a sermon in which he questioned new LGBT+ policies. The Reverend Dr Bernard Randall told pupils at Trent College they were allowed to question LGBT+ issues in the same way as they did Brexit, and claimed telling students they must accept them was akin to saying they 'must be Muslim'. Rev Randall, 51, who previously worked at Trinity College, Cambridge, was referred to the government's anti-radicalisation programme before being made redundant in 2020. His referral to Prevent was later dismissed as it found there was 'no counter terrorism risk, or risk of radicalisation' in Rev Randall's message. He previously launched an employment tribunal claim that he had been unfairly dismissed by his post, but this was dismissed in February after it was ruled there was no evidence to support Rev Randall's suggestion the new policies would 'indoctrinate' pupils. Now he is accusing the school and its headteacher Bill Penty of victimisation, harassment and discrimination on grounds of his Christian beliefs, the Telegraph reports. The Reverend Dr Bernard Randall told pupils at Trent College they were allowed to question LGBT+ issues in the same way as they did Brexit , and claimed telling students they must accept them was akin to saying they 'must be Muslim' Since being made redundant, Rev Randall has accused so-called 'woke ideology' of being 'ersatz' and 'complete with burning heretics'. In his sermon, the chaplain told students: 'You do not have to accept the ideas and ideologies of LGBT activists. Indeed, since Trent exists 'to educate boys and girls according to the protestant and Evangelical principles of the Church of England', anyone who tells you that you must accept contrary principles is jeopardising the school's charitable status, and therefore its very existence. 'You should no more be told you have to accept LGBT ideology, than you should be told you must be in favour of Brexit or must be Muslim to both of which I'm sure most of you would quite rightly object.' He added: 'By all means discuss, have a reasoned debate about beliefs, but while it's OK to try and persuade each other, no one should be told they must accept an ideology. 'Love the person, even where you profoundly dislike the ideas. Don't denigrate a person simply for having opinions and beliefs which you don't share.' It came after the school began working with an organisation called Educate & Celebrate (E&C) - which the Church of England cites as an approved resource - which aimed to help 'develop a whole-school LGBT+ inclusive curriculum'. Now he is accusing the school and its headteacher Bill Penty of victimisation, harassment and discrimination on grounds of his Christian beliefs During investigations by the school and the diocese, Dr Randall repeatedly raised that his beliefs on marriage and sexuality were based on CofE public liturgy. However, the employment tribunal's Judge Butler suggested that Dr Randall had 'misconceived' what E&C is and that he had 'an extreme reaction' to their involvement within the school. She said: 'We saw and heard no evidence that came anywhere close to supporting the claimant's view that E&C would indoctrinate pupils in such a way.' She added the decision to refer Dr Randall to the terror watchdog was justified 'from a safeguarding perspective'. Dr Randall's claims for unfair dismissal, discrimination, harassment and victimisation were all rejected. He is appealing against the decision. Speaking of his latest legal action, the Reverend told MailOnline: 'What has happened sends a message to Christian teachers, and any professional who does not celebrate and promote gender identity in schools, that not only will you be sacked, but you could be barred from the profession indefinitely if you fail to comply. 'You can no longer teach or encourage debate among children or adults that there are any viewpoints other than embracing full-on LGBT+ ideology. This is untenable in a truly free and democratic country, and every teacher, pupil and parent should be concerned about the ideology being forced onto schools, often without parents having any knowledge of it. 'I'd love to move on with my life, but now have no choice but to continue to fight for justice.' He is being supported in his new claim by the Christian Legal Centre at Christian Concern. Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: 'It should be of concern to everyone when a mild-mannered vicar ends up being reported as a safeguarding risk for saying you can believe marriage is between a man and a woman. If Bernard Randall is deemed not fit to work with children by the Church of England and school authorities, then none of us are safe. 'To throw him out of the vocation he loves, report him to the local authority for safeguarding and stop him working with children, is to wreck his life. He has not been allowed to preach a sermon for over four years. There's nothing good or kind about this. 'Bernard's case shows vividly the intolerance of tolerance. We need more teachers and chaplains, like Bernard, working with children, not less.' Trent College and representatives for Rev Randall have been contacted for comment. Matthew Turetsky at JSTOR: This year marks the tenth anniversary of the International Year of Quinoa (IYQ), a celebratory initiative created by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. At the inaugural 2013 IYQ, Evo Morales, then president of Bolivia, proclaimed that quinoa was an ancestral gift from the Andes to the world. The IYQ capitalized on the growing international interest in this Indigenous superfood to promote quinoa as a nutrient-dense, sustainable, and culturally rich alternative to common Western grains. The Secretary General of the UN hoped that quinoas excellent environmental adaptability would enable farmers in places such as Kenya, India, and and Europe to start growing the indigenous Andean grain. Promoters, first agricultural scientists and then government officials and corporate marketers, transformed the reputation of quinoa into a miracle food that could solve intractable problems like global malnutrition and crop failure. more here. Rishi Sunak is facing a looming Tory mutiny today amid claims he is backing off exempting Rwanda deportations from human rights rules. Around 40 MPs are said to be ready to support an amendment that would waive parts of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to get the Channel migrants policy up and running. The PM has insisted that all options are on the table to ensure that flights take off next year, after the Supreme Court ruled the current plans were illegal. But there are claims that Downing Street is going cold on the idea of including a 'notwithstanding' clause in emergency legislation set to be unveiled in the coming weeks. According to the Times, lawyers have warned that a 'full-fat' approach of exempting the measures from the ECHR would merely provoke more legal challenges. Home Secretary James Cleverly has also signalled concerns about the proposal, while Lord Cameron's Foreign Office fears it could damage the UK's international standing. However, other senior ministers are believed to be more hawkish, including Mr Cleverly's Home Office deputy Robert Jenrick. Rishi Sunak is facing a looming Tory mutiny amid claims he is backing off exempting Rwanda deportations from human rights rules Home Secretary James Cleverly has signalled concerns about the idea of dropping out of the European Convention on Human Rights Channel migrants being brought ashore in Kent earlier this month Mr Cleverly was assailed by Tory MPs calling for action to curb human rights rules in the Commons yesterday. Dozens are thought to be preparing to back an amendment to any emergency legislation if it does not include a derogation from the ECHR and UN refugee provisions. The Supreme Court ruled that deportations could not go ahead because Rwanda might send asylum seekers back to their country of origin, where they could be in danger. Mr Cleverly insisted he would not 'pre-judge' whether emergency legislation would allow ministers to disapply parts of international agreements. He said: 'We will do everything we can to ensure that we break the business model of the evil people smugglers, that we drive down small-boat arrivals. 'The deterrent effect of Rwanda is a key element of that multi-strand approach. The Rwanda scheme is an incredibly important part of our basket of responses.' Connected plans for a new Treaty with Rwanda that could swing the legal position in the government's favour also seem to have run into problems. The agreement had been initially mooted to conclude last week, but now looks unlikely until next week - and potentially not until after Christmas. With the time required to ratify any deal and the prospect of more legal challenges, it throws the PM's timetable of the first Rwanda flights taking off by Spring into doubt. The government also felt the heat from Conservative MPs over legal migration yesterday. Jonathan Gullis said last week's record net migration figures were 'completely unacceptable' for the people in his constituency. He urged them to 'copy and paste' proposals to reduce the figures put forward by the New Conservatives grouping of Tory MPs. Mr Jenrick replied: 'The level of legal migration into this country is far too high. We have already announced a specific policy with respect to dependants which comes into force at the beginning of next year.' It came after claims that Mr Sunak agreed to raise the salary threshold for migrant workers from 25,000 to 40,000 as part of a deal with Suella Braverman, who was sacked as home secretary two weeks ago. Lord Cameron's Foreign Office fears a bold Rwanda move could damage the UK's international standing Mr Cleverly fielded angry interventions from Tory MP yesterday, and insisted the Rwanda scheme remains a 'key element' of efforts to tackle the Channel crisis Identical measures were proposed by former PM Boris Johnson in his Mail column on Saturday, after figures showed net migration hit a record 745,000 last year, mostly driven by foreign workers. Raising the minimum salary which must be paid by employers to overseas recruits would see a huge reduction in the number of work visas granted. Mr Sunak yesterday insisted he was determined to cut net migration, saying the figures 'need to come down to more sustainable levels'. Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove admitted the immigration figures will force Britain to build thousands more homes on greenfield sites, and that the Government's target to build a million new homes in this parliamentary term would not be enough. The wife of Ukraine's military intelligence chief is recovering after an attempt to assassinate her, according to reports today. Marianna Budanova, 30, was 'poisoned with heavy metals' and is hospitalised. This followed a 'prolonged deterioration of her health', reported Babel news outlet, citing intelligence sources. Budanova is the wife of Ukraine's highly respected Lt-Gen Kyrylo Budanov, 37, who has led operations to attack Russia with missiles and both aerial and sea drones during the 22-month conflict. Such attacks have been devastatingly effective. 'The course of treatment is now being completed, and then there will be a check-up by the doctors,' said an intelligence source on Budanova's recovery. The wife of Ukraine's military intelligence chief is recovering after an attempt to assassinate her, according to reports today. Marianna Budanova (pictured), 30, was 'poisoned with heavy metals' and is hospitalised, they said Budanova (pictured) is a psychologist by training who has acted as an aide to Kyiv mayor Vitalii Klychko. The exact nature of the poisoning which caused he to fall ill - and for which Russia is suspected - was not identified The exact nature of the poisoning - for which Russia is suspected - was not identified, and it later emerged that other military intelligence staff were poisoned and are now undergoing tests. Ukrainian sources revealed later that spymaster Lt-Gen Kyrylo Budanov had not been found to have been poisoned. The attack was most likely by food laced with poison, it was stated. 'These substances are not used in any way in everyday life or military affairs. Their presence may indicate a purposeful attempt to poison a specific person.' Sources confirmed that attempts were also made on Kyrylo Budanov before and after the full-scale invasion. Respected by Western intelligence agencies, he has been identified as one of Russia's priority targets in the conflict. An investigation is being conducted into 'the alleged attempt to kill the wife of the head of the [Ukrainian military intelligence agency'. Ukrainska Pravda quoted an unnamed source saying: 'It is true about Budanov's wife [being poisoning]. She complained about not feeling well, so she took some tests, which revealed poisoning.' The poisoning 'was most likely poisoned by food'. 'She is better now, she has passed the first stage of treatment,' a source said. 'Since Budanov's wife is small with a small weight, it manifested itself faster in her. Later, poisoning was confirmed in several other employees. 'They didn't notice anything about themselves, and now they are also being treated,' said the source. Moscow is suspected of being behind several chemical assassination plots, in both Russia and abroad, including in Ukraine. In 2004, Viktor Yushchenko - who ran against Kremlin-backed candidate Viktor Yanukovych in Ukraine's presidential election - was left permanently scarred when he was poisoned with dioxin. His face still bears the signs to this day. In the UK, Russia has been found responsible for the 2006 poisoning and death of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko, and it was found highly likely that Moscow was behind the attempted poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in 2018. Moscow is also suspected of being behind the plot to assassinate Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who fell ill on a flight and lapsed into a coma in 2020. The nerve agent Novichok was found to have been used in the 2018 and 2020 attempts. The poison was developed by the Soviet Union, and is known to have been used in assassination plots in Russia since the mid-90s. Marianna is a psychologist by training who has acted as an aide to Kyiv mayor Vitalii Klychko. She has told how she has lived with her husband at his work since the war started. She previously told Elle Ukraine: 'On the evening of February 23 [2022], my husband told me that a full-scale invasion would begin at 5:00 am. Marianna Budanova is the wife of highly respected Lt-Gen Kyrylo Budanov (pictured), 37, who has led operations to attack Russia with missiles and both aerial and sea drones during the 22-month conflict 'We got ready and went to his work, and since then we have not been at home. I can't say that we prepared in any special way: documents, phones, a set of clothes for the first time. 'With that we left. By evening, I oversaw the preparation of the first special forces groups that were supposed to move to Hostomel, and the distribution of weapons and ammunition. 'Everyone was waiting, at midnight the guys were eating hamburgers from McDonald's. And they were ready for battle.' She refused to leave Ukraine and has remained by his side, she said. 'I'll be honest - I had no fear or panic,' she said. 'As the wife of a military man who was wounded three times (two moderate wounds and one serious), I was mentally prepared for any scenario. 'Therefore, I acted clearly and confidently: I did what I was told to do, everyone acted as a single team and a single whole. 'You have to understand that there was almost no peacetime as such for my family. 'A few months after I met my future husband, dramatic events began to unfold on the Maidan [the 2014 Ukrainian revolution]. 'Then, as you know, everything went on and on: the annexation of Crimea, the fighting in Donbas. 'I'm used to living in a constant state of preparation and anticipation. 'Therefore, the first days of the invasion did not come as a shock to me. 'This is what Carl von Clausewitz called the fog of war - when it is felt even before it begins.' She spoke of one missile attack during the war. 'I took off her shoes and lay down on the sofa opposite the window,' she said. 'And a few minutes later I hear a sound that cannot be confused with anything - the sound of a rocket arriving. 'I'm barefoot, with boots in one hand and documents in the other. 'This may seem strange, but the first thought that flashed through my head was: I need to cover my face so that if I die, at least with my face uncut. An investigation is being conducted into 'the alleged attempt to kill the wife of the head of the [Ukrainian military intelligence agency'. Pictured: Budanova (left) and Budanov 'I was ready for anything, but I didn't expect that there would be thick grey dust in the air, like fog. 'It immediately turns your eyes red and gives off a strong pungent odour. 'I remembered that I needed to breathe through my nose so that small particles from the glass did not get into the trachea. 'At that moment I ran out to the door, Kyrylo ran towards me.' A 20-year old British woman was killed and her two passengers injured when her car veered out of control and crashed into a tree in Australia. The tragedy occurred on the Princes Highway in Winnap, some 30 miles northwest of Portland in Victoria state, at around 3.20pm on Sunday, November 19. The young driver sustained critical injuries and was airlifted to hospital, where she sadly died hours later. Her two passengers, both 26-year-old men from the UK, also suffered injuries and were promptly transported to the hospital for medical attention. One was reportedly in a serious but stable condition, while the other sustained minor wounds. The circumstances leading to the accident are still under investigation, and authorities are appealing to the public for any information that may assist in determining the cause of the crash. The unfortunate incident occurred on the Princes Highway in Winnap, approximately 80 miles west of Warrnambool, around 3.20pm on Sunday 19 November (general view of Princes Highway) An Ambulance Victoria spokesperson told local news that paramedics were called to an incident in Winnap at 3.25pm. 'A woman in her 20s was airlifted to The Alfred Hospital in a critical condition with upper body injuries,' their statement read. 'A man in his 20s suffered lower body injuries and was airlifted to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a serious but stable condition. 'Another man in his 20s with lower body injuries was taken by road ambulance to Mount Gambier Hospital in a stable condition.' Winnap is about 200 miles west of Melbourne. MailOnline has contacted the FCDO for comment. This is the dramatic moment armed police arrested a gun dealer who hid bullets in a Patak's curry jar during a clampdown on a family crime gang which saw five crooks jailed for more than 20 years. Gang leader Tony Graham, 40, supplied weapons and ammunition to criminals across Birmingham. Graham bought obsolete calibre and antique guns legally and used his expertise to make them live firing before ordering his younger brother Simon to deliver the weapons to customers. He also bought a kit from a foreign website which gave him the tools to make bullets. Police bodycam footage shows the moment Graham was arrested by armed officers at his home in Birmingham. Cousins Bernard and Tony Stokes, who were customers of the Graham brothers, were also arrested. They travelled from Basildon in Essex to Rubery on June 14, 2021 to buy ammunition for an obsolete weapon. Later the same day they were stopped in Wembley, north-west London, at gunpoint. The dramatic moment gun dealer Tony Graham is arrested at his home by armed police officers Tony Graham, 40, arranged the sales and then ordered his younger brother Simon to act as a courier to deliver the firearms Detectives say Tony Graham made more than 100 enquiries with an online retailer. Searches on his laptop also revealed 1,800 images of firearms and obsolete cartridges. Police discovered he tasked his younger brother to deliver the live bullets to other criminals who already had access to guns capable of firing them. An investigation to catch the gang was launched by the Regional Organised Crime Unit for the West Midlands (ROCUWM). The operation was part of Operation Target - a Midland-wide drive to bring down the most serious offenders. Tony Graham, 40, bought obsolete calibre and antique guns legally and used his expertise to make them live firing The dramatic arrests of the above men was captured on film. Tony Graham (top left), Simon Graham (top left), Bailey McIlroy (bottom left), Tony Stokes (bottom middle) and Bernard Stokes (bottom right). Officers seized two machetes and a knife as well as four bullets wrapped in clingfilm hidden in a pair of gloves. Tony Graham's DNA was found on one of the gloves, while his brother Simon's was found on the bullets. Police discovered Simon Graham had supplied a gun which was seized from a gang of armed men in a BMW in Kings Norton on May 13, 2021. On June 17, 2021, an empty Patak's curry sauce jar was found filled with bullets at Simon Graham's house on Holly Hill Road, Rubery. On August 6 that year, police recovered loaded handgun which had been converted from a blank firing pistol into a deadly weapon. It was found by a police dog trained to sniff out firearms after being dumped by Bailey McIlroy when he and Tony Graham were spotted and chased by officers. The gang have now been jailed for a total of more than 20 years at Birmingham Crown Court. Tony Graham, 40, admitted possession of a firearm and four charges of selling or transferring ammunition and was jailed for eight years and one month. This is the moment two of Tony Graham's customers - Bernard and Tony Stokes - were arrested Cousins Bernard and Tony Stokes travelled from Basildon in Essex to Rubery, West Mids., on June 14, 2021, to buy ammunition for an obsolete weapon Officers seized two machetes and a knife as well as four bullets wrapped in clingfilm hidden in a pair of gloves. Simon Graham, 39, of Rubery, admitted four charges of selling ammunition and was jailed for five-and-a-half years. Bernard Stokes, 33, of Billericay, Essex, and Tony Stokes, 27, of no fixed address, both admitted possession of ammunition and were each jailed for two years, suspended for 21 months. Bailey McIlroy, 19, of Rednal, was found guilty of possession of a firearm and ammunition and was jailed for three years. Detective Inspector Amar Patel, from ROCUWM, said: 'Tony Graham was a trusted supplier of ammunition, with people willing to travel across the country to buy from him. 'He had a real interest in firearms and a determination to profit from their sale within the criminal underworld. 'The extent of his operation and the number of weapons and bullets he was involved in selling is not clear, but what is clear is that the dismantling of his operation will have been a major blow to serious and organised crime in the West Midlands and beyond. 'We are relentless in our pursuit of organised criminals, who cause massive damage to communities.' A court in Moscow today extended the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, arrested on espionage charges, until January 30. The hearing took place behind closed doors because authorities say details of the criminal case against the American journalist are classified. A video released by the court showed Gershkovich standing in a metal cage for defendants during the hearing, wearing a checked shirt and dark hooded jacket. Gershkovich, 32, was detained in March while on a reporting trip to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, about 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) east of Moscow. Russia's Federal Security Service alleged that the reporter, 'acting on the instructions of the American side, collected information constituting a state secret about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex'. US journalist Evan Gershkovich is seen behind bars today during a hearing on the extension of his pre-trial detention, in handout footage provided by the Lefortovsky Court in Moscow A Russian court on October 10 dismissed a complaint by US reporter Evan Gershkovich against the extension of his pre-trial detention. Pictured: Gershkovich in court on October 10 Gershkovich and the Journal deny the allegations, and the US government has declared him to be wrongfully detained. Russian authorities haven't detailed any evidence to support the espionage charges. Gershkovich is being held at Moscow's Lefortovo prison, notorious for its harsh conditions. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Both the Wall Street Journal and the United States repeated their calls for Gershkovich's immediate release after Tuesday's hearing. 'The accusations against him are categorically false and his continued imprisonment is a brazen and outrageous attack on a free press, which is critical for a free society,' the Wall Street Journal said in a statement. The US Embassy in Moscow said it was 'deeply concerned by the court's decision'. It said: 'We reiterate our call for his immediate release.' Gershkovich stands inside a glass box in court in Moscow on October 10, 2023 On October 10, Gershkovich lost an appeal to be released from jail on espionage charges, more than six months after his arrest. It was the second time in less than a month he had appeared before a judge to appeal an August decision to extend his pre-trial detention through November. On September 19, the court declined to hear the appeal, citing unspecified procedural violations. Gershkovich is the first American reporter to be charged with espionage in Russia since 1986, when Nicholas Daniloff, a Moscow correspondent for US News and World Report, was arrested by the KGB. Analysts have pointed out that Moscow may be using jailed Americans as bargaining chips after US-Russian tensions soared when Russia sent troops into Ukraine. At least two US citizens arrested in Russia in recent years - including WNBA star Brittney Griner - have been exchanged for Russians jailed in the US. The Russian Foreign Ministry has said it will consider a swap for Gershkovich only after a verdict in his trial. In Russia, espionage trials can last for more than a year. All 41 construction workers trapped in a collapsed road tunnel in India have been rescued after 17 gruelling days stuck underground. The workers were seen in the safety tunnel inside the Silkyara tunnel and 'will be evacuated soon in [an] ambulance', local media reported just after 3pm GMT today. Forty-one ambulances stood by into nightfall as they awaited the labourers, who were provided a 'green corridor' to urgently reach medical facilities in Chinyalisaur. Emotional footage from the Silkyara tunnel showed the moment rescue teams began pulling exhausted labourers to safety after nearly three weeks of desperate efforts. They finally made their breakthrough on Tuesday, hauling the workers on stretchers through a 187ft pipe built hurriedly through the Himalayas. There were scenes of jubilation as the first worker reached the surface, with handshakes, pats on the back and smiles all round as the group celebrated. It was no easy victory, with skilled miners and military engineers falling back on banned practices, working by hand after masonry drills and digging machines broke down. One of the trapped workers is checked out after he was rescued from the collapsed tunnel site in Uttarkashi in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, November 28, 2023 Pushkar Singh Dhami, right, Chief Minister of the state of Uttarakhand, greets a worker rescued from the tunnel in Silkyara, India, Tuesday, November 28, 2023 Ambulances move inside a tunnel where rescue operations are underway to rescue trapped workers, after the tunnel collapsed, in Uttarkashi, November 28, 2023 An ambulance waits to carry workers from the site of an under-construction road tunnel that collapsed in Silkyara in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, India, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023 Flower garlands are taken to welcome the first people rescued from a tunnel on the Brahmakal Yamunotri National Highway in Uttarkashi, India, 28 November 2023 Dozens of emergency vehicles were pictured around the scene of the tunnel collapse today as onlookers eagerly awaited news on the rescue mission. Teams of doctors were joined by local villagers and even a man carrying flower garlands to welcome the first survivors as they emerged. By nightfall, the tunnel was lit up by teams preparing to treat the construction workers for any health problems after more than two weeks stuck underground. It was expected to take between five and seven minutes to haul each worker through the tunnel to safety after the first was successfully pulled through - nearly three and a half hours in total. The process added time to allow each worker to readjust to surface temperatures, around 14C, NDTV reported. In video footage shared this afternoon, a group of men wearing helmets and high-vis clothing were pictured standing around the new pipe, some pulling on a rope. The camera panned to show a team involved in the mission, a large collaboration of local and national disaster response forces, police and military engineers. The group toiled to pull the first man through the tunnel with a toolkit on one of the bespoke stretchers, helping him to his feet after 17 long days trapped in the rubble. He emerged from the hole and stood up to shake the hand of his saviours, before one entered the tunnel to check for anything left behind. The sense of relief was palpable after more than two weeks of forlorn attempts to cut nearly 200ft through the debris with American-made diggers and large drills. Tools broke down and rescue teams were forced to fall back on banned 'rat hole' hand-mining practices to break down the rubble locking the men in an unfinished tunnel. The 41 labourers had been working on the Barkot tunnel in northern India on November 12 when a rockfall sealed their way out. With 0.3 miles of unfinished tunnel on the other side, the team was helpless without sustained rescue efforts drilling through huge mounds of rubble to reach them. Teams were seen earlier today on social media smiling and flashing victory signs as the drilling finally ended, a huge human-sized pipe forced through the debris. 'The work of laying pipes in the tunnel to take out the workers has been completed,' chief minister of Uttarakhand state Pushkar Singh Dhami said, adding they would be brought out of the tunnel 'soon'. 'We are thankful to God and the rescuers who worked hard to save them,' Naiyer Ahmad told AFP, whose younger brother Sabah Ahmad is among the trapped workers, and who has been camping at the site for over two weeks. Sudhansu Shah, who has also been camping out since shortly after the November 12 tunnel collapse waiting for his younger brother Sonu Shah, said relatives had started to celebrate. 'We are really hopeful and happy,' he said. Ambulances wait to carry workers from the site of an under-construction road tunnel that collapsed in Silkyara in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, India, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023 epa10999146 A team of doctors arrives for treatment of the first people rescued from a tunnel on the Brahmakal Yamunotri National Highway in Uttarkashi, India, 28 November 2023 The team of workers toiled to rescue the first of 41 after 17 gruelling days trapped in the rubble Video captured the moment of relief as the first man was stretched through the 187ft pipe A man finally emerges from the tunnel after two and a half weeks of rescue attempts The moment the first construction worker was pulled out of the tunnel in the Himalayas Rescuers then went back in to the tunnel, apparently to check for anything left behind National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel along with other rescue operatives gather near the face of the collapsed under construction Silkyara tunnel in the Uttarkashi district of India's Uttarakhand state, on November 28, 2023 Ambulances wait in line to enter a tunnel where rescue operations are underway to rescue trapped workers, after the tunnel collapsed, in Uttarkashi in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, November 28, 2023 People watch rescue and relief operations at the site of an under-construction road tunnel that collapsed in mountainous Uttarakhand state, India National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel along with other rescue operatives gather near the face of the collapsed under construction Silkyara tunnel One of the workers trapped inside a tunnel is seen after a portion of the tunnel collapsed in Uttarkashi in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, November 21, 2023 Dhami praised the 'prayers of tens of millions of countrymen and the tireless work of all the rescue teams engaged in the rescue operation'. The health of the workers was 'fine', but a team of medics in a field hospital were ready on site as soon as they were brought out, he added. The workers were seen alive for the first time last week, peering into the lens of an endoscopic camera sent by rescuers down a thin pipe through which air, food, water and electricity are being delivered. Though trapped, the workers have plenty of space in the tunnel, with the area inside 8.5 metres high and stretching over a mile in length. Arnold Dix, president of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association, who is advising the rescue on site, told reporters the men were in good spirits. Previous hopes of reaching the trapped workers had been dashed by falling debris and the breakdown of multiple drilling machines. A giant earth-boring machine was snapped when it ran into metal girders and construction vehicles buried in the rubble, and several high powered drills had also failed. Rescuers subsequently brought in a superheated plasma cutter to slice through metal rods that repeatedly impeded progress, before miners worked by hand to move huge amounts of earth and create a hole through which their colleagues could force the steel rescue pipe. Rajput Rai, a drilling expert, told the Press Trust of India that three-person teams were taking turns working at the rock face - while one worker drilled, a second scooped up the rubble by hand, and the third placed it on a wheeled trolley to be pulled out, Rai said, according to PTI. Indian billionaire Anand Mahindra paid tribute to the men at the rockface who squeezed into the narrow pipe to clear the rocks by hand. 'After all the sophisticated drilling equipment, it's the humble 'rathole miners' who make the vital breakthrough,' Mahindra said on X, formerly Twitter. 'It's a heartwarming reminder that at the end of the day, heroism is most often a case of individual effort and sacrifice.' Ambulances moved towards the mouth of the tunnel entrance this morning, preparing to receive the men. Women watch the rescue operations at a tunnel, where workers are trapped after the tunnel collapsed, from a hillside in Uttarkashi in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, November 28, 2023 A member of the rescue team works as rescue operations continue at a tunnel where workers are trapped, after the tunnel collapsed, in Uttarkashi in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, November 28, 2023 Ambulance and emergency vehicles are on standby near the face of the collapsed under construction Members of the team from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) prepare to enter a tunnel to rescue trapped workers, after the tunnel collapsed, in Uttarkashi in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, November 28, 2023 The collapsed tunnel, located in the Uttarkashi district of the Indian Himalayas, is part of an ambitious project to enhance connectivity to renowned pilgrimage sites in the mountainous state of Uttarakhand, home to some of the holiest sites for Hindus. The tunnel, a key component of the highway plan, is intended to provide year-round access to Yamunotri - a pivotal Hindu pilgrimage site - by cutting the travel distance between Uttarkashi and Yamunotri town by 16 miles and providing much needed cover from the elements. The project received the green light from the federal government in 2018, though some environmental experts cried foul over the potential damage the project could cause to the region's fragile ecology. Those trapped inside the collapsed tunnel have survived thanks to their rescuers who have sent a stead supply of oxygen, water and food - mostly chickpeas, dried fruits, almonds and puffed rice - through a small pipe, along with medicines to relieve headaches and nausea. 'The food items are providing them enough calories,' RCS Pawar, chief medical officer of Uttarkashi district, told Reuters. A tycoon has claimed that he faces being 'destitute' after losing his family's multi-million pound property fortune to his ex-partner in a bitter 'winner takes all' court battle. Peter Andreewitch, 60, and his estranged partner Magali Moutreuil, 49, have been scrapping in High Court over a 2.2 million Grade-II listed home in Chelsea, plus an international property portfolio. The couple got together in 1998 and raised five children in the family home, a few doors from the cottage where Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh lived, but split after almost 20 years in 2017. The tycoon had transferred the shares in the company which owned the properties to Ms Moutreuil whilst they were together in a bid to 'shield himself' from financial risk, but then after the split insisted the houses were still his. In 2020, Mr Andreewitch - who had earlier beaten a bid by his ex to have him jailed for contempt of court - lost a fight for ownership of the properties when a judge said they were beneficially owned by Ms Moutreuil. Peter Andreewitch (pictured), 60, claimed that he faces being 'destitute' after losing his family's multi-million pound property fortune to his ex in a bitter 'winner takes all' legal battle An appeal application was subsequently refused, but Mr Andreewitch fought on, launching a new bid for ownership, which was rejected as an 'abuse of process' by Judge Michael Jefferis at the High Court earlier this year. Mr Andreewitch claimed such a ruling would 'finish' him, but despite being warned that prolonging the court war further could wipe out the family fortune completely, is now trying to appeal the decision. At a hearing in June this year the court heard that the properties had been owned by Mr Andreewitch through a company, Pier Investment Company Ltd, but that over 20 years ago he transferred 'the entirety of the shares in the company' to his then new girlfriend Ms Moutreuil. He made the move in a bid to 'shield' himself from 'future exposure' to creditors and 'conceal the existence' of his wealth, he had told a judge at an earlier hearing. However he insisted he had never intended Ms Moutreuil to be the lawful beneficial owner of their London house, which Mr Andreewitch bought in 1993, and a string of other properties in Germany. After their relationship broke down in 2017, but whilst they were still living together in the home with their kids, Mr Andreewitch began to insist to Ms Moutreuil that she had no rights or interests in the property, the court heard. However she refused to back down to pressure from her wealthy ex-partner, who the court previously heard also has a number of 'UK properties'. Ms Moutreuil won during the first trial in 2020, but Mr Andreewitch brought a new claim earlier this year, effectively to reopen the ownership issue and take back the properties. Ms Moutreuil (pictured) won during the first trial in 2020, but Mr Andreewitch brought a new claim earlier this year, effectively to reopen the ownership issue He pointed to alleged 'assurances' from Ms Moutreuil that he would not be left 'destitute' following the row and claimed that he was owed about 2.3m from an unpaid loan. He also argued that the German property portfolio bought through the company between 2004 and 2010 was being held in 'trust' by the company for him. But the judge dismissed the loan claim and found the shares and the company's assets, including the German property, were all owned beneficially by Ms Moutreuil, saying that Mr Andreewitch had argued himself that the company assets could not be split. He said any assurances by Ms Moutreuil to Mr Andreewitch had been based on his not prolonging the litigation by appealing and bringing new cases, resulting in her running up 300,000 in lawyers' bills. 'In my judgment, looking at the overall position, Ms Moutreuil made her position clear, namely that she felt a moral obligation and intended to provide for the claimant, but she never made a promise upon which it was reasonable for the claimant to rely,' Judge Jefferis said. The couple have been in a savage war in the courts over a 2.2 million Grade-II listed home in Christchurch Street, Chelsea Although her lawyers had said she had 'every intention' to make sure he is not left destitute, that had been a 'mere statement of intention' at the time and family resources had since been eaten up by the case being dragged out, he continued. 'Times have moved on,' he said. 'Money spent on costs and tax is no longer there to pay to the claimant and if the litigation goes on, there may be nothing left.' His claim that his ex had promised that she 'intended to give him the same provision as she needed for herself' had not survived the costs of the continuing court fight, said the judge. 'That probably was once her intention but it was only an expression of 'intention' and times have moved on,' he said. 'The defendants have expended some 300,000 in costs and the litigation between them goes on and the companies' tax liabilities need to be quantified and paid.' Mr Andreewitch insisted he had never intended Ms Moutreuil to be the lawful beneficial owner of their London house and a string of other properties in Germany In one alleged assurance, she had told him that when the litigation was finished, 'there can be provision for you, but if you go on making barriers, ignoring court order, bringing more court battles and legal fees, simply said less will be left.' 'In my judgment this was a fair warning,' said the judge. The judge also addressed a final alleged promise which Ms Moutreuil had given in response to a claim by Mr Andreewitch's new partner that Ms Moutreuil was 'trying to systematically strip him of 100 per cent of his assets and income.' Ms Moutreuil had denied that, but the judge said that did not amount to an 'assurance' he could rely on as a claim to money in court. 'It is a denial that she was being vindictive,' he said. Dismissing his claims as an abuse of process, he said: 'The claimant appears to be trying to challenge the judgment as to the ownership of the property, which is an abuse of process.' He also dismissed Mr Andreewitch's other claims, going on to order him to foot a further costs bill of 18,000. Mr Andreewitch has since applied for permission to appeal Judge Jefferis' ruling, with his application yet to be determined. Former Tory culture minister Ed Vaizey was interrupted by his barking dog today during a TV discussion about the Elgin Marbles. Lord Vaizey was speaking on Sky News amid a growing row between Rishi Sunak and the Greek PM after Downing Street cancelled a meeting between the pair. During the discussion with presenter Kay Burley, his dog, called Pepper, 'kicked off' after seeing a cat. Ms Burley joked that Pepper's 'fight' with the cat was 'basically what the Greeks and the Brits are doing at the moment over the Elgin Marbles'. Showing his dog to viewers, Vaizey said he 'didn't do his preparation properly' after failing to put Pepper in the living room before going on live TV. Lord Vaizey had been in the process of backing proposals made by British Museum chairman George Osborne for the Marbles to be loaned to Greece in return for artefacts that have never been seen in the UK. Former Tory culture minister Ed Vaizey was interrupted by his barking dog today during a TV discussion about the Elgin Marbles Lord Vaizey was speaking on Sky News amid a growing row between Rishi Sunak and the Greek PM after Downing Street cancelled a meeting between the pair. During the discussion with presenter Kay Burley, his dog, called Pepper, 'kicked off' after seeing a cat Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis had ramped up public demands for the return of the ancient artefacts from the British Museum, saying while in the UK on Sunday that having some treasures in London and others in Athens was like the Mona Lisa being 'cut in half'. The PM then cancelled a planned meeting with him, with Downing Street claiming that it believed it had been given assurances that Mr Mitsotakis would not raise the issue during his visit. Former chancellor George Osborne, who is now the chairman of the British Museum, has proposed that the Marbles could be loaned to Greece in return for artefacts that have never been seen in the UK. Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme earlier, Lord Vaizey praised his former colleague's proposals and said the issue has become 'tied up to a certain extent in the traditional culture wars, where anyone who dares to say that British history wasn't perfect is somehow unpatriotic.' He added: 'I didn't know that Rishi Sunak felt so strongly about the Parthenon Marbles.' Lord Vaizey had been in the process of backing proposals made by British Museum chairman George Osborne for the Marbles to be loaned to Greece in return for artefacts that have never been seen in the UK In an unusual public rebuke this week, the Greek PM said he was 'annoyed' the discussions with Mr Sunak had been cancelled 'hours' before they were due to take place. Mr Mitsotakis said on Sunday he planned to raise the issue during meetings with Mr Sunak and Sir Keir during his visit to London. Lord Vaizey served as a minister under David Cameron for six years He told the BBC that he would 'meet both Keir Starmer and of course the Prime Minister' to discuss the return of sculptures which he said were 'essentially stolen'. Mr Mitsotakis said British possession of the Marbles was a form of cultural vandalism akin to 'cutting the Mona Lisa in half'. Downing Street responded: 'Obviously that's not something we would agree with. 'These were legally acquired at the time, they're legally owned by the trustees of the museum. 'We support that position and there's no plan to change the law which governs it.' The meeting was then cancelled, with a Tory source saying: 'There's no point the PM having the meeting if this is what it is about.' Speaking of Mr Sunak's position, Lord Vaizey drew an unfavourable comparison with Mr Osborne's proposals. He said: 'I know he takes the conventional view, which I took when I was culture minister, [that] they belong to the British Museum, it's a matter for the British Museum whether they return but they were legally acquired. 'And it is odd as well, because ministers traditionally hide behind that form of words, say it is a matter for the British Museum. Rishi Sunak (left) has snubbed talks with the Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (right) over his demand for the return of the Elgin Marbles 'Suddenly Rishi Sunak has put himself front and centre of the future of the Parthenon sculptures when George Osborne is busy making overtures and looking for a negotiated solution.' He added: 'They are a unique cultural issue, because it is about reuniting this one work of art if you like, the Greek prime minister compared it to the Mona Lisa. 'I compare it to a sort of film because it's a procession of moving people as it were, and I think there would still be an almighty row if they do go back. A detailed report published last year by leading expert Sir Noel Malcolm concluded that the treasures were not taken illegally by Lord Elgin and that he instead had permission to bring them to the Britain 'But I think broadly speaking at the moment if you questioned people in the street about it you would find a majority in the street in favour of returning them. 'They are pretty unique in that respect.' Around 260ft (80metres) of the marbles are in London, whilst Athens is home to a smaller 164ft (50metres) section. The treasures were taken from the Parthenon in Athens by the then British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Lord Elgin, between 1801 and 1812 and were then transferred to the British Museum, where they have been on display ever since. A detailed report published last year by leading expert Sir Noel Malcolm concluded that the treasures were not taken illegally by Lord Elgin and that he instead had permission to bring them to the Britain. He also highlighted that the removal of the marbles actually saved them from serious damage, dispersal and destruction and that a temporary loan to Greece would carry significant risk that they would never be returned. Amy Sorkin in The New Yorker: On November 6th, Donald Trump emerged from a New York City courtroom, where he had testified in a civil trial alleging that he and others in the Trump Organization had committed fraud, and gave himself a great review. I think it went very well, he told reporters. If you were there, and you listened, youd see what a scam this is. He meant that the case was a scam and not that his company was. Everybody saw what happened today, he went on. And it was very conclusive. In truth, everybody didnt see; the courtroom could seat just a few dozen spectators. There were two overflow rooms, but the closed-circuit feed shown in them went no fartherthe trial was not televised. Afterward, New Yorks attorney general, Letitia James, who was present, said that Trump had hardly put the matter to rest: he rambled and he hurled insults. There was a transcript, but, to assess Trumps demeanor and tone, members of the public had to rely on the small number of peoplejournalists and lawyers, mostlywho witnessed them. And those reports differed, depending on, say, whether one watched MSNBC or Fox News. The dissonance is about to get more extreme. More here. Argentina's right-wing president elect Javier Milei sat down for a working lunch with ex-President Bill Clinton on Monday in New York City and now heads to Washington DC for a meeting with President Joe Biden's security aide Jake Sullivan on Tuesday. Milei and Clinton discussed the future of Argentina during the meeting, with the 42nd president wishing the new administration well, reports said. Biden will not meet Milei in person - the 81-year-old president will be in Georgia to attend a memorial for former First Lady Rosalynn Carter before making a trip to Colorado. Joining Sullivan for his talks with Milei will be representatives from the Treasury Department to discuss the libertarian's economic policies. 'We want to continue to look for ways to cooperate with Argentina. Argentina is a healthy and vibrant partner in this hemisphere on many, many issues,' National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday. 'And so we're looking forward to obviously hearing what the president-elect's ideas are and where he wants to go on policy issues and making sure that we have a chance to keep that channel of communication open,' Kirby added. Argentina's President-elect Javier Milei pictured with ex-President Bill Clinton in New York City on Monday Milei pictured with former Senator Chris Dodd on his left and Clinton on his right The group are said to have discussed the future of Argentina during their lunch meeting Milei posed with fans before heading into his hotel, the former economist will now travel to Washington DC for meetings with Biden officials Milei's meetings 'are protocol-driven to explain the economic plan: fiscal adjustment, monetary reform, state reform and deregulation,' a Milei spokesman, who declined to be named because he was not authorized to talk on the record, said. 'It is not in search of financing,' the spokesman said. Milei, who has been compared to former President Donald Trump, was elected earlier this month and is scheduled to be inaugurated on Dec. 10. The president-elect has spoken favorably of Trump, and said that the 45th president told him in a congratulatory call last week that he would travel to Argentina so the two could meet face-to-face. Milei's conversation with the former president, who is the leading 2024 GOP presidential contender, came hours after Biden had his own call with Milei. The White House said Biden congratulated Milei and spoke of 'the strong relationship between the United States and Argentina on economic issues, on regional and multilateral cooperation, and on shared priorities, including advocating for the protection of human rights, addressing food insecurity and investing in clean energy.' Milei spent Monday in New York City and was traveling to Washington primarily for talks with International Monetary Fund officials, according to Kirby. Prior to meeting with Clinton, Milei spent time with members of the Jewish community in Queens On Tuesday, Milei will sit down for a meeting with top Biden security adviser Jake Sullivan According to reports, Clinton wished Milei well following their lunch together During his time in the Big Apple, Milei visited the burial place of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who led the Chabad-Lubavitch movement for more than four decades before his death in 1994. Schneerson's grave, at a cemetery in Queens, is visited annually by thousands of Jewish people and occasionally by world leaders. Schneerson led Chabad-Lubavitch as the seventh rebbe, or spiritual leader. In those years, he was one of the most influential global leaders in Judaism, reinvigorating a small community that had been devastated by the Holocaust and pushing for all Jews to become more deeply connected to their faith and do more good in their everyday lives. Milei, a Roman Catholic, has been studying the Torah for years and has openly talked about his respect for Judaism. Although he's expressed a desire to convert to Judaism, he hasn't formally started the process although he says he's close. Milei has also expressed staunch support for Israel, both before and after he won the presidential election. During the campaign, Milei often waved an Israeli flag at his rallies. Argentina's president-elect has said he wants to move Argentina's embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, emulating a move made by Trump. 'I don't go to the church; I go to the temple. I don't talk to priests; I have a head rabbi. I study the Torah,' Milei said in an August interview. 'I'm internationally recognized as a friend of Israel and a scholar of the Torah.' A Welsh family have launched a heartfelt appeal to help find their 'furry family member' who was dognapped from their home by a gang of thieves. Mother of two Emma Lewis, who lives on Exeter Road, Maindee, has released CCTV footage which shows the moment a gang of five hooded men broke into her home at around 8.30pm on November 22. The five perpetrators then made off with her beloved 18-month-old French Bulldog, Pearl and a money box belonging to one of her sons. The family is offering a 5000 reward for information on Pearl's whereabouts. Pearl seen above has been described as 'lilac and tan' coloured with a beige belly Pearl being carried away by one of the Thieves on November 22 She said: 'Five men broke into mine and my sons' home. 'My one son was on holiday and the other one was out. Our two dogs were home.' The family have described the missing pooch as 'lilac and tan' coloured with a beige belly. Posting on Facebook Ms Lewis said: 'For everyone that is sharing my posts, sending me information about the boys that stole her, thank you. 'For the CCTV footage provided, thank you! For the kindest of messages and flowers given to me! My heart is broken!' Pearl as a puppy. The five perpetrators made off with the 18-month-old French Bulldog and a money box belonging to one of her sons Snapshot of the offenders on CCTV. The family have asked that people call or text 07852 378365 with any information. One of Emma's sons also posted on Facebook: 'Someone knows where my kid is please someone help me Ill give u whatever u want just need address of dog.' He continued: 'Christmas is coming if u want 5000 plz txt me some sort of lead if its right the money is yours, someone help me bring my baby home, this dog is the love of my life. 'My life will never be fulfilled without her that girl is my world please.' The family have asked that people call or text 07852 378365 with any information. One of Labour's newest MPs has joined the party's frontbench team just 54 days since being elected to Parliament. Michael Shanks has been made a shadow Scotland minister in Sir Keir Starmer's top team as part of a reshuffle of Labour ranks. It is a rapid political promotion for the former teacher who was only elected as MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West on 5 October. He gave his maiden speech in the House of Commons less than a fortnight ago. Mr Shanks seems to have been handed his new role on the basis that his election last month doubled the number of Scottish MPs on the Labour benches. Michael Shanks, pictured with Dachshunds Allan and Stanley, has been made a shadow Scotland minister in Sir Keir Starmer's top team as part of a reshuffle of Labour ranks Mr Shanks seems to have been handed his new role by Sir Keir on the basis that his election last month doubled the number of Scottish MPs on the Labour benches Mr Shanks will team up in Sir Keir's shadow Scottish team with Ian Murray (left), the shadow Scotland secretary and Labour MP for Edinburgh South He will team up in Sir Keir's shadow Scottish team with Ian Murray, the shadow Scotland secretary and Labour MP for Edinburgh South. The reshuffle of Labour shadow ministers came after Sir Keir was this month hit by a slew of resignations as part of a rebellion against his stance on the Gaza crisis. Sir Keir was hit by the loss of 10 frontbenchers as a total of 56 Labour MPs defied him and backed a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in a Commons vote. Mr Shanks became MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West at a by-election prompted by the ejection of Margaret Ferrier from the Commons for breaking Covid rules. His campaign to replace the disgraced former SNP MP was almost derailed at the start when he put himself at odds with Sir Keir on benefits policy. Mr Shanks vowed to campaign against the 'heinous' two-child benefit cap. This was despite Sir Keir having stated he would keep the measure in place if he becomes prime minister after the next general election. But, with support for the SNP having drained away following Nicola Sturgeon's resignation as party leader, Mr Shanks managed to secure the seat for Labour. The by-election victory represented a huge boost to Sir Keir's hopes of winning a large number of Scottish seats at the general election. During his maiden speech to the Commons this month, Mr Shanks swiped at the Tories for losing their deposit in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West contest. He also joked at how, with Labour having secured four by-election victories since July, 'perhaps a general election will not be necessary after all for Labour to form the next Government'. Other changes in Sir Keir's top team, in the wake of the rebellion over Gaza, included the appointment of one of Gordon Brown's old aides as a shadow Treasury minister. Lord Spencer Livermore, who was chief strategist to Mr Brown during his time as prime minister and chancellor, is now shadow exchequer secretary to the Treasury. He was also in charge of Labour's campaign at the 2015 general election, when the party suffered a near wipe-out in Scotland under Ed Miliband's leadership. The ominous moment Hamas gunmen seemingly growled 'keep waving' as they handed over Israeli hostages to Red Cross workers this weekend has sparked outrage among Israeli officials who slammed the Palestinian group's 'propaganda'. Footage released by official Hamas channels and circulated by Reuters showed how a group of hostages were led towards Red Cross trucks to ferry them across the border and back to safety. Initially it looked just like one of several handover clips published by the Palestinian group that yesterday negotiated an additional two days of ceasefire pending the release of more hostages as it staves off further bombardment from Israel's Defence Forces. But while Hamas aims to project an image of humane treatment, in this particular video one of the masked militants, brandishing an automatic rifle, menacingly says 'keep waving' as his charges pile into the back of a van. Israeli government spokesman Ofir Gendelman said in a post on X: 'Hamas' disgusting staged propaganda. They forced the released Israeli hostages to smile and wave for the cameras. 'You can hear the terrorist telling them in a threatening voice "keep waving".' Despite many hostages returning relatively physically unharmed, most have experienced weight loss and described challenging conditions in captivity, and several children handed over by Hamas have been separated from their parents who were either killed or remain in captivity. One captee, 84-year-old Elma Avraham, was released in a serious condition and is now fighting for her life due to a lack of vital medications during her 50-day ordeal, while another 21-year-old, Maya Regev, was returned on Sunday night with a bullet wound. A pair of Israeli hostages are seen waving back at their captors as they are loaded into the back of a Red Cross van Several clips released by Hamas have shown the moment hostages were handed over In this clip, the masked Hamas militant appears to say 'keep waving' The heart-rending moment Maya was reunited with her family was also captured this weekend in bittersweet footage. Maya was one of 58 hostages released by Hamas over the course of the past four days of ceasefire between Israel's Defence Forces and the Palestinian group. She was abducted from the Nova music festival - where 364 people lost their lives as Hamas gunmen streamed over the border on motorbikes, in trucks and with paragliders - but not before she caught a stray bullet. Despite her injuries, Maya managed to cling to life and spent some 50 days languishing in captivity ahead of her eventual release on Saturday night, with harrowing photos showing how she was hauled out of a Red Cross van and escorted by masked Hamas militants as she shuffled about on crutches. In the clip, Maya can be heard sobbing as she embraced her family while sitting in her hospital bed, elated to have been freed and in the company of loved ones, but mourning for her teen brother Itay, 18, who remains in Hamas captivity. Itay is one of several Hamas hostages that the terror group say they cannot locate. Though some hostages were held by Hamas officials, others were split up and taken away by Gazan civilian groups or armed gangs, according to Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, who led the effort to broker the ceasefire between the IDF and Hamas. As the IDF continues its operations in Gaza to try and locate and free the remaining hostages, Maya is set to undergo surgery to repair damage dealt by the bullet wound. She was described as being in 'moderate condition' by Soroka hospital staff, with Dr Shlomi Kodesh telling Israel's i24 News her life was not in danger but that surgery was necessary for Maya to make a full recovery. A Hamas fighter and Red Cross medics help newly released Israeli hostage Maya Regev into a Red Cross vehicle in the Gaza Strip Maya, an attendee at the Nova music festival, was shot and subsequently kidnapped on October 7 Her reunion with family members in Soroka hospital in the Israeli city of Be'er-Sheva, captured in heart-rending video footage, was bittersweet Medical staff watch on as Maya embraces her family members ahead of surgery Much like Maya, several of the hostages released by Hamas this weekend find themselves confronting a dark new reality. They have been granted their freedom, but are now burdened by the knowledge that other members of their family are still in captivity, or worse, were slaughtered on October 7. Two such newly freed hostages are siblings Noam and Alma Or, aged 16 and 13. They were greeted by joyful grandparents, as well as their older brother Yali, 18, on Saturday before undergoing medical checks following their lengthy captivity. But the teens' elation at regaining their freedom quickly evaporated when they were informed that their mum Yonat had been gunned down by Hamas attackers in kibbutz Be'eri on October 7. Uncle Ahal Besorai, a British-Israeli lawyer, told The Guardian how the kids broke down upon hearing their mother's fate. 'Unfortunately, they were not aware that my sister, their mum, was murdered,' he said. 'Suddenly they come to see their loved ones for the first time in 50 days and the first piece of news that they are confronted with is that their mum is no longer alive. I think it was very traumatic, there were a lot of tears, a lot of pain.' The youngest hostage released this weekend - four-year-old dual Israeli-American citizen Abigail Edan - also lost both of her parents in the October 7 attacks. 'What she endured was unthinkable,' Biden said of the first American freed under the truce. He did not know her condition and did not provide updates on other American hostages. A Florida mother is still fighting for justice following the bizarre and tragic drowning deaths of her two children in April 2021. Suzie Dudas, 47, lost her daughter, Zale, nine, and son, Saxon, seven, after they had gone with their father to his friends' house to play in a swimming pool one Friday afternoon. The pair's parents are both accomplished scuba divers. While at the friend's house, the children got their hands on tanks that contained 100 percent helium rather than the typical mix of the gas and oxygen that divers use. As result, as the children went under the water, they lost consciousness. Their father, who was working with his friend at the time of the tragedy, rescued them from the water and initiated CPR. He called Dudas as the children were rushed to a hospital. The children were pronounced dead four days later on April 27, 2021. 'You cant put into words the upset, the anger, and the disbelief. The guilt that you werent there for your children, that you allowed it to happen, that you helped them to get into bathing suits,' Dudas said in a new interview. In a series of new interviews, grieving Florida mother, Suzie Dudas, shown her with her two children, discussed her fight for justice The two children, daughter, Zale, nine, and son, Saxon, seven, drowned tragically after inhaling helium from oxygen tanks in a pool Speaking about the moment that she received the phone call from her estranged husband, whom she divorced in 2020, Dudas said all she could hear was: 'Start CPR!' The West Palm Beach-based farmer said that she knew something was strange when she saw that her ex-husband was calling her as the pair rarely speak on the phone. 'I hung up and I called my friend who owned the house, I told her my children are drowning in her pool and to call 911. Then I just started driving. I knew but I didnt want to accept - it was unreal. To see how dilated my childrens eyes were. They didnt even look like themselves,' Dudas said. Authorities in the Sunshine State announced in May 2022 that no criminal charges will be brought in the case. The state's attorney's office called the deaths a 'heartbreaking tragedy.' The office noted in its report that the children went unsupervised in the pool. In the wake of that decision, Dudas has tried to take matters into her own hands and has launched a social media campaign to draw attention to the case. Dudas regularly updates her TikTok page, @JusticeforZaleandSaxon, with new developments on the case. There is also a GoFundMe page that is raising money to keep her farm open for visits from school children. At the time of the decision, the children's outraged uncle, Chuck Dudas, said in an interview with WPTV that there were still too many questions for the case to be considered closed. 'How'd the children end up unsupervised in a swimming pool with a scuba tank that wasn't even filled with air. That to me isn't just a happenstance circumstance,' he told the station. 'It was a series of choices and decisions that were made by the responsible adults that directly led to the children dying.' Officials in Florida announced in May 2022 that no criminal charges would be brought in the case but ascertained that the children's father was not watching them at the time of the incident Suzie Dudas is now working towards having her farm be open for children to learn about animals Speaking about her social media campaign, Dudas said that she has found it therapeutic to interact with other grieving parents The brother and sister tragically died on the same day, April 27, 2021 Dudas told Newsweek in a separate interview that her children's father was showing his friend how to use an underwater scooter that he developed. In that interview, Dudas echoed some of her brother's statements. 'I'm an experienced scuba diver, so I don't understand. They were given a scuba tank full of helium. I can understand how one child breathes off it, but how do both of my children die?' 'My kids were water bugs. I mean, they were very strong swimmers. My children didn't sneak to the pool before they were supposed to, and they didn't stumble upon a scuba tank and start playing with it,' she went on. Speaking about her social media campaign, Dudas said that she has found it therapeutic to interact with other grieving parents. 'Surprisingly, it's been helpful to share it online and to connect with other people. I didn't know how much I'd feel like sharing some of the harder and deeper feelings, but I think it's as useful, or maybe harder, than any therapy that I've gone through.' 'The comments are hard at times. Some days I can read through them, and I appreciate the outpouring of support that people are offering. Many have shared their own stories of grief, and there's so many connections to make,' she said. The UK and Greece are entangled in a growing diplomatic row regarding the Elgin Marbles. Rishi Sunak cancelled a planned meeting with Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis after he repeated demands for the marbles to be returned to Greece on Sunday. While on a visit to the UK, he said that the current situation - where most of the sculptures are in the British Museum and a smaller set are in Athens - was like the Mona Lisa being 'cut in half'. Below, MailOnline takes a look into the historical background of the growing row. The UK and Greece are entangled in a growing diplomatic row regarding the Elgin Marbles The Elgin Marbles also known as the Parthenon marbles was sculpted by Phidias, are a series of Ancient Greek sculptures created between 447BC and 432BC. They were previously housed in the Parthenon in Athens (pictured) Rishi Sunak has snubbed talks with the Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis over his demand for the return of the Elgin Marbles What are the Elgin Marbles and how did they end up in England? The marbles, also known as The Parthenon Sculptures, are a series of Ancient Greek sculptures created between 447BC and 432BC. They were the work of Greek architect Phidias, who also created a statue of the ancient god Zeus, which was considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The artefacts, an ode to the Greek goddess Athena, are made up of 17 figures that adorned the Parthenon in Athens. After standing for 2,000 years, the Acropolis was for the most part destroyed as the Ottoman Empire - who at the time ruled Greece - became embroiled in a war with Venice. The remaining sculptures were removed from the ruins of the Parthenon by Lord Elgin and brought to Britain between 1802 and 1812. During this time, Elgin was also the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. The British Government's longstanding position has been that Elgin had permission to take the marbles. Critics say there are no surviving documents which support this claim. But a report published earlier this year by leading expert Sir Noel Malcolm insisted this was the case. The paper for the Policy Exchange think tank also highlighted that the removal of the marbles actually saved them from serious damage, dispersal and destruction. In 1816, the marbles were handed over to the care of the British Museum, where they have remained ever since. Athens is still home to a smaller 164ft (50-metre) section of the sculptures, but the majority - around 260ft - are in the UK. The Elgin Marbles get their name from Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, who took them from Athens The Elgin Marbles (pictured) are a 17-figure collection of classical Greek marble sculptures made by architect and sculptor Phidias, a Greek sculptor whose statue of Zeus, the god of the sky in ancient Greek mytholgy, was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world The Elgin Marbles were were taken from the Parthenon in Athens by the then British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Lord Elgin, between 1801 and 1805, and are now on display at the British Museum (pictured) Elgin alleged he was granted permission from the Ottoman Empire to bring the sculptures to the UK. Even though, there was quite a paper trail during this time period, no documents have been discovered to support his claims (Pictured: The Elgin Marbles) Who owns the Elgin Marbles? The Elgin Marbles are part of a permanent collection in the museum under The British Museum Act 1963. READ MORE: Rishi Sunak snubs talks with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis following demands for the Elgin Marbles to be returned Advertisement However, since Greece established its own independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1832, they have sought to recover artworks previously removed from their country. The Mediterranean country's first notable bid to regain the Elgin Marbles began in the early 1980s with Melina Mercouri - who at the time was the Greek minister for culture. She demanded their return in a meeting with the director of the British Museum, Dr David Wilson in 1983. The former actress continued to press the British government as well as the famed museum to return the Elgin Marbles until her passing in 1994. In 2009, Greece further signalled their intent by opening the Acropolis Museum in Athens, in the hope they would one day house the marbles. Five years later, in 2014 human rights barrister Amal Clooney - the wife of Hollywood actor George Clooney - urged Britain to begin discussions with Greece regarding the return of the artefacts. Clooney told Sky News: 'This is an injustice that has persisted for too long, and in a world of intractable conflicts.' But it was only a year later in 2015, that Greece opted not to take any legal action against Britain regarding the artwork. The Mediterranean country's first notable bid to regain the Elgin Marbles began in the early 1980s with Melina Mercouri - who at the time was the Greek minister for culture In 2014, well-renowned human rights barrister Amal Clooney (pictured) urged Britain to return the marbles branding it an 'an injustice that has persisted for too long' The Fagan fragment Last year, an artefact known as the Palermo Fragment, or Fagan slab, was returned to Athens permanently. It had been part of the Acropolis' eastern frieze and was said to be a piece of the foot of a depiction of the Greek goddess of war Artemis. The Palermo Fragment had also been taken by Lord Elgin, but rather than coming to Britain it was given to the British Consul in Sicily and was later housed at the Salinas Archaeological Museum in Palermo. This return further fuelled the calls for the Elgin Marbles to be returned. Last year, an artefact known as the Palermo Fragment, or Fagan slab, was returned to Athens permanently. It had been part of the Acropolis' eastern frieze and was said to be a piece of the foot of a depiction of the Greek goddess of war Artemis What has the British Museum said about the Elgin Marbles debate? In December last year, it emerged that British Museum chairman George Osborne was conducting top-secret negotiations with the Greek prime minister over the transfer of the artefacts. It was understood that the classified talks between the former Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Greek PM had been ongoing since November 2021. Osborne has suggested that the marbles could be loaned to Athens in return for objects that have never been seen before in the UK. In December last year, it emerged that British Museum chairman George Osborne was conducting top-secret negotiations with the Greek prime minister over the transfer of the artefacts In January 2023, a British Museum spokesperson said: 'The British Museum has publicly called for a new Parthenon partnership with Greece and we'll talk to anyone, including the Greek government, about how to take that forward. 'As the chair of trustees said last month, we operate within the law and we're not going to dismantle our great collection as it tells a unique story of our common humanity. 'But we are seeking new positive, long-term partnerships with countries and communities around the world, and that of course includes Greece.' According to Greek daily newspaper Ta Nea, Mr Osborne and Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis met at a five-star hotel in Knightsbridge, west London, to discuss the sculptures. Labour sources at the time said that Sir Keir Starmer, whose Holborn and St Pancras constituency is home to the British Museum, would not 'stand in the way' of a loan deal. A Labour spokesperson said: 'Strong cultural and historical partnerships between countries are important to ensure the British Museum, and other UK cultural institutions, can maintain their world leading status. 'The next Labour Government will hear the case from the British Museum and its chair on any proposed changes to the Heritage Act as it stands. We've no current plans to change it.' Sir Keir Starmer, whose Holborn and St Pancras constituency is home to the British Museum, will reportedly not 'stand in the way' of a possible loan deal. Pictured: Starmer and Greek PM Mr Mitsotakis this week However, Sir Noel Malcolm said in his report that any supposedly temporary loan would run the significant risk that the marbles would never come back to Britain. Any permanent return would require a change in the law, which as it stands bans any transfer of objects from the British Museum unless the move is temporary. Downing Street's position has remained defiant. A spokesman said this week: 'These were legally acquired at the time, they're legally owned by the trustees of the museum. 'We support that position and there's no plan to change the law which governs it.' Did you witness the incident in February? Email tips@mailonline.co.uk A British tourist's plan to appeal a hefty fine for abusing airline staff in Dubai backfired after he was slapped with a much harsher three-month jail sentence and deportation. Hit with a 2,000 fine for using 'very bad language' towards an employee earlier this year, the traveller took the case back to court to appeal the penalty but on November 6 was handed a spell in prison instead. The Dubai Court of Appeal heard how he had insulted a member of airline staff after being told they could not immediately bring him a wheelchair to ferry his mother to a shuttlebus last February. In her testimony, the victim told judges she was sworn at after explaining the airport's policy to the man. 'I told the traveller that using such offensive language is not allowed at Dubai airport but he responded that he didn't care,' she said. Police were later notified and the passenger was fined Dh10,000 (about 2,156.22) at the Dubai Criminal Court. Planes prepare to take off at Dubai Airport on February 20, 2016. Dubai DXB is the primary international airport in the UAE and is the world's busiest by international passenger traffic During her testimony, the employee recounted that she was working in the transit area of Terminal 2 at Dubai Airport when the passenger approached with queries about their flight. She told them they would need to go to Terminal 3 and that a shuttlebus was available to take them. At this point, she said, the passenger asked for a wheelchair to help move his mother to the bus. She pointed out that a chair would be made available for them before she got on the bus, at which point the passenger left. They later came back, saying that another passenger near the bus had a wheelchair. But when the employee tried to clarify the airline's policy on wheelchair services, he snapped. 'When I tried to explain it to him, he insulted me using very bad language,' she said. Asked not to swear, the British tourist replied that he did not care and the employee called the police. A case was later filed against the traveller, who was fined by Dubai's Criminal Court. Dubai enforces strict penalties for a number of crimes that have caught tourists out over the years. Swearing in public is illegal. The UK government warns: 'Swearing and making rude gestures (including online) are considered obscene acts and offenders can be jailed or deported. 'Take particular care when dealing with the police and other officials.' While tourists are allowed to drink at home and in licensed venues, Brits cannot expect to be able to drink in public and face strict rules and regulations around purchasing, transporting and consuming booze in Dubai. Dubai International Airport in 2021. A passenger faces jail after they 'verbally abused' a member of staff at the airport in February this year Penalties for carrying drugs into the country are some of the most severe, the foreign office warning: 'The penalties for trafficking, smuggling and possession of drugs (even residual amounts) are severe. 'Sentences for drug trafficking can include the death penalty and possession of even the smallest amount of illegal drugs can lead to a minimum three-month prison term or a fine not less than AED 20,000 and not exceeding AED100,000.' Michael Gove warned 'we are 'f**king up as a Government' and missing 'golden opportunities' to get a grip on the spread of Covid in the early days of the pandemic, the official inquiry was told today. The senior Cabinet minister sent a series of expletive-laden messages to Boris Johnson's chief of staff Dominic Cummings voicing his concern at the slow pace of action to limit transmission in March 2020. In WhatsApp messages shown to the official inquiry today as Mr Gove gave evidence, they discussed the poor performance of the Cabinet Office, the part of government tasked with preparation for major disasters. In one exchange on March 11, Mr Cummings said that people should be shot', to which Mr Gove replied: 'Who did you envisage first in line?' In his evidence Mr Gove attacked 'dysfunction' at the Cabinet Office and admitted the Government had been too late in locking down the UK. But he defended Boris Johnson's slow pace of decision-making, saying the then PM's 'principled attachment to maximising individual liberty' meant it was 'difficult for him to contemplate something like this'. The senior Cabinet minister sent a series of expletive-laden messages to Boris Johnson's chief of staff Dominic Cummings voicing his concern at the slow pace of action to limit transmission in March 2020. In WhatsApp messages shown to the official inquiry today as Mr Gove gave evidence, they discussed the poor performance of the Cabinet Office, the part of government tasked with preparation for major disasters. In one exchange on March 11, Mr Cummings said that people should be shot', to which Mr Gove replied: 'Who did you envisage first in line?' The senior Tory said officials like himself who believed the Government should have acted earlier had a responsibility to point out to the then-prime minister the need for action. 'I don't think that one can single out the prime minister at the time for criticism. We all deserve our share retrospectively of criticism.' Quoting Mr Gove from evidence dated March 4, Hugo Keith KC, counsel to the inquiry, said: 'You know me, I don't often kick off but we're f***ing up as a government and missing golden opportunities. 'I will carry on doing what I can but the whole situation is even worse than you think and action needs to be taken or we will regret it for a long time.' When asked to expand on his comments, Mr Gove said at the time he was concerned about the 'ability and structure' of the Cabinet Office to deliver Government's priorities. He added: 'Covid was on my mind, but it wasn't the principal thing that I was messaging about. 'It was about the Cabinet Office overall, including its ability to deal with Covid.' He then apologised for his language and added that the 'weaknesses' in operations at the Cabinet Office, which he had recently taken on responsibility for, would be further exposed by Covid-19. The Levelling Up Secretary, who has held a number of prominent roles in Government, also told the inquiry that the Cabinet Office was 'flawed' and not effective at dealing with crises. 'The Cabinet Office in and of itself, over many years, has operated in a way which is not as effective as it should be for the effective delivery of Government policy, both business as usual, and also in response to crises.' Successive prime ministers have added responsibilities to the Cabinet Office's plate that do not fit easily elsewhere, Mr Gove said. 'So, it becomes a sort of Mary Poppins bag into which different prime ministers will shove things that they believe require to be dealt with by the Government's nanny, as it were.' Mr Gove also defended the conduct of No10 officials during the Covid pandemic today as he hit back at claims they acted like 'wild animals'. He told the Covid Inquiry there has been 'strong views, sometimes punchily expressed' under Boris Johnson's leadership. But he said that the nature of politics meant there would never be a 'perfect' set up, and added that 'strong personalities' had been needed to get Brexit done. It came after messages between Simon Case, the Cabinet Secretary, and predecessor Sir Mark Sedwill in July 2020, braded the operation 'poisonous', 'mad' and unfit to run the country, with Mr Case adding: 'I've never seen a bunch of people less well-equipped to run a country.' Mr Gove was today questioned by lead counsel to the Covid-19 Inquiry Hugo Keith KC about a message by Mr Case saying working with Mr Johnson's team was like 'taming wild animals'. 'You're never going to get a perfect team of personalities, all of whom are beautifully aligned and amongst whom there is perfect harmony,' he replied. 'You will always have - it's in the nature of politics - strong views, sometimes punchily expressed. It came after messages between Simon Case, the Cabinet Secretary, and predecessor Sir Mark Sedwill in July 2020, braded the operation 'poisonous', 'mad' and unfit to run the country, with Mr Case adding: 'I've never seen a bunch of people less well-equipped to run a country.' Mr Gove was today questioned by lead counsel to the Covid-19 Inquiry Hugo Keith KC about a message by Mr Case saying working with Mr Johnson's team was like 'taming wild animals'. 'The nature of decision-making in any organisation under pressure means that people do sometimes need to be a little bit direct.' He added they had been central to winning the 2019 election and clearing the Parliamentary 'logjam' around Brexit. Mr Gove used his appearance to apologise to victims and bereaved families for Government 'errors' during the pandemic. The senior Tory, who was Cabinet Office minister and chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when the pandemic began in 2020, said he took some responsibility for the 'mistakes' made at the top level of politics when the crisis unfolded. Giving evidence to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry on Tuesday, Mr Gove said: 'If I may... apologise to the victims who endured such pain, the families who endured so much loss as a result of the mistakes that were made by Government in response to the pandemic. 'As a minister responsible for the Cabinet Office, and was also close to many of the decisions that were made, I must take my share of responsibility for that. 'Politicians are human beings. We're fallible. We make mistakes and we make errors. I am sure that the inquiry will have an opportunity to look in detail at many of the errors I and others made.' But the Cabinet minister went on to defend his conduct and that of Cabinet Office staff, saying there were no easy decisions to be made at the time. 'I want to stress that I and those with whom I worked were also seeking at every point, in circumstances where every decision was difficult and every course was bad, to make decisions that we felt we could in order to try to deal with an unprecedented virus and a remarkable assault on the institutions of the country.' Mr Gove also gave evidence to the inquiry's first module examining the country's preparedness for a pandemic, when he said that planning for a no-deal Brexit made the UK 'more match-fit' to respond to Covid. Former deputy chief medical officer Professor Dame Jenny Harries is also due to give evidence later on Tuesday. Later this week, Lady Hallett's probe will also take evidence from former health secretary Matt Hancock and ex-deputy prime minister Dominic Raab. The inquiry is taking evidence as part of its second module on core UK decision-making and political governance. A gang who were planning to sell a 5,000 gun to a terrorist who was plotting a shooting rampage in central London's Hyde Park have been jailed for a total of 36 years between them. The three members of the gang, Tyler King, 21, Caleb Wenyeve, 21, and Reis Forde, 27, were jailed at Inner London Crown Court for conspiring to provide Edward Little with a gun and ammunition which had been adapted into a viable lethal weapon, Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTPSE) said. The trio admitted being party to the plot, even though it was accepted that they did not know the gun was intended to be used in a terror attack, police said. King, of Denmark Hill was jailed for 10 years and nine months for conspiracy to transfer a prohibited firearm, possession of a prohibited firearm and three counts of possession of ammunition without lawful authority. Wenyeve, of Blidworth Close, Strelley in Nottingham, was jailed for 12 years for conspiracy to transfer a prohibited firearm along with Forde, who was jailed for 13 years and six months. Reis Forde, 27, has been jailed for 13 years and six months Tyler King, of Denmark Hill, was jailed for 10 years and nine months for conspiracy to transfer a prohibited firearm, possession of a prohibited firearm and three counts of possession of ammunition without lawful authority Wenyeve, of Blidworth Close, Strelley in Nottingham, was jailed for 12 years for conspiracy to transfer a prohibited firearm The trio were jailed for a total of 36 years between them at Inner London Crown Court All three were cleared of conspiring to supply a firearm with intent to endanger life. Detective Chief Superintendent Olly Wright, head of CTPSE, said: 'King, Wenyeve and Forde were working together to supply a viable firearm along with ammunition. READ MORE: Homegrown terrorist who converted to Islam in prison 'plotted attack on the Queen's funeral using an AK-47 and Mac-10 submachine gun to send a strong message' but ran out of time to act, court hears Little considered a mass gun attack (Court sketch of Little appearing at the Old Bailey last October) Advertisement 'Although they didn't know Edward Little's plan to commit a terrorist attack with the firearm, they entered into an agreement with Little to sell him a fully functioning gun and live ammunition. 'They went a step further by sending a video of the working mechanisms of the weapon as proof to the buyer that it was a viable firearm. 'This organised crime group was unravelled quickly. The case is a prime example of the skill of our teams in counter-terrorism Policing and our determination to disrupt and bring to justice criminals whose activity could facilitate terrorism or harm our national security. 'All cases linked to terrorism will be vigorously pursued and brought before the courts.' Little, 22, was travelling in a taxi from Brighton to London with 5,000 to buy the firearm and bullets from the gang when police swooped in on September 23 last year. His target was a Christian preacher - who often debates Islam and the Koran - at Speaker's Corner. The Old Bailey previously heard that Little had spoken of his desire to acquire a gun in encrypted chats on the Threema messaging platform. The court previously heard that he had written: 'I don't think there has ever been an attack in the UK with guns so a semi-automatic rifle would send an even stronger message'. The court previously heard that Little, who converted to Islam while serving time in jail as a teenager, had considered launching a mass gun attack on the late Queen's funeral. But, he decided he was 'too late' to act and instead opted to target the Christian preacher. In May, Little, of Pelham Street, Brighton, admitted preparing terrorist acts. He will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on December 15. Channel 4's Alex Mahon has denied there is a 'toxic culture' at the station after former staff complained about the working environment. Ms Mahon, the network's chief executive, answered questions from MPs on the Culture, Media and Sport Committee today who grilled the TV company on issues such as safeguarding in the workplace. When asked whether future programmes for the channel will have a 'toxic culture', Ms Mahon said: 'I don't think any programmes that have been commissioned for C4 have been described as having a toxic culture. 'I realise that description has been used to describe other broadcasters' programmes.' It comes after Channel 4 was accused of having a 'toxic' working environment - with one ex-employee claiming she was made to sign a gagging order after complaining about racial discrimination. Channel 4's Alex Mahon (pictured) has denied there is a 'toxic culture' at the station after former staff complained about the working environment Other ex-employees made similar claims after a woman said she was prevented from commenting on a grievance about the management regime. Ms Mahon said: 'The only confidence one can really have is... do you try and create a culture where these things can be reported in? 'You can never know. You can have the right procedures in place. You an try and be really open about people reporting in. You can keep surveying in and showing there's an open line.' She added: 'The reality is you can have lots of programmes going on at any one time, and I'm not on set in them and neither are my staff.' Ms Mahon, who was accompanied by Channel 4's chairman Sir Ian Cheshire, was also asked whether the company ignored 'clear warning signs' when Russell Brand worked on the show in the early 2000s. Channel 4 was accused of having a 'toxic' working environment. Pictured: Channel 4's HQ Ms Mahon was accompanied by Channel 4's chairman Sir Ian Cheshire Channel 4 is thought to have helped drive Brand's career in its early days and has since launched its own investigation into sexual assault and misconduct allegations against the actor. 'This year we put out a documentary called Russell Brand: In Plain Sight with appalling and deeply troubling allegations in it about programmes he worked on between 2004 to 2007 for Channel 4 and elsewhere at the BBC. 'I'm particularly proud that we did that programme and called it to account. 'I'm quite determined to understand the nature of what Channel 4 did or didn't know. Obviously we've gone through a lot of management changes since then it was some time ago. 'Today we have a zero-tolerance approach and a number of facilities in place.' She added: 'I also understand it's not very easy for people to come forward.' 'My heart went through the ceiling' - the words of a Massachusetts man who was still in a state of shock on Monday night after he got word that his two young cousins had been freed in Israel. Jason Greenberg's relatives, Shahar Kalderon, 16, and her brother, Erez, 12, were among those who were taken by Hamas gunmen during the group's barbaric assault on the Jewish state on October 7. Sadly, their father, Ofer Kalderon, 53, is thought to be still be in the terror group's clutches. The children gained their freedom during a brief truce between Hamas and the Israeli government. They were part of a group of 11 who were released from captivity, almost all of whom were young children. Greenberg told CBS Boston that he first learned that his cousins were free through his family's text message group chat. Massachusetts man Jason Greenberg said that his family were left speechless after learning that their two young cousins had been freed in Israel Sahar Kalderon, 16, was held by Hamas for over seven weeks, and was released under the extended ceasefire deal Erez Kalderon, 12, was released by Hamas terrorists after being captive for over seven weeks In a separate interview with WCVB, Greenberg said he had seen a video of the Kalerdons' mother learning her children were free. 'She was in the middle of a mall and just broke down and started rejoicing. 'It has really been a rollercoaster. Right now, we are riding a high and we hope to be riding more highs,' he told Fox Boston in another piece. Greenberg went on to say that he himself had been in Israel on October 7 along with his father but the pair were able to get a flight out of Tel-Aviv. Five of his family members were not so lucky and were taken by Hamas. His sister, Abbey, lives in Israel. 'It has been 51 days since 200-plus people have not seen the light of day. I dont want people to forget that.' Sahar and Erez Kalerdon after being released from custody The hostages are now safely back in Israel, after spending weeks in Hamas' custody All 11 hostages came from the same settlement, Kibbutz Nir Oz, which lies just a mile-and-a-half away from the Gaza border and had a pre-incursion population of around 400 Two other members of his family, Carmela Dan, 80, and her granddaughter, Noya, 13, were murdered in the attack. '[Ofer] would readily sacrifice himself for the result that happened today. I would do the same for my children I know inside he knows his children are safe, and he can go to sleep tonight,' Greenberg also told Fox Boston. Shahar and Erez were two of the three French citizens who were released on Monday. The others were two German citizens and six Argentinian citizens. They were all taken from kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7. But fears from recent days that Hamas would split up families have seemingly been confirmed, as many of the children released have been forced to leave their loved ones behind. Images of Hamas handing over the 11 hostages revealed its militants stood in a parade as the civilians walked towards a Red Cross van The Red Cross was waiting for the hostages for the fourth time in as many days The Cunio family are still missing their father, David, after they were all taken from Nir Oz during Hamas' incursion. Twelve-year-old Eitan will also be missing his father, Ohad, who remains a Hamas prisoner. Eitan's mother, Bat Sheva, previously revealed that motorcycle-riding Hamas militants tried to kidnap her and her children from their Nir Oz home, but she managed to jump off with her two daughters. She added that she was terrified that her Manchester City-supporting son will not be the same following his seven-week stint as a hostage. A spokesperson for the hostages families told DailyMail.com on Monday: 'Every single child that has been released tonight is being returned while their father is being left in Hamas captivity in Gaza. Very hard to swallow.' The head of the kibbutz, Osnat Peri, tonight said in a statement: 'The news this evening brings a sigh of relief to our community.' Israeli media has reported that all 11 hostages being released tonight were all taken by Hamas from Kibbutz Nir Oz He said that he and his community are still 'deeply concerned about our loved ones that are still held hostage', adding that of the hostages still left in Gaza, 49 are from Nir Oz. Three of the hostages were French, and the country's president Emmanuel Macron tonight said in a post to X: 'Three of our young compatriots are part of the group of hostages released today. 'Extremely happy with this announcement.' Images of Hamas handing over the 11 hostages revealed its militants stood in a parade as the civilians walked towards a Red Cross van, which took them back to Israeli officials. One as-yet-unidentified hostage was seen leaving Hamas custody in a wheelchair, while several others were seen in bright pink clothes. Egyptian media has reported that a further six Thai hostages are set to be released alongside the Israelis, though this has not yet been confirmed. Qatar's foreign ministry said in a post on X that 33 Palestinian civilians held in Israeli jails will be freed in exchange, as part of the temporary ceasefire deal that was today extended by two days. The terms of the truce agreement pausing the fighting in the Gaza Strip say it can be extended beyond its initial four-day term as long as 10 hostages are released for each extra day, with three times as many Palestinians freed in return. The family of the youngest hostage held by Hamas have pleaded for his return as it was confirmed he was not on the list for the latest release, adding they hope the terrorists do not keep the child 'as a trophy'. Ten-month-old Kfir Bibas has been missing with his father Yarden, wife Shiri, 32, and their son Ariel, four, since October 7, with family members hoping they would be returned during the extended ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. But an IDF spokesperson said Shiri, Ariel and Kfir are believed to have been handed off to Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) - a jihadist group that seeks to destroy Israel and has historically rejected any diplomatic engagement with Tel-Aviv. Ofri, the sister of Kfir's father Yarden whose whereabouts are unknown, said: 'We're talking to you today because tomorrow is the last day of the current ceasefire. 'At the moment they are the youngest hostages still remaining in Hamas captivity. We don't know where they've been held. We're really worried about the 10-month-old baby with formula as the main diet. She described not knowing what was happening as 'psychological torture' and added: 'It's working really well because the last four days have been a big nightmare. 'I hope they don't hold them as a trophy,' she concluded. The statement came hours after Hamas said it will release ten Israeli hostages held in Gaza today in exchange for 30 Palestinian prisoners under an extended truce deal, a source close to the terror group claimed. Another relative of Kfir, Yafat Zaile, told Good Morning America today: 'Kfir is going to be 11 months soon - he was kidnapped when he was nine months. We don't know how he's being fed, or his condition, or if he's alive even. 'The Palestinian side, Hamas, is receiving their side of the agreement - where is my family? How can baby Kfir is being held there as some sort of leverage?' Hopes that Hamas could eventually return all hostages to Israel without issue were dashed last night when it emerged that as many as 40 people taken during the ruthless October 7 attacks - including ten-month-old Kfir Bibas - are no longer under the captivity of the Palestinian group The Bibas family, father Yarden, mother Shiri, baby Kfir and four-year-old Ariel, were taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 from Kibbutz Nir Oz The image of the two young boys being carried by their weeping mother, Shiri, as they were marched from their homes was one of the most striking to be published in the early days of the Israel-Hamas war Ten-month-old Kfir Bibas has been missing with his mother Shiri, 32 (pictured together) Collect picture from the Bibas family of Baby Kfir Bibas, and mother Shiri, brother Ariel, and father Yarden Another relative of Kfir, Yafat Zaile, told Good Morning America today: 'Kfir is going to be 11 months soon - he was kidnapped when he was nine months. We don't know how he's being fed, or his condition or if he's alive even' Hamas hands over 11 Israeli hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza City, Gaza on November 27, 2023 Hamas hands over 11 Israeli hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza City, Gaza on November 27, 2023 Hamas hands over 11 Israeli hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza City, Gaza on November 27, 2023 Israel said Hamas had returned 11 more hostages from the Gaza Strip on Monday, bringing to 69 the total of Israeli and foreign hostages the Palestinian group has freed since Friday under the truce. The White House and Qatari negotiators confirmed on Monday the original four day pause in fighting had been extended for two more days, while the Israeli prime minister's office said the government approved the addition of 50 female prisoners to its list of Palestinians for potential release if additional Israeli hostages are freed. But Hamas officials acknowledged that several of the 240 hostages taken on October 7 - including 10-month-old Kfir - are now in PIJ custody, and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, who led the effort to broker the ceasefire, said they 'may never be able to reach them'. And in yet another layer of complexity, some Israelis are feared to have been scooped up by civilian gangs who capitalised on the chaos of October 7 to seize hostages of their own. The Qatari Prime Minister said yesterday that Hamas must locate the remaining hostages whom he said were being held by 'civilians and gangs'. Hamas on Monday said it had sought to revise terms under which it would free hostages beyond the women and children it has already released. 'We hope the Occupation (Israel) abides (by the agreement) in the next two days because we are seeking a new agreement, besides women and children, whereby other categories that we have that we can swap,' Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya told Al Jazeera late on Monday. That, he said, would entail 'going towards an additional time period to continue swapping people at this stage'. Among hostages Hamas still holds are fathers and husbands of those it has freed in recent days. Israel previously said it would extend the truce by one day for every 10 more hostages released, providing some respite from the war. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains resolute in his intentions to crush Hamas, declaring his forces would resume its offensive 'with all of our might' once the truce expires. Ariel Bibas, a four-year-old who is among the Israeli hostages being held in Gaza Tal Goldstein-Almog, 9, (pictured) was seen being cradled by his loved ones after he and the other hostages arrived back in Israel Agam Goldstein-Almog, 17, (pictured, centre) was seen back in the arms of her loved ones after spending weeks as a hostage A group of Israelis celebrate as a helicopter carrying hostages released from the Gaza Strip lands at the helipad of the Schneider Children's Medical Center in Petah Tikva, Israel A Hamas fighter and Red Cross medics help newly released Israeli hostage Maya Regev into a Red Cross vehicle in the Gaza Strip For the first time since the cease-fire began, Israel and Hamas today traded accusations of a serious violation. The Israeli military said three explosive devices were detonated near its troops at two locations in northern Gaza, and that militants at one site opened fire on the troops, who fired back. Hamas, in turn, accused Israel of committing a 'blatant breach of the ceasefire,' triggering retaliation by its fighters, without providing details. It said in a statement that it 'was still committed to the cease-fire so long as the enemy is committed to it,' and urged mediators to intervene. It was not immediately clear if the exchange posed a threat to the truce. But it underscored the fragility of the deal, particularly in northern Gaza where Israeli forces and Hamas fighters are holding their positions in close proximity to each other. The sides agreed to extend their truce through Wednesday, with another two planned exchanges of militant-held hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. But Israel has vowed to resume the war with 'full force' to destroy Hamas once it's clear that no more hostages will be freed under the deal. The Biden administration has told Israel it must avoid 'significant further displacement' and mass casualties among Palestinian civilians if it resumes the offensive, and that it must operate with more precision in southern Gaza than it has in the north, according to U.S. officials. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House. The widow of a French serial killer denied that she allegedly procured virgins for him to rape as she has gone on trial for helping him snatch British student Joanna Parrish and dump her body. Monique Olivier, 75, appeared in court in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on Tuesday accused of aiding and abetting gruesome attacks by the late Michel Fourniret, dubbed 'The Ogre of the Ardennes', and who died aged 79 in 2021. Before his death, her husband was accused of murdering eight girls and young women between 1987 and 2001. He also confessed to killing three more, but died before he could stand trial. Appearing in the dock in a grey sweatshirt, Olivier outlined her part in multiple murders, including that of Leeds University student Joanna Parrish, who was originally from Gloucestershire. According to prosecution evidence, Olivier 'used the pretext of English lessons to get young women' for Fourniret. Judge Didier Safar reminded Oliver that she wrote in letters that it was her job 'to procure a young virgin,' Olivier replied: 'It's ridiculous. I regret all that'. Monique Olivier, 75, appeared in court in the Paris suburb of Nanterre on Tuesday (pictured) accused of aiding and abetting gruesome attacks by the late Michel Fourniret, dubbed the Ogre of the Ardennes, and who died in 2021 Olivier on trial for being an accomplice in three further murders, including that of Leeds University student Joanna Parrish (pictured), who was originally from Gloucestershire Olivier is already serving a life sentence for complicity in four of the killings and a gang rape committed by Fourniret (seen in 2008) After the details about the murders were outlined, Olivier said: 'I regret everything that happened, listening to all that.' She told the lead judge in a low voice when asked if she would answer questions: 'I will do my best.' She also told the court: 'I never had a criminal pact with him, whatever it was. We made promises we didn't keep. They were to do everything that he said.' Olivier is already serving a life sentence for complicity in four of the killings and a gang rape committed by Fourniret. She is now on trial for being an accomplice in three further murders, including that of Ms Parrish. Olivier would regularly find victims for Fourniret because 'she liked to carry out his orders,' according to prosecution evidence. 'It was completely stupid,' Fourniret told the court. 'When I reflect on everything that happened, all the horrors, he used me like an object. 'He had a way of speaking, of reacting, that made you think something could happen. He would say to me "you obey, you don't try and understand, obey and that's it. My husband knew I was afraid of him. He was happy to see that.' Olivier told the court that she was abused by her first husband, with whom she had two sons. 'One night, I had put the children to bed and he saw me in the bedroom and he slapped me, tried to strangle me and put me in the bathroom and forced my head into a full bath,' she said. Following two divorces, Olivier replied to a newpaper advertisement worded: 'Prisoner, would like to correspond with someone, of any age, to forget loneliness.' He turned out to be Michel Fourniret, and Olivier exchanged 200 letters with him before they later married and had a son, Selim, in 1988. 'I was incapable of looking after myself. I don't know why,' Olivier told the court. Olivier and Fourniret lived together until 2003, during which time the naked body of 20-year-old Ms Parrish was found in the Yonne River, near the eastern city of Auxerre, in May 1990. Her parents, Roger Parrish and his ex-wife Pauline Murrell have been battling for justice ever since, and are due to give evidence in court. Fourniret was charged with abduction, rape and murder in the cases but died aged 79, before he could be brought to trial. Fourniret's crimes include the case of Marie-Angele Domece, 18, who, like Parrish, was initially reported missing from Auxerre, but whose body has never been found. Olivier is charged with aiding and abetting the kidnapping and murder of both women. After details of the three deaths were described in court, Olivier said: 'I regret everything that happened, listening to all that' Olivier is charged with aiding and abetting the kidnapping and murder of both Ms Parrish and Ms Domece. The third charge is for Olivier's complicity in the 2003 disappearance of nine-year-old Estelle Mouzin , whose body has also never been found The third charge is for Olivier's complicity in the 2003 disappearance of nine-year-old Estelle Mouzin, whose body has also never been found. It was 'essential' to hold a trial for Olivier, said Corinne Herrmann, a lawyer representing Domece's family, saying it was 'harrowing' but also 'a liberation for the families'. Many of the witnesses set to be called in the three-week trial are investigators from France and Belgium, where Fourniret was arrested in 2003. Witnesses in the current trial include Sabine Kheris, the investigating magistrate who recorded Fourniret's confession. Ms Kheris is now in charge of a cold cases unit based in Nanterre, where the Hauts-de-Seine assizes court is situated. It was packed on Tuesday, as photographers were briefly allowed in to take pictures of Olivier in the dock. Fourniret was dubbed the 'Ogre of the Ardennes' after the region on the France-Belgium border where preyed on victims. The trial is 'the result of a very long battle', said Didier Seban, a lawyer representing Mouzin's father, Eric. The fact Fourniret never stood trial for the crimes shows 'we didn't manage to run the investigation the way it should have been', he added. Fourniret himself asked in 2008 to be tried in all three cases but 'nothing was done', Herrmann recalled ahead of the trial. The trial of Olivier alone is 'somewhat short of the mark' for Eric Mouzin, who threw all his energy into finding out what happened to his daughter. 'It will be difficult to pass judgement with only a single defendant,' he said, even though Olivier herself is charged with 'significant' crimes. Neither does he hope for anything from the woman in the dock herself, beyond seeing her 'sentenced in line with the seriousness of the crime'. A digger arrives to the site where French police and gendarmerie units conduct searches to find the body of French missing girl Estelle Mouzin near Issancourt-et-Rumel, northeastern France, on April 8, 2021 Olivier's lawyer, Richard Delgenes, said the court should 'not expect any revelations' on her part but that her 'participation' in the process is what sets her apart from her husband. 'Unlike him, she takes no special pleasure in the pain of his victims or of the families,' he added. The 75-year-old has already been convicted twice of aiding and abetting in some of her husband's crimes. Olivier received a life sentence in 2008 over her role in four murders and a rape committed by Fourniret, and could face a second in the present trial. In 2018, Olivier was given a further 20 years' jail for her part in the killing of Farida Hammiche, the wife of one of Fourniret's former cellmates. In 2019, she overturned her husband's alibi for the day Mouzin disappeared, prompting him to admit responsibility months later. Fourniret had earlier admitted killing Parrish and Domece. The trial continues. A New Orleans teenager has been found guilty of murdering grandmother Linda Frickey who had one of her arms torn off in a violent carjacking in March last year. It took a jury less than four hours to convict Honore on Monday. He now faces a mandatory life sentence on a charge of second degree murder. His accomplices were all given plea deals for manslaughter and were jailed for 20 years. Prosecutors refused to give Honore a plea deal. Frickey, 73, had been leaving a local business when the gang of teens approached her on March 21, 2022, at about 1.30pm. They drove with her body still in the car, trapped by her seatbelt, until one of her arms was severed. It was one of the most violent car jackings the city has ever seen. John Honore, 18, was convicted of second degree murder for the horrific 2022 killing. He now faces life in prison Linda Frickey, 73, was killed in the savage attack. She had been driving when the gang of youngsters approached her and tried to toss her from the car Surveillance video showed the teens getting into Frickey's gray SUV, before her arm caught in the seatbelt and she was dragged down the block Three other youngsters took plea deals that involved a conviction for manslaughter and a 30-year prison sentence. They are Briniyah Baker, 17, Lenyra Theophile, 16, and Mar'Qel Curtis. All four were arrested last year after police shared surveillance footage of them on the day of the attack. One of the girls' mothers marched her to the police station after recognizing her in the surveillance footage. Earlier this month, all three were given 20-year prison sentences. Honore was convicted of second-degree murder and will now face a mandatory life sentence. His attorneys tried to plead his case, claiming he was an idiotic adolescent who didn't have the ability to make decisions knowing the weight of their consequences. In a letter to Frickey's family, he begged for mercy. 'To the family of Ms. Linda Frickey, I am John and I am so sorry I apologize for you having to go through what you are going through. No person's family should have to go through that type of hurt. Briniyah Baker, 17, Lenyra Theophile, 16, and Mar'Qel Curtis (pictured) pleaded guilty to attempted manslaughter Monday The grandmother screamed for her assailants to let her go before her arm was severed and clothes were torn off Honore wrote a letter to Frickey's family to beg for mercy 'I made the biggest mistake of my life that day. I think about what you and the family may be going through every day. I say the 'our father' prayer every day and night. 'I ask for forgiveness everyday. I have wanted to write you all a letter for a long time but I didn't know what to say and I still don't know what to say. 'I just want you to know sincerely I am sorry. 'I know words may change how you feel but I want you to know that I'm aware of how serious this is and I think I am doing the right thing.' After his conviction, members of Frickey's family celebrated. 'I hope he feels the fear that she had in her heart that day. I hope he feels the pain and he hears himself scream for mercy and it doesn't come,' one relative said. On one instance, he referred to an intern using a 'derogatory gendered term' John Scipione was suspended without pay in 2022 following claims of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior A former Colorado judge has been publicly censured over inappropriate behavior that included boasting about his 'non-monogamous' lifestyle with his sex therapist wife and failing to disclose an extramarital affair. John Scipione, a former 18th Judicial District Court judge, was suspended without pay in August 2022 . The following January, the Colorado Supreme Court accepted his resignation after Scipione, 54, admitted to a year-long extramarital affair with a court clerk when he was a magistrate. He was accused of using his position as a judicial officer 'to seek intimate relationships with Judicial Department employees or court personnel' on at least three occasions. The inappropriate behavior emerged as part of a sexual harassment inquiry into Scipione. He was publicly censured for the first time on November 19 this year. John Scipione, a former 18th Judicial District Court judge, was publicly censured following a series of ethical infractions The court order said Scipione (pictured with wife Kymberly Synnott Scipione) made a law clerk uncomfortable when he said he was 'jealous' of her relationship with another employee The 54-year-old used his position as a judicial officer 'to seek intimate relationships with Judicial Department employees or court personnel' at least three times, documents reveal Scipione was serving as a district court judge during the summer of 2021 and had a legal assistant and law student interning as a clerk, court documents reveal. The court order said he referred to his legal assistant with a 'derogatory gendered term' and 'made comments that made the law clerk feel uncomfortable.' Scipione referred to the clerks arms and hairstyle and joked he was 'jealous' of the clerks relationship with another court employee, according to court documents. On one occasion, Scipione allegedly said he was 'consensually non-monogamous' when the clerk asked about a ring he was wearing, before going on to discuss a 'ranch' that 'catered to that "lifestyle''.' He also asked the law clerk to help him with a Tinder profile. During the same summer, Scipione used his judicial email address to speak with a judge presiding over a probate action for his fathers estate. Scipione requested the judge expedite an order of appointment and letters testamentary in the case before filing a motion seeking those same actions. The court order said he violated Colo. RPC 3.5(b), which states that 'a lawyer must not communicate ex parte with a judge by means prohibited by law,' with narrow exceptions. Scipione is also accused of violating Colo. RPC 8.4(i), which forbids lawyers from engaging in behavior that they 'reasonably should know constitutes sexual harassment.' Scipione said he was 'consensually non-monogamous' when the clerk asked about a ring he was wearing The judge was suspended without pay in August 2022 after he failed to disclose an extramarital affair with a court clerk and resigned in the following January Scipione discussed with the intern a 'ranch' that 'catered to that "lifestyle'' which could be Scarlet Ranch, a private swingers club that holds events in Littleton, though it is unclear Scipione became a lawyer in Colorado in 1995, according to state records. He served as a magistrate in Arapahoe County from 2012 to 2017 before he was appointed to the 18th Judicial District Court bench a year later. He did not disclose the affair when the applied to become a district judge, a failure to comply with court standards and procedures. It is unclear which 'ranch' Scipione is referring to in his alleged remarks to the law clerk, but one possibility is Scarlet Ranch, a private swingers club that holds events in Littleton. The club throws themed parties including an 'erotic kink festival' held the third Friday of each month and an annual 'Animal Instinct' party that encourages attendees to don ears and tails. Membership for couples is priced from $100 annually up to a $9,500 'lifetime fee.' A spokesperson was not immediately available for comment. Scipione's wife of 25 years, Kymberly Synnott Scipione, is a psychologist and trained sex expert based in Lone Tree. The mother-of-five penned a project titled: 'A Qualitative Exploration of Consensual Non-monogamy Relationships between Married Heterosexual Couples' Scipione's wife of 25 years, Kymberly Synnott Scipione, is a psychologist and trained sex expert based in Lone Tree. She returned to California Southern University for a second doctorate, where she penned a project titled: 'A Qualitative Exploration of Consensual Non-monogamy Relationships between Married Heterosexual Couples.' The mother-of-five addressed her relationship with Scipione in the dedication, writing: 'I want to take this time to acknowledge my wonderful husband, John Scipione. John has been my biggest supporter through this time of academic endeavors.' Synnott Scipione's social media pages are filled with pictures of herself and her husband dressed in matching costumes and posing with her five children. Her professional biography on one site reads: 'I have been married for over 20 years and love working with couples who want to enhance their marriage and or work through conflicts.' Paul witnessed Buffy being taken by the coyote and they never saw her again The company recently expanded to a larger operating facility and has sold more than 10,000 products globally A California couple decided to take the tragic death of their dog and turn it into a booming business. Paul and Pamela Mott launched Coyote Vest in 2015 after their late dog, Buffy, was snatched up by a coyote at a local park in 2014. 'I turned around and there's my small dog in the mouth of a coyote being carried away. I've never seen her since. Disappeared. Gone... it was the worst day of my life,' Paul told NBC 7. The $110 vest's design comes equipped with removeable chrome spikes and spikes for the neck and back. Nylon bristles called Coyote Whiskers are also available to attach to the vest. The couple's small business has grown so big that they've since expanded to a larger operating facility in the Scripps Ranch neighborhood of San Diego and have sold more than 10,000 products to pet owners across the globe. The Coyote Vest is designed to protect the neck and back of an animal from predators Paul and Pamela Mott launched Coyote Vest in 2015 after their late dog Buffy was snatched up by a coyote at a local park in 2014 The vest itself is designed to protect the neck and back of an animal, which according to the company's website, 'are usually targeted during an attack.' The spikes and stab-resistant materials are made to withstand sharp canine teeth like that of a coyote. The spikes are made of hard plastic that with enough pressure, are sharp enough to hurt, but not sharp enough to handle. Each vest also comes with an adjustable waist belt and collar that can fit any dog, and even cats. A leash can also be connected directly to the vest. Reflective features are also included on the product to make your pet more visible in the dark. The waterproof vest is also machine washable and pairs well with the brand's Coyote Whiskers, Hawk Shield and Everyday Spike Collar that are sold separately. The whiskers serve as a way to protect the tiny animals as they are stiff enough to irritate the eyes and mouth of a predator. Although there are spikes around the neck of the vest, additional spiked collars are also sold. Paul pictured with the couple's late dog Buffy. He witnessed a coyote grab the pup by the neck at a park in 2014 and he never saw her again The vests come in different sizes for a variety of pets, including both cats and dogs. There are also an adjustable waist belt and collar on each one The whiskers serve as a way to protect the tiny animals as they are stiff enough to irritate the eyes and mouth of a predator The day that Buffy died, Paul was at the park with the pup and his two other dogs, Sparky and Scooter. In a Facebook post after the dreadful attack, Paul said he turned around to see the coyote 'carrying Buffy by the neck' away from the park. Paul couldn't find Buffy after she was taken, and the couple had to cope with their sudden loss. Paul had considered just keeping his dog's home and locked away from harm, but he told ABC News he later decided that he wasn't 'going to stay home and be terrified.' A customer posted to the company's Facebook as she posed with her dog dressed in one of the Coyote Vests and said: 'I live in San Diego where we have fearless coyotes.' 'I feel it's just a matter of time before my 7lbs, 2 yr. old yorkie, Charlie, was a meal for a predator,' she added. Another happy customer said that the product was 'an absolute must have' in a review she wrote on the brand's website as her nine-month-old Papillon posed in a neon orange vest. The Coyote Vest and Spike Vest both sell for $109.95. 'All I can say is if you love your dog you should let them know as often as you can and you should enjoy their company as often as you can,' Paul said. He warned people to be 'very afraid of coyotes' and compared them to the Angel of death that comes with 'no warning.' The vests and accessories such as the Coyote Whiskers, Hawk Shield and additional Spiked Collars are sold separately Spiked vests are also sold for cats on the site In early May, a 10lb Maltese with three teeth saved his brother-pup from a coyote in a Southern California backyard as a coyote attempted to snatch the pup. Vinny, an 11-year-old pooch, sprang into action when he heard his brother Harley yelping in the corner of their yard after a coyote jumped the fence. Harley had been in the coyote's mouth his owner says and danger was looming on the other side of the fence as another coyote was just feet away. Despite his age and physical state, Vinny did not hesitate to chase after the coyote in the yard in video taken on their owner's backyard surveillance camera. Upstate New York is set to be blanketed by up to two feet of snow as a lake effect storm sweeps in, bringing wind gusts of up to 35mph. Blizzard-like conditions have already shut down schools and caused treacherous driving conditions in western and northern parts of the region as of Tuesday morning. But the snowfall is expected to ramp up this afternoon, with up to three inches falling every hour in the worst affected parts, the National Weather Service warned. More than 3.3 million Americans from the far eastern tip of Ohio across to New York are currently covered by a hazardous alert for heavy snow. The storm has already battered Buffalo, which was crippled by a similar weather pattern last Christmas and had already seen drifts that are a foot high in parts by Monday night. A lake effect snow storm will dump up to two feet of snow across parts of Upstate New York on Tuesday, forecasters say Forecasters predict accumulations could hit three inches every hour in the worst affected parts Around three million people from the far eastern tip of Ohio across to New York are currently covered by a hazardous alert for heavy snow Photos and videos posted on social media show near-impossible driving conditions, with cars buried under feet of snow in the region on Monday night into Tuesday. Flashes of lightning could be seen via satellite image as freezing air from Canada plunged southward causing disturbances in the atmosphere. Dozens of schools have closed their doors or switched to remote learning amid warnings to avoid all travel where possible. Motorists are urged to stay off the roads, with hazardous travel conditions expected particularly in time for the commute home. 'The greatest accumulations will remain south of Watertown and across the Tug Hill Plateau,' which is east of Lake Ontario, forecasters told the New York Times. 'Areas outside of the lake effect will largely see nothing more than a passing snow shower at times.' Warnings for heavy snow are in place for until early Wednesday morning for Jefferson, Lewis and Oswego Counties. Northern Oneida and Onondaga Counties, including Syracuse, are also covered and could see accumulations of up to 14 inches. Whiteout conditions were seen in Buffalo as the storm began on Monday night, though most of the snowfall today is expected to hit south of the area Road conditions had already become treacherous by Monday and NYS Thruway TRANSalert reported several incidents along the I-90 Western New York counties of Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie and Wyoming were forecast to see up to 12 inches. Parts of Hamilton and northern Herkimer Counties also fall within the lake effect warning area. Whiteout conditions have been forecast for the worst hit areas, as gale force winds whip up drifts of snow. 'Travel will be very difficult with poor visibility and deep snow cover on roads,' forecasters said, as they warned any travel could be 'difficult to impossible'. 'If traveling, be prepared for rapidly changing road conditions and visibilities.' Last night, NYS Thruway TRANSalert was reporting several incidents along the I-90, while AAA warned of delays in reaching vehicles due to 'heavy snow and slick roads'. Governor Kathy Hochul urged New Yorkers to prepare for the onslaught. 'The most hazardous weather conditions will be in the areas where lake effect snow bands form and produce a lot of snow in a short period, which will hamper travel in some places for the next day or so,' she said. The lake effect weather pattern occurs when cold air, often originating from Canada, moves across the open waters of the Great Lakes before they have frozen over, collecting moisture which then falls as snow The National Weather service warned that travel conditions would be 'difficult to impossible' as it implored New Yorkers to stay home if they can 'There is still some uncertainty where and when snow bands will form and the heaviest snow will fall. 'Use extra caution when traveling and stay on top of the forecast throughout this event so you can plan your travel and other activities accordingly. 'My team will monitor this weather system and its impacts throughout this event and are ready to assist partners at the local level as needed.' The lake effect weather pattern occurs when cold air, often originating from Canada, moves across the open waters of the Great Lakes before they have frozen over, collecting moisture that falls as snow. When combined with fierce winds, the bands of snow can cause rapid accumulations and wreak havoc even in areas well accustomed to icy weather. Typically the most devastating lake effect snowstorms occur during November and December when the difference between the temperature of the air and the Great Lakes is bigger. Last year, consecutive lake effect snowstorms paralyzed Buffalo with 133.6 inches of snow falling during the winter season, significantly higher than the typical average of 95 inches. This year, the region is expected to be spared, with the snow largely expected to remain south of the Buffalo Metro area. Dozens of schools had closed their doors or switched to remote learning amid warnings to avoid travel The New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services said it has more than 1,500 generators and almost 1,000 heaters ready to be deployed if necessary. Elsewhere, a hazardous weather outlook is in place for northwestern Connecticut, western Massachusetts, east-central New York, eastern New York and southern Vermont until tonight. Forecasters warned inches of snow could fall rapidly, causing reduced visibility and travel complications. The latest round of winter weather comes after a huge storm dumped several inches of snow from the Plains to parts of the Midwest late last week, prompting travel chaos around Thanksgiving. The difficult conditions led to several crashes, which left at least three people dead. Hunter Biden told House Republicans on Tuesday he will testify in public any day in December after he was issued a subpoena for a closed-door interview. 'We take you up on your offer,' Biden's attorney Abbe Lowell wrote to House Oversight Chairman James Comer. Then Lowell offered the condition to Hunter's testimony: 'But - rather than subscribing to your cloaked, one-sided process - he will appear at a public Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing.' He explained their reasoning: 'A public proceeding would prevent selective leaks, manipulated transcripts, doctored exhibits, or one-sided press statements.' Hunter Biden has been going on the offensive in the charges against him and his latest volley escalates the battle he's facing with House Republicans. Republicans responded they want Hunter to testify on the 13th - behind closed doors as they requested but added they would be open to a public testimony too. Hunter Biden - seen above with his wife Melissa Cohen - offered to testify in public before Congress in December Lowell's letter was combative in tone and, in it, he blasted House Republicans for using tax payer dollars in their 'empty investigation.' 'Your empty investigation has gone on too long wasting too many better-used resources. It should come to an end,' he wrote. He went on to add that Hunter was willing to appear on December 13 - which is the date House Republicans asked for - or 'any date in December we can arrange.' 'All you will learn is that your accusations are baseless. However, the American people should see that for themselves,' Lowell wrote. Rep. James Comer accused Hunter of 'trying to play by his own rules' and said they want him to testify as they requested. 'Hunter Biden is trying to play by his own rules instead of following the rules required of everyone else. That won't stand with House Republicans,' Comer said in a statement. 'Our lawfully issued subpoena to Hunter Biden requires him to appear for a deposition on December 13. We expect full cooperation with our subpoena for a deposition but also agree that Hunter Biden should have opportunity to testify in a public setting at a future date,' he added. And Rep. Jim Jordan, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, wrote on X: 'We are glad that Hunter Biden has decided to cooperate and we look forward to hearing from him in a deposition on December 13 and subsequently at a public hearing.' House Republicans are investigating Hunter's business dealings and have charged President Joe Biden personally benefited from his son using his connections. The Biden family have denied any wrong doing and President Biden has repeatedly said he was not involved in his son's business affairs. In November, House Republicans subpoenaed Hunter Biden and President Biden's brother James to testify. James Biden was asked to appear for an interview with the panel on Dec. 6 and has yet to respond. There are risks for Hunter Biden in testifying in public. He is currently under indictment for gun charges brought by special counsel David Weiss where he has pleaded not guilty. But additional tax charges could also be handed down, and anything Hunter Biden testified to in a congressional hearing would be admissible in criminal trial. Hunter Biden's attorney Abbe Lowell wrote to House Oversight Chairman James Comer Melissa Cohen and Hunter Biden with President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden in Nantucket over the Thanksgiving holiday Hunter and James were subpoenaed as part of House Republicans' impeachment inquiry in President Biden, which is used to determine whether there is enough evidence to launch a formal impeachment. They say they have 12-15 more interviews to conduct. They must then decide whether to vote on impeachment articles - and force moderates to make a politically fraught vote on whether or not to impeach the president. Ending an impeachment inquiry without a vote, or with a failed vote, would be an embarrassing defeat for Republicans, and would effectively look like it cleared the president of any wrongdoing. Meanwhile, Hunter Biden has been going on the offensive after being hit with three federal charges related to his 2018 purchase of a handgun and facing an investigation into his taxes. He has sued the IRS for releasing his tax information, which he claims should have remained confidential. House Republicans are also investigating if politics affected any decisions about bringing charges against Hunter Biden after a plea deal with federal prosecutors fell apart. U.S. Attorney David Weiss and Hunter's lawyers reached a plea deal in July that called for the president's son to plead guilty in Delaware federal court to two misdemeanor counts of failing to pay his taxes in return for prosecutors' recommending probation. A separate felony gun charge of illegally owning the Colt Cobra .38 special handgun would have been dropped in two years if Biden honored the terms of what is known as a diversion agreement. The plea deal, which Republicans blasted as a 'sweetheart deal' fell apart in a Delaware courtroom when the presiding judge started to question some of its details, including one that would theoretically protect Hunter Biden from other tax-related crimes in the same period. Prosecutors said it would not. Hunter's lawyers said it would. The agreement collapsed. The three federal charges related to the gun purchase were announced earlier this month. Two of the counts carry maximum prison sentences of 10 years, while the third has a maximum of five years. Each count also carries a maximum fine of $250,000. U.S. Attorney David Weiss leaves the interview before members of the House Judiciary Committee in early November Weiss told the House Judiciary Committee earlier this month that politics have played 'no part' in his investigation into Hunter Biden and that he was never stopped from bringing charges by the Justice Department or other federal offices. That testimony happened behind closed doors as was part of House Republicans' probe into Weiss after two IRS whistle blowers claimed Weiss was stiffled in his probe of the president's son. 'I am, and have been, the decision-maker on this case,' Weiss said according to his prepared remarks. READ MORE: 'Squad' firebrand Rashida Tlaib's astonishing links to shady Hamas group held liable for DEATH of an American Jew An unidentified woman got into a hostile exchange with a father at a Bay Area mall on Black Friday after yelling at pro-Palestinian protestors This is the shocking moment a woman was seen spitting on pro-Palestine protestors at a northern California shopping mall on Black Friday - and snarling racist abuse at a father who confronted her. The incident, caught on video and originally posted on TikTok, shows a casually dressed red-headed woman shouting from a second floor balcony at a group of protestors calling for a ceasefire as they marched through San Jose Westfield Valley Fair mall last Friday. After shouting a few indiscernible phrases at the crowd, the unidentified woman flashes both of her middle fingers and spits down toward the crowd. When she turned around, a man behind her who was holding his young daughter's hand, confronted the woman and told her not to spit on his daughter. The unidentified woman and the man with his daughter had a hostile back-and-forth after she spit on the crowd below 'Don't tell me what to do,' responded the woman, angrily. She added she had not been spitting on his daughter. He retorted that she had spit near his daughter, which he did not like. The two shouted back and forth, as the woman yelled: 'You don't know anything about me.' As both parties began walking away, the irate woman said with a raised voice: 'F**king black people.' The woman recording the video of the argument can then be heard shouting at the red-head about the remark. Footage of the incident first appeared on TikTok from a user with the handle @popprincesszelda. The audio has since been stripped, but a tweet of the original TikTok has garnered more than 20million views. The unpleasant altercation transpired at the San Jose Westfield Valley Fair mall on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Anti-Israel protestors had gathered at shopping malls in major cities across the US to demand a ceasefire. By Friday morning, a ceasefire had already begun in the region - that Israel has made clear will last as long as Hamas continue to hand back innocent Israeli hostages. Dozens of pro-Palestinian protestors marched through the Westfield Valley Fair mall on Black Friday demanding a ceasefire The unidentified woman shouted at pro-Palestinian protestors at the Bay Area mall on Friday Demonstrators gathered elsewhere: outside Macy's flagship store in midtown Manhattan on Friday, protestors yelled at people as they headed inside to shop Demonstrators also shut down 34th street and 6th avenue in Manhattan with a massive Palestinian flag Videos of the Westfield Valley Fair mall protest show dozens of demonstrators marching through the building chanting: 'While you're shopping, bombs are dropping.' A statement from the San Jose Police Department said officers who were monitoring the protest saw 'no crimes reported' before demonstrators dispersed around 3.30pm. Additionally, the department said the incident regarding the shouting woman was not reported to them, 'but we have initiated an investigation' and are 'still combing through evidence.' Anti-Israel protesters also targeted Macy's flagship store in New York on Black Friday after disrupting the store's iconic Thanksgiving Day parade on Thursday. Disrupters outside the midtown Manhattan store yelled at people as they headed inside to shop, chanting 'Why are you shopping? Bombs are dropping!' It was one of several pro-Palestine demonstrations across the city on Black Friday; Demonstrators also shut down 34th street and 6th avenue in Manhattan with a massive Palestinian flag, as officials warned the protest would cause traffic delays. Donald Trump's legal team filed a document Monday arguing the ex-president had a legitimate 'good faith' basis to question the results of the 2020 election results. The long-shot filing also demanded government prosecutors to turn over communications between President Joe Biden and his family members with the Justice Department. Trump's lawyers, led by Todd Blanche and John Lauro, claim in the filing that the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021 could have resulted from 'failed sting operations rather than any directions from President Trump.' While raising all of these arguments, the main objective of the filing seems to be to further delay the Justice Department's lawsuit against Trump accusing him of plotting to undermine the federal government and obstruct congressional certification of the 2020 presidential election. The demands in the latest filing include more than 70 pages of legal motions along with 300 pages of supporting exhibits. It argues for leeway in the request to force special counsel Jack Smith and his prosecution team to turn over a wide-range of information and documents, including communications between the DOJ with President Biden, his relatives and administration members and associates. Donald Trump's legal team filed a motion on Monday arguing the ex-president had legitimate reasons to questions the results of the 2020 election results including claims by the January 6 Committee admitting Russia, Iran and China conducted influence campaigns The filing demands the prosecution hand over communications and 'coordination' between the Justice Department and Biden, his team and his family including his son Hunter The defense made 59 requests including the identification of 'informants and other undercover operatives' involved in the January 6 Capitol attack as well as information regarding security measures carried out that day. It also demands assessments of cyberattacks and other interference in the 2020 election whether actual or attempted. And it claims as evidence that Trump had legitimate questions about the 2020 election that the January 6 committee acknowledged that 'Russia, China, and Iran . . . engage, to varying degrees, in disguised efforts to influence U.S. public opinion' specifically in U.S. elections. It notes that the DOJ and Department of Homeland Security report 'acknowledges '[b]road Russian and Iranian campaigns' that ;did compromise the security of several networks that managed some election functions.' Additional requests for communications between Biden and his circle are made under the defense's allegations that Trump is a victim of political persecutions because he is the president's primary rival in his 2024 reelection bid. Trump's lawyers, therefore, claim the prosecution must turn over any information related to communication or 'coordination' by the DOJ with the Biden administration and his family - including his 53-year-old son Hunter. The filing also says it wants to see any information about former Vice President Mike Pence's interactions with the DOJ. Pence has become a key witness in the federal indictment They are also seeking information about the DOJ's interactions with former Vice President Mike Pence. The filing suggests that Pence, a key witness in the case, aligned his story with the prosecution in order to avoid charges after classified documents were found at his home in the wake of the FBI raid on Trump's Mar-a-Lago property to recover similar documents and materials. The DOJ closed Pence's case without charges. Meanwhile, one of the four felony prosecutions Trump is facing this year is related to his mishandling of classified documents after leaving the White House. Along with the election and documents cases, Trump is also facing a case in Georgia related to his efforts to obstruct the state's 2020 election results, as well as a New York state case accusing him of business fraud and covering up a 2016 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. Trump is the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. He has pleaded not guilty to the August 1 indictment accusing him of plotting to undermine the federal government, obstruct certification of the 2020 election and disenfranchise American voters. A horrified resident has told of the terrifying moment a massive crane collapsed onto a block of new-build apartments under construction in Scotland. Jeanette Smith told how she heard a deafening 'bang' and her entire building shook in the force of the impact shortly before 9.30am on Tuesday. The catastrophic collapse triggered a huge emergency response with two people treated by ambulance crews at the scene. Shocking footage shows the arm of the crane lying on top of the apartment complex which is being built in Edinburgh as workers watch on in horror. The huge metal structure can be seen bent and crumpled, lying on top of the six-floor apartment building, while another video shows fire engines present at the scene at Steads Place. A crane collapsed onto a block of new-build apartments under construction in Scotland Shocking pictures show the arm of the crane lying on top of the apartment complex which is being built at Steads Place in Edinburgh Horrified resident Jeanette Smith told of the terrifying moment a massive crane collapsed onto a block of new-build apartments under construction in Scotland. Jeanette told Edinburgh Live: 'I think it was about nine o'clock because my daughter called me to see if I was alright. I heard a big bang and my building moved - it literally moved, and I got such a fright. 'I got up, I looked up my car but I couldn't see anything. 'I went out to speak to the police but I can't get out now with my car, so I am stuck at home. 'I was just getting ready to go shopping, but I think I will be at home for the rest of the day. 'The police officer said to me they were going to have to check some of the buildings. 'I've still got the feeling, I got an awful fright. It was the feeling of the actual building moving.' The Scottish Ambulance Service said that two people were treated at the scene following the incident. One witness at the scene told the Scottish Sun that they heard a loud crack sound before the crane collapsed, which then 'caused part of the roof to cave in'. They estimated that around 100 workers were in the apartment building at the time. Meanwhile a crane has collapsed in Leith pic.twitter.com/EM3cVnT9hS Harry Cole (@MrHarryCole) November 28, 2023 Pictures show the extent of the damage that the crane caused to the apartment building below after it collapsed The catastrophic collapse triggered a huge emergency response with two people treated by ambulance crews at the scene A section of crane gave way and fell down damaging the apartment complex below The scene at Steads Place, Leith, Edinburgh, after a crane fell onto the top of an apartment complex under construction The incident occurred at around 9:30 at a building site at Steads Place (pictured) in Edinburgh Police Scotland said in a statement on X: 'Emergencies services are in attendance at Steads Place in Edinburgh after a crane collapsed at a building site. 'There are road closures in place at Leith Walk and Pilrig Street. 'Motorists and pedestrians are asked to avoid the area.' The Scottish Ambulance Service said: 'We received a call at 0929 hours today to attend an incident in Leith, Edinburgh. 'We dispatched two ambulances and our special operations team (SORT) to the scene and have treated two patients at the scene.' The 2.9-acre site is being developed by Drum Property Group, with the apartment buildings due to be completed by spring 2024. Metnor Construction Ltd is building the first phase of the 110 build-to-rent apartments, which are located on the site of a former industrial estate. The City of Edinburgh Council approved of the development plans in 2019 and construction of the apartments began in July 2022. MailOnline has contacted the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Drum Property Group for comment. The family of Hamas' youngest hostage, 10-month-old Kfir Bibas, say it is 'torture' knowing he has been handed to another terror group as war 'leverage' in the hopes that he might deter IDF from bombing the city he is now believed to be in. Bibas was taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz along with his older brother, Ariel, and their parents, Yarden and Shiri Bibas, on October 7. His maternal grandparents were murdered in the massacre. While Hamas continues to release hostages as part of an agreed-upon three-day truce with Israel, the Bibas family remains unaccounted for. A spokesperson for IDF yesterday made the grim announcement that the family has been moved to Khan Younis, a city in southern Gaza that is expected to come under heavy fire when the ceasefire ends on Thursday. Today, in a desperate plea for information and help, Shiri's cousin Yifat Zailer appeared on Good Morning America. Kfir Babas, 10 months, was taken with his older brother and parents on October 7. IDF officials say he is now in the control of another terror group and is near or in the southern city of Khan Younis Shiri Yarden's cousin Yifat Zailer appeared on Good Morning America today to beg for information about the family Where is my family? Every night, receiving that phone call that they are not coming back tomorrow. It's torture. It's psychological torture. Yifat Zailer, whose relatives, including a 10-month-old, are being held hostage by Hamas, speaks out. https://t.co/wlNy9R6YSE pic.twitter.com/PIGMkVB9CT Good Morning America (@GMA) November 28, 2023 'They are people of peace, innocent civilians. [Shiri] is an incredible mother, her husband is an incredible father. 'Kfir is going to be 11 months old. We don't know how he's being fed, their condition, we don't know if they're still alive. 'It's unbearable,' she said. She railed against Hamas for not fulfilling its end of the hostage release deal that all women and children would be freed. 'They promised in this deal that all mothers and children are supposed to be released. The Palestinian side, Hamas, is receiving its side of the agreement. Prisoners are being released. Kfir with his older brother Ariel and mother Shiri on October 7. The whole family remains unaccounted for 'Where is my family? How come baby Kfir is being held there as some kind of leverage? Where are they? Why aren't they on any list? 'Every night receiving the phone call that they are not coming home is torture. It's psychological torture,' she wept. Baby Kfir had just learned to walk when he, along with his brother Ariel, four, and his mother Shiri, 32, was taken from his family's home in Kibbutz Nir Oz during Hamas' incursion on October 7. During the deadly attack on Israel, Shiri, her husband Yarden, 34, and the two young boys desperately hid in a safe room armed only with a pistol, only to be taken out as Hamas gunmen smashed down their door. Residents of the city of Khan Younis were urged to leave just over a week ago, which signaled IDF plans to target the site when the current ceasefire expires. Agam Goldstein-Almog, 17, (pictured, centre) was seen back in the arms of her loved ones after spending weeks as a hostage Yuli Cunio, three, Emma Cunio, three, and Sharon Aloni Cunio, 34, (pictured) were all released today Tal Goldstein-Almog, 9, (pictured) was seen being cradled by his loved ones after he and the other hostages arrived back in Israel The hostages were handed over to the Red Cross last night Mark Regev, an adviser to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, told MSNBC earlier this month: 'We're asking people to relocate. 'I know it's not easy for many of them, but we don't want to see civilians caught up in the crossfire.' While it is not known exactly which group currently holds the family, military analyst Michael Horowitz said: 'It appears they may be in the hands of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).' The PFLP is one of the largest groups that form the political coalition that claims to represent the West Bank and Gaza. It does not recognise Israel as a state, and has historically pushed for a one-state solution with Palestine at the steering wheel. The group are believed to be holding the Bibas family in Khan Younis, the Gaza Strip's second city, which in 2017 was home to just over 205,000 people. A 1million Banksy mural criticising Brexit has been partly destroyed after the council demolished the building it was on to make way for a new 25million regeneration project. The mural appeared on the side of a building in Dover, Kent, in May 2017 - a year after Britain narrowly voted in a referendum to leave the European Union. The departure was symbolised by the image of a workman on a ladder chipping away at one of the stars of the EU flag. Dover District Council (DDC) has now flattened the building for a regeneration project which includes a cultural, educational and business start-up centre, sparking fears for the future of the art work. But DDC leader Councillor Kevin Mills says that bits of the work, which was mysteriously whitewashed overnight in 2019, have been saved. Councillor Mills says the image of the man on a ladder and the yellow stars he is working on have been rescued, but not the wider blue background. He claims the difficulty was that the image was on the render of the building, which was knocked down by DDS Demolition. DDS Demolition told MailOnline the building was unsafe and had to come down, but insisted it was carefully taken down rather then a demolition. Speculation has surrounded the future of the famous painting on the side of a building in Dover, Kent The site of the building where Banksy's Brexit mural was painted A spokeswoman for the company said they couldn't confirm the state they'd be able to redisplay the artwork in, but that certainly the intention was for it to be displayed elsewhere and that DDS is doing everything they can to ensure the piece is saved for the local community. Cllr Mills said they are working with DDS Demolition to identify what can and can't be done with the bits that they've taken away but admitted the whole thing can't be saved'. 'It was a very old building,' he said. 'We were told very early on that in essence what could possibly be saved would be the yellow stars and the stencil of the man on the stepladder, some of which had already been, I understand, stolen or destroyed. But the blue was not able to be saved. 'So, we are actually dealing with the construction company now, we've been in consultation and discussions with them from the start about what has and hasn't been taken away and I'm waiting for feedback on that. 'Of course they will not even start to try and do anything with it in the short term.' Cllr Mills says it is still not known who painted over the mural, which was said to be valued at 1million. He added: 'We've got digital photographs so it's possible to duplicate something. 'What we need to see is what can or can't be saved. This has been painted onto render, which is fairly old so when you take it down does that render stay? 'Anyone who has done home improvements knows the difficulty about that. 'The bottom line is we didn't paint over it. We didn't try to destroy it, somebody else did that and we don't know who. 'What we've made sure is the council taxpayer isn't given a bill to try to maintain something we might not even be able to maintain or even salvage to some extent.' Cllr Mills was speaking at a public consultation exhibition focusing on the Dover Beacon project, held at East Kent College. This scheme aims to create a cultural, educational and business start-up centre in Bench Street, where the mural once stood. It replaces Bench Street car park and premises such as the Funky Monkey nightclub. The four-storey building with the Banksy mural was completely knocked down this month as part of a wider redevelopment of the street by DDC. Councillor Mills says the image of the man on a ladder and the yellow stars he is working on has been saved but not the wider blue background The combined regeneration, including Dover Beacon, is costed at 25.4 million. Liz Gibney, from the new building's architects Lee Evans Partnership, says the scheme is for the whole of the Dover district. She said: 'We are hoping this is going to raise aspirations for people in Dover, bring more creative people here and keep them in the district.' On Dover District Council's website, the authority says it is in discussions with DDS Demolition as to how any elements of the conserved Banksy could be put on display locally and that the contractor is meeting all additional costs and risks that they incur in attempting to recover the Banksy. A Dover District Council spokesperson told MailOnline: 'DDS Demolition is attempting to see if the Banksy artwork can be conserved in any way. There is no certainty that this will be successful given the fact that the artwork was painted over and the poor state of the render. 'The building has now been demolished, and contractors have been successful in removing stars and a section of the man and ladder intact. 'Prior to authorising the demolition, and having taken professional conservation advice, DDC determined that the Banksy could not be viably conserved without considerable costs to local taxpayers, even if it were technically possible. 'The contractor is meeting all additional costs and risks that they incur in attempting to recover the Banksy. 'Should their attempts be successful, any elements of the Banksy would be the property of DDS Demolition in line with the terms of the contract which, as is standard practice with demolition projects, gives them the ownership of any salvageable materials from the buildings. 'Given the detailed conservation process that needs to take place, it is likely to be some time before DDS Demolition will know if their attempts to conserve any elements of the Banksy have been successful. 'We are in discussions with DDS Demolition as to how any elements of the conserved Banksy could be put on display locally.' MailOnline is awaiting further comment from DDS Demolition. The U.S. has used a controversial surveillance authority to stymie Iranian efforts to build bigger and more powerful weapons, according to national security officials. Their disclosure is the latest in a series of arguments that Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is a crucial tool for protecting the U.S. as Congress considers reauthorizing the authority before it expires at the end of the year. Two U.S. officials said intelligence agencies used it to monitor electronic communications of foreign weapons manufacturers to prevent parts being shipped to Iran. Details from other surveillance tools was used to identify American-made components needed by Iran, which was then combined with a database of FISA intelligence. The results generated information that could be used to prevent the sales, they said. A handout picture provided by the Iranian Army media office on October 27, 2023 shows missiles being fired during a military drill in the Isfahan province in central Iran Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, left, visits an exhibition of the Revolutionary Guard's aerospace projects, including a drone labeled 'Gaza' It comes as the administration is increasingly concerned about Iran's ballistic missile program, and fears it could share technology with Russia for its attacks on Ukraine. The two officials told Politico that intelligence agencies were able to identify the cost, timing and size of the sales. 'It wasn't one specific action. It was a number of actions,' one official said. 'In at least one instance, if not more, specific sales were stopped either before they went or while they were en route.' The officials offered no further information. But their careful background briefing shows how the administration is keen to stress the importance of the FISA powers. Section 702 allows intelligence agencies on domestic soil and without a warrant to intercept emails and other electronic communications of foreigners abroad, including their interactions with Americans. It faces intense opposition from those who see it as a backdoor to monitoring Americans overseas, including privacy campaigners. Many Republicans are also still angry at errors made by the FBI during the investigation into links between Russia and Trump's 2016 Republican presidential campaign. Members of the Iran's Basij paramilitary force attend a rally in support of the Palestinians as an Iranian domestically built missile is displayed, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Nov. 24 In particular, they are angry about missteps in the way that court orders were used to wiretap Carter Page, a former adviser to the Trump campaign, even though the FISA authority was not used. But an inspector general's report found that the FBI had improperly trawled the FISA database to see if it could find political figures caught up in exchanges. The Biden administration says fixes have been made and that Section 702 will be ineffective if any more limits are implemented. Matthew G. Olsen, the assistant attorney general for national security, said recently: 'In the current threat environment following the Hamas attacks in Israel, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the persistent threats we face from China and Iran it is impossible to overstate how operationally damaging a warrant requirement for U.S. person queries would be to our efforts to protect the United States and Americans at risk overseas.' Officials have been making their case by releasing information about how it has been used to prevent fentanyl coming into the country, identify hackers and monitor abuse of Chinese dissidents. The White House recently publicised an essay written by Admiral James Winnefeld, who described how his son might never have died of an overdose if the statute had used to its full extent. In an op-ed for Fox News, Winnefeld, former vice chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who is now chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB), describes the phone call six years ago telling him his 19-year-old son was dead. 'This tragedy didn't have to happen,' he writes. 'Societal stigma, gaps in mental health and addiction treatment, and a lack of understanding of the disease of substance dependence set this young "warrior against addiction" up for failure on the demand side of the equation. 'But he was also let down on the supply side: the fentanyl that killed him should never have been on the street. 'Had a key surveillance authority used by our nations intelligence community been fully applied to the fentanyl crisis that began gripping our nation around the time of Jonathan's death, that fatal dose might have never reached him.' Hamas forced a 12-year-old Israeli hostage to watch footage of the terror group's October 7 massacre while being held hostage inside Gaza, his aunt has said. Deborah Cohen told BFMTV that Eitan Yahalomi, who has French and Israeli citizenship and who was released on Monday, experienced 'horrors' in captivity. 'They are monsters. When he arrived in Gaza, all the Gazans, they all beat him. We are talking about a 12-year-old boy!' she told the French TV channel. She also said that gunmen would threaten children, including nine-year-old Irish Israeli girl Emily Hand, with rifles 'to shut them up' if they cried. 'He went through horrors,' she said, adding she was horrified to learn that her nephew had been forced to watch GoPro footage of Hamas's massacre, in which the terrorists killed around 1,200 people across southern Israel on October 7. 'The Hamas terrorists forced him to watch films of the horrors, the kind that no one wants to see, they forced him to watch them,' she said. 'We were very happy yesterday, but now that I know about this, I'm worried. It's inconceivable, I don't know who could do such things.' Deborah Cohen told France 's BFMTV that Eitan Yahalomi (seen Monday), who has French and Israeli citizenship and who was released on Monday, experienced 'horrors' in captivity Footage of the attacks has been shared widely online, and shows extreme acts of violence, including attacks against innocent civilians in their homes. READ MORE: The horrors endured by Hamas's hostages Advertisement The terror attack prompted Israel to launch an air and ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza. The Israeli bombardment has killed more than 15,000 in Gaza, according to the enclave's health authorities. The war came to a pause for the first time since October 7 on Friday, when Israel and Hamas reached a four-day truce agreement, in which both sides also said they would release hostages and prisoners. It was set to end Monday, but was extended by two further days at the last minute. The latest round of exchanges on Monday night brought the total number of people released from Gaza under the truce to 50 Israeli hostages. Israel has released 150 Palestinian prisoners, all women and minors. Another 19 hostages have been freed under separate deals, including Thai workers and a dual Russian-Israeli citizen. Eleven hostages arrived in Israel late Monday, mostly dual nationals, with Argentinians, Germans and French. Images released by the Israeli military showed Eitan reunited with his mother, who gripped him tightly to her. Eitan was in his pyjamas, hiding with his family, when they were abducted. The door to their safe room would not close, so Eitan's father Ohad Yahalomi stood outside it with a gun. Eitan was forced to watch footage of Hamas' s massacre, in which terrorists killed around 1,200 people across southern Israel on October 7, his aunt has said Pictured: A still grab from a video shows a Hamas gunmen firing on a car Ohad was wounded in an exchange of fire, and the whole family, including Eitan's mother Batsheva and his two sisters were taken. His mother and sisters later managed to escape. Eitan's grandmother Esther also spoke after his release. She said that for the first 16 days he was held in captivity, he was kept alone in a closed room. 'Those were very, very difficult days... just imagine what he went through there. It's hard for me to talk about it,' Esther said. She said he was moved to a group of hostages who had been dragged from their homes in Kibbutz Nir Oz in the October 7 terror attack. 'It was much easier for him there, his nanny from kindergarten was there... he saw a familiar face,' Yahalomi said. Cohen told BFMTV Eitan is a 'reserved boy' and that it will 'take him time to express his feelings' about the 50-day ordeal he has suffered through. With 'lots of love, lots of hugs, and the fact that he is now surrounded by family' together with psychological treatment, she hopes he will overcome the experience. The comments from Eitan's family are the latest to paint a picture of what life under Hamas captivity has been like for the roughly 240 people taken into Gaza. While some hostages have said they were treated better than had been expected by Hamas - being fed and looked after - the conditions still sound bleak. Eitan Yahalomi, 12, who was released from the Gaza Strip on November 27 after being taken hostage by the Palestinian militant group Hamas during the October 7 attack on Israel, is embraced by a loved one at Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov) in Tel Aviv, Israel, Nov. 28 Eitan is seen being guided by a loved one after reuniting with them overnight One Israeli hostage freed by Hamas said in an interview that she was initially fed well in captivity until conditions worsened and people became hungry. She was kept in a 'suffocating' room and slept on plastic chairs with a sheet for nearly 50 days. In one of the first interviews with a freed hostage, 78-year-old Ruti Munder told Israel's Channel 13 television that she spent the entirety of her time with her daughter, Keren, and grandson, Ohad Munder-Zichri. Young Ohad celebrated his ninth birthday in captivity. Her account, broadcast Monday, adds to the trickle of information about the experience of captives held in Gaza. Munder was snatched Oct. 7 from her home in Nir Oz, a kibbutz in southern Israel. Her husband, Avraham, also 78, was taken hostage too and remains in Gaza. Her son was killed in the attack. Initially, they ate 'chicken with rice, all sorts of canned food and cheese,' Munder told Channel 13, in an audio interview. 'We were OK.' They were given tea in the morning and evening, and the children were given sweets. But the menu changed when 'the economic situation was not good, and people were hungry.' Israel has maintained a tight siege on Gaza since the war erupted, leading to shortages of food, fuel and other basic items. Munder, who was freed Friday, returned in good physical condition, like most other captives. But one of the released hostages, an 84-year-old woman, has been hospitalized in life-threatening condition after not receiving proper care in captivity, doctors said. Another freed captive needed surgery. Freed hostages have mostly kept out of the public eye since their return. Any details about their ordeal have come through relatives, who have not revealed much. People pass by a wall with photos of about 240 hostages who were abducted during the Oct. 7, Hamas attack on Israel. in Jerusalem, November 28 Protesters hold signs as they call for the immediate release of hostages, especially Shiri Bibas, 32, her husband Yarden Bibas, 34 and their children Kfir Bibas, 10 months, and Ariel, 4, during the hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Tel Aviv, Israel, November 28 Munder, confirming accounts from relatives of other freed captives, said they slept on plastic chairs. She said she covered herself with a sheet but that not all captives had one. Boys who were there would stay up late chatting, while some of the girls would cry, she said. Some boys slept on the floor. She said she would wake up late to help pass the time. The room where she was held was 'suffocating,' and the captives were prevented from opening the blinds, but she managed to crack open a window. 'It was very difficult,' she said. Engineers and experts are currently reviewing the damage, which could take weeks or months, before further steps can be taken A 64-year-old female driver from Alabama has been fired from her job Princeton's Red Covered Bridge, dating back to 1863, suffered extensive damage from an 18-wheeler truck earlier this month A historic 19th century bridge in Illinois faces the threat of demolition after suffering extensive damage from an 18-wheeler truck earlier this month. The 160-year-old structure in Princeton was damaged on November 16 when a truck driver ignored multiple signs and tried to drive across it. Engineers and restoration experts remain on the fence about whether the state-owned bridge, dating to 1863 and believed to be one of only five 19th century covered bridges left in Illinois, can be repaired. The truck, driven by an unnamed 64-year-old woman from Alabama, destroyed several overhead support beams, which caused the roof to partially collapse at the northern end of the bridge. As a result of the roof collapse the walls at the northern end were forced to bow outward. The bridge, dating to 1863, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 The truck destroyed several overhead support beams, which caused the roof to partially collapse at the northern end of the bridge When the truck continued through the bridge, it crushed the northern facade. It also destroyed the original sign hanging over the southern entry that warned visitors of a $5 fine for 'driving more than twelve horses, mules or cattle at one time or for leading any beast faster than a walk on or across this bridge.' The trucking company involved in the incident, Wynn Logistics in Vernon Hills, Illinois, told KWQC that the driver's actions were 'reckless,' and that her employment 'will be terminated.' The company added it will work with its insurance provider 'to facilitate the restoration of the bridge to its original state.' The bridge is located in a small town of 7,800 people, about 115 miles west of Chicago. 'The community is positively devastated over this,' said Lex Poppens, executive director of the county Historic Center. 'It's such an iconic part of this area' she explained. The red-facade bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and has undergone several upgrades over the last 30 years. Drone shots show the enormous damage inflicted on the bridge's structure from the roof down The bridge is located in a small town of 7,800 people, about 115 miles west of Chicago When the truck continued through the bridge, it crushed the northern facade As a result of the roof collapse the walls at the northern end were forced to bow outward Locals have expressed their devastation at the damage to their historic bridge Engineers with the Illinois Department of Transportation are still conducting an inspection and structural evaluation that they do not expect to be finished for weeks if not months. The bridge has been damaged before, notably in April 2021 when another truck, rerouted by GPS, attempted to cross it. However, the driver stopped once he cracked the north facade and a few cedar panels. Following the incident additional signs were erected on either side of the bridge that warn of its height and weight restrictions. Peter Nelson, 68, who serves as Princeton's city clerk as well as the town's planning and zoning administrator, told the Chicago Tribune 'they can restore the bridge, perhaps, but can you restore people using their heads when they're approaching the bridge?' We Are China Humboldt penguins visit parks in Nanjing Ecns.cn) 13:21, November 28, 2023 Two captive-bred penguins from Nanjing Underwater World visit a park to enjoy the colorful winter scenery, drawing visitors in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Nov. 27, 2023. (Photo: China News Service/Yang Bo) Two captive-bred penguins from Nanjing Underwater World visit a park to enjoy the colorful winter scenery, drawing visitors in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Nov. 27, 2023. (Photo: China News Service/Yang Bo) Two captive-bred penguins from Nanjing Underwater World visit a park to enjoy the colorful winter scenery, drawing visitors in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Nov. 27, 2023. (Photo: China News Service/Yang Bo) Two captive-bred penguins from Nanjing Underwater World visit a park to enjoy the colorful winter scenery, drawing visitors in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Nov. 27, 2023. (Photo: China News Service/Yang Bo) Two captive-bred penguins from Nanjing Underwater World visit a park to enjoy the colorful winter scenery, drawing visitors in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Nov. 27, 2023. (Photo: China News Service/Yang Bo) (Web editor: Tian Yi, Wu Chaolan) Vintners have called on the government to do more to conserve the area as a string of bars, restaurants and concert venues continue to pop up But the increased demand is placing strain on the region's water supply, potentially spelling disaster for its grapes Vineyard owners in a famous Mexican wine region have slammed Instagram influencers and tourists for 'destroying' the land. Winemakers in Valle De Guadalupe - about two hours from the California border - say the surge in demand on the region's water supply is putting a strain on their vines and devastating the quality of their soil. The rural hamlet has exploded in popularity with tourists in recent years, in part thanks to social media. It now has ten times the number of restaurants it did in 2001 and is even home to thumping nightclubs that disrupt the picturesque setting, vintners say. 'We are a farming community. Nature has its own rhythm,' Natalia Badan, owner of Vinicola Mogor Badan, told the Los Angeles Times. 'This urban nightlife is not compatible with agriculture. It's disconnected from its environment. It breaks something.' Vineyard owners in Mexico's Valle De Guadalupe are warning wine production in the area could dry up due to a flood of tourists placing excess demands on its water supply The stunning region in Mexico has gone from housing 50 wineries to being responsible for producing 70 percent of the country's wine in a matter of years Vintners have already had to take drastic action to drought proof their operations, including collecting their own rainwater and replanting vines more adept in dry conditions The vintner has already begun taking action to try and conserve water in the wake of the spiraling demand including restricting the number of people who can dine at the vineyard's restaurant and building her own irrigation system. But Badan still has had to buy water to irrigate her land and purchase 30 percent more grapes than usual from neighboring vineyards to meet her production targets. Other vintners report having to pay $150 a day to ship water in to sustain their crops. 'We don't have the capacity to receive millions of tourists,' she added. 'Our vineyards need calm. They need time. They need space.' Valle de Guadalupe is famed for the unique quality of its soil, which has an element of salinity. In contrast to many Californian wine regions, Valle de Guadalupe only has one water source, the Guadalupe Aquifer, a body of porous sediment which holds groundwater. The level of the Aquifer rises and falls depending on the level of rainfall, but the growing urbanization of the area has meant that demand on its resources has surged. As more is drawn from the reserve, the water left behind becomes saltier which can spell disaster for vines if the levels increase too much. Unlike Californian wine regions, Valle de Guadalupe only has one water sourc, the Guadalupe Aquifer, a body of porous sediment which holds groundwater that rises and falls in sync with rainfall In recent years more water has been sucked out of the Guadalupe Aquifer than put in, resulting in increased salinity in the soil which could spell disaster for crops Since 1995, more water has been sucked out than is going in, according to Thomas Kretzschmar, a hydrogeologist at the Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education in Ensenada. 'Water is the principal issue in the valley,' he said. 'If they develop more and more, they will use more and more water and we're going to have more and more problems. They will run out of water.' Just over a decade ago, Valle De Guadalupe was a quaint region composed of around 50 wineries. Today it is responsible for 70 percent of Mexican wine. An influx of tourists has seen corresponding bars, restaurants and even a massive concert venue spring up in the once tranquil spot. Companies operating in the area also include a newly opened company called Off Road Tours VG, which offers ATV and helicopter excursions, often in partnership with vineyards. 'Still not sure if this past weekend was a dream or if I really was experiencing the beautiful wine paradise of Valle De Guadalupe,' writes one influencer on a post promoting the region. 'I hope you got a glimpse of this sanctuary from my IG stories and I cant wait to share how to book your own stay. Stay tuned for all the info youll need plus a discount code.' In October 2021, more than 300 people staged a protest against the construction of a temporary amphitheater that could hold up to 25,000 people for shows. Demonstrators from the group For a True Valley argued the area did not have the infrastructure to support so many people. The authorities eventually shut down the product and suspended mass events that go on all hours of the night. The flood of tourists has also seen a slew of bars, restaurants and tour companies crop up in the area which are exacerbating the water scarcity More than 300 people protested after plans were unveiled for a concern venue with capacity for 25,000 amid concerns the area does not have the infrastructure Tourists have been flocking to Valle De Guadalupe in part due to social media posts which show off the region's stunning vistas and top quality wine A separate campaign group called Rescue the Valley also wrote to officials urging them to conserve the area and begging not to become 'another Tulum,' in reference to the overly commercialized Mexican seaside resort. 'They are destroying the goose that lays the golden eggs and they don't even know it,' ecologist Espejel told the LA times. 'When they destroy the landscape, nobody will want to come here.' Other winemakers have begun switching the grape varieties they grow to ones more resistant to drought. Aldo Quesada, 35, is slowly replacing half of his water intensive Cabernet vines with drier Mision grapes and has already replanted 500 vines. But Ivette Vaillard, 67, who owns Vinicola Tres Mujeres, doesn't have the finances to build a large reservoir or the time to replace her Cabernet vines, since it can take up to 10 years for vines to yield enough grapes for wine. Part of the problem comes from illegally sunk wells and the authorities' relatively lax approach to clamping down. 'The mayor, Armando Ayala Robles, has promoted a series of actions with the objective of regularizing the establishments that are located in the area and that for years operated without corresponding permits,' Ensenada mayoral spokesperson Nicte Madrigal said. More than 300 fines have been issued and 63 businesses have been closed or had the sale of alcohol banned between October 2019 and June 2019, she added. A three-bedroom flat above a Greggs shop has gone on the market for 75,000 meaning the new owner will only be 20ft away from a sausage roll. The dream home for superfans of the bakery chain sits above an outlet shop in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, where items are sold for 75 per cent less than regular shops. The person who snaps up the spacious chain-free flat will be in touching distance of being able to pick up a discounted bag of Greggs' sausage rolls below in the Old Durham Road shop. The flat is on an 968-year lease and is on offer via NGU Homesales. It currently has a tenant in situ, meaning it is a great investment opportunity. A description on Rightmove reads: 'Welcome to Old Durham Road. This property is a unique three-bedroom, one-bathroom upper flat house on Old Durham Road, Gateshead, NE8. A three-bedroom flat above a Greggs outlet store in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, has gone on the market for 75,000 It would be a dream home for a superfan of the bakery chain as it would mean they would only be 20ft away from a sausage roll 'This property enjoys a prime location with easy access to essential amenities as well as being only 15 minutes from Newcastle City Centre making it a desirable property for many tenants. 'This property is chain-free, simplifying the buying process and ensuring a smoother transition into your new home. 'This house is located close to transport links as well as being just 15 minutes from the city centre. You have close access to many local amenities such as a hospital, schools, shops, takeaways, and other everyday necessities.' However, the listing doesn't mention the proximity of the UK's favourite bakery. 'A wee basket on a string is all you need* one househunter mused. 'You can eat like a fat king for 1 a day,' said another. 'That's added 20k' one added, while another replied: 'That's added 20lbs.' The flat is on an 968-year lease and is on offer via NGU Homesales. A description on Rightmove says the property is only 15 minutes from Newcastle City Centre The kitchen has a built in oven and looks quite spacious. The property is also close to a hospital, schools, shops and takeaways - although the listing doesn't mention Greggs The family bathroom in the upper flat house has a bath and overhead shower with stylish tiles on the walls The floor plan for the flat shows just how much room there is in the property with a living room, three bedrooms, kitchen, and hallway 'Isn't the point of living above a bakery to enjoy the smell of fresh baked goods?' said one, but another wasn't so sure. 'I lived above a bakery in Paris,' she said. 'It was magical but also terrible for my waistline. In summer when I slept with the windows open the smell would start wafting into my room at 4.30am. I'd spend hours surrounded by the smell of fresh baked baguettes and pastries before I'd woken up. 'I used to roll out of bed and go buy a croissant before I'd even made a coffee.' In February Greggs fan Cory, from Barry, Wales, took his TikTok followers on a tour of the store after he was left speechless by the cheaper prices. The Greggs enthusiast, who insisted he had not been paid by the bakery chain to promote the outlet, could not get over how cheap everything in the store was, from 55p doughnuts to 1.25 deal for two pastries. That's because the outlet sell the treats that didn't sell in previous days at other stores. In comparison, the chain's popular sausage roll retails at 1.15 a piece in the regular shops, when it is fresh. The shop was filled with sandwiches, savoury and sweet treats, some costing less than 1. Convicted double murderer Alex Murdaugh has been sentenced to 27 years after admitting to dozens of financial crimes - and wept in court as he apologized to the victims he conned out of $9 million. Murdaugh, who was convicted of brutally murdering his wife Maggie and son Paul earlier this year, had beamed earlier in the day as he entered the Beaufort County courtroom to be sentenced by Judge Clifton Newman. As part of a plea agreement Murdaugh admitted he stole millions of dollars from vulnerable clients at his law firm. During the hearing Tuesday, the judge clarified he must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence and victims of the disgraced legal scion gave impact statements to the court. His victims include the family of Gloria Satterfield, the longtime family maid who died in a 'trip and fall' at the Murdaugh family home. Murdaugh had promised he would take care of her family after her death but later pocketed every penny of their $4.3 million insurance settlement. Gloria's sister Ginger Hadwin said on Tuesday: 'Those children, they lost a mother and you stole every dime from them. I just don't understand do you not have a soul?' Double murderer Alex Murdaugh seen smiling as he entered the South Carolina courtroom for his financial crimes sentencing Prosecutor Creighton Waters, left, addresses the court during Tuesday's sentencing Murdaugh wept while apologizing to his victims and denied killing his wife and son Murdaugh appears irritated as Waters describes his financial crimes The housekeeper's son Tony Satterfield said, 'You lied, you cheated, you stole, you betrayed me and my family and you did it at the cost of my mom's death. 'I'm sorry that your family has to now go through what they're going to have to go through for the rest of their live because of your actions'. But he added: 'I want you to know that I forgive you. I will pray for you every day.' The family later received their money after suing Murdaugh. At Tuesday's sentencing, Eric Bland, an attorney representing victims of Murdaugh's financial crimes said: 'This wasn't Enron, this wasn't WorldCom - stealing from faceless people. This was people he knew, who he broke bread with.' Also speaking was Pamela Pinckney, the mother of Hakeem Pinckney, a deaf man who became quadriplegic after a 2009 car crash. Murdaugh acknowledged taking most of a $309,000 settlement and then an additional $89,000 payment after Pinckney died in a nursing home. She said: 'Because of what you did to me, I thank God for giving me strength to get through what you put me through. 'To you, Alex Murdaugh, I never thought that you would betray me and did me and my family the way it was done at a vulnerable time in our live, at our lowest state'. 'You took us for granted, but all I want to say to you is I forgive you from my heart,' she added. Family members of Murdaugh's longtime housekeeper Gloria Satterfield (pictured) gave statements The sister of Gloria Satterfield, the longtime family maid who died at the Murdaugh house spoke Gloria Satterfield's son, one of Murdaugh's financial crime victims, spoke While delivering the sentence Judge Clifton Newman, who also presided over Murdaugh's murder trial, said: 'You're quite an enigma, a person that many of us thought we knew. 'It's just unimaginable to me that you have done some of the things that you have done. whether it was you or someone you've become upon using drugs.' 'I have lived with this case now for over two years and I have 34 days left before active retirement and after imposing this sentence, your life will continue. I will turn the page and leave you behind,' he added. Murdaugh apologized to his victims in court, blaming his crimes on a crippling opioid habit - and seized the opportunity to publicly deny killing his wife and son. He said: 'Each of you that spoke, I listened to you, I heard you. Your pain and your hurt is palpable. I promise you it resonates with me. I get it. I hope time will come you can look back and know that I care about each and everyone of you.' 'I would never hurt Maggie and I would never hurt Paul and it is important to me that you know that,' he later said to one of his victims and friend Jordan Jinks. 'I deceived each of you. I'm not proud of it. I did terrible things. I do care about each of you. I do have special recollections of my interactions with every one of you outside of the terrible things I did,' he added. Other victims of Murdaugh include state trooper Tommy Moore who went to the legal scion after his patrol car was hit by a driver who lost control in the snow, leaving him with a neck injury. Murdaugh admitted he stole $100,000 of the $125,000 settlement. Even Murdaugh's brother, who worked in the family law firm, said he took a $121,000 check meant for the brother and cashed it, prosecutors said. In court, Murdaugh appeared visibly irritated as prosecutor Creighton Water described his crimes and said over $12.4 million in victim losses can be attributed to Murdaugh's theft - of which almost $9 million have been paid back by his family's law firm. Prosecutors initially charged Murdaugh with 101 financial crimes, including breach of trust, money laundering and tax evasion and stealing $9 million, involving 18 victims. Under the plea deal, the number was reduced to 22 crimes against each of his clients, with lawyers negotiating a 27-year sentence for the man already serving life in prison without parole. Murdaugh was convicted of the murders of his son Paul and wife Maggie at their South Carolina hunting lodge in June 2021 Buster, Paul, Maggie and Alex Murdaugh are pictured in a photo presented to jurors during the trial at Colleton County court on Tuesday, February 14 Tuesday's hearing will not mark the end of Murdaugh's legal problems. He also is awaiting sentencing on federal financial crime charges, and still faces insurance fraud and other local charges after allegedly asking a friend to kill him in September 2021 so his surviving son could get $10 million in life insurance. Meanwhile, his lawyers are seeking a new murder trial, citing allegations that the Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill improperly told jurors to disregard Murdaugh's testimony and pressured them to reach a quick verdict. A different judge will decide whether to grant Murdaugh a hearing in which jurors, the clerk and possibly even Judge Newman would be questioned under oath. Newman recused himself from any of Murdaugh's future hearings over his murder conviction after coming under fire for a controversial interview with NBC News a month after the trial, where he commented on the blockbuster trial. A 15-year-old girl pretended to have fallen in love with a man she met online before stabbing him in the head when he failed to buy her more expensive gifts. Chloe Coster, now 18, posed as a 19-year-old as she pursued the 35-year-old victim from 2020. The teen, who the judge described as 'calculated' and 'conniving', used the alias Hope Morgan to dupe him - telling him that she would like to marry him - before attacking him with a knife at a hotel. After being sentenced, she then posted on social media amid coverage of the case, writing: 'Yes I did what I did and it is what it is but I defended myself and I don't regret that. I got my punishment and I'm dealing with it.' Prosecutor Alec Small told Swindon Crown Court on Monday that the relationship was 'contingent on expensive gifts, items and clothing'. Chloe Coster, now 18, stabbed the man with a knife repeatedly in a hotel room in January 2021 The victim went to hospital for treatment, but doctors informed the police - leading to Coster's arrest He said that Coster saved the man into her phone under the name 'Annoying C**t', whilst he had saved her number as 'My Hope' - showing 'disparity in the relationship'. Before attacking her victim, Coster met him at a Travelodge hotel and collected 200 before running away. She later returned to collect a bracelet before again fleeing. On January 20, 2021, Coster attended a Holiday Inn in Swindon, Wiltshire, to meet him - after demanding jewellery, alcohol and sweets. He paid her taxi fare and took her to his room, where she grabbed a packet of Maoam sweets and put them in her pocket. Coster then started searching the room for other gifts, but when she was unable to find any the court heard she became angry and there was a struggle. She went on to repeatedly stab the victim, causing injuries to his ear, arm and head. The defendant then told the victim that if he reported it to the police, he would get into trouble as she was actually 15 years old. In messages following the attack, she wrote: 'You know I'm young, you're an old man who tried to kidnap me'. She added: 'I'm young, you will get in trouble.' The victim went to hospital for treatment, but doctors informed the police. Coster was subsequently arrested and questioned, where she lied about her involvement and claimed the victim was a stalker. In a pre-sentence report, she told the probation officer: 'If he wants to be weird to me, I will get out of it what I want.' The pizza delivery driver, of Swindon, Wiltshire, pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent at a previous hearing. Labelling the teen 'calculated' and 'conniving', Judge Jason Taylor KC sentenced her to a two-year community order with the requirement to complete 150 hours of unpaid work. She must also attend 25 rehabilitation activity days and pay a fine of 1,000. A woman has been detained in Moscow after allegedly giving oral sex to a male stranger sitting next to her on a tourist flight from Antalya. Passengers and crew clapped and cheered when police came on board and detained the woman, named Valeria, 29, at Vnukovo airport in the Russian capital. The alleged sexual encounter happened on a five-hour Pobeda Airlines flight, with children among the passengers. The man sitting next to her in economy class initially tried to resist her and push her away, according to witnesses. 'On a flight from Antalya to Moscow, a female passenger went on a rampage and [orally] raped her [male] neighbour,' reported major Russian news outlet Gazeta.ru. The alleged sexual encounter involving a woman, named Valeria, 29, on a Pobeda Airlines flight. When the Boeing 737-800 landed at Vnukovo airport, she allegedly sought to bribe the flight crew with an American one hundred dollar bill. Pictured left: Valeria (circled) The man sitting next to Valeria in economy class initially tried to resist her and push her away, according to witnesses (File Photo) During the flight Valeria 'scratched the flight crew' and smoked an e-cigarette despite repeated demands to stop doing so, according to reports citing eyewitnesses (File Photo) 'She pulled down his trousers and committed violent acts of a sexual nature. 'Later the neighbour stopped resisting. 'All this happened in front of the flight attendants and other passengers.' Shot media reported: 'Surprisingly, the flight attendants waited until the end of the action and only then moved Valeria further away. 'The woman fought back and did not want to leave her newly-made companion.' Another male passenger was deputed to guard her during the rest of the flight. Reports said she had been 'intoxicated' when she boarded the flight in Turkey. During the flight she 'scratched the flight crew' and smoked an e-cigarette despite repeated demands to stop doing so, according to reports citing eyewitnesses. She told BAZA media that she had no regrets over her antics on the plane. 'Everything was fine,' she said. 'I had a good time on the plane. Well, that's a little more than that.' She claimed that she had been fined 500 roubles - 4.40 - over her behaviour, she said. The police have not commented. Valeria with the bank note she allegedly used to bribe the flight crew. A stewardess put the bank note in the rubbish bin and Valeria was then seen emptying the trash onto the floor of the plane and retrieving the money Vnukovo airport in Moscow. As a police officer escorted her away to applause from those on the plane, Valeria told the cop: 'I won't go anywhere with a sucker like you' (File Photo) But her behaviour 'outraged' fellow passengers. She demanded hot water and then poured it onto the floor, it was reported. When the Boeing 737-800 landed at Vnukovo airport, she sought to bribe the flight crew with an American one hundred dollar bill to hush up her behaviour, it was alleged. A stewardess put the bank note in the rubbish bin and Valeria was then seen emptying the trash onto the floor of the plane and retrieving the money. As a police officer escorted her away to applause from those on the plane, she told the cop: 'I won't go anywhere with a sucker like you.' A collection of 132 mugshots of Victorian criminals has been unearthed. The rogues' gallery features 66 male convicts who were arrested in the late 1800s for thefts including pick-pocketing, rape, house-breaking and bicycle theft. The police photographs show each criminal both head-on and side-on. Their crime is also listed on the black and white image along with their initials and a crime reference number. While some of the crimes would barely warrant police interest today, some of the suspects were arrested for more serious offences such as burglary, violence and forgery. All of the ne'er-do-wells are white men aged anywhere between 20 to 60. Most of them have beards and they are all pictured dressed in what appears to be the same black coat. They were found in the library of the late William St Clair, a historian and senior research fellow at the Institute of English Studies, who died in 2021. They are set to fetch 2,000 when they go up for sale at Swan Auctions, of Tetsworth, Oxfordshire. Meanwhile, another set of mugshots - taken at Folkingham County Gaol in Lincolnshire between 1869 and 1882 - are also heading to auction and are tipped to sell for up to 500. A collection of 132 mugshots of Victorian criminals has been unearthed. The rogues' gallery features 66 male convicts who were arrested in the late 1800s for thefts including pick-pocketing, house-breaking and bicycle theft. Above: These two men were arrested for rape and shop-breaking respectively The mugshots being sold in Oxfordshire are printed on silver gelatin prints and are from a Victorian police ledger. Matthew Hull, curator of curious collections at Swan Auctions, said: 'The mugshots are rare snapshots in time and are somewhat macabre, but historically important. 'I haven't seen anything quite like this before and it's so fitting of our exciting new curiosities sale. 'This lot is so out of the ordinary and is a real one-off and unique opportunity sale. 'Anything rare, interesting and desirable like this always attracts a lot of attention and I don't see this being any different. 'Anything that is a talking point often sells well and this is a very thought provoking and inquisitive piece'. The police photographs show each criminal both head-on and side-on. Their crime is also listed on the black and white image along with their initials and a crime reference number. Above: Two criminals who were jailed for house-breaking and burglary Most of the criminals have beards and they are all pictured dressed in black overcoats. These two men were jailed for making counterfeit coins and wounding respectively This man went to prison for larceny - the old term for theft This rogue went to jail for forgery. Like his fellow criminals, he was photographed both front and side-on This man was another who was in prison for larceny. Criminals in the Victorian era went to prison for relatively minor crimes This man was a pickpocket. He too would have received a custodial sentence This man was arrested for 'robbery from the person'. Like the others, he is wearing a long black coat This man was another larceny arrest. Like nearly all of his fellow inmates, he had a beard After the invention of photography in the mid-19th century, police realised they could use the new technology to their advantage and took snaps of repeat offenders. As the use of cameras became more common, taking mugshots became the norm. It eventually compulsory for suspects to be photographed after they were arrested. The sale takes place tomorrow. The pictures taken in Folkingham County Gaol are up for auction with Batemans Auctioneers of Stamford in Lincolnshire. One mugshot shows a man named as William Johnson, who was convicted on September 20, 1872 for stealing money. He was imprisoned for a month. Meanwhile, another set of mugshots - taken at Folkingham County Gaol in Lincolnshire between 1869 and 1882 - are also heading to auction and are tipped to sell for up to 500. Above: This man, Robert Playford, was convicted of stealing a watch in 1870. He was sent to prison for three months Left: Samuel Johnson was convicted of stealing and sentenced to two months in prison. Right: William Walborough was given 14 days in jail for stealing beer Left: William Johnson was convicted on September 20, 1872 of stealing money and imprisoned for a month. William Disou was convicted of stealing and sentenced to three months in prison John Harris was convicted of stealing and given 21 days in prison. Right: Robert Moth went to prison for nine months for the same offence Thomas Bishop (left) was convicted of stealing books and a jacket and sentenced to 14 months in prison in July 1870. John Harris was convicted of stealing and given 21 days in prison Another, John Harris, was convicted of stealing and given 21 days in prison. William Disou was also convicted of stealing and sentenced to three months in prison. A third thief, Robert Moth, was sentenced to nine months in prison in 1874. William Walborough was given 14 days in jail for stealing beer. And criminal Samuel Johnson was convicted of stealing and sentenced to two months in prison. Robert Playford was given three months in jail for swiping a watch. It is the first time the haunting collection of Victorian photos has been seen in public after the private vendor put the book up for auction. He found the fascinating custody shots in the 1970s after his father died and believes he acquired the book from Peterborough Prison, where he started work as a police superintendent in 1930. Folkingham House of Correction, which could hold up to 70 offenders, operated from 1808 to 1878. After its closure, it is thought the remaining convicts were moved to Peterborough Prison. The auction is set to take place at Batemans on December 2 at 10am. However, a Mail expert gives the scoop behind the photoshoot and the errors in the TV series Netflix's hit series The Crown has been accused of falsely portraying the famed 1997 Balmoral photo shoot A famous photoshoot of Prince Charles and his two sons in 1997 is misrepresented in Netflix's The Crown as a response to Princess Dianas new romance, a Mail podcast has revealed. In the second episode of 'The Crown: Fact or Fiction,' Mail royal expert Richard Kay disclosed that he was present at the photocall in Balmoral that is portrayed in the hit series. It took place about two weeks before Princess Diana was killed in a car crash and saw Prince William, then 15, and Prince Harry, 12, posing on the banks of the River Dee with their father. The final series of The Crown tries to present the photoshoot as a ploy by palace officials to respond to recently published pictures of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed kissing on a yacht. The character in the show call a local photographer and he is shown arriving to take the pictures in private, which, according to Kay, could not have been further from the truth. We had been told three days, I think, before the pictures of Diana and Dodi had even been published that the palace were going to hold a photocall of Charles and his sons, who were going to arrive at Balmoral early, Kay told the podcast. The original picture of Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry at River Dee on August 12 at the Balmoral estate The recreated photo depicted on season six of the Netflix series The Crown I think in all there were about 40 of us: camera crews, photographers and a handful of reporters,' Kay added. The second episode of The Crowns sixth series presents the photoshoot as a rainy, windswept day, when in actuality, the Press and the Royals basked in sunshine. Kay continued: They performed, I guess thats the best way to put it. Charles was very pleasant, wished us all a good day, the boys were awkward, but they were young and didnt like this kind of thing. A palace official who organized the event was even asked at the time whether the photocall was a response to the Diana and Dodi pictures, Kay recalled. He said: She absolutely angrily denied it and pointed out that it had been organized before the pictures had even emerged of Diana and Dodi so it was not a quid pro quo. Mail writer Robert Hardman and the Mail on Sundays Royal Correspondent Natasha Livingstone also unpicked scenes from the episode showing Diana raising awareness of the impact of landmines. The Crown shows the princess making a trip to Bosnia to meet with survivors of the deadly buried weapons, recreating her famous walk of a mined area. In fact, Diana did not walk through a minefield in Bosnia at all. Instead, the pictures that have become instantly recognizable were taken during a trip to Angola to promote the vital work of the Halo Trust, in January 1997- months before the scene in The Crown was set. Princess Diana in St. Tropez, France, on Mohamed Al Fayed's yacht in July 1997 Princess Diana and Prince Harry on holiday in St. Tropez. Harry and William were vacationing with their mother before they joined their father in Balmoral Hardman also revealed the comedy press conference portrayed in the series that showed Diana being bombarded with questions about her personal life never took place. In the show, she wore a badge that said ReliefAid, which is a charity based in New Zealand that has nothing to do with landmines. At the time, she was actually raising awareness for the Landmine Survivors Network and wore a badge that said 'British Red Cross.' Her Angola mission was to support another anti-mine charity, The Halo Trust. Princess Diana was seen walking through a minefield in Angola to promote the vital work of the Halo Trust (left). Actress Elizabeth Debicki ,who plays Diana in season six of the royal drama, re-enacted the Princess' walk as she wore a different logo badge (right) Princess Diana in Angola. Insiders at the Halo Trust felt it was 'a shame' that Netflix bosses chose not to include them, as the series could have promoted the charity to The Crown's global audience of 73 million viewers Insiders at The Halo Trust felt it was 'a shame' that Netflix bosses chose not to include them, as the series could have promoted the charity to The Crown's global audience of 73 million viewers. Livingstone said ReliefAid were totally baffled when I contacted them about this as they had never worked in Angola and do not do mine clearance. She continued: The Halo Trust said they were not asked or consulted about the scene and would have been delighted if their logo was featured in the show. Its another opportunity where [The Crown has] faked things, for reasons that are unclear. Rep. George Santos is staring down another effort to remove him from Congress - and this one is likely to be successful, he concedes. The Long Island liar survived a vote to expel him earlier this month because 31 Democrats and most Republicans voted to keep him, many of them saying they would rather wait until an Ethics Committee report came out detailing his wrongdoings. That report has now been made public, finding Santos used campaign money and donations to fund a lavish lifestyle, engaged in fraud, filed false election reports and 'willfully' violated ethics. Santos, R-N.Y. 'I know I'm going to get expelled when this expulsion resolution goes to the floor,' Santos said Friday during a conversation on X Spaces. 'I've done the math over and over, and it doesn't look really good.' Meanwhile progressive group MoveOn placed a massive Santos balloon outside the Capitol on Tuesday, where a resolution to expel him is set to be made privileged this afternoon - meaning a vote must take place within two days. Rep. George Santos is staring down another effort to remove him from Congress - and this one is likely to be successful, he concedes Progressive group MoveOn placed a massive Santos balloon outside the Capitol on Tuesday He said he told Speaker Johnson he would stand for the expulsion vote and would not resign. 'Expel me and set the precedent so we can see who the judge, jury and executioners in Congress are,' the New York Republican wrote on X. Separately, he's facing criminal charges of campaign finance violations and fraud. Santos would only be the third member in the last century to be expelled from Congress. Here's a look back at who came before him: Rep. James Traficant, D-Ohio (2002) Traficant, a flamboyant economic populist who had held his seat since 1985, was ousted after he was convicted on federal corruption charges for taking campaign funds for personal use. The vote was nearly unanimous: 420 members voted 'yes' on expulsion, one voted no, nine voted 'present' and four did not vote. Traficant ran again as an independent candidate from prison and won 15 percent of the vote. He had been convicted on 10 felony counts including bribery, racketeering and tax evasion. Before becoming a member of Congress, as Mahoning County sheriff in 1983, Traficant had been charged with racketeering for allegedly accepting bribes. He defended himself in court and argued he only accepted bribes as part of his undercover investigation into public corruption - and he was acquitted. Traficant, a flamboyant economic populist who had held his seat since 1985, was ousted after he was convicted on federal corruption charges for taking campaign funds for personal use Rep. Michael 'Ozzie' Myers, D-Pa. (1980) Myers was expelled after the FBI uncovered his involvement in the Abscam scandal - a sting operation that led to convictions of seven members of Congress and others for corruption and bribery. In the Abscam operation FBI agents pretended to represent an Arab company offering bribes for political favors, all while secretly recording. Myers was caught on tape accepting an envelope with $50,000 which he was told was in exchange for getting a fake Arab sheikh asylum in the U.S. 'Money talks in this business and bulls*** walks,' he said on the recording. Rep. Michael Myers The mayor of Camden, N.J., one senator, and six members of the House were also caught red-handed in the operation. All resigned except Myers. He was expelled in a 376-30 vote. The Pennsylvania Democrat was convicted of bribery and sentenced to three years in prison. He was again charged with bribery in 2020 at the age of 77 - accused of stuffing ballot boxes, bribing elected officials, falsifying records, voting more than once in federal elections and obstruction of justice, He was convicted in 2022 and currently resides in federal prison, serving a two and a half year sentence. Civil War expulsion (1861-1862) When the Confederacy seceded in 1861, Congress expelled 17 members for supporting the rebels - including former Vice President John Breckinridge, who was subsequently serving as a senator from Kentucky. Congress expelled 14 members of the Senate, all who represented southern states except Indiana Sen. Jessie Bright, for supporting the Confederacy and three members of the House: two from Missouri, which both the Union and Confederacy laid claims over. Sen. William Blount, Tenn. (1797) Blount, a signer of the Constitution, was kicked out of Congress for treason and conspiracy after he worked with Cherokee and Creek Native Americans to help the British take control of Spanish-controlled territories of Louisiana and Florida, despite the fact that Spain was a US ally at the time after the Pinckney Treaty of 1795. Blount concocted a scheme for natives and frontiersmen to attack the Spanish, take over Florida and Louisiana, and hand them to the British. A letter detailing the plan fell into the hands of then-President John Adams, who sent the letter to Congress. In a 25 to 1 vote, the Senate expelled its first member. Polls show that CEOs are becoming less confident about business in China Apple Inc.s Tim Cook, BlackRock Inc.s Larry Fink, as well as other tech CEOs such as Qualcomm Inc.s Cristiano Amon were in attendance Broadcom CEO Hock Tan succeeded in securing approval for a $69 billion deal after $40,000-a-head dinner with Xi Jinping at the Hyatt Regency Tech magnate Hock Tan shelled out $40,000 to sit at Xi Jinpings table during a high-powered dinner in San Francisco as he awaited approval of a $69 billion deal. The Malaysian-born CEO of Broadcom was one of a number of influential people to dine with the Chinese president, including Apple Inc.s Tim Cook, BlackRock Inc.s Larry Fink, and other tech CEOs such as Qualcomm Inc.s Cristiano Amon. Guests packed into the ballroom at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco on November 20, at one point giving a standing ovation for the Chinese leader. Tan did not have much to cheer about as for months Chinese regulators had refused to sign off on Broadcom's bid to buy software developer VMware, forcing it to delay the deal's completion date three times after its May 2022 announcement. But a few days after the dinner, China gave the all-clear, according to The Wall Street Journal. American businessmen hosted a dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping on November 20 Among them was Hock Tan, CEO of Broadcom, who succeeded in securing China's stamp of approval for a $69 billion acquisition The acquisition was announced in a blog post on November 22, in which Tan wrote: 'While an important moment for Broadcom, its also an exciting milestone for our customers around the world.' Beijing also gave the go-ahead to Mastercard - whose board of directors chair Merit Janow attended the dinner - to issue yuan-denominated cards in the country. In October, officials at Chinas antitrust regulator, the State Administration for Market Regulation, indicated to Broadcom that they were ready to sign off on the deal, sources told The Wall Street Journal. But Broadcom executives extended the deal deadline after getting indications that it wouldnt be a simple business decision and that Chinas Foreign Ministry would have a say as well. Nevertheless, Tan secured a spot in a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during Wang's visit to Washington in late October. During their meeting, Tan mentioned the Broadcom-VMware deal and Wang simply responded that Beijing continued to welcome foreign investment, the sources said. Eric Zheng, the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, described the approvals for Mastercard and Broadcom as isolated successful cases. 'These should be standard business practices, based on established laws and regulations,' Zheng said. 'Foreign businesses want such events not to be politicized.' The dinner in downtown San Francisco, welcomed tech magnates including Apple's Tim Cook and Qualcomm's Cristiano Amon Tan (pictured giving an address at the White House in November 2017) spoke with the Chinese foreign minister last month, but fell short of securing approval then Broadcom, Mastercard and Boeing were a few of the underwriters for the dinner, which was hosted by American business groups. While Mastercard was given the green light it had been chasing for years, the same consideration was not extended to the plane manufacturer, whose CEO Stanley Deal was in attendance. China has not purchased passenger planes from Boeing since 2017, amid trade tensions and two deadly crashes of Boeings 737 Max airliner. Many business executives warn that the Broadcom and Mastercard deals are unlikely to open the doors to more investments in China. A poll released by New York-based think tank the Conference Board on Thursday shows CEOs of multinational companies are becoming less confident about the country. American businesses face several challenges including ambiguous data localization laws, raids on foreign due diligence and consulting firms, and exit bans on executives. James Zimmerman, a partner at Perkins Coie LLP, who counsels foreign companies on corporate and regulatory issues in China, described China as 'an operating environment where every license, permit and approval...can become highly politicized.' 'More so when U.S.-China relations go south,' he added. This is the dramatic moment a screeching passenger is left with a bloody nose after a fight broke out on a Ryanair flight. There was chaos in the skies on the flight from Bristol to Tenerife on Monday with screaming passengers knocked to the ground. A video of the incident shows two women on the floor of the aisle of a plane as passengers are heard shouting and screaming. One of the women, who has blood gushing from her nose, gets to her feet and roars, 'mate, her and him', as she gestures up the aisle of the plane. It is unclear what she is accusing them of but she is clearly very agitated. Two passengers are on the ground as shouting and screaming is heard on the plane The passenger with a bloody nose, pictured, gets off the ground of the aisle and starts to shout as she gestures up the plane The scene of the chaos from the Ryanair flight as the woman with the bloodied nose gestures up the plane Blood from the nose of the agitated passenger has been wiped onto her hand as she glances at the camera 'No, look at', as she appears to gesture to her bloody nose. An unknown woman's voice then says, 'I didn't do that'. The bloodied passenger retorts, 'he did' as she gestures up the aisle of the plane again before shouting, 'because you called him a fat c**t'. The woman with the bloody nose is then heard saying, 'where's my phone no my phone's on the floor', as the camera cuts out. Ryanair said the police in Tenerife were called to the flight when it landed on the Spanish island. A spokesperson for Ryanair said: 'The crew on this flight from Bristol to Tenerife (November 27) called ahead for police assistance when a passenger became disruptive in flight. 'The aircraft was met by local police upon arrival at Tenerife Airport and this individual passenger was removed. This now a matter for local police.' France the home of legendary cigarette lovers including Brigitte Bardot is to ban smoking in public places including beaches, parks, woods and close to schools. The radical step comes as the French fail to give up tobacco, which causes some 75,000 avoidable deaths a year. Health minister Aurelien Rousseau said on Tuesday that a new anti-smoking legislative programme would pass through parliament early next year. 'From now on, no-smoking areas will be the norm,' said Mr Rousseau. 'We are now shifting the responsibility to central government, and will establish a principle which will become the rule.' Taxes on tobacco will also go up, so that a packet of 20 will cost the equivalent of around 12 by 2025, said Mr Rousseau. And single-use disposable e-cigarettes that are particularly popular among young people will also be outlawed. It is all part of President Emmanuel Macron's plan to create 'the first tobacco-free generation by 2032', Mr Rousseau added. French actress Brigitte Bardot smokes a cigarette on the set of the film Le Repos du Guerrier, directed by Roger Vadim (L) Its a plan aimed that contrasts with France's so-called 'smoking aesthetic', associated with the country's litany of philosophers, writers, artists and film-stars, among them Madame Bardot, who is now 89, and who regularly smoked in her hit films. Other famous French chain smokers including war leader and former President Charles De Gaulle, who died in 1970 aged 79. There are still almost 25,000 tobacco outlets in France, with around 31 billion cigarettes being sold every year. Around a quarter of adults are 'daily smokers', while some 3 million vape regularly, according to official figures. Whereas Britain and Germany have halved the rate of smoking for young people, France health reports reveals that around 29 per cent of French teens and students still smoke. For years the country has proposed anti-smoking legislation - though between 2012 and 2014, the number of smokers climbed four per cent nationwide. In 2016, France announced it was thinking about cracking down on certain tobacco brands because they were considered 'cool'. France has strict regulation on the direct and indirect advertising of tobacco products in an effort to control its image and help smokers away from addiction. As in Britain, all tobacco products also have to carry health warnings. Customers arrive at a tobacconist in Perthus, a small town on the French-Spanish border, 2018 The British government last month proposed banning younger generations from ever buying cigarettes a move that will give the UK some of the world's toughest smoking rules. If passed into law, the smoking age would rise by one year every year, potentially phasing out smoking among young people almost completely as soon as 2040, a briefing paper said. Announcing the plan at Conservative Party Conference, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: 'A 14-year-old today will never legally be sold a cigarette'. The conservative U.S. political network headed by billionaire Charles Koch on Tuesday endorsed Nikki Haley for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, saying she was the best candidate to beat President Joe Biden next year. It is the latest boost for the former South Carolina governor who has seen her stock rise with strong debate performances and improving poll numbers. Her traditional conservative positions also align with the Koch network, which uses its money to push for tax cuts and less government regulation. Setting out its reasons, the group said beating former President Donald Trump in the primaries was a top priority. 'Between her surging to second place in the polls since August and being well-positioned amongst supporters of the other candidates, she is in a strong position to gather more support,' said Emily Seidel, a senior adviser to the Koch group's Americans for Prosperity Action, in a memo. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said she was honored to receive the endorsement of Americans for Prosperity Action, which was set up by the billionaire Koch brothers Charles Koch is estimated to be worth $50 billion. He and his late brother David have been major Republican donors for decades, pushing small-government, low-tax candidates 'In addition, our internal polling consistently shows that Nikki Haley is by far the strongest candidate Republicans could put up against Joe Biden in a general election winning every key battleground state and up nationally by nearly 10 points.' She said polls also showed that Republicans were ready to move on from Trump. Haley is currently battling Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for second place in the race. Neither has made much of a dent in the former president's overwhelming lead, with only 48 days before Republicans in Iowa gather to make their nomination. The backing of a super PAC set up by industrialist brothers Charles and David Koch, whose family business is the second biggest privately held company in the country, could dramatically change the dynamics of the race. It will back her campaign with the sort of field workers, call centers and direct mail operations that she has lacked until now. 'I'm honored to have the support of Americans for Prosperity Action, including its millions of grass-roots members all across the country,' said Haley. 'A.F.P. Actions members know that there is too much at stake in this election to sit on the sidelines.' The DeSantis campaign could not disguise its irritation. The endorsement gives Haley a chance of rising above Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (right) and eating into former President Donald Trump's commanding lead Spokesman Andrew Romeo posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter: 'Congratulations to Donald Trump on securing the Koch endorsement. Like clockwork, the pro-open borders, pro-jail break bill establishment is lining up behind a moderate who has no mathematical pathway of defeating the former president.' Koch's net worth is estimated at $50 billion by Forbes. He and his brother built their wealth in the family business, and used their wealth to push a mix of conservative and libertarian agendas. Their network of interests back Republican candidates but had had something of a love-hate relationship with Trump. Although they welcomed tax cuts and the confirmation of three conservative Supreme Court justices, their more conventional Republican positions were sometimes at odds with Trump's America First populism. 'The globalist Koch Brothers, who have become a total joke in real Republican circles, are against Strong Borders and Powerful Trade,' the then president said in a 2018 tweet storm. 'I have never sought their support because I don't need their money or bad ideas.' The group did not back his 2020 reelection campaign. His 2024 campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said Americans for Prosperity had chosen, 'to endorse a pro-China, open borders, and globalist candidate in Nikki "Birdbrain" Haley. 'No amount of shady money from George Soros, Democrats, and Never Trump RINOs in partnership with endless-war swamp creatures in Washington will stop the MAGA movement or President Trump from being the Republican nominee and defeating Crooked Joe Biden.' Furious Tory MPs demanded Rishi Sunak bring in a 'full-fat' reform of UK immigration rules today amid a fresh backbench rebellion. The Prime Minister is facing a major backlash over claims he is going cold on moves to exempt controversial Rwanda deportation flights from human rights rules in order to bypass the courts. Around 40 MPs are said to be ready to support an amendment that would waive parts of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to get the Channel migrants policy up and running using a so-called 'notwithstanding clause'. According to the Times, lawyers have warned that the 'full-fat' approach of exempting the measures from the ECHR would merely provoke more legal challenges. Home Secretary James Cleverly has also signalled concerns about the proposal, while Lord Cameron's Foreign Office fears it could damage the UK's international standing. However, other senior ministers are believed to be more hawkish, including Mr Cleverly's Home Office deputy Robert Jenrick. This afternoon Mr Jenrick threw some red meat to MPs in the Commons, hinting at backing for a full cap on legal migrant numbers and on the number of dependents they can bring with them. But former minister Jonathan Gullis said: 'I am deeply concerned and confused because at the weekend I get the Prime Minister saying that migration is too high and needs to come down to more sustainable levels - the full-fat option. 'Yesterday I get the skimmed option, with the Prime Minister boasting about our competitive visa regime. The Cabinet members who sit round with (Mr Jenrick) - are they full-fat, semi-skimmed or skimmed?' The Prime Minister is facing a major backlash over claims he is going cold on moves to exempt controversial Rwanda deportation flights from human rights rules in order to bypass the courts. This afternoon Mr Jenrick threw some red meat to MPs in the Commons, hinting at backing for a full cap on legal migrant numbers and on the number of dependents they can bring with them. But former minister Jonathan Gullis said: 'I am deeply concerned and confused because at the weekend I get the Prime Minister saying that migration is too high and needs to come down to more sustainable levels - the full-fat option. 'Yesterday I get the skimmed option, with the Prime Minister boasting about our competitive visa regime. The Cabinet members who sit round with (Mr Jenrick) - are they full-fat, semi-skimmed or skimmed?' Mr Jenrick replied: 'I support (Mr Gullis) in his lobbying and campaigning for the Government to take this issue seriously because he speaks for millions of people across the country who see the levels of net migration as far too high.' Later, in reply to party deputy chairman, Lee Anderson, Mr Jenrick said there were 'strong arguments' for introducing a cap on migration numbers. Anderson told MPs: 'People in Ashfield have had enough of this. 7,000 people on the council house waiting list, people struggling to get a GP appointment, people struggling to get a dental appointment, struggling to get school places.' Pointing to the Labour benches, he added: 'Isn't it about time, minister, that we had a cap on migration and put some clear divide between us and that lot over there?' Tory MP for Dudley North, Marco Longhi, also pressed for a cap, telling the Commons: 'Does he agree with me that... it is time for a cap on net migration?' In response to Mr Anderson, Mr Jenrick said: 'He speaks for my constituents as he does for his in saying that the British public want us to get on with the job now and bring down the numbers coming into this country. The Prime Minister, the Home Secretary and I are committed to bringing forward a set of fundamental reforms which I hope will achieve the objective that he has set out. 'There are definitely strong arguments for using caps, whether in general or on specific visas, but these are conversations that we need to conclude within Government.' The PM has insisted that all options are on the table to ensure that flights take off next year, after the Supreme Court ruled the current plans were illegal. But there are claims that Downing Street is going cold on the idea of including a 'notwithstanding' clause in emergency legislation set to be unveiled in the coming weeks. Home Secretary James Cleverly has signalled concerns about the idea of dropping out of the European Convention on Human Rights Channel migrants being brought ashore in Kent earlier this month Mr Cleverly was assailed by Tory MPs calling for action to curb human rights rules in the Commons yesterday. Dozens are thought to be preparing to back an amendment to any emergency legislation if it does not include a derogation from the ECHR and UN refugee provisions. The Supreme Court ruled that deportations could not go ahead because Rwanda might send asylum seekers back to their country of origin, where they could be in danger. Mr Cleverly insisted he would not 'pre-judge' whether emergency legislation would allow ministers to disapply parts of international agreements. He said: 'We will do everything we can to ensure that we break the business model of the evil people smugglers, that we drive down small-boat arrivals. 'The deterrent effect of Rwanda is a key element of that multi-strand approach. The Rwanda scheme is an incredibly important part of our basket of responses.' Connected plans for a new Treaty with Rwanda that could swing the legal position in the government's favour also seem to have run into problems. The agreement had been initially mooted to conclude last week, but now looks unlikely until next week - and potentially not until after Christmas. With the time required to ratify any deal and the prospect of more legal challenges, it throws the PM's timetable of the first Rwanda flights taking off by Spring into doubt. The government also felt the heat from Conservative MPs over legal migration yesterday. Jonathan Gullis said last week's record net migration figures were 'completely unacceptable' for the people in his constituency. He urged them to 'copy and paste' proposals to reduce the figures put forward by the New Conservatives grouping of Tory MPs. Mr Jenrick replied: 'The level of legal migration into this country is far too high. We have already announced a specific policy with respect to dependants which comes into force at the beginning of next year.' It came after claims that Mr Sunak agreed to raise the salary threshold for migrant workers from 25,000 to 40,000 as part of a deal with Suella Braverman, who was sacked as home secretary two weeks ago. Lord Cameron's Foreign Office fears a bold Rwanda move could damage the UK's international standing Mr Cleverly fielded angry interventions from Tory MP yesterday, and insisted the Rwanda scheme remains a 'key element' of efforts to tackle the Channel crisis Identical measures were proposed by former PM Boris Johnson in his Mail column on Saturday, after figures showed net migration hit a record 745,000 last year, mostly driven by foreign workers. Raising the minimum salary which must be paid by employers to overseas recruits would see a huge reduction in the number of work visas granted. Mr Sunak yesterday insisted he was determined to cut net migration, saying the figures 'need to come down to more sustainable levels'. Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove admitted the immigration figures will force Britain to build thousands more homes on greenfield sites, and that the Government's target to build a million new homes in this parliamentary term would not be enough. A woman has been arrested after at least ten people, including young children, fell ill after eating chocolate reportedly laced with unidentified drugs. The chocolate was sold under the label Cali-Gold and purchased through a stall at a market in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, over the weekend. The police along with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and the UK Health Security Agency are investigating the incident. Initial rumours circulating on social media suggested the chocolate was laced with cannabis, however this has been denied by the police. Ian Godber, a father of four, said he was left 'fearing' for his children's life after they fell ill from eating chocolate from the market. A woman has been arrested after at least ten people, including young children, fell ill after eating chocolate (pictured) reportedly laced with unidentified drugs Nottinghamshire Police also released this picture and said the chocolate was sold in 'Cali-Gold boxes' and golden wrappers He described how his children were left with their 'eyes popping out of their heads' and other symptoms shortly after consuming the confectionery. Mr Godber told the Mansfield Chad: 'The kids had four or six squares and then half an hour later, they started to go funny. 'My youngest son was affected the worse. All four of my kids had their eyes popping out their heads, felt sick and giddy. 'I phoned the paramedics and they came out and rushed my youngest into A&E because of his symptoms.' Detective Inspector Luke Todd, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: 'We are currently investigating reports of people falling ill after unknowingly buying chocolate laced with drugs over the weekend. 'Tests are in the process of being carried out but at present there is no evidence to support claims that the chocolate bars contained any illicit drugs. 'A 63-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of administering a noxious substance and is assisting the police with our ongoing inquiries. 'The chocolate bars were reportedly sold in the orange 'Cali-Gold' boxes and golden wrappers pictured on Saturday in Mansfield Market.' The chocolate was purchased through a stall at a market in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, over the weekend. Pictured, stock image of Mansfield Market Place Dr Kakoli Choudhury, Consultant in Communicable Disease Control at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) East Midlands, said: 'The small number of people who became unwell have fully recovered. Investigations are ongoing about what may have caused the illness.' Tina Potter, Head of Incidents, Food Standards Agency said: 'We are working with local authorities, the UK Health Security Agency and Nottinghamshire Police to investigate an incident following reports of illness after eating 'Cali-Gold' chocolate. 'If you have purchased 'Cali-Gold' chocolate from Mansfield Market in Nottinghamshire, you should not consume the product or give it to anyone else, and should hand it to the police. 'If you have already eaten it and developed symptoms, then you should urgently seek medical attention from your GP or walk in centre.' Laurence Fox has denied he was turned into a 'weaponised anti-woke bad boy' by his divorce from Billie Piper as his libel trial went over his love life in stark detail. The former Lewis actor also denied his ex-girlfriend Sara McKinnon broke up with him because of comments he made on Question Time when he accused an audience member of racism for calling him a 'white privileged male'. The 45-year-old also claimed that social media posts calling him a racist were 'an organised pile on' that destroyed his career. The actor and right-wing activist told the High Court that a tweet by actress Nicola Thorp calling him 'unequivocally, publicly and undeniably a racist' ended his career. Mr Fox is being sued by Simon Blake, a former trustee of the LGBT+ charity Stonewall and drag queen Colin Seymour, known as Crystal, for calling them 'paedophiles' on Twitter. The founder of the Reclaim Party, is counter-suing the pair and Coronation Street actress Nicola Thorp, 35, after they branded him a 'racist' in response to a post by Sainsbury's celebrating Black History Month in October 2020. Laurence Fox arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice, Chancery Lane, on November 24 The actor, pictured here with his ex-wife Billie Piper on their wedding day, denies his split from her turned him into a 'weaponised anti-woke bad boy' The former GB News presenter is best known for playing DS James Hathaway in the ITV series Lewis and was formerly married to Doctor Who actress Billie Piper. He claims he called the pair paedophiles as a 'baseless and meaningless' insult in response to them 'baselessly' calling him racist while Seymour and Blake claim the insult was based on homophobic tropes. Lorna Skinner, KC, representing Blake, Seymour and Thorp, at the High Court, asked today if it was Fox's divorce with Piper that had radicalised him into a 'weaponised anti-woke bad boy,' as had been stated in a Sunday Times article. The bespectacled actor, giving evidence wearing a navy suit and purple tie, said: 'Divorce is a pretty brutal thing and our divorce in itself was a pretty brutal divorce but I don't think - I don't know.' He said the article, which referred to him being suicidal after the divorce was a 'fairly solid' assessment of how he felt. 'Do you agree that was the impetus causing you to change track from acting to a 'weaponised anti-woke bad boy?' Ms Skinner asked. 'No,' Fox replied. Fox said he had not read the interview or other media interviews he gave at the time or in preparation for the trial. 'It was pretty sad and depressing watching the destruction of my life so I didn't wish to read it,' he said. 'I tend not to read the media.' Fox said he was thrown out of his family home after his controversial Question Time appearance in January 2020 because he refused to take off a Donald Trump 'Make America Great Again' hat. 'I had taken to wearing a Trump 2020 hat and this caused so much distress to my sister that I was thrown out because I refused to remove the hat,' he said. He said he did not attend his family dinners for some weeks afterwards. Laurence Fox was 'flabbergasted' when his acting agent dropped him, the court previously heard (pictured with girlfriend Elizabeth Barker outside court on November 22) Simon Blake (left), Nicola Thorp and Colin Seymour (right) pictured on November 22 Fox denied that his brother-in-law actor Richard Ayoade was 'furious' with him about the Question Time comments. During the show he accused an audience member of racism for calling him a 'white privileged male.' 'It was dreadful, that amount of media exposure is very hard for any family and suddenly everyone's doors being are being knocked on and obviously they're going straight to Richard who's a very private actor and saying 'do you think he's a racist.' 'I phoned Richard and said to him this is horrible can you say something and he said 'It's a twitter storm ignore it and it will go away.' Ms Skinner suggested that it was comments on Question Time that destroyed his career, not the tweets by Thorp, Blake and Seymour. He denied that he had told journalists after his Question Time appearance that he had no offers of work. 'No I did have some offers of work, I was immediately offered Gogglebox again, I'd done quite well on Googglebox, but after the Question Time period I thought I'd just keep my head down for a bit. 'Offers did continue from Question Time right up until Nicola Thorp's tweet which was the end in combination with the other two. 'I was in panic. [after Question Time] I wasn't expecting such a huge backlash but it was temporary. 'We were right in the middle of the BLM craze so I thought not being on the side of the BLM thing might be a bit of a problem for me as an actor.' He said that other actors with socially conservative views often do not give interviews or express their views. 'The effect on my life had been devastating. I'd suddenly become overnight a bit of a celebrity and people coming up to me on the street and saying whopee! or not whopee. 'I'd had some experience of fame with my former wife because she was very popular - but not myself. 'Despite what I say I am quite shy out on the street. Being too anxious to go out and get a pint of milk, that's pretty devastating. 'The serious harm done to me had nothing to do with Question Time, it certainly effected my prospects at that time. 'I thought wow I didn't realise the whole of the world was intolerant of certain views. 'It's quite shocking when overnight I became a topic of conversation in everyone's living room. Mr Fox, who denies being a racist, said in his written evidence he was 'horrified' when he saw he had been called a racist, which he later described as 'a career-ending word, and a reputation-destroying allegation' 'I had come to the conclusion I may never get an acting job again without expressing the correct opinion. 'I was asking myself rhetorical questions, in order to carry on working as an actor did I need to become an LGBTQ ally or something, go on about all of the things that actors go on about being very pro.' Fox denied that his ex-girlfriend, photographer Sara McKinnon, broke up with him because of his comments on Question Time, saying they actually broke up months later. He said: 'We had different views about certain political views, like climate change. I hadn't started the political party at that point and when I did she didn't want to be involved.' Fox claimed that one evening he had a row with McKinnon's father, the nature documentary maker Michael McKinnon. 'I was sat in his his palatial mansion while he was mouthing off about climate change, I looked to the steam coming off his Olympic sized swimming pool and said 'you're a hypocrite'. And she was a Daddy's girl,' he said. Ms Skinner said: 'The reason why you've given two separate explanations of why she broke up with you is because you don't want to tell the court that the appearance on Question Time and the podcast where you expressed racist views- those things caused her to split up with you.' He said they did not break up straight after the Question Time appearance and were getting on well after that. 'She went with being with someone not particularly famous to very famous,' he said. Ms Skinner said: 'To be clear what we are saying is all those explanations are rubbish and it was because of your own conduct in relation to race.' Fox said this was not true. When asked for an example of anti-white racism, Fox referred to the Bridgerton star Adjoa Andoh referring to the balcony at the coronation of King Charles as 'terribly white'. Ms Skinner asked if he understood what the phrase 'Black Lives Matter' intended to convey. Fox replied: 'If one would say 'White Lives Matter' people would find a bit iffy to say. 'We're all equal in the eyes of God - so all lives matter.' 'Is it saying 'Black Lives Matter more than everyone else's?' Ms Skinner asked. 'No but I think it is heightening the issue of black lives more than others, making everyone focus on black lives,' Fox replied. 'Every single human life is sacred, all lives matter we're all made in the eyes of God, it doesn't matter what the colour of your skin is.' 'It's saying 'black lives matter too', Ms Skinner said. 'Yes, which is also encompassed wholly in all lives matter,' Fox said. 'What it is saying is hear us and see us, these things have been happening to us, no one is noticing and no one seems to care, that is what it is intended to convey,' Ms Skinner said. 'No, the earliest versions of Black Lives Matter was basically cultural Marxism and calling for the destruction of the nuclear family,' Fox said. Fox confirmed that he immediately started tweeting 'All Lives Matter' and now signs off with the phrase on Twitter, now X, every night. Ms Skinner asked if he understood why people may find this offensive. 'I can completely understand why a Marxist would find the phrase All Lives Matter offensive but I can't understand why a normal person would find All Lives Matter in any way discriminatory whatsoever. 'There were those that genuinely bought the BLM narrative that, good-hearted people, but there were also those going because they were socialists themselves, wanting to see a change, hence the violent protests we saw in the UK about the death of a man far away in America, a career criminal who'd robbed a woman at gunpoint to her belly. 'How on earth in what real world can the phrase All Lives Matter be anything other than inclusive.' Ms Skinner said: 'It derails specific conversations about racism towards black people, seeks to shut down the conversation and demonstrated that you refused to acknowledge racism against black people. 'You are an educated man and you have the sense and intelligence to understand why that is racist.' 'It's not racist,' Fox said. He also defended a tweet he had made joking that Instagram was broken in response to a day known as 'Blackout Tuesday', where many people changed their profile image to a black square to show support for Black Lives Matter. Ms Skinner asked: 'Making a joke out of the appalling way black people have been treated for generations and are being treated now is a pretty twisted thing to do isn't it?' Fox said he believed the people who took part were taking part in 'pointless virtue signalling.' Mr Fox said in his witness evidence he had a 'vibrant and busy' work life before the tweets and before Ms Latimer dropped him, he was asked to audition for roles including Batman and Succession 'Given you oppose virtue signalling why is it you repeatedly tweet All Lives Matter?' Ms Skinner asked. 'Because there is something more pernicious and dangerous to single out one ethnic group over another,' Fox replied. Asked if he was a progressive or a Conservative Fox said: 'I thought I was a bit of a progressive but it turns out I'm Hitler to be honest.' Ms Skinner said: 'Having seen Mr Blake and Mr Seymour give evidence do you still maintain that each of them did not honestly believe that your tweet about Sainsbury's was racist?' Fox said he did not think the men were telling the truth. 'Are you also maintaining each was not honestly expressing an opinion on what you'd written?' Ms Skinner said. Fox replied: 'I think the idea calling someone racist is an opinion is up for debate, and on a freedom of speech level I would uphold someone's right to an opinion but it was a very factual tweet from Ms Thorp talking about my industry. 'By calling them a pedophile in return that's me saying of course I'm not a racist. 'Having seen them give evidence they seem like two very nice people who I would probably get on with in another world but I don't- I think this was an organised pile-on to destroy my career and it did what it intended to do.' Of Thorp's tweet, which said anyone who employed him would be employing a racist, he said: 'That was the end of my career, that moment, my career finished that moment. 'When three people who've got big followings all tweet the same thing that is going to generate a huge amount of internet traffic and a pile-on.' The hearing continues. Thorp, pregnant with her first child, wore a black dress, orange belted jacket, and pink and red coat sat next to Blake and Seymour. She was accompanied by her husband actor Nikesh Patel. Seymour, a contestant in season one of the BBC3 show RuPaul's Drag Race UK, wore a pink shirt with chains and black nail varnish. Fox's girlfriend Elizabeth Barker was also in court. The trial, before Mrs Justice Collins Rice, continues. Undocumented immigrants from Romania have been arrested for allegedly leaving their children inside their car while they robbed a Texas supermarket. Rebeca Nae, 22, and Cristi Iordache, 30, are charged with leaving their young sons, three and four, in their vehicle while they went inside an H-E-B store in Waco and stole thousands of dollars in cosmetics on November 17. The Romania natives are also suspected in two previous robberies at two other H-E-B stores on November 14, as reported by KWTX. Investigators say they have security footage of Nae hiding the products in her dress while Iordache used a shopping cart with a child in it to block the camera's view. Employees told police Iordache was acting as a lookout. Nae and Iordache allegedly stole more than $3,000 on November 17 and over $1,200 on November 14. Rebeca Nae, 22, is accused of leaving her two young sons inside a car while she and their dad went inside a Waco, Texas, store to steal cosmetics Cristi Iordache, 30, is also charged with endangering the children as well as the robberies Their three boys, aged four, three and one, have been taken by The Texas Department of Family and Protective Service. Officials said they have not been able to locate any relatives to place the children with and noted the kids 'were observed to be dirty, and their clothes smelled of urine.' According to court documents, the family 'has previous CPS history due to concerns of instability, neglectful supervision, an physical neglect due to the family living out of their car and Iordache being arrested for fictitious license plates.' The family was investigated in May after police found the parents soliciting money at a McDonald's parking lot. A social worker found the family was homeless and living in their car, and police found a portable stove top in their car, but no car seats for the kids. The couple was also found to be using plates registered to another car. Police noted in their report the family 'smelled strongly of marijuana, and was observed to not have bathed for days.' Officials found a small amount of the drug and charged Iordache with possession as well as for the fake license plate. Officials allowed the mother to stay behind with the children. The H-E-B Supermarket at 1821 S. Valley Mills Drive in Waco Texas is pictured. The couple is accused of stealing more than $3,000 in cosmetics there on November 17 Police say the couple also stoke more than $1,200 in cosmetics from the H-E-B in Bellmead The family then stayed off the radar until their arrest on November 17. Nae reportedly told police following their arrest that the family had been in the country for 10 months and that their family worked as Uber drivers in California. Her husband, on his part, supposedly told police Nae 'lost her mind and stole face creams, but that it was his fault, too.' The couple is detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). China has been accused of recruiting westerners to spy on and interrogate dissidents, after a suspected spy for Beijing was caught grilling a pro-democracy Hongkonger living in the UK. Channel 4's Dispatches programmes, which previously released bombshell allegations against Russell Brand, will reveal tomorrow night how the authoritarian state is suspected of sending a western spy to pose as a journalist in an attempt to grill one of the leaders of the 2019 Hong Kong freedom demonstrations. Lau, 30, was one of the most prominent figures at the head of the Hong Kong demonstrations before he was brutally beaten following his arrest, and subsequently left the city-state. The Chinese government currently has a HK$1 million (100,000) bounty on his head, and said that he and other exiles would be 'pursued for life.' The dissident is one of the thousands of Hongkongers who have come to the UK in recent years following China's crackdown on dissidents, and revealed that spies have spent years going after him using fake journalistic credentials. The documentary's makers managed to catch a Western man who posed as a journalist for the Toronto Guardian, an established Canadian media organisation, attempting to speak with Lau. Finn Lau, 30, (pictured) was one of the most prominent figures at the head of the Hong Kong demonstrations before he was brutally beaten following his arrest, and subsequently left the city-state The alleged spy (pictured) gave his name as Richard Vong, though spelt it 'Vuong' in his email footer His email address was registered just 30 minutes before he reached out to Lau, and was associated with a server in China The alleged spy, who gave his name as Richard Vong, though spelt it 'Vuong' in his email footer, was seen speaking to Lau over a video-messaging service. 'Vong' used photos of an Asian male on his social media profiles, but turned out to be a White man from North America. He claimed to be interested in speaking about Lau's work, what outcomes he and his dissident group, Global De-Twin with China, hoped to achieve, whether it was working with any Toronto organisations, and whether it had considered alternative methods. But his email address was registered just 30 minutes before he reached out to Lau, and was associated with a server in China. On top of this, the documentarians reached out to the editors of the Toronto Guardian, who said that had never worked with 'Vong' before. When challenged on the discrepancies, and asked whether he was acting on behalf of China's intelligence apparatus, he said: 'These accusations will put me in a bit of a pickle.' The documentary's makers managed to catch a Western man who posed as a journalist for the Toronto Guardian, an established Canadian media organisation, attempting to speak with Lau 'Vong' used photos of an Asian male on his social media profiles, but turned out to be a White man from North America He was also unable to spell his own surname on camera when confronted on the discrepancy. Documentarians claims they used facial recognition software to reveal that he is an American man who spent time teaching in Shanghai, but did not name him. The documentary is also set to accuse leading British universities of being influenced by Chinese agents. It will allege that the University of Nottingham closed its School of Contemporary Chinese Studies in 2016 following pressure from Beijing. The university, which has expanded to Asia in recent years and has a campus in Ningbo, denied the claims. China's covert influence across the world has grown in the last few years, and the authoritarian state has taken an interest in the UK. A parliamentary report from earlier this year revealed that China had deployed at least 40,000 intelligence officers abroad, though the number operating in Britain was redacted. But MI5 recently revealed that 20,000 Britons have been targeted by Chinese spies on Linkedin alone. The government has described China as an 'epoch defining challenge'. MailOnline has contacted China's embassy in London for comment. Secrets and Power: China in the UK, Channel 4 Dispatches, airs tomorrow night at 10pm. This is the horrific moment a Deliveroo rider was savagely beaten up by a gang rival of delivery drivers. Fahad Aman was set upon by up to a dozen riders wearing crash helmets to conceal their identities outside the McDonalds restaurant in Tooting, south London, shortly before 5pm on a Saturday evening. The 23-year-old was punched repeatedly in the face and kicked in the head when he was lying on the ground, leaving him cut and bruised. They also stole his iPhone. His brother Faisal called 999 when terrified Fahad asked for help and captured the thugs fleeing the scene on his mobile phone, before police arrived and interviewed Mr Aman. Faisal, a taxi driver, 37, also obtained CCTV footage of the frightening attack from a nearby restaurant and gave it to officers investigating the attack. The 23-year-old was punched repeatedly in the face and kicked in the head when he was lying on the ground, leaving him cut and bruised His brother, a taxi driver, 37, also obtained CCTV footage of the frightening attack from a nearby restaurant and gave it to officers investigating the attack But the Met Police later told Mr Aman that there wasnt a realistic possibility to secure a conviction because they couldnt identify the attackers from the CCTV, which was taken from too far away. To Mr Amans irritation and anger, police dropped the case due to a lack of evidence. Today, Mr Aman, who has only recently arrived in the UK from Pakistan to take a job as a healthcare worker, told of his frustration at the lack of police action. He told MailOnline: I feel like my brother and me have given the police everything they need to catch these men, but they wont do it. I am so disappointed and upset. I did not expect the Britain to be like this. I did nothing wrong. I was only trying to lock my bicycle up to the lamppost when these men started attacking me. They punched and kicked me and stole my phone. It was horrible. I called my brother Faisal and he called the police. The police have done nothing. They have just let these men get away with beating me up. And because of that they will probably do it again. His brother, who is married with two young children and has lived in Tooting for the past 14 years, had invited Mr Aman to stay with him in between shifts working at a care home in Buckinghamshire. He told MailOnline: We will not let this go. My brother deserves justice. The Metropolitan Police confirmed they responded to Mr Aman's call. But the Met Police later told Mr Aman that there wasnt a realistic possibility to secure a conviction because they couldnt identify the attackers from the CCTV, which was taken from too far away To Mr Amans irritation and anger, police dropped the case due to a lack of evidence Today, Mr Aman, who has only recently arrived in the UK from Pakistan to take a job as a healthcare worker, told of his frustration at the lack of police action The police say while it did capture the incident, it was filmed from a distance and the suspects were clad in dark clothing with their faces obscured by masks, leading to the explanation given to the two men When officers arrived, Police say neither man was seriously injured and both declined LAS treatment When officers arrived, Police say neither man was seriously injured and both declined LAS treatment. The police then checked the CCTV from a nearby restaurant. They say while it did capture the incident, it was filmed from a distance and the suspects were clad in dark clothing with their faces obscured by masks, leading to the explanation given to the two men. In a full statement, the Met said: 'Police were called at 16:57hrs on Saturday, 18 November to Mitcham Road SW17. 'Two men, aged 23 and 37, alleged they had been assaulted and had a phone stolen by another group of men following a dispute over parking. The suspects then fled the scene. 'Officers responded. The victims thankfully had not suffered serious injuries and declined LAS treatment. 'Officers checked CCTV from a nearby restaurant. While it did capture the incident, it was filmed from a distance and the suspects were clad in dark clothing with their faces obscured by masks. 'Given this, and the absence of any witnesses or forensic opportunities, officers explained to the victims the difficulties this would present in identifying the suspects. 'They were given safety advice and advised to call 999 if they encountered the suspects again.' Four men charged over the theft of a 4.8million gold toilet from Blenheim Palace have appeared in court. The men were charged earlier this month after the 18-carat solid gold toilet, designed as part of an exhibition by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, vanished overnight following a raid on Winston Churchill's birth place on September 14, 2019. James Sheen, 35, of Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, and Michael Jones, 38, from Oxford, are both accused of burgling the installation. Sheen is also charged with transferring criminal property. Sheen, Fred Doe, 35, of Ascot, Berskshire, and Bora Guccuk, 39, from west London, are all charged with one count of conspiracy to transfer criminal property. All four defendants have been granted unconditional bail at Oxford Magistrates' Court and are set to appear at Oxford Crown Court on January 4. Court artist sketch of (left to right) Michael Jones, Fred Doe and Bora Guccuk Four men have been appeared in court over the theft of a 4.8million 18-carat solid gold toilet stolen in a raid on Blenheim Palace four years ago The toilet, designed as part of an exhibition by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, disappeared from the stately home on September 14 2019 Michael Jones leaves Oxford Magistrates' Court Bora Guccuk leaves Oxford Magistrates' Court The statement toilet - dubbed 'America' by its artist - was fitted in at the Guggenheim Museum in New York in 2016 and 100,000 people queued to use it. It was then moved to Blenheim, into a chamber opposite the room where Winston Churchill was born for Cattelan's first solo UK show in more than 20 years. Speaking at the time of the theft, artist Cattelan said he hoped the theft was a prank and asked 'who's so stupid to steal a toilet? [The work titled] America was the one per cent for the 99 per cent'. Meanwhile the palace's chief executive Dominic Hare said he hoped the 'pointless' theft would 'immortalise' the work before defending the stately homes 'sophisticated security system'. The boss added that it was 'deeply ironic' that a work 'portraying the American Dream' and the elite object made available to all was 'instantly snatched away and hidden from view'. A Florida honor roll student charged with murdering his mother in a gruesome stabbing attack then sending photos of her corpse to his friends appeared in court today for the first time. Derek Rosa, 13, looked disorientated and confused as he listened to lawyers and the judge at a brief hearing in Miami. He is being charged as an adult for the murder of his mother, 39-year-old Irina Garcia. Derek's attorneys have entered a plea of not guilty and have not yet indicated any kind of mental illness defense. The teen's alleged motive remains unknown. On October 12, he called 911 to report having just killed his mother while his newborn baby sister slept in her crib nearby. Scroll down for video Derek Rosa, 13, looked disorientated and confused as he listened to lawyers and the judge at a brief hearing in Miami The teen's legal team gathered around him at one point to explain the proceedings Rosa, 13, is charged with murdering his mother Irina while she was sleeping on October 12 He told the operator that he stabbed his mother in her sleep, and that he was also contemplating suicide but said he 'didn't want' to kill himself. Today's hearing was to determine if he should stay in the adult jail where he is currently being held, or if he can return to a juvenile facility. His attorneys are pushing for the latter. The judge did not decide on where he should be kept. An evidentiary hearing was scheduled for Friday. The hearing also heard arguments on whether the teen's legal team will be allowed to enter the apartment where the murder took place. The 13-year-old's mother, Irina Garcia, 39, had just given birth to his younger sister two weeks before. The baby was found lying beside her dead body, unharmed Rosa's family say he is a 'good kid' and that 'no one could imagine that this would ever happen' Derek Rosa allegedly stabbed and killed his mother in her sleep before sending photos of her body to a friend on social media The apartments where Rosa lived in Hialeh, Florida, before he allegedly stabbed his mom to death The judge granted the request on the condition that police officers remain outside while they carry out their searches. It's unclear exactly what they are looking for, or why they want to gain entry to the home. The teenager's stepfather protested as did prosecutors, who pointed out the fact that others had been in the apartment since the crime. Rosa's neighbors were stunned by his arrest last month. They and his family described him as a happy, studious teenager who never displayed any signs of violence. The second victim was sent to the hospital for 'non-life-threatening' injuries The fight broke out on late Monday morning and a 14-year-old suspect has been arrested Delvin Ferrell, 15, has been identified as the boy who was stabbed to death during a brawl at Southeast Raleigh High School The boy who was stabbed to death during a fight at a North Carolina school has been identified as his 'forgiving family' said that they 'don't hold any ill will' against their loved one's accused murderer. Delvin Ferrell, 15, died from his injuries after a 14-year-old student stabbed him during a fight. 'We are a grieving family and trying to process this,' Ferrell's family said in a statement. 'It is a tragedy all around. We are a forgiving family and dont hold any ill will.' Southeast Raleigh High School was closed on Tuesday after a mass brawl broke out around 11am on Monday. Video showed the moment the suspect took out a knife and stabbed his classmates during the brawl. Another student was also stabbed and was taken to the hospital and treated for 'non-life-threatening' injuries. Delvin Ferrell, 15, died from his injuries after a 14-year-old student stabbed him during a fight Students at a North Carolina high school are seen on Monday in a mass brawl in the gymnasium as a male in a grey hoodie is seen with a knife in hand. The teenage suspect is accused of stabbing Ferrell to death The Raleigh Police Department have placed the unnamed suspect in custody who is facing a juvenile petition. District Attorney Lorrin Freeman told WRAL that a juvenile custody hearing was scheduled for Tuesday. Hours after the stabbing, Ferrell's family and friends gathered for a vigil in his honor. They said that Delvin enjoyed video games and sports. One relative posted online and said: 'Lord you gave me this Precious SON of mines for a season and with it the great Responsibility and Joy of Guiding him through his childhood years into his Teenage years....and Now I find that I am having to entrust hom [sic] back into your loving arms ... 'Lord I do Thank you for the Joy he has given me over these short special years of his Life and the pride. I had as I watched him spread his wings as a he started to make his way in life Growing in Faveur [sic] with you and with so many too '..Lord I ask you to hold me and his mother and my family close in your loving Embrace as this is such A pain to have to to say Goodbye to my Dearly beloved Son.....' 'I know his life was only Entrusted to Me for a season .that our times are In your hands ..you have scheduled each day of our lives. but I Did not Expect that he would be called home.....Pour out your loving comfort and strength to me lord and to all of us who loss acutely. may we Drawn closer to each other and to you as we prepared to say our Goodbyes to my Beloved Son,' the relative said. Others took time to post heartfelt messages on the teen's online obit as one person said: 'A young man I knew from birth over the years we lost contact but I still never forgot you...I'm so sorry to hear of his passing...I send my condolences to his mother and the rest of the family.' The fight took place outside of the school's gymnasium before a large group of students piled inside. Authorities said that multiple students were involved but did not reveal an exact number. During the fight, a school resource officer called for EMS and backup after they stated that a student had been stabbed. Soon after, the second student was found with puncture wounds. 'He's losing consciousness right now. We're in the main gym,' a woman's voice was heard saying over law enforcement radio traffic. A male's voice said: 'Can you make sure the administrators put the school on lockdown?' The high school was under a Code Red lockdown and informed parents that a 'controlled' dismissal would occur as scheduled The fight started outside but student were soon seen piling into the gym where Ferrell was stabbed However, the department added: 'The scene is secure, and this appears to be an isolated incident. Please avoid the area around the school.' A follow-up message informed parents that the school would remain under a Code Red lockdown due to the ongoing investigation, but a 'controlled' dismissal would occur at the usual time. School officials and police officers have not said what sparked the altercation or who started it. The suspect responsible for the stabbing has since been arrested and Freeman said that she 'anticipates in the near future' that the case will be transferred to Superior Court to try the 14-year-old as an adult. The mother of the male suspect, Cherelle McLaughlin told WRAL that her son, who is seen in the video slashing the knife, was acting in self-defense. McLaughlin also mentioned that she had informed the school that she was worried for her child's safety, but it is not clear why. Freeman explained that North Carolina state law states that once a probable cause hearing has been held, minors charged with first degree murder are then sent to Superior Court. The 14-year-old suspect is being held in custody and the District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said that she plans on trying him as an adult 'We are at the beginning of this process,' Freeman said. The District Attorney went on to say that the recent rise in juveniles being charged as adults is 'concerning' to her and that she will do everything in her power to move the case along efficiently. 'I feel terrible. The whole situation is terrible. I feel bad for the other family, but in return, I feel bad for my son because he was fighting for his life," said McLaughlin. Other parents commented on the fatal altercation as one said that her daughter will not be attending the High School anymore. 'Even from the video alone, it seemed like it took a long time for the administrator, teacher, adult to get there,' another parent said. The school has announced that counselors and staff will be made available to students this week, but it is unclear when the school will open back up. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said U.S. military assistance is aiding human rights violations in Gaza - as debate breaks out among Democrats over whether aid should be conditioned on whether or not Israel does enough to avoid civilian casualties. 'What we are witnessing is the gross violation of human rights in Gaza, and that is being done with U.S. military assistance,' Ocasio-Cortez said. 'I don't think that the American people want to see our public resources going to finance gross human rights violations.' The progressive firebrand encouraged pro-Palestine activists to keep putting pressure on lawmakers to support a ceasefire. 'I want to also be clear about how powerful that is, constituent engagement,' she said in a constituent tele-town hall Monday night. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said U.S. military assistance is aiding human rights violations in Gaza - as debate breaks out among Democrats over whether aid should be conditioned on whether or not Israel does enough to avoid civilian casualties 'These are not just progressives,' Ocasio-Cortez went on. 'We have seen representatives from swing seats, that just barely won their seats, are now starting to come out in favor of a cease-fire. So all of this activism is making this a politically tenable and a politically normalized position. So I want to encourage individuals who are, you know, making that call or perhaps if you haven't made that call yet, to please do so.' At least 48 Democratic members of Congress have demanded a ceasefire, as Israel and Gaza have agreed to a humanitarian pause as long as Hamas continues to hand over Israeli hostages. Hamas handed over its fifth tranche of hostages on Tuesday as Israel agreed to extend the four-day truce deal by two more days. Hamas has released 69 hostages since the truce began, including one American. In exchange Israel has released over 150 Palestinian prisoners. Palestinians inspect the destruction caused by Israeli strikes in Wadi Gaza, in the central Gaza Strip on November 28, 2023 Palestinians walk after crossing from the northern Gaza Strip to the southern Gaza Strip as Israeli soldiers move along Salah Al Din road in the central Gaza Strip, 28 November 2023 Nine Americans remain in captivity by Hamas. Some 1,200 Israelis were killed when Hamas launched an attack on October 7, with around 240 taken hostage. Over 15,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory. Neither authority's figures have been independently verified. The House has already passed some $14 billion in aid for Israel. But in the Senate, a number of Democratic lawmakers have come out in favor of conditioning that money on Israel cleaning up its human rights record. 'We regularly condition our aid to allies based upon compliance with U.S. law and international law,' Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., chairman of the Foreign Relations subcommittee on the Middle East, said recently. 'I think that you can defeat Hamas without this level of civilian casualty,' which he called 'unacceptable.' Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has also called for conditions. 'We cannot be complicit in actions that violate international law,' he wrote on X. 'That includes an end to indiscriminate bombing.' Biden has called aid conditions a 'worthwhile thought,' but seemed hesitant. 'I don't think if I started off with that, we'd ever gotten to where we are today. We have to take this a piece at a time.' Hamas yesterday handed over a fifth group of Israeli and foreign hostages, Israel's Defence Forces confirmed, with negotiators now working to hash out another extension of the ongoing ceasefire set to expire later today. The Israelis in the group were named as 36-year-old Rimon Kirsht, whose husband remains a hostage, Gabriela Leimberg, 59, and her daughter Mia, 17, who was filmed clutching her pet dog Bella as she was flanked by Hamas fighters. The group also includes Mia's aunt Clara Merman, 63, Argentina-born Ofelia Roitman, 77, Ditza Herman, 84, Tamar Metzger, 78, Merav Tal, 53, Philippines-born Noralin Babdilla, 60, and Ada Sagi, 75, whose British son Noam has been campaigning in Israel and London for her release. The fifth group of hostages is also said to include two foreign nationals, who Israel says are from Thailand but have not yet been named, bringing the number of hostages freed yesterday to twelve. Pictures show the captives being escorted by balaclava-clad Hamas terrorists inside Gaza as they prepared to hand them over to the Red Cross and Israel, with crowds gathered around filming and jeering. Israel in return released 30 Palestinian prisoners from detention centres in the West Bank and Jerusalem as per the terms of the agreement. Now, officials are working to extend the ceasefire, with mediator Qatar signalling it was hoping for a more durable arrangement. 'Our main focus right now, and our hope, is to reach a sustainable truce that will lead to further negotiations and eventually to an end... to this war,' foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari told a Doha news conference. 'However, we are working with what we have. And what we have right now is the provision to the agreement that allows us to extend days as long as Hamas is able to guarantee the release of at least 10 hostages.' A teenage hostage clutches her dog, a Shih Tzu called Bella, as she is flanked by Hamas gunmen during her release Hamas fighters accompany newly released hostages before handing them over to the Red Cross in Rafah The fifth group of hostages is said to include nine women and one child Family members arrive at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv district, as hostages are expected to be released amid a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel One of the hostages was in a wheelchair as she was taken by Hamas fighters to be handed over to Israel Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters speak with members of the Red Cross during the release of hostages in Rafah The exchange of hostages and prisoners last night came as the reprieve in large-scale fighting appeared to be hanging in the balance after the IDF and Hamas traded accusations that the other side had violated the agreement for the first time since it came into force. Israel's Defence Forces (IDF) claimed three explosive devices were detonated near its troops at two sites in northern Gaza, with terrorists at one location then allegedly opening fire on them, which they returned gunfire. Hamas also accused Israel of committing a 'blatant breach of the ceasefire,' which it said its fighters responded to, without providing details. Both sides have claimed they are committed to the ongoing ceasefire. One more set of hostages is expected to be released by Hamas later today ahead of the ceasefire's expiration, with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remaining resolute in his intention to crush Hamas as soon as the agreed-upon peace deal comes to an end. Negotiators are desperately calling on both sides to extend the pause further, Egypt and Qatar have said, with international calls for a prolonged ceasefire mounting. A senior diplomatic source in the Knesset told The Times of Israel of negotiations to prolong the truce: 'If there is a concrete proposal, the cabinet will consider it, but there hasn't been anything like that. 'If we see it's a serious proposal, we'll look into it.' The family of the youngest hostage held by Hamas yesterday made fresh pleas for his return as it was confirmed he was not on the list for release. Ten-month-old Kfir Bibas has been missing with his father Yarden, wife Shiri, 32, and their son Ariel, four, since October 7, with family members hoping they would be returned during the extended ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. But an IDF spokesperson said Shiri, Ariel and Kfir are believed to have been handed off to Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) - a jihadist group that seeks to destroy Israel and has historically rejected any diplomatic engagement with Tel-Aviv. Those who have been released now face a long road to overcoming the trauma of their extended captivity in Gaza. The father of Emily Hand, an Irish-Israeli who was held hostage by Hamas for 50 days, has vowed to do 'whatever it takes' to help his nine-year-old daughter recover after revealing how she spent her ninth birthday running from missile strikes in Gaza. Four days after his daughter's emotional release, Mr Hand told The Sun: 'She was a happy noisy kid, now she whispers. She's been terrorised by terrorists in hell but as her dad it's my job to make it better and I will.' Teenage hostage Mia was pictured flanked by Hamas fighters and clutching a dog during her release Noam Sagi (L), 53, pictured with his mother, Ada Sagi (R) Hopes that Hamas could eventually return all hostages to Israel without issue were dashed last night when it emerged that as many as 40 people taken during the ruthless October 7 attacks - including ten-month-old Kfir Bibas - are no longer under the captivity of the Palestinian group The Bibas family, father Yarden, mother Shiri, baby Kfir and four-year-old Ariel, were taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 from Kibbutz Nir Oz The image of the two young boys being carried by their weeping mother, Shiri, as they were marched from their homes was one of the most striking to be published in the early days of the Israel-Hamas war Israel says it remains committed to crushing Hamas' military capabilities and ending its 16-year rule over Gaza. That would likely mean expanding a ground offensive from devastated northern Gaza to the south. About 1,200 people were killed in Israel during Hamas's bloody invasion on October 7 that ignited the war. More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza. Roughly 240 hostages were captured by Hamas, with just over 160 thought to still be in captivity following a series of exchanges with Palestinian prisoners. This comes after the Amazon founder announced he's moving from Seattle to Miami with fiancee Lauren Sanchez Advertisement It seems all the money in the world can't guarantee you a parking space. Koru, the astounding 417-foot sailing yacht built for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, 59, has finally arrived in the United States. But the world's third-richest man will have to keep his $550 million goliath moored in a busy seaport because it's too big to fit alongside the other superyachts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Exclusive DailyMail.com images show the opulent three-masted schooner docked at Port Everglades, nestling between gigantic oil tankers and the vast Liberty of the Seas cruise ship. The multi-billionaire will be charged $16,500 for each week it is there but that's mere chump change compared to the estimated $25 million a year it will cost to staff and operate Koru, the world's tallest sailboat with masts measuring 230 feet. Its dedicated support vessel, the Abeona a 246-foot floating garage for the tycoon's helicopter, jet skis and luxury cars is currently docked four miles away at a shipyard in Dania Beach. DailyMail.com snapped exclusive photos of Jeff Bezos' superyacht docked in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, next to a cruise ship because it's too big to fit alongside other yachts The yacht, Koru - named after the Maori word for 'new beginnings' - arrived in Florida late last Wednesday evening after departing from Gibraltar two weeks earlier This comes after the Amazon founder announced he's moving from Seattle to Miami with fiancee Lauren Sanchez Exclusive DailyMail.com images show the opulent three-masted schooner docked at Port Everglades, nestling between gigantic oil tankers and the vast Liberty of the Seas cruise ship. Koru, named after the Maori word for 'new beginnings', arrived in Florida late last Wednesday evening after departing from Gibraltar two weeks earlier. But since then it's been parked up in Port Everglades a major gateway for cruise ships and international trade - because south Florida's swish yachting marinas typically can't accommodate any boat longer than 400 feet. One nearby marina said it 'might be doable' but cautioned that Koru's 55-foot beam (width) and 14-foot draft (the depth it protrudes beneath the water's surface) would make it a huge challenge. DailyMail.com understands that Bezos worth about $170 billion is not currently on board but will likely use Koru over the holidays. Bezos announced earlier this month that he and his glamorous fiancee Lauren Sanchez, 53, were leaving Seattle, his base for the past 29 years, to move back to Miami, his childhood home. He's splashed out on two neighboring mansions on Indian Creek Island, the so-called 'Billionaire's bunker' that is home to Ivanka Trump, Tom Brady and Philadelphia Eagles owner Norman Braman. The combined $147million purchase gives Bezos 4.6 acres of waterfront land and around 400 feet of bay frontage on Florida's Intercoastal Waterway but mooring Koru there won't be plain sailing either. 'A boat that size, that's way beyond my scope of knowledge,' a local official told DailyMail.com. 'I would probably say that it's impossible. From what I understand the intercoastal is not that deep.' DailyMail.com understands that Bezos worth about $170 billion is not currently on board but will likely use Koru over the holidays The multi-billionaire will be charged $16,500 for each week it is there but that's mere chump change compared to the estimated $25 million a year it will cost to staff and operate Koru Bezos will have to keep his $550 million goliath moored in a busy seaport because it's too big to fit alongside the other superyachts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida instead of near smaller yachts Inspired by Black Pearl, the fictional ship in Pirates of the Caribbean, Koru took three years to build in the historic port of Zwijndrecht, close to Rotterdam in the Netherlands, by sailboat specialists Oceanco. At nearly twice the length of an Airbus A380, it's the second largest sailing ship in the world, surpassed only by the Philippe Starcke designed Sailing Yacht A, owned by Russian fertilizer billionaire Andrey Melnichenko. Before Koru had even been launched, the vast size of her masts sparked an international controversy when Rotterdam announced that part of the 100-year-old Koningshaven Bridge would be dismantled so the superyacht could pass underneath. The plan was abandoned and the masts attached downstream after thousands of locals vowed to wreck the boat's maiden voyage by pelting it with rotten eggs. The maritime marvel is painted midnight blue and has gold accents, boasts three decks, a pool and a huge sun terrace where Bezos and Sanchez were spotted sunning themselves on an inaugural cruise to the Spanish island of Mallorca in May. Not long after, DailyMail.com revealed that the sprawling ship was the setting for Bezos to propose to Sanchez after a whirlwind four-year romance. Another eye-catching feature of Koru first revealed by DailyMail.com is the polished wooden figurehead on the boat's prow that depicts a curvaceous Roman goddess in a skimpy, low-cut gown. The ornate carving bears a striking resemblance to former news anchor Sanchez but she laughed off the similarities, telling Vogue that it was modeled on Freyja, the Norse Goddess of love, fertility, war and gold. Koru is also proving controversial because of the estimated 7,154 tons of carbon emissions it is likely to generate each year. The boat was lauded as green because of its ability to travel via wind power but researchers from the University of Indiana claim it will pump out greenhouse gases because of its heating, AC, pool, sauna and other luxury amenities. Bezos splashed out on two neighboring mansions on Indian Creek Island, the so-called 'Billionaire's bunker' that is home to Ivanka Trump, Tom Brady and Philadelphia Eagles owner Norman Braman The property is located in the so-called 'billionaire bunker' and is known as an enclave for the wealthy and well-connected Their estimate is roughly 447 times the entire annual carbon footprint for an average American. This is despite Bezos pledging to spend $10 billion in 10 years through the Bezos Earth Fund to fight climate change. Bezos' plans for his new home on guard-gated Indian Creek Island are not yet clear and his spokeswoman could not be reached for comment. His first buy was a three-bedroom, 9,300 square foot property he paid $68 million for back in June. Last month he acquired the neighboring home, a larger, seven-bedroom estate set on two acres and boasting a home theater, pool and wine cellar, for $79 million. Bezos has stated that he wants to live nearer to his mom Jackie and adoptive father Miguel, who are in their late 70s. 'My parents have always been my biggest supporters. They recently moved back to Miami, the place we lived when I was younger,' he said of his move to Florida. 'I want to be close to my parents, and Lauren and I love Miami. Also, Blue Origin's operations are increasingly shifting to Cape Canaveral. For all that, I'm planning to return to Miami, leaving the Pacific Northwest.' Chicago's Mayor Brandon Johnson claims he 'inherited' the city's spiraling migrant crisis and lashed out at Lori Lightfoot's former administration. Johnson criticized Lightfoot's administration at a press conference on Tuesday held to announce the Unity initiative, an interfaith partnership aimed at bringing sleeping migrants out of police stations and into shelters. Johnson told reporters that 'the international crisis that I inherited six months ago, I've made it very clear we are going to move people out of police districts, women and children who are living on floors and sleeping outside that we're going to create spaces that provide more dignity.' Windy City has come under strain after the city was inundated by 20,000 migrants over the last 14 months, triggering a crisis. Many were bused north from the southern border, which has been overwhelmed by migrants crossing from Mexico. In Chicago, thousands of asylum seekers are staying at police stations and airports as the local government has run out of space to house them. Mayor Brandon Johnson claims he 'inherited' the city's spiraling migrant crisis at a press conference announcing new initiative to tackle the problem Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot (pictured) was heavily criticized for her time in office, four years dominated by soaring crime , war with teachers' unions and police and battles with the City Council Migrants have been forced to take shelter on the floors of police stations in Chicago or at O'Hare International Airport (pictured) 'Did you know when I was sworn in in May, the previous City council did not budget for 2023's migrant mission' the controversial mayor told the press. 'So not only have we stood up the full force of government in a collaborative way, we did it without the previous city council even providing resources for it.' Lightfoot was heavily criticized for her time in office, four years dominated by soaring crime, war with teachers' unions and polic and battles with the City Council. Under her watch, crime rose by 42 percent and the city's police complained about staff shortages and low morale: In May 2021, the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police issued a symbolic vote of no confidence against Lightfoot. Mayor Johnson also blamed the 'far right' for Chicago's ills during Tuesday's press conference. 'What we've seen is a very raggedy form of right-wing extremism,' the woke Mayor said. 'Everyone knows that the right-wing extremism in this country has targeted democratically run cities and quite frankly and they have been quite intentional about going after democratically ran cities that are led by people of color.' 'There intention is to create division and chaos because that is what that particular political party has been about. Migrants take shelter inside the Chicago Police Department's 8th District station, another repurposed site being used as a shelter for many of the more than 15,000 migrants in the city Migrants have been being bussed into the city for the past 14 months. On Wednesday, mayor Brandon Johnson said as many as 22 busloads could be arriving daily going forward More than 17,000 migrants have arrived in the Windy City since August 2022, with more than 10,000 in shelters and close to 3,200 staying in police stations 'It is the same party that wouldn't accept that President Obama was actually an American. It's the same Republican right-wing extremism that stormed the capital, its the same right wing extremism that refuses to accept the results of the civil war. Its raggedy its disrespectful, its mean spirited.' 'It is abysmal and it is an affront for everything that is good about this country for the extremism in this country to use people as political tools to settle political scores for something that happened over 400 years ago. They're still mad that a black man is free in this country. He added: 'Aren't you glad the soul of Chicago isn't broken. Those are the words of Beyonce, you won't break our soul' Tensions have risen in Chicago as local authorities have failed to tackle the migrant crisis. Recently, furious protesters stormed a Chicago City Council meeting during a debate about whether the city should remain a sanctuary for migrants. Hundreds have protested the city's plan to turn the Amundsen Park Fieldhouse into an emergency shelter for about 200 asylum seekers Residents, mostly African Americans, flooded the gallery with some waving signs saying: 'The RENT is too damn HIGH!' and 'BRING CHICAGO HOME.' The meeting was called after 9th Ward Alderman Anthony Beale - who oversees a district in the predominantly-Black South Side - proposed an advisory referendum that would ask voters during the March primary if Chicago should keep its sanctuary city status. Many residents expressed frustration about the millions of dollars the city was spending on migrant shelters instead of poor communities. As of September, there were about 20 active migrant shelters in the city. Seven were located on the historically underserved South and West sides. A Swedish yoga guru is one of 41 people arrested by French authorities in raids against a controversial sect that has been accused of exploiting young women for sex. Swedish-Romanian Gregorian Bivolaru, 71, and his group, the Movement for Spiritual Integration into the Absolute (MISA), are accused of several charges, including holding women against their wills. The people were arrested in the Paris region and southern France and included other key members of the sect, the source added. Bivolaru himself was apprehended in a house in Ivry-sur-Seine near Paris. Some 175 police officers were deployed for the operation, during which 26 women - several of whom were held against their will - were freed. Swedish-Romanian Gregorian Bivolaru, 71, (pictured in 2004) and his group, the Movement for Spiritual Integration into the Absolute (MISA), are accused of several charges, including holding several women against their wills The women freed today had been 'kept in deplorable conditions' both in terms of space and hygiene, the source said They had been 'kept in deplorable conditions' both in terms of space and hygiene, the source said. The investigation was sparked by France's Human Rights League, a human rights NGO, which contacted the prosecutors' office after receiving statements from 12 former MISA members, a judiciary source said. Under Bivolaru, MISA has been repeatedly in the crosshairs of judicial authorities in Romania, Sweden and France in the last years, a source close to the investigation said. MISA, which became known as ATMAN after its expansion beyond Romania, taught tantric yoga with the aim of 'conditioning victims to accept sexual relations via mental manipulation techniques which sought to eliminate any notion of consent', the source said. Bivolaru allegedly brought female followers to his personal home for 'sexual initiation' into tantric yoga. Several women, of different nationalities, said they had been victims of the MISA organisation and its leader, the source said. Women were encouraged to accept sexual relations with the group's leader and 'to agree to participate in fee-paying pornographic practices in France and abroad', the source said. The judicial source told AFP that so-called yoga workshops were paid for by women members via sex chats and by men with manual work. The workshops were 'clearly exclusively dedicated to the satisfaction of the main suspect's desires,' the source said. A French judicial source said the sect had 'several hundred' members, but no precise figure was available. The arrests follow a probe into the sect launched by Paris prosecutors in July, on suspicion of kidnapping, rape and people trafficking among others. Several women, of different nationalities, said they had been victims of the MISA organisation and its leader On its official website, yogaesoteric, the group describes itself as the 'largest yoga school in Romania and in Europe' and Bivolaru as its 'spiritual mentor' MISA was kicked out of the International Yoga Federation and the European Yoga Alliance in 2008 because its commercial practices were judged to be 'illicit' A kidnapping charge can result in prison of up to 30 years under French law. The case is 'insane', a source close to the case added, because it involves 'a group reminiscent of the Mafia and pimping disguised as philosophy'. The yogaesoteric website listed an address in Bucharest for the Romanian MISA association, and one in Vienna for the European ATMAN network. Some 300 million people regularly practise yoga, according to yogaearth, a website dedicated to the discipline. Practitioners list stress reduction, improved mood and mental wellness as main benefits. The network, called Movement for Spiritual Integration into the Absolute (MISA), runs several yoga schools and related operations. On its official website, yogaesoteric, the group describes itself as the 'largest yoga school in Romania and in Europe' and Bivolaru as its 'spiritual mentor'. Its success 'comes from a traditional rigorous approach of the yoga system, from a great number of both theoretical and practical aspects studied and the coherent integration of the yoga values and practices in the Western cultural environment'. Its tantra yoga section meanwhile includes tips on 'amorous energy control techniques', 'erotic postures' and on 'the way to ecstasy'. The site also contains a page dedicated to 'extraterrestrial civilisations'. MISA was kicked out of the International Yoga Federation and the European Yoga Alliance in 2008 because its commercial practices were judged to be 'illicit', the source said. A musician who was arrested by Brazilian authorities is now claiming that Hezbollah offered him $100,000 to carry out killings. Michael Messias told the Federal Police that he traveled to Lebanon for a performance and met with members of the militant group and was told he would be rewarded if he carried out attacks against Jewish targets in Brazil, online news outlet G1 reported Tuesday. Messias initially denied he had met with the extremist organization after he was interrogated following his November 12 arrest in Rio de Janeiro. But he changed his tune in a second interrogation and said he traveled to the Middle East at the behest of Mohamad Khir Adbulmajid, a Syrian who holds Brazilian citizenship and is wanted by Interpol for allegedly recruiting Brazilians for Hezbollah. Messias told investigators that Adbulmajid asked him he had ever carried out a murder and if he would be willing to kill a person, both of which he denied. Brazilian musician Michael Messias claims was offered more than $100,000 by Hezbollah to carry out murders against targets in Brazil. The proposal was made when he traveled to Beirut, Lebanon for a performance - he was contracted by Mohamad Abdulmajid, who is wanted by Interpol for recruiting Brazilians for the extremist group Mohamad Abdulmajid is reportedly in Lebanon and is wanted by Interpol for allegedly attempting to hire Brazilians to carry out attacks for Hezbollah in Brazil against Israeli and Jewish targets During their meeting, Adbulmajid attempted to persuade him, indicating that he could make 'a lot of money' if he accepted Hezbollah's offer, which again was rejected. Adbulmajid wired $500 to Messias' bank account and handed him a large amount of cash to spend on sightseeing in Beirut. The musician said he crossed paths with Adbulmajid three days and that a man who was covering his face with a mask offered him '$100,000 or more' to carry out attacks, which he declined to do. The individual who accompanied Adbulmajid also asked Messias if he knew of anyone back in Brazil who was in a criminal group, a former cop or someone who evading justice who he could recommend as a hired killer. He replied no. According to the testimony, Messias never saw the two men again and traveled back to Brazil with the money he had been previously given. He was contacted again a month later via WhatsApp and was asked when he was planning on returning to Lebanon. Messias told the police that he never mentioned the militant group by name, adding that he was not aware who they were. In his first interrogation, he said he traveled to Lebanon in late 2022 and in March with his wife as a part of 'musical exchange.' He also told investigators that he first met Messias said he met Adbulmajid at a wedding in Rio de Janeiro and saw him a second time at a travel agency to purchased tickets for a seven-day trip to Lebanon. Messias said Adbulmajid covered all of the flight and hotel expenses for the first trip and did not spend any money because the Lebanese were treating him. The second trip, he told police, was covered by a person who contacted him via WhatsApp from an unknown number. But what he did not tell police during his first interrogation was that he had met with Abdulmajid and the other individual, whose identity is unknown. Mohamad Abdulmajid had posted on social media a photo of him from 2016 during the Syrian civil war in which Hezbollah extended its support to President Bashar Al-Assad Details of the Federal Police investigation that were reviewed by Brazilian news magazine, Fantastico, show that Abdulmajid moved to Brazil in 2008 and was arrested for selling liquor to minors in Minas Gerais. The Federal Police claims that Abdulmajid's wife operates two tobacco stores in Belo Horizonte, but that he is the owner of both businesses. Authorities allege that he started smuggling products in 2021 and the profits bankrolled terror activities. Brazilian law enforcement evidence points to Abdulmajid's being a member of Hezbollah's paramilitary wing. A deleted photo posted to his social media network in 2016 showed him dressed in military gear when he fought in the Syrian civil war in 2016 - Hezbollah supported the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad. Brazilian authorities have arrested two other men who were allegedly recruited by Abdulmajid to carry out attacks. Both suspects did not have religious or ideological ties to Hezbollah. 'The fact that there are recent migration records of all those mentioned to Lebanon, associated with the evidence of lack of financial conditions and criminal records of the native Brazilians, corroborate the thesis that we are facing a possible phase of recruitment of Brazilians for illicit activities, including in the event of terrorist objectives,' the police report said. A panicked Omid Scobie has insisted he did not name a senior figure of The Firm as the 'royal racist', after his controversial new book was dramatically pulled from the shelves today in the Netherlands. The author has blamed a 'translation error' for a passage in the Dutch language version of the book which appeared to name the person who allegedly questioned what colour Harry and Meghan's unborn son Archie would be. Publishers Xander have confirmed to the Daily Mail that it had received a last-minute request from the US to put sales of Endgame on hold and were 'awaiting further instructions'. Prior to publication the 42-year-old had said he would not publish the name of the accused after alleging a letter between Meghan and King Charles named the person responsible. He has claimed libel laws prevented him naming them - although he has gone on to claim that a second person within the royal household also echoed the remarks. But a page taken from a review copy of the book sent to Dutch journalists does seem to contain the person's identity. Meghan and Harry pictured with Archie during a tour of South Africa in September 2019 Scobie appeared on Dutch television today where he insisted the apparent naming was a translation error Speaking to Dutch chat show RTL Boulevard today, Mr Scobie said insisted he was not to blame for the error. 'The book is in several languages, and unfortunately I do not speak Dutch. But if there are translation errors, I'm sure the publishers will have it under control,' he said. 'I wrote and edited the English version. There's never been no version that I've produced that has names in it.' Although the Dutch version of the book does appear to name the person, both Scobie and publisher insist this is a translation error. Referring to letters written between Meghan and the King discussing the issue, it reads: 'But in those private letters [the identity] was confirmed: .' [the Mail has redacted the name concerned] READ MORE HERE - All the bombshells from Omid Scobie's new book Endgame Advertisement It is not clear why a foreign language version of the book would name an individual when other editions did not, or whether it was intentionally included or is a major publishing error. A spokesman for the Dutch publisher said: 'You are right but I can't talk about the details. We have, however, received a request to put the title on hold and that is what we have done.' Asked when that request was received, she explained: 'Just now. 'We are awaiting further instructions. I do not know how long this will be. You should speak to the US agent.' The original claim was made by Meghan in her infamous Oprah interview of March 2020 when she revealed there were 'several conversations' between herself, Harry and members within the royal family about 'how dark' their baby could be before Archie was born. 'In those months when I was pregnant [there were] concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he was born,' Meghan said in the interview. Harry added: 'That conversation, I am never going to share. At the time it was awkward, I was a bit shocked.' Meghan added: 'I think it would be very damaging for them.' The resulting furore led Prince William to state publicly that they were 'very much not a racist family'. Harry and Meghan discussed the 'royal racist' in their bomshell interview with Oprah Winfrey Scobie does not name the 'royal racist' in the UK edition of Endgame Buckingham Palace said the claims were 'concerning' and that 'recollections may vary' but they would address the claims privately. Harry later clarified that the royal family member in question was not the Queen or the Duke of Edinburgh. But in failing to say who was said to have made the remark and what the context was, it has sparked continuing debate and uncertainty that has haunted the Royal Family to this day. Many of the couple's critics believe it was deeply unfair to have raised allegations of racism without defining them or giving those involved the chance to explain their side of the story. Speaking to US television show GMA3 today, Scobie had revealed his surprise that Harry and Meghan hadn't spoken about the issue again in their Netflix documentary or during the Duke of Sussex's memoir, Spare. READ MORE HERE - Who is Omid Scobie? Advertisement When asked by hosts what he was able to share about what he'd learned about the allegations, Scobie said he had 'always wondered why' the couple failed to mention the remarks again after airing them so publicly during their bombshell sit-down with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021. 'Listen, there are many people that argued, 'It's normal to have conversations about what a child might look like at birth.' But I think the problematic term that Meghan raised was that there were 'concerns' over the color of Archie's skin,' he said. 'I always wondered why Harry and Meghan didn't continue that conversation in the Netflix series and in Harry's book Spare. It was like it disappeared out of sight and I wanted to get to the bottom of that.' In his new book Scobie refers to a subsequent exchange of letters between Meghan and her father-in-law that both parties are said to have wanted to keep confidential that address the duchess's 'concerns about unconscious racial bias in the royal family'. It is suggested they contained 'damning details'. Scobie goes on to say that Charles first reached out to Meghan in spring 2021 to express his sadness over the 'distance' between them and his disappointment that the couple chose to go so public with their words. He apparently said how 'upset' he was over the claims that 'concern' had been raised about what Archie's skin colour night be 'and what that would look like [for the Firm].' He adds that in the pages of these private letters 'two identities were revealed. Laws in the United Kingdom prevent me from reporting who they were.' Archie seen with baby Lilibet in the Sussexes' 2021 Christmas card He quotes 'sources' as saying that the King wanted his response to make clear to his daughter-in-law that he felt there was 'no ill will or casual prejudice when the two people had spoken about his future grandson'. The book also quotes a 'royal insider' saying: 'He wanted to clear up something he felt strongly about'. Despite the clear inferences in her interview, Scobie is at pains to stress that Meghan never used the words racist or racism when she spoke about the event or in her letters. He says her concerns were that the tone revealed 'lingering unconscious bias and ignorance with the family that needed to be addressed.' He claims while the king and Meghan never saw 'eye to eye' on the issue 'there was at least a feeling that both had been heard'. Scobie adds there was 'no hard feelings'. One well-placed source with knowledge of the situation has emphasised to the Mail that the conversation was a private one between Harry and the person concerned and that Meghan was not present. Her husband later relayed the conversation to her. There was no immediate comment from Buckingham Palace. Scobie has also insisted that Harry and Meghan did not brief him for Endgame - but revealed 'people around them' were happy to tell all about 'the ins and outs' of their rows with the Royal Family. He told the Evening Standard: 'There's enough people around them and in their orbit who know the ins and outs of things', adding: 'If there's ever been a private encounter with Meghan, I've spoken about it'. Mr Scobie has also denied Endgame is biased in favour of the Sussexes, with one pithy review claiming the main chapter on Harry and Meghan is more like a press release sent from their team. Another critic said 'he paints Meghan and Harry in a relentless saintly light'. Instead Mr Scobie says he is not close to the former Suits star and her royal husband, only drawn to 'injustice' and aims to highlight what he sees as the hypocrisy of the Windsors trying to be a 'perfect example of traditional family values'. Omid Scobie appears to be in New York today (pictured) for a series of US TV interviews to promote his latest attack on the Royal Family - but Palace insiders have ignored it King Charles III (L) and Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (C) speak with CEO of Nissan Makoto Uchida (R) at Buckingham Palace to mark the conclusion of the Global Investment Summit yesterday Prince William, Prince of Wales, onstage during the 2023 Tusk Conservation Awards at The Savoy Hotel last night Scobie's 'depressingly poisonous' Endgame was today written off as just another book by those inside Buckingham Palace, MailOnline can reveal. Omid is particularly cruel to Prince William and his wife, who he says is dubbed 'Katie Keen'. He also appears to blame them, especially Kate, for pushing Meghan out: 'There was a coldness towards Meghan from the very early stages that I always found quite surprising. 'I always found it interesting that when Meghan was going through the sort of toughest days of her life, and struggling with mental health issues someone within the family who's experienced that glare as a newcomer for the first time herself wasn't able to turn around and help a family member. To me, I think that speaks a lot to someone's character.' READ MORE HERE - ROBERT JOBSON: It's time for Harry and Meghan to speak out and distance themselves from these ill-informed and lurid allegations Advertisement He also said to the Evening Standard that as a 'woman of colour', Meghan becoming a royal is a 'really important moment in British history'. He said the Windsors should have tried harder to keep her close, 'regardless of whether she's likeable'. Not keeping her in The Firm sends a 'strong message about the institution's attitudes towards people from different backgrounds'. He told the Standard that Prince William is now 'very consumed, very hot tempered, quick to react' and staff needing to 'check which way the wind's blowing before talking to him'. Mr Scobie also told the Standard: 'It makes me wonder how happy he is in his role', adding that he believes there is a 'widening divide between father and son'. In the same interview he admitted to being 42, having previously lied about his age. He said: 'I work in an industry where I'm surrounded by people who are, let's say, conservative with telling their age, particularly in television', claiming it is 'par for the course' to 'swipe' years from your age. Mr Scobie blamed a 'little insecurity' about turning 40 and thought 'no one would ever know' - but journalists checked. 'You learn from those mistakes. I can't do much more than own it', he said. He also hit back at criticism of his journalism defending his experience and revealing he is a good lip-reader and that has helped with some of his royal scoops. He added: 'I have had to deal with envy, I've had to deal with prejudice,' he says. 'I'm okay with it, at this point, it's just all noise'. Today he hit back at his critics on Instagram - and ignored some of the reviews - to declare: 'After all the nonsense written by people who haven't seen the book, I'm looking forward to everyone actually being able to read Endgame for themselves'. William, Harry, Meghan and Charles speak together at Westminster Abbey in March 2019 Omid Scobie's new book Endgame about the Royal Family is released today Buckingham Palace has kept a contemptuous silence but a royal source has dismissed Mr Scobie's Endgame as just another book on the Windsors that is not worthy of official comment. The insider told MailOnline when asked if there were truth in claims made by Mr Scobie: 'There are hundreds of books written about the Royal Family'. Endgame was released today but some of the reviews have been poor. Even the Sussex-sympathising New York Times was withering. The new book on the royals was branded 'vicious' and 'plain nasty' last night. Well-placed sources described wild claims that Charles, Camilla and William conspired to undermine Harry and Meghan as 'depressingly poisonous'. Omid Scobie's book also takes aim at the Princess of Wales, branding her 'cold' and lambasting her for backing mental health causes while 'ignoring Meghan's cries for help'. It tries to stoke a row over the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh's jokey bid to deflect questions about the Sussexes' bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview by saying: 'Oprah who?' He says this made Edward and Sophie seem 'casually bigoted'. Endgame, which was published in Australia yesterday and hits shelves here today, paints an almost comically negative view of the monarchy, with royals depicted as pantomime-style villains. Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace have declined to comment, believing they have nothing to gain from engaging with the claims. Charles and William were both instead out on public engagements close to their hearts the King hosting a global investment summit and his son attending the Tusk Conservation Awards. Those in royal circles describe the book as 'plain nasty', 'vicious' and a 'skewed' retelling of family events 'in the Sussex style'. Endgame claims: Charles's 'ineptitude' in handling Harry and Meghan and refusal to give them the apology they demanded has turned them into 'disruptors'; Harry tried to 'reach out' to his father after the publication of his vitriolic memoir, Spare, earlier this year by calling his father, but felt the King's response was 'cold and brief'; Senior royals turned a blind eye to aides leaking details about the Sussexes as part of their power games and subjected them to 'institutional cruelty'; William and his father are at loggerheads about the future of the monarchy and the handling of family issues; Their 'distrust and simmering animosity' resulted in Charles deriving 'schadenfreude' from his son's supposedly disastrous tour of Caribbean last year; William is 'colder' but also inexplicably more 'hot-headed' than his father and 'has no problem taking prisoners on the way'; Camilla colluded in stories being leaked about other royals and has 'no relationship' with Harry. The book says she has 'great sympathy' for what Meghan went through but 'no respect' for the way the Sussexes handled themselves; The King was so indecisive about how to treat his beleaguered brother Andrew that William had to step in to insist he lose his privileges; Charles 'stumbled' through his first 100 days as King and Queen Elizabeth had so little faith in him she made a former spymaster her 'CEO'. Endgame? It might discomfort the Royal Family for a few minutes...but it's hardly a devastating blow: BBC says Omid Scobie's book fails to pack a punch and is 'a little bit awkward' at best - as reviewers call it a 'hit job reading like a Mumsnet post' By TOM PYMAN Omid Scobie's new book Endgame was today dismissed by a senior BBC reporter as being merely 'a little bit awkward for a few minutes' for the Royal Family. BBC News royal correspondent Sean Coughlan claimed readers expecting 'juicy scandal and gossip' would be disappointed and it was 'not really landing punches'. He said it was 'very critical' of King Charles III, Camilla, Prince William and Kate - but 'you often feel the biggest flaw they have is not being Prince Harry and Meghan'. Mr Coughlan added: 'I think it's not going to damage the Royal Family but it might be a little bit awkward for a few minutes I think rather than for days and days.' Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme this morning, he continued: 'It's highly critical but also I think maybe oddly enough it feels slightly out of date. If you call the Royal Family a soap opera, this feels like a soap opera from a couple of years ago. 'And I think it's sort of maybe settling some scores. But I don't think it's getting under their skin enough to have new information that would be really hurtful. The first reviews of Omid Scobie's Endgame are out and critics have said it is 'devoted to setting the record straight on petty slights against the Sussexes' 'It's quite exciting in places but it doesn't have that explosive power that (Harry's memorial) Spare had, because partly that was written from one person's viewpoint who was actually in the ring. But this is a kind of slightly distant criticism from afar.' It comes after the book faced damning reviews following its release, with one labelling it as a 'hit job reading like a Mumsnet post about the world's worst in-laws'. Endgame, which hits shelves today, received two stars out of five in the Telegraph, which slams the author's 'burning indignation that he was shut out' of the Palace. It adds that there is 'little gossip to be had here' while simultaneously containing 'a lot of petty detail'. The verdict from the Times was not much kinder, calling the book 'not so much an incisive look at why he thinks the monarchy is doomed, more a mishmash of ancient history'. The review also mocks Scobie's 'po-faced prose' and describes the book as starting with 'him buying a black sweater, followed by how he got to a TV studio in Hammersmith'. The New York Times' pithy review says we've heard most of it before The Independent has given Endgame three stars in their review. They claim the book paints William as the 'villain' Endgame, which hits shelves today, received a damning two stars out of five in the Telegraph It comes after the usually Sussex-sympathising New York Times compares Scobie's writing to an AI bot and declares that Harry and Meghan's favoured journalist does them 'no favours'. In a pithy review, the liberal US newspaper claims a chapter on the couple even 'reads like a press release cooked up by ChatGPT'. It also says the book 'is not all that different from what Harry presented in 'Spare',' and 'is devoted to setting the record straight on petty slights against the Sussexes'. America's first review of the book adds: 'Readers hoping for a final death blow of gossip will be disappointed. We've heard much of it before. From Fergie, from Diana, from Charles, from Harry, from Harry, from Harry again.' Meanwhile the similarly left-leaning Independent news website in the UK claims 'he paints Meghan and Harry in a relentless saintly light'. The NYT's writer Eva Wolchover, who co-hosts its Windsors & Losers royal podcast, is critical of Endgame after receiving an advanced copy. She says: 'Whether or not Scobie actively collaborated with Meghan and Harry for this book, he does them no favours. Their chapter reads like a press release cooked up by ChatGPT, and does little to shed light on them as humans.' The New York Times had the first review in the US, and The Independent in the UK. Both are left-leaning press Ms Wolchover also says of the author's warnings that the Royal Family faces 'extinction': 'It's hard not to find Scobie's dire predictions a tad hyperbolic.' She writes: 'Scobie defines the term 'endgame' as 'the final stages of a chess game after most of the pieces have been removed from the board', adding: 'Unless Charles and his heirs act quickly, Scobie underscores, they risk losing the crown, or at the very least, any remaining cultural relevance.' The Independent had the first British review of Endgame, giving it three-stars. Writer Anna Pasternak says that Scobie 'is unfailingly sympathetic to the Sussexes'. She writes: 'He does not hold them accountable for anything - he does not, as I had anticipated, demonise Charles or denounce Camilla. I was expecting something different - him possibly laying into evil monarch King Charles and wicked stepmother, Queen Camilla. The real royal villain here is William'. In a devastating twist of events - the bidder ended up pulling out the purchase leaving the couple with no buyer Tom and Tracy Donahue, 56 and 58, planned how they would spend their new found fortune - including a trip to visit their son in Germany A New Hampshire couple's dreams came true when they auctioned off a painting they bought for $4 from a thrift shop for a whopping $191,000 - but their dreams were crushed when the buyer pulled out. Tracy Donahue, 56, from Hudson, New Hampshire, was shopping for a picture frame in her local Savers thrift store in 2017 when she stumbled upon a rare treasure. Donahue thought she had simply bought an old painting for $4 at a thrift shop - but was shocked to discover it was a work by iconic American painter and illustrator N.C. Wyeth. She and her husband Tom Donahue, 58, felt like they had won the lottery when they sold the valuable painting at the auction house Bonhams for a staggering $191,000. The couple were so excited they started planning how they would splash out with their new found fortune - but eventually it became apparent that the buyer was not going to follow through with their purchase. Tracy Donahue, 56, from Hudson, New Hampshire, was shopping for a picture frame in her local Savers thrift store in 2017 when she stumbled upon a rare piece of treasure The couple was so excited they started planning how they would splash out with their new found fortune - but eventually it became apparent that the buyer was not going to follow through with their purchase (Pictured: The N.C. Wyeth painting) One of the luxuries that the couple was looking forward to was a trip to Germany to visit their son - and they also planned to spend the money on bills. The Donahues lived a modest lifestyle in their New Hampshire home and rarely splurged on extravagant luxuries or expensive adventures. 'Luckily we didnt spend a dime beforehand,' Tracy Donahue told The New York Times. 'We maybe went out to dinner once or twice, which we wouldnt have. So, its not like actually losing money. But it meant so much.' She even called the buyer's neglection her 'biggest disappointment ever' and said: 'Were crushed. Ive never gotten that close to, you know, hoping for something.' The painting was sold at auction in September for $191,000 after the auctioneer opened the bidding at $150,000 and someone bid immediately. No higher bids came after the initial offer - and the painting was solid to paddle 6073 with the buyers premium raising the cost to $191,000. Auction houses do have measures in place to pre-screen their bidders on high-value items - but occasionally sales do get canceled. Sales seem final when the hammer falls - but in some instances bidders pull out after the fact. The Bonhams website states that - in order to get approved to bid - buyers must register for an account and provide the necessary documents. The Donaehues were told that they would be paid within 35 days back in September - but by mid-October they grew anxious and called Bonhams. They claimed the auction house was frustratingly unresponsive and didn't seem to care. Eventually Bonhams sent the couple an eight-page contract proposing that - if the Donahues could lawyer-up - they would be rewarded $132,750. But the pair found these terms unsatisfactory - so they picked up their painting instead. Wyeth was known for paintings and illustrations such as Treasure Island and Portrait of a Farmer. His later works have gone for millions of dollars at auctions Auction house expert Kathleen Leland explained the artist used a 'particular type of artist board Weber 'Renaissance' panels, distinctive for their red backs and elaborate labels The Donahues might keep the item as a family heirloom. 'We didnt have the money before, we dont have it now,' Tracy Donahue said. 'Right now its worth $4 and a cardboard box.' Tracy Donahue learned of the value her painting held when she shared the work on a Facebook group named 'Things found in Walls' and people started leaving interesting comments. Many informed the painter's owner that the piece could be an N.C. Wyeth and advised her to visit the Brandywine Museum of Art in Chadds Ford, and Wyeth curator Lauren Lewis. Lewis drove to Maine, and became immediately excited at the sight of the painting. The woman then took the painting to Bonham's, where experts confirmed its likely provenance thanks to the style, backing panel and the type of frame, which all matched Wyeth's work. Auction house expert Kathleen Leland explained the artist used a 'particular type of artist board Weber 'Renaissance' panels, distinctive for their red backs and elaborate labels,' as reported by art blog Hyperallergic. The painting shows a merciless foster mother, Senora Gonzaga Moreno, and an orphan, Ramona. A horrified customer is launching a lawsuit against Chopt after allegedly finding a human finger in her salad. Allison Cozzi of Greenwich, Connecticut, said she made the gruesome discovery while dining on a leafy lunch at a Mount Kisco, NY branch on April 7, 2023. Her lawsuit launched in New York Supreme Court on Monday says that 'while she was eating the salad, she realized that she was chewing on a portion of a human finger that had been mixed in to, and made a part of, the salad'. According to the court documents seen by DailyMail.com, a manager at the restaurant sliced off a portion of her left pointer finger while chopping arugula earlier that day. The manager went to the hospital but the 'contaminated arugula' was served to customers including Cozzi, the lawsuit says. Allison Cozzi of Greenwich, Connecticut , said she found part of a human finger in her food while dining on a leafy lunch at a Mount Kisco, NY Chopt branch (pictured) on April 7, 2023 Westchester County health department records show that Chopt paid a $900 fine for the alleged incident. Cozzi said in the lawsuit that she suffered injuries including 'shock, panic attacks, migraine, cognitive impairment, nausea, dizziness, and neck and shoulder pain' as a result of eating the contaminated salad. She is seeking unspecified monetary damages. Her lawsuit accuses Chopt employees and owners of being 'reckless, careless and negligent in providing food that was contaminated and adulterated with a foreign object consisting of a portion of a human finger'. An email seeking comment was sent to Chopt Creative Salad Co., a chain with more than 70 locations across the eastern United States. Cozzis attorney said Tuesday that she does not want to comment further. Shockingly, this isn't the first time a customer eating at a major food chain has found a severed finger in their food - as similar encounters have been documented around the world. The lawsuit launched in New York Supreme Court on Monday says that 'while she was eating the salad, she realized that she was chewing on a portion of a human finger that had been mixed in to, and made a part of, the salad' In 2021, a Melbourne woman claimed she found a fingernail in her McDonald's fries while visiting her sick daughter at the Royal Children's Hospital in the city. In California, a pregnant woman discovered a bloody fingertip in her salad in 2016 when she dined at an Applebee's restaurant in Paso Robles. A Michigan Arby's also served a teenage boy an inch-long segment of finger in his junior roast beef sandwich in 2012. One of the two women charged with hate crimes for allegedly attacking a Jewish victim who confronted them for tearing down posters in New York City of Israelis kidnapped by Hamas appeared in court yesterday. Mehwish Omer, 26, and Stephanie Gonzalez, 25, allegedly assaulted the 41-year-old woman after she approached the duo as they took down posters of Israeli hostages from a light pole in the Upper West Side on the night of November 9. Omer has been charged with assault as a hate crime and criminal mischief as a hate crime, whereas Gonzalez has been charged with criminal mischief and robbery. Omer went before a judge last night in Manhattan Criminal Court after trying to shield her face from photographers on her way into the courthouse. Omer was granted supervised release and will return to court in January. Mehwish Omer, 26, appears before a judge in Manhattan Criminal Court on Monday after surrendering to police earlier in the day Omer hid her face beneath her coat as she entered the courtroom The Jewish woman told police she began recording Omer and Gonzalez and arguing with them before she was attacked. The young women then allegedly assaulted her, ripping off her Star of David necklace and knocking her cellphone out of her hand before running off. The victim was reportedly left with minor injuries to her face and neck, and her phone was damaged. Omer's attorney told the judge an altercation provoked his client. 'I see enough fights in a day and people say things just to rattle other people,' lawyer Lee Koch told the judge. The NYPD had offered a $3,500 cash reward for information on the two attackers, who remined unidentified for days after the alleged assault. Omer's attorney told the judge that an altercation led to the assault Mehwish Omer, 26, was charged with hate crimes in Manhattan on Monday She is accused of assaulting a Jewish woman who confronted her as she was tearing down posters of Isreli hostages in Manhattan Omer (right), and Stephanie Gonzalez, 25 (left), allegedly assaulted the 41-year-old woman after she approached the duo as they took down the posters Both young women are charged with assault and criminal mischief as hate crimes. Gonzales is also charged with attempted robbery. Neither of the suspects have a criminal history. Their arrests comes after two 18-year-old New Yorkers, Charlotte Wimer and Gray Segal, were also arrested for tearing down posters of hostages kidnapped in the Israel-Hamas war. The posters were of 240 Israeli children and adults kidnapped by the terrorist group since the October 7 assault on Israel. NYPD officials have charged both suspects with criminal mischief. The wall of the privately-owned building was covered in red and white signs with the word 'KIDNAPPED' written above photographs of the missing hostages, as well as posters of the Israeli flag. A video shared by an X user shows posters torn in shreds while Wimer and Segal are in handcuffs. The victim recorded the young women tearing down the posters before she was attacked New York City police have arrested several people for taking down posters of Israeli hostages Sisters Aya and Dana were seen tearing posters this week that were placed around Broadway and 79th Street on the Upper West Side in New York Posters highlighting the Jewish plight have been plastered all across the Big Apple as a way to draw attention to those still in Gaza as hostages. However, there have also been plenty of viral videos of people removing posters. Weeks earlier, Sisters Aya and Danan were caught on camera tearing down posters of Israeli child hostages while screaming 'f***k Israel' on the Upper West Side of New York City. They were confronted by passerby Marilyn Adler, walking down the street with her two daughters. When Adler urged them to stop tearing the posters, the duo launched a torrent of abuse against them. Footage shows one of the sisters yelling, 'f***k you, f***k Israel'. The other woman said, 'f***k you, b***h' 'They didn't let me get a word out. They said it was Israeli propaganda. They said Israel made up the hostages with AI,' Adler's daughter, Melissa, told the New York Post. 'I said, 'Please have a conversation with me.' They wouldn't stop screaming at me. They just cursed me out and screamed at me. I was just stunned. 'They looked at me with eyes full of hatred. They hate me simply because I'm a Jew. They don't even know me.' Woke books that were bought for huge advances by 'inexperienced' editors have flopped commercially, insiders say. 'Ideological fanatics' allowing their politics to dictate professional decisions have seen profits slump, according to industry experts. Among the works responsible for huge losses is the once hotly anticipated memoir by the actor Elliot Page about his journey transitioning. 'Pageboy' received a $3 million advance but has sold just 68,000 copies. Industry standards suggest for publishers paying roughly $7 per book sold is considered a good deal, according to insiders talking to The Free Press. It means that even books that sell tens of thousands of copies such as Page's can still tank commercially. Woke books that were bought for huge advances by 'inexperienced' editors have flopped commercially, insiders say. One example was Elliot Page's recent memoir that was written after a $3million advance However, the book sold just 68,000 copies, with some labeling it as a flop Other recent 'woke' flops are Carolyn Ferrell's 'Dear Miss Metropolitan.' The novel was acquired in a deal estimated to be worth more than $250,000, but has shifted just 3,163 copies since it was published in 2021. 'Lucky Red' by Claudia Cravens has sold around 3,500 copies despite commanding a $500,000 advance Other recent 'woke' flops are Carolyn Ferrell's 'Dear Miss Metropolitan' described by the New York Times as 'a story of three young girls, Black and biracial, who are kidnapped and thrown into the basement of a decaying house in Queens.' The novel was acquired in a deal estimated to be worth more than $250,000, but has shifted just 3,163 copies since it was published in 2021. Another example is 'queer feminist Western' 'Lucky Red' by Claudia Cravens which has sold around 3,500 copies despite commanding a $500,000 advance. Meanwhile, established white authors have complained that they are facing more barriers to getting published. Crime novelist James Patterson drew criticism after he likened the situation to 'just another form of racism.' He later apologized but a similar point was made by Joyce Carol Oates. 'A friend who is a literary agent told me that he cannot even get editors to read first novels by young white male writers, no matter how good; they are just not interested,' she said. It is also something editors themselves have acknowledged. 'We flat-out decided we weren't going to look at certain white male authors, because we didn't want to be seen as acquiring that stuff,' one senior editor told The Free Press. When asked whether editors acknowledged they were 'discriminating against writers because of their skin color', the editor replied: 'I don't think it was worded quite as blatantly as that. It was worded more like, "Is this the right time to be championing authors of more traditional backgrounds?" Often, the language was a bit opaque.' Some white authors have complained that they are facing more barriers to getting published. Crime novelist James Patterson drew criticism after he likened the situation to 'just another form of racism' Another editor at a major publishing house admitted to the outlet that those seeking to pursue more conservative works must be 'willing to deal with interpersonal discomfort, being treated as marginal or looked on with suspicion by their colleagues'. Several industry experts noted a trend towards hiring editors of color in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the wave of antiracist protests that followed, a move they described as 'overtly political'. Among them was Nadxieli Nieto hired by Flatiron, who bought Rasheed Newson's 'My Government Means to Kill Me' for for $250,000. So far, according to the sales tracker BookScan, it has sold nearly 4,500 copies. However, the platform does not monitor digital downloads. Nieto joined the publishing house in the wake of the uproar over the novel American Dirt, a book about the Mexican immigrant experience written by non-Mexican author Jeanine Cummins. Television host Jemele Hill sold just 5,034 copies of her book, despite positive reviews. Rasheed Newson's 'My Government Means to Kill Me' for for $250,000, but is listed among the flops Several industry experts noted a trend towards hiring editors of color in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the wave of antiracist protests that followed, a move they described as 'overtly political' Other newcomer editors include stand-up comedian Phoebe Robinson who oversees the Penguin imprint Tiny Reparations Books and Adenike Olanrewaju, who has secured one deal since becoming editor of HarperCollins in 2021, the Free Press reports. Olanrewaju was a publicist at Penguin and a newsroom contributor a the New York Times prior the move. But even those with a prior profile are not immune to a commercial flop. Former television host Jemele Hill spent months promoting her memoir 'Uphill' across various networks. But despite a media blitz, the book sold just 5,034 copies in a few months, and failed to crack the top 200 on Apple Books, USA Today or the New York Times, despite glowing reviews by the outlet. Former HarperCollins and St Martin's Press editor chalked the flops up to 'generational change'. 'It just so happens that, in this case, the new generation is a generation of ideological fanatics,' Bellow told The Free Press. The 12-ton tree is set to be lit on Wednesday night and the NYPD has issued a memo about the call to action A memo released by the NYPD has urged people to act with 'elevated vigilance' during New York City's annual Christmas tree lighting after a pro-Palestine group announced plans to protest. The memo, which was shared with The New York Post, revealed there are no 'specific or credible' threats targeting the famed Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, which is set to be lit on Wednesday. The pro-Palestine group called Within Our Lifetime posted a flyer on Monday night titled 'Flood the tree lighting FOR GAZA.' The posts' caption said: 'PRIESTS OF PALESTINE CALL FOR MOBILIZATION, NOT CELEBRATION!' The 12-ton tree in NYC's Rockefeller Center is set to be lit on Wednesday night at 6pm and is expected to drawn in tens of thousands of spectators The pro-Palestine group called Within Our Lifetime posted a flyer on Monday night an announced that they will 'Flood the tree lighting FOR GAZA' Israel military vehicles and heavy smoke inside the Gaza Strip. Israel has been hammering Gaza since Hamas launched a surprise attack on October 7 The Christmas celebration is expected to draw in tens of thousands of spectators to Midtown as Kelly Clarkson is slated to host the event. In the memo, the NYPD also stated that big-scale events such as the tree lighting are targets for 'malicious actors' looking to spread harm during the busy holiday season. Authorities added 'a variety of foreign terrorist organizations have persistently called for broad attacks on US interests' ever since Hamas launched the violent attack on Israel on October 7. The police department made it clear that online propaganda isn't substantial enough to pose a threat to the public but could still 'resonate' with 'US-based homegrown violent extremists.' The group, also known as 'wolpalestine' mentioned that Wednesday marks the International Day of Solidarity for the Palestine community and has been observed since 1977. 'This year, Jerusalem's 13 official churches + the Bethlehem Municipality itself has called to suspend Christmas celebrations in mourning for the ongoing genocide in Gaza,' the post said. Within Our Lifetime has been the leader of many other protests in the Big Apple after they staged a protest at Grand Central Station on November 10. A mob of masked pro-Palestinian protesters stormed Grand Central station on Friday night, kicking in the door and cracking the glass but failing to make it into the closed station. The NYPD issued a memo in relation to the post and said that that there are no 'specific or credible' threats targeting the famed tree While a person with a bull horn chanted 'we are all Palestinians', a handful of men tried to smash down the doors. Angry scenes ensued as the police tried to move them away from the station. Grand Central - which sees 750,000 people pass through every day - was closed on that night amid the chaos, and New York Police Department warned people to avoid the area. More recently, the pro-Palestine group posted a disturbing map of landmarks in the city that they classified as 'direct targets'. The graphic specified famous buildings and companies in the Big Apple that have ties to Israel or are media companies. The page that posted the map goes by the name Within Our Lifetime and has described itself as a Palestinian-led community organization that's said, 'We will free Palestine.' 'Each of the locations on this map reflects the location of an office of an enemy of both the Palestinian people and colonized people all over the world, the group stated, according to the New York Post. 'Today and beyond, these locations will be sites for popular mobilization in defense of our people,' the post read. NYPD officers are seen confronting some of the protesters outside Grand Central station The map pinpointed notable targets around the city, such as Grand Central Station. This year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree was transported from upstate New York to the Manhattan holiday hotspot. The tree - an 80-year-old Norway Spruce - arrived in the New York City Plaza on November 11. Known for its mesmerizing display of glittering fairy lights, it will soon be adorned with a five-mile string of more than 50,000 multi-colored LEDs. Decorators will complete the festive dressing with the signature Swarovski star sporting three million crystals which has topped Rockefeller Center trees since 2004. Travel Tuesday is here and has brought great hotel and vacation deals with it for fliers looking to go on an affordable trip - but also plenty of scams. Airlines and hotels are celebrating the annual event with unbeatable prices, including Alaska Airlines' one-way flights starting at $39 and Booking.com's 30% discount for travelers booking a hotel before tomorrow. Unfortunately, Travel Tuesday is also bringing a good amount of travel scams that could potentially rip customers off. Travel scams are not only hard to deal with, but they happen often during the holiday season since it's the time of year where consumers make a lot of purchases on credit cards. Travel Tuesday provides incredible flight and hotel deals for flyers looking to plan short or long-term trips Scammers have created fake travel agency websites to trick people into making a deposit on a vacation rental that ends up being fake Travel agencies are used frequently by customers looking to plan out a fun and well-organized trip. Unfortunately, scammers have frequently created fake online travel companies to trick vacationers booking short term trips. Fake travel agency websites can include photos of vacation properties that fool travelers into paying a rental deposit on what they think is a great trip destination. Red flags to help vacationers determine what travel agencies are real or fake include payment requests through a gift card or wire transfer and shoppers being pressured by the 'agent' to book a trip immediately. Text and email are two popular forms of communication that scammers like to use during travel Tuesday. Phone or computer users that have received messages about vacations and trips from unknown numbers and email addresses have have in many cases, turned out to be fake. Text and email scams mainly occur during the Cyber Five period between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday - right before several Travel Tuesday promotions begin. People looking to avoid this scam should check the sender's email address to make sure it is comes from a real travel company and that the phone number is verified. The Travel Tuesday airline deals are for the most part fantastic, but can also be part of frequent plane ticket scams. Criminals that create fake travel agency websites can also create fake flight-booking websites to gain fliers credit card information. Scammers who create these websites can send the link via text or email to any consumer looking for a great deal on a flight. Fliers hoping book a real flight should do it through a familiar website like Expedia.com or even the site of the airline one is looking to use for their trip. Travelers can also receive texts and emails from scammers about vacation deals, which mostly occurs during the Cyber Five period People who use rideshare companies like Lyft and Uber must should be cautious if receiving a text message about cancellation fees for unordered rides Travelers can also be duped by rideshare scams that suddenly appear on their phone or email. Rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft are frequently used with travelers who go somewhere without renting a car or staying in a busy city. Text messages travelers allegedly receive from these companies may actually be from scammers. These messages can be for things such as made-up fees or alleged cancelation fees on rides the vacationers never ordered. If this happens, it's important for those receiving the messages to report it immediately to the rideshare company they used most recently for a trip. Visa levels could be capped as part of 'fundamental' reforms in the wake of a record migrant influx, the immigration minister hinted yesterday. Robert Jenrick told MPs the 'time for tinkering is over' and warned that the public were 'sick of talk' from politicians as he faced questions on the Government's plan to address all-time-high levels of net migration. The minister indicated his support for a tough range of measures to drive down migrant levels amid reports of a Cabinet row over how far the system should be throttled back. In the wake of official figures that revealed net migration hit 745,000 last year, Mr Jenrick told the Commons: 'We are going to bring forward a serious package of fundamental reforms to address this issue once and for all. 'The time for tinkering is over. There are definitely strong arguments for using caps, whether in general or on specific visas, but these are conversations that we need to conclude within Government.' Mr Jenrick added that there was also a strong argument in favour of restricting the number of dependants who can be brought to the UK by foreign workers and other migrants. Visa levels could be capped as part of 'fundamental' reforms in the wake of a record migrant influx, Robert Jenrick hinted It came as ex-Cabinet minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg warned that mass migration could lead to Conservative defeat at the next general election He said current levels were 'unsustainable' because of the strain they put on public services, including the NHS and school places. Mr Jenrick claimed migration is also placing 'unbearable pressure' on housing and 'community cohesion' making 'successful integration virtually impossible'. The minister told MPs the health and social care visa which saw a 135 per cent leap to 144,000 in the year to September was 'not working as well as even its proponents would have wished'. He added the 'key is to encourage the sector to pay better, improve conditions, improve productivity and skills' so they can fill vacancies with British-based workers rather than go overseas. MPs from the Right of the Conservative Party including members of the Common Sense Group are pressing for 'radical' new policies by the end of the year. Sacked home secretary Suella Braverman has claimed Rishi Sunak reneged on an agreement to cut legal migration levels, including a proposal to raise the salary threshold for migrant workers from 26,200 to 40,000. Asked if will unveil a package of reforms by Christmas, Mr Jenrick appeared to make a dig at the Prime Minister as he replied: 'My plan would have been brought to the House before last Christmas if I could've done.' It is understood plans for migration reform have been put forward to Downing Street, which is yet to make a decision. Sources said the PM is focused on reforms related to the Rwanda scheme before he will consider changes to legal migration. It came as ex-Cabinet minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg warned that mass migration could lead to Conservative defeat at the next general election. The former business secretary said the Government had 'let down' the electorate by allowing net migration to spiral to record levels. He said: 'Net migration stands at 672,000 for 2023, and this when we have a Government that promised to get the numbers down into the tens of thousands.' Sir Jacob claimed Mr Sunak appeared to be advocating higher levels on immigration on Monday when he told entrepreneurs the 'most competitive visa regime for highly skilled international talent is right here in the United Kingdom'. Teachers are using Artificial Intelligence tools to mark their student's homework despite a ban on pupils using it in the classroom, a government report has found. The review came after teachers and lecturers were asked to submit examples of how they use the burgeoning technology to help them in their jobs. Those who responded claimed they used generative AI tools, including ChatGPT, to save them time by automating some tasks including marking and drafting letters to students and their families, the Telegraph reports. Some said they used AI to help produce feedback for students, while others also said they used it to write social media posts and newsletters. This is despite students being banned from using it in the classroom and to do their homework - although two-thirds of secondary school pupils have admitted to using it to help do work at home. Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, pictured outside Downing Street on Tuesday, has said the report will be used to inform future policy on artificial intelligence The report received 567 responses from schools, colleges and universities, with one even saying it had developed a platform to help assess and provide feedback to students using the technology. READ MORE HERE: Teachers are warned to stop attempting to root out AI homework cheats with software Advertisement Some teachers even admitted to using AI tools in lessons to help them explain concepts to students and create examples for them to look at. The Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, said it was important to note that AI is 'here to stay' and is 'already changing the way we work and learn'. She told the Telegraph: 'To take advantage of this transformative technology, it's crucial we get our approach to it right. 'The results of the call for evidence give us a crucial evidence base to inform our future work on AI, helping us make the right decisions to get the best out of generative AI in a safe and secure way.' Morgan Briggs, a policy research and strategy manager at the Turing Institute said: 'There are multiple ways in which generative AI could benefit the sector but simultaneously, there are concerns and risks that must be addressed. 'These include dependency on commercial generative AI, the possible infringement of rights, the spread of bias and misinformation, and plagiarism. 'To realise the full potential of these tools, it will be crucial to engage children and young people in the development and deployment of generative AI in education.' Some teachers have admitted to using AI tools to help plan lessons and mark student's homework The report comes after a shocking two-thirds of secondary school pupils admitted to using AI, while one in 10 teachers admitted they had no way of knowing, according to a survey released in June. Around 67 per cent of youngsters surveyed admitted they used chatbots such as ChatGPT to write essays or do work for them. READ MORE HERE: Two-thirds of secondary school pupils are using AI to do their homework - and one in 10 teachers admit they have no way of knowing Advertisement Almost half, 42 per cent, otf the 1,000 secondary school students surveyed said they use AI all the time to solve maths problems, while 41 per cent use it to write English essays. Whereas a quarter, 25 per cent, tapped into these chatbots to translate something into a foreign language, write a poem (24 per cent) and help with their physics work (20 per cent). According to the data, 18 per cent admitted they have turned to AI to help come up with an essay topic for history, create a piece of art (18 per cent) and take a science test (18 per cent) for them. Surprisingly, two-thirds of the students polled, 68 per cent, said they are getting better grades and results by using AI. Mel Parker, Educational Technologist at RM Technology and a former Headteacher, said: 'This research shows the sheer prevalence of AI in the classroom already - but its impact is only starting to be felt. 'Generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, have great potential if regulated properly in schools, and can be used to create a more inclusive educational environment for students. 'But the real impact will be on the time AI can save teachers. 'From assisting with marking to alleviating some of the burden of administrative work - AI can support teachers in saving hours each week, which can be reinvested into more face-to-face time with students. 'While it's clear proper training and regulation are necessary, we as a sector must start to embrace the opportunities AI brings.' A man has died in a fatal crash after his car ran into a bus and got trapped underneath during wet weather. The crash happened on Ron Penhaligon Way at Essendon Place in Robina on the Gold Coast around 4.20pm on Tuesday. The man, who was driving a white Toyota Camry, crashed into the back of the bus before the car went underneath the vehicle. A man had died after his car (pictured) crashed into the back of a bus in a terrifying collision on a major road on the Gold Coast The 47-year-old man from Palm Beach suffered serious injuries following the accident. Paramedics from the Queensland Ambulance Service rushed to the scene but the man could not be revived. The bus driver and six passengers were inside the bus stationary at a bus stop at the time of the collision. The driver of the bus, a man in his 30s, was taken to nearby Robina Hospital to be assessed by emergency services. No passengers were injured following the crash. Earlier, six units from the Queensland Ambulance Service were called to the scene on Tuesday afternoon responding to reports of the crash. Shocking photos showed the car's front end smashed in as emergency crews worked to clear the debris. One witness John Hergarty said the driver didn't see a bend in the road before he crashed into the bus. 'I was turning my car into Ron Pen Way and I let him pass,' Mr Hergarty wrote on Facebook. The bus (pictured), which was stationary at a bus stop, was hit from behind by the car with six passengers inside at the time Paramedics (pictured) couldn't save the man following the fatal collision after six units from the Queensland Ambulance service responded to the incident Mr Hergarty said it was raining at the time of the crash and the driver had the car in a straight line moments before he collided with the bus. He said he didn't see him put his brakes lights on when he approached the bend. 'I followed him for about 500metres where he continued to drive in a straight line, unaware of a slight right bend in the road and collided with a stationary bus,' he said. 'I don't recall the brake light coming on.' Queensland Police said detectives from the Forensic Crash Unit are investigating the cause of the crash. His voice was warm and the praise heartfelt. 'One of the hardest things for a parent to have to do is to tell your children that the other parent has died,' he said. 'But he was there for us, he was the one out of two left. And he tried to do his best to make sure that we were protected and looked after.' The speaker was Prince Harry on the 20th anniversary of his mother Princess Diana's death in 2017. At the time, commentators were struck that it was left to Harry and not his older brother Prince William to capture the raw emotion of their father Charles struggling in his role as single parent. Six years later, Harry's comments have lost none of their significance. What has changed, however, is the relationship between the man who is now King and his sons. While Harry is portrayed as 'that fool' by the King, Charles now enjoys 'fun-filled lunches' with his older son. Six years later, Harry's comments have lost none of their significance. What has changed, however, is the relationship between the man who is now King and his sons. While Harry is portrayed as 'that fool' by the King, Charles now enjoys 'fun-filled lunches' with his older son Elsewhere Scobie talks conspiratorially about an increasing struggle between the King, 75, and the 41-year-old Prince of Wales for both the spotlight and public approval This, at least, is the version of events offered by Omid Scobie, who suggests that Sovereign and heir have been driven to make common cause by the dramas of Harry and Meghan's exile from the Royal Family. The only problem with this one-eyed view is that even Scobie himself doesn't agree with it. Elsewhere he talks conspiratorially about an increasing struggle between the King, 75, and the 41-year-old Prince of Wales for both the spotlight and public approval. In this unedifying narrative, William considers his father 'incompetent', while Charles rages at his son's 'effrontery' over attempts to upstage him. The picture Scobie paints is of two men locked in a rivalry that is prevented from being worse only because of their respective loathing (on William's part) and despair (from Charles) at the posturing antics of California-based Harry. As Scobie writes: 'In the early days it would have been unimaginable to think that one day William and Kate would meet Charles and Camilla for laugh-filled lunches, but the two couples have grown increasingly closer over the years, especially since the Sussexes' departure.' But he claims these moments of domestic harmony between father and son are rare. Instead of being in 'lockstep', as officials describe it, the two are at loggerheads. Charles, especially, is said to be infuriated by William's perceived impatience for the top job. A source close to Charles is quoted saying: 'William, or his staff, I should say, will always be quick to play up his efforts. There is an almost frenzied push for William to be seen as ready for the throne, despite an entire generation coming beforehand.' At the same time, the King is said to have been frustrated that, despite his long years of environmental campaigning, he was not asked to be included in the launch of William's Earthshot Prize, or did not 'at least [have William] credit him for inspiring him to take on [the] role'. Instead, a Clarence House source is reported saying that it was 'as if [Charles's environmentalism] didn't even exist'. According to the book, this competition between the two has further seen Charles derive 'schadenfreude' from his son's misjudged 2022 tour of the Caribbean, when William and Kate were photographed making contact with the outstretched fingers of Jamaican children pushing through a wire fence. In this unedifying narrative, William considers his father 'incompetent', while Charles rages at his son's 'effrontery' over attempts to upstage him The picture Scobie paints is of two men locked in a rivalry that is prevented from being worse only because of their respective loathing (on William's part) and despair (from Charles) at the posturing antics of California-based Harry In an attempt to lessen the damage, the couple's aides told journalists that lessons had been learned, that things would change and that the old royal motto of 'never complain, never explain' should be ditched. Scobie suggests that Charles was 'furious over William's effrontery'. He goes on: 'This kind of declaration was for either the Queen or the direct heir to make, not for the second in line.' Scobie quotes an aide saying: 'It was disrespectful Not only was [William] dangling the carrot of something his father could not deliver, but he also failed to address how he could actually deliver any of that.' And the writer continues breathlessly: 'Another source added at the time that William was 'out of order' and Charles saw this as a deliberate attempt to upstage him The Duke of Cambridge [as William then was] screwed up, but he effectively leveraged the moment to tease the public that he could soon be able to bring change [sic]. 'As often envious of his own son's popularity and favoured status in the institution as Prince Charles was, this was already a sensitive topic with him, so this breach in royal etiquette, which he has never spoken about directly with William, apparently 'left a mark'.' There was similar anger when William's team were quick to condemn Lady Susan Hussey, the prince's godmother, who was embroiled in a race row at a Buckingham Palace reception. 'It was a rash knee-jerk response,' a Palace figure is quoted as saying. 'The feeling was they wanted to disassociate, instead of thinking as a team.' Rivalry between monarchs and their heirs is hardly new England's history is littered with such tensions. The question, however, is whether Scobie's account is reliably accurate. One issue where there clearly were difficulties between the Prince and his father was over the Prince Andrew scandal. Scobie claims that William could not understand why a tougher line was not taken sooner. 'Charles's reluctance baffled William, who didn't have much confidence in his father to do the right thing,' Scobie claims. He quotes a source saying: 'William [doesn't] think his father is competent enough, frankly. Though they share passions and interests, their style of leadership is completely different.' At the time it was suggested by aides that it was William who took the lead in persuading the late Queen to take the necessary action that saw Andrew stripped of his military titles and official roles. However, Scobie says such claims were dismissed by a source close to Charles as being 'off the mark' and for being part of a personal agenda. Rivalry between monarchs and their heirs is hardly new England's history is littered with such tensions. The question, however, is whether Scobie's (pictured) account is reliably accurate The book goes quotes an insider as saying that the Prince 'knows his father's reign is little more than transitional, if only by virtue of the King's age, and is acting accordingly' These days, Scobie maintains: 'William is keen to ensure his own image is no longer impacted by 'poor decisions' made by others be it his father, his uncle, his brother, or any other family member.' If this is not inflammatory enough, the book goes on to quote an insider as saying that the Prince 'knows his father's reign is little more than transitional, if only by virtue of the King's age, and is acting accordingly'. So what on earth happened to all those chummy father-and-son lunches Scobie was so keen on? And is there really so much bristling tension between the King and his heir? According to Scobie, friends of the King say that William is not offering Charles the same respect that Charles himself did with the Queen. And it is certainly true that, in family matters, Charles as Prince of Wales rarely intervened. In part this was because of the role of Prince Philip, who took his position as head of the family extremely seriously. But Charles, readers will remember, risked maternal disapproval with some of his more overt action. There was disagreement with Mrs Thatcher over the inner cities in the 1980s. A decade earlier, correspondence with Australia's then governor-general Sir John Kerr revealed the Prince encouraged the sacking of then-Prime Minister Gough Whitlam a major royal intervention in Australian internal politics. According to a historian, Kerr considered that the then 27-year-old Charles was meddling out of 'royal ennui' and frustration at having to play second fiddle to his mother. And then, in the 1990s there were the infamous 'black spider' memos so called because of Charles's scrawling writing which antagonised ministers in Tony Blair's New Labour government. These, of course, did not represent any kind of threat to the sovereignty of his mother. Indeed, it is worth pointing out that in the last series of The Crown, writers had to invent a storyline about tensions between mother and son over her determination never to abdicate. No such tensions ever existed. There were, naturally, differences. Long before the Queen's death, Charles was offering his vision of a slimmed-down monarchy, a notion with which the Queen privately disagreed. All the same, reading Scobie's book, it is hard to reconcile the pushy, ambitious William it depicts with the Prince once so reluctant to embrace his heritage and destiny that he asked to delay using his HRH style for as long as possible. It was not that long ago that William worked out that by extending his career as a helicopter pilot, he could delay the moment when he would have to become a full-time royal This, remember, was when he and Kate relocated from London to Norfolk, a clear demonstration that he would not be hurried into the ribbon-cutting formalities of royal life It was not that long ago that William worked out that by extending his career as a helicopter pilot, he could delay the moment when he would have to become a full-time royal. This, remember, was when he and Kate relocated from London to Norfolk, a clear demonstration that he would not be hurried into the ribbon-cutting formalities of royal life. Hardman of the Mail 'will be antidote to Scobie' The Royal Family will not have to wait long for a counterblast to Sussex 'cheerleader' Omid Scobie's latest publication. For his upcoming landmark book, royal biographer and Daily Mail writer Robert Hardman has had access to the inner workings of the Palace, including members of the Royal Family, to explore the new reign of the King, his plans for the monarchy and internal family dynamics. Published by Macmillan in a few weeks, Charles III New King, New Court: The Inside Story is described as 'definitive' and 'richly insightful'. It is said to include details of the King's relationships with his sons and the inside story of the transition following the death of Elizabeth II. According to the publishers, Hardman has had 'unrivalled access to the Royal Family, their close friends, staff past and present plus previously unseen papers in the Royal Archives' to reveal 'Charles the man as well as the monarch'. One publishing source has described it as a 'powerful antidote to the Scobie narrative from California'. Although it is not an authorised work, royal-watchers have observed that the cover features a portrait of the King that cannot be reproduced without consent from the Palace. Advertisement It is also certainly the case that William has, as Scobie writes, 'often rejected his father's counsel'. And it is equally clear that he always admired his grandmother's 'example of political neutrality'. As a teenager he despaired at the unseemly fighting that marked his parents' disintegrating marriage and the way each summoned supporters to their cause with whispered briefings. It was one of the rare instances of agreement with Prince Harry that the two promised they would never conduct themselves in such a way. Tragically, of course, Harry never kept his side of the bargain. So is William truly on manoeuvres, aiming to upstage his father just as his mother did 30 years ago? Of course there are differences between the two men and, before his exile, Harry was indeed closer to his father than William was. But Megxit has made the King and his heir co-dependent and today the monarchy depends on them both. In his book, Scobie makes mischief out of a set-piece interview William gave that appeared on the day when his father was presiding over his first Trooping the Colour as monarch. According to Scobie, this wiped 'any coverage of the special moment off the front page'. William, I am told, did not play any part in deciding when his interview would appear. Friends of the Prince say the description offered by Scobie is no more than a parody of the truth. 'He is in no hurry to be king,' says one figure close to William since childhood. 'He loves his role as father and husband and far from being rebellious he is a dutiful son and recognises he still has much to learn. Mr Scobie seems to have a wonderful imagination. 'If he looked more closely he would see not sinister conspiracy but cock-up and human error.' When he addressed the nation for the first time as monarch, King Charles III expressed 'feelings of profound sorrow' at the loss of his mother, describing her as 'an inspiration and example'. But will he now demonstrate that, however intense his reverence for her, he will reign in his own distinctive style even if that means taking steps which Queen Elizabeth considered unthinkable? I ask because acclaimed historian Lady Antonia Fraser has called on the King to do something which the late Queen would never countenance sanction DNA testing of the bones in Westminster Abbey which may or may not be those of 'the Princes in the Tower', Edward V and his younger brother, Richard. They are long believed to have been murdered on the orders of their uncle, the Duke of Gloucester, later Richard III, in 1483. Lady Antonia, who has won numerous literary prizes since publishing her first book about King Arthur and the Knights of The Round Table nearly 70 years ago says she never managed to put the proposal to the King while he was the Prince of Wales. King Charles (pictured) is said to have a 'different' view to his mother with regard to the testing of bones interred in Westminster Abbey Historian Lady Antonia Fraser (pictured) has called on the King to do something which the late Queen would never countenance sanction DNA testing of the bones in Westminster Abbey They are long believed to have been murdered on the orders of their uncle, the Duke of Gloucester, later Richard III (pictured) The bones may belong to the two princes in the Tower (pictured) Edward V and his younger brother, Richard, were held in the Tower of London and later killed Lady Antonia, 91, said the Church should not fear that an investigation would set a precedent 'The great thing is now there is an opportunity,' she tells me, explaining that she has been intrigued by the fate of the young princes ever since writing her biography of Charles II, during whose reign the bones supposedly those of Edward and Richard were uncovered by workmen at the Tower of London. 'It was in 1674,' adds Lady Antonia, explaining that it was on Charles II's insistence that the bones were then re-interred at Westminster Abbey. I disclosed last year that Tracy Borman, joint chief curator of Historic Royal Palaces, had explained that Queen Elizabeth steadfastly supported the Church of England authorities in their hostility to any possible investigation. Borman added that King Charles took 'a very different view'. Lady Antonia, 91, tells me the Church should not fear that an investigation would set a precedent: 'I don't think there is another set of circumstances which is similar. I hope that King Charles will think it right to allow it to go ahead.' Chelsea paid tribute to one of its biggest characters and wealthiest landowners yesterday. A memorial service was held for Earl Cadogan whose 93-acre family estate runs from Sloane Street in Knightsbridge to the King's Road in Chelsea, West London. He died in June aged 86. His friend James Bruce got the biggest laugh during the tribute at St Luke's Church when he recounted how Charles Cadogan defended the right of prostitutes to live in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, following complaints. He said: 'I approve of them. They are easy on the eye, pay their rent on time and don't join residents' associations.' Glam Lady Mary hits the decks Is Lady Mary Charter the most glamorous DJ in London? The Earl of Wemyss's daughter is a model, but also spins discs at society parties including the launch of Greek designer Celia Kritharioti's new collection at Mark's Club in Mayfair this week. Naturally, Lady Mary, 36, wore a black cut-out dress from the collection, as well as a layered diamond necklace and a pair of headphones. Lady Mary Charter (pictured) is a model, but also spins discs at society parties including the launch of Greek designer Celia Kritharioti's new collection Gregg Wallace has rubbished suggestions that restaurant critic Grace Dent, who appears with him on MasterChef, left I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! early because she was fed up with the meagre rations of rice and beans. 'Nobody eats rich food all the time,' he tells me at the Rose d'Or Awards in Kings Place, London. 'She has been a restaurant critic for years she's eaten some really bad food. I've stood beside her while she's cut into semi-raw chicken.' Gregg Wallace (pictured) has rubbished suggestions that restaurant critic Grace Dent left I'm a Celeb over the quality of food Why Farage is already a winner While battling to be King of the Jungle, Nigel Farage has won a prize back home. The I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! contestant has been awarded the 'Best campaign of the past 12 months' gong at the Pagefield Press Awards for his 'debanking' campaign. 'It has been a great fightback against the woke banks,' Farage says in a message played at the ceremony at The Royal Horseguards Hotel in London, held last night. 'I've had a couple of scalps along the way. I hope your canapes are of superior quality to what I'm experiencing here in the jungle.' No need to apply, Omid Scobie! King Charles wants a new spin doctor who can ensure the Firm's work is 'widely, accurately and positively reported'. The assistant communications secretary will earn around 55,000 per year and be based at Buckingham Palace, but will travel around Britain and overseas with the royals. According to an advert on the royal website, the role will require 'strong diplomatic skills'. Applicants are warned that 'reputation will be at the forefront of all that you do'. Vigilant Dougray's drone fear Hollywood star Dougray Scott, known for his roles in Enigma and Mission: Impossible II, is well-versed in playing military men. But filming the second series of hit BBC drama Vigil, opposite Suranne Jones, still left him 'terrified' by today's lethal weaponry. Centred on a drone demonstration gone wrong, Scott says filming offered a crash course on the remote-controlled robots. 'It's pretty terrifying how powerful these weapons have become, especially with remote wars and how they've been used in Afghanistan and Iraq,' he says at the BFI Southbank. 'I'm sure, like AI in the future, everything will become more terrifying.' 'I'm sure, like AI in the future, everything will become more terrifying,' Dougray Scott (pictured) said Rod's birthday boy has a way with the ladies Sir Rod Stewart's son Alastair has clearly inherited his father's knack for sweeping women off their feet. He was spotted lifting his girlfriend, Eloise Darlington, into the air after celebrating his 18th birthday at The Maine restaurant in Mayfair. Alastair, who signed a deal last year to become the face of luxury clothing label Palm Angels, was also joined by Sir Rod, 78, and his mother, the model and special police constable Penny Lancaster, 52. Penny paid a touching tribute to Alastair online by sharing this picture of her with Sir Rod and their son as a baby. 'My beautiful first-born son that I had dreamt of for 34 years of my life came to me as a gift that I have always treasured,' she wrote. Sir Rod Stewart's son Alastair has clearly inherited his father's knack for sweeping women off their feet Harry and Meghan rushed to sign contracts worth up to 128million because they were 'desperate' for money after leaving the Royal Family, it was claimed yesterday. Author Omid Scobie suggested the King's 'ineptitude' in handling the Megxit saga had effectively driven the Duke and Duchess of Sussex into signing a series of commercial deals. He claimed the couple were 'in a spin' and had agreed deals that they might have balked at if their finances had not been cut off, leaving them needing 'serious money'. Mr Scobie told The Independent: 'Obviously they had money. But they needed serious money for a proper roof over their heads and security.' The pair signed contracts for books, documentaries and podcasts after quitting as senior royals and moving to the US in 2020, including an 81million five-year deal with streaming giant Netflix and an 18million contract with Spotify that was cancelled early. The Mail revealed in 2021 that Harry's deal with Penguin Random House was for four books after a bidding war among publishers that could see the final sum hit as much as 29million. Harry and Meghan rushed to sign contracts worth up to 128million because they were 'desperate' for money after leaving the Royal Family, it has been claimed The deals led to a series of damaging revelations by Harry about his father and older brother Prince William, including in the Netflix series Harry & Meghan and his memoir Spare. Mr Scobie suggested the Sussexes became 'disruptors' only because the King had mishandled their decision to leave Britain and quit as senior working royals. READ MORE: 21 bombshells claims made in Omid Scobie's new Royal book Endgame Advertisement In his book Endgame, released yesterday, he quoted an unnamed 'family friend' as saying that Harry and Meghan 'simply wanted to be heard' but that Charles had been too stubborn. The late Queen and senior palace aides had urged him to swallow his pride and talk with his younger son, but Charles refused to do so, the author claimed. Mr Scobie said all financial support for Harry and Meghan was cut off in July 2020, including money for their official security, which had previously been funded by Charles's private income from his Duchy of Cornwall estate. Writing in Endgame, he said: 'The rush to sign commercial deals after the royal institution cut them off from all funding and security in 2020 led them to sign some lucrative deals they might have thought twice about had they not been under so much financial pressure. When the couple signed a contract... with Spotify to develop podcasts, neither of the two expected executives to turn down so many of their ideas.' He added: 'It was the middle of a pandemic, of course you're going to sign the deals. 'But ultimately Spotify were looking for headline-grabbing, media-stirring content and that's not the direction that the couple wanted to go in, so it fell apart. Author Omid Scobie suggested the King's 'ineptitude' in handling the Megxit saga had effectively driven the Duke and Duchess of Sussex into signing a series of commercial deals Spotify and the Sussexes 'mutually agreed' to part ways earlier this year, after the couple produced only one podcast series and a half-hour festive special 'I'd imagine the couple knew at the start that's what Spotify wanted from them but the money was on the table and they were in a desperate place.' Spotify and the Sussexes 'mutually agreed' to part ways earlier this year, after the couple produced only one podcast series and a half-hour festive special. Bloomberg reported that Harry had pitched ideas to Spotify including interviewing Russian president Vladimir Putin about 'childhood trauma'. He had also hoped to interview former US president Donald Trump and Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg about their childhoods, it was reported. Mr Trump has been a vocal critic of the Sussexes, describing Harry as 'whipped' and 'an embarrassment' and saying he was 'not a fan' of Meghan. Writing in Endgame, Mr Scobie said Spotify had wanted 'juicy goods' and had paid the pair only 'a portion' of the 18million agreed for a series of podcasts. Spotify executive and podcaster Bill Simmons has blasted the couple as 'grifters', and has spoken of his embarrassment at sharing the same platform as them. Speaking about Harry on his own podcast in January, Mr Simmons said: 'Nobody cares about what you have to say about anything unless you talk about the Royal Family, and you just complain about them.' The book Endgame claims King Charles derived a certain pleasure from Prince William's ill-fated tour to the Caribbean in March last year. The Duke and Duchess of Wales were accused of colonial 'insensitivity' and author Omid Scobie's states his father had a 'schadenfreude' pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune from the PR disaster. This allegedly came after William refused Charles' offers of help in organising the trip. Kate and Prince William rode standing in an open-top Land Rover during the Commissioning Parade in Jamaica. This was deemed controversial by some commentators and critics, who claimed it echoed Britain's colonial past. The Duke and Duchess of Wales (pictured) rode standing in an open-top Land Rover during the Commissioning Parade in Jamaica The trip was deemed controversial by some commentators and critics, who claimed it echoed Britain's colonial past Prince William and Princess Kate were accused of colonial 'insensitivity' and author Omid Scobie states his father had a 'schadenfreude' pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune Omid Scobie (pictured) also claims that Charles saw the idea of changes as something his son was 'dangling' in front of him like a carrot that he could never achieve personally Charles is also said to have been 'furious' over his son's 'effrontery' when William claimed, in an attempt to make amends, that he planned to 'rip up the royal rule book', abandon his family's 'never complain, never explain mantra' and instigate 'the Cambridge way'. At the time, William was Duke of Cambridge. William also spoke about how he planned to modernise the monarchy, cut the number of staff and create a more cost-effective, less formal team. His father is said to have seen this as 'disrespectful' and an attempt to 'upstage' him. Scobie also claims that Charles saw the idea of changes as something his son was 'dangling' in front of him like a carrot that he could never achieve personally given the set-up at Clarence House, while failing to explain how he would himself deliver it. The author was not on the trip but claims what happened is an example of the 'distrust and simmering animosity' of their working relationship. A scathing report from Human Rights Watch slams pursuits of suspected human smugglers in Texas by state troopers at the direction of the governor as 'overzealous and reckless' and officers who 'rely on racial profiling' to go after suspected traffickers. At least 74 deaths are blamed on Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) chases, the report revealed, which target drivers who are picking up illegal immigrants at the border and sneaking them into the country. The dead include American citizens - who are often the smugglers - and the illegal immigrants themselves. But they also include innocent bystanders who were not involved in the smuggling at all. 'Among the bystanders killed was a 7-year-old girl, and among bystanders injured were five children of unknown age all of them Texas residents,' Human Rights Watch states. An SUV suspected of carrying illegal immigrants in El Paso was pulled over by Texas DPS officers, as witnessed by DailyMail.com from a DPS helicopter. Inside the black vehicle, authorities discovered about 10 illegal immigrants. Border Patrol was called to the scene to take the migrants into custody Four people were killed inside this gray Mazda car that was speeding and being chased by Texas DPS when the driver lost control and crashed into a concrete barrier in El Paso, Texas on October 30 An additional 189 people have been injured. As DailyMail.com has extensively reported, the chases started when DPS troopers try to pull over a driver suspected of carrying illegal immigrants in their vehicle - a state and federal crime. Many drivers refuse to stop and instead speed away, putting the illegal immigrants in danger as they sit sardined into their cars and often not wearing seat belts. The smugglers will often lead cops into neighborhoods, traveling at speeds of over 120 miles an hour, the group pointed out. However, the group doesn't hold the smugglers responsible, only law enforcement. While telling the story of suspected smuggler Ruben Villegas, who died in a September 2021 chase he led DPS on, the group points out Villegas did not stop for 20 miles, as he weaved through neighborhoods until crashing into someone's home. A smuggler speeds past a school bus in El Paso, Texas as the driver is being pursued by officers from Texas DPS. A second school bus is less than a block away from the chase is happening Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (left) who welcomed former President Donald Trump at the Texas border with Mexico recently, launched Operation Lone Star - which includes the DPS chases - as part of his border security plan in 2021 : - 11/15: A driver led @TxDPS on a high-speed chase in Webb County. The driver eventually stopped & fled on foot. The trooper pic.twitter.com/eg3mWBdUaC Chris Olivarez (@LtChrisOlivarez) November 21, 2023 'You know what I had to do the next day after that accident? Because there was so much blood on the ground? So much blood everywhere! I had to take some holy water and sprinkle it over the ground,' said homeowner Norma Saldana. While expressing her support for 'securing the border,' Saldana told the watch dog group that she was never compensated for the $25,000 worth of damage to her home by Texas DPS. 'A picture emerges of overzealous and reckless law enforcement carried out by various law enforcement agencies whose agents rely on racial profiling,' Human Rights Watch adds. However, multiple illegal immigrants were found in Villegas' car. Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, is also dragged in the report for his 'racist rhetoric', according to Human Rights Watch, for his border security plan, Operation Lone Star. 'Amid the state-orchestrated chaos wrought by OLS policies and practices, Texas is funding a border wall, busing migrants to other US cities, and installing dangerous floating barriers on the Rio Grande and razor wire along its banks,' the advocates say of Abbott. Abbott's border policies, from busing migrants from the border to other cities and engaging in chases with suspected human smugglers, have been the subject of controversy nationwide Texas DPS' chopper unit tracks illegal immigrants using mountain ranges on the border to sneak into El Paso, Texas A pursuit of a vehicle carrying illegal immigrants ends on a freeway in El Paso as law enforcement tackle a rise in human smuggling in the state 'Mexican cartels and human traffickers have a clear disregard for human life as they smuggle people in high-speed pursuits and in dangerous conditions, like the 53 migrants who died in a tractor trailer in San Antonio last year,' responded Abbott's spokeswoman Renae Eze. 'Governor Abbott has deployed thousands of Texas National Guard soldiers and DPS troopers to respond to this Biden-made border crisis and save lives. Since launching Operation Lone Star, they have apprehended over 485,000 illegal immigrants, seized over 449 million lethal doses of fentanyl, and arrested over 36,800 criminals.' The amount of chases has also exploded - happening mostly in border communities in the Lone Star State. 'There are three to four of these pursuits almost every night,' Sgt. Eliot Torres, the DPS spokesman for West Texas, previously told DailyMail.com. In most of the state, Texas DPS is the only police agency still engaging in car chases, as most departments have deemed most pursuits too risky to the public at large to justify chasing a suspect, and they only allow for officers to pursue a suspect in isolated cases or situations of imminent danger. During a patrol of the US-Mexico border, Captain German Chavez works the cameras inside the helicopter for Texas DPS : -- 11/07: @TxDPS pursued a 15-year-old smuggler on US 281 #RGV after allowing multiple illegal pic.twitter.com/GmFsdrliub Chris Olivarez (@LtChrisOlivarez) November 13, 2023 'The El Paso Police Department and Border Patrol can't do it,' said an unnamed law enforcement official in West Texas. Despite criticism from organizations like Human Rights Watch, state trooper say the chases are necessary. 'We can't send the message that we are going to let them go,' explained Texas DPS Captain German Chavez to the DailyMail.com in October. 'Smugglers know that (El Paso) police won't chase them. They know they can just outrun them and get away. If we let them go, we're basically giving up the city to them.' El Paso District Attorney Bill Hicks was appointed to the position by Gov. Greg Abbott after the previous district attorney Yvonne Rosales resigned as she faced allegations of incompetence in 2022. Hick recently announced he will seek election to the office El Paso District Attorney Bill Hicks said most people don't understand that police pursuits are just the tip of the iceberg. 'It's actually the second part of the process; the first part of when the migrants cross the border.' El Paso, directly on the US-Mexico border has seen an increase in illegal smuggling activity on the west side of the city - where Texas ends and neighboring New Mexico begins. Texas DPS monitors illegal immigrants sneaking into the country from the department's helicopter. Those who make it past Border Patrol and into a smuggler's car get pinpointed by troopers. 'The public is seeing the pursuits, but they are obviously going somewhere,' Hicks added, calling them part two in the smuggling chain. 'They're not going straight from the border to Chicago. They are stopping at stash houses.' Hicks explained El Paso westside has seen a surge in so-called stash houses homes, hotels and apartments where illegal immigrants are taken and 'stashed' after they are picked up by a smuggler. If everything goes as planned, the migrants who have paid smugglers a pre-agreed fee to get into the US will spend anywhere from a couple of hours to days hidden in the stash house. From the stash house, the migrants are transported to another location further into the US. US Border Patrol agents in El Paso bust a stash house with 55 migrants crammed inside in October, the agency announced Downtown El Paso as seen from the air inside the Texas DPS helicopter. In the top right corner of the photo, Mount Cristo Rey is visible. The border mountain is often used by smugglers to traffic illegal immigrants But often things don't go as planned, Hicks stated. 'Stash houses have become a cinch point for the cartels where migrants are told their families need to pay more to get them to their final destination, and if you don't, we're not going to make it to your destinations,' the district attorney said. 'Stash houses can be very dangerous.' In those cases, the migrants are not free to leave the stash house, and are often held at gunpoint in squalor and filthy homes. Recently, authorities have been finding children in cartel stash houses, leading officials to believe smugglers intended to sell underage migrants into sex trafficking. 'We had a vehicle recently where we have eight girls ranging from 21 to 16,' Hick stated. 'That fits the criminal intelligence factor for what we believe those girls were being trafficked. They had one male that was going to that destination where the male was their watcher, their keeper.' Hicks explained pursing smugglers driving illegal immigrants is crucial to leading authorities to stash houses where they can take down smuggling criminal organization. It's the fourth most popular app for British adults but monthly users have fallen Since his takeover more than a year ago, Elon Musk has made a number of controversial changes to Twitter. Aside from changing the name of the app to X, these include firing 80 per cent of the firm's workforce and putting the platform's features behind a paywall. Now, a report suggests people in the UK have had enough, as the platform has lost nearly three million British users in the past 12 months. Although the app is still the fourth most popular in the UK, it trails behind the likes of Meta's Facebook and Instagram, the data from Ofcom shows. Musk himself may also be proving too contentious for his own good, as the questions surrounding him and his leadership continue. Twitter has lost nearly three million British users in the past 12 months, while rival TikTok has gained 4.6 million users X, or Twitter as it was known at the time of Elon Musk's takeover, has seen a decline in British adult users, according to Ofcom X is the fourth most-used app among British adults, Ofcom shows 1. YouTube (lost 0.3 million users) 2. Facebook & Messenger (lost 1.4 million) 3. Instagram (gained 0.5 million) 4. X/Twitter (lost 2.9 million) 5. TikTok (gained 4.6 million) 6. LinkedIn (gained 0.3 million) 7. Reddit (gained 0.7 million) 8. Pinterest (lost 1.5 million) 9. Snapchat (gained 0.4 million) 10. Nextdoor (lost 1.1 million) (Figures refer to UK adult users between May 2022 to May 2023) Advertisement X lost 2.9 million monthly users between May 2022 and May 2023, according to Ofcom's Online Nation report, which was published today. Back in May last year, it had a total adult monthly audience in the UK of 26.8 million, but by May 2023 this figure had fallen to 24 million. However, the average time spent on the site by UK adults per day has risen from six minutes to 10 minutes over the same time period. Although Musk only took over Twitter in October 2022, the app has been 'experiencing a gradual decline in UK online adult reach in recent years' the report says although Musk likely accelerated this. Jake Moore, tech expert and security advisor at ESET, blamed Musk's numerous controversial decisions at X for the waning userbase. 'When 80 per cent of a workforce leaves for a number of reasons, knock on effects are inevitable,' Mr Moore told MailOnline. 'X has seen a shift in direction where some tweets are not seen by many users and paid for, verified users are promoted, but people often don't like change. 'Trying to enforce payment for services that used to be default, such as direct messaging to all, can be difficult for long term users to swallow.' Moore also pointed to the strong draw of rival social media platforms, especially TikTok which has more of a focus on short videos compared with text. Elon Musk (pictured) took over Twitter in October and has just changed the social network's name to X. Musk has just been accused of promoting anti-Semitism after agreeing with a post that claimed Jewish people have been 'pushing hatred against whites' READ MORE Elon Musk lands in Israel after accusations of anti-Semitism Benjamin Netanyahu and Elon Musk last met in September Advertisement 'Younger users favour short form video platforms which may also underpin the shift to other social media whilst offering free features by default and showing more variety,' he said. According to the Ofcom data, YouTube is the most popular app for British adults with 43.5 million monthly users, although this marks a decline from 43.9 million in May 2022. The biggest winner in terms of gaining users is unsurprisingly TikTok, which went from 16.6 million adults users in the UK back in May 2022 to 21.2 million in May 2023. This yearly gain of 4.6 million users was more than any other app in the top 10, and although TikTok is only ranked fifth it could climb higher above the likes of Facebook and Instagram. 'Video has a far bigger reach than micro messaging,' Moore said. 'Twitter will have to target younger people with videos to keep its audience share.' Although not in the top 10, another rival to X is Threads which was launched by Mark Zuckerberg's company Meta in July to rival X and has has 'piqued interest' among Brits, Ofcom says. In the UK by the start of September, 23 per cent of online users aged 16 and over said they had used Threads. Threads - which is closely linked to the Instagram app - lets users share text posts up to 500 characters in length, as well as links, photos and five-minute videos This is surprisingly high, especially compared with those who said they have ever used X/Twitter (52 per cent), which was first launched way back in 2006. Threads which is closely linked to a person's Instagram account became the most rapidly downloaded app in history when it was released during the summer. More than 70 million people downloaded Threads in the two days after its July 5 launch a figure that reached 150 million within a week. However, Threads has since lost users and experts think it could have trouble ever replacing X, despite the ongoing controversy surrounding Musk. Another app that could soon take users from X is Bluesky, which got a limited release on Android and iOS earlier this year. Founded by a team including Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, Bluesky is in beta mode (invitation only) and has 1.8 million registered accounts globally, Ofcom said. Google is investigating the issue but does not know the cause of the issue A glitch has deleted months of personal files from several Google Drive accounts Google Drive users have been warned that months of personal files have been deleted from some accounts. Reports posted to Google's support forums claim that dozens of files have vanished from personal accounts without a trace. The origins of the issue are as yet unknown but Google has now acknowledged that a 'sync issue' was affecting a number of users of Google Drive for desktop. If you discover that your files are missing, do not click 'Disconnect Account' from within the app and do not attempt to alter any of the app data. Google has also urged users to back up their app data locally while the issue is investigated. Google Drive users have been warned of a glitch that has deleted months of personal data from their accounts (stock image) READ MORE: Google shares plunge as cloud services revenue falls short of expectations Advertisement The issue first came to light when a Korean Google Drive user named Yeon Joong posted on the Google Drive Help Community page. In their post, Joong explained that all their files going back to May of this year had been deleted from their Google Drive. 'I used the drive few days ago and last morning this horrible problem happened,' said Joong. They added that the experience was 'very devastating and the files are very important to me.' The problem has now been officially recognised in a response written by a Google employee named Saitej on behalf of the Google Drive team. Saitej wrote: 'Were investigating reports of an issue impacting a limited subset of Drive for desktop users and will follow up with more updates.' In the meantime, the Google employee urged Drive users not to click 'Disconnect Account' and not to move or delete the app data folder. They added: 'If you have room on your hard drive, we recommend making a copy of the app data folder.' The issue first emerged as a Google Drive Community post complained that files dating back to May had been lost without a trace Google Drive says the origins of the issue are not yet known but the company has acknowledged a 'sync issue' affecting some users of the desktop app (stock image) What to do if your files have been lost If your files have been lost in the glitch, Google advises not to try and recover them from the app data yourself. Adjusting the app data could lead to the files being permanently lost. Contact Google Support or your company for more help. In the meantime do NOT click 'Disconnect Account' Do NOT move or delete the files found at: Windows: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Google\DriveFS macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Google/DriveFS If possible, back these files up elsewhere on your computer. Advertisement As of today, 274 users have ticked the 'I have the same question' box on the original post. Several users added their own complaints in the comments, adding that files had also disappeared from their drives. One commenter said: 'This also happened to us today. Even files that were uploaded through the web interface by my team over the last year all vanished. 'This is super super bad, as all of our companies [sic] files are lying there.' Another wrote: 'I have had the same problem occur today. This is going to cause me major issues if I cannot get the files back. 'It's all my work for the last 1-2 years. All my business work, all my personal files. Everything, just vanished. It must be 100's of files suddenly gone.' Meanwhile, one commenter claimed to have lost 'all of my files modified or created since May have disappeared. 1000s of files and folders.' Another user shared what they claimed was a message sent by Google's support team. In the message, the support team wrote that other admins had since reported the issue. They added: 'This is now being investigated by our Product Engineers and we are also waiting for a root cause analysis as well on how we can fix it.' It is currently unclear what has caused the issue or whether the files will be recoverable. Like other cloud services, Google Drive stores users' files on remote servers which can be accessed via the internet when needed. However, if there is an issue with these central servers the files can be permanently lost. Earlier this year ,Google Cloud services for Western Europe and parts of the US were taken offline when fire and water damaged the servers. While these outages only briefly took services offline, more disruption could result in the permanent deletion of users' personal files. US and Mexican authorities have failed to act on this problem, new report said The United States' hunger for avocados is obliterating forests in Mexico as farmers try to keep up with demand. Up to 70,000 acres of Mexican forests have been cleared to farm Gen Z's favorite fruit over the past 10 years, according to a shocking new report. That is the equivalent of two to five Manhattans, and the avocados exported to the US in 2022 alone guzzled up 290,000 Olympic swimming pools worth of water. Mexico's avocado industry is also sustained by blood. Cartels entered the fray in the past 20 years, intimidating, kidnapping, and even killing local activists and leaders who dared to push back against the unchecked deforestation. The fruit's popularity has skyrocketed in the US since 2000, partly due to its reputation as a healthy source of heart-healthy unsaturated fat. Slide me San Gabriel, a municipality in Jalisco, has lost thousands of acres of forest since 2014, mostly due to illegal burning for avocado orchards. Despite this, avocados grown in the areas highlighted in blue have been approved for export to the US At the same time, domestic production remained stagnant, and in recent years it has even fallen. Mexican imports make up the difference, but its forests and inhabitants are paying for Americans' insatiable appetites, according to a report from Climate Rights International (CRI), aptly named 'Unholy Guacamole.' Workers pack avocados in Jalisco, one of the two Mexican states whose forests have been decimated by the avocado farming industry Americans consume almost 3 billion pounds of avocados per year, a number that has more than tripled since 2000. About 90 percent of that total comes from Mexico. The environmental price for this insatiable appetite includes Illegal deforestation for avocado orchards, stolen water to feed them, and violence against indigenous people as cartels get in on the booming business. Slide me These areas in San Gabriel, Jalisco, have been deforested since 2020 for avocado orchards. The areas outlined in blue have been certified for export to the US, but the areas in yellow have not yet 'Mexico is the leading global producer of avocados, and the United States is the main destination for Mexico's avocado exports,' according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). US farmers have historically produced hundreds of millions of pounds of avocados each year, but those numbers have fallen recently. 'Imported avocados now account for 90 percent of the domestic supply compared with 40 percent in the early 2000s,' the USDA reported. Slide me Zacapu is a municipality of Michoacan. Between 2012 and 2022, all of the areas outlined in blue were deforested, and most of these were approved for US-export-approved avocado orchards in January 2023 The US imported an average of 55 million pounds a year from 2001 to 2003, the USDA reported last year. But from 2019 through 2021, that number rose to 2.25 billion pounds each year on average. CRI's new report reveals the environmental and human costs of this growth, focusing on the states of Michoacan and Jalisco, where all Mexican avocados exported to the US are grown. In addition to the vast forest acreage lost to avocado farming, 'Avocado producers use enormous amounts of water, and many illegally extract it from streams, rivers, springs, and underground aquifers to irrigate their orchards,' according to CRI. US consumers' demand for avocados has steadily risen, but domestic production has fallen. Mexico makes up the bulk of the difference. From 2001 to 2003, the US imported an average of 55 million pounds of avocados each year. And from 2019 to 2021, that annual average was 2.25 billion pounds. In that time period, 88 percent of imports came from Mexico This extraction has led to water shortages for the people who live in these areas. And since forests help hold soil in place during rainstorms, the loss of native pine and oak trees has heightened the risks of deadly floods and landslides. In just Michoacan and Jalisco, there are over 50,000 avocado orchards that are certified to export avocados to the US, according to CRI. Slide me The land above the red line in these photos is part of Zacapu. The light blue borders indicate areas that are at least partly deforested, but not necessarily completely 'Virtually all the deforestation for avocados in Michoacan and Jalisco over the past two decades has violated Mexican federal criminal law, which prohibits 'land-use change' of forested areas to agricultural production without government authorization,' the group reported. Not only is it illegal to change land use without federal authorization, but the specific way growers do it is illegal: by setting forest fires. Even though the farmers replace the forests with avocado trees, orchards are not the same as forests, from an ecological point of view. The habitat loss for native species that comes from destroying natural forests is incalculable, and burning all those trees releases tons of greenhouse gases and eliminates carbon-storing trees from the ecosystem. All this deforestation is being driven by US demand for avocados, but CRI places the true blame on the US and Mexican federal governments, as well as local authorities in Michoacan and Jalisco, which all have the power to do something about it but have failed to act. The failure on the part of local environmental authorities comes from two sides of the same coin, CRI said: corruption and violence. In the first case, the unit of Michoacans State Prosecutors Office that is supposed to investigate avocado-linked deforestation is rife with corruption, CRI claimed. This allows the bad actors to act with impunity, as they laugh at the impotence of the forest commission, according to one forest official. And where the growers do face pushback, violence or the threat of it has silenced opposition from government authorities and local communities who have tried to hold them accountable. In an industry worth billions of dollars a year, this problem has only gotten worse as criminal syndicates try to get a piece of the action. When local community groups have tried to push back against the growers, some members have been kidnapped or even killed. It's not just the Mexican government that has failed to stem the tide of illegal deforestation, but the US too. The US government 'routinely certifies illegally deforested orchards to export to U.S. consumers,' according to CRI. In the absence of substantial action from authorities who are meant to be protecting the land and the local communities, some locals have taken matters into their own hands. For instance, in Cheran, a municipality of Michoacan, locals grew tired of the unchecked illegal logging and violence. And in 2011, they threw out the local government and established their own government. This included a police force to enforce the new government's anti-deforestation laws, and Michoacan eventually recognized this group's authority. But local solutions can't be the only force against such widespread issues, CRI's report stated. Therefore, the group published a list of recommendations in its report, including a call for the Mexican and US governments to properly enforce the laws around deforestation and avocado growing. This includes a US obligation to prohibit imported avocados grown on illegally deforested land. As recently as last year, though, the US approved avocado imports from Jalisco without putting any safeguards in place to prevent deforestation. With Americans' hunger for avocados growing greater and greater every year, these problems will only continue to worsen if authorities don't act soon, CRI said. 'Urgently enacting and implementing such regulations and policies is essential to averting climate catastrophe, and to protecting the rights of populations where the commodities are produced,' they wrote. SHOPPING Contains affiliated content. Products featured in this Mail Best article are selected by our shopping writers. If you make a purchase using links on this page, Dailymail.co.uk will earn an affiliate commission. Click here for more information. Get excited - the Charlotte Tilbury Mystery Box, renowned for selling out, has returned for Cyber Monday, and it's worth the wait. Just because Black Friday is over doesn't mean the sales are stopping. In fact, it's quite the opposite - right now, you can save up to 30 per cent sitewide at Charlotte Tilbury and snag seven full-sized products for 50 per cent off in Charlotte's Mystery Box. Charlotte Tilbury Black Friday Mystery Box For a reduced price tag of 98, beauty fanatics will be able to restock their makeup bags with seven full-sized products for 50 per cent off in Charlotte's 2023 Mystery Box, dubbed the Mystery Makeup Stocking. Filled with more than 196 worth of Charlotte Tilbury makeup products, beauty editors can't stop raving about for just 98; this year, it comes with a magical gift stocking, plus 'other beauty surprises' according to the brand description. Shop Filled with more than 196 worth of Charlotte Tilbury makeup products, beauty editors can't stop raving about for just 98; this year, it includes '7 FULL-SIZE makeup products + 4 ICONIC PILLOW TALK products + a magical gift stocking! While stock lasts!' according to the brand description. So we highly recommend adding it to your basket right away before it disappears off virtual shelves - based on its previous popularity, we have an inkling it won't be in stock for long. Here's how you can WIN a Charlotte Tilbury Mystery Box For a chance to win a Charlotte Tilbury Mystery Box filled with seven products, all you have to do is: 1. Follow @shoppingfinderuk on TikTok 2. Like @shoppingfinderuk Charlotte's Mystery Box TikTok video 3. Comment (tag) three friends who would love this prize too All entrants and the tagged accounts must follow @shoppingfinderuk. The competition ends on December 7, and the winner will be notified via the @shoppingfinderuk TikTok account within one week of this date and will be given details of how to accept their prize. Full T&Cs apply, click here. Advertisement Charlotte Tilbury is known for its roster of beauty muses, including Kate Moss, Bella Hadid and Jourdan Dunn who have all become faces of the brand. And though we love so many of the brand's products, Charlotte's lipsticks are a cut above the rest. Why is this relevant, you ask? 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The best Charlotte Tilbury Black Friday 2023 deals It was put there by resident Dan Stevenson as a random attempt to deter crime A non-religious man fed up with crime and vandalism in his neighborhood managed to transform the area - with a store-bought Buddha statue. Dan Stevenson and his wife Lu had lived in Oakland's Eastlake area for 40 years and learnt to live with rampant crime, including muggings, assaults and drug-dealing. But Dan's capacity for tolerance expired when people began using a traffic divider with a space in the middle - visible from his home about 500ft away - as a 'garbage dump'. To deter criminals and litterers, the pair bought a small Buddha statue from ACE Hardware and fixed it to a concrete slab on the divider, located at the intersection of East 19th Street and 11th Avenue. The result? Some might say miraculous - crime plummeted. Why a Buddha? Speaking about the effect of the statue, installed in 2009, on the Criminal podcast in 2015, Dan said: 'Because hes neutral. I mean, if we threw Christ up there, he is controversial. But Buddha, nobody seems to be that perturbed in general about a Buddha.' Oakland resident Dan Stevenson installed a store-bought Buddha statue on a traffic divider (above) in his neighborhood of Eastlake - a random attempt to deter crime Dan purchased the Buddha (above) from ACE Hardware. Picture courtesy of Creative Commons licensing Initially, Dan hoped the presence of the 'neutral figure' would bring a sense of peace to the neighborhood - but he did not expect it to completely transform the area. Speaking to the Criminal podcast's host, Phoebe Judge, he said: 'It was probably about maybe four months or something of him just sitting there being concrete. But one morning, I wake up and look over and the Buddha is white. Someone has come and painted him a soft white.' From then on, people began 'leaving little gifts' of oranges or coins. One day Dan said he came home from work to find a sack of pears but had no idea 'where they were coming from or what they represented'. The podcast revealed that people 'from all over the neighborhood' began visiting the Buddha, with Phoebe commenting that what began as a 'truly random attempt to curtail dumping and crime' became a 'sacred place for members of Oakland's Vietnamese Buddhist community'. Pictured are offerings of fruits and flowers to the Buddha. Picture courtesy of Creative Commons licensing Not only that, but after the Buddha was installed 'crime pretty much disappeared', according to Dan. Dan said that locals know he was responsible for the statue's appearance and sometimes offer him gifts by way of thanks, from fruit to wine and even bottles of whiskey. Dan admitted he had no idea why the Buddha has been so effective, citing superstition, fear, or respect as possible explanations. The decrease in crime was highlighted by reporter Chris Johnson in an article for the San Francisco Chronicle (published online in the San Francisco Gate) in 2014. The reporter asked the police to check their crime statistics for the block radius around the statue and found crime had dropped significantly. On the findings, Chris wrote: 'Since 2012, when worshipers began showing up for daily prayers, the overall year-to-date crime rate dropped by 82 per cent. 'Robbery reports went from 14 to three, aggravated assaults from five to zero, burglaries from eight to four, narcotics from three to none, and prostitution from three to none.' Chris asked a police statistician about the data, who commented: 'I can't say what to attribute it to, but these are the numbers.' After the Buddha was installed crime in Eastlake dropped by 82 per cent. Above is a general view of Oakland The Buddha still stands today in 2023 - having had multiple upgrades over the years. People added gold-draped clothing, placed it on a 'rock pedestal' and there are now three huts. And while its long-term effect on crime is uncertain, it's definitely popular. Noted as a 'Place of Worship' on Google, it attracts visitors from across the country and has gained a 4.9-star rating from 80 reviewers. One reviewer, Sarah Nichols, who visited the Buddha earlier this year, wrote: 'The Buddha of Oakland is still here! Ive been hoping to see it since I learned about it four years ago in 2019. I live in Lincoln, Nebraska, but came to San Francisco for my birthday and a friend from Alameda helped me find the shrine.' Photos show various offerings placed within the huts, from religious symbols, flowers, candles, and fruits to photographs of Buddhas and LED lights. Eurostar services from the Netherlands to London will be suspended for six months. The decision was announced by Dutch rail company Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS), which said Amsterdam Centraal will be unable to process cross-Channel passengers during a major renovation of the station. For six months from June next year, Eurostar trains will run empty on the route before picking up London-bound travellers in Brussels. Cross-Channel services from Rotterdam will be affected in the same way. It was initially feared direct services from the Netherlands would be suspended for almost a year. Eurostar services from the Netherlands to London will be suspended for around six months Passengers wanting to travel from Amsterdam or Rotterdam to London by rail will be required to take a train to Brussels and change on to a Eurostar service. Direct Eurostar trains from London to the Netherlands will continue to operate. There are currently four daily return services between London and Amsterdam via Brussels and Rotterdam. We have worked hard in recent years to make the Eurostar to London an attractive alternative to air travel Nederlandse Spoorwegen It is a key route for the operator as it challenges one of the busiest European markets for airlines. But passenger numbers for services from Amsterdam are currently restricted due to limits on how many can pass through passport and security checks at the station. NS said in a statement that organisations involved in the renovation project investigated how services from Amsterdam could continue but found it would not be possible 'despite all efforts'. It went on: 'That is very disappointing because we have worked hard in recent years to make the Eurostar to London an attractive alternative to air travel. For six months from June next year, Eurostar trains will run empty from the Netherlands to Brussels where they will pick up London-bound travellers. Above - Amsterdam Centraal Our focus must now turn to how we can offer the best experience and journey connections for Eurostar customers in this period... we will still run services directly between London and Amsterdam one-way as a minimum Gwendoline Cazenave, Eurostar 'In order to keep the period in which there can be no secured departure from Amsterdam as short as possible, we are doing everything in our power we can to deliver the new Eurostar terminal as quickly as possible. 'It is now expected that this terminal will be put into use in January 2025. 'The good news is that many more passengers can depart from Amsterdam Centraal station by train via this new terminal. 'From 250 passengers per train now to 400 passengers per train as of January 2025, and later that year even 650 passengers per train.' Eurostar Group chief executive Gwendoline Cazenave said: 'Eurostar has always aimed to find a solution that would have the least possible impact on customers, the environment and its business. We acknowledge that a final decision has been made. 'We are pleased that the discussions have shortened the gap in services between Amsterdam and London from 12 to six months and we continue to work on reducing the inconvenience for passengers, local residents and the economy of Amsterdam and surrounding areas. 'It is very important that all the parties involved are responsible and supportive of each other to meet the deadlines. 'Our focus must now turn to how we can offer the best experience and journey connections for Eurostar customers in this period. 'As part of this work, we will still run services directly between London and Amsterdam one-way as a minimum. 'We will be working collaboratively in the coming weeks to further mitigate the impacts for Eurostar and its customers over the six-month gap and more information will be made available in due course.' Krakow and Valencia have beaten traditionally more famous destinations and been voted the UK's favourite European city break destinations in a new Which? survey. The consumer champion asked more than 1,600 of its members to rate their experiences of 31 popular cities across Europe to create the list. Each location was rated out of five on seven criteria - food and drink, accommodation, cultural sights and attractions, shopping, ease of getting around, lack of crowds and value for money. An overall customer score was calculated based on overall satisfaction and likeliness to recommend. Krakow, Poland, and Valencia, Spain, share the crown with their 'impressive' 92 per cent scores. Missing out on gold and coming a close second is Sweden's capital, Stockholm (91 per cent), followed by Berlin, Germany; Funchal, Portugal; and Seville, Spain, in a three-way tie for third (89 per cent). Krakow and Valencia, pictured here, have been voted the UK's favourite European city break destinations in a new Which? survey Visitors to Krakow awarded it a full five stars for food and drink as well as cultural sites and attractions, with the city boasting a 'wealth of historic gems, from the famous Wawel Royal Castle (pictured) to its town hall tower' Paris ranks low down in the table, garnering 79 per cent in joint 12th with Athens, while Split, in Croatia, is the lowest-scoring destination in 16th position with 72 per cent. Commenting on the winners, Which? said: 'Krakow has proven enduringly popular in the survey, marking its fourth time in the top spot, while Valencia was previously named the UKs favourite European coastal destination in a separate Which? survey earlier this year.' Visitors to Krakow awarded it a full five stars for food and drink as well as cultural sites and attractions, with the city boasting a 'wealth of historic gems, from the famous Wawel Royal Castle to its town hall tower', Which? said. It added: 'Visitors can while away the hours drinking in the atmosphere in the citys medieval square, the largest of its kind in Europe, or head out to explore the sights in the citys vibrant Jewish quarter.' One tourist told the watchdog they were 'amazed' by the scale of the Wieliczka salt mine, an underground attraction just a few miles outside of the city, which proved popular with survey respondents. Krakow also ranks among the three highest destinations for value for money, with four stars. Data from Kayak revealed that on average, it has the cheapest average hotel room rate of any destination in the survey at just 65 per night - 143 less than Paris, the destination with the most expensive average room rates. In second place, Stockholm, pictured, scored five stars for ease of getting around, and four stars for food and drink, accommodation and cultural sites and attractions Valencia also garnered five stars for attractions as well as food and drink, with one traveller calling it a 'foodie's paradise', according to the survey. Visitors 'lauded the city's intriguing blend of old and new, with its charming old town sitting in sharp contrast to the "spectacular" and "futuristic" City of Arts and Sciences', which features attractions such as a planetarium and opera house. The city scored four stars for ease of getting around, with visitors noting that its a compact, walkable city with the beach and city centre both easily accessible. It also scored four stars for accommodation and value for money, with a hotel room costing 113 a night on average. Second-place Stockholm scored five stars for ease of getting around, and four stars for food and drink, accommodation and cultural sites and attractions. Visitors praised the ABBA museum as great fun while the Vasa museum also proved popular, offering an unmissable opportunity to see a salvaged 17th-century warship. The city did fall down on value for money however, receiving just two stars in this category. Joint bronze-medal-winner Berlin scored five stars for ease of getting around, with one respondent noting that there is so much to see and visit and all within a relatively compact area. UK'S FAVOURITE EUROPEAN CITY BREAKS ACCORDING TO WHICH? 1= Valencia, Spain - 92 1= Krakow, Poland - 92 1= 2. Stockholm, Sweden - 91 3= Berlin, Germany - 89 3= Funchal, Portugal - 89 3= Seville, Spain - 89 4= Barcelona, Spain - 87 4= Bordeaux, France - 87 5. Bruges, Belgium - 86 6= Nice, France - 85 6= Prague, Czech Republic - 85 7= Malaga, Spain - 84 7= Porto, Portugal - 84 8= Madrid, Spain - 83 8= Venice, Italy - 83 9= Amsterdam, Netherlands - 82 9= Budapest, Hungary - 82 10= Munich, Germany - 81 10= Rome, Italy - 81 10= Vienna, Austria - 81 11= Copenhagen, Denmark - 80 11= Florence, Italy - 80 11= Lisbon, Portugal - 80 11= Valletta, Malta - 80 12= Athens, Greece - 79 12= Paris, France - 79 13. Dubrovnik, Croatia - 77 14. Dublin, Republic of Ireland - 76 15= Brussels, Belgium - 73 15= Milan, Italy - 73 16. Split, Croatia - 72 Source: Which? Travel Advertisement Split, pictured, is the lowest-scoring destination - it comes 16th, with an overall score of 72 per cent The city also received five stars for its cultural sites and attractions, which include the Berlin Wall memorial, Brandenburg Gate and Pergamonmuseum. It scored four stars both for accommodation and for quality of food and drink. Funchal, the largest city on the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira, scored five stars for accommodation and for food and drink, with visitors 'praising the array of restaurants to choose from in the old town district', Which? said. It scored highly for ease of getting around, and joins Krakow as one of just three destinations in the survey to score four stars for value for money, with a hotel room costing 108 a night on average. Bronze medallist No.3, Seville, capital of Spains sunny Andalucia region, scored five stars for food and drink, as well as for its cultural sites and attractions. 'Visitors remarked on their enjoyment of the quaint tapas bars and heaped praise on the city's many spectacular sights, including the "infinite beauty" of both the famous Plaza de Espana and Royal Alcazar,' Which? commented. Paris is ranked 12th. Along with Athens it garnered 79 per cent The city was also rated four stars for accommodation and ease of getting around, but scored less highly for value for money and lack of crowds, scoring three and two stars respectively. Despite being at the bottom of the leaderboard, Which? said Split's 72 per cent score was 'respectable'. Milan and Brussels are just ahead, tied on 73 per cent. Respondents found plenty to enjoy in Split, according to Which?, and praised it as a vibrant city, full of history. They also recommended numerous local attractions, including Diocletians Palace and the Archaeological Museum. Being a popular destination, however, meant it scored slightly lower for lack of crowds, receiving two stars. Visitors to Milan rated the city four stars for food and drink, though it received lower star ratings in other categories, including just two stars for value for money, and three stars for ease of getting around, cultural sites, and accommodation. Funchal, pictured, scored 89 per cent and ranks in joint third position with Berlin and Seville Brussels also scored just two stars in the value-for-money category, with visitors warning of some overpriced and poor quality eateries in the area around the main square, and two stars for cultural sites and attractions. However, visitors 'thoroughly enjoyed the city's wider food and drink offering', rating it five stars and singling out the 'great beers and chocolate shops on offer', Which? said. Geneva, Hamburg, Istanbul, Monte Carlo and Naples were among the cities that did not make the list of most popular destinations as they did not have enough responses. Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel, said: 'The weak pound has made holidays to most European countries more expensive for British holidaymakers, but our survey shows that looking beyond the most famous destinations for your next city break pays off. 'Whether youre after a getaway packed with cultural sights or a foodie escape, the top-rated destinations in our survey this year all have something unique to offer, from the medieval charm of Krakow, to the sun-soaked beaches of Valencia.' The survey is based on responses from 1,637 Which? members in October 2023 of their experiences visiting European cities in the past year. Results are based on 2,458 experiences. Only cities with more than 30 responses are included in the results. The first transatlantic flight by an airliner powered by pure sustainable aviation fuel (Saf) has taken off. Virgin Atlantic is operating the flight from London's Heathrow to New York's JFK airport with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson, Transport Secretary Mark Harper and Virgin Atlantic chief executive Shai Weiss are among the passengers on the flight, which is not carrying fare-paying travellers. Sir Richard said: 'The world will always assume something can't be done, until you do it. The first transatlantic flight by an airliner powered by pure sustainable aviation fuel (Saf) has taken off (above) 'The spirit of innovation is getting out there and trying to prove that we can do things better for everyone's benefit. 'Virgin Atlantic has been challenging the status quo and pushing the aviation industry to never settle and do better since 1984.' The Transport Secretary said: 'Today's 100 per cent Saf-powered flight shows how we can decarbonise transport both now and in the future, cutting lifecycle emissions by 70 per cent and inspiring the next generation of solutions. 'This Government has backed today's flight to take off and we will continue to support the UK's emerging Saf industry as it creates jobs, grows the economy and gets us to jet zero.' Asked whether the greenest option would be for the flight not to take off, he told BBC Breakfast 'people want to fly and this Government wants to make sure they can continue doing so, but in a way that delivers on our environmental provisions'. The CAA analysed various aspects of Virgin Atlantic's planned flight before granting the operating permit, including undertaking ground testing with an engine running on 100 per cent Saf. Virgin Atlantic is operating the flight from London's Heathrow to New York's JFK airport with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft CAA chief executive Rob Bishton said: 'As the UK's aviation regulator, it's important that we safely enable the industry to embrace more sustainable practices and push the boundaries of what's possible to create a greener aviation industry. 'This permit not only allows Virgin Atlantic and others to showcase their commitment to sustainability, but also serves as an example of how the industry is always exploring new technologies. 'Innovation and sustainability are vital areas of work, but they must go hand in hand with safety. 'This is a reminder that together we can drive change, reduce emissions and make the skies greener for generations to come.' Olivia Bowen looked stunning in a skin-tight bodycon dress as she attended the Beauty Awards in London on Monday. The Love Island star, 29, boosted her toned curves in the figure-hugging white number with long sleeves. The gorgeous bodycon garment displayed a map pattern of Costa Smeralda - a luxurious location in the Italian's island Sardinia, known for welcoming the most famous face in the world during Summer. Olivia toted her look with a turquoise small handbag, and added herself a few extra inches in a pair of sparkling gold stiletto. The reality star donned dainty jewellery including drop pearl earrings and a matching necklace. Bombshell: Olivia Bowen looked stunning in a skin-tight bodycon dress as she attended the Beauty Awards in London on Monday Sizzling: The Love Island star, 29, boosted her toned curves in the figure-hugging white number with long sleeves The internet personality - who rose to fame on Love Island's second series in 2016 - tied her hair in a half-do and rocked a glamorous make-up look with bronze tones and glossy lips. Olivia beamed with glee as she posed alongside her husband Alex, 32, - as the lovebirds looked more loved up than ever. The couple found love on the ITV runaway show, got engaged one year later and tied the knot in 2018 in Essex. In June of last year, Olivia and her beloved husband welcomed their first son Abel. The couple seems to be going stronger than ever, as they recently moved into temporary accommodation as they start to build their dream home. The long-time Love Island lovebirds revealed they had moved out of their 1.5million Essex mansion at the start of this month, three years after they bought it in February 2020. The couple is building a new mega home from scratch and has moved into a 'beautiful farmhouse' for six months as works take place. But their new abode is incredibly different to the palatial scenes of their mansion which features sweeping rooms characterised by cream carpets and marbled surfaces. Fashionista: Olivia toted her look with a turquoise small handbag, and added herself a few extra inches in a pair of sparkling gold stiletto Loved-up: Olivia beamed with glee as she posed alongside her husband Alex, 32, - as the lovebirds looked more loved up than ever Power couple: Olivia and Alex Bowen have moved out of their 1.5million mega mansion as they start building their dream home Olivia revealed that she and Alex have moved into a cosy cottage complete with timbered ceilings in the middle of the countryside - with the star admitting she feels like she is living in 'The Holiday'. Olivia and Alex have revealed they have started building the 'Bowen Home 2.0' but have so far kept details closely under wraps, only saying it is a 'new adventure'. It is not yet clear where their new house is or how much it will cost to build. Daryl Hall says his longtime music partner John Oates would have caused 'imminent irreparable harm' to their business interests if he sold off his share of a joint venture the veteran music group had come to. In court docs reviewed by People, Hall, 77, explained what he felt to be a series of ill-advised business moves from Oates, 75, which led a judge to temporarily block the sale while legal proceedings and a previously-initiated arbitration process continued. Hall in court docs said that Oates was seeking to make moves that would break the terms of their agreement. Hall said he and Oates - known professionally as Hall & Oates, with hits such as Private Eyes, I Can't Go for That (No Can Do) and Maneater - came to an accord in October 2021 for their company Whole Oats Enterprises LLP. On November 9, Hall said in court docs that Oates had been seeking to initiate an 'unauthorized and void' sale of his share to a company called Primary Wave Music. The latest: Daryl Hall, 77, says his longtime music partner John Oates, 75, would have caused 'imminent irreparable harm' to their business interests if he sold off his share of a joint venture the veteran music group had come to. Pictured in 2022 in Indiana Hall in court docs said that Oates was seeking to make moves that would break the terms of their agreement. Oates was pictured in Nashville this past September Hall called for an arbitration process to commence in regards to Oates' efforts to sell his share, telling the court that the transaction could have been completed by November 20, causing him 'imminent irreparable harm' in his business and professional interests. An arbitrator had not been selected in response to a November 16 motion that Hall filed in the case, the outlet reported, stalling Hall's request for temporary injunctive relief. Hall told the court that he requested the restraining order, which was subsequently approved, 'so as to maintain the status quo of [their company] before there is a change in control of the partnership in violation of the terms of the Agreement.' The company Primary Wave has had a had a business stake in the musical tandem for a timeframe eclipsing 15 years, the AP reported. Hall's legal team said that the 'private dispute' over the business should be sealed by the court, adding, 'This is not a matter of legitimate public interest, although the parties are well known.' Hall's lawyers said that the interpretation of their 2021 deal is at the crux of the suit, and the deal's terms are confidential. The legal docs reviewed by People indicate that arbitration will be addressed in a November 30 hearing. Hall named the co-trustees of the John W. Oates TISA Trust, Aimee Oates and Richard Flynn, in the legal filing, according to the outlet, with summonses going out November 20. The duo, known professionally as Hall & Oates, have hits such as Private Eyes, I Can't Go for That (No Can Do) and Maneater. They were pictured onstage in Florida in 2021 The soft-rock-and-pop duo, pictured in 1985, also boast hits such as You Make My Dreams, Out of Touch, Rich Girl, Kiss on My List and Say It Isn't So It was not immediately clear if the dispute centered on the music catalog of Hall & Oates, the soft-rock-and-pop duo who also boast hits such as You Make My Dreams, Out of Touch, Rich Girl, Kiss on My List and Say It Isn't So. Daryl Hall and John Oates got their start as Temple University students before signing with Atlantic Records in 1972. In the decades since, they have achieved six platinum albums and many more Top 10 singles with their unique approach to blue-eyed soul. Hall & Oates was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2014 and its latest album, Home for Christmas, was released in 2006. The duo continued to perform as of last year. 'We have this incredibly good problem of having so many hits,' Oates told the AP in 2021, just before resuming a national tour that had been delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic. 'Believe me, its not a chore to play those songs because they are really great.' Real Housewives of Dubai star Caroline Stanbury has been brutally slammed by online trolls after sharing the results of her recent facelift. The reality television star, 47, flaunted her new face two weeks after her shocking surgery in a post on Friday. Many of her followers took issue with the change and left comments under her photo, claiming she had 'ruined her beautiful face'. 'The facelift doesn't look good,' one person wrote, while another added: 'I like her look before.' Someone else commented: 'Ummm she looks terrifying now. She was already pretty like she was. I am sad about that.' Real Housewives of Dubai star Caroline Stanbury has been brutally slammed by online trolls after she shared the results of her recent facelift Pictured (L) before her facelift and (R) after her facelift 'Her mouth looks cartoon like. All that money and she ruined her beautiful face,' yet another fan said. Others said she was too young to get a full face lift, while someone else wrote: 'Too much! Stop all the injections and plastic surgery.' Caroline revealed last week that she had undergone her facelift in Los Angeles 'with no information whatsoever'. The reality television star, 47, flaunted her new face two weeks after her shocking surgery in a post on Friday. Pictured with her 29-year-old husband Sergio Carrallo Since returning back to the UK she has appeared on her podcast Uncut and Uncensored with her Spanish husband Sergio Carrallo, 29, who is 18 years her junior. Footage shared from the podcast on their Instagram last week shows her covering up her face with huge sunglasses as she has her hood up and microphone in front of her. The socialite admitted on the podcast: 'I decided to have a face-lift with no information whatsoever. I skipped into that surgery like I was having a mole removed. Many of her followers took issue with the change and left vile comments under her photo, claiming she had 'ruined her beautiful face' 'This is LA so, unlike other places where you're sort of taken to hospital and feel like you're having a medical experience, here you're taken to a back room of an office just as if you're having a filler. They put you to sleep and remove your face.' Caroline, who has three children, said of the ordeal with the unnamed doctor: 'He managed to cut off three inches on my neck and then the full width of my ear from my face. 'The shape of my face is completely wrong for a human: the top half is wider than the bottom half, and my neck is too thick. I have stitches at the front and back of my ear and on my eyelids.' Caroline, who once dated Prince Andrew, was distraught and unrecognisable in the days following her plastic surgery, but has recently come to terms with her new appearance since healing up. Caroline revealed last week that she had undergone her facelift in Los Angeles 'with no information whatsoever'. Pictured before surgery Footage shared from the podcast on their Instagram last week shows her covering up her face with huge sunglasses as she has her hood up and microphone in front of her Roxy Jacenko is already on her way back home to Singapore with daughter Pixie after the pair took a whirlwind trip Down Under for a beauty salon visit. The publicity guru, 43, made a surprise visit to Sydney last week, but on Monday she was already sharing pictures of her jetting out from the airport. 'What a weekend,' she captioned an Instagram post, which featured a photo of her taken from behind as she rolled her luggage to her gate. Wearing white shorts and a white T-shirt, Roxy pinned back the top layer of her freshly bleached locks as she carted a Goyard suitcase, a printed tote from Christian Dior and some shopping bag from the luxury French fashion house and Fendi. Carrying her passport in one hand, the PR queen threw up the piece sign for the picture, which was likely being taken by 12-year-old Pixie. Roxy Jacenko is already on her way back home to Singapore with daughter Pixie after the pair took a whirlwind trip Down Under for a beauty salon visit During her short visit, the mother-of-two attended a Christmas dinner with her Ministry of Talent team and threw a special event for Pixie and her friends. However on Saturday, Roxy revealed the real purpose of her trip to Australia - to visit her hairdresser for a dramatic makeover. 'I'll be undergoing a complete overhaul. Full blonde and extensions,' Roxy told The Daily Telegraph upon her return Down Under. The publicity guru, 43, made a surprise visit to Sydney last week, but on Monday she was already sharing pictures of her jetting out from the airport 'They just don't know how to do blonde in Singapore,' she complained. Roxy took to Instagram to document her visit to the salon, sharing a clip of her hairdresser brushing out her newly-installed platinum hair extensions. She also shared a photo of herself posing in the mirror with her lengthy new locks, adding the caption: 'She's baaaack.' On Saturday, Roxy revealed the real purpose of her trip to Australia - to visit her hairdresser for a dramatic makeover READ MORE: Roxy Jacenko embraces Melbourne Cup's biggest trend as she gets into the carnival spirit in Singapore Advertisement On Friday, Roxy revealed she had also visited jeweller-to-the-stars and good friend Nicholas Haywood to collect a stunning new engagement ring from her husband Oliver Curtis. She decided to upgrade the jewel after deciding that 'halo settings' were out of fashion. She posted the finished product on Instagram, along with the caption: 'The halo setting has had its day. It was time for a "nude setting"... a special hand delivery from my incredible friend of 20 years.' The Sweaty Betty founder revealed back in June she was leaving Sydney to live with Oliver and their two children, Pixie and Hunter, in Singapore. On Friday, Roxy revealed she had also visited jeweller-to-the-stars and good friend Nicholas Haywood to collect a stunning new engagement ring from her husband Oliver Curtis Jennifer Lawrence has revealed that she totally revamped her approach to her family's safety after she became a mother for the first time. The 33-year-old Oscar winner was chatting with fellow celebrity mother Kylie Jenner when she interviewed the reality star for Interview Magazine, which hit the web on Monday. Jennifer, who also shot back at rumors that she has had plastic surgery, said that she became overwhelmed with fears about her and her son Cy's safety after she gave birth to him in February of 2022. She shares the little boy with her husband, the art dealer Cooke Maroney. The Silver Linings Playbook star attributed her sudden desire to get security guards to 'intrusive thoughts and anxiety' that began to overwhelm her after giving birth. New reality: Jennifer Lawrence, 33, revealed on Monday that she only started using security guards after she and husband Cooke Maroney welcomed their son Cy, one; seen together in October Chatting: The 33-year-old Oscar winner was chatting with fellow celebrity mother Kylie Jenner when she interviewed the reality star for Interview Magazine, which hit the web on Monday 'Im curious how your kids react to security,' she began as she pitched the topic to Kylie. 'I didnt have that much security before I had a kid, but once I had one, with my intrusive thoughts and anxiety, I wanted us to have security around all the time,' she admitted. Kylie claimed that she as in the same boat, and she said she had never had security guards of her own until she became pregnant with her daughter Stormi, whom she shares with her ex Travis Scott. In the 'five-plus' years since then, she has had a two-guard team 'in rotation.' '[Stormi is] very familiar with them, which I feel comfortable with,' the Kardashians star explained. 'She actually has a lot of love for them. I just tell my security to not make it so serious, so they have a good relationship. Im trying to figure it out too because I never had security growing up, so I dont know what thats like, but I try to make it as normal and friendly as possible.' But Jennifer initially wanted her security team to be 'invisible,' though she quickly found out that that approach wasn't feasible or helpful. 'Yeah, [having a] friendly [relationship] is nice because before I hired them, in my mind I was like, I want them to be invisible. I dont want my kid to see you or know you,' she shared. 'And then once they start working for you, its like, "Well, wait. This is a person in our life. Hes helping us."' The actress added that it was 'not really a good lesson to ignore the person thats helping us.' 'Its probably better to say, "Say good morning to Sean. Hi. How are you?" Weve incorporated them more in our lives, which surprised me. That wasnt how I planned it,' she added. Soothing her fears: 'I didnt have that much security before I had a kid, but once I had one, with my intrusive thoughts and anxiety, I wanted us to have security around all the time,' Jennifer admitted; seen in October in NYC Changing her strategy: She said she initially wanted her security to be 'invisible,' but she soon found that it was better to treat them warmly to model behavior for Cy; seen November 20 in NYC 'I grew up. I lost baby weight in my face!' Jennifer hit back at speculation that she has had plastic surgery on her nose and eyes in the same interview (she is pictured on the left last week and in September 2009 on the right) Elsewhere in the interview, Jennifer hit back at speculation that she has had plastic surgery on her nose and eyes. Jennifer who was seen with her son in New York over the weekend insisted that her recent change in appearance was due to a make-up technique. She said: 'I also think its incredible what make-up can do because I work with. Hung [Vanngo], who overlines the lip, and I call him a plastic surgeon, because everybody in the last few months since Ive been working with him is convinced that I had eye surgery.' Jennifer took a hard stand on the controversy as she reiterated: 'Im like, "I didnt have eye surgery. Im doing make-up."' Kylie complimented the actress as she said: 'Oh my god. You know, youve been looking amazing. Have you always worked with him?' Jennifer responded by joking with a laugh: 'Well, apparently Ive had full plastic surgery.' Kylie backed up the actress as she said: 'No, Ive been seeing the pictures. It doesnt look like that.' The mother-of-two then got candid about the scrutiny over her face as she once again insisted that she has only had lip fillers. She said: 'I did end up getting lip fillers, but its also the same with me. Ill see before and after photos when Im 12 years old versus 26 and my eyebrows are filled differently. I have contour on. Im like, "How can you compare my 12-year-old face and say Ive gotten my jaw shaved and eyelids removed?" Im like, "What are we talking about?"' Jennifer responded by saying that people do not understand how much aging and maturing changes one's appearance. She explained: 'I have the same thing. I started at 19, so I get the before and after pictures from when Im 19 to 30 and Im like, "I grew up. I lost baby weight in my face, and my face changed because Im aging." 'Everybody thought I had a nose job, and Im like, "Ive had the exact same nose. My cheeks got smaller. Thank you for bringing it up."' Stunning: Jennifer is seen in Paris back in September on the left, she is seen in September 2009 on the right Evolution: Jennifer is pictured in New York City last month on the left and in West Hollywood back in 2009 on the right The shoe is on the other foot: Kylie was interviewed by Jennifer as they bonded over motherhood; the make-up mogul and her model sister Kendall Jenner had interviewed the Oscar-winner back in 2012 at the LA premiere of The Hunger Games No surgery: 'I did end up getting lip fillers, but its also the same with me. Ill see before and after photos when Im 12 years old versus 26 and my eyebrows are filled differently,' she added; (L) Pictured 2023, (R) Pictured 2012 Meanwhile, Jennifer and Kylie bonded over their roles as mothers as the make-up mogul has two children with rapper Travis Scott five-year-old daughter Stormi and 21-month-old son Aire Webster while The Hunger Games star is mom to 21-month-old son Cy. Earlier in the interview Kylie commended Jennifer on her interviewing skills. The Silver Linings Playbook actress asked: 'How do you get your coffee? Do you go downstairs and get it? Does somebody bring it to you?' Kylie responded: 'I love these questions. I get my coffee from Kings Road Cafe.' In the same Interview Magazine feature Kylie revealed the truth behind her recent reunion with ex-BFF Jordyn Woods. The make-up mogul - who recently shared a sweet family Thanksgiving photo - looked sexy in a bikini top while cuddling with a massive bee for the cover of the monthly as she was asked plenty of questions by the Oscar-winner and Kardashians superfan. Jennifer and Kylie touched on many subjects including family drama, starting businesses, and being mothers but perhaps the most eyebrow-raising issue of all was centered around the mother-of-two's reunion with the 26-year-old social media personality Jordyn. Jennifer queried: 'My last question is a little intense, but we all want to know. Obviously, there was a huge trauma many years ago, but weve recently seen that you are friends with Jordyn [Woods] again. How is that? How did that happen? What up?' Thanks for family: Meanwhile in the Interview Magazine Q&A, Jennifer and Kylie bonded over their roles as mothers as the make-up mogul has two children with rapper Travis Scott - five-year-old daughter Stormi and 21-month-old son Aire Webster (pictured) - while The Hunger Games star is mom to 21-month-old son Cy Dynamic duo: The 26-year-old make-up mogul revealed the truth behind her recent reunion with ex-BFF Jordyn Woods to Jennifer Lawrence Kylie and Jordyn's close relationship famously took a hiatus for four years after the infamous Tristan Thompson cheating scandal ruined their friendship and saw the model cast out of the Kardashians' inner circle. Now the business woman has revealed that their friendship actually never took a pause despite older sister Khloe Kardashian, 39, feeling betrayed. Kylie said: 'Jordyn and I, we always stayed in touch throughout the years and we would meet up at my house and catch up and just talk through everything. 'We never fully cut each other off, and one day, naturally, we were like, we want to get sushi and we dont want to hide anymore.' Kylie publicly reunited with Jordyn for the first time in four years as they were seen out to dinner together back in July. The Kardashians star continued: ''Theres a learning lesson in everything, and I think that in a weird way, everything happens how its supposed to happen. We were so attached at the hip that we needed space to grow into the people that we were supposed to be. 'I needed that independence and that confidence because she was like my security blanket for so long.' In 2019, Jordyn and Khloe's then boyfriend Tristan sent shockwaves after it emerged they had hooked up at a party. 'Jordyn and I, we always stayed in touch throughout the years and we would meet up at my house and catch up and just talk through everything': Now the business woman has revealed that their friendship actually never took a pause despite older sister Khloe Kardashian, 39, feeling betrayed due to the Tristan Thompson cheating scandal; Kylie and Jordyn are seen together in 2017 Woods later admitted to sharing a kiss with Tristan during a sensational interview with Jada Pinkett Smith on the Red Table Talk, and she fell out of the good graces of the Kardashians as a result of the infidelity. The kiss also led to Khloe splitting up from Tristan for another time. Infamously, after Jordyn's Red Table Talk interview aired, Khloe insisted over Twitter, 'You ARE the reason my family broke up!' The mother of two and the model first crossed paths back in 2012 after meeting through a mutual friend, Jaden Smith, and soon developed a very close bond. The pair were nearly inseparable, and not only lived together, but also worked together on various projects. The former pals starred in the reality series, Life With Kylie, and also launched the Kylie x Jordyn collection for Kylie Cosmetics in September 2018. Jordyn also notably attended Kim and Kanye West's wedding that was held in Italy back in 2014. Tammin Sursok shared a video to social media on Sunday which captured her giving her husband Sean McEwan a dermabrasion treatment. The former Home and Away star, 40, gave her long-suffering partner's skin a smooth makeover for a sponsored post. 'Watch me take dead skin off my husband's face. Why don't guys know about this?' a cheeky Tammin told the camera. The South African-born star was then seen giving Sean's face a thorough once over with the dermabrasion tool, promising him it will get rid of his 'dead, dull skin'. Sean looked pleased as punch as Tammin worked her magic on him and transformed his rugged face into a much smoother visage. Tammin Sursok shared a hilarious video to social media on Sunday capturing her giving her husband Sean McEwan a dermabrasion treatment in a sponsored post. Both pictured 'I thought I was going to be scared but that's really nice,' he told her. Tammin then demonstrated the effectiveness of the treatment to Sean by getting him to touch the side of his face which hasn't been worked on and compared it with the side that had. 'Oh my God!' a shocked Sean exclaimed. The former Home and Away star, 40, posted the footage to Instagram, which shows her giving her long-suffering partner's skin a smooth makeover Earlier this year, Tammin shared a video of herself breaking down in tears after her husband Sean McEwan gave her a very special gift for her 40th birthday. The veteran actress, who is holidaying in Bali with her family, took to Instagram to share the big news. 'My husband just gave me my gift for my birthday.' she told the camera, wiping away her tears in the joyful moment. 'Watch me take dead skin off my husband's face. Why don't guys know about this?' a cheeky Tammin tells the camera 'This is it,' she added, before sharing a photo of an adorable white puppy with a pink ribbon around her neck. Tammin lives in Nashville with husband Sean McEwen, who she married in 2011. They share two daughters, nine-year-old Phoenix and four-year-old Lennon. Sean looks pleased as punch as Tammin works her magic on him and transforms his rugged face into a much smoother visage Ana de Armas is currently making her new movie Eden in Queensland. And the Cuban actress, 35, was every inch the Hollywood bombshell when she was spotted filming on a Gold Coast beach on Monday. Ana, who is shooting the survival thriller alongside Jude Law, looked sensational as she was carried across the sand by her male co-stars. She stared down the camera lens while resting her petite frame on two hunk's shoulders. The Blonde star smiled and laughed with cast and crew in-between takes. Actress Ana de Armas, 35, was every inch the Hollywood bombshell when she was spotted filming on a Gold Coast beach on Monday The Oscar-nominated screen queen stunned in a plunging burnt orange top and skirt, matching graphic shawl and string of pearls. She opted for a matte make-up look and wore her brunette tresses coiffed in loose waves. Ana is in Australia to film the Ron Howard directed flick, a survival thriller co-starring Jude Law and Sydney Sweeney. Ana, who is shooting the survival thriller alongside Jude Law , looked sensational as she was carried across the sand by her male co-stars The Oscar-nominated screen queen stunned in a plunging burnt orange top and skirt, matching graphic shawl and string of pearls She opted for a matte make-up look and wore her brunette tresses coiffed in loose waves Eden is the second feature film shot in Queensland by Howard, who also directed Thirteen Lives which was released last year. Details of the film are still heavily under wraps with little information leaking out about the star-studded flick. It's filming comes after a judge dismissed a proposed class action suit filed against the studio Universal brought about by two fans over the presence of actress Ana in the 2019 film Yesterday, or lack thereof. The Cuban actress looked to be in good spirits during filming The Blonde star smiled and laughed with cast and crew in-between takes Recently U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson ruled that plaintiffs Conor Woulfe and Peter Michael Rosza would not be permitted to proceed further with the suit, saying that the suit 'lacks standing' and the plaintiffs' 'injury is self-inflicted.' Woulfe and Rosza claimed in a $5 million suit filed last year that the studio had fraudulently misled them by featuring Ana in a preview for the movie, later editing out her scenes. They accused Universal of false advertisement, unjust enrichment and violation of unfair competition in their lawsuit, according to The Hollywood Reporter. She was steadied by a few crew members before she was lifted into the air Ana is in Australia to film the Ron Howard directed flick Eden, which is a survival thriller co-starring Jude Law and Sydney Sweeney Woulfe and Rosza said they spent $3.99 on rental fees on Amazon Prime in January of 2022, specifically to see scenes featuring de Armas, who had been showcased in 15 seconds in a three-minute-plus long trailer for the Danny Boyle-directed fantasy comedy. Woulfe said that he subsequently rented a director's cut of the motion picture via Google Play in hopes of seeing the scenes featuring de Armas. The judge said in legal docs that the plaintiffs weren't reliant on the claimed misrepresentations in proceeding with their decision to rent and watch the movie. Eden is the second feature film shot in Queensland by Howard, who also directed Thirteen Lives which was released last year Details of the film are still under wraps with little information leaking out about the star-studded flick Ana lit up the monitor as she was carried across the beach In their legal complaint, Woulfe and Rosza pointed to cast listings that included de Armas as a member of the ensemble of the movie, which starred Himesh Patel, Lily James and Sophia Di Martino. He wrote: 'Universal is correct that trailers involve some creativity and editorial discretion, but this creativity does not outweigh the commercial nature of a trailer. 'At its core, a trailer is an advertisement designed to sell a movie by providing consumers with a preview of the movie.' The film studio said the ruling could be burdensome and lead to lawsuits from disappointed fans, pointing out that other films, such as Jurassic Park, also featured footage not shown in the final cut of the movie. An umbrella was used to shield Ana from the blazing sun A member of the crew gave the megastar directions at one point The film stars Patel as musician Jack Malik, who discovers that following a mysterious worldwide blackout everyone has forgotten the existence of The Beatles. After reintroducing their songs to the world he shoots to fame. De Armas, who has 12.6 million Instagram followers and also featured in the Marylin Monroe movie Blonde, was due to play his initial love interest Roxane and would be serenaded by Jack singing The Beatles song Something on James Corden's show. Writer Richard Curtis cut her role from the final film, saying fans would be upset that her character would take away from Malik's primary love interest Ellie, played by Lily James. Turning the tables on the crew, Ana snapped photos of them The plaintiffs claimed in the suit that more fans will have been disappointed by de Armas not making the final edit. Judge Wilson said the ruling was limited to whether an actor or scene would be in the movie and 'nothing else'. Curtis told Cinema Blend in June of 2019: 'That was a very traumatic cut because she was brilliant in it. You know, it's one of those things where it's some of our favorite scenes from the film, but we had to cut them for the sake of the whole.' Kim Kardashian appeared online on Monday to promote her brand SKIMS' semi-annual sale. The 43-year-old billionaire mogul who just sold a comedy to Netflix was featured in a video shared to her undergarment company's Instagram account. In the clip, the mother-of-four wore a plunging grey bra that showed off her ample chest. She teamed it with a pair of high-waisted drawstring sweatpants that emphasized her trim figure. The caption of the post read, 'Blink and itll be too late! The SKIMS Bi-Annual Sale ends tonight.' Promo postl: Kim Kardashian appeared online on Monday to promote her brand SKIMS ' semi-annual sale Snippet: The 43-year-old billionaire mogul was featured in a video shared to her undergarment company's Instagram account The fashionista added a pair of white Jordan 5 sneakers to her sporty and casual loungewear look. Her dark tresses were pulled into a half-up/half-down style with loosely textured waves that flowed down her back. In the outtake, which looked like it was recorded at Kim's Calabasas headquarters, the beauty declared, 'This triangle is my absolute fave.' Engaging with the account's 5.5 million followers, she continued, 'I wear this every single day.' The Hulu personality's face was glammed up with her brows carefully shaped, her cheeks blushed, and her pout swiped in a matte lipstick. Keeping consumers in the loop, the rest of the caption went on to describe exactly which offering the superstar was wearing. '@KimKardashian wears the Cotton Jersey Triangle Bralette, size S, in Light Heather Grey,' the note finished. SKIMS keeps buyers on their toes as it rolls out new campaigns frequently, surprising shoppers with its ingenuity. Busty: In the clip, the mother-of-four wore a plunging grey bra that showed off her ample chest Recent: Earlier this month, Kardashian captivated her audience by launching a collaboration with Swarovski crystals Glam! The first post advertising the joint effort read, 'SWAROVSKI X SKIMS: a first of its kind collaboration that fuses @swarovskis iconic glamour with @SKIMS innovative silhouettes, resulting in a unique crystallized collection' Earlier this month, Kardashian captivated her audience by launching a collaboration with Swarovski crystals. The first post advertising the joint effort read: 'SWAROVSKI X SKIMS: a first of its kind collaboration that fuses @swarovskis iconic glamour with @SKIMS innovative silhouettes, resulting in a unique crystallized collection.' Kim followed it up by introducing a SKIMS menswear line for the first time, after she launched the undergarments in September 2019. She reportedly earned millions of dollars in just five minutes as the much-anticipated launch broke website records with its vast sales. Brandi Mallory was a positive force in all of her loved ones' lives before she passed away. A friend of the reality TV personality, who passed away at the age of 40 earlier this month, spoke about how they were 'so impressed with her as a person'. Her friend and a fellow makeup artist, Eva Jane, told People about how the Extreme Weight Loss star was 'full of life' and 'an eternal optimist'. On November 9, Mallory was found dead in the Chipotle parking lot in Stone Mountain, Georgia. Sad details emerged about a week after her death was announced and revealed bizarre circumstances which remains under investigation although the police report indicates no sign of foul play. Beloved: Brandi Mallory was a positive force in all of her loved ones' lives before she passed away Touching: A friend of the reality TV personality, who passed away at the age of 40 earlier this month, spoke about how they were 'so impressed with her as a person' After her friends and family held a celebration of life for Mallory, Jane spoke about how the funeral was somber but also had levity. She also added that her loved ones not only shed tears but also shared personal stories about moments of happiness they shared with Mallory and the joy she had spread. 'I was just so impressed with her as a person because she was so positive, just an eternal optimist,' she said about her late friend. She also said Mallory had a an 'electric' and 'very big personality' which she will miss. 'I don't want to speak in cliches, like she lit up the room but she did,' she continued. 'She didn't complain or find fault in anyone or anything.' 'She was full of life, always looking for a way to make the atmosphere and environment around her so much better, and to encourage everybody around her,' she gushed. 'She had a very big personality,' she added. 'She was electric.' Jane also described Mallory as someone who was authentic in nature and always being herself without pretense. Remembered fondly: Her friend and a fellow makeup artist said the Extreme Weight Loss star was 'full of life' and 'an eternal optimist' Tragic loss: After her friends and family held a celebration of life for Mallory, Jane spoke about how the funeral was somber but also had levity 'She truly was, "What you see is what you get." She was pure,' Jane said. 'With some people, it's all about PR and marketing designed to show someone in their best light, but she was genuinely herself,' she explained. 'When someone like Brandi passes, it really does make it harder to grasp and understand,' she continued. 'You think, "Why would someone so amazing be called to go home?"' Earlier this month, it was revealed that the reality star died suddenly after picking up dinner at Chipotle. She was found in her car in the parking lot by a concerned deli owner who called authorities after he witnessed what he believed was a woman asleep behind the wheel. 'Genuine': She also described Mallory as someone who was authentic in nature and always being herself without pretense; seen with Extreme Weight Loss costar Kim Williams Maxile Sad details: On November 9, Mallory was found dead in the Chipotle parking lot in Stone Mountain, Georgia. According to police reports, there were no signs of foul play and the cause of death is still under investigation He realized something was wrong when he saw the car again later on the same day. According to police reports, there were no signs of foul play and the cause of death is still under investigation. There is no evidence her food at Chipotle had anything to do with her death. She gained popularity online after losing 150 pounds on season 4 of ABC's Extreme Weight Loss. Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan got their week off to a glamorous start by attending the 2023 Gotham Awards. The 48-year-old director-writer-star Cooper was all smiles on the red carpet with his 38-year-old co-star at Cipriani Wall Street on Monday. Cooper - who recently revealed he'd do another Hangover movie 'in an instant - will be honored with the Cultural Icon and Creator Tribute at the ceremony. Cooper opted for a light blue dress shirt with the top button unbuttoned and no tie under a black suit coat. The actor and filmmaker sported the early makings of a full beard as he hit the red carpet with his co-star. Glamorous: Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan got their week off to a glamorous start by attending the 2023 Gotham Awards All smiles: The 48-year-old director-writer-star Cooper shared a laugh with his 38-year-old Maestro co-star at Cipriani Wall Street on Monday The multi-hyphenate completed his look with black dress pants and matching black dress shoes. Mulligan opted for a glamorous black off-shoulder dress for the evening's festivities in Manhattan. Her short blonde hair was brushed back behind her ears, revealing large diamond earrings for the outing. She also accessorized with a diamond bracelet on her left wrist and a diamond ring as well. The actress' long black dress obscured her footwear for the award show outing on Monday night. Cooper and Mulligan's new film Maestro follows the longtime relationship between conductor-composer Leonard Bernstein (Cooper) and actress Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein (Mulligan). The Icon & Creator Tribute that Cooper is receiving was created for this years Gotham Awards, 'in order to recognize cultural icons and the filmmakers responsible for bringing that icons story to life,' according to a press release. 'With the Cultural Icon & Creator Tribute, The Gotham will honor New York legend Leonard Bernstein, the acclaimed musician, conductor, composer, teacher, and author, while celebrating Cooper and his masterful effort cinematically capturing his story,' said Jeffrey Sharp, Executive Director of The Gotham Film & Media Institute. 'Cooper has crafted a powerful story that highlights the ecstatic highs and anguished lows that come with a life pursuing love, family, and art. It is our privilege to honor Bernstein, Cooper, and this spectacular film,' Sharp added. Bradley's look: The multi-hyphenate completed his look with black dress pants and matching black dress shoes Carey's look: Mulligan opted for a glamorous black off-shoulder dress for the evening's festivities in Manhattan Red carpet ready: Her short blonde hair was brushed back behind her ears, revealing large diamond earrings for the outing Bradley's award: The Icon & Creator Tribute that Cooper is receiving was created for this years Gotham Awards, 'in order to recognize cultural icons and the filmmakers responsible for bringing that icons story to life,' according to a press release Bradley recently revealed during a Maestro screening with moderator Lin-Manuel Miranda during a New York City tastemaker screening that he spent six years to learn composing... for a six-minute scene. The scene in question was capturing Bernstein's iconic performance conducting the 1976 London Symphony Orchestra in Ely Cathedral, which 'terrified' Cooper. 'That scene I was so worried about because we did it live. That was the London Symphony Orchestra. I was recorded live, I had to conduct them,' Cooper said. 'And I spent six years learning how to conduct six minutes and 21 seconds of music,' he admitted, while crediting his 'wonderful teachers' for all their help along the way. 'I was able to get the raw take where I just watched Leonard Bernstein [conduct] at Ely Cathedral with the London Symphony Orchestra in 1976,' Cooper said. Advertisement Margot Robbie dazzled in a black, tea-length dress while attending the Gotham Independent Film Awards, among some of Hollywood's biggest stars, including Michelle Williams, Penelope Cruz and Natalie Portman. As she arrived to Cipriani Wall Street in New York City, all eyes were on the 33-year-old Barbie star as she strutted down the red carpet in a form-fitting frock under a semi-sheer cape with a bow across her neck. Her look was inspired by Black Magic Barbie, which is rumored to be inspired by one of Ruth Handler (Barbie creator's) favorite outfits and released between 1964 to 1965. The two-time Oscar nominee, who attended the star-studded event with her husband Tom Ackerley, accessorized her chic ensemble with a metallic clutch, open-toed heels, pearl earrings and a pair of leather gloves. She opted to style her gorgeous golden blonde mane into a perfectly coiffed ponytail and opted for a stunning makeup look that enhanced her natural beauty and features. Wow: Margot Robbie dazzled in a glamorous, tea-length dress while attending the Gotham Independent Film Awards, alongside among Hollywood's biggest stars, including Michelle Williams, Penelope Cruz and Natalie Portman Fashionista: The two-time Oscar nominee, who attended the star-studded event with her husband Tom Ackerley, accessorized her chic ensemble with a metallic clutch, open-toed heels, pearl earrings and a pair of leather gloves For the occasion, the Australian actress sported a nude lipstick, several layers of mascara, a subtle winged eyeliner and bronzer for a sun-kissed glow. Her spouse, who she quietly wed in 2016, looked handsome by her side in a black suit, matching button-down and shiny loafers. Robbie looked radiant as she posed for photos with her man, before heading inside together as she prepared for her latest film, Barbie, to receive a tribute award. Other standout looks included Williams, 43, who took the plunge in a striking black gown, which featured a low-cut neckline and was adorned with an intricate floral design across her chest. The Golden Globe winner, who welcomed her third child last November, completed her outfit with a pearl and gold necklace and a large ring for an extra touch of glamor. Williams' blush gave her a healthy and natural-looking flush of color while her smokey eyeshadow made the green flecks in her hazel eyes pop. Her husband, Thomas Kail, best known for directing the Off-Broadway and Broadway productions of Lin-Manuel Miranda's musicals In the Heights and Hamilton, held her hand on the red carpet. The theatre director, who won a Tony Award for Best Direction in 2016, cut a dapper figure in a black suit, white dress shirt and coordinating striped tie. Gorgeous: For the occasion, the Australian actress sported a nude lipstick, several layers of mascara, a subtle winged eyeliner and bronzer for a sun-kissed glow Happy couple: Robbie looked radiant as they posed for photos together, before heading inside together as she prepared for her latest film, Barbie, to receive a tribute award Dreamy: Robbie and Ackerley looked every inch the happy couple as he sweetly placed one of his hands on her back Big night: Robbie looked radiant as she posed for photos with her man, before heading inside together as she prepared for her latest film, Barbie, to receive a tribute award Beautiful: The Golden Globe winner, who welcomed her third child last November , completed her outfit with a pearl and gold necklace and a large ring for an extra touch of glamor Supportive spouse: Her husband, Thomas Kail, best known for directing the Off-Broadway and Broadway productions of Lin-Manuel Miranda's musicals In the Heights and Hamilton, held her hand on the red carpet Williams' blush gave her a healthy and natural-looking flush of color while her smokey eyeshadow made the green flecks in her hazel eyes pop Bombshell: Cruz, who is competing against Williams in the same category after earning rave reviews for her role in the biopic Ferrari, was dressed to impress in a long, semi-sheer white gown Risque: The Spanish actress, 49, styled her floor-length dress with a black clutch, matching pumps and a glamorous pair of statement earrings that peeked out behind her voluminous curls Nominee: She is nominated for her role in the biopic Ferrari about automobile mogul Enzo Ferrari Dream team: Cruz wrapped her arms around Michael Mann, who directed the biographical sports drama, as they reunited on the red carpet Glowing: Portman looked lovely in a floral tea-length dress, which she styled with silver high heels Mingling: Portman and Cruz were seen chatting after posing for solo shots on the red carpet Colleagues: Portman posed for a snap with Sophie Mas, who co-founded the MountainA production company alongside the Black Swan star Williams is up for Outstanding Lead Performance for her role in the 2022 comedy-drama film, Showing Up, co-written and directed by Kelly Reichardt. Cruz, who is competing in the same category as Williams after earning rave reviews for her starring role in the biopic Ferrari, was dressed to impress in a long, semi-sheer white gown, which clung onto every inch of her famously voluptuous figure. The Spanish actress, 49, styled her floor-length dress with a black clutch, matching pumps and a glamorous pair of statement earrings that peeked out behind her voluminous curls. Portman looked lovely in a floral tea-length dress, which she styled with silver high heels. Handsome: Bradley Cooper looked dapper in a black suit with a light blue button-down, which accentuated his piercing blue eyes Friends: The actor, who is rumored to be dating supermodel Gigi Hadid, posed for photos with his Maestro costar Carey Mulligan Funny: The father-of-one made Mulligan laugh as he cracked a joke to her on the red carpet Reunited: Cooper, Mulligan and Gideon Glick, Maestro, who all appear in the film, Maestro, which was released in September Classy: The English actress, 38, rocked a one-shoulder black gown with a train to the ceremony Red carpet moment: Mulligan paired her elegant look with a silver bracelet and dangly earrings Winners: Mulligan and Cooper walked out holding trophies Glick, Williams and Cooper received the Cultural Icon & Creator Tribute for Maestro A-list attendees: Leonardo DiCaprio posed for a photo with Lily Gladstone, who is nominated for Outstanding Lead Performance for her role in The Unknown Country All dressed up: DiCaprio looked dapper in a suit and bow tie Smiling: Gladstone, 37, and DiCaprio previously worked together in the film, Killers of the Flower Moon Making an appearance: Despite briefly walking the red carpet, he made a beeline toward the event to seemingly avoid taking any solo shots Gorgeous: Gladstone wore a navy blue dress with a ruffled tie-waist Winners: DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Lily Gladstone posed with the Gotham historical icon & creator tribute for Killers of the Flower Moon Winners: DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Lily Gladstone posed with the Gotham historical icon & creator tribute for Killers of the Flower Moon Winners: DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Lily Gladstone posed with the Gotham historical icon & creator tribute for Killers of the Flower Moon Sophisticated: Kate Mara put on a glamorous display in a black satin gown and bright red lipstick Perfect pair: Her plus one was her husband, Jamie Bell, who was previously married to actress Evan Rachel Wood Daring: Rachel McAdams showcased her incredibly toned figure in a ribbed black gown with a plunging keyhole cut-out between her breasts Impressive: She is nominated for Outstanding Supporting Performance for her role in Are You There God? Its Me, Margaret Yum! Robbie was seen sitting down next to her spouse Stunning: Cruz pictured at her table Portman mingled inside with her former costar Melton DiCaprio looked handsome as he took a lap around the room to chat with his peers Heartthrob: DiCaprio shook hands with a colleague De Niro spoke to Gladstone, best known for Killers of the Flower Moon Hall and her husband Morgan Spector who donned a smart Dolce&Gabbana suit sat side-by-side at the event Red hot! Actress Carla Gugino wore a red lace dress Cooper wore glasses as he spoke onstage Gerwig and Robbie were honored at the event Wong pictured above as she accepted Outstanding Performance in a New Series for Beef Melton won Outstanding Supporting Performance for May December Andrew Scott, who was nominated for Outstanding Lead Performance for his role in All of Us Strangers, spoke on stage Her 2023 film, May December, which she starred in and produced, earned Samy Burch a nod for Best Screenplay and actor, Charles Melton, a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Performance. Bradley Cooper looked dapper in a black suit with a light blue button-down, which accentuated his piercing blue eyes. The actor, who is rumored to be dating supermodel Gigi Hadid, posed for photos with his Maestro costar Carey Mulligan. At one point, the father-of-one was seen making Mulligan laugh as he cracked a joke to her on the red carpet. Elegant: Shailene Woodley exuded class in a black long gown with fringe on her sleeves What a trio: The Big Little Lies star posed for a snap with her Ferrari costars Adam Driver and Cruz Ferrari cast: Woodley, Cruz and Driver gathered together with director, Michael Mann Making a statement: Director Greta Gerwig stood out from the crow in an eye-catching white gown and cream blazer, which she kept perched on her shoulders Making history: The 40-year-old Sacramento native is the first solo female director to have a film surpass $1 billion at the box office, with her film Barbie Plus one: She attended with her partner, Noah Baumbach, who is known for making comedies set in New York City Gerwig and Robbie pose with the Global Icon & Creator Tribute for Barbie Incredible year: The duo made history with their film, Barbie Dern, Noah Baumbach, Gerwig, Robbie and Ackerley pose with the Global Icon & Creator Tribute Dern, Noah Baumbach, Gerwig, Robbie and Ackerley pose with the Global Icon & Creator Tribute Robbie appeared overwhelmed with emotion as she held her trophy Natural beauty: Julianne Moore was the epitome of elegance in a black long sleeve gown Supportive: Moore sang her costar Charles Melton's praises on Instagram as she gushed: 'He won!!! Congratulations Charles Melton we love you!!!' Flawless: She was styled by Kate Young, her hair and hair styled by Orlando Pita Effortlessly cool: Laura Dern paid her respects to the highest-grossing movie of the year while rocking a black Barbie t-shirt under a satin blazer Night out: Ali Wong, who won Outstanding Performance in a New Series for her Beef, wowed in a ombre dress with a chevron pattern Wong seen holding her award for Outstanding Performance in a New Series for her Netflix series Beef Jake Schreier, Steven Yeun, Wong and Lee Sung Jin received the Breakthrough Series Under 40 Minutes Awards for Beef French actress, Juliette Binoche, who is nominated for Outstanding Supporting Performance, turned heads in a navy blue dress and black platform heels Winner: Charles Melton was dressed to win as he prepared to take home the trophy for Outstanding Supporting Performance A major achievement: While on the red carpet, he posed for a photo with Todd Haynes, who directed his film May December (2023) Chic: Orange Is the New Black star Danielle Brooks wore a black and white jumpsuit and silver angel wing ring Little black dress: Bodies Bodies Bodies star Chase Sui Wonders, who recently split from Pete Davidson after nearly a year of dating, wore a black dress and matching heels Glamorous: Broadway star, Da'vine Joy Randolph looked absolutely stunning in a blue velvet gown and her hair in loose waves Stylish: American actress and model Havana Rose Liu put on a very leggy display in a chic tweed minidress and open-toed heels Memorable look: Rebecca Hall looked breathtakingly beautiful in a beige gown, which showcased her trim physique Attractive couple: Her husband, Morgan Spector, who she met while co-starring in a Broadway production in 2014, wore a suave Dolce&Gabbana suit Carla Gugino, Kaouther Ben Hania and Hall presented at the show A moment for the dress: Greta Lee wore a black down that showed off her entire back as she posed from the side Bold: Zelda Wengrod, known for The Staircase, bared her toned midriff in a black crop top under an oversized blazer Shining bright: Radika Jones (seen above) rocked a black dress with a white collar covered with rhinestones Dominique Fishback, who most recently starred in the horror series Swarm, wore a racy black gown with multiple vertical cutouts her chest, midriff and thighs Dominique Fishback, who most recently starred in the horror series Swarm, wore a racy black gown with multiple vertical cutouts her chest, midriff and thighs Pop of color: Danielle Deadwyler was among few attendees to wear green The couple, who wed in 2017, enjoyed a date night Looking sharp: Lena Waithe wore a grey suit, white dress shirt and black loafers Flirty and feminine: Bel Powley, who was nominated for Outstanding Performance in a New Series for her role in A Small Light, wore a baby doll dress with bows on it and a pair of jewel-encrusted heels Susanna Fogel, Tony Phelan, Powley and Joan Rater pictured together An honor: Celine Song, who was nominated for Breakthrough Director, wore a black suit Winner: Song, 35, is a South Korean-Canadian director and playwright Big night: Song seen holding her award Commanding attention: Morena Baccarin caught the eye in a patterned silk and lace slip dress Power couple: She attended with her husband, Ben McKenzie, who is an actor and author Going strong: The couple got married on Baccarin's 38th birthday in 2017 Funny: Film director Boots Riley showed off his eccentric fashion sense in a yellow padded jacket and pants, which he paired with a floral shirt and black boots Goofy: He struck a series of silly poses Sophisticated: Christie Lynn Smith wore a black and white dress and boots Mother daughter duo: She attended the event with her daughter, Abby Ryder Fortson Fortson, 15, is a child actress, who mostly recently appeared in Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret A.V. Rockwell, who was nominated for Breakthrough Director, rocked a black and white tweed jacket and pants A night to remember: A.V. Rockwell poses with her award for Breakthrough Director Teyana Taylor and Chaske Spencer were among the star-studded attendees Nominee: Bella Ramsey, who identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, wore a long navy coat over a blue button-down, tucked into a pair of black trousers Ramsey, 20, was nominated for Outstanding Performance in a New Series for their role in The Last of Us Nominees Jeffrey Wright and Steven Yeun were also in attendance The English actress, 38, rocked a one-shoulder black gown with a train to the ceremony. Rachel McAdams, who is nominated for Outstanding Supporting Performance, showcased her incredibly toned figure in a ribbed black gown with a plunging keyhole cut-out between her breasts. Meanwhile, Shailene Woodley exuded class in a black long gown with fringe on her sleeves and director Greta Gerwig stood out from the crow in an eye-catching white gown and cream blazer, which she kept perched on her shoulders. Julianne Moore was the epitome of elegance in a black long sleeve gown as she cheered on her costar Charles Melton, who won Outstanding Supporting Performance. Franz Rogowski seen above wore a black suit Celine Song, who was nominated for Breakthrough Director, wore a shiny silver jumpsuit Andrew Scott, who was nominated for Outstanding Lead Performance, wore a grey suit and blue dress shirt Shining bright: Jillian Dion was dressed to the nines in an embellished frock Keeping it simple: Karine Jean-Pierre wore a form-fitting black dress and shiny heels Jean-Pierre pictured with Colman Domingo and George C. Wolfe Annual Gotham Awards: (L-R) Todd Brown and Michelle Garza Cervera posed together on the red carpet Clea DuVall wore an orange shirt under a charcoal grey suit, paired with black loafers Willem Dafoe, who has earned four Academy Awards over his career, appeared in high spirits as he posed on the red carpet Tegan Quin wore a grey and white striped suit and sneakers Jharrel Jerome, who was nominated for Outstanding Lead Performance in a New Series, wore a charcoal pinstriped suit Dapper: Bob Odenkirk, best known for his role as Saul Goodman on Breaking Bad and its spin-off Better Call Saul, wore a black suit over a grey button-down Myles Frost wore an oversized red jacket with black buttons, a white scarf and sunglasses Laura Dern paid her respects to the highest-grossing movie of the year while rocking a black Barbie t-shirt under a satin blazer. Ali Wong, who won Outstanding Performance in a New Series for her film Beef, wowed in a ombre dress with a chevron pattern. Rebecca Hall looked breathtakingly beautiful in a beige gown, which showcased her trim physique. Her husband, Morgan Spector, who she met while co-starring in a Broadway production in 2014, wore a brown suit, which complimented his longtime love's look. Friends: Robbie (L) and Mulligan were seen in Tribeca on their way to the show Sweet: The actresses held hands as they arrived to the Cipriani Wall Street together Timeless: Both women opted for timeless looks as they both wore black On their way! Williams and Kail seen above arriving to the Gotham Independent Film Awards Star power: There was no shortage of celebrities at the event, attended by Cruz (above) Friendly: Portman waved to fans as she arrived to the awards show Turning heads: Fishback exuded glamour in her figure-hugging black cutout dress The Gotham Awards are typically the the earliest awards show of the season, and begin at 7 p.m. ET. The ceremony can be viewed on YouTube. This marks the first year the show removed the decade-old budget cap, which only honored films that made for $35 million or less. In August 2023, Jeffrey Sharp, executive director of The Gotham Film & Media Institute, announced that for the 33rd Annual Gotham Awards, he was 'excited to include more voices from around the globe by expanding eligibility for the many brilliant international films and filmmakers who deserve to be in consideration.' Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino might be celebrating his eighth 'Soberversary' on December 25, but there was a time when his attorneys once informed him he'd spent an estimated $500K on cocaine and oxycodone. 'I was like, "Man, that definitely sounds about right," because it was true,' the 41-year-old Jersey Shore star recalled to ET on Monday. 'When you think of that number, when you hear that number, that's a good college fund right there. I gotta just be accountable and be like, "Yeah, that happened." I was wild. I was careless. I was reckless, and I fell prey to drug addiction.' Mike recounts his long journey to sobriety in Reality Check, the 296-page memoir he co-authored with Andy Symonds that hits shelves on December 19. The fame and fortune that came with starring in a hit MTV reality show between 2009-2012 was like pouring 'gasoline on fire' for Sorrentino's inner demons and he had a 'problem turning off the excess button.' Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino might be celebrating his eighth 'Soberversary' on December 25, but there was a time when his attorneys once informed him he'd spent an estimated $500K on cocaine and oxycodone (pictured Monday) The 41-year-old Jersey Shore star recalled to ET on Monday: 'When you hear that number, that's a good college fund right there. I gotta just be accountable and be like, "Yeah, that happened." I was wild. I was careless. I was reckless, and I fell prey to drug addiction' (pictured in 2022) 'I was into everything. I had everything on me at all times in my Louis Vuitton bag,' the Staten Islander said. 'Everything - from a couple hundred Roxicet, which are 30mg oxycodone, then I'd have probably 150 Percocets on me, which are 10mg oxycodone. Then I would have about 100 Xanax on me, 100 Valium, and if I wasn't traveling on a plane maybe I would have some weed and cocaine as well.' Mike now admits of competing on the 11th season of Dancing With the Stars in 2010: 'I was always high.' Sorrentino and his pro-partner Karina Smirnoff were eliminated in the fourth week of the ABC celebrity dancing competition and Dirty Dancing alum Jennifer Grey went on to win the Mirrorball Trophy. Several months later, the Brotrition co-founder and his Jersey Shore castmates flew to Florence, Italy to film the fourth season and he successfully smuggled 'a couple hundred Roxys in a shoe, in an Altoids case that I disassembled.' 'Once the [TSA security] got to the bag in question, I would say, "Oh, I need to put those shoes on." So, I took them out of the equation,' Mike said of the nerve-wracking airport incident. Sorrentino was taking six painkillers per day, and when he ran out he wound up headbutting a wall during a screaming argument with castmate Ronnie Ortiz-Magro in a 2011 episode titled 'And the Wall Won.' 'You guys saw in Italy when I ran my head into a wall,' The Buckhead Shore host noted. Hitting shelves on December 19! Mike recounts his long journey to sobriety in Reality Check, the 296-page memoir he co-authored with Andy Symonds Hey-day: The fame and fortune that came with starring in a hit MTV reality show between 2009-2012 was like pouring 'gasoline on fire' for Sorrentino's inner demons and he had a 'problem turning off the excess button' (pictured in 2009) The Staten Islander said: 'I was into everything. I had everything on me at all times in my Louis Vuitton bag. Everything - from a couple hundred Roxicet, which are 30mg oxycodone, then I'd have probably 150 Percocets on me, which are 10mg oxycodone. Then I would have about 100 Xanax on me, 100 Valium, and if I wasn't traveling on a plane maybe I would have some weed and cocaine as well' Mike now admits of competing on the 11th season of Dancing With the Stars in 2010: 'I was always high' Self-medicating on set: Sorrentino and his pro-partner Karina Smirnoff (2-R) were eliminated in the fourth week of the ABC celebrity dancing competition and Dirty Dancing alum Jennifer Grey went on to win the Mirrorball Trophy Drug smuggling: Several months later, the Brotrition co-founder and his Jersey Shore castmates flew to Florence, Italy to film the fourth season and he successfully smuggled 'a couple hundred Roxys in a shoe, in an Altoids case that I disassembled' Mike said of the nerve-wracking airport incident: 'Once the [TSA security] got to the bag in question, I would say, "Oh, I need to put those shoes on." So, I took them out of the equation' 'And the Wall Won': Sorrentino was taking six painkillers per day, and when he ran out he wound up headbutting a wall during a screaming argument with castmate Ronnie Ortiz-Magro in a 2011 episode The Buckhead Shore host noted: 'I was going through withdrawals at the time because I had ran out of pills' 'I had given up on myself': Mike was treated for his addiction to prescription meds at Utah rehab Cirque Lodge (pictured in 2008) in 2012, and he completed a second rehab stint in 2015 after snorting heroin and hitting rock bottom Ex-convict: Sorrentino also neglected to pay $8.9M in taxes, which led to an eight-month sentence at Otisville Federal Correctional Institution until he was released in 2019 Thanksgiving family portrait: The flat Earther credits his college sweetheart-turned-wife Lauren Pesce Sorrentino (R) and their two children - son Romeo Reign, 2; and daughter Mia Bella, 10 months - for helping him stay sober and on the right path Still going strong! The Sorrentinos - who split for a decade in 2007 - will welcome their third child (a daughter) next March, and they celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary on November 1 Ready for more? Fans can catch more of The Situation in the first part of the sixth season reunion for Jersey Shore: Family Vacation, which airs this Thursday on MTV 'I was going through withdrawals at the time because I had ran out of pills.' Mike was treated for his addiction to prescription meds at Utah rehab Cirque Lodge in 2012, and he completed a second rehab stint in 2015 after snorting heroin and hitting rock bottom. 'I was desperate and I was in that hole. I was depressed and [with] anxiety and self-doubt. I had given up on myself,' Sorrentino recalled. 'I got to the point in my life I couldn't hide it anymore. I got to the point where I needed to do something different, and the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Once I started to become sober, I really just turned everything over and was doing everything differently.' The flat Earther also neglected to pay $8.9M in taxes, which led to an eight-month sentence at Otisville Federal Correctional Institution until he was released in 2019. Mike credits his college sweetheart-turned-wife Lauren Pesce Sorrentino and their two children - son Romeo Reign, 2; and daughter Mia Bella, 10 months - for helping him stay sober and on the right path. The Sorrentinos - who split for a decade in 2007 - will welcome their third child (a daughter) next March, and they celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary on November 1. Fans can catch more of The Situation in the first part of the sixth season reunion for Jersey Shore: Family Vacation, which airs this Thursday on MTV. Arabella Chi set pulses racing in a very revealing maxi gown as she attended the Beauty Awards at the Honourable Artillery on Monday. The model, 32, put on a show-stopping ensemble as she slipped into the glamorous black garment, which featured a very thigh-high split and a mesh panel on the side - giving a very sultry effect. The reality favourite went braless in the glamorous piece, which further enhanced her toned legs. The one-shoulder number boosted her enviable supermodel physique, and displayed an attached arm glove. Arabella made sure to have all eyes on her, while turning the red carpet into her own personal catwalk in a slew of iconic poses. Show-stopping: Arabella Chi set pulses racing in a very revealing maxi gown as she attended the Beauty Awards at the Honourable Artillery on Monday Wow! The model, 32, put on a show-stopping ensemble as she slipped into the glamorous black garment, which featured a very thigh-high split and a mesh panel on the side - giving a very sultry effect The Love Island star displayed her sense of glamour and accessorised with a black mini bag, finishing off with matching strappy heels which enhanced her slender form. The bombshell kept her jewellery at minimum with a dainty watch and small gold hoop earrings. Her golden locks cascaded behind her shoulders in flawless waves, as she showed off her natural looks with a lightning make up. Also in attendance were fellow Islanders Georgia Steel, Laura Anderson, Maura Higgins, Ella Thomas, Gemma Owen, Olivia Bowen, Abi Moore, and Ekin-Su Culculoglu alongside her boyfriend Davide Sanclimenti. More stars joined the glitzy event, including Chloe Sims, TV presenter Cat Deelay, columnist Zoe Williams, radio dj Sian Eleri and many more. Last month, the reality contestant and model was dragged from her car and attacked by two men from an organised crime group in the scary incident. She was travelling back from Ibiza with her father Paul when the incident happened after they took a ferry to Barcelona. The men slashed the tyres of her 60,000 car and took her designer handbag, purse and passports. She told The Sun of the terrifying experience: 'Reliving it all I feel physically sick. 'It was so scary and I've been having nightmares about being dragged out of bed, just like I was from the car... Racy: The reality favourite went braless in the glamorous piece, which further enhanced her toned legs Commanding attention: Arabella made sure to have all eyes on her, while turning the red carpet into her own personal catwalk in a slew of iconic poses Sensational: The Love Island star displayed her sense of glamour and accessorised with a black mini bag, finishing off with matching strappy heels which enhanced her slender form Minimal: The bombshell kept her jewellery at minimum with a dainty watch and small gold hoop earrings 'I was petrified when it happened, but now I know they'd been watching us and waiting to attack us, it is even more horrible to think about.' She said the criminals slashed the tyres while they were waiting at traffic lights after exiting the ferry and when they got out with an electric pump four men approached them. Arabella thought they were being kind but they were actually checking out the car to see if there was anything valuable in it. After the pumping failed her dad went off to get help and she stayed in the car when the attackers approached, unlocked the car with a device and dragged her out. Arabella said: 'Hearing the doors unlock makes me feel sick. I was terrified. This man was grabbing my arm and pulling me out.' She then made so much of a fuss and noise that they left but she was left fearing they would return with more people. 'I rang my dad and was screaming and crying my eyes out. I was petrified. That is what I find so scary, I don't know what they would have done if they'd have come back.' Once her dad returned they realised Arabella's bag containing their passports and cash had been stolen by the second man while the one grabbing her had distracted her. She says she's since had nightmares and trouble sleeping and told how she won't ever do that drive again and if she does she will take a different route. She is now recuperating at home with her family and friends around her. Leonardo DiCaprio attended the star-studded Gotham Awards with his co-star, Lily Gladstone, on Monday. Upon his arrival at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City, the 49-year-old actor posed on the red carpet with his castmate from their recently released film, Killers of the Flower Moon. The Titanic star who kept a low-key profile while out his girlfriend, Vittoria Ceretti, 25, and her family in London last week looked dapper in a classic black tuxedo with a white button-down and a satin bowtie. For the event, the Certain Women actress, 37, looked elegant in a flowing, navy blue gown with a high neckline adorned with gold studs. The stylish pair starred opposite one another in the American epic western crime drama film, Killers of the Flower Moon which hit theaters on October 20. Stylish co-stars: Leonardo DiCaprio attended the star-studded Gotham Awards with his co-star, Lily Gladstone, on Monday. Upon his arrival at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City , the 49-year-old actor posed on the red carpet with his castmate from their recently released film, Killers of the Flower Moon Dapper display: The Titanic star looked dapper in a classic black tuxedo with a white button-down and a satin bowtie Killers of the Flower Moon will receive the Historical Icon and Creator Tribute at the annual Gotham Awards Ceremony. The award recognizes significant historical moments and honors the filmmaker and cast who brought the story to life authentically. The honor will be given to Gladstone and the rest of the cast which also includes Goodfellas' Robert De Niro and The Whale's Brendan Fraser. In a statement shared with Variety, the executive director of the Gotham Film and Media Institute Jeffrey Sharp applauded the film. 'Authentically and carefully crafted by one of our greatest filmmakers with respect and integrity, Killers of the Flower Moon is a powerful examination of the history of violence bestowed upon the Osage Nation,' he said. 'At the center of the brilliant writing, impeccable set design, and extraordinary cast, Lily Gladstone delivers a tour de force as Mollie Kyle,' he continued. 'We're thrilled to honor Lily with the film's cast members during the ceremony.' Gladstone is also nominated for a Gotham award for her leading performance in The Unknown Country. Killers of the Flower Moon, which was directed and co-produced by Martin Scorsese, is based on journalist David Grann's 2017 nonfiction book about the Osage murders. Chic: For the event, the Certain Women actress, 37, looked elegant in a flowing, navy blue gown with a high neckline adorned with gold studs Handsome: DiCaprio wore his hair in a parted and slicked style to complement his dapper tuxedo Glamorous: Gladstone left her raven black tresses down in a sleek and straight hairstyle and opted for a sultry, smoky eye for the fabulous occasion On stage: DiCaprio seen on stage as he listened to Robert De Niro's speech Mingling: The star shook hands and mingled with his colleagues Taking a lap: DiCaprio was pictured chatting away with his peers as he walked back to his table An honor: DiCaprio, De Niro and Gladstone posed with the Gotham historical icon & creator tribute for Killers of the Flower Moon DiCaprio clapped as Gladstone held onto two trophies, before handing him one What a night: DiCaprio, Gladstone and De Niro posed with cast of Killers of the Flower The renowned filmmaker cowrote the screenplay with Eric Roth about the serial murder of members of the oil-wealthy Osage Nation in 1920s Oklahoma. In history, white interlopers manipulated, stole from, and murdered the Osage people to obtain their fortunes. The string of brutal crimes became known as the Reign of Terror. The story is told through the romance between DiCaprio's Ernest Burkhart and Gladstone's Mollie Kyle. De Niro portrays Ernest' uncle, William Hale, who is the mastermind behind the plans to reap the Osage people's wealth. Killers of the Flower Moon received a theatrical release on October 20. Krissy Marsh and Terry Biviano went head to head during this week's episode of The Real Housewives of Sydney. The pair had a dramatic argument while they went for dinner with Caroline Gaultier during a trip to Tokyo. After sitting down, Terry told Krissy that she thinks she had made the previous dinner awkward by telling Kate Adams she thinks she has trouble opening up about herself. Things then escalated, with Krissy claiming she felt Terry had been backing Kate. She then ripped off her microphone before stating she's 'done' and storming out of the room. Real Housewives of Sydney star Krissy Marsh stormed off after a dramatic clash with Terry Biviano during a trip to Tokyo Terry chased after her and the pair disappeared into an elevator to continue fighting. The night prior, Kate had opened up to the group by telling them about her failed engagement at the age of 20. Krissy then told Kate that she thinks she has trouble opening up about herself. Terry jumped in and told Kate that she shouldn't feel embarrassed about being a single woman. 'Be who you wanna be,' she said. After sitting down, Terry (pictured) told Krissy she thinks she had made the previous dinner awkward by telling Kate Adams she thinks she has trouble opening up about herself. Things then escalated with Krissy claiming she felt Terry had been backing Kate It comes after Caroline opened up about her mum's cancer diagnosis on last week's episode of the hit reality television show. In the episode, Caroline was at a wellness party on a luxury yacht cruising Sydney Harbour when she received the 'hardest phone call of her life' and began to weep. The heart-wrenching news she received was that her mother had been rushed to the hospital diagnosed with stomach cancer, visibly leaving Caroline devastated. Fortunately, the boat returned to shore early, allowing Caroline to swiftly reach her mum's side. While they waited, the group reflected on the impact of cancer, recounting experiences of losing parents and loved ones, with Sally Obermeder sharing her own story of surviving cancer. It comes after Caroline opened up about her mum's cancer diagnosis on last week's episode of the hit reality television show Rebel Wilson has shared a moving tribute to her family on the set of her new comedy film, The Deb. On Monday, the Hollywood actress, 43, beamed in a photo with her mother Sue and her niece, all sitting on director's chairs. 'Three generations of Wilsons on set today,' Rebel captioned the photo. The Deb will be Wilson's first turn in the director's chair in the highly-anticipated release of the quirky Aussie comedy. Rebel has been making the film set somewhat of a family reunion with her often bringing daughter Royce along to work. Hollywood actress Rebel Wilson, 43, shared a touching photo from the set of her new film The Deb, as she sat alongside her mother Sue (right) and a niece. All pictured The tiny tot has been has been stealing the show in recent months, with other actors cooing over her on set. The Deb has been described as a musical production based around a country town's debutante ball, modelled off the musical of the same name. According to IMDB, High school outcast Taylah joins her inner-city cousin Maeve to snare the spotlight at Dunburn's annual debutante ball from jocks and cool girls. The film will star Rebel along with other names, including Tara Morice, Shane Jacobson and Heartbreak High's Alex Champion De Crespigny. Rebel is in Australia to film The Deb, which she will serve as director, in Sydney and other parts of regional NSW. It's modelled off the musical of the same name Shooting for the film has already taken place in Carcoar, in the NSW Central West, about 300 kilometres from Sydney. Rebel has been spotted around Sydney with fiancee Ramona Agruma in recent months, including at the Rebel Theatre in the city's Dawes Point. She opened up about the possibility of adding another child to her family after they welcomed their daughter Royce Lillian last year. Rebel expressed that she had considered the idea of becoming a mother-of-two during an interview with E! News. Tiny tot Royce has been has been stealing the show in recent months, as other actor's cooed over her on the set. Pictured In January, she spoke with the Today Show about the demands of her career and motherhood. 'You hold the baby and cut the umbilical cord and literally from - from that moment on, you're just like - it was just, like, amazing and so emotional,' she said. The Australian actress said it hasn't been easy being a parent with her demands of her global career. Shooting for the film has already taken place in Carcoar, in the NSW Central West, about 300 kilometres from Sydney . 'It's really challenging. I have this big international career and - you know, I'm, like, the breadwinner of my family - I like to think,' she added. 'So it's really challenging too, like, 'Well, now how do I do all the things and be a great mother and great partner and all of that?'' Rebel and her fiancee Ramona met in 2021. The pair eventually began dating, and they made their red carpet debut in March of last year and they announced their engagement in February. In January, she spoke with the Today Show about the demands of her career and being a mother to little Royce. Pictured The Bridesmaids star announced the birth of Royce in November 2022, mentioning in her post how starting her own family had been years in the making. 'Beyond proud to announce the birth of my first child, Royce Lillian, born this past week via surrogate,' she wrote. She went on to express how grateful she was to her surrogate, saying: 'I can't even describe the love I have for her, she's a beautiful miracle!' Past Lives was named Best Feature at the Gotham Awards Monday in New York City at Cipriani Wall Street, while Lily Gladstone and Charles Melton walked away with the biggest acting honors on the night. 'It's such an honor,' Past Lives writer-director Celine Song said in her acceptance speech, according to Variety. 'Thank you, Gotham, for this award. It really means the world to receive it with my debut set in New York City, a city I live in and love deeply.' Song - who was accompanied onstage by the film's Greta Lee and John Magaro - thanked her collaborators at A24, as well as the cast and crew of the motion picture. Gladstone won the honors for Outstanding Lead Performance for The Unknown Country, while Melton won Outstanding Supporting Performance for May December. A Thousand and One director A.V. Rockwell won the Breakthrough Director Award. The latest: Past Lives was named Best Feature at the Gotham Awards Monday in New York City at Cipriani Wall Street, as director Celine Song, 35, was seen holding a trophy at the event Song said in her acceptance speech, 'Thank you, Gotham, for this award. It really means the world to receive it with my debut set in New York City, a city I live in and love deeply' Anatomy of a Fall claimed the honors for Best International Feature and Best Screenplay, while Four Daughters won the honors for Best Documentary. The Netflix series Beef won two awards for Breakthrough Series Under 40 minutes; and Outstanding Performance in a New Series for Ali Wong. A Small Light won the honors for Breakthrough Series Over 40 minutes. All of Us Strangers, directed by Andrew Haigh, garnered the most nominations with four, but did not win any awards; Past Lives and A Thousand and One each had three. A number of other films were honored with standalone awards Monday evening in New York City, including Barbie, which was awarded with with the Global Icon & Creator Tribute; Ferrari, which took home the Icon & Creator Tribute for Innovation; and Air, which got the Visionary Icon & Creator Tribute. Air writer Alex Convery said, according to The Hollywood Reporter, 'The movie really is about knowing your worth and fighting for it, and this is something as artists we experienced firsthand as we walked the picket lines for over 200 days this summer. 'It was long and grueling, but we made it through and we showed the world that we know what we're worth.' Other honorees included Maestro, which was named with the Cultural Icon & Creator Tribute; Rustin, which got the Cultural Icon & Creator Tribute for Social Justice; and Killers of the Flower Moon, which was awarded with the Gotham Historical Icon & Creator Tribute. Lily Gladstone won the honors for Outstanding Lead Performance for The Unknown Country She was pictured with her costar in Killers of the Flower Moon costar Leonardo DiCaprio DiCaprio and Robert De Niro were pictured alongside Gladstone as their film Killers of the Flower Moon was honored Actor Charles Melton won Outstanding Supporting Performance for May December The actor played the role of Joe Yoo in the dramatic comedy from director Todd Haynes Beef actress Ali Wong spoke as she accepted the honors for Outstanding Performance in a New Series The Netflix series featuring Wong also won the honors for Breakthrough Series Under 40 minutes A Thousand and One director A.V. Rockwell posed with the Breakthrough Director Award Rockwell took the podium as she won the award for her crime drama set in NYC Beef creator Lee Sung Jin was pictured onstage as the show was honored for Breakthrough Series Under 40 minutes Killers of the Flower Moon actor Robert De Niro took the podium as the film was honored. In a speech that made headlines after De Niro claimed organizers tried to 'edit' it, the veteran actor ripped into former President Donald Trump. 'Truth isn't truth, and facts are being replaced by conspiracy theories,' De Niro said. 'Lying has become a tool in the charlatan's arsenal. The former president lied to us more than 30,000 times over his four years, and he's keeping it up in his campaign of retribution. With all of his lies, he can't hide his soul.' 'He attacks the weak, destroys the gifts of nature and shows disrespect by, for example, using Pocahontas as a slur.' Ferrari star Adam Driver presented the film's director Michael Mann with the honors, recalling how the filmmaker once ran across a busy intersection in Los Angeles to retrieve his wallet, which he left in a 7-Eleven location. 'It actually was a moment where I felt I really saw Michael - if he does this with lost time on a wallet, how does it translate to being on a film set?' Driver said. He added that Mann 'doesn't want anything to get in the way of what he's trying to do, including himself.' Mann said the honors were dedicated to his late Ferrari screenwriter Troy Kennedy Martin, who died in 2009: 'He's really the heart and the core of the innovation.' Rustin director George C. Wolfe was presented with the film's honors for the Netflix movie by the film's Colman Domingo and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, Rustin director George C. Wolfe (R) was presented with the film's honors for the Netflix movie by the film's Colman Domingo and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre Adam Driver introduced Ferrari director Michael Mann, as the film was awarded with honors for the Icon & Creator Tribute for Innovation Maestro director and star Bradley Cooper credited late composer Leonard Bernstein's adult children Jamie, Alex and Nina Bernstein for helping him tell the composer's story as 'authentically and truthfully' as possible Barbie director Greta Gerwig and actress Margot Robbie were pictured onstage after the summer blockbuster was awarded with with the Global Icon & Creator Tribute Killers of the Flower Moon actor Robert De Niro took the podium as the film was honored (L-R) Laura Dern, Noah Baumbach, Gerwig, Robbie and Tom Ackerley posed together at the ceremony 'Democracy is a muscle and if you don't use it it atrophies and is not functional,' Wolfe said in his acceptance speech. 'We understand every day we must invest in democracy otherwise mediocrity and evil will rise.' Maestro director and star Bradley Cooper was presented by Brian Williams, who called the motion picture Cooper's 'American masterpiece.' Cooper credited late composer Leonard Bernstein's adult children Jamie, Alex and Nina Bernstein for helping him tell the composer's story as 'authentically and truthfully' as possible. According to Variety, organizers with the Gotham Film and Media Institute changed the criteria of entry for the annual award show, which is typically geared toward honoring independent movies. A budget cap of $35 million was lifted for potential entrants and honorees. Two years ago, the Big Apple-based award show removed categories classified by gender. She has plenty of staff to help keep her and her lucrative business empire going, but Kylie Jenner picked a surprising employee as her 'best hire.' The 26-year-old Kardashians star revealed that she considered her 'dog nanny' to be the most valuable person she had ever hired while chatting with Jennifer Lawrence, 33, for Interview Magazine. It's a major undertaking for her canine wrangler, as Kylie has a whopping seven dogs, in addition to several other animals. 'What is the best hire you've ever made?' Jennifer quizzed Kylie, who appeared on the cover in a bizarre shoot that paired her with a human-sized bee. 'Probably my dog nanny, since I have seven dogs,' replied the Kylie Cosmetics mogul. Totally worth it: Kylie Jenner, 26, told Jennifer Lawrence for Interview Magazine that her 'best hire' to date has been her dog nanny Dog family: Kylie relies on her dog nanny, as she has seven dogs, including her Greyhounds Norman and Bambi Odd: Kylie appeared on Interview's cover in a bizarre shoot that paired her with a human-sized bee After the surprised actress asked her why she had so many dogs, Kylie replied, 'Because they kept multiplying. 'One of them had children, and I had to keep the family together,' she said. She was referencing a 2016 incident in which her Italian Greyhounds Norman and Bambi bred each other and gave birth to two puppies after she apparently opted not to get them spayed and neutered. Kylie has three other dogs for a total of seven, but she also has some barn animals. The cosmetics icon previously shared on Instagram that she owned four chickens, and she also has a rabbit named Bruce, bringing her pet total to 12. 'Youre just like your mom. You have litters,' Jennifer joked, referencing Kylie's mother Kris Jenner. The Oscar winner concluded her interview with a hilarious question doubling as a playful jab at Kylie's older model sister, Kendall Jenner. 'Do you think that you have greyhound dogs because they remind you of Kendall?' Jennifer asked. 'Yes, thats a part of it,' Kylie replied while laughing. 'I love seeing little Kendalls run around, and I think theyre just funny. They just make me smile. I was never, like, a Shih Tzu Pomeranian type of girl.' Whoops! Jennifer was confused by why Kylie had so many dogs. 'One of them had children, and I had to keep the family together,' she said, referencing a 2016 incident in which Norman and Bambi bred each other; seen November 20 in NYC Catching a stray: Jennifer ended the interview by jokingly asking if Kylie likes Greyhounds because they remind her of her model sister Kendall Joking around: 'I love seeing little Kendalls run around, and I think theyre just funny,' she joked, adding, 'I need them skinny and fast' 'I need them skinny and fast,' she added, which apparently reminded both women of Kendall's lithe frame. 'Yeah, totally. I had a halfItalian greyhound chihuahua and I used to call her my Kendall Jenner,' Jennifer added. The friends also spoke about Kylie's friend Jordyn Woods, who she recently reunited with in public. The KUWTK star revealed that the two had never completely severed their friendship and would spend time together in private in recent years, before finally deciding that they no longer wanted to hide their friendship from the world. Kate Mara attended the 33rd Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards, which were held in New York City on Monday night. The 40-year-old actress dazzled onlookers while showing off her toned arms and posing for a few snaps on the star-studded event's red carpet. The performer, who was recently spotted on the set of her upcoming film The Dutchman, was also joined by her husband, Jamie Bell, during the awards show. Mara wore a sleek black dress for the function. The House Of Cards actress also accessorized with a leather clutch that matched the color of her clothing. In attendance: Kate Mara attended the 33rd Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards, which were held in New York City on Monday night Making an impression: The 40-year-old actress dazzled onlookers while showing off her toned arms and posing for a few snaps on the star-studded event's red carpet Cute couple: The performer, who was recently spotted on the set of her upcoming film The Dutchman, was also joined by her husband, Jamie Bell, during the awards show Bell, 37, looked sharp while wearing a navy blue suit to the high-profile awards ceremony. Mara and her husband initially met during the mid-2000s, although they did not begin dating until 2015. The pair costarred in the critically panned superhero film Fantastic Four, which was released that same year. Bell was formerly married to Evan Rachel Wood, and their marriage lasted from 2012 until 2014. The exes also share a ten-year-old son, whose name has not been released to the public as of yet. The actor eventually moved on with Mara, and the two became engaged and tied the knot in 2017. The pair went on to welcome a daughter and son in May of 2019 and November of 2022, respectively. Good company: The performer was also joined by Rachel McAdams at the awards show In the past: Mara and her husband initially met during the mid-2000s, although they did not begin dating until 2015 Making it official: The Fantastic Four costars became engaged and tied the knot in 2017 The actress spoke about her home life on Today, and she was asked about her role in her household by the show's hosts during the sit-down. She stated: 'You'd have to ask my husband. He'd probably say that I'm the one in charge of the house.' Mara went on to express that, while she did not view her parenting style as intense, she did not attempt to stay trendy for her children. 'I wouldn't say I'm particularly strict, necessarily, but I don't think I'm the cool mom,' she said. Mark Cuban revealed that he is planning to leave Shark Tank during a new episode of the All The Smoke podcast, which was released earlier this month. The 65-year-old entrepreneur has been a mainstay on the hit ABC program for over a decade, and he revealed that he only had 'one more year to go' with the show. The owner of the Dallas Mavericks, who revealed that he runs many of his own errands out of a concern for his privacy added: 'This is our 15th year, and next year, our 16th year, is going to be my last year.' Cuban then opened up about why he had remained on Shark Tank for so long and stated that he was particularly fond of the show's concept. 'I love it because it sends the message the American dream is alive and well,' he stated. End of an era: Mark Cuban revealed that he is planning to leave Shark Tank during a new episode of the All The Smoke podcast, which was released earlier this month The entrepreneur also spoke about encountering hopefuls on Shark Tank who had viewed the program during their earlier years. He recalled: 'We've got people coming on saying I watched you when I was 10 years old. I'm like, f***.' Cuban went on to discuss his methods of selecting individuals to back as an investor. 'When someone walks in Shark Tank, you can tell if they are trying too hard. I have this rule: the longer the back story, the worse the deal,' he said. The film producer also spoke about what he wanted to see from hopefuls on the program. 'Tell me about your business, tell me why you are going to be successful. I look for ideas like, d***, why didn't I think of that,' he stated. Shark Tank is based on the Japanese television series Dragons' Den, and the show premiered in 2009. Cuban made his debut on Shark Tank during its second season, and he became a series regular on its following run. The end is near: The 65-year-old entrepreneur has been a mainstay on the hit ABC program for over a decade, and he revealed that he only had 'one more year to go' with the show; he is seen in 2019 Being honest: The owner of the Dallas Mavericks, who revealed that he runs many of his own errands out of a concern for his privacy added 'This is our 15th year, and next year, our 16th year, is going to be my last year' Sticking around: Cuban made his debut on Shark Tank during its second season, and he became a series regular on its following run; he is seen in January In the tank: Other personalities featured on the program include Kevin O'Leary, who has become affectionately known by the show's fans as Mister Wonderful, Barbara Corcoran and FUBU founder Daymond John Other personalities featured on the program include Kevin O'Leary, who has become affectionately known by the show's fans as Mister Wonderful, Barbara Corcoran and FUBU founder Daymond John. Gwyneth Paltrow, Bethenny Frankel and Alex Rodriguez have all appeared as guest investors during the show's run. Companies that have been featured on Shark Tank include Coffee Meets Bagel, Scrub Daddy and Ring, which was originally known as Doormat. Cuban, as well as several of the show's leads, have been nominated for various Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards for their work on the show. Love Island's Oliva Hawkins and Ella Thomas awkwardly rocked up to The Beauty Awards in the exact same dress on Monday. Both Olivia, 28, and Ella, 23, arrived at the HAC in London in a House of CB one-shoulder burgundy latex dress. The brunette beauties, both however, didn't let their outfit blunder stop them from shying away from the cameras. The girls' posed up a storm in their popular gown and ensured to turn heads as they stepped into the venue one after another. The dress featured an exceptionally high-split twist detailing, with the latex material made to cinch in their figures. Love Island's Oliva Hawkins, 28, (left) and Ella Thomas, 23, (right) awkwardly rocked up to The Beauty Awards in the exact same dress on Monday The brunette beauties, both however, didn't let their outfit blunder stop them from shying away from the cameras Olivia flashed her bronzed legs in the sexy outfit and teamed her look with perspex high-heels. She completed her outfit with a Louis Vuitton handbag and wore her black tresses down. Meanwhile, Ella opted for a gold strappy high-heels and a matching gold clutch bag to accessorise. Also attending the annual Beauty Awards was former Love Islanders Maura Higgins, Arabella Chi and Ekin-Su Culculoglu as they claimed the spotlight after making their way inside the venue. Olivia appeared on season nine of Love Island and was dumped on Day 45. Meanwhile, Ella appeared on season 10 of Love Island, the most recent series, where she met her boyfriend Tyrique Hyde. MailOnline revealed in September that Ella had joined the PrettyLittleThing family months after leaving the villa in third place. She signed a lucrative six-month contract as a brand ambassador with the fashion giant after starring in the summer series of the hit ITV2 dating show. Olivia flashed her bronzed legs in the sexy outfit and teamed her look with perspex high-heels Olivia posed up a storm at the annual star-studded Beauty Awards as she smiled on the red carpet She completed her outfit with a Louis Vuitton handbag and wore her black tresses down The girls' posed up a storm in their popular gown and ensured to turn heads as they stepped into the venue one after another (Olivia pictured) Meanwhile, Ella opted for a gold strappy high-heels and a matching gold clutch bag to accessorise Olivia appeared on season nine of Love Island and was dumped on Day 45 Meanwhile, Ella appeared on season 10 of Love Island, the most recent series, where she met her boyfriend Tyrique Hyde Ella joined the likes of previously Love Islanders Molly-Mae Hague, Indiyah Polack as well as La La Anthony and Jayda Cheaves and was pictured signing the contract at PLT's headquarters. The reality star will be creating exclusive social content for PLT as well as launching her own edit. Speaking of the signing, Ella said: To be an official PLT girl is an absolute dream come true a real 'pinch me moment'. 'I cannot contain my excitement so I am thrilled I can now shout about the news! I have such a strong love for fashion and I take so much pride in my outfit choices and combinations. 'Working as a full-time model before Love Island has meant I have an eye for detail, and importantly I have curated my own style. The PLT Ella-Edit is coming very soon - watch this space.' A trio of adult stars who have descended on the Gold Coast to film X-rated content with teenage boys during Schoolies Week have hit back at claims they're 'disgusting'. OnlyFans performers Kay Manuel, 21, Leilani May, 25, and Bonnie Blue, 24, say they have strict conditions for who can film with them, and will ensure no teenager appearing in their videos is underage or under the influence of drugs or alcohol. 'These people are 18 they're consenting adults,' Leilani told the Gold Coast Bulletin. 'They're not 17, we check ID, we have a process they are consenting and they are signing consent forms,' added Bonnie. The women also insisted they would not film with anyone drunk or on drugs. A trio of adult stars descending on the Gold Coast to film content with teenage Schoolies have hit back at claims they're 'disgusting'. (Pictured: Kay Manuel, Leilani May and Bonnie Blue) 'A lot of the comments we've got are, "You're going after them, they've been drinking and there's drugs involved" there's not,' Leilani said. 'The first thing we do is we tell them they can't drink until after filming. They have to be sober they're signing legal documents.' The women insisted the teens who appear in the videos will only perform sex acts they are comfortable with. Furthermore, the boys in the videos all requested to feature in the adult content, and were not 'recruited' from the Surfers Paradise party strip. It comes after the sex workers promised to sleep with dozens of young men aged over 18 - including virgins. 'These people are 18 they're consenting adults,' said Leilani May 'They're not 17, we check ID, we have a process they are consenting and they are signing consent forms,' added Bonnie Blue 'We're doing it with all the consent forms and making sure that they are 18,' said Kay Manuel The outrageous encounters are being filmed and sold online to paying subscribers. Kay and Bonnie told Daily Mail Australia they were excited to give Aussie graduates a good time on the Goldie. 'Lads are lads, they're 18, they're horny. I'm having fun with it!' exclaimed Bonnie, who is participating in the Schoolies stunt. The pair, who are joined by escort and porn star Leilani, boasted that their Schoolies romp will be a groundbreaking event in Australia. 'America has Spring Break, we have Schoolies, so everyone in Australia is gonna look at this and go, "Wow! I wanna see this!"' said Kay. 'All their friends will want to watch it,' added Bonnie. More than 20,000 teens are set to converge on the Gold Coast to toast the end of school, with festivities officially kicking off last weekend. (Three young men are pictured during Schoolies Week; it is not suggested they are participating in the filming of adult content) To ensure that everything safe, legal and professional, the women are checking the IDs of all participants, as well as having them sign extensive consent forms. Once the young men have presented their passport or driver's licence and signed all documents confirming their age and willing participation, they'll then be able to get down to business with the women on camera. Very little is off limits, from group sex to semi-anonymous acts popular at sex clubs. 'I've got a group of lads,' gushed Nottingham-born Bonnie. 'I live in the Hilton and it's filled with Schoolies.' 'We're giving them the option to do what they wanna do,' explained Kay. The sex workers promised to sleep with dozens of young men aged over 18 - including virgins 'A lot of them have hit us up in groups saying that they want to do a group thing, which is completely fine with us,' she continued. 'But I've had a few guys that just want to do one-on-one, but so far it's just been on a casting couch.' Kay has even received enquiries from virgins excited to have sex for the first time. Sharing some of the text messages on TikTok, one read, 'It's my mission to lose my virginity at Schoolies, reckon we can make some content to help me fix that?' Another message read, 'Might have to hook myself and the lads up. I know the work bros would be keen. Pretty common subject at smoko.' Despite the enthusiasm of many young men, the stunt has also sparked backlash online, with dozens of people on social media branding Kay and her cohorts 'degenerates' for sleeping with barely legal boys. One of the sets being used for the racy films is pictured To ensure that everything safe, legal, and professional, the women are checking the IDs of all participants, as well as having them sign extensive consent forms 'Going to a place with fresh 18-year-olds to try make content with them is just sad,' wrote one. 'Where's the self respect?' asked another, while one wrote, 'Hope I don't have a daughter.' Kay and Bonnie told Daily Mail Australia they're completely unfazed by the backlash and they refuse to let it ruin their raunchy weekend. 'When you're a sex worker, regardless of what you're doing, whether you're working with 18-year-olds or 50-year-olds, you're gonna get negative comments,' said Bonnie. 'As long as it's legal and they're of age, personally I'm not bothered,' she continued. 'You can have sex at eighteen, so why can't they be excited about it? Why can't we be excited about it?' Kay added, 'It's all legal, we're doing it with all the consent forms and making sure that they are eighteen. 'I'm only 21, so there's only three years difference between me and them.' The pair also said they have no shame when it comes to their friends and family finding out about their outrageous antics. 'I'm just excited,' said Bonnie, who hails from England. 'All my family are aware of my line of work.' More than 20,000 teens are set to converge on the Gold Coast to toast the end of school, with festivities officially kicking off last weekend. Volunteers from the Safer Schoolies initiative and Red Frogs are patrolling around the most popular areas, providing support to those who need it. With live music, DJs and a lot of people letting off steam after finishing high school, the main aim of everyone is to have a lot of fun. 'We have sold out for Week 1, with capacity back to pre-Covid levels for the first time this year,' Schoolies.com CEO Matt Lloyd told the Gold Coast Bulletin. The two-week event is expected to be worth around $30million to the local economy. The Gold Coast is by far the most popular destination, with alternatives such as Sunshine Coast, Airlie Beach and Byron Bay quite a way behind. Some students splash out for a trip abroad to places such as Fiji or Bali. Bake Off star Manon Lagreve has revealed she is pregnant with her second child. The French cook, 31, - who starred on the series in 2018 - shared the happy news on Monday that her and her husband Luke Bennett will be adding to their brood in spring. The couple already share two-year-old daughter Fleur who is 'excited' to become a big sister. Sharing the news on Instagram she penned: 'I have some exciting news to share! Luke and I are expecting a new addition to our family . 'Fleur is very excited to become a big sister in the Spring!' Great British Bake Off star Manon Lagreve has revealed she is pregnant with her second child (seen with husband Luke Bennett and daughter Fleur, two) The French cook, 31, - who starred on the series in 2018 - shared the happy news on Monday that her and her husband Luke will be adding to their brood in spring (seen with Fleur) She told Hello! Magazine of the second pregnancy: 'Fleur is very excited. She says: ''baby in the tummy'' in French, and gives it kisses and strokes.' Manon is 24 weeks pregnant and due to give birth at the end of March. The couple have already found out the gender but are keeping it a secret to surprise their families. 'We needed to know we couldn't wait until the birth to find out. Also, it's great for Fleur to know because she can really bond with the bump', she added to the publication. Manon married her partner Luke in a picturesque ceremony at a French chateau in her hometown, Louvigne-du-Desert last June. The baker tied the knot with her British fiance, with the couple's beautiful baby daughter Fleur - who was 12 months at the time - serving as a flower girl. Manon took to Instagram after to offer an intimate glimpse at her nuptials and shared an array of stunning snaps documenting their fairytale wedding and her breath-taking bridal gown. The couple's daughter Fleur served as a flower girl on their special day, wearing a dress with 'I love you Mom and Dad' sweetly embroidered on the back in French. Manon was every inch the beautiful bride as she stepped out in a gorgeous off-the-shoulder white gown with bardot sleeves with a cut-out and white heeled sandals. Manon married her partner Luke in a picturesque ceremony at a French chateau in her hometown, Louvigne-du-Desert last June She told Hello! Magazine of the second pregnancy: 'Fleur is very excited. She says: ''baby in the tummy'' in French, and gives it kisses and strokes' The couple have already found out the gender but are keeping it a secret to surprise their families (seen last summer) The newlyweds appeared to be in jovial spirits as photographs taken during the church ceremony showed Manon beaming as they exchanged their vows in front of their loved ones. Other pictures saw Luke carrying Manon out of the chateau while their friends and family showered them in confetti, while they then posed for more professional wedding photos outside. The couple and their guests then celebrated their union in a fun-filled wedding reception in a marquee, where they danced the night away with their loved ones. Manon - who made it to week eight of Bake Off back in 2018 - shared an array of their wedding photographs to her Instagram page and captioned the post: 'Officially got married today in my home town.' She wrote: 'We welcomed the wedding party the night before. Luke had a little BBQ with his family and friends and I had a French buffet with my bridesmaids and their hubbies in the chateau.' In a follow-up post, she revealed that she hadn't slept the night before and neither had her infant daughter Fleur, saying that 'strong coffee' kept her awake throughout the jam-packed day. Manon arrived at her lavish wedding ceremony in a blue Porsche and Manon revealed that her father had driven her to the ceremony in the vehicle. Manon and Luke's wedding came after they welcomed their first child in June 2021. She took to Instagram at the time to announce that she welcomed a 'happy and healthy' baby girl named Fleur Camille, on June 20. The French baker also shared the first photos of the tiny newborn, and included the first moment she gave her daughter skin-to-skin. Manon wrote alongside the trio of photographs: 'Fleur Camille Bennett. 'Born on Father's Day 20th June 2021, all happy and healthy. A little lady who took us by surprise when she decided to come! We love her very much already.' Back in April 2021, the baker had celebrated seven months of pregnancy, and joked about having 'baby brain'. Manon penned: '7 months pregnant, can't believe in 2 months we'll be parents, and we'll have our own baby!!! 'I kept telling friends that I have tended to so many babies, that it is going to be so interesting to see how I react to ours. 'Also baby brain is going strong, and I feel like I forget 10 times a day what I am meant to do.' Manon and Luke's wedding came after they welcomed their first child together Fleur in June 2021 Luke popped the question in November 2020 while the couple were on a romantic trip to Barbados Luke popped the question in November 2020 while the couple were on a romantic trip to Barbados. The French baker confirmed at the time that her boyfriend had 'dropped to one knee' with a stunning sapphire ring shortly after they arrived at their boutique hotel during the Caribbean holiday. Manon admitted it had not been a surprise, saying: 'We'd been talking about getting married for a while. It was love at first sight... 'We were boyfriend and girlfriend after two weeks and I moved in with him within four months. When you find the one, you just know.' Gregg Wallace has weighed in on friend Grace Dent's shock departure from I'm A Celebrity. The MasterChef stars have worked alongside each other for a decade and speaking at the Rose d'Or Awards on Monday night, he weighed in on the drama. Amid concerns the food critic, 50, was struggling with eating in the jungle, Gregg mused: 'Listen she has been a guest judge on MasterChef many times and I am sure she can cope with a bit of dodgy food in the jungle. 'I don't think that is the reason she has gone.' Yet the former greengrocer, 59, confessed: ' I don't know why she has left. John Torode told me about it. I hope she is OK.' Gregg Wallace has weighed in on friend Grace Dent's shock departure from I'm A Celebrity, shutting down a fan theory that she was struggling with the food in the jungle Fans had been left concerned for the food critic, 50, after she had begun to look 'scarily unwell' during her time in the jungle During Monday's episode of I'm A Celeb, Grace left her campmates in tears with a heartbreaking goodbye letter. Fans had been left concerned for her after she had begun to look 'scarily unwell' during her time in the jungle - and it was announced she had quit the show for good earlier on Monday. On Sunday evening Grace was nominated for latest trial Down The Tubes with This Morning host Josie Gibson, only to pull out on medical grounds. She left a farewell message for her emotional campmates in the form of a laminated letter, which was read aloud by a teary Nick Pickard. Grace admitted she believed she had 'let down' her campmates and said her heart was 'broken' following her exit as the campmates found out she had left the jungle for the first time. The full statement read: 'My Dear campmates, I'm so sorry to let you down. I have left the camp for medical reasons. 'My heart is broken, I have loved and enjoyed getting to know you all. You've held me up and it's been a pleasure being your friend through this experience. 'Leaving you all at this stage will be one of the saddest things in my life. I love you all. Your friend, Miss Grace Dent.' The letter was met with an outpouring of emotion from her fellow campmates, who chorused: 'We love you Grace!' as EastEnders's Danielle was also reduced to tears. Marvin exclaimed: 'She hasn't let us down,' while Nella Rose said: 'She's like my pillar of strength. My little fairy godmother. As long as she's happy I'm happy.' Later on the group made a thoughtful toast to Grace over dinner as they enjoyed the meal Josie and Danielle had won in the trial. Taking to X, formerly Twitter, viewers were also moved by the note, and wished Grace had more screentime while she was on the show. One said: 'The campmates talking about Grace was lovely. It is a pity she didnt get more airtime to see that side of her.' Grace left her campmates teary-eyed with a heartbreaking goodbye letter on Monday night's episode of I'm A Celebrity, read out by Nick Pickard Fans all wished Grace had been given more screentime as she left a sweet note for her campmates EastEnders's Danielle Harold was reduced to tears at the news of Grace's departure Nella Rose said Grace had been her 'fairy godmother' and they had bonded over their jungle experience Another added: 'Its a shame we didnt see much of Grace, sounds like everyone thought a lot of her but we saw absolutely nothing.' A third said: 'yeah we didnt see much of grace but the celebs spent all day every day with her, she obviously made a big impact on them all which is so sweet, bless danielle getting upset over it :((' However one noted: 'Grace said more in that letter than in any episode this series!' The food critic caught a flight back to the United Kingdom on Monday after seven days in camp, hours after pulling out of the show's latest Bushtucker Trial. Grace had sparked concern among ITV viewers, with many commenting on her gaunt appearance and pale, drawn complexion prior to her abrupt departure. But sources claim her ordeal in the makeshift jungle camp 'was a mental battle rather than physical and after a couple of days of rest and recovery she will be fine.' On Monday it was revealed she had decided to leave after 'losing all her energy' in camp and reaching breaking point as she faced the prospect of doing another Bushtucker Trial. Within three hours of the announcement being made Grace was spotted at Brisbane Airport as she made her return to the United Kingdom. The food critic refused to talk to press at the airport and kept her head down as she rushed through the terminal. Grace failed to raise a smile as she waited to check in and was spotted repeatedly rubbing her elbow as she waited in line. An ITV statement read: 'Unfortunately Grace Dent has left the show on medical grounds. She has been a great campmate and will be missed by her fellow celebrities and viewers alike' (Grace is pictured just before entering camp with her trademark red lipstick) On Sunday Grace was nominated for latest trial Down The Tubes with This Morning host Josie Gibson , only to pull out on medical grounds (pictured at Brisbane airport on Monday) At one point she was spotted using her phone as a mirror after she had sparked concerns among viewers with her 'unwell' appearance in the jungle. She took advantage of having her creature comforts returned and sported her trademark red lipstick. Grace was casually clad for her flight, sporting a black vest top and loose fitting jeans. After checking in Grace was down the escalator through a VIP entrance by her security team. Poll Who will win I'm A Celebrity this year? Nigel Farage Sam Thompson Fred Sirieix Marvin Humes Frankie Dettori Danielle Harold Grace Dent Nick Pickard Jamie Lynn Spears Josie Gibson Tony Bellew Nella Rose Who will win I'm A Celebrity this year? Nigel Farage 13324 votes Sam Thompson 5425 votes Fred Sirieix 3614 votes Marvin Humes 939 votes Frankie Dettori 1133 votes Danielle Harold 1195 votes Grace Dent 496 votes Nick Pickard 367 votes Jamie Lynn Spears 886 votes Josie Gibson 4677 votes Tony Bellew 1007 votes Nella Rose 683 votes Now share your opinion An insider has since revealed to MailOnline that Grace's jungle exit was mutually decided between Grace and show bosses, who had intervened after seeing her visible deterioration in camp. A source close to the MasterChef star revealed: 'Grace decided to leave the jungle soon after it was announced that she would be doing the latest Bushtucker Trial. 'Knowing that she would be facing another tough challenge was the straw that broke the camel's back.' They continued: 'It was mutually agreed that she would stand down from the competition, it was clear that she wasn't being herself, she had lost all energy when usually she's witty and fun to be around. 'ITV's duty of care and welfare teams had stepped in, and rightly so. 'She had struggled since living in the camp with less amenities, the weather this year has been particularly miserable and as a restaurant critic, not eating well proved to be harder than she could have ever imagined. 'Grace is looking forward to seeing her loved ones now and after a few days of rest and recovery will be fine.' Grace has struggled since kicking off her journey filming the Pole Position trial on Friday, November 24 and last week threatened to quit the show. ITV confirmed her departure on Monday with a statement that read: 'Unfortunately Grace Dent has left the show on medical grounds. She has been a great campmate and will be missed by her fellow celebrities and viewers alike.' Grace quit I'm A Celebrity after 'losing all her energy' in camp and reaching breaking point as she faced the prospect of doing another Bushtucker Trial (pictured on Sunday's show) Paris Hilton kept her baby daughter secret from her family until she introduced them to her on Thanksgiving. The television personality, 42, announced last week she had welcomed a baby girl named London - her second child with husband Carter Reum - via surrogate. Paris spoke for the first time since the surprise announcement as she appeared on Live Kelly and Mark on Monday. Paris told the hosts: 'My Thanksgiving was amazing. Of course, that's when I surprised the whole family with London.' She went on to reveal she and husband Carter, 42, ushered her family into her living room at around 5pm and told them she had a big surprise for them. Paris Hilton kept her baby daughter secret from her family until she introduced them to her on Thanksgiving The television personality, 42, announced last week she had welcomed a baby girl named London - her second child with husband Carter Reum - via surrogate Paris explained they all thought she had hired a magician to entertain the children and they were stunned when she brought out her newborn daughter. Paris added: 'Everyone thought a magician was coming. Like, we have a performer coming in. So everyone's all excited. 'Then, I [walked] in just holding like a pink blanket and the baby, and everybody was sitting there like, "What?'" 'Everyone was just - they couldn't believe it. It was the best Thanksgiving I've ever had in my life.' Paris also spoke of how her 10-month-old son Phoenix was. 'He's 10-months-old. I'm hoping they're just one grade apart because I want the big brother to be watching over the little sister at school', she said. 'I can tell he knows [she's his sister]. He's so sweet and gentle with her. It's so cute. I'd be like "this is your little sister London" and he will gently put his hand out and rub her face. 'I'm in heaven. I just feel like my life is complete.' Paris spoke for the first time since the surprise announcement as she appeared on Live Kelly and Mark on Monday Happy Thanksgiving! Paris told the hosts: ' My Thanksgiving was amazing. Of course, that's when I surprised the whole family with London' Family get-together: Paris shared a snap of her huge turkey as she celebrated Thanksgiving with her son Phoenix after revealing she is now a mother-of-two In a separate interview Paris admitted her mum Kathy and sister Nicky knew she was planning to have another baby, but they didn't know when it was going to happen. On the Today show, she explained: 'The only people who knew were, obviously, Carter, and my mum and my sister. 'My parents did not know when it was happening but knew it was going to happen.' Paris aded to the hosts: 'She is just a little angel and my life just feels so complete with my little baby boy and my baby girl. We're just over the moon.' During an installment of her I am Paris podcast, the TV star revealed she's always wanted to have a daughter named London. She said: 'I've always wanted to name my daughter London. I had actually picked that name for a long time now, probably over 10 years. I always wanted London. I love that name for my daughter.' At 5ft10 he's an inch taller than the average British male. Yet Rod Stewart couldn't measure up to his statuesque family members as he enjoyed a night out with 6ft1 wife Penny Lancaster and their 6ft4 son Alistair at The Maine in Mayfair on Monday. The rocker, 78, famously sang about his love of Hot Legs and was no doubt sent wild by Penny's as she put hers on full display in a black mini dress. The model, 52, pulled out all the stops as she and rock star Rod, 78, took Alistair out to celebrate his 18th birthday. She gave herself a few extra inches in a pair of sparkling heels as she showed off her toned legs and strutted her stuff outside the celebrity hotspot venue. Rod Stewart was dwarfed by 6ft4 son Alistair as the 5ft10 rocker took his son out for his 18th birthday at The Maine in Mayfair on Monday Penny Lancaster looked as glamorous as ever as she stepped out alongside Rod on the night The family were also joined by Alastair's girlfriend Eloise Darlington and they were seen putting on a very loved-up display as he sweetly lifted her into the air Meanwhile, Rod looked as trendy as ever in a black shirt and trousers, styled with a bold red animal print blazer and coordinated suit shoes. He kept warm amid the chilly temperatures in a black jacket with an extravagant faux-fur collar as he joined his family for the night out. Birthday boy Alastair cut a dapper figure in a beige suit and a white shirt, which he paired with suave black loafers. The family were also joined by his girlfriend Eloise Darlington and they were seen putting on a very loved-up display as he sweetly lifted her into the air. Alastair was seen sweetly walking hand-in-hand with Eloise before they shared a close hug, with Alastair then picking up his girlfriend. The couple were giggling as Alastair carried her along the pavement during the jovial night out on the town. The family were all seen heading off together in their vehicle at the end of the night, with Alastair playfully posing for the cameras. Penny also took to Instagram on Monday to share a gushing tribute to her eldest son Alastair on his 18th birthday. She shared an array of throwback snaps of herself and Rod with Alastair over the years and gushed over her 'wonderful' son in a caption. Penny, 52, pulled out all the stops as she and rock star Rod, 78, stepped out after a night at The Maine in Mayfair with Alastair for his milestone birthday For the occasion, Penny put on a very leggy display in a black mini dress embellished with gold buttons and a stylish jacket Alastair put on a very cosy display with his girlfriend Eloise as she joined the family to celebrate her boyfriend's 18th birthday Alastair appeared to be having the time of his life as he picked up his girlfriend in the air in a sweet gesture Alastair appeared thrilled to be celebrating his birthday as he flashed a huge smile and picked Eloise up They looked as loved-up as ever as Eloise threw her arms around a very animated Alastair Alastair appeared to be in jovial form as he celebrated his birthday with his girlfriend The couple sweetly walked hand-in-hand as they showed their close connection Eloise cut a glamorous figure in a black mini dress, which she styled with black heeled boots and a brown leather jacket She cut a very glamorous display in her stylish ensemble as she joined the family for the night out Alastair had a great night out with his father Rod as the pair appeared to be in jovial spirits Rod sweetly posed with his son Alastair as they all joined together to celebrate his birthday Penny gave herself a few extra inches in a pair of sparkling heels as she showed off her toned legs Rod and Penny were in jovial spirits as they flashed huge smiles at the end of their big night out Rod and Penny, who got married back in 2007, looked as close as ever as they celebrated with their son Penny put on a very sophisticated display as she headed off after the night of celebrations Alastair playfully posed for the camera as they headed home in their car at the end of the night Penny also took to Instagram on Monday to share a gushing tribute to her eldest son Alastair on his 18th birthday She shared an array of throwback snaps of herself and Rod with Alastair over the years and gushed over her 'wonderful' son in a caption She wrote: 'My beautiful first born son that I had dreamt of for 34 years of my life, came to me as a gift that I have always treasured. Happy 18th birthday' She wrote: 'My beautiful first born son that I had dreamt of for 34 years of my life, came to me as a gift that I have always treasured. Happy 18th birthday. So proud of the wonderful man you have become xxxx.' Penny and the Sailing hitmaker also share another son Aiden, 12, while Rod also has another six children from previous relationships. Rod welcomed his eldest child, a daughter Sarah Streeter, in 1963 when he was 17 years old with his then-partner Susannah Boffey. He went on to welcome daughter Kimberly, 44, and son Sean, 43, with his ex-wife Alana Stewart, who he split from in 1984. Rod also shares Ruby, 36, with former model Kelly Emberg, and has a daughter Renee, 31, and son Liam, 29, with New Zealand model Rachel Hunter. Gigi Hadid stepped out in a 90s-inspired ensemble as she enjoyed a dinner date in Paris on Monday night. The supermodel, 28, donned a green and white L'art & Systemic fleece worth 180 as she headed for a bite to eat at Al-Ajami Lebanese restaurant in the French capital. The catwalk queen paired the jacket with a pair of black corduroy trousers with silk trimming down the sides. Gigi opted for comfort with a pair of black and white Adidas Sambas to finish the look. Adding a hint of glam, the style maven accessorised her look with a chic black leather handbag and a pair of black sunglasses. Gigi Hadid stepped out in a 90s-inspired ensemble as she enjoyed a dinner date in Paris on Monday night The supermodel, 28, donned a green and white L'art & Systemic fleece worth 180 as she headed for a bite to eat at Al-Ajami Lebanese restaurant in the French capital Clipping her platinum blonde locks back in a hair claw, the icon looked sensational as the ultimate 90s fashion throwback. The outing comes after Gigi and actor Bradley Cooper enjoyed a theatre date night out at an Off-Broadway play last week. According to Page Six, the model and the actor, 48, saw Danny And The Deep Blue Sea, which stars Aubrey Plaza and Chris Abbott. The fun excursion follows a report that Bradley and Gigi were introduced by his former partner and the mother of his daughter, Irina Shayk, 37. 'Gigi was introduced to Bradley through Irina [Shayk] and their mutual friends in the industry,' a source told The Messenger on Wednesday. 'Gigi and Irina have been close over the years while working together, and Gigi and Bradley have hung out before, but it has always been friendly in social settings,' the source continued. Bradley and Irina, who split in 2019 after four years together, share a six-year-old daughter, Lea, while Gigi co-parents her three-year-old daughter Khai, with ex Zayn Malik. 'Gigi and Bradley were in touch recently, and were bonding over their daughters, when Bradley asked her out,' the source said, before adding,' He pursued her and she was definitely interested and excited'. The catwalk queen paired the jacket with a pair of black corduroy trousers with silk trimming down the sides Earlier this year, Gigi was linked with Leonardo DiCaprio, and her new romance with Bradley is calling for something a bit more low-key. 'They have been casually seeing each other but it is extremely new,' the source continued. 'Gigi has expressed she does not want a serious relationship. 'They have a lot in common, and both relate to being parents in the industry. She wants to get into acting and is intrigued by Bradley's perspective and guidance. It is very casual at this point.' As for Bradley, insiders say his interest in the catwalk queen is off the charts. A source told DailyMail.com exclusively that the performer is 'very excited' about a love match and that Gigi is 'exactly his type.' 'He hasn't felt this excitement about a woman in a very long time,' the source added. Married At First Sight UK star Mark Kiley has claimed appearing on the show left him 'unemployed and single'. The customer service manager, 36, signed up for the series with dreams of finding Mr Right, and soon tied the knot with Sean Malkin. Unfortunately the pair's relationship didn't work out, with both admitting they were struggling to find an emotional connection. And in an interview with The Sun, Mark revealed he's been forced to take a 7,000 pay cut to return to his old jobs, after hoping he'd be 'living the high life' following his appearance on the show. He said: 'When I went on the show, I quit my job and I missed a prepaid holiday that I spent 1,700 on. I left everything to do this, only to come out with nothing. Married At First Sight UK star Mark Kiley has claimed appearing on the show left him 'unemployed and single' The customer service manager signed up for the series with dreams of finding Mr Right, and soon tied the knot with Sean Malkin 'I know it was my choice but it felt like I was mis-sold this dream that it would work and I would say goodbye to my normal life.' When contacted by MailOnline, a Channel 4 spokesman said: 'All contributors are thoroughly prepped for the experience of being on Married at First Sight UK, a prominent TV reality series. 'We stress to all cast that the series should not be seen as a vehicle to gain fame or celebrity and warn against unrealistic expectations of this nature.' Mark explained that he spent ten years single, and decided to sign up for MAFS UK, but claimed bosses were more focused on 'creating drama' than finding love. He went onto say that bosses took tips from Love Island to boost ratings, and he was told that 'intruder couples' would be introduced throughout the series to stir up drama. Questioning the divisive segment, Mark said he hopes that bosses ditch the idea next series, as it was 'ridiculous' entering the process at the halfway stage. Mark went onto claim that he was given tips by some of the other couples in a bid to get more airtime, and many of the stars were 'scouted by producers'. He also claimed that one couple agreed to remain friends early in the process, but kept up the pretence that they were in a relationship to stay on the show for longer. Mark revealed he's been forced to take a 7,000 pay cut to return to his old jobs, after hoping he'd be 'living the high life' following his appearance on the show Mark went onto claim that he was given tips by some of the other couples in a bid to get more airtime, and many of the stars were 'scouted by producers' A Channel 4 spokesman told MailOnline: 'MAFS UK is very much an unscripted reality series and what viewers see onscreen is an accurate depiction of the casts actions and opinions at the time.' Mark went onto reveal that bosses were forced to tighten curfew rules for the couples after they would stay out partying until the early hours. He said: 'When the curfew was brought in, you had to be back by 7pm and were allowed to be in other people's apartments until 10pm. 'Then the production team would go to check that everyone was in their apartments by knocking on their doors to see if they were still there.' A Channel 4 spokesman said: 'Each individual agrees to a standard of behaviour before commencing filming and we take appropriate action on a case-by-case basis if contributors fall below that standard.' Mark's time on MAFS UK came to a premature end when he and Sean decided to end their marriage, and he believes his husband 'wasn't ready' for a serious relationship. He went onto reveal that they are no longer in touch and he has unfollowed him on social media. Mark said that while many of the couples put on a front that they are all still close pals, in reality he's struggled to get in touch with many of them. E4 has confirmed that this year's couples have already reunited for one-off special that will air in 2024, after becoming the biggest streaming title across all broadcast and subscription video on demand, in its penultimate week. This follows from the news in September that the programme received its highest viewing figures ever. Now the cast will reunite in the English countryside for an explosive dinner party to see what happened after the show. Ella, Erica, Jordan, Paul, Shona, Thomas, Jay, Rozz, Georges, Matt, Peggy, Adrienne, Tasha and Laura will all be attending. The dramatic retreat will allow the brides and grooms to rehash old dramas and reveal if their relationships have stood the test of time. As well as the one off special, there will also be a fourth series airing next year with a new host of couples going into the experiment. E4 has confirmed that this year's couples have already reunited for one-off special that will air in 2024 The new reunion will air on E4 in 2024 ahead of the launch of Married at First Sight Australias latest series. However, one cast member that will not be invited is Luke Worley, after he was axed from the series after banging on the door of Jordan Gayle's apartment where he lived with wife Erica Roberts and starting a fight with his co-star. MailOnline recently revealed that Luke was told that he wasn't welcome to take part in the six-months-on special, which was filmed in a secret location in East Sussex earlier this month. A source told MailOnline: 'Luke's relationship with Channel 4 has deteriorated since his axing was aired. 'Not only did he come to blows with Jordan but he's also used threatening language towards him on social media, which of course the channel deems unacceptable. 'Luke has spoken out about his experiences filming the show and no doubt will do so again... the trust between him and Channel 4 has been lost. 'He doesn't feel great knowing that the majority of the cast are filming the special and his invite was well and truly retracted but they feel that right now his attitude is too difficult to manage.' Meanwhile, the reunion is also sure to touch on the new relationship that has blossomed between Shona Manderson and Matt Pilmoor. The duo tied the knot with Brad Skelly and Adrienne Naylor on the show, however their respective romances both ended leading to their union. Former TOWIE star Shelby Tribble has revealed she has had a breast cancer scare. The television personality, 30, went to her GP after making the discovery and was quickly told she needed to go to hospital for a biopsy. Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, Shelby wrote: 'I noticed a lump in my boob but didn't think anything of it (which is silly) I thought it had got bigger so went to my GP who referred me to be checked ASAP. 'They think the lump is a Fibroadenoma but I had a biopsy taken today just to be safe.' Shelby urged: 'Always check your boobies ladies for any bumps, lumps, changes and make sure you see the GP straight away.' Former TOWIE star Shelby Tribble has revealed she has had a breast cancer scare The television personality, 30, went to her GP after making the discovery and was quickly told she needed to go to hospital for a biopsy A fibroadenoma is a solid breast lump and is not cancerous. The former TOWIE star now faces an anxious wait for the results. Shelby previously spoke out about going under the knife to have a boob job after being bullied over her chest. The Miss Great Britain winner told The Sun: 'I'd look in the mirror and think I wasn't good enough. Being flat chested used to really bother me as a teenager I used to put fillers in my bra.' After wanting a boob job 'for a long time' the teenager waited in the hope that she would naturally develop larger breasts. When it didn't happen by the time Shelby turned 21, she turned to surgery and went under the knife aged 22 to turn her natural A cup to a C. The health scare comes after it was revealed last month Shelby and Sam Mucklow have split after four years together. The news may not come as a shock to fans, since the last photograph Shelby posted of herself and Sam together was back in June, during a family holiday. Shelby has also been hinting at problems on social media, writing in August: 'Go where you are celebrated not tolerated,' alongside a solo shot on a night out. The former TOWIE star now faces an anxious wait for the results. Shelby previously spoke out about going under the knife to have a boob job after being bullied over her chest Honest: After wanting a boob job 'for a long time' the teenager waited in the hope that she would naturally develop larger breasts' (pictured in throwback snap) The health scare comes after it was revealed last month Shelby and Sam Mucklow have split after four years together (Pictured with son Abel in June) Sparking speculation that she is single, she recently shared a TikTok video featuring audio that said: 'This is a song i wrote about men... It is called ew...' with the caption: 'Am I speaking for the majority of us at this point?'. A source told The Sun: 'They're still co-parenting their child together and want to keep things normal for Abel but the romantic relationship is over - Shelby's being supported by family and friends.' MailOnline has contacted Shelby and Sam's representatives for comment. Georgia Toffolo revealed that she is backing Josie Gibson to become Jungle Queen in I'm A Celebrity. The former 2017 champion, 29, told Steph McGovern on Tuesday during her C4 show, Steph's Packed Lunch, that she 'is a sucker for a Bristolian accent'. When asked who she thinks is the front winner for the show so far, the former Made In Chelsea star said: 'Gosh, good question. It is pretty hard, actually. 'Normally, I think by this stage there is a clear frontrunner, but I am a sucker for a Bristolian accent. I'm from the west, so hearing Josie on the tele every night, love it. 'So yeah, my money is on Josie right now'. Georgia Toffolo revealed that she is backing Josie Gibson as Jungle Queen in I'm A Celebrity on Steph's Packed Lunch on Tuesday and said the Bristolian is 'where her money is' The former 2017 champion, 29, told Steph that she 'is a sucker for Bristolian accent' Georgia went on to confirm that after forming a budding friendship with Stanley Johnson, they are still going strong nearly six years later. She revealed that Stanley is very good on his phone and the pair still Facetime every couple of weeks. 'He does the classic where he doesn't know he is on Facetime', she added. Georgia was pictured leaving the daily show's studios on Tuesday looking effortlessly chic - as usual. The TV personality showed off her envious figure in a racy pair of leather thigh-high boots and a thick knit jumper dress. The blonde beauty finished ensemble with a thin black belt and a brown backpack. It comes after Georgia confessed her love for boyfriend James Watt while in Mumbai last week. The star stopped off in the city with her boyfriend, 40, as they returned from the holiday to the Maldives. Georgia went on to confirm that after forming a budding friendship with Stanley Johnson, they are still going strong nearly six years later She revealed that Stanley is very good on his phone and the pair still Facetime every couple of weeks Georgia was pictured leaving the daily show's studios on Tuesday looking effortlessly chic - as usual. She showed off her envious figure in a racy pair of leather thigh-high boots The blonde beauty finished her legging display with a thin black belt and a brown backpack The loved-up pair were first linked over the summer after being set up on a blind date by a friend. During their trip, James took Georgia to one of his BrewDog bars in Mumbai where she filmed him making a speech on the bar. As he put the microphone down and jumped off the bar, Georgia could be heard saying, 'Woo, I love you James Watt!' Friends of the I'm A Celebrity winner told the Daily Mail that Toff and James were set up on a blind date over the summer by a mutual friend who thought they would be the perfect match. Toff is thought to have already been to Scotland to meet James's family and has visited him often at the BrewDog headquarters. A friend said: 'Toff has never been happier she is grinning from ear to ear and it is lovely to see. They have spent a lot of time together since meeting. They just hit it off instantly. 'It is no secret that she was devastated at her relationship with George finally ending. 'It took a while to run its course and there was a lot of heartache along the way. But Toff has got through that now and is loving her new life with her new love.' James has also been using his business expertise to help Toff with her recently launched raw pet food brand Wild Pack. Matthew Perry's family is encouraging his fans to pitch in and help others on Giving Tuesday. The late actor's loved ones - including stepfather Keith Morrison - established the Matthew Perry Foundation just days after the his death in late October at age 54. The purpose of the charity is to help others suffering from addiction, by 'identifying addiction as a disease, addressing the complex of stigmas that prevents individuals from seeking and accessing care, and fiercely advocating for better and more equitable treatment.' In a statement to People, the Friends star's family explained 'It is important to us, as a family, to honor Matthews legacy.' 'The potential that the Matthew Perry Foundation has to help those suffering from this disease is something we are proud to bring to the world.' Legacy: Matthew Perry's family is asking fans to honor the late actor's hopes for his legacy and donate to a foundation established in his honor (Pictured in West Hollywood in November 2022) Perry's step-father, Dateline reporter Keith Morrison stepped out of his comfort zone, posting a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, which read, 'This is not the sort of thing I commonly do, this pitch. But this year is different. And tomorrow is Giving Tuesday. Do what you can; he would have been grateful.' The website features a black and white photo of the late actor with a statement he made about his legacy. 'When I die, I don't want 'Friends' to be the first thing that's mentioned I want helping others to be the first thing that's mentioned. And I'm going to live the rest of my life proving that.' 'Addiction is far too powerful for anyone to defeat alone. But together, one day at a time, we can beat it down.' In his memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, Perry wrote he had attended 6,000 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and entered rehab 15 times. After being honored by the treatment center Phoenix House in 2015, Perry told The Hollywood Reporter, 'You can't have a drug problem for 30 years and then expect to have it be solved in 28 days,' referring to the length of time most insurance company's in the US will cover for substance abuse treatment. Actor and friend Hank Azaria credited the funnyman with accompanying him to his first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. 'Im a sober guy for 17 years, and I wanna say that, the night I went into AA, Matthew brought me in,' he wrote on social media. Foundation: The Matthew Perry Foundation was established in the days after the actor's death at age 54 (Pictured in West Hollywood in November 2022) Purpose: The purpose of the non-profit charity is to identify addiction as a disease, address the stigmas that prevent individuals from seeking and accessing care, and advocating for better and more equitable treatment (Pictured in Los Angeles in April) 'The whole first year I was sober, we went to meetings together,' The Simpsons actor said. 'He was so caring and giving and wise. And he totally helped me get sober. And I really wish he couldve, you know, found the found it in himself to stay with the silver life more consistently.' Although he never met Perry, comedian John Mulaney, who chronicled his own addiction struggle in his Netflix show Baby J, said he was affected by his death. 'Addiction is just a disaster,' he told Variety. Memoir: The actor wrote in depth about his struggles with addiction and the physical toll it took on his body in his memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing 'Life is like a wobbly table at a restaurant and you pile all this sh*t on it, and it gets wobblier and wobblier and more unstable. Then drugs just kick the f**king legs out from under the table. I really identified with his story. Im thinking about him a lot.' Matthew Perry died October 28, after being found unresponsive in the jacuzzi at his home. Police at the scene reported no sign of foul play. An autopsy has been conducted, but the results have not been released yet pending the results of a toxicology report. The Matthew Perry Foundation was established November 3. AA: After Perry's death, actor Hank Azaria credited the Friends star with accompanying him to his first Alcohol Anonymous meeting. 'He was so caring and giving and wise. And he totally helped me get sober,' he wrote in an online tribute (Pictured in New York in May) Identified: Although he never met Perry, comedian John Mulaney, who chronicled his own addiction struggle in his Netflix show Baby J, said he was affected by his death. I really identified with his story,' he told Variety. 'Im thinking about him a lot' Private funeral: Perry was laid to rest in a private funeral. All of his Friends co-stars; Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer, were in attendance A press release said it was formed 'In the spirit of Matthew Perry's enduring commitment to helping others struggling with the disease of addiction, we embark on a journey to honor his legacy by establishing the Matthew Perry Foundation, guided by his own words and experiences, and driven by his passion for making a difference in as many lives as possible.' The actor was laid to rest in a private funeral. All of his Friends co-stars; Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer, were in attendance. If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP. Fight jets in flight training China Military Online) 14:29, November 28, 2023 A fighter jet attached to an aviation brigade with the air force under the PLA Western Theater Command takes off in full power during an around-the-clock flight training exercise on November 20, 2023. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Yu Zeqi) (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan) Georgia Toffolo has admitted that she feels 'sick' at the thought of how many photos she has posted with her new flame James Watt since announcing their relationship. The former Made In Chelsea star, also known as Toff, 29, confirmed her romance with Brewdog CEO James, 40, with a slew of snaps on Instagram from their trip to Mumbai last week. And since revealing her new hunk, Georgia shared many PDA snaps of the pair with her fans - but it seems she has started to get a bit sick of it. The former I'm A Celeb jungle queen, in fact, has started to cringe at her public display of affection on Instagram and has told herself she needs to 'rein it in'. During an appearance on Tuesday's instalment of Steph's Packed Lunch, she was asked by Steph McGovern to share her recent good news with viewers at home. Georgia Toffolo, 29, has admitted that she feels 'sick' at the thought of how many photos she has posted with her new flame James Watt, 40, since announcing their relationship The former Made In Chelsea star, also known as Toff, confirmed her romance with James with a slew of snaps on Instagram from their trip to Mumbai last week Steph asked: 'And you've had some good news yourself haven't you? You and your boyfriend have gone public.' Georgia cringed: 'Oh gosh yeah, we did go quite public. 'I said to him last night "I think we need to rein it on a little bit", I'm actually making myself feel sick a little bit with the pictures', she joked. The loved-up pair were first linked over the summer after being set up on a blind date by a friend. During their trip, James took Georgia to one of his BrewDog bars in Mumbai where she filmed him making a speech on the bar. As he put the microphone down and jumped off the bar, Georgia could be heard saying, 'Woo, I love you James Watt!' Friends of the I'm A Celebrity winner told the Daily Mail that Toff and James were set up on a blind date over the summer by a mutual friend who thought they would be the perfect match. Toff is thought to have already been to Scotland to meet James's family and has visited him often at the BrewDog headquarters. And since revealing her new hunk, Georgia shared many PDA snaps of the pair with her fans - but it seems she has started to get a bit sick of it The former I'm A Celeb jungle queen, in fact, has started to cringe at her public display of affection on Instagram and has told herself she needed to 'rein it in' During an appearance on Tuesday's instalment of Steph's Packed Lunch, Georgia was asked by Steph McGovern to share her recent good news with viewers at home Steph asked: 'And you've had some good news yourself haven't you? You and your boyfriend have gone public' Georgia cringed: 'Oh gosh yeah, we did go quite public. I said to him last night "I think we need to rein it on a little bit", I'm actually making myself feel sick a little bit with the pictures' A friend said: 'Toff has never been happier she is grinning from ear to ear and it is lovely to see. They have spent a lot of time together since meeting. They just hit it off instantly. 'It is no secret that she was devastated at her relationship with George finally ending. 'It took a while to run its course and there was a lot of heartache along the way. But Toff has got through that now and is loving her new life with her new love.' James has also been using his business expertise to help Toff with her recently launched raw pet food brand Wild Pack. She also revealed on the Channel 4 programme that she is backing Josie Gibson to become Jungle Queen in I'm A Celebrity. The former 2017 champion told Steph that she 'is a sucker for a Bristolian accent'. When asked who she thinks is the front winner for the show so far, the former Made In Chelsea star said: 'Gosh, good question. It is pretty hard, actually. 'Normally, I think by this stage there is a clear frontrunner, but I am a sucker for a Bristolian accent. I'm from the west, so hearing Josie on the tele every night, love it. Georgia went on to confirm that after forming a budding friendship with Stanley Johnson, they are still going strong nearly six years later Georgia was pictured leaving the daily show's studios on Tuesday looking effortlessly chic - as usual. She showed off her envious figure in a racy pair of leather thigh-high boots The blonde beauty finished her legging display with a thin black belt and a brown backpack 'So yeah, my money is on Josie right now'. Georgia went on to confirm that after forming a budding friendship with Stanley Johnson, they are still going strong nearly six years later. She revealed that Stanley is very good on his phone and the pair still Facetime every couple of weeks. 'He does the classic where he doesn't know he is on Facetime', she added. Georgia was pictured leaving the daily show's studios on Tuesday looking effortlessly chic. The TV personality showed off her envious figure in a racy pair of leather thigh-high boots and a thick knit jumper dress. The blonde beauty finished ensemble with a thin black belt and a brown backpack. An attorney for Sofia Vergara has hit back after a former contractor for the star claimed she failed to pay a massive bill for work done on her LA mansion. In a statement obtained by DailyMail.com, Marty Singer, Vergara's lawyer, said: 'My client made claims against the contractor, Reside, several months before this specious lawsuit was filed. 'Sofia Vergaras claims were for significant overcharging by Reside, substandard and negligent work, and long delays seeking damages in excess of $5 million. 'We are confident that my client will prevail in this dispute.' Sofia is being sued by Reside Custom Homes, who allege she failed to pay a massive bill for construction done on her home. They claim she owes them over $1,700,492.64. An attorney for Sofia Vergara has hit back after a former contractor for the star claimed she failed to pay a massive bill for work done on her LA mansion In a statement, Stephen E. Foster, an attorney for RCH, told DailyMail.com: 'Reside Custom Homes was forced to sue Ms. Vergara for money that she has owed to RCH since March 2023 and that she promised RCH she would pay. 'For some seven months, despite repeated appeals by RCH for payment, Ms. Vergara never formally complained about the quality of RCHs work nor disputed any specific charge. Aware that RCH only had until November to file suit, in October Ms. Vergara had her long-time entertainment attorney write to RCH seeking to bully RCH into walking away from the money it and its hard-working subcontractors are owed. 'RCH is not, and will not be, deterred by baseless threats, and emphatically rejects Ms. Vergaras conjured-up, belated and convenient accusations. Unlike Ms. Vergara and her counsel, RCH will not litigate its claims against Ms. Vergara in letters, emails, or the media. Instead, RCH looks forward to having its dispute adjudicated by an impartial tribunal applying the law to the true facts, and RCH is confident it will prevail on the merits.' Speaking with TMZ, Marty claimed his client was actually the first one to send a demand letter. He says the letter was submitted on October 4. Marty added that the claims were never disputed by Reside, who are now suing Sofia. In the lawsuit obtained by TMZ, the company claimed the actress owed them $1,700,492.64 after she hired them for a job back in April 2022. The company alleges they were hired to do construction work on Vergara's lavish home in the Beverly Park neighborhood, but were never compensated despite her agreeing to pay for the project and additional contractor's fee. According to the lawsuit, the work was largely complete by December 2022, however Vergara then requested for more substantial improvements outside of their initial agreement, pushing the project into March 2023. Sofia moved back into the mansion in March. The Modern Family actress, 51, had requested clay plaster installed into three of her powder rooms, an office, the dining room walls, the cabana bathroom, and guest house living room. She also had wanted a flight of stairs removed and replaced. The contractor claims they initially fronted the cost of the additional work, and were promised by Vergara that she would follow through on paying for the improvements. In addition, RCH claims they were informed by the actress that she had approved an invoice for nearly $900K and had 'already' instructed her money manager to pay them. However, RCH alleges she never actually paid the bill and now owes them over a million dollars. Reside Custom Homes claims they are owed $1,700,492.64 by the actress after she hired them for a job back in April 2022, according to a lawsuit obtained by TMZ DailyMail.com has contacted representatives for Sofia for comment. Sofia had purchased the lavish home in 2020 with her then-husband, True Blood star Joe Manganiello. The Tuscan-style abode, which was built in 1999, has an impressive six bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, 17,000 square feet of space and two acres of land. The couple announced in July that they had separated and were divorcing after seven years of marriage. Only two days after announcing their split, the actor filed for divorce and noted their date of separation as July 2, while citing the reason for the end of their marriage as 'irreconcilable differences'. Sofia had purchased the lavish home in 2020 with her then-husband, True Blood star Joe Manganiello Vergara has since split up from her husband, True Blood actor Joe Manganiello The former couple did not have children together, but Sofia has a 32-year-old son from her previous marriage. The Modern Family star has been a judge on America's Got Talent since 2020. Sofia had a short trip to celebrate Thanksgiving as she spent the holiday with her neighbor Anastasia Soare, 65. She shared photos on Instagram of herself enjoying the holiday with Anastasia. Anastasia is known as the 'Eyebrow Queen' and is the founder the Anastasia Beverly Hills beauty brand. Sofia wore a dark brown dress with long sleeves and a short skirt for the gathering. 'Thanksgiving at the neighbor! thank u @anastasiasoare I luv u!,' Sofia wrote as a caption. Heidi Klum and daughter Leni posed up in lingerie again for a new festive Intimissimi campaign this week - six months after the ladies debuted as spokespeople for the brand, but were met with fierce backlash. The supermodel, 50, and her mini-me daughter, 19, showed off their fun sides as they posed in scarlet lingerie and blew kisses to the camera. Heidi flaunted her cleavage in a busty red bra teamed with ribbon underwear as she held onto a red parcel. Her locks were styled in soft waves and she sported smoky eye make-up. Leni flaunted her frame in a sheer bra as she hugged her mom. Heidi Klum and daughter Leni posed up in lingerie again for a new festive Intimissimi campaign this week - six months after the ladies debuted as spokespeople for the brand, but were met with fierce backlash The supermodel, 50, and her mini-me daughter, 19, showed off their fun sides as they posed in scarlet lingerie and blew kisses to the camera. Back in May, some fans felt uncomfortable with a mom posing in no clothing next to their teen child. One wrote: 'First thing I think of when I want to pose in my intimates: "my mom should be here!", with another replying: 'I know, kind of gross.' Another follower typed: 'I would not be proud to show my daughter off in this way. I would feel embarrassed and sad.' A third fan chimed: 'Somehow it's weird to see mother and daughter in underwear. I mean, how many were photographed like this with their mother.' 'It just looks weird', another added. However, other followers gushed over the campaign calling Heidi and Leni 'beautiful' and that they were a 'gorgeous family'. Intimissimi is an Italian clothing label founded in 1996, which specializes in bras, briefs, lingerie, vests, and pajamas for women and men. Intimissimi clothing was sold through Victoria's Secret's in a third-party partnership arrangement. Jennifer Lopez also models for the brand. The day before Leni looked comfortable in front of the camera as she wore her blonde hair down in black lingerie. Oh my: The mother-daughter duo posed up in lingerie for a new Toned: Leni posed with a gigantic bow as she put on a sultry display Glamour: The pair showed off their fun sides in a glam video Model moment: Leni posed up in black lingerie as she pouted for the camera Heidi and Leni have caused ructions with their underwear shoots Body by Leni: Leni posed in a revealing black lace lingerie over the weekend in Instagram photos Heidi and Leni were also seen last week at an event. It was an Intimissimi Dinner held in Berlin's Bode Museum in Germany. Heidi showcased her sense of style in a fuchsia long-sleeved mini dress with a high collar and floral print. Her daughter Leni, who is following in her mother's modelling footsteps, donned a daring black sheer bodysuit. Heidi's mother Erda was also in attendance. Leni's father is Italian businessman Flavio Briatore, however Heidi's ex-husband Seal later adopted her in December 2009 when she was five. Erna looked elegant in a black blazer which she paired with a leopard print top and a silver necklace. Year after year, Heidi makes headlines with her unforgettable and over-the-top Halloween costumes - and this year is already shaping up to be no exception. The catwalk queen teased her next haunting look on Thursday by sharing a clip of an artist sketching out a horror movie inspired poster featuring the model. Lingerie on the purple carpet too: Leni and her mom Heidi at the Intimissimi Dinner held in Berlin's Bode Museum last week Family: Leni and her mother with Heidi's mom Erna who wore cheetah Artist Josh Hernandez drew a creepy image of Heidi in orange chalk, and the results were posted to her Instagram account. The video showed the pain-staking detail Hernandez put into the artwork - which culminated in a lifelike and hair-raising image of Heidi with a frightening expression. 'Heidi Klum Halloween... coming soon,' the poster announced. As to be expected, Heidi kept her lips sealed on what exactly she was going to be this year in the caption. Instead, she included a string of Halloween-themed emojis. '#heidihalloween2023 #comingsoon Artwork by @mad.charcoal,' she added. What's she going to be this year? Heidi teased her next Halloween costume on Thursday Heidi has vowed that her 2023 Halloween costume will be as 'extra' as ever - which is saying a lot in the wake of the seven-foot-tall, realistically textured earthworm suit she donned for last year's festivities. 'It's going to be extra. It's going to be really extra,' she exclusively told DailyMail.com from the America's Got Talent red carpet. The AGT judge added that she's lost sleep agonizing over the concept for her next costume, which is set to follow a decades-long streak of headline-making Halloween disguises for the former Victoria's Secret model. 'I have had sleepless nights over it. You know me,' she said of making the decision. Kendall Jenner has landed on the cover of Forbes magazine this month for the 'Special Issue' called 30 Under 30 for the 'class of 2023.' The 28-year-old Vogue model was recognized for her role as an 'entrepreneur' as she is the founder of 818 Tequila, which has been a success story since its launch over two years ago. So far Kendall is the third member of the Kardashian/Jenner clan to land the prestigious Forbes cover. Kim Kardashian graced the front of Forbes in 2016 for being a 'mobile mogul' with her online games which made her a fortune. Kylie Jenner did it in 2018 for making $1B off Kylie Cosmetics, though there was a brouhaha over her not quite being a billionaire yet, which the publication claimed at the time. The magazine later argued they were tricked into believe she was a billionaire but soon after Kylie did officially cross the B mark and all was forgotten. Kendall Jenner has landed on the cover of Forbes magazine this month for the 'Special Issue' called 30 Under 30 for the 'class of 2023.' The 28-year-old Vogue model was recognized for her role as an 'entrepreneur' as she is the founder of 818 Tequila Kim Kardashian graced the front of Forbes in 2016 for being a 'mobile mogul' with her online games. Kylie Jenner did it in 2018 for making $1B off Kylie Cosmetics, though there was a brouhaha over her not quite being a billionaire yet, which the publication claimed at the time they went to print. They later argued they were tricked but soon after Kylie did cross the B mark. A star does not need to be a billionaire to land on the cover of Forbes, rather they just need to show savvy business know how. Kendall - who, according to Celebrity Net Worth, is worth $60M - fits the bill because 818 has taken off internationally. In her cover story she talked about making sure the brand had superior quality that did not rely on her star power to sell. 'I wanted the liquid and the brand to stand on their own and for people to love it without me even having to be a part of it because I just wanted it to be that good,' said the Calabasas resident. And she also touched on having her mom Kris Jenner managing her career, which she said can be trying at times. 'Obviously, my mom is my mom, but she's also my manager,' began the supermodel who calls her best pals Gigi Hadid and Hailey Bieber. Jenner then got more specific: 'We have moments, when we're talking on the phone, and we're talking about business, maybe having a heated conversation about something, and then all of a sudden, she's like, "Okay I love you how are you feeling today?" and I'm like, "Oh my god yeah you're my mom too!"' Jenner has used her pinup bikini body to promote 818 tequila The brand pushes fun-loving good times with friends Kris also manages her siblings Kourtney, Kim, Khloe, Rob and Kylie. The TV star said she was careful with selecting which type of business to launch in 2021. 'I find myself to be a very intentional person,' said Jenner meaning she did not rush into 818 blindly. 'I don't want to do anything that doesn't align with my vibes, or my morals, or my feelings and things that really make me feel good and make me feel excited to wake up in the morning,' she added. 'And I had to work to get to that place, it wasn't always that easy.' And though she has not even hit 30 yet, Jenner had some advice for her younger self, which is to slow down and enjoy her life. That makes sense as she has suffered from anxiety in recent years over the pressure of her jam-packed career: she stars on her family show, has a robust modeling career, runs 818 and is a spokesperson for brands like Moon. Kendall, who goes by Kenny in her family, left, still stars on The Kardashians and is often grouped with her younger sister Kylie Jenner, right That advice is: 'Stop and smell the roses when you can, as cheesy as that sounds. But I would also tell her, enjoy the ride, it's going to be a beautiful one.' Sustainably produced from one hundred percent Weber Blue agaves, 818 Tequila features three variations a Blanco, Reposado and Anejo. In its first year, 818 Tequila became the best-selling new tequila brand of 2021 in the United States according to the Tequila Brand Family Ranking Report. On their California launch day in May 2021, 818 sold out online in less than four hours, with retailers across California reporting Blanco allotments selling out on the first day of sales. From its 1% for the Planet giveback to partnering with local, family-owned businesses in Jalisco, Mexico and sustainable suppliers, 818 Tequila embodies a consumer ethos. Produced using traditional methods in Jalisco, Mexico at a family owned and operated distillery, the brand has won 16 blind tasting awards across six major industry competitions. Grace Dent has arrived back in the UK after quitting I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! on medical grounds. The MasterChef star, 50, left the show after sparking concern among viewers with her 'gaunt' appearance. After a 24-hour flight, Grace appeared to be feeling the strain as she arrived at London's Heathrow Airport. Despite her early exit, ITV will still pay Grace her full fee, reported to be 100,000, as rules state a celebrity will be paid in full if they stay in camp for at least 72 hours. The food critic was dressed in a black polo neck, blue jeans and trainers, along with her famous red lip as she strolled through the terminal. Grace Dent has arrived back in the UK after quitting I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! on medical grounds The Masterchef star appeared to be feeling the strain after a 24-hour flight home, as she made her way through London Heathrow Airport Fans had been left concerned for Grace after she had begun to look 'scarily unwell' during her time in the jungle During Monday's episode of I'm A Celeb, Grace left her campmates in tears with a heartbreaking goodbye letter. Fans had been left concerned for her after she had begun to look 'scarily unwell' during her time in the jungle - and it was announced she had quit the show for good earlier on Monday. On Sunday evening Grace was nominated for latest trial Down The Tubes with This Morning host Josie Gibson, only to pull out on medical grounds. She left a farewell message for her emotional campmates in the form of a laminated letter, which was read aloud by a teary Nick Pickard. Grace admitted she believed she had 'let down' her campmates and said her heart was 'broken' following her exit as the campmates found out she had left the jungle for the first time. The full statement read: 'My Dear campmates, I'm so sorry to let you down. I have left the camp for medical reasons. 'My heart is broken, I have loved and enjoyed getting to know you all. You've held me up and it's been a pleasure being your friend through this experience. 'Leaving you all at this stage will be one of the saddest things in my life. I love you all. Your friend, Miss Grace Dent.' The food critic was dressed in a black polo neck, blue jeans and trainers, along with her famous red lip as she strolled through the terminal Grace cut a pensive figure as she made her through the airport after a long flight home Sources claim her ordeal in the makeshift jungle camp 'was a mental battle rather than physical and after a couple of days of rest and recovery she will be fine' Despite her early exit, ITV will still pay Grace her full fee , reported to be 100,000, as rules state a celebrity will be paid in full if they stay in camp for at least 72 hours The food critic caught a flight back to the United Kingdom on Monday after seven days in camp, hours after pulling out of the show's latest Bushtucker Trial The letter was met with an outpouring of emotion from her fellow campmates, who chorused: 'We love you Grace!' as EastEnders' Danielle was also reduced to tears. Marvin exclaimed: 'She hasn't let us down,' while Nella Rose said: 'She's like my pillar of strength. My little fairy godmother. As long as she's happy I'm happy.' Later on the group made a thoughtful toast to Grace over dinner as they enjoyed the meal Josie and Danielle had won in the trial. The food critic caught a flight back to the United Kingdom on Monday after seven days in camp, hours after pulling out of the show's latest Bushtucker Trial. Grace had sparked concern among ITV viewers, with many commenting on her gaunt appearance and pale, drawn complexion prior to her abrupt departure. But sources claim her ordeal in the makeshift jungle camp 'was a mental battle rather than physical and after a couple of days of rest and recovery she will be fine.' On Monday it was revealed she had decided to leave after 'losing all her energy' in camp and reaching breaking point as she faced the prospect of doing another Bushtucker Trial. Within three hours of the announcement being made Grace was spotted at Brisbane Airport as she made her return to the United Kingdom. The food critic refused to talk to press at the airport and kept her head down as she rushed through the terminal. Grace failed to raise a smile as she waited to check in and was spotted repeatedly rubbing her elbow as she waited in line. On Sunday Grace was nominated for latest trial Down The Tubes with This Morning host Josie Gibson , only to pull out on medical grounds (pictured at Brisbane airport on Monday) At one point she was spotted using her phone as a mirror after she had sparked concerns among viewers with her 'unwell' appearance in the jungle. She took advantage of having her creature comforts returned and sported her trademark red lipstick. Grace was casually clad for her flight, sporting a black vest top and loose fitting jeans. After checking in Grace was down the escalator through a VIP entrance by her security team. Poll Who will win I'm A Celebrity this year? Nigel Farage Sam Thompson Fred Sirieix Marvin Humes Frankie Dettori Danielle Harold Grace Dent Nick Pickard Jamie Lynn Spears Josie Gibson Tony Bellew Nella Rose Who will win I'm A Celebrity this year? Nigel Farage 13333 votes Sam Thompson 5434 votes Fred Sirieix 3616 votes Marvin Humes 939 votes Frankie Dettori 1133 votes Danielle Harold 1197 votes Grace Dent 497 votes Nick Pickard 368 votes Jamie Lynn Spears 887 votes Josie Gibson 4680 votes Tony Bellew 1008 votes Nella Rose 683 votes Now share your opinion An insider has since revealed to MailOnline that Grace's jungle exit was mutually decided between Grace and show bosses, who had intervened after seeing her visible deterioration in camp. A source close to the MasterChef star revealed: 'Grace decided to leave the jungle soon after it was announced that she would be doing the latest Bushtucker Trial. 'Knowing that she would be facing another tough challenge was the straw that broke the camel's back.' They continued: 'It was mutually agreed that she would stand down from the competition, it was clear that she wasn't being herself, she had lost all energy when usually she's witty and fun to be around. 'ITV's duty of care and welfare teams had stepped in, and rightly so. 'She had struggled since living in the camp with less amenities, the weather this year has been particularly miserable and as a restaurant critic, not eating well proved to be harder than she could have ever imagined. 'Grace is looking forward to seeing her loved ones now and after a few days of rest and recovery will be fine.' Grace has struggled since kicking off her journey filming the Pole Position trial on Friday, November 24 and last week threatened to quit the show. ITV confirmed her departure on Monday with a statement that read: 'Unfortunately Grace Dent has left the show on medical grounds. She has been a great campmate and will be missed by her fellow celebrities and viewers alike.' Grace quit I'm A Celebrity after 'losing all her energy' in camp and reaching breaking point as she faced the prospect of doing another Bushtucker Trial (pictured on Sunday's show) Melissa McCarthy bundled up against the cold as she stepped out in New York City on Tuesday. The star, 53, donned an ankle-length taupe coat as she made her way to the LIVE With Kelly & Mark studios to pre-tape her Thursday appearance on the program. The comedienne is promoting her new Christmas movie Genie which also stars British actor Paapa Essiedu. Beneath the coat, a glimpse of a long floral dress with white background was spotted as she walked toward the entrance. The Little Mermaid star wore knee high gray suede boots. Her shoulder length brown hair was styled in loose layers and she wore natural looking makeup. Melissa accessorized with small hoop earrings and was seen waving to fans as she exited her vehicle. Melissa McCarthy bundled up against the cold as she stepped out in New York City on Tuesday. The star , 53, donned an ankle-length taupe coat as she made her way to the LIVE With Kelly & Mark studios to pre-tape her Thursday appearance on the program The comedienne is promoting her new Christmas movie Genie which also stars British actor Paapa Essiedu The actress is headlining the holiday comedy Genie, which debuted on Peacock on November 22. She stars as the title character, a magical being named Flora, who has been locked away in a box for 2,000 years. Flora is tasked with helping a workaholic man, played by Essiedu, reunite with his family in time for Christmas. However, after being locked up for two millennia, Flora, is dazzled by the bright colors, sights, sounds and tastes of New York. The fantasy-comedy was written by Love, Actually scribe Richard Curtis, 67. In an interview with People, Curtis admitted that the two-time Oscar nominee devised some of Genie's best gags. One example: a section of the film when Flora is asked if she likes cats: 'I love them, they're delicious,' she responds. Beneath the coat, a glimpse of a long floral dress with white background was spotted as she walked toward the entrance. The Little Mermaid star wore knee high gray suede boots Her shoulder length brown hair was styled in loose layers and she wore natural looking makeup. Melissa accessorized with small hoop earrings and was seen waving to fans as she exited her vehicle 'When Melissa would think of a new funny joke, then she would do it, and that'd be great,' the BAFTA winner said. 'But then, of course, you've gotta do it four more times,' the screenwriter and producer explained. 'You've got to make sure you got it right. You've got to make sure you get it at the right speed from the right angle,' Curtis explained while laughing. After her appearance on Live with Kelly and Mark, the actress did a bit of shopping in Manhattan's West Village. She bought some Timothy Jay candles, an enterprise both she and husband Ben Falcone support 'So it's always a mixture between kind of mischief and very conscientious behavior on movies.' He also explained how important it was to balance the tone on Genie, which is directed by Sam Boyd. 'In my movies, you want it to be emotionally true at the same time as being silly. So [Melissa] went between being impish and just being a really proper, serious actor,' he shared. Genie is a remake of the 1991 television movie Bernard And The Genie, which Curtis also wrote. Hilary Duff fans were left baffled after her husband Matthew Koma had a surprising conversation with a very unlikely Instagram follower - jailed Tiger King star Joe Exotic. The perplexing conversation all started after Duff, 36, shared an Instagram post chronicling her Thanksgiving Day holiday - prompting the imprisoned reality star to comment with a string of heart emojis. Duff's husband Koma, 36, quickly caught wind of the unlikely fan and proceeded to ask him about life behind bars before offering to visit the Netflix star in prison. Exotic, a former zookeeper, is currently serving a 21-year prison sentence after being found guilty of a murder-for-hire plot against rival Carole Baskin. 'Holy s**t,' Koma commented on the post. Hilary Duff fans were left baffled after her husband Matthew Koma had a very surprising conversation with an unlikely fan - jailed Tiger King star Joe Exotic Duff's husband Koma was shocked to see the Netflix star leaving a comment on his wife's Thanksgiving Day post Exotic - real name Joseph Allen Maldonado - replied with another red heart emoji and 'Get me heart of here.' 'What prison are you in?' Koma then asked. 'Federal medical center in Fort Worth Texas,' Joe, 60, responded. 'Are you allowed any visitors?' Koma asked. 'Not currently they don't even hardly let me talk to my lawyers,' Exotic claimed. 'Dang. If that changes let us know and I'll come hang for a day,' Koma said. 'Thanks will do Matthew,' Joe replied. 'And music when you get out for sure,' Matthew continued. He followed it up with 'Are you able to record anything in there?' Fans were equally as shocked by the comment as well, with several expressing their surprise in the thread. 'Mind blown,' wrote on Instagram user. Koma engaged in a surprising conversation with the jailed reality star Exotic, a former zookeeper, is currently serving a 21-year prison sentence after being found guilty of a murder-for-hire plot against rival Carole Baskin Another posted in reply to Koma's 'holy s**t' remark: 'My thoughts exactly.' Exotic was convicted on 17 federal charges of animal abuse and two counts of attempted murder for hire in his plot to kill nemesis and Big Cat Rescue owner, Carole Baskin in 2019. The case was the focus of highly-popular 2020 Netflix series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness. In February, TMZ reported that Exotic's medical team had believed his prostate cancer had spread to his bladder, however he was refusing treatment. Hilary's original post was a collage of her Thanksgiving Day memories, including video of friends and family gathered around the dinner table, snaps of her children, and their decadent feast. 'Thankful,' she captioned the post. The Tiger King star left the comment in a post Duff made about her family's Thanksgiving Day celebrations The post contained photos of their exquisite set-up The family feasted on a delightful array of Thanksgiving Day favorites Hilary shares daughters Banks Violet, five, and Mae James, two, with her husband Matthew. She also has son Luca, 11, with her ex-husband Mike Comrie. Motherhood has inspired Hilary to expand her creative horizons as she's authored two children's books since becoming a mom. In March 2021 she put out My Little Brave Girl, and earlier this month My Little Sweet Boy was published. Engaging her social media followers in a recent Instagram post plugging the book, she wrote, 'This book makes for a great gift or a sweet addition to your wind-down moments.' She added: 'Pick up your copy anywhere books are sold! As always, thank you for your love and support.' Deva Cassel has revealed how her famous parents have helped her modelling career as she starred on the latest cover of V Magazine. The 19-year-old daughter of Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel is a rising starlet and has been going from strength to strength on both the catwalk and in landing coveted acting roles. Deva looked stunning as she posed for the cover shots for Gen V by V Magazine, showing off her model genes from her famous parents. She rocked rugged and smokey eyeliner on the cover, looking the epitome of high fashion with a thoughtful pose, while opting for a bold bare-faced look in another snap. Deva offered the world a glimpse of her natural beauty as she sported a long plait and winged eyeliner for a captivating look, displaying her high cheekbones and strong facial features. Rising star: Deva Cassel has revealed how her famous parents have helped her modelling career as she starred on the latest cover of V Magazine Bold choice: Deva opted for a bare-faced look - in comparison to the usual glam looks of cover stars Alongside her photos, Deva shed light on her relationship with her parents and how they have encouraged her career in the industry. She told the magazine: 'They taught me to always look forward, to always protect myself, to always be kind, and always keep wonder in mind. 'There's much more, but the point is that they've taught me how to handle unexpected situations and live by my own rules, while always respecting people and the environment I'm in. 'I remember browsing through my mom's huge fashion books that she kept in the house for as long as I can remember. 'Everything was so looked after and beautiful. I knew I wanted to work in that industry at some point in my life, but I definitely didn't expect to love it this much and make a living out of it.' Deva continued: 'I really did not want to be an actor for most of my childhood. It was something that everyone kept asking me as a kid and it really pushed me away from that career path. 'However, with time, I started getting more and more interested in the cinematic industry, the people, and the experiences it could offer.' Deva has been making leaps and bounds into the world of beauty and fashion, sharing a cover of Italian Vogue with her mother for the July 2021 issue. Carefree: Deva modelled as Mickey Mouse with a matching T-Shirt as her hair resembled the iconic Disney character's ears Cover: Deva stars on the cover on the latest edition of GEN V for V Magazine Here she is: Deva showed off her iconic high cheekbones and her natural beauty during the shoot Inspiration: She revealed how her famous parents - Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel - have inspired her career The budding model has certainly made a name for herself in the business and now boasts an impressive 1m followers on Instagram. She also made her acting debut in the indie film The Beautiful Summer this year. And she is now set to star in the upcoming Netflix series The Leopard, based on the classic novel of the same name by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. Filming began earlier this year, with production on the lavish period piece to take place in the Sicilian cities of Palermo, Syracuse and Catania as well as the Italian capital over the next few months. The historical series with elements likeable to Downton Abbey and The Crown is a modern take on the Sicilian saga famously adapted into a film by Luchino Visconti starring Claudia Cardinale, Alain Delon and Burt Lancaster. The film, now an Italian cinema classic, won the 1963 Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Deva will star as Angelica Sedara, the young stunning middle class woman who becomes a catalyst of social disruption in the six-episode epic set against the backdrop of social revolution in 1860s Sicily. Deva's parents Monica and Vincent split in 2013 after 14 years of marriage and the pair share daughters Deva, 19, and Leonie, 13. Split: Deva's parents Monica and Vincent split in 2013 after 14 years of marriage and the pair share daughters Deva, 19, and Leonie, 13, (Pictured in 2002) Sweet: Monica Bellucci and Tim Burton made their first red carpet appearance since confirming their romance in October Former Bond Girl Monica, 59, is now famously dating director Tim Burton - after announcing their romance in June. She was previously married to Oceans 12 actor Vincent Cassel from 1997 to 2013. The former model met Cassel in 1996 on the set of Gilles Mimounis film lAppartement. They were together for three years before marrying in a quiet ceremony in Monaco, on the French Riviera. Monica spoke about love in an interview with Paris Match back in 2011 when she was still married to Cassel, admitting there is 'no rationality' for her when it comes to relationships. She said: 'I am carried by the moment and instinct. No rationality, only emotions. You love or you don't.' 'You don't decide sitting around a table: OK, so I have two kids, 16 years of life as a couple, that would be nice if it lasts, but how I am going to make it work? 'I don't think at all that a couple is something "you work out", as we say.' Sex and the City actress Cynthia Nixon says she is going on a hunger strike later this week with a group of five other US politicians in a bid to trigger a lasting Israel-Hamas ceasefire. The 57-year-old Nixon stood outside the White House on Monday with a group of Palestinian supporters holding up signs. She rallied: 'None of this is normal. None of this is routine and none of this can be allowed to continue.' Nixon, who is the mother of two Jewish children with her ex-husband, is demanding that President Joe Biden call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The actress and political activist said she will take part in the hunger strike for two of the five planned days, before she returns to New York for work. Since Hamas' brutal surprise attack on Israel on October 7, at least 14,800 Palestinians mostly women and children in Gaza have been killed, according to the Ministry of Health in Hamas-run Gaza. Currently, there is a temporary ceasefire in place while Israel and Hamas exchange prisoners. 'We are here hunger-striking just to sort of mirror to Biden the kind of deprivation that is happening in Gaza and how he has it within his power to make a ceasefire happen,' Nixon told a group of reporters, according to The Times of Israel. Cynthia Nixon, 57, stood outside the White House on Monday with a group of Palestinian supporters holding up signs. She rallied: 'None of this is normal. None of this is routine and none of this can be allowed to continue' Nixon, who is the mother of two Jewish children with her ex-husband, is demanding that President Joe Biden call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The actress and political activist said she will take part in the hunger strike for two of the five planned days Since Hamas's brutal surprise attack on Israel on October 7, at least 14,800 Palestinians mostly women and children in Gaza have been killed, according to the Ministry of Health in Hamas-run Gaza The politicians taking part in the hunger strike, which started on Monday, are New York Rep. Zohran Mamdani, Oklahoma Rep. Mauree Turner, Virginia Rep. Sam Rasoul, and Michigan Rep. Abraham Aiyash, and Delaware State Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton, Time reported. Others who are joining the protest were various faith and community leaders. Nixon, the former New York gubernatorial candidate, signed an open letter that was signed by 260 other artists and addressed to the president and Congress demanding a ceasefire in the region, the publication reported. On Friday, there was a humanitarian pause, and the start of a four-day truce, that began with the release of 10 Israelis, 10 Thai citizen and one Philippine citizen, according to officials. In addition to 39 Palestinian women and children were freed from three Israeli prisons, CNN reported. As of Tuesday afternoon, there have been a total of 58 hostages 40 Israelis (including dual-nationals), 17 Thai citizens and one Philippine citizen freed, the news outlet reported. During the rally, she held up a sign that read: 'Over 6,150 children killed in Gaza. How many more before ceasefire?' A child is pictured walking over the rubble in the area of Deir Al-Balah. A humanitarian truce began on Friday between Israel and Hamas Currently, there is a temporary ceasefire in place while Israel and Hamas exchange prisoners. As of Tuesday afternoon, there has been a total of 58 hostages 40 Israelis (including dual-nationals), 17 Thai citizens and one Philippine citizen freed On October 7, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel killing 1,200 and taking more than 250 people hostage. The terror attack prompted Israel to launch an air and ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza. The Israeli bombardment has killed more than 14,800 in Gaza, according to the enclave's health authorities. The war came to a pause for the first time since October 7 on Friday, when Israel and Hamas reached a four-day truce agreement, in which both sides also said they would release hostages and prisoners. It was set to end Monday, but was extended by two further days at the last minute. Several Americans are believed to remain hostages in Gaza and have not been released. 'I know that they've been requested, and I know that they, of course, they are on -- very high on the list of priorities. At this stage, I cannot yet confirm. And with everything in this whole process happening, you know, we can only confirm once we have hands on and can see and verify for ourselves,' IDF Spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus said on CNN. 'The process is a very messy one, where there's many changes, and until things are hands on and we can see them, we are not going to venture out any statements. As soon as it happens, we will confirm. We will let the families know.' 'We are here hunger-striking just to sort of mirror to Biden the kind of deprivation that is happening in Gaza and how he has it within his power to make a ceasefire happen,' Nixon said Nixon shot to stardom with her role as the feisty Miranda Hobbes in the cult classic series Sex and the City and then reprised her role in ' And Just Like That ' But, she is also known for backing far-left causes and ideals Nixon shot to stardom with her role as the feisty Miranda Hobbes in the cult classic series Sex and the City and then reprised her role in 'And Just Like That' But, she is also known for backing far-left causes and ideals. In 2021, the actress was slammed for suggesting a CVS store near her home let people shoplift rather than putting household goods behind locks. 'As so many families cant make ends meet right now, I cant imagine thinking that the way to solve the problem of people stealing basic necessities out of desperation is to prosecute them,' Nixon tweeted at the time. Nixon was responding to a tweet that pointed out that several Manhattan DA and Mayoral candidates say they would not prosecute shoplifting because it 'criminalizes poverty.' In 2017, Nixon was mentioned as a candidate for governor in New York and later ran in the Democratic primary, but lost to Andrew Cuomo before he left office in disgrace. Matthew Perry's stepfather Keith Morrison has urged fans to donate to a foundation set up in the late star's name on Giving Tuesday. The Dateline journalist, 76, took to X to urge people to donate to the Matthew Perry Foundation in a heartfelt post Monday. He wrote: 'This is not the sort of thing I commonly do, this pitch. But this year is different. 'Do what you can; he would have been grateful.' This comes after Perry's family encouraged his fans to pitch in and help others on Giving Tuesday. Matthew Perry's stepfather Keith Morrison has urged fans to donate to a foundation set up in the late star's name on Giving Tuesday Post: The Dateline journalist, 76, took to X to urge people to donate to the Matthew Perry Foundation in a heartfelt post Monday The late actor's loved ones established the Matthew Perry Foundation just days after his death in late October at age 54 (pictured in West Hollywood in November 2022) The late actor's loved ones established the Matthew Perry Foundation just days after his death in late October at age 54. The purpose of the charity is to help others suffering from addiction, by 'identifying addiction as a disease, addressing the complex of stigmas that prevents individuals from seeking and accessing care, and fiercely advocating for better and more equitable treatment.' In a statement to People, the Friends star's family explained: 'It is important to us, as a family, to honor Matthews legacy. 'The potential that the Matthew Perry Foundation has to help those suffering from this disease is something we are proud to bring to the world.' Perry's step-father, Dateline reporter Keith Morrison, stepped out of his comfort zone, posting a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, which read, 'This is not the sort of thing I commonly do, this pitch. But this year is different. And tomorrow is Giving Tuesday. Do what you can; he would have been grateful.' The website features a black and white photo of the late actor with a statement he made about his legacy. 'When I die, I don't want "Friends" to be the first thing that's mentioned I want helping others to be the first thing that's mentioned. And I'm going to live the rest of my life proving that. 'Addiction is far too powerful for anyone to defeat alone. But together, one day at a time, we can beat it down.' In his memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, Perry wrote he had attended 6,000 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and entered rehab 15 times. After being honored by the treatment center Phoenix House in 2015, Perry told The Hollywood Reporter, 'You can't have a drug problem for 30 years and then expect to have it be solved in 28 days,' referring to the length of time most insurance companies in the US will cover for substance abuse treatment. Actor and friend Hank Azaria credited the funnyman with accompanying him to his first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. 'Im a sober guy for 17 years, and I wanna say that, the night I went into AA, Matthew brought me in,' he wrote on social media. Foundation: The Matthew Perry Foundation was established in the days after the actor's death at age 54 (pictured in West Hollywood in November 2022) Purpose: The purpose of the non-profit charity is to identify addiction as a disease, address the stigmas that prevent individuals from seeking and accessing care, and advocating for better and more equitable treatment (pictured in Los Angeles in April) 'The whole first year I was sober, we went to meetings together,' The Simpsons actor said. 'He was so caring and giving and wise. And he totally helped me get sober. And I really wish he couldve, you know, found the found it in himself to stay with the sober life more consistently.' Although he never met Perry, comedian John Mulaney, who chronicled his own addiction struggle in his Netflix show Baby J, said he was affected by his death. 'Addiction is just a disaster,' he told Variety. Memoir: The actor wrote in depth about his struggles with addiction and the physical toll it took on his body in his memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing 'Life is like a wobbly table at a restaurant and you pile all this sh*t on it, and it gets wobblier and wobblier and more unstable. Then drugs just kick the f**king legs out from under the table. I really identified with his story. Im thinking about him a lot.' Matthew Perry died October 28, after being found unresponsive in the jacuzzi at his home. Police at the scene reported no sign of foul play. An autopsy has been conducted, but the results have not been released yet pending the results of a toxicology report. The Matthew Perry Foundation was established November 3. AA: After Perry's death, actor Hank Azaria credited the Friends star with accompanying him to his first Alcohol Anonymous meeting. 'He was so caring and giving and wise. And he totally helped me get sober,' he wrote in an online tribute (Pictured in New York in May) Identified: Although he never met Perry, comedian John Mulaney, who chronicled his own addiction struggle in his Netflix show Baby J, said he was affected by his death. I really identified with his story,' he told Variety. 'Im thinking about him a lot' Private funeral: Perry was laid to rest in a private funeral. All of his Friends co-stars; Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer, were in attendance A press release said it was formed 'In the spirit of Matthew Perry's enduring commitment to helping others struggling with the disease of addiction, we embark on a journey to honor his legacy by establishing the Matthew Perry Foundation, guided by his own words and experiences, and driven by his passion for making a difference in as many lives as possible.' The actor was laid to rest in a private funeral. All of his Friends co-stars; Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer, were in attendance. If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP. Tom Sandoval said his recent run on Special Forces: World's Toughest Test was 'exactly what I needed' after Scandoval. He became a hate figure in March when it emerged he had cheated on his girlfriend of nine years Ariana Madix with their Vanderpump Rules co-star Raquel Leviss. Tom, 40, was heaped with public opprobrium and was still a subject of widespread mockery online when he joined the cast of Special Forces. On the Fox program, celebrities work under the tutelage of actual ex-Special Forces operatives to complete grueling military training exercises. In a new interview, Tom told TMZ that the show provided an escape from the 'media frenzy' of Scandoval, what with 'no phones' or 'contact with the outside world.' Tom Sandoval said his recent run on Special Forces: World's Toughest Test was 'exactly what I needed' after Scandoval He became a hate figure in March when it emerged he had cheated on his girlfriend of nine years Ariana Madix (right) with their Vanderpump Rules co-star Raquel Leviss (left) Tom, pictured with Raquel, was heaped with public opprobrium and was still a subject of widespread mockery online when he joined the cast of Special Forces Reflecting on whether his controversy ever intruded onto his Special Forces experience, Tom explained: 'One of the good things about it is, besides when they brought that s*** up, I mean, I wasnt really thinking about it too often, you know, or only unless somebody else brought it up.' He added fondly: 'That was one of the beauty of that situation was being able to just focus on the things in front of you. You know, no phones, no anything, no contact with the outside world. You know, youre just there worried about people next to you and what you have to do.' Special Forces was, he said, 'exactly what I needed in my life at that moment. It was such a, you know, I just felt consumed by this scandal, and it was a way to go and work hard at something, do something that didnt have to do with that.' The reality TV hunk also noted that his own troubles paled in comparison to those of many of his castmates, such as Jack Osbourne, who suffers from multiple sclerosis and had to be removed from the show because of a medical emergency. He also invoked Bode Miller, who tragically lost his one-year-old daughter to an accidental drowning, and Brian Austin Green, who at one point was left unable to speak because of health problems including vertigo and colitis. 'All these people have gone through things, and hearing them tell their stories, you know, it puts things in perspective in life, you know, it really does,' said Tom. 'It was hard to sort of not feel stupid talking to staff sergeants when we were, you know, interrogated, about my situation. Because in the grand scheme of things, comparatively to everybody else, it doesnt really seem like that, as big of a deal, you know what I mean?' he acknowledged. 'Like, but I think it was because of the media frenzy, it obviously became that. So it just, it was very hard for me to talk to them about it and not feel stupid, really stupid.' Season 2 of Fox's Special Forces: World's Toughest Test came to a close this Monday, with three of the five finalists emerging victorious - Olympic speed skater Erin Jackson and The Bachelor stars Nick Viall and Tyler Cameron. Tom was removed earlier in this Monday's finale by a mysterious adjuticator known only as The Umpire Internet personality Jojo Siwa voluntarily bowed out halfway through the final phase, while Tom was removed earlier by a mysterious adjudicator known only as The Umpire. The episode begins with the challenge on its eighth day, with the narrator revealing, The recruits have been captured, and will now face up to 12 hours of military grade interrogation. Billy adds in confession, This is now the final stage. Now, the question you're asking yourself is, "Can I survive? Will I survive? A title card reveals that, Resistance to interrogation is a key stage of Special Forces selection. It prepares recruits for enemy capture by subjecting them to techniques not permitted by the Geneva Conventions. Internet personality Jojo Siwa voluntarily bowed out halfway through the final phase They bring in a team of expert interrogators (John, Erine, Dilksy), who the narrator says has, over 30 years combined experiences, along with an adjudicator only known as The Umpire, 'who cannot be identified for security reasons.' 'Resistance to interrogation is the toughest phase that Special Forces operators will go through. That's because this is primarily a mental exercise. It's psychological warfare. The interrogators are never your friend. They are always the enemy and never to be trusted, The Umpire says. The interrogators and Rudy start discussing the recruits, starting with Number 3 - Jojo Siwa, who Rudy says is, the youngest of our recruits, but extremely motivated. Lots of energy. The poster child of influencer. She is very comfortable being on. They move to Number 5 - Tyler Cameron - who Rudy describes as, a model, very "All American." He has a brother who is a soldier, and, I believe, always, he's thought that his brother is the real hero, the real man. Rudy moves on to Number 6 - Erin Jackson - who he describes as, 30 years old, Olympic gold medalist speed skater. Speed skating is so individual. Out here in a team environment, she tends to be a wallflower. Rudy describes Number 12 - Nick Viall - as, a gray man, adding, We expected him to do better throughout the course. However, the last couple days, he's come on stronger. They finish with Number 4 - Tom Sandoval - with Rudy adding that he is, going through something so difficult, personally. I think he's vulnerable. The Umpire adds, But the reality of now is, if, if... If he fails to communicate effectively, he won't succeed here. Let's do it. They bring in a team of expert interrogators (John, Erine, Dilksy), who the narrator says has, over 30 years combined experiences, along with an adjudicator only known as The Umpire, who cannot be identified for security reasons' Resistance to interrogation is the toughest phase that Special Forces operators will go through. That's because this is primarily a mental exercise. It's psychological warfare. The interrogators are never your friend. They are always the enemy and never to be trusted, The Umpire says Tyler Cameron is seen rubbing his hands together to try to stay warm, but hes told, Keep rubbing your hands together, I will shove them up your a**. Jason Foxy Fox adds in confession, The aim of interrogation is to push the recruits to see where their breaking point is. Sandoval is asked who told him he could put his gloves on but he sheepishly says his hands are cold. One of the captors says, You need to learn you dont do anything unless we tell you, do you understand? Fox adds, You will be tired, exhausted, cold, hungry. And you've got to push all that to one side. You have to survive by making people think that you're worth keeping alive. The narrator adds, Due to the high risk involved in interrogation, the Umpire is responsible for the safety of this phase. And has the power to remove recruits at any point if he deems them incapable of continuing. I am the Umpire, and I'm in charge of this phase. I cannot be impersonated. If at any point you wish to leave this phase, you simply raise your hand and you ask to speak to the Umpire, he tells them. Abbie Chatfield has been slammed for openly supporting a biased point of view about the Israel-Hamas conflict on her It's A Lot Podcast. The Bachelor star, 28, has covered the conflict in recent weeks by interviewing two panelists who oppose Israel's actions, and vehemently agreeing with their points of view. The first was Bassem Youssef, an Egyptian comedian who condemned Israel's efforts to eradicate Hamas by bombing terrorist headquarters in Gaza following the October 7 attacks. Many listeners complained that Chatfield had provided a one-sided view, and implored her to invite a Jewish perspective onto her show. Rather than provide a balanced coverage of the conflict, Chatfield decided to invite another anti-Zionist commentator onto her podcast over the weekend - a Jewish author named Nevo Zisin. Abbie Chatfield, 28, (pictured) has been slammed for openly supporting a biased point of view about the Israel-Hamas conflict on her It's A Lot Podcast Chatfield shared a clip of their discussion to her Instagram on Tuesday, describing Zisin's interview as 'a jewish perspective'. 90% of jews identify as Zionists, meaning that Zisin is one of just 10% of Jews who oppose Israel's existence, according to a 2023 study by Monash University. Many of Chatfield's followers have turned on her for platforming a biased point of view, and for ignoring the Zionist point of view that is held by the majority of jews. The Bachelor star has tackled her coverage of the conflict in recent weeks by interviewing two panelists who oppose Israel's actions, and vehemently agreeing with their points of view. The first was Bassem Youssef (left), an Egyptian comedian who condemned Israel's efforts to eradicate Hamas by bombing terrorist headquarters in Gaza following the October 7 attacks After receiving a barrage of complaints, Abbie wrote in a comment: 'I have said I am biased. I acknowledge that. I will not platform a Zionist. I will platform Jewish voices, as requested.' Her comment was soon reposted by the Australian Jewish Association (AJA), an organisation that supports Israel as the Jewish homeland. 'Will not platform Zionists AKA 90% of Jews?' the AJA wrote next to Chatfield's comment. Rather than provide a balanced coverage of the conflict, Chatfield decided to invite another anti-Zionist commentator onto her podcast over the weekend - a Jewish author named Nevo Zisin (pictured) After receiving a barrage of complaints, Abbie wrote in a comment: 'I have said I am biased. I acknowledge that. I will not platform a Zionist. I will platform Jewish voices, as requested.' Her comment was reposted and criticised by the Australian Jewish Association What is Zionism? Zionists believe in and support the right of the democratic State of Israel to exist as a Jewish homeland. Being a Zionist is distinct from supporting the policies of the government of Israel. Zionism does not preclude support for Palestinian self-determination and statehood. For some Zionists, support for a two-state solution is the realisation of self-determination for Jews and Palestinians alike. There are also millions of non-Jews who consider themselves Zionists and supporters of the Jewish state, who are motivated by factors including religion, history, security or politics. Source: Anti Defamation League Advertisement Meanwhile, a popular Change.org petition is calling for Chatfield's podcast to be removed from the LiSTNR platform for 'spreading misinformation that harms the Jewish community and encourages anti-semitism.' Despite this, Chatfield doubled down on her actions in a lengthy Instagram Story rant on Tuesday night. 'People [are] saying that I'm biased and therefore I should get on someone who opposes me. First of all, do you know me? Have I ever ever had on someone who opposes me, just to give them a platform?' she said in part. 'Did I get on an anti vaxxer just to give them a platform? If I was to get a Zionist on it would be to debate them. Ok? It'll be to debate them. And unfortunately, I don't want to do that.' On October 7, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel killing 1,200 and taking more than 250 people hostage. The terror attack prompted Israel to launch an air and ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza. The Israeli bombardment has killed more than 14,800 in Gaza, according to the enclave's health authorities. The war came to a pause for the first time since October 7 on Friday when Israel and Hamas reached a four-day truce agreement, in which both sides also said they would release hostages and prisoners. It was set to end Monday, but was extended by two further days at the last minute. Israel has vowed to continue the war until it destroys Hamas' military capabilities and returns all hostages. Paris Hilton has once again addressed the cruel comments trolls made about the size of her son's head just days after revealing that she had welcomed a second child named London. The 42-year-old said that her motherly instinct kicked in when she saw internet users poking fun at her 10-month-old son Phoenix on the Internet. She told People on Tuesday that her 'mama bear instincts' had come out as she can usually ignore criticism but couldn't stand it this time around as it was in regards to her infant son. Paris said: 'Usually, I wouldn't even dignify anything like that with a response, but I was just heartbroken that there are such cruel people in the world. The heiress said it would have been a different story if she was the one who was on the receiving end of criticism but she couldn't bear the thought of Phoenix being made fun of. Paris Hilton (seen earlier this month in LA) has once again addressed the cruel comments trolls made about the size of her son's head The 42-year-old said that her motherly instinct kicked in when she saw internet users poking fun at her 10-month-old son Phoenix on the Internet She explained: 'I couldn't believe that they could be mean and vicious about a little innocent baby. 'You can say what you want about me, but this is my little angel. And if anyone ever says anything to hurt him or his feelings, I will always be there to protect him.' Last month the socialite was forced to hit back at trolls who made vile comments about the size of her baby son's head. The socialite, who welcomed Phoenix via surrogate, posted sweet snaps of her son's first trip to New York City to Instagram on Friday, October 20 - but the comment section was swiftly flooded with cruel remarks. Fans also took to TikTok to condemn the rude remarks with Hilton responding to a follower who defended her and saying her son is healthy. She wrote: 'There are some sick people in this world. My angel is perfectly healthy. 'And yes, of course he has been to a doctor, he just has a large brain.' Hilton shares her son with husband Carter Reum, 42. She (pictured in New York on Monday) told People on Tuesday that her 'mama bear instincts' had come out as she can usually ignore criticism but couldn't stand it this time around as it was in regards to her infant son Last month the socialite was forced to hit back at trolls who made vile comments about the size of her baby son's head Fans also took to TikTok to condemn the rude remarks with Hilton responding to a follower who defended her and saying her son is healthy Dreamy: The perfume mogul called the only child she has with husband Carter Reum a 'baby angel' as she explained he was enjoying his first trip to New York City Parents: Paris is seen with husband Carter in February 2023 The images posted by Hilton last week saw her proudly pose with her son on her lap clad in head-to-toe Burberry fashion with a plaid top, slacks and little shoes. Days ago she surprised her fans on Thanksgiving by announcing she has welcomed a baby girl named London. The star shared the happy news by posting a pink baby outfit with the name 'London' - thereby revealing the gender and name of her little one. 'Thankful for my baby girl,' the heiress wrote in the caption of the image. After initially confusing fans by not revealing if the baby was on the way or had already been born, Paris clarified in a TikTok comment that her daughter has already arrived, writing: 'My princess has arrived!!' This is her second child with husband Carter as the pair welcomed aforementioned son Phoenix via surrogate in January. DailyMail.com has reached out to representatives for Hilton for comment. Paris also shared a sweet snap of her baby boy to Instagram Stories, proudly calling him a 'big brother'. After announcing the news on Instagram, Paris took to her TikTok with a sweet clip of her nephew and niece, whom she asked: 'Are you guys excited for your new cousin?' Surprise! Days ago she surprised her fans on Thanksgiving by announcing she has welcomed a baby girl named London Dream come true: This is her second child with husband Carter Reum, 42. The pair welcomed son Phoenix via surrogate in January; They are seen in November She's here! After initially confusing fans by not revealing if the baby was on the way or had already been born, Paris clarified in a TikTok comment that her daughter has already arrived, writing: 'My princess has arrived!!' 'You have two babies?' they inquired. 'I have two babies,' she confirmed. In the clip her she was seen holding her son. 'Priceless moments Family is everything,' she captioned the clip. While the news of her second child's arrival has come as quite the surprise, the name itself does not. Hilton opened up in a live chat episode of her podcast on March 1 that she had picked out the name London if she ever had a daughter over 10 years ago. 'I'm really excited for Phoenix to have a baby sister one daynamed London. It's my favorite city and I've always wanted to name my daughter London,' she said. Big brother: Paris shared a sweet snap of her baby boy to Instagram Stories, proudly calling him a 'big brother' New cousin: After announcing the news on Instagram, Paris took to her TikTok with a sweet clip of her nephew and niece, whom she asked: 'Are you guys excited for your new cousin?' Two babies: 'You have two babies?' they inquired. 'I have two babies,' she confirmed. In the clip her she was seen holding her son Paris and Phoenix: Hilton holds son Phoenix in an adorable Instagram snap 'I had actually picked that name for a long time now, probably over 10 years. I always wanted London. I love that name for my daughter,' she added. The heiress named after the French capitol clearly wanted to keep the city-naming tradition alive with her kids, admitting Phoenix wasn't easy to come up with. 'It was hard to pick (Phoenix) because a lot of the cities that I like just wouldn't sound good as a name,' she said. 'Like Ibiza would be so weird as a kids' name, Vegas would be weird. It's difficult to find a cool name that's a city for a boy. Besides London, (because) that works for both,' she said. Elsa Pataky turned heads as she attended the Woman Awards in her native Madrid on Sunday without her husband Chris Hemsworth. The actress, 47, who lives in Byron Bay with the Thor star and their three children, almost gave onlookers a flash of her pert derriere in a daring backless dress. The model dazzled in a black-and-white midi gown which featured dramatic rhinestone detailing on the torso. Elsa's trim waist was also on display thanks to two strategically-placed cut-outs at the torso. She also sported a diamond bangle and matching earrings, and threw her wavy hair up into a loose ponytail. Elsa Pataky turned heads in daring backless dress as she attended the Woman Awards in her native Madrid on Sunday The age-defying beauty highlighted her cheekbones with blush and she accentuated her eyes with dramatic faux lashes and winged liner. Elsa was born in Lafuente Medianu in Madrid, and worked as an actress in Spain before moving to Hollywood in the early 2000s. She dated French actor Michael Youn and subsequently American actor Adrien Brody, before eventually finding love with her husband Chris. The couple tied the knot during the Christmas holidays in 2010. Elsa and Chris live in a $30million mansion in Broken Head near Byron Bay after relocating from Los Angeles to Australia nine years ago. The model dazzled in a black-and-white midi gown which featured dramatic rhinestone detailing on the torso Elsa's trim waist was also on display thanks to two strategically-placed cut-outs at the torso In June, Chris praised his wife Elsa as he revealed he wouldn't of been able to do 'any of the things I've done' without her 'sacrifice and support'. The Aussie actor has carved out an impressive film career since first finding fame on Home and Away, with Chris now being one of the world's biggest action stars thanks to his role as Thor in the Marvel franchise. In an interview with British GQ, in which he was the first GQ Heroes cover star, Chris told how his wife's comfort and encouragement has allowed him to be who he is. Elsa and her husband Chris live in a $30million mansion in Broken Head, near Byron Bay, after relocating from Los Angeles to Australia nine years ago Sex and the City actress Cynthia Nixon's hunger strike to try and end the Israel-Palestine conflict will only last two or three days, according to a source. Nixon, 57, called for President Biden to demand a permanent ceasefire in Gaza while outside the White House on Monday with a group of Palestinian supporters holding up signs. Nixon, who is the mother of two Jewish children with her ex-husband, will only complete two to three days of the planned five-day strike before she returns to work in New York. Instead, she hopes that her words hold more weight in the public eye, a source said. Cynthia Nixon, 57, stood outside the White House on Monday with a group of Palestinian supporters holding up signs. She rallied: 'None of this is normal. None of this is routine and none of this can be allowed to continue' Nixon (right) was best known for playing Miranda on Sex And The City - but she has taken to politics in recent years Nixon rallied in Washington DC today, saying: 'None of this is normal. None of this is routine and none of this can be allowed to continue.' One source told DailyMail.com: 'She is looking to do it for two or three days.' They continued: 'Cynthia is hoping her word holds more weight than anything. She is not going to be doing her hunger strike that long because she has to go back to work and will be doing that in the coming days. 'But to her, doing the strike at all is a small price to pay for what she is fighting for, she is doing it for her family and friends and those in harm's way, and everyone is supporting her that she is close to, no one is worried about her well being because they know she will be all right and is doing this for the greater good of what she believes in. People close to her are very proud of her.' Nixon's makeup artist Matin Maulawizada also told DailyMail.com: 'Cynthia has always sided with fairness and humanity and it has been a privilege to see her balance Hollywood and politics with grace and integrity. Nixon, who is the mother of two Jewish children with her ex-husband, is demanding that President Joe Biden call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The actress and political activist said she will take part in the hunger strike for two of the five planned days During the rally, she held up a sign that read: 'Over 6,150 children killed in Gaza. How many more before ceasefire?' 'Humanity and human life should be upheld to the highest degree especially during conflicts and a country like the US should not be supplying weapons that indiscriminately kill civilians and children anywhere. 'War should always be the very last resort and only between soldiers. Collective punishment is against humanitarian law and must not be exercised ever! 'Diplomacy is the only solution for political conflicts. War has never brought peace to anyone.' Nixon's representatives have been contacted for comment. Since Hamas' brutal surprise attack on Israel on October 7, at least 14,800 Palestinians mostly women and children in Gaza have been killed, according to the Ministry of Health in Hamas-run Gaza. Currently, there is a temporary ceasefire in place while Israel and Hamas exchange prisoners. 'We are here hunger-striking just to sort of mirror to Biden the kind of deprivation that is happening in Gaza and how he has it within his power to make a ceasefire happen,' Nixon told a group of reporters, according to The Times of Israel. Nixon, the former New York gubernatorial candidate, signed an open letter that was signed by 260 other artists and addressed to the president and Congress demanding a ceasefire in the region, the publication reported. On Friday, there was a humanitarian pause, and the start of a four-day truce, that began with the release of 10 Israelis, 10 Thai citizen and one Philippine citizen, according to officials. Cynthia Nixon, right, poses with her daughter Samantha and son Charlie, who are Jewish In addition to 39 Palestinian women and children were freed from three Israeli prisons, CNN reported. As of Tuesday afternoon, there have been a total of 58 hostages 40 Israelis including dual-nationals, 17 Thai citizens and one Philippine citizen freed, the news outlet reported. On October 7, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel killing 1,200 and taking more than 250 people hostage. Nixon shot to stardom with her role as the feisty Miranda Hobbes in the cult classic series Sex and the City and then reprised her role in 'And Just Like That' But, she is also known for backing far-left causes and ideals. In 2021, the actress was slammed for suggesting a CVS store near her home let people shoplift rather than putting household goods behind locks. 'As so many families cant make ends meet right now, I cant imagine thinking that the way to solve the problem of people stealing basic necessities out of desperation is to prosecute them,' Nixon tweeted at the time. Nixon was responding to a tweet that pointed out that several Manhattan DA and Mayoral candidates say they would not prosecute shoplifting because it 'criminalizes poverty.' In 2017, Nixon was mentioned as a candidate for governor in New York and later ran in the Democratic primary, but lost to Andrew Cuomo before he left office in disgrace. Joe Swash reveals ITV's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! holds a special place in his heart after meeting wife Stacey Solomon in the jungle 13 years ago. The former soap star, 41, who won the competition in 2008, met Stacey two years later when he presented the series' spin-off and she was crowned Queen of the Jungle. I'm A Celeb's golden couple went on to get married and have since welcomed three children together: Belle, nine-months, Rose, two, and Rex, four. Speaking exclusively to MailOnline from Tombola's critter challenge event, Joe explained meeting Stacey is one of his favourite memories from the show, alongside becoming King of the jungle. He said: 'I met Stacey in the jungle and we've now had children and are married, and obviously the first time when I won was amazing. Joe Swash reveals ITV 's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! holds a special place in his heart after meeting wife Stacey Solomon in the jungle 13 years ago The former soap star, 41, who won the competition in 2008, met Stacey two years later when he presented the series' spin-off and she was crowned Queen of the Jungle 'So, there's many moments in my life that mean a lot to me that have the jungle wrapped up in it. So it does hold a special place in my heart.' Joe is also father to son Harry, 15 from a previous relationship with ex Emma Sophocleous and step-father to Stacey's sons Zach, 15, and Leighton, ten. The TV personality, who also took part in the All Star series in South Africa earlier this year, said all of his kids have now watched him on the show. He said: 'Yeah, they watched. That was the nice thing, because the first time around, my oldest Harry got to watch it. And then the second time round the younger ones like Rex and Rose all got to watch it. 'They loved it, they thought it was hilarious. Mummy would explain to them what is going on. But they love seeing mum and dad on telly.' At the time of filming in South Africa, Stacey was still pregnant with their youngest daughter Belle, making it a 'difficult decision'' to go back in. He explained: 'It was a difficult decision because at the time Stacey was like six months pregnant. So it was a hard decision. And I found it really difficult being away from Stacey and the kids. Really homesick. 'But I loved it, it was amazing. It was an honour to go back, to be asked to be on the first All Stars. I had a great time. It was a different vibe. The first time around, it all felt a little bit like a competition. Winning streak: Joe won the show in 2008 (left) with Stacey crowned Queen of the jungle in 2010 I'm A Celeb's golden couple went on to get married and have since welcomed three children together: Belle, nine-months, Rose, two, and Rex, four. Joe is also father to son Harry, 15 from a previous relationship with ex Emma Sophocleous and step-father to Stacey's sons Zach, 15, and Leighton, ten Speaking exclusively to MailOnline Joe explained: 'I met Stacey in the jungle and we've now had children and are married, so it does hold a special place in my heart.' 'The second time, we'd all been there and done it, so it was like a school reunion. And it wasn't a public vote. There was no real pressure to go in and experience it one last time. It was almost like a little bit of closure.' Speaking about the low moments of the show, Joe added: 'You're really tired and lethargic because you're starving. And then when you think about home, you can get a little bit down. 'So the whole thing sort of snowballs. You really need to give yourself a shake and remember you're only in it for three weeks, so make the most of it.' Joe said if he and Stacey went head to head in the jungle: 'She would always be my fiercest competitor. She would be my fiercest competitor. Definitely would not like to face Stace.' I'm A Celeb legends Joe, Vicky Pattison, Phil Tufnell, and Scarlette Douglas all took part in Tombola's Critter Challenge, where they were taken back to their jungle days with a 'mystery box' game, whilst being hooked up to a polygraph machine to test their reactions. Vicky had a 54% increase from her base when asked if she had a fear of spiders, while Phil remained calm, with his sweat gland activity and blood pressure only raising 9%. However, Phil had a 61% increase in his blood pressure when asked if he had a fear of spiders. I'm A Celeb legends Joe, Vicky Pattison , Phil Tufnell, and Scarlette Douglas all took on tombola's Critter Challenge, where they were taken back to their jungle days with a 'mystery box' game, whilst being hooked up to a polygraph machine to test their reactions On why he got involved in the Tombola event, Joe said: 'Anything to do with the jungle I feel drawn to. I miss the jungle, so anything like the jungle I'll definitely have a go at. And I think they have really done a great job here.' Vicky also had a similarly strong reaction to the idea of a spider crawling on her face, with a 20% increase in sweat gland activity. Last year's contestant Scarlette only had a 1% increase, while Joe had a 5% increase. On why he got involved in the Tombola event, Joe said: 'Anything to do with the jungle I feel drawn to. I miss the jungle, so anything like the jungle I'll definitely have a go at. And I think they have really done a great job here.' Joe said he is rooting for Josie Gibson, Fred Sirieix and Sam Thompson in the new series, but added: 'It has only been a week and a half, this is when the cracks start to show. I think the next couple of days will make a big difference. ' Joe was speaking from Tombola's critter challenge event, play bugmatch now at https://www.tombola.co.uk/ California is known for its extremely expensive property prices - but there are some northern counties with glorious views where you still can bag a Golden State bargain. In 11 of its 58 of California's counties - including San Francisco, San Diego and Orange County - a median single-family home will set you back $1million or more, according to the latest sales data from the California Association of Realtors. But there are 25 Californian counties where a typical property remains under $500,000 - with some boasting significantly cheaper average prices. In Lassen County, for example, the median house price is $247,500, while in Siskiyou County an average home would cost you $295,000. California has a reputation for being extremely expensive but there are some northern counties which boast gorgeous views and are still a bargain. Pictured: Lassen County views Properties in San Francisco, San Diego and the Orange County will set you back nearly $1million but other communities such as Lassen County are a lot more affordable. Pictured: $239,000 home in Lassen County Siskiyou County is the second most affordable region with property prices at around $295,000. Pictured: $299,000 Siskiyou County home Lassen County, which has a population of around 32,000 and has been described as an outdoor paradise, is the cheapest county in California - with the median house price in October $245,000. This is a sharp 37 percent increase from $181,250 compared to the month before. But overall it down year-on-year, with houses selling for close to $290,000 in October 2022. Lassen County is located where the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountains meet the desert of the Great Basin and is home to the Lassen Volcanic National Park. The second cheapest area is Siskiyou County in the northern most part of California, which boasts equally stunning views. Homes in this area sell for around $295,000. This figure has fallen by around nine percent from $325,000 in September - and compares to $326,750 in October 2022. Siskiyou County is surrounded by spectacular natural beauty and scenic cities. The 4,322-metre tall Mount Shasta is in the region along with other snowcapped peaks in the Cascade Range. Factors including the remoteness, shrinking populations and limited services could explain why these counties are cheaper to buy property. Siskiyou County is in the northern most part of California and surrounded by spectacular natural beauty and scenic cities Another affordable property in Siskiyou County which has been listed for $299,000 The most expensive area to buy a property in California is San Mateo where the median house price is $2.1million. This is an 11 percent increase from $1,900,000 compared to figures from October 2022. Santa Clara and Marin are the next most expensive regions where prices sit at $1,805,000 and $1,712,500 respectively. In San Francisco, the median house price is $1,650,000, which is up from $1,580,000 compared to September. In San Diego this figure is $936,250, a nine percent increase compared to last year. The median house price in Orange County is $1,275,000, which overall has increased by nine percent from $1,165,000 last year. For those looking for properties under the $400,000 mark, the median house price in Trinity County is $320,000. Pictured: House listed in Trinity County for $275,000 In Los Angeles, the median property price is currently $893,650 and has risen by five percent compared to October 2022. For those looking for properties under the $400,000 mark, there are also plenty of options in Glenn Kern, Kings, Lake, Merced, Plumas, Shasta, Tehama, Trinity and Tulare counties. The most affordable homes in southern California are found in San Bernardino County at $481,500 and Riverside County at $620,960. Nepal is exercising its strategic autonomy; distancing itself from the bullying Chinese dragon Nepal is recovering from its long annual hangover after celebrating Dussehra and Tihar. It energises Nepal to face the winter and the new year Vikram Samvat 2080 but with one-third of Nepal in India and abroad with 1500 youth leaving Nepal every day. The rising standards of living and consumption are visible to me who has seen Nepal almost annually since 1959. Still, people are rich or very poor with the middle class small. People are happy except for the victims of the dengue and Jajarkot earthquake. Nepalese are happy with so little. When piped water, electricity, schools and hospitals reached the valleys or near the road network, people descended from the hills to avail man-made facilities, forfeiting natures gifts to the hills. Hastily carved unmetalled roads have scarred the hills polluting the environment. Scooters, cars, motorbikes, trucks, tractorsanything with an engine moves along dusty tracks. Some people began returning to the hills. Last week Kathmandu news was dominated by one man: businessman- politician and expelled from CPN UML, Durga Prasain. He threatened to bring into Kathmandu 10 lakh protesters to rally against former PM and CPN UML chief, KP Oli. He is facing legal action for bad debt on loans taken from state banks. The debt, he says, will be repaid when he is solvent. Prasian has roped in King Gyanendra who is patiently waiting in the distant hope that monarchy will be restored. The mood in the country for the return of loyalty is growing given the pathetic track record of the secular, federal, democratic republic of Nepal. It was the Prachanda-led decade-long Maoist civil war that dismantled the monarchy in 2008 which was ratified by the 2015 constitution. Gyanendra attended a Prasain-organised function in East Nepal at which he said: We never wanted Nepal to become a republic that sends 10 mn youth to the Gulf countries. Gyanendra is on a tight leash from the state although his daughter-in-law Himani is popularly active, doing social welfare. Gyanendra has met the Chief Minis ter of UP, Yogi Adityanath twice this year. Theres a strong and historic bond between the Shah dynasty and Gorakhnath Peeth of Adityanath. The royalists RPP led by Rajendra Lindgen (both the old leaders Pashupati Rana and Kamal Thapa have been marginalised) has made big electoral gains. People ask me whether India is supporting the formation of Hindu Rashtra and the return of monarchy. I say the decision will be that of the people of Nepal. But Buddhiman Gurung, a Nepali Congress businessman who lives in Lame Ahal, Pokhara where I too reside in Nepal, says emphatically: Monarchy can never come back. But there is little doubt that support for the royals has grown exponentially. It is a clear reflection of the satisfaction that the current quality of governance provides. Prachanda the awesome leader of the Maoist Party with 32 seats in a house of 275 and whose partys fortunes are declining, has ensured his popularity is rising by attacking corruption frontally. He leads an alliance government that has former PM Sher Bahadur Deuba-led Nepali Congress as the largest party. But such is the electoral dynamic between NC and former Prime Minister KP Olis CPN UML (the second largest party) that Prachanda is the kingmaker. He will complete one year in power next month and though there is a power-sharing arrangement with Deuba, he has been saying he will rule for all five years, apparently by doing an Oli on Deuba. In the previous Oli-led alliance, Prachanda had a power-sharing agreement with Oli which the latter did not honour. A rash of scams involving politicians and bureaucrats has made people very angry: Gold smuggling from China, human trafficking of Nepalese passed off as Bhutanese refugees for asylum in the US and the Baluwatar land sales scam. These involve former Prime Ministers, ministers, their spouses and sons. Former Water Resources Minister Dipak Gyawali said: corruption will emasculate Nepal. The other contemporary issue is Transitional Reconciliation and Justice, dating back to the Maoist insurgency 17 years ago. On a visit to Nepal recently, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres agreed to help Nepal in finding a resolution emphasising it has to be victim-centric. The victims of the Jajarkot earthquake are still out in the cold as Prachanda goes to Dubai for a climate change summit tomorrow. The ban on TikTok proved extremely unpopular. Shanti Gurung told me how she and her friends have circumvented it through VPN. TikTok has made celebrities and some people very rich in Nepal. Senior CPC leader of Tibet Affairs Management Executive Committee Wang Junzheng visited Nepal this month as part of regular visits by Chinese leaders. Prachanda on his visit to China in September did not sign in on BRI 2.0 but Nepal has subscribed to US MCC after years of political wrangling and covert threats by the US. Nepal is exercising its strategic autonomy, but China is a bullying neighbour. Kathmandu wants villages in the 21 Northern districts to patch up with Chinas Tibet power grid. Chinese-built airports with high-interest loans at Bhairawa and Pokhara are not in business, restricted to domestic flights. Flying over the IAF Jaguar base at Gorakhpur is the problem. But the issue can be resolved. Geography is Indias biggest asset in bilateral relations with Nepal which should no longer choose to be a yam between China and India. (The writer, a retired Major General, was Commander, IPKF South, Sri Lanka, and founder member of the Defence Planning Staff, currently the Integrated Defence Staff. Views are personal) The curtains came down on the month-long high-pitched poll campaign in five States, with the last day of the campaign in Telangana on Tuesday. The State will go to polls on Thursday. The results, including those from the other four States (Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, and Mizoram), will be declared on December 3. The State witnessed an electrified campaign by BRS, a high-powered BJP campaign led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with several roadshows, and a high-stakes campaign by the Congress, looking forward to forming its first government after the State was bifurcated by the UPA government. BRS has fielded candidates in all 119 seats. According to the seat-sharing agreement, BJP and Jana Sena are contesting in 111 and 8 seats, respectively, while Congress has given one seat to its ally CPI(M). Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM has put up candidates in nine segments in the city. BRS is trying to retain power for a third consecutive term, while Congress has been fighting tooth and nail to wrest power from it. The BJP has left no stone unturned to come to power. A total of 2,290 contestants are in the fray for the upcoming elections, including BRS supremo and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, his minister-son K T Rama Rao, TPCC president A Revanth Reddy, and BJP Lok Sabha members Bandi Sanjay Kumar, D Arvind, and Soyam Bapu Rao. KCR is contesting from Gajwel and Kamareddy, and Revanth Reddy is contesting from Kodangal and Kamareddy. The BJP fielded its MLA, Etala Rajender, from Gajwel, in addition to Huzurabad, where he is the incumbent legislator. Apart from PM Modi, several Union ministers, including Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah, and Congress leaders Mallikrajun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, campaigned for votes for their respective party candidates. The BRS campaign centered around the failures of the previous Congress regime and ongoing welfare measures for farmers and women. Rao also highlighted his struggle to achieve Telangana statehood. Congress focused mainly on the alleged corruption of the BRS government while highlighting its six guarantees. BJPs campaign emphasised the necessity of a double engine government and pointed to the family rule of KCR, alleging corruption. To the embarrassment of the ruling KCR government, the National Dam Safety Authority gave an adverse report on the sinking of a barrage, which is part of the Kaleshwaram irrigation project, providing ammunition to the Opposition. Over 2.5 lakh staff will be engaged in poll duties for the Assembly polls, Chief Electoral Officer Vikas Raj said. The counting of votes will be taken up on December 3. For the first time in Telangana, a home voting facility was provided to persons with disabilities and voters above 80 years. As of November 28, law enforcement agencies have seized cash, gold, liquor, and freebies, among other items, worth about Rs 737 crore in the state since the model code of conduct came into force on October 9, according to an official release. The Election Commission has ordered all private establishments, including IT firms, to declare a holiday on November 30 to enable employees to exercise their franchise. The grand old partys tallest leader, Sonia Gandhi, who could not be part of the campaign on Tuesday, addressed the audience through a video message. She appealed to the states electorate to bring about a change by voting her party to power. The results for the polls will be declared on December 3. You have given me immense respect by calling me Sonia Amma. You treated me like a mother, and I will always be grateful to you for this love and respect and will remain dedicated to you forever, she said. Telangana state was formed after bifurcating Andhra Pradesh during the UPA government, and the Congress is seeking to take credit for it. Meanwhile, setting aside the allegations, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar said that the state governments advertisements about its work in newspapers in poll-bound Telangana do not violate any rules, as they did not ask for votes. Shivakumar said the government would respond to the Election Commissions letter on this. The BJP had lodged a complaint with the EC in the matter, alleging that the Congress violated the Representation of the People Act and the Model Code of Conduct, with its government in Karnataka publishing advertisements in Telangana media with an eye on the November 30 assembly polls there. The survey report from the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying indicated an upswing in the production of milk, eggs, and meat in the country. According to the report, the total milk production in the country is estimated to be 230.58 million tonnes in 2022-23, reflecting a 3.83 per cent increase over the estimates of 2021-22. The egg production is projected to be 138.38 billion, marking a 6.77 per cent rise compared to the previous year. This may make India the second largest producer of eggs. Additionally, meat production is expected to reach 9.77 million tonnes, representing a 5.62 per cent increase over the previous year. The survey report is based on the results of the Integrated Sample Survey (ISS), conducted nationwide in three seasons: Summer (March-June), Rainy (July-October), and Winter (November-February). India continues to maintain its position as the largest milk-producing country globally. According to the report, the total milk production in the country is estimated at 230.58 million tonnes during 2022-23, reflecting a growth of 22.81 per cent over the past five years, from 187.75 million tonnes in 2018-19. Furthermore, there has been a 3.83 per cent increase in production during 2022-23 compared to the estimates of 2021-22. In previous years, the annual growth rates were 6.47 per cent in 2018-19, 5.69 per cent in 2019-20, 5.81 per cent in 2020-21, and 5.77 per cent in 2021-22. The milk production from exotic/crossbred cattle increased by 6.16 per cent, while that from indigenous or non-descript cattle rose by 6.13 per cent compared to the previous year. Additionally, milk production from buffaloes increased by 4.44 per cent compared to 2021, with indigenous buffaloes contributing 31.58 per cent of the total production, followed by 29.91 per cent from crossbred cattle. During 2022-23, the highest milk-producing state was Uttar Pradesh, accounting for 15.72 per cent of the total milk production, followed by Rajasthan (14.44 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (8.73 per cent), Gujarat (7.49 per cent), and Andhra Pradesh (6.7 per cent). In terms of annual growth rate (AGR), Karnataka recorded the highest AGR at 8.76 per cent, followed by West Bengal at 8.65 per cent, and Uttar Pradesh at 6.99 per cent over the previous year. The total egg production in the country is estimated to be 138.38 billion during 2022-23, marking a growth of 33.31 per cent over the past 5 years compared to the estimates of 103.80 billion in 2018-19. Furthermore, the production increased annually by 6.77 per cent during 2022-23 over 2021-22. In the past, the annual growth rates were 9.02 per cent in 2018-19, 10.19 per cent in 2019-20, 6.70 per cent in 2020-21, and 6.19 per cent in 2021-22. The contribution to the total egg production comes from Andhra Pradesh with a share of 20.13 per cent, followed by Tamil Nadu (15.58 per cent), Telangana (12.77 per cent), West Bengal (9.94 per cent), and Karnataka (6.51 per cent). In terms of the Annual Growth Rate (AGR), the highest growth rate was recorded by West Bengal (20.10 per cent), followed by Sikkim (18.93 per cent), and UP (12.80 per cent). The total meat production in the country is estimated to be 9.77 million tonnes during 2022-23, registering a growth of 20.39 per cent over the past 5 years compared to the estimates of 8.11 million tonnes in 2018-19. Furthermore, the production increased by 5.13 per cent in 2022-23 over 2021-22. In the past, the growth rates were 5.99 per cent in 2018-19, 5.98 per cent in 2019-20, 2.30 per cent in 2020-21, and 5.62 per cent in 2021-22. The major contribution to the total meat production comes from Uttar Pradesh with a share of 12.20 percent , followed by West Bengal (11.93 per cent), Maharashtra (11.50 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (11.20 per cent), and Telangana (11.06 per cent). In terms of the growth, the highest AGR was recorded in Sikkim (63.08 per cent), followed by Meghalaya (38.34 per cent), and Goa (22.98 per cent). Indias wool production rose by 2 per cent to 33.61 million kg during 2022-23, registering a negative growth of 16.84 per cent compared to 2018-19 when output was 40.42 million kg. However, the production increased by 2.12 per cent in 2022-23 over 2021-22. In an attempt to familiarise the world with Uttar Pradeshs rich cultural heritage and folk art, the Yogi Adityanath government is set to celebrate the Sanskriti Utsav 2023 from December 25 to January 26, 2024 on a grand scale. The event, themed Hamari Sanskriti-Hamari Pehchaan, aims to offer a platform for local artists in the state to showcase their talents and compete for awards. In line with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanaths vision, the Department of Culture in Uttar Pradesh will organise this festival across the state, featuring different layers of contests at tehsil, district, division and state levels primarily based on classical and semi-classical music and dance as well as diverse forms of folk dances and music. The Sanskriti Utsav 2023 will be held in every corner of the state, with competitions scheduled at tehsil headquarters between December 25 and 30, where artists from villages, panchayats, blocks, and tehsils will participate. The artists selected at the tehsil level will advance to the district-level competition from January 1 to 5, 2024, and subsequently, a divisional-level competition will take place from January 10 to 15, 2024. After passing through three more stages, the competition will reach the decisive stage, and the competitions of all three stages will be organised in Lucknow. Selected artists at the divisional level will have the opportunity to participate in the main event, where they will be felicitated. To make this event successful, widespread participation will be ensured, involving government and semi-government departments, educational institutions, voluntary organisations, Nehru Yuva Kendra, National Cadet Corps and social activists at various levels. The Information and Public Relations department will also take extensive steps for the publicity of the Utsav. As part of the event, competitions will be organised in classical singing, including Khayal and Dhrupad, as well as in semi-classical singing, featuring Thumri, Dadra, Chaiti, Chaita, Jhoola, Hora, Tappa. Instrumental competitions will include flute, shehnai, harmonium, sitar, violin, guitar, sarangi, veena, tabla, pakhawaj, mridangam, and ghatam, along with competitions related to indigenous and folk instruments. Similarly, dance competitions will encompass Kathak, Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Mohiniyattam, and other classical dance forms. Additionally, folk dance competitions will include Dhoobiya, Ahirwa, Karma, Shaila, Domkach, Akheta, as well as competitions in folk drama, including Nautanki, Ramleela, Raslila, Swang, Bhagat, Bahurupiya, Nukkad Natak, and more. In folk singing, competitions will cover categories such as Kajri, Chaiti, Jhoola, Biraha, Alha, Nirgun, Lokgeet, and Qawwali, and under the category of easy music, competitions will be held for songs, ghazals, bhajans, and patriotic songs. The CBI has arrested a Principal General Manager and an SDE, both working in Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Bhopal in bribery of Rs 15,000. A case was registered on complaint against an SDE & a Principal General Manager, both working in BSNL, Bhopal on the allegations of demanding undue advantage from Complainant. It was alleged that a chargesheet for departmental disciplinary action was issued to the Complainant by PGM and the further proceedings in the matter were pending. It was further alleged that the SDE demanded undue advantage of Rs 40,000 from Complainant and informed him that the PGM of BSNL had demanded the said bribe for amicable settlement of pending chargesheet in his favour. It was also alleged that said SDE told the Complainant that in case, he would not pay the demanded bribe, then PGM would take strict action against him. The SDE also allegedly informed the Complainant that the PGM had asked to initially pay an amount of Rs 15,000 out of total bribe of Rs 40,000 and rest of the amount can be given subsequently. CBI laid a trap and caught the Principal General Manager while accepting bribe of Rs 15000 from Complainant. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, on Tuesday, said that the state government was ready for discussions on overall development, public welfare, issues related to public interest and resolution of public problems during the Winter session of the Uttar Assembly, adding that all the members of different political parties had been invited for a meaningful discussion. Talking to the mediapersons ahead of the session at the Vidhan Bhawan, the chief minister said, Our government is fully prepared to answer all the questions of the members and is ready to discuss all the issues related to development of Uttar Pradesh. Emphasising the importance of the House as a crucial platform to address issues concerning the general public and draw the governments attention towards them, the chief minister expressed the confidence that all members, considering the sentiments of the common people, would contribute towards making the House a centre for healthy discussions. He asserted that the government would work towards strengthening the legislature further through meaningful discussion. In this session, along with the supplementary budget, pending legislative work would be completed. The chief minister further said that over the past six and a half years, the legislature had successfully promoted meaningful discussions on important issues, representing democratic values, much to the curiosity and wonder of people. I especially appeal to the members of the opposition parties that it is the responsibility of the ruling party as well as the opposition to hold discussions in a dignified manner in the House. Thereby, let us contribute in maintaining the dignity of the House, he added. The chief minister said that the government was ready to respond to every question from the opposition. He assured that the government would actively participate in the House with thorough preparation. On the first day of the Legislature proceedings, the chief minister said, I heartily welcome all the members and believe that, in accordance with the sentiments of the general public, all members will present their views effectively in the House. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Khanna and Transport Minister Dayashankar Singh were present during this interaction. A 25-year-old constable was injured after he shot himself inside a police station with his service rifle in Chhattisgarhs Sukma district, police said Tuesday. The incident took place on Monday night at the Chhindgarh police station premises, Sukma Superintendent of Police Kiran Chavan said. Constable Narendra Negi shot himself on the right chest with an Insas rifle. Chavan said he was rushed to the district hospital. As per preliminary information, Negi was undergoing treatment for a long time for an old head injury and was disturbed as he was not getting cured. Prima facie, this could be the reason for his suicide attempt, the official said. In the new year, the city residents will get the gift of a new international level state-of-the-art terminal. With this Gwalior will have direct air connectivity with about two dozen cities. After the opening of the terminal, direct flights will be available to various cities of the state and the country. As of now, services are available for Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Indore, Jammu and Hyderabad. In the near future, regular direct flights will be available to other cities including Ahmedabad, Pune, Goa, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Bhubaneswar, Nanded and Bhopal. Talking to media persons here, the Gwalior Airport manager said that Gwalior is gaining pace of development and creating new dimensions for a better future. The international airport is a picture of the future of a city taking off at a fast pace of development, when it takes shape, Gwalior will leave its own mark not only in the country but also abroad. He added that in the very first month of the coming new year, the city will get the gift of an international level airport in the form of Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Airport. The new airport, which will write a new story of progress in Gwalior-Chambal region, will be dedicated to the public in the new year. This new terminal, which is being built at a cost of Rs 450 crore, is being constructed in 20 thousand 230 square meters. 92 percent work of this new terminal, which has a five star rating from Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA), has been completed. The construction work will be completed by December 31. The terminal building has been constructed with modern facilities and innovative technology. Elaborating further, he said that Two new runways have been built, where nine Airbuses of A-320 series and four series of Q-400 aircraft can operate easily. International level facilities will be provided to the passengers in the terminal. Aerobridge facilities will be available for physically challenged people. There will be arrangements for high security at the entry gate for the passengers. Aerobridge, lift and accelerator facilities will be available. Child care room and other facilities will be available. There will be retail outlets of branded companies for the passengers. You will also be able to taste delicious food in the restaurant. There will be a parking zone with a huge and organized green park. Where 400 cars can be parked. A six-lane high level entry and exit road has been constructed for smooth flow of traffic during peak hours. It has been equipped with tree plantation and beautification for environmental protection. Passengers will enjoy premium lounge access with the Holiday Inn Express or in transit sleeping pods. In view of the spread of pneumonia and influenza among children in China, the State Health department has come into an alert mode. The Health secretary R Rajesh Kumar has issued the guidelines for the department and administration in which it is clearly mentioned that the special monitoring of the children with symptoms of pneumonia and Influenza should be done. He said that the Health ministry has issued a directive to the States for increasing surveillance on finding an increase in the cases of pneumonia and influenza in children. Kumar said that though no such case has been reported in the State, orders have been issued to remain alert and broad guidelines have been issued. He said that the district magistrates and chief medical officers (CMOs) have been directed to ensure that isolation beds, wards, oxygen beds, ICU beds, ventilators and oxygen cylinders are available in sufficient numbers for pneumonia and Influenza patients. The guideline mentions that the cases of seasonal influenza, myco-plasma pneumoniae, SARS- CoV-2 and other respiratory diseases are increasing in China. In view of the winter season the chances of these diseases also increase in the state. The guideline mandates for strict implementation of the operational guidelines for revised surveillance strategy in context of Covid-19. The CMOs have been asked to keep stock of the PPE kits, N-95 masks, VTMs and anti viral medicines. The patients with symptoms of SARS and influenza will be strictly monitored and their entries will be maintained in the integrated health information platform. The nasal and throat samples of the patients pneumonia and influenza will be sent to the nearest medical college for investigation. The Indore police have decided to hand over the case of three students allegedly attacking their grade 4 classmate with a geometry compass more than 100 times at a private school in Indore to the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB). Police will also prepare a social background report of the children related to this case and present it before the Juvenile Justice Board along with the victim's medical examination report and other documents, he said. Three students allegedly attacked their classmate more than 100 times with a geometry compass during a fight on November 24, inflicting multiple puncture wounds. All of them are below 10 years of age. However, the exact trigger behind the incident is not known. "The case of alleged attack on a class four student of a private school by his classmate with a geometry compass will be handed over to the Juvenile Justice Board as per the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act," Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, Alok Kumar Sharma, told. The school is situated in the Aerodrome police station area of the city. Sharma said the investigating officer of the Special Juvenile Police Unit of the police station will prepare a social background report of the children related to the case. "This report will be presented before the Juvenile Justice Board along with the victim's medical examination (report) and other related documents," he said. Sharma further said police have spoken with the concerned children, their families, and the school management regarding the incident. However, the police have not disclosed the reason behind the fight among the children and the attack. When asked, Aerodrome police station incharge Rajesh Sahu said, All that is known right now is that the children fought among themselves in their classroom. The reason for the fight between them will become clear only after they are counselled by experts". He said the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) has also taken cognizance of the incident. CWC chairperson Pallavi Porwal had said the student was allegedly attacked 108 times with a geometry compass by his classmates during a fight at their school on November 24. The father of the victim had said that his son sustained puncture wounds in the attack. The boy was taken to a hospital, administered first aid and allowed to leave. A group of migrant labourers, stranded in Saudi Arabia, have appealed to the Jharkhand Government to facilitate their return to the State. Around 5 labourers from Bokaro, Giridih and Hazaribagh districts of Jharkhand were engaged by a contractor for construction of OPG of Transmission in Al Murabba Al Hadi's company in Saudi Arabia. They said the contractor stopped the work and did not pay them, so they have been stranded with no money and food, the labourers are left in a lurch. All workers from districts are stranded in Saudi Arabia by making a video, the workers have appealed to the Central and Jharkhand governments to return to their homeland. After receiving the news, the family members of the workers have also demanded the Central and State Government to ensure their safe return home. The workers have said that the company has not paid them salaries for the last eight months. There are also problems with eating and drinking. The visa period of all the laborers has also expired. Here, Sikandar Ali, who works in the interest of laborers, has appealed to the central and state governments for help in bringing back the laborers stranded in Saudi Arabia. He said that this is not the first incident,while workers go abroad in search of work and there they have to face torture. With great difficulty they are able to return home. Many such cases have come to light in the past as well. In such a situation, the government needs to take concrete steps in the same sequence. Among the laborers stranded in Saudi Arabia, Jagdish Mahato of Kusmadih Panchayat of Sariya block of Giridih district, Jivelal Mahato of Pennk Narayanpur of Bokaro district, Vinod Mahato, Chintaman Mahato and Virendra Mahato of Chano Panchayat of Vishnugarh police station area of Hazaribagh district. All these workers had gone to Saudi Arabia on March 28 to work in OPG of transmission in Al Murabba Al Hadi's company. nChhattisgarh Health Minister T.S. Singh Deo has called for preparedness against the spread of a respiratory decease which has caused havoc in China. Singh Deo said in a statement that for the past few days the unknown disease has affected a large number of children. While an Indian government advisory states that it is not a cause for concern, as a precaution "we have advised all units within the Health Department to implement necessary precautions", he said. The Department is gearing up to confront any challenges arising from this evolving scenario, he added. BJP State president and former chief minister Babulal Marandi said that BJP has been working in the direction of restoring India's ancient culture and glorious past. From Jan Sangh era and then BJP has been working in establishing the country back on the post of Vishwa Guru, said Marandi. Marandi was addressing party workers at the inauguration of a training class for Panchayat Samiti members of the district in Giridih. He also discussed in detail the aspects like history, development, resolve, commitment etc of the party. The BJP leader said that in the development journey of Jan Sangh and BJP, service to the nation is at the centre of party politics. He said that the five allegiances of BJP include cultural nationalism, democracy, Gandhian socialism, equality of all religions and value based politics. The BJP leader further said that party resolution is Antyodaya with integrated human philosophy. India is dedicated to the welfare of the world in the spirit of world brotherhood. Marandi said that BJP does what it says. We never compromised on ideas. In independent India, the first sacrifice to protect the unity and integrity of the nation was made by the driving force of the party and the founder of Jan Sangh, Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. While raising his voice against Two Vidhan, Two Nishan, Two Pradhan, Dr. Mukherjee got himself arrested in Jammu and Kashmir where he was murdered in the jail as part of a conspiracy, said Marandi. He said that even though BJPs support base was not large at that time, party resolve was in accordance with the sentiments of the people of India. BJPs ideological commitment towards national service was strong. He said that during the Emergency imposed on the country by the Congress Party, the Jan Sangh even erased its identity to protect democracy. The former chief minister also said that the politics of appeasement has caused great loss to the country. The partition of the country was also the result of appeasement of Congress. In its fundamental thinking, BJP has not adopted appeasement but equality of all religions. Even today, no discrimination is being made on the basis of religion or sect in the implementation of BJP's schemes whether it is the Central Government or the State. He said that today BJP has become the largest political party in the world by moving forward on the basis of its principled commitments. Marandi said that BJP has weakened the edge of dynasticism and dynasticism. BJP is an all-touching, all-inclusive and all-wide organization. Today, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is becoming the leader of the world. Villages, poor farmers, tribals, Dalits and backward communities are all joining the mainstream of development. India's cultural pride is being re-established, added Marandi. Counting of votes for the voting for Madhya Pradesh Assembly Elections-2023 held on November 17 will be held on December 3. Chief Electoral Officer Anupam Rajan said that counting of votes will start from 8 am on December 3, 2023 in the counting centers established in 52 district headquarters of the state. Round-wise results of counting will be displayed. First of all, the counting of postal ballots will start from 8 am. Half an hour later, at 8.30 am, the counting of votes recorded in EVMs will begin. Soon after the counting of postal ballots is over, the postal ballot papers received by each candidate will be announced. The results of counting of votes for Assembly Elections-2023 can be seen on the website of Election Commission of India https://results.eci.gov.in and Voter Helpline App (VHA). Voter Helpline App will have to be downloaded from Google Play Store. Apart from this, the results of vote counting will also be displayed on https://ceomadhyapradesh.nic.in. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has said that a proactive approach is needed to deal with the natural disasters. He was addressing the inaugural session of the sixth world Congress on disaster management at Graphic Era University on Tuesday. Dhami said that Uttarakhand is very sensitive in terms of natural disasters. He opined that the loss to life and property can be reduced by following an integrated response towards the natural disaster. The CM said that since the challenge of natural disaster is faced by all the Himalayan States they should share their studies, research and experiences in this regard. Welcoming the delegates, the CM said that in the spiritual journeys of Adi Guru Shankaracharya, Guru Nanak, Swami Vivekanand and Ravindra Nath Tagore the mention of Himalayas especially Uttarakhand is always found. He said that in view of the present global situation, the World Congress on disaster management is being held at a crucial juncture. The CM said that the State government is committed to confront disasters. He said that though natural disasters cannot be stopped, their effects can be minimised using better systems and strategies. He averred that a better management system to deal with the disasters can be set in place by a better coordination of ecology, economy and technology. He said that the conservation of nature in true sense can be achieved when there is a tendency of use and not misuse of natural resources in us. Dhami said that the primary objective of the convention is to discuss the challenges of climate change and disaster while focussing on Himalayan ecosystem and communities. He expressed confidence that a special message in the form of Dehradun declaration will come out from the convention which will highlight the responsibility of human society towards nature and its importance in disaster management. Dhami added that the declaration will prove to be a milestone for the mountainous areas and the entire world in terms of disaster management. Dhami said that Global Investors summit-2023 is being organised in Dehradun on December 8 and 9 in which representatives of industry from the country and world will participate to give a boost to investment in the State. He expressed confidence that the message of safe Uttarakhand will come out of the World Congress on disaster management which is being held days ahead of the Global Investors summit. The CM also released the book 'Resilient India: How Prime Minister Narendra Modi changed India's Disaster Management Model' on the occasion. The Secretary, Uttarakhand Disaster Management, Ranjt Kumar Sinha emphasized on the need for collective efforts to save the Earth. The Director General of Uttarakhand State Council for Science and Technology (UCOST), Durgesh Pant said that the representation of 51 countries in the event emphasises on the seriousness of disaster management. Noted environmentalist, Anil Joshi stressed the need for disaster-free development. He called for a review of scientific and system approaches to deal with incidents such as tunnel collapse in Silkyara, Uttarkashi. More than 60 technical sessions will be organised during the four-day World Congress on disaster management that will culminate on December 1. The mission to rescue 41 workers stuck in the Silkyara tunnel since November 12 ended successfully on the 17th day on Tuesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and expressed their good wishes for the workers on their rescue. Addressing the media after the end of the rescue operation, Dhami said that each of the workers will be provided Rs one one lakh and the government will ask the company to give each of them paid leave of 15 days to one month in order to fully recuperate from their ordeal. The rescued workers were welcomed by CM Dhami and Union minister of State for Road Transport and Highways VK Singh after they came out from the tunnel. The 17-day rescue operation saw ups and downs since its start, especially in the final stage when obstructions damaged the auger drilling machine and hampered the work for a couple of days. The government faced various allegations from the opposition but maintained its focus on rescuing the stranded workers. Dhami told the media that the rat miners who worked in the final stage and removed the debris manually after the auger machine was damaged played a decisive role in the rescue operation. He further said that as demanded by the local residents, a shrine to the local deity Baukhnag will be constructed near the tunnel. Dhami further said that the efforts of the rescue team, use of technology, the spirit of the stranded workers, PM Modi taking regular updates and the grace of the gods ensured the success of the rescue mission. Meanwhile, PM Modi telephoned Dhami and congratulated him on the successful completion of the rescue operation. He sought information about the condition of the rescued workers. Dhami informed him that arrangements have been made for tending to their health along with dropping them at home and looking after their family members. Defence minister Rajnath Singh also greeted Dhami on the successful completion of the rescue operation. The BJP State president Mahendra Bhatt greeted the entire rescue team for the successful completion of their mission. The government and government staff reached Nagari village of Dudhwal Panchayat, 35 kilometers away from Ranka block headquarters of Garhwa district for the first time after independent India of Jharkhand. This village was earlier under the control of Naxalites. Naxalites sometimes used to hold public court here. There was a severe lack of basic facilities. But today the circumstances have changed and have changed such that now the government and government facilities are reaching here, said Garhwa MLA cum State Drinking Water and Sanitation Department Minister Mithilesh Kumar Thakur on Tuesday. Thakur said that the Hemant Soren government of the state has implemented such schemes for the public, due to which today even the last person in the backward areas is getting its benefits. Today, Aapki Yojana Aapki Sarkar Aapke Dwar program was organized in Nagari village of Dudhwal Panchayat. For the first time in this village, a public representative participated in the program along with the entire government machinery. A welcome gesture of Minister Mithilesh Thakur was seen in the programme. While interacting with the public, he explained all the schemes of Jharkhand government in detail. He said that the Hemant Soren led government of the state has launched a new scheme for them, the Abua Awas Yojna. Under this scheme, beneficiaries will get up to Rs 2 lakh and a three-room house can be built. At the same time, he also benefited many beneficiaries from the government schemes. He said that this is a mirror for the opposition parties because there are so many people even in such a remote village. He said that there was a time when Naxalites used to hold a court. But today the situation has completely reversed and now the government's court is being held here and beneficiaries are benefiting from the schemes. The minister also inspected the stall in this programme. Delhi Lt Governor(LG) Vinai Kumar Saxena on Tuesday flagged off Viksit Bharat Sankalp yatra here to raise awareness through outreach activities to achieve saturation of various welfare programs launched by the Government of India. On the occasion, Saxena also administered Viksit Bharat Sankalp and flagged off IEC vans to disseminate information about the welfare schemes. He said the yatra is an important and meaningful effort towards the inclusive development of India. At the national level, the Yatra was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 15 from Khunti in Jharkhand on the occasion of the Janjatiya Gaurav Divas, marking the birth anniversary of tribal icon BirsaMunda. As the Centre on Tuesday submitted that it wanted to extend the tenure of the Delhi chief secretary who is due to retire on November 30, the Supreme Court sought to know under which power it can do so and quipped if it was stuck with only one person and didnt have any other IAS officer for the post. The apex court asked the Central government to inform it on Wednesday about the grounds on which it wanted to extend the tenure of Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar by six more months. During a hearing on a Delhi governments plea, a bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud suggested that Kumar should be allowed to superannuate and a fresh appointment should be made. At the same time, it also noted that the Centre held the power under the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act to make the appointment and there was no stay on it. This man is superannuating. Let this man superannuate. You make a fresh appointment, the bench said. The court was informed by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, that the government intends to extend the tenure of the existing person, who has been working for more than one-and-a-half year, for a limited period. As he said even the term of a superannuated person can be extended if the government so wishes, the CJI said, Are you stuck with only one person?. You want to make the appointment, make it. Dont you have any IAS officer who can be made chief secretary of Delhi? Are you so stuck on one IAS officer?, the bench also comprising justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said. The law officer responded, I am not stuck with only one person but there were some administrative reasons. The top court asked the Centre to show the power under which it can extend the tenure of the chief secretary. Show us the power to extend. And show us what is the ground on which you want to extend. Otherwise, you can appoint whoever you want to, take instructions. We are not holding you in any direction. You select any IAS officer of your choice who will come here and hold the position of chief secretary, said the bench, adding it will take up the matter on Wednesday. The appointment of the chief secretary is the latest bone of contention between Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government and Lieutenant Governor (LG) V K Saxena who have been involved in a series of run-ins over various issues. The bench was hearing a plea of the Delhi government against any move by the Centre to appoint, without any consultation with it, the new chief secretary or extend the tenure of the current top civil servant Naresh Kumar. The Delhi government has questioned how the Centre could proceed with the appointment of the chief secretary without any consultation with it while the new law is under challenge. Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing the Delhi government, on Tuesday argued there was an absolute breach of communication, trust and faith between this chief secretary and the administration. He said he was not asking to appoint a person of his choice but the Centre can choose from the senior most five IAS officers or let the LG and CM sit together and decide. On being asked by the bench as to for how long the Centre proposed to extend the tenure of the current chief secretary, Mehta said the decision appeared to be for six months, subject to the courts order. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday described the rescue of 41 workers from a tunnel in Uttarakhand as great news for the nation and said the country salutes their grit in facing such a challenging situation for so long. Shah also expressed his heartfelt gratitude to all those who made tireless efforts to save the labourers. It is great news for the nation that all our 41 Shramik brothers trapped in a tunnel in Uttarkashi have been rescued safe and sound. Nation salutes their grit in facing such a challenging situation in the tunnel for so long," Shah said on X. "My heartfelt gratitude to all the people and the agencies that have made tireless efforts to save the lives of our fellow citizens, he said. Rescue workers pulled out all 41 workers trapped in Uttarakhand's Silkyara tunnel on Tuesday evening in a multi-agency rescue operation that hovered between hope and despair over almost 17 days. The Congress on Tuesday lauded the dedication, skill and perseverance of the rescue team that brought out all the 41 workers trapped in an under-construction road tunnel in Uttarakhand and demanded adequate compensation for them. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge urged the government to provide prompt health benefits and an appropriate compensation to the construction workers who were trapped in the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi district for almost 17 days and demanded that a safety audit be conducted of all under-construction schemes so that a similar situation does not arise again. Kharge said it is a matter of great relief and joy for everyone that the workers were brought out of the tunnel safely. "Due to the prayers of 140 crore Indians, the operation of all the agencies, including the NDMA, was finally successful. Congratulations to all of you. "The government is requested to provide prompt health benefits and an appropriate compensation to the labourer brothers. A safety audit of all the under-construction schemes should be conducted so that such a situation does not arise again," he said in a post in Hindi on X, using hashtag #UttarakhandTunnelRescue. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh lauded the resilience and fortitude of the labourers. "After a harrowing 17 days the 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand are being evacuated. The entire country salutes the remarkable resilience and fortitude of the workers themselves," Ramesh said in a post on X. "The nation also applauds the dedication, skill and perseverance of the entire rescue team and thanks them wholeheartedly," he added. After almost 17 days of intense efforts by multiple agencies, all the 41 workers trapped in the tunnel were evacuated on Tuesday evening. StockNews.com upgraded shares of China Yuchai International (NYSE:CYD Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday morning. China Yuchai International Price Performance China Yuchai International stock opened at $9.13 on Friday. China Yuchai International has a fifty-two week low of $6.73 and a fifty-two week high of $12.50. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.94. Get China Yuchai International alerts: Institutional Investors Weigh In On China Yuchai International A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CYD. Quadrant Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in China Yuchai International during the 2nd quarter valued at $167,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in China Yuchai International in the second quarter worth about $112,000. Shah Capital Management grew its stake in China Yuchai International by 0.4% in the first quarter. Shah Capital Management now owns 4,111,308 shares of the companys stock worth $32,438,000 after purchasing an additional 15,515 shares in the last quarter. Arnhold LLC boosted its stake in China Yuchai International by 1.8% in the first quarter. Arnhold LLC now owns 250,266 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,975,000 after acquiring an additional 4,499 shares during the period. Finally, Susquehanna International Group LLP boosted its stake in China Yuchai International by 69.9% in the first quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 31,200 shares of the companys stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 12,831 shares during the period. About China Yuchai International China Yuchai International Limited, through its subsidiaries, manufactures, assembles, and sells diesel and natural gas engines for trucks, buses and passenger vehicles, marine, industrial, and agriculture applications in the People's Republic of China and internationally. It operates through two segments, Yuchai and HLGE. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for China Yuchai International Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for China Yuchai International and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Frontline (NYSE:FRO Get Free Report) is scheduled to release its earnings data before the market opens on Thursday, November 30th. Analysts expect Frontline to post earnings of $0.46 per share for the quarter. Investors that wish to register for the companys conference call can do so using this link. Frontline Stock Performance Shares of Frontline stock opened at $22.21 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. Frontline has a one year low of $10.55 and a one year high of $22.95. The company has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a PE ratio of 5.99 and a beta of 0.28. Get Frontline alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Frontline from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $17.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, August 25th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Frontline from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Frontline from $18.20 to $21.10 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Frontline from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $19.03. Institutional Trading of Frontline Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Frontline by 102.7% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,483,826 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $54,434,000 after purchasing an additional 2,271,724 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Frontline by 594.5% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,360,781 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $25,804,000 after buying an additional 2,020,869 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Frontline by 591.4% during the first quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,451,457 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $24,036,000 after buying an additional 1,241,540 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Frontline by 124.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,190,522 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $41,138,000 after buying an additional 1,215,624 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Frontline by 58.8% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,780,284 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $45,987,000 after buying an additional 1,029,442 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 25.66% of the companys stock. Frontline Company Profile (Get Free Report) Frontline plc, a shipping company, engages in the seaborne transportation of crude oil and oil products worldwide. It owns and operates oil and product tankers. As of December 31, 2022, the company operated a fleet of 70 vessels. It is also involved in the charter, purchase, and sale of vessels. The company was founded in 1985 and is based in Limassol, Cyprus. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Frontline Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Frontline and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. StockNews.com cut shares of Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday morning. A number of other analysts have also recently commented on HUBB. Wolfe Research upgraded Hubbell from an underperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research report on Friday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Hubbell from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and raised their price target for the company from $333.00 to $335.00 in a report on Friday, November 17th. Stephens restated an overweight rating and set a $375.00 price target on shares of Hubbell in a report on Wednesday, November 1st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn restated a buy rating on shares of Hubbell in a report on Wednesday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $299.43. Get Hubbell alerts: Get Our Latest Report on HUBB Hubbell Stock Performance NYSE:HUBB opened at $300.54 on Friday. Hubbell has a 1-year low of $219.77 and a 1-year high of $340.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stocks 50-day moving average is $296.05 and its 200-day moving average is $306.62. The stock has a market cap of $16.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.93. Hubbell (NYSE:HUBB Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $3.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.07 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. Hubbell had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 13.56%. Hubbells revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.08 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hubbell will post 15.19 earnings per share for the current year. Hubbell Increases Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 30th will be issued a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 29th. This is an increase from Hubbells previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Hubbells dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.04%. Insider Buying and Selling In related news, VP Nero Jonathan M. Del sold 1,902 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.54, for a total transaction of $543,097.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,078.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hubbell Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HUBB. Greenleaf Trust purchased a new stake in Hubbell during the 1st quarter worth approximately $205,000. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Hubbell by 74.8% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 20,283 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $4,935,000 after acquiring an additional 8,679 shares during the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Hubbell during the first quarter worth $76,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Hubbell by 57.2% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 4,827 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $1,174,000 after purchasing an additional 1,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd lifted its stake in Hubbell by 9.8% during the first quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,360,844 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $331,107,000 after purchasing an additional 121,787 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.97% of the companys stock. Hubbell Company Profile (Get Free Report) Hubbell Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells electrical and utility solutions in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Electrical Solutions and Utility Solutions. The Electrical Solution segment offers standard and special application wiring device products, rough-in electrical products, connector and grounding products, lighting fixtures, and other electrical equipment for use in industrial, commercial, and institutional facilities by electrical contractors, maintenance personnel, electricians, utilities, and telecommunications companies, as well as components and assemblies. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Hubbell Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hubbell and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Linde (NYSE:LIN Free Report) had its price objective boosted by HSBC from $440.00 to $447.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the basic materials companys stock. Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on LIN. Barclays raised their price objective on Linde from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Argus lifted their target price on Linde from $440.00 to $463.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Linde from $420.00 to $444.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Linde from $448.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 4th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Linde from $450.00 to $445.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Linde presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $425.00. Get Linde alerts: View Our Latest Analysis on Linde Linde Stock Performance Shares of LIN stock opened at $412.80 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $200.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.88. Linde has a 52 week low of $302.17 and a 52 week high of $416.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $384.54 and a 200-day moving average of $378.73. Linde (NYSE:LIN Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The basic materials company reported $3.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.06. Linde had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 18.44%. The company had revenue of $8.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $8.53 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.10 EPS. Lindes quarterly revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Linde will post 14.11 earnings per share for the current year. Linde Announces Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 4th will be given a $1.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 1st. This represents a $5.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. Lindes payout ratio is 42.11%. Insiders Place Their Bets In other Linde news, VP Sean Durbin sold 1,245 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.63, for a total transaction of $482,599.35. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,149 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,158,796.87. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Linde news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 12,484 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.53, for a total transaction of $4,825,440.52. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 27,161 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $10,498,541.33. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Sean Durbin sold 1,245 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.63, for a total value of $482,599.35. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,149 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,158,796.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Linde Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Linde by 6,500.0% during the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 66 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Linde by 122.6% during the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 69 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Provence Wealth Management Group acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 80.98% of the companys stock. About Linde (Get Free Report) Linde plc operates as an industrial gas company in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It offers atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and rare gases; and process gases, such as carbon dioxide, helium, hydrogen, electronic gases, specialty gases, and acetylene. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Linde Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Linde and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shore Capital reaffirmed their hold rating on shares of Rightmove (LON:RMV Free Report) in a report published on Monday, Marketbeat reports. Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Numis Securities upgraded Rightmove to a buy rating and raised their price objective for the company from GBX 660 ($8.34) to GBX 675 ($8.53) in a report on Monday. Citigroup restated a sell rating on shares of Rightmove in a report on Wednesday, November 22nd. Finally, Berenberg Bank restated a buy rating and issued a GBX 605 ($7.64) price objective on shares of Rightmove in a report on Monday, November 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of GBX 599.13 ($7.57). Get Rightmove alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Rightmove Rightmove Trading Up 4.8 % Rightmove Company Profile Rightmove stock opened at GBX 533.60 ($6.74) on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.64, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.43. Rightmove has a 12 month low of GBX 457.70 ($5.78) and a 12 month high of GBX 615.40 ($7.77). The stocks 50 day simple moving average is GBX 524.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is GBX 537.31. The firm has a market cap of 4.29 billion, a PE ratio of 2,223.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.92. (Get Free Report) Rightmove plc, together with its subsidiaries, operates property portals in the United Kingdom and internationally. It operates through Agency, New Homes, and Other segments. The Agency segment provides property resale and letting advertising services on its platforms. It also offers tenant references and rent guarantee insurance services to landlords. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Rightmove Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Rightmove and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM Get Free Report) and Buzzi (OTCMKTS:BZZUY Get Free Report) are both construction companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations. Dividends Martin Marietta Materials pays an annual dividend of $2.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.6%. Buzzi pays an annual dividend of $0.02 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.1%. Martin Marietta Materials pays out 17.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Buzzi pays out -25.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Martin Marietta Materials has increased its dividend for 8 consecutive years. Martin Marietta Materials is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth. Get Martin Marietta Materials alerts: Earnings & Valuation This table compares Martin Marietta Materials and Buzzis top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation. Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Martin Marietta Materials $6.16 billion 4.67 $866.80 million $17.23 27.02 Buzzi N/A N/A N/A ($0.06) -225.79 Profitability Martin Marietta Materials has higher revenue and earnings than Buzzi. Buzzi is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Martin Marietta Materials, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. This table compares Martin Marietta Materials and Buzzis net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Martin Marietta Materials 16.10% 14.89% 7.34% Buzzi N/A N/A N/A Analyst Ratings This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Martin Marietta Materials and Buzzi, as reported by MarketBeat.com. Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Martin Marietta Materials 1 3 11 0 2.67 Buzzi 0 3 1 0 2.25 Martin Marietta Materials presently has a consensus price target of $471.79, suggesting a potential upside of 1.35%. Given Martin Marietta Materials stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Martin Marietta Materials is more favorable than Buzzi. Institutional & Insider Ownership 93.2% of Martin Marietta Materials shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.2% of Buzzi shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of Martin Marietta Materials shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term. Summary Martin Marietta Materials beats Buzzi on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks. About Martin Marietta Materials (Get Free Report) Martin Marietta Materials, Inc., a natural resource-based building materials company, supplies aggregates and heavy-side building materials to the construction industry in the United States and internationally. It offers crushed stone, sand, and gravel products; ready mixed concrete and asphalt; paving products and services; and Portland and specialty cement for use in the infrastructure projects, and nonresidential and residential construction markets, as well as in the railroad, agricultural, utility, and environmental industries. The company also produces magnesia-based chemicals products; dolomitic lime primarily to customers for steel production and soil stabilization; and cement treated materials. Its chemical products are used in flame retardants, wastewater treatment, pulp and paper production, and other environmental applications. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. About Buzzi (Get Free Report) Buzzi S.p.A., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, distributes, and sells cement, ready-mix concrete, and aggregates. It has operations primarily in Italy, the United States, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Mexico, and Brazil. Buzzi S.p.A. was formerly known as Buzzi Unicem S.p.A. and changed its name to Buzzi S.p.A. in May 2023. The company was founded in 1872 and is headquartered in Casale Monferrato, Italy. Buzzi S.p.A. is a subsidiary of Fimedi S.P.A. Receive News & Ratings for Martin Marietta Materials Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Martin Marietta Materials and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Electriq Power (NYSE:ELIQ Get Free Report) and EnerSys (NYSE:ENS Get Free Report) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, valuation, risk and earnings. Profitability This table compares Electriq Power and EnerSys net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Get Electriq Power alerts: Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Electriq Power N/A -4.65% -12.42% EnerSys 6.51% 17.45% 7.99% Analyst Ratings This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Electriq Power and EnerSys, as reported by MarketBeat. Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Electriq Power 0 0 0 0 N/A EnerSys 0 1 1 0 2.50 Valuation & Earnings EnerSys has a consensus price target of $126.33, indicating a potential upside of 41.61%. Given EnerSys higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe EnerSys is more favorable than Electriq Power. This table compares Electriq Power and EnerSys revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation. Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Electriq Power N/A N/A $10.44 million N/A N/A EnerSys $3.71 billion 0.97 $175.81 million $5.83 15.30 EnerSys has higher revenue and earnings than Electriq Power. Institutional and Insider Ownership 81.3% of Electriq Power shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of EnerSys shares are held by institutional investors. 38.4% of Electriq Power shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of EnerSys shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth. Volatility & Risk Electriq Power has a beta of 0.27, meaning that its share price is 73% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, EnerSys has a beta of 1.37, meaning that its share price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500. Summary EnerSys beats Electriq Power on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks. About Electriq Power (Get Free Report) Electriq Power Holdings, Inc. provides turnkey intelligent energy storage and management solutions for homes and small businesses. The company offers PowerPod2, a smart home battery backup system. Its solutions enable cities, municipalities, and utilities to provide constituents with a path to sustainable and resilient sources of energy. The company was founded in 2014 and is based in West Palm Beach, Florida. About EnerSys (Get Free Report) EnerSys provides various stored energy solutions for industrial applications worldwide. It operates in three segments: Energy Systems, Motive Power, and Specialty. The company offers uninterruptible power systems applications for computer and computer-controlled systems, as well as telecommunications systems; switchgear and electrical control systems used in industrial facilities and electric utilities, large-scale energy storage, and energy pipelines; integrated power solutions and services to broadband, telecom, renewable, and industrial customers; and thermally managed cabinets and enclosures for electronic equipment and batteries. It also provides motive power products that are used to provide power for electric industrial forklifts used in manufacturing, warehousing, and other material handling applications. In addition, the company offers mining equipment, diesel locomotive starting, and other rail equipment. Further, it provides specialty batteries for starting, lighting, and ignition applications in transportation; and energy solutions for satellites, military aircraft, submarines, ships, and other tactical vehicles, as well as medical and security systems. Additionally, the company offers battery chargers, power equipment, battery accessories, and outdoor cabinet enclosures, as well as related after-market and customer-support services for industrial batteries. The company sells its products through a network of distributors, independent representatives, and internal sales forces. The company was formerly known as Yuasa, Inc. and changed its name to EnerSys in January 2001. EnerSys was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Reading, Pennsylvania. Receive News & Ratings for Electriq Power Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Electriq Power and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its stake in shares of IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA Free Report) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 536,764 shares of the energy companys stock after selling 7,943 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 1.06% of IDACORP worth $55,072,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in IDACORP by 0.6% during the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 15,675 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $1,660,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its holdings in IDACORP by 33.8% in the first quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 400 shares of the energy companys stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in IDACORP during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $569,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of IDACORP by 5.4% during the second quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,167 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH grew its position in IDACORP by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 3,807 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.00% of the companys stock. Get IDACORP alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on IDA shares. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of IDACORP from $97.00 to $93.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on IDACORP from $112.00 to $108.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 4th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of IDACORP in a research note on Friday, October 27th. They set a buy rating and a $104.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of IDACORP in a report on Monday, October 23rd. They set a neutral rating and a $99.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of IDACORP to a sell rating in a report on Monday, November 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $101.00. IDACORP Stock Up 0.1 % Shares of IDA stock opened at $97.40 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. IDACORP, Inc. has a 12 month low of $88.10 and a 12 month high of $112.96. The stock has a market cap of $4.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.17, a P/E/G ratio of 4.63 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.50. IDACORP (NYSE:IDA Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 2nd. The energy company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $510.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $552.12 million. IDACORP had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 9.51%. On average, research analysts expect that IDACORP, Inc. will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current year. IDACORP Increases Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is a positive change from IDACORPs previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 31st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. IDACORPs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.94%. Insider Transactions at IDACORP In related news, SVP Jeffrey L. Malmen sold 1,463 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.16, for a total value of $143,608.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,734 shares in the company, valued at $1,544,449.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.47% of the companys stock. About IDACORP (Free Report) IDACORP, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, distribution, purchase, and sale of electric energy in the United States. The company operates 17 hydropower generating plants located in southern Idaho and eastern Oregon; three natural gas-fired plants in southern Idaho; and interests in two coal-fired steam electric generating plants located in Wyoming and Nevada. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for IDACORP Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for IDACORP and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Potash America (OTCMKTS:PTAM Get Free Report) and Equifax (NYSE:EFX Get Free Report) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, risk, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings and institutional ownership. Institutional & Insider Ownership 2.9% of Potash America shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.4% of Equifax shares are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of Potash America shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Equifax shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term. Get Potash America alerts: Analyst Recommendations This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Potash America and Equifax, as reported by MarketBeat. Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Potash America 0 0 0 0 N/A Equifax 2 4 8 0 2.43 Profitability Equifax has a consensus price target of $216.00, suggesting a potential upside of 2.07%. Given Equifaxs higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Equifax is more favorable than Potash America. This table compares Potash America and Equifaxs net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Potash America N/A N/A N/A Equifax 10.15% 19.15% 6.75% Earnings and Valuation This table compares Potash America and Equifaxs gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation. Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Potash America N/A N/A N/A ($0.03) -0.04 Equifax $5.14 billion 5.08 $696.20 million $4.22 50.15 Equifax has higher revenue and earnings than Potash America. Potash America is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Equifax, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. Summary Equifax beats Potash America on 10 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks. About Potash America (Get Free Report) Potash America, Inc., an exploration stage company, focuses on the development of fertilizer and agri-business assets in Canada. It intends to acquire and develop potash, montmorillonite, bentonite, and gypsum assets into agri-products. The company was formerly known as Adtomize Inc. and changed its name to Potash America, Inc. in March 2011. Potash America, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is based in Boca Raton, Florida. About Equifax (Get Free Report) Equifax Inc. operates as a data, analytics, and technology company. The company operates through three segments: Workforce Solutions, U.S. Information Solutions (USIS), and International. The Workforce Solutions segment offers services that enables customers to verify income, employment, educational history, criminal justice data, healthcare professional licensure, and sanctions of people in the United States; and employer customers with services that assist them in complying with and automating payroll-related and human resource management processes throughout the entire cycle of the employment relationship. The USIS segment provides consumer and commercial information services, such as credit information and credit scoring, credit modeling and portfolio analytics, locate, fraud detection and prevention, identity verification, and other consulting services; mortgage services; financial marketing services; identity management services; and credit monitoring products. The International segment offers information service products, which include consumer and commercial services, such as credit and financial information, and credit scoring and modeling; and credit and other marketing products and services, as well as offers information, technology, and other services to support debt collections and recovery management. The company serves customers in financial services, mortgage, retail, telecommunications, utilities, automotive, brokerage, healthcare, and insurance industries, as well as government agencies. It operates in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and the Republic of Ireland. The company was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Receive News & Ratings for Potash America Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Potash America and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Manila Water (OTCMKTS:MWTCY Get Free Report) and Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG Get Free Report) are both utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and profitability. Profitability This table compares Manila Water and Essential Utilities net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Get Manila Water alerts: Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Manila Water N/A N/A N/A Essential Utilities 20.95% 8.52% 2.98% Insider & Institutional Ownership 0.0% of Manila Water shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.0% of Essential Utilities shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Essential Utilities shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth. Valuation and Earnings Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Manila Water N/A N/A N/A C$58.75 0.13 Essential Utilities $2.29 billion 4.21 $465.24 million $1.80 19.59 This table compares Manila Water and Essential Utilities gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation. Essential Utilities has higher revenue and earnings than Manila Water. Manila Water is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Essential Utilities, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. Dividends Manila Water pays an annual dividend of C$6.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 83.5%. Essential Utilities pays an annual dividend of $1.23 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Manila Water pays out 10.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Essential Utilities pays out 68.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Essential Utilities has increased its dividend for 31 consecutive years. Manila Water is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio. Analyst Ratings This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Manila Water and Essential Utilities, as reported by MarketBeat.com. Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Manila Water 0 0 0 0 N/A Essential Utilities 0 0 5 0 3.00 Essential Utilities has a consensus price target of $48.25, indicating a potential upside of 36.84%. Given Essential Utilities higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Essential Utilities is more favorable than Manila Water. Summary Essential Utilities beats Manila Water on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks. About Manila Water (Get Free Report) Manila Water Company, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides water treatment and distribution, sewerage, and sanitation services in the Philippines and internationally. It also offers integrated used water, pipework, engineering, procurement, and management services. The company provides its services to approximately six million people in the East Zone encompassing 23 cities and municipalities, including Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasig, Pateros, San Juan, Taguig, Marikina, Quezon City, and Manila, as well as Rizal towns comprising Angono, Antipolo, Baras, Binangonan, Cainta, Cardona, Jala-Jala, Morong, Pililia, Rodriguez, San Mateo, Tanay, Taytay, and Teresa. It serves residential, commercial, semi-business, and industrial customers. The company was incorporated in 1997 and is based in Quezon City, the Philippines. About Essential Utilities (Get Free Report) Essential Utilities, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates regulated utilities that provide water, wastewater, or natural gas services in the United States. The company operates through Regulated Water and Regulated Natural Gas segments. It offers water services through operating and maintenance contract with municipal authorities and other parties. The company also provides non-utility raw water supply services for firms in the natural gas drilling industry; and water and sewer line protection solutions, and repair services to households. It serves approximately 8.8 million residential water, commercial water, fire protection, industrial water, wastewater, and other water and utility customers in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Illinois, North Carolina, New Jersey, Indiana, Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky under the Aqua and Peoples brands. The company was formerly known as Aqua America, Inc. and changed its name to Essential Utilities, Inc. in February 2020. Essential Utilities, Inc. was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Receive News & Ratings for Manila Water Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Manila Water and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI Free Report) by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 125,439 shares of the utilities providers stock after selling 3,059 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned about 0.06% of UGI worth $3,383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of UGI by 8.1% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 58,151 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,527,000 after buying an additional 4,357 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of UGI by 236.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,492 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049 shares during the last quarter. RPG Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of UGI by 2.2% in the second quarter. RPG Investment Advisory LLC now owns 166,830 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $4,499,000 after purchasing an additional 3,594 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in UGI by 7.0% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 938,701 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $25,317,000 after purchasing an additional 61,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in UGI by 22.3% during the second quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 83,449 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $2,251,000 after purchasing an additional 15,190 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.53% of the companys stock. Get UGI alerts: UGI Stock Performance Shares of NYSE:UGI opened at $21.93 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. UGI Co. has a 12 month low of $20.19 and a 12 month high of $43.19. The company has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.05, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The firms 50-day moving average is $21.90 and its 200 day moving average is $24.65. UGI Dividend Announcement Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 14th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.84%. UGIs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -20.89%. A number of brokerages have commented on UGI. TheStreet cut shares of UGI from a c rating to a d+ rating in a research note on Friday, August 11th. StockNews.com raised UGI from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, November 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised UGI from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday, August 28th. They noted that the move was a valuation call. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on UGI from $33.00 to $29.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UGI has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $31.00. Check Out Our Latest Analysis on UGI About UGI (Free Report) UGI Corporation, through its subsidiaries, distributes, stores, transports, and markets energy products and related services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: AmeriGas Propane, UGI International, Midstream & Marketing, and UGI Utilities. It distributes propane to approximately 1.3 million residential, commercial/industrial, motor fuel, agricultural, and wholesale customers through 1,400 propane distribution locations. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding UGI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for UGI Co. (NYSE:UGI Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for UGI Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for UGI and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Societe Generale from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Briefing.com reports. Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a sector perform rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, September 25th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, November 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $93.00 to $92.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. UBS Group downgraded Morgan Stanley from a buy rating to a neutral rating and dropped their target price for the company from $110.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 10th. Finally, Atlantic Securities upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $94.18. Get Morgan Stanley alerts: Read Our Latest Research Report on MS Morgan Stanley Stock Performance Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $77.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $77.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.26. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $69.42 and a fifty-two week high of $100.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.40. Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $13.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $13.22 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.70% and a net margin of 10.86%. The businesss revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year. Insider Activity In related news, major shareholder Stanley Morgan sold 135 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50,000.00, for a total value of $6,750,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 90,635,593 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $7,740,280,000 after purchasing an additional 3,480,402 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 46,907,341 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $4,118,465,000 after purchasing an additional 913,447 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 28,073,015 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $2,397,435,000 after purchasing an additional 1,908,648 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 27,013,824 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $2,371,814,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604,768 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 5.8% during the second quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,463,443 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $2,089,138,000 after buying an additional 1,341,559 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.09% of the companys stock. About Morgan Stanley (Get 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. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Morgan Stanley Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Morgan Stanley and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG Get Free Report) is one of 7 publicly-traded companies in the Accident & health insurance industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its rivals? We will compare Principal Financial Group to related businesses based on the strength of its valuation, dividends, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings and institutional ownership. Valuation & Earnings This table compares Principal Financial Group and its rivals gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation. Get Principal Financial Group alerts: Gross Revenue Net Income Price/Earnings Ratio Principal Financial Group $17.49 billion $4.81 billion 11.88 Principal Financial Group Competitors $11.25 billion $2.16 billion 10.21 Principal Financial Group has higher revenue and earnings than its rivals. Principal Financial Group is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry. Analyst Ratings Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Principal Financial Group 5 7 0 0 1.58 Principal Financial Group Competitors 99 691 371 15 2.26 This is a summary of recent recommendations for Principal Financial Group and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.com. Principal Financial Group currently has a consensus price target of $74.92, suggesting a potential upside of 3.91%. As a group, Accident & health insurance companies have a potential upside of 3.98%. Given Principal Financial Groups rivals stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Principal Financial Group has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals. Profitability This table compares Principal Financial Group and its rivals net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Principal Financial Group 10.54% 15.30% 0.54% Principal Financial Group Competitors 10.79% 13.69% 1.58% Dividends Principal Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $2.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Principal Financial Group pays out 42.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, Accident & health insurance companies pay a dividend yield of 2.8% and pay out 28.4% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Principal Financial Group has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Risk and Volatility Principal Financial Group has a beta of 1.27, indicating that its stock price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Principal Financial Groups rivals have a beta of 0.85, indicating that their average stock price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Institutional & Insider Ownership 70.7% of Principal Financial Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.9% of shares of all Accident & health insurance companies are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of Principal Financial Group shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of shares of all Accident & health insurance companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth. Summary Principal Financial Group rivals beat Principal Financial Group on 9 of the 15 factors compared. Principal Financial Group Company Profile (Get Free Report) Principal Financial Group, Inc. provides retirement, asset management, and insurance products and services to businesses, individuals, and institutional clients worldwide. The company operates through Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Global Investors, Principal International, and U.S. Insurance Solutions segments. The Retirement and Income Solutions segment provides retirement, and related financial products and services. It offers products and services for defined contribution plans, including 401(k) and 403(b) plans, defined benefit plans, nonqualified executive benefit plans, employee stock ownership plans, equity compensation, and pension risk transfer services; individual retirement accounts; investment only products; and mutual funds, individual variable annuities, and bank products, as well as trust and custody services. The Principal Global Investors segment provides equity, fixed income, real estate, and other alternative investments, as well as asset allocation, stable value management, and other structured investment strategies. The Principal International segment offers pension accumulation products and services, mutual funds, asset management, income annuities, and life insurance accumulation products, as well as voluntary savings plans in Brazil, Chile, Mexico, China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and Southeast Asia. The U.S. Insurance Solutions segment provides specialty benefits, such as group dental and vision insurance, group life insurance, and group and individual disability insurance, as well as administers group dental, disability, and vision benefits; and individual life insurance products comprising universal, variable universal, indexed universal, and term life insurance products in the United States. It also offers insurance solutions for small and medium-sized businesses and their owners, as well as executives. Principal Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1879 and is based in Des Moines, Iowa. Receive News & Ratings for Principal Financial Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Principal Financial Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Meghan Markles attack dog, and Iranian spy Omid Scobie is on a clandestine overt mission to completely destroy the British royal family with tittle-tattle. It is no news that the Iranian regime views the UK as Satan 0.2 after the USA as Satan 0.1. Meghan Markle also views the UK in the same way and has vowed never to set foot on the land ever again. I receive my orders through a carrier pigeon sent from Montecito, California via Tehran. Yes, it can take months for a single message, but such are the vagaries of being an Iranian spy living in the UK undercover, Scobie revealed by accident yesterday to the BBC. If all things go well for the Iranian spy, the Windsors will be inundated with disinformation, fake news and all sorts of nasty rumours to rattle the Palace courtiers and King for months and decades going on. Its like having a constant barrage of slime being slung at you by a nasty gibbering vindictive monkey on a constant basis. What a fucking cunt this Omid is, a courtier revealed anonymously. Who is Omid Scobie? No one really knows who the plasticsurgeoned vindictive fictile freak really is? According to his Wikipedia page, he lives in Wales with his dog, but thats about it. Whatever the consequences of his violent verbal slanderous attacks on the royal family, this slimy parasite needs a visit from James Bond. The father of the child met Abigel at the armed police camp. She spoke to her mother, and grandparents on video call bringing huge relief to the family. Representational Image/DC THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The six-year-old girl abducted on Monday evening by unidentified kidnappers was found abandoned at the Asramam ground in Kollam on Tuesday, bringing an end to the 20-hour ordeal faced by the family and the entire state. Abigel Sara Reji, who was left abandoned by an unidentified woman at Asramam ground, is safe and healthy. The child was dragged into the white sedan by a three-member gang on Maruthanampally Road near Ayoor at around 4.30 pm in Kollam district on Monday. The kidnappers also tried to abduct the girl's eight-year-old brother Jonathan, but he managed to save himself from their clutches. The incident happened when the children were on their way to a tuition centre nearby. Students spotted the girl first S N College student Dhananjaya who along with her friend, first saw the child told media persons; "At around 1.30 pm, we were returning from our college after taking the exam, when we saw a woman coming along with a child. After seating the child on a concrete bench, the woman left the place. We thought she might come back and take the child. But she didnt return, following which we became suspicious. We approached the child and asked her to remove the mask. We matched her face with her picture on the mobile phone which had gone viral after the kidnapping incident yesterday. By now we were sure that it was the same kidnapped child. The child said she knew the mobile phone number of her mother. She herself dialled the number and connected with her mother. After confirming her identity, the police were informed about the child." Soon police teams arrived at the scene and took the child to the Armed Reserve Police camp. The father of the child also joined her later. According to eyewitnesses, earlier the woman along with two men planned to abandon the child inside the Income Tax Officers residential quarters near Asramam ground. However, the security guard objected to the move following which they went away. The people who gathered called on the mobile number spoke to her father and confirmed her identity. "She was looking tired and upset but didnt seem to have any health issues," said a youth who was present at the spot. Eyewitnesses said that a woman wearing a yellowish-green churidar brought the girl to the ground. Two men also accompanied her. However, nobody saw them leaving the place. Meanwhile, an autorickshaw driver who reportedly brought the woman to the Asramam ground where the child was abandoned, has been detained by the police. He confirmed that the woman had boarded his auto along with the child. He is being questioned to ascertain the identity of the woman. The father of the child met Abigel at the armed police camp. She spoke to her mother, and grandparents on video call bringing huge relief to the family. "I thank God for bringing back my child safe and healthy. I have no words to thank the people of the state and all who prayed for my child. I thank the police, media, local residents media persons," her mother said. Medak MP and the BRS candidate from Dubbak Kotha Prabhakar Reddy was attacked brutally by Gaddam Raju. (DC file) Hyderabad: The campaign for the November 30 elections was the most violent in the new state. For the first time, there was a murderous attack on BRS MP and Dubbak candidate Kotha Prabhakar Reddy as well as many others on independent candidates. In the latest incident, Congress leader Imran was allegedly attacked by a group of BRS workers under the Borabanda police limits in Hyderabad. Imran alleged that when he was at home, a group of BRS workers barged into his home and assaulted him. While Imran is admitted to a nearby hospital, Borabanda station house officer S. Vijay said they have registered a case on charges of assaulting Imran and outraging modesty of a woman for misbehaving with a woman member of his family. They are also verifying CCTVs for clues about the persons involved in the attack. In another incident, an independent candidate from Nampally, was assaulted by a group of persons at Asifnagar. The attackers outraged her modesty, locked her in a room, snatched her mobile phone, preventing her from calling the cops, and robbed cash from her. Police have arrested four persons in this case. Three days ago, Kosgi police in the Narayanpet district booked BRS Kodangal MLA Patnam Narender Reddy for attempted murder for attacking a youngster in the early hours of Saturday as Kosgi. Narender Reddy, along with his son Hitesh Reddy, former GHMC deputy mayor Baba Fasiuddin along with their associates abused the victim, Kura Naresh, 30, and attacked him, leaving him with bleeding injuries as the latter was allegedly supporting the Congress. October 30 saw the most serious incident in the form of thes tabbing of Prabhakar Reddy. It was widely rumoured that Gaddam Raju who attacked Prabhakar Reddy was upset after his application for Dalit Bandhu kept on hold, but police citing his confession claimed that Raju attacked the candidate to become famous in a very short time. Except in the attempt to murder case of Kotha Prabhakar Reddy, accused in all other similar attempt to murder cases involving similar attacks on candidates, the accused are shown absconding by the police. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Union Minister of State VK Singh with rescue officials after the successful evacuation of 41 workers from the collapsed Silkyara Tunnel, in Uttarkashi, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. (PTI Photo) NEW DELHI/DEHRADUN: After a long 17-day ordeal, all 41 workers trapped in the partially collapsed Silkyara tunnel were pulled out in a multi-agency rescue operation around 8.30 pm on Tuesday. Union minister V.K. Singh and Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami welcomed the workers as National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) men brought them out through a steel chute that lined a 60-metre passage. There was hugging and cheering as the ordeal ended. Some local villagers burst crackers. Outside the tunnel, some chanted "Har Har Mahadev", "Bharat Mata ki Jai" and slogans in praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr Dhami. The Prime Minister lauded the relief workers. "Everyone involved in the mission has created an amazing example of humanity and teamwork," he posted on X, adding, "It is a matter of great satisfaction that these friends of ours will meet their dear ones after a long wait." Announcing the evacuation of the workers, Mr Dhami said, "Now we will work according to the advice of the doctors and medical teams. They have come out of deep darkness after 17 days. Now they will be kept under medical observation and then a final decision will be made if they have to be sent home." "The 12 rat miners' work proved decisive in rescuing the stranded workers," the Uttarakhand CM said, adding that the construction of Baba Baukhnath temple will be taken up before resuming tunnel work. After evacuation, all the stranded workers were examined by the medical team stationed at the temporary medical facility set up by the rescuers inside the tunnel. Later, they were sent to a 41-bed temporary hospital prepared for them at the Chinyalisaur airstrip, nearly 40 km from Silkyara. Besides, AIIMS Rishikesh management was also kept on alert. According to officials overseeing the rescue operations, the last steel pipe was successfully pushed into the escape passage and the stage was set to evacuate trapped workers at around 7.15 pm. Prior to that, rescuers completed 59 metres of escape passage drilling in the evening. Earlier, rescuers at the collapsed tunnel got a major success as they were able to further drill a 4-metre horizontal escape passage that had been on hold for nearly three days. The officials said that the rat mining method was a great help for speedy drilling of the escape passage. The rat miners did a phenomenal job by digging 10 metres in less than 24 hours. "Rat-hole mining may be illegal, but it is rat miners' talent, experience and capability that proved critical," NDMA member Lt. Gen. Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd) said. The 4.5 km tunnel is part of the Centre's ambitious Char Dham project aimed at providing all-weather connectivity between four prominent Hindu shrines -- Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri -- in Uttarakhand. The tunnel connects Silkyara and Dandalgaon in Uttarkashi district and is known as the Silkyara tunnel. On November 12, a section of tunnel between 205 and 260 metres from the Silkyara side collapsed. Workers who were beyond the 260-metre mark were trapped, with their exit blocked. Fortunately for them, the part of the tunnel where they are stuck had power and water supply. The Congress concluded its Assembly elections campaign with senior leader Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday. (Image source:Twitter) Hyderabad: The Congress concluded its Assembly elections campaign on Tuesday with senior leader Sonia Gandhi making an emotive appeal to the elect the Congress for 'change', to transform Dorala Telangana (Telangana of feudal lords) into Prajala Telangana (People's Telangana) and to fulfill the dreams of those who gave up their lives for statehood. Saying she could not travel to Telangana, Mrs Gandhi said the party wanted to make the peoples dreams come true and give a a true and honest government. Mrs. Gandhi added: "You have given me immense respect by calling me Sonia Amma. You treated me like a mother, I will always be grateful to you for this love and respect and will remain dedicated to you forever." "Use all your strength this time to bring about a change," she said and ended the message with the partys campaign appeal: "Maarpu Kaavali, Congress Raavali. Rahul Gandhi shared the video message on X (Twitter), saying, "Message from Telanganas own Sonia Amma to the people of the state." Earlier, the joint roadshow was held by Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra, and TPCC chief A. Revanth Reddy in Malkajgiri on Tuesday got an overwhelming response from the people who had gathered in their thousands on either side of the road. The three leaders danced to the popular song, "Mudu Rangula Jenda Patti" along with Malkajgiri candidate Mynampally Hanumanth Rao, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Addressing a road show held from Anandbagh Chowrasta to Malkajgiri Chowrasta, Rahul Gandhi said, "My relation with you is not political, but it is a family relation. Telangana is going to witness a 'toofan' (storm) of support for the Congress and the BRS will lose badly." He said the first aim of the Congress was to "make a people's government in Telangana" by defeating the BRS and after that "dislodge" the Narendra Modi government at the Centre in the Lok Sabha polls in 2024. Priyanka Gandhi said, "There has been a KCR government for 10 years. Were you given employment? What was given to women? KCRs family members were made ministers... If you elect a Congress government, we will fulfill our Six Guarantees, and we will form an honest government for you." Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during an interaction with drivers, gig workers and sanitary workers, at Jubilee Hills in Hyderbad, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. (PTI Photo) Hyderabad: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that he along with his sister Priyanka Gandhi would serve the people of Telangana as soldiers in Delhi, after the Congress comes to power in Telangana state. "Whenever you have any requirements in Delhi, remember that we are always there for you," he said. "Priyanka Gandhi and I will be the representatives of Telangana people in Delhi." Addressing campaign-ending road shows in Nampally and Malkajgiri on Tuesday, and riding in an autorickshaw along with Congress Jubilee Hills candidate Mohd Azharuddin, Gandhi said, "Its our responsibility to stand with the people of Telangana. Because, when my family and grandmother Indira Gandhi were in need of support, the people of Telangana, everyone including the women and youth stood by us. We will never forget your support." He said that his mother and former Congress president Sonia Gandhi had wholeheartedly formed Telangana state acceding to the peoples wishes and not bothering about the political implications. "The Congress-led UPA government created Telangana state in 2014 with a belief it will benefit common people, especially the poor and the youth. But unfortunately, the BRS government has turned this state into "Dorala Telangana" (state of feudal lords) in the last ten years," he said. "What the Congress wants is to make this state "Prajala Telangana" (a state for the people). To achieve this, please ensure the victory of Congress, and together, lets realise the dreams of Telangana," Gandhi urged voters. BRS working president and minister K.T. Rama Rao during the final day of election campaigning at Kamareddy. (Image By Arrangement) HYDERABAD: BRS working president and minister K.T. Rama Rao on Tuesday termed the Congress leaders "puppets" in the hands of Delhi leaders, who cannot protect the interests of Telangana. He said some leaders from Karnataka were coming to Telangana with money bags to derive electoral benefits during the Assembly elections on November 30. "Be careful with such people. Think wisely before casting your vote and not to believe in rumours," he said at a press conference in Sircilla after the election campaign came to an end in the evening. "We are not saying that everything was done. More needs to be achieved and some mistakes happened. We are human beings and not Gods," Rama Rao said, admitting that there is some dissatisfaction. Rama Rao said that the party would correct its mistakes and everything would will be completed the next time. "We have done 90 things out of 100. Please see the transformation in the state, especially in Hyderabad. Several companies like Google, Apple, Amazon and Foxconn set up companies in the city. Cant we do those 10 things?" he said. The minister said the state government under leadership of Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao had implemented Rythu Bandhu, Dalit Bandhu, 24-hour free power supply, Yadadri temple, Mission Bhagiratha and Mission Kakatiya among others schemes. He said no one could love Telangana more than the BRS, he said. "Our strength is Telangana," he said, adding that Telangana has a visionary leader who was the Chief Ministerial candidate. "Who is there in other parties? Only brokers, buffoons and cheats," Rama Rao said. Chandrashekar Raos was the only voice of Telangana and attempts were being made to suppress that voice and it was the responsibility of everyone to protect it. "In 70 years of election history, Telangana ensured victory for many parties but the BRS is the only party that won Telangana. We are again trying to make Telangana win and that is the difference. The BJP and the Congress are trying to win elections in the state to derive mileage," Rama Rao said. Referring to promises made by the Congress during the election campaign, Rama Rao cautioned people against falling into a trap or else the hard work done in the last few years would turn into ashes. "If we dont have a strong leader like KCR, we dont get any schemes, companies, power and water supply and projects," Rama Rao explained. "We will be left with tears only, if we believe in crocodile tears shed by Congress leaders," Rama Rao said. He said the Congress does not have a leader with Chief Ministers stature and the leaders within the party would fight for the Chief Ministers chair. "Telangana would be affected if there is no stable government in the state," he said. Rama Rao further stated that Congress was earlier thrown in a garbage bin and the same Congress made the people in Telangana to cry for 50 years and left everyone with tears by sucking blood, killing innocent people. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC cut its position in The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC Free Report) by 56.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 150,492 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after selling 191,855 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC owned approximately 0.07% of Macerich worth $1,696,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MAC. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Macerich by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 468,115 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $5,276,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its stake in Macerich by 150.8% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 243,137 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $2,740,000 after purchasing an additional 146,192 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Macerich by 7.8% during the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 126,274 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $1,423,000 after purchasing an additional 9,137 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG acquired a new stake in Macerich in the second quarter valued at $360,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Macerich by 42.9% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,221,660 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $13,768,000 after buying an additional 366,750 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.14% of the companys stock. Get Macerich alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes Several brokerages have issued reports on MAC. Piper Sandler raised shares of Macerich from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and upped their price target for the company from $11.00 to $12.00 in a report on Monday, October 2nd. StockNews.com began coverage on Macerich in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a sell rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and one has assigned a hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Reduce and an average target price of $11.90. Macerich Stock Performance Shares of Macerich stock opened at $11.04 on Tuesday. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $10.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. The Macerich Company has a twelve month low of $8.77 and a twelve month high of $14.51. Macerich (NYSE:MAC Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 31st. The real estate investment trust reported ($1.22) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($1.66). The business had revenue of $218.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $200.63 million. Macerich had a negative net margin of 38.30% and a negative return on equity of 12.04%. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Macerich Company will post 1.78 EPS for the current fiscal year. Macerich Dividend Announcement The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 8th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.16%. Macerichs dividend payout ratio is -43.87%. Macerich Profile (Free Report) Macerich is a fully integrated, self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust (REIT). As a leading owner, operator and developer of high-quality retail real estate in densely populated and attractive U.S. markets, Macerich's portfolio is concentrated in California, the Pacific Northwest, Phoenix/Scottsdale, and the Metro New York to Washington, DC corridor. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Macerich Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Macerich and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Squarespace, Inc. (NYSE:SQSP Get Free Report) General Counsel Courtenay Oconnor sold 1,566 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.27, for a total transaction of $44,270.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 38,384 shares in the company, valued at $1,085,115.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Squarespace Stock Performance Shares of SQSP opened at $27.89 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $29.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.02. Squarespace, Inc. has a 12 month low of $19.58 and a 12 month high of $34.38. Get Squarespace alerts: Squarespace (NYSE:SQSP Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.33). The firm had revenue of $257.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $251.91 million. Squarespace had a negative return on equity of 2.24% and a negative net margin of 25.38%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.07 EPS. Analysts expect that Squarespace, Inc. will post 0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year. Institutional Trading of Squarespace Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SQSP. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Squarespace by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,774,485 shares of the companys stock worth $101,984,000 after acquiring an additional 419,488 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in Squarespace by 38.7% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,427,924 shares of the companys stock worth $108,117,000 after acquiring an additional 956,920 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Squarespace by 438.4% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,169,388 shares of the companys stock worth $100,691,000 after acquiring an additional 2,580,712 shares during the period. Riverbridge Partners LLC grew its holdings in Squarespace by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC now owns 2,378,406 shares of the companys stock worth $75,015,000 after acquiring an additional 77,177 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Squarespace by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,191,871 shares of the companys stock worth $34,508,000 after acquiring an additional 31,448 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 43.73% of the companys stock. SQSP has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Squarespace from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Squarespace from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Squarespace from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 8th. Credit Suisse Group increased their target price on shares of Squarespace from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, August 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Squarespace from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Squarespace currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $35.62. Get Our Latest Research Report on Squarespace Squarespace Company Profile (Get Free Report) Squarespace, Inc operates platform for businesses and independent creators to build online presence, grow their brands, and manage their businesses across the internet. Its suite of integrated products enables users to manage their projects and businesses through websites, domains, e-commerce, marketing tools, scheduling, and hospitality services, as well as tools for managing a social media presence. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Squarespace Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Squarespace and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC reduced its stake in USANA Health Sciences, Inc. (NYSE:USNA Free Report) by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,568 shares of the companys stock after selling 2,215 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC owned approximately 0.14% of USANA Health Sciences worth $1,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new position in shares of USANA Health Sciences during the second quarter worth $27,000. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of USANA Health Sciences by 64.3% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 621 shares of the companys stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of USANA Health Sciences by 152.3% during the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the companys stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in USANA Health Sciences by 71.6% in the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,057 shares of the companys stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in USANA Health Sciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $69,000. 52.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get USANA Health Sciences alerts: USANA Health Sciences Trading Down 1.2 % Shares of USNA opened at $46.58 on Tuesday. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $52.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.05. USANA Health Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.01 and a 12-month high of $69.60. The firm has a market cap of $891.08 million, a PE ratio of 15.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.82. Analysts Set New Price Targets USANA Health Sciences ( NYSE:USNA Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.05). USANA Health Sciences had a net margin of 6.45% and a return on equity of 13.08%. The company had revenue of $213.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $212.24 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that USANA Health Sciences, Inc. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year. A number of research analysts recently commented on USNA shares. StockNews.com raised shares of USANA Health Sciences from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 21st. DA Davidson cut their target price on USANA Health Sciences from $62.00 to $53.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 25th. Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on USNA USANA Health Sciences Profile (Free Report) USANA Health Sciences, Inc develops, manufactures, and sells science-based nutritional, personal care, and skincare products. The company offers USANA nutritional products that comprise essentials/CellSentials, such as vitamin and mineral supplements that provide a foundation of total body nutrition for various age groups; optimizers comprising targeted supplements that are designed to meet cardiovascular, skeletal/structural, and digestive health needs; and foods that include meal replacement shakes, snack bars, and other related products. Read More Receive News & Ratings for USANA Health Sciences Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for USANA Health Sciences and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. The newly inaugurated Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman Michael Mainelli, was in Derry and Strabane last week to explore the challenges and the opportunities for advancing trade, investment and civic connections for the two cities. The 695th Lord Mayor and his delegation were welcomed to the Guildhall by Mayor of Derry and Strabane, Councillor Patricia Logue, who was joined by Council Chief Executive John Kelpie and senior officers to discuss priorities for the City Region. Northern Ireland is his first visit as Lord Mayor, and Alderman Mainelli took part in a number of local engagements including a visit to Foyle College and lunch with local business leaders hosted by the Chamber of Commerce. He also took the opportunity to meet with representatives of the International Regulatory Innovation Supercluster (IRIS) including Atlantic Technological University, Catalyst, Donegal County Council, Ulster University and the Council. Elected annually, the Lord Mayor of the City of London is an international ambassador leading overseas business delegations to key international markets on behalf of the UKs financial and professional services industry. He also heads up the City of London Corporation, the governing body of the Square Mile dedicated to a vibrant and thriving City. Derry and Strabane retains strong connections with the City of London and London Corporation, developed over recent years, with shared interests in the areas of Financial and Professional Services, technology, tourism and culture. Welcoming the new Lord Mayor to the City, Mayor Logue said their meeting had been an opportunity to discuss building the ties that can generate growth in both our regions. The meeting with Ald. Mainelli was a great chance to discuss progress to date and our priorities going forwards, she declared. The City of London is a global leader in the Financial and Professional Services sector. Our meeting today offered a platform to discuss some of our recent success stories, including the announcement by one of Irelands fastest growing fintech companies, FinTrU of plans to invest over 20m creating an additional 300 new jobs in Derry. As a Council we are committed to developing strong international business links, and will continue to explore opportunities for future investment and growth, building on the fantastic work that has already been done to develop our key industries, the emerging fintech cluster here, as well as shared interests in innovation, education and climate action. During his term in office, Ald. Mainelli had pledged to promote his Theme of Connect To Prosper. This initiative is focused on harnessing the City of Londons vast knowledge ecosystem and will bring together thought leaders from the scientific, academic and business worlds to demonstrate the Citys strengths in solving global challenges. On his visit he said he would continue to explore new avenues to collaborate with Derry and Strabane and opportunities for closer alignment between the City Region and City of London. Derry and Strabane Council will put pressure on the Department of Health to create a health strategy that deals with the specific needs of women. The motion was brought by Councillor Caroline Devine at the reconvened Full Council meeting, Thursday 23 November. The Sinn Fein councillor said the North is lagging behind the South and Britain on womens health. The North is the only area across these islands that doesn't have a woman's health strategy, she said. The groundwork needs to commence now on developing a strategy so that our unique health needs and challenges are recognized and health outcomes for women and girls living here are improved. We need a strategy in place to reduce avoidable health inequalities for women across the course of their lives. Ensuring that age, ethnicity, sexuality, income inequality or where they live does not impact their ability to easily access appropriate and timely services and treatments. She said not enough focus is put on women-specific health and well-being issues including menstrual health, contraception, fertility, pregnancy, postpartum support, pregnancy loss, menopause, and acts of violence against women and girls. Many health conditions affect women disproportionately, things like autoimmune conditions, depression, IBS, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease, yet women remain underrepresented in medical research and clinical trials, resulting in poorer outcomes. Researchers should be mandated to consider females in research because using men as a default leads to less effective treatments for women. A 'coordinated and strategic approach' that normalises 'conversation around things like periods fertility and menopause' is needed according to cllr Devine. Women need to be listened to by their health care practitioners and there needs to be better education and training for healthcare professionals on women-specific health conditions and better access to relevant health care information and services across every stage of a woman's life. Employers also need to have a greater understanding of how women's health affects her experiences in the workplace so that they can remain productive and be supported in their working life. She proposed that Council writes to the Permanent Secretary in the Department of Health, highlighting its concern that there is a lack of strategic direction regarding womens health services and requesting groundwork commences immediately on the development of a Womens Health Strategy. Councillor Lilian Barr said the issue stems from underrepresentation of women in positions of power. I think we can all agree that women's issues and particularly health issues have not been prioritised. We have not had an opportunity to have a consistent, effective and cohesive approach which the government should have implemented to ensure that grassroot voices have been heard, the SDLP councillor said. You rightly articulated the lack of research here and the lack of data that can be used. This is one of the issues that we face, not having women in positions of power. I just want to highlight that my colleague Sinead McLaughlin recently carried out a survey of women earlier this year and covered more than 500 responses and 90% of the women felt that there is inadequate service provision available for the biggest healthcare issue affecting women. Alderman Derek Hussey said he supports the motion and said there may be a need for positive discrimination to address the issue. When you look at section five of the Northern Ireland act which requires our council to give due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity and one of the sections there is between men and women. When you look at the disparity which has been outlined, I would go further to say is there a need for some sort of positive discrimination to restore a proper reflective balance within our health strategy, the UUP alderman said. Two versions of the motion were submitted, one in English and one as Gaeilge. Ald Hussey said he prefers the Irish language version of the motion. I did note and I had mentioned it to Councillor Devine. Im more or less inclined to say yes to the Gaeilge version as opposed to the English translation of it, the UUP alderman said. Tuaisceart Eireann literally translates as Northern Ireland and I can accept that. Whereas in the English it's referred to the north of Ireland, which is Tuaisceart na hEireann, forgive my pronunciation, but I thought I would reflect on that, thank you. Alderman Chelsea Cooke said she wants to ensure any strategy is genuinely put into practice. As a chairperson for a local womans group, women's health issues are something that is talked about frequently. Statistics show that women tend to live longer than men but spend more of their life in poor health and that four out of five women have at times felt that healthcare professionals are not listening to them, the DUP alderman said. Starting the groundwork on a woman's health strategy is vitally important, but we need to make sure that when it is fully implemented it goes somewhere. We don't want to strategise if it's going to be sitting on a shelf somewhere. These issues are important to all women and girls and through this process it is extremely important that their voices are heard and used to create this strategy. Thorough consultation on this is essential to ensure all the issues are taken into consideration. The motion passed unanimously. Derry teachers will join teachers from across the North in a half day strike involving all five Unions tomorrow. Five dates of strike action have been planned in response to a long-running dispute over pay. Wednesday's half day strike will take aim at a number of issues including a three year stagnation in pay. English teacher at St Cecilia's college in Derry, Tanya Wakeley, has worked in the profession for 29 years. The NEU Union Rep says in many ways this is the most challenging time in the profession. I think, crucially, this is the most taxing, hard working, exacerbating time for all teachers, all teachers in the teaching profession right across Northern Ireland, she said. With pay cuts adding on to our workload and a reduction in teachers, it's just adding to the crisis in education at the minute. She said teachers are expected to take on large amounts of unpaid work. People aren't aware that teachers have to do a lot of administrative work for the examination bodies and we don't get paid for that. We have to do stuff like setting coursework, marking the coursework, collating the data, and then uploading all of the results. This takes an exorbitant amount of time and energy from. It's sapping teachers. They don't have to do that in Scotland, we have to do it in Northern Ireland. No other profession would do that. They wouldn't work for free yet we're expected to. We go above and beyond for our pupils and we don't take strike lightly. We do not want to go on strike. We've been forced to go on strike because of the constant demoralisation of our profession via poor pay. We demand pay parity. Teachers are represented by the Northern Ireland Teachers Council (NITC) which includes five unions - the NASUWT, Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO), Ulster Teachers' Union (UTU), National Education Union (NEU) and NAHT. The pay dispute has been ongoing for a year and a half. In February 2022, unions rejected a pay offer from employers for the years 2021-2023, describing it as "inadequate". According to the unions, employers claimed the deal was a 3.2% increase over two years but the unions said the deal consisted of a restructure of pay grades which cost less than an equivalent pay offer of 1% each year. Tanya said schools right across the board are losing staff due to a crisis in education. Just thinking in terms of St Cecilia's, that's one school out of the secondary schools in Derry, we have lost around 15 staff in five years. That's experienced and talented teachers because the pressure on the stress is just too much. Some retired early, some retired due to ill health. Say, 20 years ago, teachers would have been staying much longer in the profession. The workload, the costs, the examination pressure, all those things have added to our workload and are detrimental to our mental health. Recruiting new teachers is also becoming more difficult, with you people put off by the well publicised issues faced in the profession. Retention is hard at the minute, but so too is the other end of the spectrum, which is recruitment of new, vibrant and dynamic young teachers coming into the profession. They're looking at the workload, they're looking at the burnout and they are taking their experience, their skill base and their brain power elsewhere. They're using their heads. Teachers normally use their hearts when they come into this profession. They come into it for the love of children and the love of being an educator. But young people are now thinking 'do I really want to go there?' I think the main issue as well for young teachers is the starting salary. We have the poorest starting salary out of all our young graduates. Young people are thinking clever now. They're thinking 'do I want to go into a profession where the pay has stagnated for three years?' and the last pay rise we had was a derisory 2.5% Tanya said the strike is over pay cuts, school funding, reduction in budgets for special needs education, and the cut in the places available in early years. We are striking for a number of things, pay being the major one. We want parity with our colleagues across the water and England, Wales and Scotland. The disparity between our pay and their pay is getting wider and wider. A young student's teacher said to me last year 'I could have two jobs and not be as exhausted'. We take our work home with us, we're marking constantly within this profession. It's not palatable anymore to young people. They want a life and rightly so. Pauline Buchanan, Joint Regional Secretary of NEU NI said teachers are at their wits end. The patience of teachers in Northern Ireland is wearing thin. They are the backbone of our education system, dedicating their lives to shaping the future of our youth. However, a consistent lack of progress in addressing their concerns has left them disheartened and frustrated. Northern Ireland's teachers find themselves trailing far behind their counterparts in neighbouring regions when it comes to their compensation. This wage disparity puts Northern Ireland's education system at risk, as many qualified educators seek better opportunities elsewhere. A teacher in Ballymena should not earn 85% of a teacher's wage in Scotland. The short boat ride is luring away talented, young teachers and we are seeing a recruitment crisis. Santa Claus was in Derry on Friday night to turn on the citys Christmas lights and the North Poles most famous resident has made special arrangements with Derry and Strabane Council to make sure all the children in the city and districts letters get to him in time for Christmas. Santa has installed a special Post Box in Guildhall Square that will deliver letters straight to his workshop in the North Pole and he has promised to respond to all the wish lists sent to him before the deadline of Monday 18th December. Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Cllr Patricia Logue, lit up Irelands tallest Christmas tree in Guildhall Square along with Santa on Friday night and she thanked him for locating the Post Box in the city centre. I am delighted that we have been able to team up with Santa and his team of hard working Elves and Reindeers in the North Pole to make sure all the children in our Council area can get their letters to him ahead of Christmas Eve, she said. This is an incredibly busy time for them as they prepare to deliver toys and presents to children all over the world so he has asked me to encourage children to get their wish list in as early as possible so that he can reply to everyone. The last post to the North Pole will be Monday, December 18 and if you cant make it to Guildhall Square before then, Santa has kindly set up an e mail option for youngsters to submit their letters online. He asked me to remind people to include their postal address on their letters so he can respond in person ahead of visiting their homes on Christmas Eve. If children cant make it to Guildhall Square letters can be e mailed to santa@derrystrabane.com. The Magical Christmas Processions to turn on the lights in Derry and Strabane at the weekend are part of Councils comprehensive Christmas programming for 2023 which includes Mayor Logues Christmas Tea Dances and a number of new initiatives such as the St Columbs Cathedral Christmas Tree festival and the Derry Business Collective Christmas Market in St Columbs Hall. Plan your Derry Strabane Christmas experience by accessing the full programme at derrystrabane.com/Christmas. You can support and follow Council's support local campaign using the hashtags #DerryStrabaneChristmas and #GiftLocal on social media. Conservative MP Sir Robert Buckland has become the new chairman of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee at Westminster. He replaces Simon Hoare, who left the role after he was appointed as a local government minister at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities as part of Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks recent reshuffle. Sir Robert takes up the position with immediate effect and will serve until the end of the current Parliament. The committee is currently carrying out a number of inquiries, including into a massive PSNI data breach in which personal details of all police officers and staff members in Northern Ireland were published online, and into the implications of a Court of Appeal ruling for applicants in the regions renewable heat incentive (RHI) scheme. Sir Robert said: I am thrilled to have the opportunity to chair the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee. With thanks to my colleagues who nominated me and supported my appointment, I am honoured to take on this privilege and at such a critical time for Northern Ireland politically. I will bring to the role experience and knowledge of Northern Irelands political landscape gained throughout my career, first as UK Government law officer, where I handled issues related to devolution and oversaw the passage of legislation through the Assembly, then latterly as Lord Chancellor, where I worked closely with senior judges in Northern Ireland to overcome judicial issues. He added: As chair, I will not shy away from the necessary scrutiny required of the Northern Ireland Office, particularly as we see events unfold without a functioning Executive in Stormont. Northern Ireland is a valued and vital part of our United Kingdom, with communities and a history for which I have deep respect. I will work tirelessly, together with my fellow committee members, to provide effective scrutiny and, ultimately, improve the policies affecting the lives of people in Northern Ireland. Save my User ID and Password Some subscribers prefer to save their log-in information so they do not have to enter their User ID and Password each time they visit the site. To activate this function, check the 'Save my User ID and Password' box in the log-in section. This will save the password on the computer you're using to access the site. Note: If you choose to use the log-out feature, you will lose your saved information. This means you will be required to log-in the next time you visit our site. Carbon-Based Technology takes flight: pioneering composite materials in global drone market Carbon-Based Technology, a promising entrant in the drone industry, officially debuted on the stock market recently, specializing in the production of composite materials. The company underscores the global potential of the drone market, with a long-term vision to become a leading subcontractor for unmanned vehicles. Focusing primarily on the research and application of aerospace carbon fiber composite materials, Carbon-Based Technology is actively engaged in the manufacturing and assembly of military UAV bodies. Since 2011, the Taiwan-based company served as a supplier to the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST), contributing to the development of various military-grade UAV models. Carbon-Based Technology's core strength lies in its expertise in manufacturing composite material components. Beyond meeting the lightweight requirements for UAV bodies, the company produces battery boxes for electric buses that reduce weight by an impressive 60% compared to traditional metal materials. As unmanned vehicles reshape modern warfare strategies, global attention is increasingly turning to the burgeoning drone industry. While Taiwan's current drone market primarily caters to commercial-grade military applications, Carbon-Based Technology sees the future of drones in the international arena, a key motivation for its decision to go public. The military applications of drones have garnered significant interest, prompting countries worldwide to invest actively in the procurement, deployment, and research and development of military UAVs. Projections indicate a robust compound annual growth rate of 27.6% in the global military drone market from 2022 to 2025. Insiders in the drone industry suggest that the government plans to acquire 3,000 drones within the next five years. However, this number is considered inadequate, given the consumable nature of drones in a battlefield scenario, potentially being depleted within an hour. With a substantial rise in global drone demand, supply chains worldwide are gearing up for the anticipated surge. In addition to mitigating reliance on a single domestic market, the natural evolution of drone supply chains involves expanding into international territories. Geosat Aerospace & Technology and Thunder Tiger have already engaged in collaborative international drone projects. Carbon-Based Technology affirms its commitment to focus on mass-producing and maintaining military drones, subcontract manufacturing commercial UAVs, and domestic and international drone sales. Additionally, the company is venturing into the information integration business for avionics systems. Looking ahead, Carbon-Based Technology's ambitious long-term goal is to develop electromagnetic pulse vehicle technology and emerge as a leading global subcontractor for unmanned vehicles. This strategic expansion encompasses diverse areas, including low-Earth orbit satellites, composite materials for electric bus components, and concurrent entry into the aerospace and space industries. Carbon-Based Technology currently operates across key sectors such as manufacturing medium to large military-grade UAVs, carbon fiber material production, and drone assembly and maintenance. Tobii's driver monitoring system aims to improve Asia's bus safety Monitoring the driver's state is critical to facilitate road safety. Stockholm-headquartered Tobii has launched a software for driver monitoring system (DMS) leveraging its eye-tracking technology. The company plans to scale the solution in Asia's public transportation and the car sector, enhancing the safety of bus systems. With over 20 years of experience in eye-tracking technology, Tobii's solutions have been applied to scientific research, extended reality, gaming, PC, education, automotive, and many other fields. Its DMS, one of the company's latest products, received the first design win from the world's largest automotive tier-1 supplier in April 2023. A Europe-based commercial vehicle manufacturer will adopt the system in its heavy vehicles. A system that monitors and saves lives Tobii said the DMS can detect driver drowsiness and distraction by gathering various biological signals, including the driver's gaze and the direction their head faces. If the system finds that the driver has not looked at the roads for some time, it will activate an alarm to remind them. When the driver faces the front but gets distracted by videos or other things, the system will also send out a notice, the company said. According to Tobii, the algorithms enabling the DMS analyze data gathered by a camera and detect if the driver is tired or unresponsive. This feature could be important for public bus systems and companies as bus drivers usually have to drive for long hours. Tobii said if a driver falls asleep or gets a stroke, the DMS could alert them or help contact first responders. Tipu Sultan (known as Tipu in the industry), Asia Pacific general manager and vice president of sales and marketing at Tobii, said the European Union has mandated that all new cars sold in the region be equipped with a camera-based DMS by 2026. China has also prioritized the safety feature. Moreover, Tobii has seen the technology's potential in Japan and South Korea. According to Tipu, many automotive players have planned or are supporting DMS. He said Tobii does not require customers to use specific cameras because its eye-tracking technology can work on most cameras. The company trains the camera with algorithms to ensure the DMS functions under a wide range of lighting conditions, regardless of hats, glasses, and ethnicity. The system can also facilitate car accident investigation. Tipu said DMS software can show whether the driver was paying attention to the roads or looking at the right place when the accident happened. Sultan added that the data can be retrieved immediately and reduce the time needed for investigation. Tobii's software enables the DMS to detect a driver's gaze and other signals. Credit: DIGITIMES Asia Working with partners to reduce development costs Tobii's eye-tracking technology is also widely used in XR headsets. The company's machine-learning algorithms interpret a headset's camera feed to generate a real-time stream of data points such as pupil size, gaze vector, and eye openness. The company said the information can be used, for example, to determine how well a person can follow a stimulus, how they react to a scene, and their intent. Recently, Tobii's solution has enabled Pimax Crystal, PlayStation VR2, and other headsets. However, companies like Apple and Meta have launched their headsets and have been developing their eye-tracking technology. How will Tobii try to build a partnership with these big players? Tipu said Tobii has the right contacts with Apple and Meta. He also said Tobii would show the value it can bring and how it achieves better user experience when engaging with companies. He added that these companies understand they might not be able to develop all aspects of advanced eye-tracking technology themselves in a short period of time. Tobii has been talking to every business intending to build VR or AR devices, Tipu said. While not every company will become a customer, the conversations can ensure that they know Tobii is the standard in eye-tracking. Applications of VR and AR have gained more traction recently, Tipu said. For example, the technologies have been used for maintenance training. Workers who wear headsets can familiarize themselves with the maintenance process before working on real parts. However, VR and AR headsets are still viewed as premium devices. Bringing down the costs is critical to grow adoption. Tipu said Tobii has worked with partners like Qualcomm, OmniVision, and contract manufacturers (ODM) to drive down the costs for sensors, cameras, and the whole development process. Tipu said Tobii has collaborated with Qualcomm and other ecosystem partners to build a reference design for XR headsets, allowing customers to develop their devices based on it. It is a more cost-effective and faster approach for OEMs to come up with their own XR devices. Tobii helps OEM partners review the hardware design in addition to offering software solutions, according to Tipu. He said the company engages at the beginning of the product development lifecycle to ensure that all potential issues are addressed before OEMs finalize their hardware design. A Labour senator has said it was not a strong statement by Sinn Fein to call for the resignation of Justice Minister Helen McEntee as the party did not table a motion of no confidence at the same time. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald called for the resignation of Ms McEntee on Friday, following riots in Dublin city centre which were preceded by a stabbing in which children were seriously injured. Senator Rebecca Moynihan said Labour would vote no confidence in the Justice Minister if a motion was called but said that was up to Sinn Fein, as smaller parties would not have an opportunity to call a motion for several weeks. The government isnt listening. We need safe communities, safe towns and cities for all. Nothing less will do. I have confidence full confidence in an Garda Siochana. I have zero confidence in the Garda Commissioner and the Minister for Justice @MaryLouMcDonald pic.twitter.com/G1tJM2Co6C Sinn Fein (@sinnfeinireland) November 28, 2023 She said Labour had not had confidence in the Government in the area of policing for a long time. I think its up to Sinn Fein. They should have put it down on Friday if they have no confidence, Ms Moynihan said. When Mary Lou McDoanld came out and said that she did not have the confidence in the Garda Commissioner and the minister, that was an opportunity to do it. We dont have the (Dail) time but we will be voting no confidence. Ms Moynihan said expressing no confidence in Ms McEntee was bubble talk and a distraction from policing in the capital city. What were concerned about is the safety on the streets of Dublin. When asked if Ms McEntee should resign on Saturday, Labour leader Ivana Bacik told RTE radio: We dont have confidence in the Governments handling of policing frankly, and weve said that for some time now. But we dont believe that this weekend its appropriate at a time when our focus and priority should be on preventing an escalation of violence. Last Thursday's events represent a whole of Government failure. This Government must take responsibility for failing to address the key crisis within An Garda Siochana that contributed to the breakdown of law & order that we saw in our city @ivanabacik pic.twitter.com/3YOqppH4jR The Labour Party (@labour) November 28, 2023 Ms Bacik said there had been a good deal of political play acting on the matter but added that the minister had questions to answer. Asked on Tuesday if the party was now playing catch up compared to stronger statements from Sinn Fein, Ms Moynihan said: It wasnt really a strong statement because they could have put in a motion of no confidence on Friday and they didnt. Ms Bacik later reiterated in the Dail that the party had no confidence in how the Government was handling policing. Maxi Zoo Ireland has launched its Shelter Wishes campaign for the month of December, which will see 29 animal charities across 15 counties benefit. As part of this, The Louth Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (LSPCA) and Drogheda Animal Rescue will receive products from under the Christmas tree at the Maxi Zoo stores in Dundalk and Drogheda respectively, to make the festive season extra special for the animals in its care. Maxi Zoo Ireland customers can donate instore to the Shelter Wishes campaign by doing the following: Pick a wish from the Christmas tree in your local Maxi Zoo Ireland store Buy the product on the wish card for the chosen charity Put the product under the tree for the charity to collect before Christmas Head of Marketing at Maxi Zoo Ireland Anthony Cremin said: We are really delighted to once again run the Shelter Wishes Campaign, which has donated thousands of euros worth of pet products over several years for so many worthy charities. This year were helping organisations that look after dogs, cats, horses and other wildlife, and all these volunteer groups desperately need funding to survive. Its heartwarming to see how much Maxi Zoo Ireland customers across the country get behind the Shelter Wishes Campaign, helping to make Christmas special for so many animals in need. During the month of December last year, Shelter Wishes saw over 2,000 wishes granted for less fortunate animals. The campaign is one of the ways in which Maxi Zoo Ireland is involved with the welfare of animals. It also partnered with Husky Rescue Ireland in November of this year, to raise money for the organisation through its Together for Pets Pendants campaign. A full list of the benefiting charities for the 2023 Shelter Wishes campaign can be found at www.maxizoo.ie/shelterwishes Lorcan Garvin, a Knockbridge resident and Colaiste Chu Chulainn student, presented his scientific study of micro plastics on Louth's beaches at the National Final of SciFest, last Friday 24 November at the Marino Conference Centre in Dublin. SciFest is the largest, most inclusive all-island Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fair programme for second-level students in Ireland. It promotes STEM education through the provision of a forum for students at local/regional/national level to present and display their scientific investigations. Lorcan's project was entitled "Investigating the Amount of Microplastics in the Sand at Beaches Around Co. Louth" and was undertaken with the support of his teacher Deirdre Dunford. Explaining his project, Lorcan said, "I started with a research question, How are Louth's beaches impacted by micro plastics? and went from there. "I gathered sand samples from six beaches in Louth, Blackrock, Clogherhead, Annaaassan, Termonfeckin, Lurganboy and Templetown. "Through a process called flocculation, I was able to examine the micro plastics under a lens. Micro plastics are particles smaller than five millimetres. They can cause health problems in humans and animals. They can be carcinogenic. Plastic does not disappear, it just gets smaller. "My study concluded that Blackrock and Clogherhead, the beaches with the greatest human presence and activity, have the highest levels of micro plastics. Templeton has the lowest level." Commenting on his performance at the National Final, Lorcan added, "I presented my research at SciFest in Dublin and got very good feedback. "Going forward, I would like to examine ways to change human behaviour to minimise plastic pollution. I would also like to examine how the levels of plastic on beaches has entered animal life and the food chain." This year marks the 18th year of the SciFest programme which saw students participating in local and regional SciFest STEM fairs across the country. Since launching in 2006, more than 100,000 students have participated in the competition, which represents an average year-on-year increase of almost 20% in participation. Jack Shannon, a sixth year student from Clongowes Wood College was named SciFest STEM Champion 2023, for his project Irelands Carbon Sinks Remote Sensing for Monitoring Peatland Restoration and will go on to represent Ireland at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in Los Angeles, California next year. ECO-UNESCO, Irelands Environmental Education and Youth Organisation that works to conserve the environment and empower young people, is calling on young people in Louth to solve environmental issues in their local community, and has announced that registration for its Young Environmentalist Awards is now open. It asks young people in Louth: "Do you have an idea about how to reduce energy consumption in your school? Are you concerned about the levels of pollution of the river in your local area? How could you tackle the issue of plastic waste in your classroom?", and urges them to get involved. The Awards recognise young people who are raising awareness and implementing solutions to environmental issues in their community in the form of a new or already established project. Now in its 25th year, over 60,000 young people have participated in the initiative since it began. The competition welcomes entries from young people aged 10-18-years across Ireland, in primary and secondary schools, youth groups, community groups and Youthreach Centres. As part of the competition process, participants will be invited to submit action projects across 13 categories, including: climate change, biodiversity, water, energy, transport, marine-life, and waste. Each project entered is required to show that young people have taken action that protects the environment in some way while also raising awareness in the community. Registrations for the Young Environmentalist Awards 2024 are open until Wednesday 20 December 2023. Groups are required to submit their information to express their interest in being involved. Details of the action project are not required at this stage of the competition. Further information can be accessed here. Chinas manned space engineering project delegation kicks off six-day visit to HK and Macao SARs Global Times) 14:38, November 28, 2023 A delegation of Chinas manned space engineering project pays a six-day visit to Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions from November 28 through December 3, 2023. Photo: CCTV A delegation of Chinas manned space engineering project is paying a six-day visit to Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions from Tuesday through Sunday, the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) announced on Tuesday. It has been 11 years since the manned space engineering project last time organized a delegation to visit Hong Kong and Macao in 2012 after the successful completion of the manned space docking mission by Shenzhou-9 spacecraft and Tiangong-1 lab module. It is also the first exchange and interaction with Hong Kong and Macao since the project entered the era of space station. At the invitation of the governments of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), the delegation made up of a total of 17 experts in the field of manned space engineering systems, including four Chinese taikonauts such as Liu Boming and Wang Yaping, will meet with related departments in the special administrative regions. Taikonautsfrom Chinese mainland have also visited Hong Kong and Macao in the past. The first visit occurred in 2003 when Yang Liwei, Chinas first astronaut in space, spent six days in Hong Kong. Subsequently, taikonauts from the Shenzhou-6, Shenzhou-7, and Shenzhou-9 missions also visited Hong Kong and Macao. During this visit, the delegation will attend a media briefing organized by the HKSAR government to outline the latest development of China's manned space projects and take questions from the press, attend the opening ceremony of the China Manned Space Exhibition, engage in discussions and exchanges with the science and education sectors in Hong Kong and Macao and participate in a special conference on manned space projects in Macao, according to a statement from the CMSEO. Chief Executive of HKSAR John Lee extended his warm welcome to the delegation, and thanked the Central Peoples Government for the arrangements of the four-day visit in Hong Kong during a press briefing on Tuesday, according to a statement from the HKSAR government. Lee said that the China Manned Space Program has made extraordinary achievements over the past three decades. It has made history by realizing the Chinese nations millennium-long dream of flying to the stars, of which we as Chinese are all profoundly proud. Through the delegation's visit, Hong Kong people can share the nations pride in Chinas manned space development from close range, and develop a deeper understanding of the countrys developments in aerospace technologies. The visit exemplifies the affection and support of the Central Peoples Government for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Lee said. According to Lee, the delegations visit to Hong Kong is significant in three ways. First of all, it reflects the significant progress made by the country in aerospace science and technology which makes Hong Kong people feel proud, Hong Kongs media outlet Orange News reported on Tuesday. According to Lee, whenever there is a live broadcast of the manned spacecrafts, Hong Kongs television stations will broadcast it. Hong Kong residents feel proud of the Taikonauts and the entire manned space team by watching launch events. The visit also reflects the importance the nation attaches to the youth of Hong Kong. During their time in Hong Kong, the delegation will share insights into the development process and the latest updates in Chinas aerospace endeavors through various activities and youth exchanges, including interactions with students and teachers from primary and secondary schools, and colleges. This serves to showcase the nations commitment to the future development of Hong Kongs youth. Thirdly, the visit also reflects the great importance and recognition of the central government for Hong Kongs scientific and technological community, Lee said, noting that the delegation will also exchange views with representatives from Hong Kongs innovation and research community. According to Lee, local university research teams in Hong Kong have actively participated in national aerospace projects. For example, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University developed equipment to assist Change-5 in lunar sample collection and provided support for Tianwen-1 Mars probe. In May of this year, The Chinese University of Hong Kongs soybean research project soared into space with the launches of Tianzhou-6 spacecraft and Shenzhou-16 manned spaceship. Last year, China announced the initiation of astronaut selection and the selection of payload experts in Hong Kong and Macao. According to Lee, while the countrys national aerospace industry is developing rapidly, the HKSAR government supports the local universities in participating in the national aerospace and other scientific and technological projects, contributing to the nations goal of becoming a technological powerhouse. Aerospace technology is one of the industries prioritized by the HKSAR government , and the Advanced Manufacturing Centre (AMC) in Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate already hosts enterprises involved in satellite production with local production lines in place. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Wu Chaolan) Adult learners of all ages from Louth have reported overwhelmingly positive experiences of Further Education and Training, but AONTAS new Learners Voices Across Ireland report also reveals regional disparities in learning experiences due to inequalities in public transport, facilities, and inclusion and mental health supports. The annual research report on adult learning in Ireland was launched at the AONTAS Adult Education Summit at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin this month. During the 2022/23 academic term, over 3,000 Further Education and Training (FET) learners participated in focus groups and online surveys nationwide. Their experiences are shared with the Education and Training Board (ETB) to inform good practices, and to ensure that learners have a say in their own education. Addressing 200 delegates at AONTAS A Window to the World Summit, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD said: The power of adult learning, especially community education, cannot be underestimated in its potential to transform peoples lives. The theme of today, a Window to the World, is a reminder of how adult education and lifelong learning is a crucial part of improving communities and making them more resilient. The Learners Voices Across Ireland Report is an important research project which gives learners of all ages, backgrounds and areas of FET the opportunity to share their experiences and recommendations in a solutions-focused way. No matter who you are or where youre from Im committed to making sure there is access to the educational opportunity that you desire. CEO of AONTAS, Dearbhail Lawless said: There are two principal narratives emerging from this years report that education has a hugely transformative impact on learners lives, particularly those returning to education later in life and that issues around local infrastructure and facilities are creating inequalities and barriers for learners across the country to access, or take full advantage of, those transformative experiences. For many people, in Louth, particularly those from under-resourced communities and groups that face the greatest challenges in accessing quality education, crossing the threshold of a college or training centre is a huge step, and for many even getting to the front door is proving to be the biggest barrier. "Without affordable, reliable public transport, people in rural areas and people living in poverty continue to be at a disadvantage in accessing education and training opportunities. In addition to public transport, learners also highlighted a need for improvement in language supports, accessibility aids, and onsite facilities such as parking, heating and canteens. Positive impact on peoples health, relationships and prospects Most commonly reported by adult learners across Ireland were the positive impacts that learning experiences and environments had on their personal health, relationships and prospects. Examples of good practice highlighted included: Three technical assistance projects with Serbian Railways Infrastructure launched in Belgrade today Projects financed by Italy and the EBRD Support is part of joint EBRD, EIB and EU financing for the Belgrade-Nis railway The Serbian railway infrastructure manager Serbian Railways Infrastructure JSC is launching a comprehensive programme to improve its corporate governance and operational performance, supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and donors. The package will include three technical assistance projects. The first project aims to help Serbian Railways Infrastructure to improve its corporate governance, while the second project will help boost the companys operational performance. The third technical assistance project will follow early in 2024. It will focus on helping the railway sector to establish an independent market regulator and to integrate Serbias railways into the EU transport market. The technical assistance is financed by Italy (through the Central European Initiative) and the EBRD. These projects follow the 2.2 billion financial package jointly provided by the EBRD (an investment loan of 550 million), the EU (an investment grant of 598 million) and the EIB (an investment loan of 1.1 billion) for the modernisation of the 230 km high-speed rail link connecting Belgrade to Nis. Nebojsa Surlan, Director General of Serbian Railways Infrastructure, acknowledged the support of the European Union as the largest and most important donor, as well as the EBRD and EIB, in the modernisation of railway transport in Serbia, the improvement of connectivity and the integration of Serbian railways into the wider region and Europe. He added: All this will enable Serbian railways to become modernised by the end of this decade, in accordance with the needs and expectations of its citizens, the economy and the Serbian state and to take the place they deserve on the map of developed European railways. According to Surlan, however, the modernisation of Serbias railway infrastructure is not enough to make the countrys transport system efficient, modern and organised. This is precisely why the package of technical assistance is extremely important for Serbias railway infrastructure. Based on the best examples of international practice, we will improve and strengthen the corporate governance, legal regulations and commercial operations of our company, as part of the comprehensive reform of the railway sector in Serbia. The projects we are starting today with the support of the EBRD will enable us to integrate Serbian railways into the transport system of the European Union faster and better. In that way, the comprehensive modernisation of railway infrastructure in Serbia will gain its full importance and value, concluded Surlan. Matteo Colangeli, EBRD Director for the Western Balkans, said: We are pleased to join forces with our European partners to help Serbian Railways Infrastructure raise standards further in terms of governance and operations. Accelerating the switch from road to rail is a key priority for the EBRD. As part of that, we are also financing projects to renew rolling stock, rehabilitate railway tracks and modernise regional train depots, with the aim of making rail travel in Serbia faster, more comfortable and more reliable. The technical assistance package was launched in the presence of Nebojsa Surlan, Director General of Serbian Railways Infrastructure, Alessandro Bragonzi, Head of Regional Representation for the Western Balkans at the European Investment Bank (EIB), and Matteo Colangeli, EBRD Director for the Western Balkans, as well as representatives of the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Serbia, the Transport Community, the Serbian Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, and the countrys Directorate for Railways. REARDENS has been chosen as one of the elite bars in Ireland by Guinness, who have created miniature versions of these six most iconic Irish pubs as a cake pub as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI). In order to mark 50 years of the VFI they teamed up with Guinness to celebrate a special anniversary and Reardens is the only bar from Cork to feature in the celebrations. The other featured pubs include The Porter House in Mayo, Treacys in Laois, The Cloch Ban in Wexford, Mother Macs in Limerick, and The Glyde Inn in Louth. Margaret Kenneally owner of Reardens was thrilled to see her bar chosen as one of the best known and iconic bars in Ireland. John Rearden first opened his door in 1835 and Reardens has been thriving as a famous landmark public house in Cork ever since. As my late father Edmund Kenneally said to me many times in the past, we are just passing through this great venue, and, as the current custodian, it is my duty to continue to develop and enhance this great venue in Cork. We are very proud to be a part of this very special anniversary and will be raising a pint to the VFI and Guinness. Rearden's owner Margaret Kenneally with CFO Simon Fitzgibbon, Claire Clarke, and Carl Howard at the VFI 50th anniversary celebrations. The celebratory campaign is just the latest chapter in a long history of collaboration between the VFI and Guinness. Their shared mission is to celebrate the place everyone celebrates, as recently seen with the launch of Guinness Live & Rising which showcases the unique creativity, culture, and craic that can only be found in an Irish pub. Now thats a recipe for success. VFI President John Clendennen commented: What a great surprise from the team at Guinness. We are delighted to see such great VFI pubs feature in the advertisements. For 50 years we have worked on behalf of our members across Ireland to promote and protect their interests and to keep our beloved Irish pubs thriving and vibrant through good times and bad. The big 50 is a huge landmark for us so were thrilled to be celebrated in this way. Diageo On Trade Commercial Director Ross Bissett commented: We are delighted to mark this special anniversary. Were looking forward to making some well-deserved noise for the VFI with this unique nationwide campaign. Guinness and VFI share so much in common, in particular our love of the great Irish pub. With the benefit of our 264 years of experience, we can safely say to our younger friend, your best years are ahead of you. A WOMAN facing 64 drugs charges, including having substances for the purposes of sale or supply, is experiencing immense distress as she awaits a book of evidence being served on her, a court has heard. Helen Stone, aged 57, and who lives at Kilnacnappogue, Kealkill, Bantry, first came before the court last February, but at Bantry District Court last week Judge James McNulty was told that the task of compiling a single book of evidence in relation to the charges means it will be January before it can be served on her. The charges date back to November 2018, and at the first court appearance in February Judge McNulty noted that the charges related to offences alleged to have taken place in three locations Dublin, Cork City, and Bantry and related to a business trading under the name of The Funky Skunk, allegedly involving cannabis and synthetic substances. More recently, five more charges were brought against Ms Stone, including an allegation that on May 5 last year at Caherogullane, Scart in Bantry, she had drugs, valued in excess of 13,000, for sale or supply. At the first court hearing, Judge McNulty heard that gardai seized 645,000 worth of drugs as part of an investigation which also involved the Cork West Divisional Drugs Unit, officers at Store Street Garda Station in Dublin, and with the assistance of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and the Department of Health. Ms Stone appeared again before Bantry District Court on Thursday, when Garda Superintendent Joseph Moore said that a single book of evidence was still being prepared and that the State was seeking a further adjournment to January next. The idea was to bring all charges together in one book [of evidence], said Supt Moore. This is going to take a long time and a lot of work. Supt Moore said State solicitor Jerry Healy had suggested at one point that two books of evidence could be prepared, but that the defence in the case was seeking a single book of evidence. Colette McCarthy, solicitor for Ms Stone, said her issue was that her client was very distressed. We are concerned regarding mental health issues, she told the judge. Her father died since the last court date, she was not able to go to England to spend any time with him. She is not in a good place. Ms McCarthy said there was now clarity regarding the preparation of the book of evidence and Ms Stone was satisfied to await an amalgamated book. But Ms McCarthy said she was flagging her concerns as her client has had this hanging over her since 2018 and she maintained she had not broken the law. She is being dealt with like she is a drug dealer and that is causing her considerable distress, said Ms McCarthy. It is all getting on top of her. Two other co-accused are also awaiting a book of evidence. Jack Palmer, aged 32, of 108 Shandon Street in Cork, was charged with one count of possessing drugs with a value exceeding 13,000 for sale or supply, two counts of having drugs for sale or supply, and two counts of possession of drugs. Donovan Linde, aged 31, of Ardnatrash, Glengarriff, Co Cork, was also charged with one count of having drugs with a value exceeding 13,000 for sale or supply, two counts of having drugs for sale or supply, and two counts of possession of drugs. Solicitor for both men, Flor Murphy, said he consented to a further adjournment to January and both solicitors consented to a return before the court in January, and not peremptorily against the State. Judge McNulty acceded to the application, and all three will remain on continuing bail to appear before the court on January 11 next. GARDAI are investigating an alleged incident of attempted arson at a North Cork building earmarked for use as an accommodation centre for people seeking international protection. The alleged incident occurred last week when a person threw what is understood to have been a homemade petrol bomb at Abbeyville House in Fermoy, a former bed-and-breakfast which is currently being renovated through the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) for use as an accommodation centre housing 56 people. It is understood that gardai in Fermoy are taking the alleged incident very seriously. In a statement to The Echo, the Garda Press Office said: Gardai are investigating a criminal damage incident at a premises in Fermoy, Co Cork, which occurred on November 22, 2023, at approximately 9pm. Abbeyville House closed as a bed-and-breakfast some years ago. In recent weeks, the listed building, which dates back to the 1850s, has been undergoing renovation and adaptation works in preparation for its planned use as an accommodation centre for people seeking international protection. Fine Gael councillor Noel McCarthy said he had been shocked to hear of the alleged incident and he condemned it, but he understood local dissatisfaction and protests. Mr McCarthy said he felt there were legitimate reasons to protest against the number of international protection applicants arriving in the town. I think its the wrong location and the wrong allocation, whats going in there... because I dont think the capacity is there for the 56 people in that house, I really dont, he said. Mr McCarthy added that public representatives were under unprecedented pressure on this issue and he had never seen the town so divided. The Department of Integration was asked for a comment. Ironman has scrapped plans for its 2024 event in Cork, it has been announced. In a statement posted to Facebook this morning, Ironman Ireland said the full and half Ironman, typically held in Youghal, wont be taking place next year. IRONMAN Ireland, Cork and IRONMAN 70.3 Ireland, Cork will take a hiatus in 2024. Cork County and the town of Youghal have become a much-loved home for IRONMAN in Ireland, and the Irish triathlon community is important to us. This pause will allow for further healing while we spend the next year assessing the best path forward to deliver an exceptional weekend of racing once again for our athletes in one of the most passionate host communities in the world, they said. In the statement today, Ironman Ireland thanked the local authority for its continued support. We are thankful for the support of Cork County Council, and we appreciate their continued partnership and commitment as we work collectively under our host agreement towards bringing back the event in the strongest way possible in 2025 and beyond, the body said. Athletes who currently hold a deferral or credits for next years IRONMAN Ireland, Cork or IRONMAN 70.3 Ireland, Cork have been contacted about the options available to them. Two participants in this year's event in Youghal - Brendan Wall and Ivan Chittenden - died while participating in the event. More to follow. For the second time in six weeks, a group of dolphins has been spotted in the River Lee, drawing crowds but worrying experts. The group has been identified as four juvenile dolphins who are swimming without an adult, members of the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group told Echo photographer Cian ORegan, saying it was concerning as they shouldnt be this far out unaccompanied at low tide. Dozens of people have gathered near the College of Commerce at either side of the river watching them. On October 15th, at least three dolphins were spotted in Sullivan's Quay, where they remained for several hours before likely finding their way back to the ocean. The long-awaited M28 motorway has moved another step closer with contracts signed for the final stages of the project. The new motorway, which will link Ringaskiddy with Rochestown, will enable the strategic development of the Port of Cork's facilities in Ringaskiddy whilst also supporting the economic development of the area, locally, regionally and nationally. It is currently scheduled to be completed by 2030 and is envisaged to be a key part of the road infrastructure in Cork, improving connectivity with key urban areas such as Carrigaline. Cork County Council has confirmed the appointment of Jacobs Engineering Ireland Ltd as the technical advisors for the project, which forms part of the Core TransEuropean Transport Network. The 16m contract, funded by Transport Infrastructure Ireland, will see Jacobs Engineering Ireland oversee the implementation of Phase 5, completion of tender documentation and procurement of the works, Phase 6 Construction and Implementation of the main contract and Phase 7 Project Closeout and Review. Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr Frank OFlynn, welcomed the commencement of the final stages of the project development.# The 12km M28 motorway has been in progress over the last two years with traffic continuing to move throughout. When complete the new motorway will bring strong social and economic benefits to the entire area, facilitating greater access to the Port of Corks new container terminal, as well as the IDA lands in this area. Cork County Council said the scheme will also increase the safety and capacity of the N28 corridor to meet existing and future traffic needs whilst also improving access to the M28 corridor in a safe and sustainable way. Chief Executive of Cork County Council Valerie OSullivan added: This development forms part of the Government's Project Ireland 2040 and will bring both safety and economic benefits. The scheme includes a number of active travel measures with an interface with the Lee to Sea greenway, together with an extension to the existing Ballybrack Valley Pedestrian and Cycle Scheme in Douglas. THE highly anticipated IndieCork returns for its 11th festival next month at the new Arc Cinema, formerly The Gate, on North Main St. It will be the first event onscreen at the venue which has been revamped in recent months. This years programme has amongst its highlights, world premieres of internationally acclaimed documentaries and features, special focus programmes and an expansive selection of short films curated from a record breaking number of entries this year. Festival co-director, Una Feely, is confident that IndieCork 2023, which runs from December 15 to 22, will be a vibrant and engaging festival. Our programme is richly diverse this year. Were privileged to be showing the Irish-Lebanese film In The Shadow of Beirut which is Irelands entry to the Academy Awards but also the Japanese and the Slovakian Academy entries. We have a special focus on cinema from Quebec, plus international festival directors attending from Tribeca, Flatpack, and Venice film festivals to be on our juries". Its an exciting year, being the first event into the new Arc Cinema, and happening right at Christmas time, so we feel sure it will be a special year. Wed also like to extend our thanks to the great support weve had from everyone, including our main sponsor Blacknight, Cork City Council, Culture Ireland, National Talent Academies of course, our amazing venue partners, The Arc Cinema." The opening night film of the 2023 festival is The Trouble with Jessica, directed by Matt Winn, who will attend on the night. The film won the 'Special Jury' and the 'Audience' award at the recent Dinard Film Festival. IndieCork closes this year with the legendary Wim Wenders latest film, Perfect Days , which won Best Actor at Cannes Film Festival this year. A "panorama" of new international films offering cinematic views into other cultures also features this year, with films from Ukraine, Syria, Palestine, Kazakhstan, China, Germany, and the US featuring on the schedule, amongst others. Festival co-director, Mick Hannigan, said there is a lot to look forward to in the 2023 festival programme. There are so many great films this year, but a standout for anyone interested in Irish history will be the world premiere of Rebel Wife, which tells the story of Mary Jane ODonovan Rossa, the wife of ODonovan Rossa, the famous Irish Nationalist from Cork. Rebel Wife has been directed by her great grandson who will visit Cork for the screening. Its one of many very powerful documentaries in the lineup for IndieCork 2023. However, we are also really impressed by the quality and creativity of many documentaries and features this year," he said. Tracey OBrien of The Arc Cinema said IndieCork is a fantastic way to relaunch the premises. We're thrilled to bring IndieCork into the Arc Cinemas family. We really appreciate the patience and understanding of Una, Mick and the entire IndieCork team and are delighted to open our newly refurbished cinema with another fantastic edition of the festival. We can't wait to get the best of Cork, Irish and international independent film on screen." IndieCork will shortly publish its music, performance and industry programme, another part of the festival offering. The music events take place at The Pavilion on Careys Lane over December 17 and 18. Industry masterclasses, talks and events will all be listed on www.indiecork.com. Tickets go on sale from Tuesday, December 5 at www.cork.arccinema.ie. This has to stop, a sentencing judge said to a woman with 73 theft convictions appearing in court to confess to four more counts of shoplifting. Julianne OFarrell of Marble Hall, South Douglas Road, Cork, pleaded guilty to carrying out thefts at Diesel on Oliver Plunkett Street on November 13, Dunnes on Merchants Quay on October 12, Boots at Douglas back on May 18 2021 and Phelans pharmacy on the same date. Defence solicitor Shane Collins-Daly said on behalf of Ms OFarrell, She is now 32. She has four children and lives with her parents. When she came before the court two weeks ago she was very distressed. She said her mental health was very poor. On speaking to her today I would say that her mental health is still quite poor. She has a shocking record she cannot make any excuses for that. Recently a relationship broke down. It was a difficult relationship and the breakup of it was quite traumatic. She was addicted to tablets and alcohol. Previously, she lost another partner suddenly around this time of year. This can be a difficult time of year for her. Sergeant Gearoid Davis said the accused had a total of 232 previous convictions. Judge Mary Dorgan said, What can the court do to assist her? She has a shocking number of previous convictions but she has a lot of difficulties. This has to stop. Mr Collins-Daly said the accused needed counselling probably including grief counselling. Judge Dorgan said, What we are trying to do is help you. What we want you to do is stop the offending and get whatever help you need to stop the offending. I am anxious that some good will come out of this. Probation might be able to forward you to an organisation that can help you with your difficulties. Ms OFarrell was remanded in custody until December 11 for a probation report requested by Judge Dorgan. IRONMAN has scrapped plans for its 2024 event in Cork, but the event that has been described as a huge part of the fabric of Youghal is set to return in 2025. Cork County Council said today that the decision not to proceed with the event next year was solely a decision for Ironman. The full and half Ironman scheduled for East Cork next year will take a hiatus in 2024, a statement posted today on the Ironman Ireland Facebook page said. Cork County and the town of Youghal have become a much-loved home for Ironman in Ireland, and the Irish triathlon community is important to us. This pause will allow for further healing while we spend the next year assessing the best path forward to deliver an exceptional weekend of racing once again for our athletes in one of the most passionate host communities in the world, the statement said. Two participants in this year's event in Youghal - Brendan Wall and Ivan Chittenden - died while participating in the event. Mr Wall, who lived in the UK but was originally from Meath, and Mr Chittenden, from Toronto in Canada, died in separate incidents during the swim portion of the 70.3km event. Ironman also thanked Cork County Council for its continued support. We appreciate their continued partnership and commitment as we work collectively under our host agreement towards bringing back the event in the strongest way possible in 2025 and beyond, the body said. Athletes who currently hold a deferral or credits for next years Ironman Ireland, Cork or Ironman 70.3 Ireland, Cork have been contacted about the options available to them. Cork County Council stated that Cork county and the town of Youghal have become a much-loved home for Ironman in Ireland, and the Irish triathlon community. The county council said it remains committed to continuing its relationship with Ironman. In recognition of the significant tourism and economic importance that the event has to the region, Cork County Council has agreed to host this event again in 2025, 2026 and 2027, the local authority added. Commenting in the wake of the announcement today, Fianna Fail TD for Cork East, James OConnor, said that above all else he is very conscious that there are two families who are grieving in the wake of the fatalities at this years event. Were conscious that two people lost their lives and we must allow the inquests to take place, he continued. Speaking in relation to future Ironman events in East Cork, Mr OConnor described Ironman as a huge part of the fabric of Youghal and the economy in Youghal and said a return of the event in the future is something the vast majority of people in the town would like to see. I think on foot of todays news, they [Ironman] must make sure that 2025 is a successful event and its run safely, he added. Gordon Deegan The media firm controlled by former RTE presenter Ryan Tubridy paid out 882,001 in pay to directors over the past two years, newly filed accounts show. Accounts for Tuttle Productions Ltd, lodged with the Companies Registration Office (CRO), show the 441,077 paid out to directors last year followed 440,924 paid out to directors in 2021 giving a total of 882,001 over the two years. Last year, the directors pay was made up of 426,357 in remuneration and 14,720 in pension contributions. The decision by Mr Tubridy to disclose directors pay is a move towards greater transparency in the financial affairs of his media firm. As a result of the hefty directors payout, the firm recorded a modest loss of 1,318 for 2022, which followed post-tax profits of 13,629 for 2021. Cash funds at Tuttle Productions totalled 7,489. The recently appointed Virgin Radio UK presenter sits on the board of the firm, which employs two people, with his mother, Catherine Tubridy. The 2022 financial year covers the period when Mr Tubridy, RTE and sponsors Renault were involved in a controversial tripartite agreement to the tune of 150,000. The matter plunged RTE into crisis, and saw representatives of the national broadcaster appear before both the Oireachtas Media Committee and Public Accounts Committee on numerous occassions, where corporate structures and governance were heavily criticised. The scandal has also caused a dramatic decline in licence fee takings, to resulting in a 56 million State bail out earlier this month, and the announcement of 400 job losses at RTE by 2028. The disclosure of directors pay in the accounts for Tuttle Productions Ltd marks a departure from recent years when the accounts did not disclose pay to directors. The last time the firm disclosed directors pay was in 2017, for the 16 months for the end of December 2016, which was 473,138. Mr Tubridy was not alone in not disclosing directors pay in his accounts, as a number of other high-profile presenters do not reveal those amounts in their own company accounts. The accounts were signed off Ryan Tubridy and Catherine Tubridy on November 22nd. As a small company, the firm is not required to disclose its revenues. Vivienne Clarke A group of convenience store owners have called for a change to the way gardai respond to anti-social behaviour in shops. The chief executive of the Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association, Vincent Jennings, said many shop owners are fearful. There have to be changes to the way that gardai respond to calls, that we're not being told as we are at the moment, take it up with Drew Harris. We don't have the resources. Go away and get private security. This is from guards who are responding when they finally arrive and people are asking the questions, 'why didn't you come earlier? They've gone now' ... and they've been told to take it up with Drew Harris, Mr Jennings told RTEs Morning Ireland. The industry he represented was perceptive and receptive whether it was reacting to riots like in Dublin last week or flooding in other parts of the country recently. Garda cars, a bus and tram were set alight in Dublin on Thursday night, while shops were damaged and looted and officers attacked during violent scenes, which involved far-right elements. It came shortly after three children and a woman were hurt in the stabbing attack outside a school in the north of the city centre. While the riots had been extreme, Mr Jennings said, similar events with feral youths happened on a very regular basis. There are people who are just running amok. And it most certainly has become much worse in the last two years. Mr Jennings said he had spent last Friday morning speaking with members in Parliament Street, Millennium Walk and O'Connell Street to Abbey Street. Some had been fortunate to have already closed when the riots commenced on Thursday night, but they still had to deal with fearful staff the following morning when there were a number of incidents and gardai were not around to assist. Over two hours waiting on OConnell Street for somebody is not good enough. And it's a growing problem. GDPR was frequently cited as a reason for the reluctance of the gardai to introduce an initiative already in operation in Belfast where traders shared information, including photographs, he said. Assaults of shop workers, who had been essential workers during Covid, should be seen as a separate and heinous crime, he added. In response to reports that Dublin councillors had warned that communities would form vigilante groups, Mr Jennings said that vigilantism was a bad thing. There needs to be guards on the street. There needs to be resources given to those guards. They need to be properly trained and adequately trained and trained to respond in an efficient fashion. This is our real moment now to make a difference and to change the way of policing. Vivienne Clarke Landlords are "very frustrated" with the bureaucracy of the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) and are removing their properties from the rental market, the chair of the Irish Property Owners Association has warned. Mary Conway said there had been some improvement with registration and addressing backlogs at the RTB, but there were still issues with buildings that have multiple units, each of which had to be registered separately. The RTB is a quasi-judicial public body set up under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, to support and develop a well-functioning rental sector. Under law, tenants and landlords can bring disputes to the RTB. Ms Conway told RTEs Morning Ireland that the biggest difficulty for landlords was the delay in accessing mediation when there was a dispute. It takes 12 weeks approximately to get to a mediation, which is the first point where you try and resolve the problem with the tenants, she said. If that doesn't work, you go to adjudication. That can take five to six months. And then if you get a termination order from the adjudication, that can take ten weeks. So if you were a rogue tenant, it can take a year to get any kind of engagement or a decision from the RTB. And that's terribly frustrating. Ms Conway called for more training and more support for people trying to register their tenants. Landlords are paying a fee for this. They're paying 40 per year. So, you know, it should be self-funding. It would also help if rent could be lodged with the RTB during the adjudication stage, she said. But that's not happening at the moment and landlords are very frustrated and they're voting with their feet and they're leaving the market. She said the exodus of landlords was a combination of frustration with the bureaucracy of the RTB and concern at the pace of resolution. If a tenant is in the property for six months or more, they're entitled to go as long as they want to. Everybody is very nervous that if they get a rogue tenant that moves in and stops paying rent after two months that they won't be able to get them out. The system does not move quickly enough. Vivenne Clarke The president of the Garda Representative Association (GRA), Brendan OConnor has questioned why Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has tasked the Policing Authority with reviewing the use of force by gardai. This was not the role of the Policing Authority, he told RTE radios News at One, adding that the Policing Authority did not have a statutory role. It is the Director of Public Prosecutions that is the arbiter in such cases, he noted. Mr OConnor also expressed concern that gardai have launched a criminal investigation into the role played by far-right online agitators in fomenting last Thursday's violence in Dublin city, and specifically the fact they seem to have identified a number of posts online seeking information on the home addresses of gardai. However, this was not something new, he said. Such activity had been seen in the past during protests against the introduction of water charges, and it was an issue which had been highlighted, he said. In France, it's a criminal offence to incite someone to identify or encourage violence against a member of the police service, Mr O'Connor said. So there is possibly legislation, but it is very concerning. Asked about Ms McEntee's decision to task the Policing Authority with clarifying the situation about the use of force by gardai, Mr OConnor said his members were scratching their heads because the reason that members were reticent and hesitant to use force was because of their experience of the statutory functions exercised by Garda management, the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission (GSOC), while the final arbiter of whether someone had acted proportionally was the Director of Public Prosecutions. Our members who have acted proportionately in the past and acted lawfully have still found themselves dragged before the courts Our members who have acted proportionately in the past and acted lawfully have still found themselves dragged before the courts and put through a torturous experience, some of them suspended for years on end and many, many often then acquitted by either judges or by juries of their peers. So certainly the Policing Authority has no statutory function. They have no role in the process that has led to this, he said. Mr OConnor also endorsed comments made by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris at a meeting with Dublin City Councillors on Monday night, in which he said he did not want to see gardai having to operate with their hands tied behind their back. Mr OConnor said this is an ongoing issue for gardai across the country, not just in regard to mass public order incidents like last week's riots. I want to be very, very clear on this. We, our members, completely embrace accountability, completely embrace the need for a compliance structure, he said. Basically, the way guards feel is it's the opposite of the criminal justice system our members often feel that they are guilty until they prove their innocence. By the time their innocence has been proven, reputational damage and career damage is actually done, he added, warning this is impacting on the effectiveness of policing. Paul Neilan The first all-female panel of judges to preside at the Court of Appeal has been told that a man jailed for ten years for a machete attack should have his conviction overturned over the failure to disclose garda notebook evidence to the defence. The court was told on Tuesday that the notebook was slid across the table by the prosecution to the defence solicitor while the relevant Garda gave evidence during the trial. Assault At Limerick Circuit Criminal Court in November 2021, John O'Donoghue was convicted of assault causing serious harm to Willie O'Driscoll Sr, who was then aged 74, in Bothar Bui, Rathkeale, Co Limerick, on December 17th, 2017. ODonoghue (54) of Lower Main Street, Rathkeale, was also convicted of violent disorder on the same date and location. A jury unanimously convicted ODonoghue on the assault causing serious harm and on the violent disorder charge but found him not guilty of a charge of the production of an article a machete during the course of a dispute and of making threats to kill. O'Donoghue's counsel argued today that this was a "conflicting" verdict, as the defendant was cleared of producing a machete yet found guilty of assault causing serious harm in a case where the injuries could only have been inflicted by a machete. ODonoghue had pleaded not guilty on all counts. He was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment for the assault causing serious harm and to eight years for the violent disorder offence. ODonoghues appeal was heard on an historic day for the Court of Appeal, which had, for the first time, an all-female panel of judges in presiding judge Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, Ms Justice Tara Burns and Ms Justice Una Ni Raifeartaigh. Garda notebooks At the Court of Appeal on Tuesday, Michael Bowman for ODonoghue submitted that the disclosure of Garda notebooks to the defence had been requested before the November 2021 trial to no avail. However, a Garda notebook had been brought into the case by the prosecution, concerning the description of the scene after the incident. Mr Bowman said he had no knowledge of the contents of the notebook in advance and had acted in good faith but had not received an additional evidence notice from the prosecution. Mr Bowman said that while the Garda was giving his evidence in court, a four-page copy of the relevant section of the notebook was slid across the table by the prosecution to the defence solicitor - a situation Ms Justice Kennedy described as most unsatisfactory. Mr Bowman said the production of a Garda notebook during the trial of which the defence had no prior knowledge left Mr ODonoghue prejudiced and the defence became utterly exposed, as they had already cross-examined witnesses in the case. Counsel said the case had been exclusively prepared in relation to probative witness testimony but that the Garda evidence now represented the entry of independent evidence previously unknown to the defence. Mr Bowman said that conflicting accounts from various witnesses of what happened on the day meant that independent evidence was going to be of value. It was clearly a matter that was going to be of concern, said counsel, who added that it was his client who had claimed to have actually been assaulted by Mr ODriscoll. Mr Bowman said that the ODriscoll family members had given evidence that they came under attack from bricks, stones and bottles thrown by the ODonoghues but that there had been no visible damage to any caravan, while both the yard where the claimed incident occurred and no Garda photo evidence corroborated the claims. CCTV evidence Separately, Mr Bowman said the prosecution failed in their duty to seek out crucial and paramount CCTV evidence in the case. Mr Bowman said that no CCTV had been retrieved by gardai even though there were 30 cameras in the area, according to an engineer the defence hired themselves. Counsel said disclosure issues had been brought to the attention of Judge Patrick Meghan by the defence before a jury was sworn in. Judge Meghan, said counsel, responded that the jury would be sworn and could then be discharged if disclosure issues arose during the trial. Mr Bowman said that in light of approaching the case in a very particular basis, he had applied to the trial judge to have the jury discharged on the grounds of disclosure issues but was refused. Counsel also said conflicting verdicts had been returned by the jury who found his client innocent of the production of the machete yet convicted ODonoghue of the assault causing serious harm in a case where the injuries could only be sustained by a machete. The lawyer further submitted that the trial judges charge to the jury was insufficient regarding the core principles of the burden of proof and the capacity to draw inferences and failed to give the jury illustrative, specific examples of both concepts. Mr Bowman said that an effort to have the guilty verdict arrested also failed after someone purporting to be a juror emailed the defence claiming to be unhappy with the deliberation process and felt they had not been listened to. Responding, Lily Buckley BL, for the State, said the trial judge took a very careful approach to his charge to the jury and told them to treat each offence before them as a separate trial. Ms Buckley said the jury were attentive and had inquired of the court for a definition of the word production in the context of the machete being allegedly produced in the course of the dispute. Conflicting accounts Mr Buckley said there had been conflicting accounts of who had brought the machete to the scene, with ODonoghue claiming that Mr ODriscoll had brought it to the scene but dropped it before it was picked up by the complainants son. On the issue of the notebook, Ms Buckley said she had to accept there was an issue with the timing of the service notice of the additional evidence, to which Ms Justice Burns interjected: There was no service. The document was left on a table. That is the extent of it. Ms Justice Kennedy said that not on any reckoning was this disclosure. It is unsatisfactory, and I dont contend otherwise. But I would say it was not enough to stop the trial, said Ms Buckley. Regarding the lack of CCTV evidence in the trial, Ms Buckley said she was not sure that there was any missing footage in the trial, noting that the injured party had crawled to a location from another where he received his injuries. Ms Buckley said this wasnt a perfect trial, no trial is and said that gardai had called to the house with the CCTV camera only to be told by the woman that the camera had been tilted since the incident. The woman told gardai that she didnt watch the camera or know how the system worked, said counsel. Ms Isobel Kennedy said the woman gave evidence saying the cameras were operational and had not been tilted towards the scene since the incident. Ms Justice Ni Raifeartaigh said: All that means is that the gardai might have found a record of what took place. It doesnt matter if she looked at it or not. It was uncontradicted evidence she gave. Her evidence was all one way. She told gardai it was operational and they didnt collect it. They were told there was relevant evidence and didnt come back, said Ms Justice Ni Raifeartaigh. "I have to accept they didnt come back, said Ms Buckley, who added that gardai concluded that there was nothing of evidential value arising from gardai canvassing for CCTV. I cant make the investigation other than what it was. There may be a concern over the absence of clarity, but I submit it cant be enough for the court adopting an exceptional action and quashing the sentence, said Ms Buckley. Ms Justice Kennedy said the court would reserve its judgement in the matter. By Grainne Ni Aodha, PA Tanaiste Micheal Martin has criticised Sinn Feins response to the riots in Dublin last week as a knee-jerk attempt to go for the political jugular. Sinn Fein has called for Minister for Justice Helen McEntee and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris to resign. Mr Martin said he has absolute confidence in Ms McEntee and regretted Sinn Feins calls for her resignation. The Tanaiste and Fianna Fail leader said he has a longstanding position of not calling for the resignation of a Garda Commissioner, calling it a slippery slope. You stand by the leadership of An Garda Siochana, you deal with the issues, he said. Because once politicians get into the operation and area of policing, then we are in trouble. The most fundamental takeaway from my perspective is the rapid mobilisation of so many people via social media platforms which culminated in rioting, and also the significant articulation of hate towards foreigners, essentially, if you read some of the messaging on social media. And then the looting and so on, so we have to respond to that, he said, speaking on Tuesday at the end of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference at Dublins Farmleigh House. Tanaiste Micheal Martin arrives at Farmleigh House, Dublin (Niall Carson/PA) Mr Martin said he was also concerned with attacks on gardai and workers during the disorder in the capital on Thursday night, saying it represented an assault on institutions of the state. He said: Because if you loot a shop, if you attack shopkeepers, youre attacking workers. If you stop buses, youre attacking bus drivers. If you attack gardai, youre attacking your friends, your family, your community. Mr Martin admitted there are issues that arose from the riots, which saw vehicles and bins set alight and shops raided and damaged. But he said Sinn Fein has tried to exploit them. I think Irish politics, and the significant divide in Irish politics, is very evident. Its divided between those who want to sort out problems and resolve issues and those who want to exploit them, he said. Ive observed Sinn Fein now for the last four to five years. It is, without question, a party that seeks to exploit every issue that arises as opposed to coming forward with constructive ideas as to how to resolve them. And, in fact, if you go back over all the various stances they have taken on a whole variety of issues, you see incoherence and inconsistency. Most recently, in the context of the Middle East, we saw it again, seeking to exploit what is a horrendous conflict bringing devastation and death to thousands of people. Sinn Feins focus has been, How do we drive a wedge between Government and opposition on this issue? How do we exploit it with a view to try to gain electoral advantage? OUR WOW! Christmas Food special is back again this year - and it is bursting with lots of recipes, tips and advice, to have a tasty, affordable, hassle-free and sustainable Christmas dinner. Out tomorrow, Wednesday November 29, we have some wonderful contributors this year - including food writer Kate Ryan, recently shortlisted for three awards in the Irish Food Writing Awards, for feature series she wrote for The Echo. Our regular columnists Di Curtin of The Weekend Foodie, every Saturday and Mercy Fenton, who has a desserts page every Wednesday, also have contributions included. They have all outshone themselves again this year, with some fantastic content that is sure to whet your appetite ahead of December 25. We have you covered when it comes to starters, mains, sides and dessert. Also, you wont have to look any further than here if you want to pick the perfect Christmas gift for the foodie in your life... We have gone back to MTU again this year and asked some of their culinary students to put together starter recipes - and what a trio they have come up with. These are the future stars of Corks culinary scene. We have no doubt you will struggle to pick one of these starters, as they all look so good! Also we have some leading women on Corks food scene providing us with recipes for our main courses on December 25 - from the doyenne of cooking, Darina Allen of Ballymaloe, to up and coming chef Nell McCarthy from West Cork, who works in Cashel Place in Tipperary. We also have contributions from women working in the hospitality industry in Cork - Dorothy OTuama, of OTuama Tours, and Kela Hodgins of Dunowen House. They all featured in Kate Ryans WOW! Bites column during the year and are back with delicious recipes, from the traditional turkey, to a roast ham, a twist on spiced beef, and a lovely fish dish. And we are not forgetting about the sides. Kate Ryan went back to some more of the women who featured in WOW! Bites, for some recipes. We have Meadhbh Halton of Mebs Veg (formerly from Paradiso) and Niamh Hegarty of Niamhs Larder - who both share some great veg dishes you can serve on the side. Darina Allen also tells us about some super sauces that you should make for the special day. Meanwhile, Cork-based chef Shauna Murphy - who was named Young Chef of the Year by Euro-Toques - tells us about the festive must-haves that she will be cooking up on Christmas Day - from sausage stuffing to roast potatoes and more. Shauna currently works at the Michelin star Terre restaurant in Castlemartyr. A super feature this year, is a big interview with Cork Chef Ali Honour, on how to have a no food waste Christmas. Did you know food waste at Christmas is 15 times higher than for any other celebration - that is a shocking figure really when you think about it. We should all do our bit to minimise food waste as much as possible, all year around - but especially at Christmas time. Bad planning and human error contribute to much of this food waste, explains Ali in her big interview. Shes even made it super-easy for us and put together a shopping list for you to cut out all the waste - good for the environment and good for your pocket. Also on the same page, we have a feature on how your air fryer might take some pressure off on Christmas day, save you some space on your cooker top, and make way for some more pots! Some great tips there too, from another Michelin chef. Meanwhile, Kate Ryan has done a great job on making some suggestions on what to buy the foodie in your life this year. Theres something in her gift guide for everyone - wonderful, unique ideas, that are sure to bring a smile to your loved one, or friend. From sea salt subscriptions, to a brewery tour, Christmas at a top resort, beautiful crafted kitchen items and her top four picks of hampers - and much more - all available here in Cork and beyond. We have also dipped into our archive to find some delicious desserts to round off your dinner. Mercy Fenton, a columnist in The Echo for many years, shares two recipes - one for chocolate lovers and one for meringue lovers. We love the meringue Christmas tree - I am sure children in the family would have great fun trying to put all of that together! Christmas puddings are not for everyone, so Kate Ryan has spoken to a trio of women, who all offer something different in their various businesses - alternatives to puddings. Staying with all things alternative - Kate also suggests some Christmas wines: these are not just any wines though, they are Irish wines. I see some people scratching their heads here... but these are not your traditional wine made with grapes. Di Curtin, who files a regular column in The Echo, The Weekend Foodie, every Saturday, shares some drinks options for Christmas Day. Not only does she advise on what you need to pop in your drinks cabinet, where to get them and how much they will cost, but she also shares some wonderful cocktail recipes. Last, but by no means least, Kate Ryan gives us some easy peasy party nibbles we can whip up in no time, that are so delicious they are sure to impress and give the idea to our guests that weve been slaving all day in the kitchen. Theres a big local focus on producers here - something which many of our contributors have concentrated on this year. Pick some of the suggestions and you are sure to be the hostess with the mostest! All the recipes and ideas will be going online in the days and weeks ahead on EchoLive.ie There are also recipes there from years past, just search under Christmas Food or Christmas Recipes in the search bar. Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions. On the hunt for the perfect holiday gift for someone special in your life? A campaign from the National Autonomous University in Mexico suggests adopting an axolotl symbolically, that is. The axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) is a critically endangered type of salamander that has become increasingly popular in recent years thanks to attention from a video game, Minecraft, as well as social media. While keeping axolotl as pets is illegal in some states and other parts of the world, the axolotl digital adoption campaign is encouraging people to invest in their virtual adoption to boost conservation efforts. Adoption prices range from $10 to $5,393. Participants can purchase a meal for an axolotl; adopt an axolotl for one, six, or 12 months; contribute to building an axolotl shelter; or adopt a chinampa refuge, or artificial island, for one, six, or 12 months. In exchange for their contribution, supporters receive a digital kit of information and proof of virtual adoption. The axolotl adoption campaign launched last year, and it brought in about $30,000, NPR reported. But Luis Zambrano, an ecologist at the National Autonomous University, said they need to raise about 10 times as much to restore axolotl populations to healthier, more stable numbers in the wild. We know what to do. We know where to do it. And we know that if we do that in those places, we will have a healthy population of axolotls, Zambrano told NPR. But if society doesnt care too much, it doesnt matter what we know. It will go extinct. National Autonomous University will use funds raised through the campaign for habitat rehabilitation for the axolotls, further wildlife conservation projects and to boost the use of chinampas in agriculture. Chinampas were first established by the Aztecs, Inside Climate News reported. They are an important habitat for axolotls, and chinampera agricultural practices do not rely on fertilizers or pesticides. This form of farming can lead to better water quality, which creates a safer environment for the axolotls and other wildlife. Over the past two decades, axolotl numbers in their native, wild habitat have declined by 99.5%, The Associated Press reported. The number of axolotls in captivity has rapidly increased, as more and more people buy the animals as pets. But in a 2019 assessment, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimated the number of mature axolotls in the wild to be just 50 to 1,000 individuals. Axolotl live in wetlands, but their sharp decline is because of multiple threats to their habitat. Urbanization and pollution are top risks to axolotl habitats, but these amphibians are also vulnerable to non-native species, diseases, hunting and overfishing. Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions. U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on his administration's actions to address the climate crisis in the South Court Auditorium of the White House in Washington, DC on Nov. 14, 2023. SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images According to a White House official, U.S. President Joe Biden will not be attending the United Nations COP28 Climate Conference, which begins this Thursday in Dubai. The meeting of world leaders and delegates including climate scientists, Indigenous Peoples and youth to discuss the climate crisis has been held annually at various international locations since 1995. Last month, Reuters reported that the president was not likely to attend the meeting due to presidential campaign commitments and demands related to the war in the Middle East. Theyve got the war in the Middle East and a war in Ukraine, a bunch of things going on, said John Kerry, U.S. special envoy for climate change, last week, as The New York Times reported. Kerry will attend the conference in Dubai, along with his team. Leaders from almost 200 countries, including Pope Francis, King Charles III, who will give the opening address, and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, are expected to be present at the conference. Biden has attended the annual conference for the past two years, and referred to climate change as the ultimate threat to humanity earlier this month. President of China Xi Jinping is also planning to skip the conference, reported Bloomberg. The world leaders summit at COP28 will be held on Friday and Saturday, December 1 and 2. According to the White House, the presidents schedule for this week includes a meeting with President of Angola Joao Manuel Goncalves Lourenco, which is set to include a discussion on energy and climate, and the National Christmas Tree lighting on Thursday, Axios reported. President Biden is also set to attend a reception for honorees of the Kennedy Center on Sunday. Bidens decision not to attend the important climate conference is likely to upset climate activists. According to analysts, it is not protocol for a president of the U.S. to be in attendance at every climate summit, reported The New York Times. I dont quite see why you send a president to an event that doesnt have a marquee outcome, said David Victor, a Brookings Institution nonresident senior fellow, adding that President Bidens absence sends a message that theres not much to be done by sending a leader, as The New York Times reported. The slow progress of nations on scaling back the use of fossil fuels and limiting global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels is expected to be discussed in Dubai. The planet has already reached an average of 1.2 degrees Celsius of warming. According to scientists, by 2030 emissions must be reduced by 43 percent lower than 2019 levels in order to avoid disastrous climate impacts. However, current U.S. climate goals will only result in a reduction of seven percent. Unless the world keeps warming below this threshold, scientists say humans will struggle to adapt to global changes such as heat waves, drought, wildfires and extreme weather. Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions. Residents walk through a flooded street after heavy rains in Bago township in Myanmar's Bago region on Oct. 10, 2023. SAI AUNG MAIN / AFP via Getty Images According to a recent study by scientists from Germanys Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, some newer climate models greatly underestimate the extent to which global heating leads to extreme rainfall. The study predicts more frequent disastrous flooding unless humans reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Extremes appear to intensify faster with global warming than the models predict, said Anders Levermann, one of the authors of the study and a climate scientist at the Potsdam Institute of Climate Impact Research, as New Scientist reported. Extreme rainfall will be heavier and more frequent. Society needs to be prepared for this. The researchers examined the frequency and intensity of daily land-based precipitation extremes in 21 climate models classified as next generation that were used by a United Nations body to conduct global assessments, reported AFP. The research team compared historical changes with those predicted by the climate models and found that almost all the models greatly underestimated the rates of precipitation increases alongside worldwide rises in temperature. Our study confirms that the intensity and frequency of heavy rainfall extremes are increasing exponentially with every increment of global warming, said Maximilian Kotz, lead author of the paper and environmental economist, climate physicist and postdoctoral researcher with the Potsdam Institute, as AFP reported. The study, Constraining the pattern and magnitude of projected extreme precipitation change in a multi-model ensemble, was published in the Journal of Climate. As nations gear up for the United Nations COP28 Climate Conference in Dubai, which begins on Thursday, the pressure is on to ramp up the shift to renewable energy as the prospects of limiting planetary warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and avoiding the most disastrous effects of human-caused climate change become less and less likely. The rainfall increases are roughly in line with the Clausius Clapeyron equation in physics, which says that warmer air contains more water vapor. While these rates approximately match expectations from the Clausius-Clapeyron relation on average across models, individual models exhibit considerable and significant differences. Monte-Carlo simulations indicate that these differences contribute to uncertainty in the magnitude of projected change at least as much as differences in the climate sensitivity, the studys authors wrote. The authors said the discovery highlighted the idea that temperature is primarily responsible for worldwide changes in extreme rainfall, rather than wind, reported AFP. Increases in the frequency and intensity of rainfall were documented in high latitude regions like Northern Canada and across the tropics, like in Southeast Asia, the study said. The good news is that this makes it easier to predict the future of extreme rainfall. The bad news is: It will get worse, if we keep pushing up global temperatures by emitting greenhouse gases, Levermann said, as AFP reported. Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions. Environmental organizations Greenpeace Nordic and Young Friends of the Earth Norway are asking an Oslo district court to stop the development of three oil and gas fields in the North Sea, citing a lack of adequate assessment of the global climate impacts of future fossil fuel use, according to Reuters and a press release from Greenpeace. The lawsuit first began in June and surrounds the Aker BP and Breidablikk fields operated by Equinor. The two oil and gas fields together hold the equivalent of about 875 million barrels of petroleum, reported Reuters. The environmental groups claim that Norwegian law, as well as the mandates of the Supreme Court, have been broken by the state and that childrens best interests have not been considered, the press release said. The organizations have filed a temporary injunction and say the three projects must cease immediately, as they violate not only international human rights law but the Constitution of Norway. Article 104 of the Norwegian Constitution and Article 3 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child require that the best interests of children be taken into account in matters that concern them. The environmental organisations point out that this must also apply to decisions on climate and oil management, and that the authorities are obliged to weigh the consequences of climate change against, for example, short-term corporate profits from oil extraction. As the consequences for children and young people have not been assessed for the three oil fields, and some of the fields will produce oil well into the 2050s, the environmental organisations assert that the approvals are also invalid on this ground, Greenpeace wrote in the press release. In 2020, the two environmental organizations lost a separate case in Norways Supreme Court involving drilling in the Arctic. Then, the court concluded that the government and parliament had the authority to allow new oil drilling, Reuters reported. However, in the same ruling, the court said total emissions impacts, including future burning of oil and gas, should be taken into account in the development of new petroleum fields. In their new lawsuit, the environmental groups say future emissions were not taken into account by the energy ministry when the projects were approved, arguing that the district court should therefore invalidate the approvals and issue preliminary injunctions. In rejecting their opinion, the state argued that the decisions of the ministry were legally valid and did not require the assessment of emissions impacts from exports of petroleum. In a state visit to Norway, Dr. David Boyd, United Nations special rapporteur on human rights and the environment, said Norway should prohibit further exploration for additional fossil fuels, since not all existing reserves can be burned while still meeting the commitments of the Paris Agreement and should reject any other expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure, the press release said. Oil production was begun by Breidablikk last month, four months ahead of schedule. Production by the other two companies, Tyrving and Yggdrasil, is scheduled to begin next year and in 2027. Norways aggressive fossil policy spells disaster for the climate and people around the world. We have no choice but to confront the Norwegian government in court over the illegal oil fields, said Frode Pleym, head of Greenpeace Norway, as reported by Reuters. In the new lawsuit, the environmental organizations claim assessments by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy ultimately concluding that emissions by the Yggdrasil and Tyrving fields predicted to produce more than seven times the current annual emissions of Norway do not impact the environment or climate were made behind closed doors rather than via a public impact assessment, the press release said. With no basis in scientific evidence, but rather the controversially unscientific Rystad report, the Ministry has concluded that the Yggdrasil oil field will reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, Greenpeace wrote. For Breidablikk, no assessment of combustion emissions was made at all, despite the fact that the approval was granted after the Supreme Courts ruling in the first climate lawsuit. Leading up to the United Nations COP28 Climate Conference in Dubai, which begins later this week, the environmental NGOs expressed concern about what the latest lawsuit means for Norway and the climate crisis. The new climate lawsuit in Norway is part of a larger movement to hold states and corporations accountable for the climate and nature crisis, the press release said. While the Norwegian delegation will try to portray Norway as a climate leader during this years fossil-fuelled COP28 in Dubai, the organisations will also face the state in court precisely because of a climate-hostile oil policy. (Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC)Thousands of Christians from Jerusalem and beyond marched on 14 April from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem's Old City, following in the footsteps of Jesus on Palm Sunday in 2019. When thousands of Christians from Jerusalem and beyond marched from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem's Old City, following in the footsteps of Jesus on Palm Sunday, their procession was accompanied by Ecumenical Accompaniers. "Lead us from despair to hope, from fear to love, and may peace be in our hearts," said Rev. Gabrielle Zander from the Augusta Victoria Church in an opening word of prayer. He preached as participants in the World Council of Churches' Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (WCC-EAPPI) gathered in Saint Anne's Basilica in Jerusalem in mid-April. Since 2002, groups of Ecumenical Accompaniers (EAs) has provided protective international presence to local communities, documenting human rights violations, and gathering eyewitness stories of life under occupation stories that they can bring back to share in their home contexts. At Saint Anne's, the mid-April ceremony saw one group of EAs pass on the challenges of their ministry to another. Some of the EAs have now spent three months in the Holy Land, others have just arrived. But they all share the same ministry of witness, of accompaniment, of service. ST ANNE'S MONASTERY "As humans, God created us with many differences, and these differences have created tension, conflict and misunderstandings" reflected Rev. Dave Sullivan on behalf of the Missionaries of Africa of St Anne's Monastery and Basilica. "But God's dream is for us to all live in harmony. Different, but in harmony." "Jesus taught us that 'blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons and daughters of God' those who make peace, those who foster dialogue," Sullivan continued. "Each of you is blessed, as you have given up your time, your energy, and your resources, to make your contribution towards peace." "During your time here, you will not resolve all the problems. But you are here, to make your contribution to God's dream of peace," he said. Through a symbolic candlelight ceremony, the group of outgoing EAs then passed on the light of peace, as the responsibility of the EAs' witness now falls onto new shoulders. "May you walk with kindness, hope, patience and love so that you are blessed and are a blessing to all," the group of outgoing EAs said. "We accept the challenge to live and witness as EAs," the new group responded. And while one group now moves back to their respective home contexts to share what they have seen, heard and experienced, the new EAs have already begun their service in the field. Thousands of Christians from Jerusalem and beyond marched on April 14 from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem's Old City, following in the footsteps of Jesus on Palm Sunday. EAs were onsite throughout the day, accompanying the procession as it marched through the city. "Passing on the candles, passing on the responsibility to work for peace, and to communicate with the people here, was a very emotional experience," said one of the outgoing EAs, from Argentina. "I think we have being doing great work, and we try to leave everything now in a way that they can help strengthen the work more and more." Outgoing EAs lit candles before stepping out of the Saint Anne's Basilica, ready to head home. "I appreciated what was said," an incoming EA from Finland added. "And even though I am not really a very religious person, I still felt during the handover ceremony that it was real. It was real for me." Since 2002, the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine in Israel provides a continuous presence of 25-30 Ecumenical Accompaniers, with a vision of just peace for all people in the Holy Land. For three months, EAs accompany local communities, offering protective presence, collecting documentation, and witnessing daily struggles and hopes. They do it for shepherds in the Jordan Valley, school children at risk of settler harassment, people passing through checkpoints in the separation barrier, or communities under threat of demolition. Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC Germany's president has visited the Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH) in East Jerusalem and met patients sent there from the Gaza Strip, the Lutheran World Federation said. Frank-Walter Steinmeier paid the visit on Nov 27 the day after meeting his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog in Israel when he expressed solidarity with Israel. Israel is "fighting for its existence," according to Steinmeier, Turkey's Anadolu Agency reported. He condemned the inhumanity of Hamas, and also endorsed Israel's right to defend itself, saying that Hamas must not be allowed to kill or kidnap Israelis, The Jerusalem Post newspaper reported. At the same time, Steinmeier was concerned about innocent civilians in Gaza, and noted that Germany has been among those countries supplying them with humanitarian aid. The Lutheran operated hospital on the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem provides the Palestinian population with specialized treatment for cancer and kidney diseases. CLINIC FOR PALESTINIANS IN JERUSALEM It is the only clinic where the approximately five million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank can receive radiation therapy said the LWF. The AVH is the only Palestinian hospital to have a children's dialysis unit. It cooperates with Al-Ahli Anglican Hospital in Gaza City in the early diagnosis of cancer. German government financial support has been committed was promised, among other things, for the establishment of an early diagnosis center there. 'CLOSE RELATIONSHIP' "We welcome the visit of Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife Elke Budenbender as an expression of the close relationship of the Augusta Victoria Hospital with Germany," said Maria Immonen, director of LWF World Service, its welfare wing. "German development funding has been instrumental in enabling the hospital to develop into a comprehensive cancer treatment center." Since the Hamas attack and the subsequent bombardment of the Gaza Strip, 100 patients including children, and their relatives from Gaza have been stuck in AVH said the LWF. FAMILY SUPPORT The hospital is providing accommodation, meals, dignity kits and mental health support during their stay, while the patients remain and are very worried about their families. The LWF said it is becoming increasingly difficult for patients, doctors and nurses and other hospital staff from the West Bank to reach the hospital. Many patients are currently missing vital chemotherapy, radiation therapy and dialysis treatments. "The AVH provides essential specialized health services to the Palestinian population," said the LWF's Immonen. "We are continuing to do so in very challenging circumstances, and will do our utmost to support our patients through this time of crisis." She said AVH will continue to be part of the core structure of health service provision to Palestinians in the future as well, and the Lutheran World Federation remains committed to the task and is thankful for the support from our partners, such as Germany. The LWF represents some 75.5 million people from the Lutheran tradition worldwide. In statements, LWF has condemned the violence on both sides and called for a release of hostages, for a ceasefire, and for humanitarian access to support the civilian population in Gaza. (Photo: Peter Kenny)Jerusalem minarets and spires on Feb. 14, 2016. The World Council of Churches has condemned violence at the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex calling on Israel to respect the status quo of holy sites in Jerusalem's Old City in the interest of peace and stability as events ran amok over a period of days. The Lutheran World Federation also said it is deeply concerned over escalating violence and daily clashes in East Jerusalem, in particular confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli security forces at Haram Al-Sharif/Temple Mount. In a statement May 8, the WCC abhored the overnight violence at the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex, in which more than 200 people were initially reported to have been wounded. Palestinian protesters threw rocks and Israeli police fired stun grenades and rubber bullets in clashes outside al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem on May 10. It was when Israel marked the anniversary of its capture of parts of the city in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, Reuters news agency reported. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said at least 305 Palestinians were injured in the violence, and 228 of them were taken to hospital. Several of the Palestinians were in critical condition and police said 21 officers were injured. Al-Aqsa is Islam's third-holiest site. It has been a focal point of violence in Jerusalem throughout the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and the clashes have raised international concern about wider conflict. Violence, which has been ongoing for several nights, continued in Jerusalem as Palestinians clashed with Israeli police on Saturday, leaving many injured, NPR radio had reported May 9. World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Ioan Sauca called on Israel to respect the status quo of holy sites in Jerusalem's Old City in the interest of peace and stability. 'REFRAIN FROM VIOLENCE' "We also call for all to refrain from further violence, and from provocative and destabilizing actions," said Sauca. WCC said the latest events mark the escalation in the mounting unrest over the increase of the Security Forces' violence and restrictions around Jerusalem's Old City. "Furthermore, the recent and future threatened evictions of Palestinian families from their properties claimed by Jewish settler groups in East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah district have also contributed to this escalation," said the WCC. It said that through its Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Israel and Palestine (EAPPI), the WCC has accompanied and provided protective presence to the Palestinian community of Sheikh Jarrah since 2008, including attending court hearings in support of families threatened with eviction. "As the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has observed, the laws on which the settler groups' claims are based are applied in an inherently discriminatory manner, to the detriment of Palestinians who in many cases have occupied their homes for generations", said WCC Director for International Affairs Peter Prove. "On behalf of the global ecumenical fellowship of churches, I express our deep distress at the plight of the Palestinian families of Sheikh Jarrah and at the unrest and violence that has ensued," said Sauca. The proper response, he said, "must not be more violence, but compassion and justice for the Palestinian people affected by this unfair and unjust situation." In its May 10 statement the Lutheran World Federation said it full supports its member church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land and Bishop Sani-Ibrahim Azar, in denouncing the violation of the Status Quo agreement, which guarantees the three religions, Christianity, Islam and Judaism, and two people access to their holy sites during religious celebrations, "In light of the last days' clashes, the LWF-operated Augusta Victoria Hospital on the Mount of Olives has increased its emergency response capacity. AVH stands ready to receive and treat injured individuals as per need," said the LWF. Manx Utilities holding drop in sessions for residents about windfarm proposals By Emma Draper - Local Democracy Reporter Manx Utilities is hosting a series of drop-in sessions this week for people to learn more about the proposed onshore windfarm. The first two sessions will be held tomorrow (29 November) at Arbory Parish Hall and the Sea Terminal from 9am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm respectively. Theyll take place before a public meeting at Rushen Primary School, at 7pm on Wednesday, which will also be attended by MU and the Chief Minister Alfred Cannan. Two further drop-in sessions will take place, at Peel Centenary Centre and Ramsey Town Hall, on Thursday, 30 November. Earystane and Scard, in the south of the Island, has been earmarked for the renewable energy project. Man wanted in relation to ongoing investigation Jon-Paul Fayle The Isle of Man Constabulary are currently looking for Jon-Paul Fayle. The 30 year old is wanted for arrest in relation to an ongoing serious investigation. The Police are appealing to this male to come forward and present himself at Police Headquarters. There will be armed police officers on duty whilst the force continues to make arrest enquiries for this male. The force is advising the public at this time that if they see him to not to approach or engage with him, but to contact Douglas Police Headquarters on 01624 631212 or 999 in an emergency. If anyone knows of his whereabouts you can also contact the police anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. In a bid to comply with updated privacy rules in Europe, Meta recently gave Facebook and Instagram users in the region an ultimatum. They either had to agree to receive targeted ads or sign up for a 10 per month subscription for each app (or stop using them altogether). That would give users the choice of opting out of ad tracking, but they'd have to pay a hefty sum to do so. Now, an Austrian privacy group called noyb has filed a complaint against that Meta's actions on behalf of a client in financial distress. The group stated that the subscription price is out of proportion to the value Facebook receives, so it's effectively a false choice for users without the means to pay for a subscription. "More than 20% of the EU population are already at risk of poverty," wrote noyb founder noted EU privacy advocate Max Schrems. "For the complainant in our case, as for many others, a Pay or Okay system would mean paying the rent or having privacy." Today we filed our first (yes, more planned) complaint on Meta's "Pay or Okay" system. Considering that users have on average 35 apps on their phone, you may soon pay 8.000+ per year to keep your #GDPR rights - let's see what the @EU_EDPB will say!https://t.co/5GCCy5jPfJ Max Schrems (@maxschrems) November 28, 2023 Citing Meta's own data, noyb said that the company's average revenue per user in Europe was $16.79 between Q3 2022 and Q3 2023, or about 62.88 per user. However, it plans to charge a minimum of 120 per year (more if you sign up on a smartphone), or up to 251.88 ($275.88) to have both Instagram and Facebook. noyb notes that 3 to 10 percent of users want personalized ads, but 99.9 percent consent, due to the lack of a true choice. "EU law requires that consent is the genuine free will of the user. Contrary to this law, Meta charges a 'privacy fee' of up to 250 per year if anyone dares to exercise their fundamental right to data protection," said noyb's data protection lawyer Felix Mikolasch. Meta's actions are also likely to set off a "domino effect," according to noyb. "Already now, TikTok is reportedly testing an ad-free subscription outside the US. Other app providers could follow in the near future, making online privacy unaffordable." It added that if multiple apps took the same approach, data privacy would be available "only for the rich." Meta defended its approach, saying it follows EU laws. "The option for people to purchase a subscription for no ads balances the requirements of European regulators while giving users choice and allowing Meta to continue serving all people in the EU, EEA and Switzerland. In its ruling, the CJEU expressly recognized that a subscription model, like the one we are announcing, is a valid form of consent for an ads funded service," a spokesperson told TechCrunch, referring to a post from last month. However, European courts have stated that any fee charged to avoid tracking on products must be "necessary" and "appropriate." It also says that consent must be freely given. noyb appears to be targeting those clauses by arguing that the relatively high fees will effectively deter free choice by EU citizens, particularly those in financial difficulty. "Fundamental rights are usually available to everyone. How many people would still exercise their right to vote if they had to pay 250 to do so? There were times when fundamental rights were reserved for the rich. It seems Meta wants to take us back for more than a hundred years," Schrems said. According to an experiment conducted by The Wall Street Journal, Instagrams Reels video service would serve risque footage of children as well as overtly sexual adult videos to its test accounts that exclusively followed teen and preteen influencers, usually young gymnasts and cheerleaders. While these tests dont represent real user experiences (as tech companies tend to counter with), aggregating child sexualization content was apparently a known problem internally, according to current and former Meta employees interviewed by the Journal. Meta told its advertising clients it was investigating and that it would pay for brand-safety auditing services to determine how often a companys ads appear beside content it considers unacceptable. Mat Smith The biggest stories you might have missed Rivians electric truck is available to lease in 14 US states The best Cyber Monday deals for 2023 that are still going Evernote is reportedly testing a severely restricted plan for free users You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here! Restructuring may affect around 700 employees. TMA (ByteDance) According to Reuters and Bloomberg, TikTok's parent company ByteDance is winding down its gaming arm, including the Nuverse brand, with hundreds of jobs likely to be affected. Nuverse, acquired by ByteDance in 2017, is the publisher of notable titles Marvel Snap, Ragnarok X: Next Generation and One Piece: Blood Routes. Despite the apparent success of these games, ByteDance CEO Liang Rubo had reportedly criticized the gaming arm for a lack of focus. Continue reading. A district court sided with the automaker in an interim decision. Tesla sued Swedens transportation agency and postal service over a union strike blocking the companys license plate deliveries in the country. The workers are striking to demand the non-unionized automaker sign a collective bargaining agreement, a standard practice mechanics union IF Metall describes as the backbone of the Swedish model. However, the Swedish Transport Agency says it already received an interim decision from a district court, ordering it to consent within seven days to Teslas request to collect license plates or face hefty fines. Continue reading. These are our favorite cameras, bags, tripods and more that make great gifts. TMA (Engadget) Theres never been a better time to own a new camera, as the latest technology means better photos and video than ever. But with all the models out there, let alone the numerous accessories, like backpacks, memory cards, tripods and more, where do you start? Fortunately, weve done all the research and found cameras and peripherals at a wide range of prices. Continue reading. Sixty-five-year-old American billionaire businessman Mark Cuban announced on a podcast interview that he will no longer be joining the next season of the American business reality television series "Shark Tank." "This is our 15th year, and next year, our 16th year is going to be my last year. So I got one more year to go," Cuban told the "All the Smoke" podcast hosts and ex-NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson. He told them that after being a regular on the show for 15 years, it was time for him to move on, insisting that season 16 would be his last. Since joining "Shark Tank," Cuban reportedly invested $29 million in at least 85 companies, per Forbes. He reportedly invested in at least 400 startups through the show -- some found success, while others blew up. The billionaire first appeared as a guest during the second season and has become a regular since its third season in 2012. "I feel like in doing 'Shark Tank' all these years, we've trained multiple generations of entrepreneurs that if somebody can come from Iowa or Sacramento or wherever, and show up on the carpet of Shark Tank and show their business and get a deal, it's going to inspire generations of kids," he talked about his long-time show. Cuban previously talked about leaving "Shark Tank" in 2022 to put his family first. According to him, he wanted to spend more time with his daughters and his family, among his other obligations. "It's not because I don't love the show. I absolutely love the show," he stated before noting his other priorities. "My daughter's in college now... When they were all in high school, all their schedules aligned so it was really easy to do the show," he explained. "But now, you know, family first, always. And so I wanted to try to make sure I spent as much time with my daughter as I can, and my family as I can." "Shark Tank" is an American business reality television series showing entrepreneurs making business presentations to start-up investors called "sharks" on the program. It premiered on ABC in August 2009. The Regions leading International Geospatial Industry event Returns to Singapore Enterprise Networking Mag | Tuesday, November 28, 2023 Singapore Geo Connect Asia returns to Singapore on the 6th & 7th March 2024 to build on its position as the regions leading international show for the geospatial, positioning and remote sensing industries. With the theme Geospatial driven impacts: underground, ground and sea to sky the conference programme addresses key challenges facing the Asian region, from public health and critical infrastructure to Geo + AI and the monitoring of utility operations. Geo Connect Asia also embraces the demands for digitalisation of the construction industry, through the co-located Digital Construction Asia show. The launch of Marine & Hydro Asia provides focus on the hydrospatial challenges of managing key issues relating to Asias coastal and marine waters. More than 130 companies are expected to take part in the combined exhibitions, with more than 70 speakers contributing to the associated conferences. Working with the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), as its Strategic Partner, Geo Connect Asia provides a platform for the introduction of geospatial based solutions across the region. Mr Ng Siau Yong, Director, GeoSpatial and Data Division & Chief Data Officer of SLA, comments: We are delighted to support Geo Connect Asia, as Strategic Partner, in our mission to mainstream geospatial-based applications and solutions in Singapore, across public agencies and industry. Themed Geospatial driven impacts, this international industry event provides the perfect opportunity for all participants to demonstrate the influence and learn about the power of geospatial information and technology at work and in the daily lives of citizens. More than 3,500 professionals are expected to attend Geo Connect Asia and its sister shows, which includes the co-located Drones Asia, relaunched as Drones & Uncrewed Asia, providing a dedicated platform for the regions UAV markets. Geo Connect Asia is organised by Singapore based Montgomery Asia and was launched in Singapore in 2019. Please note online registration is now open for conference bookings and professional visitors. Visit www.geoconnectasia.com or www.dronesasia.com for more information. A soft matter physicist, Jean Daillant has been Director General of the SOLEIL synchrotron since 2011. Under his guidance, SOLEIL has become a leading facility among the medium-energy synchrotron radiation sources. He is the current Chair of LEAPS, the League of European Accelerator-based Photon Sources, which aims to promote scientific excellence and strengthen the cooperation between synchrotron and X-ray free electron laser facilities to support an innovative and sustainable European Research Area. He also holds the role of Spokesperson of the Analytical Research Infrastructures in Europe (ARIE). Jean Daillant will take over on 1 September 2024 from Francesco Sette, who, during a close to sixteen-year mandate, has overseen the implementation of the entire Upgrade Programme of the ESRF to become the worlds first and leading fourth-generation high-energy synchrotron radiation source. "The Council extends a heartfelt welcome to Jean in his new role as Director General, and is looking forward to collaborating with him to steer the ESRF towards a bright future amidst challenging circumstances," states Prof. Helmut Dosch, Chair of the ESRF Council. Francesco Sette says: "I congratulate Jean on his appointment and welcome him on board on behalf of all of us at the ESRF. I wish him a lot of success in leading the ESRF in the years to come, keeping the facility at the forefront of X-ray science." Jean Daillant says: "I feel deeply honoured to be joining the ESRF to serve as Director General. Succeeding Francesco, who has so successfully lead the facility for many years, is a challenge I am taking on with humility. EBS provides extraordinary opportunities for scientific creativity that I will be most excited to develop further, together with the ESRF staff and the wider scientific community." Jean Daillant is a widely recognised expert on synchrotron radiation. His expertise focuses on soft matter physics and liquid interface dynamics, delving into their intermolecular interactions and surface phenomena. Utilising advanced techniques like synchrotron X-ray and atomic force microscopy, he has analysed these systems at the nanoscale. His interest also extends to practical applications, particularly in nanomaterials synthesis through self-assembly. He was a member of the ESRF Science Advisory Committee over the period 2003-2009 and headed SOLEILs Scientific Council between 2006 and 2010. After graduating in Physics at the Ecole Normale Superieure de St-Cloud, he joined the CEA in 1989, where he subsequently became Head of the Soft Matter and Interfaces Group before becoming joint director of LURE, the French national synchrotron light source in Orsay, from 1999 to 2003. In 2004, he became Head of the CEA-CNRS Laboratory LIONS for Interdisciplinary Research on Nanometric and Supramolecular Organisation, until 2011, at which time he took up his current role as SOLEIL Director General. Weiss is Author of 'We Don't Want YOU, Uncle Sam: Examining the Military Recruiting Crisis with Generation Z' "When Weiss saw a gap in the way leadership was trying to attract the new generation of troops it became his mission to help them do it right." We Are The Mighty Las Vegas, NVMatthew Weiss, USMC Intelligence Officer was recently honored as a Top 25 Military Influencer by We Are The Mighty. The MIGHTY 25, sponsored by National University, annually highlights 25 trailblazers who are making a notable impact on the military community. Featuring dedicated service members and veterans, forward-thinking entrepreneurs, fervent advocates, steadfast military spouses, and global thought leaders, this list embodies unmatched dedication and epitomizes community impact. The MIGHTY 25 was celebrated in the vibrant atmosphere of Military Influencer Conference (MIC) 2023, at the Las Vegas Hilton at Resorts World. The United States military has reached an all-time low when it comes to recruitment. Through incompatible ideals, differing beliefs, and socio-cultural factors, recruiters are struggling to connect with the younger generation. As a member of Generation Z himself, (Those born between 1997-2012) Second Lieutenant Matthew Weiss tackles the source of the problem and proposes solutions in his best-seller We Don't Want YOU, Uncle Sam: Examining the Military Recruiting Crisis with Generation Z. Now available on audiobook narrated by the author. Watch the book trailer at https://bit.ly/UncleSamBookTrailer "The U.S. military is in the throes of a sustained recruiting and retention crisis. Sustaining a viable force will require fresh thinking and innovative proposals. In this brilliant and timely book, Matthew Weiss offers an abundance of both." Andrew Bacevich, Chairman and Co-Founder, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft Matthew Weiss says, "The current status of military recruiting in the United States is terrifyingly grim. Recruitment levels are at their lowest since the Vietnam era." Through personal stories and macro analysis, Weiss recalls the issues that Gen Z has with the military and proposes potential solutions. Weiss organizes his point into four parts: Recruiting Fundamentals, Workforce Parity, Sociocultural Influences, and Scope of Service. Broken down further into 21 key points, he explores the meaning behind work, the digital age, modern healthcare, gender-based disparity, preparing for the future, and much more. "This book provides viable solutions to reinvigorating a sense of national service by changing the norm while presenting an understanding of the worldview that the gifted Generation Z provides!" Grady Harp, LCDR USN, USMC Battalion Surgeon, Vietnam, and Amazon Top 100 Hall of Fame Reviewer "Often the biggest personal driver for Gen Z is the desire to feel needed. Overall, being needed is perhaps the biggest self-interest trigger of all. When one is needed, one feels a deep call to answer that need to win true self-satisfaction and community approval. Uncle Sam needs Gen Z, it's time we show it," Weiss says. We Don't Want YOU, Uncle Sam is not only directed at the members of Gen Z but also at U.S. leaders who are trying to connect with the new generation. "We Don't Want You, Uncle Sam is an impeccably researched and thoughtful guide not just for military leaders, but for leaders of all institutions seeking to understand and engage an inspired generation and repair our nation's divides." John Della Volpe, Director of Polling, Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics As the premier Generation Z military figure, Matthew Weiss speaks from his own experience as well as his extensive research into the subject. Weiss sums up the key message of his book: "We must rebuild the value proposition of military service by demonstrating the benefits of the world's greatest physical social network." Already reaching #1 in Amazon's Military Life & Institutions category and #7 in Amazon's Military Families category, it's clear that people are fascinated by Weiss's book. We Don't Want YOU, Uncle Sam sends a critical message to all generations regarding the evolution of recruiting and the importance of patriotism. We Don't Want YOU, Uncle Sam: Examining the Military Recruiting Crisis with Generation Z, ISBN 979-8218236663, $13.59 Paperback, $7.99 Kindle and $17.46 Audiobook available on Amazon or at: www.UncleSamBook.org Watch the book trailer here: https://bit.ly/UncleSamBookTrailer About Matthew Weiss: Second Lieutenant Matthew Weiss is an Intelligence Officer in the United States Marine Corps. Previously, he worked in mergers and acquisitions at a cutting-edge defense technology company. He holds a BS and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Most importantly, he is a member of Generation Z who cares deeply about solving this issue of service. Weiss was recently interviewed by the NY Post about the Gen Z recruitment crisis. https://bit.ly/NY_Post_Gen_Z and on MSNBC's Morning Joe. Media Contact: For a review copy of We Don't Want YOU, Uncle Sam: Examining the Military Recruiting Crisis with Generation Z or to arrange an interview with Matthew Weiss, contact Scott Lorenz of Westwind Book Marketing at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or by phone at 248-705-2214. Reach Lorenz on Twitter @abookpublicist. An animal health expert has said that the 'surveillance is working' following the confirmation of four further cases of bluetongue in cattle in Kent. The new cases of bluetongue serotype 3 (BTV-3) were identified in cattle on two additional farms over the weekend, as surveillance within the 10km temporary control zone (TCZ) continues. The cattle, which showed no clinical signs, were on farms within the 10km TCZ that surrounds the first case found near Canterbury on 11 November. Before this, the last outbreak of bluetongue in the UK was in 2007, meaning it had been officially free of the virus since 2011. Its clear the surveillance is working, said Dr Joseph Henry, who is chair of the Ruminant Health & Welfare (RH&W) bluetongue working group. All of these additional confirmed cases are from cattle with no clinical signs... they have all been culled to reduce any risk of onward transmission." He added: So far, there is no evidence of circulating virus in the UK midge population and with the overall temperature dropping, the risk of midge disease transmission is reducing." The virus is transmitted by midge bites and affects cows, goats, sheep and other camelids such as llamas. The midges are most active between April and November and not all susceptible animals show immediate, or any, signs of contracting the virus. Dr Henry said: The TCZ remains in place with on-going surveillance on all livestock, so please ensure your animals are registered its never too late to register your stock officially. There is also on-going surveillance in areas outside the TCZ, as part of the routine bluetongue monitoring strategy. This was how the original case was detected." Legislation remains in place around any movement of animals into and out of the control zone. Farmers have been told to be aware when buying animals in, take action to report any signs, and to remain vigilant. Farmers can access and call the dedicated bluetongue hotline to get advice or ask questions linked to the current situation on 024 7771 0386. In the UK, bluetongue, including BTV-3, is a notifiable disease, meaning that anyone suspecting the disease must report it to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA). Bluetongue does not affect people or food safety. Highly pathogenic avian influenza has been confirmed in broiler breeders at a farm near Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Northumberland. A 3 km Protection Zone and 10 km Surveillance Zone have been declared by Defra following the outbreak near Wooler on Monday (27 November). This means movement restrictions within these zones for example, poultry, carcases, eggs, used poultry litter and manure to prevent any further spread of disease. It follows a case of bird flu in a backyard flock on the Orkney Islands on 22 November and at a turkey farm in Lincolnshire on 9 November. The avian influenza risk level in wild birds was recently reduced from high to medium following a reduction in the number of findings of HPAI during the past few months. The risk was reduced from high, 'event occurs very often', to medium, 'event occurs regularly'. The government's risk level remains 'low' for poultry, but farmers and keepers are still being urged to remain vigilant. Scientists have warned against complacency as the virus could increase in the UK this winter as it spreads in Europe. Over 100,000 people have signed a petition urging the UK's largest retailers and their suppliers to treat British farmers more fairly, with the issue due to be debated in parliament. An open letter was sent to the CEOs of Tesco, Sainsburys, Asda, Morrisons, Aldi and Lidl over two months ago warning that the farming industry was on its knees. Despite the time that has passed, not one of the supermarket chiefs has acknowledged the #GetFairAboutFarming campaign, which was launched by organic farming company Riverford. Campaigners behind it want the UK's largest supermarkets to adopt new principles as a way of spreading fair trade across the industry more widely. The supporting petition has now reached over 100,000 signatures on the parliament.uk website, meaning the threshold has passed for MPs to debate the issue. One of the key asks from the campaign is for the government to amend the Grocery Supply Code of Practice (GSCP). The amendment would see supermarkets required to buy what they agreed to buy, pay what they agreed to pay, and pay on time, without exception. Guy Singh-Watson, founder of Riverford Organic, said there was a clear message being sent to the big six and the government to safeguard the future of British farmers. He said: Despite the encouraging public support, the lack of a mere acknowledgement from the big six is insulting at a time when British agriculture is on its knees. Our countryside is being desecrated because thats the only way you can produce cheap food and farmers in my sector are not being paid fairly. The pressure further increases on supermarkets to act now and avoid having their poor practices exposed to the nation in a debate in parliament. A Defra response to the petition reads: "The government is committed to tackling contractual unfairness that can exist in the agri-food supply chain and Defra is working to support farmers and ensure they get a fair price for their products. "We announced a new review into fairness in the horticulture supply chain building on what we have already got underway to improve transparency and contracts in the pork and dairy markets. "Beginning in December, we will launch a public consultation exploring these issues." The public can show their support for the campaign by signing the online petition. The government has been urged to provide clarification on the taxation of the environmental land management and ecosystem service markets, and the use of land in such schemes. Accountant Saffery has called on the government to 'move swiftly' on the issue as the current uncertainty was 'holding back' landowners from engaging with the post-Brexit schemes. The firm said it was seeking clarity particularly around qualification of land used in such schemes for Inheritance Tax (IHT) reliefs. It follows an acknowledgment in the recent Autumn Statement that responses to the consultation on this were being reviewed and that a further update was intended in spring 2024. However, it had been hoped that some announcement would have been made in the Autumn Statement. Martyn Dobinson, partner at Saffery, said: We really do need some clarity on this, particularly around qualification of land used in such schemes for IHT reliefs. "The current uncertainty is holding back many of our land-owning clients from fully engaging with these schemes and therefore helping to drive these government initiatives. We very much hope that the outcome of the consultation, and some clear guidance, is announced in the Spring Budget so that landowners can start to properly explore the opportunities that these schemes provide. The Welsh government has launched a new plan to help farmers 'fully exploit' the benefits of agri-tech and emerging digital technologies. The Agri-Tech Action Plan for Wales sets out a vision to support the sector in harnessing the potential of agri-tech through four priorities. These are to see an acceleration in agri-tech capabilities; a drive in on-farm adoption; deliver environmental benefits; and support skills development. A lack of knowledge is holding many farmers back from investing in new agricultural technology, according to a survey by NFU Mutual. The Welsh government said its new plan will help farmers by, for example, making farm activities more efficient and precise. Collaboration will be key in ensuring the industry realises the benefits of emerging technologies, it added. The plan has been developed with the industry, including from farming bodies, agricultural practitioners, and academic communities. Farming Connect, which is funded by the Welsh government, will help spearhead the plan. Activities include the Farming Connect demonstration farm network 'Our Farms' to showcase data and case studies to promote agri-tech. Rural Affairs Minister, Lesley Griffiths said: We are living in a digital age and grasping the full benefits of digital technology is vital for the agriculture industry in driving innovation and boosting business. The Agri-Tech Action Plan for Wales will be a central point for the sector and support it to take advantage of what digital technology can do for them. "The Farming Connect service will work closely with the industry and support it to embrace the positive impact technology can have. The new Agri-Tech Action Plan for Wales [PDF] is available to see online. The James Hutton Institute has donated nearly 8,000kg of potatoes - worth an astonishing 932 bags - to a food charity helping communities in need. The institute, which is home to the UKs leading potato research centre, donated the locally grown potatoes ahead of the festive season. The potatoes were grown as part of a large-scale field trial, undertaken earlier this year at James Huttons Balruddery Farm, near Dundee. The field trial included a range of well-known varieties, which when harvested were bagged separately and donated to the charity FareShare. The varieties are among 100 types of potatoes that agricultural scientists at the institute have developed over the last century. Continued research aims to produce potatoes which can handle global threats posed by climate change, as well as pests and disease. Euan Caldwell, head of farms at the institute said: I am so pleased that this harvest will not only inform our learning but will benefit so many people who need it most this winter." He added: The challenges posed by the climate and nature crises for potatoes are significant and threaten this global crop. "We have extensive experience in potato breeding at the Hutton and our work is critical in developing potatoes which are more resilient to climate change, and which require less input and are thus more sustainable longer term." FareShare has redistributed 3,725 tonnes of excess food across Scotland in the past year the equivalent of 8.9 million meals, benefitting some 66,000 people. Clare OKeefe, commercial officer at FareShare, said: We are hugely grateful to the James Hutton Institute for providing such a generous donation to FareShare for the second year in a row. The food distributed is used by many different types of community groups, including food pantries, community cafes, after-school clubs, and homeless shelters. "We are seeing demand for food increase, and we are expecting that to grow further over the coming winter." The vast majority of people support the Welsh government in providing more financial support to help farmers produce food, a new survey says. The findings of a new NFU Cymru-commissioned survey have revealed high support for public spending on farming. It follows emergency cuts to Wales' rural affairs budget, which was called 'a significant blow' to farmers during a time of policy transition and financial pressures. The poll of over 1,000 adults, conducted by YouGov, found that 82% support the Welsh government providing financial support to farmers to produce food. When taking into account the governments priorities, 72% said that supporting Welsh farmers was a good use of public spending. Public backing remains high in the Cardiff and South Central region, a predominantly urban area with a large population. Support for food production there sits at 86%, and funding for farming being seen as a good use of public spending (76%) were higher than the all-Wales figures. Elsewhere, three quarters of adults (74%) view food produced in Wales as high quality, while two thirds (66%) say the amount of locally produced food in the public sector should be increased. The data also showed that 67% of people want UK food production to be as self-sufficient as possible and, of those who do, 70% think Wales can play a leading role (20%) or have a major role (50%) to play in self-sufficiency. NFU Cymru President Aled Jones said it was 'crucial' for the Welsh government to 'listen to the resounding voice' of the Welsh public. He added that people across Wales wanted to see the Welsh farming sector better supported to produce food, alongside other benefits. Welsh governments budget reprioritisation statement last month was a stark warning as to the deficit it is facing in this financial year, as well as the ongoing challenge that it will face in setting its future budgets across its portfolios in the coming years. In its frequent engagement with Welsh government Cabinet Ministers and MSs, NFU Cymru is told that the union must demonstrate the value of farming not only to government, but also to the taxpayer. "I am, therefore, delighted that our recently-commissioned survey has showed the high levels of backing amongst the public for support for Welsh agriculture and, in particular, financially supporting farmers to produce food." A spider laid eggs inside a cruise ship passenger's toe. A wolf spider laid eggs in a cruise ship passenger's toe Colin Blake and his wife were spending the evening in the French city of Marseille on the holiday to mark their 35th wedding anniversary when his toe turned purple after swelling up. He soon visited the ship's doctor who informed him that a Peruvian wolf spider - which are not poisonous - had bitten him and laid eggs inside his toe. Blake, who lives in Northumberland, told BBC Radio Scotland: "My wife thought it may be because I had new sandals and they were rubbing on my big toe and that was causing it to be red." The doctor cut his toe open and caused the arachnid's eggs to pour out. However, when he visited a medic upon his return to the UK - they discovered that one of the eggs had hatched into a small spider that was trapped underneath his skin. Blake said: "They believe the spider was making its way out - eating its way out of my toe." A stirring and compelling novel about the scandalous treatment of Windrush immigrants. In the 1960s and 70s a disproportionate number of black children who came to Britain were sent to special schools for so called educationally subnormal (E.S.N.) children whatever their talents, starting their life in Britain at a disadvantage because of their race. This introduction to racism would haunt them throughout their lives. Because You Were There The Book Because You Were There Follows the treatment of Windrush immigrants in Britain through the eyes of one child and her teacher who sees the injustices. The failure to encourage one particularly talented child, Tina, is seen through the eyes of Felicity, her special needs teacher who would have liked to help but didnt. Fifty years later Felicity returns to the same town and realises that Tina has suffered from discrimination throughout her life, and her family too. Is it possible to make amends, or even to say sorry? A book about belonging. Tina left Jamaica, where she was loved and valued, for a country that treats her like dirt. In spite of all this, she feels a strong attachment to Britain. Felicity, who was born British, is alienated and feels that Britain no longer represents her values. Tina was silent for a second. Then she shut her desk lid with a reverberating slam and stood up. "You wouldn't dare," she challenged. "What about Denise? You're only getting at me because I'm black." Tina, a bright and rebellious ten-year-old from Jamaica, leaves her homeland in 1968 to join her mother in Britain. But instead of receiving a warm welcome, Tina is forced to attend an ESN school, where she is treated as inferior due to her Jamaican heritage. Eventually, in desperation, she writes a cry for help in the form of a poem, giving it to the one teacher she trusts. But her teacher, Felicity, ignores her hidden plea, though as the years go by she remains haunted by the memory of the vulnerable teenager. Fifty years later, Tina and Felicity cross paths again, and as Felicity grows closer to Tina's family, she is drawn into a racist hate campaign conducted by her neighbours against Tinas daughter. Can Felicity ever make amends for all that Tina and her family have suffered? Author Joan Lewis was a young teacher at a special needs school in the early 70s. She saw first-hand how children were failed because of their race. She feels that it is important to recognize that the racism and injustice facing Windrush immigrants by the Home Office now is not new. About the Author JOAN LEWIS was born a Geordie, growing up in Newcastle and Durham. She began teaching in Carlisle, then moved to Cheltenham and then Bath. Her experiences of teaching at a special school, and living amongst the magnificent architecture of Bath, inspired this novel. Joan subsequently lived in Germany before returning to Britain London - and then to a small holding in Pembrokeshire, where she and her husband practised self-sufficiency. They kept a Jersey cow, sheep, goats and chickens while she taught in Milford Haven, followed by headship in Pembroke Dock. After many years they moved to Marlborough, Wiltshire , where she became head of the infant school In 2002, Joan took early retirement and moved to France. For the past 21 years they have lived in an amazing spot in the hills of Languedoc. She now feels that she belongs more in France than Britain. BECAUSE YOU WERE THERE is available in paperback (7.99) and ebook (2.49). by Matt Shine for www.femalefirst.co.uk find me on and follow me on Jennifer Lawrence's appearance has changed because she's "ageing" - not because of plastic surgery. Jennifer Lawrence has denied having had surgery The 33-year-old actress acknowledges that her appearance has changed over recent years, but Jennifer insists she hasn't gone under the knife. The Hollywood star - who gave birth to her son, Cy, in February 2022 - told Interview magazine: "I started at 19, so I get the before and after pictures from when Im 19 to 30 and Im like, 'I grew up. I lost baby weight in my face, and my face changed because Im ageing.' Everybody thought I had a nose job, and Im like, 'Ive had the exact same nose. My cheeks got smaller. Thank you for bringing it up.'" What's more, Jennifer highlighted the influence of Hung Vanngo, the acclaimed make-up artist. She explained: "I also think its incredible what make-up can do because I work with Hung, who overlines the lip, and I call him a plastic surgeon, because everybody in the last few months since Ive been working with him is convinced that I had eye surgery." Meanwhile, Jennifer previously revealed that she struggles with mom guilt. The award-winning actress confessed that she was still trying to come to terms with the demands of motherhood. Jennifer - who married Cooke Maroney in 2019 - told Variety's 'Actors on Actors' series: "Every day of being a mom, I feel awful. I feel guilty. "I'm playing with him and I'm like, 'Is this what he wants to be doing? Should we be outside? We're outside. What if he's cold? What if he's going to get sick? Should we be inside? Is this enough? Is this developing your brain enough?'" Paris Hilton feels "complete" after welcoming a baby girl. Paris Hilton recently welcomed her second child The 42-year-old star and her husband Carter Reum are both "over the moon" after they recently welcomed their second child, a baby girl named London, via a surrogate. Paris - who also has a ten-month-old son called Phoenix - told the 'TODAY' show: "She is just a little angel and my life just feels so complete with my little baby boy and my baby girl. We're just over the moon." The blonde beauty recently announced the arrival of their daughter via a social media post. Alongside a photo of some baby clothes, Paris wrote on Instagram: "Thankful for my baby girl [tears, heart and baby emojis] (sic)" Paris also revealed the inspiration behind her baby's name. She said on the 'I am Paris' podcast: "I've always wanted to name my daughter London. I had actually picked that name for a long time now, probably over 10 years. I always wanted London. I love that name for my daughter." In October, Paris revealed that she would love to have a baby girl. The TV star told E! News at the time: "I can't wait to have my own little princess one day and that's something that we talk about and think about all the time." Paris loves the challenge of motherhood. The reality star also revealed that she's "never felt so happy". Paris shared: "It's been such a special time. "My little baby boy is my world and he's made my life feel so complete. My husband is just the sweetest, kindest, most loyal and loving partner - just my everything. "It's been amazing being a mom, being a wife and this new phase of my life. I just never felt so happy." A device to detect breast cancer in urine for young women, an affordable eco-friendly sanitary pads using plantain fibres and smart badge to protect you in the dark are among the university innovations being displayed at Prototypes of Humanity, an annual programme that trawls the world for the most innovative academic projects addressing problems affecting women. Prototypes for Humanity Programme The three womens health submissions are: Smart badge enhancing nighttime security (eNOugh: University College London, United Kingdom) Designed for easy use during late hours, the badge integrates night vision, GPS, movement detection, an alarm, and AI support. Affordable, eco-friendly sanitary pads using plantain fibres (Plad: Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana) Device-enabled AIto detects breast cancer in urine for young women (The Blue Box: University of California, Irvine, United States) These are some of the 100 projects featured at the Prototypes for Humanity programme which engaged with thousands of students and professors across 710 universities in 108 countries and within 200 different research fields this year. The resulting 100 shortlisted projects were developed by graduates from universities including: Yale, Stanford, Oxford, Princeton, Berkeley, MIT, Harvard, Cambridge and UCL will be present at the exhibition in Dubai, alongside supervising professors, and team members. $100,000 in prizes will be presented at The 2023 Prototypes for Humanity Awards Ceremony to projects across 5 categories that reflect key priority areas from the COP28 agenda. Womens Health has expectedly emerged as one of the key focus areas for graduates, across a wide range of disciplines, from data sciences to pharmacology, through to bioengineering and industrial design, tackling issues that include: injury rehabilitation, cardiac surgery, speech-language therapy, wound healing, neurological conditions, respiratory physiotherapy, and HIV Bio-screening. Tadeu Baldani Caravieri, Director, Prototype for Humanity comments: As we gather at the 2023 edition of Prototypes of Humanity, where ingenuity knows no bounds, we bring to the forefront an impressive array of academic projects by students in global academic institutions, alongside leading universities in developing countries. Among the many complementing faces of social impact, womens health (including safety and emergency response) emerges unsurprisingly as a key area of concern and one where technology, science and creativity is being channeled by academic talent from around the world. Through our participants research, we often encounter problems that are still not sufficiently voiced, and the solutions that offer a glimpse into the future of healthcare. The event is open to the public, at Emirates Towers (The Boulevard), Dubai prior to COP28 on Wednesday 29 November and Thursday 30 November 2023. This year, the assessment of submission relied also on AI, used to establish connections, and assess the relevance of the projects compared to large databases of published research in their respective fields. The 2023 Prototypes for Humanity Awards Ceremony will be held at COP28 on 2 December The breadth of the solutions on display also reflects Prototypes for Humanitys growing reach and community is at the heart of Dubais future-looking ecosystem, thanks to a new milestone partnership with the Dubai Future Foundation. The projects carry many of the underlying technologies necessary to achieve the ambitious goals that will be discussed by global leaders a few days later at COP28 in Dubai. The Prototypes for Humanity programme also seeks to help solutions go to market, by bringing together three key components, under a novel model: (i) academic IP (ii) venture studios and (iii) industry partnerships. During the 2023 programme in Dubai, participating graduates will take part in workshops, round tables and discussions with startup and industry experts, as a first step towards entering Prototypes for Humanity structured venture-building programme a new initiative that aims to directly support selected projects to create a viable business model and go to market. About Prototypes for Humanity Prototypes for Humanity is the most comprehensive assembly of academic innovations that has the power to change the world. We promote and support solutions creating real-world impact for the environment and society, by mobilizing academia, private and public sector Sentiment in the German export industry has improved. The ifo Export Expectations rose to minus 3.8 points in November, up from minus 6.3 points in October. Clothing manufacturers are also expected to increase their exports. Exports are still only expected to grow in a few industries. Companies are expecting a decline in international orders, ifo Institute said in a press release. Export expectations in Germany rose to minus 3.8 points in November from minus 6.3 in October, indicating a slight improvement in sentiment among German exporters. Growth in exports is anticipated in only a few industries, with a general expectation of decreased international orders, as per ifo Institute. Clothing manufacturers expect to increase exports. However, the export economy still isnt managing to develop any momentum, said Klaus Wohlrabe, Head of Surveys at ifo. German companies have yet to benefit much from the economic upswing in many countries. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (NB) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Alia Bhatt AAAAAA (@aliaabhatt) Birthdays are a time to make your loved ones feel cherished, and Alia Bhatt did just that for her sister Shaheen Bhatt. She wrote a heartfelt poem and shared it on social media, along with nostalgic throwback photos of the two of them. Alia and Shaheen share a close bond, and this birthday message was a beautiful way to celebrate their relationship.On Tuesday, the actress took to Instagram and wrote, "you are joy .. you are light may we every now and then have a fight. you are sunshine, you are breeze. please please always take care of your knees. I am not a writer.. I am not a poet.. Im just your loving sister and Im sure you know it. happy birthday my sweetie."Recently, Shaheen joined her sister Alia Bhatt at the Filmfare OTT Awards 2023 where the actress won an award for Best Actor, Web Original Film (Female) for her performance in Darlings.Meanwhile, on the work front, Alia Bhatt is currently shooting for Vasan Bala's Jigra. At a promotional event for Animal in Hyderabad, Mahesh Babu showered praise on the film's lead actor, Ranbir Kapoor, calling him the best actor of India. Mahesh expressed his admiration for Ranbir, highlighting his fandom and asserting his belief in Ranbir's unparalleled acting prowess. Ranbir, visibly touched, acknowledged Mahesh's words with a heartfelt smile. Taking the stage, Ranbir reciprocated by acknowledging Mahesh as the first superstar he ever met, recalling their interaction after watching Okkadu. He expressed gratitude for Mahesh's support and chanted Jai Babu in response. Im a HUGE fan of Ranbir Kapoor & he is the BEST Actor in India - Superstar #MaheshBabu pic.twitter.com/pkGsAC46G5 RKa (@seeuatthemovie) November 27, 2023 During the event, Ranbir also paid respects to filmmaker SS Rajamouli, touching his feet upon their meeting. Rajamouli, in turn, declared Ranbir as his favourite actor, playfully challenging him to choose between working with Sandeep Reddy Vanga and himself, to which Ranbir humorously chose Vanga. Animal Censor Cuts: Ranbir Kapoor's upcoming action crime movie Animal has been widely discussed due to its intense violence and action sequences. Directed by Sandeep Vanga Reddy of Arjun Reddy/Kabir Singh fame, it has received an 'A' certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). The film is set to release on December 1, and it has also been revealed that its runtime is more than 3 hours. The movie also features Rashmika Mandanna, Anil Kapoor, and Bobby Deol in key roles. And now, in an exclusive report, details about the several modifications have been revealed. Interestingly, even inoffensive terms like "costume" have been replaced with "vastra." Animal OTT Release: Heres When & Where You Can Watch Ranbir Kapoor-Rashmika Mandannas Film Online Ranbir-Rashmika's intimate scenes in Animal A report by Zoom suggests that several intimate close-up scenes featuring Ranbir and Rashmika have been deleted from the film. It has also been mentioned that filmmaker Sandeep Reddy Vanga has expressed surprise at the modifications that have been mandated by the Censor Board. Further, the makers have also been asked to modify cuss words not only on screen but also in subtitles. Close-up, intimate scenes involving Bobby Deol have also been deleted. The British censor board has also given A certificate to Animal calling the film super violent, consisting of fighting, murder, domestic violence, and more gore scenes. Earlier, Vanga revealed that Animal has been granted an 'A' certificate by the CBFC along with its runtime. Sandeep's tweet read, "Censor rating for ANIMAL is A :-) 3 hour 21 minutes 23 seconds & 16 frames is the Runtime :-) #AnimalTheFilm Releasing on Dec 1st @VangaPictures @TSeries (sic)." About Animal Directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, Animal explores the father-son relationship between Ranbir and Anil's characters, while Rashmika plays Ranbir's wife and Bobby is the antagonist. Animal Pre-Release Event: Mahesh Babu Calls Ranbir Kapoor 'India's Best Actor'; See Latter's Priceless Reactio The film will clash with Vicky Kaushal's Sam Bahadur on December 1. The year 2023 has turned out to be very special for Pankaj Tripathi and he has all the reasons to be on cloud nine. He has won hearts with his stint in movies in Akshay Kumar's OMG 2 and Pulkit Samrat and Varun Sharma starrer Fukrey 3. Besides, Pankaj Tripathi was also honoured with the prestigious National Award in the best supporting actor category for Mimi. And now, Pankaj Tripathi is making headlines for his upcoming film Main Hoon Atal, which happens to be a biopic on the former Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The actor plays the titular role in the film which is helmed by Ravi Jadhav and is written by Rishi Virmani and Ravi Jadhav, while the film is produced by Vinod Bhanushali's Bhanushali Studios Limited. Interestingly, the makers have unveiled three new posters of Main Hoon Atal which has got everyone intrigued. The first poster features Pankaj Tripathi gazing out of the window with his back facing the camera while standing in his office, apparently the Prime Minister's Office. The tagline of the poster read as , "Heart of gold, Man of steel." The second poster is a close up pic with the tag line, "The poet who rewrote history". Interestingly, the third poster also had a glimpse of other cast of the film and it had the tagline as, "Heart of Gold... Man of Steel... A versatile Poet... The visionary behind the New India". Interestingly, the makers also unveiled the new release date for Main Hoon Atal and revealed that the movie will be hitting the screens on January 19 2024. Earlier, when Pankaj was roped in for the film, he had shared a heartfelt note on social media which read as, "A little excitement, fear and with a lot of feelings of sincerity in my heart, I am devoted to playing the role of Atal - "I am Atal". Portraying his role is no less than appearing for an examination. But I have his blessing with me and I have full faith. #MainAtalHoon" (loosely translated from his original quote in Hindi). Vicky's Reaction To Katrina Kaif's Tiger 3 Towel Fight Scene: Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif starrer spy action thriller Tiger 3 has been a massive blockbuster, earning over 400 crore worldwide. Apart from Salman's heroism and charisma, it was Katrina Kaif's amazing action sequences that have been the talk of the town. She has not only impressed fans with her performance, but one of her stunts that has garnered praise is the 'towel fight scene.' And now, Vicky Kaushal, Katrina's husband, has also lauded the scene and shared his reaction to the viral scene. Vicky Kaushal's reaction to Katrina Kaif's towel fight scene The viral scene in question shows ISI agent Zoya, played by Katrina Kaif, in a combat scene with Hollywood actress Michelle Lee while both of them are seen wrapped in a towel in a Turkish hamam. Reacting to the same video, her husband, Vicky Kaushal, revealed to Express Adda what he told Katrina while watching the scene at the film's screening. He said, "So, I had gone for the screening of the film, and we were watching the film. Obviously when the sequence came, in the middle of the sequence, I inclined towards her and said, 'I don't want to argue with you from now on." ENT LIVE Updates: Animal's Ranbir On His Bond With Rishi; Vicky Reacts To Katrinas Tiger 3 Towel Fight Scene "I don't want you to beat me up wearing a towel.' I thought it was incredible the way she pulled it off. I told her, 'You are probably the most amazing action actress Bollywood has.' So, I am really proud of the hard work she puts in. It is very inspiring to see her", the Uri actor added. When Katrina Kaif spoke about the towel fight scene Before the release of Tiger 3, Katrina had talked about the scene and stated, "It was a difficult sequence to shoot because it has hand-to-hand fighting inside a steamy hammam. [Due to the steam], gripping, fending, and landing the punches and kicks was a challenge." "I don't think there has been a fight sequence like this featuring two women on screen in India. I love doing risky action sequences, and this franchise has always given me the opportunity to take things several notches higher." Vicky is gearing up for his next release, Sam Bahadur, which is scheduled to release in cinemas on December 1. Heres When Vicky & Sara Ali Khans Rom-Com Zara Hatke Zara Bachke Will Be Available For Streaming Online? Madiha-Moji Basar's Wedding Reception: A cross-cultural union that has captured the attention of fans on both sides of the border, Pakistani actress Madiha Imam recently tied the knot with Moji Basar. The couple recently touched down India where their union was celebrated by a lavish wedding reception. The pictures and videos from the wedding festivities went viral on social media and people are curious to know all the details about the couple. So, let's take a glance at Syeda Madiha Imam. Who Is Syeda Madiha Imam? Syeda Madiha Imam is a 32-year-old Pakistani actress and video jockey who is widely known in the country's showbiz industry. She has acted in several popular TV dramas and movies, including Ishq Jalebi, Chauraha, Dil-E-Momin, Mera Rab Waris, Nazar Kay Samnay, and more. In 2017, she even starred in Bollywood film, Dear Maya alongside actors Manisha Koirala and Rohit Saraf. Madiha Imam-Moji Basar's Wedding Reception In India The couple who tied the knot in May this year, recently visited India to partake in wedding festivities with Moji's family in his hometown, Arunachal Pradesh. On November 26, 2023, the couple was greeted with a beautiful reception, organized by Moji's family, where Madiha looked ethereal in a stunning pink-hued traditional Arunachal Pradesh attire known as 'Gale.' On the other hand, Moji complemented her in a classic black tuxedo. Among the esteemed guests who attended the bash was Kiren Rijiju, the Minister of Earth Sciences and Member of Parliament from Arunachal Pradesh. Rijiju also took to social media to convey his warm wishes to the couple. He wrote, "Extended my best wishes to newly-wed young and beautiful couple Moji Basar and Madiha Imam at Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh. Also congratulated Moji's parents, Er. Tomo Basar & Smt Ringam Basar and the family members. Have a wonderful life @madihaimam & @Mojibasar!." Madiha Imam-Moji Basar's Wedding & Dubai Reception Meanwhile, the couple's wedding ceremony took place on May 3, 2023, where Madiha looked radiant in a red lehenga, and Moji exuded charm in a cream-colored sherwani. The celebrations were followed by a grand reception in Dubai on October 26, 2023. For this event, Madiha dazzled in a heavily embellished dress by HSY, complemented by an exquisite golden and green-hued jewelry set, while Moji opted for a classic black tuxedo. The pictures of the celebrations were shared by Madiha on her social media handle. All About Moji Basar It is worth mentioning that while online reports suggest that Moji has worked as a producer in the 2018 short film, The Sick and as production manager in Kartik Aaryan-Kriti Sanon's Luka Chhupi, Madiha during an interview with Geo TV denied that husband is involved in the film industry as a producer or filmmaker. Mansoor Ali Khan Calls Apology To Trisha 'Biggest Joke': After apologising to actor Trisha Krishnan for his 'misogynistic remarks,' Mansoor Ali Khan has now announced his intention to take legal action against her. In an interview with CNN News18, Mansoor revealed his plan to sue the actor and file a defamation case. Harish Kalyan's Parking First Review: Glowing Acclaim And Applause For Ramkumar Balakrishnan's Debut Mansoor stated, "We're initiating the defamation case today. All necessary documents have been prepared. My lawyer will provide further details." Regarding his apology, Mansoor dismissed it as the "biggest joke." Mansoor Ali Khan's Apology To Trisha A few days ago, Mansoor issued a statement expressing, "Dear co-actress Trisha, I seek your forgiveness. May God bless me by granting me the opportunity to attend your wedding." Following the apology, Trisha posted on her X handle, stating, "To make mistakes is human; to forgive is divine." Case Registered Against Mansoor Ali Khan The All Women Police Station of Thousand Lights, Chennai summoned Mansoor for failing to appear at the station. The Chennai City Police filed a case against the actor for allegedly making derogatory comments against Trisha. This action was initiated following an order from DGP Shankar Jiwal. Previously, the National Commission for Women took suo motu cognisance of the matter and instructed the Tamil Nadu police to file a case against the actor. Following the issuance of summonses, Mansoor cited a throat infection and requested additional time through a statement. He was charged under Sections 354 A (pertaining to sexual harassment) and 509 (regarding acts meant to outrage a woman's modesty) of the Indian Penal Code. Mansoor Ali Khan's Disrespectful And Misogynistic Comment A few days ago, a controversial video capturing actor Mansoor Ali Khan's repugnant remarks about actress Trisha at a press conference set social media ablaze, drawing vehement condemnation from the actress herself. Trisha, known for her role in 'Leo,' slammed her co-star, stating, "A recent video has come to my notice where Mr.Mansoor Ali Khan has spoken about me in a vile and disgusting manner.I strongly condemn this and find it sexist,disrespectful,misogynistic,repulsive and in bad taste. He can keep wishing but I am grateful never to have shared screen space with someone as pathetic as him and I will make sure it never happens for the rest of my film career as well. People like him bring a bad name to mankind." Vishal Enquired By CBI After Exposing Corruption In Film Censor Board Over Payment To Release Mark Antony Mansoor Ali Khan reportedly said during a press conference, "When I heard that I was acting with Trisha,I thought there would be a bedroom scene in the film. I thought that I could carry her to bed just like I did with other actresses in my earlier movies. I have done so many rape scenes in a number of movies, and it's not new to me. But these guys didn't even show Trisha to me on the sets during the Kashmir schedule." NEW YORK, Nov. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Kutupalong is the world's largest refugee camp, 13 square kilometers of temporary shelters - some made of wood and cane, most with tarps - set within a maze of mud pathways. Around one million Rohingya refugees live in this settlement in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. The steep hillsides also house half a million refugee children with dreams that extend far beyond the confines of the camp. Fourteen-year-old Jannat* is one of them. Despite the grim backdrop of a childhood marked by crises faced by so many Rohingya children in Myanmar, Jannat is continuing her education today. Thanks to Education Cannot Wait (ECW) investments in Bangladesh, and the support of partners like Save the Children, Jannat is back in the classroom and working towards a dream she's held since she was a little girl: to become a doctor. Jannat wasn't always certain that her dreams of working in medicine were within reach. After fleeing Myanmar with her parents and two siblings, and settling in the refugee camp, that future seemed nearly impossible. "I thought I would never get a chance to go to school again in my life. Since my childhood, I wanted to become a doctor, but after coming here, that desire started dying day-by-day," says Jannat. She recalls how this dream was first sparked. "Our house in Myanmar had two floors. We used to live on one floor, and a doctor used to rent the other floor." Memories of the impact this woman had on their community are still fresh in her mind. "Every day, I saw sick people visiting her for treatment. She seemed to know such magic that people were so relieved after their visit with her! I used to tell my mother that I will be like her when I grow up," Jannat recalls. But after seeking refuge in the camp with her family, Jannat was confronted by a harsh reality that didn't leave much space for dreaming - or learning. "After coming to the camp, that dream started to disappear. We live an uncertain life here. Initially, I used to go to the learning centre here but, just before I became a teenager, my studies stopped due to social customs," says Jannat. "In our society, adolescent girls are not allowed to go out." Children and youth in Cox's Bazar refugee camps face countless hurdles to accessing educational opportunities, and girls, as well as children with disabilities, are among those left furthest behind. Besides the dangers of floods, monsoons and fires - and all the risks that go along with living in such a congested camp in a country that ranks third in the world among states hit by natural disasters - refugee children are also extremely vulnerable to exploitation, gender-based violence, sexual abuse and child marriage. In response to education barriers girls face in the camp, Save the Children established a learning facility that could serve as a safe haven for girls like Jannat. "A year ago, [the community-based learning facility] was started here and many girls like me got the chance to study again," says Jannat. This new community-based education class is supported by ECW investments. The secure learning environment, led by female teachers, made it possible for girls within the camp who were at risk of dropping out - or who hadn't previously been able to attend school - to get a quality education. Jannat's mother, Marjina*, became a teacher at one of the centres. Her father has also taken on a volunteer teaching position in the camp. With a safe place to learn, teachers to motivate her and a family that prioritized her education, it wasn't long before Jannat was back in the protective and empowering embrace of the classroom. After diving back into learning, Jannat began to look around herself and dream of a brighter future again. "Four months ago, I went to a camp hospital and was treated by a doctor. Her kind voice and attitude clicked my old dream again," she says. Today, Jannat and her classmates study six main subjects in the centre: Burmese, English, science, mathematics, social studies and life skills. Jannat's favorite subjects are Burmese and, unsurprisingly, science. She knows that becoming a good doctor - like the inspiring female physicians she's encountered throughout her life - requires a firm grasp of science. With her newfound access to education, she is learning as much as she can. Jannat's parents are inspired by their daughter's love of learning. But they know the future she dreams of is unlikely if they remain in Kutupalong Refugee Camp. They hope, one day, their family will be able to return to Myanmar and that Jannat will study at a university there to become a doctor. "Education is very important for us. We want our children to continue their studies as far as possible. Jannat is very attentive and interested in her studies. We will try our best to fulfill her dream," say her parents. Rohingya have been in Cox's Bazar since the 1970s. The latest and largest exodus of Rohingya from Myanmar began in 2017 - sparked by a brutal crackdown that targeted the ethnic group. Entire villages were burned down, families were separated and killed, and countless people were victims of other atrocities. While the refugee camps in Cox's Bazar offer temporary shelter to those who fled Myanmar, refugees need additional support. Rohingya girls and boys there lack access to basic services such as education, health care, nutrition, and water and sanitation facilities. Since the early days of the refugee influx, ECW has been supporting learning opportunities for those left furthest behind. ECW works with donors, United Nations agencies, civil society organizations - including Save the Children - community leaders and other key stakeholders to support access to safe and holistic learning spaces. In 2022, ECW extended its Multi-Year Resilience Programme in Bangladesh with a new US$13.2 million catalytic grant that will reach 230,000 Rohingya refugee and Bangladeshi host community children. It is also providing a mechanism to align additional funding and scale-up the education in emergency response in Bangladesh. Fully funded, the scaled-up programme will reach over 350,000 children. To date, ECW has invested a total of $31 million in Bangladesh and has already reached nearly 310,000 crisis-affected children and youth. ECW calls on world leaders, donors, governments, private sector companies, high-net-worth individuals, and other global advocates to make substantive funding contributions to the Fund to help reach the most vulnerable children - including Rohingya girls and boys left furthest behind - with safe, inclusive quality education. *Names have been changed to protect identifying information Story by Jelena Borak, based on original reporting by Save the Children. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2286456/Education_Cannot_Wait_Jannat.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1656121/Education_Cannot_Wait_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/a-dream-reborn-education-cannot-wait-supports-community-based-education-classes-for-rohingya-children-in-bangladesh-301998445.html Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 27, 2023) - Blue Thunder Mining Inc. (TSXV: BLUE) ("Blue Thunder" or the "Company") announces that its common shares will resume trading on the TSX Venture Exchange effective at the opening on Wednesday, November 29, 2023. Dorian L. (Dusty) Nicol, CEO of Blue Thunder has been appointed as acting Corporate Secretary of Blue Thunder in addition to his position as CEO effective immediately. About Blue Thunder Blue Thunder is an exploration company that owns 100% of a large land position near Chibougamau, Quebec. The Muus Gold project covers approximately 23,500 hectares of prospective ground in the eastern part of the Abitibi Greenstone Belt. The Muus Project is prospective for gold mineralization and is adjacent to and on strike with Iamgold's 5-million-ounce Nelligan gold project. Field work completed during 2022 established that the northern portion of the Muus Project is also prospective for copper-gold volcanogenic massive sulphide mineralization. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD Dorian L. (Dusty) Nicol, CEO & Director For more information, please visit our website www.bluethundermining.com, or contact Mr. Dorian L. (Dusty) Nicol, dusty@bluethundermining.com (647) 848-1009. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements regarding the anticipated content, commencement, anticipated exploration program results, the ability to complete future financings, the ability to complete the required permitting, the ability to complete the exploration program and drilling, and the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, the state of the financial markets for the Company's equity securities, the state of the commodity markets generally, variations in the nature, the analytical results from surface trenching and sampling program, including diamond drilling programs, the results of IP surveying, the results of soil and till sampling program. the quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located, variations in the market price of any mineral products the Company may produce or plan to produce, the inability of the Company to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required, including TSX Venture Exchange acceptance, for its planned activities, the inability of the Company to produce minerals from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue its projected growth, to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies, the potential impact of COVID-19 (coronavirus) on the Company's exploration program and on the Company's general business, operations and financial condition, and other risks and uncertainties. All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including the technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral properties. This news release contains information with respect to adjacent or similar mineral properties in the Chibougamau District in respect of which the Company has no interest or rights to explore or mine. Readers are cautioned that the Company has no interest in or right to acquire any interest in any such properties, and that mineral deposits, and the results of any mining thereof, on adjacent or similar properties, are not indicative of mineral deposits on the Company's properties or any potential exploitation thereof. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/188877 Targeting machine-tool software development to expand Circular Digital-Engineering business Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) announced today that it has agreed to strategically partner with and invest in ModuleWorks GmbH, a leading software component provider for the digital manufacturing industry. The agreement builds on Mitsubishi Electric's ongoing collaboration with ModuleWorks, a highly regarded developer of cutting-edge CAD/CAM solutions, for the development of advanced technologies to generate machining-tool paths and conduct machine-tool simulations. The simulation of machining operations and the avoidance of real-time collisions through machine verifications are critical to the operation and safe use of machines, as well as to reducing the burden of engineering. Mitsubishi Electric intends to accelerate joint development and marketing through its partnership with ModuleWorks. By strengthening its software development, including machine-tool simulation and data integration with CAD/CAM, the company aims to realize easier and safer operation of machine tools, reduce engineering workloads, and optimize engineering chains. Ultimately, this is expected to contribute to the growth of Mitsubishi Electric's Circular Digital-Engineering business, including the expanded use of digital twins and other advanced technologies in the machine tool field and the realization of increasingly smart production sites. For the full text, please visit: www.MitsubishiElectric.com/news/ View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231127073409/en/ Contacts: Customer Inquiries Numerical Controller Business Development Dept Industrial Automation Machinery Marketing Division Factory Automation Systems Group Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Tel: +81-3-3218-6570 www.MitsubishiElectric.com/fa/support Media Inquiries Takeyoshi Komatsu Public Relations Division Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Tel: +81-3-3218-2346 prd.gnews@nk.MitsubishiElectric.co.jp www.MitsubishiElectric.com/news/ MUSCAT, Oman, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- During the first Airports Innovate Exhibition, which takes place from November 20 to 22 in Muscat, Oman, Huawei launched a series of brand-new smart airport solutions for international markets, including the Fully Connected fiber Network Solution and Smart Airport Perimeter Security with Fiber Sensing Solution. These innovative scenario-based solutions will serve its customers all over the world. Huawei also showcased its Airport Cloud and panoramic smart airport solutions. As the cornerstone of airports' intelligent and digital transformation, they provide advanced smart services for airports. "Airports of the future will be expected to deliver ultra reliable connectivity in all areas, providing a seamless travel experience for passengers. This places higher demands on airport networks which Huawei's systems can support," said Nelson Huang, Vice President of Huawei's Aviation & Rail BU. The Fully Connected fiber Network has many key advantages such as the reliable bearer, providing reliable transmission and the stable running of airport services. The network delivers wireless office and production with seamless network access anytime and anywhere, requires 60% fewer wired information points, makes video conferences smooth, and improves collaboration efficiency by 30%. The simplified two-layer architecture of the Fully Connected fiber Network delivers higher reliability, and the network management system facilitates rapid service planning, improves intelligent O&M efficiency. 85% of faults are self-healing and 95% of faults can be analyzed using big data, improving O&M efficiency by 68%. The network has 10 times higher bandwidth, and greatly reduces power consumption per Gbit/s traffic. Its construction is simple, with one network for multiple services, reducing overall electricity consumption by 30% on average. The Smart Airport Perimeter Security with Fiber Sensing Solution, can accurately identify vibrations caused by wind and rain. It comprehensively detects perimeter intrusions in all weathers and covers long distances, ensuring zero missed alarms and reducing the number of false alarms to no more than one per kilometer each day. All these features will contribute to higher intelligent protection levels, all-round airport operational security, and improved staff experience. Moussa Huang, director of international market development of Huawei's Aviation & Rail BU said, "The future airport cloud must be secure, reliable, and intelligent while supporting smooth evolution. Huawei Airport Cloud ensures active-active and reliable production services and facilitates rapid development of airport services through cloud-network-security integration." hwebgcomms@huawei.com View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/huawei-launches-innovative-smart-airport-solutions-for-international-markets-at-airport-innovates-oman-301998538.html TORTOLA, British Virgin Islands, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Bachmann & Welser controls its own monetising facilities and works with partners such as Top Tier World banks to monetise instruments. We do not charge an upfront fee to new and existing clients. We can monetise bank instruments issued from all banks. Monetisation of bank instruments is a prudent way to raise funds for projects. Our monetisation solutions require a brief project overview for compliance purposes. Once compliance has been completed, full terms will be provided to clients based on the presented information. In the past 5 years, our network has raised over $1 billion in project financing for clients globally. Privately held companies increasingly prefer borrowing from non-bank lenders. Whatever you need to raise debt for, whatever form it will take, and however much you are looking to borrow, Bachmann & Welser will be able to help you source and negotiate highly competitive financing packages and private credit. With direct access to the select lenders that offer very significant finance,we can arrange private debt for entrepreneurs and businesses worldwide. Sourcing infrastructure finance remains complex for privately held infrastructure firms globally, given the significant capital required and the niche skills required to understand and structure revenue and repayment models. Wherever you operate and whatever your line of business, Bachmann & Welser will be able to arrange significant infrastructure debt. For more information please visit www.bachmannwelser.co.uk . For general enquiries, you can send an email with your enquiries to info@bachmannwelser.co.uk and for media enquiries contact media@bachmannwelser.co.uk , 020 7193 2557 Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2099273/Bachmann_Welser_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/bachmann--welser-is-an-expert-in-raising-project-or-business-funding-through-instrument-monetisation--no-upfront-payment-required-301998375.html LocaMos Global AG, an emerging name in the technology and blockchain sector, proudly announces the official inauguration of its new headquarters in Zug, Switzerland. This significant milestone marks a crucial juncture in the company's path of growth and development. Zug, Switzerland--(Newsfile Corp. - November 27, 2023) - LocaMos Global AG is a nascent brand established in recent years, yet it has made a remarkable breakthrough by combining two vital facets within the technology industry: MarTech (Marketing Technology) and Blockchain. MarTech emphasizes utilizing technology to optimize and enhance marketing campaigns, while Blockchain has the potential to transform many sectors through its security and transparency in transactions. LocaMos Global AG Officially Inaugurates New Headquarters in Zug, Switzerland, Bridging MarTech and Blockchain Innovation To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8814/188741_5eff8ca264e59899_001full.jpg LocaMos Global AG has recently registered its business and established its headquarters at Zug City, renowned as Crypto Valley. This strategic move signifies a pivotal milestone in LocaMos' future development journey, as Zug is considered a hub for Blockchain technology. LocaMos has selected Zug as its primary base in Switzerland with the aim of capitalizing on the favorable environment and collaborating with leading partners in the Blockchain field. With the new headquarters in Zug City, LocaMos Global AG sets a goal to connect people at physical locations and bring about disruptive marketing solutions for physical businesses such as restaurants, hotels, cafes, and supermarkets. These solutions have the ability to help businesses attract customers and enhance their interactions through unique experiences and high-experiential features. Looking ahead to 2025, LocaMos Global AG aims to serve 100 million users and 1 million Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in 50 countries and territories worldwide. The company intends to focus on technology and gradually build a close and efficient community between businesses and users. From there, promoting social interaction and real-life connections to balance relationships in both online and offline environments will become a priority. On the occasion of its company launch, LocaMos Global AG also released its first LocaNFTs collection, consisting of 100 LocaBuilding NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain. These NFTs have visually stunning graphics, artistic flair, modern design trends and association with real-world locations, encapsulating significant exploratory value. By applying LocaMos' technology in conjunction with augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) applications, LocaNFTs brings a 3D booth experience showcasing products built inside the LocaBuilding NFTs. This is a revolution in LocaMos' NFT field, bridging the gap between the online and offline worlds and creating value "Technology for Humanity." For more information about LocaMos Global AG, take a look at https://locamos.com About LocaMos Global AG LocaMos Global AG commits to applying technology to address real-life challenges. The company offers a range of tools that help attract and engage customers through high-experiential features to support physical businesses, creating smoother business operations and growth. Since the very beginning inception, LocaMos Global AG has remained striding forward to its operational motto: "Saving marketing costs for businesses" by providing marketing solutions that only require businesses to pay when customers come from the LocaMos platform to make purchases or use services at the business. This operating model ensures conversion value for businesses and benefits for users. Email: social@locamos.com Social Media: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter About Us: /LocaMos Global AG/ Contact Info: Name: Nikolai Hung Tran Email: social@locamos.com Organization: LocaMos Global AG Address: Bahnhofstrasse 21, 6300 Zug, Switzerland Website: https://locamos.com/ Cannot view this video? Visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7BHlYf_f5Q To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/188741 Additional funding will reach 2 million children and adolescents on the frontline of the climate crisis who urgently need education support. NEW YORK, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Education Cannot Wait (ECW) issued today an urgent appeal for US$150 million in new funding to respond to the climate crisis. Released in advance of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) in Dubai, the new appeal underscores the urgent need to connect education action with climate action. New ECW data indicates that 62 million children and adolescents affected by climate shocks are in desperate need of education support since 2020. "The climate crisis is robbing millions of vulnerable girls and boys of their right to learn, their right to play and their right to feel safe and secure. In the eye of the storm, we urge new and existing public and private sector donors to stand with them. We appeal to you to act right here, right now to address the climate and education crisis," said The Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown, UN Special Envoy for Global Education and Chair of the ECW High-Level Steering Group. The climate crisis threatens the rights of every person on the planet, but for children impacted by armed conflict, forced displacement and other protracted crises, the needs are even more dire. There are 224 million crisis-affected children worldwide who urgently need education support. About one third - 62 million - have been impacted by climate hazards such as droughts, floods, cyclones and other extreme weather events since 2020. "The very future of humanity is at stake. Rising seas, spiking temperatures and ever-more-severe droughts, floods and natural hazards are derailing development gains and ripping our world apart. As we've seen with the floods in Pakistan, and the drought in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel, climate change is triggering concerning jumps in forced displacement, violence, food insecurity and economic uncertainty the world over," said Yasmine Sherif, Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait. "Education is an essential component in delivering on the promises and commitments outlined in the Paris Agreement, Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and Sustainable Development Goals. As all eyes turn toward this year's Climate Talks (COP28) and the Global Refugee Forum, world leaders must connect climate action with education action," said Sherif. By 2050, climate impacts could cost the world economy US$7.9 trillion and could force up to 216 million people to move within their own countries, according to the World Bank. This poses a real and present threat to global security, economic prosperity and efforts to address the life-threatening impacts of the climate crisis. Climate change is not gender neutral. Women and girls are disproportionally affected due to preexisting gender norms. Climate change exacerbates risks of gender-based violence, school dropout, food insecurity and child marriage. The new appeal outlines a strategic value proposition that connects donors, the private sector, governments and other key stakeholders to create a coordinated approach to scale-up education funding in response to the climate crisis. The new funding aims to ensure learning continuity by providing mental health and psychosocial support, school rehabilitation and resilience, child protection, gender-based violence prevention and risk mitigation, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), disaster risk reduction, and anticipatory and early action measures. ECW has championed the right to education for children affected by the global climate crisis. In the aftermath of devastating floods in Libya, Mozambique and Pakistan - and spikes in hunger, forced displacement and violence across the Horn of Africa and the Sahel - ECW has issued emergency grants to get children and adolescents back to the safety and opportunity that quality education provides. Within existing programmes in crisis-impacted countries like Bangladesh, Chad, Nigeria, South Sudan and Syria, ECW investments are supporting climate-resilient infrastructure, disaster risk reduction and school meals, offering hope and opportunity in the most challenging circumstances. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2286455/UN010130__1.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1656121/Education_Cannot_Wait_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/right-here-right-now-education-cannot-wait-issues-us150-million-appeal-to-scale-up-work-in-response-to-the-climate-crisis-301998607.html VANCOUVER, BC, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Orchestry Software Inc, a leading provider of Microsoft 365 (M365) management solutions, is excited to introduce its innovative new feature, 'Recommendations.' An integral part of the Orchestry platform and the first module in the AI-driven Signals experience, it is designed to revolutionize how organizations manage their M365 environments, focusing on management, governance, adoption, and security. As organizations increasingly rely on M365 for productivity and collaboration, 'Recommendations' addresses the challenges of obtaining and acting on crucial data. It provides categorized, actionable insights tailored to each unique M365 environment. These insights are accompanied by strategic rationale and clear step-by-step instructions for addressing any issues - removing the guesswork. "The 'Recommendations' feature addresses the fundamental problem of efficiently managing and optimizing M365 environments. Without a unified view and effective tools, IT administrators often struggle to answer critical questions about their M365 environment's health and security. Orchestry's elegant solution illuminates this scattered yet vital information, enabling administrators to prioritize their efforts where they matter most," says Michal Pisarek, CEO Orchestry Software Inc. Tailored to Your Environment: 'Recommendations' leverages adaptive triggers and artificial intelligence to tailor recommendations to your unique M365 environment. Backed by Rationale: Every recommendation includes a detailed rationale and justification, ensuring informed decision-making. Guided Action: Orchestry provides step-by-step guidance for resolving recommendations, ensuring effective action. Microsoft Copilot Readiness: Orchestry's recommendations focus on environment readiness, addressing sprawl and security hardening as organizations prepare for Microsoft Copilot. "In a rapidly evolving cloud environment, administrators need real help to keep pace with change, support users, and safeguard their environment," said David Francoeur, Director of Product Delivery at Orchestry Software Inc. "Orchestry's 'Recommendations' feature collates disparate data into actionable insights tailored to your environment. It's that elusive single pane of glass." Orchestry Recommendations deliver consulting-grade insights powered by AI and machine learning, packaged in an intuitive experience. About Orchestry Orchestry simplifies work in Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams, and SharePoint Online with its comprehensive enablement, adoption, and standardization platform. Developed by SharePoint MVPs and Microsoft 365 experts, Orchestry helps organizations decide "what to use when" in Microsoft 365, increasing technology adoption, empowering governance, and simplifying provisioning. Learn more about Orchestry and/or Recommendations: https://www.orchestry.com and/or https://www.orchestry.com/insight/orchestry-announces-new-feature-recommendations Orchestry Contact, Jessica Bermel, Senior Digital Marketing Strategist, Jessica.bermel@orchestry.com View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/orchestry-announces-recommendations-feature-transforming-m365-management-with-ai-insights-301998421.html Factors such as the increase in demand for surface computing for enhancing businesses drive the growth of global market. In addition, evolution of touch-based product and increasing demand for augmented reality (AR) integration are also anticipated to enhance market growth. NEW CASTLE, Del., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Surface Computing Market by Component (Hardware and Software), Display Type (Flat Display and Curved Display), and Industry Vertical (Healthcare, BFSI, Automotive, Hospitality, Retail, and Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032". According to the report, the surface computing industry generated $42.5 billion in 2022, and is projected to reach at $762.1 billion by 2032, witnessing a CAGR of 33.8% from 2023 to 2032. Prime determinants of growth The increase in demand for surface computing for enhancing businesses drives the growth of global market. In addition, surge in demand for cloud services and rise of digitalization are anticipated to propel the growth of the surface computing market during the forecast period. Moreover, evolution of touch-based product and increasing demand for augmented reality (AR) integration are also anticipated to enhance market growth. Furthermore, the surge in technological advancements, which in turn is expected to create numerous opportunities for the growth of the market. However, security concerns and costs and budget constraints hamper the growth of the market. Moreover, growth of work from home (WFH) policy is expected to provide lucrative growth opportunities for the market in the coming years. Download Sample Pages: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/180872 Report coverage & details: Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2023-2032 Base Year 2022 Market Size in 2022 $42.5 Billion Market Size in 2032 $762.1 Billion CAGR 33.8 No. of Pages in Report 265 Segments covered Component, Display Type, Industry Vertical and Region. Drivers The increase in demand for surface computing for enhancing. Rise of digitalization. Evolution of touch-based product. Increasing demand for augmented reality (AR) integration. Opportunities Surge in technological advancements. Growth of work from home (WFH) policy. Restraints Security concerns Costs and budget constraints COVID-19 Scenario The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically affected businesses across the world. It has positively impacted adoption of surface computing owing to lockdowns imposed by governments of different countries. This causes the global market for surface computing to re-evaluate its traditional production methods, which primarily propels the digital transformation and industry 4.0 practices across the production lines. Furthermore, the manufacturers are also collectively forced to devise and deploy multiple new and agile approaches to monitor product and quality control. However, the pandemic has also created economic turmoil for small, medium, and large-scale industries worldwide. Buy this Complete Report (265 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, and Figures) at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/surface-computing-market/purchase-options The hardware segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period By component, the hardware segment held the highest market share in 2022, accounting for less than three-fifths of the surface computing market revenue, and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. This is due to the rise in demand of digital technology in businesses to enhance operation. However, the software segment is expected to portray the largest CAGR of 35.1% from 2023 to 2032 and is projected to maintain its lead position during the forecast period. Rise in demand for touch-based products and advanced application-based system are expected to provide lucrative opportunities for the market growth during the forecast period. The flat display segment to maintain its lead position during the forecast period By display type, the flat display segment accounted for the largest share in 2022, accounting of nearly two-thirds of the surface computing market revenue. Flat display surface computing offers several key benefits that contribute to its widespread adoption in various industries. The seamless and expansive display surface provides a natural and immersive user experience, allowing for intuitive interactions through touch, gestures, and stylus input. However, the curved display segment is expected to portray the largest CAGR of 36.2% from 2023 to 2032 and is projected to maintain its lead position during the forecast period. Advancements in manufacturing technologies are making curved displays more cost-effective and accessible. The integration of curved displays with augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) applications is a prominent trend, creating more realistic and captivating environments. The healthcare segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period By industry vertical, the healthcare segment held the highest market share in 2022, contributing for more than one-fourth of the surface computing market revenue, and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. Advancements in technology have played a crucial role in the development of surface computing systems for healthcare sectors. However, the retail sector is projected to manifest the highest CAGR of 38.5% from 2023 to 2032 Through interactive touchscreens and immersive displays, surface computing technologies provide retailers with innovative tools to engage customers in-store. In addition, surface computing facilitates personalized customer interactions through features like facial recognition and targeted promotions, contributing to improved customer satisfaction and loyalty. North America region to maintain its dominance by 2032 By region, the North America segment held the highest market share in terms of revenue in 2022, accounting for nearly two-fifths of the surface computing market revenue. This region has advanced technological infrastructure and a thriving ecosystem of innovation contribute to the prominence of surface computing specially in the U.S. and Canada. However, Asia-Pacific is expected to witness the fastest CAGR of 37.5% from 2023 to 2032, and is likely to enhance the market growth during the forecast period. This region is witnessing a growing emphasis on local innovation and the development of cost-effective surface computing solutions to cater to a diverse market. Enquiry Before Buying: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/180872 Leading Market Players: - Microsoft Corporation Dell Inc. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd Apple Inc. LG Electronics Inc. Planar Systems Inc. Lenovo Group Ltd. HP Inc. Fujitsu Ltd. Sony Corporation The report provides a detailed analysis of these key players in the surface computing market. These players have adopted different strategies such as new product launches, collaborations, expansion, joint ventures, agreements, and others to increase their market share and maintain dominant shares in different countries. The report is valuable in highlighting business performance, operating segments, product portfolio, and strategic moves of market players to showcase the competitive scenario. AVENUE- A Subscription-Based Library (Premium on-demand, subscription-based pricing model): AMR introduces its online premium subscription-based library Avenue, designed specifically to offer cost-effective, one-stop solution for enterprises, investors, and universities. With Avenue, subscribers can avail an entire repository of reports on more than 2,000 niche industries and more than 12,000 company profiles. Moreover, users can get an online access to quantitative and qualitative data in PDF and Excel formats along with analyst support, customization, and updated versions of reports. Get an access to the library of reports at any time from any device and anywhere. For more details, follow the link: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/library-access Trending Reports in ICT & Media Industry: Cloud Computing Services Market Expected to Reach $2044.6 Billion by 2032 Virtual Event Platforms Market Expected to Reach $83.8 Billion by 2032 Demand Side Platform (DSP) System Market Expected to Reach $228.4 Billion by 2032 Cloud Data Security Market Expected to Reach $27.4 Billion by 2032 Artificial Neural Network Market Expected to Reach $1.4 Billion by 2032 About Us: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Wilmington, Delaware. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports Insights" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies, and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact: David Correa 1209 Orange Street, Corporation Trust Center, Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware 19801 USA. Int'l: +1-503-894-6022 Toll Free: +1-800-792-5285 UK: +44-845-528-1300 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1-800-792-5285 help@alliedmarketresearch.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/636519/Allied_Market_Research_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/surface-computing-market-to-reach-762-1-billion-by-2032-at-33-8-cagr-allied-market-research-301998018.html The global non-invasive aesthetic treatment market has witnessed growth due to increase in consciousness regarding physical appearance, rise in adoption of non-invasive aesthetic procedures, and technological advancements in non-invasive aesthetic treatment. PORTLAND, Ore., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Non-invasive Aesthetic Treatment Market by Procedure (Injectables, Skin Resurfacing, Others), by Gender (Female, Male), by Age Group (13 to 39, 40 to 54, 55 to 69, Age 70 and Over), by End User (Specialty and Dermatology Clinics, Hospitals, Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032". According to the report, the global non-invasive aesthetic treatment market valued for $15.5 billion in 2022 and is estimated to reach $37.4 billion by 2032, exhibiting a CAGR of 9.2% from 2023 to 2032. Request Sample of the Report on Non-Invasive Aesthetic Treatment Market Forecast 2032- https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/210858 Prime determinants of growth Growing R&D activities, rise in adoption, and growing awareness regarding the availability of various noninvasive aesthetic procedures are the factors that drive the growth of the global non-invasive aesthetic treatment market. However, high costs hinder market growth. On the contrary, a rise in deposable income is expected to offer remunerative opportunities for the non-invasive aesthetic treatment market during the forecast period. Report coverage & details: Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2023-2032 Base Year 2022 Market Size in 2022 $15.5 billion Market Size in 2032 $37.4 billion CAGR 9.2 % No. of Pages in Report 480 Segments covered Procedure, gender, age group, end user and region Drivers Increase in consciousness regarding physical appearance. Rise in adoption of non-invasive aesthetic procedures Technological advancements in non-invasive aesthetic treatment. Opportunities Growth opportunities in emerging markets Restraints High cost of non-invasive aesthetic treatment Inconsistent results Economic Downturn Analysis: Impact of Recession in 2023 on the Non-Invasive Aesthetic Treatment Market During a recession, the impact on the aesthetic industry, including non-invasive aesthetic treatment, can be significant and complex. Affordability and individual priorities can sustain the market. In addition, manufacturers investing in R&D and cost-effective solutions prepare for post-recession growth and is anticipated to drive the market growth. Want to Explore More, Connect to our Analyst- https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/connect-to-analyst/210858 The injectables segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period By procedure, the injectables segment dominated the market in 2022, accounting for half of the global non-invasive aesthetic treatment market, this is attributed to its popularity and effectiveness in delivering quick, visible results with minimal downtime. In addition, the convenience, relatively lower cost, and the ability to customize treatments to individual preferences have made injectables a top choice in the aesthetics industry.?However, the others segment is expected to register the highest CAGR of 9.7% during the forecast period. This is attributed to the Increase in prevalence of resistant bacteria, diverse range of use Indications such as respiratory tract infections, urinary tract infections, gastrointestinal infections, and skin and soft tissue infections. The female segment to maintain its lead position during the forecast period By gender, the female segment accounted for the largest share in 2022, accounting for more than 90% of the global non-invasive aesthetic treatment market revenue and is expected to register fastest CAGR of 2.7% during the forecast period. Females tend to have a broader range of aesthetic concerns, including anti-aging treatments, body contouring, and hair removal. The growing awareness and acceptance of non-invasive aesthetic procedures have encouraged more female to seek these treatments, further fueling the growth. The 40 to 54 segment maintained its lead position during the forecast period By age group, the 40 to 54 segment accounted for the largest share in 2022, accounting for almost half of the global non-invasive aesthetic treatment market revenue and is expected to register fastest CAGR of 9.6% during the forecast period. This is attributed to the desire to maintain a youthful and attractive appearance in a competitive job market and a social environment that values physical aesthetics continues to drive demand among adults.? For Procurement Information- https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/210858 The specialty and dermatology clinics segment maintained its lead position during the forecast period By end user, specialty and dermatology clinics segment accounted for the largest share in 2022, accounting for more than half of the global non-invasive aesthetic treatment market revenue and is expected to register fastest CAGR of 10.0% during the forecast period owing to several factors, specialty and dermatology clinics provide a wide range of non-invasive aesthetic procedures, making them a one-stop destination for consumers seeking such treatments. These clinics typically have highly skilled and specialized medical professionals who offer personalized and expert advice, instilling confidence in patients. - North America to maintain its dominance by 2032 Based on region, the North America segment held the highest market share in terms of revenue in 2022, accounting for two-fifths of the global non-invasive aesthetic treatment market revenue. This is attributed to the availability of improved facilities and the growing adoption of non-invasive aesthetic treatments from the large adult and geriatric population.?However, the Asia- Pacific segment is projected to register a fastest CAGR of 10.4% during the forecast period owing to the rising disposable income and improving standards of living have led to increased consumer spending on non-invasive aesthetic procedures. Furthermore, a growing awareness of non-invasive treatments and the desire for Western beauty standards have driven the demand for these procedures in the region.? Leading Market Players Sisram Medical Ltd Abbvie Inc Cynosure Inc Lumenis Ltd. Candela Corporation. Fotona HTM Eletronica MerzPharma Cutera Bausch Health Companies Inc The report provides a detailed analysis of these key players of the global non-invasive aesthetic treatment market. These players have adopted different strategy such innovation, collaboration, acquisition, product approval and product launch, to increase their market share and maintain dominant shares in different regions. The report is valuable in highlighting business performance, operating segments, product portfolio, and strategic moves of market players to showcase the competitive scenario. Comprehensive Healthcare Industry Research Studies: Internet of Things in Healthcare Market- Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2022-2032 Medical Tourism Market- Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2022-2032 3D Cell Culture Market- Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2022-2032 Neurovascular Devices Market- Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2022-2032 Viral Vector and Plasmid DNA Manufacturing Market- Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2022-2032 About Allied Market Research: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Wilmington, Delaware. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domains. AMR offers its services across 11 industry verticals including Life Sciences, Consumer Goods, Materials & Chemicals, Construction & Manufacturing, Food & Beverages, Energy & Power, Semiconductor & Electronics, Automotive & Transportation, ICT & Media, Aerospace & Defense, and BFSI. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact David Correa 1209 Orange Street, Corporation Trust Center, Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware 19801 USA. Toll Free: +1-800-792-5285 Int'l: +1-503-894-6022 UK: +44-845-528-1300 Hong Kong: +852-301-84916 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1-855-550-5975 help@alliedmarketresearch.com Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com Follow Us on: LinkedIn Twitter Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/636519/Allied_Market_Research_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/non-invasive-aesthetic-treatment-market-to-reach-37-4-billion-globally-by-2032-at-9-2-cagr-allied-market-research-301998559.html BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Consumer confidence survey results from Germany and France are due on Tuesday, headlining a busy day for the European economic news. At 2.00 am ET, the market research group Gfk is scheduled to issue Germany's consumer confidence survey results. The forward-looking consumer sentiment is expected to rise to -27.9 in December from -28.1 in November. At 2.45 am ET, France's statistical office INSEE publishes consumer sentiment survey results. Economists forecast the consumer sentiment index to remain unchanged at 84 in November. At 4.00 am ET, the European Central Bank releases monetary aggregates for October. M3 is forecast to fall 0.9 percent annually after declining 1.2 percent in September. In the meantime, manufacturing Purchasing Managers' survey results are due from Austria. At 6.00 am ET, retail sales data for October is due from Ireland. Copyright(c) 2023 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Regulatory News: CTP, Europe's largest listed developer, owner, and manager of industrial and logistics properties by gross lettable area (GLA), has signed a 10-year lease for 21,000 sqm at CTPark Gdansk Port with major Polish cargo operator Morska Agencja Gdynia (MAG). MAG has taken a 10-yearlease at CTPark Gdansk Port, a major new sustainable logistics park that CTP is developing in Gdansk, Poland, having selected the prestigious and strategically positioned park as the new location for its company headquarters. Comprising more than 20,700 sqm of warehouse space and around 300 sqm of office space, MAG's decision to integrate its existing warehouse space into one prime location will enable the company to optimise its processes and operations, facilitating the company's growth and ambitions. The lease transaction was brokered by consultancy firm Newmark. MAG was created over 70 years ago in 1951 to represent foreign shipping lines, shipowners, Protection Indemnity providers, and to provide agency services for ships. In the 1990s, it expanded its scope of operations to include rail forwarding as well as goods warehousing and distribution. Today, MAG holds a leading position in the maritime industry in Poland, carrying out comprehensive multimodal transport of an extensive range of cargo. MAG has leased space in the CTPark Gdansk Port logistics park of approximately 21,000 sqm from where the company will provide warehousing services and transshipment of goods from various market sectors, including foodstuffs, industrial goods and photovoltaic systems. Logistics processes will be facilitated by CTPark Gdansk Port's unique location, between the only deep-water terminal in the Baltic Sea region the Baltic Hub and the A1 motorway. Around 40 people will be employed at the new headquarters. CTPark Gdansk Port is strategically located between the largest transshipment port on the Baltic Sea and the Gdansk northern railway port. The excellent location of the facility is particularly important for customers with cross-border operations in Scandinavian and Baltic countries. Currently under construction and nearing completion, CTPark Gdansk Port is located on an area of 21.3 ha and will ultimately consist of two facilities with a total area of 117,000 sqm. MAG's 10-year lease commences at the beginning of March 2024 and CTP anticipates that the entire complex will be in operation by mid-2024. To date, 47% of CTPark Gdansk is already pre-leased. Krzysztof Laskowski, Vice-President of Morska Agencja Gdynia said: "Relocating our headquarters to CTPark Gdansk Port will enable us to centralise and streamline our operations, helping us to consolidate our market leading position. Having a strategically located position from which to run our operations, as well as a high level of flexibility in our warehouses, are both fundamental factors for the smooth-running of the business, where on a daily basis we are dealing with multiple partners and transport routes from Asia to Europe. The robust specification provided by CTPark Gdansk Port, which includes floor strength of 7 tonnes/sqm, as well as advanced security systems which fulfilled the stringent requirements of our contractors, also played a very important role." Bogi Gabrovic, Deputy Country Head at CTP Poland said: "Pomerania, where CTPark Gdansk Port is located, is one of Poland's key regions for handling logistics and forwarding processes. We gave a great deal of thought to selecting CTPark Gdansk Port's strategic location and ensuring that the accompanying infrastructure would meet the expectations of tenants, helping them to fulfil their long-term commercial ambitions. Our partnership with Morska Agencja Gdynia is confirmation that our warehouse and production complex is distinguished by the highest level of competitiveness and exceeds the requirements set by the market." Michal Rafalowicz, Regional Director at Newmark Poland said: "We've been working with MAG for a long time and have an excellent understanding of their needs and expectations so the negotiation process was very smooth. The process has been strategically planned to combine several warehouse facilities into one to increase the operational efficiency for the client. Selecting CTPark Gdansk Port as the new location for MAG's headquarters is a shrewd choice for the company's operations, significantly reducing operating costs. We would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate MAG on the IBJ Award the business recently received in London." ABOUT CTP CTP is the largest listed owner, developer and manager of logistics and industrial real estate in terms of gross leasable area, with 11.2 million sq m. GLA in 10 countries (as of 30 September 2023). The company certifies all new buildings under BREEAM at 'very good' or above and has achieved a negligible-risk ESG rating from Sustainalytics, reaffirming its commitment to sustainability. For more information, please visit: www.ctp.eu. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231127703289/en/ Contacts: CONTACT DETAILS FOR ANALYST AND INVESTOR ENQUIRIES: Maarten Otte, Head of Investor Relations Mobile: +420 730 197 500 Email: maarten.otte@ctp.eu CONTACT DETAILS FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES: Patryk Statkiewicz, Group Head of Marketing PR Mobile: +31 (0) 629 596 119 Email: patryk.statkiewicz@ctp.eu SEC Newgate James Carnegie Mobile: +44 (0) 7827 486 224 Email: CTP@SECNewgate.co.uk New link-building service leverages quality content to build search visibility, announces LinkDaddy. Miami, Florida--(Newsfile Corp. - November 28, 2023) - LinkDaddy releases a new do-follow SEO backlink service allowing businesses across sectors to improve their online visibility while delivering genuine value to their target audiences. More details can be found at https://www.linkdaddy.shop/dofollow-seo-backlinks. LinkDaddy Releases Do-Follow SEO Backlinking Service With Niche-Specific Content To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8814/188888_3bb20fcb84ab883b_001full.jpg The new service brings a content-driven solution that connects brands with consumers - and naturally enhances search engine visibility, explains LinkDaddy. The move comes amid increased investment in online visibility, with recent figures showing a 9.5% increase in digital ad spend in 2023 compared to 2022. As the competition becomes increasingly intense, finding cost-effective ways to improve online presence has become a priority for many smaller businesses - and a strategy that combines niche-specific content and do-follow backlinking can be an effective solution for brands to get seen for target topics without massive ad spending, explains LinkDaddy founder and SEO expert Tony Peacock. The service is based on the development of a focused content strategy that delivers relevant content optimized for each client's target audiences. The content is developed to respond to each brand's keywords, location, and linking strategy - and is published on high-authority websites, thus generating fresh links pointing to the client's website. "The DoFollow SEO Backlinks service is designed to give our client's target URL 300+ niche relevant backlinks that have 95% generic anchor text, making it safe to link out to a URL," says Mr. Peacock. "Every website needs niche relevant backlinks - and these backlinks are Do-Follow. Our clients can use this opportunity to link to your homepage URL, inner pages like location and services, or product pages, if it is an a e-commerce site." The agency will then use its proprietary indexing strategies to ensure optimal indexing for the newly developed content - and compile all the data into a Google report for ease of assessment and performance tracking. The do-follow link building service is part of a series of solutions designed to improve local and global search presence for brands across industries. Interested parties can find more information at https://www.linkdaddy.shop/products/dofollow-seo-backlinks Contact Info: Name: Tony Peacock Email: tony@linkdaddy.com Organization: LinkDaddy Address: 1065 SW 8th St PMB 622, Miami, Florida 33130, United States Website: https://linkdaddy.shop To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/188888 RoslinCT to manufacture exagamglogene autotemcel (exa-cel) for Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc following an extensive development collaboration RoslinCT will manufacture world's-first CRISPR-based therapy EDINBURGH, UK, 28 November 2023 - RoslinCT, a cell and gene therapy Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation ('CDMO') dedicated to developing therapies for patients who live with serious and life-threatening diseases, announces that it will manufacture the world's first CRISPR-based therapy, exa-cel, across the world as part of the global manufacturing network for Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. RoslinCT and Vertex have worked closely on an adaptive basis as Vertex progressed with its clinical and regulatory development to advance this world first therapeutic to patients. RoslinCT has a rich history of innovation in stem cell technology, dating back to its genesis at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh. Exa-cel is a new treatment for sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia, authorised by the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency ('MHRA') on 15 November 2023. The MHRA granted RoslinCT a Manufacturer's Authorisation License ('MIA') for commercial manufacturing of cell therapy products in March 2023. RoslinCT has maintained its position at the forefront of healthcare and scientific advancements and has extensive process development expertise and cGMP manufacturing capability across a broad range of autologous and allogeneic cell therapies, with unparalleled expertise in gene editing and industry-leading induced Pluripotent Stem Cell ('iPSC') capabilities, giving it the ability to deliver this unique therapy. Its state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Edinburgh, Scotland and Boston, US are purpose-built for cell therapy products. Peter Coleman, Chief Executive Officer of RoslinCT said:"RoslinCT prides itself in being a thoughtful and practical partner to the world's most innovative companies, helping them bring cutting-edge and often highly complex therapies to patients. Being one of the manufacturing sites for the world's first therapy using the Nobel Prize winning technology, CRISPR, is another example of this skillset. "RoslinCT has deep roots in stem cell technology and decades of expertise and excellence in process and cGMP capability making us a perfect partner to support a highly complex project like this. We feel privileged to be working alongside Vertex to bring this ground-breaking therapy to patients and are excited about the broader potential to deepen and enhance our skillset." Steve Bates, Chief Executive Officer of the UK Bioindustry Association said: "As the first country to authorise a CRISPR-based therapy and home to one of the key manufacturing sites, the UK is well positioned to lead on providing access to gene editing treatments. We also already have in place the NHS innovative medicine fund as an explicit policy route to enable rapid adoption of innovation. "RoslinCT is an exemplar of the tremendous innovation being built in the UK and is at the heart of the world leading, medicine manufacturing community, not only making exa-cel for Vertex, but supporting companies across the world to translate innovation into impactful medicines." ENDS For Media Enquiries ICR Consilium Amber Fennell, Jessica Hodgson Tel: +44 (0) 20 3709 5700 roslinct@consilium-comms.com (mailto:roslinct@consilium-comms.com) About RoslinCT RoslinCT is a leading global contract development and manufacturing services organization ('CDMO') focused on Advanced Cell and Gene Therapies. Established in 2006 and built upon the ground-breaking technology cloning of Dolly the Sheep at the Roslin Institute in 1997, RoslinCT has harnessed cutting-edge science to advance the development of human medicines. With a remarkable heritage in the field, the company has achieved significant milestones. These include being among one of the first in the world to produce clinical-grade human pluripotent stem cells. In collaboration with the partners, RoslinCT also developed the first CRISPR-edited cell therapy product for a major inherited disorder, taking it from early development to commercialisation. Equipped with 22 purpose-built cGMP cell therapy processing suites in Edinburgh, Scotland, and Hopkinton, Massachusetts, RoslinCT provides innovative process and analytical development, cGMP clinical and commercial manufacturing for a range of cell types for both autologous and allogeneic processes, and cGMP iPSC cell line development, gene editing, and differentiation. With tailored CDMO solutions, RoslinCT enables partners to efficiently progress from development to commercialisation and deliver life-saving Cell and Gene Therapies worldwide. RoslinCT is a GHO Capital portfolio company. Discover more about our services at www.roslinct.com. About exagamglogene autotemcel (exa-cel) Exa-cel is a new treatment for sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia, authorised by the MHRA on November 15, 2023. It is the first medicine to be licensed that uses the innovative gene-editing tool CRISPR, for which its inventors were awarded the Nobel Prize in 2020. Exa-cel is designed to work by editing a patient's blood stem cells so that the body produces functioning haemoglobin. To do this, stem cells are taken out of bone marrow, edited in a laboratory and then infused back into the patient after which the results have the potential to be life-long. The investment will boost R&D, accelerate delivery of enterprise solutions, fund global expansion and M&A positioning One Click LCA as the definitive end-to-end sustainability software platform for construction and manufacturing. One Click LCA, a world-leading decarbonization platform for the construction and manufacturing industries, today announces a 40M investment from PSG Equity ("PSG"), a leading growth equity firm partnering with software and technology-enabled services companies to help accelerate their international growth, and InfraVia Capital Partners ("InfraVia"), a leading independent European private equity firm running four investment theses in infrastructure, technology, critical metals and real-estate. One Click LCA's mission is to power the makers of a zero-carbon future with its powerful, global life-cycle assessment ("LCA"), environmental product declaration ("EPD"), and sustainability solutions. The company connects the full construction value chain, from property portfolio owners to manufacturers, applying a scientific approach to measuring, reporting, and reducing carbon, along with the calculation of other sustainability metrics for projects and products, in the built environment. The decarbonization platform supports thousands of customers in over 150 countries, including blue-chip enterprises such as Skanska, AECOM, WSP, Foster+Partners, LafargeHolcim and Saint Gobain. The platform includes LCA tools in compliance with over 70 standards and certifications, including LEED, BREEAM, GRESB and other national regulations, with a unique global LCA database. The platform facilitates analysis of whole-life carbon, LCA and sustainability assessment for buildings, infrastructure, and manufacturing, including early-stage analysis, design optioneering, benchmarking and decarbonization tools. One Click LCA enables manufacturers to generate and publish EPDs digitally for manufactured goods and construction products. It also seamlessly integrates with over 15 of the most widely used BIM software tools, including Autodesk Revit, Tekla Structures and Bentley iTwin. With PSG and InfraVia's support, One Click LCA will boost investment in R&D and growth, including M&A across construction and manufacturing verticals with the ambition to become the leading end-to-end global sustainability platform for all stakeholders covering carbon, biodiversity, circularity and beyond. "Climate change is one of the biggest threats facing society. With the global building stock set to double in the next forty years, generating 230 gigatons of embodied carbon, we must critically scale-up action to decarbonize construction and manufacturing," said Panu Pasanen, Founder and CEO of One Click LCA. "We believe our partnership with PSG and InfraVia marks a new phase of growth as we accelerate towards supporting one million users with LCA, EPD and other sustainability software." "We are delighted to partner with Panu and the One Click LCA team, to support their ambitions to drive international growth and develop new products for the industry," said Dany Rammal, Managing Director, Head of Europe at PSG. "Our operational expertise and track record of growing international software champions, means that we are well placed to help reinforce and strengthen One Click LCA's position as a leading force in the decarbonization of global construction." Alban Wyniecki, partner at InfraVia added, "As the world commits to carbon neutrality, the opportunity ahead for One Click LCA is massive. InfraVia has been a significant stakeholder of the infrastructure and construction industry through its flagship investment strategy in infrastructure over the past 15 years. Consequently, we are very excited to support Panu and One Click LCA in bringing sustainability to our ecosystem and more generally the broader construction manufacturing industry." About One Click LCA One Click LCA is a Helsinki-based tech company decarbonizing construction and manufacturing with world-leading, easy-to-use, and automated LCA to calculate and reduce the environmental impacts of building, infrastructure, and renovation projects as well as construction and other manufactured products. It also enables manufacturers to generate and publish third-party verified EPDs, and allows assessment of circularity, life-cycle cost, and soon also biodiversity. One Click LCA is used in +150 countries. Its decarbonization platform includes a unique global database with +200,000 LCA datasets, and it supports +70 standards and certifications, including LEED, BREEAM, GRESB and other national regulations. One Click LCA was founded in Finland in 2001 and has a team of +170 people across five continents. Learn more at: www.oneclicklca.com About PSG PSG is a growth equity firm that partners with software and technology-enabled services companies to help them navigate transformational growth, capitalize on strategic opportunities, and build strong teams. Having backed more than 130 companies and facilitated over 470 add-on acquisitions, PSG brings extensive investment experience, deep expertise in software and technology, and a firm commitment to collaborating with management teams. Founded in 2014, PSG operates out of offices in Boston, Kansas City, London, Madrid, Paris, and Tel Aviv. To learn more about PSG, visit www.psgequity.com. One Click LCA is PSG's fourth platform investment in Finland and its twenty-third in Europe. About InfraVia InfraVia is a leading independent private equity firm, specialized in real assets and technology investments. InfraVia supports entrepreneurs and companies in their growth and helps them to expand their businesses and transform them into top-tier platforms. Since 2008, InfraVia has raised EUR 12 billion of capital and invested in 50+ companies across Europe. To learn more about InfraVia, visit www.infraviacapital.com/ View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231127867855/en/ Contacts: Media Global PSG Equity Matthieu Roussellier Kate Pledger pro-psg@prosek.com BOSTON, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The future of healthcare is increasingly personalized, with smartwatches that can monitor key vital signs from the comfort of the living room to genetic testing that can tell people vital information about their health. Tracking information within the body and having doctors able to prescribe personalized cancer treatments demonstrate how technologies are creating a new future of healthcare. Comfortable monitors Wearing a smartwatch does not take a second thought, so remembering to check blood pressure will not either. Smartwatches are now being cleverly designed with built-in sensitive sensors to keep on top of any abnormalities in heart rate, heart rhythm, and, in the future, blood pressure. People could soon go about daily activities such as watching TV while being monitored for high blood pressure, giving far more accurate results than just a few minutes in a doctor's office. Miniature continuous glucose monitors have been mainstream amongst people with diabetes for some time, but for people with other chronic conditions, self-monitoring has been less available. For those with cardiovascular conditions, ECGs from home have been on the rise. Philips ePatch is a small, waterproof sticky patch that can record and store heartbeats and patterns, so data can be taken in different environments, such as in the shower or in a restaurant, to assess which activities might trigger any changes. The patch is advanced enough to store medical-grade data, which can then be transferred to a doctor to be analyzed more closely. Comfortable and wearable technology like this can result in people feeling safer and more in control of their conditions. Other companies, such as Alivecor, are on the same page, developing credit card-sized devices that can carry out high-quality ECG recordings while simply being held between fingertips. These devices are game-changing for healthcare systems, as they could free up routine appointments while giving people peace of mind that doctors can access their health data at any point necessary. Movement sensors can be used in conjunction with other equipment for older people living alone. They work together to track daily activities to ensure people are not vulnerable or unable to carry out normal tasks while being non-invasive. While visits from healthcare workers are good for sociability and interactions, monitors can keep track of the hours when people are alone and could signal to relatives through smartphone notifications when regular movement is not detected. Bigger yet smaller Much like the equipment used for remote patient monitoring, DNA sequencing is an example of how science and technology can create personalized treatment plans for patients, ensuring they get the best care possible for their bodies. Sequencing allows scientists to take an unfathomably close look at the genes and programming that make up individuals. Oncology is a sector that, for the past twenty years, has utilized this process to make incredible advancements in prescribing personalized medications. By sequencing DNA, doctors can see which specific cells can be targeted and design medication accordingly. This revolutionary progression in the healthcare industry is also seen in the advancing ability of doctors to diagnose certain cancers through a blood test by isolating tumor DNA. This technology, being developed by companies such as Grail, enables earlier detection and, thus, earlier treatment of cancers. Additional benefits DNA sequencing can play a huge role in prenatal testing for women expecting babies. By using a simple procedure to access the baby's DNA, doctors can uncover any potential genetic abnormalities, helping parents make fully informed decisions going forward. This enables parents to plan for their future and keep detailed track of the pregnancy. Using remote patient monitoring systems, pregnant women will be able to keep track of their own health as well, ensuring everyone is healthy and getting the care they need. The effects of COVID-19 have caused scientists to look further into using DNA sequencing for outbreak surveillance. Random sequencing replacing molecular diagnostic tests can give a better indication of which virus variants exist within a society and identify mutations that can be monitored and dealt with efficiently. With the combination of self-monitoring and DNA sequencing, the future of healthcare industries is becoming more personalized. Patients' best interests will be able to be more effectively considered, allowing them to feel properly seen and cared for. Remote patient monitoring encompasses a number of possibilities to manage chronic health conditions from home, meaning less strain on healthcare systems and people having a better understanding of their bodies and conditions. The fascinating process of DNA sequencing provides the opportunity for scientists and doctors to help people get better and have more understanding about their own genes, which in the future will allow personal treatments and diagnoses to be much faster, saving all important time. Explore the growing possibilities of monitoring and DNA sequencing further in IDTechEx's reports, "Remote Patient Monitoring 2023-2033: Technologies, Markets and Opportunities" and "DNA Sequencing 2023-2033: Technologies, Markets, and Forecasts." For the full portfolio of healthcare market research from IDTechEx, please visit www.IDTechEx.com/Research/Healthcare. Sample pages are available for all IDTechEx reports. About IDTechEx IDTechEx guides your strategic business decisions through its Research, Subscription and Consultancy products, helping you profit from emerging technologies. For more information, contact research@IDTechEx.com or visit www.IDTechEx.com. Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/478371/IDTechEx_Logo.jpg Media Contact: Lucy Rogers Marketing and Sales Administrator press@IDTechEx.com +44(0)1223 812300 Social Media Links: Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/IDTechEx LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/idtechex/ View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/idtechex-explores-hyper-personalized-approaches-to-healthcare-301997937.html Chinese Ministry of Public Security releases 10 typical cases of cracking down on cyberspace violence, illegal crimes Global Times) 14:39, November 28, 2023 Police officers raise cybersecurity awareness by disseminating education pamphlets among citizens in Yangzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province, on September 14, 2023. Photo: Xinhua On Tuesday, China's Ministry of Public Security released 10 typical cases of cracking down on cases of cyberspace violence and illegal crimes. Those cases included illegally hiring a group of online users to attack others, using hacking methods to obtain large volumes of personal information, and using PS and other technologies to maliciously defame others' image. In recent years, cyberspace violence and illegal crimes have becoming increasingly frequent, leading to some individuals experiencing "social death," mental illness, and even suicide. This has severely disrupted the order of the internet and damaged the online ecosystem, causing a negative social impact. The Chinese public security authorities continue to maintain a "zero tolerance" attitude toward cyberspace violence and illegal crimes and have dealt with a large number of such cases, including insulting and defaming others, spreading rumors, and violating privacy. In the first typical case, East China's Jiangsu public security organs targeted a case of a person surnamed Zhang who hired "internet troll army" -- a group of users who are paid to post online comments with vested interest on Chinese language websites -- to cyberbully others. The internet security department of Jiangsu public security organs found that during his probation period, Zhang illegally obtained a victim's private information by installing tracking and eavesdropping devices in order to achieve long-term control over the victim. He spread and promoted indecent videos, images, and insulting articles about the victim through purchasing internet accounts and hiring an online "army." He also sent reports with false accusation to the victim's workplace in someone else's name, causing the victim to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. In January 2023, Zhang was taken into custody by the public security organs in accordance with the law. Currently, Zhang has been sentenced to six years in prison and fined 10,000 yuan ($1,397.96) for the crimes of infringing on citizens' personal information, provocation, and intentional injury in the first trial. In the second typical case, Southwest China's Sichuan public security organs became aware of a criminal gang engaging in cyberbulling. The internet security department of Sichuan public security organs found that the suspects surnamed Chen, Ma, Lu, Zeng, and others used hacking methods to obtain a large amount of personal information of citizens. After being hired by others online, they used methods such as exposing private information, making junk phone calls, filling out false organ donation information, sending fabricated reports, and creating and publishing derogatory images to carry out cyberspace violence against their victims. They forced victims to shoot apology videos or write apology letters, causing depression among multiple underage victims and even leading to increased risk of suicide. The criminal gang has been taken into custody by the public security organs, and the case is currently subject to further investigation. In the third typical case, East China's Zhejiang public security organs cracked down on spreading defamation by suspects surnamed Zhang and others. The Zhejiang authorities found that the suspects Zhang and Li fabricated and spread rumors such as "a female teacher at a certain middle school was being molested by the school leader" and "the improper lifestyle and chaotic relationships of the school leader at a certain middle school" for personal purposes. A large number of netizens followed to spread and promote the rumors, seriously endangering social order. Currently, Zhang and Li have been taken into custody by the public security organs, and the case is under further investigation. In the fourth case, Jiangsu public security organs targeted a suspect surnamed Ji cyberbullying livestreaming anchors by repeatedly fabricating their defamatory information to gain followers. Currently, Ji has been taken into custody by the public security organs, and the case is under further investigation. In the fifth case, South China's Guangxi public security organs targeted a suspect criminal gang provoking trouble online. The authorities found that suspects surnamed Wang, Lin, Tang, Xuan, Huang, Meng, and others, who were dissatisfied with a court's judgment, repeatedly posted maliciously edited and produced videos and posts online. They abused multiple judges through phone calls, misleading netizens to attack the judges, disturbing social order. Currently, Wang and others have been taken into custody by the public security organs, and the case is under further investigation. In other five cases, local public security organs have cracked down on cyberspace-related cases including picking quarrels and provoking trouble, insulting others, and Illegal use of network information. Both national and local cybersecurity departments of public security authorities nationwide will continue to advance the "Clean Network 2023" special operation, resolutely punishing illegal activities of online violence and crime in accordance with the law. At the same time, they will strengthen departmental cooperation, enhance comprehensive governance, eradicate the breeding ground for online violence, correct the previous approach of "no punishment for the masses," and strive to create a clean and clear cyberspace. China in September released guidelines to severely punish cyberspace violations that target minors, involve paid posters, fabricate "sexual" topics and use artificial intelligence to disseminate illegal information. The guidelines on punishing crimes of cyberspace violence in accordance with laws were jointly issued by China's Supreme People's Court, China's Supreme People's Procuratorate and China's Ministry of Public Security. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Wu Chaolan) SHG portfolio to include more than 20 hotels by 2026 Dubai, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sunset Hospitality Group (SHG), the leading multinational lifestyle hospitality group, is expanding its hotel business with the launch of Sunset Hotels & Resorts, an integrated global business that will encompass the different hotel brands of SHG. The company currently operates 4 hotels in Turkiye, Spain, and Lebanon, and plans to add more locations over the next few years reaching a portfolio of more than 20 hotels and resorts, in exclusive locations around the world by 2026. In 2021, SHG introduced METT, its flagship hotel brand, with the opening of METT Hotel & Beach Resort Bodrum, Turkiye. Since then, METT has become an outstanding success, being recognized as part of TIME's annual list of the World's Greatest Places and named Favourite New International Hotel by Conde Nast Traveller at the Readers' Choice Awards, among many accolades. SHG has also introduced METT Hotel & Beach Resort Marbella-Estepona, a 250-room beachfront property in Malaga, Spain, as well as Azure Beach Resort in Lebanon, and Yalikavak Marina Hotel by the Social Living CollectionTM - the SHG brand of boutique hotels delivering local style and experiences, in unique locations around the globe. SHG also announces the introduction of SOMOS HOTELS, a new hotel brand that will transform how you dine, play, and stay. SOMOS is a blend of lifestyle hotel and members club, designed as a dining, art, and culture hub. A 250-key SOMOS HOTEL will be opening in Bali in 2025. This tropical resort is to be located in buzzing Uluwatu, and will offer diverse dining and social experiences such as co-working spaces, oversized gym facilities, and much more. SOMOS Bali marks the brand's first development around the globe, with ambitious plans for expansion including new locations in Dubai, London, Siem Reap, and Barcelona. This last quarter of 2023 marks a monumental expansion phase for SHG with the launch of Sunset Hotels & Resorts, which will be operating 5 new hotels in Indonesia, 2 of which will open in the next 6 months. An exciting pipeline of additional hotels are currently in negotiations, with developments in Italy, UK, Bahrain, Indonesia, Montenegro, Spain, Morocco, UAE, and Vietnam. To champion this new venture, SHG announces the appointment of Jaime Buxo Clos, as CEO of Sunset Hotels & Resorts. Bringing more than 30 years of experience to the role, Jaime and his dedicated global hotel team will spearhead Sunset Hotels & Resorts, and the business will undergo major growth under their leadership. "I am proud to be a part of such a major milestone for SHG, with the launch of Sunset Hotels & Resorts, which is becoming a key driver of the company's growth. Our journey into hotels began in 2021, and since then our hotel business has grown steadily, with four hotels currently in operations. With the introduction of Sunset Hotels & Resorts, we will be accelerating our expansion into this sector, creating a unique collection of incredible lifestyle hospitality properties around the world.' said Jaime Buxo Clos, CEO of Sunset Hotels & Resorts. SHG's Chairman and Group CEO, Antonio Gonzalez, emphasizes the Group's commitment to driving its global expansion strategy with Sunset Hotels & Resorts, "SHG's exponential growth is a testament to our commitment to provide extraordinary experiences around the world. In 2023 we have achieved great milestones, with a presence in 16 countries, that ideally position our company for the next phase of growth. We are excited to increase our hotel portfolio with a dedicated hotel team and additional resources, which with no doubt will contribute to SHG's unique lifestyle offering around the world.' About Sunset Hospitality Group Sunset Hospitality Group (SHG) is a leading multinational lifestyle hospitality group, with a wide portfolio encompassing Hotels & Resorts, Restaurants, Beach Clubs, Nightclubs, Fitness Centers, and other lifestyle hospitality offerings. SHG operates over 50 venues in 16 countries, with a commitment to deliver authentic and diverse hospitality experiences that bring people together, all around the world. SHG's portfolio includes renowned concepts including METT Hotels & Resorts, Azure Beach, SUSHISAMBA, Drift Beach Club, AURA, DREAM, L'Amo Bistro del Mare, Goldfish, Isola, Raise Fitness & Wellness, and many more. 2023 saw the opening of METT Hotel & Beach Resort Marbella, Yalikavak Marina Hotel Bodrum, Ammos Ibiza, Azure Beach Marbella, Isola in Bozneika & Marbella, Bar de Lola Marbella, MOTT32 Dubai, Signor Sassi Dubai, Mood Jordan, Raise Marbella, and Santana Bali. www.sunsethospitality.com Attachments LONDON, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Normative , the world's leading enterprise carbon platform, today announces its attendance and participation at COP28 , the annual United Nations Climate Conference, to champion global climate action. At COP28 the urgent need for businesses to shift from just complying with mandatory reporting legislation, to actively focusing on reducing emissions will be highlighted. To make real reductions, organizations must collaborate to share high-quality carbon data and learnings. Introducing new solutions making this possible is key to decarbonization. Normative leadership participates at COP28 as knowledge and scientific partners to policy makers and sustainability leaders. As part of the official Swedish Business Delegation , Normative supports the Swedish government's climate targets by providing actionable carbon insights to enterprises. Kristian Ronn , CEO and co-founder of Normative, and recognised leader in carbon accounting and climate change mitigation, will be at the forefront of championing climate action by sharing best practices that makes carbon visible for all. At COP28, Ronn wil be a catalyst for enterprise business leaders to successfully reach their climate targets. "Collaboration - sharing data, insights and learnings - is the best path to decarbonization. No business can tackle this challenge alone. This is why we have launched the Carbon Network, to make carbon visible for everyone by enabling businesses to exchange primary data from suppliers across value chains. COP gives us the chance to kick-start this change." - Kristian Ronn, CEO and Co-founder of Normative. Here are some of the sessions Normative will participate in between 1st - 5th December: World Climate Action Summit, Inauguration : Inauguration of the Swedish Business Pavilion, involving high-level climate discussions on scientific targets. : Inauguration of the Swedish Business Pavilion, involving high-level climate discussions on scientific targets. World Climate Action Summit : The future of reducing Scope 3 emissions. : The future of reducing Scope 3 emissions. Finance, ImpactTech & Trade: Value chain emissions in the finance industry - recommendations and pathways. About Normative: Normative is an enterprise carbon platform providing a foundation of reliable emissions data for companies like Flying Tiger Copenhagen, Nordea, and The Restaurant Group to plan, implement, and verify the impact of sustainability initiatives. With a carbon accounting engine built on science, a carbon network of supplier data sources, and a team of climate experts, Normative empowers companies to take control of their emissions. Headquartered in Stockholm, Normative aims to accelerate the transition to net zero by partnering with leading climate change organizations including the UN. Contact Cassandra Julin press@normative.io 0046702866861 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2204331/4423785/Normative_Logo.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/normative-to-play-a-vital-role-at-cop28-championing-climate-action-and-carbon-insights-301998093.html "We need to collectively decide on system change" HEEMSTEDE, Netherlands, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On the eve of COP28, a programmer and a biologist from the Netherlands published a scientific essay in which they argue that independent experts should design a procedure to collectively decide on system change. This procedure would be an alternative to the Conferences of the Parties (COPs) on climate change and other issues. The authors call on individuals and organisations to form a global team that will set in motion this design and the ensuing decision-making on system change. They believe there is a need for a new decision-making procedure because parties can essentially veto any proposal during the COPs, thus undermining agreements. Moreover, issues such as climate change and biodiversity loss are related, so they require a "systems" approach, not one COP for each issue. A plan for a plan for the planet In their essay, the researchers propose that experts in collective decision-making design the procedure to decide on system change and that others safeguard the design process in order to, for example, ensure that the experts are independent. "These experts would not decide on system change," co-author Arnold Bomans explains, "but they would create a plan by which others can decide on plans for system change." The decision-making procedure would have to aggregate a diversity of interests without the intercession of vetoing nation states. The path to decision change There is vast untapped expertise in the field of collective decision-making, including techniques for deliberation and mechanisms that remove politics and strategy. The global team should convene experts in such fields and allow them to design a decision-making procedure. Also, the team should bring together other people to guarantee that these experts are independent, that the decision-making procedure is evaluated, and that its design is presented consistently. Furthermore, the team should collect proposals for system changes, such as for a new economy. Finally, it should initiate the decision-making on system change or, as the authors like to call it, accomplish "decision change". Flawed decision-making In the following weeks, tens of thousands of people from countries and organisations will meet in Dubai (UAE) for COP28. The parties in question have been routinely unable to meet their targets, in particular the goal of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius. Climate scientists worldwide, including from the World Meteorological Organization, warn that the global temperature rise is likely to exceed the 1.5 degree limit of the Paris Agreement in the next few years. "Nations are often motivated by self-interest and short-term objectives," says biologist Dr Peter Roessingh, co-author of the essay, "but the decision-making during the COPs does not cater for true cooperation and agreement." Systems approach to multiple crises There are many globally significant challenges that are close to crisis point right now: not just climate change, but ecological collapse and the threat of pandemics or nuclear war. These issues demand objective decision-making rather than politically motivated negotiation. Specifically, they need a systems approach. Change in collective decision-making It is these types of developments that made Bomans and Roessingh decide to take action. In 2020, Bomans, who holds a master's in mathematical decision theory, quit his job as a programmer to devote his time and energy to extensive research on collective decision-making. The two researchers read hundreds of scientific articles on the topic and summarised their findings in the essay, which is currently under review by a renowned scientific journal. How to get the world on board One of the questions that remain is how a completely new system is going to get the momentum to really make a difference. "Opposition is to be expected, but maintaining current decision-making procedures will never lead to the drastic measures needed according to earth scientists and ecologists," says Roessingh, to which Bomans adds: "I'm positive that if we can manage to get these decision-making experts together, there is a real chance of them designing a revolutionary process that everyone can commit to. Let me quote Buckminster Fuller: 'You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.'" About the authors Arnold Bomans (61) holds a master's degree in mathematical decision theory from Delft University of Technology. Since 2020, he has been working towards averting the worst of the biophysical collapse. His work includes a report on citizens' assemblies, from which he concluded that decision change is needed. He is currently designing and programming a moneyless economy. Peter Roessingh (69) is a chemical ecologist and evolutionary biologist at the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics of the University of Amsterdam (UvA). In addition to bioinformatical work on the evolution of insect sensory systems, he is involved in environmental initiatives as a member of Scientists4Future NL. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/dutch-programmer-and-biologist-propose-plan-for-designing-an-alternative-to-the-cops-301998675.html LONDON, Nov. 28, 2023programs as an effective mechanism to improve their resilience to the impacts of climate change and mitigate other sustainability risks. Besides phasing out fossil fuels, the other two core themes for the upcoming UNFCCC COP28 conference in Dubai, UAE, are building climate-resilient societies and investing in climate solutions. In its inaugural Henley Wealth and Sustainability Reportpublished today, the international residence and citizenship advisory firm highlights how investment migration can assist in addressing both these significant global challenges. The innovative study analyzes over 150 data points across five key sustainability and wealth parameters including population density and CO 2 emissions per capita, achievement of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. The report focuses on G7 nations, BRICS member states, including the six new countries that will join the bloc in January 2024 (Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE), and a selection of 19 countries that host investment migration programs, which enable investors to acquire residence or citizenship in return for making a significant contribution to the economy. The G7 brings together seven of the world's most advanced industrial economies in the Global North, while the new BRICS plus Six configuration represents major emerging economies in the Global South. As Dr. Juerg Steffen, CEO of Henley & Partners, points out in the report, both groupings represent a significant share of the global economy and population, and both aim to tackle pervasive global issues such as climate change. "Investment migration can provide much-needed foreign direct investment to help meet our sustainability challenges. Several countries are already channeling program inflows into projects to boost their countries' climate resilience for the benefit of their citizens. Grenada, for instance, has strengthened its resilience against natural disasters by offering investors citizenship in exchange for a contribution to the country's National Transformation Fund, which supports a range of industries including alternative energy. A non-refundable contribution to Antigua and Barbuda'sNational Development Fund is another example of how a country is driving its transition to renewable energy through citizenship by investment." Prof. Trevor Williams, former Chief Economist at Lloyds Bank Commercial banking, says the Henley Wealth and Sustainability Reportcan assist those looking for opportunities, either private or public, to invest in sustainability projects and other carbon-reducing initiatives. "The framing allows those seeking areas where climate change is less threatening, where adaptation is occurring fastest, and as a result where threats to sustainability are lowest to locate to achieve that goal. Through this approach, these individuals are also able to see which countries allow investors to acquire residence status through various programs, and where the opportunities for mitigation and adaptation will offer the highest returns on investment. It also shows where the best investment options are for funds that are seeking returns through sustainability and green and carbon-reducing projects and investment activities." Commenting in the report, Dr. Areef Suleman, Director of Economic Research and Statistics at the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Institute, says the analysis provides a data-driven perspective on how residence and citizenship by investment programs can be leveraged to enhance investment resilience and sustainability. "Investment migration countries consistently performed better than G7 and BRICS plus Six countries in key areas such as environmental responsibility, infrastructure reliability, healthcare and education quality, economic growth, and wealth accumulation. These insights underscore the wisdom investment migration offers high-net-worth individuals in securing a sustainable future for them and their progeny. In an ever-changing world, data and evidence-based decision-making provide the right compass for investors and families seeking a path to economic prosperity and sustainability." Read Full Press Releaseand the Henley Wealth and Sustainability Report. Media Contact Sarah Nicklin Group Head of PR sarah.nicklin@henleyglobal.com Mobile: +27 72 464 8965 Press Release Nokia upgrades Bouygues Telecom's IP network for increased capacity and energy efficiency Nokia's 7750 Service Router (SR) platform powered by its FP5 silicon to be deployed, providing the traffic capacity growth needed for future services required by Bouygues Telecom's growing French customer base. 28 November 2023 Espoo, Finland - Nokia expands its long-term relationship with Bouygues Telecom by supplying its market-leading FP5-based IP routers to modernize the operator's IP core network and expand the capacity of its security gateway solutions. Nokia's solution includes its 7750 Service Router (SR) platform, which is powered by its ground-breaking FP5 routing silicon. The FP5, a key part of Bouygues Telecom's selection, is a significant enabler for building higher-capacity IP networks that are more energy efficient. The FP5's future-ready 800GE capability will also accelerate Bouygues Telecom's ability to scale and sustainably meet future traffic growth. Nokia's system design innovation ensures an easy upgrade to FP5 from the existing FP4 platform, extending the network life of deployed systems while scaling capacity. Nokia will also evolve Bouygues Telecom's existing Nokia security gateway services by deploying its FP5 powered, SR-1 routers and the 7750 Extended Services Appliance (ESA) to meet the increased capacity and scalability demands of mobile broadband services. Jean-Paul ARZEL, Chief Technology Officer at Bouygues Telecom, said: "We have had a long relationship with Nokia, and we were looking for a reliable future-ready solution to help us evolve our IP network to match our growing customer base. The upgrade of our IP network with FP5 will allow us to balance capacity and sustainability to deliver the best customer experience." Frederic Beneteau, Vice President, West and Central Europe Market Unitat Nokia, said: "We are delighted to extend our relationship with Bouygues Telecom to support its strategic priorities. Nokia's IP routing solutions offer best-in-class scalability, efficiency and security, enabling Bouygues Telecom to confidently manage their growth initiatives as they continue delivering the exceptional experience their customers count on both now and in the future." Resources and additional information Web page: 7750 Service Router Web page: FP5 Network Processor Technology Web page: IP Network Security Web page: IPsec Security Gateway About Nokia At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together. As a B2B technology innovation leader, we are pioneering networks that sense, think and act by leveraging our work across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. In addition, we create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs. Service providers, enterprises and partners worldwide trust Nokia to deliver secure, reliable and sustainable networks today - and work with us to create the digital services and applications of the future. Media inquiries Nokia Communications, Corporate Email: Press.Services@nokia.com Follow us on social media LinkedInXInstagramFacebookYouTube Regulatory News: Orano has obtained transport approval from the American safety authority, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). This approval is an essential step for continued commercial and industrial developments for the benefit of our customers in the United States. The TN Eagle is Orano's latest generation packaging model, for the transport and dry storage of spent fuel for nuclear power plants around the world (Europe, United States, Asia). With an innovative design and modular structure, this packaging meets the different needs of power plant operators by improving safety and competitiveness. The packaging was approved in 2020 by the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) in less than a year, in accordance with the latest regulations from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), after having undergone a rigorous testing phase to demonstrate its robustness and resistance to extreme transport conditions. For the United States, the format for storing spent fuel in canisters meant adapting the TN Eagle's design. The production of the TN Eagle is based on manufacturing processes that are truly technological breakthroughs. The packaging is assembled in half the time of equivalent models on the market thanks to fully automated manufacturing lines and without the use of welding. Several models of the TN Eagle have been manufactured, thus confirming the technical feasibility of the processes. At the beginning of February 2023, Orano launched the construction of the new TN Eagle 4.0 manufacturing factory, the TN Eagle Factory, with the support of the France Relance investment fund. Located at the port of Cherbourg, this new production unit will make it possible to better manage the growing number of orders for the TN Eagle in Europe, Asia and the United States. Its commissioning is planned for 2024. "NRC approval is a key step allowing us to continue our developments in the transport of used nuclear fuel in the United States. The result of the innovative design of the Orano teams allows us to divide the number of the transport packaging parts by ten and significantly reduce manufacturing times while increasing safety and competitiveness. The TN Eagle is a real technological breakthrough compared to other models on the market," commended Frederic de Agostini, Senior Executive Vice President of the Nuclear Packages Services activities. About Orano As a recognized international operator in the field of nuclear materials, Orano delivers solutions to address present and future global energy and health challenges. Its expertise and mastery of cutting-edge technologies enable Orano to offer its customers high value-added products and services throughout the entire fuel cycle. Every day, the Orano group's 17,000 employees draw on their skills, unwavering dedication to safety and constant quest for innovation, with the commitment to develop know-how in the transformation and control of nuclear materials, for the climate and for a healthy and resource-efficient world, now and tomorrow. Orano, giving nuclear energy its full value. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128003426/en/ Contacts: Press Office +33 (0)1 34 96 12 15 press@orano.group Investor relations Marc Quesnoy investors@orano.group Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - November 28, 2023) - Canter Resources Corp. (CSE: CRC) (OTC Pink: CNRCF) (FSE: 6O1) ("Canter" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it will proceed with a non-brokered private placement of 8,000,000 units of the Company (the "Units") at $0.50 per Unit for gross proceeds of $4,000,000 (the "Offering"). Each Unit will consist of one common share in the capital of the Company (a "Share") and one-half of one transferrable common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one additional Share at a price of $0.70 for a period of 24 months from the closing of the Offering. In the event that the closing price of the Shares of the Company on the CSE (or such other stock exchange on which the Shares are traded) is equal to or greater than $0.95 per Share for a period of 5 consecutive trading days during the Warrant exercise period, the Company may at its option elect to accelerate the expiry of the Warrants by providing notice to the holders thereof within 10 calendar days following the end of such 5 consecutive trading day period, in which case the Warrants will expire on the date specified in such notice, which shall be not less than 30 calendar days following delivery of such notice. The Company may pay finder's fees on the Offering within the amounts permitted by the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE"). The Company may issue additional Units for total gross proceeds of up to approximately $6,000,000 in the event the Offering is oversubscribed. The Company will use the net proceeds from the Offering to complete Phase I drilling at the Columbus Lithium-Boron Project, evaluate and stake additional claims prospective for critical metals, and for general corporate purposes. Closing of the Offering is subject to a number of conditions, including receipt of all necessary corporate and regulatory approvals, including the CSE. All securities issued in connection with the Offering will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months plus a day from the date of issuance in accordance with applicable securities legislation. The Offering is not subject to a minimum aggregate amount of subscriptions. Water Right Appurtenance Agreement In addition, the Company is pleased to announce that, further to its news release dated November 13, 2023, the Company's indirect wholly-owned Nevada subsidiary, Altitude Lithium USA Corp. ("NevadaCo"), has entered into a water right appurtenance agreement dated November 27, 2023 (the "Water Right Agreement") to acquire a 100% interest in certain water rights permits applicable to the Columbus Lithium-Boron Property. CEO & Director, Joness Lang, commented: "Securing an option to purchase water rights with this agreement marks an important milestone for the Company, as it establishes future cost certainty for a critical component required to bring a project from successful discovery to a future mining operation." NevadaCo currently holds the sole option to acquire a 100% ownership position in the Columbus Lithium-Boron Property, through its option agreement (the "Option Agreement") with the property's optionors (the "Optionors"). Further details regarding the Option Agreement and the Columbus Lithium-Boron Project are provided in the Company's news release dated November 13, 2023 and available on the Company's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca. The Optionors are the owners of two applications soon to become permits to appropriate the waters of the State of Nevada filed with the Nevada Division of Water Resources, Applications 90140 and 92509 (collectively referred to as the "Permits"), for a total amount of groundwater of 2,235.64 acre-feet annum from the Columbus Salt Marsh Valley Basin, 118. There are currently no water rights appurtenant to the Columbus Lithium-Boron Property, except the Permits which the Optionors own, which are intended to be used for potential future mining activities at the Columbus Lithium-Boron Project. Pursuant to the terms of the Water Right Agreement, in order to acquire a 100% interest in the Permits, the Company (through NevadaCo) must complete the following payments to the Optionors: Date Cash (USD) Shares Effective date Nil Nil 6-month anniversary $20,000 300,000 12-month anniversary $30,000 400,000 18-month anniversary $50,000 500,000 24-month anniversary $300,000 600,000 Total $400,000 1,800,000 On completion of the above payments as prescribed in the Water Right Agreement, the Optionors shall convey the Permits to NevadaCo. About Canter Resources Corp. Canter Resources Corp. is a Canadian junior mineral exploration company advancing the Columbus Lithium-Boron Project in Nevada, USA, the Beaver Creek Lithium Property in Montana, USA, and the Puzzle Lake Property in Saskatchewan, Canada. The Company is preparing for a Phase I drill campaign at Columbus to test a highly prospective lithium-brine target and plans to leverage the Company's critical metals targeting database to generate a portfolio of high-quality projects with the aim of defining mineral resources that support the domestic clean energy supply chain in North America. For further information contact: Joness Lang Chief Executive Officer Canter Resources Corp. jlang@canterresources.com For investor inquiries contact: Tel: 604.908.1695 investors@canterresources.com The securities to be issued pursuant to the Offering have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, United States persons absent registration or any applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This news release will not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States, nor will there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The Canadian Securities Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. The Canadian Securities Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the business of the Company, the completion of the Offering and the use of proceeds therefrom, the Company acquiring a 100% interest in the Columbus Lithium-Boron Property under the Option agreement, the Company acquiring a 100% interest in the Permits under the Water Right Agreement and related matters. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of Canter Resources Corp., including, but not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions, volatility of commodity prices, risks associated with the uncertainty of exploration results and estimates, currency fluctuations, dependency upon regulatory approvals, the uncertainty of obtaining additional financing and exploration risk. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/188872 ROSEVILLE, Mich., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Dayco, a leading engine products and drive systems supplier for the automotive, industrial and aftermarket sectors has successfully passed the preliminary phase of the 'Automotive Innovation Agreements DD 10/10/2022' (MIMIT: Ministry of Industries and Made in Italy). Dayco submitted an R&D project entitled 'The circular economy in the rubber industry: the re-use of devulcanized rubber in the design of components and in their production process', as part of its mission to reduce the environmental impact. The project will last 36 months and has two key objectives: the first is to reduce the percentage of elastomers from the traditional supply chain during the manufacturing process by inserting a fraction of secondary raw materials, together with the virgin raw materials, in the finished product's final composition. The second objective is more ambitious involving the recovery from vehicle service facilities of the belts replaced during routine schedule service. These rubber components, after fulfilling required function and durability specification, can have a second life, for example recycled in a different class of products, which will naturally reduce the impact on the environment. By taking these actions, Dayco is following its corporate Move Forward, AlwaysO principle: we bring innovation starting from the product design phase, responding to international regulations in the automotive sector, and we offer industrial solutions that comply with the company's principles of sustainability. Dayco's formidable R&D team, in conjunction with other relevant departments at its Chieti plant, will work together allowing the company to fully achieve these objectives. About Dayco Dayco is a global leader in the research, design, manufacture and distribution of essential engine drive systems and aftermarket services for automotive, truck, construction, agriculture and industrial applications. Through its expertise in transferring power quietly and efficiently, Dayco has emerged as the leading global system solutions provider for hybrid electric vehicles. Dayco's 100+ years of experience in drive systems allow the company to equip all customer applications around the world, with the most effective drive systems to meet performance requirements. Dayco's world class global distribution network services the aftermarket industry with a full offering of kits and products to meet each local market's need. Dayco accomplishes this with a dedicated global team that respects one another, shows humility through continuous learning and acts like an owner. Dayco has more than 40 locations in 22 countries and over 3,600 associates. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/dayco-steps-up-to-the-environmental-challenge-301997352.html PARIS, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Astraveus SAS ("Astraveus" or the "Company"), the creator of modular, microfluidic cell foundries that transform cell and gene therapy (CGT) manufacturing, today announces the appointment of Michel Spagnol as its new Chairman of the Board. Michel joins existing Board members Jeremie Laurent, CEO; Alain Huriez, Director; AdBio Partners; Christian Ulrich, Director, M Ventures; Fiona MacLaughlin, Director, JJDC; and Laurent Higueret, Director, BPI France Large Venture. Michel, a Stanford PhD graduate, brings a wealth of experience and expertise to Astraveus. With over 30 years of international experience in the healthcare industry, Michel's career has demonstrated his ability to successfully lead the transformation of multiple advanced technologies into both industrial and commercial successes. As the former CEO and Chairman of Novasep, an international CDMO group based in France (now part of the Axplora group), he successfully led the restructuring of the Novasep group, increasing its value significantly to 1.5 billion. During his tenure, he grew its gene therapy franchise into a world-renowned CDMO, leading to its divestment to Thermos Ficher Scientific group in 2021, giving him in-depth knowledge of Astraveus' target market. Prior to this, he held leadership roles at Rhodia Pharma Solutions and Shasun. Michel currently serves as Deputy Chairman at Axplora group, and as a Board member and Chairman of the SAB at MVG Group. Additionally, he is the Founder and President of Mifani-Invest, a venture focused on healthcare and digital transformation investments. Jeremie Laurent, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Astraveus, said: "Michel's leadership will be instrumental as we look to accelerate the development and commercialization of our Lakhesys platform. We believe our microfluidic cell foundries will transform cell and gene therapy manufacturing, and Michel's expertise and track record will help us to successfully bring the benefits of these therapies to patients. We look forward to welcoming and working with him at Astraveus." Michel Spagnol, newly appointed Chairman of the Board of Astraveus, added: "The groundbreaking Lakhesys platform has great potential for advancing cell and gene therapy manufacturing, and I am thrilled to start working with the team to drive innovation in this field and playing a part in successfully bringing more gene therapies into clinics." Astraveus is revolutionizing the field of CGT manufacturing with its Lakhesys platform, an end-to-end cell foundry that uses deep process optimization and single-use, microfluidic bioprocessors to deliver better results with reduced inputs. By removing the need for large-scale infrastructure, reducing costs and processing time, and overcoming the logistical challenges associated with CGT manufacturing, Astraveus is seeking to considerably widen patient access to these life-changing therapies. The Company recently completed a 16.5 million seed financing to significantly advance the development of its technology and expand the team. About Astraveus Astraveus is developing the next generation of cell and gene therapy (CGT) manufacturing solutions. Astraveus's cell foundries miniaturize and automate cell and gene therapy manufacturing in a unique, modular, end-to-end, microfluidic solution that mimics the elegance of natural systems. The deep process optimization of the platform enables greater precision and therefore easier replication of optimal manufacturing, delivering better therapies in a more cost- and time-efficient manner, using fewer materials and with reduced environmental impact. With the full potential of cell and gene therapies restricted today by high costs and limited throughput, this transformative solution has the potential to enable a therapeutic revolution at scale, helping to make these lifesaving therapies accessible to the many thousands of patients around the world that need them. Astraveus is a Paris-based company, founded in 2016 by Jeremie Laurent at the St Louis Hospital and is supported by AdBio partners, M Ventures, Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JJDC Inc, and Bpifrance Large Venture. Astraveus is a member of the FrenchTech2030, a program by La French Tech, granting support from high ranking French institutions like the Secretariat General Pour l'Investissement, BPIFrance, and for healthcare companies, of the Agence de l'Innovation en Sante. www.astraveus.com View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/highly-experienced-cdmo-expert-michel-spagnol-appointed-chairman-of-astraveus-301998193.html STOCKHOLM, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Software company Idun has developed ProptechOS, an operating system for building data, in close collaboration with key players in the real estate industry, notably with Vasakronan as a key client and investor. Idun is now entering its next phase, and today announced the closure of a round of funding led by Software-as-a-Service investor Partinc. ProptechOS has been on the market since 2019 and boasts users in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Germany, and the USA. The real estate industry is only beginning to embrace digitalization, which holds immense potential for optimizing resource usage across various domains, such as energy consumption, operations, and utilization while enhancing client experiences. Access to data and the ability to scale solutions cost-effectively are crucial in this development. "Until now, we have collaborated with our clients to develop ProptechOS into a useful product, following the principles of other cloud platforms. Almost all our clients are rapidly transitioning from pilot to wide production. This makes it the right time to introduce new shareholders, and Partinc brings impressive expertise in scaling SaaS companies internationally," says Per Karlberg, co-founder and CEO of Idun. ProptechOS is a SaaS platform built on the open standard RealEstateCore, facilitating the integration of all applications within the PropTech world. This ensures property owners are future-proofed, as they only need to build a single integration with ProptechOS, rather than integrating each application with every individual system in their properties. Furthermore, the platform makes it cost-effective to add, improve, or replace PropTech solutions at scale. "Growing ProptechOS in collaboration with the company's founders and Vasakronan will be immensely intriguing. We see significant potential in ProptechOS's offerings, given that the market is virtually limitless. Additionally, it is great that Partinc, through ProptechOS, can contribute to reducing environmental impact in the real estate industry, one of the world's largest industries," concludes Per Nordling, founder and partner at Partinc. Contact Information: Per Karlberg, Founder and CEO at ProptechOS (Idun Real Estate Solutions AB) Email: per@proptechos.com, Phone: +46(0)704-93 23 61 Per Nordling, Founder and Partner at Partinc Email: per.nordling@partinccapital.com, Phone: +46(0)733-50 79 21 About Idun and ProptechOS: Idun is a Swedish software company developing ProptechOS, an IoT platform that collects real-time data from building management systems, BIM, business data, and IoT devices, harmonizes it, contextualizes it, and makes it available to building owners, building operators, facility managers, and end users. The platform allows for the use of PropTech apps on buildings for optimization purposes and is configured to scale with your growth using ProptechOS' application ecosystem. ProptechOS optimizes energy use, presence analytics, environmental certification, predictive maintenance, and other innovative use cases. About Partinc: Partinc is a European investment firm specializing in SaaS companies that offer software services within the B2B segment. As an active investor, Partinc works closely with its portfolio companies, primarily in the Nordic and Benelux countries. The company maintains offices in Sweden and the Netherlands. For more information, visit: www.partinccapital.com For other media inquiries, contact: ProptechOS Dr. Erik Wallin, Chief Ecosystem Officer Nybrogatan 8 114 34 Stockholm, Sweden Phone: +46 70 412 49 00 Mail: erik.wallin@proptechos.com Website: www.proptechos.com The following files are available for download: https://mb.cision.com/Main/21167/3883452/2458241.pdf Press release Idun Partinc funding https://news.cision.com/partinc-capital/i/idun-logotype-rgb,c3243270 Idun-logotype-RGB https://news.cision.com/partinc-capital/i/founders,c3243271 Founders https://news.cision.com/partinc-capital/i/proptechos-logotype-rgb,c3243272 ProptechOS-logotype-RGB View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/idun-closes-funding-round-led-by-saas-investor-partinc-301998868.html Issuer: Apartmentservice / Key word(s): Expansion/Real Estate London and Berlin remain top markets for serviced apartments in Europe - Several hidden champions among Germany's smaller cities - White paper by Apartmentservice and Union Investment 28.11.2023 / 09:51 CET/CEST The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Hamburg/Berlin, 28 November 2023. Serviced apartments have been one of the fastest growing segments in the German and European hospitality market for more than 20 years. They benefit from megatrends such as urbanisation, individualisation and digitisation, from growing target groups for stays of between one night and six months, and also from their lean operating structures. The largest European markets include the UK in top slot, followed by Germany and France. There are currently 50,200 serviced apartments in Germany alone, with a pipeline of 24.5% up to the end of 2026 (as at 31 October 2023, Apartmentservice). A recently published white paper, entitled "Analysis of market potential for serviced apartments", offers investors, developers and operators a detailed insight into the best locations across the serviced apartment segment in Germany and Europe. On behalf of Union Investment, Apartmentservice analysed a total of 40 cities, mainly German primary to quaternary cities, plus selected major European cities, based on demand for overnight stays and the current local supply situation for this type of accommodation. "Our white paper shows that the opportunities in the segment remain enormous. The combination of compelling business performance by serviced apartment operators and the very high potential indicated by the survey in many locations will ensure dynamic future growth in the segment," said Henrik von Bothmer, head of Operated Living at Union Investment. From Berlin to Wurzburg Even (indeed especially) in Berlin and Munich, the largest German serviced apartment markets in terms of numbers, there is still significant or strong potential for developing additional units. Berlin is well out in front among German cities here, with only 40% market coverage. Total potential for around 41,500 serviced apartment units was identified in Germany across all the cities surveyed. The twelve most attractive primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary cities were analysed in more detail, including hidden champions such as Hanover, Wurzburg and Munster. "Our analysis reveals that serviced apartments now work in any location where large companies are based and the housing supply is low or there are few modern hotels," explained Anett Gregorius, founder and owner of Apartmentservice. "Locations with a monofocus are exceptions to this rule, together with primary to quaternary locations that have grown too fast in recent years and are now showing signs of saturation, as likewise identified in the white paper." From London to Berlin In a European comparison of market potential, London has the largest supply of serviced apartments and also the greatest development potential across all 40 cities analysed, followed by Paris, Madrid and 4th-placed Berlin. With almost 6,300 serviced apartments, Vienna has the second-largest number of any city after London, but at the same time offers significantly less potential than comparable primary cities. The "Analysis of market potential for serviced apartments" white paper is now available free of charge via this link . Media contacts: Apartmentservice Wolfgang Ludwig, Ludwig Medien & Kommunikation Tel.: +49 221 2921 9282, Mobile: +49 171 93 35 134, E-mail: mail@ludwig-km.de Union Investment Astrid Lipsky, Manager, Marketing/Communication Tel.: + 49 40 34919 4923 E-mail: astrid.lipsky@union-investment.de About Apartmentservice: Expert, pioneer, thought leader, consultant, booking platform, publisher - providing a 360 view of the serviced apartment segment. Apartmentservice has been an established industry player since 2001. It advises investors, developers and operators on new developments, prepares feasibility studies, and collects and publishes key figures annually on the segment in Germany. At apartmentservice.de, the first booking platform for serviced apartments, Apartmentservice also lists more than 120 destinations in Germany and around the world. Once a year, Apartmentservice organises the SO!APART conference, which has become the leading industry gathering in the German-speaking countries since it was first held in 2013. The company has been publishing trade magazine SO!APART insight since 2021 as an in-depth digital medium for all major players in the serviced apartment and micro-living sector. About Union Investment: Union Investment has stood for reliability, sustainability and a strong focus on high-quality asset and investment management for over 55 years. With assets under management currently totalling around EUR 57 billion across open-ended real estate funds, special funds and service and pooling mandates, Union Investment is one of Europe's biggest providers of real estate solutions for private and institutional investors. The company invests in the office, retail, catering, logistics and residential asset classes, with a portfolio comprising around 500 properties in 26 countries worldwide. Since 2017, Union Investment has also been investing in micro-living properties and serviced apartments at key locations in Europe. Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by EQS News - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. The EQS Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Archive at www.eqs-news.com Key news highlights: Mowilex completed its pledge to plant 50,000 mangrove trees, establishing 25,000 trees in West Kalimantan after planting 25,000 others in Bali, North Sumatra and Belitung. The Kupah River plantings in, West Kalimantan supported the work of Rudi Hartono, a young environmental hero who won KLHK's 2022 Kalpataru Award. The mangroves will support local communities while preventing beach erosion, controlling flooding, storing carbon and providing habitat along the Kupah River. JAKARTA, Indonesia, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- PT Mowilex Indonesia (Mowilex), a leading producer of premium paints and wood coatings, has planted 25,000 mangrove trees at Sungai Kupah, West Kalimantan. The project, finished in October, supported local eco-pioneer Rudi Hartono's work and completed a Mowilex sustainability commitment pledge to plant 50,000 trees. Previous plantings took place in Bali, North Sumatra and Belitung. Mowilex partnered with environmental hero Rudi Hartono to plant 25,000 mangrove trees that will protect the environment and generate income for residents of Kupah River Village, West Kalimantan. Rudi Hartono was a natural choice for a Mowilex partnership. The young advocate won the Indonesia Ministry of Environment and Forestry's (KLHK) 2022 Kalpataru Award, which recognizes individuals leading ongoing environmental projects in their communities. Hartono is committed to planting and protecting mangrove forests in the Kupah River area. Researchers estimate that at least 35% of global mangrove forests were lost between 1980 and 2000, including many along the Kupah River in West Kalimantan. Some trees are cleared to accommodate shrimp farms. Others are cut for building materials or charcoal briquettes. Mangroves store vast amounts of carbon and provide a natural defence against flooding, typhoons and beach erosion. They also naturally filter nitrates and phosphates. Deforestation has led to seawater flooding in Kupah River Village. By supporting Hartono's mangrove replanting efforts, Mowilex helps to protect beaches, decrease flood risk, and create new habitat for fish, birds and other creatures. "Kupah River Village is very grateful for Mowilex's support to plant 25,000 mangrove seedlings. This is an investment to save the environment, and also a community income source - from residents selling mangrove seedlings, soap made from mangroves, and natural products such as shrimp, crabs and fish, which the community can process into chips," says Hartono. "Mowilex has achieved carbon neutrality for four consecutive years by reducing emissions on a per-tonnage output basis and through offsets. Still, that is not enough. Measuring the real environmental impact of industrial activity is far more complex," says Niko Safavi, CEO of PT Mowilex Indonesia. "Our efforts must also address community needs. Fulfilling our tree-planting commitment provides long-term community support beyond carbon reduction efforts." Before completing the West Kalimantan project, Mowilex also planted 5,000 mangroves near the Tukad Mati River in Bali, 10,000 mangroves in Pasar Rawa Village, Langkat, North Sumatra, and 10,000 mangroves in Juru Seberang Village, Belitung. Each project now enhances local ecosystems and benefits surrounding communities. Mowilex became Indonesia's first certified carbon neutral manufacturer in 2019, and it's on track to receive a fifth consecutive certification in 2023. Learn more about Mowilex ESG programs and products at Mowilex.com. About PT Mowilex Indonesia PT Mowilex Indonesia (Mowilex), a subsidiary of Asia Coatings Enterprises, Pte. Ltd., is a leading producer of premium paints and coatings. Since launching the first Indonesian-made, water-based paints in 1970, the company has expanded its commitment to environmental ethics, equality, community and innovation. PT Mowilex is Indonesia's only certified carbon neutral manufacturer, producing zero and low VOC paints in modern colours, and the company regularly wins awards for its corporate social responsibility and sustainability efforts. media@mowilex.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2283449/NFP_4611.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/mowilex-completes-its-pledge-to-plant-50-000-mangrove-trees-by-establishing-25-000-trees-in-west-kalimantan-while-supporting-local-environmental-hero-301995588.html HSINCHU, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Spirox Corporation (TWSE: 3055) and its subsidiary, Southport Corporation, launch the industry-first JadeSiC-NK non-destructive defect inspection system. JadeSiC-NK employs state-of-the-art non-linear optical technology for whole-wafer scanning of SiC substrates to identify killer defects. It substitutes the current high-cost, destructive KOH (potassium hydroxide) etching method, leading to increased production yields and process improvement. Calculating based on the need to etch two substrates for each SiC ingot in the KOH process, JadeSiC-NK can save approximately $7.68 million in annual costs incurred due to etching losses for a substrate manufacturer with 100 crystal growth furnaces. The quality of substrate materials determines the reliability and performance of SiC chips. However, the number of defects and distributions of the substrate crystal can only be inspected by sampling with mathematic interpolation when using the destructive KOH etching method. If SiC substrate manufacturers can implement non-destructive inspection of materials in the manufacturing process, it will not only reduce the usage of harmful chemical solutions associated with KOH etching but also allows for the early detection of defects. General Manager of Southport, Jay Wang, says "Traditional optical technologies can only detect surface non-crystalline defects. JadeSiC-NK allows for a whole-wafer surface scan to a specific depth to efficiently identify killer defects (BPD, TSD, MicroPipe, Stacking Fault). In comparison to KOH etching method, JadeSiC-NK can significantly save inspection time and substrate costs. Furthermore, JadeSiC-NK enables a 100% wafer inspection for the same ingot, facilitating detailed ingot analysis and batch traceability analysis which will assist customers in process and yield optimization. Dr. Hao-Chung Kuo, Chair Professor of the Department of Optoelectronic Engineering at Taiwan NYCU, says "Applying non-linear optical technology, JadeSiC-NK is expected to break through the current industry's technical bottlenecks in process improvement. It is hoped that JadeSiC-NK establishes industry standards for SiC substrate inspection, becoming a leading brand in the industry for non-linear optical technology and lead continuous innovation and breakthroughs in field applications." CEO of Spirox, Paul Yang, says "Spirox has been continuously enlarging its investment to develop solutions to fulfill customer needs. With Southport, Spirox expands our product portfolio from semiconductor testing equipment to optical inspection. The initial focus is on the highly promising defect inspection of compound semiconductor materials. Besides applying non-linear optical technology in the newly launched JadeSiC-NK, Spirox plans to accelerate the commercialization of advanced optical inspection technologies in areas such as MicroLED, metamaterial, silicon photonics, etc., in the future." Ken Tai, Chairman of Taiwan Photonics Industry & Technology Development Association, says "It's a great pleasure to see two Taiwanese companies creating synergy through a mutually beneficial collaboration, generating tremendous value for the industry. JadeSiC-NK represents a groundbreaking technological breakthrough. It's not only a revolutionary product for the booming global compound semiconductor industry, capable of significantly reducing costs and increasing production capacity, but also showcases Taiwan's technological leadership with Spirox and Southport as representatives." Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2286948/Spirox_and_Southport_Launch_Industry_first_Non_Destructive_SiC_Defect_In.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/spirox-and-southport-launch-industry-first-non-destructive-sic-defect-inspection-system-saving-significant-costs-and-increasing-output-301998873.html New integration scales and simplifies data access control, enabling organizations to get more value from their Amazon S3 data LONDON, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Immuta , a data security leader, today announced a new native integration between the Immuta Data Security Platform and object storage service Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) . This integration provides customers with streamlined data access control and security across storage and compute platforms using Amazon S3 Access Grants, a new Amazon S3 access control feature that enables customers to manage data permissions at scale for user identities managed by corporate directories. Amazon S3 is an object storage service from Amazon Web Services (AWS) that offers industry-leading durability, scalability, availability, and security, enabling data and security teams to unlock even more value from their Amazon S3 data, reduce costs, and increase efficiency. Amazon S3 stores more than 350 trillion objects with over 100 million requests per second to process a multitude of workloads including artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics. Organizations need a simple, scalable, centralized solution that consistently enforces access control and protects data across data stacks, while maintaining compliance with internal and external regulations. With Immuta's Data Security Platform and Amazon S3's new Access Grants feature, users can centralize access control management, and leverage attribute-based access controls (ABAC) to grant permissions for objects in Amazon S3 storage. Immuta builds on Amazon S3 controls, increasing efficiencies with fewer policies and lower manual effort, reducing operational costs and opening up new revenue streams. The Amazon S3 integration also helps US government agencies protect sensitive data hosted in the AWS GovCloud (US) Regions . "The amount of data Amazon S3 can store and retrieve is truly impressive. So is the number of platforms that manage and analyze data from Amazon S3 every day - from Databricks and Snowflake, to Amazon Redshift and Amazon EMR. Because of this, Amazon S3 access control is paramount due to the sheer amount of data that moves through the service," said Steve Touw, CTO, Immuta. "Immuta helps simplify data access and security for data stored in Amazon S3 so users can more safely leverage that data for their analytics and AI initiatives. This, paired with Immuta's 'write once, apply everywhere' policy approach, helps customers democratize and increase data usage while still adhering to global regulations." As part of this new integration, joint customers have access to the following key features: Plain-language policy builder reduces the need to manually code AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) policies and Amazon S3 access controls. reduces the need to manually code AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) policies and Amazon S3 access controls. Scalable attribute-based access control supports more use cases and users, and includes a metadata-driven approach to policy logic management to further boost efficiency. supports more use cases and users, and includes a metadata-driven approach to policy logic management to further boost efficiency. Consistent access controls and policies across expanding data stacks includes support for Amazon S3, Amazon Redshift, Snowflake, Databricks, and Starburst (Trino). across expanding data stacks includes support for Amazon S3, Amazon Redshift, Snowflake, Databricks, and Starburst (Trino). Access to Apache Spark for Amazon EMR, and other AWS services through Amazon S3 Access Grants provides scalable, attribute-based access control for file reads and table access in Spark jobs. "By leveraging this new release from Immuta that integrates with Amazon S3 Access Grants, we envision a single control plane for Booking.com data owners and governors to manage access at scale for all Amazon S3 resources ingested into our data lake (both structured and unstructured)," said Luca Falsina, Principal Software Engineer at Booking.com. "Moreover, as this integration is based on a new Amazon S3 native access control capability, it gives us confidence that controls will be enforced consistently, no matter which technology data consumers will choose to access the data." To learn more about Immuta's new integration with Amazon S3, click here . About Immuta Immuta enables organizations to unlock value from their cloud data by protecting it and providing secure access. The Immuta Data Security Platform provides sensitive data discovery, security and access control, data activity monitoring, and has deep integrations with the leading cloud data platforms. Immuta is now trusted by Fortune 500 companies and government agencies around the world to secure their data. Founded in 2015, Immuta is headquartered in Boston, MA. To learn more about Immuta, click here . Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2214111/Immuta_v1_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/immuta-announces-new-integration-between-its-data-security-platform-and-amazon-s3-access-grants-301998313.html Press Release Eviden and Amazon Web Services (AWS) create new collaborationto accelerate creation of AI-driven, secure and sustainable industry solutions on AWS Marketplace Paris, France - November 28, 2023 - Eviden, the Atos Groupbusiness leading in digital, cloud, big data and security, today announces a new Strategic Collaboration Agreement (SCA) with Amazon Web Services (AWS). Building on a 12-year history, the SCA is a joint commitment for Eviden and AWS to deliver a multi-facetted program of solutions, consultancy and innovation support to help customers quickly access critical expertise for cloud and AI transformation projects and increase their time to value. Through the SCA data-driven solutions will be created to tackle business challenges specific to key verticals including Financial Services, Automotive and Manufacturing, Energy & Utilities, Health Care and Life Sciences, and the Public Sector. Leveraging the power of AWS Marketplace, Eviden will build and host their entire portfolio of industry solutions and accelerators on AWS to provide customers with a simple mechanism to curate end-to-end solutions and services, accelerating digital transformation and speed to value. AWS and Eviden will enable Eviden's customers to co-create new data, AI-driven and secured industry solutions benefiting from Eviden's expertise spanning AI, modernization, security and net zero transformation. Joint investment will include a new AWS Innovation Studio in Pune, India, offering Eviden's customers a unique opportunity to accelerate innovation and modernization, with direct access to AWS technologies and Eviden experts. One of these customers is Carrier Global Corporation, global provider of sustainable home, building, and refrigeration solutions. "Carrier has teamed up with Eviden to help accelerate digital capabilities related to dashboards and reporting and as a GTM (Go-To-Market) collaborator to facilitate the introduction of our digital solutions to the market. Our collaboration with Eviden and AWS empowers us to meet the growing needs of our customers and offer our solutions seamlessly with Eviden integration services available on the AWS Marketplace. This collaboration serves as a new channel for us, facilitating broader accessibility to our solutions." Said Tim Johnson, Head of Digital Alliances, Carrier Global Corporation. This collaboration will leverage Eviden's dedicated AWS Business Group, which has longstanding experience in working with AWS and has demonstrated business excellence in developing solutions for its customers, and serves clients across the globe, like OCC, RheinEnergie, Safranand Keyloop. The collaboration will also include joint go-to-market activities along with the training and enablement for Eviden's teams to achieve an additional 10,000 AWS certifications over the next 5 years. Eviden, with Atos, has also recently been recognized as the Winner of the GSI Partner of the Year for North America,a Finalist of the GSI Partner of the Year for Asia-Pacific-Japanand Eviden is a Finalist for GSI Security Partner of the Year - Global. Tanuja Randery, VP EMEA and Eviden Exec Sponsor at AWS, said: "We are delighted to build upon the 12-year relationship with AWS Premier Partner, Eviden. This transformative collaboration means AWS can bring the highest level of security, net zero transformation and data and AI-driven cloud native expertise to an even wider audience with Eviden, significantly accelerating the pace of global cloud adoption. I am excited by Eviden's focus on the co-creation of new AWS industry accelerators and solutions with Eviden's customers that will be complemented by AWS ISV partners available through the AWS marketplace. Michael Liebow, Global Head of Cloud at Eviden, Atos Group, said: "We are thrilled about this agreement with AWS and excited about co-developing new industry solutions, bringing innovation to some of the major industry sectors. The AWS Marketplace is front and center of our cloud strategy and as a cloud-native company, we want to bring these benefits to our customers." *** About Eviden1 Evidenis a next-gen technology leader in data-driven, trusted and sustainable digital transformation with a strong portfolio of patented technologies. With worldwide leading positions in advanced computing, security, AI, cloud and digital platforms, it provides deep expertise for all industries in more than 47 countries. Bringing together 53,000 world-class talents, Eviden expands the possibilities of data and technology across the digital continuum, now and for generations to come. Eviden is an Atos Group company with an annual revenue of c. 5 billion. About Atos Atosis a global leader in digital transformation with 105,000 employees and annual revenue of c. 11 billion. European number one in cybersecurity, cloud and high-performance computing, the Group provides tailored end-to-end solutions for all industries in 69 countries. A pioneer in decarbonization services and products, Atos is committed to a secure and decarbonized digital for its clients. Atos is a SE (Societas Europaea), and listed on Euronext Paris. The purpose of Atosis to help design the future of the information space. Its expertise and services support the development of knowledge, education and research in a multicultural approach and contribute to the development of scientific and technological excellence. Across the world, the Group enables its customers and employees, and members of societies at large to live, work and develop sustainably, in a safe and secure information space. Press contact Laura Fau - laura.fau@atos.net- +33 (0) 6 73 64 04 18 1 Eviden business is operated through the following brands: AppCentrica, ATHEA, Cloudamize, Cloudreach, Cryptovision, DataSentics, Edifixio, Energy4U, Engage ESM, Evidian, Forensik, IDEAL GRP, In Fidem, Ipsotek, Maven Wave, Profit4SF, SEC Consult, Visual BI, Worldgrid, X-Perion. Eviden is a registered trademark. Eviden SAS, 2023. Attachment Clean Invest Africa Plc - Issue of Convertible Loan Notes PR Newswire LONDON, United Kingdom, November 28 Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 until the release of this announcement. 28 November 2023 Clean Invest Africa plc ("Clean Invest Africa" or the "Company") Issue of Convertible Loan Notes Clean Invest Africa Plc (AQSE: CIA), the Aquis Growth Market quoted clean technology and renewable energy investment company, is pleased to announce that it has issued unsecured convertible loan notes for a total of 127,066 (the "CLNs"). The CLNs have an annual interest coupon rate of 8%, payable either in cash or in ordinary shares of the Company at sole discretion of the Investors, on a six month basis, at a conversion rate of 0.35 pence per share. The CLNs principal amount matures on 31stDecember 2024 and are convertible then at the option of the holder into 36,304,571 ordinary shares of 0.25p each in the Company ("Ordinary Shares") at a price of 0.35 pence per share. Both the CLNs and the coupon also carry the equivalent of one Warrants for every two Ordinary Share resulting from the conversions each with an exercise price of 1p and valid for a period of 3 years from grant. The CLNs have been raised through Bahrain Energy Services WLL, an entity controlled equally by Non-Executive Chairman, Shaikh Mohamed Abdulla Khalifa Alkhalifa and Chief Executive Officer Filippo Fantechi. The funds raised as a result of the issue of the CLNs will be used to provide additional working capital for the Company. Filippo Fantechi, Chief Executive Officer & Director of Clean Invest Africa plc and CEO of CoalTech Limited, commented "By participating in this fund raising the investors have shown their confidence in the Company. The operating business, CoalTech Limited, continues to have bright prospects particularly through international expansion and we will update shareholders as events unfold." The directors of the Company accept responsibility for the contents of this announcement. ENQUIRIES: Company Clean Invest Africa PLC Filippo Fantechi, Director Telephone: +973 3969 6273 Corporate Adviser Peterhouse Capital Limited Guy Miller/Mark Anwyl Telephone: 020 7220 9795 Notification and public disclosure of transactions by persons discharging managerial responsibilities and persons closely associated with them. 1 Details of the person discharging managerial responsibilities / person closely associated a) Name Shaikh Mohamed Abdulla Khalifa Alkhalifa 2 Reason for the notification a) Position/status Non-executive Chairman of Clean Invest Africa, Plc b) Initial notification /Amendment Initial 3 Details of the issuer, emission allowance market participant, auction platform, auctioneer or auction monitor a) Name Clean Invest Africa, Plc b) LEI 21380018O4YRPUEJUS57 4 Details of the transaction(s): section to be repeated for (i) each type of instrument; (ii) each type of transaction; (iii) each date; and (iv) each place where transactions have been conducted a) Description of the financial instrument, type of instrumentIdentification code Ordinary Shares of 0.25 pence eachISIN: GB00BF52QX07 b) Nature of the transaction Capital Raise via CLNs c) Price(s) and volume(s) Convertible Loan Notes into 18,152,286 Ordinary Shares at 0.35 pence per share d) Aggregated information- Aggregated volume- Price N/A (single transaction) e) Date of the transaction 24 November 2023 f) Place of the transaction AQSE Growth Market HONG KONG, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Meituan (HKG: 3690) (the "Company"), a leading technology-driven retail company in China, today announced the unaudited consolidated results of the Company for the three months ended September 30, 2023 . Company Financial Highlights During the third quarter of 2023, our revenues increased by 22.1% to RMB76.5 billion from RMB62.6 billion for the same period of 2022. Our adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net profit increased on a year-over-year basis to RMB6.2 billion and RMB5.7 billion for this quarter, increasing by 28.9% and 62.4% respectively. We also achieved operating cash inflow of RMB11.2 billion for the third quarter of 2023. We held cash and cash equivalents of RMB25.1 billion and short-term treasury investments of RMB108.5 billion as of September 30, 2023 . "We continued to innovate by introducing the Everything Now lifestyle to consumers and further facilitated industrial digital transformation. We have expanded the service scope that consumers can enjoy on our platform and further diversified our product formats," said Meituan Founder and CEO Xing Wang . "We intend to play an active role in enhancing the industry ecosystem, create more job opportunities, and help stimulate consumption. Looking ahead, we will continue to focus on our 'Retail + Technology' corporate strategy and 'Help people eat better, live better'," added Mr. Wang. Meituan CFO Shaohui Chen said, "During the quarter, our businesses delivered resilient growth, setting new records across multiple performance metrics. Our confidence in the long-term potential of our core business remains intact. These businesses have proven their resilience and strong adaptability over the past decade, and we believe our experiences and strong execution capabilities will equip us to confront challenges, strengthen our competitive moats and capitalize on new opportunities in the future. Meanwhile, we will continue to pursue high-growth strategies for our new initiatives and continuously improve operating efficiency." Company Business Highlights Core Local Commerce For the third quarter of 2023, segment revenue increased by 24.5% year over year to RMB57.7 billion . Operating profit increased by 8.3% year over year to RMB10.1 billion with operating margin stood at 17.5%. The solid growth of food delivery operating profit was partially offset by the decline of in-store, hotel & travel operating profit on year-over-year basis. During the third quarter, the number of On-demand Delivery transactions increased by 23.0% year over year. Food delivery maintained strong growth momentum with peak daily order volume reaching a new record of 78 million, doubled from three years ago. We enhanced our understanding of consumer needs while also empowered merchants with digital operations, which further unlocked consumption potential. The scale of medium- and high-frequency user base as well as their purchase frequency continued to grow rapidly. We iterated our membership program and offered different sizes of coupon packages to boost transaction frequency. We continued to strengthen consumer mindshare across scenarios. For instance, we achieved over 21 million milk tea orders during this year's milk tea marketing campaign, demonstrating the vast potential of the afternoon tea category. We also witnessed strong growth in late-night snacks leveraging our marketing and subsidy strategies during the summer. In addition, "Pin Hao Fan" onboarded more high-quality supply at affordable price to better satisfy consumer demand for low-price meals. Our campaigns to promote mega-hit products, such as "Shen Qiang Shou", not only cultivated consumer behavior to watch live streaming and transact on Meituan, but also helped merchants accumulate customers and enhance brand image. For Time-honored Brands, we launched dedicated live streaming sessions to unlock their growth potentials. For the broader merchants, we also introduced new customer management tools that help them grow customer base and revenue. Through these efforts, we further expanded the diversity and improved the quality of our platform's supply. Moreover, as the population of flexible employment grows, we provide job opportunities for more couriers and continue to enhance their welfare and work experience. During the third quarter, Meituan Instashopping demonstrated another stellar growth with order volume, merchant base and user base all increasing notably. In August, Meituan Instashopping's daily order volume peaked at over 13 million. This development was supported by the growing number of users across city tiers, especially in the lower-tier cities. Purchase frequency growth from core users also accelerated. Consumers now use our service in a wider range of timeframes and consumption scenarios. On the merchant side, we facilitated the digitization of small- and medium-sized merchants, and partnered with nearly 400 brands. As a result, annual Active Merchants grew by 30% year over year in the third quarter. Retailers increasingly diversified their SKU offerings to better fit the on-demand retail channel, expanding the LBS products on our platform. Meituan InstaMarts, now surpassing 5,000, effectively supplements traditional offline supply. During the third quarter, non-food categories such as electronics, home appliances, and beauty products continued to lead the growth. We believe that on-demand retail will continue to drive consumption expansion and empower offline merchants, and we remain confident in the growth potential and our leading position of Meituan Instashopping. The in-store, hotel & travel business continued to grow robustly, with GTV increasing by over 90% year over year in the third quarter. Quarterly Active Merchants grew by over 50% year over year, and quarterly Transacting Users also increased substantially. We solidified our competitive advantage in the shelf-based model, and leveraged short-form videos and live streaming to promote mega-hit products. For the in-store business, monthly GTV grew robustly to a new high in August. We expanded our cost-effective product offerings and offered more engaging contents. We leverage our in-depth understanding of consumer demand, LBS features, and product capabilities to incentivize online transactions. Our live streaming sessions also effectively attract nearby consumers with specific consumption needs. We expanded our geographical coverage of Meituan Platform live streaming to over 200 cities, featuring more merchants and products during holiday seasons. The number of live streaming sessions increased substantially, contributing to a larger GTV mix. We also enhanced our service offerings and AI tools to reduce entry barriers for merchants to do live streaming on our platform. In addition, transaction volumes of Special Deals continued to grow as more merchants participated and offered high-quality, cost-effective products. We further optimized traffic allocation for Special Deals and reinforced consumer mindshare in seeking value-for-money purchases on Meituan. During the summer holidays and the National Day Golden Week, we proactively launched a variety of marketing events, such as "Online Beauty Expo" and "Must-Eat Festival". These events helped promote mega-hit products across broad categories and sparked significant consumer interests and consumption. For example, during the "Must-Eat Festival", we encouraged merchants to offer "Must-Eat Set Meals", and hosted offline events to boost in-store dining consumption at nearby shopping centers. Our hotel and travel business maintained robust growth trajectory in the third quarter. GTV and room nights grew significantly compared to the same period of both 2022 and 2019. During the summer peak season, we closely followed consumption trends, diversified our product offerings, and enhanced our pricing competitiveness, to effectively satisfy the evolving demand. After launching the "Stay For More" brand last quarter, we further enriched our "Hotel + X" packaged deals in the third quarter. In August, we released the latest "Must-Stay List", featuring a selection of over 900 hotels. We expanded our promotional efforts through live streaming and joint-marketing collaborations with high-star hotel chains, while for small- and medium-sized hotels, we helped them with traffic acquisition, room renovation, and marketing promotions. For alternative accommodations, room nights also grew robustly. During this quarter, we improved our platform's self-service capabilities, to help consumers make better-informed decision and enhance hosts' operating efficiency. New Initiatives For the third quarter of 2023, revenues from the New initiatives segment increased by 15.3% year over year to RMB18.8 billion . Operating loss for the segment decreased by 24.5% year over year to RMB5.1 billion, and operating margin improved sequentially to negative 27.2%. For Meituan Select, macro headwind and consumption behavior changes continued to weigh on its growth, and the business incurred significant operating losses in the third quarter. However, operating loss margin further narrowed both on year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter basis. We maintained our market position, strengthened our product and pricing capabilities, and provided more cost-effective selections for consumers. We also enhanced our delivery efficiency, thanks to an optimization in logistics network and an increase in high-quality pick-up stations. By September-end, we had accumulated 490 million Meituan Select transacting users, allowing us to cross-sell other products and services. In addition to business development, we are committed to creating more social value. For example, we help farmers increase income, facilitate the circulation of agricultural products, and help millions of small business owners earn higher income. Meituan Grocery delivered strong GTV growth this quarter. It has now become the preferred choice for many consumers, as user base, purchase frequency, and average order value all increased steadily. We solidified our pricing advantage, optimized logistics network and improved supply chain efficiency. We also diversified our product offerings and leveraged holiday promotions to satisfy broader demand from consumers. Moreover, our continuous improvement in private labels ensured that our consumers can access more high-quality items with guaranteed supply. The consumption environment continued to recover steadily since the beginning of this year, as a series of macro policies that aim to facilitate economic growth were introduced. We are dedicated to providing consumers with better and more diverse products, helping merchants improve efficiency and generate more income, creating job opportunities for millions of couriers, enhancing the industry ecosystem, and helping incentivize consumption. Looking ahead, we will continue to focus on our "Retail + Technology" corporate strategy and empower the retail industry by using technological innovations, and "Help people eat better, live better". For the full announcement of Meituan for the three months ended September 30, 2023, please visit: http://media-meituan.todayir.com/20231128164002589810981797_en.pdf About Meituan Meituan (HKG: 3690) (the "Company") is a leading technology-driven retail company in China . With the mission of "We help people eat better, live better," the Company uses technology to connect consumers and merchants. Service offerings on its platform address people's daily needs for food and retail goods and extend further to broad lifestyle and travel services. Meituan is the world's leading on-demand food delivery service provider and China's leading e-commerce platform for in-store dining services. Meituan helps consumers discover merchant information, make informed decisions, complete online and offline transactions and enjoy on-demand delivery. The Company currently owns several household brands in China, including Meituan, China's leading online marketplace for services, Dianping, China's leading online destination for discovering local services, Meituan Waimai for on-demand delivery services, and Meituan Bikes for bike-sharing services. The Company operates in over 2,800 cities and counties in China . Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to the business outlook, forecast business plans and growth strategies of the Company. These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to the Company and are stated herein on the basis of the outlook at the time of this press release. They are based on certain expectations, assumptions and premises, some of which are subjective or beyond our control. These forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect and may not be realized in future. Underlying the forward-looking statements is a large number of risks and uncertainties. Further information regarding these risks and uncertainties is included in our other public disclosure documents on our corporate website. For media inquiries, please contact: Meituan [email protected] [email protected] ICR Inc. Email: MeituanPR@icrinc.com SOURCE Meituan DUBLIN, Ireland, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SEAtS Software, a leading provider of student success solutions, is proud to announce the global availability of their stand-alone mitigating & special circumstances solution. This solution is designed to help higher education institutions manage the increasing volume and complexity of mitigating and special circumstances applications from students. Mitigating and special circumstances are situations that affect a student's ability to perform academically, such as illness, bereavement, or personal issues. These situations require a fair and transparent process to assess the impact on the student's grades and provide appropriate support and adjustments. However, many institutions are struggling to cope with the surge of mitigating and special circumstances applications due to the pandemic and other factors. They rely on outdated and inefficient methods, such as web forms, spreadsheets, or email, to handle these applications. These methods lack consistency, visibility, feedback, and evidence capture. They also create a lot of administrative burden and frustration for both staff and students. With SEAtS Software's stand-alone mitigating and special circumstances solution, institutions can: - Improve the student experience by providing a clear, consistent, and compassionate process for handling their applications. - Enhance staff efficiency by reducing the manual work and errors involved in managing these applications. - Increase student retention and success by identifying and supporting students who are at risk of dropping out or underperforming due to special circumstances. - Demonstrate the institutional quality and reputation by showing a commitment to fairness, equity, and transparency in dealing with these situations. This toolset offers: - A user-friendly interface that allows students to submit their applications online, upload supporting documents, track their progress, and receive timely feedback. - A case-driven workflow that automates the approval process, assigns tasks to relevant staff, sends notifications and reminders, and also records all actions and decisions. - A dashboard that provides an overview of all applications, their status, outcomes, and impact on student success metrics. - A reporting module that generates insights and analytics on the trends, patterns, and issues related to mitigating circumstances. - A compliance module that ensures adherence to institutional policies and regulations, as well as data protection and privacy standards. Some additional features added to the solution since its launch include the ability for student applications to be automatically assigned to a specific contact group or email domain within the institution. This removes the risk of applications falling through the cracks, improves staff processing times and reduces student anxiety from waiting. The University of Roehampton in London, a long-term adopter of SEAtS Student Success Solutions, has recently implemented the new system. When asked about the benefits of the new solution, Roehampton COO Tom Rowson said, "We are delighted to partner with SEAtS Software to implement their innovative mitigating circumstances software at the University of Roehampton. This software will enable us to streamline the process of managing and approving mitigating circumstances requests from our students, ensuring that they receive timely and fair outcomes. It will also help us to monitor and analyse the impact of mitigating circumstances on student retention, progression and attainment, and to identify and support students who may be at risk of academic failure or withdrawal." On the release of the new solution, SEAtS CEO Noel Dooley commented, "We are proud to announce the launch of our new mitigating circumstances solution, which will help universities and colleges manage student requests for extensions, deferrals, and special considerations in a fair and transparent way. This solution is part of our vision to provide innovative and effective education solutions that enhance student success, retention, and satisfaction. SEAtS Software is committed to supporting the education industry with cutting-edge technology and best practices that empower educators and learners alike." SEAtS Software's stand-alone mitigating and special circumstances solution is available now for institutions of any size and type. It can be deployed quickly and easily, without requiring any integration with existing systems or data sources. It can also be customized to suit the specific needs and preferences of each institution. To learn more about SEAtS Software's stand-alone mitigating and special circumstances solution, visit www.seatssoftware.com/mitigating-circumstancesor contact us at info@seatssoftware.com High-integrity voluntary carbon markets are critical to increase flow of private sector climate finance. VCMI releases 'Carbon Integrity' Claims Branding and Monitoring, Reporting and Assurance (MRA) Framework; enables companies to make high-integrity claims about their use of carbon credits. A 'beta' version of a 'Scope 3 Flexibility' Claim will increase climate action and unlock finance through VCMs. 2024 roadmap establishes a collaborative work program to beta test the new claim. The Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) has today released additional guidance for its Claims Code of Practice (Claims Code), enabling companies to make claims about their use of high-quality carbon credits. This guidance includes a Monitoring, Reporting and Assurance (MRA) Framework, a brand and associated mark for making 'Carbon Integrity' Claims, and a beta version of an additional claim. Using the MRA framework and the 'Carbon Integrity' Claims branding, companies can now make Silver, Gold or Platinum Claims as outlined in the original Claims Code of Practice released in June. This means these companies can now make claims using high-quality carbon credits, directing finance to initiatives that mitigate climate change, and demonstrating that they are going above and beyond science-aligned emissions cuts. VCMI has also launched the beta version of a new claim called the 'Scope 3 Flexibility' Claim as a practical step to accelerate corporate climate action. Once finalized next year, the Scope 3 Flexibility Claim will enable companies to take responsibility for their scope 3 emissions (those which aren't directly produced by the company but which it has indirect responsibility over through its value chain), while getting on the path to net zero through use of high-quality carbon credits. Robust guardrails are in place to maintain integrity and avoid misuse of this new claim. John Kerry, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate:"Voluntary carbon markets can be a powerful tool for mobilizing the investment in innovative technologies and actions needed to keep a 1.5 C limit on warming within reach. VCMI is performing a vital service by establishing high-integrity pathways for companies to support stronger climate action while making progress toward their own net zero- goals. By creating sound guardrails for the use of high-quality carbon credits, the new VCMI guidance will provide strong assurance that this finance will help deliver the greater climate action we so urgently need." High-integrity use of carbon credits can accelerate global net zero and significantly contribute towards Paris Agreement goals When used with integrity, voluntary carbon markets (VCMs) can accelerate capital flows to low- and middle-income economies and can contribute meaningfully to both the Paris Agreement goal to limit global warming temperatures 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Some estimates have shown that, if companies start to invest in VCMs as part of their transition plans today, over $50 billion could be unlocked by 2030. Evidence demonstrates that companies that use voluntary carbon markets are more ambitious, and decarbonize faster, than those that don't. According to Ecosystem Marketplace research, voluntary carbon buyers are 1.8x more likely than non-buyers to be decarbonizing year-on-year. But to deliver these outcomes, VCMs must operate with integrity. Carbon credits must represent real, verified GHG reductions and removals and apply robust environmental and social safeguards. They must be used by companies in addition to not instead of decarbonization as part of their net zero transitions, and associated claims must be credible. Following the VCMI Claims Code including the additional guidance that was promised in June and delivered today ensures that this will be the case. Mark Kenber, Executive Director, VCMI: "Today's release of additional guidance means that the VCMI Claims Code of Practice is ready for use and companies can now directly make claims against it. We encourage all businesses to show ambition, make a claim and accelerate global net zero." "With COP28 beginning in a matter of hours, VCMs will once again be on the agenda, and it is important that what is discussed is the promotion of credible, and believable, climate action. Along with the work of the ICVCM and others delivering integrity into the VCMs, the Claims Code of Practice is a critical part of the rules that are forming in voluntary markets. We have delivered what buyers need to make Claims today, along with practical solutions to spur further corporate action. Companies can now step up their credible use of carbon credits, and should feel confident to do so." Launch of 'Carbon Integrity' brand and MRA Framework means companies can make first VCMI claims VCMI has released a standalone brand for the VCMI Claims announced in the Claims Code of Practice in June 2023, which are now called 'Carbon Integrity' Claims. These Claims indicate that companies are "accelerating global net zero" the brand's tagline by going above and beyond science-aligned emissions cuts through the additional use of high-quality carbon credits. The brand features a distinctive mark that is used across the Carbon Integrity Claims, differentiated based on the type of Claim itself (Silver, Gold, or Platinum). The brand guidelines released today will support companies in communicating the achievement of Carbon Integrity Claims. The MRA Framework enables companies to substantiate a Carbon Integrity Claim. The Framework provides the information that must be disclosed and appropriately evaluated, evidenced, and verified. Within the framework, companies provide information relating to the Claims Code's Foundational Criteria, which establish best practice on corporate climate action, as well as key information about the carbon credits used to make a claim. This information is then assured by an independent third party. As such, the MRA Framework provides the backbone of authority for Carbon Integrity Claims. Suzanne DiBianca, EVP and Chief Impact Officer at Salesforce: "We're at a pivotal stage in the climate crisis where immediate action is essential. We commend the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) for its leadership in shaping the enhanced guidance for the Claims Code of Practice. This effort underscores the urgent need for organizations to collaboratively engage in developing robust, high-quality standards and fostering integrity within voluntary carbon markets. Let's continue pushing innovation forward to ensure our collective impact ultimately translates into meaningful benefits for people and the planet." The beta version of the Scope 3 Flexibility Claim will increase urgent climate action as companies get on the path to net zero with guardrails put in place to maintain integrity and ensure carbon credits are used in addition and not to delay decarbonization. Many companies that satisfy the foundational criteria laid out in the VCMI Claims Code have difficulties in meeting scope 3 emissions reductions in the near-term. In the face of the pressing urgency posed by climate change, nothing is more dangerous than inaction. VCMI has launched a beta version of the "Scope 3 Flexibility" claim as a practical solution to incentivize companies to act now and be recognized for climate leadership while increasing internal decarbonization to get on the path to net zero. The beta version of the new claim permits a company to make limited use of carbon credits to close the emissions gap between its scope 3 emissions reductions targets and its actual scope 3 emissions, while the company increases its internal decarbonization efforts and investment. MSCI Carbon Markets (formerly Trove Research) estimated that, currently, $19bn could be delivered if companies used carbon credits to cover the emissions gap between their scope 3 emissions reductions targets, and their current scope 3 emissions. VCMI has developed guardrails intended to further embed integrity in the new claim and ensure that it cannot be used to greenwash. These include: Companies must comply with the VCMI Foundational Criteria laid out in the Claims Code of Practice. Companies must make meaningful progress towards meeting scope 1 and 2 emission reduction targets. The number of carbon credits used must not exceed a volume of 50% of its GHG inventory Scope 3 emissions in the claim year. Use of credits must decline over time, leading to complete phaseout no later than 2035, at which point the company must be on the path to net zero through internal decarbonization. Released alongside the beta version of the new claim, a roadmap sets out the work required to finalize it by Q3 2024, at which point companies will be able to make a claim. This roadmap includes: Developing tools to measure a company's progress towards its targets and define if a company is suitably "on-track" to meet its targets. Refining the criteria and guardrails of the new claim. Establishing a separate claim name and brand that is distinct from the Carbon Integrity Claims while incentivizing companies to move to a position to make a Carbon Integrity claim. VCMI has worked extensively across the market with a wide range of corporate sustainability, climate, and finance experts on the development of the new claim and subsequent roadmap to ensure the beta version reflects a wide range of perspectives. This collaborative approach has been delivered through its Stakeholder Forum, Expert Advisory Group, Country Contact Group, and Early Adopter Programme to bring over 150 views to inform VCMI's work. We are at a critical juncture. VCMI has stepped up with its Claims Code and calls on standard setters to address governance gaps, mobilize demand, and make 2024 the year of accelerated climate action. Through its Claims Code of Practice, VCMI has delivered a key part of the initiatives that are bringing integrity to carbon markets, working closely with the ICVCM (the Integrity Council for Voluntary Carbon Markets) to develop end-to-end rules for integrity, from demand to supply sides. Mr. Yutaka Matsuzawa, Vice-Minister for Global Environmental Affairs, Ministry of the Environment, Japan: "We would like to congratulate the release of additional guidance for the Claims Code of Practice. The additional guidance could contribute to the operationalization of environmental integrity in voluntary carbon markets. We believe the leadership of VCMI can unlock the finances to accelerate the mitigation activities toward net zero by 2050." View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128129191/en/ Contacts: VCMI@cognitomedia.com The African-focused curated online marketplace turns two this month LONDON, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Since its inception, African Design Journey through Austral Asia (ADJOAA, pronounced ajwa) has been a champion of African fashion through its growing online clothing and lifestyle marketplace. Designed to spotlight Made in Africa creations and brands by the Black diaspora, this month marks two years of its quest to revolutionise the fashion industry. Through its global platform, ADJOAA supports and highlights designers and makers from emerging economies and those from underrepresented backgrounds. "We want to see income mobility for designers and their artisans, dignified work, and facilitate business models that support a circular economy," says Pinaman Owusu-Banahene, the Ghana-born and UK-based Founder and CEO. "We believe that designers of African descent deserve more equity in the world of premium fashion, and that their craft and expertise should be accessible to a wider audience." Conceptualised nearly a decade earlier in New Zealand and nurtured in Australia, this female-founded online marketplace made its debut in November 2021 with just 20 brands in its portfolio and a solid mission: to make ethically-produced, sustainably-made African and Black-owned fashion more accessible. Today, ADJOAA features over 100 brands and 20,000 curated products from across 25 countries in its portfolio. Explore their range of sustainable Made in Africa collections here . Products found on this one-stop-shop are limited-edition and never mass produced. In fact, most items are made-to-order and produced from local or upcycled materials. Due to the eco-conscious nature of the products and the social impact model at its core, ADJOAA has attracted shoppers from all over the world, all of whom are searching for sustainable products that are aligned with their values. "We welcome those interested in championing alternatives to fashion's current unsustainable practices to join us on this journey. ADJOAA challenges the status quo and is building transformative solutions for the African fashion ecosystem while contributing to positive social change locally, regionally, and globally." To learn more about ADJOAA visit adjoaa.com . About ADJOAA ADJOAA is a curated multi-brand online marketplace specialising in premium, high-fashion and sustainable brands by African designers and Black-owned businesses. ADJOAA is dedicated to creating a fully circular and environmentally conscious business. From sourcing to production and beyond, we guarantee ethical practices and minimise our manufacturing impact through environmentally conscious solutions. Contact partners@adjoaa.com View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/adjoaa-celebrates-its-second-year-301998987.html Resilient infrastructure, energy storage and efficiency are set to attract the highest investment 93% of investors in the UAE are interested in climate investing Making a positive impact and personal values are the top investor motivations DUBAI, UAE, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Standard Chartered's latest Sustainable Banking Report 2023 reveals USD40 billion of retail investor capital could be mobilised towards climate investments in the UAE by 2030. The research - based on investor interest from a survey of 1,800 respondents in 10 growth markets across Asia, Africa and the Middle East - identifies a global potential of USD3.4 trillion for climate investing, highlighting the power of individuals to combat climate change. Within climate investing in the UAE, USD23 billion could flow into mitigation themes - energy storage, energy efficiency and renewables are set to attract the most capital. USD17 billion could be mobilised towards adaptation including resilient infrastructure, food systems and the blue economy. The survey shows 93% of investors in the UAE are interested in climate investing, and 87% of them want to increase capital flows towards climate. They are mainly motivated by making a positive impact and personal values when making such investments. However, multiple barriers, which vary by investor segments, are holding them back from translating their interest into investment. Investor segment Barriers to mitigation investment Barriers to adaptation investment Affluent Accessibility (75%) Comprehensibility (68%) Perceived low returns (68%) Comparability (72%) Scepticism (70%) Comprehensibility (63%) High-Net-Worth (HNW) Accessibility (77%) Perceived higher risks (69%) Comprehensibility (67%) Comprehensibility (79%) Scepticism (71%) Perceived low returns (71%) Next Generation HNW Accessibility (81%) Comparability (72%) Scepticism (66%) Perceived low returns (72%) Accessibility (69%) Perceived higher risks (69%) The industry needs to help investors overcome these barriers to unlock the potential of retail capital. Financial institutions, regulators, companies and individuals must make a concerted effort to establish a wider range of climate assets to drive greater retail participation. Asset managers and banks must also work to innovate new climate assets to match emerging investor interests, such as biodiversity and the blue economy. Financial institutions have a critical role to play in mobilising retail capital via three pillars - empowering investors with information, product customisation and outcome-based information. Digital and fintech solutions will play an enabling role and simplify processes for investors. The industry across the world also needs to align reporting standards and mandate minimum disclosure requirements to boost investor confidence. Rola Abu Manneh, Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered, UAE, said: "As the host of the Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP28) and the first country in the Middle East to pledge to achieve Net Zero by 2050, the UAE can lead the region in combating climate change, especially since it is characterized by a favourable regulatory environment that helps in the growth of businesses and economic sectors. This constitutes an attractive point for global financial institutions that aim to develop financial products and solutions dedicated to confronting climate change. Recognising this opportunity, Standard Chartered collaborates closely with institutional and individual clients across the country to strategically align their businesses and investments to their areas of interest, especially those related to sustainability, therefore empowering our clients to actively contribute to the nations' Net Zero goals." About the Sustainable Banking Report 2023 The Sustainable Banking Report 2023, commissioned by Standard Chartered and prepared by PwC Singapore, surveyed 1,800 individuals from three investor segments (Affluent, High-Net-Worth (HNW) and Next Generation High-Net-Worth (NextGen HNW)) across 10 key markets in Asia, Africa and the Middle East - Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, India, the UAE, Nigeria and Kenya. Standard Chartered We are a leading international banking group, with a presence in 53 of the world's most dynamic markets and serving clients in a further 64. Our purpose is to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity, and our heritage and values are expressed in our brand promise, here for good. Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges. For more stories and expert opinions please visit Insights at sc.com. Follow Standard Chartered on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2287032/Standard_Chartered_1.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2287031/Standard_Chartered_2.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/usd40-billion-in-retail-investor-capital-could-be-mobilised-to-combat-climate-change-in-the-uae-301998998.html Improved fuel efficiency compared to conventional aircrafts, increase in advancements in electric propulsion technology, and rise in investments by industry stakeholders drive the growth of the global hybrid aircraft market. WILMINGTON, Del., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Hybrid Aircraft Market by Aircraft Type (Regional Transport Aircraft, Business Jets and Light Aircrafts, and UAVs and AAM), Lift Technology (Conventional Takeoff and Landing, Short Takeoff and Landing, a Vertical Takeoff and Landing), and Mode of Operation (Piloted and Autonomous): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2025-2035". According to the report, the global hybrid aircraft industry size is expected to generate $1.9 billion in 2025, and is anticipated to reach $10.2 billion by 2035, witnessing a CAGR of 18.2% from 2025 to 2035. Prime determinants of growth The market is driven by factors such as improved fuel efficiency compared to conventional aircraft, increase in advancements in electric propulsion technology, and surge in investments by industry stakeholders which positively impact the market growth. However, factors such as high development costs, and lack of airport infrastructure hamper the market growth. On the contrary, new use cases in urban air mobility, and surge in adoption of hybrid aircraft for defense applications are the factors which create opportunities during the forecast period. Download Sample Pages - https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/13675 Report Coverage & Details: Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2025-2035 Base Year 2025 Market Size in 2025 $1.9 billion Market Size in 2035 $10.2 billion CAGR 18.2 % No. of Pages in Report 330 Segments covered Aircraft Type, Lift Technology, Mode of Operation, and Region Drivers Improved fuel efficiency compared to conventional aircrafts Increase in advancements in electric propulsion technology Increase in investments by industry stakeholders Opportunities New use cases in urban air mobility Surge in adoption of hybrid aircraft for defense applications Restraints High development costs Lack of airport infrastructure Impact of Russia-Ukraine War The Russia-Ukraine war has exerted a multifaceted impact on the global hybrid aircraft market, influencing key aspects of production, demand dynamics, and strategic considerations within the industry. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has created disruptions in the emerging hybrid aviation sector by increasing vulnerabilities in the supply chain, and surging the cost of raw materials. The UAVs and AAM segment are expected to dominate the market in 2025 Based on aircraft type, the UAVs and AAM segment is expected to hold the highest market share in 2025, accounting for nearly half of the global market revenue. Hybrid propulsion systems are being integrated into UAVs to extend their mission endurance, supporting applications such as surveillance, reconnaissance, and cargo delivery. The growth of hybrid technology in UAVs is driven by the expansion of applications of unmanned systems across industries such as defense, agriculture, and logistics. The ability of hybrid propulsion to offer extended flight times, reduced operational costs, and lower environmental impact contributes to the widespread adoption of these systems. The business jets and light aircrafts segment is expected to register the highest CAGR of 21.5% from 2025 to 2035. Business Jets in the hybrid aircraft market are witnessing a trend towards electrification and hybridization to restructure the luxury aviation experience. This includes the integration of advanced avionics, quieter propulsion systems, and extended range capabilities. Interested to Procure the Research Report? Inquire Before Buying - https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/13675 The vertical takeoff and landing segment is expected to dominate the market in 2025 Based on lift technology, the vertical takeoff and landing segment is expected to hold the highest market share in 2025, accounting for nearly half of the global market revenue. The growth of the VTOL segment is propelled by the increase in emphasis on sustainable and efficient urban air transportation solutions. VTOL hybrid aircraft plays a crucial role in addressing challenges related to urban congestion, offering a solution for point-to-point aerial mobility. The conventional takeoff and landing segment is projected to attain the highest CAGR of 21.3% from 2025 to 2035. The growth of the CTOL segment is driven by the need for a smooth transition to hybrid technologies within the existing aviation ecosystem. Hybrid aircraft with CTOL capabilities cater to operators seeking the advantages of advanced propulsion systems without substantial modifications to infrastructure. The development of hybrid systems that work with regular runways, regulatory support, and the profitability of CTOL hybrid aircraft for business jet and regional transport contribute toward the growth of the segment. The piloted segment to maintain its leadership status during the forecast period Based on mode of operation, the piloted segment is expected to hold the highest market share in 2025, accounting for nearly three-fourths of the global market revenue and is estimated to maintain its leadership status during the forecast period. The piloted segment in the hybrid aircraft market is witnessing a shift towards enhanced human-machine collaboration. Advances in cockpit automation and artificial intelligence empower pilots with advanced tools for decision-making, navigation, and systems management. The autonomous segment is projected to attain the highest CAGR of 21.4% from 2025 to 2035. There is an increase in adoption of artificial intelligence and autonomous system capability in the hybrid aircraft autonomous segment of the market. The industry continues to explore advances in sensor technology, machine learning algorithms, and real-time decision-making capabilities to enable hybrid aircraft to function with minimal or no human interaction. North America to maintain its dominance by 2035 Based on region, North America is expected to hold the highest market share in terms of revenue in 2025, accounting for nearly two-fifths of the global market revenue. North America leads global developments in hybrid aircraft with major testbed projects from NASA, Boeing, and Airbus underway leveraging extensive aerospace expertise. The U.S. accounts for many advancements given availability of VC funding in novel aviation tech and Department of Defense interest in agile hybrid platforms for varied missions. Moreover, early use of hybrid aircraft for intercity mobility, package delivery, air ambulance services appear viable owing to progressive regulations around advanced air mobility vehicles. Europe is expected to witness the fastest CAGR of 19.5% from 2025 to 2035. Several collaborative programs between Airbus, engine firms Rolls-Royce plc/ Safran S.A. and European Union funding provide impetus to hybrid aviation in the region. The goal is leadership in next-gen green aircraft supporting EU climate objectives. The UK, France, and Germany each offer specific competencies, be it systems engineering, engine technologies or simulation capabilities that enable technology maturation when combined across the cross-border initiatives. Recent Developments: At the Paris Air Show in June 2023 , Airbus unveiled the Eco Pulse hybrid-electric aircraft, a modification of the Daher TBM light aircraft featuring a hybrid-electric powertrain and six electrically driven propellers. , Airbus unveiled the Eco Pulse hybrid-electric aircraft, a modification of the Daher TBM light aircraft featuring a hybrid-electric powertrain and six electrically driven propellers. In December 2022 , Embraer S.A. introduced the Energia Hybrid E19-HE, a hybrid electric propulsion system deemed both realistic and economically viable, offering a potential 90% reduction in CO2 emissions towards achieving net-zero goals. , Embraer S.A. introduced the Energia Hybrid E19-HE, a hybrid electric propulsion system deemed both realistic and economically viable, offering a potential 90% reduction in CO2 emissions towards achieving net-zero goals. Also in December 2022 , Raytheon Technologies Corporation launched a Hybrid-electric flight demonstrator, incorporating a 1 MW electric motor to support the industry in achieving zero CO2 emissions. , Raytheon Technologies Corporation launched a Hybrid-electric flight demonstrator, incorporating a 1 MW electric motor to support the industry in achieving zero CO2 emissions. Ampaire Inc. introduced the Eco Caravan in November 2022, a hybrid-electric regional aircraft designed to decrease fuel consumption and emissions. Key Highlights: The hybrid aircraft industry report comprehensively examines segments including regional transport aircraft, business jets and light aircraft, UAVs, and AAM (Advanced Air Mobility). Analysis spans regions such as North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. Employing a research approach that integrates high-quality data, professional insights, and critical independent perspectives, the study aims to provide a well-rounded view of global markets. This is intended to empower stakeholders in making informed decisions to achieve ambitious growth objectives. The research involved the review of over 3,700 product literatures, annual reports, industry statements, and comparable materials from major industry participants. This extensive review enhances understanding and insight into the market. Procure Complete Research Report (PDF with Qualitative and Quotative Data, Insights, Statistics, Tables, Charts, Figures) - https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/hybrid-aircraft-market/purchase-options Leading Market Players: - Airbus Embraer S.A. Safran S.A. General Electric Raytheon Technologies Corporation Ampaire Inc. Pipistrel Rolls-Royce plc Heart Aerospace Faradair Aerospace. The report provides a detailed analysis of these key players of the global hybrid aircraft market. These players have adopted strategies such as new product launches to increase their market share and maintain dominant shares in different regions. The report is valuable in highlighting business performance, operating segments, product portfolio, and strategic moves of market players to showcase the competitive scenario. Similar Reports We Have on Aircraft Industry: Electric Aircraft Market Research 2023-2032 eVTOL Aircraft Market Research Report 2023-2032 More Electric Aircraft Market Research Report 2023-2032 Hydrogen Aircraft Market Research Report 2023-2032 Zero-Emission Aircraft Market Research Report 2023-2032 About Us Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact: David Correa 1209 Orange Street, Corporation Trust Center, Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware 19801 USA. USA/Canada (Toll Free): +1-800-792-5285 UK: +44-845-528-1300 Hong Kong: +852-301-84916 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1-800-792-5285 help@alliedmarketresearch.com Web: www.alliedmarketresearch.com Allied Market Research Blog: https://blog.alliedmarketresearch.com Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/636519/Allied_Market_Research_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/hybrid-aircraft-market-to-reach-10-2-billion-globally-by-2035-at-18-2-cagr-allied-market-research-301999029.html Oakville, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 28, 2023) - FendX Technologies Inc. (CSE: FNDX) (OTCQB: FDXTF) (FSE: E8D) (the "Company" or "FendX") a nanotechnology company developing surface protection coatings, is pleased to announce that the Company will be presenting at the SHARE Series Monday Management Update on December 4, 2023, at 2 PM ET. The virtual fireside chat will consist of a 30-minute discussion centred on FendX's recent achievements around the Company's lead product under development, REPELWRAP film, its spray-on film and more. The agenda includes a 5-minute address by Fendx's President and CEO, Dr. Carolyn Myers, followed by a 20-minute moderated fireside chat and a 5-minute live question and answer (Q&A) session. A digital version of the fireside chat, hosted on OpenExchange, will be available within two weeks of the event at www.openexchange.tv. About the SHARE Series The SHARE (SHareholder Access and Retail Engagement) Series is a platform that gives retail investors access to company executives and IROs through virtual fireside chats. SHARE offers an opportunity to engage with management in live Q&A sessions, an opportunity to learn about new companies, industry trends and outlook on the markets, and unlimited access to past events featuring companies from the sustainable food and fashion industries, green mobility, digital finance, biotech and other sectors. About FendX Technologies Inc. FendX is a Canada-based nanotechnology company focused on developing products to make people's lives safer by reducing the spread of pathogens. The Company is developing both film and spray products to protect surfaces from contamination. The lead product under development, REPELWRAP film, is a protective surface coating film that, due to its repelling properties, prevents the adhesion of pathogens and reduces their transmission on surfaces prone to contamination. The spray nanotechnology is a bifunctional spray coating being developed to reduce contamination on surfaces by repelling and killing pathogens. The Company is conducting research and development activities using its nanotechnology in collaboration with industry-leading partners, including McMaster University. The Company has an exclusive worldwide license to its technology and IP portfolio from McMaster, which encompass both film and spray coating nanotechnology formulations. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD "Carolyn Myers" Carolyn Myers Chief Executive Officer and Director Contacts: Dr. Carolyn Myers, CEO and Director 1-800-344-9868 Alyssa Barry, Investor Relations 1-833-947-5227 investor@fendxtech.com For more information, please visit https://fendxtech.com/ and the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, including with respect to: the plans of the Company; and products under development and any pathogen reduction benefits related thereto. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts; they are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "aims," "potential," "goal," "objective," "prospective," and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "can," "could" or "should" occur, or are those statements, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions that forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made and involve several risks and uncertainties. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and that actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include: product candidates only being in formulation/reformulation stages; limited operating history; research and development activities; dependence on collaborative partners, licensors and others; effect of general economic and political conditions; and other risk factors set forth in the Company's public filings which are available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Accordingly, the reader is urged to refer to the Company's such filings for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects. Except to the extent required by applicable securities laws and the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors should change. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/188828 TOKYO, Nov 28, 2023 - (JCN Newswire) - The Sustainable Markets Initiative today announced that Hitachi has been awarded its 2023 Terra Carta Seal. The Seal recognises global companies which are actively leading the charge to create a climate and Nature-positive future.The Terra Carta Seal is awarded to companies which have demonstrated the success of a high- impact, large scale company-wide project, initiative or strategy which aligns with one or more of the Sustainable Markets Initiative's tenTerra Carta Articles. The Articles underpin the Terra Carta, the Sustainable Markets Initiative's guiding mandate which provides a roadmap and framework to accelerate the transition to an ambitious and sustainable future, placing Nature, People and Planet at the heart of global value creation.The Hitachi Group will continue to advance its Social Innovation Businesses and work diligently together with its stakeholders to contribute to developing a sustainable society. Hitachi was awarded the Terra Carta Seal for itscommitment to sustainability, particularly for Hitachi Energy's contribution to the energy transition with its high-voltage direct current (HVDC) technology which allows the transmission of bulk renewables over long distances with limited losses, therefore advancing a sustainable energy future for all.A concrete example of HVDC application is the Champlain Hudson Power Express project which is currently underconstruction to connect the power grids between Quebec, Canada and the New York City metro area.The link will enable the delivery of clean, renewable hydropower between Canada and New York, contributing to NewYork's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which aims for the state to be powered by 70 percentrenewables by 2030. The project is expected to decrease CO2 emissions by an average of 3.9 million metric tons peryear, equivalent to removing 44 percent of passenger vehicles from New York City.Using HVDC technology, it is possible to bring large amounts of electricity directly into cities, which is essential for securing sustainable and affordable power supply, increasing significantly the use of renewable energy and fostering carbon neutrality.Hitachi joins 16 other companies spanning multiple geographies and industries to be awarded the 2023 Terra Carta Seal. They include:- Airbus- Carbon Clean- CDPQ- DLA Piper- EY- Haier Smart Home- Hitachi- Lanza Tech- Novartis- Orange- Ping An Bank- Pollination- ReNew- Robertson- Siemens Energy- Soneva- Sumitomo Mitsui Financial GroupJennifer Jordan-Saifi, CEO, Sustainable Markets Initiative, said:"The Sustainable Markets Initiative's Terra Carta Seal recognises those companies which are taking great strides in delivering real-world outcomes. As we stand on the eve of COP28, public, private sector and philanthropic actors will come together at the inaugural Business and Philanthropy Climate Forumot bridge the gap between ambition and action. It is examples exemplified by the 2023 Terra Carta Seal winners that are helping to inspire and lead theway."Keiji Kojima, Representative Executive Officer, President & CEO, Hitachi, Ltd., said:"We are honoured to be recognised as one of the leading companies engaging in sustainability initiatives. Hitachi is committed to expand Social Innovation Business through customer co- creation by leveraging IT, OT, and products to bring solutions to social challenges. As a climate change innovator, our ambition is to globally contribute to realizing a sustainable society by impacting on carbon neutrality, circular economy, and nature positive actions."The Terra Carta Seal was launched in 2021 at COP26 by His Majesty King Charles III when he was the Prince of Wales. Since its inception, the Sustainable Markets Initiative has awarded its coveted Seal to just 83 companies globally.For the first time this year, the judging process involved independent, external partners Verdantix and the Expert Review Panel, who worked together to assess the eligibility and impact of each nominated project against recognised global sustainability criteria.This year's cohort of winners impressed the judges with the breadth and scope of their projects, which included pioneering use of hydrogen and engineering-based initiatives to support carbon emission reductions, to the development of new frameworks to support the distribution of private capital, at scale, into transition-related infrastructure across the African continent.David Metcalfe, CEO, Verdantix, said: "We are privileged to work with the Sustainable Markets Initiative, contributing our expertise in independent evaluation to the judging process. We take great pride in being an integral part of this esteemed global initiative, alongside a distinguished and diverse panel of experts. Together, we are dedicated to acknowledging and applauding the companies who lead the way in demonstrating their commitment tocreating a sustainable future."About Hitachi, Ltd.Hitachi drives Social Innovation Business, creating a sustainable society through the use of data and technology.We solve customers' and society's challenges with Lumada solutions leveraging IT, OT (Operational Technology) and products. Hitachi operates under the business structure of "Digital Systems & Services" - supporting ourcustomers' digital transformation; "Green Energy & Mobility" - contributing to a decarbonized society through energy and railway systems, and "Connective Industries" - connecting products through digital technology to provide solutions in various industries. Driven by Digital, Green, and Innovation, we aim for growth through co-creation withour customers. The company's consolidated revenues for fiscal year 2022 (ended March 31, 2023) totaled 10,881.1billion yen, with 696 consolidated subsidiaries and approximately 320,000 employees worldwide. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at https://www.hitachi.com.About Hitachi EnergyHitachi Energy is a global technology leader that is advancing a sustainable energy future for all. We servecustomers in the utility, industry and infrastructure sectors with innovative solutions and services across the valuechain. Together with customers and partners, we pioneer technologies and enable the digital transformation required to accelerate the energy transition towards a carbon-neutral future. We are advancing the world's energysystem to become more sustainable, flexible and secure whilst balancing social, environmental and economic value. Hitachi Energy has a proven track record and unparalleled installed base in more than 140 countries. We integratemore than 150 GW of HVDC links into the power system, helping our customers enable more wind and solar. Headquartered in Switzerland, we employ more than 40,000 people in 90 countries and generate business volumes of over $10 billion USD.https://shorturl.at/drxITAbout the Terra Carta SealSir Jony Ive and his creative team at LoveFrom created a physical and animated seal engineered with paper that is both simple and beautifully crafted. The design combines a host of natural references including oak leaves, fern, magnolia and honeybees and intricate patterns both in nature and in the arts, creating a visual celebration whichreflects the power of and reverence for nature that is at the heart of the Terra Carta.Read more: https://www.sustainable-markets.org/terra-carta-seal/intro/About the Sustainable Markets InitiativeFounded by His Majesty King Charles III in 2020, as Prince of Wales, the Sustainable Markets Initiative has become the world's "go-to" private sector organisation on transition. Launched in 2021, the Terra Carta serves as the Sustainable Markets Initiative's mandate with a focus on accelerating positive results for Nature, People and Planet through real economy action.Read more: www.sustainable-markets.orgAbout VerdantixVerdantix is the essential thought leader for world-enhancing innovation. It supports changemakers with its proprietary data, unique expertise and executive networks. Its impactful analysis is delivered via a digital platform, consulting engagements and in-person events to thousands of decision-makers in more than 100 countries. Fromoffices in London, New York and Boston, the Verdantix research team applies the principles of rigour, accuracy and curiosity to help its globally distributed clients solve their most complex challenges. verdantix.comAbout LoveFrom and Sir Jony IveSir Jony Ive KBE is a designer. He joined Apple in 1992. As chief design officer, Jony was responsible for all hardware, user interface and packaging design, as well as the major architectural projects Apple Park and Apple retail stores. He led the design team for more than two decades, creating the iMac, PowerBook, MacBook, iBook, iPod, iPhone, iPad, AppleWatch, AirPods and HomePod. Co-founder Steve Jobs referred to Jony as his creativepartner. He holds more than 14,000 patents worldwide, uniquely spanning both software and hardware design. Jony currently serves as chancellor of the Royal College of Art, is frequently voted one of Britain's most culturally influential figures.In 2019, Jony gathered the creative collective LoveFrom, which includes designers, architects, musicians, filmmakers, writers, engineers and artists. The combined experience, achievement and recognition of these creatives is without precedent.The collective has been working quietly together since 2019, announcing multi-year collaborations with Airbnb and Ferrari. It has studios in San Francisco and London. lovefrom.comSource: Hitachi, Ltd.Copyright 2023 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved. ESSEN (dpa-AFX) - RWE Aktiengesellschaft (RWEOY.PK), a German electric utility company, announced on Tuesday that it will invest 55 billion euros worldwide from 2024 to 2030 to expand its green portfolio to more than 65 gigawatts or GW. The company intends to invest in renewable energy, batteries, flexible generation and hydrogen projects. 'More than half of the 55 billion that RWE plans to invest net from 2024 to 2030 is earmarked for Europe,' the company said in a statement. This comprises projects with a capacity of more than 100 GW. The company has also set a target of adding more than 30 GW of net capacity to its portfolio. Following the investments, the company is expecting Adjusted net income in this decade to grow by an average of 12 percent annually to 3 billion euros in 2030. It also expects an average annual increase of 14 percent in adjusted EBITDA in this decade, with adjusted EBITDA amounting to more than 9 billion euros in 2030. Currently, RWE shares are trading at 39.46 EUR, up 2.79% in Germany. Copyright(c) 2023 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Total aggregate fundraising for Pantheon Global Secondaries Fund VII and associated vehicles (PGSF VII) substantially exceeded initial target of $2.0bn Increased inflows from private wealth clients globally reflect growing demand for secondaries investment opportunities PGSF VII invests in a blend of both traditional LP secondaries and GP-led secondaries opportunities, with a focus on the mid-market Pantheon, a leading global private markets investor, is pleased to announce the successful closing of Pantheon Global Secondaries Fund VII and associated vehicles (PGSF VII), its latest flagship global private equity secondaries offering, with commitments totalling $3.25bn1 Total aggregate fundraising substantially exceeded the initial target of $2.0bn and marks Pantheon's largest-ever raise for a private equity secondaries program, reflecting growing interest in the strategy over recent years and especially in the current market environment, with continued demand for liquidity from both investors and fund managers driving increased deal flow and attractive pricing for secondaries investors. Pantheon's deep expertise in private equity secondaries attracted investments from a wide range of new and existing clients. Notably, the firm's private wealth platform drove significant inflows, including commitments from the AMG Pantheon Fund, as well as several commitments to the core commingled fund and parallel investment vehicles from wealth management clients. Amyn Hassanally, Partner and Global Head of Private Equity Secondaries at Pantheon, commented: "We are grateful for the strong support of our investors across the world who have entrusted us with their capital. Raising our largest-ever pool of capital reflects increasing interest from a growing range of investors in our strategy and focus on mid-market secondaries, where we can leverage Pantheon's extensive relationships, data and insights." PGSF VII follows Pantheon's established secondaries strategy and builds on the firm's pioneering track record in the segment, dating back to the firm's first private equity secondaries investments in 1988. Like its predecessor vehicles, the program invests in a blend of both traditional LP stake secondaries and the growing range of GP-led secondaries opportunities. This approach enables the program to capture the benefits of potential discounts and early distributions typically associated with traditional secondaries portfolios, as well as the opportunity for premium returns associated with more concentrated GP-led investments, all with the risk mitigation benefits inherent to secondaries from visibility on mature underlying portfolio assets, and backing an existing manager and value creation plan. To date PGSF VII has deployed approximately 60% of total commitments raised, including more than 50% of commitments to the core commingled fund. This translates to a $2bn portfolio of investments, with over $1.2bn in dry powder still to be deployed into an attractive market environment2 Amyn continued: "The secondaries market continues to evolve and present a growing range of compelling investment opportunities. We believe Pantheon's scale, investment capacity and specialist expertise, combined with the global reach enabled by our broader private equity platform and deep industry relationships, positions us to capitalize on the opportunities we are seeing in the market and deliver strong risk-adjusted returns for our investors." 1 Total fundraising includes capital raised through core flagship commingled funds and that was committed to and deployed from other funds and separate accounts that invest alongside PGSF VII during the fundraising period. 2 Pantheon internal data, as of October 2023. Pantheon opinion. About Pantheon Pantheon* has been at the forefront of private markets investing for more than 40 years, earning a reputation for providing innovative solutions covering the full lifecycle of investments, from primary fund commitments to co-investments, secondary purchases and direct customized solutions, across private equity, real assets and private credit. We have partnered with more than 1,000 clients, including institutional investors of all sizes as well as a growing number of private wealth advisers and investors, with approximately $62bn in discretionary assets under management (as of June 30, 2023). Using creative approaches informed by our specialized experience and delivered by a global team of professionals based in offices across Europe, the Americas and Asia, we invest with purpose and lead with expertise to build secure financial futures. Pantheon refers to the subsidiaries and subsidiary undertakings of Pantheon Ventures Inc. and AMG Plymouth UK Holdings Limited and includes operating entities principally based in the US (San Francisco and New York), UK (London), Hong Kong, Guernsey, Tokyo, Dublin and Singapore. Pantheon Ventures Inc. and Pantheon Ventures (US) LP are registered as investment advisors with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"); Pantheon Securities, LLC is a broker dealer registered with the SEC and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA"). Pantheon Ventures (UK) LLP is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") in the United Kingdom. Pantheon Ventures (HK) LLP is regulated by the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong. Pantheon Ventures (Guernsey) Ltd and a number of other Pantheon entities incorporated in Guernsey are regulated by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission. Pantheon Ventures (Asia) Limited is registered as a Type II Financial Instruments Business and Investment Advisory and Agency Business Operator with the Kanto Local Finance Bureau in Japan (KLFB). Pantheon Ventures (Ireland) DAC is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland ("CBI") and is an appointed representative of Pantheon Ventures (UK) LLP in respect of activities carried out in the United Kingdom. Pantheon Ventures (Singapore) Pte. Ltd holds a capital markets service licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore ("MAS") to conduct fund management with accredited and institutional investors. The AMG Pantheon Funds are distributed by AMG Distributors, Inc., a member of FINRA/SIPC. This press release is not an offer of securities for sale. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration. 2023 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231125212245/en/ Contacts: Pantheon Ashley Wassall, Head of Client Communications Tel: +44 20 3356 1763 C: +44 7776 778 620 Email: Ashley.Wassall@Pantheon.com Clario's new ECG Quality Score tool leverages a unique a rtificial intelligence and machine learning approach to reinforce cardiac safety data quality rtificial intelligence and machine learning It provides actionable insight to sponsors, enabling proactive remediation and peace of mind about data quality AI-powered tool complements Clario's industry-leading early phase Early Precision QT (EPQT) solution that potentially enables waivers of traditional Thorough QT (TQT) studies PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Clario, a healthcare research technology company that delivers the leading endpoint technology solutions for clinical trials, is proud to announce the launch of its unique AI-powered ECG Quality Score tool, designed to enhance cardiac safety assessments in clinical trials. The AI-powered ECG Quality Score tool is a significant milestone in Clario's commitment to providing better accuracy and efficiency for cardiac safety assessments through technological advancement. By leveraging an AI/ML approach trained on over 80,000 Phase 1 Healthy Volunteer ECGs, the Quality Score tool provides detailed information on whether the acquired continuous ECG data is of sufficient quality for further EPQT. It offers a proactive approach to study quality, allowing Clario to support sponsors in monitoring for quality in near real-time and remediate with solutions, such as site training or further recruitment, while the study is still active. This tool acts as an insurance policy for prospective studies with planned EPQT assessment. It is also particularly valuable for studies where ECG data is stored for potential assessment at some date in the future, giving sponsors confidence in the data that is collected and stored. Ellen Street, Executive Vice President, Cardiac Safety at Clario, expressed the company's enthusiasm, stating, "Clario's ECG Quality Score tool embodies our unwavering commitment to advancing trials and technologies through the use of AI/ML. We aim to provide sponsors with better insights into cardiac safety earlier in the drug development process and equip them with the tools needed to make informed decisions and collect higher quality data." The ECG Quality Score tool includes two detailed reports - the Early Precision QT Quality Summary Report and the Early Precision QT Quality Detailed Report - which together provide granular information about the quality of ECG data collected. It offers valuable insights and reassurance to sponsors by enhancing data quality assurance, reducing risks, and ultimately improving the likelihood of a definitive trial outcome, making it a valuable addition to Clario's cardiac safety services. Initially, it will be rolled out to Clario Certified Sites as part of our focus on bringing new technology to our closest partners first. For more information on Quality Score or on becoming a Certified Site, please visit Clario.com. Contact Information Duncan Cantor Sr. Director, Corporate Communications media@clario.com About Clario Clario is a leading healthcare research and technology company that generates the richest clinical evidence in the industry for our pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device partners. Across decentralized, hybrid and site-based trials, our deep scientific expertise, global scale and the broadest endpoint technology platform in the industry allows our partners to transform lives. Clario has the only technology platform that combines eCOA, cardiac safety, medical imaging, precision motion, and respiratory endpoints. With 11 facilities in six countries, Clario's global team of science, technology and operational experts has helped deliver over 27,000 trials and more than 500 regulatory approvals since 2012 for over five million patients in 120 countries. Our innovation has been transforming clinical trials for 50 years. For more information, go to Clario.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1677749/Clario_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/clarios-new-ai-powered-ecg-quality-score-tool-enhances-cardiac-safety-assessments-301998213.html NEW YORK CITY (dpa-AFX) - Biopharmaceutical company Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (RNA) announced Tuesday a global licensing and research collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of multiple cardiovascular targets with potential cumulative payments of up to $2.3 billion. Avidity will receive $100 million up front with the potential to receive up to $2.2 billion in milestone payments and up to low double-digit royalties. Bristol Myers Squibb will fund all future clinical development, regulatory and commercialization activities coming from this collaboration The collaboration is designed to combine the specificity of monoclonal antibodies with the precision of oligonucleotide therapies to target the root cause of diseases previously untreatable with RNA therapeutics. This strategic collaboration broadens the existing relationship with Bristol Myers Squibb. Copyright(c) 2023 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. PORT VILA, VANUATU / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / The CWG Markets Traders Fair South Africa concluded with resounding success, showcasing the exceptional advantages of CWG's trading platform and underscoring the unique value and appeal of this prominent trade event. This year's fair proved to be a beacon for global traders, a hub for innovation and technology enthusiasts, and a champion of sustainability and social responsibility. Global Trade Opportunities The CWG Markets Traders Fair South Africa drew participants from around the world, offering a global platform for trade and investment. With a diverse range of industries represented, the fair facilitated valuable connections and transactions, reinforcing its status as a key player in the international trade arena. Attendees had the opportunity to explore new markets, forge partnerships, and discover exciting ventures, all under one roof. Innovation and Technology Focus Innovation and technology were at the forefront of this year's fair. CWG's trading platform, renowned for its cutting-edge features and user-friendly interface, received particular attention. Traders and investors had the opportunity to experience firsthand the advantages of using CWG's platform, which offers real-time data, advanced analytics, and customizable tools to optimize trading strategies. CWG remains committed to fostering a culture of innovation within the trading community. Sustainability and Social Responsibility CWG recognizes the importance of sustainability and social responsibility in today's interconnected world. The fair featured numerous sessions and exhibitors dedicated to promoting ethical trading practices and environmentally conscious investment choices, all seamlessly integrated into the CWG platform. Attendees gained valuable knowledge about how responsible trading can positively impact the global community. CWG is committed to continuing its efforts in promoting sustainability within the trading industry. Unparalleled Learning Opportunities Throughout the event, attendees were treated to an array of seminars, workshops, and panel discussions conducted by prominent figures in the financial world. These sessions covered an extensive range of topics, from the basics of trading to advanced strategies, providing a comprehensive learning experience for both novice and seasoned traders alike. The opportunity to engage directly with industry experts proved invaluable, offering attendees the chance to gain firsthand knowledge and practical insights into the ever-evolving landscape of financial markets. Networking and Collaboration The Traders Fair South Africa served as an ideal platform for fostering connections and collaborations within the trading community. Attendees had the chance to interact with like-minded individuals, establish meaningful professional relationships, and exchange ideas that have the potential to shape their trading journeys positively. The event's conducive environment facilitated networking among participants, enabling the forging of new partnerships and the sharing of diverse perspectives. Insights from Esteemed Speakers Distinguished speakers and experts from various sectors of the financial industry graced the event with their presence, imparting their expertise and wisdom to an eager audience. These speakers shared their unique perspectives on market trends, risk management, and innovative trading strategies, offering invaluable insights that resonated with attendees. Their thought-provoking presentations and discussions sparked contemplation and dialogue, leaving a lasting impression on all those in attendance. Exhibition Booths and Technology Showcase The Traders Fair South Africa also featured an exhibition area where leading companies showcased their products, services, and technological advancements in the financial sphere. Attendees had the opportunity to explore cutting-edge trading tools, platforms, and software, gaining firsthand exposure to the latest innovations designed to enhance their trading experiences. The exhibition served as a hub for discovering new opportunities and staying abreast of emerging trends in the financial technology sector. Commitment to Education and Empowerment CWG Markets' commitment to empowering traders through education and community engagement was evident throughout the Traders Fair South Africa. By providing a platform that encouraged learning, networking, and collaboration, CWG Markets demonstrated its dedication to supporting traders at every stage of their journey. The event's success underscores the company's mission to facilitate access to valuable resources and knowledge, thereby enabling traders to make informed decisions in the dynamic world of finance. User-Centric Experience CWG's trading platform is designed with the trader in mind. Its intuitive interface and robust features cater to both novice and experienced traders, making it accessible to a wide range of users. The platform's reliability and speed ensure seamless trading experiences, even during peak market hours. Additionally, CWG offers exceptional customer support, providing assistance and guidance whenever traders need it. Comprehensive Market Access CWG's platform provides access to a wide range of financial markets, international securities, including convertibility, stocks, and commodities. This diversity allows traders to diversify their portfolios and seize opportunities in various asset classes, all from a single account. The CWG Markets Traders Fair South Africa has once again proven itself as a premier event in the trading and investment world, offering a unique blend of opportunities, innovation, sustainability, and social responsibility. As the trading community eagerly anticipates the next installment, the world can expect nothing less than excellence from both CWG and its outstanding trading platform. Looking Towards the Future As the curtains close on yet another successful Traders Fair South Africa, the impact and significance of this event continue to reverberate within the trading community. The knowledge gained, connections established, and experiences shared during the fair will undoubtedly serve as catalysts for growth and success in the future endeavors of all those involved. CWG Markets remains committed to fostering a thriving trading ecosystem and looks forward to continuing to facilitate such impactful events in the times ahead. About CWG Markets CWG Markets is a leading global financial trading platform dedicated to providing comprehensive solutions and support to traders worldwide. With a commitment to innovation, education, and customer satisfaction, CWG Markets continues to empower traders with the tools and resources necessary to navigate the complexities of financial markets. Media Contact Organization: CWG Markets Contact Person: Will Website: https://cwgmarkets.com/ Email: complaint@cwgmarkets.com Contact Number: +60 1800819380 Address: 1276, Govant Building, Kumul Highway, City: PORT VILA State: VANUATU Country: Vanuatu SOURCE: CWG Markets View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/810718/cwg-markets-traders-fair-south-africa-a-successful-conclusion New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - November 28, 2023) - INVT Electric Vehicle Drive Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd, widely recognized as INVT E-mobility, is exhibiting at the London EV Show for the first time this year on stand S13 at the ExCel exhibition center in London, bringing with it its latest EV motor controllers, on-board power systems, and EV chargers. This first exhibition in the region marks the company's deepening development in the European market. Image 1 To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8722/188905_e3a2e86ac42e2b49_001full.jpg Innovative E-mobility Solutions on Display At the expo, INVT E-mobility presents its latest product offerings featuring two main lines: EV drive controllers and EV chargers. Building on its recognition as a top EV drive controller supplier in China, the company now tailors its offerings specifically for the European market. Highlights include the GVD series of advanced EV motor controllers designed for the logistics vehicle industry. The highly anticipated ER30, E11K, NAVARA, and TX5 models are also making their debut. Image 2 To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8722/188905_e3a2e86ac42e2b49_002full.jpg The focus then shifts to EV charging solutions, ranging from 3kW to 480kW. For residential use, the AC Wallbox Home (7kW-22kW) takes center stage, offering Level 2 charging with a strong emphasis on safety through Dynamic Load Balancing and protective measures. Commercial options include the AC Wallbox Commercial (22kW) and DC fast chargers (30-180kW), with the latter supporting three outlets and highlighting adaptability and scalability through a modular design. Expanding Tech Boundaries through Innovation Hubs As one of the leading in the field of e-mobility, INVT E-mobility actively propels tangible EV tech advancements. The company strengthens its position by establishing innovation hubs in key locations, and fostering collaborations with research institutions and tech partners, yielding noteworthy outcomes. Breakthroughs, like enhanced battery efficiency and smart charging solutions, showcase INVT E-mobility's commitment to practical progress and its pivotal role in a sustainable global mobility future. About INVT E-mobility INVT Electric Vehicle Drive Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd, the main implementation body of the new energy vehicle business of INVT Group, is devoted to being the globally leading and respected provider of NEV power solutions. INVT E-mobility takes motor controller, on-board power supply, and electric vehicle charger technology as the core, providing multi-scenario solutions for global customers. Media Contact: Cheney Green Email: invt-emobility@invt.com.cn To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/188905 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / (TSXV:OGN)(OTCQX:OGNRF) Orogen Royalties Inc. ("Orogen" or the "Company") is pleased to report profitable financial results from its operations for the third quarter ended September 30, 2023. Paddy Nicol, CEO of Orogen, commented: "Orogen's profit primarily resulted from record royalty revenue from the Ermitano gold-silver Mine where increased production rates, strong gold grades and improvement in recoveries were achieved. Prospect generation remains profitable and we continue to obtain payments and transact on projects that organically grow our royalty portfolio. In addition, our positive cashflow from operations continues to strengthen our balance sheet and allows us to take advantage of counter cyclical opportunities in the current market." "We remain highly encouraged by the progress of AngloGold Ashanti NA's ("Anglogold") Expanded Silicon Project in Nevada, where drilling focused on the Merlin area, with eight drill rigs operating. According to AngloGold, the Mineral Resource delineation program at Merlin continues to return highly encouraging results that confirm and extend the modelled mineralization.1" Q3 2023 Highlights All amounts are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated. Net Income from Operations: Net income was $675,989 for the three-month period ended September 30, 2023, compared to a net income of $123,461 for the same period in 2022. This resulted in a net income of $1,439,818 or $0.008 per share year to date (2022 - net loss $99,093 or $0.001 per share). Net income was $675,989 for the three-month period ended September 30, 2023, compared to a net income of $123,461 for the same period in 2022. This resulted in a net income of $1,439,818 or $0.008 per share year to date (2022 - net loss $99,093 or $0.001 per share). Royalty Revenue: Royalty revenue of $1,628,409 was earned during the current period with 614 attributable gold equivalent ounces ("GEOs") sold at average price of US$1,928 per ounce, up 29% compared to the same period in 2022 and up 41% compared to the previous quarter. Royalty revenue of $1,628,409 was earned during the current period with 614 attributable gold equivalent ounces ("GEOs") sold at average price of US$1,928 per ounce, up 29% compared to the same period in 2022 and up 41% compared to the previous quarter. G&A Expenses : General and administrative expenses of $858,323 were incurred in the current period, up 7% compared to the same period in 2022 and down 10% compared to the previous quarter. : General and administrative expenses of $858,323 were incurred in the current period, up 7% compared to the same period in 2022 and down 10% compared to the previous quarter. Cash flow : Cash flow of $733,377 was used in operating activities in the current period. Cash flow generated from operating activities, excluding changes in non-cash working capital, was $993,571, up 565% compared to the same period in 2022 and up 46% from the previous quarter. : Cash flow of $733,377 was used in operating activities in the current period. Cash flow generated from operating activities, excluding changes in non-cash working capital, was $993,571, up 565% compared to the same period in 2022 and up 46% from the previous quarter. Working Capital: The Company has working capital of $17,473,228 at September 30, 2023 compared to $12,083,375 at the beginning of the fiscal year, an increase of $5,389,853. The Company has no long-term debt. For complete details of the Company's financial results, please refer to the condensed interim consolidated financial statements and MD&A for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023, and 2022. The Company's filings are available on SEDAR at www.sedarplus.ca and on Orogen's website at www.orogenroyalties.com. Please also see non-IFRS Measures at the end of this news release. Summary of Results First Majestic Silver Corp. ("First Majestic") operates the Ermitano Mine, where the Company holds a 2.0% net smelter return ("NSR") royalty. For the current quarter, the Company recorded $1,628,409 in royalty revenue consisting of 614 GEOs, up 29% compared to the same period in 2022. This is a record high for the Company since Ermitano began production in late 2021. Production at Ermitano included 226,292 tonnes processed containing average gold and silver head grades of 4.09 grams per tonne ("g/t") and 75 g/t, respectively, producing 28,367 ounces gold and 347,941 ounces silver. Total production increased by 41% compared to the previous quarter and this was due to higher grades and record silver and gold recoveries averaging 64% and 95%, respectively, compared to 52% and 94%, respectively, in the previous quarter. The improvements in recoveries were driven by the new dual-circuit plant, which allows for finer grinding and full utilization of the high intensity grinding mill. During the current period, the Company incurred $858,323 (2022 - $802,149) in G&A expenses. This is an increase of 7% compared to the same period in 2022 and a reduction of 10% compared to the prior quarter. The reduction in G&A expenses was due to continued optimization of administrative functions and lower overhead costs, which were offset by higher stock-based compensation cost for long-term equity-based compensation vested during the period. The Company capitalized $645,109 in acquisition and exploration expenditures, received $845,053 in recoveries from partners on alliances and option agreements, and recorded a gain of $450,227 from project sales and option agreements. Gains are recognized in a project when total recoveries including proceeds received from sale, option payments, and/or other reimbursement are greater than the project's total carrying value. To date, the Company has 26 royalties in Canada, United States, Mexico, Argentina, Kenya, and Colombia, most of which were generated organically through the Company's prospect generation business. The Company also has 9 mineral properties under option, 9 projects that are available for sale or option and one alliance. Expanded Silicon Project Update AngloGold provided an update during the quarter on the Expanded Silicon Project that now includes both the Silicon gold deposit and Merlin Exploration Target2. AngloGold has stated an Exploration Target3 for Merlin of 6 to 8 million ounces gold that is in addition to 4.22 million ounces gold (3.4 million ounces indicated, and 810,000 ounces inferred resource estimates) published for Silicon4. An initial Inferred Mineral Resource estimate for Merlin and an integrated concept study for the Expanded Silicon Project that considers synergies from the increased economy of scale and integrated infrastructure, with potential for large scale mining5 are expected to be completed by year-end. Orogen holds a 1% NSR royalty on the project. Qualified Person Statement All technical data, as disclosed in this press release, has been verified by Laurence Pryer, Ph.D., P.Geo., VP Exploration for Orogen. Dr. Pryer is a qualified person as defined under the terms of National Instrument 43-101. Certain technical disclosure in this release is a summary of previously released third-party information and the Company is relying on the interpretation provided. Additional information can be found on the links in the footnotes. About Orogen Royalties Inc. Orogen Royalties is focused on organic royalty creation and royalty acquisitions on precious and base metal discoveries in western North America. The Company's royalty portfolio includes the Ermitano gold and silver Mine in Sonora, Mexico (2.0% NSR royalty) operated by First Majestic Silver Corp. and the Silicon-Merlin gold project (1.0% NSR royalty) in Nevada, U.S.A, being advanced by AngloGold Ashanti. The Company is well financed with several projects actively being developed by joint venture partners. On Behalf of the Board OROGEN ROYALTIES INC. Paddy Nicol President & CEO To find out more about Orogen, please contact Paddy Nicol, President & CEO at 604-248-8648, and Marco LoCascio, Vice President of Corporate Development at 604-248-8648. Visit our website at www.orogenroyalties.com. Orogen Royalties Inc. 1015 - 789 West Pender Street Vancouver, BC Canada V6C 1H2 info@orogenroyalties.com https://thevault.exchange/?get_group_doc=143/1699425939-AngloGoldAshantiQ32023-ExplorationReportFinal.pdf https://thevault.exchange/?get_group_doc=143/1691123637-Interim2023MerlinExplorationTarget.pdf Cautionary Note: The ranges of tonnage and grade of the Exploration Target are conceptual in nature and could change as the proposed exploration activities are completed. There has been insufficient exploration of the relevant property or properties to estimate a Mineral Resource at this point in time. It is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource and the Exploration Target therefore does not represent, and should not be construed to be, an estimate of a Mineral Resource or Mineral Reserve. Given the conceptual stage of the project, a number of risks, uncertainties and opportunities, are evident in the confidence of the known orebody and the potential for upside at Silicon, Merlin and in the surrounding area. The Merlin Exploration Target grade and tonnage ranges have been determined by a preliminary review of the location and weighted average grade of the mineralised intercepts. The geology of the deposit contains a significant number of faulted offsets, which require detailed geological modelling to fully define the extent and continuity of the mineralisation. A bulk density value of 2.4 t/m3 was used. No economic constraint has been applied to the deposit to determine the extent of what material may ultimately be extracted. https://thevault.exchange/?get_group_doc=143/1695012984-NevadaBeattyDistrictProjects-InvestorPresentationFINAL.pdf https://thevault.exchange/?get_group_doc=143/1700636741/AngloGoldNewGenGold2023SiliconPresentationNov2023webv1.pdf Forward Looking Information This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward looking statements". All statements in this presentation, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that Orogen Royalties Inc. (the "Company") expect to occur, are forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believe the expectations expressed in such forward looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, and continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Furthermore, the extent to which COVID-19 may impact the Company's business will depend on future developments such as the geographic spread of the disease, the duration of the outbreak, travel restrictions, physical distancing, business closures or business disruptions, and the effectiveness of actions taken in Canada and other countries to contain and treat the disease. Although it is not possible to reliably estimate the length or severity of these developments and their financial impact as of the date of approval of these condensed interim consolidated financial statements, continuation of the prevailing conditions could have a significant adverse impact on the Company's financial position and results of operations for future periods. Forward-looking information in this news release includes disclosures regarding NSR royalty payments to be paid to the Company by First Majestic Silver Corp. ("First Majestic"), the owners and operator of the Ermitano mine located in Mexico and that the forecasted revenue which are based on First Majestic "NI 43-101 Technical Report on Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Estimates" having an effective date of June 30, 2021. In addition to the technical report, the disclosure herein also contains and the updated mineral reserve and resource estimates for the Ermitano mine based on the Santa Elena Mineral Reserve, Resource Estimates with an effective date of December 31, 2022 as announced by First Majestic on March 31, 2023 and as disclosed in their December 31, 2022 AIF, and First Majestic's MD&A for the period ended March 31, 2023. Forward-looking statements are based on several material assumptions, which management of the Company believe to be reasonable, including, but not limited to, the continuation of mining operations in respect of which the Company will receive NSR royalty payments, that the commodity prices will not experience a material adverse change, mining operations that underlie the royalty will operate in accordance with the disclosed parameters and other assumptions may be set out herein. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Except where otherwise stated, the disclosure in this news release relating to properties and operations in which Orogen holds a Royalty are based on information publicly disclosed by the owners or operators of these properties and information/data available in the public domain as at the date hereof, and none of this information has been independently verified by Orogen. Specifically, as a Royalty holder and prospect generator, the Company has limited, if any, access to properties on which it holds Royalty or other interests in its asset portfolio. The Company may from time to time receive operating information from the owners and operators of the mining properties, which it is not permitted to disclose to the public. Orogen is dependent on, (i) the operators of the mining properties and their qualified persons to provide information to Orogen, or (ii) on publicly available information to prepare disclosure pertaining to properties and operations on the properties on which the Company holds Royalty or other interests, and generally has limited or no ability to independently verify such information. Although the Company does not have any knowledge that such information may not be accurate, there can be no assurance that such third-party information is complete or accurate. Some reported public information in respect of a mining property may relate to a larger property area than the area covered by Orogen's Royalty or other interest. Orogen's Royalty or other interests may cover less than 100% of a specific mining property and may only apply to a portion of the publicly reported mineral reserves, mineral resources and or production from a mining property. Non-IFRS Measures The Company has included certain results in this news release that do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") including total GEOs sold, average realized gold price per GEO, and cash flow from operating activities excluding changes in non-cash working capital adjustments. The Company's royalty revenue is converted to a gold equivalent ounce by dividing the royalty revenue received during the period by the average gold price of the period. The Company has also used the non-IFRS measure of operating cash flows excluding changes in non-cash working capital. This measure is calculated by adding back the decrease or subtracting the increase in changes in non-cash working capital to or from cash provided by (used in) operating activities. SOURCE: Orogen Royalties Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/810554/orogen-royalties-announces-record-royalty-revenue-and-profitable-quarter-for-q3-2023 Achieved positive cash flow for each operating business unit; Strong sales growth, with revenue of $9.1 million and $28.4 million, for the three month and nine month periods ending September 30, 2023, increasing 11.4% and 7.4% year-over-year, respectively; Continued improvement in adjusted gross margins1 of 52% in Q3 2023, compared with adjusted gross margins of 49% in Q3 of 2022; Adjusted gross profit1 of $4.8 million in Q3 2023, compared with $4.0 million in Q3 2022, representing an 18.3% increase year-over-year; $10.8 million in cash and restricted cash at September 30, 2023. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 28, 2023) - SLANG Worldwide Inc. (CNSX: SLNG) (OTCQB: SLGWF) ("SLANG" or the "Company"), a leading global cannabis consumer packaged goods (CPG) company with a diversified portfolio of popular brands, today released financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023. All figures in this press release are stated in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted. "The third quarter was another solid quarter for SLANG, with both revenue and gross profit increasing sequentially and year-over-year. Impressively, all our operating business units exceeded expectations for the quarter, with each one cash flow positive on a standalone and operational basis," commented John Moynan, Chief Executive Officer of SLANG. "I believe that these results demonstrate the strength of our proven business model, as we are strategically expanding, successfully operating and adapting to the challenging dynamics of each cannabis market and regulatory environment. To me, our results confirm that SLANG is well-positioned for the future." Moynan continued, "Across our geographies, we continue to maintain a leadership position as we scale our operations and position SLANG for continued growth. For example, in Vermont, where we saw rapid market saturation in the retail market, we were able to increase revenue by $1.58 million year-over-year by expanding into the wholesale market which is proving to be a new high-margin revenue channel for SLANG. In Colorado, our ability to be nimble and adapt has allowed us to identify and expand our products in select categories, such as within the vape category segment, to lead and expand our market position. Finally, in Maryland and West Virginia, through our strategic partnership with Trulieve, we have integrated this high-growth channel and demonstrated our ability to effectively compete in the country's most competitive markets in a cost-effective manner. Our strength remains our ability to identify opportunities and to focus on partners and categories where we can be successful." Third Quarter 2023 Financial Summary: Revenue from continuing operations for the three months ended September 30, 2023, was $9.10 million, compared with $8.17 million in the three months ended September 30, 2022. The year-over-year increase was primarily driven by an increase of $0.95 million in Core Market sales and $0.19 million in Ecommerce sales, partially offset by a decrease of $0.18 million in our Distribution sales and a decrease of $0.03 million in Emerging Market sales. Within the Core Market segment, the Company experienced growth in Vermont, with sales increasing by $1.58 million, which is offset by a reduction of $0.63 million in sales in Colorado. Gross profit of $4.9 million (53% gross margin) in Q3 2023, compared with $3.6 million (44% gross margin) in Q3 2022. Adjusted gross profit 1 was $4.8 million (52% adjusted gross margin) in Q3 2023, compared with $4.0 million (49% adjusted gross margin) in Q3 2022, representing an 18.3% increase year-over-year. was $4.8 million (52% adjusted gross margin) in Q3 2023, compared with $4.0 million (49% adjusted gross margin) in Q3 2022, representing an 18.3% increase year-over-year. EBITDA 1 of $(0.38) million in Q3 2023, compared with $(3.43) million in Q3 2022. The improvement in EBITDA is primarily attributable to a $1.67 million increase in gross profit (excluding depreciation costs), and a reduction of $1.38 million in operating expenses (excluding depreciation) such as insurance and share-based payments. of $(0.38) million in Q3 2023, compared with $(3.43) million in Q3 2022. The improvement in EBITDA is primarily attributable to a $1.67 million increase in gross profit (excluding depreciation costs), and a reduction of $1.38 million in operating expenses (excluding depreciation) such as insurance and share-based payments. Adjusted EBITDA 1 of $(0.31) million in Q3 2023, compared with $(1.24 million) in Q3 2022. The reduction in Adjusted EBITDA is primarily attributable to an increase of $1.15 in gross profit before fair value adjustments of biological assets (excluding depreciation costs), offset by $0.22 million increase in operating expenses (excluding depreciation expenses, expected credit losses and share based payments). of $(0.31) million in Q3 2023, compared with $(1.24 million) in Q3 2022. The reduction in Adjusted EBITDA is primarily attributable to an increase of $1.15 in gross profit before fair value adjustments of biological assets (excluding depreciation costs), offset by $0.22 million increase in operating expenses (excluding depreciation expenses, expected credit losses and share based payments). $10.82 million in cash and restricted cash on September 30, 2023, compared to $11.92 million on December 31, 2022 and $10.07 million on June 30, 2023. Additionally, for the nine months ended September 30, 2023, cash flows generated from continuing operating activities was $0.29 million, compared to cash flows used in continuing operating activities of ($6.35 million) for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, an improvement of $6.61 million. In the third quarter, the Company received a $1.63 million Employee Retention Tax Credit from the Internal Revenue Service. Recent Corporate Developments: The Company announced on November 21, 2023, that it has retained PGP Capital Advisors, LLC, ("PGP") to assist in a review of its strategic alternatives. The Company's Board of Directors has formed a committee of independent directors to assist SLANG's management team and PGP in exploring, reviewing, and evaluating strategic alternatives that may be available to the Company to maximize shareholder value. The Company also announces that as of November 14, 2023, it has issued 2,946,757 common shares in connection with the CFO's employment agreement and 5,575,781 common shares in connection with the CEO's employment agreement (the "CEO Agreement"). This was the third and final tranche issuance pursuant to the CEO Agreement, the second tranche was completed May 15, 2023, by the issuance of 1,949,723 common shares and the first tranche completed May 16, 2022, with the issuance of 243,847 common shares. Third Quarter 2023 Financial Review The consolidated financial statements were prepared in accordance with IFRS. The following is a selected presentation of the Income Statement for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023. (In thousands of Canadian dollars except per share data and percentages) For the three months ended For the nine months ended 30-Sep-23 30-Sep-22 30-Sep-23 30-Sep-22 Net Operating Revenue From Continuing Operations 9,101 8,170 28,360 26,412 Cost of goods sold 4,348 4,153 13,389 14,489 Gross Profit Before Fair Value Adjustment of Biological Assets 4,753 4,017 14,971 11,923 Realized fair value amounts included in inventory sold (375 ) (584 ) (1,407 ) (1,678 ) Unrealized gain on changes in fair value of biological assets 480 170 1,356 1,506 Gross Profit 4,858 3,603 14,920 11,751 Gross Profit Margin 53% 44% 53% 44% Operating expenses 5,960 8,592 17,975 23,165 Operating Loss (1,102 ) (4,989 ) (3,055 ) (11,414 ) Other items (Impairment, FV adjustment, FX, gains/losses, taxes, etc.) (3,392 ) 348 (7,304 ) (1,284 ) Total Comprehensive Loss (4,494 ) (4,641 ) (10,359 ) (12,698 ) Earnings Per Share From Continuing Operations Basic (0.03 ) (0.06 ) (0.06 ) (0.16 ) Diluted (0.03 ) (0.06 ) (0.06 ) (0.15 ) (In thousands of Canadian dollars) For the three months ended For the nine months ended 30-Sep-23 30-Sep-22 30-Sep-23 30-Sep-22 Net Operating Revenue From Continuing Operations 9,101 8,170 28,360 26,412 Cost of Goods Sold 4,348 4,153 13,389 14,489 Realized fair value amounts included in inventory sold (375 ) (584 ) (1,407 ) (1,678 ) Unrealized gain on fair value of biological assets 480 170 1,356 1,506 Cost of Goods Sold 4,243 4,567 13,440 14,661 Gross Profit 4,858 3,603 14,920 11,751 Gross Profit Margin 53% 44% 53% 44% Gross Profit before FV adjustment 4,753 4,017 14,971 11,923 Gross Profit Margin before FV adjustment 52% 49% 53% 45% (In thousands of Canadian dollars) For the three months ended For the nine months ended 30-Sep-23 30-Sep-22 30-Sep-23 30-Sep-22 Total Comprehensive Loss (4,494 ) (4,641 ) (10,359 ) (12,698 ) EBITDA (Non-IFRS) (379 ) (3,432 ) (869 ) (6,887 ) Adjusted EBITDA (Non-IFRS) (306 ) (1,240 ) (328 ) (3,588 ) See the Company's management's discussion and analysis for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023 (the "Q3 2023 MD&A") for a detailed reconciliation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to Operating Income / (Loss). SLANG's financial statements and the Q3 2023 MD&A are available on SEDAR at www.sedarplus.ca, and on the Company's Investor Relations website at www.slangww.com. Non-IFRS Measures EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, adjusted gross profit and adjusted gross margin are non-IFRS financial measures that the Company uses to assess its operating performance. EBITDA is defined as net earnings (loss) before net finance costs, income tax expense (benefit) and depreciation and amortization expense. Management defines Adjusted EBITDA as EBITDA adjusted for other non-cash items such as the impact of unrealized fair values, share based compensation expense, impairments, one-time gains and losses, and one-time revenues and expenses. Management defines adjusted gross profit as gross profit before fair value adjustment of biological assets. Management defines adjusted gross margin as gross margin before fair value adjustment of biological assets. This data is furnished to provide additional information and are non-IFRS measures and do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. The Company uses these non-IFRS measures to provide shareholders and others with supplemental measures of its operating performance. The Company also believes that securities analysts, investors and other interested parties, frequently use these non-IFRS measures in the evaluation of companies, many of which present similar metrics when reporting their results. As other companies may calculate these non-IFRS measures differently than the Company, these metrics may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. We caution readers that Adjusted EBITDA should not be substituted for determining net loss as an indicator of operating results, or as a substitute for cash flows from operating and investing activities. During 2022 the Company updated its definition of Adjusted EBITDA to include the impact of fair value amounts included in inventory sold and unrealized gain on changes in fair value of biological assets. Certain of the comparative 2022 figures have been updated to conform to this current period presentation. Conference Call Details Management plans to host an investor conference call today, November 28, at 10:00 am ET to discuss the results. Timing: Tuesday, November 28, 2023 at 10:00 am ET Dial In: 1-(888) 440-5983 (US toll-free) or 1-(646) 960-0202 (international) Conference ID: 6291438 Webcast: A live webcast can be accessed via the Company's website at www.slangww.com or https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/894460650 About SLANG Worldwide SLANG Worldwide Inc. is the industry leader in branded cannabis consumer packaged goods, with a diversified portfolio of five distinct brands and products distributed across the U.S. Operating in 13 legal cannabis markets nationwide, SLANG specializes in acquiring and developing market-proven regional brands, as well as launching innovative new brands to seize global market opportunities and match evolving consumer tastes. The Company has over a decade of experience operating in the nascent and highly regulated cannabis sector, and its partners enjoy the benefits of that experience, with access to the SLANG playbook for successful operations, sales and marketing. Its strong product pipeline from uniquely positioned and scalable brands like O.pen, Alchemy Naturals, Ceres, Firefly, and partnerships with brands like Greenhouse Seed Company have a proven track record of success with the brands consistently ranking among the top performers in the states where SLANG operates. Learn more at slangww.com. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements." Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements, or developments in the industry to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management of SLANG at this time, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive risks, uncertainties and contingencies that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Applicable risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to regulatory risks, risks related to the COVID-19 global pandemic, changes in laws, resolutions and guidelines, market risks, concentration risks, operating history, competition, the risks associated with international and foreign operations and the other risks identified under the headings "Risk Factors" in SLANG's annual information form dated April 27, 2022 and other disclosure documents available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. SLANG is not under any obligation, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable law. Third Party Information This press release includes market and industry data that has been obtained from third party sources, including industry publications. The Company believes that the industry data is accurate and that its estimates and assumptions are reasonable, but there is no assurance as to the accuracy or completeness of this data. Third party sources generally state that the information contained therein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but there is no assurance as to the accuracy or completeness of included information. Although the data is believed to be reliable, the Company has not independently verified any of the data from third party sources referred to in this press release or ascertained the underlying economic assumptions relied upon by such sources. Reader Advisory Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Company Contact Mikel Rutherford, CFO 833-752-6499 Media and Investor Inquiries Investors@SLANGww.com KCSA Strategic Communications Phil Carlson SLANG@kcsa.com 1 See "Non IFRS measures". To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/188882 Kitoko discovery includes drill hole DD008 intersecting 5.19 metres true width, grading 11.64% copper, at a 1% copper cut-off Kitoko is Ivanhoe's fifth high-grade sedimentary copper discovery in the DRC Mineralogical characteristics of Kitoko are most similar to those of the tier-one Kakula copper orebody Discovery zone traced over a 1.9-kilometre strike and open in all directions Expanded drilling program continues around Kitoko and other Western Foreland targets Kolwezi, Democratic Republic of Congo--(Newsfile Corp. - November 28, 2023) - Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) (OTCQX: IVPAF) Founder and Executive Co-Chair Robert Friedland and President Marna Cloete are excited to announce today that the company has made a significant high-grade copper discovery on recently acquired joint venture licences in the Western Foreland, west of the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Ivanhoe Mines' geological team have aptly named the discovery KITOKO, which means "beautiful" or "gift" in several local languages in the DRC. The Kitoko discovery confirms the presence of a significant high-grade copper mineralizing system between 1,000 meters and 1,140 metres below the surface. Kitoko fine-grained copper mineralization is hosted in near flat-lying siltstone of the lower Grand Conglomerate, like that observed at the tier-one Kamoa, Kakula, Makoko and Kiala deposits. Also, like these deposits, the Kitoko mineralization is bottom-loaded with the highest copper grades occurring at the base of the mineralized zone. As mineralization occurs at the Kakula orebody, the lower section of the mineralized zone features occurrences of high-grade chalcocite and bornite copper sulphide minerals, with chalcopyrite copper sulphide mineralization more prevalent towards the top (see Figure 3). The currently defined mineralized zone is trending southwest over 1.9 kilometres of strike, with a dip extent of between 600 meters and mineralization remains open in all directions (See Figure 4). The Kitoko discovery is approximately 25 kilometres west of the ultra-high-grade Kakula Mine, and five kilometres south and southeast of the Makoko deposit and is located inside a package of newly acquired joint venture licences in the Western Foreland. The new package of licences increases Ivanhoe's highly prospective Western Foreland land position by 10% to 2,654 square kilometres. Under the terms of the joint venture that covers the 247 square kilometres of newly acquired licences, Ivanhoe has an initial interest of 10% with an earn-in right to increase its ownership by funding ongoing exploration activities. Ivanhoe expects to make further exploration spending commitments in 2024, to increase Ivanhoe's interest to 60%. Selected drill holes at the Kitoko Copper Discovery include: DD003 (the Kitoko discovery hole) intersected 3.37 metres (true width) of 3.54% copper, at a 1.0% copper cut-off, from a downhole depth of 1,077 metres. DD004 intersected 6.43 metres (true width) of 4.92% copper, at a 1.0% copper cut-off, from a downhole depth of 1,071 metres. DD006 intersected 4.18 metres (true width) of 3.60% copper, at a 1.0% copper cut-off, from a downhole depth of 1,065 metres. DD007 intersected 6.79 metres (true width) of 3.35% copper at a 1.0% copper cut-off, from a downhole depth of 1,089 metres. DD008 intersected two separate high-grade mineralized zones: 3.09 metres (true width) of 3.67% copper from a downhole depth of 1,118 metres, and a higher grade zone of 5.19 metres (true width) of 11.64% copper from a downhole depth of 1,135 metres, at a 1.0% copper cut-off. Ivanhoe Founder and Executive Co-Chair Robert Friedland commented: "Ivanhoe's latest high-grade discovery of Kitoko confirms the effectiveness of our exploration model for identifying tier-one copper mineralization across the Western Foreland. Our proprietary knowledge is the result of over 20 years of in-depth geological research in this previously unexplored terrain. "This year's drilling success proves that our geological team has the ability to unearth further major copper discoveries across the Western Foreland. We are fortunate to control such a large exploration land package with tier-one potential, in the identical geological domain as the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex, the world's greenest and fastest-growing major copper mining complex. "Our geologists are excited to find very high-grade copper very similar to the massive tier-one Kakula orebody, now discovered in the deeper parts of the Western Foreland basin that remains completely unexplored. When combined with the recent Mineral Resources at the nearby Makoko and Kiala deposits, the Kitoko discovery marks a turning point for our strategy in the Western Foreland. We are excited to explore options for near-term, high-grade copper production across our majority-owned licenses. "Importantly, the Lobito Rail Corridor to the nearest coastal port in Angola runs across this emerging world-class copper district... The railway and port will provide strategic advantages in terms of inbound and outbound transport and lower carbon emissions. In fact, the Lobito Corridor will dramatically improve the economics of the entire DRC mining industry, which is powered primarily by hydroelectricity. The Lobito Corridor will lower mining cut-off grades and increase the amount of economically recoverable copper that our world desperately needs from the Western Foreland and exploration properties in both Angola and the DRC will become far more attractive due to the very existence of the Lobito Corridor. "The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo strongly encourages exploration efforts, and Ivanhoe's team are proud to lead the way. Ivanhoe's talented and dedicated people possess sophisticated exploration technologies and invaluable intellectual property, together with a global track record of success. We are committed to unlocking the full potential of the DRC's endowment and we envision world-leading and ultra-green copper production across the Copperbelt for generations to come." Figure 1. Diamond core from hole DKTK_DD008 at Kitoko, showing two zones of high-grade mineralization. The lower zone returned 5.19 metres true width at a grade of 11.6% copper, at a 1% copper cut-off. The upper zone also returned significant grades of copper mineralization. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/188900_39171d0024ecc884_002full.jpg Table 1 (below) contains a complete list of assay results for the drill holes completed to date at Kitoko, at both a 1% and 2% copper cut-off. For drill holes DD005 to DD011, independent assays are pending; only "Niton" X-ray fluorescent (XRF) results are currently available. The reader is cautioned that Niton XRF readings are not the same as laboratory assays and are not an estimate of resource grades disclosed in accordance with NI 43-101. However, based on more than 2,000 holes drilled to date at the neighbouring Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex, as well as on the Western Foreland Exploration Project, a high degree of correlation between Niton XRF readings and assay results is evident. The company is confident that these data readings are highly useful in confirming and shaping the next stage of the exploration drilling program pending final assay results. Figure 2. (L-R) Comparison of drill core from the Kakula orebody, alongside drill core from the Kitoko discovery. The Kitoko core displays many similar mineralization characteristics to Kakula core. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/188900_ivanhoemines28112023f2.jpg Extensive exploration history and experience in Ivanhoe's Western Foreland fundamental to discovery Ivanhoe began exploration activities on the extensive Western Foreland land position in July 2017. Initially, activities were focused on the construction of all-season access roads, bridges and the development of new camp facilities. In parallel, Ivanhoe undertook airborne and ground-based geophysical surveys and revisited previously acquired geophysical and geochemical data sets. Targets, and subsequent discoveries, were identified first based on analysis of geological models from the airborne and ground geophysics, as well as surface and sub-surface geochemical sampling, and ultimately confirmed by diamond drilling. By year-end 2023, the company expects to have completed more than 166,000 metres of diamond drilling since 2017, including 36,000 metres completed year-to-date. The newly discovered high-grade mineralization at Kitoko is associated with siltstone and inter-banded gritty layers of sandstone, formed in periods of relatively low sediment input into the basin, within a large package of Grand Conglomerate diamictite. The siltstones contain early pyrite that reacted with ore fluids to deposit copper. Multiple packages, or layers, of pyritic siltstones, have been identified and are exploration targets when they occur in prospective basin locations. The Kitoko discovery is hosted in the Grand Conglomerate overlaying the Kibaran basement directly, whereas the Kakula, Kamoa, Makoko and Kiala deposits occur where the Grand Conglomerate is underlain by Mwasha sandstones. This highlights the potential for copper mineralization across a variety of underlying aquifer conditions and therefore increases the proportion of the Western Foreland that is prospective for high-grade mineralization. Figure 3: Strip logs showing the mineralization and lithological host of the Kitoko discovery. The two holes are in separate sections 1,400 metres apart. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/188900_39171d0024ecc884_010full.jpg Note: Ng1.1.1 is the lowest stratigraphic package of the Grand Conglomerate, and KB is the Kibaran basement. Like the Kamoa and Kakula deposits, copper mineralization at Kitoko is hosted in the lowest reductant sedimentary layer. The deposition of copper mineralization occurs in basins where the circulating copper-bearing fluids are focused into sub-basins and shelf edges. Ivanhoe's 80-to-100%-owned exploration licences, plus the new joint venture licence package, cover approximately 175 kilometres of prospective strike length for this style of mineralization. Drilling is continuing at Kitoko to define the limits of mineralization, which remains open in all directions. When the extent of the mineralized system has been confirmed, infill resource drilling will begin. All-weather access roads have been constructed to enable operations to continue throughout the DRC rainy season, which typically runs from November through April. In conjunction with the drilling, detailed mineralogical studies on associated alteration have begun to complement the existing geological understanding. Exploration will continue to test other high-value exploration targets in conjunction with the continued drilling of Kitoko in 2024 and beyond. Kitoko discovery further advances Ivanhoe's proprietary exploration model Ivanhoe geologists have developed proprietary geological models based on increased knowledge of the architecture of this emerging copper district and the formation of high-grade mineralization, including grade distribution. This knowledge has been increased substantially during the mining of the high-grade Kakula deposit, demonstrating the advantage of an operating mine adjacent to active exploration. The discovery was solely targeted using knowledge of shelf architecture. The intersection of high-grade mineralization, at over 1,000 meters depth in the Western Foreland, confirms the criteria used for targeting blind mineralization across the 2,654-square-kilometre license package. Figure 4. Kitoko dip section, looking east, of discovery holes DD003 to DD011 The Kitoko discovery has no surface expression in either geochemistry or geophysics. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/188900_39171d0024ecc884_011full.jpg Figure 5. Zoomed in dip section, looking east as shown in Figure 4, of the Kitoko discovery, showing grade intervals at a 1% cut-off To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/188900_39171d0024ecc884_013full.jpg Members of Ivanhoe Mines' exploration team with drill core from the 2023 exploration campaign, which led to the high-grade Kitoko copper discovery. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/188900_39171d0024ecc884_012full.jpg Kitoko discovery follows release of maiden Makoko and Kiala Mineral Resources, further enhancing near-term development optionality for Western Foreland On November 13, 2023, Ivanhoe announced the independently verified, maiden Mineral Resource estimates for the high-grade Makoko and Kiala deposits, also within its Western Foreland Exploration Project. The Kitoko discovery is within five kilometres of the Makoko deposit. Makoko and Kiala are two distinct discoveries adjacent to the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex and continue Ivanhoe's distinguished track record of making greenfield discoveries in this uniquely endowed geological terrain. The Makoko Discovery remains open along an approximate west-east trending strike and there is potential for further resource expansion within the Makoko Exploration Area. High-grade copper mineralization has been outlined along a corridor that is currently approximately 700 metres wide and at least four kilometres in length. The Kiala Discovery remains open to the north, with the potential for parallel mineralized zones to be defined east and west of the current Mineral Resource. Nique Karaj a Zeng, Geologist, Ivanhoe Mines, holding Kitoko core from hole DD008 To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/3396/188900_39171d0024ecc884_014full.jpg Table 1: Assay composites at 1% and 2% copper cut-off for Kitoko drill holes received to date. 1% Cu Cut-off 2% Cu Cut-off Hole ID From (m) To (m) Length (m) True Tk (m) Cu % From (m) To (m) Length (m) True Tk (m) Cu % DKTK_DD003 1076.90 1080.28 3.37 3.37 3.54 1076.91 1080.28 3.37 3.37 3.54 DKTK_DD004 1071.10 1077.57 6.46 6.43 4.92 1073.00 1077.00 4.00 3.98 6.91 DKTK_DD005 1043.60 1047.00 3.40 3.40 0.71 * DKTK_DD006 1065.30 1069.49 4.19 4.18 3.60 1065.30 1069.49 4.19 4.18 3.60 * DKTK_DD007 1088.53 1095.32 6.79 6.79 3.35 1088.53 1094.68 6.15 6.15 3.52 * DKTK_DD008 1134.51 1139.70 5.19 5.19 11.64 1134.51 1137.70 4.22 4.22 13.77 * 1117.84 1120.93 3.09 3.09 3.67 1117.84 1120.93 3.09 3.09 3.67 * DKTK_DD009 1040.19 1044.00 3.81 3.76 0.97 * DKTK_DD010 1103.18 1111.00 7.82 7.79 2.52 1105.24 1109.00 3.76 3.74 3.61 * DKTK_DD011 1038.86 1043.88 5.02 4.94 2.63 1038.86 1042.57 3.71 3.65 3.04 * *Denotes values from the Ivanhoe Mine Exploration Laboratory Niton X-Ray Fluorescent (XRF) instrument Table 2: Collar location and elevation for Kitoko drill holes. Note: Collar locations and elevations are based on Ivanhoe Mines's internal DGPS unit, apart from DKTK_DD010 which is based on a handheld GPS. Hole ID Easting Northing Elevation Azimuth Dip DKTK_DD003 273159.509 8793809.883 1236.639 340 85 DKTK_DD004 271960.324 8793011.512 1253.813 340 85 DKTK_DD005 271916.037 8793202.800 1251.572 340 85 DTKK_DD006 273093.673 8793991.330 1241.017 340 85 DKTK_DD007 272010.553 8792813.869 1256.779 340 85 DKTK_DD008 273205.391 8793607.265 1244.222 340 85 DKTK_DD009 272694.815 8793392.920 1251.959 340 85 DKTK_DD010 272106 8792409 1284 340 85 DKTK_DD011 273045.774 8794185.818 1239.359 340 85 Qualified Persons and Quality Assurance and Control Disclosures of a scientific or technical nature at the Western Foreland Exploration Project in this news release have been reviewed and approved by Tim Williams, who is considered, by virtue of his education, experience and professional association, a Qualified Person under the terms of NI 43-101. Mr. Williams is not considered independent under NI 43-101 as he is Ivanhoe Mines' Executive Head, Exploration. Ivanhoe Mines maintains a comprehensive chain of custody and QA/QC program on assays from its Western Foreland Exploration Project. Half-sawn core is processed at the on-site preparation laboratory and prepared samples then are shipped by secure courier to Bureau Veritas Minerals (BVM) Laboratories in Australia, an ISO17025-accredited facility independent of Ivanhoe Mines. Copper assays are determined at BVM by mixed-acid digestion with ICP finish. Industry-standard certified reference materials and blanks are inserted into the sample stream before dispatch to BVM. Ivanhoe conducts Niton (X-ray fluorescence or XRF) analyses routinely as part of its sample preparation and analysis. Sawn drill core is sampled on nominal 1-metre intervals, and then the sawn core is crushed to nominal 2 mm using jaw crushers. A quarter split (500 grams to 1,000 grams) is pulverized to >90% -75 m, using LM2 puck and bowl pulverizes. The remaining coarse reject material is retained. A 100-gram split is sent for assay and a 30-gram split is used for XRF analysis. The XRF split is placed in a powder cup, with analysis of the pulp occurring under controlled conditions. Ivanhoe inserts blanks and certified reference materials into the Niton XRF sample stream in the same way it does for its assays, with a 5% insertion rate for certified reference materials and blanks. Ivanhoe monitors the XRF results for accuracy and precision, and compares the XRF results to the ICP results, although Niton XRF results are used for indicative purposes only. About Ivanhoe Mines Ivanhoe Mines is a Canadian mining company focused on advancing its three principal projects in Southern Africa; the expansion of the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the DRC, the construction of the tier-one Platreef palladium-nickel-platinum-rhodium-copper-gold project in South Africa; and the restart of the historic ultra-high-grade Kipushi zinc-copper-germanium-silver mine, also in the DRC. Ivanhoe Mines also is exploring for new copper discoveries across its circa 2,400km2 of 80-100% owned exploration licences, as well as on the 247km2 of newly acquired joint venture licences, in the Western Foreland located adjacent to the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the DRC. Information contact Investors Vancouver: Matthew Keevil +1.604.558.1034 London: Tommy Horton +44 7866 913 207 Media Tanya Todd +1.604.331.9834 Cautionary statement on forward-looking information Certain statements in this news release constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company, its projects, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "expect", "believe", "plan", "anticipate", "estimate", "scheduled", "forecast", "predict" and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements. These statements reflect the company's current expectations regarding future events, performance and results and speak only as of the date of this news release. Such statements include without limitation: (i) statements regarding the company's further exploration and spending commitments in 2024, which are expected to allow the company to increase its interest in the newly acquired joint venture licenses to 60%; (ii) statements regarding the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex being the world's greenest and fastest-growing copper producer; (iii) statements that the planned Lobito Rail Corridor to the coastal port of Lobito in Angola could provide strategic advantages in terms of outbound transport and lower carbon emissions; (iv) statements that by year-end 2024, the company expects to have completed more than 166,000 metres of diamond drilling since 2017 over the area comprising the Western Foreland licenses; (v) statements that once the extent of the mineralization system at Kitoko is confirmed, infill resource drilling will begin; (vi) statements that exploration at Western Foreland will continue to test other high-valued targets in conjunction with the continued drilling of Kitoko in 2024 and beyond; and (viii) statements regarding the other planned exploration programs at the Western Foreland area. Forward-looking statements and information involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indicators of whether or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements or information, including, but not limited to, the factors discussed under "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the company's MD&A for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023, and its Annual Information Form, as well as the inability to obtain regulatory approvals in a timely manner; the potential for unknown or unexpected events to cause contractual conditions to not be satisfied; unexpected changes in laws, rules or regulations, or their enforcement by applicable authorities; the failure of parties to contracts with the company to perform as agreed; social or labour unrest; changes in commodity prices; and the failure of exploration programs or studies to deliver anticipated results or results that would justify and support continued exploration, studies, development or operations. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the company believes are reasonable assumptions, the company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Subject to applicable securities laws, the company does not assume any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this news release. The company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of the factors set forth in the "Risk Factors" section and elsewhere in the company's MD&A for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023, and its Annual Information Form. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/188900 With this acquisition, Globant continues its journey of creating a powerful global creative tech organization ready for growth After being a client for three years, Globant buys its own advertising agency in a golden and unique move NEW YORK, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Globant (NYSE: GLOB), a digitally native company focused on reinventing businesses through innovative technology solutions, today announced the acquisition of a majority stake in GUT, an independent creative agency, to strengthen and grow Globant's creative capabilities. This acquisition will shape a partnership that will boost Globant's technology and creative offering, taking it to a new level, and support GUT's expansion to new markets and industries while leading the inception of technology into advertising. "Technology and creativity have never been more closely linked than they are today," said Martin Migoya, Co-founder and CEO of Globant. "We always say that Globant is where innovation, design, and engineering meet scale, and we couldn't be more excited to bring the world's most creative marketing and communications company into the mix. With this acquisition, we will be able to offer a unique blend of top-notch technology and bold ideas to brands from the very beginning of the creative ideation process." "We are thrilled to enter into this next chapter of our expansive growth powered by such an entrepreneurial and innovative partner as Globant, who will help us rapidly achieve the scale we've always dreamed about," said Anselmo Ramos, Co-Founder and Creative Chairman of GUT. "Our mission when we founded GUT was to be the most diverse, creative, and influential agency Network ever, so we know that this reinvention with Globant will only accelerate that goal to hopefully becoming our reality soon." The five-year-old network has employees across seven offices in Miami, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Toronto, Mexico City, Los Angeles, and Amsterdam. It has also attracted over 60 clients globally, including AB InBev, Mercado Libre, Google, Kraft Heinz, Coca-Cola, and Tim Hortons. This year, GUT was named Cannes Lions Independent Network of the Year after winning 35 Lions, including 3 Grand Prix, 8 Golds, 12 Silvers, and 12 Bronzes across its Network. GUT Buenos Aires was also named both Cannes Lions Agency of the Year and Independent Agency of the Year in 2023. And this fall, Adweek named GUT the Breakthrough Agency of the Year, as well as GUT Buenos Aires office as the International Agency of the Year. GUT will remain operating as fully independent as it does today, and GUT's leadership team will remain in place with a continued focus on building culture and driving growth. Both companies will work together identifying cross-selling opportunities and leveraging their unique skills to provide even more innovative solutions to their customers. "Globant has been a trusted client for many years. We've done so many wonderful and successful things together as an agency and client, and now together, we know they will help us realize the dreams we've had since we were founded in 2018," said Gaston Bigio, Co-Founder and Creative Chairman of GUT. "Ultimately, we're excited to be part of the team that will propel us into the next phase of growth and success at GUT, and set us up for even more growth and success in the long term for our People and clients around the world." "GUT and Globant share a solid culture, endless passion for supporting their clients, and a strong commitment to bravery, creativity, and innovation", said Martin Umaran, Co-Founder and Chief Corporate Development Officer of Globant. "In past years, Globant doubled-down on its inherent creative side of technology by adding marketing and advertising agencies such as Habitant, in Spain, Vertic, in Denmark, Ad_Bid, in Colombia, and KTBO, in Mexico. We have already merged these teams with Globant's own Digital Marketing and Digital Sales Studios to create a new end-to-end Studio Network with an agency approach enhanced with AI and diverse and talented professionals. GUT will play a critical role in being part of this Network", he added. Both organizations are ranked among the top ten global organizations in their respective industries: Globant is the 8th strongest IT brand globally according to the latest Brand Finance report, and GUT is the most creative independent advertising network in the world according to Cannes 2023 Report - forming a powerful global creative tech company poised for even greater growth. Globant was also included by Fortune on its latest list of "100 Fastest-Growing Companies", ranked first among peers in the Information Technology Services category and recognized for its revenue, profit and stock return over the last three years. About Globant We are a digitally native company that helps organizations reinvent themselves and unleash their potential. We are where innovation, design, and engineering meet at scale. We have more than 27,500 employees and are present in 30 countries and five continents, working for companies like Google, Electronic Arts, and Santander, among others. We were named a Worldwide Leader in AI Services (2023) and Worldwide Leader in CX Improvement Services (2020) by IDC MarketScape report. We were also featured as a business case study at Harvard, MIT, and Stanford. We are active members of The Green Software Foundation (GSF) and the Cybersecurity Tech Accord. Contact: pr@globant.com Sign up to get first dibs on press news and updates. For more information, visit www.globant.com About GUT GUT is an award-winning Global Creative Network with offices in Miami, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Toronto, Mexico City, Los Angeles, and Amsterdam, created on the foundation of three essential values: Courage, Transparency, and above all, Intuition. Since its founding in 2018 by Anselmo Ramos and Gaston Bigio, GUT's strength has been to help brands generate a disproportionate amount of buzz, infiltrate pop culture, influence behaviors, create brand love long term, and ultimately help solve brands' biggest business challenges. The GUT Network has also won multiple accolades at the industry's most prestigious award shows, including at Cannes Lions 2023, where it won a total of 35 Lions (3 GPs, 8 Gold, 12 Silver and 12 Bronze), and became #1 Independent Network of the Year, LATAM Regional Network of the Year, and its GUT Buenos Aires office became both Independent Agency of the Year and Agency of the Year - a first for Argentina. More recently, GUT was named as Adweek's #1 Breakthrough Agency of the Year, and its Buenos Aires office was named as the #1 International Agency of the Year. Learn more at https://www.gut.agency Forward Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The expectations related to the businesses of Globant and Gut may differ from their actual results and consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "believe," "may," "will", "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "should," "plan," "expect," "predict," "potential," or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, expectations with respect to the anticipated benefits of this majority shareholding acquisition. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the expected results. Most of these factors are outside of the control of Globant and Gut and are difficult to predict. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to: (1) the risk that disruption from the transaction materially and adversely affects Gut's business and operations; (2) Globant's ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of this majority shareholding acquisition, (3) costs related to this majority shareholding acquisition, (4) Globant's ability to successfully grow Gut's business; (5) potential adverse reactions or changes to business relationships resulting from the announcement and completion of this majority shareholding acquisition; (6) the ability of Globant to retain and hire key Gut employees; (7) changes in applicable laws or regulations, (8) the demand for Gut's services together with the possibility that Gut may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; and (9) other factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in our most recent Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and any other risk factors included in subsequent reports on Form 6-K. Because of these uncertainties, you should not make any investment decision based on these forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this press release whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2287082/Globant_and_Gut__Founders_picture.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/globant-shakes-the-creative-and-tech-industries-by-acquiring-gut-cannes-lions-2023s-independent-network-of-the-year-301999222.html CALGARY, AB / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / Zenith Energy Ltd. (LSE:ZEN)(OSE:ZENA)(OTCQB:ZENAF), the listed international energy production and development company, is pleased to announce that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (the "MoU") with Nile Services and Logistics Company Ltd ("Nile SLC") in the Republic of South Sudan. MoU Highlights Nile SLC is a subsidiary of Nile Petroleum Corporation, the national oil company of South Sudan. The objective of the MoU is to formalise the shared interest of Nile SLC and Zenith to jointly pursue business opportunities involving the construction of fuel products storage tanks, pipelines, and crude oil storage tanks in South Sudan. Under the terms of the MoU, Zenith will provide technical, financial, and managerial expertise in the construction of fuel storage tanks, pipelines, and crude oil storage facilities. Nile SLC will facilitate the establishment of a partnership in identifying business opportunities, whereas Zenith will contribute its technical expertise in midstream operations. Andrea Cattaneo, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "Our technical management team has continued to establish itself and strengthen local relationships in the Republic of South Sudan, following the signing of the MoU with the Ministry of Petroleum announced earlier this year. We are very pleased to have now signed an MoU with Nile SLC, a subsidiary of the national oil company of South Sudan, and we look forward with enthusiasm to jointly exploring opportunities in the midstream domain and beyond, specifically with regards to petroleum product trading activities. This represents a complementary enrichment of our core focus which fully remains the acquisition and successful development of oil, gas, and electricity production assets. It is our view, supported by our progressive establishment in-country, that there exist many commercially attractive opportunities in South Sudan, and that it is an attractive jurisdiction for foreign investors. To this end, I am pleased to confirm that we are currently in the advanced phase of negotiating the potential acquisition of certain oil exploration and development licenses located in South Sudan." Further Information: Zenith Energy Ltd Andrea Cattaneo, Chief Executive Officer Tel: +1 (587) 315 1279 E: info@zenithenergy.ca Allenby Capital Limited - Financial Adviser Nick Harriss Daniel Dearden-Williams Tel: + 44 (0) 203 328 5656 Notes to Editors: Zenith Energy Ltd. is a revenue generating, independent energy company with production, exploration and development assets in North Africa and Europe, including electricity generation in Italy. The Company is listed on the London Stock Exchange Main Market (LSE: ZEN), the Euronext Growth of the Oslo Stock Exchange (OSE: ZENA) and the Venture Market of the OTCQB (OTCQB: ZENAF). Zenith's strategic focus is on pursuing development opportunities through the development of proven revenue generating energy production assets, as well as low-risk exploration activities in assets with existing production. For more information, please visit: www.zenithenergy.ca Twitter: @zenithenergyltd LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3A5PRJb SOURCE: Zenith Energy Ltd. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/810693/mou--south-sudan Seasoned consulting executive brings significant expertise in financial, operational, risk and compliance functions Hazeltree, the leading provider of treasury and liquidity management solutions for the alternative asset management industry, today announced the appointment of Scott Metro as its Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). Scott brings more than 25 years of experience in assisting clients in complying with current regulations and implementing secure processes and systems while leveraging emerging technology. As CISO, Scott will focus on developing and leading Hazeltree's information security program and securing additional, comprehensive industry-endorsed certifications for its platform. More specifically, he will be tasked with protecting the organization's assets, applications, systems, and technology, while enabling and advancing business outcomes. Scott joins Hazeltree having recently retired from PwC, where he most recently was a partner in the Cyber, Risk and Regulatory practice, and led the firm's global Financial Services Risk and Compliance Transformation Campaign. During his 26 years at PwC, Scott's work spanned both PwC's external audit practice as well as its risk and regulatory consulting practice. While at PwC, he led the Financial Services Trust and Transparency Solutions practice for the U.S. This group was responsible for performing independent controls attestations (such as SOC 1 and SOC 2) for some of the largest financial institutions in the U.S., many with significant overseas operations. Scott also directly assisted large financial services clients in developing their second line of defense compliance programs. Previously, Scott held technology or compliance roles at Quantra Corporation (acquired by SS&C), Toyo Trust Banking (acquired by MUFG), and Chase Manhattan Bank. Scott holds a B.A. in Economics from Pennsylvania State University and is a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Information Systems Auditor. "We're thrilled to welcome Scott in this extremely important role at Hazeltree," said Stephanie Miller, CEO of Hazeltree. "With increased regulation around cybersecurity and cyber-attacks on the rise, having an expert like Scott in this space will bolster our first line of defense, in addition to becoming a critical piece of our company's long-term success." Scott will report to Hazeltree Chief Technology Officer Richard Winter and will be based in New York. "The breadth of Scott's experience in the financial services industry and his knowledge of the risk and regulatory landscape position him well to lead Hazeltree's cyber governance, risk, and compliance framework," said Winter. "Cybersecurity is only becoming more important today, especially in the asset management space, and alternatives are no exception," said Scott Metro, Chief Information Security Officer of Hazeltree. "Hazeltree provides alternative asset managers with a robust, purpose-built platform for liquidity management, and the security and continuity of these systems are nothing short of critical. I'm excited to join and lead Hazeltree's cyber strategy." About Hazeltree Hazeltree is the leader in active treasury and intelligent operations technology, purpose-built for the alternative asset management ecosystem. Hazeltree's modular platform aggregates internal and external data, providing a comprehensive view of operations and counterparty relationships while proactively highlighting opportunities to extract more value from every transaction. Hazeltree is headquartered in New York with offices in London and Hong Kong. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128542405/en/ Contacts: Media BackBay Communications hazeltree@backbaycommunications.com BOSTON, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- OverIT has been positioned as a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Field Service Management Solutions for Utilities 2023-2024 Vendor Assessment. Asset volumes explosions, evolution from asset- to customer centricity, and resource scarcity are the three big shifts happening in the sector. The IDC MarketScape noted, "After almost 25 years in the business and over 150 implementations in the industry, OverIT is widely recognized as an expert in addressing utility needs in the FSM space. The vendor is growing its commitment to the industry and is praised for having a highly competent team." The report also noted, "Customers consistently recognize the quality of OverIT's solution, the company's ability to productize innovation (including through its co-innovation program), and the quality of the relationship - both institutionally and from a support standpoint - across project and operations." "Field service and mobile workforce management are areas of critical innovation for industries such as utilities that need to handle growing complexity and volumes in the field in the face of a creeping technical talent crunch," said Jean Francois Segalotto, Senior Associate Advisor, IDC Energy Insights. "Vendors in this space are leveraging technology innovation to support assisted and automated decision making, technician augmentation, and deeper utility- and asset-centric functionality, all wrapped up in cloud delivery". "Utilities managing mission-critical operations in complex scenarios require a trusted digital partner for Field Service Management," said Andrea Bardini, Chief Marketing Officer at OverIT. "Deep industry expertise, dedicated FSM capabilities, and proven customer success are our key differentiators". Get the IDC excerpt report: https://www.overit.ai/analysts-reports/idc/idc-marketscape-fsm-utilities-2023-2024/ Source: IDC, MarketScape: Worldwide Field Service Management Solutions for Utilities 2023-2024 Vendor Assessment, Doc# US50036223, November 2023) Disclaimer: About IDC MarketScape: IDC MarketScape vendor assessment model is designed to provide an overview of the competitive fitness of ICT (information and communications technology) suppliers in a given market. The research methodology utilizes a rigorous scoring methodology based on both qualitative and quantitative criteria that results in a single graphical illustration of each vendor's position within a given market. IDC MarketScape provides a clear framework in which the product and service offerings, capabilities and strategies, and current and future market success factors of IT and telecommunications vendors can be meaningfully compared. The framework also provides technology buyers with a 360-degree assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of current and prospective vendors. OverIT, backed by Bain Capital and NB Renaissance, is a multinational company with 20+ years of international and cross-industry experience in Field Service Management software. The company is recognized by premier global advisory and consulting organizations as a leading FSM and AR industries vendor, according to its product offering and deep industry expertise. OverIT has over 300 customers in 30+ countries. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1740678/OverIT_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/overit-named-a-leader-in-the-idc-marketscape-for-worldwide-field-service-management-solutions-for-utilities-2023-2024-301998022.html New functionality allows customers to ingest, govern, and share data in near real-time, while leveraging the scale and cost-efficiency of a data lake BOSTON, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Starburst , the data lake analytics platform, today at AWS re:Invent 2023 announced new capabilities that enable organizations to build and scale game-changing data applications without compromising on performance or cost. With the increasing interest in building artificial intelligence (AI)-driven data applications, customers need to establish a solid data platform. New features in Starburst Galaxy help customers simplify development on the data lake by unifying data ingestion, data governance, and data sharing on a single platform. Interactive applications oftentimes require the scalability and cost-efficiency of a data lake, but building and maintaining that data lake is complex and time-consuming for data teams. To overcome these challenges, Starburst has added support for: Near real-time analytics with streaming ingestion: With streaming ingestion, customers can leverage Kafka to hydrate their data lake in near real-time, ensuring applications have the most up-to-date insights for their users. Upcoming support for fully managed solutions, such as Confluent Cloud, is also planned. With streaming ingestion, customers can leverage Kafka to hydrate their data lake in near real-time, ensuring applications have the most up-to-date insights for their users. Upcoming support for fully managed solutions, such as Confluent Cloud, is also planned. Automated data governance: As new data lands in the lake, machine learning models in Gravity - a universal discovery, governance, and sharing layer in Starburst Galaxy - will automatically apply classifications for certain categories. Depending on the class, Gravity will apply policies granting or restricting access. This automation is particularly useful for teams handling sensitive data like personally identifiable information (PII). Now, as soon as PII lands in the lake, Gravity will be smart enough to identify and restrict access to that data. As new data lands in the lake, machine learning models in Gravity - a universal discovery, governance, and sharing layer in Starburst Galaxy - will automatically apply classifications for certain categories. Depending on the class, Gravity will apply policies granting or restricting access. This automation is particularly useful for teams handling sensitive data like personally identifiable information (PII). Now, as soon as PII lands in the lake, Gravity will be smart enough to identify and restrict access to that data. Automated data maintenance: New automations make it easy for customers to optimize their data lake by abstracting away common management tasks like data compaction and data vacuuming. Users can now maintain warehouse-like performance without adding brittle manual processes, as the volume and complexity of data in their data lake grows. New automations make it easy for customers to optimize their data lake by abstracting away common management tasks like data compaction and data vacuuming. Users can now maintain warehouse-like performance without adding brittle manual processes, as the volume and complexity of data in their data lake grows. Universal data sharing with built-in observability: With Gravity, users can easily package data sets into shareable data products to power end-user applications, regardless of source, format, or cloud provider. New functionality will allow users to securely share these high-quality data products with third-parties, such as partners, suppliers, or customers. With Gravity, users can easily package data sets into shareable data products to power end-user applications, regardless of source, format, or cloud provider. New functionality will allow users to securely share these high-quality data products with third-parties, such as partners, suppliers, or customers. Self-service analytics powered by AI: Not only are data lakes notoriously hard to manage, but the majority of data teams are understaffed. New AI-powered experiences in Galaxy, like text-to-SQL processing, will enable data teams to offload basic exploratory analytics to business users, freeing up their time to build and scale data pipelines. "Data-intensive initiatives like AI require a solid data foundation to be successful," said Justin Borgman, Co-founder & CEO of Starburst. "We provide that foundation, giving our customers the ability to quickly access and analyze all their data in order to scale applications from the first hundred users to the first thousand and beyond. We ensure optimal performance even with high concurrency and exponentially growing data volumes. The new streaming ingest, data maintenance and governance automations, and data sharing capabilities in Starburst make it remarkably easy for teams to build, deploy, and scale applications on top of the data lake." Halliburton is already taking advantage of this foundation. "After building good quality data products with Starburst, we saw an opportunity to use LLM to help with that process," said Fahad Ahmad, Data Science Leader, at Halliburton. "Previously it would take 2 to 3 weeks to get an answer to an ad hoc question. By embedding an LLM with Starburst's data products architecture, data consumers can ask questions in plain language, have it converted to SQL, and get the answer back immediately." Starburst's position as an Amazon Web Services (AWS) Data and Analytics Competency Partner, means that AWS customers can rest assured that these features will be made available on the fastest hardware AWS has to provide, including AWS Graviton3 and the newly launched Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) Zonal storage class, and will integrate seamlessly with core tools like AWS QuickSight and new tools like Amazon Bedrock. To learn more about Starburst, including its offerings and integrations, please visit booth 1151 at AWS re:Invent 2023 or the website: www.starburst.io/ . About Starburst For data-driven companies, Starburst offers a full-featured data lake analytics platform, built on open source Trino. Our platform includes the capabilities needed to discover, organize, and consume data without the need for time-consuming and costly migrations, enabling teams to focus on building differentiating features, not managing analytics infrastructure. We believe the lake should be the center of gravity, and be the starting point for querying disparate data. With Starburst, teams can access more complete data, lower the cost of infrastructure, use the tools best suited to their specific needs, and avoid vendor lock-in. Trusted by companies like Comcast, Grubhub, and Priceline, Starburst helps companies make better decisions faster on all their data. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2286645/Starburst_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/starburst-expands-support-for-building-interactive-applications-on-the-data-lake-301999179.html Hololight announces new funding to accelerate its vision to stream any XR application on Hololight Hub, the industry's first XR streaming platform Hololight, the leading specialist in AR and VR solutions for the enterprise market, today announced it has secured a further $12 million in funding to accelerate the development of its XR streaming platform, Hololight Hub. As the only proven enterprise streaming platform on the market for immersive applications including virtual and augmented reality (XR), Hololight has set the benchmark in XR streaming, having pioneered the technology since 2015. The funding has been led by European growth equity investor Flatz Hoffmann, with other key contributors including existing investors EnBW New Ventures, Bayern Kapital, and Future Energy Ventures. Following on from the company's Series A investment in December 2021, the new $12m investment brings the company's total investment funding to $27m. The Need for Streaming in the Era of Spatial Computing and Industrial XR XR streaming solves major challenges surrounding industrial applications and addresses the unique computing, data and security challenges of these environments. By streaming entire AR or VR applications across local servers and the cloud, Hololight Hub revolutionizes the XR experience by amplifying quality, access, and security of immersive content while simplifying management and deployment. Building on 800% Customer Growth to Over 150 Customers in Three Years Hololight currently serves more than 150 customers, including major accounts such as BMW, Nokia, and Engie, as well as a number of leading global aerospace and defense clients. Hololight is also a trusted partner to key industry players such as Amazon Web Services, Qualcomm, Nvidia, and Verizon. According to Hololight CEO Florian Haspinger, the investment will also see further global expansion, helping to fast-track further US growth after the opening of the company's new US office in 2022, in Durham's Triangle technology hub: "It is our vision to stream any XR app on Hololight Hub to help enterprises break down the barriers to capitalizing on immersive technologies. The addition of Flatz Hoffmann as a visionary investor to the board underscores the expansion of our trajectory, and the steadfast support of our existing investors demonstrates their confidence in the progress they've seen at Hololight and the future of enterprise XR." -ENDS- About Hololight Discover our transformative XR solutions at www.hololight.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128976992/en/ Contacts: Leah Jones ljones@thecommsco.com Appliances installed in schools through the program now provide an estimated 50,000 students across 40 states with access to clean clothes, helping to combat chronic absenteeism NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / Whirlpool Corporation brand announces its eighth and biggest year of the Care Counts Laundry Program, which provides access to washers and dryers in schools primarily located in underserved communities. For the 2023-2024 academic year, the program has expanded to 154 schools across 40 states, including new schools in Connecticut, Michigan, Montana, North Carolina and Oregon. The program now provides an estimated 50,000 students with clean clothes, a driver of absenteeism in the United States. Chronic absenteeism remains a national education crisis, impacting an estimated 16 million students across the country1, or approximately one in three students. "We are immensely proud of the profoundly positive impact that the Care Counts Laundry Program has had in decreasing absenteeism in participating schools; not only has the program had a direct impact in increasing student attendance, but also their grades," said Nelly Martinez, senior brand leader for Whirlpool brand. "At the core of our brand's values lies a deep commitment to improving the lives of families, and this program continues to reflect our purpose with a meaningful impact on a critical issue." We are immensely proud of the profoundly positive impact that the Care Counts Laundry Program has had in decreasing absenteeism in participating schools; not only has the program had a direct impact in increasing student attendance, but also their grades," said Nelly Martinez, senior brand leader for Whirlpool brand. With support from Teach For America, the Care Counts Laundry Program by Whirlpool brand has increased attendance rates and grades since the program's inception in 2015. Based on findings from the 2022-2023 academic year, nearly 80% of participating high-risk elementary school students2 where the program is active saw an increase in attendance. "As a former teacher, I've seen what the lack of basic resources would have on my students and how something as simple as a clean shirt could make a major difference," said McKenzie Roney, Managing Director of Corporate Partnerships at Teach For America. "Since TFA began supporting the Care Counts Laundry Program by Whirlpool brand, we've seen a noticeable increase in attendance, grades and even student engagement within their classrooms." In analyzing the impact of the Care Counts Laundry Program since its inception, Whirlpool brand has observed: Participating high-risk elementary school students 3 saw an average increase in attendance rate that would result in 16 more days in school across a full academic year. saw an average increase in attendance rate that would result in 16 more days in school across a full academic year. Nearly 68% of participating high-risk elementary school students 4 decreased their level of chronic absenteeism while in the Care Counts Laundry Program. decreased their level of chronic absenteeism while in the Care Counts Laundry Program. Nearly 61% of participating high-risk students5 were no longer at risk for chronic absenteeism at the end of the 2022-2023 academic year. By 2028, Whirlpool brand is committed to expanding the Care Counts Laundry Program to all 50 states and doubling the number of participating schools in the fight to eliminate chronic absenteeism. Beyond Teach For America, Whirlpool will continue to work with schoolteachers, administrators and researchers to monitor the impact of the program. "There is an undoubtable research-based correlation between access to clean clothes and attendance given the lack of resources available to students nationwide" said Richard Rende, Ph.D., a developmental psychologist and researcher supporting the program. "Whirlpool has made tremendous strides in combating the issue of absenteeism with this successful, hands-on approach, and this is set to continue on a positive trajectory as the program grows." For a visual representation of the program's impact, Whirlpool brand has also released Care Counts Continued, a short film that features students, teachers and other partners who have benefitted from the Care Counts Laundry Program since its start. To learn more about the Care Counts Laundry Program by Whirlpool brand, visit https://www.whirlpool.com/care-counts. 1 Source: A Review of State Attendance Data Policy and Practice in School Year 2022-23 2 High-risk elementary school students are defined as elementary students who have missed 10% or more days of school during a reporting period. 3 High-risk elementary school students are defined as elementary students who have missed 10% or more days of school during a reporting period. 4 High-risk elementary school students are defined as elementary students who have missed 10% or more days of school during a reporting period. 5 High-risk elementary school students are defined as elementary students who have missed 10% or more days of school during a reporting period. View original content here. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Whirlpool Corporation on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Whirlpool Corporation Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/whirlpool-corporation Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: Whirlpool Corporation View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/810734/whirlpool-brand-increases-access-to-laundry-in-schools-through-its-care-countstm-laundry-program INDIANAPOLIS (dpa-AFX) - Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) announced plans to open its first-ever Lilly Gateway Labs location in San Diego, Calif. in the first half of 2024. This will be the company's third Gateway Labs location. Gateway Labs is Lilly's shared innovation accelerator that provides participating companies with lab space and access to Lilly scientists, researchers and executives. The new site will be located in Alexandria's University Town Center campus. It will offer nearly 62,000 square feet of rentable, flexibly-designed lab space, as well as open workstations. It is expected to accommodate 10 companies and more than 120 biotech and Lilly employees. For More Such Health News, visit rttnews.com. Copyright(c) 2023 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. eDriving, which works with some of the world's largest fleets, has launched a new ESG/sustainability reporting solution EcoReport leverages data from the EcoDrive powered by Greater Than feature in its digital driver safety app, Mentor With 2024 a pivotal year in ESG reporting, EcoReport empowers fleets to measure, report on, and reduce, CO2 emissions STOCKHOLM, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Greater Than (GREAT.ST), the global provider of driver crash probability and climate impact intelligence, today announced that its data analytics has enabled its partner eDriving, a Solera company, to launch a new Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG)/ sustainability reporting solution for fleets. EcoReport - which follows the successful introduction of EcoDrive powered by Greater Than in eDriving's award-winning digital driver safety app, MentorSM - compiles driving data from EcoDrive, including CO2 emissions and savings, into ready-made sustainability reports. "We're set to see radical change in 2024 as mandatory ESG reporting regulations come into play for more companies, and the management of value chain emissions becomes a critical focus for some of the world's largest organizations," said Ed Dubens, CEO/Founder of eDriving. "Don't panic! We take away the pain and administrative burden of reporting by converting your Mentor driving data into a comprehensive ESG report to meet the needs of all stakeholders while taking your organization's culture of safety and sustainability to another level." EcoReport leverages data from the EcoDrive feature in Mentor to enable eDriving to deliver a truly closed-loop solution that helps organizations measure, report on, and reduce, emissions. It simplifies ESG reporting for fleets of all sizes through the creation of ready-made reports that incorporate all the driving-related data fleets need to share with customers, supply chain partners, and investors alike. This strengthens the management of emissions across all Scopes, including Scope 3, which is set to be a key focus for reporting companies in 2024 and beyond. Since it works with many of the world's largest sales, service, and delivery fleets, supporting over two million drivers in 125 countries, eDriving is ideally placed to help accelerate global efforts towards Net Zero while ensuring organizations' adherence to relevant ESG regulations. "We're so proud of eDriving for elevating their role in safety and sustainability management to help fleets get to grips with ESG reporting requirements," said Liselott Johansson, CEO, Greater Than. "Globally, more fleets will be seeking a solution that enables them to fulfil legislation, meet the pressures of stakeholders, demonstrate their sustainable commitments, and win potential new deals - eDriving have just launched that solution." ESG reporting requirements will ramp up in 2024, as some of the main regulations take effect. This includes the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) that will apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2024. The European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) will also become effective on the same date. Regulations are also incoming in other parts of the world, with the United States having proposed the Enhancement & Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors and Australia welcoming the Climate related financial disclosure (2022) from July 2024. Press contact, Greater Than: PR@greaterthan.eu +46 855 593 200 www.greaterthan.eu The following files are available for download: https://mb.cision.com/Main/11629/3884025/2459044.pdf Greater Than's climate impact score facilitates eDriving's launch of ESG reporting solution for global fleets https://news.cision.com/greater-than/i/ecoreport-by-edriving,c3243610 EcoReport by eDriving View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/greater-thans-climate-impact-score-facilitates-edrivings-launch-of-esg-reporting-solution-for-global-fleets-301999278.html MIAMI, FL / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / Luminar Media Group, Inc. (OTC PINK:LRGR) Royale de Monte Carlo, "The World's Most Prestigious Vodka", today announces a series of strategic alliances to further enhance its brand presence and intensify customer engagement from its Miami office. Under the guidance of the acclaimed Rock Orange Agency, these partnerships aim to propel Royale de Monte Carlo to new heights, reinforcing its status as the pinnacle of vodka craftsmanship. This initiative is a testament to the brand's commitment to quality, leveraging its rich heritage and the skilled artisanship of fifth-generation master distillers in France. The expansion of its distribution network marks a significant milestone, with Royale de Monte Carlo proudly joining forces with Mexcor International in Florida, Nationwide Wine & Spirits in Pennsylvania, and Stefano Selections in the Washington DC area. These partnerships are meticulously chosen to bolster the brand's footprint and ensure its prominence in key markets. Complementing these distribution efforts, Royale de Monte Carlo has also enlisted Synergy Promo to create engaging off-premise events and tastings. This collaboration is crucial to the brand's strategic initiative to enhance its presence in Florida, aiming to make Royale de Monte Carlo a revered name among refined vodka aficionados. Juan Sese Chief Operating Officer at Royale de Monte Carlo, speaks on the new partnerships: "Uniting with Rock Orange, Mexcor International, Nationwide Wine & Spirits, Stefano Selections and Synergy Promo marks a significant chapter in our quest to offer unparalleled vodka experiences. These alliances are pivotal to our expansion strategy, mirroring our passion for excellence and our innovaOve approach to customer engagement." Rock Orange is ready to harmonize these new partnerships into a comprehensive branding strategy that will distinguish Royale de Monte Carlo as a leader in the luxury spirits sector. About Royale de Monte Carlo/ Luminar Media Group, Inc. Boasting offices in Miami, Florida, and distilled in the iconic Cognac region of France, Royale de Monte Carlo epitomizes ultra-premium vodka. This luxury beverage is adored globally for its refreshing coolness and impeccably smooth taste, crafted meticulously by fifth-generation master distillers in France. For further details, visit www.royaledemontecarlo.com. About RockOrange RockOrange is an award-winning integrated marketing and communications agency serving up Fresh Solid Ideas with global reach since 2012. Never checklist thinkers, our band of RockStars are driven by creative curiosity and strategic insights that deliver powerful personal connections. With expertise across businesses and around the globe, we use our proprietary FRESH Approach - a holistic set of guiding principles, to go deeper and deliver solid solutions for our partners that evoke emotion, set trends, and make an impact in the communities they serve. Get in touch: www.rockorange.com; Stay in touch: @teamrockorange. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning the prospective business opportunities of Royale de Monte Carlo/ Luminar Media Group, Inc. These statements are based on current beliefs and assumpOons, and it is recommended to exercise caution due to inherent uncertainties. Further details on potential risks are available in the periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov. Investor Relations Contact Robert Rico Royale de Monte Carlo Ph: 305-283-9237 SOURCE: Luminar Media Group, Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/810506/royale-de-monte-carlor-enhances-footprint-with-new-partnerships ATLANTA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / Georgia-Pacific and Curley Dossman, president of Community Programs, Georgia-Pacific, and vice president, Koch Company Charitable Fund, were honored by the Islamic Speakers Bureau of Atlanta (ISB) during its annual ISB Celebrating Diversity & Inclusion Gala. Georgia-Pacific was recognized for its initiatives facilitating diversity and inclusion, served as an Ambassador Sponsor for the gala, and donated $25,000 to the organization. Dossman was honored with the ISB Distinguished Leadership Award for his work throughout the community, along with his long relationship with ISB and role on the Advisory Council. The ISB gala is an inspiring evening celebrating leaders and corporations who work to make the community better through diversity and inclusion. More than 500 leaders from Atlanta's business, nonprofit, civil rights, education, and faith sectors attended the event to celebrate the Muslim community's contributions. ISB facilitates opportunities for people to learn about Islam and Muslims in an objective and educational manner through dialogue and outreach programs. Georgia-Pacific President and CEO Christian Fischer accepted the corporate award on behalf of the company. During the acceptance speech, Fischer thanked ISB Atlanta's founder and executive director, and former Georgia-Pacific employee Soumaya Khalifa. Learn more about Georgia-Pacific's support for ISB and diversity and inclusion by clicking on the video below. Georgia-Pacific was recognized for its initiatives facilitating diversity and inclusion, served as an Ambassador Sponsor for the gala, and donated $25,000 to the organization. Dossman was honored by ISB Atlanta with the ISB Distinguished Leadership Award. He has served on the ISB Atlanta Advisory Council since 2016. Dossman expressed thanks not only for the recognition, but the opportunity to give back to the community by serving on one of the most diverse groups in the city and leading impactful initiatives and discussions that invite differing opinions and points of view and highlight Atlanta's diversity. Click on the video below to learn more about his contributions to ISB and the Atlanta community. Curley Dossman was honored by ISB Atlanta with the ISB Distinguished Leadership Award. He has served on the ISB Atlanta Advisory Council since 2016. Georgia-Pacific is committed to supporting education and investing and supporting programs that enrich the community. Learn more about our initiatives here. View original content here. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Georgia-Pacific on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Georgia-Pacific Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/georgia-pacific Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: Georgia-Pacific View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/810738/georgia-pacific-recognized-by-local-organization-for-leadership-and-community-impact WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) announced an agreement with the German National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds on the reimbursement amount for ROCTAVIAN for people with severe hemophilia A. The company noted that this is the first gene therapy for hemophilia to receive an agreed federal price in Germany. BioMarin and GKV-SV have agreed on an outcome-based prospective cohort model for ROCTAVIAN. The agreement, with a minimum term of 3 years, ensures the supply and reimbursement for eligible patients in Germany with ROCTAVIAN. BioMarin said it continues to work with private and public payers in the U.S. to enable access. For More Such Health News, visit rttnews.com. Copyright(c) 2023 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. MILAN, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- MAIRE S.p.A. announces that Conser S.p.A., part of MAIRE Sustainable Technology Solutions business unit led by NEXTCHEM, has reached an agreement with Clariant for the development and supply of Clariant's next generation maleic anhydride catalysts. This agreement is in line with MAIRE's strategy of broadening its licensing offering to proprietary equipment and catalysts and strengthening Conser's global positioning in one of its leading technologies. This new solution will bring considerable advantages in terms of energy consumption, making the product both more sustainable and competitive at the same time. In addition, the two companies are actively cooperating in further improving maleic anhydride technology, making it more efficient in terms of its carbon footprint. The maleic anhydride technology is a key element in the chain of production of biodegradable polymers such as polybutylene succinate and polybutylene adipate co-terephthalate - both used in the food industry for packaging and disposable tableware, as well as in the agricultural sector for mulch films - representing a more environmentally friendly alternative to common plastic, as already recognized by regulators who imposed their use in several countries for various applications. Alessandro Bernini, MAIRE Chief Executive Officer, commented: "With this agreement we further improve the soundness of our Sustainable Technology Solutions portfolio, which spans from technology licensing to proprietary equipment and other high-value services, in line with the execution of our ten-year plan. We are eager to work with Clariant to further improve our technological offer to best serve clients' demands for innovative energy-efficient solutions. MAIRE S.p.A. leads a technology and engineering group that develops and implements innovative solutions to enable the Energy Transition. We offer Sustainable Technology Solutions and Integrated E&C Solutions in nitrogen fertilizers, hydrogen, circular carbon, fuels, chemicals, and polymers. MAIRE creates value in 45 countries and relies on over 7,000 employees, supported by over 20,000 people engaged in its projects worldwide. MAIRE is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange (ticker "MAIRE"). For further information: www.mairetecnimont.com. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2286528/4425162/Maire_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/maire-s-nextchem-expands-its-technology-portfolio-with-the-development-and-supply-of-clariant-next-generation-catalyst-301998425.html The Top-5 identity fraud types globally in 2023 are: AI-powered fraud, money muling networks, fake IDs, account takeovers and forced verification. LONDON, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sumsub, a full-cycle verification platform, today released its third annual Identity Fraud Report . The report revealed that the UK has experienced a 300% rise in deepfake cases from 2022 to 2023, rising to 780% across all of Europe. The report provides a comprehensive analysis of identity fraud across industries and regions based on millions of verification checks across 28 industries and over 2,000,000 fraud cases between 2022-2023*. Identity Fraud Main Global Trends and Statistics for 2023 Sumsub's research key findings include: The top-5 identity fraud types in 2023 are: AI-powered fraud, money muling networks, fake IDs, account takeovers and forced verification. are: AI-powered fraud, money muling networks, fake IDs, account takeovers and forced verification. There's been a significant 10x increase in the number of deepfakes detected globally across all industries from 2022 to 2023, with notable regional differences: 1740% deepfake surge in North America, 1530% in APAC, 450% in MEA and 410% in Latin America. in the number of deepfakes detected globally across all industries from 2022 to 2023, with notable regional differences: deepfake surge in North America, in APAC, in MEA and in Latin America. The country attacked by deepfakes the most is Spain , the most forged document worldwide is UAE passport , whereas Latin America is the region where fraud increased in every country. , the most forged document worldwide is , whereas is the region where fraud increased in every country. ID cards remain the most frequently exploited for identity fraud, accounting for nearly 75% of all fraudulent activities involving identity documents. remain the most frequently exploited for identity fraud, accounting for nearly of all fraudulent activities involving identity documents. Online media is the industry with the highest identity fraud increase. Artificial Intelligence and Deepfakes: Ambivalent Potential The challenges posed by deepfake occurrences in Europe have proven significant for Spain, the UK, and Germany, as each of these markets accounts for over 10% of the total cases in the region. The rising frequency of deepfake attacks is associated with the attractiveness of these economically advanced nations to perpetrators, due to their advanced digital infrastructure and the substantial online presence of people in the region. With AI-driven fraud remaining the most prominent challenge across various industries, crypto is the main target sector (representing 88% of all deepfake cases detected in 2023), followed by fintech (8%). "The rise of artificial intelligence is reshaping how fraud is perpetrated and prevented. AI serves as a powerful tool both for anti-fraud solution providers and those committing identity fraud. Our internal statistics show an alarming tenfold increase in the number of AI-generated deepfakes across industries from 2022 to 2023. Deepfakes pave the way for identity theft, scams, and misinformation campaigns on an unprecedented scale," comments Pavel Goldman-Kalaydin, Head of AI/ML at Sumsub. AI will be a key focus of regulations in 2024, and companies should take note with the understanding that AI safety is set to become an integral part of their activities. In addition to the AI-powered fraud prevention tips, the report provides an exclusive overview of AI regulations. In April 2021, the European Commission proposed the AI Act, the first EU regulatory framework for AI. The legislation, yet to be implemented, aims to promote ethical AI development, as well as enhance user trust and accountability. So far, the UK has not approved any comprehensive legislation prohibiting the generation or dissemination of deepfakes. The recently sanctioned Online Safety bill criminalises the sharing of deepfake material but confines the prohibition solely to pornographic content. Identity Fraud in Various Industries The top-5 industries most affected by identity fraud in 2023 are online media, professional services, healthcare, transportation, and video gaming. Online media encompassing news websites, streaming services, social platforms, and digital advertising, saw the biggest 274% rise in identity fraud rate between 2021 and 2023. Large audiences and insufficient regulations create an environment susceptible to fraudulent activities like fake accounts, engagement manipulation, and the spread of misinformation. In 2023, identity fraud patterns continued to shift towards more complex and sophisticated techniques, fueling more advanced scams and money laundering techniques. Among the most common complex fraud schemes is money muling, where seemingly innocent individuals, known as money mules, are recruited to transfer illegally obtained funds, disguising their origin. Another disturbing trend is forced verification, when individuals are manipulated into going through KYC for the benefit of fraudsters. This type of scam grew 305% over 2022-2023, raising more concern among experts. Account takeover threat demonstrates growth as well: the number of incidents increased by 155% in 2023. To tackle all these alarming trends, organisations need to implement stricter rules such as mandatory identification. Overall, in the past three years the fraud landscape has evolved with the development of new technologies, signaling a growing concern for businesses and individuals alike. Based on Sumsub findings, the global rate of identity fraud nearly doubled from 2021 to 2023. To learn more and download the full Sumsub Identity Fraud Report 2023 for free, please go to https://sumsub.com/fraud-report-2023/. * Note on Sumsub's research methodology Sumsub research compares data from 2022 and 2023. In certain cases, 2021 data is also taken into account to observe trends. The study is based on aggregated and anonymised verification statistics on millions of users from 28 industries worldwide, with 2,000,000+ fraud attempts studied. The report analyses trends, patterns, and changes in identity fraud to gain valuable insights. The study combines internal data with input from internal and external experts, providing well-rounded conclusions on the state of identity fraud in 2023. About Sumsub Sumsub is a full-cycle verification platform that secures the whole user journey. With Sumsub's customisable KYC, KYB, Transaction Monitoring and Fraud Prevention solutions, you can orchestrate your verification process, welcome more customers worldwide, meet compliance requirements, reduce costs, and protect your business. Sumsub has over 2,000 clients across the fintech, crypto, transportation, trading, e-commerce and gaming industries including Binance, Mercuryo, Bybit, Huobi, Unlimit, DiDi, Poppy and TransferGo. Video - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2286758/Sumsub_Research_Identity_Fraud_Report.mp4 Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2286757/Sumsub_Identity_Fraud_Report_2023.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2099263/Sumsub_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/sumsub-research-uk-deepfake-incidents-surge-300-from-2022-to-2023-301999013.html While presenting at AWS re:Invent this year, Zesty also announced that Zesty Disk is now publicly available on the AWS Marketplace, standardizing users' integration of the leading block storage auto-scaling technology LAS VEGAS, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Zesty , a pioneer of automated cloud cost optimization, today announced the launch of its compression feature for Zesty Disk. The compression feature is available on Zesty Disk, Zesty's cloud native storage optimization solution. The new compression capabilities minimize the overall amount of space that data is consuming in Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS) volume, allowing companies to reduce both their data footprint and storage costs. With this compression feature, Zesty Disk can compress EBS storage by approximately 50%, with minimal performance overhead. Powered by AI, Zesty Disk eliminates the tradeoff between cloud performance and cost efficiency by automatically right-sizing disk storage according to real-time business needs. Its auto-scaling capabilities introduce a set-and-forget experience, freeing DevOps engineers from manual optimization and management tasks, and can reduce cloud storage costs by up to 70% when utilized optimally, offering Amazon EBS users increased value, resiliency, and ease of use. Cloud infrastructure spending is projected to reach $101.4 billion this year. As the default storage provisioned when running applications with Amazon EC2 instances, Amazon EBS under-utilization and over-provisioning can become extremely expensive. With Zesty Disk, users cut spend on provisioned resources down to used storage levels. Zesty Disk's compression feature shrinks those used storage levels down even further, increasing maximum storage savings capabilities. "While organizations everywhere scramble to cut costs, many overlook the massive potential of cloud storage optimization. Large enterprises waste hundreds of thousands of dollars on average every year on overprovisioned EBS resources alone," said Alexey Baikov, CTO and co-founder of Zesty. "This new compression capability marks a turning point for Zesty Disk in its journey towards bringing an enterprise-grade storage solution to Amazon EBS. By applying well-known industry algorithms to compress data, the compression feature reduces users' cloud footprints by up to 50%, with virtually no impact on performance." Zesty Disk is also newly available on the AWS Marketplace, allowing AWS customers to locate, deploy, and manage the storage auto-scaler more easily. AWS Marketplace availability increases the transparency between Zesty's dashboard data and AWS billing for users' finance departments and standardizes solution integration by allowing engineers to onboard via the Marketplace which is the number one demand of CXOs procuring software solutions via a cloud provider's marketplace. About Zesty Zesty helps organizations to be more adaptable to changing business needs by making their cloud infrastructure more dynamic. With offerings for compute, block storage, and Kubernetes, Zesty automatically scales resources to meet application demand in real-time. This helps DevOps teams to slash cloud costs, maintain perfect app performance, minimize the hassle of managing infra, and fully realize the true flexibility of the cloud. Founded in 2019 Zesty was built with the vision of making the cloud more affordable and accessible. With three offices in San Mateo, Tel Aviv, and Kiev, Zesty is supporting thousands of organizations to get maximum value out of their cloud infrastructure. Media Contact: Kate Schoenstadt kate@headline.media IL: +972(0)-54-7776684 View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/zesty-launches-compression-feature-for-zesty-disk-slashing-users-cloud-storage-footprint-by-up-to-50-301998969.html Partnership to provide businesses in India with leading integrated risk management technology solution to enhance operational processes and manage today's increasingly complex risk landscape. Riskonnect, the leader in integrated risk management (IRM) solutions, today announced a new partnership with Protiviti Member Firm for India. The partnership expands Riskonnect's global reach by helping companies in India bring all aspects of risk under one roof through integrated risk management technology. "We're thrilled to partner with a global business consulting firm like Protiviti that allows us to expand our footprint in this region of the world. Protiviti's deep expertise is complementary to Riskonnect's advanced technology. Together we'll equip more corporations across India with the insights and tools they need to confidently make decisions about risk and create value," said Prince Lal, vice president of partners and alliances at Riskonnect. Protiviti specializes in helping organizations solve critical business problems related to risk, compliance, internal audit, technology, business processes, analytics, and transactions. Riskonnect and Protiviti will offer a simple and effective off-the-shelf governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) solution to organizations, including those in financial services, manufacturing, and other industries. Speaking on the partnership, Sandeep Gupta, managing director at Protiviti said, "Organizations are confronted with diverse and unpredictable risks that can require constant oversight. By collaborating with Riskonnect, we see an opportunity to strengthen our spectrum of solution offerings by bringing our customers a world-class GRC technology platform for managing all their risks in one place and feel more confident in facing the future." Learn more about Riskonnect's solutions. Interested in joining Riskonnect's partner network? Learn more about PartnerKonnect. About Riskonnect Riskonnect is the leading integrated risk management software solution provider. Our technology empowers organizations with the ability to anticipate, manage, and respond in real-time to strategic and operational risks across the extended enterprise. More than 2,000 customers across six continents use our unique risk-correlation technology to gain previously unattainable insights that deliver better business outcomes. Riskonnect has more than 800 risk management experts in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. To learn more, visit www.riskonnect.com. About Protiviti Protiviti (www.protiviti.com) is a global consulting firm that delivers deep expertise, objective insights, a tailored approach and unparalleled collaboration to help leaders confidently face the future. Protiviti and its independent and locally owned Member Firms provide clients with consulting and managed solutions in finance, technology, operations, data, analytics, digital, legal, HR, governance, risk and internal audit through its network of more than 85 offices in over 25 countries. Named to the 2023 Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list, Protiviti has served more than 80 percent of Fortune 100 and nearly 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies. The firm also works with smaller, growing companies, including those looking to go public, as well as with government agencies. Protiviti is a wholly owned subsidiary of Robert Half (NYSE: RHI). Founded in 1948, Robert Half is a member of the S&P 500 index. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128055335/en/ Contacts: Corporate Ink for Riskonnect Anna Morais riskonnect@corporateink.com Edmonton, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - November 28, 2023) - Taurus Gold Corp. (CSE: TAUR) (OTCQB: TARGF) ("Taurus" or the "Company") ("Taurus" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the following changes to the Company's Board of Directors. Mr. Paul Milelli has resigned as a director of the Company, effective immediately. We thank him for his contributions and wish him all the best in his future endeavors. He will be succeeded by Mr. Michael Rapsch who will join the Company as an independent director. Frank Lagiglia, President and CEO, shared, "On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Paul for his contributions to the Company. I am delighted to welcome Michael to the Company, who brings a wealth of investor relation and corporate development expertise across the resource sector. We look forward to his contributions as the Company continues to execute its strategy and focuses on delivering shareholder value." Mr. Rapsch has over 17 years of in-depth capital markets experience in the resource sector, including several senior roles as Vice President Corporate Communications and Corporate Development. In these roles, he was responsible for the implementation, management and execution of all marketing and investor relations-related programs. His tenures included 4 years at SilverCrest Mines until the acquisition by First Majestic for $154 million in 2015. From 2015 to the end of 2018, he was leading the investor relations activities for SilverCrest Metals which owns the Las Chispas silver and gold project in Sonora, Mexico. During his career, he was also instrumental in assisting companies with capital raises. In early 2019, Mr. Rapsch founded Cologne Communications Corp. and has been successfully providing investor relations consulting services to publicly-trading resource companies. About the Charlotte Property The road-accessible Charlotte property is located in the highly prospective Dawson Range portion of the Tintina Gold Belt, and 60 km west of Carmacks, Yukon Territory, Canada. The region is characterized by gold-silver-zinc-lead veins and breccia, as well as copper-gold porphyry mineralization. The Charlotte property consists of 140 full or fractional quartz mineral claims and mineral leases that cover an area totalling 2,357.1 hectares (approximately 23 km2). All but two of the mineral claims are contiguous. The Charlotte property is host to several mineralized zones of interest, including the Huestis, Webber, and Flex precious metal vein systems in the southern part of the property and under-explored porphyry copper mineralization in the northwest. Taurus Gold Corp. has a 51% ownership and an option to earn 100% interest in the Charlotte property. The Charlotte property is located in the traditional territory of the Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation. Other active mineral projects in the Dawson Range area include Rockhaven Resources' Klaza Project, Triumph Gold's Freegold project and Granite Creek Copper's Carmacks project. The Yukon Resource Gateway Program is supporting the building of new roads and facilitating improved access to several mining developments within the Dawson Range area, including Western Copper and Gold's Casino project. Flex Zone - Charlotte Property The Flex Zone on the Charlotte property is located on an all-season access road. Exposed mineralization on surface was completely stripped during the 1990s and reveals a mineralized zone approximately 80 m wide by 350 metres long. The Flex Zone is delineated over a northwest-trending strike length of 550 m and is defined by a network of stacked epithermal gold-silver-zinc-lead quartz veins, which range from 5 cm to 1.1 m in apparent thickness, within precious metal enriched wallrock. The strongest mineralization occurs where northwest trending Flex Zone veins are offset by east to northeast trending faults. These highly mineralized areas tend to repeat at regular intervals and retain their grade, tenor and widths at depth. Mineralization consists of varying amounts of pyrite, arsenopyrite, sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite, stibnite, boulangerite and sulphosalts, including pyrargyrite. Wallrock silicification at the Flex vein system extends precious metal grade widths up to 7 m. The technical information in this news release has been approved by Ken MacDonald, P. Geo. an independent "Qualified Person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Frank Lagiglia President and Chief Executive Officer info@taurusgold.ca Taurus Gold Corp. Phone: 604-512-0972 #239 9768-170th Street, Edmonton, AB T5T 5L4 Forward-looking Information: This news release contains "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All statements included herein are forward-looking, other than statements of historical fact. Generally, the forward-looking information and forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "is expected", or "will continue", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking information and forward-looking statements, while based on management's best estimates and assumptions, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of Taurus Gold to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements. Although Taurus Gold has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information and forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information or statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information or statements. The forward-looking statements and forward-looking information are made as of the date hereof and Taurus Gold disclaims, except as required by applicable securities laws, any obligation to update any such factors or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements or forward-looking information contained herein to reflect future results. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/188879 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - November 28, 2023) - Sanatana Resources Inc. (TSXV: STA) ("Sanatana" or the "Company") is pleased to provide further details about its recently completed IP (Induced Polarization) geophysical program. As detailed in our News Release of October 4, 2023, Sanatana identified a large (1k by 2k) buried IP chargeability anomaly at the Oweegee Dome project, located within the famous Golden Triangle of British Columbia. The IP work was contracted to Dias Geophysical using their latest 3D system. It is Sanatana's principal exploration premise that the next wave of mineral exploration successes will come through the application of technology; IP was specifically developed to explore for copper porphyry deposits and is especially effective when the system is "blind" or covered. A recent example of the application of the Dias 3D system is illustrated by the success of Hercules Silver Corp. with their Hercules project located in Idaho, USA. Hercules undertook a Dias 3D survey on October 18, 2022, and reported the results on December 15, 2022: https://herculessilver.com/hercules-silver-identifies-large-untested-chargeability-anomaly-at-depth/ This buried IP anomaly was later drill tested and initial results were reported on October 10, 2023. https://herculessilver.com/hercules-silver-intersects-185-meters-of-0-84-cu-111-ppm-mo-and-2-6-g-t-ag-including-45-meters-of-1-94-cu-in-first-deep-hole-drilled-at-hercules/ Peter Miles, CEO, commented, "we are pleased to see another company using the technology of Dias Geophysical to demonstrate how important a tool IP is in the discovery of "blind" or covered drill targets. It is also important to note that the reason we undertook the IP survey was not only to close off the initial Junction anomaly discovery, but to test our theory that potassicaly altered clasts we saw with visible chalcopyrite in several brecciated drill holes (see our NR of December 19, 2022) were being sourced from a buried deeper zone of the porphyry body that was not outcropping. These are important additional clues that lead us to be very excited about our IP results. We look forward to our 2024 drill program that we are currently planning." For more information and an executive summary presentation please click link below: https://www.sanatanaresources.com/s/20231127_STA_Oweegee-exec_summary-002.pdf Sanatana's 2023 IP chargeability Junction anomaly Figure 1. Oweegee 3D IP Chargeability iso-shells west northwest: pink > 18 mV/V; dark orange = 15 - 18 mV/V; light orange = 12-15 mV/V. Drilling: green = 2022 drilling, white = 1996 & 2007 drilling; blue histograms = Cu, Yellow = gold. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2534/188894_sanatana28112023f1.jpg Qualified Person The technical information in this news release was prepared under the supervision of Buddy Doyle B.App Sc. Geology, FAUSIMM. Mr. Doyle is a Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and has reviewed and approved the technical information disclosed in this news release. About the Company Sanatana Resources Inc. is a mineral exploration and development company focused on high-impact properties in Canada. With an award-winning technical team and experienced management and board of directors, Sanatana is based in Vancouver and is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV: STA). Sanatana's principal project is the Oweegee Dome copper-gold porphyry property which is situated 40 km east of the KSM - Brucejack - Treaty Creek cluster of base and precious metal deposits and is underlain by similar geologic conditions, Stuhini Group (Tiassic age) host rocks, intrusions of the right age, alteration and porphyry style copper - gold - silver - molybdenite mineralization. SANATANA RESOURCES INC. "Peter Miles " Peter Miles Chief Executive Officer For additional information on the Company, please contact Mr. Peter Miles, Chief Executive Officer at (604) 408-6680 or email investor@sanatanaresources.com. To be added to the email distribution list, please email ir@sanatanaresources.com with "Sanatana" in the subject line. Cautionary Notes Regarding Geology and Forward-Looking Information THE COMPANY NOTES THAT MINERALIZATION HOSTED ON ADJACENT, NEARBY OR GEOLOGICALLY SIMILAR PROPERTIES IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF MINERALIZATION HOSTED ON THE COMPANY'S PROPERTIES. This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements and information are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential", and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Forward-looking statements and information are not historical facts and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties beyond Sanatana's control. Actual results and developments are likely to differ, and may differ materially, from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Investors are cautioned that Sanatana Exploration Inc. has not verified the data from the Hercules Silver Corp.' s Hercules deposit. Further, the presence and style of mineralization on these properties is not necessarily indicative of similar mineralization on the Sanatana Exploration Inc. property. Historical assays from rock sampling and drill programs on its properties have not been verified by Sanatana but have been cited from sources believed to be reliable. This news release contains statements about Sanatana's expectations and are forward-looking in nature. As a result, they are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. Although Sanatana believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them as actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof, and Sanatana undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, except as required by law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/188894 Linux Foundation community to discuss impact of open source in a live stream presentation at COP28, Dubai. SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Linux Foundation , the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, is excited to announce a one-hour live-stream presentation at COP28, Dubai that will explore the transformative power of open source and how it is being used to advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Featuring speakers from Linux Foundation Research , Linux Foundation Europe , OS-Climate , Hyperledger Foundation , AgStack Foundation , Fintech in Open Source Foundation (FINOS) , Sustainable & Scalable Infrastructure Alliance , and the ELISA and Zephyr projects, the presentation will take place on December 6th from 15:00 - 16:00 GST in the COP28 Blue Zone. The Linux Foundation, home to more than 1,000 open source projects, aims to significantly scale up global, community-based open collaboration around solutions for climate change, sustainability, and environmental social governance (ESG). Presentation participants will call for the international community to broaden and deepen their open source efforts, with the aim to drive more resources toward developing the open source solutions needed to close the $5 trillion yearly gap in investment required for greenhouse gas mitigation, resilience, and adaptation. The one-hour presentation on December 6th will include a series of talks about how Linux Foundation projects and communities are advancing the 17 UN SDGs. Sharing insights from the Linux Foundation's latest research , and important community projects and initiatives, speakers will highlight use cases and documented efforts that help drive sustainability, identifying where resources can be directed to broaden and deepen these efforts. "I am thrilled to share new research at COP28 that illustrates the myriad Linux Foundation projects as transformative, digital public goods vital to the acceleration of the UN Sustainable Development Goals." - Hilary Carter, SVP Research & Communications, Linux Foundation Research "OS-Climate has led the awakening of the sustainable finance and business community to the power of open source, and the public utility approach for data it debuted at COP26 is now being adopted across multiple initiatives including the NZDPU, the recently announced Monetary Authority of Singapore facility, and the utility for biodiversity envisioned by the Task Force for Nature-Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). There is much greater potential to tap open source in accelerating climate impact. Most players in the climate community have yet to embrace true community-based development, where peers and even competitors work jointly to build the pre-competitive layers of data and tools in full transparency, which can be used in widely adopted commercial solutions and advisory services." - Truman Semans, Executive Director of OS-Climate "Climate Accounting is a global, decentralized problem that we all share. This is why the Hyperledger Climate Action and Accounting Special Interest Group is working hard to explore how to deliver open source, decentralized ledger solutions to provide a shared account of our global carbon emissions. Our work is a critical component of the development underway across the Hyperledger community to address climate challenges." -Sherwood Moore, Chair, Hyperledger Climate Action and Accounting Special Interest Group, Hyperledger Foundation "More than 1/2 of the world's labor force is engaged in Agriculture. More than 70% of all freshwater is used in Agriculture. Our ways of producing, supplying/processing and consuming our food are simply not sustainable today and as a result 1/3rd of the total food produced is wasted and 1/3rd of the people on the planet are hungry - while 1/3rd of all GHG emissions on the planet come from agriculture. But agriculture can also be the solution - aided in part by the digital economy. With the help of its passionate community of public- and private-sector actors, AgStack is building an open-science, open-data and open-source data infrastructure - that enables digital content creation and consumption - at scale. For both industrialized farms in the global north and smallholder farms in the global south, AgStack offers a permissively licensed set of sub-projects that enable the reusable, inclusive and non-vendor-locked infrastructure (the digital "road") for digital applications (or "vehicles") to unleash the power of data to benefit food ecosystems stakeholders worldwide." - Sumer Johal, Executive Director, AgStack Foundation "Not only does open collaboration deliver incredible efficiency in mutualizing resources needed to build the high quality and longevity software, hardware and standards our digital infrastructure runs on, but in turn enables these to be made available as digital public goods for the entire world to leverage. And when you pair this positive-sum game, in which individuals can collaborate on a level playing field with private and public sector actors, with worthy causes like the UN SDGs, the impact we can have is simply exponential and gives us a vital chance to address pressing issues that frankly no single entity can solve in isolation." - Gabriele Columbro, ED Fintech in Open Source Foundation, GM Linux Foundation Europe. "The population is growing but our resources aren't. We need to be more efficient with what we have, which means we need to focus on advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and open source is one of the best ways of collaborating on the infrastructure products are based on for dependability on a global scale. Zephyr is working towards efficient power management in resource-constrained applications, bringing AI to the edge, as well as being able to be secure and efficient when there are safety considerations. ELISA is working to enable Linux in similar embedded applications where there are safety considerations for market segments like automotive, medical, industrial, and aerospace." - Kate Stewart, VP Dependable Embedded Systems, Linux Foundation "Digital infrastructure powers our communities and must also positively contribute to them. The scale at which this will expand requires those that are developing this infrastructure do so in a way that is not only profitable but sustainable, equitable and beneficial to the world. This philosophy is core to the Linux Foundation's Sustainable and Scalable Infrastructure Alliance. Our open community has developed specifications to address the very physical aspects of our digital infrastructure. The Open19 V2 specification addresses the emerging power and cooling requirements of next-generation workloads in a consistent, reusable form. We're excited to build on this momentum and work with the community on renewable energy (use, storage, and re-use), expand reuse of existing infrastructure, and create novel approaches to sustainability challenges in digital infrastructure." - My Truong, Chair, Sustainable & Scalable Infrastructure Alliance The presentation will be hosted on December 6th in the COP28 Blue Zone from 15:00 - 16:00 GST. Participate in the free live-stream here . For more information about the Linux Foundation's sustainability efforts, visit LF Sustainability , and read the Open Source for Sustainability report. About The Linux Foundation The Linux Foundation is the world's leading home for collaboration on open source software, hardware, standards, and data. Linux Foundation projects are critical to the world's infrastructure including Linux, Kubernetes, Node.js, ONAP, PyTorch, RISC-V, SPDX, OpenChain, and more. The Linux Foundation focuses on leveraging best practices and addressing the needs of contributors, users, and solution providers to create sustainable models for open collaboration. For more information, please visit us at linuxfoundation.org. The Linux Foundation has registered trademarks and uses trademarks. For a list of trademarks of The Linux Foundation, please see its trademark usage page: www.linuxfoundation.org/trademark-usage. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Media Contact Noah Lehman Manager The Linux Foundation nlehman@linuxfoundation.org View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/linux-foundation-projects-unite-at-cop28-to-showcase-open-source-action-on-un-sustainable-development-goals-301999326.html Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - November 28, 2023) - Equity Metals Corporation (TSXV: EQTY) (FSE: EGSD) (OTCQB: EQMEF) ("Equity") reports encouraging assays in the final four holes from the George Lake target, tested during its Summer 2023 core drilling program on the Company's 100% owned Silver Queen Ag-Au project, located in central British Columbia. These new assays expand mineralization, adding to the first three holes from George Lake reported in NR-16-23, dated October 4th, 2023. Mineralization remains open laterally and at depth, and no mineralization from the George Lake target was included in Equity's most recently announced Mineral Resource update on the Silver Queen project. These latest drill results at the George Lake target returned multiple intercepts of precious and base metals, including: A 0.9 metre (est. TT) interval averaging 7.1g/t Au, 56g/t Ag, 0.2% Cu, 1.5% Pb and 6.0% Zn (11.6g/t AuEq or 946g/t AgEq) within a 3.0 metre (est. TT) interval averaging 2.5g/t Au, 31g/t Ag, 0.4% Cu, 0.5% Pb and 2.5% Zn (4.8g/t AuEq or 394g/t AgEq) starting at 320.2 metres downhole from drillhole SQ23-093 ; A 0.9 metre (est. TT) interval averaging 1.2g/t Au, 98g/t Ag, 0.1% Cu, 2.6% Pb and 17.7% Zn (12.3g/t AuEq or 1002g/t AgEq) within a 3.6 metre (est. TT) interval averaging 0.4g/t Au, 32g/t Ag, 1.1% Pb and 5.6% Zn (4.1g/t AuEq or 333g/t AgEq) starting at 322.2 metres downhole from drillhole SQ23-094 ; and A 0.5 metre (est TT) interval averaging 10.4g/t Au, 115g/t Ag, 0.6% Cu, 0.9% Pb and 1.4% Zn (13.7 AuEq or 1118g/t AgEq) starting at only 12.3 metres down hole in drillhole SQ23-094. These new results include both the thickest intercept of mineralization identified by Equity Metals to date at the George Lake Target and some of the highest gold grades, including relatively shallow gold-enriched mineralization identified at the top of drillholes SQ23-094 and SQ23-093 (see Table 1) in a previously undetected vein that requires further drilling and delineation. Historically, the George Lake vein system was last tested by previous management with both surface and underground drilling from the Bulkley cross cut in the late 1980's. Drilling by Equity has confirmed the lateral projection of the mineralized vein approximately 300 metres to the southeast of the Bulkley cross-cut and to depths of up to 250 metres. Mineralization remains open laterally to the southeast and to depth for further testing and will be a primary target in 2024 exploration of the Silver Queen property. All assays have now been received from the George Lake drilling. The Company also reports that its has completed its 2023 Drilling Program on the property. Seven core holes totalling 2,467 metres were completed on the George Lake Target and a further nine core holes totalling 2,961 metres were completed on the Cole Lake Target. Drilling was completed in late October 2023, and samples from Cole Lake have been submitted for assay, with results anticipated in the coming weeks. In total during 2023, 26 core holes were completed for 9,989 metres drilled and 1,437 soil sediment samples were collected. VP Exploration Rob Macdonald commented, "Exploration on the George Lake and Cole Lake Targets demonstrate our belief that several of the +20 identified veins on the Silver Queen property have significant potential to expand our resource base. "These latest drill results clearly confirm the George Lake target as a new, under-explored mineralized zone that is open for resource expansion. The target remains open laterally and to depth and is a primary target for further drill testing in 2024. Also, the identification of such robust gold grades in a previously unknown vein at shallow depths presents a new and compelling target for further drill testing, confirming our belief that unexposed veins beneath extensive areas of cover provide significant exploration potential. Additionally, we look forward to assay results from visually interesting holes drilled at the Cole Lake target, potentially providing further news flow from Silver Queen." Figure 1: Plan Map of targets on the Silver Queen Property, BC To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/5566/188833_f892983784e71956_002full.jpg Figure 2: Plan of the George Lake Target area showing Summer '23 drilling To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/5566/188833_f892983784e71956_003full.jpg Figure 3: Longitudinal Section of the George Lake Target, looking northeast, showing both historical results (shaded) and 2023 drill results To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/5566/188833_f892983784e71956_004full.jpg Table 1: Select Currently Reported Composites from 2023 Drilling on the George Lake Target Hole # From (m) To (m) Interval (m) ETT(m) Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Cu (%) Pb (%) Zn (%) AuEq (g/t) AuEq (g/t) George Lake Target - New Assays SQ23-091 75.9 77.0 1.1 0.8 0.3 16 0.0 0.2 1.5 1.3 106 SQ23-091 223.2 223.5 0.3 0.2 1.3 30 0.1 0.7 6.3 5.2 426 SQ23-091 267.2 268.9 1.7 1.2 1.4 78 0.2 1.7 4.8 5.6 460 SQ23-092 77.7 78.1 0.3 0.2 0.6 33 0.1 0.4 3.4 3.0 242 SQ23-092 139.5 140.1 0.7 0.5 2.6 370 1.1 0.3 1.0 9.2 752 SQ23-092 171.4 172.2 0.8 0.6 0.6 44 0.1 0.4 1.9 2.3 188 SQ23-093 9.2 9.5 0.4 0.3 5.5 119 0.1 0.8 1.6 8.2 671 SQ23-093 320.2 323.8 3.5 3.0 2.5 31 0.4 0.5 2.5 4.8 394 inc. 322.8 323.8 1.0 0.9 7.1 56 0.2 1.5 6.0 11.6 946 SQ23-093 330.6 336.5 5.9 5.0 0.6 71 0.1 0.6 2.7 3.1 256 inc. 330.6 333.8 3.1 2.7 1.1 96 0.1 1.0 4.5 5.0 405 SQ23-094 12.3 12.8 0.6 0.5 10.4 115 0.6 0.9 1.4 13.7 1118 SQ23-094 322.2 326.5 4.3 3.6 0.4 32 0.0 1.1 5.6 4.1 333 inc. 324.8 326.5 1.7 1.4 0.7 64 0.1 1.8 11.5 8.0 655 inc. 325.5 326.5 1.0 0.9 1.2 98 0.1 2.6 17.7 12.3 1002 Table 1 (continued): Summary of Previously Reported Composites from 2023 Drilling on the George Lake Target Hole # From (m) To (m) Interval (m) ETT(m) Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Cu (%) Pb (%) Zn (%) AuEq (g/t) AuEq (g/t) George Lake Target - Previously Reported SQ23-088 123.5 123.9 0.4 0.3 0.7 39 0.1 0.5 1.4 2.2 177 SQ23-088 125.2 125.7 0.5 0.4 0.3 35 0.1 0.5 1.7 1.9 158 SQ23-088 127.2 127.5 0.3 0.3 0.4 14 0.0 0.6 1.7 1.7 136 SQ23-089 148.4 150.9 2.5 1.9 0.7 53 0.1 0.96 2.2 2.9 234 inc. 148.4 149.0 0.6 0.5 0.9 117 0.1 3.3 7.2 7.1 585 SQ23-089 156.7 158.5 1.8 1.4 1.2 284 0.3 0.3 1.8 6.1 502 inc. 157.8 158.1 0.3 0.2 0.5 1570 1.9 0.7 5.6 25.3 2071 SQ23-089 199.6 200.1 0.4 0.3 0.3 74 0.1 0.7 0.8 1.9 159 SQ23-089 206.0 207.2 1.2 1.0 4.2 8 0.0 0.1 0.3 4.5 368 SQ23-090 56.3 58.1 1.8 1.0 1.6 69 0.0 0.5 1.9 3.6 293 SQ23-090 92.6 93.0 0.3 0.2 0.7 204 0.3 0.6 8.0 7.8 634 SQ23-090 239.6 240.3 0.7 0.4 0.5 121 1.9 0.1 0.2 4.6 375 SQ23-090 246.4 249.2 2.7 1.5 1.3 226 1.0 1.7 6.6 9.2 755 inc. 248.3 248.8 0.5 0.3 4.1 824 0.7 3.4 18.4 25.4 2076 Notes: drill core samples were analyzed by FA/AAS for gold and 48 element ICP-MS by MS Analytical, Langley, BC. Silver (>100ppm), copper, lead and zinc (>1%) overlimits assayed by ore grade ICP-ES analysis, High silver overlimits (>1000g/t Ag) and gold overlimits (>10g/t Au) re-assayed with FA-Grav. Silver >10,000g/t re-assayed by concentrate analysis, where a FA-Grav analysis is performed in triplicate and a weighed average reported. Downhole composites calculated using a 80g/t AgEq (1g/t AuEq) cut-off and <20% internal dilution, except where noted. Reported intervals are core lengths, true widths undetermined or estimated. Accuracy of results is tested through the systematic inclusion of QA/QC standards, blanks and duplicates into the sample stream. AuEq and AgEq were calculated using prices of $1,800/oz Au, $22/oz Ag, $3.50/lb Cu, $0.95/lb Pb and $1.30/lb Zn. AuEq and AgEq calculations did not account for relative metallurgical recoveries of the metals. About Silver Queen Project The Silver Queen Project is a premier gold-silver property with over 100 years of historic exploration and development and is located adjacent to power, roads and rail with significant mining infrastructure that was developed under previous operators Bradina JV (Bralorne Mines) and Houston Metals Corp. (a Hunt Brothers company). The property contains an historic decline into the No. 3 Vein, camp infrastructure, and a maintained Tailings Facility. The Silver Queen Property consists of 45 mineral claims, 17 crown grants, and two surface crown grants totalling 18,852ha with no underlying royalties. Mineralization is hosted by a series of epithermal veins distributed over a 6 sq km area. An updated NI43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate with effective date December 1st, 2022 was detailed in a News Release issued on Jan 16, 2023, which can be found by clicking here and the full Technical Report can be found on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca/) and the Company's website. More than 20 different veins have been identified on the property, forming an extensive network of zoned Cretaceous- to Tertiary-age epithermal veins. The property remains largely under explored. Corporate Update The Company also reports that it is pleased to announce the appointment of Jay Oness as Vice President, Corporate Development. Mr. Oness has over 25 years of corporate communications, strategic marketing and corporate development experience and has been a director and officer of numerous publicly traded North American resource companies. Mr. Oness will be responsible for general corporate development, and supporting management to evaluate and execute new investment opportunities. He is currently serving as the VP of Corporate Development at Southern Silver Exploration and Malaspina-Manex Group where he is responsible for overseeing, implementing, and managing various corporate functions and shareholder programs for public and private companies. About Equity Metals Corporation Equity Metals Corporation is a member of the Malaspina-Manex Group. The Company owns 100% interest, with no underlying royalty, in the Silver Queen project, located along the Skeena Arch in the Omineca Mining Division, British Columbia. The property hosts high-grade, precious- and base-metal veins related to a buried porphyry system, which has been only partially delineated. The Company also has a controlling JV interest (57.49%) in the Monument Diamond project, NWT, strategically located in the Lac De Gras district within 40 km of both the Ekati and Diavik diamond mines. The Company also has royalty and working interests in other Canadian properties, which are being evaluated further to determine their value to the Company. Robert Macdonald, MSc. P.Geo, is VP Exploration of Equity Metals Corporation and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. He is responsible for the supervision of the exploration on the Silver Queen project and for the preparation of the technical information in this disclosure. On behalf of the Board of Directors "Joseph Anthony Kizis, Jr." Joseph Anthony Kizis, Jr., P.Geo President, Director, Equity Metals Corporation For further information, visit the website at https://www.equitymetalscorporation.com; or contact us at 604.641.2759 or by email at corpdev@mnxltd.com. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include the timing and receipt of government and regulatory approvals, and continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. Equity Metals Corporation does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/188833 WASHINGTON, DC / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / During this season of giving, The Children's Guild, a leading Mid-Atlantic nonprofit organization serving children, families, and child serving organizations is supporting Neurodiversity in Children with a goal of raising $25,000 to improve special education services. Celebrating its 70th anniversary, The Children's Guild is focused on helping students and families find success socially, emotionally, educationally, and developmentally through special education and charter schools, school-based mental health services, treatment foster care, autism services, family mental and behavioral health services, and workforce development programs. The Children's Guild recently published Understanding Neurodiversity in Children and what it means to be neurodivergent, a term used to describe individuals whose brains process, learn, or behave differently from what is considered typical neurological development (neurotypical). At The Children's Guild (TCG) the staff is trained to meet neurodiverse students where they are with tangible resources so they can experience more success. TCG oversees nonpublic, charter, and public schools, as well as programs for children at all different learning and emotional levels. Since its inception in 1953, The Children's Guild operates schools serving students with significant behavioral and academic issues including emotional disturbance, autism across the spectrum, developmental disabilities, and any combination of those disabilities. Of the world's population, 15-20 percent exhibit some form of neurodivergence. Although the word refers to the diversity of all people, it is often used in the context of autism spectrum disorder, as well as other neurological or developmental conditions, such as ADHD or learning disabilities. About 1 in 6 (17%) children aged 3-17 years were diagnosed with a developmental disability, as reported by parents, during a study period of 2009-2017. These included autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity. Understanding Neurodiversity in Children provides definitions on the types of neurodiversity and signs to look for and how best to support a neurodivergent loved one. The three most common types are: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): A broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech, and nonverbal communication. Signs of autism usually appear by age 2 or 3, and some even earlier. About 1 in 36 children have been identified with ASD, according to estimates from the CDC's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network. Autism is reported to occur in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups and is nearly 4 times more common among boys than among girls. A broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech, and nonverbal communication. Signs of autism usually appear by age 2 or 3, and some even earlier. About 1 in 36 children have been identified with ASD, according to estimates from the CDC's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network. Autism is reported to occur in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups and is nearly 4 times more common among boys than among girls. Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): A neurodevelopmental condition characterized by persistent inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. ADHD symptoms start before age 12, and in some children, they're noticeable as early as 3 years of age. The CDC suggests that around 9.4% of all children are diagnosed with ADHD at some point before the age of 18. A neurodevelopmental condition characterized by persistent inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. ADHD symptoms start before age 12, and in some children, they're noticeable as early as 3 years of age. The CDC suggests that around 9.4% of all children are diagnosed with ADHD at some point before the age of 18. Dyslexia: A specific learning disorder that primarily affects reading skills. Dyslexia symptoms can appear as early as preschool age. According to the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity, dyslexia affects 20% of the population. Since neurodiversity refers to the unique way that each person's brain develops, it is not preventable, treatable, or curable but some of the conditions that cause a person to be neurodivergent are manageable. The best ways to help a neurodivergent child is to provide sensory-friendly spaces by reducing noise levels, using soft lighting, or providing access to sensory tools like noise-canceling headphones or fidget toys. Allow for sensory breaks if sensory overload occurs. Provide targeted social skills training programs on understanding nonverbal cues and maintaining conversations and establish predictable routines and visual schedules and breaking down complex tasks into smaller chunks. Society has shifted greatly in the past few years in its understanding of the importance and diversity of how the brain operates. Advancements have been in special education, with approaches becoming centered around how people with assorted neurodivergent tendencies learn best. The Children's Guild schools and programs are committed to providing a supportive and nurturing environment for neurodiverse students. During this Season of Giving, support The Children's Guild and help them reach their goal of raising $25,000 to support neurodiverse students throughout their schools and programs. Click here to learn how to give. Schools and programs of The Children's Guild include Monarch Academy Annapolis, Monarch Academy Glen Burnie, Monarch Global Academy Laurel, Monarch Preschool College Park, The Children's Guild DC PCS, The Children's Guild School of Baltimore, The Children's Guild School - Prince George's Campus, The Children's Guild: Transformation Academy, The Janet & Frank Kelly Autism Center, TranZed Academy for Working Students, TranZed Apprenticeships, and Outpatient Mental Health Clinic. For more information, visit https://childrensguild.org/. # # # For further information, contact: Amy Riemer, Media Relations Contact 978-475-4441 (office) or 978-502-4895 (mobile) amy@riemercommunications.com SOURCE: The Children's Guild View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/810614/during-this-season-of-giving-the-childrens-guild-focuses-on-supporting-neurodiversity-in-children by Alex Stevenson Green Building Council of Australia releases 'Unlocking the Value,' a practical guide to sustainable finance in the Australian real estate sector NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / Around the world, investors, regulators and organizations are prioritizing non-financial indicators such as human and social capital criteria to better understand risk and return, and demonstrate value and impact. According to the European Commission, sustainable finance "refers to the process of taking environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into account when making investment decisions in the financial sector, leading to more long-term investments in sustainable economic activities and projects." This investment landscape, increasingly shaped by ESG factors, has long been in need of more practical, clarifying resources with regards to accessing capital. This is where Green Building Council of Australia's (GBCA) new Unlocking the Value report sheds light. The real estate industry is rife with opportunity to better address environmental and social issues, making access to sustainable financing, like green loans and bonds, more crucial than ever to reach these goals. While Unlocking the Value is geared towards the Australian market, much of the content applies to the global real estate industry. It is one of the most comprehensive resources addressing green capital to date, providing much needed guidance on how to work with the finance sector to enable sustainable financing for development and operational improvement projects. The guide breaks down more than ten [sustainability] frameworks and rating systems - the WELL Standard among them - to demystify the space and demonstrate how their application can facilitate access to sustainable capital. Importantly in regards to IWBI, the report positions a 'focus on people' as a major initiative within the industry through a focus on health, equity and well-being. IWBI informed the inclusion of social considerations within this guide and categorized how the WELL Standard relates to leading sustainable finance frameworks. "In a landscape that continues to rapidly evolve, it's energizing to see such a practical guide for the real estate industry. Unlocking the Value will encourage more owners and developers to leverage sustainable finance to achieve higher levels of environmental and social performance," said Kelly Worden, VP of ESG and Investing for Health, IWBI. We know that investments in sustainable buildings can improve indoor air quality, reduce noise pollution, and promote healthier lifestyles, thereby contributing to public health. In the past, we've seen a great deal of movement in relation to climate change mitigation (i.e., the 'E' pillar within 'ESG'), but there has long been a lack of visibility of the connection between human health and the financial bottom line (the 'S'). Green frameworks are primarily concerned with equipping physical assets to withstand environmental risks, in order to protect the investor's financial interests. WELL addresses social risks that are relevant to investors, but aren't comprehensively addressed today by existing investment and regulatory frameworks. However, as more publications and reports like this one help guide organizations how to mitigate these risks, it's clear that the industry is moving in the right direction. Unlocking the Value will help more organizations follow the lead of those who have already integrated WELL achievements into their sustainable finance strategies, including Aviva Investors, CBUS Property, Champion REIT, Colliers International, Mexico Ministry of Finance and Qatar National Bank. With this new resource, and a spotlight on WELL, we're confident that the real estate industry will be better equipped to understand the significance of protecting any organization's most valuable asset - their people. To download the report, please click here. View original content here. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from International WELL Building Institute on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: International WELL Building Institute Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/international-well-building-institute Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: International WELL Building Institute View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/810772/new-publication-sheds-light-on-sustainable-finance-demystifies-space-for-real-estate KBRA UK (KBRA) releases research on the climate transition readiness of the largest companies in the UK. The UK government's Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT) released in October 2023 its framework outlining voluntary climate transition disclosure for UK companies. Although the transition disclosure is currently voluntary, UK regulators, including the country's financial services regulatory body, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), have signalled that the disclosure of transition plans is likely to become mandatory in the coming years. As the effects of climate change grow in severity and governments continue to set and progress towards greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions goals, transition planning is becoming a critical tool for companies to reduce their emissions footprint and minimise financial risk over the long term. Regulatory bodies are increasingly focused on transparency and disclosure of corporate transition plans, including the FCA, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) in the EU. This KBRA report provides an overview of the TPT's climate transition guidance and, using carbon emissions data from Emmi, analyses the preparedness of the largest UK companies to transition to a low carbon economy. Emmi is a data vendor that provides estimations for corporate carbon emissions to analyse how future carbon constraints will translate to carbon transition risk. Click here to view the report. Related Publications Carbon Series: The Voluntary Carbon Market The Power of the Stakeholder: March 2023 Oil Majors Update European ESG Regulation Part 2: An Overview of the Green Deal Industrial Plan About KBRA KBRA is a full-service credit rating agency registered in the U.S., the EU and the UK, and is designated to provide structured finance ratings in Canada. KBRA's ratings can be used by investors for regulatory capital purposes in multiple jurisdictions. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128247375/en/ Contacts: Emilie Nadler, Director +44 20 8148 1060 emilie.nadler@kbra.com Pat Welch, Chief ESG and Ratings Policy Officer +1 646-731-2481 patrick.welch@kbra.com Media Adam Tempkin, Director of Communications +1 646-731-1347 adam.tempkin@kbra.com SITE OF LAST REMAINING LABORATORY OF ICONIC INVENTOR NIKOLA TESLA CENTER LAUNCHES $3-MILLION EMERGENCY FIRE RESTORATION FUND DRIVE SHOREHAM, N.Y., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe (TSCW), the last remaining laboratory of famed inventor Nikola Tesla, was damaged by a serious fire on the afternoon of November 21. Situated on a 16.5-acre site on Long Island in New York, the multi-building facility - listed on the National Historic Register -- is undergoing a thorough assessment by engineers and local officials to determine the full extent of fire-related damages. To help cover fire remediation costs, the Center has launched an international, $3-million Indiegogo fundraising campaign called the "Mission Rebuild" fund. (https://igg.me/at/MissionRebuildTSCW) More than 100 firefighters, from seventeen local fire departments and ambulance corps, had responded to the blaze, which was fully extinguished the next morning. Center officials had been preparing to commence a $20-million restoration and redevelopment of the historic laboratory complex. The $3-million Indiegogo "Mission Rebuild" fund will be separate from the in-place redevelopment drive. "Everyone associated with Tesla Science Center owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to the many heroic first responders for their extraordinary courage and determination," said TSCW Executive Director Marc Alessi. "We are immensely grateful for the commitment and bravery of our local firefighters." The extent of damage is now being assessed by TSCW's site engineer, the laboratory's historical architect, a structural engineering firm, and multiple local agencies. Their analysis will help determine the fire's specific impact on restoration plans. "While we were poised to begin a significant renovation and restoration project," Mr. Alessi said, "construction had not yet commenced, sparing us from additional complexities at this stage." Mr. Alessi expressed relief that the overall structural integrity of the building, dating back to 1901, seemed to have largely withstood the fire's effects. "The public's support and understanding in these challenging times are invaluable," Mr. Alessi said. "If you've been inspired by Tesla 's life and career, you can take action by participating in our Indiegogo 'Mission Rebuild' fundraising initiative. "Together, we will navigate this crisis and emerge stronger, honoring the legacy of Nikola Tesla and the spirit of innovation, determination, and resiliency that this center embodies." Nikola Tesla was the inventor of the motor that distributes alternating current (AC) electricity, and many other innovations. AC electricity serves as the basis for the power grid system, which in turn allowed for the introduction of wi-fi, radio, remote controls, and robotics. For ongoing updates and further information, please visit www.teslasciencecenter.org. About Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe (TSCW) is the last remaining laboratory of Nikola Tesla. TSCW first acquired the 16.5-acre property -- designed by renowned architect Stanford White -- and then initiated a restoration and redevelopment process. The restoration will transform the former working laboratory into a global innovation center, an educational facility, and a museum. Contact: Mark Grossman Mark Grossman Public Relations press@teslasciencecenter.org or mark@markgrossmanpr.com Tel/Text: 631-786-0404 Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2286753/Tesla_Science_Center_1.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2286752/Tesla_Science_Center_2.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/tesla-science-center-at-wardenclyffe-damaged-by-serious-fire-301999187.html Increase in the demand for AI based security features, rise in preferences for personalized financial services, and developments in advanced technologies contribute towards the growth of the market. PORTLAND, Ore., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Artificial Intelligence in BFSI Market by Offering (Hardware, Software, and Services), Solution (Chatbots, Fraud Detection & Prevention, Anti-Money Laundering, Customer Relationship Management, Data Analytics & Prediction, and Others), and Technology (Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Computer Vision, and Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2022-2032". According to the report, the global artificial intelligence in BFSI industry generated $ 22.5 billion in 2022, and is anticipated to generate $ 368.6 billion by 2032, witnessing a CAGR of 32.5% from 2023 to 2032. Request Research Report Sample & TOC: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/2791 (We are providing report as per your research requirement, including the Latest Industry Insight's Evolution, Potential and COVID-19 Impact Analysis) 127 - Tables 48 - Charts 260 - Pages Prime determinants of growth The increase in need to optimize operational costs and the availability of large data sets to leverage AI-based solutions propel the growth of the artificial intelligence in BFSI market. However, lack of proper connectivity and unavailability of network infrastructure in developing countries for integrating artificial intelligence in BFSI usage, are some of the factors that limit the artificial intelligence in BFSI market growth. Conversely, utilization of chatbots, blockchain, and other services is expected to improve consumer engagements which fuel the growth of the market. Report coverage & details: Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2023-2032 Base Year 2022 Market Size in 2022 $22,459.62 Million Market Size in 2032 $368,638.57 Million CAGR 32.5 % No. of Pages in Report 425 Segments covered Offering, Solution, Technology, and Region. Drivers Increase in the demand for AI based security features Increase in preferences for personalized financial services Developments in technology Opportunities Developments in digitalization in the banking sector The emergence of fintech startups Restraints Lack of awareness and privacy concerns Procure Complete Report (425 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, and Figures) @ https://bit.ly/3QR2zUy The software segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period Based on offering, the software segment held the highest market share in 2022, accounting for nearly three-fifths of the global artificial intelligence in BFSI market revenue, owing to the fact that artificial intelligence enabled software verifies data and generates reports, reviews documents according to the given parameters, and extracts information for further decision-making process. However, the hardware segment is projected to attain the highest CAGR of 35.0% from 2023 to 2032. This is because hardware accelerators mark a significant trend in the global AI in BFSI market, becoming a major driver for the improvement in the accuracy of AI models for hardware technologies. The chatbots segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period Based on solution, the chatbots segment held the highest market share in 2022, accounting for more than one-third of the global artificial intelligence in BFSI market revenue, and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. Owing to the fact that chatbots, which are powered by natural language processing, provide banks and other financial institutions the access to quickly assist common customer service queries, enhance on-boarding processes, and improve sales effectiveness. However, the fraud detection and prevention segment is projected to attain the highest CAGR of 36.8% from 2023 to 2032. This is because it provides real-time and advanced cyber-security solutions to protect data and user privacy. It improves customer experiences and helps enhance company reputation by mitigating financial risk. Get Customized Reports with your Requirements: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-for-customization/2791 North America to maintain its dominance by 2032 Based on region, North America held the highest market share in terms of revenue in 2022, accounting for nearly two-fifths of the global artificial intelligence in BFSI revenue, owing to the fact that North America region is witnessing an increase in the number of AI-driven startups, which are providing innovative solutions to the BFSI sector. However, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to witness the fastest CAGR of 36.3% from 2023 to 2032, and is likely to dominate the market during the forecast period. This is due to the widespread adoption of smartphones and the increasing preference for mobile banking and payments present a significant growth factor. AI-driven mobile banking applications offer seamless and secure transactions, fraud detection, and personalized financial insights. Leading Market Players: - Amazon Web Services, Inc. Baidu, Inc. Google LLC Intel Corporation IBM Corporation Microsoft Corporation Oracle SAP SE Salesforce, Inc. Palantir Technologies Inc. The report provides a detailed analysis of these key players of the global artificial intelligence in BFSI market. These players have adopted different strategies such as partnership, product launch, and expansion to increase their market share and maintain dominant shares in different regions. The report is valuable in highlighting business performance, operating segments, product portfolio, and strategic moves of market players to showcase the competitive scenario. Inquiry before Buying: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/2791 Trending Reports in BFSI Industry (Book Now with 10% Discount + COVID-19 Scenario): AI in Banking Market by Component (Solution and Service), Enterprise Size (Large Enterprise and SMEs), Applications (Risk Management Compliance & Security, Customer Service, Back Office/Operations, Financial Advisory and Others) and Technology (Machine Learning & Deep Learning, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Computer Vision and Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2030. AI in Fintech Market by Component (Solution, Services), by Deployment Mode (On-premise, Cloud), by Application (Virtual Assistants (Chatbots), Business Analytics and Reporting, Customer Behavioral Analytics, Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2022-2031. Chatbot Market in BFSI by Component (Solution and Service), Platform Type (Web-based and Mobile-based), End User (Banks, Insurance Companies, and Others), and Application (Customer Support, Branding & Advertisement, Data Security & Compliance, and Others: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2027. Insurance Fraud Detection Market by Component (Solution, Services), by Deployment Mode (On-premises, Cloud), by Enterprise Size (Large Enterprises, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)), by Applications (Payment Fraud and Billing Fraud, Identity Theft, Claims Fraud, Money Laundering): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2031. Data Analytics in Banking Market by Component (Solution, Services), by Deployment Model (On-Premise, Cloud), by Organization Size (Large Enterprises, Small & Medium Sized Enterprises), by Type (Predictive Analytics, Prescriptive Analytics, Descriptive Analytics, Others), by Application (Fraud Detection & Prevention, Customer Management, Sales & Marketing, Workforce Management, Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2031. Machine Learning in Banking Market by Component (Solution, Service), by Enterprise Size (Large Enterprises, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)), by Application (Credit Scoring, Risk Management Compliance and Security, Payments and Transactions, Customer Service, Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2031. About Us: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Wilmington, Delaware. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports Insights" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact: David Correa 1209 Orange Street, Corporation Trust Center, Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware 19801 USA. Int'l: +1-503-894-6022 Toll Free: +1-800-792-5285 UK: +44-845-528-1300 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1-800-792-5285 help@alliedmarketresearch.com Allied Market Research Blog: https://blog.alliedmarketresearch.com BFSI Blog Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/636519/Allied_Market_Research_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/artificial-intelligence-in-bfsi-market-to-reach--368-6-billion-globally-by-2032-at-32-5-cagr-allied-market-research-301999227.html CHICAGO, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- It's expected that factors including 5G integration, the growth of IoT applications, the greater usage of AI and machine learning, and an emphasis on security and privacy will impact the telecom API industry in the future. RCS, blockchain integration, and creative API monetization techniques might all expand in the market, and customization choices and developer ecosystem expansion will always be prioritised. The development of telecom APIs is anticipated to be influenced by global connectivity initiatives as well as efforts to improve interoperability and standardisation. The Telecom API Market size is projected to grow from USD 320.9 billion in 2023 to USD 664.9 billion by 2028, at a CAGR of 15.7% during the forecast period, according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. Telecom operators are increasingly focusing on providing value-added services to their customers. Telecom APIs play a crucial role in enabling the development and integration of these services, such as mobile payments, messaging services, and location-based services and has led to significant market growth. Browse in-depth TOC on "Telecom API Market" 150 - Tables 50 - Figures 250 - Pages Download PDF Brochure @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=257220042 Scope of the Report Report Metrics Details Market size available for years 2018-2028 Base year considered 2022 Forecast period 2023-2028 Forecast units Value (USD) Billion Segments Covered Type of API (SMS, MMS and RCS API, IVR/ voice store and voice control API, payment API, web RTC API, ID/SSO and subscriber API, location API, M2M and IOT API, content delivery API, and Others (Quality of Service, Device Information, and Advertising API)), User (Enterprise Developer, Internal Developer, Partner Developer, Long Tail Developer), and Region Region covered North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, Latin America Companies covered Twilio (US), AT&T (US), Vodafone Group (UK), Google (US), Telefonica (Spain), Verizon (US), Ericsson (Sweden), Deutsche Telekom (Germany), Orange SA (France), Cisco (US), Nokia (Finland), Huawei (China), Bharti Airtel (India), Mavenir (US), Boku (US), RapidAPI (US), LocationSmart (US), SMSLOTS (Turkey), Xeebi (US), Plivo (US), Tenios (Germany), EnableX (Singapore), MessageBird (Netherlands), Telnyx (US) Based on user, the enterprise developer segment holds the largest market size during the forecast period In the dynamic landscape of the Telecom API Market, enterprise developers emerge as integral architects of innovation and efficiency. Tasked with designing, constructing, and maintaining software applications within the organizational realm, these professionals wield the power of telecom APIs to seamlessly integrate telecommunication services into their creations. Through their adept application development skills, enterprise developers craft solutions that harness the capabilities of telecom APIs, whether it be for unified communications, mobile applications, or IoT platforms. Request Sample Pages @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=257220042 Based on user, the partner developer segment is expected to grow with the highest CAGR during the forecast period Partner developers have emerged as pivotal collaborators for telecom service providers in the Telecom API Market. These external entities or individuals actively engage in leveraging the provider's APIs to integrate, innovate, and enhance the functionalities of applications and services. Through strategic partnerships, developers seamlessly integrate telecom APIs into their applications, spanning services such as SMS, voice calling, and location-based features. Asia Pacific is expected to expected to grow with the highest CAGR during the forecast period The Telecom API Market in Asia Pacific is highly competitive, as China, India and Japan have a strong focus on Research and Development (R&D) and innovation. The Asia Pacific digital economy is expanding and experiencing growing regional demand. The Telecom API Market in the Asia Pacific region is dynamically influenced by several key factors. With a high penetration of mobile devices and smartphones, the demand for telecom APIs has surged, enabling mobile network operators to enhance service functionality and user experiences. The ongoing digital transformation initiatives across countries in the region further contribute to the adoption of cloud services, IoT, and other technologies reliant on telecom APIs. The growth of e-commerce and FinTech sectors has driven the need for secure communication channels, spurring the use of APIs for authentication, messaging, and payment processing. Government-backed initiatives promoting digital transformation, smart cities, and eGovernance are also leveraging telecom APIs for connectivity and data exchange. Overall, the Asia Pacific Telecom API Market is expected to continue to grow rapidly in the coming years, as organizations in the region increasingly realize the benefits of these technologies. Top Key Companies in Telecom API Market: The Telecom API Market comprises major providers, such as Twilio (US), AT&T (US), Vodafone Group (UK), Google (US), Telefonica (Spain), Verizon (US), Ericsson (Sweden), Deutsche Telekom (Germany), Orange SA (France), Cisco (US), Nokia (Finland), Huawei (China), Bharti Airtel (India), Mavenir (US), Boku (US), RapidAPI (US), LocationSmart (US), SMSLOTS (Turkey), Xeebi (US), Plivo (US), Tenios (Germany), EnableX (Singapore), MessageBird (Netherlands), Telnyx (US). To increase their market share in the telecom API industry, these competitors have used a variety of growth methods, including partnerships, agreements, collaborations, new product releases, product enhancements, and acquisitions. Recent Developments In September 2023, Vodafone started providing banks, hospitals, and schools with a new network Application Programmable Interface (API) that notifies smartphone users about incoming call identities. In February 2023, Telefonica extended the collaboration framework with Microsoft to the area of programmable networks through APIs in the context of the GSMA Open Gateway initiative. With this global project, the operators are opening up access to their telco and network capabilities to developers, cloud service providers and enterprises in general through interoperable network APIs based on open industry standards. In September 2023, Ericsson partnered with Deutsche Telekom (DT), to launch a commercial partnership to offer communication and network APIs to developers and enterprises. In February 2023, Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile developed a platform with joint Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) called T-DevEdge to make it easy and simple for the global developer community to create new, connected solutions. In February 2023, The GSMA announced a new industry-wide initiative called GSMA Open Gateway, a framework of universal network Application Programmable Interfaces (APIs), designed to provide universal access to operator networks for developers. Launched with the support of 21 mobile network operators, the move represents a paradigm shift in the way the telecoms industry designs and delivers services in an API economy world. Inquire Before Buying @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_BuyingNew.asp?id=257220042 Telecom API Market Advantages: Service providers may quickly innovate and introduce new offerings thanks to telecom APIs. Using APIs, developers may build apps that improve communication services, provide new functionality, and cater to changing user needs. Service providers can create a more smooth and satisfying customer experience by integrating telecom APIs. APIs make it possible for features like voice verification, multimedia messaging, and SMS notifications, which enhance user interaction and personalization. Telecom APIs offer chances for generating income. Service providers can charge for the use of their APIs, give them to developers for the creation of value-added services, or enter into joint ventures that make use of the API's features. Telecom APIs speed up the creation and introduction of new services. Pre-built APIs for communication features can be used by developers, cutting down on development time and expediting the time to market for creative applications. Due to the scalability of telecom APIs, service providers can meet growing communication demands. APIs are scalable, allowing for increased traffic and maintaining communication service performance even with a growing user base and number of devices. For service providers, implementing telecom APIs might be financially advantageous. APIs provide a ready-made solution in place of creating communication features from the ground up, saving development costs and improving resource allocation. Telecom APIs enable communication services to be easily incorporated into a variety of applications, websites, and systems by facilitating cross-platform integration. The reach and accessibility of communication functions are improved by this compatibility. Report Objectives To determine, segment, and forecast the global Telecom API Market by type of API, user, and region in terms of value. To forecast the size of the market segments to five main regions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America To provide detailed information about the major factors (drivers, opportunities, threats, and challenges) influencing the growth of the Telecom API Market To study the complete value chain and related industry segments and perform a value chain analysis of the Telecom API Market landscape. To strategically analyze the macro and micro markets to individual growth trends, prospects, and contributions to the total Telecom API Market To analyze the industry trends, pricing data, patents, and innovations related to the Telecom API Market. To analyze the opportunities for stakeholders by identifying the high-growth segments of the Telecom API Market To profile the key players in the market and comprehensively analyze their market share/ranking and core competencies. To track and analyze competitive developments, such as mergers & acquisitions, product launches & developments, partnerships, agreements, collaborations, business expansions, and Research & Development (R&D) activities. Browse Adjacent Markets: Mobility and Telecom Market Research Reports & Consulting Related Reports: Wi-Fi Market - Global Forecast to 2028 Push to Talk Market- Global Forecast to 2028 Telecom Cloud Market- Global Forecast to 2027 Bluetooth 5.0 Market- Global Forecast to 2027 Mobile Mapping Market - Global Forecast to 2026 About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets has been recognized as one of America's best management consulting firms by Forbes, as per their recent report. MarketsandMarkets is a blue ocean alternative in growth consulting and program management, leveraging a man-machine offering to drive supernormal growth for progressive organizations in the B2B space. We have the widest lens on emerging technologies, making us proficient in co-creating supernormal growth for clients. Earlier this year, we made a formal transformation into one of America's best management consulting firms as per a survey conducted by Forbes. The B2B economy is witnessing the emergence of $25 trillion of new revenue streams that are substituting existing revenue streams in this decade alone. We work with clients on growth programs, helping them monetize this $25 trillion opportunity through our service lines - TAM Expansion, Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy to Execution, Market Share Gain, Account Enablement, and Thought Leadership Marketing. Built on the 'GIVE Growth' principle, we work with several Forbes Global 2000 B2B companies - helping them stay relevant in a disruptive ecosystem. Our insights and strategies are molded by our industry experts, cutting-edge AI-powered Market Intelligence Cloud, and years of research. The KnowledgeStore (our Market Intelligence Cloud) integrates our research, facilitates an analysis of interconnections through a set of applications, helping clients look at the entire ecosystem and understand the revenue shifts happening in their industry. To find out more, visit www.MarketsandMarkets.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Contact: Mr. Aashish Mehra MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/telecom-api-market.asp Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/telecom-api.asp Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/telecom-api-market-worth-664-9-billion-by-2028---exclusive-report-by-marketsandmarkets-301998785.html Hunters Design Flaw in Domain-Wide Delegation Could Leave Google Workspace Vulnerable for Takeover, Says Cybersecurity Company Hunters 28-Nov-2023 / 16:25 CET/CEST The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. NEWS RELEASE BY HUNTERS Boston, Massachusetts | November 28, 2023 09:31 AM Eastern Standard Time A severe design flaw in Google Workspace's domain-wide delegation feature discovered by threat hunting experts from Hunters' Team Axon , can allow attackers to misuse existing delegations, enabling privilege escalation and unauthorized access to Workspace APIs without Super Admin privileges. Such exploitation could result in theft of emails from Gmail, data exfiltration from Google Drive, or other unauthorized actions within Google Workspace APIs on all of the identities in the target domain. Hunters has responsibly disclosed this to Google and worked closely with them prior to publishing this research. Domain-wide delegation permits a comprehensive delegation between Google Cloud Platform (GCP) identity objects and Google Workspace applications. In other words, it enables GCP identities to execute tasks on Google SaaS applications, such as Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, and more, on behalf of other Workspace users. The design flaw, which the team at Hunters has dubbed "DeleFriend," allows potential attackers to manipulate existing delegations in GCP and Google Workspace without possessing the high-privilege Super Admin role on Workspace, which is essential for creating new delegations. Instead, with less privileged access to a target GCP project, they can create numerous JSON web tokens (JWTs) composed of different OAuth scopes, aiming to pinpoint successful combinations of private key pairs and authorized OAuth scopes which indicate that the service account has domain-wide delegation enabled. The root cause lies in the fact that the domain delegation configuration is determined by the service account resource identifier (OAuth ID), and not the specific private keys associated with the service account identity object. Additionally, no restrictions for fuzzing of JWT combinations were implemented on the API level, which does not restrict the option of enumerating numerous options for finding and taking over existing delegations. Long Life: By default, GCP Service account keys are created without an expiry date. This feature makes them ideal for establishing backdoors and ensuring long-term persistence. Easy to hide: The creation of new service account keys for existing IAMs or, alternatively, the setting of a delegation rule within the API authorization page is easy to conceal. This is because these pages typically host a wide array of legitimate entries, which are not examined thoroughly enough. Awareness: IT and Security departments may not always be cognizant of the domain-wide delegation feature. They might especially be unaware of its potential for malicious abuse. Hard to detect: Since delegated API calls are created on behalf of the target identity, the API calls will be logged with the victim details in the corresponding GWS audit logs. This makes it challenging to identify such activities. "The potential consequences of malicious actors misusing domain-wide delegation are severe. Instead of affecting just a single identity, as with individual OAuth consent, exploiting DWD with existing delegation can impact every identity within the Workspace domain," says Yonatan Khanashvili of Hunters' Team Axon. The range of possible actions varies based on the OAuth scopes of the delegation. For instance, email theft from Gmail, data exfiltration from the drive, or monitor meetings from Google Calendar. In order to execute the attack method, a particular GCP permission is needed on the target Service Accounts. However, Hunters observed that such permission is not an uncommon practice in organizations making this attack technique highly prevalent in organizations that don't maintain a security posture in their GCP resources. "By adhering to best practices, and managing permissions and resources smartly, organizations can dramatically minimize the impact of the attack method" Khanashvili continued. Hunters has created a proof-of-concept tool (full details are included in the full research) to assist organizations in detecting DWD misconfigurations, increasing awareness, and reducing DeleFriend's exploitation risks. Using this tool, red teams, pen testers, and security researchers can simulate attacks and locate vulnerable attack paths of GCP IAM users to existing delegations in their GCP Projects to evaluate (and then improve) the security risk and posture of their Workspace and GCP environments. Hunters' Team Axon has also compiled comprehensive research that lays out exactly how the vulnerability works as well as recommendations for thorough threat hunting, detection techniques, and best practices for countering domain-wide delegation attacks. Hunters responsibly reported DeleFriend to Google as part of Google's "Bug Hunters" program in August, and are collaborating closely with Google's security and product teams to explore appropriate mitigation strategies. Currently, Google has yet to resolve the design flaw. Read the full research here , and follow Hunters' Team Axon on Twitter . About Hunters Hunters delivers a Security Operations Center (SOC) Platform that reduces risk, complexity, and cost for security teams. A SIEM alternative, Hunters SOC Platform provides data ingestion, built-in and always up-to-date threat detection, and automated correlation and investigation capabilities, minimizing the time to understand and respond to real threats. Organizations like Booking.com, ChargePoint, Yext, Upwork and Cimpress leverage Hunters SOC Platform to empower their security teams. Hunters is backed by leading VCs and strategic investors including Stripes, YL Ventures, DTCP, Cisco Investments, Bessemer Venture Partners, U.S. Venture Partners (USVP), Microsoft's venture fund M12, Blumberg Capital, Snowflake, Databricks, and Okta. Contact Details Hunters Yael Macias yael@hunters.security Dissemination of a CORPORATE NEWS, transmitted by EQS Group. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. The growing demand for AI-based solutions and the rising need for intelligent business processes are expected to drive the global artificial neural network market growth. NEW CASTLE, Del., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Artificial Neural Network Market by Component (Solution and Service), Deployment Mode (On-premise and Cloud), Enterprise Size (Large Enterprises and Small & Medium-sized Enterprises), and Industry (Healthcare, BFSI, Retail and E-commerce, Manufacturing, Automotive, and Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2022-2032". According to the report, the artificial neural network industry generated $227.8 million in 2022 and is anticipated to generate $1.4 billion by 2032, witnessing a CAGR of 19.9% from 2023 to 2032. Prime determinants of growth The notable factors positively affecting the artificial neural network market include the growing demand for AI-based solutions and the rising need for intelligent business processes. However, a lack of computational resources and a skilled workforce with expertise in artificial neural network (ANN) can hinder market growth. Furthermore, advancements in big data analytics and the availability of high-performance computing systems offer lucrative market opportunities for the market players. Download Sample Pages: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/13364 Report coverage & details: Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2023-2032 Base Year 2022 Market Size in 2022 $227.8 Million Market Size in 2032 $1.4 Billion CAGR 19.9 % No. of Pages in Report 450 Segments covered Component, Deployment Mode, Enterprise Size Industry, and Region. Drivers Growing demand for AI-based solutions The rising need for intelligent business processes Opportunities Advancements in big data analytics. The availability of high-performance computing systems. Restraints A lack of computational resources and a skilled workforce with expertise in artificial neural network (ANN) Buy this Complete Report (450 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, and Figures) at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/artificial-neural-network-market/purchase-options The solution segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period Based on component, the solution segment held the highest market share in 2022, accounting for less than two-fifths of the artificial neural network market revenue, and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. This is attributed to the growing need for a high level of personalization which is one of the primary reasons enterprises are increasing their investment in the artificial neural network market. However, the services segment is projected to manifest the highest CAGR of 21.8% from 2023 to 2032. The services segment is expected to witness the highest growth, as these services help to reduce the time and costs associated with optimizing systems in the initial phase of deployment. The on-premise segment to maintain its lead position during the forecast period Based on deployment mode, the on-premise segment accounted for the largest share in 2022, contributing for more than one-fourth of the artificial neural network market revenue. An increase in the need for secure and reliable data within the organization is fueling the market growth for on-premises-based artificial neural network solutions. However, the cloud segment is expected to portray the largest CAGR of 21.2% from 2023 to 2032 and is projected to maintain its lead position during the forecast period. It provides several advantages such as reducing costs, supporting business, and effectively controlling the business environment in the organization. The large enterprises segment to maintain its lead position during the forecast period Based on enterprise size, the large enterprises segment accounted for the largest share in 2022, contributing for more than one-fourth of the artificial neural network market revenue, owing to the growing demand for artificial neural network solutions in large enterprises which is fueling the market growth in these enterprises. However, the small and medium-sized enterprises segment is expected to portray the largest CAGR of 22.2% from 2023 to 2032 and is projected to maintain its lead position during the forecast period. It provides various benefits to the small and medium-sized enterprises organization. The healthcare segment to maintain its lead position during the forecast period Based on industry vertical, the healthcare segment accounted for the largest share in 2022, contributing for less than two-fifths of the artificial neural network market revenue, owing to the development of digital technologies in IT sector. However, the manufacturing segment is projected to manifest the highest CAGR of 24.3% from 2023 to 2032. The surge in implementation of automation trends and the increase in utilization of digital technology in this sector are expected to provide lucrative opportunities for the market. North America region dominated the global artificial neural network market in 2022 Based on region, the North America segment held the highest market share in terms of revenue in 2022, accounting for less than two-fifths of the artificial neural network market revenue. The increase in the usage of artificial neural network solutions in businesses to improve businesses and the customer experience is anticipated to propel the growth of the market in this region. However, the Asia-Pacific segment is projected to manifest the highest CAGR of 21.8% from 2023 to 2032. Countries such as China, India, and South Korea are at the forefront, embracing digital technologies to enhance their effectiveness and competitiveness, which is further expected to contribute to the growth of the market in this region. Enquiry Before Buying: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/13364 Competition Analysis: Recent Product launches in the Artificial Neural Network Market In April 2023, Google LLC launched a cloud-based automation toolkit for healthcare organizations and previewed Med-PaLM 2, a neural network capable of answering medical exam questions. In August 2021, IBM Corporation unveiled details of the upcoming new IBM Telum Processor designed to bring deep learning inference to enterprise workloads to help address fraud in real-time.. Recent Partnerships in the Artificial Neural Network Market In June 2023, Snowflake partnered with Microsoft to simplify joint customers' artificial intelligence projects. A core focus of the collaboration is Microsoft's Azure OpenAI Service. It provides cloud-based versions of OpenAI LP's machine learning models, including GPT-4. In November 2021, Qualcomm Technologies partnered with Google Cloud, on Neural Architecture Search (NAS), enabling the companies to create and optimize AI models automatically rather than manually. Leading Market Players: - Amazon Web Services Inc. Google Inc. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP IBM Corporation Intel Corporation Microsoft Corporation NVIDIA Corporation Oracle Corporation Qualcomm Technologies Inc. Salesforce Inc. The report provides a detailed analysis of these key players in the artificial neural network market. These players have adopted different strategies such as new product launches, collaborations, expansion, joint ventures, agreements, and others to increase their market share and maintain dominant shares in different countries. The report is valuable in highlighting business performance, operating segments, product portfolio, and strategic moves of market players to showcase the competitive scenario. AVENUE- A Subscription-Based Library (Premium on-demand, subscription-based pricing model): AMR introduces its online premium subscription-based library Avenue, designed specifically to offer cost-effective, one-stop solution for enterprises, investors, and universities. With Avenue, subscribers can avail an entire repository of reports on more than 2,000 niche industries and more than 12,000 company profiles. Moreover, users can get an online access to quantitative and qualitative data in PDF and Excel formats along with analyst support, customization, and updated versions of reports. Get an access to the library of reports at any time from any device and anywhere. For more details, follow the link: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/library-access Trending Reports in ICT & Media Industry: Network Equipment Market Size is Expected to Reach $69.7 Billion by 2032 Multi-access Edge Computing Market Expected to Reach $102 Billion by 2032 Cloud Native Technologies Market Expected to Reach $53.6 Billion by 2032 Online Language Learning Platform Market Expected to Reach $44.8 Billion by 2032 About Us: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Wilmington, Delaware. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports Insights" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies, and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact: David Correa 1209 Orange Street, Corporation Trust Center, Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware 19801 USA. Int'l: +1-503-894-6022 Toll Free: +1-800-792-5285 UK: +44-845-528-1300 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1-800-792-5285 help@alliedmarketresearch.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/636519/Allied_Market_Research_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/artificial-neural-network-market-to-reach-1-4-billion-by-2032-at-19-9-cagr-allied-market-research-301999358.html Naples, Florida--(Newsfile Corp. - November 28, 2023) - Music Licensing, Inc. (OTC PINK: SONG), a trailblazer in the music industry, proudly announces a dual achievement, marking a significant milestone for the company's growth and commitment to shareholder value. Outstanding Common Stock Shares Reduction: Music Licensing, Inc. has successfully completed a remarkable 77.5% reduction in outstanding common stock shares, following the earlier extraordinary reduction of authorized common stock shares by 90%. This strategic move exemplifies the company's dedication to optimizing its capital structure and fortifying shareholder value. The proactive management of authorized and outstanding shares positions the company for sustained growth and financial strength within the dynamic music industry. Jake P. Noch, Chief Executive Officer & Chairman of the Board of Directors, commented, "This 77.5% reduction in outstanding common stock shares is a significant milestone for Music Licensing, Inc. Our focus on optimizing our capital structure underscores our commitment to creating long-term value for shareholders. We believe that this initiative will contribute to a more robust and efficient financial framework, ultimately benefiting our investors and stakeholders." Acquisition of Iconic Royalty Stakes: In a historic move on November 23, 2023, Music Licensing, Inc. achieved another milestone through the acquisition of substantial royalty stakes. The acquired rights include Mechanical Rights, Public Performance Rights, and Sync Rights for iconic works by globally renowned artists such as Elton John, Miley Cyrus, Lil Wayne, Lil Nas X, XXXTENTACION, and Halsey. This strategic acquisition highlights Music Licensing, Inc.'s commitment to innovation and the dynamic diversification of revenue streams within the music industry. The administration of these acquired rights will be handled by the esteemed Kobalt Music Group, mitigating potential antitrust issues. Jake P. Noch added, "This victorious acquisition not only positions Music Licensing, Inc. as an industry leader but also establishes new standards for positive growth and unparalleled success. Our commitment to elevating the music industry is underscored by this significant and strategic move." Future Plans, Diversification, and Opportunistic Approach: In addition to the reduction in outstanding common stock shares and the acquisition of royalty stakes, Music Licensing, Inc. is pleased to announce its future plans for a buyback program. The company is actively exploring opportunities to repurchase its common stock, further demonstrating confidence in the business and commitment to delivering value to shareholders. As Music Licensing, Inc. continues to execute on its strategic initiatives, including the reduction in outstanding common stock, potential buyback plans, and the acquisition of royalty stakes, the company remains focused on driving innovation and growth within the music industry. Additionally, the company aims to diversify its revenue streams by taking an opportunistic approach to investment opportunities. Buyback Plan Funding and Licensing Enforcement Campaign: The buyback plan will be funded with 25% of the net proceeds from its licensing enforcement and collection campaign, currently underway. Demand letters are expected to go out today, marking a significant step in the company's commitment to protecting its intellectual property and creating value for shareholders. About Music Licensing, Inc. (OTC PINK: SONG) (ProMusicRights.com) Music Licensing, Inc. (OTC PINK: SONG), also known as Pro Music Rights, is the 5th public performance rights organization (PRO) to be formed in the United States. Its licensees include notable companies such as TikTok, iHeart Media, Triller, Napster, 7Digital, Vevo, and many others. Pro Music Rights holds an estimated market share of 7.4% in the United States, representing over 2,500,000 works that feature notable artists such as A$AP Rocky, Wiz Khalifa, Pharrell, Young Jeezy, Juelz Santana, Lil Yachty, MoneyBagg Yo, Larry June, Trae Pound, Sause Walka, Trae Tha Truth, Sosamann, Soulja Boy, Lex Luger, Trauma Tone, Lud Foe, SlowBucks, Gunplay, OG Maco, Rich The Kid, Fat Trel, Young Scooter, Nipsey Hussle, Famous Dex, Boosie Badazz, Shy Glizzy, 2 Chainz, Migos, Gucci Mane, Young Dolph, Trinidad James, Chingy, Lil Gnar, 3OhBlack, Curren$y, Fall Out Boy, Money Man, Dej Loaf, Lil Uzi Vert, and countless others, as well as Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) Created Music. Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. Investors are cautioned that, all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, the ability of Music Licensing, Inc. & Pro Music Rights, Inc. to accomplish its stated plan of business. Music Licensing, Inc. & Pro Music Rights, Inc. believes that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, any of the assumptions could be inaccurate, and therefore, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements included in this press release will prove to be accurate. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements included herein, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by Pro Music Rights, Inc., Music Licensing, Inc., or any other person. Non-Legal Advice Disclosure: This press release does not constitute legal advice, and readers are advised to seek legal counsel for any legal matters or questions related to the content herein. Non-Investment Advice Disclosure: This communication is intended solely for informational purposes and does not in any way imply or constitute a recommendation or solicitation for the purchase or sale of any securities, commodities, bonds, options, derivatives, or any other investment products. Any decisions related to investments should be made after thorough research and consultation with a qualified financial advisor or professional. We assume no liability for any actions taken or not taken based on the information provided in this communication Contact: investors@ProMusicRights.com SOURCE: Music Licensing, Inc. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/188920 Innovative Care Center Earns Recognition for Compassion and Top of the Line Long-Term Care Services JERSEY CITY, NJ / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / Optima Care, which maintains an ownership interest in a network of independent skilled nursing and rehabilitative care centers across New York and New Jersey, today announced that Optima Care Harborview, an elite facility delivering a warm, supportive and uplifting environment, has received the U.S. News Best Nursing Homes For Long-Term Care award. Optima Care Harborview - Best Nursing Home Best Nursing Homes 2024 - Long-Term Care 70% of people who reach the age of 65 will need long-term care at some point in their life, and by 2050, up to 30 million Americans will require long-term care services. Placing a loved one in a nursing home brings up criteria such as location, quality of services and amenities. In 2019, U.S. News added a Long-Term Care rating, evaluating the care delivered to residents who are no longer able to care for themselves. The publication evaluates more than 15,000 facilities across the U.S. The important Long-Term Care rating evaluates the ability of a facility to deliver ongoing, daily assistance with both health-related care and non-skilled personal care. It is based on a 5-point scale, and homes must be "High Performing" in the long-term care category in order to be listed by U.S. News. Optima Care Harborview is a 2024 recipient of U.S. News' Best Nursing Home for Long-Term Care award. Their excellent track record on medical outcomes, processes of care, and staffing has elevated them to the top percentage of nationwide facilities. U.S. News also takes into account scientific literature review, discussions with industry experts and statistical modeling. "We're honored to be among the recipients of the Long-Term Care awards from U.S. News. We're cognizant that many patients who require long-term care have conditions that limit their ability to live independently and take care of themselves," said Eric Mendel, CEO of Optima Care. "We want to serve as a home away from home where patients receive the compassionate, high-level care they deserve and are treated like the unique individual they are - making sure their last years are full of dignity and respect." Optima Care Harborview, located in Jersey City, offers high-quality care and services to residents in a safe, comfortable, and supportive environment. Professionals include nurses, nursing aides, occupational, physical, and speech therapists who put their focus on enhancing the health and well-being of residents. Long-term care is a means to meet patients' personal needs over a prolonged period of time and the program encompasses a range of services and supports. Nurses and aides are available 24 hours a day, and the facility is designed to ensure residents feel at home while being provided the assistance they need to optimize their well-being and quality of life. Contact Information Optima Care press@myoptimacare.com SOURCE: Optima Care View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/810786/optima-care-harborview-receives-us-news-nursing-home-award-for-long-term-care Mithra to hold five presentations on key role of estrogens in women's health, including Estetrol (E4), at the ESG Congress in Amsterdam Five abstracts on the positive effect of E4 accepted for oral presentation Eleven leading experts to outline why estrogen is critical in contraception and for the treatment of postmenopausal symptoms Data show promising efficacy and safety features of E4, key ingredient in ESTELLE and DONESTA Liege, Belgium, 28 November 2023 - 17:45 CET - Mithra (Euronext Brussels: MITRA), a company dedicated to Women's Health, will hold five presentations on the role of estrogens - including its estetrol (E4) - in a symposium at the European Society of Gynaecology Congress, which will take place from 29 November to 02 December in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. A total of five abstracts will be presented referring to the beneficial effects of the combined oral contraceptive estetrol + drospirenone (E4 + DRSP) on blood pressure, patient-reported outcome measures in postmenopausal women from a phase-3 trial, and a look at E4 as a promising new candidate for menopausal vasomotor symptoms. E4 is a key active pharmaceutical ingredient in both Mithra's marketed contraceptive ESTELLE, and its next generation hormone therapy candidate for postmenopausal symptoms, DONESTA, with data from preclinical and clinical studies showcasing its promising safety and efficacy profile. Dr. Graham Dixon, Chief Scientific Officer of Mithra, said, "We are excited that organizers of the ESG congress have taken such an active interest in the positive impact of estetrol. The abstract presentations at the congress will provide these leading experts with a unique opportunity to present the vital role of estrogens in women's health, and the potential ground-breaking characteristics of our E4 product to support healthcare professionals and women's confidence in hormone therapy. Current data strongly suggests that E4's unique molecular mode of action and metabolism contribute notably to its selective pharmacological profile, suggesting its favorable benefit-risk ratio in transforming women's health. We thank our presenters, who are all leading experts in this field, and we look forward to the many interesting discussions these abstracts will enable us to have at the ESG Congress". Mithra's E4 demonstrates therapeutic efficacy beyond contraception as a component within a combined oral contraceptive with drospirenone and is currently under development for menopausal hormone therapy. It elicits estrogenic activity in uterovaginal tissues, contributing to bone turnover, and shows positive effects on cardiovascular functions. E4's profile shows a low estrogenic impact on the liver and hemostasis balance, suggesting a diminished thrombotic risk. The following abstracts will be presented at the ESG: Beneficial effects of the combined oral contraceptive estetrol/drospirenone (E4/DRSP) on blood pressure. Authors: J.M. Foidart, Jonathan Douxfils , Mitchell D. Creinin, Kristina Gemzell Danielsson, Ali Kubba and Ulysse Gaspard Saturday, 02 December, 9:45am Speaker: Prof. Kristina Gemzell Danielsson Beneficial effects of the combined oral contraceptive estetrol/drospirenone (E4/DRSP) in participants with high normal baseline blood pressure. Authors: J.M. Foidart, Jonathan Douxfils, Mitchell D. Creinin, Kristina Gemzell Danielsson, Ali Kubba and Ulysse Gaspard Saturday, 02 December. 9:45am Speaker: Prof. Ali Kubba Estetrol (E4): A Promising New Treatment for the Spectrum of Menopausal Symptoms Authors: Amanda Black, Jean Michel Foidart Friday, 01 December, 15:30 Prof. Jean-Michel Foidart The Effect of Estetrol (E4) on Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Postmenopausal Women - Results from a Phase 3 Trial Authors: W.H. Utian, M. Taziaux, A. Black, U. Gaspard, R.A. Lobo and J.M. Foidart Friday, 01 December, 15:30 Speaker: Melanie Taziaux Estetrol (E4), a Promising New Treatment for Menopausal Vasomotor Symptoms: Beneficial Lipid and Carbohydrate Metabolism in a Phase 3 Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial Authors: W.H. Utian, M. Taziaux, A. Black, U. Gaspard, R.A. Lobo and J.M. Foidart Friday, 01 December, 15:30 Speaker: Prof. Ulysse Gaspard For more information, please contact: Mithra Pharmaceuticals SA Alex Sokolowski, PhD Head of Investor Relations investorrelations@mithra.com +32 (0)4 349 28 22 Frederique Depraetere Communication Director info@mithra.com +32 (0)4 349 28 22 About Mithra Mithra Pharmaceuticals SA (Euronext: MITRA) is a Belgian biopharmaceutical company dedicated to transforming Women's Health by offering new choices through innovation, with a particular focus on contraception and menopause. Mithra's goal is to develop products offering better efficacy, safety and convenience, meeting women's needs throughout their life span. Mithra explores the potential of the unique native estrogen estetrol in a wide range of applications in women health and beyond. After having successfully launched the first estetrol-based product in 2021, the contraceptive pill ESTELLE, Mithra is now focusing on its second product DONESTA, the next-generation hormone therapy. Mithra also offers partners a complete spectrum of solutions from early drug development, clinical batches and commercial manufacturing of complex polymeric products (vaginal ring, implants) and complex liquid injectables and biologicals (vials, pre-filled syringes or cartridges) at its technological platform Mithra CDMO. Active in more than 100 countries around the world, is headquartered in Liege, Belgium. www.mithra.com ESTELLE and DONESTA are registered trademarks of Mithra Pharmaceuticals or one of its affiliates. Important information The contents of this announcement include statements that are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the words "believes", "estimates," "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "may", "will", "plans", "continue", "ongoing", "potential", "predict", "project", "target", "seek" or "should", and include statements the Company makes concerning the intended results of its strategy. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. The Company's actual results may differ materially from those predicted by the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law. Subscribe to our mailing list on investors.mithra.com to receive our press releases by email or follow us on our social media: LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/mithra-pharmaceutical) X (https://twitter.com/mithrapharma?lang=en) Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/mithrapharmaceuticals/) Attachment Redefining industry boundaries and facilitating connections LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / In a groundbreaking development that blends business networking with virtual reality, Vegas Meets Dubai, a project by VIP Minds, the renowned business and cultural bridge initiative, is thrilled to announce its strategic partnership with CEO Clubs Network Dubai. This collaboration not only brings together a remarkable network of 22,000 CEOs but also opens the doors to the innovative Vegas Meets Dubai Metaverse World. Nora Abou Chakra, Founder of Vegas Meets Dubai CEO at VIP Minds The strategic alliance between Vegas Meets Dubai and CEO Clubs Network Dubai signifies a bold leap into the future of corporate engagement. By joining forces, these two influential entities are set to revolutionize the way CEOs connect, collaborate, and explore new opportunities. Vegas Meets Dubai's reputation as a pioneer in bridging businesses and cultures is now elevated through its partnership with CEO Clubs Network Dubai, a prestigious organization dedicated to connecting influential business leaders. Together, they will create an immersive and transformative experience within the Vegas Meets Dubai Metaverse World, a virtual reality platform designed to transcend physical limitations and foster unparalleled networking opportunities. Through this strategic partnership, the combined network of 22,000 CEOs will gain exclusive access to the Vegas Meets Dubai Metaverse World. This cutting-edge virtual environment enables CEOs to connect, interact, and engage in a dynamic and visually stunning setting, regardless of their geographical location. Within the Vegas Meets Dubai Metaverse World, CEOs will have the opportunity to explore virtual representations of iconic landmarks from both Las Vegas and Dubai. They can attend virtual conferences, seminars, and exhibitions, and participate in immersive networking events that simulate face-to-face interactions. The Metaverse World will serve as a hub for knowledge exchange, idea generation, and collaboration, providing CEOs with a unique and futuristic platform to drive business growth. Nora Abou Chakra, the Founder of Vegas Meets Dubai, expressed her excitement about the strategic partnership, stating, "This collaboration with CEO Clubs Network Dubai represents a step forward into the digital realm. By merging our expertise with the Vegas Meets Dubai Metaverse World, we are creating an unparalleled networking experience that transcends physical boundaries and unlocks limitless possibilities for CEOs." Dr. Tariq Nizami, the Chairman of CEO Clubs Network Dubai, shared his enthusiasm, saying, "We are thrilled to partner with Vegas Meets Dubai on this exciting venture. The Vegas Meets Dubai Metaverse World will revolutionize how CEOs connect and collaborate, fostering a new era of global business engagement." Vegas Meets Dubai and CEO Clubs Network Dubai are confident that this strategic partnership will redefine the future of corporate networking. By harnessing the power of virtual reality and the collective strength of their extensive CEO networks, they are poised to reinvent the way business leaders connect, innovate, and shape the global business landscape. Contact Information Stephanie Khalil Executive Assistant to CEO stephanie.khalil@vipminds.com 702-779-9118 SOURCE: VIP Minds View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/810796/vegas-meets-dubai-and-ceo-clubs-network-dubai-forge-strategic-partnership-granting-22000-ceos-access-to-the-vegas-meets-dubai-metaverse-world Regulatory News: Press release, Paris, 28th November 2023 Pernod Ricard (Paris:RI) today announced the appointment of Conor McQuaid as CEO of North America (USA Canada), effective the 1st of January 2024. Mr. McQuaid, a 25-year veteran of Pernod Ricard, will be based in New York. He succeeds Ann Mukherjee, who has decided to step down to focus her time and energy on her family's well-being. Mr. McQuaid has held various leadership positions in diverse roles across the company, most recently serving as Executive Vice President Sustainability Responsibility, Communications and Public Affairs and as a member of Pernod Ricard's Executive Committee. He previously served as Chairman and CEO of Irish Distillers (Jameson) and Executive Vice President Global Business Development. Commenting on the leadership transition, Alexandre Ricard, Chairman and CEO of Pernod Ricard, said: "The US continues to be our number one market, and Conor brings a unique skillset from his 25 years at Pernod Ricard that is perfectly suited to continue our transformation in such a dynamic market. He has a deep understanding of every aspect of our business and a proven record of execution. His leadership and the instrumental role he played in the success of Jameson, particularly in the US, underscore his ability to further advance Pernod Ricard's ambitions in North America Mr. Ricard continued, "On behalf of the Executive Committee and all of us at Pernod Ricard, we would like to thank Ann for her significant contribution to our North America business and brands. Ann leaves a strong foundation of achievements in the evolution of our portfolio strategy and brand marketing effectiveness across the North American market. We wish her the very best in her future endeavors Over his expansive career with Pernod Ricard, Mr. McQuaid has held various leadership positions of increasing responsibility and has a wealth of experience across corporate functions, market, and brand companies. He holds a degree in International Marketing Spanish from Dublin City University (Ireland) and Universidad de Sevilla in Spain. Having begun his career in Ireland with Golden Vale Group plc, Conor joined Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard in 1998 where he held several senior management positions including Global Brand Development Director of Irish Distillers in July 2005, joining the Irish Distillers Executive Committee. In July 2011, Conor became Managing Director of Pernod Ricard South Africa. In 2014, Conor was appointed EVP Global Business Development for the Pernod Ricard Group before being appointed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Irish Distillers in 2018. While leading Irish Distillers, Mr. McQuaid guided the brand to continued global success, prioritizing the growth of the full portfolio of Irish whiskeys led by Jameson. As a member of the Executive Committee (and COMEX) since 2015, he has contributed to shaping the Pernod Ricard business strategy, including in his most recent role as Executive Vice President S&R, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs since July 2022. About Pernod Ricard Pernod Ricard is a worldwide leader in the spirits and wine industry, blending traditional craftsmanship, state-of-the-art brand development, and global distribution technologies. Our prestigious portfolio of premium to luxury brands includes Absolut vodka, Ricard pastis, Ballantine's, Chivas Regal, Royal Salute, and The Glenlivet Scotch whiskies, Jameson Irish whiskey, Martell cognac, Havana Club rum, Beefeater gin, Malibu liqueur and Mumm and Perrier-Jouet champagnes. Our mission is to ensure the long-term growth of our brands with full respect for people and the environment, while empowering our employees around the world to be ambassadors of our purposeful, inclusive and responsible culture of authentic conviviality. Pernod Ricard's consolidated sales amounted to 12,137 million in fiscal year FY23. Pernod Ricard is listed on Euronext (Ticker: RI; ISIN Code:FR0000120693) and is part of the CAC 40 and Eurostoxx 50 indices. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128339120/en/ Contacts: Florence Tresarrieu Global SVP Investor Relations and Treasury, +33 (0) 1 70 93 17 03 Edward Mayle Investor Relation Director, +33 (0) 1 70 93 17 13 Charly Montet Investor Relations Manager, +33 (0) 1 70 93 17 13 Emmanuel Vouin Head of External Engagement, +33 (0) 1 70 93 16 34 Redde Northgate Plc - Transaction in Own Shares PR Newswire LONDON, United Kingdom, November 28 NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF SUCH JURISDICTION 28 November 2023 REDDE NORTHGATE PLC ("Redde Northgate" or the "Group" or the "Company") Transaction in Own Shares Redde Northgate plc (LSE:REDD) announces that on 28 November 2023 it purchased the following number of its own shares to be held in treasury: Class of shares : Ordinary shares of 50p ("shares") Number of shares purchased : 50,000 Weighted average purchase price paid : 365 pence per share Highest purchase price paid : 365 pence per share Lowest purchase price paid : 365 pence per share Following the above transaction, the Company's issued share capital consists of 246,091,423 ordinary shares of 50p each, of which 16,815,071 ordinary shares are held in treasury, and 1,000,000 preference shares of 50p each which do not carry any rights to vote. Therefore the total number of voting rights in the Company is 229,276,352 which may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in the Company under the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules. In accordance with Article 5(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 (the Market Abuse Regulation) as incorporated into UK domestic law by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, the schedule below contains detailed information about the purchases made by Numis Securities Limited on behalf of the Company as part of the Company's buyback programme. Schedule of Purchase - Individual Transaction (as at 28 November 2023) Number of shares purchased Transaction price (GB pence per share) Time of transaction Transaction reference number Venue 50000 365.00 10:12:43 00067917642TRLO0 LSE Notes This announcement is made in accordance with the requirements of Listing Rule 12.4.6. For further information contact: Buchanan David Rydell/Jamie Hooper/Hannah Ratcliff +44 (0) 207 466 5000 Notes to Editors: Redde Northgate is the leading integrated mobility solutions platform providing services across the vehicle lifecycle. The Company offers integrated mobility solutions to businesses, fleet operators, insurers, OEMs and other customers across seven key areas: vehicle rental, vehicle data, accident management, vehicle repairs, fleet management, service and maintenance, vehicle ancillary services and vehicle sales. The Company's core purpose is to keep its customers mobile, whether through meeting their regular mobility needs or by servicing and supporting them when unforeseen events occur. With its considerable scale and reach, Redde Northgate's mission is to offer a market-leading customer proposition and drive enhanced returns for shareholders by creating value through sustainable compounding growth. The Group aims to achieve this through the delivery of its strategic framework of Focus, Drive and Broaden. Redde Northgate services its customers through a network and diversified fleet of over 120,000 owned and leased vehicles, supporting over 600,000 managed vehicles, with more than 170 workshop, body shop and rental locations across the UK, Ireland and Spain and a specialist team of over 6,000 automotive services professionals. Further information please visit the Company's website: Finsbury Growth & Income Trust Plc - Transaction in Own Shares PR Newswire LONDON, United Kingdom, November 28 For immediate release 28 November 2023 FINSBURY GROWTH & INCOME TRUST PLC (the "Company") MARKET PURCHASE OF COMPANY'S OWN SHARES The Company announces that it has today purchased 103,262 of its own shares ("Ordinary Shares") at a price of 820.71 pence per Ordinary Share. Such shares will be held in treasury by the Company. The transaction was made pursuant to the authority granted at the Annual General Meeting of the Company held on 17 January 2023. Following this transaction, the total number of Ordinary Shares held by the Company in treasury is 24,903,201; the total number of Ordinary Shares that the Company has in issue, less the total number of Ordinary Shares held by the Company in treasury following such purchase, and therefore, the total number of voting rights in the Company is 200,088,102. The figure of 200,088,102 may be used by shareholders as the denominator for calculations of interests in the Company's voting rights in accordance with the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules. For and on behalf of Frostrow Capital LLP Company Secretary For further information, please contact: Victoria Hale Frostrow Capital LLP Tel: 020 3 170 8732 The leading Medtech event brought together industry professionals to discuss the future of the medical device industry. SANTA CLARA, CA / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / BIOMEDevice Silicon Valley, the leading West Coast exhibition for medical device companies and manufacturers, wrapped this month with over 1,400 attendees, reporting a 15% growth from 2022. The annual event connected influential and impactful medtech and life science professionals shaping the industry's landscape. BIOMEDevice Silicon Valley featured over 40 educational speakers focused on challenges and solutions surrounding the medtech industry. Conference attendees had access to nine educational tracks including device security, product design, machine learning, policy and regulations. Topics included FDA approvals for medical device start-ups, fundamentals of X-ray sterilization and generative artificial intelligence. Y-Combinator and Axiom Space female visionary speakers, Surbhi Sarna and Pearly Pandya respectively, presented groundbreaking case studies and keynoted the two-day conference where each addressed unique entrepreneurial development and funding challenges of early-stage ovarian cancer detection as well as the next international space station manufacturing biomedical products in space. Surbhi Sarna, Partner and Author at Y-Combinator and CEO, Founder of nVision, states, "Inspiring innovation in medtech and healthcare starts with the power of conversation. Being an advocate and sharing my story as a patient and entrepreneur at events such as BIOMEDevice Silicon Valley sparks collaboration that can propel our industry towards researching and funding more life-saving advancements." "In-space manufacturing represents the next frontier for medical innovation," says Pearly Pandya, In-Space Manufacturing for Biomedical Applications at Axiom Space. "Presenting Axiom Space's microgravity research to likeminded medical industry professionals in the thriving technology landscape of Silicon Valley can help shape the future of biomedical advancements." With significant surges in research and development, Silicon Valley is a hub for pioneering advancements in medtech and is recognized as a region of substantial funding and start-up development. In partnership with California Life Sciences, the state's most influential and impactful life sciences organization, BIOMEDevice Silicon Valley hosted a Master Class Conference, Start-up Stadium and Start-up Pavilion, to provide a platform for emerging medical device companies from Northern California to gain exposure and credibility in front of thousands of industry leading potential suppliers, investors and engineers. "In the dynamic landscape of medical technology, Silicon Valley stands at the forefront of innovation, driving transformative solutions with impact shaping the future of our healthcare," says Adrienne Zepeda, BIOMEDevice Event Director, Informa Markets Engineering. "Highlighting revolutionary products, BIOMEDevice is the Bay Area's stage for discovering and connecting with the most transformative medical solutions available on the market now and upcoming. The expert insights provided here showcase the creative intelligence that fuels inspiration and ingenuity of device manufacturing." Over 175 exhibitors were represented on the expo floor, showcasing a broad range of solutions and products including sensor-driven micromedical devices, laser cutting, linear and rotary motion components and high-performance metal parts. Industry leading companies in attendance included Hiwin, Matrix Plastic Products, Nelson Labs, Pacific BioLabs, Senso Medical, Starfish Medical, Qosina and Velentium, among others. BIOMEDevice Silicon Valley will return to the Santa Clara Convention Center Nov. 20-21, 2024. Medical Design and Manufacturing (MD&M) West, Informa Markets Engineering's West Coast based medtech event, is taking place Feb. 6-8, 2024. For more information, please visit www.imengineeringwest.com . About Informa Markets Engineering:?? Informa Markets Engineering portfolio, a subsidiary of Informa plc (LON:INF), is the leading B2B event producer, publisher, and digital media business for the world's $3-trillion advanced, technology-based manufacturing industry. Our print and electronic products deliver trusted information to the engineering market and leverage our proprietary 1.3-million-name database to connect suppliers with buyers and purchase influencers. We produce more than 50 events and conferences in a dozen countries, connecting manufacturing professionals from around the globe. The Engineering portfolio is organized by Informa, the world's leading exhibitions organizer that brings a diverse range of specialist markets to life, unlocking opportunities and helping them to thrive 365 days of the year. For more information, please visit? www.informamarkets.com .?? Media Contact:?? Jordan Douglas?? Informa Markets Engineering?? pr.ime(@)informa.com SOURCE: Informa Markets Engineering?? View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/810836/biomedevice-silicon-valley-concludes-with-15-growth-in-attendees NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / Inogen Alliance will have a presence at the upcoming COP28 held in Dubai. UN's COP (Conference of the Parties) is the largest annual climate summit driving action to address global warming across world leaders, country delegates, representatives of business, civil society, local communities and media. The event titled "Practices to Strengthen Financing for Climate Transition through Public and Private Interventions" will take place 4 December, 16.00 - 18.00 in the Azerbaijan Pavilion (MS01G1) in the Blue Zone. Our Associate Sustainera in Azerbaijan is leading this event with support from our Associates Antea Brasil, Integral Consult Egypt, and Tonkin+Taylor New Zealand with speakers and a panel discussion. The Inogen Alliance panel event aims to identify proper channels for accessing finance through the GCF (Green Climate Fund) which would mobilize investments by the private sector; explore and promote effective strategies and practices that enhance Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) which promotes investment by the private sector for a successful transition toward a low emissions and climate-resilient future. This event will delve into the means and examples of how to access funding by GCF and the critical role of ESG principles in shaping investment decisions and financial mechanisms to combat climate change and foster a more sustainable global economy. Sustainable finance, including the increasing array of related financial products, is attracting the attention of private sector investors, policy makers, and civil society stakeholders because of its potential to deliver long-term enterprise value that aligns with societal values and contributes to sustainability and climate-related objectives. Despite noteworthy progress, considerable challenges still hinder the potential for these approaches. Access to adequate finance by governments which can mobilize private sector investments in climate action for most developing countries is still lagging behind. Different sources of finance, including the Green Climate Fund (GCF) are available channels for governments. The GCF offers several options to prepare countries to be ready to access such finance including readiness activities, project proposal facility and others. One of the most important avenues for the private sector to be ready to identify, prepare, and implement climate action is through proper Environment, Social and Governance practices. Challenges facing the private sector to implement such practices include, the promulgation of different approaches, data inconsistencies, lack of comparability of ESG criteria and rating methodologies, as well as inadequate clarity over how ESG integration affects asset allocation. Important opportunities around partnerships and the scaling of solutions are likely to be generated as well. ESG ratings, which are applied to companies representing around 80% of market capitalization in 2020, have evolved in recent years to incorporate long-term financial risks and opportunities in investment decision making processes. At the same time, the environmental 'E' pillar score of ESG rating is being increasingly used as a tool to align investments with a low-carbon transition, and a range of financial market products and measurement approaches have developed to help investors align portfolios with specific climate-objectives and strategies in line with the Paris Agreement. Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) plays an important role in identifying the support needed and received for climate action. Panelists and Speakers include: Dr. Abdel-Aziz, Chairman of Integral Consult, our Associate in Egypt, with more than 29 years of experience, including climate mitigation projects in the energy, industry and waste sectors. Dr. Abdel-Aziz worked on the preparation of Iraq country program submitted to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and on the preparation of Georgia's Technology Needs Assessment (TNA) which included concept notes to be submitted to the GCF. Dr. Abdel-Aziz has been extensively involved in the negotiations process and is currently a senior advisor to COP27 presidency team leading on mitigation and transparency issues. He is also the advisor to the Egyptian Minister of Environment on climate change issues since 2014. He was also the Like-Minded Group of Developing Countries transparency coordinator during the negotiations of the Modalities, Procedures and Guidelines of the Enhanced Transparency Framework of the Paris Agreement. He is an expert in emissions projections with UNFCCC and a lead reviewer for reviewing Annex I Parties national communications, biennial reports and GHG inventories and has also led technical analysis teams for non-Annex I Parties BUR. Gulnara Aslanbayli is Executive Director of American Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan since 2020. Ms. Aslanbayli has previously worked with the I.C.E. Istituto Commercio nel Estero as a Senior Trade Analyst. Amcham Azerbaijan is the leading business association in Azerbaijan and recognizes the pivotal role that business communities play in addressing climate change. Since becoming executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan, Gulnara Aslanbayli has initiated a new direction in activity of the Chamber related to the sustainable development. Inspired by this strategy, the Chamber organizes various events to encourage the private sector of the country to the climate-focused actions. AmCham Azerbaijan believes that the private sector is a key driver of sustainable development. As Amcham encourages its members to embrace ESG principles, we hope it will help Azerbaijan to leverage these unique experiences to contribute to a future that is both environmentally conscious and economically vibrant. Ilkin Haji is Founder of Sustainera Solutions, our Associate in Azerbaijan. I.H is a professional specialized in sustainable development and project management. Ilkin worked with various UN Agencies, inter alia United Nations Industrial Development Organization's Office in New York as Sustainable Development Expert, UN Development Programme, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Azerbaijan International Development Agency. His areas of expertise are project management in international development context, financing for development, South-South and Triangular cooperation, partnership building, resource mobilization and science and technology for sustainable development. Hilton Lucio is a Brazilian senior consultant and CEO of our Associate Antea Brasil, with 27 years of experience in Environmental Global Projects, covering the areas of manufacturing, mining and agriculture. Mr. Lucio's most recent work is around the construction of frameworks and partnerships for the implementation of large scale solutions for environmental problems. Hilton is also a member of the Inogen Alliance Board of Directors. Dr Brett Ogilvie is Executive Leader - Digital + Sustainability and a Board Director of Tonkin + Taylor Group, our Associate in New Zealand. He has more than 30 years' international experience in consulting, management and governance, working with clients in numerous sectors including transport, water, energy, extractives, industry, central and local government and international development. Brett holds undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications in science and a degree in economics. He has worked in more than 25 countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Pacific and has governance experience as a director or trustee on private sector, public sector and non-profit boards in NZ and the USA. He is a Member of the Institute of Directors (NZ) and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Water & Environmental Management (UK). If you are attending COP28 please stop by our event 16:00 - 18:00 in the Blue Zone, Azerbaijan Pavilion (MS01G1) or connect with us to get in touch with our consultants at the event! Watch for more content to come out of our attendance at this important climate conference. Inogen Alliance is a global network made up of dozens of independent local businesses and over 6,000 consultants around the world who can help make your project a success. Our Associates collaborate closely to serve multinational corporations, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations, and we share knowledge and industry experience to provide the highest quality service to our clients. If you want to learn more about how you can work with Inogen Alliance, you can explore our Associates or Contact Us. Watch for more News & Blog updates here and follow us on LinkedIn. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Inogen Alliance on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Inogen Alliance Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/inogen-alliance Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: Inogen Alliance View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/810877/inogen-alliance-presence-at-cop28-panel-discussion-side-event-4-december-in-the-blue-zone The legal platform helps consumers seeking access to regulated cannabis products through mail. Seattle, Washington--(Newsfile Corp. - November 28, 2023) - MailOrder420, a legal cannabis distributor based out of California, has officially commenced operations to facilitate the lawful distribution of marijuana across the majority of the United States. The decision came after the company considered the legal frameworks in place and the increasing acceptance of marijuana for recreational and medicinal purposes across the nation. The growth is also attributed to people preferring the privacy of online shopping and needing access to a registered dispensary near them. Talking to the media, Carissa Jones, Head of PR and Marketing for the company, said, "According to estimates, by 2025, the sale of recreational marijuana in America is expected to reach an astonishing $ 25 bn. The expansion can grow even more exponentially if the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, currently stalled in the Senate, gets a go-ahead. The bill would place a tax on cannabis sales to help people with addiction while expunging the records of people currently in jail for non-felony related marijuana charges." This firm hired new legal experts to help them comply with state and federal regulations governing the sale and distribution of cannabis. People across America will now be able to access a comprehensive variety of high-quality cannabis, including edibles, exotic Californian grown flower, pure 99.9 percent THC/CBD 1:1 Ratio oil, concentrates, and unique extraction rosin from rare genetics that are native to the mountains of the Green Triangle in NorCal. She added, "The company has come a long way when our products were only available in states such as Colorado and California. The team wants to make legal cannabis products accessible for consumers nationwide so people don't have to resort to buying substandard products from the black market. The company is constantly monitoring regulatory frameworks to ensure the integrity of the distribution process." To encourage people, they also offer a loyalty program that rewards customers for legally purchasing through them. They have also taken up the mantle of educating people about cannabis and the industry by hosting resources on their website. People interested in learning more about their offerings can visit their site today: https://mailorder420.com. About Mail Order 420 MailOrder420 is a California-based distributor dedicated to providing Californian-grown cannabis through mail. Media Contact Contact Person: Carissa Jones Company Name: MailOrder420 Email: admin@mailorder420.com Website: https://mailorder420.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/188898 Word of Mouth Puts Otonomus Tulum Sales in Overdrive LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / Otonomus Tulum is off to a rousing start. Eager buyers already snapped up half of the units at the upscale complex on Mexico's Riviera Maya before Otonomus, the Las Vegas developer and hospitality operator, had a chance to begin its sales drive. Khalil Ziade Jr.: the architect of triumph in the heart of Mexico's Riviera Maya. Meet the visionary behind Otonomus Tulum. With the project construction halfway complete, marvel at the success - only 5 units left! The project is the creation of Khalil Ziade Jr. who found one of the last patches of pristine land adjacent to glamorous Tulum, the town that is fast becoming the newest Caribbean hotspot for sun admirers, mobile workers, and savvy investors. Mr. Ziade Jr. explained that Tulum has "everything" going for it: "The town's history goes back to Pre-Columbian times, but it is also forward looking with world-class amenities and excellent air, rail, road, and telecom connections to the wider world. It is surrounded by untouched nature, including miles of unspoiled beaches bathed by the clear and balmy waters of the Caribbean." The astounding sales success may also be ascribed to the project's detailed financials, based on conservative estimates, and to an earlier foray of Mr. Ziade Jr. onto the sizzling hot Tulum real estate market. His first project here, Casa Cedra, was not only finished well ahead of time but also generated benchmark-shattering returns for investors with an almost instant value appreciation of close to 18% upon completion. Mr. Ziade Jr. is currently overseeing the construction and finishing of Otonomus Tulum's 48 lavishly decorated residential units, many featuring a private swimming pool and a rooftop. The developer's decision to entrust the marketing of remaining units to a luxury realtor underscores the exclusivity of the project. With only 5 units left, It is expected that Otonomus Tulum will have sold out within one month. Savvy investors are closely monitoring Mr. Khalil Ziade Jr., recognizing his knack for trend-spotting and successful real estate ventures. Despite his achievements, Mr. Ziade Jr. remains modest, attributing his success to common sense and a commitment to excellence in location and built-quality: "In that sense, Tulum was almost a no-brainer." Contact Information: Nadim Nehme Account Executive nadim.nehme@vipminds.com 009613115393 Related Files Oto-Tulum-Why Otonomus.pdf Oto-Tulum-Why Tulum.pdf SOURCE: Otonomus View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/810567/otonomus-vice-president-khalil-ziade-jr-sparks-unprecedented-demand-in-tulums-riviera-maya The truth is tomorrow will be too late to begin action. Each and every one of us needs to take that decisive step today to ensure we succeed in building the better future we envision. NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / Globally, climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time. If we do not take action to address climate change, the consequences will be severe, leading to widespread food insecurity, displacement and conflict. Africa, in particular, will be severely affected by such consequences with seven of its countries ranking within the top ten of countries most at risk of climate disaster1. But climate change is not the only critical issue. Volunteers at a tree planting project led by Green Futures initiative - Uganda. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a set of 17 goals adopted by the United Nations in 2015, identify and address what we have collectively agreed as a global community, as the most important issues facing our world today, including poverty, hunger, climate change and inequality. Taking that important step If we are to achieve the SDGs, we need to all work together. We need to see the SDGs not as a challenge but as an opportunity to build a better future for ourselves and for generations to come. We have always been passionate about advancing science and innovation to find solutions that contribute to overcoming challenges impacting us all. The question now is - how can we use our expertise, talents and passions to transform the communities we live and work in? The answer is not - and never has been - easy, but it provides a great first step is to team up with other like-minded individuals, organizations and communities and that's exactly what we're doing on the African content as well. Promoting active citizenship amongst African youth For the past two years, we partnered with LEAP Africa, Africa's most prominent youth-focused leadership development organization, to host a Pan-African youth-led social impact campaign, the Youth Day of Service (YDoS). YDoS is an annual month-long initiative aimed at renewing the spirit of active citizenship among African youth with an emphasis on spreading the culture of service and collective responsibility. The campaign seeks to inspire African youth to be social change agents by fostering the spirit of service to the community and volunteerism, focusing on the SDGs. YDoS offered a unique opportunity to contextualize our 2025 sustainability goals and supported us to contribute to achieving global goals by raising awareness for the importance of SDGs within the African youth community. By partnering with young members of our society, we created social impact by advancing sustainable solutions, building inclusive communities and developing tomorrow's innovators. In the past two years, close to 10,000 volunteers registered and implemented over 500 projects during the month-long campaign. The participants represented a broad spectrum of African youth communities from 34 African countries including Nigeria, Kenya, Algeria, Sierra Leone, Mali, Madagascar, Ghana, The Gambia, South Sudan and South Africa. All 17 SDGs were addressed in one way or another within implemented projects which reached an estimated 10 million individuals. Under goal 1 of the SDGs (No Poverty), more than 10 skill acquisition sessions were organised to empower vulnerable people to earn income. Over 200 people were reached by activities conducted under this particular activity. Similarly, to address SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, a group of volunteers in Ghana was responsible for empowering other young people with hard and soft skills to help them start their own businesses. Some of the vocational skills taught during the project include phone repairs, liquid soap production and make-up, after which they were given seed capital as investments. Over 30 cities and community clean-ups were implemented across countries to address SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, whilst 4,970 trees were planted in more than five countries. Done in accordance with SDG 13: Climate Action, this was accompanied by over 20 sensitization activities on the causes, consequences, and solutions to climate change. What you can do today The truth is tomorrow will be too late to begin action. Each and every one of us needs to take that decisive step today to ensure we succeed in building the better future we envision. Together, we can build a better future for all. Let's apply our products, technology, and expertise for the greater social good and for our planet. Mumbi Keega, Public Affairs and Citizenship Manager Africa 1 source: https://www.afdb.org/en/cop25/climate-change-africa View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from DOW on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: DOW Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/dow Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: DOW View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/810889/collaborating-with-african-youth-to-drive-a-sustainable-future Company reports record quarter of sales from its pea-splitting facility HIGHLIGHTS OF Q2 2024 Record quarter of split pea sales of $2.4 million. Revenue in the quarter of $17.6 million, with a greater focus on higher margin business lines, which represented 43.7% of total revenue in Q2 2024 compared to 31.4% in Q2 2023. Loss for the period improved by 11.8% over the prior comparable period to $2.0 million. Received a $3.0 million advance as a deposit against the pending investment in the Company's pet food division. TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / Global Food and Ingredients Ltd. (TSXV:PEAS)(OTCQX:PEASF) ("GFI" or the "Company"), today reported second quarter financial results for the three and six months ended September 30, 2023. "The second quarter saw a return to normal seasonality after the impacts of delayed shipments in the prior year caused by supply chain issues at that time. GFI continued its efforts in prioritizing higher margin generating business lines, specifically split peas, which generated a record quarter," commented David Hanna, GFI's CEO. "Overall we are confident that our focus on our core ingredients business, particularly our value-added ingredients, and our rightsizing of non-revenue generating overhead expenses will drive the Company forward. We have a strong competitive position with our state-of-the art pea splitting facility in regular operation entering the current crop year, which began in late August. Our management team continues to focus on unlocking shareholder value and liquidity to support continued business growth and realize on timely market opportunities as they arise." Second Quarter Results Highlights - Three Months ended September 30, 2023 The Company recorded revenue of $17.6 million in the three months ended September 30, 2023, down 26.4% from the prior year quarter as normal seasonality returned following last year's supply chain disruptions. The period included a record quarter of revenue from the Company's split pea operation, amounting to $2.4 million in the three months ended September 30, 2023. Sales backed by the Company's shift to higher margin product lines, specifically plant-based pet food ingredients, split peas and downstream retail packaged products, represented 43.7% of total revenue during the three months ended September 30, 2023, an increase of 12.3% over the prior year comparable period. Loss for the period from continuing operations was $2.0 million, an improvement of $0.3 million or 11.8% primarily due to a reduction in the Company's overhead expenses during the period. Highlights - Six Months ended September 30, 2023 The Company recorded revenue of $39.3 million in the six months ended September 30, 2023, a decline of 27% over the prior year period. Sales backed by the Company's shift to higher margin product lines, specifically plant-based pet food ingredients, split peas and downstream retail packaged products, represented 40.5% of total revenue during the six months ended September 30, 2023, an increase of 11.6% over the prior year period. Loss for the period was $4.1 million, an improvement of 34.6% over the prior comparable period, predominantly due to improved Company overhead and a significant reduction in one-time expenses not incurred in the current period. Other Highlights & Business Updates The Company continues to work towards closing of the previously announced minority investment into its pet food division by 35 Oak Holdings Ltd. ("35 Oak"). During Q2 2024, the Company received a $3.0 million advance towards the pending transaction . The transaction is expected to unlock significant value, generating substantial capital to strengthen the Company's balance sheet. The Company has received conditional approval from its lenders, subject to certain conditions being met, and is working diligently on finalizing the definitive agreements to complete the transaction. The transaction, which is subject to TSXV approval, is anticipated to close in the coming months. As previously announced, the Company received a commitment from 35 Oak to purchase $500,000 of equity in a private placement of units. It is now anticipated that this investment will be in the form of a subordinated loan to the Company. The Company will no longer pursue a non-brokered private placement at this time. The unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the three and six months ended September 30, 2023 ("Financial Statements") and related Management's Discussion & Analysis ("MD&A") for the three and six months ended September 30, 2023, are available under the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca. About GFI GFI is a Canadian plant-based food and ingredients company, connecting the local farm to the global supply chain for peas, beans, lentils, chickpeas and other high protein specialty crops. GFI's vision is to become a vertically integrated farm-to-fork plant-based company providing traceable, locally sourced, healthy and sustainable food and ingredients. GFI is organized into four primary business lines: Core Ingredients, Value-Added Ingredients, Plant-Based Pet Food Ingredients and Downstream Products. Headquartered in Toronto, GFI buys directly from its extensive network of farmers, processes its products locally at its four wholly-owned processing facilities in Western Canada and ships to 37 countries across the world. Contact Information For further information, please contact: GLOBAL FOOD AND INGREDIENTS LTD. Bill Murray, CFO Phone: 416-840-6801 Email: bill.murray@gfiglobalfood.com Disclaimer Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Service Provider (as defined policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. Cautionary Statements Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain certain forward-looking information and statements ("forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation, that are not based on historical fact, including without limitation statements containing the words "believes", "anticipates", "plans", "intends", "will", "should", "expects", "continue", "estimate", "forecasts" and other similar expressions. Forward looking statements in this press release include without limitation statements relating to the minority investment into the Company's pet food division by 35 Oak and the terms and conditions thereof. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. GFI undertakes no obligation to comment analyses, expectations or statements made by third-parties in respect of GFI, its securities, or financial or operating results (as applicable). Although GFI believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking information in this press release are reasonable, such forward-looking information has been based on expectations, factors and assumptions concerning future events which may prove to be inaccurate and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond GFI's control, including the risk factors discussed in GFI's annual information form for the year ended March 31, 2022, which are incorporated herein by reference and are available through SEDAR at www.sedarplus.ca. The forward-looking information contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and are made as of the date hereof. GFI disclaims any intention and has no obligation or responsibility, except as required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. SOURCE: Global Food and Ingredients View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/810858/gfi-announces-second-quarter-2024-results LONDON, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Amerocap, a US-UK private equity investor focused on energy and minerals globally, will ramp up its investments into critical minerals in 2024. Amerocap's critical minerals platform is Verde Magnesium LLC which is investing across the metallic magnesium value chain: R&D, mining, processing, and metallic production. Verde Magnesium, with its world-class project team is developing a portfolio of projects in North America, Europe and Asia, with a goal of reaching FID on at least 2 fully integrated projects in the next two years. Our flagship magnesium project in Romania has an accelerated investment program for 2024-2026 and was included in the investment pipeline of EU's European Raw Materials Alliance (ERMA). The project has commercial partnerships with global automotive and aluminum industrial groups with combined revenues of over $500 billion. Verde Magnesium is reviewing up to $3 billion of investments and up to 200 kt per year of metallic magnesium capacity globally. Bernd Martens, Chairman of Verde Magnesium and former Board Member and Head of Procurement for Audi AG, mentions that "China is producing the vast majority of many critical minerals required for the net zero transition. Compounding this supply concentration is China's own surge in domestic demand of such minerals, which will reduce China's essential net exports. Only a few decades ago, Western economies were the largest producers of metals in the world; but today that capacity, know-how and political will for mining and processing is gone. Verde Magnesium is a future catalyst of an industrial redevelopment that will offer reliable and sustainable supply and technological know-how for the EU and the US". Amerocap is well positioned to support this development, having successfully built multiple investment platforms in energy production and infrastructure, from the UK North Sea, where over $1.5 billion in transactions were completed, to Amerocap's latest platform in Samos Energy, which aims to deploy over $1 billion in energy investments in Asia and Africa. Samos completed its first investment in July, acquiring the floating energy infrastructure business of BlackRock and Petrofac, whose portfolio covers Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia and is seeking further growth in infrastructure, with the highest HSE standards. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/amerocap-preparing-substantial-investments-in-magnesium-and-critical-mineral-development-in-the-us-and-europe-301999804.html Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 28, 2023) - LevelJump Healthcare Corp. (TSXV: JUMP) (OTCQB: JMPHF) (FSE: 75J) ("LevelJump" or the "Company"), a Canadian leader in B2B telehealth solutions, wishes to announce the following: The Company has applied to the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange") to update its preferred share unit offering. The Company has applied for the updated offering so that it may issue preferred share units (the "Units") as part of the consideration payable for the completed Alberta Acquisitions as well as working capital. Subject to Exchange approval, the Company plans to sell up to 5,000,000 Units at $1 per Unit, which consists of (i) one (1) common share of LevelJump ("Common Share"), at an issue price of $0.10 per Common Share; and (ii) one (1) 12% cumulative redeemable convertible Class A Series 1 preferred share ("Preferred Share"), at an issue price of $0.90 per Preferred Share. Each Preferred Share is non-voting, carries a cumulative annual dividend of 12% payable quarterly, along with a top up dividend of 25% of the portion of LevelJump's EBITDA that is above $2,000,000 per year, divided by the then outstanding Preferred Shares. The Preferred Shares are redeemable on the fifth anniversary (the "Redemption Date") after issuance at a price of $1.00 per Preferred Share (or at a price of $1.10 per Preferred Share if redeemed any time prior to the Redemption Date) together with all accrued and unpaid dividends. The Preferred Shares are also convertible, prior to being redeemed or called, into common shares of the Company at a price of $0.20 per Common Share. Subject to applicable law and to certain exceptions, LevelJump may, at any time prior to the Redemption Date, purchase for cancellation all or any number of the Preferred Shares outstanding from time to time at any price in the open market if they are listed or posted for trading on a stock exchange or by tender available to all of holders of Preferred Shares or by private agreement or otherwise. To date, the Company has sold 2,094,000 units in prior offerings. The balance of the offering will be sold primarily to accredited investors pursuant to exemptions under applicable securities laws. About LevelJump Healthcare LevelJump Healthcare Corp., (TSXV: JUMP) provides telehealth solutions to client hospitals and imaging centers through its Teleradiology division, as well as in person radiology services through its IHF's (Independent Healthcare Facilities). JUMP focuses primarily on critical care for urgent and emergency patients, establishing integral relationships in the communities we serve. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF LEVELJUMP HEALTHCARE CORP. Mitchell Geisler Chief Executive Officer Caitlin-Robyn Densmore Investor Relations Manager Caitlin.Densmore@leveljumphealthcare.com (437) 214-1568 CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws relating to the Company's business plans and the outlook of the Company's industry. Although the Company believes, in light of the experience of its officers and directors, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered appropriate, that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. The statements in this press release are made as of the date of this release and the Company assumes no responsibility to update them or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances other than as required by applicable securities laws. The Company undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third-parties in respect of the Company, Canadian Teleradiology Services, Inc., their securities, or their respective financial or operating results (as applicable). Neither the Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The securities being offered have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, United States persons absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States, nor in any other jurisdiction. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/188974 TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / Forward Water Technologies Corp. (TSXV:FWTC) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has filed its condensed consolidated audited financial statements and related management's discussion and analysis for the three and six months ended September 30, 2023. Copies of these financial statements and related management's discussion and analysis can be found on the Company's issuer profile at www.sedar.com. All financial information in this news release is reported in Canadian dollars, unless otherwise indicated. Operating Highlights and Recent Corporate Developments On July 4, 2023, the Company issued a total of 410,909 common shares in settlement of compensation to AGORA for certain advertising services provided to the Company. On July 25, 2023, the Company announced that it had signed a Heads of Agreement for the potential lease- to-own of the Forward Osmosis ("FO") equipment with a leading developer of battery grade lithium sourced from aquifers using direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology. On August 31, 2023, the Company announced that it has entered into a non-binding Letter of Intent with Alborg CSP to access their flat panel and parabolic solar thermal solution offerings for integration into the Company's FO technology systems, specific to direct lithium extraction applications and where the use of solar thermal integration provides beneficial use to the client. On October 5, 2023, the Company issued a total of 452,000 common shares in the amount of $22,600 in settlement of compensation to AGORA Internet Relations Corp., for certain advertising services provided to the Company. On October 23, 2023, the Company completed a non-brokered private placement of 9,240,000 units at a price of $0.05 per unit for gross proceeds of $462,000. Each unit consisted of one common share of the Company and one common share purchase warrant. Each common share purchase warrant entitles the holder thereof to acquire one common share of the Company at a price of $0.075 per share at any time on or before October 20, 2026. On October 31, 2023, the Company announced a brokered private placement (the "Offering") of a minimum of 20,000,000 units ("Units") and a maximum of 40,000,000 Units, on a commercially reasonable efforts agency basis, at a price of $0.05 per Unit (the "Issue Price") for gross proceeds of between $1 million to $2 million. The Offering may consist of up to 26,525,774 units issued pursuant to the listed issuer financing exemption available under Part 5A of National Instrument 45-106 - Prospectus Exemptions ("NI 45-106") for maximum gross proceeds of $1,326,288.70 (the "LIFE Offering"). In addition, the Company is proposing to complete, concurrent with the LIFE Offering, a brokered private placement of up to 40,000,000 Units on the same terms as the LIFE Offering, for gross proceeds of up to $2,000,000 (the "Concurrent Private Placement"). The Units sold under the Concurrent Private Placement will be sold pursuant to applicable exemptions under NI 45-106 other than the listed issuer financing exemption. In no case will the aggregate amount raised under the LIFE Offering and Concurrent Private Placement be more than $2,000,000 and no more than $1,326,288.70 will be raised though the sale of Units under the LIFE Offering. The closing of the LIFE Offering is conditional upon the raising of at least $1,000,000 in gross proceeds under the LIFE Offering and Concurrent Private Placement. Each Unit will consist of one common share of the Company (each, a "Share") and one Share purchase warrant of the Company (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one Share (each, a "Warrant Share") at a price of $0.075 per Warrant Share at any time on or before the date which is 36 months after the issuance of the Warrant, subject to adjustment in certain events. In December 2021, the Company began the building of a mobile demonstration unit which can be placed on a customer's site to allow for a longer term (6-8 month) performance of the FO technology at industrial throughput that is not achievable in a laboratory setting. This revenue-generating unit was completed in November, 2023 and is now available to be used by our customers. Management Commentary "We are pleased with the strong commercial groundwork that has been accomplished in the last quarter and by using this foundation, FWTC expects to complete several of the commercial opportunities it has developed." Summary of Financial Results Income Statement Balance Sheet Statement of Cash Flows About Forward Water Technologies Corp. Forward Water Technologies Corp. is a publicly traded Canadian company dedicated to saving the earth's water supply using its patented Forward Osmosis technology. The Company was founded by GreenCentre Canada, a leading technology innovation centre supported by the government of Canada. The Company's technology allows for the reduction of challenging waste streams simultaneously returning fresh water for re-use or surface release. The Company's mandate is to focus on the large-scale implementation of its technology in multiple sectors, including industrial wastewater, oil and gas, mining, agriculture and ultimately municipal water supply and re-use market sectors. In addition, the Company has initiated early stage R&D for the treatment of food and beverage process streams. For more information, please visit www.forwardwater.com. Contact Information For more information or interview requests, please contact: C. Howie Honeyman - Chief Executive Officer howie.honeyman@forwardwater.com 416-451-8155 Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this news release constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is used in applicable Canadian securities laws including statements regarding expansion and uptake of the Company's technology and the ability for the Company to achieve its growth strategy and business plan. Forward-looking information is based on plans, expectations and estimates of management at the date the information is provided and is subject to certain factors and assumptions, including, the ability to scale the technology and the adoption of the technology by potential customers. Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause plans, estimates and actual results to vary materially from those projected in such forward-looking information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the impacts from the coronavirus or other epidemics, general economic conditions in Canada, the United States and globally; unanticipated operating events; the availability of capital on acceptable terms; the need to obtain required approvals from regulatory authorities; stock market volatility as well as the other risks and uncertainties applicable to the Company as set forth in the Company's continuous disclosure filings filed under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, other than as required by applicable law. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. SOURCE: Forward Water Technologies Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/811088/correction-forward-water-technologies-announces-fiscal-year-2023-financial-results Hololight, an Innsbruck, Austria-based company which specializes in AR and VR solutions for the enterprise market, raised $12M in funding. The funding was led by Flatz Hoffmann, with other key contributors including existing investors EnBW New Ventures, Bayern Kapital, and Future Energy Ventures. Following on from the Series A investment in December 2021, the new $12m investment brings the total funding raised to date to $27m. The company intends to use the funds to accelerate the development of its XR streaming platform, Hololight Hub. Led by CEO Florian Haspinger, Hololight specializes in immersive software and technology for the enterprise market. As an enabler of virtual and augmented reality (XR), the company provides the platform to centralize the management of XR applications and simplify access and use. Hololight currently serves more than 150 customers, including accounts such as BMW, Nokia, and Engie, as well as a number of global aerospace and defense clients. It is also a used partner to key industry players such as Amazon Web Services, Qualcomm, Nvidia, and Verizon. FinSMEs 28/11/2023 Jentis, a Vienna, Austria-based data capture technology company, raised 11M in Series A funding. The round was led by Bright Pixel (former Sonae IM) and new co-investor 3TS Capital Partners, with participation from existing investor Pragmatech Ventures. The company intends to use the funds to accelerate its geographic growth in key European and US markets and enhance its product development efforts. JENTIS leadership team Founded in 2020 by CEO Thomas Tauchner, Jentis is a startup specializing in advanced server-side web tracking and data protection technologies. Its data capture platform is an all-in-one tracking solution that provides enhanced data quality and data sovereignty to businesses while enabling compliance with GDPR and other global data protection regulations. Its server-side tracking technology has been adopted by large European e-commerce retailers, including brands in banking and finance, and at major digital publishers in the US and Central Europe. FinSMEs 28/11/2023 New Heritage Capital, a Boston, MA private equity firm, closed its fourth fund, at $438m in total capital commitments. New Heritage Capital IV, L.P.s investor base is diversified across North America, Europe and around the globe, and is comprised of high-quality limited partners, including consultants, endowments, insurance companies, public pensions, family offices, asset managers and funds of funds. Co-founded in 2016 by Mark Jrolf, Nickie Norris, and Charlie Gifford, Heritage focuses on partnering with high-growth, founder-owned businesses in the middle market providing founders with a combination of liquidity and growth capital while allowing founders to maintain control of their business. Since its founding, the firm has raised approximately $1 billion in committed capital and invested in more than 15 platform companies and 30 add-on acquisitions. Harris Williams served as exclusive placement advisor for Fund IV and Latham & Watkins LLP served as fund counsel. FinSMEs 28/11/2023 OQC, a Reading, UK-based quantum compute-as-a-service (QCaaS) company, raised $100M in funding. The round was led by SBI Investment with participation from Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE), University of Tokyo Edge Capital (UTEC), Lansdowne Partners, and OTIF, acted by manager Oxford Investment Consultants (OIC). The company intends to use the funds to further enhance its R&D sector and its ability to bring enterprise ready quantum to businesses globally. Led by CEO Ilana Wisby, OQC is an enterprise-ready quantum compute company which has announced the public availability of OQC Toshiko, an enterprise ready quantum computing platform, which is deployed to commercial data-centres, enabling businesses to tap into technology from anywhere in the world, seamlessly and securely. This platform is especially important for customers handling sensitive data, in sectors such as financial services, pharmaceuticals, energy, defence and government. It is now in private preview and coming soon on public cloud and data centre fabric. The team has built and deployed OQC Toshiko platforms to colocation data centres expanding its operations in the UK, Japan and Spain. Prior to Series B, OQC raised 41M including the largest Series A in quantum in the UK at that time. In 2023, OQCs team grew to over 100, attracting talent from across the globe. FinSMEs 28/11/2023 Tower Arch Capital, a Salt Lake City, UT-based investment firm, closed of Tower Arch Partners III, LP and its parallel investment entity, with $750m of capital commitments. Fund IIIs investors included current and former management team members, foundations, diversified financial institutions, university endowments, and family investment offices. Led by David Topham, and Rhett Neuenschwander, Partners and Co-Founders, Tower Arch Capital professionals are investors personally and remain, collectively, the largest investor across all three funds, driving alignment between the firm and its Limited Partner base. With the closing of Fund III, Tower Arch now has $1.6 billion of assets under management across its three funds along with investor and management co-investments. Fund IIIs investment focus will continue to be in the lower middle market, targeting transformational opportunities where founder and family-owned businesses with strong management teams are looking for a capital partner to help with growth, strategic support, and professionalization. Most of the platform companies targeted by Tower Arch have EBITDA between $5 and $30m, with smaller add-on acquisitions sought for existing portfolio companies. The firm brings operational, consulting, and financial expertise to their portfolio companies to give them the tools they need to achieve their full potential. FinSMEs 28/11/2023 Filmmaker Meghna Gulzar believes that the movie, Sam Bahadur is going to be a great inspiration for all. Sam Manekshaw led his life with truth, honesty and with righteousness no matter what the circumstances were. Talking about this great man, she says he was everyones man and every soldiers general. Edited excerpts from the interview: How did the idea of making a movie on Sam Manekshaw come to you? It was Ronnie Screwvalas idea. He is related to the Manekshaw family through his wife. I think the small part that I played in the making of the film initially was that my name popped into his mind when he thought of this idea of doing a film on him. I consider that to be a blessing. What was the research that went behind the making of the film? The research was long. I met the family, his military assistants, his associates and our researcher Meghna Talwar did a lot of leg work and collected all the information on Sam Manekshaw. And of course everything about him was in the public domain, that helped us to quite an extent. His life is so cinematic and dramatic so as we were reading the chronology of his life, we could just see cinema unfolding in front of us. Sam Manekshaws relevance in todays world He is as relevant as he was forty years ago. His epitaph on the grave says life well lived. And thats how he chose to be remembered. He led his life with truth, honesty and with righteousness no matter what the circumstances were. How can that way of living ever become irrelevant? I really believe that he was Gods chosen child and he has seen some tremendous ups and downs in his life. One would not imagine the circumstances that he has seen would be able to come out of it, that there would be a light at the end of the tunnel that he would come out and rise like a phoenix. So, there has to be something about his destiny that he was a chosen child. And yet he was so affable and so humble. I mean he touched everybody he interacted with. He was everyones man and every soldiers general. There is no mimicry of Sam Manekshaw and that is the best thing about Sam Bahadur, was that a conscious effort? Mimicking somebody of his personality and stature in any way is not the right approach to do. Because then actually you are setting an imprint for people who dont know anything about him that this is Sam Bahadur. Everybody who has seen the film including the family says that Vicky Kaushal has just got the mannerisms of Sam Manekshaw right. On Sam Manekshaws wife Siloos role I remember the family saying that the mother would never be the type who was always well draped in a sari and her hair in place like a typical military wife. She was not that lady. She was a little bit of a rebel kind of a woman. Like Sam Manekshaw, she was also not the type who would follow rules blindly. But when you are in the army you are impeccably turned out. But the family told us that Siloo was not like that. The fine line between how dishevel her hair needs to be to how well kept that hair needs to be was a detail that we had to deal with. Hollywood veterans Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones are currently in India for the International Film Festival of India. Jones, while speaking at the festival, made many unheard and unexpected revelations about her life and the love she has for the movies. When an Indian doctor saved her life The story Ive never told before is that India has touched me in a very serious personal way. It was an Indian doctor who saved my life with a tracheotomy when I was 18 months old. I wonder why when I come to India, I have this feeling of coming home, and maybe it has something to do with that. The reason Im here is because of the brilliance of an Indian doctor in the UK. Her love for Indian films like Om Shanti Om and The Lunchbox I love the country and the people so very much. I am a big fan of Indian Cinema. My children have grown up watching Om Shanti Om on a loop! Not just once There are so many great movies that I have been able to watch, not much as I should have but now with streaming and film being crossing so much A movie that I love was The Lunchbox. It was one of my favourite movies and it still is one of my favourite movies of all time. It touched me, it was so well acted, so well directed. It was a story that was so fundamentally Indian but it connected to men and women all over the world. It connected to me as a woman. I watched it on an airplane twice! I asked my agent if I could meet him in person and I did and that was really special The European Union Film Festival (EUFF) is back in India with its 28th edition this year. The renowned festival, with a line-up of award-winning films, will run in Delhi from 1st to 10th December. The screenings will take place across three locations the Indian Habitat Center, The Instituto Cervantes (Spanish Cultural Center), and The Goethe-Institut /Max Mueller Bhavan. The festival showcases award-winning films from all 28 European countries, providing a unique opportunity for audiences to experience a Window to Europe. The European Union Film Festival celebrates the rich diversity and cultural heritage of European cinema. Transcending boundaries, the festival highlights the power of cinema to create shared experiences. The festival celebrates the rich diversity and cultural heritage of European cinema. The free for all festival organized by the Delegation of the European Union to India, Embassies of EU Member States, and regional partners will bring to its audience an incredible cinematic experience with 28 films in 25 different languages from 28 European countries. Featuring movies from 18 women directors, the festival celebrates Women in Cinema and the art of storytelling from the womans perspective. Tori and Lokita, winner at Cannes 2022, portrays a young boy and an adolescent girl who have traveled alone from Africa, putting their invincible friendship against the challenging conditions of their exile. Saint Omer, winner of Grand Prix for Best Film, is a story of young novelist Rama,who attends the trial of Laurence Coly, a young woman accused of killing her 15-month-old daughter. The words of the accused and witness testimonies shake Ramas convictions and call into question their judgment. A perfect blend of comedy and drama, the Banshees of Inisherin has won an Academy Awards Oscar in 2023. It is a story set on a remote island off the coast of Ireland, where a troubled young islander, Padraic sets out to repair the damaged relationship with his closest friend by any means. The Slovenia filmRiders, which made an official submission for the Best International Feature Film category of the 96th Academy Awards in 2024, revolves around two friends who decide to transform their mopeds into choppers and embark on a journey to be eventually joined by a young runaway woman and an old biker. The trip turns into a quest for identity, irrevocably changing their lives. The Ukrainian film Luxembourg was nominated for the Venice Film Festival 2022. It follows the story of two siblings, Mykola and Vasya, go in search of their father, who left them when they were children, after they come to know that he is dying in Luxembourg. Kolya considers him a hero, while Vasya thinks he is a scoundrel. The films to be screened at the on-ground EUFF 2023 are: Breaking the Ice Austria; Tori and Lokita Belgium; Mother- Bulgaria; Murina- Croatia; The Man with the Answers- Cyprus; Ordinary Failures- Czech Republic; The Quiet Migration- Denmark; Walker on Water- Estonia; Palimpsest- Finland; Saint Omer- France; Talking About the Weather- Germany; Listen- Greece; Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time- Hungary; The Banshees of Inisherin- Ireland; The Eight Mountains- Italy; My Love Affair with Marriage- Latvia; Remember to Blink- Lithuania; Icarus and the Minotaur- Luxembourg; Carmen- Malta; Kiddo- Netherlands; The Perfect Number- Poland; Wolf and Dog- Portugal; Mikado- Romania; She Hero- Slovakia; Riders- Slovenia; The Beasts- Spain; After Work- Sweden;Luxembourg, Luxembourg- Ukraine We will soon be entering the last month of this year. But before that, there are still a couple of days left in November. As we move to the second day of the week, there are certain big news developments awaiting us. The Supreme Court will hear a review petition against its order in the marriage equality case. Several other important matters will come up before the courts today (28 November). NATO foreign ministers will convene a meeting in Brussels. Pakistans former prime minister Imran Khan will appear before a court in the cipher case. As the day unfolds, heres a quick overview of what to expect today. Supreme Court to hear review petitions The apex court will hear a bunch of petitions seeking reconsideration of its 17 October verdict refusing to grant legal recognition to same-sex couples and putting the ball in Parliaments court on the subject of same-sex marriages. In a 3:2 verdict, a five-judge Constitution bench had ruled that there is no fundamental right to marriage and refused to tweak the Special Marriage Act (SMA) of 1954 to legally recognise queer marriages. Of the five judges who delivered the order, Justice S Ravindra Bhat has retired. So, a new judge will be added to the bench to hear the review petitions. It remains to be seen if it will be an open court hearing. Important cases before courts A court in Delhi will hear arguments on framing of charges against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brijbhushan Sharan Singh in the sexual harassment allegations by six wrestlers. The Delhi Police has filed a charge sheet in the case against Singh and co-accused Vinod Tomar. While the BJP MP has been booked under 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A (sexual harassment), 354-D (stalking) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Tomar has been accused of sexual harassment, stalking, and abetment. A Delhi court could pronounce the verdict in the Shahbad Dairy murder case where a 16-year-old girl was stabbed and bludgeoned to death by a 20-year-old man in May in full public view in Delhi. NATO foreign ministers meet United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken will underscore NATOs commitment to Ukraine in its war against Russia as foreign ministers of the Western military alliance meet today. NATO is backing Ukraine, which aims to join the alliance one day. In Brussels, the military bloc, besides reaffirming its support for Ukraine, will look into ways to ease tensions between Kosovo and Serbia, and discuss preparations for NATOs 75th anniversary next year. Imran Khans cipher case Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan and ex-foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi will appear before a Pakistani special court at the federal judicial complex in Islamabad for the hearing of the cipher case. Punjab Assembly winter session A two-day winter session of the Punjab Assembly will commence today. This comes after Punjab governor Banwarilal Purohit summoned the session on the recommendation of the state Cabinet. Purohit had prorogued the budget session of the Punjab Assembly held earlier this year. What else to expect Rat miners are expected to continue manual horizontal drilling today to rescue 41 men who have been trapped for more than two weeks after a portion of an under-construction tunnel in Uttarakhand collapsed. These labourers who are used to drilling narrow shafts started the work at 7 pm on Monday after the American Augur machine broke again. A truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza that was on the verge of expiring was extended by two days, mediator Qatar said on Monday, raising the prospect the Palestinian group will free hostages beyond the 69 released since Friday, according to Reuters. Hamas said the extension was under the same conditions, which were for 50 Israeli hostages to be released in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners. Israel has yet to comment, but it had previously said it would extend the truce by one day for every 10 more hostages released. Five days ago, the Financial Times published a report stating that the United States had foiled an assassination bid against Khalistan advocate and leader of the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) group, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, and additionally issued a warning to India over concerns that it was involved in the plot. Reacting to the report, New Delhi said it had received some inputs from the US during recent discussions on security matters, with Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi saying that these inputs pertained to a nexus between organised criminals, terrorists and others, but did not specify where. The statement made no mention of Pannun. Further, Bagchi said, On its part, India takes such inputs seriously since it impinges on our own national security interests as well. Issues in the context of US inputs are already being examined by relevant departments. Notably, New Delhis response to the attempted assassination attempt on Pannun is far different from its reaction to Canadas allegation that India had a role in the June killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistani separatist. But why is there a difference in reactions? Nijjar killing vs Pannun assassination attempt On 19 June, Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead in Vancouver, British Columbia. According to investigators, he was exiting the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, Vancouver around 8.30 pm when unknown assailants shot at him multiple times. A Washington Post report citing video footage from the site of the shooting had said that Nijjar was killed in a coordinated attack by at least six men who arrived in two vehicles. It further reported that the attackers two of them in hooded sweatshirts fired roughly 50 bullets, of which 34 hit Nijjar. Notably, Nijjar was a wanted man in India for his anti-India activities. In 2016, he was suspected of masterminding a bombing in the Sikh-majority state of Punjab and training terrorists in a small city southeast of Vancouver. He denied the allegations. In 2020, Indian authorities claimed Nijjar was a member of a banned group and designated him a terrorist. That year, they also filed a criminal case against him. Following his killing, in September, Canadas prime minister Justin Trudeau told his countrys Parliament that his government was investigating credible allegations that Indian government agents were linked to the June slaying and had also expelled an Indian diplomat. At the time, India had rejected these allegations, calling them absurd and motivated and in a tit-for-tat move expelled a Canadian diplomat. Later, ties worsened when India suspended visa services for Canadians a move they have reversed for some since then and also asked for the withdrawal of 41 diplomats. On the other hand, the Financial Times reported on the assassination attempt on Gurpatwant Singh Pannun earlier this month. However, the British daily didnt give any details about the attempt, or how US officials became aware of the plot or how the alleged assassination was thwarted. It, however, stated that US president Joe Biden had raised the issue in a discussion with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a G20 Summit in New Delhi. Following the FT report, the White House confirmed that it had raised the issue with senior Indian officials and it was being treated with utmost seriousness. It has been raised by the US government with the Indian government, including at the senior-most levels, said Adrienne Watson, a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council. Indias contrasting responses Its interesting to note that New Delhi has had two very contrasting ways in responding to Washington and Ottawa in the Nijjar and Pannun incidents respectively. In the case of Nijjars killing and Canadas subsequent allegation, India first angrily refuted the claims, calling it absurd and motivated. After Canada expelled an Indian diplomat posted in Ottawa, Delhi expelled a Canadian diplomat based in New Delhi. India then issued a travel advisory for Indian nationals travelling to Canada and cautioned students, professionals and tourists. It suspended visa services in Canada and also stopped e-visa services; e-visas were resumed last Wednesday. India also forced Canada to withdraw 41 of its diplomats from its High Commission in New Delhi. The Ministry of External Affairs had then described Canada as a safe haven for terrorists, extremists and organised crime its sharpest rebuke for a Western country in recent years. In early November, Indias high commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma had said that Canadian authorities had not provided India with concrete evidence of Indian involvement in Hardeep Singh Nijjars death. There is no specific or relevant information provided in this case for us to assist them in the investigation, Verma was quoted as saying. He added: Where is the evidence? Where is the conclusion of the investigation? I would go a step further and say now the investigation has already been tainted. A direction has come from someone at a high level to say India or Indian agents are behind it. However, in the Pannun matter, New Delhis reaction has been very different. Hours after the report was published, Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson for MEA, said, During the course of recent discussions on India-US security cooperation, the US side shared some inputs pertaining to the nexus between organised criminals, gun-runners, terrorists and others. The inputs are a cause of concern for both countries and they decided to take necessary follow-up action. On its part, India takes such inputs seriously since it impinges on our own national security interests as well. Issues in the context of US inputs are already being examined by relevant departments, he said. Why the contrast in responses So, why is it that theres such a contrast to New Delhis responses to Washington and Ottawa? The Indian high commissioner to Canada has an answer to it. Sanjay Kumar Verma told CTVs Question Period that India was co-operating with the American investigation into an alleged thwarted assassination attempt, but not Canadas investigation into the June killing of a Sikh leader, because of a disparity between the information both countries have shared in their probes. He told the host of the show that his understanding was that the US authorities have shared more specific information with India over the course of an investigation than Canada has, and that is likely the differentiating factor in the level of Indias cooperation in both cases. India cooperating with U.S. investigation but not Canadas due to difference in evidence shared, high commissioner says https://t.co/4x8M8Ifudi CTV News (@CTVNews) November 26, 2023 He was quoted as saying, One is that the investigation in the case of the US, as far as I know and understand, because again, I don't oversee India-US relations is at a much advanced stage. And therefore, I presume that there would be better information shared within India. Those inputs are a nexus between gangsters, drug peddlers, terrorists, and gun runners in the US, and there is a belief that some of the Indian connections now when I say Indian connections, I dont mean Government of India connections, theres 1.4 billion people. Because we have got inputs, which are legally presentable, he said. When asked why New Delhi was choosing not to cooperate on the probe pertaining to Nijjars killing, he countered that there were reasons to it. Outlining them, he said: If you look at the typical criminal terminology, when someone asks us to cooperate, which means that you have already been convicted, and you better cooperate. So we took it in a very different interpretation. But we always said that if there is anything specific and relevant, and communicated to us, we will look into it. Further he stated that until Canada shared something specific and relevant, it would not be able to move forward. While this is the reason provided by the envoy, analysts do believe that there are other reasons at play too. Firstly, the two offences are different one is a murder investigation and the other is an assassination attempt and the target remains unharmed to date. Moreover, the ties between India and the US and India and Canada are very different. While Ind-Canada ties are mostly economic and people-to-people, the India-US ties are perhaps the most strategic and are much more comprehensive in nature. Apart from the economics, New Delhi has ties with Washington in sectors of space, defence, education, health and much more. For these reasons, India cant be dismissive towards the US and its concerns. With inputs from agencies A surge in respiratory illnesses in China has once again raised concerns. The situation came to the limelight after the World Health Organization (WHO) said it has requested Beijing for more information, citing a report by the Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases (ProMED) on clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia in children in northern China. China says there are no unusual or novel pathogens behind this sudden spike in respiratory illnesses, which has led to hospitals being overwhelmed. Children are reportedly among the most patients being hospitalised from the infections. The outbreak has affected the Asian countrys north-eastern regions, with Beijing and Liaoning being two major hubs. The health authorities in China have attributed the uptick in cases to mycoplasma pneumoniae, RSV, adenovirus, and influenza. Meanwhile, in India, the Centre has asked state governments to assess hospital preparedness amid the rise in pneumonia cases in China. The states have been asked to increase medical infrastructure such as hospital beds, drugs and vaccines for influenza, medical oxygen, antibiotics, and so on. Lets learn through graphics what are these flu-like illnesses gripping China again. China is reportedly using foreign influencers, including from the United States, the United Kingdom and New Zealand, to push its propaganda. According to the think tank the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), these international influencers, who enjoy a massive following on social media, endorse pro-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) narratives as well as defend Chinas position on sensitive issues. In a report titled Singing from the CCPs songsheet, analysts Fergus Ryan and Daria Impiombato, along with independent contractor on contemporary Chinese politics and media Matt Knight, examined the content produced by more than 120 foreign influencers who have active accounts on Chinese video-streaming platforms such as Bilibili, Douyin, Xigua and Toutiao. Lets take a look at what the think tank found. China and its network of foreign influencers As per the Canberra-based think tank, CCP, the ruling party of China, intends to cultivate a group of foreign mouths, foreign pens and foreign brains who can assist in augmenting the states narrative. With this, Beijing wants to guard itself against foreign influence and shift the global narrative in its favour. By coordinating foreign influencers and other communicators, Beijing aspires to create a unified choir of voices capable of promoting party narratives more effectively than traditional official PRC (Peoples Republic of China) media. The ultimate goal is to shield CCP-controlled culture, discourse and ideology from the dangers of foreign and free political speech, thereby safeguarding the partys legitimacy, the ASPI report said. The think tank said China has developed these foreign influencers, who boast of millions of followers in the Asian country as well as overseas on platforms like TikTok, YouTube and Twitter (now X), as unique propaganda assets. How does it work? The analysts found that Beijing is setting up multilingual influencer studios to further its agenda with the help of domestic and foreign influencers who spread pro-China propaganda to younger global audiences. To woo these influencers so they promote its propaganda, the CCP is coming up with competitions that offer significant prize money and other incentives. The ruling party in China has also roped in international students at Chinese universities, building them as a latent talent pool of young, multilingual, social-media-friendly influencers, noted ASPI. Citing an instance, the think tank observed that Huaqiao Universitys Overseas New Voice Generation new media studio aims to use students from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, along with other foreign students in China to tell Chinas story well, communicate Chinas voice well, and give full play to their others perspective and youth discourse advantage in cross-cultural communication. In 2021, over 200 international students from 16 countries, including the US and Ireland, had taken part in related video shoots. The think tank observed that the CCP is using Russian influencers in China to bolster its goal of strengthening bilateral ties with Moscow to counter Western countries. How influencers have helped China Foreign influencers have had a major role in controlling the global narratives about COVID-19 in China, as per ASPIs report. They have also tried to advance CCPs account abroad. These influencers are being guided to defend or push Chinas perspective on sensitive political subjects, such as human rights concerns or territorial disputes, the think tank noted. The CCP-aligned content produced by influencers has helped in ramping up the prevalence of party-approved narratives on YouTube on various topics, including Xinjiang. These influencers have been able to sneak into even mainstream foreign outlets, including major US cable TV outlets, to push Chinese propaganda. The guy smashing his iPhone after buying a Huawei is Bart Baker, a US YouTuber known for creating parody videos of famous songs. He left his 10M+ YouTube subscribers in 2019 to operate exclusively on Chinese platforms where his content style took a dramatic turn. pic.twitter.com/A4Vk4WLJEz Fergus Ryan (@fryan) November 26, 2023 What is in it for them? The ASPI report mentioned that foreign influencers have discovered that appealing to Chinese audiences sense of nationalism can provide a fast track to gain popularity, increase their online presence and, ultimately, generate more revenue. Chinas internet regulations restrict negative content and promote (Chinese president) Xi Jinping thought and core socialist values and posts that increase the global influence of Chinese culture. Indeed, Chinas internet regulations encourage users to actively promote party propaganda so many influencers have adapted to thrive in that system, the ASPI added. For instance, US vlogger Jerry Kowal had made several videos lauding Chinas response to COVID-19 and criticised his home countrys. This helped him gain the approval of China Central Television (CCTV), a key state television broadcaster in the Asian country. In 2016, Australian swimmer Mack Horton after winning the Olympic Gold in Rio de Janeiro attacked silver medalist Sun Yang, a Chinese swimmer, who had earlier been suspended for violating a drug test. Soon after, David Gulasi, an Australian digital influencer living in China, was advised by a Chinese influencer management agency to pick a public fight with Horton. He hit out at the Australian swimmer and invoked Chinese nationalism. ASPIs warning The defence and strategic policy think tank has cautioned that Beijings strategy is likely to have significant implications for the global information landscape. The growing use of foreign influencers will make it increasingly difficult for social-media platforms, foreign governments and individuals to distinguish between genuine and/or factual content and propaganda, the think tank warned, saying it would become harder to counter disinformation and protect the integrity of public discourse. Eventually, the line between independent voices and those influenced by the Partys narratives may become increasingly blurred, further challenging the ability of audiences to discern reportage from manipulation, ASPI said. With inputs from agencies The fragile four-day ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas has been extended by two days, providing relief and hope that the war, now in its 53rd day, is coming to an end. Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said on social media, The State of Qatar announces that, as part of the ongoing mediation, an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian truce for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip. The State of Qatar announces, as part of the ongoing mediation, an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian pause for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip. . Dr. Majed Al Ansari (@majedalansari) November 27, 2023 The news of the two additional days of a humanitarian pause came after initial reports stated that Hamas wanted to extend the truce. Aid agencies and people around the world welcomed the two-day extension of the truce in Gaza, but there were also those wondering how the Israeli military will achieve its goal to eradicate Hamas. Is this the end of the Israel-Hamas war? What should we expect next? Heres what we know so far. Truce extended, prisoners-hostages swapped Late on Monday night, just hours before the four-day humanitarian pause was to end, it was reported that the truce between the two Israel and Hamas would be extended by another two days. Qatar, the United States and Egypt have engaged in intense negotiations to establish and prolong the truce in Gaza. Hamas said the extension was under the same conditions, which were for 50 Israeli hostages to be released in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners. Interestingly, theres no confirmation of the truce being extended from the Israeli side. In a press briefing, Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said: Nothing is final until it actually happens. Things are progressing, tonight as well, but patience is required. He continued: "Beloved families, the tremendous pressure you are under, the stress and uncertainty during these hours of waiting is constantly at the top of our mind. Our hearts go out to you. It is our duty to bring home all the kidnapped and missing people, either through the continuation of this framework, or through the continuation of the next stages of the war. And the extension came as 11 more Hamas hostages were freed from Gaza and, in exchange, 33 Palestinian prisoners were released the last exchange under the existing deal. The newly-released hostages included three women and nine children, including three-year-old twin girls and their mother from the kibbutz Nir Oz. According to news agency AFP, a total of 50 hostages have been released under the truce deal, in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners, with another 19 hostages freed under separate agreements, including Thai workers and a dual Russian-Israeli citizen. So far, most of the hostages released have appeared physically well, except 84-year-old Elma Avraham, who was released on Sunday. She was airlifted to a hospital in life-threatening condition because of inadequate care. Her daughter, Tali Amano, told the Associated Press that her mother was hours from death when she was brought to the hospital. Also read: Slept on chairs, hours of wait for bathroom: What hostages went through during 50 days of captivity in Gaza According to Israeli officials, Hamas fighters seized about 240 hostages when they stormed from Gaza into southern Israel on 7 October and killed about 1,200 people. On the other hand, most of the Palestinian prisoners who have been released are teenagers accused of throwing stones and firebombs during confrontations with Israeli forces, or of less-serious offenses. But some were convicted in alleged attempts to carry out stabbings, bombings and shootings. World reacts to truce extension The announcement of the truce extension was met with optimism and joy from several corners around the world. Ghazi Hamad, a Hamas official, was quoted as telling Al Jazeera that he hoped the truce could be extended further. It [the possibility of an extension] was written in the agreement, that if Hamas gives more hostages, there will be more days of the ceasefire, he told Al Jazeera. We have now agreed to release more hostages and extend the agreement for two days. This is good news for our people, especially the people of Gaza. I hope we can extend it until we reach the end of this war. We want to end the war. We are in a temporary ceasefire, but we are trying to extend it. There is lots of support from Qatar, Egypt and many Western governments to end this catastrophe, he said. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby also reacting to the extension said, Of course we welcome the announcement. We would of course hope to see the pause extended further, and that will depend upon Hamas continuing to release hostages. The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres too hailed the two-day extension of the truce by saying it was a glimpse of hope. I strongly hope that these will enable us to increase even more the humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza that is suffering so much, Guterres said. Other aid agencies also hailed the move as it would enable them to provide more aid in terms of food, water and medical supplies to the people of Gaza, who have been hit the worst. We welcome the two-day extension. It shows what can be done, but we hugely fear what comes next if fighting restarts, said James Deneslow, the head of the British charitys conflict team. The next steps While many have expressed joy and optimism about the extension in the truce, it also raises questions as to what happens next in the Israel-Hamas war. Even hours after the truce has been announced, Israel is yet to comment on the matter or provide any confirmation. However, earlier Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed that the war against Hamas would continue after the truce ended. In fact, on Sunday, he met with Israeli troops inside the Gaza Strip and was quoted as telling them: Nothing will stop us, and we are convinced that we have the strength, the power, the will, and the determination to achieve all the goals of the war, and that is what we will do. Netanyahu told the troops, We have three goals in this war: Eliminate Hamas, return all of our hostages, and ensure that Gaza will not go back to being a threat to the State of Israel. The Times of Israel has further reported that during negotiations to extend the truce, he also told US president Joe Biden that he was open to extending the current truce, but once it is over, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) ground operation will return in full force. But military experts question if that can happen. Professor Michael Clarke told Sky News that the next phase of Israels offensive will be a lot more difficult than anything they have done so far. Israel is facing real problems. The hostage deal is great but militarily it puts them on the back foot, Clarke said. Everybody wants a pause for all sorts of humanitarian reasons, but it actually goes against the military logic of what they are trying to do. He added: It might be quite difficult for Israel to get the offensive back on track after this pause. Some other experts also believe that the truce will give Hamas enough time to recover and recoup their losses. They also note that the extension of the truce will put added pressure on Israel to not resume extensive bombarding of the Gaza Strip. Malcolm Davis, senior analyst, Australian Strategy Policy Institute, told CNN: In the absence of the fierce bombing by Israel, Hamas will regroup and resupply their fighting forces and probably even re-position themselves. This will enable them to be prepared for when the Israelis come back at them. It is left to be seen if Israel does bend to international pressure and put an end to the war, but that seems unlikely from what their leaders are saying. For now, we hope that peace is maintained. As the John Lennon sang, All we are saying is give peace a chance. With inputs from agencies Unrest has gripped Manipur for months after deadly ethnic violence broke out on 3 May between Meiteis and tribal Kukis. Tensions have remained high in the northeastern state since then. As per official figures by the Manipur Police, at least 175 people have died, 1,118 were injured and 32 people are missing since the clashes erupted. Now, a Supreme Court-appointed panel has accused civil society organisations of keeping the pot boiling by applying pressure on the victims families to not accept their kins bodies for last rites. What has the Supreme Court-appointed committee said? What is going on in Manipur? Lets take a closer look. Panels report on Manipur conflict The SC-appointed panel, headed by former Jammu and Kashmir High Court Chief Justice Gita Mittal, has accused civil society organisations of preventing the cremation of 88 bodies lying unclaimed in Imphal mortuaries, as per Times of India (TOI). The three-member committee also includes former Delhi High Court Judge, Justice Asha Menon, and ex-Bombay High Court Judge, Justice Shalini P Joshi. Tasked with examining the humanitarian aspect of the ethnic clashes, the panel submitted its 13th interim report to the apex court last week, reported Indian Express. As many as 94 unclaimed bodies, of which six remain unidentified, are preserved in three mortuaries in the state JNIMS and RIMS in Imphal, and the Churachandpur District Hospital. The committee said civil society organisations (CSOs) in Manipur were exerting tremendous pressure on relatives not to claim these bodies. The panel in its report alleged that some CSOs are opposing and obstructing the performance of last rites by relatives on account of vested interests, and even in order to derive mileage and to compel authorities to meet unwarranted demands, reported TOI. It referred to an incident on 3 August when the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) tried to conduct a burial of 35 bodies in Torbung, in the Churachandpur district. The Central government had then intervened and asked ITLF to postpone the funeral. The Manipur government had also suggested nine other burial sites, as per Indian Express. Unfortunately, the CSOs are insisting on mass burials at unsuitable spots, which will serve as a source for constant mounting of tension between communities in Manipur and prevent restoration of normalcy, the panel reportedly said. The committee said the top court should direct CSOs not to interfere in the victims kin accepting ex gratia and claiming their bodies. It urged the Supreme Court to direct the relatives to accept the bodies to perform the last rites and said the court should prohibit civil society organisations from obstructing the kin from doing so, as per Indian Express. The panel recommended that authorities should be asked to perform the last rites in case the bodies were not accepted by relatives within a certain time, according to TOI. Whats the latest in Manipur? Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh recently told the news agency PTI that his government is holding talks with an insurgent group in the state and a peace deal is in the works. We are advancing, and we are expecting to sign a peace accord with one big UG (underground organisation) very shortly, he said. Sources told PTI earlier that the state government was negotiating with a faction of the banned United National Liberation Front (UNLF). Singh also said some people from Myanmar who have crossed into Manipur fleeing violence in their country are being given shelter in the state on humanitarian grounds. However, they will be deported once the situation is stable in Myanmar, he told the news agency. Around 2,500 people from Myanmar have fled to Manipur since July. Meanwhile, a key Kuki group suspended its 12-day economic blockade of two national highways connecting the Meitei-dominated Manipur capital of Imphal. The Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU), which is based in Kuki-majority district of Kangpokpi, had imposed the blockade on 15 November to protest against the indifferent attitude of the concerned authority in dispensing law and order in Kuki-Zo inhabited areas, reported Hindustan Times (HT). The group said it will review the move and implement the blockade again if needed. Some Kuki-Zo groups have been calling for a separate administration for the tribal areas accusing the state and the Centre of failing to tackle the ethnic violence. With inputs from agencies Standing at the edge of a cliff or on top of a waterfall can make you capture the moment in a picture. However, that tiny temptation can cost you your life. Selfies may potentially present a public health problem, per the University of New South Wales most recent review. The review, which was published in September this year in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, cited data from several peer-reviewed research conducted in Australia and the United States since 2008. Also, the researchers searched for news reports on incidents involving selfie-related fatalities or injuries since 2011. Lets take a closer look. How taking selfies can be dangerous The analysis revealed that the most alarming incidents involved selfie-related deaths at aquatic locales, including taking pictures in picturesque and appealing settings. While the research noted that using cellphones and apps in normally is risky, the two most common causes of injury and death among the five peer-reviewed studies were falling from heights and drowning while snapping pictures. Over the 13-year study period, the researchers discovered that roughly 400 had been reported, with 77 of those occurring in the US. The majority of victims were most likely female tourists in their early 20s. With an estimated 92 million selfies taken every day worldwide, researchers said the public needs to be made aware of the risks associated with taking them. They also advised social networking platforms to incorporate software that alerts users to potential risks when they are about to take a photo. Dr Sam Cornell, the lead study author and research officer at the University of Sydneys Sydney School of Public Health, expressed particular interest in environmental and aquatic factors that contribute to selfie-related fatalities and injuries. I wasnt looking at people getting injured from taking selfies on man-made structure or train lines, for instance, he told Fox News, adding, I was surprised that when I drilled down in this way, young females were implicated the most. The study found that the number of injuries or fatalities caused by selfies had increased over time, with three reported in 2013 and 68 in 2019, according to Dailymail. Following that, there was a brief decline in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with just 37 deaths recorded. However, in just the first half of 2021, there were 31 deaths recorded. The countries with most number of selfie deaths The researchers noted that the dangers associated with selfie danger vary by nation. According to the study, India had the highest number of documented selfie deaths and injuries (100 instances), followed by the US (39 cases) and Russia (33 cases). People are getting hurt or losing their lives in the US and Australia when they are alone; typically, this is due to going down a cliff, as per Fox News. One of the most recent self-inflicted deaths was that of Fernanda Morella, a 33-year-old Brazilian lady who died in 2021 in Brisbane, Australia, while celebrating her birthday at the Kangaroo Point cliffs. In 2020, Madalyn Davis, a British tourist, died after falling down a cliff at Sydneys Diamond Bay Reserve when she was 21 years old. In 2019, while snapping a selfie, 21-year-old Andrea Norton, a student, slipped and fell 100 feet to her death off an Arkansas cliff. A hiker named Richard Jacobson, 21, also perished in January of last year when he stumbled while taking a picture atop an Arizona mountain. Instagram sensation Sofia Cheung is another victim; in 2021, she fell to her death while trying to take a selfie near a waterfall in Hong Kong. A public health problem Dr Cornell and others wrote in the paper, The selfie-related incident phenomenon should be viewed as a public health problem that requires a public health response. To date, little attention has been paid to averting selfie-related incidents through behaviour change methodologies or direct messaging to users through apps. Although previous research has recommended no selfie zones, physical barriers, signage, and as ways to prevent selfie incidents, our results suggest this may not be enough. It may be prudent to also engage in direct safety messaging to social media users. Dr Marc Siegel, a medical contributor for Fox News from NYU Langone, was not engaged in the review of the study. However, he acknowledged that mishaps with selfies represent a public health emergency. This involves an emotional cost as well, and is an unhealthy extension of our celebrity culture and social media pressures. The issues doesnt just lie in physical injury, he said via email to Fox News; it also introduces the unhealthy psychological aspects of taking a pause from actually living life to take a freeze-frame of it. Authorities have previously had to issue cautions over selfies in several nations. For example, early this year in the UK, coastguards issued a warning to citizens not to take selfies with storm waves after they captured a woman being carried off her feet while posing in front of a storm surge on camera. Tips to stay safe Think about weather and water conditions Weather and coastal conditions can change rapidly. Just because the weather and waves dont appear dangerous when you start your selfie journey, they might be when you get there. Check before you go, avoid bad weather, and keep a close eye on tidal and wave conditions. Dont walk past safety signs and physical barriers Warning signs are there to provide life-saving information. Pay attention to signs and heed their advice. Dont jump or go around any physical barriers blocking access. They are likely there for a good reason. Stay on the designated path Staying Staying on paths and trails is safest and also does fragile ecosystems a big favour. Dont get too close to the edge. Be aware of crumbling edges Dont trust cliff edges and be aware of unstable ground. Cliff edges are naturally eroding and your extra weight doesnt help. People have died from cliff edges crumbling away while standing on them. No amount of likes is worth your life Consider your motivations for taking selfies and using social media. Studies show spending time in nature is good for our health. But the world looks better when not viewed through a screen. With inputs from The Conversation Iran has added a powerful new weapon to its arsenal. A 1,400-tonne Deilaman destroyer, named after a town in northern Iran, can launch torpedoes while travelling at 30 knots (56 kilometres per hour). But what do we know about the Deilaman? Lets take a closer look: What we know about the ship The vessel is 95 metres long and 11 metres wide. It can detect more than 100 targets, including vessels, drones, helicopters, submarines and aircraft, simultaneously. As per PressTV.Ir, Deilaman can for a long time, search, discover, identify, monitor and confront and, if necessary, repel any air, surface and subsurface threats. It can also carry helicopters on its deck. As per Mehrnews.com, the ship is part of the Mowj class destroyers which weigh around 1,500 tonnes. As per Jerusalem Post, the Mowj class destroyers, which are made indigenously, take their designs from Irans IRIS Jamaran destroyer which was launched in 2010. This is the fifth destroyer in the Mowj class. As per Tehran Times, the other ships in the class are the Dena, Sahand, Damavand and the Jamaran. While the information about the Deilaman remains scarce, it would be instructive to look at the other ships in the class. Jerusalem Post quoted Covert Shores website as writing about the Dena, Despite being launched more recently, her superstructure is less modern than the preceding IRIS Sahand. That featured slightly canted sides to reduce the radar signature, and a new 30mm Kamand AAA [anti-aircraft artillery], which is based on the Russian AK630 family. IRIS Dena has older weapons, such as the 40mm Bofors AA [anti-aircraft] gun. (According to TS2 Space, AAAs have more firepower, but AA systems are highly maneuverable and can engage aircraft at shorter ranges.) But the Dena does have a version of the Asr phased-array radar which may be a major step forward for the frigate program. The unveiling of the ship occurred at the port of Bandar Anzali. During a ceremony marking the inauguration of Deilaman, Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, chief of the Armed Forces General Staff called the Caspian a sea of peace and friendship. Iran enjoys amicable all-out military relations with all the Caspian Sea littoral states, so the Navy has once again stressed on the message of friendship by building this destroyer, which is a great masterpiece in the history of the Navy, Bagheri added. Bagheri added that Irans naval power there will serve peace, security of commercial fleets, confronting terrorists and probable incidents in the future. Irans Navy Chief Rear Admiral Shahram Irani was quoted as saying by the Eurasian Times that the ship is the most recent version of the Jamaran destroyer with modern hardware. The Tehran Times quoted Irani as saying the ship is a powerful vessel that can act very well in the fields of detection, interception, and rescue. Enemies always seek to infiltrate into the Islamic Republic through the sea but the navy of the army and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Caspian Sea will not allow the enemies to do this, Irani added as per PressTV.ir. Should Israel worry? Perhaps, say experts. This is part of a tit-for-tat war between the US, UK, and Iran, and could draw other countries in, Dimitris Maniatis, COO of private maritime security company Seagull Maritime, told Eurasian Times. Irans Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy wants to influence the geopolitical scene and show they control the Straits of Hormuz. This is the sixth warship Iran has commissioned in the Caspian Sea, the largest inland body of water in the world, shared by Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Iran. Irans warships have made occasional visits to Russian and Azerbaijani naval bases in the sea in recent years, but Iran has also criticised Azerbaijan for its close military ties with Israel, which Iran sees as an archenemy. While Russia is the biggest naval power in the Caspian, Iran has tried to have a naval presence in the sea since the late 1960s, and has been adding to its strength since the 1990s. Iran also has three naval bases on the shores of the sea. With inputs from agencies A woman in Kerala did the unthinkable against her daughters. She allowed two of her lovers to sexually abuse her children. A special fast track court on Monday sentenced her to a cumulative prison term of 40 years. The judge in his order found that the accused brings shame to motherhood and she deserves no apology. Heres the horrific tale that has shocked the entire country. Woman let two partners rape minor daughters The events unfolded between March 2018 and September 2019. The woman left her husband, who was mentally ill, to stay with her two lovers. During the time her two daughters were aged 11 and seven. The first lover Shishupalan brutally abused the girl when she was seven years and was studying in Class I. At that time, the victim told the entire incident to the accused but she did not do anything and she helped the other lover to abuse the victim, Special Public Prosecutor RS Vijay Mohan told ANI. The mother, reportedly, brought the child to his residence several times, and he assaulted the youngster in her presence. The child suffered severe injuries in her private parts. Shishupalan also abused the older child, and threatened them, so they did not disclose the matter. A case was registered in that case too and the trial has started. The incident came to light after the grandmother of the children lodged a complaint with the authorities, when the elder sister fled her mothers house with the younger. During the counselling, the children recounted the whole situation, and are currently residing in a Childrens home. Jailed for 40 years Thiruvananthapuram Fast-Track Special Judge R Rekha has sentenced the woman to 40 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 20,000 in a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) case on Monday. Special public Prosecutor R S Vijay Mohan said the mother will serve 40 years the highest of the varying jail terms as the sentences will run concurrently. He said the trial was held against the mother alone as the prime accused, Shishupalan, had died by suicide during trial. While sentencing the woman, the court said the childhood of the survivor was destroyed due to her mother who was supposed to protect her. The court has observed that the child, who should have led a happy life, became the victim of sexual abuse due to the act of the accused. The court examined 22 witnesses and 33 documents for convicting and sentencing the accused. With inputs from PTI and ANI After an agonising wait of 17 days, the 41 trapped workers inside the collapsed Silkyari tunnel in Uttarakhands Uttarkashi are finally seeing the light in the most literal of ways. Rescue teams achieved a breakthrough in their drilling operations earlier on Tuesday and the mouth of the tunnel was finally opened. By 8.30 pm, all the men were rescued, according to news agency ANI. The news comes after a team of rathole miners began manual drilling operations on Monday (27 November) to reach the 41 workers trapped within the debris. These miners were brought in after previous attempts, including the drilling by the American-made auger machine, failed and loved ones of the labourers began to lose hope. Family members, who have been camping at the site of the tunnel, were ecstatic as the rescue officials were just one step shy of bringing the labourers out. Even Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami wrote on X, As a result of the immense grace of Baba Baukh Nag Ji, prayers of crores of countrymen and the tireless work of all the rescue teams engaged in the rescue operation, the work of laying pipes in the tunnel to take out the workers has been completed. Soon all the labour brothers will be taken out. We explain how exactly the workers were pulled out of the Uttarkashi tunnel and what happens to them now. How will the workers be pulled out of the tunnel? After a series of unfortunate events, which included the auger machine breaking down, rescue teams at the tunnel site opted for vertical drilling and also called in rathole miners on Monday to physically dig through the debris at the spot. The rescue teams worked tirelessly; digging at the site and removing the muck by hand using the rat-hole mining technique while 800-mm diameter pipes were being pushed through the rubble by an auger machine. Owing to their efforts, the team on Tuesday broke through the 60-metre stretch of rubble in the Silkyara tunnel. The last pipe has reached the place where the workers are trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel after which the final stages of evacuation began. The breakthrough happened at 7.05 pm. The first worker was out just before 8 pm. Warm clothes and initial medical checkups were conducted on the rescued workers. #WATCH | The first worker among the 41 workers trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand since November 12, has been successfully rescued. pic.twitter.com/Tbelpwq3Tz ANI (@ANI) November 28, 2023 What awaits the trapped workers once they are out? According to the National Disaster Response Force, the trapped workers will follow a very strict protocol to come out of the tunnel. Authorities say that each worker will lie down on a wheeled stretcher that would be pulled by rescue workers outside using ropes. This is expected to take about two or three hours. And on the outside too, theres a strict procedure that will be followed. Forty-one ambulances have lined up at the tunnel site in Uttarkashi ready to whisk the workers away for their medical and mental check-ups. An official was quoted as telling News18 that the Air Force will also be involved, if needed with a Chinook helicopter being stationed in Chinyalisaur, for airlifting the workers in case of any medical emergency. Additionally, a green corridor has also been established to ensure their swift transportation to the nearby AIIMS in Rishikesh. AIIMS Rishikesh Assistant Professor Dr Narinder Kumar said: The rescued workers will be brought here only if medical treatment requirements cannot be met in Uttarkashi District hospital. At AIIMS Rishikesh, there are 20 beds in the trauma centre and a few ICU beds. If the workers are brought here, they can be given good medical care. A team of doctors has been constituted to be sent to Uttarkashi, if ordered by the state government. VIDEO | Uttarkashi tunnel collapse UPDATE: Preparations for airlift underway at Chinyalisaur helipad in case of a medical emergency, following the rescue of 41 workers trapped inside the tunnel. pic.twitter.com/Xv0JZgK3gW Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 28, 2023 Moreover, a designated ward has also been set up at Chinyalisaur Community Health Centre, located 30 km from the tunnel, with 41 oxygen-equipped beds. And its not just the physical health of the workers that will be looked at. Authorities have also prepared to provide mental care to the workers. Earlier, medical experts had stated that being trapped in small, confined space with no light for a long period of time could leave a psychological impact on the workers, even leading to post-traumatic stress disorder. Also read: Khichdi in bottle, yoga: How 41 workers are surviving in Uttarkashi tunnel Psychiatrists have been in touch with the workers since the last few days. They will be given proper counselling post rescue as well, an official told News18. Notably, the family members who were camping at the tunnel site were also informed by the authorities to get ready for the last stages of the ops. Keep their clothes and bags ready, officials told the families who have been keeping a vigil outside the collapsed tunnel for 17 days. Reacting to the news that their loved ones would be out in a matter of few hours, a father of one of the trapped labourers, identified as Chaudhry, told news agency PTI, It seems the long wait will be over today. Another relative, Aditya Naik, told the Indian Express, I am extremely happy and relieved with the news. We missed Diwali. We will celebrate it now. How did the labourers get trapped inside the tunnel? On 12 November, a section of the tunnel, which will connect Silkyara to Dandalgaon in Uttarakhands Uttarkashi and is being built under the Char Dham Road Project, collapsed all of a sudden in the wee hours of the morning. While some believe that a landslide caused the collapse, others have pointed out that hasty development in the hills was the cause of the tragedy. In the aftermath of the incident, NDRF and SDRF, officials from the Fire Brigade and employees of the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) rushed to the spot as part of the rescue efforts. Since then, various methods and techniques have been deployed to rescue the workers. At first, officials attempted to use an auger machine to drill, but those efforts had to be stopped after the machine broke down. Following that, officials began vertical drilling as well as rathole mining. In fact, on Monday, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, PK Mishra had visited the site and told the workers trapped inside the tunnel that they would be rescued safely at the earliest. And PK Mishra has keept his promise to the workers. With inputs from agencies The Earth has recorded its hottest year on record. Last week, it crossed the two-degree warming limit, albeit briefly. The worlds largest glacier is on the move. And climate change is to blame for all. No longer can we turn a blind eye to the climate crisis; we are running out of time to fix the disaster. This is why the focus on the annual international climate summit by the United Nations is increasing year after year. Some of the top leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Pope, are heading to Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), in early December for COP28. The meeting, where world leaders discuss dealing with climate change, has been contentious. Solutions are not always easy to come by. Will this year be any different? We take a look at why the worlds most important climate conference is hit by controversy and what we can expect this year. What is COP28? COP stands for the Conference of the Parties, where the parties stand for 197 states and a regional economic organisation. They gather once a year to discuss plans to limit climate change. The original UN climate agreement was signed in 1992. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was a treaty to curb the alarming rise of pollution, which causes global warming. The first COP was held in Berlin in 1995 and member states have been convening every year since. One of the most critical climate conferences was held in 2015. At COP21, more than 190 countries approved the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius but preferably to 1.5 degrees. COP28 is the 28th meeting and will be held in Dubai from 30 November to 12 December. Also read: The world crosses 2-degree warming limit for first time: What does it mean? Why is COP28 controversial already? The UN rotates where COP will be held every year. The UAE bid for it and it was backed by other countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Turns out, the UAE is one of the worlds top 10 oil-producing countries. Oil is a fossil fuel like coal and gas. These are one of the main causes of climate change as they release greenhouse gases when burned to produce energy. Thats not all. The president of the COP28 talks is Sultan Al Jaber, the chief executive of the state-owned oil company. The firm plans to expand production capacity, according to a report in the BBC. Critics say that is a conflict of interest to have the head of an oil company lead such a critical climate summit. Eric Njuguna, a climate justice organiser from Kenya said that Jabers dual role was a conflict of interest and called on him to resign. It is a stab in the back for poor countries to have a fossil fuel CEO on top of efforts to constrain the climate crisis, he said. It is the equivalent of appointing the CEO of a cigarette company to oversee a conference on cancer cures, campaign group 350.org said. However, in an interview with The Guardian Jaber defended his position. He said that he would bring a business mindset to the talks and was uniquely placed to push for action from the oil and gas industry. He pointed to his role as co-founder of the Masdar renewable energy company in UAE. Also read: COP28: Why Indias role is pivotal in climate justice and finance What will be discussed at COP28? The framework signed in 1992 agreed to protect the climate system for the benefit of present and future generations of humankind but it didnt discuss how. These are the talks that take centre stage at the COP summits. According to the UN, the goal of the annual conferences is to determine ambition and responsibilities, and identify and assess climate measures. At the meeting, countries are expected to discuss and agree on the next measures to cut greenhouse gases causing climate change. When it comes to climate action, results are visible mostly in the long term. Earlier in the month, UN chief Antonio Guterres listed out some of the focus points for this years meet. They include: Global stocktake: Every five years, members who signed the 2015 Paris Agreement are expected to take stock of the goal set in Paris. Jennifer Allan, who reports on climate negotiations for the International Institute for Sustainable Developments Earth Negotiations Bulletin, was quoted as saying by CBC News that the stocktake is supposed to look at where are we, in terms of reducing emissions and building resilience to climate change and supporting developing countries. The exercise has been carried out over the last year and its findings will be discussed at the gathering in Dubai. The review will lay the groundwork for ambitious actions countries must take going forward, activists hope, says a report in The New York Times. Loss and damage: There is a possibility that nations will finalise the loss and damage fund, which was created at last years COP in Egypt. While it is meant to provide financial aid to countries damaged by the impact of climate change, no money has been put into it. At the Dubai meeting, the questions of who will contribute to the fund and who will benefit from that money are likely to be resolved. Pollution fossil fuels: The UN is asking for countries to commit to phasing out all fossil fuels, with a clear time frame aligned to the 1.5 C Paris limit. This has been a contentious issue and countries are reluctant to phase down or phase out fossil fuels, especially coal. This issue is unlikely to be resolved in Dubai. Trippling renewable energy: The total installed capacity of renewable energy resources is a little less than 3,400 GW. The aim is to triple it by 2030. It is expected to be discussed at the conference in Dubai. Apart from this, there will be themed days with a focus on health, finance, food and nature. Who will be attending COP28? Heads of state and governments will attend the summit and deliver speeches on the first days. More than 160 member nations, including India, the UK, France, Germany and Japan, will be there. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the summit from 30 November to 1 December, underlying the countrys commitment to the issue of climate change, the government said in a statement. Climate change has been an important priority area of Indias G20 Presidency COP-28 will provide an opportunity to take forward these successes, it added on Sunday. Pope Francis will be the first pontiff to attend the climate conference. And King Charles, who is an advocate of climate causes, will deliver an address at the opening ceremony. UK prime minister Rishi Sunak and the newly appointed foreign secretary (and former PM) David Cameron will be attending. If we believe in the capacity of human beings to transcend our petty interests and to think on a grand scale, we cannot give up on dreaming that #COP28 will lead to an acceleration of the energy transition. This Conference can be a turning point. Pope Francis (@Pontifex) November 27, 2023 Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will be at the summit. Leaders from major oil-producing countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Syria, Russia and Iran, are among those attending, reports CNN. US president Joe Biden will not be at COP28. It is unlikely that Chinas Xi Jinping will attend. More than 36,000 delegates, which include negotiators, observers and the media, will be at the gathering, according to the United Nations climate body. The Emirates presidency said it expected about 70,000 to attend events. With inputs from agencies A 27-year-old Rohingya, Mohamed Ridoi, along with his son, has braved the perilous 12-day sea journey from vast refugee camps in Bangladesh to escape the ubiquitous threats of kidnapping, extortion, and murder. Ridoi told AFP, he was starting a peaceful life in a temporary shelter in Indonesias western Aceh Province, where more than 1,000 Rohingya people have arrived this month, the largest such influx since 2015. An increasing number of Rohingya people are leaving refugee camps in Bangladesh with their children, taking to boats in search of a better life as hopes fade of returning to Myanmar or being resettled, and camp life gets tougher, aid groups say. We are not safe in Bangladesh Ridoi and others said they were fleeing rising brutality in the camps in and around Coxs Bazar, which house over a million people and where gangs regularly abduct and torture inhabitants for ransom. One of the groups kidnapped me and demanded 500,000 Bangladeshi taka (Rs 3.79 lakh) to buy their guns, Ridoi, who left with his wife, two children and his brother, told AFP. They told me that if I couldnt give them the money, they would kill me. He said he eventually paid 300,000 takas (Rs 2.27 lakh) for his release last month and, within weeks, he was on a boat to Indonesia, arriving on 21 November. We are not safe in Bangladesh. That is why I decided to go to Indonesia to save me and my familys life, he said. Also Read: Bangladesh stops scores of Rohingya seeking to sail to Indonesia Nearly one million members of the Muslim minority from Myanmar live in bamboo-and-plastic camps in the Bangladeshi border district of Coxs Bazar, most after fleeing a military crackdown in Myanmar in 2017. A few years ago, these boats mostly carried young males, said Chris Lewa, director of the Arakan Project that helps refugees, referring to small boats that set off from the Bangladesh and Myanmar coasts, usually bound for Southeast Asia. A large number aboard are entire families, parents with children, and sometimes extended families. Rohingya traditionally take to sea in October, at the end of the rainy season, on journeys fraught with danger. The boats, often over-crowded, can sink, or run out of food and water, and the Rohingya can fall into the hands of people smugglers. Out of an estimated 1,084 Rohingya who came ashore in Indonesias Aceh province this month, 360 were children, 292 women and 238 men, according to UN refugee agency data. Of 3,572 Rohingya who have left on 34 boats this year, 31 per cent of them were children, data showed. About 65 per cent of those leaving set off from Bangladesh this year, compared with 27 per cent last year. Most of the rest leave from Myanmar. In 2022, one of the deadliest years for the Rohingya at sea, a fifth of the about 3,705 people who fled were children. Children making the boat journeys was not a trend before, said Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, Bangladeshs refugee relief and repatriation commissioner based in Coxs Bazar. Indonesia is not a member to the UN Refugee Convention and claims it is not obligated to accept Myanmar refugees, but surrounding nations have closed their doors, leaving them with few options. No choice but to take to sea Rohingya have faced persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar for decades. They are generally regarded as foreign interlopers from South Asia, denied citizenship and subjected to abuse. With little hope of settling in Bangladesh or being accepted elsewhere, they feel they have no choice but to take to sea, Rahman said. When an entire section becomes stateless, when they see no prospect of their repatriation or integrating into the countries they are settled in, they obviously become worried about the future of their next generation, he said. Also Read: Indonesia turns away boat carrying over 250 Rohingya refugees Aid workers say another factor contributing to more families deciding to take to sea is that conditions in the refugee camps are getting much more tough. This year, the UN cut food aid to the refugees in Bangladesh by a third, to $8 per person a month because it has been able to raise less than half of the $876 million (Rs 7,301 crore) needed to support them. Many parents are skipping meals. You cant even buy an egg with that, said Rahman, referring to a meal allowance of about nine Bangladeshi taka ($0.08) per person. The chances of going home to Myanmar are more slim than ever. Myanmars military government has offered talks on repatriation but no progress has been made and insecurity is deteriorating with a growing insurgency against military rule. No one can think of going back right now, said refugee Mohammed Taher in Coxs Bazar, who knows two families that recently set off for Malaysia. Some people are desperate to leave by any means. Theyre ready to take dangerous sea voyages knowing that they can end up dead. Gang violence, human trafficking, and a struggle for survival Human Rights Watch claimed last year that criminal gangs and alleged associates of Islamist armed organisations were causing fear at night in the more than two dozen Bangladesh refugee camps. The Bangladesh military ministry has identified at least 11 armed groups operating in the camps, but human rights organisations believe Dhaka is not doing enough to protect refugees from violence. These gangs have deliberately targeted Rohingya community leaders and activists as they vie for dominance and engage in operations such as drug smuggling and human trafficking. According to Bangladesh police, over 60 Rohingya refugees have been slain in camp violence this year. HRWs deputy Asia director, Phil Robertson, stated that it appears the Bangladeshi government doesnt care about the migrants fate. The bottom line is the Bangladesh government just wants all the Rohingya to go back to Myanmar as soon as possible even if (it) means subjecting the refugees to conditions of absolute misery in the camps so that they leave. Food shortages, according to Chris Lewa, director of the Arakan Project, are further deteriorating camp conditions, and entire families are now departing, rather than just groups of young males as previously seen. The profile has changed, and we now have many families. There werent many before, she explained. These days, we see small children and many families making their way. They simply want to be free of Bangladesh. Ridoi wished that moving his family to Indonesia would provide a better life for his sons. I am not qualified to be a doctor or engineer, but I am doing my best to make them one, he said. My children are everything to me. With inputs from Reuters and AFP Financial sanctions against entities named by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for their links to terrorism and terror financing should be imposed without delay and within 24 hours under the UAPA and a law against the use of weapons of mass destruction, the government has directed regulatory and probe agencies. The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the federal agency tasked to detect money laundering and black money in the countrys economic channels, has been made the nodal agency for identifying, notifying and initiating legal action against such entities under section 12A of The Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Act, 2005, also known as the WMD Act. India, as per official records, enacted the law as per its commitment to the country-specific efforts under UNSC resolution 1718 (2006) and 2231 (2015), and their successor resolutions, as mandated under section 2 of the United Nations (Security Council) Act, 1947. The department of revenue (DoR) under the Union Finance Ministry issued a directive to the countrys regulatory, investigative, intelligence gathering and state police agencies last month explaining the procedure for the implementation of the 2005 law that aims to prohibit the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, which stands for any biological, chemical or nuclear weapons. The law is a tool to affirm Indias commitment to prevent a non-state actor and a terrorist from acquiring weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems. The DoR communication, which has been accessed by PTI, says that orders have been issued under section 51A of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) of 1967 and under Section 12A of the Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Act, 2005 by government implementing targeted financial sanctions related to terrorism and terror financing as well as proliferation financing against persons and entities designated by United Nations Security Council Resolutions and the list of such designated entities is communicated by MEA (ministry of external affairs) from time to time In order to ensure that the sanctions are effective and the designated individuals or entities are not able to divert or utilise the targeted funds and assets, it is important that the sanctions are imposed without delay as required in different international conventions. As per the established conventions and practice, it is clarified that without delay in the context of all sanctions related to terrorism and terror financing as well as proliferation financing means preferably on the same business day but not later than 24 hours in any case, the DoR communication said. The directive, issued in the form of an office memorandum, has been issued to countrys banking regulator RBI, markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), insurance regulator Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), ministry of corporate affairs, the Intelligence Bureau (IB), the National Investigation Agency, chief secretaries and directors general of police of all states and Union territories, apart from other agencies in this domain. The Centre, early this year, had designated the FIU director as the central nodal officer (CNO) under section 12A of the WMD Act. This provision empowers the government, through the FIU, to freeze, seize or attach funds, financial assets or economic resources owned or controlled by the persons or entities named under the 2005 law, on similar lines of what is carried out under section 51 of the UAPA. The FIU, as per the DoR order, will notify the above-mentioned regulators and agencies after it receives the dossiers against such entities who, subsequently, will verify the particulars of the entities/individual, party to the financial transactions, match with the particulars of the designated list and in case of a match, the reporting entities shall immediately inform the transaction details with full particulars of the funds, financial assets or economic resources to the CNO (FIU director) by email, FAX and by post, without delay. If the central financial snoop agency finds that the assets are owned by or are held for the benefit of the designated individuals or entities, an order to freeze them under section 12A (of the WMD Act) would be issued by the CNO without delay and be conveyed electronically to the concerned reporting entity (like banks or financial intermediaries) under intimation to the respective regulators. The CNO will also send a copy of such a freeze order to all state governments and relevant agencies so that any individual or entity may be prohibited from making any funds, financial assets or economic resources or related services available for the benefit of the designated individuals or entities, the order said. The CNO shall also forward a copy of the order to all DGPs/commissioners of police of all states/UTs for initiating suitable action, the DoR said, adding such an order can be issued without prior notice to the designated individual or entity.The FIU will also have the powers to identify and designate such entities for reference to UNSC by India and also for de-listing such entities or individuals, as per the order. Anand Mahindra, Chairperson of Mahindra and Mahindra, on Tuesday praised Australian tunnel rescue expert Arnold Dix, currently involved in the Uttarakhand tunnel rescue mission. Mahindra shared a video of Dix, commending his optimistic and articulate approach to the rescue situation. He said, Heres an Australian giving us a master class. In the video, Dix expressed positivity despite the challenging circumstances, describing it as an epic tale from 3000 years. Its like an epic from 3000 years! A mountain has taken 41 good workers, but keeping them warm, allowing food pipes, emergency services. We, as the people, are saying give us our children back, Dix said. Watch: The art of communication is essentially the art of storytelling. Our ancient culture has its roots in storytelling. But we need to revive & refine those skills. In the meantime, heres an Australian giving us a master class pic.twitter.com/QP4huuS78u anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) November 28, 2023 Earlier today, Arnold Dix visited a temple near the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi to offer prayers for the safety of the 41 trapped workers. VIDEO | Uttarkarshi tunnel collapse UPDATE: International tunneling expert Arnold Dix offered prayers at a temple outside Silkyara tunnel for safety of trapped workers earlier today.#UttarakhandTunnelRescue pic.twitter.com/FFz0H1Z9n2 Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 28, 2023 Renowned tunneling expert Arnold Dix gained widespread media attention when he was enlisted as a crucial participant in the rescue mission aimed at evacuating the 41 workers trapped inside the collapsed Silkyara tunnel. According to information available on his official website, Dix specialises in providing guidance on the unique risks associated with underground construction. With inputs from agencies Seeing the possibility of a large number of devotees coming from Nepal after the newly built Ram Temple is open to the public, Nepali businesses are keen on investing in Ayodhya City. Nepalese individuals and businesses are showing interest in investing in Ayodhya, as mentioned by Nepals ambassador to India, Shankar Sharma. In an interview with ANI, the envoy said Although the Nepalese government is not currently involved private businesses from Nepal have already invested, and more are in the process of doing so in Ayodhya. He emphasised that once the temple is inaugurated, theres an anticipation of a significant influx of Nepalese devotees visiting Ayodhya, likening it to a swarm of devotees.For decades, there has been a tradition among Nepali people to visit Ayodhya, where they perform rituals and take soil (procession) from the sacred land to fulfil the marriage rituals of Ram and Sita in Janakpur in Nepal, he told ANI. The Nepal envoy Shankar Sharma said, I think this inauguration of Ram temple in Ayodhya will give a very strong and positive message to all Nepali people because Im sure when this is inaugurated, almost everybody in Nepal would like to come and visit this place. So that will also, I think, have very significant and vital importance in strengthening the Nepal-India relationship. Sharma stressed that the Ram Temple is extremely important to Nepal. He noted that hundreds of thousands of people from Nepal will visit Ayodhya every year in the future. Top Nepalese government officials, including the President and Prime Minister, are expected to be invited to the inauguration of the Ram Temple on January 22 next year. Several dignitaries, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, will attend the Ram Temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya. China, U.S. to take major country responsibility for benefit of world 14:58, November 28, 2023 By Zhong Sheng ( People's Daily The San Francisco meeting between the Chinese and U.S. Presidents is significant for enhancing trust, removing suspicion, managing differences and expanding cooperation between China and the United States. It is also significant for injecting certainty and stability into a world of turbulence and transformation. As two major countries and permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, China and the United States shoulder special international responsibilities and obligations. Chinese President Xi Jinping said during the San Francisco meeting that the two countries should jointly shoulder responsibilities as major countries, stressing that the problems facing human society cannot be solved without cooperation between major countries. China and the United States should lead by example, step up coordination and cooperation on international and regional issues, and provide more public goods for the world. The two sides should keep their initiatives open to each other, or coordinate and connect them for synergy, to the benefit of the world. To shoulder responsibilities of a major country requires having a grand vision of a major country. Xi pointed out that China and the United States are faced with two options in the era of global transformations unseen in a century: One is to enhance solidarity and cooperation and join hands to meet global challenges and promote global security and prosperity; and the other is to cling to the zero-sum mentality, provoke rivalry and confrontation, and drive the world toward turmoil and division. The two choices point to two different directions that will decide the future of humanity and Planet Earth. Speaking from his vantage point, Xi said at a welcome dinner by friendly organizations in the United States that China is ready to be a partner and friend of the United States, and the fundamental principles that China follows in handling China-U.S. relations are mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation. The role and responsibility of a major country lie in its actions to uphold world peace and security, and promote global development and prosperity. Over the past more than half a century, the resumption and development of China-U.S. relations benefited the two peoples and promoted world peace, stability and prosperity. At present, as the world sees increasing instabilities and uncertainties, it is an aspiration shared by the two peoples and people of the world that China and the United States enhance coordination and cooperation, each run their domestic affairs well and, at the same time, work together to advance the noble cause of world peace and development. During the San Francisco meeting, the two presidents offered views guiding the most pronounced issues confronting China-U.S. relations, including adopting a correct perception of each other, properly managing differences, and advancing dialogue and cooperation. They had all-round discussions on addressing the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the Ukraine crisis, climate change, artificial intelligence and other global challenges. They further discussed the right way for the two major countries to get along with each other and further identified the joint responsibilities of China and the United States as major countries. It is believed by the international community that the meeting was constructive and has injected stability and certainty into the changing world. It's a due responsibility of major countries to strengthen coordination and cooperation on international and regional issues. China and the United States are the world's two largest economies. Their economic aggregates account for over 1/3 of the world's total, and their bilateral trade about 1/5. The relations between the two countries decide the economic climate of the world. Attempts at decoupling or severing supply chains in defiance of underlying laws would not help boost the U.S. economy. They would only make the world economy more vulnerable. The Asia-Pacific is a region where Chinese and American interests are most tightly entwined and interact most frequently. The two countries should strengthen cooperation and work toward the goal of building an open, dynamic, resilient and peaceful Asia-Pacific community by 2040. Providing more public goods to the world is a crucial manifestation of shouldering the responsibilities of a major country. Xi said at the welcome dinner by friendly organizations in the United States that the Belt and Road Initiative as well as the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative proposed by China are open to all countries at all times including the United States. China is also ready to participate in U.S.-proposed multilateral cooperation initiatives. China has put forward a series of important initiatives to address global challenges, which have received widespread support and participation from the international community. China and the United States should jointly provide more public goods for the world, and the two sides should keep their initiatives open to each other, thus enhancing coordination and synergy. This will better promote the well-being of people in all countries. Issues related to climate change have attracted increasing global attention. China and the United States enjoy great potential for cooperation in the fields of promoting green development and addressing climate change. There is every reason for the two sides to strengthen cooperation in this aspect and make it a new highlight in the development of China-U.S. ties. During the San Francisco meeting, both Xi and Biden underscored the importance of working together to accelerate efforts to tackle the climate crisis in this critical decade. They welcomed recent positive discussions between their respective special envoys for climate, including on national actions to reduce emissions in the 2020s and on common approaches toward a successful 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and on operationalizing the Working Group on Enhancing Climate Action in the 2020s to accelerate concrete climate actions. As the COP28 is approaching, the consensus reached between the Chinese and the U.S. presidents has undoubtedly boosted global confidence in tackling climate change. We are in an era of challenges and changes. It is also an era of hope. The world needs China and the United States to work together for a better future. For the shared interests and the future of humanity, China and the United States should jointly shoulder the responsibilities as major countries, work together to address global challenges, strive to enhance the well-being of their peoples, and promote the progress of the human society. (Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People's Daily to express its views on foreign policy and international affairs.) (Web editor: Chang Sha, Wu Chaolan) Union Home Minister Amit Shah expressed his gratitude to all rescue personnel after the 41 trapped workers were evacuated from the collapsed Silkyara Tunnel in Uttarakhand on Tuesday evening. It is great news for the nation that all our 41 Shramik brothers trapped in a tunnel in Uttarkashi have been rescued safe and sound. Nation salutes their grit in facing such a challenging situation in the tunnel for so long, Amit Shah said in a statement on social media. My heartfelt gratitude to all the people and the agencies that have made tireless efforts to save the lives of our fellow citizens, he added. All 41 trapped workers were rescued from the Silkyari tunnel in Uttarakhand on Tuesday evening after a harrowing ordeal that lasted for 17 tense days. The successful evacuation followed several days of painstaking and tense recue efforts by several agencies. Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari congratulated the agencies involved after all the 41 workers trapped in the collapsed Silkyara Tunnel in Uttarakhand were successfully rescued on Tuesday evening. I am completely relieved and happy as 41 trapped laborers in the Silkyara Tunnel Collapse have been successfully rescued. This was a well-coordinated effort by multiple agencies, marking one of the most significant rescue operations in recent years. Various departments and agencies complemented each other despite facing numerous challenges. Tireless and sincere efforts by everyone, coupled with prayers from all, have made this operation possible. The dedicated endeavors of the rescue teams have yielded favorable results, Gadkari said in a statement on social media. I express gratitude to each agency and individual involved in this rescue operation. Deep appreciation for the international rescue experts, administrative officers, and the Uttarakhand government for their swift and effective response, he added. The union minister also thanked PM Narendra Modi Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Dhami for aiding the successful operation. I take this opportunity to thank the Honble PM Shri @narendramodi Ji, who has been constantly monitoring the entire operation and providing guidance and support whenever required. CM Uttarakhand Shri @pushkardhami Ji and my colleague Shri @Gen_VKSingh Ji almost camped there during the operation. Last but not least, I thank the officers and engineers of MoRTH for their sincere efforts, Gadkari wrote. All 41 trapped workers were rescued from the Silkyari tunnel in Uttarakhand on Tuesday evening. The successful evacuation followed several days of painstaking and tense recue efforts by several agencies. The successful rescue effort drew cheers and jubilation from the crowd of rescue workers and assembled locals. A portion of the tunnel that was located between 205 and 260 metres from the Silkyara side collapsed on November 12. Workers trapped with their exit blocked were those who had crossed the 260-meter mark. President Droupadi Murmu praised the rescue teams for what she described as one of the most difficult rescue missions in history after all 41 trapped workers were evacuated from the collapsed Silkyara Tunnel in Uttarakhand on Tuesday evening. The President also praised the trapped workers for their resilience and thanked them for their service to the nation. I feel relieved and happy to learn that all the workers trapped in a tunnel in Uttarakhand have been rescued. Their travails over 17 days, as the rescue effort met with obstacles, have been a testament of human endurance. The nation salutes their resilience and remains grateful to them for building critical infrastructure, even at great personal risk, far away from their homes, President Droupadi Murmu said in a statement on social media. I congratulate the teams and all experts who have acted with incredible grit and determination to perform one of the most difficult rescue missions in history, she added. All 41 trapped workers were rescued from the Silkyari tunnel in Uttarakhand on Tuesday evening. The successful evacuation followed several days of painstaking and tense recue efforts by several agencies. Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been summoned by a MP/MLA court on December 16 in connection with a 2018 case for making derogatory comments against Union Home Minister Amit Shah at a Bengaluru event. The complaint was lodged by then BJP district vice-president, Vijay Mishra. I was the vice president of BJP when this incident happened. Rahul Gandhi had accused Amit Shah in Bengaluru and called him a murderer. When I heard these allegations, I felt very pained because I am a 33-year-old worker of the party. I filed a complaint regarding this through my lawyer and this continued for almost 5 years. Today a decision has been taken by the court, Vijay Mishra told news agency ANI. Santosh Kumar Pandey, the lawyer appearing for Vijay Mishra said that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi can be given a maximum punishment of 2 years if sufficient evidence is found against him. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi held a press conference in Bengaluru. About 5 years ago, Amit Shah who is currently the Home Minister, objectionable remarks were made against him. On August 4, 2018, this case was filed in the District and Sessions Court of MP-MLA Court Sultanpur. In which on Monday, Judge Yogesh Kumar Yadav of MP MLA Court Sultanpur has summoned Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on December 16. This statement came from Rahul Gandhi during the Karnataka elections in Bengaluru in 2018, Pandey said. When the information came through social media and TV news channels, the then District Vice President of BJP, Vijay Mishra had filed a complaint. Statements of three witnesses were taken in the complaint. He (Rahul Gandhi) can be given a maximum punishment of 2 years in this entire case if sufficient evidence is found against him. Either Rahul Gandhi should appear in court and get his bail and if he does not come then the court can take action against him, he added. A major breakthrough has been reached in the Uttarkashi tunnel rescue operation as the pipe-laying work to rescue the 41 trapped workers has been completed. The workers are expected to come out in an hour. As a result of the immense grace of Baba Baukh Nag Ji, prayers of crores of countrymen and the tireless work of all the rescue teams engaged in the rescue operation, the work of laying pipes in the tunnel to take out the workers has been completed. Soon all the labor brothers will be taken out, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said in a post on X. , Pushkar Singh Dhami (@pushkardhami) November 28, 2023 Meanwhile, preparations at the Community Health Center in Chinyalisaur where the workers will be treated following their rescue have also been completed. The rescued workers will be brought here only if medical treatment requirements cannot be met in Uttarkashi District hospital. At AIIMS Rishikesh, there are 20 beds in Trauma Centre and a few ICU beds. If the workers are brought here, they can be given good medical care. A team of doctors has been constituted to be sent to Uttarkashi, if ordered by the state government, AIIMS Rishikesh Assistant Professor Dr Narinder Kumar said. #WATCH | As Uttarkashi tunnel rescue operation enters final stage, AIIMS Rishikesh Assistant Professor Dr Narinder Kumar says, The rescued workers will be brought here only if medical treatment requirements cannot be met in Uttarkashi District hospital. At AIIMS Rishikesh, there pic.twitter.com/vfgCfqBOSi ANI (@ANI) November 28, 2023 Earlier today, authorities launched multi-pronged operations to rescue the 41 trapped workers from the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand. Both manual and vertical drilling works are being carried out at similar paces from inside the tunnel and atop the hill respectively. Pipes have been inserted up to 52 metres through the rubble at Silkyara tunnel, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Tuesday as efforts to rescue the 41 workers trapped there continued for the 17th day. Over 12 rat hole mining experts have been employed in the horizontal excavation efforts who have been working their way through the last 10 or 12-metre stretch of debris of the collapsed portion of the under-construction tunnel on Uttarakhands Char Dham route since Monday. #WATCH | Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand) tunnel rescue | Visuals from the Silkyara tunnel where the operation to rescue 41 workers is ongoing. Manual drilling is going on inside the rescue tunnel and auger machine is being used for pushing the pipe. As per the last update, about 2 pic.twitter.com/26hw32fChI ANI (@ANI) November 28, 2023 However, officials part of the vertical drilling team said that the work undertaken from the mouth of the tunnel is seen as the more feasible rescue option and that it will be completed faster than vertical drilling. All the experts have been working for a long time. 52 metres of drilling work has been done, everyone is fine, everyone is full of energy. We hope the work will be completed as soon as possible. The manner in which the work is ongoing, we hope that there will be a breakthrough very soon, Dhami said. #WATCH | Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand) tunnel rescue | CM Pushkar Singh Dhami says, All engineers, experts and others are working with all their strength. As of now, pipe has gone 52 metres in. The manner in which the work is ongoing, we hope that there will be a breakthrough very pic.twitter.com/MNacENvwti ANI (@ANI) November 28, 2023 #WATCH | Uttarakashi (Uttarakhand) tunnel rescue | CM Pushkar Singh Dhami says, Almost 52 metres has been done (pipe inserted). It is expected that there will be a breakthrough around 57 metres. 1 metre of the piple was pushed in before me, if 2 metres more of it is pushed in it pic.twitter.com/cwVSYLtp8x ANI (@ANI) November 28, 2023 Meanwhile, talking to ANI, Micro tunnelling expert Chris Cooper said, It went very well last night. We have crossed 50 metres. Its now about 5-6 metres to goWe didnt have any obstacles last night. It is looking very positive. Rat-hole miners are carrying out the manual drilling work which has been going on since Monday night. The debris thus generated is taken out manually using ropes from the rescue pipe. With inputs from agencies The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has said that the Silkyara tunnel rescue operation is near a breakthrough but not there yet as 2 metres of digging are still left. Earlier today, pipe-laying work to rescue the 41 trapped workers had been completed after 17 days of intense efforts. We are near a breakthrough but not yet there. Manual work has carried on and we have reached 58 metres. The debris had been cut and the work was going on the entire night. Our rat miners, experts and Army engineers have been able to take it to 58 metres and the pipe has been pushed with the help of the auger machine Lieutenant General (Retd.) Syed Ata Hasnain, Member, NDMA said. VIDEO | There are 41 people inside (tunnel) and outside there are several people who are involved in the rescue work, safety and security these people are equally important. We are not in any hurry, says Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain, NDMA member, on Uttarkashi tunnel rescue. pic.twitter.com/looL7erE6y Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 28, 2023 Considering the gravity of the situation and keeping the workers safety in mind, NDMA is not in a hurry, Hasnain said. He added, We are at 58 metres, we are hoping that after 2 metres, we can say that it has passed through. The trapped workers inside have said they can hear noises of work being done and an estimate can be made where the tunnel will pass through. #WATCH | Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand) tunnel rescue | Lieutenant General (Retd.) Syed Ata Hasnain, Member, NDMA, says We are at 58 metres, we are hoping that after 2 metres, we can say that it has passed through. The trapped workers inside have said they can hear noises of work pic.twitter.com/1f8CcXyrPP ANI (@ANI) November 28, 2023 The time taken to evacuate each worker will be 3-5 minutes while the entire operation will take about 3-4 hours to conclude. Three teams of NDRF will go inside the tunnel to organise the evacuation. SDRF will provde support. Paramedics will also go inside the tunnel at the time of evacuation, Hasnain said. #WATCH | On evacuation of trapped workers from Silkyara tunnel, Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd), Member, NDMA says, It is estimated that it will take 3-5 minutes to evacuate each of the 41 persons. The entire evacuation is expected to take 3-4 hours. Three teams of NDRF will go pic.twitter.com/UyJvWSFRTJ ANI (@ANI) November 28, 2023 Preparations at the Community Health Center in Chinyalisaur where the workers will be treated following their rescue have also been completed. The rescued workers will be brought here only if medical treatment requirements cannot be met in Uttarkashi District hospital. At AIIMS Rishikesh, there are 20 beds in Trauma Centre and a few ICU beds. If the workers are brought here, they can be given good medical care. A team of doctors has been constituted to be sent to Uttarkashi, if ordered by the state government, AIIMS Rishikesh Assistant Professor Dr Narinder Kumar said. As the trapped workers are just moments away from coming out, international tunneling expert Arnold Dix offered prayers at a temple outside the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi for the safety of the 41 men. VIDEO | Uttarkarshi tunnel collapse UPDATE: International tunneling expert Arnold Dix offered prayers at a temple outside Silkyara tunnel for safety of trapped workers earlier today.#UttarakhandTunnelRescue pic.twitter.com/FFz0H1Z9n2 Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 28, 2023 A major breakthrough was reached in the Uttarkashi tunnel rescue operation as the pipe-laying work to rescue the 41 trapped workers was completed earlier today. The workers are expected to come out in an hour. Meanwhile, preparations at the Community Health Center in Chinyalisaur where the workers will be treated following their rescue have also been completed. Preparations are in full swing to receive the trapped workers after they are rescued from the tunnel with officials bringing garlands at the site of the operation. #WATCH | Garlands brought to Silkyara tunnel rescue site in anticipation of early rescue of 41 trapped workers#Uttarakhand pic.twitter.com/71opSj1sKt ANI (@ANI) November 28, 2023 Family members of the trapped workers are eagerly waiting for their arrival outside the tunnel. We are happy that they will be rescued soon, said family members of the stranded workers. We will welcome them in a nice way. We had told them that the rescue team would reach them soon. #WATCH | Family members of the trapped workers who are expected to be rescued soon from the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi say, We are happy that they will be rescued soon. We will welcome them in a nice way. We had told them that the rescue team would reach them soon. pic.twitter.com/sRmEz5Dp64 ANI (@ANI) November 28, 2023 Meanwhile, ambulances, NDRF troops, SDRF personnel, and staff from many other agencies have been stationed near the tunnels entrance. According to official sources, the NDRF crew will walk inside the tunnel one by one to free the trapped labourers. British media has yet again brought up the issue of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, citing a warning issued to the Indian government of a supposed planned attack against him on US soil. The curious point? This was issued in June, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Washington, on what by any account, was a highly successful visit. Why the UK media decided to print this now is unclear, except that the publishing of the story led to the US National Security Council spokesperson issuing yet another statement on how seriously the issue was being considered. All this at a time, when London resembles a war zone as tens of thousands of anti-Palestine protests engulfed the city. These scenes are being replicated in Sweden, France and the Netherlands, even disrupting New York. A no-news report All of this becomes even more interesting due to a recent report from DisinfoLab which pointed to some curious features. First the timing. reason The Financial Times quotes a source (always a useful ploy to insert a story) as saying that the warning was not just issued in June, but seems to have preceded the Canadian allegations against India on the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar (18 June). As a story it has nothing new in it, but it does hold a carefully constructed warning. It notes The US Department of Justice is debating whether to unseal the indictment and make the allegations public or wait until Canada finishes its investigation into Nijjars murder. In other words, its talking about possible future revelations. The whole story ( unsurprisingly) ends with the usual trite comment on India being headed by a Hindu nationalist party etc. The report also carefully notes, that the information (on the alleged hit) had been shared with allies. Clearly, that is a reference to the Five Eyes (Australia, UK, US, Canada and New Zealand). The article caused a furore in the media. The Ministry of External Affairs responded said US had shared inputs on a nexus between organised criminals, terrorists and others, which was shared with relevant departments for further action. After that, it very wisely said nothing. Digging out the data The Disinfo report also notes other propaganda efforts. This includes a BBC report by a UK think tank Centre for Information Resilience, on Real Sikh influence network pushing Indian nationalism. That report claimed that a coordinated influence operation was underway on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram using fake identities, to act as influencers within the Sikh community to discredit the push for Sikh independence and stoke cultural tensions etc, and promote Indian government content. That, in turn, was tied to the farmers protests, with the author Benjamin Strick, noting concerning indications of information warfare against minorities in India. Disinfolab took the report apart, noting that the large-scale info warfare in fact consisted of 33 Twitter handles, most of which in fact reported actual news, or mocked Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. It also observed that around this time, a far larger network was exposed by them, with about 186 handles, and most were created on a single day. None of the many such fake news networks merited the attention of the BBC or the think tank. The UKs own Disinfo? The ultimate irony? One of the co-founders of the think tank, was linked to the highly controversial Integrity Initiative set up as part of a charity named Institute of Statecraft, and funded quietly through UK government, ostensibly worked against Disinfo campaigns. What it was found to be doing was also meddling in the internal politics of the country, covert manipulation of the public sphere, and creating networks of academics and journalists for that purpose. In other words, a hefty disinfo organisation in its own right that is spread right across the world. Strick is a former BBC employee and was also associated with the UK government and was most of the members. And it was this Institute which was supporting a Khalistani-propelled initiative, that even the meanest intelligence could understand was being propelled from Pakistan. After all Pannun and the crowd only identified Indian Punjab as part of their Khalistan, leaving out the Pakistani half. Nothing surprising for India in that since Khalistani leaders have been operating from there for years. But the question that arises is whether it is also being run from the UK. More irony The period of the farmers protests and the Amritpal Singh incident exposed how the Khalistanis though a small majority have managed to infiltrate the political system. The Sikh Federation of UK has been supportive of all these causes and is also closely allied to the British Sikh APPG (All Party Parliamentary Group), chaired by Preet Gill, an MP whose tweets in the past, has more than established her support for the Khalistan cause. Other MPs like Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, have been openly supportive of the farmers protest, calling it the largest protest on the planet. But heres the interesting aspect. He is rabidly anti-Semitic as apparent from his Parliament record. He is also equally supportive of separatism in Kashmir. He also called out the Article 370 as unacceptable. The two causes have often been twinned in terms of protests against India. What is notable is that the Kashmir-Khalistan project is also apparent in the United States, where Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has declared that an Urduistan will be created to separate Kashmir from India. That is only the tip of the iceberg, The report from Hudson Institute outlines the entire connect that is being wrought between the two. Yet other reports note the close alliances being formed between the Kashmiri and the Palestinian causes. That includes funding from Jamaat e Islami for jihad in Israel, and website of the Ban, Divestment, Sanctions Movement also includes not just exhortations to Indian but also Joint Struggle against India, for adopting Israeli methods of repression. Another twist. It also declares that it supports Indian farmers. A range of charities in the US support these causes, sometimes unknowingly. Earlier this year, this issue was raised in the House when USAID was charged with funding HHRD (Helping Hands for Relief and Development) an outfit known to be linked to terror. In simpler terms, the lines between Khalistani, Kashmiri, and Palestinian outfits are becoming increasingly blurred each day, as the conflict sparks protests around the world. This proximity is dangerous for the host countries and has the potential to spiral out of control. That they are being tolerated at the very least in the US, openly supported in Canada, and perhaps being used for intel games in the UK, is something Delhi has to factor, into its policies. Meanwhile, our own intel needs to dig up the links between all these groups and present them as a fait accompli to Washington, a relationship that matters the most to Delhi. Meanwhile, both need to understand that there are others who want the US-India relationship to falter. Thats why Pannun has been reaching out to China as well, thanking Beijing for its support for a referendum. As the international system enters a period of severe flux, it is vital that countries know who their friends are. Even more importantly, they need to also recognise their frenemies. The writer is a Distinguished Fellow at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi. She tweets @kartha_tara. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Bangladesh, Indias eastern neighbour, is currently grappling with political turmoil, drawing criticism from Western nations. The Human Rights Watch has accused the ruling Awami League government in Dhaka of attempting to eliminate competition with over 10,000 arrests in the past two months. As the country approaches its general election scheduled for 7 January, tensions are escalating. Oppositions concerns The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the main opposition party, has not registered for the upcoming polls and plans to boycott the election. They demand Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas government step down, advocating for a caretaker government to oversee the elections. However, Bangladesh abolished the caretaker system in 2011, leaving the opposition parties sceptical of the electoral process. In response to the political situation, Bangladesh has witnessed a series of protests and general strikes, many turning violent. At least 16 people, including two police officers, have lost their lives. Public property has been torched leading to widespread suffering among the general public. Impact on daily lives The ongoing strikes and protests have had a significant impact on the daily lives of citizens. What will the poor people do during hartal (strike)? The poor depend on their daily income which is rare during strike periods. We dont have savings to break for the bad time. I have been wandering since morning for work. But no luck. How will we survive? Every price is skyrocketing. How will we save our families? We are still trying to remain calm, said day labourer Mizanur Rahman. Local resident Adam Hossain said, Its very normal to be afraid during such strikes and blockades especially with these public buses being burnt. It seems we are deliberately facing risks by stepping out during these periods. But what else can we do? Current situation The opposition recently called for another strike, resulting in reports of vehicles being torched across Bangladesh. The opposition parties have also directed their criticism towards Prime Minister Hasina and, notably, India. A senior opposition leader accused India of taking a stand against Bangladesh by supporting the Sheikh Hasina government, a claim considered baseless. On another front, some in Bangladesh are concerned about alleged interference from the United States. The Chief Election Commissioner expressed worry about American interference, referencing visa restrictions imposed in September on individuals deemed to undermine Bangladeshs elections. Russia has accused the US of meddling in Bangladeshs domestic affairs, characterising it as neo-colonialism. Washington, while denying these allegations, continues to exert pressure on Prime Minister Hasinas government. Visa restrictions and other measures are seen as tactics to influence the upcoming elections. As Bangladesh navigates through these challenging times, questions linger about the potential success of the American strategy and its impact on the political landscape. Will it lead to more protests and violence? How will Dhaka respond to international criticisms and pressures? The weeks leading up to the general election promise to be critical in determining Bangladeshs political future. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. There are few things Indians love as much as weddings. While dictionaries may define weddings simply as marriage ceremonies, in India, they represent much more. Indian weddings are extravagant celebrations that go beyond the conventional understanding of marriage ceremonies. In fact, a modest wedding is considered an oxymoron in the Indian context. Spread across about three weeks, between late November and mid-December, close to four million weddings are expected to be held in India. Collectively, these weddings are projected to bring in a staggering $51 billion. This thriving industry sees Indians spending over $7 billion on jewellery, booking hotel rooms worth $600 million and purchasing apparels worth over a billion dollars each year. Destination weddings: The epitome of grandeur While weddings in India are known for their opulence, the most extravagant among them are the big, fat destination weddings. India, with over 7,90,000 high-net-worth individuals, including 161 billionaires, has become a land of the rich and famous. The flourishing economy and celebrity endorsements have further amplified aspirations. High-profile Indian families have taken destination weddings to a global level. Chartering flights, renting gondolas in Venice, hiring Michelin-starred chefs in Rome and even shutting down famous casinos in Monte Carlo are not uncommon for these elite celebrations. In 2022, popular destinations included Paris in France, Istanbul in Turkey, Tuscany and the Amalfi Coast in Italy. This years itinerary features Rome and Lake Como in Italy, Cancun in Mexico and Budapest in Hungary. Challenges for the Indian wedding business Despite the glamour associated with international destination weddings, it poses a challenge for the Indian wedding business. While the average wedding can cost anywhere from $3,000 to $1,20,000, extravagant destination weddings can range from one to five million dollars. With over 600 thousand dollars spent on a two-day hotel booking for guests, the trend threatens the domestic wedding industry. Government initiatives Recognising the impact of destination weddings on the domestic economy, Indias Ministry of Tourism has launched a campaign to promote weddings within the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also voiced concerns about the trend, questioning the necessity of going abroad for weddings. For many Indians, destination weddings may not be necessary, considering the diverse and picturesque locations within the country. States like Rajasthan, Goa, Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu offer beautiful landscapes and historical palaces, making India an ideal choice for destination weddings. As the debate continues, the grandeur and economics of Indian weddings remain a fascinating aspect of the countrys cultural and economic landscape. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. In the mountainous terrain of Uttarakhand, a harrowing situation has unfolded over the past 14 days. Forty-one workers find themselves stuck beneath the rubble of a collapsed tunnel, facing a race against time for their rescue. Despite numerous attempts and changing strategies, the mission to extricate them has proven to be a formidable challenge. Unfolding crisis On 12 November, what started as an ordinary workday for these 41 men turned into a nightmare when the tunnel they were working in caved in. Since then, rescuers have tirelessly sought ways to bring them to safety, battling obstacles such as loose debris, rocks and precarious terrain. The clock has been ticking, with each passing hour intensifying the urgency of the situation. The initial optimism of imminent rescue was dashed when a drilling machine, a crucial tool in the operation, suffered damage, halting progress. The president of the International Tunneling and Underground Space Association, Arnold Dix, emphasised the challenges, stating, The drilling, the augering has stopped. Its too much for the auger, its like our auger is not going to do anything more. Were looking at, as we have always been, multiple options but with each option, were considering how do we make sure that 41 men come home safe and we dont hurt anyone. Authorities are now exploring multiple options to overcome the hurdles. Manual digging has become a primary focus, with rescuers already making progress by hand after the machine broke down. Australian micro-tunneling expert Chris Cooper explained, Were breaking out the cutter head, will be about another two hours and then the intention is to do the next nine metres by hand tunnelling. Thats the situation at the moment. Parallel efforts Simultaneously, vertical drilling is being considered as an alternative route. While this option presents a considerable risk, authorities are weighing the potential benefits. However, the process is time consuming, requiring over 100 hours and brings with it the fear of further destabilising the terrain. As if the situation wasnt challenging enough, the impending bad weather adds an extra layer of complexity. Forecasted rain, thunderstorms, hail and lower temperatures could disrupt rescue efforts, potentially causing further complications. Amidst the technical and environmental challenges, the 41 men remain trapped but in good spirits, receiving essential supplies such as oxygen and cooked food. However, the ordeal continues for them and their families, with no imminent end in sight. As the clock keeps ticking, the collective efforts of rescuers, experts and authorities are dedicated to ensuring the safe return of these 41 individuals from the depths of the collapsed tunnel. The ongoing saga underscores the unpredictable nature of rescue operations in challenging terrains and serves as a poignant reminder of the resilience and determination required in the face of adversity. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. In the turbulent landscape of Myanmar, a month-long conflict has unfolded, marking a significant shift in the power dynamics of the region. What began as a coordinated offensive by rebel groups, collectively known as the Brotherhood Alliance, against the military junta, has now escalated into a multifaceted crisis with far-reaching implications. The Brotherhood Alliances offensive The Brotherhood Alliance, comprising three rebel groups, initiated its offensive in the northeastern state of Shan. Starting with skirmishes, the rebels quickly expanded their attacks, spreading across multiple regions. The rebels, making substantial tactical gains, have reportedly overrun at least 180 military installations, according to various reports. One notable development is the inclusion of the Chin National Army in the rebel ranks. This collaboration has put the Myanmar military on the defensive causing a significant shift in the balance of power. The rebels progress has now reached the Chin State, where towns like Lai-Len-Pi have fallen to anti-junta forces. Refugee crisis and Indias response The fighting has spilled over into Indias northeastern state of Mizoram with the capture of towns near the border. As a result, a refugee crisis has emerged, compelling India to take a cautious and humanitarian approach. While offering shelter to fleeing civilians, India has also reportedly repatriated soldiers who crossed the border. When I was there (in Myanmar), there were so many problems and the army, the military they came to our village and just like go to one-by-one houses and knocking the doors and ask them to come out, everybody. So some people are very scared and hiding inside the houses even though they (military) are breaking their door and let them to come out, that time is (was) very worst, said Myanmar refugee Lalremruati. Brotherhood Alliances significant advances extend to the northern Shan State, where the rebels have taken control of the crucial Myanmar-China border gate in the town of Muse. This strategic location, vital for trade, has now become a focal point in the conflict. The border takeover has led to violent clashes, prompting China to conduct live-fire military drills on its side of the border, a move not seen since 2017. Myanmar militarys response and crackdown In response to the escalating conflict, reports indicate that the Myanmar military has resorted to forced conscription in Yangon, causing panic among civilians. The military junta has dismissed these allegations as baseless, but the crackdown on mobile internet services and the prosecution of individuals using satellite internet further highlight the severity of the situation. As the conflict intensifies, civilians bear the brunt of the crisis. According to the United Nations, over 300,000 people have been displaced in just one month, facing shortages of food and water and living in constant fear for their lives. Despite the alarming humanitarian situation, there has been a notable absence of a unified international call for a ceasefire, raising concerns about the lack of global attention on Myanmars plight. Myanmars escalating conflict demands urgent international attention and intervention to alleviate the suffering of civilians caught in the crossfire. As the crisis unfolds, the geopolitical implications for neighbouring countries, particularly India and China, underscore the need for a coordinated and decisive response to bring an end to the violence and pave the way for a sustainable peace in the region. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Tesla, owned by Elon Musk, has filed a lawsuit against the Swedish Transport Agency after postal workers refused to deliver license plates for the companys cars as a show of solidarity with striking workers. The strikes and blockades are a result of Swedish unions pressuring Tesla to sign a collective bargaining agreement with employees in its service division, including technicians and mechanics. The Swedish union IF Metall initiated a strike on October 27, with members refusing to service Teslas cars until the company agrees to collective bargaining. Other unions, including dockworkers, electricians, and cleaners, have joined the strike to express solidarity. In response to the license plate delivery blockade, Tesla filed a lawsuit against the Swedish government, claiming that it has a constitutional obligation to provide registration plates to vehicle owners. The lawsuit also includes the postal service. Tesla argues that the decision by the transport agency to prevent the company from picking up license plates constitutes a unique attack on a company operating in Sweden. However, a Swedish court has ruled in favour of Tesla, stating that the transport authority must find a way to deliver license plates to the electric car maker. The courts decision comes after Tesla sued the agency and state-run PostNord for the blockade. Teslas lawyer, Johannes Ericsson, confirmed the courts decision, emphasizing that it supports Teslas claim. (With input from agencies ) Indias mobile phone manufacturing sector has experienced a remarkable surge from a negligible presence to a substantial $44 billion today, with approximately $11 billion worth of these handsets being exported, announced Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, on Monday. Reflecting on the evolution over the past decade, Vaishnaw emphasized the significant expansion of electronics manufacturing in the country. Following a tour of Tata Electronics iPhone casings factory in Hosur, he noted, Ten years ago, electronics manufacturing was a very small activity in our country. Today, the magnitude of electronics manufacturing is worth 8.5 lakh crore in the country. Highlighting Indias ascent up the value chain, Vaishnaw underscored the diverse array of parts, components, and sub-assemblies now manufactured within the country. Over the past eight and a half years, India has positioned itself to take a lead role in exports within the electronics industry, according to the minister. A decade ago, a staggering 98 per cent of mobile phones used in India were imported, but today, an impressive 99.2 per cent of mobile phones are made in India, a testament to the success of the Make in India initiative, Vaishnaw revealed. The minister also commended the progress in the semiconductor industry, citing the launch of the India Semiconductor Mission on January 1, 2022. Notably, Micron Technology has initiated the construction of the countrys first chip manufacturing plant as part of this mission. With around 250,000 people directly employed in the mobile phone industry, India is witnessing a substantial boost in employment opportunities. Vaishnaw discussed the recent Tata takeover of Taiwanese company Wistrons iPhone assembly plant in Karnatakas Kolar district, highlighting the precision and technological advancements involved. Furthermore, he shared that 27 companies have received approval under the production-linked incentive 2.0 scheme for IT hardware, with at least 23 of them already operational. The minister expressed confidence that every aspect of the electronics value chain, including PCs, mobile phones, power electronics, servers, and laptops, will soon be manufactured in India. (With input from agencies) A significant increase in antisemitic incidents was reported in Germany following Hamass attack on Israel on October 7 this year, a group tracking antisemitism in Germany said. The RIAS group documented 994 incidents during this period, representing a 320% increase compared to the same time in 2022. These incidents included three cases of extreme violence, 29 attacks, damage to 72 properties, 32 threats, four mass mailings, and 854 cases of offensive behaviour. Many Jews in Germany reported experiencing antisemitic incidents in their everyday lives, contributing to feelings of insecurity and fear. RIAS said that 59 reported incidents related to homes or peoples living environment. In the southwestern town of Giessen, two men forced their way into the home of an Israeli national to remove an Israeli flag hanging out of the window. Several Jews also reported that their homes were marked with Stars of David. In one of the most severe antisemitic crimes, a synagogue in Berlin was attacked on Oct. 18. There was also a rise in antisemitic and anti-Israeli propaganda at universities in Germany, with a total of 37 incidents logged by RIAS. Jewish students reported cases in which fellow students blamed them personally for Israels politics. Some of them stopped attending classes for fear of being attacked. The monitoring group said that during the time period analyzed, about one in five incidents, or 21%, was attributed to anti-Israeli activism. A further 6% can be attributed to Islamist background, 5% of cases were classified as left-wing/anti-imperialist, while the far-right and conspiracy ideology backgrounds each account for just under 2%, RIAS wrote. 1% of the cases could be attributed to the political center and less than 1% can be attributed to the Christian/fundamentalist spectrum. In 63% of all cases, the political background was unknown, the group added. While Germanys government has been one of Israels staunchest supporters following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and the subsequent Gaza war, there were outbreaks of violence at several street protests, in Berlin especially. Jews in the German capital reported antisemitic hostility in grocery stores, on public transportation or from neighbors, and deplored that uninvolved bystanders often looked the other way instead of showing support. Berliners are called upon not to leave those affected by antisemitism alone, especially in everyday situations, said Ruth Hatlapa from RIAS. The report pointed out that since Oct 7, even more than before, Jews are once again trying to make themselves invisible to avoid being attacked. Jews are hiding signs and symbols: a cap over the kippah, the Star of David pendant under the scarf, they no longer speak Hebrew on the street, the report notes. Jewish life in Berlin has become less visible, less openly lived. With inputs from AP. The rescue of 41 workers who had been stranded within a collapsed section of an under-construction tunnel in Uttarakhand for 16 days was celebrated on Tuesday by Philip Green, the Australian High Commissioner to India. The Australian diplomat praised the rescue operation, describing it as a immense achievement as it worked its way through numerous obstacles over the course of two weeks. The Australian High Commissioner to India also emphasised the efforts of the Australian tunnelling specialist who monitored the 16-day rescue operation and supplied the technical assistance that ultimately resulted in the safe extraction of every worker who was trapped. This is an immense achievement. Well done to the authorities for successfully evacuating all 41 workers trapped in the tunnel in #Uttarkhand, the Australian High Commissioner posted from his official handle on X. Special commendation to Australias Professor Arnold Dix who provided important technical support on the ground, he added. (With agency inputs) Israels central bank has presented its most detailed assessment to date regarding the economic implications of the conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. As the bank prioritises stabilising markets, it has refrained from implementing interest-rate cuts. According to the updated outlook from the banks research department, the gross effect of the conflict on Israel is estimated at 198 billion shekels ($53 billion). More than half of this total is attributed to defence expenditure. This figure surpasses the previous estimate of 180 billion shekels for 2023-2024 provided by Leader Capital Markets. The Finance Ministry said that the conflict is costing the economy nearly $270 million every day. Earlier this week, the Calcalist financial newspaper reported on Sunday that the countrys war with Hamas will cost as much as 200 billion shekels ($51 billion), citing preliminary Finance Ministry figures. The daily said the estimate, equal to 10% of gross domestic product, was premised on the war lasting between eight to 12 months; on it being limited to Gaza, without full participation by Lebanons Hezbollah, Iran or Yemen; and on some 350,000 Israelis drafted as military reservists returning to work soon. Calcalist described the ministry as deeming 200 billion shekels an optimistic estimate. But the ministry said it does not stand by Calcalists data. Hamas gunmen from Gaza launched the deadliest attack on Israels civilians in the countrys history on Oct. 7 and Israel has since bombarded Gaza with the goal of eliminating the group. Calcalist said half of the cost would be in defence expenses that amount to some 1 billion shekels a day. Another 40-60 billion shekels would come from a loss of revenue, 17-20 billion for compensation for businesses and 10-20 billion shekels for rehabilitation. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has previously said Israels government was preparing an economic aid package for those impacted by Palestinian attacks that will be bigger and broader than during the COVID-19 pandemic. On Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the state was committed to helping everyone affected. My directive is clear: Open the taps and channel funds to whoever needs them, he said without giving figures. Just like we did during COVID. In the past decade, we have built here a very strong economy and even if the war exacts economic prices from us, as it is doing, we will pay them without hesitation. In the wake of the war, S&P cut its outlook for Israels rating to negative, while Moodys and Fitch put Israels ratings on review for possible downgrade. With inputs from Reuters. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held calls with the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders on Tuesday to discuss stalled peace talks between the Caucasus rivals. Baku and Yerevan have been locked in a decades-long conflict over control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which Baku recaptured from Armenian separatists in a lightning offensive in September. Washington, Brussels and Moscow have all been engaged in diplomatic efforts to normalise relations between the two countries, but a broad peace deal has remained elusive. Azerbaijan refused to participate in talks that were planned in the US earlier this month over what it called Washingtons biased position. In a phone call with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Tuesday, Blinken highlighted the United States enduring relations with Azerbaijan, but also noted recent points of concern in the relationship, his spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement. The call was seen as an attempt to put the US back at the centre of talks amid a diplomatic row between Washington and Baku. Earlier in November, US Assistant Secretary of State James OBrien said Washington had cancelled a number of high-level visits to Azerbaijan and condemned Bakus September 19 one-day military operation in Karabakh. After Azerbaijan recaptured the region, almost all of its 100,000 residents, mostly ethnic Armenians, fled to Armenia, triggering a refugee crisis in the country. Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but was home to a majority Armenian population for decades. It had been under the control of pro-Armenia separatists since the early 1990s. Baku said Aliyev had told Blinken that the latest statements and actions taken by the US have seriously damaged Azerbaijan-US relations. Nevertheless, it said the two sides had agreed that OBrien would visit Azerbaijan in December, and that Blinken had promised to lift a ban on Azerbaijani officials visiting the US. In a separate call, Blinken also spoke with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to highlight US support for efforts to reach a durable and dignified peace agreement, his spokesman said. Internationally mediated peace talks between the ex-Soviet republics have seen little progress so far, but both countries leaders have said a comprehensive agreement could still be signed by the end of the year. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has accused his British counterpart Rishi Sunak of cancelling a scheduled meeting to be held in London on Tuesday in a diplomatic dispute over the status of the Parthenon Sculptures. Reportedly Greece has repeatedly asked the British Museum to permanently return the 2,500-year-old sculptures that British diplomat Lord Elgin removed from the Parthenon temple in the early 19th century when he was ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. I express my annoyance that the British Prime Minister cancelled our planned meeting just hours before it was due to take place, Mitsotakis said in a statement. Greeces positions on the issue of the Parthenon Sculptures are well known. I had hoped to have the opportunity to discuss them with my British counterpart. Anyone who believes in the rightness and justice of his position is never afraid of confronting arguments, he said. The Greek government has been in discussions with British Museum chair George Osborne on a possible loan deal for the sculptures, which have been a source of dispute between the two countries for centuries. The Greek PM complained in an interview with the that talks over a possible return of the sculptures to Athens were not advancing quickly enough. He said that the continued presence of the sculptures in the British Museum was like cutting the Mona Lisa in half and it was not a question of ownership but reunification. A British government official, who asked not to be named, said the row over the marbles meant it was not suitable for the meeting to go ahead. Earlier, a spokesperson for Sunak said there were no plans to return the sculptures. Asked about Mitsotakis statement, Sunaks office said Britains relationship with Greece was hugely important and the two countries needed to work together on global challenges like tackling illegal migration. Deputy British Prime Minister Oliver Dowden was available to meet Mitsotakis to discuss these issues instead, Sunaks office said. The British government has always ruled out giving up ownership of the marbles, which include about half of the 160-metre (525-ft) frieze that adorned the Parthenon, and says they were legally acquired. A law prevents the British museum from removing objects from the collection apart from in certain circumstances, but the legislation does not prohibit a loan. A meeting between Mitsotakis and British opposition leader Keir Starmer went ahead on Monday as planned. The Financial Times last week reported that Starmer would not block a mutually acceptable loan deal for the sculptures. Describing the joy on the faces of the Hamas militants as they killed innocent people in a surprise attack on southern Israeli towns and cities on October 7 as jarring and evil, American billionaire Elon Musk told Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday that the system of education and that of bringing up young adults in the region must go through a sea-change. Offering to help rebuild Gaza after the conclusion of the Israel-Hamas war, Musk also pointed out that it was extremely important to first deradicalize the Palestinian territories. Later, referring to his meeting with Netanyahu, Musk outlined three things to implement in Gaza on priority when the task of rebuilding looms after the war is done and dusted. He advocated the complete overhaul of education in the conflict-marred West Asian region, the elimination of those murdering civilians so that a new generation of killers do not emerge and the grass root development of the region. These people have been fed propaganda since they were children. And its remarkable what humans are capable of if theyre fed falsehoods from when they are children, Musk said. They will think that the murder of innocent people is a good thing. That is how much propaganda can affect peoples minds. He elaborated that video footage of Hamas militants storming a kibbutz, a music festival and homes to capture and kill innocent Israeli citizens demonstrates exactly how much damage ruthless propaganda can cause by inciting people to be violent. The Tesla CEO also met Israeli president Isaac Herzog and Benny Gantz, the countrys former defense minister, who hoped that Musk would be actively involved in building a better future for civilians in the region. Musks visit to Israel comes as he faces widespread criticism for his decision to loosen content moderation on X after he purchased the platform last year. Since the Hamas attack, anti-Semitic content has surged more than 900 percent on the platform, according to a report by The Washington Post. Those that are intent on murder must be neutralised, Musk said. The propaganda must stop that is training people to be murderers in the future. And then, making Gaza prosperous. And if that happens, I think it will be a good future. The Israeli President responded by saying that he hoped Musk would be involved when the time came to rebuild Gaza. He also added that the fact that Musk had arrived in Israel, spoke volumes about the tech entrepreneurs commitment to try to secure a better future. Musk, earlier, had been accused of spreading anti-Semitic propaganda on his social media platform X. He had in the earlier stage of the war also been condemned by the White House for indicating support for an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory on X, a move US officials called an abhorrent promotion of anti-Semitic and racist hate. A number of major advertisers like IBM, Disney, Warner Bros and Paramount had earlier quit the platform and pulled their ads after the ads appeared next to pro-Nazi posts. the United Nations say more than 15,000 people have been confirmed killed in Israels bombardment of Gaza, around 40 per cent of them children, with many more dead feared to be lost under rubble. Israel has sworn to annihilate Hamas, the terror group that rules Gaza, after its gunmen burst across the fence and killed around 1,200 people and seized 240 captives on October 7. Eventually we will see more people dying from disease than we are even seeing from the bombardment if we are not able to put back (together) this health system, said the WHOs Margaret Harris at a UN briefing in Geneva. She repeated concerns about a rise in outbreaks of infectious diseases, particularly diarrhoeal diseases. Citing a UN report on the living conditions of displaced residents in northern Gaza, she said: (There are) no medicines, no vaccination activities, no access to safe water and hygiene and no food. We saw a very high number of cases of diarrhoea among infants, she said. She described the collapse of Al Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza as a tragedy and voiced concern about the detention of some of its medical staff by Israeli forces during a WHO evacuation convoy. James Elder, a spokesperson from the UN Childrens Agency in Gaza, told reporters by video link that hospitals in Gaza were full of children with war wounds and gastroenteritis from drinking dirty water. I met a lot of parents They know exactly what their children need. They dont have access to safe water and its crippling them, he said. He described seeing one child with part of his leg missing lying on the hospital floor for several hours, without receiving treatment for a lack of medical staff. According to the Turkish presidency, Israeli President Tayyip Erdogan informed UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday that Israel had to answer for what he described as war crimes it perpetrated in Gaza in international courts. More than 15,000 Palestinians have died as a result of Israels air and ground offensive against Hamas militants in Gaza, according to Gaza health authorities. After Hamas went on the rampage in southern Israel on October 7, killing almost 1,200 people and kidnapping 240 more, the offensive was started. Erdogan and Guterres spoke over the phone prior to a scheduled U.N. Security Council meeting on Gaza on Wednesday. Topics covered included the expectations of the international community regarding Israels unlawful attacks, the ability to bring humanitarian aid into the enclave, and efforts to bring about a lasting peace, according to the Turkish presidency. During the call, President Erdogan said Israel continues to shamelessly trample on international law, the laws of war, and international humanitarian law by looking in the eyes of the international community, and it must be held accountable for the crimes it committed in front of international law, it said in a statement. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan of Turkey will be present at the U.N. Security Council meeting in New York, according to the ministrys announcement. According to a statement, Fidan will also meet with his counterparts as a member of the so-called contact group of several Muslim nations, which was established this month to discuss Gaza with other parties and the Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Israels attacks on Gaza have drawn severe criticism from Turkey, which has demanded an immediate truce to facilitate talks on a two-state solution to the larger Israel-Palestinian problem. Erdogan claimed that Israel was a terror state and referred to the Israeli attacks on Gaza as a genocide. Israel denies these accusations and claims it is defending itself from an enemy that is determined to destroy it. Like the United States, the European Union, and several Gulf nations, Turkey does not view Hamas as a terrorist organisation, despite the fact that it harbours some of its members. of the exception of Spain and Belgium, it has charged the West of involvement because of their backing for Israel. (With agency inputs) According to a recent study, even middle-class individuals in wealthy nations emit more carbon dioxide than the richest 10% of individuals in developing nations like Brazil, India, and other countries in Asia and South America. The study, conducted by the New Delhi-based climate think tank Council for Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW), was released ahead of the UN climate talks in Dubai. It reveals that the richest 10% of developed countries and China together produce 22% more CO2 than all the developing countries combined. According to the study, a persons carbon emissions are six to fifteen times higher than those of a person in the lowest decile of income in Saudi Arabia, the US, or Australia. Using information from the World Bank and the World Inequality Database, the researchers examined per capita CO2 emissions for various income levels in 14 nations, the EU, and the ASEAN region for this study. When combined, these nations are responsible for 81% of the worlds emissions, 86% of its GDP, and 66% of its population. According to CEEW CEO Arunabha Ghosh, the analysis unequivocally demonstrates that not all people bear equal blame for rising global carbon emissions. In many developing nations, the top 10% of emitters produce fewer emissions per person than the average in wealthy nations. This emphasises the scientific underpinnings of common but differentiated responsibilities once more, particularly in light of COP28s mirror image of previous commitments and unmet promises. Leading the Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) movement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi encourages nations to eschew highly consumerist lifestyles and embrace eco-friendly living habits. Rebalancing the consumption patterns of the Global North and the Global South is called for, given the criticality of this decade (20212030) for climate action. It is clear that different countries have different historical emissions and contributions to global warming. For example, although making up only 4% of the worlds population now, the United States was responsible for 17% of worldwide emissions between 1850 and 2021. On the other hand, India, which accounts for 18% of global population, has only produced 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions to date. Oxfam International, an independent nonprofit organisation, estimates that in 2015, approximately half of the worlds emissions came from the richest 10% of the population. Significant emission reductions can result from pushing the wealthiest to adopt low-carbon lifestyles, according to the CEEW study. More than 3.4 billion tonnes of CO2 might be saved yearly if China and the richest 10% of developed nations cut their carbon footprint even by half. Furthermore, the researchers suggested that a carbon tax on China and the wealthiest 10% of industrialised nations might raise $500 billion and deter very carbon-intensive spending habits. These monies could be applied to resilience building, de-risking clean technologies, research and development, and climate change mitigation. Developed nations (or regions) and China in this study are the US, the UK, Saudi Arabia, Canada, China, Europe, Japan, Russia, Australia, and Turkey. Developing countries (or regions) include Argentina, Brazil, India, Mexico, South Africa, and ASEAN. (With agency inputs) The trial of Monique Olivier, widow of a French serial killer known as the Ogre of the Ardennes, opened on Tuesday over her role in three murders dating back several decades, including the killing of a British woman whose body was found in a river in 1990. Oliviers husband, Michel Fourniret, was charged with abduction, rape and murder in the cases but died in 2021, aged 79, before he could be brought to trial. Olivier arrived in court around 10:00 am (0900 GMT) with short, grey hair and wearing a white sweater, to face a wall of cameras. I will do my best, she told the lead judge in a low voice when asked if she would answer questions. The crimes date back to 1988 in the case of Marie-Angele Domece, who disappeared aged 18 from Auxerre, and 1990 for 20-year-old British woman Joanna Parrish, whose naked body was found in the Yonne river that runs through the department of the same name in central France. Olivier is charged with aiding and abetting the kidnapping and murder of the girls. Her third charge is for complicity in the 2003 disappearance of nine-year-old Estelle Mouzin, whose body has never been found two decades on, despite intensive searches. The body of Domece has also never been found. I regret everything that happened, Olivier told the court after lead judge Didier Safar read out the charges. It was essential to hold a trial for Olivier, said Corinne Herrmann, a lawyer representing Domeces family, adding that it was harrowing but also a release for the families. Long battle Many of the witnesses set to be called in the three-week trial are investigators from France and Belgium, where Fourniret was arrested in 2003. They are also set to include Sabine Kheris, the investigating magistrate who took Fournirets confession. She is now in charge of a recently created cold cases unit based in the Paris suburb of Nanterre. This case is the first of the units to come to trial. France has for years been simultaneously repelled and fascinated by the crimes of Fourniret, who was dubbed the Ogre of the Ardennes by media after the hilly region on the French-Belgium border where he lived and preyed on his victims. The trial is the result of a very long battle, said Didier Seban, a lawyer representing Mouzins father, Eric. That Fourniret never stood trial for the crimes shows we didnt manage to run the investigation the way it should have been, Seban said. Fourniret himself asked in 2008 to be tried in all three cases but nothing was done, Herrmann recalled ahead of the trial. The trial of Olivier alone is somewhat short of the mark for Eric Mouzin, who threw all his energy into finding out what happened to his daughter. It will be difficult to pass judgement with only a single defendant, he said, even though Olivier herself is charged with significant crimes. Neither does he hope for anything from the woman in the dock herself, beyond seeing her sentenced in line with the seriousness of the crime. No revelations Oliviers lawyer, Richard Delgenes, said the court should not expect any revelations on her part but that her participation in the process is what sets her apart from her husband. Unlike him, she takes no special pleasure in the pain of his victims or of the families, he added. The 75-year-old has already been convicted twice of aiding and abetting in some of her husbands crimes. She fled in the early 1980s from her violent first husband, with whom she had two children, before becoming a penpal of Fourniret while he was serving a jail sentence for rape. The two sealed a pact that she would find him virgins to rape if he would kill her then-husband which he never did. They lived together after he was released in 1987 buying a chateau with stolen gold dug up from a graveyard and had a son together. Olivier received a life sentence in 2008 over her role in four murders and a rape committed by Fourniret, and could face a second in the present trial. In 2018, Olivier was given a further 20 years jail for her part in the killing of Farida Hammiche, the wife of one of Fournirets former cellmates. In 2019, she overturned her husbands alibi for the day Mouzin disappeared, prompting him to admit responsibility months later. Fourniret had earlier admitted killing Parrish and Domece. Tuesday was the fifth day of the ceasefire between Israeli forces and Hamas fighters, which had been abruptly extended by at least 48 hours in order to release more hostages. From across the Israeli border, one could see a lone column of black smoke rising above the destroyed wasteland of the northern Gaza war zone, but there was no trace of jets in the sky, no sound of explosions. Both sides reported some Israeli tank fire in the Sheikh Radwan district of Gaza City in the morning, but there were no immediate reports of casualties. An IDF tank fired a warning shot after suspects approached IDF troops, an Israeli Defence Forces spokeswoman stated. 50 Israeli women and children as young as toddlers were freed by Hamas gunmen during the truce from among the 240 hostages they had taken during a violent assault in southern Israel on October 7. In exchange, Israel freed 150 women and teenagers who were detained for security reasons from Israeli prisons. Parallel to the cease-fire agreement, Hamas reportedly freed 19 foreign hostages, primarily Thai farmworkers. As long as Hamas continues to free at least ten hostages every day, Israel has stated that the ceasefire may be extended. But with fewer women and children left in captivity, keeping the guns quiet beyond Wednesday could require negotiating to free at least some Israeli men for the first time. The two-day extension had been agreed upon in accordance with the parameters of the initial offer, Israeli Security Cabinet Minister Gideon Saar told Army Radio, adding that Israel was still willing to prolong the truce further in the event that more captives were freed. Immediately upon the completion of the hostage-recovery framework, the warfighting will be renewed, he stated. According to Majed Al-Ansari, a spokesman for Qatars foreign ministry, the country is currently attempting to secure a further extension of the truce contingent on Hamas releasing more hostages. Qatar is the primary mediator of the truce in negotiations that also involve Egypt and the US. (With agency inputs) A scheduled meeting between the leaders of Britain and Greece was cancelled on Tuesday due to a growing dispute between the two countries over who owns the Parthenon sculptures. The meeting between Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis was cancelled on Tuesday, according to his office. The two parties had earlier decided that the meeting should not be used as a public forum to relitigate long, long settled matters. According to a Greek government official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, no such agreement existed. A representative for the Greek government had earlier referred to the cancellation as unprecedented and impolite. Greece has repeatedly requested that the 2,500-year-old statues that British diplomat Lord Elgin took from the Parthenon temple during his time as envoy to the Ottoman Empire be returned to the museum permanently. London is home to around half of the remaining marble works, with the remainder housed in a museum beneath Athens Acropolis. During his weekend appearance on the BBC, Mitsotakis equated the statues separation to chopping the Mona Lisa in halfa comparison that the British government has rejected. The conflict, according to Britain and Greece, puts at risk the chance to talk about international matters such as the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, migration, and climate change. Greek government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis, however, subsequently stated that his nation does not wish to escalate the row or let it spoil normally good relations between the countries. (With agency inputs) Israel-Hamas War LIVE Updates Israeli shell hits southern Lebanon following truce extension - Lebanese state media According to Lebanon's state news agency, an Israeli shell landed in the southern Lebanese town of Aita al-Shaab on Tuesday morning, hours after Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease-fire. Although Lebanon was not legally included in the truce, weeks of cross-border firing between Israel and the Lebanese armed organisation Hezbollah, a Hamas supporter, had ceased when the truce went into effect last Friday. The United States is sending three military aircraft to Egypt from Tuesday to bring vital humanitarian aid for Gaza during a truce between Israel and Hamas, senior US officials said. The relief flights carrying food, medical supplies and winter gear are the first by the US military since the conflict began with the 7 October attacks by Hamas on Israel. The flights start a day after President Joe Biden said he would use an extension of the truce to get more aid into Gaza, and as international efforts continue to further prolong the pause. We are very glad to announce we will have the first of three relief flights that are facilitated by the unique capabilities of the US military that will be arriving in North Sinai in Egypt on Tuesday, one of the US officials said. This will be to bring a series of items medical items, food aid, winter items, given that winters coming in Gaza for the civilian population, the official said in an embargoed call on Monday. The United Nations will then take the aid from Egypts North Sinai region, which borders the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, into the stricken Palestinian territory itself, they said. Two further planeloads will arrive in coming days, they said. Mediator Qatar on Monday announced a 48-hour extension of an initial four-day truce, opening the way for further releases of hostages seized by Hamas during its attack on Israel. Significant surge Eight hundred aid trucks reached southern Gaza from Egypt in the first four days of the truce, with some aid also reaching badly hit northern Gaza, the US officials said. The movement over the last four or five days of assistance has been so significant in volume that a backfill is now needed and these planes are part of that backfill, a second US official said. While Washington has deployed two aircraft carriers in the region to deter Iran and its allies, and ferried military assistance to key ally Israel, it has not previously used military assets during this conflict to deliver humanitarian aid. Biden, who has firmly backed Israel while calling on it to reduce civilian casualties, said on Monday that the truce had allowed a significant surge in aid. The White House said on Monday however that Israel had made it clear it would continue its war on Hamas whenever the truce ended. US officials said Biden had warned Israel that it must not cause the same kind of mass displacements in southern Gaza that its offensive in the north triggered earlier this month. From the president down we have reinforced this in a very clear way for the government of Israel, the first US official said. Hamas staged the deadliest attack in Israels history when it broke through Gazas militarized border on 7 October. Israel says the attack killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and around 240 more were taken hostage. In response, Israel launched a relentless bombing campaign and ground offensive in Gaza, which the Hamas government says has killed 15,000 people, thousands of them children. In response to criticism that the international organization has said nothing about sexual violence against women committed during Hamas October 7 attacks, Israel held a meeting at the U.N. in Geneva late on Monday. Following the discovery of evidence linking sexual offenses, such as victims who were found disrobed and mutilated, Israeli authorities launched an investigation into sexual violence, including rape, during the deadliest attack on Israel in its history. Abuse is denied by Hamas. The U.N. human rights office declared that Israel has not yet allowed its monitors entry into the nation and denounced the October 7 attacks as heinous, brutal, and shocking. The private event, attended by diplomats, rights groups and U.N. agencies, is the first Israel-organised event outside the country to address acts of sexual violence by Hamas, which Israels diplomatic mission described as widespread. U.N. rights bodies downplayed and minimised the sexual violence, said Ruth Halperin-Kaddari, an Associate Professor at the Bar-Ilan University, who spoke at the event. We expected a clear and loud statement that says that there is no justification for using the bodies of women as a weapon of war. None of this came up until now, she told Reuters on the sidelines. Asked to explain, she said: It turns around the conventional framing of viewing Israel as the aggressor, and Palestinians as the ultimate victim. Halperin-Kaddari, formerly Vice-President at the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), is meeting U.N. Human Rights chief Volker Turk on Tuesday to convey this message, supply him with new evidence and request a strong condemnation of the attacks, she said. A U.N. rights office spokesperson said Turks office had requested access to Israel to monitor and collect information on the Oct. 7 attacks but had not received a response from Israel. The Office is attempting to carry out remote monitoring of these and other human rights violations reported in Israel and the OPT (Occupied Palestinian Territories). Lack of direct access to Israel and the OPT has hampered the work, said Ravina Shamdasani in response to emailed questions. We have repeatedly stressed the need for rigorous investigations and accountability for all serious breaches of international human rights and humanitarian law, irrespective of the identity of the alleged perpetrators, she added. Evidence about sexual violence includes testimonies by first responders at the sites of the attacks as well as military reservists who tended to the bodies in the identification process. Reuters has seen photos corroborating some of those accounts. Halperin-Kaddari said she has been given access to some evidence and testimonies by Israeli authorities in order to raise awareness and demand condemnation and accountability. She described meeting a paramedic who tended to a woman after the Oct. 7 music festival who was bleeding heavily after being raped by four attackers. Halperin-Kaddari said she would also like to see independent bodies investigate the crimes. One body that rights experts say could investigate is an independent commission of inquiry set up by the U.N. Human Rights Council, but Israel does not cooperate with it, alleging bias. Turks office also called for Israeli authorities to cooperate with this inquiry. (with inputs from Reuters) As Chinas influence in the region grows, Japan and Vietnam have decided to fortify their security and trade relations. In their Monday meeting in Tokyo, Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida decided to expand their security cooperation, work on defense equipment and technology transfers, and begin talking about a new Japanese aid program for the militaries of like-minded developing nations in the area. According to their joint statement, which was made available by Japans Foreign Ministry, the two leaders declared that the relationship between their countries would develop into a comprehensive strategic partnership and that they would further expand it to new fronts and new heights their ongoing cooperation. Japan has been rapidly developing closer ties with Vietnam, a key southeast Asian nation that has important security and economic roles in the region faced with Chinas rise and rivalry with the United States and other Western nations. Mondays announcement meant that Japan has now gained the status of Vietnams top-tier partners, along with the US, China and India. At a joint news conference after their meeting, Kishida said Vietnam is a key partner in achieving a free and open Indo-Pacific. Thuong said that close cooperation between the two countries contributes to the regions peace and prosperity. Under its Official Security Assistance scheme, Japan recently agreed to provide a coastal surveillance radar to the Philippines, another strategically important Southeast Asian country for Japan and the US amid escalating tensions over Taiwan, which Beijing regards the island as a breakaway province to be brought under mainland control by force, if necessary. Many countries, including the US, do not officially recognise Taiwan as an independent state but oppose the use of force to change the status quo. Kishidas government in December adopted a new security strategy, involving significant military build-up, including counterstrike capability in a major shift from the countrys post-war principle of solely relying self-defence. Japan in recent years has also provided a number of patrol vessels to Vietnam to help strengthen its law enforcement capability at sea. Vietnam is one of several countries defending their territorial interests against China in the disputed South China Sea. Japan has had a long-standing territorial dispute with China over islands in the East China Sea. Kishida and Thuong agreed to expand their cooperation in wide range of areas from trade, climate change and economy to achieve a free and open Indo-Pacific. Thoung, who is on a four-day visit as a rare state guest marking the two countries 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties, was also to visit the Imperial Palace for a meeting and lunch hosted by Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako. In addition, he was set to give a speech at the Lower House, the more powerful of Japans two parliamentary chambers, and visit a hydrogen energy facility in Fukuoka in southern Japan. (With inputs from The Associated Press) Amidst escalating tensions in Canada over the Israel-Gaza conflict, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denounced the firebombing of a Jewish community center in Montreal early on Monday. The incident was described as vile and hateful. Shortly after midnight, in Canadas second-largest city, there were multiple shootings and another firebombing targeting Jewish schools and institutions. This incident coincided with the throwing of a Molotov cocktail through the buildings front door. Part of the carpet was burned when the weapon burst through the glass door and exploded in the hallway. Rabbi Saul Emanuel, the head of Montreals Jewish Community Council, said in a statement that no one was present and minimal damage occurred. The rise in antisemitism in our city is frightening and the repeated violence and attacks on our community are abhorrent and condemned in the strongest terms, he added. Trudeau said on X, formerly Twitter, the continued acts of antisemitic violence are deplorable and unacceptable and must stop immediately. We must all stand united against such vile, hateful acts, he said. Earlier this month, two Jewish schools were fired on, twice in one case, and a synagogue was struck with a Molotov cocktail. There were no injuries. Police in Montreal and Toronto both with large Jewish communities warned of a recent spike in hate crimes, particularly antisemitic acts. Several countries around the word, notably in Europe, have seen attacks on Jewish targets increase amid the intense Israeli strikes on Gaza in response to the bloody October 7 attack by militants of the Palestinian group Hamas. (with inputs from agencies) A 32-year-old man Tuesday admitted killing three people and attempting to murder three others in a spate of attacks in Nottingham, central England. The attacks resulted in UK police locking down the entire city. Valdo Calocane, also known as Adam Mendes, pleaded not guilty to murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter due to diminished responsibility. Two 19-year-old students at Nottingham University and a school caretaker aged 65 were stabbed to death in the early morning attacks on 13 June. Three pedestrians in the city centre were also injured after they were mown down by a van allegedly stolen from the caretaker. Calocanes lawyer Peter Joyce said his client does not dispute the physical facts of the prosecutions case. But he told Nottingham Crown Court that he was suffering from extreme mental illness at the time. The case was adjourned until 16 January next year, after the prosecution requested more time to decide if the pleas were acceptable. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday expressed confidence that the United States would persist in delivering weapons to Ukraine, despite political obstacles in Washington. The US has contributed over $40 billion in security aid to Ukraine since the Russian invasion and has committed to supporting Kyiv for the foreseeable future. However, resistance from staunch Republicans has raised doubts about the continuity of US assistance. Speaking at a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, Stoltenberg stated, Im confident that the United States will continue to provide support because it is in the security interest of the United States to do so and its also in line with what we have agreed. Concerns have heightened regarding the future of Western support for Ukraine, especially as Kyivs top general acknowledged that the intense fighting has reached a stalemate. The European Union is currently grappling with formulating a plan for its own sustained backing of Ukraine in the face of opposition from Hungary. Stoltenberg urged allies to persist in their support, citing recent pledges of 10 billion euros ($11 billion) from Germany and the Netherlands. Despite minimal frontline movement, he noted that Ukraine has inflicted substantial losses on Russian forces. Latvian Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karins emphasised the need for Ukraine to receive more long-range missiles to disrupt Russias logistical capabilities, asserting that continued support is essential to prevent Russia from winning the war. Ukraines top diplomat, Dmytro Kuleba, is expected to join the meeting on Wednesday, during which NATO members plan to agree on a reform agenda aimed at assisting Ukraine in its journey toward eventual NATO membership. With inputs from agencies North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has allegedly received photos of the White House, Pentagon and US aircraft carriers in the naval base of Norfolk, taken by the countrys recently launched spy satellite, state media KCNA said on Tuesday. Last week, North Korea had successfully launched its first reconnaissance satellite, which it has said was designed to monitor US and South Korean military movements. The photos were the latest in a series of images of what KCNA described as major target regions sent by the satellite, including the South Korean capital of Seoul and US military bases. Kim also inspected satellite photos of the Andersen Air Force Base in the US Western Pacific territory of Guam and a US shipyard and airbase in Norfolk and Newport, where a total of four nuclear-powered air carriers and a British air carrier were spotted, KCNA said. The United States and South Korea have condemned the satellite launch as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions banning any use of ballistic technology. Seoul officials have said the Norths satellite capabilities could not be verified as it has not released the photos. Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has issued a robust defence of the oil and gas industry just days before the commencement of the largest-ever climate talks, challenging the International Energy Agency (IEA) and highlighting the increasingly contentious debate surrounding the most effective approaches to address global warming. In a statement on November 27, OPEC asserted that the IEA has unjustly vilified the industry for its role in the climate crisis, contesting a recent report from the Paris-based agency. OPEC highlighted the oil industrys commitment to embracing renewables, with significant investments underway, and emphasised ongoing efforts to invest in technologies aimed at reducing emissions. The manner in which the IEA has unfortunately used its social media platforms in recent days to criticize and instruct the oil-and-gas industry is undiplomatic, OPEC Secretary-General Haitham Al-Ghais was quoted by Bloomberg as saying. OPEC itself is not an organization that would prescribe to others what they should do. COP28 is a two-week annual conference, convened by the United Nations, with a focus on climate change. This years gathering will be held in Dubai, UAE, one of the worlds top oil-producing nations, angering activists COP stands for the Conference of the Parties, where the parties stand for 197 states and a regional economic organisation. They gather once a year to discuss plans to limit climate change. The original UN climate agreement was signed in 1992. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was a treaty to curb the alarming rise of pollution, which causes global warming. After a six-year break, the Philippine government and the nations communist rebels have decided to resume peace talks with the goal of putting an end to decades of armed conflict, the parties and their facilitator, Norway, announced on Tuesday. For more than 50 years, the New Peoples Army (NPA), the military wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), has been engaged in a deadly battle with the government that has claimed over 40,000 lives. Norways foreign ministry disclosed on Tuesday that high-ranking delegations from both sides had last week agreed to a common vision for peace that aimed to resolve important barriers. Negotiations will bring an end to the rebels military fight and allow them to become a political movement, according to Norway, which has been assisting the peace process in the South East Asian island nation for around two decades. In their joint statement, the parties stated that the parties agree to a principled and peaceful resolution of the armed conflict and that deep rooted socioeconomic and political grievances will be addressed in the peace negotiations. Government Peace Process Adviser Carlito Galvez stated at a press conference in Manila that one of the objectives of the discussions was to remove the Communist Party and its allied groups from a government list of designated terror organisations. However, no immediate truce was declared, and General Romeo Brawner, the head of the Philippine military, stated that operations against the insurgents would go on. The last formal negotiations took place in 2017, but they were bitterly ended by then-President Rodrigo Duterte, whose attempt to pick up the pieces also fell through. Midway through 2022, he departed from government, and Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took over. Contact between the parties was maintained by Norwegian facilitators, which resulted in private discussions and a covert signing ceremony on Nov. 23 at Oslo City Hall that was attended by a number of Philippine government ministers as well as exiled rebel commanders. Less than a week has passed since Marcos Jr. signed an order giving amnesty to a number of rebel factions, including former communist members. Under the amnesty order, former CPP, NPA and NDFP members would be absolved of crimes they committed in pursuit of political beliefs. The last formal negotiations took place in 2017, but they were bitterly ended by then-President Rodrigo Duterte, whose attempt to pick up the pieces also fell through. Midway through 2022, he departed from government, and Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took over. Contact between the parties was maintained by Norwegian facilitators, which resulted in private discussions and a covert signing ceremony on Nov. 23 at Oslo City Hall that was attended by a number of Philippine government ministers as well as exiled rebel commanders. Less than a week has passed since Marcos Jr. signed an order giving amnesty to a number of rebel factions, including former communist members. Former members of the CPP, NPA, and NDFP would not be held accountable for crimes they committed in pursuit of political beliefs under the terms of the amnesty order. (With agency inputs) Russian diplomats in Japan lead in unpaid parking fines, accumulating 2,338 tickets over five years, as reported by Fuji News Network. Despite multiple summons by the Japanese Foreign Ministry instructing respect for local laws, this accounts for 59% of outstanding fines among diplomatic vehicles. China follows with 246 outstanding cases, showing a significant reduction from 638 in 2021. Diplomats from Kazakhstan, Egypt, Iran, and Ukraine also feature in the list. Although the report does not specify the value of fines, 2021 figures indicated around 40 million yen (US$268,000) for 3,948 violations. We expect all diplomats to respect Japanese laws, stated an official from the Japanese Foreign Ministry. While acknowledging occasional mistakes, the official noted a problem with overdue fines. Russia, in particular, has not improved, whereas China has shown progress. In 2018, there were 3,228 outstanding fines, with Russian vehicles accounting for 2,396 violations. This reduced to 2,736 cases in 2019. Fuji News highlights that payments increased from most countries, except Russia, which continues to ignore payment requests. Yakov Zinberg, a professor of international relations, finds it hard to explain why Russian diplomats resist paying fines. He dismisses a deliberate motive, suggesting increased caution but finds it inexplicable why they ignore ministry summons. Japan has limited tools to enforce payment, including reminders at the ministry and representations to ambassadors for persistent offenders. The ministrys May 2021 decision to withhold petrol tax exemptions for diplomats with unpaid fines adds financial pressure. We check before issuing tax exemption coupons to ensure no overdue fines, said the ministry official. Diplomats must pay for new coupons, recognizing the necessity despite their dissatisfaction. The Vienna Convention, however, prevents confiscation of personal property for outstanding fines, limiting the ministrys ability to compel payment. The Department of Immigration and Emigration has announced that Indian tourists along with China, Russia, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, and Thailand would receive free tourist visas with immediate effect. The decision is believed to have been taken to boost the tourism sector of the country. India is traditionally Sri Lankas top inbound tourism market. The pilot project to offer free visas for the first 30 days would be in force till March 31, 2024, it said, adding that the travellers would be given dual entry status on arrival and the visa validity would be limited to 30 days stay in the island nation. The facility follows a Cabinet decision from October to issue free tourist visas to travellers from India, China, Russia, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, and Thailand amidst efforts to rebuild the debt-trapped island nations tourism sector that had slumped since the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings. In October 2023, arrival figures for India topped with over 28,000 arrivals or 26 per cent with Russian tourists trailing at over 10,000 arrivals as the second largest group. The British tourists were placed third with over 8,000 arrivals. Tourist arrivals to the island nation had slumped since the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that left 270 persons, including 11 Indians, dead and over 500 injured. Sri Lanka has been grappling with unprecedented economic turmoil, which has prompted an acute shortage of essential items like food, medicine, cooking gas and other fuel, toilet paper, and even matches. In March, the International Monetary Fund agreed on a USD 3 billion bailout to Sri Lanka to revive its ailing economy. With inputs from PTI. Sri Lanka has approved a $4.5 billion refinery project proposed by Chinas Sinopec, as announced by the countrys energy minister. This approval marks the single largest investment in Sri Lanka since it faced a severe economic crisis last year. With the cabinets endorsement, the state-owned refiner is now authorised to conclude project details and proceed to sign an agreement with the government. The construction of the export-oriented refinery is set to take place in Hambantota, located in the southern part of the country. The cabinet approval cleared the state-owned refiner to finalise project details and sign an agreement with the government before it starts building the export-oriented refinery at Hambantota in the south of the country. Cabinet approval was granted today to award the contract to China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (SINOPEC) of China, Minister Kanchana Wijesekera wrote on social media platform X. Cabinet approval was granted today to award the contract to China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (SINOPEC) of China, to enter into an agreement to establish a new Petroleum Refinery & Associated Product Processing center in Hambantota. Kanchana Wijesekera (@kanchana_wij) November 27, 2023 China is Sri Lankas biggest bilateral lender and its companies have built highways, sea and air ports and other infrastructure projects on the island off Indias southern coast. For Sinopec, the worlds top refiner by capacity and one of the largest petrochemicals producers, the investment would mark a breakthrough in a long effort to expand beyond Chinas borders. The company also owns refinery assets in Saudi Arabia and petrochemicals production in Russia. Iran built Sri Lankas only refinery at Sapugaskanda in the west of the country in 1969. The refinery can process 38,000 barrels of oil per day. With inputs from Reuters. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to visit Israel, the West Bank and the United Arab Emirates later this week, the US State Department has announced, as Washington aims to press for more humanitarian aid for Gaza and help secure the release of all hostages kidnapped by Hamas. Blinken will travel to Belgium, North Macedonia, Israel, the West Bank, and the UAE from Monday to Saturday, the department said in a statement. In Israel and the West Bank, Secretary Blinken will discuss Israels right to defend itself consistent with international humanitarian law, as well as continued efforts to secure the release of remaining hostages, protect civilian life during Israels operations in Gaza, and accelerate humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza, the department added. Blinken will discuss what Washington wants to see in Gaza if Israel is able to eliminate Hamas, a State Department official said earlier. Blinken will also discuss the need for an independent Palestinian state as well as attend the UN COP28 climate summit in Dubai, according to the State Department. It will be his third trip to the region since October 7, when Hamas militants attacked Israel, killed more than 1,200 people and took 240 hostages. In response, Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip, a densely populated coastal enclave that is home to 2.3 million people, and mounted a ground offensive in the north, killing more than 15,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities. Some hostages have been freed last week in exchange for Palestinians held by Israel in a deal mediated by Qatar and Egypt and agreed by Israel, Hamas and the United States. Since the shocking attack that started one of the bloodiest chapters in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Blinken has conducted high-stakes diplomacy with Israeli and Arab leaders to help ensure the conflict does not broaden, hostages are freed and aid is delivered into the Gaza Strip, where a humanitarian disaster has been unfolding. This week, he will speak about the future of Gaza and the need for a permanent political solution to the long-standing conflict, after he spelled out Washingtons red lines on a visit to Japan earlier this month for how the strip could be governed if Hamas is defeated. He ruled out Israeli occupation of Gaza, permanent displacement of its people and reduction in its territory, although a clear plan has yet to emerge in talks with Arab states, Israel and Palestinian leaders. The top US. diplomat will also discuss the principles he outlined in Tokyo on November 8, (and) tangible steps to further the creation of a future Palestinian state, the State Department said. Blinken landed on Monday evening in Brussels, where he will attend the NATO foreign ministers summit on Tuesday. He will be attending a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that is scheduled to take place on Wednesday in Skopje. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Tuesday that military and financial support for Ukraine was of existential importance to Europe, defending defence spending commitments as Berlin confronts a domestic budget crisis. Germany has been one of Ukraines biggest backers along with the United States, Scholz said, supplying Kyiv with weapons to battle Russias invading forces. We will continue with this support as long as it is necessary, Scholz said in a speech to parliament. This support is of existential importance. For Ukraine but also for us in Europe. None of us want to imagine what even more serious consequences it would have for us if Putin won this war, Scholz said. The chancellor was addressing MPs following a shock constitutional court ruling earlier this month, which blew a massive hole in the governments spending plans. Germanys top court said the government had flouted a constitutional debt rule, which limits new borrowing to 0.35 per cent of gross domestic product. The ruling has left the government scrambling to pass a new budget before the end of the year and shore up sorely needed investments in decarbonisation and the modernisation of its armed forces. To quell the immediate crisis, the government plans to suspend the constitutional debt rule for the fourth year in a row. The so-called debt brake was already lifted between 2020 and 2022 to tackle the crises caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the spike in energy prices following Russias invasion of Ukraine last year. Germany had supported households and businesses in managing soaring bills with billions of euros in support, Scholz said. But it was not enough to look only at the winter of 2022-2023, Scholz said when energy prices were high. It was always about winter of 2023-2024, Scholz said, sketching a continuing crisis which could justify lifting the debt brake again. Under no circumstances should we let up in our support for Ukraine and in overcoming the energy crisis, Scholz said. That would not be responsible, that would endanger our future. Israel will continue its war with Hamas with stronger force after the truce ends, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has said. Gallant said that Israels military operation will spread across the Gaza Strip. You have a few days. When we return to fighting, we will apply the same force and more and we will fight across the whole of the (Gaza) Strip, Gallant said on Monday while he was addressing a group of soldiers. Remember that while you are organizing and resting and researching, the enemy is also doing the same. You will meet something that is a little more ready, the defense minister told the soldiers. Therefore, they will first meet the bombs of the Air Force, and after that the shells of the tanks and the artillery and the paws of the D9 (bulldozers), and finally the shooting of the infantry fighters, we will fight in the entire strip, he added. Meanwhile, the truce between Israel and Hamas was extended into a fifth day on Tuesday as the two sides completed the release of Israeli hostages and detained Palestinians and looked poised to free more as the pause in fighting was extended by two days. Israel said that 11 hostages returned to the country on Monday taking the total tally of Israeli and foreign hostages freed by the terror group since Friday to 69. The White House and Qatari negotiators said on Monday the original four-day pause in fighting, due to expire at 0500 GMT on Tuesday, had been extended for two more days. Israel has not commented on any agreement to extend the truce but, in what may be an implicit confirmation, the Israeli prime ministers office said the government approved the addition of 50 female prisoners to its list of Palestinians for potential release if additional Israeli hostages are freed. Google Drive users have reported issues with files disappearing, and Google has acknowledged the problem. The glitch seems to be linked to the Google Drive for Desktop app, affecting some users who find that files uploaded or created after May 2023 are not visible. One user from South Korea mentioned their account reverting to May 2023, with no activity history or files in the trash. Despite attempting recovery and backup processes suggested by customer support, the issue persists. Other users on Googles support forum also shared similar problems, with files disappearing since May 2023 or even over the past year or two. Google officially recognized the problem in a post on its Community forums, attributing it to versions 84.0.0.0 84.0.4.0 of the Drive for Desktop app. While the cause of the bug remains unclear, Google advises affected users not to disconnect their Google account from the desktop app and to refrain from deleting or moving data from the DriveFS folder on their machines. The company recommends creating a copy of this folder if sufficient space is available. This issue is particularly concerning for business users. Although Google is investigating the problem, there is no information on a fix or update for the desktop app yet. Updates on a resolution are expected in the coming days. In response, Saitej, from the Google Drive team, posted: Truecaller has unveiled its inaugural monthly U.S. Spam and Scam Report. This comprehensive report, compiled from November 2022 to October 2023, provides a detailed analysis of fraudulent call trends in the United States. Truecaller plans to update the report monthly, offering real-time data and insights on its website. According to the report, Americans struggle with an average of 2.1 billion spam calls monthly, translating to nearly six spam calls per person, each lasting over four minutes. Shockingly, these calls led to an estimated 195 million hours wasted in 2023. The holiday season witnessed a peak in scams, ranging from fake charity donations to fraudulent delivery notifications and vacation upgrades. The report categorizes U.S. spam and scam calls, revealing that malicious intent scams dominate, accompanied by legitimate sales calls, robocalls, online surveys, and political calls. Credit card fraud, identity theft, medicare/insurance scams, social security fraud, car warranty scams, and debt collection scams topped the list of fraudulent activities in 2023. Truecallers state-wise analysis sheds light on the top and bottom performers in terms of spam and scam calls. Mississippi, South Carolina, and Oklahoma lead in receiving the most calls, while Hawaii, New Hampshire, and Puerto Rico experience the least. Highlighting the global nature of the issue, Truecaller notes that nearly 10% of spam calls originate outside the U.S., with India, Nigeria, Egypt, Colombia, Canada, and Peru being the primary sources. This report serves as a wake-up call to the prevalence and sophistication of scams, emphasizing the need for continued vigilance against evolving tactics employed by scammers. Regarding the report, Alan Mamedi, co-founder and CEO of Truecaller, said, felicilin at 28-11-2023 08:37 AM (3 days ago) (f) The Oba of Benin, Omo N Oba N Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo, Ewuare II, has said his ancestors founded some parts of Lagos and can be proven through history books. The Oba of Benin, Omo N Oba N Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo, Ewuare II, has said his ancestors founded some parts of Lagos and can be proven through history books. The Herald reports that Oba Ewuare II made the revelation during his visit to Lagos on Sunday where he was received by the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu. Addressing an audience, the monarch said, I cannot help but say that it is in history books that Benin founded Lagos. But when some people hear it now they go haywire that what is the Oba saying? But it is true o. Go and check the records. Maybe not all of Lagos as we know it now but certain areas in Lagos maybe the nucleus -was founded by my ancestors. The Oba of Lagos will say so. Benin people founded Lagos ~ The Oba of Beninpic.twitter.com/pltbrubg7X Nigeria Stories (@NigeriaStories) November 27, 2023 The Herald reports that Oba Ewuare II made the revelation during his visit to Lagos on Sunday where he was received by the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.Addressing an audience, the monarch said, Post Reply Posted: at 28-11-2023 08:37 AM (3 days ago) | Addicted Hero Nvidia Is Now a Trillion-Dollar AI Company News oi -Kabir Jain Nvidia, known for top-tier graphics cards, has swiftly become a trillion-dollar AI player. While still excelling in gaming, the company's strategic push into supercomputing, driven by the success of ChatGPT, positions it as an AI powerhouse. CEO Jensen Huang's intentional move from graphics to AI is at the core of this transformation. A Blink-and-You-Miss Transition Greg Estes, Nvidia's VP of Corporate Marketing, spilled the beans on a crucial moment. Huang's Friday evening email shifted the company's focus to deep learning, turning it into an AI giant by Monday. AI's Impact on Nvidia's Fortunes Nvidia's strategic bet on CUDA in 2006 laid the groundwork for its ascendancy in AI. The development of ChatGPT marked a turning point, with thousands of Nvidia GPUs contributing to its creation. Almost overnight, Nvidia gained a substantial customer base, positioning itself as one of the most valuable tech companies globally, trailing only slightly behind Amazon and Alphabet. The Graphics Card Landscape Amidst this transformation, Nvidia's interest in being a graphics company has waned. Recent product releases, like the RTX 4060 Ti, reveal a subdued enthusiasm, characterized by high pricing and modest performance gains. In contrast, flagship products like the RTX 4090 showcase remarkable performance improvements at a premium cost. AI's Impact on Gaming: DLSS 3.5 and Nvidia ACE However, Nvidia's strategic investment in AI has yielded benefits for PC gamers. Technologies like DLSS 3.5 leverage AI for frame generation, upscaling, and ray tracing, enhancing visual quality and performance in games like Cyberpunk 2077. Though yet to be integrated into games, Nvidia's ACE tool promises to bring virtual characters to life by generating dialogue, facial animations, and audio entirely through AI. The Competitive Landscape However, Nvidia's focus on AI leaves room for competitors. Intel's pivot to budget GPUs poses a challenge, though Huang appears uncomfortable in that space, stating, "I don't go anywhere near Intel. Whenever they come near us, I pick up my chips and run." Via Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications OnePlus 12 5G Design, Colors, Memory Configurations, Confirmed Ahead of Launch News oi -Carlsen Martin The OnePlus 12 5G is all set to make its debut next week. The OnePlus 12 5G will be the first smartphone by the brand to use the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 mobile platform. OnePlus has been gradually teasing details about its upcoming flagship in the build up to its launch. And the latest teaser confirms the color options and design of the OnePlus 12 5G. OnePlus 12 5G Launch Date The OnePlus 12 5G launch date is set for December 5 in China at 02:30 pm local time or 12 noon IST. The OnePlus 12 5G launch event will take place a day after the company's 10th anniversary celebration. Pre-reservations for the OnePlus 12 5G can be made through JD.com and the official online store. While there is no official date, reports suggests that the OnePlus 12 5G launch date in India and globally could take place on January 23, 2024. OnePlus 12 5G Specifications, Design According to the official OnePlus website in China, the OnePlus 12 5G will arrive in Green, Rock Black, and White (Translated - Leave Blank) color options. The listings of the phone also confirm a punch-hole cutout for the selfie camera and a curved display with narrow bezels. On the back, the OnePlus 12 5G's features a circular camera layout with the Hasselblad logo in the middle. The official images reveal the design of the OnePlus 12 5G is similar to that of its predecessor, the OnePlus 11 5G. However, the biggest change on the OnePlus 12 5G is the position of the Alert Slider, which is now shifted to the left side. The move will make room for a new antenna system to elevate the gaming experience on the device. OnePlus 12 5G Specifications The listing also confirms that the OnePlus 12 5G will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset. It is paired with up to 24GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 1TB of UFS 4.0 storage. The OnePlus 12 5G will run on Android 14 with OxygenOS on top. The listing also confirms the OnePlus 12 5G will feature a triple-camera setup on the back with a 50 MP Sony LYTIA LYT-808 primary sensor with OIS support. The main camera is paired with a 64 MP OmniVision OV64B telephoto unit with OIS support, and 50 MP Sony IMX581 ultrawide shooter. Up front, the OnePlus 12 5G will likely feature a 32 MP selfie camera. The OnePlus 12 5G will also feature a 2K AMOLED display with a peak brightness of 2,600 nits. The LTPO panel will boast a 120Hz refresh rate. The OnePlus 12 5G is also expected to pack a 5,000 mAh battery with 100W wired fast charging support and 50W wireless fast charging support. Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications OnePlus 12 5G Launch Date in India, Globally Tipped for January 24, 2024 News oi -Carlsen Martin The OnePlus 12 5G is making its debut in China on December 5. While OnePlus hasn't confirmed an official launch date for its upcoming flagship globally, new information has emerged confirming that the device could arrive as early as January 2024. OnePlus has kick started a global campaign with a giveaway on its official website. The campaign is also listed on the Indian version of the OnePlus website. Users can click the 'Subscribe' button to stand a chance to win the OnePlus 12 5G or the next product from OnePlus. OnePlus 12 5G Launch Date in India and Globally The company has also set up a page for the OnePlus 12 5G on oneplus.com/in. The page confirms the OnePlus 12 5G is launching in India. Moreover, it also notes that the campaign will end a day before the OnePlus 12 launch event. This suggests that the OnePlus 12 5G launch date in India and globally will take place on January 24, 2024. Users can subscribe for the giveaway using an official email ID to stand a chance to win the OnePlus 12 5G or other OnePlus products. We already know that the OnePlus 12 5G is arriving in China on December 5. However, this new information suggests that users in Asia, Europe, and North America may not have to wait long to get their hands on the upcoming OnePlus flagship. OnePlus 12 5G Specifications OnePlus previously confirmed that its upcoming flagship will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset. Moreover, the chip will be accompanied by up to 24GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 1TB of UFS 4.0 storage. The OnePlus 12 5G will run Android 14-based OxygenOS 14. The OnePlus 12 5G will also feature a 6.82-inch BOE X1 2K OLED display. The panel has already received an A+ rating by DisplayMate and features a 120Hz refresh rate and could offer a peak brightness of up to 3,000 nits. The OnePlus 12 5G is also expected to pack a 5,000 mAh battery with 100W wired fast charging support and 50W wireless fast charging support. For optics, OnePlus has already confirmed the 50 MP Sony LYTIA LYT-808 primary sensor with OIS and the 64 MP telephoto unit with OIS support. The last camera in the setup will likely be a 50 MP ultrawide lens. Up front, the OnePlus 12 5G could feature a 32 MP selfie camera. Stay tuned to Gizbot for more information about the OnePlus 12 5G launch date in India. Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro Processor and Display Specs Unveiled in Latest Leak News oi -Kabir Jain Chinese tech giant Xiaomi appears to be gearing up for the release of its next-generation tablet, the Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro. Successor to the Xiaomi Pad 6 Pro, the upcoming device is rumored to feature significant improvements, according to leaks from tipster Digital Chat Station on Weibo. Display and Performance Upgrades The Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro is expected to showcase a 144Hz refresh rate on its LCD display, a notable upgrade from its predecessor. Under the hood, the tablet is rumored to run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, indicating a performance boost over the Pad 6 Pro's Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. The Mi code suggests that the Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro will feature a 10-inch LCD panel with a resolution of 1480 x 2367 pixels. Camera Module and Design Leaked information suggests a square-shaped camera module positioned at the top left corner of the rear panel, adding a distinctive touch to the tablet's design. While specific camera details are yet to be confirmed, this could indicate enhancements in the imaging capabilities of the device. Xiaomi's Shift to Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC Xiaomi's President, Lu Weibing, recently confirmed the company's strategic move towards incorporating the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC in various products, including the Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro. Launch Timeline The Mi code also indicates that Xiaomi is planning to release the Pad 7 Pro alongside the Xiaomi 14 Ultra smartphone in either Q1 or Q2 of 2024. The tablet is expected to carry the codename "sheng," following Xiaomi's tradition of naming its tablets after musical instruments. Notable Features The tablet is expected to come equipped with quad stereo speakers supported by Dolby technology, promising an immersive audio experience. Additionally, the dual rear cameras, featuring wide and depth sensors, aim to enhance the tablet's photography capabilities. The selfie camera is rumored to be horizontally placed on the display. Via Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications Dennis received bachelor's degrees in communication and political science with a TAG degree in Spanish from The University of Akron in Ohio. He grew up in Ohio with 2 sisters and two brothers, one being his fraternal twin. He and his wife have 3 dogs: Duke, Bacio, and Cal. Dennis currently covers natural resource and environmental issues for The Daily Sentinel Estimate of the cost of the war against Hamas for Israel from 2023 to 2025, according to the Bank of Israel Kate Casa, of Brattleboro, Vt., talks with Rabbi Amita Jarmon of the Brattleboro Area Jewish Community after a vigil in Pliny Park in Brattleboro, Monday, Nov. 27, 2023, for the three Palestinian-American students who were shot while walking near the University of Vermont campus in Burlington, Vt., Saturday, Nov. 25. The three students were being treated at the University of Vermont Medical Center, and one faces a long recovery because of a spinal injury, a family member said. A man convicted of murdering a 31-year-old Grand Junction man at Taco Bell on North Avenue in 2011 as part of a 2011 crime spree was sentenced to 75 years in the Department of Corrections Monday. Jaime Cardenas, who was 19 at the time of the crime spree and is now 32, apologized to the family of the victim, 31-year-old Jorge Alberto Carrasco. Im sorry for the trauma I caused and the lasting effects on their lives, Cardenas said. Several of Carrascos family members spoke at the sentencing, describing the pain they had felt during the past 12 years. Each and every one of us would give anything to get one more hug, to hear his voice, Carrascos son, Isaiah Carrasco, said. Jorge Carrasco and two friends were eating dinner outside the Taco Bell on July 16, 2011, when Cardenas and three other people pulled up. Police believe Cardenas and another man, Fidel Silva, opened fire on the three people after mistaking Carrasco for a rival gang member. Carrasco was killed and both his friends were injured in the shooting, which authorities have said was the culmination of a crime spree that involved two armed robberies and a burglary. Police believe four people were involved in the crime spree. Of those, Silva is still at large, Christian Fuentes was sentenced to 72 years in prison and Lester Miranda-Davis was sentenced to 24 years in prison, but was granted a reconsideration after agreeing to testify against Cardenas in order to help authorities extradite Cardenas from Mexico. Police also believe Cardenas and Silva were involved in two other murders in East Palo Alto, California, where Carrasco, Silva and Fuentes are from. Cardenas was extradited to the U.S. in 2019 after spending several years incarcerated in Mexico. Cardenas said he is no longer the person who committed the crimes and now understands his actions were wrong. I understand my actions were reckless and endangered all the people that were at Taco Bell that day, Cardenas said. Cardenas attorney said Cardenas experienced a violent childhood and also has severe mental health issues, leading him down the path to the crime spree. Cardenas was declared incompetent to stand trial several times during the court process because of those mental health issues and a severe head injury sustained during a car crash in Mexico, according to his attorney. The defense also said Silva was the driving force behind the shooting, and either coerced or threatened Cardenas into participating. Judge Richard Gurley said those things dont justify the senseless acts at the Taco Bell. I try to understand it, try to weigh those acts when considering the mitigation presented to the court regarding Mr. Cardenas, but its hard to find substantial mitigation the court can attach to its analysis of this case, Gurley said. Cardenas pleaded guilty to second degree murder and first degree assault, both with crime of violence sentence enhancers, in August. The plea agreement stipulated a sentencing range of 50-76 years. Cardenas said he will try to be a better person while in prison. I will regret getting out of the vehicle at Taco Bell for the rest of my life, Cardenas said. November 27, 2023 Transcript Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder Holds an Off-Camera, On-the-Record Press Briefing Brigadier General Pat Ryder, Pentagon Press Secretary BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: All right, good morning, everybody. Hope you had a good Thanksgiving and some downtime. So just a few things at the top just to kick off. As you saw last week, Secretary Austin traveled to Ukraine, where he was able to conduct a series of high-level engagements, notably with President Zelenskyy and the minister of defense, Umerov. While we were in Kyiv, they had discussions on the current operational situation in Ukraine, as well as Ukraine's security assistance needs. As you saw, the secretary also announced the 51st tranche of equipment to be provided from DOD inventories, worth up to $100 million. Following the trip, back here in D.C., the secretary hosted the 17th Ukraine Defense Contact Group via virtual means, which continues to stand collectively along with 50 nations from around the world to ensure that Ukraine has what they need to defend themselves. And then again, as you saw over the weekend, Secretary Austin also spoke again with Minister Umerov. Shifting to the Middle East, I want to just reinforce what we know regarding the commercial vessel Motor Vessel Central Park. As you saw in CENTCOM's press release last night, the USS Mason, with allied ships from the combined Maritime Forces Counter-Piracy Combined Task Force 151 and associated aircraft responded to a distress call from the Central Park when they came under attack by an unknown entity. Coalition vessels responded, and upon arrival, demanded the release of the vessel. Subsequently, five armed individuals disembarked the ship and attempted to flee via their small boat. The Mason pursued the attackers, resulting in their eventual surrender, and the crew of the Central Park is currently safe. Later that evening, at approximately 01:45 A.M. on November 27th Yemen time, two ballistic missiles initial indications were that two ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen toward the general location of the Mason and the Central Park, and as CENTCOM's press release highlighted, the missiles landed in the Gulf of Aden approximately 10 nautical miles from the ships. It is not clear at this time what they were targeting. Also yesterday, CENTCOM announced the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group completed a transit of the Strait of Hormuz to enter the waters of the Arabian Gulf as the strike group continues to support U.S. Central Command missions in the region. And while in the Arabian Gulf, the Ike Carrier Strike Group will conduct maritime patrolling in international waterways to ensure freedom of navigation of all international vessels while supporting CENTCOM requirements throughout the region. And then finally, you may have seen our press release on this today. Deputy Secretary of Defense Hicks departs today for the United Kingdom for a three-day trip at RAF Lakenheath. She will tour infrastructure improvements designed to improve the airbase's resilience and see demonstrations of U.S. capabilities, and in London, she'll brief U.K. counterparts on the department's Replicator initiative, meet with the U.K. secretary of state for defense and participate in the biannual U.S.-U.K. Defense Dialogue. And with that, I'll be happy to take your questions. All right. Phil? Q: You said that the missiles were launched from Houthi-controlled territory. Does that mean you don't believe that the Houthis fired the missiles? You're not sure yet who fired them? BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: We're still assessing it. We know it came from Houthi-controlled territory. I'm not sure how many other folks have missiles in that region there. But yeah, like I said, it landed 10 nautical miles from the ships, traveling in the direction of the ships, but it's not clear to us who they were targeting exactly. Q: And the timing of the firing of the missiles, you think that's related to the it might be related to the seizure of the individuals on that ship, or BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: Yeah, I really can't speculate on that. I will say that on the five-armed individuals, an obvious question is, what is the disposition of those five individuals? They're currently aboard the USS Mason. We're continuing to assess, but initial indications are that these five individuals are Somali. But again, we'll continue to assess that, as well as next steps in terms of the disposition of those five individuals. Joe? Q: General Ryder, we all know that the U.S. forces in the region have the right to self-defense. How this was being with the Houthis affect in the region? Do you rule out that we might see same U.S. airstrikes as we have seen in Syria, seeing them again in Yemen, for example? BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: Yeah, thanks, Joe. So I'm not going speculate or give into hypotheticals. We've been very clear that we're going to protect our forces, and if those forces are threatened, we'll take appropriate action to respond. But in terms of telegraphing any potential future strikes, I'm just not going to do that. Q: Okay. To follow up, is there is there any coordination with regional actors like Saudi Arabia or other GCC countries to counter or to contain the Houthi threat? BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: Well look, broadly speaking, as you saw in the case of the Motor Vessel Central Park, there is an international coalition that is working together to ensure regional security and stability, to include the safety of waterways when it comes to commercial traffic. And this is not just the United States that's looking to protect these areas; it's part of an international coalition that's been working together for some time. Q: Thank you, Joe. So you said that the five who were detained are Somalis? BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: I said initial indications are that they're Somali. Again, we're continuing to assess but that's the initial indication. Q: Yeah, so based on those indications, do you think this is a piracy-related incident or BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: Clearly, a piracy-related incident in that this vessel was boarded by these five individuals. They attempted to access the crew cabin. The crew essentially were able to lock themselves into a safe haven. These individuals attempted to access and take control of the ship. But when the combined task force responded, they essentially fled. Q: And on this topic, if I may also, what type of ballistic missiles were launched from the Houthis-controlled territories? BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: Yeah, I don't have any additional information to provide on that. Q: And separately, on Gaza, you told us previously that the U.S. has ISR assets in order to help Israelis try to recover the hostages. And as part of this pause, humanitarian pause in Gaza, did you stop these efforts for now? BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: I'll have to take that question. Q: Okay. BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: I don't have an answer to that. Q: Thank you. BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: Let me go over here. Tara? Q: A couple so when the ballistic missiles were fired, did the Mason or any other U.S. asset take any action to try to intercept those missiles? BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: So based on what my understanding is, they were tracking the missiles, but did not need to take any type of in other words, they did not try to shoot them down. Of course, our ships and our vessels always maintain the ability to take appropriate action. But if the question is, did they try to shoot them down? They landed 10 nautical mile in the water away from the vessels. And so no damage to the ships, obviously. They were safe and something that was observed, particularly since they were heading in the direction of the ships. Q: Did they also not take action because it was an assessment that they weren't going to strike anything else that could have been like, any other land things or any other ships that could have been put at threat or risk? BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: Again, I'm just speaking on what happened. So, again, they landed harmlessly in the water. Q: And did they board the vessels, the team from the Mason? BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: They did. So after are you talking about the Central Park? Q: Yeah. BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: Yes. So after the five individuals fled, the Mason sent out a Visit Board Search and Seizure team on the water that stopped a small boat. They detained the individuals and then that team, the VBSS team, boarded the Central Park and cleared the vessel, got in communication with the crew, which was found safe, and of course the vessel is now back under power and on its way. So yes, they did board. Lara? Q: Thanks. Just a couple of follow-ups. You said that the individuals were Somali. Do you BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: I said initial indications are that they are Somali. Q: Are there initial indications that they have any ties to the Houthis? BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: Again, we're continuing to assess the situation but you've been following this region for a very long time. You know that Somali piracy is something that's out there. So these individuals were we know that they're not Houthi. Again, we're continuing to assess the situation. Q: Okay. And then did they do you assess that the Houthis were trying to target the Mason with the BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: Again, I answered that earlier. It's unclear what they were attempting to target. Q: Okay. And did the BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: Last question. Q: any other action to respond? Q: The Mason take any other action to respond to the vessel, aside from tracking them? BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: You know, not beyond what I explained to Tara. Yep, Hailey? Q: Thanks. It seems and correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that there have been no attacks on U.S. forces since roughly Thanksgiving. Do you guys assess that to be because of this agreement bringing out the hostages? And then also I know you don't like to talk about this very much but I'm going to try it anyway can you speak at all to sort of the ISR capabilities ongoing? Are you guys able to keep eyes on these hostages as they're making their way out? Do you have that capability now? Are you using that? Anything on that? BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: Yeah, thanks, Hailey. On your on your last question, I'm not going to talk intelligence operations. As far as attacks go, based on the information I have, the last known attack in Iraq or Syria was 23 November. As far as why Iranian proxies have chosen not to conduct attacks, I'd refer you to them. But to be clear, again, we're going to continue to make force protection of our forces a priority, and if and when we are attacked, of course, we would respond appropriately. Q: And then one another - BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: You know, clearly, we would encourage anyone thinking of attacking U.S. forces to not do that. The other point I'd make is and you've heard us talk about this before those attacks are dangerous, I don't want to minimize it, but have largely been ineffective. When we strike, it's extremely effective, and every single time we strike, it diminishes IRGC capability in Iraq and Syria. And so going forward, should we need to conduct additional strikes, we will continue to diminish IRGC capability in Iraq and Syria to protect our forces and our important mission, which again is the defeat ISIS mission. Q: one other thing on just on the Central Park. When and this is probably an obvious question when you say that they were demanding the release, what was that? Were they shouting over an intercom? Were they weren't physically on there when the militants were on the ship. So what did that look like? BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: I I'll have to get back to you on that. I don't know. Thanks. Q: Can I just do a quick follow-up? BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: Yep. Q: You just said direct IRGC capability, whereas previously you've said maybe Iranian-backed militants. Are you saying that BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: The capability that we've and you've seen this in our press releases, right? When we've struck headquarters, when we've struck ammunition, those are facilities that are used by IRGC and IRGC-backed proxies. So diminishing the IRGC's capability within Iraq and Syria to conduct these kinds of attacks. Thanks. Matt? Q: Thanks, Pat. Were the Mason and Central Park still near each other at the time of the missile attack? BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: They were. Q: Okay. BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: They were. Q: And could you give us a timeline? You gave the time approximately of the missile attack, but how long after? Was it from either the interdiction or the BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: Yeah, so it was about an hour and 40 minutes after the Mason team was on board the Central Park to help, communicate, ensure that the crew was safe and clear the vessel, that that those missiles were launched. Q: Okay, thank you. BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: Okay. Thanks. Q: Thanks, Pat. Just to follow up on Deputy Secretary Hicks' travel, is she making a push to bring international partners in to collaborate on Replicator? BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: We'll obviously have a readout coming out of her visit. The United States, when it comes to the kinds of capabilities that we employ, works very closely with partners and allies. So as it as it pertains to Replicator, we'll have more to provide on that in the near future. Thanks. Time for a few more. We'll go to Ryo and then we'll go back to (inaudible). Q: Yeah, thank you. One follow-up on the incident over the east over the coast of Yemen. There is a report that the Japanese destroyer assisted USS Mason operation in responding to the distress call. Can you confirm the report? BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: Yeah, thanks, Ryo. So I can confirm that the U.S. vessel was operating with an allied ship as a part of the combined joint task force. I'll let other countries speak for their participation. I don't want to get out ahead of them, so. Chris? Q: Just to follow up a little bit on (inaudible) again on the Central Park, when it calls and for (inaudible) what happens (inaudible) decision has to be made on, what (inaudible) BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: Yeah, I mean, so under and I'm I'm not a lawyer, but under international maritime norms and laws, if there's a vessel that's hailing a distress signal and all vessels in the vicinity should are, required to come and help and support. And of course, the Mason being there as part of this task force, got the distress signal and responded, and then, vessels the these coalition vessels moved in to help. Q: Did any other assets put eyes on the Central Park before the Mason got there? BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: So my understanding is there were three PLA Navy ships in the vicinity. However, they did not respond. Supposedly, those ships are there as part of a counter-piracy mission, but they did not respond. Q: Did any U.S. aircraft (inaudible) that? BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: It was allied ships and aircraft that responded to this. I'm not going to go into the specific types of aircraft but yeah. Okay. Yes, sir? Q: Pat, 10 nautical miles sounds like a big distance, but in that waterway, it's actually pretty close, I think, relatively speaking. Is there any indication does the department have any indication of how the Houthis would have known the location of the U.S. warship? BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: I don't have any information to provide on that. Thanks. Okay, Tony and then Q: couple non-follow-up questions. What's your what's the status of the DOD's compilation of aid to Israel, in terms of dollar amounts and types? Sabrina mentioned that was being compiled in BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: Yeah, I'll have to come back to you, Tony. I don't have that in front of me. Q: Okay. I there's been report out of Korea, another part of the world, that North Korea has moved troops from into the area that they abandoned in 2018, a tank of troops and munitions. Do you have anything on that? BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: I don't. Q: Okay, is that something you can check into? BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: Yeah, we can check Q: a lot of information. BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: Yeah. Sir? Q: Is there any past precedent to Houthi-controlled areas firing missiles and Somali piracy going on? Do you have any is this the first time there would have been an interaction like that? And is there any significance to two missiles being fired versus one and the distance from the BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: Yeah, again, like I said, the initial indications were that it was two missiles. I'm not going to try to speculate and connect dots if dots don't necessarily exist. You have two events here. We provided what we know on those. Okay. Last question. Yes, ma'am? Q: So I know that the Hudner also shot down missiles over Thanksgiving, given what happened with Mason. So any indications that Hudner was being targeted at this time by the Houthis? BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: Again, I don't have any updates to provide beyond what we provided last time, in those cases. Those missiles were within the threat range, and they took appropriate action. Q: Just a quick follow-up? Given what's happening with the Houthis and the attacks have stopped on coalition forces, but does the DOD still assess that this has not spread outside of Gaza and Israel? BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: Yeah, so, again, taking a step back, we largely see the conflict contained between Israel and Hamas. That's not to say that that you haven't seen Iranian proxies attempt to take advantage to further their own goals. In the case of Iraq and Syria, we've known that these groups, for a long time, have wanted to see U.S. forces depart. But, again, our forces are in Iraq at the invitation of the Iraqi government, focused solely on the Defeat ISIS mission. And so, again, no, we do not see that this has become a regional conflict, although the again, tensions are high, and it's something that we're taking seriously and attempting to ensure does not happen. All right, Courtney, last one. Q: On the timeline, maybe and this may be part of what you take, but can you if somebody could just walk through so the Mason arrives; they tell these dudes to get off the Central Park, right? Did they yell at them with a bullhorn? Did they BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: Yeah, I'll look into that. I mean, I think I know, but I don't want to speculate. Q: And then, also, did the VBSS, they didn't board the Central Park until after BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: Correct. Q: the dudes were off the boat? BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: Correct. So the distress signal is received; the coalition ships and aircraft surround the Central Park. They demand the release of the vessel. The five armed individuals flee on a small boat. They are chased by the VBSS team, apprehended and detained. The VBSS then, that team, boards the Central Park, clears the ship, ensures that it's good to go; makes contact with the crew. The crew is safe. And the ship is back under power. About an hour and a half after they have boarded the Central Park, an hour, 40 minutes, was when the two missiles were fired, which landed in the water near the vicinity, 10 nautical miles near the vicinity of the two ships. Q: And then just, also, the details, just making sure that there were no shots fired, right, by the BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: The VBSS did fire warning shots at the boat that was fleeing. But no one was injured, and that was the extent of it. And they did not fire shots at the U.S. Navy personnel. Q: And then there were - I assume the VBSS were part of BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: With the Mason? Q: Yeah. BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: They are part of the Mason's crew. Okay. Thanks very much, everybody. Appreciate it. https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3598749/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address November 27, 2023 By C. Todd Lopez , DOD News U.S., Partner Nation Task Force Respond to Commercial Vessel Distress Call This weekend, the USS Mason and partner nation naval vessels responded to a distress call from the commercial shipping vessel M/V Central Park, which had been boarded by five armed individuals while in transit in the Gulf of Aden near Yemen, said the Pentagon press secretary. "[The Central Park] was boarded by these five individuals. They attempted to access the crew cabin," Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said this morning during a meeting with the Pentagon press corps. "The crew, essentially, [was] able to lock themselves into a safe haven. These individuals attempted to access and take control of the ship." The crew of the Central Park issued the distress call on the evening of Nov. 26. The distress call was responded to by the USS Mason, allied ships and associated aircraft which are part of Combined Task Force 151. That task force conducts counter-piracy missions. After the arrival of the USS Mason and partners with CTF 151, task force personnel demanded the release of the Central Park, Ryder said. The five armed individuals then disembarked the vessel and fled in a small boat. "After the five individuals fled, the Mason sent out a visit, board, search and seizure team on the water that stopped the small boat. They detained the individuals, and then ... the VBSS team boarded the Central Park and cleared the vessel," Ryder said, adding that the Central Park crew was found to be safe following the incident. While the identity of the five armed attackers was not yet confirmed at the time of the morning news briefing, Ryder said initial indications are that the individuals are Somali. All five are currently being held aboard the USS Mason. Hours later, early in the morning of Nov. 27, Yemen time, two ballistic missiles were fired toward the general location of the Mason and the Central Park. "Initial indications were that two ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, toward the general location of the Mason and the Central Park," Ryder said. "The missiles landed in the Gulf of Aden, approximately 10 nautical miles from the ships. It is not clear at this time what they were targeting." Ryder said that neither the USS Mason nor the Central Park were damaged by the missiles and that the Central Park is now back under power and on its way. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address European Peace Facility: Council adopts an assistance measure in support of military actors and navies of Gulf of Guinea coastal states involved in maritime security operations European Council / Council of the European Union Council of the EU Press release 27 November 2023 The Council today adopted an assistance measure under the European Peace Facility worth 21 million to support the Yaounde Architecture and strengthen the capacities of military actors and navies of selected coastal states - Ghana and Cameroon - involved in maritime security operations in the Gulf of Guinea. The newly adopted support under the European Peace Facility shows an increased EU's capacity to act as a reliable, long-term security partner and maritime security provider. In a challenging maritime area such as the Gulf of Guinea, we will contribute to further strengthen the Yaounde Architecture and the capacities of our partner countries' navies to patrol the high seas. - Josep Borrell, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Through this assistance measure, the EU will provide Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) services to the Yaounde Architecture to allow the provision of a recognised maritime picture, and non-lethal equipment to the navies of Ghana and Cameroon, such as rigid hull inflatable boats, intervention speed boats, engines, light naval rotary unmanned air vehicles, marine generators for ships and scuba diving equipment, in full respect of relevant international law, in particular international human rights law and international humanitarian law. The proposed assistance measure seeks to complement the EU-initiated Coordinated Maritime Presence in the Gulf of Guinea, and, in line with EU's ambition to act as a reliable security partner in the Gulf of Guinea, it will also complement the newly established Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) initiative in support of the land force of Western Africa's coastal states. Background The European Peace Facility was established in March 2021 to finance all Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) actions in military and defence areas, with the aim of preventing conflict, preserving peace and strengthening international security and stability. In particular, the European Peace Facility allows the EU to finance actions designed to strengthen the capacities of third states and regional and international organisations as regards military and defence matters. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Humanitarian action: EU introduces further exceptions to sanctions to facilitate the delivery of assistance European Council / Council of the European Union Council of the EU Press release 27 November 2023 The Council today decided to introduce humanitarian exceptions to asset freeze measures in 10 EU restrictive measures regimes. As a result of the decision, certain categories of humanitarian actors, including those outlined in the UN Security Council resolution 2664 (2022), as well as organisations and agencies certified as humanitarian partners of the EU or its member states and member states' specialised agencies can engage in transactions with listed individuals and entities without any prior authorisation, if the purpose is to deliver humanitarian assistance or to support other activities that support basic human needs of people in need. Today's decision increases consistency and coherence across EU restrictive measures regimes and with those adopted at UN level or by other international partners in order to safeguard principled humanitarian action by impartial humanitarian actors. Furthermore, the Council decided to review regularly the humanitarian exceptions in these 10 regimes as well as in certain other EU restrictive measures regimes to evaluate their adequacy and if needed adapt them in the future. This decision sends a strong signal to both humanitarian and economic operators, as well as those in need of humanitarian aid: EU sanctions do not stand in the way of delivering humanitarian assistance. It demonstrates the EU's steadfast determination to avoid unintended negative consequences of sanctions on humanitarian action, and the importance given to the full adherence to international law in the EU's sanctions policy. The 10 sanctions frameworks amended today are regimes established in view the situations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi, Guinea, Lebanon, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Tunisia, Venezuela, Zimbabwe and in relation to cyber-attacks. Background On 9 December 2022, the UN Security Council adopted resolution 2664 (2022), which provides a "humanitarian carve-out" - a standing humanitarian exemption - to the asset freeze measures imposed by United Nations sanctions regimes. On 14 February 2023, the Council decided to introduce the humanitarian exemption pursuant to resolution 2664 in the UN sanctions regimes at EU level, and on 31 March 2023, the Council introduced the humanitarian exemption in the so-called UN/EU mixed sanctions regimes in which EU measures complement sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Sudan: Statement by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union on the latest situation European Council / Council of the European Union Council of the EU Press release 27 November 2023 The European Union (EU) and its Member States reiterate their strong condemnation of the continuous fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces and their respective affiliated militias. This conflict fundamentally threatens the safety and security of the people of Sudan as well as the unity and stability of the country and the region. As long as the warring parties continue to fight, the whole of Sudan faces further division and fragmentation, putting at stake its territorial integrity and national sovereignty. We appeal to all parties to silence their guns and end hostilities immediately without pre-conditions. The EU deplores the dramatic escalation of violence and the irreparable cost to human life in Darfur and throughout the country, as well as violations of International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law. Under International Humanitarian Law the warring parties have responsibility to protect civilians, including women and girls. The EU is appalled by the numerous reports of sexual and gender-based violence, including abductions and detention in slave-like conditions, as well as serious violations and abuses of human rights including children's rights. The EU is deeply concerned by the reports on mass violence against civilians and ethnic cleansing. The EU calls on all actors to halt attacks on civilian infrastructure, including schools, healthcare facilities and humanitarian warehouses and other objects used for humanitarian relief operations. Unrestricted, timely and safe humanitarian access across Sudan, particularly in conflict areas, must be guaranteed by all parties to the conflict. The EU recalls the paramount importance of accountability for all perpetrators of crimes and will spare no effort with international partners on monitoring and documenting human rights' violations and abuses. The EU fully supports the work of the United Nations (UN), including through the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and reiterates the vital importance of the mandates of the Designated independent Expert in Sudan as well as the UN Human Rights Council' independent international Fact-Finding Mission on human rights violations and abuses in the country. In this regard, the EU regrets Sudan's request to terminate the mandate of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) and calls on Sudan to continue its cooperation with the UN. In this context, the EU welcomes the designation of Mr. Ramtane Lamamra as the personal envoy for Sudan by the UN Secretary-General. The EU supports the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor's efforts in investigating alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur in connection with current hostilities. The EU welcomes strong and concerted efforts of dialogue and result-oriented mediation to end the current conflict and facilitate, with the involvement of civilian actors, a return to the path of democracy. The EU underlines the importance of aligning different mediation efforts, focusing on coherence and avoiding duplication or competition. The EU stands ready to continue its diplomatic engagement aiming to support and facilitate dialogue with the UN, the African Union (AU) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and to assist in finding peaceful solutions that respect the aspirations of the Sudanese people and contribute to regional stability. The EU strongly commends the efforts deployed by the AU, IGAD, the neighbouring countries, as well as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States of America in order to put an end to the fighting. Any external support being provided to one or the other of the warring parties will not contribute to the resolution of the conflict and to the stability of the region. We call upon all third parties, notably countries in the region, to refrain from fuelling the Sudanese conflict directly or indirectly. The EU recalls the adoption of its new regime of restrictive measures designed to discourage individuals and entities from engaging in activities that threaten the peace, security or stability of Sudan, and from obstructing the swift resumption of the democratic political transition in the country. This specifically includes the possibility to designate those involved in planning, directing or committing acts in Sudan that constitute serious human rights violations or abuses or violations of international humanitarian law, in addition to those who obstruct the delivery of or access to humanitarian assistance, including attacks on health and humanitarian workers. The EU expresses deep concern regarding the dire humanitarian situation in Sudan and in the neighbouring countries. With close to 25 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, and over seven million internally displaced, the EU is scaling up its emergency response. As a long-term partner of Sudan, the EU remains in solidarity with the Sudanese people and the countries of the region. The EU and its Member States have pledged to contribute to the humanitarian response by mobilising 500 million euros, which represents a third of the total international response. The EU has also supported two Humanitarian Air Bridge (HAB) operations to Chad and Sudan for a total of thirteen flights delivering 600 tonnes of humanitarian cargo since the beginning of the conflict. Yet, insecurity, bureaucratic and administrative impediments are still severely hindering the humanitarian response. The EU reaffirms its steadfast support and solidarity with the people of Sudan. We particularly salute the work and leadership of Sudanese civic forces who are continuing to organise, both inside and outside the country, to provide vital protection and assistance to conflict-affected populations. With numerous consultations organized with civilians and political parties in Brussels and elsewhere, the EU is contributing to these efforts and remains ready to make greater commitment. We pledge our support to this essential work, and to the ongoing efforts of Sudanese civilians to find a way forward towards ending the war. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Why a Palestinian state is the best security guarantee for Israel European External Action Service (EEAS) 27.11.2023 Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy / Vice-President of the European Commission Financial Times - Ahead of the meeting of the Union for the Mediterranean in Barcelona, HR/VP Borrell Fontelles underlines in this OpEd in the Financial Times the need to move forward without delay towards a two state solution as the only long term security guarantee for Israel. I have just spent five days in the Middle East. Along with Ukraine, it has become one of the world's most volatile regions. There will be periods of calm that may give the impression that tensions are easing, but the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains more pervasive than ever and it is here to stay. Our political myopia, to think this conflict was manageable by paying lip service to the two-state solution and then leaving it to fester, must end. Not only for reasons of humanity, justice or morality, but because if we do not fix it now, it may trigger displacement of people, including towards Europe, and exacerbate the risk of terrorism and intercommunity tensions. The region is again haunted by trauma and rage. Israelis are deeply affected by the carnage of October 7, resulting in over 1,200 people killed and more than 200 hostages. Palestinians face a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, another carnage with more than 13,000 victims, primarily women and children, along with attacks by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. A temporary ceasefire and partial hostage release took effect on Friday. I hope this will create a positive dynamic leading to the release of all hostages and an end to hostilities. The horrors committed by Hamas and other extremists are detrimental to Palestinian interests. The leaders I met in Ramallah acknowledge this. However, for them the fundamental issue lies in the Israeli occupation. They struggle to explain to constituents why their freedom of movement is restricted, while illegal settlements flourish and settlers are free to attack them. They also cannot ensure security in the occupied West Bank while Israel is withholding Palestinian tax revenues it collects on the Palestinian Authority's behalf. One horror does not justify another. Yet each side looks only at its own side of the tragedy, at what happened yesterday or what is happening today. But there will be a tomorrow that neither side is yet able to envisage. Israelis believe they need to eliminate Hamas to guarantee their security. Palestinians prioritise ending Gaza's humanitarian catastrophe and settler provocations. Despite these challenges, we must keep the possibility for peace open. My recent trip to the region has strengthened my conviction that the best guarantee for Israel's security is the establishment of a Palestinian state. And, in the short term, we should avoid weakening the Palestinian Authority. Vacuums cannot persist in nature or in politics. If neither Hamas nor Israel governs Gaza, and neither should, the power vacuum will quickly be filled by uncontrolled forces that could turn Gaza into a failed territory and set off another cycle of violence and terrorism. We have known since Hobbes that a society without a Leviathan, a state, is doomed to violence and chaos. We have witnessed similar situations unfold too many times before. We have seen the flows of refugees escaping Syria's conflict into Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey. These countries cannot shoulder another major influx of Palestinian refugees. In the words of one of my interlocutors last week, we will not survive another Nakba. And Europe and the international community will not and cannot accept another forced mass displacement of Palestinians. To prevent Gaza from falling into the hands of uncontrolled armed groups that may destabilise the entire neighbourhood, starting with Israel, the territory must be governed by a state representing its people. Israel's own security requires the creation of a Palestinian state in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. How and when we achieve this will depend on all of us. One thing is clear: all my interlocutors in the Arab world have accepted Israel's existence and want to engage with it. They recognise the immense opportunity that lies in a peaceful neighbourhood, cross-border co-operation and Israel's potential role as a regional economic driver. But all agree that Arab-Israeli co-operation hinges upon resolving the Palestinian question. There is no way around it. To move forward, we must aim for a solution based on justice and equal rights for both peoples. This means, first and foremost, the need for security in the whole region and in Europe, which faces the immediate repercussions of instability. As neighbours, we must join forces with partners regionally and across the world to reach a viable, lasting political settlement for the benefit of Israelis, Palestinians and the region. This is also in our own best interests. The EU, alongside some Arab countries, initiated efforts towards this goal with the Peace Day Effort, launched at the UN in September, just before the storm started. We are determined to keep working towards this objective. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israel/Gaza: Opening remarks by High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell at the 8th Regional Forum of the Union for Mediterranean European External Action Service (EEAS) 27.11.2023 Barcelona EEAS Press Team Check against delivery! Dear Minister [for Foreign Affairs of Jordan, Ayman] Safadi, dear co-chair of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), Dear Minister [for Foreign Affairs of Spain, Jose Manuel] Albares, our host here in Barcelona, thank you for your welcome and for framing the position of the Spanish government. Dear colleagues Ministers, thank you very much for coming to this meeting in Barcelona. And thanks to Spain for their hospitality. The record ministerial attendance at this meeting shows clearly the importance of our discussion today. I regret the absence of Israel at this meeting. Israel has its place in the Union for the Mediterranean, and I sincerely hope that we will have Israel in these meetings again in the future. I am fully aware - all of us are fully aware - of the trauma and rage that are again haunting the region. I could feel it everywhere during my recent visit: in Israel, in Palestine, in Jordan. Nothing can justify the indiscriminate brutality Hamas unleashed against civilians the 7th of October, but one horror cannot justify another horror. International humanitarian law applies to everyone, at all times, and without exception. As [Barack] Obama [former President of the United States] has said in a very inspiring essay about what is happening in the Middle East, "the way Israel exercises its right to defence, matters". Certainly, it matters. The suffering of the civilian population of Gaza, depriving them of basic needs, the highly disproportionate death toll, including more than 5,000 Palestinian children, and turning half of Gaza into rubble. Gaza is more or less like Barcelona - 2.5 million [people]. Just imagine half of this city being turned into rubble, in order to visualise what we are talking about. All [of] that, most of the public opinion around the world considers [it] unacceptable. The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court [Karim Khan] has stated that compliance with International Humanitarian Law is not only a moral imperative but a legal obligation. And in September he started working on international law abuses in the West Bank. Now we have a recent agreement on a four-day truce and the release of civilian hostages. This is an important first step. We appreciate the role of Qatar, Egypt and others in achieving it, but much more is needed to alleviate the dire situation in Gaza and to find a way out of the current crisis. The pause should be extended to make it sustainable and long-lasting while working for a political solution. A political solution that should allow us to break the cycle of violence once and for all. The longer we allow the extremists to set the agenda, the more extremism will spread. Not only in the region, but also affecting us in Europe as well. The violence spread by extremist settlers in the West Bank, many times under protection from the Israeli police and military, does not make Israel safer. The settlements are Israel's greatest security liability. It is also for that reason that they are considered a grave breach of international humanitarian law. I was appalled to see that the Israel government plans to allocate another $43 million to increase the settlement activities and I have condemned it. No army can guarantee a country's safety better than peace can. Several decades of peace with Egypt and Jordan are the proof. But these peace agreements remain incomplete without a peace with Palestinians. A Palestinian State in Gaza, in the West Bank and East Jerusalem is the best and only long-term guarantee for Israel's security. There will not be peace or security for Israel without a Palestinian State. To all of us in this room: we will all suffer from the consequences of a failure. A state that has failed to exist is still a failed state - and we know what this means for the neighbourhood and beyond. The region could not survive another Nakba, and the repercussions would be much worse than anything we have seen. Far too much is at stake for all of us: regional stability, internal security, cohesion and openness of our societies, the credibility of the rules-based order, our collective ability to cooperate in tackling common challenges, from terrorism to irregular migration. Peace between Israel and Palestine has become a strategic imperative for the entire Euro-Mediterranean community and beyond. During my regional tour, I heard from our Arab partners and Israeli experts, that Hamas is more than just an organisation and a terrorist organisation for the Europeans. It is an idea, an ideology. And you cannot kill an idea unless you prove that you have a better one. And to defeat the ideology of Hamas, Palestinians need a credible political prospect for statehood based on international parameters. I am delighted to welcome His Royal Highness Prince Faisal of Saudi Arabia, and other members of Arabic-Islamic Contact Group, as guests of honour at this event, along with our Peace Day [Effort] partners from Egypt, Jordan and the Arab League who are members of the Union for the Mediterranean. I understand that our Arab partners do not want to talk about the 'day after'. They do not want to talk about the 'day after' in Gaza without having a clear and credible political prospect. That is why we should agree today to work together to build such a political horizon. But we do not need to distinguish between today and the next day. The two are closely related because you cannot only silence guns, without offering a perspective to the belligerents. Tomorrow the suspension of operations will end. Perhaps it will last a few more days, but we have to start thinking how do we continue the political process from today. For that, we have to put in place an intellectual framework, some cornerstones of the building that we want to build. I think there are some things on which we can agree. The first one is no to the return of Hamas to Gaza, as a political and military force. This organisation has harmed everyone, including the Palestinian people. Secondly, no to the dismembering of the territory of Gaza. No to the re-colonisation of Gaza by Israel - thinking that if you increase your security by increasing your territory is an illusion, as the last 50 years have proved. It gives the illusion of security, but not security. And the third no is to the illegal colonisation of the West Bank, which is a major source of tension and one of the obstacles to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. If we agree on that, maybe we can agree also on [this]: the solution comes from the return of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza. A Palestinian Authority revitalised, because a territory without a state, is a territory which would be delivered to chaos, to violence, to terrorism and migration for which Europe will be the first to pay the price. Our distance from the battlefield is a pure illusion. Yes, there are 7,000 kilometres, but the consequences will reach us - and that is one reason for which, we, the Europeans, have to be part of looking for a solution with a strong engagement. Yes: to the political settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the basis of the two-state solution. We have been saying that for 30 years. Now, it is time to implement it. It will require a lot of work, and in particular, it will require a coalition for peace, including the European Union - of course - but also the United States, the key states of the Arab League which have the confidence [of] both the Palestinians and Israel, to implement the parameters of a negotiated settlement. Dear colleagues, the path to peace is still very far away, but it is not unattainable. In the history of the most grievance and serious conflicts, there is always a moment when the darkness of the situation can only lead to a horizon of peace, as the war has become unbearable both for the Israelis and for the Palestinians. I am convinced that beyond the shocks and emotions, both people aspire to peace. A peace based on separation, but peace, nonetheless. Because both have equal and legitimate right to the same land, so they have to share it. We need to help them try to agree on that. We need to help them. Alone, they will not be able to do it. This is our endeavour, this justifies our meeting, our gathering, here today. Thank you. Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-249707 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address President and Ministerial Committee on Foreign and Security Policy discuss US-Finland Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA), Russia and situation at Finland's eastern border Finnish Government Government Communications Department 27.11.2023 Press release In their meeting on Monday 27 November, the President of the Republic and the Ministerial Committee on Foreign and Security Policy discussed the Defence Cooperation Agreement (DCA) between Finland and the United States and decided in favour of approving the outcome of the negotiations on the agreement. Parliament has been regularly informed of the progress of the negotiations in accordance with sections 47 and 97 of the Constitution. Parliament needs to authorise the agreement before it can be adopted. The President and the Ministerial Committee also discussed the situation at Finland's eastern border, issues related to Russia and Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine, and held a preparatory discussion on the priorities for civilian and military intelligence in 2024. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Calls grow to extend truce in Palestine-Israel conflict Global Times China to host UNSC high-level meeting in effort to push for a cease-fire By GT staff reporters Published: Nov 27, 2023 11:20 PM China's top diplomat Wang Yi will travel to New York to chair a UN Security Council high-level meeting on the Palestinian-Israeli issue on November 29, which is believed to be the latest effort by international community, including China to push for a cease-fire in Gaza. The fragile truce between Israel and Hamas entered its final day on Monday, with both sides hinting at the possibility of extending it to free more hostages. Analysts have also called for intensifying efforts to exert pressure to prolong the temporary pause in order to stop the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. On Monday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced that "As the rotating president of the UN Security Council for November, China will hold a Security Council high-level meeting on the Palestinian-Israeli issue on November 29. Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will travel to New York to chair the meeting." Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Monday that "China hopes that, by holding this Security Council high-level meeting on the Palestinian-Israeli issue, we can do our part by bringing parties together for in-depth exchanges to build up consensus and take further concrete steps to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, realize cease-fire and cessation of hostilities, protect civilians and ultimately promote the comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the Palestinian question through the two-state solution." A fourth exchange is expected on Monday, during which a total of 50 hostages and 150 Palestinian prisoners are to be freed, most of whom are women and minors. On Sunday, Hamas freed 17 hostages held in Gaza, including a 4-year-old American girl, while Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners. Three more Thai nationals were released. Separately, Hamas said it released a Russian hostage "in response to the efforts of Russian President Vladimir Putin," according to media reports, according to media reports. The release of the hostages was a significant part of the first halt in fighting since Hamas' sudden attack on October 7. Wang Wenbin said on Monday that "Since Israel and Hamas reached the cease-fire agreement, both sides have released three groups of detainees. Steps towards peace, however small, should be encouraged. Difficulties in protecting civilians, however daunting, must be overcome with every possible effort. This round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict has continued for more than 50 days, causing great casualties and serious humanitarian disasters." "As we have repeatedly stressed, violence does not bring true security and the use of force will not create lasting peace. China welcomes all efforts that are conducive to bringing about cease-fire and deescalating the situation. We urge parties to the conflict to earnestly implement UN Security Council Resolution 2712 and the resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly at its emergency special session, jointly and effectively implement the temporary cease-fire agreement and enable it to be extended, and realize a true and lasting cease-fire," the spokesperson said. Seeking to extend truce The upcoming UN Security Council high-level meeting is believed by analysts to be the latest efforts made by China and the international community in promoting a cease-fire of the Palestine-Israel conflict to allow more humanitarian aid to enter into Gaza. More countries are working to extend the four-day truce, which began on Friday. Qatar, Egypt and the United States are also pressing for the truce to be extended beyond Monday. Given the current information released by all relevant parties, a temporary extension of the truce is possible, as both sides have realized they are falling into a vicious cycle as the conflict continues, Tian Wenlin, a research fellow at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times. According to media reports, Hamas for the first time said it would seek to extend the deal by looking to release a larger number of hostages. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he had spoken to US President Joe Biden about the hostage release and would welcome extending a temporary truce if it meant that on every additional day 10 captives would be freed. Hamas suggested extending a truce to echo international calls for a cease-fire and also to kick the ball to the Israeli side, as the Netanyahu government is facing more pressure domestically and internationally, Liu Zhongmin, a professor at the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times. Israel is currently facing a dilemma, as it also needs to prolong the truce in the face of mounting pressure from the families of hostages, and its economy has also been affected by the conflict, said Liu. Thousands of people have reportedly taken to the streets in Tel Aviv, Israel as pressure mounted on Prime Minister Netanyahu on November 25 over his government's lack of preparedness for the October 7 attacks and called for the release of all hostages. Moreover, according to a report by global ratings agency Moody's based on an initial estimate by the Israeli Finance Ministry, the war with Hamas is costing Israel at least $269 million per day and is poised to take a bigger toll on the country's economy than previous conflicts. The Netanyahu government is standing on thin ice, Tian noted, pointing out that it had adopted a tough stance at the start of the conflict, pushing for military action into Gaza in an effort to eliminate Hamas permanently. However, as time has gone on, its military victories have been fewer than anticipated, international opposition has grown stronger than expected, and the damage to its reputation abroad has become more severe than before. Because of all of this, Netanyahu is now more hesitant to stick to his strong position. However, it is still impossible for Israel to agree to turn the temporary truce into a permanent one, as its military goal has not been accomplished, and ending the conflict at this point will be of no benefit to its endgame negotiations with other parties, some analysts believed. Netanyahu said on Sunday that he also told Biden that Israel would resume its offensive "with all of our might" once the truce expires, according to media reports. Liu said that Israel was caught in a dilemma as it lacked a clear strategy on Gaza and there was growing distance between the US and Israel on many issues, especially on post-conflict governance. The war between Israel and Palestine has developed to a point where military conflict has occurred alongside diplomatic and political struggles, with the latter being more crucial, said Liu. Some analysts also noted that while international calls for an overall cease-fire are growing, the pressure on Israel is mounting and the US and the West have also been urged to exert more pressure to bring an end to the war. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Press Briefing by IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari November 27th, 20:15 IDF Press Release Press Briefing 27.11.23 IDF Good evening The effort to bring the hostages home is progressing, and we will update the families and the public as things happen. We need to be patient. We are managing a framework [for the release of the hostages] through mediators, around the clock. Nothing is final until it actually happens. Things are progressing, tonight as well. We must be patient. Dear families, we are aware of the enormous pressure you are under during these hours of waiting and uncertainty. Our hearts are with you. It is our obligation to bring all the hostages and missing persons home - either by continuing with the current framework, or through the next stages of the war. We wish a full and speedy recovery to Elma, who is in serious condition after returning from Hamas captivity. An 84-year-old grandmother, with grandchildren and great-grandchildren, she was abducted on a motorcycle by armed terrorists. She was held under difficult conditions, with no access to life-saving medication. Even now, the medical team is fighting for her life. Dozens more staged video clips of terrorists waving peacefully will not hide the viciousness of Hamas. The responsibility for the hostages - including the Bibas family, who is being held by other factions in the Gaza Strip - is solely that of Hamas. It is the duty of the international community and multinational organizations to bring their authority to bear and demand access to the hostages in Gaza. At this hour, the efforts are underway to continue with the framework, led by Egypt and Qatar, who are committed to carrying out the framework over the next few days and continue bringing more hostages home. The IDF troops in Gaza are prepared on the operational pause lines, and are prepared to carry out the next phases of the war. The troops are rotating outside the Gaza Strip, for rest, training, increasing their readiness for the continuation of the war. There are also restocking on supplies and ammunition, and readying the armored vehicles for further combat. We are determined to return to the battlefield and deepen our achievements, with two goals - the return of the hostages and the dismantlement of Hamas. I would like to say a few words in English (English) Last night, Elma Avraham was released from Hamas captivity. She was rushed to hospital in critical condition. Elma is 84-year-old, she is a mother, a grandmother, a great-grandmother. During the Hamas massacre of October 7th, Elma was taken hostage by savage terrorists. She was dragged into Gaza on the back of a motorbike. Elma was in Hamas captivity for 51 days and nights. She was kept in harsh conditions, she was denied life-saving medication. She was not visited by the Red Cross. When she was released from captivity, she was in critical condition. Elma is a reminder of our critical mission. Now she is home. She is being taken care of. But who is taking care of other hostages in Gaza? Over 150 of our hostages - men; women; children; babies, who is taking care of them? Who is holding 10-month-old baby Kfir Bibas? I'll tell you - ruthless terrorists are holding him hostage in Gaza. We call on the international organizations - especially the Red Cross - to use every tool at their disposal to gain access to our hostages, to make sure they're receiving the medical care they need. Our hostages are not lost. We don't sit around and hope they're found. We will rescue our hostages at all costs. It is our duty, it is the moral responsibility of the Israel Defense Forces. It's why we fight, and why we must keep fighting until all our hostages are home. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US changes narrative on tanker released off Yemen, blames Somali pirates for seizure IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Nov 27, 2023 Tehran, IRNA -- The United States has claimed that one of its Navy warships helped released a commercial tanker seized by armed individuals in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday, and that missiles were fired by Yemen's Ansarullah Movement towards the general direction of the warship and the tanker. According to a statement by the Pentagon on Sunday, the USS Mason responded to a distress call from the tanker, identified as Central Park by the vessel's company that it had been seized by armed individuals. The statement said that the cargo ship was safe after the USS Mason and its allied ships demanded its release. It put the number of the attackers at five, saying that they tried to escape on a fast boat but they surrendered after they were chased by the US warship. The statement also accused Yemen's Ansarullah Movement of firing two ballistic missiles towards the general direction of the Mason and Central Park, but added that the projectiles landed about 10 nautical miles away from them, causing no damage or injuries, according to Reuters. Ansarullah dismissed that. Mohammad al-Bukheiti, a senior member of the movement, said on Monday that allegations of the release of the seized ship by the US were "fabricated." He told Beirut-based Al Mayadeen Arabic News Network that the location of the tanker mentioned in the US narrative is not a suitable place to confiscate ships. The Ansarullah member also said that the movement only targets ships, which belong to the Israeli regime, warning certain countries against intercepting missiles fired by the Yemeni armed forces. Also on Monday, the US admitted that Ansarullah was not involved in the attempted hijacking of the tanker, as a Pentagon spokesman said that the five attackers were Somali pirates. The incident was "clearly ... piracy-related," Patrick Ryder told reporters. "We're continuing to assess, but initial indications are that these five individuals are Somali," according to Reuters. Last week, Yemen's Ansarullah seized an Israeli-linked cargo ship in the southern Red Sea in response to the regime's war on Gaza. The movement has also launched a number of missile and drone attacks on Israeli positions, saying that those attacks will continue unless the regime stops its crimes against the Palestinian people in Gaza. 4194 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Qatar says Gaza truce extended for two days IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Nov 27, 2023 Tehran, IRNA -- Qatar's Foreign Ministry has announced that a deal has been reached to extend the humanitarian truce in Gaza by two days. "The State of Qatar announces, as part of the ongoing mediation, an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian pause for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip," Qatar's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday night. The Palestinian Resistance Movement, Hamas, also announced that the truce was extended in agreement with Qatar and Egypt, the two countries that mediated the temporary ceasefire. The truce, which initially came into force on November 24, was due to end on Monday. It was announced last week following long negotiations. The temporary ceasefire brought a pause in relentless Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, while hundreds of trucks entered the besieged territory to bring in essential supplies. Also, Hamas and the Israeli regime exchanged prisoners. Following the announcement of the truce extension, Israeli media reported that the International Committee of the Red Cross had announced its readiness to receive the fourth group of captives released by Hamas. 4194 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran calls for permanent ceasefire in Gaza ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency Mon / 27 November 2023 / 11:43 Iran foreign ministry spokesman said Tehran expectation is that temporary ceasefire will lead to permanent one and atrocities of Israel would end. Tehran (ISNA) - Iran foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kan'ani said on Monday that Tehran is in contact with other parties to make ceasefire in Gaza Permanent. Speaking in weekly press conference, Kan'ani in response to ending four day ceasefire in Gaza, said: Our expectation is that the crimes of the Zionist regime against the people of Gaza will be completely stopped and the temporary ceasefire will enter into a stable process. "We are in contact and consultation with the regional parties. One of the goals of negotiations is that the temporary ceasefire would enter into a sustainable process and the crimes of the Zionist regime against the people of Palestine and Gaza will not be repeated". Referring to recent Iran Foreign minister to Qatar and consultation about ceasefire in Gaza, Kanani said: "The government of Qatar is making serious efforts in this regard and conducted various consultations. We hope that the current ceasefire will take on a stable aspect". Four day temporary Ceasefire in Gaza with mediation of Qatar and Egypt come into force from Friday and since then some prisoners exchanged between Hamas and Israel. End Itam NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Raisi: US has no right to interfere, make any decisions for Gaza future ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency Mon / 27 November 2023 / 11:15 According to the Turkish president's office, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi discussed approaches toward a durable ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and agreed to sustain coordinating efforts on the topic. Tehran (ISNA) - According to a statement by the office, the two leaders spoke via phone and discussed the "illegal attacks by Israel against the Gaza Strip, efforts to provide humanitarian aid to Palestinians and steps that could be taken to ensure a permanent ceasefire in the region." Erdogan and Raisi decided to continue working together to achieve long-term stability in the area, the statement also disclosed. The Iranian President added that the people of Gaza are the decision-makers to determine the future of the Strip, through the Hamas administration, which represents the legitimate government in Gaza, as it assumed authority through a legitimate process and with the votes of Gazans. "America has no right to interfere or make any decisions for the people of Gaza, and any action they take in this regard is doomed to failure," Raisi further underlined. Elsewhere, the Iranian President considered that the United States is murdering the Palestinian people in Gaza, describing any US interference in the future of the Gaza Strip as a continuation of its crimes. Last week, Erdogan described Israel's crimes as "occupier terrorism" constituting "genocide". In a direct quote, Erdogan said, "We [country officials] must compel Israel to comply with international law and be held accountable for its actions. We should also break the blockade in the UN" and declared that "everyone, including foreign officials" wants Netanyahu gone. He went on to criticize politicians who have chosen to ignore the genocide in Gaza and warned them against the "democratic response of the people" as the public conscience has been shifted in favor of Palestine. Days ago, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi stated that Israel is close to realizing that it is nowhere near achieving all of the goals it sought after launching its war on Gaza. "Israel did not achieve any of its goals of occupying Gaza and eliminating the Resistance," he said, adding, "What the Zionist regime has done shows that it has grown desperate in the face of the Palestinian resistance." Raisi further described Operation Al-Aqsa Storm as the Palestinian people's "legitimate defense of their right," prompted by "[Israel's] incessant oppression." End Item NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israelis conduct brutal raids in West Bank amid Gaza truce ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency Mon / 27 November 2023 / 11:13 Israeli forces carried out brutal raids into multiple camps in the occupied West Bank, resulting in the arrest of several Palestinians, according to reports from the Palestinian media. Tehran (ISNA) - Palestine TV disclosed that Israeli Special Forces stormed the Jalazone refugee camp in Ramallah, apprehended a young man, and conducted a separate operation in the Aqabat Jaber camp in Areeha. Sources in the media noted a significant explosion in the Aqabat Jaber camp, synchronized with the Israeli occupation forces surrounding a Palestinian home. They confirmed the dispatch of military reinforcements, including a bulldozer, towards the camp. Simultaneously, Israeli occupation forces obstructed an ambulance from reaching the Aqabat Jaber camp in Areeha following reports of gunshot injuries. Reports also indicated armed confrontations between Palestinians and the Israeli invading forces. The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that Israeli invading forces arrested a Palestinan early Monday morning after raiding his home in al-Aroub, in the occupied West Bank's al-Khalil area. It stated that the Israeli army invaded the camp and forced shop owners to close, leading to confrontations in which Israeli military fired live bullets, sound grenades, and tear gas. The Maan news agency quoted eyewitnesses saying that Israeli occupation forces raided the village of Haris amid gunfire and tear gas, leading to confrontations with Palestinian youth in the area. This comes shortly after eight Palestinians were martyred and others were injured during the occupation's aggression on Jenin and Nablus early Sunday morning. The occupation attacked the Jenin refugee camp and besieged the government hospital, the headquarters of the Red Crescent Society, and the Ibn Sina Hospital, as the Resistance in Jenin confronted the occupation, which deployed attack drones and snipers. As the Israeli genocide in Gaza is ongoing, it might seem inappropriate to shift focus to the relatively smaller but troubling settlers' violence and IOF's terrorism in the occupied West Bank. However, it would be a mistake to underestimate the dangers posed by the recent surge in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. This seems to be a strategic calculation made by Israel to expand its illegal settlements and steal more Palestinian land. Reports indicate a notable increase in the number of Palestinians forcibly displaced or killed since Oct. 7. The occupation seems to be fully aware that the diverting global and Israeli attention from the West Bank provides cover for more land usurpation in the area. End Item NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Data on interceptions of aircraft completed near the Baltic States' borders on November 20-26, 2023 Republic of Lithuania - Ministry of National Defence 2023-11-27 International cooperation On November 20-26 NATO Air Policing Mission Detachment fighter aircraft were scrambled twice to intercept aircraft of the Russian Federation violating flight rules in international airspace over the Baltic Sea. On November 20 aircraft of the NATO Air Policing Mission in the Baltic states detachment were scrambled to intercept one IL-20 flying in international airspace from mainland Russia to Kaliningrad. It had no pre-filed flight plan, without using the onboard transponder and not maintaining radio communication with the regional air traffic control centre. On November 25 NATO Air Policing fighter aircraft intercepted one IL-20 flying from Kaliningrad to mainland Russia through international airspace. It had no prefilled flight plan, its onboard transponder was switched off and the crew was not maintaining radio communication with the regional air traffic control centre. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Secretary General: NATO to reaffirm long-term support to Ukraine as Foreign Ministers address urgent security issues NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation 27 Nov. 2023 NATO Foreign Ministers meeting in Brussels over the next two days will address the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as growing strategic competition, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday (27 November). Speaking ahead of the meeting, Mr Stoltenberg called for the halt in fighting in Gaza to be prolonged. "I call for an extension of the pause. This would allow for much needed relief to the people of Gaza and the release of more hostages," Mr Stoltenberg said, calling on Iran to "rein in its proxies" after a series of strikes against US forces in Iraq and Syria. On Russia, Mr Stoltenberg warned that Moscow seeks to destabilise Allied democracies, citing cyber-attacks and energy blackmail, as well as its use of migrants against Finland. "NATO stands in solidarity with our Ally Finland", the Secretary General said following Moscow's actions in recent weeks to facilitate the arrival of migrants at Finland's border with Russia and use "migration as a tool to put pressure on a neighbour and a NATO Ally" prompting the closure of border crossing points. Addressing Ukraine's offensive, Mr Stoltenberg said that Kyiv is "inflicting major losses on Russia," has recaptured 50 percent of the territory that Russia had seized, and that it has "prevailed as a sovereign independent nation". "This is a big win for Ukraine", the Secretary General said, adding that Russia is "weaker politically, economically and militarily" than before the war. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will attend the first meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council at foreign ministers' level on Wednesday (29 November). "We will reaffirm NATO's long-term support" to Ukraine Mr Stoltenberg said and "agree recommendations for Ukraine's priority reforms, as we continue to support Kyiv on its path to NATO membership." Ministers will also discuss the situation in the Western Balkans. Mr Stoltenberg said that NATO was examining a more permanent increase of troop numbers in the region to keep the peace. "Stability depends on all sides choosing dialogue and diplomacy over conflict and chaos," he added. Mr Stoltenberg also called on Turkiye and Hungary to complete the ratification process for Sweden's membership of NATO as soon as possible, saying "the time has come." Allies will also address the challenges posed by China. The Secretary General welcomed recent discussions between China and Allies underlining that "dialogue is important". "China is not an adversary but Beijing's actions challenge our security, and we must work together to respond," he said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Biden, Netanyahu discuss Gaza over phone People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 15:25, November 27, 2023 WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed issues concerning hostage release and humanitarian assistance in Gaza Strip. In a telephone conversation, Biden welcomed the release of hostages by Hamas over the past three days, and the two agreed to continue supporting the release of all hostages held by Hamas. "The two leaders agreed that the work is not yet done and that they will continue working to secure the release of all hostages. The two leaders agreed to remain in close contact over the coming days," a White House statement said. The two leaders also discussed the pause in fighting and much needed additional humanitarian assistance to Gaza, read the White House statement. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Senior Hamas official: We hope truce would be extended for longer period Iran Press TV Monday, 27 November 2023 10:32 PM A senior official of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas says he hopes the existing truce with Israel, which has brought about a lull in the regime's genocidal war against the Gaza Strip, would be extended for a longer period of time. Khalil al-Hayya, a member of the Hamas' Political Bureau made the remark in an interview on Monday. The four-day truce entered into force on Friday, following about seven weeks of Israel's devastating war on the blockaded Palestinian territory, and has been already extended for two days past its expiry on Monday. "We hope that we could extend the truce for a longer period of time," al-Hayya told Qatar-based Al Jazeera television network. His remarks came after earlier the same day, Hamas said in a statement that it had agreed to the extension after talks with Qatar and Egypt, and the truce will be extended under the initial terms of the agreement. Gaza's Government Media Office said in a report on Monday that more than 15,000 Palestinians were killed in Israel's genocidal war before the truce took effect. It added that the figure included 6,150 children and 4,000 women, with more than 33,000 others injured. The regime began its latest act of aggression against Gaza on October 7 following an operation by the territory's resistance groups in response to decades of Israel's crimes and violence against Palestinians. The truce deal also included a prisoner swap agreement between Hamas and Israel, which mandated the release of 50 Israeli captives in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners, all of them women and children. Prior to Monday, 39 Israeli captives and 117 Palestinian prisoners were released in three phases under the swap agreement. In addition, Hamas has also released 19 foreign nationals. "This mechanism will continue during the next two days to hand over 10 Israelis in exchange for 30 Palestinians," the Hamas official said. "We seek to enter into a new deal that goes beyond [the release of just] women and children," al-Hayya said, adding, "A new deal related to other groups [of Palestinian prisoners] could be reached after the exchange of women and children is completed." Besides its incessant and indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza during the war, Israel cut off the flow of basic supplies, such as water, electricity, medicines, and fuel into one of the world's most densely-populated territories that houses over two million Palestinians. The truce agreement was also supposed to enable transfer of humanitarian aid to the coastal territory, especially its northern part, which has seen the most intense of Israel's brutal attacks. Al-Hayya complained that "there has been a failure and delay in delivering aid to northern Gaza during the past days, and we hope that this will change." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Hamas says made deal to extend Gaza truce by 2 days Iran Press TV Monday, 27 November 2023 5:47 PM The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas says the temporary ceasefire with Israel has been extended for two days. Hamas said in a statement it agreed to the extension after talks with Qatar and Egypt. The conditions are the same as those of the initial agreement. Qatar's Foreign Ministry had already released a statement as the mediator of the agreement, announcing the extension. Spokesman Majed al-Ansari said that "an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian truce for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip." "The State of Qatar announces that, as part of the ongoing mediation, an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian truce for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip." Meanwhile, Tehran has demanded an end to Israel's brutal war on Gaza, stressing that the regime's crimes must not be repeated again. During his weekly news briefing, Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kan'ani said the Islamic Republic seeks a lasting and stable truce. Hamas had said it wanted to prolong the ceasefire if the Israeli regime made serious efforts to release more Palestinian prisoners. Israel had also expressed willingness to proceed in return for the release of 50 more captives. The temporary ceasefire took effect in Gaza on Friday, giving Palestinians in the besieged territory a brief respite from Israel's 7-week brutal war. Over the first three days of the truce, Hamas released a total of 58 captives in exchange for 117 Palestinian prisoners. Meanwhile, humanitarian aid has been arriving in Gaza as part of the ceasefire deal. However, people are complaining about insufficient fuel and demand more aid. The Qatari foreign ministry also said five planes of aid were headed to the Egyptian city of El-Arish, from where the assistance would be transferred to Gaza. The planes are carrying 156 tonnes of aid, including food, medical items and shelter supplies. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israel must stand trial for committing '4 core international crimes' in Gaza: Iran deputy FM Iran Press TV Monday, 27 November 2023 4:43 PM An Iranian deputy foreign minister says the Israeli regime should be brought to justice for all four core international crimes it committed against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip during its latest large-scale military operation. Reza Najafi, Iran's deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, made the remarks in the 28th session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention in The Hague, the Netherlands, on Monday. "During the past eight weeks, the Israeli regime has committed all four core international crimes, namely genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression repeatedly and concurrently," he said. "This entails the international responsibility of the Israeli regime and its supporters as well as the individual criminal responsibility of all those who ordered and committed such crimes or facilitated, aided and abetted their commission, including by providing the required means," he added. The senior Iranian diplomat emphasized that all those responsible for the crimes against the Gazans shall be held to account and be brought to justice. Since the beginning of Israel's war on Gaza on October 7, more than 15,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed only in Gaza while over 6,000 are still missing and more than 36,000 are wounded, Najafi said, adding that over 70 percent of those killed, missing or wounded are women and children. He reiterated that in addition to these figures, the "horrifying" reports and "heart-breaking" images of Israel's barbaric invasion once again revealed, clearly and undeniably, the very "murderous" nature of the regime which possesses weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), including chemical weapons in its stockpiles. Najafi emphasized that Israel's crimes along with a call by a regime's minister for dropping even a nuclear bomb on the Gaza Strip once again proved the serious danger of the Israeli chemical weapons for the regional and international peace and security. He stressed the importance of making every effort for the speedy universalization of the Chemical Weapons Convention, particularly by compelling the Israeli regime to join it without any precondition or further delay. Israel is the sole possessor of nukes in the Middle East. The regime, which pursues a policy of deliberate ambiguity about its nuclear weapons, is estimated to possess 200 to 400 nuclear warheads in its arsenal. Unlike Iran, Israel has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and continues its unsupervised nuclear activities with the support of the United States and European countries. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Jordan FM says Gaza events qualify as genocide as MPs review accords with Israel Iran Press TV Monday, 27 November 2023 3:55 PM Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi says the Israeli aggression against Gaza, which claimed the lives of nearly 15,000 people over 49 days, qualifies as genocide as members of the Arab country's lower house of parliament embark on a review of peace accords with the Tel Aviv regime. Safadi said on Monday that what has happened in Gaza since early October is within the realm of the legal definition of genocide. The minister was speaking in a news conference at the Union for the Mediterranean summit in Spain's Barcelona. Jordan borders the occupied West Bank in Palestine and is home to a large community of refugees who have been displaced by Israel's decades of aggression against the Palestinians. The Arab country has a peace treaty with Israel which it signed in 1994 amid efforts at the time by the US to work out a so-called two-state solution to the Palestinian conflict, an initiative which has failed to bear fruit after nearly three decades. That comes as members of Jordan's lower house's legal committee met with international and constitutional law experts on Sunday to scrutinize the peace accords with Israel, the Jordan News Agency reported. The meeting was aimed at investigating the possibility of prosecuting Israeli officials in the International Criminal Court for crimes they have committed in Gaza, said the report. Committee members carried out in-depth reviews of the accords, said the report, adding that the Jordanian MPs were also in search of legal frameworks to sue Israeli settlers for their acts of violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. The committee is expected to present recommendations to the Jordanian parliament in the near future, said the report. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US resorts to political maneuvering to achieve unfulfilled goals in Gaza war: Iran Iran Press TV Monday, 27 November 2023 11:01 AM The spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry says the United States has failed to achieve its so-called objectives during large-scale Israeli war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and is now resorting to political means to make up for its losses and mistakes. "Based on our monitoring the situation on the ground and contacts with the involved parties, the US seeks to achieve what it has not gained through political means," Nasser Kan'ani said while addressing reporters at a press briefing on Monday. "In other words, the US seeks to realize the unfulfilled goals in [Israel's] cruel war through political approaches," he added. He said all evidence proved that the Israeli regime seeks to continue its adventurism in the region. Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime's decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians. Tel Aviv has also blocked water, food, and electricity to Gaza, plunging the coastal strip into a humanitarian crisis. Nearly 15,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed in the Israeli strikes. Asked about the future of Gaza and the US interventionist policies, Kan'ani said that over the past decades, the US has been a part of the problem in the Palestinian issue, including the recent Israel's war crimes in Gaza. During the Gaza war, the US provided the Israeli regime with full support in all sectors and prevented efforts aim to end the onslaught in the Strip, the Iranian spokesperson said. The US is not expected to be a part of the solution but its cessation of supporting the Tel Aviv regime can help solve the issue, he added. Kan'ani emphasized that the US lack of heed to the realities on the ground have always led to failure of its plans on finding a possible solution to the Palestinian issue "The US and the Zionist regime failed to achieve what they had planned during the recent war and cowardly aggression [against Gaza]," he said. However, the Iranian diplomat once again reiterated that the Palestinian people would never allow any party to achieve its "illegitimate interests". "Palestine's fate will be determined by its own people... The US unjust actions will not help solve the crisis without weighing up the realities," Kan'ani added. In response to a question about the US move to send its warships to the West Asia region, he asserted that Washington has never carried out a measure to boost regional security and has always played a destabilizing role. The spokesman rejected Iran's role in decisions made by the Palestinian resistance groups, saying they are merely showing a "natural reaction to the US unconstructive role in support for the Zionist regime's crimes and the US illegal presence in the region." "Iran always remains committed to security and stability in the region," Kan'ani pointed out. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Palestinian resistance says Gaza ceasefire 'extendable' as calls to prolong truce grow Iran Press TV Monday, 27 November 2023 9:21 AM Calls have mounted for the extension of a four-day truce in the Gaza Strip that saw a halt in the Israeli genocidal war and a swap of Palestinians incarcerated in Israeli jails and captives held by the resistance group. The ceasefire, which took effect on Friday, expires on Monday, allowed the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza that has been subjected to a brutal Israeli aggression over the past few weeks. Thus far, 39 Israeli captives and 117 Palestinian prisoners have been released as part of the deal mediated by Qatar and Egypt. The figure does not include an Israeli-Russian man and 19 foreign nationals freed from Gaza separately from the deal. A senior leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad resistance movement said that the proposal to prolong the humanitarian truce is still under "evaluation" by his group. In an interview with Qatar-based Al Jazeera television network, Daoud Shehab said the Islamic Jihad is "committed to the interests of the Palestinian people more than anything else," adding that there should be clear guarantees to prevent Israeli acts of aggression against Gaza. The resistance group, he added, is seeking to stop the war as well as the displacement of more Palestinians and will not allow Israel to impose its will on the people in Gaza. In a statement released on Sunday, Hamas said it wants "to extend the truce after the four-day period ends, through serious efforts to increase the number of those released from imprisonment as stipulated in the humanitarian ceasefire agreement." Meanwhile, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told The Financial Times that Hamas needs to locate dozens more Israeli captives to prolong the truce. US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that the pause could be "extended for another day, or two days, or three days or even more." "The ball is in Hamas's court on that because what Israel has said is that it is prepared to pause another day of fighting for every 10 hostages that Hamas releases," he told ABC News, claiming that the resistance group bears responsibility if the pause stops. After a telephone conversation with US President Joe Biden, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed in a video statement that he had expressed his openness to extending the Gaza truce. However, Netanyahu warned that once the ceasefire is over, the Israeli military's ground operation will return in full force. Israel waged the war on Gaza on October 7 after Hamas conducted Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people. Since the start of the aggression, the Tel Aviv regime has killed nearly 15,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and left vast swathes of the coastal enclave in ruins. It has also imposed a "complete siege" on the territory, cutting off fuel, electricity, food and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israel 'paralyzed' after failing to eliminate resistance: Islamic Jihad envoy Iran Press TV Monday, 27 November 2023 8:09 AM The Palestinian Islamic Jihad resistance movement's envoy to Tehran says Israel has has failed to achieve "any of its goals" after the brutal aggression on the besieged Gaza Strip, mainly eliminating the resistance forces in Gaza. "The main goal of the Zionist regime was to destroy the resistance forces, but, despite all the brutality and crimes [it committed] and unprecedented support it received from the arrogant powers, it could not achieve anything," Nasser Abu-Sharif said in an interview with ISNA. He noted that the aggression that began on October 7 has even inflicted heavy casualties and losses on the regime and hit its economy, and "the regime is completely paralyzed now." His remarks come as Israel was forced to reach a ceasefire agreement with Hamas resistance movement based on the terms of the group. Abu-Sharif described the four-day ceasefire which took effect on Friday as "an opportunity to deliver aid, water, food and medicine to women and children in Gaza and provide shelter to the displaced people." The envoy noted that the Israeli aggression has exposed "the reality and cruelty" of the Western countries that support the occupying regime. The West "doesn't respect international laws, moral rules and freedom." Elsewhere in his remarks, Abu-Sharif praised and appreciated Iran's stance on the situation in Gaza, referring to the remarks made by President Ebrahim Raeisi in the emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) that was held in Riyadh earlier this month. However, the envoy slammed some Arab regimes for their failure to take practical steps in support of Palestinians. "Unfortunately, countries that have ties with the Zionist regime and share a border with Gaza, such as Egypt, could not adopt a serious stance." Abu-Sharif downplayed statements made by some Arab countries in which they condemned Israel's onslaught, stressing that "practical steps are more important." He further said that Arab regimes can't allow even "a glass of water" to enter Gaza without Israel's permission, describing all ties with Israel as "a stab in the back of the Palestinian nation." He urged countries that maintain ties with Tel Aviv to "completely cut their relations" with the occupying regime. Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime's decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians. Tel Aviv has also blocked water, food, and electricity to Gaza, plunging the coastal strip into a humanitarian crisis. Nearly 15,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed in the Israeli strikes. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israeli forces detain dozens of Palestinians in surging West Bank violence Iran Press TV Monday, 27 November 2023 8:06 AM Israeli military forces launched a new arrest campaign across the West Bank in the early hours of Monday and arrested dozens of Palestinians in multiple raids, in what aid agencies describe as "deteriorating conditions" since the war began in Gaza on October 7. Palestinian media outlets, citing local sources speaking on condition of anonymity, reported that Israeli forces stormed Kafr Ni'ma town, located 13 kilometers (8 miles) northwest of Ramallah, and the town of Bani Na'im in the early hours of Monday morning, and arrested at least 50 Palestinians. Six Palestinians were also detained in the northern West Bank village of Jaba', while five others were rounded up throughout the Nablus governorate, including Askar and Balata refugee camps, the reports said. The reports also added that, in the village of al-Asakra, located 4.5 kilometers southeast of Bethlehem, the regime's forces arrested a Palestinian, identified as Muhammad Ali Asakrah, after raiding and searching his father's house. Similar raids were also reported in the city of Beitunia and the al-Arroub refugee camp. Local sources told the official Palestinian news agency WAFA that Israeli troops stormed the al-Arroub camp late on Sunday, forcing shop owners to close their shops. Confrontations then broke out between the camp residents and Israeli forces, with the latter firing live bullets, stun grenades, and tear gas canisters to disperse the crowd. Israeli forces launch raids on various cities of the West Bank almost on a daily basis under the pretext of detaining what it calls "wanted" Palestinians. The raids usually lead to violent confrontations with residents. Since the war broke out in the Gaza Strip on October 7, Israel has intensified its raids and arrest campaigns throughout the occupied territories. "Conditions in the West Bank have deteriorated sharply in the weeks since the October 7 attack [in Gaza], mostly in an acceleration of pre-existing trends," the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned in a statement on Friday. According to OCHA Israeli soldiers and, in some cases, settlers have killed 216 Palestinians in the West Bank since 7 October, bringing the total killed in 2023 to date to 426, far more than the 170 killed in 2022, the year the UN declared the deadliest since 2006. Palestinian Prisoner rights group Addameer also reported that before October 7, there were about 5,200 Palestinians in Israeli custody. However, after Operation al-Aqsa Strom followed by Israel's bombardment campaign against the besieged enclave, the number of Palestinians arrested skyrocketed and 3,000 more were arrested. Of those arrested after the war erupted in Gaza 145 are children, 95 are women and 37 are journalists. Addameer said that most of the detained journalists were subjected to administrative detention, which means they are held indefinitely behind bars without facing trial or charges. The prisoner's rights group highlights that the detainees are subjected to physical violence and medical negligence in prisons. The arrests also come amid a 4-day truce between Israel and Hamas after seven weeks of fighting. As part of the temporary truce which went into effect on Friday, Israel and Hamas began exchanging Palestinian prisoners with Israeli prisoners of war who are held captive in Gaza by resistance groups after the events of October 7. Over the course of the temporary truce, Hamas is set to release at least 50 Israeli hostages and Israel 150 Palestinians. On Sunday, Israel and Hamas completed the third day of swaps. So far three batches of Palestinian prisoners, each including 39 individuals, were freed. Hamas has also handed over 39 Israeli captives and a number of foreign nationals since Friday. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Yemeni forces fire ballistic missiles toward US destroyer in Gulf of Aden: CENTCOM Iran Press TV Monday, 27 November 2023 6:21 AM The US military says Yemeni Armed Forces have fired two ballistic missiles in the direction of USS Mason, an Arleigh-Burke class destroyer, in the Gulf of Aden. In a statement, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said that the destroyer was targeted early Monday morning local time after it aided the tanker ship Central Park that had been seized in the Gulf of Aden. "The missiles landed in the Gulf of Aden approximately ten nautical miles from the ships," the statement added. "There was no damage or reported injuries from either vessel during this incident," it claimed. The Central Park was carrying phosphoric acid and had an international crew of 22, The Associated Press reported. It sent a distress signal prompting the US aircraft USS Mason to respond. The tanker ship sails under the Liberian flag and is managed by London-based Zodiac Maritime, which is part of Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer's Zodiac Group. Earlier this month, the Yemeni Armed Forces seized a vehicle transport ship also linked to Israel in the Red Sea off Yemen. They have threatened to attack Israeli ships in the waters off Yemen and launched drone and missile strikes targeting the occupied territories in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Israel waged a war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group conducted Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people. Since the start of the aggression, the Tel Aviv regime has killed nearly 15,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and left vast swathes of the coastal enclave in ruins. It has also imposed a "complete siege" on the coastal sliver, cutting off fuel, electricity, food and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Hamas says it seeks to extend Gaza truce after end of four days Iran Press TV Monday, 27 November 2023 2:24 AM The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas says it seeks to extend a four-day truce with the Israeli regime after it expires on Monday. "We are seeking to extend the four-day truce with Israel if serious efforts are made [by the regime] to increase the number of Palestinian detainees released from Israeli prisons," the group said in a brief statement carried by the Palestinian Information Center on Sunday. The truce took effect on Friday after a night of intense Israeli bombardment, requiring the release of Israeli captives held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners incarcerated in the regime's jails. It mandated the release of 50 Israeli captives in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners. So far following the deal, the regime has released three 39-strong batches of Palestinian prisoners. In return, Hamas has freed nearly 40 Israeli captives and a number of foreign nationals. Following the statement, a member of Hamas' Political Bureau, Khalil al-Hayya, confirmed the movement's seriousness about extending the truce into a "comprehensive prisoner exchange deal," the agency reported. "We were concerned from day one about the return of detained women and children to their families," he said, adding, "We will strive with full diligence to secure the release of more civilian detainees." He added that once the movement makes sure about the possibility of securing the freedom of more Palestinian detainees, it will inform concerned parties about extension of the truce. "We want to stop the aggression against our people and [make sure about] the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip," the official said. After the truce entered into force, Ziyad Nakhalah, the secretary general of the Gaza-based Islamic Jihad resistance movement, said the Israeli regime agreed to the truce because it failed to achieve its stated goals in the Gaza war and also due to its "losses on the battlefield." "Had it not been for the losses on the battlefield, the Zionist regime would not have agreed to the ceasefire agreement and the exchange of prisoners," Nakhalah added in a televised address. He said the resistance would "force the Zionist enemy to exchange all the prisoners on a wider scale." "The rest of the enemy's prisoners, including officers and soldiers, will not be released without the release of the rest of our prisoners, and this issue is related to the end of the war and aggression," Nakhala asserted. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China, Vietnam hold joint patrols in the Gulf of Tonkin The two countries hold two joint patrols back-to-back amid tensions in the South China Sea. By RFA Staff 2023.11.27 -- China and Vietnam are holding two joint patrols this month in the Gulf of Tonkin despite conflicting interests in the wider South China Sea. A naval joint patrol was held last week from Nov. 21-23 and a patrol between the two coast guards is being held from Monday until Dec. 2, media from both countries reported. Two vessels from each side have taken part in each event. The main purpose of the joint activities is "to carry forward the traditional friendship and deepen mutual trust between the two countries, as well as further promote mutual understanding between the two militaries," they said. The Gulf of Tonkin, called Beibu Gulf in Chinese and Vinh Bac Bo in Vietnamese, is the shared water between northern Vietnam and China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, as well as Leizhou Peninsula and Hainan Island. Hanoi and Beijing formally agreed on the demarcation of the gulf in 2005. The two countries have since been holding regular joint patrols of the navies and coast guard forces. According to media reports, vessels from the two countries "conducted patrols along the gulf's division line, exchanging information about hydrology, meteorology, sea and air conditions in the patrol area." "After the joint patrol, the two sides carried out joint search and rescue drills as well as communication drills," Xinhua news agency reported. The ongoing coast guard joint patrol also focuses on "monitoring and control of fishing vessels from both countries" in order to reinforce the law against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, according to Vietnam's People's Army Daily. Lack of mutual trust? "These are routine joint patrols between the two militaries, besides some other similar activities along their land border," said Nguyen Ngoc Truong, a former Vietnamese ambassador turned political analyst. "But the gulf is clearly demarcated so this is an easy routine. I don't think it says much about the mutual trust," he added. "The South China Sea is a totally different matter." Vietnam and China are among six parties holding overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea and Hanoi rejects the so-called 'nine-dash line' that Beijing uses to claim historical rights over the entire sea. The two countries have also been embroiled in bitter disputes over natural resources in the South China Sea. "China has been sending ships to harass Vietnam's oil and gas exploration in its own exclusive economic zone, such as at the Vanguard Bank," said analyst Nguyen Ngoc Truong. "You can see how it is very difficult to build mutual trust." Hanoi has been careful in balancing its relations with the world's major powers China and the United States but in September upgraded its partnership with the U.S. to the comprehensive strategic level, on par with China. Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang. Copyright 1998-2023, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content November not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Secretary Blinken's Call with Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Al Thani US Department of State Readout Office of the Spokesperson November 27, 2023 The following is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller: Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. The Secretary thanked the Prime Minister for Qatar's partnership and critical efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas. Secretary Blinken notably welcomed the safe recovery of four-year-old American Abigail Idan. The Secretary welcomed Prime Minister Al Thani's update that the sides agreed to extend the humanitarian pause in Gaza over the next 48 hours. The two leaders discussed the importance of a sustained surge of additional humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza. Secretary Blinken reaffirmed the strength of the U.S.-Qatar relationship as well as its importance to ensuring regional security and stability. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Secretary Blinken's Call with Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan US Department of State Readout Office of the Spokesperson November 27, 2023 The below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller: Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with Armenia's Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan. They discussed U.S. support for efforts to reach a durable and dignified peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Secretary reaffirmed the United States' ongoing support for Armenia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and outlined efforts to increase bilateral cooperation with Armenia as we work to support its vision for a prosperous and democratic future. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Gaza: Aid reaches shattered north as UN chief hails 'glimpse of hope' in ceasefire extension 27 November 2023 - Desperate Gazans in the north of the enclave had their first sip of clean water in weeks on Monday as a continuing pause in fighting enabled broadening aid access to the Strip, UN humanitarians said. "This aid barely registers against the huge needs of 1.7 million displaced people," a statement from the UN Secretary-General's office said on Monday, highlighting his call for a full humanitarian ceasefire. "The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is getting worse by the day." Extended deal is 'glimpse of hope': UN chief Asked by reporters at UN Headquarters in New York later in the day for his reaction to news that the Qatar-brokered ceasefire is due to extend for a further two days, Mr. Guterres said that it was "a glimpse of hope and humanity in the middle of the darkness of war." And as the UN emergency relief coordination office, OCHA, reported that people in the south were queuing for kilometres to obtain cooking gas and resorting to burning window frames and doors for cooking, it added that the four-day humanitarian pause agreed upon by Israel and Hamas has been "largely maintained". Under the agreement, Hamas released 17 more hostages taken during the armed group's terror attacks in southern Israel on 7 October, bringing the total number of hostages released to 58, OCHA said. Some 117 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons have also been released since Friday. Meanwhile over the weekend new efforts to bolster Gaza's devastated healthcare system came to fruition as a UN convoy transported life-saving vaccines from Gaza City to the south of the enclave, where they can be refrigerated. Rescuing vaccines OCHA said that on Sunday the joint UN convoy collected 7,600 doses of vaccines for various diseases from the Gaza Ministry of Health warehouse, where they would have become unusable due to a lack of refrigeration in the north, and successfully brought them to the south. "After thorough inspections to ensure their validity, the vaccines will be utilized to enhance routine immunization, which has been hampered by a shortage of supplies and ongoing hostilities," OCHA stressed. 'Hunger, desperation and destruction' Humanitarians reaching the north of the Strip for the first time since it was sealed off by Israeli military operations weeks ago bore witness to scenes of desolation. On Sunday, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) conducted a joint mission to deliver vital food assistance to Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City and to surrounding areas. "It's a promising step, but the team recounted painful stories from the people who haven't received any aid in weeks," WFP Representative in the occupied Palestinian territory Samer AbdelJaber, wrote on social platform X. "They saw hunger, desperation and destruction." On Saturday a UN health agency (WHO) and Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS)-led mission evacuated at least 17 patients and wounded people from Al-Ahli hospital along with 11 of their companions, to the European Hospital in Khan Younis in the south of the enclave. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the patients were "suffering from gunshot wounds, amputations and burns". He reiterated calls for a "sustained ceasefire". Urgent food assistance Aid convoys brought ready-to-eat food to four shelters run by the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) in north Gaza's Jabalia camp on Sunday, as well as tents, blankets and bottled water. "The convoys were carefully inspected by Israeli forces deployed at a checkpoint near Wadi Gaza before proceeding northwards," OCHA said. Since 24 November, WFP has managed to provide essential food assistance to 110,000 people in UNRWA shelters and host communities through the distribution of bread, food parcels, and electronic vouchers. OCHA reported that food prices in Gaza have surged since the start of the conflict. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the price of wheat flour jumped by 65 per cent in October while that of mineral water doubled. 'Burning doors to cook' Since the pause came into effect cooking gas has also been entering Gaza, but OCHA warned that the amounts "fall well below the needs". The UN Office reported two-kilometre queues at a filling station in Khan Younis in the south of the Strip, with people waiting overnight, while those unable to secure cooking gas were "burning doors and window frames to cook". NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address World News in Brief: Delivering on health at COP28, aid for north Darfur, food standards watchdog turns 60 27 November 2023 - Climate action is health action and the legacy of the COP 28 climate conference opening later this week in Dubai should be a commitment to a healthier planet. That's the message from UN health agency WHO, which said on Monday that negotiators at the upcoming meeting must recognize their responsibility "for the health of populations worldwide". "Leaders must deliver in Dubai, providing the strong health outcomes their peoples expect and their economies urgently need," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. According to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), some 3.5 billion people - nearly half of humanity - live in areas highly vulnerable to climate change, and curbing greenhouse gas emissions is urgent to mitigate the disastrous health effects of global warming. Deadly heat WHO said that rising temperatures have caused a 70 per cent increase in heat-related deaths among people aged 65 and over in the last two decades, while infectious diseases like dengue and cholera have surged. At the same time, flooding and drought have wrought havoc on food production. Transitioning to clean energy sources is also urgent to help prevent the seven million premature air pollution deaths every year, WHO insisted. Sudan: UN hails aid milestone in Darfur, calls for broader access The conflict in Sudan has entered its eighth month, and while aid access remains extremely challenging, UN humanitarians are doing their utmost to reach people in need. On Monday, the UN's top humanitarian official in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, welcomed the arrival of the first cross-border humanitarian shipment from Chad to Al Fasher in North Darfur state. Facilitated by UN aid coordination office OCHA, the relief includes medical and nutritional supplies. The development follows another milestone last week when humanitarians delivered medical supplies to Central Darfur for the first time since conflict broke out in April. Humanitarians continue to call for sustained aid access across Sudan, where almost half the population face severe levels of hunger, according to the UN World Food Programme (WFP). Last week, UN emergency relief chief Martin Griffiths deplored the fact that the Sudanese capital Khartoum remains inaccessible to humanitarian relief and highlighted the "distressing" toll of the conflict on civilians in Darfur. The UN Children's Fund has reported over 3,000 allegations of severe children's rights violations in the country since the fighting started, with the Darfur region accounting for at least half of the cases. Global food standards body marks 60 years of consumer protection The world global food standards body marked its 60th anniversary on Monday at the headquarters of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The Codex Alimentarius Commission, as the consumer watchdog is officially known, began with just 30 countries but has now grown to 189 members, FAO chief QU Dongyu noted. "Sixty years ago, the objective was to highlight the rapidly growing importance of internationally accepted food standards as a means of protecting consumer and producers globally and to effectively reduce trade barriers - these objectives are still very relevant today," he said. "More than ever, there continues to be an important emphasis on science and risk assessment as the basis for standards, as we look to science to prevent food from becoming unsafe and to reduce the risk of foodborne illness," he added. The body brings together the world's top scientists to crunch the key data and discuss specific microbiological or chemical hazards. Protecting the most vulnerable "Their deliberations concentrate on the protection of the most vulnerable, such as children and pregnant women, and take into consideration local and regional differences in food consumption," Qu explained, noting that due to the longer and more complex food chain of today, prevention and control systems for food safety, like Codex, have become increasingly important and significant. The Codex also defines the quality of food by providing guidance on hygiene, labeling, nutrition, and the measurement and sampling techniques that attest to its safety. The 46th session of its ruling body will discuss adopting a range of new texts and guidelines in line with its objectives of ensuring the production and trade of safe food. The standards assess scientific findings and potential risks, all while prioritizing food safety and decreasing the likelihood of food-borne illness. The scientific foundation for these standards is provided by the WHO and FAO. The recommendations are voluntary for Member States but provide a structure for national health laws, which help ensure consumers are increasingly protected from unsafe or low-quality food purchases, and importers have greater confidence that they will receive conforming shipments of goods. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. Navy Destroyer Conducts Freedom of Navigation Operation in the South China Sea US Navy 27 November 2023 From Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet Public Affairs PARACEL ISLANDS, South China Sea -- On November 25, USS Hopper (DDG 70) asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the South China Sea near the Paracel Islands, consistent with international law. At the conclusion of the operation, USS Hopper (DDG 70) exited the excessive claim area and continued operations in the South China Sea. This freedom of navigation operation ("FONOP") upheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea recognized in international law by challenging restrictions on innocent passage imposed by the People's Republic of China (PRC), Taiwan, and Vietnam. The PRC, Vietnam, and Taiwan each claim sovereignty over the Paracel Islands. All three claimants require either permission or advance notification before a military vessel or warship engages in "innocent passage" through their territorial sea, in violation of international law. Under customary international law as reflected in the Law of the Sea Convention, the ships of all States - including their warships - enjoy the right of innocent passage through a territorial sea. The unilateral imposition of any authorization or advance-notification requirement for innocent passage is unlawful. By engaging in innocent passage without giving prior notification to or asking permission from any of the claimants, the United States challenged these unlawful restrictions imposed by the PRC, Taiwan, and Vietnam. The United States demonstrated that innocent passage is not subject to such restrictions. Unlawful and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose a serious threat to the freedom of the seas, including the freedoms of navigation and overflight, free trade and unimpeded commerce, and freedom of economic opportunity for South China Sea littoral nations. The United States challenges excessive maritime claims around the world regardless of the identity of the claimant. Customary international law reflected in the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention protects certain rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea enjoyed by all nations. The international community has an enduring role in preserving the freedom of the seas, which is critical to global security, stability, and prosperity. The United States upholds freedom of navigation for all nations as a principle. As long as some countries continue to claim and assert limits on rights that exceed their authority under international law, the United States will continue to defend the rights and freedoms of the sea guaranteed to all. No member of the international community should be intimidated or coerced into giving up their rights and freedoms. U.S. forces operate in the South China Sea on a daily basis, as they have for more than a century. They routinely operate in close coordination with like-minded allies and partners that share our commitment to uphold a free and open international order that promotes security and prosperity. All of our operations are conducted safely, professionally, and in accordance with customary international law. The operations demonstrate that the United States will fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows - regardless of the location of excessive maritime claims and regardless of current events. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Digital Press Briefing with Admiral Lisa Franchetti, Chief of Naval Operations, United States Navy, and Master Chief Petty Officer of the United States Navy James M. Honea US Navy - Press Briefing 27 November 2023 Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy James Honea conducted a digital press briefing with the U.S. Department of State's Asia Pacific Media Hub, November 24. MODERATOR: Greetings from the U.S. Department of State's Asia Pacific Media Hub. I would like to welcome journalists to today's on-the-record briefing with Admiral Lisa Franchetti, Chief of Naval Operations, United States Navy, and Master Chief Petty Officer of the United States Navy James Honea. Admiral Franchetti will discuss her first international trip as the 33rd Chief of Naval Operations to Japan and the Republic of Korea, as well as the U.S. Navy's focus on the value of allies and partners across the globe, but especially the Indo-Pacific. With that, let's get started. Admiral Franchetti, I'll turn it over to you for your opening remarks. I think we have you on mute, Admiral Franchetti, if you're able to unmute yourself, please. Okay, we may - Admiral Franchetti, can you hear us? Okay, we may be having some technical difficulties. All right, we are having trouble hearing. Let's stand by for one moment while we figure out how to get the Admiral back on the line. ADMIRAL FRANCHETTI: Katie, it's Admiral Franchetti. Can you hear us? MODERATOR: Yes, now we can hear you. Thank you so much. Okay, wonderful. Please go ahead, and sorry for the technical difficulties. ADMIRAL FRANCHETTI: Okay, thank you. Well, good morning, and thank you, everyone, for joining us today as we conclude our weeklong trip to the Indo-Pacific. It's great to speak with you from Busan, Korea, where I served as Commander, Naval Forces Korea, from August of 2013 to August of 2015. And it's great to have the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, James Honea, who also served with me then as my Command Master Chief, by my side here in Korea today. I was just confirmed as the Chief of Naval Operations on the 2nd of November, and I purposefully chose to come to the Indo-Pacific region for my first trip because of the strategic significance of this region. The security and stability of this region affect every American, it affects every nation around the globe, and again, I'm really happy to be here with the MCPON in our concerted effort to underscore our focus in the Indo-Pacific. My message to my counterparts during this trip has been clear. The United States Navy is committed to working with allies, partners, and likeminded nations in the Indo-Pacific and upholding a free and open region founded on respect for international rules, laws, and norms. This region remains America's foremost priority, and that is why no matter what is happening around the world, the United States Navy continues to deploy and operate forward here in the Indo-Pacific. Our National Defense Strategy directs the Department of Defense to act urgently to sustain and strengthen deterrence in this region, and to do so alongside our allies and partners. That has been a common thread across each of my engagements: our shared commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. Our alliances underpin the stability, the security, of this region, and facilitate the preservation of the rules-based international order. For more than three-quarters of a century, the U.S. Navy has been the anchor of world stability, deterring war, upholding international law, and ensuring access to the seas. Today our Navy's role has never been more important or consequential. Our Navy is America's away team. We operate forward with allies and partners on, under, and above the sea, and in the same space and the same domains as potential adversaries every single day. Today we are training, exercising, and cooperating with allies and partners throughout the Indo-Pacific so that we are not just interoperable, but, where possible, we're interchangeable. Our allies must be fully integrated into our planning and our operations. As we speak, the United States Navy operates forward alongside allies and partners, prioritizing this Indo-Pacific region. For example, the USS Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group, which MCPON and I will visit here in Busan later today, is deployed and supporting our allies and partners and reinforcing those strategic relationships in this very critical region of the world. The Vinson Strike Group just completed a training exercise involving multiple large-deck ships with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, bringing together 150 aircraft and more than 10,000 sailors to demonstrate integrated air and naval power. The Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group, which MCPON and I visited yesterday for Thanksgiving, recently completed its patrol in support of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific. During this patrol, they participated in numerous multinational integrated military exercises with participants including the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, the Royal Australian Navy, the Republic of Korea Navy, and the Indian Navy. They also operated in the Indo-Pacific with NATO Allies, including the French, Canadian, and Italian navies, and demonstrated the growing connective tissue between U.S. alliances in the Indo-Pacific and in Europe. And throughout this year, we've executed many other operations and exercises in the region. Exercise Sama Sama in October, Exercise Noble Wolverine in September, and Malabar in August. Each exercise and operation demonstrates that we are committed to working together to increase our interoperability and strengthen deterrence across the region. In addition to our trip's focus on key allies and partners in the region, MCPON and I wanted to spend time with our sailors, our civilians, and our families to thank them for their operations in this critical region - thank them for their service and their sacrifice, serving overseas and deployed, especially during this holiday season. Our Navy has the very best ships, submarines, and aircraft, but without our people, they go nowhere and they do nothing. I think our people are our true secret weapon. They give us a decisive edge, and because of them our Navy remains the preeminent fighting force on, under, and above the sea. I'm really happy to be back here in Asia. My visit has been incredibly important. MCPON and I chose this region, again, to be my first trip as CNO, to underscore the significance of our maritime operation and our alliances in the Indo-Pacific. And we chose this visit at this time to celebrate and recognize our sailors, their families, and the sacrifice they make every day. I look forward to answering your questions about our trip and our sailors, but I'll stop now and turn it over to MCPON to say a few words. MASTER CHIEF PETTY OFFICER HONEA: Well, good morning. MODERATOR: Thank you so much, Admiral Franchetti. I'm turning it over to Master Chief Honea. Thank you. MASTER CHIEF PETTY OFFICER HONEA: Thank you very much, ma'am. And good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us and helping us tell the story of the American sailor and how important this region is to all of us. I'm proud to be back with my boss, Chief of Naval Operations Lisa Franchetti, and to visit the sailors and the families that are stationed here in Korea and across the theater, as well as visit the sailors of the Carl Vinson later on today. What they all do provides that stability that allows all of us to enjoy life and prosper. And I'm proud to also be back in the area and visiting with my partners of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, the Republic of Korea Navy, and the Royal Australian Navy. I have so many friends here and across the theater, and I'm always so glad to return to my second home in the Pacific. I look forward to your questions and helping tell the story of the American sailor. Thank you. MODERATOR: Thank you so much for that great introduction, and we will now turn to the question-and-answer portion of today's briefing. So our first question today came in in advance from Sangho Song of Yonhap News Agency, based in Washington, D.C., who asks: "South Korea, the U.S., and Japan plan to operationalize a trilateral system for real-time sharing of North Korean missile warning data. Can you explain when that is expected to begin and what your expectations on that are?" Over to our speakers. ADMIRAL FRANCHETTI: Well, thank you for your question. I was in Japan the past two days and I had some really good conversations about strengthening the trilateral relationship of the U.S., Japan, and the Republic of Korea, and I'm looking forward to having those same conversations today with my Republic of Korea counterparts. Building on the Trilateral Leaders' Summit at Camp David earlier this year, this is a really important opportunity that we have to build on our trilateral cooperation, and my conversations echo those of Secretary Austin and his counterparts earlier this month when they stressed the importance of the rules-based international order and expressed strong opposition to any unilateral actions that seek to alter the status quo by force or coercion. I am very excited about the opportunities for multilateral cooperation, especially trilateral cooperation in this region, and I look forward to the development of a plan to further enhance that trilateral cooperation going forward. Thank you. MODERATOR: Okay. Our next question comes in via the Q&A tab from Seong Hyeon Choi of the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, who asks: "China held live-fire drills in the South China Sea while the U.S. and the Philippines carried out joint sea and air patrols. What is your opinion on China's actions in the South China Sea, and what are some of the aims you have with the joint sea and air patrol with the Philippines?" Over to our speakers. ADMIRAL FRANCHETTI: So the Navy has operated around the globe for centuries, demonstrating our ability to be present, to assure our allies and defend our interests, and there's nothing new about that. No member of the international community should be intimidated or coerced into giving up their rights and freedoms. So again, we will always continue to fly, sail, and operate alongside our partners and in accordance with international law. We are welcoming the strengthening of the ties between the United States and the Philippines. Again, we see historic momentum in the alliance, which has upheld peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region for over 70 years. And I'm looking forward to further exploring opportunities to strengthen the bilateral operations and planning, including through our upcoming Balikatan 2024 exercise, and look forward to expanding even further into multilateral activities with likeminded partners. As it pertains to China's recent provocations, dangerous maneuvers against the U.S. aircraft and ships operating in the South China Sea, we are committed to preserving the rights of all nations to fly, sail, and operate safely and responsibly wherever international law allows. MODERATOR: Okay. Our next question goes to the live queue. We have Colin Clark from Breaking Defense, based in Sydney, Australia. Colin, you should be able to unmute yourself now. QUESTION: I am unmuted. So let's look at the Wall Street Journal story that claims U.S. sub dominance is now at an end in the Indo-Pacific. I'm not sure I bought their argument, but I'd love to hear what you have to say about this, Admiral, especially in light of some of the arguments that in the next seven to 10 years subs are going to become so transparent to technology that they will lose their effectiveness. ADMIRAL FRANCHETTI: Well, thank you for your question. Our submarine force is the finest in the world, and I am confident that they will remain - and we will remain - the strongest Navy in every domain: under sea, on the sea, above the sea. And our submarine force really is a strategic advantage. I'm also really excited about the opportunities presented through AUKUS, the relationship between Australia, the United States, and the UK, to build on our strong relationship in a once-in-a-generation opportunity in both submarine development as well as in all of the other opportunities that AUKUS is affording to enhance our capabilities and our interoperability with our two other very key partners who operate not only in this region but around the globe. MODERATOR: Okay. Our next question came in in advance from Jaewoo Park of Radio Free Asia, based in the United States, who asks: "The Indo-Pacific region, especially the 7th Fleet, is the most extensive area compared to other regions. You have to deal with the China-Taiwan crisis, the South China Sea crisis, and the Korean Peninsula crisis. Can the 7th Fleet deal with multiple situations at the same time?" Over. ADMIRAL FRANCHETTI: Thank you for your question. The United States Navy is a global force. We operate effectively all around the world. We're effectively postured to work all around the world. Our 7th Fleet has our most high-end capabilities. I, as CNO, prioritize sending our most up-to-date capabilities there with our best trained people, and I am confident in the 7th Fleet's ability to deter and to operate freely alongside our partners, and that they are always going to be ready to respond to anything that comes their way. Let me turn it over to MCPON here and help answer that question a little bit too. MASTER CHIEF PETTY OFFICER HONEA: And for sure we pay attention to the things that are extremely important to us, and we have partnerships across the region, at all levels - so not just at the commander's level, but also at our senior enlisted levels; we're continuing to interoperate. Right now our Pacific Fleet master chief has a master chief from the Royal New Zealand Navy working side by side with him in the headquarters. We have continued to work on these partnerships so that we have a great interoperability and to be able to keep our focus and our eye on all things across the globe at the same time. MODERATOR: All right. Our next question goes to Gordon Arthur, who asks via the Q&A tab. Gordon comes to us from Naval News based in Christchurch, New Zealand. Gordon asks: "China and the PLA are becoming increasingly aggressive in places like the South China Sea, as exemplified by last week's use of a destroyer sonar against Australian naval divers. What is the U.S. Navy doing to counter such reckless and bad behavior? Do you fear that there is nothing anybody can do to reduce such aggression by the PLA?" Over to our speakers. ADMIRAL FRANCHETTI: Thank you for your question. As I said earlier, the Navy continues to operate around the globe with our allies and partners, and we expect all navies to operate in international waters to uphold the rules and norms of proper military behavior on, under, and above the sea. So our effort and our focus area is ensuring that we operate professionally at all times. We continue to send that message that navies need to operate professionally and continue to have those positive interactions. That's how we lead, by our example with our allies and partners. And we expect the PRC and every other navy around the world to abide by those customs and traditions of safe and professional operations at sea that do not endanger the lives of our sailors around the world. MODERATOR: Our next question goes to Kym Bergmann of Asia Pacific Defence Reporter, based in Canberra, Australia. Kym, you should be able to unmute yourself now. QUESTION: I think I have. First of all, Admiral, thank you very much for taking the time to speak with us. Now to my question. This relates to AUKUS and the rotation of submarines through Western Australia from 2027 onwards. Noting that the USN is already forward deployed to various locations in the region, how does the Australian rotation contribute to regional security? ADMIRAL FRANCHETTI: Well, thank you for your question. I'm very excited about AUKUS and the many opportunities that that affords for the security and the stability in this region. As you know, we've already had the opportunity for our submarines to visit in Australia, and I think this sets a great path for the relationship and our continued rotational operations with Australia and throughout the Indo-Pacific. I think, again, having a strong submarine force that can operate together with our three strong partners, as well as integrate with other submarine forces in the Indo-Pacific, provides an incredibly strong deterrent message to anyone that would want to change the rules-based international order and rewrite those rules to be in their favor. MODERATOR: Okay. Our next question goes to Damien Cave, who is with The New York Times, based in Sydney, Australia. Damien asks: "It's clear that some U.S. partners, including India, are increasingly concerned about China's undersea capacity with both submarines, unmanned underwater drones, and surveying of the ocean floor. There are also obviously concerns about the Chinese coast guard in the South China Sea. What do you see as the greatest competitive challenge that China poses in the maritime domain, and how do you see it evolving with time?" Over to our speakers. ADMIRAL FRANCHETTI: Well, as we've all seen, China continues to develop its capabilities in the maritime and in all other domains. We will continue to operate together with our allies and partners, which, again, I think are really our strategic advantage, something that China simply doesn't have, nor do many of our other adversaries or potential adversaries around the world. So by operating together, continuing to build with our interoperability through exercise training and planning, the United States and all of its allies and partners will continue to deter China and other potential adversaries around the world. Again, I think this is our greatest strategic advantage. So as we watch China and their development of their military, I'm focused on what we can do to develop incredible capabilities with our allies and partners and be able to operate together in the maritime ecosystem to deter, to defend, and, if necessary, defeat any adversary. MODERATOR: Okay. We have a lot of China-related questions today. We have one from Albert Lee of Naval News in Kuala Lumpur. Albert asks: "The Australian divers that had a PLA navy destroyer use its sonar against them were in the Eastern Pacific on a mission enforcing sanctions against North Korea. The PLA Air Force has also recently conducted unsafe intercepts of Canadian maritime patrol aircraft enforcing those sanctions. Are recent PRC actions changing standard operating procedure for how sanctions-enforcement missions will be conducted?" Over to our speakers. ADMIRAL FRANCHETTI: As the chief of Naval Operations, my focus is really on the manning, the training, and the equipping of developing all of our forces that we provide over here to operate in the Indo-Pacific. And again, I'm committed to providing the most capable, the best trained forces that we have here in the Indo-Pacific region to underwrite the security and the stability of this region. Our Pacific Fleet commander and our 7th Fleet commander and our 3rd Fleet commander are always working together to be able to develop these capabilities, to have the operations, and work with our partners on all their techniques, their tactics, and their procedures to counter any behaviors that come their way. MODERATOR: Okay. And we have a question coming in from Donghui Yu of the China Review News Agency of Hong Kong, based in Washington, D.C. Donghui asks: "Now that U.S.-China military communication has resumed, do you have any plan to restore the naval exchange? Can we expect the new agreement of code of conduct in the high sea could be reached?" Over. ADMIRAL FRANCHETTI: Well, thank you for your question. And as you know, President Biden and President Xi recently committed to the resumption of high-level military-to-military communication. Additionally, the PRC agreed to resuming telephone conversations between theater commanders. And I'm very excited and I welcome this announcement. As Secretary Austin has said, these agreements were reached just recently, so we know that we have work to do with the PRC military to solidify the next steps for these actions. But I think it's incredibly important to maintain open lines of communication between our two militaries. It's essential to avoiding misunderstandings and miscalculations that could lead to a crisis or a conflict. MODERATOR: All right. Thank you so much, Admiral Franchetti. We've come to the end of our time. If you have any last words for us, I'll turn it back over to you. ADMIRAL FRANCHETTI: Well, thank you again, Katie, for the opportunity to talk with you today and for everyone being here today. Again, I'm very excited to be out here in the Indo-Pacific. I am proud of the incredible work that our Navy team is doing out here, alongside all of our allies and partners. We work hard every day to deter, to be ready to respond in crisis, and, if necessary, to win decisively in war. MODERATOR: All right. Thank you so much, Admiral Franchetti. Master Chief Honea, any last words before we wrap up? MASTER CHIEF PETTY OFFICER HONEA: Ma'am, again, I would just like to say thank you very much for the opportunity to speak with yourself and everybody that joined us today on the Zoom call. I was really, really impressed with the level of questions and how everybody's very attentive and concerned about the problems that we're facing out here in this theater. I'm extremely proud of all the things that our sailors provide to ensure that we maintain peace, security, stability, and prosperity for all of us to enjoy in this theater. I thank you very much again for the time. MODERATOR: Oh, I was on mute, sorry. Thank you both so much for joining us on this very busy trip and your first trip in the new role to this - internationally. We also want to say thanks to all the journalists who joined us today for taking time and for the great questions. We will provide a transcript of this briefing to participating journalists as soon as it is available. And we'd also love to hear your feedback. You can contact us anytime at AsiaPacMedia@state.gov. Thanks again for your participation, and we hope you can join us for another briefing soon. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Blinken Off to Brussels as NATO Shores Commitment to Ukraine By Nike Ching November 27, 2023 The United States is joining member states from NATO this week in renewing the alliance's "steadfast commitment" to Ukraine in its fight against Russia's aggression, according to a senior State Department official. Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads to Brussels, where foreign ministers from NATO will gather from November 27 to 29. On Wednesday, Blinken will lead the U.S. delegation to NATO member North Macedonia who is hosting a meeting of foreign ministers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe or OSCE in its capital Skopje later this week. The United States is hosting the next NATO summit in Washington from July 9 to 11, 2024. Blinken will discuss priorities for the Washington meeting with his counterparts as the alliance celebrates its 75th anniversary next year. NATO-Ukraine Council foreign ministers The chief U.S. diplomat is set to attend the first foreign minister-level meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council as Kyiv aspires to be a NATO member. "The Council supports Ukraine's close partnership with NATO," said Jim O'Brien who is State Department's Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs. "Allies will continue to support Ukraine's self-defense until Russia stops its war of aggression," he added. The NATO-Ukraine Council was inaugurated at the NATO Summit in Vilnius on July 12, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other heads of member governments also in attendance. It convened for the second time in late July to discuss Black Sea security following Russia's withdrawal from a deal overseeing grain exports from Ukrainian ports. The third meeting was held in October to discuss substantial assistance to Ukraine and to ensure Ukraine's forces are fully interoperable with NATO. The NATO-Ukraine Council is the joint body where Allies and Ukraine sit as equal participants to advance political dialogue. Western Balkans One of the sessions at this week's NATO foreign ministers' meeting is to address security and democracy in the Western Balkans. "A stable, prosperous future for the Western Balkans must be based on good governance, rule of law, multi-ethnic democracy, and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms," O'Brien said. NATO officials have affirmed the alliance's commitment to maintaining a safe and secure environment while contributing to broader stability in the Western Balkans. The statement came in response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's earlier warning this month, in which he conveyed information suggesting that Russia has a plan for the destabilization of the Balkans. Speaking on November 21 in Skopje, North Macedonia, during the final stop of a tour of the Western Balkans, NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg stated that the alliance closely monitors Russia's activities in the region. But he said there is currently no perceived military threat to any NATO member in the area. North Macedonia, OSCE After the government of North Macedonia announced that it would briefly lift a flight ban and permit the plane carrying Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to land in Skopje for the OSCE ministerial, Lavrov said on Monday he would attend the OSCE foreign ministers meeting in North Macedonia if Bulgaria opened its air space to the Russian delegation. North Macedonia's sanctions will remain in place against Russia for all other flights. Most European countries banned flights from Russia after its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. O'Brien declined to comment on whether there will be any interaction between Lavrov should he attend the OSCE ministerial and the U.S. delegation but told VOA during a phone briefing that U.S. Secretary of State Blinken will "have a good discussion with" OSCE counterparts about U.S. "support for Ukraine." Some material is from Reuters. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Statement from President Joe Biden on Extension of Humanitarian Pause in Gaza November 27, 2023 I have remained deeply engaged over the last few days to ensure that this dealbrokered and sustained through extensive U.S. mediation and diplomacycan continue to deliver results. Thus far, more than 50 hostages have now been released and returned to their families. Those released include young children, mothers, and grandmothers. One of them was a little American girl, Abigail, who turned four years old while in captivity after her parents were killed in front of her and she was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists on October 7th. I spoke with Abigail's family following her release, and we are working closely with our Israeli partners to ensure she gets the care and support she needs as she begins to recover from this unspeakable trauma. The humanitarian pause has also enabled a significant surge in additional humanitarian assistance to the innocent civilians who are suffering across the Gaza strip. The United States has led the humanitarian response into Gazabuilding on years of work as the largest funder of humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian people. We are taking full advantage of the pause in fighting to increase the amount of humanitarian aid moving into Gaza, and we will continue our efforts to build a future of peace and dignity for the Palestinian people. Today, I want to again thank Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel, Amir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar, and President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi of Egypt for their commitment to this process and in reaching the agreement for an extension over the next 48 hours. We will not stop until all of the hostages held by Hamas terrorists are released. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Finland, Sweden pledge cooperation on security, immigration, NATO roles People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 10:29, November 28, 2023 HELSINKI, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and his Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson, held discussions here on Monday, focusing on bilateral relations, security issues and other topical international and EU affairs. Orpo stressed the importance of closer contact between Finland and Sweden, especially on security issues. During a joint press conference, Orpo mentioned Finland's consideration of new measures to address unauthorized immigration, emphasizing the importance of proportionate and effective actions. For his part, Kristersson said the EU external border is "no longer a matter for Italy, Greece and Spain" only, but also a concern for the Nordics. He expressed strong support for Finland's efforts in protecting the EU border, saying, "We have a common interest." Both leaders stressed the importance of the 2024 European Parliament election. "Finland and Sweden are cooperating to have a strong impact on the future European Union agenda," Orpo said. They also discussed their roles as NATO members, with Kristersson emphasizing that the transition "from following NATO to shaping NATO" represents a new identity. "You have to be there when the decisions at NATO are de facto being taken," he said. On the same day, the prime ministers held a joint meeting with the foreign and defense ministers of both countries. The Swedish delegation also met Finnish President Sauli Niinisto. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Hamas releases 4th batch of hostages from Gaza People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 10:20, November 28, 2023 GAZA, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, on Monday handed over the fourth batch of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip to the International Committee of the Red Cross, according to a Palestinian source. The source, who required anonymity, told Xinhua that a total of 11 hostages were delivered to the Red Cross officials in the fourth phase of the cease-fire swap with Israel. Meanwhile, Hamas has received a name list of 33 Palestinian prisoners to be released from Israeli jails in the occupied West Bank later in the day. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Qatar, Hamas confirm extension of Gaza truce for 2 days People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 08:34, November 28, 2023 DOHA/GAZA, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Qatar announced on Monday that Israel and Hamas have agreed to extend the current humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip for an additional two days. In a statement carried by the Qatar News Agency, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said his country hopes "the humanitarian pause will lead to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the killing of civilians." The truce extension was also confirmed by Hamas. The Gaza-ruling Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement said in a statement to Xinhua that the temporary ceasefire would be extended for another two days "under the same conditions as listed in the previous deal." Mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States, Israel and Hamas reached a four-day ceasefire agreement last week, which entails a halt to hostilities in Gaza, more humanitarian aid into the Palestinian enclave, and the release of 50 Israeli hostages held by Hamas in exchange for some 150 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. The initial truce deal took effect on Friday and is set to expire on Tuesday. Since the Israel-Hamas conflict erupted on Oct. 7, Qatar has been making mediation efforts along with Egypt and the U.S. between the two warring parties to secure the release of hostages and de-escalate the situation in the Palestinian enclave. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Exercise Global Dexterity brings heavy lifters Down Under Issued by Defence Media 27 November 2023 Exercise Global Dexterity 23-2 will bring together C-17A Globemaster aircraft from the United States, United Kingdom and Australia for a series of air mobility training missions. Held at RAAF Base Amberley from November 27 to December 8, the exercise will continue the close ties built in previous years between the RAAF's No 36 Squadron, and the United States Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) 535th Airlift Squadron, travelling from Hawaii. For the first time, the Royal Air Force (RAF) No 99 Squadron will participate in the exercise from December 1 onwards. Exercise Global Dexterity is held twice a year, and provides an opportunity for C-17A aircrew and technicians to build aviator-level relationships with foreign counterparts. Wing Commander Scott Hyland, Commanding Officer of RAAF No 36 Squadron, said these relationships ensured RAAF aviators could support operations at short-notice. "The C-17A is well-suited to delivering critical personnel and large amounts of cargo across the Indo-Pacific, but the people and our relationships are what allow us to do this quickly and effectively," Wing Commander Hyland said. "Through Exercise Global Dexterity, we've built a relationship with the United States PACAF C-17A community that allows us to fly and fix each other's aircraft as a blended workforce, greatly increasing our flexibility during operations." "The value of these aircraft and their workforce is evident when we deploy together in the region, whether it be in support of peacekeeping operations, non-combatant evacuations, or to deliver a time-critical response to a natural disaster." Exercise Global Dexterity 23-2 will involve low-level formation training around western Sydney, high-level air-to-air refuelling from RAAF KC-30As, and deployed operations to RAAF Bases Townsville and Scherger in northern Queensland. "With the cooperation of the Papua New Guinea Government, we will also conduct air mobility missions to Papua New Guinea during Exercise Global Dexterity 23-2," Wing Commander Hyland said. "We are grateful for the opportunity to test our skills in Papua New Guinea, which is one of the world's most complex flying environments. The training we achieve during Exercise Global Dexterity ensures that we can deliver help anywhere in the Indo-Pacific." "We welcome the United Kingdom's debut in Exercise Global Dexterity, and believe it will yield great benefit to the wider Indo-Pacific community on future operations, and we thank the Government and community of Papua New Guinea for their support." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China, France maintain strong momentum in high-level exchanges, agree on deepening comprehensive cooperation Global Times By Chen Qingqing Published: Nov 27, 2023 08:00 PM The high-level exchanges between China and France have maintained strong recent momentum, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday. The two sides agreed on deepening comprehensive and high-quality cooperation, expanding openness and tackling global challenges. Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna and co-chaired the 6th meeting of the China-France high-level dialogue mechanism on people-to-people exchanges. Both sides agreed on the following tasks for the next phase including successfully organize the Year of China-France with a variety of celebratory activities planned around the 60th anniversary of China-France diplomatic relations and the Year of Culture and Tourism in 2024, the ministry's spokesperson Wang Wenbin said. The two sides also agreed on deepening comprehensive, high-quality cooperation, with continued use of strategic, economic, financial, and cultural dialogue mechanisms, and creating new channels for exchanges and dialogue. There will be further cooperation in traditional fields of strength such as civil nuclear energy and aerospace, exploration of new areas like education, scientific research, energy transition, and sustainable development, active exploration of third-party market cooperation, and promotion of high-quality Belt and Road Initiative development, Wang Wenbin said. They also agreed on expanding mutual openness, with China willing to work with France to make the "from French farms to Chinese tables" mechanism a signature achievement of China-France cooperation. China continues to pursue high-quality development and high-level opening-up, offering opportunities for more French companies to develop in China, and hoping France will continue to provide an open business environment for Chinese enterprises. The two countries also aim to jointly address global challenges, with both sides uniting to safeguard the Paris Agreement framework and support the success of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai which begins coming days. Colonna kicked off a two-day visit to China on Thursday and co-hosted the 6th meeting of the China-France high-level dialogue mechanism on people-to-people exchanges with Wang Yi on Friday, paving the way for more activities in 2024 to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of China-France diplomatic ties. During Colonna's visit to China, the China-France carbon neutrality center was officially launched, with the foreign ministers of both countries attending the inauguration ceremony. This sent a strong signal of China-France cooperation in green technology and joint efforts to tackle climate change, Wang Wenbin said. At the high-level cultural exchange mechanism meeting, the foreign ministers witnessed the signing of cooperation documents in education, scientific research, culture, tourism, health, amongst others, and jointly released the list of premium cultural exchange activities scheduled for 2024, unveiled the logos for the 60th anniversary of China-France diplomatic relations and the Year of Culture and Tourism. China will implement a 15-day visa exemption policy for French short-term visitors to China, while France will issue longer-term visas to Chinese graduate students, the spokesperson said. Standing at a new historical starting point, China is willing to work with France to renew traditions, look to the future, and make the China-France comprehensive strategic partnership more solid, more dynamic, and keep China-France cooperation at the forefront of the world, Wang Wenbin noted. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Howitzers, counter-battery radars deployed in PLA drills on mountainous border with Myanmar Global Times By Liu Xuanzun Published: Nov 27, 2023 11:05 PM The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) deployed howitzers and counter-battery radars in its ongoing live-fire exercise on the Chinese side of the China-Myanmar border in a move to test and show the troops' combat capabilities in safeguarding national sovereignty and border stability amid an armed conflict in the neighboring country. The PLA's weapons of choice are very efficient in the region full of mountains covered by forests, experts said on Monday. According to an annual training schedule, the PLA Southern Theater Command organized its army troops and launched a three-day combat exercise on the Chinese side of the China-Myanmar border starting Saturday in a move to test the troops' capabilities including fast maneuvering, border blockading and fire strike, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Monday. During the drills, the participating forces maneuvered rapidly to destinations and held live-fire exercises in different areas, different directions and different time periods under the coordinated command of the Southern Theater Command, as they carried out the combat exercise in a systematic and coordinated manner in groups. Multiple strike groups launched precision strikes on randomly designated targets in multiple directions, while minesweeping and explosives disposal units cleared paths for armored assault units formed by wheeled infantry fighting vehicles to take positions. The infantry fighting vehicles then deployed smoke screens to cover infantry soldier units that are ordered to attack randomly designated targets. At the same time, multiple types of artilleries including vehicle-mounted rapid-fire guns and mortars were ordered to fire alternately to accurately hit targets hidden in mountains and forests. The participating forces deployed vehicle-mounted counter-battery radars to accurately locate target positions, and the data were automatically distributed to firepower terminals of the artillery forces, guiding vehicle-mounted howitzer units to launch powerful suppressive fire on targets. After several waves of fire strikes, the targets were accurately eliminated, CCTV reported. The combat exercise simulated many scenarios, rapidly mobilized forces equipped with live weaponry from long distances, and was organized for several consecutive days, CCTV quoted a commanding officer of the exercise as saying. "It focused on testing the troops' combat capabilities including fast maneuvering and fire strike, and displayed the PLA's resolute determination and ability to win in firmly defending national sovereignty, border stability as well as the safety of the people's lives and properties," said the officer, whose name was not mentioned in the report. According to a notice released on the website of the government of Southwest China's Yunnan Province, the exercise is being held in three regions in the province, namely an area in the city of Mangshi, an area in the city of Ruili and an area in the county of Gengma. The China-Myanmar border features mountainous terrains that are covered by forests even in early winter, which make target searching and precision strike challenging, a Chinese military expert who happened to visit two of the three exercise zones just a month ago told the Global Times on Monday, requesting anonymity. The deployment of the combination of artilleries including vehicle-mounted howitzers and anti-battery radars enables the PLA to accurately locate potential threats and to immediately strike them down, the expert said, explaining that anti-battery radars are able to detect where hostile projectiles come from by reverse-calculating their trajectories. Another highlight of the exercise is that almost all artilleries deployed in the drills are highly mobile, either man-portable or vehicle-mounted, so they are less likely to be on the receiving end of anti-battery radars from the opposing side, the expert said. The PLA Southern Theater Command's exercise comes at a time when an armed conflict is intensifying in northern Myanmar close to the China-Myanmar border. The Chinese Embassy in Myanmar on Friday urged Chinese personnel to evacuate from the Laukkai area of the Kokang region, which is only about 5 kilometers away from the Chinese border. Zhang Junshe, a Chinese military expert, told the Global Times that the exercise enhances the PLA's fast maneuvering capability that allows it to rapidly take positions and be ready for combat in case accidents take place along the border. With the exercise for a border blockade, if foreign armed forces cross the border, the PLA can lock down the region immediately and control the situation, ensuring the border's stability on the Chinese side and the safety of the people's lives and properties, Zhang said. Training fire strike means that the PLA is able to strike hostile armed forces that dare to trespass into Chinese territory, so the exercise also serves as a deterrence that warns related parties, Zhang said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin's Regular Press Conference on November 27, 2023 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China 2023-11-27 20:00 As the rotating president of the UN Security Council for November, China will hold a Security Council high-level meeting on the Palestinian-Israeli issue on November 29. Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will travel to New York to chair the meeting. Xinhua News Agency:aCould you elaborate on the considerations behind the Security Council high-level meeting on the Palestinian-Israeli issue to be chaired by Foreign Minister Wang Yi and China's expectation for the meeting?a WangaWenbin: The latest round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has caused massive civilian casualties and a humanitarian disaster. The international community has been watching the situation with great concern and looks to the UN Security Council to fulfill itsaprimary responsibility for maintaining international peace and securityaand play a constructive role.a The Security Council adopted Resolution 2712 on the Palestinian-Israeli issue not long ago, which is the first Security Council resolution adopted after the latest round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out and also the first Security Council resolution on the Palestinian-Israeli issue adopted since the end of 2016. It started initial steps towards promoting a ceasefire and is conducive to averting an even graver humanitarian crisis and disaster. As the rotating president of the UN Security Council for November, China hopes that, by holding this Security Council high-level meeting on the Palestinian-Israeli issue, we can do our part by bringing parties together for in-depth exchanges to build up consensus and take further concrete steps to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, realize ceasefire and cessation of hostilities, protect civilians and ultimately promote the comprehensive, just andalasting settlement of the Palestinian question through the two-state solution.a Yonhap News Agency:aThe ROK-China-Japan Trilateral Foreign Ministers'aMeeting was held inatheaROKayesterday. China's readout released by the foreign ministry says that the three sides agreed to create conditions for a leaders'ameeting of China, Japan and the ROK. Can you specify the conditions for the leaders'ameeting? Wang Wenbin:aThe 10thaChina-Japan-ROK Trilateral Foreign Ministers'aMeeting was held in Busan, the ROK yesterday. The three sides agreed that it is importantatoadeliver on the consensus reached by leaders, including the Trilateral Cooperation Vision for the Next Decade. The three sides agreed to create conditions for a China-Japan-ROK leaders'ameeting and speed up preparation. The three sides need to work together inatheasameadirectionaand create a favorable environment for achieving positive outcomes at the leaders'ameeting.a Taking this opportunity, I would like to brief you on the China-Japan-ROK Trilateral Foreign Ministers'aMeeting. On November 26,aMember of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended thea10thaChina-Japan-ROK Trilateral Foreign Ministers' Meeting withaROKaForeign Minister Park Jin and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa in Busan,athe ROK. This is the first China-Japan-ROK Trilateral Foreign Ministers'aMeeting in four years. Foreign Minister Wang said that as we are renewing the trilateral cooperation, we need to keep in mind our original aspiration and stick to the right direction and implement our leaders'acommon understandings including the Trilateral Cooperation Vision for the Next Decade. The top priority is to continue to respect each other's development path and core interests in the spirit of facing up to history and looking forward to the future, maintain sound bilateral relations, and lay a solid foundation for a comprehensive restart of trilateral cooperation featuring steady and long-term progress. The three countries need to stick to mutual benefit and win-win results, restart negotiations on the trilateral free trade agreement among China, Japan and the ROK as soon as possible and maintain the momentum of regional economic integration. The three countries need to continue to deepen scientific and technological innovation, keep the industrial and supply chains stable and smooth and optimize and upgrade them. The three countries need to strengthen exchanges and cooperation, expand people-to-people exchanges, facilitate cross-border travels and jointly address common challenges such as climate change. The three countries need to pursue common development, continue to build more Trilateral+X Cooperation projects based on the principles of voluntariness, equality, openness, win-win results, transparency and sustainability, and promote common and sustainable development both inside and outside of the region. Park Jinaand Kamikawa Yoko spoke positively of the progress of China-Japan-ROK cooperation, noting that the three countries are close neighbors and the trilateral cooperation has great significance and enormous potential. In face of the new situation, the three countries need to think about what we hope to achieve through cooperation, step up communication and exchange, work closely together in various fields, and bring more tangible outcomes for the peoples of the three countries. China-Japan-ROK cooperation can reach beyond Northeast Asia and contribute to peace and prosperity in the region and the world. The ROK and Japan are open to China-Japan-ROK+X cooperation to benefit more countries and regions. Amid changes and instabilities in the world and the sluggish world economic recovery, countries in the region and beyond have stronger aspirations for solidarity, coordination and common development. Foreign Minister Wang Yi noted that as important countries in the Asia-Pacific, China, Japan and the ROK need to act in the interest of peace and development and the wellbeing of the people in the region, deepen regional cooperation, jointly respond to risks and challenges and safeguard the region's peace and prosperity. The three countries need to act as frontrunners of East Asia cooperation, drive East Asia cooperation through cooperation among the three countries, uphold open regionalism, oppose drawing ideological lines, andarejectablocs in regional cooperation. The three countries need to act as stabilizers for the region's peace and security, act on the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and address differences and disputes in peaceful ways through dialogue and consultation. The three countries need to act as relief valves in addressing hotspot issues.aContinued tensionsaon the Korean Peninsula do not serve the interest of any side. It is imperative to cool down the situation, create conditions needed to resume dialogue and adopt meaningful actions.a Foreign Minister Wang Yi stressed thataChina will continue to uphold the policy of building friendship and partnership with its neighbors and work with the ROK and Japan to bring the trilateral cooperation back to the right track, maintain sound and steady sustainable development and make new contribution to regional and global peace and prosperity. CCTV:aFromaNovember 23 to 24, French ForeignaMinisteraCatherine Colonnaapaid a visit to China andathe 6th meeting of the China-France high-level dialogue mechanism on people-to-people exchangesawas held in Beijing. Do you have more information to share about the visit and the outcomes of the meeting? What's your expectation for China-France relations going forward? WangaWenbin: Recently we have seen frequent high-level exchanges between China and France. President Xi Jinping had a phone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron and reached new important common understandings on promoting the further development of China-France and China-EU relations. Premier Li Qiang met with visiting French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, where they reviewed good practice in growing bilateral relations and agreed to further deepen mutually-beneficial cooperation. Foreign Minister WangaYiaand Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna held talks and co-chaired the 6th meeting of the China-France high-level dialogue mechanism on people-to-people exchanges. The two sides agreed to make joint efforts in the following aspects: First, we will work together for a successful year in bilateral ties. To mark the year 2024 as the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism and the 60th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations, the two sides will hold a host of commemorative events, act on the important common understandings reached by the two heads of state, have closer high-level exchanges and deepen practical cooperation. Second, we will deepen all-round high-quality cooperation. Both sides will continue to make full use ofatheathree high-level dialogue mechanisms, namely the strategic dialogue, the economic and financial dialogue, and the dialogue on people-to-people exchanges. We will also open new channels of exchanges and dialogue, deepen cooperation in traditional sectors of strength including civil nuclear energy, space and aviation, tap into potentials in emerging sectors such as education, scientific research, energy transition and sustainable development, explore third-market cooperation, and advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. Third, we will expand opening-up to each other. China stands ready to work together with France to turn the mechanism of "from French farms to Chinese tables" into a highlight in bilateral cooperation. As China continues to advance high-quality development and high-level opening-up, it stands ready to offer more opportunities to French companies interested in the Chinese market. It is hoped that France will continue to provide a sound business environment for Chinese companies. Fourth, we will jointly respond to global challenges. The two sides agreed to uphold the institutional framework of the Paris Agreement and support a successful 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Dubai. In April this year, the Chinese and French Presidents reached important common understandings on jointly building a China-France carbon neutrality center. During Foreign Minister Colonna's visit, the center was officially launched with an inauguration ceremony attended by the two foreign ministers, which sent a strong message of China and France strengthening green tech cooperation and jointly responding to climate change. At the meeting of the China-France high-level dialogue mechanism on people-to-people exchanges,athe two foreign ministers jointly witnessed the signing of cooperation documents on education, scientific research, culture and tourism, and health, and the release of the list of high-quality cultural exchange activities between China and France in 2024. They also unveiled the logo of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and France and the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism.aChina will grant 15-day visa-free entry for French travelers and France will issue longer visas to Chinese postgraduate students. Standing at a new historical starting point, China is ready to work with France to renew our traditional friendship and open up new prospects to make sure our comprehensive strategic partnership will be stronger and more dynamic and our cooperation will continue to lead the world. China News Service: After China announced the unilateral visa-free policy for Malaysia on November 24, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on November 26 that Malaysia will grant 30-day visa-free travel for Chinese citizens starting from December 1. What is your comment? Wang Wenbin: We welcome Malaysia's 30-day visa-free policy for Chinese citizens. China and Malaysia are neighbors with time-honored friendship. Earlier this year, the two countries reached important common understandings on building a China-Malaysia community with a shared future, and next year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. We believe that the recent visa facilitation policies of China and Malaysia will further boost cross-border travel between the two countries. China stands ready to work with Malaysia to continue stepping up mutually-beneficial cooperation as well as cultural and people-to-people exchange so as to deliver more fruitful outcomesathrough friendly cooperation. Dragon TV:aThe new government of New Zealand was officially sworn in on November 27.aNational Party leader Christopher Luxonawas sworn in as New Zealand's Prime Minister.aWinston Peters, leader of New Zealand First Party, became Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. What's China's comment? Wang Wenbin:aChina congratulates theanew government of New Zealandaon being sworn in. Premier of the State Council Li Qiang and Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi sent congratulatory messages to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters respectively. China and New Zealand are each other's important cooperation partners. China always values the development of China-New Zealand relations and stands ready to work with the new government of New Zealand to uphold mutual respect, equality and mutual benefits, enhance dialogue and communication, expand practical cooperation, properly settle differences and further advance the China-New Zealand comprehensive strategic partnership. Ukrainian News Agency: The Washington Post reports that Russian and Chinese executives discussedaRussia-Crimea tunnel project. But it is known that China officially recognizes Crimea as the Ukrainian peninsula, so such construction will be illegal.aWhat is the comment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs? Wang Wenbin:aWhat the report says is groundless. I will not comment on that. CCTV: According to reports, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, announced that it wouldadelayathe release of hostages until Israel aallows aid trucks to enter northern Gaza, accusing Israel ofaviolating theaterms regarding aid in theaceasefire agreementaand continuing to open fire.aThe Israeli militaryasaid that itawill immediately return to striking and operations in the Gaza Strip once the truce endsaandathat the fighting would continue until all hostages are freed and Hamas itself is dismantled. Do you have any comment? Wang Wenbin: Since Israel and Hamas reached the ceasefire agreement, both sides have released three groups of detainees. Steps towards peace, however small, should be encouraged. Difficulties in protecting civilians, however daunting, must be overcome with every possible effort. This round of Palestinian-Israeliaconflict has continued for more than 50 days, causing great casualties and serious humanitarian disasters. As we have repeatedly stressed, violence does not bring true security and the use of force will not create lasting peace. China welcomes all efforts that are conducive to bringing about ceasefire and deescalating the situation.aWe urge parties to the conflict to earnestly implement UN Security Council Resolution 2712aandathe resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly at its emergency special session,ajointly and effectively implement the temporary ceasefire agreement and enable it to be extended, andarealize a true and lasting ceasefire.a NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Chinese firms suffer shrinking profits amid challenging recovery Foreign-invested companies were hardest hit: official data. By Elaine Chan and Lee Jeong-Ho for RFA 2023.11.27 -- China's industrial enterprises continued to be hammered by shrinking profits even as Beijing reiterated that the economy is on track to reach its growth target for the year. Profits at firms with revenue 20 million yuan (US$2.8 million) slid by 7.8% in the first ten months of the year, a narrowed 1.2-percentage point decline compared with the January to September number, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics Monday. State-owned enterprises' profits fell 9.9%, while companies with foreign, Hong Kong and Macau interests declined by a wider 10.2% at a time when China could use more foreign investment. The statistics bureau said for October alone, profits at all firms only grew 2.7%. It is a third straight month of profit growth at a significantly slower pace, compared with 11.9% in September and 17.2% in August. Topline numbers, which grew albeit at an almost unchanged pace, were more encouraging. Revenue for all enterprises edged up 0.3% for the ten months of the year, compared with the year-earlier period. Chinese economic indicators to date have painted an uneven post-COVID recovery: slowing industrial activities against a recent pickup in domestic consumption, in part boosted by travel and spending during the Golden Week holiday in early October. Analysts said more government policies are needed to fend off economic headwinds that include a persisting property crisis, which is tied to the local government debt issue, flagging global demand for manufactured goods, and foreign investors wary of an increasingly inward-looking investment environment. Foreign confidence in China Dwindling profits for foreign-invested enterprises reflected in Monday's data do not bode well for how foreign businesses perceive the world's second-largest economy. Alfredo Montufar-Helu, head of think tank The Conference Board's China Center for Economics and Business, said confidence levels among multinational company chief executives vary between industries and companies. "But it is also undeniable that the state of China's economy and the uncertainty brought by geopolitical tensions is hurting sentiment," Montufar-Helu said. According to the Conference Board's biannual survey that measures CEO confidence for China released last week, just 31% of business leaders said the economic conditions in the second-half of 2023 were better compared to six months ago, down substantially from 88% in the first-half. Short-term optimism has also decreased to 51% respondents surveyed versus 79% in the first six months of the year. Still, Montufar-Helo said CEOs believe that "China remains an unignorable market opportunity." "So, while the drop in confidence is reflective of worsening economic and market conditions, it is not indicative of an intention to leave the market." He added that multinational companies are engaging with Chinese authorities to lobby for market-liberalizing measures. "Against the backdrop of economic weakness, I think the government understands the need to improve business conditions so that MNCs are able to contribute their capital, expertise and technologies to increase China's economic productivity." Under Chinese President Xi Jinping's rule and vision, China has expanded the role for state-owned enterprises and industry policies while tightened its control over the private sector that included crackdowns of industries that were once the biggest employers and profit generators. Shoring up In recent months, the Chinese Communist Party has introduced a slew of measures to address the economic structural problems that are stunting growth. It ordered financial institutions to make available capital-raising channels for property developers, while urging private businesses to join hands with state firms to invest in infrastructure to reboot the sluggish economy. Externally, Beijing is trying to diffuse geopolitical tensions, especially the trade war with the United States since 2018, which have weighed on China's economy, preventing it from potential further growth. The summit between Xi and his American counterpart Joe Biden in San Francisco earlier this month is a first step towards thawing icy relations. The long term resilience of China's economy may be tied to its relations with the U.S. and the latter's allies that would give it a larger market access. China must maintain its access to international markets and reignite foreign investment to counteract impacts from domestic economic headwinds like impacts from the property slump and local government debts. Foreign direct investments fell 9.4% to 987 billion yuan (US$138 billion) in the first 10 months of the year, compared with the year-earlier period. China also recorded its first-ever quarterly deficit in FDI by balance of payments for July-September at US$11.8 billion. The measure records monetary flows linked to foreign-owned entities in the country. Edited by Taejun Kang and Mike Firn. Copyright 1998-2023, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content November not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address N Korea restores armed guard posts along border with the South Pyongyang blames U.S., S Korea for inter-Korean deal termination. By Lee Jeong-Ho for RFA 2023.11.26 -- North Korea is reestablishing its Guard Posts (GPs) equipped with weapons along its border with South Korea - a move seen as part of Pyongyang's ongoing pressure campaign against Seoul and potentially sets the stage for future provocative activities at the frontline between the two states. The South Korean military exposed images of what appears to be the North's new Observation Posts (OPs) across the 11 GPs in the inter-Korean border Monday. A military official said the authorities also spotted North Korean troops, trenches as well as weapons, such as recoilless rifles. "From the 24th [of November], activities such as the introduction of heavy weapons into this area, and day and night guard duties have been observed," the official told reporters, adding that the observations were made through photos and night-vision thermal imaging taken from the frontline area using military surveillance equipment. North Korea reinitiated its pressure campaign against the South last week when it declared an immediate and complete withdrawal of the military agreement designed to reduce hostilities between the two nations. It also pledged to deploy its latest weaponry along the borderline. Pyongyang's decision came just a day after South Korea suspended the landmark 2018 inter-Korean military agreement as a countermeasure to Pyongyang's illegal satellite launch that violated a United Nations Security Council resolution. Rocket technology can be used for both launching satellites and missiles. For that reason, the U.N. bans North Korea from launching a ballistic rocket, even if it claims to be a satellite launch. Cheon Seong-whun, a former security strategy secretary for South Korea's presidential office, sees escalated tensions in the Korean peninsula to be inevitable in the short term. "North Korea's actions appear to be a demonstration of their intentions, as they declared last week. They can fire artillery in the West Sea [Yellow Sea] or further restore additional GPs. This could temporarily escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula," Cheon said. The two Koreas had agreed in 2018 to halt what each defined as hostile actions toward the other near the border. Under the agreement, both North and South Koreas dismantled their GPs on their respective sides as a part of efforts to reduce military tensions and build trust. According to South Korea's defense ministry, however, the North has violated the agreement a total of 17 times up until last year since the agreement was signed. Critics in the South, thus, have long argued that the deal has already become ineffective, only serving to restrict Seoul's operational and surveillance capabilities. The blame game Earlier on Monday, North Korea blamed the United States and South Korea for forcing it to scrap the inter-Korean military agreement. "After the adoption of the Panmunjom Declaration on April 27, 2018, and the Pyongyang Joint Declaration in September, along with its annex, the North-South military agreement, the puppet clique has slavishly followed the United States, wantonly violating these agreements," stated North Korea's official Rodong Sinmun on Monday, referring to South Korea as "puppet clique". "Over the past four years alone, various invasive war drills have been conducted over 600 times," said the newspaper, referring to the joint drills between the U.S. and South Korea, as well as those including Japan. "Moreover, since the emergence of the Yoon Suk Yeol traitorous clique, the foremost puppet serving foreign nuclear war forces, the war exercises have become even more dangerously frenzied, escalating to a real-world level of threat." The report, however, did not mention North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's remarks to South Korean special envoy Chung Eui-yong in 2018, in which Kim stated that he "understands" Seoul's position in conducting joint military exercises with the U.S. North Korea has repeatedly expressed its unease with the intensifying trilateral collaboration among the U.S., South Korea, and Japan in the region. Pyongyang perceives this alliance as a threat to its regime's security, primarily because it cannot match the advanced military capabilities of these allies. "Recently, the puppet traitorous clique held what they called a military authority meeting with its superiors, the Americans and the Japanese, where they conspired about 'security cooperation' between the three parties," the Rodong Sinmun said, calling the South Korea a "war minion" of the U.S. and Japan. The U.S., South Korea, and Japan are currently conducting maritime exercises near the South Korean island of Jeju since Sunday, aimed at strengthening close coordination and operational capabilities, according to the South's defense ministry. Cheon noted the challenging situation faced by the South Korean government in dealing with the North's provocations. Escalating tensions, he emphasized, would not be beneficial for South Korea and pointed out the complexity of Seoul's response. "When South Korea suspended the September 19 military agreement, it only suspended the clause related to reconnaissance," said Cheon. "This means that each time North Korea engages in provocative actions, South Korea is confronted with the difficult choice of whether to suspend additional parts of the agreement or the entire agreement," Cheon added, stressing the need for South Korea to carefully formulate its overall military strategy to effectively handle the North Korean challenge. Edited by Elaine Chan and Taejun Kang. Copyright 1998-2016, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content November not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Press Statement of Vice-Minister for Int'l Organizations of DPRK Foreign Ministry Korean Central News Agency of DPRK Pyongyang, November 27 (KCNA) -- Kim Son Gyong, vice-minister for International Organizations of the Foreign Ministry of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), issued the following press statement on Monday: The reason why the UN Security Council fails to fulfill its important duty to ensure global peace and security and get rid of its malfunction can be clearly seen in the "joint statement of 10 countries" issued by the U.S. and its followers. The "joint statement," signed by some permanent member states of the UNSC gripped by extreme prejudice and double-standards and some UN member states accustomed to blindly follow the U.S. instruction instead of considering whether it is right or wrong, is nothing but a conspiratorial document without any effect in the light of international law and political influence. The DPRK's reconnaissance satellite launch is a legitimate and just exercise of the right to self-defense aimed at correctly seeing through and thoroughly coping with the grave military moves of the U.S. and its followers, which are becoming more undisguised in their aggressive nature. If the reconnaissance satellite "Malligyong-1" brought to space is a "threat" to the signatories of the "joint statement", are the nuclear carriers, nuclear strategic submarines and nuclear strategic bombers deployed on the doorstep of the DPRK by the U.S. 30-odd times this year "apostles of friendship and peace"? Do the "ten countries", which accused the DPRK of using ballistic missile technology in launching the satellite, launch their satellites by rubber balloon or null gravity, not by a carrier rocket using the same technology as ballistic missile? Such brigandish idea of the U.S. and its vassal forces that the DPRK is not allowed to exercise its due right to space exploration, a right belonging to all UN member states, is a typical expression of the most hideous and brazen-faced violation of sovereignty that denies the justification of the existence of the DPRK, before being the mere issue of partiality and double-standards. Our stand is clear. The U.S. finds its main interest and hobby in encroaching upon the sovereign rights of independent countries through high-handed practice and threat, but what the DPRK is interested in is its full exercise of the universal sovereign rights common to all countries like satellite launch. No matter what critical statements and harshest-ever sanctions the U.S. and its vassal forces may issue or impose, they can neither check the DPRK's exercise of its sovereign rights nor get what they want. To make it crystal-clear that the U.S. and the West's outrageous and illegal interference in the internal affairs of independent sovereign countries and employment of double-standards against them can never work, the DPRK will squarely, unhesitatingly and perfectly exercise its sovereign rights including satellite launch, and this will contribute to the establishment of a just and equal new international order. If the U.S. and its vassal forces again seek to violate the sovereignty of the DPRK under the pretext of the utterly unlawful "resolution" of the UNSC, they will be held wholly accountable for any consequences to be entailed by it. -0- NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The UK urges the DPRK to cease missile launches and take steps towards peace: UK statement at the UN Security Council Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward at the UN Security Council meeting on North Korea. 27 November 2023 I thank Assistant Secretary-General Khiari for his briefing and I welcome the participation of the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea at this meeting. As we've heard, we meet because on the 21st November the DPRK made a third attempt at launching a military reconnaissance satellite. It triggered Japan's local alert system in Okinawa forcing civilians to take shelter. That was followed by a ballistic missile launch on the 22nd November. These are clear threats to global peace and security which is the core responsibility of this Council and they violate multiple Security Council resolutions. Moreover, these launches follow increased engagement between Russia and the DPRK, including Kim Jong Un's visit to Vostochny Cosmodrome in September, where he met President Putin. When asked by a reporter whether Russia would help North Korea launch its own satellites and rockets, President Putin responded "that's exactly why we came here. The leader of North Korea shows great interest in space." We have in addition, credible reports of Russia sourcing weapons from the DPRK. All this, as ASG Khiari said, has humanitarian consequences. The North Korean people suffer the most as resources are diverted. So what should this Council do? Some argue that this Council should remain silent and avoid escalating the situation, but the DPRK shows no sign of restraint in response. In fact, the DPRK has stated its intention to launch more satellites. This follows 29 launches of ballistic missiles so far this year, including four intercontinental ballistic missiles. The DPRK has written its nuclear aspirations into its constitution. So what should we do? First, I welcome the participation of the DPRK in today's debate. Above all, I hope you will report to Pyongyang our concern for the people of DPRK, and in this respect, I encourage the DPRK to reopen its borders and re-engage with UN agencies. Second, this Council should reiterate the depth of our resolve to combating proliferation. We urge the DPRK to cease its arms supply and abide by its public commitment not to sell arms to Russia. Third, we urge the DPRK to cease these launches, return to dialogue, and take credible steps towards denuclearisation and peace on the Korean Peninsula. President, I urge this Council to demonstrate our commitment to ensure that our resolutions are enforced and to send a united message to the DPRK. I thank you. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address DPR Korea: Military satellites, 'serious risk' to civil aviation and shipping 27 November 2023 - The recent launch of a reconnaissance satellite by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), presents a 'serious risk' to international civil aviation and shipping, the Security Council heard on Monday. The UN's Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, Mohamed Khaled Khiari, told ambassadors the satellite had been loaded onto a rocket launched on 21 November. The National Aerospace Technology Administration of DPRK - more commonly known as North Korea - announced that day that it was the first of several intelligence-gathering satellites to be launched "in a short span of time". "The DPRK's launches represent a serious risk to international civil aviation and maritime traffic," Mr. Khiari said, adding that Pyongyang had failed to issue airspace or maritime safety notifications to relevant UN bodies (the International Maritime Organization, International Civil Aviation Organization, or International Telecommunications Union), although the Japanese Coast Guard had been informed. Rights in space Sovereign states do have the right to benefit from peaceful space activities, the senior UN official said, but Security Council resolutions expressly prohibit North Korea from conducting any launches using ballistic missile technology. Responding to the 21 November launch, the UN Secretary-General AntAnio Guterres strongly reiterated his call on the DPRK to fully comply with its international obligations and resume dialogue to achieve the goal of sustainable peace and the "complete and verifiable denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula. Alarming spike in rhetoric As Mr. Khiari stressed, "the increase in nuclear rhetoric on the Korean Peninsula is deeply concerning." The DPRK continues to implement a five-year military plan unveiled in January 2021, he said, which includes developing a military reconnaissance satellite - also informally known as 'spy satellites' - along with various other weapons systems including tactical nuclear weapons. He noted that the country has recently adopted a constitutional amendment further enshrining its policy on nuclear forces in the Constitution. "As such, the DPRK has consistently demonstrated its strong intention to continue pursuing its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes, in violation of relevant Security Council resolutions," the UN official emphasized, calling on the authorities to refrain from such actions. Nuclear-free peninsula With growing tensions on the Peninsula, it is important to re-establish communication between the two Koreas, particularly through military channels, while exercising maximum restraint to avoid unintended accidents or miscalculations, Mr. Khiari believes. He called on Security Council Members to "unite and explore practical measures to halt the current negative trend" for which all the tools of dialogue, diplomacy, and negotiation, should be used in keeping with Council resolutions, aimed at full denuclearization. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US: North Korea Trying to Advance Nuclear Program With Satellite Launch By Margaret Besheer November 27, 2023 The United States accused North Korea on Monday of using the prohibited launch of a military spy satellite to try to advance its nuclear weapons program, a charge Pyongyang denied. "The DPRK is unabashedly trying to advance its nuclear weapons delivery systems by testing ballistic missile technology in clear violation of this council's resolutions," U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told council members, using the abbreviation for North Korea's formal name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Pyongyang is prohibited by several Security Council resolutions from carrying out nuclear or ballistic missile activity. Thomas-Greenfield noted that North Korea has launched three Satellite Launch Vehicles this year and 29 ballistic missiles, including four intercontinental ones. The United Nations said North Korea issued a pre-launch notification to the Japanese Coast Guard about its space launch vehicle but failed to issue airspace or maritime safety notifications to international sea and air organizations about its November 21 launch, which flew directly over Japan. "The DPRK's launches represent a serious risk to international civil aviation and maritime traffic," U.N. Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari said in his briefing. Japan's envoy condemned Pyongyang's "appalling" and "reckless behavior." "The international community must express grave concern over such an irresponsible act by North Korea and take decisive action to address it," Ambassador Kimihiro Ishikane said. South Korea's envoy said the launch was far from peaceful, as its northern neighbor claims. "Any launch that uses ballistic missile technology, regardless of its success or payload, can contribute to the further advancement of ballistic missile technology, in particular ICBMs capable of delivering nuclear weapons," Ambassador Joonkook Hwang said. North Korea's envoy defended the launch. "It is a legitimate and righteous exercise of the rights to self-defense, which fully belongs to the legal sphere of our self-defense," Ambassador Kim Song told the council. He attributed North Korea's need for such technology to the United States' "hostile policy" toward his country and its joint military exercises with Japan and South Korea. Washington has repeatedly offered to open talks with Pyongyang without pre-conditions. "The DPRK can choose the time and the topic, but the DPRK needs to make that choice," Thomas-Greenfield said on Monday. China's deputy envoy said if Washington is sincere about talks, it should build trust and stop engaging in "pressure tactics" such as the joint military exercises. The council last adopted a sanctions resolution on North Korea in 2017. Russia and China have used their veto or the threat of it to prevent further council action. Several council members also expressed concern about reported military cooperation between North Korea and Russia. Thomas-Greenfield said U.S. information indicates that Pyongyang has provided Russia with more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions for its war in Ukraine. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US well aware of Iran's dominance in region: Defense minister IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Nov 27, 2023 Tehran, IRNA -- Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani said that the Islamic Republic has dominance in the region and that the United States is well aware of this reality. "The Americans attribute any incident to us through lies because they know Iran has dominance, and it is the Islamic Republic of Iran that has the final word in the region," Brigadier General Ashtiani said on Monday. The defense minister pointed out that Iran has achieved significant progress in the defense sector despite Western sanctions against the country. "Now, with a more open environment, these advancements will undoubtedly continue," he added. General Ashtiani was referring to the expiration on October 18 of the United Nations' arms embargo on Iran. The termination came into force eight years after Iran signed a nuclear deal with world powers, which included a timetable on when those bans would end. 4353**2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Deylaman, Iran's new high-tech destroyer IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Nov 27, 2023 Tehran, IRNA -- Iran's latest naval destroyer, Deylaman, represents a significant advancement in naval technology, boasting superior technical and combat capabilities as part of the Mowj-class (wave-class) destroyers and reinforcing the nation's maritime power. Deylaman is the fifth generation of the Mowj class destroyer, all being equipped with various types of domestically-manufactured defense systems and equipment. The first in line was the Jamaran destroyer, which joined the Southern Fleet of the Iranian Navy in 2009. One notable feature that sets Deylaman apart from other destroyers of its class is its redesigned mast. Unlike other destroyers in the class, Deylaman's mast has a unique four-faced, integrated design. The radar system on Deylaman is of the phased-array type, making it the most advanced and sophisticated radar installed on Iranian destroyers. This radar has the capability to detect and track surface and aerial targets, including aircraft, drones, helicopters, surface vessels, and surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles. The primary advantage of this radar over the Jamaran and Damavand destroyers' radars and the AWS radar on other Mowj-class destroyers is its non-rotational design. This design facilitates the removal of certain components of the radar structure, which will in turn ease maintenance and reduce associated costs. Another prominent feature of this radar is its unique Electronic Counter-Countermeasures (ECCM) capabilities, including random pulse transmitter emissions, signal analysis for electronic warfare (EW) systems, rapid pulse frequency changes, and pulse compression. Deylaman differs from other Mowj-class destroyers in its propulsion system as well. It is equipped with four engines with four separate shafts and propellers, providing enhanced maneuverability and mobility in the weather conditions of the Caspian Sea. 4353**2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 'Deylaman destroyer to ensure lasting safety in northern Iran' IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Nov 27, 2023 Rasht, IRNA -- Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Iran's Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, has said that the addition of the Deylaman destroyer to Iran's northern naval fleet will enhance sustainable safety in the Caspian Sea. The announcement was made during a ceremony held in the northern Iranian port city of Bandar Anzali on Monday. He termed the Caspian Sea as "a sea of peace and friendship", adding that the Islamic Republic enjoys amicable all-out military relations with all the Caspian Sea littoral states. Iran's highest-ranking military commander added that the destroyer has been designed and built in the toughest situation when the country is under unilateral sanctions. The commander described the achievement as "a great masterpiece" in the history of the country's Navy fleet. Deylaman, the 5th destroyer in the Jamaran class, weighs 1,500 metric tons and boasts numerous advantages over its predecessors. This indigenous defense accomplishment is particularly powerful in terms of detection, interception, and rescue capabilities. 7129**9417 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran's new destroyer joins naval fleet ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency Mon / 27 November 2023 / 11:22 Iran's highest-ranking military commander says deterrent power and sustainable security hinge on readiness and preparedness of the Iranian Armed Forces as the country's new destroyer joined the naval fleet. Tehran (ISNA) - Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri made the announcement as he attended the ceremony of the joining of a new domestically-designed and manufactured destroyer, dubbed Deylaman, to the country's northern naval fleet to strengthen security in the Caspian Sea. The ceremony was held in the northern Iranian port city of Bandar Anzali on Monday, Press TV reports. He said the Iranian Navy play a leading role in increasing the country's sustainable deterrent power in the face of the enemies. Iran's new destroyer joins naval fleet 'A masterpiece in naval history' Baqeri added that the Dillman destroyer sends a message of peace and friendship to all the neighbors of the Islamic Republic, in particular the Caspian Sea countries. He noted that, "The Caspian Sea is a sea of peace and friendship, and that Iran enjoys amicable all-out military relations with all the Caspian Sea littoral states, so the Navy has once again stressed on the message of friendship by building this destroyer, which is a great masterpiece in the history of the Navy." Chief Commander of the Army Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, Navy Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani and a number of top military officials were also present in the ceremony. Deylaman is the fifth Mowj class destroyer in Jamaran class which is equipped with various types of domestically-manufactured defense systems and equipment. It has the capability to navigate for a long time, search, discover, identify, monitor and confront and, if necessary, repel any air, surface and subsurface threats. Deylaman is also capable of carrying helicopters on its deck. 'Deylaman manufacturing under sanctions blow to enemies' Elsewhere in his address, Baqeri hailed high capabilities of Iran's Navy, saying the manufacturing of Deylaman destroyer under Western sanctions is a matter of hope and honor. He added that the Iranian Armed Forces have been under sanctions imposed by the United States and its arrogant allies over the past 45 years. He emphasized that the most severe sanctions have been imposed on Iran in recent years, however, the manufacturing of such a destroyer by Iranian scientists and artisans raised hope of the country's development and progress. The general noted that Iran would enjoy more sustainable security in its northern parts and enhanced cooperation with the armies in the region following the joining of the destroyer. In addition to state-of-the-art equipment, Baqeri said faithful, smart and committed workforce play a leading role in defending the country. Iran's Navy has in recent years achieved self-sufficiency in manufacturing surface and sub-surface vessels. It has also increased its presence in international waters to protect naval routes and provide security for merchant vessels and tankers. End Item NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran naval forces 'frustrated' self-proclaimed maritime superpowers: IRGC cmdr. Iran Press TV Monday, 27 November 2023 11:05 AM The commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy says his force along with the Iranian Army's naval division have "frustrated" those who claim to be "maritime superpowers." Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri made the remarks in a message sent to Navy Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani on Monday, on the occasion of the Iranian Navy Day. "Today, the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy and the IRGC's Navy ... have turned into a progressive and deterrent power in various dimensions in the region," he said. The Iranian naval forces, he added, "have undertaken their important task of defending the holy Islamic Republic establishment and the Islamic Revolution at the current critical time, inspiring respect from all self-proclaimed maritime superpowers and frustrating them." He also emphasized that Iran's maritime sovereignty was achieved through unity and rapport. Tangrisi further said that the Iranian naval forces are not afraid of any power other than the divine nature and that they will do their best in the path generating power for the country and leading to its progress. The Iranian naval forces are today self-sufficient in manufacturing surface and sub-surface vessels. They have also increased their presence in international waters to protect naval routes and provide security for merchant vessels and tankers. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran stresses sustainable security as new destroyer joins naval fleet Iran Press TV Monday, 27 November 2023 6:52 AM Iran's highest-ranking military commander says deterrent power and sustainable security hinge on readiness and preparedness of the Iranian Armed Forces as the country's new destroyer joined the naval fleet. Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri made the announcement as he attended the ceremony of the joining of a new domestically-designed and manufactured destroyer, dubbed Deylaman, to the country's northern naval fleet to strengthen security in the Caspian Sea. The ceremony was held in the northern Iranian port city of Bandar Anzali on Monday. He said the Iranian Navy play a leading role in increasing the country's sustainable deterrent power in the face of the enemies. 'A masterpiece in naval history' Baqeri added that the Dillman destroyer sends a message of peace and friendship to all the neighbors of the Islamic Republic, in particular the Caspian Sea countries. He noted that, "The Caspian Sea is a sea of peace and friendship, and that Iran enjoys amicable all-out military relations with all the Caspian Sea littoral states, so the Navy has once again stressed on the message of friendship by building this destroyer, which is a great masterpiece in the history of the Navy." Chief Commander of the Army Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, Navy Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani and a number of top military officials were also present in the ceremony. Deylaman is the fifth Mowj class destroyer in Jamaran class which is equipped with various types of domestically-manufactured defense systems and equipment. It has the capability to navigate for a long time, search, discover, identify, monitor and confront and, if necessary, repel any air, surface and subsurface threats. Deylaman is also capable of carrying helicopters on its deck. 'Deylaman manufacturing under sanctions blow to enemies' Elsewhere in his address, Baqeri hailed high capabilities of Iran's Navy, saying the manufacturing of Deylaman destroyer under Western sanctions is a matter of hope and honor. He added that the Iranian Armed Forces have been under sanctions imposed by the United States and its arrogant allies over the past 45 years. He emphasized that the most severe sanctions have been imposed on Iran in recent years, however, the manufacturing of such a destroyer by Iranian scientists and artisans raised hope of the country's development and progress. The general noted that Iran would enjoy more sustainable security in its northern parts and enhanced cooperation with the armies in the region following the joining of the destroyer. In addition to state-of-the-art equipment, Baqeri said faithful, smart and committed workforce play a leading role in defending the country. 'Deylaman boosts sustainable security in Persian Gulf, Caspian Sea' Addressing the ceremony, the Iranian Navy chief said the Deylaman destroyer is a symbol of power of the Army's Navy and the Armed Forces, stressing the importance of ensuring maritime security in the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea. "Enemies always seek to infiltrate into the Islamic Republic through the sea but the navy of the army and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Caspian Sea will not allow the enemies to do this," Irani added. He stressed the need to update Navy's equipment and manufacture various types of vessels and said the Deylaman destroyer has the ability to host special forces, riflemen and infantry with the purpose of dealing with challenges. Such a capability can create endurable security in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Caspian Sea, Irani pointed out. Iran's Navy has in recent years achieved self-sufficiency in manufacturing surface and sub-surface vessels. It has also increased its presence in international waters to protect naval routes and provide security for merchant vessels and tankers. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran to Research Radar and Quantum Warfare at New Military Center Sputnik News 20231127 Andrei Dergalin The non-standard types of warfare that emerged in the 21st century may be more effective than "classic" warfare, explained Iranian military analyst Mohammad-Hassan Sangtarash. Iranian authorities have announced the creation of a center for research of new types of warfare that emerged in the 21st century. The research center in question is reportedly dedicated to exploring the warfare related to areas including radar, biological, sound and quantum domains, according to local media reports. Iranian military analyst Mohammad-Hassan Sangtarash told Sputnik that "non-standard types of warfare involve new methods of waging war and new types of armaments," and that some military experts consider such types of warfare "more effective than the classic ones." "This is why a new research center was created in the Iranian army, where various types and concepts of warfare are being researched and new types of armaments are going to be developed," he said. Sangtarash specifically noted the importance of quantum technologies, arguing that mankind's ability to "control quantum systems (...) significantly expands the use of quantum technologies in different branches of the armed forces and may change the ways wars are waged." "Such technologies may help speed up data processing, while photon (electromagnetic) waves can be used instead of radio waves to detect enemy aircraft," he added. Over the course of the last two decades, Iran emerged as a formidable military power that has a large number of well-trained soldiers and a wide assortment of domestically-manufactured weapons at its disposal. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Prime Minister's Office Statement Israel - Prime Minister's Office The 37th Government 26.11.2023 Updated date: 27.11.2023 Tomorrow, we will submit to the Government an unprecedented NIS 30 billion budget for a month-and-a-half, which meets the needs of the war. The budget will fully meet the defensive and offensive needs of the IDF; look after the families of the hostages, the wounded, the fallen and those who have been murdered, as well as evacuated families in hotels and guest houses; and ensure that the Israeli economy will continue to work and prosper. The budget will support reservists, the Tekuma Authority for the rehabilitation of the communities, businesses that have been hurt and emergency squads as well as the health, social welfare and education needs of all citizens of Israel. The coalition funds have already been cut by over 70%, NIS 1.6 billion, and what remains is designated for civic needs such as teachers' salaries and not any political use. The political debate is over 1% of the overall budget. The budget is large and significant because the Israeli economy is stable and strong. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address November 27, 2023 Release Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III's Call With Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder provided the following readout: Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III called Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant today to receive an update on hostage recovery and the Israel Defense Forces' operational pause in Gaza. The Secretary provided updates on U.S. security assistance support to Israel; reiterated that humanitarian aid into Gaza must increase; and called for state and non-state actors to avoid expanding the current conflict. Secretary Austin also provided updates on U.S. efforts to protect its forces and interests across the Middle East. https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3598987/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address PM Netanyahu's Remarks at the Start of the Government Meeting ahead of Approval of a Budgetary Framework for the 2023 Fiscal Year Israel - Prime Minister's Office The 37th Government 27.11.2023 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this evening: "Upon the outbreak of the war, I directed that all of the taps be opened and that everyone be looked after. This is what we have done since and this is what we are doing today. Today, we are submitting a giant approximately NIS 30 billion budget for a month-and-a-half, for all of the war needs. I will detail: For the IDF; the police; the families of the hostages, the wounded, the fallen and those who were murdered; the families that were evacuated to hotels, small businesses, reservists, the Tekuma Authority, the rehabilitation of the home front, the emergency squads, health needs, social welfare, education and more. I would like to thank Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and the people at his ministry, and the Government ministers who worked hard on this budget; a significant, important and - I say - essential budget for the benefit of all citizens of Israel. Regarding the hostages - we are continuing with the outline that has been agreed to and we are also continuing with our main goal: To bring about the release of our hostages, to complete the elimination of Hamas and - of course - to ensure that this threat will not recur in Gaza. What has been will not be; neither will there be a regime that encourages terrorism, educates for terrorism and pays for terrorism. The first item for discussion by the Government is the appointment of the Governor of the Bank of Israel. We will extend the tenure of Governor Yaron, who is doing excellent and important work. This is part of the stability of the Israeli economy that has been proven to be very strong and steadfast. We have challenges but since we have built a strong economy here, we are able to do what we are doing today - pass a NIS 30 billion budget for both military, and civilian and social needs, and, of course, we will prepare for an additional budget later. At the moment, this is the necessary step. I am certain that everyone will also back the decision on the appointment of the Governor. This broadcasts to the markets that, all in all, are reacting optimally to the war situation in which we find ourselves." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Q&A: Israel's Ambassador Says China's Online Antisemitism Part of Global Phenomenon By Meng-Li Yang November 28, 2023 China has sympathized with the Palestinian cause since Chinese Communist Party founder Mao Zedong sent weapons to Palestinians in support of their liberation movement against Israel. Since then, China and Israel have developed a multibillion-dollar trading relationship with a free trade agreement under discussion. But after the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, anti-Israel and antisemitic comments have flooded China's tightly controlled internet and the online accounts of Israel's embassy in Beijing. And in his speech at a virtual summit on the Israel-Hamas war by the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) group on Nov. 21, Chinese President Xi Jinping said, "The fundamental reason for the Israeli-Palestinian situation today is that the Palestinian people's rights to statehood, survival and return have long been disregarded." Irit Ben-Abba Vitale, the Israeli ambassador in Beijing, spoke with VOA Mandarin in a telephone interview on Nov. 23, to discuss her nation's views on China's official stance, Israel-China relations and the current antisemitic rhetoric in China. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. VOA: China appears to support the Palestinians and advocates for a two-state solution. How does this color Beijing's position on the current conflict? Irit Ben-Abba Vitale, Israeli Ambassador to China: Almost from the establishment of the People's Republic of China, (the two-state solution) has been the policy of the leadership here. We view the war as the Hamas-Israel war. The Chinese side looks at it more as part of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Since they don't recognize Hamas as being a terrorist organization, they also don't mention, Hamas is the entity or the organization that Israel is fighting. We try to position our views; we listen to the Chinese views. We see the Chinese engage by sending their special envoy to the Middle East, to several countries. And there's this shuttle diplomacy that the special envoy from China is doing in the region. We are briefed, and we again present our positions. We also told the Chinese government that we were disappointed by their official statement that came on the eighth of October. VOA: Have Israel-China relations changed because of the conflict between Israel and Hamas? Will Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu still plan to visit China? Vitale: I don't think relations have changed. (China) doesn't recognize (Hamas) as a terrorist organization. We disagree on that. Nevertheless, we have very good relations with China. We hope that very soon we can continue with our normal bilateral relations and promote economic and trade ties and we can still disagree on political issues. The prime minister, of course, his visit had to be postponed because of the war. VOA: Chinese officials use the term "Palestine-Israel" conflict rather than "Israel-Hamas" war. Have you ever suggested they change that narrative? Vitale: China looks at it with a much broader perspective, yes, this is part of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. They don't look at it as a war against the terrorist organization that has to be dismantled from its military capabilities and administrative capabilities. This is the target of this war, [it] is very precise, and we made it very, very clear. We are trying to explain our position to the Chinese side, we say it's not a war against the Palestinians. VOA: Antisemitism is surging in China online and in state media. What is your response? Vitale: The antisemitic, anti-Israel discourse that we saw quite intensively in the last month has subsided. What we have seen in the last month was a global kind of trend. So, this definitely was never a phenomenon in China. I would even say the contrary is true, what we have seen all these years in China is a very positive kind of attitude to Jews and to Israelis. There's always been quite an admiration even a Israel is such a small country, in a very short time, in a very difficult environment managed to be so successful developing our economy and high technologies a This (admiration) is something that we heard a lot. VOA: Responding to antisemitic comments on Chinese social media, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a press briefing last month, that Chinese law stipulates it is forbidden to use the Internet to promote extremism, ethnic hatred and discriminatory and violent information. Vitale: The Chinese side had to come up and say something like this to remind the people here that it's against the Chinese law to discriminate, (to spread) hatred discourse and violence in the social media, the internet. This was a very important message to the general public. (VOA Mandarin has found the Israeli Embassy's account on Weibo, China's Twitter-like social media platform, continues to be overwhelmed with antisemitic and anti-Israeli messages such as one posted on Nov. 22: "We have to do what Israel says. If we don't do what Israel says, we are antisemitic, complicit, and will be hit by force!") VOA: Have you considered engaging with the local community on Israel's stance of the war? Vitale: Since the beginning of the war, there was no coverage at all of the massacre on the seventh of October. Because immediately, the Chinese media started only covering Israel retaliation attacks in Gaza. So, what would they know? We were trying to balance it, explaining to our Chinese followers, look, we were brutally attacked, murdered, butchered, beheaded on the seventh of October. So, this is why we are now (saying) it's self-defense. It's a retaliation to what happened in Israel on the seventh of October. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Libya 'Closer Than Ever' to Elections - High State Council Head Sputnik News 20231127 TUNIS (Sputnik) - Libya is now "closer than ever" to holding presidential and parliamentary elections and is moving towards a period of stability, the chairman of the Tripoli-based High Council of State, Mohamed Tekala, told Sputnik on Monday. Earlier in the day, Russian Ambassador to Libya Aydar Aganin told Sputnik that Tekala would lead the council's delegation to Moscow on Monday. It will be his first visit to Russia. "Libya is closer than ever to holding elections. As you can see, the situation there has been calm for about two years, and the developments that are taking place now are political processes. These processes are going well, and I think they will go even better in the future. Every month the country is getting closer to a period of stability," Tekala said. Libya's High Council of State was formed in 2015 under the terms of the Libyan Political Agreement. It is an advisory body and performs parliamentary functions in the western part of the country. In eastern Libya, the House of Representatives, whose speaker is Aguila Saleh Issa, plays the role of a parliament. Libya is currently ruled by two rival governments. The western part of Libya is controlled by the UN-backed Government of National Accord, based in Tripoli, while the eastern part is under the Government of National Stability, backed by the Libyan National Army. The southern part of the country remains in turmoil due to civil unrest, the continuing threat of terrorism, and armed tribal violence. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address National Unity Govt army claims it arrested 16 Myanmar policemen Nearly 1 million kyat and hundreds of weapons were captured, the group said. By RFA Burmese 2023.11.27 -- A resistance group in central Myanmar arrested 16 junta policemen after capturing their police station, the people's defense force told Radio Free Asia. The group captured a Sagaing police station after more than an hour of fighting, the leader said on Saturday, adding that they also seized a large number of weapons and ammunition. The People's Defense Army, under the command of the civilian shadow National Unity Government, instigated the battle on Tuesday in Wetlet township's Shwe Pan Kone village. "We had to prepare for a long time to take this camp," the People's Defense Army leader said, asking to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. "The camp was seized, and so far, the military council has not returned or been stationed there." The junta carried out airstrikes twice during the battle, the group said on Saturday, adding that they had confiscated a significant number of weapons from the police station. Over the course of the clash, the People's Defense army claimed it seized over 6,400 different types of ammunition, 32 grenades, 38 magazines, 31 small firearms, and six landmines in addition to 900,000 kyat (US$428). One resistance fighter and three junta soldiers were killed during the battle, according to a statement on Saturday by the National Unity Government's Military Regional 1, which oversees the People's Defense Army and its local divisions. Resistance groups have targeted junta outposts frequently in November, with people's defense forces reporting heavy junta losses during battle. On Nov. 12, a fire set by allied people's defense forces killed four policemen, including a police outpost officer and three junta soldiers, in Salingyi township's Kyar Tet town in Sagaing region. The junta has not released any information regarding the alleged arrests. Calls by RFA to Sagaing region's junta spokesperson Naing Naing Kyaw went unanswered. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn. Copyright 1998-2023, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content November not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Chinese authorities fire tear gas at people fleeing Myanmar fighting Clashes in Shan state over the weekend also saw resistance forces take control of another border gate. By RFA Burmese 2023.11.27 -- Chinese authorities fired tear gas at people attempting to flee from intensifying fighting between Myanmar's military junta and allied ethnic armed groups. Social media videos showed several dozen people covering their faces at the China-Myanmar border as tear gas hovered on one side of a fence in Shan state's Laukkaing township on Saturday afternoon. "Chinese police and soldiers used tear gas to expel Kokang people who sought shelter at the border line," a resident in Laukkaing township told Radio Free Asia on condition of anonymity for security reasons. "They recently fled there due to the escalation of armed conflict." The allied resistance forces announced on Friday that they would intensify an offensive that has seen widespread gains over the last month. The "Three Brotherhood" Alliance of the Arakan Army, the Ta'ang National Liberation Army and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, or MNDAA, launched an offensive on Oct. 27 - dubbed "Operation 1027" - and have made notable gains against the military in several key cities in Shan state. On Saturday, the MNDAA seized the Kyin San Kyawt border gate near the key border town of Muse, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) from Laukkaing. The gate is one of five major entry points in the area that handles Myanmar's largest volume of trade with China. It's the second border gate in Muse township that the alliance now controls, along with two others elsewhere, according to the Associated Press, which noted that almost all legal cross-border trade with China has stopped over the last month because of the fighting. On Sunday, allied forces near another gate in the area carried out drone attacks, which disrupted a cargo inspection area and hit some buildings, while junta forces fired artillery shells from a highland area, locals told RFA. Junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun confirmed to state-owned media on Monday that there were clashes near Muse over the weekend, but he didn't disclose details or comment on the loss of control of the Kyin San Kyawt gate. China's live-fire exercises In Laukkaing, MNDAA spokesperson Li Kyar Win said he has seen the tear gas videos but didn't have any further information. He noted that junta troops had carried out artillery attacks on nearby areas, which forced the local residents to move toward the border. Shan state-based media Shwe Phee Myay News Agency and the local Kengtung Hit Tine online news outlet reported on their Facebook pages that Chinese police had deployed tear gas on the border line.RFA has not independently confirmed the reports. Messages left with Chinese government sources seeking comment about the tear gas weren't immediately returned on Monday. Also on Saturday, junta-controlled media reported that the Chinese government informed Myanmar's military of live-fire exercises near the border over the weekend. "The regular military drill of the southern command of the People's Republic of China was reported on Nov. 25," Zaw Min Tun said. "It is aimed to ensure peace and stability at the border area." Political analyst Than Soe Naing told RFA that the Chinese drills are the first in the area since 2017 - a period that also saw heavy fighting in Shan state. "I assume that the Chinese army conducts these drills to protect their sovereignty and to ensure the least impact on their people," he said. "It is not directly related to Operation 1027, but it is their message for readiness on security of their people's lives and property." Chinese media reported that the exercises began Saturday and ended Monday, but didn't disclose the exact location or the number of troops involved. "It is not an unordinary exercise," said Thein Tun Oo, the executive director of Thayninga Institute for Strategic Studies, a think tank run by former military officers. "There may be some rumors and assumptions on this issue," he said. "However, China and Myanmar have agreed on military exercises and cooperation in foreign affairs. A mutual understanding has been made between the two countries." Translated by Aung Naing. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster. Copyright 1998-2023, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content November not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pakistani Army Claims Suicide Attack A Day Earlier Carried Out By Afghan National By RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal November 27, 2023 Pakistan's military said on November 27 that an Afghan national carried out a suicide attack a day earlier on a security forces convoy that killed two civilians and injured several others. The military said in a statement that "a motorcycle-borne suicide bomber, affiliated with Hafiz Gul Bahadur and later identified as an Afghan national," carried out the attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province in northwestern Pakistan. It added that seven civilians and three soldiers were injured in the attack. It gave no further details. Pakistani officials have not provided any other information, and there has been no claim of responsibility for the attack. Hafiz Gul Bahadur is the leader of a Pakistani Taliban faction based in North Waziristan. The security situation in the province in recent months has worsened despite the promises of the government and security authorities. There were multiple deadly incidents last week, including the killing of an employee of the Forestry Department in North Waziristan on November 23. Two days ago, two soldiers were killed in a landmine explosion and a policeman was killed in an attack on a checkpoint in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while in South Waziristan on November 22, three civilians, including a local leader, were killed and four were injured in a bomb blast in Azam Worsk. No one has claimed responsibility for those attacks. The bombing in Azam Worsk occurred after two soldiers were killed in an armed attack on a post in Sar Rogha in South Waziristan. The Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for that attack. The Pakistani government and army say they have continued their operations against the militants. The army said on November 21 that it had killed three suspected militants in an encounter in North Waziristan. The army added that one of its soldiers was also killed in the clash. Earlier, the army had claimed the killing of 11 suspected militants in clashes during operations in Peshawar and Tank in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on November 16. Pakistan's caretaker prime minister, Anwar ul-Haq Kakar, on November 20 said terrorist attacks inside his country have increased 60 percent since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021. Some 2,300 people have been killed in these attacks. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/pakistan-suicide- attack-afghan-national/32701954.html Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pakistan Says Afghan Suicide Bomber Attacked Military Convoy By Ayaz Gul November 27, 2023 Pakistan confirmed Monday that an overnight suicide bombing of a military convoy in a northwestern region had killed two civilians. The military's media wing reported that Sunday's attack in Bannu, a garrison district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, had also injured seven civilians and three soldiers. The army statement said a "motorcycle-borne suicide bomber... exploded himself" near the convoy, adding that a post-attack search operation was underway "to eliminate any other terrorists found in the area." The bomber was identified as an Afghan national affiliated with the anti-state Hafiz Gul Bahadur militant group, known as a close ally of Afghanistan's ruling Islamist Taliban. Separately, an overnight military statement said that an "intelligence-based" raid in the province's turbulent South Waziristan district near the Afghan border killed eight "terrorists." Sunday's raid targeted a hideout of the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, which routinely plots attacks on security forces. Pakistan says TTP and other fugitive militants operating out of sanctuaries in Afghanistan have dramatically intensified attacks since the Taliban returned to power in the neighboring country two years ago. Authorities have confirmed that Afghan militants carried out at least 16 suicide bombings this year in collaboration with the TTP, also known as the Pakistani Taliban. The violence has prompted the Pakistani government to unleash a nationwide deportation campaign against an estimated 1.7 million undocumented Afghan nationals in the country. The crackdown has forced nearly 400,000 individuals to return to Afghanistan since mid-September, according to official data. Pakistani caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar defended the deportation drive in a statement earlier this month, saying TTP and other Afghan-based militants have killed more than 2,300 people, including security forces, in the last two years. Kakar said the Taliban government in Kabul had failed to rein in the cross-border terrorism and demanded the extradition of an officially estimated 6,000 TTP members sheltering in Afghanistan. He went on to allege that Afghan Taliban members also help militants in carrying out some of the attacks. The Taliban have rejected allegations their members or territory is being used for attacks against Pakistan or any other country. Recent United Nations reports have documented the presence of thousands of TTP and militants linked to other terrorist groups in Afghanistan, contradicting Taliban claims about fighting terrorism. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Kadyrov Critic Flees Kyrgyzstan To Avoid Deportation To Russia By RFE/RL's Caucasus.Realities November 27, 2023 Russian citizen Mansur Movlayev, an outspoken critic of Ramzan Kadyrov -- the authoritarian ruler of Russia's North Caucasus region of Chechnya -- has left Kyrgyzstan before a court order to deport him to Russia was implemented. Movlayev's lawyer, Bakyt Avtandil, told RFE/RL on November 27 that his client is now in an unspecified country, adding that Movlayev made the decision to leave the Central Asian nation by himself. Last week, a court in Bishkek ruled that Movlayev, who was sentenced in Kyrgyzstan earlier in October to six months in prison for illegal border-crossing, must be released from detention though his deportation order to Russia remained in effect. Avtandil told RFE/RL at the time that the Birinchi Mai district court ruled that Movlayev had served his six-month sentence because time spent in pretrial detention counts for double. Movlayev, a native of Chechnya, is wanted in Russia on extremism charges that he rejects as politically motivated. The Kyrgyz State Committee of National Security (UKMK) said in August that its officers detained Movlayev in a counterterrorist operation, stressing that the 28-year-old Chechen activist is "a follower of radical Islam" with links to terrorist groups in the Middle East. In 2020, Movlayev was sentenced to three years in prison on illegal drugs charges that he vehemently rejected as politically motivated, calling the case against him retaliation by Chechen officials for his criticism of Kadyrov and his government. In 2022, Movlayev was granted early release, but then detained again. Noted Chechen opposition bloggers Ibragim and Baisangur Yangulbayev said at the time that Movlayev managed to escape and fled Russia for Kyrgyzstan in 2022, where he planned to get assistance from international rights groups to travel to the European Union for safety reasons. Kadyrov, who has ruled Chechnya since 2007 with a cult of personality around him, is frequently accused by Russian and international human rights groups of overseeing grave abuses including abductions, torture, extrajudicial killings, and the persecution of the LGBT community. Kremlin critics say Russian President Vladimir Putin has turned a blind eye to the abuses because he relies on the former rebel commander to control separatist sentiment and violence in Chechnya. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/kadyrov-critic-flees- kyrgyzstan-chechnya-russia-rights/32701566.html Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Press release on Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's meeting with former President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki 27 November 2023 20:37 2417-27-11-2023 On November 27, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with former President of the Republic of South Africa Thabo Mbeki, who arrived in Moscow to take part in the ninth Primakov Readings International Scientific and Expert Forum. During the conversation, various aspects of the bilateral strategic partnership were touched on, including strengthening political, trade, economic and cultural ties. The two countries' focus on continuing close coordination of their actions in the UN, BRICS, the G20 and other authoritative platforms was noted. In discussing current issues on the international agenda, emphasis was placed on the developments in Ukraine and the situation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's remarks at the opening ceremony of an exhibition on the 195th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Russia and Brazil, Moscow, November 27, 2023 27 November 2023 13:57 2412-27-11-2023 Esteemed Mr Ambassador, Your Excellency, Ladies and gentlemen. We have gathered here to celebrate the 195th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Russia and Brazil by holding yet another event. On the occasion of this momentous date, and with support from Mr Ambassador and his staff in Moscow, we have prepared an exhibition of archive materials on the main milestones in the history of our bilateral ties. They date from 1828 when Emperor Nicolas I adopted the decree appointing Russian diplomat Franz Borel Russia's first envoy to Brazil (to my knowledge, he had no descendants). Such public officials of our time as Georg von Langsdorff, Baron of Rio Branco and Andrey Gromyko played a direct role in developing our relations further. Prominent Brazilian diplomat Joao Clemente Baena Soares, the father of Mr Ambassador, is also part of this glorious group. Using this opportunity, I gave the Ambassador a photo displayed at our exhibition. It depicts his father signing the agreement on scientific and technical cooperation between Brazil and the Soviet Union in 1981. Our relations have seen various periods, but we have always had mutual sympathy and genuine interest in each other's history, culture and traditions. All of this has helped promote our friendship, understanding and respect for each other. Today, our countries are developing ties at the level of sustainable strategic partnership that is immune to considerations of expediency. The Foreign Policy concept of the Russian Federation updated half a year ago specifies the goal of promoting cooperation with the Federal Republic of Brazil. Moscow and Brasilia maintain an active and trustworthy dialogue. They have permanent mechanisms of bilateral cooperation, primarily the High-Level Commission and its sections - the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Interaction and the Commission on Political Issues. Practical cooperation is on the rise. Brazil is the leader in trade with Russia among the Latin American and Caribbean countries. The chemical industry and agriculture are in the focus of our cooperation. We have promising developments in energy, including nuclear power, the pharmaceutical industry and peaceful space exploration. By supplying the Brazilian agro-industrial sector with Russian fertiliser, we are making a joint contribution to ensuring global food stability. I would like to make a special mention of our cultural and humanitarian cooperation. The only Bolshoi Theatre School outside Russia is located in Joinville, Brazil and has been functioning for a long time now. In 2022, a Russian-Brazilian intercultural bilingual school was opened in the state of Rio de Janeiro. We are pleased to say that higher education in Russia is still much in demand in Brazil and we are trying to meet it as much as we can. In the past few years, we have enhanced our interaction in the world arena. Russia and Brazil have identical or similar positions on key international issues. We jointly advocate the restoration of the UN's central and coordinating role in world affairs and the formation of a fairer and more democratic multi-polar world arrangement. We appreciate Brasilia's independent foreign policy aimed at reforming global governance institutions and raising the role of the developing nations in them. In this context, Russia supports Brazil's striving to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council (as we have supported more than once). We note the positive contribution of our Brazilian partners in strengthening regional integration mechanisms and its involvement in international efforts on environmental protection, adaptation to climate change and other pressing issues. We cooperate effectively and constructively in the UN and the Security Council. Today, Brazil is part of the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member. We are doing a good job coordinating our approaches and positions there. We work together in BRICS that is now receiving a new lease of life with the accession of many new members. The Russian Federation will head BRICS in 2024, while Brazil will chair the G20. This is yet another area for coordinating our positions and various initiatives. The further strengthening of friendship and comprehensive cooperation between Russia and Brazil meets the interests of our peoples, facilitates the maintenance of international security and makes a tangible contribution to resolving global development problems. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia to Test First Naval Drones in Special Op Zone Sputnik News 20231127 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The first Russian naval drones will be delivered to the Russian armed forces by the end of 2023 and tested in the zone of the special military operation in Ukraine, Mikhail Danilenko, managing director of Kingisepp Machine-Building Plant (KMZ), told Sputnik. "The Ministry of Defense has already agreed on the delivery of the first 10 units, which we must send by the end of this year. This will be the first experimental batch that will be tested in the zone of the special military operation," Danilenko said. Danilenko added that the company calls this device "one-off boats" that can also act as kamikaze drones. These boats are difficult to detect due to their design and size. The drone will be able to reach a speed of up to 80 kilometers per hour (49.7 miles per hour) and have a payload of about 600 kilograms (1,322 pounds), with a cruising range of more than 200 kilometers (124 miles), Danilenko added. The KMZ holding specializes in the production of boats for Russian law enforcement agencies. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russian Military Will Get Lion's Share from Kremlin's Robust Budget By VOA News November 27, 2023 Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a national budget for the next three years that increases spending by around 25% and reportedly devotes a robust amount to defense as Russia's war in Ukraine drags on. The budget foresees spending in 2024 of $415 billion with an expected deficit of $9.5 billion. After the budget was passed by the lower house of the parliament, Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said it was developed specifically to fund the military and to mitigate the impact of international sanctions imposed on Russia after its Ukraine invasion in February 2022. Record low unemployment, higher wages and targeted social spending should help the Kremlin use most of its budget to fund the military, but could present a problem in the long term, analysts say. Part of the Russian budget is secret as the Kremlin tries to conceal its military plans and sidestep scrutiny of its military operation in Ukraine. However, it is estimated that around 39% of all federal spending will go to the military and law enforcement, according to independent business journalists Farida Rustamova and Maksim Tovkaylo. EU-Ukraine While on a visit to Kyiv on Monday, EU Commission Vice President Vera Jourova praised Ukraine's fight against corruption, but said additional efforts were needed if Ukraine aspires to become a member of the European Union. In November, the commission recommended that the 27-member EU formally start accession talks once Ukraine meets several remaining conditions, including strengthening anti-corruption efforts. Jourova said she was impressed with Ukraine's improvement since 2017. However, she added there are still things that need to be done. She also stressed that the EU needed "to think about our absorption capacity" when it comes to new members' accession and adapt the system. Membership talks take years as candidates must meet extensive legal and economic criteria before joining. The EU is also unwilling to take in a country that is at war. NATO meeting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to Brussels Monday for a NATO meeting where he will pledge NATO's ongoing support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O'Brien told reporters. The war between Israel and Hamas and concerns of the war widening in the Middle East have raised questions whether Washington can sustain the level of military and diplomatic support it has offered Ukraine since Russia's invasion in February 2022. Asked about a report by Germany's Bild newspaper that the United States and Germany were quietly nudging Kyiv into negotiations with Moscow, O'Brien said Washington does not have such a policy. "We've always said that this is a matter for Ukraine to decide," he said. Germany is trying to fend off an economic crisis triggered by high energy costs and skyrocketing prices since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Berlin's ruling coalition unveiled a supplementary budget Monday that will temporarily lift a self-imposed cap on borrowing, allowing it to tap into an extra 45 million euros. The budget, which parliament must approve, will see Germany suspend its constitutionally enshrined debt brake for a fourth year in a row. Polish blockade continues Meanwhile, Polish truckers and farmers started a round-the-clock blockade of access to one of the busiest border crossings with Ukraine Monday, extending a protest that has left over a thousand trucks stranded for days in queues that stretch for miles. The truckers, now blocking the Medyka crossing as well as three other border crossings, protest that they are losing out to Ukrainian competition, which offers cheaper prices for services and goods within the European Union. Ukraine's grain and other exports are increasing in the Black Sea as growing numbers of ships carrying grain, metals and other cargo are using Ukraine's ports through a new, narrow shipping corridor protected by the military. The route is still threatened by Russian attacks and explosive mines, but the increased exports are giving a boost to Ukraine's agriculture-dependent economy. It is also bringing back a key source of wheat, corn, barley, sunflower oil and other affordable food products for parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia, where local prices have increased, and food insecurity is growing. "We are seeing renewed confidence among commercial operators keen to take Ukrainian grain cargoes," said Munro Anderson, head of operations for Vessel Protect, which assesses war risks at sea and provides insurance with backing from Lloyd's, whose members make up the world's largest insurance marketplace. Artifacts returned More than a thousand ancient Scythian artifacts from museums in Russian-occupied Crimea dating back to the 7th century B.C. have been returned to Ukraine after a legal dispute over ownership rights. The artifacts stayed for almost a decade in the Netherlands where they were on loan when Russia invaded Crimea, the National Museum of History of Ukraine said Monday. The museum had previously said the collection would be stored in the museum until the de-occupation of Crimea. Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US potential intermediate-range missiles deployment 'big provocation' to China Global Times By Zhang Han Published: Nov 27, 2023 08:54 PM The US military is reportedly planning to deploy new land-based intermediate-range missiles in the Asia-Pacific region to "defend" the island of Taiwan, a move that "has limited tactical impact" at present but fully demonstrates the US' determination to interfere in the Taiwan question, observers said on Monday. The US is to send medium-range missiles including the Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) and Tomahawk to the Asia-Pacific, US military news website Defense One reported, citing remarks by US Army General Charles Flynn made during the annual Halifax International Security Forum on Saturday. Flynn said the US has tested these missiles and plans to deploy them in 2024. He did not disclose the specific timing or location of the deployment, only saying "we will deploy them." The US was previously prevented from deploying nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and missile launchers with ranges of 500 to 5,500 kilometers under the terms of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty signed in 1987. Former US president Donald Trump announced the US' withdrawal from the treaty in 2019, and has been attempting to deploy more missiles in the Asia-Pacific to facilitate its Indo-Pacific Strategy and rivalry with China, analysts said. But a deployment of this nature faces opposition from the government and the people of countries where the US could deploy the missiles, Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Monday. Song said the SM-6 and Tomahawk, which will reportedly be deployed, are not ballistic missiles and easier to intercept, and therefore do not constitute a major threat in a military and tactical sense. However, the move is a big provocation politically, as it means the US has completely abandoned the treaty and is deploying missiles at China's doorstep, Song said. Analysts warned of the danger of such a provocation and possible escalation of confrontation, citing a precedent in 1962 - the Cuban Missile Crisis. The missile the US plans to deploy in the Asia-Pacific is not as powerful as those in Cuba, but despite the difference in the severity of provocations, the two matters are similar in nature, analysts said. The US' missile deployment in the Asia-Pacific is an integral part of its Indo-Pacific Strategy and military arrangement related to the Taiwan question, Song said. He elaborated that the US is engaging as many allies as possible to coordinate on this end, while also stepping up deployment surrounding China, including the Tomahawk and even potential intermediate-range ballistic missiles. Given the risk of a China-US military conflict over the Taiwan question, the US is eyeing ballistic missiles to contain China's possible operations. Song explained that the US currently possesses mainly sea-based and air-based intermediate-range ballistic missiles. If the deployment of land-based intermediate-range ballistic missiles can be strengthened, US troops will have an additional means of attack in any possible military conflict with the People's Liberation Army. The deployment suggested that the US is preparing for the worst-case scenario - a military conflict between China and the US. "It is determined to intervene in order to achieve its strategic goals." China has repeatedly said on different occasions that the Taiwan question is the first red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations. The US should not underestimate this stance or stir up troubles on this sensitive topic, Chinese observers noted. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address EU and Ukraine outline plans for sustainable reconstruction in a high-level conference European Commission Press release 27 November 2023 Brussels From tomorrow to 1 December the Commission is hosting a high-level conference in Vilnius, Lithuania on the green recovery in Ukraine. Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius will represent the Commission and stress the commitment for a continued cooperation with and assistance to Ukraine in its sustainable reconstruction efforts. Commissioners Wopke Hoekstra and Iliana Ivanova will participate in the event via video messages. Comprising a policy and a business segment, the conference aims to take stock of the challenges ahead and discuss with Ukrainian policymakers, mayors and businesses the strategies and concrete solutions underpinning a green reconstruction and recovery. The high-level event aims to create a momentum for high sustainability ambition for the benefit of all Ukrainians. In addition to supporting Ukraine's European perspective, a sustainable recovery and reconstruction is essential to guarantee Ukraine's prosperity, resource autonomy, and the quality of life of Ukrainians when the war finally ends. Holistic approach to green recovery of Ukraine The Conference aims to offer all key stakeholders a holistic approach to the green recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine. The hybrid policy segment on 28-29 November focuses on policymakers and civil society, setting out the overall challenges and presenting the main policy support measures to the green reconstruction of Ukraine and the first concrete results of the PHOENIX initiative, launched by President von der Leyen in February 2023 during a College visit to Ukraine. The initiative aims to help Ukraine rebuild its cities in a high-quality, sustainable and inclusive way with the New European Bauhaus community. High-level personalities, such as Gitanas Nauseda, President of Lithuania, Simonas Gentvilas, Minister of Environment of the Republic of Lithuania, and Ruslan Strilets, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine will take part in the policy segment, followed by a debate session with Ukrainian mayors. The business segment from 30 November to 1 December 2023 will introduce specific, applicable solutions in green reconstruction, discuss systemic barriers to the deployment of a more circular and greener economy, and connect companies from the EU and Ukraine. Damage of the war to the environment in Ukraine The Commission supports a range of efforts to monitor and record the environmental damage, going much beyond natural areas. Environmental damage from Russia's war against Ukraine brings devastating consequences for essential infrastructures, natural resources, critical ecosystems and people's health, livelihoods and security. A green recovery is about remedying that damage and setting Ukraine on a new path of environmental and social sustainability. Damage of the war to the environment and environmental infrastructures estimated so far: Over 52 billion of total damage 497 water management facilities damaged or destroyed Over 1.4 billion damages in the forestry sector 20% of protected areas under threat Environmental devastation resulting from the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydropower Plant, the worst man-made disaster since the Chernobyl accident Ukraine is now the most heavily mined country in the world. A press conference by Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius and Ruslan Strilets, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, can be followed on Tuesday at 13h00 CET can be followed here. Background The conference comes at a critical juncture, following the adoption of the 2023 Enlargement Package, where the Commission recommended opening accession negotiations with Ukraine. The Ukrainian government is also set to propose by the end of this year an overall plan on recovery and restoration, closely tied to the 50 billion Ukraine Facility proposed by the European Commission and now under adoption. The Commission is helping Ukraine align its environmental laws with the EU acquis and build administrative structures to enforce and implement this regulatory framework. It is also building coalitions, closely interacting with international partners (such as UNEP, UNIDO, World Bank) and support groups such as the High-Level Working Group on Environmental Consequences from the War. With the proposed in June this year 50 billion Ukraine Facility over the 2024-2027 period, the EU Ukraine Facility will help rebuild Ukraine's infrastructure, while ensuring that environmental sustainability is considered in future investments. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Authorities Declare Air Raid Alert Across Ukraine Amid Russian Attacks, Inclement Weather By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service November 27, 2023 Ukraine announced an air raid alert across its entire territory on November 27 as Russian strikes continued overnight and parts of the country wrestled with the impact of days of heavy snowfall and strong winds blowing in from a Black Sea cyclone. The alert was declared in the early afternoon as the Ukrainian Air Force reported a missile-strike threat following the takeoff of Russian Mig-31 combat jets from the airfield in Mozdok, south of Kursk, some 55 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. Civilians were urged to remain in shelters for the duration of the alert, which came after overnight Russian shelling of civilian infrastructure and settlements in Ukraine's southern regions of Kherson and Dnipropetrovsk. Russian forces struck the city of Kherson 56 times over the past 24 hours, wounding one civilian, regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram. In Dnipropetrovsk, Russian shelling was directed at Nikopol and its surroundings, regional Governor Serhiy Lysak reported. "Heavy artillery was directed at the city of Marhanets," Lysak said, adding that there were no immediate reports of victims or damage. The latest attacks came as heavy snowfall across the whole country triggered power cuts and road closures in most of Ukraine, hampering traffic and adding to the hardship experienced by the civilian population. In Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced that, despite the threat of Russian attacks, a Christmas tree will be installed in the Ukrainian capital's Sophia Square. However, no celebrations and no Christmas fairs will be held in the capital for safety reasons, Klitschko said. On the battlefield, Ukrainian forces fought 63 close-quarter battles along the entire front line over the past 24 hours, the General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces said on November 27. The heaviest fighting has been taking place in the eastern regions of Kharkiv and Donetsk, the military said. The industrial city of Avdiyivka, in Donetsk remains the focal point of Moscow's offensive in eastern Ukraine, where Russian forces have been unsuccessfully attempting to surround Ukrainian troops for months while sustaining huge human and material losses. Britain's Ministry of Defense said in its daily intelligence report on November 27 that the last month and a half has probably seen "some of the highest Russian casualty rates of the war so far," mostly caused by Moscow's offensive in Avdiyivka. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-shelling-ukraine- kherson-dnipropetrovsk/32701131.html Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ukraine's Parliamentary Press Restrictions: Protecting Journalists Or The Government? By Serhiy Andrushko November 27, 2023 KYIV -- As it prepares to start membership talks with the European Union, Ukraine faces a fundamental debate about freedom of speech, a key EU value: Does Russia's full-scale invasion still justify restrictions on accredited journalists reporting from inside parliament? To pro-government lawmakers, citing security risks, it does. But to some opposition members of parliament, the restrictions are a cover to limit public scrutiny of the legislature. Over a year and a half since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's declaration of martial law, missile strikes on Kyiv have become more infrequent. A barrage on November 11 was the first in nearly two months. Although legislators and their staffs go to work regularly in parliament, restoring the access of all accredited journalists to the building is still deemed too dangerous. Since September 2022, only one television channel, the state-run Rada TV, an outlet charged with covering the parliament, or Verkhovna Rada, has been allowed to broadcast the legislature's plenary sessions, with a delay of at least several hours for security reasons. Other accredited journalists are not allowed within the parliament or its perimeter. Zelenskiy's February 24, 2022, order declaring martial law --recently extended until February 14, 2024 -- authorized expanded restrictions in the interests of security. Yet, nearly two years later, the Ukrainian parliament's website offers no explanation for these restrictions on media access. By contrast, a frequently-asked-questions piece addresses restrictions imposed in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, although the pandemic-related state of emergency in Ukraine was ended on July 1. Asked about the grounds for the ongoing media restrictions, parliament Chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk, of the ruling Servant of the People party, told Schemes, the investigative unit of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, that he needed to "clarify" the matter since "all this" was adopted when martial law first went into effect. As "a decision-making center," parliament cooperates "very actively" with the Ukrainian special services, "which constantly send us their messages regarding danger," Stefanchuk added. "As soon as this danger subsides [and] I receive notice that there is no longer any danger, we will return and restore everything as it always was in parliament," he stressed. The parliamentary administration, its bureaucratic apparatus, also could not help. A month after Schemes submitted a request for information, a staff member responded that the administration must first "summarize all the facts" related to the restrictions and then "analyze it." Stefanchuk later said the inquiry would be answered. As of the date of publication, neither Stefanchuk nor the parliamentary administration had completed their clarifications, summaries, or analyses. Verkhovna Rada Deputy Chairman Oleksandr Korniyenko, the former head of the Servant of the People party, told a conference in September that "[i]f parliament were in a different location, outside of the government district, it would be easier" to allow journalists to return. No 'Clear Arguments' However, no security guard challenged Schemes journalist Maksym Savchuk in October when he walked through the restricted government district to an interview near parliament. A former head of the SBU security service, the main organ responsible for ensuring parliament's safety, said he did not understand the security arguments for keeping accredited media out of parliament. "We do not hear clear arguments about security, and I am a security professional like no other," said opposition deputy Valentyn Nalyvaychenko, who ran the SBU under then-President Viktor Yushchenko from 2006 to 2010, and also led the security service in 2014-15 after popular protests resulted in the ouster of Moscow-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych. In case of a Russian air strike, journalists "have the same safety (provisions) as me or any other deputy," he said, adding that they would also have access to the same air-raid shelters. Nalyvaychenko, a member of parliament's European Integration Committee, contended that restricting media access to parliament could impact Ukraine's EU membership talks since "access to mass media and access to information, freedom of speech, are one of the key requirements for joining the bloc." A November 8 report from the European Commission recommended the start of membership talks with Ukraine and recognized that martial law had "led to some restrictions of rights and freedoms." But it added that "these have so far remained largely in proportion to the actual needs and have been applied with caution." The report did not criticize the restricted media access to parliament. The discussion of the Verkhovna Rada's media restrictions comes amid concerns about a lack of content diversity among Ukrainian television outlets, including from the EU. The Zelenskiy administration has not responded to such criticism. 'What Exactly Do You Want To See?' Rada TV's broadcasts of parliament's plenary sessions do not come live. For security reasons, the state broadcaster posts its recordings on YouTube with a delay of hours. Rada TV's other coverage often focuses more on presidential administration officials than on the workings of parliament. News briefs called "Parliamentary Day" are updated daily, but are under 11 minutes long. Opposition deputy Mykhaylo Bondar, a member of the European Solidarity faction, complained that Rada TV often only broadcasts parliament's sessions at night "so that people go to sleep and don't watch what is happening inside parliament." Servant of the People deputy Maksym Buzhanskiy, a member of parliament's Law Enforcement Committee, defended the access restrictions. They enable the legislature to "work properly for the country," he said. "If we want to see populist slogans, a populist contest (among deputies), then perhaps we really need to open the door," Buzhanskiy said. "And you, personally, what exactly do you want to see that you couldn't find?" he asked a Schemes reporter. Buzhanskiy's own committee, however, has not published transcripts or protocols of its purportedly open hearings since a meeting in February 2022. Sufficient Public Scrutiny? Some deputies provide livestreams themselves using their mobile phones. On October 6, Stefanchuk chided European Solidarity deputy Oleksiy Honcharenko for "conducting a live broadcast on TikTok" using his phone mounted on a tripod. Such actions put "our state's legislative body and the people here at risk," Stefanchuk said from the speaker's chair. Honcharenko retorted that deputies had closed off parliament from "the people so that they would not know anything about what is happening here." European Solidarity deputy Volodymyr Vyatrovych, a former head of the SBU's archives, agreed. He told Schemes that the lack of live access to parliament "corrupts the parliament from within" by isolating the body from public scrutiny. But Voice opposition party deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak argued that, given existing coverage and deputies' own social-media feeds, there is no need for extraordinary security restrictions. "Are we afraid that some Russian will find out that we're convening?" he scoffed. Although the pro-Moscow Opposition Platform-For Life party has been banned, its deputies are "still in the parliament," he noted. Pro-government deputies respond cautiously when asked about the restrictions. Stefanchuk said only that his own views follow the constitution and parliament's Rules of Procedure. Serhiy Shvets, a former journalist for the 1+1 television channel, which broadcast Zelenskiy's series "Servant Of The People" and provided strong backing for the former comedian during his 2019 presidential campaign, claimed he had no opinion about the restrictions. Kostyantyn Kasay, a member of the parliament's Human Rights Committee, acknowledged that he supported returning all accredited media to parliament, but said security concerns had prevented the committee from finding a "solution." Even with the ban, Kasai argued, "you have the opportunity to talk with people's deputies whenever you want." Written by Elizabeth Owen based on reporting by Serhiy Andrushko of Schemes, the investigative unit for RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-parliament-press- restrictions-censorship-journalists/32701375.html Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Five Ukrainian Emergency Officials Indicted In Case Of Helicopter Crash That Killed Interior Minister By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, Current Time November 27, 2023 KYIV -- Ukrainian investigators have charged five emergency officials with violating aviation safety regulations that led to the helicopter crash that killed Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskiy and 13 other people in January. The State Bureau of Investigations (DBR) said on November 27 that the five -- Ivan Korobka, Volodymyr Leonov, Oleh Ivanov, Andriy Dvornyk, and Yan Koshman -- are officials of the State Emergency Service. They were officially indicted after the investigation into the aircraft crash ended, the statement said. The five were detained in August. A court later released them but ordered to stay at home during nighttime. The helicopter of the State Emergency Service carrying Monastyrskiy, his first deputy minister, Yevhen Yenin, State Secretary Yuriy Lubkovych, and other officials, was on its way to the eastern regions of Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk, when it crashed in foggy conditions into a kindergarten and the surrounding residential area of Brovary near the Ukrainian capital on January 18. The crash killed 14 people, including those onboard as well as four women and a child in the kindergarten. Another 31 people, including 13 children, were injured. Some were evacuated to the European Union for treatment at the time. Investigators say the helicopter did not have permission papers to carry out flights for purposes other than emergency situations. "The crew commander began the flight without having full information about weather conditions for the whole route of the flight, and the crew did not have the necessary permission to carry out flights in complicated weather conditions, as well as the necessary certificates. None of the supervising officials responsible for aviation safety either canceled the flight or postponed it until better weather conditions," the DBR's statement said. Monastyrskiy, 42, was appointed to the post of the interior minister in mid-July 2021. In September 2022, six months after Russia launched its ongoing unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, Monastyrskiy participated in the largest prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia, when 215 Ukrainian soldiers returned home. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-emergency- officials-indicted-helicopter-crash/32701733.html Copyright (c) 2023. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with the President of the European Investment Bank President of Ukraine 27 November 2023 - 21:19 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with President of the European Investment Bank Werner Hoyer and EIB Vice-President Teresa CzerwiAska, who arrived on a visit to Ukraine. The Head of State thanked the EIB leadership for visiting Ukraine and the decision to open the Regional Hub of the European Investment Bank for Eastern Europe in Kyiv. The EIB's regional hub in the Ukrainian capital will play an important role in supporting Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction efforts. "First of all, this is an important signal to our people that you believe in Ukraine, in the development of our country. It is also significant for Ukrainian business," Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized. The President noted the bank's decision in 2022 to use a1.7 billion of EIB funds for the priority needs of the state budget of Ukraine. During the meeting, special attention was paid to accelerating the implementation of existing investment projects, in particular on the ground in the regions. "We would like to prioritize infrastructure projects for the restoration of our country. So that this work has a greater effect," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. For his part, Werner Hoyer noted that the visit of the EIB delegation to Ukraine is evidence of unwavering support, especially in the face of Russian aggression. "From the very beginning of the Russian invasion, we have been working with the Ukrainian authorities to facilitate reconstruction projects, supporting the country's remarkable resilience. With the opening of our EIB Regional Hub for Eastern Europe in Kyiv, we want to emphasize our renewed commitment to accompany Ukraine on its European path. Ukraine is an integral part of the European family and the EIB is a key part of the EU's long-term support," he said. According to Werner Hoyer, the European Investment Bank continues its close cooperation with Ukraine, which includes a series of new initiatives to rebuild infrastructure and support the Ukrainian economy. Among these initiatives are two loan agreements totaling a450 million recently approved by the EIB's Board of Directors. The initiatives will be financed through the EU for Ukraine fund, which is part of the EIB's EU4U program, aimed at recovery and reconstruction programs in Ukraine. The fund is backed by contributions from member states and guarantees from the European Commission, totaling a500 million to date. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address President of Ukraine and the President of the European Commission coordinated positions in the run-up to the December meeting of the European Council President of Ukraine 27 November 2023 - 20:04 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a phone call with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. The Head of State thanked for the positive assessment of Ukraine's implementation of the European Commission's recommendations. Our country will continue to fulfill all its commitments, in particular those pertaining to national minority rights and strengthening anticorruption institutions, Volodymyr Zelenskyy assured. The President of Ukraine informed about the draft laws aimed at further strengthening the anticorruption infrastructure that were adopted in the first reading. The Head of State emphasized the importance of preserving the unity of the European Union in the run-up to the December meeting of the European Council. Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that the approval of a50 billion multi-year assistance program would be the best signal of the EU's continued support for Ukraine, and the decision to start negotiations on Ukraine's membership in the EU would be a powerful motivation for Ukrainians who have been fighting for their freedom and common democratic values for almost two years. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address No one in recent decades has caused greater harm to free navigation than Russia - address by the President of Ukraine to the participants of the 33rd Assembly of the International Maritime Organization President of Ukraine 27 November 2023 - 18:26 Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen! I am glad to welcome you from Ukraine. And I am glad to have the opportunity to affirm that we, Ukrainians, together with our partners have proved that freedom of navigation is and will remain steadfast. No matter how powerful the force that seeks to destroy freedom of navigation is, the power of cooperation between nations is always stronger - always. I am sure you are aware of the situation in the Black Sea. It is in these waters where freedom of navigation has suffered the greatest blow since the Second World War. And it happened due to the fault of one state and its unprovoked war of aggression. On the very first day of the full-scale war, Russia blocked our ports on the Black Sea, disrupting our maritime trade routes. This led to enormous negative consequences - first of all, in terms of food security in the world. The food export from Ukraine affects the lives of about four hundred million people in different parts of the world - in Africa and Asia. The poorest nations, and those whose social life is stable, but unfortunately at any moment can be hit by chaos due to the food shortage on people's tables. We have overcome this threat. First, we have restored the operation of some of Ukraine's seaports, and it is a great joy for every nation to see ports return to normal operation. I invite representatives of all respectable members of the International Maritime Organization to our city of Odesa and other port cities of the Odesa region. So that you can see with your own eyes what difficulties our people have overcome. How many missile and drone attacks Russia has carried out against our infrastructure. Only on the night of this Saturday, when Ukraine honored the victims of a large-scale man-made famine, the Holodomor genocide, organized by Moscow 90 years ago, the Russian army used against Ukraine 75 "shaheds" - killer drones. Russia uses hundreds of such drones and at least dozens of missiles every month. And I am grateful to all the partners who help Ukraine with air defense. Despite all odds, we were able to release hundreds of ships with cargo for such countries as Nigeria and Libya, Morocco and Yemen, Bangladesh and China, and dozens of others. I believe that this Organization, the International Maritime Organization, as an institution that was established for global maritime security, should pay much more real attention to the safe functioning of the seaports of our country and all those regions where there-is or might-be aggression. Secondly, one of the first achievements of Ukraine and the entire international community in maritime security was the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which we launched together with the United Nations and TArkiye. However, even this exceptionally peaceful initiative, which was positive for the global market and was mediated by the UN, was destroyed by Russia. This terrorist state is interested in only one thing - to make everything a weapon for it, food shortages and anything else. If it were not for the courage and skill of our soldiers, the Black Sea would be literally a dead sea in terms of threats to free navigation. The Russian Navy has repeatedly attacked ports and civilian vessels in this area. But now Russia's capabilities are much more limited - we have driven its navy away from our part of the sea. And this allowed us to launch new alternative routes in the Black Sea - almost six million tons of cargo have been transported in less than three months. Third, Ukraine never complains about difficult circumstances, but always offers solutions that can be useful to everyone in the world who values proper international relations. In response to the Russian aggression, we have proposed a comprehensive Peace Formula, which includes, among other things, ensuring the world's food security. And this is simply impossible if current or potential aggressors consider the sea as a space for war. Anyone who tries to destroy the fundamental principles of navigation must be held accountable. The freedom of the seas is one of the key freedoms that allowed humanity to advance. We must defend it together. And now I want to reiterate Ukraine's gratitude to all those member states of the International Maritime Organization that have already joined our global work to implement the Peace Formula and participated in the respective meetings in Denmark, Saudi Arabia and Malta. I invite all other states of the world that respect international law to join our work. I also urge you to prove at the level of this Organization that no destroyer of freedom of navigation will go unpunished. Russia has no place in the International Maritime Organization, nor in its governing bodies, because no one in recent decades has caused greater harm to free navigation than Russia. It must be held accountable for this, and such accountability of the aggressor will guarantee the preservation of global trust in our Organization. I thank you for your attention! Thank you for your support! NNN! NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address NEWARK, Del, Nov. 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global miter saw market value is expected to rise from US$ 1,087.6 million in 2024 to US$ 1,788.50 million by 2034. This estimated growth is expected to be driven by a moderate CAGR of 4.80% in the miter saw market over the next decade. Home renovation and DIY projects are increasing across the globe. With rising investments to elevate living spaces, miter saw sales consistently grow. Surging home improvement projects, spurred by a desire to personalize private spaces, enhance the market scope. The growth in manufacturers that develop convenient miter saws and give professional-level results is pushing the market growth. The increasing affordability of complex power tools is further contributing to the products demand. Additionally, efforts to bring manufacturing efficiencies and technological advancements have contributed to increasing the accessibility of miter saws to a broader customer base. In addition to this, the growing wealth of online tutorials that demystify the use of milter saw is supporting investments in milter saw for crafting projects. Request For Sample Report: Elevate Your Industry Intelligence with Actionable Insights! https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/REP-GB-18384 The use of advanced technological features in milter saws and consistent demand to enhance the experience of construction activities are projected to uplift sales of milter saws in upcoming years. Key players are working on product affordability and versatility to boost its adoption among the wide-scale population. Additionally, players are expected to find significant growth in emerging economies where construction projects can be implemented, -Says Nikhil Kaitwade, Associate Vice President at Future Market Insights, Inc. Key Takeaways from the Miter Saw Market Report Europe acquired a market share of 26%, whereas North America captured a market share of 23% in 2023. The United States is expected to register a CAGR of 4.4% in North America through 2034. Europe, Germany, and the United Kingdom are anticipated to attain CAGRs of 4.2% and 4.4%, respectively, through 2034. In Asia Pacific, recent estimates display India to record 5.5% CAGR and China to register 5.3% CAGR through 2034. Woodworking is a leading end user of milter saw, which attained a 24% market share in 2023. Benchtop is a significantly requested product type, which acquired a market share of 27% in 2023. Strategies Employed by Leading Players Operating in the Milter Saw Market Milter saw players concentrating on gaining high-value acquisitions to further their motive of capturing a larger market share. Key players are launching advanced products and employing strategies like collaborations, partnerships, and mergers to increase market penetration. Players are leaving no stone unturned in increasing their market presence by using their social media presence and employing different marketing campaigns. Additionally, they are strengthening their distribution channels to reach customers far and wide. Key Players Operating in the Miter Saw Market: CR Laurence DeWalt Craftsman Genesis Hitachi Makita Festool Bosch Chicago Pneumatic Jet TruePower ATE Tools Others Gain Immediate Access to Detailed Market Insights: Purchase Now to Uncover Segment-specific Information and identify Key Trends, Drivers, and Challenges! https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/18384 Global Miter Saw Market Segmentation: By Product Type: Basic Benchtop Compound Single Bevel Dual Bevel Sliding Others (if any) By Mobility: Corded Cordless By Power Capacity: Up to 1000 Watts 1000 to 1500 Watts 1500 to 2000 Watts Above 2000 Watts By End Use: Domestic DIY Tasks Arts & Crafts Professional Woodworking & Furniture Metal Fabrication Construction & Flooring Solution Others MRO Services Automotive Marine Aerospace Other Industrial By Sales Channel: Direct Indirect Online Distributors DIY Stores By Region: North America Latin America Europe Asia Pacific Except Japan Japan The Middle East and Africa Request Methodology: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/request-report-methodology/rep-gb-18384 Author By: Nikhil Kaitwade (Associate Vice President at Future Market Insights, Inc.) has over a decade of experience in market research and business consulting. He has successfully delivered 1500+ client assignments, predominantly in Automotive, Chemicals, Industrial Equipment, Oil & Gas, and Service industries. His core competency circles around developing research methodology, creating a unique analysis framework, statistical data models for pricing analysis, competition mapping, and market feasibility analysis. His expertise also extends wide and beyond analysis, advising clients on identifying growth potential in established and niche market segments, investment/divestment decisions, and market entry decision-making. Nikhil holds an MBA degree in Marketing and IT and a Graduate in Mechanical Engineering. Nikhil has authored several publications and quoted in journals like EMS Now, EPR Magazine, and EE Times. Explore FMIs Extensive Coverage on Industrial Automation Domain: Bandsaw Machines Market Size: The global market is anticipated at US$ 2.1 billion in 2022. Demand is likely to remain high for the market during the assessment period. This is due to the increased mining operation and garnering US$ 3.3 billion in 2033. Fault Current Limiters Market Overview: The market size is expected to reach US$ 5.2 billion in 2023 and US$ 11.3 billion by 2033. Over the forecast period from 2023 to 2033. Saw Blades Market Review: This market is projected to expand at 4.7% CAGR over the forecast period 2023 to 2033, states Future Market Insights (FMI). Revenue is poised to increase to US$ 15.3 billion in 2023. By 2033. Surge Arrester Market Analysis: The Market is estimated to be valued at US$ 2,625.8 million in 2023, expanding at a CAGR of 5.0% from 2023 to 2033. Machine Tool Touch Probe Market Growth: The global market share is estimated to gain a revenue of US$ 637.30 million in 2023. Our IA domain experts opine this market providers can expect an average CAGR of 3.5% through 2033. About Future Market Insights (FMI) Future Market Insights, Inc. (ESOMAR certified, recipient of the Stevie Award, and a member of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce) offers profound insights into the driving factors that are boosting demand in the market. FMI is the leading global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, consulting, and events for the Packaging, Food and Beverage, Consumer Technology, Healthcare, Industrial, and Chemicals markets. With a vast team of over 5,000 analysts worldwide, FMI provides global, regional, and local expertise on diverse domains and industry trends across more than 110 countries. Contact Us: Nandini Singh Sawlani Future Market Insights Inc. Christiana Corporate, 200 Continental Drive, Suite 401, Newark, Delaware - 19713, USA T: +1-845-579-5705 For Sales Enquiries: sales@futuremarketinsights.com Website: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com LinkedIn| Twitter| Blogs | YouTube Vivoryon Therapeutics N.V. to Report Q3 2023 Financial Results and Operational Progress on December 6, 2023 Halle (Saale) / Munich, Germany, November 28, 2023 - Vivoryon Therapeutics N.V. (Euronext Amsterdam: VVY; NL00150002Q7) (Vivoryon), a clinical stage company focused on the discovery and development of small molecule medicines to modulate the activity and stability of pathologically altered proteins, today announced that it will publish its third quarter financial results for the period ended September 30, 2023 and provide a corporate update on Wednesday, December 6, 2023. The Company will host a conference call and webcast open to the public. Conference call details Date: December 6, 2023 Time: 03:00 pm CET / 09:00 am ET The conference call will be available via phone and webcast. The live audio webcast of the call will be available on Vivoryon's website at: https://www.vivoryon.com/investors-news/news-and-events/presentations-webcasts/ To join the conference call via phone, participants may pre-register and will receive dedicated dial-in details to easily and quickly access the call via the following website: https://register.vevent.com/register/BI44eb013feef24cb5818e6711539120de It is suggested participants dial into the conference call 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time to avoid any delays in attendance. ### About Vivoryon Therapeutics N.V. Vivoryon is a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on developing innovative small molecule-based medicines. Driven by our passion for ground-breaking science and innovation, we strive to change the lives of patients in need suffering from severe diseases. We leverage our in-depth expertise in understanding post-translational modifications to develop medicines that modulate the activity and stability of proteins which are altered in disease settings. Beyond our lead program, varoglutamstat, which is in Phase 2 clinical development to treat Alzheimers disease, we have established a solid pipeline of orally available small molecule inhibitors for various indications including cancer, inflammatory diseases and fibrosis. www.vivoryon.com Vivoryon Forward Looking Statements This press release includes forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, those regarding the business strategy, management plans and objectives for future operations of the Vivoryon Therapeutics N.V. (the Company), estimates and projections with respect to the market for the Companys products and forecasts and statements as to when the Companys products may be available. Words such as anticipate, believe, estimate, expect, forecast, intend, may, plan, project, predict, should and will and similar expressions as they relate to the Company are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance; rather they are based on the Managements current expectations and assumptions about future events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. The forward-looking statements involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties and other factors could materially adversely affect the outcome and financial effects of the plans and events described herein. Actual results, performance or events may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements and from expectations. As a result, no undue reliance should be placed on such forward-looking statements. This press release does not contain risk factors. Certain risk factors that may affect the Companys future financial results are discussed in the published annual financial statements of the Company. This press release, including any forward-looking statements, speaks only as of the date of this press release. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any information or forward-looking statements contained herein, save for any information required to be disclosed by law. For more information, please contact: Investor Contact Stern IR Julie Seidel Tel: +1 212-698-8684 Email: julie.seidel@sternir.com Media Contact Trophic Communications Valeria Fisher Tel: +49 175 8041816 Email: vivoryon@trophic.eu New York, United States, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Global Automotive Valves Market Size is to Grow from USD 28.3 Billion in 2022 to USD 42.39 Billion by 2032, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 3.8% during the projected period. Get a Sample PDF Brochure: https://www.sphericalinsights.com/request-sample/2547 Automotive valves are adaptable components assigned within the framework of an internal combustion engine (ICE) or electric vehicle (EV) to regulate the flow of gas or any type of fluid material such as liquids and solutions. The demand for automotive valves is skyrocketing as global car manufacturing expands. The market for automobile valves is rising as a result of carbon pollution regulations and increased demand for high-performance engines. The high automotive production and disposable income in developed nations are boosting the global market for car valves, resulting in increased demand for automobiles with high-power engines. The automotive valves market is steadily expanding as a result of factors such as rising car production, higher electric vehicle (EV) and hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) utilization rates, improving comfort demand, beneficial government initiatives, and assistance in the form of subsidies and grants, and rising levels of vehicle automation. Furthermore, increased customer desire for fuel-efficient, durable, and technologically sophisticated automobiles is expected to drive expansion in the global automotive valves market throughout the forecast period. Buy Now Full Report: https://www.sphericalinsights.com/checkout/2547 Browse key industry insights spread across 200 pages with 110 market data tables and figures & charts from the report on " Global Automotive Valves Market Size, Share, and COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Product (Tire Valves, A/c Valves, Brake Valves, Water Valves, Solenoid Valves, AT Control Valves, Engine Valves, Thermostat Valves, Fuel System Valves, Exhaust Gas Recirculation Valves, Others), By Actuation Method (Electric, Pneumatic, Hydraulic, Others), By Application (Engine System, HVAC System, Brake System, Others), By Vehicle Type (Passenger Cars, Light Commercial Vehicles, Heavy Commercial Vehicles), and By Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa), Analysis and Forecast 2022 2032." Inquire Before Buying This Research Report: https://www.sphericalinsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/2547 Asia Pacific dominates the market with the largest market share over the forecast period. Asia Pacific is dominating the market with more than 38.7% market share over the forecast period. This is primarily due to significant vehicle production in countries such as China and India, as well as the presence of major automakers in Japan and South Korea. China's massive automotive output and rising middle-class population, which requires more vehicles, contribute significantly to the region's market dominance. On the other hand, North America is predicted to expand the fastest during the forecast period. The automotive production and aftermarket sectors in the region contribute to the region's need for automotive valves. Furthermore, the growing popularity of hybrid and electric vehicle types is driving up demand for complex valves in powertrain and cooling systems. During the forecast period, the Europe market is expected to rise at a significant CAGR. Competitive Analysis: The report offers the appropriate analysis of the key organizations/companies involved within the global market along with a comparative evaluation primarily based on their product offering, business overviews, geographic presence, enterprise strategies, segment market share, and SWOT analysis. The report also provides an elaborative analysis focusing on the current news and developments of the companies, which includes product development, innovations, joint ventures, partnerships, mergers & acquisitions, strategic alliances, and others. This allows for the evaluation of the overall competition within the market. Major vendors in the Global Automotive Valves Market include Continental AG, Hitachi Astemo, Eaton Corporation, Aisin Corporation, Continental AG, BorgWarner, Robert Bosch, Denso Corporation, Fte Automotive Group, Nittan Co., Ltd., Subros Ltd., Knorr-Bremse AG, Valeo S.A., Delphi Automotive PLC, Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd., Fuji Oozx Inc., Rane Group, Schrader Duncan Limited, Johnson Electric, Hilite International, Inc., and several others. Get Discount At @ https://www.sphericalinsights.com/request-discount/2547 Recent Developments On May 2023, Carrar, an electric vehicle thermal management solution developer, has partnered with Gentherm, the global market leader in innovative thermal management and pneumatic comfort technologies for the automotive industry, to enable the delivery of electric vehicle (EV) battery modules with two-phase immersion thermal management solutions that fully control liquid level, vapor, and pressure at all times. Gentherm will provide the valves that allow the thermal management system to control the amounts of liquid and vapor, as well as the pressure inside the battery modules and packs, whether the vehicle is moving at high speeds, traversing difficult terrain, or undergoing rapid charging. Market Segment This study forecasts revenue at global, regional, and country levels from 2020 to 2032. Spherical Insights has segmented the Global Automotive Valves Market based on the below-mentioned segments: Automotive Valves Market, Product Analysis Tire Valves A/c Valves Brake Valves Water Valves Solenoid Valves AT Control Valves Engine Valves Thermostat Valves Fuel System Valves Exhaust Gas Recirculation Valves Others Automotive Valves Market, Actuation Method Analysis Electric Pneumatic Hydraulic Others Automotive Valves Market, Application Analysis Engine System HVAC System Brake System Others Automotive Valves Market, Vehicle Type Analysis Passenger Cars Light Commercial Vehicles Heavy Commercial Vehicles Automotive Valves Market, Regional Analysis North America US Canada Mexico Europe Germany Uk France Italy Spain Russia Rest of Europe Asia Pacific China Japan India South Korea Australia Rest of Asia Pacific South America Brazil Argentina Rest of South America Middle East & Africa UAE Saudi Arabia Qatar South Africa Rest of Middle East & Africa Browse Related Reports North America Boom Truck Cranes Market Size, Share, and COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Type (Capacity Below 20T, Capacity Between 20-40T, and Capacity Above 40T), By Application (Ports, Construction, Others), By Country (United States, Canada, Mexico, Rest of North America), and North America Boom Truck Cranes Market Insights Forecasts to 2032 Global Autonomous Cars Market Size, Share, and COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Type (Fully Autonomous, Semi-Autonomous), By Vehicle Type (Passenger Cars, Commercial Vehicles), By Application (Transportation, Defense) and By Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa), Analysis and Forecast 2022 2032 Global Locomotive Market Size, By Engine Type (Diesel, Electric, Hybrid-Electric, Others), By Technology (IGBT Module, GTO Thyristor, SiC Power Module, Others), By Component (Rectifier, Inverter, Traction Motor, Alternator, Auxiliary Power Unit [APU], Others), By Application (Freight, Passengers, Switcher), By Geographic Scope and Forecast, 2022 2032 Europe Electric Vehicle (EV) Market Size, Share, and COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Propulsion Type (BEV, FCEV, HEV), By Power Output (Less Than 100kW, 100 kW to 250 kW), By Vehicle Type (Passenger Vehicle, LCV, HCV, Two-wheeler, e-Scooters & Bikes), By End-Use (Private Use, Commercial Use, Industrial Use, Others), By Country (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Russia, Rest of Europe), and Europe Electric Vehicle (EV) Market Insights Forecasts to 2032 About the Spherical Insights & Consulting Spherical Insights & Consulting is a market research and consulting firm which provides actionable market research study, quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight especially designed for decision makers and aids ROI. Which is catering to different industry such as financial sectors, industrial sectors, government organizations, universities, non-profits and corporations. The company's mission is to work with businesses to achieve business objectives and maintain strategic improvements. CONTACT US: For More Information on Your Target Market, Please Contact Us Below: Phone: +1 303 800 4326 (the U.S.) Phone: +91 90289 24100 (APAC) Email: inquiry@sphericalinsights.com, sales@sphericalinsights.com Contact Us: https://www.sphericalinsights.com/contact-us Follow Us: LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter ABU DHABI, UAE, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CredibleX receives regulatory approval and licenses to operate in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) Announces launch with strategic partners from FMCG and financial services to provide embedded solutions for SMEs, initially with lending Also announces participation as the first fintech partner of ADGM's SME financing platform, Numou. CredibleX, MENA's pioneering embedded finance platform, has announced its launch after being granted regulatory licenses from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). These licenses provide a robust regulatory framework for its launch, bringing confidence and trust to CredibleX's partners and customers. It has also announced partnerships with ADGM as the first fintech partner of its SME financing platform, Numou; as well as with partners in FMCG and financial services. CredibleX is a game-changer for the region as its embedded finance approach enables businesses to provide their SME customers with instant access to lending solutions at scale. During 2024, CredibleX is aiming to reach 20,000 SMEs with its easy-to-use, embedded finance approach. Salem Mohammed Al Darei, ADGM Authority, CEO said, "We congratulate CredibleX on receiving their regulatory license from ADGM and welcome them to our vibrant ecosystem. As launch partners of ADGM's SME Financing Digital platform, Numou, we take great pride in CredibleX and its commitment to developing financing solutions for small and medium-sized businesses, promoting financial inclusion in the aim of accelerating economic growth. At ADGM, we are committed to fostering a cohesive ecosystem of like-minded partners and look forward to witnessing the positive impact of CredibleX and our fellow ecosystem members." CredibleX Co-Founder Ahmad Malik said, "According to official UAE government figures, over 60% of non-oil GDP comes from the SME economy. Yet, SMEs often struggle to access credit to grow their businesses or smoothen their cash flow. We see a clear opportunity to improve access and choice towards this underserved segment. Embedded finance, which integrates financial services into non-financial businesses, is an innovative way to serve SMEs through a wide network of business partners. With the regulators' approval, we can enable faster, easier, and simpler access to credit for SMEs through the platforms they use daily." CredibleX's proprietary technology can instantaneously assess credit risk and pre-approve a host of lending options for SMEs. These businesses typically wait weeks or months with no visibility on the status of their application. Now, through secure embedded technology, business owners can receive a result of their application in minutes, with funds disbursed to their account within 24 hours. Importantly, through collaboration with CredibleX, business providers and platforms can better serve their SME customers while CredibleX takes care of risk, repayments, and compliance. Embedding CredibleX comes at no charge for partners, and the setup time is a matter of days. CredibleX is addressing a critical sector of the economy in line with the UAE's National Agenda for Entrepreneurship and SMEs, with the number of SMEs projected to double by 2030 to more than 1 million across the UAE alone. Despite representing 90% of businesses, only 10% of loans currently go to SMEs ( Dubai SME ). Globally, according to The International Finance Corporation, around 65 million, or 40%, of formal micro, small, and medium enterprises in emerging markets have an unmet financing need of $5.2 trillion every year ( World Bank ). New forms of embedded financing play an essential role in supporting these businesses. About CredibleX CredibleX is MENA's pioneering embedded finance platform. Founded in Abu Dhabi in 2023, it was established to address the needs of an underserved SME community that typically struggles to access financing options. CredibleX powers businesses to provide their SME customers and suppliers instant access to regulated credit solutions at scale and without hassle or risk. SMEs can instantly access lending solutions, apply in minutes, and receive funds in 24 hours, with these solutions embedded inside the business software and providers they use daily. About Ahmad Malik Ahmad Malik is the Co-Founder of CredibleX and brings over 20 years of experience in banking, including at Standard Chartered and Citibank. He has launched and scaled fintech startups and banks in the UK, Europe, and the Middle East. About Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) is the international financial center (IFC) of the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, which opened for business on 21st October 2015. ADGM augments Abu Dhabis position as a leading financial center and a business hub, serving as a strategic link between the growing economies of the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia, and the rest of the world. Operating within an international regulatory framework based on direct application of The English Common Law, ADGM governs the entire Al Maryah Island, which is designated as the financial free zone of Abu Dhabi. ADGM is ranked as one of the most preferred top IFCs in the Middle East and Africa region and named MENAs largest Fintech hub. Its progressive and inclusive business ecosystem gravitates toward global financial and non-financial institutions while leveraging synergies between ADGM and multiple jurisdictions positioned as one of the worlds most advanced, diverse, and progressively governed financial hubs. Related Links Search CredibleX on ADGM https://www.adgm.com/public-registers/fsra SME economy size - UAE, the Official portal of the UAE Government https://tinyurl.com/473x8v83 Social Links Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Credibl_ex/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/credibl_ex LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/crediblex/ Media Contact Brand: CredibleX Email: hello@crediblex.io Website: https://www.crediblex.io/ SOURCE: CredibleX Dublin, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "RFID Locks Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2023-2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global RFID locks market size reached US$ 3.8 Billion in 2022 and is expected to reach US$ 8.4 Billion by 2028, exhibiting a growth rate (CAGR) of 14.2% during 2023-2028. The market is majorly driven by a paradigm shift toward the adoption of electromechanical devices over conventional locking systems. This can be attributed to the increasing concerns regarding safety and security among the masses. With rapid urbanization, there has been a considerable expansion of conurbations and cities with the growing number of inhabitants, which is creating the escalating need for advanced and sophisticated infrastructure solutions. In addition to this, continual technological advancements, such as touch displays, Wi-Fi-and Bluetooth-based (BLE) locking and unlocking assistance, are fueling the market. Significant growth in the hospitality, tourism and real estate industries resulting in the construction of new commercial buildings are also providing an impetus to the market. Some of the other factors creating a positive outlook for the market include the inflating disposable income levels of consumers, continual product innovations, penetration of high-speed internet connectivity, the growing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and internet of things (IoT), and extensive research and development (R&D) activities conducted by key players. Key Market Segmentation The report provides an analysis of the key trends in each sub-segment of the global RFID locks market report, along with forecasts at the global, regional and country level from 2023-2028. The report has categorized the market based on access device and end user. Breakup by Access Device: Key Cards Mobile Phone Wearables Breakup by End User: Residential Hospitality Automotive Government Retail BFSI Others Competitive Landscape The competitive landscape of the industry has also been examined along with the profiles of key players: Assa Abloy Dormakaba Group Euro-locks SA NV (Lowe & Flher Group) Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Hanman Hettich Holding MIWA Lock Company Nestwell Technologies Ojmar Onity SALTO Systems Senseon Yale Key Questions Answered in This Report What was the size of the global RFID locks market in 2022? What is the expected growth rate of the global RFID locks market during 2023-2028? What are the key factors driving the global RFID locks market? What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global RFID locks market? What is the breakup of the global RFID locks market based on the access device? What is the breakup of the global RFID locks market based on the end user? What are the key regions in the global RFID locks market? Who are the key players/companies in the global RFID locks market? Key Attributes: Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 149 Forecast Period 2022 - 2028 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2022 $3.8 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2028 $8.4 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 14.1% Regions Covered Global For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/dsc5cj About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Attachment Dublin, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Hepatitis C Tests Market Size (Value, Volume, ASP) by Segments, Share, Trend and SWOT Analysis, Regulatory and Reimbursement Landscape, Procedures, and Forecast to 2033" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The model discusses in detail the impact of COVID-19 on Hepatitis C Tests market for the year 2020 and beyond. Hepatitis C is a viral infection caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV). Hepatitis C virus is a blood borne virus that causes liver disease and can cause acute and chronic hepatitis. Infection may be caused through injection drug use, transfusion of unscreened blood products, unsafe injection practices, sexual contact and from infected mother to her baby. Diagnosis of HCV infection can be done by screening for anti-HCV antibodies along with a serological test to confirm the viral infection. Nucleic acid test for HCV ribonucleic acid (RNA) is performed in case of positive test results for anti HCV antibodies to confirm chronic infection. Since there is no vaccine available for HCV infection, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends blood tests to screen patients that are at an increased risk of HCV infection and reducing the risk of HCV exposure in health care settings. Screening of pregnant women for HCV is standard of care in most countries and considered to be a cost-effective strategy for reducing the risk of transmission to the baby. The Hepatitis C virus tests includes Hepatitis C Enzyme Immuno Assay/Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (EIA/ELISA) Tests, Hepatitis C Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests (NAATs) and Multi-parameter HIV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests (NAATs). Key Inclusions of the market model are: Currently marketed Hepatitis C Tests and evolving competitive landscape: Insightful review of the key industry trends. Annualized total Hepatitis C Tests market revenue by segment and market outlooks from 2015-2033. Market level data on units, average selling prices and market values. Global, Regional and Country level market specific insights: Qualitative market specific information is available with global trends further broken down into regional trends. In addition, publisher analysts provide unique country specific insights on the market. SWOT analysis for Hepatitis C Tests market. Competitive dynamics insights and trends provided for Hepatitis C Tests market. Drive the understanding of the market by getting the veritable big picture including an overview of the healthcare system. In addition, the Market Access segment allows you to delve deeper into market dynamics with information on reimbursement policies and the regulatory landscape. Country specific overview of the healthcare system. Country specific reimbursement policies. Country specific medtech regulatory landscape. The model will enable you to: Understand the impact of COVID-19 on Hepatitis C Tests market. Develop and design your in-licensing and out-licensing strategies through a review of pipeline products and technologies, and by identifying the companies with the most robust pipeline. Develop business strategies by understanding the trends shaping and driving Hepatitis C Tests market. Drive revenues by understanding the key trends, innovative products and technologies, market segments, and companies likely to impact the Hepatitis C Tests market in the future. Formulate effective sales and marketing strategies by understanding the competitive landscape and by analyzing the company share of market leaders. Identify emerging players with potentially strong product portfolios and create effective counterstrategies to gain a competitive advantage. Track device sales in the global and country-specific Hepatitis C Tests market from 2015-2033. Organize your sales and marketing efforts by identifying the market categories and segments that present maximum opportunities for consolidations, investments, and strategic partnerships. A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes Abbott Laboratories Grifols SA F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd QuidelOrtho Corp Hologic Inc Oswaldo Cruz Foundation Qiagen NV DiaSorin SpA Siemens AG For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/7eylrr About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Dublin, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Cattle Management Software Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Sector, By Software Type, By End-user, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2023 - 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global cattle management software market size is expected to reach USD 3.37 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of 10.08% over the forecast period. The market is driven by the increasing demand for beef and dairy products, increasing focus on sustainable farming, and technological advancements. As per 2020 to 2029 estimates by OECD-FAO, approximately 81% of global milk production consists of cow milk. India and Pakistan are expected to contribute to more than 30% of the global milk production by 2029. Furthermore, the OECD predicts increasing milk and fresh dairy product consumption (e.g., butter & cheese) worldwide from 2022 to 2031. With the increasing human population across the globe, the production & consumption of animal protein, such as milk, dairy products, and beef, is expected to grow. The growing demand is estimated to pressure cattle farmers to produce more food, thus propelling the need for technologies that support efficient food production, such as cattle management systems. Technological advancements are a significant driver in the market for cattle management software. These advancements encompass various technologies that have transformed how cattle farming is conducted. They enable farmers to improve productivity, optimize resource usage, and enhance overall herd management. The development of advanced technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID), GPS, and remote sensing has made it easier to collect & transmit data from cattle in real-time. This technological progress has opened up new possibilities for cattle management software. Furthermore, mobile apps are often part of cattle management software solutions. These apps provide farmers with easy-to-use interfaces for data entry, monitoring, and decision-making. They improve accessibility and convenience for users. Market Report Highlights Cattle management software helps ranchers and farmers manage their livestock more efficiently by providing real-time data on their cattle's health, location, and behavior. This can lead to better decision-making and improved overall herd management. The presence of multiple companies offering cattle monitoring software solutions can drive innovation and lower prices, making these technologies more accessible to a broader range of farmers globally Based on sector, the dairy segment dominated the market in 2022 and is estimated to expand at the fastest CAGR of 10.30% from 2023 to 2030. Dairy cow monitoring systems have a major role in driving the growth of the cattle monitoring systems market. These systems use cutting-edge technology & data analytics to continuously monitor the health, well-being, and production of dairy cows In terms of software type, the monitoring software segment held the largest revenue share of 62.03% in 2022. Cattle monitoring software can drive demand for cattle software in several ways by providing farmers and ranchers with valuable tools to improve the management & productivity of their cattle operations The medication tracking software segment is expected to register the fastest CAGR of 10.89% over the forecast period. It provides a centralized platform for tracking medical histories, vaccinations, and treatments, ensuring that each animal receives appropriate care. Thus, the demand for medication tracking segment is expected to receive a boost during the forecast period Among end-users, farm owners accounted for the largest market share of over 40.0% in 2022. In contrast, the managers/ operators segment is estimated to witness the highest growth rate of more than 8.0% through the forecast period In 2022, North America accounted for the largest share of 36.50% in the global market for cattle management software and is expected to advance at a significant CAGR over the forecast period. Asia Pacific is the fastest-growing region in the cattle software market and its growth can be attributed to the increased spending on cow-calf productivity operations, rising demand for cattle slaughter & milk production, emerging cattle diseases, and increasing distribution & trade of cattle Market Driver Impact Analysis Demand For Improved Efficiency & Productivity And Growing Focus On Precision Livestock Farming Increasing Focus On Sustainable Farming Technological Advancements Increasing Demand For Beef, Dairy, And Dairy Products Market Restraint Impact Analysis High Initial Costs Lack Of Relevant Knowledge & Training Key Attributes: Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 150 Forecast Period 2022 - 2030 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2022 $1.55 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2030 $3.37 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 10.0% Regions Covered Global Key Topics Covered: Chapter 1 Methodology And Scope Chapter 2 Executive Summary 2.1 Market Outlook 2.2 Segment Outlook 2.3 Competitive Outlook Chapter 3 Cattle Management Software Market Variables, Trends, & Scope 3.1 Market Dynamics/ Industry Trends 3.2 Estimated Cattle Population, 2022, By Key Countries 3.3 Covid-19 Impact Analysis 3.4 End-User Perspective Analysis 3.5 Competitive Landscape Chapter 4 Sector Estimates & Trend Analysis, 2018 - 2030 (USD Million) 4.1 Cattle Management Software Market By Sectors: Key Takeaways 4.2 Sector Movement Analysis & Market Share, 2022 & 2030 55 4.3 Cattle Management Software Market Estimates & Forecast By Sector (USD Million) 4.4 Meat 4.5 Dairy Chapter 5 Software Type Estimates & Trend Analysis, 2018 - 2030 (USD Million) 5.1 Cattle Management Software Market By Software Type: Key Takeaways 5.2 Software Type Movement Analysis & Market Share, 2022 & 2030 5.3 Cattle Management Software Market Estimates & Forecast By Software Type (USD Million) 5.4 Monitoring Software 5.4.2 Milk Harvesting Management 5.4.3 Reproduction/ Breeding Management 5.4.4 Feeding Management 5.4.5 Health Management 5.4.6 Others (E.G., Equipment & Environmental Monitoring) 5.5 Trading/ Marketing Software 5.6 Medication Tracking Software Chapter 6 End-User Estimates & Trend Analysis, 2018 - 2030 (USD Million) 6.1 Cattle Management Software Market By End-User: Key Takeaways 6.2 End-User Movement Analysis & Market Share, 2022 & 2030 6.3 Cattle Management Software Market Estimates & Forecast By End-User (USD Million) 6.4 Farm Owners 6.5 Managers/ Operators 6.6 Others (E.G., Consultants) Chapter 7 Regional Estimates & Trend Analysis, 2018 - 2030 (USD Million) 7.1 Regional Outlook 7.2 Regional Market Share Analysis, 2022 & 2030 7.3 Regional Marketplace, Key Takeaways Chapter 8. Competitive Landscape 8.1. Market Participant Categorization 8.2. Key Company Profiles Merck Afimilk GEA Group VAS Livestock Improvement Corporation Nedap Livestock Management Datamars Inpixon Breedr Performance Livestock Analytics For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/veba5w About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Attachment Highlights: Three copper-nickel sulphide zones further extended along strike for: 200 m west of West Zone; 450 m of M-Zone, and 300 by 200 m of Anomaly-51 Zone; Two new sulphide zones confirmed: northeast extension of Anomaly-51 Zone and south of Central Zone. Significant (>3 15 metres) massive to semi-massive sulphides and widened (up to 112.5 metres) disseminated sulphide mineralized zones intersected: 15.0 metres grading 0.36%Ni, 0.48% Cu, 0.05% Co, 0.70g/t Pd, 0.08g/t Pt and 0.06g/t Rh in FL23-527 hole. 112.5 metres grading 0.16% Ni, 0.23% Cu, 0.02% Co, 0.35g/t Pd, 0.06g/t Pt and 0.02g/t Rh in FL23-527B hole. TORONTO, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canadian North Resources Inc. (the Company, TSXV: CNRI; OTCQX: CNRSF; FSE: EO0 (E-O-zero)) is pleased to report the return of assay results from 26 remaining holes drilled during the summer, which is the final portion of the 21,126-metre 2023 diamond drilling program completed at its 100% owned Ferguson Lake Project (Ferguson Lake Project) in Nunavut, Canada. These results continue to significantly extend the West Zone, M-Zone and Anomaly-51 Zone (A51 Zone) along strike at the Ferguson Lake Project and demonstrate the potential of two newly tested mineralized zones south of Central Zone and southeast of the East Zone for hosting significant widths of sulphide mineralization, as summarized below and within Figure 1 and Table 1: Ten drillholes (FL23-496, 523A, 527 - 532A and 558) successfully extended the West Zone along strike for another 200 metres to the west with the report of further widening intersections of up to 112.5 metres grading 0.16% Ni, 0.23% Cu, 0.02% Co, 0.35g/t Pd and 0.06g/t Pt from 312.5 to 425 metres downhole in FL23-527B. The West Zone remains open locally to the west and down-dip. Two drillholes (FL23-542 and 543) testing the newly defined M-Zone, located 800 metres southeast of the East Zone, confirmed its open extent for over 450 metres of strike length with a new reported intersection of 7.6 metres grading 0.32% Ni, 0.40% Cu, 0.05% Co, 0.94g/t Pd and 0.20g/t Pt from 284.4 to 292 metres downhole in FL23-543. Five drillholes (FL23-549 552, 557) reported consistently the shallow intersections within the central part of east-northeast striking A51 Zone, located 1.9 km southeast of the East Zone, defining an open volume of shallowly north-dipping significant mineralized zone over an area 300 by 200 metres with results of up to 10 metres grading 0.21% Ni, 0.35% Cu, 0.04% Co, 0.31 g/t Pd and 0.03g/t Pt from 103 to 113 metres downhole in FL23-549. Two reconnaissance drillholes (F23-553 and 556) testing the interpreted east extension of A51 (A51 Zone Ext.), east of the mining lease boundary onto the staked claims, revealed the presence of encouraging multiple semi-massive sulphide layers. Reported results indicated three downhole mineralized intersections: 3.0 meters grading 0.17% Ni, 0.12% Cu, 0.03% Co, 0.31g/t Pd and 0.05 g/t Pt from 125.5 to 128.5 metres; 2.0 meters grading 0.26% Ni, 0.24% Cu, 0.04% Co, 0.49g/t Pd, and 0.18g/t Pt from 170.5 to 172.5 metres; and 2.5 meters grading 0.22% Ni, 0.30% Cu, 0.03% Co, 0.37g/t Pd and 0.03g/t Pt from 175.5 to 178 metres all in FL23-553. Reconnaissance drillhole F23-559 testing to the south of the Central Zone on Ferguson Lake sited on an island confirmed the presence of a second parallel trending mineralized zone intersecting 3.0 metres grading 0.21% Ni, 1.09% Cu, 0.04% Co, 0.43 g/t Pd and 0.01g/t Pt from 46 to 49 metres downhole. Figure 1: Geological map showing the mineralized zones and the mineralized intercepts in selected drill holes completed in the summer drilling program at Ferguson Lake Project. These latest drill intersections from the 2023 program are particularly gratifying to the southeast of the East Zone because they were generated from targets of the re-modelling and re-interpretation of historic geophysical survey data at a minimal cost. Said Dr. Trevor Boyd, the Vice President for Exploration of the Company, These results are expected to significantly upgrade and add new resources to the current mineral resource estimates (Refer to Independent Technical Report, Updated Mineral Resource Estimate, Ferguson Lake Project, Nunavut, Canada, Prepared by Ronacher McKenzie Geoscience Inc. and Francis Minerals Ltd filed by the Company to Sedar.com on July 13, 2022). Moreover, these drill results helped the project geologists to better understand the structural model for the mineralized zones. The new geological model indicated significant potential for further expansion of near-surface resources in East Zone, M-Zone and A51 Zone, as all the mineralized zones are open along the strike and down dip. Based upon review of the structure and geological setting, it was interpretated that the westerly trending main mineralized horizon which consist of the East and West zones were refolded and repeated to the south and exposed on the surface at the A51 and M zones hosting the same sub-parallel trending mineralized horizon containing similar tenors of sulphides. These recent drilling results support this geological model and provide a vector showing the economic potential for the testing multiple exploration targets along this new interpreted mineralized horizon and along its regional trend up to 12 km from the west-southwest of the A51 Zone, westward to the West Zone South and South Discovery zones, where the surface exposed gossans and sulfides were recorded historically. Table 1. Assay results for selected intervals of initial drill holes completed during summer 2023 From (m) To (m) Length (m) Ni % Cu % Co % Pd g/t Pt g/t Rh g/t FL23-496 144 151.7 7.7 0.11 0.17 0.01 0.21 0.04 FL23-523A 139.5 142.5 3 0.21 0.31 0.03 0.39 0.04 0.03 147 150 3 0.14 0.16 0.03 0.25 0.03 0.02 FL23-527 276.5 363.5 87 0.13 0.15 0.02 0.27 0.05 0.01 incl 276.5 312.5 36 0.23 0.29 0.03 0.44 0.07 0.03 incl 297.5 312.5 15 0.36 0.48 0.05 0.70 0.08 0.06 incl 306.5 309.5 3 0.70 0.40 0.09 1.33 0.11 0.14 607.5 627 19.5 0.06 0.05 0.01 0.30 0.08 incl 607.5 610.5 3 0.08 0.05 0.01 0.59 0.17 0.03 FL23-527B 312.5 425 112.5 0.16 0.23 0.02 0.35 0.06 0.02 incl 312.5 380 67.5 0.23 0.32 0.03 0.46 0.07 0.02 incl 338.5 346.5 8 0.67 0.33 0.08 1.20 0.09 0.07 incl 358 363 5 0.37 0.59 0.05 0.75 0.17 0.07 593.5 634 40.5 0.05 0.05 0.01 0.32 0.07 incl 625 634 9 0.05 0.09 0.01 0.56 0.14 703 709 6 0.08 0.08 0.01 0.69 0.15 0.03 761.5 785.5 24 0.05 0.11 0.01 0.40 0.07 incl 761.5 766 4.5 0.04 0.06 0.01 0.83 0.11 FL23-528 192.1 196.6 4.5 0.47 0.73 0.07 0.81 0.07 0.08 FL23-529 411 412.5 1.5 0.03 0.01 0.01 1.06 0.03 420 421.5 1.5 0.03 0.01 0.01 0.73 0.21 FL23-530 No valuable intersects FL23-532 189.5 192.5 3 0.07 0.04 0.01 0.69 0.40 0.05 FL23-532A No valuable intersects FL23-542 284.4 292 7.6 0.32 0.40 0.05 0.94 0.20 0.01 FL23-543 216.5 218 1.5 0.50 0.61 0.06 1.44 0.25 FL23-547 45 46.5 1.5 0.53 0.43 0.07 1.48 0.21 FL23-548 45.4 46.4 1 0.44 0.35 0.05 1.30 0.26 FL23-549 103 113 10 0.21 0.35 0.04 0.31 0.03 0.01 FL23-550 106.5 110.5 4 0.13 0.20 0.02 0.25 0.08 0.01 FL23-551 117 122 5 0.21 0.18 0.04 0.35 0.06 0.01 FL23-552 126 130 4 0.32 0.18 0.05 0.56 0.07 0.06 FL23-553 125.5 128.5 3 0.17 0.12 0.03 0.31 0.05 170.5 172.5 2 0.26 0.24 0.04 0.49 0.18 175.5 178 2.5 0.22 0.30 0.03 0.37 0.03 FL23-554 No Valuable Intercepts FL23-555 No Valuable Intercepts FL23-556 15.25 16.25 1 0.12 0.25 0.01 0.20 0.06 FL23-557 86 89 3 0.21 0.13 0.03 0.31 0.09 0.01 FL23-558 290 293 3 0.18 0.28 0.03 0.37 0.07 0.02 624.5 644 19.5 0.10 0.13 0.01 0.49 0.12 incl 624.5 630.5 6 0.11 0.11 0.01 0.77 0.19 0.02 737 765.5 28.5 0.09 0.09 0.01 0.35 0.09 FL23-559 46 49 3 0.21 1.09 0.04 0.43 0.01 FL23-559A No Valuable Intercepts FL23-560 No Valuable Intercepts Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC): Canadian North Resources Inc. has implemented a quality control program for its Ferguson Lake Project to ensure best practice in the sampling and analysis of the drill cores, which includes the insertion of blanks, duplicates, and certified standards into the sample stream. NQ-sized drill core is saw cut with half of the remaining drill core sampled at intervals based on geological criteria including previous historic results, lithology, visual mineralization, and alteration. The remaining part of the core is stored on-site on the property. Drill core samples are shipped by bonded carriers in secured containers and submitted to the ALS Geochemistry Yellowknife, Northwest Territories facility for sample preparation and forwarded to the ALS Geochemistry facility in North Vancouver, British Columbia for geochemical analyses. Some samples were sent to ALS Geochemistry Winnipeg, Manitoba for sample preparation due to the temporary disruption of the Yellowknife facility from forest fires. PGE and Gold analyses are obtained via industry standard fire assay with ICP-AES finish for Au, Pt and Pd and ICP-MS finish for Rh using 30g nominal sample weights. For samples returning greater than 10 g/t follow-up fire assay analysis with a gravimetric finish is completed. Samples are also analysed for 33 trace and major elements by ICP-AES following four-acid digestion. ALS Global quality systems conform to requirements of ISO/IEC Standard 17025 guidelines and meets assay requirements outlined for NI 43-101. The sampling and QA/QC program were undertaken by Company personnel under the direction and supervision of Qualified Person Dr. Trevor Boyd, P.Geo. A secure chain of custody is maintained in storing and transporting of all samples to Yellowknife, Winnipeg and North Vancouver. Qualified Person: The technical contents of this News Release have been reviewed and approved by Dr. Trevor Boyd, P.Geo., a Qualified Person as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101 standards. About Canadian North Resources Inc.: Canadian North Resources Inc. is an exploration and development company focusing on the critical metals for the clean-energy, electric vehicles, battery and high-tech industries. The company is advancing its 100% owned Ferguson Lake nickel, copper, cobalt, palladium, and platinum project that covers an area of 253.8 km2 of mining leases (96.9 km2) and surrounding exploration claims (156.9 km2) in the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut, Canada. The Ferguson Lake mining property contains a substantial N.I. 43-101 compliant Mineral Resource Estimate, which include Indicated Mineral Resources of 24.3 million tonnes containing 455 million pounds (Mlb) copper at 0.85%, 321Mlb nickel at 0.60%, 37.5Mlb cobalt at 0.07%, 1.08 million ounces (Moz) palladium at 1.38gpt and 0.18Moz platinum at 0.23gpt; Inferred Mineral Resources of 47.2 million tonnes containing 947Mlb copper at 0.91%, 551.5Mlb nickel at 0.53%, 62.4Mlb cobalt at 0.06%, 2.12Moz palladium at 1.4gpt and 0.38Moz platinum at 0.25gpt. The resource model indicates significant potential for resource expansion along strike and at depth over the 15 km long mineralized belt. (Refer to Independent Technical Report, Updated Mineral Resource Estimate, Ferguson Lake Project, Nunavut, Canada, Prepared by Ronacher McKenzie Geoscience Inc. and Francis Minerals Ltd filed by the Company to Sedar.com on July 13, 2022). Further information of the Company can be found at www.cnresources.com . Also, for further information contact: Dr. Kaihui Yang, President and CEO 905-696-8288 (Canada) 1-888-688-8809 (Toll-Free) https://CNResources.com Email: info@cnresources.com Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this news release, including statements which may contain words such as expects, anticipates, intends, plans, believes, estimates, or similar expressions, and statements related to matters which are not historical facts, are forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such forward-looking statements, which reflect managements expectations regarding the Companys future growth, results of operations, performance, business prospects and opportunities, are based on certain factors and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on the Companys forward-looking statements. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements contained in this news release and the documents incorporated by reference herein are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct. In addition, although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly any future revisions to forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as expressly required by law, anticipated events, except as expressly required by law. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b3329571-3cdd-4703-b92e-dc55e8602f92 NASHVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Doosan Digital Innovation (Justin Park, CEO of DDI) has partnered with Phosphorus (CEO Chris Rouland), a global xIoT cybersecurity company, to strengthen its operational technology (OT) security ecosystem and provide OT security solutions to Korean enterprises. Phosphorus is a global xIoT cybersecurity company providing unified security management and breach prevention for Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) across all major industries. Phosphorus, a company headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., provides an agentless, software-based Cyber-Physical System (CPS) Protection Platform that directly communicates with all xIoT devices in their native protocols. The platform analyzes device vulnerabilities such as outdated firmware, default passwords, expired/self-signed certificates, and insecure configurations to prevent security breaches on xTended Internet of Things devices including IoT, OT, IIoT, and IoMT devices and helps strengthen security with proactive and self-corrective xIoT remediation, hardening, and monitoring. Last year, Phosphorus was listed as one of the 50 Most Promising Startups selected by the American IT media outlet, The Information. This partnership is part of the Lighthouse Strategy to expand the know-how it has built and operated in global Doosan Group companies to external businesses. Following the partnership for IT security with Cybereason in 2021, the company expanded its scope to OT security with Claroty, a global OT security company, in September of this year. Through its partnership with Phosphorus, Doosan is strengthening its OT cybersecurity partner ecosystem to provide a secure OT and xIoT environment to various customers in Korea through an exclusive partner agreement. Phosphorus CEO, Chris Rouland, said, Through our collaboration with Doosan Digital Innovation, we are empowering businesses with greater xIoT visibility, management, and breach prevention capabilities in their critical OT environments. This improved protection is urgently needed at a time when Cyber-Physical System vulnerabilities are dramatically increasing, and threat actors are becoming more sophisticated at targeting and exploiting these devices. Robert Oh, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Doosan Digital Innovation, said: "With the partnership with Claroty in September, DDIs external business area expanded from IT security to OT security, and this xIoT partnership with Phosphorus will serve as an opportunity to strengthen an even more solid global cybersecurity ecosystem. Doosan will continue to lead the sustainable digital transformation and innovation with its experience building and operating know-how of next-generation global cybersecurity. For more information, please visit www.phosphorus.io and https://www.doosandigitalinnovation.com. Doosan Corporation Digital Innovation Doosan Digital Innovation (DDI) is an organization that fosters infrastructure and expertise for digital transformation, providing total IT solutions that encompass IT services, application development and operation, platform and IT infrastructure construction and operation to companies around the world, including Doosan Group affiliates. In addition, the company is accelerating its digital transformation with new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), data analysis, and Next Generation Security, and to this end, it has further strengthened its technical capabilities and field services and continued to improve customer satisfaction. About Phosphorus Cybersecurity Phosphorus Cybersecurity is the leading xIoT security management and breach prevention platform for the xTended Internet of Things. Designed to secure the rapidly growing and often unmonitored world of Things across the enterprise xIoT landscape, our Unified xIoT Security Management Platform delivers attack surface management across every industry vertical, providing intelligent active discovery and risk assessment, hardening and remediation, and detection and response. It brings enterprise xIoT security to every cyber-physical system in your enterprise environment. With unrivaled xIoT Intelligent Active Discovery and risk assessment, Phosphorus automates the remediation of the most significant IoT, OT, IoMT, and IIoT device vulnerabilities including unknown and inaccurate asset inventory, out-of-date firmware, default credentials, risky configurations, and out-of-date certificates. Follow Phosphorus on LinkedIn, Twitter, Threads, and YouTube, and learn more at www.phosphorus.io. Contact for Doosan: Strategy Salad Team Leader Lee Moon-ki 010-2861-7401 / mklee@strategysalad.co m Strategy Salad Jung Daun Manager 010-6229-6225 / D wchung@strategysalad.com Contact for Phosphorus: Michael Sias, Firm 19 inquiry@firm19.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3cf457bc-9b78-47e7-a8c8-306cbadbed3d Ottawa, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canada will be among the 197 countries represented at the upcoming 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), where global decision makers and leaders will come together to advance actionable progress on the path to net-zero. Through 2023 Canada, along with multiple countries across the world, announced a series of major initiatives to advance nuclear technologies as a core component of the path to net-zero 2050. Canadas presence at COP28 will be key in advancing our nations future as a global industry leader in clean nuclear, said John Gorman, President and CEO of Canadian Nuclear Association. We are at a pivotal moment with a dramatic acceleration in global demand for nuclear energy technologies and for uranium, the fuel used to generate nuclear energy. Canada is uniquely positioned as a world leader in nuclear technology innovations and exports. We have more than 60 years of experience generating nuclear power. We are a world leader in producing and exporting radioisotopes for medical use, saving millions of lives each year. We are also home to one of the largest natural reserves of uranium globally. In 2022, Saskatchewans nearly $1 billion-a-year uranium industry made Canada the second-largest producer of uranium in the world. Nuclear as a key component on the path to net-zero. As countries across the globe look to dramatically reduce emissions, nuclear power is increasingly being leveraged as a core element of the green energy transition. Political leaders, environmentalists and climate change experts recognise the importance of nuclear as part of the mix as the only non-emitting energy that can reliably produce vast amounts of clean electricity day and night, providing energy security, resilience, diversity and sustainability to an energy system. Canadas unique experience producing clean nuclear power. For over six decades, Canada has safely and effectively leveraged non-emitting nuclear energy. Today, Canada is home to 19 power reactors in Ontario and New Brunswick, which supply about 15 per cent of Canada's electricity. Through 2023, a number of major initiatives have been announced across Canada including in relation to large scale production plants, small modular reactors (SMRs), uranium mining and within nuclear medicine. Canadas global leadership in uranium production from Saskatchewan. Canada has the world's largest natural deposits of high-grade uranium and is the second largest uranium producer in the world. Canadas uranium is sourced from mines in northern Saskatchewan, of which more than 85 per cent is exported adding more than $1 billion to the economy each year. Uranium mining is one of the leading industrial employers of Indigenous people in Saskatchewan. Government support for clean nuclear power. Federal, provincial and territorial governments across Canada have demonstrated their continued support for clean nuclear power through both policy, financial commitments and investment incentives. The Prime Minister and provincial Premiers from Ontario, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, have all highlighted that nuclear power must play a central role in the nations clean energy transition while ensuring domestic energy security. A message that the Canadian Nuclear Association and high level officials from the federal and provincial governments are bringing to COP28. The opportunity nuclear power presents as part of the future green economy. Beyond the critical environmental benefits, clean nuclear power will play an integral role as part of the future green economy. According to the Nuclear Power Plant and Equipment: Global Strategic Business Report, the global nuclear market was estimated at U.S.$82.5 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach U.S $103.1 billion by 2030. As the demand for nuclear power continues to increase, so too does uranium. Focus on scaling up nuclear production at COP28. With the increased international focus and commitment to leveraging clean nuclear energy, and the anticipated release of the U.S. led international pledge to triple the worlds production of nuclear energy at COP28, nuclear will play a prominent role at the conference that takes place in Dubai from November 30 to December 12. The reality is that the world is increasingly turning to clean nuclear power as a reliable, affordable and sustainable source of non-emitting energy, said Gorman. Canada is uniquely positioned to serve the global marketplace, while benefiting from generating its own made-in-Canada sustainable energy solution that can drastically reduce emissions. Not only in supplying clean electricity to the grid, but in helping decarbonize our heavy industry, for hydrogen production, and to transition remote communities away from reliance on diesel. NEW YORK, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Epiq announces today that it has acquired Mainspring, a digital transformation specialist firm for contract lifecycle management (CLM) and contracts migration needs. The acquisition of Mainspring Consulting Group expands Epiqs existing Contracts Solutions business to help clients effectively manage contracts across people, processes, technology, and data. By delivering CLM system integrations, clients get additional value from the contracting process from creation to post-signature obligations management. The need for corporations, and their legal departments, to maximize the value from their contracts technology continues to grow, said Ziad Mantoura, Senior Vice President of Epiqs Enterprise Legal and Consulting Solutions. Mainsprings CLM strategy, implementation, and integration services will enable our clients to get better value from their CLM technology investments. The Epiq Contracts Solutions business delivers in three areas: Epiq Contracts Review and Analytics helps clients organize, review, and analyze their executed contracts in the context of M&A due diligence and merger integration, regulatory change, and preparing contracts for CLM implementations; Epiq CLM Professional Services provides advisory, CLM selection, and implementation; and, Epiq Counsel provides flexible legal talent for law departments facing an overwhelming volume of commercial contracts. Epiq Contracts Solutions is part of the Epiq Legal Service Management framework, which is a set of legal solutions to reduce risk, improve service quality, ensure responsiveness to business stakeholders, and drive cost efficiency. Epiq is a leader in providing legal service management solutions across the practices of a corporate legal department, including Litigation, Commercial, Corporate and M&A, Regulatory and Compliance, IP management, and Legal Operations. According to the 2023 World Commerce and Contracting benchmark report, 81 percent of organizations surveyed consider the selection and adoption of contracts technology a top priority. Using an AI-powered CLM helps to standardize data, automate compliance, and provide total visibility to accelerate the contracting process. Mainspring has earned a reputation for helping clients solve challenges related to contracts workflow, processes, and technology. It has CLM partnerships with the leading CLM providers, including Agiloft, Conga, Ironclad, ContractPodAI, and Malbek, to name a few. Joining Epiq, clients will benefit from our combined contracts solutions expertise, said Peter Toundaian, Mainspring Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer. Our CLM experience and consultative approach enable us to provide the best platform configuration to support our clients business models for any contract type. We are excited to strengthen our client relationships with Epiqs global scale and broader team of experts. Since Epiq launched its award-winning Legal Transformation Services business three years ago, it has experienced significant growth in legal business advisory services, flexible legal talent, legal spend analysis, contracts intelligence, and analytics solutions. Adding Mainspring builds upon that growth and Epiqs highly successful acquisitions, including Fireman & Company in 2022, Simplex in 2021 and Hyperion Global Partners in 2020. About Epiq Epiq, a global technology-enabled services leader to the legal industry and corporations, takes on large-scale, increasingly complex tasks for corporate counsel, law firms, and business professionals with efficiency, clarity, and confidence. Clients rely on Epiq to streamline the administration of business operations, class action, and mass tort, court reporting, eDiscovery, regulatory, compliance, restructuring, and bankruptcy matters. Epiq subject-matter experts and technologies create efficiency through expertise and deliver confidence to high-performing clients around the world. Learn more at www.epiqglobal.com. Press Contact Carrie Trent Epiq, Director of Communications and Public Relations Carrie.Trent@epiqglobal.com Belleville, Illinois, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As U.S. credit card debt has hit a historic milestone and the Social Security disability claims backlog continues, Allsup has expanded its services to provide Disability Financial SolutionsSM to thousands of former workers caught in the extended wait for benefits. Allsup, the nations premier provider of disability representation, is now offering a range of financial solutions to address claimants pressing money issues as average processing wait times reach 220 days for initial application decisions alone. For the first time, credit card debt exceeds $1 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Adding to the urgency, over 1 million people are currently waiting for initial disability claims processing by the Social Security Administration. Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) provides monthly income and support for individuals unable to work due to severe illness or injury. Nearly 160 million workers are currently insured for SSDI, a benefit funded by FICA payroll taxes. In addition to the economic stress of health issues, individuals applying for disability benefits face a daunting process to apply for benefits, and if denied, appealing through a lengthy determination process at the federal agency. Credit card debt can compound the financial stress for people when they must stop working due to disability, said T.J. Geist, Principal Advocate at Allsup. In the past, applicants could see a decision as soon as three months, but now theyre waiting over seven months for an initial SSA decision, with appeals adding another 15 months or more. A disability can quickly become a financial crisis for individuals and their families. A Congressional hearing in October spotlighted the pressing need for expediting the Social Security disability claims process, Geist said. SSDI benefits frequently serve as the sole financial lifeline for people with disabilities and their families. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the rate of medical debt nearly doubled for households with a member who had a hospital stay, standing at 31.3% compared to 15.8% for those without a hospital stay. The financial hardship that arises when someone ceases working due to health issues is overwhelming. Thats why we've broadened our SSDI services to include Disability Financial SolutionsSM (DFS), Geist said. We are dedicated to providing true help that makes a difference for our customers, particularly financial relief quickly, while theyre facing medical difficulties and long SSA wait times. Allsups Disability Financial Solutions include: Healthcare insurance options: The Healthcare Insurance Services team at Allsup assists clients in exploring healthcare insurance options, ensuring access to essential medical treatment and enhancing the likelihood of SSDI benefits approval. Credit card and medical bill savings: Debt settlement experts negotiate with credit card and medical companies on behalf of Allsup customers, yielding substantial savings while alleviating financial strain. Food, utility, prescription savings and more: Allsup connects customers with resources offering savings on everyday necessities like utilities, meals and prescriptions. Mortgage relief: Leveraging an extensive network, Allsup provides customers with information on Housing Assistance Fund (HAF) resources available in their respective states, offering vital support during challenging periods. Customers are sharing their stories of relief: Allsup has been by my side every step of the way. Its comforting to know I can pay my debt off sooner. If Allsup only helped with my SSDI case and my debt, that would be enough. Instead, they also provided resources to help lower our monthly expenses. I am forever grateful for using Allsup! said Karina, a satisfied Allsup customer. For more information about applying for SSDI benefits, filing your appeal if you were denied, or to see if you are eligible, visit FileSSDI.Allsup.com or call 1-800-678-3276. ABOUT ALLSUP Allsup and its subsidiaries provide nationwide Social Security disability, veterans disability appeal, return to work, and healthcare benefits services for individuals, their employers and insurance carriers. Allsup professionals deliver specialized services supporting people with disabilities and seniors so they may lead lives that are as financially secure and as healthy as possible. Founded in 1984, the company is based in Belleville, Illinois, near St. Louis. Learn more at Allsup.com and @Allsup or download a free PDF of Applying for Social Security Disability Insurance: Getting It Right The First Time. Attachment CHICAGO, Ill., Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LKQ Corporation today announced its 3rd annual LKQ Cares Holiday Vote charitable program commencing on Giving Tuesday, November 28, 2023, running through Friday, December 8, 2023. The LKQ Community Foundation is committing to donate a total of $1 million to the following philanthropic organizations: American Cancer Society BEN Support for Life Childrens Miracle Network Hospitals Collision Repair Education Foundation Environmental Defense Fund Make-A-Wish Skills USA The Ocean Cleanup UNICEF United Nations World Food Programme I am proud to announce our third annual LKQ Cares Holiday Vote program that engages all of our stakeholders globally and gives them an opportunity to provide direction to our charitable efforts, said Dominick Zarcone, President and Chief Executive Officer. At LKQ, we are proud to support charitable organizations who help our communities where we live and operate. With everything going on in the world today, its important to acknowledge how fortunate we are to be able to celebrate and provide this support. As part of this program, each of the ten organizations will receive an initial $50,000 donation, with the allocation of the remaining $500,000 in funds to be determined based on votes from LKQ team members, customers, and other stakeholders. The Company expects all donations to be paid before year end. To participate in the LKQ Cares Holiday Vote program and submit your vote, please visit https://forms.office.com/r/s6y64kGpPp or use the QR code below: About LKQ Corporation LKQ Corporation ( www.lkqcorp.com ) is a leading provider of alternative and specialty parts to repair and accessorize automobiles and other vehicles. LKQ has operations in North America, Europe, and Taiwan. LKQ offers its customers a broad range of OEM recycled and aftermarket parts, replacement systems, components, equipment, and services to repair and accessorize automobiles, trucks, and recreational and performance vehicles. Contact Sandy Pierantoni Director, Global Sustainability and VP, LKQ Community Foundation sjpierantoni@lkqcorp.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5afd0909-2219-498c-b97f-49d94161f83b NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES. TORONTO, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Latitude Uranium Inc. (Latitude Uranium, LUR or the Company) (CSE: LUR, OTCQB: LURAF and FRA: EI1) is pleased to announce that it has closed its previously announced bought deal brokered private placement announced on November 8, 2023, pursuant to which LUR sold 27,272,728 flow-through units of the Company (each, a FT Unit) at a price of C$0.22 per FT Unit for gross proceeds of C$6,000,000 (the Offering), which includes the full exercise of the Underwriters over-allotment option. The Offering was conducted by a syndicate of underwriters, co-led by Red Cloud Securities Inc., as sole bookrunner, and Haywood Securities Inc., and including PI Financial Corp. (collectively, the Underwriters). Each FT Unit consists of one common share of LUR (each, a FT Share) to be issued as a flow-through share within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (ITA) and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a Warrant). Each Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one common share of the Company (each, a Warrant Share) at a price of C$0.30 per Warrant Share at any time on or before November 28, 2025. The proceeds from the issuance of FT Shares are expected to be used to incur eligible Canadian exploration expenses as defined in the ITA that will qualify as flow-through critical mineral mining expenditures as defined in the ITA and LUR will renounce the Canadian exploration expenses (on a pro rata basis) to each subscriber of FT Units with an effective date of no later than December 31, 2023 in accordance with the ITA. The proceeds from the Offering are expected to be used for exploration of the Companys Angilak Project in Nunavut. The Offering is subject to certain conditions, including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary regulatory and other approvals, including the approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange. The securities issued pursuant to the Offering will be subject to a hold period of four-month and one day from the closing date of the Offering. In connection with the Offering, the Underwriters received a cash fee in the amount of $360,000 representing 6.0% of the gross proceeds of the Offering, and were issued 1,636,363 non-transferable broker warrants (the Broker Warrants), representing 6.0% of the aggregate number of FT Units sold under the Offering. Each Broker Warrant is exercisable to acquire one common share of the Company at a price of C$0.30 per share for a period of 24 months after the closing date of the Offering. None of the securities to be issued pursuant to the Offering have been or will be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and such securities may not be offered or sold within the United States absent U.S. registration or an applicable exemption from U.S. registration requirements. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. Related Party Disclosure Philip Williams, the Executive Chairman and director of the Company, John Jentz, the Chief Executive Officer and director of the Company, and Richard Patricio, the Lead Director of the Company, participated in the Offering, acquiring an aggregate of 2,250,909 FT Units on the same terms as other investors for gross proceeds to the Company of $495,200 (the Insider Participation). The Insider Participation constitutes a related party transaction pursuant to Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (MI 61-101). The Company is exempt from the requirement to obtain a formal valuation or minority shareholder approval in connection with the Insider Participation under MI 61-101 in reliance on Sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101 due to the fair market value of the Insiders Participation being below 25% of the Companys market capitalization for purposes of MI 61-101. The Company did not file a material change report 21 days prior to the expected closing date of the Offering as the details of the Insider Participation in the Offering had not been finalized at that time. The Offering has been approved by the board of directors of the Company with each of Messrs. Williams, Jentz and Patricio having disclosed his interest in the Offering and abstaining from voting thereon. The Company has not received nor has it requested a valuation of its securities or the subject matter of the Insider Participation in the 24 months prior to the date hereof. Option Grant The Company has granted an aggregate of 4,800,000 stock options to certain directors, officers and employees of the Company pursuant to LURs long-term omnibus incentive plan. Each option is exercisable to acquire one common share of LUR at an exercise price of C$0.17 for a period of five years, subject to the approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange. About Latitude Uranium Inc. Latitude Uranium is exploring and developing two district-scale uranium projects in Canada. Our primary focus is expanding the resource base at Angilak, which ranks amongst the highest-grade uranium deposits globally, outside of the Athabasca. Additionally, we are advancing the CMB Project, situated in the prolific Central Mineral Belt in central Labrador adjacent to the Michelin Deposit, with numerous occurrences of uranium, copper and potential IOCG style mineralization. For More Information, Please Contact: Latitude Uranium Inc. John Jentz CEO jjentz@latitudeuranium.com Toll-Free: 1-833-572-2333 Email: info@latitudeuranium.com Website: www.latitudeuranium.com Twitter: @LatitudeUr_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/latitude-uranium-inc/ Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future including, but not limited to, the expected use of the proceeds from the Offering; and the Companys ongoing business plan, sampling, exploration and work programs. Generally, but not always, forward-looking information and statements can be identified by the use of words such as plans, expects, is expected, budget, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, intends, anticipates, or believes or the negative connotation thereof or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will be taken, occur or be achieved or the negative connotation thereof. Forward-looking information and statements are based on our current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates and forecasts about LURs business and the industry and markets in which it operates. Such forward information and statements are based on numerous assumptions, including among others, that general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner, that locations of historical mineral resources estimates could lead to new mineralization discoveries and potentially be verified as current mineral resource estimates, that financing will be available if and when needed and on reasonable terms to conduct further exploration and operational activities, and that third party contractors, equipment and supplies and governmental and other approvals required to conduct LURs planned exploration activities will be available on reasonable terms and in a timely manner. Although the assumptions made by LUR in providing forward-looking information or making forward-looking statements are considered reasonable by management at the time, there can be no assurance that such assumptions will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking information and statements also involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performances and achievements of LUR to differ materially from any projections of results, performances and achievements of LUR expressed or implied by such forward-looking information or statements, including, among others: limited operating history, negative operating cash flow and dependence on third party financing, uncertainty of additional financing, delays or failure to obtain required permits and regulatory approvals, no known mineral resources/reserves, aboriginal title and consultation issues, reliance on key management and other personnel; potential downturns in economic conditions; availability of third party contractors; availability of equipment and supplies; failure of equipment to operate as anticipated; accidents, effects of weather and other natural phenomena and other risks associated with the mineral exploration industry; changes in laws and regulation, competition, and uninsurable risks, community relations, delays in obtaining governmental or other approvals and the risk factors with respect to LUR set out in LURs annual information form in respect of the year ended November 30, 2022 filed with the Canadian securities regulators and available under LURs profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Although LUR has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information or implied by forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. LUR undertakes no obligation to update or reissue forward-looking information as a result of new information or events except as required by applicable securities laws. NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, INTO OR WITHIN THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, SOUTH AFRICA, HONG KONG, JAPAN OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE DISTRIBUTION OR RELEASE WOULD BE UNLAWFUL OR WOULD REQUIRE REGISTRATION OR OTHER MEASURES Oslo, 28 November 2023 - Reference is made to the announcement made by BW Sirocco Holdings AS (the "Offeror) on 9 November 2023 regarding a recommended voluntary offer to acquire all the issued and outstanding shares (the "Shares") in BW Ideol AS ("BW Ideol" or the "Company"), not already held by the Initiating Shareholders (as defined in the Offer Document), at an offer price of NOK 12 per Share (the "Offer Price"), to be settled in cash or shares in the Offeror (the "Offer"), as further described in the combined offer document and national prospectus (the "Offer Document"). The original offer period under the Offer (the "Offer Period") expire at 16:30 hours (CET) today, 28 November 2023. As of 16:00 CET today the Offeror has received binding acceptances in excess of 90% of the Shares and the condition for minimum acceptances has been fulfilled. However, in order to secure that all shareholders have been provided with ample time to consider the Offer, the Offeror has resolved to extend the Offer Period until 30 November 2023 at 16:30 hours (CET). The Offeror maintains its right to further extend the Offer Period (one or several times) on the terms and conditions set out in the Offer Document, but under no circumstances beyond 23 January 2024 at 16:30 hours (CET). As a consequence of the extension, and with reference to section 5.4.2 (Settlement of the Cash Consideration) and 5.5.2 (Settlement of the Consideration Shares) in the Offer Document, the settlement of the Offer will be postponed correspondingly. As set out in the Offer Document, settlement will take place within 10 business day following the expiry of the Offer Period for the cash consideration, subject to all conditions for the Offer being fulfilled or waived by the Offeror. Settlement of the share consideration will take place as soon as practically possible following registration with the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises of the capital increase in the Offeror pertaining to the issuance of the consideration shares. Other than set out above, there are no amendments to the terms of the Offer. Completion of the Offer is subject to the fulfilment or waiver by the Offeror of the closing conditions set out in the Offer Document. The complete terms and conditions for the Offer, including a description of the procedures for accepting the Offer, is set out in the Offer Document, with the amended Offer Period as described herein. Shareholders that want to accept the Offer must fill out and return the acceptance form which is included in the Offer Document by 16:30 (CET) on 30 November 2023 and in accordance with procedures set out in the Offer Document. Acceptances of the Offer already received will remain binding and there is no need for shareholders that have already accepted the Offer to take any further action to confirm their acceptances. The Offer Document is registered with the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises and is available at www.danskebank.no/BWI. Advisors Danske Bank, Norwegian Branch, is acting as financial advisor to the Offeror and receiving agent for the Offer. Advokatfirmaet Thommessen AS is acting as legal advisor to the Offeror. Carnegie AS is acting as financial advisor to the Board. For further information, please contact: BW Ideol AS Nicolas de Kerangal (Chief Financial & Partnerships Officer) +33 (0) 7 76 87 70 08 / ir@bw-ideol.com BW Sirocco Holdings AS Anders S. Platou (Chief Strategy Officer BW Offshore Limited) +47 99 71 86 55 This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. IMPORTANT NOTICE It may be unlawful to distribute this announcement in certain jurisdictions. This announcement is not for distribution in Australia, Canada, the Hong Kong special administrative region of the People's Republic of China, Japan, South Africa, the United States or to any other jurisdiction where such distribution would be unlawful. The information in this announcement does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in such jurisdictions. Persons into whose possession this release comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. This announcement does not constitute an offer for sale of, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe for, any securities in the United States. The Offer or Consideration Shares referred to in this release have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. The information contained in this announcement is for informational purposes only and does not purport to be full or complete. The Offeror does not intend to conduct a public offering in the United States and is relying on exemptions from registration. The Offer will be made to shareholders in the United States in compliance with applicable U.S. securities laws and regulations, including Section 14(e) and Regulation 14E under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Copies of this announcement are not being, and should not be, distributed in or sent into the United States. In the United Kingdom, this announcement is for distribution only to and is directed only at persons who (i) have professional experience in matters relating to investments which fall within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (as amended, the "Financial Promotion Order"), (ii) are persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) ("high net worth companies, unincorporated associations etc") of the Financial Promotion Order, or (iii) are persons to whom an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000) in connection with the issue or sale of any securities may otherwise lawfully be communicated or caused to be communicated (all such persons together being referred to as "relevant persons"). This announcement is directed only at relevant persons and must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not relevant persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this announcement relates is available only to relevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons. This announcement has been prepared on the basis that any offer of securities in any Member State of the European Economic Area which has implemented the Prospectus Regulation (EU) (2017/1129, as amended, the "Prospectus Regulation") (each, a "Relevant Member State") will be made pursuant to an exemption under the Prospectus Regulation, as implemented in that Relevant Member State, from the requirement to publish a prospectus for offers of securities. Accordingly, any person making or intending to make any offer in that Relevant Member State of securities, which are the subject of the offering contemplated in this announcement, may only do so in circumstances in which no obligation arises for the Offeror to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Regulation or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 16 of the Prospectus Regulation, in each case, in relation to such offer. Neither the Offeror, the Company nor any of the advisors have authorised, nor do they authorise, the making of any offer of the securities through any financial intermediary, other than offers made by the Offeror which constitute the final placement of the securities contemplated in this announcement. Neither the Offeror, the Company nor any of the advisors have authorised, nor do they authorise, the making of any offer of securities in circumstances in which an obligation arises to publish or supplement a prospectus for such offer. This release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the securities laws and regulations of various international, federal, and state jurisdictions. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including without limitation, statements regarding the Offer or the future plans and objectives of the Offeror or the Company are forward- looking statements that involve risk and uncertainties. There can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Neither the Offeror, the Company nor any of their advisors and/or any of their affiliates or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, advisers, agents or any other person(s) accept any responsibility or liability whatsoever for, or make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness or fairness of the information or opinions in this announcement (or whether any information has been omitted from this announcement) or any other information relating the Offer, the Offeror or the Company. The issue, subscription or purchase of shares in the Offeror is subject to specific legal or regulatory restrictions in certain jurisdictions. Neither the Offeror, the Company nor their advisors assume any responsibility in the event there is a violation by any person of such restrictions. The release is not for publication or distribution, in whole or in part directly or indirectly, in or into United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan or any other jurisdiction in which the distribution or release would be unlawful. This release is an announcement issued pursuant to legal information obligations, and is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. It is issued for information purposes only, and does not constitute or form part of any offer to sell or purchase, or solicitation to purchase or subscribe for any securities, in the United States or in any other jurisdiction. The securities mentioned herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "US Securities Act"). The securities may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the US Securities Act. The Offeror does not intend to register any portion of the offering of the securities in the United States or to conduct a public offering of the securities in the United States. Copies of this announcement are not being made and may not be distributed or sent into Australia, Canada, Japan or the United States. Dublin, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Top 10 High & Medium Voltage Products Market HV (Switchgear, HV Cables, Power Transformer), MV (Ring Main Unit, Recloser, MV Cables, Voltage Regulator, Surge Protection Device, Disconnect Switch), Installation Type End User - Global Forecast to 2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Top 10 high and medium voltage products market is estimated to grow from USD 264.1 Billion in 2023 to USD 349.7 Billion by 2028; it is expected to record a CAGR of 5.8% during the forecast period. The demand for high and medium voltage products is rising due to increasing energy needs, integration of renewable energy sources, electrification of sectors like transportation, and ongoing grid modernization efforts. Medium Voltage: The second-fastest segment of the top 10 high and medium voltage markets, by product. Based on product type, the Top 10 high and medium voltage products market has been split into two types: Medium voltage and High voltage. The adoption of high voltage is growing and is expected to be the second fastest segment. This is due to their extensive use in urban and industrial areas with growing electricity demand, their importance in integrating renewable energy sources, and their role in grid modernization, ensuring efficient power distribution within existing infrastructure. Industrial segment is expected to emerge as the second-largest segment based on end users. Based on end users, the top 10 high and medium voltage products market has been segmented into transmission and distribution, industrial, residential, and commercial. The industrial segment is expected to be the second-largest segment owing to the dependence of industries on medium and high voltage equipment to power heavy machinery, manufacturing processes, and large-scale operations, driving significant demand for these products. Additionally, the need for industrial infrastructure expansion and modernization further contributes to the prominence of the industrial segment in this market. Indoor is expected to emerge as the largest segment based on Installation type. By installation type, the top 10 high and medium voltage product market has been segmented into outdoor and indoor. Indoor is expected to emerge as the largest segment based on installation type. These installations offer a controlled and protected environment, ensuring safety and mitigating environmental risks associated with high and medium voltage equipment. They are also more space-efficient, a vital consideration in urban areas with limited real estate. Indoor installations provide easy access for maintenance and inspection, resulting in increased reliability and reduced downtime. North America is expected to be the second-fastest region in the top 10 high and medium voltage product markets. North America is expected to be the second-fastest region in the top 10 high and medium voltage product markets between 2023-2028, preceded by Asia Pacific. The region has a well-established electrical infrastructure that requires continuous modernization and upgrades to ensure reliability and efficiency. Moreover, a growing emphasis on renewable energy integration and grid resilience drives demand for high and medium voltage products. Additionally, a thriving industrial sector and the adoption of electric vehicles in North America further contribute to the need for these products, solidifying the region's prominent position in the market. These are the key factors fostering the growth of the Top 10 high and medium voltage products market in North America. Market Dynamics Drivers Rise in Grid Investments to Improve Transmission and Distribution Infrastructure Growing Demand for Reliable and Continuous Power Supply with Increasing Urbanization and Industrialization Restraints Delays in Procurement and Installation of Electrical Equipment Attributed to Complex Regulatory and Environmental Authorization Procedures Implementation of Stringent Regulations to Limit Sf6 Emissions from Switchgears and Ring Main Units Opportunities Continuous Increase in Power Generation Capacity Increasing Development of Smart Grids and Growing Digitalization Challenges Requirement for High Technical Expertise to Develop and Install Power Cables Supply Chain Disruptions Key Attributes: Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 232 Forecast Period 2023 - 2028 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2023 $264.1 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2028 $349.7 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 5.8% Regions Covered Global Key Topics Covered: Executive Summary Top 10 High and Medium Voltage Products Market: Snapshot Indoor Segment to Hold Larger Market Share in 2023 High Voltage Segment to Exhibit Higher CAGR During Forecast Period Transmission and Distribution Segment to Lead Market During Forecast Period Asia-Pacific Accounted for Largest Share of Top 10 High and Medium Voltage Products Market in 2022 Premium Insights Attractive Opportunities for Players in Top 10 High and Medium Voltage Products Market - Growing Deployment of Smart Grids and Increasing Digitalization Asia-Pacific Top 10 High and Medium Voltage Products Market, by End-user and Country -Transmission and Distribution Segment and China Held Largest Shares of Asia-Pacific Top 10 High and Medium Voltage Products Market in 2022 Top 10 High and Medium Voltage Products Market, by Installation Type - Indoor Segment to Account for Larger Market Share in 2028 Top 10 High and Medium Voltage Products Market, by Product - High Voltage Segment to Hold Larger Market Share in 2028 Top 10 High and Medium Voltage Products Market, by End-user - Transmission and Distribution Segment to Hold Largest Market Share in 2028 Case Study Analysis Aegis 36 Ring Main Unit Was Deployed in Renewable Project to Ensure Hassle-Free Operation for Extended Period Australia-Singapore Interconnector Project Developed Viable Solution to Link Renewable Energy from Australia to Singapore's Power Network SUC Coburg Deployed ABB's Safering Airplus Ring Main Units to Increase Reliability of Power Supply in Power Distribution Grid Company Profiles ABB Ltd. Anchor Electricals Private Limited Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited Eaton G&W Electric GE Havells India Ltd. HD Hyundai Electric Hitachi Energy Ltd. KEI Industries Limited Lucy Electric Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Nexans NKT A/S Orecco Prysmian Group Schneider Electric Siemens Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. Toshiba Corporation For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/nlz4nd About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Attachment Smithtown, NY and Washington, DC, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Americas VetDogs is honored to place a specially trained facility dog at the Pentagon with J-3 Operations of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Charlie, a 2-year-old yellow Labrador Retriever, was specifically trained as a facility dog to provide animal assisted support for Pentagon personnel and visitors. Charlie becomes the newest valued member of the America's VetDogs facility dog team, joining the ranks of more than 25 facility dogs, including honorary Chief Petty Officer Sully H.W. Bush at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Americas VetDogs breeds, raises, trains and places assistance dogs for veterans, active-duty military, and first responders with disabilities at no cost to the individuals being served. The organization offers service dogs for those with physical disabilities and mobility issues; guide dogs for individuals who are blind or have low vision; hearing dogs for those who have lost their hearing; seizure response dogs; physical and occupational therapy dogs to aid in the rehabilitation process in military and VA hospitals, and PTSD service dogs to help mitigate the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder. We are humbled to have an Americas VetDogs facility dog at the Pentagon to provide support to military and civilian personnel who serve our nation, said John Miller, president and CEO, Americas VetDogs. Our sincere gratitude to Lt. Gen. Douglas A. Sims II, director of Operations, J-3, and his team, for welcoming Charlie with open arms and hearts. Americas VetDogs has placed more than 1000 service dogs, guide dogs, and facility dogs since its inception in 2003. The national nonprofit organization also has facility dogs at Brooke Army Medical Center, Madigan Army Medical Center, Portsmouth Naval Medical Center, ANG Readiness Center at Andrews Air Force Base, and Camp LeJeune among other locations. Boe and Budge, the first two combat operational stress control dogs who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, were trained by Americas VetDogs. For photos of Charlie, click here. About Americas VetDogs For 20 years, Americas VetDogs (www.VetDogs.org) has trained and placed guide and service dogs to provide independence, enhanced mobility, and companionship to veterans with disabilities from all eras and active-duty military. In 2015, Americas VetDogs opened its programs to first responders, including fire, police, and emergency medical personnel. Americas VetDogs is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization founded by the Guide Dog Foundation and serves clients from across the United States. Americas VetDogs relies on contributions from generous individuals, corporations, service clubs, and foundations to fund its mission to help those who have served our country live with dignity and independence. It costs more than $50,000 to breed, raise, train, and place one assistance dog, but Americas VetDogs provides its services completely free of charge to the individual. Americas VetDogs has been accredited by both the International Guide Dog Federation and Assistance Dogs International. Learn how to apply, volunteer, or donate at www.VetDogs.org Attachment SAN DIEGO, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via IBN -- Astra Energy Inc. (OTCQB: ASRE) (Astra or the Company), announces today that it has retained toxic dilution funding expert attorney Mark R. Basile, Esq. and his RICO and securities litigation firm, The Basile Law Firm P.C. The services to be provided include investigating recent activities surrounding the companys stock performance and any potential RICO and Securities violations claims for all fundings taken by prior management over the last four years. Mr. Basile, a former law professor, has engaged in litigation on behalf of public companies for the last 12 years. In 2021, his firm secured a landmark decision against dilution funder Adar Bays that has set the standard to save hundreds of public companies tens of millions of dollars. Since that decision, his firm has vacated several federal trial court judgments. His firm has also won every substantive usury-based appeal it has brought within the Circuit Courts of Appeals, reversing many prior decisions of the federal lower courts on these issues. His firm is also pursuing several RICO investigations and actions against known dilution funders and the Southern District of New York (Judge Lorna Schofield) recently denied a dilution funders motion to dismiss RICO claims based on a dilution funding transaction, another first in the country. Additionally, The Basile Law Firm P.C. is also the first law firm in the country to secure a landmark decision against an unregistered dilution funder, canceling all that funders securities and voiding the underlying transaction(s). The firm publishes articles and advice for companies that believe they may be victims of dilution funders, counterfeit shares and market manipulation by brokers, investment relation firms and short-sellers, a summary of which can be found at: https://www.thebasilelawfirm.com/blog Ron Loudoun, CEO of Astra Energy, Inc., said: We are pleased to welcome Mr. Basile and his law firm, The Basile Law Firm P.C., to investigate claims of potential naked short selling of our security in connection to any prior dilution funding taken by the company. Mr. Basile, a RICO and Securities dilution funding expert has now been added to our top litigation team of attorneys and will be leading that part of our investigation and efforts. About Astra Energy Inc. Astra Energy Inc. is an integrated solutions provider investing in and developing clean and renewable energy projects in markets where demand is high, supply is limited and there is an opportunity to address other imminent market needs. Astras corporate strategy is rooted in securing technologies and assets; identifying viable market opportunities; and bringing together resources, expertise, technology, and defined action plans to execute first-in-class projects that benefit communities, local economies, the planet, and the Companys investors. Its goal is to create a more secure and sustainable power sector that supports the Companys purpose, mission, and values to transform the economic, environmental, and social landscape for generations to come. For more information on Astra Energy Inc., visit the Companys website at www.astraenergyinc.com . CAUTIONARY STATEMENT CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This document contains forward-looking statements. In evaluating these forward-looking statements, readers should consider various factors, including the Companys ability to change its direction, its ability to keep pace with new technology and changing market needs, and the competitive environment of its business. These and other factors may cause the Companys actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement. Corporate Communications: Heidi Thomasen IR@astraenergyinc.com 1-800-705-2919 ANN ARBOR, Mich., Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Washtenaw Community College (WCC) has received approval for its first U.S. Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship program, serving as an intermediary in partnership with Toyota & Subaru of Ann Arbor. The approval also opens the door for WCC to develop similar apprenticeship programs with other companies for any USDOL approved occupation. The partnership is the first of its kind in the region, with Toyota & Subaru offering a two-year Automotive Service Technician Apprenticeship program to successful candidates. Were so excited to join forces with WCC on this initiative. The work that they do to make our community a great place to work and live is so vital. Our partnership with WCC will continue to serve their mission of striving to make a positive difference in peoples lives through accessible and excellent educational programs and services while also living out our mission statement of inspiring people to grow, making our families, our team, and our community proud. I dont think we could possibly have any more alignment as we work together to serve our community, said Michael Spiegl, Dealer Principal at Toyota & Subaru of Ann Arbor. Apprentices earn a living wage, which increases as they gain skills, while learning under the guidance of a mentor through 2,000 hours of annual on-the-job training at either Toyota of Ann Arbor or Subaru of Ann Arbor. Additionally, apprentices are required to complete five classes over the course of the two-year program, all of which are a part of the Automotive Service Technician Certificate at WCC. USDOL Registered Apprenticeship programs are highly structured and have robust outcomes, with 90% of apprentices employed after completing an apprenticeship. In addition, they are the only apprenticeship programs that currently benefit from both federal and state funding, setting them apart from other types of apprenticeship training programs. WCC is committed to ensuring that apprentices receive a well-rounded education that combines classroom learning and hands-on experience and prepares them for a successful career in the automotive industry. We are thrilled that our college has received this approval to serve as an intermediary for USDOL apprenticeship programs. This is a significant achievement as it enables us to directly support companies, certify new apprenticeship programs and help them manage, track, and document each apprentices progress as they work toward completion. This is a transformative step forward, and we are excited to see the positive impact it will have on our regions workforce development, said Kyrsten Rue, Manager of Experiential Learning and Employer Relations in WCCs Center for Career Success and Office of Apprenticeship. Registered Apprenticeship Programs address some of the nations pressing workforce shortages in teaching, advanced manufacturing, clean energy, cybersecurity, transportation and other high-priority sectors. It is recognized as a key strategy to improving job quality and creating access to good-paying jobs for all, including populations historically underrepresented women, people of color, and individuals with a disability and underserved populations, such as youth and young adults. WCC understands the importance of providing pathways to secure, high-paying careers for the Washtenaw County community members. There is strong institutional support for the expansion of registered apprenticeship programs into new and emerging fields. These programs will have a significant impact on building the regional workforce. The new partnership between Toyota & Subaru of Ann Arbor goes to show the investment by WCC and opens doors for similar partnerships. The apprenticeship model is proven to be a great asset to companies who choose to utilize, invest and grow their talent, said Paul Thomas, Apprenticeship Coordinator at WCC. APPRENTICESHIPS AT WCC Students, job-seekers and prospective partner companies can learn more about apprenticeship programs at Washtenaw Community College by visiting wccnet.edu/apprenticeship. About Washtenaw Community College Washtenaw Community College (WCC), Ann Arbor, Michigan, educates students through a wide range of associate and certificate programs in areas such as health care, business, STEM and advanced transportation and mobility. WCC offers accelerated and online programs and is ranked the number one community college in Michigan by Intelligent.com and Schools.com. The college also works through community, business and union partnerships to develop highly specialized training programs to meet the regions workforce talent needs. For more information about Washtenaw Community College, visit www.wccnet.edu. MEDIA CONTACT Fran LeFort, 734-677-5295 A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/134075d8-78bd-4e67-a9c4-48366cc7a955 CRANBURY, N.J., Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MJH Life Sciences and Spectroscopy are thrilled to announce the acquisition of Spectroscopy Europe and Spectroscopy World, two leading digital magazines for experts in the analytical sciences. This acquisition will expand Spectroscopys global reach, growing its audience to more than 71,500 readers worldwide. The merger of the publications will expand Spectroscopys mission to provide valuable, practical and leading-edge information to the spectroscopy community. "This exciting development is a key milestone as we forge ahead with our ambitious plans to grow within international markets," said Michael J. Hennessy Jr., president, and CEO of MJH Life Sciences. "We are not just evolving; we are revolutionizing the landscape, and this is just one of many steps on our extraordinary journey into broader ex-US territories. The future is bright, and MJH Life Sciences is at the forefront, driving progress and pioneering change." Under the direction of Editor and Publisher Ian Michael, Spectroscopy Europe, and Spectroscopy World, have been writing about the latest trends in analytical sciences since 1975. Published six times a year, the digital magazines cover a wide range of techniques including imaging, atomic and molecular spectroscopy, handheld devices, and more. Michael, who died in April, was a well-respected expert, dedicating his career to advancing the field of spectroscopy. Michael graduated from the University of St. Andrews with a Bachelor of Science in zoology. He served as an editor for John Wiley & Sons before founding IM Publications, the parent company of Spectroscopy Europe and Spectroscopy World. Katie Michael, his wife, said that he cared very deeply about the advertisers and readers of both publications, and always added a personal touch to his work. Spectroscopy provides peer-reviewed articles, trusted advice from expert columnists, and the latest breaking developments to facilitate the advance of analytical spectroscopy and its use as an essential tool across a variety of applications and fields. Spectroscopy is indexed in the Web of Science, Journal Citation Reports, Scopus, EBSCOhost, and CAS Source Index (CASSI) Search Tool, and Digital Object Identifier (DOI) system. About MJH Life Sciences MJH Life Sciences (MJH) is the largest privately held, independent, full-service medical media company in North America dedicated to delivering trusted health care news across multiple channels, providing health care professionals with the information and resources they need to optimize patient outcomes. MJH combines the reach and influence of its powerful portfolio of digital and print product lines, live events, educational programs and market research with the customization capabilities of a boutique firm. Clients include world-leading pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostic and biotech companies. For more information, please visit https://www.mjhlifesciences.com/ A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ed51ef67-9fe3-4c0e-85be-6d7252f00e22 NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vortex Energy Corp. (CSE: VRTX | OTC: VTECF | FRA: AA3) ("Vortex or the "Company") is pleased to announce a non-brokered private placement for gross proceeds of up to C$2,000,000 (the Offering). The Offering is expected to consist of the offering of: (i) units of the Company at a price of $0.35 per unit (the $0.35 Unit) for aggregate gross proceeds of up to C$1,000,000, with each $0.35 Unit comprised of one non-flow-through common share of the Company (each, a Share) and one Share purchase warrant of the Company entitling the holder to acquire one Share (each, a Warrant Share) at a price of C$0.50 per Warrant Share for a period of twenty-four months from the date of issuance (the Non-Flow Through Offering); and (ii) units of the Company at a price of $0.43 per unit (the $0.43 Unit) for aggregate gross proceeds of up to C$1,000,000, with each $0.43 Unit comprised of one flow-through common share (each, a FT Share) and one Share purchase warrant of the Company entitling the holder to acquire one Warrant Share at a price of C$0.55 per Warrant Share for a period of twenty-four months from the date of issuance (the FT Offering). The FT Shares issued under the FT Offering are intended to qualify as flow through shares within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the Tax Act). The Company intends to use the net proceeds raised from the Offering for exploration expenses in respect of the Companys existing exploration projects, including at the Companys Robinsons River Salt Project in Newfoundland & Labrador, and general working capital purposes. The gross proceeds from the sale of the FT Shares will be used to incur Canadian exploration expenses that are intended to qualify as flow-through mining expenditures as those terms are defined in the Tax Act, which the Company intends to renounce to the initial purchasers of the FT Shares. All securities issued in the Offering will be subject to a statutory four month and one day hold period. Closing of the Offering is subject to the Companys receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange. The Offering is expected to close on or about December 8, 2023. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act) or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. About Vortex Energy Corp. Vortex Energy Corp. is an exploration stage company engaged principally in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in North America. The Company is currently advancing its Robinson River Salt Project comprised of a total of 942 claims covering 23,500 hectares located approximately 35 linear kms south of the town of Stephenville in the Province of Newfoundland & Labrador. The Robinsons River Salt Project is prospective for both salt and hydrogen salt cavern storage. The Company is also evaluating technologies to efficiently store hydrogen or energy in salt caverns. Vortex also holds the Fire Eye Project, which is located in the Wollaston Domain of northern Saskatchewan, Canada. On Behalf of the Board of Directors Paul Sparkes Chief Executive Officer, Director +1 (778) 819-0164 info@vortexenergycorp.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words could, intend, expect, believe, will, projected, estimated and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Companys current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. In particular, this press release contains forward-looking information relating to, among other things, the Offering, including the total anticipated proceeds, the expected use of proceeds, the Companys expectation that the FT Shares will qualify as flow-through shares as defined in the Tax Act and the closing (including the proposed closing date) of the Offering. Various assumptions or factors are typically applied in drawing conclusions or making the forecasts or projections set out in forward-looking information, including the assumption that the Company will close the Offering on the timeline anticipated, will raise the anticipated amount of gross proceeds from the Offering and will use the proceeds of the Offering as anticipated. Those assumptions and factors are based on information currently available to the Company. Although such statements are based on reasonable assumptions of the Companys management, there can be no assurance that any conclusions or forecasts will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors include: the risk that the Offering does not close on the timeline expected, or at all; the risk that the Company raises less than the anticipated amount of gross proceeds from the Offering; the risk that the Company does not use the proceeds from the Offering as currently expected; the risk that the FT Shares do not qualify as flow-through shares as defined in the Tax Act; risks inherent in the exploration and development of mineral deposits, including risks relating to changes in project parameters as plans continue to be redefined and the risk that exploration and development activities will cost more than the amount budgeted for such activities by the Company; risks relating to changes in mineral prices and the worldwide demand for and supply of minerals; risks related to increased competition and current global financial conditions; access and supply risks; risks associated with the Companys reliance on key personnel; operational risks; regulatory risks, including risks relating to the acquisition of the necessary licenses and permits; financing, capitalization and liquidity risks; title and environmental risks; and risks relating to the failure to receive all requisite regulatory approvals. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof, and the Company is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein. The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed, approved, or disapproved the contents of this press release. Vancouver, November 27, 2023 - Archer Exploration Corp. (CSE: RCHR) (OTCQB: RCHRF) (FSE: 6YR0) (the "Company" or "Archer") is pleased to announce that, further to its news releases dated October 23rd and November 15th, 2023, it has closed its non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") for gross proceeds of $2,038,030. Pursuant to the Offering, the Company issued: (i) 10,602,400 non flow-through units (the "NFT Units") at a price of $0.08 per NFT Unit, (ii) 5,998,200 flow-through units (the "FT Units") at a price of $0.09 per FT Unit, and (iii) 6,500,000 Quebec flow-through units (the "QFT Units") at a price of $0.10 per QFT Unit. Each NFT Unit is comprised of one common share in the capital of the Company (a "Common Share") and one non-transferable Common Share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each FT Unit and QFT Unit is comprised of one Common Share that qualifies as a "flow-through share" within the meaning of subsection 66(15) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the "Tax Act") and one Warrant. The Warrants comprising each of the NFT Units, FT Units and QFT Units are subject to the same terms, with each Warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share (a "Warrant Share") for a period of three (3) years from the date of issuance at an exercise price of $0.16 per Warrant Share. The gross proceeds from the sale of FT Units and QFT Units will be used by the Company to incur eligible "Canadian exploration expenses" that qualify as "flow-through critical mineral mining expenditures" as such terms are defined in the Tax Act (the "Qualifying Expenditures"), with all proceeds from the sale of QFT Units and FT Units used to incur Qualifying Expenditures on the Company's flagship Grasset Nickel Project in Quebec, Canada and the Company's nickel exploration assets located in the Sudbury Basin of Ontario, Canada, as applicable. All Qualifying Expenditures will be renounced in favour of the subscribers of the FT Units and CFT Units effective December 31, 2023 and incurred on or before December 31, 2024. The net proceeds from the sale of NFT Units will be used for general working capital purposes. Certain directors and officers of the Company (the "Insiders") participated in the Offering and purchased a total of 1,984,275 NFT Units and 222,200 FT Units. Participation by the Insiders in the Offering is considered a "related party transaction" pursuant to Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The Company is exempt from the requirements to obtain a formal valuation and minority shareholder approval in connection with the Insiders' participation in the Offering in reliance of sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(a) of MI 61-101, respectively, on the basis that participation in the Offering by the Insiders did not exceed 25% of the fair market value of the Company's market capitalization. In connection with the Offering, the Company paid aggregate cash finder's fees in the amount of $73,705.55 and issued a total of 120,750 non-transferable finder's warrants (the "Finder's Warrants"). Each Finder's Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share at a price of $0.16 per Common Share for a period of 18 months from the closing date of the Offering. All securities issued in connection with the Offering are subject to a 4-month statutory hold period, in accordance with applicable securities laws and the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE"). This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to sell any of the securities to, or for the account or benefit of, persons in the United States or U.S. persons. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold to, or for the account or benefit of, persons in the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. About Archer Archer Exploration is a Canadian Ni-Cu-Co-PGE focused exploration and development company with an extensive portfolio of assets in Quebec and Ontario, Canada. The Company's flagship asset is the Grasset Project, located within the Abitibi Greenstone Belt, with an Indicated Resource of 5.5 Mt @ 1.53% NiEq. In addition, the Company holds a portfolio of 37 properties and over 300 km2 in the world-class mining district of Sudbury, Ontario. The Company's growth strategy is focused on the exploration and development of its nickel sulphide properties within its portfolio. Archer's vision is to be a responsible nickel sulphide developer in stable pro-mining jurisdictions. Archer is committed to socially responsible exploration and development, working safely, ethically, and with integrity. For more information, please visit www.archerexploration.com. Tom Meyer President & Chief Executive Officer Tel: +1 866 899 7247 (RCHR) Email: tom@archerexploration.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Neither the CSE nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, identified by words or phrases such as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "is expected", "scheduled", "estimates", "pending", "intends", "plans", "forecasts", "targets", or "hopes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "will", "should" "might", "will be taken", or "occur" and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information herein includes, but is not limited to, statements that address activities, events or developments that Archer expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future including the use of proceeds from the Offering; tax treatment of the FT Units and QFT Units; and timing of the renunciation of the Qualifying Expenditures. Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information relating to any future mineral production, liquidity, enhanced value and capital markets profile of the Company, future growth potential for the Company and its business, and future exploration plans are based on management's reasonable assumptions, estimates, expectations, analyses and opinions, which are based on management's experience and perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, and other factors that management believes are relevant and reasonable in the circumstances, but which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, the price of metals; costs of exploration and development; the estimated costs of development of exploration projects; and the Company's ability to operate in a safe and effective manner. These statements reflect the Company's respective current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of other assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information and the Company has made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: the future tax treatment of the QFT Units and FT Units; competitive risks and the availability of financing; precious metals price volatility; risks associated with the conduct of the Company's mining activities; regulatory, consent or permitting delays; risks relating to reliance on the Company's management team and outside contractors; the Company's inability to obtain insurance to cover all risks, on a commercially reasonable basis or at all; currency fluctuations; risks regarding the failure to generate sufficient cash flow from operations; risks relating to project financing and equity issuances; risks and unknowns inherent in all mining projects; contests over title to properties, particularly title to undeveloped properties; laws and regulations governing the environment, health and safety; operating or technical difficulties in connection with mining or development activities; employee relations, labour unrest or unavailability; the Company's interactions with surrounding communities; the speculative nature of exploration and development; stock market volatility; conflicts of interest among certain directors and officers; lack of liquidity for shareholders of the Company; litigation risk; and the factors identified in the Company's public disclosure documents. Readers are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or forward-looking information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements or information, other than as required by applicable law. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/188836 VANCOUVER, Nov. 27, 2023 - Nine Mile Metals Ltd. (CSE: NINE, OTCQB: VMSXF, FSE: KQ9) (the "Company" or "Nine Mile"), discloses that it will update the proposed unsecured loan financing for proceeds of up to $500,000 that it announced in the Company's news release on November 21, 2023, to an unsecured convertible loan financing (the "Convertible Loan"). The Convertible Loan financing will be for proceeds of up to $500,000. The Convertible Loans will have a term of 12 months from the closing (the "Maturity Date") and bear interest at 15 per cent per annum, calculated and payable on the Maturity Date. Convertible Loan proceeds will be used for advancing the bulk sample program on the Nine Mile Brook project and general working capital. No bonus shares will be offered in connection with the Convertible Loan, but the Company may choose to convert the amount owing on the Maturity Date into Units at a price of $0.10 per Unit. Each Unit will be comprised of one common share and one common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will be exercisable at $0.10 per share for a period of 24 months. In consideration for their services in introducing subscribers to the Company under the Convertible Loan, finders may receive commission of 8% cash and 8% common share purchase warrants, exercisable to purchase one common share at a price of $0.10 for a period of 24 months. The terms of the Convertible Loan are subject to acceptance by the CSE. About Nine Mile Metals Ltd.: Nine Mile Metals Ltd. is a Canadian public mineral exploration company focused on Critical Minerals Exploration (CME) VMS (Cu, Pb, Zn, Ag and Au) exploration in the world-famous Bathurst Mining Camp, New Brunswick, Canada. The Company's primary business objective is to explore its four VMS Projects: Nine Mile Brook VMS; California Lake VMS; Canoe Landing Lake (East-West) VMS and our new Wedge VMS Projects. The Company is focused on Critical Minerals Exploration (CME), positioning for the boom in EV and green technologies requiring Copper, Silver, Lead and Zinc with a hedge with Gold. Social Media X @NineMileMetals LinkedIn Nine Mile Metals Facebook @ Nine Mile Metals Instagram Nine Mile Metals YouTube @ninemilemetals ON BEHALF OF Nine Mile Metals Ltd. "Charles MaLette" President and Director T: (604) 428-5171 E: info@ninemilemetals.com Forward-Looking Information: This press release may include forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, concerning the business of Nine Mile. Forward-looking information is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the management of Nine Mile. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "will," "may," "would," "expect," "intend," "plan," "seek," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue," "likely," "could" and variations of these terms and similar expressions, or the negative of these terms or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements in this press release include that (a) the financing will be for proceeds of up to $500,000, with a term of 12 months and bear interest at 15 per cent per annum, (b) Convertible Loan proceeds will be used for advancing the bulk sample program on the Nine Mile Brook project and general working capital, (c) the Company may choose to convert the amount owing on the Maturity Date into Units at a price of $0.10 per Unit, and (d) finders may receive commission of 8% cash and 8% common share purchase warrants. Although Nine Mile believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking information is based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because Nine Mile can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of the contents of this release. Coquitlam, November 27, 2023 - Silver Cobalt Works Inc. (TSXV:CCW) (OTC:CCWOF) (Frankfurt:4T9B) (the "Company" or "Canada Silver Cobalt") announces that further to its news release dated November 2, 2023 and November 6, 2023 the Company has closed a 2nd and final tranche of a non brokered private placement by way of issuing 18,250,000 Quebec flow-through units ("QFT Units") at $0.04 per QFT Unit, for total gross proceeds of $730,000. The Company raised a total of $1,630,000 in both tranches of the financing. Each QFT Unit is comprised of one common share ("Share") and one half of one share purchase warrant (the "Warrant"). Each whole Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one additional Share of the Company at an exercise price of $0.08 per share, for a period of two years from closing, subject to Exchange approval. The QFT proceeds will be used for drilling and exploration work on the Company's Lowney-Lac Edouard property, located in central Quebec. GloRes Securities Inc., the lead finder for the 2nd tranche closing was paid $41,100 cash and 1,027,500 finder's warrants ("Finder Warrant"). Qwest Investment Fund Management Ltd. received $17,500 cash and 437,500 Finder's Warrants. Each Finder Warrant will entitle the Finder to purchase one Share of the Company at an exercise price of $0.05 per Share, for a period of two years from closing. The Finders fees paid in connection with the private placement are subject to Exchange approval. All securities issued in connection with the private placement will be subject to a four-month and a day hold period expiring on March 28, 2024 in accordance with applicable Canadian Securities Laws. About Canada Silver Cobalt Works Inc. Canada Silver Cobalt Works Inc. recently discovered a major high-grade silver vein system at Castle East located 1.5 km from its 100%-owned, past-producing Castle Mine near Gowganda in the prolific and world-class silver-cobalt mining district of Northern Ontario. The Company has completed a 60,000 m drill program aimed at expanding the size of the deposit with an update to the resource estimate underway. In May 2020, based on a small initial drill program, the Company published the region's first 43-101 resource estimate that contained a total of 7.56 million ounces of silver in Inferred resources, comprising very high-grade silver (8,582 grams per tonne un-cut or 250.2 oz/ton) in 27,400 tonnes of material from two sections (1A and 1B) of the Castle East Robinson Zone, beginning at a vertical depth of approximately 400 meters. Note that mineral resources that are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. Please refer to Canada Silver Cobalt Works Press Release May 28, 2020, for the resource estimate. Report reference: Rachidi, M. 2020, NI 43-101 Technical Report Mineral Resource Estimate for Castle East, Robinson Zone, Ontario, Canada, with an effective date of May 28, 2020, and a signature date of July 13, 2020. The Company also has: (1) 14 battery metals properties in Northern Quebec where it has recently completed a nearly 16,000-metre drill program on the Graal property; and (2) the prospective 1,000-hectare Eby-Otto gold property close to Agnico Eagle's high-grade Macassa Mine near Kirkland Lake, Ontario where it is exploring. (3) St. Denis-Sangster lithium project - 260 square kilometers of greenfield exploration ground with numerous pegmatites focussed along a significant volcanic sedimentary rock - Archean granite contact near Cochrane, Ontario contiguous to Power Metals' Case Lake Lithium properties. Canada Silver Cobalt's flagship silver-cobalt Castle mine and 78 sq. km Castle property feature strong exploration upside for silver, cobalt, nickel, gold, and copper. With underground access at the fully owned Castle Mine, an exceptional high-grade silver discovery at Castle East, a pilot plant to produce cobalt-rich gravity concentrates, a processing facility (TTL Laboratories) in the town of Cobalt, and a proprietary hydrometallurgical process known as Re-2Ox (for the creation of technical-grade cobalt sulphate as well as nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) formulations), Canada Silver Cobalt is strategically positioned to become a Canadian leader in the silver-cobalt space. More information is available at www.canadasilvercobaltworks.com. "Frank J. Basa" Frank J. Basa, P. Eng. Chief Executive Officer For further information, contact: Frank J. Basa, P.Eng. Chief Executive Officer 416-625-2342 or: Wayne Cheveldayoff, Corporate Communications P: 416-710-2410 E: waynecheveldayoff@gmail.com Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain forward-looking statements which include, but are not limited to, comments that involve future events and conditions, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Except for statements of historical facts, comments that address resource potential, upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt and security of mineral property titles, availability of funds, and others are forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may vary materially from those statements. General business conditions are factors that could cause actual results to vary materially from forward-looking statements. Copyright (c) 2023 TheNewswire - All rights reserved. First results from mapping and sampling program on first licence. Abundant pegmatites evident, with LiO2 results in excess of 2%, analysed by way of XRF and LIBS. Two additional licences confirmed, expanding land position in the key Lithium districts to 533km2. LONDON, November 28, 2023 - Orosur Mining Inc. ("Orosur" or the "Company") (TSXV:OMI)(AIM:OMI), is pleased to provide an update on exploration progress at its new Lithium West Joint Venture ("the Project) in Nigeria,. Details As announced on Oct 16th 2023, the Company has entered into a Joint Venture ("JV") with Nigerian company Jurassic Mines Ltd ("Jurassic"), whereby Orosur, via a new 100% owned UK subsidiary, Lithium West Limited ("Lithium West"), may earn up to 70% equity in the Project by spending US$5m over 5 years in two phases: 1. Phase 1 - Lithium West can earn 51% equity in the Project by spending a total of US$3m over a maximum of three years. 2. Phase 2 - Lithium West can earn an additional 19% equity in the Project, up to a total of 70%, by spending an additional US$2m over a maximum of two years. Results Immediately upon signing of the JV, the Company's exploration teams mobilised to site to begin preliminary reconnaissance mapping and sampling, beginning on the western most Exploration Licence EL 43953. The decision to commence on EL 43953 was taken purely for logistical reasons, with no consideration of prospectivity. The objective of the program was to undertake preliminary geological mapping of the licence, in order to confirm the regional interpretation and prospectivity assessment that had led to its selection and to take a number of samples for assay with a view to planning further work. Several hundred samples of various outcrops were taken, with approximately 70 then being analysed by way of XRF and LIBS for lithium content as well as a number of other pathfinder elements. XRF/LIBS are not as accurate as laboratory chemical assay, but as no certified geochemical laboratory yet exists in Nigeria, XRF/LIBS provide a faster, cheaper and sufficiently accurate alternative for the purpose at hand. Geological mapping quickly identified that the licence hosted numerous swarms of potentially lithium bearing pegmatites, consistent with granitic and gneissic lithologies and the major country scale "schist belt" structures, that had been postulated as the primary controlling structures. Mapped pegmatite system were noted over substantial strike lengths of several km's and of varying widths from sub metre, to over 30m in one massive example. The primary analysis of interest was for elemental lithium, with secondary focus on the ratio of potassium ("K") to rubidium ("Rb") as the K/Rb ratio is a key indicator of the degree to which a granitic or gneissic body has undergone fractionation that may have led to the late-stage development of pegmatites. A K/Rb ratio of less than 100 is considered prospective, with less than 50 being highly prospective. Numerous pegmatite samples returned high levels of lithium, with several over 2% LiO2, with substantial areas demonstrating K/Rb ratios of less than 100 and several locations of less than 50 suggesting very high levels of fractionation. This work program, while preliminary in nature, has demonstrated this first licence to be highly prospective for the presence of lithium bearing pegmatites and thus worthy of follow up. Crews have since moved east to the other licences in the package and it is anticipated that results from this work will be available in coming weeks. In the meantime, follow-up soil sampling programs over EL 43953 are being planned and it is hoped these will commence in the near term once the other licences have been assessed. Figure 1 - Li and K/Rb New Licences As previously noted, the JV commenced with four exploration licences, for a total of 323km2, with more licences being examined with a view to being secured and included in the JV. The Company is pleased to announce that two additional licences have now been confirmed, taking the total area of prospective land under title to 533km2, representing one of the most dominant land positions in Nigeria. While the total land area within the JV has increased, the new licences are included within the original terms of the JV agreement and thus no additional expenditure is required. Figure 2 - Licences The Company continues to assess new licences and opportunities and it is hoped this land position may be added to in the medium term. Orosur CEO Brad George commented: "These outstanding results from our first field program in Nigeria are exciting but not surprising. We pegged these licences with a very clear understanding of the geological processes in play and so we expected to find lithium. To then confirm this confidence and to find so many lithium bearing pegmatites, some extremely thick, is very positive and bodes well for work on the next 5 licences that is underway now." For further information, visit www.orosur.ca, follow on twitter @orosurm or contact: Orosur Mining Inc. Louis Castro, Chairman, Brad George, CEO info@orosur.ca Tel: +1 (778) 373-0100 SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP - Nomad & Joint Broker Jeff Keating / Kasia Brzozowska Tel: +44 (0) 20 3 470 0470 Turner Pope Investments (TPI) Ltd - Joint Broker Andy Thacker/James Pope Tel: +44 (0)20 3657 0050 Flagstaff Communications and Investor Communications Tim Thompson Mark Edwards Fergus Mellon orosur@flagstaffcomms.com Tel: +44 (0)207 129 1474 The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 ('MAR') which has been incorporated into UK law by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. Upon the publication of this announcement via Regulatory Information Service ('RIS'), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. About Orosur Mining Inc. Orosur Mining Inc. (TSX: OMI; AIM: OMI) is a minerals explorer and developer focused on identifying and advancing projects in Colombia, Argentina, Nigeria and Brazil. Qualified Persons Statement The information in this news release was compiled, reviewed and verified by Mr. Brad George, BSc Hons (Geology and Geophysics), MBA, Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists (MAIG), CEO of Orosur Mining Inc. and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Orosur Mining staff and contractors follow standard operating and quality assurance procedures to ensure that sampling techniques and sample results meet international reporting standards. Results contained in this announcement relate to reconnaissance mapping and rock chip sampling. Rock samples were taken at locations of outcrop of fresh or weathered material with several samples being taken at each outcrop so as to provide a more representative sample. Samples were not taken on a regular grid and so some sampling bias will be present. Representative samples varied in size from 500g to 2kg in mass. Collected representative samples were bagged and labelled, before being transported to a preparation facility in Abuja for crushing, pulverising and homogenisation. Small 10g sub samples were then taken to be formed into assay pellets with a 30T hydraulic press. Pellets were then then analysed with both XRF and LIBS analysers. Both XRF and LIBS analysers are calibrated on a weekly basis via the use of CRMs. Forward Looking Statements All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained in this news release constitute "forward looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including but not limited to the "safe harbour" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are based on expectations estimates and projections as of the date of this news release. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the exploration plans in Colombia and the funding from Monte Aguila of those plans, Monte Aguilas decision to continue with the Exploration Agreement, the formation of a new mining company or mining venture to hold the project, the ability for Loryser to implement the Creditors Agreement successfully in Uruguay and other events or conditions that may occur in the future. The Company's continuance as a going concern is dependent upon its ability to obtain adequate financing, to reach profitable levels of operations and to reach a satisfactory implementation of the Creditors Agreement in Uruguay. These material uncertainties may cast significant doubt upon the Company's ability to realize its assets and discharge its liabilities in the normal course of business and accordingly the appropriateness of the use of accounting principles applicable to a going concern. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties including, but not limited, those as described in Section "Risks Factors" of the MDA and the Annual Information Form. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events and such forward-looking statements, except to the extent required by applicable law. This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com. SOURCE: Orosur Mining Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/810650/orosur-mining-inc-announces-lithium-jv-nigeria Company completes drilling at Sesmarias for 2023 Five holes drilled in the Sesmarias Central area targeting potentially high-grade hinge zone of Sesmarias synform-shaped VMS target; One hole drilled to test potential west limb mineralization in the Sesmarias South area. Company completes IP-Res geophysical survey over Sesmarias Central and North areas: results pending. Partners Avrupa Minerals and Sandfire Minerals making plans for continued work at Sesmarias in 2024. Vancouver, November 28, 2023 - Avrupa Minerals Ltd. (AVU:TSXV) (OTC:AVPMF) (FRANKFURT:8AM) is pleased to update the investor community concerning progress at the Sesmarias copper-zinc massive sulfide prospect, located within the Alvalade Joint Venture Project in the Iberian Pyrite Belt of Portugal. The program is a joint venture between Avrupa Minerals ("AVU" or "Company") and Minas de Aguas Tenidas, S.A. ("Sandfire MATSA" or "MATSA") through their local subsidiaries. Avrupa continues to operate the project through the JV entity PorMining Lda., and MATSA continues to fund the exploration work. Previously, through the JV, during 2020-2021, the Company drilled 17 diamond drill holes at Sesmarias, totaling 8,900 meters, on six different fences along a strike length of 400 meters in the Sesmarias North Zone. The JV returned to drilling at Sesmarias in mid-April 2023, targeting the Central Zone, where Avrupa drilled the high-grade discovery hole, SES002, in 2014 (see February 27, 2014 News Release). Follow-up drilling in the immediate discovery area at that time unsuccessfully targeted shallow extensions of the mineralization seen in SES002 at a depth of about 150 meters. Armed with a significantly upgraded targeting model, constructed from 46 holes, totaling nearly 20,000 meters at Sesmarias since 2014, the JV geological team aimed deeper to 400 meters depth to attempt to locate further high-grade mineralization. As reported in June (see June 12, 2023 News Release), the JV intersected strong copper-zinc massive sulfide mineralization in SES23-047. Since completion of that hole, the JV drilled a further five holes, totaling 2,766 meters, in the Sesmarias Central and South Zones. Total drilling at Sesmarias is now at 22,612 meters in 52 diamond drill holes, over a mineralized strike length of 1,700 meters. The following general schematic section demonstrates how the target is perceived after 52 drillholes, geological and structural interpretation, surface geochemistry, and a variety of geophysical surveys since the original discovery in 2014. Click Image To View Full Size Figure 1. Schematic cross section of the Sesmarias massive sulfide target. Note that the field of view is 500 meters SW to NE and encompasses 1,400 meters of strike length of mineralization from SE to NW. Most of the drilling in the just-completed phase targeted the hinge zone of the Sesmarias synform in the Central area. Due to small, but important, post-mineral structural complications and drilling difficulties, three of five holes intersected the hinge zone massive mineralization and/or stockwork, feeder-style mineralization, while one hole intersected the synform above targeted mineralization, and one hole missed below the hinge zone. The sixth hole targeted massive sulfide mineralization on west limb of the synform in the Sesmarias South area. The schematic section suggests that there is significant, un-explored target area in the hinge zone along strike and in both limbs of the synform, as well, along strike. Encouraging results continued in the 6-hole phase of drilling in the Central and South areas on five separate fences over 600 meters of mineralized strike length. The following diagram shows the extent of drilling in the Sesmarias North and Central Zones from SES019 northwest to SES21-036 as shown in the general schematic section. The six recently-completed drill holes are highlighted in red. Click Image To View Full Size Figure 2. Drill hole locations and sections for Sesmarias North and Central (2014-2023). The following tables summarize the most important results from the most recent drilling in the Sesmarias massive sulfide target area: SES23-047 Drillhole Interval From To Cu (%) Pb (%) Zn (%) Ag (g/t) Au (g/t) SES23-047 26.95 393.80 420.75 2.18 2.58 5.60 88.2 0.33 w/i 43.40 392.80 436.20 1.51 2.15 4.78 64.1 0.26 Table 1. Previously-reported high-grade results from SES23-047. The hole intersected massive sulfides near the presumed bottom of the hinge zone on Section 650 South. Click Image To View Full Size Figure 3. Section 650 South showing SES002, SES003, SES23-041, and SES23-047.Note that SES23-041 crossed the Sesmarias synform above the hinge zone, and missed mineralization. It appears that the high grade SES002/003 mineralization may have been displaced from the larger hinge zone target intersected by SES23-047. SES23-048 Drillhole Interval From To Cu (%) Pb (%) Zn (%) Ag (g/t) Au (g/t) SES23-048 9.20 419.10 428.30 1.20 1.46 3.05 30.1 0.43 and 8.30 428.30 436.60 0.31 anom. 0.33 anom. 0.43 total 17.50 419.10 436.60 0.78 --- --- --- 0.43 also 0.25 348.40 348.65 1.01 0.74 1.32 39.2 0.14 Table 2. New results for SES23-048. The hole intersected 9.2 meters of massive sulfide mineralization, followed by 8.3 meters of stockwork sulfide mineralization near the presumed top of the hinge zone, or possibly on the western, upright limb of the Sesmarias synform on Section 800 South. Click Image To View Full Size Figure 4. Section 800 South showing SES23-048. SES23-049 Drillhole Interval From To Cu (%) Pb (%) Zn (%) Ag (g/t) Au (g/t) SES23-049 no significant results 0.70 332.55 333.25 0.29 0.19 0.32 anom. anom. Table 3. SES23-049 did not cut significant mineralization, as the hole crossed too high in the Sesmarias synform, much like SES23-041, drilled in 2021. Fragments of massive sulfide mineralization are present in the major thrust fault that bounds and cuts the eastern, overturned limb of the Sesmarias synform. Click Image To View Full Size Figure 5. Section 500 South showing SES23-049 and SES23-051. SES23-049 crossed the synform above the hinge zone, while SES23-051 crossed zinc-rich stockwork sulfide mineralization below the hinge zone. Significant results for SES23-051 are found below in Table 5. SES23-050 Drillhole Interval From To Cu (%) Pb (%) Zn (%) Ag (g/t) Au (g/t) SES23-050 samples in lab -- no significant results expected, though crossed faulted east limb at 397.50 to 398.70 meters, below hinge zone Table 4. SES23-050 did not intersect any significant visible mineralization, as the hole crossed beneath the Sesmarias synform. It did cross the eastern limb fault containing abundant disseminated and fragmented pyrite. Click Image To View Full Size Figure 6. Section 950 South showing SES23-050 crossing below the hinge zone. Folding of the hinge zone is possible, as shown in the section, but not yet confirmed. SES23-051 Drillhole Interval From To Cu (%) Pb (%) Zn (%) Ag (g/t) Au (g/t) SES23-051 9.00 456.80 465.80 anom. 0.99 2.35 11.7 anom. and 8.00 467.80 475.80 anom. 3.04 3.47 50.7 wk anom. strong stkwk 19.00 456.80 475.80 --- 1.77 2.61 27.3 --- total stkwk 30.70 456.80 487.50 --- 1.18 1.88 17.8 --- remainder of samples in lab -- no significant results expected, below hinge zone Table 5. SES23-051 crossed 30.7 meters of zinc-rich stockwork sulfide mineralization beneath the hinge zone. This included an intercept of 9 meters of semi-massive to massive sulfide mineralization and a further zone of 8 meters of semi-massive sulfides, followed by another 11.7 meters of stockwork sulfide mineralization. The cross section for SES23-051 is shown above in Figure 4. SES23-052 Drillhole Interval From To Cu (%) Pb (%) Zn (%) Ag (g/t) Au (g/t) SES23-052 5.60 358.60 364.20 0.45 --- --- --- 0.33 and 7.00 366.20 373.20 anom. 0.84 2.72 24.8 wk anom. incl. 4.00 368.20 372.20 anom. 3.40 wk anom. 3.00 370.20 373.20 anom. 1.33 wk anom. 2.00 370.20 372.20 anom. 45.1 wk anom. w/i 28.40 358.60 387.00 total zone of sulfides, including insipient stkwk to massive mineralization now cutting remainder of samples -- no significant intervals of high-grade results expected, though several zones of stkwk exist Table 6. SES23-52 crossed the western, upright limb of the Sesmarias synform in the Sesmarias South area. This is the first deeper intersection of the western limb in the Central and South zones at Sesmarias. The intersect included 28.4 meters of variable sulfide mineralization from stockwork to massive mineralization. Click Image To View Full Size Figure 7. Section 1100 South showing SES022 and SES23-052 cutting the western limb of the Sesmarias synform. Paul Kuhn, President and CEO of Avrupa Minerals, commented, "Geochemical and geological results from drilling in the Sesmarias Central and South Zones this year are a really positive revelation after nine years of working at Sesmarias. The Team has put together a great, drillable massive sulfide target, and the results are confirming the robustness of that target. It is clearly zoned along strike and proximity to the hinge zone in the central area, yet still has close to 2000 meters of mineralized strike length potential. We are looking forward to continuing upgrade of the mineralization in the coming months." The Joint Venture just completed a 6-line, 2100-meter-long IP-Resistivity survey covering the North and Central Zones. The hope is that the survey can assist in identification of stockwork sulfide mineralization in proximity to massive sulfides. We expect final results before the end of the month and these will be reported in due time. Minas de Aguas Tenidas, S.A. ("Sandfire MATSA" or "MATSA") is a mining company which owns and operates the MATSA Mining Operations in the Huelva province of Spain. With a processing plant located to the north of the Iberian Pyrite Belt that sources ore from three underground mines, Aguas Tenidas and Magdalena Mines in Almonaster la Real and the Sotiel Mine in Calanas, Sandfire MATSA produces copper, zinc and lead mineral concentrates that are sold from the port of Huelva. Sandfire MATSA also holds an extensive portfolio of exploration tenements in both Portugal and Spain. Sandfire MATSA is a wholly-owned company of Sandfire Resources Ltd., one of the largest copper-focused companies on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX: SFR). Avrupa Minerals Ltd. is a growth-oriented junior exploration and development company directed to discovery of mineral deposits, using a hybrid prospect generator business model. The Company holds one 49%-owned license in Portugal, the Alvalade VMS Project, presently optioned to Sandfire MATSA in an earn-in joint venture agreement. The Company now holds one 100%-owned exploration license covering the Slivova gold prospect in Kosovo, and is actively advancing four prospects in central Finland through its in-process acquisition of Akkerman Finland Oy. Avrupa focuses its project generation work in politically stable and prospective regions of Europe, presently including Portugal, Finland, and Kosovo. The Company continues to seek and develop other opportunities around Europe. For additional information, contact Avrupa Minerals Ltd. at 1-604-687-3520 or visit our website at www.avrupaminerals.com. On behalf of the Board, "Paul W. Kuhn" Paul W. Kuhn, President & Director This news release was prepared by Company management, who take full responsibility for its content. Paul W. Kuhn, President and CEO of Avrupa Minerals, a Licensed Professional Geologist and a Registered Member of the Society of Mining Engineers, is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators. He has reviewed the technical disclosure in this release. Mr. Kuhn, the QP, has not only reviewed, but prepared and supervised the preparation or approval of the scientific and technical content in the news release. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Copyright (c) 2023 TheNewswire - All rights reserved. /NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES/ VANCOUVER, Nov. 28, 2023 - Orex Minerals Inc. (TSXV: REX) (OTCQB: ORMNF) ("Orex" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company intends to undertake a non-brokered private placement financing (the "Offering") to raise gross proceeds of up to $1,000,000 from the sale of up to 6,666,667 units ("Units") at a price of $0.15 per Unit, each Unit consisting of one common share of the Company (each, a "Share") and one warrant (each, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to acquire one Share from the Company at a price of $0.25 per Share for a period of 24 months from their date of issue. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering for exploring its new Valenciana Project in Zacatecas State and for general working capital purposes. Drill targets have been identified on the main Valenciana structure, and a Phase-I diamond drilling program of 2000 to 3000 metres is proposed to test the down plunge projection of the mineralized shoots. In addition, some geophysics to aid in delineating the higher temperature flow zones for this epithermal style of silver and gold mineralization are planned. The Offering is anticipated to close on or about December 7, 2023. The closing of the Offering is subject to certain conditions, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange and certain other conditions customary for a private placement of this nature. All securities issued pursuant to the Offering will be subject to a statutory four month and one day hold period from their respective date of issue. The Company may pay a finder's fee in respect of those purchasers under the Offering introduced to the Company by certain persons (each a "Finder"). Each Finder will receive a cash payment equal to 6% of the gross proceeds received by the Company from purchasers under the Offering who were introduced to the Company by such Finder. The securities described herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws, and accordingly, may not be offered or sold within the United States except in compliance with the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities requirements or pursuant to exemptions therefrom. This press release is not an offer or a solicitation of an offer of securities for sale in the United States, nor will there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. ABOUT OREX MINERALS INC. Orex Minerals Inc. is a mineral exploration company focused on precious and base metals exploration in Mexico and Canada. Orex has several current projects: Two projects are located in Durango State, Mexico, the Sandra Silver-Gold Project with Pan American Silver Corp. and the Coneto Gold-Silver Project with Fresnillo PLC. The third project is the Valenciana Gold-Silver-Base Metals Project in Zacatecas State, Mexico. The fourth project is the Jumping Josephine Gold Project in British Columbia, Canada. Orex is managed by the experienced Belcarra Group Management Ltd. (the "Belcarra Group"), comprised of highly qualified mining professionals. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS B. H. Whiting. P.Geo. President and CEO FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release may contain forward-looking statements, including statements with respect to the terms of the Offering, the receipt of regulatory approvals for the Offering, closing of the Offering and use of proceeds of the Offering. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations; they are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to exploration and development, the ability of the Company to obtain additional financing, the need to comply with environmental and governmental regulations, fluctuations in the prices of commodities, operating hazards and risks, competition and other risks and uncertainties, including those described in the Company's financial statements, management discussion and analysis and/or annual information form available on www.sedarplus.ca. The risk factors identified in such documents are not intended to represent a complete list of factors that could affect the Company. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements and the Company undertakes no obligation to update such statements, except as required by law. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. STAY CONNECTED Follow on X (Twitter): Orex Minerals (@OrexMinerals) / X (twitter.com) Follow on LinkedIn: Orex Minerals Inc. | LinkedIn Follow on Facebook: Orex Minerals | Facebook SOURCE Orex Minerals Inc. VANCOUVER, Nov. 28, 2023 - Novo Resources Corp. (Novo or the Company) (ASX: NVO) (TSX: NVO & NVO.WT.A) (OTCQX: NSRPF) is pleased to advise the release of its 2023 Sustainability Report, which outlines progress over the past year. The report is available on the Company's website Sustainability Report 2023. Novo's 2023 Sustainability Report demonstrates that while the business strategy has shifted from production to exploration, the commitment to sustainability remains unchanged and the Company's stakeholders, including local communities and traditional owners, have been and continue to be integral to success. Novo Executive Co-Chairman and Acting CEO Mike Spreadborough commented "This year we formalised our community investment strategy through the development of a Social Investment Policy and Procedure," the report said. "Collectively these documents will guide us as we continue to make meaningful investments in the communities in which we operate. "In the year to come we will continue to listen to our stakeholders, and support our people and communities, with a focus on minimising risk and maximising opportunities. We would sincerely like to thank the Novo team, along with our communities and Traditional Owners for their dedication and ongoing support and contribution to our sustainability efforts this past year." ABOUT NOVO Novo explores and develops its prospective land package covering approximately 9,000 square kilometres in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, along with the 22 square kilometre Belltopper project in the Bendigo Tectonic Zone of Victoria, Australia. In addition to the Company's primary focus, Novo seeks to leverage its internal geological expertise to deliver value-accretive opportunities to its stakeholders. Authorised for release by the Board of Directors. CONTACT Investors: Mike Spreadborough +61 419 329 687 mike.spreadborough@novoresources.com North American Queries: Leo Karabelas +1 416 543 3120 leo@novoresources.com Media: Cameron Gilenko +61 466 984 953 cgilenko@citadelmagnus.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/88673cff-2103-4f49-ae7b-0e2bb5dda903 Banks recapitalisation: BoG satisfied with plans Emmanuel Bruce Business News Nov - 28 - 2023 , 06:08 The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has reviewed and is satisfied with the recapitalisation plans of all the 23 banks operating in the country, Governor, Dr Ernest Addison, has indicated. He said all the plans submitted by the banks have been thoroughly reviewed by the Banking and Supervision Department of the central bank and sees all of them as credible plans. Banks in the country have relatively been stable following the financial sector clean-up which saw them increase their stated capitals to GH400 million. However, the recently concluded DDEP which saw the participation of all the 23 commercial banks in the country hit hard at the industry, with 16 banks recording significant losses in 2022. An analysis by the BoG indicated that the banks recorded losses totalling GH8 billion in the year under review. The debt restructuring exercise forced the banks to set aside huge amounts of money as impairment losses and this is what has led to majority of the banks recording losses in 2022. This has led to severe liquidity and capital challenges for the banks, with some already rolling out plans to quickly recapitalise. As a sector which has already gone through some reforms which saw the collapse of nine banks, this presented fresh challenges for the industry. Under the IMF programme, the banks were expected to submit their credible time-bound plans to rebuild capital buffers on a phased basis in line with timelines set out under the financial sector strategy. The banks had up to the end of September to submit their recapitalisation plans to the BoG, a requirement they all complied with ahead of the September deadline. Responding to questions from the media at the 115th Monetary Policy Committee press conference, Dr Addison said the BoG was confident that the plans submitted by the banks would help them recapitalise within two years. All 23 banks have submitted their recapitalisation plans and the Banking and Supervision Department together with myself have reviewed all these plans and we find them credible. We are quite hopeful that within the next two years, most of the banks would have fully recapitalised and able to meet the capital adequacy threshold without reliefs. He noted that at the moment, most of the banks were meeting the capital adequacy threshold because of the regulatory relief but expected that if they implemented the plans which have been approved, they would be able to meet it without the reliefs. Although he did not give details of the plans by the banks, Dr Addison, at the May MPC press conference, indicated that the central bank expected banks to approach their shareholders first to recapitalise and if they were not successful with that, they might have to seek assistance from the yet-to-be-operationalised Financial Sector Stability Fund to do so. Recapitalisation of BoG Commenting on the recapitalisation of the central bank, Dr Addison said it was still engaging the Ministry of Finance in that regard. The DDEP also hit hard at the central bank, causing it to record losses of over GH60 billion for the 2022 financial year. The losses were as a result of its decision to act as the last absorber and take a hit for the country by taking a 50 per cent hair cut during the DDEP. The losses have affected the capital of the institution which acts as the lender of last resort and the IMF in its programme report hinted that the BoGs balance sheet would be affected by the debt restructuring and therefore urged the government and the BoG to assess the impact and develop plans for recapitalisation with fund technical assistance support. Dr Addison said the recapitalisation has to be in consultation with government and the Ministry of Finance, noting that the only way to deal with a negative equity position of that magnitude had to be through the budget with the issuance of a recapitalisation bond. This is an area that we will look at and we will work closely with the Ministry of Finance and come out with a plan to restore the capital of the central bank, he stated. Banking sector Giving an update of the banking sector, the Governor said the sector remained stable, sound, liquid and profitable, even as banks continue to adjust to the impact of the DDEP. He said the sectors capital adequacy levels remained above the minimum regulatory level with regulatory reliefs, with most banks carrying excess liquidity. He also indicated that the industrys NPL ratio increased to 18.3 per cent in October 2023, from 14 per cent in October 2022 and 15.7 per cent in January 2023, reflecting elevated credit risk associated with the lagged effects of the macroeconomic crisis of 2022. He, however, noted that profitability continues to improve as banks continue to invest in high yielding short-dated BoG and government instruments. The banking sector showed some resilience as the various stress tests on banks capital, following adverse macroeconomic shocks, pointed to stability, he said. Reclaim repatriations to pave way for sustainable growth African countries urged Elizabeth Nyaadu Adu Business News Nov - 28 - 2023 , 02:24 THE Founder and Director of Power Shift Africa, Mohammed Adow, is calling on African countries to leverage their significant renewable energy potential to reclaim repatriations to build resilience and pave the way for sustainable growth. He explained that the continent is not responsible for climate harm however, it is suffering its consequences, asserting that the rest of the world owes Africa a debt. That, he said, presented an opportunity for the continent to frame its international climate negotiations on the principles of climate justice. The Africa continent is home to almost 17 per cent of the global population and we account for less than four per cent of emissions so the rest of the world, particularly the historic polluters owe us a climate debt in the form of adaptation and mitigation. It is an opportunity if Africa is to reframe its international climate negotiations on the basis of climate injustice we will be able to reclaim repatriations that allows us to able to build our resilience but also power our way out of energy, food poverty by capitailising on the incredible renewable energy potential that exists, he said. In an interview with the media at the opening of the 54th Climate Reality Leadership Training in Accra, Mr Adow explained that the continent is incredible endowed with resources, arable lands, renewable energy resources and a very youthful population to be able to address Africas food needs, energy needs and also help Africas prosperity. Therefore, he said there is an opportunity for the continent to position itself in a way that puts Africa on a sustainable path which is also resilient. He called on leaders of various countries on the continent to help us seize this opportunity, he said. Climate reality The three-day event forms part of the Climate Reality Projects series of global training programmes that aim to educate and equip advocates with the tools they need to effectively advance climate solutions. It focused on the potential for the people of West Africa to create a new model of sustainable development and open the door to a better life for millions in the region. It brought together the youth, scientists, and experts from West Africa and across the continent to deliberate on the latest climate science, existing policies, future solutions in the region, and opportunities for advocates to make a difference. Addressing climate change The Former Vice President of the United States of America and Founder of the Climate Reality Project, Al Gore, said it was imperative for governments and stakeholders in Africa and worldwide to "muster political will" to address the pressing issue of climate change. "Our world is currently confronted with its most serious and dangerous challenge. Despite advancements, efforts must now be significantly amplified, he said. For her part, the President of the Climate Reality Project, Phyllis Cuttino, explained the significance of their presence in Ghana, citing it as a critical hub in West Africa for training leaders to instigate global change. She said 50,000 climate reality leaders have been trained across the world adding that our goal is to train an additional 100,000 and that is part of the reason why we are here in Ghana because we think it is an important place to be in West Africa to be training the leaders here to help make the change that needs to happen. Towards fiscal discipline: Lets change course of economy Business leaders urged Charles Benoni Okine Business News Nov - 28 - 2023 , 05:07 An indigenous business leader in the petroleum industry in Ghana has advocated a strong force of business people to undertake an aggressive advocacy that can help to change the course of the economy to benefit the masses of the people and not just the few political elite. According to the Chief Executive Officer of Petrosol, Michael Bozumbil, like others within the sub-region, Ghana also deserved to have the creme of business people whose voice will be heard at all times by politicians to help shape and implement policies capable of accelerating the economic transformation of the country As business people, we do not have to play into the hands of politicians to dictate to us what we have to do with our business. We must collectively lead the discourse in neutrality, thinking about the sustenance of our businesses even after a change in government, he proposed at the Graphic Business/Stanbic Bank Breakfast Meeting in Accra last Tuesday. Speaking on the theme Fiscal Discipline: Breaking the Political Business Cycle in 2024, he said the indiscipline exhibited by politicians over the years can only be broken by a unified front of business owners whose ideas wear no political colour. Over the years since the inception of the 1992 constitution, governments have overrun the national budgets on the altar of political expediency. This phenomenon has taken the country to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) 17 times, with the worst of the bailout being felt under the current government, which has forced domestic investors to take a heavy haircut on their investments in a bid to reduce the countrys over-bloated debt presently described as highly unsustainable. Debt restructuring For instance, to return to a path of debt sustainability, from a Debt to GDP ratio of 89 per cent, Ghana, in December 2022, commenced the implementation of a nerve-racking restructuring programme covering both domestic and external debt to achieve a 55 per cent Debt to GDP ratio and 18 per cent revenue to GDP ratio over the medium term. Ghana completed the first phase of what has become the infamous Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) in February 2023, where some GH82,994.51 million of old domestic notes and bonds were exchanged for new bonds. These new bonds have longer maturities and an average coupon of about 9.1 per cent, achieving a participation rate of about 84.9 per cent, which is still not enough at the moment. While there are concerns and calls on the government to live within its means by cutting its expenditure, the 2024 Budget State and Government Economic Policy laid before Parliament last week points to a determination to overspend. Total revenue and grants are projected at GH176.4 billion (16.8 per cent of GDP) and are underpinned by permanent revenue measures, largely tax revenue measures amounting to 0.9 per cent of GDP. By way of resource allocation for 2024, the government is projecting a total expenditure (commitment) of GH226.7 billion (21.6 per cent of GDP). Much as this projection reflects a reduction of 6.1 percentage points of GDP in total expenditures (commitment basis) relative to the outturn in 2022, there are worries about the deficit when the signs on the ground are not the best. The overall budget balance to be financed is a fiscal deficit of GH 61.9 billion, equivalent to 5.9 per cent of GDP. History of deficits In 2004, despite the country just benefiting from the HIPC initiative which led to a total debt relief of US$3.5 billion, Ghana still recorded a budget deficit of 3.2 per cent of GDP against a target of 1.7 per cent. In 2008, which was another election year, the budget deficit went into double digits and more than double what was budgeted for, recording 11.5 per cent of GDP against a projection of four per cent. The story was no different in 2012, as the country recorded a budget deficit of 12 per cent against a target of 6.7 per cent. In 2016, despite being under an IMF programme, the government still missed its budget deficit target. The overall budget deficit on a cash basis was equivalent to 8.7 per cent of GDP against an IMF programme target of 5.3 per cent of GDP. On a commitment basis, the fiscal deficit was 10.3 per cent of GDP. In 2020, COVID-19 expenses, coupled with election-year spending, led to the missing of the deficit target. The overall budget deficit on a cash basis was 11.7 per cent of GDP against a revised target of 11.4 per cent of GDP. Changing the narrative to surplus Describing the deficit as unfortunate, Mr Bozumbil wondered when a government in the country will announce a surplus, saying: We can make a surplus if we are determined to do so. It is not beyond us. This is where we, as business people, must lead the discourse to prove to the politicians who run our economy that what makes our businesses survive and profitable can also make the economy return a surplus and not a deficit. He said much as business owners deserve the right to support a political party at any time, what should be done to sustain the economy for their business to thrive must not be sacrificed, because we must be mindful of the fact that the moment we sacrifice our business to openly and recklessly support a political party, a defeat in an election will be the end of that business and there are many examples to guide us. Mr Bozumbil bemoaned instances where businesses sacrifice the pay rise of their workers, evade taxes, and default on workers' pension contributions among many others to fund political parties, saying that these are dangerous acts we must avoid. He warned that those engaged in such practice needed to be aware that, immediately after an election, the authorities will come after them and will not take any excuses for defaulting on their obligations to the state. Pay your taxes as an obligation to the state. Pay your workers pension contributions and abide by regulatory requirements governing the sector you play in and that is enough to ward off politicians who may come at you to take your money to support their campaign and leave your business to suffer. The worst of it is when they lose an election, he said. Compliance Mr Bozumbil said as business people, the best way to stay truly independent and contribute to economic success is through compliance. He said once the business person is tax compliant, and works in tandem with the regulatory processes, being tracked down by politicians could be an impossibility. Addressing graduate unemployment: GTEC develops employability skills framework Severious Kale-Dery Education Nov - 28 - 2023 , 11:33 The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has developed an employability skills framework to ensure that every graduate is equipped with the basic skills required for work before graduating. The framework, which will be rolled out next year as mandatory for certifying a student to graduate, encompasses every generic skill that ensures that a graduate has basic knowledge known as the 21st Century skills such as good communications skills, good information technology skills and enterpreneurship. The Director of Policy of GTEC, Dr Emmanuel Newman, who stated this in a presentation on "Tertiary education and employability of graduates in Ghana," explained that the move was a novelty and that the commission sought to give graduates general knowledge in the world of work. Speaking on the final day of the National Education Week 2023, he said even though such a framework was applied in universities the world over, that could not be said of Ghana and believed the time had come for such knowledge to brighten the chances of graduates in the country in the a. This year's National Education Week, which opened at the Labadi Beach Hotel on Monday, November 20 and ended on November 23, was on the theme, "Education delivery for national transformation: The case for STEM and TVET." Employable graduates Dr Newman stated that currently a total of over 120,000 students graduated annually from tertiary institutions in the country, and that the projection was that by 2030, 330,000 would graduate based on the current student population growth projection. He observed that employable graduates were critical for governments to drive economic growth through the production of improved products and services. Basing his presentation on "Graduate employability study 2022," conducted by the Commission, Dr Newman said a total sample of 5,000 enterprises and 39 accredited tertiary educational institutions were used. Areas covered The questionnaires covered skills gaps, skills shortages, graduate skills and competencies of recently employed graduates and future skills, among others, he said. On skills shortage, he explained that during the study of 2,000 vacancies analysed, six per cent were hard-to-field according to employers, most were at the professional level and in the service industry. Skills shortage vacancies refer to a vacancy which attracts applicants but none with the right skills, Dr Newman said. He added that the main causes of skill shortage vacancies in the opinion of the employers related to shortage in supply of expertise, lack of applications for the role and salary issues. The commonest step taken to address graduate skill shortage is increasing advertising or recruitment spending, Dr Newman added. Touching on skills gap, he said 3,993 of the establishments surveyed had employees with skills gaps, which were most prevalent in the service sector. He explained that skills gap referred to the lack of skills in graduate employees that made them unable to perform their jobs proficiently. Recommendations Dr Newman said the survey recommended that tertiary education institutions had to proritise and improve awareness and communication regarding graduate employment outcomes and potential career destinations. Other recommendations, he said, called on institutions to establish formalised processes such as tracer studies to effectively track and share employment data, saying that would help students to make informed decisions about educational choices and career paths. The study, Dr Newman added, further recommended that education institutions foster stronger partnerships and engagement with industry stakeholders. Stanbic Bank supports Prempeh College '98 Year Group Daily Graphic Education Nov - 28 - 2023 , 11:39 The Amanfo '98 Year Group of Prempeh College has received a donation of GH 20,000 from Stanbic Bank, Ghana. The donation was made as a contribution to the year group's newly constructed nurse's bungalow for the Prempeh College community. The building, which is set to be inaugurated on Saturday, December 2, 2023, at Prempeh College as part of the '98 Year Group's 25th Anniversary Celebration will provide the much-needed accommodation for the college's nursing staff. The Amanfo '98 Year Group expressed its gratitude to Stanbic Bank, Ghana for the generous donation and support. "We are extremely grateful to Stanbic Bank, Ghana for the contribution to our project. This donation will go a long way in helping us provide comfortable and safe accommodation for our nursing staff", said the Vice-President of the year group. The ceremony will be attended by members of the Prempeh College community as well as representatives from Stanbic Bank, Ghana. The donation was presented by some staff of Stanbic bank and received on behalf of the year group by Seniors Kwame Dankwa Asare Bediako (Vice-President of Amanfo '98 Year Group), and Vincent Opoku (Member, Central Planning Committee). Ama Pomaa Boateng sponsors 120 students in robotics training Zadok Kwame Gyesi Nov - 27 - 2023 , 16:45 In a bid to empower the youth and foster digital literacy within the Juaben constituency, the Member of Parliament for the area, Ama Pomaa Boateng has funded a comprehensive training programme in Robotics for 120 students in the Juaben constituency. The initiative, aimed at equipping the youth with valuable skills in the rapidly evolving digital landscape, saw participants engaged in an intensive and hands-on learning experience. The program covered key aspects of web development and the Internet of Things (IoT), providing the students with a solid foundation in these crucial technological domains. To ensure the continuity of their exploration, Ama Pomaa Boateng, who is also the Deputy Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, donated smart watches and phones to the participants. Additionally, she donated STEM kits to the ICT centres, fostering continuous practice and creating opportunities for more children to benefit from similar training. Through her educational Tech Club, the Pomaa Tech Club which she donated one thousand GH1000 to the ICT Centers to help with operational activities, she seeks to sustain the momentum and enthusiasm for technology in Juaben Constituency. In collaboration with the Juaben Municipal Education Directorate, I am excited to announce the upcoming trainer of trainer programme for ICT teachers. This initiative ensures the continuous training of communities in Juaben, reinforcing our commitment to excellence in robotics education, Ama Pomaa Boateng stated. The Municipal Chief Executive for the area, Mr Omane Aboagye, commended the MP for the initiative and emphasized the positive impact such programmes have on community development. Some parents and guardians who attended the event expressed their appreciation for the initiative, noting that the initiative will have a transformative effect on its beneficiaries. 175 Tertiary students receive Edikan Trust Fund scholarships Daily Graphic Nov - 28 - 2023 , 07:25 The Edikan Trust Fund has awarded educational scholarships to 175 students in the catchment areas of Perseus Mining Ghana Limited in the Central and Western regions. The scholarships will cover the tertiary education of the beneficiaries, who were selected from five communities, namely Ayanfuri, Gyaman and Fobinso, all in the Central Region, and Nkonya and Abenabena in the Western Region. The Edikan Trust Fund was set up in 2017 to sponsor projects, including schools, health facilities and scholarships, in communities where the mining firm carries out its exploration activities in the Central and Western regions. At a ceremony to announce the scholarships at Ayanfuri in the Central Region, the Paramount Chief of the Assin Owirenkyi Traditional Area in the Central Region, Ehunabobrim Prah Agyensaim, underscored the need to build the capacity of the youth through sound education. He said education was a critical tool that propelled the progress of societies, and therefore, no effort should be spared in giving future leaders a better foundation. Launch pad Nana Prah Agyensaim, who doubles as the Board Chairman of Perseus Mining Ghana Limited, said education remained the launch pad of development; hence, the need for parents to make sacrifices to provide the best for their children. He said the company was not only interested in making profits but also what it could provide in terms of development to its host communities. The General Manager of Perseus Mining Ghana Limited, Daniel Egya Mensah, said the organisations commitment to support education in the companys catchment areas had not waned. The company, he said, contributed $300,000 to the trust fund annually because it believed in enhancing the potential of the youth through education. He said the Edikan Trust Fund had been established as a mechanism to promote sustainable development in the catchment areas during the life of the mine and beyond. Quantum leap Mr Mensah said this year, the amount being disbursed had seen a quantum leap to accommodate more beneficiaries. He urged the beneficiaries to make use of the opportunity to make the company proud in the future. The Wassa Amenfi Municipal Director of Education, Joseph Amoasi, commended Perseus Mining Ghana Limited for complementing the governments effort in providing education to vulnerable communities and people and urged other companies to emulate Perseus Minings gesture. Some of the beneficiaries expressed their appreciation for the gesture. 200 Cuban trained Ghanaian doctors to return home next year GNPC boss Shirley Asiedu-Addo Nov - 28 - 2023 , 06:34 Two hundred Ghanaian medical doctors, training in Cuba, with Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) Foundation scholarships are due home next year to augment the medical human resource capacity of the country. The medical students return is expected to significantly improve Ghana's doctor to patient ratio which currently stands around 1:6,000. The beneficiaries, who were carefully selected from rural districts of the country, would undertake a mandatory service in underprivileged facilities to help improve healthcare delivery. The Executive Director of the GNPC, Dr Dominic Eduah, said about 340 other Ghanaians were also on scholarships in other countries training mostly in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programme as part of efforts to build the human resource base needed for the country's accelerated growth. He was speaking at a passing out ceremony for 337 other beneficiaries of GNPC's empowerment programmes last Thursday. They are mainly graduating artisans who had gone through training and certification examination, with support from the GNPC Foundation and Aseda Foundation in the Central Region, at a ceremony in Cape Coast. In an unconventional graduation ceremony, the artisans donned their academic gowns and were called up the dais to receive their certificates. Special initiative At the graduation ceremony, Dr Eduah said the doctor-training scholarships was a special initiative by the GNPC Foundation to improve the doctor-patient ratio in the country for better health care. He explained that the GNPC Foundation had given about 7,500 in local scholarship for students in Ghanaian institutions since 2018 with the foundation giving out 1500 scholarships this year alone. The GNPC Executive Director said the foundation was working in education, environment and social amenity provision and economic empowerment as part of efforts to better the lives of Ghana. He urged the graduands to appreciate the certificate, saying it added value and gave them confidence and integrity to do their work. Dr Eduah observed that it was worrying that after training, many of the artisans failed to take the certificate examination. He said the foundation had worked to also provide classroom blocks, and other school infrastructure, astro turfs and sanitary facilities across the country. Right path The Board Chairman of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Freddie Blay, said countries like Japan, Germany, China and Switzerland had used skills development as a critical component for development saying that government's commitment to the development of vocational and technical education was an indication that Ghana was on the right path. He commended the Aseda Foundation for the collaboration with the GNPC to train the artisans and expressed the hope that the numbers would be scaled up in future. The Central Regional Minister, Justina Marigold Assan, urged the graduands to take advantage of technology and social media to improve on the skills they had acquired to enhance their value and relevance. She also urged them to be proud of their skills and talents and to start small where necessary. Mrs Assan said the government's commitment to impact people and livelihoods positively was evident in its policies and programmes to promote technical and vocational education. The Chief Executive Officer of Aseda Foundation urged the graduands not to relent but to determine to change their lives with the skills they had acquired. The Omanhen of the Oguaa Traditional Area, Osabarima Kwesi Atta II, advised the beneficiaries not to sell the startup kits but to use them to better their lives. Agric festival opens ahead of Farmers Day Emmanuel Bonney Nov - 28 - 2023 , 06:00 A five-day agriculture festival to herald this years National Farmers Day is underway in Accra. Dubbed AGRIFEST 2023, the event, which is being held within the Ministries enclave, is to showcase various agricultural produce and equipment. The Minister of Agriculture, Dr Bryan Acheampong, and the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Mavis Hawa Koomson, jointly cut the tape to open the festival yesterday. Participants In all, 145 companies and organisations are participating in AGRIFEST 2023. They are into agrochemicals, machinery and equipment dealership and in-put dealership. Others are development partners and financial institutions. On display are plant seedlings, farm produce such as yam, tomatoes, maize, local rice, plantain, banana, livestock, cocoa products, assorted plants, as well as tractors, weeding and irrigation equipment. The exhibitors are located on the main road from the Ghanaian-European Centre adjacent the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations through the Ministries traffic lights on the street by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection to the old Ministry of Health. Opening the event, Dr Acheampong indicated that the government had come out with a plan for the country to be food self-sufficient by 2028. Food security He said with the five-year food security plan, "we believe that the trajectory we have embarked on will make us be food secure and resilient by 2028". Dr Acheampong said that effort could only be achieved on the back of farmers and, therefore, if we are committing December 1 and the days before that to honour our farmers then it is in the right step. The minister said to achieve food security, there were a lot of actors that would help the country in that regard. He named them as the input dealers, aggregators, farmers themselves, regional and district agriculture officers, the Fisheries Commission, fisheries departments across the country and other stakeholders. Showcase So it is important that we commit the week to showcase the tools that they tend to employ for us to meet our food security target by 2028, Dr Acheampong stated. The Minister of Food and Agriculture also said AGRIFEST was part of the awareness that the ministry wanted to create so that all Ghanaians would come on board to ensure that we march the journey together as Ghanaians for our food security and resilience. Dr Acheampong expressed the hope that with the support of farmers and other stakeholders, the government would achieve its objectives. Time to celebrate farmers For her part, Mrs Koomson said it was necessary to honour the countrys farmers and fishers because but for them there would be no food for the citizenry. So, when it is time for us to celebrate them, let us all do it together in a grand style, she entreated. This years National Farmers Day, slated for Friday, December 1, 2023, among others, aims at rewarding farmers of the country for their hard work. The 2023 event, which would be the 39th edition, would be held in Tarkwa in the Western Region on the theme: "Delivering Smart Solutions for Sustainable Food Security and Resilience". Categories This year, farmers will be recognised in 15 categories at the national awards in Tarkwa. These are the Overall National Best Farmer, the first and second runners-up, the National Best Farmers and 12 others, including the National Best Livestock Farmer, the National Best Female Farmer, the National Best Physically Challenged Farmer, the Overall National Best Fisher, the National Best Marine Fisher and the National Best Inland Fisher. The rest are the National Best Fish Farmer, the National Best Fish Processor, the National Best Cocoa Farmer, the National Best Most Promising Young Cocoa Farmer, the National Best Most Enterprising Cocoa and the Female Farmer and National Best Shea Nut Picker. Regional/district levels There would be five regional award categories per region. They are the Regional Best Farmer, the Regional Best Livestock Farmer, the Regional Best Female Farmer, the Regional Best Fisher, and the Regional Physically Challenged Farmer. The district-level celebrations are expected to be held in the 261 districts and each district would have three categories, namely the District Best Farmer, the District Best Livestock Farmer and the District Best Crop Farmer. CIHRM confers honorary fellow on Energy Minister Justice Agbenorsi & Rhoda Amponsah Nov - 28 - 2023 , 06:51 The Chartered Institute of Human Resource Management, Ghana (CIHRM) has conferred on the Minister of Energy, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, a fellow of the institute. It is in recognition of his contribution towards the institute's elevation to chartered status in 2018 when he was a Minister of Education. Also, the minister was honoured for his efforts toward the birth of the Chartered Institute of Human Resource Management Ghana Act, 2020 (Act 1020), and continuous interest in issues concerning human resource development in the country. It is the highest status to be conferred on an accomplished individual by the CIHRM. Honour The minister was adorned with a sash and was presented with a certificate and a memento at a ceremony held at the GNAT Hall in Accra last Thursday. During his tenure as the Minister of Education, Dr Prempeh, who is also the Member of Parliament for Manhyia South constituency, helped the advancement of four institutions to chartered status. They are Chartered Institute of Taxation Ghana; Chartered Institute of Bankers; Chartered Institute of Marketing and the Institute of Chartered Accountants. Conferment The President of CIHRM, Dr Edward Kwapong, explained that the honour was a testimony of Dr Prempehs proven strategic abilities, personnel management expertise and contribution to the practice of HR in Ghana. As you tread on the earth may you remember that our thoughts and prayers are with you as the preserver of the dignity of the institute, he said. Describing the minister as an embodiment of passion for performance, the president further urged the minister to continue advancing the cause of human resource practitioners in the country. That, he said, would help reduce labour unrest and contribute to the ultimate development of the country. Dr Prempeh expressed gratitude to the institute for recognising his contribution during his time at the Ministry of Education. He said for a country to develop, it was imperative for it to enhance its human resource adding: Natural resources dont develop a country it is the human resource that champions development. As a believer of human resource management, the minister recounted how he introduced the teacher profession allowance after introducing the licensure exams and recruitment aptitude test for teachers. A council member of CIHRM, Florence Hutchful, who chaired the ceremony, commended Dr Prempeh for his hard work and dedication over the past years. Cocoa, shea nut farmers demand torches, mosquito nets Timothy Gobah Nov - 28 - 2023 , 11:16 The Ghana Association of Cocoa, Coffee and Shea nut Farmers (COCOSHE) has expressed worry over the delay in the supply of solar torches and mosquito nets to the farmers. The association has, therefore, appealed to the management of Ghana Cocobod to expedite action in the supply of the product since the delay is having a heavy toll on the operations of the farmers". Our people are in dire need of the solar torches and mosquito nets to make our operations thrive," the President of the Association, Alhaji Alhassan Bukari, said in an address read on his behalf at a press conference in Accra yesterday. The speech of the President was read by the spokesperson of COCOSHE, Imoro Issifu Alhassan. Grateful He said the association was grateful to the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on his assurance on May 10, 2019, when COCOSHE paid a courtesy call on him at the Jubilee House and made a plea through him to Cocobod for solar torches and mosquito nets. After the engagement, the President instructed Cocobod to meet the request as soon as possible. Benefits Since 2019, we have been patiently waiting for the supply of the product, considering that the delay is beginning to affect farmers who depend on these products, especially at night," he said. On December 8, 2022, Alhaji Bukari said the association made a request to the Chief Executive of Cocobod about the delay and followed up with representatives of the Ghana Cocobod Board at various board meetings. He said although the association might not be aware of the reason for the delay, "we appeal to the management of Cocobod to do everything within its authority for the farmers to get the items". Alhaji Bukari said the solar torches and mosquito nets were of tremendous importance to farmers as they helped them in remote communities in the cocoa areas. He explained that shea nut pickers also used the torches to go into the bush at dawn to pick shea nuts with ease, as it brightens under the shea trees for shea nut collection. COCOSHE said the supply of the items to farmers in the past had impacted positively on the health, welfare and safety of farmers. "It has indeed served as an incentive for increased production, and, therefore, in the best interest of the Cocoa Coffee and Shea nut Industries that the request of the farmers is met as it has been long overdue," the president said. Collaborate in fight against money laundering, terrorist financing - Information Minister to journalists Emelia Ennin Abbey Nov - 28 - 2023 , 05:44 The Minister of information, Kwadwo Oppong Nkrumah, has called for effective collaboration between journalists and organisations involved in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing (MLTF). He said the media must also increase education on the dangers of such illegal activities and their consequences on a nation. The minister made the call at the opening of a two-day inter-governmental action group against money laundering in West Africa (GIABA), the national anti-money laundering and combating financing of terrorism media outreach activity in Accra yesterday. The capacity-building workshop is to equip the 16 participating journalists with the necessary information to educate the public on the negative impact of money laundering and terrorist financing to raise interest and also court public support to combat the menace. GIABA is a specialised institution of ECOWAS with the mandate to protect the economies of West Africa member states from exploitation of laundering proceeds and crime. Situation Mr Oppong Nkrumah said the ECOWAS region was becoming unstable with increasing incidents of terrorism and insecurity on the rise. He cited a recent incident in the Upper East Region where efforts to apprehend persons suspected to be associated with terrorism were thwarted by local youth, indicating that more needed to be done to raise awareness. The minister mentioned weak regulatory frameworks, political instability, highly informal economies, transactions across porous borders and growing sophistication in cybercrime as some of the activities creating avenues for money laundering and terrorism financing. They exacerbate income inequality as proceeds often benefit a small group of individuals or entities, widening the wealth gap, he added. GJA on measures The President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Albert Dwumfour, also urged African nations to adopt stringent anti-money laundering measures to safeguard their financial systems, promote transparency and maintain economic integrity. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates that between two and five per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP), representing between 715 billion and 1.87 trillion, was laundered each year. It also indicates that illicit financial flows (IFFs) in Africa cost $88.6 billion annually, a development that was hindering progress and impeding the achievement of the sustainable development goals. It further mentioned the primary origins of illicit financial flows into Africa to include criminal activities such as money laundering, trafficking, smuggling, corruption and commercial practices associated with tax and trade abuse. GIABAs role The Director-General of GIABA, Edwin W. Harris, in a speech read on his behalf by the Head of Communications of GIABA, Timothy Melaye, said the organisation worked to ensure ECOWAS member states complied with acceptable international standards on anti-money laundering and combating financing of terrorism. It also conducts valuable research to identify various money laundering and terrorist financing trends and methods to strengthen preventive and enforcement efforts. The anti-graft fight cannot be effective without the active involvement of the media which has the dual capacity for educating the public on the menace of money laundering and directly investigating and tracking down those involved, Mr Harris said. In line with that, he said the organisation was building the capacity of other stakeholders including law enforcement agencies, the judiciary, financial institutions, designated non-financial businesses, youth and women groups and civil society organisations. The Deputy CEO of the Ghana Financial Intelligence Centre, Kofi Boakye, said the training of the journalists was important in the light of Ghanas upcoming national risk assessment and subsequent mutual evaluation. Demand good leadership, not change Prof. Adei Justice Agbenorsi Nov - 28 - 2023 , 12:10 A Statesman, Professor Emeritus Stephen Adei, has said it is time for professional associations, middle class Ghanaian intellectuals and the business community to demand good leadership for the country. He said a mere change in 2024 would not make any difference, but the country could only see a massive transformation if its leadership situation changed. It is time for professional associations, Ghanaian intellectuals and businessmen and women to demand good leadership to promote integrity. Put your feet down and say we will not allow bad leadership, Prof. Adei, who is the Executive Chairman of the Ghana Christian International High School, said in his presentation at this years governance forum for board members and Chief Executive Officers in Accra last Thursday. Organised by the Institute of Internal Auditors, the forum was on the theme, Navigating the waves of change: the role of governance. Prof. Adei who is the immediate past Chairman of the Ghana Revenue Authority Board, stressed the need to consciously improve the supply of people with breakthrough leadership mindset by creating an enabling environment, increasing supply mechanism and enhancing demand of people with a breakthrough leadership mindset. Also a former Director General of GIMPA, Prof. Adei spoke on the topic: Breakthrough leadership and emerging dilemmas. Corporate leadership The Founder and President of the Ashesi University, Patrick Gyimah Awuah Jr, urged private and public service institutions to build structures that ensured that board members and managers were held to account. This would ensure stronger and resilient institutions in the ever-changing corporate environment. He said corporate governance must be a through and through thing that checks everybody. To build resilient institutions, leaders of institutions must be assessed frequently, report to audit, finance and compliance committees. Beyond that, he said both board members and leaders must also commit themselves to their institutions loyalty, corporate culture and ethics and a duty of care to the institutions in which they operated. He further urged companies to allow academia to conduct case studies of crises to help educate the next generation. When that happens, he said the next generation would know how to navigate such situations in future developments. Interest The Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency, Dr Eric Oduro-Osae, explained that people in leadership positions in the corporate sector must always prioritise the nations interest over any other consideration. He further charged journalists to build capacity to tell the internal audit story to ensure that preventive approaches were always employed to reduce corruption and channel resources for development. Platform The president of the institute, Joseph Dakora Zumasigee, said the forum would provide a platform for discussing and sharing varied views and advising on emerging governance issues to private, public, government and non-governmental organisations. In addition to that, he said it would shed light on significant pivotal approaches to guide participants in their various organisations through uncertainties. Immigration Service launches integrity campaign Joshua Bediako Koomson Nov - 28 - 2023 , 06:45 The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has launched a campaign to promote integrity, accountability and transparency within the service. It also seeks to use the campaign to raise awareness, among the general public, of the expected ethical behaviours and modalities of reporting incongruent behaviours. Dubbed the Triple S, the campaign is in three phases - to secure borders, ensure a stable country and safe people. The campaign, which was launched at its headquarters in Accra yesterday, is based on the GIS Code of Conduct and Reporting Mechanism, which was launched in August, this year. It will enable travellers and the broader population to detect and report behaviours that are not in line with the code of conduct and use the reporting mechanism to seek redress. While it ensures that officers are trained and sensitised to uphold optimum professionalism, the public will also be educated to report unprofessional conducts of officers. The campaign At the launch, Head of Public Affairs of the GIS, Superintendent Michael Amoako-Attah, said the campaign would publicise an email address and call lines for complaints. Also, he said the public would also be educated on what was required of officers through the official social media platforms of the service and signage at the headquarters. In addition, he said the Public Affairs Department and the Immigration Professional Standards and Ethics Section of the service would be at the forefront of the campaign to ensure that the requirements of the code were fully complied with by the officers. Participants Supt. Amoako-Attah stated that the Gender Mainstreaming Unit of the GIS would play a critical role in educating officers on issues of gender-based violence and sexual abuses at the various commands. Fellow officers, we must always remember that the laws that make us powerful also enjoin us to be responsible. Abusing our powers put us at the risk of a counteractive boomerang, and we must avoid this as much as possible. We must eschew the We vs. Them mentality in carrying out our duties, in addition to being intelligence-led in our operations and prioritising continuous dialogue with the public who are indeed our masters. Border and security management can no longer be done in a silo away from interagency collaboration and community engagement, he advised. Advice to the general public Supt. Amoako-Attah said the modern challenges with migration such as terrorism threats, violent extremism and organised cross border crimes demanded that the officers worked together more than ever. He also urged the general public to appreciate the mandate of the officers. He said a culture of trust was urgently required between officers and the public to help protect the territorial integrity of the state. Holding to our suspicions and aggressions towards each other will not help. By this campaign, the service holds out an olive branch to the public. Let us work together for secure borders, a stable country and safe people. Let us find a fine weave between the legal powers officers must exercise in the interest of our collective security and the rights of citizens, he said. The media The GIS Head of Public Affairs also entreated the media to consider itself as a key partner with the GIS and throw its lenses on the service as a way of peer review. He said the media had the right to put the service on its toes and more importantly, help it to sensitise the public to the contents of the code and its reporting mechanism. In line with that, he said the management of the service would be visiting some of the media houses to throw more light on the code. He further expressed his gratitude to the European Union and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) which sponsored the production of the Code of Conduct and Reporting Mechanism. Initiative to enhance maritime law enforcement launched in Accra Della Russel Ocloo Nov - 28 - 2023 , 07:04 An initiative to strengthen regional cooperation to tackle maritime security threats in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) has been launched in Accra. Dubbed, Pirates of the Niger Delta, the initiative seeks to enhance maritime law enforcement capabilities and foster intelligence sharing among regional partners. It is being spearheaded by the Global Maritime Crime Programme (GMCP) of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), with funding from the Danish government. The Pirates of the Niger Delta II is a sequel to the initial report released in 2021 and delves into a thorough examination of the recent decrease in deep-sea kidnapping-for-ransom occurrences in the region, while simultaneously chronicling the various counterpiracy measures implemented at the national, regional, and international levels that collectively played a role in the observed mitigation of incidents. The initiative in partnership with the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) will address the root causes of piracy through a comprehensive approach that includes training, equipment provision, and strategic engagement with maritime law enforcement agencies in the region. Report The second phase of the Pirates of the Niger Delta focused on advancements in counterpiracy measures and highlights the persistent piracy challenges in the Gulf of Guinea, calling for unwavering attention and collective action. The report recognised the multidimensional nature of piracy underscoring the need to address the underlying causes such as poverty, unemployment, weak governance and political instability among other underlying drivers and enabling conditions. Speaking at the launch of the report, the Vice-Chairman of the Ghana National Maritime Security Committee, Commodore (GN) Steve Darbo (retd), who stood in for Thomas Alonsi, the Director-General of the Ghana Maritime Authority, said maritime security in Africa was rapidly changing, necessitating advancements in maritime security architecture and fostering increased regional cooperation. The maritime domain, he said, was the lifeblood of many of the economies in Africa, and in many cases, a central element of food security and sovereignty. Once considered the second most dangerous maritime region, the Gulf of Guinea maritime domain, he said has witnessed a significant decline in piracy incidents, thanks to a concerted regional effort. Similarly, the Niger Delta, once a hotspot for pirate activities, he suggested has seen a noticeable reduction in attacks, underscoring the effectiveness of the Yaounde Architecture, a collaborative maritime security initiative. Denmark The Danish Ambassador to Ghana, Tom Nrring in his remarks said that the maiden study revealed that within the piracy networks, several actors undertook diverse roles such as sponsorship, recruitment, mentoring new pirates, negotiation of ransoms among others. He said this had a substantial impact on responses at the global, regional, and national levels, highlighting the necessity of broadening piracy investigations to encompass network actors and developing targeted interventions to address the local circumstances that drive individuals into piracy. Lawyer reports fellow over unprofessional conduct Emmanuel Ebo Hawkson Nov - 28 - 2023 , 15:00 A lawyer, Stephen Badu, has reported a fellow lawyer, Derick Adu-Gyamfi, to the Disciplinary Committee of the General Legal Council (GLC), accusing him of unprofessionally filing a public interest suit with his own (Adu-Gyamfis) name instead of his (Badus) name. It is the case of Mr Badu that his senior colleague at the bar is not the originator of the suit which led the Supreme Court to strike out certain provisions of the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992) as unconstitutional. Mr Badu claims that he engaged Mr Adu-Gyamfi as his lawyer to file the case on a pro bono basis challenging the constitutionality of two sections of the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992), but counsel allegedly ended up filing it rather with his own name and taking the spotlight. I approached Lawyer Derick Adu-Gyamfi in my capacity as a client, for him to represent me, on pro bono, to file the aforementioned case at the Supreme Court. I made him aware that the case was likely to give him exposure as counsel for the plaintiff. I handed the brief to him and he accepted to represent me, he said. Mr Badu said Mr Adu-Gyamfi started giving him excuses whenever he called for an update on the case and eventually told him that he could look for a new lawyer to file the case on his behalf. However, Mr Adu-Gyamfi has refuted the claims and averred that he was never engaged by Mr Badu as a lawyer, neither did he ever agree to represent him pro bono. According to him, he filed the suit based on his extraneous legal research with no input whatsoever from Mr Badu. Judgment On November 8, 2023, a seven-member panel of the Supreme Court unanimously declared as unconstitutional the first parts of Sections 13 (2) (h) (i), (ii) and 172 of the Companies Act, 2019 (Act 992), on the basis that they violated Article 19 (2) (c) of the 1992 Constitution. The now repealed provisions prohibited persons charged with criminal offences from becoming directors of companies. Article 19 (2) (c) of the Constitution guarantees the right of an individual charged with a criminal offence to be presumed innocent until proven guilty or pleads guilty. It was the view of the apex court that barring people from becoming directors due to an accusation of crime presupposed that those people were being punished without basis. To punish an innocent person not convicted or pronounced culpable for the commission of an offence, either directly or indirectly sins against the constitutional presumption of innocence, the court held. The suit culminating in the judgment was filed on March 25, 2022 by Mr Adu-Gyamfi, who was both the plaintiff and lawyer representing himself. Complaint In a complaint to the GLC, dated July 27, 2022, which has been sighted by the Daily Graphic, Mr Badu told the GLC that he presented the case to Mr Adu-Gyamfi but counsel later allegedly filed it as a plaintiff to ostensibly take all the glory. He said he came across some provisions in Act 992 which he deemed were in violation of the 1992 Constitution and prepared a brief on it. Subsequently, he said he contacted a certain lawyer but that lawyer was unable to represent him due to other engagements and, therefore, approached Lawyer Adu-Gyamfi in 2021 to represent him. He said in 2022, he started a search for a new lawyer but that delayed because he had to travel outside the country for business engagements. To my utter surprise, I read ... that Lawyer Derick Adu-Gyamfi has filed the same case (based on the brief I gave him) at the Supreme Court in his own name or as the plaintiff, he added. Mr Badu said the alleged actions of Mr Adu-Gyamfi were dishonest, unprofessional and an attempt by my learned friend to bring the legal profession into disrepute. However, in his response dated September 9, 2022, Mr Adu-Gyamfi said at no point was Mr Badu his client for him to file any suit on his behalf. The complainant was not my client as he claims because he did not formally engage me and there was no lawyer/client relationship established, he said. Again, he said, he never accepted to represent Mr Badu pro bono because he was a man of substance who could pay for legal services. The complainant is not an indigent, he is the Chief Executive Officer of GLICO Ghana Limited, with the financial resources to properly retain and pay for the services of a lawyer, Mr Adu-Gyamfi said. He described himself in his response as an avid and accomplished legal researcher with seven published law books to his credit and, therefore, his efforts were to contribute to the expansion of the law and not for exposure as alleged by the complainant. Counsel further averred in his response that inconsistencies in the laws of the country were not an intellectual property for anyone to lay claim to and, therefore, Mr Badu had no reason to accuse him of filing the case without his (Badus) name. According to him, Mr Badu was not the only one who had realised that certain provisions in Act 992 were inconsistent with the 1992 Constitution, and wondered why Mr Badu did not search for another lawyer to file the suit or file it himself, since he was also a lawyer. I have not been dishonest, unprofessional, nor misrepresented any matter or acted fraudulently or in deceit towards the complainant, he said. I did not have any professional relationship with the complainant for him to have alleged that I have breached same. I was not retained to perform any legal services as the complainant alleges, he said. Local miners need more incentives - Sam Jonah Emmanuel Ebo Hawkson Nov - 28 - 2023 , 12:52 A former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AngloGold Ashanti and statesman, Sir Sam Jonah, has called on the government to provide incentives that would encourage more Ghanaians to venture into mining. At the 15th Congregation of the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), he said after many decades of mining, it was a blot on the nation that there was no significant ownership in the big mining firms in the country. I have consistently bemoaned the absence of a meaningful ownership stake in the ownership of our mines. Sixty-six years after independence, sadly the situation has not changed much, he said. Ceremony The ceremony at the university campus in Tarkwa attracted many dignitaries, including the Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah; a Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources and Member of Parliament for Tarkwa Nsuaem, George Mireku Duker; former Chairman of the University Council, former Vice-Chancellors of UMaT, Vice-Chancellors from other universities, the Executive Secretary of Vice-Chancellors Ghana, Dr Sena Kpeglo-Freiku, managers and executives of mining and allied companies, representatives of the Tarkwa Municipal Assembly, chiefs, families and friends of the graduates. Local involvement Sir Sam said empowering Ghanaians to be more involved in mining was the best way to ensure that the country derived the maximum benefits of such natural resources. He said in the context of rising resource nationalism with local ownership of mines being pursued through various schemes such as free carried interest, the government should offer more targeted and favourable incentives to Ghanaians who ventured into the highly risky industry. This is more than a moral imperative. Empowering Ghanaians to be active participants in the mining industry is the surest way to grow the much-needed economic linkages from the mining industry, Sir Sam stated. I dare say this will avoid the repetition of the terrible mistakes we made in the past in the development of our natural resources, he added. In spite of the difficulties, Sir Sam, who is also the Executive Chairman of investment firm, Jonah Capital, said all was not lost. He praised Engineers and Planners, a company owned by Ibrahim Mahama, for venturing into a highly risky venture such as mining The acquisition of the Azuma project by Engineers and Planners, arguably the most dynamic Ghanaian company on the current mining scene, is undoubtedly one of the most exciting developments in our industry, he said. Resource nationalism Sir Sam was also full of praise for the country and other African countries for taking bold initiatives in having more control over their natural resources. He said the new phenomenon, resource nationalism, was being pursued by advanced economies and said it would help African countries have a fair share of the benefits of such natural resources. Dr Jonah mentioned the initiative by some African countries to ban exportation of raw mineral ores in order to encourage value addition as an example of resource nationalism. This is consistent with the African Mining Visions key tenet of domestic value addition to minerals before exporting. Sir Sam said the decision by the government to use the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) as a vehicle to invest in mining operations was highly commendable. The decision by MIIF to take an equity position in Atlantic Lithium is a laudable step and I dare say that more should be done in this regard, he said. I am also delighted to note that our nationals are increasingly taking the risks in investing in mineral exploration and project development, Dr Jonah added. Localisation, empowering of nationals Dr Jonah said during his time as CEO of Ashanti Goldfields Company, now AGA, the localisation of the mines, both in terms of employment and local procurement, was a deliberate policy and strategic footprint of the company. He said before he took over, the company employed 250 expatriates; however, at the time of the merger with AngloGold in 2003, there was only a handful. This was made possible because of significant investments we made in the development of our human capital, Sir Sam stated. Also to enhance local content in the operation, he said, the company made a deliberate policy to buy as much as possible from local suppliers and also actively encouraged the establishment at the mines for the production of mine supplies. As a further example, we encouraged and actively supported the manufacture of grinding media in Ghana. The policy outcomes were most encouraging. Factories to produce explosives, lime, grinding media and many other commodities sprang up in Obuasi, Takoradi and elsewhere. This is a legacy that we are very proud of and must not be allowed to be eroded, he stated. Sir Sam expressed satisfaction that now there were senior employees of Ashanti, mostly former graduates of UMaT occupying senior management positions at mines all over the world, saying it is a legacy I am hugely proud of and all of us must do whatever it takes to build on it. Galamsey Sir Sam said while there was the need to empower Ghanaians to actively partake in mining, it was imperative that such involvement would be legal and not illegal mining or what is popularly known as galamsey. He described galamsey as an existential threat in the mining industry and the country at large. The activities of galamsey mining have caused an unbearable and unacceptable level of environmental damage and associated social impacts such as child labour, teenage pregnancy and school dropout rates, he said. He called on UMaT to use its expertise to fashion strategies in cleaning the almost irreparable damage the menace has created. Advice to students Dr Jonah, who was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree by UMaT, advised the graduating students to go into the future with the values acquired during their studies and ensure that they exhibited exemplary traits in all their endeavours. The world awaits your unique contributions, and I have no doubt that each one of you will leave an indelible mark, he said. The Vice-Chancellor of UMaT, Professor Richard Kwasi Amankwah, outlined the schools efforts at supporting responsible mining. He said in the year under review, the university observed the Sustainable Small-scale Mining Awareness Day on June 2 by engaging the Akoon Community Mine to create awareness of the need to adopt sustainable and environmentally friendly methods in artisanal and small-scale mining. To promote skills development in mineral-rich communities, the university teamed up with the Bibiani Community to operationalise the Bibiani Community School to build the capacity and prepare community members to take up professional jobs in the mining and minerals industry. n addition to that, Prof. Amankwah said the university organised its annual innovation and career fair to promote innovation among the students. As part of the universitys corporate social responsibility, he added that UMaT would develop and donate two motorised wheelchairs from the fair to the Tarkwa Municipal Hospital in due course. Awards The Overall Best Graduating Student award went to Abdul-Rahman Ishaak; the Victoria E. Frempongs Memorial Award for the Best Graduating Female Student went to Maame Boaduwaa Kwakye-Tannor, with Arch Dr Ekow Sams Award for the most disciplined graduating student going to Abdullah Bello Muhammed. The Academic and Student Affairs Award for best international male graduating student was picked up by Cherif Bah, the best international female graduating student went to Rokia Dembele, the Prof. Daniel Mireku-Gyimah Award for Best Mining postgraduate student was won by Richard Gyebuni, while the GRASAG Award for Best Postgraduate Student went to Emmanuel Seckley. For staff, the Best Worker award, Senior Staff, went to Hermas Abaah Akolgo, while the Junior Staff category went to Roland Blisette. Stanbic Bank Ghana presents tractor for 2nd runner-up Best Farmer Severious Kale-Dery Nov - 28 - 2023 , 07:39 Stanbic Bank Ghana has presented a Massey Ferguson MF 375 tractor to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) to support this year's National Farmers Day celebration, which comes off on December 1, at Tarkwa in the Western Region. The tractor and accessories, worth GH560,000, is a sponsorship prize for the second runner-up of the National Best Farmer. Potential of agriculture Presenting documents covering the machine, the Manager for Communications at Stanbic Bank Ghana, Kojo Larbi, said the banks support for the sector was anchored on the potential of agriculture to improve food security and provide jobs for economic sustainability. At Stanbic Bank, our purpose is that Africa is our home, and it is our responsibility to drive her growth. Doing this requires us to support sectors that are critical in driving growth and even though it is supported by data, it is also common knowledge that agriculture is the anchor of Ghanas economy and has the potential to leapfrog the economy, he said. Continuous support Mr Larbi said across the continent, Standard Bank had been leading agribusinesses by making a real difference in reducing food insecurity, bridging the unemployment gap and helping to grow the GDPs in the countries it operated in. We do this by supporting our agribusiness clients through deep sector expertise and driving sustainable agriculture. Our commitment to Africas agriculture sector finds expression in our support to the agriculture value chain and assisting small-scale farmers to drive economic growth, job creation, poverty alleviation and food security. In Ghana, Stanbic Bank, through its agricultural proposition, has been working to improve the agriculture sector across the agribusiness value chains. With a deep understanding of the full range of activities within the sector, our knowledge-based approach has been aided by the deployment of smart digital solutions to scale up the state of agriculture, he said. Mr Larbi said beyond that, the bank also leveraged the experience of its parent organisation, the Standard Bank Group, in agriculture funding to assist in the rollout of enhanced agriculture services and initiatives. The bank also has support systems that augment the work of private extension officers in agriculture enterprise development. Massive investments in digitisation have proven useful in scaling the agribusiness value chain. The bank, through its digitisation drive, has been able to deploy remote sensing, digitisation of small loans and generate insights from data to gain deeper understanding of the sector. This is being done because Stanbic Bank regards itself not only as a financier, but also as an enabler and integral contributor to the development and transformation of agriculture, Mr Larbi stated. Touching on the support of the bank, Mr Larbi said in the course of the last 15 years, the bank had consistently played a pivotal role in supporting the National Farmers Day celebration. Receiving the documents, a Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture in charge of Crops, Yaw Frimpong Addo, described Stanbic Bank as a star sponsor and commended the company for its consistency in supporting the celebration of the National Farmers Day. While inviting the bank to the event at Tarkwa, the minister encouraged Stanbic to continue to do more, saying that the agriculture portfolio of the bank was remarkable. Take major decisions to reform or fold up - Prof. Essuman charges private varsities Emmanuel Bonney Nov - 28 - 2023 , 07:12 A professor of Education and Development, Prof. Ato Essuman, has warned of many private universities collapsing in the next five-10 years if they do not take major decisions to reform to meet contemporary demands. This .is a documentary review of the struggles of private universities in Ghana, which in many ways have reached crises point to the extent that if major policy actions and decisions are not taken to reform, reengineer and redirect their current operations that may enable them respond to the contemporary demands of the market, many will fold up in the next five-10 years. The truth is that the longer things stay as they are, the worse will be the positions of many, he said. Prof. Essuman, who is also the Founding Dean of the Faculty of Education and Entrepreneurship of the Methodist University Ghana, said this when he presented a paper at the Methodist University Ghana Public Lecture in Accra last Thursday. It was on the theme: Ghanas Private Universities In Crisis: Were They Founded As a Necessary Risk Or a Public Relation Gimmick? Time To Rethink The event attracted a host of dignitaries including the Chairman of the Council of State, Nana Otuo Siriboe II. Challenges Prof. Essuman, Dean of the School of Research and Graduate Studies and Professional Development of the Methodist University Ghana, said one difference between public and private universities in the country was while the public universities received state funding and employ seasoned full-time lecturers, and conduct significant amount of research, private universities were underfunded and exclusively dependent on student fees. Prof. Essuman said another challenge was high cost of affiliation fees charged by mentoring institutions. Mentoring institutions, he said were fleecing their mentees and that fees of all kinds were charged - affiliation fees, accreditation of programmes, number of students, graduation fees, certificates, transcripts, hiring of gowns and many more. Some of these fees are very exorbitant, but you'll have to pay if you don't want to be sanctioned. At the end of the day students are waiting for graduation. The watchman - Ghana Tertiary Education Commission is fully aware of this but watches on for such fleecing to be meted out on private universities, he said. Regulator Concomitant to the high rates of fees charged by mentoring institutions, he said was the high fees charged by the regulator itself. When we were young, and there were efficient public buses, children paid half of the fare price. Mentees pay the same rate for institutional accreditation and programme accreditation like their mentoring institutions. This, to me, is a punishment and in every three years, an institution will have to go back for re-accreditation. Why re-accreditation of programmes was changed from five to three years has not been explained, he said. Another problem, he said was the negative public perception by employers and the public. Prof. Essuman, who is also the Chairman of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) said some employers in both the public and private sector believed that graduates from private universities were substandard, inferior in quality compared with those from public universities. Moreover, he said competition from public universities was also a challenge. In addition, he said a challenge was programme offerings and weak linkage with industry. The Vice Chancellor of the Methodist University Ghana, Prof. Philip Ebow Bondzi-Simpson, who chaired the function, said the event was not a talkshop and that we would engage the policy makers to formulate appropriate policies for the improvement of our country. Volta Lake company marks safety day at Akosombo Haruna Yussif Wunpini Nov - 28 - 2023 , 09:07 The Volta Lake Transport Company Limited (VLTCL) has commemorated its 2023 health and safety awareness day at Akosombo in the Asuogyaman District in the Eastern Region. The annual event, which this year was on the theme: "Health and Safety Our Number One Core Value", is aimed at promoting the safety and well-being of its staff by enhancing their awareness and safety while on duty and other trends as pertains to the operations of the company. The company operates vessels which carry passengers and goods along the Volta Lake. It also operates a vessel which provides health services for communities along the Volta Lake. Core value Addressing staff on the premises of the company at Akosombo last Tuesday, the Managing Director of the VLTCL, Rose Appiah Okyere, said health and safety which was the priority of the company for its workers was also its core value which the workers must practice. To make it a reality, Mrs Okyere said the company had instituted a safety awareness day to be observed annually. hat, she explained, was to remind the workers of the company that it had signed on to protect them. Mrs Okyere, who said the safety awareness day celebrations started last year, indicated that it would be held each year. She said the companys station officers who were the safety coordinators had to go through safety training each month, after which they gave the head office at Akosombo periodic report on safety issues. The managing director said the company had not recorded any death of its workers through accidents and that the company was number one in terms of safety measures. She further stated that last year some loopholes in safety measures were identified in the companys operations which were being addressed to ensure maximum safety for the employees. Mrs Okyere stated that safety gadgets needed to ply the Volta Lake had been procured for the workers. She urged the workers not to take their health and safety for granted and hide behind cultural and religious beliefs that God would protect them, but instead play key roles in ensuring that they were safe. The Security and Safety Coordinator of the VLTCL, Gideon Budu Aleawobu, outlined safety measures that would be taken next year. That, he indicated, included improvement in safety standards, policies and controlling of job-related hazards, provision of personal protective equipment to all staff members, training in safety related issues, safety audit of all ports and stations, as well as developing the engineering and administrative control system to help protect workplace related hazards. Wenchi Diocese 20th anniversary service: Desire to grow into stature of Christ - Methodist Bishop to Christians Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah Nov - 28 - 2023 , 08:54 The Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church Ghana, Most Reverend Professor Paul Boafo, has admonished Christians to strive towards transformed lives powered by sound teachings. "The Methodist Christian desires to grow into the nature and stature of Christ. To this end we become mature, and no longer tossed by deceptive wind of teachings by cunning craftiness of men in the streets, airwaves and on televisions," he stated. Most Rev. Prof. Boafo gave this admonition in an address read on his behalf by the Lay President of the Church, Kwasi Atta-Antwi, during a special 20th anniversary thanksgiving service of the creation of the Wenchi Diocese at Wenchi last Saturday. The anniversary was celebrated on the theme: "Celebrating 20 years of Gods goodness and love as a diocese: Sustaining the transformed life in Jesus Christ." Most Rev. Boafo said the 20th anniversary of the Wenchi Diocese had come at a time when the Methodist Church was moving towards a strategic plan dubbed "Agenda for growth". He called for an intense teaching ministry based on the church's faith and doctrine as enshrined in the Holy Scriptures. Creation The Bishop of the Wenchi Diocese, Right Reverend Alfred Appiah Andam, said the diocese was carved out of the Sunyani Diocese in 2003. He said the diocese which started with seven dioceses now had 16 dioceses with 51 active ministers and 10 supernumeraries (retired ministers). He announced that efforts were being made towards the creation of another diocese out of the Wenchi Diocese with Techiman as its seat. That, according to him, was being done to ease the burden of the Wenchi Diocese, which stretched from Sampa to Kintampo and to the banks of the Black Volta and then from Tanoso, near Techiman to New Longoro and beyond. For his part, the Municipal Chief Executive of Wenchi, Alexander Obuor Damoah, acknowledged the immense contribution of the Methodist Church to people in the Wenchi Municipality. He said the church had 14 basic schools within the various communities, a senior high school and a campus of the Methodist University at Wenchi. That, Mr Damoah said, had gone a long way to empower a lot of people with the requisite qualifications that had enabled them to gain employment in the various sectors. He said the Methodist Church had contributed to health through the establishment of facilities in some communities and mentioned the Wenchi Methodist Hospital which currently catered for people beyond the borders of Ghana. Mr Damoah pledged that the Wenchi Municipal Assembly would always collaborate with the Wenchi Methodist Diocese to bring the desired development to people of the area. In a sermon, the Administrative Bishop of the Methodist Church Ghana, Right Reverend Michael Bossman, challenged Christians to study the word of God in order not to be blown away by the peddling of the adulterated gospel. Lands Minister launches E-jobs4All, programme to benefit 10,000 youth in mining regions Graphic.com.gh Nov - 28 - 2023 , 16:59 The National Alternative Employment and Livelihood Programme (NAELP) under the auspices of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has launched a new flagship programme, Entrepreneurship Jobs for All (Ejobs4All) for Ghanaian the Youth in the mining regions. Launching the module on Tuesday, 28th November, 2024, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Hon. Samuel A. Jinapor in his address described the project as part of governments initiative to provide decent jobs for the Youth who either reside or hail from the mining regions of the country. He said, the launch of the new module is a transformative initiative which has been made possible through the collaborative efforts of the National Alternative Employment and Livelihood Programme (NAELP), the Queens University, Leadogo Incorporated Canada, and the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Development Initiative (CEDI Ghana). Mr Jinapor outlined some efforts and far-reaching measures made by government since 2017, such as the declaration of water bodies as Red Zones, the ban on reconnaissance, prospecting and/or exploration in Forest Reserves, the procurement of speed boats to patrol rivers, and the launch of Operation Halt II to the reduce the impact of illegalities on our water bodies, Forest Reserves, lands, farms, and the environment. The Minister opined that through the Minerals Development Fund, and the other alternative livelihood programmes being implemented by the Minerals Commission, Government will continue to support the development of mining communities with revenue accruing from mining. "We are, also, engaging with mining companies to ensure that they contribute, meaningfully, to the development of their host communities". Ejobs4All, the Minister said is not just a slogan but a beacon of hope, a catalyst for change, and a commendable approach to addressing one of Ghanas most pressing challenges, unemployment. The Minister maintained that the second module is an initiative to empower the Ghanaian youth, foster innovation, and unleash the potential that lies within mining communities. The Coordinator, National Alternative Employment and Livelihood Programme for illegal Miners( NAELP), Dr Louise Carol Serwaa Donkor explained the module as an intersection of innovation, empowerment and sustainable development. She further stated that Ejobs4all stands as a testament to have adaptability and commitment to addressing contemporary challenges particularly the pressing issues of illegal mining and unemployment in an era where the global landscape is shaped by dynamic changes. She described the project as a leverage as not only the traditional strength of the mining sector but also integrating as cutting-edge practices that align with global trends, whiles ensuring that the youth are equipped to thrive in a rapidly changing world. The NAELP Coordinator used the platform to commended highly the various agencies, partners and visionaries who made the initiative possible. She said their efforts amplifies the resonance of their shared commitment. Mr. Kingsley Kwaku Pinkrah, the Founder and CEO for Centre for Entrepreneurship and Development Initiative (CEDI) Ghana, emphasized that the initiative does not solely address the adverse effects of illegal mining, instead, its primary focus is to establish avenues for sustainable livelihoods, fostering innovation, and empowering individuals to build businesses that positively contribute to their communities and the countrys economy. He indicated that, the expected outcomes of the project are nothing short of transformational, stressing that the vision includes the growth of businesses in mining regions, leading to job creation for those involved in illegal mining. There were goodwill messages in support of the innovative and impactful programme from other partners including, Mr. Matt Hawksley, Founder and CEO, Leaders In Doing Good (Leadogo)Inc. Canada and Prof. Greg Bavington, Executive Director, Queens University. The Entrepreneurship Jobs for All Programme is an initiative designed to directly address one of NAELP's core mandate which promotes sustainable and resilient businesses within mining communities which creates an environment that absorb the talents and ambitions of unemployed youth, actively contributing to the development of their respective regions. NMC initiates processes to suspend operations of Onua TV and Onua FM Enoch Darfah Frimpong Nov - 28 - 2023 , 17:57 The National Media Commission (NMC) has initiated processes aimed at suspending the frequency authorisations of Onua TV and Onua FM. The move according to the NMC follows what it describes as "persistently dangerous broadcast" by Onua TV and Onua FM, owned by Media General. Related: NMC issues final warning to Onua FM/TV and Captain Smart over inciteful broadcast Graphic Online has gathered the NMC has written to some institutional partners serving notice of the processes it has initiated towards the suspension of the frequency of Onua TV and Onua FM. The notice from the NMC to one institutional partner based on what Graphic Online has gathered states, "we believe our intervention to save the nation may have implications for your members and their clients who deal with the two stations. We therefore deem it necessary to inform you of our action to enable you advise the advertising community accordingly." "Our action is in line with our Memorandum of Cooperation agreed upon by stakeholders of the media industry including the Advertising Association of Ghana in April 2021 at Alisa Hotel and executed on June 15, 2021. We have attached correspondence relating to the matter for your records," it added. Background The NMC in a statement dated November 14, 2023 issued a final warning to Onua FM, Onua TV and one of the station's presenters, Captain Smart over the said inciteful broadcast. The NMC indicated that Onua had carried a broadcast in which Captain Smart directly insulted the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) and other Commanders of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) by describing them as beasts. Last week, November 24, the NMC in another statement announced that it had extended the final warning after which the commission said it may act without any further reference to Media General, owners of Onua FM and Onua TV. The extension of the deadline followed a response Onua FM/TV sent to the NMC in a letter dated November 20, 2023, Read also: Inciteful broadcast: Commission has power to take all appropriate measures against Onua FM,TV - NMC Captain Smart had claimed that the military officers embezzle monies meant for soldiers on peace keeping operations but offered no evidence to back his claims, the NMC stated. "This was as dangerous as it was unprofessional," the commission added. The commission in its letter made reference to a similar incident in 2022 where in a letter dated December 8, 2022, it drew the attention of Onua TV/FM to the use of the station to promote violence against the state and the managements lack of capacity to address same. The NMC said it was of concern that the behaviour persists after attention was drawn to it and the management was not instituting any measures for any internal gatekeeping to help prevent re-occurence. Writer's email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Follow @enochfrimpong Follow @Graphicgh Side chick case: Court throws out case against Sugar Daddy, awards GH10k cost against Seyram Justice Agbenorsi Nov - 28 - 2023 , 11:28 The High Court in Accra has dismissed the case filed by Deborah Seyram Adablah, the young woman who has sued a former Chief Finance officer of a bank claiming sexual harassment. In a ruling today (Nov 28) the Court presided over by Justice John Bosco Nabarese held that although the relationship between the two was immoral and was not in conformity to acceptance of society, there was no reasonable cause of action arising from the writ filed by Adablah. The court said the foundation of the relationship was one that the Court should not be invited to give judicial stamps to adding : You cannot recover the price of something you have committed into an immoral act. The plaintiff has been slapped with a cost of GH10, 000. The ruling comes after the former Chief Finance Officer of the bank filed an application urging the court to strike the case of Adablah. Background Deborah Seyram Adablah's suit, filed on Monday, January 23, 2023, alleged that Ernest Kwasi Nimako, whom she refers to as her "sugar daddy," made several promises to her. According to the plaintiff, Nimako agreed to buy her the car, pay for her accommodation for three years, provide a monthly stipend of GH3,000, marry her after divorcing his wife, and offer a lump sum to start a business. The plaintiff claimed that although the car was initially registered in Nimako's name, he later took it back, depriving her of its use after just a year. Additionally, she asserted that Nimako paid for only one year of accommodation, despite promising to cover three years. The plaintiff was seeking an order from the court directed at the sugar daddy to transfer the title of the car into her name, and also give her back the car. She is also asking the court to order the defendant to pay her the lump sum to enable her to start a business to take care of herself as agreed by the plaintiff and the defendant. Another relief is for the court to order the sugar daddy to pay the outstanding two years' accommodation as agreed between her and the defendant. Again, she wanted the court to order the defendant to pay her medical expenses as a result of a side effect of a family planning treatment the defendant told her to do in order not to get pregnant. Vaccination key to fighting AMR Health professionals Juliet Akyaa Safo Health Nov - 28 - 2023 , 08:32 Panellists at a dialogue to discuss Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) have said that the surest way to fight it was to focus on preventive measures such as vaccination and practising good hygiene in the communities and hospitals. They said disease-causing organisms usually cannot resist vaccines. The panellists made this known when the FOCOS Orthopaedic Hospital marked the World AMR Awareness Week in Accra on November 24. It was on the theme Preventing antimicrobial resistance together. The panellists were the Head of Medical Services at FOCOS Orthopaedic Hospital, Dr Francis Addai; the Head of National Public Health and Reference Laboratory at the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Gifty Boateng, and the Head of Pharmacy at FOCOS Orthopaedic Hospital, Benjamin Ampadu. The rest were a health representative, Michael Akaadom; a Public Health Nurse Specialist at FOCOS, Bismark Adams, and a Nurse Manager in charge of Inspection and Prevention at FOCOS, Claudia Wireko-Tei. They said AMR, which was on the rise and is now a public threat, occurs when bacteria change and become resistant to the antibiotics used to treat the infections they cause. AMR, they said, can be caused by the misuse and overuse of antibiotics, poor infection control in hospitals and clinics, unfinished treatment, overuse of antibiotics in animal farming, lack of hygiene and poor sanitation and the lack of new antibiotics being developed. Vaccines Mr Adams said Vaccines can block the pathways or transmissions of viruses and pathogens and stimulate the bodies to produce antibodies which can recognise the organisms in the body and then make them inactive, he said. Mrs Wireko-Tei, meanwhile, said it was crucial to prevent infections by practising personal hygiene and making a conscious effort to change behaviours such as segregating waste in hospitals. Dr Addai similarly said AMR was a threat to gains made in surgeries. He urged the public to adhere to the prescription, its duration and frequency. Laboratories Dr Boateng called for laboratories to be strengthened to allow the release of results in good time for effective monitoring and evaluation. She stated that a five-year AMR policy which was developed in 2017 to fight AMR prevalence had ended, but added that the Ministry of Health would, next year, develop a new policy with an action plan to fight the AMR. Mr Ampadu urged the public to desist from self-medication and seek professional help whenever they are ill. Mr Akaado also said the pharmaceutical industry was doing research and development to come up with newer agents and vaccines. He said they were also collaborating with institutions and agencies to ensure that medications received by patients were not substandard but of excellent quality. Infections The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FOCOS Hospital, Dr Irene Adorkor Wulff, said AMR makes treating infections harder. She said resistance has been reported in TB infections, malaria, HIV, and influenza, and more alarming is the increasing resistance to last-resort medications. She said following the call by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to get involved in AMR stewardship, the hospital was using lifesaving medications the right way. Help nip religious politics in the bud - UN to NCCE Timothy Ngnenbe Politics Nov - 28 - 2023 , 07:50 The Political and Peace Building Affairs Department of the United Nations has thrown its weight behind the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) to scale up its public education of citizens to ensure that religious and ethnicity sentiments do not disturb the countrys peace during and after the 2024 general election. A Senior Political Affairs Officer of the Department, Ecoma Alaga, who made the call, said the countrys peaceful environment and democratic gains could be derailed if religious sentiments were allowed to permeate the electoral system. Ms Alaga, who is in the country to engage key state and non-state institutions on peace and security, said it had emerged from discussions with various stakeholders that the creeping in of religion in the 2024 election was a major concern. "We have heard it come out of our engagement with other stakeholders such as political parties and civil society organisations (CSOs). There should be civic awareness around this area beyond the 2024 election because it is better to nip it in the bud early than leave it to gain traction," she said. Ms Alaga made the call when she led a team from the UN Ghana office to pay a courtesy call on the Chairperson of the NCCE in Accra last Friday. She explained that her presence at the NCCE was part of a routine familiarisation visit to countries in West Africa in relation to peace and security issues. Ms Alaga said the UN Ghana office had already rolled out interventions aimed at promoting peace and security in the country, especially in the lead up to the 2024 election. Commitment In response to the UN official's call to stamp religion out of the political space, the NCCE Chairperson, Kathleen Addy, said the commission would go all lengths to create awareness of the dangers of such a development. She said while it was unhealthy for elections to be characterised by violence and tense moments, it was even dire to allow religion to wade into the already fragile political turf. Ms Addy said the NCCE would leverage its presence across the 16 regions and 216 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) to educate citizens on the need to stay away from political figures who used religion as a campaign tool. The Director of Programmes at the NCCE, Dr Imurama Mohammed, said the commission had put in place a civic education strategy heading into next year's election. He said as part of the strategy, the commission had started holding consultative visits to political parties and other stakeholders. Again, he said inter-party dialogue committees constituted across all districts would be reinvigorated to help promote peace during the election. Women empowerment my priority Joana Gyan Zadok Kwame Gyesi Politics Nov - 28 - 2023 , 08:10 The National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for Amenfi Central constituency in the Western Region, Joana Gyan, has said she will focus on women empowerment through financial literacy when voted for as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the 2024 general election. She further indicated her readiness to use her influence and lobbying skills to attract investors, businesses, and development to the area. In an interview with the Daily Graphic last Friday, Ms Gyan explained that promoting financial literacy among women was essential for their personal growth, economic stability, and the overall development of communities and nations. Roads Ms Gyan said when voted into office, she would help to improve the road network in the Amenfi Central constituency, pointing out that a well-designed road network was critical for the efficient movement of people, goods, and services within an area, particularly an area like hers, which contributed so much to the national kitty. She expressed the concern that the Amenfi Central, as a gold-rich constituency, had many terrible roads, a situation, she noted, had contributed to the underdevelopment of the area and was also scaring away investors. For her, when the road network in the constituency was improved, it would attract more investment to the area as business owners would be able to easily connect to their businesses. Job creation Ms Gyan said she would also embark on aggressive initiatives to help create jobs in the constituency, pointing out that currently, she had opened a block factory, which had employed 40 people directly. She noted that unemployment remained a major challenge in the country and needed pragmatic policies such as the 24-hour economy as proposed by the leader of the NDC, former President John Dramani Mahama, to help address the situation. She, for instance, observed that when agriculture was given the needed attention in her area and other places, it could provide vast job creation avenues for people. She said she had spoken to some foreign investors in HungaryAgroFeed who had agreed to train farmers in her constituency when elected as MP. Education/projects Ms Gyan also pledged to enhance education in her constituency, particularly to assist brilliant needy students to pursue higher education. She said, currently, she had provided financial support for a number of her constituents to pursue higher education, encouraging students in her area to prioritise their education. Concerning health care, she said, she would construct at least three CHPS compounds, community durbar centres, and school blocks in her constituency before the 2024 election. I want Amenfi Central to develop like other constituencies in the country, she stated. To enable her constituents to access her, Ms Gyan said she would create an office in her constituency to enable her people to easily get her, pledging that she would commit all her four-year salary to the development of the area. Mahama fires back at Prez. Akufo-Addo over criticism of NDC youth's machete display GraphicOnline Politics Nov - 28 - 2023 , 16:44 Former Ghanaian President John Mahama has responded to President Nana Akufo-Addo's criticism of National Democratic Congress (NDC) youth brandishing machetes at Mahama's office. President Akufo-Addo condemned the actions, stating that such behaviour has no place in the lead-up to the 2024 elections. In a tweet on Tuesday, Mahama labelled President Akufo-Addo a hypocrite for not addressing the deaths of eight Ghanaians during the 2020 general elections. Mahama referenced the violence at Ayawaso West Wuogon and accused the president of lacking sympathy for those who lost their lives in state-sponsored violence. "This is a bit rich, coming from a President who superintended the mayhem at Ayawaso West Wuogon and has not had a word of sympathy for the families of our 8 compatriots who died from state-sponsored violence in the 2020 elections." Meanwhile, the NDC clarified that the machetes in the hands of party youths around Mahama's office were not intended for malicious purposes but were tools for a cleanup exercise. The NDC's Deputy National Communications Officer, Malik Basintale urged the president to focus on condemning instances of violence during the 2020 elections. AfricaCom: 5G is key to Africas business success GraphicOnline Technology Nov - 28 - 2023 , 14:19 The importance of 5G to Africas business success was underlined this week at the 2023 Africa 5G Summit (run as part of the sixth Southern Africa Mobile Broadband [MBB] VIP Salon). The summit was hosted by Huawei and took place during AfricaCom, the continents largest technology conference. It brought together industry leaders, regional government regulators, and representatives from industry organisations to share their 5G development strategies and industry experience. The theme of this years summit was "5G Lights Up Africa Together Towards Business Success". Among the topics discussed were how operators in Southern Africa can continuously build value-added networks for 5G, how they can improve the 5G network experience, accelerate fixed wireless access (FWA) industry development, and achieve 5G business success. Richard Liu, President of Global Carrier Marketing & Solution Sales Dept of Huawei, opened the summit with a keynote speech titled, "Dream Africa's 5G Prosperity, Build an Inclusive Digital Cornerstone". In the speech, he called for continuous localised innovation in Africa and for players across the sector to work together to build a digital Africa. The remarkable intergenerational capabilities of 5G networks are accelerating the development of the ICT industry, and also stimulating huge innovation momentum, changing our lives and society, he said. Global operators with a firm 5G strategy have achieved business success, he added. To achieve Africas 5G prosperity dream, it is recommended to build a digital Africa via three inclusive innovations: inclusive ecosystems, inclusive services and inclusive networks. These innovations can be achieved by maturing the 5G terminal ecosystem, developing FWA services and building 4G/5G synergy network, build a solid digital foundation of Africa. Thabisa Faye, Director and Chairman of the 5G Council Committee of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), delivered an insightful speech on the value of spectrum in Africa. 3.6 million jobs is what they say can be derived out of the mobile industry, either directly or indirectly, she said. When we look quite closely at the African scenario and more specifically the sub-Saharan region, we can see that traffic has grown quite significantly. Zoltan Miklos, General Manager of Access and Architecture, MTN South Africa, shared the Ambition 2025 development strategy for the mobile network. He pointed out that 5G is the key strength to overcome macro and industry context and the core of ambition 2025 strategy. MTN South Africa will adopt digital solutions that lead Africa's progress and strive to build the best 5G network and provide excellent user experience. In particular, he pointed to the need to create solutions that cater to the lived reality of African customers. If you look at the 5G system, a large proportion of users are on post-paid, he said. Whats quite important and what weve done is we dont limit 5G between prepaid and post-paid. From a network perspective, every user on this network is actually provisioned for 5G. James Langat, Director of regional network implementation and operations at Safaricom, delivered a speech introducing Safaricom's wireless home broadband strategy and also spoke about the opportunities that 5G offers. The first opportunity, of course, is that we deliver 5G MBB (mobile broadband) to our users and we have a growing number of our users adopting 5G, he said. Alan Loh, Executive General Manager of Innovative Solutions at Zain Saudi Arabia, shared the companys 5G business success results. He explained that Zain has become a global leader in 5G FWA by focusing on three core areas: leading services, leading network experience, and leading technologies in the 5G era. Abdul Malik Ahmed, Senior Manager of the Fixed Broadband Marketing Dept of MTN Nigeria, shared MTN Nigeria's "Own THE HOME" wireless home broadband strategy, including FWA/FTTx technologies and future network construction plans. He said that FWA is the main driving force for home broadband growth. The "Own THE HOME" wireless home broadband strategy will continue to develop 4G/5G FWA and FTTH services to win home broadband customers. MTN Nigeria, he added, will continue to enable Nigeria's future digital transformation through 5G. Finally, Calvin Govender, EBU General Manager of MTN South Africa, delivered a keynote speech entitled, "5G Accelerating Digital Transformation in South Africa". Within the speech, he outlined how transformative 5G is across the entire value chain, including for consumers. 5G looks at a rich experience across the segments, he said. At a consumer level, youll feel the 5G speed. Youll be able to unlock applications and services that you could not do on the 4G network. Kenechi Okeleke, Regional, Social and Policy Research Director of GSMA Intelligence, shared insights on the future development trends and opportunities of 5G FWA services in Africa. The Africa 5G Summit ended with the release of a white paper titled "5G FWA in Africa, Emerging Trends and Opportunities" by the GSMA Intelligence. The Guam Supreme Court rejected arguments that COVID-19 protocols prevented a man from getting a fair trial in a May 2020 homicide case. Juan Faisao Mendiola was convicted of manslaughter as a first-degree felony with a special allegation of using a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony. In January 2022, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for shooting and killing Peter John Rios at Taitano Apartments in Mongmong. Mendiola appealed his sentence, arguing that COVID-19 protocols in place at Superior Court in 2021 deprived him of his right to a public trial. He also said prosecutors impermissibly injected Guams Castle Doctrine into the proceedings, and because of that, Mendiolas self-defense claim was not disproved beyond a reasonable doubt. The Castle Doctrine allows people to defend themselves in their homes. On the morning of May 4, 2020, Mendiola was hanging out and talking with a neighbor who went to her apartment to sleep. Although she told Mendiola she was too tired to go fishing, he later showed up at her place with fishing gear and found Rios in the apartment. Mendiola went to his vehicle, got a gun and returned to the apartment, but Rios would not let him in, according to court documents. Another person went to the apartment, and Rios let her inside. Mendiola told Rios he did not want trouble, he just wanted to take the woman fishing. With the door partially open, Mendiola stepped far enough inside to place a fishing pole against the wall, and Rios produced a knife. Mendiola drew the firearm. He told police that when Rios lung[ed] at him, he pointed the weapon at [Rioss] chest and fired a single shot, court documents stated. Mendiolas shot hit Rios in the chest, and Rios stumbled back against the coffee table and fell to his knees. Rios swung the knife again, and when Mendiola couldnt take the knife away, he fired a second shot. Mendiola was indicted on a charge of murder as a first-degree felony. He successfully filed a motion preventing prosecutors from using the Castle Doctrine to build a case on the presumption that Rios was justified in using the knife against Mendiola, according to court documents. Because of health protocols in place at the time, jury selection took place at an ancillary courtroom with limited attendance, and trial took place in a modified courtroom with a socially distanced jury. The trial proceedings were broadcast live. Mendiola objected at the time, and subsequently moved for a new trial, arguing the Superior Courts COVID-19 protocols caused the jury selection and trial to proceed without the public, in violation of the United States Constitution, the Organic Act of Guam, and Guam law. Prosecutors argued health and safety concerns required the revised measures. The motion was rejected at a hearing after the court temporarily paused the trial to make several changes to the broadcast process. The broadcast issues were fully resolved once the trial resumed, and no additional complaints were made to the court once these changes were made. Mendiola was found guilty of the lesser included manslaughter charge, which carried a 15-year sentence, and he got a 10-year sentence for using a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony. The sentences were to run consecutively. In its ruling upholding the conviction, the Supreme Court noted that the court erred in how it handled the jury selection process. Preventing the public from accessing the voir dire process was not narrowly tailored to the public health crisis at hand, justices wrote. This was error. However, Mendiola did not make a timely objection to that error, and nothing in the record suggests the exclusion of the public led to any unfairness or deviation from established procedures, affected the public interest in the administration of justice, or somehow made the jurors less attuned to the importance of their function. Unlike the voir dire situation, the Supreme Court found the restrictions in place during the trial were narrowly tailored to an overriding public health interest, and the trial court considered reasonable alternatives and made adequate findings. As for the Castle Doctrine, the Supreme Court stated that the jury was properly instructed on the Peoples burden to disprove self-defense, and that the People offered sufficient evidence for the jury to have found Mendiola did not act in self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt. The conviction was affirmed. "What's in the Air: The Great Vape Debate" will be from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 29, in the Class Lecture Hall of the University of Guam. In my 13.5 years with the National Weather Service on Guam, there are three questions I get asked more frequently than others: Is there a typhoon coming? Is it going to rain this weekend? Who names the typhoons? Ill focus on that third question this week since Im writing from Bangkok, Thailand, attending the annual United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific/World Meteorological Organization-Typhoon Committees 18th Integrated Workshop, or simply, 18th IWS. I am here with four of my NWS colleagues from Guam and Hawaii, representing the United States. The Typhoon Committee is comprised of 14 member nations, made up of Cambodia, China, DPR Korea, Hong Kong China, Japan, Lao PDR, Macao China, Malaysia, Philippines, RO Korea, Singapore, Thailand, U.S., and Vietnam. The Typhoon Committee, an intergovernmental body established in 1968, is made up of five working groups: Meteorology, Hydrology, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Training and Research, and the Advisory Working Group. The U.S. joined the Typhoon Committee in 1998. Since my start with the Typhoon Committee in 2019, Ive had the honor of serving as the vice chair of the DRR Working Group. The IWS was last held in person on Guam in 2019. That was our first time hosting the workshop on Guam. Since then, the annual workshop had been held virtually due to the COVID pandemic. Read more about the Typhoon Committee on the web at www.typhooncommittee.org. The Typhoon Committee took over the responsibility of creating and maintaining the list of tropical cyclone names for the western North Pacific in 2000. Thats after Hong Kong, in 1997, proposed using Asian and local names for the Asia-Pacific region. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center, JTWC, had this responsibility prior to the Typhoon Committee. The Japan Meteorological Agency, JMA, is responsible for assigning a name to a tropical cyclone. They do this when theyve analyzed a tropical cyclone to be at tropical storm intensity. JMA simply selects the next name on the Typhoon Committees list of names, which is made up of five columns, with 28 names in each column. Two for each country, and alphabetical order by country. Why the JMA? JMA serves as the Regional Specialized Meteorological Center, RSMC, for tropical cyclones in the western North Pacific. The NWS Central Pacific Hurricane Center is the RSMC for the Central Pacific, and the National Hurricane Center is the RSMC for the Atlantic Ocean and the Eastern Pacific. NWS Guam works closely with JTWC for tropical cyclone track and intensity forecasts. Our tropical cyclone forecasts, watches and warnings follow closely with the JTWC information. As such, there are occasions that we will issue NWS Guam public advisories on a Tropical Storm xxW with x being a number assigned to a tropical cyclone. This would indicate that JTWC has analyzed a tropical cyclone as a tropical storm-intense system, whereas JMA still analyzes the same system as a tropical depression. On the other hand, its possible that we could have a named tropical depression. This would mean that JMA has analyzed a tropical cyclone as being a tropical storm, but JTWC is maintaining tropical depression intensity. Tropical cyclone names are retired if/when that particular tropical cyclone causes significant damage or casualty. The country that owns the name being retired, is then required to submit three replacement names to be vetted by the Typhoon Committee. The requirements for name submissions include: No more than nine letters; easy to pronounce on radio and television; no negative implication in the languages of contributors; should not cause difficulties for any contributor; and should not be commercial brand names. Do you know any of the names contributed by the United States? Our names from the U.S. include contributions from the Marshall Islands, Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia. Some of the names are: Maria, Francisco, Omais, Roke, Lan (I did not suggest that one), Sinlaku, Nanmadol, Soulik, Mitag and Rai (currently being retired and replaced). Now that we have the naming process figured out, lets talk about numbers. A tropical disturbance, or a persistent area of showers and thunderstorms, will be assigned a number between 90 and 99 with a W at the end (such as 95W). Formally known as an Invest or Invest 95W, this means a tropical disturbance has additional resources invested into its observation and analysis for possible development. Essentially, this disturbance is under investigation. If this disturbance intensifies and becomes a tropical depression, its number will change from the assigned 90s number to a new one, such as 17W. This means that this new depression is the 17th tropical cyclone of the year. The W indicates the western North Pacific basin. All typhoons begin as a tropical disturbance, but not all tropical disturbances become typhoons. Now that we are all experts on the naming of tropical cyclones, the hard part is pronouncing all of them correctly. Fortunately, you can find phonetic recordings of the contributed names on the Typhoon Committee web page. Looking ahead to the remainder of this week and the IWS, I am excited to meet with my counterparts from across the Asia-Pacific region. Our discussions focus on knowledge sharing and capacity building, with a central topic this year on Early Warnings for All. The dialogue and discussion between members is key to thinking outside the box in regards to communications, education, outreach and preparedness. We all have something to give, and we also have something to learn from each other. And the best part: All members from 14 countries having civil and productive conversations. By Sharon Lurye | Associated Press SPRINGFIELD, La. Arliya Martin accepted her high school diploma with relief and gratitude. It was her ticket to better-paying work, she felt, after getting kicked out of high school and toiling for eight years at factory jobs to support her children. This is a new path for me to get on with my life, she said. But Martin didnt take any classes or pass any tests to receive her degree. She got it in July from a school where students can get a high school diploma for $465. Unlike public schools, formal home-schooling programs or traditional private schools, nearly 9,000 private schools in Louisiana dont need state approval to grant degrees. Nearly every one of those unapproved schools was created to serve a single home-schooling family, but some have buildings, classrooms, teachers and dozens of students. While unapproved schools account for a small percentage of the states students, those in Louisianas off-the-grid school system are a rapidly growing example of the nations continuing fallout from COVID-19: families disengaging from traditional education. U.S. public school enrollment fell by more than 1.2 million students in the first two years of the pandemic. Many switched to private school or told their state they were home-schooling. Thousands of others could not be accounted for at all, according to an analysis from The Associated Press and its partners. The students in Louisianas off-the-grid school system arent missing. But theres no way to tell what kind of education theyre getting, or whether theyre getting one at all. Over 21,000 students are enrolled in the states unapproved schools, nearly double the number from before the pandemic, according to data obtained through a public records request by the AP and The Advocate, a partner news outlet in Louisiana. To supporters of the system, avoiding state oversight is entirely the point. Advocates say Louisianas unapproved schools are a natural extension of the doctrine of parental rights. The place where Martin got her diploma, Springfield Preparatory School, bills itself as an umbrella school for Christian home-schoolers. Most students there do attend the school to work toward an education through actual classes or tutoring. However, principal Kitty Sibley Morrison is also willing to grant a diploma to anyone whose parents say they were home-schooled, even years earlier. Sometimes it takes two or three times to explain to them that they are free, Sibley Morrison said. Their parents are in charge of them, not the state. Salutatorian Alasia Baker, 17, foreground, stands next to fellow graduates, including Khyli Barbee, 15, left, before a graduation ceremony for Springfield Preparatory School at Victory in Christ church in Holden, Louisiana, on Aug. 5, 2023. Nearly 9,000 private schools in Louisiana dont need state approval to grant degrees.Matthew Hinton | The Associated Press Louisianas hands-off option for home-schooling Sibley Morrison says she is not selling diplomas, but rather lifetime services for home-schooling families. Were not here to make money, she said. Yet a list of prices is taped to the front window of the school building: $250 for diploma services, a $50 application fee, $35 for a diploma cover and $130 to walk in a cap and gown at a ceremony. The number of students in unapproved private schools like Springfield has nearly doubled, from around 11,600 in the 2017-2018 school year to over 21,000 in 2022-2023, according to state records. Theres precious little information available about these schools, which the state calls nonpublic schools not seeking state approval. To start one, an adult must only report their schools name and address, their contact information and how many students they have. Some schools have whimsical names such as the Ballerina Jedi Academy and the Unicorn Princess School. Others proclaim their independence with names like Freedom First. Most of the schools are tiny, single-family home schools. However, last year, 30 of Louisianas unapproved schools reported they had at least 50 children enrolled. There is no way for the government to verify safety, quality or even whether a school exists, said Laura Hawkins, a former state Department of Education official who worked on its school choice efforts up to 2020. The department warns parents on its website that it cannot confirm whether these organizations even meet the legal definition of a school. We didnt want to give parents or anyone a false sense that we knew anything about these schools, should they exist, Hawkins said, that we could attest to their safety, that we could attest to their actual educational program, anything. Louisiana has two options for home-schooling. Parents who want their child to receive a state-recognized high school diploma can apply for the official home study program. They must submit documentation such as test scores or copies of the students work to show their child has received 180 days of schooling at the same quality as a public schools. The state-recognized diploma is more widely accepted by colleges and allows students to qualify for a popular in-state scholarship program. Alternately, families can set up their own private school without asking for state approval. There are no requirements to prove a child is getting an education. In fact, these schools dont even have to submit the names of the students who are attending. At least two unapproved institutions have had abuse scandals, but the state Department of Education says it has no authority to do anything in response. By law, the LDOE does not have oversight over these schools, said Louisiana Department of Education spokesperson Ted Beasley. One of the most infamous is T.M. Landry in Breaux Bridge. A 2018 New York Times investigation found the school abused kids and made up transcripts to get students into Ivy League schools. It was still open as of last school year with 15 children, according to state records. Another unapproved school in Baton Rouge, Second Chance Academy, has come under scrutiny since its head teacher was arrested on charges of sexually abusing students. Louisianas unapproved private schools came into being in 1980 when Christian ministers who ran small private schools joined forces with the budding home-school movement to push for the deregulation of private education. Lawmakers eliminated the requirement for private schools to have at least 50 students and state-certified teachers. Opponents have tried on multiple occasions to get the law repealed but faltered in the face of lobbying efforts from Christian home-school groups. Today, over a dozen states allow families to open a private school as a form of home-schooling, including California, Illinois and Texas, according to the Home School Legal Defense Association. Around half the states require those schools to teach basic subjects such as math and reading; Louisiana isnt one of them. Parent Harper Mumford, right, gets help setting out food from students Veda Mumford, left, and Vivian Hughes at Springfield Preparatory School in Springfield, Louisiana, on July 27, 2023. Scott Threlkeld | The Associated Press I take their word for it Springfield Preparatory consists of two low-slung buildings on Springfields main street. One is an office, the other a former restaurant space where Sibley Morrisons daughter and other teachers lead classes on art, music and more. State records say 250 students attend, though Sibley Morrison said the school doesnt really keep count. Some home-schooling families come for art or science, others for services like career guidance, test prep and explanation and support in their parental rights, said Sibley Morrison. Some, such as Arliya Martin, go straight for a diploma. Kicked out of high school during 10th grade for what she said was self-defense during an altercation, Martin tried a military-style program for at-risk youths, but finished without her GED. At 17, I was already by myself. I had my son at 18, and it was just work, work, work, she said. Then, this summer, she met Sibley Morrison. At 75, Sibley Morrison has been involved in home-school education since the 1970s and says her mission is to provide an alternative to the godless public education system. Within days of meeting Sibley Morrison, Martin visited her office and had a diploma in her hand. The document was backdated to 2015, when she would have graduated high school. It also said she had completed a program for graduation approved by the Louisiana Board of Education, which isnt true. After inquiries from AP, Sibley Morrison said there had been a mistake and that the document would be corrected. Signs at the school advertise state-approved diplomas, even though the state has not approved anything about the school. Sibley Morrison says she can use those words because she encourages each family in her program to simultaneously sign up for the state-approved home study program. She says the diploma recognizes the value of educational experiences outside the classroom. I think youre working the oil field, youre working the McDonalds, all of that is just as valid as what the classroom was, Sibley Morrison said. Thats my point, and thats why I sleep well at night because I feel good about the parents having alternatives in raising their children. After learning later that her diploma is not approved by the state and might not be accepted by some colleges, Martin said she did not feel deterred. Friends and family members have gotten diplomas from the same school and gone on to college and successful careers, she said. In Sibley Morrisons view, parents are the only people who get to decide if and when someone was sufficiently educated. When parents say, My child is ready to go into the real world I take their word for it, Sibley Morrison said. Angela Grimberg, the executive director of the Coalition for Responsible Home Education, pointed out Louisiana law states that parents who want state approval must apply within 15 days of starting home-schooling. Backdating a diploma that claims to be state-approved would thus be fraudulent, Grimberg said. Beasley, the Department of Education spokesperson, said diplomas generally cannot be awarded retroactively. Asked if any government agency has authority to take action if a school sells diplomas, Beasley suggested making a report to the state attorney generals consumer protection division. The attorney generals office did not respond to a request for comment. Student Regan White, 10, uses a colorful abacus at Springfield Preparatory School in Springfield, Louisiana, on July 27, 2023. Nearly 9,000 private schools in Louisiana dont need state approval to grant degrees. Nonapproved schools make up a small percentage of the state total. But the students in Louisianas off-the-grid school system are a rapidly growing example of the national fallout from COVID-19 families disengaging from traditional education.Scott Threlkeld | The Associated Press Souring on public education A diverse spectrum of families have come under Springfield Preps umbrella, united by the feeling that public school just does not work for them. Among others, there are families who want more flexibility and freedom, students sick of unfair discipline and post-pandemic chaos, and conservative parents who disapprove of books assigned in public school. Jamie Vander Meulen thought public school wouldnt be a good fit for her three daughters, who all have dyslexia, so she started her own unapproved private school. Her girls learn with her in the morning and then take enrichment classes at Springfield, dabbling in everything from harp to Irish dance. Theyve also participated in a home-schooling co-op hosted at Springfield. Vander Meulens 8-year-old girl, Ruby, described school as really fun, artsy and magical. Her daughter Rose, 12, said she likes that she can learn at her own pace and spend more time on topics she loves, including science and World War II. You learn it and you can keep doing it, so it stays in your brain, Rose said. Some of those science classes are taught by Harper Mumford, another mom in the co-op. Mumford says other parents thought she was crazy when she started home-schooling. But since the pandemic, families have less trust in public school. Before, it seemed more of like a cooperation between schools and parents for education, she said. Then I think when those mandates started happening, it didnt seem so much as a cooperative effort. Khyli Barbee, 15, celebrated her graduation from Springfield Prep in August with 22 other students. She said her public high school in Biloxi, Mississippi, had become crazy since the pandemic, with rampant bullying and drug use. I just wanted to hurry up and get out of school, she said. She didnt have to take any classes to get a diploma: You just paid to walk. On the July day when Sibley Morrison handed Martin her diploma, she advised her on next steps, describing scholarships she could use to go to community college. If you want our help, Sibley Morrison said, you just come on back over here and well help. Yall seem like good people who know how to help, Martin said. So I will be back. Charles Lussier of The Advocate contributed from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Associated Press education team receives support from the Carnegie Corp. of New York. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Haiti - Politic : For massive participation of women in the next elections Monday, November 27, 2023, at the Karibe Convention Center hotel at the initiative of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), Sofia Loreus Minister for the Status of Women was at the heart of a round table, held for the women leaders of women's and feminist organizations, women from the political sector, the private business sector and the academic sector, among others. This round table aimed to reflect on the participation of women in the next electoral contests, their role and their involvement in political parties and civil society. During these discussions, the Minister and the Head of BINUH pleaded for a massive involvement of women in the political question in Haiti in order to occupy the place that is due to them in society. In her speech, the head of BINUH, Mrs. Maria Isabel Salvador invited female leaders to get more involved so that a critical mass of women can participate in the next elections with a view to running for decision-making positions. Further, Ms. Salvador stressed that elections for the reestablishment of democratic institutions will not be possible without security conditions being restored in the country. According to Minister Loreus, eliminating obstacles and creating opportunities for Haitian women requires a coordinated effort on the part of the State, civil society and the international community. Stressing that the time has come to implement common and innovative strategies to counter obstacles to effective participation and work for the success of women in elections. At the end of these meetings, marked by a very lively debate, recommendations were made to remedy the problem of the participation of women in political affairs and the restoration of the security climate in the country: Creation of a law on civil society; need for women to get involved in politics and participate massively in the next elections; carrying out an awareness campaign on citizenship education; need for political parties and civil society organizations to collaborate and cooperate; harmonization of actions at the level of women's organizations with a view to strengthening their capacity and constituting an essential force in the country's politics, promotion of education and training for women, are, among others, some of these recommendations. HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - Education : Towards libraries in public and private schools in the country Nesmy Manigat, the Minister of National Education and several Haitian publishing houses (Henri Deschamps, Pedagogie Nouvelle S.A., Impressions des Antilles, C3 Editions, Kopivit, Editions Lorquet, Universite Caraibes) agreed to launch at the beginning of the month December 2023 an initiative aimed at gradually providing public and private schools with libraries in the 10 Departmental Directorates of Education (DDE). An initiative that remains open to other publishing partners. Manigat informs his interlocutors of the data from the 2022 National Assessment (ENA2022) relating to the low reading ability of students. During this meeting, all participants highlighted the importance of reading in the successful development of the school careers of children and young people, and in the development of their imagination, their sense of creativity and their reasoning. According to them, the child who reads quality and understands what he reads opens up to others, opens up to the world while participating, without it seeming so at first glance, has his own training. Each publishing house shared the experience conducted in two or three educational establishments, in Port-au-Prince and in the provinces; experiment which showed how the playful introduction of children, from a very young age, to reading is decisive in their academic performance. Furthermore, the participants unanimously insisted on the need to make room within the framework of this initiative for preschool instructors, primary and secondary school teachers, given that it is their responsibility, by their profession, to introduce the children reading: passive reading, indicative reading, active reading, exploratory reading, analytical reading, pleasure reading, etc. To make this initiative viable, its outlines will be clarified shortly, in a partnership protocol between the Ministry and publishing houses. HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - News : Zapping... Bandits attack from the sea On the night of Sunday, November 26, 2023, armed bandits attacked "ca-Ira", a coastal town of Leogane, from the sea. They took away two boats belonging to the NGO "Food for the Poor", a motorcycle and looted houses and shops according to testimonies from residents of the area. Kenya needs 5,000 men In his speech to the European Parliament on November 21, 2023, the President of Kenya, William Ruto, spoke of the need for around 5,000 men for the Multinational Security Support Mission (MMSS) in Haiti, to deal with gangs criminals who control part of the country (estimated at least 9,000 men). Ruto said "EU support will be key to strengthening the initiative, providing it with the necessary resources and legitimacy." Mariani : A Minibus in the wrong place, at least 6 injured Monday, November 27, 2023, a minibus crossing Mariani was caught in the crossfire of a clash between armed bandits and law enforcement At least 6 passengers were injured and rushed to the Sainte Croix hospital in Leogane. Passing of Herard Jadotte The Ministry of Culture and Communication salutes the memory of the writer, thinker, university professor and publisher Herard Jadotte, who died on Sunday November 26, 2023. The Ministry presents its sincere condolences to the family of Mr. Jadotte, his colleagues, friends and students. Attack at Carrefour Feuilles, 6 dead At least 6 dead and several injured, some seriously in Carrefour when armed individuals attacked the neighborhood over the weekend, torturing, killing and burning the bodies of their victims while others were kidnapped. Displaced people should not attempt to return home due to the lack of police presence in the area. Border : Non-negotiable biometric registration Biometric registration in the border area for passage into Dominican territory of Haitian traders who participate in binational markets is "non-negotiable and is here to stay" reaffirmed President Abinader, recalling that this measure is part of the design of the new national security strategy. HL/ HaitiLibre Published on 2023/11/27 | Source TV CHOSUN's new weekend miniseries "My Happy Ending" with Jang Nara unveiled two main posters that herald different mysteries and narratives. Advertisement TV CHOSUN's new weekend miniseries "My Happy Ending", which will premiere on December 30th, is a human psychological thriller drama in which a woman who only pursues success facing a shocking truth due to the betrayal of people she believed in. In particular, actors with reliable acting skills, such as Jang Nara, Son Ho-jun, So Yi-hyun, Lee Ki-taek, Kim Hong-pa, and Park Ho-san, are joining forces, raising the expectation of the birth of a well-made 'human psychological thriller'. In this regard, "My Happy Ending" is attracting attention by introducing a 'main poster' that heralds the unprecedented transformation of Jang Nara. In the first poster, Jang Nara, who plays Seo Jae-won, a self-made CEO who leads the household furniture brand Dreve, with hundreds of billions of sales, and an influencer with a million followers, looks straight ahead with strong eyes as if showing her determination. The second poster depicts Seo Jae-won lying on her bed and staring at somewhere with her penetrating eyes, which is contrary to the first poster. In particular, the unique mood of "My Happy Ending" is intriguing, from the black-and-white contrast of white bedclothes and all-black costumes to Seo Jae-won's expression of confusion and anxiety and eyes with various complex emotions. In addition, the frustrated phrase "Can't trust anyone now..." maximizes the mystery thriller atmosphere, raising expectations for Jang Nara's perfect acting transformation. The production team said that the main poster of "My Happy Ending" captures Jang Nara's unconventional pose to find the confusion arising from betrayal and the hidden truth. "Please look forward to Jang Nara's performance in "My Happy Ending", which will open a new horizon for high-quality well-made genres". Meanwhile, TV CHOSUN's new weekend miniseries "My Happy Ending" will premiere at 9:10 PM on December 30. Havre Police Department Michael Robert-Louis Belcourt of Havre, 34, was arrested on four Justice or City court warrants after a juvenile reported their parents fighting Friday at 8:11 a.m. on Second Street. -- Someone stopped at the police station Friday at 8:44 a.m. asking to speak with an officer about a theft, forgery or fraud. -- A caller at a First Street business reported at 10:52 a.m. Friday that a man was trying to kick in a door. -- A 14-year-old Havre boy was issued a summons on a theft charge after a theft was reported on Seventh Street at 2:27 p.m. Friday. -- A hit and run crash was reported Friday at 7:17 p.m. at a First Street establishment. -- A 1:14 a.m. Saturday caller at a First Street establishment reported that a woman threw her drink on the caller. -- A pursuit was reported on Second Street at 8:37 a.m. Saturday. -- Someone stopped at the police station Saturday at 3:32 p.m. asking to speak with an officer. -- Coby John Stump of Havre, 38, was arrested on a state District Court warrant after a caller at 8:46 p.m. on Third Avenue reported that a man was yelling profanity at the caller's children who were playing outside. -- Clarrissa Lynn Sanchez of Havre, 36, was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct related to 7:52 a.m. Sunday call about a disturbance on Smithville Road and a 10:44 a.m. call from the hospital asking officers to give a patient a ride home. -- Someone stopped at the police station Sunday at 12:47 p.m. asking to speak with an officer about an assault. -- Jesse Lee Schoening of Havre, 34, was arrested on a state District Court warrant after officers investigated suspicious activity on Second Street at 6:50 p.m. Sunday. -- Someone stopped at the police station Sunday at 8:04 p.m. to speak with an officer. -- Clarrissa Lynn Sanchez of Havre, 36, was arrested on charges of criminal child endangerment-driving under the influence and endangering the welfare of children after a disturbance was reported on 10th Street at 1:44 a.m. today. -- A 13-year-old Havre boy was issued a summons on juvenile curfew violation after a 12th Street caller reported at 2:34 a.m. today that the juvenile had snuck out of the house. Hill County Sheriff's Office Deputies were asked Saturday at 8:38 a.m. to assist another agency in the county. -- An arrest was made after an assault was reported at a Box Elder establishment Saturday at 8:12 p.m. No details on the charges were provided. -- Deputies assisted at a fire on Bullhook Road Southeast Sunday at 10:08 a.m. Havre Fire Department Emergency medical technicians responded to one call Thursday, one call Friday, four calls Saturday, three calls Sunday and one call early this morning. -- Firefighters responded to a fuel spill on the 300 Block of First Avenue Saturday at 1:45 p.m. Havre Fire Chief Nathan Courtnage said the nozzle came off a pump but an employee had already dammed the area around the spill and firefighters left the scene for the employees to finish cleanup. -- Firefighters responded to a fire Sunday at 10:04 a.m. on Bullhook Road Southeast. See details on Page 1. Havre Animal Shelter This morning the animal shelter held two 6-month-old kittens, four 13-week-old kittens and one cat all of unknown gender, three female cats, six kittens between 13 weeks and 6 months old, and two male cats. -- Also this morning, the animal shelter held three female mixed-breed dogs, five puppies between 13 and 19 weeks old, and a female German shepherd. Additionally, a female dog was being housed offsite. Robert A. "Bob" Schaub, 71, passed away due to natural causes at River's Edge Assisted Living in Great Falls on Thursday, November 16, 2023. Cremation has taken place. His memorial service will be 11:00 a.m., Monday December 4, 2023, at Holland & Bonine Funeral Chapel. Memorial donations in Robert's honor may be made to the St. Paul Lutheran Church or to the donor's choice. Please visit Bob's online memorial page to send a card or leave a message of condolence for his family at https://www.hollandbonine.com . Bob was born April 5, 1952, in Havre to Henry L. and Mary Ann (Hayden) Schaub. He was raised in Have, graduating from Havre High School in 1970. Soon after, he moved to Ames, Iowa, to attend trade school where he received his lineman training. Bob then returned to Havre, where he worked for REA until a motor vehicle accident caused a brain injury that prevented him from returning to his lineman responsibilities. For the next several years, he worked hard to recover, and, in 1980, Bob entered the U.S. Army, serving until his honorable discharge, after which he returned to Havre once more. There he worked odd jobs until his brain injury left him totally disabled. In his early years, Bob really enjoyed the high jump in high school track. He also enjoyed fishing, hunting and pretty much any outdoor activity. Bob was a helpful, giving man who would be available if anyone needed help. He was preceded in death by his father, Henry L. Schaub. Bob is survived by his mother, Mary Ann Schaub of Havre; siblings, Dan (Marion) Schaub and Kathy Kirby, all of Havre, and Laura (Tim) Corbett of Boise, ID; and numerous aunts, cousins, nieces, nephews, and many friends. Actors recreate the Nativity in a previous Live Nativity at Van Orsdel United Methodist Church. The Live Nativity Saturday at the church is just one of a slew of holiday events happening in the area this weekend. After a busy Thanksgiving weekend, holiday events will return to the area Friday and last through this coming weekend and beyond. Friday, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints will again host their Hi-Line Nativity Festival, themed "Mary Did You Know," with the display open 2-9 p.m. "We will be exhibiting Nativities from around the world as well as art and sculptures depicting the Savior's life and ministry," a Community Christmas Festival release said. "If you would like to offer your personal pieces to be displayed please bring them to 1315 Washington Ave. ... Tuesday from 3-8 p.m." The Nativity Festival is part of the Community Christmas Festival that also includes the Live Nativity Drive Through at Van Orsdel Methodist Church Saturday 5-7 p.m. and the Piano and Pipes concert at First Lutheran Church Sunday at 2 p.m. Volunteers in costume, often accompanied by live animals, will recreate the Nativity at the Van Orsdel Methodist Church, and people can drive through from the north end of the alley behind the church at 410 Fifth Ave. The annual Piano and Pipes holiday concert is again set at First Lutheran Church Sunday as well. "Come out and enjoy a beautiful selection of music shared by many musical groups throughout the community," a Community Christmas Festival flyer said. "Enjoy the peace and joy that beautiful music can bring." Non-perishable food items or cash donations are appreciated, the flyer said. Plenty more is going on in the area this weekend, especially Saturday. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. the Havre-Hill County Library will be hosting Holiday Wagon Rides, courtesy of Jack and Patti Solomon. Cookies crafts and cocoa will be provided while people wait. The event is, as always, open to the public, but a release from the library said that, to reduce stress on the equine and human volunteers, this year's wagon ride will be reservation only. "People can call 406-265-2123 to reserve their spot," the release said. "Reservation holders should be 10-15 minutes early for check in." That day will also see the return of a new and extended Dinosaur Christmas courtesy of the H. Earl Clack Memorial Museum at their former location at the Holiday Village Mall from 1 to 4 p.m., an event for children that is expanding this year. Museum Manager Caroline Tuss said they are extending the event by an hour and adding new activities, so people will have time to see everything going on at the mall that day. "Dec. 2 is going to be a busy day up at Holiday Village," she said. " ... Come on down and enjoy some local history and prehistory." This year, Tuss said, they will have their dinosaur egg excavation, cookie decorating, as well as a couple of volunteers in dinosaur costumes handing out candy canes and other holiday treats. She said they will also have facepainting, a dinosaur photo board, and holiday ornament making. She said the ornament making in particular is an interesting opportunity to expose young people to a little history, like how low-income families made paper ornaments years ago, when they couldn't afford practically anything. Tuss said their location in the mall is a bit out of the way, so they're going to try to put up better signage this time around, so people don't miss it. She said the museum already caters to a fairly niche audience, and in winter things slow down significantly, so they want to make sure everyone knows about the event and has a chance to go if they want to. Cookies and Books with Santa will also be at the Holiday Village Mall at 2 p.m. Also at 2 p.m. that day in Town Square will be this year's Subzero Superhero Polar Plunge hosted by the Havre Police Department. The event is a fundraiser and awareness-raiser for Special Olympics, and the police department is hoping to match or increase the amount of last year's donation totals of $7,500. The participants are members of local law enforcement and anyone from the public who wishes to take part. Chouteau County Country Christmas will also return Saturday and Sunday with holiday events and specials as well as a plethora of vendors across the area. In Fort Benton Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. businesses will be holding open houses and holiday sales with craft and specialty vendors setting up shop along Front Street and beyond. Santa's Mall will be open at the Community Bible Center 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and an Ornament Hunt will be held at the Courtyard at 1714 Front St. 1-3 p.m. A Live Nativity will also be held on the levee 4-6 p.m. and the Santa Sighting and Tree Lightings will be at Old Walking Bridge at 5:30 p.m. River Torch Luminaries, an event to honor loved ones lost, will also take place that day. In Shonkin, there will be a book sale, vendors and food to raise funds for the Shonkin Community Hall from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. People can get soup, stew, dinner rolls and a drink to support the hall. Geraldine will have a fundraiser for the town youth center, along with vendors, as well as Indian tacos, pie and cheesecake by the slice at the Old Auditorium Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. A kids carnival with an appearance by Santa Claus at 2:30 p.m. also will be held. Virgelle Mercantile will have antiques and collectibles for special holiday sale prices, as well as refreshments from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. -- Havre Daily News staff Tim Leeds, Christy Bambrough and Pam Burke contributed to this article. Recent findings from the Finnish Business and Policy Forum EVA's Value and Attitude Survey reveal a strong and consistent positive sentiment among Finns towards NATO membership, with EU support also reaching unprecedented levels. The survey, conducted among 2,045 Finns aged 18-79 (excluding Aland), between September 15 and 27, 2023, indicates a significant alignment in national opinion on these critical international alliances. Key findings from the survey include: A substantial 77% of Finns view the country's NATO membership positively, a sentiment that has remained steady since Finland's NATO application in May 2022. Negative views are held by only 8%, with 14% taking a neutral stance. Support for the EU has risen to 68%, a remarkable 18-percentage point increase over three years. This upswing in EU positivity reflects the evolving international political climate and the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. NATO is seen as more critical for Finland's national security than the EU, though both enjoy broad support across demographic groups. The least support for NATO is found among Left Alliance voters (50% positive), while the majority of the Finns Party supporters (52%) express negative views on EU membership. Sami Metelinen, EVA's editor-in-chief, notes, "Finns show no sign of regret over the decision to join NATO. The collective consensus demonstrates a thorough commitment to align with the Western defense alliance." He also observes that security is a unifying topic in Finland, explaining why NATO membership enjoys more unequivocal support than the EU. The survey highlights a significant shift in Finnish attitudes towards the EU, especially among the Finns Party supporters. In autumn 2020, 74% were negative towards the EU, but this figure has now dropped to 52%. Conversely, positive views among this group have risen from 10% to 27%. Metelinen summarizes, "Security issues resonate strongly with the Finnish public, which is why NATO membership commands more unreserved support than EU membership." The results, with a margin of error of 2-3 percentage points, are representative of the Finnish population in terms of age, gender, region, education, profession, industry, and political affiliation. The detailed breakdown of results by demographic groups is available on EVA's website. EVA has been conducting these value and attitude surveys since 1984. HT Hulu series focuses on murder of Horse Shoe retirees An ABC News-produced documentary series that focuses on the murder of a retired Hendersonville couple in 2007 airs on a streaming service this week. Related Stories The docuseries focuses on the murders of Jack and Irene Bryant, who crossed paths with serial killer Gary Michael Hilton while on a hike in Pisgah National Forest in the fall of 2007, and on the murders of two young women who were also hiking in the wilderness when Hilton stalked and killed them. Told from the point of view of the investigators working to solve the case in real time, the story features footage of Hiltons confession and interviews with those close to the victims, the website The Wrap reported. Hulu premieres Season 3 of Wild Crime: Blood Mountain on its streaming service on Thursday. The Bryants, who retired to the Tamarac subdivision in Horse Shoe, were beloved for their kindness and generosity. "They were the best neighbors you could ever want," Matt Matteson, the Lightnings Ask Matt columnist and the couple's across-the-street neighbor, told an Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter in June 2011. "They were self-effacing and gracious. They liked the theater and music, and if they had tickets to a show they couldn't attend, they'd call and offer them to us." In 2012 Hilton pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the October 2007 kidnapping, robbery and murder of Jack Bryant, 79, and Irene Bryant, 84, and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. By that time, he had already been sentenced to death for the murder of Cheryl Dunlap near Tallahassee, Florida. Hilton also received a life sentence for the murder in 2008 of Meredith Emerson in Northern Georgia. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Education (the Departments) today announced the release of an updated joint-policy statement on supporting the inclusion of children with disabilities in early childhood programs. The HHS-ED Policy Statement on the Inclusion of Children with Disabilities in Early Childhood Programs builds upon a statement originally released in 2015 and includes a renewed commitment and urgency, as children with disabilities continue to face barriers accessing and fully participating in inclusive early childhood programs. The statement was updated consistent with a directive to both agencies in President Bidens Executive Order on Increasing Access to High-Quality Care and Supporting Caregivers. The responsibility to ensure that young children with disabilities and their families are included in high-quality early childhood programs is a shared one. Government, at all levels, early childhood systems, and schools must work together to provide necessary support to parents with their kids, said Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra. Today, Secretary Cardona and I reaffirm the federal governments commitment to our role in this important work. Together, we can ensure every child with disabilities can participate in high-quality early childhood programs. Our nations youngest learners including those with disabilities deserve access to high quality early childhood programs that nurture their potential and provide a strong foundation for future success, said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. Today, the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services strengthen our shared commitment to break down barriers for young children with disabilities and Raise the Bar for inclusivity in our early childhood programs. Over 61 million adults in the U.S. have a disability, and nearly one out of every six children are estimated to have a developmental delay. The Departments shared vision is to build a culture of inclusion for individuals with disabilities beginning at birth, continuing in early childhood programs and schools, and into communities and workplaces. All children benefit from inclusive early childhood settings that provide enriching learning experiences. It is incumbent upon leaders, at all levels of government, to work together to ensure that children with disabilities and their families are welcomed and supported in all early childhood settings, said Acting Assistant Secretary for Children and Families Jeff Hild. Inclusion in high-quality, evidence-based early childhood programs sets the stage for continued inclusion through school years and beyond. Setting high expectations for early inclusion paves the way for children with disabilities to reach their goals and to learn, live, and thrive in school and in their communities, said Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of Educations Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services Glenna Wright-Gallo. The statement reiterates expectations for inclusive early childhood settings and updates recommendations for state and local agencies that implement Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) programs, Head Start, child care, home visiting, preschool, and public schools to increase inclusive early learning opportunities for all children. Additionally, the statement includes evidence-based models and exemplars of inclusion and resources for programs and others to support high-quality individualized programming and inclusion of children with disabilities in early childhood programs. To read the HHS-ED Policy Statement on the Inclusion of Children with Disabilities in Early Childhood Programs and to learn more, visit Policy Statement on Inclusion of Children with Disabilities in Early Childhood Programs | The Administration for Children and Families (hhs.gov). Dubai, United Arab Emirates Business Wire India India Global Forums flagship event in UAE kicks off in Dubai on Nov 27 with IGF Forum UAEs Artificial Intelligence Minister Omar Al Olama to speak at inaugural event Indias Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav to address IGF Climate Summit on Nov 29 on eve of COP28 Policymakers, politicians, business figures and celebrities from India, UAE, Africa to converge Indias Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will deliver a keynote speech at the inauguration of India Global Forum's annual event in Dubai on November 27. Under the theme Unleashing Ambitions, the 3rd edition of the event will have an expanded purview beyond the India-UAE partnership, encompassing a broader geographical perspective with the IGF Middle East and Africa 2023 (IGF ME&A) Programme. IGF ME&A convenes business leaders, policymakers, and thought leaders from India, UAE and Africa to discuss opportunities for further collaboration and growth between these regions through a series of exclusive networking opportunities, panel discussions, and keynote speeches, covering a range of topics including trade, investment, innovation, technology, climate change and sustainability. Sitharaman will deliver her address to the assembly virtually, followed by an interactive question-and-answer session. Manoj Ladwa, Founder and Chairman, IGF, said, This year's theme, Unleashing Ambitions, sets the tone for discussions that transcend geographical boundaries and fosters an environment where India, Middle East and Africa can converge their strengths and leverage each other's expertise and resources to pioneer a new era of collaboration. IGF ME&A will be the catalyst for this collaboration, and showcase the limitless opportunities presented by the Global South. The event comes in the backdrop of the UAE-India partnership scaling newer heights. Bilateral trade between India and UAE has seen significant growth, registering a year-on-year increase of 16% to reach $85 billion in the April 2022-March 2023 period, and a target of achieving $100 billion in non-oil trade by 2030. The bilateral relationship is now acquiring newer dimensions with the two countries joining hands to support investments and development projects in Africa. Looking forward to IGF ME&A, Indian Ambassador to the UAE, Sunjay Sudhir said, In todays world, the India UAE strategic partnership stands tall. The centuries old trade relationship has taken flight and diversified into an unbelievable expanse of opportunities. It is based on the principle of mutual growth and development, taking pride in each others successes, and creating solutions that are inclusive and have the global good in mind. With over 150 speakers and 1,000+ participants, IGF ME&A will feature: IGF Dialogues: Exclusive gathering of industry leaders and policymakers engaging in peer-to-peer roundtable dialogues spanning trade, fintech, food security, climate change etc. IGF Forum: Exploring the untapped potential, and newer avenues for collaboration between governments and businesses in India, the Middle East, and Africa. IGF Studio: Spotlighting topics in tech, media, leadership, and geopolitics in a broadcast studio format hosted by top news anchors with thought leaders, celebrities, CEOs and Founders. Founders and Funders Forum: Examining how emerging markets are driving innovation and using leapfrog technology to reshape their future with leading founders, funders and entrepreneurs from India, UAE and Africa. WomenIN Forum: Deep dive into how women can claim their rightful place at the forefront of innovation and leadership with some of the most successful achievers. Climate and Business Forum (ClimB): Ahead of COP28explore climate leadership, green financing and innovative policies for sustainable growth. Key speakers include: 1. Nirmala Sitharaman- Minister of Finance, India 2. Bhupender Yadav- Minister of Environment, India 3. Dr Rajeev Chandrasekhar- Minister of State Electronics & IT, India 4. Omar bin Sultan Al Olama- Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, UAE 5. Patricia Scotland- Secretary-General, Commonwealth of Nations 6. Harsh Sanghavi- Gujarat Minister of State Home, Industries 7. Nikhil Kamath- Co-Founder, Zerodha 8. Vijay Shekhar Sharma- Founder & CEO, Paytm 9. Gaur Gopal Das- Monk, Author 10. Ian Ferrao- Group CEO, Airtel Money 11. Kate Hampton- CEO, Children's Investment Fund Foundation 12. Suniel Shetty- Actor 13. Sanya Malhotra- Actor 15. Palki Sharma- Journalist 16. Sima Ved- Founder & Chairwoman, Apparel Group 17. Sachin Dev Duggal- Co-founder, Builder AI The IGF ME&A culminates just ahead of COP28 and concludes on November 29 with the Climate for Business Summit and COP28 Gala Reception and Dinner featuring Bhupender Yadav, Indias Environment Minister, as the Chief Guest, making it a pivotal prelude to the global climate conference. One can find the full list of speakers here and programme schedule here. About India Global Forum India Global Forum tells the story of contemporary India. The pace of change and growth India has set itself is an opportunity for the world. IGF is the gateway for businesses and nations to help seize that opportunity. To know more, click here. Social Media Handles & Hashtag to Follow Twitter: @IGFUpdates & @manojladwa LinkedIn: India Global Forum #IGFUAE Media Contact Details Aarti Subramaniam, India Global Forum, aarti.subramaniam@indiaglobalforum.com, +44-7946357472 Disclaimer: This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times does not endorse/subscribe to the content(s) of the article/advertisement and/or view(s) expressed herein. Hindustan Times shall not in any manner, be responsible and/or liable in any manner whatsoever for all that is stated in the article and/or also with regard to the view(s), opinion(s), announcement(s), declaration(s), affirmation(s) etc., stated/featured in the same. Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 27: Purchasing a mattress can be a challenging endeavour. Many customers tend to emphasize material, dimensions, thickness, and cost savings when seeking out the top mattress brands in India. However, they often overlook the significance of factors such as body type, sleeping position, weight, body temperature, and any existing back or sleep-related concerns. Moreover, nearly every brand asserts to be the finest in the industry. To eliminate any uncertainty, a team of experts conducts regular testing and evaluations of multiple mattresses each month to select the best mattress brands. This team of sleep experts rigorously tests the mattresses so that you can have full confidence that this list is comprehensive and continuously updated. Best Mattress in India Top Picks Twenty mattresses from the most popular brands in India were picked and then the top 10 ones were shortlisted based on their performance, comfort, value for money and durability. Other details such as promotional offers available and where to buy them have also been included. Surprisingly, some new age brands failed to make it to the Top 1O list for the first time this year. This can be attributed to the entrance of new brands offering better alternatives entering the Indian markets as well as traditional mattress companies improving their overall product quality. Crafted with meticulous attention to detail and backed by extensive research, the Emma Hybrid combines the best of both worlds the pressure-relieving benefits of memory foam and the sturdy support of pocket springs with their patented AeroFlex Spring System. This marriage of technologies creates a sleep surface that caters to a wide range of sleep styles and ensures that you wake up rejuvenated, ready to conquer the day. The mattress also comes with an additional layer of Airgocell on top to keep it cool, thereby elevating the sleeping experience. But the true testament to the Emma Hybrid's excellence lies in the experiences of its users around the globe. Countless satisfied customers rave about the remarkable comfort and support this mattress provides. Here is the rating on basis of the evaluation parameters: Comfort 10/10 Orthopaedic Support 8.5/10 Motion Isolation 9.5/10 Durability 9.5/10 Temperature Regulation 9/10 Value for Money 9.5/10 Warranty : 15 Years Trial : 100 nights full refund trial If you're in pursuit of the ultimate sleep oasis, the Emma Hybrid mattress is the epitome of comfort, support, and quality globally. It's a top contender in the mattress industry, promising to deliver nights of unparalleled bliss. The Emma Original is game changer when it comes to provide a combination of comfort and support for the back. The mattress offers unparalleled support for the body. From the moment the team laid down, they could feel the mattress gently contouring to the natural curves of their backs, ensuring optimal alignment. The firmness level was just right, providing a perfect balance between support and plushness. It felt as if the mattress was custom-made for the body, relieving pressure points and reducing any discomfort. The mattress features a unique layering system that works in perfect harmony to ensure a restful night's sleep. The top layer consists of breathable Airgocell, which allows for optimal airflow and temperature regulation. This advanced foam technology not only keeps you cool but also provides exceptional pressure relief, contouring to your body's shape for a blissful sleep surface. Beneath the Airgocell is a zone of Emmas patented HALO memory foam. This layer adapts to your body's curves, providing personalized support and minimizing motion transfer. Whether you're a side sleeper in need of shoulder and hip cushioning or a back sleeper seeking spinal alignment, the Emma Original has you covered with its targeted support. In addition to its superior comfort, the Emma Original mattress is made with high-quality materials. It is certified by OEKO-TEX and CertiPUR-US, assuring you that it meets stringent health and safety standards. This means you can sleep soundly, knowing that your mattress is free from harmful substances. Here is the rating on basis of the evaluation parameters: Comfort 9/10 Orthopaedic Support 10/10 Motion Isolation 9/10 Durability 9.5/10 Temperature Regulation 9/10 Value for Money 9/10 Warranty : 15 Years Trial : 100 nights full refund trial The Emma Original has garnered an impressive reputation among sleepers of all backgrounds. It has received numerous awards and accolades for its exceptional quality and performance. Millions of satisfied customers worldwide rave about the comfort, support, and value that this mattress offers, and it is evident why. The Wave II is Emma's highest selling mattress in Switzerland and it is recently launched in India. Combining Emma's cutting edge sleep technology with Swiss luxury preferences, the Wave II is arguably the most comfortable mattress currently available in India. The key features of this mattress include Emma's patented Diamond Degree technology, which thermoregulates the mattress temperature; which means that it evacuates excess heat during summers and retains temperature during winter months. The Evo Nano-spring layer provides differential support to each part of the body that touches the mattress. Here is the rating on basis of the evaluation parameters: Comfort 10/10 Orthopaedic Support 9.5/10 Motion Isolation 9.5/10 Durability 9.5/10 Temperature Regulation 10/10 Value for Money 10/10 Warranty : 15 Years Trial : 100 nights full refund trial If you're searching for a mattress that delivers on its promise of a rejuvenating sleep experience without breaking the bank, the Emma Adapt is an excellent choice. Its winning combination of comfort, support, and affordability sets it apart in the mattress market. This is the mattress produced by Emma for the customers who want to extract the maximum value at the minimum price. Just like its name suggests, the Emma Adapt focuses on the core elements that make a mattress great. It features a thoughtfully crafted layering system designed to provide the utmost comfort and support for a restful night's sleep. Each layer works in harmony to create a sleep surface that caters to a wide range of sleep preferences and needs. It is one of the best orthopaedic mattresses available in this price range. The Emma Adapt mattress is built on a durable base foam layer, providing stability and long-lasting performance. This foundation ensures that your mattress maintains its shape and support over time, so you can enjoy nights of restful sleep for years to come. One of the standout features of the Emma Essential is its exceptional value for money. It combines quality craftsmanship and carefully selected materials, all at an affordable price point. With the Emma Essential, you can experience the comfort and support you deserve without investing too much. Here is the rating on basis of the evaluation parameters: Comfort 7.5/10 Orthopaedic Support 9/10 Motion Isolation 7/10 Durability 9/10 Temperature Regulation 7.5/10 Value for Money 10/10 Warranty : 15 Years Trial : 100 nights full refund trial Customers have praised the Emma Adapt for its simplicity and its ability to deliver a comfortable sleep experience. Its value-driven design and commitment to quality have won over countless sleepers, making it a popular choice for those seeking an accessible and reliable mattress. If you're in search of a mattress that offers uncompromising comfort and value, the Emma Adapt is the perfect choice. 5-Peps Cameo Spring At the heart of the Peps Cameo Spring Mattress lies its advanced spring system. The mattress features high-quality pocket springs that work independently, providing personalized support and minimizing motion transfer. This intelligent spring technology ensures proper spinal alignment and reduces partner disturbances, allowing you to enjoy uninterrupted sleep and wake up refreshed. The Peps Cameo Spring Mattress also boasts multiple layers of high-density foam that enhance its overall comfort and support. These foam layers contour to your body's curves, offering a plush yet supportive feel. The combination of foam and pocket springs provides the perfect balance of cushioning and responsiveness, ensuring a comfortable and rejuvenating sleep experience. One aspect to consider with the Peps Cameo Spring Mattress is that the price point may be higher compared to some other mattresses on the market. The superior craftsmanship, advanced spring system, and luxurious design of the Peps Cameo Spring Mattress contribute to its higher price tag. While the mattress offers exceptional comfort and support, it's important to weigh your budget and investment considerations when making a purchasing decision. Here is the rating on basis of the evaluation parameters: Comfort 9/10 Orthopaedic Support 8/10 Motion Isolation 9.5/10 Durability 8.5/10 Temperature Regulation 9/10 Value for Money 8.5/10 In conclusion, the Peps Cameo Spring Mattress offers an exceptional sleep experience that seamlessly blends elegance, comfort, and support. Embrace the sophistication of unparalleled comfort and wake up feeling rejuvenated, thanks to the Peps Cameo Spring Mattress. 6-Wakefit Duo Plus The standout feature of the Wakefit Duo Plus is its unique combination of two carefully engineered foam layers, each serving a specific purpose to create the ultimate sleep surface. This innovative design ensures an optimal balance of comfort and support, catering to the diverse needs and preferences of sleepers. The top layer of the Wakefit Duo Plus is crafted with breathable and responsive memory foam. This layer contours to your body's curves, providing exceptional pressure relief and adapting to your unique sleep posture. It offers a plush and cocooning sensation, allowing you to sink comfortably into the mattress while experiencing unparalleled comfort. While the Wakefit Duo Plus mattress offers numerous benefits, it's important to consider all aspects before making a purchase. One potential drawback of the Wakefit Duo Plus is that it may not be suitable for those who prefer a very firm mattress. While it provides a balanced level of support, some individuals who prefer an extremely firm sleep surface may find the Wakefit Duo Plus to be slightly softer than their ideal preference. It's crucial to assess your personal comfort needs and preferences to determine if the firmness level of the Wakefit Duo Plus aligns with your specific requirements. Here is the rating on basis of the evaluation parameters: Comfort 8.5/10 Orthopaedic Support 7.5/10 Motion Isolation 9.5/10 Durability 8.5/10 Temperature Regulation 9/10 Value for Money 8.5/10 If you're searching for a mattress that strikes a good balance between comfort and support, the Wakefit Duo Plus is an excellent choice. Its innovative design, coupled with its commitment to quality, promises nights of rejuvenating sleep. Before buying this, just make sure you are okay with a mattress that is not too firm. 7-Sleepwell GenX Sleepwell is a well-known brand of the Indian mattress industry and their GenX 1.0 mattress makes our list. It is a revolutionary sleep solution that combines cutting-edge technology, premium materials, and expert craftsmanship. Designed to provide the ultimate sleep experience, this mattress almost matches the likes of modern mattress brands like Emma, Wakefit and Sleep Company in terms of comfort, support, and durability. At the core of the Sleepwell GenX 1.0 Mattress lies its advanced pocket spring technology. This innovative system features individually wrapped springs that respond independently to your body's movements. This targeted support ensures proper spinal alignment, reduces motion transfer, and minimizes partner disturbances, allowing for a restful and undisturbed sleep. The Sleepwell GenX 1.0 Mattress also features a plush comfort layer that enhances the overall sleep experience. This layer is crafted with high-quality foam, offering a luxurious and cushioning feel that cradles your body. It provides pressure relief and contours to your unique sleep posture, ensuring optimal comfort and support throughout the night. Here is the rating on basis of the evaluation parameters: Comfort 9/10 Orthopaedic Support 7.5/10 Motion Isolation 8/10 Durability 8.5/10 Temperature Regulation 8.5/10 Value for Money 8.5/10 In conclusion, the Sleepwell GenX 1.0 Mattress offers an exceptional sleep experience that combines advanced technology, luxurious comfort, and long-lasting durability. We like the fact that Sleepwell is making efforts to match the technology of some of the new age brands on this list. 8-WakeUp RiseRox This mattress has been meticulously crafted with a focus on ultimate comfort and unwavering support, this mattress combines innovative pocket spring technology with materials to deliver a truly exceptional night's rest. There is a scope of improvement on the overall packaging and customer experience through WakeUp, but the mattress is actually a nice one. At the core of the WakeUp Riserox Pocket Spring Mattress lies its advanced pocket spring system. Each individually encased spring works independently to respond to your body's contours, providing targeted support and alleviating pressure points. This intelligent design promotes healthy spinal alignment and reduces motion transfer, ensuring that you and your partner enjoy a peaceful and uninterrupted sleep. Additionally, the WakeUp Riserox Pocket Spring Mattress excels in breathability and temperature regulation. The pocket spring system allows for enhanced airflow, effectively dissipating excess heat and maintaining a cool and comfortable sleep environment. Say goodbye to nights of tossing and turning due to overheating, and welcome nights of refreshing and rejuvenating sleep. It might feel like a bit too soft for a few sleepers though. Here is the rating on basis of the evaluation parameters: Comfort 8.5/10 Orthopaedic Support 8.5/10 Motion Isolation 9/10 Durability 7/10 Temperature Regulation 9/10 Value for Money 7.5/10 In conclusion, the WakeUp Riserox Pocket Spring Mattress provides an extraordinary sleep experience through its advanced pocket spring technology, luxurious comfort foam layers, and enduring durability. 9-The Sleep Company Luxe Snowtec The standout feature of The Sleep Company Smart Luxe SnowTec Cooling Mattress is its advanced cooling technology. The mattress is engineered with SnowTec fabric, which is designed to actively dissipate heat and regulate your body temperature throughout the night. Say goodbye to overheating and night sweats, as the SnowTec fabric keeps you cool and comfortable, promoting a deeper and more restful sleep. The Sleep Company Smart Luxe SnowTec Cooling Mattress also excels in durability and longevity. The premium materials used in its construction, coupled with the high-quality craftsmanship, ensure that the mattress maintains its shape and performance over time. You can rest easy knowing that your investment in this mattress will provide years of consistent comfort and support. Additionally, this mattress is designed to cater to various sleep preferences and body types. Its adaptive foam layers contour to your body, relieving pressure points and promoting proper spinal alignment. Whether you're a side sleeper, back sleeper, or stomach sleeper, The Sleep Company Smart Luxe SnowTec Cooling Mattress offers customized support for a comfortable sleep experience. Here is the rating on basis of the evaluation parameters: Comfort 9/10 Orthopaedic Support 8/10 Motion Isolation 8.5/10 Durability 7/10 Temperature Regulation 9.5/10 Value for Money 7/10 While this mattress is quite good, the price point is a matter of concern. There are other alternatives available in the market that might give similar comfort and sleep experience at a much lesser price. 10-Sleepycat Ultima This mattress is one of the best that the brand SleepyCat has to offer. This mattress contains a top layer of CoolTEC fabric that allows you to sleep up 4 cooler. The top layer of the mattress gives a water-like feel which might require some time to get used to, but many sleepers will eventually get the hang of it and start enjoying the mattress. On digging a bit deeper, we saw it features a unique combination of multiple foam layers that work synergistically to deliver exceptional comfort and support. The top layer is crafted with high-density Gel Memory Foam, which conforms to your body's contours, providing personalized comfort and relieving pressure points for a more restful sleep. Customers have praised the SleepyCat Ultima Mattress for its comfort, cooling technology, and convenience. Its combination of high-quality materials, advanced technology, and thoughtful construction have garnered accolades from sleepers across India. Here is the rating on basis of the evaluation parameters: Comfort 7/10 Orthopaedic Support 7.5/10 Motion Isolation 8/10 Durability 8.5/10 Temperature Regulation 10/10 Value for Money 8/10 In conclusion, the SleepyCat Ultima Mattress offers a transformative sleep experience that combines advanced technology, exceptional comfort, and unmatched convenience. Disclaimer: This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times does not endorse/subscribe to the content(s) of the article/advertisement and/or view(s) expressed herein. Hindustan Times shall not in any manner, be responsible and/or liable in any manner whatsoever for all that is stated in the article and/or also with regard to the view(s), opinion(s), announcement(s), declaration(s), affirmation(s) etc., stated/featured in the same. Shares of Adani group firms continued to attract heavy demand in morning trade on Tuesday, with Adani Total Gas climbing nearly 20 per cent. The logo of the Adani Group seen on the facade of its Corporate House on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.(REUTERS) All the 10 listed group companies were trading with sharp gains during the morning trade, defying a muted trend in the equity market. Shares of Adani Total Gas zoomed 19.61 per cent, Adani Energy Solutions surged 13 per cent, Adani Power soared 8.46 per cent, Adani Green Energy jumped 7.84 per cent, Adani Enterprises climbed 7 per cent, Adani Wilmar went up by 6.86 per cent and NDTV advanced 6.42 per cent on the BSE. Adani Ports gained 3.71 per cent, Ambuja Cements climbed 3.66 per cent and ACC went up by 2.86 per cent. Stock prices of Adani group companies soared on Friday also as the Supreme Court heard and reserved its verdict on a batch of petitions seeking examination of allegations of fraud against the conglomerate. On Friday, nine of the 10 listed group companies ended in the green, adding 14,786 crore to their combined market capitalisation, stock exchange data showed. Equity markets were closed on Monday for Guru Nanak Jayanti. In the broader equity market, the benchmark indices faced heavy volatile trends and were quoting between highs and lows. ATK HT Image California [US], November 28: SANQUEST INC, a leading financial institution committed to innovation and inclusivity, proudly announces the launch of the SANQUEST Credit Card - a groundbreaking financial solution designed exclusively for Indian immigrants in the United States, even without a Social Security Number (SSN). Empowering Indian Immigrants Recognizing the unique challenges faced by Indian immigrants in establishing their financial footprint in the USA, SANQUEST Credit Cards provide a bridge to financial inclusion. What sets SANQUEST apart is its groundbreaking acceptance of Indian credit reports, enabling immigrants to build credit history without the traditional requirement of an SSN. Key Features: No SSN Required: SANQUEST Credit Cards revolutionize the credit landscape by welcoming Indian immigrants without the need for a Social Security Number. This empowers individuals to start building credit history from day one, fostering financial independence. 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The application process for SANQUEST Credit Cards is designed to be straightforward, allowing immigrants to access financial tools with ease. Customer-Centric Support: SANQUEST INC prides itself on its customer-centric approach. The customer support team is trained to understand and cater to the unique needs of Indian immigrants. Whether it's clarifying credit terms, assisting with the application process, or addressing concerns, the SANQUEST team is committed to providing a supportive and understanding environment. Quotes: "SANQUEST Credit Cards represent a significant leap towards financial inclusivity for Indian immigrants in the USA. We understand the challenges our customers face, and we are proud to offer a solution that not only recognizes their credit history from India but also eliminates the barrier of an SSN requirement." SANQUEST INC. About SANQUEST INC: SANQUEST INC is a forward-thinking financial institution committed to providing innovative solutions for individuals seeking financial stability and success in the USA. With a focus on inclusivity, SANQUEST Credit Cards redefine the credit landscape for Indian immigrants, enabling them to build a strong financial foundation. Contact Details: India office: plot 16 Jayabheri Enclave Gachibowli Hyderabad Website: www.sanquestcards.com/ USA Office: 2358 university ave san diego #2018 California 92104 USA (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by ATK. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) Hitting out at the KCR-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi government in Telangana, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Monday said that people were yearning for change and expressed confidence of Congress forming the government in the state. Karnataka DCM DK Shivakumar (PTI)(HT_PRINT) He also accused Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao of running the government from a "farmhouse". READ | New bill to tackle fake news will be tabled soon: Karnataka minister "Six guarantees have been given in Telangana as per the Karnataka model. The government led by KCR has not fulfilled its promises in 10 years. Sonia Gandhi was responsible for the creation of Telangana state. People don't want those who sit and work from the farmhouse. We need a government that works among the people. People want change," Shivakumar told reporters here. Asked how many seats Congress will win in Telangana, he said it is not possible to say exactly. READ | BJP-JD(S) alliance will win all 28 seats in Lok Sabha elections next year: HD Kumaraswamy "It is certain we will form a government with a clear majority. Congress government will be formed in Telangana and we will give approval to implement all guarantees in the first meeting of the cabinet on December 9," he said. Telangana is set to witness a triangular contest between the ruling Bharat Rasthtra Samithi, Congress and BJP as the state goes to the polls on November 30. In the 2018 polls, the BRS, previously known as Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), won 88 of the 119 seats. The Congress came a distant second with 19 seats. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday said that the state government's advertisements about its work in newspapers in poll-bound Telangana do not violate any rules, as they did not ask for votes. He said the government would respond to the Election Commission's letter on this. The BJP on Monday had lodged a complaint with the EC in the matter, alleging that the Congress violated the Representation of the People Act and the Model Code of Conduct with its government in Karnataka publishing advertisements in Telangana media with an eye on the November 30 assembly polls there. DK Shivakumar. (PTI) The Election Commission on the same day asked the Congress government in Karnataka to stop publishing advertisements about its work in newspapers Telangana, and sought an explanation from it for not seeking prior approval as mandated under the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). READ | New bill to tackle fake news will be tabled soon: Karnataka minister Speaking to reporters here, Shivakumar said that the advertisements were only aimed at projecting the work done by the Karnataka government amid claims by opposition parties that it did not implement any of its 'guarantee schemes'. "We have not committed any violation; the Karnataka government has not asked anyone for votes... What violation have we committed?," he asked in response to a question about the EC's directions. "Whatever work we have done, we have just presented them to various states -- to newspaper readers whether in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, or Telangana... There is no problem," he insisted. The ads were a counter to the opposition's claims about the Karnataka government, and did not canvass for votes, he reiterated. "They (opposition parties) were trying to propagate that we have not implemented (guarantee schemes) -- we have just said it (about implementation of guarantees in the ads), we have not asked for any votes. "If we have asked any votes, then (it is) okay (to question), but we have not asked for votes from anyone; we have not said vote for Congress or X or Y." He sought to compare the ads with those given by other governments in newspapers. "There will be so many magazines or publications covering lots of issues. They (other governments) also will give a lot of other advertisements. We are projecting ourselves (Karnataka govt), we are not projecting the Congress party -- we will definitely reply (to EC)," he said. Telangana's ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) too had approached the poll panel on the issue. In a letter to the Karnataka Chief Secretary, the panel said the state government did not obtain prior approval from it for publishing the advertisements, and that its action was violative of the poll code instructions issued to the central and state governments years ago. READ | PSI exam aspirants stage protest during Karnataka CMs Janata Darshan It also instructed the Government of Karnataka to stop publishing any such advertisements in Telangana, with immediate effect, until it obtains the necessary approvals. The EC has sought an explanation by 5 pm on Tuesday on the circumstances that led to the violation of the MCC. In its letter, the commission also asked why disciplinary action should not be taken against the secretary-in-charge of the Department of Information and Public Relations for violations of procedure, as mentioned under MCC instructions. In the past, the panel had observed that certain advertisements highlighting welfare schemes and achievements of the central and state governments were being published by some non-poll going states in newspapers in poll-bound states. It had considered this to be a violation of the spirit of the Model Code of Conduct. In 2013, it had directed that, in future, all such advertisements issued by non-poll going states during the period in which the MCC is in force would be forwarded to the panel for clearance before they are sent for publication in newspapers having editions or circulation in poll-bound states. The Telangana assembly polls will be held on November 30. Votes will be counted and results declared on December 3. Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday ordered the dismissal of Kartar Singh, 56, the principal of the Government Girls School in Jind district, for sexually harassing girl students. Government Girls School principal Kartar Singh, 56, was arrested on November 4 and is jailed in Jind. An inquiry committee, headed by the Uchana SDM, has found him prima facie guilty of sexual harassment. (Representational photo) Acting on the inquiry report of a committee headed by the Uchana sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), which found the principal prima facie guilty of sexual harassment, Khattar decided to dismiss Kartar Singh from government service. Also read: Cabinet meet: Haryana starts monthly aid for stage III, IV cancer patients His dismissal orders are being issued under Article 311 (2)(b) of the Constitution that empowers the competent authority to dismiss, remove or reduce in rank persons employed in civil capacities under the Union or state government without conducting a departmental inquiry. Panel interacted with 390 students Jind deputy commissioner Mohammad Imran Raza had told HT that 142 girl students had testified against 56-year-old Kartar Singh, the principal of the government girls school, in front of a committee headed by the Uchana SDM, Gulzar Malik. The committee which conducted a preliminary inquiry found Kartar Singh prima facie guilty. The committee interacted with 390 girl students of Classes 9, 10, 11 and 12. Of them, 142 students have directly or indirectly confirmed sexual harassment, Raza had said. An official spokesperson said that action to dismiss Kartar Singh from service was initiated taking into account grave allegations of misconduct. The Jind police had registered a case against him on October 30 under Section 8 (sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act and Section 354 (molestation) of the Indian Penal Code, after which he was placed under suspension by the state government. The police had arrested him on November 4, and he is currently in Jind jail on judicial remand. Letter by 15 students led to action On August 31, 15 girl students wrote a five-page letter addressed to the most powerful offices in the country -- the President of India, the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India, the Haryana governor, and the state education minister. Last week, Khattar said that the government had zero tolerance for such incidents. The accused, whosoever he may be, would not be spared, he said, adding that a woman principal was posted at the Jind school and 16 other staff members had been transferred. Renu Bhatia, the chairperson of the Haryana state women commission, has been asked to organise seminars with the police to prevent such incidents. Invigorating conversations between brilliant minds and a captivated audience kept the energy of the final day of the 11th edition of the Chandigarh International Literature Festival, Literati 2023, alive. Bestselling author Amish (centre) and his sister and author Bhavna Roy (left) interacting with festival director and chairperson of Chandigarh Literary Society Dr Sumita Misra (IAS) during a session at Literati 2023 at Lake Club in Chandigarh (Photos: Keshav Singh/HT) True to the theme this year, Celebrating Navras, the eminent panel of speakers initiated thought-provoking dialogues, interspersed with anecdotes, poetry and more, while touching upon a myriad of human emotions. As authors connected, conversed and created an environment of literary learning, Day 2 of the lit fest began with bestselling authors of the Hindi language, Mamta Kalia and Gyan Prakash Vivek in conversation with Seema Gupta in a session titled Kahaani aur Kahaanikaar, exploring the evolution of the Hindi novels, from stark idealism to urban realism, to naya daur of contemporary Hindi novels that are experimenting with new vistas. Spirituality, idol worship, and more This was followed by renowned bestselling author Amish, and his sister and prominent author Bhavna Roy engaging in a riveting conversation with the literature festival director and chairperson of Chandigarh Literary Society (CLS) Dr Sumita Misra (IAS). The brother-sister duo delivered an insightful exploration of the spiritual practices of India and of idol-worshipping cultures across the world in their session, The Power of Idols. On the genesis of their collaboration, Amish says it was a question from a youngster at another literature fest that led to a conversation in the family as to why Indians are so defensive when it comes to idol-worshiping. And that, along with a few other factors, led to the two working together. At a fundamental level, we (idol-worshipers) see the entire universe as divine. We dont see God outside of the universe. That makes us intuitively liberal; and connects us deeper to the world around us and to each other, Amish said on being asked why murti pooja works. Bhavana adds that at a higher level, it is a means to attain self-understanding and a tool to channel ones emotions. She goes on to share an anecdote from their childhood of their mother getting overwhelmed and weeping every time they would visit Goddess Tarinis temple. It was as if she was cleansed from within, she said. Chefs Harpal Singh Sokhi (centre) and Sadaf Hussain interacting with journalist Rajinder Kaur during a session at Literati 2023 Namak-shamak and other spices Two dynamic chefs, Turban Tadka fame chef Harpal Singh Sokhi and popular podcast, Naan Currys host, chef Sadaf Hussain, whipped up delectable stories of culinary adventure with Rajinder Kaur, in the session, Gastronama: Tadka Tales, leaving the audience salivating for more. I firmly believe biryani has a complete organisational structure in itself. I mean, around 40-50 ingredients go into its making just like hundreds of people make an organisation, said chef Sokhi, while talking about his book, The Biryani Leader. He further added that when you taste a good biryani, you taste it as one flavour and not as individual flavours of the ingredients, just like an organisation is represented by one leader who embodies its essence. On food experimentation and fusion food trends, chef Sadaf said, With globalisation, more and more chefs are travelling and taking risks. But whats happening is, lets say from butter chicken, they have come up with butter chicken pizza and butter chicken samosa. But because the pizza is tasting good, everyone is ready to take credit and because the later seems a bit funky, they are like yeh to humara nahin hai. While both the chefs agree on the fact that experimentation is good, they are quick to add that there should be a limit to it and stuff like fanta maggi, or ice cream dosa, fire paan and chocolate golgappa are a big no-no! Conversations galore In the session Book to Booker, Booker prize winner Geetanjali Shree in conversation with Dr Gurmeet Singh talked about her love for the rich heritage of her language of choice, Hindi, and its plurality. In the Books in Focus session, Kahani Kasheeda, a podcast by Bubbu Tir on stories inspired from life experiences and human nature, produced by Rhyvers Publishing, was released; Maj Gen Neeraj Bali talked about his new book, The Winning Culture; and author Anu Girdhars poetry collection, Benevolence, was released. Market My Books Lipika Bhusha, eminent writer, editor and film buff Shantanu Ray Chaudhuri, and Niharika Bhuwania had an insider talk in the session, Book Business: Modern Fundas. The audience also enjoyed the Punjab Da Biscope session, a talk that explored the essence of Punjabi cinema, with renowned filmmakers Amitoj Maan and Gabbar Sangrur in conversation with Ravee Pandher. The fest culminated with Abhivyakti, where two leading modern-day poets, Dr Sumita Misra and National Sahitya Akademi president Madhav Kaushik, shared their poems and discussed the journey of their creative process with journalist Shayda. Ten days after the kidnapping of a city-based hosiery owner, police nabbed three accused involved in the crime, while the mastermind and other accused are yet to be arrested. Police arrested three men 10 days after Ludhiana businessmans kidnapping. (HT File) Police had earlier recovered the Kia Seltos Car owned by the hosiery owner from Haridwar. The accused, who shot the victim in the foot, had driven away in the car after the failed extortion bid and later abandoned it. Commissioner of police Kuldeep Singh Chahal had confirmed the development. The three arrested accused would recce the victim, Sambhav Jain, and pass key information to the mastermind. Police, meanwhile, are pressuring the masterminds family members to force him into surrendering. While scanning the trail of closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera footage, police found the accused drove towards Sahnewal after dropping Jain off at Vishwakarma Chowk. However, the car went off the grid near Dhandari. Police received information about the accused dispersing from Haridwar after abandoning the vehicle, fleeing to Rajasthan and Bihar to cross over to Nepal. Different teams of police have been dispatched to track them down. Sambhav Jain was kidnapped in his car on November 17 from Bahadurke road minutes after he left the factory. The accused forced Jain to ask his wife to bring gold and cash as extortion. After the miscreants suspected that they were being chased by the police, they shot him in the foot, dropped him off at Vishwakarma Chowk and drove away. Authorities on Tuesday managed to push a pipe through the debris to rescue the 41 labourers trapped after a part of the 4.5km-long Silkyara-Barkot tunnel collapsed in Uttarakhands Uttarkashi 17 days ago, officials said. In the Silkyara tunnel operation, the American Auger 600-1200, high powered horizontal drilling was used. (PTI Photo) The rescue operation was possible through the assistance of rat-miners from the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The rescue operations started with excavators followed by the use of augur drilling machines and culminated with manual drilling for the final 12 meters. Here is an explainer on how it was done. How rat-miners completed the rescue? A group of three rat-miners entered the pipe and crawled to the debris on Monday night. One person did the digging, the second put the debris in the trolley and the third person kept the trolley on a shaft through which it was pulled out. On average, they were able to dig 0.9 meters per hour. Officials said a group of rat-miners were replaced with a fresh group of 3 almost every hour. By 3pm on Tuesday, they had drilled 12-13 meters to reach the workers. In all 12, rat-miners from Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh were brought in. How the people will be brought out of the tunnel? According to officials, once the drilling was done, the wide pipes are pushed through the debris to create a tunnel. Once that was done, a team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), wearing oxygen kits crawled through the pipe carrying wheel-fitted stretchers, a rope, and oxygen kits for workers. The doctors and paramedics were then sent inside on wheel-fitted stretchers after which they checked the vitals of the trapped workers. All workers would be counselled on how to come out of the pipe tunnel. The stretchers were tied with ropes from both sides. One by one, the workers will be taken out. NDRF personnel will be the last ones to come out of the tunnel. The entire operation will last three hours. How was food and essentials sent for the trapped workers? The food was earlier being sent to the trapped men through a 4-inch pipe with compressed air. On November 20, the rescuers installed the bigger six-inch pipe to send solid food items. Using the earlier pipe, food items like nuts and roasted chickpeas were being sent to those trapped. With the new pipe, the rescuers have been sending solid food items like chapati, vegetables and fruits for their nutrition. Cylindrical bottles and a special tray attached to a rope were used to send food to the other side. Also Read: Rescuers push pipe through Uttarakhand tunnel debris to get trapped men out What help did the augur machines provide for the final rescue? The augur machine, which consists of a helical screw-like blade, known as an auger bit, which rotates to create a hole as it moves into the material, was vital in completing the operation as it drilled for 55 meters before it broke on Friday. In the Silkyara tunnel operation, the American Auger 600-1200, high powered horizontal drilling was used. It is manufactured by American Augers, the US company specialised in trenchless technology. The machine can drill holes ranging from 5-10 feet in diameter. The debris or material brought up by auger machines during drilling is typically removed using the design of the auger itself. The auger features a helical screw-like blade that not only drills into the material but also serves to lift the excavated material out of the hole as it rotates. The spiral design of the auger flights helps to move the material upward and away from the drilling point. The machine drilled took an hour to drill a meter and 4-5 hours were taken to fit in the pipes. In the Silkyara case, 900 mm and 800 mm pipes, which were six feet long, were inserted using the auger machine and two pipes were welded to make a tunnel. A Delhi court on Tuesday directed the ED to file by December 6 its reply to an application by AAP MP Sanjay Singh seeking bail in a money laundering case related to the alleged excise scam. AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh was arrested by the ED on October 4 (File Photo) Special Judge M K Nagpal issued notice to the central probe agency on the application, which claimed that no purpose will be served by keeping Singh in further custody. The judge also directed the ED to provide a copy of the reply to the accused. The anti-money laundering agency had arrested Singh on October 4. The ED has alleged that Singh played a key role in the formulation and implementation of the now scrapped policy, which benefited certain liquor manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers, for monetary considerations. Singh has strongly refuted the allegations. The Delhi high court on Tuesday fined BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover 2 lakh for violating its order and posting defamatory content against the fintech company, saying it was appalled by the persistent blatant violation. BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover. (Sourced) A bench of Justice Rekha Palli took note of Grovers unconditional apology for his past behaviour and an undertaking to not post any further content in the future. It disposed of Bharat Pes plea seeking to restrain Grover from posting defamatory content on social media by directing Grover to deposit the fine within a week. Senior advocate Amit Sibal, who appeared for BharatPe, said the high court on May 16 directed the parties to avoid unparliamentary and defamatory language against each other. He added Grover published defamatory tweets and then deleted them. He said Grover on May 26 voluntarily sought to remove the defamatory posts and promised to abide by the courts previous order. Sibal said Grover blatantly violated the order. Senior advocate Giriraj Subramanium, who appeared for Grover, submitted his client was tendering an apology and giving an undertaking to abide by the courts orders and not post any defamatory content against BharatPe. The Union government on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that it has decided to give a six-month extension to Delhis chief secretary Naresh Kumar, prompting the court to ask if there was no other officer eligible or competent enough to take the reins from the incumbent. New Delhi, India - May 26, 2023: Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena with Chief Secretary of Delhi Naresh Kumar during a workshop on " Capacity Building for Civil Servants in Delhi" at Vigyan Bhawan, in New Delhi, India, on Friday, May 26, 2023. (Photo by Sanjeev Verma/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times) While Kumar is scheduled to retire on November 30, the Delhi government has approached the top court opposing any further extension to Kumar and demanding a consultative exercise for the appointment of the next chief secretary of the national capital territory (NCT) government. Also read: LG dissolves Delhi govt panel to monitor criminal probes Are you stuck with one name? Whoever you want to appoint, appoint. But is there no other IAS officer you can appoint as the chief secretary? a bench, led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, asked solicitor general Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the Centre. The poser from the bench, which also included justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, came after the SG informed the bench that the Centre has decided to give Kumar an extension for the time being, and that it could have a consultative process with the Delhi government, as suggested by the court last week, as and when the next chief secretary is to be appointed. On November 24, the bench had suggested the central government propose names of five officials for the post of the chief secretary, from which the Delhi government could pick anyone. Mehta had on the day said that he would revert with appropriate instructions. When the hearing commenced on Tuesday, senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi, said that he has not received any name from Mehta so far. To this, the SG said informed the bench that the Centre has decided to extend the tenure of the present chief secretary to ensure continuity of administration before the next one could be appointed at a later time. While Singhvi complained that a further extension to Kumar was in derision of the power of an elected government as he cited unrelenting friction between the Delhi ministers and the current chief secretary, Mehta maintained that the two sides require to learn how to work in tandem. The SG further asserted that the 2023 Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) Act makes it clear that chief secretary means the chief Secretary by the central government. Responding, the bench acknowledged that the Centre indeed has the power to appoint the chief secretary since the new law, though under challenge before the apex court, has not been stayed so far. So, why dont you exercise your power under the Act and appoint a new chief secretary? You appoint any officer of your choice from the entire country? Why are you stuck with one person? Dont you have any other IAS officer to appoint as the chief secretary of Delhi? the bench asked Mehta, underlining that Kumars appointment was not done under the 2023 Act. We wont hold you down to our suggestion (of a panel of names). You get any other person and appoint him. You exercise your power under the new law. You nominate any IAS officer in the country and appoint him. They are also saying you can appoint any new person, said the bench, asking the S-G to get suitable instructions. Mehta, however, remained firm that the Act does not only grant the Centre the power to appoint a new chief secretary but also the authority to extend the tenure of an officer. At this point, the bench adjourned the hearing to Wednesday, telling Mehta: In that case, you show us tomorrow where is your power to grant extension and also indicate the grounds of extension being given to this officer. The Arvind Kejriwal-government and Kumar have been locked in a long-running battle over matters relating to the administration of the NCT. Earlier this month Kejriwal wrote to Lieutenant Governor (LG) VK Saxena recommending immediate removal of Kumar in an alleged corruption case involving land pocket acquisition for Dwarka expressway. While Kumar denied the charges, the LG refused to act on the CMs letter saying no evidence of Kumars complicity was brought to fore. The Delhi governments petition in the top court has challenged the unilateral decision-making process adopted by the Centre to appoint Delhis next chief secretary, a process which the Centre said is midway, even as it said that there must be a degree of confidence in the elected arm of the state. The Delhi government in its plea cited Rule 7(2) of the Indian Administrative Service (Cadre) Rules, 1954 which stipulates all appointments to cadre posts in a state cadre to be made by the state government. Relying on the Constitution bench decisions of the apex court which held that services will rest with the Delhi government, the petition said that the 2023 GNCTD (Amendment) Act violates the decision of the top court in May this year rendering the Delhi government to be a mere observer in appointing the chief secretary, the most crucial member of the permanent executive. A 22-year-old woman was allegedly the victim of a snatching incident in an unusual place on Saturday inside the premises of the Jafrabad Metro station in northeast Delhi. The woman, according to her complaint to the police, ran after the man who snatched her phone, only for a second person waiting outside the Metro station to threaten her with a gun. Snatchers target woman at Delhi Metro stop, threaten her with gun outside Deputy commissioner of police (Metro) Ram Gopal Naik said that a case under sections 379 and 356 of the Indian Penal Code has been registered, and is being investigated by an assistant sub-inspector. Isha Gupta, a resident of Mandawali in east Delhi, told HT that she was on her way home after work she is a make-up artiste at 8pm on Saturday, and had entered the Jafrabad Metro station, an elevated station on the Pink Line, when the incident occurred. I was going up to the Metro station on the escalator, right before the baggage screening area. A man was behind me and when I took out my phone from my jacket, he snatched it. He then began running down the escalator that was going up, she said, adding that the distance between the escalators and baggage screening is about 300 metres. Also read: Influencer faces backlash for dancing inside Delhi Metro Chasing the man, when she reached outside the Metro station, a second person allegedly showed her a pistol and threatened her to go back inside. There were no security personnel when the incident took place. I was scared -- so I didnt take the Metro and went home in an auto-rickshaw. I told my husband and we went immediately to report the matter to the police, she said. Gupta alleged that when she arrived at the Metro station with her husband and made a PCR call about the theft, the police personnel who arrived began arguing about the jurisdiction of the case whether it fell under the Jafrabad or Shastri Park police stations and wasted precious time that could have been used to trace her mobile. She also claimed that there was also a delay in filing a first information report (FIR), which was finally registered the next morning at Shastri Park. A senior police officer, requesting anonymity, said the victims allegations regarding the non-registration of an FIR were being looked into. Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which provides security across the Delhi Metro network, said the incident happened outside the security check area, where their jurisdiction begins. CISF personnel are present in the station starting the security checkpoint. Beyond this is commonly referred to as the unpaid area, where CISF is not present, said a CISF officer, adding the crime scene was not covered by CCTV cameras. During or after the incident, CISF was not called in for assistance, he added. However, DCP Naik said police have obtained CCTV footage in which the suspects can be seen. Their photographs were sent for matching in the facial recognition system, he said, adding that over 10 people have been apprehended and are being interrogated. A Delhi Metro Rail Corporation spokesperson said they were cooperating with the police in the probe. We will share any information we have, he said. The Darjeeling civic body has decided to reintroduce tourist tax of 20 per tourist coming to visit the Queen of Hills in north Bengal after a gap of more than a decade. Darjeeling is one of the most sought-after hill destinations in India offering breath-taking views of Mt Khangchendzonga, the third highest mountain in the world (File) The collection of tourist tax would start soon. A private firm has already been issued the order to collect the tax, said Dipendra Thakuri, chairman of Darjeeling Municipality. It is one of the most sought-after hill destinations in India offering breath-taking views of Mt Khangchendzonga, the third highest mountain in the world. More than a million tourists visit Darjeeling every year. There are around 400 hotels in the hill station. Hotels would collect tourist tax of 20 per tourist irrespective of the duration of stay. The private company, which would be collecting the tax from hotels, would pay 28.25 lakh per year to the municipality. This amount is far less than the total amount of the tax that would otherwise be collected from the tourists arriving in Darjeeling, said Ritesh Portel the former chairman of the Municipality and the leader of opposition Hamro Party. The decision, however, met with criticism from opposition parties, which have appealed the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM)-led municipality, to re-consider the decision. The decision to collect 20 per tourist above five years of age from the hotels they would be staying in, would have a dampening effect on the tourism industry and the civic body would also lose revenue, opposition parties said. Tourists arriving in Darjeeling are already over-burdened as they have to pay tax while entering multiple tourist locations like the Tiger Hill, which is famous for sunrise, said Bharat Tiruwa, general secretary of the Gorkha Ekta Chalak Sangathan. This is, however, not the first time Darjeeling Municipality has decided to impose levy tourist tax. It started in 2008. The levy per tourist was 3 in 2011 and it was raised to 10 per tourist in 2012. Thereafter it was stopped as the process was cumbersome and most hotels did not cooperate. The hoteliers suggest that the municipality can collect tourist levy at entry points, rather than outsourcing the task to a private company which would definitely check the list at odd times of the tourists arriving in hotels. This would lead to inconvenience to both the hoteliers and tourists, said a hotel owner. Justifying the decision, Thakuri said Collecting tourist tax at entry points would further lead to traffic jams. Traffic jams are regular occurrences in Darjeeling particularly during tourist season. Almost two lakh tourists enter Darjeeling town every year, while many tourists visiting other destinations in the district to avoid the congested town. Portel also condemned the municipalitys statement that the decision to collect tourist levy was taken in the board of councillors. The issue was not discussed in any board meeting. While depreciating the practice of use of word Pradhanpati (husbands trying to act as the proxy for elected women pradhans or village heads), the Allahabad high court on Tuesday dismissed a writ petition sworn by the husband of a woman village head on behalf of his wife. The court also imposed a cost of 5,000 each on both of them and observed that the husband of the woman village head had no business to interfere with the working of Gaon Sabha. (For Representation) The court also imposed a cost of 5,000 each on both of them and observed that the husband of the woman village head had no business to interfere with the working of Gaon Sabha. If such act is permitted it will not only frustrate objective of women empowerment but also object of providing specific reservation to women to come forward and join mainstream of politics and increase their participation in social, economic and cultural growth of nation, the court observed. Dismissing a writ petition filed by Gaon Sabha of a village of Bijnor district, Justice Saurabh Shyam Shamshery observed, The term Pradhanpati is a very popular and widely used term in state of Uttar Pradesh. It is used for the Husband of a woman Pradhan. Despite being an unauthorized authority, Pradhanpati unauthorisedly, usually undertakes work of a woman Pradhan, i.e., his wife. There are many instances where a woman Pradhan only acts like a rubber stamp and for all practical purposes, all major decisions are taken by so called Pradhanpati, and elected representative just acts like mute spectator. The present writ petition is a glaring example of such a situation, the court said. The writ petition was filed by Gaon Sabha, Madpuri village, pargana Barapur, tehsil Nagina, district Bijnor through its pradhan Karmjeet Kaur. The writ petition was not accompanied by any resolution in favour of elected pradhan authorising her husband to file the writ petition but the affidavit enclosed with the writ petition was sworn the pradhans husband Sukhdev Singh. The court is aware that there are women Pradhans in the state of Uttar Pradesh, who are exercising their power, rights and duties and legal obligations effectively and are doing very good work for village concerned. However, the present case does not appear to be such, the court said. The court directed that a copy of the order shall also be sent to State Election Commission (SEC) so that it may consider to issue a circular for all candidates for future elections, cautioning them to be careful in exercising their powers, functions and duties as a village representative. Complete security plan for Ram temple will be put in place by January 5 and all necessary equipment will be installed through which devotees arriving at Ram Janmabhoomi will have to pass to make sure the temples security plan is foolproof on the Pran- Pratishtha (consecration) ceremony of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya on January 22 next year. The Ram temple will be opened for devotees from January 23, 2024. (Sourced) At a high-level meeting of Ram temples security committee in Ayodhya on Tuesday, senior police officials discussed the issue and decided to roll out the plan by January 5. The additional director general of police (security), the IG police (Ayodhya range), IB officials, the Ayodhya divisional commissioner and a member of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirath Kshetra Trust were present in the meeting. For the first phase of the security plan, the state government has released 40 crore, Ayodhya divisional commissioner Gaurav Dayal informed media persons after the meeting. The overall security plan for Ram temple is with the state government for approval, Dayal added. Also present in the meeting, Ram temple Trust member Anil Mishra said: By January 5, the entire security plan will be rolled out. From January 5, devotees arriving at Ram Janmabhoomi will have to pass through security equipment installed there. This will help in testing the security apparatus for the opening ceremony of the temple on January 22, Mishra added. According to Praveen Kumar, inspector general of police (Ayodhya range), the Ram Janmabhoomi will have a four-tier security plan. Several agencies will be involved in the security of the Ram Janmabhoomi. They include the CRPF, the PAC and the special security force (SSF), Kumar said. In temples security, artificial intelligence will also be used, he added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat will be the chief guest at the consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla on January 22. The Trust has also prepared a list of 2500 guests who will be invited for the mega opening ceremony of Ram temple. In addition to this, 4,000 saints have also been invited for the ceremony. The temple will be opened for devotees from January 23. Members of Hindu outfits and local civic officials sprinkled Gangajal (water from the Ganga) on a temple in Uttar Pradeshs Siddharthnagar district on Monday in an effort to purify it, a day after a Muslim lawmaker visited the shrine, police said. After the lawmaker's visit, some people visited the temple, sprinkled Gangajal, recited the Hanuman Chalisa, and shouted slogans against Khatoon(AH Zaidi/HT Photo) Samajwadi Party (SP) legislator from Domariaganj, Saiyada Khatoon, said she was invited by the administration of the Samya Mata temple in Balwa village of Siddharthnagar district to attend an event on Sunday. But after the Ram Katha event, the chairman of the local panchayat and members of some other Hindu organisations visited the temple on Monday, sprinkled Gangajal, recited the Hanuman Chalisa, and shouted slogans against Khatoon, police said. Also read: Police removes banner asking Muslims not to do business near temple in Mangaluru Samya Mata Mandir is a centre of faith for devotees. People throng the temple with dedication that was disrespected by the local MLA. She is non-vegetarian and her visit affected the sanctity of the place, said Dharmaraj Verma, chairman, Barhni Chafa nagar panchayat. He was accompanied by members of different Hindu Organisations, including Santosh Paswan, Mithlesh Pandey, Vijai Madhesia and Promod Gautam. The chairman, Dharamaraj Verma, said that he sprinkled Gangajal on the temple to purify it. Taking note of the matter, Domariaganj circle officer Sujit Kumar Rai said a police team was patrolling the area to avert the possibility of any confrontation and added that they have not received any complaint in connection with the incident yet. We will take appropriate action if a complaint is filed in this regard, he added. Rai also informed that local villagers had constituted an organising committee for the Ram Katha, headed by Shrikant Shukla, secretary of organising committee and Pujari Prasad, head priest of the temple, and had invited the SP leader. We are inquiring into the incident and keeping a close eye on the development, said superintendent of police, Siddharthnagar, Abhishek Kumar Agarwal. Khatoon said some elements were misleading a group of people. I respect all religions. Moreover, I am a public representative. Be it a temple or a mosque, I will surely go there if I am invited, she said. Renovation of various temples was funded by her MLA local area development fund, she added. This isnt the first time that such an incident has happened at a temple in Uttar Pradesh. In 2018, a temple in Hamirpur district was purified with Gangajal after a Dalit woman lawmaker, from the Bharatiya Janata Party, entered the temple. A controversy also broke out in neighbouring Bihar last year after a Muslim minister entered the Vishnupad temple along with chief minister Nitish Kumar, prompting the temple staff to purify the premises. The Gautam Budh Nagar police on Sunday night seized as many as five cars and issued e-challans amounting to 3,96,000 to 12 vehicles of a wedding procession (baraat), on their way from Delhis Okhla to the wedding venue in Greater Noida West for violating traffic norms, senior officers said. On Sunday around 9pm, police were alerted that 15 to 20 cars, including SUVs, were violating traffic norms by blaring their hooters, performing stunts and creating traffic congestion in the city. (Above) a screen grab of a video of men sitting on car windows, yelling. (Sourced) A case in this regard was registered at the Bisrakh police station in Greater Noida and the procession was stopped near Kisan Chowk after a joint team from the Bisrakh station and the traffic police barricaded off the entire road to stop them. Also read: Reckless driving claims more lives than murders: NCRB data Traffic police issued 12 e-challans amounting to 3,96,000. Each car was fined 33,000 for rash driving, blaring hooters, and violating traffic norms under the Motor Vehicle Act, said senior police officers. Bisrakh station house officer Arvind Kumar said, On Sunday around 9pm, police were alerted on their emergency helpline number that 15 to 20 cars, including SUVs, were violating traffic norms by blaring their hooters, performing stunts and creating traffic congestion in the city. According to police, the groom, a businessman whose name has been withheld by police, is a resident of Delhis Okhla. On Sunday night, they entered Noida from Kalindi Kunj side and drove through the city. They even stopped the motorcade near Parthala Bridge to resort to public celebrations, causing congestion and snarls in Parthala and adjoining areas. A passerby alerted police about the ruckus, and a joint team of Bisrakh police and traffic police managed to stop the wedding procession near Kisan Chowk after barricading off the entire stretch. A senior officer said, A few cars in the procession managed to speed away but with the help of the integrated traffic management system (ITMS), the cars were identified and -challans were issued against their owners. Five cars were seized as the drivers were unable to produce papers. Apart from e-challans, a fine of 33,000 each was imposed on the five seized vehicles, said SHO Kumar, adding that five people were arrested but after preliminary investigation, they were let go. Only the grooms vehicle was allowed to pass the police checking at Kisan Chowk, as it did not violate any traffic norms, added SHO Kumar. A case under sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant), 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way), 339 (wrongful restraint) and 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) of the Indian Penal Code was registered against five identified and two unidentified suspects at Bisrakh police station Sunday night. The five identified persons are Shoeb Malik, Shaquib, Abid, Ashif, and Shoeb Ali, residents of Okhla in Delhi. A video of the ruckus created by these vehicles was also widely circulated on social media platforms. In the video, people in cars could be heard shouting, standing through the sunroof of the car while shouting out loud. HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the video. . The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday launched another offensive against the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government for allegedly axing the number of holidays for the states schools during Hindu festivals and increasing it for Muslim festivals. Calling Nitish Kumar the chief of appeasement, Union minister Ashwini Choubey claimed that the anti-Hindu face of the grand alliance has come to the fore again, alleging that the Bihar government hates Sanatan for vote bank. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar.(PTI) Once again the anti-Hindu face of the uncle-nephew government came to the fore. On one hand, holidays for Muslim festivals are being extended in schools, while holidays for Hindu festivals are being abolished, Choubey said in a social media post on X. Shame on the government that hates Sanatan for vote bank. The Bihar education department on Monday issued the holiday calendar for 2024 and said the chart has been created to ensure at least 220 teaching days under the Right to Education. According to HT's sister publication Live Hindustan, the holiday calendar for the year 2024 has seen wholesale change, with the number of summer vacation days increased from 20 to 30. While the holidays for Hartalika Teej and Jitiya have been done away with, the education department has increased the holidays for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha (Bakrid) to three days each, LH reported. Firebrand BJP leader and Union minister Giriraj Singh took a swipe at Nitish Kumar-led government, calling the state Islamic Republic of Bihar. Nitish and Lalu government increased holidays for Muslim festivals in schools, ended holidays for Hindu festivals, he wrote on X in Hindi. A similar controversy erupted earlier this year when the government, in an order dated August 29, curtailed the number of holidays for the states schools from 22 to 8 over the next five months. The order was, however, withdrawn after massive opposition. In a notificatio, the director (secondary education) said: The August 29 order comprising holiday list in government primary, middle and secondary schools is cancelled with immediate effect. Much has been said about justice as an abstract idea, but institutions seldom reflect on access to justice. Since his elevation, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud has set out to change this paradigm by constantly reminding people that in the absence of access, the idea of justice would be meaningless. On Monday, speaking at a conference on Strengthening Access to Justice in the Global South, the CJI picked out technology, infrastructure, physical accessibility to courtrooms, and gender neutrality as instruments that make justice accessible to citizens. These are practical measures that can truly facilitate the transformation of the Supreme Court (SC) into a peoples court as the CJI is wont to describe the apex court. Access to justice was recognised as a fundamental right by a Constitution Bench in Anita Kushwaha v Pushap Sudan (2016). A radical step by the SC in recent years to take the judicial system to the people is the introduction of online courtrooms. This measure has enabled litigants and lawyers living away from the national Capital to access the apex court at a minimal cost. It realises the vision that the right to approach the Court is the heart and soul of the Constitution. PREMIUM The Supreme Court (File) The Delhi University may provide up to 20 per cent of its courses through online medium on the Swayam portal. Delhi University may provide up to 20% courses online on SWAYAM portal (File Photo) A proposal in this regard will be placed before the Academic Council during its meeting scheduled for November 30. According to the proposal, colleges may consider to provide up to 20 per cent of the total courses being offered in a particular programme in a semester in online mode. This would supplement the teaching-learning process in the institute, the proposal said. The proposal is expected to be opposed by a large majority of AC members who feel that employment generation at the university will be at risk amid the push for online learning, according to Maya John, assistant professor, Jesus Mary college. "Almost 90 per cent of the Academic Council members will oppose this proposal as it is an anti-student and anti-teacher move. Classroom teaching is very important for many students who come from different backgrounds and this will also impact the need for teaching staff who will be substituted by online learning on Swayam," she said. The proposal is in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 that aims to achieve 50 per cent Gross Enrolment Ratio (GRE) in higher education by year 2035 with the help of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) offered by the Swayam platform. The Academic Council in June 2019 had sought the Executive Council's approval for the adoption of the UGC (Credit Framework for Online Learning Courses through SWYAM) Regulations, 2016. Earlier this year, the university's Department of Commerce had expressed its desire to implement MOOCs developed by teachers of the department and develop its course content based on the curriculum of the university. A Departmental Council meeting in February had decided and approved details regarding the title of the MOOC to be offered, its course coordinator, and credits to be assigned for the same. Currently, Delhi University does not provide MOOCs through Swayam -- a government portal for free online courses for students. IGNOU has launched a channel-based counseling initiative titled Swayam Prabha in the Manipuri language. The program, organized by IGNOU in Imphal, was inaugurated by Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Education Dr Rajkumar Ranjan Singh who was the chief guest. IGNOU launches Swayam Prabha transmission in Manipuri language(File image) As per a press release issued by IGNOU, the event was attended by more than 700 students, educationists, media persons, and the general public. In addition, Vice Chancellor IGNOU, Pro-Vice chancellors, and other senior officers were also present. The press release stated that the newly developed studios of IGNOU in Regional Centre Imphal for live transmission of Swayam Prabha transmission were also inaugurated by Union MoS RK Ranjan Singh. The initiative is aimed at opening up doors of education for aspirants living in far-flung areas where conventional educational facilities are limited and people prefer to be taught in their own mother tongue. Zamit collaborates with The Future Foundation to shape the future of the school ecosystem Addressing the gathering, Union MoS Singh said that the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 emphasizes teaching in the mother tongue and the initiative of IGNOU in channel-based teaching in the mother tongue is seen as a major intervention in this direction. HPPSC HPAS Mains admit card 2023 released at hppsc.hp.gov.in, here's direct link He lauded the initiatives of IGNOU, and said inauguration of channel-based counseling in Manipuri language will open up opportunities of education in mother tongue for large population of Manipuri diaspora living in other parts of the world. Prof Nageshwar Rao, Vice Chancellor, IGNOU, highlighted that multilingualism is being promoted by IGNOU as per the mandate of NEP 2020 and the University has been focusing in a big way on developing content in multiple languages. With Phase 2 of the Kashi Tamil Sangamam, all set to be held from Dec 17, 2023, to Dec 30, 2023, the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT Madras) announced the launch of the registration portal of the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat programme. Coordinating with other institutions in Tamil Nadu, IIT Madras will organise workshops, seminars and other outreach activities from December 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023.(Handout) According to a press release by IIT Madras, people from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry who are interested in the second edition of this Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat programme can apply on the KTS portal (kashitamil.iitm.ac.in) by December 8, 2023. The programme aims to revive the bond between Varanasi and Tamil Nadu which were important centres of learning and culture in ancient India. Phase 2 of the Kashi Tamil Sangamam will include an eight-day immersive tour to Varanasi, Prayagraj and Ayodhya and expects around 1,400 people from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry to travel to the destination by train, informed the press release. Also Read: Kashi Tamil Sangamam: A true example of unity in diversity Coordinating with other institutions in Tamil Nadu, IIT Madras will organise workshops, seminars and other outreach activities from December 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023, said the institute. Interested participants from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry can register for the Phase 2 of the Kashi Tamil Sangamam on the KTS portal which was launched by IIT Madras. Before Saif Ali Khan went on a spree to essay the urban, commitment-phobic men in memorable films like Hum Tum, Salaam Namaste, Love Aaj Kal, and Cocktail, he played the antithesis in Nikkhil Advani's Kal Ho Naa Ho, which completes 20 years since release today. His character of Rohit Patel managed to hold his own against the author-backed lead role of Aman, the happy-go-lucky sacrificial lover played by Shah Rukh Khan. Saif Ali Khan as Rohit Patel in Kal Ho Naa Ho Unrequited love like no other The character of Rohit was written by Karan Johar, known for creating unforgettable moments of unrequited love. When Naina (Preity Zinta) tells her BFF Rohit that she loves Aman right when he's about to propose to her, the scene has striking resemblance to the one in Karan's 1998 directorial debut. Anjali (Kajol) and Rahul (Shah Rukh) rush towards each other and meet in the middle of a field where he tells her he loves Tina (Rani Mukerji), moments before Anjali is about to confess her love for him. But unlike Anjali's crushing heartbreak, Rohit's reaction is more like he's made a fool of himself. He doesn't go running and crashing back to her place to say, Mera pehle pyaar adhura reh gaya." Rohit is used to rejection, getting bashed up by the husbands and boyfriends of women he tries his luck on. Tujhe Yaad Na Meri Aayi wouldn't go well with Rohit sobbing away on the streets of New York. Neither does he pack his bags and leave the town like Anjali does. Rohit gracefully steps back, giving the bouquet of red roses he got for Naina to her only so she could pass it on to Aman. He doesn't follow up with her on what happened till he bumps into her when they're returning their red tie and dress to the same store, insisting it's not my colour. It's only then that Rohit, wearing a muted pink tie, and Naina, wearing a baby pink dress, discuss her fading love. Right after learning that Aman is married, he taunts her that she should've loved him instead. But Rohit knows heartbreak too well. He doesn't want to play that card of lending his shoulder and then swiftly taking the next chance on a vulnerable Naina. He asks her politely, Kya tum fir kisi se pyaar kar paogi? She goes mum and smiles awkwardly after a pause, letting Rohit know that he'll have to forget his first love. He also knows unrequited love all too well. That's why earlier, we see him take an old lady on a date after he accidentally asks her out instead of a younger one he intended to. Ek tarfa pyaar ki taakat If Rohit doesn't go all self-pity like Anjali, he doesn't turn obsessive like Ayan (Ranbir Kapoor) from Karan's 2016 film Ae Dil Hai Mushkil either. He doesn't feed into the cliche of fuelling his art with a broken heart. He has no art to nurture in the first place. An advertising agent in the same position for three years, he's not as ambitious as his father (Satish Shah) who became one of the richest Indian Americans with his desi food business, called Dial A Dhokla. Rohit has lived on his own in Manhattan for years as he tells Lillete Dubey's character in that hilarious galat ghar sequence, Mummy papa Connecticut chale gaye, main Manhattan mein reh gaya. He lives with his dog Laila and house help Kanta Ben, and thus yearns for a woman he can start a family with. He's the quintessential boy you take home to your mother, but the girl he falls in love with is looking for a man, more of a dominant father figure, having lost her dad in teenage years. Rohit does use his ek tarfa pyaar ki taakat, but not to channel it into art, rage, or pity. He takes his love to reproduce more love, to, an extent that, as he says while proposing Naina later, it is sufficient to sustain the both of them. He invokes Karan Johar's pyaar dosti hai idea from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai to convince Naina that the first and last stages of love are friendship and that Naina only needs to cover the journey between the two. Rohit is disgusted by Aman's plan of 6 din ladki in but gives in, in the hope to somehow make Naina fall in love with her. He's persistent, but also cognizant of the fact that he'd always play second fiddle to Aman as far as Naina's love is concerned. Naina's mom Jennifer (Jaya Bachchan) tells her that Rohit's love bears immense strength because the awareness of reality doesn't come in the way of him loving even more deeply. As he tells Aman towards the end, Sachai ka saamna kar sakta hu main, par yaadon se ladne ki taakat nahi hai. Rohit shares Naina's sadness when she cries inconsolably at her wedding seeing Aman around. He's well aware that her tears aren't because she's leaving her home behind, but because she can't claim her first love despite it being so close physically. When Aman is about to breathe his last, he doesn't ask Rohit, as is the cliche, to take care of Naina. He knows Rohit would do that anyway. He just asks Rohit to leave Naina for her in their next lives, and Rohit obliges. In her last words before the film ends, Naina admits that she found her husband in a friend. She doesn't say I love you' back when Rohit tells her so, years down the lane. She still sees him as the friend who she waits for endlessly to go to their MBA class together. But he sees in her hope that one day, his slow, unabated, gentle love would get reciprocated to the same degree. He doesn't want to seize the day because kal ho naa ho, he wants his love to outlive him even if there's no tomorrow. Entertainment! Entertainment! Entertainment! Click to follow our Whatsapp Channel Your daily dose of gossip, films, shows, celebrities updates all in one place. The Animal pre-release event in Hyderabad on Friday was attended by the film's team and also some special guests. Apart from actor Mahesh Babu and filmmaker SS Rajamouli, politician and Minister of Labour and Employment, Telangana, Malla Reddy was also present. He raked up a controversy with his comment on 'Telugu ruling over India'. (Also read: Ranbir Kapoor can't stop smiling as Mahesh Babu calls him 'India's best actor' at Animal Hyderabad event. Watch) Malla Reddy's comments at Animal event are not well received by some. Malla Reddy took to the stage as everyone else watched him from the audience section. Addressing Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor, the film's lead star, he said in Hindi, Ranbir ji, aapko ek baat bolna chahta hu. Agla paanch saal mein, poore Hindustan ko, Bollywood, Hollywood, poora ruling karega humara Telugu people. Aap bhi ek saal ke baad Hyderabad shift hona padta. Kyu bole toh Bombay purana ho gaya. Bangalore traffic jam ho gaya. Hindustan mein ek hi city hai woh hai Hyderabad (Ranbir, I want to tell you something. In next five years, Telugu people will rule over India, Bollywood and Hollywood. You will also have to move to Hyderabad next year. Why? Because Mumbai is old now and Bengaluru has traffic jams. Hyderabad is the only city in India). He also praised Telugu artistes Rajamouli, Mahesh Babu and even Animal director Sandeep Reddy Vanga and actor Rashmila Mandanna. Telugu film fans and Twitter in general was embarrassed by Reddy's speech. Many praised Ranbir for smiling through it all. Hats off to Ranbir for being so patient, wrote one. For all Hindi-speaking friends, he's a politician. He wants votes. Take it like a pinch of salt, recommended another. Others were a bit more offended, "Hindi audience loves South actors and their movies without any discrimination. But here, the Telugu leader mocked the Bollywood and Hindi audience. We should show the true aukat of these people. Everyone should watch "#Dunki" instead of "#Salaar". Let's support our industry! #Bollywood pride of India." Others said that one should not take Malla Reddy too seriously. Relax, we Telugu speaking people ourselves don't consider him serious. Why worry so much? Never create controversy for your reach, wrote a person. Animal is up for release on December 1 and also stars Anil Kapoor and Bobby Deol. It is an A rated violent film with a run time of 3.20 hours. Pranitha Subhash, who has mainly worked in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films has recalled working in Ajay Devgn's Bhuj The Pride of India, and said that she was apprehensive whether she would be able to "stand out enough" in a film that featured Ajay, Sonakshi Sinha, Sanjay Dutt, among many others. In an exclusive interview with Hindustan Times, the actor talks about the effects motherhood has had on her career and more. Exclusive interview with Pranitha Subhash. Pranitha has also featured in Bollywood movies such as Hungama 2. Currently, she is working on her Malayalam debut. Challenges of working on Bhuj The Pride of India Recalling the time she worked with Ajay Devgn in Bhuj The Pride of India, Pranitha said, This role was a Marathi wife role and they thought I fit the bill with my south-indian looks. Then, it was an ensemble cast and my first film too. It makes you apprehensive as in you do not know if you stand out enough (in that huge cast)." Pranitha played the role of Ajay's wife in the movie directed by Abhishek Dudhaiya. It also featured Nora Fatehi, Ammy Virk, and Sharad Kelkar. She added, "That could have been the toughest part for me because back in the day it was you are the hero's wife or something then you are the only one...now it is not like that. And, in the south it is clear if you have a song with the hero or this sequence which will make you stand out. Here, it felt different, that was the tough part. Hindi was not a challenge as I had very few dialogues. Pranitha's parents hoped she'd be a doctor Asked about the major challenges of her career, Pranitha said convincing her family about her career choice was a tough one. Convincing folks at home was quite a challenge. My mother and father are doctors and they have a hospital in Bangalore, so it was kind of unsaid that this is how things are going to be. You know, how normally these things work (Parents expect children to take after their profession). She further said, Also, there is so much apprehension about the film industry. You actually have no idea, all that you know from far away is that it is risky. There is no gurantee that it is a sure shot career. So they were apprehensive and wanted me to focus on academics instead. Initially, they asked me to take it up as a hobby. I had just finished my 12th when I did my first film. She also recalled that she first became a part of an advertisement for light jewellery for some pocket money. The hoardings were spotted and got her her debut film with Siddharth in 2010 - Baava. Difference between Tamil and Telugu film industries Talking about differences in the various film industries, Pranitha said, How the entire Tamil industry sees performance is very different from what it is in Telugu. In Telugu, I had to be this typical, the superlative, hyper-bubbly girl. On the other hand, in Tamil films, they expect you to be more real. It took a while for me to make that transition. In Tamil, I had to underplay emotions. Pranitha also said that be it Bollywood, or Tamil, or Telugu, or Kannada, she has always found very welcoming environment on sets. The Indian film industry is very welcoming. You may come with little or no experience and they are still welcoming. In the south, you may not even know their language and they are still welcoming. I just completed my first Malayalam movie and I felt it was also very welcoming team and set. Shooting after becoming a mom Pranitha gave birth to her first child, a daughter, last year. Asked about stepping out of the house for work after becoming a mom, she said, Working on the Malayalam film was a huge challenge as my baby was too small. Half my mind would be with her as I worked there. Being away for 25-30 days used to be very hard. Even if we planned to get the baby and her father to the location, it would be hard. Shooting a movie with a small baby around was also tough for everyone around. Pranitha will soon make her Malayalam debut with Rastheesh Raghunandan's Thankamani. She added, Malayalam movies are shot in hectic shcedules and I not used to that kind of routine. Mostly, I am used to films where we shoot for a few hours and then rest of the day is about gymming and chilling. Parenting duties Asked if her husband shares parenting duties with her, Pranitha said, I do not know how the father does very little work but she still runs to the father. I mean he spends a lot of time with her but I do all the work. There is also the good cop and bad cop we are playing - I do not let her watch TV. I am the bad cop here. Entertainment! Entertainment! Entertainment! Click to follow our Whatsapp Channel Your daily dose of gossip, films, shows, celebrities updates all in one place Ranbir Kapoor has said that he regrets not being friends with his late father, actor Rishi Kapoor. India Today reported that Ranbir talked about Rishi at a promotional event for his upcoming film Animal, and added he is glad he now his daughter Raha to love. Ranbir's new film Animal is about the bond between a father and his son. Ranbir plays the son while Anil Kapoor essays the role of his father in the film directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga. (Also read| Animal advance booking: Ranbir Kapoor film set to become actor's biggest opener) Ranbir Kapoor recalls his younger days and how he wishes he spent moe time with father, late actor Rishi Kapoor. Ranbir regrets not sharing more with his father Ranbir said, at the event, everyone who loses a parent always feels they never spent enough time with them. He added that Rishi Kapoor was busy shooting double and triple shifts when he was growing up. "He was travelling everywhere so there was not a really friendly relationship between us. We couldnt just sit and chat, and I really have that one regret in my life. I wish I could be friends with my father. I wish I could share more with him, which is one regret I always live with. I respected him but we were never friendly. But Im glad I have a daughter to love. When God takes away something, he also gives something back," he added. When Rishi said he sc***** up his relationship with Ranbir A few years before his death in 2020, Rishi had said that he and his wife Neetu Kapoor took it very badly when Ranbir decided to move out of the family home and live with his then-girlfriend, Katrina Kaif. Rishi had told Mumbai Mirror, Hes a great son, he listens to me but I dont interfere in his career because my career is mine and his is his. I know Ive sc***** up my relationship with Ranbir even though my wife kept telling me about what I was doing. Its now too late to change it; both of us will not be able to adjust to the change." More about Animal Ranbir Kapoor will be seen opposite Rashmika Mandanna in Animal. The film also stars Bobby Deol in the role of the main antagonist. Set for a December 1 release, Animal has already earned 9.75 crore in advance bookings, as per a Sacnilk report. The film will release in theatres in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu. Entertainment! Entertainment! Entertainment! Click to follow our Whatsapp Channel Your daily dose of gossip, films, shows, celebrities updates all in one place Actors Randeep Hooda and Lin Laishram are all set to tie the knot on Wednesday. The actor has now reached Imphal where they will be hosting their wedding ceremony. It's going to be a private affair with only Randeep Hooda in attendance from the industry. Also read: Randeep Hooda, Lin Laishram look their glamorous best in first picture after wedding announcement Randeep Hooda and Lin Laishram at a temple in Imphal ahead of their wedding ceremony. (PTI Photo)(PTI) Randeep Hooda seeks blessing before wedding The couple were seen seeking blessings from a temple at Heingang in Imphal East district. Both opted for traditional looks for their temple visit. Talking to news agency PTI after offering prayers, the Sarbjit actor said, I pray for a happy future, peace for Manipur and everywhere in the world, a happy married life and many more things. I hope I get them. Randeep Hooda on his wedding guestlist Reports also asked the actor if other Bollywood celebs would be attending their upcoming wedding. To this, Randeep replied, It's just me. He was also asked about his pre wedding feelings and if he is nervous, and Randeep said, Well, everybody is. Randeep and Lin also visited the Shri Govindaji temple later to offer prayers as well. Randeep and Lin Laishram Randeep and Lin announced their wedding news on their Instagram handles on Saturday. In a joint note, they shared, Taking a leaf out of Mahabharata where Arjun married Manipuri Warrior Princess Chitrangada, We are getting married with the blessings of our families and friends. We are filled with immense joy to share that our marriage will take place on the 29th of November 2023, Imphal, Manipur, followed by a reception in Mumbai. As we set to embark on this journey, we seek your blessings and love for this union of cultures, for which we are forever indebted and grateful. In love and light, Lin and Randeep." Lin made her Bollywood debut in 2007 with the film Om Shanti Om, and appeared in films like Mary Kom (2014), Umrika (2015), Rangoon (2017), Qaidi Band (2017), and Axone (2019). She was last seen in Jaane Jaan. Randeep on the other hand, will be seen in the film Swatantra Veer Savarkar. The project is a biopic of freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, popularly known as Veer Savarkar. It is directed and co-written by Randeep Hooda with Utkarsh Naithani. Entertainment! Entertainment! Entertainment! Click to follow ourWhatsapp Channel Your daily dose of gossip, films, shows, celebrities updates all in one place Jennifer Lawrence has set the record straight regarding all the plastic surgery rumors in the air. The Hunger Games star responded strongly in a recent conversation with Kylie Jenner for the interview, denying any allegations that she had undergone facial procedures and attributing her youthful appearance to makeup skills and graceful aging. Jennifer Lawrence poses before Christian Dior Spring/Summer 2024 womenswear collection presented Tuesday, Sept.26, 2023 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) Jennifer Lawrence denies getting plastic surgery Jennifer Lawrence denied the possibility that she had cosmetic surgery, explaining instead that makeup has amazing transforming powers. "I also think its incredible what makeup can do because I work with Hung [Vanngo], who overlines the lip, and I call him a plastic surgeon because everybody in the last few months since Ive been working with him, is convinced that I had eye surgery. Also read: Travis Kelce's friends see an 'endgame' for him and Taylor Swift: 'Not letting any hoopla impact relationship' The Red Sparrow actress emphasizes once more that she is not getting surgery for eyesrather, she is only applying cosmetics. The plastic surgery rumors began circulating after Jennifer Lawrence attended the Dior Fashion Show. Netizens were quick to notice a dramatic shift in her appearance as compared to her earlier looks. The actress responded to critics on social media, disputing rumors that she had a nose job or lip fillers, asserting that her transformed appearance is simply a result of graceful aging. Further stating that she lost the baby weight, Jennifer said: I started at 19, so I get the before and after pictures from when Im 19 to 30 and Im like, I grew up. I lost baby weight in my face, and my face changed because Im aging. Everybody thought I had a nose job, and Im like, Ive had the exact same nose. My cheeks got smaller. Thank you for bringing it up she added. Kylie Jenner speaks in support of Jennifer Lawrence addressing plastic surgery rumors Having been in the spotlight since she was a teenager, Kylie Jenner comforted Lawrence and said she understood what she was going through. She agreed that it was tough to deal with people always talking about your looks. I did end up getting lip fillers, but its also the same with me Kylie said next. She continued Ill see before and after photos when Im 12 years old versus 26 and my eyebrows are filled differently. I have contour on. Im like, How can you compare my 12-year-old face and say Ive gotten my jaw shaved and eyelids removed?. Kylie Jenner who was featured on the cover of Interview's 2023 Winter Issue, said she has always been incredibly self-assured and that she has no intention of changing who she is, especially after becoming a mother. Veteran Hollywood actor and producer Michael Douglas was honored with the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award at the 54th International Film Festival of India as it came to a close on Tuesday. Goa, Nov 28 (ANI): Goa CM Dr Pramod Sawant and Actor Ayushman Khurana presented 'Satyajit Ray Life Time Achievement Award' to the American Actor and Film Producer Michael Douglas during the concluding function of the 54th IFFI 2023, at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium in Goa on Tuesday. (ANI Photo)(Atish Naik) The two-time Academy Award winner, 79, said he was humbled and with everything going on the world, the festival was a reminder of the magic of moviemaking. Cinema is one of the few mediums that has the power to unite and transform us. It transcends divisions, whether that be geography, race language and even time, he said in his acceptance speech. Today our global language of cinema is more meaningful than ever, Douglas added. Endless Borders, an Iranian film directed by Abbas Amini, won the Golden Peacock for best film at the festival held annually in coastal Goa, Indias scenic tourist hotspot. The film is about how complicated physical borders might be yet nothing can be more complicated than the emotional and moral borders that you impose upon yourself, the jury said in its citation. The film is about an exiled Iranian teacher in a poor village on the border of Afghanistan and Iran who becomes acquainted with a family fleeing Afghanistan under threat from the Taliban. In the context of whats happening in the world right now, with the amazing conflicts that are going on, with the wars at our borders, it is very important to tell our stories, said Indian filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, the chair of the international jury who's directed movies including Elizabeth and the Naatu Naatu from the blockbuster Telugu-language action epic RRR and best short documentary The Elephant Whisperers, which streamed on Netflix. The Indian government, which organizes the festival, has announced a new incentive plan for foreign film productions to boost global collaborations. Douglas said Indian films were reaching a global audience thanks to the digital revolution and streaming services. Whatever country you are in, good moviemaking is usually about something personal to your country, and then realizing that it has an international message. Everything is in the material and you have to make it for yourself, he said during a session earlier Tuesday. This year, the prestigious annual MAMA Awards is being held in Tokyo, Japan. The two-day event began on Tuesday, November 28 at the Tokyo Dome Stadium in Bunkyo. As the first day came to a close, BTS emerged as big winners for the night. The famous K-pop group took home not one but two prestigious award titles- Worldwide Fans' Choice and Icon of the Year. Other awardees for the fans' choice title include SEVENTEEN, TWICE, and Zerobaseone. BTS members J-Hope, Jin, Suga, Jungkook, RM, Jimin, and V win big at 2023 MAMA Awards Full list of winners at the 2023 MAMA Awards (Day 1) Worldwide Icon of the Year: BTS Worldwide Fans' Choice: SEVENTEEN, Stray Kids, NCT Dream, ENHYPEN, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, TWICE, ATEEZ, Lim Young-woong, Zerobaseone, and BTS Favourite Asian Female Group: Kep1er Favourite New Artist: Zerobaseone and RIIZE Favourite International Artist: Yoshiki Galaxy Neo Flip Artist: TREASURE Favourite Asian Male Group: INI Inspiring Achievement: TVXQ Fans flood social media with congratulatory comments Soon after the winners for this year's MAMA Awards were announced, fans flocked to social media to congratulate the K-pop idols. A fan shared a video of Jungkook's acceptance speech along with the message, Jungkooks acceptance speech video for bts worldwide icon of the year daesang award at the 2023 mama awards ! Another fan wrote, An unprecedented global top artist who is writing a new history every moment! CONGRATULATIONS BTS. One more fan wrote, Jungkooks acceptance speech video for BTS winning the Worldwide Icon Of The Year (daesang) at the 2023 MAMA Awards. He looks so handsome! This marks BTS 74th daesang. Congratulations BTS! BTS prepares for military enlistment BTS members are presently on a hiatus due to their upcoming mandatory military enlistment. Ahead of their service, Jungkook shared a heartfelt message for his fans on Weverse, expressing his gratitude for their love and support. In December, I will start a new journey, I'm leaving you for a while to serve in the military. As I deliver this news, on one hand, my heart feels heavy but on the other hand, my heart warms up the precious memories with our ARMYs coming to my mind, he wrote. The 54th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) concluded in Goa on Tuesday. The closing ceremony of the IFFI event witnessed Endless Borders winning the Best Film Award. The awards for best actors as well as best director among others were also announced. (Also Read | Michael Douglas dances to hook step of RRR song Naatu Naatu on IFFI stage) Michael Douglas, Endless Borders, Rishab Shetty won at IFFI. Rishab Shetty wins special jury award, Melanie Thierry wins best actor (female) award The ceremony also saw Rishab Shetty winning the special jury award for his Kannada movie Kantara. Bulgarian film director Stephan Komandarev won the Best Director award for his film Blagas Lessons. The Best Actor (Female) award went to French actor Melanie Thierry for her film Party of Fools. Iranian actor Pouria Rahimi Sam bagged the award for best actor (Male) for his performance in the movie Endless Borders. Best film award Regar Azad Kaya won the award for best debutant director for his Syrian-Arab Republic film When the Seedlings Grow. Germany's Endless Borders won the coveted Golden Peacock Award for the best film. Deepak Kumar Mishra-directed show Panchayat season two bagged the best OTT series award, which was introduced for the first time. Michael Douglas honoured with Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award Goa chief minister Dr Pramod Sawant felicitated Michael Douglas with the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award at the ceremony. Michael said that cinema is one of the few mediums with the power to unite people. The veteran actor is known for movies such as Wall Street, Fatal Attraction, The War of the Roses, Basic Instinct and The American President among others. Michael Douglas reacts to his award With everything going on in our world today this festival is a reminder of the magic of movie making. Cinema is one of the few mediums that has the power to unite and transform us. Cinema can make people laugh, cry or rejoice and reveal our shared humanity and today our global language of cinema is more meaningful than ever, Michael said as he thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister for Information and Broadcast Anurag Singh Thakur for the honour. He also said that Satyajit Ray was a world-class filmmaker who represented not only the triumphs of the Indian film industry, but also the "cross-cultural artistic expression". "It's an honour to stand before all of you tonight and receive this. I am humbled to join a prestigious group of past award recipients, he said. He also acknowledged people who laid the foundation for his career, including his late father, Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas. with PTI inputs Entertainment! Entertainment! Entertainment! Click to follow our Whatsapp Channel Your daily dose of gossip, films, shows, celebrities updates all in one place Days after Mansoor Ali Khan apologised to actor Trisha Krishnan over his misogynistic remarks against her, the actor has now said that he will sue her. Speaking with CNN News18, Mansoor also said that he will file a defamation case against the actor. He added that he will file a case later on Tuesday. (Also Read | Trisha responds to Mansoor Ali Khans cryptic apology) Trisha and Mansoor Ali Khan were part of Leo. Mansoor to sue Trisha Mansoor said, We are doing it (filing defamation case) today. We have prepared all the documents. (My) lawyer will share all other information later today at 4o clock. He will meet the press." When asked about his apology, Mansoor called it the "biggest joke". Mansoor recently apologised to Trisha Recently, Mansoor released a statement saying, "My co-actress Trisha, Forgive me. Let the God bless me by having me during your wedding." After the apology, Trisha took to her X handle and wrote, "To err is human, to forgive is divine." Summon, case against Mansoor The All Women Police Station (AWPS) of Thousand Lights, Chennai, had issued a summon to Mansoor for not appearing at the police station. The Chennai City Police booked the actor for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Trisha. The action was taken on an order to that effect by DGP Shankar Jiwal. Earlier, the National Commission for Women took suo motu cognisance of the matter and issued directions to the Tamil Nadu police to register a case against the actor. After summons were issued against him, Mansoor gave a statement asking for more time claiming that he was suffering from a throat infection. The actor was booked under Sections 354 A (sexual harassment) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to outrage the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code. How the row started Trisha and Mansoor have pivotal roles in Lokesh Kanagaraj's Leo but don't share screen space in the film. After Mansoor's comment, Trisha took to X and wrote, "A recent video has come to my notice where Mr Mansoor Ali Khan has spoken about me in a vile and disgusting manner. I strongly condemn this and find it sexist, disrespectful, misogynistic, repulsive and in bad taste." She had added, "He can keep wishing but I am grateful never to have shared screen space with someone as pathetic as him and I will make sure it never happens for the rest of my film career as well. People like him bring a bad name to mankind." NCW member and BJP leader Khushbu Sundar also hit out at the actor over his comments, posting on X, "Nobody can get away with such a filthy mind. I stand with @trishtrashers and my other colleagues where this man speaks in such a sexist disgusting mindset about them, including me. When we are fighting tooth & nail to protect women & bring dignity to them, such men are like a blot in our society." Entertainment! Entertainment! Entertainment! Click to follow our Whatsapp Channel Your daily dose of gossip, films, shows, celebrities updates all in one place Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God, a three-part HBO documentary series that premiered on November 13, 2023, is directed and produced by Hannah Olson. The show explores the life and death of Amy Carlson, the leader of the cult Love Has Won. Since its debut, the documentary series has made waves owing to its strange and unsettling truth, which can completely stun even the most skeptical viewer. Let's investigate the tale of Amy Carlson, who convinced her followers to believe she was the Mother God, a deity-like savior. Love Has Won(HBO) The truth behind HBOs new series Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God Filming for the series began three weeks after Amy Carlson's body was found in a mummified position. Reportedly, the cult Love Has Won was founded in 2006 by Carlson, a former manager at McDonald's. Her preserved body was discovered by authorities inside a Colorado home in 2021. Her followers kept her body in a makeshift shrine because they thought she was Mother God, sent to save humanity, and has now ascended to a superior realm of existence. Not only this but, the body was decorated and surrounded by flowers and Christmas lights. This might sound bizarre to many, however, this is the true story behind HBOs new docu-series. More about the cult Love Has Won Amy Carlson was the founder of the Love Has Won spiritual group in the United States. At the time of her death, the movement had between twelve and twenty full-time followers. The documentary demonstrates how Carlson and her male acquaintances, whom she referred to as Father God, influenced a group of approximately twenty people who looked up to her. The docu-series was put together utilizing a variety of videos, live footage, and in-depth interviews with cult members. The first episode delves into Amy Carlson's relationship with Amerith White Eagle, her first Father God figure. Carlson relocated to Colorado to be with him after they became friends. The episode focuses on Carlson's evolving connections with several Father Gods, whose cooperation eventually better served her objectives at the time. Reportedly, Carlson left her third husband, her kids, and her position as a manager at McDonald's to join White Eagle in Colorado. In her early teenage years, Carlson was noted as an exceptional straight-A student by her family. However, as she entered early adulthood, she began discussing "unusual concepts," as per her family. Also read: Strong Girl Nam Soon ending & season 2 explained: Pavel's identity determines Lee Yoo Mi and Byeon Woo Seok's fate Eighteen hours on, a six-year-old girl abducted by a gang in a car from Oyoor in Kollam district of Kerala remains untraced despite a statewide hunt by the local police. The girl was taken away while she was walking to a tuition centre from her home with her elder brother. (Representative Image) The girl, a student of Class 1 and a resident of Oyoor, was abducted by a gang of four, including a woman in a white Sedan around 4.45pm on Monday. The girl was taken away while she was walking to a tuition centre from her home with her elder brother, the family told the police. Soon after the incident was reported to the police, the cops launched an extensive statewide hunt sensing that the abduction was carefully planned by the gang. The police measures included checking CCTV footage, frisking vehicles on state and national highways and tracing calls from nearby cell towers. The girls family have additionally told the media that two calls for ransom were received purportedly from the abduction gang. While the caller, a woman, in the first call demanded 5 lakh in exchange for the child, in the second call, the ransom demanded was 10 lakh. The caller also asked the family not to inform the police about it. The incident and the subsequent police probe have received wall to wall, breathless coverage on local TV news channels for the past several hours. Finance minister KN Balagopal, who belongs to Kollam district, said on Tuesday morning, We are hoping that the child is rescued safely soon. There is certainly an atmosphere of uncertainty. Police are actively investigating the case from all angles. I have communicated with the chief minister about the incident today as well. CM Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday night had directed the state police chief to ensure a spirited and speedy investigation to catch the culprits and rescue the child. As the rescue operations entered the 17th day in the Silkyara tunnel, rescuers crossed the 50-metre mark and needed to dig through around seven metres of rubble using rat-hole mining techniques to bring out the 41 trapped workers. Twelve rat-hole mining experts are involved in the horizontal excavation through the last 10 or 12-metre stretch of debris of the collapsed portion of the under-construction tunnel on Uttarakhand's Char Dham route. "Rat miners" stand before they begin manual drilling as rescue operations are in progress after workers got trapped in a collapse of an under-construction tunnel, in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand. (REUTERS) Rat-hole miners are carrying out the manual drilling work which has been going on since Monday night. The debris thus generated is taken out manually using ropes from the rescue pipe. Follow Live Updates on Uttarkashi tunnel rescue Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reached the site on Tuesday morning and said almost 52 metres of drilling has been done and it is expected that there will be a breakthrough around 57 metres. Micro tunnelling expert Chris Cooper earlier said three metres of manual drilling has been done so far and about 50 metres of drilling work has been completed in total. "Almost 52 metres has been done (pipe inserted). It is expected that there will be a breakthrough around 57 metres. One metre of the pipe was pushed in before me, if two metres more of it is pushed in it will be around 54 metres in. After that, one more pipe will be used in...Earlier steel girders were found (during drilling). This has reduced now. Right now, we are finding more of concrete, it is being cut with cutter," Dhami told reporters. "It went very well last night. We have crossed 50 metres. It's now about five-six metres to go. We didn't have any obstacles last night. It is looking very positive," news agency quoted Cooper as saying. Top updates on Uttarakhand tunnel collapse: After the triumphant rescue of 41 trapped workers from the Uttarakhand tunnel on Tuesday, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that all of them will be given a comprehensive medical supervision and facilities. Addressing the media after the conclusion of the rescue operation, Dhami stressed that these measures were necessary due to the sudden transition the workers underwent from their challenging environment to safety. Following 17 days of tough rescue efforts involving multiple agencies, the trapped workers were successfully evacuated, with rat-hole miners playing a crucial role in the final phase of the operation. Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami with one of the rescued workers.(HT) Dhami, accompanied by Union minister V K Singh, greeted the workers as they were brought out by National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel via a steel chute lining a 60-meter passage. Dhami highlighted that the evacuation prioritised the youngest labourers, affirming their fitness and independent movement through the passage. "They got scared in the initial stages but as the communication was established, they all got the confidence that they will be taken out at any cost. The youngest one among the trapped workers were brought out first and the team leader came out last," Dhami said. Around 8 pm, an ambulance carried the first of the 41 workers out of the tunnel, following the rat-hole-mining experts' successful clearance of the last debris stretch. The chief minister extended his thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his unwavering support and encouragement throughout the entire rescue operation. Here's what's next for the 41 workers after the rescue -Chief minister Dhami assured that all the workers rescued on Tuesday were in good health, showing no signs of critical conditions. -Dhami further emphasised the need for medical examinations for the workers considering the challenging environment they just emerged from. He confirmed that arrangements would be made for their treatment until they return home. -After the rescue operation came to an end, ambulances stationed at the tunnel transported the workers to a community health center where a specialised 41-bed ward had been prepared. -The chief minister announced a monetary grant of 1 lakh for each of the 41 construction workers. He also pledged to reconstruct the Baukhnag temple and review the ongoing tunnel projects in the state. -Dhami mentioned that the workers' family members had been relocated to Chinyalisaur, where the state government would arrange for their convenient transportation back home. -Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami on the successful evacuation on Tuesday. He inquired about the health check-ups and safe transportation plans for the workers returning to their respective states. -The chief minister updated the prime minister on the workers' immediate health check-ups conducted at the hospital in Chinyalisaur, ensuring their well-being post-rescue. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday exuded confidence that the Congress would form governments in all five poll-bound states, including Telangana, even though the BJP-led Centre was 'misusing' the central agencies against the opposition leaders. Ashok Gehlot. ((HT PHOTO)) Citing feedback from the ground, he told reporters here that the Congress is going to win everywhere. Had a Congress government been formed in Telangana 10 years ago after party leader Sonia Gandhi fulfilled the promise of creation of a separate state of Telangana, it would have reached greater heights, he claimed. Accusing the BRS government in Telangana of failing to provide good governance since 2014, Gehlot said now reports of a tacit understanding between BRS and BJP are emerging. Dismissing PM Narendra Modi's allegation about question paper leak in Rajasthan, he said similar leaks were reported in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and also in Telangana. He added that Rajasthan has passed a law to penalise those indulging in paper leaks with life imprisonment. ALSO READ| Woman training to be Agniveer 'dies by suicide' at Navy hostel in Mumbai The Rajasthan CM charged the union government with misusing central agencies like ED and CBI. "We welcome it if someone does (deeds of) dishonesty... But, if you do it with politically revengeful attitude to bring down or to form governments...," he said. Gehlot further alleged that no action has been initiated against economic offenders in the country and some of them have even fled. "First send ED... threaten, then make friends. What happened in Madhya Pradesh? Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, all three elected governments have been dislodged. Is this democracy?" he asked. Such attempts were not successful in Rajasthan, Gehlot said. "What is happening in the country is dangerous to democracy," the Congress veteran said, claiming that the credibility of agencies is being hurt badly. PM Modi campaigns extensively in states where elections are held unlike his predecessors who addressed only a couple of rallies in a state, he said. There used to be lot of credibility to the visits of PM then, he recalled. Taking a swipe at Modi's Tejas jet sortie in Bengaluru recently when polling was held in Rajasthan, Gehlot asked "Did he get the same day (to undertake the sortie)?" Assembly elections 2023 highlights: The polling is now over in four states - Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Rajasthan - and all eyes are on Telangana as the state is set to vote on November 30. Meanwhile, the election results for all five states will be declared on Sunday, December 3. The results for assembly elections 2023 in five states will be declared on December 3.. (ANI) The Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) has been in power in Telangana since its inception in 2014, with the Congress putting a spirited fight to form the government. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is also pushing hard to make an impact in the southern state. Anand Mahindra on Tuesday took to social media platform X to commend Australian tunnel rescue expert Arnold Dix, currently engaged in the Uttarakhand tunnel rescue mission, for his buoyant articulation of the rescue situation. Industrialist Anand Mahindra (HT photo) Sharing the video of the Australian expert, Mahindra said, Here's an Australian giving us a master class. In the video, Dix can be seen talking optimistically about the ongoing situation: Its like an epic from 3000 years! A mountain has taken 41 good workers, but keeping them warm, allowing food pipes, emergency services. We, as the people, are saying give us our children back, he adds. Dix's composure and relaxed attitude even in such a stressful rescue scenario are praised on social media by many. The art of communication is essentially the art of storytelling. Our ancient culture has its roots in storytelling. But we need to revive & refine those skills, the Indian automakers boss said. Locals have established a temporary temple of the local deity at the tunnel site. Dix, too, was seen praying and interacting with the priests. In the video, the Australian rescuer says he is completely humbled by the universe. Who is professor Arnold Dix? Professor Arnold Dix specialises in underground infrastructure and construction risk, globally recognised for expertise in tunnelling. His noteworthy accolades include the 2011 Alan Neyland Tunnelling Society award for tunnel fire safety excellence. He has a multi-disciplinary career spanning engineering, geology, law, and risk management over three decades. Acts as a barrister, member of the British Institute of Investigators, and contributes as a visiting professor at Tokyo City University. Beyond legal roles, engages as an investigator, expert witness, consultant, and mediator, with recent recognition for tunnel fire safety efforts in a 2022 Committee Service Award from the National Fire Protection Association. Uttarakhand tunnel rescue update Rescue operations has inched closer as the pipe has to be pushed for another two metres to reach the 41 workers who have been trapped in the Silkyara tunnel for 16 days, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said. According to the officials the evacuation operation will continue overnight. Warangal (Telangana), Nov 28 (PTI) Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Tuesday on Tuesday attacked Congress leaders over talk of bringing back 'Indiramma Rajyam' (rule of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi) if voted to power in Telangana and alleged that her regime was fraught with "encounters, firings and killings." HT Image Seeking votes for BRS candidates in the November 30 Assembly polls, Rao also known as KCR, at his 95th election rally here, said if the party is voted to power again, the city will be developed with additional civic infrastructure. He also assured that if the BRS is voted to power in the state, the old age pension will be increased to 5,000 per month from the existing 2,000. "Today, Congress people are saying that they'll bring Indiramma Rajyam if they win. Who wants Indiramma Rajyam? What happened in Indiramma Rajyam? If it was so good, why would NTR (former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh NT Rama Rao) have to float a party and offer rice at 2 a kg. Indiramma Rajyam was fraught with Emergency, encounters, firings and killings," he alleged, referring to Indira Gandhi's rule. He further charged that it was during the Congress regime in 1969 that about 400 people were shot dead during separate Telangana agitations. He said today Telangana is at the top position in the country, ahead of even Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat, as far as per capita income is concerned. He said a mega textile park near here will provide employment opportunities to a lakh people. "Since this (Warangal) is the second largest city in Telangana, we will bring several industries to this city," he assured. Warangal has a big history. But there was no development during the Congress period, he said, adding that the BRS needs to be voted to power again in order to continue development. He said in the 75 years of independence, though there is democracy in the country, required levels of maturity have not come, he opined. A 45-year-old Dalit woman was killed in Gujarats Bhavnagar after four men allegedly assaulted her over her refusal to have her son withdraw a case registered against them under the stringent Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act three years ago. According to the FIR, Maru suffered multiple fractures and injuries. (Getty Images/iStockphoto) Deputy police superintendent RR Singhal said Shailesh Koli, Rohal Koli, and their two unidentified accomplices assaulted Gitaben Maru with steel pipes and she succumbed to her injuries on Monday. The four have been booked for murder, assault, and criminal intimidation under the Indian Penal Code and under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. We took down Marus complaint on Sunday night and registered a first information report (FIR) against Shailesh Koli, his friend Rohal Koli, and their two unidentified aides, Singhal said. Marus family and the local Dalit leaders staged a protest outside Bhavnagars Sir Takhtasinhji General Hospital. They refused to claim her body until all the four accused were arrested. According to the FIR, Maru suffered multiple fractures and injuries. The accused also threatened Marus husband and daughter, forcing them to flee. In a post on X, Congress lawmaker Jignesh Mevani wrote another case of Dalit murder and atrocity has surfaced in Gujarat. During the Covid lockdown, Gautam Maru, a youth from Bhavnagar district, was attacked by anti-social elements. Then a police complaint was filed...As the case reached the court, the accused, driven by fear, started threatening the complainant for a compromise, Mevani wrote in Hindi. However, Gautams family refused and sought justice through the court. ...the accused attacked Gautams mother, Gitaben. She was admitted to Bhavnagar Civil Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries. This attack occurred on Constitution Day, shedding light on the heightened audacity of hooligans in the state. It underscores how the courage of such elements has risen, and the Gujarat government, as always, remains a foolish observer to the issues concerning Dalits, the deprived, and the exploited. The first visuals of manual drilling inside the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi to rescue the 41 trapped workers were released by news agency ANI on Tuesday morning. While the manual drilling is underway, the auger machine is being used for pushing the pipe. The rescue operations entered the 17th day in the Silkyara tunnel. The first visuals of manual drilling inside the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi were released by news agency ANI. So far, about two metres of manual drilling has been completed, ANI reported. Rat-hole mining experts called in to help rescue the 41 workers began manual drilling on Monday through the rubble. Simultaneously, vertical drilling from above the tunnel has reached a depth of 36 metres out of the 86 metres needed. Micro tunnelling expert Chris Cooper on Tuesday morning said three metres of manual drilling has been done so far and about 50 metres of drilling work has been completed in total. ANI citing official sources reported that about 57 metres of drilling work from the mouth of the tunnel, is to be done in total to lay a pipe inside the tunnel to reach the trapped workers. Speaking on the ongoing drilling work, Chris Cooper said, "It went very well last night. We have crossed 50 metres. It's now about 5-6 metres to go. We didn't have any obstacles last night. It is looking very positive." Earlier the rescuers had completed about 47 metres of drilling work using the auger machine to lay the pipe. The drilling work was put on hold as the auger machine got stuck in the debris, which was later cut and removed using a plasma cutter. Twelve rat-hole mining experts are involved in manual drilling and excavation horizontally through the last 10- or 12-metre stretch of debris of the collapsed portion of the under-construction tunnel on Uttarakhand's Char Dham route. This drilling was earlier being carried out by a huge auger machine that got stuck in the rubble on Friday, forcing officials to focus on an alternative option -- drilling down from above the tunnel. About 40 per cent of the 86-metre vertical drilling required is now done. For the horizontal through-the-rubble option, officials decided that the final stretch would be handled through a manual approach in which individual workers will go into the escape passage with drills, as well as gas-cutters to tackle obstacles like iron girders. By Monday evening, the last bit of the stuck auger had been cut out piece by piece and a steel pipe inserted further into the partially complete escape passage. In Delhi, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) member Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain said vertical drilling, which began Sunday, has already reached a depth of 36 metres. Rescuers hope to pull out workers through this one-metre-wide shaft when it breaks through the top of the tunnel below, hopefully by Thursday. Another eight-inch wide shaft being drilled from a nearby point has reached about 75 metres down. This probe, which is also expected to act as a supply line for the trapped workers, has indicated that there were no serious geological obstacles for the main shaft up to this point, the NDMA member and officials at Silkyara said. The vertical drilling, however, encountered some water underground and dewatering was carried out, officials said. But it didnt seriously affect the operation. Two teams of seven and five men who are experts in the technique of rat-hole mining were called in by two private companies involved in the rescue operation. Rat-hole mining is a controversial and hazardous procedure in which miners in small groups go down narrow burrows to excavate small quantities of coal. Uttarakhand governments nodal officer Neeraj Khairwal made it clear that the men brought to the site were not rat-hole miners but people who are experts in the technique, news agency PTI reported. They are likely to be divided into teams of two or three. Each team will go into the steel chute laid into the escape passage for brief periods. Bengaluru: Central Crime Branch officers have arrested seven persons including three women for allegedly selling newborn babies to childless couples after they rescued a three-week-old baby boy who was to be sold to a couple in the Rajarajeshwari Nagar area of the city. Among the four arrested were three women who bought children from poor families and sold them to childless couples. (Representative image) Bengaluru City Police Commissioner B Dayananda said the mastermind behind the racket was a woman who had previously sold three of her own children. It is a significant racket in which trafficked babies were sold to childless parents at 8 lakh to 10 lakh.Interrogation revealed that they had sold 10 babies so far, Dayananda said. The illegal operation came to light after a three-week-old male child was rescued when the gang, whose members are mainly from Tamil Nadu, was seen in Rajarajeshwari Nagar under suspicious circumstances. The arrested persons have been identified as Suhasini, Gomathi, Kannan Ramaswamy, Hemalatha, Sharanya, Mahalakshmi, and Radha. A case has been registered at the Rajarajeshwari Nagar police station. According to the commissioner, the modus operandi involved targeting economically disadvantaged women in Tamil Nadu. The gang paid them money to bear children, which were later sold to couples. Similarly, they also approached pregnant women facing financial hardships or those unable to care for their newborns, buying the infants for 2 lakh and subsequently selling them to childless couples for 8 to 10 lakh, the officer added. Also Read: Five more arrested in Karnataka as cops continue investigation into a sex determination racket In response to a question about the possible involvement of hospitals and nursing homes, Dayananda said the illegal operation was active between Tamil Nadu and Bengaluru for several years and the suspects in custody had collaborated with private hospitals and doctors in Chennai. It has come to our knowledge that some doctors are also involved in this racket. These doctors were aware of the rackets and supported them. We will probe further into this angle in the coming days, he said. Commissioner Dayananda explained that the accused would liaise with childless couples, often encountered in hospitals, promising them newborns. To avoid legal repercussions, the gang prepared fake birth certificates, falsely attributing the child to the new parents. The police are working to identify the beneficiaries and accomplices involved in the racket. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday described the rescue of 41 workers from a tunnel in Uttarakhand as great news for the nation and said the country salutes their grit in facing such a challenging situation for so long. Union home minister Amit Shah. (ANI) Shah also expressed his heartfelt gratitude to all those who made tireless efforts to save the labourers. It is great news for the nation that all our 41 Shramik brothers trapped in a tunnel in Uttarkashi have been rescued safe and sound. Nation salutes their grit in facing such a challenging situation in the tunnel for so long," Shah said on X. "My heartfelt gratitude to all the people and the agencies that have made tireless efforts to save the lives of our fellow citizens, he said. Rescue workers pulled out all 41 workers trapped in Uttarakhand's Silkyara tunnel on Tuesday evening in a multi-agency rescue operation that hovered between hope and despair over almost 17 days. Union minister of state for home affairs Nityanand Rai on Tuesday lashed out at the Nitish Kumar government after it reportedly slashed number of holidays for several Hindu festivals. Union Minister Nityanand Rai (HT File) The Bihar education department has come under fire over the holiday calendar issued for 2024. As per HT's sister publication Live Hindustan, the holiday calendar has witnessed the number of summer vacation days increased from 20 to 30. The holidays for Hartalika Teej and Jitiya have been done away with, the education department has reportedly increased the holidays for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha (Bakrid) to three days each, LH reported. Accusing the Nitish Kumar government of appeasement politics, Rai told ANI," The government of Bihar led by Nitish Kumar ji and Tejashwi Yadav is doing appeasement politics in Bihar. The festival holidays of Hindus have been reduced and the holidays of Muslim festivals have been increased. This is appeasement." "Sabotaging Hindus' sentiments like this is not good. Hindus of Bihar are watching and they are seeing this biasedness, when the time comes, they will give a befitting reply. This decision must be changed and BJP won't sit quietly on this matter," the minister added. Demanding the withdrawal of the holiday calendar, the minister said that the BJP will not keep quiet on this. This type of appeasement behaviour is not going to work in Bihar. Appeasement is harmful to the development of the country so the Nitish government should take back its decision," he added. Earlier, Union minister Ashwini Choubey had too hit out at the Nitish government over the holiday calendar. Once again the anti-Hindu face of the uncle-nephew government came to the fore. On one hand, holidays for Muslim festivals are being extended in schools, while holidays for Hindu festivals are being abolished, the minister had posted on X. After an intense 17-day rescue operation, all 41 workers trapped in the partially collapsed Silkyara Tunnel in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district were rescued on Tuesday. The first worker emerged from the trapped area at 7.56 pm, followed by the others brought out soon after National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel along with other rescue operatives gather near the face of the collapsed under construction Silkyara tunnel in the Uttarkashi district of India's Uttarakhand state, on November 28, (AFP) Reaching the trapped workers within the 2-kilometre-long, 8.5-metre-high tunnel posed significant challenges despite attempts using advanced horizontal drilling techniques through an auger machine. However, when technical issues arose, authorities shifted to manual drilling to clear the final 10 metres of debris. The rescue team employed vertical drilling alongside manual excavation using the rat-hole mining method, which commenced on Monday. Twelve experts in rat-hole mining were called upon to utilise handheld tools in confined spaces, although this method is contentious and poses risks due to miners working in tight underground passages. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel entered a steel chute that had been pushed into the drilled passage over several days, systematically bringing each worker out. Ahead of the rescue, a specialised ward with 41 oxygen-supported beds had been set up at the community health center in Chinyalisaur, approximately 30 kilometres from Silkyara, to accommodate the rescued workers. Medical staff were on standby, and arrangements were in place to transport workers to more advanced hospitals if required. Reflecting on the timeline of the rescue operation from the initial entrapment of 41 workers in the collapsed debris at the Silkyara Tunnel in Uttarakhand, let's delve into the process and its progression. Here's the timeline of what happened from Nov 12 November 12: Following a landslide at the Silkyara-Dandalgaon tunnel on the Brahmkhal-Yamunotri highway in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi, 41 labourers got trapped. A rescue operation was initiated to free them. November 13: Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami visited the site where workers were trapped and established communication with them using an oxygen supply pipe. November 14: Efforts involved bringing in 800- and 900-millimetre steel pipes for horizontal digging using an auger machine. However, further rubble caused minor injuries to two workers, hindering progress. Supplies of essential items like food, water, and medicine were ensured for the trapped workers. November 15: Dissatisfied with the initial drilling machine's performance, the National Handloom Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) requested a more advanced auger machine from Delhi, airlifting it to expedite the rescue process. November 16: The new drilling machine was assembled, and installation began, after which the operation commenced past midnight. November 17: The drilling machine progressed around 24 metres through the rubble stretch but halted when the fifth pipe encountered an obstacle. Another high-performance auger machine was flown in from Indore to aid the rescue efforts. However, operations ceased when a significant cracking sound emerged from the tunnel in the evening. November 18: Officials from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and experts devised five evacuation plans, exploring alternative methods such as vertical drilling to rescue the workers. November 19: Drilling activities remained suspended. Union minister of road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari reviewed the rescue operation and emphasised the potential success of horizontal drilling with the auger machine. November 20: Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to chief minister Dhami to assess the Silkyara tunnel rescue operations and highlighted the importance of maintaining morale among rescuers. November 21: Rescuers released the first video of trapped labourers in the Silkyara tunnel, showing them receiving supplies and communicating through the pipeline. Simultaneously, drilling began at the Balkot-end for an alternative tunnel on the Char Dham route. November 22: Horizontal drilling progressed to about 45 metres, with around 12 metres of debris remaining. However, iron rods obstructed the auger machine's progress in the evening. November 23: The obstruction caused by iron rods was removed, allowing for the resumption of rescue operations. Officials reported reaching the 48-meter mark but had to pause due to cracks appearing in the drilling machine's resting platform. November 24: Drilling at the collapsed tunnel ceased as the auger machine encountered a hurdle, potentially a metal object, after resuming operations. November 25: International tunneling expert Arnold Dix reported the auger machine used for drilling had malfunctioned, prompting consideration of alternative methods like vertical or manual drilling. November 26: Rescuers commenced drilling into the hill above the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel, needing to penetrate 86 meters to reach the tunnel. By evening, the equipment had drilled approximately 19.5 meters. Additionally, two BRO officials sustained injuries in a collision near the Silkyara tunnel site. November 27: A group of 12 rat-hole mining specialists arrived at the site, initiating the manual drilling and excavation process to clear the final 10- to 12-metre stretch of debris. November 28: Following the manual drilling, rescuers inserted a pipe into the tunnel, reaching the breakthrough point at 57 meters. This enabled the evacuation of the first worker at 7.56 pm on Tuesday, with all the other trapped workers emerging in good health. (With inputs from agencies) New Delhi National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) member Lt General (retd) Ata Hasnain, who has been a part of the massive operation in the Silkyara tunnel that ended in triumph with the safe rescue of 41 trapped workers, spoke to HT about the 17-day effort. Edited excerpts: Lieutenant General (Retd.) Syed Ata Hasnain, Member, NDMA addresses the media on the Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand) tunnel rescue operation.(ANI) With pressure from the public and the media, how did the authorities manage to cope with the tense rescue mission? The media has been very mature and its approach has been very appropriate. But yes, the government has followed a procedure and ensured that they dont overplay their hand, and given the right assurances and a sense of balance has been created for the public and for those who are carrying out the rescue efforts. They have also ensured that all those who are at risk inside and those who are at risk outside, all their risk is minimised that has been the concept of the operations throughout and that has been the guiding principle, which has been laid down by the honourable Prime Minister and the PMO, and that has been followed to the T. Also read: Rat-mining gets the job done! Rat-hole mining is such a primitive method, and its banned in India. What led the concerned authorities to come up with this technique after the American auger machine gave up? These are fresh and new contingencies that build up from time to time. You can try experimentation of all kinds. If after the auger failed, the manual drilling too failed, we would have gone for vertical drilling, and that is a risk-prone method also. So its a question of redundancy. We were following 5-6 options that we had established for the rescue mission, and no stone was left unturned to make sure that the technology required for the particular rescue mission was provided to the rescuers. Rat-hole mining may be illegal, but a rat miners talent gave the breakthrough today. Coal-mining through the rat-hole method is illegal, but it is a process that is still used in construction sites. How many states were involved in this rescue ops and were there any special contributions from any particular ministry? From Odisha to Chhattisgarh to Madhya Pradesh to Uttar Pradesh, and from the other side from Gujarat to Rajasthan to Haryana to Delhi, and of course Uttarakhand -- so many states have been involved. The ministry of home affairs and state administrations of the said states have helped give green corridors to bring all these huge equipments to the site. Additionally, apart from the ministry of road transport and highways, and the health ministry, the Railway Board has been of immense help through the entirety of the rescue mission. As rescuers in India on Tuesday successfully pulled out all 41 construction workers trapped in a collapsed mountain tunnel in Uttarakhand after 17 days, the global media hailed the rescue operation and provided live coverage of the dramatic development. A worker along with a rescue personnel who evacuated him.(ANI) "Outside the tunnel, there have been celebrations at the news of the first man coming out of the tunnel," the BBC reported while providing regular updates on the rescue operation. It uploaded on its website a photograph that showed Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami and Union Minister VK Singh meeting the first worker rescued from the tunnel. READ | Watch: How Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Dhami greeted first worker evacuated from tunnel "Video footage from the scene showed Pushkar Singh Dhami, chief minister of Uttarakhand state meeting the workers, who appeared to be in good health, as they were removed from the tunnel amid jubilant scenes," CNN reported. The first workers were removed following a series of agonizing setbacks, during which rescue efforts were halted when the heavy machinery used to drill through the debris broke down, forcing workers to partially dig by hand and adopt other riskier methods to bring them to safety, it said. The evacuation of the men to safety began more than six hours after rescuers broke through to end an ordeal that began on November 12 when the tunnel caved in, Qatar-based news channel Al-Jazeera reported. It said the ambulances with their lights flashing lined up at the mouth of the tunnel to transport the workers to a hospital about 30km away. READ | Rat miner recalls meeting workers in Uttarakhand tunnel before evacuation began. What he said "The labourers are being pulled out through a passageway made of welded pipes that rescuers had previously pushed through dirt and rocks," it said. British daily 'The Guardian' reported that the dramatic scenes of the first men emerging on stretchers from the entrance of the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel came after over 400 hours, during which the major rescue operation hit multiple obstacles, delays and false promises of imminent rescue. "Human labour triumphed over machinery as the specialists managed to manually drill through the final 12 metres of rubble to reach the men. An 'escape passage' pipe was inserted, enabling the rescuers carrying wheeled stretchers and oxygen cylinders to enter and finally reach those inside," the paper said in its detailed report. Military engineers and miners drill 'rat hole' through debris to complete a painstaking extraction mission, said London-based daily 'The Telegraph' in its lead story. A portion of the tunnel collapsed on November 12, blocking the exit for the workers who were inside. Food, medicines and other essentials were sent to them through a six-inch pipe pushed through the rubble of the collapsed portion. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has suspended a professor months after the family of a PhD student at the institute blamed him for his suicide in March. The student was found dead on March 31 and his brother wrote to the institute blaming his PhD supervisor Ashish Sen for it. The access to the lab of the student was allegedly restricted. (PTI) Prof Ashish Sen has been suspended based on the direction of the Board of Governors. Institute is following all due procedures, a spokesperson for the institute said. IIT Madras is yet to specify when he was Sen suspended and a complaints committees findings against him. The PhD scholar at the mechanical engineering department lived outside the campus. His WhatsApp status before his suicide said: Im sorry, Im not good enough. This was the third suicide involving an IIT Madras student since February. In an email to IIT Madrass director V Kamakoti, the students brother attached a six-page letter handwritten in Hindi. It said the student was on medication for mental health issues, which the supervisor knew and worsened by adding pressure on him. He had a meeting with his supervisor on March 31 morning, came back home, and put up the Whatsapp status Im not good enough before killing himself, the email said. He informed us that his degree will be delayed because the guide was making him do more work. The access to the lab of the student, who was due to complete his PhD thesis in three months, was allegedly restricted. On the day of his suicide, IIT Madras said that he was a student with an exemplary academic and research record and his death was a big loss to the research community. The Passport Index, a global benchmark for passport strength and travel freedom, has placed India at the 137th position in its latest ranking. The index, which evaluates passport strength based on the number of countries citizens can visit without a visa, revealed that Indian passport holders face visa requirements for entry into 123 countries. Malaysia joined the list of countries providing visa-free facility to Indian nationals to promote tourism.. (HT) The Passport Index also discloses India's Passport Power Rank, which stands at 68. While this number signifies a moderate standing in comparison to other nations, it reflects the current state of India's international mobility amid three South Asian countries deciding on visa-free travel for Indian nationals for a certain period. With a mobility score of 75, the Indian passport allows visa-free travel to 23 countries and visa-on-arrival access to 49 nations, according to the index. However, three more countries have allowed visa-free entry to Indian nationals to boost tourism, taking the tally to 26. Indian passport holders can now make visa free-entry in Angola, Barbados, Bhutan, Dominica, El Salvador, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Macao, Mauritius, Micronesia, Nepal, Palestinian Territories, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Senegal, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Vanuatu, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Malaysia. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Monday announced 30-day visa-free entry for Indian and Chinese citizens from December 1, joining Thailand and Sri Lanka in recent weeks to offer such a facility to foreigners to promote tourism. The 30-day visa-free entry is also currently enjoyed by eight ASEAN countries for the purpose of social visits, tourism and business. India remains among the top countries to contribute tourist arrivals to Malaysia. Sri Lanka has introduced a visa-free entry initiative for visitors from India and six other countries, encompassing China, Russia, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, and Thailand. This initiative will remain effective until March 31, 2024, and aims to boost tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka, with the tourism ministry setting a target of attracting five million tourists in the coming years. Thailand has also lifted visa requirements for visitors from India and Taiwan. Indians can travel to Thailand without a visa and stay for up to 30 days, the government announced recently. This visa-free access for Indian passport holders is applicable from November 10, 2023, to May 10, 2024. India's passport ranking is likely to improve after these announcements. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) remains the country with the world's strongest passport, boasting a visa-free travel privilege to 116 countries and visa-on-arrival access to 57 nations. The UAE's total mobility score reached an impressive 173. The over two-week-long strenuous operation to rescue 41 workers from the collapsed Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand came to an alleviating end and the internet is all praises for Australian tunnelling expert Arnold Dix for providing all the technical support on the ground. International tunnelling expert Arnold Dix(PTI) Australian High Commissioner to India Philip Green also commended Dix's inputs which eventually led to the safe extraction of all the trapped workers. This is an immense achievement. Well done to the authorities for successfully evacuating all 41 workers trapped in the tunnel in #Uttarkhand. Special commendation to Australia's Professor Arnold Dix who provided important technical support on the ground, Green wrote on X (formerly Twitter). Social media users also lauded the spiritual side of the professor who was seen joining a priest earlier at the rescue site and praying for the safe evacuation of the workers. Thank you so much respected @Arnolddix sir for your stunning job in rescuing all the labourers safely. Kudos to your outstanding and priceless fruitful efforts, wrote one user. Salute to Arnold Dix, the tunnel expert who made it possible to rescue the miners. Thank you. He is the only Australian who gave us good news this November, another wrote. Earlier while giving an update on the rescue operation, the Australian expert explained how the mountain was protecting those trapped workers. For me, it is like an ancient storyThe Mountain is controlling everything. It is protecting those 41 people like a mother and not harming them They're not injured, they are completely safe inside the tunnel... It's the will of the mountain which will decide when and from which door those people come out, he said. Meanwhile, Norway's Ambassador to India May-Elin Stener, also commended the rescuers behind the daring operation. Taking to her official handle on social media platform X, Ambassador Stener posted, "Congratulations to the rescue team, and all friends and family members of those who were trapped. A relieving end to a difficult operation. We wish for good health of all those involved." A portion of the tunnel caved in on November 12, with the debris falling in the 60-metre stretch on the Silkyara side of the tunnel, trapping 41 labourers inside. The workers were trapped in a 2 km-built portion of the tunnel. The much-desired breakthrough was achieved at 7.05 pm on Tuesday when the drilling through the rubble was complete and the 800-900 mm pipe tunnel was pushed through the debris. Israeli defence forces have completely destroyed Hamas's infrastructure in northern Gaza except the underground tunnels and the focus at the end of the current pause in fighting will be to clean up the southern part of the strip, Israeli Ambassador Naor Gilon said on Tuesday. Israel's Ambassador to India, Naor Gilon(ANI) In an interaction with a group of journalists, the envoy also described India's position on the Gaza crisis as "remarkable" from the day one and especially mentioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's strong denunciation of Hamas's unprecedented terror attack on Israeli cities on October 7. Gilon said Israel banning Lashkar-e-Taiba as a terror group around 15 years after the Mumbai terror attack was a "gesture", asserting that both sides have been expanding anti-terror cooperation in the last few years. The Israeli ambassador said he was hopeful that India will designate Hamas as a terrorist entity and that his government has already provided New Delhi all the required information against the group. Days after the October 7 attack on Israeli cities by Hamas, Israel called on India to designate the group as a terrorist entity as was done by many other countries. "We did whatever was expected from our side. Now it is for the Indian government to decide -- if, where, how, how fast," he said when asked whether New Delhi has given any indication on whether it will heed to the Israeli request. ALSO READ| You treated me like mother: Sonia Gandhi's appeal to Telangana voters When asked whether information provided to the Indian government on Hamas also includes its possible activities in India, he said it is not specific to any geographies. "We gave general information about the activities of Hamas wherever they are; not specific to (India)," he said. After weeks of fighting, Israel and Hamas agreed on a four-day pause in fighting from Friday last. The ceasefire was extended by another two days. Gilon put the number of Hamas terrorists at around 30,000 and said several thousands of them were killed in the Israeli operations. He also asserted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government is determined to eliminate Hamas. The Israeli defence forces have completely destroyed Hamas's infrastructure in northern Gaza except the underground tunnels. At the end of the current pause in fighting, they will focus on cleaning up the southern part of Gaza, Gilon said. A senior military official at the embassy said the Israeli Defence Forces will take all the precaution to ensure safety of the civilians while carrying out its operation in South Gaza. We will create a humanitarian corridor, he said. Answering a question, Gilon said around 1,500 terrorists were killed by Israeli forces on October 7 following Hamas's attacks on Israeli cities. "We are not going to give up on our aim to ensure that Hamas cannot again carry out attacks on Israel," the ambassador said. He said the Israeli government had asked its armed forces to eliminate the capabilities of Hamas and ensure release of the hostages and both the objectives are being met. Asked about India abstaining on a UN General Assembly resolution on the Israel-Hamas conflict and later supporting a few UN resolutions on the conflict, Gilon said India's position on the Gaza crisis has been "remarkable" from day one. The envoy cited Prime Minister Modi's strong condemnation of the attack by Hamas on Israel and noted that New Delhi has always been supporting a two-state solution to the Palestine issue. Following the Israel-Hamas conflict, India has been urging both the sides to eschew violence, de-escalate the situation and create conditions for an early resumption of direct peace negotiations towards a two-state solution to the Palestine issue. Israel carried out a massive military offensive in Gaza following the unprecedented and multi-pronged attacks on Israeli cities by Hamas militants on October 7. Hamas killed around 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped more than 240 others. Around 14,000 people have been killed in Gaza in the Israeli offensive, according to the Hamas-run authorities in Gaza. A six-year-old girl, abducted by a four-member gang in a white Sedan from near her home in Oyoor in Kollam district of Kerala, has been found by local police at a ground in Kollam city 21 hours later after her kidnap. The child is reported to be stable and will be subjected to medical examination before being handed over to her family. (Representative Image) The child, a student of Class 1, was located Tuesday afternoon by the police at the Ashramam ground in Kollam city where she was found to be abandoned by the kidnappers. No information on the accused is available yet. Television visuals showed the child being carried on the shoulders of a police officer at the Ashramam ground and later being fed biscuits and water. The child is reported to be stable and will be subjected to medical examination before being handed over to her family. The child was kidnapped by the gang including a woman while she was on her way to a tuition centre from her home along with her elder brother. The brother sustained injuries when the gang pushed him away while abducting his sister. Police had launched a massive statewide hunt for the accused after the incident was reported, checking CCTV visuals and vehicles on national and state highways. Telangana is going to witness the first-ever Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the next few days as the people of the state are determined to oust the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday, hours after offering prayers at the Lord Venkateswara temple in Tirumala. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple, in Tirumala, Monday. (PTI) The PM visited the temple at around 8am after reaching Tirumala on Sunday night. At the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Tirumala, prayed for the good health, well-being and prosperity of 140 crore Indians, said Modi on X. Later in the day, Modi addressed two rallies at Mahabubabad and Karimnagar and held a road show in Hyderabad. Telangana goes to the polls on November 30 in what is a triangular contest between the ruling BRS, the Congress and the BJP. The votes will be counted on December 3. In Mahabubabad, Modi said the farmhouse CM of the BRS was destroying Telanganas twin identity of tradition and technology and promoting superstitions. He has wasted precious public money by demolishing the secretariat complex only because of his blind belief in superstitions. Do we need such a farmhouse chief minister? he asked. The PM alleged that the BRS had promised water, wealth, and robust policies to the people of Telangana, but had only given them tears, betrayal, and unemployment in return. It is the responsibility of the BJP to free Telangana of BRS-led corruption, mafia rule and superstition, he said. Modi reiterated that the CM desperately tried to ally with the BJP as he had realised the growing support of the people to it. But Modi can never go against the wishes of the people of Telangana. Now, as the BJP has rejected KCR, he is dejected and indulging in incessant criticism against both the BJP and me, he said, adding that he would never ally with the corrupt BRS. The PM said that while it was important to defeat the BRS in the elections, it was equally important for the people to prevent the corrupt Congress from coming to power. Both the parties have led Telangana to the path of destruction. Both of them follow politics of corruption, appeasement and dynasty rule, he said. Modi alleged that the Congress and the BRS were responsible for the lawlessness in the state and had utter contempt for Dalits, tribals and other backward classes (OBCs). On the contrary, the BJP is committed to the welfare of the downtrodden sections. It has established a welfare board for the STs, created museums to honour great tribal leaders including Komaram Bheem and Ramji Gond. We have provided scholarships to ST students, he said. The Centre had also sought to honour the legacy of Sammakka-Sarakka by establishing a Central Tribal University dedicated in their name. For the holistic empowerment of the Madiga community, we are establishing a welfare committee to correct the historic injustices, he said. If the BJP came to power, the people of Telangana would get cheaper petrol and diesel like in other BJP-governed states, he added. Addressing a second rally in Karimnagar, Modi said the people of Huzurabad had shown a trailer by defeating the BRS and electing the BJP candidate in the last by-elections held in November 2021. Now, we are going to show a full-length picture to KCR in the present assembly elections, he said. In the Huzurabad bypolls, former state health minister Etela Rajender, who shifted from the BRS to the BJP in 2021, won by a margin of 23,855 votes. Stating that the next five years would be crucial for the future of Telangana, the PM said by 2029, the state would have completed 15 years. Like every parent who dreams and guides for a better future for their 10-year-old children, we must also envisage the future of TelanganaFor that, there is a need to elect the BJP government in the state. There is a wind of change in the state. The change is inevitable. Explaining how the Congress had betrayed its own leaders, Modi said the Congress leadership had disrespected and demeaned former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao (who hailed from Karimnagar) despite his loyalty to the party. Stating that the BRS government represented deceit and betrayal, the PM said once the BJP government was voted to power in Telangana, a double-engine government would facilitate the development of all. Going in an open-top van, Modi waved at the massive crowds lined up on either side of the three-kilometre stretch showering petals on him. Union minister and state BJP president G Kishan Reddy and BJP parliamentary board member K Laxman accompanied the Prime Minister on the van. Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaiks former private secretary VK Pandian on Monday formally joined the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), a little more than a month after he resigned from the Indian Administrative Services (IAS). Pandian pays a floral tribute to former Odisha CM Biju Patnaik after joining BJD. (ANI) Pandian, 49, a trusted lieutenant of Patnaik for more than a decade, joined the party at Naveen Niwas in the presence of Patnaik. The move comes amid speculation that the influential former bureaucrat could emerge as the second most powerful leader within the party, and perhaps even Patnaiks successor as party chief in the future. The Tamil Nadu-born Pandian is a 2000-batch IAS officer who was originally in the Punjab cadre but switched to Odisha in 2001after marrying his batch mate Sujata Rout, who is an Odisha-cadre officer. Pandian, who was serving as Patnaiks private secretary since 2011, took voluntary retirement from the IAS onOctober 23. He was given charge of Naveen Odisha, a state government initiative to augment rural infrastructure, with the rank of cabinet minister. He was appointed chairman of the state governments 5T (good governance model) initiative which started five years ago. I welcome Pandian to Biju Janata Dal. As all of you know, he has been working very hard for several years for the people of our state and he will continue to do so as member of the party, Patnaik said minutes after he joined BJD. Pandian said: With the guidance of chief minister Naveen Patnaik, I will work for the people of Odisha in a dedicated, humble and selfless manner. BJD leaders welcomed Padians inclusion in the party, and Puri MP Pinaki Mishra said the former official was coming on board with the blessings of party chief Patnaik. Pandian was advised by Patnaik to work for the state and the party like he worked with him for the last 13-14 years. The CM exuded hope that Pandian will bring success to the party like he did for the administration. The CM also said that Pandians administrative and political experience will be a great asset for the party, Mishra told reporters. Sanjay Das Burma, state general secretary(headquarters) of BJD,said Pandians vast experience will strengthen the BJD. We hope under his guidance, the party will become more powerful in the future, he said at Sankha Bhawan, the BJD state headquarters. Once he moved to Odisha, Pandian started as subcollector of Dharmagarh in Kalahandi district from August 2002 to February 2004. He then served as additional district magistrate in Rourkela before being made district collector of Mayurbhanj and Ganjam between May 2005 and April 2011. Having impressed Patnaik with his administrative acumen, he was picked by the CM to be his private secretary in 2011. In May 2012, a year after being posted to the CMs office, Pandian earned the CMs trust when he helped quelled a revolt against Patnaik from his erstwhile political adviser Pyarimohan Mohapatra. With time, Patnaik began entrusting Pandian with work related to both the state administration and the party. His office on the third floor in the CMs secretariat became the power centre in the state with Pandian controlling the access to Patnaik. Earlier this year, Pandian found himself at the centre of a controversy after he undertook a series of tours to all 30 districts in a state chopper. The opposition said the tours were a wasteful expenditure; BJDs own MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik said it was more expensive than the total cost of the Chandrayaan-3 Mission. At least two complaints were lodged before DoPT by the BJP and Congress. On Monday, after joining the party, Pandian headed to the party office where he was felicitated by other leaders. He then travelled to Ganjam district -- his last field posting before moving to Bhubaneswar. Experts said Pandians joining BJD assumes significance ahead of the 2024 general elections as Patnaik finds it increasingly difficult to undertake tours across the state. The BJD won 112 of the 147 seats in 2019 assembly polls and 12 of the 21 Lok Sabha seats. Political analysts said Pandian may have joined the BJD, but it would be difficult to see him succeed Patnaik. Though Pandian enjoys the complete support of Patnaik, it is difficult to imagine a non-Odia as the future CM of Odisha that was the first state in India to be formed on the basis of language in 1936. Would the BJD rank and file still rally around him when Patnaik is not around, asked Rabi Das, a politcal analyst. The Congress was responsible for the creation of Telangana but the Bharat Rashtra Samithis (BRS) misrule and corruption shattered the Telangana dream, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has said. Terming welfare a permanent template of his party, and accusing the BRS, BJP, and AIMIM of having forged some sort of deal, Kharge asserted to HT in an interview the Congress would wrest the state from the BRS. Edited excerpts: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge (PTI) Your party is claiming that it was Sonia Gandhi who gave Telangana state to its people but the BRS has taken the credit and won two terms on this plank. After 10 years, what makes you confident that people will believe in your claims? On December 9, 2009, the Congress party stated that it was committed to the formation of Telangana and the process of bifurcation started. Sonia Gandhi made this possible. However, our dreams and plans of a prosperous and progressive Telangana were shattered by the misrule of BRSs rampant corruption. In the last 10 years, KCRs family wealth has increased by 400%; on the other hand, total debt of the state too has increased by over 400% and is presently over 5.5 lakh crore. People here want change, and the Congress Party can alone bring that change. The BRS understands the growing discontent, and the faith people have in the Congress. The prospect of losing is forcing them to attack us. The Congress has been making a set of promises in all states. Is this going to be a permanent template? Will we see a set of promises or guarantees in the Lok Sabha and upcoming polls too? Welfare is a permanent template of the Congress party. We implemented all promises made in Karnataka. Four out of five guarantees were rolled within 100 days of coming to power. Similarly our six guarantees here in Telangana have caught peoples attention. And we will implement all our guarantees within 100 days of being sworn in. Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) has launched a number of populist schemes including Rythu Bandhu and Dalita Bandhu, a loan waiver, houses for poor... What is the Congress strategy to counter the popularity of these schemes?The BRS government led by KCR has failed to implement any promises made to Dalits, and it is now deceiving the community with Dalita Bandhu scheme. The scheme is limited to only the BRS cadre, and even they have paid at least 3 lakh to MLAs as bribes. The BRS is running a sample government because every scheme is given out on a sample basis. KCR has failed to implement his manifesto promise of providing farm loan waiver of up to 1 lakh and providing irrigation to 100,000 acres in every assembly constituency. While INC built 2,289,829 new houses for the poor in Telangana between 2004-14, the BRS promised to construct 260,000 2 BHK houses within two years in 2016, but even 20,000 houses have not been given to people till date. The area adjacent to Odisha is the ST belt of Telangana and is also a strong base for the Congress. KCR has launched a scheme to give land to ST families to woo them. Do you think you can retain your ST base?KCR had committed to distribute 1.15 million acres of podu (commons) lands for tribals in the assembly on 10th February, but he backtracked on the promise and now aims to distribute only a small fraction of the promised land to a handful of tribals, even though nearly 414,000 tribals have applied. KCRs Haritha Haaram project is creating conflict between forest department and tribals because it forcefully evicts tribals from podu lands. The Congress has a track record of ensuring tribal rights are upheld along with their sustainable claim over forest produce and which is why tribals all across India have strongly aligned with the Congress and are rooting for us. One of the key issues for Madiga (an SC tribe that accounts for half the SCs in the state) is related to categorisation. How does the Congress plan to go about this since the move has national implications? The Congress is committed to SC sub-categorisation. After government formation here, the Congress will definitely work on it. The BJP and the BRS have both been in power at the Centre and in the state for two terms and have done nothing except fooling the people . The BRS has come out with a poster that says Scamgress to highlight the alleged scams of the Congress. KCR is relentlessly attacking Congress leader Revanth Reddy. The BRS is resorting to these cheap, dirty tricks because it is gripped by the fear of defeat. It knows it will be routed in Telangana. We have taken a strong objection to the BRS for making false allegations and have lodged a complaint with the Election Commission (ECI). We are confident of getting justice in the court of people. The Congress has become a marginal player in some states, and has lost out to regional parties. Here. you seem to have revived your Telangana unit. How? That is a completely wrong assumption. Look at what happened in Karnataka and in the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections. There are a few states where we have been out of power for sometime but we are slowly regaining our ground there. Telangana was one such place but people have always had a special place in their hearts for the Congress. KCR succeeded in hoodwinking the people of the state briefly, but not any more. In your meeting with civil society, many people were sceptical that your MLAs would defect to the BRS, as has happened in the past. While choosing our candidates, we attached a lot of premium loyalty to the party. There are many who joined us from other parties and some among them have become our candidates. Im confident that we will get a huge majority on our own. And we will give a stable government to the people of Telangana. Those who had defected in the past are now struggling to save their deposits. Your poll promises will incur a big cost to the state exchequer. How can you effectively manage the Telangana economy which has suffered badly during Covid? The BRS government has squandered and siphoned off nearly 10 lakh crore . Its a government that is saddled with scams and has indulged in wasteful expenditure in its two terms; that money will be diverted towards the welfare of the people and implementation of the six guarantees. We have a track record of good governance. The AIMIM has a large base of Muslim voters. How does the Congress plan to woo minority voters? The AIMIM is a party which has its headquarter in Telangana where there is a sizeable minority presence . Why are they contesting only nine seats? Clearly to help the BRS! But BRS has consistently aligned with the BJP in the past, and will ally with the BJP during the Lok Sabha elections. That is the deal which has been inked. That is why we saw action against AAP leaders in the Delhi liquor scam case but nothing against BRS people. The BRS has been helping the BJP at all important junctures. The AIMIM contested over 90 seats in Maharashtra, and 100 seats in UP. In fact, the party contests on large number of seats where there is a direct fight between the Congress and the BJP. They help the BJP by dividing minority votes. And this nefarious plan is not lost on people. Therefore, I strongly believe since the Congress party and our group INDIA is fighting the BJP head-on, people wont vote for either the AIMIM or the BJP and will instead give the Congress a chance to implement our six guarantees and make the dream with which Telangana was formed a reality. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hailed the successful evacuation of the 41 workers from the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand. The success of the rescue operation of our workers is an emotional moment for everyone. To the workers who were trapped, I want to say that your courage and patience is inspiring. I wish you good health and well being, the prime minister posted on social media platform X. Uttarakhand tunnel rescue operation LIVE coverage Ambulances with rescued workers come out of the collapsed Silkyara Tunnel, in Uttarkashi district, Tuesday.(PTI) It is a matter of great satisfaction that now our workers will be able to meet their loved ones after a long wait. Their relatives showed immense patience and courage in the testing times, he added. I salute the spirit of everyone involved in the rescue operation. Their valour and determination have given a new life to the workers. Every individual involved in this rescue mission has set an example of humanity and team work, Modi added. Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Union minister VK Singh welcomed the 41 workers who were evacuated from the Silkyara tunnel after a gruelling rescue operation. Ambulances which had lined up at the tunnel ferried the workers to a community health centre where a special 41-bed ward had been set up. Before this, the workers were given a quick medical checkup as they emerged out of the steel pipe. A portion of the tunnel collapsed on November 12, blocking the exit for the workers who were inside. Food, medicines and other essentials were sent to them through a six-inch pipe pushed through the rubble of the collapsed portion. President Droupadi Murmu praised the resilience of the trapped workers who were finally rescued after a 17-day ordeal in the partially collapsed Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi of Uttarakhand. She expressed the nation's gratitude for these workers who contribute to critical infrastructure despite personal risks. Murmu expressed relief and happiness upon learning about the successful rescue of all trapped workers. Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami acknowledged the morale and courage of the workers and personnel involved in the rescue operation.(AP) I feel relieved and happy to learn that all the workers trapped in a tunnel in Uttarakhand have been rescued. Their travails over 17 days, as the rescue effort met with obstacles, have been a testament of human endurance. The nation salutes their resilience and remains grateful to them for building critical infrastructure, even at great personal risk, far away from their homes. I congratulate the teams and all experts who have acted with incredible grit and determination to perform one of the most difficult rescue missions in history, Murmu wrote on the official X (formerly Twitter) account. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also praised the successful evacuation of the 41 workers from the Silkyara tunnel, calling it an emotional moment. The success of the rescue operation of our workers is an emotional moment for everyone. To the workers who were trapped, I want to say that your courage and patience is inspiring. I wish you good health and well being, Modi said. Explaining the breakthrough moment in the rescue operation, Harpal Singh, Project Head, Zoji-la Tunnel said, The exact time of breakthrough was 7.05 pm. Uttarakhand CM, Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways and Civil Aviation Gen VK Singh are present there. Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami acknowledged the morale and courage of the workers and personnel involved in the rescue operation. After the rescue, Dhami emphasised that all workers would undergo medical supervision to ensure their well-being, affirming that none were in critical condition. "They (workers) all have come out from a different environment and condition so we will do as per the advice of the doctors...first they will be kept under medical supervision, their monitoring will be done...no one is critical," Dhami said addressing the media. After facing charges of sexually harassing students, Kartar Singh, principal of the Government Senior Secondary School for Girls in Jind district, was dismissed from service by the Haryana government on Tuesday. Police had arrested accused Kartar Singh on November 4; he is presently in Jind jail on judicial remand (Representative photo) Acting on an inquiry report of a committee headed by Uchana subdivisional magistrate Gulzar Malik, which found the principal prima facie guilty of sexual harassment, chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar ordered the dismissal of 56-year-old Singh from government service. Also read: Bengaluru student sexually harassed by college principal: Police His dismissal orders are being issued under Article 311 (2)(b) of the Constitution, which empowers the competent authority to dismiss, remove or reduce in rank persons employed in civil capacities under the Union or state government without conducting a departmental inquiry. The inquiry panel interacted with 390 students. As many as 142 girl students testified against Singh in front of the committee headed by the Uchana magistrate, said Jind deputy commissioner Mohammad Imran Raza. The committee, which conducted a preliminary inquiry, found Kartar Singh prima facie guilty. The committee interacted with 390 girl students of Classes 9, 10, 11 and 12. Of them, 142 students have directly or indirectly confirmed sexual harassment, Raza said on November 23. The action to dismiss Singh from service was initiated taking into account grave allegations of misconduct, a government spokesperson said on Tuesday. The spokesperson said that a woman principal and 16 new staff members have been appointed at the girls school. Jind police had registered a case against him on October 30 under Section 8 (sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and Section 354 (molestation) of the Indian Penal Code, after which he was placed under suspension by the state government. Police had arrested him on November 4; he is presently in Jind jail on judicial remand. A letter by 15 students led to the inquiry. On August 31, 15 girl students wrote a five-page letter addressed to the most powerful offices in the country -- President of India, Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India, Haryana governor, and the state education minister. Last week, Khattar said the government had zero tolerance for such incidents. The accused, whosoever he may be, would not be spared, he had said, adding that a woman principal has been posted at the Jind school and 16 other staff members have been transferred. Renu Bhatia, the chairperson of the Haryana state women commission, has been asked to organise seminars with the police to prevent such incidents in the future. New Delhi Access to justice is a right that cannot be secured by delivering pro-people verdicts alone and must be complemented by meaningful administrative steps, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud said on Monday. CJI Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud said access to justice is not a right that can be secured only by crafting pro-people jurisprudence (HT) Explaining the holistic concept of access to justice, CJI Chandrachud highlighted how the use of technology, improved infrastructure, physical and functional accessibility to courtrooms, and gender-neutral measures can aid in removing a spate of barriers for the citizens. The complexities of law and process, the inequality between ordinary citizens and powerful adversaries, judicial delays, and the belief that the system works against marginalized communities are among the various barriers that stand in the way of equal access to justice. I realized over time that access to justice is not a right that can be secured only by crafting pro-people jurisprudence in our judgements, but rather, that it requires active progress on the administrative side of the court as well, said justice Chandrachud. The CJI was speaking at the inaugural event of the first regional conference of around 70 countries from Africa and the Asia-Pacific , hosted by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) in the Capital, on the theme of Strengthening Access to Justice in the Global South. The International Legal Foundation, United Nations Development Programme and UNICEF are co-hosting the event. Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul is the executive chairman of NALSA while the CJI is its patron-in-chief. The most effective weapon that the judiciary can wield to accelerate access to justice, the CJI underscored, is technology. Today, the Supreme Court is successfully using technology in myriad ways to bring the courtroom closer to the citizens. I am certain that several of you have had the opportunity to watch the live stream of proceedings before the constitution benches of the Supreme Court. In many ways, online streaming of proceedings has taken the Supreme Court to the hearts and homes of common citizens of the country, he added. According to justice Chandrachud, the concerns over physical access to courtrooms ought to move beyond merely increasing the number of courtrooms or judicial officers. Access to justice is as much about the quantity of judicial infrastructure as it is about making courtrooms a space where everyone feels welcome. An integral part of securing access to justice, therefore, is making the courtroom a space that is accessible to persons belonging to diverse communities cutting across age, gender identity, caste and economic status, he pointed out. The CJI said that physical and functional accessibility of court complexes must be assessed to ensure that the physical infrastructure of the court accommodates all citizens, including pregnant women, senior citizens and persons with disabilities. As of today, nine gender-neutral restrooms have been installed at various locations within the precincts of the top court, said the CJI, adding there are steps introduced to an additional column for lawyers to mention their preferred pronouns while appearing before the court or filing documents. Recently, the Supreme Court acted swiftly to appoint a sign-language interpreter for a member of the bar with a hearing impairment. Such initiatives aim to ensure that individuals belonging to diverse communities, including gender minorities and persons with disabilities, are not only granted physical access to the court but are also able to express themselves authentically, he further said. Referring to the extraordinary role that the judiciary plays in increasing access to justice, justice Chandrachud said that countries from the global South, including India have developed ingenious practices to increase access to justice. For instance, since the early 1980s, the Supreme Court has made revolutionary attempts to increase access to justice by way of its public interest jurisprudence. The court removed procedural barriers to access the Supreme Court and allowed all citizens to approach the court for the amelioration of socio-economic injustices. This jurisprudence resulted in the Supreme Court being widely regarded as the peoples court, he said. Underlying our legal system, over whose destinies we preside, is the quest for social justice for our populations, said the CJI, adding that as judges, they have a duty not just to do justice in individual cases that come before them but to institutionalise the judicial process that looks beyond the immediate as well. New Delhi: Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday unveiled the crest of stealth guided missile destroyer Imphal ahead of the warships commissioning. Defence Mmnister Rajnath Singh unveiled the crest of Indian Navys stealth guided missile destroyer Imphal on Tuesday. (X/@rajnathsingh) The Indian Navy received Imphal from Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) in Mumbai, its first warship with separate accommodation for women sailors, on October 20. The crest design depicts the Kangla Palace on the left and Kangla-Sa on the right, the defence ministry said in a statement, while explaining its significance. Kangla Palace is an important historical and archaeological site of Manipur and was the traditional seat of the kingdom. With a dragons head and lions body, the Kangla-Sa is a mythical being and is symbolic as protector of its people. Kangla-Sa is also the state emblem of Manipur. Also Read: Navy gets delivery of Imphal, its first warship with separate living spaces for women sailors Imphal, which will get the INS prefix after getting commissioned, is the third of the four warships sanctioned under an important project called P-15B aimed at boosting the navys capabilities in the Indian Ocean region. INS Visakhapatnam and INS Mormugao have already been commissioned. Surat, the fourth one, is under construction. Singh unveiled the crest in the presence of Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh, chief of defence staff General Anil Chauhan and navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar. Imphals crest is a befitting tribute to the sacrifice made by the people of Manipur towards Indias independence, sovereignty and security, the statement added. The ship has an indigenous content of around 75% including its medium range surface-to-air missiles, BrahMos missiles, torpedo tube launchers, anti-submarine rocket launchers and 76mm super rapid gun mount. The destroyer has a displacement of 7,400 tonnes, length of 164 metres and top speed of more than 30 knots. It can carry a crew of 312. For 24 hours, Munna Qureshi kept digging away, metres deep inside a 2.6-feet-wide steel pipe. Hunched and weary, fatigue hit him in waves ever so often. But the 29-year-old from Delhi knew he couldnt stop. The rat-hole miners said that they started removing the debris at around 7pm on Monday and the entire operation was completed in less than 24 hours.(HT_PRINT) Behind him lay several yards of darkness, but before him lay the fate of 41 workers trapped in a tunnel for more than 400 hours. At that time, excavator machines and sophisticated drills had failed to bore through the debris. The job eventually fell to 12 so-called rat-hole miners or rat miners such as Qureshi, who were tasked with chipping away at 12 metres of debris at the end of it lay freedom for all those men and relief for all their families. Also read: Today is the real Diwali for us, say workers rescued from Uttarkashi tunnel At 7.05pm on Tuesday, he pushed aside the last rock that stood between him and the survivors. I cant describe my happiness, Qureshi said, minutes after the first trapped worker was wheeled out around 7.45pm. They hugged me, cheered in applause, and thanked me profusely. Feroz, another rat-hole miner, who helped dig through the last two metres of debris, left the tunnel in tears. I hugged one of the trapped workers and just wept, he said. A dozen men, largely from Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh and employed with a Delhi-based firm, were set into action on Monday evening, as a sort of last resort to manually carve through the debris, with the group emerging victorious on Tuesday evening, as 41 men were pulled out from the tunnel, in a heroic effort that underlines the endurance of human spirit. But officials only turned to rat-hole mining, a primitive method of extracting coal deposits through narrow, horizontal passages, when more modern equipment collapsed in the face of the daunting challenge. Since rescue efforts began late on November 12, authorities turned to a host of techniques to free the trapped workers. These included excavator machines, two types of auger machines (one of which was built in the US) and vertical boring machines. The first two failed after suffering irreparable damage owing to the largely unyielding debris, while the third faced hiccups hours after being put to use. Instead, what worked finally was a technique that is illegal across India because of its associated dangers. Still, the method prevails in parts of Meghalaya, as well as on some construction sites, given the minimal capital costs involved and the availability of labour. The term rat-hole refers to the narrow pits dug into the ground, typically just large enough for one person to descend and extract coal. The name comes from its resemblance to rats burrowing through narrow holes. So, for the 12 rat miners who dug away at the debris left behind after the auger machine had to be discarded, the rescue was more than just that it was also vindication. Vipin Rajput, one of the 12, who lives in Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh, said he hopes people will now consider their work noble. I hope they will see us with some respect now because of the rescue, he said. Still, in the 24 hours till 7pm on Tuesday, doubt threatened to consume some of the trapped workers. After all, burly apparatus had failed, several times over. Often, we thought we may not succeed. But we did at last, said Chandran, one of the 12 rat miners, struggling to control his emotions. Explaining the operation, Munna Bhai, from Uttar Pradesh, said teams worked in shifts to clear the rubble that lay at the end of the pipe. Four teams worked in eight-hour shifts. At a given time, three workers were inside the pipe tunnel. Our job was to remove the debris as the pipe was being pushed through the debris, he said. People from Bundelkhand in Uttar Pradesh, where many of the 12 men hail from, said several of them earlier worked in granite and stone mines in the region. Many also worked in mines in Ahmedabad, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Parsadi Lodhi, another rat miner also from Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh, said the operation was not difficult, but tiring. There was enough space inside to remove the debris, said Lodhi, who has been doing this work for the past 10 years. Qureshi said the day was a milestone in his life. I cant express my happiness. I have done this for my fellow workers. I can never forget the respect they (the trapped workers) have given us. Stressing that it cannot let the pot keep boiling in Manipur over dead bodies, the Supreme Court on Tuesday issued directives for the burial or cremation of all those killed in the ethnic violence in the state, including 88 that have been identified, but not claimed by their next of kin, by December 11. The Supreme Court Either the relatives of the deceased can accept the bodies and perform their last rites at any of the nine burial sites identified by the Manipur government, or the state can go ahead and do the same in accordance with the municipal law, the court ordered. The northeastern state, which has been overrun by ethnic strife between the Meitei and Kuki communities since early May, has recorded 175 deaths in the violence. Also read: Kuki group suspends economic blockade in Manipur A bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, further rejected the idea of mass burials, observing that it does not want the situation to deteriorate by allowing the burials to be converted into a form of protest. Most of the 88 bodies identified but yet to be claimed by their families are Kuki-Zomis and are mainly Christians. Frankly, it appears that the idea only is to keep the pot boiling... But we dont want the pot to keep boiling over the dead bodies. Replies, affidavits and counter affidavits etc... all that will only delay it. We cant keep these bodies in the mortuaries indefinitely, said the bench, also comprising justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. It directed the state government will intimate the relatives of the 88 dead people, presently preserved in state mortuaries, by December 4. The state administration shall issue communication to the next of kin on or before Monday next (December 4), stating that they are permitted to carry out last rites with requisite religious observance, within the next one week at any of the nine sites designated by the state (December 11), recorded the court order. Referring to the pertinent provisions of the Manipur Municipalities Act that provides for the disposal of dead bodies which are unclaimed, the order added: The state government is also permitted to issue a public notice that bodies which are identified but not claimed will be buried as per the timeline mentioned above...orderly arrangement can be made for dignified last rites. Eighty-one bodies that have already been received by their next of kin, the court directed, would be given their last rites at any of the identified nine burial sites without any influence by third parties. Taking note of a ground situation report by the Supreme Court-appointed committee that civil society organisations (CSOs) active in the state were exerting tremendous pressure on relatives not to accept the 88 bodies, the court ordered that while the state administration shall ascertain observance of due religious rites of the deceased, the collectors and superintendents of police of the districts concerned shall also take all suitable steps to ensure that last rites are performed without let or hindrance. Bearing in mind the fact that the violence in Manipur started in May, it would not appropriate or proper to keep the bodies which have not been identified (six) or not claimed (88) indefinitely in the mortuaries, recorded the court order, also asking the state administration to facilitate identification of dead bodies and their access to the next of kin. The court passed its order after taking cognisance of the October 21 report by the committee, which is headed by former chief justice of the Jammu and Kashmir high court Gita Mittal and was formed by it in January, complaining that some CSOs were preventing the families from receiving the bodies of their loved ones despite repeated entreaties by the state government and assurance of all logistical support. Some CSOs are opposing and obstructing the performance of last rites by relatives on account of vested interests, and even in order to derive mileage and to compel authorities to meet unwarranted demands. Apprehension was also expressed that there are elements interested in maintaining tension between communities and preventing restoration of peace and harmony in the state, stated the report. The report called it unfortunate that CSOs are insisting on mass burials at unsuitable spots, which it said will serve as a source for constant mounting of tension between communities in Manipur and prevent restoration of normalcy. It also rued that CSOs have placed 50 empty coffins right outside the office of the deputy commissioner of Churachandpur, which was the epicentre of the strife, which is not only a constant source of angst and tension for the inhabitants of the district but also is extremely demoralising for the public officials who have been making every possible effort to bring normalcy to the state and its people. Accepting the report, the bench on Tuesday asked solicitor general Tushar Mehta, who was appearing for the Centre, to see to it that coffin boxes are removed immediately even as it noted that the dead bodies cannot be allowed to remain in mortuaries for a further indefinite period. Mehta, on his part, urged the bench to pass an appropriate order to clarify that when the relatives of a deceased person are willing to accept the dead body for the last rites, no organisation or a third party can create impediments. Senior counsel Colin Gonsalves, appearing for some of the PIL petitioners and tribal groups from Manipur, however opposed any direction regarding disposal of dead bodies without giving him an opportunity to respond to the committees report and talking to the relatives of the 88 deceased whose bodies are yet to be claimed. Gonsalves also pressed for mass burial of the deceased in accordance with tribal traditions, but the bench shot down his plea. Frankly, it appears that the idea only is to keep the pot boiling. For the last 10 minutes, while we have been trying to pass an order, there have only obstructions and attempts to delay the matter...it has pained us, the bench told the senior lawyer. A proposed mass burial of Kuki tribal victims was postponed in August after hectic parleys between the tribal groups, security forces, the state government, and the Union home ministry, even as high court also ordered status quo at the burial site. Also read: Barring few incidents, normalcy restored in many areas: Manipur CM During the proceedings, the bench also took note of committees another report, citing pressure from the CSOs and tribal organisations in Manipur because of which at least 38 families of the deceased have shown unwillingness to receive the ex-gratia of 10 lakh each. The bench asked SG Mehta to devise modalities, including direct benefit transfer (DBT) into their accounts, so that compensation to these families could be disbursed. On a complaint against road blockade on a highway, the court said that the state requires a healing touch, adding a judicial order may not resolve such issues. The court, in a separate plea, asked the Centre to examine a request by 284 students affected by the ethnic violence in Manipur seeking relocation to central universities. The matter will be heard next on December 4. Putting the onus on the Joe Biden administration for his protection, Sikhs for Justice chief Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a designated terrorist in India, alleged the Indian government wanted to kill him for running the global Khalistan referendum voting campaign. Sikhs for Justice chief Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a designated terrorist in India. It is a challenge to American sovereignty. It is a threat to freedom of speech and democracy in America itself. But I will let US authorities speak more on this, Pannun told Time in an interview. Last week, India said the US shared inputs on a nexus between organised criminals, gun runners and terrorists during the course of recent discussions, and relevant departments were examining them, after the Financial Times reported that American authorities thwarted a plot to kill Pannun on US soil. The Joe Biden administration, too, confirmed that the US, at the senior most levels, raised the concern with India and expected those deemed responsible to be held accountable. India, according to the US, was surprised and concerned when the issue was raised, and told Washington DC that this was not government policy and will investigate the matter. The remarks by the ministry of external affairs (MEA) came in response to the report in the London-based newspaper which also suggested that the US warned India against any involvement in a plot to kill Pannun, a Sikh extremist the government of India officially designated as a terrorist but who also happens to be a dual American and Canadian citizen. During the interview, when Pannun was asked that he had reportedly angered Indian officials after issuing a video where he warned Sikhs not to fly on Air India because it would be life-threatening, the Khalistani separatist replied, "I was saying boycott Air India, but the whole Indian narrative shifted to bomb Air India. Somebody has to be a zombie to not differentiate between boycotting and bombing. Pannun faced charges of terrorism and conspiracy earlier this month, following the posting of the video. So they cannot afford for me to be alive as I have achieved a narrative. I'm able to educate, and peacefully and democratically challenge India's narrative of terror and terrorism. There are reports from Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the US Department of State in 1994, and other agencies about what transpired between 1984 to 1995. But we havent had a peaceful and democratic resolution to the contentious issue that has never been asked since 1950: should Punjab be an independent country? It was never asked of the people of Punjab in 1947, nor has it ever been put up on a ballot," Pannun told TIME. He added, We are going to open this question up through the Khalistan referendum voter registration in Punjab on January 26, 2024." Regarding intelligence reports of Biden discussing with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20 Summit about India's potential role in an assassination plot targeting him, Pannun was asked by TIME if he had prior knowledge of these reports before they were made public. The SFJ chief said, I will say that on this particular question, and this is my official statement, the Indian government and the Modi regime want to kill me, they want to eliminate me for running the global Khalistan referendum voting campaign." I have seen how the Indian government wanted to eliminate civil disobedience during Operation Blue Star," he said. So I decided I was going to use international laws to hold individuals accountable," he added. The development came two months after Canada said there were credible allegations linking Indian agents to the murder of another Sikh separatist leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in a Vancouver suburb. New Delhi has denied the charges and said there was no proof to back the allegations. In September, Canadas Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, on the floor of the Canadian parliament, said there were credible allegations linking agents of the government of India to the killing of Nijjar, another designated terrorist who happened to be a Canadian citizen. Trudeaus charge led to a major diplomatic rupture between Canada and India, besides raising questions in other western capitals including Washington, which is both Ottawas closest ally and a fellow member of the Five Eyes alliance, the worlds premier intelligence network. The US asked India to cooperate with Canadian authorities and expressed its concern. India termed Trudeaus allegations absurd, said this was not government policy, and added that if Canada had something specific to offer, Indian would be willing to look at it. New Delhi also used the moment to expose what it saw as Ottawas permissive environment for terror, violence and organized crime under the rubric of free speech. The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to grant bail to Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in June in an alleged money laundering case, on medical grounds as it remarked that the DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) leaders sickness does not appear to be serious or life-threatening. The ED had arrested Balaji on June 14 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). (ANI file photo) A bench of justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma declined to interfere with the Madras high courts order last month even as it perused the latest medical reports of Balaji with regard to post-operative ailments pursuant to a bypass surgery conducted in June this year. It (medical conditions) does not appear to be serious or life-threatening...I also looked up Google and other things. Your conditions do not appear to be very serious, said the bench. Representing Balaji, senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi stressed the fact that his client has had bypass surgery, and the reports will show that he may suffer a brain stroke. Rohatgi complained that the DMK minister has complications in his brain and heart valves which needed day-to-day monitoring at private facilities. Countering Balajis plea, solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the ED, argued that all these problems alleged by the accused were old ailments on which the top court had decided in the past and that going by the petitioners reports, at least 70% of the inmates will be entitled to be let out on bail. Also Read:Setback for Senthil Balaji of DMK in Madras HC in money laundering case On its part, the bench told Rohatgi that it finds no grounds to differ with the view taken by the high court, asking him to rather move for a regular bail. The court further declined to interfere with the high courts observations regarding a strong possibility that witnesses may be influenced and trial could be derailed if the minister, whose co-accused brother is still at large, is released on bail. There are views and views. And this is obviously for the purpose of denying the bail, it told Rohatgi, prompting the senior counsel to request for withdrawing the bail plea with the liberty to approach the trial court for applying for bail afresh. The bench allowed Rohatgis request while recording that it is not inclined to entertain Balajis medical bail plea. In its October order, the high court too had noted that Balajis health report does not appear to be a medical condition which could be taken care only if he was released on bail. The HC judge also considered his past conduct, his present position as a minister without portfolio and the abscondence of his brother Ashok Kumar, coupled with the attack on the Income Tax officials, to draw a conclusion that his release on bail can result in witnesses being influenced. The ED had arrested Balaji on June 14 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) in a case alleging cash-for-jobs dating back to 2014 when he was transport minister under the AIADMK government. Since his arrest he has been hospitalised for chest pain and subsequently underwent a heart surgery at a private hospital. He was discharged on July 17 and has since been jailed in connection with the ED case. On October 10, he complained of chest discomfort, headache and numbness in his left leg and was brought to Chennais government-run Stanley hospital and later taken to the prison hospital the same day. Balaji served as electricity, excise and prohibition minister in the state and his portfolio was recently re-allocated by chief minister MK Stalin on account of his ill health. The agency had summoned his brother Kumar four times since June and said in August that he never joined the investigation and has refused to appear before ED in response to the summonses citing frivolous inconsequential excuses. His wife Nirmala and mother-in-law P Lakshmi have also not complied with four individual summonses, ED said. It further added that evidence indicates that all three individuals have played pivotal roles in layering and integrating the proceeds of crimes. The top court had on August 8 allowed the ED to have custody of the minister while rejecting Balajis petition that the period of police custody was no longer available to the federal agency as during the immediate period since his arrest, he got admitted in the hospital and the ED failed to avail the option of interrogating him at the hospital. On November 27, the reporter learned from the press conference (fifth session) of Anhui Province's top ten emerging industries that in the first three quarters of 2023, the electronic information manufacturing industry in the province achieved a business income of 296.47 billion yuan and the main business income of software and information service industry was 123.83 billion yuan. Relying on the national platform of Wuhu Data Center Cluster, the national hub node of Yangtze River Delta in the national integrated computing power network, Anhui Province has actively connected with leading industry enterprises and has signed more than 10 key data center projects, with a total investment of over 250 billion yuan. At the same time, efforts have been made to build an industrial internet platform empowerment system led by dual-cross platforms, horizontal coverage of regional platforms and vertical connection of industry platforms, with a focus on connecting more than 8 million devices (sets) to key industrial Internet platforms and serving more than 100,000 enterprises. Anhui Province has made comprehensive efforts to promote the construction of intelligent computing infrastructure, with a total capacity of over 6500P. The province has also made significant progress in the coordinated development of "dual gigabit" network, with a total of 114,000 5G base stations built, achieving full coverage of 5G networks in urban areas of provincial-level cities, county towns, and townships, and reaching a 5G penetration rate of 94.4% in administrative villages. Additionally, the province's household fiber-optic network coverage has reached 177.8%, with four cities including Hefei, Wuhu, Huangshan, and Suzhou being selected as gigabit cities. Moving forward, Anhui will strengthen leading enterprises while creating an excellent ecosystem, promoting multi-chain collaboration and integrated applications, and building a leading next-generation information technology industry ecology. Source: anhuinews.com The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to grant bail to Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in an alleged money laundering case, on medical grounds. Your sickness doesn't appear to be serious or life-threatening, said the Supreme Court. V Senthil Balaji(ANI) An apex court bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and SC Sharma allowed Balaji to withdraw his plea seeking medical bail after the court was not convinced about his medical condition being life-threatening or serious. The court permitted Balaji to seek regular bail from the appropriate court and held that observations made by the Madras high court recently while refusing medical bail will not come in the way. "Any observation made in the interim order against the petitioner on merits shall not come in the way of the petitioner in filing regular bail application," the bench said. As the bench expressed disinclination to entertain the matter, the plea was withdrawn and the matter was dismissed as withdrawn. The top court had earlier directed Balaji to place on record his medical reports. While dismissing the bail plea, the high court had said from the health report of Balaji it did not appear to be a medical condition which could be taken care of only if he was released on bail. Balaji was arrested on June 14 by the ED in connection with a money laundering case linked to a cash-for-jobs scam when he was the Transport Minister during the earlier AIADMK regime. Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on Monday stressed the need to monitor the proper implementation of reservation policy for other backward classes (OBC), scheduled castes (SC), scheduled tribe (ST) and minority communities at the national level. Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin with other leaders during the inauguration of former vice president VP Singh in Chennai. (ANI) Stalin was speaking after unveiling a life-sized statue of former prime minister VP Singh installed on the Presidency College premises in Chennai. On the occasion, former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav as well as family members of the late prime minister were also present. To protect social justice at the national level, all political parties keen on ensuring social justice should unite and strive for the welfare of the people, Stalin said. Recalling Singhs association with Tamil Nadu and the DMK in particular, Stalin said, If Uttar Pradesh was Singhs mother-state, Tamil Nadu was his father-state. Hailing Singh as the guardian of social justice, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president said it was his duty to install the late prime ministers statue on the college premises so that everyone could learn from his life and experiences. The Tamil Nadu government is proud to install a statue of VP Singh, the guardian of social justice, he said. Social justice is not a state issue but a problem in all states. Caste-class metrics may vary from state to state, but the problem is the same. In April this year, Stalin had announced that the Tamil Nadu government would install a statue of Singh, recalling that the former prime minister had implemented the 27% quota for OBCs in central government jobs based on the recommendation of the Mandal Commission. Stalin stressed the need for the upliftment of the oppressed sections, including Dalits, tribals and minorities, across India. VP Singh was neither from a backward community nor from a poor family but he fought for the reservation of the poor, downtrodden and oppressed people, the chief minister added. VP Singh was neither from a backward community nor from a poor family but he fought for the reservation of the poor, downtrodden and oppressed people, Stalin said. Singh is also credited with setting up the arbitration commission for the Cauvery water dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, which remains a contentious issue till date. Singh was so concerned about solving the Sri Lankan problem that he had gathered all leaders and chief ministers in his house in 1990, Stalin said. Addressing the event, Akhilesh Yadav said the unveiling of the statue sent a clear message across the country ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. VP Singh had worked to provide rights and respect to the backward classes by implementing the Mandal Commission reportJust as Babasaheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar gave reservation to the Dalit population, in the same way the dreams of the backward classes were fulfilled with the implementation of the Mandal Commission, Yadav said in his address. Sheikh Ahmed, 29, a project manager working in Oman has been saving up for 18 months -- not money, but vacation days. HT Image Then, after elections were announced in Telangana, he took a month off; he has been in the state since early November, campaigning for the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). I have return ticket for December 10. I will go back after the results are out, said Ahmed, I am campaigning in Nirmal district. We are telling our own stories to the voters. How the situation was before we left and how significant changes have come in the last nine years. Ahmed is not alone. A large number of NRIs with roots in Telangana have returned home during the poll season to giving an expat vibe to the poll campaign in Indias newest state that was curved out of Andhra Pradesh in 2014. The effort is the brainchild of KT Rama Rao, chief minister K Chandrashekar Raos son and the IT minister of the state. Apart from an on-ground effort by volunteers such as Ahmed, the plan also has an online component, and NRIs from the state, now working and living in 52 countries are involved, said Mahesh Bigala, the coordinator of BRS NRI Global Team as it is called. The team itself isnt new and has been around since 2014, when the BRS (then the TRS) first came to power, in some form , this is the first time, we are campaigning on the ground, doing door-to-door canvassing and talking to the voters about the development of the state in the past nine years, added Bigala. In the last poll, the NRI teams role was confined to social media outreach, he said. Another volunteer Harish Reddy Vyalla, 38, has his own start-up in Austin, Texas and Monday found him travelling through Karimnagar, once a stronghold of the Maoists . Its my home district. I left India in 2007. I came back three months ago. Apart from me, 50-55 NRIs have come back . We are doing door-to-door campaigns daily in this district, he said over telephone. Using the NRI workforce during elections is not rare in Indian politics. The Congress party in Kerala has branches in West Asian capitals such as Duba. In the 2017 Punjab elections, a number of NRI Punjabis from the US, UK, and Canada actively campaigned for Aam Admi Party. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made his interaction with NRIs a regular feature of his foreign visits. The BRS has NRI chapters in 52 countries. We coordinate on investment opportunities or help Indians . We helped the Telangana government bring back 600 people from UAE during Covid. We even installed a statue of late PM PV Narsimha Rao in Sydney in 2022, said Bigala. It was no less than a miracle for some of the trapped workers, who were rescued from the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel on Tuesday night, as they felt death was near in the dark tunnel many times. A worker is surrounded by SDRF personnel after his rescue from inside the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. (Sourced image) As they came out of the 800-900 mm pipe tunnel pushed through the debris, there was jubilation all around and many of the trapped workers told their family members that it was like Diwali for them. Uttarkashi tunnel rescue operations LIVE coverage Diwali Day, November 12, is when these 41 workers got trapped inside the 4.5 km long tunnel at 5.30 a.m. Today is the real Diwali day for us, said Chaudhary, father of Manjeet Lal of Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh after meeting his younger son after 17 days. He had spoken to his son twice when he was in tunnel. He is out finallyThe mountain finally opened its lap today to let my son and others out. I have brought clothes for him, I want to see him in washed clothes," he said. Chaudhary had lost his elder son in 2022 in an accident at a construction site in Mumbai. His son told him that the company of each other and constant morale boosting by Gabbar Singh Negi helped them to survive. It was a dark place and we were not able to sleep in night. We were constantly talking to each other, said Chaudhary quoting his son, as Manjeet was being taken to a community health center (CHC) in Chinyalisaur nearly 30 kilometres away, where they will undergo a thorough medical examination and will be kept under observation. ALSO READ: Your courage, patience is inspiring: PM Modi to workers after U'khand rescue Negi is a 51-year-old foreman has been telling the fellow workers not to lose their calm as rescue workers were on the mission to take them out. He had promised them that he would be last to come out of the tunnel. He was last to come out. Even when he came out, he was smiling, said his brother Jaimal Singh Negi, while travelling with him in the ambulance. Jaimal of Kotdwar district in Uttarakhand had reached the tunnel on November 12 (Diwali day) evening after hearing that his brother was among those trapped in the tunnel. My brother never lost hope and said it was not easy inside the tunnel, he said, minutes before he entered the tunnel to receive his brother after 422 hours. ALSO READ: How the Uttarakhand tunnel rescue operation transpired in 17 days: Timeline "It's like a Diwali for us. I have been finally able to see him, Negi said, in a choked voice. His brother Gabbar Singh Negi and 40 other trapped men will be able to see the sky despite all sorts of obstacles and challenges that the rescue operation witnessed. "I congratulate all those who were involved in the rescue operations," he said. For the past 17 days, Jaimal Singh Negi spent most of his time outside the tunnel, staring at the entrance hoping for his brother to come out. "In the last 17 days, I spent of the time, day and night, outside the tunnel hoping for my brother to come out. Though the rescue got delayed, I didn't lose hope, he said. Both Jaimal and Chaudhary said they dont their family members to work in tunnels anymore. As the rescue appeared imminent earlier in the day, families stationed in Silkyara were allowed inside the tunnel with their belongings so that they could travel with their loved ones to the medical centre. Uttarkhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that the evacuation began with youngest of workers and all of them were fit. They crawled out of the passage on their own, he said, after receiving the trapped workers at the mouth of the tunnel on Silkyara side. Over the phone, Jharkhands Sunil, who was camping in Silkyara, thanked God for rescue of his brother Anil. Finally, God heard us. My brother could be rescued. I am with him in an ambulance on the way to hospital," he said in a choked voice. Moments after he came out of the tunnel, labourer Bisweswar Nayak of Odisha spoke to his wife Sukanti and mother over video call waving at them. I am all fine. I am now going to hospital and would speak to you tomorrow morning, he said, as his wife and mother heaved a sigh of relief. Among the five from Odisha who were trapped, Bisweswar, 38, from Jogibandh village in Mayurbhanj district, has been working as a labourer in tunnel construction for 22 years. Father twin daughters aged six, Bisweswar joined work four months ago along with a few others from his locality. In Kuldiha village of Mayurbhanj district, 25-year-old Raju Nayak's grandmother broke down after seeing her grandson on a video call. Once he comes back home, I would not allow him to go anywhere. We had stopped cooking ever since he was trapped. I want to see him as soon as possible," she said. Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had stationed officials in Silkyara to bring back the rescued workers. Odisha labour minister Sarada Nayak who is camping there would bring all the five labourers back to Odisha with him. West Bengal resident commissioner in Delhi has been sent there to bring the workers to their homes, Banerjee tweeted on Tuesday afternoon. (With PTI inputs) Kolkata: Union deputy home minister Ajay Kumar Mishra has triggered a controversy in West Bengal by stating that identity cards issued to the Dalit Matua community members by the All India Matua Mahasangha will be treated as an official identity document across India till the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is enforced. Union deputy home minister Ajay Kumar Mishra (File photo) Asim Sarkar, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator from North 24 Parganas districts Haringhata, has publicly questioned Mishras announcement questioning how the identity cards issued by a religious body can be official identity document. Mishra made the statement on November 26 in Thakurnagar in North 24 Parganas district while attending a festival of the Matua community that wants immediate enforcement of the CAA. The Matuas are a part of the large Dalit Namasudra community that migrated from East Pakistan (Now Bangladesh) during Indias partition in 1947 and the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War to escape religious persecution. Passed by the Parliament in 2020, CAA offers citizenship to non-Muslims who entered India from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh before 2015. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) insists that CAA is unconstitutional as it links citizenship to faith in a secular country. I am assuring that members of the Matua community will not lose their citizenship. According to the latest information I have, the laws for CAA will be framed by March 30, 2024, Mishra said on November 26. Continuing his speech, Mishra said identity cards issued by the Mahasangha will be treated as official document across India. Located close to the Bangladesh border, the Thakurnagar town houses the headquarter of the Mahasangha of which the local BJP Lok Sabha member and union minister of state for shipping, Shantanu Thakur, is the president. Thakur was present on the dais when Mishra made the announcement. Also Read: CAA rules will be framed by March 30, 2024: Union minister announces in Bengal Members of the Matua community can go to any part of the country and show the card issued by the All India Matua Mahasangha provided it is signed by Shantanu Thakur. They will not face any harassment, Mishra told the crowd that had gathered for the annual Ras Utsav. The event was not telecast live by any television channel but videos of the speech, where he mentions the card, surfaced later on social media, triggering a controversy. How can a Union minister make such a statement? Can a card issued by any religious organisation be treated as official identity document? These cards are being issued by the Mahasangha for a long time. Enforcement of CAA is what millions of erstwhile refugees living across the country want, Asim Sarkar, who is associated with the refugee movement, said. These cards will help identify a person till the citizenship documents are issued, Thakur told the local media at Thakurnagar. His aunt and Former TMC Look Sabha member Mamatabala Thakur, who leads the rival faction of the Mahasangha, alleged that the Centre is trying to hoodwink the Matuas. The BJP knows that CAA can never be enforced in a democratic country. Hence, it is trying to woo voters before the Lok Sabha polls, she said. During his 2021 assembly election campaign jn Thakurnagar, Union home minister Amit Shah announced that the Centre would enforce CAA once Covid-19 vaccination across the country was over. However, the BJP did not speak on this issue since then and suffered a setback in the Bengal panchayat polls earlier this year. Support of the Matua and other Dalit communities helped BJP win several seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha and 2021 state polls. Thakur was made a minister of state during the Union cabinet reshuffle in 2021. This was seen as a move by the BJP central leadership to keep the Matuas happy. Between November 12 and 13, when the Myanmar army conducted airstrikes on its villages along the international border in Mizoram, around 5,000 people crossed the bridge that connects India with Myanmar. Residents of the town are in fact opposed to a border fence to curb the infiltration Not all of them checked into the makeshift tents that function as refugee camps. There were many who stayed in the homes of the Indian residents at Upper Zokhawthar, a Mizoram border village, for almost a week before returning. The influx of refugees from Myanmar could be increasing every month, especially since the 2021 military coup. It has prompted the central government to ask the Mizoram government to record the biometric data of refugees. The influx could also be a security threat in the future, security agencies say, but for most people in this border town, around 6,000 Myanmar nationals living across the bridge in another country are not foreigners. Residents of the town are in fact opposed to a border fence to curb the infiltration. Most say the people in Myanmar villages across the border, especially Chin state, do not just share the same ethnicity but also have become their relatives because the porous border has led to cross-border marriages and business partnerships. When there is a funeral in an Indian or Myanmar village, most visitors are those who cross the border, attend the function and return, residents said. This is made possible because the Free Movement Regime at the India-Myanmar border allows people from both the countries to travel up to 16km without a visa. Chawngthangpui, 53, a member of the Zokhawthar village council, an influential body in Mizoram villages, explained why they continue to shelter the refugees. After the recent airstrikes, there were around 40-45 people who took shelter in my house for days. Some of them were my relatives, or relatives of my neighbours. I have known them for years, she said. How could I let them stay in a refugee camp? The border boundary is only on the map and on government papers. This is why we always oppose the fence construction. Her younger sister is married to a man from Myanmar, Chawngthangpui said. Zairemmawii, 27, is an Indian married to a Myanmar national. She lives near Rih village in Myanmar. The village is about 2km from the border. Since the airstrikes on November 12 and 13, she has been staying at her mothers house along with her husband and two children. We live in both countries. We married in 2019. I met my husband, Vanlalduata, at a church seminar in the town. We somehow ended up together, she said. Though we lived in two different countries and were separated by the border, it was a regular affair. The celebrations happened in both sides of the bridge. With the same Indian cellphone networks working at the border villages, it is not a problem for teenagers to be in touch with each other. Residents here meet their match when crossing the border as part of their daily activities. It could be entering Myanmar to buy liquor, cigarettes, perfumes or even hang out at the cafes across the border. The stories are almost similar. The market at the border on both sides of bridge is a meeting point and so are the churches on Sundays. One of the famous and recent cross-border marriages is that of the local doctor and a nurse. A local nurse, who is married to a Myanmar national, help families of refugees and locals who are unable to afford bigger hospitals in Mizoram. Nearly 60 patients, mostly refugees, come to the centre everyday. Hers was an arranged marriage. Her parents told her about a boy from Myanmar whose family was known to her parents. Cross-border stories here are common. When my family told me about an arranged match with a person from Myanmar, I did not think twice. We are married for a little over a year and very happy, she said. The 30 people injured in the airstrikes were first brought to their centre on November 12 and 13, she said. With refugees continuing to pour in because of the violence in Myanmar, the residents in Mizoram have planned joint Christmas celebrations. Last week, the village council decided to hold joint celebrations because most people in the Myanmar villages have come over after losing their homes and families. Almost 6-10 people here have relatives living in the other side of the border. We have decided to have a joint celebration this time, said Ednma, another member of the council. The villagers will protest if the government builds a fence or stops people from coming over, Ednma said. Meanwhile, officials in Mizoram government headquarters said that it will soon take a call on holding biometric drives. It could happen after the next government takes over post the declaration of results of the assembly elections on November 3 . The Centre did direct the state government to capture the biometric details of refugees. The timing to conduct the drive was not right. We had the model code of conduct in place and also the elections. The focus was to hold the elections successfully and peacefully. The new government will take a call soon, said Engmawaia, the state governments home commissioner. Ashley J Tellis, a former US official closely involved with the India-US civil nuclear agreement and a top American strategic affairs expert, has said that to meet the vision embedded in the agreement, India must clarify its civil nuclear liability legal framework either through an amendment or by specifying liability limits in commercial agreements or a broad inter-governmental agreement. Ashley J Tellis, a former US official, was closely involved with the India-US civil nuclear agreement. (Carnegie) For its part, the US must drop its absurd and maniacal tech controls regime that is born out of concerns over Indias nuclear weapons programme and open doors for tech transfers to India in a range of domains, Tellis has said. In a paper for Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on Monday, Tellis, who is the Tata chair for strategic affairs at the think tank, has also outlined the strategic logic of deeper nuclear cooperation. Discussions on civil nuclear issues have acquired renewed momentum under the Joe Biden administration, with Biden, who as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee played a key role in pushing the deal through the US Congress, keen on seeing the American nuclear industry win benefits that it hoped for. During Prime Minister Narendra Modis state visit to Washington DC in June, and then during Bidens visit to Delhi in September, both countries, in joint statements, referred to intensified consultations between relevant entities on both sides to expand opportunities for facilitating bilateral collaboration in nuclear energy, including in the development of next-generation small modular reactor technologies in a collaborative mode. The US administration is understood to have consulted Tellis on the subject and how to take the nuclear story forward. India and US agreed on civil nuclear cooperation in 2005 and finalised it in 2008, largely due to then-President George W Bushs commitment to overcoming the structural barriers that had inhibited the strategic relationship between the two countries, with an eye on Chinas rising power. The agreement saw India agree to a separation of civil and military nuclear reactors and open up the former for international inspections, and in return, without being a signatory to the Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), the US helped Indias entry into the club of nuclear-haves by changing both international legal regime and its own domestic legislation and opening the doors for cooperation in the domain of nuclear commerce. Prescription for India Tellis noted in his paper that the Manmohan Singh government had consciously set to make international and domestic private sector participation in the nuclear industry possible by enacting a nuclear liability legislation consistent with international standards as codified in the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC). This convention imposes burdens imposed in the case of any nuclear accident on nuclear plant operators rather than suppliers. But an unrelated Supreme Court judgment around the same time on the Bhopal Gas tragedy reminded Indian body politic of the ghastly tragedy, Tellis argued, making Singhs proposed legislation hard to enact. The BJP too, at that point, strongly opposed the original legislation. As a result, Tellis claimed, a convoluted law was passed that accepted the nuclear plant operators liability in principle, but also bestowed on it the right to seek legal recourse against suppliers for defective products or technology. Indias nuclear liability law the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLNDA) thus made the country an outlier in the realm of international nuclear commerce, Tellis has written, adding that it also complicated foreign efforts to supply advanced nuclear reactors. Tellis acknowledged that India sought to create work-arounds on the issue. These have included providing government clarifications to the textual ambiguities, defining the limits of a suppliers liability in specific financial terms, and committing to create an insurance pool to limit the suppliers risks in case of an accident. But these, he noted, had proved to be inadequate and claimed that most private companies were unlikely to embrace the Indian nuclear market until the issue was resolved. But the imperatives of energy security, climate adaptation and geopolitical interests have led to India keeping the nuclear option alive, with India importing reactors from Russia and pursuing negotiations with French and US companies. Tellis then offers three possible solutions. The first, and cleanest, option would be to amend the law by channeling all liability in case of a nuclear accident solely to the operator, with the operator relying on an insurance pool. But this option, Tellis acknowledged, is unlikely before the next Indian general elections. The second option is documenting liability ceilings into commercial contracts with nuclear suppliers as a way to assuage their fears about open-ended liability. Tellis said that the final perhaps least satisfying fallback solution was an intergovernmental agreement that confirms the limited liability of foreign private companies. Prescription for US Tellis also, however, said the US administration had a bigger and more consequential task of addressing the issue of Indias nuclear weapons programme in US grand strategy. He noted that US interests are best served by the existence of strong power centers on Chinas periphery and Indias value stemmed from its ability to stand up to China independently, which was why the Bush administration and successive US administrations had been committed to enhancing Indian capabilities and power. The ultimate bedrock of Indias ability to constrain Chinese assertiveness derived from its nuclear weapons. Given Chinas rise and expansion of its nuclear arsenal, there was even more reason, Tellis said, to consider Indian nuclear weapons as an asset to maintain the current balance of power. It was therefore in the US interest to increase the effectiveness of the Indian nuclear deterrent. The NPT makes this difficult, but this, Tellis has suggested, does not mean that the US cant help India improve its own strategic capabilities. This is where the thicket of US export controls and end-user verifications posed a challenge, for they are premised on the denial of any technology, expansively defined, with even tenuous connections to the Indian nuclear weapons programme and its delivery systems. This has meant, Tellis noted, that India has been denied export licenses in other areas too. While there have been recent initiatives, including a bilateral Strategic Trade Dialogue to deal with the issue of export controls, Tellis acknowledged that there is bitterness in India at how the US talks a big game about supporting India but this doesnt translate it into licensing practices. The persistence of this denial regime will also hamper cooperation in newer emerging and critical technologies between the two countries, a stated policy aim. In the paper, Tellis has termed this US denial, almost two decades after the nuclear deal, absurd. Washingtons obligations to NPT do not require such a maniacal control regime as far as India is concernedThe inherited non-proliferation rules and how they are implemented not only prevent India from incurring the full benefits ofthe original civil nuclear agreement but, even more importantly, subvert the overarching objective that drove its negotiation: assisting Indias ascendancy to create the Asian multipolarity that balances Chinas rise. It was time, Tellis argued, for the US executive to revise its rules that made Indias nuclear weapons programme an obstacle in tech cooperation. The United States is set to begin a pilot programme for domestic renewal of certain categories of H-1B visas in December, a step that will benefit a significantly large number of Indian technology professionals, a US official has said. This relief will ultimately impact over one million H-1B holders This comes months after the White House announced the plan during the state visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June. In an interview to PTI, Julie Stufft, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Visa Services, said, "In India, the demand (for US visas) is still very high. The wait time of six, eight and 12 months is not what we need and (it is) not indicative of how we view India." "We want to make sure that Indian travellers can get appointments as quickly as possible. One way we are doing that is through the domestic visa renewal programme, which is focused very much on India. We are piloting that," she said. Over a period of three months, beginning December, the State Department will be issuing 20,000 visas to foreign nationals who are already inside the country. "We will do 20,000 in the first group. The vast majority of those will be Indian nationals living in the US and we will expand as it goes on. "Because Indians are the largest skilled group of workers in the United States, we hope that India will benefit quite a bit from this programme and it will prevent people from having to travel back to India or anywhere for a visa appointment to get their visa renewed. It will allow our missions in India to concentrate on new applicants," Stufft said. While the State Department has been working on launching such a programme on a pilot basis for quite some time now, it was formally announced during Modi's visit. The plan, which was mentioned in the joint statement and announced by Modi during his address to the Indian diaspora at the Ronald Reagan Centre, has been cheered and welcomed by the Indian community in the US. Responding to a question, Stufft said there will be a federal register notice, which is the first official notice of this coming out very soon, and that will describe all of the steps that need to be taken and who is eligible to apply in the first tranche and lay out those instructions. "But I can say that we are doing these visas here in the United States. So, the idea is for a visa to be mailed from the United States to us in Washington. We print the visa and process the visa, put it in the passport and send it back to someone in the United States," she said. "So (that) the people don't have to go to either Mexico or Canada or back to India or anywhere (else) to get that visa renewed. That is something that will be laid out very clearly in this federal register notice that comes out in a few weeks," she said. The domestic visa renewal programme is only for work visas, Stufft underlined. "This is an existing regulation that was allowed that we just have not used in about 20 years. These are work visas. It is intended for people who are living long-term in the US but want to renew their visa without going back overseas," she said. Describing it as a "huge undertaking", Stufft said, "We're very excited about it. We're starting small with a pilot of 20,000 cases in December, January and February and we look forward to opening that to more categories of workers living in the United States in the rest of 2024." In a statement, Indian-American community leader Ajay Jain Bhutoria termed the move by the State Department "significant". As commissioner to the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, Bhutoria has made such a proposal, which was accepted and recommended by US President Joe Biden. "I am happy to see the recommendation I presented on behalf of immigration subcommittees on the Commission for H-1B visa stamping in the USA finally being implemented," he said. This relief will ultimately impact over one million H-1B holders, a significantly large number of whom are Indians, he said. "My heartfelt thanks to President Biden, the State Department, the AANHPI Commission, immigration sub-committee members. Beyond this, my commitment to immigration issues remains unwavering, advocating for policy changes such as removing the seven-year country cap, reducing the green card backlog and EAD for approved I-140 with a five-year backlog and ageing out kids," Bhutoria said. This progress, alleviating burdens for legal immigrants, reflects a society moving towards inclusivity, he said. Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday announced that the government will provide a financial assistance of 1 lakh to each of the 41 workers rescued from the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi district of the state. Apart from this, complete arrangements will be made for treatment in the hospital till going home, ANI quoted a statement from the chief minister's office. Dhami was present along with Union minister VK Singh to welcome the workers who were brought out by the rescuers. He garlanded the workers and escorted them to the ambulance in which they were taken to the health centre for medical checkup. ALSO READ: Your courage, patience is inspiring: PM Modi to workers after U'khand rescue I want to thank all the members who were part of this rescue operation...PM Modi was constantly in touch with me and was taking updates of the rescue op. He gave me the duty to rescue everyone safely anyhow.. without his support, this wouldn't have been possible. He spoke to me just now and instructed that medical check-ups of everyone must be done... and facilities must be done to take them to their homes, Dhami said at the briefing after the rescue operation ended. Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami (R) embraces a construction worker following his rescue from inside the under construction Silkyara tunnel.(AFP) The rescue workers managed to pull out all the 41 workers trapped in the tunnel in a multi-agency rescue operation that lasted for almost 17 days. An ambulance with the first of the 41 workers left the mouth of the tunnel around 8 pm, this an hour after a group of rat-hole mining experts dug through the last stretch of rubble. ALSO READ: How the Uttarakhand tunnel rescue operation transpired in 17 days: Timeline There was hugging and cheers as the ordeal ended. Outside the tunnel some people chanted Har Har Mahadev and Bharat Mata ki Jai Ambulances which had lined up at the tunnel ferried the workers to a community health centre where a special 41-bed ward had been set up. Before this, the workers were given a quick medical checkup as they emerged out of the steel pipe. CM Dhami said no worker was in a critical situation. But the labourers will be kept under medical observation for some time before being sent home. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday announced that her government has rushed a team to Uttarkashi to help the workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel. In a post on social media platform X, the chief minister said the team led by Rajdeep Dutta, Liaison Officer, Office of Resident Commissioner, New Delhi, will help evacuation and safe return of the trapped workers in the tunnel at Silkyara, Uttarkashi to their homes in West Bengal. Uttarkashi tunnel rescue operations LIVE coverage Manual drilling underway as rescue operations enter the 17th day in the Silkyara tunnel, in Uttarkashi on Tuesday. (ANI) The team further includes: Shubhabrata Pramanick: Mobile 8981200471. Somnath Chakraborty: Mobile 8130258750. Raju Kumar Sinha: Mobile 9968732695, Banerjee added. They have moved for Uttarkashi by a car (Car no. WB02AP 0014; Driver A. Kumar, Mobile 9971413458) to facilitate our 3 workers (1. Shri Manir Talukdar, S/o Shri K. Talukdar, Cooch Behar. 2. Shri Sevik Pakhera, S/o Shri Asit Pakhera, Harinakhali 3. Shri Jaidev Pramanik, S/o Shri Tapas Pramanik, Nimdangi, Hooghly) who have been trapped inside the collapsed Silkyara-Barkot tunnel in Uttarkashi. Assuring all support, the chief minister said. ALSO READ: Explained: How the Silkyara tunnel rescue operation is being carried out 3-4 hours to evacuate workers: NDMA The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said that the rescue operations are near a breakthrough as the pipe has to be pushed for another two metres to reach the 41 workers. NDMA Member Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain said that 58 metres of drilling has been done, and the rescue pipe has to be pushed towards the trapped workers by another two meters. ALSO READ: These are the trapped workers in Silkyara tunnel. Full list "We are near a breakthrough but not yet there," he said. Once the breakthrough is achieved, it would take 3-4 hours to bring out all the trapped workers, Lt Gen Hasnain added, saying it would take about 3-5 minutes to pull out each worker on a wheeled stretcher through the pipe. He also said that rat miners did a phenomenal job by digging 10 metres in less than 24 hours. Hasnain said all security and safety precautions are being taken for workers trapped inside Silkyara tunnel and for those engaged in rescue operations. The Uttarakhand tunnel rescue mission is just a few hours away from being deemed a success, with a breakthrough in the rubble achieved and the 41 workers trapped inside the tunnel set to be extracted after 17 days. Meet the team responsible for the safe evacuation of workers trapped in Uttarakhand tunnel collapse. The entire nation has been keeping close tabs on the operation, with Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and several officers from the PMO making regular visitations to the rescue site of the Uttarkashi tunnel collapse. The NDRF, SDRF, Indian Army and other state and central agencies have been deployed at the site, with a few people playing a major role in the rescue mission of the 41 trapped workers. Here is a look inside the rescue team of the Uttarakhand tunnel extraction mission. Uttarakhand tunnel collapse: Meet the rescue team IAS officer Neeraj Khairwal IAS officer Neeraj Khairwal was tasked with being the Nodal officer of Silkyara tunnel collapse mishap, and has been overseeing and commanding the rescue operations since the last 10 days. Khairwal has been giving updates to the CMO and PMO from the rescue site by the hour. He is also a Secretary in the Uttarakhand government. Micro-tunnelling expert Chris Cooper Chris Cooper is a micro-tunnelling expert with decades of experience, who arrived at the site of the tunnel collapse on November 18. Cooper is a Chartered Engineer with specialisation in civil engineering infrastructure, Metro tunnels, Large Caverns, Dams, Railway, and Mining Projects. He is also the international consultant for the Rishikesh Karnprayag rail project. Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd), member, NDRF Retired Lieutenant General of the Indian Army and member of the NDMA team Syed Ata Hasnain has been overseeing the role of the National Disaster Management Authority in the Uttarakhand tunnel collapse. Lt Gen Hasnain was formerly a member of the GOC 15 corps of the Indian Army, deployed in Srinagar. Tunnelling expert Arnold Dix Scientific researcher and underground tunnelling expert Arnold Dix has been on the Uttarakhand tunnel collapse rescue site since the first few days, supervising the use of the American auger for horizontal drilling of the tunnel. Dix also conducted an inspection of the rescue site to know the most efficient way for the extraction of the 41 trapped workers. Team of rat hole mining experts Six rat hole mining experts were flown in from Madhya Pradesh to oversee the process of micro-tunnelling, manual drilling and conducting the rescue through the narrow 800 mm pipe, laid down to pull out the trapped workers. State and central agencies, as well as local drilling experts, environment experts, members of the NDRF and SDRF as well as the Indian Army have been deployed at the site of the Uttarakhand tunnel collapse. A team of doctors and a hospital with 41 beds has been kept on standby to make sure that the mission is not hampered by any medical emergency. The collapsed Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand has finally been breached, an official said on Tuesday, bringing hope to the families of those trapped inside. Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami also confirmed in a social media post that the work of laying pipes in the tunnel to take out the workers has been completed. Ambulances, doctors on stand-by outside the collapsed Silkyara Tunnel where 41 workers are trapped.(ANI) As a result of the immense grace of Baba Baukh Nag Ji, prayers of crores of countrymen and the tireless work of all the rescue teams engaged in the rescue operation, the work of laying pipes in the tunnel to take out the workers has been completed. Soon all the labourer brothers will be taken out, Dhami said on X in Hindi. A senior official present at the site earlier said the drilling operation has been successfully completed, reported PTI. Asked by reporters, NHIDCL managing director Mahmood Ahmed did not immediately confirm the development but said the last section of the escape pipe was being pushed through the drilled passage. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel, equipped with ropes, lights, and stretchers, were seen at the entrance of the Silkyara tunnel, ready to reach those trapped inside. As part of the intricate rescue plan, a team of NDRF personnel, equipped with essential tools, will first traverse to the other side of the collapsed tunnel through a pipeline. Once on the opposite side, they will communicate with the trapped individuals to assess their condition and provide necessary instructions for a safe evacuation. To ensure a swift and organized response, all ambulances have been placed on standby and a green corridor has been established, streamlining the path for ambulances to swiftly transport the rescued individuals to medical facilities. The process of pulling the trapped workers out, one at a time on wheeled stretchers through a pipe 90 cm (3 feet) wide, would take a couple of hours, reported Reuters quoting officials. The tunnel is part of the $1.5 billion Char Dham highway, one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's most ambitious projects, aimed at connecting four Hindu pilgrimage sites through an 890- km network of roads. Authorities have not said what caused the cave-in but the region is prone to landslides, earthquakes and floods. (With inputs from agencies) As the quaint mountain town of Kotdwar in Uttarakhand was lighting up on Diwali day, Jaimal Singh Negis life descended into darkness. That afternoon, he received a call that said his vivacious younger brother, Gabbar Singh Negi, was trapped alongside 40 other men inside an under-construction tunnel in Silkyara. Distraught, the 63-year-old rushed to the open tunnel face. As night fell on the Himalayas that evening, and hulking excavators roared up the slope to break through the wall of rocks, debris and mud that blocked the men, Jaimal steeled himself, hoping against hope. Locals and family members of trapped workers near the under-construction tunnel between Silkyara and Dandalgaon on the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri national highway,(PTI) Also read: Rat-mining gets the job done! Hed need that conviction; Over the next 422 hours, through the peaks and troughs of the painstaking operation, as the rescuers repeatedly found their hopes dashed by failing machines or falling mounds of debris, Jaimal never left the hillside. I spent all my time, day and night, outside the tunnel, hoping for my brother to come out, he said. At 8.30pm on Tuesday, his faith paid off as rescuers pulled out Gabbar and all 40 of his fellow workers through a steel chute that cut through the rock face. He was shaken, but unhurt and in high spirits, happy at the glimpse of the twinkling night sky after 17 days. Its like a Diwali for us today. I have finally been able to see him, Jaimal said, his voice choked with emotion. Scenes of jubilation played out at the mouth of the tunnel on Tuesday evening as drained relatives of the trapped workers beamed, hugging their loved ones as they were wheeled out. The rescued men were welcomed as heroes with wild cheers and marigold garlands, as officials greeted them after 422 harrowing hours spent inside the tunnel. Finally, God heard us, said Sunil, a resident of Jharkhand. The 51-year-old Gabbar was the foreman of the 41-member construction team that found their egress blocked by a sudden collapse of the tunnel at 5.30am on November 12. Even as frenetic rescue operations commenced outside, Gabbar realised the importance of keeping the morale high in the team. He used his two-decade-long experience in construction, rescue officials said, to call for calm and keep everyones confidence high even when rescue operations faltered. That sliver of cheer helped many of his fellow workers survive the anxious 17 days inside the tunnel as rescuers struggled to make headway through the inclement terrain. Manpreet Lal, for example, told his father Chaudhary Lal that the company of fellow workers and Gabbars leadership helped him brave the ordeal. It was a dark place and we were not able to sleep at night. We were constantly talking to each other, Lal told his father. To keep the morale high, Gabbar even promised his fellow workers that he would be the last to come out of the tunnel, said Negi. He was last to come out. Even when he came out, he was smiling, said Negi, while travelling with him in the ambulance. Chaudhary, a resident of Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh, said spoke to his son twice in the last two weeks. He is out finallyThe mountain finally opened its lap today to let my son and others out. I have brought clothes for him, I want to see him in washed clothes, he said. Chaudhary has lost his elder son in 2022 in an accident at a construction site in Mumbai. Among the 41 workers were 15 from Jharkhand, eight from Uttar Pradesh, five each from Bihar and Odisha, three from West Bengal, two each from Assam and Uttarakhand and one from Himachal Pradesh.As the rescue appeared imminent earlier in the day, families in Silkyara were allowed inside the tunnel with their belongings so that they could travel with their loved ones to the medical centre. Also read: Only Australian who gave good news': Tunnelling expert Arnold Dix hailed for leading Uttarakhand rescue ops Moments after he came out of the tunnel, labourer Bisweswar Nayak of Odisha spoke to his wife Sukanti and mother over video, waving at them. I am all fine. I am now going to the hospital and will speak to you tomorrow morning, he said. Father to twin daughters, the 38-year-old has worked as a labourer in tunnel construction for 22 years. In Kuldiha village of Mayurbhanj district, 25-year-old Raju Nayaks grandmother broke down after seeing her grandson on video. Once he comes back home, I will not allow him to go anywhere. We had stopped cooking ever since he was trapped. I want to see him as soon as possible, she said. Though elated, many families said the anguish of the past two weeks had scarred them enough to ask their loved ones to never return to a tunnel site again. I had been asking Gabbar to leave this work of tunnel construction. He would say life is anyway risky and never pay heed to me. After this incident, I would once again try to convince him. Hopefully, he listens to me now, said Jaimal. Chaudhary was more determined. I come from a very poor background and to reach here, I took a loan of 9,000 on my wifes jewellery. I know our familys total dependence on Manjeet but I cant allow him to work in tunnel construction anymore, he said. If anything happens to him, I wont survive. International tunneling expert Arnold Dix was witnessed on Tuesday offering prayers to the local deity situated just outside the Silkaya Tunnel in Uttarakhand. The prayers were aimed at ensuring the safe evacuation of the 41 workers who had been trapped for 16 days inside the partially collapsed section of the tunnel in Uttarakhand. Tunnelling expert's prayers on Tuesday were aimed at ensuring the safe evacuation of the 41 workers who had been trapped for 16 days (X/@amitmalviya) The rescue operation reached its critical breakthrough stage on Tuesday, moving into the evacuation phase. The workers will each be placed on a wheeled stretcher and carefully pulled out by rescue teams using ropes. This process is expected to continue throughout the night, according to an official from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) IT cell head Amit Malviya shared a video on X (formerly Twitter), showcasing Dix joining a local priest in prayers for the workers' safe evacuation inside the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand. Malviya wrote, When science and technology meets faith. International tunnelling expert, Arnold Dix joins a priest in praying for the safe evacuation of 41 workers trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel, in Uttarakhand. The video depicted Arnold Dix seated in front of the local deity's temple while the priest conducted the puja, as the rescue operation continued alongside. Who is Arnold Dix? Arnold Dix is a scientific researcher and expert in underground tunnelling, has been present at the Uttarakhand tunnel collapse site from the initial days. He oversaw the application of the American auger for horizontally drilling the tunnel and conducted a thorough inspection of the rescue site to determine the most effective method for extracting the 41 trapped workers. Dix specialises in underground infrastructure and construction risk, boasting global recognition for his expertise in tunneling. He actively participates as an investigator, expert witness, consultant, and mediator. He received acclaim for his tunnel fire safety contributions, acknowledged with a 2022 Committee Service Award by the National Fire Protection Association. Arnold Dix feels the trap is like an ancient story Mahindra Group chairperson Anand Mahindra took to social media platform X to share a video featuring Arnold Dix detailing the entire incident regarding the tunnel entrapment and the ongoing rescue operation nearing its conclusion. In the video, he described the disaster as resembling an ancient story explaining the incident's chronology. When asked about his belief in God, he expressed feeling humbled by the universe. He also mentioned that due to his constant work underground, and in areas worldwide where people like him work, a temple dedicated to the region's god tends to be established. On the 17th day of the Uttarakhand tunnel collapse, operations were in the last phase to rescue the 41 workers trapped inside the road structure. The authorities, till now, have used multiple techniques to bring the workers out of the tunnel section. Rescue personnel work at the collapsed under construction Silkyara tunnel in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand on November 27.(AFP) Among the different rescue techniques used by the authorities, rat-hole mining (manual drilling) is considered to be the most dangerous and risky. Meanwhile, vertical drilling is also being conducted, while the horizontal drilling approach failed. As the rescue operations are moving forward at a steady pace, here is all you need to know about the different drilling methods being used by agencies, and what is the difference between them. Uttarakhand tunnel collapse: Different drilling methods Rat-hole mining (manual drilling) Rat-hole mining is a method of manual drilling, which is carried out by skilled workers, most common in Meghalaya. Narrow pits are dug into the ground, usually just wide enough for one person to fit into. After digging the pits, the miner drops down into the holes using a rope and bamboo ladders. This method is usually used to extract coals, and is considered extremely hazardous. It is illegal in many countries due to increasing cases of miners dying from asphyxiation, lack of oxygen and hunger. Uttarakhand governments nodal officer Neeraj Khairwal made it clear that the men brought to the site were not rat-hole miners but people who are experts in the technique, news agency PTI reported. Vertical drilling Vertical drilling is done through a boring machine, digging straight down from the ground using electrical tools and equipment. In the case of the Uttarakhand tunnel collapse, a vertical drill has been boring into the ground and an 800-mm pipe has been inserted to bring out the trapped workers. The vertical drilling is complete, and the rest of the soil and rubble will be cleared out via manual drilling. Auger mining (horizontal drilling) A horizontal auger machine or a directional drill is a specialised tool designed to drill horizontal bores or create underground tunnels without disturbing the ground. These machines are used to lay down water and gas pipes, and to dig a tunnel. However, the auger machine in the case of the Uttarakhand tunnel collapse failed to free the trapped workers as it hit metal obstructions and eventually broke down, beyond repair. In major progress in the Uttarakhand tunnel collapse rescue operations, the vertical drilling machine has completed the drilling of over 51 metres, with just around 56 metres left to be dug out. After this, the trapped workers will be airlifted out through buckets.. Uttarakhand tunnel rescue highlights: Rat-hole mining specialists engaged in rescuing 41 workers trapped in the collapsed Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi initiated manual drilling through the debris on Monday. In the latest updates, all the 41 trapped workers are successfully removed. An ambulance carries survivors as rescue operations are underway to rescue trapped workers after a tunnel collapsed, in Uttarkashi in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, November 28, 2023. (REUTERS) Around 1:30 pm on Tuesday, Bansi Dhar Tiwari, the state government's information department, announced the completion of drilling. Shortly after, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami confirmed on social media that the escape pipe had been laid into the drilled passage, expressing optimism about bringing out all workers soon. However, hours later the National Disaster Management Authoritys official said that the breakthrough is not yet achieved but the rescuers are quite close. Finally, at around 7:00pm the breakthrough was achieved and rescuers entered the collapsed tunnel. At least 12 rat-hole mining experts were tasked with horizontally drilling through the final 10- to 12-meter stretch of debris in the collapsed section of the under-construction tunnel on the Char Dham route in Uttarakhand. The alternative drilling approach was adopted after a large auger machine became stuck on Friday. Approximately 40 per cent of the necessary 86-meter vertical drilling has been completed. Rescuers said Tuesday are three metres away from the 41 construction workers who have been trapped inside the collapsed Silkayara tunnel in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district over two weeks, raising hopes they may be freed by 5 pm on Tuesday. Rescue operations underway on Day 17 of Uttarkashi rescue mission (AFP)(AFP) The authorities said more than 55 metres of manual drilling has been completed, while nearly 3 metres remained. Officials also said the vertical drilling of the tunnel has been stopped for the time being. Uttarakhand Secretary and Nodal Officer for Silkayara rescue operation Neeraj Khairwal said, "...As of now, we have pushed in the pipe 55.3 metres. Only a little more distance remains...It might be somewhere between 57-59 metres...It might take a few more hours if there are no more hurdles...By evening we are hoping...Let's pray and hope for the best." After over 36 hours of drilling, the vertical drill machine has been stopped to aid the manual drilling of the tunnel. In the last update, the agencies had said that the vertical drill has bored over 51 metres of the ground, reaching the trapped workers soon. As per the recent update, the vertical drilling in the Uttarkashi tunnel has been stopped to ensure that there is no hindrance in the manual drilling work going on below. Further, the process of changing the machines is also complete. Only around 56 metres of rubble and soil is left to be drilled to reach the trapped workers, after which the 800 mm pipe will be installed in the drilled area. One by one, the workers will be lifted out of the tunnel using a rope and a bucket. Previously, an American auger machine was brought in to conduct the horizontal drilling of the tunnel to rescue the workers, but the machine struck a metal grinder and broke down, beyond repair. A plasma machine was brought in to cut out the auger from the rubble and the soil. At this rate, it is expected that the trapped workers will be rescued in 36-48 hours. Earlier, authorities had said that the rescue operations could be complete by Thursday this week. However, the Centre or state has not given any official timeline of the mission yet. Uttarakhand tunnel rescue project: What next? Rat hole mining experts were flown in to Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi to supervise and guide the process of manual drilling inside the pits. It is expected that the manual drilling will be done in another 14 hours, said one of the rat hole mining expert. Till now, experts have said that there are no metal obstructions detected in the last few metres of soil, which means that the drilling could be complete over the next one day. The 17-day wait for the 41 workers trapped inside Silkyara tunnel came to end on Tuesday after they were rescued. The first worker was brought out at 7:56 pm and received a rousing welcome by Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. In a video shared by news agency PTI, Dhami was seen congratulating the worker. Union minister VK Singh was also present. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Union Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways VK Singh greet rescued workers coming out of the collapsed Silkyara Tunnel, in Uttarkashi district. (PTI) Dhami presented him with a garland and hung it around his neck as rescuers, officials, and relatives cheered. Munna Qureshi, a rat miner hailing from Delhi, was the first rescue personnel to successfully reach the opposite side of the tunnel. I removed the last rock. I could see them. Then i went to the other side. I couldnt They hugged us, lifted us.. We worked continuously in the last 24 hours. I cant express my happiness. I have done it for my country, he said. The respect they (trapped workers) have given us, I cant forget my whole life, he told HT. READ | First video of manual drilling inside collapsed Uttarkashi tunnel to rescue 41 workers released Before the initial evacuation took place, members of the SDRF and NDRF teams entered the tunnel equipped with stretchers. Along with Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami Union Minister VK Singh was also on-site to receive the workers. The workers got trapped in the tunnel on November 12, as a landslide resulted in the collapse of a section of the 4.5-kilometer (2.8-mile) tunnel. The majority of the workers who were trapped were migrant laborers from various parts of the country. Numerous families, representing these workers, have journeyed to the site, where they have been stationed for days, seeking updates on the rescue operation and anticipating a reunion with their loved ones. (With PTI inputs) An unidentified man entered a popular jewellery store in Coimbatore and stole approximately 25 kilograms of gold and diamond jewellery. The culprit reportedly employed a drilling method to compromise the security of the prominent showroom situated in Gandhipuram. The incident took place on Monday night. In a video posted by news agency PTI, accessed by the police, the masked man was seen walking inside the showroom with a bag in his hands. Masked man seen inside a store in Coimbatore.(PTI) The burglar gained entry into the building through the AC duct and entered into the showroom through the gap of the fall ceiling. Though there were a lot of jewels inside the showroom, the burglar took his time to choose the jewels like how a customer would, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Coimbatore City North) G Chandeesh told The New Indian Express. Police said five special teams are investigating the matter. Located on 100 Geet Road in Gandhipuram district, the jewellery showroom occupies a building with four floors, each hosting distinct sections for various types of jewellery items. The thief targeted the first and second floors, where valuable jewels were stolen. Earlier in an unrelated incident in May, the Sulur police arrested a burglar and recovered 30 sovereigns of gold from him. The arrested person was identified as P Marimuthu, a native of Nedungulam in Madurai district. Marimuthu entered the residence of R. Shanmugasundaram, aged 62, located in Karpaga Vinayakar Nagar at Pattanam in Sulur. His intent was to steal 10 sovereigns of gold ornaments by breaking into the house. (With inputs from PTI) A woman hailing from Kerala undergoing Agniveer training allegedly died by suicide at a Navy hostel in Mumbai, news agencies reported citing police on Tuesday. According to Mumbai police, the deceased was identified as 20-year-old Aparna Nair who took the extreme step at the INS Hamla in Malwani area in the western suburb of Malad. According to Mumbai police, the deceased was identified as Aparna Nair. (Pic for representational purpose only) "The incident took place while Aparna was undergoing training on the Indian Navy Ship (INS) Attack," news agency ANI quoted an officer as saying. Shortly after receiving the information, Navy doctors were called to check up on the woman. Thereupon after conducting the examination of the woman, the doctors declared her dead, said police. The Malwani Police in Mumbai has registered a case under the accidental death report (ADR) and have started the investigation, ANI reported. While no suicide note was recovered from the spot, it appears the woman took the extreme step due to personal reasons, news agency PTI reported citing an official. The woman had been training at the facility for the last 15 days after completing her basic training, the official said. Agniveer and Agnipath Scheme Agniveer is a term used for soldiers recruited under the Agnipath Scheme. The scheme was announced on June 14, 2022. The Agnipath Scheme is the only way to serve in the military. Under the scheme, soldiers serve for four years, which includes six months of training and 3.5 years of deployment. After retirement, they can apply to continue in the armed forces. A 20-year-old woman undergoing training as the Navy Agniveer was found dead in her hostel room at INS Hamla in Mumbais Malad West on Tuesday, police said, and added an accidental death report has been registered. The trainees body has been sent for postmortem. (Getty Images) Police said that the trainee was found hanging by a bedsheet. They added that doctors who rushed to her room declared her dead. Chimaji Adhav, a local police officer, said that the woman was from Kerala, who came to Mumbai a fortnight ago and was staying at the Navy hostel with at least 20 other women. The trainees body has been sent for postmortem and police were recording statements of her colleagues and relatives to ascertain the exact reason for her death. The reason seems to be personal. But we are investigating all possible angles, said Adhav. Agniveers are recruited under the Agnipath scheme, which is a departure from the militarys decades-old recruitment system. The previous system ended after the government announced the new scheme last year. It scheme seeks to recruit soldiers for four years, with a provision to retain 25% of them in regular service for another 15 years after further screening. The 17-day long wait for the 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel of Uttarakhand finally ended on Tuesday. All the workers have been evacuated by the rescuers following a gruelling operation. Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE coverage Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami meets the workers who were trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel after the rescue operation, in Uttarkashi on Tuesday. Union Minister VK Singh also seen. (ANI) Munna Qureshi, a rat miner from Delhi, was the first one to reach to the other side. I removed the last rock. I could see them. Then i went to the other side. I couldnt They hugged us, lifted us. And thanked us for taking us out. We worked continuously in the last 24 hours. I cant express my happiness. I have done it for my country, he said. The respect they (trapped workers) have given us, I cant forget my whole life, he told HT. Prior to the first evacuation, the personnel from the SDRF and NDRF had entered the tunnel with stretchers. Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Union minister VK Singh were present to welcome the workers. Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari took to social media platform X to thank the agencies involved in the rescue operations. I am completely relieved and happy as 41 trapped laborers in the Silkyara Tunnel Collapse have been successfully rescued. This was a well-coordinated effort by multiple agencies, marking one of the most significant rescue operations in recent years. Various departments and agencies complemented each other despite facing numerous challenges. Tireless and sincere efforts by everyone, coupled with prayers from all, have made this operation possible. The dedicated endeavors of the rescue teams have yielded favorable results, he said. Celebrations erupted as locals distributed sweets outside Silkyara tunnel as trapped workers are being rescued from the tunnel. A portion of the tunnel had caved in on November 12, with the debris falling in the 60-metre stretch on the Silkyara side of the tunnel, thereby trapping 41 labourers inside the under-construction structure. (With Bureau inputs) Former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday appealed to the voters of Telangana, urging them to support the grand old party in the upcoming assembly elections on November 30. Emphasising the historical context of Telangana's formation in 2014 after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, Gandhi asserted that the Congress had delivered on its commitment to the people of the state. Gandhi further said that she is grateful to the people of Telangana for their love and respect. Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi (ANI) In a two-minute video message on X, she said, "Namaskaram, my dear sisters and brothers of Telangana, I could not come among you all but I am very close to your hearts. Today I want to say something to you. I want to see the dream of the martyred sons of Mother Telangana fulfilled." READ | Telangana elections: Congress eyes resurgence to challenge KCR in citadel "I sincerely wish that we all convert 'Dorala' Telangana into 'Prajala' Telangana (from a Telangana of landlords to that of people's). Make your dreams come true and give you a true and honest government," the Congress leader said. "You have given me immense respect by calling me Sonia Amma. You treated me like a mother, I will always be grateful to you for this love and respect and will remain dedicated to you forever, she added. I request our sisters, mothers, sons, daughters and brothers of Telangana to use all their power this time to bring about a change. Vote for the Congress. 'Marpu Kavali - Congress Ravali', Sonia Gandhi said in her message. The message from the chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party came on the final day of campaigning in the southern state, where the BRS holds authority. The video message was also shared by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on X. "Message from Telangana's own 'Sonia Amma' to the people of the state," the leader captioned his post. Telangana is poised for a three-way electoral involving the BJP, the incumbent BRS, and the Congress on November 30. The counting of votes will take place on December 3. Shyam Benegals Mujib: The Making of a Nation , based on the life of Bangladeshs first president, Mujibur Rehman released in theatres in late October but failed to make a mark at the box office. Benegals 24th film was made after a gap of 13 years his last commercially successful film, Well Done Abba was made in 2010. Two weeks away from turning 89, Benegal is frail of bodyearlier this year, newspapers reported that he was on dialysis for a deteriorating kidney diseasebut alert to the demands of a films pre-publicity release. At a special screening at the auditorium of the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) in Mumbai last month, Benegal obliged the photo-ops flanked by actors Rajat Kapoor and Divya Dutta, two actors who have acted in several of his filmshe is known to work with the same actors and crew members over and over again; in fact, Kapoor says he keeps his close-knit actor coterie in mind when he finalises a script. In Mujib, Kapoor plays the role of Pakistani political heavyweight Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Work is everything. If I stop working, I dont think I will survive, Benegal replied when asked what kept him going. Publicists and friends including the director and his long-time cinematographer Govind Nihalani and actor Naseeruddin Shah, who has played some memorable roles in Benegals films in the 1970s and 1980s, like the pitch-perfect Nishant (1975), surrounded the director at the screening. Both Kapoor and Dutta revealed things you might not know about Benegal: his cheeky sense of humour and his love of food. And things you might know: That he is a famously generous and liberating director to actors. In 2002, during a retrospective of Benegals films at the National Film Theatre, London, the now-deceased playwright and actor Girish Karnad, had a public conversation with Benegal. Karnad observed of his close friend: Shyam was more than a directorhe was also a friend, a very good host (you got very good food anytime you turned up at his house). Then, apart from that, in those days when actors were impoverished, he was a banker for his actors and most of all, a father figure...Even though Smita and Shabana have been compared in various ways, I always thought their rivalry was for your affection, actually, as a director. Director Shyam Benegal(HT Archive.) At the screening, Benegal said, unequivocally, I was most concerned with what the Bangladeshi prime minister has to say about the film, because it is her family, and the film wouldnt have been possible without her support. At that moment, it was obvious that Benegal was more concerned with carrying on making films rather than channelling a point of view and a treatment of his own. **** Benegal is among the few octogenarian directors in the world who is still working. At 87, Woody Allens last film, which was released this year, Coup de Chance, is largely a misfire; The Guardian qualified the recent film of Roman Polanski, 90, a ghastly, flaccid hotel farce; at 84, Francis Ford Coppola is at work on his Roman Empire-inspired epic Megalopolis; Martin Scorseses riveting new film Killers of the Flower Moon is being watched the world over when he is on the verge of his 81st; Ken Loach delivered The Old Oak this year, about the ugly phenomenon from which Londons liberal classes have turned away in sorrowing distaste: abusing and attacking Syrian refugees housed in hostels all over the UK; and at 93, Clint Eastwood is yet to retire from his brand of intensely meditative films on heroism and the human condition. Benegals Mujib is an ambling biopic. The stodgy script written by his long-time associate Shama Zaidi unfolds on screen like a school play. The cinematography by Akashdeep Pandey is prosaic. The actingall lead roles are played by Bangladeshi actorsis mediocre, including the lead role by Arifin Shuvoo, saved only by a few high-drama peaks where his histrionics can be justified. The life arc of Shaikh Mujibur Rahman, known as Bangabandhu, is turbulent and emotionally sardonic and the birth of Bangladesh after being East Pakistan followed by the Partition is fodder for a complex biopic. But the simplistic treatment of Mujibs ideology and rise will have historians in both countries cringe. Theres way too much adulationa signature of most hagiographies of political figures that pass off as biopics in Bollywood or Hollywood. The film emphasises throughout its three-plus hours of running time that the battle for Bangladeshs nationhood was based not on faith or religion, but on the Bengali language. Its a colossal idea in nation-buildingone that gets the short shrift in the film. The climax, of the brutal killing of the Mujib family after the nations independence by a section of the Bangladeshi Army, at his townhome, is poignantly designed with the most euphonious rendition of a Bengali elegy by Shreya Ghoshal. Kirron Kher in "Sardari Begum" by Shyam Benegal (HT Archive) Most of Benegals filmsfrom the darkly serious and self-consciously activist works of the late 1970s and early 1980s to those of recent yearshave the same controlled way of speaking for the marginalised. He told this author during an interaction ten years ago for a magazine cover story, that a filmmaker cant be a good politician. Benegals transition from an activist filmmaker, the most popular name identified with the parallel cinema movement of the late 1970s and 1980s, to that of a practitioner of what can be termed middle cinema was choppy. Many of the films made between 1973 and 1983 were supported by the governments film-funding organisation, the NFDC. Idealism was ubiquitous in those days, and a counter-movement to the star cinema of Bollywood was Benegals signature. For many serious filmmakers of that era, including Benegal, socially engaged cinema was a badge of identity. But progressively, as Benegal worked with actors such as Smita Patil, Shabana Azmi, Om Puri, Anant Nag, Naseeruddin Shah, Kulbhushan Kharbanda and many others, he became a master of the multiple-character film set in middle-class and lower-middle-class milieus. By the end of the 1980s, as the Amitabh Bachchan-driven wave of star worship and blockbusters was at its peak, parallel cinema directors jumped ship. The idealism and heavily issue-based film-making suddenly ended. The NFDC, which funded many of these films, pulled back, there was no distribution system in place and none of us really carried on, Benegal says. But unlike most of his peers, he immersed himself full-time in televisionBharat Ek Khoj, a history series based on The Discovery of India, and Yatra, a series about the chaotic and heartwarming confluence of community, caste, religion and humanity in the two longest train journeys across the length and the breadth of India. These are unarguably some of the finest works ever made for Indian television. In the 1990s, Benegal made Suraj ka Satvan Ghoda, based on a novella by Dharamvir Bharati, Samar, a lesser-known, stylish film where he used the film-within-a-film format to explore caste prejudices, and then Mammo and Sardari Begum, the first two parts of a trilogy on journalist-filmmaker Khalid Mohammeds illustrious and complex maternal lineage. Benegals real change in idiom appears in the 2001 film Zubeidaa, which is his most commercial Hindi film everit had love songs picturized in lush, undulating landscapes, a prince, a mistress and a queen, and a surprising dose of schlocky emotions. The biopic on Subhas Chandra Bose, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero (2005), Benegals next ambitious project was not only a box-office disaster, but a film in which he failed to project the historical and personal nuances of Boses character. Less a human story than a pastiche of a documentary based on available research material on the Bengali hero, the failure of this film can be seen as another turning point in his career. Benegal has supported systemic changes in India through his work as well as standing up in his own life. For example, he and his wife, Nira Benegal offered their vocal support to the movement to decriminalise homosexuality in India. He was one of the parents who petitioned against the colonial law, Section 377, before the Delhi high court in the mid-2000s. The law was eventually read down by the Supreme Court through another set of petitions. Like Ray, Benegal has always chosen density of character and storytelling over form and style. His gentle gaze has never couched or diluted what his most memorable characters grappled with: Should religion or caste determine marriage or citizenship? Is living on the fringes of society always an inconvenient choice? Can nation-building be a simple process? Mujib doesnt do justice to this remarkable legacy. Yet, Shyam Benegals filmmaking cant be only as good as his last film. MV Lee Badgett, author of the seminal 2009 work, When Gay People Get Married , is a professor of economics and the co-director of the Centre for Employment Equity at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the United States. She was in Bengaluru recently for the release of the fourth edition of the Indian Workplace Equality Index, a tool created by Pride Circle, the Keshav Suri Foundation and Stonewall UK to help companies measure their efforts and progress on LGBT+ inclusion. Badgetts focus on the economic impact of extending the social institution of marriage also led her to write The Economic Case for LGBT Equality in 2020. Her scholarly work from the mid-90s has studied the consequences of social and economic exclusion, not just on the populations being discriminated against, but on the national economy as a whole. Her 1995 work, The wage effects of sexual orientation discrimination as well as her 2001 book Money, Myths, and Change: The Economic Lives of Lesbians and Gay Men offered significant data-oriented research on the subject at a time when not many economists were studying the impact of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) populations. Badgett is currently in Nepal for a project on economic empowerment and skill development of low-income LGBT people. She is slated to work on a project on LGBT inclusion with the Asian Development Bank which will look at the benefits of economic inclusion of LGBT people in Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan. She spoke exclusively to HT Premium prior to an event hosted by the Godrej DEI Lab in Mumbai for corporates and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Read edited excerpts. You estimate that India loses as much as 1% of its GDP because of homophobia and transphobia. How did you arrive at this number? Thats a very good question. I took research that I could find about India, looking at experiences of discrimination at the workplace, in education and healthcare, and picked the things that I could put a monetary value on. That wasnt possible with everything but I found a lot of pretty good data on health in terms of experiences of anxiety and depression, HIV, and suicidal thinking in the LGBT community in India. I used global data on the impact of those conditions on LGBT people and on the economy. It was hard to put a monetary value on discrimination in the labour market, and the losses that occur as a result, so I had to use estimates based on studies from other countries. It may not be exactly the same in India but the situation is not likely to be better. It might, in fact, be worse. I added up the losses and used different estimates of how many LGBT people there might be in India. I got a range of figures 1% is somewhere in the middle. What India loses could be more than 1%. Did you also conduct interviews or have field researchers working for you in India? The World Bank had done some surveys and focus groups in India, so I drew on that data. Is this your first visit to India? Yes, this is my first visit. I thought I would come a long time ago. I almost came four years ago to one of the Pride Circle events but I got sick. This year, I am the President of the International Association of Feminist Economists. Many Indian economists are part of it, so I kept hoping that somebody would organise a conference in India and I would travel for it. Prof Jayati Ghosh from India, who taught for decades at Jawaharlal Nehru University, is my colleague at UMass Amherst. We have many Indian students on campus. I am working with Hiya Rajput, a PhD student from India on analysing labour force survey data related to the Other gender category in India that goes beyond the male-female binary. And I did a study called The Economic Cost of Stigma and the Exclusion of LGBT People: A Case Study of India' with the World Bank in 2014. I feel like I have been engaging with India and Indians for a while. To what extent can data help with advocacy? For starters, it helps LGBT people estimate what they lose by not being able to participate in the economy on the same terms as everyone else. That results in losses, nationally and internationally. Data is also appealing for certain kinds of people national policymakers, for instance to understand whats at stake. For an organisation like the World Bank, getting data that would support economic inclusion in countries is very much a part of their job. Why do you think governments tend to be more receptive to the economic case for equality as opposed to arguments that are couched in human rights discourse? I think that some of them do get the human rights arguments but there is a perception that human rights arguments come from the West. That can be contested because the Universal Declaration of Human Rights had contributions from various countries and cultures. I guess economics seems a lot more universal to policymakers around the world than human rights. Many activists do not like making an economic case because it comes across as an endorsement of capitalism. Among people on the Left, capitalism is not very popular as an ethical framework. But the economic case is useful because, to some extent, it takes the emotion out of the issue. When the conversation doesnt get heated up, people are more receptive to whats at stake not only for LGBT people but for everyone else. Showing the economic effects of discrimination is one way to show how connected we all really are. Recently, the Supreme Court of India refused to legalise same-sex marriage. How can corporations lead the way for inclusion in a society when courts let people down? Corporations have a lot of control over their own policies. They can recognise the relationships of LGBT people to folks they are not allowed to marry. Visibility is very powerful. It recognises that LGBT people have relationships and families, love and heartbreak in their lives. Not everyone may have someone from the LGBT community as a close friend or family member but they could have co-workers. There is data from different cultural contexts to show that when people who are not LGBT get to know people from the community, they become more open-minded and inclusive. Apart from this, making a public statement is a way for corporations to show that they recognize the worth of LGBT people and are committed to principles of equal treatment and respect towards all employees. When judges see greater acceptance in society, they are likely to approach court cases differently. Apart from recognising same-sex relationships, housing assistance and paid vacations for same-sex couples, what can companies do in the absence of marriage equality? They can look at financial inclusion in terms of home loans and joint bank accounts. In addition to their employees, they need to think carefully about the customers they are serving and make their marketing inclusive. If they want to entice same-sex couples to buy products, the message they are sending out has to be open and relevant for different types of families. Some companies might like to make clear public statements supporting marriage equality. This has happened in Taiwan, Ireland, and Australia. There are companies that engage with governments on these matters because they are interested in regulation but not very openly. Opposing views about marriage equality have created rifts within the LGBTQIA+ community in India. Many people argue that this issue is taking up resources that could be used towards addressing challenges related to housing, employment, healthcare, and education. Outside India, what strategies have worked to bridge such divides? Its harder than it looks. Its possible to talk about multiple issues at the same time. It might seem like advocates of marriage equality are thinking only about one thing but thats not true. Divides can be bridged through understanding peoples perspectives in a more nuanced way. That requires patience, time and continued engagement. For instance, among lesbian and bisexual women, who also identify as feminists, there are conversations about how marriage can be a very patriarchal institution and also what can be done to make it more gender-equal. Isla McNabb, a two-year-old girl from Crestwood, Kentucky, USA, stunned everyone with her extraordinary abilities after becoming the youngest female member of Mensa. For the unversed, Mensa International is the largest and oldest high-IQ society in the world. It is a non-profit organisation that accepts members with an IQ test score of 98th percentile or above. Isla McNabb holding her Guinness World Records certificate. (Guinness World Records) Isla became a member of Mensa after scoring in the 99th percentile of intelligence for her age on the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales. Isla's parents saw that she exhibited acute focus. She began learning her colours, numbers, and alphabet when she was just one year old, reports Guinness World Records (GWR). (Also Read: 13-year-old scuba diver claims world record with her underwater magic performance) At seven months of age, she would pick out certain items from picture books when asked. At 18 months, she learned the alphabet on her own and began to read at two years old, Islas father, Jason McNabb, told GWR. When McNabb received an erasable writing tablet from her aunt Crystal for her second birthday, the young girl surprised everyone by being able to read the word 'red' that Jason had written on it. Her father also wrote, 'blue,' 'yellow,' 'cat,' and 'dog,' which Isla read aloud without any hesitation. That's when her parents decided to get Isla tested. As she approached two-and-a-half, she scored in the top 1% of the population, qualifying her for a Mensa membership. (Also Read: Indian woman, 26, crowned Guinness World Record title for having most teeth) Jason McNabb told GWR, "A psychologist that tested Isla specialises in gifted children. He states he doesnt usually test children as young as two but made an exception after hearing about her talents." Isla is presently enrolled in preschool at the age of three. In order to allow her to start kindergarten early, her parents are hoping to obtain an individualised education plan. Isla loves to study, and while she is above average in several subjects, she excels in reading and arithmetic. She never stops surprising her parents with all the new information she learns. Disneylands its a small world ride in California was brought to a halt on November 26 after a man stripped off his clothes on the ride and exited it while it was in motion. The ride was stopped by the park operators as soon as they were informed of the situation. The Anaheim Police later arrested the 26-year-old man and escorted him off the property. The man was taken to the hospital by the police as a precaution. (Representational Image/Unsplash) The tourist attraction had to be shut down for an hour for inspection by the park operators. However, no guests were harmed during the incident, and the ride resumed after the inspection, reported Deadline. The videos that are going viral on social media show the man wearing only his underwear while getting on the ride. Later, the same man was spotted walking naked through the water before being taken into custody. Anaheim PD Officers responded to Disneyland to assist Disney security with a guest who removed his clothes and was naked in or near the its a small world attraction, Anaheim Police Department spokesperson Jonathan McClintock told TODAY.com. The man was arrested for indecent exposure and suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance. The police took him to a hospital as a precaution, reported NBC Los Angeles. According to People, the ride debuted at the New York Worlds Fair in 1964 and has since been a highlight for park visitors. A new group of hostages were freed Tuesday from Gaza captivity in exchange for Palestinian prisoners under an extended truce, as mediators worked for a lasting halt to the seven-week Israel-Hamas war. Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters stand guard as members of the Red Cross speak with released hostages in Rafah,(AFP) Ten Israelis and two foreigners were handed over to the Red Cross and were "inside Israeli territory", the army said. An AFP journalist saw masked and armed fighters, some from Hamas and others from Islamic Jihad, hand over the released hostages to Red Cross officials in Rafah, near the border with Egypt. International figures hailed the pause in hostilities and releases of captives as a cause for hope in the conflict sparked by deadly Hamas attacks that prompted an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip. Israel and Hamas accused each other of violating the extended pause in incidents on Tuesday, though Qatari officials mediating in the conflict said this did not knock the truce off track. As a two-day extension to the truce appeared to be holding Tuesday, US and Israeli intelligence chiefs were in Doha, capital of Qatar, to discuss the "next phase" of the deal, a source briefed on their visit said. Israel and Hamas are under international pressure not to return to all-out fighting when the latest truce ends on Thursday. A source close to the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas earlier told AFP that Tuesday's group of 10 Israeli hostages would be freed in return for 30 prisoners held by Israel. The release of the two foreign hostages came in addition to the release of the 10 Israelis under the terms of the deal. The truce paused fighting that began on October 7 when Hamas militants poured over the border into Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping about 240. Israel's retaliatory ground and air operation in the Gaza Strip has killed almost 15,000 people, mostly civilians, according to the territory's Hamas government. - Truce violations alleged - Palestinian movements denounced what they dubbed "truce violations by the occupier", and an AFP journalist saw an Israeli tank fire three times in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood of Gaza City as Palestinians attempted to return to their homes. The Israeli military described the shelling as "warning shots", saying a tank fired as suspected militants approached army positions. At least one person was hurt, the AFP reporter saw. The army also alleged that three explosive devices were detonated near its forces in northern Gaza, "violating the framework of the operational pause". "In one of the locations, terrorists also opened fire at the troops, who responded with fire. A number of soldiers were lightly injured during the incidents," the army said, adding that its troops were positioned in compliance with the truce agreement. Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari reported "some minimal breaches" which, he told a news conference, "did not harm the essence of the agreement". Israeli bombardments since October 7 have left buildings flattened in Gaza and residents walking through the rubble of ruined homes. "I hope this truce will lead to a complete ceasefire, because we are fed up of sleeping outdoors in the rain, of losing our loved ones and having to flee," said Umm Mohammed, who was driven from her home in northern Gaza by the assault. "One day for sure I will return... and I hope that my house will be waiting for me," she told AFP. - 'Next phase' - Israel has vowed to stick to its war aim of destroying Hamas and rescuing all remaining hostages. "The return of the hostages is a bright light for us all," Israel's army chief Herzi Halevi said in a video released by the military. The release of dozens so far "is also further evidence of the results of significant military pressure and resolute ground operations, which created the conditions for the return of our civilians home", Halevi said. Qatari spokesman Ansari said that his government would use the extension to work for a "sustainable truce". The head of the CIA and the director of Israel's Mossad spy agency were in Doha to discuss the truce with Qatar's prime minister, a source briefed on their visit said, asking not to be named due to the talks' sensitivity. The discussions aim "to build on the progress of the extended humanitarian pause agreement and to initiate further discussions about the next phase of a potential deal," the source added. Before the latest round of exchanges on Tuesday, 50 Israeli hostages and 150 Palestinian prisoners -- all women and minors -- had been released under the initial truce agreement. Another 19 hostages held in Gaza have been freed under separate deals since the truce began on Friday, including Thai workers and a dual Russian-Israeli citizen. Among images of the hostages released on Monday, a video released by the Israeli military showed French-Israeli Eitan Yahalomi, 12, reunited with his mother, who gripped him tightly to her. The boy's aunt told French news channel BFMTV that his mother had said he lived through "horrors" in captivity, including being struck by Palestinian civilians and threatened with weapons. In Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, Palestinian prisoner Muhammad Abu al-Humus called his release "an indescribable joy" and kissed his mother's hand as he entered his home. "I'm very happy. I hope that others will soon be released -- my friends, my cousins." - Call for Gaza aid - Israel views the truce as a temporary measure to secure hostage releases and says it plans to continue its military offensive against Hamas. "We are committed to completing these missions: freeing all of the hostages, eliminating this terrorist organisation above and below ground," Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video released by his office. But Israel faces increasing pressure for a more lasting ceasefire and the ramp-up of humanitarian aid to Gaza, where an estimated 1.7 million people have been displaced, according to the United Nations. On Monday, US President Joe Biden said he had warned Israel that its expected offensive in southern Gaza must avoid the kind of mass displacement of civilians seen during the military's pummeling of the north. The World Food Programme said it had delivered food to 121,161 people in Gaza since Friday, but that a high risk of famine remained. "What we see is catastrophic," said WFP's director for the Middle East, Corinne Fleischer. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi did not appear on Tuesday at a summit in Ankara that Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan had earlier announced to reporters -- but which Tehran itself never officially confirmed. Iran's president Ebrahim Raisi attending an emergency meeting.(AFP) The confusion around Raisi's visit underscores the tensions that linger between the two regional powers despite their shared views on the Israel-Hamas war. The Turkish presidency told AFP that Erdogan had no meetings planned for Tuesday and did not explain whether the visit had been cancelled or postponed. Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that Raisi's visit to Turkey had "been postponed". It also provided no reason or other details. Erdogan had personally announced the Iranian president's first official visit to Turkey on his return flight from a summit between regional leaders in Riyadh on November 11 that was also attended by Raisi. "Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is coming to us on the 28th of the month," Erdogan told reporters on board the flight. The visit was also announced by Turkey's state media and discussed extensively on television as late as Monday. But it was never officially confirmed by Raisi's office or Iran's official media. The two presidents and the countries' top diplomats had phone conversations over the weekend focused on the Gaza war. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian expressed "his hope that with the continuation of high-level diplomacy between the two countries, the two (sides) can see the strengthening and deepening of mutual cooperation", the Iranian foreign ministry said after the call. - Complex relations - Erdogan has emerged as one of the Muslim world's most outspoken critics of Israel's onslaught on Gaza in response to Hamas militants' October 7 attack. He has branded Israel a "terrorist state" and called Iran-backed Hamas "a liberation group". But analysts believe that Iran wants Turkey to move past the rhetoric and sever its blossoming trade and energy ties with Israel. "Iran expects Turkey to end its direct and indirect trade with Israel," Istanbul's Centre for Iranian Studies director Hakki Uygur told AFP. "Turkey, on the other hand, has taken an attitude that cares about separating political and commercial issues." Gaza's Hamas-led government says nearly 15,000 people -- mostly civilians and including thousands of children -- have died since Israel began to retaliate for Hamas's unprecedented cross-border attacks, in which Israel says 1,200 people died. Iran and Turkey share a 535-kilometre (330-mile) border and a complex history of close economic relations and opposing views on regional disputes. Turkey backed rebel efforts to topple Iranian- and Russian-backed President Bashar al-Assad during Syria's civil war. Ankara's support for Azerbaijan's two victorious wars over Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh also created deep unease in Iran. Tehran fears that Baku's resurgence in the Caucasus region could feed the separatist ambitions of Iran's large ethnic Azerbaijani minority. Iran is also anxious about a proposed trade route running along its northern border between Azerbaijan and Turkey that could potentially complicate its access to Armenia. "The most important conflict between Turkey and Iran was over the Caucasus and Karabakh," Ankara-based Iran expert Arif Keskin said. "With the Gaza conflict, this issue was pushed to the back burner but it still remains there as an important issue," Keskin told AFP. A group tracking antisemitism in Germany said Tuesday that it documented a drastic increase of antisemitic incidents in the country in the month after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7. Israel-Hamas War: A boy holds a Palestinian flag at a demonstration in support of Palestinians in Frankfurt, Germany.(Reuters) The RIAS group said it recorded 994 incidents, which is an average of 29 incidents per day and an increase of 320% compared to the same time period in 2022. The group looked at the time period from Oct. 7 to Nov. 9. Among the 994 antisemitic incidents, there were three cases of extreme violence, 29 attacks, targeted damage to 72 properties, 32 threats, four mass mailings and 854 cases of offensive behavior. Many Jews in Germany experienced antisemitic incidents in their everyday lives and even those who weren't exposed to any antisemitic incidents reported feelings of insecurity and fear, said RIAS, which is an abbreviation in German for the Department for Research and Information on Antisemitism. RIAS said that 59 reported incidents related to homes or people's living environment. In the southwestern town of Giessen, two men forced their way into the home of an Israeli national to remove an Israeli flag hanging out of the window. Several Jews also reported that their homes were marked with Stars of David. In one of the most severe antisemitic crimes, a synagogue in Berlin was attacked on Oct. 18. There was also a rise in antisemitic and anti-Israeli propaganda at universities in Germany, with a total of 37 incidents logged by RIAS. Jewish students reported cases in which fellow students blamed them personally for Israels politics. Some of them stopped attending classes for fear of being attacked. The monitoring group said that during the time period analyzed, about one in five incidents, or 21%, was attributed to anti-Israeli activism. A further 6% can be attributed to Islamist background, 5% of cases were classified as left-wing/anti-imperialist, while the far-right and conspiracy ideology backgrounds each account for just under 2%, RIAS wrote. 1% of the cases could be attributed to the political center and less than 1% can be attributed to the Christian/fundamentalist spectrum. In 63% of all cases, the political background was unknown, the group added. While Germany's government has been one of Israel's staunchest supporters following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and the subsequent Gaza war, there were outbreaks of violence at several street protests, in Berlin especially. Jews in the German capital reported antisemitic hostility in grocery stores, on public transportation or from neighbors, and deplored that uninvolved bystanders often looked the other way instead of showing support. Berliners are called upon not to leave those affected by antisemitism alone, especially in everyday situations, said Ruth Hatlapa from RIAS. The report pointed out that since Oct 7, even more than before, Jews are once again trying to make themselves invisible to avoid being attacked. Jews are hiding signs and symbols: a cap over the kippah, the Star of David pendant under the scarf, they no longer speak Hebrew on the street, the report notes. Jewish life in Berlin has become less visible, less openly lived. Elon Musk, on a visit to Israel, received a symbolic dog-tag from the father of an Israeli taken captive by Hamas in Gaza. The tech entrepreneur promised to wear it until all the hostages were free. The metal tag that Elon Musk received from Malki Shem-Tov, the father of hostage Omer Shem-Tov, reads, "Our hearts are hostage in Gaza." It could be seen in a video of Elon Musk's visit issued by the office of Israeli president Isaac Herzog. Elon Musk, after receiving it, placed it around his neck. Israel-Hamas War: Tesla and SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk.(Reuters) Later, he wrote on X (formerly Twitter), I will wear it every day until your loved ones are released. The dog-tags, prevalent throughout Israel, mark the October 7 killing spree by Hamas during which 240 people were dragged back to Gaza. Elon Musk also voiced support for Israel saying that one challenge was "ultimately stopping the propaganda that is convincing people to engage in, you know, murder". Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Hamas must be destroyed to which Elon Musk replied, There's no choice. Elon Musk also asserted, I'd like to help as well"- referring to rebuild Gaza after the Israel-Hamas war. But its important to first deradicalize the Palestinian territories, the billionaire said as he toured the Kfar Aza kibbutz where some of the worst violence occurred on October 7. After watching footage of the attack by Hamas, Elon Musk called the apparent joy expressed by the killers as evil and jarring" after which the Tesla CEO and Israeli premier visited the homes of some victims and spoke about the war, the protests it has generated, Hamas and the Middle East. Elon Musk also met Israeli president Isaac Herzog and Benny Gantz, country's former defense minister. French authorities on Tuesday arrested 41 people in raids against a controversial yoga sect, including its leader, the Romanian guru Gregorian Bivolaru, a source close to the case told AFP. Gregorian Bivolaru (L), the spiritual leader of MISA sect (The Movement for Spiritual Integration in the Asolute).(AFP) The sect is accused of numerous abuses under Bivolaru, who has been repeatedly in the crosshairs of judicial authorities in Romania, Sweden and France in the last years, the source said. The people were arrested in the Paris region and southern France and included other key members of the sect, the source added. Some 175 police officers were deployed for the operation, during which 26 women -- several of whom were held against their will -- were freed, the source said. The network, called Movement for Spiritual Integration into the Absolute (MISA), runs several yoga schools and related operations. The source said the sect had "several hundred" members, but no precise figure was available. The arrests follow a probe into the sect launched by Paris prosecutors in July, on suspicion of kidnapping, rape and people trafficking among others. The investigation was sparked by France's Human Rights League, a human rights NGO, which contacted the prosecutors' office after receiving statements from 12 former MISA members, a judiciary source said. MISA, which became known as Atman after its expansion beyond Romania, taught tantra yoga with the aim of "conditioning victims to accept sexual relations via mental manipulation techniques which sought to eliminate any notion of consent". Women were encouraged to accept sexual relations with the group's leader, and "to agree to participate in fee-paying pornographic practices in France and abroad", the source said. The top European Union court ruled on Tuesday that public authorities in member states can prohibit employees from wearing signs of religious belief, such as an Islamic head scarf, in the latest decision on an issue that has divided Europe for years. A woman seen wearing a hijab. (AFP) The case came to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) after an employee of the eastern Belgian municipality of Ans was told she could not wear an Islamic head scarf at work. The municipality subsequently changed its terms of employment to require its employees to observe strict neutrality by not wearing overt signs of religious or ideological belief. The woman concerned launched a legal challenge, saying her right to freedom of religion had been infringed. The hijab, the traditional head scarf worn around the head and shoulders, has been a divisive issue across Europe for years. The CJEU said a policy of strict neutrality that was intended to establish a neutral administrative environment may be regarded as being objectively justified by a legitimate aim. It added that another public administration would also be justified if it decided to authorise, in a general and indiscriminate manner, the wearing of visible signs of belief. The court said authorities in member states had a margin of discretion in designing the neutrality of public service they intended to promote. However, this objective must be pursued in a consistent and systematic manner and measures must be limited to what is strictly necessary, the court said. It was for a national court to verify that these requirements are complied with. A special court here ruled on Tuesday that trial proceedings of jailed former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan in the cipher case will continue in prison in an open court setting after authorities did not present him for a hearing held at a normal court citing security concerns. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan(Reuters) The 71-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party chief has been incarcerated at the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi since September 26. His in-prison trial had been going in the high-security jail until last week when the Islamabad High Court (IHC) declared it null and void on procedural grounds and also declared that the proceedings conducted so far were vitiated. Special Court Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqernain presided over the hearing on Tuesday at the Federal Judicial Complex (FJC) in Islamabad, where authorities failed to produce Khan, citing security reasons. It has been informed that the PTI chairman faces security risks of a serious scale, a report presented in the court by authorities said. Khan survived an assassination attempt in November 2022 during a political rally in Punjab province. According to the report, intelligence agencies and the jail authorities raised concerns about life threats faced by the former premier, emphasising the gravity of the security risks. Last week, the special court ordered authorities to present Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi at the Federal Judicial Complex for the hearing of the case. Qureshi, 67, was also arrested in the cipher (secret diplomatic cable) case and is imprisoned in the Adiala jail. Khan and Qureshi have pleaded not guilty to the charges. After hearing the case, the special court approved the duo's jail trial in an open-court format at the next hearing. The court then adjourned the hearing of the case till December 1. The court noted that the jail authorities and security agencies had expressed their reservations about holding the trial at the FJC. Anticipating potential security challenges, a meeting involving the police, administration, and relevant departments was convened on Monday to devise a comprehensive security plan for Khan's appearance, The Express Tribune newspaper reported. In its order, the court order stated that those who wished to attend the court proceedings would not be stopped and that journalists would also be permitted to witness the case. It also said that five family members of each suspect would also be allowed inside the courtroom. The cipher case was launched in August this year after a case was filed against Khan for allegedly violating the Official Secrets Act by disclosing a secret diplomatic cable - called the cipher - sent by the country's embassy in Washington in March last year. The diplomatic cable reportedly went missing from Khan's possession. Khan and Qureshi, who had claimed that the cable contained a threat from the United States to topple the PTIs government, were indicted on October 23. Khan was ousted through a vote of no-confidence in April 2022. More than 150 cases have been registered against him since his ouster from power. Israel held a meeting at the UN in Geneva late on Monday to raise awareness of sexual violence against women perpetrated during Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks amid criticism that the global body has kept quiet about the issue. United Nations (File photo) Israeli authorities have opened an investigation into sexual violence during the most deadly attack on Israel in its history, including rape, after evidence emerged pointing to sexual crimes, such as victims found disrobed and mutilated. Hamas denies the abuses. The U.N. human rights office said it has condemned the Oct. 7 attacks as "heinous, brutal and shocking" and that Israel has so far not granted its monitors access to the country. ALSO READ| Thinking of mom kept 2 Israeli hostages going, unaware she was killed by Hamas The private event, attended by diplomats, rights groups and U.N. agencies, is the first Israel-organised event outside the country to address acts of sexual violence by Hamas, which Israel's diplomatic mission described as "widespread". U.N. rights bodies "downplayed" and "minimised" the sexual violence, said Ruth Halperin-Kaddari, an Associate Professor at the Bar-Ilan University, who spoke at the event. "We expected a clear and loud statement that says that there is no justification for using the bodies of women as a weapon of war. None of this came up until now," she told Reuters on the sidelines. Asked to explain, she said: "It turns around the conventional framing of viewing Israel as the aggressor, and Palestinians as the ultimate victim." Halperin-Kaddari, formerly Vice-President at the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), is meeting U.N. Human Rights chief Volker Turk on Tuesday to convey this message, supply him with new evidence and request a strong condemnation of the attacks, she said. A U.N. rights office spokesperson said Turk's office had requested access to Israel to monitor and collect information on the Oct. 7 attacks but had not received a response from Israel. "The Office is attempting to carry out remote monitoring of these and other human rights violations reported in Israel and the OPT (Occupied Palestinian Territories). Lack of direct access to Israel and the OPT has hampered the work," said Ravina Shamdasani in response to emailed questions. "We have repeatedly stressed the need for rigorous investigations and accountability for all serious breaches of international human rights and humanitarian law, irrespective of the identity of the alleged perpetrators," she added. Evidence about sexual violence includes testimonies by first responders at the sites of the attacks as well as military reservists who tended to the bodies in the identification process. Reuters has seen photos corroborating some of those accounts. Halperin-Kaddari said she has been given access to some evidence and testimonies by Israeli authorities in order to "raise awareness and demand condemnation and accountability". She described meeting a paramedic who tended to a woman after the Oct. 7 music festival who was bleeding heavily after being raped by four attackers. Halperin-Kaddari said she would also like to see independent bodies investigate the crimes. One body that rights experts say could investigate is an independent commission of inquiry set up by the U.N. Human Rights Council, but Israel does not cooperate with it, alleging bias. Turk's office also called for Israeli authorities to cooperate with this inquiry. Israel-Hamas War highlights: The war between Israel and Hamas entered its 53rd day on Tuesday, with a ceasefire currently being observed by the two sides. The truce, which came into effect on November 24, was extended by 48 hours on Monday, which was to be the last day of the ceasefire under the original agreement between the Israeli government and Hamas, the Islamist group that rules the Palestinian enclave of Gaza. Palestinians walk among the rubble, as they inspect houses destroyed in Israeli strikes during the conflict, amid the temporary truce between Hamas and Israel, at Khan Younis refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip November 27, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem According to Times of Israel, Hamas has freed 69 hostages, including 50 Israelis, since Friday, when the lull in fighting came into effect; Israel, on the other hand, has set free as many as 150 Palestinians, mostly women and underage males. The ongoing truce marks the first break in the war that began on October 7. What had happened on October 7? On October 7, Hamas launched an unprovoked attack on Southern Israel. Hamas terrorists killed hundreds of innocent Israelis, beheaded babies, raped women and abducted 240 hostages. In retaliation, Israel declared war against Hamas which operates from Gaza. In the war, both sides have lost thousands of lives and the world is trying to ensure permanent cease-fire. US and Israeli intelligence chiefs arrived in Doha to discuss the "next phase" of a deal between Hamas and Israel in Gaza, a report claimed. The leaders of the US Central Intelligence Agency and Israel's Mossad were scheduled to meet Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, news agency AFP reported. Egyptian officials were also taking part in the meeting, it claimed. Israel-Hamas War: Palestinian children walk amid debris of buildings hit in Israeli strikes, near Al-Zawiya market in Gaza City.(AFP) The director of the CIA and the director of the Israeli National Intelligence Agency are in Doha to meet with the Qatari prime minister, a source told AFP. The discussions aim "to build on the progress of the extended humanitarian pause agreement and to initiate further discussions about the next phase of a potential deal", it added. Qatar has been engaged in intense negotiations along with Egypt and the United States to extend the truce in Gaza which was originally due to last four days. Qatar also held successful talks with Israel and Hamas that resulted in a two-day extension. Over the initial four-day pause, 50 civilian hostages were freed in return for 150 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman said that it would use the extension to work towards a "sustainable truce" between Israel and Hamas. "Our main focus right now, and our hope, is to reach a sustainable truce that will lead to further negotiations and eventually to an end... to this war," Majed Al Ansari said, adding, "However, we are working with what we have. And what we have right now is the provision to the agreement that allows us to extend days as long as Hamas is able to guarantee the release of at least 10 hostages." The truce would continue with the release of 20 further hostages, he said, explaining, "We are hopeful that in the next 48 hours we will be getting more information from Hamas regarding the rest of the hostages," he added. The spokesman said "minimal breaches" in recent days had not "harmed the essence of the agreement". An Israel-Hamas truce in the Gaza Strip stretched into a fifth day on Tuesday as the two sides completed the release of Israeli hostages and detained Palestinians under their original ceasefire deal and appeared poised to free more. An Israeli helicopter transporting hostages released by Hamas, prepares to land at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv. (AFP) Israel on Monday said 11 Israelis had returned to the country from the Gaza Strip, bringing to 69 the total of Israeli and foreign hostages the Islamist Palestinian group Hamas has freed since Friday under the four-day truce. Hamas took some 240 hostages during an Oct. 7 incursion into southern Israel that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli figures, prompting Israel to retaliate by bombing the coastal enclave and launching a ground offensive in its north. The Israel Prison Service said 33 Palestinian prisoners were released on Monday from Israel's Ofer prison in the West Bank and from a detention centre in Jerusalem, bringing the total number of Palestinians it has freed since Friday to 150. Israeli forces clashed with some of the dozens of Palestinians who gathered outside Ofer prison near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank to await the release of Palestinian prisoners, the Palestinian health ministry said. Some of the protesters waved the flags of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian militant group. The ministry said a Palestinian was killed in the area, and that it was unclear if he had participated in the clashes. Palestinian media reported he was shot dead. Israel had no immediate comment on the incident. In response to the Oct. 7 attack, Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip and mounted a ground offensive in the north. More than 15,000 Palestinians have been killed, Gaza's Hamas-run government says, and hundreds of thousands displaced. Qatar, which along with Egypt has facilitated indirect talks between the two sides, said that there was an agreement to extend by two days the original four-day truce that was to expire on Monday. "We have an extension ... two more days," Qatar's U.N. Ambassador Alya Ahmed Saif Al-Thani told reporters after a closed-door U.N. Security Council meeting, saying both sides were to release more people. "This is a very positive step." Each day since the truce began on Friday, Hamas has released some hostages while Israel has freed some Palestinians it holds. Of the 69 hostages freed by Hamas were 51 Israelis and 18 foreigners. Ido Dan, a relative of Israelis Sahar Calderon, 16, and Erez Calderon, 12, spoke of the joy at their release on Monday mixed with anxiety about their father, Ofer, who is still being held. "It is difficult to go from a state of endless anxiety about their fate to a state of relief and joy," Dan said. "This is an exciting and heart-filling moment but ... it is the beginning of a difficult rehabilitation process for Sahar and Erez, who are still young and have been through an unbearable experience." Israel previously said it would extend the truce by one day for every 10 more hostages released, providing some respite to Palestinians in the Mediterranean seaside strip from the war. Israel has not commented on any agreement to extend the truce but, in what may be an implicit confirmation, the Israeli prime minister's office said Israel's government approved the addition of 50 female prisoners to its list of Palestinians for potential release if additional Israeli hostages are freed. LIST OF HOSTAGES Separately, Israel's government has received a list of hostages who are expected to be released on Tuesday, Israel's Army Radio reported, citing the Israeli prime minister's office. The Axios news website reported the list contained 10 hostages. There was no immediate comment from the prime minister's office. The U.S. State Department said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken would visit Israel, the West Bank and the United Arab Emirates this week to discuss sustaining aid flows to Gaza and freeing all hostages as well as U.S. principles for the future of Gaza and the need for an independent Palestinian state. The original truce agreement allowed more aid trucks into Gaza, where the civilian population faces shortages of food, fuel, drinking water and medicine. An estimated 1.8 million of the territory's 2.3 million population are internally displaced, according to the United Nations. While describing the extension as "a glimpse of hope and humanity," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said two more days was not enough time to meet Gaza's aid needs. U.S. President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden on Tuesday offered to testify publicly to a House Republican impeachment inquiry of his father's Democratic administration, a dramatic escalation in a partisan brawl. US President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden.(AP) In a response to a subpoena from the House Oversight Committee, Hunter Biden's lawyer blasted the panel's probe as "a fishing expedition" and "empty investigation," telling the panel chairman a public inquiry was the only way to prevent "your cloaked, one-sided process." "We have seen you use closed-door sessions to manipulate, even distort the facts and misinform the public. We therefore propose opening the door," attorney Abbe Lowell wrote committee chairman James Comer in the letter proposing a Dec. 13 public hearing. Representatives for the committee and Hunter Biden could not be immediately reached for comment on the reports. A new book has claimed that Prince Harry was shocked when his father, King Charles III, offered Frogmore Cottage to Prince Andrew. Shortly before that, Harry and his wife Meghan Markle had been evicted from the home. Shortly befor Frogmore Cottage was offered to Prince Andrew, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle had been evicted from the home (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, file) According to royal expert Omid Scobies upcoming book Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchys Fight for Survival Charles gesture was the final blow for Harry and Meghan. This eviction surely spells the end of Harry and Meghans time in the UK, an insider previously told The Sun. Andrew is resisting the idea of moving into Frogmore Cottage after he was offered it last week, they added. But it shows Harry and Meghan are powerless to stop the eviction. Prince Andrew stepped down as a working royal after an interview with BBC in 2019, where he justified being friends with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Jeffrey died by suicide in August 2019, in his jail cell. Andrew was eventually stripped of his title His Royal Highness. He instead remained at the Royal Lodge. With The Queens approval and agreement, The Duke of Yorks military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to The Queen, the palace said in a statement in January 2022. The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen. Harry and Meghan stayed at Frogmore Cottage with their son Archie until they finally moved to Montecito, California, in 2020. They shifted after stepping down as members of the royal family. Omids book has also claimed that Harry asked his father a heartbreaking question after he was asked to leave Frogmore Cottage.The Duke of Sussex allegedly tried to convince Charles to let him keep their UK base, while using his children as leverage. The Prince allegedly asked Charles, Dont you want to see your grandchildren any more? He then allegedly begged the king to let him keep the keys to Frogmore cottage. Hospitals in China have set up special "homework zones" for children battling respiratory illnesses amid an outbreak of pneumonia, it was reported. China is grappling with a surge in cases of respiratory illnesses in children due to an "overlap of known pathogens" as the country faces its first winter since lifting Covid-19 restrictions. The number of cases has "overwhelmed" hospitals in the capital Beijing and neighbouring cities. China Pneumonia Outbreak: A child wearing mask passes by a children's hospital in Beijing.(AP) But health authorities have repeatedly said that no novel viruses were detected and the cases were linked to viruses such as influenza, rhinoviruses, the respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV as well as bacteria such as mycoplasma pneumoniae that infects the lungs. Images and videos of children doing homework while receiving intravenous drips in the hospital were widely shared on social media while state broadcaster CCTV reported that young children were provided with chairs and desks to study as they received drips in Jiangsu, Anhui and central Hubei provinces. Children wearing masks were also seen completing their homework while their parents helped them as hospitals made separate study zones for sick children. My kid had to do his homework this way because if he did not finish it, he would have to do a lot more when he returns to school after he recovers, a father told the broadcaster. Parents were criticised for putting their sick children through study on social media with one X (formerly Twitter) user writing, This picture is real and children doing their homework in hospitals is common in China. We live in a country of hell mode. Some hospitals even have a permanent area reserved for these students who like to do homework and its something they publicise and brag about, another said. Pope Francis cancelled his upcoming trip to Dubai for the COP28 climate talks Tuesday, on the advice of doctors concerned over his recent flu-like symptoms, the Vatican said. Pope Francis(AP) The 86-year-old, who has made protecting the environment a cornerstone of his 10-year papacy, had planned to become the first pontiff to attend the UN event since the process began in 1995. "Although the Holy Father's general clinical picture has improved with regard to his flu-like condition and inflammation of the respiratory tract, doctors have asked the Pope not to make the trip planned for the coming days to Dubai," Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement. "Pope Francis accepted the doctors' request with great regret and the trip is therefore cancelled," Bruni said. Bruni -- who just hours earlier had told a briefing that the pope would be attending -- added that the pope still wished to be part of discussions in Dubai, without specifying. With Francis's withdrawal from the conference, which begins Thursday, COP 28 will lose one of the highest profile advocates of the environment, a moral authority recognisable on the global stage whose words some believed could nudge leaders to take concrete action. - Touch of flu - Francis, who turns 87 next month, has suffered a series of health issues in recent years, from knee and hip pain to an inflamed colon and most recently, hernia surgery in June. On Saturday, he cancelled events due to what the Vatican called "light flu symptoms". It said that a CT scan had ruled out "risks of pulmonary complications". The pope was forced to recite the traditional Angelus prayer on Sunday from his residence rather than overlooking St Peter's Square. But Bruni said the pope would lead his weekly audience on Wednesday morning as planned. The leader of 1.3 billion Catholics, more than half of whom live in the developing world, Francis has long insisted on the link between climate change and poverty, with the world's most marginalised paying the highest price for global warming. In Dubai, the pope was expected to use the platform to castigate countries for a lack of action on climate change, and seek to persuade them to dramatically cut their greenhouse gas emissions. He was also expected to play a role in rebuilding trust between climate-vulnerable nations and rich, consumerism-driven polluters. - 'Breaking point' - Francis's address to world leaders at COP28 would have come just weeks after he published a text in October warning that the world was "collapsing" and near the "breaking point" due to global warming. That warning -- which expressed frustration at inadequate responses by governments to the climate crisis -- was a follow-up to his seminal 2015 thesis on the environment "Laudato Si" (Praise Be To You), a passionate critique of manmade climate change and its repercussions across the globe that relied on science. It is believed to have helped contribute to a breakthrough in UN climate talks in Paris a few months later, when countries committed to limit warming to "well below" two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and preferably the safer 1.5C limit. Francis wrote in October that the COP 28 talks could "represent a change of direction" if participants were to make binding agreements on moving from fossil fuels to clean energy sources such as wind and solar. The talks will draw up the first official assessment of humanity's efforts to respect the 2015 agreement and its ambition to limit global warming "if possible to 1.5 degrees Celsius" since the pre-industrial era. Besides addressing world leaders, Francis was expected to inaugurate the first-ever faith pavilion at COP, in a sign of the growing engagement of religion in climate issues. Sverker Sorlin, a specialist in global environmental governance at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm told AFP before the pope cancelled that his presence at COP represented a "tipping point". "The pope may not turn the tables at the meeting, but be a 'tipping point' that may nudge and push the negotiators... in the right direction," said Sorlin, calling Francis' personal engagement on climate change "of tremendous importance." Last year, knee pain caused Francis to postpone a trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. He made the visit earlier this year. ams/ar/yad Prince William reportedly ghosted Prince Harry in the hours before theirs grandmother Queen Elizabeth IIs death, Omid Scobies book has revealed. Harrys texts to William reportedly remained unanswered, and he was left on read, the book Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchys Fight for Survival claimed. Prince William reportedly ghosted Prince Harry in the hours before their grandmother Queen Elizabeth IIs death (AP/PTI, Andy Kelvin/PA via AP) William ignored him, a family source told Scobie. He clearly didnt want to see his brother. The book claimed that Harry was "kept in the dark" about the Queens failing health before her death. Harry is said to have been very close to his grandmother. Harry and Meghan had "no idea" that there were preparations for the Queens final hours, as per Scobies book. It was only at the last moment that William informed Harry about the same. Harry was told to travel to Scotland as Elizabeths health worsened, and when he messaged William asking him if they could travel together, William refused to respond, leaving Harry and Meghan to "operate in the dark". William, instead, took a flight with Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. Scobie said a source opened up on how "upsetting" it was to see Harry "completely by himself on this". Scobie said that Harry was ignored by William after he tried to rush to Scotland during the Queens last hours. Scobie said, Though there were available seats on Williams chartered Dassault Falcon private jet, which was leaving in less than an hour, Harry was left to fend for himself." Scobie also said that after Harry landed in Scotland, the Sussexes team argued with Buckingham Palace on whether they should share the Queens death with the press before informing Harry about it. "His team literally had to beg for them to wait for his plane to land and they reluctantly agreed to hold the statement back for a little bit," a source told Scobie. Buckingham Palace decided to go live with the announcement before Harrys arrival, leaving him crushed. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis accused his British counterpart Rishi Sunak of cancelling a scheduled meeting in London on Tuesday in a diplomatic row over the status of the Parthenon Sculptures. Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak(AFP) Greece has repeatedly asked the British Museum to permanently return the 2,500-year-old sculptures that British diplomat Lord Elgin removed from the Parthenon temple in the early 19th century when he was ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. "I express my annoyance that the British Prime Minister cancelled our planned meeting just hours before it was due to take place," Mitsotakis said in a statement. "Greece's positions on the issue of the Parthenon Sculptures are well known. I had hoped to have the opportunity to discuss them with my British counterpart. Anyone who believes in the rightness and justice of his positions is never afraid of confronting arguments," he said. The Greek government has been in discussions with British Museum chair George Osborne on a possible loan deal for the sculptures, which have been a source of dispute between the two countries for centuries. Mitsotakis complained in an interview with the BBC on Sunday that talks over a possible return of the sculptures to Athens were not advancing quickly enough. He said that the continued presence of the sculptures in the British Museum was like cutting the "Mona Lisa in half" and it was not a question of ownership but "reunification". A British government official, who asked not to be named, said the row over the marbles meant it was not suitable for the meeting to go ahead. Earlier, a spokesperson for Sunak said there were no plans to return the sculptures. Asked about Mitsotakis' statement, Sunak's office said Britain's relationship with Greece was "hugely important" and the two countries needed to work together on global challenges like tackling illegal migration. Deputy British Prime Minister Oliver Dowden was available to meet Mitsotakis to discuss these issues instead, Sunak's office said. The British government has always ruled out giving up ownership of the marbles, which include about half of the 160-metre (525-ft) frieze that adorned the Parthenon, and says they were legally acquired. A law prevents the British museum from removing objects from the collection apart from in certain circumstances, but the legislation does not prohibit a loan. A meeting between Mitsotakis and British opposition leader Keir Starmer went ahead on Monday as planned. The Financial Times last week reported that Starmer would not block a "mutually acceptable" loan deal for the sculptures. Labour declined to comment. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has reportedly cancelled a planned meeting on Tuesday with his Greek counterpart, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, during a visit to the UK amid a deepening row over the return of the 'Elgin Marbles'. An employee views examples of the Parthenon sculptures, sometimes referred to in the UK as the Elgin Marble.(Reuters) The ancient Greek sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens are among the controversial historic items which were brought to the UK by British diplomat Lord Elgin in the early 19th century giving them their English name. The Parthenon Sculptures now form part of the British Museums collection and have long been demanded by the Greeks to complete their series at the Acropolis Museum in Athens. The latest standoff is reminiscent of Indias demands for the Koh-i-Noor diamond and other historic artefacts taken from India during colonial times. Most recently, the Maharashtra government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Victoria and Albert Museum for a three-year loan of a set of 17th century Tiger Claws, or wagh nakh, believed to have belonged to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. It is destined for Mumbais Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) as part of Maharashtras 350th anniversary celebrations of the coronation of Chhatrapati Shivaji. The UK-Greece standoff seems to have erupted after Downing Street claimed that it had been agreed that the issue would not be raised during any bilateral between Sunak and Mitsotakis, a claim denied by the Greeks. On Sunday, the Greek Prime Minister told the BBC that having some of the Parthenon treasures in London and others in Athens was like cutting the 'Mona Lisa' painting in half. That seems to have triggered the row, as Mitsotakis then told reporters on Monday evening that he was deeply disappointed by the abrupt cancellation of his meeting with Sunak, which had been planned for Tuesday afternoon. Those who firmly believe in the correctness and justice of their positions are never hesitant to engage in constructive argumentation and debate, said the Greek Prime Minister. Britain's attitude shows no respect for the Prime Minister and our country, his government spokesperson later told SKAI TV. He added that although cancelling a meeting was not common, the Greek government did not want to escalate the issue with a country with which we have good relations. The Greek leader was offered a meeting with UK Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden, which his team declined and chose to head back instead. The row comes against the backdrop of the British Museum chair, former chancellor George Osborne, indicating recently that he was open to considering a loan of the sculptures to Greece. Many within the governing Conservative Party are opposed to such an idea but the official government stance has been that it is a matter for the museum. Sunak, preparing for a general election next year, is seemingly positioning himself decisively on one side of that argument that is against any sort of return of the treasures. The Opposition Labour Party has been stinging in its reaction, expressing shock at the government opening up a fight with a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) ally. To pick a fight with a NATO ally for the sake of a headline shows just how weak Rishi Sunak is. He should have been talking about the economy, immigration, the Middle East, that's what the country would expect from a leader but Rishi Sunak is no leader, a Labour spokesperson told the BBC. The Opposition party, currently ahead in the opinion polls, says its position is that if the British Museum and the Greek government came to a loan agreement, a future Labour government would not stand in the way. While the 1963 British Museum Act prevents the world-famous museum from giving away objects from its collection except, in very limited circumstances, a loan of its artefacts would not require a law change. An explosive book- Endgame by royal biographer Omid Scobie- that promises to "have the world talking" has finally been released. The book features bombshell revelations about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as well as King Charles, Prince William and Kate Middleton. The royal family has not commented on any of the claims made in the book so far. Here are the biggest revelations made in the book: Royal Family Endgame Book: King Charles is seen. (AP) Meghan Markle told King Charles of two 'royal racists' Prince Harry's wife Meghan Markle had accused two members of the royal family of discussing their "concerns" over the colour of her son Prince Archie's skin. The couple had discussed the same in a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021. During the chat, the couple alleged that an unnamed member of the royal family had expressed "concerns" about "how dark" Prince Archie's skin would be when he was born. The book says that Meghan Markle named the two members in private letters which she wrote to King Charles. King Charles' stern warning about Prince Harry King Charles warned the royal family about his son Prince Harry as the monarch was 'cautious' when speaking to his younger son after the publication of his controversial memoir Spare. King Charles wanted to limit their discussion to a harmless exchange. Concerning Harry, the message that circulated in the family was not to trust him... everyone took it very seriously. King Charles 'branded Harry a fool in the wake of the Netflix series' King Charles, in the aftermath of the series airing on Netflix, thought that "at the Palace, heads were in hands and migraines were brewing." King Charles went from not wanting anyone to talk about his son to openly criticising 'that fool'. Prince Harry begged King Charles for Frogmore Cottage The book claims that Prince Harry begged to be allowed use of Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor estate when he and Meghan Markle visit the UK. He even asked his father, "You don't want to see your grandchildren anymore?" But Prince Harry's aunt Anne was "at the forefront of the supporters of the firm approach" taken by the Palace in them vacating the property. Harry and Meghan were 'hurt Archie and Lilibet's titles were not given' Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were 'hurt' when there was a delay in granting their children Prince and Princess titles. As soon as their grandfather King Charles ascended the throne, the children were eligible to use the titles as grandchildren of the monarch. But it took a full six months for this to be reflected on the official Royal family website. A Moscow court on Tuesday said it had extended until January the detention of US reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in Russia earlier this year on spying charges. FILE PHOTO: Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands inside an enclosure for defendants before a court hearing to consider an appeal against his pre-trial detention on espionage charges in Moscow, Russia(REUTERS) The court said Gershkovich's "period of detention" was extended by two more months until January 30. The 32-year-old Wall Street Journal correspondent in Moscow, his employer and the US government have all rejected the spying allegations. The hearing was held behind closed doors, and no press were allowed inside. AFP saw a handful of reporters waiting outside the courtroom. The extension of Gershkovich's detention was almost certain, as Moscow rarely releases people imprisoned while awaiting trial on serious charges. ALSO READ| Series of volcanic eruptions may have aided extinction of dinosaurs on Earth: Study Gershkovich was arrested during a reporting trip at the end of March in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, becoming the first Western reporter to be jailed on spying charges in Russia since the Soviet era. He has been held at Moscow's notorious Lefortovo prison. A video released by the court showed Gershkovich standing in a metal cage for defendants during Tuesday's hearing, wearing a checked shirt and dark hooded jacket. The American, who previously worked for French news agency AFP, continued to report from Russia after the Kremlin launched its Ukraine offensive, despite many Western journalists leaving the country. Russia has not provided public evidence of the allegations it has made against Gershkovich. NATO boss Jens Stoltenberg urged members of the alliance on Tuesday to "stay the course" in supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia's invasion as both the United States and European Union struggle to agree on further military aid. Russia-Ukraine War: NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg holds a press conference.(Reuters) "It's our obligation to ensure that we provide Ukraine with the weapons they need," Stoltenberg told reporters as he arrived for a gathering of foreign ministers from NATO countries at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels. "We just have to stay the course. This is about also our security interests," the secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization said. His remarks come as the fate of a $60 billion U.S. military aid package proposed by the Biden administration is in limbo due to opposition from some Republicans in Congress. Administration officials have expressed confidence they will get the package through, saying a majority of Republicans and Democrats in Congress still back support for Kyiv. Stoltenberg also voiced optimism. "I'm confident that the United States will continue to provide support and because it is in the security interests of the United States to do so. And it's also in line with what we have agreed," he said. Arriving in Brussels, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said NATO ministers would be "strongly reaffirming our support for Ukraine as it continues to face Russia's war of aggression". The meeting takes place amid gloom in Ukraine that a major counter-offensive launched earlier this year against Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces has failed to make substantial progress. Meanwhile, a proposal by the European Union's foreign policy chief to allocate up to 20 billion euros ($21.90 billion) over four years for military aid to Ukraine has run into resistance among the bloc's member states, which would have to provide the cash. Stoltenberg pointed out, though, that EU members Germany and the Netherlands have announced multi-billion-euro packages of bilateral military support in recent weeks. He said the war in Ukraine had significance far beyond its borders. "It will be a tragedy for Ukrainians if President Putin wins but it will also be dangerous for us," he said. Then the message to all authoritarian leaders - not only in Moscow, but also in Beijing - is that when they violate international law, when they invade another country, when they use force, they get what they want. LONDON/DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) planned to exploit meetings with foreign governments arranged due to its COP28 hosting role to strike fossil fuel deals, according to leaked documents obtained by the BBC. The Chevron Richmond Refinery in this view from Point Richmond, California. (AP) The leaked briefing notes, obtained by journalists at the Centre for Climate Reporting (CCR) working alongside the British broadcaster, were prepared by the UAEs COP28 team for summit president Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber ahead of meetings with foreign governments between July and October this year. CCR said it worked with the BBC to verify the authenticity of the documents, which it said were leaked by a whistleblower anonymously for fear of retaliation. It published a portion of the documents 46 of 150 pages. Leaked talking points prepared for a meeting with China said that ADNOC, the UAEs state oil company, was willing to jointly evaluate international LNG (liquefied natural gas) opportunities in Mozambique, Canada and Australia. Briefing notes prepared for meetings with Colombia, Germany and Egypt suggested that ADNOC stands ready to support each country develop fossil fuel projects. ADNOC is also seeking Brazils help to secure endorsement for a non-binding offer it made with private equity firm Apollo for a controlling stake in petrochemical producer Braksem. Securing alignment and endorsement for the deal at the highest level is important for us, the documents said in a page prepared for a potential discussion with Brazils Environment Minister, Marina Silva. There are many synergies between the UAE and Brazil with both countries looking to exploit their hydrocarbon resources responsibly, another section said. The documents showed the UAE prepared talking points for meetings with 20 countries, including the United States, UK and Germany, on commercial opportunities for state renewable energy company Masdar. COP28 president Al Jaber is also CEO of ADNOC and Masdar. A COP28 spokesperson told AFP that the documents cited by the BBC are inaccurate and were not used by COP28 in meetings. It is extremely disappointing to see the BBC use unverified documents in their reporting. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the body responsible for the COP28 summit, which starts on Thursday, told the BBC that the cardinal principle for hosts was the obligation of impartiality. Climate campaigners have raised concerns about the influence of fossil fuel interests at the talks in Dubai, noting Jabers role as head of an oil company. In an interview with AFP on Saturday, Jaber defended the large presence of heavy emitting industries including the oil and gas sector. Everyone needs to be part of this process and everyone needs to be held responsible and everyone needs to be held accountable, he said. Jaber has presented himself as a mediator between both sides of the fossil fuel divide, with a healthy desire to include the oil and gas industry in the climate debate. COP28, which will be held until December 12, is due to be attended by 167 world leaders, including King Charles III and Pope Francis. The climate summit will be the first global assessment of progress since the landmark Paris Agreement in 2015, which set a goal of limiting global warming to well below 2C, while aiming for a cap of 1.5C. Climate scientists have said achieving that goal depends on phasing out fossil fuels. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Tuesday that military and financial support for Ukraine was of "existential importance" to Europe, defending defence spending commitments as Berlin confronts a domestic budget crisis. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (AP) Germany has been one of the Ukraine's biggest backers along with the United States, Scholz said, supplying Kyiv with weapons to battle Russia's invading forces. "We will continue with this support as long as it is necessary," Scholz said in a speech to parliament. "This support is of existential importance. For Ukraine... but also for us in Europe. "None of us want to imagine what even more serious consequences it would have for us if Putin won this war," Scholz said. The chancellor was addressing MPs following a shock constitutional court ruling earlier this month, which blew a massive hole in the government's spending plans. Germany's top court said the government had flouted a constitutional debt rule, which limits new borrowing to 0.35 percent of gross domestic product. The ruling has left the government scrambling to pass a new budget before the end of the year and shore up sorely needed investments in decarbonisation and the modernisation of its armed forces. ALSO READ| Kate Middleton vs Meghan Markle: What book says on Prince William's cold wife To quell the immediate crisis, the government plans to suspend the constitutional debt rule for a fourth year in a row. The so-called debt brake was already lifted between 2020 and 2022 to tackle the crises caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the spike in energy prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year. Germany had supported households and businesses manage soaring bills with billions of euros in support, Scholz said. But it was "not enough to look only at the winter of 2022-2023," Scholz said, when energy prices were high. "It was always about winter of 2023-2024," Scholz said, sketching a continuing crisis which could justify lifting the debt brake again. "Under no circumstances should we let up in our support for Ukraine and in overcoming the energy crisis," Scholz said. "That would not be responsible, that would endanger our future." Earlier this year, ex-Vice President Mike Pence told special counsel Jack Smith how Donald Trump surrounded himself with crank attorneys after the 2020 elections. According to a report by ABC News, sources claimed that Pence also told the investigators that the then-president espoused un-American legal theories, and almost pushed the country toward a constitutional crisis. Former Vice President Mike Pence(AP) The 64-year-old Republican also disclosed that he warned Trump in the days leading up to the January 6 riots. Pence apparently told the former POTUS that he hadn't seen evidence of significant election fraud, the outlet added. Despite Pence's remarks, Trump continued with his belief and claimed that the election was stolen. Pence said that Trump behaved recklessly on the tragic day that shook the nation. As Smith tries to prosecute Trump for allegedly trying to unlawfully remain in power and erode public faith in democratic institutions, Pence could take the stance against Trump if the case goes to trial. The outlet adds that Pence also revealed how he gave repeated warnings to Trump. The ex-VP also commented on the then-president's push to overturn the election results. One of Pence's notes sheds light on how he initially wished to skip the proceedings, writing in the note that there were too many questions and that it would be too hurtful for his friend Trump. While talking to Smith's team, Pence recalled his unwavering loyalty towards Trump at that time citing, My only higher loyalty was to God and the Constitution. The outlet's sources also added that the prosecution's questioning became so granular that at one point they even pushed Pence into addressing the misplacement of a comma in his book. The line over which they pressed Pence was- You know, I don't think I have the authority to change the outcome, which he wrote in the book recalling a phone call with Trump on Christmas Day 2020. Two women are facing hate crime charges for allegedly attacking a Jewish person who called them out for ripping down posters of Israeli hostages on the Upper West Side. The victim was a 41-year-old woman, who was attacked at the corner of Riverside Drive and West 82nd Street just before 10 pm November 9, according to authorities. The suspects have been identified as Mehwish Omer, 26, and Stephanie Gonzalez, 25 (NYPD) Mehwish Omer, 26, later surrendered to police. She was charged with assault and criminal mischief, both as hate crimes. The other suspect, 25-year-old Stephanie Gonzalez, was also arrested and is facing a hate crime assault rap, and also an attempted robbery charge, police said, according to New York Post. When the victim called the two women out for ripping down the posters, they attacked her, tearing off her Star of David necklace and knocking a cell phone out of her hand. They fled after the attack. Police said that the victim suffered minor injuries to her neck and face, but she refused medical attention. Her phone, which the attackers had thrown down, was damaged. The NYPD confirmed that neither of the women have previous arrests. Omer was arraigned at Manhattan Criminal Court earlier this week. Her lawyer said the altercation may have been the result of a heated exchange of words. I see enough fights in a day and people say things just to rattle other people, the attorney, Lee Koch, said. Ever since the Israel-Hamas conflict began, there have been several incidents of people damaging posters of hostages. Various videos of such acts by people have surfaced on social media over the days. Mayor Eric Adams previously described the incidents as a deeply misguided act of disrespect to victims of terrorism. As we see the fallout from this violence spill over into New York City, we must reiterate that hate has absolutely no place here, he said. The White House has reportedly decided not to continue an annual Christmas tradition this year hanging stockings for President Joe Biden's grandchildren. This comes four months after Biden acknowledged for the first time that he has a seventh grandchild. Christmas trees are seen in the East Room looking towards the Cross Hall during the media preview for the 2023 Holidays at the White House in Washington, DC on November 27, 2023 (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP)(AFP) Biden acknowledged the existence of his seventh grandchild, five-year-old Navy Joan Roberts, only in July this year. Navy is reportedly the daughter of Biden's son Hunter Biden and ex-stripper Lunden Roberts. White House's 2023 Christmas decorations First Lady Jill Biden unveiled the White Houses Christmas decorations for this year on Monday, November 27, in a ceremony. While various themed trees, rooms and displays were part of the decoration, the fireplace in the White House State Dining Room had no stockings displayed. Instead, there were garland and toy soldier robots, New York Post reported. "The holidays offer a time for reflection and a break from our hurried lives, a season to be fully present with our friends and our families," Jill said. "It's also a season of gratitude." Jill said the decorations were like bringing the "magic wonder and the joy of the holidays" together to recreate Santa's workshop, but she did not mention anything about the stockings being absent. Joe Bidens seventh grandchild Biden had for years not acknowledged that he had a seventh grandchild. Even in April, Biden claimed at a White House "take your child to work day" event that he has six grandchildren. "I have six grandchildren, and I'm crazy about them. And I speak to them every single day. Not a joke," he said. For a long time, Hunter had denied that he was Navys father. However, a 2019 DNA test proved he actually was. Finally, on July 28, the president said in a statement to Fox News Digital, Our son Hunter and Navys mother, Lunden, are working together to foster a relationship that is in the best interests of their daughter, preserving her privacy as much as possible going forward. This is not a political issue, its a family matter. Jill and I only want what is best for all of our grandchildren, including Navy." Jason James Eaton, the Vermont shooting suspect who has been accused of shooting three Palestinian students, was reportedly fired from his financial services job weeks ago. The 48-year-olds family has described him as a spiritual person. He reportedly acted normal even on Thanksgiving, just two days before the incident. This handout photo provided by the Burlington Vermont Police Department on November 27, 2023, shows the booking photo of Jason Eaton (Photo by HANDOUT / Burlington Vermont Police Department / AFP) According to police, Jason lives in an apartment building near the place where the shooting took place. He was reportedly arrested at the site of the attack, the Daily Mail reported. The victims have been identified as Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdel Hamid and Tahseen Ahmed. They were all 20 years old. The Burlington Police Department said that the students were attacked while they were walking on Prospect Street while visiting a relative for Thanksgiving holiday. The release said that they were confronted by a white man with a handgun. Without speaking, he discharged at least four rounds from the pistol and is believed to have fled on foot, police said. While two of the students are US citizens, one is a legal resident. Two of the students were wearing keffiyehs, traditional Palestinian scarves, the police department said. While two were shot in the torso, one was shot in the lower extremities. The victims were taken to the University of Vermont Medical Center. Eaton pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted murder. Prosecutors have said that there is not enough evidence to charge Eaton with a hate crime. His motive is not known. Who is Jason James Eaton? Eaton was a full-time sales assistant for CUSO Financial Services in Williston, the Daily Mail reported. However, he was terminated on November 8 for undisclosed reasons. While he was an employee, Eaton said his role was laying down my life for my friends, according to his professional page. We are horrified by the shooting and are cooperating with law enforcement as they investigate, Elisabeth Rutledge, a company spokeswoman, told the Boston Globe. Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad said investigators believe Eaton previously lived in Syracuse, and later moved to Burlington. His social media revealed that he also worked as an assistant scoutmaster for a Cub Scout troop until 2021. Mr. Eaton's alleged actions do not reflect the values of Scouting, The Boy Scouts said in a statement. Upon learning of his arrest he was been banned from registering in Scouting any capacity and will be proactively placed in the Volunteer Screening Database, permanently preventing his registration or participation in the future. Eaton is also a part-time farmer who describes himself as a radical libertarian on the ADHD spectrum. Talking to The Daily Beast, Eatons mother Mary Reed said her son had some struggles in the past. However, she said that nothing indicated that he could commit such a crime. He, like all of us, thinks the world is a mess. He is a spiritual person, Mary said. Jason has had a lot of struggles in his life but he is such a kind and loving person. I am just shocked by the whole thing. Eaton studied in the University of Idaho in the past. However, he did not finish his degree in natural resource ecology and conservation biology. A Ukrainian military intelligence official confirmed that the wife of the spy agency's chief had been poisoned and had been undergoing treatment in a hospital. The poisoning of Marianna Budanova was reported earlier by Ukrainian media outlets. Ukraine's Military Intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov and his wife Marianna are seen.(Reuters) "Yes, I can confirm the information, unfortunately, it's true," Andriy Yusov, an official at the GUR military intelligence agency, told news agency Reuters. Marianna Budanova, the wife of Kyrylo Budanov was suffering from heavy metals poisoning after the suspected assassination attempt and was being treated in hospital, reports claimed. Kyiv had opened an investigation into what it described as attempted murder, Reuters reported. The substances found in her body are not used in normal life or military affairs and their presence may indicate a deliberate poisoning attempt," it said. It also said "several" other GUR employees were being treated for suspected poisoning. Marianna Budanova, who is an advisor to Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko, was reportedly hospitalised after her condition deteriorated. She has already undergone a course of treatment, reports claimed as law enforcement officials believe the poison was administered through her food. Officials also said that they have foiled "more than 10" assassination attempts on Kyrylo Budanov throughout his career. Kyrylo Budanov's influential military intelligence unit is considered responsible for several sabotage attacks against Russia. Moscow has accused the GUR of being behind the October 2022 explosions on the Kerch bridge that links Russia to Crimea. Earlier, Kyrylo Budanov said that his wife had been living with him "in his office" and had not left his side since the start of the invasion for security purposes. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said that those who cannot handle reality will leave social media platform X due to Community Notes. Elon Musk (REUTERS) Musk noted that people, however, will increasingly come to know that X is the "best source of truth," which would result in a rise in the number of users on the social media platform. Taking to social media platform X, Elon Musk stated, "Those who can't handle reality will leave this platform due to @CommunityNotes. But the public will increasingly come to realize that X is the best source of truth, causing our user numbers to rise as they abandon the less accurate sources of information." Musk made the statement in response to a post shared on X. The Rabbit Hole named account shared a post that said that Community Notes hit Open Society Foundations Chair Alex Soros, for misrepresenting the reality of crime in America. In a post shared on X, The Rabbit Hole wrote, "First Picture: Soros getting hit by Community Notes for misrepresenting the reality of crime in America. Second Picture: Soros getting ratio'd by a random bunny account under the same post. Never deleting this app." ALSO READ| Iran finalises deal to buy Russian made Sukhoi su-35 fighter jets: Report Notably, Community Notes was earlier known as Bird Watch. In November 2022, Community Notes in a post shared on X wrote, "Birdwatch is now Community Notes. We've seen our contributors trying to explain what Birdwatch is, and we think a simpler, more intuitive name will help understanding. Hence Community Notes. It's... what it is." It further stated, "This isn't just a random new name. It's actually Birdwatch's very first name. Before there was a Birdwatch, before there was anyone building this thing, there was a design mockup envisioning the idea, and you know what it was called?" In a post on X, Community Notes stated, "If you're a contributor and can't find Birdwatch in your menu, that's because it has a new name:" According to X Help Center, Community Notes aim to create a better informed world by allowing people on X to collaboratively add context to potentially misleading posts. It further stated, "Contributors can leave notes on any post and if enough contributors from different points of view rate that note as helpful, the note will be publicly shown on a post." . Singapore's High Court on Tuesday ordered Lee Hsien Yang, the younger brother of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, to pay damages to two Indian-origin ministers for making defamatory allegations against them on a social media site. Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore's foreign affairs minister(Bloomberg) The defamation case stems from Yang's allegations relating to Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam and Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan renting two state-owned bungalows. The High Court on Tuesday granted default judgment in favour of the two ministers after Yang failed to respond to their defamation suits against him, The Straits Times newspaper reported. The amount of damages to be paid will be assessed at a subsequent hearing, the report said. The judge also granted an injunction restraining Yang from further publishing or disseminating the false and defamatory allegations. ALSO READ| Thinking of mom kept 2 Israeli hostages going, unaware she was killed by Hamas In a Facebook post on July 27, Shanmugam said Yang, who is currently based in the UK, had accused him and Balakrishnan of ''acting corruptly and for personal gain by having Singapore Land Authority (SLA) give us preferential treatment by illegally felling trees without approval and also having SLA pay for renovations to 26 and 31 Ridout Road''. According to Channel News Asia, Shanmugam and Balakrishnan sued Yang for defamation over remarks he made in a Facebook post on July 23, in which he wrote, "Two ministers have leased state-owned mansions from the agency that one of them controls, felling trees and getting state-sponsored renovations." The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau found in a report released in June that there had been no wrongdoing or preferential treatment given to the two ministers, the report said. Accor's newly opened ibis PJCC Petaling Jaya, showcasing affordability, convenience and quality, is paving the way for accessible travel experiences for both business and leisure travellers. Nestled within the vibrant Klang Valley region of Malaysia, Petaling Jaya, often referred to as PJ, stands as a significant city renowned for its diverse commercial, residential and recreational areas. The hotel is strategically located in the new urban landscape of Petaling Jaya Commercial Centre, featuring seamless connectivity through major expressways. During their stay, guests can easily access renowned shopping destinations such as Sunway Pyramid and Kuala Lumpur City Centre, along with easy access to Old Klang Road. ibis PJCC Petaling Jaya's lobby welcomes guests with a soaring high ceiling, immersed with natural daylight, creating an airy and inviting atmosphere. The stylish area is complemented by a Lobby Bar Cafe, ideal to unwind after a long day. The interior is a seamless blend of modern and functional comfort, with trendy furnishings that elevate the overall ambience. Renowned for its enthusiasm for live music with the ibis MUSIC program, ibis provides guests with specially curated playlists tailored to suit any mood, along with access to exclusive performances featuring emerging musicians. The hotel's collection of 161 contemporary rooms has been designed to meet comfort, convenience and modern aesthetic preferences to ensure a good night's sleep. Each room features signature Sweet Beds by ibis, Smart TV, complimentary Wi-Fi access and complimentary minibar. The hotel facilities include a gym, a swimming pool overlooking Petaling Jaya's skyline and a children's playroom. Dining at ibis PJCC Petaling Jaya is an indulgence in itself, with ibis Kitchen, the hotel's all-day dining restaurant, offering a selection of local and international menus. Additionally, ibis PJCC Petaling Jaya offers four versatile meeting rooms, tailored for corporate events or private functions for up to 70 delegates. Guests staying at ibis PJCC Petaling Jaya can take advantage of Accor's lifestyle loyalty program, ALL - Accor Live Limitless by earning 4x reward for a limited time only. Rewards can be earned for bookings made from now until 17 December 2023, valid for stays until 28 January 2024. ALL-Accor Live Limitless is complimentary to join and offers invaluable experiences and incentives to its dedicated members, empowering them to work, live and enjoy a world of exclusive privileges from more than 40 hotel brands. Taking its cue from Accor's commitment to minimize carbon footprint, ibis PJCC Petaling Jaya upholds providing a no-single-use plastic policy throughout its premises. Hotel website Cheval Collection has appointed award-winning GM John Raffoul to Cheval Maison - The Palm Dubai. Raffoul joins the group at a time when trading at the property, which opened in April this year, is exceeding expectations. Raffoul will take up the role at the end of November, joining from Premier Inn Group, where he was cluster general manager, looking after 889 rooms in both Ibn Battuta Mall and Dragon Mart. During his tenure, he exceeded financial targets, boosting both revenue and profits, in addition to being named in the Top 100 General Managers Power list for 2022 and 2023, and being shortlisted for the Hotelier Middle East Top 10 General Managers (Midscale) 2023 award. Prior to his role at Premier Inn Group, Raffoul oversaw the rebranding and renovation of the Mercure Dubai Barsha Heights Suites & Apartments. Before that, he was director of sales and marketing and director of sales with Pullman City Center Hotels and Residences and Sofitel The Palm, respectively. Virgin Hotels New York City, part of the luxury-lifestyle hotel brand by Sir Richard Branson, is pleased to announce the appointment of Denise Luna as General Manager. In her new role, Denise will oversee the operations of the 460-room hotel located in the heart of Manhattan's NoMad neighborhood. She will manage all departments, strategic planning, team development, and community engagement to further establish the hotel as a premier destination for both New Yorkers and out of town visitors, and continue ensuring the highest level of guest satisfaction and quality of service. Denise brings over 27 years of invaluable experience in the hospitality industry. Prior to joining Virgin Hotels New York City, Denise served as a Task Force General Manager for the Real Hospitality Group. She began her professional career as a legal assistant at a law firm, but transitioned into the hospitality industry where she found her passion. Denise worked her way up in the industry, with roles ranging from food & beverage to engineering, housekeeping to operations, HR and more. Denise has worked with a variety of hotels and brands all around New York City including Marriott and IHG. With her vast experience, she understands the ins and outs of hotels. Beyond her professional achievements, Denise takes pride in being a devoted mother of two and finds joy in spending time with her dogs. Denise is also an active volunteer firefighter in Long Island, showcasing her dedication to community service. She values the support and camaraderie found in firefighting, and firmly believes in the importance of giving back to the community, a principle that she holds dear in her multifaceted and impactful career in the hospitality industry. The European Commission has initiated the implementation of a legal framework to regulate digital markets with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) of September 14, 2022, progressively applicable from May 2, 2023. Internet giants, such as OTAs in the hotel sector, will have to comply with a set of obligations and prohibitions or face heavy fines. The European Union (EU) aims to break the hegemony of these behemoths by imposing rules that will benefit both European businesses and Internet users. According to HOTREC, the three giants of the OTA market are Booking Holding, Expedia Group, and HRS Group, with a combined market share of 92%. The aim is to promote fairer competition between all digital players while encouraging innovation within the digital economy. The first impacts of these measures should be felt as early as the first quarter of 2024. This new European legislation could empower hotels and change the nature of relationships with online travel agencies. In this article, we explain what the DMA is and what impact it could have on the hotel industry. What is the Digital Markets Act? Source: Cendyn DMA objectives The aim of digital market regulation is to ensure fairness between digital players and to protect Internet users. The DMA is intended to combat the anti-competitive practices of the major technology platforms designated as gatekeepers of access to information. The goal is to correct the imbalances in their domination of the European market. These major players have acquired a quasi-monopoly position: according to the European Commission, over 10,000 online platforms operate in Europe, but only the largest capture most of the value. As a result, a series of obligations and prohibitions have been put in place for these gatekeepers in order to: Open up competition, in particular for the benefit of SMEs and start-ups Boost innovation, growth, and competitiveness Offer consumers greater freedom of choice With this legislation, the EU aims to become a global role model in the digital economy industry. Applicable sanctions The legislation also includes regular monitoring and strict checks to ensure compliance by gatekeepers. In the event of a breach, the European Commission will have the power to impose severe sanctions, as well as bans on specific behaviors. Specifically, it will be empowered to impose fines of up to 10% of global annual sales in the event of proven non-compliance with the new regulations, and up to 20% in the event of a repeat offence. It will also be able to impose penalty payments of up to 5% of its total worldwide daily sales. What is a gatekeeper according to the European Commission? The DMA regulation focuses specifically on companies that act as gatekeepers at the Internet entrance. These players, whether based in Europe or elsewhere, have a significant impact on the internal market. They serve as major access points for end-user companies seeking to reach their customers, and they hold a solid, sustainable position. Here are the official criteria: They offer one or more essential platform services in at least three European countries. They have very high sales or market valuation (several billion) over the last three years. They have more than 45 million users in the European Union per year over the last three years. Companies meeting these criteria had until July 2023 to identify themselves to the European Commission. The latter officially designated six companies as gatekeepers in September 2023: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft. It is also able to designate companies that do not meet all these thresholds but are deemed too hegemonic according to certain criteria. The companies concerned will be able to contest this decision. What does the DMA mean for your hotel? Potential impact on the hotel digital ecosystem This regulation should enable hoteliers to better control their online distribution and negotiate fairer terms with platforms. It will also bring unprecedented changes to the DMAs requirements for gatekeepers, with as yet unmeasurable consequences for the hotel industry. The obligations and prohibitions applied to gatekeepers may have several beneficial consequences for your hotel: Transparency : Platforms will have to increase their level of transparency in the way they rank and present accommodation choices to users. Hotels would have access to data on how their name, content, and ARI feed are used by OTAs. OTAs will have to provide more data on your ads, including their performance on metasearch and in paid search. : Platforms will have to increase their level of transparency in the way they rank and present accommodation choices to users. Hotels would have access to data on how their name, content, and ARI feed are used by OTAs. OTAs will have to provide more data on your ads, including their performance on metasearch and in paid search. Restrictions on data use : Limitations will be put in place to regulate how platforms can exploit the data collected via their services. : Limitations will be put in place to regulate how platforms can exploit the data collected via their services. Interoperability and data portability : Hotels would be able to easily transfer their listings and customer information from one platform to another. : Hotels would be able to easily transfer their listings and customer information from one platform to another. Prohibition of unfair commercial practices : For example, it will be forbidden to impose price parity clauses on hotels. : For example, it will be forbidden to impose price parity clauses on hotels. Third-party access: Platforms will have to authorize other travel service providers to access their platforms in order to offer complementary services. Booking.com as a non-gatekeeper Booking.com has publicly announced its position as a non-gatekeeper with regard to the DMA regulation. The Commission has validated Booking.coms self-designation, so the platform is in an advantageous position: by avoiding being subject to the control of the new regulation, it increases its power over hoteliers. However, as mentioned above, the Digital Markets Act allows the European Commission to designate a platform as a gatekeeper, even if it does not meet all the criteria. Perhaps the European Commission will subsequently revisit this decision as the market evolves. Should this be the case, it could radically change the dynamics of the hotel industry, giving hotels back control over their rates and data to increase direct sales. Conclusion With the implementation of these new regulations, even though no OTA has been designated a gatekeeper yet, theres no doubt that the dynamics of hotel-OTA partnerships are about to be transformed. A similar scenario could soon unfold for American hoteliers, given the comparable scope of the American Innovation and Choice Online Act. This significant step in the regulation of the digital ecosystem promotes fair competition between market players, as well as better protection for Internet users. For hoteliers, this regulation has the potential to rebalance the relationship of power with OTAs, thanks to greater control over their online distribution and partnership with platforms. Considering the importance of the hotel industry to European economies, the DMA has implications for direct distribution and the profitability of hotel establishments. Although the exact consequences of this regulation are not yet known, its implementation will directly influence the distribution of hotel establishments and the presentation of options to end customers. Do you want to know more about hospitality trends and our solutions? Book a demo About Cendyn Cendyn is a catalyst for digital transformation in the hospitality industry. We help hotels around the globe drive profitability and guest loyalty through an integrated technology platform that aligns revenue, eCommerce, distribution, marketing and sales teams with centralized data, applications, and analytics, so they can capture more demand and accelerate growth. With offices located across the globe, in the United States, United Kingdom, Paris, Singapore, and India, Cendyn serves tens of thousands of customers across 143 countries. To find out more, visit www.cendyn.com. View source SYDNEY - TFE Hotels has officially launched their inaugural Go Global International Exchange program which sees team members from Germany and Australia swap home countries and learn best hotel practice from their hosts. With a strong focus on cultural immersion and building leadership capabilities, the Go Global program is all about nurturing young leaders with the wider support of TFEs global hotel network. TFE Hotels Chief People Officer, Michelle Bevan, said there had been an incredible response to the internal call to action, with Go Global representing an incredible opportunity for team members to travel the world, immerse themselves in a new way of life and culture, and to forge a career with the support of TFEs global leaders. Whilst there is plenty of time for sightseeing, Bevan says the exchange is not all fun and games with the Go Global program specifically tailored to each participant, to allow them to flex their strengths and expand their adaptive thinking in a completely new hotel environment. As a global business, with a strong focus on building leadership capability, it is important that we continue to develop our people through experience, exposure and education. Go Global gives us an opportunity to connect our teams and to share skills, experience and industry best practice across international borders. Importantly, this experience also gives our candidates the chance to connect and expand on a personal level as well. TFE Hotels Chief People Officer, Michelle Bevan Earlier this year, Cluster General Manager of Adina Apartment Hotel Bondi and Coogee, Diana Quinones-Silva, swapped her Aussie cossie for an overcoat and headed to Germany as the first-ever Go Global participant. Since arriving in Germany, Diana has supported various Adian hotel properties in Munich, Berlin, and Dusseldorf, where she not only experienced German culture for the very first time but also learnt and shared operations and leadership best practice. This week, TFEs second homegrown participant, Jason Stobbs, Regional Revenue Manager, left Australias most remote capital city, Perth, for a stint in the Adina Hotels Head Office in Berlin. Jason says he will also have ample opportunity to visit TFEs growing European hotel network to get to know the teams and processes. I wont lie, Im nervous and Im super excited about the opportunity to work abroad. I havent been to Europe since I was a kid, so Ill have to bone up on my Grade 7 German on the plane ride over. Jason Stobbs, Regional Revenue Manager Jason says that between work and play, his time will be well spent. Ive calculated that I have 12 weekends and I have a whole list of places I want to visit, so its going to be go, go, go, the whole time. Jason maintains having access to an international exchange program like Go Global is just one of the many perks of working in a global business and said he was looking forward to the learning experiences ahead and to imparting Aussie pearls of wisdom to his Adina colleagues. In the true spirit of exchange, two Adina Europe participants have already begun their learning journeys Down Under. Adina Stuttgarts Nikol Onodi, landed on Australian shores in early September, and has already survived her first Aussie heat wave with temps soaring to 35 on a single day not long after her arrival. Nikol will spend time in several full-service hotel products in Sydney, Brisbane, and on the Gold Coast during her four-month exchange. My goal is to learn and grow professionally and bring home knowledge in order to implement positive changes to our European properties. Adina Stuttgarts Nikol Onodi Of course, shes also keen to immerse herself in Australian and New Zealand culture having already explored the sights of Sydney, with more travel plans locked in once she successfully finishes the program. On the top of my list is the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and a trip to New Zealand, Nikol said. I also can't wait to visit the Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane and cuddle a little koala. Angela Di Gennaro also travelled to Sydney as part of the exchange from her hometown of Berlin. Hotel Relief Team members are sent wherever support is needed, so Relief Assistant Manager, Angela, is in her element in her new home country. She is currently learning the ropes at Adina Pentridge in Melbourne, with further stops in Brisbane before her return home next February. Its an absolute dream to be able to spend several months in Australia and immerse myself in the culture, without having to give up my secure job at home. I've already collected memories and formed friendships that will accompany me throughout my life. Relief Assistant Manager, Angela Di Gennaro Michelle Bevan says TFE Senior Leaders knew they were giving team members a life-changing career opportunity when they sought expressions of interest earlier this year. Just months after its launch, the programme is already receiving positive feedback from the inaugural candidates and interest in the next intake is high, she said. Go Global is just one of a number of team benefits the Sydney-based hotel operator had introduced in the past 12 months to all TFE team members. Others include enhanced parental and life leave, flexible work arrangements and wellness partnerships with Telus Health and Sonder. To find more about a career with TFE Hotels, visit: https://www.tfehotels.com/en/careers/current-vacancies/. About TFE Hotels TFE Hotels (TOGA Far East Hotels) is Australia's International Hotel Group - headquartered in Sydney and operating in Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Denmark, Hungary, Austria, Singapore, and Switzerland. TFE has a portfolio of seven hotel brands - A by Adina, Adina Hotels, Vibe Hotels, Quincy Hotels, Travelodge Hotels, Rendezvous Hotels and Collection by TFE Hotels, with more in the development pipeline. TFE Hotels acknowledges the traditional owners of the lands we conduct business upon and pays our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We respect the Country itself, including its trees, animals, spirits, waters, skies, stars, and special sites. Jodi Clark TFE Hotels (Public Relations and Communications) +61 2 9356 1048 TFE Hotels paleo, the open property management platform for hospitality, has been appointed by Koncept Hotels to hardwire automation into its guest journey and operations. Established in 2017, the holistically sustainable hotel group is at the forefront of the hotel industry's transformation, offering a digitised, self-service hotel concept with a focus on sustainable business practices. It operates six properties in Germany and Switzerland, welcoming over 100,000 guests annually. Koncept Hotels staffless operating model was rooted in a desire to overcome the industrys labour shortage and combat the sector's contribution to climate change. To help achieve its mission, the company needed a modern platform to replace its existing property management software, automate operational processes and support its movement into multi-property management. Since appointing Apaleo, Koncept Hotels has benefitted from limitless flexibility to create its preferred property management tech stack. Apaleos API-first MACH architecture empowers property managers to seamlessly integrate a diverse range of best-in-breed third-party applications, ensuring continuous customisation and modernisation. Transitioning to Apaleo has been a game-changer, giving us the freedom and flexibility to really determine what works for us. It's been a learning curve, identifying pain points and refining automations, and the impact its had on our workflows is undeniable. Apaleo has enabled us to make significant strides in automating our processes. With our previous PMS, staff and night auditors had to manage each booking manually. Now, reservations are automated, smooth and easy to manage. A huge success for us has been in payment processing, which is a crucial element for our digital operations. Payments and invoicing are now 100% automated, meaning we no longer have to think about them. Thats been a huge win for us. Sabine Schrempp, Revenue & Capacity Manager at Koncept Hotels Transitioning from its previous all-in-one PMS to Apaleo was easy thanks to Apaleos dedicated Customer Success team. A dedicated Customer Success Manager handled the onboarding process and the hotel group benefits from 24/7 support whenever needed. Apaleos API-first approach has also empowered the hotel group to foster an environment of experimentation and collaboration among staff to continually refine its operations. There are no limitations only endless possibilities, continued Sabine. We now operate a test and iterate approach to innovation. The team shares ideas and trends in a WhatsApp group, and the very next day were able to test it with no-code and low-code automation, thanks to Apaleos integration with Make.com. It means were never doing the same thing we did yesterday or repeating mistakes. It's like a vast playground for big kids, where we can experiment, try, and play freely. This has a huge impact on the guest experience, which has become frictionless, immediate and personalised, so that guests dont miss on-site staff. With more free time, employees have additional time to dedicate to creating a unique guest experience. Automating our workflows means our employees have more time to focus on guests, becoming hosts rather than administrators added Sabine. We now operate a more efficient, dynamic and digitally advanced operation. Digital guest journeys that unlock seamless and superior service at staffless hotels represent the biggest shift in the hospitality industry right now. Koncept Hotels are at the forefront of this trend but it wouldnt be possible without the composable hospitality facilitated by an API-first platform. With this approach, the Koncept team will be able to continually improve the way they deliver for guests, knowing their tech stack need never become out of date. A dedicated Customer Success Manager personally guided the Koncept team through the onboarding process, ensuring a smooth and seamless transition from their legacy software without disruption. Switching systems while running a business can be both overwhelming and complex for hoteliers, which is why the personal support never stops. Our Customer Success Manager is still in touch with the team about the daily needs of Koncept today. Operators of all kinds, across both the hotel and serviced apartment sector, are stepping away from traditional property management software because its only a matter of time before it is rendered out of date. Were excited to support Koncept Hotels as it continues to scale and overcome the twin challenges of labour shortages and sustainability goals, while providing a transformational digital experience for guests. Florian Montag, VP of Business Development at Apaleo To learn more about how Apaleos solutions help forward-thinking hospitality providers bring their hotel, operations, and guest experience to the next level, visit apaleo.com. About Apaleo Apaleo is the open property management platform for hotel and serviced apartment groups, empowering accommodation providers to create the ultimate digital experience for guests and staff. The API-first property management platform powers brands across more than 24 countries, disrupting the nature of hospitality software with the transition from single-vendor suites to best-of-breed technology. Customers include Numa, Limehome citizenM, Mollie's, Vagabond Club, Raus and more. For more information, visit apaleo.com. Leading global trade show, IBTM World, has opened its 2023 edition with the launch of its World Trends Report 2024. The annual report addresses some of the biggest macro-economic, political, ecological, and next-generation technological issues affecting the meetings and events industry in 2024. Authored and presented by Alistair Turner, Managing Director of Eight PR & Marketing, on the IBTM Main Stage on days one and three of the show, the insightful sessions will look at different aspects of the far-reaching report. Central subjects include the influence of AI on the meetings and events industry, the growing importance of accessibility, from physical, to sensory and intellectual, and the economic outlook for businesses working in meetings and events. The report also covers the global outlook from a geological position, investigating the move from an Atlantic to a Pacific economy, the complexities of the Middle East and Africa, and the powerhouse of the Asia-Pacific region. At the same time, the report looks at the fortunes of vertical industries, from Esports to Pharmaceuticals, and how the dynamics of these industries are impacting their meetings and events spend. It is no understatement to say that 2024 will be one of the most important years of the 21st century. The economic, political, and ecological outlook of our planet is on a knife edge and the advent of AI can swing it in a number of ways. Our industry has a crucial say in these outcomes and this years report looks to understand what this role should be, and how we can act to create positive environments around the biggest conversations of our time. This report is at the same time scary, optimistic, insightful, and in-depth. Weve once again benefited from over 60 sources and some of the great thinkers, both within and outside of our industry. The results are fascinating and Im looking forward to trying to bring them to life at IBTM World 2023. Alistair Turner, author of the report Outside of the many themes addressed in the report this year, one of the main insights will be the new Generation Me. Here the report looks at hyper-personalisation, the role of accessibility, and issues around individual security, data, and agency in the creation of experiences, events and meetings. To read the report in full, please visit: https://www.ibtmworld.com/en-gb/about/industry-trends.html. IBTM is a world-leading showcase for the meetings and events industry with a portfolio of events and products offering business solutions across four continents. The portfolio includes IBTM World, IBTM Americas, IBTM Asia Pacific and IBTM Africa. IBTM World, the leading global event for the meetings and events industry, is the must-attend three-day event for the worldwide meeting, incentives, conference and events industry. Thousands of meetings and events buyers, suppliers and international trade media visit Fira Barcelona every November for IBTMs flagship show. Next event: Tuesday 19 November to Thursday 21 November 2024 at Fira Barcelona IBTM Americas, the leading event for the meetings and events industry in North America, Latin America, Europe and beyond, is the must-attend two-day event for the regions meeting, incentives, conference and events industry. Next event: Wednesday 21 to Thursday 22 August 2024 at Centro Citibanamex in Mexico City. IBTM Asia Pacific, the must-attend two-day event for the Asia Pacific regions meeting, incentives, conference and events industry. IBTM Africa , a leading conference for the meetings, incentives, conferences and events industry, takes place annually at WTM Africa, part of Africa Travel Week. Next event: Wednesday 10 April to Friday 12 April 2024 at CTICC in Cape Town. About RELX RELX is a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. RELX serves customers in more than 180 countries and has offices in about 40 countries. It employs more than 35,000 people over 40% of whom are in North America. The shares of RELX PLC, the parent company, are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York Stock Exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX. *Note: Current market capitalisation can be found at http://www.relx.com/investors About RX (Reed Exhibitions) RX is in the business of building businesses for individuals, communities and organisations. We elevate the power of face to face events by combining data and digital products to help customers learn about markets, source products and complete transactions at approximately 400 events in 22 countries across 42 industry sectors. RX is passionate about making a positive impact on society and is fully committed to creating an inclusive work environment for all our people. RX is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. www.rxglobal.com Students from Les Roches, coming from campuses in Spain and Switzerland, will travel to Barcelona to assist chefs and guests. Guest Experience is a key element of loyalty in the hotel industry and one of the distinctive features of Les Roches graduates. The new Postgraduate Diploma in Management and Entrepreneurship in Food and Beverage Management, starting in September 2024, will explore the art of creating extraordinary gastronomic experiences. Marbella - Les Roches, an institution with almost 70 years of history and recognized as one of the world's top hospitality management institutions, will participate for the first time in the MICHELIN Guide Spain 2024 Gala in collaboration with its partner SONDER. Top executives and 12 students will represent Les Roches at the most relevant gastronomic event of the year. The students, coming from Les Roches campuses in Crans-Montana (Switzerland) and in Marbella (Spain), will travel to Barcelona to assist chefs and VIP guests, guiding them throughout the event. Guest Experience is a key element of loyalty in hospitality and a distinctive feature of Les Roches graduates. This activity is part of the experiential learning approach implemented by Les Roches; a unique model in the industry that ensures students acquire a global mindset, language skills, soft skills, and business skills before graduation. This learning by doing philosophy is embedded in the program curriculum, as part of their degree. A unique opportunity to learn with world-class chefs in an exceptional event that aligns with the highest industry standards. Mano Soler, Managing Director of Les Roches campus in Marbella, stated, "In our classrooms, students from over 100 nationalities coexist, prepared to acquire all the necessary skills to become great leaders. They learn to solve problems and handle situations in real contexts during their stay on campus, which simulates the operation of a luxury hotel resort, and during their external industry internships. Taking part in the MICHELIN Guide Spain 2024 is a source of pride for our brand." Hospitality training has experienced astonishing growth and has driven the quality of tourism and employment in a sector that until now lacked specialized professionals. Pioneers in hospitality and luxury tourism education, and aware of the need to cover the new territories towards which the industry is evolving, Les Roches has developed an exclusive portfolio of post-experience programs, specialized in different key and emerging fields, such as gastronomy. The new Postgraduate Diploma in Food and Beverage Management and Entrepreneurship, which will start in September 2024, will provide students with the opportunity to explore the art of creating extraordinary gastronomic experiences, analyze key trends in restaurant operations, learn the fundamentals of beverage and food management, and understand best practices in customer service. In total, 7 modules spread over 6 academic months and an immersive business trip, designed for those looking to start a business, manage F&B services in a hotel, or work within the broader Food and Beverage sector. At the end of the academic semester, students can choose between professional internships or a Business Research Project to obtain their diploma. Carlos Diez de la Lastra, CEO Les Roches Global, said: "At Les Roches, we hold regular meetings with hoteliers, luxury brand executives, and other key industry agents. We want to ensure that our programs are aligned with the market and its needs. This allows us to be a strong talent hub, capable of attracting top recruiters and maintaining almost complete job placement rates. Gastronomy has proven to be a driver of tourism and is key to the positioning of our hotels in Spain. It was essential that at Les Roches, applied that excellence also in the broader food and beverage sector." In addition to the Postgraduate Diploma in Food and Beverage Management and Entrepreneurship, which will be taught from the Les Roches campus in Switzerland, online Digital Certification Programs in Spain are also available, with specializations also linked to the food and beverage sector, including Bar Service, Fine Dining Service, Les Roches Programme - Maitre D, Terroir Influences and Celebrating Cuisine, or World of Beverages. About Les Roches Les Roches is a bespoke experience to educate tomorrow's leaders in hospitality. Founded in 1954 in Switzerland, Les Roches offers undergraduate, graduate degrees and executive programs in Luxury, Hospitality and Tourism Management. Les Roches has campuses across Switzerland, Spain and in Shanghai - China as of 2025 as well as partner campus in Gurugram (Delhi NCR) through an academic alliance with the Indian School of Hospitality (ISH). With a student body of more than 100 different nationalities, the institution provides students with a unique culturally diverse experience. Les Roches ranks 4th in the world's higher education institutions for hospitality and leisure management (QS World University Rankings by Subject, 2023). Part of Sommet Education, worldwide leader in hospitality education, Les Roches is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE). For more information, visit Les Roches. Anouck Weiss Chief Communication Officer, Sommet Education Les Roches View source The first international climate-neutral hospitality provider Bob W is spearheading a Show Us Your Numbers campaign calling for the hospitality industry to strip off and reveal the naked numbers behind their carbon footprint. Bob W is taking the unusual and bold approach of sharing its GreenHouse Gas (GHG) emissions per guest night, setting a precedent among its competitors for honesty and responsibility in environmental reporting. As part of its campaign, Bob W is now calling upon the rest of the industry to do the same. Bob W reveals in its newly released sustainability report that it currently emits on average 29 kg (CO 2 -eq/guest night)1 of carbon emissions per guest night, outperforming the standard hotels 40 kg (CO 2 -eq/guest night)2. Bobs latest figure is lower than the 41 kg that the company reported the previous year, when it was inflated by a substantial expansion that saw the companys apartment count grow eight fold in a single year. By laying bare its numbers, Bob W hopes to encourage collaboration and share best practice within the industry to collectively improve the environmental impact of hospitality. While companies are often cautious when revealing their numbers, transparency and clear reporting is crucial if operators are to learn how to reduce emissions, and travelers are to make informed choices. Bob W is a climate-neutral company meaning that it offsets emissions with South Pole action projects, a foundation that works to remove CO 2 from the atmosphere, but it knows that this isnt enough. For years, the company has been working on reducing its emissions further and now reaches solid sustainability scores for its properties in Europe. This includes the highest LEED score for design in Europe for the Bob W Koti Katajanokka in Helsinki and a BREEAM (the widely recognized sustainability measurement) excellent rating of 72.4% for its property in Londons Tower Hill. However, partnering with commercial property owners whose environmental goals align, and investing in buildings with a significantly reduced footprint, is just the beginning. Bob W is going even further. Responsible partners who share the same sustainability ethos are favored to supply Bob Ws apartments. Where possible coffee is provided by local roasters; furniture is designed in partnership with local creatives or sourced from second hand suppliers; eco-friendly toiletries are provided; and guests are encouraged to manage resources in a way that lessens the impact of their stay. Local communities are also supported by Bob W as the companys local marketplace recommends cafes and gyms within 500 meters from each apartment. Bob W is advocating for a radically honest approach to the way that the industry reports its numbers and is promoting a per guest night calculation. This simple metric, similar to nutrition scores on food products, is less open to manipulation and is easy for consumers to understand. The per guest night calculation has already been incorporated into Bob Ws website to enable guests to make a more sustainable choice. Niko Karstikko, Co-founder and CEO of Bob W, said: A lot of hospitality providers rely on vague reports and sustainability certificates but we believe it is time for a more meaningful approach. There is an urgent need for us all to come together, innovate and share best practice so that we can all operate in a way that is kinder to the planet. Transparency and facts are a key part of that. We know we're not the greenest accommodation provider but we are determined to be the most honest, and we're working really hard to help our guests make informed decisions. Thats why, when they book, guests can see the emissions associated with each night of their stay. For example, one night in an Epic Studio in Tartu, Estonia, equates to 28.7kg CO 2 ,all totally offset by us. This is not a stunt. This is a race we all have to win, and we are totally open to hearing what other providers think the industrys standardised sustainability metric should be. In fact, that would be the perfect start. Notes to Editors 129 kg(CO2-eq/guest night) was the reported emissions per guest night by Bob W in 2022 241 kg (CO2-eq/guest night) was the reported emissions per guest night by Bob W in 2021 About Bob W Bob's exceptionally cool short-stay accommodation caters to the 21st-century traveller who wants it all: the consistent quality of a hotel and the authentic flair and affordability of a short-stay rental. The company combine the best of both worlds in its tech-powered and sustainably operated properties in Europe's most interesting neighbourhoods. Backed by Europe's top venture capitalists, family offices and entrepreneurs including ByFounders, IDC Ventures, Elevator ventures, Verve VC, NREP, Tesi, Wolt co-founder Miki Kuusi and Supercell co-founder Ilkka Paananen, Bob W is building the technology to give every guest a local, contactless five-star experience at scale. The tech company operates in eight countries in Europe today with rapid expansion secured across the continent. Check out Bob W's 60-second intro video to learn more. The end of the year is fast approaching. Hoteliers are setting their goals for 2024, with increased communication and transparency between departments high on their list of goals for new technology. The current state of hospitality is leading operators to embrace a fast, reactive approach to hotel management, which thrives on nimble decision-making supported by technology and light automation. Technology now exists to help hoteliers run their properties in a lean, more efficient manner than ever beforeif their Property Management System can handle it. Many operators across hospitality continue to use legacy technology to try and stay profitable despite their competitors leveraging data analytics, artificial intelligence, and automation to cut down on time spent on unnecessary tasks or reduce miscommunication. While hotels dont need to leverage all of the latest technology to remain competitive, modern PMS capabilities can increase profitability and lower costs among independents starting day one. Here is a look at six capabilities hoteliers should be looking for when setting aside budgets for a new PMS in 2024: Mobile Check-In According to Hospitality Technologys 2023 Customer Engagement Study, the most significant impact of the prolonged labor shortage on the guest experience has been through longer lines wherever personal interactions occur. According to the study, 45 percent of respondents said they are waiting longer at check-in as an often understaffed front desk attempts to manage the daily rush of new arrivals. Mobile check-in remains an essential technology to guests, and simply having it in place helps operators adjust their approach to labor. This technology is accessible to guests in several ways, but all of them require direct intervention from the hotels PMS to use them. Kiosk Applications Mobile check-in is just one way hoteliers are streamlining the guest experience, and many independents are finding success in implementing self-service kiosks in the lobby to assist with some guest needs. In addition to self-serve check in and check out, kiosks can connect to the hotel PMS and manage simple guest needs, such as providing hotel information or insight into the local area. Kiosks are effective because they redirect guest attention away from the front desk for low-level requests and help reduce a propertys reliance on labor. Enhanced Stay Personalization Travelers are always looking to exert greater control over their experience, and that is extending to selection of individual attributes in the guestroom. This concept, referred to as Attribute-Based Selling, is still in its infancy in hospitality, but there are many ways for hotels to deliver on guests desire to control their stay. Modern hotel PMS technology can accommodate highly specialized guest packages without complicating the process for operators. Hoteliers who embrace the possibilities of ABS by offering more unique booking opportunities will open their property to a world of new revenue-generating possibilitiesif their PMS can oversee the process. Smarter Loyalty Programs Loyalty has emerged as a significant driver of guest bookings today, and independent hoteliers can no longer afford to miss out on the benefits of offering rewards to their guests. According to a recent report, guests are more interested than ever in earning points or rewards during their stay. Independent operators must rely on a loyalty partner committed to a rewarding, simple program that effectively entices repeat bookings from travelers. Modern PMS capabilities and robust integrations are the gateway to offering these programs. Interdepartmental Communications & Guest Two-Way Messaging In the realm of hotel software technology, breaking down departmental barriers and adopting a centralized database approach is a game-changer. When coupled with guest two-way text messaging, it becomes even more transformative. This innovative approach revolutionizes how hotels manage guest information and communication, leading to a remarkable enhancement in guest satisfaction. By consolidating guest data into a unified platform and enabling direct communication with guests via text messages, hotels gain a 360-degree view of each guest, including their history, preferences, and sentiments. This holistic perspective transcends departmental boundaries and enhances real-time guest engagement. Easy Integrations Independents, above all other operators, need the nimble ability to adjust their strategy and offerings quickly. These hoteliers are reliant on third-party integrations to provide the experiences and technology they need to operate at a high level while providing the best possible guest experience. Simplifying and streamlining integrations through open APIs will be a crucial goal for all hoteliers going into 2024, particularly as the barriers between departments continue to dissipate and collaboration improves. Many operators will be forced to confront the limitations of their current PMS when approaching new integrations next year, but this is not a problem that will go away on its own. These are just some of the technologies that have emerged in response to new trends among independent hotel operations, and they comprise a core feature set that continues to support hoteliers success. The hotel PMS remains the backbone supporting hoteliers during this current age of technology and automation. With the correct PMS in place, these operators will never lose balance. About Maestro PMS Maestro is the preferred Web Browser based cloud and on-premises PMS solution for independent hotels, luxury resorts, conference centers, vacation rentals, and multi-property groups. Maestro's PCI certified and EMV ready enterprise system offers a Web browser version (or Windows) complete with 20+ integrated modules on a single database, including mobile and contactless apps to support a digitalized guest journey as well as staff operations. Maestro's sophisticated solutions empower operators to increase profitability, drive direct bookings, centralize operations, and engage guests with a personalized experience from booking to check out and everything in between. For over 40 years Maestro's Diamond Plus Service has provided unparalleled 24/7 North American based support and education services to keep hospitality groups productive and competitive. Click here for more information on Maestro. Click here to get your free PMS Buying guide. Barb Worcester NORTHWIND-Maestro Guest Arnaud Zannier, Founder, Zannier Hotels Where to Listen Apple Spotify Episode Summary In this engaging episode of The Unfamiliar Shift, Ariela Kiradjian dives deep into the world of boutique hospitality with the illustrious Arnaud Zannier, the Founder of Zannier Hotels. Known for their unique luxury hotel experiences worldwide, from Cambodia to Namibia, Zannier Hotels stand out with their emphasis on simplicity, authenticity, and respect for local heritage. Arnaud shares his journey from humble beginnings to creating some of the most serene hotel experiences globally, his unique sustainability approach, and future plans for Zannier Hotels. Episode Timestamps [1:55] Ariela Kiradjians introduction to Arnaud Zannier and initial conversation about Zannier Hotels. [2:23] Arnaud Zannier discusses the origin and concept of his boutique hotel collection. [3:38] Discussion on the growth of Zannier Hotels and the influence of celebrity guests. [7:04] Arnaud explains the uniqueness of Zannier Hotels and their approach to the hospitality industry. [13:37] Insights into the management of hotels and private estates by Zannier. [16:58]Arnaud Zannier shares lessons learned from opening his first property and the importance of unique experiences in hospitality. [21:11] Insights on boutique hotel operations, guest interaction, and the significance of local community engagement. [27:40]Arnaud Zannier talks about his transition from the fashion industry to hospitality and the lessons learned. Key Discussion Points: Background and Vision of Zannier Hotels: Arnaud Zanniers philosophy and the creation of a distinctive luxury brand. The importance of providing immersive experiences with a humble and honest luxury approach. The growth and success of Zannier Hotels in the international market. Expansion and Sustainability: Discussion on property expansion, including private estates (Zannier Private Estate). The role of sustainability and community engagement in hotel operations. Future projects and management contracts for expanding the brand reach. Operational Insights and Challenges: The importance of a people-first approach in hospitality. Lessons learned from transitioning from fashion to hospitality. The challenges of managing hotels across different continents and cultures. Guest Interaction and Experiences: Arnauds perspective on guest services and creating memorable experiences. Incorporating local cultures and communities into the hospitality experience. The significance of regeneration in travel and hospitality. Looking Ahead: Future endeavors and growth plans for Zannier Hotels. The long-term vision and commitment to maintaining the brands integrity and uniqueness. Closing Thoughts Arnauds journey with Zannier Hotels highlights the importance of innovation, authenticity, and a deep respect for local cultures in creating successful boutique hospitality experiences. His insights provide valuable lessons for aspiring hoteliers and travel enthusiasts alike. Season 2 is sponsored by Solonis, the property management system designed for hotels. Solonis is also a premier partner member of BLLA. About BLLA The official organization for the world's boutique lifestyle hospitality leaders promoting connection, education, and advocacy. As a pioneer in forecasting the boutique movement, BLLA's boutique community currently extends to more than 10,000 verified boutique and lifestyle hotels. The BLLA Corporate Manifesto video. BLLA is a catalyst for trends and the future of the boutique lifestyle, exactly what today's traveler is embracing. BLLA.org / Stay-Boutique.com BLLA is also a capital/partner matchmaker via it's Boutique Money Group division. Boutique Lifestyle Leaders Association (BLLA) BLLA View source Mandarin Oriental Exclusive Homes Launches First Property In Thailand Villa Mayavee, a tropical mountainside retreat in Phuket, is Thailand's first Mandarin Oriental Exclusive Home Mandarin Oriental Exclusive Homes welcomes the captivating Villa Mayavee into its growing portfolio. The chic four-bedroom villa is the first property in Thailand to join the collection and offers a perfect getaway for those looking for a stylish home on Phuket's West Coast. Mandarin Oriental Exclusive Homes is a branded collection of the world's finest private vacation homes, chalets and mansions. Operated in collaboration with luxury home rental platform StayOne, each home is hand-picked for its outstanding quality and sought-after location, while also providing personalised service and experiences in keeping with the legendary hospitality of the award-winning brand. Situated on Phuket's western coast, just a 45-minute drive from Phuket International Airport, the contemporary Villa Mayavee is exquisitely designed to capture breathtaking views of the Andaman Sea from sunrise to sunset. The property is characterized by sprawling terraces and expansive floor-to-ceiling windows, which create seamless indoor-outdoor living spaces. As with all Mandarin Oriental Exclusive Homes, rental includes a private chef who will design bespoke menus showcasing local ingredients and flavours. The home serves as an idyllic tropical hideaway, perfect for gathering with family and friends. Whether sampling world-class Thai cuisine on the rooftop terrace, or taking in panoramic views from the infinity pool, creating unforgettable memories will be easy in this one-of-a-kind property. For guests interested in exploring more of Thailand, multi-destination itineraries can be designed by combining the villa with a stay at Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok. In the urban phase of the journey, guests can enjoy a sunset cruise aboard a hacker boat along the Chao Phraya River. Departing from the hotel, the route passes numerous temples, wats (Buddhist temple or monasteries) and markets, providing a true introduction to the 'River of Kings'. On arrival back to the pier, guests will be welcomed to their table at Sala Rim Naam, an elegantly decorated pavilion, just across from the hotel, offering exceptional Thai cuisine inspired by royal Thai culinary traditions , paired with spectacular Thai cultural performances. With seamless transfers from Bangkok to Phuket, guests can slow down the pace at Villa Mayavee. Guests can indulge in a myriad of local experiences, from exclusive island-hopping aboard the villa's private 60-ft yacht, to sunrise yoga and tailored spa treatments within the privacy of the property. The fully-customisable itinerary is sure to provide a window to the very essence of Thailand. Villa Mayavee Details: Four bedrooms, sleeps eight Pricing from: USD 15,050 ++ / week Rendering of the Margaritaville Island Reserve Resort Roatan Bay Islands Margaritaville and Karisma Hotels & Resorts announced plans to debut the newest all-inclusive resort under the Island Reserve Inclusive Collection: Margaritaville Island Reserve Resort Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras. This destination will complement Karisma and Margaritaville's footprint in Mexico, Belize, and the Dominican Republic, joining Margaritaville Island Reserve Resort Cap Cana, Margaritaville Island Reserve Resort Riviera Cancun, Margaritaville Island Reserve Resort Riviera Maya, and Margaritaville Beach Resort Ambergris Caye, Belize. "We are thrilled to join forces once again with our esteemed partners at Margaritaville," said Mario Mathieu, Senior Vice President of Business Development, Design and Construction at Karisma Hotels & Resorts. "Together, we are dedicated to creating an unforgettable and authentically local Margaritaville experience in Honduras that truly captures the essence of Roatan." The Margaritaville Island Reserve Inclusive Collection by Karisma debuted as Margaritaville's first collection of all-inclusive luxury properties. These 5-star resorts combine Karisma Hotels & Resorts' renowned service and incredible food and beverage with Margaritaville's authentic sense of fun and escapism, signature food and beverage concepts, and iconic design elements. "We are excited to bring the Margaritaville brand to the island of Roatan in Honduras. It's an incredible destination with rich culture and history, offering guests the perfect island getaway," said Shamim Lodin, Executive Director of Development at Margaritaville. "This location is an excellent fit for Margaritaville and will be an iconic property for guests, promising laid-back luxury and authentic Bay Islands charm." Margaritaville and Karisma Hotels & Resorts will partner with development group Island Shipping, S. de R.L. to bring this all-inclusive resort to life. The new build, slated for completion in 2025, will include 164 rooms, live outdoor music venues, a world-class spa, and branded dining concepts, including LandShark Brewery, JWB Steakhouse, The Beach House, and 5 o'Clock Somewhere Bar. "We are thrilled to bring such an enticing lifestyle brand to the island; our master planned coastal development could not be a more perfect setting for Margaritaville," said Jerry Hynds, CEO of Island Shipping. "Roatan is experiencing significant growth, and we are proud and excited to be part of the journey to change the hospitality landscape on the island." Nestled in the crystalline waters of the Caribbean, Roatan, a gem among Honduras' Bay Islands, is rapidly gaining recognition as an enchanting and relatively undiscovered destination. Renowned for its vibrant coral reefs, Roatan's underwater wonders attract divers and snorkelers seeking a pristine marine paradise. The island's lush landscapes and untapped beaches further enhance its appeal, providing a serene backdrop for those seeking relaxation. With a tropical climate and a growing reputation for diverse flora and fauna, Roatan invites travelers to embark on an off-the-beaten-path adventure, promising a perfect blend of excitement and tranquility in this emerging Caribbean paradise. While maintaining its authentic charm, Roatan has experienced measured growth in tourism infrastructure and garnered recognition as a "Best of the Best" destination by the 2023 TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice Awards. Chicago, IL (60637) Today Cloudy with periods of rain. High around 45F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch.. Tonight Cloudy with occasional light rain...mainly this evening. Low 39F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%. CHANGCHUN, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- When there were yellow paint stains on the hem of Zhou Baile's school uniform, his family and teachers suggested that he change into a new uniform, but he refused. "For me, the stains are a symbol of creation," said Zhou, who is in his second year of senior high school in Changchun, the capital of northeast China's Jilin Province. Zhou is one of the 21 students at No. 150 High School of Changchun who replicated the masterpiece "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains," which was painted by Wang Ximeng during the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), on the walls of their fine art classroom. The 3.5-meter-tall replica has a total length of 11 meters and it took the students 129 days to complete, said Duan Yingzi, the fine art teacher at the school who guided the painting. To allow more students to receive aesthetic education, Duan established a painting club at the end of 2022, guiding students to appreciate and imitate famous Chinese paintings. She purchased a high-definition copy of "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains," and brought it into class so that her students could appreciate the lines and essence of the classic. "Wang created the masterpiece at the age of 18. It occurred to me to question why my students, at a similar age, couldn't give it a try," said Duan, having encouraged her club members to participate in the painting project. The project began in early March. The students sketched, applied color and filled in the details, turning the original, flat painting into a relief work. They also added figures, flowers and other elements into their version of the painting, including their own inspirations. "Seeing the work we created, I could sense what Wang was feeling when he was completing this masterpiece more than 900 years ago," said Zhang Chuying, another student who took part in the project. "It was as if I were standing next to him and enjoying the rivers and mountains with him." Though some parents were concerned that the time-consuming project would affect their children's academic performances, Zhou does not believe they had any cause for concern. "The process of painting not only improves confidence and concentration, but it is also a way to relax after learning," the student said. Duan hopes that through their recreation of the Chinese masterpiece, the students will enhance their understanding of Chinese painting. "I hope they will be able to pass on the excellent traditional culture in an innovative way," she said. Subscribers to Register-Star or The Daily Mail are eligible to receive full access to HudsonValley360. If you have an existing print subscription, please make sure your email address on file matches your HudsonValley360 account email. Spotify exits Uruguay after new law requires payments to performer [Chris Castle] Spotify is pulling out of Uruguay after a new law was passed requiring that featured and nonfeatured performers be compensated by streaming services. In the US and most countries, non-interactive streaming services like Pandora pay performers royalties through SoundExchnage and their global counterparts, while interactive streamers like Spotify do not. Spotify argues that adding payments to featured and non-featured performers creates an unsustainable business model. Op-ed by CHRIS CASTLE of Music Tech Policy You may have heard that Spotify is refusing to deal with featured and nonfeatured performers whose works are performed on streaming services in Uruguay. This story is an important and meaningful companion to the entire artist-centric conversation that is going on around the world as the streaming train wreck grinds to a slow-motion pileup. Heres what is actually happening in Uruguay. The national copyright law in Uruguay has been amended to provide a basis for featured and nonfeatured performers to be compensated by streaming services. Spotify says this is paying twice for the same music. That is simply not truefor example, streamers dont pay for the brand value of the artists who they exploit to promote their service and build market capitalization (stock market value) that they dont share with performers at all, especially nonfeatured performers. This development is just another step in Spotifys failure to get ahead of the horrendous market centric royalty model that has made rich men out of Daniel Ek and his cronies. Uruguays approach has been followed in other countries like Spain and Spotify paid that royalty as Spotifys senior executives have testified to the UK Digital Culture Media and Sport investigation into music streaming. Specifically, in response to questioning by Damian Green, MP, the executive said, It [i.e., Spains streaming remuneration] has not really affected the way that we operate in Spain but it has made it harder for us to have a path to profitability and margin expansion. Of course, Spotify acknowledged in other testimony that Spotify intentionally kept prices low as a business strategy. ( UK Parliament, Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Oral Evidence: Economics of Music Streaming (Q599) (Feb. 23, 2021), See also discussion above of whether Spotify is driven by profit or stock market valuation so that difficulty in making a profit is not Spotifys main business concern.) The legislation at issue in Uruguay in rough translation states: ARTICLE 36.- The performer of a literary or musical work has the right to demand remuneration for its interpretation broadcast or retransmitted through radio, television, internet or digital networks of any type, or recorded or printed on disk, film , tape, thread or any other substance, medium or body suitable for sound or visual reproduction. If an agreement is not reached, the Arbitration Court established in article 58 of this law will be resorted to. ARTICLE 39.- Performing artists, with respect to their power of public communication and making phonograms and audiovisual recordings of musical themes available to the public, generate in all cases the right to fair and equitable remuneration for its exploitation. It is also established that the management entities duly authorized to operate will represent performers, in accordance with the regulations of the Executive Branch, and in accordance with the provisions of article 24 of Law No. 17,616, of January 10, 2003. Spotify is the dominant music service in the world, so any time that Spotify refuses to deal with customers (Uruguay subscribers) or suppliers (featured and nonfeatured performers and their CMO) you have to look a little deeper into what their motivation is for this concerted refusal to deal. This is particularly the case since the company acknowledged in a public setting (DCMS inquiry) that they could and had absorbed a similar royalty in other Spanish-language countries. Spotify already engages in predatory below-cost pricing which has a direct benefit to its share priceand lets understand that Spotify is in it for the stock, not for the profit like every Silicon Valley company. When you understand that its all about the exit, the companys droning on about how they cant make a profit is so much noise. They are purposely gaslighting you into focusing on the wrong ball. Another part of our business is that companies like Spotify really do not like is CMOs. Spotify likes their artists to be fractionalized, disorganized and poor. That way they can be pushed around and the evidence of Spotifys and Daniel Eks attitude about artists is legion. So when you consider that Spotifys concerted refusal to deal in Uruguay is ultimately directed to CMOs, the picture starts to be clear. Spotify, after all, was the driving force behind the digital music services setting up The MLC, which is their CMO for music streaming (and Spotify pal Google just bought BMI with New Mountain Capital). But make no mistake; legislation like Uruguays is not against Spotify, it is for fair compensation for performers. This helps the entire music economy and it should be obvious that fairness is breaking out all over when it comes to streaming. If you want to get the local angle, heres an interview in Spanish (set the CC to English if you need the translation) with the secretary of the Copyright Council Martha Caviglia to explain why the legislation is not against Spotify: Well come back to this, but here is an informative statement from leading performers organizations and guilds discussing the legislation and encouraging the Uruguay Senate to pass the bill (which has already happened): Honorable Senators, The international organisations AEPO ARTIS (Association of European Organisations of Performers), FILAIE (the Ibero-American Federation of Performers), FIM (International Federation of Musicians) and SCAPR (the Societies Council for the Collective Management of Performers Rights) support the amendment of articles 36 and 39 of the Law of Copyright and Related Rights of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay by means of the Law of Accountability Law (Ley de Rendicion de Cuentas). These entities uphold the remuneration right for the making available of phonograms and audiovisual recordings administered through collective management as the only way to guarantee fair remuneration for the use of the music by means of streaming and downloading platforms in favour of performers. This mechanism has been implemented in some Latin-American countries (Mexico, Dominican Republic, Panama, and Ecuador), Europe (Spain, Hungary, Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, etc) and Asia (South Korea) for the making available of phonograms or audiovisual recordings and all over the world in respect of the public communication of phonograms. The undersigned entities work in the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) so that the remuneration right is established as the only medium to make the making available right recognised in the 1996 WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) effective, as it is foreseen in the 2012 Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances. Different independent reports commissioned by the WIPO Standing Committee have proved that, under the current system in force since the 40s of the 20th Century, main performers obtain very low payments for the use of their music through streaming and downloading platforms and session musicians or non-featured performers do not obtain any amount. The Group of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC), such as Uruguay as one of the most active members, leads the works in WIPO to regulate the making available right again and recognize a remuneration right like the one foreseen in the legal amendment passed by the Finance and Budget Committee of the Senate and the undersigned entities trust it to be adopted this week in the plenary vote. The Honorable Senators of the Republic of Uruguay can be certain that millions of performers represented by AEPO ARTIS, FILAIE, FIM and SCAPR, support the amendment of the Law on Copyright and Related Rights and request, respectfully and firmly, its definitive approval in the Senate. Spotifys take my ball and go home approach is typical monopolist bullying tactics needs to be evaluated under competition law standards for the refusal to deal that it is. Share on: For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Chinas hospitals have been flooded with cases of respiratory illnesses and sick children complaining of pneumonia-like symptoms, leading to increased scrutiny from the World Health Organisation (WHO). The Chinese Health Ministry said over the weekend the rise in cases was linked to an overlap of known pathogens and not any novel viruses amid fears of another outbreak as the country braced for its first winter after lifting the Covid-19 restrictions. There has been a rise in cases linked to viruses such as influenza, rhinoviruses, the respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, the adenovirus, as well as bacteria such as mycoplasma pneumoniae, the ministry said in a statement. The spike in cases appeared to be driven by children contracting pathogens that two years of Covid-19 restrictions kept them away from, said Maria Van Kerkhove, the acting director of WHOs department of epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention. This is not an indication of a novel pathogen. This is expected. This is what most countries dealt with a year or two ago, Ms Van Kerkhove told health news outlet STAT. Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections were mostly seen in children aged five to 14, said Wang Huaqing, the chief immunisation planning expert for China Centre for Disease and Protection (CDC). Since China experienced a far longer and harsher lockdown than essentially any other country on Earth, it was anticipated that those lockdown exit waves could be substantial in China, Francois Balloux of University College London, told AFP. The Chinese Health Ministry has asked local authorities to increase the number of fever clinics and urged people to wear masks in order to stop the illnesses from spreading. A Beijing childrens hospital earlier told state media CCTV that at least 7,000 patients were being admitted daily to the institution, far exceeding its capacity. Last week, the largest paediatric hospital in nearby Tianjin reportedly received more than 13,000 children at its outpatient and emergency departments. Liaoning province, about 690km northeast of the capital, is also grappling with high case numbers. The increasing number of cases prompted the WHO on Wednesday to issue a formal request for disease data on respiratory illnesses and reported clusters of pneumonia in children. Chinese health authorities responded by saying they found no unusual or novel diseases. The officials claimed the high number of patients had not overwhelmed the countrys hospitals contrary to the local media reports. China's National Health Commission has also warned that the spread of several pathogens could converge into a major outbreak between this winter and next spring. The global health body also said on Wednesday that any link between clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia and a rise in respiratory infections is unclear as of now. What has happened so far? Northern China has reported an increase in influenza-like illnesses since mid-October, compared to the same period in the previous three years, according to the WHO. On 21 November, public disease surveillance system ProMED had issued a notification about reports of undiagnosed pneumonia. ProMED, whih is run by health experts, had earlier in 2019 raised the alarm over the virus that causes Covid-19. With the outbreak of pneumonia in China, childrens hospitals in Beijing, Liaoning and other places were overwhelmed with sick children, and schools and classes were on the verge of suspension, ProMED said while citing a report by FTV News. It is not at all clear when this outbreak started as it would be unusual for so many children to be affected so quickly. This report suggests a widespread outbreak of an undiagnosed respiratory illness in several areas in China as Beijing and Liaoning are almost 800 km apart. The report does not say that any adults were affected suggesting some exposure at the schools. Some parents in Shanghai on Friday said they were not overly concerned about the wave of sickness. Colds happen all over the world, said Emily Wu outside a childrens hospital. I hope that people will not be biased because of the pandemic... but look at this from a scientific perspective. What are the symptoms? According to Chinese health authorities, the outbreak could be linked to mycoplasma pneumoniae, also known as walking pneumonia, a common bacterial infection typically affecting children that has been circulating since May. Symptoms of walking pneumonia include a sore throat, fatigue and a lingering cough that can last for weeks or months. In severe cases, this can eventually deteriorate into pneumonia. A Beijing citizen, identified only as Wei, told FTV News that infected children dont cough and have no symptoms. They just have a high temperature (fever) and many develop pulmonary nodules. Health data analytics firm Airfinity noted that atypical symptoms have also been reported at a Sichuan province hospital. "The fact that only children are affected suggests this is most likely to be an existing pathogen," Jin Dong-yan, a professor at the University of Hong Kong told Bloomberg. "If it's a new pathogen it should mostly hit adults. It looks like it's something adults have got accustomed to." However, Mycoplasma has previously triggered epidemics in China every two to four years, with the latest positivity rate in Beijing being 40 per cent about 1.3 times higher than its 2019 peak. How infectious is the disease? Bruce Thompson, head of the Melbourne School of Health Sciences at the University of Melbourne, told Reuters very preliminary data suggested there was nothing out of the ordinary. At this stage, there is nothing to suggest that it may be a new variant of Covid, he said. One thing to note is that we can be reassured that the surveillance processes are working, which is a very good thing. The WHO suggested people in China get vaccinated, isolate if they are feeling ill, wear masks if necessary and get medical care as needed. While WHO seeks this additional information, we recommend that people in China follow measures to reduce the risk of respiratory illness, the agency said. What are scientists saying? Marion Koopmans, a Dutch virologist who advised the WHO on Covid, said there needs to be more information, particularly diagnostic information. We have to be careful. The challenge is to discern the outbreaks and determine the cause, said David Heymann of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He pointed out that there was a likely background of seasonal respiratory infections. I am not going to push the pandemic panic button on the basis of what we know so far, but I will be very keen to see the response to WHO from China and see the WHOs assessment following that, said Brian McCloskey, a public health expert who also advised the WHO on the pandemic. What we are seeing is WHOs International Health Regulations system in action, he said, referring to the rules governing how countries work with the WHO on potential outbreaks. Virologist Tom Peacock from Imperial College London said it was unlikely the increasing infections happened under the radar as there are tools now to pretty rapidly pick up emerging influenza or coronaviruses. (I) suspect it may end up being something more mundane or a combination of things say Covid, flu, RSV [respiratory syncytial virus] but hopefully well know more soon, he said. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Hospitals in China have set up special "homework zones" for children battling respiratory illnesses amid an outbreak of pneumonia in the northern part of the country. China is grappling with a surge in cases of respiratory illnesses in children due to an "overlap of known pathogens" as the country braces for its first winter since lifting the stringent Covid-19 restrictions. The rising number of cases has "overwhelmed" the hospitals in the capital Beijing and neighbouring cities, with thousands of patients reporting to outpatient and emergency departments daily. Chinese health authorities last week claimed no novel viruses were detected and the cases were linked to viruses such as influenza, rhinoviruses, the respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, the adenovirus, as well as bacteria such as mycoplasma pneumoniae that infects the lungs. The bacteria is a common cause of "walking pneumonia" a non-medical term for a mild case of pneumonia. Images and videos of children doing homework while receiving intravenous drips in the hospital have triggered a debate on social media. Young children were provided with chairs, desks and infusion frames for them to study while receiving drips in Jiangsu and Anhui, and central Hubei provinces, state broadcaster CCTV reported. Children wearing masks were seen completing their homework while their parents helped them. Hospitals popularised separate study zones for sick children a couple of years ago and parents have since then encouraged the practice. A parent at one of the hospitals said they didn't "intend to let my kid do homework here" but the good study atmosphere at the hospital prompted her to push her kid to do his homework. My kid had to do his homework this way because if he did not finish it, he would have to do a lot more when he returns to school after he recovers, a father told the broadcaster. Parents were criticised for putting their sick children through study at a time when they should've been resting. "This picture is real and children doing their homework in hospitals is common in China. We live in a country of hell mode," said one user on X, formerly known as Twitter. The practice is very common in China, declared one X user. Some hospitals even have a permanent area reserved for these students who like to do homework and its something they publicise and brag about, the social media user added. These kids may be physically ill, but these adults are mentally ill, an online observer said on Chinese social media platform Douyin, according to the South China Morning Post. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} All 41 workers have been rescued from a tunnel in India after being trapped for more than two weeks. The workers became stuck in the tunnel on 12 November, when a landslide caused a portion of the 2.8-mile tunnel they were building in Uttarakhand state to collapse about 200m (650ft) from the entrance. They survived on food and oxygen supplied through narrow steel pipes for 17 days. Crowds waved banners reading Bharat Mata ki Jai, or Long live mother India, and set off firecrackers as the workers are pulled out through a passageway made of welded pipes, where rescuers previously pushed through dirt and rocks. One of the trapped workers is checked out after he was rescued from the collapsed tunnel site (via REUTERS) As the first worker was pulled out, Pushkar Singh Dhami, the top elected official in the state of Uttarakhand, presented him with a garland and hung it around his neck as rescuers, officials and relatives cheered. Nitin Gadkari, the minister of road transport and highways, said on X, formerly Twitter, that he was completely relieved and happy after all were rescued from the Silkyara Tunnel in Uttarkashi after an ordeal that lasted 17 days. I am very happy that all the 41 trapped workers have come out and their lives have been saved, he said in a video message posted on X. Mr Gadkari added that this was a well-co-ordinated effort by multiple agencies, marking one of the most significant rescue operations in recent years. Chief minister of Uttarakhand Pushkar Singh Dhami (R) embracing a contruction worker following his rescue (Department of Information and Pu) The workers survived on food and oxygen supplied through steel pipes (EPA) Indias prime minister, Narendra Modi, praised the courage and patience of the trapped workers and those who helped in the rescue. Kirti Panwar, a state government spokesperson, said about a dozen men had worked overnight to dig through rocks and debris, taking turns to drill using hand-held drilling tools and clearing out the muck in what he said was the final stretch of the rescue operation. Rescuers resorted to manual digging after the drilling machine broke down irreparably on Friday while drilling horizontally from the front because of the mountainous terrain of Uttarakhand. Rescue personnel work at the collapsed under construction Silkyara tunnel (AFP via Getty Images) The machine bored through about 47m (nearly 154ft) out of approximately the 57-60m (nearly 187-196ft) needed, before rescuers started to work by hand to create a passageway to evacuate the trapped workers. Most of the trapped workers were migrant labourers from across the country. Many of their families have travelled to the location, where they have camped out for days to get updates on the rescue effort and in hope of seeing their relatives soon. The workers were trapped in the tunnel for 17 days (AP) What began as a rescue mission expected to take a few days turned into weeks, and officials were hesitant to give a timeline for when it might be completed. I just feel good. The drilling on top of the mountain is coming along perfectly, in the tunnel, its coming along very well. I have never said I feel good before, Arnold Dix, an international tunnelling expert who is helping with the rescue, told reporters at the site on Tuesday. The breakthrough in the 17 days of struggle to free the men came as rat-hole mining work commenced on Monday to manually drill and clear the debris to reach the trapped workers. Two dozen rat-hole miners arrived from Delhi and Jhansi cities to enter the tunnel and dig it manually after an auger drilling machine broke down multiple times. These miners get their name from their technique of extracting coal through narrow pits and crevices in the northeastern state of Meghalaya. Ambulance carries survivors to receive medical support (REUTERS) It was a difficult task, but for us nothing is difficult, said a beaming Firoz Qureshi, one of the miners, standing with his fellow workers outside the tunnel, their faces patched with white dust after overnight drilling. When we saw them inside the tunnel after the breakthrough, we hugged them like they were family, said Nasir Hussain, one of the six miners. Dhanpatis son Ram Sundar was among the trapped workers. He is my only son, and I am happy he was safely rescued, Dhanpati told The Telegraph. Rat-hole mining is a hazardous and controversial method used extensively in the northeastern state of Meghalaya to extract thin seams of coal before an environmental court in 2014 banned the practice because of environmental damage and many fatalities. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A mining technique that has been prohibited in India over safety concerns has proven instrumental in rescuing the 41 workers trapped inside a collapsed tunnel in the Himalayas. The technique dubbed rat-hole mining has been used to dig through the final stretch of fallen rocks and debris and reach the workers, who have remained trapped in the collapsed tunnel in Uttarakhand for 17 days. Rescue workers began trying to drill through the collapsed portion of the tunnel using a US-made augur machine, which was flown in to the site, but it has broken down repeatedly and was deemed irreparable with a significant portion of the 60m debris wall still to go. More than two dozen so-called rat-hole miners were called from Delhi and Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh to manually drill through the remaining debris, clear the passage and lay a pipe through which the workers can be brought out. They successfully broke through to finally reach the men on Tuesday. Indian miners trapped in illegal rat-hole pit for more than three weeks (EPA) These workers are trained in narrow tunnel excavations and use handheld tools for digging through rock. It is a primitive, perilous, and contentious technique primarily employed in India for extracting coal deposits through confined passages. The term is derived from its likeness to rats burrowing through narrow holes. Three of us will go inside the tunnel; one will do the drilling, another will collect muck and the third one will push the muck through the trolley, Mr Rakesh Rajput, one of the miners, told Reuters. The technique has been long used for the extraction of coal where miners excavate small pits, typically not exceeding 4 feet in width, to access coal deposits. Rescue personnel work at the collapsed under construction Silkyara tunnel (AFP via Getty Images) Once the coal seam is reached, lateral tunnels are excavated to extract the coal. The mining method was widely practised across eastern Meghalaya state due to the narrow coal seams found there, as other methods remained economically unviable. But rat-hole mining was banned in 2014 by the National Green Tribunal, the statutory body dealing with environmental protection cases. It ruled that the technique was dangerous and unscientific after a case was brought over the deaths of several rat-hole miners, including some children. Despite the ban, the technique remained rampant. In 2018, 15 men involved in rat-hole mining in Meghalaya were killed after they became trapped for days due to flooding. After rescue work stretching on for around two months, only two bodies could be recovered. In 2021, six miners were killed in a similar incident after they were trapped in a flooded mine. The operation to recover the bodies was called off after a month and only three bodies were found. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Rescue teams have successfully drilled through 60m (197ft) of debris to reach 41 construction workers who have been trapped in a collapsed tunnel in India for the past 17 days. The migrant labourers have been stuck in the Silkyara tunnel in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand since it collapsed on 12 November. Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that the work of inserting a pipe inside the tunnel has been completed and all the workers will be pulled out soon. Soon all the labourer brothers will be taken out, he said. The men are set to be pulled out one at a time on a wheeled stretcher through the pipe, which has a diameter of just 90cm (3ft). Officials said the process should be completed within a couple of hours. Medical teams and dozens of ambulances are on standby to take the men to a hospital about 30km away. Rescue officials said the pipe that would be used for their escape has to be pushed through and debris cleared before rescue workers could crawl through and begin getting the men out. Ambulance and emergency vehicles are on standby near the face of the collapse (AFP via Getty) In a press briefing on Tuesday evening, a National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) official said that the rescue operation could take three to four hours more and they could be only airlifted to the hospital in the morning. Syed Ata Hasnain said rat-hole miners had reached the 58-metre point but they had two more metres to go. All safety precautions will be implemented. No premature announcements are to be made, it will be against all principles. We also have to take care of the safety and security of people who are rescuing the workers... We are not in any hurry, he said. The breakthrough in the 17 days of struggle to free the men came as rat-hole mining work commenced on Monday to manually drill and clear the debris to reach the trapped workers. Two dozen rat-hole miners arrived from Delhi and Jhansi cities to enter the tunnel and dig it manually after an auger drilling machine broke down multiple times. These miners get their name from their technique of extracting coal through narrow pits and crevices in the northeastern state of Meghalaya. The workers have been trapped in an estimated 2km (1.2 miles) area since the collapse that happened about 200m (650ft) from the tunnel entrance. Rat miners stand before they begin manual drilling as rescue operations are in progress after workers got trapped in a collapse of an under-construction tunnel (Reuters) Rescue workers faced the task of drilling through 60m (197ft) of debris, filled with iron bars, concrete and other construction materials to reach the workers. Anxious family members and others have been waiting to see their loved ones as officials said just five metres of distance separated them from the rescuers. The rescue operation encountered several days of delays despite reaching the final stages and raising hopes due to stuck debris, falling soil and the breaking down of machinery. Officials said all the workers inside the tunnel were safe and were provided with food, water, snacks and oxygen through a pipeline that was laid to supply water for the construction work. Rescue workers gather among heavy machinery in the tunnel (EPA) A communication line was established with the trapped workers soon after the collapse and later an endoscopic camera was sent through a pipe which captured the workers first images. Authorities have not confirmed what caused the tunnel to collapse as opposition party members have demanded a thorough investigation of the incident. The under-construction tunnel was part of the Char Dham pilgrimage route, one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects of Indian prime minister Narendra Modis Hindu nationalist government, which aims to connect four Hindu pilgrimage sites in the mountains through 890km (550 miles) of roads at a cost of $1.5bn (1.2bn). The collapse of the tunnel in a region already prone to landslides has sparked debate among environmentalists about the damaging impact of construction projects in the already fragile Himalayas. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A bridegroom in Thailand went on a rampage at his own wedding and shot dead four people, including his bride, before killing himself on Saturday. Local police identified the shooter as Chaturong Suksuk, a former soldier and paralympic athlete. One person was also injured in the shooting that took place at about 11.25pm local time. Suksuk, and his bride, 44-year-old Kanchana Pachunthuek, lived together for three years before they decided to get married. The couple had their wedding ceremony on Saturday morning, according to Bangkok Post. Guests noticed the groom did not look happy, reports said. Suksuk, 29, left the wedding party suddenly amid the celebrations at a house in Wang Nam Khieo district in north-east Thailand, went to his car and returned with a pistol. The groom then started firing shots that killed the bride, her 62-year-old mother and 38-year-old sister, and one other guest. One guest was reported to have sustained serious injuries. Suksuk then shot himself and died on the spot, according to the police. A police spokesperson was quoted as saying by the BBC that the groom was quite intoxicated at the time. The motive, however, remained unclear. Police said 11 bullets were recovered from the scene of the shooting. He reportedly bought the gun and the ammunition legally last year. The groom was a former marine soldier in Thailand and one of his legs was amputated after an accident. He was also a member of the Thai paralympic athlete team that participated in the 11th Asean Para Games held in Indonesia last year and won a silver medal in swimming. This incident comes just days after Thai interior minister Anutin Charnvirakul signed an order to suspend the issuance of gun licences for a year. If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch. If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you. Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Independent Climate email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Leading climate voices reacted with shock and horror after a recent report alleged that the United Arab Emirates was planning to leverage the upcoming UN climate summit for new oil and gas deals. Just four days before the start of the summit, leaked briefing documents revealed the UAEs intention to discuss fossil fuel agreements with nations gathered to discuss the climate crisis in Dubai, contradicting its role as the summits host. The UAEs Cop28 team prepared talking points for meetings with 15 foreign governments, indicating intentions to explore oil and gas deals, according to briefing documents accessed by independent journalists at the Centre for Climate Reporting and BBC. The revelation has heightened concerns about a conflict of interest at the climate summit. Already the presidency was under fire after the appointment of Sultan al Jaber, CEO of Abu Dhabis state-owned oil company Adnoc, as Cop28 president. According to the briefing points, Adnoc was willing to explore oil and gas in Mozambique, Canada and Australia, while in Colombia it said Adnoc stands ready to help develop its oil and gas reserves, according to the report. It also suggested discussing commercial opportunities with other countries, including Germany and Egypt. The reports found that on at least one occasion, a nation followed up on commercial discussions. Climate activists, many Western lawmakers, and even the Pope has called out this conflict of interest in the past. Climate campaigning group 350.org said at the time that making Mr Jaber Cop28 president is like appointing the CEO of a cigarette company to oversee a conference on cancer cures. Now climate voices from around the world are saying their worst fears have been confirmed. Former US vice president and environmentalist Al Gore said the allegation are utterly appalling. The chances for real progress at COP28 were badly damaged early this year when an oil company CEO was appointed to lead the negotiations, he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. And now investigative journalists have confirmed some of the worst fears of those who criticized that absurd appointment. Using international climate talks as leverage to shore up support for pumping more oil and gas at a time when we urgently need to phase out fossil fuels is to say the least utterly appalling. UN secretary general Antonio Guterres, who has just returned from his trip to the Antarctic to take stock of the impact of the climate crisis, was also asked about the report. I cant believe it is true, he told reporters in his address. Christiana Figueres, former executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) said the Cop28 presidency must step up the transparency now that they are caught red handed. The Independent has reached out to the Cop28 presidency for a response. In a statement to BBC, the UAE team did not deny using Cop28 meetings for business talks, and said private meetings are private. A Cop28 spokesperson told The Guardian: The documents referred to are inaccurate and were not used by Cop28 in meetings. They did not specify in what ways they were inaccurate. This years climate summit comes after record-breaking temperatures leading to wildfires, floods and droughts around the world driven by the climate crisis. 2023 is well on track to be the hottest year ever recorded. Getting the world out of the grips of fossil fuel dependency is one of the biggest ambitions of climate negotiations. While differences already exist between countries over how quickly they are able to wean themselves off of these planet-heating fuel sources, the role of the presidency is to steer the countries in the direction of the strongest possible outcome. Kaisa Kosonen, policy coordinator at Greenpeace International, said this revelation was a real scandal ahead of the negotiations. The climate summit leader should be focused on advancing climate solutions impartially, not backroom deals that are fuelling the crisis. This is exactly the kind of conflict of interest we feared when the CEO of an oil company was appointed to the role. Tasneem Essop, an executive director at the campaign group Climate Action Network, said: The hosting of climate conferences carries a profound responsibility: to be forthright, equitable, and resolutely courageous in the battle against climate change, The issue becomes particularly problematic if their interests conflict fundamentally with addressing the climate crisis. The road ahead for the UAE presidency will be to regain its credibility through actions, experts say. The Cop28 summit will kickstart on Thursday and go on till 12 December. Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Independent Climate email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} New York Citys Central Park has gone nearly two years without an inch of snow in a single day, doubling the previous record. Nearly 22 months, or 652 days, have passed since more than an inch of snow fell at the location, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). The previous record for no snow was 383 days in 1998. The last time more than one inch of snow fell on Central Park was 13 February, 2022. The snow drought doesnt look likely to be broken anytime soon. Forecasters said New York City will receive no snow in the next week, and little or no snowfall through the end of the month. New York City isnt the only place beating records. In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 668 days have passed without more than an inch of snow falling in a single day, according to NWS. Philadelphias previous record was 661 days in 1973, according to Fox Weather. While there are no direct links between the climate crisis and lack of snowfall in these cities, rising global temperatures are destabilizing weather patterns. Its become increasingly more evident that, as we continue to warm, patterns are becoming overall more variable, NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly meterologist Matt Burdy told The Independent. The climate crisis has impacted winter more than any other season across the United States (NOAA Climate at a Glance) The La Nina and El Nino phenomenons have also contributed to the lack of snow. The cyclical patterns, which develop across the east-central equatorial Pacific every few years, result in swings in sea-surface temperatures, rainfall, surface air pressure, and atmospheric circulation that affect weather patterns across the globe. Snow is typically more likely during El Nino in the US northeast, Mr Burdy said. However despite the onset of El Nino in 2023, Philadelphia and New York City havent seen significant snowfall because low pressure systems packed with rain havent impacted these areas, he added. Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Independent Climate email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Pope Francis has cancelled his trip to Dubai for Cop28, the Vatican said in a statement on Tuesday. Francis, who has been an outspoken advocate for climate action, was expected to be the first Pontiff to attend the global climate summit. The pope has been receiving antibiotics intravenously to treat lung inflammation but doesnt have pneumonia or fever, according to reports on Monday. The Vaticans press office director, Matteo Bruni, said in a written statement that the inflammation was causing some respiratory difficulties for Francis, whose 87th birthday is next month. He had been scheduled to visit the United Arab Emirates from 1-3 December to address the summit and meet with world leaders, before inaugurating the first Faith Pavilion at a Cop. If we believe in the capacity of human beings to transcend our petty interests and to think on a grand scale, we cannot give up on dreaming that #COP28 will lead to an acceleration of the energy transition. This Conference can be a turning point, Francis tweeted on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday. The pope had been expected to address a number of issues at Cop28 including funding for Loss and Damage to help poor and vulnerable countries facing climate disasters, and fossil fuels. We hope that countries at COP28 will live up to Pope Francis urgent call for greater ambition on addressing the climate crisis, and for politicians to leave a legacy they can be proud of, Neil Thorns, director of advocacy at CAFOD, the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, told The Independent. We hope he recovers soon and will continue to encourage leaders from Rome. Last month, the pontiff published his Laudate Deum text where he called on governments, business and citizens to take urgent action and warned that the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point. The text also drew attention to the inequity of the climate crisis. How can we forget that Africa, home to more than half of the worlds poorest people, is responsible for a minimal portion of historic emissions? Francis wrote. Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A woman who has eaten a Christmas dinner every day for the last 23 years whatever the weather as she believes they are easy to make and nutritious and associates them with being a child has recommended her inexpensive one-pan roast as a cost-of-living hack as the festive season begins. Jayne Winteringham, 68, a sales consultant from Bristol, has devoured more than 8,000 roast dinners since the year 2000 and began eating them every day after her four children, who she does not wish to name, moved out. Her roast dinner must-haves are gravy, sprouts, meat and potatoes, which she cooks in one pan for around 40 minutes every day after work, and to stop herself getting bored, she adds an array of condiments such as mustard or cranberry sauce. Even when going out for meals, Jayne picks whatever is closest to a roast, and when her children were young, she often used to take them to a Toby Carvery after a hot summer day at the beach. Jayne cannot see herself giving up her favourite meal any time soon (PA Real Life) Looking forward to Christmas dinner this year, which will include pigs in blankets, stuffing and Yorkshire puddings to make it extra special, Jayne shows no sign of slowing down her habit which she believes keeps her slim and is cost-effective. Despite the rising price of meat Jayne said her daily roasts, usually made with chicken but sometimes turkey or sausages, cost around 2 per meal and she uses the leftovers by turning them into bubble and squeak for breakfast and soup for lunch. Jayne told PA Real Life: A roast, or a Christmas dinner, is my favourite meal and I have it when Im out for a meal too. In the summer, I still cook it, whatever the weather, and it has to be piping hot theres nothing worse than a cold roast. Sometimes I make a roast sandwich in the summer, which is lovely. (The cost-of-living crisis) has been OK its not an expensive meal really the vegetables are still cheap and Ive noticed the difference in the price of meat but I tend to just cook one chicken breast per meal, so its not as bad. With the way I cook it, all in one pan, and just veg in the microwave, its quite cheap compared to doing it all separately. Jayne first began eating roast dinners every day in 2000, missing only around two days a year, after her children flew the nest. You can put all of it in the oven, its an easy way to eat, and its nutritious, Jayne explained. I always used to cook a Sunday roast for the children, and I have a lot of happy memories associated with it. I associate them with being a child when I was young, my parents were religious and wed always go to church then come home and have a roast or go to visit relatives and have one there. Jayne began eating roasts every day after her children moved out (PA Real Life) Day-to-day, Jaynes preferred meat is chicken, but she also likes serving up turkey, sausages or bacon with vegetables and gravy. She explained her staples: I always have gravy, roast potatoes, meat, Brussels sprouts. For meat, I have chicken the most its my favourite meat and not too expensive. Jayne spends just 2 per portion, and thinks it is ideal amid the cost-of-living crisis. She said: Its a nutritious way of feeding yourself, and doesnt cost much. Id recommend it to others at the moment because Ill cook enough so I can use it another day. I often have bubble and squeak for breakfast or make a soup to use the veg and the meat. I dont like throwing away any food so I try to use as much of it up as I can, and it makes it cheaper. She explained the cooking process, step-by-step: I start by par-boiling the potatoes, until theyre soft. Then I shake them up and put them in the oven with a chicken breast and let them cook in the meat juices. When the potatoes and meat are nearly done, I microwave all of the vegetables so they are nice and steamed. Then I serve it all up with some gravy it all takes me about 40 minutes. I make the gravy using the vegetable water and meat juices, with a stock cube and some cornflour. Jayne said she always includes Brussels sprouts despite thinking they taste quite disgusting on their own. I know a lot of people dont like them but I always have Brussels sprouts, often with some bacon or cranberry on them, she said. I think the flavour of them is quite disgusting really but it complements the gravy and meat. With a bit of butter on, they can taste quite nice. On what her loved ones think, Jayne said: They just find it funny and arent that surprised, everyone knows how much I love a roast! Despite eating more than 8,000 roast dinners in the last 23 years, Jayne said she she is not bored of them. I mix it up to keep it interesting I put different condiments on it, like horseradish, cranberry, mustard or mint sauce, she said. Theres not just one way of eating it. Jayne still looks forward to Christmas dinner every year and sharing her most loved meal with her children. She said: Its my favourite meal so of course Im still excited for Christmas, I cant wait. I add stuffing, Yorkshire puddings and pigs in blankets I still have them occasionally when its not Christmas but it just makes it extra special. If my kids are here, they love it. One year we mixed it up a bit and had a roast with a Mexican take, which my daughter cooked. Looking to the future, Jayne cannot see herself giving up her favourite meal any time soon. She said: Now I have this reputation I cant stop now! I just love roasts so much, and its my favourite meal, so Im sure Ill be eating them for many years to come. Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Paris Hilton has revealed why she didnt hesitate to defend her 10-month-old son, Phoenix, from comments about his appearance. The 42-year-old actor spoke candidly about her tactics as a mother days after announcing the surprise birth of her second baby, London, with husband Carter Reum during a recent interview with People. Her comments come weeks after she first hit back at fan remarks and speculation about the size of Phoenixs head. During her interview with People, published on 28 November, Hilton said that her mama bear instincts came out when she first addressed commentary about her son. She continued to explain why she defended her son, before noting that she was surprised by the criticism surrounding his appearance. Usually, I wouldnt even dignify anything like that with a response, but I was just heartbroken that there are such cruel people in the world, Hilton explained. I couldnt believe that they could be mean and vicious about a little innocent baby. She then sent a message to critics, stating that she feels sorry for anyone who would bully a child online. "Theyre that miserable in their lives that they would go and speak about a child in such a way, she said. The Paris In Love star also expressed her gratitude to people on social media who defended her son amid the commentary about his appearance. "It makes me feel so grateful knowing that theres so many people in the world that love and support me, she said. Sticking up for me meant the world to me, and to have people looking out for Phoenix in that way, it meant a lot. She continued to describe how moved she was by messages from people saying how much they love Phoenix and how beautiful he is. She also praised the fans who encouraged her to avoid listening to trolls. That just meant a lot to me, to see how much love there is for me and my son, Hilton continued. So anyone reading this, thank you so much. I really, really appreciate everyone looking out for us. In October, Hilton first hit back at the criticism on TikTok, after her Instagram photos of her sons first trip to New York City went viral. In the comments of a TikTok video, which defended Hilton and her son, she wrote: There are some sick people in this world. My angel is perfectly healthy. The mogul added: And yes, of course he has been to a doctor, he just has a large brain. Last week, Hilton took to Instagram on Thanksgiving Day to announce the arrival of her second child with Reum: a baby girl. She revealed the news by posting a photo of a pink pyjama set with the name London inscribed on the Peter Pan collared top. Thankful for my baby girl, the DJ captioned the post. She also placed a pair of hot pink heart-shaped sunglasses and a brown, knitted toy bunny alongside the pyjama set. During an interview on Today, which aired on 27 November, Hilton spoke candidly about becoming a parent of two with her husband. She is just a little angel and my life just feels so complete with my little baby boy and my baby girl, Hilton said. Were just over the moon. When asked how her journey to motherhood compares to previous chapters of her life, the reality TV star candidly admitted: Im loving my mom era. I feel just so at peace, so happy, so grateful for my husband and this beautiful family and life that were building together. Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Rosalynn Carter has been remembered for her dedication to mental health awareness during a tribute service honouring the former first lady. On Tuesday 28 November, former US president Jimmy Carter was joined by fellow former presidents, first ladies, and US politicians for a tribute service at Emory Universitys Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. The service comes more than one week after her death on 19 November at the age of 96. The tribute service included special speeches from Carters children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Since her passing, Americans everywhere have reflected on the former first ladys mental health advocacy. Those who have worked closely with Carter are now highlighting how the first lady was quite ahead of her time when it came to championing mental health. I do not think there has ever been another sort of leader in the mental health field who has had as much of an impact on mental health care and access to care and how we think about mental health and mental illness as Mrs Carter, Kathy Cade, vice chair of The Carter Center, told the Associated Press in the months leading up to Carters death. And I think it has to do with her incredible concern about the issue and her perseverance for more than 50 years. The Carter Center was founded by the husband and wife in 1982, one year after President Carters term as the 39th US president ended. With the Carter Centers Mental Health Program, the non-profit organisation continues to promote awareness about mental health issues, inform public policy on mental health care, and reduce stigma and discrimination against those with mental illnesses. She even created The Carter Centers mental health journalism fellowship program, which has provided support to more than 220 journalists from the US and six other countries over the years, according to the fellowship website. Years after she established the mental health program in 1991, Carter lobbied US Congress to create a landmark law requiring insurers to provide equality in mental health coverage. However, Carters work highlighting inadequacies in mental health services began long before her husband left office in 1981. In fact, much of her lifelong dedication began during her husbands first campaign for Georgia governor in 1966, which she wrote about in her 2010 book, Within Our Reach: Ending the Mental Health Crisis. Carter recalled joining her husband at a rally when she was approached by voters distressed about the conditions at a crowded psychiatric hospital in Milledgeville, Georgia. She spoke to a cotton mill worker who explained that she and her husband worked opposite shifts to care for their mentally ill daughter. She wrote that she was haunted by the conversation, and that same night went to her husbands rally as a concerned voter herself. Carter surprised her husband, waiting in line to shake his hand, as she told him: I came to see what you are going to do to help people with mental illness when you are governor. He responded by creating a state commission to improve services for those with mental illness, which Carter served as a member. As president, he created a national commission on mental health - leading to the passage of the Mental Health Systems Act of 1980. Carter was named honourary chair of the Presidents Commission on Mental Health in 1977. In 1979, she became the first sitting US first lady to address the World Health Organization assembly about the mental health commissions findings. During her address, Carter emphasised that mental health is an integral part of overall health as well as a basic human right. Additional reporting from AP. Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Jennifer Lawrence has addressed rumours that she has undergone plastic surgery, with the actress clarifying that her face has changed as shes aged. The Hunger Games star is investing in a new look, but it has nothing to do with cosmetic surgery. In conversation with Kylie Jenner for the Interview Magazine Winter 2023 issue, Lawrence, 33, spoke to the beauty mogul about cosmetic surgery speculation shes faced recently. On the topic of her eponymous makeup empire, Jenner told Lawrence that her initial passion for creating lip kits was born from her desire to have big, fat, juicy lips, and overlining them achieved that fullness. Thats really, really cool, the Silver Linings Playbook lead said. And I also think its incredible what makeup can do because I work with Hung [Vanngo], who overlines the lip, and I call him a plastic surgeon, because everybody in the last few months since Ive been working with him is convinced that I had eye surgery. Perplexed by the comment, Jenner responded: Stop. But Lawrence wasnt kidding. Im like: I didnt have eye surgery. Im doing makeup, she proclaimed. Well, apparently, Ive had full plastic surgery, she continued, referring to the accusations fans have made about her appearance. Jenner assured the Hollywood regular that she doesnt look like that before mentioning her journey with lip fillers. For the mom of two, she said its been frustrating to hear people comment and speculate on the kinds of cosmetic surgery shes gotten based on how her face looked when she was 12 years old. I have the same thing. I started at 19, so I get the before and after pictures from when Im 19 to 30 and Im like: I grew up. I lost baby weight in my face, and my face changed because Im ageing, Lawrence said. Everybody thought I had a nose job, and Im like: Ive had the exact same nose. My cheeks got smaller. Thank you for bringing it up. Elsewhere in the interview, the No Hard Feelings actor shared additional insight into her fame, with Lawrence revealing she originally intended for her child to have no idea that there were security guards watching over them. According to her, when her two-year-old son was born, she felt anxious and decided that they needed more security. That said, she wanted the personnel to be invisible. I didnt have that much security before I had a kid but, once I had one, with my intrusive thoughts and anxiety, I wanted us to have security around all the time, she noted. Yeah, friendly is nice because before I hired them, in my mind I was like, I want them to be invisible. I dont want my kid to see you or know you. And then once they start working for you, its like: Well, wait. This is a person in our life. Hes helping us, she continued. Thats not really a good lesson to ignore the person thats helping us. Its probably better to say: Say good morning to Sean. Hi. How are you? Weve incorporated them more in our lives, which surprised me. That wasnt how I planned it. Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} If youre scrolling through comedy on TikTok right now, youd be forgiven for thinking youd been transported back to the 1970s. You will see men making jokes about menstrual cycles. Perhaps some snarky belittling of womens hobbies. Maybe one or two domestic violence gags. This, though, isnt the stand-up comedy of another era. This is merely a glimpse into the material of 2023s young male internet comics where mocking, dismissing and belittling women is standard. And the leader of the pack is Matt Rife. The 28-year-old standup comedian from Ohio made a name for himself on social media as a hot, inclusive comic with cheekbones. His jokes, mostly shared via short clips across Instagram and TikTok, have traditionally been aimed at a female audience, full of self-deprecating cracks at his own good looks, or making fun of other peoples bad boyfriends. Now, though, people will be hearing his name for the first time in an entirely different context. Matt Rife opens Netflix special with domestic violence joke In his new Netflix special, Natural Selection, Rife begins with an anecdote about going to a restaurant in Baltimore where the hostess who seats you had a black eye. He continues: A full black eye. It wasnt like, What happened? It was pretty obvious what happened. But we couldnt get over, like, this is the face of the company? This is who you have greeting people? And my boy, who I was with, was like, Yeah, I feel bad for her, man, I feel like they should put her in the kitchen or something where nobody has to see her face. And I was like, Yeah, but I feel like if she could cook, she wouldnt have that black eye. Rifes crowd might have laughed, but the internet did not. The girls and gays were Matt Rifes biggest demographic and he used his Netflix special to pander to toxic masculinity, one person commented on Twitter/X. Not Matt Rife building his platform on catering to his female audience and then opening his Netflix special with a domestic violence joke, another added. To make matters worse, Rife responded to the criticism with an Instagram story aimed at those offended by a joke I told: Tap to solve your issue, read a URL link, which directed his followers to a website selling helmets for people with special needs. Rife first made a name for himself on social media as a hot, inclusive comic with cheekbones (Mathieu Bitton/Netflix) Rifes comments might seem shocking, but to anyone whos au fait with a particular corner of the internet one that champions quick, flash-in-the-pan content from male comedians its merely par for the course. There were other moments of misogyny in his set, too. Such as the segment where he delivered on women interested in the spiritual power of crystals. Fellas, we gotta put our foot down, he began. This crystal s*** is getting out of control. Ladies, put the f***ing pebbles down, okay? He later laments that these women wont shut up about their crystals, before impersonating said women in a tone of voice that can only be described as psychotically high. When you consider that Rife, whose audience is predominantly female, recently told Variety that this special was way more for guys, you have to wonder about his intentions. Is he aiming to popularise himself among men through brazen misogyny? To crack jokes that belittle women and make them look stupid? To reduce them to sexual objects designed for male consumption? Because, as it happens, there are a lot of other men online doing just that and gaining millions of views in the process. Search brunch women on TikTok and youll immediately find countless videos of men impersonating groups of women at bottomless brunches. Their voices are high, theyre drinking rose, and often satirising a particular accent; theyre usually either very posh, or from Essex. Cringeworthy poses are made towards the camera, and they love to bitch about one another. Because all women want to do is gossip, get drunk and take embarrassing selfies, apparently. Sometimes they wear wigs and dance on tables. Other times they flirt with waiters and get increasingly drunk and delirious. None of that, of course, is on a par with making a gag about domestic violence. But its all part of the same culture, isnt it? One that undermines and devalues women, reducing them to memeable tropes with vapid pastimes and meaningless lives, one whiny, insufferable voice at a time. We see it a lot elsewhere, too. The popular British comedian Josh Berry has a series where he regularly impersonates ridiculously posh women, donning scruffy wigs and furiously puffing away on vapes while pontificating about the beguiling culture in Brixton. One of his most-viewed videos sees him impersonating a woman working in PR who has a raging cocaine habit, who says: I havent got a clue what Im doing, but I have taken enough coke to think that no one else has noticed. Matt Rife may not have cracked jokes about rape, or making womens eyes water through oral sex, but that doesnt make him exempt from the wider problem at hand Berry does regularly post videos mocking men, but they dont seem to carry quite the same tenor as the ones where he mocks women. His male characters have a little more variety to them: gamblers, LinkedIn thought leaders, middle-aged, lycra-clad road warriors. Theres more of a mix; the humour has depth. All of his women are simply morons. Thats it. Thats the joke. Many other online comedians do the same thing. In one popular TikTok clip, American comic Bill Burr is seen poking fun at women who are always bitching about their lives. What happened to you today, sweetheart? he asks. Did they not chill your rose? Then there are the litany of viral clips poking fun at drunk girls (note: its always girls and never women). One sees comedian Chris DElia who has denied multiple allegations of sexual harassment talk incoherently at the crowd and state that nothing matters to a drunk girl at all. The audio has since been reused multiple times by other male comedians to riff off the idea that erm drunk women are idiots? I think? This specific breed of male comedian sexism had a further viral moment earlier this year, when musician Matty Healy of The 1975 and comedian Adam Friedland made a number of derogatory remarks about women on Friedlands namesake podcast. At one point, Healy told Friedland that he would f*** Friedlands sister because shes hot. They later joked about womens periods and suggested that the moon controls menstrual cycles. Its so funny that woman get f***ed up by the moon, Friedland said, adding: Meanwhile we went there men! Healy laughed along with the comments and added: F*** yeah, f***ing too right! They also made a series of racist remarks about the rapper Ice Spice Healy has since apologised. Backlash: Matty Healy and Adam Friedland during their controversial interview (Screenshot) Individually, some of these videos can be funny. And Im sure Id laugh at a few of them if I heard the jokes live, particularly if they reminded me of my own behaviour. But its hard not to smell the lingering scent of misogyny once you glimpse the sheer volume of these videos. You also cant help but wonder how helpful all of this is, particularly when you consider it within the wider context of how men talk about women online think mens influencer Andrew Tate and the litany of male comedians whove made jokes about sexual violence, among them Michael Che, Daniel Tosh, and Jim Jefferies. Then theres Russell Brand, who, among a lot of other misogynist material, famously joked on stage about women giving him oral sex, saying: I like them blow jobs, right, where it goes in their neck a little bit... Them blowjobs where mascara runs a little bit. The comedian has since been accused of multiple counts of sexual assault, which he has denied. So, where does that leave Rife? He may not have cracked jokes about rape, or making womens eyes water through oral sex, but that doesnt make him exempt from the wider problem at hand. Perhaps the point of all this is to recognise how one joke about crystal girls leads to another about drunk girls, then another about their ethnicity, then their body, and so on. Its all part of the same culture of misogyny. And its within this framework that we need to think carefully about the way male comedians are talking about women. Because you can only poke fun at a certain type of behaviour so often before normalising the poking. Then, before you know it, youve become a part of the problem you were trying to satirise. Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The family of the late Friends star Matthew Perry have said that the foundation they have set up in the actors name will honour Perrys legacy. The Emmy-nominated star often spoke frankly about his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction, which grew worse under the white-hot flame of fame that occurred when he shot to global recognition as the sarcastic Chandler Bing in the hit sitcom. Perry, who had dealt with drug and alcohol addiction during his life, was planning to establish a foundation for those dealing with substance abuse. However, after Perrys unexpected death on 28 October, aged 54, his loved ones decided to honour his goal. In an interview with People magazine, Perrys family said it is important to them to honour the late actors legacy in helping others deal with addiction. Perrys stepfather, Keith Morrison, also encouraged fans to donate to the foundation on Monday evening ahead of Giving Tuesday, a day that some people use to dedicate their efforts towards charitable causes on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving in the United States. "This is not the sort of thing I commonly do, this pitch, Morrison wrote on Twitter/X. But this year is different. And tomorrow is Giving Tuesday. Do what you can; he would have been grateful. https://matthewperryfoundation.org. The foundations website, which is now accepting donations, currently features a black-and-white photo of the late actor alongside an inspiring quote about his desire to help others. When I die, I dont want Friends to be the first thing thats mentioned, reads the quote placed on the website. I want helping others to be the first thing thats mentioned. And Im going to live the rest of my life proving that. Matthew Perrys stepfather Keith Morrison encouraged fans to donate to the foundation for Giving Tuesday (PA Archive) Last year, while promoting his book Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, the actor admitted that he hoped he would be remembered for his outreach work, rather than his time on the hit sitcom. Ive had a lot of ups and downs in my life but the best thing about me, bar none, is that if an alcoholic or drug addict comes up to me and says, Will you help me? I will always say Yes, I know how to do that. I will do that for you, even if I cant always do it for myself. So I do that, whenever I can. In groups, or one on one, Perry told podcast host Tom Power. In his book, Perry recalled drinking heavily through the first two seasons of Friends, although he said he was never drunk or high on set, and then becoming addicted to the opiate pain medication Vicodin after a jet ski accident while filming Fools Rush In with Salma Hayek in 1996. By the end of the 10th series of Friends, Perry became entrenched in a lot of trouble, he revealed years later. Perry was laid to rest at a Los Angeles cemetery on 3 November in a service attended by his relatives including his father and stepfather as well as the actors who he starred in Friends with for 10 seasons: Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer. Perry alongside his co-stars in a promotional image for the hit sitcom (Getty Images) Aniston, who played Rachel Green on the ultra-popular NBC sitcom, has since shared a message about Perry on Instagram, around the same time her co-star David Schwimmer also shared a heartfelt tribute. Matty, I love you so much and I know you are now completely at peace and out of any pain, she wrote. I talk to you every day sometimes I can almost hear you saying could you BE any crazier? she concluded. Rest little brother. You always made my day On 30 October, the shows lead stars released a joint statement asking for time to process this unfathomable loss. They wrote: We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family. There is so much to say, but right now were going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss. In time we will say more, as and when we are able. For now, our thoughts and our love are with Mattys family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world. If you or someone you know is suffering from alcohol addiction, you can confidentially call the national alcohol helpline Drinkline on 0300 123 1110 or visit the NHS website here for information about the programmes available to you. If you or someone you know is suffering from drug addiction, you can seek confidential help and support 24-7 from Frank, by calling 0300 123 6600, texting 82111, sending an email or visiting their website here. In the US, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration can be reached at 1-800-662-HELP. Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Princess Dianas engagement blouse is predicted to be sold at auction for an estimated $100,000. One of the Princess of Waless most iconic garments, the pale pink blouse will reportedly be sold by the auction house, Juliens Auctions, which estimates that it will sell between $80,000 and $100,000. Diana wore the blouse in the iconic engagement portrait photographed by Lord Snowden, Princess Margarets ex-husband, who she was married to between 1960 and 1978. The portrait was taken after King Charles proposed to Diana in 1981. According to the National Portrait Gallery, the photo was published in Vogue at the same time as the engagement announcement in February of that year. The top - a pink, silk blouse with a ruffled collar reportedly designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel - was one of many of the princesss items on display at Kensington Palace from 2017 to 2019 for the Diana: Her Fashion Story exhibition. Hulton Archive/DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images (Getty Images) In a video for Diana: Her Fashion Story, Elizabeth explained that the blouse only exists because of a series of sewing mistakes that led to eventual happy accidents. She said, A client had ordered a very pale pink dress, and as she took it off, she got mascara all over it, all over the hem. Left with little to no choice, she and David opted to create an entirely new skirt instead of repairing the old one. However, they hadnt discarded the stained skirt and were struck with a novel idea on how to salvage it for good. We chopped off the bit with the black mascara, and it looked pretty lonely, Elizabeth continued. So we thought we better make a blouse to go with it. They ultimately crafted the blouse from the spare material, and Diana found herself gravitating towards the top after Vogue editors introduced her to the item while showing her a variety of outfits to kickstart her royal style. In her 2006 book A Dress for Diana, Elizabeth wrote that the princess fell in love with the blouse. For the Emanuels, one clients mascara stain ended up being life-changing, with Diana selecting them to design her iconic puffy-sleeved wedding dress with a 25-foot-long train. So actually if that client hadnt got mascara all over it, we wouldnt have made the blouse, Elizabeth added in the video, speaking about the tops origin. Who knows, we might not have met the princess. Its all down to that bit of mascara. On 17 December, the blouse as well as pieces from Audrey Hepburn, Greta Garbo, and other 20th-century style icons, will be among the garments sold for the auction houses TCM Hollywood Legends auction. So far, Dianas blouse has one bid starting at $80,000, but the auction house predicts that the blouse will ultimately sell for a much higher price. In the past, Dianas items have been lucrative for the auction house. As recent as September of this year, three of Dianas custom-made gowns reportedly sold for $1.6m during another Juliens Auctions and TCMs Legends: Hollywood and Royalty event. One gown initially was estimated to sell for $60,000 selling but ultimately sold for a jaw-dropping $508,000, according to Business Insider. Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Queen Camilla thanked Piers Morgan for defending the Firm after the Duchess of Sussex exposed royal family divisions, according to an explosive new book. Endgame, written by royal reporter Omid Scobie claims the Queen was grateful towards the Talk TV presenter for his high-profile comments on the Duchess. In an excerpt from the book, Scobie discusses the difficulties Meghan faced after she admitted she had suicidal ideation during her time as a working royal. In 2021, Morgan allegedly called Meghan Pinocchio Princess on X/Twitter, before calling her a race-baiter on Good Morning Britain a few days later. The book claims that after the journalists comments on the Duchess, it was Camilla who quietly thanked him for defending the Firm. Scobie claims a former aide said: [Camilla] will never publicly comment on anything or speak ill of others, but she will always know someone who can do that for her. Speaking on Extra TV in April of that year, the book further claims Morgan also said a few members of the royal family were grateful to him for his comments. Ive had some messages communicated to me on behalf of several members of the royal family. Im not going to go into who it was, but [it was] gratitude that somebody was standing up, the book claims Morgan said. However, since the arrival of the bombshell book, Morgan has stepped forward denying these allegations and calling them utter nonsense in a recent column he wrote in The Sun. I had no contact with Queen Camilla in that period whatsoever, Morgan writes. He continued: I did with some other members of the Royal Family, as I said at the time, but not Camilla. Scobie just read what I said, and wrongly guessed it was Camilla. Elsewhere in the book, Scobie wrote about Prince Harry and Prince Williams relationship, saying "absolutely nothing has changed" between the brothers. Prince Harry and Prince William walking side by side (Getty Images) The British journalist claims William believes Harry blindsided the family with their public complaints and oh so California self-importance. A source reportedly told Scobie William is convinced his younger brother is being brainwashed by an army of therapists and he no longer even recognizes his own brother. He feels he has lost Harry and doesnt want to know this version of him, a source told Scobie. Harry is reportedly ready to move on from the royal drama, whether he and Meghan receive an apology or not over their alleged treatment by the royal family since their wedding. Megan and Harry decided to step back from their royal duties in 2020. Since then, the couple have been quite vocal on the issues theyve faced within the institution. In 2021 speaking to Oprah Winfrey in a sit-down interview, the Duchess revealed that there had been conversations within the palace about how how dark her unborn childs skin might be when hes born. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex during their interview with Oprah Winfrey (Joe Pugliese/Harpo Productions/PA) (PA Media) What? Winfrey asked. Who is having THAT conversation... with you? What? Hold up, hold up. Theres a conversation with you... With Harry, Meghan corrected. About how dark your baby is going to be?, Winfrey said. Potentially. And what that would mean or look like, Meghan replied. Many people backed Meghan, saying the allegations demonstrated a need for change in the institution. In the two years since the royal family became embroiled in a race row over Prince Archie, the book claims that no one except Charles is said to have addressed the alleged conversation about Archies skin colour. While the issue has reportedly been privately addressed in letters between Meghan and Charles, neither Kate nor William have reached out to the Sussexes about the matter. The silence has caused a lot of confusion and upset, says a source close to the family. The Independent has contacted Buckingham Palace for a comment Sign up to our free fortnightly newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent Nadine White Sign up to our free fortnightly newsletter The Race Report Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the The Race Report email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The Duchess of Sussex claimed that two members of the royal household expressed concerns about Prince Archies skin colour while she was pregnant, a new book claims. Royal commentator Omid Scobies new book, Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchys Fight for Survival, takes a deep dive into the institution and its future. According to The Sun, the book states that two people had discussions about the princes skin colour, rather than just one. Meghan claimed in a 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey that someone in the royal family had openly speculated about the complexion of her first child, Archie, before his birth in 2019. In those months when I was pregnant... we have in tandem the conversation of He wont be given security. Hes not going to be given a title, and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when hes born, she told Winfrey. The revelation sparked widespread debate, with many curious about which royal made the alleged insensitive comment. Scobie claims to be aware of who made the comments, but does not reveal their names due to laws in the United Kingdom prevent me from reporting who they were. Harry, Meghan and Archie in 2019 (Getty Images) It is not known if the second person accused is a member of the royal family but they are a member of the household. The Independent has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment. Two days after the Oprah interview in March 2021, Buckingham Palace released a statement on behalf of the Queen. It said the issues raised particularly that of race were concerning, adding: While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately. Scobie has denied reports of the book being a vessel for the duchess and former Suits star, as well as claims of him having a close relationship with the couple. Omid Scobie, royal biographer (BBC Newsnight) Lets get this nonsense out the way #ENDGAME is about the current state of the British Royal Family, Scobie wrote on X/Twitter. Its not Harry and Meghans book, Im not Megs pal, the Sussexes have nothing to do with it, their story is a small part of a much bigger one you can read in 12 days. The book also reportedly claims that Princess Anne was instrumental in the Sussexes moving out of Frogmore Cottage in Windsor by convincing the King to take a firm approach with the couple. The Princess Royal is claimed to have persuaded Charles to withdraw the use of Frogmore Cottage from the couple, the use of which was a wedding gift from Queen Elizabeth II. Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The royal family is riven with ambition, suspicion and competition with the Prince and Princess of Wales at the heart of it all, according to an explosive new book about The Firm. In Endgame, royal reporter and author Omid Scobie moves beyond Prince Harry to detail an alleged power struggle between King Charles and Prince William. He explores the new kings relationship with his disgraced brother Prince Andrew and examines why Kate is perfect in the mould of Britains future queen. Scobie examines the UK medias coverage of past controversies surrounding William and Kate, and makes sensational claims about the heirs attitude towards his brother Harry. Ahead of the books release on 28 November, here are some of the biggest royal revelations from Endgame: William snapping at Charles heels as ambitious prince eyes throne One of the key themes of Scobies book is the alleged rift between King Charles and Prince William (Getty) Scobie highlights an alleged rift between King Charles and his son, the Prince of Wales. In Endgame, William is painted as an ambitious, hot-headed prince, determined to lead the royal family into the future, with Scobie claiming that he wants to rip up the rulebook and do things the Cambridge way. He adds that, while William respects his father, the difference in their views might become an issue over the years ahead. Scobie writes that William and Charles are united in their frustration towards Prince Harry but do not see eye to eye about how the institution should be run. He describes Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace, the offices of Charles and William respectively, as hives of competing agendas and different ideas about how to modernise the monarchy. Scobie also claims William is not giving his father the same space Charles did with the late Queen, as the 41-year-old eyes the throne. Theres no time for that, the author writes. Inside the Wales relationship with UK press The book looks at favourable coverage in the media of William and Kate (PA Wire) Through the lens of a number of incidents in 2019, Scobie provides an analysis of the UK medias relationship with the Prince and Princess of Wales. Prince Harry has previously claimed stories about his wife were leaked to the British press. Calling it a dirty game in the couples 2022 Netflix docuseries, Harry said negative news coverage about Meghan helped steer unwanted media attention away from other members of the royal family. Scobie brands William and Kates 2019 holiday to Balmoral Castle a showy publicity stunt. That year, the prince and princess were praised for booking a 73 a head Flybe flight from Norwich to Aberdeen amid reports that Harry and Meghan had chartered four private flights in 11 days. What wasnt included in the PR gamesmanship, Scobie writes, was that the Cambridges scheduled flight did not have the Flybe logo on its side. Since airline bosses were keen for them to use a properly branded plane, an empty one was sent from the headquarters in Humberside, around 123 miles north of Norwich. The same plane also returned empty to Humberside after the family landed in Aberdeen. In total, the two flights released over four and a half tons of carbon emissions. Their perfect family trip was exposed for what it really was; a showy publicity stunt, Scobie says. A source close to William and Kate reportedly said they were unaware Flybe had switched the flights and did not seek any special treatment, in a statement to MailOnline. William thinks Harry has been brainwashed by army of therapists Prince Harry has been very open about his mental health struggles (Apple TV+) Scobie believes the relationship between William and Harry is unlikely to be mended, as the rift between the brothers continues to push them apart. The heir and the spare have grown apart in the aftermath of Harrys bombshell allegations against the royal family since resigning as a senior member and relocating to the US with Meghan. In Endgame, the British journalist claims William believes Harry blindsided the family with their public complaints and oh so California self-importance. A source reportedly told Scobie William is convinced his younger brother is being brainwashed by an army of therapists and that he no longer recognises who Harry has become. He feels he has lost Harry and doesnt want to know this version of him, a source close to William told Scobie. Harry is reportedly ready to move on from the whole saga, whether he and Meghan receive an apology or not over their alleged treatment by the royal family since their wedding. Kate jokingly shivered when Meghans name came up Meghan was regarded more difficult than Kate because she had opinions (PA) Scobie gives Endgame readers his take on the reportedly frosty relationship between Kate and Meghan, writing that they were never close. Citing multiple sources, he claims Kate was never a fan of the former actress. One person reportedly told Scobie the Princess of Wales has spent more time talking about Meghan than talking to her. He also reveals that Kate has jokingly shivered when Meghans name has come up on recent occasions. Describing Kate as an institutional dream come true, Scobie suggests the future queen has successfully sublimated her authentic self, becoming an enigma to the public and perhaps even herself. He claims Kate, who was born in Reading and attended St Andrews, where she met Prince William, has had several rounds of elocution lessons and now sounds posher than her husband. In contrast, one former palace aide told Scobie Meghan was regarded as being difficult because she had opinions. They wanted Meghan to just go with everything that was suggested and not create any additional work, he writes. It was a combination of her not conforming with how women marrying into the family are expected to behave and certain individuals just being lazy. William ignored his brother and Harry was left completely by himself after Queens death Prince Harry has become increasingly distanced from his family in the UK (Getty Images for 2022 Robert F. Kennedy Gala) Queen Elizabeths reign ended last year, as the long-serving monarch died on 8 September 2022. Scobie writes that the Sussexes had no idea that Buckingham Palace was preparing for her final few hours, when Charles rang Harry and asked him to make his way to Balmoral Castle immediately. When Harry reached out to William to check whether they could travel to Scotland together, he was said to have been met with radio silence. Harry was reportedly informed William had secured a flight for himself and his uncles, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. Meanwhile, the duke received no details about joining that flight. A source told Scobie: It was upsetting to witness. [Harry] was completely by himself on this. Harry sent his brother a follow-up text message but he still didnt hear back from William despite the fact that seats were available on the Dassault Falcon private jet the prince had chartered. William ignored him, said a family source. He clearly didnt want to see his brother. In the end, Harry flew out by himself in a private plane, costing $37,000, from Luton airport. Harry learnt about Queens death after news alert A source claimed William completely ignored Harry in the time surrounding the Queens death (Getty) Harry had no idea his grandmother had died at 3.10pm on 8 September, over two hours before his own flight took off. While the duke was still racing against time to make it to Her Majestys bedside, Buckingham Palace was preparing to break the news of her death to the world, Scobie writes. [Harrys] team literally had to beg for them to wait for his plane to land and they reluctantly agreed to hold the statement back for a little bit, Scobie shares a statement from a close family friend. But, when Harrys plane was delayed by bad weather over Aberdeen International airport, they could wait no longer and the announcement went live at 6.30pm, he writes. When the plane landed at around 6.50pm, Harry received a text message from Meghan, urging him to call her after she received a BBC breaking news alert that the queen had died. Harry was crushed, a friend of the duke told Scobie. His relationship with the queen was everything to him. She would have wanted him to know before it went out to the world. They could have waited just a little longer, it would have been nothing in the grand scheme of things, but no one respected that at all. Charles tearful over disgraced Andrews mental health Prince Andrew with his brother Charles (Getty Images) Scobie says that Charles, like his late mother, has a soft spot for Prince Andrew, who stepped back from royal life over intense scrutiny of his ties to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Stonewalling and expelling his son came easy enough, he writes, referring to Charles approach in dealing with Harry, although its a different story with his own brother. Amid Andrews fall from grace, Scobie writes, Charles was tearful over fears for the shamed dukes mental health. The Duke of York was stripped of his military titles by his mother after one of Epsteins victims Virginia Giuffre accused him of sexually abusing her at his apartment in Belgravia when she was 17. Andrew strongly and repeatedly denied the allegations, and later paid a multimillion-pound amount to settle the lawsuit. According to r Scobie, it was William who set the wheels in motion in distancing the royal family from Andrew, although the Queen was the official face of Andrews reckoning. Charles, he claims, didnt want any part of it. Royal familys silence over Prince Archie race row Harry is apparently now in a great place and focusing on his physical and mental fitness (Getty) In the two years since the royal family became embroiled in a race row over Harry and Meghans son, no one except Charles is said to have addressed the alleged conversation about Prince Archies skin colour. After they relocated to Montecito, California, Harry and Meghan sat down for an interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021. During their hour-long conversation about their treatment by the royals, Meghan claimed that a senior member had speculated about the colour of Archies skin while she was pregnant. While the issue has reportedly been privately addressed in letters between Meghan and Charles, neither Kate nor William have reached out to the Sussexes about the matter. The silence has caused a lot of confusion and upset, says a source close to the family. Harry is in a great place With the long rift between him and his family showing no sign of healing, Prince Harry is focussing on his role as a father to Archie and Princess Lilibet. According to Scobies account, Harrys also prioritising his physical and mental fitness, adding that the duke works out regularly with his personal trainer. His routine also includes regular hikes, bike rides, and ice baths. Endgame will be released in the UK on 28 November. You can read The Independents review of the book here. Kensington Palace, Buckingham Palace, and the Sussexes were all contacted for comment. Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Omid Scobie has denied naming the alleged royal racist in Endgame after an error in the Dutch version of his bombshell new book put a name to Meghan Markles allegations. The royal reporter and author said that a translation error had led to a name featuring in the passage of the book, which had been shared with journalists in the Netherlands. Appearing on Dutch chat show RTL Boulevard, he said: The book is in several languages, and unfortunately I do not speak Dutch. But if there are translation errors, Im sure the publishers will have it under control. I wrote and edited the English version, he added. Theres never been no version that Ive produced that has names in it. Xander, the publishers of the Dutch version of Endgame, said that sales of the book were on hold temporarily over what it called an error. [We are] temporarily withdrawing the book by Omid Scobie from sale, their statement read. An error occurred in the Dutch translation and is currently being rectified. The claims relate to a 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview in which Meghan Markle alleged that there were concerns and conversations about how dark her and Prince Harrys sons skin might be when she was pregnant. The topic is raised in Endgame, the shocking new book from author Scobie released on Tuesday (28 November). You can read The Independents review of the book here. Endgame hit shelves on Tuesday (Calder Publicity/HarperCollins) In the book, Scobie doesnt name the person, which he says is due to libel laws, but he does claim that the remarks were echoed by another person, also in the royal household. However, The Daily Mail reported that the persons identity appeared to have been revealed in the Dutch-language version of the book released to reviewers in the Netherlands. The copy reads: But in those private letters [the identity] was confirmed before naming the person. As a result, Endgame was reportedly pulled in the Netherlands. This was confirmed by publishers Xander, who saidit received a last-minute request from the US to halt sales until further instructions. A spokesperson for the publisher originally told the publication that they couldnt discuss the details, but said: We have, however, received a request to put the title on hold and that is what we have done. The Independent has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment. After Meghan and Harrys interview with Winfrey was made public, Buckingham Palace released a statement on behalf of the late Queen Elizabeth II. Noting that recollections may vary with regards to the racism allegations put forward by Meghan, they said: The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan. Meghan made the allegations in a 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey (PA Wire) The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much-loved family members. In Endgame, Scobie claims that Charles and Meghan discussed the issue in private letters that were exchanged in the aftermath of the interview, with Charles said to have suggested Meghan should also share her feelings with Kate and William. However, Scobie alleges that neither Meghan nor Harry have heard from the now-Prince and Princess of Wales regarding the race row. An unnamed source close to the family said that the silence has caused a lot of confusion and upset. Earlier this year, it was reported that Meghan did write to Charles after the interview, penning a letter expressing her concerns about an unconscious bias within the royal family. Meghans letter was reportedly written in response to correspondence from Charles, who expressed his sadness over the divide within the royal family. The king also expressed his disappointment at the high-profile and serious nature of the allegation. Both Charles and Meghan acknowledged that the alleged remark about Archies skin colour was not made with malice. Meghan thanked the king for his letter and clarified that she was not accusing the royal family of racism but rather raising concerns about an unconscious bias. Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Omid Scobie has suggested the Duchess of Sussex could become the new Martha Stewart amid ongoing speculation about her career since resigning from the royal family three years ago. Scobies new book Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchys Fight for Survival will be released in the UK on 28 November. In a new interview with The Independent, the 42-year-old journalist claimed Meghan might embark on a career like Stewarts in the wake of her and Prince Harrys departure from the royal family. He said that while Meghan is unlikely to revive her lifestyle blogThe Tig, shes focussed on building something more accessible, something rooted in her love of details, curating, hosting, lifes simple pleasures, and family instead. When asked to elaborate, Scobie replied: Im not being deliberately mysterious. My mind always goes to [Gwyneth Paltrows lifestyle business] Goop, but when I suggested that to someone with some knowledge they said, Oh, no, this isnt going to be about selling products. So who knows? The next Martha Stewart? The 82-year-old lifestyle guru, Stewart wears many hats: cookbook author, television personality, businesswoman, media mogul. Scobie also suggested that Meghan is waiting to escape the shadow of the royal family before launching a new venture. They insisted the reason she didnt come to the coronation was because of Archies birthday, he said. But I know from other people in their orbit, being dragged into all the media coverage and hysteria that comes with her being within 10 feet of the royal family was enough to deter her and is clearly something she wants to steer away from. The Independent has contacted a representative for the Sussexes for comment. (Calder Publicity/HarperCollins) There has been near-ongoing speculation about which way Meghan will steer her career in the aftermath of quitting the royal family. When she signed with renowned talent agency William Morris Endeavour in April, fans theorised that it meant the former Suits actor was eyeing an acting comeback. According to Variety, however, the scope of the deal only covers film and TV production projects, brand tie-ups and business development, while acting will not be a focus. Earlier this month, it was suggested that Meghan could follow in the footsteps of broadcaster Oprah Winfrey by landing a US talk show. Royal expert and author of a book about King Charles, Christopher Andersen said he would be surprised if the duchess doesnt end up hosting a daytime syndicated talk show in an interview with Fox News. She certainly seems well-suited to that role in particular, and I can easily see her pursuing a career path similar to Oprahs in the media: a show, a magazine, producing, directing the works, the 74-year-old American journalist said. She still has a sizeable chunk of the viewing public in her corner. Scobies new book examines the monarchys bid to remain relevant in the 21st century, as he explores the allegedly strained relationship between King Charles and Prince William, the impossibility of a reconciliation between the heir and spare, Prince Harry, as well as Princess Kates bid to become future queen. You can read The Independents review here. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The cost of colleges has increased over recent years in the United States and paying for fees through savings and investments is not as easy as it used to be. As of this year, Americans now owe $1.77 trillion in federal and private student loan debt and while the Biden administration tried to decrease that amount, the Supreme Court issued a decision blocking the one-time student debt relief plan. The three-part plan aimed to help working and middle-class families and included a loan forgiveness of up to $20,000. It was set in place to address the financial harms of the pandemic and provide borrowers with a smooth transition back to repayment. Here is everything you need to know about student loan forgiveness and what you might need to watch out for What plans are available and how is my monthly payment amount calculated as a repayment plan? Federal Student Aid has said that in certain circumstances if a person has taken out student loans, these can be forgiven, cancelled and discharged. This basically means you may not need to pay some or even all of the loan. There are currently four different income-driven repayment plans, as per the Federal Student Aid website these are: Saving A Valuable Education (SAVE) plan formerly known as PAYE. This payment generally takes 10 per cent of your discretionary income. Income-based Repayment (IBR) for this payment it is generally 10 per cent of your discretionary income, but never more than the 10-year Standard Repayment Plan amount. Pay As You Earn (PAYE) The FSA says this is generally 10 per cent of your income if youre a new borrower on or after 1 July 2014, but never more than the Standard Repayment Plan amount. Generally, 15 per cent of your discretionary income if youre not a new borrower on or after 1 July 2014. Income-contingent Repayment loan (ICR) - The lesser of the following: 20 per cent of your discretionary income or what you would pay on a repayment plan with a fixed payment over the course of 12 years, adjusted according to your income. Under all four plans, any remaining loan balance is forgiven if your federal student loans arent fully repaid at the end of the repayment period, the FSA says on its site. The table below, provided by the Federal Student Aid website shows data comparing monthly amounts and repayment periods under each plan. Everything you need to know about the payment plans (Federal Student Aid ) Who qualifies for student loan forgiveness? Each individual income-driven replayment (IDR) plan has its own set of further eligibility requirements that youll need to meet to qualify. For, SAVE any borrower with qualifying student loans is eligible for this plan. With PAYE and IBR, the estimated payment you make for either of these plans has to be less than what you would pay on the Standard Repayment Plan within a 10-year period. But for PAYE, only loans given after 1 October 2011 are eligible. And with ICR, just like SAVE, any federal student loan borrower is eligible for this plan. But this plan is the only income-driven repayment plan that accepts PLUS (Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students) loans made to students. How do I apply? The FSA recommends that you contact your loan servicer if you have any questions as this will help you decide whether one of these plans is right for you. To apply for the right plan, you can fill in the form online or via paper format which you can get from your loan servicer. During the application process, youll be asked to provide income information that will be used to determine your eligibility for the PAYE or IBR plans and to calculate your monthly payment amount under all income-driven repayment plans. Find out more about the IDR plan request here. Is there a deadline for applications? The application period for student loan forgiveness will close on 31 December 2023. How to avoid student loan scams Getting a bunch of texts, emails and calls about student loan forgiveness? Scams come in different forms, so its best to take extra caution. Here are a few ways to spot a scam: - Being asked for log-in information: the FSA and loan providers will never ask you for these details. - Promises that are too good to be true: according to the FSA, most government forgiveness programs require years of qualifying payments and/or employment in certain fields before forgiving loans. - Typos in texts, emails or other forms of communication. - Unofficial addresses or phone numbers:remember, official emails from the FSA will only come from these emails: noreply@studentaid.gov noreply@debtrelief.studentaid.gov ed.gov@public.govdelivery.com And text messages from the FSA will only come from 227722 or 51592. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} When the leaders of Albania and Italy announced a contentious agreement earlier this week to jointly process some asylum applications of migrants arriving by sea, some in the Western Balkans country saw it as reciprocation. Italy had welcomed thousands of Albanians fleeing poverty after the fall of communism more than three decades ago, and Albania's current government wanted to pay back the Italians' hospitality. On Monday, Albania agreed to temporarily shelter thousands of migrants while Rome reviews their requests seeking asylum in Italy. Albania will reportedly take care of deporting them if their refugee status is denied by the Italians. While the deal has already been criticized by rights organizations and other groups, ordinary Albanians were divided about the agreement. Bib Lazri, 66, a resident of the northern Albanian village of Gjader, where one of two accommodation centers is set to be built, said he welcomed the move given the historical ties between the two countries. All my kids are abroad. They (the Italians) have welcomed us for 30 years now, Lazri said. It is up to us to say a good word, to keep them and show our open heart. In 1991, around 20,000 Albanians came on one dangerously overcrowded ship that reached the southeastern Italian region of Puglia. It was less than a year since political pluralism was announced in Albania, which for decades under communism had been closed to much of the world, and only months after the first democratic election. Poverty was widespread and basic goods, including bread, were in short supply. Albanians saw Italy as their Western window. Many of the Albanians settled in Italy, obtained work and raised families. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama announced the five-year deal on Monday in Rome standing beside Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni. Rama expressed gratitude on behalf of Albanians who found refuge in Italy, and escaped hell and imagined a better life. But for many other Albanians, confusion and even anger is the main feeling for the surprise announcement. Italian authorities will handle the disembarkation and identification procedures of migrants rescued from the Mediterranean Sea by the Italian coast guard. One of the centers where the processing will take place is 5,000 square meters (6,000 square yards) and surrounded by a fence with razor wire at the Albanian port of Shengjin. The location is around 75 kilometers (46 miles) northwest of Tirana, the Albanian capital. Albania will offer two facilities, starting with the port of Shengjin, a main tourist spot that has attracted almost 1 million tourists this year in the surrounding area. Many fear that the accommodation center will have a negative impact on the country. Albania has become a major tourism magnet this year, bringing more than 9 million tourists to its pristine coastline so far. A refugee camp at the port is not compatible with the governments idea of a European elite tourism, said Arilda Lleshi, a 27-year-old human rights activist, speaking from Tirana. Many people were revolted by the fact that such an agreement with wide social impact was done without a wide social consultation, Lleshi said. It seems our prime minister continuously takes over to resolve the worlds issues to get some credit internationally, without consulting with people beforehand. Those who will be deported will be sent to Gjader, 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of the Shengjin port, at a former military airport. Italy will pay for the construction of two centers that can hold up to 3,000 migrants at a time. Up to 36,000 migrants could be sent for processing on Albanian territory annually. Albania would also provide external security for the two centers, which would be under Italian jurisdiction. Under the deal, if Italy rejects the asylum bids, Albania would then deport the migrants. Children and pregnant women will be excluded from the plan. The accord as outlined so far also fails to address how Albania would manage to deport migrants back to their countries of origin when Italy has difficulty doing so itself. The head of the port where the migrants will be processed, Sander Marashi, supports the government's agreement, saying that the facility won't be problematic for the port's normal operations. Such an agreement shows that ... Albanians hospitality is not only words but deeds too, Marashi said. But some Albanians were surprised and not clear about what the agreement meant. Albania has a recent history of welcoming refugees fleeing conflict and poverty, temporarily hosting around 4,000 Afghans in 2020. A small number of Afghans are still in Albania waiting to move to the United States or to other Western countries. Rama also mentioned how Albanians welcomed ethnic Kosovo Albanians to escape massacres by Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic in 1999. Albania also sheltered Jews and hid them from the Nazis during World War II. Requests by The Associated Press to interview government officials at the central and local level about the new deal with Italy were declined. The agreement must be approved in parliament before it takes effect. Albania's political opposition has asked the prime minister to report to parliament before it is voted on. A vote hasn't been scheduled yet. Rama's governing Socialists have 74 seats in the 140-seat parliament, so in theory, the government shouldn't have any issues in passing it. But the deal has created such consternation among some sectors of the population that passing it could become problematic. Albert Rakipi of the Albanian Institute for International Studies considered the deal as ridiculous, deceitful and unsustainable, and unreasonable. None of the thousands of people risking their lives to reach Europe dream of a future in which they are placed in camps in a small and poor country just outside" the borders of European Union countries, Rakipi said. ___ Follow Llazar Semini at https://twitter.com/lsemini ___ Follow APs global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Vigils for three college students of Palestinian descent who were shot in Vermont over the weekend prompted calls for authorities to recognize the violence as a hate crime, and for unity among the Jewish and Arab communities. Jason J. Eaton, 48, was arrested and held without bail on three counts of attempted murder. A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf on Monday. The U.S. Department of Justice, along with Vermont authorities, are still investigating whether Saturday's gunfire on a Burlington street was a hate crime amid an increase in threats against Jewish, Muslim and Arab communities across the U.S. since the Israel-Hamas war began, Attorney General Merrick Garland said. There is understandable fear in communities across the country, he said. One vigil was held Monday night at Brown University in Rhode Island, where one of the victims, Hisham Awartani, is a student. Participants shouted at school president Christina Paxson as she addressed the crowd, demanding that Brown divest from investments that support Israel, according to media reports. Robert Leikend, New England regional director for the American Jewish Committee, called for unity and finding common ground between the Jewish and Arab communities, saying in a statement Monday night that hate should not beget more hate. He said a vigil after Eaton's arrest featured anti-Israel and antisemitic statements from some participants. He didn't name the location. The anger is understandable. The finger-pointing is not, he said. The vigil at Brown was closed to media. NBC News reported that Awartani said in a statement read by a professor that as much as he appreciates the love and support of the community, I am but one casualty in a much wider conflict. The statement read, "Had I been shot in the West Bank, where I grew up, the medical services which saved my life here would have likely been withheld by the Israeli army. The soldier who would have shot me would go home and never be convicted. Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmad, all age 20, were spending their Thanksgiving break in Burlington, and were out for a walk while visiting one of the victims relatives when they were confronted by a white man with a handgun, police said. The victims were speaking in a mix of English and Arabic and two of them were also wearing the black-and-white Palestinian keffiyeh scarves when they were shot, Police Chief Jon Murad said. Abdalhamid told police he ran away, jumped a fence, and hid behind a house. He eventually knocked on another door, begging the woman who answered to call 911. At that point, he sat down, felt pain, and saw blood, according to an affidavit. Two of the students were struck in their torsos, while one was hit in the lower body, Murad said. All three were being treated at the University of Vermont Medical Center, and one faces a long recovery because of a spinal injury, a family member said. One of the students has been released from the hospital, according to media reports. Ive been with them almost constantly since Saturday evening. Ive been listening to them talk to one another and try to process the events, and Im blown away by their resilience, by their good humor in the face of these difficult times," said Rich Price, Awartani's uncle. The three have been friends since first grade at Ramallah Friends School, a private school in the West Bank, and all are remarkable, distinguished students, said Rania Maayeh, head of the school. Awartani is studying mathematics and archaeology at Brown; Abdalhamid is a pre-med student at Haverford College in Pennsylvania; and Ali Ahmad is studying mathematics and IT at Trinity College in Connecticut, Maayeh said. Awartani and Abdalhamid are U.S. citizens while Ali Ahmad is studying on a student visa, Maayeh said. Abdalhamids uncle Radi Tamimi, said at a news conference Monday his nephew grew up in the West Bank and "we always thought that that could be more of a risk in terms of his safety and sending him here would be a right decision. We feel somehow betrayed in that decision here and were just trying to come to terms with everything," he said. Eaton moved to Burlington over the summer from Syracuse, New York, and legally purchased the gun used in the shooting, Murad told reporters. According to a police affidavit, federal agents found the gun in Eatons apartment on Sunday. Eaton came to the door holding his hands, palms up, and told the officers hed been waiting for them. Eaton's mother, Mary Reed, told the Daily Beast that Eaton, who had held various jobs as a farmer, ski instructor and researcher, had struggled with mental health issues, including depression. But she said he was in "such a good mood when she saw him on Thanksgiving. Syracuse police said Eatons name appeared in 37 police reports from 2007 until 2021, but never as a suspect. The cases ranged from domestic violence to larceny, and Eaton was listed as either a complainant or victim in 21 reports, according to Lt. Matthew Malinowski, the departments public information officer. Sarah George, states attorney, said that law enforcement officials do not yet have evidence to support a hate crime charge, which under Vermont law must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. But, she said, I do want to be clear that there is no question that this was a hateful act. Demonstrations have been widespread and tensions in the U.S. have escalated as the death toll rises in the Israel-Hamas war. A fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas was set to continue for two more days past Monday as 11 more hostages were handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza under what was originally a four-day truce deal. ___ Associated Press writers Holly Ramer and Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Lindsay Whitehurst in Washington; and David Sharp in Portland, Maine, contributed to this report. If there was ever any chance of the royal family being reunited around the Christmas tree at Sandringham this year, its been blown out of the water by Omid Scobie, the journalist frequently accused of being the Duke and Duchess of Sussexs mouthpiece. His latest book, Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchys Fight for Survival, has reportedly caused fresh havoc in royal ranks with claims Prince William prioritised his loyalty to the monarchy over his brother, actively leaking information about Meghan and Harry in order to undermine them. Williams friends have decried the claim as outrageous, but Scobie is sticking to his guns, insisting the Prince of Wales is increasingly comfortable with the Palaces dirty tricks and the courtiers who dream them up. Harry would like a truce, he adds, but William wants none of it. It is claimed that: Even as recently as this year, Harry had a mutual friend reach out to his brother and see if there was space for a conversation, but the wall is completely up. Its sad because Harry said theyd always promised each other theyd never let the petty squabbles and media briefings that tore their parents apart come in between the two of them, but ultimately thats exactly whats happened. Sign up for a full digest of all the best opinions of the week in our Voices Dispatches email Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Voices Dispatches email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Scientists in the UK are studying a teaspoon-sized sample of a 4.5 billion-year-old asteroid that has travelled millions of miles to make it to Earth and could reveal the origins of life on the planet. The specimen, taken from asteroid Bennu, is being examined by scientists at the Natural History Museum (NHM) in London. The otherwise unremarkable black dust-like sample could help shed light on some of the biggest questions about how Earth formed. It could hold vital clues to the formation of the planets and our solar system, experts say. Professor Sara Russell, senior research lead at the NHM, told the PA news agency: Were really excited at the moment because weve just taken receipt of a tiny teaspoonful of black powder, but its actually come from space. She added: Were really excited to get a piece of asteroid Bennu because we believe that this asteroid dates from the very earliest times of the solar system, when the solar system and the sun and the planets were forming four and a half billion years ago. But it could be that asteroids like Bennu also provided the nutrients that were needed for life to flourish on earth Professor Sara Russell, Natural History Museum It formed from a swirling disc of dust and gas, and we think that we might have components here of that time period. Prof Russell has already been painstakingly examining the sample, which is contained in a nitrogen glovebox, meaning it is not being contaminated by being exposed to air, in order to preserve its natural state. The task involves standing in front of the sealed box and using the attached gloves to conduct experiments. Explaining what the sample may contain, Prof Russell told PA: It also, we think, contains minerals like clays that trap loads of water, so it might contain loads of water and that could tell us how the Earth got to be a watery habitable planet. This undated image provided by NASA shows the asteroid Bennu seen from the Osiris-Rex spacecraft. On Wednesday, 12 Oct 2023. Also, we think that it might contain several per cent of carbon, which might be in the form of organic carbon, so we need to investigate that further. But it could be that asteroids like Bennu also provided the nutrients that were needed for life to flourish on earth. In September Nasas Osiris-Rex (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security Regolith Explorer), became the first US mission to collect a sample from an asteroid and return it to Earth. Scientists at the NHM are among an international team who have received some of the sample to analyse. Our findings can be put into a greater context and can potentially help us to understand the origin of organics and water that may have led to life on Earth Ashley King, UKRI Future Leaders Fellow, NHM Bennu is a carbon-rich asteroid, containing roughly 5 per cent by mass, some of which is organic. The team also believe it could have extra-terrestrial water trapped within its minerals, and analysis of these minerals will help the team test the theory that asteroids delivered water to our planet 4.5 billion years ago. Prof Russell said: When the Earth formed it was probably formed really, really hot, and things like water would have just boiled up and escaped into space, it would have been very dry when it first formed. So the question is, how did we get to be on this beautiful blue planet thats covered in oceans? And its likely that the answer is because water was brought to it by impact of asteroids and comets from the outer solar system. But we want to understand that process more. If we understand that then we might understand better how likely it is that we find habitable worlds around other stars as well. She added: It will certainly help us understand the origin of life. Asked what her dream find would be, Prof Russell said: Its beyond my wildest dreams, just having the sample, but I think for me, Im sort of looking forward to seeing if we can find grains in there that are not just old, but super old, formed before the asteroid formed, maybe even formed before our solar system formed. So they may be pre-solar grains that formed around stars that were ancestors to ours, and those would be really interesting, exciting to explore. The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft that traveled to the near-Earth asteroid Bennu and brought back a sample to Earth for study is seen in an undated NASA artist rendering. (REUTERS) Asteroid Bennu is thought to be similar in composition to the Winchcombe meteorite which fell to Earth in 2021. Although the quick collection of the Winchcombe meteorite made it relatively un-contaminated, it still interacted with our atmosphere. The Bennu samples, having been collected in space, remain uncontaminated, making them pristine time capsules from the earliest history of our solar system. Ashley King, UKRI Future Leaders Fellow, Natural History Museum, said: The Natural History Museum has one of the best meteorite collections in the world but for many of them we dont know where they came from in the solar system. With this sample having been collected by Nasa from asteroid Bennus surface, we know its origins. This means our findings can be put into a greater context and can potentially help us to understand the origin of organics and water that may have led to life on Earth. The Museum is one of four UK institutes studying samples from Nasa, along with the Open University, Oxford University and the University of Manchester. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron is to urge his counterparts in Nato not to waver in their support for Ukraine as it continues to fight against Russian invaders. The former prime minister has travelled to Brussels to demonstrate the UKs continued support for Kyiv as it battles President Vladimir Putins attack. There has been less focus on the war in eastern Europe as Western allies address the ongoing crisis in the Middle East. But with a continuing truce in the Israel-Hamas conflict, Lord Cameron, who made Ukraine his first trip after returning to frontline politics a fortnight ago, said Nato can never turn a blind eye to Russian aggression. Reports have suggested that the United States is using diplomatic channels to encourage Ukraine to begin ceasefire talks and bring the bloody 21-month conflict to a close as harsh winter conditions reduce hopes of a breakthrough for President Volodymyr Zelenskys troops. Together, the UK and our Nato allies will never turn a blind eye to Russian aggression Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron But Lord Cameron said Nato must show the Kremlin that Nato backing for Ukraine will not dampen. He said: Nato keeps over one billion people safe and secure and, nearly 75 years on, the alliance is stronger than ever. Putin first believed that Nato would be divided and that Ukraine would crumble. Now he believes he can wait out his war in Ukraine. He was wrong then and he is wrong now. Together, the UK and our Nato allies will never turn a blind eye to Russian aggression. The UK will continue to be a steadfast supporter of Ukraine and a champion for European peace and stability. Lord Cameron attended Tuesdays Cabinet meeting in Downing Street before travelling to join Nato foreign ministers in Brussels, including his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba. The Foreign Office said Lord Cameron will update the gathering about his recent visit to Kyiv. Department officials said he will underline that Britain remains firmly behind Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression and urge allies not to waver in their support. He is expected to be at a meeting of the Nato-Ukraine Council in the Belgian capital on Wednesday. Officials said Lord Cameron will also set out the need for Swedens urgent accession to the alliance, arguing that it would mark a critical step forward in strengthening peace and stability in Europe. Since Russias invasion in February 2022, Finland and Sweden both dropped decades of military non-alignment to seek protection under Natos security umbrella. Finland joined the alliance in April but Swedens membership route has proved more bumpy, with Turkey and Hungary delaying ratification of Stockholms participation. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A detailed plan to kill Brianna Ghey was found in the bedroom of a teenage girl who is accused of her murder, a court has heard. Two teenagers, referred to as girl X and boy Y, are charged with murdering Brianna, a 16-year-old transgender girl who was stabbed in Culcheth Linear Park, near Warrington, Cheshire, on 11 February. On Tuesday, the trial heard that girl X sent a picture to her co-accused of a handwritten note headed: Saturday 11th February 2023. Victim: Brianna Ghey. The paper read: Meet boy Y at wooden posts 1pm. Walk down to library... bus stop. Wait until Brianna gets off bus then the three of us walk to Linear Park. Go to the pipe/tunnel area. I say code word to boy Y. He stabs her in the back as I stab her in the stomach. Boy Y drags the body into the area. We both cover up the area with logs etc. Brianna, a transgender teenager who had been born a boy but lived as a girl, was stabbed 28 times with a hunting knife in her head, chest, back and neck. A note was found in girl Xs bedroom planning to stab Brianna in the back and stomach, the court heard (PA) Both defendants, a girl and boy who were aged 15 at the time, have denied murder. Jurors at Manchester Crown Court heard that the duo, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had a preoccupation with violence, torture and death and had previously compiled a list of at least four people that they wanted to kill. When police searched girl Xs bedroom following her arrest on 12 February, they also discovered other handwritten notes including a plan to kill which said: Give them alcohol with sleeping pills, slit throat, dismember body, place pieces in bin bags. Other notes referred to infamous serial killers such as Jeffrey Dahmer, Richard Ramirez and Harold Shipman. Briannas death was met with an outpouring of grief earlier this year (PA) The court heard that on 10 February, girl X had arranged to meet Brianna and later told boy Y she was excited as f*** for the following day, after they discussed which knife he would bring. The two met shortly before 1pm while Brianna travelled to meet them in Culceth, sending her mother a text message at 1.41pm which said: Im on the bus by myself, Im scared. The three met just before 2pm and walked to the park, with the prosecutor saying there were some further Snapchat messages between Brianna and girl X while they were in the park. At 3.06pm a message from Briannas phone was sent to girl X, saying: Girl where are you?. Deanna Heer KC said girl X deleted a chat from her Snapchat account seconds later. She told the jury it was at about that time that the killing must have occurred. A 999 call was made by Kathryn Vize at 3.13pm, reporting that somebody had been attacked and she had seen the attackers run away. Esther Ghey, mother of the murdered teenager, arrives at court (Reuters) The court heard Brianna was pronounced dead at 4.02pm and a post-mortem examination found her cause of death was multiple stab wounds. Deanna Heer KC said: The number of wounds and the pattern of injuries, taken as a whole, suggests that Brianna was subjected to a sustained and violent assault with a knife. She told the court that bottles of soft drinks were found at the scene with DNA from girl X and boy Y on them, indicating they had been present. Briannas mobile phone was found hidden in a drain by police, while the two defendants separated and went home. They continued to exchange messages, in which girl X asked boy Y if he was concerned about being caught, before reassuring him: Youre not going to get caught dont worry. Police are sh**e here. The following day, girl X messaged Brianna to say: Girl, is everything okay? Some teenage girl got killed in Linear Park its on news everywhere. And why did you ditch us for some random man from Manchester. Like wtf. That is so f***** up. Ms Heer said: The prosecution say that was an obvious attempt by girl X to set up a sort of false defence, were anybody to look at her phone in due course. Girl X then posted a tribute to Brianna on Snapchat, describing her as an amazing friend and that it was so f****** sickening what had happened. Ms Heer added: Meanwhile, boy Y, his internet history shows, was online using the Crown Prosecution Service website, looking at Data Protection Act offences and penalties for supplying or withholding information. He was looking up information about measures to support people giving evidence and bail. Girl X later informed the police that she had been with Brianna in the park, but that she had met with a 17-year-old boy in his car, before messaging boy Y to say: Make sure story adds up. When police searched boy Ys bedroom, they discovered trainers and a jacket with bloodstains that matched Briannas DNA, as well as the knife used in the attack. During his interview, boy Y said he was only joking in messages about murdering another boy and spoke about killing Brianna because he hated feeling left out from friends. Both defendants accept being present when Brianna was killed while boy Y accepts taking a hunting knife, yet both deny inflicting any injuries and participating in the killing. Each blames the other, Ms Heer said. The prosecution case is that whoever it was who delivered the fatal blow or blows, both defendants are equally guilty. Acting together, they planned and executed their plan to kill Brianna Ghey. The trial continues. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Years of systemic procedural failings at an NHS hospital enabled necrophiliac murderer David Fuller to sexually abuse the corpses of more than 100 women and girls over 15 years, an independent inquiry has found. The 69-year-old electrician was handed a whole-life order in 2021 after police uncovered a harrowing trove of photographs of the abuse in a search of his East Sussex home. An inquiry was launched to establish how he was able to commit his crimes undetected for so long at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust. The inquiry has found that failures of management, of governance, of regulation, failure to follow standard policies and procedures, together with a persistent lack of curiosity, all contributed to the creation of the environment in which he was able to offend, and to do so for 15 years without ever being suspected or caught. Necrophiliac David Fuller was also found in 2021 to have committed the long-unsolved bedsit murders in 1987 (Kent Police/PA) Leaders at the NHS trust, and others charged with oversight and regulation, should reflect seriously and carefully on their responsibility for the weaknesses and failings identified by the inquiry, its lead, Sir Jonathan Michael, told reporters on Tuesday. There were missed opportunities to question Fullers working practices, and it was never properly queried why he routinely worked beyond his contracted hours undertaking unnecessary tasks in the mortuary, Sir Jonathan said. There was little regard given to who was accessing the mortuary. Fuller entered the mortuary 444 times in a single year and this went unnoticed and unchecked, he added. Mortuary staff were mostly unsupervised, left to their own devices, and frequently did not follow standard operating procedures, according to the inquiry, which heard from more than 200 witnesses and reviewed some 3,700 documents. Deceased people were left out of fridges in the post-mortem room both overnight, and during working hours when Fuller was carrying out maintenance tasks, said Sir Jonathan, noting that he was not accompanied or supervised by mortuary staff at these times. On their intermittent assessments, those responsible for the regulation of the mortuary often did not detect these systemic procedural failings. Fuller himself told the inquiry that he had been able to access the mortuary logbook to assess whether the corpses he abused posed a risk of serious infections, and found a way to effectively lock the door of the post-mortem room from the inside. The inquiry was also told by one witness that they had been made aware in 1998 of an allegation of necrophilia in the Kent and Sussex Weald NHS Trust mortuary by an electrician. But the supposed remarks were not corroborated by the person said to have made them and the inquiry was unable to substantiate the claim. Leaders at the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust have been told to reflect seriously and carefully on their responsibility for the weaknesses and failings identified (PA) Among 17 recommendations made by the inquiry, the trust has been told to install CCTV footage within the mortuary, and advised that non-mortuary staff and contractors should always be accompanied by another staff member when they visit the facility. Fuller filmed himself sexually abusing the corpses of more than 100 women and girls in the now-closed Kent and Sussex Hospital, and Tunbridge Wells Hospital, where he had worked since 1989. More than half of his offences were committed between 2018 and his arrest in December 2020 a period which coincided with rapid improvement in other areas of the NHS Trusts performance, Sir Jonathan noted. This serves as a stark reminder that there may be serious hidden issues found in organisations that are apparently performing well, he said. Police discovered a library of 818,051 images and 504 videos of Fullers abuse during a search of his three-bedroom home in Heathfield, where he lived with his family after Fuller was arrested for one of the UKs longest-standing unsolved double-murder cases. In what had been dubbed the bedsit murders, Fuller beat and strangled Wendy Knell, 25, and Caroline Pierce, 20, to death before sexually assaulting them in two separate attacks in Tunbridge Wells in 1987. Caroline Pierce, 20 (left) and Wendy Knell, 25, were both murdered by Fuller in 1987 (PA) Ms Knell was found dead in her flat, while Ms Pierce was snatched five months later from outside her home, half a mile away on a quiet residential street. Her naked body was discovered in a water-filled dyke at St Mary in the Marsh on 15 December. But it was only with a new analysis of decades-old DNA evidence which identified a relative on the national database that Fuller was finally arrested on 3 December 2020. While Fuller initially pleaded not guilty to the murders on the grounds of diminished responsibility, he dramatically changed his plea on the fourth day of his trial in November 2021 and was handed a whole-life sentence the following month. Following the discovery of Fullers library of photographs, he also pleaded guilty to 44 charges relating to 78 victims in mortuaries at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust between 2008 and November 2020. Last November, Fuller then admitted to sexually abusing an additional 23 dead women between 2007 and 2020. The next phase of the independent inquiry will widen its focus across the NHS, to identify possible failings in the oversight of mortuaries, and will also look at funeral homes. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Three gangsters have been jailed for plotting to sell a gun to a terrorist planning an attack in central Londons Hyde Park. Edward Little, 22, was travelling in a taxi from Brighton to the capital with 5,000 to buy the firearm and bullets when police swooped on September 23 last year. His target was a Christian preacher at Speakers Corner and he had spoken of his desire to get a gun in encrypted chats on the Threema messaging platform, the Old Bailey was told. At one point, he wrote: I dont think there has been an attack in the UK with guns so a semi-automatic rifle would send a (sic) even stronger message. In May, Little, of Pelham Street, Brighton, admitted preparing terrorist acts. He will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on December 15. On Monday, three members of a crime gang were jailed at Inner London Crown Court for conspiring to provide him with a gun. They plotted to sell Little the firearm and ammunition which had been adapted into a viable lethal weapon, Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTPSE) said. After Littles detention, police searched addresses controlled by the group, recovered the firearm and made multiple arrests. Tyler King, 21, Caleb Wenyeve, 21, and Reis Forde, 27, admitted being party to the plot even though it was accepted they did not know the gun was for a terror attack, police said. King, of Denmark Hill, Lewisham, was jailed for 10 years and nine months for conspiracy to transfer a prohibited firearm, possession of a prohibited firearm and three counts of possession of ammunition without lawful authority. Wenyeve, of Blidworth Close, Strelley in Nottingham, was jailed for 12 years for conspiracy to transfer a prohibited firearm along with Forde, who was jailed for 13 years and six months. After a trial, a jury cleared them of conspiring to supply a firearm with intent to endanger life. Detective Chief Superintendent Olly Wright, head of CTPSE, said: King, Wenyeve and Forde were working together to supply a viable firearm along with ammunition. Although they didnt know Edward Littles plan to commit a terrorist attack with the firearm, they entered into an agreement with Little to sell him a fully functioning gun and live ammunition. They went a step further by sending a video of the working mechanisms of the weapon as proof to the buyer that it was a viable firearm. This organised crime group was unravelled quickly. The case is a prime example of the skill of our teams in counter-terrorism Policing and our determination to disrupt and bring to justice criminals whose activity could facilitate terrorism or harm our national security. All cases linked to terrorism will be vigorously pursued and brought before the courts. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The Met Police is investigating more than 970 incidents following the deadly Hamas attacks in Israel on 7 October. The force has released images of more than 60 people in a major appeal to help identify suspected of committing hate crimes and other offences since the terrorist attack. The force said there are more than 977 ongoing investigations across the Met into a wide range of offences linked to protests and incidents in communities. The first suspect is a man aged in his 30s, with a long black beard, wearing a blue Adidas jacket, black cargo trousers, a white scarf with red and green patterns, and a black bandana (Met Police) Police are appealing for help in identifying two men after a journalist and her colleagues were harassed in Stanhope Gate, close to Park Lane, shortly after 1pm on Saturday. The first suspect is a man aged in his 30s, with a long black beard, wearing a blue Adidas jacket, black cargo trousers, a white scarf with red and green patterns, and a black bandana. The second suspect is a man aged in his 50s, with balding, greying brown hair. He is wearing blue jeans, a black leather jacket, a black jumper, and carrying a megaphone. So far 434 people have been arrested for offences, including hate crimes and public order offences, over the past seven weeks. Some 288 were made in connection with offences at protests, while 133 were made following offences in communities. The final 13 relate to counter-terrorism offences. A total of 85 people have been charged. The second suspect is a man aged in his 50s, with balding, greying brown hair (Met Police) Chief Supt Paul Trevers said the Met will not tolerate offences, such as hate crime and support for proscribed organisations. He said: "We know the effect of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to have a significant impact on communities in London and we will do all we can to keep people safe. "Our officers continue to meet regularly with members of the Jewish and Muslim communities across capital to provide reassurance and to respond to any concerns they may have. "We have also been clear that offences, such as hate crime and support for proscribed organisations, will not be tolerated and we continue to have a dedicated policing operation to investigate these crimes and identify offenders." Anyone who recognises any of the people in the images is asked to call 0208 246 9386. Alternatively, they can call 101, quoting Operation Brocks and the relevant image identification number. Information can also be shared anonymously with independent charity Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555 111 or via their website. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Budget airline easyJet has revealed it swung to an annual profit after a record summer, but warned over a hit from the conflict in Gaza. The group reported pre-tax profits of 432 million for the year to September 30, against losses of 208 million the previous year, seeing the group announce its first dividend payout to shareholders since the pandemic. Underlying, or headline, profits stood at 455 million against a 178 million loss in 2021-22. A record-breaking performance over its second half and the peak summer season helped it shrug off a 30% jump in its costs, with its fuel bill soaring by 59% to 2 billion over the year. Despite positive underlying strength, easyJet does not currently expect its first-quarter loss to improve year on year Easyjet It warned that it does not expect to narrow losses in the first quarter of its new financial year as flights and wider demand are affected by the war between Hamas and Israel. Its flights to Israel and Jordan are temporarily suspended, with Egypt also seeing a knock-on effect altogether representing a combined 4% of its overall flight programme. EasyJet said: Additionally there was a broader impact on near-term flight searches and bookings across the industry, though this seems to be coming back with a recent improvement in trading. Accordingly, despite positive underlying strength, easyJet does not currently expect its first-quarter loss to improve year on year. Despite the woes in the Middle East, easyJet said the outlook for the new year as a whole is positive thanks to strong bookings for next summer, despite the Middle East concerns, and supply constraints in Europe. The group resumed its dividends with a 4.5p-a-share payout due in early 2024 and confirmed it expects to increase this to 20% of profit after tax. Shares in the carrier lifted 3% in morning trading on Tuesday. EasyJet saw a 19% rise in the number of passengers flown over the year, to 82.8 million, as demand bounced back in the first full year with no Covid travel restrictions since 2019. It notched up its highest-ever underlying earnings in its final quarter, with revenues of more than 1 billion in July and August for the first time. This was also helped by higher air fares, as well as greater revenues from extras added on to tickets. The group said its average fares increased by 9 to 72 over the past year. Chief executive Johan Lundgren said it is too early to predict what will happen with fares over the current year, but said around 60% of its fares are available for less than 50. But the group has seen higher revenues per seat continue into the new financial year up 12% in October in a sign of ongoing fare pressure. We see a positive outlook for this year, with airline and holidays bookings both ahead year on year ... with travel continuing to be the top priority for household discretionary spending Johan Lundgren, easyJet EasyJet said the performance was delivered despite disruption from air traffic control (ATC) strikes, as well as the UK ATC system glitch at the end of August. It said that in March alone only five days were unaffected by strike action. Mr Lundgren said: We see a positive outlook for this year, with airline and holidays bookings both ahead year on year, and recent consumer research highlights that around three-quarters of Britons plan to spend more on their holidays versus last year, with travel continuing to be the top priority for household discretionary spending. He cheered Virgin Atlantics move to operate the first large passenger transatlantic flight using pure sustainable aviation fuel (Saf). Virgin Atlantic will operate the flight to New York JFK with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft on Tuesday. Congratulations to Virgin Atlantic for this, Mr Lundgren said. He added that Saf is part of our roadmap to net zero, alongside hydrogen technology. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Rishi Sunak has found himself embroiled in a fresh diplomatic spat over the Elgin Marbles after cancelling a meeting with his Greek counterpart, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, at the last minute after it became apparent he planned to raise the question of their return. During an interview with the BBC, Mr Mitsotakis compared the marbles also known as the Parthenon Sculptures and stored at the British Museum since the early 19th century to Leonardo Da Vincis Mona Lisa, saying Britain retaining them was akin to carving the famous Renaissance portrait in half and keeping part of it in London and the other in the Louvre. Downing Street duly cancelled the meeting, at which illegal migrant sea crossings had also been on the agenda, and offered Mr Mitsotakis a sitdown with deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden instead, which he refused. A spokesperson for the Greek delegation said they were left baffled, surprised and not a little bit annoyed by the 11th hour cancellation while the opposition Labour Party was quick to claim the incident demonstrated that Mr Sunak isnt able to provide the serious economic leadership our country requires. A spokesperson for No 10 rejected Mr Mitsotakiss Mona Lisa analogy and said of the relics: These were legally acquired at the time, theyre legally owned by the trustees of the museum. We support that position and theres no plan to change the law which governs it. Here is everything you need to know about the Parthenon Sculptures. 1) What are the Elgin Marbles? The sculptures are remnants of a 160m-long frieze that ran around the outer walls of the Parthenon temple on the Acropolis, dedicated to Athena, goddess of wisdom. The Parthenon was built between 447 and 432 BC and is considered the crowning work of classical architecture. Much was lost in a 17th century bombardment and about half of the remaining works were removed in the early 19th century by British diplomat Lord Elgin, who gave them to the British Museum. 2) Why is there a controversy? The sculptures presence in Britain has been the subject of ongoing controversy and debate for decades. Greece maintains they were taken illegally during the countrys Turkish occupation and should be returned for display in Athens, which the British Museum and the UK government have previously rejected. In December 2022, Pope Francis decided to send back to Greece the three fragments of Parthenon Sculptures that the Vatican museums have held for centuries, leaving the British Museum among those declining to do so. Responding to the pontiffs gesture in January this year, a British Museum spokesman said: Weve said publicly were actively seeking a new Parthenon partnership with our friends in Greece and, as we enter a new year, constructive discussions are ongoing. 3) Where are they currently housed? Of the 50 per cent of the original sculptures that survive, around half are in the British Museum and half in Athens, according to the British Museum. The 17 sculptures have been in the British Museum since 1816, apart from spending the Second World War years safely shielded from the Blitz below ground in a Tube station. The one exception is a sculpture of the river god Ilissos, which was temporarily loaned to St Petersburg State Hermitage Museum in Russia. Neil MacGregor, former director of the British Museum, stepped down following controversy after he backed the the move to loan a section of the display to Russia. In 2009, the Acropolis Museum was built to house the sculptures that remain in Greece alongside other treasures. 4) What has the Greek government previously said? A formal request for the permanent return of all of the Parthenon Sculptures in the Museums collection to Greece was first made in 1983 and discussions have been ongoing since, according to the British Museums website. Mr Mitsotakis has on many occasions called for the marbles to be returned, even offering to lend some of his countrys other treasures to the British Museum in exchange. In recent years, a team of London lawyers including Amal Clooney, best known as the wife of Hollywood film star George Clooney, were involved in talks with the Greek government about a potential legal bid for the works. Successive Greek administrations have refused to acknowledge the Trustees title to the Parthenon Sculptures, the British Museum said. 5) What have the British government said about the Elgin Marbles? Ministers have long resisted calls for the classical sculptures to be returned to Greece. The British government rejected Tory peer Lord Vaizey of Didcots call for a change in the law to make it easier for UK museums to deal with restitution requests. Current legislation prevents treasures from being legally given away by the museum. Former prime minister Liz Truss ruled out supporting a deal to return the Elgin Marbles to Greece, despite George Osborne, chairman of the British Museum and former Tory chancellor, saying there is a deal to be done to share the Parthenon Marbles with Greece. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Rishi Sunak has been involved in a diplomatic spat with the Greek prime minister after it was claimed that he cancelled a meeting between the pair at the 11th hour. The incident comes after Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis used an interview ahead of anticipated talks to push for the return of the Elgin Marbles, saying the current situation was like the Mona Lisa painting being cut in half. He was offered a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden instead but turned that down. What are the Elgin Marbles? The Elgin Marbles, also known as the Parthenon Sculptures, once adorned the Parthenon atop the Acropolis in Athens. The 520ft frieze ran around the outer walls of the Parthenon, dedicated to Athena, goddess of wisdom. Carved between 447-432 BC, the frieze and other sculptures remained largely intact until the temple, which was being used by a Turkish garrison as a gunpowder store, was blown up during a siege in 1687. Why are the statues in the British Museum? Much was lost following the explosion in 1687 and about half the surviving works were removed by British diplomat Lord Elgin in the early 19th century, while Athens was still under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. They have been in the British Museum since 1816. Most of the other works are in the Acropolis Museum, with scattered fragments in Paris, Copenhagen, Munich and Wuerzburg in Germany, and Vienna. -Why has Greece demanded the marbles be returned? Athens has been campaigning for decades for the return of the artefacts. The country has long claimed they were illegally acquired during a period of foreign occupation. In 2009, the Acropolis Museum was built in Athens to house the sculptures that remain in Greece alongside other treasures, providing an in-depth view of the ancient history of the Acropolis and its surrounding religious sanctuaries and civic structures. The museum contains a gallery dedicated to the marble sculptures, where the missing parts have been replaced by plaster casts. Mr Mitsotakis has called for the marbles to be returned to Greece on many occasions, even offering to loan some of his countrys other treasures to the British Museum in exchange. -What has Britains stance been on the Marbles? British officials have rebuffed repeated demands for the objects to be returned to Greece. The 1963 British Museum Act prevents the institution giving away objects from its collection except in very limited circumstances. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak previously said there are no plans to change the law, which blocks the Elgin items from being given to Greece. Mr Sunak said the UK had cared for the sculptures in the British Museum for generations and that they were shared with the world at the London site. British Museum chairman George Osborne, a former chancellor, has previously said he is exploring ways for the Elgin Marbles to be displayed in Greece, with speculation that this could involve a loan deal in which part of the set would be sent to Athens. What other objects have been controversial in Britain? The British Museum has a number of contested objects in its collection such as large stone statues from Easter Island and its Benin Bronzes. The museum received a written request for the return of Nigerian antiquities from Nigerias Federal Ministry of Information and Culture in October 2021. Representatives of the Benin Royal Palace have also spoken publicly about the Benin collections being returned. Last year, the Horniman Museum in south-east London agreed to return ownership of a looted collection of 72 treasured artefacts to Nigeria, including its Benin Bronzes, because it is the moral and appropriate thing to do. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Here are five prominent claims and quotes from Omid Scobies book about the royal family called Endgame: The King likes to have his shoelaces ironed Scobie claims about Charless footwear: When laces get even the smallest bit threadbare, a staff member must quickly switch them out with a fresh, ironed pair. Two people not one raised questions about the skin colour of Meghan and Harrys son Archie before he was born In their interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex alleged an unidentified member of the monarchy but not Queen Elizabeth II or her husband the Duke of Edinburgh had, as Meghan said, raised concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when hes born. Scobie claims in Endgame that two people, named in private letters between Charles and Meghan, raised questions about Archies skin colour. He wrote: But in the pages of these private letters, two identities were revealed. Laws in the United Kingdom prevent me from reporting who they were. Former prime minister Boris Johnson irritated the King over late Queens Speech Last May, Charles deputised for his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, during the state opening of Parliament where he read the Queens Speech, the outline of Government business for the next session. But the book claims: Boris Johnson didnt send over the speech until the very last minute, so an irritated Charles wasnt given ample time to practice reading it. (Johnson has done everything he can to become the most unpopular prime minister the Windsors have ever known, an aide said with a laugh.) Buckingham Palaces vision of a scaled-back coronation to reflect the cost-of-living crisis lost out to Downing Streets full-fat celebration The Kings coronation on May 6 saw national celebrations staged and a concert held in the grounds of Windsor Castle. But according to Endgame, the event may have looked different: Prime Minister Sunak and the government approached the coronation from the opposite position. While Charles wanted to downsize, Sunak and Whitehall (the government) envisioned a full-fat celebratory weekend the full monty of carriages, a big concert, and national celebration. Scobie goes on to write: Downing Street prevailed, and Charles ceded his vision for a leaner affair. What next for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex? Meghan has spent time keeping her head down to focus on building her own business, according to Endgame. Scobie wrote: a source said Meghan is building something more accessiblesomething rooted in her love of details, curating, hosting, lifes simple pleasures, and family. Harry appears to have come to terms with his fractious relationship with his brother and father, according to Scobie: As Harry later explained to a friend, Im ready to move on past it. Whether we get an apology or accountability, who knows? Who really cares at this point?' For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The Windrush Compensation Scheme was designed to fail and the Home Office is traumatising victims of the scandal, former childrens TV presenter Floella Benjamin has claimed. Baroness Benjamin, who chaired the Windrush Commemoration Committee, tackled the Government on rollout delays, and urged for a replacement policy that includes legal aid for claimants. The Liberal Democrat peer said: The compensation scheme that has been implemented was designed to fail, because procedural delays have meant that only 12.8% of the estimated 11,500 eligible claimants have been compensated. Applicants report a growing fear and mistrust of the Home Office, who was responsible for this historic injustice. Many are experiencing trauma as a result of their interactions with the Home Office. She demanded a new policy that is independent, transparent, fair, and will include access to legal aid and right of appeal to an independent tribunal. Play Schools Lady Benjamin raised her concerns as peers discussed the Home Offices decision to disband the dedicated team responsible for the Windrush policy, and instead opt for an embedded approach. Labour peer Lord Davies of Brixton warned that there was a serious lack of trust in the Governments intentions, and that people he had spoken to had no faith in the Governments commitment to righting the wrong of the Windrush scandal. Home Office minister Lord Sharpe of Epsom told peers: The compensation scheme was designed to be as clear and as simple as possible, so people dont need legal assistance to make a claim. In 2021 and 2022, in response to feedback and indeed in consultation with stakeholders, we published redesigned claim forms. The new forms are longer but they are easier to complete, because they include more targeted and closed questions to help people understand and provide the key information that we need from them. The claims forms also now have a Crystal Mark from the Plain English Company, demonstrating our commitment to ensuring the scheme is accessible. The scheme is also subject to independent scrutiny. He added: Given the significant progress made since 2020, our Windrush Lessons Learned response has now been embedded into everyday activities. It is our assessment that an embedded approach will better sustain the improvements made so far and thereby our commitments to the Windrush generation and their descendants. The dedicated Windrush compensation and documentation teams remain in place and there are no plans to close either scheme. The Windrush Compensation Scheme has paid out more than 71 million across 1,932 claims as of September 2023. Over 75% of claims have received a final decision and the time it takes to allocate a claim for substantive case work consideration has dropped from 18 months to five months. Lord Sharpe said of the compensation scheme: There is no cap, there is no time limit, it will continue until all claims are met. He added that the majority of the 30 recommendations in the 2020 Windrush report have been implemented, including a new ethical decision-making model, new training for caseworkers and new forms of scrutiny. More than 21,400 people have applied to the documentation scheme, with 16,700 people being issued with documentation confirmation their status or British citizenship, as of the third quarter of 2023, including more than 8,500 who were granted citizenship. However, there have been major delays in payments to those entitled to them, with a number of people dying before they receive their compensation. The number of applications so far is also a fraction of what the Government initially anticipated, with some arguing that the scheme is not accessible enough. In April, Human Rights Watch branded the scheme hostile and not fit for purpose, requesting that the running be handed over from the Home Office to an independent body. In its report, it said the scheme places an unfair burden of proof on claimants to show they faced life-altering losses when they were misclassified as illegal immigrants, and with no legal aid this was violating the rights of many to an effective remedy for human rights abuses they suffered. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A man who was seriously injured in the loyalist bombings of Dublin in 1974 has died. Derek Byrne was 14 when he was pronounced dead following an explosion in Parnell Street almost 50 years ago, but woke up three hours later in a morgue and was rushed to hospital for emergency life-saving surgery. His death at the age of 63 came just days after he attended court in Belfast as part of a long-running claim for damages on behalf of victims. On May 17 1974, three no-warning bombs went off across Dublin city centre and one in Monaghan town. No-one has ever been convicted over the bombings but the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) admitted responsibility in 1993. An official memorial in the Irish capital honours the 35 victims of the bombings, which include two unborn babies. It remains the single greatest loss of life on any single day of the Troubles. The families, who allege collusion in the atrocities, have been pursuing damages in Belfast High Court since 2014. Mr Byrnes lawyer, Kevin Winters from KRW Law, said his client has joined the long list of Troubles victims who did not live to see the conclusion of their legal cases. His incredible survival of that bomb blast was bookended 50 years on by his defiant act of attending court when at death's door Kevin Winters Mr Winters said: We issued High court proceedings against the police, military and the Secretary of State for damages for conspiracy to murder and misfeasance amongst other torts in relation to collusion allegations around the Dublin-Monaghan Bombings. In December 2018 Derek was part of a large group of families of victims and survivors who travelled to Belfast to listen as the High court ordered the release of documents in their case. However the state immediately appealed the order and issued motions to strike the case out. Nearly five years on Derek returned to the same court to hear the defendants arguments to prevent discovery of material. He travelled wheelchair-bound on the train from Dublin. He did so knowing he was severely life-limited and very much against medical advice. Five days later he succumbed to his many illnesses and died. His incredible survival of that bomb blast was bookended 50 years on by his defiant act of attending court when at deaths door. Mr Winters said there was a real poignancy that Mr Byrne had died before hearing the outcome of the court case. He added: The recent positive soundings of the new (PSNI) Chief Constable (Jon Boutcher) on sharing of Troubles-linked information makes Dereks passing even more acute. The anticipated impactful outworkings of Jon Boutchers culture change vision on information sharing is a welcome antidote to the last five years of attritional litigation on the Dublin-Monaghan bombings case. However his pronouncement comes too late for Derek Byrne. He is the latest victim of a litigation system which has timed out on hundreds of other next of kin and survivors who never lived to see the end of their cases. Mr Winters said: Derek Byrnes sad passing really ought to be a timely reminder of the need for urgent implementation of the litigation culture change recently advocated. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Dominic Cummings joked about escaping to the countryside with his family as the pandemic throttled the UK in March 2020 - just two weeks before he notoriously broke lockdown rules with a trip to Barnard Castle. The former chief aide to Boris Johnson sent a WhatsApp message to Michael Gove, who was then lead minister in the Cabinet Office, as the pair criticised the governments approach to the pandemic. The messages were seen by the Covid inquiry as part of Mr Goves evidence on Tuesday. Mr Gove told Mr Cummings: We are f***ing up as a government and missing golden opportunities the whole situation is even worse than you think and action needs to be taken or well regret it for a long time. Mr Cummings then left Mr Gove five missed calls before they proceeded to discuss what the former chief aide called corona hell. WhatsApp exchange between Dominic Cummings and Michael Gove (Covid 19 Inquiry) On 11 March, Mr Cummings messaged Mr Gove saying the Cabinet Office was a f***ing joke adding: They told us they had a plan. Obv b******s. Mr Gove replied: Indeed, as Mr Cummings then said: Im tempted to take family to countryside and hold a press conference saying youre on your own the CabOff and parliament have f***ed us all. He added: People should be shot, to which Mr Gove replied: Who did you envisage first in line? Dominic Cummings joked about an escape to the countryside with his family in March 2020 (PA Wire) Just over two weeks later, Mr Cummings took his wife and son to a property owned by his parents in Durham. He made the lockdown-busting journey by car from London at the end of March 2020, when the government had instructed people to stay at home, and returned in April after driving to Barnard Castle, County Durham, claiming he was concerned that catching Covid had affected his eyesight. Mr Cummings was asked to leave government by then-prime minister Mr Johnson in November 2020, months after it emerged his trip broke the rules of lockdown. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The Elgin marbles have been a source of diplomatic and cultural controversy since a row erupted over where the ancient artefacts should be homed. Athens has long demanded the return of the historic artworks, also known as the Parthenon Sculptures, which were removed from Greece by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century when he was the British ambassador to the Ottoman empire. A diplomatic row erupted on Monday after Rishi Sunak was accused of cancelling a meeting with the Greek prime minister at the eleventh hour. The diplomatic spat came after Mr Mitsotakis had used an interview ahead of the anticipated talks to push for the return of the Elgin marbles, saying the current situation was akin to the Mona Lisa painting being cut in half. Visitors at the British Museum on Tuesday demonstrated the clash of opinions with some saying it is like cutting Tower Bridge in half but others asking where the returning of artefacts would stop if they were to be returned. Greek tourists visiting London and the statues told The Independent that they should be returned. Greek-Cypriots (l-r) Zoe, Rafaella and Stella say the statues are mean a lot to Greek people (The Independent) It means a lot to Greek people. They should definitely go back to where they came from because, to Greek people, it means a lot. Its our history. Zoe, 25, from Limassol, Cyprus said. Her friend, Rafaella, also 25, added: I definitely think they should go back. Its a part of Greek culture and therefore should be in Greece. I know that others want them here but in my opinion, I think they should be returned. Commenting on the British prime ministers late cancellation, Stella, also a Greek-Cypriot said: Its weird that Sunak cancelled the meeting, we didnt know he did that. Maybe it was on purpose that it got cancelled? It was very last minute. On the other hand, Jullianne Jollie, 58, from the Wirral says she has changed her mind about where the statues should be homed. Julliane Jolie says she is concerned whether returning the marbles will set a precedent (The Independent) Ive gone from thinking they absolutely should go back to thinking as time goes on that they shouldnt, the retired education publisher told The Independent. If you asked me 18 months ago I would have said yes but, then, when does it stop? The whole point of a museum is preservation for the future. I dont know what the Greeks think about it but to be honest I think its good to see some Greek culture in London. Not everyone can go all the way to Greece. John Ransom said it makes no sense that the heads of these statues remain in Athens (The Independent) John Ransom, 70, from Edgware, London also has mixed opinions on the debate. Something says morally it should go back but, then, youre setting a precedent for all of the countries to say they want their stuff back. If these things werent here we wouldnt be standing in this museum, he said. The British do have a habit of taking stuff or buying stuff but not for the right price. That seems to be a British tradition, unfortunately. It should be challenged and its right that its challenged. There are pieces over there that are missing their heads and thats because the heads are in Athens. What sense does that make? How would we feel if they came over and started taking Tower Bridge? We wouldnt like it if our heritage was stolen. Ersin Kurnaz says he had to go from Athens to London to see the other half of the Parthenon (The Independent) Another visitor to the museum, Ersin Kurnaz, 40, believes the statues must not feel at home in London. He said: I went to Athens not long ago and saw the Parthenon. Its weird having to see half of it there and half of it here. I am Turkish but living in Germany. I think its similar in the sense that my origin will always be Turkey. When Im in Turkey its a different feeling. It feels like home. I think it must be the same for the sculptures. Greek art historian Maria Paloma de Alvarado was also admiring the statues on Tuesday and said the debate was complex. Maria Paloma de Alvarado said the fate of the statues may have been worse if they had not been bought by Lord Elgin (The Independent) I believe yes, they should be returned. While they bought it legally its part of the Greek identity, she said. There is a discussion here however because if Lord Elgin hadnt bought all of this it probably all would have disappeared. British Museum chairman George Osborne, a former chancellor, has previously said he is exploring ways for the Elgin marbles to be displayed in Greece, with speculation that this could involve a loan deal in which part of the set would be sent to Athens. But on Monday, the prime ministers official spokesman stressed Mr Sunaks support for the law that prevents the marbles from being permanently returned and suggested he would not be in favour of any loan arrangement. The Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed disappointment in Mr Sunaks last-minute cancellation of their meeting. In a statement published on X, formerly Twitter, he wrote: Anyone who believes in the correctness and justice of their positions is never afraid of opposing arguments. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The diplomatic row over the Elgin Marbles deepened tonight after Greece denied promising not to publicly discuss the ancient sculptures on a visit to the UK - despite Rishi Sunak claiming that assurance had been made and broken. The Greek government suggested there were domestic reasons behind Britains 11th-hour cancellation of Tuesdays meeting, adding that Rishi Sunak is quite behind in the polls. But Downing Street denied the claim and said the prime minister scrapped talks after Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis rowed back on reassurances that he would avoid using his visit to the UK as a public platform to demand the return of the Elgin Marbles to Athens. The prime ministers official spokesman said Mr Sunak had become concerned that any bilateral conversation with Mr Mitsotakis would be dominated by the issue of the ancient artefacts, which are also known as the Parthenon Sculptures, following comments made by the Greek leader in an interview on Sunday. Greek labour minister, Adonis Georgiades, told Sky News this kind of agreement cannot ever happen with any Greek prime minister - and certainly with [current prime minister] Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The diplomatic spat comes after Mr Mitsotakis used an interview ahead of the anticipated talks to push for the return of the Elgin Marbles, saying the current situation was like the Mona Lisa painting being cut in half. Rishi Sunak decided to cancel his meeting with the Greek prime minister after he spoke out about the Elgin Marbles (PA) Visitors look at the Elgin marbles, also known as the Parthenon marbles, at the British Museum (EPA) Asked whether the diplomatic spat with Greece was politically motivated, Mr Sunaks spokesman said: No. Ive spoken at length about the reasons for the meeting not going ahead. Those are the reasons, there is nothing more to it. Athens has long demanded the return of the historic works, also known as the Parthenon Sculptures, which were removed from Greece by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century when he was the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. Prime minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis had spoken about his want for the reunification of the Elgin Marbles (PA Media) A source on the Greek side said he and his team had been left baffled, surprised and not a little bit annoyed at an apparent sudden cancellation, especially when preventing migrant sea crossings - one of Mr Sunaks top five priorities - was high on the agenda. Mr Mitsotakis, in a statement published on X, formerly Twitter, spoke of his dismay that the meeting had been cancelled just hours before it was due to take place. British Museum chairman George Osborne, a former Tory chancellor, has previously said he is exploring ways for the Elgin Marbles to be displayed in Greece, with speculation that this could involve a loan deal in which part of the set would be sent to Athens. But Downing Street made clear that Mr Sunak continues to see the museum as the rightful place for them and that a loan cannot take place without the Greeks accepting the museum as the legal owner. Additional reporting by Press Association Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Survivors of modern slavery are being sent to prison for crimes they were forced to commit and not being identified for help, new research suggests. Academics surveyed prison workers who are designated contacts for victims of modern slavery in custody and more than half said the number of victims in prison was likely underestimated. Around one fifth of foreign offenders convicted in the UK have been referred for modern slavery support, data from January to September 2022 shows. One forensic psychologist interviewed for the report said they estimated they had seen 100 victims over the last few years and said: Its increasing exponentially. One modern slavery survivor who was sent to prison told researchers that in custody no one wanted to listen, adding: For so many years I was too scared to talk. Another said putting victims in prison was easier for the authorities than offering support. I think thats the quickest way, for us, being victims, its the quickest way to put us into prison rather than support us, they said. Vulnerable people who are trafficked to the UK can often be forced into work at cannabis farms, in county lines drugs networks or for organised pick-pocketting gangs, researchers said. Another modern slavery survivor said they pleaded guilty in court so they wouldnt have to go back to prison but were then told by a immigration solicitor this is so wrong, you shouldnt be in here, you shouldnt be in prison. One modern slavery survivor said they were a young child who was sent into the hands of a predator (PA/ The Indepedent) They continued: I still have the shame of being considered as a criminal, knowing that I have never, would never even hurt a mosquito, but Im labelled in this country as a criminal. One victim told researchers that traffickers end up going free whereas the people that were being forced to do this, they end up being sentenced to three years. They continued: I was a young child who was sent into the hands of a predator without knowing. In some cases, asylum seeking children are picked up from Home Office hotels and disappeared by traffickers, a report in The Observer found earlier this year. Fifty people who worked as modern slavery special points of contact, a role established in prisons to identify victims, were surveyed for the report. Twenty said they were aware of at least one prisoner who had been referred by officials for help as a suspected victim of modern slavery. However 33 of those surveyed said that it was likely that there were unidentified modern slavery survivors in prison. One person working in the Northern Ireland Prison Service said: The [prison] chaplains anecdotally would tell us that a large number of foreign nationals they see claim to have been either enslaved or trafficked. Dr Marija Jovanovic from the University of Essex, who led the study, said: We like to think that countries deal with modern slavery by identifying and protecting survivors, whilst sending perpetrators to prisons. The reality is much more complicated, with many survivors being sent to prisons, sometimes for the crimes they were forced to commit by their traffickers, instead of being protected. Shockingly, given how few convictions there are on modern slavery charges, its not out of the question that there might be more survivors than perpetrators in UK prisons, Silvia Berastegui, from not-for-profit Hibiscus Initiatives, said that they continually see survivors of trafficking who have been wrongly criminalisted for being forced to commit an offence. Jakub Sobik from the Modern Slavery PEC, which funded the study, said that there was more to do to improve identification and support for people affected by modern slavery. The Ministry of Justice have begun a campaign to raise awareness of modern slavery among staff and published new guidance this year on how to support victims. A government spokesperson said: Modern slavery is a heinous crime and we support thousands of victims towards their recovery every year, with courts taking it into account when sentencing. We recognise many people entering custody are themselves victims of crime including modern slavery which is why we have rolled out clear guidelines and extra support for staff to ensure survivors get the help and trauma-informed support they need. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Headteacher Ruth Perry broke down and looked like she was in physical pain after learning her school would be downgraded by Ofsted inspectors, an inquest into her death has heard. Ms Perry, who took her own life after Caversham Primary School in Reading was regraded from outstanding to inadequate, feared she couldnt show her face again after being given the news on the second day of an inspection in November last year. After the final feedback session, she had a strong physical reaction and broke down in tears, a hearing into her death was told on Tuesday. Giving evidence at an inquest, lead inspector Alan Derry said: She became very upset. Very, very tearful. She looked like she was in pain and I think was at that point saying things about she felt she couldnt show her face again. Ms Perrys sister Professor Julia Waters previously described the headteachers experience with the schools watchdog as the worst day of her life. The family has said the mother of two, took her own life when she died aged 53 the following January. Her death sparked an outcry among headteachers across the country who led widespread calls for Ofsted to revamp its school ratings system. A photo of Ruth Perry attached to the fence outside John Rankin Schools in Newbury, Berkshire (PA) On the first day of an inquest, Berkshire Coroners Court heard Caversham Primary was graded as good in all areas apart from safeguarding after inspectors spotted issues with the schools record-keeping. This led to an overall grading of inadequate and would likely have led to the maintained primary school being forced to become an academy. Despite the concerns, Mr Derry told the chair of governors in a separate meeting that the school had a robust safeguarding culture and children felt safe. But he told the coroner he wasnt as clear as he should have been with the chairman over the safeguarding concerns. Mr Derry, who had become a lead Ofsted inspector just over six months earlier, admitted he believed the safeguarding concerns could be addressed within 30 days, by the time his Ofsted report was published. He said Ms Perry had sounded confident and ready for inspection during a phone call the day before inspectors arrived. However, they were forced to halt a meeting on day one of the inspection after she became distressed when concerns were raised over safeguarding. It was clear early on that Ms Perry was finding this meeting challenging. I think the first point I wanted to reach out to her as a colleague was when Ms Perry started to say its not looking good is it? And at that point that became a bit of a repeated phrase, he said. A school staff member described her as flushed, shaky and unable to speak coherently after she left the meeting. Worried colleagues said they had never seen Ruth this way before as they tried to console the distressed headteacher, who told them she needed to leave the school. However, Mr Derry said she appeared to be engaging with the remainder of the inspection, until she broke down again at their final meeting. He raised concerns about her wellbeing with Ofsteds duty desk after the final day, noting that she was blaming herself. However, Ofsteds director of education Christopher Russell denied that his inspectors were responsible for Ms Perrys welfare during their inspection. Giving evidence, Mr Russell said inspectors would work with school leaders to ensure an inspection runs smoothly and to minimise the stress and anxiety for the headteacher. However, asked who has responsibility for the headteachers welfare, he told senior coroner Heidi Connor: My understanding is that our responsibility, of course, is to manage the inspection itself, to do everything that we possibly can to reduce the pressures on the headteacher but the actual responsibility for the welfare of the headteacher sits with others. He said the responsibility would be shared by the governing body and the local authority. We would expect them to be working together to be supportive to the headteacher. They have the ongoing relationship, he said. Ruth Perrys sister Professor Julia Waters (PA) Under questioning from lawyers for interested parties, including Ms Perrys family, he insisted inspectors were trained in handling difficult situations with headteachers, but admitted there was no written guidance for inspectors to spot signs of acute stress. He also said he was not aware of Ofsted having carried out any risk assessments over the impact of the inspection process on teachers mental health. At the start of the hearing on Tuesday, the coroner warned Ofsted about surprisingly insensitive public comments from senior members of Ofsted just a few short days before this inquest. She urged the body not to make position statements over the alleged causal connection between the Ofsted inspection and Ms Perrys deteriorating mental health and death. The inquest started just days after Ms Perrys family were forced to launch a last-minute crowdfunding campaign to pay for legal advice and representation after their legal aid bid was rejected. The inquest, scheduled to last six days, continues. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Colin Blakes wife was not overly concerned when she saw her husbands big toe red and swollen during their 35th wedding anniversary cruise. After all, most holidaymakers suffer the sting of blisters from new sandals rubbing at the feet after a day of exploring. So the unsuspecting couple were left horrified when their on-board doctor told them a Peruvian wolf spider had bitten Mr Blake and laid eggs inside his toe. Spiders eggs then poured out of Mr Blakes toe as the doctor cut it open. Mr Blake, who lives in Cramlington, Northumberland, believes he was bitten when he was eating dinner outdoors in Marseille. Peruvian wolf spiders are not often poisonous (Getty Images/iStockphoto) He told BBC Radio Scotland: My wife thought it may be because I had new sandals and they were rubbing on my big toe and that was causing it to be red. Sadly, things only got worse when Mr Blake arrived back in the UK. Four weeks after visiting the hospital and being prescribed antibiotics back on home turf, he noticed another development on his toe. A visit to the doctors revealed further horror: Mr Blake was told that one of the eggs had hatched into a spider which was stuck under his skin. They believe the spider was making its way out - eating its way out of my toe, he said. But an arachnologist said wolf spiders are not capable of laying their eggs inside humans. Dr Sara Goodacre from the University of Nottingham told the BBC: I cant possibly see how it could be true at all because I know about their biology. [The egg sacs] take quite a while to spin. The spider venom is not necrotising, it is designed to paralyse a fruit fly. She added that there had been no reports which suggest the eggs could live in a pus-infected wound. Wolf spiders are not often poisonous and are typically found in the south of France after arriving on cargo ships. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The son of Irish businessman Ben Dunne has described him as a good, decent, generous, loving Irishman, who had a passion for business. Mr Dunne died over a week ago after suffering from a heart attack while on a trip to Dubai. The popular Cork-born man was a high-profile figure in Irish life, having been a former director of the family firm Dunnes Stores as well as the owner of a chain of gyms. In 1981, Ben Dunne was kidnapped by the IRA and was released seven days later after a ransom was reportedly paid, an event that his son said his father held no ill feeling towards. Hundreds of people attended his funeral mass on Tuesday, including Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald and businessman Larry Goodman. Ben Dunne gym staff formed a guard of honour at the gates of St Mochtas Church in Porterstown, Clonsilla. Mr Dunnes wicker coffin was carried into St Mochtas Church in Porterstown, Clonsilla, for the funeral mass. Addressing mourners, Mark Dunne said his father was incredibly ambitious and driven in each of his endeavours, and loved the fitness industry. He was razor sharp with numbers when it came to looking at business financials, or the figures, as he would call them. He said he was brilliant and loving to his children and grandchildren, and would call them regularly to check in on them. He added: My father endured many things with his siblings, some private and some, unfortunately, very public. However, at the core of a family business is that word family, and family always finds a way of going back to its roots. So I want to acknowledge as well that today is a particularly difficult day for my aunt Margaret. Margaret and dad spoke to each other almost daily about many things. Whilst they were both different people with different opinions, they loved each other dearly and they have been a great source of strength to each other over the years. His kidnapping in 1981 was hugely traumatic on him and it was the source of much of his personal troubles throughout the years that followed. But time is a great healer and he held no ill feeling towards his captors. He did the Christian thing and forgave. Recalling his fathers humour, Mark Dunne told a story involving his fathers dyslexia. I recall one time walking into our offices with him when he saw a man park his car in a disabled space. As the man got out of his vehicle, he roared at him What are you doing parking there? Ive a prosthetic, came the reply from the man. Well I have a prostate too, and you dont see me parking in a disabled spot. That was dad. Mark Dunne said his father had been quite reflective and philosophical on the trip in Dubai, and had revealed to him a prayer that he said to himself each night. So far, all my nights have been followed by more days. But in this world of mine, a night will come when there will be no more day for me. Lord, look after me today. He thanked emergency personnel, hotel staff in Dubai, Irish officials who provided consular assistance and others who helped in the aftermath of his fathers death. Mark Dunne told mourners his father never liked going to funerals but wanted a full report from ones his son had attended. This is one funeral that, sadly, he must attend, Mark Dunne told the congregation, adding he would be pleased to see so many people in attendance. Over the past week, weve received so many messages of condolences from so many people. And the overarching theme in all of these messages has been about dads generosity, and generous he was, sometimes to a fault. He looked after so many people and organisations, and he never looked for public acknowledgement of it. He simply just wanted to help. He was humble in his generosity. He wasnt looking to use it as any kind of public redemption. In fact, that openness and willingness to lay out his flaws was a major part of what people found so appealing about him and his personality. The parish priest told the congregation that Ben Dunne had a wonderful character, personality and charm, and said that he, like many, made mistakes. He said that we are living in very fragile and uncertain times, referencing riots in Dublin city on Thursday as events in the streets of our capital city. He said it was important to reflect on the true meaning of what our lives are all about, and to reflect on the use of social media, which he said was saturated by gossip. Gossip has been described as the devils radio please dont be one of its announcers. Gossip destroys and hurts so many people, he said. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The Irish government is giving very serious consideration to taking any action over the UK governments controversial legislation aimed at dealing with Northern Irelands troubled past. Legacy was among the topics discussed by representatives of the two governments at the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference in Dublin on Tuesday. Earlier this year, the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act became law despite widespread opposition from political parties, victims organisations and the Irish government. It includes a limited form of immunity from prosecution for Troubles-related offences for those who co-operate with the new Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR). It will also halt future civil cases and legacy inquests. Legal challenges have been taken to it at Belfast High Court. During discussions between the governments on Tuesday, the Irish government reiterated its serious concerns in relation to the Acts compatibility with the European Convention on Human Rights. The UK government set out the next steps in the implementation of the legislation by the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery. It also raised its serious concerns that an interstate case brought by Ireland would undermine the commissions opportunity to deliver better outcomes for victims before it is even fully established. The governments also discussed a number of individual cases, including the 1998 Omagh bomb, the murder of solicitor Pat Finucane and the Dublin/Monaghan bombing. Speaking to media after the event, Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheal Martin said the approach to legacy is an issue where there are significant differences between his government and the UK government. He said it was a matter of serious and sincere regret that weve reached this point. He said the government will give the act very serious consideration and has received advice from the Attorney General. Mr Martin described himself as victims-led on legacy, and said he has met with a lot of victims groups. Victims of state violence, victims of the Provisional IRA, victims of loyalist violence and (I am) very struck by their continued absence of closure, he said. Theyve all been very much opposed to the legislation that has come through. Were also conscious of impacts on British-Irish relationship. Weve worked hard to strengthen that and I think this is the third meeting of the British Irish Intergovernmental Conference in one year. Thats the first time this has happened in 17 years. This is evidence that both governments are doing everything possible to enhance the East West dimension of the agreements, were conscious of that. So we will weigh all of that up. As a government, well come together to specifically discuss this issue, the Irish government will, and then we make a decision. Mr Heaton-Harris said in the same press conference: We did discuss legacy, and we believe that our Legacy Act is (European Court of Human Rights) complaint and the commission will provide information and answers to the families who require it. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The Greek prime minister has expressed disappointment that Rishi Sunak cancelled a meeting in which he planned to raise the prospect of the return of the Elgin Marbles. Kyriakos Mitsotakis had been expecting to meet the British Prime Minister during his visit to London. But a source on the Greek side said he and his team had been left baffled, surprised and not a little bit annoyed at an apparent sudden cancellation, especially when preventing migrant sea crossings one of Mr Sunaks top five priorities was high on the agenda. Greece and Britain have a very deep history of friendship and co-operation, and the Greek government is extremely surprised by this decision Spokesman for the Greek prime minister Downing Street suggested a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden had been offered instead. The diplomatic spat comes after Mr Mitsotakis had used an interview ahead of the anticipated talks to push for the return of the Elgin Marbles, saying the current situation was like the Mona Lisa painting being cut in half. Athens has long demanded the return of the historic works, also known as the Parthenon Sculptures, which were removed from Greece by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century when he was the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. Labour said that, if Mr Sunak had scrapped the talks because of controversy over the Elgin Marbles, then it showed he isnt able to provide the serious economic leadership our country requires. Downing Street, which pushed back against the Greek leaders Mona Lisa comparison, had indicated that Mr Sunak would reject pleas for the ancient Greek artefacts, on display at the British Museum in London, to be handed back. Asked about the Greek prime ministers claims of a last minute cancellation, a No 10 spokeswoman would only say that the UK-Greece relationship is hugely important. In a statement, a spokesman for Mr Mitsotakis said: The prime minister is disappointed that Prime Minister Sunak cancelled their bilateral meeting at the 11th hour today. Greece and Britain have a very deep history of friendship and co-operation, and the Greek government is extremely surprised by this decision. The prime minister was looking forward to discussing a range of topics of mutual interest including the Israel/Gaza conflict, Russias illegal invasion of Ukraine, climate change, as well as common challenges such as migration, and of course the Parthenon Sculptures. Mr Mitsotakis, in a statement published on X, formerly Twitter, spoke of his dismay that the meeting had been cancelled just hours before it was due to take place. According to an online translation, he said: Anyone who believes in the correctness and justice of their positions is never afraid of opposing arguments. No 10 officials confirmed Mr Dowden was available to meet with Mr Mitsotakis to discuss issues such as migration and the conflict in the Middle East. On Monday, the Prime Ministers official spokesman stressed Mr Sunaks support for the law that prevents the marbles from being permanently returned and suggested he would not be in favour of any loan arrangement. British Museum chairman George Osborne, a former chancellor, has previously said he is exploring ways for the Elgin Marbles to be displayed in Greece, with speculation that this could involve a loan deal in which part of the set would be sent to Athens. Asked about such an agreement, Mr Sunaks spokesman told reporters: We have no plans to change our approach and certainly we think that the museum is the right place for them. I havent asked him specifically about short-term or new ideas that have been put forward, but I think hes been fairly robust on his position. The official also said the Government had no plans to change the 1963 British Museum Act which prohibits the removal of objects from the institutions collection. We have cared for the marbles for generations and our position is we want that to continue. The world comes to the UK regularly to see the marbles and there are no plans to change that or to change the law, he said. Mr Mitsotakis did manage to meet with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer during his visit to the UK capital. Sir Keir had indicated he would tell the Greek premier that a Labour government would not change the law, but that he would not stand in the way of a loan deal that was mutually acceptable to the museum and the Greek government. A Labour readout published after the meeting on Monday did not mention the sculptures. After Mr Mitsotakis said his meeting with Mr Sunak had not gone ahead, a spokeswoman for Labour said: If the Prime Minister isnt able to meet with a European ally with whom Britain has important economic ties, this is further proof he isnt able to provide the serious economic leadership our country requires. Keir Starmers Labour Party stands ready. On Sunday, Greeces prime minister argued a return of the sculptures was about reunification of the monument. He told the BBC: It is as if I told you that you would cut the Mona Lisa in half, and you will have half of it at the Louvre and half of it at the British Museum. Asked if Mr Sunak recognised that characterisation, his spokesman said: Obviously its not something we would agree with. These were legally acquired at the time, theyre legally owned by the trustees of the museum. We support that position and theres no plan to change the law which governs it. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Michael Gove has apologised to victims and bereaved families for Government errors during the pandemic as he listed what he believed were the failings, including locking down too late. But the senior Tory, who was Cabinet Office minister and chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when the pandemic began in 2020, also defended Boris Johnsons gladiatorial decision-making and his No 10 against claims of dysfunctionality. Giving evidence to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry on Tuesday, Mr Gove said he took some responsibility for the mistakes made at the top level of politics when the crisis unfolded and that he regretted not being more forthright in pushing for an earlier first lockdown. He said: If I may apologise to the victims who endured such pain, the families who endured so much loss as a result of the mistakes that were made by Government in response to the pandemic. Politicians are human beings. Were fallible. We make mistakes and we make errors Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove As a minister responsible for the Cabinet Office, and was also close to many of the decisions that were made, I must take my share of responsibility for that. Elsewhere, WhatsApp messages to Mr Gove from March 2020 showed Dominic Cummings suggest Government staff should be shot over the response to the pandemic and joke that he wanted to take his family to the countryside weeks before his infamous trip to Barnard Castle. Mr Gove said politicians are human beings who are fallible and every decision was difficult and every course was bad at the time. While some mistakes were unique and specific to the UK Government, Mr Gove said we need to remember that governments everywhere made errors. Asked later what the Governments failures were, the Levelling Up Secretary gave a direct answer. He said: I believe that we were too slow to lockdown initially in March (2020). I believe we should have taken stricter measures before we eventually decided to do so in late October. Testing should have been more rigorously thought through, there was not enough focus on the impact on children and there were errors with the procurement of personal protective equipment, he added, noting that this was not an exhaustive list. The UK was certainly not well-enough prepared for the unfolding pandemic in March 2020, he said. Mr Goves frustration at the time at the handling of the pandemic was clear in a WhatsApp message shown to the inquiry to former chief adviser to the PM Mr Cummings on March 4. You know me, I dont often kick off but were f****** up as a government and missing golden opportunities, Mr Gove said in the exchange. I will carry on doing what I can but the whole situation is even worse than you think and action needs to be taken or we will regret it for a long time. Explaining the message to the inquiry, Mr Gove said he was concerned overall about the Cabinet Office, for which he had recently taken on responsibility, including its ability to deal with Covid. Later, Mr Cummings messaged Mr Gove saying: Obv CabOff is f****** joke. They told us they had plan. Obv bollocks. The minister replied: Indeed, which Mr Cummings responded to by saying: Im tempted to take family to countryside and hold a press conference saying youre on your own the CabOff and parliament have f***** us all. He added: People should be shot. Who did you envisage first in line? Mr Gove asked. Not for phones! came the reply. The messages were sent by Mr Cummings on March 11, just weeks before he and his family were spotted near Barnard Castle in Durham on April 12 that year. Mr Gove accepted he should definitely have been more forthright in pushing for a lockdown at the beginning of March 2020. He said Mr Johnson should not be singled out for criticism over the delay in imposing restrictions, noting that ministers and officials who did not voice their belief in the need for earlier action also deserve our share, retrospectively, of criticism. The then-prime minister has been accused of dithering and failing to stick to decisions he had already made, at a time when the public health advice was pointing in the direction of a lockdown. Mr Gove defended his old boss, who he said preferred gladiatorial decision-making with two or three options being weighed up. Mr Johnsons principled attachment to maximising individual liberty meant it was difficult for him to contemplate something like this, Mr Gove also said. The Cabinet minister also sought to play down accusations levelled repeatedly during the inquiry that Mr Johnsons No 10 was mired in chaos, saying it was the nature of politics to have strong personalities with strong views, sometimes punchily expressed. Mr Gove said he had a high opinion of former health secretary Matt Hancock, who faced repeated criticism from a number of witnesses before the inquiry. Various witnesses have expressed concern about his performance as health secretary, with the inquiry hearing that the countrys most senior civil servant at the time, Lord Sedwill, wanted Mr Hancock to be sacked. Mr Gove said too much was asked of Mr Hancocks Department of Health and Social Care at the start of the pandemic and that other parts of Government should have taken on more. The Levelling Up Secretary, who has held a number of prominent roles in Government, also told the inquiry that the Cabinet Office was flawed and not effective at dealing with crises. HE said: The Cabinet Office in and of itself, over many years, has operated in a way which is not as effective as it should be for the effective delivery of Government policy, both business as usual, and also in response to crises. He also suggested that some devolved nations diverged from the UK Government position at points during the pandemic, partly due to political interests and their separatist aims. In written evidence, Mr Gove said there were concerns raised more generally that some administrations were diverging for the sake of being different. For example, the Scottish Government repeatedly adopted slightly different measures and communication language to that of the UK Government. Sometimes this was due to policy differences, at other times politics, he said. The Surrey Heath MP at one point noted there was a significant body of judgment that believes Covid-19 was man-made, only to be told by Mr Keith the divisive issue was not part of the inquirys terms of reference. Former deputy chief medical officer Professor Dame Jenny Harries will give evidence later on Tuesday. Later this week, Lady Halletts probe will also take evidence from Mr Hancock and ex-deputy prime minister Dominic Raab. The inquiry is taking evidence as part of its second module on core UK decision-making and political governance. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Michael Gove was slapped down at the official inquiry into the pandemic when he suggested there is a significant body of judgment that believes Covid-19 was man-made. The Levelling Up Secretary went further than any Cabinet minister so far in questioning the viruss origins still a matter of intense scientific debate as he explained the challenges faced by the Government as the crisis unfolded in 2020. Asked about shortcomings in preparedness for a new virus, the senior Tory said: There is a significant body of judgment that believes that the virus itself was man-made, and that presents challenges as well. He was quickly cut off by Hugo Keith KC, lead counsel to the inquiry, who said the divisive issue is not part of the inquirys terms of reference. Were not going to go there, he said. Mr Gove replied that it is important to recognise that the virus presented a series of new challenges that required the science to adjust. Covid-19s origins are still being examined nearly four years after the first cases emerged in Wuhan in China. Some believe the virus accidentally leaked from a laboratory in the city which was looking into similar viruses. But many scientists say the weight of evidence suggests a natural origin the virus spreading from animals to humans via Wuhans wet food markets is the most likely scenario. The Governments view is that the WHO needs to continue to examine all possibilities Spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak Downing Street said the Governments position is for the World Health Organisation (WHO) to investigate the genesis of the virus. Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks official spokesman said: The Governments view is that the WHO needs to continue to examine all possibilities. We think there is still work to be done. But it is for the WHO to investigate. It is the long-standing position of the Government that it is for the WHO to consider all possible avenues and to come to a conclusion. The spokesman acknowledged it is not a secret that people have differing views about the origins of Covid-19. The WHOs first origins study in China in early 2021 was inconclusive, with difficulties in collaborating with Beijing cited as part of the reason. Scientists offered their assessment after Mr Gove waded into the debate. A lab leak is not the same as the leak of a man-made virus, but is frequently confused Professor James Wood, University of Cambridge Professor James Wood, infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Cambridge, said: There is strong evidence from virus genomics that the Covid-19 virus was not artificially engineered, or made by humans, but likely arose from another virus infecting wildlife. He said epidemiology can only identify where cases are first transmitting which appeared to be around the Hunan seafood market not where the first case may have occurred. With current knowledge, it is clear that some species of animal, e.g. ferrets and other mustelids, may be easily infected by infected humans in close contact. So animals in the market could have been the route of transmission to animals or could have been infected by humans. Genomics cannot however distinguish whether the virus transmitted to humans via traded wildlife in the Hunan seafood market or through a laboratory accident, where a laboratory worker was inadvertently infected from a sample they were processing, subsequently infecting other people. A lab leak is not the same as the leak of a man-made virus, but is frequently confused. He added that it may never be possible to know with confidence how the Covid-19 virus passed to humans. There is no data to support a man-made origin Professor Alice Hughes, University of Hong Kong Professor Alice Hughes, from the University of Hong Kongs School of Biological Sciences, said: There may be a body of judgment, but sadly this has come from a political and not a scientific basis There is no data to support a man-made origin, whilst the infections of mink and other wildlife highlight the ability of the virus to jump between hosts, and similar viruses circulating in wildlife highlight that, like the majority of viruses, Covid is almost certain to have a natural origin. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The Princess of Wales is accused of being cold and ignoring the Duchess of Sussexs cries for help in a controversial new book about the royal family. Omid Scobies book, Endgame, which was published on Tuesday, asserts that the future of the monarchy is in a crisis and it is in a fight for survival. The Kings relationship with his son, the Prince of Wales, is examined with a source making a scathing comment about the heir to the thrones opinion of his father. The source said: William (doesnt) think his father is competent enough, quite frankly. Though they share passions and interests, their style of leadership is completely different. In the book a source claims that Kate can be cold if she doesnt like someone and the writer goes on to say: This is a side of Kate that rarely gets written about. Advocating for mental health causes the mental health of mothers, for that matter but ignoring her own sister-in-laws cries for help seemed out of character for someone the public knew as sweet and easy to get along with. In an interview with The Times, Mr Scobie said: That crisis being a lack of interest from young people, an apathy, a growing republican movement, questions over whether the family still uphold the morals and values of the Crown that the Queen did such a great job of. Among the claims made in the book are that there is a rift between the King and the Prince of Wales, that the Queen has quietly thanked Piers Morgan for defending the Firm, and that a timid Princess of Wales has to be encouraged to take part in engagements. Mr Scobies book makes a series of allegations involving the Sussexes including that William and other family members covertly sanctioned leaks to reporters about Harry, that the elder brother ignored texts from Harry when the family were making their way to Balmoral before the late Queen died last year, and that Charles and Meghan exchanged letters in the wake of her interview with Oprah Winfrey. The alleged letters are said to reveal the identity of two people the duchess claimed, in the TV interview, aired concerns about the colour of then-unborn Prince Archies skin. Mr Scobie co-authored Finding Freedom, a biography of the Sussexes which chronicled the couple in glowing terms, and they receive favourable treatment in his new book. He writes in Endgame: The new King is still dealing with the fallout from his inability to convene and command his own family. His ineptitude surrounding the Harry and Meghan saga has effectively turned the couple into the disruptors they were feared to become in the first place. The writer claims the King missed an opportunity to let bygones be bygones and begin a new chapter in his relationship with Harry, when the duke contacted him after the release of his memoir Spare which made a series of damning allegations about the royal family. Endgame quotes a source as saying Charles was cold and brief rather than open to proper dialogue when he spoke to his son. And the Kings relationship with his eldest son, William, appears equally as fractious, according to Mr Scobie, who writes: Distrust and simmering animosity between father and son are nothing new to their working relationship. The 42-year-old author said he did not interview the Duchess of Sussex for Endgame but shares mutual friends with her which helped with sourcing information. Harry and Meghan are said in the book to be in a good place. Relations between William and Harry have long been strained, and worsened after the accusations Harry publicly levelled at his brother in double tell-alls: his memoir Spare and his Netflix documentary. In his assessment of Charless reign, Mr Scobie said: Circumvented by Netflix, overshadowed by his younger son, humbled by the Government and the institutional system, and dragged down by his own poor judgment and that of his wayward brother, Charles often stumbled through his first 100 days as King, encountering one obstacle after another. In interviews to promote his memoir Spare, Harry attacked Camillas reputation, describing her as dangerous and criticising her attempts to rehabilitate her image at his cost. Mr Scobie writes in his book that the Queen has told others she has great sympathy for what Meghan went through but, according to a royal source, has no respect for the way they handled themselves. William is asserting his independence because Charless reign is little more than transitional, if only by virtue of the Kings age, according to an insider quoted in Endgame. The books full title is Endgame: Inside The Royal Family And The Monarchys Fight For Survival, and its chapters include Race And The Royals: Institutional Bigotry And Denial, and another called Gloves On: Prince William, Heir To The Throne. Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace declined to comment. During the audience, held last Friday, both authorities reviewed the main topics of interest on the Peruvian agenda at UNESCO. Moreover, the Director-General highlighted the important role that Peru plays in the field of culture in said global institution. In this regard, the senior official referred to the next meeting of the Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, which will be held in Botswana next December, where she said Peru's file linked to ceviche may be approved. For his part, the Permanent Representative agreed with the Director-General, noting that the Peruvian file had received excellent reviews from the evaluation body of the 2003 Convention, so there was great expectation in the country. The Peruvian delegate stated that its inscription would have a significant impact on the unity of the nation, adding that it was not only positive for Peru, but also for Latin America as a whole, since it paves the way for other regional gastronomy files to be inscribed on the UNESCO representative list. On the other hand, Diaz Villanueva highlighted the boost that Peru seeks to give to other UNESCO's topics such as those linked to natural sciences, especially the issue of water, biosphere reserves, or ocean sciences. In this regard, the interest in further involving the South American country in water issues was highlighted, which is why Peru has just been elected as a member of the Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP) Council. On the other hand, Peru's active participation in the International Coordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere Programme and in the Executive Council of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission was also highlighted. Finally, the Permanent Representative invited Audrey Azoulay to visit Peru as part of her agenda for next year. (END) NDP/NGB/JCR/RMB/MVB The new Permanent Representative of Peru to UNESCO, Carlos Diaz Villanueva , has presented his credentials to the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Audrey Azoulay. Published: 11/28/2023 Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The UK and Spain are close to agreeing a deal on the post-Brexit status of Gibraltar, the Spanish foreign minister has indicated. A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said Lord Cameron had underlined the UKs desire to get a UK-EU treaty on Gibraltar as soon as possible during his discussion with counterpart Jose Manuel Albares. Mr Albares first revealed he had been in crunch talks with Rishi Sunaks new foreign secretary David Cameron on resolving the long-running row over trade and immigration arrangements. He told Spanish media that he had spoken with Lord Cameron over the phone on Monday, and they had also agreed to meet in person during a Brussels summit on Tuesday. The Spanish minister suggested the outline of a deal was now in place for a zone of shared prosperity in the Spanish area next to the British territory to avoid a hard border on the flow of people and goods. I would sign a deal with Britain over Gibraltar tomorrow, Mr Albares told the television channel Telecinco saying both sides agree that we have to move forward as soon as possible. A UK-EU deal on arrangements for Gibraltars border primarily on trade and free movement was not struck in time for the Brexit deal worked out by Boris Johnsons government. Conservative ministers have been nervous about signing any bilateral deal that could be viewed as reducing British influence over the territory. The Spanish foreign ministry has said the deal would allow Spain to use the Schengen agreement which allows for the free movement of EU citizens around the bloc to ease controls on the movement of people. Spain, the UK and the EU have previously agreed to the principle that Gibraltar should remain part of EU agreements on free movement. Spanish officials patrol border between Gibraltar and Spain (AFP/Getty) Mr Albares suggested the UK was also now keen on a frictionless border when it comes to the movement of goods something akin to the thorny arrangements for Northern Ireland His ministry said a zone of shared prosperity deal would see limited checks without increasing the risks for the EU internal market meaning the UK would have to agree to alignment on Brussels regulations. The Spanish foreign minister told reporters in Brussels: I think this deal is better for everyone than the application of European legislation after British citizens democratically decided to leave the European Union. Theres already been political will on the part of the Spanish government for many months, Mr Albares said on the generous and balanced deal on the table. He added: Whats needed now is that political will on the part of the United Kingdom to move forward decisively, which is what Ive seen so far. But we wont know until the end. Nothing will be agreed until its all agreed. Despite optimism that a deal is now close, there was no word from Lord Camerons team on the prospects of an agreement being signed within days. Lord Cameron leaves cabinet on Tuesday ahead of trip to Brussels (Getty) Britains decision to leave the EU was very unpopular in the British overseas territory, where thousands of people cross the border with Spain every day for work. Just over 95 per cent of the territorys population voted to stay in the EU in the 2016 referendum. The territorys business leaders have been keen for a deal to be struck. Brian Reyes, editor of the Gibraltar Chronicle wrote: Seven years on [from the Brexit referendum], the Brexit levanter still hangs over our heads. Meanwhile, Lord Cameron is expected to try to meet EU Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic during his Brussels summit visit his first trip to the EU capital since his fateful Brexit referendum. The foreign secretary is reportedly ready to raise the issue of post-Brexit tariffs set to be imposed on the automobile industry into force in January if he meets Mr Sefcovic this week. Mr Sunaks government is pushing the EU Commission to agree to delay the costly new rules of origin set to damage the electric vehicle (EV) market due to come in at the start of 2024 as part of Mr Johnsons trade deal. The Independent has contacted Lord Camerons team and the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) for comment. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Michael Gove warned that the government was f***ing up its Covid response at the height of the pandemic and would regret it for a long time, bombshell new WhatsApp messages reveal. The expletive-laden messages shared at the Covid inquiry show the senior cabinet minister told No 10 strategist Dominic Cummings weeks before the first lockdown that the situation was worse than you think. Mr Gove also apologised to the families who lost loved ones for mistakes made by the Conservative government admitting that the UK was too slow into the first and second lockdowns in 2020. In a foul-mouthed message, the then-Cabinet Office minister told Mr Cummings in early March 2020: I dont often kick-off. But we are f***ing up as a government and missing golden opportunities. Mr Cummings, then Boris Johnsons top adviser, called the Cabinet Office a f***ing joke in his response, complaining that officials had lied about the existence of a plan to tackle the pandemic. On yet another explosive day at the official Covid inquiry, it emerged: Mr Gove wanted the first lockdown sooner and pushed for quicker action to tackle the second wave He defended Mr Johnsons gladiatorial style but said it took the then-PM a little longer to make decisions than others Mr Cummings said people in government should be shot for failings at the height of the pandemic The ex-adviser also joked about wanting a trip to the countryside before his infamous Barnard Castle visit Mr Gove suggested Covid-19 was man-made prompting a rebuke from the inquirys KC Mr Gove began his evidence on Tuesday by apologising to the families who endured so much loss as a result of the mistakes that were made by government admitting ministers were too slow into lockdown and failed to bring in a rigorous testing strategy. Mr Gove shared his frustration that the government was f***ing up its initial response to the crisis in a 4 March message with Mr Cummings. I will carry on doing what I can but the whole situation is even worse than you think and action needs to be taken or well regret it for a long time. In a sweary exchange on 11 March, the former No 10 adviser told Mr Gove that he was considering throwing in the towel and taking his family to the countryside. Gove leaving the Covid inquiry after an explosive hearing (PA) Weeks before he did leave London to stay on his parents farm in Durham, the trip which saw him visit Barnard Castle, Mr Cummings told Mr Gove: Im tempted to take my family to the countryside and hold a press conference saying youre on your own, the Cabinet Office and parliament have f***ed us all. People should be shot, the strategist added in the exchange. Mr Gove asked who he envisaged in government being first in the firing line, before Mr Cummings replied: Not for phones. Mr Gove said he wished Mr Johnson had implemented the first national lockdown on 16 March 2020, a week before the PM announced the move on 23 March. He also shared his regret that stricter measures were not brought in during the autumns second wave. Listing what he saw to be failures, he told the Covid inquiry: I believe that we were too slow to lock down initially, in March. I believe that we should have taken stricter measures before we eventually decided to do so late in October. Goves session revealed further sweary messages involving Dominic Cummings (PA) Mr Gove also the governments approach to testing was not as rigorously thought through as it might have been. He said: I am also concerned that we did not pay enough attention to the impact, particularly on children and vulnerable children, of some of the measures that we took. The cabinet minister also listed poor targeting of Covid testing and the way PPE was bought among the governments other key failings. But he declined to be too critical of cabinet colleagues, offering rare defences of Mr Johnson and former health secretary Matt Hancock. The levelling-up secretary denied that Mr Johnson oscillated over key decisions, telling the inquiry: He preferred gladiatorial decision-making rather than inquisitorial. He wanted to see the two cases or the three cases rehearsed in front of him, or even rehearsed in his own mind. Any prime minister is entitled to test propositions, Mr Gove added but said his style was difficult to take for some. He also said it took the then-PM a little longer to see the need for the first lockdown in March 2020 than others. Gove defended Boris Johnson, but suggested he was slow to make key decisions (AFP via Getty) And he insisted too much was asked of Mr Hancocks department at the beginning of the pandemic. I have a high opinion of Matt Hancock as a minister. However, I believe that too much was asked of DHSC [Department of Health and Social Care] at that point. He added: We should collectively have recognised that this was a health system crisis at an earlier point and taken on to other parts of government the responsibility for delivery that was being asked of DHSC at the time. In controversial remarks, Mr Gove suggested China had invented the Covid virus, telling the inquiry: There is a significant body of judgment that believes that the virus itself was man-made and that presents challenges as well. It sparked an immediate reprimand by the inquirys lead counsel, Hugo Keith KC, who said it was not the place to discuss the somewhat divisive issue, telling Mr Gove: We are not going to go there. No 10 said the governments position is for the World Health Organisation (WHO) to investigate the origin of the virus. Rishi Sunaks official spokesperson said: We think there is still work to be done. But it is for the WHO to investigate. The WHOs first origins study in China in early 2021 was inconclusive, with difficulties in collaborating with Beijing cited as part of the reason. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Rishi Sunak scrapped a meeting with the Greek prime minister because he broke assurances not to use his visit to the UK to focus on the Elgin Marbles, No 10 has said. A meeting set with Kyriakos Mitsotakis was unexpectedly cancelled after he spoke out about the marbles known as the Parthenon Sculptures which he wants returned to Athens from the British Museum. As the extraordinary row deepened, Downing Street rejected the idea of a loan deal for the Elgin Marbles warning that it was a slippery slope that could encourage the return of more artifacts in British museums to other countries. Mr Mitsotakis expressed his anger that the meeting during his visit to London was cancelled in which he planned to raise the prosect of a loan deal so the Parthenon Sculptures could return to Athens. The Greek government described the snub as unprecedented and said it had hurt Greek pride. Greece is a proud country, with a long history You cant just say look, the meeting isnt going to happen, said a spokesperson. The spokesperson also said British public opinion had shifted in Athens favour on the issue. Obviously this has annoyed Sunak, because when you have a difference of opinion it doesnt mean you dont go ahead with a meeting. But Mr Sunaks official spokesman insisted that the Greek government had provided reassurances that Mr Mitsotakis would not use the visit as a public platform to relitigate long settled matters. The No 10 official added: Given those assurances were not adhered to, the prime minister felt it would not be productive to hold a meeting dominated by that issue. Mr Sunaks spokesman said Athens was welcome to make its position known on the marbles but felt those conversations are best had in private. The Independent understands that No 10 was angry at the feisty nature of Mr Mitsotakis answers to questions by BBC host Laura Kuenssberg, rather than his decision to appear on the programme. The British Museum houses the Parthenon Marbles, also known as the Elgin Marbles (AFP via Getty Images) The row erupted on Monday night as Downing Street confirmed the meeting had been shelved and that Mr Mitsotakis had rejected an alternative meeting with deputy PM Oliver Dowden. It came after the Greek PM told the BBC that he would use the talks to push for the return of the Elgin Marbles, comparing the current situation to the Mona Lisa being cut in half. Athens has long demanded the return of the historic works, which were removed from Greece by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century when he was British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. A spokesman for Mr Mitsotakis said he was disappointed that Mr Sunak had cancelled on him. A source on the Greek side said Mr Mitsotakis and his team had been left baffled, surprised and not a little bit annoyed at the 11th hour cancellation. The River God Ilissos sculpture - part of the Elgin Marble (Dominic Lipinski/PA) (PA Archive) British Museum chairman George Osborne the former Tory chancellor has previously said he is exploring ways for the Elgin Marbles to be displayed in Greece, with speculation that this could involve a loan deal in which part of the set would be sent to Athens. Asked about a potential loan deal, Mr Sunaks spokesman said No 10 was against such a move and warned that it was a potentially a slippery slope that could see pressure for British museums to return other artifacts. Labour has attacked Mr Sunak as weak for snubbing the Greek PM in the increasingly bitter row over the return of the Elgin Marbles. To pick a fight with a Nato ally for the sake of a headline shows just how weak Rishi Sunak is, a Labour spokesman said as senior Tories also criticised the PM. Former Tory leader William Hague said the cancellation of the meeting was the Greek PM was a pity and not a great advert for diplomacy. Mr Sunaks ally said that it shouldnt be impossible to come to a loan agreement on the Elgin Marbles. Tory peer Ed Vaizey also criticised Mr Sunak over the cancelled meeting, saying there is a hell of a lot to talk about aside from the sculptures. You can talk about refugees, you can talk about Israel, Hamas, you can talk about Ukraine and you can talk about having a great friend and ally in the EU, the former culture secretary told the BBC. I didnt know that Rishi Sunak felt so strongly about the marbles. Lord Vaizey also stressed that the majority of the British public widely believed the sculptures should be returned to Greece. So its odd that this row should then erupt, he added. Mr Mitsotakis did manage to meet Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer during his visit to the UK capital. Labour has said it would not stand in the way of a loan deal if an arrangement over the marbles can be agreed between the British Museum and the Greeks. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Sir Keir said: We discussed boosting UK-Greek cooperation in key areas, from delivering economic security to taking climate action. With Labour, Britain and Greece will remain strong partners. Transport secretary Mark Harper denied that Mr Sunak had snubbed the Greek PM. He added that the governments stance is that the Elgin Marbles are part of the British Museums collection and we think they should remain there. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A diplomatic row has erupted after Rishi Sunak was accused of cancelling a meeting with the Greek prime minister at the 11th hour. Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed disappointment that the prime minister cancelled the meeting in which he planned to raise the prospect of the return of the Elgin Marbles during his visit to London. The British government confirmed the meeting had been shelved, as Mr Mitsotakis rejected an alternative meeting with the deputy prime minister. The diplomatic spat comes after Mr Mitsotakis had used an interview ahead of the anticipated talks to push for the return of the Elgin Marbles, saying the current situation was like the Mona Lisa painting being cut in half. Athens has long demanded the return of the historic works, also known as the Parthenon Sculptures, which were removed from Greece by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century when he was the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. A source on the Greek side said he and his team had been left baffled, surprised and not a little bit annoyed at an apparent sudden cancellation, especially when preventing migrant sea crossings - one of Mr Sunaks top five priorities - was high on the agenda. The museum houses the Parthenon Marbles, also known as the Elgin Marbles (AFP via Getty Images) Labour said that, if Mr Sunak had scrapped the talks because of controversy over the Elgin Marbles, then it showed he isnt able to provide the serious economic leadership our country requires. Downing Street, which pushed back against the Greek leaders Mona Lisa comparison, had earlier indicated that Mr Sunak would reject pleas for the ancient Greek artefacts, on display at the British Museum in London, to be handed back. In a statement, a spokesman for Mr Mitsotakis said: The prime minister is disappointed that prime Minister Sunak cancelled their bilateral meeting at the 11th hour today. Greece and Britain have a very deep history of friendship and co-operation, and the Greek government is extremely surprised by this decision. The prime minister was looking forward to discussing a range of topics of mutual interest including the Israel/Gaza conflict, Russias illegal invasion of Ukraine, climate change, as well as common challenges such as migration, and of course the Parthenon Sculptures. The prime minister cancelled a meeting with the Greek PM at the 11th hour (PA) Mr Mitsotakis, in a statement published on X, formerly Twitter, spoke of his dismay that the meeting had been cancelled just hours before it was due to take place. According to an online translation, he said: Anyone who believes in the correctness and justice of their positions is never afraid of opposing arguments. On Monday, the prime ministers official spokesman stressed Mr Sunaks support for the law that prevents the marbles from being permanently returned and suggested he would not be in favour of any loan arrangement. British Museum chairman George Osborne, a former chancellor, has previously said he is exploring ways for the Elgin Marbles to be displayed in Greece, with speculation that this could involve a loan deal in which part of the set would be sent to Athens. Asked about such an agreement, Mr Sunaks spokesman told reporters: We have no plans to change our approach and certainly we think that the museum is the right place for them. I havent asked him specifically about short-term or new ideas that have been put forward, but I think hes been fairly robust on his position. The official also said the government had no plans to change the 1963 British Museum Act which prohibits the removal of objects from the institutions collection. We have cared for the marbles for generations and our position is we want that to continue. The world comes to the UK regularly to see the marbles and there are no plans to change that or to change the law, he said. Mr Mitsotakis did manage to meet with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer during his visit to the UK capital. Sir Keir had indicated he would tell the Greek premier that a Labour government would not change the law, but that he would not stand in the way of a loan deal that was mutually acceptable to the museum and the Greek government. A Labour readout published after the meeting on Monday did not mention the sculptures. After Mr Mitsotakis said his meeting with Mr Sunak had not gone ahead, a spokeswoman for Labour said: If the prime minister isnt able to meet with a European ally with whom Britain has important economic ties, this is further proof he isnt able to provide the serious economic leadership our country requires. Keir Starmers Labour Party stands ready. On Sunday, Greeces prime minister argued a return of the sculptures was about reunification of the monument. He told the BBC: It is as if I told you that you would cut the Mona Lisa in half, and you will have half of it at the Louvre and half of it at the British Museum. Asked if Mr Sunak recognised that characterisation, his spokesman said: Obviously its not something we would agree with. These were legally acquired at the time, theyre legally owned by the trustees of the museum. We support that position and theres no plan to change the law which governs it. No 10 has been contacted for comment. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Two new all-Ireland research centres on climate and sustainable food are to be created with funding of 70 million euro (60.7 million). The funding will bring together academics, industry and policymakers across the Irish Government, UK Government and Stormont departments. One research centre will look at climate, biodiversity and water, while the other will be dedicated to researching sustainable and resilient food systems. Each will be led by a team of academics from Great Britain, Ireland and Northern Ireland. The investment was unveiled by Irish and UK science ministers Simon Harris and Michelle Donelan along with Katrina Godfrey, permanent secretary at Stormonts Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera). The two ministers are attending the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference in Dublin. Mr Harris said: Addressing climate change and achieving sustainable and resilient food systems are intertwined challenges facing us all. This investment in two new collaborative research centres is a major development in addressing these pressing issues in a co-ordinated and concerted way. Im delighted to see the very best minds and methods being brought together to create a dynamic research network across Ireland, Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Ms Donelan said: As I know from my own family links, UK and Ireland share deep ties and in todays fast-moving world, we share many of the same challenges too. From our groundbreaking international work on AI, to our deal to join Horizon, the UK is determined to seize the opportunities for growth and prosperity that can be delivered when we work together on science and tech with our neighbours. By bringing together the genius that exists across our islands, we will unlock the new ideas and inventions that will help us secure our food chains and tackle climate change, delivering innovative solutions for global good. Ms Godfrey said: The co-centres programme is an excellent example of government funders working in partnership to support researchers and industry who will undertake cutting-edge research in areas of mutual economic, societal, health and environmental importance. I am particularly pleased that researchers in Northern Ireland will be integral to the establishment of these co-centres Katrina Godfrey, Daera I am particularly pleased that researchers in Northern Ireland will be integral to the establishment of these co-centres. The programme is funded over six years, with up to 40 million euro (34.7 million) from Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), up to 17 million from Daera, and up to 12 million through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and is co-funded by industry. The two new co-centres will formally commence activities in January and will be funded until 2030. The programme takes forward commitments in the New Decade, New Approach Agreement to establish all-island research and innovation hubs. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Michael Gove has been slapped down at the Covid inquiry for suggesting the virus may have been man-made. Asked about the governments lack of preparation for coronavirus as the pandemic unfolded, Mr Gove admitted the government was not as well prepared as we should have been. The nature of our preparation was for a flu pandemic, he told the inquiry. But Mr Gove, who was chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster during the pandemic, extraordinarily went on to suggest the virus may have been man-made. The veteran minister said: It turned out that we were not as well prepared as we should have been, ideally. The nature of the fact the virus was novel and this probably goes beyond the remit of the inquiry, but there is a significant body of judgment that believes the virus itself was man-made. And that presents a set of challenges as well. Mr Gove was reprimanded by the Covid inquirys lead counsel, Hugo Keith KC, who said it was not the place to discuss the matter. He said: It forms no part of the terms of reference of this inquiry Mr Gove, to address that somewhat divisive issue, so we are not going to go there. Mr Gove said it was important to reflect that the virus presented a series of new challenges that required the science to adjust. Mr Gove is one of the most senior members of Boris Johnsons cabinet to give evidence to the current module of the pandemic, which is examining decision-making at the heart of government. He began his evidence by apologising to Covid victims and bereaved families for government "errors" during the pandemic, as he defended Mr Johnsons Downing Street operation against claims of dysfunctionality. The senior Tory, who was also Cabinet Office minister when the pandemic began in 2020, said he took some responsibility for the "mistakes" made at the top level of politics when the crisis unfolded. Giving evidence to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry on Tuesday, Mr Gove said: "If I may ... apologise to the victims who endured such pain, the families who endured so much loss as a result of the mistakes that were made by Government in response to the pandemic. "As a minister responsible for the Cabinet Office, and was also close to many of the decisions that were made, I must take my share of responsibility for that. "Politicians are human beings. Were fallible. We make mistakes and we make errors. I am sure that the inquiry will have an opportunity to look in detail at many of the errors I and others made." But the Cabinet minister went on to defend his conduct and that of Cabinet Office staff, saying there were no easy decisions to be made at the time. "I want to stress that I and those with whom I worked were also seeking at every point, in circumstances where every decision was difficult and every course was bad, to make decisions that we felt we could in order to try to deal with an unprecedented virus and a remarkable assault on the institutions of the country." Mr Gove also sought to play down accusations levelled repeatedly during the inquiry that Mr Johnsons No 10 was mired in chaos. He was questioned by lead counsel to the Covid-19 Inquiry Hugo Keith KC about WhatsApp messages by Cabinet Secretary Simon Case saying working with Mr Johnsons team was like "taming wild animals". Mr Gove said that while there were "strong personalities" in Downing Street under Mr Johnson, "you will always have - its in the nature of politics - strong views, sometimes punchily expressed". "The nature of decision-making in any organisation under pressure means that people do sometimes need to be a little bit direct," he said. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Rishi Sunak was rocked by further rebellions on immigration, as a cabinet minister said there were strong arguments in favour of Suella Bravermans proposal for an overall cap on migrant numbers. Immigration minister Robert Jenrick, a close ally of the sacked home secretary, suggested he was keen to consider her idea of a radical Australian-style cap on annual net migration numbers. It came as fellow Tory minister Lee Anderson openly backed Ms Bravermans plan in the Commons saying it was about time the government brought in a cap to crack down on record-high numbers. In other developments, Mr Sunaks ally William Hague warned the PM that he must find another country willing to accept deported asylum seekers if his Rwanda plan fails. It comes as Mr Sunak is said to have been warned by government lawyers that trying to opt out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) for his revised Rwanda plan wont work. The Tory PM is under huge pressure to deliver fresh ideas to crack down on both legal and illegal migration, after net arrivals hit a record high of 745,000 and the Supreme Court ruled against the Rwanda plan. Mr Anderson, the outspoken right-wing deputy chair of the party, asked Mr Jenrick in the Commons: Isnt it about time, minister, that we had a cap on migration, and put some clear divide between us and that lot over there? Mr Jenrick told Mr Anderson that he speaks for my constituents and promised fundamental reforms to the visa system before hinting that he has raised the idea of an overall cap with Mr Sunak. There are definitely strong arguments for using caps, whether in general or on specific visas but these are conversations that we need to conclude within government, said Mr Jenrick. Immigration minister Robert Jenrick pushing for hardline crackdown (PA) Mr Jenrick also appeared to confirm he was pushing Mr Sunak to raise salary thresholds for overseas NHS and care staff, having reportedly submitted a five-point plan of his own to No 10. Right-wing Tory MP Edward Leigh said wages in the care home sector had to go up to stop so many arrivals from overseas. He added: We know [Mr Jenrick] is on the right side hes just got to persuade the prime minister now. Not taken aback by the suggestion he was at odds with the PM, Mr Jenrick replied by saying Mr Leigh was absolutely right and I agree with everything he said. Mr Jenrick also confirmed he was pushing for a crackdown on the number of dependents coming with foreign workers. There is a strong argument for saying that it is unsustainable for the country to continue to take so many dependents. Senior Tory right-winger John Hayes another close ally of Ms Braverman told Mr Jenrick: We are relying on him to sort this out because we know he shares our concerns. Mr Hayes previously told The Independent that the immigration minister was a true believer. Mr Jenrick also told MPs that his own immigration plan would have been brought to the House before last Christmas if I could have done hinting that it had been blocked by No 10. A No 10 spokesperson responded: I dont know what specifically he is referring to. Rishi Sunak under growing pressure to set out plans for crackdown on legal and illegal migration (PA) Meanwhile, former Tory leader Lord Hague, a close ally of Mr Sunak, warned the PM that he may have to find another deportation deal partner to make his stop the boats policy work. If it wasnt Rwanda it would have to be somewhere else, said Lord Hague on the prospect that Mr Sunak will not be able to get one-way flights to the central African country off the ground. Lord Hague told Times Radio: They have got to have some aspect of this policy that shows that if you come to Britain illegally you are going to get removed from it So I think that is a necessary component, one way or another. The under-pressure PM is thought to be mulling over a plan to use a notwithstanding clause in his new emergency Rwanda legislation to direct British judges to ignore the ECHR. But the PM was said to have been warned of huge legal risks at a meeting on Saturday with home secretary James Cleverly, justice secretary Alex Chalk and attorney general Victoria Prentis. Legal advice heard at the meeting warned that such a move to flout the convention could lead to further challenges on the grounds that the UK was not meeting its human rights obligation, according to The Times. Asked if disapplying the ECHR had been ruled out of the Rwanda legislation, Mr Sunaks spokesman said: No there are policy discussions ongoing about how we meet that objective [to stop the boats]. New home secretary James Cleverly leaves cabinet on Tuesday (Getty) Senior Tory Sir Robert Buckland has warned against any moves to disapply the ECHR and said the Rwanda plan was not the be all and end all. Unless the government does more, unless Rwanda does more, to satisfy everybody that its a safe country then we will continue to struggle with the problems that we saw up to and including the Supreme Court judgement, he told GB News. Mr Cleverly has angered the Tory right after saying the Rwanda plan was not the be all and end all. The new home secretary is also seen as suspect among hardliners because he is known to be opposed to moves to opt out of the ECHR, and has not denied calling the Rwanda plan bats***. Mr Cleverly was set to meet Tory MPs later on Tuesday amid growing backbench anger. Allies told The Telegraph that he had become a flak magnet for anger over the Rwanda policy and net migration levels. Labours shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper mocked Mr Cleverlys problems with Tory right-wingers. She told the Commons: The problem seems to be that he thinks his Rwanda policy is bats***, thats driven his backbenchers apes*** and now his whole party is in deep shambles. Ms Cooper also took a swipe at Mr Jenrick, saying the immigration minister has been everywhere madly briefing all his ideas, before asking: Who speaks for the government? Senior Tory Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg launched a new attack on Mr Sunak over immigration calling his government the most inert since the reign of Henry VI in the 15th century. The former cabinet minister said current levels of migration let down an electorate and could cost the Tory party the next election. A majority of voters want lower immigration overall, according to new polling for More in Common. But when asked about specific professions, the public are more likely to say that levels of immigration for each group should remain the same or be increased. Only 19 per cent say overall net migration levels should be increased, versus 53 per cent who think it should be reduced. This is particularly high among voters who have abandoned the Tories since 2019 with 79 per cent of them saying immigration should be cut. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} It is a matter of regret that a diplomatic row has erupted over the Elgin Marbles, a Cabinet minister said, after Rishi Sunak snubbed Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The Greek leaders meeting with the Prime Minister due on Tuesday was unexpectedly cancelled following Mr Mitsotakiss comments about the Parthenon Sculptures, which he wants returned to Athens from the British Museum. He was offered a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden instead but turned that down. The usual protocol would normally mean a visiting prime minister would meet Mr Sunak, rather than a more junior minister. Transport Secretary Mark Harper rejected the assertion that it amounted to a snub to Mr Mitsotakis. The Deputy Prime Minister offered to meet the Greek prime minister today and it proved not possible to make that happen, Mr Harper told BBC Breakfast. Thats a matter of regret. That offer was made. But the Government set out its position about the Elgin Marbles very clearly, which is they should stay as part of the permanent collection of the British Museum. Asked whether it was a snub, he told Sky News: The Prime Minister wasnt able to meet the Greek prime minister. He was offered a meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister, which proved not to be possible for him to take up. So, I dont think Id characterise it the way you have. Discussions continue between our governments about important matters. A source on the Greek side told the PA news agency that Mr Mitsotakis and his team had been left baffled, surprised and not a little bit annoyed at an apparent sudden cancellation, especially when preventing migrant sea crossings one of Mr Sunaks top five priorities was high on the agenda. Greece and Britain have a very deep history of friendship and co-operation, and the Greek government is extremely surprised by this decision Spokesman for the Greek prime minister The diplomatic spat comes after Mr Mitsotakis used an interview ahead of the anticipated talks to push for the return of the sculptures, saying the current situation was like the Mona Lisa painting being cut in half. Athens has long demanded the return of the historic works, which were removed from Greece by Lord Elgin in the early 19th century when he was the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. Downing Street, which pushed back against the Greek leaders Mona Lisa comparison, had indicated that Mr Sunak would reject pleas for the ancient Greek artefacts, on display at the British Museum in London, to be handed back. Asked about the Greek prime ministers claims of a last-minute cancellation, a No 10 spokeswoman would only say that the UK-Greece relationship is hugely important. In a statement, a spokesman for the Greek prime ministers office said: The prime minister is disappointed that Prime Minister Sunak cancelled their bilateral meeting at the 11th hour today. Greece and Britain have a very deep history of friendship and co-operation, and the Greek government is extremely surprised by this decision. The prime minister was looking forward to discussing a range of topics of mutual interest including the Israel/Gaza conflict, Russias illegal invasion of Ukraine, climate change, as well as common challenges such as migration, and of course the Parthenon Sculptures. Mr Mitsotakis used a social media post to express dismay that the meeting had been cancelled just hours before it was due to take place. According to an online translation, he said: Anyone who believes in the correctness and justice of their positions is never afraid of opposing arguments. On Monday, the Prime Ministers official spokesman stressed Mr Sunaks support for the law that prevents the marbles from being permanently returned and suggested he would not be in favour of any loan arrangement. British Museum chairman George Osborne, a former chancellor, has previously said he is exploring ways for the Elgin Marbles to be displayed in Greece, with speculation that this could involve a loan deal in which part of the set would be sent to Athens. Asked about such an agreement, Mr Sunaks spokesman told reporters: We have no plans to change our approach and certainly we think that the museum is the right place for them. The official also said the Government had no plans to change the 1963 British Museum Act which prohibits the removal of objects from the institutions collection. Mr Mitsotakis did manage to meet Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer during his visit to the UK. Sir Keir had indicated he would tell the Greek premier that a Labour government would not change the law but that he would not stand in the way of a loan deal that was mutually acceptable to the museum and the Greek government. Labour criticised Mr Sunaks decision to cancel his meeting with his Greek counterpart. A Labour Party spokesman said: To pick a fight with a Nato ally for the sake of a headline shows just how weak Rishi Sunak is. The Prime Minister should have been talking about the economy, immigration, the Middle East, thats what the country would expect from a leader but Rishi Sunak is no leader. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Rishi Sunak is still considering how to ensure his Rwanda plan is legally watertight following reports Government lawyers warned that attempting to opt out of international rights treaties could delay flights. The Government had promised a treaty with Rwanda and emergency legislation in Parliament after the Supreme Court ruled against the plan to send some asylum seekers on a one-way trip to the African nation. No 10 had said in the hours after the November 15 Supreme Court defeat that the treaty would be laid before Parliament in the coming days so deportation flights could take off as soon as possible. Alongside the new treaty with Rwanda, domestic legislation was planned to ensure that flights could take off without further legal challenges. But the Prime Ministers official spokesman said policy options were still being considered. The Government still hopes the first flights carrying asylum seekers to Rwanda will take off by the spring. Mr Sunak has been urged, including by sacked home secretary Suella Braverman, to adopt tough legislation that includes notwithstanding clauses that can prevent judges from applying protections in the Human Rights Act and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to asylum cases. But The Times reported that the Government has received advice from its lawyers that says instructing the courts to ignore the ECHR risks opening up more avenues for migrants to challenge the legality of deportation flights, on the basis that it would breach Britains convention obligations. The newspaper quoted an anonymous Government source as saying: If we take the Supreme Courts ruling at face value and play a straight bat, that will be the quickest way of getting flights off the ground, instead of starting a big fight that may invite more challenges. The legal advice from Government lawyers is said to have been discussed at a meeting on Saturday between the Prime Minister, Home Secretary James Cleverly, Justice Secretary Alex Chalk and Attorney General Victoria Prentis. The PA news agency understands the purpose of the meeting was to run through multiple options for the emergency legislation that Downing Street has promised in a bid to break the legal logjam preventing deportation flights from taking off. Downing Street said it was not unusual under Mr Sunak for meetings to be held at the weekend, but no decisions have yet been made on how to proceed. The Prime Ministers official spokesman said: As the Prime Minister has said, we will do whatever it takes to stop the boats and there are policy discussions ongoing about how we meet that objective. We remain focused on making the Rwanda plan operational as swiftly as possible and addressing all the concerns of the Supreme Court. The spokesman said the precise form of the legislation and the devices used are still being discussed, and no final decisions have been taken. In a statement made from the Government Palace, the Head of State said that it is suspicious and serious that this complaint was filed after members of the Board of Supreme Prosecutors today demanded the resignation of Benavides. "We express our condemnation of such a despicable political maneuver which, improperly using the memory of deceased compatriots, attempts to distract attention from a very serious complaint against the own Attorney General, who must report to the corresponding authorities in a clear and precise manner," she remarked. ? Presidenta Dina Boluarte: "Somos enemigos de la corrupcion y de la impunidad, venga de donde venga. En ese sentido, como siempre lo he expresado, mi Gobierno ratifica el compromiso de lucha frontal contra la corrupcion".#BicentenarioPeru2024 ???? pic.twitter.com/LteMQL4Mzy For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Britons are being told to brace for potentially hazardous conditions as snow and ice are set for parts of the country. The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for snow and ice from 5pm on Tuesday until 11am on Wednesday for parts of northern and eastern Scotland, north-east England and Yorkshire. A separate warning is also in place from 5pm on Wednesday until 11am on Thursday for eastern Scotland and north-east England down to North Yorkshire. The Met Office said: Wintry showers will lead to ice forming on untreated surfaces during Tuesday evening and overnight into Wednesday morning. Snow will begin to accumulate, especially away from windward coasts, with 1-3cm possible. Higher routes of north-east Scotland may see up to 5cm of snow accumulate. Up to 2cm of snow is possible in places overnight from Wednesday into Thursday, with 5cm over higher ground. It is likely that some roads and railways could be hit, meaning travellers could face longer journey times by road, bus and train, according to the forecaster. They also warned that some icy patches could form on untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued a yellow cold-health alert for the health sector covering northern regions of England which runs through the whole week. Towards the end of the week there is a possibility of snow across parts of the south, according to the Met Office. The forecaster explained that snowfall in late autumn or early winter does not generally linger especially in southern Britain as ground temperatures broadly remain relatively high after the summer. David Oliver, a Met Office deputy chief meteorologist, said that after some rain on Monday, conditions will turn mainly dry in the south before there is a very uncertain period on Thursday and Friday for the southern half of England and Wales. He said: The weather models are highlighting several possible solutions from very wet to mainly dry, with a mainly dry picture the most probable outcome at present. However, some models include the prospect of an area of low pressure developing and moving in from the south or south-west. If this solution proves to be correct, we could see an area of warmer and moisture-laden air bumping into the cold air further north. Along the boundary of the two air masses lies a zone across southern and central Britain where snowfall could develop fairly widely. Snow in any affected area is unlikely to be anything more than transient and short-lived, but it could lead to small totals and some disruption over a few hours before melting. RAC Breakdown spokesman Rod Dennis said the service is expecting to see a sharp rise in breakdowns this week as the nation is in the grip of the cold blast and car batteries falter. He urged drivers to get their cars checked and to bring some winter gear on their journeys in case the get stuck in sub-zero temperatures. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A two-day extension of a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas offers the chance to free further hostages, a Foreign Office minister has said. Andrew Mitchell received reports of the deal while answering questions in the House of Commons and having previously insisted that the pause in hostilities should not be a one-off. Addressing the chamber, he said: There is some suggestion that while Ive been on my feet in the House, Qatar has announced a truce would be extended by two days. Obviously, we all hope that is true and that more hostages, as a result, will be able to leave. The Qatari government has said Israel and Hamas agreed to extend the humanitarian pause for two more days past Monday. The announcement came on the final day of the original four-day truce between the warring sides, and raises the prospect of further exchanges of militant-held hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari, in a post on X, formerly Twitter, said: The State of Qatar announces, as part of the ongoing mediation, an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian pause for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer had said the cessation of hostilities delivered some relief after weeks of pain and suffering, before insisting more time is needed if we are to build on this progress. He said: Todays agreement to extend this cessation of hostilities shows further such extensions are possible. Therefore, I call on all parties to build on this progress and work urgently towards a further extension. This would allow the release of further hostages and deliver more humanitarian relief for those in desperate need. And an extension would undoubtedly ease tensions across the region. Labour announced that Sir Keir has filled positions left vacant after a host of frontbenchers quit their roles or were sacked after voting in favour of a Gaza ceasefire motion in the Commons earlier this month. The official party position had been to back humanitarian pauses to allow aid in and for people to leave, without going as far as to demand a total cessation of hostilities. Alex Davies-Jones has replaced Jess Phillips as shadow minister for domestic violence as part of the changes, with Jim McMahon returning to frontbench duties as a shadow local government minister two months after resigning as shadow environment secretary on health grounds. Speaking in the Commons about the situation in Israel, Labour MP Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) accused the UK Government of not contacting family members of hostages for more than a month. Ms Creasy said: This weekend, the immigration minister for this Government, on a public platform, said this Government would not rest until each and every one of the hostages is returned back to the loving embrace of their families. It is now more than a month since anybody at all from the UK Government has had any contact at all with the UK citizens who have family members as hostages. Not a single phone call. Over 200 British nationals and their dependants have so far left Gaza and we're working around the clock to get the rest of those who want to leave out Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell Ms Creasy said she had pleaded with ministers to ensure the families could have just five minutes of Foreign Secretary Lord Camerons time to discuss their cases. She added: Its been other governments who have helped identify that their family members are alive. Mr Mitchell, in his reply, said: My understanding is not the same as hers in respect of the British hostages. She will know over 200 British nationals and their dependants have so far left Gaza and were working around the clock to get the rest of those who want to leave out. But in terms of the hostages, my understanding is not the same as she has said. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The former environment secretary who started the process of banning American XL bully dogs says she has received death threats as a result. Therese Coffey, who stepped down from her cabinet position two weeks ago as part of a reshuffle, said there had been no knee-jerk reaction in bringing forward the ban. She said the Government had acted due to the high number of XL bully attacks and the difficulty in preventing them. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced in September that the XL bully would be banned after a spate of attacks, including fatalities, linked to the dog type. Ms Coffey was tasked with leading the legislation. The reality was that there were simply too many attacks happening and the proportion of attacks happening by XL bully-type dogs was considerably higher than others Therese Coffey I must admit Ive had several death threats about this particular legislation that has been brought into place and Im conscious it is driving strong emotions, she told MPs during a Westminster Hall debate about petitions relating to the ban. Politicians also heard, during the opening of the debate by Petitions Committee member Nick Fletcher, that a mother whose son was killed by an XL bully had also been threatened after campaigning for improved safety. Defending the decision to bring in a ban, Ms Coffey said: The reality was that there were simply too many attacks happening and the proportion of attacks happening by XL bully-type dogs was considerably higher than others. Since Mr Sunak said he was taking action, the Government has announced that new rules due to come into force on December 31 will make it illegal to breed, sell, advertise, exchange, rehome, abandon or allow XL bully dogs to stray in England and Wales. It will be illegal to own an XL bully from February 1 unless the animal is on an exemption list, called the Index of Exempted Dogs. Ms Coffey said the build and stature of XL dogs meant they required a high degree of training to handle effectively. If we think about an adult XL bully dog, we are talking about something that is about 70 kilos these are big dogs, she said These really have a lot of strength and frankly, the only way to unlock their jaws once they latch on to somebody is to basically choke it. Not kick it in the head or anything like that that will make it grab on even tighter. And that is what we are dealing with where, sadly, some of these dogs do get out of control and it is the characteristics that lead them to have that physical strength. And also we must not get away from the fact that they are originally parts of various bits of pit bulls, mastiffs and similar. Ms Coffey said a less hardline approach had been taken by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs than with other dogs on the Dangerous Dogs Act, saying everybody who loves their XL bully can keep their XL bully. Those who wish to keep their dogs have until the end of January to register them with the exemption scheme or they can have their dog put down and apply for compensation. Owners will be forced to comply with strict rules including the requirement to muzzle the dogs and keep them on a lead in public, but the animals must also be microchipped and neutered. The Government took an approach that would allow time for people to rehome, if they feel they could not keep an XL bully-type dog, Ms Coffey said. But also, very different to what has happened more recently when people have a pit bull and similar, they can still apply to get a certificate to join the Index of Exempted Dogs. The default here is that every person who registers their XL bully-type dog will get a certificate automatically and they will automatically join the index. So that is quite a significant difference, even though Im conscious it will cost some money to do that. Sir Robert Goodwill, Tory chairman of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee, said his cross-party panel supported the ban. He called it a sensible way forward when ministers were faced with a ticking time bomb of future attacks. But Ian Lavery, Labour MP for Wansbeck, said it would be a challenge to ban a dog that was not a pure breed. What is an XL bully? It is basically a cross-breed. And you cannot just say, Well that dog looks like an XL bully so it qualifies to be euthanised. That is not the right approach, it really isnt. A lot of these XL bullies are absolutely wonderful dogs. Environment minister Mark Spencer said the ban was coming in after it was found that XLs appears to have been disproportionately involved in a rise in dog attacks. That is why we have taken decisive action to ban the XL bully breed type and to attempt to keep our communities safe, he said. Before the debate, MPs were told that the Governments ban faces potential legal challenges. Close Alex Murdaugh takes plea deal over financial crimes Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Convicted killer Alex Murdaugh will be confronted by his victims in a courtroom in South Carolina today as he is sentenced on a slew of state financial crime charges. For more than a decade, Murdaugh stole over $8.5m from clients at his law firm in a vast multi-million-dollar fraud scheme. Among the victims was the family of Gloria Satterfield, the Murdaughs longtime housekeeper who died in a 2018 trip and fall at Moselle. In that case, Murdaugh stole more than $4m in wrongful death settlements meant for her sons. The disgraced legal scion reached a plea deal with prosecutors on 17 November, agreeing to plead guilty to 22 charges including money laundering, fraud and criminal conspiracy. Under the terms of the deal, prosecutor Creighton Waters is asking Judge Clifton Newman to sentence Murdaugh to 27 years to be served concurrently to his two life sentences for murder. Before the judge hands down his sentence, several of Murdaughs victims will confront him in court in impact statements. The sentencing marks only the latest chapter in the Murdaugh saga, as he continues to fight his conviction over the June 2021 murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Fortune was on an Illinois mans side after a store retailers simple mistake led him to win $390,000. Michael Sopejstal, 60, had his life changed completely when he bought a Lucky For Life Ticket in the Michigan Lottery that matched five white balls drawn on 17 September: 11, 15, 17, 24 and 48. He told Lottery officials that every few weeks, he drives through Indiana to Michigan to eat at his favourite restaurant, and during the journey, he always gets a Lucky for Life ticket for 10 or 20 draws. He stopped at a GoLo gas station in New Buffalo when the retailer accidentally printed him a ticket with 10 lines for one drawing rather than 10 separate draws. Mr Sopejstal told him he still wanted it and went on his way, not knowing that he had just purchased a ticket that would turn his world upside down. When he eventually went to check his ticket he says he was overwhelmed when he discovered he had won $25,000 a year for life. Mr Sopejstals lucky ticket (Michigan Lottery) I immediately started thinking about all the things I could do with the money and whether I wanted to take the lump sum or annuity option, he said to the Lottery. It was an amazing feeling! Mr Sopejstal visited Lottery headquarters to cash in his ticket. He decided to take his winnings as one lump sum of $390,000 over annuity payments of $25,000 a year for 20 years or life. Now he says he has decided to invest his money in travelling and put the remainder in savings. Thanks to the retailer, Mr Sopejstal won a huge prize, but his odds of winning on 17 September were one in more than 1.8 million. Lucky for Life tickets can be bought in Michigan at retailers in the state or online for just $2 per play, with a chance of winning $3 to a lifetime of cash. Drawings take place at 10.38pm every day. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The disappearance of a Michigan man who has not been seen since October took a mysterious and tragic turn when his body was found in a vent inside a community college. Jason Anthony Thompson, 36, was reported missing by his family after he was last seen on 25 October. Over a month later, a body identified as Thompson was found in a ventilation system in a Performing Arts facility at the Macomb Community College in Michigan on Sunday. The discovery came after a foul smell started to come through the vents, the college campus police said in an initial news release. "There is no reason to suspect foul play," Macomb College Police Chief William Leavens said. The college police said they are awaiting a cause of death from the Macomb County medical examiner. In Facebook posts made to her local community, Shelby Thompson, the sister of the deceased father-of-two, had made pleas throughout November to help find her brother. She said in a post that showed CCTV footage of Thompson leaving her apartment at around 5.41pm on 25 October and was last heard from via text message at around 9.40pm. Ms Thompson said she went to local hospitals, jails, and police departments to try and find her brother, but was met with no avail. Never in his life has he ever gone without contact with our family for more than 24 hours, not once, she wrote in her appeal posts. Missing poster created by Thompsons sister (Shelby Thompson/Facebook) This is completely unusual for my brother. A GoFundMe page for a funeral service set up by a person who claims to be Thompsons cousin said he was a father to two young children. Jason was loved by many people, and his family has been through a lot over the past month while he has been missing, the page stated after Thompson was found dead. Thompson was not affiliated with the college, spokesperson Jeanne M. Nicol told NBC News. She could not say how he ended up in the performing arts building as the investigation is still ongoing. The college community extends heartfelt condolences during this difficult time to Mr. Thompsons family and friends, Ms Nicol added. Classes at the college have been cancelled until next week, and the performing arts building remains closed. Student Anna Venhuizen told Fox17that it is going to be really weird returning to class after the tragic discovery. Macomb Centre for the Performing Arts, where Thompsons body was reportedly found (Google Maps) I couldve walked right by where it was for the past few weeks," Ms Venhuizen said. "I couldve walked right by a dead body in the building and never have known it. Thompson was reported missing to the Sterling Heights Police Department on 1 November, just under a week since they last saw him. The police department was saddened that their investigation into this missing persons case had ended this way. "Sterling Heights detectives exhausted every resource and lead in attempts to locate Mr Thompson," Public Informational Officer Lt. Mario Bastianelli told The Independent. "We received information from our law enforcement partners at Macomb Community College of the unfortunate discovery of Mr. Thompson. Our hearts and prayers go out to the family for the loss of their loved one." The Independent has contacted the Sterling Heights Police Department and the Macomb Community College Police Department for further information. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} More than 120 suspected victims of job scams have been rescued after being stranded by fighting in northern Myanmar between the military and armed ethnic groups, Malaysia's government said. The number of Malaysians rescued surged from an initial 26 to 127 in the past few days, Foreign Minister Zambry Abd Kadir told local media late Monday before flying to New York. He said they are in a safe location and the government hoped to fly them home by Thursday. The foreign ministry earlier said the group were stranded in Laukkaing, a town known as a notorious hub for online scams, gambling and other major organized crimes. Fighting has continued in northern Myanmar after an alliance of armed ethnic minority groups launched a surprise offensive last month. They have seized control of several border crossings to China, in a major disruption to trade. Zambry said the ministry was asked to help evacuate an Indonesian and a Hong Kong citizen from the area. He said the duo will be flown out with the Malaysians. He thanked China and Myanmar authorities for their help in the operation but didn't give further details. A government official who declined to be named as he isn't authorized to speak to the media said Tuesday that based on initial information, the 127 Malaysians were lured to the area by fraud job offers. He said details of the rescue operation and their evacuation couldn't be released yet due to the sensitivity of the case and the various parties involved. Earlier this month, 266 Thai victims of human traffickers, several Filipinos and a Singaporean were also rescued from Laukkaing and taken to China's Kunming city, where they boarded chartered flights to Bangkok. Another group of 41 Thais were also reportedly repatriated across the land border. Unrest in Myanmars border region has been a constant irritant to China, despite its support for the country's military rulers who took power in a takeover in 2021. Beijing earlier this week called for a cease-fire in Myanmar but said it will continue live-firing drills on its side of the frontier to prepare for any emergency. Chinese police have reportedly fired tear gas to drive away people who were sheltering close to the border fence. China is highly wary of conflicts spilling over the border that is already rife with drug trafficking and people smuggling. Cybercrime targeting Chinese victims has become a major concern, and China has pushed hard to eliminate the groups based in Myanmar and other countries and to send the perpetrators back to China for prosecution. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A group of roommates in Maryland are suing their county after police officers allegedly burst into their home without cause, detained them, and then shot their dog. The roommates are suing Prince George's County and are seeking at least $16m in damages, according to CBS News. On 2 June, 2021, officers in Prince George's County responded to a report that a dog had bitten someone at the apartment complex where the plaintiffs lived. Body camera footage shows the police officers arriving at the plaintiffs' apartment complex and knocked on the plaintiffs' door. No one answered, so the police obtained a master key from a maintenance worker at the property and returned to the apartment. The officers entered the apartment with their guns drawn. Two of the house mates were in their rooms when the police burst into the unit. One individual can be heard yelling that the police have no right to be in their living space. The police said they did not need a warrant to enter as they had "probable cause." The dog living at the apartment reportedly followed an officer out of one of the bedrooms and approached its owner, Erica Umana. The police allegedly panicked, according to the lawsuit, after which they fired their weapons at the dog. Ms Umana told the Washington Post in 2021 that she pleaded with them to help her wounded and dying pet, but she claims they showed no concern. "I was just begging them, begging them," she said. "They just had no remorse." Four Maryland roomates are suing police in Prince Georges County, Maryland, after they allegedly shot and killed their dog (The Washington Post) The police then handcuffed the roommates and placed them into their cruisers for approximately an hour before releasing them from custody. The roommates originally sought criminal charges against the police, but the Maryland state attorney's office chose not to prosecute the case, claiming the officers "didn't generate criminal liability because they were acting in good faith," according to the Washington Post. Prince George's County officials allegedly offered to pay for Ms Umana's vet bills if she would stay quiet about the incident, but she refused, according to the lawsuit. Three of the officers involved were placed on administrative leave after the shooting, and a department investigator accused two of them of "conduct unbecoming an officer" for entering a home without a warrant. A third officer was cleared of any wrongdoing. The Independent has reached out to the Prince Georges County Police Department for comment. The plaintiffs' lawsuit accuses the police of engaging in excessive force, false arrest, and violation of their constitutional rights against unreasonable searches and seizures. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Following the death of the former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, who passed away at the age of 96 on 19 November, the White House has been taking measures to pay homage to her. President Joe Biden signed a proclamation that ordered all US flags to be lowered down to half-staff from 25 November as a mark of respect for the memory of Ms Carter. Where will the flags be flown at half-staff? The proclamation said all US flags will be flown at half-staff, meaning the flag will be dropped down to somewhere around the middle of the pole. US flags on the White House, all public buildings and grounds, naval stations, military posts, and naval vessels throughout the country and its territories will fly at half-staff from 25 November until 29 November at sunset, when Ms Carter is due to be laid to rest. Mr Biden followed in the proclamation that this also applies to all US embassies, legations, consular offices and all other facilities abroad. Why is this tradition carried out? Flags in the US are flown at half-staff, also known as half mast, as a sign that the whole nation is mourning, according to the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Mourning periods can be proclaimed by the United States president for national remembrance, but regional authorities or heads of departments can also order them to be lowered in smaller areas, such as in a state or military base. It is unclear what started this tradition, but countries all around adopt the same practice for similar mourning reasons. The flag is usually run quickly to the top of the pole before being lowered slowly down to a half-staff position. Ms Carter will be laid to rest on 29 November (Diana Walker/Getty Images File) Why are they being lowered for Rosalynn Carter? Despite Ms Carters passing on 19 November, Mr Biden waited until after the Thanksgiving holiday to declare a proclamation. Her husband, 39th president Jimmy Carter, 99, who currently is receiving hospice care in his home in Plains, Georgia, will have the flag flown for an entire month upon his death. Mr Biden has chosen to declare national mourning for the former First Lady for her services as a public figure. She was a champion for equal rights and opportunities for women and girls; an advocate for mental health and wellness for all; and a supporter of the often unseen and uncompensated caregivers of our children, ageing loved ones, and people with disabilities, the presidents proclamation stated. Her time as First Lady and holding many positions within human rights, democracy, health, and womens rights causes, among others throughout her life, has earned her a highly-respected reputation in American politics. A service for Ms Carter will take place in Atlanta on 28 November, with another funeral the following day at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, a church the Carters were members of for more than 40 years. She will be buried on land near the couples home where she and Mr Carter have lived since 1961. Ms Carter with her husband, former president Jimmy Carter (Getty Images) Other occasions flags are at half-staff Flags are flown at half-staff, usually for government officials, military members or someone the president believes the country will be in mourning for. They are also lowered for national tragedies, such as recently for the victims that were killed in the Lewiston, Maine shooting in October. Flags are also flown at half-staff on Memorial Day on the last Monday of May, or other national memorial occasions, such as the anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Close President Jimmy Carter arrives at wife Rosalynns funeral Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Former President Jimmy Carter appeared beside his family to honour his late wife, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, at a private funeral service on Wednesday in Plains, Georgia. Carter, a renowned mental health advocate, died on November 19 at the age of 96, just two days after entering hospice. Earlier this year she was diagnosed with dementia. Wednesdays funeral was a private event for Carters close friends and family, marking the end of three days of memorial and tribute services. During the service, several of Carters children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren spoke at her funeral, recalling her empathetic nature. The funeral service will be followed by a private internment, closed to the media, at the Carter family residence. It comes one day after a public tribute service to the late first lady which was attended by President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, former President Bill Clinton and former First Ladies Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, Laura Bush and Melania Trump. YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan has been delaying peace talks with Armenia for unclear reasons, Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Alen Simonyan has said. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Simonyan said that Azerbaijan has been avoiding a number of different formats of the talks. I dont understand why Azerbaijan has been avoiding various formats. First, they accused France, then they accused Brussels, they rejected some format, and then they rejected the Washington format. I honestly dont understand what this kind of delay would give Azerbaijan and the region, when they are speaking about peace on one hand, and on the other hand they are avoiding the peace treaty that is already very close to reality, if you will, Simonyan said. Speaker Simonyan emphasized that Armenia has already drawn its red lines, such as Armenias territory of 29,800 square kilometers. The red line is drawn, that not a single piece of Armenias sovereign territory will be given up. They often speak about, for example, the four villages, but we have thirty-one villages that are either partially or entirely under Azerbaijani occupation. Now we must talk about the thirty-one villages, Simonyan said. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A mother has spoken of her horror after her two children drowned using scuba tanks in a friends pool. Suzie Dudass two children, Zale, nine, and Saxon, seven, had gone with their father to a friends home after school to play. During the play-date they tried scuba diving in the pool but their mother says the tanks had helium in instead of oxygen and they lost consciousness in the water. A mix of helium and oxygen is used by deep-sea divers. When her ex-husband, who is a scuba diver, looked in the pool, he saw the children lying at the bottom and pulled them out to start CPR. Ms Dudas received a call from her ex-husband and rushed to the hospital. Efforts to resuscitate the children were unsuccessful and Zale and Saxon died four days later on 27 April, 2021. The 46 year-old mother, a farmer from Palm Beach, Florida, said: "You cant put into words the upset, the anger, and the disbelief. "The guilt that you werent there for your children, that you allowed it to happen, that you helped them to get into bathing suits." Describing the moment she found out what had happened, she said: "When I picked up he wasnt on the line but I could hear them in the background shout start CPR. "I hung up and I called my friend who owned the house, I told her my children are drowning in her pool and to call 911. Then I just started driving." "I knew but I didnt want to accept - it was unreal. To see how dilated my childrens eyes were. They didnt even look like themselves." In May 2022, the Florida State Attorneys Office said it would not be filing charges in what it called a "heartbreaking tragedy". Ms Dudas is calling for the investigation to be reopened and sharing her story on social media - @justiceforzaleandsaxon. Florida State Attorney Thomas Bakkedahl, said: "I can confirm that our office has conducted an exhaustive review of the Sheriffs comprehensive investigation along with additional information and materials provided by the mother of Zale and Saxon. "After significant legal research conducted by my Chief Assistant and one of my major crime prosecutors, it was determined that the State could not, in good faith, seek criminal charges in this heartbreakingly tragic event. "Stated quite simply, the law and the facts prohibit a criminal prosecution in this instance. These findings and conclusions were communicated to the Martin County Sheriffs Office and they have concurred with our decision. "At an extensive in-person meeting, our findings and conclusions were communicated to the childrens mother as well as her civil attorneys. During this meeting, my assistants answered questions and addressed concerns of the attorneys. "Our hearts go out to all those who loved Zale and Saxon and while we completely understand their desire that someone be held accountable, unfortunately that accountability cannot be found within the criminal justice system." Close 3 Palestinian students shot in Vermont Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The families of three Palestinian students injured in a shooting near the University of Vermont have sent a message condemning certain media coverage of the suspect, Jason Eaton. The three 20-year-olds Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ahmad were ambushed by a gunman as they walked to a family Thanksgiving in Burlington on Saturday night. The attack is being investigated as a hate crime. Mr Eaton, 48, was arrested the next day near the scene of the attack. He pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted murder. In the wake of his arrest, Mr Eatons mother alleged that he suffered from depression. In a statement on Tuesday, the families of the victims denounced media reports deflecting blame for the shooting on the suspects alleged mental health struggles. We do not accept what this wrongfully implies about people who struggle with their mental health, nor do we accept it as justification or context for this heinous, hate-driven crime, they wrote. Also on Tuesday, NBC News unearthed police reports in which Mr Eatons ex-girlfriend accused him of sending her harassing messages of a sexual nature in 2019. Close Related video Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The hotly-anticipated trial of the rapper Young Thug is underway in a courtroom in Atlanta, Georgia, following almost a year of delays. In May 2022, Young Thug, real name Jeffery Williams, was arrested and charged in a sprawling RICO indictment along with 27 other defendants. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis who is using the same law to prosecute Donald Trump in his Georgia election interference case accused the suspects of being part of a criminal street gang named YSL or Young Slime Life. According to prosecutors, the gang is responsible for a series of violent crimes, including murders, shootings, carjackings and racketeering. Young Thug has denied the accusations and insisted that YSL is simply Young Thugs record label Young Stoner Life. After several defendants took plea deals or had their cases severed, the Grammy Award-winning rapper and five others are finally on trial. Awkwardness erupted after the second witness to testify on Tuesday, Captain Pettis, said that he saw a group of men flashing gang hand signs, and later admitted during cross-examination that he had no idea what the signs meant. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Australia will ban the import of disposable single-use vapes in the first stage of a major crackdown on smoking devices, amid concern over rising rates of nicotine addiction among young people/ The ban on the import of single-use vapes will begin on 1 January 2024 and will be followed by a ban on the personal importation of all vapes, health minister Mark Butler has announced. The import of refillable non-therapeutic vapes will be banned from March, he said, adding that only doctors and nurses would be authorised to prescribe therapeutic vapes. Vaping was introduced as an alternative to smoking tobacco but it has created a "new generation of nicotine dependency in our community", the health minister added. Despite a 2021 ban on the purchase or import of nicotine vapes without a prescription from a doctor, vaping rates have soared in the country. About one in seven 14 to 17-year-olds and one in five 18 to 24-year-olds were using vapes, according to the government's data from the first quarter of 2023. The government will also introduce legislation in 2024 to prevent domestic manufacture, advertisement, supply and commercial possession of non-therapeutic and disposable vapes in an effort to control the devices across all levels of the supply chain, the health ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. All Australian governments are committed to working together to stop the disturbing growth in vaping among our young people, the health minister said. The Anthony Albanese government cited "strong and consistent evidence" to suggest that young Australians who vape were around three times more likely to take up tobacco in the future. Ambitious plans to impose a ban on disposable vapes, while also increasing the taxation on tobacco, were first announced in May, though no timeline for the measures was provided then. "Vaping was sold to governments and communities around the world as a therapeutic product to help long-term smokers quit," Mr Butler said at the time. "It was not sold as a recreational product especially not one targeted to our kids, but that is what it has become." He said vaping was a "gateway to smoking" and smoking remained one of the leading preventable causes of death and disease in the country, responsible for almost 20,000 Australian deaths each year. The government will allot an additional $25m to the Australian Border Force and $56.9m to the Therapeutic Goods Administration over two years to eliminate the rampant vaping black market. The Australian Medical Association hailed the import ban. "Australia has been a world leader in reducing smoking rates and the subsequent health harms, so the government's decisive action to stop vaping in its tracks and prevent further harm is very welcome," said Steve Robson, president of the association. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} New Zealands decision to reverse its landmark generational smoking ban to fund tax cuts could be just the first step of many by the new conservative coalition government to chip away at Jacinda Arderns progressive legacy. The smoking ban, passed last year by the Labour government, stated that anyone born after 1 January 2009 would never be able to buy tobacco, with the age limit to purchase cigarettes rising by a year every 12 months. The policy shift was a step towards preventing thousands of smoking-related deaths and saving money in the healthcare system. Unveiled by former prime minister Ms Ardern, the legislation also included a significant reduction in the permissible nicotine levels within tobacco products and aimed to restrict tobacco sales exclusively to designated stores, drastically reducing the number of authorised outlets from 6,000 to just 600 nationwide. It was the worlds first policy of its kind and has inspired other governments, including that of the UK, to consider similar measures. Ms Ardern the flagbearer of the smoking ban is widely believed to be the inspiration behind Rishi Sunaks announcement at the Conservative Party conference last month that he would effectively outlaw smoking among younger generations. New Zealands law change was supposed to be implemented from July next year. Now, however, the new conservative coalition led by 53-year-old businessman Christopher Luxon says the prohibition will be repealed, and that it would have created an opportunity for a black market to emerge, which would be largely untaxed. In her five years as prime minister, Ms Ardern emerged as a symbol for left-leaning politics and women in leadership around the world, elevating New Zealands profile in the process. Despite facing challenges on the domestic front, largely fuelled by unhappiness over economic concerns and Covid-19 restrictions, she became something of a global icon. Jacinda Ardern, centre, waves as she leaves Friday prayers at Hagley Park in Christchurch, New Zealand in 2019 (AP) Ms Ardern grabs a selfie with students of Addington School in Christchurch, in 2017 (AP) In 2019, in the aftermath of the Christchurch mosque attacks which killed 51 people, Ms Ardern promptly took action to strengthen New Zealands gun regulations, announcing a ban on military-style semi-automatic firearms within a week of the tragedy. She met the families of victims of the attack wearing a hijab, telling them New Zealand was united in grief. As one of the worlds few female heads of state, she also made international headlines when she brought her baby to a United Nations meeting. She used the moment to advocate for more support for working mothers, saying: I have the ability to take my child to work, theres not many places you can do that. However, the going was not always smooth. During the first wave of Covid, Ms Arderns government implemented a strict national lockdown a move which divided opinion. Some credited her with saving thousands of lives but a section of health experts called it archaic and misinformed. Challenges persisted with the increasing cost of living, a shortage of affordable housing, rising inequality, and unfulfilled election promises. In January this year, she announced her resignation saying she no longer had enough in the tank for the job. Despite the perception that Ms Arderns Labour government failed to accomplish significant tasks at home, the former leader did make contributions towards welfare and poverty reduction. Now that the centre-right National Party-led coalition has formed New Zealands next government, experts say most of the reforms she announced could be at risk. Mr Luxon was officially sworn in as New Zealand's 42nd prime minister and said his top priority was to improve the economy (NZME) There are fears that important changes to housing regulations such as preventing landlords from evicting tenants without cause and banning the deduction of interest payments are on the agenda for reversal, according to local media. Ms Ardern was also credited with revolutionising workers rights in New Zealand. Her administration significantly expanded unions collective bargaining power through the format of fair pay agreements (FPAs), bringing unions and business associations together to agree pay rates that would then apply across entire industries. Mr Luxons National Party, however, says the new law was harmful to productivity and business. In its coalition agreement, the new government pledged to repeal the Fair Pay Act by Christmas, according to Stuff. Several observers believe that given the complexity of FPAs, they were not necessarily the central focus of the election campaign. But they hold implications for Ms Arderns legacy as they represent the conflict between interests of capital and labour in the countrys political landscape. A sign on the Waitangi Treaty Grounds where the Treaty of Waitangi was first signed between Maori and the British Crown on 6 February 1840 (AP) The newly formed government has also vowed to re-evaluate the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealands founding document that establishes the relationship between the government and the Maori people. Last year, Ms Ardern issued a long overdue apology to the Ngati Maniapoto tribe for warmongering and nearly two centuries of Treaty of Waitangi breaches. Her government committed to providing $155m in financial and commercial redress and returning 36 culturally significant sites to the Maori community. During the election, leader of the right-wing ACT Party (which forms part of the new coalition) David Seymour announced that his party aims to end the co-governance and eliminate division by race. This country deserves a say on what the Treaty means. Its everybodys country and everybody should have a say in how its constitutional arrangements evolve and develop, he said. Another coalition partner, New Zealand First, also outlined proposals to strip Maori names from government departments and introduce legislation designating English as an official language of New Zealand. Our very democracy is at risk from a rising tide of racism and separatism that has given birth to secret social engineering that you were never warned about and most certainly never agreed to, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters (now deputy prime minister) said before the election. Maori community leaders and politicians have warned that there could be civil disobedience if there are changes made to the treaty. The then prime minister carries her newborn baby Neve Te Aroha Ardern Gayford, alongside her partner Clarke Gayford, as she walks out of the Auckland Hospital on 24 June 2018 (Reuters) To my mind, there are two Jacindas the one with superhuman emotional intelligence in moments of crisis that had us bonded in solidarity to one another, and the super-cautious domestic policy Jacinda who, despite having our hearts soar from the rhetoric of transformation, always managed to disappoint in delivery, media commentator Martyn Bomber Bradbury said when Ms Ardern resigned in January this year. There are only so many good first steps before you accept you are jogging on the spot. In the end, her kindness exacerbated anger because when you are hurting, having someone smile at you makes you angrier. In 2020, Ms Ardern gained international attention for leading the most diverse parliament in New Zealands history comprising over half female members and the largest representation of indigenous Maori lawmakers. And in April this year, New Zealand achieved gender parity in its cabinet for the first time albeit after Ms Ardern left office. The shift to the right in this years general election saw New Zealands parliament become less ethnically diverse, with a few exceptions, wrote political scientists Alexander Tan and Neel Vanvari in news and academic research website The Conversation. Mr Luxons 20-member cabinet met for the first time on Tuesday this week, and is no longer equal in terms of gender, with eight women and 12 men in the governments top roles. The new prime minister refused to be drawn on policy announcements, saying cabinet needed to meet first to discuss them. Well work out how best to implement all the commitments that weve made over the coalition, but some of it wont all happen in the first 100 days, some of it will, he added. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Winter's early onset has brought heavy snowfall and icy roads to Northern Europe, creating disruptions and dangerous driving conditions, with German media reporting Tuesday at least two deaths and children stuck overnight in a school. To the north, Scandinavia was also experiencing unusually cold temperatures for November. Temperatures were well below freezing in nearly all of Sweden, Denmark and Norway. Several locations on Norways west coast recorded record lows for the month on Monday, according to public broadcaster NRK. Germany's western state of Hesse was particularly affected by the snow and icy roads, with power cuts due to fallen trees in some places, the news agency dpa reported. Across Hesse, road accidents with injuries were reported and trees collapsed under the weight of snow. Drivers were stuck in their cars in the Rheingau-Taunus district and about a hundred people had to be rescued due to fallen trees near the town of Eltville. In the nearby city of Wiesbaden, many roads had to be completely closed. Students and staff at a school had to sleep overnight in the building because school buses were no longer running. Firefighters set up sleeping accommodation for the 55 people stranded, including 27 children. The wintry weather caused havoc elsewhere in the country as well. There were numerous reports of road accidents in Berlin and the surrounding state of Brandenburg. In neighboring Saxony-Anhalt, a school bus with 16 children on board skidded into a ditch Tuesday morning due to the slippery road surface. One child was injured, police reported. In the southwestern state of in Baden-Wurttemberg, a 71-year-old man was killed in a head-on collision on a slippery road Monday evening, while a 54-year-old female driver died in an accident on a slippery road in the neighboring state of Rhineland-Palatinate, dpa reported. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Russian troops have encircled the eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka from "all directions" following a months-long offensive that is yet to see a significant breakthrough on the battlefield. Vladimir Putin's forces have suffered some of their heaviest losses in the war so far as they escalated land and air-based attacks on Avdiivka in the Donetsk region, but have been facing a strong pushback from Ukrainian forces in recent weeks. "Things in the Avdiivka sector have become tougher. The intensity of clashes has been increasing for some time," Vitaliy Barabash, head of Avdiivka's military administration, told Espreso TV. He said the Russians were attacking from two more sectors in the direction of Donetsk and in the "so-called industrial zone", where much of the fighting had been focused. "The enemy is attempting to storm the city from all directions," he said. The Ukrainian military previously said Moscow had launched "more than 150" attacks on Ukrainian positions in villages around the town. Ukrainian forces a day earlier claimed they had "repelled" two dozen attacks around Avdiivka. Fierce fighting has turned the former coal hub into piles of rubble as officials say not a single building remains intact. Fewer than 1,500 residents remain of a population of 32,000 before the war. Ukrainian and Western military analysts say Russia has incurred heavy losses, although the battle for the town is rarely mentioned in official Russian military dispatches. Russia is believed to have suffered "some of the highest" casualties of the entire conflict in the past six weeks, mostly due to the fighting in Avdiivka, the UKs Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in an intelligence update on Monday. It cited data from the General Staff of Ukraines Armed Forces that suggested Russias daily losses to be at an average of 931 troops throughout November. Avdiivka was briefly captured in 2014 by Russian-financed separatists who seized large chunks of eastern Ukraine. Fortifications were later built around the town seen as a gateway to the Russian-held regional centre of Donetsk and it has staunchly resisted attacks since Moscow began its full-fledged invasion in February 2022. Ukraine launched a counteroffensive in June but has made only marginal gains in both the east and the south. President Volodymyr Zelensky has acknowledged the slow progress but denies suggestions the war is at a "stalemate". For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said another 3,000 of his men were ready to join Russia's invasion of Ukraine amid reports of heavy losses for Vladimir Putin's troops in their push to capture an eastern city. Mr Kadyrov, a self-proclaimed "foot soldier" of the Russian president, said his fighters were ready to form new units of the Russian defence ministry and the Russian National Guard forces. His statement comes amid reports of Russian troops suffering some of the highest casualties of the conflict so far amid intense fighting in eastern Ukraine. The UKs Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Monday said Russia was losing an average of 931 men a day this month, largely in the fight for the town of Avdiivka. Until now the heaviest casualties suffered in a month by Russia according to Ukrainian data was March this year, with an average of 776 losses per day during the push to capture Bakhmut. "They (the Chechen fighters) have the best equipment and modern weapons," Mr Kadyrov claimed on Telegram. "In addition, the guys are highly combative and very motivated to achieve results," he added. Mr Kadyrov had earlier sent 26,000 fighters to the battlefield since the beginning of Russia's war in Ukraine last year. According to reports, 12,000 were volunteers at that time and 7,000 of them were actively fighting. These claims about Chechen deployments to Ukraine could not be independently verified, and Reuters reported that several Chechen armed formations have fought on the side of Kyiv against Russia since Mr Putin launched his invasion in February last year. Mr Kadyrov also claimed last year to have sent his three teenage sons to fight in Ukraine, saying he wanted them to "show themselves in a real battle". "Soon they will go to the front line and will be on the most difficult sections of the line of contact," he had said in a Telegram post in 2022. Mr Kadyrov enjoys wide leeway from Mr Putin to run Chechnya ruthlessly as his personal fiefdom, but he angered pro-Kremlin hardliners in September by praising his 15-year-old son for beating up an ethnic Russian prisoner in Chechen custody. Mr Kadyrov met the Russian president in September amid speculations over his health, with rumours swirling that he was either dead or in a coma. He later clarified that he was fine and was travelling to a hospital in Moscow to visit a "sick uncle". Earlier this month Mr Kadyrov said that a large group of Russia's former Wagner mercenaries, who had played a prominent role in some of the fiercest fighting in Ukraine before their group fell into disarray after a brief mutiny against the Russian defence establishment, had also started training with special forces from Chechnya. Mr Kadyrov, 47, has mused publicly about handing over power at some point and appears to be actively working to raise the profile of his three teenage sons, the eldest of whom was photographed with Mr Putin in the Kremlin in March. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} At least 14 people died due to extreme weather conditions as a winter storm lashed parts of Russia and Ukraine, knocking out power from hundreds and thousands of households. The severe cold struck war-torn Ukraine at a time when thousands of both Russian and Ukrainian troops were engaged in intense fighting in the eastern towns near the Black Sea almost 22 months into Vladimir Putin's invasion. Kyiv fears Moscow could attack its power grids with air strikes this winter. In Ukraine, at least 10 people were killed and almost 1,500 towns and villages were left without power after storms dumped up to 10 inches of snow in some places. As a result of worsening weather conditions, 10 people died in Odesa, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv and Kyiv regions, interior minister Ihor Klymenko said on Tuesday. Twenty-three people were injured, including two children, he added. The highest number of deaths were reported from the Odesa region, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address. Emergency workers release a passenger bus which is stuck outside a road during a heavy snow storm in Odesa region (via REUTERS) Schools were ordered to shut, while traffic was halted on 10 highways. Southern Odesa, the Mykolaiv regions, and central Kyiv were the worst affected places, with initial power cuts reported in 40,000 homes in the capital region. Ukraine is likely to be hit with more snow and rain on Tuesday, according to forecasters. Nearly 2,500 people were rescued following a snowstorm in Odesa, local governor Oleh Kiper said. About 849 vehicles have been towed out, including 24 buses and 17 ambulances, he announced on Telegram, adding that all those trapped by the snow since the start of the snowstorm had now been rescued. On Monday evening, the boiler facility in Odesa, where a 100-metre pipe broke and fell on Sunday, resumed operations. The "storm of the century" killed at least four people in Russia and occupied Crimea after it struck the southern part of the country over the weekend. People walk past snow covered, destroyed Russian machinery displayed in Kyiv (EPA) Dagestan, Krasnodar and Rostov, as well as the occupied Ukrainian territories of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea have been struggling with the violent weather conditions, the authorities said. At least 1.9 million people were affected by power cuts in Russia, according to energy minister Nikolay Shulginov. Huge waves crashed over beachside areas of the Black Sea coast, killing one person. One man, who "went out to look at the waves" died in the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula, said Oleg Kryuchkov, an adviser to the region's Russian-installed governor. Vladimir Konstantinov, a Crimean lawmaker, said the peninsula had experienced an "armageddon"-like scenario. "Old-timers can't remember this kind of wind and waves," he added. In the resort cities of Sochi and Anapa, one person died and several people were injured when hundreds of trees were blown down. In neighbouring Moldova, four people were reported dead during the cold snap that hit the region over the weekend. Two bodies were recovered from inside a car buried in a snowdrift in the southeastern area of Coscalia and another outside the capital. Ukraine's border service said that two border crossings in the Odesa region to Moldova reopened after a temporary suspension on Sunday, but traffic conditions remained difficult. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The wife of Ukraines intelligence chief has been diagnosed with heavy metals poisoning and is undergoing treatment in hospital, it emerged on Tuesday. Meanwhile, deadly winter weather has hit the front lines of the conflict with Russia. Marianna Budanova is the wife of Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraines military intelligence agency known by its local acronym GUR. Her condition was confirmed to AP by Andriy Yusov, the agencys spokesman. He did not provide more details about the alleged poisoning, nor did he say if it was believed to have been intended for Mr Budanov or whether Russia was thought to be behind it. Earlier this year, he told Ukrainian media that the military intelligence chief had survived 10 assassination attempts carried out by the Russian state or federal security services. There was no immediate comment from the Russian government, which has long been suspected of poisoning opponents. Emergency workers release a car stuck in snow in the Odesa region of Ukraine on Tuesday (via Reuters) The exact nature of the heavy metals that caused the poisoning has not been made public. However, local media said the metals were not used domestically or in military equipment, so the GUR representatives presume the poisoning was carried out intentionally, possibly through food or drink. Several GUR personnel were also diagnosed with the same poisoning, according to the newspaper Ukrainska Pravda. More than 100,000 people were still without power on the Crimean peninsula and some still had no water supply, the Russia-installed governor said on Tuesday, after a winter storm that brought blizzards from Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova across Ukraine and into central Russia. Ukrainian servicemen take part in a training exercise in the frozen Donetsk region (AFP via Getty) President Volodymyr Zelensky said at least five people died in the Odesa region of southern Ukraine, and that engineers were working to restore electricity. Crimea, which was annexed from Ukraine by Russia in 2014, is a key military and logistics hub for Russia as it pursues its war in Ukraine. The damage caused by the storm affected the tempo of military operations along the frontline in Ukraine but has not stopped military activity entirely, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said. In the Vologda region, about 310 miles northeast of Moscow, more than 10 days worth of snow about 25cm (10in) fell in one day. The Moscow region was also blanketed with snow, piling drifts up to 25cm deep. A storm-flooded street in Pribrezhe, Crimea, on Tuesday (Reuters) Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin has cast Moscows military action in Ukraine as an existential battle against purported attempts by the West to destroy Russia in a ranting speech. Mr Putin, who has been in power for more than two decades, is expected to declare his intention to seek another six-year term in a presidential election next March. We are defending the security and wellbeing of our people, the highest, historical right to be Russia - a strong, independent power, a country-civilisation, Mr Putin said, accusing the US and its allies of trying to dismember and plunder Russia. We are now fighting for the freedom of not only Russia, but the whole world, Mr Putin said. Associated Press contributed to this report COTONOU, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- An exhibition featuring works by 11 Beninese and Chinese artists opened here Saturday evening, aiming to celebrate booming cultural exchanges between the two countries' young artists. The exhibition, held at the Chinese Cultural Center in Cotonou, attracted visitors including cultural players, students from the Confucius Institute, representatives from media and diplomats. The exhibition brings together 35 works created by six Chinese artists, and around 20 works of art and sculptures by five Beninese artists. The artists use painting, sculpture and other forms of art to express their vision of the world. Carole Borna, representative of Benin's Minister of Tourism, Culture and Arts, lauded the cultural exchange between young artists from the two countries, and expected a continuation of the cross-cultural fusion. "It's a great pleasure to see this cohesion, this ongoing passion between young Beninese and Chinese artists. I congratulate them on this exhibition, which takes us on a journey and makes us dream," she said. Wang Guanzhou, one of the Chinese artists, said China and Benin have been friends for decades, and the exhibition is an excellent opportunity for promoting in-depth cultural exchanges between the two countries. "We prepared this exhibition with our young Beninese friends, and we were very impressed by their attitude and approach to art," he said, hoping that the exchange would continue to contribute to cultural development of the two countries. YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS. An exhibition of photographs showing the historical Armenian presence and Armenian cultural-religious heritage in the Azeri city of Baku was opened today in a hall at the Armenian Parliament. Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan, Members of Parliament, foreign officials and others attended the opening ceremony of the exhibition titled Armenian Historical-Cultural Trace in Baku. MP Vilen Gabrielyan, the Chairman of the Gardman-Shirvan-Nakhijevan Pan-Armenian Union, said in his speech that his organization will consistently struggle to restore the rights of the persons who were forcibly displaced from Azerbaijan. The total number of Armenians who were forcibly displaced from Azerbaijan during various times throughout history is over 800,000, Gabrielyan said. More than 500,000 of the forcibly displaced Armenians were born in Azerbaijan. In his speech, Gabrielyan said that the forced displacement of Armenians from Azerbaijan began on February 27, 1988 during the Sumgait pogrom, and continued in Baku and other Azeri towns. The MP said that without any proper international assessment, the aggressive and ethnophobic policy of the Azeri authorities has continued to present times, eventually leading to the forced displacement of over 100,000 Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. Gardman-Shirvan-Nakhijevan Pan-Armenian Union Deputy Chairman Mariam Avagyan said that Baku was a cultural city, and one of the pillars of the culture was the Armenian architectural mind. The exhibition displays photos of buildings designed by Armenian architects and engineers, the heritage of Armenian magnates and Armenian religious and historical-cultural heritage in Baku that have been either destroyed or misrepresented by Azeri authorities in an effort to falsify history and erase Armenian traces. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Hamas is scrambling to find more hostages to extend its truce with Israel amid growing concerns the militant group does not know the whereabouts of dozens of captives. The Israel Defence Forces believe Hamas has access to 80 hostages and Palestinian Islamic Jihad has between 30-40, a source close to negotiations told The Independent. But this leaves around 100 civilian and military hostages of an estimated 240 kidnapped on 7 October unaccounted for, according to the diplomatic source. So far, 51 Israelis and 18 foreigners have been released by Hamas since the ceasefire began. Up to 150 Palestinians have been freed by Israel. Qatari officials said the success of the two-day extension to the initial truce would be vital in locating missing Israeli hostages. Some of them are not even with the other armed factions, they are with lay people, Qatars foreign ministry spokesperson Dr Majed Al-Ansari told The Independent. There is an issue with information right now. Obviously, under constant bombardment, you cant collect intelligence, you cant collect information on the ground. We want to use this ceasefire to get information about where they are and if any have been killed in the process. The Qatari foreign ministry said another 20 hostages are set to be released in the next 48 hours. Hamas handed a fifth group of hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross on Tuesday evening, Egyptian officials said. But others have warned Hamas might exploit the difficulty in locating captives by using the extra time to regroup for its assault against Israel. Moty Cristal, a retired Israeli military official who has worked on previous hostage negotiations, said Hamas could ask for more time to do this. Israelis pass by a wall in Jerusalem with photos of the approximately 240 hostages who were abducted by Hamas on 7 October (AP) Operationally it will be challenging for Hamas to locate and collect the additional hostages. They could say they need an additional day of ceasefire to find the captives. This is what we call in crisis negotiations the curse of the goodwill clause. But Israel will know to what extent Hamas is playing for time, Mr Cristal told The Independent. Meanwhile, families of hostages have called for an open-ended extension to the ceasefire to allow for the release of all those held in Gaza. But some were also distrustful. I believe the idea that Hamas doesnt have access to all the hostages is tactics, said Ruby Chen, whose 19-year-old son Itay, an Israeli soldier, was taken to Gaza on 7 October. Hamas have been able to enforce a ceasefire, they do control the areas under their control, the ability to provide hostages is something they have done. Hamas hands over 12 hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross on Tuesday (Anadolu via Getty Images) The family of a missing 10-month-old boy also called for his immediate release as they feared the truce extensions cut-off would leave him trapped without proper care. Ofri Bibas, who is the auntie of Kfir, said: He cant stay there anymore. He is a 10-month-old baby. We dont know if he is getting formula. There isnt much food. Every day there is a risk for their mental and physical condition. They must be released. They are children. They are not supposed to be hostages. Kfir was kidnapped along with his four-year-old brother Ariel and his parents Yarden, 34, and Shiri, 32, from Kibbutz Nir Oz after Hamas massacred up to 1,200 Israelis on 7 October. Aylon Keshet, who is the cousin of Mr Bibas, added that the family was living through a nightmare and didnt know anything about their condition. Ofri Bibas called for her familys immediate release amid fears they are missing as the ceasefire is set to expire (Getty Images) He said: These are real people with real lives. Please do not let them stay for another day. Do not let Hamas keep using them as bargaining chips. We really dont know anything. We are in the dark here. We dont know anything about their well-being or condition. This is a nightmare scenario for us. The uncertainty is really hard. We are worried sick about them. Up to 30 Palestinian women and children are set to be released from Israel on Tuesday, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Club. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Israel and Hamas agreed to extend the Gaza ceasefire by at least one more day to allow for more hostage releases. On Thursday, just minutes before the six-day ceasefire was due to expire, Israels military said in a statement the truce will continue. In light of the mediators efforts to continue the process of releasing the hostages and subject to the terms of the framework, the operational pause will continue, said the Israeli statement released on Thursday. Hamas announced in a separate statement that a consensus had been reached to extend the ceasefire for a seventh day. Qatar said the two sides had agreed to extend the truce for an additional day (today, Thursday) under the existing conditions, which are a cessation of all military activities and the entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza. The extension of the ceasefire had been uncertain up until the last hour as Israel and Hamas couldnt come to an agreement over the new list of Israeli hostages slated for release from Gaza. The truce between Hamas and Israel was due to expire at 7am local time (5am GMT). Earlier, Hamas had claimed that Israel had declined to receive seven women and child hostages and the bodies of three others, who the militant group said were killed during the Israeli militarys bombardment of Gaza, in exchange for a temporary truce extension on Thursday. This is despite confirming through mediators that this group is all the (Hamas) movement has in terms of detainees in the agreed-upon category, Hamas said in a statement, according to Al Jazeera. Hamas freed 16 Israeli and foreign hostages in exchange for 30 Palestinian women and child prisoners late on Wednesday. Qatar, a key mediator of the truce negotiations, said that 10 of the freed captives were included in the current truce arrangement, while four Thai citizens and two Russian-Israelis were freed outside the terms of that agreement. A Thai national waves an Israeli flag while walking to a bus leaving the Shamir Hospital in Ramle, Israel, Wednesday, 29 November 2023, on his way back to Thailand, after being released from Hamas custody. International mediators on Wednesday worked to extend the truce in Gaza, encouraging Hamas militants to keep freeing hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and further relief from Israel's air and ground offensive (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press All rights reserved) Meanwhile, Qatars foreign affairs ministry stated that further negotiations are ongoing in hopes of reaching a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. During the six-day ceasefire, authorities said that 97 Israeli and foreign hostages were released by Hamas and 210 Palestinians were freed from Israeli prisons. Just before announcing the ceasefire extension, both Israel and Hamas had resorted to increasingly aggressive rhetoric, with the Israeli military saying it was ready for the next stage of the war. Over the past few days Ive been hearing this question will Israel go back to fighting after maximising this phase of returning our hostages? So my answer is unequivocal yes, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Hamas military wing had also asked its fighters to be ready for combat in case the ceasefire was not extended. The Al-Qassam Brigades had earlier on Telegram asked the fighters to maintain a high combat readiness. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Israel and Hamas have agreed to extend a ceasefire for two more days in a breakthrough that could see dozens of additional hostages released and more lifesaving aid flow into war-ravaged Gaza. The decision offers a rare glimmer of hope of a possible end to the conflict that has caused unparalleled and unprecedented bloodshed, according to the United Nations. The announcement was made by Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari on the final day of the original four-day truce between Israel and Hamas. He said the extension mediated by Qatar would allow additional aid to the Gaza Strip, release the largest possible number of hostages and prisoners, and would hopefully lead to a permanent ceasefire. After the Qatari announcement, Hamas confirmed it had agreed to a two-day extension under the same terms. Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Israel was managing a deal through mediators. Israel has said before it would extend the ceasefire by one day for every 10 additional hostages released. US president Joe Biden said in a statement that he wished to thank representatives from Israel, Qatar and Egypt for reaching the agreement for an extension over the next 48 hours. We are taking full advantage of the pause in fighting to increase the amount of humanitarian aid moving into Gaza, and we will continue our efforts to build a future of peace and dignity for the Palestinian people, he added. The extended deal came hours before 11 Israelis hostages - including nine children, the youngest twins aged just three years old - were released on Monday. The US, who had hoped the group would include some citizens, said just before the names were released that they did not believe any Americans were in the this group. Qatars foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari, said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the group included three French citizens, two Germans and six Argentinians. Families of hostages said that all 11 releases were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz. A Red Cross convoy carrying Israeli hostages (AP) Video footage showed Israeli mother Hadas Calderon shrieking with joy and jumping on a chair as she was informed her children, 16-year-old Sahar and 12-year-old Erez, were in Mondays group of releases. Their father Ofer remains in captivity and their grandmother Carmela was killed on 7 October. Also on the list were twin daughters Emma and Yuli, who, aged just three, were Mondays youngest releases. Their mother Sharon Aloni Cunio, 34, was released with them. Her husband David and brother Ariel remain in captivity. Sharon Aloni-Cunio, 34, Yuli Cunio, 3, and Emma Cunio, 3 (via REUTERS) Siblings Or Yaakov, 16, and Yogi, 12 were also released, while their father Yair remains in captivity. Carina Angelbert, 54 who had recently recovered from breast cancer, was released with her children Mika, 18, and 11-year-old Yuval - the father Ronen is still a Hamas captive. Meanwhile, Eitan Yahalomi, 12 was released on his own - his father Ohad, who was kidnaped with him, remains in Gaza. Out of the remaining hostages who are still in Gaza, 49 are from Kibbutz Nir Oz, said the head of the kibbutz Osnat Peri. Among them are women, men, children, mothers, fathers, grandfathers and grandmothers. The news this evening brings a sigh of relief to our community, however we remain deeply concerned about our loved ones that are still held hostage. We demand the return of all hostages, immediately, whatever it takes, Peri added. Hostages Emma Cunio, 3, and Yuli Cunio, 3, who were abducted by Hamas gunmen during the October 7 attack (via REUTERS) Egypt said the extended ceasefire would include the release of 20 Israeli hostages from those seized by Hamas during its attack on southern Israel on 7 October, during which at least 1,200 were killed and 240 people taken captive into Gaza. In exchange, 60 Palestinians held in Israeli jails would be freed. The initial four-day truce was due to end on Monday night with a fourth hostage and prisoner exchange amid fraught eleventh-hour negotiations and accusations from both Israel and Hamas that the other side was tampering with the names on the lists. Israel accused Hamas of separating children from their mothers in a gross violation of the agreement. Palestinian officials told The Independent that several women detainees who were meant to be released had not appeared on their lists. Hamas had previously reported that not enough aid, being brought from Egypt into southern Gaza, was being permitted to reach the north of the destroyed enclave during the truce. As news of the extended truce emerged, Hamas said it had received a list of Palestinians to be released by Israel, which it said included three female prisoners and 30 minors. Families of those held hostage in Gaza expressed their relief at the news of the deal extension, as it may see a wider category of people included. So far the truce has only involved the youngest children including four-year-old US-Israeli Avigail Idan and nine-year-old Irish citizen Emily Hand, as well as their mothers and the most vulnerable elderly women. A number of Thai and Filipino nationals, plus one Israeli-Russian man have been released in addition to the core agreement. Nadav Rudaeff, whose father Lior is not eligible for release currently as a 61-year-old man, said the family call for the government to extend the truce until all hostages are released. My family and I are holding up and trying to do our best to keep our hopes up, he said, adding that his father has a major heart complaint that needs daily medicine to keep him alive. We hope the further releases will be fruitful in releasing also young and adult women, men and elderly people, especially those in need of medical assistance, such as my father. Gil Dickmann, whose cousin Carmel, 39, was abducted on 7 October but has not been included in the releases yet, told The Independent the past few days have shown what the Israeli public wants, adding: That is that bringing back hostages is the main goal of Israel. He said the past few days have been nerve-wracking for us. We had to sit every night and wait for the list of hostages to be released, he said. We will not sit silent, and well keep on working together even after our own family members are back until all 240 hostages are back home. Elma Avraham, 84, is one of the hostages who have been released in recent days, but is in critical condition in hospital. Ms Avrahams daughter told reporters her mother arrived with a pulse of 40 and a body temperature of 28 degrees. The deputy administrator of Soroka hospital in Beersheba said her condition remains critical and she is ventilated and sedated in the intensive care unit. They [Hamas] held her in terrible conditions, Tali Amano told reporters outside the hospital. My mother arrived hours before we would have lost her. In Gaza, civilians talked about the truce being an essential breath of air after weeks under one of Israels most ferocious bombardments. They said it was essential it held so they could get a proper delivery of aid to the besieged strip where medical supplies, food and water are still running low. One young man called Ahmed, who asked for his identity to be protected, told The Independent they were still surviving but that they badly need more shipments of gas and fuel. The days are not enough to get to the basic needs, he added, sharing a photo of a UN school where the playground was full of tents housing the displaced. Other families The Independent has spoken to over the past few days of calm said they had been able to travel around the besieged Strip to find out the fate of missing relatives. One 21-year-old said they found out about the death of a relative in the north. Were praying the truce holds, she said. The news of the deaths is unbearable. In Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, Mustafa Barghouti, Palestinian National Initiative leader and a member of the Palestinian legislative council, told The Independent the need for a continuing ceasefire was essential to halting an even larger humanitarian disaster there. We have already 6,500 children and more than 14,500 in total killed. If you add the numbers of people believed to still be trapped under the rubble youre talking about 22,000 people killed, 9,000 are them are children, he said. Citing United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres, he said the death toll of Palestinian children in Gaza was larger than the number of children killed over the worlds conflicts during the last few years. How many more thousands should die? Mr Barghouti asked. Mr Guterres welcomed the extended truce on Monday as a glimpse of hope and humanity but warned it was not enough time to meet the aid needs of the Gaza Strip. I strongly hope that this will enable us to increase even more the humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza that [are] suffering so much knowing that even with that additional amount of time, it will be impossible to satisfy all the dramatic needs of the population, Mr Guterres told reporters. Mr Netanyahu has repeatedly said that however long the truce is, it is temporary, and Israel remains committed to crushing Hamass military capabilities and ending its 16-year rule over the besieged Strip. Visiting Gaza on Sunday, the premier once again repeated: We are continuing until the end until victory. Nothing will stop us. This was echoed by Eylon Levy, a government spokesperson, who said on Monday Israel will resume its operations with full force as soon as the current deal expires. Israeli military officials have told The Independent this could include expanding a devastating ground offensive from northern Gaza, where Israeli forces have encircled refugee camps and hospitals, into the south. Defence minister Yoav Gallant said on Monday the coming operation would be bigger and take place throughout Gaza. The military was preparing for a return to high-intensity combat, he said. There are concerns an offensive south would be devastating for civilians. More than a million displaced Palestinians are crammed into makeshift shelters in the south, where dire conditions persist despite the increased delivery of aid under the truce. Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the IndyTech email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Solar and wind energy installations could earn hundreds of millions of dollars by mining bitcoin during periods of excess electricity generation, according to a new study. Scientists from Cornell University in the US, who conducted the research, said setting up mining operations could reduce the environmental impact of cryptocurrency, while also providing revenue that could be reinvested in future renewable energy projects. Profitability of a mining system hinges on periods of steady energy availability since renewable energy sources can vary significantly, said Fengqi You, a professor of energy systems at Cornell University. Therefore, it is important to site the mining farm strategically to maximise productivity. The state with the most potential for setting up profitable crypto mining operations is Texas, according to the study, with 32 planned renewable projects capable of generating combined profits of $47 million. View more California, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Nevada and Virginia all showed potential, though setting up mining rigs presents a large initial cost. One way of incentivising such projects, Cornell doctoral student Apoorv Lal suggested, could be the introduction of new policies that provide economic rewards for mining bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies with clean energy These rewards can act as an incentive for miners to adopt clean energy sources, which can lead to combined positive effects on climate change mitigation, improved renewable power capacity, and additional profits during pre-commercial operation of wind and solar farms, Mr Lal said. We also recommend policies that encourage cryptocurrency-mining operations to return some of their profits back into infrastructure development. This would help create a self-sustaining cycle for renewable energy expansion. Bitcoin has drawn criticism from environmentalists for the vast amounts of electricity required to support its network and mint new units of the cryptocurrency, with recent analysis from the University of Cambridge estimating that it uses roughly the same amount of electricity as Poland. The plummeting costs of renewable energy mean bitcoin miners are increasingly turning to solar, wind and hydro sources to power their operations. In its current status, the infrastructure that supports the Bitcoin protocol cannot be sustained, but the beauty of the protocol is that the incentive structure will force miners to adopt the cheapest form of electricity, which in the near future will be renewable energy, Don Wyper, COO of DigitalMint, told The Independent last year. The latest study, titled From mining to mitigation: how bitcoin can support renewable energy development and climate action, was published in the journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the IndyTech email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} There is no clear link between mobile phones and the internet and a negative impact on mental wellbeing, the authors of a major new study have found. Researchers took data on two million people aged between 15 and 89, from 168 countries. While they found that negative and positive experiences had both increased, they found little evidence that was the result of the prevalence of the internet. The results from the major study, led by the Oxford Internet Institute, contradict widespread speculation that the internet and especially its widespread availability through mobile devices has damaged mental wellbeing. The researchers said that if the link between internet use and poor health were as universal and robust as many think, they would have found it. However, the study did not look at social media use, and although the data included some young people, the researchers did not analyse how long people spent online. Professor Andrew Przybylski, of the Oxford Internet Institute and Assistant Professor Matti Vuorre, Tilburg University and Research Associate, Oxford Internet Institute, carried out the research into home and mobile broadband use. Prof Przybylski, said: We looked very hard for a smoking gun linking technology and wellbeing and we didnt find it. He added: The popular idea that the internet and mobile phones have a blanket negative effect on wellbeing and mental health is not likely to be accurate. It is indeed possible that there are smaller and more important things going on, but any sweeping claims about the negative impact of the internet globally should be treated with a very high level of scepticism. Looking at the results by age group and gender did not reveal any specific patterns among internet users, including women and young girls. Instead, the study, which looked at data for the past two decades, found that for the average country, life satisfaction increased more for females over the period. Data from the United Kingdom was included in the study, but the researchers say there was nothing distinctive about the UK compared with other countries. Although the study included a lot of information, the researchers say technology companies need to provide more data, if there is to be conclusive evidence of the impacts of internetuse. They explain: Research on the effects of internet technologies is stalled because the data most urgently needed are collected and held behind closed doors by technology companies and online platforms. It is crucial to study, in more detail and with more transparency from all stakeholders, data on individual adoption of and engagement with internet-based technologies. These data exist and are continuously analysed by global technology firms for marketing and product improvement but unfortunately are not accessible for independent research. For the study, published in the Clinical Psychological Science journal, the researchers looked at data on wellbeing and mental health against a countrys internet users and mobile broadband subscriptions and use, to see if internet adoption predicted psychological wellbeing. In the second study they used data on rates of anxiety, depression and self-harm from 2000-2019 in some 200 countries. Wellbeing was assessed using data from face-to-face and phone surveys by local interviewers, and mental health was assessed using statistical estimates of depressive disorders, anxiety disorders and self-harm in some 200 countries from 2000 to 2019. Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the IndyTech email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Police across the US have sent out privacy warnings over a new iPhone feature added in the latest Apple update. But the tool called NameDrop is a simple way of sharing personal information with consent, and includes a number of protections to ensure that data is not stolen. In a host of warnings from law enforcement, shared largely across Facebook, police departments warn about a possible privacy concern from the NameDrop feature, which arrived in iOS 17. The warning was shared by a range of different law enforcement authorities on Facebook, right across the country. It appears to have caught on over the Thanksgiving weekend. It notes that the feature defaults to being on, which is true. But it also suggests that many people do not check their settings and realise how their phone works and suggest there is something dangerous about the fact that you can share your contact information by being next to another iPhone. As such, it warns that people should turn the feature off by default and do the same for their children. It is true that the feature allows two devices to share contact information when they are next to each other. But they must be right next to each other, rather than simply close and that is just one of a range of protections built into the feature. Chief among them is that users must specifically unlock their phone and also explicitly opt in to share their data with anyone, rather than it being able to send information on its own. NameDrop was introduced earlier this summer, as part of a number of changes to the way that contacts and sharing work in iOS 17. It is intended to make it easy to quickly share details with someone just by putting your phones near each other, and in so doing avoid having to read out numbers or other more complicated processes. It is used by simply placing two iPhones, two Apple Watches or a combination of the two together. If the devices are unlocked, and then placed within a few centimetres of each other, they will vibrate and glow to the show that the connection is happening. Users are then given the option of what contact information they want to share, as well as what they want to leave out. That gives the option to share only a work number, for instance, or only an email address or one user can opt out of sharing any data at all, and just receive it. Users then click again to share their details. It can also be cancelled at any time by just swiping from the bottom of the display. NameDrop can be turned off relatively easily if there any concern. That is done by opening the Settings app, clicking on General then AirDrop and choose the Start Sharing By option, where you can turn off the setting to do so by Bringing Devices Together. Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} South Korean airlines will be made to warn passengers against opening aircraft doors according to new operating guidelines. The new regulation comes after a series of incidents in which passengers have tried to open the emergency exits while flying. The Korean government said that the guidance was included in a draft amendment of the operating guideline for airline operators and that this is under review until 14 December, during which time a public announcement should be made, reports JoongAng. Its unclear whether this rule applies to foreign airlines flying in and out of South Korea. The Independent has contacted the Korea Office of Civil Aviation for further information. The new advice comes after a series of incidents in which passengers have tried to open the emergency exits while flying. In May, a man succeeded in opening the door of an Asiana Airlines flight shortly before it landed in Daegu. Twelve people were injured, and police later said that the man in his thirties faced up to 10 years in prison. The 10-year penalty is in line with South Koreas aviation security laws, applying to any passengers who interfere with plane entrances, emergency exits or devices that hinder the security or operation of an aircraft. More recently, a woman was arrested for trying to open a plane door on a flight from New York to Incheon. She was apprehended by members of the cabin crew and later tested positive for crystal meth. Currently, South Korean airlines are required to make announcements that smoking, certain use of electronic devices and any actions that prevent the cabin crew from performing their duties may result in arrest and prosecution. Similar incidents have happened throughout the year, with a plane door bursting open on a chartered flight in Brazil in June, and the same thing happening on a flight operated by Russian carrier IrAero in January. The winner of the Great British Bake Off 2023 has been announced. Dan Hunter, Josh Smalley, and Matty Edgell battled it out in the hotly baked final on Tuesday (28 November), but there could only be one winner. PE and science teacher Edgell was announced the winner of the prestigious accolade. Edgell, 28, from Peterborough, has impressed the judges throughout the show. From his three-tier taste of Italy millefoglie showstopper in last weeks semi-final to his delicious sausage rolls, which earned him the Paul Hollywood showstopper, it has been some journey for the teacher. Congratulations, Matty. The star of an Enniskillen pubs viral Christmas advert has refleced on his new-found fame following the release of the John Lewis-style clip. Martin McManus appeared in a festive video for Charlies Bar as a lonely elderly man seen placing flowers on a grave and being ignored by passers-by. The tear-jerker takes a positive turn when he makes friends with a couple in the Co Fermanagh pub. Speaking to Good Morning Britain on Tuesday, 28 November, McManus described his newfound stardom as unbelievable. I think its very important people keep an eye out for the elderly and the lonely, he said. The first transatlantic flight fuelled by cooking oil left Heathrow Airport on Tuesday, 28 November. Virgin Atlantic operated the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, branded as Virgin100, powered by Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) from London to John F Kennedy International Airport. Virgin Atlantic founder Sir Richard Branson and transport secretary Mark Harper were aboard the plane, but no paying passengers joined them for the journey. SAF is made from sustainable sources such as agricultural waste and used cooking oil; its production uses approximately 70 per cent less carbon. However, critics say the SAFs benefits are overstated and are concerned about the supply of the fuel. YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan on November 28 met with the members of the Joint Delegation of the European External Action Service and the European Commission Directorates-General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations. The head of the EU delegation in Armenia, Ambassador Vassilis Maragos also attended the meeting. The Deputy Prime Minister underscored the significance of the delegation's visit amidst the current challenges and then presented the participants of the meeting in detail with the measures implemented by the government aimed at addressing the primary needs of forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh. The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized the importance of the support of the European Union in overcoming the challenges due to the created situation, Deputy Prime Ministers Office said in a statement. According to the source, during the meeting, reference was made to the implementation of the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Extended Partnership Agreement, as well as the course of cooperation in a number of directions within the framework of the EU Economic and Investment Plan. The participants also discussed opportunities for the development of Armenia-EU trade and economic relations. It is mentioned that Deputy Prime Minister Khachatryan reiterated the government's commitment to broaden cooperation with the EU. He expressed the government's readiness to introduce new directions essential for sustainable economic development, enhance resilience, and diversify the economy, thereby enriching the bilateral agenda. Cynthia Nixon is on hunger strike in support of the temporary Gaza ceasefire. The Sex And The City actress, who formerly ran for mayor of New York City, spoke outside the White House on Tuesday, 28 November, calling for a permanent ceasefire We are hunger striking as a way of amplifying that yes, Palestinians are being bombed and killed, but theyre also being starved and so many of them are on the brink of starvation, Nixon said. Nixon joined five US state representatives as they called for Joe Biden to do more for Palestinians. President Jimmy Carter has arrived to honour his wife Rosalynn at her tribute service at Glenn Memorial Church, on Tuesday 28 November. It was previously unclear if the former resident would attend as the 99-year-old has spent much of 2023 in hospice care. He was the final guest to enter the church before Rosalynns casket. He sat in a wheelchair with a blanket covering him. Rosalynn Carter died on Sunday 19 November, aged 96, just two days after joining her husband in hospice care at their house in Plains, Georgia. She was diagnosed with dementia in May 2023. Jimmy and Rosalynn Carters daughter read a love letter her father wrote aloud at her mothers funeral on Tuesday 28 November. The 75-year-old love letter was written by the former president, now aged 99, to Rosalynn when he was in the Navy prior to their 77-year marriage. Amy Carter held back tears as she read the letter from her father, who was in attendance. My darling, every time I have ever been away from you, I have been thrilled when I returned to discover just how wonderful you are, the letter said. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} I wasnt sure what to expect when I booked a ticket to see Napoleon. The marketing surrounding Ridley Scotts biopic of the emperor Napoleon Bonaparte has been confusing. Its US tagline, He came from nothing/He conquered everything, is not only inexact (Bonaparte was born into minor nobility)it also struck me as a strangely girlboss-y description of a man who rose to immense power by war-waging and political maneuveringand whose ascent ended Frances first attempt at a republic. In my native France, Paris metro users walked past side-by-side photos of Bonaparte, portrayed in the film by Joaquin Phoenix, with various captions. A frequent combination included a photo of Phoenixs Bonaparte as a war leader, next to one of him embracing his wife Josephine de Beauharnais, each image respectively adorned with the words the conqueror and the lover. All this made me wonder whether Napoleon would lionize its subjectwhether it would ask me to believe that he had, in fact, come from nothing and conquered everything, and whether it would expect me to be enthralled by Bonapartes trajectory. (And perhaps in wondering so I forgot that Ridley Scott is English, and say what you will about the English, but one thing theyre not particularly prone to is lionizing Napoleon Bonaparte.) What I found instead was a film that knowingly commits some flamboyant historical inaccuracies, but gets at a convincing truth about Bonapartes rise to (and fall from) power. Napoleon opens with the public execution of Marie-Antoinette, months after that of her husband, King Louis XVI. France then descends into the Reign of Terrorthe period during which alleged enemies of the revolution were surveilled, imprisoned, and executed. Historians estimate that at least 300,000 people were arrested, 17,000 were executed, and 10,000 died in prison over just a year. Bonaparte is shown taking advantage of the period of instability that (somewhat inevitably) followed the revolution: first staging a coup in 1799 to become the head of the government of the first French republic, then proclaiming himself emperor of the French in 1804. While Bonapartes reign as emperor had some differences from the monarchy (I leave it up to historians to dispute those in further detail), some key elements, shall we say, were borrowed from it. For example, Bonaparte was crowned in a religious ceremony inside the medieval cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. In the event of his death, power was to go not to an elected leader, but to his heiror, absent an heir, to his brother. Bonapartes legacy is complicated, and Im not aiming to settle any debate here. (Historian Charles-Eloi Vial stressed Bonapartes role in modernizing [French] administration in comments to France 24.) But Napoleon is an interesting examination of social movements, violence, backlashand of how France ended up crowning an emperor just 11 years after beheading a king. There is a sense, in the films chronology, that France was perhaps so scarred by the revolutions brutal aftermath that it reverted not just to the monarchy, but went one step further. The Reign of Terror was horrificthe film makes that viscerally obvious, and reinforces that what France needed to do was to stop that part, not get ourselves an emperor. It is, from that point of view, a surprisingly progressive movie: Bonapartes reign is (rightly, I think) portrayed as volatile and, for all of its leaders professed popularity, infinitely fragile. France is as prompt to place itself in the hands of Bonaparte as it is to renounce him; he gets exiled not once, but twice. Director Ridley Scott and lead actor Joaquin Phoenix during the filming of Napoleon' (Courtesy of Apple) About those historical inaccuracies: I dont mind when a movie takes artistic license, as long as its clear when some things are made up. For example, in Napoleon, when Bonaparte, after his wife Josephine spitefully tells him he has gotten fat, he replies: Destiny has brought me this lamb chop. This particular line seems almost designed to go viral on TikTok, where indeed Apple (a co-producer and distributor of the film) made sure to share it, and where it has already inspired a few videos. The problem with Napoleon is that it knows how to lie a little too credibly. Its battle scenes, for example, have an air of expertise. Paul Biddiss, the British ex-paratrooper who advised Scott on those scenes, ran five hundred extras through boot camp in Napoleon-era barracks, studied old military manuals, and generally paid attention to detail, according to the New Yorker. So when the film told me something about the historic battles it recreates, the natural impulse would have been to believe it. And yet, the internet is rife with fact-checks of some pretty spectacular liberties: contrary to the films depictions, Bonaparte never fired at the pyramids in Egypt; he did not go into battle with the cavalry, there was no large frozen lake during the 1805 Battle of Austerlitz, and the list goes on. Some of those liberties do take on some symbolic meaning: Bonaparte is shown in the film witnessing Marie-Antoinettes execution, and while that never happened, I can understand that this is an efficient way to show the impact of the revolutions aftermath on Bonaparte. There are only so many ways we can depict the act of thinking on screen, and this is one of themand as long as people care to find out that this did not actually happen, but serves as a storytelling shortcut, then fine. This is what art is capable of, and perhaps what it is for: to articulate an emotional or intellectual truth while sometimes veering away from facts. From that standpoint, Napoleon is a worthy exploration of the march of history, and of the slow, often chaotic cycles of progress. Founders of Irish startup Embo mull action over $9m earnout Founders claim the deferred consideration from the sale in 2015 has not been paid Stock image. Getty Images John Mulligan Tue 28 Nov 2023 at 03:30 The co-founders of Irish medical device firm Embo are gearing up for a $9m (8.2m) High Court battle related to the $43m sale of the business in 2015. Directors say the business has performed better than expected Pre-tax profits at the Irish arm of retailer Harvey Norman last year almost doubled from 9.78m to 17.13m. New figures show that the electrical and furniture retailer recorded the jump in pre-tax profits as revenues increased by a more modest 2.3pc from 411.12m to 420.72m in the 12 months to the end of June 2022. The directors for Harvey Norman Holdings (Ireland) Ltd state the 15 stores in the Republic performed strongly with market share gains across a number of key product categories. The directors state that there were no Covid-19 closures in the year under review and the business has performed better than expected in this financial year. They state that sales showed a 78pc increase compared with the pre-Covid year of 2019. This shows that the brand has gone from strength to strength and has grown market share in all its categories, the directors said. They state last year represented a fifth straight year of profitability for the Irish business. Numbers employed by the group last year increased by 45, rising from 1,372 to 1,417, as staff costs increased marginally from 55.32m to 55.86m. Pay to directors decreased from 872,520 to 699,203 made up of 685,203 in emoluments and 14,000 in pension contributions. The company recorded post-tax profits of 14.73m after incurring a corporation tax charge of 2.39m. The group also operates two stores in Northern Ireland and has expanded since opening a 42,000 sqft store in July 2022 at the Fonthill Retail Park close to the Liffey Valley Shopping Centre in Dublin. The profit for last year takes account of non-cash depreciation costs of 4.49m. The directors state that the 2022 financial results have benefited from the easing of Covid-19 restrictions which has resulted in increased consumer confidence and in-store foot traffic. They add that the increase in sales can be attributed to a full years uninterrupted contribution from the firms Galway and Sligo stores which opened in July 2020 and November 2020 respectively. The directors, however, point out that sales were more subdued in the second half of the year following the lifting of travel restrictions and the recommencement of travel outside Ireland. The groups shareholder funds totalled 53.68m. The groups cash funds declined from 20.9m to 1.5m after paying out for investment properties. The employee benefits software firm founded by Eric Mosley is now worth almost twice its 2020 valuation Irish tech firm Workhuman is now valued at $2.1bn (1.92bn) and recorded revenue last year of $1,133bn (1.04bn), according to legal documents filed by the company in a High Court case. The firm, which is jointly headquartered in Dublin and Framingham, Massachusetts, also has over 320 customers and more than six million employee users worldwide, the documents say. The $2.1bn valuation, calculated by Morgan Stanley, is almost twice its previously-stated valuation of $1.2bn in 2020. Workhuman is a software firm that provides employee benefits systems to its customers. The court case involves a claim by Workhumans founder and CEO, Irishman Eric Mosley, that certain investors have engaged in a campaign of interference and obstruction to prevent a major and transformative acquisition deal. Mr Mosley has claimed a conspiracy to damage Workhuman was effected through a variety of unlawful means. These included a scheme of misrepresentation and intimidation, to force Workhuman to accede to a proposal which would have placed the company under an undue financial and operational burden, he claimed. It was also done through a campaign to prevent the company from effecting a capital restructuring which would have brought about the repayment of a debt, it is claimed. Globoforce, trading as Workhuman, is suing Luxembourg Investment Company 276 SARL (LuxCo) and global alternative asset management firm Intermediate Capital Group PLC (ICG) which is listed on the London stock exchange. ICG is the parent of a number of companies, including ICG Europe Fund VIISCSp (FundVII) which holds LuxCos shareholding in Workhuman. It is also suing an indirect investor behind a number of companies in the Luxembourg-registered Falcon Group. It is suing six executives or directors of ICG: Benoit Durteste, David Lomer, Hadj Djemi, Luigi Bartone, Sam McKelvey and Bernard Coady, ICGs managing director and point of contact with Workhuman. A seventh individual, Stephen Welch, of Rodimus Operations, Park Road, London, is also being sued although Workhuman says there is no allegation of wrongdoing against him. It is claimed Mr Welch is a professional director who was invalidly appointed to Workhuman. Between September and March last, Barry Maloney, chairperson and director of Workhuman, conducted extensive discussions with the main shareholder of a company Workhuman was looking to acquire. For commercial sensitivity reasons, that company is not named, he said. Mr Mosley said the acquisition was proposed as an all-equity deal and which, if executed, would have significantly enhanced the scale and growth opportunities of both companies. Last March, he said, the defendants opportunistically sought to block the acquisition at the eleventh hour in an attempt to procure substantial benefits for ICG and its affiliates, to which they had no entitlement. As a result of a breakdown in the relationship between Workhuman and ICG, Workhuman decided it was appropriate that ICGs influence, through its direct and indirect shareholdings, should be addressed, he said. In response to steps taken by Workhuman, the defendants have orchestrated and continue to operate an unlawful campaign to obstruct, block, frustrate and intimidate the company, and others, including the companys board of directors, in an attempt to continue to apply pressure and exercise leverage over Workhuman, he said. Ireland wont oppose EU-Mercosur trade deal as long as beef is off the table, says Simon Coveney Argentine president elect Javier Milei has said he will pull out of EU trade pact Simon Coveney, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, attends an EU trade ministers' meeting in Brussels on Monday 27 November, 2023. Copyright: European Union Sarah Collins Tue 28 Nov 2023 at 03:30 Ireland will not oppose a trade deal with the South American Mercosur bloc as long as there is no reopening of beef quotas, Enterprise Minister Simon Coveney has said. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has spoken by phone with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. November 28, 2023, 09:09 Blinken reaffirms United States ongoing support for Armenias sovereignty and territorial integrity STEPANAKERT, NOVEMBER 28 , ARTSAKHPRESS-ARMENPRESS: Secretary Blinken reaffirmed U.S. support for Armenias sovereignty and territorial integrity, the U.S. State Department said in a readout of the November 27 call. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with Armenias Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan. They discussed U.S. support for efforts to reach a durable and dignified peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Secretary reaffirmed the United States ongoing support for Armenias sovereignty and territorial integrity, and outlined efforts to increase bilateral cooperation with Armenia as we work to support its vision for a prosperous and democratic future, the U.S. State Department said. Blinken also spoke by phone with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on the same day. In a readout of the call with Aliyev, the State Department said that Blinken noted recent points of concern in the U.S.-Azeri relations. The Secretary welcomed President Aliyevs commitment to conclude a durable and dignified peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The Secretary recognized the suffering that this long-standing conflict has caused Azerbaijanis and Armenians alike and underscored the benefits that peace would bring to everyone in the region. The Secretary discussed our enduring relations with Azerbaijan, noted recent points of concern in the relationship and also spoke about opportunities to strengthen cooperation, especially around the peace process, and the importance of high-level engagement, the State Department said. Im empathetic in one part of life and then Im cruel and rude on stage meet the counsellor by day, panto villain by night As an actor and psychologist, Cormac Costello from Co Cork has carved out two very different careers. He spends part of the week helping people with substance abuse issues, and the other part on the pantomime stage Cormac Costello is a drug and alcohol case manager as well as a panto actor. Photo: Syl Marie Photography Cormac Costello Tue 28 Nov 2023 at 02:30 I have two careers. One in community mental health and homelessness and the other in acting. These days I work as a drug and alcohol case manager for two days of the week and then I put on a costume and perform in the pantomime. Hannah Quinn-Mulligan: We need funding to find the vital common ground between conservation and farming Curlew Conservation Programme shows how farmers and environmentalist can work together for a good cause There were over 4,000 breeding pairs of curlews in Ireland until the late 1980s, but the destruction of habitats has left the population today at around 100 breeding pairs. Photo: Getty Hannah Quinn-Mulligan Tue 28 Nov 2023 at 11:56 A few years ago, I met a man who promised to get me a great story. At this stage in my journalistic career the scepticism hadnt set in, and I found myself following the man, Barry ODonoghue of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), to a bog in Kerry to find a curlew. Teagasc sees a massive opportunity in improving silage quality on winter finishing farms, which it hopes to explore as part of this new venture in Galway. Teagasc will operate a finishing unit for 200 head of cattle on the new farm it is leasing for the Newford demonstration herd in south Roscommon. It was announced last year that the land in Athenry, which Teagasc leased for over 10 years for the Newford herd, was earmarked by the IDA as the home of a new pharmaceutical manufacturing plant. However, a 142ac block in Skrine, less than 10km directly south of Roscommon town, has been secured and Head of Livestock Systems Department and Dairy Enterprise Leader at Teagasc, Padraig French, confirmed to the Farming Independent that all 95 cows and their progeny are now settled into their new home. The Farming Independent understands the farm has seen significant investment in its infrastructure by its owner over the past few years. Weve leased it off a businessman who has multiple farms in the west of Ireland. He has health issues and he has decided to step back from it, he said. The farm was finishing a lot of cattle in a relatively new finishing unit. The new facility, well only use about half of it for Newford and I suppose the plan is to use the other half of it to demonstrate winter finishing systems. The capacity of the shed for doing it is about 200 cattle. Well be able to get more than one batch through it in the winter. The farm is about 142ac. Newford [Athenry] was very fragmented, but this isnt nearly as fragmented. Its divided by a small road, so its pretty close together. Read more Teagasc demonstration farm to become home of 300m pharmaceutical plant Teagasc has signed an initial seven-year lease on the new farm in Skrine, with potential to extend this in future, French said. [Newford] is an important project and its been going really well. The cow type has performed really well for us and one of the key things for us is around age of slaughter and were getting those animals slaughtered at 20 months of age at quite good carcass weights. We had short enough notice. We got notice in May that the IDA announced, and we were to be out of there by November 25. We had to find somewhere which had reasonably good facilities, big enough to be viable and then we didnt want to be too big to be irrelevant, so we were confined enough in terms of area. We wanted to do it in the west of Ireland because thats where all the suckler farmers are, and we wanted someone to sign a long-term lease and we wanted someone who was going to do it quickly. We wanted to have all the facilities on it so that we could walk in there and wouldnt have to go building. We were looking for that last May or June and we werent that confident that we would find the right place. Dr French said that Teagasc sees a massive opportunity in improving silage quality on winter finishing farms, which it hopes to explore as part of this new venture in Galway. They [finishers] are a really important part of the industry, particularly for us in the future, in driving down the age of slaughter. From the supply of cattle to factories during the offseason time, they are really important, he said. A small improvement in efficiency in those farms, because of their scale and their risk, can have a big impact. Theyre a lot like pig farms they have very high turnover, low margin, very big risk, and with a very big response to technology, you make a small improvement in efficiency, you can have a big profit effect. If you look at suckler farmers, because of their low output, a small improvement in efficiency doesnt have a big effect on their profit. Newford suckler beef demonstration farm is a joint venture between Teagasc, Dawn Meats and the Farmers Journal and acts as a shop window to demonstrate the technologies that improve profitability and environmental sustainability in suckler to beef systems. A farmer throws an egg during a demonstration called by Young Farmers Unions and FDSEA (Departmental Federation of Agricultural Operators Unions) to protest against charges on non-road diesel fuel, payment delays linked to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and more generally the standards and constraints imposed on the agricultural sector, in Toulouse, southwestern France on November 22, 2023. (Photo by Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP) (Photo by LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP via Getty Images) Farmers protest with their tractors during a demonstration called by Young Farmers Unions and FDSEA (Departmental Federation of Agricultural Operators Unions) to protest against charges on non-road diesel fuel, payment delays linked to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and more generally the standards and constraints imposed on the agricultural sector, in Toulouse, southwestern France on November 22, 2023. (Photo by Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP) (Photo by LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP via Getty Images) A farmer drives his tractor displaying a banner reading "we're being taxed like never before" during a demonstration called by Young Farmers Unions and FDSEA (Departmental Federation of Agricultural Operators Unions) to protest against charges on non-road diesel fuel, payment delays linked to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and more generally the standards and constraints imposed on the agricultural sector, in Toulouse, southwestern France on November 22, 2023. (Photo by Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP) (Photo by LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP via Getty Images) Thousands of road signs identifying villages across rural France have been turned upside down by young farmers protesting against EU regulations and government diktats. Driving through rural Dordogne, motorists would be forgiven for wanting to have their eyes tested: sign after sign has been unscrewed and turned round. After the first upside-down signs were spotted a few days ago in Tarn, south-west France, they are now cropping up across the country. In many cases, stickers have been added with the French words: Cest le monde a lenvers. The literal translation is the worlds turned upside down but the expression means: What is the world coming to? On their long list of grievances are calls for an end to the pile-up of the norms they are forced to respect from the French government, as well as fury that foreign imports do not have to respect the strict rules imposed on them by Paris. The farmers are also unhappy with an EU obligation to leave 4 per cent of all their land fallow under the Common Agricultural Policy. They accuse the French government of not applying the EGAlim law, which is supposed to create a fair balance between producers and supermarkets, and promote healthier food. The signs initially perplexed residents, mayors and gendarmes, two of whom were seen photographing the upside-down place names as the Telegraph drove past in northern Dordogne. Then Jeunes Agriculteurs (JA), the young farmers union, announced that no, the sky was not falling on French heads, and that they were behind the stunt. Farmers protest with their tractors during a demonstration called by Young Farmers Unions and FDSEA (Departmental Federation of Agricultural Operators Unions) to protest against charges on non-road diesel fuel, payment delays linked to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and more generally the standards and constraints imposed on the agricultural sector, in Toulouse, southwestern France on November 22, 2023. (Photo by Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP) (Photo by LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP via Getty Images) French farmers are renowned for their radical protests: on Friday, union activists dumped a ton of manure in front of McDonalds and Burger King outlets in the Haute-Saone, south-east France, because they felt not enough French beef was being used in the fast food restaurants. It is, they say, a high-profile, humorous and peaceful way of raising awareness about their predicament. Weve already overturned 800 [signs] in the Dordogne and by the weekend every departement in France will be affected. That means probably 40,000 signs, said Clement Courteix, the vice president of the Dordognes JA union. The 28-year old slowly drove his huge green John Deere tractor across a muddy field, planting wheat seed as he went, before coming to a halt. These will one day be flour for millions of baguettes. But Im stopping for now. Its too wet and muddy, he said. Among the fifth generation of farmers to plough these fields, Clement took over from his father in 2014 and has more than 600 acres of land on which he grows wheat, maize, sunflowers, rapeseed, barley and soya. He also has 12,000 organic egg-laying hens producing four million eggs per year. We have no idea what the food situation will be like with all these conflicts that we could have either in the Middle East or in Ukraine, he said. And rather than work towards food sovereignty, we are forced to leave 4 per cent of our land alone. So thats 4 per cent less food and revenue. Older fellow farmers down the road were equally supportive. A farmer throws an egg during a demonstration called by Young Farmers Unions and FDSEA (Departmental Federation of Agricultural Operators Unions) to protest against charges on non-road diesel fuel, payment delays linked to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and more generally the standards and constraints imposed on the agricultural sector, in Toulouse, southwestern France on November 22, 2023. (Photo by Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP) (Photo by LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP via Getty Images) Christophe Lapierre, 52, who rears Limousin cattle and has more than 850 acres of land half for cereal, half for pastures said: Norms, norms, norms. We are policed on all sides. Today we cant go into a field without writing everything down. We try and respect all these laws but its hard to keep up. With Jacques Chirac it was much better. He loved farmers. [Nicolas] Sarkozy was the worst he never left the city. [Emmanuel] Macrons not much cop either. Mr Courteix claimed that Frances rules on the use of products are constantly changing compared to our EU colleagues and even more so compared to those elsewhere. When we open our toolbox every morning, there are fewer and fewer left to protect our plants, to help our animals. He asked: We know that there are some are problematic and are perhaps responsible for certain pollution but if we remove them, what do we replace them with?. Young farmers were particularly irked with a European proposal to cut pesticide use by half by 2030 and a total ban in sensitive areas such as parks. On Wednesday, however, the full European Parliament shot down, in a 299-to-207 vote, the recommendation. Marie Toussaint, a French MEP with the Left-wing Greens grouping, said on social media that the Right and the extreme-Right torpedoed adoption of the pesticide regulation. But Peter Liese, a German MEP with the centre-Right European Peoples Party (EPP), said: Today is a good day for farmers. The EPP and other Right-leaning groups are keen to have farmers onside for the polls, creating tensions about the commissions drive to put the bloc on the path to a carbon-neutral, sustainable future. Plan to ride to Paris Europes powerful agricultural lobby has come out against legislative measures crimping production. A key biodiversity bill aimed at rewilding EU land and water habitats, which was initially approved earlier this month, was watered down from the original text presented by the commission. Christiane Lambert, the head of French farmers umbrella body the FNSEA, said of the rejected pesticide bill: At last, the European Parliament recognises that the pesticide regulation was poorly calibrated, unrealistic, unfinanced. Farmers political clout in the EU came to the fore this week in the Netherlands after the populist politician Geert Wilders shock election victory. Among smaller parties, the Farmer-Citizen Movement or BoerBurgerBeweging (BBB) said that it would be willing to govern with Mr Wilders, who is struggling to forge a coalition. Caroline van der Plas, the leader of the BBB, arrived for the talks in style, riding in a green tractor. The BBBs seven seats in the lower house of parliament wouldnt be needed for a majority there, but it holds a large number of seats in the senate, which has the power to block legislation. As well as restricting immigration, a hard-Right coalition would soften plans to reduce livestock and fertiliser use, which are strongly opposed by farmers. While French unionists are for now sticking to their tongue-in-cheek protest, if there is no movement, they plan to ride to Paris on tractors next week to raise the pressure. Environmental crimes to carry harsher penalties under new laws Bigger fines are needed for nitrates pollution of watercourses and work is underway on new laws to deter these activities, which have been dubbed environmental crimes. Francis ODonnell, CEO of Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI), made the comments to the Oireachtas Climate Action Committee last week as restrictions to Irelands Nitrates Derogation were confirmed. Theres been heightened scrutiny of the impact of agriculture on water quality, with enhanced restrictions on fertiliser and slurry spreading in recent years. Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue also recently called out farmers for turning a blind eye to breaches of slurry-spreading regulations. Mr ODonnell said much of the legislation relating to water quality is quite antiquated, highlighting that the fisheries body is relying on a 1959 Act for fisheries prosecutions and Acts from 1977 and 1990 for the water quality. He was responding to questions from Sinn Fein TD Martin Kenny, who raised concerns over the pollution of watercourses as a result of the overuse of nitrates in the agriculture sector and asked if there needed to be greater sanctions, greater enforcement and more authority put in place. Mr ODonnell said such pollution of watercourses should carry an A, B and C category offence-type system. To some degree, a District Court or Circuit Court judge can impose a fine within a range at the moment, but I think that range is not sufficient, he said. We would have had situations over the last number of years where 5,000 or 10,000 juvenile salmon or trout were killed in a river system. That is only what we could actually see. That is very significant and it takes a long time for that system to recover. In some cases, it is done accidentally. In other cases, we believe it is done deliberately. A small fine of 2,000 or 3,000 is not significant for environmental crimes like that. Small fines do not deter people from doing it again in the future. That needs to be reviewed and looked at. IFI, he said, is working with the Department of Environment to revise the existing legislation that governs the body. We are looking at the A, B, C category fine system as well, Mr ODonnell said, adding that the outcome is probably about a year away and that it would be brought before the Houses of the Oireachtas. "That is something agencies should be looking at with regard to small fines. People are committing significant fishery offences and getting fines of 400 or 500," he said. Deputy Kenny also noted that not all farmer pollution is intentional. "Farmers spread slurry and nitrates at a time of year. A flood or a great deal of rain comes along, and they do not intend that this activity has the impact it has," he said. Mr O'Donnell said IFI does not have enough staff on the ground. "At the moment, our environmental officers seem to be inundated with reviewing planning applications for other agencies. "As an agency, we probably need to restructure what we are doing during the winter periods and spend more time monitoring in catchments with farmers, but also trying to work with them as well, he said. The completion date for planting is March 31, 2024, and payment is 5.29/m/year for five years. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images) A vast shortage in the availability of Whitethorn hedging plants for ACRES has forced the Department of Agriculture to allow the use of imported plants. The Department confirmed that imports of whitethorn and other plants needed for ACRES are being allowed as nurseries around Ireland said they can only meet a fraction of demand with homegrown plants. The planting of 2,026km of new hedgerows was approved in the ACRES contracts issued to farmers upon their acceptance in the scheme under Tranche 1. The completion date for planting is March 31, 2024 and payment is 5.29/m/year for five years. ACRES had originally been designed to use plants of Irish origin only. Director of Wicklow nursery, None So Hardy (forestry) Ltd, Teige Ryan, told the Farming Independent that in order to grow Whitethorn for ACRES, the berries would need to have been collected from hedgerows in autumn 2020. The Department has had no consultation with the nurseries in the build-up to the scheme. It takes the nursery three years to produce stock, he said. The nurseries could have produced less than two million Whitethorn plants for ACRES this year, and we dont know what the expected demand is. Its speculated within the nursery sector at the moment that the demand for ACRES hedging could be up to 10 million plants. No nursery was going to have that produced on spec in the hope that it will all be used up. Under ACRES, farmers must plant in a 1.5 metre-wide prepared strip and fence off from livestock. Any plants that fail will have to be replaced. As part of the hedgerow planting option, farmers should leave one plant to mature into a tree every 50 metres or choose a tree species from the Department-approved tree list to plant every 50 metres. Department-approved hedgerow species include blackthorn, dog rose, guelder rose, hawthorn/whitethorn, hazel, holly, spindle, and alder buckthorn. Teagasc Countryside Management Specialist Catherine Keena said all imports will require an EU plant passport. We badly need an industry here, from a biodiversity and disease point of view. Its absolutely crazy that for 25 years, were still importing plants that should be grown here, she said. The risk from bringing them in from abroad is we could import something with disease, and from a biodiversity point of view, were importing something that will flower at a different time and will upset our bugs and bees. Darragh Shaw from Turlough Nursery in Castlebar, Co Mayo, is concerned that sufficient supply of Whitethorn may not be easily obtained from Europe in time for planting this season. You have to have the infrastructure in place to grow these plants. Even if I was told that in three years time, this demand would be here, I still would need 10 years to build up infrastructure and get a return on investment, he said. Eco-friendly teens adding to surge in SVP custom for cut-price goods and treasures Lean Brady, the manager of the St Vincent de Paul shop in Cavan Town, says she has noticed the number of people visiting the shop has increased Second-hand clothes shopping has significantly increased in popularity over the last number of years just ask any teenager. Some are looking to be more sustainable, and buying second-hand keeps good clothes out of landfill. For those treasure-hunters out there, charity shops can be an Aladdins cave, with designer goods and top-quality items ready to be bought at a fraction of the price. But for the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP), its 230 local shops around the country are a vital part of helping the charity help those who look for support. For Lean Brady, the manager of the SVP shop in Cavan Town, it is an important part of the community. We can accept donations, receive donations and sort through them and be able to price them and obviously sell...So that brings in revenue for the St Vincent de Paul charity, Ms Brady said. Also, its a great place for people to pop in from the community. Some people come into us just to have a wee chat. With staff from many different parts of the world, including Lithuania and Ivory Coast, the Cavan shop is multicultural and multilingual, meaning people of different backgrounds are encouraged to shop there. In the last few months or a year, with people coming over from Ukraine, its amazing that we have people that can speak the same language or understand their language, so they can translate things for us. They feel more comfortable coming into us, Ms Brady said. SVP shops dont just sell second-hand clothes at discounted prices, there are books, shoes and bric-a-brac items too. The affordability of the items is a key part of what the shops do. It gives those who are under financial strain the chance to pick up items they need at a lower price. Ms Brady, who became the shop manager during the pandemic, said she has noticed that the number of people coming into the store has increased. We would have a lot more people coming in because of the cost of living going up and rents going up, she said. We have a lot more people coming in and availing of help, whether thats getting our helpline number if they need help paying bills or need something for their home or they need toys at Christmas for the kids, she added. At this time of year, we find a lot more people coming into us and just having a chat, maybe over a cup of tea, she said. Organising donations also becomes a big part of what the shop does leading up to Christmas. A lot of businesses and schools in Cavan get in contact saying that they are going to do a toy appeal for us. We have businesses where theyre coming to the end of season of some of their stock theyre great at donating new clothes. Were [then] able to make them into nice parcels for families who need it over the Christmas period, Ms Brady said. And with Christmas jumper appeals and events run by the SVP, it all helps those volunteers during one of the busiest times of the year for them. Its great, it gives us a bit of extra support around Christmas time because obviously we need it, she said. Modern Morals: My best friend says she cant afford to go to my foreign wedding next year. Is it insensitive to ask her to get a loan? Pure evil Dublin rapist who abused ill ex partners child freed after nine years McCarthy, who is originally from Saggart, Co Dublin, was jailed for 12 years in 2015 after details of the systematic campaign of rape and grooming he carried out over his partners daughter were revealed Andrew McCarthy Patrick O'Connell Tue 28 Nov 2023 at 08:23 Rapist Andrew McCarthy, who subjected his seriously ill partners daughter to a seven-year campaign of rape, was ferried out of Arbour Hill prison by car last week after serving just nine years of a 12-year jail sentence. Disinformation report author says anti-immigration figures made calls to fight back on social media platformsSenior analyst Aoife Gallagher says tools to monitor online activity of far right are available to gardai Far-right analyst says protests were being organised within an hour of attack Prominent far-right activists were organising anti-immigrant protests in Dublin city centre within an hour of last Thursdays stabbing attack, a leading expert says. The response time of Garda management to the developments that led up to the riot on OConnell Street has come in for criticism. A desperate call for back-up across Garda divisions was only sent out after 7pm, by which time a garda car was burning and the public order units were under attack by mobs. Last night, gardai appealed for witnesses to the violent disorder. A garda in riot gear on O'Connell Street. Photo: Stephen Collins/Collins Dublin Garda vehicles, buses and a tram were set alight, shops looted and gardai attacked during the riots, which were inflamed by far-right activists. The violent protest came after three children and a woman were injured in the stabbing attack outside a school on Parnell Square in the north inner city. But a disinformation expert says the basic tools to monitor social media activity are available to gardai. Institute for Strategic Dialogue senior analyst Aoife Gallagher said she saw the far-right agitating begin immediately after the attack became public. Ms Gallagher is an author of new research on the spread of online misinformation and disinformation in Ireland. The research paper was published last week and revealed the influence of the far right is growing. Speaking to The Indo Daily podcast from the Irish Independent, Ms Gallagher said she noticed the mobilisation began straight away on social media. Immediately, as I got the breaking news alert on my phone, I obviously went to see what was being said about it, and it was already kind of rumours and speculation at that point that the attacker was a non-national or a foreigner, Ms Gallagher said. And Id say within less than an hour after that breaking news alert that I got, there were calls from prominent figures within the anti-immigration movement to get people into the city centre that evening and to essentially mobilise people to fight back. Gardai outside Foot Locker on OConnell Street, which was targeted in the riots. Photo: Frank McGrath Ms Gallagher said the techniques she uses are not really high-tech and it is all down to the data available on social media platforms. Theres nothing special about the tools that we use, she said. I think they can probably be built by anyone that have a really good knowledge of how high-tech platforms work and how API [application programming interface] access works. So, really, I would think that hopefully the gardai, or anyone who is involved and kind of looking at these spaces, would have access to the same things that we have. The Institute of Strategic Dialogues research is entitled Uisce Faoi Thalamh: an investigation into the online mis- and disinformation ecosystem in Ireland. The paper analysed more than 13 million posts from 1,640 accounts across 12 online platforms between January 2020 and April 2023. The research finds mis- and disinformation channels were built up during Covid-19 and were then taken on by far-right activists after the pandemic ended. The far right has diverted attention towards targeting vulnerable communities, including mobilising against immigration by framing asylum-seekers or refugees as a threat to Ireland and spreading false information about the LGBTQ+ community. A burnt-out car after rioting in Dublin last week. Photo: Mark Condren Ms Gallagher said previous examples of social media being used to mobilise protests occurred when falsehoods were spread about migrants in Dungarvan, Co Waterford, and Finglas in Dublin earlier this year. Again, these were based on lies, yet they were enough to bring people on to the streets. That is generally the playbook, especially when it comes to anything to do with immigrants seizing on any kind of nefarious or criminal activity to do with immigrants or even just the presence of immigrants in any kind of particular area in order to mobilise people, she said. Tanaiste Micheal Martin said at the weekend that he was worried at the level of hate and bile being aimed at migrants on social media platforms. The Tanaiste singled out Twitter, now known as X following a takeover by billionaire Elon Musk. Mr Martin said there has been good co-operation from a number of social media groups, but X is not co-operating and a lot of the material on the platform is absolutely unacceptable. Ms Gallagher also said the social media platform was a key method of communication for those spreading disinformation. I think our research definitely shows that Twitter is a huge player and Telegram is also a major player in that world, as well, she says. Higher Education Minister Simon Harris also said the ability to spread disinformation and undermine democracy on social media platforms is now a serious issue. He told RTE Radio Ones Morning Ireland that it was a problem, not just in this country, but in Western democracies now in relation to social media platforms, which I use, which I appreciate and which have great value, but also when wrongly used have an ability to spread disinformation and undermine democracy. We see a real opportunity for Azerbaijan and Armenia to make peace. US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O'Brien said, answering journalists' questions during a briefing. November 28, 2023, 10:42 We see a real opportunity for Azerbaijan and Armenia to make peace. James OBrien STEPANAKERT, NOVEMBER 28 , ARTSAKHPRESS: Were encouraged that the two sides are speaking with one another directly and with mediators. And with that, we see a real opportunity for the entire region to benefit. For example, if trade from Central Asia is able to flow through Azerbaijan and Armenia into Turkiye, then it would be a substantial boost for all the countries on that trade route. And wed welcome the opportunity to be part of that. At the same time, if the decision is made not to pursue that by peaceful means, then we would have to use whatever tools we could to avoid having that kind of trade route created. So weve been very clear with the parties about what we hope to see and about the consequences of moving forward otherwise. So well look forward to seeing where the parties come out. We know theyve expressed an interest in concluding a peace agreement very soon, and we would love to see that happen, he said. The UK, US and Canada are among a number of countries that have issued travel warnings for Dublin following the riots in the capital last Thursday. Australia and Algeria have also issued warnings after unrest broke out in the city centre following a stabbing incident that left a five-year-old girl and a creche worker with serious injuries. The UK Foreign Office said: Following a knife attack on 23 November, there has been unrest around the centre of Dublin. There has been, and may continue to be, some disruption, including to traffic and public transport. You should avoid any protests and follow advice of local authorities. With information circulating online that the stabbing was allegedly carried out by an Algerian national, the Embassy of Algeria asked citizens living in Ireland to show the utmost caution and vigilance, and to avoid places that have been the subject of violence and vandalism. Algerian citizens in the capital were also urged to reduce their movements to the city centre of Dublin, to stay away from any gatherings and follow instructions issued by authorities. It later emerged that the man moved from Algeria and became an Irish citizen in 2014. The US Embassy said it is monitoring reports of potential continued demonstrations in Dublin and advised American citizens travelling to the city to monitor local media for updates, avoid crowds, avoid demonstrations and be aware of your surroundings. A similar warning was issued by the US Embassy following the attack on American man Stephen Termini in July, when US citizens were told to avoid walking alone and keep a low-profile while moving through Dublin city centre. The assault left Mr Termini in a coma at Beaumont Hospital before he recovered and was discharged in August. The Canadian government also advised tourists to avoid protests and follow the instructions of local authorities. "Since the evening of November 23, 2023, violent protests have occurred in Dublin city centre. They have caused disruptions to services and transportation and have led to acts of vandalism, arson, and violent clashes between demonstrators and police. "If you are in Dublin monitor local media for the most recent information, follow the instructions of local authorities, expect enhanced security measures and an increased police presence, the statement from Canadas government read. Australia told its citizens violent protests and riots have occurred in Dublin. Further disruptions could occur. Avoid protests and follow the advice of local authorities. However, Dublin remains at the lowest advice level for travel from Australia which says the security environment is similar to that of a large Australian city. Failte Ireland was contacted for comment. Brazilian Deliveroo rider Caio Benicio has offered to assist in any way I can, a gravely injured childs family after he was gifted 364,000 from the public, after he intervened to save the children who were attacked by a man with a knife on a Dublin street last week. Mr Benicio (43) thanked the Irish public via the GoFundMe appeal set up by a member of the public, where the incredible sum was raised in the wake of the Parnell Square stabbings in Dublin last week. Mr Benicio said: Thank you so much to everyone who has donated over the last few days. It has been so overwhelming seeing all of your support and I am so grateful. I wanted to share with you all that I have been in contact with the family of the little girl and I have offered to assist them in any way I can. They have yet to accept this offer, but it is my intention to support them the way you have all supported me. The stabbing attack that rocked the capital and entire country on Thursday, left the five-year-old schoolgirl gravely ill in hospital. Two other young children were also hurt along with their teacher, outside their Parnell Square school. Those two children have been released from hospital but the little girl still receiving treatment, is seriously ill. The childrens teacher, in her 30s, was also seriously injured in hospital after the knife attack by a 49-year-old man. The GoFundMe has seen 34,000 donations pouring in to thank the Deliveroo driver for his bravery, after he hit the attacker with his scooter helmet. Others also fought to prevent the attacker continuing any further assault. Gardai have already ruled out a terror related motive and are holding the Algerian-born man, a naturalised Irish citizen, who has lived in Ireland for 20 years. He also remained in hospital in the city. The teacher had used her body as a human shield to protect the children and as a result, she received serious injuries. Despite attempts by Mr Benicio, a father-of-two, and others at the scene, the five-year-old girl suffered a stab wound to the neck. Nurse Leo Ralph Villia Mayor, told Up Front With Katie Hannon on RTE One on Monday night how he had been on his way to graduate, when he saw the injured child lying on the ground. Mr Villia Mayor gave medical attention to the child while he waited on an ambulance to attend the scene. He told Ms Hannon: I was asking myself, I could have probably done more. But my counsellor said its normal to question ourselves in these times Its traumatising. Theres only one thing that was going on in my head, it was just about the life of the child. I was just wishing I hoped the child survived, thats the only wish I wanted on that day. Many faces from politics and business paid their respects to Mr Dunne at St Mochtas Church in Dublin today The funeral mass for businessman Ben Dunne has heard how he was a good, decent, generous and loving Irishman who remained close to his family throughout his colourful life. The 74-year-old died suddenly in Dubai on November 18 and his funeral mass took place at St Mochtas Church in Porterstown, Clonsilla this morning, followed by burial in Castleknock Graveyard. Mr Dunne was an iconic figure in Irish business and ran Dunnes Stores as managing director and executive chairman for almost a decade. He later established a successful chain of gyms. The remains of Ben Dunne arrive for his funeral mass in St Mochta's Church, Porterstown this morning. Photo: Gerry Mooney Mr Dunne was remembered as a son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, a friend during his funeral mass attended by a number of prominent public figures today. Among those in attendance were Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald, Independent TD Michael Lowry, beef tycoon Larry Goodman, former minister of state Conor Lenihan and former Olympian and senator Eamonn Coghlan. His son, Mark Dunne, told mourners how his father never liked going to funerals but always hoped for a full report whenever his son attended a mass. "This is one funeral that sadly he must attend and its one where he can see exactly how many are here and whos here. And even though he didnt like funerals, I know hes pleased to see so many people here today, he said. Mr Dunne also thanked those who supported his family since the death of his father, the first responders in Dubai and officials at the Irish embassy for their consular assistance. He told how his father grew up in Ringmahon in Cork and left school at an early age. He always like to say he never failed an exam in his life well, because he never did an exam in his life, he laughed. An order of service for the funeral mass of Ben Dunne. Photo: PA Mr Dunne told how his father met his mother Mary in 1972 and the pair celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary earlier this year. No matter what life has thrown at us over the years, Dad would be the first to say that our mother has always been our rock. Dad loved her dearly and relied so much on her sensibility to navigate through any chaos, he said. He recalled some of their happiest times on family holidays to Spain and said each of his siblings would miss the daily phone calls their father would make to check in. He described his father as an ambitious and driven businessman who was razor-sharp with numbers. Many of you know just how difficult running a business can be and being part of a family business is even more difficult, as you can well imagine, said Mr Dunne. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald arrives for the funeral mass of Ben Dunne in St Mochta's Church, Porterstown. Photo: Gerry Mooney My father endured many things with his siblings, some private and some unfortunately very public. However, at the core of any family business is that word family and family always finds a way of going back to its roots. Mr Dunne said his father would speak to his sister Margaret almost daily and he said the pair loved each other dearly and were a great source of strength to each other over the years. He told how his father "recreated his working life to found Ben Dunne Gyms and said his father loved the fitness industry, often travelling the world with his son. He also spoke of Mr Dunnes kidnapping by the IRA in the early 1980s. His kidnapping in 1981 was hugely traumatic on him, and it was the source of much of his personal troubles throughout the years that followed, but time is a great healer and he held no ill-feeling toward his captors, said Mr Dunne. He did the Christian thing and forgave. Independent TD Michael Lowry was one of the mourners at Ben Dunne's funeral mass. Photo: Gerry Mooney He spoke of his fathers love of golf and his favourite drink, laughing as he described his measure of wholesale proportions. He described the difficulties caused by his fathers dyslexia in his youth, but also recalled humour in his fathers tendency for malapropisms in his later years. Mr Dunne told how his family has received many messages of condolences, detailing his generosity. He told how his father was humble in his generosity and never looked for public acknowledgement or sought to use it as any kind of public redemption. He said his fathers openness and willingness to lay out his flaws was a major part of what people found so appealing about him and his personality. Businessman Larry Goodman arriving at St Mochtas Church for the funeral of Ben Dunne. Photo: Colin Keegan/Collins Dublin He had his vices, as we all do, but I can assure you he has earned his ticket to walk through those pearly white gates today. He called the trip to Dubai a tonic for his father, recalling a conversation over dinner about the prayer his father said every night. "This was the prayer: So far, all my nights have been followed by more days, but in this world of mine a night will come when there will be no more day for me. Lord, look after me today. Mr Dunne recounted the rain that fell in Dubai on the day he and his father were set to return to Ireland, telling mourners that perhaps it was home calling, or perhaps it was a deserts way of saying goodbye to this good, decent, generous and loving Irishman who loved to visit there so much and who we called our dad. His death notice notes that he is the beloved husband of Mary, the dear father of Mark, Robert, Caroline and Nicholas and the beloved grandfather of Ben, Katie, Pearl and Joseph. Tributes continue to be paid to the man that Taoiseach Leo Varadkar described as larger than life. Many have paid their respects on RIP.ie to the Cork-born businessman, with one describing Mr Dunne as a true maverick and a trader in his DNA and another writing that he was a very special person. One person said: He was, without question, the most generous person I have ever met. His acts of generosity were always private and not given in order to attract accolade or acclaim. He was a force of nature and larger than life. Ill never forget his kindness. There is concern about the risk posed to refugees and asylum seekers forced to sleep rough in the city centre Gardai will protect refugees and asylum seekers who may be forced to sleep on the streets in the coming days with accommodation spaces set to run out, the Government has said. Equality and Integration Minister Roderic OGorman warned cabinet colleagues today that there is an increasing challenge of contracting accommodation and as a result there is a risk spaces will run out in the immediate term. The Department is facing the real possibility of a shortfall in accommodation in the coming days. Officials are continuing to work at maximising the use of available accommodation, Mr OGormans spokesman said. He said it is increasingly challenging to open new accommodation for those seeking International Protection, particularly male applicants. Tanaiste Micheal Martin said the Government is facing a challenging situation to house refugees after Minister OGormans warning. Speaking at a press conference following a meeting of the British Irish Intergovernmental Conference in Farmleigh, Dublin, Mr Martin said: Those seeking asylum in Ireland, the numbers have grown, not just in Ireland but across Europe, everywhere for that matter. We are very conscious of pressure on accommodation and the Minister for Children advised that he's looking at measures to make sure that we don't get to that situation next week but there are challenges and we will try and find accommodation, he added. The Taoiseachs spokeswoman said this evening that there is an increased garda capability around Dublin because of last Thursdays riots in the capital and added they are there to protect everyone on the streets. She added: So there is of course an awareness of increased risk to people in the city centre at the moment and thats being managed by the guards. Mr Varadkars spokeswoman was responding to questions about the risks potentially facing refugees following the riots which were sparked by far-right anti-immigration protesters. She added: I dont have precise details of how the gardai are going to manage the streets over the coming weeks and into the future but they are there to protect everyone and the safety of everyone on the streets. A Green Party government spokesperson said Mr OGorman does feel supported by cabinet colleagues in addressing accommodation shortages. Its tight, there are capacity constraints, but hes in communication with his government colleagues and he feels hes being supported, he said. They added that proposals to change the accommodation and welfare offering for refugees fleeing war torn Ukraine are likely to be brought to Cabinet before the Christmas break. The Cabinet signed off on a 15 million emergency funding package on an exceptional basis for the stricken charity on Tuesday. Photo: PA Crisis-hit housing charity Peter McVerry Trust is to get nearly 4 million a month in a taxpayer-funded bailout between now and next March in order to continue providing housing and homelessness services. The Cabinet signed off on a 15 million emergency funding package on an exceptional basis for the stricken charity on Tuesday following a proposal by Housing Minister Darragh OBrien. It will be paid on a phased monthly basis from December until March next year and is conditional on the implementation of significant reform, a Government spokeswoman said. She said an undertaking had been given by PMVT that improved management and budgetary processes are being put in place. Two state regulators the Charities Regulator and the Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority are investigating financial and governance issues at one of the largest housing charities in the country, which gets more than 38 million in state funding in 2021. PMVT is currently providing accommodation and support to more than 1,000 people in emergency accommodation and more than 600 people in Housing First tenancy schemes. Former South Dublin County Council chief executive Danny McLoughlin was appointed its interim CEO last month following the resignation of Francis Doherty. Mr Doherty had replaced Pat Doyle as chief executive earlier this year. Francis Doherty has resigned as CEO of the Peter McVerry Trust In his resignation letter, Mr Doherty warned of the imminent financial collapse faced by PMVT. He said he had identified serious financial trouble, with insufficient funds to meet creditor, payroll and Revenue commitments when he took up the role in June of this year. Mr Doherty claimed he had been left in an untenable position by the trustees of the organisation, and alleged he had been subjected to a gagging order and restricted from speaking to stakeholders without prior approval from the board or the chair, Deirdre-Ann Barr. PMVT said at the time it was disappointed with Mr Dohertys decision to resign but did not address the issues raised in his letter. Our focus remains on the future of the organisation. We will cooperate with all stakeholders to achieve that as best as possible. Continuity of care for our participant group remains our priority, PMVT said in a statement in October. The Irish Independent revealed last month that the charitys board rejected a proposal by Mr Doherty to appoint well-known businessman David Hall and two other people to the board as part of efforts to resolve the crisis. Green Party in U-turn as it is now set to back use of facial recognition technology Protesters clash with gardai and set patrol car on fire as violence erupts after children stabbed in Dublin The Government will consider giving gardai more powers to crack down on rioters. Justice Minister Helen McEntee has asked the Policing Authority to look at how frontline gardai tackling riots such as those in Dublin last week can be given added support. "I have asked for clarity on use of force because I don't want gardai looking over their shoulder when they feel force is necessary, she said this morning. The use of force will be given further clarity, as will the tools gardai need in such situations, including non-lethal equipment like pepper spray and batons stronger vehicles, resources, the use of the dog unit, training and powers including the use of their coercive powers where necessary. Speaking on her way into Cabinet this morning, Ms McEntee has said she will update her colleagues on efforts to restore and maintain order since Thursday night. She said there would be a strong, visible Garda presence including a number of public order units that are and will continue to be on the ground during the Christmas period and that she wants to ensure gardai have everything available to them to respond. Ms McEntee said she has asked the Policing Authority to look at equipment and resources gardai might need and to provide clarity on the use of force so that they do not feel like they are operating with their hands behind their backs. I want them to have the confidence to respond in the way that they deem appropriate. She added: There were serious thugs and criminals who went out to not just cause disruption, but to harm people on Thursday night, and gardai need to be able to respond with the appropriate force. It is important that when responding to these serious types of incidents that gardai can use the force that they deem appropriate. Its so important that we trust our members to respond in the way that they deem appropriate. I think their response on Thursday was excellent. I think the way in which they managed the situation was excellent. Ms McEntee said she understands that there are concerns around safety in Dublin city centre following the events on Thursday, adding: I want to reassure people, I want to reassure everyone that there is a strong visible Garda presence there will be a strong visible presence to keep people safe, right up until and during the Christmas period, and I just want to reassure people of that. A Government source said last night the minister believes gardai should not have to second-guess themselves in circumstances where the use of force is warranted and necessary. She wants gardai who put themselves at risk to have clear guidance on how they can use force where necessary to do their jobs, they added. The source said Ms McEntee believes gardai did an excellent job in policing the unrest and wants to make sure they have whatever powers they need if they happen again. The Policing Authority will be tasked with updating previous work in this area in light of the riots in Dublin, as well as the changed environment post Covid and growth of social media to ensure that the most up-to-date policies and procedures are in place. Ms McEntee will also tell colleagues she has asked An Garda Siochana to consider speeding up the purchase of bodycams as she wants all options to be looked at. The new laws to allow gardai to use bodycams will pass all stages in the Oireachtas this week, and they are due to be rolled out by the middle of next year. The implementation of facial recognition technology (FRT), which was previously opposed by the Greens, will now be expanded to include riot and violent disorder, as well as the previous very serious crimes, such as rape and child abuse. Cabinet will sign off on draft laws within weeks, the source said. Ms McEntee last night refused to be grilled by politicians at the Dails justice committee this week as pressure mounts on her position. Chair of the committee, Fianna Fail TD James Lawless invited the minister and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris to answer questions on disruption and disorder in the capital city. However, a spokesperson for the minister said she is unable to attend the committee tomorrow as she has other Dail and Seanad engagements. Ms McEntee is happy to appear before the committee, her spokesperson said. However, as she is taking Leaders Questions, responding to a Seanad PMB (Private Members Bill) and finishing the Recording Devices Bill on Wednesday, it will not be possible for her to appear at the suggested time. The minister is happy to appear at a time that can be agreed with the committee. It comes as Fianna Fail senator Erin McGreehan called on Commissioner Harris to step down as anger also bubbles in the party over the position of the Justice Minister. Meanwhile, the Green Party is ready to cooperate with garda use of facial recognition technology, having blocked efforts to bring it in earlier this year. The party demanded, and will now get, a standalone piece of legislation on the issue, thought to be weeks from being drafted, that will have safeguards to prevent real-time use of CCTV monitoring of past offenders. Green Party minister Roderic OGorman publicly signalled the move yesterday, with sources saying negotiations during the summer had reached an understanding with Fine Gael. A spokesman said: The Green Party has always supported giving gardai access to cutting-edge technology in order to fight crime as long as the proper safeguards are in place. He pointed out the party had given its backing to the original bill on bodycams. That legislation comes back from the Seanad into the Dail tomorrow and is likely to pass all stages. Political sources expect an early signature motion to be attached when it is sent to the Aras for enactment by the President, who has discretion on whether to refer any Oireachtas legislation to the Council of State and then to the Supreme Court to test its constitutionality. The Greens said they had agreed to a separate, stand-alone bill that would allow for the retrospective use of facial recognition technology in serious cases, provided this was subject to pre-legislative scrutiny. The phrase about retrospection refers to just such CCTV lookback after a crime or crimes have been committed, with Irish jurisprudence heavily weighted against the presumed commission of a future crime. We await full details of the extra categories of offences that Ms McEntee proposes to allow FRT be used to help investigate, the spokesman said. Speaking to RTE News at One today, president of the Garda Representative Association (GRA) Brendan OConnor said social media posts seeking the home addresses of gardai is a very concerning element but it is not something new. He said a similar issue was reported at the time of the water protests and that members need protection. Mr OConnor said there is legislation in France to protect the police force from such actions, adding: It is very concerning. Not the first time but certainly, it is something that shows the sinister nature of what our members face. Not only they themselves, but their family also are exposed to it as a result of their career choice. He told how the GRA perspective is that it is absolutely not the responsibility of the Policing Authority to clarify the use of force, adding: Our members are scratching their heads because the reason that members are reticent and hesitant to use force is because of their experience to the statutory functions exercised by our own garda management in the supervision of investigations, GSOC in relation to the criminal investigations and discipline and the arbiter of whether something is correct or not has been the DPP. And our members who have acted proportionately in the past and acted lawfully have still found themselves dragged before the courts and put through a torturous experience. Some of them suspended for years on end and many of them then acquitted either by either judges or by juries of their peers. So, certainly, the Policing Authority have no statutory function. They have no role in the process that has led to this. He added that the GRAs experience of the Policing Authority is that it has been quite critical of members and quick to criticise. Mr OConnor said members will be scratching their heads wondering what this will mean for them, adding that the issues are ongoing across the country day in day out and not just for large scale public order incidents. He said the GRA often see gardai as being criminalised for doing their work and the criminals have been emboldened and individual members are being impacted. Mr OConnor said he wanted to be very, very clear that GRA members support the need for accountability and a complaints structure but said they need to know that there will be a speedy investigation both for the aggrieved person and the member left hanging on suspension with ongoing enquiries for ridiculous amounts of time under GSOC. He said GRA members worry that they are guilty until proven innocent under the current structures and the consequences are impacting on policing. Ireland is one of the best parts of paradise and thousands of people will come here from abroad, Mr Varadkar told the Dail Thousands of people will come to Ireland from abroad in the time ahead and people need to be aware of it, Leo Varadkar said today. The world is a dangerous place, but Europe is paradise, the Taoiseach has told the Dail. Ireland is one of the best parts of paradise, he added. Thousands will come here and we just need to manage that as best we can. Mr Varadkar said he would appeal again for people not to conflate crime with migration. Its not right, he said. With hundreds of thousands of foreign-born people living here, it was inevitable that some small number would commit crime just as Irish people committed crime, he said. There will be a few of them who commit terrible crimes, just as there are people born and bred in Ireland who commit terrible crimes every day, including murderers, Mr Varadkar said. When I see what happened in Parnell Square, what I see is a suspect who was a migrant although a citizen, and somebody here for over 20 years, he said. I see a five-year-old child in hospital today, both her parents coming from a migrant background and her born in Ireland, Mr Varadkar added. And of the five or six people who intervened to stop the attack, four those six are migrants to this country, the Taoiseach said. It's totally wrong to try and make out that there's a connection between crime and migration, based on what happened on Parnell Street. The alleged assailant, the victims, and those that stopped the attack are most of them from migrant background. Workers in the Holiday Inn Express hotels coffee shop on OConnell Street in Dublin have been temporarily let go due to damage sustained to the building during last weeks riots. The eight workers, comprised of six full-time and two part-time baristas were informed by management this Tuesday in a meeting that they would be laid-off effective immediately without pay. One worker, Siobhan told RTE Radio 1s Liveline: A lot of us dont have any other income and were told to contact social welfare. Its just weeks before Christmas, we have no job, we have rent to pay. The rioters of last Thursday night, they have actually caused you and your colleagues to lose your jobs, Mr Duffy stated, to which she replied: More or less, yes. A letter given to the eight workers, was read out by Joe Duffy live on air. It informed workers that they were being laid-off without pay in accordance with your contract from this Tuesday. It stresses that the lay-offs will remain in effect until full repairs are made to the shop and that workers will be notified as soon as they are required to recommence work. The letter also encourages the workers to take the official paper to their local social welfare office in order to avail of any benefits they may be entitled to, Mr Duffy outlined. Siobhan remarked that most of the workers will have to look for new jobs before Christmas time. She also informed that a number of her colleagues were stuck in the coffee shop when rioters were breaking in on Thursday. They were terrified, they had no exits, they were locked in the bathroom for half an hour to an hour, she said. She said that rioters then began taking furniture from the Holiday Inn to use to break more glass. When asked by Mr Duffy how long the repairs are expected to take, she replied that it would 100% take longer than two months. They said that if there are any positions in the hotel open, they will try, but as of now there is nothing available, she informed, adding that if positions do open up, they will be hired in order of seniority. Those who were due to work on Friday, the day after the riot, were told that they would be paid for that day, while everyone was also told that they could take holiday days up until this Tuesday. Following their discussion, a number of business owners phoned into the later segments of the show, to say that they would be willing to speak to any of the eight workers over prospective employment. One bakery manager in Skerries said later in the show: We are going to have on part-time and a full-time position. Pass on the details, if anyone wants to get in touch they can call us. The Irish Independent contacted the Holiday Inn Express for comment, who did not respond. A man who was caught with over 1 million in cocaine in a "sophisticated" operation where the drugs were hidden in a modified compartment in his van has had his two-year jail sentence doubled by the Court of Appeal. Andrew Lawlor (38) was originally jailed for two years after he pleaded guilty to possessing 1.2 million of the drug that was hidden in his van and was uncovered after a Garda surveillance operation in 2020. At Trim Circuit Court in February, Judge Elva Duffy sentenced Lawlor to four and a half years in prison, with the final two and a half years suspended in mitigation considering his guilty plea, personal circumstances and efforts at rehabilitation for a drug and alcohol addiction. Lawlor, of The Paddocks Grove, Adamstown, Co Dublin, pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine for sale or supply on July 11, 2020, at the Ashbourne Business Centre on the Ballybin Road in Co Meath. The court heard the drugs had been brought by truck from the UK through Northern Ireland and then to Ashbourne where they were transferred to the defendant's van. Gardai who had mounted a surveillance operation moved in after the handover and arrested both drivers. The truck driver was later jailed for 18 months. The court heard Lawlor had developed a cocaine addiction after he began experimenting with drugs when he was a teenager and had been under financial strain at the time because of the Covid lockdown. The court heard he is now drug free and training to qualify as a drug counsellor. At the Court of Appeal on Monday, Carl Hanahoe BL, for the State, successfully appealed the sentence on grounds of undue leniency. Mr Hanahoe submitted that the headline sentence of six and a half years set by the trial judge was too low, considering the value of the drugs, which weighed 17kg, and the "sophistication of their concealment". The court was told that the drugs were found in a compartment in a hydraulic press bolted to the floor of the Volkswagen Caddy. "The value of the drugs is one of the core elements of where on the spectrum the offence lies and in nominating the headline," said Mr Hanahoe. Mr Hanahoe suggested a 10-year headline sentence as an appropriate one in line with the "presumptive mandatory minimum sentence" for similar drug offences. Mr Hanahoe said that Lawlor had also benefited from an "excessive" reduction in mitigation and described the headline sentence nominated as a starting point as being "out of kilter and insufficient". Roderick O'Hanlon SC, for Lawlor, said the value of the drugs was "obviously of considerable importance but it is not determinative in of itself" when it came to applying the presumptive mandatory minimum sentence. Mr O'Hanlon said his client had entered an early guilty plea. He added that, after his arrest and search, Lawlor had upon request returned voluntarily to the Garda Station, where he wrote out a statement admitting he had been in possession of the drugs later found in the van. Appeal Court judge Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy said there was a "sophisticated concealment" involved in the operation and that a "level of trust" had to have been put in Lawlor by others. Mr Justice John Edwards noted that when calculating a headline sentence, the sentencing judge had failed to take into account the potential harm to society, not just any actual harm. Mr O'Hanlon said the trial judge recognised the value of the drugs and the level of offending committed "on more than one occasion" but that there was still a "discretionary" element to sentencing for the trial judge. Mr O'Hanlon said his client had previous convictions for road traffic offences but that they were "not relevant" to the drugs offence. Because of Covid restrictions in place at the time, gardai released Lawlor for a time but when they discovered the drugs in the van, he agreed to return to the station and made out a written statement, said Mr O'Hanlon. Mr O'Hanlon said that, in his statement, Lawlor said that he was "shocked" when the value of the drugs was told to him. "I accept responsibility for having the drugs in my van but I did not know the type. I was shocked. I was doing this for 1K and some cocaine - I relapsed. I hope to get back to treatment. I am genuinely sorry. I will regret it for the rest of my life. I am in fear for my life and for my family," Mr O'Hanlon said his client told gardai. Mr O'Hanlon said the father-of-two was in Loughan House open prison, was released one day a week for treatment and that on weekends he was allowed to visit his parents. "The reports reflect a prisoner who is doing extremely well," said counsel. Mr O'Hanlon agreed with Ms Justice Kennedy he was submitting that while the sentence "may seem lenient, it is not too lenient". In delivering the Court of Appeal's judgement, Ms Justice Kennedy noted Lawlor's personal difficulties, his efforts to overcome them and that he was a father of two with an offer of work upon his release. Ms Justice Kennedy said the operation would have taken "time and planning" regarding the concealment of drugs that were "a potential harm to society". "The quantity and value are critical; not determinative but critical," said the judge. In quashing the original sentence, Ms Justice Kennedy said the headline sentence of six and a half years had been unduly lenient and that the court would re-sentence Lawlor. Ms Justice Kennedy identified 10 years as a headline sentence before reducing it to seven and a half years in mitigation. Ms Justice Kennedy then suspended the final three and a half years of the sentence to encourage Lawlor's rehabilitation. In re-sentencing Lawlor to four years in jail, Ms Kennedy said drugs were a "scourge in our society and there is such a vast quantity of drugs on our streets it cannot be ignored". At his previous sentence hearing, Judge Elva Duffy had described the offence as "significant" and the defendant's method of concealing the drugs as "sophisticated", but took into account his drug free status before imposing a sentence of four and a half years with the final two and a half years suspended. The court heard Lawlor had developed a cocaine addiction after he began experimenting with drugs when he was a teenager and had been under financial strain at the time because of the Covid lockdown. The court heard he is now drug free and training to qualify as a drug counsellor. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has spoken by phone with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss issues related to the regional agenda and bilateral relations, the Prime Ministers Office has said. November 28, 2023, 11:11 Pashinyan, U.S. Secretary of State discuss humanitarian issues of NK forcibly displaced persons STEPANAKERT, NOVEMBER 28 , ARTSAKHPRESS: The Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization process was discussed, the Armenian Prime Ministers Office said in a readout. The humanitarian issues of over 100,000 forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh, and the Armenian governments steps aimed at overcoming these issues were also discussed. The importance of support by the international community was underscored. A second Fianna Fail senator has called on the Garda Commissioner to step down and a new one to be appointed amid increasing pressure on the policing response at last Thursdays Dublin riots. Senator Timmy Dooley told the Seanad frontline gardai dont think Drew Harris has their back. It came as Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald reiterated her call for both Mr Harris and Justice Minister McEntee to go. Senator Dooley said the image of Dublin abroad and Ireland has been damaged as a result of the riots. Quite frankly, many guards are afraid to use their judgement call on the use of force, he said. Thats in my view deeply disturbing. Theyre afraid to use their discretion, theyre afraid that itll come back to haunt them at a later stage. They dont believe that the Garda Commissioner has their back. If this is the new culture in An Garda Siochana, and we need it to change culture thats for sure - then weve gone from bad to worse, he said. It is my view that its time for a new commissioner to be appointed. I think in order to rebuild confidence in the membership, develop policies and plans to tackle the challenges that confront our state right now, I think it is imperative that a new commissioner is appointed. His comments come after his party colleague Erin McGreehan called for Commissioner Harris to resign, saying he lost the rank and file long ago and should go. Anger was rife among Fianna Fail backbenchers also with Justice Minister McEntee, with some privately saying her position is now untenable. The Policing Authority has now been tasked with looking at what further supports can be given to gardai in policing riots, such as equipment, as well as further clarity on their use of force. It met with the Garda Commissioner today and in a statement, issued afterwards, said that public order issues and the policing of protests will continue to be an area of focus for the Authority. Ms McEntee meanwhile has said she does not want any member of An Garda Siochana looking over their shoulder. There has been some criticism new facial recognition technology, being pushed through by the Government, would be of no use for Thursdays riots as participants had their faces covered She said some people had their faces hidden but others didnt as they started off the afternoon or evening without covering. New facial recognition technologies would help Gardai identify those as they trawl through 6,000 hours of CCTV footage. The Commissioner himself as well as members on the ground have said very clearly that having facial recognition would be hugely helpful in this type of a scenario so I want to see it enacted as quickly as possible, she said. Ms McEntee said the heads of bill for the new laws will be ready before Christmas. She said she has not asked for pre-legislative scrutiny to be waived but said there is a new rule to give Committees eight weeks to scrutinise any new laws. Mary Lou McDonald says Helen McEntee and Drew Harris 'lost control of Dublin city centre' Earlier, Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald told the Dail she was zero confidence in Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and Minister for Justice Helen McEntee, The Governments depletion of AGS had left people feeling unsafe in Dublin and beyond, she said, and ultimately responsibility lay with Minister McEntee. The Taoiseach should face that cold reality and relieve her of her office, she said. But the Taoiseach responded by telling her she should not be looking for headlines or looking for heads in these circumstances. In July, the US Government had warned its citizens about travel to Dublin after violent incidents, but the minister had pronounced Dublin safe, Ms McDonald said. Today, the Canadian, Australian and British Governments had all issued warnings to their citizens travelling to Dublin, she added. It seems the minister has moved from denial to full-blown delusion, the SF leader went on. The Taoiseach had to do what was necessary now and removed Helen McEntee as Minister for Justice, she said. The reality is that Dublin City centre has not been safe for some time, she said. Public safety had collapsed on Thursday, but the danger had been evident since 2.30pm on that day. It had also been coming to a head for months. The Taoiseach in response said there were pans for another 600 prison places and the response to what had happened would be robust. He promised to bring in a Police Powers Bill to reflect points that had been made to government politicians at a meeting in Store Street Garda station. In relation to what you said about other countries issuing warnings, that is true, but they issue the same warnings about other cities around the world, and their own cities, in fact, Mr Varadkar said. He said the Government would give consideration to an independent assessment by the Police Inspectorate, as proposed by Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik. In other places in Dail Eireann there were people grandstanding and acting as judge, jury and executioner, he said. He said he had full confidence in the Garda Commissioner and in the Minister for Justice. He said Ms McEntee had led on gender-based violence. Ms McDonald said Ms McEntee was not the person to give the necessary leadership at this time and the Taoiseach should face that cold reality. Mr Varadkar replied that people did not want to see Ms McDonald playing politics with this issue, looking for headlines or looking for heads. Labour leader Ivana Bacik said the victims of the stabbing attack were uppermost in everyones mind, and also the heroes who stepped in at the time. She said there must be accountability for what occurred. The shocking events had brought home the real crisis in policing. Long before last week despicable events had been building. Taoiseach, I am sorry to say there are high-profile people in this country, and in this House and the Seanad who have used language that contributed to hostility against new arrival, she said. Labour had not confidence in the Governments handling of policing week in, week out, she said. We should be reaching more people, more personnel in An Garda Siochana, she said. Taoiseach you cant legislate your way out of this. Mr Varadkar said many more people would have injured, or perhaps killed, if the brave members of the public had not intervened in the stabbing incident as they did. He had met four of them on Sunday night and had thanked them for what they did, he said. There were a lot of people, particular people of colour, who were now fearful of what might happen or how they might be treated, Mr Varadkar said. He said that the Government remains committed to the regeneration of north inner city Dublin and does not blame residents there for the rioting last week. He told the Dail that of the 38 people arrested in connection with the riots on Thursday night, only three of them had addresses in Dublin 1. So the majority of people who burnt parts of our city and did what they did last Thursday were not local people from inner city Dublin at all, he said. They were from all over Dublin and came in with a view to causing trouble. And some of them came from outside of Dublin as well. The Taoiseach added: I really hope this gives people in the northeast inner city some reassurance that that is understood. We are going to continue to be behind the regeneration projects in the northeast inner city. Sinn Fein TD Matt Carthy said it was acknowledged that Dublin lacked gardai, but pointed out that most of the rest of the State was also under-policed. The Government had announced that out of 227 new recruits who had graduated from Templemore Garda training college, 165 had been sent to Dublin stations. But this left few (62) for the needs of the rest of the country, he said. And because of retirements and the retention problem in the force, almost every other area will have fewer gardai in future, he said. Michael Lowry, the Tipperary Independent TD, said there had been a humiliating operational failure on Thursday night. Its long past time to take the gloves off, the former Fine Gael Minister said. He said gardai are now unfortunately under more surveillance than the criminals themselves. Speaking to RTE News at One today, President of the Garda Representative Association (GRA) Brendan OConnor said social media posts seeking the home addresses of gardai in the wake of the Dublin riots is a very concerning element but it is not something new. He said a similar issue was reported at the time of the water protests and that members need protection. Mr OConnor said there is legislation in France to protect the police force from such actions, adding: It is very concerning. Not the first time but certainly, it is something that shows the sinister nature of what our members face. Not only they themselves, but their family also are exposed to it as a result of their career choice. He told how the GRA perspective is that it is absolutely not the responsibility of the Policing Authority to clarify the use of force, adding: Our members are scratching their heads because the reason that members are reticent and hesitant to use force is because of their experience to the statutory functions exercised by our own garda management in the supervision of investigations, GSOC in relation to the criminal investigations and discipline and the arbiter of whether something is correct or not has been the DPP. And our members who have acted proportionately in the past and acted lawfully have still found themselves dragged before the courts and put through a torturous experience. Some of them suspended for years on end and many of them then acquitted either by either judges or by juries of their peers. So, certainly, the Policing Authority have no statutory function. They have no role in the process that has led to this. He added that the GRAs experience of the Policing Authority is that it has been quite critical of members and quick to criticise. Mr OConnor said members will be scratching their heads wondering what this will mean for them, adding that the issues are ongoing across the country day in day out and not just for large scale public order incidents. He said the GRA often see gardai as being criminalised for doing their work and the criminals have been emboldened and individual members are being impacted. Mr OConnor said he wanted to be very, very clear that GRA members support the need for accountability and a complaints structure but said they need to know that there will be a speedy investigation both for the aggrieved person and the member left hanging on suspension with ongoing enquiries for ridiculous amounts of time under GSOC. He said GRA members worry that they are guilty until proven innocent under the current structures and the consequences are impacting on policing. Finance Minister Michael McGrath has said he fully supports Justice Minister Helen McEntee amid calls from the opposition for her resignation. Speaking on the way into Cabinet, Mr McGrath said: I believe she has the full support of her Cabinet colleagues this is not about personalities, what happened last Thursday in Dublin was an affront to our democracy." There had been pressure on Ms McEntee to respond to safety issues in the Irish capital before disorder broke out last week, resulting in cars, buses and trams being burned and shops being damaged and looted. Sinn Fein has said the positions of both Ms McEntee and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris are now in question as a result, while both figures have promised a strong response to the riotous scenes. New TG4 documentary tells story of the radical lesbians central to Irelands fight for freedom Their history was buried for so long, but now a TV audience will get to learn about eight lesbian couples who were Irish revolutionaries Actors Niamh Santry and Joanne Hackett in TG4 documentary Croithe Radacacha, which will air next week Laura Lynott Tue 28 Nov 2023 at 03:30 For so long, the history of male revolutionaries has been told, but now a documentary reveals the pivotal role lesbian women played in Irelands fight for freedom. There is not a chance Ireland will curb economic growth to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and arrest climate change, the head of the countrys biggest business lobby has said. Danny McCoy, chief executive of the Irish Business and Employers Confederation (Ibec), was addressing questions on degrowth at the Sustainable Futures Forum at University College Cork. He said there was not a chance the strategy would be embraced here. Its a really big challenge. I dont believe it will be cracked, he said. His views were echoed by Karen ORegan, managing director of business consultancy firm Accenture Ireland. Consumers still want to be able to consume, she said. The research would suggest there is no environment for degrowth ahead. The forum heard from speakers from business, energy, technology, banking, media, education and agriculture on the challenges facing all sectors as pressure grows to rein in emissions. Ms ORegan said she was starting to feel a shift in urgency among the organisations and businesses with whom Accenture worked. However, she cautioned that there was a long way to go. There has been an increase in the number of organisations signing up to science-based targets, but theyre still increasing their emissions, she said. Just one in five of the top organisations were on track to meet targets and timelines for getting to net zero emissions. Mr McCoy criticised the Government for giving out universal energy credits during the cost-of-living crisis, which resulted in rich households getting millions in supports they did not need. He said the money should have gone into cash-strapped training funds to upskill people in green technologies. We have prioritised something short term because its popular, he said. That approach crowded out things that needed to be done. The forum came ahead of the COP28 global climate summit, which begins in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday. The summit, which already had credibility issues after the decision to allow it to be held in a petrostate, has further clouds hanging over it following revelations about the behaviour of its hosts. An investigation by the BBC and the Centre for Climate Reporting discovered the UAE used pre-summit talks with other countries to tee up oil and gas deals. Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber, who holds the COP28 presidency for the year and is responsible for chairing the talks, is also head of the UAEs national oil company, Adnoc. According to documents uncovered by journalists, potential roles for Adnoc and the UAEs renewable energy company, Masdar, were proposed in dozens of countries approached by presidency representatives while making pre-summit preparations. Ireland was not one of the countries highlighted. Environment Minister Eamon Ryan met Dr Al-Jaber for pre-summit talks last month and queries have been sent to his department to establish whether any business proposals were raised on the occasion. Former President Mary Robinson, who was the guest speaker at the forum, said the talks had been compromised by the revelations. Its very worrying because perceptions matter and there was already a perception that the presidency was a bit compromised and this may make the situation even more difficult, she said. Its not right that a president of the COP would use the office to negotiate private deals. If thats happened, its not correct and its not appropriate. However, she said the scandal could not be allowed to derail the talks which will attempt to get agreement between 197 countries on goals for cutting carbon emissions and phasing out fossil fuels. We have no time for a bad COP, she said. We have to have as much progress at this COP as possible because were running out of time. Louth TD Fergus ODowd is the latest Fine Gael Deputy to announce he is not running in the next general election. His announcement comes as a raft of TDs and MEPs in Fine Gael to declare they will not be running in the next election. I have served as a Councillor, as Mayor of Drogheda for three terms, as Senator, as Dail Deputy, as Chair of both Oireachtas Transport Committee and Good Friday Implementation Committee and Minister of State at the Department of Communications, he said. Mr ODowd said he will tell his grandchildren there is no more noble profession than trying to do good for people. Throughout my working life I have enjoyed the heartfelt support of the people of my constituency. I have deeply appreciated their loyalty and goodwill which made my job representing them all that more satisfying. He adds his name to an increasing number of Fine Gael TDs not running in the next general election, including Brendan Griffin, John Paul Phelan, Richard Bruton, Charlie Flanagan, Michael Creed, Joe McHugh and David Stanton. MEPs Frances Fitzgerald and Deirdre Clune in recent weeks also announced they would not run in the European elections, taking place next summer. Fergus has an admirable electoral record having won eight elections in a row to the Seanad, Council and Dail in which he is serving his fifth consecutive term, said Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. This tells us that the people of Drogheda and Louth value him as their public representative. He is driven by a deep sense of justice and I know that while he will not be in the next Parliamentary Party, he will continue to work and campaign on these issues and I hope I will still be able to work with him on them in some way. In a statement, Mr ODowd looked back at his career highlights, which included improving care quality in nursing homes, reforming Freedom of Information laws and taking a successful High Court case against developers who demolished the historic 250 year old Drogheda Grammar School in 1989. The protected structure was later rebuilt and it still stands in Drogheda. FIANNA Fail TD Barry Cowen has confirmed he is to seek a party nomination to run in next years European elections. The former agriculture minister ended weeks of speculation about his European ambitions by confirming to his local organisation on Monday night that he plans to put his name forward for selection as a Fianna Fail candidate in the Midland North West constituency. Mr Cowens constituency, Laois-Offaly, has been added to the vast European Parliament constituency which will now be a five-seater in next Junes elections. If nominated by the party and then elected to Europe next year, Mr Cowen's exit from domestic politics will bring an end to five decades of Cowens representing the Offaly or Laois-Offaly constituencies in the Dail following his brother Brian and his late father Ber Cowen who was first elected in 1969. Barry Cowen criticised for saying extending eviction ban would be like making sweets free for children Mr Cowen has been a TD for the last 12 years and was an Offaly county councillor for two decades before that. He succeeded his brother Brian Cowen, the former taoiseach, in the Dail in the 2011 general election and was a frontbench spokesperson for the party, holding the portfolios of housing, social protection and public expenditure, for nearly a decade before he was appointed to Cabinet in June 2020 when the current Coalition was formed. However, he was controversially sacked by former taoiseach Micheal Martin less than three weeks after he was made agriculture minister following the emergence of a historic drink-driving offence. Mr Cowen refused Mr Martins request to address the Dail for a second time and answer questions about the offence. Mr Cowen had refused to resign because he wanted the Garda Ombudsman to investigate and report on the handling of information about the incident, which occurred in 2016. He has remained in the backbenches since then and turned down the offer of a backbench spokespersons role form Mr Martin in December 2020. In a statement following his announcement to his local organisation on Monday night, Mr Cowen said: I will be focused on the ongoing transition led by the EU towards sustainability across many sectors key to our success as an economy - food and farming, energy and enterprise, and making sure Irish views and interests are reflected in EU policies. Reinstating a seat or seats here will be important for the party and I believe I can deliver that having successfully contested many elections with a strong network and family history of pro-European public service. I am honoured at the support from the Fianna Fail organisation, locally and nationally, for me to pursue the nomination and to seek to win back for a seat for Fianna Fail in the Midlands-North-West constituency. Minister of State Patrick ODonovan calls for rioters to be punished financially and have their welfare stoppedTaoiseach says calls for the Justice Minister and Garda Commissioner to resign are not the right approachTanaiste Micheal Martin said he had absolute confidence in Helen McEntee and that politicians should stand by the commissionerMary Lou McDonald says her party has "zero confidence" in Justice Minister, the Government and Drew Harris 'The only people who didn't see this coming are the people who are actually in charge' - Mary Lou McDonald on Dublin riots Dublin city rioters should have their social welfare cut and be given punitive prison sentences for wreaking havoc across the capital, a Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting has heard. A number of Fine Gael ministers called for tough sentences for those involved in the violence that erupted in Dublin following the stabbing of young children and a creche worker outside a city centre school. Ministers also insisted there should no suspended sentences offered to those who were involved in looting businesses and setting fire to public transport and garda cars. Minister of State Patrick ODonovan said those involved in the riots should be punished financially and see their welfare stopped for taking part in the attack on the capital. Mr ODonovan questioned whether any of the rioters worked and said most of them are in bed when the rest of the country are up working to pay taxes for their lifestyle He was supported by Ministers of State Neale Richmond and Jennifer OCarroll McNeill in calls for proper punitive measures to be enforced. Fine Gael TD Joe OReilly said the Special Criminal Courts should be used to bring the rioters to trial for taking part in the riots. There also calls from Kerry TD Brendan Griffin and Cork-based Senator Tim Lombard to rein in Garda Ombudsman. Earlier, the Taoiseach told the Dail how he first heard of the stabbing of a woman and several schoolchildren at a lunch hosted last Thursday by the US Chamber of Commerce. The news emerged that three children and a woman were injured and that the suspect was believed to be Algerian. I was concerned there was going to be big trouble and I was in contact with the Minister for Justice within moments, Mr Varadkar said. Mr Varadkars comment came as Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said it seemed the only people who did not see the Dublin riot coming were the members of the government benches and the Garda Commissioner. Speaking in the Dail, she said there had been a "wholesale abject failure of leadership". Ms McDonald accused the Government of carrying out "the most brazen arse-covering I have ever heard in this chamber". She said her party had "zero confidence" in the Minister for Justice, Government and Garda Commissioner. In a passionate contribution, she told the coalition benches: Youre the only people who didnt see it happening. She had been on the scene, she said, and had seen the nasty cabal whipping up hate. I spoke to countless people, and they all said one thing in common. They all saw it coming. Either they witnessed it with their own eyes, or they witnessed as on social media platforms. We have now the bizarre situation where it seems the only people who didn't see this coming are the people who are actually in charge. These were those in leadership positions the minister, the Garda Commissioner, and it seems the entire benches of the Government. Reacting today, Tanaiste Micheal Martin criticised Sinn Fein's response to the riots as a "knee-jerk" attempt to "go for the political jugular". Mr Martin said he has "absolute" confidence in Ms McEntee and "regretted" Sinn Fein's calls for her resignation. Mr Martin said Sinn Fein has tried to "exploit" the issues that arose from the riots, which saw vehicles and bins set alight and shops raided and damaged. "I think Irish politics, and the significant divide in Irish politics, is very evident. It's divided between those who want to sort out problems and resolve issues and those who want to exploit them," he said. "I've observed Sinn Fein now for the last four to five years. It is, without question, a party that seeks to exploit every issue that arises as opposed to coming forward with constructive ideas as to how to resolve them. "And, in fact, if you go back over all of the various stances they have taken on a whole variety of issues, you see incoherence and inconsistency. "Most recently, in the context of the Middle East, we saw it again, seeking to exploit what is a horrendous conflict bringing devastation and death to thousands of people. Sinn Fein's focus has been, 'How do we drive a wedge between Government and opposition on this issue? How do we exploit it with a view to try to gain electoral advantage?'" The Taoiseach said opposition calls for the justice minister and the commissioner to resign are not the "right approach". He said such a move could "embolden" those who carried out Thursday's riot who would see the resignations of Minister Helen McEntee and Commissioner Drew Harris "as a victory". Expressing confidence in his party colleague, he said: "Minister McEntee has seen how much work she can get done as minister for justice and she'll be doing plenty more." He added: "Interfering who gets appointed to or removed from positions such as the Garda Commissioner should not be taken lightly, it shouldn't be taken as the normal cut and thrust of politics. It has consequences and it can be corrosive to the wider justice system and public safety." He said previous justice ministers had had their reputations destroyed by the chamber "only to be vindicated" at a later date. During a session of statements on policing, protests and public order, Ms McEntee added: "I want to reassure people that order has been restored and it has been maintained." Minister for Justice Helen McEntee speaks to the media about riots in Dublin after a Cabinet meeting at Government Buildings (Grainne Ni Aodha/PA) Ms McEntee has said a "strong and visible" garda presence including four public order teams will remain in place in Dublin city centre up to and during the Christmas period. Holding a press conference following a Cabinet briefing which discussed last Thursday's riot in the city, the minister said she had asked the Policing Authority to look at further support for An Garda Siochana in terms of equipment and guidance on the appropriate use of force. Ms McEntee also reiterated her belief that the police response to a riot in Dublin was "absolutely exceptional", but added that there are "lessons to be learned". She said: "I do not want any member of An Garda Siochana looking over their shoulder unsure as to what type of level of force that they can use in responding to these type of difficult scenarios." Asked if gardai could not have stopped the burning of vehicles and looting of shops, Ms McEntee said: "These are situations which unfold in a split second. "I don't think anybody could have predicted what would have led to Thursday night's events. "I think the way in which and the manner in which and the time in which the gardai responded was excellent." Asked if this meant nothing could have been done to prevent the riot, Ms McEntee added: "There are always lessons to be learned." The minister said she believed the situation could have escalated even further but said "order was restored" by gardai. Ms McEntee also said the heads of a bill for the use of facial recognition technology, which could cover its use for investigating riots, would be before Government prior to Christmas. Asked if additional resources for arming additional gardai with firearms would be provided, Ms McEntee said there had been no discussions and "no moves to change" the current structure of a mostly unarmed force. The Taoiseach told the Dail that gardai should be commended for their response, not criticised for these things as such an event is unpredictable and high-risk by its nature. Over 400 members of An Garda Siochana were deployed in Dublin City Centre, including over 220 public order gardai and 34 people were immediately arrested, he said. The force had been maintaining a strong presence in the area since then, including significant public order capacity with dog and mounted units, while water cannons are available, he said. He defended his cabinet colleague, saying Helen McEntee has shown how much work she can get done as Minister for Justice. And she'll be doing plenty more. The minister has doubled the maximum sentence for assault causing harm to 10 years (from five years). She has increased the sentence for conspiracy to murder from 10 years to life. She has increase the sentence for assaulting a Garda or emergency worker from seven to 12 years. The minister was allowing for the introduction of body cameras and modernising laws on and hate crime and incitement to hatred, he said. She was also introducing facial and object recognition technology and extending the range of offences for which it may be used, to include the offences of riot and violent disorder, he said. It doesn't surprise me that members of this House have called for resignations, but I don't think that's the right approach. In fact, in many ways, those who conducted the riot and damaged our city last Thursday will see it as a victory and it may even embolden them into interfering in who gets appointed to, or removed from positions such Garda Commissioner. Such calls should not be taken lightly, nor as part of the normal cut and thrust of politics, he said. It has consequences and it can be corrosive to the wider justice system and public safety. Mr Varadkar went on: In the last few weeks, we've seen the resignation of the Chief Constable in Northern Ireland. And here in this chamber, we've seen justice ministers have their reputations destroyed, with the chamber and opposition, acting as judge, jury and executioner -- only for those justice ministers to be vindicated at a later date. I don't believe that should happen again. Garda numbers are recovering, he went on. We expect them to stabilize this year at around 14,000 and rise again to about 14,500 by the end of next year. We know that we haven't got everything right. And a lot more needs to be done. We know that the work now well underway in terms of extra guards, better equipment, and stronger laws needs to be accelerated. Above all, I believe this is the time to support the Commissioner and to support the Minister for Justice. It is time to work together on behalf of the people that elected us -- and I do not believe it's in their interest to sow division. Micheal Martin called into question position of ex-garda chief over false breathalyser test results scandal Tanaiste Micheal Martin has said he has a long standing policy of not calling for garda commissioners to resign despite publicly calling for Drew Harriss predecessor, Noirin OSullivan, to consider her position. Speaking after a British Irish Intergovernmental Conference in Dublin, the Fianna Fail leader criticised Sinn Fein for seeking to exploit the Dublin riots for political gain by calling for Mr Harris and Justice Minister Helen McEntee to resign in the wake of the violence in the capital. Two Fianna Fail senators have also publicly called for the Garda Commissioner to step down over the riots, which saw widespread destruction and looting. When asked about the demands from his own party members, Mr Martin said: Ive a long standing policy, even when I was in opposition, of not calling for the resignation of garda commissioners and Ill have that discussion with my own party as well. There were opportunities for me in opposition to play that card and I didnt play it because I felt it was too far, because once politicians get into the operation of policing we are in trouble. Im a bit old fashion in this matter but I have reservations about that approach particularly in the middle of a crisis, he added. Mr Martin said when gardai are facing challenges, politicians should stand by the commissioner and address the issues rather than seek a resignation. In March 2017, the Fianna Fail leader did call for former garda commissioner Noirin OSullivan to consider her position in the wake of a scandal involving almost one million fewer drink-driving breath tests being carried out from 2012 to 2016 than gardai had claimed. The Garda also admitted that thousands of people were taken to court and wrongly convicted of motoring offences because of issues with the fixed penalty system. During an interview with RTE Radio Ones This Week, Mr Martin said yes when asked if the Ms OSullivan should consider her position in the wake of the controversy. The bottom line here is we can no longer articulate confidence in the Garda Commissioner at this particular moment in time until we get absolute clarity in plain language as to what happened here and also a radical change in terms of how policing is developed in this country. Mr Martin said did not want to involve the Dail in the matter and Fianna Fail did not support a Sinn Fein motion at the time seeking Ms OSullivans resignation. Ms OSullivan resigned a few months alter and Fianna Fail went on to call for Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald to resign later that year and ultimately forced her from office. Mr Martin today said he has absolute confidence Justice Minister Helen McEntee and said Commissioner Harris has acted honourably following the riots. Mr Martin said his main concern was the rapid mobilisation of people through social media and the significant articulation of hate towards foreigners online. We have not experienced that type of phenomenon. The combination of all the evidence that gave rise to last Thursday and that is serious in terms of a modern democracy, he said. He people often comment to him on the accessibility the public have to the parliament and he said he does not want to lose that freedom of movement. . Three examples of artefacts which originated somewhere else but are currently kept in the UK Three examples of artefacts which originated somewhere else but are currently kept in the UK Rishi Sunak has just triggered a diplomatic row after Greece asked once again for the UK to return its ancient artefacts. This particular spat is over the Elgin Marbles, also known as the Parthenon Sculptures, which the Greek PM told the BBC on Sunday ought to be returned to their rightful home in Athens. Sunak subsequently cancelled a meeting with his Greek counterpart, as No.10 claimed discussing the Marbles in public during a visit to the UK broke a promise between the two countries. But, this is not the first time the UK has been questioned over the number of artefacts it has taken from other countries and still not returned over the years. In fact, the British Museum even has a contested items section on its website. So heres a look at just six items, including the Marbles, which currently reside in the UK despite originating elsewhere. 1. Benin Bronzes Items from a collection of metal plaques and sculptures taken from modern-day Nigeria in 1897. Items from a collection of metal plaques and sculptures taken from modern-day Nigeria in 1897. Thousands of 13th Century bronze sculptures which once covered the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin (modern-day Nigeria) now sit in the British Museum. British troops punished rebels in the then-colonised land for pushing back against the British Empire in 1897, destroying the Kingdom at the same time. More than 200 bronze plaques along with more than 900 historic objects were looted in the process. Nigeria has been independent since 1960 and has repeatedly tried to retrieve the Benin Bronzes, considered to be among Africas most important artefacts. While the British Museum acknowledges they were acquired as part of aggressive expansion of colonial power, it has only ever agreed to loan them back to Nigeria. Meanwhile, New Yorks Metropolitan Museum returned 12 Benin Bronzes to the Nigerian government last year after an investigation concluded they were illegally trafficked. Story continues 2. Rosetta Stone Visitors view the Rosetta Stone at the British Museum in London on July 26, 2022 Visitors view the Rosetta Stone at the British Museum in London on July 26, 2022 Another object which currently sits in the British Museum, the Rosetta Stone, is a pivotal piece dating back to the 2nd Century. It has been used to help people understand how Ancient Egypt operated and how hieroglyphics worked. The French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte seized the item back in 1799 and the British Empire stole it from him after it beat the French in 1801. Last year, two petitions in Egypt started to call for the stones return one of which called the decision to take the stone as an act of plunder of a spoil of war saying Egypt had no say in the removal of the object. But, the British Museum replied that the 1801 treaty including a signature of an Ottoman admiral who worked with the British and who supposedly represented Egypt at a time it was ruled by the Ottoman sultan. The institution claimed Egypt is yet to submit a request for its return, and there are 21 of 28 known copies of the stone still in Egypt. 3. Koh-i-Noor Queen Elizabeth's (Queen Mother) crown, which includes the Koh-I-Noor diamond. Queen Elizabeth's (Queen Mother) crown, which includes the Koh-I-Noor diamond. India wants this huge diamond one of the largest in the world back. In fact, so does Pakistan and Afghanistan. All three countries have argued over the rightful owners of the gem. But, it currently sits in the Tower of London. Koh-i-Noor means Mountain of Light and it was discovered in the Golconda mines, now known as the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It was then passed to between Mughal princes, Iranian warriors, Afghan rulers and Punjabi Maharajas before it was given in 1849 to the East India Company, who gifted it to Queen Victoria. It originally weighed 191 carats but it was recut in 1852 for enhancement, and is now 105-carats. It was incorporated into the central stone into a state crown which was eventually used for Queen Elizabeth the current King Charles grandmother and the consort of George VI at her 1937 coronation. It did not feature in Queen Camillas coronation in May 2023. However, Buckingham Palace has not openly acknowledged these calls for the jewels to be returned. The Tower of Londons Crown Jewels exhibition did acknowledge that the jewel was taken not given to Britain when it opened earlier this year. 4. Cullinan I King Charles III wearing the Imperial state Crown carrying the Sovereign's Orb and Sceptre leaves Westminster Abbey after the Coronation Ceremonies in central London on May 6, 2023. King Charles III wearing the Imperial state Crown carrying the Sovereign's Orb and Sceptre leaves Westminster Abbey after the Coronation Ceremonies in central London on May 6, 2023. The worlds largest known clear-cut diamond, the Great Star of Africa or Cullinan I, is now the centre piece in the Sovereigns sceptre. It was once part of the larger Cullinan diamond the largest uncut diamond ever discovered at 3,106 carats. That was discovered in 1905 in South Africa, when the country was as part of the British Empire. It was then cut into nine major stones and 96 smaller ones, including the 500-carat Great Star of Africa. Another stone from the large diamond is also part of the crown jewels the Cullinan II or Second Star of Africa sits on the front band of the Imperial State Crown but, its the Great Star of Africa which has caused the most controversy over the years. Demands for it to be returned grew following Queen Elizabeth IIs death in September 2022. A member of the South African parliament Vuyolwethu Zungula called for his government to demand reparations and demanded the return of all the gold, diamonds stolen by Britain last year. More than 6,000 people also signed a petition calling for it to be returned to its country of origin. However, according to the Royal Collection Trust, it was presented to King Edward VII in 1907 as a birthday gift having been purchased by South Africas Transvaal government. 5. Stone moai Hoa Hakananai'a, from Orongo, Easter Island (Rapa Nui), Polynesia, c1000. Hoa Hakananai'a, from Orongo, Easter Island (Rapa Nui), Polynesia, c1000. The British Museum holds two large stone moai from Easter Island also known as Rapa Nui. These are large statues used to be placed on ceremonial platforms, named Hoa Hakananaia and Moai Hava. Hoa Hakananaia means lost, hidden or stolen friend, and is said to date back to 1000-1200, and is one of 10 moai known to be made out of basalt. Moai Hava, a name meaning dirty, repudiated, rejected or lost, dates from 1100 to 1600, and is made of volcanic tuff. Moai are usually described as the living faces of ancestors. These two came to be in the UK after a British survey ship visited the island in 1868. They were offered them to Queen Victoria, who donated them to the British Museum. Rapa Nui officially requested the return of both objects in July 2018, and there has since been discussions of a memorandum of understanding about a potential collaborative project between the two parties. However, they have not been returned. 6. Elgin Marbles The Parthenon Marbles, a collection of stone objects, inscriptions and sculptures, also known as the Elgin Marbles, in the British Museum in London, Britain, Sept. 7, 2023. The Parthenon Marbles, a collection of stone objects, inscriptions and sculptures, also known as the Elgin Marbles, in the British Museum in London, Britain, Sept. 7, 2023. The Elgin Marbles also known as the Parthenon Sculptures were removed from Athens by the British ambassador Lord Elgin in the 19th Century. He had permission from the Ottoman authorities, who had ruled the city for 400 years at that point. The collection dates back to 2,500 years ago and is made up of figures, a frieze and panels. Half of the surviving marble works are in London and the other half are in Athens. Greece has been requesting these items be formally returned since 1983. But, the British Museum says it is unable to give up ownership of the sculptures under the terms of the 1963 British Museum Act, which means objects cannot be removed from institutions collection. The Labour Party has indicated that it would look into loaning the artefacts back to Greece, but would not change the law, while the Conservative government has refused to consider relocating the statues. Related... A summit on culture taking place in Dublin this week provides an opportunity to showcase the city in a good light following last Thursdays rioting, Lord Mayor Daithi de Roiste has said. He was speaking at the launch of the fifth Culture Summit at the Royal Dublin Convention Centre. Dublin is co-hosting the event with United Cities and Local Government (UCLG), welcoming 500 international delegates to the capital to discuss the importance of culture for sustainable cities. "Theres no denying the events of last week disgusted us. We have an opportunity this week in the wake of everything that went on to really showcase to a huge, important delegation everything that Dublin has to offer, said the Lord Mayor. He said we saw: The worst of our city, but we also saw the best of our city during the rioting and highlighted the response of emergency services and Dublin City Council staff who led the clean-up operation. Culture is fluid, culture is ever-moving. It reflects the city that makes it up, culture is ever-evolving and thats important. "We speak about being Dubliners and thats not a place identity, its a common identity of being people. Its all about inclusion and its inclusion for everybody. "To have the eyes of the UCLG and the United Nations on our capital city this week in a really positive manner, thats hugely important for our city, he said. One of the aims of the Culture Summit is to have culture included as one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs provide a blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. As Dubliners we rely a lot on our culture, whether we speak about our language, our Gaelic games, our traditions, our literature, Mr de Roiste said. "Culture really does underpin everything. We were over with the United Nations in September and were arguing for culture to be an extra SDG. Were halfway through the SDGs, action across the world hasnt been as good as it could be. "This is a really good event to refocus and to go again. "We have an opportunity to showcase Dublin to an international audience I was speaking with people from China here, theres people from Korea, from right across the world. Im so excited to have them in Dublin, particularly in light of events last week to really showcase everything our city has to offer. "Its important we put our best foot forward this week, he said. The opening of the Culture Summit also heard from the UCLG Secretary General Emilia Saiz. She said theres no better place than Dublin to host the event. "Culture needs to be that mortar to help shape our future. We need a new pact for the future for people, for the planet and with governments. It is the role of culture that needs to help us observe what is changing, what doesnt work and give us the route to form something together, she said. The Culture Summit continues in Dublin until Friday, December 1, with more than 100 speakers from around the world discussing culture throughout the week. Trade unions hold Solidarity and Hope rally to offer support to workers feeling intimidated First, the mob pulled the driver out of the bus. Then they asked him where he was from. He was told to go back to his own country and they threatened to kill him. John Downing: The European experience should warn us about any swing to the far right here Geert Wilders' party wins most votes in Dutch election as populists shock Europe John Downing Tue 28 Nov 2023 at 03:30 Back in February 2000 when the far-right Freedom Party entered a coalition government in Austria, there was uproar in many European capitals and efforts for a time to impose EU economic sanctions on Vienna. Spool on over 20 years and youll find hard-right politicians engaged in government in many EU states, from Finland in the far north to Italy in the south, and youll also find far-right parties polling strongly in the two largest member states of Germany and France. Malachi O'Doherty: Its Israel that needs a reality check after criticising Varadkars hostage comments Ireland will take no lectures from country engaged in bloody conflict Taoiseach Leo Varadkar Malachi O'Doherty Tue 28 Nov 2023 at 11:30 Israel is in no position to lecture Ireland about its moral compass. But the Israeli foreign minister presumes to summon the Irish ambassador for a reprimand over language used by the Taoiseach in welcoming the release of an Irish child kidnapped by Hamas. Is it not supremely ironic that the Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen should accuse the Taoiseach of losing his moral compass simply because he expressed joy and relief that the young Israeli-Irish hostage Emily Hand who was lost has now been found given that Israel is in all but name conducting a genocide on the Palestinian people in retaliation for the Hamas attack? Everyone knows what Leo Varadkar meant by the terms lost and found. He was lauding the fact that the young girl had been released from captivity in Gaza and he has unequivocally condemned the Hamas attack. If anyone needs a reality check, it is Mr Cohens government which, day after day, is wiping out a whole people in its efforts to destroy Hamas an organisation which will never be destroyed by military means since with every bomb and every missile, a new recruit for Hamas signs up. As one of the released Palestinian women prisoners said, because of the recent onslaughts, even the unborn will join Hamas some day. It is outrageous that the Irish ambassador to Israel, Sonya McGuinness, should be humiliated by being summoned to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a reprimand in relation to Mr Varadkars choice of words. I dont agree with Sinn Fein on many issues, but on this occasion they are right. This is absolute deflection of attention from the brutality of the Gaza bombardments, which have already caused the deaths of over 14,000 Palestinians. Although it may not be a wise move for diplomatic reasons, there is a far stronger argument for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador to Ireland, Dana Elrich, given the belligerent, ruthless and heartless government she represents. We need to ask, who exactly is losing their moral compass, who needs a reality check and who needs to be much more than reprimanded? Sinead Boland, Kilmacanogue, Co Wicklow Living with the prospect of never being free has handed Hamas free rein Dear Israeli Foreign Minister Cohen, I have met Holocaust survivors in Hungary and elsewhere. Like many, I am wholly aware of how grossly evil, unimaginably cruel and downright unforgivable it was that Jewish mothers, fathers and children were tortured, gassed and massacred in the Holocaust. I know how gentiles have caused unimaginable hurt to ordinary Jewish families in many countries. You take exception to the word lost used by our Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in his welcoming of a good result in Emily Hands release in the midst of the evil that is the situation in Palestine and Israel. Emily Hand was lost to her family. May you never have such a loss, whether through violent death, disappearance, kidnapping or illness. It is just as much a loss to her family as it would be to yours. Because I taught a class in Palestine, I became aware that the people there had a life circumscribed by the Israeli-Palestinian stand-off. The kids I taught there were learning English from me. I, in turn, learned a lot from them. Two things stood out for me. Firstly, the kids could never leave the West Bank or even have the chance to speak the English I taught them. They exist in one of the most overcrowded areas in the world and have none of the prospects of any free folk. Secondly, the people have no hope of ever being free and so, I expect, allow Hamas free rein, probably by turning a blind eye. Just imagine if they could believe in an alternative life. A free one where two states lived in peace and, eventually, co-operated. Maybe the killing of Israelis on October 7 would not have happened. Or do you, Mr Cohen, believe that mothers, fathers and children given a promise of freedom and co-existence, will not act in a way that makes the terrorist irrelevant? Fergus Jordan, Greystones, Co Wicklow We are a country adrift from the moorings of what it once meant to be Irish There will be several narratives surrounding what happened in Dublin last Thursday night, when for a few hours, anarchy took hold. Each opinion will have a grain of truth. One thing is certain: something has shifted. This is not a country at peace with itself. This is not just in Dublin. In rural towns and villages up and down the Island, things have turned sour. The drift to discontent has been a long time coming. An angry under class, a struggling, stressed middle class and a young generation who feel their dreams have been stolen by their inability to ever own a home. The old feel invisible in modern Ireland. Throw in the cost-of-living crisis, the hangover from Covid, as well as all the new arrivals into the country, and you have a dangerous cocktail. The anchor which the church gave has snapped, and Ireland is like a country adrift from the moorings of what it is meant to be Irish anymore. Riots are not new to any country but a common thread in all of them is simmering discontent under the surface. No amount of police or army or high-tech equipment is a remedy. They are just dealing with the symptoms not the root causes. The cure is more a job for sociologists than police chiefs or political sound bites. For instance, why does Ireland have almost the highest cocaine use in the world. What is the void people are trying to fill? Has rampant consumerism led to an empty society where youre judged by your profession or wealth? Are we going down the road of other rich countries where the wealthy live in gated communities with private security while the rest make do with inferior health, education and other public services and where housing projects spring up at the edges of our cities for those who cant afford to buy a home? Maybe we need a citizens assembly on how to cure the ills of modern Ireland. I wonder what the signatories to the Irish Proclamation would make of us now. Joseph Kiely, Letterkenny, Co Donegal Drew Harris is not the first garda commissioner to join from outside the force I have noticed that everyone in the media is of the opinion that Drew Harris is the first garda commissioner from outside the force in its 100 year history this is not true. The first commissioner to have been appointed from within the garda force was Michael J Wymes, who was appointed in 1970. Prior to this the position was usually held by a retired army officer or an assistant secretary within the Department of Justice, this was more than likely a carry over from the Civil War days. Kieran ORegan, Dublin 9 The store was awarded the Cuisine de France Bakery Award at the 2023 ceremony Kevin Fitzgerald, Aryzta, presents the award to the team at SPAR Little Island; Colin Manning, Deirdre Flannery, Shane Cantillon, Yvonne Anderson, Lisa Corcoran and Paula Sledz A Cork supermarket has been awarded a bakery prize at an annual ceremony honouring Irelands top convenience stores. SPAR Little Island, owned and operated by Shane Cantillon, was presented with the Cuisine de France Bakery Award at the ShelfLife National C-Store Awards 2023 on Wednesday. The award is the latest to be bestowed upon the Little Island store and in congratulating the business, SPAR Sales Director Colin Donnelly said SPAR couldnt be prouder of the shops team. This is Cork Newsletter Enter your email address below and click 'Sign Up' to receive the This is Cork newsletter direct to your inbox. Please check your inbox to verify your details The whole team are fully deserving of this national recognition. Well done everyone, Mr Donnelly said. The 23rd ShelfLife Awards, which organisers claim to be amongst the most prestigious business accolades for the convenience store sector in Ireland, was presented by Marty Whelan and welcomed its highest ever attendance. At the ceremony, held in the Royal Marien Hotel in Dun Laoghaire, 38 awards were presented to businesses across several different categories. The Carrignavar vet follows Paul McDermott in becoming president of the organisation Cork woman Hazell Mullins has become the new president of Veterinary Ireland, following the organisations annual general meeting and conference on Thursday, November 24. Mrs Mullins is a large animal vet and dairy farmer from Carrignavar and takes over from previous president, Paul McDermott. Speaking at the event, Mrs Mullins said that the establishment of a new veterinary school in Ireland will be vital in helping to tackle recruitment and retention issues if vets in the country and spoke in support of young vets. A personal goal is also to encourage younger vets to actively participate in Veterinary Ireland in order to exercise their voice and to help support their progression into leadership roles within the organisation, Mrs Mullins said. This is Cork Newsletter Enter your email address below and click 'Sign Up' to receive the This is Cork newsletter direct to your inbox. Please check your inbox to verify your details Mrs Mullins also said that supporting the new working conditions research group in Veterinary Ireland is important to investigate the options available to improve work-life balance for practicing vets. She also wished to continue to support the Medicines Working Group to ensure fair representation in regard to changing medicine regulations. The Veterinary Ireland event, held at the Park Hotel in Mullingar, was opened on Thursday morning by Peter Burke TD, Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence, and featured tow scientific sessions as well as the groups AGM. Minister Burke said that the veterinary profession play a vital role in ensuring that animal, human and environmental health are protected in Ireland. As this week is Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week, I want to note the key role veterinarians play in Irelands fight against this growing risk to both animal and human health, said Minister Burke. This leadership has resulted in annual reductions in overall sales of antibiotics well beyond that national target of five per cent per annum. Veterinary services play a vital role in protecting consumers from diseases at virtually every stage in the food chain. I want to acknowledge the role of TVIs (Temporary Veterinary inspectors) in our meat plants. This vital role not only protects domestic consumers, but also protects our international trade, which is so important for a country that exports up to 90% of its meat. No other stakeholders contribute to animal welfare more than our vets, in protecting and promoting animal welfare in Ireland. Several key pieces of work by government have taken place recently to tackle issues around welfare including new legislation introduced in September which strengthened the prohibitions on ear-cropping of dogs, which is a strong step towards ending this barbaric practice. Minister Burke also acknowledged that the veterinary profession faces many challenges to maintain the service to the public and paid tribute to the ongoing commitment that is shown by the profession to the protection of human health, animal health and welfare in society, the environment, and food supply that ensures the maintenance of public trust and confidence in the veterinary profession. The event featured a number of officials from Veterinary Ireland who spoke on issues affecting the profession at the event. Chair of the Veterinary Ireland Medicines Working Group, Conor Geraghty, spoke about how further clarity needed on new veterinary prescribing legislation. Member of the Veterinary Ireland council, Caroline Garvin, spoke on how leadership of the organisation has contributed to the reduction in antimicrobial use. Dr Simon Doherty spoke on the World Health Organization of One Health, which is an approach taken by Veterinary Ireland to balance and optimize the health of people, animals and the environment , as a sustainable effort. Barry McEntee, Physiotherapist, McEntee Physio & Performance Centre, Navan, Co Meath focused on exercise as an intervention for the veterinary profession for both physical and mental well-being. A man who sexually assaulted his step-sister while 'wrestling' has been handed a fully suspended sentence. The 57-year-old Cork man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his victim, appeared before Mr Justice Paul Burns in the Central Criminal Court on Monday after pleading guilty to indecently and sexually assaulting his step-sister over the course of three months in 1991. It was outlined to the court that the man fondled her breasts and vagina while 'wrestling' and that on one occasion, he digitally penetrated her vagina. He was 14 at the time and she was 12. There was no blood relation between the two of them. This is Cork Newsletter Enter your email address below and click 'Sign Up' to receive the This is Cork newsletter direct to your inbox. Please check your inbox to verify your details He made full admissions when interviewed by gardai and pleaded guilty at an early stage. The court heard the woman felt repulse and disgust as well as low self-esteem stemming from the assaults. She said she was burdened with the secret knowledge of what had been done and that the offending had a terrible impact on her. She said she could forgive the accused but cannot forgive his actions. The court acknowledged her bravery in coming forward. The man has no previous convictions. In sentencing, Mr Justice Burns said: To some extent, the man who appears before the court is a different man to the boy who committed the offences. He says the man has effectively rehabilitated and that the court must consider his age at the time of offending. The man was sentenced to four months' imprisonment on one charge of indecent assault and 16 months on each of the four counts of sexual assault. These sentences are to run concurrently with each other. The sentence was suspended for a period of two years on strict conditions. The winners and runners-up of the Dublin Bay Biosphere Calendar Competition 2024 Dublin children who won a calendar competition have been praised for their appreciation of unique wildlife, history and culture. Dublin City Council honoured the winners of the Dublin Bay Biosphere Calendar Competition 2024 at an awards ceremony at the Interpretative Centre on North Bull Island last weekend. Both winners and runners-up were awarded limited edition 2024 calendars and prize vouchers for things like a seashore safari with Seashorekids, to explore the island to learn about its important species and habitats. Leslie Moore, Chairman of the Dublin Bay Biosphere Partnership, said: This is the second year the Dublin Bay Biosphere Partnership has run the calendar competition, which aims to engage young people to discover and foster an appreciation of the unique wildlife, history and culture of Dublin Bays UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The standard this year has been exceptional, and I would like to commend all the entrants and our very deserving winners. Lorraine Bull, Biodiversity Officer with Dublin City Council, added: We were delighted to host the winners of the Dublin Bay Biosphere Calendar Competition on North Bull Island and celebrate their amazing work, which has produced the beautiful images displayed in the calendar. Their talent and enthusiasm is to be commended. The calendar competition was launched earlier this year to engage young people, up to 18 years old, with the Dublin Bay UNESCO Biosphere Reserve through their artwork. Winning entries feature on the cover and each month of the calendar, with runners up also having their work displayed inside. This competition is the second year that the Dublin Bay Biosphere Partnership has run the competition to engage young people and allow them to appreciate the Dublin Bay UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The Dublin Bay UNESCO Biosphere Reserve received its designation in 2015. The Dublin Bay Biosphere Partnership was established and works with scouting and community groups, NGOs, local businesses, third level institutions and schools. Work has begun on a new Dart station between Bray and Shankill this week, Irish Rail has confirmed. The new Dart station, named Woodbrook, has an estimated budget of 24m and will serve the communities of Woodbrook and Shanganagh. It is estimated the station will officially open in 2025 and will be served by Dart services with a 10-minute frequency, making commuting from this location to the city centre fast and frequent. The building of this new station at Woodbrook is being fully funded by the National Transport Authority (NTA), and its construction is being delivered and managed by Irish Rail. The new station is being implemented to service the thousands of people who will hopefully reside in Woodbrook in the coming years. A new housing development is planned for the area, initially starting as a 207-home scheme involving a mix of three, four, and five-bedroom houses, as well as apartments. A new school and a creche have also been promised for residents of the area, intended to serve the 5,000 people who will make their homes in Woodbrook in the coming years. The Woodbrook stop is set to come online in 2025 Transport Minister Eamon Ryan said Woodbrook will be the 32nd Dart station on the line. Were investing in high-quality sustainable transport for the 5,000 people who will make a home in Woodbrook-Shanganagh in the coming years, Mr Ryans statement said. The station is part of the enhanced Dart service to Bray and Greystones and is included in the Dart+ Programme, launched in September 2020 by the NTA. Dun Laoghaire-Rathdowns Local Area Plan for Woodbrook-Shanganagh envisages a population of over 5,000, which will directly be served by the new station. This will ensure sustainable transport is at the heart of the new communities. Labour councillor Lettie McCarthy said the construction of the new Dart station is good news for the area. This is a vital public transportation link for existing and future residents of Woodbrook and Shanganagh, she said. I believe people will use public transport when its fast and reliable, and the only way we will achieve reducing the number of cars on our roads is by providing efficient public transport. Around 300 native trees and shrubs blocking multi-million dollar views along one of Australias most expensive streets have mysteriously vanished. The devastated council told Yahoo News Australia regenerating the Sydney Harbour waterfront strip took hundreds of hours over an eight-year period, but flattening it took perpetrators just days. Theres nothing left on the ground, they removed every single part of the tree. Lane Cove Council general manager Craig Wrightson told Yahoo News Australia. Its not just a straight culling of trees. Tiny pink marks can be seen on the ground, indicating where trees once stood. Source: Supplied Theory emerges about silent removal of trees Lane Cove Council investigators suspect hand tools were used to silently saw down trees to the base. But how the massive branches and stems of between 100 and 300 plants were hauled onto the street and trucked away without anyone noticing is perplexing. The question is, how did they do that? Mayor Scott Dennison asked while speaking with Yahoo News about what he called a "devastating" act of destruction. The trees were felled across the leafy suburb of Longueville, on Sydneys Lower North Shore, and their loss was initially noticed by a dog walker last week. The area is known to be home to native mammals including possums, microbats, sugar gliders, wallabies and possums, as well as dozens of species of bird. Dennison says the extremely selfish actions were committed by people with a lot of money who just dont care about the wildlife or the rest of the community. Do you know more? Contact michael.dahlstrom@yahooinc.com Around 300 plants have been destroyed across a 150 square metre lot in Longueville. Source: Google Earth Why tree killers don't care about being fined Illegal tree removal remains an ongoing problem across Sydney's waterfront suburbs. A week ago, Yahoo reported on a separate tree poisoning in Darling Point. President of Lane Cove Bushland and Conservation Society, Shauna Forrest, said tree killing is a large and ongoing problem and a nearby reserve at Tambourine Bay had around 50 trees including Moreton Bay figs and Sydney red gums poisoned. Story continues She said prosecution of tree destruction usually goes unpunished. Unless someone films, the only thing really left is shame. You have to shame the people who did it with larger signs so its obviously whos killed the trees. Referring to the Longueville incident, Mayor Dennison said council believes it has identified persons of interest and it plans to prosecute them to the full extent of the law. We need the judicial system to set an example and impose the maximum fine, he said. Noting that homes on the street have sold for over $7 million, he believes people in the area have the money to pay a penalty in excess of $1 million. People just take a punt and say, Ill pay $200,000, what does that matter if I improve my view size, he said. The local government area is home to at least 139 species of bird. Source: Getty/Birdlife Australia Discover more of our environment coverage. (https://au.yahoo.com/topics/environment/) At least 139 bird species living in area The council is continuing the enormous task of documenting the destruction of the trees at Longueville. Many were prime habitat trees for wildlife including casuarinas and mature Angophora eucalypts. Environment campaigner Nat Pelle from Australian Conservation Foundation described the destruction of so many trees as pure greed. It denies other members of the public access to nature in the city, which is important to our health and wellbeing. But these small pockets are havens for really rich wildlife, and so many of our threatened species live in cities with us, he said. Casuarinas were amongst the hundreds of plants which were destroyed. Source: Shauna Forrest The location is mapped as being Sydney coastal enriched sandstone forests. And there are records of glossy black cockatoos which are listed as vulnerable to extinction less than 5km from the site. Sadly, the casuarina trees which were destroyed are a species that are relied upon by the birds. BirdLife Australia records indicate at least 139 species of bird live in the Lane Cove local government area. They include high-profile species including tawny frogmouths, osprey, swans, yellow-tailed black cockatoos and even lyrebirds. A spokesperson for the group, Andrew Hunter, told Yahoo that with so many species present, illegal clearing in the district is "highly concerning". "We have been advocating for stronger nature protection laws at a national and state level," he said. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? Get our new weekly newsletter showcasing the weeks best stories. The cosy atmosphere in The Hole in the Wall near the Phoenix Park Manuela Bernardo and daughter Maria enjoying a pint in the snug at Kehoe's on South Anne Street With Christmas around the corner and the cold beginning to bite, theres nothing better than sitting down in a cosy pub with friends, right? Here is our rundown of some of the snuggest watering holes in the capital. John Fallons Capstan Bar, the Coombe Conor Linnnane of Fallon's, Capstan Bar The Four Corners of Hell was the colloquial name given to the junction where Dean Street and Patricks Street merged under the shadow of St. Patricks Cathedral. This crossroads was infamous for having a public house on each corner, leading to some rowdy crowds and punch ups. Oh, how times change. Situated just off this crossroads is John Fallons Capstan Bar, a place where the female volunteers of 1916 are said to have met up. Believed to be over 400 years old, you would be hard pressed to find a cosier pub in Dublin this Christmas, or a nicer cheese toastie. The Abbey Tavern, Howth Howth's Abbey Tavern is known for its turf fires Howth can be a chilly place in winter, but the orange glow that emerges from this sixteenth century, actual castle of a pub is well known to northsiders. With its stone walls, flagstone floors and turf fires, an afternoon in this spot over Christmas will be like relaxing on a film set. The Lord Edward, Christchurch Place The upstairs bar at The Lord Edward is known for its cosy surroundings The upstairs bar of this 1890 establishment is one of Dublins best kept secrets. Another pub that feels like a Disney movie location, grab a Guinness up here over Christmas, by the big open fire, with one of the best views of Christchurch in the city whats not to like? The Confession Box, Marlborough Street Enjoy a cosy pint in The Confession Box Irish rebels are said to have called into this small pub, then known as the Maid of Erin, for communion and confession heard by sympathetic priests from the nearby Pro-Cathedral during the War of Independence. Have a cosy Christmas pint here and bask in the elegance of a bygone era. The Oval, Abbey Street The Oval was once destroyed by fire Situated just off OConnell Street, this 1820 premises was destroyed in 1916 but rebuilt the following year, retaining its exterior Victorian facade. Sitting inside this venue feels like having an agreeable Christmas drink on board the Titanic, pre-iceberg. The Lotts, Liffey Street Fontaines DC are fans of The Lotts Immortalised for eternity in song by Fontaines DC and their epic track, The Lotts, it is hard to differentiate between the front bar here and many front rooms from the late nineteenth century. Ridiculously cosy and snug. The Dawson Lounge, Dawson Street The entrance to the Dawson Lounge Officially Dublins smallest pub, with welcoming red carpets and wood panelled walls, most people will walk past this institution and never even know its there. A cosy, festive pint to beat all others, if theres room. Peters Pub, South William Street Peter's Pub offers a welcome respite from the cold A bar with some of the friendliest staff around, this is another one of those places where it feels like having a pint at a family gathering. The seating seems designed for having the craic and the pub glows in winter. The Hole in the Wall, Blackhorse Avenue Martin McCaffrey, owner of the Hole in the Wall pub in Dublin Situated by the Phoenix Park, this is the longest pub in Europe and has been decked out entirely in Christmas decorations. Simply spectacular at night, it is a sight and atmosphere to behold. John Kehoes, South Anne Street Kehoe's pub is well known for its snug atmosphere Mr Kernan fell down the inside staircase of this warm and homely venue in James Joyces Ulysses. What a thought to contemplate when ordering a drink over the festive period. Grab a pint in the snug at one of the atmospheric venues in Dublin. J & M Cleary, Amiens Street J&M Cleary's is now on the market for 1.35m There are lots of places where Michael Collins was said to frequent during his time fighting the British empire in Dublin, but this pub was literally his local. Not much has changed on the inside since the Big Fella used to quaff stout on cosy, winter evenings. A wonderful experience, the bar is now up for sale with a 1.35m guide price. McDaids, Harry Street McDaid's was once a favourite of Phil Lynott Hopefully it is cold and rainy outside when having a pint here, as this classic Dublin tavern lends itself to dark evenings in the city. A favoured haunt of Phil Lynott, amongst many other artists, this watering hole provides an electric atmosphere and cosy shelter from the elements. This article was originally published in December 2022. A mother-of-four has been given an 18-month suspended sentence for allowing funds of 2,950, proceeds of crime, to be lodged to her bank account. Doris Olanrewaju of 7 Carraiglea, Tralee, pleaded guilty to the charge. The court heard she did not benefit financially from the transaction but had believed that the money was being lodged from Africa and was being used to buy items to send back. Tractors head over Milltown Bridge and into the West during the West Kerry Tractor Run on Sunday. Photo by Declan Malone Co-organiser of the West Kerry Tractor Run John Patrick O'Sullivan at the start of the event on Sunday with Roise Ni Ghealbhain, Aoibhionn Ni Ghealbhain, Aine Ni Dhubhda, Meabh Ni Dhubhda, Riona Ni Ghealbhain and Doireann Ni Dhubhda who were helping out on the fundraising side of things. Photo by Declan Malone Colm Murphy with Seamus Devane who drove at the head of the West Kerry Tractor Run on Sunday. Photo by Declan Malone With so many worthy fundraisers taking place throughout the county, events could be forgiven for falling short of expectations, but the West Kerry Tractor Run impresses year after year. Its fifth edition took place on Sunday, and in a testament to its enduring popularity, 90 tractors took on the loop around Corca Dhuibhne. The vast majority departed from the former seal sanctuary in Lios Poil, but co-chair John Patrick OSullivan explained that a few more joined in a little further out the road. We went way beyond what we expected, John Patrick said of the days success. An exact figure wont be known for another little while, but funds raised in 2023 have already passed the five-figure mark. There are so many worthy fundraisers already, and with cost of living being what it is, we were delighted with how it went, we got a great response. I made a quick call around to the committee members, and thats the feedback theyve given me too. To get anything upwards of 60 to 70 tractors is amazing. Once people, particularly young fellas, have seen that many tractors, theyre happy, so to get 90 was brilliant. The sight of 90 tractors some new, others a bit more experienced passing in procession along the main road is spectacle enough in itself, but the all-round package at the West Kerry Tractor Run goes well beyond that. Participants were treated to free food afterwards at the Marina Inn, and the crowds gathered at the seal sanctuary beforehand, not just to see the tractors but to grab a tea, coffee, or scone as they chatted with friends. John Patrick co-chair with fellow Lios Poil man Seamus Devane said he was particularly delighted with how well the committee fared in terms of gathering on-the-day donations. He thanked the Marina Inn, as well as John Liston for providing his facilities at the start-point, and he was equally grateful to everyone involved, be they Gardai, stewards, committee members, donation collectors, committee members or, of course, participants. Whatever the final sum comes to, it will be split evenly between two very worthy causes, the Irish Lung Fibrosis Association (ILFA) and Kerrys palliative-care services, both of which have been profiled by The Kerryman over the past two weeks. The dedicated GoFundMe page remains open at www.gofundme.com/f/west-kerry-tractor-run-2023. This aerial shot of the Kerry team's homecoming on Denny Street in 2022 is one of Mike 'Pixie' O'Gorman's personal favourites of his upcoming collection. One of the most well known faces in Kerry is set to release a collection of his best and favourite photographs from around Kerry and further afield in Ireland for what could be the perfect gift for someone in the lead up to Christmas. Mike OGorman, or Pixie as he is known by many, has been photographing Kerry and its stunning scenery for years and has decided that now is the perfect time give people a chance to buy some of his images; he spoke to The Kerryman this week about the release and about what are some of his favourite photos that he has taken over the years. "I hope to do a big social media campaign about the collection. I hope to maybe do a video for every picture in where I took it and how I took it. A 30 second video on each picture, that kind of thing and then I'm just trying to sort out the pop-up shop, he said. "There are photos from all over Ireland and of course, there is a high concentration of photos from Kerry. One of my favourite photos in the collection would be the one of the Nun's Beach in Ballybunion on the longest day of the year. On the longest day, if you get the right conditions, which we haven't gotten since I took that photo five years ago, the sun actually sets in the arch of the Virgin Rock and the light comes through it, Mike continued. "Since then, the weather has been wrong. The tide has been in and I haven't been able to get the picture since. It was a real moment in time, he added. Another personal highlight of Mikes is one of the Kerry team coming down Denny Street from the last time they came home victorious. "I've a shot there of them all up on the stage and the crowd cheering them. I've some lovely imagery as well from down in Dingle and then some great shots as well from Listowel and Ballybunion. I've photos too of everything from Newgrange to Classiebawn Castle in Sligo and others from down the coastline, the Wild Atlantic Way, Mike continued. Mike is hoping that the collection will be ready in time for people to order in time for Christmas and that it can be shipped to Ireland, England and further abroad. "People can put in their order online through my Pixies Kingdom Facebook page if they see anything that they like and it can be sent out to wherever." Political tensions likely to soar over opposition to Kerry Airport expansion bid. A planning application by Kerry International Airport to construct a steel framed aircraft hangar to facilitate private aircraft has been met with a raft of public submissions, including from three of the six Green Party candidates contesting next years local elections. The proposed aircraft hangar would include an arrivals and departures area with pick-up facilities served by a covered vehicle entrance, reception and waiting rooms. The application makes provision for car parking, access road, and all ancillary site works. The application was submitted on behalf of Kerry Airport by Dingle-based Declan Noonan & Associates Architectural Services. It states the expansion would enhance the airports potential as a strategically important gateway serving the wider southwest region, adding the development is consistent with the Governments National Aviation Policy to develop aviation and aerospace in Kerry. It believes the addition of a hangar would assist in the continued growth of Kerry Airport as a strategically important transportation hub that would further benefit the development of the southwest region. It would provide for the safe expansion of air traffic at the airport and would be acceptable in terms of traffic safety and convenience. It mentions that the extension would not present an unacceptable risk of water or air pollution. Moreover, Kerry Airport feel the development would not just create employment during the construction phase, but also in the long-term during the operation of the facility by investors and businesspeople coming to Kerry. While the application received several public submissions, those from Green Party candidates - Cleo Murphy, Anluan Dunne, and Anne-Marie Fuller - are likely to rekindle tensions among those in Kerry politics who feel the Green Party is fundamentally opposed to expanding Kerry Airport over environmental concerns. Anne-Marie Fuller will run in the Listowel Municipal District MD) in 2024. She stated in her submission that she strenuously objects on the grounds it would lead to increased numbers of private flights into Kerry, and increase in carbon emissions that goes against the European, Irish Government, and Kerry County Councils climate goals. Cleo Murphy, a candidate in the Kenmare MD, outlined her opposition to the development by saying we are in the midst of a climate crisis. She opposes any development that would encourage private aviation, while referencing that 6,671 private jet flights departing from Ireland in 2022 caused 67,900 tonnes of carbon emissions. Tralee MD candidate Anluan Dunne also objected by calling it an unwelcome and inappropriate development. He explained in his submission that evidence suggests the amount of carbon generated by a single private jet (10.2 tonnes C02) is equivalent to the entire carbon footprint of the average Irish person (11 tonnes of C02). Submissions against the aircraft hangar also came from Friends of Earth member Tony Lowes, and several others citing their concerns from an environmental perspective. Closing date for public submissions was last Tuesday (November 23). Kerry County Council is expected to make its decision in mid-December. The two councils will help coordinate the delivery of climate action across 17 local authorities Director of Services, Community, Climate, Environment, Water, Marian Higgins, Cathaoirleach of the County of Kildare, Darragh Fitzpatrick, Chief Executive, Kildare County Council, Sonya Kavanagh, Chief Executive, Kilkenny County Council, Lar Pawer, Cathaoirleach of Kilkenny, Michael Doyle, Director of Services, Environment and Climate, Sean McKeown Kildare and Kilkenny County Council have agreed to join forces again to help fight the climate crisis together. The two councils have renewed their partnership agreement to lead the Eastern and Midlands Climate Action Regional Office (CARO) for the next six years. This means as the lead authority in the region, Kildare County Council, with support from their Kilkenny counterparts will coordinate the delivery of climate action across a total of 17 local authorities. The chosen area will encompass the border, midlands, and mid-east and south-east counties of the country with the exception of Dublin. The Eastern and Midlands CARO is one of four offices established in 2018 to support local government to respond and adapt to climate change. They coordinate national and local climate policy and work to ensure a more joined-up approach to responding to the climate crisis at a regional level. It aims to help local authorities to deliver climate policies and behavioural change within their own organisations and to empower citizens, businesses and neighbourhoods to better understand the impacts of climate change and to embrace the need for climate action Chief Executive of Kildare County Council, Sonya Kavanagh welcomed the continued partnership with Kilkenny County Council for the Eastern and Midland Region: Over the previous five years, the partnership has been instrumental in helping local authorities in the region to respond to climate challenges, particularly on adaptation, and the Eastern and Midlands CARO has become a really valued resource for the local authorities within the region. " We look forward to working closely with Kilkenny County Council to further progress support for climate action within the sector. The gathering outside the Abbey Manor Hotel in Dromahair. Pics: Donal Hackett. A new group Leitrim For All is calling for the inclusion and support of asylum seekers and refugees who are living in County Leitrim. Leitrim For All is a new coalition of individuals and organisations committed to ensuring a warm and secure reception for new arrivals to the county, with a focus on those seeking refuge or asylum. The groups foundation comes following a gathering which took place outside a hotel in Dromahair where it is planned to house 155 international protection applicants. Some locals say the numbers are too big and that there arent the services in place in Dromahair to deal with such an influx and they are seeking more information. A spokesperson for Leitrim for all said, Following the events in Dromahair on Wednesday night, Leitrim for all was founded to support the inclusion of asylum seekers and refugees into our communities and combat disinformation around the issue. We are so lucky to live in a county like Leitrim that has such a strong tradition of community, kindness and acceptance. Refugees and asylum seekers have endured untold suffering and deserve our compassion and empathy. Now is the time to step up. Support the movement by following us and spreading the word that everyone is welcome in Leitrim. In an open letter posted on their social media page, the group said they are hoping to address a matter of great importance an called on local residents to come together and show that Leitrim is a place where compassion knows no boundaries. The letter reads, Our wonderful county has always been a place that values community, kindness and acceptance. "As we witness the arrival of individuals and families seeking refuge, we have an opportunity to demonstrate the hospitality that defines our community. "Many newcomers have experienced unimaginable hardships and seek sanctuary in Ireland. "It is our shared responsibility to offer friendship and understanding, helping them to integrate seamlessly into the fabric of our society. "Those who arrive in our communities are often highly skilled and highly educated. "Many of those who currently live or will be living in Leitrim have already been in Ireland for a number of months and are already working. Drogheda Christmas stall cancelled due to fall in numbers Liam Reynolds, second from right, with other members of the Drogheda Men's Shed. Its been a week of mixed fortunes for the gentlemen of the local Mens Shed movement. There was positive news as grants of up to 3,000 are winging their way to six Mens Sheds in Co Louth, allocated under a new 1m fund to support Mens Sheds across the country. But that comes in a week when one of the previously largest groups in south Louth has had to cancel its popular annual Christmas stall due to falling numbers. Following on from a very bad month from our extremely active core members, it is with extreme regret that we have to cancel our annual Christmas stall in West Street this year, explained member Liam Reynolds. We are very, very disappointed, but we just dont have the members at the moment to make as many gifts as we would like. This is Louth Newsletter Enter your email address below and click 'Sign Up' to receive the This is Louth newsletter direct to your inbox. Please check your inbox to verify your details At the height of its popularity, the branch had around 70 members, but between lack of transport to the new location and members not returning post-COVID, the branch is feeling the pinch. The Flexibus only comes out to the Mullacrone location in Donore once a week, so our members are relying on driving or lifts, so we are hoping the bus can run more regularly, or we will get offers of more lifts, he says. But that said, the rest of the members are as busy as ever, making benches in the community, and gifts which people can buy if they come and visit us at our premises. The Men's Shed at Mullaghcrone, Donore, welcomes new members and visitors. The grant will just about cover the cost of their 2,000 electricity bill, but the lads are hopeful of attracting new members in the New Year. We do great work in the community, and the camaraderie is fantastic amongst the members and we have guys who would be lonely, living on their own, and they come out here, and it's just fun. Even if it's only for a cup of tea, to sit down and discuss the problems of the government. And then of course we make the chairs and the tables and so on so many people get the benefit from that. One community who are grateful to the lads for enhancing their school is that of the staff and pupils of Sandpit NS with some handcrafted and painted benches. The Sandpit NS Parents Association commissioned some buddy benches for the school yard, and spokeswoman Valerie Dempsey said they were really beautiful and were already making a difference to the yard. Ms Marron & Mr Reilly and pupils of Sandpit NS with their lovely bench. Meanwhile their colleagues over at the Tullyallen Mens Shed are celebrating another award for their mantlepiece, earning the title of most Inspiring Community Group during the Get Ireland Growing campaign. We are absolutely delighted to have won this Iarnrod Eireann Irish Rail CIE sponsored Award. We received a framed certificate and 1,000 which will go back into the refurbishing of the Polytunnel, said Daithi Cusack. An extra step in the Men this week and a great buzz about the place; well done to all who worked hard at the Polytunnel the past few months, working together for one another. Members of Tullyallen Men's Shed with their award. Louth Senator Erin McGreehan welcomed the allocation of grant funding to help Mens Sheds in Louth with their running costs such as their heating, electricity utility and insurance bills. Mens Sheds provide such a hugely important service in our communities by tackling isolation and providing a welcoming environment where men of all ages can come together to socialise, share skills and work on meaningful projects, she commented. These services become even more important over the winter period and I know that this funding will help Mens Sheds in Louth cope with paying bills over the coming few months. If you would like to visit, help out or become a member of the Drogheda Mens Shed, contact Liam on (041) 980 0078 or visit the warm and inviting Mullaghcrone, Donore location from Monday to Friday from 9am 3pm. Summerhill College conference hears of the need for nurturing the talents of students with autism and the need for employer support Summerhill College, Sligo recently hosted its second international autism conference: on the theme, What Next? Pathways into Further Studies and Employment. The flagship event in the colleges commitment to inclusivity and support for the autism community, featured renowned experts, advocates, and professionals in the field of autism research, education, and support services. The many participants benefited from a series of engaging keynote presentations, insightful panel discussions, and interactive workshops focused on enhancing understanding and creating inclusive environments for individuals with autism. This is Sligo Newsletter Enter your email address below and click 'Sign Up' to receive the This is Sligo newsletter direct to your inbox. Please check your inbox to verify your details The conference, MCd by Austin OCallaghan, opened with a music performance from the students of the Bishop Jones Learning Centre which was then followed by an interview with Leaving Cert Student Lewis Carr, who spoke passionately about his journey with autism and the great support provided by the school. According to Summerhill College Principal, Paul Keogh, the aim behind the conference was to reduce the risk of talented young people falling through the cracks. We need to start preparing them for life towards the end of junior cycle through supported and structured work placements, he said. The event aimed to provide attendees with valuable insights, strategies, and resources to better support individuals on the autism spectrum during the transition from school to further studies and employment. With 36 students in the Bishop Jones Learning Centre at the college, Mr Keogh said it was too late when they turned 18 to introduce them to work placements. Several high-profile speakers from the autism community spoke of the contribution people with autism or intellectual disabilities can make if proper support is provided. Zarah Doyle, Training Manager with AsIAm shared her own personal journey both as a parent and as an autistic person herself who was only diagnosed last year. She focused on the significance of adopting a strengths-based approach in supporting autistic individuals stating that all autistic people have extraordinary talents. One internationally renowned advocate for the autism community stressed the importance of changing the mindset of parents and teachers. Professor Temple Grandin, a writer, inventor and professor of animal science at Colorado State University said we need the skills of people who think differently. She spoke about the importance of the slow transition from school into the workplace and told the audience how it was good to give children jobs and tasks to do as 11 year olds as sudden change can be scary for people with autism. When asked whats the most important skill should be taught to students before they leave to go on to employment or higher education Grandin replied: Teach them basic life skills Im appalled at the number of 16 year olds who have never gone shopping by themselves. The significant contribution individuals with disabilities can make when provided with appropriate support was highlighted by several influential speakers within the autism community. Niamh Biddulph, a graduate of TCPID, shared her personal journey and emphasised the pivotal role of supportive measures during her college years at TCD. She pointed out that starting college marked the beginning of her path to independence. Niamh conveyed a powerful message, stressing, Its not about the disability; its about the ability, urging employers to recognise the capabilities of individuals beyond their disabilities and to remember this when hiring employees. Reflecting on her employment journey with An Post after graduating from TCPID, she expressed the effect of securing a permanent job as an autistic person as lifesaving. She passionately advocated for the potential of autistic individuals. They are capable of achieving remarkable things. However, she emphasised the crucial need for employers to demonstrate willingness and openness to recognise and nurture the talents of autistic individuals. Des Aston from the Trinity Centre for People with Intellectual Disabilities (TCPID) at the School of Education, Trinity College Dublin, detailed the array of supports available for autistic young adults enrolled at TCPID. Stressing that the essence of belonging goes beyond physical surroundings, he stated, Belonging is primarily about the feeling rather than the mere physical environment. His colleague, Hugo MacNeill from TCPID, told the audience of the crucial significance of work experience, graduate internships, and permanent employment in the lives of individuals on the autism spectrum. He highlighted TCPIDs efforts in connecting students with companies to cultivate essential employment skills. Its the most incredible feeling when a company takes on one of our students. Delving deeper into workplace dynamics, Yasmeen Multani, a Senior Lecturer at the University of South Wales, shared her unique journey. Multani, who didnt develop functional speech until the age of 7, primarily used echolalia during her early years. She centered on strategies to facilitate the thriving of autistic individuals in professional settings. Multani outlined how crucial the role of relationships are in supporting employment for individuals on the autism spectrum. She highlighted the significance of informal mentorship, saying that it is a prerequisite to success for autistic people across their lifespan. Award-winning writer and regular columnist for The Sunday Independent, Stephanie Preissner, told the audience: I always felt I was a little different, before going on to tell of her autism diagnosis at age of 34. She said she had always felt a bit different but described the diagnosis as both a relief and a big fear. Speaking of the lack of autism testing when she was growing up, she says that she didnt know she was autistic in school but if she had it could have made so many things so much easier. For Preissner the change to her life after her early years at secondary school were challenging as she didnt have the same intrinsic interest as her peers, I always felt that I was a little bit something, like a little bit too something, a little bit too sensitive, too controlling, a little bit too anxious, always just a little bit off, she said. She struggled to accept change as a teenager in secondary school. It was only later in life when a doctor suggested to her that she might be autistic. I was working with a doctor actually when I published my first book and it was about how I really struggled to tolerate change. Dolores McDonagh, conference organiser and director of the Centre for Special Educational Needs, Inclusion and Diversity at St Angelas College, ATU Sligo said: Theres an acknowledgement that we have an awareness of autism and indeed of intellectual disabilities but that theres a greater need for acceptance. In her concluding remarks at the conference, Dolores acknowledged the keynote speakers, highlighting Zarah, Stephanie, and Yasmeen for their honest, impactful , inspirational insights into their lives and that has been a real privilege for us to learn from them today. She expressed gratitude for the privilege of learning from their experiences, stating it was truly valuable. The contributions of the afternoon keynote speakers, Temple, Des, and Hugo, along with the Q&A session featuring Niamh, offered further compelling and thought provoking perspectives on autism, as well as intellectual disabilities. Following Monday nights screening of the heart wrenching documentary Patrick: A Young Traveller Lost, Sligo Traveller Support Group have called for urgent action to be taken to tackle the mental health crisis in the Traveller community. President Michael D Higgins has also called on schools across the country to show the documentary to students to create awareness of the impact of suicide on the Irish Traveller community. The film tells the story of 12-year-old Patrick McDonagh from Finglas in Dublin who died in 2022 and features the personal testimonies of his parents and others impacted by poor mental health. This is Sligo Newsletter Enter your email address below and click 'Sign Up' to receive the This is Sligo newsletter direct to your inbox. Please check your inbox to verify your details The documentary also explores wider challenges faced by the Traveller community and the devastating impact of suicide on those left behind. The suicide rate for the Traveller community is approximately 8 times higher than the general population. The RTE/Alleycats production includes research by Dublin City University, which shows that 1 in 10 Irish Traveller children experience bullying more than several times a week. A Traveller Community National Survey conducted in 2017 found that 85% of the Irish public would not have a Traveller as a friend. Other contributors to the film include Senator Eileen Flynn and Director of the Traveller Counselling Service Thomas McCann. Mental Health worker with Sligo Traveller Support Group Jamie Murphy said: Last nights film was a hugely important piece of public service broadcasting. Suicide and poor mental health is something that impacts all communities and in the Traveller community it is beyond crisis point. We see it here every day in STSG with increasing numbers of people seeking support and that is replicated across the country. Whats crucial though is that there is urgent action taken to help tackle the crisis. "This includes supporting Traveller community organisations sufficiently to continue their work on the ground but action also needs to be taken in areas which can contribute to poor mental health. Reports in areas like accommodation show Travellers are overrepresented in homelessness figures while many more live in overcrowded and unsafe conditions. "This needs to be challenged on a societal level. Such shocking suicide and poor mental health rates did not come from nowhere, they have come from generations of exclusion, racism and marginalisation in Irish society. "We would also support calls for the implementation of a National Traveller Mental Health Strategy. Murphy added The film could be upsetting for a lot of people and we would ask anyone that is struggling in any way to please reach out for support. Sligo Traveller Support Group is here to provide support in whatever we can or direct you the best place for appropriate help. Patrick: A Young Traveller Lost can be viewed on RTE Player. If you have been affected by the film or need support contact the Samaritans on freephone 116 123 or Pieta on freephone 1800 2427 247 or text HELLO to 50808 Australian-Chinese journalist Cheng Lei, who was last month released from three years of detention in China, has warned would-be travellers to think twice before planning a trip to the authoritarian nation. Cheng Lei, 48, was a presenter for the Chinese state-owned English language broadcaster CGTN when she was suddenly taken into custody in August of 2020, accused of "supplying state secrets to foreign organisations". Though she always maintained her innocence, the journalist spent a total of three years locked away during a secretive legal process that was largely hidden from the public. She was eventually sentenced to time already served and released on October 11, 2023, after much campaigning by the Australian government. Australian journalist Cheng Lei has warned travellers to be cautious before heading to China. Source: ABC. Journalist issues warning to Aussies Speaking on the ABCs Q+A program on Monday night, the Chinese-born, Australian mum of two issued a warning to other Aussies in the wake of claims her incarceration involved "a sophisticated form of torture". In response to an audience poll where more than half of respondents admitted they would not feel comfortable travelling to China of which some 8000 people participated Cheng said people were right be wary. "China is a very big country, but the China of now, I think, is different to, say, the China I went to in 2000, and then the subsequent decade," she said. "I think you have to figure out what to be mindful of. "Right now I'm super wary of anything purporting to be protecting...national security. It's just such a blanket term and I don't want naive people going there. If you are going there, [be] fully educated about the risks." #QandA Highlights: Australian journalist Cheng Lei, who's back home after three years in jail in China, shares her thoughts about whether she would go back. pic.twitter.com/Tta66SLFat ABC News (@abcnews) November 27, 2023 Cheng Lei doesn't rule out return to China Asked if she would ever return to China, Cheng, who revealed she was banned from applying for a visa for the next decade, didn't rule it out. Story continues "Never say never, but right now I'm not allowed and if people want to improve their Mandarin, they could go to Taiwan," she cheekily said, to an outbreak of applause from the studio audience. Her trial was held in secret and no evidence against her has ever been publicly released or scrutinised. In an earlier interview with Sky News, Cheng Lei confirmed one allegation made included the sharing of government briefings, which had been provided to media under embargo. The embargo was broken by only "a few minutes", she claimed. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. Sligo women feature in new TG4 documentrary on eight couples at the heart of Irish freedom A new television documentrary will air next week which focusses on female couples at the heart of the Irish Revolution Croithe Radacacha (Radical Hearts) is a feature documentary about the love that dares not speak its name - found at the very heart of the Irish Revolution. Director Ciara Hyland explores the hidden stories of eight female couples who were at the core of the Irish Revolution that freed Ireland from the British Empire. This is Sligo Newsletter Enter your email address below and click 'Sign Up' to receive the This is Sligo newsletter direct to your inbox. Please check your inbox to verify your details These womens relationships have largely remained unexamined, denied and hidden from history - until now. It features women such as Kathleen Lynn, Margaret Skinnider, Eva Gore Booth from Sligo and many more. These women were extraordinary in the lives they lived - they were radical in their politics, in their feminism, their socialism and their devotion to freedom and equality. Together they reimagined a new Ireland that would hold a brighter future for all regardless of gender, background or wealth. In this they have much in common with todays activist generation who make similar demands for equality and an end to discrimination. In the end, many of them picked up a gun and went and fought for that freedom and equality. They suffered huge losses but ultimately lived life on their own terms - where the personal was political and their private lives were as radical as their public. The first Sligo woman featured is Eva Gore Booth from Lissadell in Sligo. Eva was the younger sister of Countess Markievicz. Yeats describes her in a poem - Two girls in silk kimonos, both beautiful, one a gazelle. The gazelle was Eva. However, she and her lifelong partner Esther Roper also wrote, campaigned and fought for justice and social equality. Eva and Esther were ahead of their time as activists for changing ideas on gender and sexuality they both edited Urania, a magazine which advocated for the abolition of gender and discussed LGBTQ+ rights. Urania collected a hidden history of lesbians, transsexuals, and intersexuality and advanced a transnational, cross-cultural critique of gender norms, gendered performances, and compulsory heterosexuality. Urania initially sought to broaden its appeal by supporting votes for women, but remained more intent on serving as a queer archive dedicated to dismantling gender norms and documenting womens past and present examples of transsexuality, intersexuality, cross-dressing, and lesbianism. In its remediation of the global press, Urania also constructed a composite, feminist portrait of a society free of gender essentialism and heterosexual normativity. (Karen Steele) Eva Gore Booth and Esther Roper lived together for most of their adult lives. They were activists together and wrote and worked alongside each other. They are buried together in a single grave under a quotation from Sappho. Also from County Sligo was Eveleen OBrien from Tubbercurry. In this documentary the relationship between Eveleen OBrien and Helena Molony is looked at. Helena Molony was a dynamic activist for womens rights, workers rights and nationalism. She was a colleague of James Connolly and a member of his socialist and nationalist Irish Citizens Army. Among Helenas many close friends was Countess Constance Markievicz, another tireless campaigner for better conditions for the poor and for Irish freedom. When the Easter Rising erupted in 1916, Helena Molony, along with the other women in this documentary - Elizabeth O Farrell, Julia Grennan, Kathleen Lynn, Madeline ffrench-Mullen, Margaret Skinnider and Constance Markievicz - took part. Helena struggled hugely in her later years with disappointment, alcoholism and depression. A stint in a psychiatric hospital however, turned her life around. There she met Dr. Eveleen OBrien and they moved in together. Here is what her biographers say: Her later years with Eveleen OBrien gave her peace and solace as she began to be feted as one of the great survivors of the Rising, albeit with large bits of her legacy suppressed. She died in 1967. (Nell Regan, biographer) A major turning point for the women in this documentary proved to be the Civil War that broke out in Ireland in 1922 over the Treaty. The Treaty would create an independent Free State in the south of Ireland. It would not however be a Republic and would not include the North of Ireland. Remarkably, almost all the women in this documentary took the anti-Treaty side. Their radicalness meant they were not willing to settle for anything less than the Republic that had been proclaimed in 1916. The anti-Treaty side lost the Civil War and the womens dreams of equality and socialism were smashed. The establishment forces won and immediately set about building a new identity for Ireland as conservative and Catholic. Based on groundbreaking research by historian Mary McAuliffe, this is also the story of doing gay history - the difficulties of finding evidence of love that by necessity had to fly under the radar, the glimpses we get of how people lived in the past and the burden of proof placed on examining gay relationships. In doing so, Radical Hearts rewrites the contribution of LGBTQ+ people back into the history of the creation of the modern Irish state. Croithe Radacacha features tracks by the Pillow Queens and Elaine Mai who supported the film because they believed in the message of inclusivity that is at the core of it. Croithe also features original music by composer Darren Sheehan. Croithe Radacacha was commissioned by TG4 and supported by Coimisiun na Mean with funding from the Television Licence Fee. The couples featured in the documentary include: Eva Gore Booth & Esther Roper Elizabeth O Farrell & Julia Grenan Helena Molony & Evelyn (Eveleen) OBrien Margaret Skinnider & Nora O Keeffe Kathleen OBrennan & Marie Equi Kathleen Lynn & Madeline Ffrench-Mullen Louie Bennet & Helen Chenevix -The documentary airs on TG4 6 December 9.30pm and globally on www.TG4.ie Luxurious Waterford home with mesmerising views is up for sale with price tag of 2,995,000 Described as a truly exceptional home that offers a luxurious and secluded lifestyle in a picturesque setting, Forenaught, Creaden in Dunmore East is now up for sale by private treaty with a price tag of 2,995,000. The detached 400sqm property boasts six beds, and five baths, and features gated access offering privacy seclusion and security. Nestled on a 3.5 acre site, the house is perched in an elevated position, providing breath-taking panoramic views of the stunning Creaden Bay and Waterford Estuary. Forenaught, Creaden in Dunmore East is now up for sale by private treaty with a price tag of 2,995,000. The surrounding landscape is adorned with mature trees, creating a serene and private atmosphere, says Margaret Fogarty of RE/MAX Property Specialists. Inside the home, you will find six spacious bedrooms that provide ample space for family and guests. Forenaught, Creaden in Dunmore East is now up for sale by private treaty with a price tag of 2,995,000. The open-plan kitchen, living and dining area with its unique pyramid shaped Kephren fireplace is the heart of the home, offering a seamless flow and a perfect space for entertaining. The separate formal dining and seating area adds an elegant touch, providing an ideal space for hosting special occasions or intimate gatherings. One of the standout features of this home is the outdoor space. The wrap-around terrace offers a fantastic vantage point to soak in the mesmerising views while enjoying the sea breeze. Forenaught, Creaden in Dunmore East is now up for sale by private treaty with a price tag of 2,995,000. The outdoor kitchen and barbecue area make it easy to indulge in al fresco dining, creating memorable experiences with family and friends. This area features a remote control roof system with electric wind blinds. For added convenience, the property includes a detached Studio Apartment, providing a separate living space for extended family or guests. Forenaught, Creaden in Dunmore East is now up for sale by private treaty with a price tag of 2,995,000. The detached garage offers ample storage space, while the home office pod provides a dedicated area for work or creative pursuits. For those who prioritize their health and fitness, the exercise thermal pool is a true gem. This feature allows you to stay active and rejuvenate in the comfort of your own home, providing a private oasis for relaxation and well-being, added Ms Fogarty. Forenaught, Creaden in Dunmore East is now up for sale by private treaty with a price tag of 2,995,000. Forenaught is ideally located just a short 5-minute drive from the sought-after fishing village of Dunmore East. Here, you can explore a variety of charming restaurants, traditional pubs and a vibrant sailing club, said Ms Fogarty. Additionally, the property is within walking distance of Creaden Beach, where you can enjoy leisurely strolls along the shoreline. Forenaught, Creaden in Dunmore East is now up for sale by private treaty with a price tag of 2,995,000. Woodstown Beach is also just a quick 5-minute drive away, offering another beautiful spot to relax and unwind. Despite its secluded location, Forenaught is conveniently situated within a 90-minute drive from both Dublin and Cork. This makes it an ideal choice for those who desire a tranquil retreat while still having easy access to major cities for work or leisure. Forenaught, Creaden in Dunmore East is now up for sale by private treaty with a price tag of 2,995,000. The new owners will enjoy year round comfort with underfloor geothermal heating and an air to water heat pump system providing an energy efficient B1 rating. This remarkable home offers a harmonious blend of luxury, privacy and convenience. Forenaught, Creaden in Dunmore East is now up for sale by private treaty with a price tag of 2,995,000. With its stunning views, spacious interiors and exceptional outdoor amenities, this is a truly special place to call home, added Ms Fogarty. To organise a viewing, call 051 843 684 or email margaretfogarty@remax.ie A place name sign for Quebec on the ground at the Emigrant Park, New Ross. Photo; Mary Browne A place name sign for Quebec on the ground at the Emigrant Park, New Ross. Photo; Mary Browne A call has been made for the new Emigrant Park in New Ross to develop links with the EPIC Irish Emigration museum in Dublin, to boost visitor numbers to the town. Cllr Bridin Murphy made the suggestion at the November New Ross Municipal District meeting, where it was positively received. Area manager Alan Fitzhenry said the council was delighted to welcome Minister Heather Humphreys TD, back to New Ross for the official opening ceremony of the newly built Emigrant Park, in late October. The Minister cut the ribbon along with the Cathaoirlig of Wexford County Council and NRMD, Oireachtas members, councillors and officials. We were also delighted to welcome the Canadian Ambassador to Ireland and the Irish Ambassador to Canada who both spoke eloquently about our emigration history. A hugely successful opening, with lots of positive feedback on the day and indeed since the opening. A massive thank you to all who worked on the project and the opening to make it such a success, he said. Describing the park as another milestone achievement in the progress of the town from five old oil tanks to a beautiful public realm space Mr Fitzhenry said it opens up the river views further for the town, while commemorating our emigration history. Cllr Michael Sheehan said: Other than the rain it was a perfect day. We now have a walkway from one end of the town to the other, providing complete access for everyone.Cllr Murphy congratulated everyone on bringing the project to a successful conclusion. She asked if the council have plans to link the park with the EPIC museum. Cathaoirleach, Cllr Anthony Connick praised district director Eamonn Hore and engineer, Jim Thorpe for their vision in developing the park and the council indoor and outdoor staff for all their work also. Mr Fitzhenry said the Dunbrody Experience centre has developed links with the EPIC museum. There may be something done behind the scenes there and I know the Dunbrody centre plan to use the park for tours, he said. A new service for adults with intellectual disabilities has opened on the Quay in New Ross. There was great buzz on Friday morning as service users and their families gathered in the new Day Service Hub on the Quay, Resilience Healthcare. The service currently provides a service to eight people, with an outreach service also. The hub was filled fun and laughter from all who attended. The hub was officially opened by Wexford County Council Cathaoirleach John Fleming, who noted it was a credit to New Ross to have such a wonderful service being provided to those who required the extra support. Resilience Healthcares head office is in Ennis, however the company also have day services in Kildare, Clare, Cork, Kerry and a new service in Swords. Director of Day Services, Lars Schabelski gave an overview of the services that company provides such as residential care homes and advanced community care to those who have additional medical needs all over Ireland. Community Coordinator Linda Hynes thanked the wonderful service users and their families for choosing Resilience Day Service as their day service. Linda highlighted the extraordinary courage each and every service user displays and expressed how proud she was to work with such creative and resilient people who attend the day service. Linda also praised the staff: Vicki, Tracy, Emma, Ruth, Amy, Ray and Michael, thanking them for all their positivity and teamwork over the last two years. Lord Leroys Lodge, a home from home dog boarding kennel in Castlebridge, has won three awards at the inaugural Local Pet Awards which were held in Dublin earlier this month. The business, which was set up by Sinead Ryan earlier this year, was named national Pet Sitter of the Year and won two specialist category awards for its wedding chaperone service and therapy dog service. Sinead was joined by her children Sarah and Noah on the night, both of whom have been instrumental in Lord Leroys Lodges (LLL) success since it first began inviting dogs to its specially-adapted home in Castlebridge. This is Wexford Newsletter Enter your email address below and click 'Sign Up' to receive the This is Wexford newsletter direct to your inbox. Please check your inbox to verify your details The pet sitter of the year award was a big one for us, it was a big achievement and recognition of the hard work weve put in. It was important for me to have Noah and Sarah there with me on the night as they have been hugely important in the growth of the business, said Sinead. They help out with the dogs during their free time and Sarah has been taking part in training our own dogs (Pepsi and Matilda) as therapy dogs. My husband Paudy, couldnt be with us on the night as he was at home minding some of the dogs. LLLs therapy dog service has seen Sinead and Sarah bring two of their pets to the local nursing home in Castlebridge once a week, and Sinead says it has proved a big hit with residents. They love them, even if theyre in bed and were passing their room theyll call us in so they can see the dogs, she says, we thought maybe Matilda might be too young at seven months to be a therapy dog but she passed all her training with flying colours. We had a Halloween-themed event there last month and are planning on doing something special at Christmas too. A service which has becoming increasingly popular in Ireland, and has seen Sinead attend a number of weddings across Wexford, is dog chaperoning. We started doing them during the summer and theyve proved very successful so far, people at the weddings seem to love it, we just bring the dog around, let them mingle and meet everyone, do whatever the couple wants. Im hoping someone will ask us to train the dog to bring the rings up, Im waiting for that to happen. Although they have had a number of requests regarding available dates during the Christmas break, Sinead said LLL would be closing for a few days during the holiday season to allow the family to spend some time together before returning in the New Year. On February 18 Lord Leroys Lodge is collaborating with Everita Kenny Wedding Planner for a bridal fashion show fundraiser with all proceeds going to the WSPCA, Wexford Marine Watch and the Hope Cancer Support Centre. Dubliner Freya McLaughlin (11), who is a regular visitor to Brays Festina Lente, was not only asked to sing the final song of the night on the Late Late Toy Show, when Patrick Kielty brought the curtain down with Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, but the host gave the little star a Christmas present to remember with the trip of a lifetime to next summer's Olympics in Paris. Freya said she wasn't nervous at all when she took to the stage last Friday for a cracking Christmas Toy Show, and after being put on the spot to choose which of the hosts was her favourite Ryan Tubridy or Patrick Kielty confessed: Id kind of have to go with Patrick Kielty, and added how nice the new host was in his first year taking the reins for the big show. Freya, whose grandparents are from Arklow, said she had an incredible experience on the show and had no idea that Patrick would be offering the trip to Paris next year and was over the moon when he surprised her with it. Mum Tracey, said Freya has been attending equine therapy at Festina Lente, the charity that provides a unique range of equestrian, horticultural, training and employment services, for two years. This is Wicklow Newsletter Enter your email address below and click 'Sign Up' to receive the This is Wicklow newsletter direct to your inbox. Please check your inbox to verify your details "Weve done so many therapies over the years, Tracey said, Weve got more out of the horseriding than we have from all of the other stuff. Freya can walk a little bit, she has some mobility, but the horseriding has really improved her gait and her core stability. She has just really improved since she began the horseriding and she loves it. So it doesnt feel like therapy. Tracey explained that Freya had cancer when she was just 26 months old and the tumour compressed the nerves in her spine and affected all her lower body, her pelvis, her hip sockets, spine and pelvic cavity. "It was tough, Tracey said, thinking at the time it was foot drop but never in my wildest dreams did I think it was cancer. "But shes doing great. She shouldnt be here. And she shouldn't be doing the stuff that she's doing. Shes kind of a miracle. Tracey added that they have always watched the Toy Show and have always loved Ryan Tubridy but said Patrick did an incredible job. It was more about the kids than the audience, she said. "Patrick was so nice, he came into the green room so many times to meet everybody. Everyone got a minute of his time. Tracey said she had no idea the family would be offered the trip of a lifetime to support Team Ireland at the showjumping finals in Paris next year. "It is just great, she said, because Freya would love to be a Paralympian, that's her goal. And you never know. 2023 has proved one of the busiest years on record for St Vincent de Paul with the cost of living crisis impacting on families. "For a family who has struggled all year, Christmas is full of worry not wonder, comes the message from those seeking to help those in Wicklow who are struggling this winter, amid spikes in calls to Saint Vincent de Paul and the St Patricks Conference covering Wicklow town. Saint Vincent de Paul has experienced a huge 14 per cent increase in requests for help this year and the St Patricks Conference covering Wicklow town has also noted the rise in families seeking assistance. Thanks to the generous support of the Irish public the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SVP) has provided 332 million in direct assistance to those who have sought its help over the past ten years. With calls for help already at almost 200,000 to date this year the Society expects calls at the end of this year to well exceed last years record 230,000 calls. As the St Patricks Conference gears up for their annual Christmas appeal, Ann Marie Lally said: The huge increase to the cost of living this year has been felt by everyone, but particularly by those on low incomes. People are genuinely struggling to put food on the table "Even with the assistance given to primary school children through the free book scheme, we have seen an unprecedented increase in demand for our resources this year. Now as we face winter, there is additional pressure for fuel and heating, not to mention keeping on top of electricity and gas bills. For a family who has struggled all year, Christmas is full of worry not wonder. We have also begun to see a new working poor with people in full employment who simply cannot keep ahead of the bills and are under incredible pressure - these are the ones we are really concerned about and would encourage them to reach out to SVP. There is no shame in seeking help and it is all done in full confidence - simply go online to svp.ie or call 01-8550022. You can also make donations directly to the bank at IBAN IE73 BOFI 9067 3411 013034 . To donate via bank transfer to the St Josephs Conference covering Ashford, Rathnew and Glenealy use IBAN IE29 BOFI 9067 3485068476. Members of the St Patricks Conference will be fundraising along the streets of Wicklow and in St Patricks Church on the weekends of December 8, 9 and 10. Ann Marie added: We really appreciate the support from the local community who are so generous every year. All funds raised go the local St. Patricks conference. People can donate online to our own dedicated account at svp.ie/stpatricksconferencewicklowappeal23. "We are also reaching out to our local business community for support. All assistance given to up to 200 households is in the form of vouchers for local supermarkets and butchers - thereby supporting our local town. National President Rose McGowan said this years annual appeal is focused on providing help to struggling parents who wonder how they will provide a happy Christmas for their families. The campaign is entitled The Wonder of Christmas and subtitled Will we have Christmas at all She said: The calls for help to our offices and local Conferences continue to increase. In 2021 we had a record breaking 191,000 requests. Last year the figure jumped by 20 per cent to just over 230,000 and this year we on track to exceed that number again. According to the latest CSO Survey of Income and Living Conditions there are over 670,000 people at risk of poverty in Ireland, almost 875,000 people were experiencing enforced deprivation and going without essentials and over 265,000 live in consistent poverty. Despite the additional cost-of-living support payments made by the Government, there are many people who continue to struggle to meet basic family expenses. This struggle becomes even more difficult on special occasions such as Christmas. Those hardest hit will include one parent-families, low-income workers; households on fixed social welfare incomes; low-income households in rural areas; people with disabilities and their carers. That is why we are seeking donations to help families pay for food, heat their homes and ensure their children get a decent Christmas. Rishi Sunak decided to cancel his meeting with the Greek prime minister after he spoke out about the Elgin Marbles (Daniel Leal/PA) The Greek government has suggested Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks decision to scrap talks with the countrys leader over a row about the Elgin Marbles was politically motivated. A spokesman for the Greek prime minister said there were domestic reasons for the cancellation of Tuesdays meeting and pointed to Mr Sunak being quite behind in the polls ahead of a likely general election next year. Downing Street has denied the Greek claim. It comes after No 10 said Mr Sunak decided to ditch face-to-face talks with his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis after feeling he had rowed back on reassurances that he would avoid using his visit to the UK as a public platform to demand the return to Athens of the Elgin Marbles. The Prime Ministers official spokesman said Mr Sunak had become concerned that any bilateral conversation with Mr Mitsotakis would be dominated by the issue of the ancient artefacts, which are also known as the Parthenon Sculptures, following comments made by the Greek leader in an interview on Sunday. Mr Mitsotakis told the BBC the current situation with the marbles was akin to the Mona Lisa painting being cut in half. Greece has long demanded the return of the historic works, which were removed by Lord Elgin from Athens in the early 19th century when he was the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. Part of friezes that adorned the 2,500-year-old Parthenon temple on the Acropolis, the Elgin Marbles have been displayed at the British Museum in London for more than 200 years. The remainder of the friezes are in a purpose-built museum in Athens. The debate about whether to return items brought to the UK during the time of the British Empire has become a battleground in the so-called culture wars that Mr Sunaks Conservative Party has been accused of attempting to exploit. Dimitris Tsiodras, director of the Greek prime ministers press office, said on Tuesday that Mr Mitsotakis was angry at what he called a British misstep. But the spokesman insisted talks about the reunification of the sculptures would continue. He said: I dont think the effort stops there. Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis (Jordan Pettitt/PA) Clearly, there are domestic reasons and 2024 is an election year and (Mr Sunak) is quite behind in the polls but the discussion with the British Museum is ongoing. Mr Sunaks Conservatives are about 20 points behind Sir Keir Starmers Labour Party in opinion polls ahead of an election that must take place by January 2025. Asked whether the diplomatic spat with Greece was politically motivated, Mr Sunaks spokesman said: No. Ive spoken at length about the reasons for the meeting not going ahead. Those are the reasons, there is nothing more to it. No 10 said it had been keen to avoid a repeat of Mr Mitsotakiss visit to the UK in 2021, when the Government felt he had used the trip as an opportunity to publicly press for the marbles return. Mr Mitsotakis, ahead of that occasion two years ago when Boris Johnson was prime minister, had said the 17 figures in London belong in the Acropolis Museum. Ahead of this weeks visit, Downing Street confirmed it sought assurances that similar public pronouncements would not be made but Mr Mitsotakis still went on to make his Mona Lisa comparison. The comments annoyed No 10, with the Prime Ministers spokesman telling reporters that Mr Sunak decided it would not be productive to go ahead with a meeting that would likely be overshadowed by the debate. The Parthenon Sculptures, also known as the Elgin Marbles, are on display in the British Museum (Matthew Fearn/PA) The PA news agency understands that the Greek side disagrees with No 10s characterisation of the situation. Athens view is that the idea that Mr Mitsotakis would come to London and not respond to a question about the marbles in an interview is nonsense. But Downing Street said Sundays comments had put the marbles front and centre of the debate. Obviously it is up to the Greek government the media they choose to do but, when they have provided reassurances that they will not seek to publicise this, we dont think those assurances were adhered to, the Prime Ministers spokesman said. No 10 said it offered talks with Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden instead, but that goes against the usual protocol which would normally mean a visiting prime minister would meet Mr Sunak, rather than a more junior minister. In a strongly-worded statement on Monday, a spokesman for the Greek prime ministers office said Mr Mitsotakis was disappointed and extremely surprised that his British counterpart had cancelled their meeting at the 11th hour. George Osborne, chairman of trustees at the British Museum, has said talks are continuing to see if the Elgin Marbles can be displayed in Greece (Danny Lawson/PA) A Greek source said they were particularly confused by Mr Sunaks decision given that preventing migrant sea crossings one of Mr Sunaks top five priorities was high on the agenda. British Museum chairman George Osborne, a former Tory chancellor, has previously said he is exploring ways for the Elgin Marbles to be displayed in Greece, with speculation that this could involve a loan deal in which part of the set would be sent to Athens. But Downing Street made clear that Mr Sunak continues to see the museum as the rightful place for them and that a loan cannot take place without the Greeks accepting the museum as the legal owner. Ministers do not have plans to change the 1963 British Museum Act which prohibits the removal of objects from the institutions collection, No 10 confirmed this week. Labour leader Sir Keir met Mr Mitsotakis on Monday about the same time as his team was informed a meeting with the Prime Minister was off. A readout of their talks did not mention the marbles but the Opposition leader had indicated that, while he would tell the Greek premier a Labour government would not change the law, he would not stand in the way of a loan deal that was mutually acceptable. WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 27: Actress Cynthia Nixon speaks as she announces a hunger strike calling for a ceasefire in Gaza outside the White House on November 27, 2023 in Washington, DC. Nixon, who was joined by state legislators, community leaders and activist, demands that President Biden call for a permanent ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and stops military aid to Israel. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 27: Actress Cynthia Nixon speaks as she announces a hunger strike calling for a ceasefire in Gaza outside the White House on November 27, 2023 in Washington, DC. Nixon, who was joined by state legislators, community leaders and activist, demands that President Biden call for a permanent ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and stops military aid to Israel. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon joined a hunger strike on Monday in front of the White House to demand a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. Joined by state lawmakers and Palestinian rights supporters, the actress, who plays Miranda Hobbes in the hit comedy drama, called on President Joe Biden to end his support for Israels war on Gaza, in which more than 15,000 people are reported to have died. Nixon, who previously ran for mayor of New York City in 2018, stood outside the White House carrying a placard that read Biden, you are starving Gaza. Permanent ceasefire now. She introduced herself to the crowd as the mother of Jewish children, whose grandparents are Holocaust survivors. She said: "I've been asked by my son to use any voice I have to affirm as loudly as possible that never again means never again for everyone. "In seven weeks Israel has killed more civilians on a tiny strip of land than was killed in 20 years of war in the entire country of Afghanistan. "I am sick and tired of people explaining away by saying that civilian casualties are a routine toll of war. There is nothing routine about these figures. There is nothing routine about these deaths. Addressing Mr Biden, she added: "I would like to make a personal plea to a president who has, himself, experienced such devastating personal loss, to connect with that empathy for which he is so well known and to look at the children of Gaza and imagine that they were his children." Actress Cynthia Nixon speaks as she announces a hunger strike calling for a ceasefire in Gaza outside the White House. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images Nixon is an activist who has been vocal on many issues and is one of the many celebrities who signed the Artists 4 Ceasefire open letter to Biden. Others include Susan Sarandon who was dropped by her agency over comments she made and more recently, Melissa Barrera, who lost her role in Scream 7. New York State Representative, Zohran Mamdani, said to the crowd: We are hunger striking for a world where everyone is with their family. And it is a world that can only be made possible through a ceasefire. It is not war that brought us these reunifications. It is negotiations; it is a cessation (of hostilities)." The five-day hunger strike was launched to coincide with the truce between Hamas and Israeli forces, to facilitate the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners. Nixon has said she would end her strike on Tuesday to return to New York for work commitments. Since the truce started on Friday, Hamas has released 69 hostages - 50 Israeli women and children, including some toddlers, as well as 19 foreigners, mainly Thai farmworkers. In return, Israel has released 150 security detainees from its jails, all women and teenagers. On Monday, the four day truce was extended for two more days following negotiations from Egypt and Qatar. Aussies are calling on Kmart to recall a children's drink bottle amid safety concerns after scores of parents claimed it shattered after being dropped, leaving behind dangerous sharp pieces of polystyrene plastic that could injure a little one. Taking to Facebook, one concerned mum posted a photo of the smashed 1L Spider-Man bottle with the comment, "Just a bit of a PSA, my son who's three was carrying this it was only one-third full. He dropped it on our tile floor and it broke immediately, it didn't bounce or roll around, it just smashed. Please be careful." Shoppers are urging Kmart to recall the Spider-Man drink bottle. Source: Facebook The woman said she thought Kmart should "definitely recall" the drink bottle, which is part of the official Spider-Man merchandise range, and she certainly didn't want a replacement. Kmart responds to complaint In a statement, a Kmart spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia, "We are currently reaching out to this customer so that we can fully investigate. The safety of our customers is always our priority." Not an isolated incident The original post was flooded with scores of comments from other parents who bought the Marvel character bottle and claimed the same thing happened to them, leaving "very sharp edges" scattered around, sometimes within hours of purchase. While one shopper said of the $7 item, "You get what you pay for," most commenters expressed concerns about the "unsafe" product being marketed to children who easily drop objects. One disappointed customer said her son dropped the bottle, which has a flip-top lid, as soon as they left the shopping centre so wasn't even able to use it. Some mums said the drink bottle even shattered when dropped on carpet. Source: Facebook Another claimed, "We had one and it did the same but exploded as my grandson picked it up off the bench. Our Kmart store wouldn't do anything about it." Story continues "Ours did the same, dropped and smashed on carpet! We'd only had it for two days," an annoyed customer wrote, while another said her daughter's Kmart Star Wars drink bottle, which is made of the same material, broke when she put it down on a counter. A woman claiming to be a childcare worker also weighed in, saying she is yet to see one of the bottles last "past the morning". Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. Finland seals off entire Russian border to stop asylum seekers it says are being delivered by Moscow The number of asylum seekers entering Finland from Russia jumped more than 30-fold this month. Finnish Border Guards escort migrants arriving at the Raja-Jooseppi international border crossing station in Inari, Finland, November 25, 2023. Photo: Lehtikuva/Emmi Korhonen via REUTERS Essi Lehto Tue 28 Nov 2023 at 15:27 Finland will close its entire border with Russia to travellers for the next two weeks in a bid to halt a flow of asylum seekers to the Nordic nation, the government said on Tuesday. Hostage Roni Krivoi (25) is handed over by Hamas militants to members of the Red Cross, as part of a hostages-prisoners swap between Hamas and Israel amid a temporary truce. Image: Reuters An Israeli hostage released during the truce in Gaza had managed to escape his Hamas kidnappers for a few days before being recaptured, his family have said. Roni Krivoi (25), who is also a Russian citizen, spent four days alone in Gaza, according to his aunt, after escaping the building where he was held after it was bombed in an airstrike. Truce is extended by two days as 11 hostages released to Israel by Hamas Nine children and two mothers are freed as Qatar helps get extension to pause in conflict Sharon Aloni-Cunio and her three-year-old twins Yuli Cunio. Photo: Via Reuters Hazem Balousha, Sarah Dadouch, Hajar Harb and Miriam Berger Washington Post Tue 28 Nov 2023 at 03:30 Eleven more Israeli hostages were freed by their Hamas captors last night as Qatar hammered out a deal to extend the humanitarian pause in Gaza by two days. Donald Trump has vowed to intensify his crackdown on immigration if he returns to the White House and has left the door open to resuming his most controversial policy family separations at the US-Mexico border but key allies who could join a new Trump administration as immigration enforcers are wary. Five former Trump officials and conservative allies said that even as Trump weighs harsher anti-migrant measures, they are concerned about implementing a new version of the 2018 zero tolerance policy that separated thousands of children from their parents at the southwest border. They said they worry about a repeat of the widespread public backlash provoked by the original policy. Joe Biden to skip COP28 climate summit this week in UAE No reason has been given for the US presidents absence Biden at a Thanksgiving ceremony last week. According to his schedule, his diary is empty this Friday and Saturday the same days as the Cop28 leaders summit. Photo: Andrew Harnik Rachel Sharp UK Independent Tue 28 Nov 2023 at 03:30 President Joe Biden is skipping the Cop28 climate summit a decision that could hurt his reputation among young voters going into the 2024 election. Photo courtesy: Pixabay New Delhi: Taking note of the increasing incidents of bank fraud, the Finance Ministry Tuesday advised banks to appoint nodal officers to address cyber security concerns. During a meeting between the ministry and bankers in Delhi, the government also urged banks to enhance security measures to prevent cyber fraud. This comes in the aftermath of a series of reported financial frauds by banks in recent months. On November 10, UCO Bank reported an issue with its IMPS server, and Bank of Baroda's digital application, BOB World, was involved in fraudulent activities. TRAI has blocked 7 million mobile phone numbers due to suspicious activities, Department Financial Services (DFS) secretary Vivek Joshi said after the meeting, media reports said. Joshi underscored the need for improved coordination among agencies to combat cyber fraud effectively. Joshi also stressed the need for standardisation and simplification of Know Your Customer (KYC) processes for merchants. The Secretary of the Department of Financial Services (DFS) said that 259 financial institutions are currently enrolled with the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), and the remaining 541 out of the total 800 are being instructed to complete their registration. States have been instructed not to upload Aadhar details from land records to prevent frauds, he added. The meeting was also attended by the Secretary, Telecom and senior officials of Department of Financial Services (DFS), Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Department of Revenue (DoR), Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Department of Telecom (DoT), Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), Indian Cyber Crime Co-ordination Center (I4C), National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, IDFC First Bank, Airtel Payment Bank, Equitas Small Finance Bank, Google Pay India, PayTM, and Razorpay. The Finance Ministry said all financial institutions, including NBFCs (Non-Banking Financial Companies) and significant cooperative banks, are being onboarded onto the 'Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System (CFCFRMS)' platform. Already, 259 financial intermediaries are already onboarded, it said. New Delhi hosts 18th Hospitality India Annual International Travel Awards 2023 Union Minister of State for Tourism Ajay Bhatt has said the new tourism policy of the Central government is helping to promote the country's tourism sector. In his video message addressed at the 18th Hospitality India Annual International Travel Awards, Ajay Bhatt mentioned the new benefits the tourism authorities are providing to international tourists which include facilities like E- Visa. DLK Publication Pvt. Ltd. organised the 18th Hospitality India Annual International Travel Awards on November 24 in association with the Greece Board as its principal partner country at the Ashok Hotel Convention Hall in New Delhi. Bhagat Singh Koshyari, former Governor of Maharashtra and former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand and Vijay Goel, BJP, Vice Chairman, attended the event as Chief Guests. Ashwani Lohani, Former Chairman of Railway Board and Air India, Dimitrios Ioannou, Ambassador of Greece in India, Vivian Patkos, President Hotel Association of Xylokastro, Theodoros Makris, President , HATTA GREECE & Committee Member, Ramesh Arora, Founder and CEO, Signature Hotels Group, London-UK, Sunil Chopra, Ex-Mayor of London Borough of Southwark UK and R. N. Kalra, CEO & Medical Director, Kalra Hospital & SRCNC Pvt. Ltd. Delhi attended the event as Guest of Honour. Suneet Kalra, Managing Director, Hospitality India Publications said, Hospitality India travel awards motivate the travel and tourism sector which is one of the worlds largest economic sectors, creating export and prosperity around the world. Indian Tourism sector has emerged as one of the key drivers of growth for Indian economy post covid." Rajni Kalra, Director Hospitality India Publications said, Hospitality India travel awards one of the most important recognitions given by the industry to the people who make its heart beat. It brings together the entire hospitality family to celebrate and highlight the hard work and dedication of its partners." A devastated woman has watched helplessly as her mother's health "deteriorates", unable to walk or eat on her own and forced into a nursing home. The reason, according to Lisa Carratelli, is because of a "significant" pharmacy blunder which saw her mother overdose on her medication, resulting in the need for round-the-clock care after it "nearly killed her". The 87-year-old had been prescribed methotrexate by her doctor a chemotherapy drug used to treat some cancer, autoimmune diseases, and ectopic pregnancies. It's also used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, a condition Maria had been suffering from. But when Lisa's mum began feeling unwell, complaining of a consistent sore throat, she was eventually sent to Maroondah Hospital in Victoria after failed doctor's visits. Doctors there grew concerned after inspecting her Webster pack a pre-packaged medication dispenser packed by pharmacists for patients with multiple medications. Lisa Carratelli (left) pictured with her parents and sister just months before Maria's overdose (right). Source: Supplied "The hospital started questioning her medication and called the pharmacist," Lisa explained to Yahoo News Australia. "She was supposed to take two [tablets] once a week but the pharmacy had packed the Webster packs with two tablets daily". That's seven times the prescribed amount. A discharge document from Box Hill Hospital, where Maria was later sent, and provided to Yahoo, suggests the 87-year-old was suffering from "methotrexate toxicity resulting in Mucositis with Pancytopenia" low levels of red blood cells. "It burnt all inside of her mouth and down her throat. She was in hospital for quite a long time," Lisa continued. "Then she ended up in rehab for months before we had to put her in a nursing home because she's not been able to recover." Story continues Discharge papers from hospital say Maria has suffered from 'methotrexate overdose' which has cause her body to deteriorate in just one year. Source: Supplied 'The pharmacist nearly killed her' As well as burning her insides, Maria ended up losing her hair a common side effect of chemotherapy. Now, the 87-year-old is "very fragile," a devastated Lisa said, convinced "the pharmacist nearly killed her". The pharmacist, a friend of the family from a Melbourne suburb, who Lisa asked not to name, allegedly apologised after learning what had happened, but claimed it wasn't he who made the pack. He allegedly sent the family "a big bunch of flowers" but Lisa claims she's not heard from him since. Hoping to pursue the case to ensure no other families suffer, Lisa reached out to a number of solicitors for advice. "They keep saying, because of her age, that there was nothing that they could do for us," she said. She also wrote to the Pharmacy Board of Australia to report what she claims to be pharmaceutical malpractice but was again told the same thing. The medication caused burns to Maria's mouth and throat (left) and eventually caused her hair to fall out (right). Source: Supplied Desperate for no more families to suffer Lisa contacted Yahoo after reading about another Aussie mum Jessica Smith, whose toddler overdosed on his epilepsy medication after the pharmacy made an error. She's now calling for it to be mandatory across the board for all prescriptions to be checked by two pharmacists, instead of one, before being handed out. Yahoo understands that at the moment in Australia, two pharmacists are not required for the dispensing of medicines. The use of a double-checking process for dispensing is determined by the individual pharmacist. "I'm not after any money or anything. I just want it not to happen to someone else," Lisa said, more than a year after the incident. "I want to help people to understand why they should always check the medication and not just trust the pharmacist". A spokesperson for the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency told Yahoo "When dispensing medicines, pharmacists should be guided by professional practice standards, the Pharmacy Board of Australias code of conduct and guidelines for pharmacists including: Guidelines for dispensing of medicines Guidelines on dose administration aids and staged supply of dispensed medicines In the meantime, Lisa's dad, a pensioner, is forced to cover the cost of his wife's care. "When you're on a pension, they don't really get a great deal [of money]," she added. While she admits "it could have been worse" and is thankful her mother's alive, the fact of the matter is "she could have died". "As they get older, it doesn't mean that they just get pushed aside," she said. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? Get our new weekly newsletter showcasing the weeks best stories. Photo courtesy: UNI Madurai/UNI: One person died in a massive fire that broke out in a Jewellery shop on the busy South Masi Street in Madurai city. The incident happened Monday night. Police said here on Tuesday that the deceased was identified as Motilal (49), an employee and close relative of the owner of Janaki Jewellers. After the fire broke out at the closing time of the shop, the employees and customers escaped and alerted the police and the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services department. Fire tenders rushed to the spot and extinguished the blaze after a couple of hours of battle. Motilal, who was trapped on the third floor of the shop, was rescued by the fire personnel in an unconscious manner with burn injuries. He was rushed to the Government Rajaji Hospital, where the doctors declared him dead. The police have registered a case and are investigating to find out the cause of the fire. Photo courtesy: UNI Agartala/UNI: Northeast Advisor of Northeast to Ministry of Home Affairs A K Mishra called on Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha on Monday night and held a detailed discussion on the development of tribal areas of the state, officials said here on Tuesday. After Tripura royal scion Pradyot Kishore Debbarmans party TIPRA Motha became the main opposition party in the assembly elections in April this year, Home Minister Amit Shah and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had a meeting with Motha leaders and agreed to appoint an interlocutor to look at the demands of Greater Tipraland and the constitutional solution to the tribal issues. Later, Pradyot said the central government appointed former IPS officer and the mediator of the Naga peace talks, A K Mishra, as interlocutor for Tripura to deal with the demands of TIPRA Motha, which made them happy. But despite repeated schedules to visit Tripura, Mishra couldnt make it happen for the last six months. According to BJP sources, in preparation for the 2024 general elections, Motha has already agreed to sacrifice its opposition party status and join the cabinet. The BJP has been negotiating with TIPRA Motha over securing more berths in the cabinet, including a Deputy Chief Minister, as the BJP offered them two ministers with heavy portfolios. Mishras sudden visit and meeting with the Chief Minister have been assumed to be a part of the negotiations and finalising the entry of Motha into the government. The Chief Minister, however, requested that Mishra meet tribal leaders of all political parties, including community leaders, to learn about the socio-economic and infrastructural issues of tribal communities, the government statement stated. He apprised Mishra about the governments initiatives for tribal development, including budget allocation, road connectivity, and drinking water facilities, as well as the future plans of the state government for ensuring the holistic development of indigenous communities. Photo Courtesy: Unsplash A twenty-year-old woman, who was under training in the Navy for Agniveer, allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself, an official said here on Tuesday. Malvani Police Station has registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) and is carrying out further investigations. "The body has been taken into custody by the official and sent for postmortem to a government hospital while the woman's parents were informed," the official further said. "We have not received any suicide note from the place of offense," the official said. The victim was under training at INS Hamla at the time of the incident. (With UNI inputs) Photo Courtesy: PIB Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be travelling to Dubai to attend the World Climate Action Summit on Nov 30. He will be visiting the city from November 30 to December 1. He will be visiting the city at the invitation of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, officials said on Monday (November 27, 2023). The World Climate Action Summit is the High-Level Segment of the 28th Conference of Parties (COP-28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). COP-28 is being held from November 28 to December 12 under the Presidency of the UAE. "The Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC provides a unique opportunity to impart momentum for collective action towards combating the shared challenge of climate change," read a statement issued by the ministry of External Affairs. During COP-26 in Glasgow, Prime Minister had announced five specific targets, titled "Panchamrit, as Indias unprecedented contribution to climate action. Prime Minister had also announced Mission Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) on that occasion. During his visit, the Prime Minister will also hold bilateral meetings with some of the Leaders participating in the Summit. A top National Disaster Management Authority member on Tuesday said the entire evacuation process to pull out trapped labourers from a Uttarkashi tunnel might take three to four hours. Lieutenant General (Retd.) Syed Ata Hasnain addressed a press conference when he said: "It is estimated that it will take 3-5 minutes to evacuate each of the 41 trapped persons." "The entire evacuation is expected to take 3-4 hours," he said. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday confirmed that the pipe-laying work to reach the trapped 41 labourers inside the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand has been completed. Interestingly, the Rat-hole mining method, a primitive coal extraction procedure, which is banned in India for being unsafe, was used to rescue the labourers after imported machines broke down and halted the process of evacuation. Rat-hole mining experts began their work on Monday after a 25-tonne auger machine failed during the last phase of the operation. The labourers have been confined in the tunnels for the past 17 days. According to reports, the labourers will be taken for an initial health checkup in a temporary medical facility established inside the tunnel. They are expected to be taken to a hospital in Uttarkashi after being rescued from the tunnel. Photo Courtesy: Droupadi Murmu X page Chief Electoral Officer P Krishnamurthy handed over the new voter ID card to President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday, making her a Delhi-based voter. The President's Office gave this information in a post on social media platform X, (formerly known as twitter). After Murmu became the President, her new voter ID card has been made with the address of Delhi. Silkyara/IBNS: Three of 41 men trapped underground in a tunnel in Uttarakhand's Silkyara have been rescued after a 17-day multi-agency rescue operation. After several high-tech machines failed, the rescuers relied on the banned manual "rat-hole"-mining technique to drill through the nearly 60 metres of rock that threatened to bury the workers. It will take around two to three hours to rescue all 41 of them. Three teams of the National Disaster Response Force, or NDRF, are inside the tunnel to bring out the trapped workers. The India Air Force (IAF) has stationed its Chinook helicopter at Chinyalisaur airstrip in Uttarakhand, about 30 km away from Silkyara tunnel, to airlift workers post their rescue from the tunnel. The chopper can be used in case any of the rescued workers need urgent medical attention. The labourers, in such cases, can be airlifted either from the tunnel site to the Chinyalisaur hospital (a distance of 30 km) or flown to the premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Rishikesh (a distance of around 160 km). An emergency medical centre has been set up in Chinyalisaur to treat the 41 workers trapped underground in the Silkyara tunnel since Nov 12. Forty-one ambulances are on standby at the site of the tunnel collapse, one for each worker, to bring them to the Chinyalisaur hospital by road. Local police will organise a 'green corridor' to ensure each ambulance reaches the hospital as quickly as possible. A makeshift medical centre has also been set up - at the mouth of the collapsed tunnel - to provide first aid and emergency care. Silkyara/IBNS: The mammoth rescue operation to evacuate the 41 trapped workers in a tunnel in Uttarakhand's Silkyara came to an end Tuesday after a 17-day multi-agency drill that finally met with success. All the labourers were brought out of the tunnel bringing a sigh of relief nationwide. After several high-tech machines failed, the rescuers relied on the banned manual "rat-hole"-mining technique to drill through the nearly 60 metres of rock that threatened to bury the workers. All the rescued workers have been taken to the make-shift hospital in Chinyalisaur for medical check-ups and acclimatisation to the temperature outside, which has dropped much over the last two weeks. Three teams of the National Disaster Response Force, or NDRF, went inside the tunnel to bring out the trapped workers. The India Air Force (IAF) kept its Chinook helicopter on standby at Chinyalisaur airstrip in Uttarakhand, about 30 km away from the Silkyara tunnel, to airlift workers after their rescue from the tunnel. The chopper can be used if any rescued workers need urgent medical attention. According to the doctors, all the workers are in good health. The labourers, in emergency cases, can be airlifted either from the tunnel site to the Chinyalisaur hospital (a distance of 30 km) or flown to the premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Rishikesh (a distance of around 160 km). The first three workers to be rescued were brought out on specially modified stretchers; these were lowered manually down a two-metre-wide pipe inserted into holes drilled into the hillside. An emergency medical centre has been set up in Chinyalisaur to treat the 41 workers who were trapped underground in the Silkyara tunnel since Nov 12. Forty-one ambulances are on standby at the site of the tunnel collapse, one for each worker, to bring them to the Chinyalisaur hospital by road. Local police will organise a 'green corridor' to ensure each ambulance reaches the hospital as quickly as possible. A makeshift medical centre has also been set up - at the mouth of the collapsed tunnel - to provide first aid and emergency care. PM Modi lauds rescue teams Prime Minister Narendra Modi applauded the Uttarakhand tunnel rescue operation and said the success of this mission has set an amazing example of humanity and teamwork. Lauding the effort, PM Modi tweeted: "The success of the rescue operation to evacuate our labourer brothers in Uttarkashi is making everyone emotional. I want to tell my friends who were trapped in the tunnel that your courage and patience are inspiring everyone. I wish you all well and good health." "It is a matter of great satisfaction that after a long wait these friends of ours will now meet their loved ones. The patience and courage that all these families have shown in this challenging time cannot be appreciated enough." A 12-year-old boy walks past houses destroyed by Israeli airstrikes, in the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. Photo Courtesy: UNICEF/Eyad El Baba Israel and Hamas have decided to extend their temporary truce by two days on Monday (November 27, 2023). The initially announced four days of the ceasefire ended on Monday. According to reports, the fresh two-day truce is likely to ensure the release of 20 more hostages held by Hamas. Qatar Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari confirmed the development on X: "The State of Qatar announces, as part of the ongoing mediation, an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian pause for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip." Qatar's Foreign Ministry said the agreement was reached within the framework of the joint mediation between the State of Qatar, the Arab Republic of Egypt, and the United States of America. Majed bin Mohammed Al Ansari said in line with the commitments of the fourth day of the pause, 33 Palestinians were released in exchange for 11 Israeli hostages in Gaza . He said that the list of those released from Israeli jails included 30 minors and three women, while the list of Israeli hostages released from Gaza included three French nationals, two German nationals, and six Argentine nationals. Welcoming the extension of the truce, US President Joe Biden said in a statement: "I have remained deeply engaged over the last few days to ensure that this dealbrokered and sustained through extensive U.S. mediation and diplomacycan continue to deliver results. Thus far, more than 50 hostages have now been released and returned to their families." "The humanitarian pause has also enabled a significant surge in additional humanitarian assistance to the innocent civilians who are suffering across the Gaza strip," he said. He said: "We are taking full advantage of the pause in fighting to increase the amount of humanitarian aid moving into Gaza, and we will continue our efforts to build a future of peace and dignity for the Palestinian people." Meanwhile, desperate Gazans in the north of the enclave had their first sip of clean water in weeks on Monday (November 27, 2023) as a continuing pause in fighting enabled broadening aid access to the Strip, UN humanitarians said. "This aid barely registers against the huge needs of 1.7 million displaced people," a statement from the UN Secretary-General's office said, highlighting his call for a full humanitarian ceasefire. "The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is getting worse by the day." A girl rests in a camp for displaced persons in Gaza: Photo Courtesy: UNICEF/Abed Zaqout As many as 11 hostages, who were in Hamas captivity, were released on Monday (November 27, 2023) and handed over to Israeli authorities, media reports said. IDF and ISA forces are currently accompanying 11 released hostages inside Israeli territory. After they undergo an initial medical assessment, our forces will accompany them until they are reunited with their families. The IDF, together with the entire Israeli security Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 27, 2023 The released hostages included nine children, including 3-year-old twins, and two mothers. Israel Defense Forces posted on X: "IDF and ISA forces are currently accompanying 11 released hostages inside Israeli territory. After they undergo an initial medical assessment, our forces will accompany them until they are reunited with their families." "The IDF, together with the entire Israeli security establishment, will continue operating until all the hostages are returned home," the defence forces said. The 33 Palestinians were freed from Israeli jails after midnight local time, reported BBC. Meanwhile, Israel and Hamas have decided to extend their temporary truce by two days on Monday (November 27, 2023). The initially announced four days of the ceasefire ended on Monday. According to reports, the fresh two-day truce is likely to ensure the release of 20 more hostages held by Hamas. Qatar Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari confirmed the development on X: "The State of Qatar announces, as part of the ongoing mediation, an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian pause for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip." Qatar's Foreign Ministry said the agreement was reached within the framework of the joint mediation between the State of Qatar, the Arab Republic of Egypt, and the United States of America. BEIJING, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on Monday held a meeting to review guidelines on policies and measures for further promoting the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, chaired the meeting, which also deliberated a set of regulations on CPC leadership over foreign affairs. The meeting noted that the Yangtze River Economic Belt development strategy is a major strategic decision made by the Party Central Committee. Advancing the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt relies fundamentally on the sound ecology of the Yangtze River basin, according to the meeting. The meeting stressed efforts in high-level protection of the Yangtze River basin, and the ecological red line that had been drawn must be upheld and placed under oversight. Efforts to cut carbon emissions, reduce pollution, increase vegetation and pursue growth should be advanced in a coordinated manner, according to the meeting. The meeting underlined the role of scientific and technological innovation in promoting the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and called for efforts in coordinating the layout and transfer of industries along the Yangtze River. The level of regional transport integration needs to be raised, the security and stability of key national industrial and supply chains should be maintained, and disaster prevention and mitigation capacity in the river basin needs to be improved. The meeting also pledged policy support for the area with a number of major reforms in key areas. The regulations on the Party's leadership over foreign affairs are of great significance to the sound implementation of the policies, principles and strategic plans made by the CPC Central Committee on external affairs, according to the meeting. The meeting stressed the need to further strengthen the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee over foreign affairs, and accelerate efforts to create a sound system of laws and regulations on foreign-related matters. It emphasized the importance of implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy in the whole process and every aspect of the work relating to foreign affairs to make greater contributions to safeguarding global peace and development and building a community with a shared future for humanity. Other matters were also discussed at the meeting. A group of teenage girls celebrating Schoolies are lucky to be alive after surviving a freak accident in which a fallen tree went straight through their windscreen, and speared through the seat of a passenger who miraculously ducked out of the way. Those rushing to the scene to help were amazed nobody was killed. Local authorities said that they're amazed nobody was killed during the freak accident on K'gari. Source: Red Frogs. The four young women were travelling around K'gari in Queensland formerly known as Fraser Island last Wednesday after a huge storm had ravaged the area earlier that day, downing a number of trees. Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, Red Frogs National Coordinator Andy Gourley, whose team was first on the scene, said the group had "come around the corner and not seen the fallen tree" when it "just went straight through the car". Miraculous crash on K'gari branded 'freakish' "It's just freakish that none of them are injured," he said, pointing to the scene showing the passenger headrest impaled by the fallen tree which had come through the windscreen. "She just ducked it, her instincts were absolutely brilliant," he said. "They rang triple-0, and by chance our Frog truck was coming around the corner on the same track and the guys were able to assist them. "But also the real heroes there too were the rangers who rocked up. They organised the tractor to pull the actual branch out, and then we've taken them back to Eurong, where the girls were assessed. They were in a bit of shock of course, as you would be. The tree shattered the vehicle's windscreen. Source: Red Frogs. Huge community support "The Kingfisher Bay Resort was very generous in providing accommodation for the girls that night too, so there's really been some amazing community support for these girls." Gourley said he was astonished each walked away unharmed, adding that the incident should serve as a timely reminder to practice caution when driving through potentially treacherous terrain. Story continues "Well firstly the branch missed them, and then by chance the Frog team were there, then to have the rangers there too so I think someone was looking out for them, for sure," he said. "They weren't going expressly fast or anything, they just didn't see that branch coming out, because of all the trees everywhere. The group of girls have since carried on their travels. Source: Red Frogs. "So I think yeah, it's just a reminder of general safety or you know, just make sure that you don't go [too fast] in those areas," he said. Though "shaken", the group are now stable and enjoying the rest of their travels, Gourley added. "It was definitely a bit of a shock, they were very shaken, it was a shaky experience," he said. Among other vehicles, Red Frogs on K'gari drive the "Beau Ute" donated by Madill Motor Group in order to have access to remote areas including where the accident took place. "This is the reason we donated the ute to the team, so they had access to these popular hotspots for Schoolies, keeping everyone safe," a Madill team member told Yahoo. "We recently set up a second vehicle for them too, covering even more of our region." Schoolies 'healthiest' in years Gourley said this year has been one of the "healthiest" Schoolies events in Queensland that he had seen across the last 26 years. "There's a lot more non-drinkers, a lot more choosing to do the camping option and just have fun with their mates," he said. "And yeah, there's definitely more non-drinkers in the groups, which means you've got more designated drivers, which means you have more people that can look after their mates. "So yeah, so it's really good, very healthy." A spokesperson for Queensland Police told Yahoo the department was aware of the incident. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. Photo Courtesy: Benjamin Netanyahu X page Days after Elon Musk drew criticism for his endorsement of an anti-Semitic post on X, billionaire Elon Musk visited Israel on Monday (November 27, 2023) and met the country's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, other officials and victims of the October 7 Hamas atrocities. Musk, who is the owner of X platform, joined Netanyahu in touring a Kibbutz that was attacked by Hamas members on October 7. During the tour of Kfar Aza, Musk was shown the horrors of the Hamas attack, which saw terrorists storm the community and 20 or so others, butchering and burning entire families and kidnapping scores of civilians to Gaza, reported The Times of Israel. The rebuttal is often made that well, you know, Israel has killed civilians also in Gaza, Musk was quoted as saying by the news portal. But theres an important difference here, which is that Israel tries to avoid killing civilians, doing everything it can to avoid killing civilians. And, you know, theres no sort of joy expressed. @elonmusk (: , ) pic.twitter.com/aipX6ryv7T Benjamin Netanyahu - (@netanyahu) November 27, 2023 Musk also said that theres no choice but for Israel to destroy Hamas, but that Israel then needs to help those that remain, likening a future postwar scenario to the post-World War II US occupation of Germany and Japan. Netanyahu shared an image of meeting with Musk and posted on X: "I toured Kibbutz Kfar Gaza with Elon Musk to show him up close the crimes against humanity committed by Hamas." Meanwhile,Israel and Hamas have decided to extend their temporary truce by two days on Monday (November 27, 2023). The initially announced four days of the ceasefire ended on Monday. According to reports, the fresh two-day truce is likely to ensure the release of 20 more hostages held by Hamas. Qatar Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari confirmed the development on X: "The State of Qatar announces, as part of the ongoing mediation, an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian pause for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip." Qatar's Foreign Ministry said the agreement was reached within the framework of the joint mediation between the State of Qatar, the Arab Republic of Egypt, and the United States of America. Majed bin Mohammed Al Ansari said in line with the commitments of the fourth day of the pause, 33 Palestinians were released in exchange for 11 Israeli hostages in Gaza. He said that the list of those released from Israeli jails included 30 minors and three women, while the list of Israeli hostages released from Gaza included three French nationals, two German nationals, and six Argentine nationals. Image tweeted by IDF Gaza/IBNS/UNI: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg Tuesday said that the alliance welcomed the extension of the Gaza ceasefire, which has allowed time for relief, the release of hostages, and the delivery of aid. "Today and tomorrow NATO foreign ministers will address different pressing security issues, including the situation in the Middle East. I welcome the extension of the pause in the hostilities in Gaza, this has allowed for much-needed relief for the people in Gaza and also the release of more hostages and also the provision or delivery of more humanitarian aid," Stoltenberg told reporters ahead of a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels. He said that other issues to be discussed during the gathering include the conflict in Ukraine as the alliance sees "intense fighting across the front line." The secretary-general also mentioned China and the Western Balkans as other topics for discussion. Last week, Israel and Palestinian movement Hamas declared a four-day ceasefire to exchange some prisoners and hostages and to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. Qatar Monday announced that an agreement had been reached between the sides on a two-day extension of the humanitarian truce. On October 7, the Palestinian movement Hamas launched a surprise large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip and breached the border, killing and abducting people. Israel launched retaliatory strikes and ordered a complete blockade of Gaza, cutting off supplies of water, food, and fuel. Israel launched a large-scale ground incursion into the Gaza Strip. The conflict has so far resulted in the deaths of an estimated 1,200 people in Israel and over 16,000 in the Gaza Strip. Photo Courtesy: Pixabay The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of the Sindh police has claimed to have arrested two terrorists, who underwent training in Syria, from the Pakistani city of Karachi. The arrested people were identified as Syed Khurram Ali Kazmi and Syed Raza Ahmed Jafri. The CTD also claimed to have seized two pistols, ammunitions and explosives from the two, reported The News International. They were arrested during a raid conducted by CTD in collaboration with an intelligence agency in Karachi. According to the CTD spokesman, Jafri is a former policeman who had been dismissed from the force in 1994, the newspaper reported. The spokesman said the suspects had been receiving significant funds from abroad for terrorist activities. He said that the two were associated with a special squad called High-Value Target Killing. Photo Courtesy: X page video grab of viral video Dara Shikoh Foundation has written a letter to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) over the alleged destruction of a wall of heritage site 'Sharda Peeth', a Hindu temple, in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Mohammad Amir Rashid was quoted as saying by ANI: "We have written a letter to the Director General of UNESCO, who has recently given the place of Vice President to Pakistan and the site was Sharda Peeth, which was declared a cultural heritage, yet the Pakistani government there has deliberately damaged some walls of Sharda Peeth for the expansion of a coffee house being built for Pakistani soldiers inside POK. while there is also a court order that it has to preserve the cultural heritage, despite that, the Pakistani army deliberately hurt the sentiments of the Indian people and especially the beliefs of the Hindu people across the country on the anniversary of 26/11." The president of Dara Shikoh Foundation also mentioned another temple in his letter to the UNESCO which has been systematically damaged. "This incident has been specifically carried out so that their radical thinking gets promoted somewhere and under the guise of a coffee house, they are damaging the Sharda Peeth despite the strict instructions of the Supreme Court. There is also Hinglaj temple there and within three-four weeks the temples have been systematically damaged," Mohammad Amir Rashid added. He further demanded that the UNESCO should take action in the matter and must take rehabilitation and conservation work in it's hand. "We have demanded in the letter that the UNESCO Director General should call the local representative and since UNESCO itself has declared it as cultural heritage, then rehabilitation and revival of Sharda Peeth should be done to conserve it," he added. In yet another display of atrocities performed on the Hindu community in Pakistan, the administration demolished a revered Hindu temple in Sindh province. The authorities in the Tharparkar district cited a court order as the basis for the demolition of Hinglaj Mata Mandir, reported News X. Shockingly, despite an existing Supreme Court order prohibiting it, the demolition was approved, the Indian news channel reported. According to reports, the action was taken clear the space for building a coffee shop. This temples demolition is not the only incident but part of a broader pattern of Pakistans intolerance towards religious minorities. Another targeted structure was a section of the Sharda Peeth Mandir near the Line of Control, the de facto border between India and Pakistan, reported News X. Photo Courtesy: Unsplash The Punjab government has established a working group to spearhead the implementation of an artificial rain project to deal with the problem of smog and pollution in Pakistan's Lahore city. Environmental experts told The Express Tribune that during a meeting on Monday the first trial of cloud seeding, utilising aircraft and a chemical process, is anticipated to commence within the next four to six weeks. The Punjab chief secretary presided over the meeting to review the progress of artificial rain project and even the installation of smog reduction towers in the Pakistani city. Officials from the Punjab Environment Protection Department (EPD) gave a detailed presentation on cloud seeding and ionisation, the two primary techniques employed to induce artificial rain, the newspaper reported. The EPD is currently in the final stages of signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a Dubai-based company specialising in cloud ionisation. Lahore remains one of the most polluted cities in the world. It recorded an average US Air Quality Index (AQI) of 311 on Monday. Representational image on Unsplash/Maxim Hopman Kohistan/Pakistan: Authorities in Pakistan are probing the "honour killing" of an eighteen-year-old girl, who was shot dead by her father and uncle last week on the orders of the village elders, due to her appearance in a viral photo, BBC reported. Police said the woman had been killed after a council of elders, known as a jirga, had ordered that she and a friend, who also appeared in the picture, be killed. The incident happened in the country's Kohistan region Some relatives of the dead woman were among the suspects, police told Reuters. Her father was arrested on a murder complaint, and her uncle is on the run, police said, according to Reuters. "Some people had uploaded pictures of the two girls," said Masood Khan, deputy superintendent of police in the Kolai-Palas district in the mountains of northwest Pakistan near the Afghan border, reported Reuters. "They shot one of them while police rescued the second one," he told Reuters, referring to villagers. The man in the picture is being held in protective custody; the jirga wanted him dead, too, the BBC report said. According to authorities, two other peoplea young woman and a young manalso got death threats after their Photoshopped images went viral on Pakistani social media, BBC reports. Authorities said they are looking into who took the images in both incidents, which appeared to have been manipulated and shared on phoney social media profiles. The second woman was placed under protective custody by the local police, but she was later released to her family following a court hearing in which she claimed there was no risk to her life at home. In 2011, three Kohistani women were murdered after appearing in a wedding video, sparking a deadly blood feud that resulted in four additional killings. The incident prompted calls for action against honour killings. In 2016, Pakistan amended laws to mandate life sentences for such crimes, but killers continue to escape justice. Notably, last year, the brother of social media star Qandeel Baloch was acquitted of her murder on appeal, despite a previous life sentence, citing family honour as the motive. On OTT platforms, there is no shortage of horror movies that will give you real frights and hinder you from going to sleep at night. Take your pick from the Conjuring series, go on a ghost hunt and more. Take a look at picks you can choose from: 1. Smile Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) begins having terrifying experiences that she can't explain after seeing a strange, tragic incident involving a patient. Rose must face her troubled history in order to survive and leave her terrifying new world as an overwhelming horror starts to take over her existence. imdb Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video 2. Kaali Khuhi This Shabana Azmi-starring horror film explores the taboo of female infanticide and imagines a world in which previous transgressions have repercussions. Shivani, 10, and her parents are forced to deal with a persistent curse sweeping through the residents as they travel to their hometown to care for Shivani's ailing grandmother. Further investigation reveals that female newborns were thrown into a defunct well. netflix Where to watch: Netflix 3. Split M Night Shyamalan is the director of the psychological horror movie Split. James McAvoy, a well-known X-Men actor, and Anna Taylor-Joy play the key characters. The narrative of a man with dissociative identity disorder is told in the film. He kidnaps three girls, which triggers the horrifying events that make up the film's plot. ott Where to watch: Netflix 4. Paranormal An Egyptian supernatural series, which is based on Ahmed Khaled Tawfik's novel series Ma Waraa Al Tabiaa, follows cynical haematologist Refaat Ismail as he becomes embroiled in a string of magical events while working at Cairo University. His scientific beliefs and thinking initially reject these happenings, but he quickly sees himself exploring an universe for which there is no logical explanation. imdb Where to watch: Netflix 5. Train To Busan You should not skip out on watching this South Korean zombie apocalypse film. At the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, the film had its world debut. It highlights the lovely bond between a father and his son. The father's ability to leap to great heights in order to save his son. Train To Busan Where To Watch: Amazon Prime Video 6. Tumbbad Tumbaad is one of the most underappreciated Bollywood horror films. Although it was overlooked in cinemas, film received high praise from critics and is now streaming on OTT. The film opens in a community that is cursed and is experiencing torrential rain. The remainder of the story will take place in this weird atmosphere. Tumbbad Where To Watch: Amazon Prime Video 7. The Conjuring The story centres on a family that settles into an old house. Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal investigators, are called in to assist the family when a string of strange occurrences start to happen in order to prevent things from getting worse. The Conjuring Where to watch: Netflix 8. Bird Box The protagonist of Bird Box is a lady named Malory Hayes, who fights to defend herself and two children against a power that compels people to kill themselves. poster Where to watch: Netflix 9. It It is based on Stephen King's adaptation of the book, and it takes place in a town where certain misfits are terrorised by a clown-like monster that emerges from the sewer. But there's more going on than first appears, and the youngsters come to the realisation that they must conquer their own inner demons in order to stand a fight against the true demon. It Where to watch: Netflix 10. The Village A remote village is terrified of an unidentified creature that lurks in the nearby forests. However, a blind girl ventures into the woods to seek assistance from beyond when a community member sustains serious injuries. poster Where To Watch: Prime Video (To read more such stories related to movies and shows released on OTTs, keep reading Indiatimes BINGE) Randeep Hooda and Lin Laishram will tie the knot on November 29 in an intimate ceremony in Imphal, Manipur. The couple visited a temple in Heingang, Imphal East, a day before the wedding to offer prayers. Lin Laishram and Randeep In a video, Randeep Hooda, wearing a well-tailored kurta set, performs rituals inside the temple. For the occasion, Lin chose a beautiful pink saree. As per the news agency PTI, Randeep Hooda and Lin also visited the Shri Govindaji temple. STORY | "I pray for a happy future, peace for Manipur and everywhere in the world, a happy married life and many more things," says Bollywood actor Randeep Hooda after arriving in Imphal to marry his girlfriend Manipuri model and actress Lin Laishram. READ: pic.twitter.com/X6GnXBCfHO Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 27, 2023 Hooda said, I pray for a happy future, peace for Manipur and everywhere in the world, a happy married life, and many more things. I hope I get them". Randeep Hooda and Lin Laishram revealed their wedding plans last week. Randeep and Lin shared the exciting news with their Instagram followers. In a post titled "We Have Exciting News," the couple made a big announcement last Saturday. The couple shared a note that stated, A date with Destiny. 29.11.2023. Taking a leaf out of the Mahabharata, where Arjuna married Manipuri Warrior Princess Chitrangada, we are getting married with the blessings of our families and friends. We are filled with immense joy to share that our marriage will take place on the 29th of November, 2023, in Imphal, Manipur, followed by a reception in Mumbai. As we embark on this journey, we seek your blessings and love from this union of cultures, for which we are forever indebted and grateful. In love and light, Lin and Randeep. Following the announcement, Randeep and Lin treated their Instagram family to a stunning picture from an award show. The post also highlighted Randeep Hooda's recent work, the movie "Sergeant," directed by Prawaal Raman, which premiered on Jio Cinema on June 30. Looking ahead, Randeep is gearing up to direct his next project, "Swatantra Veer Savarkar," where he will take on the role of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. In contrast, Lin Laishram's latest film appearance was in the mystery thriller "Jaane Jaan," where she starred alongside Kareena Kapoor, Vijay Varma, and Jaideep Ahlawat. For more news and updates from the world of celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. Siavash Sobhani, a 62-year-old doctor, recently learned he was stateless when he applied to renew his US passport. What happened? Washington Post Despite being born in the US, attending school, and practicing medicine there for over 30 years, it came as a shock when officials revealed that he had mistakenly been granted US citizenship as an infant. Sobhani, who celebrated his 62nd birthday this month, told the Washington Post, This was a shock to me." Im a doctor. Ive been here all my life. Ive paid my taxes. Ive voted for presidents. Ive served my community in Northern Virginia. During COVID, I was at work, putting myself and my family at risk. So when youre told after 61 years, 'Oh, there was a mistake; youre no longer a US citizen, its really, really shocking. Why did it happen? Washington Post A letter from a State Department official revealed that Sobhani shouldn't have received citizenship at birth because his father was an Iranian diplomat. The letter explained that those born in the US to parents with diplomatic immunity don't automatically acquire US citizenship. Surprisingly, this wasn't the first time Sobhani applied for a passport renewal. He shared with the Washington Post that he had renewed his passport multiple times without issues. He highlighted that his US citizenship had been consistently confirmed every time he renewed his passport. However, the unique issue surfaced only in February when he sought to renew his passport for an upcoming family trip. How is Sobhani fighting back to claim his US citizenship? Unsplash Sobhani revealed that he has already applied for citizenship using the details provided by the official. Despite spending more than $40,000 (approximately Rs 34 lakh) on legal fees, he remains uncertain about his future. Im waiting for an interview, but does that mean I wait another year for an interview? he told the Washington Post. Then another three years for the next step? Then another ten years before I can travel outside of the country? At 62, the doctor had been contemplating retirement, and he and his wife had envisioned spending the year exploring different countries. However, due to his citizenship issue, he is now unable to visit his critically ill father-in-law in Lebanon. If he passes away, I cant even go to his funeral, Sobhani said. For more trending stories, follow us on Telegram. As a man faces murder charges following the discovery of a Brazilian woman's body in a Sydney apartment at the weekend, tragic social media posts have emerged revealing her will to live and excitement for the future. Police said on Monday Diogo De Oliveira, 40, had been charged with murder after the body of his girlfriend Catiuscia Machado, also in her 40s, was found at the couple's Chiswick apartment in Sydney's Inner West late on Saturday evening. In Catiuscia Machados Facebook post, she spoke of of her great will to live. Source: Facebook. Brazilian woman's body allegedly 'found in bathtub' Officers were called out to the unit following reports of a domestic incident at 10.50pm, where they allegedly found the body of Machado alongside De Oliveira, who was subsequently taken into custody. Reports allege Machado was found submerged in a bathtub of water and packets of frozen food, with police alleging De Oliveira pushed her, causing her to hit her head as she fell. Machado is understood to have only arrived in Australia a few months ago, with officials still in the process of contacting her loved ones in Brazil. She is believed to be a childcare worker, specialising in youth and mental health. Heartbreaking social media posts emerge Now in the days after the alleged murder, heartbreaking social media posts have been discovered, where Machado spoke of her desire to live life fully and "intensely". "I've learned that you should live life intensely, take advantage of every moment and do everything you want, without leaving for later," the youth educator wrote on Facebook on her birthday in October last year. "Today also starts a new cycle, full of good expectations and a great will to live! And off to another lap around the sun..." Machados partner has been charged with murder. Source: Facebook. In May of 2022, she revealed she planned on making big changes to her life. "It says that each cycle of our life lasts seven years," she wrote. "And it really was for me. Story continues "This month my last is complete, a cycle with beginning, middle and end... one of the most difficult ones to do. "I learned, I matured, I went through things I never imagined going through. Those who really know me know ... Now is the start of a new one. "I carry more wisdom, more self love, knowledge of what I want, and most importantly, what I don't want in my life. Bring on the next seven years!" According to 7News, the ex-pat had recently posted about a trip heading off to the Maldives at the start of December. Machado is the 67th woman killed in the country this year, and the seventh woman allegedly murdered in Australia in the past two weeks, according to activist project Counting Dead Women Australia, that collates data based on media-reported crimes. De Oliveira briefly faced court on Monday and did not apply for bail. A post-mortem into Machado's official cause of death is underway. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. Shipping Minister Christos Stylianidis, speaking at the IMO general assembly in London , outlined the four issues on which the International Maritime Organization must work, in order to strengthen human capital . Shipping a key pillar on the path to sustainable global development - A former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, on Monday, described the 2023 general elections as credible in many substantial aspects. Recall that many Nigerians believed that the election was manipulated, while some gave kudos to the electoral body. However, in a live interview on Channels Televisions Politics Today, Jega said his favourable assessment of the polls was not necessarily in defence of his successor and incumbent INEC chairman, Prof. Yakubu Mahmood. Jega said: I would say that, in many substantial aspects, it was credible, he said. READ MORE: Probe Why Upload Of Presidential Poll Results To IReV Failed Jega To INEC In areas where we have seen serious challenges that are avoidable and should have been avoided, I believe that to a large extent, and you asked me to be very frank with you, we have a tendency to heap blame on the leadership of an electoral management body and I have had my own fair share of those kinds of blames. So, to my mind, really, its unfortunate it has happened on the watch of Yakubu Mahmood but it has happened not because, to my mind, I have no evidence that he is complicit in these things, Jega added. Philip Shaibu, the Edo State Deputy Governor, has posited that he will defeat the anointed candidate of his principal, Governor Godwin Obaseki at the States 2024 gubernatorial poll. The Deputy Governor stated this during an interview on Television Continentals programme on Monday evening. His words: Definitely, Ill defeat the so-called candidate of the governor, not because I have the power, but because Edo people want their own and I am their own. Edo people do not want importation; they want their own. The problem I have with the governor is that he has allowed certain individuals that have interest in governance to come between us. He is managing in his own style and the way he feels he can manage it. I am also managing it the way I feel I can manage it. When I said I was pressed, but not distressed, I understand the kind of intimidation and oppression I have gone through. Shaibu had said he sought Gods direction before declaring his governorship bid. READ ALSO: Edo 2024: Ive Been Persecuted, Badly Hurt Philip Shaibu The current tussle with Obaseki, he maintained, would not stop his aspiration to succeed him in office. He had said: My people want me to contest for governorship. They need an original homeboy. They need people who can bring governance to their doorstep, and they know I have experience, having worked in both legislative and executive positions. Recall that the Deputy Governor declared his governorship ambition at a press conference held on Monday in Benin, the state capital. Shaibu said he has been pressed, humiliated and persecuted since his intention to succeed his principal was revealed. Having been in a running battle with Governor Obaseki for months over his political ambition, Shaibu said that though he was persecuted, he was not abandoned. After his official declaration, Shaibu launched his campaign office in Benin City. Information Nigeria reports that Asue Ighodalo is rumoured to be Obasekis strongly speculated choice as successor. Ighodalo hails from Edo Central. Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Earl Osaro Onaiwu, has denied claims that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, is sponsoring the governorship ambition of Edo State Deputy Governor, Phillip Shaibu. In a statement issued on Tuesday, in Benin, the state capital, Onaiwu urged politicians in the state not to use Wikes name to score cheap political points ahead of the governorship election in 2024. Onaiwu stated that the insinuations that the FCT minister is behind Shaibus ambition are unfounded and should be disregarded by all PDP faithful in the state. He said: People are just using Wikes name to score cheap political points, whereas Wike has moved on and should be allowed to face his duties as FCT Minister. READ MORE: Edo 2024: Id Defeat Obasekis Anointed Candidate Shaibu I want to make it clear that these insinuations are unfounded and should be disregarded by all PDP faithful in Edo State. For the inability to provide the N300 million bail condition given by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, will remain in prison. The FCT High Court, on Tuesday, also adjourned till January 18, 2024, the continuation of the trial in the alleged procurement fraud suit against the former CBN Governor. Emefiele, put on trial by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) , is standing trial on a six count amended charge on alleged procurement of vehicles awarded to April1616 Investment Limited. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges. He was granted bail on November 17, 2023 to the tune of N300m and two sureties and remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre, pending when he meets his bail conditions. However, at todays hearing, the Prosecution Witness, Samsideen Romanus, who is a top official of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) told the court that Emefiele was not the owner or a shareholder of the Limited which was awarded a N1.2 billion vehicle supply contract by CBN under Emefiele. He was led in evidence by EFCC lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo , while tendering several documents on how the company was incorporated on August 1, 2016. Romanus further read out the names of the shareholders of the Company which comprises of Aminu Yaro, Maryam Abdullahi and Saadatu Yaro as joint owners of the entity. The witness explained that although CAC was responsible for the incorporation of the company, it, however, has no role in the day-to-day running of affairs of the entity. The second witness, Remigious Ugwu, a Compliance Officer with Zenith Bank told the court how various sums of money in millions of naira were paid by the CBN into the April1616 Investment Limited. Specifically, he told Justice Hamza how, on October 19, 2020, a sum of N39,060,465, another N421,953,488 on November 6, 2020, and the third one N304,883,720 was paid on November 23, 2020, to the same company by CBN. Similarly, he said that N304,883,720 was paid on January 1, 2021, and another N304,883,720 paid to the same company on March 23, 2021, by the Central Bank of Nigeria. READ ALSO: Edo 2024: Id Defeat Obasekis Anointed Candidate Shaibu He admitted that none of the payments had any links to Emefieles name while also clarifying that he did not know the purpose of the payments. The witness who tendered various documents on behalf of the bank said the former CBN governor was not a signatory to the bank account of the company. The third witness, Oluwole Owoeye, a Deputy Director, Banking Services with CBN and former Secretary to the Major Contract Tendering Committee (MCTC) of the CBN, said his body was responsible for ensuring compliance with the Procurement Act in the award of contracts. Owoeye, however, informed the court that his committee was not involved in the vetting of bidding for the award of contracts that led to the prosecution of Emefiele. The witness explained that another committee handled the bidding because it was above the thresholds of his own committee My Lord, all I know through our records is that contracts for the award of vehicle supplies were awarded to April1616 but I cannot say whether the contracts were executed or paid for because my Committee played no role, he said. He admitted that the MCTC and Procurement Department were fully functional while Emefiele held sway as CBN governor. See the six count charge against Emefiele below: That you, Godwin Ifeanyi Emefiele, male, adult 1. Corruptly confer an advantage on Saadatu Ramallan Yaro, a staff of the CBN, by awarding contract for the supply of 37 Hilux vehicles at cost of 854.7m in 2018 2. Corruptly confer an advantage on a company where a CBN Staff is a director by awarding a contract for the supply of one Toyota Avallon at the cost of 99.0m 3. Conferring corrupt advantage contrary to Section 16 of ICPC Act Toyota Landcruiser V8 in 2019 at the cost of 73.0m 4. Illegal award for the supply of Toyota Land cruiser V8: 73.8m 5. Award of contract for supply of 2 Toyota Hilux in 2020: 44.2m 6. Illegal purchases of 43 vehicles between 2018 & 2020: 1.2bn Company involved: April1616 Investment Ltd. The Oba of Benin, Omo Oba NEdo, Uku Akpolokpolo, Ewuare II, has said that President Bola Tinubu was ordained by God to be the President at this time. The monarch made this known over the weekend, during a courtesy visit to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State at the Government House in Marina. He noted that the victory of Tinubu in the 2023 presidential poll and his emergence as President showed that God had destined him to lead the country. The king also called on all Nigerians to support President Tinubu and his administration to achieve the greater Nigeria desirous of all the citizens. READ MORE: Oba Of Benin Begs Nigerians To Support President Tinubu He added that diversity is good for Nigeria and urged the people to iron out their differences and live as a family in peace, unity and harmony with one another. The King said: God has ordained that Tinubu would become President of Nigeria. We are all one. I am for peace and tranquillity. We must live together as one. Nigeria is big. We must iron out our differences and learn to live together as one big family. Oba of Benin also congratulated Governor Sanwo-Olu on his reelection and charged him not to rest on his oars to achieve greater heights in his second term in office. In his remarks, Sanwo-Olu assured that the State would continue to be home to everyone irrespective of ethnic, religious or political affiliations. He said: On behalf of Mr President, we want to thank you for your fatherly role, for your prayers and best wishes to the government and I am sure he will not disappoint you. He will do everything possible to ensure that he delivers the real dividends of democracy that will help our country to reduce the poverty in the land, give us a new set of hope and redefine social, and economic development. The Lagos State Government has impounded and destroyed no fewer than 150O motorcycles, also known as Okada, for violation of traffic laws. The state Commissioner of Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, accompanied by the Permanent Secretary to the ministry, Wale Musa, inspected the crushing of the seized motorcycles at the premises of the Lagos State Taskforce. It was gathered that the latest development was disclosed in a post shared on its official X handle on Monday. READ MORE: Ban On Okada In Restricted Areas Remains Lagos Government The post reads: Commissioner for #lagosMOT1, Mr. Oluwaseun Osiyemi with the Permanent Secretary, Mr Wale Musa, at the crushing of 1500 seized commercial motorcycles at the Lagos State Taskforce premises on Monday, 27th of November 2023. Recall that the state government banned the use of motorcycles in many parts of the state in 2022 and seized a number of motorcycles whose riders faulted the ban. The Lagos State Government, on Monday, issued a seven-day ultimatum to owners of buildings encroaching on road setbacks on Orchid, Agungi, and Ajiran Road along the Ikota River. The Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab alongside Special Adviser, Environment, Olakunle Rotimi-Akodu, jointly announced the development after an extensive inspection tour of System 156 and 157 Channel along Ikota River. They urged Lagosians to respect the states Drainage Master Plan to avoid property demolition. Wahab stated that there was no going back on the decision of the state to enforce the law and reclaim drainage setbacks following the expiration of the notices issued. The inspection tour was to ascertain the level of compliance by property owners whose buildings and fences fall within the approved seven meters setback on both sides of the channel and had been given the option of voluntary compliance. READ MORE: Alaba Demolition: Sanwo-Olu, Uzodinma Set Up Panel To Douse Tension Wahab disclosed that the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) had earlier written a petition complaining about several distortions, saying there had been a lot of distortion on their roads. We cannot keep lampooning the government for flooding when developers, builders & residents are the leading cause of flooding; we shall continue to enforce because that is why laws are made. Without law and order, there cannot be development. Enough of this bad behaviour! We also visited Chevron Drive, where a stop work order was issued to Gravitas company, owners of Grace Ville Island & Pocket Island. We urge Lagosians to respect the State Drainage Master Plan to avoid property demolition as there is no going back on the decision of the state to enforce the law and reclaim Drainage setbacks following the expiration of the notices issued. The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Monday disclosed it intercepted stolen crude oil from the Ogiata Local Government of Imo State. Babawale Afolabi, NSCDCs spokesperson, in a statement, said operatives set ablaze the intercepted crude oil and destroyed the makeshift storage facilities and warehouses of the oil thieves. I want to inform you again that on the 24th of November, 2023, the vigilant and eagle-eyed special intelligence squad of the NSCDC was able to detect and intercept another large quantity of stolen crude oil believed to have been siphoned from a vandalised wellhead belonging to a multinational oil company and located in the Nkwuogologo area in Ogiata LGA, Imo State. READ ALSO: Marriage Has No Manual Nosa Rex Advises Isreal Dmw Following Marriage Crash The NSCDC swiftly moved to the riverine location where many drums filled with adulterated crude oil were discovered, he said. According to him, the vandals took to their heels and abandoned the products on sighting the security operatives. The operatives were able to impound all the stolen crude oil which was subsequently destroyed by setting them on fire. In the meantime, the Commandant-General, Ahmed Audi, has been briefed on the development and has ordered a massive manhunt for the vandals who are at large. The Commandant General wishes to reiterate the readiness of the corps not to relent on the effort to rid the society of the oil thieves, especially in the Niger Delta region adding that the Corps is battle ready to achieve huge success, Afolabi added. Immediate past chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State, Ambassador Desmond Akawor, has disclosed that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) made a mistake when it fielded Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate in the 2023 elections. Akawor stated that when Atiku visited the state during his campaign rounds, we openly told him that the Rivers State chapter of the party was not happy with the zoning arrangement. It was gathered that the PDP chieftain disclosed this during an interview with The Punch over the weekend. He said: My advice to them is that if you make a mistake in your journey, go back to the junction where you made the mistake and take your bearing. They made a mistake. When Wazirin Adamawa came here when he was going around, it is on tape, after his brief to us, I openly told him I said, Sir, I know you very well, I worked under you as a minister and you did well in the economic reform under then President Olusegun Obasanjo. Telecommunication, this, this, this, you did very well, sir. READ MORE: Were Open For Alliance To Oust APC From Power NNPP Replies Atiku Over Merger Proposal But in our party today, there is a problem. The problem is that we in Rivers State, Im speaking on behalf of Rivers people. We are not happy that the party has jettisoned our zoning system. Dino Melaye stood up to defend. I remembered his defence, but I have made my point. Where did it land us? You see where we are now. So the party must go back to the junction and get its bearing. Thats the only advice I have for the party at national level. We voted for a Southern President because thats what we believed in and I told Waziri Adamawa when he came here to this party secretariat that we are not happy that the party has jettisoned the zoning system. A short video of a crocodile struggling to free itself from fishing gear sparked an hours-long rescue operation. Concerns were raised after the saltie was documented thrashing its head in an attempt to remove a crab, sparking fears it could drown. After the 20 seconds of footage began circulating on Facebook on Sunday, some made light of the unfortunate attempt to rob the trap. Free handbag, someone joked. Thats the crab thief, someone else said. But others were worried the large reptile could drown. A saltwater crocodile has been filmed with its head inside a crab trap. Source: Facebook Crocodile tour operator David White contacted authorities about the animal before speaking with Yahoo. That croc is terrified, he said. If you Google crab pots and crocs you will see how many die. The Department of Environment (DES) responded to the situation on Monday, and sent a boat onto the Ninds Creek, which runs off Johnstone River, near Innisfail. Despite an extensive search, its rangers were unable to track the animal down. And footage uploaded to social media that same day of an empty trap indicates the animal likely freed itself. Fishermen urged to regularly check their crab traps DES told Yahoo its not uncommon for juvenile crocodiles to become trapped in crab pots, while adults can become entangled in lines after being lured by bait. Sadly, many crocodiles that get trapped in crab pots or entangled in crab pot lines will drown, a spokesperson said. Noting a crocodile was found dead with 13 mesh bait bags in its stomach in 2021, it warned the impact of crab fishing is widespread. The accumulation of bait bags could have eventually contributed to a slow, painful death through starvation, it said. Anyone using crab pots is urged to check them regularly and make sure marine species havent been caught. If you spot a crocodile in need of help you can contact the DES on 1300 130 372. Story continues Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? Get our new weekly newsletter showcasing the weeks best stories. The Labour Party (LP) in Lagos State has accused the All Progressives Congress State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of serially marginalizing Igbos with his cabinet appointments and State policies. Information Nigeria understands that following the Governors re-election, not one South-Easterner is represented, after examination, verification and scrutinization of the cabinet formation by the Lagos State Government (LASG). Olubunmi Odesanya, LPs Publicity Secretary in the State made the accusation in an exclusive interview with Information Nigeria at the weekend. Recall that LP fielded Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour (GRV) as its gubernatorial candidate during the March 18 polls and was Sanwo-Olus first runner-up. However, there are concerns the non-inclusion stems from the fact that a lot of Igbos in the State directed their votes in favour of GRV during the polls. Odesanya said, Gbadebo is more a Lagosian than Sanwo-Olu. The latter is from the Ijebu extraction of Ogun State. He has no family background in Lagos State and if he claims otherwise, please tell him to point to you his family house in Lagos State. READ ALSO: Lagos Procurement Scandal: Business Owner That Supplied Sanwo-Olus Frangrances, Pamphlets For DPOs Worth N9m Na Mechanic He Be Maintaining that Lagos Governor is misled on where GRVs vote-count accumulated from, she said, Sanwo-Olu is obviously playing the ethnic card in Lagos State not only in his appointments but also in his policy actions. He has, consciously, excluded the Igbos from his cabinet thinking that the Igbos voted against him not knowing that Gbadebos votes came from all the tribes in Lagos. It is also curious that in his quest for vendetta, he deliberately excluded his Special Adviser on Drainage, Joe Igbokwe, who has been loyal to him and their party all these while. Speaking on the ongoing crackdown on structures violating the Lagos masterplan, Odesanya posited that the administration of Sanwo-Olu took his quest for vengeance a step further by destroying the properties of the Igbos even when, in some cases, there were valid building approvals. The LP spokesperson said in some other cases, the government looked the other way when the properties were being built, but the LASG is now destroying those properties now for political reasons. According to her, the Sanwo-Olu led Lagos is nothing compared to the era of former Governors Akinwunmi Ambode and Babatunde Raji Fashola in terms of followership. You will recall that during the period that Fashola and Ambode held sway as Governors of Lagos State, the citizens, irrespective of tribe and religion, queued behind them because they could feel the impact of their governments and governance. However, in this Sanwo-Olu era, we only feel the impact of Agberos, Odesanya added. David Gift Okpala Okpolowu, the wanted suspected cultist and alleged killer of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Ahoada Division, Bako Angbashim, has spoken from hiding and denied involvement in the murder of the DPO. Okpolowu, popularly called 2Baba, in a voice note he made and sent to the media in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Monday, said the news of the murder of Angbashim came to him as a shock, adding that he does not have a hand in it. Recall that cultists terrorising Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State had lured and killed Angbashim during an operation in the state and ceased his decapitated remains. However, 2Baba in the voice note, said he spoke to Angbashim few hours before he was murdered. I want to tell the whole world that my hand is not in the murder of the DPO. All this while, I never wanted to talk on this, but people are putting much concern, so, I said let me tell my people the truth. I am not involved in the murder. It is just that the thing happened in my community road. The day it happened, I was not there. I was shocked when I heard what happened, he was heard saying He confirmed that he has accepted the state government amnesty to cultists but that he went to take back his gun when their rival cult members started killing his men without any intervention. READ ALSO: Police Nab 2Babas Second-In-Command In Bayelsa Over Slain Rivers DPO 2Baba added: We had taken all our rifles and given to government, but opposition refused to submit theirs. So, those people started attacking us with their guns. We regretted that we submitted our guns to government. Those opposition cultists started killing our people. They killed my younger brother. They burnt down our house. This was the annoyance that made me go back for gun play. 2Baba said he was only a freedom fighter and does not involve in kidnapping, illegal bunkering and other criminal activities. He said he was not being sponsored by any traditional rulers, that he is self sponsored. The gun play I went back to, I did not go back so that I will use it to intimidate people or disturb people. Everybody knows that I dont kidnap, I dont involve in bunkering. I give attention to my business. Everybody here knows my business. I am into sand dredging, the suspect added. Recall also that the Bayelsa State Police Command have arrested one of the killers of Bako Angbashim. The suspect, identified as Onyekachi Ikowa, 43, is the right hand man of 2baba and was arrested on 18 November, 2023, based on credible intelligence that he was hibernating in Yenagoa after participating in the callous murder of Late SP Bako Angbashim, in September 2023. The Nigerian Army, 6 Division, Port Harcourt, has confirmed the death of a soldier in a boat mishap that occurred on the Bolo waterway, in Ogu-Bolo Local Government Area of Rivers State. The Army said that the deceased, whose identity has not been revealed, was among the soldiers deployed on duty in the Niger Delta waterways to safeguard critical national assets. The acting Deputy Director, 6 Division Army Public Relations, Maj. Danjuma Jonah, made this known in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Monday. Maj. Danjuma sated that the gunboat conveying the late soldier was hit by a turbulent wave, which led to the unfortunate accident over the weekend. The statement read: The Headquarters 6 Division, Nigerian Army, mourns a soldier killed during an unfortunate boat mishap that occurred at Bolo waterways in Ogu/Bolo Local Government Area of Rivers State on Saturday, November 25, 2023, while on active duty. READ MORE: Gunmen Abduct, Kill Imo Monarch The soldier was one of the soldiers deployed on duty in the waterways in the Niger Delta region to safeguard critical national assets. The gunboat conveying the late soldier was hit by a turbulent wave, which led to the unfortunate accident. The soldier was declared missing after the boat accident. Consequently, a search and rescue mission was launched, and his lifeless body was recovered. Additionally, the boat involved in the accident has also been recovered. The General Officer Commanding, 6 Division, NA/Land Component Commander, Joint Task Force, South-South, Operation Delta Safe, Maj. Gen. Jamal Abdussalam, while commiserating with the deceased family, expressed sadness over the unfortunate incident. He would be greatly missed by the NA and the nation at large, he added, and he prayed for the repose of his soul and for God to grant him eternal rest. Spokesperson to Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 Peoples Democratic Partys (PDP) presidential candidate, Daniel Bwala, has claimed that the PDP and the Labour Party (LP) are being controlled by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. According to him, the President is controlling the opposition through proxies, the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) inclusive. While insisting that the country is presently operating a one-party state, he said the only way to move forward is for the oppositions to align and form a formidable front. The lawyer lamented that Tinubu is determined to keep the oppositions in disarray till 2027. Bwala, in a chat with Punch said, The truth is both the PDP and Labour Party are controlled by President Bola Tinubu through proxies, Nigeria is a one-party state. Let me explain to you, you may have noticed in the build-up to the election, like immediately after the elections in all these major political parties, I am sure you read about, this one has gone to court and the court has sacked the national chairman of that party. READ ALSO: Lawmakers Not Reflecting Peoples Wishes, You Cant Expect Them To Serve The Country After Paying Heavily To Get Into Power Ex Jigawa Gov, Sule Lamido This one is going to court, this one is about to go to court. They have sacked the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party. Then in PDP, you have one of the individuals who is a cabinet member in this administration that held the party by the balls as we speak today. However, for the PDP probably there will be a forensic analysis of the party, there will be soul searching, and there will probably be a conference, in which the party will now take a position to form a formidable opposition moving forward. The hope that I have, I see, and very predictably LP, PDP NNPP, and other fringe political parties, are going to come together, reinvent themselves, and post the opposition for the governing party. That is the future of Nigeria, but if youre looking at individual political parties, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is determined to keep those parties in disarray till 2027. Festus Keyamo, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, says President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will decide the next step for the Nigeria Air Project. He disclosed this while speaking to State House Correspondents after Mondays Federal Executive Council meeting at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja. I cannot preempt my President. I cannotnow we have looked at all the issues and its before Mr. President, Keyamo said. According to him, it would be irresponsible of the Federal Government to follow through on a deal that gives monopoly of Nigerias aviation industry to a foreign entity. Founded in 2018, Nigeria Airs ownership stakes is divided among Ethiopian Airlines (49 per cent) Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (46 per cent), and the Federal Government (5 per cent) However, Keyamo revealed that some of the details of the agreement signed with the major stakeholder in the deal, Ethiopian Airlines, required another critical look, in the interest of the nation, citing waivers and the staffing arrangements. In the agreement, you are giving tax waivers to Ethiopian Airline coming into Nigeria. They asked for tax waivers for five years and you granted them, to come and compete with your local airline which are paying those heavy taxes. How? Do you want to create a monopoly? Thats why when they tell you that we want to crash price byits a lie. Its robbing Peter to pay Paul. READ ALSO: Ill Rather Sack You Than Lose My Job Keyamo Warns Aviation Agencies CEOs The only thing that brings down prices in the commercial world is fair competition, he detailed. Keyamo also lamented that the contract sought to cede the appointment of employees at all levels to the Ethiopian investors, a situation he lamented. In the agreement, they also made a proposal that they will appoint everybody; top management, everybody Ethiopian, in Nigeria, and we agreed. We agreed! he lamented. However, Keyamo said all details are before the President for consideration. I have heard all kinds of things going on, all kinds of brickbats in the social media, but I cannot preempt my President. All the documents, all the reports, everything, we have forwarded to Mr. President, the issues weve met on the ground. I feel the pulse of Nigerians. Even the National Assembly raised concerns over that, and so many stakeholders. It would have been irresponsible to close my eyes totally to those concerns. So because of that, we suspended it, to say that lets just look at all the issues and recommend, he explained. Keyamo explained that, had the Nigeria Air agreement been implemented, it would have created a monopoly for Ethiopian Air, at the expense of other local airliners. In our post-pandemic, digital world, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) have migrated to the cloud in droves to take advantage of the same tools and efficiencies as large-scale enterprises. Still, according to Accenture, basic cloud adoption across all businesses is at 44% globally, indicating theres still an enormous opportunity for digital transformation in the cloud. So, whats the hitch? Often, SMBs are concerned with paying for more services than they need, securing and retaining the right talent, or the security of their data in the cloud. These are exactly the kinds of considerations that should be top of mind for SMB leaders. But, lets flip the question. What are you missing out on by sticking with legacy technology? Cloud computing provides the flexibility to scale efficiently while minimizing costs, helping SMBs unlock future growth opportunities, innovate faster, enhance customer experiences, and generate new revenue streams. Ultimately, the cloud has become a competitive advantagethe great equalizer for companies of all sizesparticularly for SMBs. Sound too good to be true? Here are some examples of how SMBs leverage the cloud to their advantage. Advantages of cloud computing Lower and control your IT costs Get the most from your data Innovate and build new features more quickly Use AI and machine learning to enhance customer experience Lower and control your IT costs Inherently, the cloud is a powerful tool for lowering costs, eliminating the need for SMBs to buy, build, or maintain their own physical compute or storage hardware and software. Instead, businesses pay for only what they use in the cloud and can scale capacity up and down with changing needs, which can significantly lower IT costs. A 2022 IDC study found that organizations that provisioned resources in the cloud instead of in on-premises data centers achieved an average annualized reduction of IT expenditures of 25%. Cloud infrastructure is more efficient than running those same workloads in on-prem data centersespecially for SMBs. Most on-premises data centers are underutilized, with extra hardware purchased to support peak usage. However, SMBs do not typically require the infrastructure to support peak usage for extended periods of time, and they tend to be stuck with hardware thats barely being used, which is not cost efficient. With cloud, they can eliminate up-front capital costs associated with maintaining their own servers, like electricity, hardware, and maintenance. By contrast, many cloud providers enable SMBs to manage, control, and optimize their spend in the cloud, offering cloud management tools that are often built-in and automated to help businesses reduce expenditure and maximize the value of their spend. For example, flexible solutions like intelligent tiering, which automates data life-cycle management and stores infrequently used data into lower-cost storage classes, help to automatically optimize your cloud spend and reduce costs. Get the most from your data Data is an asset for businesses of every size. Businesses across every industry and geography are generating more data than ever before. And, effectively leveraging data has become a competitive advantageparticularly for SMBs. But to use data to its full potential, you need secure, affordable tools that allow you to access and analyze that data. Processing large volumes of data, i.e., big data, to identify and leverage unique insights is no longer exclusive to larger companies with considerable resources. A cloud-based approach provides SMBs with an affordable way to access the very latest tools to drive value from data. Instead of managing the complex and costly process of building a modern data architecture yourself, the cloud offers access to the same data technology and capabilities that large enterprises enjoy, empowering SMBs with access to fresh, relevant insights to expedite growth. With access to data-driven insights and cloud-based data analytics, SMBs are able to improve operations and reduce operational costs, enhancing the customer experience and generating new revenue streams, which help these businesses stay ahead of the competition. Innovate and build new features more quickly For SMBs, the cloud not only drives operational efficiencies, but also creates opportunities to innovate and enhance products and offerings. With the cloud, SMBs can quickly spin up resources as needed to experiment and iterate more quickly and frequently. Businesses can deploy hundreds or even thousands of servers in minutes, enabling them to rapidly develop and roll out new applications. They can test new versions of applications on exact replicas of their production environment. While this would be costly and time-consuming with on-premises data centers, the cloud enables this almost instantly and at low cost. The cloud empowers SMBs to be more competitive in deploying new products, features, and updates, bringing innovations to market and meeting customer needs more quickly. In fact, companies that have migrated to the cloud produce three times as many features per year, according to IDC research. Use AI and machine learning to enhance customer experience The cloud levels the playing field for SMBs, democratizing access to the same data technology and capabilities that large enterprises are using. SMBs are now harnessing the power of AI, machine learning, and predictive analytics to transform customer experiences, which is increasingly important amidst rapidly shifting consumer demands. For example, SMBs that operate ecommerce sites are quickly delivering personalized recommendations that target customers more accurately with machine learning-powered personalization services. SMBs are creating customer service chatbots that can answer FAQs and automate customer journeys. SMBs are also using this technology to easily forecast accurate business outcomes and predict foot traffic, workforce staffing needs, inventory stock, and more. Common cloud mistakes to avoid One size does not fit all Your insights are only as good as your data Dont just store your datamaximize its value Avoid adopting technology you dont need Protect yourself While a good cloud provider will make your transition easy, its also important to understand what common mistakes SMBs are making, so you know what to avoid. One size does not fit all While the cloud can lower costs, that doesnt mean that any framework will bring you the savings that youre after. SMBs should pick a provider with the management tools to ensure that theyre getting the most value from their expenditurefor instance, a plan with intelligent tiering solutions and billing budgets that allow for cloud spend monitoring and guardrails. One common mistake SMBs make is to lift and shift their current on-premises servers with the same compute and capacity. This is almost never needed, and a good cloud provider with a comprehensive partner network can help them right size into the cloud from their current, overprovisioned on-prem footprint. Your insights are only as good as your data Legacy data entry processes can mean years of built up errors and inconsistencies. Manual data entry, incomplete data sets, and data silos can degrade the quality of data, skewing insights and decision-making. Not using clean and accurate data to inform your decision-making can result in bad recommendations and predictions. The cloud can play a critical role in improving data ingestion, data quality, transformation, analysis, and governance. There is a wide range of technologies that address these distinct aspects of data management, including services that can eliminate duplicate data and automatically associate categories with different kinds of data. Dont just store your datamaximize its value While many SMBs are migrating data to the cloud, only 35% of them also use cloud-based analytics, according to a recent survey. This reveals a huge gap between storing data and extracting value from it. Data analytics tools help businesses anticipate market trends, make better informed decisions, forecast and increase sales, plan improvements to existing products or services, and enhance customer experiences. SMBs can even monetize their data, packaging and selling data to existing and new customers. To get the most value from their data, SMBs need to find a cloud provider that can allow access to integrated analytics stack and a mature set of analytics tools, right-size their data strategy to their specific needs, and provide support through every step of the data journey. Avoid adopting technology you dont need As tempting as it is to take advantage of the latest and greatest new technologies, you could wind up paying for bells and whistles that arent contributing to your bottom line. Not every SMB needs natural language processing to improve its product. While SMBs are harnessing advanced technology like generative AI, adoption of this technology should be tied to a clear business neednot just a desire for a shiny new toy. Your cloud provider should help you work backward from your business needs and find the tools to help you achieve your goals. Protect yourself Many SMBs lack the staff and expertise to maintain and monitor their security resources continuously when threats are constantly evolving. While you may feel more secure knowing exactly where your servers are, the cloud offers 24/7 security and infrastructure monitoring to keep your data safe from all kinds of dangers, be they bad actors or everyday bad luck. We recommend relying on the expertise of a cloud provider that can source IT service partners with security competencies that conduct assessments, remediation of findings, deploy cybersecurity applications, and establish best practices. Ideally, security partners that provide 24x7 security protection and monitoring of resources delivered as a fully managed service. Claire Gribbin is head of worldwide SMB segment strategy at Amazon Web Services. New Tech Forum provides a venue for technology leadersincluding vendors and other outside contributorsto explore and discuss emerging enterprise technology in unprecedented depth and breadth. The selection is subjective, based on our pick of the technologies we believe to be important and of greatest interest to InfoWorld readers. InfoWorld does not accept marketing collateral for publication and reserves the right to edit all contributed content. Send all inquiries to doug_dineley@foundryco.com. Bradley Cooper reacts during the NFC Championship game between the Eagles and San Francisco 49ers at Lincoln Financial Field on Jan. 29, 2023. The actor says he prefers a Eagles Super Bowl win versus an Academy Award for the Leonard Bernstein biopic "Maestro." Read more Bradley Cooper has accepted that hes the Taylor Swift of the Eagles the one bringing in all the light and glamor (and maybe, luck!) to the teams home games. Yesterday on Howard 100, Howard Sterns SiriusXM radio show, the long-time Eagles die-hard talked about his love for the Birds, his route from New York to the J Lot parking spot at Lincoln Financial Field, and his upcoming Leonard Bernstein biopic, Maestro. Cooper stars in the Bernstein biopic, which he also produced, directed, and co-wrote. The film, set to stream on Netflix on Dec. 20, has already garnered praise and critical acclaim. But between winning an Oscar for playing the influential American composer and conductor, and seeing the Eagles win this years Super Bowl, the Abington-born actor said hed rather pick the latter. When Stern asked Cooper which win would be more meaningful, the nine-times-Oscar-nominated-actor said, The Eagles Super Bowl victory without hesitation. Advertisement You know you live in New York now? Stern playfully reminded him. But Cooper refused to budge. Im not lying, he said to the radio host. Stern said Cooper and co-star Carey Mulligan, who plays Bernsteins wife Felicia Montealegre in the film, are front-runners for Best Actor and Best Actress at the 96th Academy Awards. Ive never been wrong since 1959, Stern joked. Ive predicted every winner. Im phenomenal at this. In the six years it took to make Maestro, Cooper said it was the first project he did with a sense of fearlessness, and the experience transformed him. I really feel I became a man after this film, he said. If [an award] were to happen ... it would be nuts. Awaiting Maestros Dec. 1 theatrical release, the actor said he recently appeared for another audition. This time, with his mother Gloria Campano. The duo recorded an audition video for another T-Mobile commercial, which he hopes will make the cut. Im not kidding. We did it three weeks ago in my living room, Cooper said to Stern. Anyone who has watched the last mother-son duos outing for the cellphone service provider, knows theyll probably be a shoo-in. As the interview came to a close, although Cooper politely declined Sterns request to sing the Eagles fight song, the host was clearly won over. He ended the episode with the perfect words: Go Birds. According to the investigation, between June 2019 and June 2021, the pharmacy billed insurance providers $573,992 for medications that never reached patients. Read more A Port Richmond pharmacy issued over $500,000 worth of fraudulent claims to insurance companies, according to a grand jury investigation. Aramingo Pharmacy, located at 2313 E. Venango St. and owned by 32-year-old Ahmed Bachir, pleaded guilty to Medicaid fraud, the AGs office announced on Tuesday, and will need to pay nearly $900,000 in restitution after the investigation revealed the pharmacy billed insurance providers for medications that customers never received. Aramingo Pharmacy was more concerned with personal greed than patient care, using its authority to exploit health insurance providers, said Attorney General Michelle Henry in a statement. According to the investigation, between June 2019 and June 2021, the pharmacy billed insurance providers $573,992 for medications that never reached patients. The pharmacy would allegedly increase its profits by billing insurance providers for brand-name medication and dispensing generic options to customers. It would also ask doctors to change prescriptions to more expensive options, and to prescribe expensive and unnecessary medications. The pharmacy also would refill prescriptions with insurance companies, but did not tell customers that it was doing so, and didnt provide those medications to them. Advertisement Aramingo Pharmacy and Bachir could not immediately be reached for comment on Tuesday. The phone number listed on the pharmacy website redirected to a voice message that said the pharmacy was currently closed. Google Maps lists the business as permanently closed. Aramingo Pharmacy, through Bachir, is required to pay $573,992 in restitution to the health insurance providers and $300,866 to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Human Services-Bureau of Program Integrity, according to a statement from the AGs office. Bachir will also have his pharmacist license suspended for five years, during which time he cannot be a provider of Medicaid. The guilty plea comes as residents local pharmacy options are shrinking in the Philadelphia region and pharmacy employees are under pressure. Rite Aid, a Philadelphia-based pharmacy chain, filed for bankruptcy last month and announced it would close locations, transferring patient prescriptions to nearby pharmacies. Pharmacy employees at CVS and Walgreens also walked out of locations across the country last month, demanding better working conditions, according to CNN. Walgreens and CVS employees are largely not unionized, and some employees say pharmacies are understaffed, putting a strain on employees who need to fill prescriptions and vaccinate customers. Aubrey Whelan contributed to this article. If you truly felt you had nothing to be thankful for this Thanksgiving weekend, then you arent a Philadelphia Eagles fan and didnt last until around 8 p.m. Sunday, when Jake Elliott, Jack Driscoll, and finally Jalen Hurts blessed a long holiday where, in the end, it was the Birds who did the carving Indeed, four hours with these Eagles is just like your familys feast a lot of dysfunction, but joy in the end. If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here. What NYs flood of sex-abuse cases against powerful men is telling us about democracy A casual watcher of the news over the last few weeks might have caught the headlines coming out of New York about sometimes lurid sex-abuse allegations involving the rich, famous, and powerful from New York City Mayor Eric Adams to hip-hop entrepreneur Sean Diddy Combs and wondered what was going on up there. This spate of abuse allegations one could call it a mini-Me Too moment, an echo from the wave of takedowns and female empowerment that swept the nation in 2017, not long after Donald Trump became our 45th president is happening for two reasons. One of them is highly specific to the Empire State, but the other, Id argue, says a lot about the ongoing fight for democracy. Advertisement Specifically, the flurry of civil lawsuits which also targeted a former governor, Andrew Cuomo, entertainer Bill Cosby, and key local institutions like New Yorks notorious Rikers Island jail is the result of New York State legislators enacting a law that gave past abuse victims a one-year window to file civil cases, even after the normal statute of limitations had expired. More than 3,000 such suits were filed before that window established under the Adult Survivors Act officially closed on Thanksgiving Day. The law was passed in May 2022 by New Yorks Democratic-led and progressive-minded legislature to help past victims. Yet coming six years after the social revolution that brought down powerful men like now-imprisoned filmmaker Harvey Weinstein or Fox News Bill OReilly, this months lawsuits felt like part aftershock and part nostalgia. Consider the man at the bottom of this inverted pyramid of power and sexual misconduct: Trump. In 2016, the Access Hollywood tape in which the future president boasted about grabbing womens private parts, amplified in allegations by now up to 26 women, didnt block his road to the White House. Now, Trump has been found liable by a jury for sexually abusing a New York woman, writer E. Jean Carroll, in a case the judge described as a rape. And his poll numbers in the Republican 2024 primaries have only risen since that civil trial. Not surprisingly, Trump has surrounded himself with others accused of serious sexual misconduct, including his former lawyer (and former New York mayor) Rudy Giuliani. Now, a key lieutenant in his 2024 race, longtime aide Jason Miller, whod been briefly exiled for impregnating fellow Trump staffer A.J. Delgado and accused of not paying child support, is facing a new lawsuit (not part of the New York flurry.) Delgado now charges that the then-married Miller raped her in a Las Vegas hotel room as part of a cycle of sexual coercion, rape, sexual assault, abuse, battery, sexual harassment, and sex trafficking. Miller like the other men mentioned here is denying the allegations. And yet Miller remains at the right hand of Trump and its becoming increasingly clear that a culture of sexual abuse and domination is not a bug in Americas rising right-wing authoritarian movement, but a feature. In defending the patriarchy from what they allege is an onslaught from radical feminism on the left, Trump and his posse present themselves as macho strongmen not bound by any rules. That may excite followers who live vicariously through these high-profile transgressions. Indeed, this has been a hallmark of fascism for a full century. With calls for an American autocracy on the rise, Im currently listening to the audiobook of NYU professor Ruth Ben-Ghiats Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present, and one of the more striking sections shows how many fascist tyrants practically spent more time pursuing female conquests than actually governing their country. None more so than the inventor of the modern dictatorship, Benito Mussolini, who sometimes wooed and sometimes assaulted thousands of women while ruling Italy from 1922-45, and employed his secret police to keep them quiet. Ben-Ghiat notes how Mussolini invented the bare-chested virility pose long before Russias Vladimir Putin copied it. Trumps boasts of sexual prowess mimic strongmen from Libyas Muammar Gaddafi to Italys Silvio Berlusconi. Writes Ben-Ghiat: Far from being a private affair, the sex life of the strongman reveals how corruption, propaganda, violence, and virility work together and how personalist rulers use state resources to fulfill their desires. This brand of autocracy is a direct backlash to the intermittent gains by women seeking to assert control of their bodies and their lives. The 11th-hour justice offered by New Yorks Adult Survivors Act is exactly what the Trumps and the Jason Millers and their acolytes are fighting to obliterate in 2024 and beyond. Ending sexual abuse is no sideshow. It is central to saving democracy and stopping fascism. Yo, do this Its that time of year the new holiday tradition of gathering around the fire and streaming the big summer blockbuster movies you were too lazy to watch in the theater. At Thanksgiving, my extended family and I finally caught up with Barbie and admired the brilliance of Hollywoods best director, Greta Gerwig, as she achieved the impossible mission of taking a plastic doll that means wildly divergent things to different people, and created a thought-provoking and, at times, hysterical film. (Maybe thats why I just wrote a screed against sexism). In the same vein, my nuclear family watched the first couple of episodes of TVs fifth season of Fargo, a series of almost dream-like reiterations of the classic Coen Brothers 1996 edgy and comedic crime thriller that echo the same themes in the same frozen tundra of the upper Great Plains, but with different characters, in different eras. The new FX (streaming on Hulu) drama takes us up to the time of Trump, with Mad Mens Jon Hamm as a corrupt constitutional sheriff and Juno Temple as the protagonist, merging Minnesota Nice with a secret not-so-nice past. Just enough violence to get you in the Christmas spirit. Ask me anything Question: COP28 [a major world confab on global warming] begins this week. Do you think significant progress on climate change will be made? Via Better Path Coalition (@BetterPathPA) on X/Twitter Answer: Im grateful for this question, because the COP28 climate gathering in, of all places, Dubai the capital of a Persian Gulf oil dictatorship is such an important story, sure to get lost amid a war in Gaza and political chaos here at home. Big picture, I am not a doomer but cautiously optimistic even in Planet Earths hottest year on record; we are seeing more electric cars increasingly powered by clean energy, and we need to speed up that momentum. But in the moment, Im annoyed that the Persian Gulf is trying to greenwash its toxic fossil-fuel legacy. Everyone should read two recent scoops in The Guardian about Saudi Arabias new scheme to hook poorer nations on fossil fuels, and COP28 host UAEs efforts to cut new oil-and-gas deals during the climate conference. This is no time for oil-soaked petro-politics as usual. What youre saying about.... Last weeks question about the slow death of the humanities at U.S. universities and the purpose of college education was maybe a bit too academic, but those who did respond agreed with me that its wrong to see higher ed only as a pathway to a job. Ron Irving (a retired professor and administrator) wrote, maybe offer the opportunity for them to gain wisdom, live richer lives, and thereby develop into better human beings? Added Daniel Hoffman: Businesses have forever found it difficult to generate profits from enlightening people about moral dilemmas of the good life or asking them to consider whether good leadership rests upon being loved or being feared. This weeks question: With still almost a year to go, the onslaught of polls about the 2024 election have generated both headlines and frustration from some voters who question their importance and accuracy. Are there too many polls, and what should we do about it? For a chance to be featured in my newsletter, email me your answer. Backstory on Trumps baffling campaign to end your health care The new conventional wisdom on Donald Trump, as he continues to rise in the pre-2024 polls, is that theres a method to his madness. Take dictatorship, for example. The old thinking was that a candidate for president of the United States probably shouldnt mimic or quote Mussolini or Hitler especially when that candidate is also promising to jail his political enemies and place untold thousands of migrants in sprawling camps. But it turns out there are millions of U.S. voters who actually want a strongman who promises to fix everything and is willing to bend the rules. But does Trumps ability to call American leftists vermin and get away with it mean he can go out there and say anything? Or did he just shock himself on the third rail of U.S. politics by promising to renew his failed bid to undo 2010s Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, which has meant health insurance for millions of middle-class voters the GOP frontrunner is trying to woo? The cost of Obamacare is out of control, plus, its not good Healthcare, Trump wrote on his Truth Social site. Im seriously looking at alternatives. We had a couple of Republican Senators who campaigned for 6 years against it, and then raised their hands not to terminate it. It was a low point for the Republican Party, but we should never give up! Really? Polls show about 60% of Americans really like Obamacare, with the biggest gains in coverage among the Black and brown middle-class voters that Trump hopes to win over in 2024. This feels like Trump trying to exact revenge against John McCain, the GOP Senate vote that saved Obamacare, more than five years after McCain died of brain cancer. And Republicans have never come up with a better idea. If the Democrats cant make any headway attacking Trumps opposition to this popular program, then America has truly lost its mind. What I wrote on this date in 2016 I look back at November 2016 as a month dominated by throngs in the street chanting Not my president! and the grim specter of a looming Trump White House, but other stuff happened. For one thing, Fidel Castro died. I tried to reconcile the Cuban dictators brutal record of repression against journalists and his political enemies with the fact that his nation actually outperformed the United States in areas like literacy and infant mortality. I wrote: There were much better nations to study and emulate: Scandinavian democracies that manage to value personal liberty and the essential nature of learning and good health at the same time. Fidel outlived his enemies, but he did so as a relic of a past thats best forgotten. Read the rest from Nov. 28, 2016: The good, the bad and the ugly of Fidels revolutionary life. Recommended Inquirer reading Only one column this week as I enjoyed Thanksgiving. In it, I tried to connect the dots between the growing, Orwellian climate of untruth epitomized by the GOPs widespread promotion of the lie that a Niagara Falls car crash was a terrorist attack and efforts to silence the actual truth, including the Texas attorney generals attack on a media watchdog and the violence against journalists covering war in the Middle East. I urged newsroom leaders, the Biden administration, and others to take the threats to a free press more seriously. Phoenixville used to be a tarnished gem an overlooked river town about a half an hour up the Schuylkill from Philadelphia. Then, its once-struggling main drag started filling with cool restaurants and bars, and when a pandemic slump inspired the Chester County borough to close off the street on weekends big crowds of young drinkers. Now some old-timers tell The Inquirers Jesse Bunch they pine for the quieter days when Phoenixville was mostly undiscovered, and parking was plentiful. Every community around these parts has a story to tell, and in an age of shrinking media The Inquirer is still out there telling them. But these interesting and important yarns wont get spun unless you support The Inquirer by subscribing. By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirers Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10. Jake Tapper on the set of his CNN show "The Lead with Jake Tapper." Read more C.J. Rice, a South Philadelphia man who was convicted of four counts of attempted murder in 2013 and whose story was written about in 2022 Atlantic cover story by CNNs Jake Tapper, could soon be freed from prison after a court order issued Monday. The order, issued in response to a petition for writ of habeas corpus filed on Rices behalf last year, gives Pennsylvania 180 days to either retry him or free him from prison. During Rices trial, his attorney rendered ineffective assistance, U.S. District Judge Nitza I. Quinones Alejandro wrote, which violated his Sixth Amendment rights. Rice, who has spent more than a decade in prison, was sentenced to 30 to 60 years, and is currently incarcerated at SCI Coal Township in Northumberland County. Rices story came to national attention last year after a cover story in The Atlantic by Tapper, who was raised in Queen Village and Merion. In the piece, Tapper wrote that Rices dangerously incompetent attorney, Sandjai Weaver, who died in 2019, contributed to his conviction. Tapper also reported that his father, who was Rices doctor, testified that he would have been physically unable to commit the crime he was ultimately convicted of because he had injuries from a shooting. Advertisement Tapper told The Inquirer that with the latest development in Rices case, an innocent man is one step closer to freedom. The case dates back to Sept. 3, 2011, when Rice, then 17, was shot three times, fracturing his pelvis, as a result of what he told Tapper was a case of mistaken identity. Despite his injuries, Rice was convicted in connection with a Sept. 25, 2011 South Philadelphia shooting in which four people, including a 6-year-old, were injured. Witnesses did not initially identify Rice as the shooter, and authorities were not able to find physical evidence tying him to the scene. As Rice told Tapper last year, after police named him as a suspect, he turned himself in thinking the matter would be cleared up quickly. During Rices trial, Tappers father, Theodore Tapper, testified that he had examined Rices wounds days before the Sept. 25 shooting, and believed that it was unlikely Rice could have walked standing up straight, let alone run with any degree of speed at the time. Jake Tapper wrote that Rice was convicted in the case largely due to Weaver, a court-appointed lawyer, who took on a caseload that left her little time to provide legal representation worthy of the name. Weaver, who became a court-appointed attorney after filing for bankruptcy, made a number of missteps during the trial: She did not introduce Rices full hospital records, failed to collect alibi statements or obtain location data from Rices cell phone, and did not move to have the case tried in juvenile court. Her performance, Tapper wrote, was constitutionally defective. Tapper believes that his father, Theodore, hired Karl Schwartz, a new attorney for Rice, but Theodore will not reveal to his son if thats the case. In a follow-up on CNN on Monday, Tapper wrote that Schwartz filed the habeas petition in December 2022. Since the story was published, a number of other attorneys also joined the case, Tapper reports. In October, U.S.Magistrate Judge Carol Sandra Moore Wells issued a report detailing Rices case, and wrote that habeas relief is warranted. The case moved on to Alejandro, who issued her ruling in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Monday. Now, CNN reports, the case will go back to the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, where a status hearing will be scheduled. The Philadelphia District Attorneys Office will represent the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the case. The District Attorneys Office did not immediately respond to request for comment. However, on Monday, a spokesperson told CNN in a statement that it was pleased with the courts ruling. The case, the office said, will move to the Sentencing Review Committee, which will make a recommendation on what to do regarding the charges against Rice. The decision of District Attorney Larry Krasner will be formally communicated to the Court of Common Pleas ahead of its ruling, the offices statement read. We expect this matter to be finally resolved within the next several months. Tapper seems proud of what his story accomplished. Thank God that in a legal system that too often sits complacent, Judge Carol Sandra Moore Wells, Judge Nitza I. Quinones Alejandro, and A.D.A. Peter Andrews of the Federal Litigation Unit examined the evidence and Karls habeas petition, took it seriously and acknowledged the reality that C.J. was not afforded the 6th Amendment rights to counsel that every American can claim, Tapper said. Now its in D.A. Krasners hands and I hope and pray he will take this final step and right this wrong. With Thanksgiving now behind us and the holiday season and a new year just in front, its an appropriate time to look back at the vital role the American Red Cross has played within our region. Comprising an area that includes the city of Auburn, Cayuga County and the neighboring counties of Cortland, Seneca, Tompkins, Wayne and Ontario 27 counties in all the Red Cross of Western New York over the past year has continued fulfilling its mission of alleviating suffering in times of disaster and emergency. The most prevalent of those disasters by far continues to be home fires, and Red Cross volunteers and staff responded to 829 home fires in our region during our last fiscal year. Working closely with fire departments, the Red Cross is on the scene in minutes, providing comfort and immediate financial assistance to help provide shelter, food and clothing for those displaced from their homes. For the longer term, Red Cross caseworkers help affected individuals and families connect with other agencies who can provide other forms of assistance. It's important to note that the Red Cross works equally hard on prevention as it does on response when it comes to home fires. Through our Sound the Alarm campaign, we installed more than 3,400 free smoke alarms throughout the region in fiscal year 2023, providing home fire safety education at the same time. We are especially proud that we recently surpassed 50 lives saved as a result of our home fire campaign since its inception less than 10 years ago. Weve been busy in other areas as well, as our volunteers and staff have: Collected more than 108,000 units of lifesaving blood at our local blood drives and collection sites to help patients in need at local hospitals. Trained more than 54,000 people in first aid, CPR and AED, water safety and other lifesaving skills. Helped more than 1,400 families affected by hundreds of local disasters like home fires, floods and winter storms by providing food, clothing, shelter and immediate relief. Provided more than 1,800 critical services to members of the military, veterans and their families. For a more inclusive overview of our mission-driven work over the past year, please visit the "year in review" section of our website. Youll find specific examples of how community support enables us to help our neighbors in need and have an opportunity to make a year-end gift to help us continue to make a positive impact in our community. We thank you and wish you and your families a wonderful, safe holiday season! The SEPTA subway station underneath the "Clothespin" sculputre at 15th and Market Streets in Philadelphia. Read more A 16-year-old girl who police say shot at a group of juveniles inside the SEPTA station at 15th and Market Street earlier this month but struck no one will be arrested for that crime, authorities said Monday. The Philadelphia District Attorneys Office said an arrest warrant had been issued for the teen in connection with the Nov. 19 shooting on the station concourse. The girl, whom authorities did not identify because she is a juvenile, is expected to face charges of aggravated assault and firearms violations. The teen had been detained at the 11th Street station on the day of the shooting because she was wanted on a family court bench warrant for theft, the district attorneys office said. She is expected to be arrested for the shooting by the end of the week, authorities said. Advertisement The teen girl opened fire on a group of juveniles who were following her out of the station and up the exit stairs, the district attorneys office said in a statement. Video obtained by investigators shows the teen shooting from the steps, fleeing, and then throwing a backpack into a trash can in the concourse, the statement said. A handgun was recovered from the trash can and matched the live rounds and shell casings found at the scene of the shooting, the district attorneys office said. When the teen was detained on the bench warrant, authorities said, she was wearing clothing that matched what the shooter was seen wearing on surveillance footage. The shooting happened as SEPTA transit police were considering striking after SEPTA failed to reached a contract agreement with Fraternal Order of Transit Police Lodge 109. The union represents about 170 officers who protect SEPTA stations and its buses, trolleys, and subways. They have been working without a contract since March 31. The transit police officers are asking for a pay increase amid a staffing shortage and a rise in antisocial behaviors like smoking and turnstile jumping but not violent crimes. Leaders of the transit police union decided last week to put their plans for a strike on hold until Dec. 13, at which point members will decide whether to strike after a formal analysis of the transit agencys latest contract offer. The Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Hospital was officially renamed to the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Veterans Affairs Medical Center in a ceremony in 2015, to honor Philadelphia's loan Medal of Honor winner from the Vietnam War. Read more A former supervisor at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center was sentenced to three years probation Monday for accepting thousands of dollars in kickbacks to direct hundreds of thousands in government dollars to a Philadelphia company. Garry Salter, a former supervisor in the centers environmental services department, accepted more than $28,000 in kickbacks to make $817,904 in purchases from an industrial supply company on behalf of the center between March 2018 and November 2020, according to court documents. In April, he pleaded guilty to one count of acceptance of gratuities by a public official for the kickback scheme. From January 2, 2015 to November 2020, Salter placed a total of around $1,651,800 in purchase orders from the company, which was not named in court documents. Salter will also be required to pay a $5,500 fine. He will be permitted to serve probation from his home in Florida, where he moved after retiring in 2021. Previously, he lived in Delaware County for more than 20 years. Advertisement Salter, 63, apologized to the court for his actions. I did something very stupid. I regret it. Its going to change my life big time, he tearfully told U.S. District Judge Chad F. Kenney. Salters lawyer, Stephen Patrizio, said Salter had made a mistake in trusting the owner of the Philadelphia company to which he steered more than a million dollars. Salter believed the man, who would give him cash gifts in birthday cards, was a good contractor, the lawyer said. In handing down his sentence, Kenney took into consideration Salters cooperation with prosecutors and the fact that it was his first offense. He also told Salter he did not believe he was a bad person, but that his professions of naivete and ignorance about the illegality of accepting cash bribes did not make sense. Salters conduct undermined the integrity of his position as a public official and was a deterioration of the system, the judge said. Cash in a card is pretty clearly not conduct you should be committing, Kenney said. Salters conviction is the latest in a string of controversies involving former employees of the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center. In March, Ralph Johnson, who served as the chief of environmental services at the center, was sentenced to six months in federal prison for accepting thousands of dollars in kickbacks to steer inflated or phony contracts to a Florida couple. Johnson admitted he accepted around $30,000 in bribes between 2018 and 2019 for the scheme. In 2022, Bruce Minor, a former accounting clerk at the healthcare facility, was sentenced to two years in prison for embezzling nearly $500,000 through filing fraudulent travel expense reports between 2015 and 2019. Franklin Towne Charter High School chief academic officer Patrick Field attends a meeting of the Board of Trustees at the school May 9, 2023. Read more The administrator who accused Franklin Towne Charter High School earlier this year of manipulating its lottery to exclude certain students and zip codes is now suing the school, saying it retaliated against him. Patrick Field, Franklin Townes chief academic officer, has been on paid administrative leave since May 12, five days after an Inquirer report detailing Fields allegations that the schools CEO ordered the exclusion of students with behavioral issues and a number of majority-Black zip codes from Januarys lottery. Field who first raised concerns to the president of the charters board of trustees in February said in the lawsuit filed Friday that he was retaliated against and defamed for reporting the allegations about the top-performing Northeast Philadelphia charter, which enrolls about 1,300 students. Field has suffered damages of the loss of future employment opportunities, loss of tenure, status, professional, and personal reputation, and severe physical and emotional distress, according to the lawsuit, which was filed in federal court against the charter, former CEO Joseph Venditti, and the schools board of trustees. Advertisement Franklin Townes current CEO, Brianna ODonnell, said Monday that because the matter involves personnel issues, she could not comment on the lawsuit. However, Franklin Towne denies the substance of the allegations and intends to vigorously defend itself, ODonnell said in an email. The Philadelphia School District, which has moved to revoke the charter, declined to comment. Franklin Towne has sued the district, accusing it of bias and seeking to force the appointment of a different hearing officer to preside over the charters nonrenewal hearings. Field came forward to the Inquirer earlier this year after discovering a file that appeared to demonstrate the exclusion of certain zip codes and students from the January lottery. As publicly funded schools, charters are required to select students randomly apart from certain preferences theyre allowed to grant, like automatically admitting siblings of current students. But an Inquirer analysis of the January lottery results found an astronomically small chance they happened randomly with students accepted from 22 zip codes, while those in 17 other city zip codes were excluded. Black residents were particularly disadvantaged. Venditti effectively gerrymandered Philadelphia using a line in order to reduce the probability that students from majority Black zip codes are randomly chosen through a legitimate lottery selection, Fields lawsuit said, noting that northeastern zip codes were favored in the January lottery, while southwestern zip codes were excluded. (An analysis by the school district found that Franklin Towne appeared to have also excluded certain zip codes in previous years.) Field also said some students were placed on a do not take list at the direction of Venditti, who said he was tired of bad kids from bad families getting in, according to the lawsuit. During an emergency board meeting on Feb. 27, Venditti tried to undermine Field by calling him a thief citing a 10-year-old larceny charge that Field said was dismissed and expunged, according to the lawsuit. Venditti also falsely accused Field of having pornography on his computer, the lawsuit said. Venditti resigned during that meeting, which Field said he was excluded from attending. Rather than elevate Field, a 17-year administrator, the board approved a resolution put forward by Venditti to select Franklin Townes dean of students, ODonnell, as the new CEO preventing Field from accessing additional evidence of the sham and punishing him by denying him the opportunity for advancement, according to the lawsuit. The board also voted down an investigation of Venditti; members who had voted in favor resigned from the board. After coming forward, Field faced marginalization and other hostility from coworkers. He was then placed on leave in May. Those actions were retaliatory, and illegal under federal law protecting whistleblowers, according to Fields lawsuit, which also accuses Venditti of defamation and seeks compensatory and punitive damages. While the lawsuit alleges Venditti orchestrated the lottery tampering, it says that other staff members were involved in carrying out the then-CEOs directives including the schools IT director and a secretary. The audience reacts to opposition to curriculum changes the Pennridge school board approved as part of a contract with Vermilion in August. Read more Earlier this year, Bucks Countys Pennridge became the first school district in the country to hire Vermilion Education, a consulting company run by a former employee of the conservative Hillsdale College who pledged to deliver an ideology-free education. But before the new Democratic-led school board takes over from Republicans next month, Jordan Adams is out. On Monday, the outgoing board terminated its open-ended contract with Vermilion and accepted its final report, which cost $5,000, from Adams who had promoted his services at this summers Moms for Liberty summit, describing himself as the fox in the henhouse working to remake school districts on behalf of our side. Adams hiring, which dovetailed with board-directed changes to the social studies curriculum, had spurred outcry among community members including faculty who warned this fall that they werent prepared to teach revised courses Adams had helped craft. (Among the resources teachers were directed to consult was Hillsdales 1776 Curriculum, which has been criticized by historians as ideologically driven.) Advertisement The Vermilion experiment was a colossal failure, by any measure, said one woman, whose remarks during the boards public comment session were captured on a recording of Monday nights meeting. Democrats who promised to end Vermilions contract had swept the Nov. 7 school board elections. I really hope this report is an attempt to save face and not an indication that the Pennridge GOP is going to double down on culture-war fearmongering, said another woman, Jane Cramer. Board members said Adams had simply finished his work. What his report said The report from Adams identified potential concerns with Pennridge social studies and English courses, and concluded there were patterns of bias within the curriculum. Among them: a view that police are systemically racist, one-sided depictions that would lead students to favor a policy of unlimited immigration, and a rejection or criticism of what critics would call more traditional values, according to Adams. The report wasnt clear on where exactly those themes were contained: For instance, most of the references to police that Adams cited were included in a digital resources document for social studies teachers with links to the Black Lives Matter organization and the Southern Poverty Law Center. But Adams said some district courses needed further definition and clarity like a prompt in an American government unit, asking students to apply constitutional rights to contemporary issues. It is recommended that discussing modern issues be omitted from school lessons, Adams said, though if they are included, teachers deserve greater clarity on how to do justice to each point of view in a contemporary issue. Other areas he cited included a courses distinction between individual and institutional discrimination, which Adams called a Critical Race Theory view of history and society. Adams also listed course materials warranting parent notification, balanced points of view, and/or general reconsideration. Among them: Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, included in a 12th-grade literature class; Beloved, by Toni Morrison, in a Western literature class; and 21 books in two AP English classes, including titles by James Baldwin, Albert Camus, Raymond Carver, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Ernest Hemingway. With the exception of this specific content, Adams said, the AP English classes were especially well-designed. Joan Cullen, a Republican board member who had opposed Adams contract, called the report an embarrassment. Its basically a recitation of quotes he pulled out of context, said Cullen, who, like other dissenting board members, abstained from voting to terminate Adams, because doing so would have also meant accepting his final report. I want the record to reflect, Mr. Adams, you did not get the unanimous approval of the Pennridge School Board. Adams who lives in Michigan and wasnt present Monday said in an email that I trust that the vast majority of Pennridge parents will find Vermilions recommendations to be fair, even-handed, and informative. He declined to comment on whether he was working for other school districts. Adams supporters indicated they would continue to advocate for his recommendations. My hope is the district will take Mr. Adams reports and give teachers guidance to ward off bias, said Jordan Blomgren, a Republican board member who will become part of the minority next month. Blomgren said she would continue to fight to keep bias, social justice activism, CRT, and DEI out of our schools. But others indicated they werent putting much stock into the consultants findings. Im thankful well not have to mention the word Vermilion again, said Ron Wurz, a board member who was reelected as part of the slate of five Democrats who won their elections earlier this month. So lets move on. Penn student Jack Starobin protests on Monday, Nov. 27, 2023, after the school denied a progressive Jewish group there permission to this week screen a film critical of Israel on campus. Read more University of Pennsylvania students protested Monday night after the school denied a progressive Jewish group there permission to this week screen a film critical of Israel on campus. Students at Penn Chavurah wanted to show Israelism, which has drawn significant controversy this year, but the school cited a potential negative response on campus and used the word vitriol, according to one of the films producers and a student. The university had offered to allow students to screen it in February, said senior Jack Starobin, 21, a board member and student organizer for Penn Chavurah, but he said the group planned to show it on Tuesday evening anyway without the universitys permission. READ MORE: Petitioners nationwide ask Penn to defend those who speak in support of Palestinians Advertisement Its alarming, said Starobin, a political science and economics major from Olney, Md. One of the most fundamental aspects of a high-quality education is freedom of speech, freedom of expression and I feel like that freedom is being really jeopardized by this decision. Penn said in a statement that the safety and well-being of the Penn community is our top priority and that after discussions with Penn Public Safety and University administration, the decision was made last week to postpone the screening. We are actively working to find a date in February when the film can be viewed and discussed safely and constructively, the university said. Another sticky situation The most recent showdown creates another sticky situation for the Ivy League university, already under investigation by the U.S. Department of Educations Office of Civil Rights for its handling of antisemitism on campus and under criticism from others for not supporting its Palestinian and Muslim students and faculty in the wake of Hamass Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 people, and Israels subsequent war on Hamas, which has led to the deaths of more than 13,000 Palestinians inside Gaza. READ MORE: U.S. Department of Education investigates Penn, Lafayette, over antisemitism and Islamophobia allegations The documentary, which debuted at a film festival in February, depicts the stories of two young American Jews raised to unconditionally love Israel until they travel to Israel and the West Bank and witness the brutal way Israel treats Palestinians, according to the films website. The film was made by two Jewish filmmakers who grew up in circumstances similar to the protagonists in their film. The film has drawn controversy for its portrayal of Israel, and Abraham H. Foxman, former national director of the Anti-Defamation League, who is featured in the film and is a Holocaust survivor, said on X, formerly Twitter, that he regretted participating, calling it an anti-Israel and anti-American Jewish community film. The film has won several prizes since its debut, including an audience award at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival and best documentary at the Arizona International Film Festival. It has been screened on more than 20 college campuses, many of them since Oct. 7, including Oberlin, University of Akron, Claremont McKenna, Middlebury, Tufts and Notre Dame, and was scheduled to be shown at Georgetown, Ohio State University and the University of San Francisco on Monday, said Erin Axelman, co-director of the film and one of its producers. Haverford and Bryn Mawr colleges held a screening on Oct. 6, one day before the attack. Rutgers postponed a screening, but Axelman said they are finalizing a date for December. Hunter College, which initially declined the request to screen the film, has now agreed to show it following a backlash from faculty and students, Axelman said. Several groups, including Penn Chavurah and If Not Now Philly, which describes itself as a group of American Jews working to end its communitys support of occupation, was organizing the 5:30 p.m. protest. In the meantime, Starobin said Penns Middle East Center was able to secure a room in Myerson Hall where the film will be shown Tuesday evening. READ MORE: Under pressure from Jewish community, Penn president unveils plan to combat antisemitism In a meeting with a university official Monday, Starobin said he was told that if Penn Chavauh obtains a university room for the screening without explicitly stating what the room is for, it could lose its funding and status as a student group. Penn did not respond to questions about the potential Myerson Hall viewing. We are calling their bluff, Starobin said Monday evening, addressing about 50 people gathered at Penn Commons for the protest. They stood before a banner that said: American Jews say: Stop genocide in Gaza. Not in our Name! They chanted, Hey, hey, ho ho, censorship has got to go! The university does not censor pro-Israel events, Starobin said. Penn only protects speech that its donors approve, he said. Academic freedom endangered? The university has been roiled in controversy since the Palestine Writes literature festival was held on campus in late September, drawing criticism for allowing some speakers who have a history of making antisemitic comments. Since Oct. 7, Penn, like other colleges across the country, has heard from Jewish students who have said they felt threatened by antisemitism; this semester, Penn has experienced several antisemitic incidents, including the drawing of a swastika inside Meyerson Hall and vandalism at Penn Hillel. Powerful donors have withdrawn financial support and called for Penn president Liz Magill and board chair Scott L. Boks resignation. Meanwhile, a petition signed by more than 500 academics and writers from inside and outside the United States has called on the University of Pennsylvania to defend its students, faculty, and staff against targeted harassment for speaking in support of Palestinians. The Penn chapter of the American Association of University Professors said Penns refusal to grant the student group permission to reserve a room to screen the film on campus this semester is one more expression of our university leaderships failure to uphold the principles of academic freedom principles enshrined in Penns policies and essential to the mission of a university. Academic freedom entails the freedom of students to learn, and to encounter and critically examine multiple interpretations of the world... In denying students these freedoms, the university administration violates its own policies and endangers the principles of academic freedom that are essential to the research and teaching mission of a university. Starobin said students first sought permission to show the film on campus over the summer and had secured permission for Oct. 24. But then students, he said, decided to postpone the event given the Oct. 7 attack. When they sought approval in late October to screen the film on Nov. 28, the university initially did not respond and then ultimately last week said it would not grant approval this semester, Starobin said. Axelman said there has been an aggressive and defamatory email campaign against the film, which has been in the works since 2016. They have heard from universities hosting the screenings that they have received a large volume of emails encouraging them to ban it, Axelman said. The film, he said, is based on his own story he grew up in rural Maine and many of his friends, who were given a mythical or heroic narrative about Israel, the cornerstone of our Jewish identities. But, he said, more young American Jews are realizing that isnt the whole story, and have decided they must fight antisemitism at the same time they fight against the oppression of Palestinian people, working for their freedom and rights. The film chronicles the stories of Simone Zimmerman and Eitan (whose last name is not used), who served in the Israeli military and participated in the occupation of the West Bank. Screenings of the film were paused for 10 days after the Oct. 7 attack, but have since resumed, Axelman said. Our film could play an important role in understanding the root causes of this conflict, he said. Have you heard the expression, Where theres smoke, theres a plate of cumin lamb on fire? Maybe not. But one could easily begin to get that impression at Chinatowns Jiang Nan, where this new branch of a growing national chain presents its specialties with more tableside pyrotechnics than a metal show at the old Trocadero down Arch Street. Poof! goes a splash of Chinese baijiu liquor as it bursts into a blue fireball around a foil pouch of stir-fried sliced beef. Careful! warns another server as he sidles dramatically up to our table to ignite a blowtorch click, click, whoosh! hand blasting the Mega Lamb skewer with a flame that sizzles so close to us I can smell Xian-style spices toasting on the tender cubes of meat. That aroma is a drier spice than the earthy punch of cumin and herbaceous cilantro that radiates from the cumin lamb. Theres even the special effects of dry ice for a heaping platter of chilled shrimp that emerge from a swirling, primordial mist laced with tea leaves beside a crock of vinegar. Considering the drama of this dish, served in a gray-black box of a dining room beneath spotlights that illuminate each dark linen-covered table, it was one of the blandest dishes Ive ever eaten in Chinatown, the shrimp plain, small, and unremarkable. It gave me pause as to whether this splashy addition to the neighborhood is making waves more with its gimmicks, moody style, and Michelin Guide hype than actually notable flavors. Thankfully, that was not entirely the case as I ate through the large menus range of specialties from across China, in particular the vast region of Jiangnan that arcs along the Yellow Sea from Shanghai to the South China Sea below Hong Kong. From a distinctively honeyed take on Peking duck to pork belly in sweet black tea sauce and an array of fiery Szechuan classics, the food here from corporate chef YuFeng Li is largely well-crafted from good ingredients and solid in execution. Advertisement That diversity of flavors, rather than a single regional focus, is part of the reason Michelin singled out Jiang Nans original spot in Flushing, N.Y., with a Bib Gourmand nod as a good value in 2022, just two years after its founding by entrepreneur chef Lei Chen. Hes parlayed that coveted notoriety into rapid growth, with eight locations already in four states and 40 restaurants as a target goal. The fact that it chose to invest out-of-town capital in Philadelphia for that expansion says a lot about the current draw of our Chinatown, still poised for growth and organic community evolution despite the looming shadow of a controversial Sixers arena proposal, which I believe poses a serious long-term gentrification threat to this historic neighborhood. This is not to say Jiang Nans kitchen sets entirely new standards for Chinatown. Ive had brighter and bolder versions of many of these individual dishes at various other independent restaurants, compared to renditions here that can taste restrained in order to appeal to a broad audience. (Whoever in that audience needs the disposable gloves offered to each customer in condom-size packets alongside the build-your-own chopsticks ... I cant imagine.) But that is partly the appeal of the Philly location, says manager Jeremy Chen, which has a deliberately more modern fusion focus and trendy contemporary style than the classic Imperial style of Flushing. No, I dont really need to come back here for Jiang Nans version of General Tsos chicken made with sweet-tart blueberries (in lieu of vinegar), or the chicken lettuce wraps, even if both would nonetheless be solid improvements for habitues of P.F. Changs. The kung pao chicken isnt bad, either. But there are more than enough dishes here rooted in genuine Chinese flavors to resonate with the young clientele of Chinese students from Drexel, Penn, and Temple who consistently fill the room, sipping coconut-inis, ocean blue tiki drinks, glass barrels of pineapple beer, and potpourri milk that, you guessed it, comes shrouded in dry ice mist. Jiang Nan offers a complete package experience of ambiance, style, and engaged service that is something different for Chinatown. Its worth a visit, even if your server scolds you, as ours did, for ordering too much food. The Peking duck is one of the must-order specialties. The bird is inflated with an air pump before cooking to separate its skin from its flesh for maximum crisping then gets lacquered with a blend of honey and maltose to roast into a reddish-golden cracker. The sweet crunch against the tenderness of savory flesh is impossible to resist when wrapped inside the gauzy round of a sheer fresh pancake layered with hoisin, shaved scallion, and snappy cucumber sticks. I definitely didnt need the extra sugar provided as a side garnish much of the food at Jiang Nan is already startlingly sweet (like the candied lotus root stuffed with sticky rice). The additional cubes of pineapple, though, are handy to cut the richness. Even better, go for the $15 dual option to have the leftover duck bones crisped in a salt-and-pepper crust. Theres a surprising amount of leftover meat clinging to the carcass beneath each zestily fried crunchy bite. Chef Li happens to come from Shanghai, so its no surprise the xiao long bao are now among the best soup dumplings around, their supple skins a result of fresh dough made daily. Lis signature chili oil, infused with ginger and Chinese herbs, is also key to the excellent renditions of appetizers like the wontons in chili oil or sliced ox tongue in hot and spicy sauce. The steamed buns with puffy dough skins made to look like mushrooms (and stuffed with mixed fungi and red bean paste) are equally clever and delicious. A handful of Jiang Nans big ticket dishes were letdowns. The hand-peeled crab, which brought two kinds of crab in gilded crab-shaped crocks to be mixed with rice, was all orange roe and too little meat for $29.95. The chicken soup with fish maw was small and bland, with just a single, unshareable maw the fishs swim bladder for $15. But the cubed pork belly glossed in gently sweetened black tea sauce and the blanched head of young Napa cabbage in chicken broth topped with dried scallop were two soft-spoken dishes I appreciated for their subtle complexity. The flank steak with house special sauce was another low-key surprise Ive never encountered elsewhere, a bone-in rib steak braised for an hour with medicinal herbs, sliced down and grilled, then served with a thickened gravy that had all the comfort of a Chinese pot roast. The crispy beef in lime sauce, on the other hand, was shredded so finely the beef flavor disappeared inside threads of crust. On the contrary, I relished the thinly sliced eel deep-fried with Korean chile powder and dried red peppers. Its a dish similar in style to versions Ive had with both shrimp and chicken, but with a more interesting texture akin to fries made from fish whose resilient spring was due to the fact that the eel was dispatched moments before cooking from a live fish tank at the restaurant. The same is true for the large whole striped bass, which comes in various styles. The crisply fried fish in sweet and sour sauce is always popular. But Id suggest the Chongqing style, which founder Lei Chen spent several months in Szechuan province learning. Its marinated for an hour in ginger, scallion, soy, and herbs before its grilled over open coals, which firms up its texture. Then its slipped into a hot bath of crimson sauce that arrives at the table roiling in a pan perched over flames, its billowing steam spiced with fistfuls of chiles, garlic cloves, and the nose-tingling scent of Szechuan peppercorns. More smoke? More fire? Chinatowns trendy newcomer definitely brings some hot showmanship to dinner. Jiang Nan 927 Arch St., Philadelphia, 267-534-5276; jiangnanny.com Open Monday through Thursday, Sunday, 11:30 a.m.- 9:30p.m.; Friday and Saturday, until 10 p.m. Most entrees are in the mid-$20s, but sharing items, including the half duck and whole fish, range up to $49.99. Not suitable for gluten-free diners. Wheelchair accessible. You eat with your eyes, and Ill show you four new, eye-popping Center City restaurants. Also this week, Craig LaBan finds a hot Chinatown newcomer, Jason Nark joins the feeding frenzy at Shady Maple smorgasbord, and Jenn Ladd says do-gooder influencer MrBeast is partnering with Philly-based food-waste nonprofit Sharing Excess. Oh, and a good morning to you early birds! Our new a.m. publication time has me thinking about lunch already, so read on for a tasty new/old spot. And while youre playing with your phone, check out our new and improved mobile app, whose discover tab helps you find food nearby. Mike Klein If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.. Hello, gorgeous times 4 Three of anything is a trend, right? How about four! We say Center City restaurants are getting sultry again. In the last six weeks, weve seen a new verve with the openings of four smart bar-restaurants, all with different styles but a common touch of high polish. Let me show you whats what and wheres where. (Follow along, clockwise from top left in the photo above): Advertisement Miss Saigon, 1316 Walnut St.: Midtown Village/Gayborhood gets a restaurant and lounge with three bars and a South Vietnamese-influenced menu of street food; its in soft-opening mode this week. The founders say the name has nothing to do with Broadway show; its a tribute to their mothers and wives. Almyra, 1636 Chancellor St.: Modern Greek food and sumptuous, earth-toned surroundings from the Pashalis family, which owns the fancier Estia, on a Rittenhouse corner. There are 177 glass roses in the chandelier over the bar. Opens Friday, and do pronounce the name al-MEE-ra, even if you take the Tacony-Palmyra to get there. Bar Lesieur, 1523 Sansom St: French food and wine/drinks in a cozily low-lit, vintage-filled room above Giuseppe & Sons. Loch Bar, 301 S. Broad St.: Baltimore-style seafood, including what may be Phillys latest raw bar, in a clubby, refined setting on the ground floor of the Arthaus condos, across from the Kimmel Center. It runs lunchtime through late night (with live music later), and it has been packed. Jian Nan on Arch Street in Chinatown is making waves with theatrical service, moody dark style, and Michelin Guide hype, critic Craig LaBan writes, but it also delivers some notable flavors. The cumin lamb shown above on a sizzling plate is fire, in every sense of the word. The Weaver family didnt set out to create whats said to be the largest buffet in America, let alone in Lancaster County. They just kept building and adding seats over the decades and the lines got longer. Jason Nark took a drive out to Shady Maple Smorgasbord, and hell tell you what its like to feed 7,000 people a day. As Northern Liberties swells with new apartment dwellers, its food and dining scene will get a large boost from three high-end restaurant operators coming to Piazza Alta at Second and Germantown. Most of the space will be food hall operated by Method Co. There also will be Gertie, Nate Adlers modern Jewish deli thats been making waves in Brooklyn (thats shown above), and a large, high-end restaurant from chef Laurent Tourondel. The whole thing is at least a year away, but Jake Blumgart and I will tell you all we know. Philly food-rescue org Sharing Excess has obtained support from such players as Philabundance, Share Food Program, and Pew Charitable Trusts over its five years. Its now working with Beast Philanthropy, the nonprofit arm of YouTube multimillionaire Jimmy Donaldson, aka MrBeast. Now, Sharing Express has set up shop inside the Bronxs Hunts Point Produce Market. Scoop Fishtown is getting a boutique hotel (with a heated pool!) as well as a Mediterranean restaurant from chef Tyler Akin, current chef at Le Cavalier in Wilmington. Bastia marks a return to Fishtown for Akin, who founded Stock nine years ago on Girard Avenue. Shiao Lan Kung, which has held down 930 Arch St. since 1987, will be closing, likely in January, said a worker. Familiar story: Owners are retiring. SLK provided many Philadelphians first salt-baked Cantonese experiences. Restaurant report About that lunch idea: If you want a change from cheesesteaks, how about an actual steak sandwich? Nicks Charcoal Pit, a venerable hole-in-the-wall South Philly takeout, reopened this week after being closed for most of the year due to family illness. Owner Joe Fiore, whose family has run it for 20 years, char-broils filet mignon and chicken for his sandwiches, and the grill also turns out baby-back ribs, wings, burgers, and hot dogs. Above is the fire spice filet sandwich ($16.65), served on a Sarcones roll, with sliced filet, jerk sauce, Provolone, lettuce, tomato, and a seasoned oil. The menu is not on Nicks socials or website, but I have it for you here. Nicks Charcoal Pit, 1242 Snyder Ave. Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday, noon-10 p.m. Saturday, and noon-9 p.m. Sunday. Closed Tuesday. Takeout only. There are a few steps at the entrance. Trenton barbecue destination 1911 Smoke House BBQ has just opened a location in Willingboro Town Center, on Route 130 south of Van Sciver Parkway. Maurice Hallets bar received recent fame for dunking on New York Times columnist David Brooks, who alleged that he had spent $78 on a burger, fries, salad, and drink for lunch at 1911s Newark airport location. Turns out, a bar tab had run up that total. In response, Hallet launched a D. Brooks Special a burger, fries, and a double shot of whiskey for $17.78. Hallet points out that the special will be offered in Willingboro when the liquor license arrives, at the end of next month. Meanwhile, you can order one rib and a sip of Coke, the so-called C. Rock Special, shown below. Its Hallets ode to a memorable scene in the 1988 comedy Im Gonna Git You Sucka, in which a young, pre-Saturday Night Live Chris Rock walks into a bar and hilarity ensues. (I wrote about it last year; tap here and search for the Briefly noted section.) 1911 Smoke House BBQ, 4376 Route 130, Willingboro, 609-800-1300. Hours: 11:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. Dine-in, takeout, ADA accessible. Opening this week: Hi-Lo Taco Co., the refined taqueria at 1109 Walnut St. (Tuesday); Paffuto, the Italian cafe at 1009 S. Eighth St. (Friday); and 48 Record Bar, the listening room above Sassafras, at 48 S. Second St. (Saturday). Briefly noted Three Philly restaurants Pietramala, My Loup, and Honeysuckle Provisions made Esquires list of best new restaurants in America. Phoenixville has become quite the destination, but not everyone is digging the boroughs Inside Out drinking and dining series. Is it too much of a good thing? Hanks Place at Routes 1 and 100 in Chadds Ford, will be demolished next week, two years after it was flooded out by the remnants of Hurricane Ida. Groundbreaking on a new building will commence a week later. Meanwhile, patrons are urged to visit the Kennett Square location. RIP, Sal Vetri. Chef Marc Vetris father and muse died last week at 87. Looking for a bar decorated for Christmas? We know where the lights are. Pop quiz The first-ever Pop-Tarts Bowl, to be played next month in Florida, will have a special postgame event. What is it? A) The winning team will go to Disney World. B) The winning team can take a bite out of the mascot, which will be edible. C) The winning team will get a Pop-Tart party in the locker room. D) The winning team will get toasted. Find out if you know the answer. Ask Mike anything What happened to Bernies, the pub chain? John K. As these bars closed one by one, I suppose you could say there was a weak end at Bernies. On the upside, all of the former locations have opened, or will reopen, under new owners. The shuttered Manayunk location is Mia Ragazza, a stylish Italian bistro with a glassed-in rooftop bar. Dan Katz of the West Avenue Grill and Pizza Wheel took over the Glenside location as The Highland, similarly family friendly with a lively bar. And now in Hatboro, Bob Ross of Amblers Gypsy Blu signed a lease this week to redo that spot, at 58 S. York Rd. Hell call it Ross & Co. and hopes to open in February. Eric Kretschman, who founded Bernies in 2011 in Oreland, told me this week: Like Napoleon, the restaurant business defeated me. Unlike Napoleon, I shall not attempt a return. With tail between my legs, [I] will remain on the island of Elba, rooting for my fellow restaurateurs, including the ones that followed in my locations. Its a tough business and I send nothing but peace and love to all who are in it. Have a question about food in Philly? E-mail your questions to me at mklein@inquirer.com for a chance to be featured in my newsletter. By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirers Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10. Amazon employees walked off the job on Cyber Monday at a facility in West Deptford. They're demanding better pay, safer working conditions, and recognition by the company of all workers' right to organize. Read more Amazon workers at a fulfillment center that services Philadelphia and South Jersey walked out of work on Monday, demanding better pay and working conditions as part of a multistate organizing effort. About two dozen workers walked out of the West Deptford facility about 3:50 p.m. on Cyber Monday the Monday after Thanksgiving when Amazon and many other online retailers run numerous discounts and promotions. Workers who walked out gathered in the facilitys parking lot and spoke about mandatory overtime theyve been working, as well as difficulties faced by seasonal hires when transitioning to full-time status. I was here as a seasonal for over a year before I was finally converted, said Gaeton Grasso, adding that it was unclear throughout that time whether seasonal workers were going to be laid off at some point. I should be making more, he said, but that time as a seasonal worker didnt count toward semiannual raises. Advertisement Pay starts at $19 per hour for the tier-one warehouse workers who protested Monday. Eli Lotz, a worker who helped organize the walkout, said many workers were told they could be fired for participating in the action. Organizers were unsure how many participants to expect in the walkout, but Lotz said they were pleased with the outcome. We wanted to get a group together to show that we could do this without getting fired, and thats what we did, Lotz said. This is the kind of thing we need to do to get what we want. Mondays action arose out of a larger organizing effort at Amazon facilities. More than 20 Amazon organizing committees, including organizers from West Deptford, gathered in October to create a list of demands for their employer. The organizers are seeking pay increases, including a starting wage of $25 per hour and a $2 per hour bonus for peak times, and safety improvements, including presence of trained health-care professionals on site. They also want the ability to wear one earbud in roles where that would not cause a safety problem. More broadly, the organizers are calling on Amazon to end retaliation against organizing efforts and recognize its drivers as employees rather than subcontractors. They also want the company to end automated performance write-ups based on productivity metrics and disciplinary measures based on those metrics. They hold people to unreasonable expectations of rate, and they write up people who dont meet those expectations, Lotz said. Theres a pretty high rate of injuries because of people working constantly in repetitive motions. Mentally, its really draining. Despite [Mondays] activity, the vast majority of our employees at our facility in West Deptford continued to do what they do every day, deliver for our customers, Amazon spokesperson Mary Kate Paradis said on Tuesday morning. Paradis said the companys employees have a choice of whether to join a union. We favor opportunities for each person to be respected and valued as an individual, and to have their unique voice heard by working directly with our team, Paradis said. The fact is, Amazon already offers what many unions are requesting: industry-leading pay, health benefits on day one, and opportunities for career growth. Representatives from other unions and a few workers from other Amazon facilities rallied outside the West Deptford fulfillment center on Monday in support of the walkout, serving pizza to the workers who participated. This is the time of year when they push us to our breaking limit, said Nate Gosweiler, an employee of the Amazon delivery station in Northeast Philadelphia, who went to support West Deptford workers. Unless all the workers are involved together this company wont change their actions. Gosweiler said his facility and the West Deptford fulfillment center are two of three Amazon locations in the Philadelphia region that have taken collective action with the Amazonians United organization. The other is a delivery station in South Jersey. Workers and various labor organizations around the United States and world have been holding actions against Amazon on Black Friday and Cyber Monday for several years, including strikes at certain locations this year. Organizing Amazon workers have seen some high-profile wins, such as one fulfillment center in Staten Island successfully unionizing last year, but they have also faced resistance and legal challenges. The company has numerous facilities in the Philadelphia region, including one that opened this fall. Reporter Joseph DiStefano contributed to this article. This story has been updated to include a statement from Amazon. Anthony Smith, aformer social studies teacher and West Philadelphia activist outside the James A. Byrne U.S. Courthouse, on Tuesday. Read more A former Philadelphia teacher and social justice advocate who flipped a police car during the 2020 racial justice protests was sentenced Tuesday to one year and a day in federal prison marking the final chapter of a high-profile case that has drawn widespread political attention and community outcry. Anthony Ant Smith, a former social studies teacher and organizer with the Philadelphia Coalition for Racial, Economic and Legal Justice, apologized for his part in helping destroy a Philadelphia Police car in May 2020. Smith took accountability for the fact that, as protests over the police murder of George Floyd escalated into unrest, he kicked a vacant police car outside City Hall, then, with others, helped flip it over. As the melee continued, someone fired a road flare into the vehicle, sending it up in flames, and as the fire roared, Smith threw a piece of paper into the blaze. Smith, 31, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one felony count of obstructing law enforcement during a civil disorder, which included aiding and abetting an arson. Nearly 200 supporters of Smith gathered inside the courthouse Tuesday hoping to persuade U.S. District Judge Juan R. Sanchez through emotional testimony not to send Smith to prison. Advertisement Sanchez was receptive to their concerns and lauded the fact they showed up in court. He told Smith he was impressed by his work as a leader in the community and said its clear he has lived with a passion for advocacy. But that leadership, he said, comes with a heavy price. You failed, in that regard, all of us. Your influence was used in a negative way and impacted public safety, Sanchez said. For that reason, he said, he would sentence Smith to one year and a day in prison, plus two years of probation. The sentence fell short of the 30 to 36 months recommended by the guidelines for his crimes, and was far less than the nearly five years Sanchez handed the two other men convicted of burning the police car that day. Smith, with the two others, must also pay $28,000 to replace the police vehicle. Smith told Sanchez his actions were immature and emotional, and that he acted as a follower that day, not the leader the community has come to know. His apology followed tearful statements from family, friends, and former students, who asked the judge to show mercy on Smith, who they called loving, dependable, and committed to serving the most vulnerable. And it came after 71 community members sent letters to the judge. In the letters and testimony, people spoke of how Smith would stand at the finish line after running a 5K, shaking the hands and offering congratulations to every runner; how he gives out food to the less fortunate every Friday in West Philadelphia; and how he became the most popular teacher by supporting students and teaching conflict resolution. I genuinely feel if I did not meet Mr. Ant and see the things he stood for... I wouldnt be doing the things I do today, said Melanie Osborn, a former student of YouthBuild, the charter school where Smith worked that supports young adults working to earn their high school diplomas. Smiths lawyer, Paul Hetznecker, pointed to the fact that Smith has spent more than two years on house arrest, and that his felony conviction bars him from teaching for 10 years. That, he said, should be punishment enough. This is a bad moment in his life against a lifetime of altruism, Hetznecker said. Sanchez at times appeared moved by the testimony. The courtroom Tuesday was filled to capacity, as was a second overflow room, something Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda R. Reinitz called extraordinary. Still, she said, when it came time to practice what he preaches... he chose destruction of property. The sentencing Tuesday was the final saga in a yearslong case that has drawn widespread outcry. Smith was the most prominent of the six people charged by federal authorities for setting cop cars ablaze during the summer protests. At the time of his arrest in October 2020, he was seen as a central figure in Philadelphias racial justice movement, and had just become the lead plaintiff in a civil rights lawsuit against the city for its police response during those protests. (The city settled that lawsuit earlier this year for nearly $9.25 million.) Then-U.S. Attorney William McSwain initially indicted Smith on federal arson charges a crime that carries a mandatory minimum of seven years in prison. Smiths lawyer alongside members of Philadelphias activist community had accused the government of using the charges to intimidate protesters. They also accused McSwain, a Republican appointee of then-President Donald Trump, of using the case for political gain the charges were brought one month before the general presidential election, which centered around crime, policing, and the nations divide over the Black Lives Matter movement. As the case moved forward, federal prosecutors position on the case somewhat softened. And as U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero, an appointee of President Joe Biden, took over, prosecutors offered plea deals to all six of those facing arson charges. This allowed them to plead guilty to the lesser charge of civil disorder, which cut potential prison time down significantly. Still, Smiths case has stood out. While the five other defendants admitted, as part of the plea deal, to igniting police cars, Smiths plea agreement made no mention of his directly setting anything on fire. Instead, he admitted to aiding and abetting the arson. Outside the courthouse, Hetznecker said he was disappointed in the outcome. Justice is not served when a person like Anthony Smith ends up in federal prison, he said. Smiths supporters agreed and said they planned to crowdfund the money needed for restitution. Smith, for his part, showed little emotion throughout the day. He hugged his mother and thanked people for showing up, but largely stood on the edges of the crowd a far cry from the outspoken organizer he was just three years ago. He said he has grown more emotionally reserved and colder since his arrest, and that hes less engaged in the community. In the short term, he said, he would focus on making sure his mother and siblings will be supported financially and emotionally in his absence when he begins his sentence Jan. 16. Im hoping that the network of people that are here will still be here for me when Im released, he said. Kevin Bethel receiving applause after being introduced by Mayor-elect Cherelle Parker on Nov. 22 during a news conference at City Hall. Read more Secret summertime meetings in a backyard. Interviews conducted by two former police commissioners in a stately West Mount Airy home. Advice from a congressman and an out-of-state mayor. This is the process Philadelphia Mayor-elect Cherelle Parker used to whittle down a field of more than a half-dozen candidates to land on Chief of School Safety Kevin J. Bethel as her pick for police commissioner, a hire seen as one of the most important decisions a mayor makes, and one that came before she takes office in January. The meticulous system Parker and her transition committee developed including soliciting advice from a bevy of advisers and asking former top policing officials to score applicants before reporting back to her demonstrates how shes likely to govern. She demands a clear structure and wants input from as many stakeholders as possible. All of the candidates, you should know, were exceptional candidates, Parker said during a news conference last week announcing Bethel as her choice. But at the end of this very thoughtful, careful, deliberative, and inclusive process, I strongly believe that we arrived at an exceptional candidate to lead the Philadelphia Police Department. Interviews by former top cops Parkers vetting of candidates began over the summer, before she won the Nov. 7 general election, when she met with contenders in her Mount Airy backyard. During a news conference in City Hall two days after her win, Parker told the public that shed announce her pick by Thanksgiving two weeks away. Seven candidates names had already been floated in the press, including Bethels, and the police departments internal rumor mill was working overtime. The clock was ticking. Advertisement READ MORE: Cherelle Parker says shell hire a police commissioner with knowledge of Philadelphia Parker onboarded interviewers whom she called subject matter experts: former police commissioners Charles H. Ramsey and Richard Ross. Ramsey, appointed by former Mayor Michael Nutter in 2008, was an obvious choice. Sometimes called the pope of policing, Ramsey is one of the most respected law enforcement officials not only in Philadelphia, but also across the country. While his tenure coincided some of the lowest rates of gun violence in decades and his officers used at-times controversial crime-fighting tactics, he is also a reformer who, among other achievements, cochaired a task force on modern policing that was convened by former President Barack Obama. Ross, a former top deputy to Ramsey who was appointed by Mayor Jim Kenney, does not have the same reputation. While he was seen as an effective commissioner, Ross resigned in 2019 a day after a former officer said in a lawsuit that he ignored her claim of sexual harassment by another cop because she broke off an affair with him. Ross and other individuals were later removed as defendants, which is common in suits against the city. Last year, a jury ordered the city to pay the woman and another plaintiff $1 million in damages. Parker said Ramsey and Ross were the best positioned to evaluate candidates. I was very intentional, she said. These two commissioners have the experience and the technical capacity, quite frankly, to cut through the BS and to help us develop the standards to measure what we call capability, competency, chemistry, and readiness. Together, Ross and Ramsey developed a scoring system and a consistent set of interview questions, including: What will your relationship be like with other law enforcement partners, including the district attorney and the courts? How do you think about your relationship with the police union? What is your vision for addressing the situation in Kensington? They interviewed candidates inside a brick home in Northwest Philadelphia owned by Kimberly Turner-Dixon, chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans, one of Parkers closest political allies. Parkers team used the house as a base to ensure privacy for the candidates and avoid press watching from outside. Among those who interviewed were Bethel, who had spent three decades in the department and was seen as a leading contender from the jump. READ MORE: How Kevin Bethels strong and direct persona and focus on protecting kids made him Phillys next police commissioner Others said to have been considered were John M. Stanford, the interim commissioner who made no secret of his desire to keep running the department; deputy commissioner Joel Dales; Joel Fitzgerald Sr., a former Philly cop who is now chief of police for Denvers transit system; and Branville Bard, the vice president for public safety at Johns Hopkins University who also started his career in Philadelphia. Ramsey and Ross picked three finalists, including Bethel, whom they referred to Parker. The choice was in her hands. The most well-versed applicant Parker strongly values preparation, and she has said before that she needs a structured process to make major decisions. She said in a September interview: I have watched leaders who prefer and thrive in chaos and confusion. Some people do well with that. My mind doesnt work that way. She was impressed when Bethel came to his interview with not only a resume that included a post as deputy commissioner under Ramsey, but also a clear understanding of Parkers own public safety plan. READ MORE: What kind of mayor does Cherelle Parker want to be? In March 2022, months before she even announced her campaign for mayor, the then-City Council member rolled out a 17-page public safety proposal that would add community police officers to the force, address recruiting challenges, improve victims services, and fund quality-of-life programs. During the mayoral campaign, it was rare for Parker to make it through a speech or a public forum without mentioning what shed dubbed her comprehensive neighborhood safety and community policing plan. Bethel, according to Parker, was the most well-versed in her vision and had developed about a book of annotations and notes that need to be added to the plan. Parker sought advice from a variety of advisers, including a conversation with Baton Rouge Mayor Kimberly Weston Broome, the first Black woman to be chief executive of Louisianas capital city. She said police commissioner, while he or she must have all of the credentials and experience that is necessary to do the job, that I shouldnt forget that chemistry is extremely important, Parker said. That is chemistry with the mayor and chemistry with the men and women that make up the Philadelphia Police Department. READ MORE: Mayor-elect Cherelle Parker begins the transition process by vowing to fix Phillys hope deficit Top members of Parkers transition committee and close confidants were intimately involved and sat in on interviews, including Evans, State Rep. Donna Bullock, State Sen. Vincent Hughes, and former Aramark CEO Joseph Neubauer. Parker also gathered feedback from other advisers, including transition committee chair Ryan Boyer, the head of the Philadelphia Building Trades & Construction Council, and cochairs Della Clark, president of the Enterprise Center, and Greg Segall, a private equity investor. Antiviolence advocates Anton Moore, Rickey Duncan, and Chantay Love played key roles, too. Everybody wants this to work. The corporate community. The neighbors all across the city. The elected officials, Hughes said. The process that Ive observed has been a process where all facets of the community were allowed to come to [Parker]. As that process played out, and in the days leading up to Parkers self-imposed Thanksgiving deadline, rumors were running rampant. Some in the police department and the political class speculated that the city couldnt afford Bethel, who was making a city pension and a salary from the School District of Philadelphia. Others thought maybe the job would go to Fitzgerald, whod posted cryptically on social media about looking forward to the changes coming to the City of Brotherly Love. Philadelphia Magazine published a lengthy profile story about Stanford the weekend before the announcement was set to be made. Parker waited until just days before the holiday to make a final decision. In the end, and after all that, she went with a man seen as the leading contender from the start. Inquirer staff writers David Gambacorta, Ryan W. Briggs, and Sean Collins Walsh contributed to this article. City John J. Kennedy, 47, 7 Rock Ave., Auburn, was charged Nov. 24 with endangering the welfare of a child. Enterrica D. Bates, 27, 512 Lake Ave., No. 12, Rochester, was charged Nov. 25 with second-degree obstructing governmental administration and resisting arrest. Matthew R. McKay, 41, 5692 McClelland Drive, Fleming, was charged Nov. 25 with petit larceny. Derilda L. O'Connor, 66, 1 Thornton Ave., Mercy Apartments, Auburn, was charged Nov. 25 with second-degree criminal contempt. Gary R. Nickerson, 60, 4 Center St., Union Springs, was charged Nov. 25 with driving while intoxicated first offense and aggravated driving while intoxicated first offense. Hayden R. Powers, 26, 6310 Blanchard Road, Aurelius, was charged Nov. 26 with petit larceny. Stephanie E. Quick, 45, 39 Mary St., Auburn, was charged Nov. 26 with second-degree menacing, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon and fourth-degree criminal mischief. Nicholas K. Abney, 33, transient, Auburn, was charged Nov. 26 with second-degree assault, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, first-degree burglary, second-degree menacing and two counts of first-degree burglary. Donnie G. Hughes, 53, 148 Park Place, Auburn, was charged Nov. 27 with third-degree criminal trespass. County David K. Kalet, 36, 8501 Denman Road, Montezuma, was charged Nov. 27 with second-degree menacing. State Amber J. Baran, 49, Martville, was charged Nov. 24 with aggravated driving while intoxicated and aggravated driving while intoxicated. William D. Postlethwaite, 38, Cortland, was charged Nov. 27 with promoting a sexual performance by a child and possessing a sexual performance by a child. The records page: Police blotter, restaurant inspections and more Visit the records page of auburnpub.com to see The Citizen's latest police blotter, restaurant inspections, property transfers and building permits. Ditza Heiman, 84, sits with a young relative in a photo shared by her family. She is considered to be among scores of Israeli hostages taken into Gaza by Hamas. Read more An 84-year-old Israeli hostage who has relatives in the Philadelphia region was released from captivity on Tuesday as part of the ongoing hostage deal with Hamas. Ditza Heiman, of Kibbutz Nir Oz, has returned to Israel, a family member confirmed. She was among a cohort of 10 Israelis and two Thai nationals who were taken to Egypt on the fifth day of a temporary cease-fire and flown to Israeli hospitals to be reunited with their families, according to the Associated Press. Amichai Shdaimah, Heimans stepson in Ardmore, who has lived in the Philadelphia suburbs for 26 years, previously said that Heiman was among the hostages abducted by Hamas from Kibbutz Nir Oz, an agricultural enclave that sits less than two miles from the Gaza border in southern Israel. Photos taken in the early hours of the morning appear to show Hamas members delivering Heiman in a wheelchair to Red Cross workers at the Rafah border crossing. Advertisement We are very happy that she is back, Shdaimah said Tuesday. The Shdaimah family has been raising awareness about the ongoing hostage crisis that has now entered its eighth week, attending vigils and other pro-Israel events throughout the region. Heiman was one of the founders of Nir Oz and spent her career as a social worker in Israel. She remained committed to the kibbutz even during dangerous times, her granddaughter told Israeli news site Ynet. Its home. Its best here, most comfortable, Heiman would say, according to the granddaughter. Where would we go? Nir Oz was a focal point of the Oct. 7 terrorist attack, where Hamas militants killed 38 and kidnapped 75 residents, roughly a quarter of the 400-person community, according to the Times of Israel. Heiman was at home, where she lived alone, when the invasion began. Her family lost contact with her in the morning hours. They tried calling her phone repeatedly until a man answered in Arabic and identified himself as a member of Hamas. Video posted by Hamas on social media later showed Heiman being led out of her home and into her car. In the days after her abduction, the family tried to glean information about her whereabouts and recruited help trying to deliver medication to her in captivity. We are trying not to think what she is going through, Shdaimah said at the time, because if you start imagining that, its unbearable. The family will not be granting further news interviews at this time. Israel returned 30 Palestinian prisoners as part of the hostage deal. The four-day temporary cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas has been extended through Wednesday. Red Cross has used its neutral intermediary role in the conflict to help facilitate the delivery of hostages, the organization said. WASHINGTON Hunter Biden offered Tuesday to testify publicly before Congress, striking a defiant note in response to a subpoena from Republicans and setting up a potential high-stakes faceoff even as a separate special counsel probe unfolds and his father, President Joe Biden, campaigns for reelection. The Democratic presidents son slammed the subpoenas request for closed-door testimony, saying it can be manipulated. But Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, stood firm, saying Republicans expect full cooperation with their original demand for a deposition. Hunter Bidens lawyer called the inquiry a fishing expedition, a response in line with the more forceful legal approach hes taken in recent months as congressional Republicans pursue an impeachment inquiry seeking to tie his father to his business dealings. The early-November subpoenas to Hunter Biden and others from Comer were the inquirys most aggressive steps yet, testing the reach of congressional oversight powers. Advertisement Republicans have so far failed to uncover evidence directly implicating President Biden in any wrongdoing. But questions have arisen about the ethics surrounding the Biden familys international business, and lawmakers insist their evidence paints a troubling picture of influence peddling in their business dealings, particularly with clients overseas. READ MORE: Hunter Biden wants Trump documents subpoenaed to investigate any political pressure on criminal case Comer said Tuesday that the presidents son could testify publicly in the future, but he expects him to sit for a deposition on Dec. 13 as outlined in the subpoena. Hunter Biden is trying to play by his own rules instead of following the rules required of everyone else. That wont stand with House Republicans, he said. Rep. Jim Jordan, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, said Republicans will stick with a private deposition first and then a public hearing. Were happy he wants to talk, he said. Hunter Biden, for his part, said his business dealings are legitimate and accused Republicans of seeking to contort his past struggles with addiction. His attorney Abbe Lowell said in Tuesdays letter that his client had previously offered to speak with the committee without a response. Hes willing to appear publicly rather than behind closed doors because those sessions can be selectively leaked and used to manipulate the facts, Lowell said. If, as you claim, your efforts are important and involve issues that Americans should know about, then let the light shine on these proceedings, Lowell wrote. Hunter Biden offered to appear on Dec. 13, the date named in the subpoena, or another day next month. Republicans have also spoken with an attorney for his uncle James Biden to determine a date for his subpoenaed testimony, Jordan said. The subpoenas to the Biden family members and others, including former business associate Rob Walker, are bitterly opposed by Democrats, and the White House has called for them to be withdrawn. House Republicans should really focus on American families instead of the presidents family. Thats what Americans want to see, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday. Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, blasted the GOP rejection of Hunter Bidens offer to testify publicly on Dec. 13, saying, What the Republicans fear most is sunlight and the truth. Hunter Bidens response comes as he pushes back against his detractors in court, pursuing a flurry of lawsuits against Republican allies of former President Donald Trump who have traded and passed around private data from a laptop that purportedly belonged to him. President Biden, for his part, has had little to say about his sons legal woes beyond that Hunter did nothing wrong and he loves his son. The White House strategy has generally been to keep the elder Biden focused on governing and voters focused on his policy achievements. That could prove more difficult as Hunter Biden continues to fight both the congressional probe and a criminal case into the next year, and there are indications its politically fraught territory for the president. An October poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 35% of U.S. adults believe Joe Biden personally has done something illegal with regard to the business dealings of his son. An additional 33% say the president acted unethically but did not violate the law. Just 30% say Joe Biden did nothing wrong. Hunter Biden is charged with three firearms felonies related to the 2018 purchase of a gun during a period he has acknowledged being addicted to drugs. The case was filed after an expected plea deal on tax evasion and gun charges imploded during a July hearing. No new tax charges have been filed, but the Justice Department special counsel overseeing the long-running investigation has indicated they are possible in California, where he now lives. Pennsylvanias Supreme Court justices on Tuesday questioned whether the courts should be able to intervene and effectively strike down an impeachment that was approved by the state House, or if it is more appropriate for questions over an impeachments merits or even its legality to be resolved by the state Senate during a trial. The issue was debated during an hours-long hearing over a lawsuit filed by Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, who was impeached by the House at the end of last year. House Republicans who led that effort accused Krasner, a Democrat, of failing to fulfill his prosecutorial responsibilities and enacting reform-oriented policies that went on to fuel the citys shooting crisis, among other issues. Krasner denied those allegations and repeatedly called his impeachment politically motivated and legally insufficient, saying the articles that were approved by the House failed to demonstrate any misbehavior in office on his part. He sued in Commonwealth Court and asked for the impeachment proceedings to be stopped. Late last year, the court agreed with the heart of his challenge, putting his expected Senate trial which could result in his removal from office if convicted on indefinite hold. Advertisement But Tuesday, the high courts justices asked several questions of Krasners lawyers about how, when, or whether it was proper for the judiciary to become involved in a legislative matter before it was complete. Why should we inject ourselves at this time? asked Justice P. Kevin Brobson. He later added: I am shy about whether it makes sense, constitutionally for us at this stage to stick our noses in a [legislative] process. The justices asked similarly pointed questions of Robert Graci, a lawyer for the House Republicans, who said the legislature was the sole entity responsible for determining the grounds for impeachment and removal. He added that the courts should have no role in a process that is inherently political and conducted by a separate branch of government. Justice Christine Donohue seemed skeptical of that argument, asking: Why [should legislators] take an oath to uphold the law and the Constitution if you are not bound by the developed concept of what that entails? The question of the courts role in the impeachment process was just one of several issues in the case before the justices. And the biggest questions how or when they might rule, and what impact, if any, that ruling might have on Krasners impeachment remained unanswered Tuesday. Still, the hearing marked the latest development in the unprecedented and unpredictable impeachment drive against the citys DA. And the answers the justices eventually offer could go on to set precedent in cases well beyond Krasners; his lawyers and the justices each gave several hypothetical examples of how the questions they were debating could be interpreted in different cases in the future. In seeking to stress the historic nature of the case, Krasners lawyer, John Summers, also turned to history: Since the founding of this Commonwealth, ... our research reveals that there has been no impeachment effort like this one. Why was Krasner impeached? The impeachment effort began last fall, when GOP House members accused him of failing to address the citys gun violence crisis, obstructing a legislative committee, and botching several court cases. The vote was largely along party lines, and came as Republicans were poised to lose their majority in the chamber for the first time in decades. Krasner denied each of the accusations and sued to halt the proceedings. In December, the Commonwealth Court agreed with him on his most substantive claim, ruling that the articles of impeachment appeared largely based on disagreements about how he was running his office, not evidence that hed performed his duties with an improper or corrupt motive, the standard for impeachment and removal. Still, the court rejected two other arguments from Krasner, saying impeachment proceedings could occur across different legislative sessions, and that the legislature could impeach the citys district attorney. Then, in an unusual twist, one of the judges who initially backed much of Krasners position later wrote that hed changed his mind on some of the issues and that the legislature, not the courts, should decide them. All of those issues were debated before the high court Tuesday, with five of the courts six current justices seated on the bench. Kevin Dougherty, of Philadelphia, recused himself from the case, but did not say why. Judges in Pennsylvania are expected to recuse themselves whenever their impartiality might reasonably be questioned, according to the states judicial code of conduct. Several of the justices indicated that the question of when the courts should become involved was a key issue they were weighing. Brobson, for example, raised the matter several times over the four-hour hearing. Donohue also asked about it several times. The justices acknowledged that there is no mechanism in the state constitution to appeal a conviction in an impeachment case, making this perhaps the only chance they have to decide the constitutionality of the charges. And at one point, Graci, the House Republicans attorney, responded to a question on the issue by speculating aloud about the havoc that could ensue if the courts waited until after the Senate had convicted Krasner to weigh a potential appeal saying it could not only imperil questions of succession, but also undermine the actions taken by the Senate. If the district attorney is convicted, he is removed immediately. His office is declared vacant, Graci said. Who would be running the office? ... That would be a real insult to the Senate if this court stepped in at that point. Krasner and the lawmakers who impeached him were not present inside the opulent courtroom in the Capitol building. Could Krasner be removed from office? How or if Krasner is ever put on trial remains an unresolved question. The state Senate voted to postpone the proceeding indefinitely after the Commonwealth Courts ruling. And more potential confusion awaits if the trial is allowed to proceed: The House is expected to appoint the lawmakers who will serve as prosecutors in the case, but the GOP no longer has a controlling majority in that chamber, and it is unclear how eager Democrats may be eager to proceed with the exercise. Several of the lawmakers expected to act as prosecutors are also running for state attorney general, potentially complicating their involvement For any lawmaker to be removed from office, a simple majority in the state House must first approve articles of impeachment, and the state Senate must then conduct a trial and approve at least one of the articles by a two-thirds vote. The GOP has a solid Republican majority in the Senate, but not enough to convict Krasner without securing several Democratic votes. Kevin Bethel is uniquely skilled to tackle being Philadelphia's next police commissioner, some community members say. Read more In the fifth grade, Kevin Bethel knew his mom would have to make a difficult choice. Being raised by a single mom with his three brothers, Bethel saw how hard she worked every day to make ends meet. The way she would walk from their West Philadelphia home all the way to Market Street in the early morning to catch a bus to work. How frequently they had to move to find affordable living. And that it would be impossible for his mom to afford private Catholic school for more than one child. So Bethel made the difficult choice himself for his mom. He told her that he would stay in public school, and urged her to send his younger brother, Keith Bethel, to private school in his stead. Kevin has always been a leader, said Keith, citing the school story as an example of that leadership. And Kevins nature is that he cares deeply about the things he cares about. That passion when he talks is real. Advertisement That leadership is what Mayor-elect Cherelle Parker saw in Bethel when she announced last week that he would be Philadelphias next police commissioner. During Wednesdays news conference, Parker said she believes Bethel will lead our department into a new day, and a new era of public safety and community engagement. Bethel worked in the citys police department for 29 years before retiring in 2016, and has spent much of the last four years serving as chief of school safety for the School District of Philadelphia. LGBTQ community liaisons are heartened During his tenure with the police department, Bethel also worked as the LGBTQ liaison for the department from 2012 to 2015, when the department was confronted with issues over their interactions with queer and especially trans people. It was really clear that what we LGBTQ people needed was just a direct line of communication to the police department, and to people within the police department who had authority and empathy, said Nellie Fitzpatrick, who worked with Bethel at the time as an LGBTQ liaison themself for the district attorneys office. Kevin had a very unique mixture of both of those things. Bethel had a powerful ability to carry on difficult and painful conversations with community members, all while maintaining respect and understanding, Fitzpatrick said. And its those skills that make them hopeful that Bethel will be able to tackle the difficult task of being Phillys newest police commissioner. Deja Lynn Alvarez was one of the people who worked closely with Bethel while he was liaison and when she heard that Parker would be appointing him as the next police commissioner, she was ecstatic. Cherelle is really starting off right, Alvarez said. She described him as someone who is fair, compassionate, and empathetic; is down-to-earth and leads by listening to feedback. Even to understand the bias from the Philadelphia Police Department toward LGBTQ people, especially trans people, was absolutely amazing for him to be so open to hear it and he wasnt defensive, Alvarez said. It was always like, OK, what can we do to change this? And Bethel was able to make progress and come up with creative solutions to problems many thought would never be solved. He not only created the first directive the police department has had for interactions with trans people, but also had it publicly released, which is uncommon for the police department and a testament to Bethels commitment to transparency, Fitzpatrick said. Some community members have raised concerns about how Parkers public safety platform promoted throughout her campaign particularly her support of stop-and-frisk might disparately impact communities of color. But Parkers appointment of Bethel is a clear sign that she has listened to that feedback, Alvarez said. He is no stranger to the complexity of violence and the factors that drive it. Nellie Fitzpatrick I think that is part of [Parkers] way to say, I have found somebody that has a proven track record, has the experience, the compassion and empathy necessary to help achieve the platform I ran on, while also being fair and hearing the concerns of the other folks that are worried about the stop-and-frisk style, Alvarez said. Fitzpatrick added that issues around crime and public safety are never binary and simple, and Bethel has a unique ability to hold the nuance and address the complexities around the issue as well as deeply empathize, largely because of his personal understanding of the pain residing in our city. He is no stranger to the complexity of violence and the factors that drive it, whether it be poverty, long-undealt-with-trauma, white supremacy, you name it, Fitzpatrick said. I have confidence that he sees it. Appointing a great candidate is just part of the solution Nikia Owens, president and CEO with the Campaign for Working Families, has never heard of or met Bethel throughout her years as a community organizer but that doesnt give her pause. Just because youre known, doesnt mean youre good, Owens said. If somebody like Bethel is going to come in there that has a passion and a purpose and a heart for it and is qualified to do the job whether anybody knows him, Im all for it. But appointing a great candidate is just part of the solution, she warned. [Parker] needs to really look at the systems that systemically block progress from happening. Nikia Owens You can appoint really wonderful people, but if you dont make it easier for them to be able to move forward in the vision they have, youre going to end up being in the same spot that you started, Owens said. [Parker] needs to really look at the systems that systemically block progress from happening. Bureaucratic red tape can block real progress from happening, Owens said. But Keith Bethel emphasized his older brothers strong work ethic that he inherited from their mother, as well as his ability to solve complex problems. When you grow up in poverty young Black men who have to deal with, Moms not making enough money, I got a little brother those are complex problems, Keith said last week. Kevin, early on, took on real roles and responsibilities in our family to help solve problems, Keith continued. And that guy today sees big, complex issues in our city and says, We got to solve those, and were going to innovate and work hard to do that. The Durning String Band performs Greek Balls Of Fire during the 2023 Mummers Parade in Philadelphia, Pa. on Sunday, January 1, 2023. Read more Dust off the satin ruffles and find dem golden slippers because the Mummers Parade is right around the corner and organizers say their financial picture is healthier than ever. The Jan. 1 parade will once again air on MeTV2 (WDPN-TV) in the Philadelphia region and WFMZ-TV in Allentown. Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia will similarly return as the parades sponsor. During a preview of the 124th parade, organizers announced last years partnerships proved a success and are being extended. WDPN-TV and WFMZ-TV will broadcast the next three iterations of the parade and Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia is committing $250,000 to the annual tradition over the next two years. It was an easy decision to be part of the community and part of the broadcast to make this great event available across the country, said Craig Clark, executive vice president and general manager of Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia. Advertisement In late 2022, the Mummers announced the start of a new, more independent, era. They ended their longtime partnership with PHL17, which aired the parade for more than 30 years and took on the task of finding sponsors to cover the Mummers broadcast costs. At the time, String Band Association President Sam Regalbuto said the parade could also rely less on the city which once provided funds for judges, permits, and prize money. He said the move had nothing to do with the citys past threats to create a separate New Years Day parade if organizers didnt do more to address controversial incidents involving blackface. Regalbuto said gains made in their march to greater independence have been substantial. We have pretty much taken over 100% of funding minus what the city provides for any normal parade barricades, sanitation and police, stuff like that, he said. For example, the Mummers no longer rely on the city to provide facilities where judges can meet. Theyre partners with the Sonesta Hotel, which can offer that meeting space. But that doesnt mean the Mummers are done fundraising. Organizers say theyre still looking for corporate sponsors and encourage fans to donate. Other aspects of the parade will remain largely unchanged. The 2024 parade is slated to include one Fancy club, nine Wench Brigades, three Comic clubs, and 14 String Bands. Some 10,000 adults and children are expected to dance their way south from City Hall to Washington Avenue beginning 9 a.m. New Years Day. Judging will take place on the west side of City Hall by Dilworth Park for which spectators can purchase tickets for a seat at the Independence Visitor Center at 6th and Market Streets or on the centers website. For those interested in seeing the string bands set up, they can head to Market Street from 17th to 21st Streets or JFK from 17th to 20th Streets. Should it rain on Jan. 1, the parade would be moved to the following Saturday, Jan. 6. It is an encouraging sign that incoming police commissioner Kevin Bethel seems to understand that police accountability and public safety are intertwined, writes the Editorial Board. Read more Kevin Bethel, a 30-year veteran of the Police Department and currently the School Districts chief safety officer, will be Philadelphias next police commissioner. He will take over a job that demands law enforcement experience, political know-how, and effective leadership skills all while accounting for the safety of 1.6 million residents and millions more visitors each year. Whether he is up to the task remains to be seen, but so far, Mayor-elect Cherelle Parkers choice has been met with wide-ranging praise. Hes a good bridge between community and law enforcement, said Keir Bradford-Grey, formerly the head of the citys association of public defenders. New police union president Roosevelt Poplar struck an optimistic tone, saying that he looked forward to working together. Meanwhile, District Attorney Larry Krasner lauded Bethels strong credentials and stressed that the future of Philadelphias communities depends, in part, on the next police administration. Charles H. Ramsey, himself regarded as one of the most effective police commissioners in the citys history, worked with Bethel and described the incoming chief as a right arm to me. Ramsey called his choice to elevate Bethel from captain to deputy commissioner shortly after meeting him in 2008 as one of the best if not the best decisions he made during his eight-year tenure as Philadelphias top cop, which ended in 2016. Advertisement READ MORE: Police accountability is key to making Philly safer | Editorial Bethel will need all of that goodwill and more come January, when he is set to formally take on the challenging work of combating crime and overhauling a department which includes 5,483 officers and 828 civilian employees where progress and accountability often seem fleeting. His predecessor, Danielle Outlaw, took over in the wake of scandals over allegations of racism, sexism, and sexual harassment at the department, but stumbled in her response to the protests after the 2020 murder of George Floyd and a surge in gun violence. The August killing of Eddie Irizarry, who was inside his car when shot by police, had Outlaw backtracking on initial claims that the 27-year-old Kensington man had lunged at officers with a knife. Outlaw resigned in September. Although Bethel will take over at a time when the citys homicide rate is declining from record highs set during the pandemic, Philadelphia remains mired in a public safety crisis. Beyond the obvious toll of hundreds of homicides and thousands of shootings per year, more than 100 people die every year on city streets amid a surge in reckless driving a rate more than twice that of other East Coast cities. Retail theft, led by what business owners and anti-theft experts say are organized groups of resellers, is also crushing small businesses and commercial corridors across the city. And the open-air drug market in Kensington continues to be an international embarrassment, a disaster for those struggling with addiction, and an inexcusable imposition on nearby residents. It will be Bethels job to help reduce the pain caused by these civic scourges. It is an encouraging sign, then, that Bethel, like Ramsey, seems to understand that accountability and public safety are intertwined. In an extended 2020 interview with Jerry Ratcliffe, a Temple University crime researcher and former police officer in the United Kingdom, Bethel spoke frankly about his work with Ramsey and with the School District. Bethel cited data and analysis as central to his decision-making process, calling it the fuel that runs the car. Data allow leadership to identify trends they might not otherwise notice, allocate resources efficiently and effectively, and ensure subordinates are acting on instructions, he said. At the School District, Bethel also sought to operate with empathy and understanding. He explained that when police are added to schools, it shouldnt be a surprise that arrests rise afterward, as that is what police are trained to do. READ MORE: A hit-and-run, an NBA player, and the danger facing every pedestrian on Phillys streets | Editorial Instead of operating as traditional law enforcement, Bethel trained his district workforce to operate as resource officers. He also removed many acts from the list of arrestable offenses in a bid to curb the mark of shame that a first arrest can cause for young boys, something that can lead teachers, parents, and other adults to invest less time and energy in their upbringing, permanently affecting their future. It is unclear how Bethel will seek to fulfill Parkers promise of a safer Philadelphia or implement her proposal to revive the controversial tactic of stop-and-frisk, which disproportionately targets young men of color. But Bethel struck a balanced tone last week, during the announcement that he had been tapped as commissioner, emphasizing the importance of enforcing the law while remembering that police are public servants. Our charge and our responsibility come from the community, he said. Our power comes from the community. Bethel will have to lean on this thoughtfulness and his dedication to data and research to deliver a safer city and an accountable Police Department. Philadelphians will be watching. Former South Carolina Governor and ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley stumps for Dr. Mehmet Oz in Delaware County in September 8, 2022. Haley's presidential campaign was endorsed by Americans for Prosperity Action on Tuesday. Read more A politically powerful conservative organizing group that spent several million dollars in Pennsylvania in the 2022 midterms announced Tuesday it will endorse Nikki Haley for president. Americans for Prosperity Action (AFP), a super PAC backed by the Koch brothers, had already indicated it would not support former President Donald Trump and called Haley the candidate with the best shot against him in the GOP primary, in an announcement Tuesday. The endorsement gives Haley a boost as she continues to battle Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for second place, and means on-the-ground organizational strength in early-voting states as well as key general election states, including Pennsylvania. The backing also builds on growing momentum for Haley, who has been running close with DeSantis and who some polling shows fares better in a general election matchup with President Joe Biden than DeSantis or Trump. Advertisement Nikki Haley offers America the opportunity to turn the page on the current political era, to win the Republican primary and defeat Joe Biden, AFP senior adviser Emily Seidel said in a statement. Haley has what it takes to lead a policy agenda that will take on our nations biggest challenges, and help ensure our countrys best days are ahead of us. And with the grassroots and data capability that we bring to bear in this race, no other organization is better equipped to help her do it. In September, the group ramped up its endorsement process backing several Republican challengers early in hopes of bolstering those campaigns and avoiding a repeat of 2022 losses. Those candidates include Pa. State Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Susan Wild in Pennsylvanias 7th district, which encompasses the Lehigh Valley, and Pa. State Rep. Rob Mercuri, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio in the 17th near Pittsburgh. AFP, which produces ads and direct mail but largely puts money into canvassing, has also endorsed GOP Senate candidate Dave McCormick. The group has said a goal in early 2024 will be persuading general election voters, who dont typically vote in primaries, to turn out for Haley. A major force in a key election battleground Already, the organization has reached out to 4.3 million potential GOP primary voters this election cycle in battleground states, including Pennsylvania. In 2022, AFP spent nearly $80 million. While Pennsylvanias April 23 primary is late in the cycle and unlikely to be determinative, its general elections will be hugely influential in assigning political power in Washington. House and Senate races will play a role in deciding which party controls Congress, and the state is always critical in the battle for the White House. The top of the ticket sets the tone for the entire cycle, Seidel said. The group noted Haleys record as governor and her plans to cut spending, simplify the tax code, and reform Social Security as reasons for its backing. But much of their argument came down to electability. Polling by AFP shows Haley has the lowest unfavorability rating of any candidate in the GOP primary, and that voters who support another candidate still have an overall favorable impression of her. So far the GOP contest has been dominated by Trump, who despite his unprecedented legal troubles, leads Haley and DeSantis in early states by close to 30 percentage points. Americans for Prosperity has already lit millions of dollars on fire this primary only to watch President Donald Trumps lead grow, Karoline Leavitt, spokeswoman for Make America Great Again Inc., said in a statement. No amount of money can break the bond President Trump has with voters. He kept his promises. DeSantis campaign mocked the endorsement as basically one for Trump, the implication being with Haley and DeSantis both in the race and splitting votes, Trump would come out on top. As Haley gains ground on DeSantis, she may face more scrutiny. Mudslinging so far largely has been from Trump to DeSantis, and from candidate and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to Trump, with Haley rarely directly attacking Trump. Either run against him or dont run against him, Christie said in a statement his campaign released shortly after AFPs Haley endorsement. If youre running for second place, tell everybody youre running for second place. The field has whittled, but with little indication of anyone catching Trump. Trump, DeSantis, Haley, Christie, and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have all qualified for the final GOP debate on Dec. 6. Shanghai (Gasgoo)- In recent days, the Fully Charged Live Europe car exhibition in the Netherlands opened its doors, featuring a grand showcase by Dongfeng Motor's premium new energy vehicle (NEV) brand, VOYAH, who exhibited there the VOYAH FREE and the VOYAH Dream models, according to a post on Dongfeng Motor's WeChat account. This signifies the official entry of VOYAH into the Dutch automotive market. VOYAH Dream; photo credit: VOYAH Notably, the VOYAH Dream MPV made its debut in the Netherlands during this exhibition and simultaneously commenced sales. The VOYAH Dream had previously earned the prestigious "Platinum Award" for ecological cars in the first edition of the "China Ecological Car Research Report." The project evaluating the car's carbon emissions throughout its lifecycle received a perfect score, solidifying its status as a low-carbon vehicle. The model made its European debut not long ago, choosing Denmark as its first destination for sales. The automaker said that the VOYAH FREE, as the brand's inaugural vehicle model for the European market, underwent customized adjustments to comply with European regulations and localization requirements. In February 2022, VOYAH announced its foray into the European market, unveiling the brand in Norway in June and commencing pre-sales of the VOYAH FREE. By December of last year, the VOYAH FREE began deliveries in Norway. Throughout this year, VOYAH has successfully entered countries such as Finland, Denmark, and now the Netherlands. Simultaneously, the VOYAH Dreamer has made its debut in Europe with sales initiated. Looking ahead, VOYAH has plans to expand further into European markets, including Germany, France, Italy, and beyond. She also highlighted the impact of past poor policies and a lack of political will on the current state of healthcare funding. She cited issues such as the maldistribution of healthcare workers, shortages in specialists, and burnout among public healthcare workers, suggesting that an increase in healthcare spending and effective leadership are necessary to address these challenges. We encourage people to indicate when lodging a complaint that they may need flexibility with the AFCA process such as longer deadlines if they are experiencing difficult circumstances, Smith said. People can appoint a representative whether that's a friend or family member or a financial counsellor to walk alongside them during the process. Martins proficiency in risk assessment, mitigation and management enables him to serve as a trusted partner in helping clients achieve their goals and maintain safe, successful and sustainable operations, said Bob Bennetsen, executive vice president and senior managing director at Alliant. His addition further strengthens our team in California and expands our capabilities within the region. The continued rise in Americans traveling internationally for the holidays proves theres still plenty of catching up to do when it comes to checking off their European bucket list, said Daniel Durazo, director of external communications at Allianz Partners USA. Travel insurance for international trips should be on everyones pre-trip planner to help protect against unexpected covered events as well as medical emergencies while traveling. However, Celestyal Cruises announced on Nov. 16 that it had acquired the AIDAaura, causing uncertainty among the passengers of Life at Sea. Kendra Holmes, the former CEO of Life at Sea who had resigned days before, informed passengers via a video that the cruise would not proceed. Vedat Ugurlu, the owner of Miray Cruises, which owns Life at Sea, later confirmed the cancellation, citing financial constraints as the reason. FBThe FBI has ended its investigation of a fiery car wreck that killed two people at a border checkpoint in Niagara Falls after finding no evidence that it was a terror attack, easing a period of high tensions as Americans headed into the Thanksgiving holiday. The FBI`s decision late Wednesday came several hours after the vehicle raced through an intersection, hit a median and was launched through the air before slamming into a line of booths and exploding at the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls. Local police are now handling the case as a traffic investigation. A search of the scene revealed no explosive materials, and no terrorism nexus was identified, the FBI`s Buffalo office said in a statement. The matter has been turned over to the Niagara Falls Police Department as a traffic investigation. The investigation has been taken over by the Niagara Falls Police Departments Crash Management Unit, according to a news release from the city`s police department, which added Due to the complexity of the incident, the investigation will take some time to complete. The two people who died were a husband and wife, according to a person briefed on the investigation who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release information about the people who were killed. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the driver was a Western New York resident, but the identities of those in the car have not yet been released. The crash prompted the closure of the Rainbow Bridge and three other bridges connecting western New York and Ontario, as federal officials swarmed the area, trying to figure out what led to the high-speed wreck. Both U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau received briefings. Hours later, officials sought to calm concerns on what is one the busiest travel days of the year. Based on what we know at this moment, Hochul, a Democrat, said at a news conference, there is no sign of terrorist activity in this crash. Hochul said the car was basically incinerated with nothing left but the engine and a scattering of charred debris, describing a video of the crash as surreal. You actually had to look at it and say, was this generated by AI? she said at a news conference. Because it was so surreal to see. How high in the air this vehicle went, and then the crash, and the explosion, and the fire. Later Wednesday night, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer said investigators had found no connection to any terrorist or criminal group. He added that there was no evidence of chemicals or substances used in explosives during investigators` swabbing of the scene. About 6,000 vehicles cross the Rainbow Bridge each day, according to the U.S. Federal Highway Administrations National Bridge Inventory. The short, steel bridge offers scenic views of the falls. Witness Rickie Wilson, a Niagara Falls tour guide, was by his parked car nearby and turned around when he saw something in the air. I first thought it was an airplane. It looked like slow motion, he said. I said, My God, its a car. Its a vehicle, and its flying through the air.' Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Auto New York Indonesian court documents have revealed for the first time the chain of events that led to toxic ingredients being used in cough syrup that was among the products blamed for the deaths of more than 200 children in the country last year. According to the previously unreported 373-page court ruling in a criminal case of officials at Indonesia drugmaker Afi Farma, the seeds of the tragedy were sown in 2021 during a global shortage of pharmaceutical grade propylene glycol (PG), a key base for syrupy medicines. The same year, CV Samudera Chemical a small Indonesian soap ingredient supplier struggling during the COVID pandemic began selling drums of industrial grade ethylene glycol (EG) repackaged as PG, the ruling said, citing testimony from CV Samudera Chief Executive Endis, who goes by one name. Deadly Indonesian Cough Syrup Was Almost Pure Toxin, Prosecutors Say in Court Filing The company downloaded the logo of major PG supplier Dow Chemical Thailand from the internet and applied it to drums containing EG. It sold them to distributor CV Anugerah Perdana Gemilang for several months until May 2022. EG is employed in making antifreeze and de-icing solutions for cars, among other uses. If swallowed, it may cause acute kidney injury. It is sometimes substituted for PG by unscrupulous producers because it costs less than half the price, several drug experts said. Cough syrup contamination in several mostly developing countries has sparked criminal investigations, lawsuits and a surge in regulatory scrutiny worldwide. Endis said he did not know the product was going to be used in drugs and the company simply repackaged it to lower expenses because buying propylene glycol would be very expensive and the product was hard to procure because it was imported, according to the documents. CV Anugerah Perdana Gemilang issued certificates of ingredient analysis for several batches of fake PG product allowing its pharmaceutical use without testing it. The material was then supplied to Afi Farmas drug ingredient supplier, before finding its way into 70 batches of cough syrup. Police testing later showed the ingredients had contained up to 99% of EG, the document showed, when the World Health Organizations safety limit was 0.1% Officials Convicted Four officials at Afi Farma were convicted earlier this month. A separate court sentenced Endis and a CV Samudera colleague, along with two officials at CV Anugerah Perdana Gemilang to 10 years in prison last month for violating drugmaking laws. Reza Wendra Prayogo, Afi Farmas lawyer, told Reuters the company denies intentionally supplying drugs with deadly ingredients and had filed an appeal. Reuters could not independently contact CV Samudera and CV Anugerah Perdana Gemilang. Authorities also claimed Indonesias drug regulator BPOM allegedly did not perform monitoring as it was supposed to be done, the document showed. Indonesia issued the latest version of pharmacopeia, or drug standards guidelines, in 2020 that included for the first time maximum allowed limits of EG. But Afi Farma followed the previous edition of the guideline and registered its product in 2021 without EG test results, which was approved by BPOM thoughtlessly, the ruling said. The document cites testimony from a BPOM official as saying it developed the methods of EG analysis only in October last year when the country was scrambling to establish the cause of acute kidney failure cases affecting children that led to 204 deaths. BPOM did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It previously said several parties in the drug supply chain had exploited gaps in the safety rules, and drugmakers did not run sufficient checks on raw ingredients used. (Reporting by Stanley Widianto; editing by Miyoung Kim and Lincoln Feast.) BluNiche, a London-based managing general agent (MGA) that specializes in product recall insurance, announced the launch of BluNiche UK to target small and medium sized businesses across the UK. BluNiche UK is led by Ed Mitchell, head of UK, who has 25 years experience in the product recall insurance markets, including international operations. Previously, Mitchell was global head of Product Recall at XL Group and was most recently principal underwriter with MS Amlin, where he led a team of three underwriters and built it into a lead and established Lloyds-focused product recall underwriter. The new division, based near Birmingham, England, will be the only UK MGA outside of the London market focused solely on writing product recall insurance. BluNiche was launched in 2021 by MGA incubator NuVenture International, which is supported by insurance technology and data services company Xceedance. The London market has traditionally focused on US and international product recall risks. Independent UK regional brokers have often been overlooked in the past we aim to change that, commented Neil Evans, BluNiche founder and managing director. He said BluNiche UK would be the only UK underwriter offering a comprehensive suite of product recall policies capitalizing on Mitchells experience to offer flexible and bespoke solutions, helping UK regional brokers better support their clients. We are seeing a surge in demand for these products in the UK, which we are excited to be able to address directly, said Evans. Ed and I have been friendly competitors for more than 20 years, and I am delighted to welcome him to the BluNiche team, to help us expand and develop our UK business. There has never been more demand from UK businesses for product recall insurance. This is being driven by a growing requirement under contract in the supply chain to purchase coverage, along with an increasing recognition of the financial and reputational damage caused by recalls, according to Mitchell. This is an excellent opportunity for an expert local MGA to offer these specialist niche products to the UK market, and I look forward to growing BluNiche UK, he added. Mitchell, who is based in Malvern, Worcestershire, said he will be hiring more underwriters in 2024 and is currently working on finalizing capacity. Related: Topics New Markets Insurance Wholesale OMAHA, Neb. (AP) Federal inspectors have twice found hundreds of defects in the locomotives and railcars Union Pacific uses at the worlds largest railyard in Nebraska, but none of those seem to explain why a shipping container filled with toxic acid exploded there this fall. Investigators havent confirmed the cause of the Sept. 14 blast in a remote corner of the railroad`s Bailey Yard in North Platte, Nebraska, about 250 miles west of Omaha. The explosion didn`t spread far, but investigators appear to be delving into the questionable decision to load dozens of plastic barrels of perchloric acid inside a shipping container with a wood floor and possibly atop wooden pallets, even though that acid is known to react with wood or any other organic material. I dont know if youve ever read about perchloric acid, but when it comes in contact with organic material, it becomes highly volatile. So that car was doomed from the day it was loaded, said Andy Foust, a Nebraska leader of the largest rail union that represents the workers who were switching those railcars just before the explosion. The explosion highlighted not only potential problems at the sprawling railyard but also the national rail network`s reliance on everyone involved in shipping hazardous materials taking proper precautions. As the Nebraska explosion made clear, there can be problems that are hard to spot before potentially disastrous accidents occur. Some details about the explosion might never be known because the shipping container carrying the acid was destroyed. Federal Railroad Administration spokesman Warren Flatau said the leaked acid reacted with the wooden floor of the intermodal container, and any other organic material within the container (i. e., pallets). The resulting explosion propelled shrapnel up to 600 feet away and prompted first responders to evacuate everyone within a mile outside the railyard. After the first container exploded, a second metal shipping container believed to hold memory foam fell down on top of it and caught fire, but no other cars ignited. U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told a gathering of rail labor leaders in Nebraska the explosion could have been much worse and grabbed national headlines had the wind been blowing a little bit different or had things gone just a little bit different in the yard that day much like Norfolk Southerns fiery derailment in eastern Ohio did. That February derailment and others that followed put the focus on railroad safety and prompted Congress and regulators to propose reforms, which have largely stalled. Foust said Union Pacific never evacuated the railyard. Nearby workers left the area on their own, but most in the railyard continued working. Foust expects that to change because he said UP is revising its emergency response plan. There was a large part of that yard that had no idea what was going on, and they were told to continue doing their job, said Foust, who has discussed the explosion with FRA inspectors, the railroad and first responders because of his role with the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division union. Railroad officials said at the time that the wind blew smoke away from the facility, and because the railyard is up to eight miles (13 kilometers) wide, most UP workers were a safe distance away. Despite the explosion, the method of loading 56 barrels of acid doesn`t appear to violate any regulations, so such shipping methods could still be occurring. A Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration spokesman said that as the regulations prohibit any leakage from a package, the regulations do not specify what materials the drums are loaded onto. Shippers are required to take precautions when loading hazardous materials, including ensuring that plastic drums cant tip over. The drums used to ship hazardous materials also must undergo extensive testing. In this case, the FRA spokesman said investigators couldnt determine what loading precautions were taken because the container was destroyed. The perchloric acid, used in explosives and some industrial processes, was produced at a company in Ohio that hasnt been publicly identified. Norfolk Southern transported the acid, then handed it off to Union Pacific. Both railroads declined to comment on the explosion, citing the ongoing investigation. Given the timing of the explosion, the leak likely happened inside UP`s railyard. Railroads inspect railcars before they pick them up for mechanical problems or signs of tampering, but they assume shippers have properly packed them. We really rely on them to know best how to package and do it in a safe way, so it isnt going to become an issue for us, said North Platte Fire Chief Dennis Thompson, who led the response to the explosion. Thompson said the emergency response went smoothly because the weather conditions and location were favorable, and the railroad let him know within 25 minutes exactly what they were dealing with. Before the explosion, inspections at the railyard in July and August prompted the head of the FRA to write a letter to UPs CEO highlighting that the rate of defects was twice the national average. In September, the week after the explosion, inspectors returned to follow up and turned up more than 500 additional problems. Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena said he understands and welcomes the agency`s scrutiny. Vena said Union Pacific and other major railroads have become safer over time. But there were still more than 1,000 derailments last year, and as the East Palestine derailment demonstrated, just one train crash can be disastrous if hazardous materials are involved. Do we have more to do? Absolutely, said Vena, who became CEO in August. And thats what Im challenging the team with here at Union Pacific is we have to get better Well invest in it. Well spend money on technology. Well spend money on people. FRA regulators who oversee the inspectors arent overly concerned, with the head of the agencys Office of Railroad Infrastructure and Mechanical saying violations are common when he sends a team out. We did not find any systematic issues that would indicate they are operating unsafe equipment that put the public at risk, the FRA`s Charlie King said. Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ATHENS, Ohio (AP) Five people, including two children, were killed in a mobile home fire in Ohio on Thanksgiving morning, authorities said. The Ohio Department of Commerce said volunteer firefighters in Athens County were called to a Rainbow Lake Road address south of Athens at about 7:30 a.m. Thursday and found two mobile homes ablaze and an outbuilding also damaged. Richland Area volunteer firefighters reported that one of the mobile homes was engulfed in flames with a collapsed roof, and they later found five occupants inside deceased. Brandon Klein of the commerce department said a single occupant made it out of the fire and was taken to a local hospital by emergency responders. The cause of the fire wasn`t immediately known, he said. The names of the victims haven`t been released. The state fire marshal`s office, which is a division of the commerce department, is investigating along with the county sheriff`s office and the county coroner. Authorities told WLWT-TV and WOWK-TV that two children were among the five people killed. Any kind of fatality, its hard. When theres five and theres children involved, it adds to it, Chief Dale Sinclair of the Richland Area Volunteer Fire Department said. Sinclair said some of the firefighters knew the people who lived at the address, and a debriefing was planned to allow a team to meet with everyone and try to get as much mental health help as we can. Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Ohio Numbers Shanghai (Gasgoo)- On Nov. 27th, Changan Automobile held a brand launch event in Bangkok, Thailand, marking its determined business expansion in the Southeast Asian markets. Photo credit: Changan Automobile Having meticulously prepared for over three years and conducted extensive research involving more than 10,000 Thai consumers, Changan Automobile established its Southeast Asia Business Unit. Besides, it set up three local companies Changan Automobile Southeast Asia, Changan Thailand Sales, and Changan Thailand Auto Parts along with a localized operations team. The construction of a new energy vehicle (NEV) production base in Thailand has also commenced, aiming to seamlessly integrate into the Thai market through localized operations. The brand launch event vividly depicted Changan Automobile's new vision for its "going global" strategy in Southeast Asia. Strategy implementation Changan Automobile emphasizes a commitment to localized operations, utilizing a two-pronged approach of "trade + base" to drive the development of its overseas business. Branding and products The company is introducing three major intelligent product brands DEEPAL, AVATR, and NEVO as part of its comprehensive strategy for the Southeast Asian market. Marketing operations In collaboration with outstanding local dealers in Thailand, Changan Automobile is rapidly aligning resources to construct high-quality marketing capabilities. Customer service The initiation of the Thailand version of the "Number One Project" demonstrates Changan Automobile's commitment to providing convenient and warm-hearted services for users in Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries. Social responsibility Changan Automobile pledges to contribute significantly to Thailand and Southeast Asia, fostering industrial development, strengthening Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices, and fulfilling its responsibilities and obligations as a global enterprise. Photo credit: Changan Automobile At the event, Changan Automobile unveiled two NEV products, the DEEPAL L07 and the DEEPAL S07 with full-line reservations beginning at the same time. These models are set to officially hit the Thai market at the Thailand International Motor Expo on Nov. 29. Additionally, AVATR, the premium NEV brand co-backed by Changan Automobile, Huawei, and CATL, showcased its flagship models, the AVATR 11 and the AVATR 12, making their debut in the country. Much more work and collaboration needs to be done but the U.S. Treasury has reached a tentative conclusion that a potential federal cyber insurance backstop will be focused on catastrophic cyber risk. We will remain focused on the policy options for some kind of public-private sector collaboration or other federal response that cabins catastrophic risk alongside the existing and expanding commercial cyber insurance market, said Graham Steele, assistant secretary for financial institutions at the Treasury Department. Steele spoke Nov. 17 at a conference presented by the Volatility and Risk Institute at New York Universitys Stern School of Business and the Treasurys Federal Insurance Office (FIO), which has been tasked under the Biden administrations National Cybersecurity Strategy with deciding if some form of federal insurance response is necessary. A glimpse into the Treasurys thinking provided by Steeles closing remarks to the conference revealed an answer of it depends. A well-designed federal insurance response could address the risks of tail events while incentivizing healthy private sector practices, said Steele according to his remarks released by Treasury, but a poorly designed program could shift too much risk to the government and reduce firms incentives to shore up cybersecurity. Steele said more work in 2024 will be done on the proper federal response, but it will be focused on catastrophic cyber risk since we see that the private market for insurance against attritional cyber risk from losses other than those related to major catastrophes is dynamic and growing. Waiting until after a catastrophic cyber incident occurs is sub-optimal for everyone, including private sector firms, the government that bears the responsibility for stabilizing the economy, and ultimately the taxpayers, Steele said. The challenge, acknowledged Steele, is the fact that unlike natural catastrophes, there is limited historical data on catastrophic cyber losses in order to model projections. Plus, potential catastrophic losses can transcend geographic boundaries as well as industries and an organizations size. The FIO in a report published in September found the cyber insurance market has grown from about $4.8 billion direct premiums written in 2021 to about $7.2 billion in 2022 but the market wrote only 4 million more policies from 2021 to 2022. Cyber insurance premiums make up less than 1% of the property/casualty industry, Steele said. In the meantime, cyber threats continue to advance highlighted by the growth in use of artificial intelligence and cloud services, and recent events such as the ransomware attack on the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the largest-ever distributed denial-of-service attack, and heightened activity related to overseas conflicts. While these risks have yet to cause a catastrophic loss, they are increasing in their frequency and impact, Steele said. It may be a matter of when, not if, we experience a catastrophic cyber event. he added. Topics Catastrophe Cyber The National Council of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) said it elected a new slate of officers at its Annual National Meeting. Texas Representative Tom Oliverson will serve as president; New York Assemblywoman Pamela Hunter was elected as vice president; Minnesota Senator Paul Utke will serve as Treasurer; and Louisiana Representative Edmond Jordan will serve as secretary. NCOIL said this new slate of officers features a majority-diverse group for the first time in its history. Outgoing president, Arkansas Representative Deborah Ferguson, will become immediate past president. She concluded her term as president at the conclusion of the meeting in Columbus, Ohio earlier this month. In addition to advancing our policy priorities, we have strived this past year to create an atmosphere that is more welcoming for people of diverse viewpoints to contribute to our discussions which really is key in reaching consensus on the issues, said Ferguson. As our membership has changed, so too has our Officer Group evolved naturally so that over the past few years has come to be more reflective of America as a whole. Diverse perspectives are essential to the success of any organization especially one that influences public policy in every state across the country, Ferguson added. Having a majority-diverse officer group that encompasses a range of talent, thought, and background will serve NCOIL well in the years to come. The meetings agenda featured discussions on topics such as the continued growth and prevalence of artificial intelligence; the return of the U.S. Department of Labors Fiduciary Rule; insurance issues related to catalytic converter theft; medical loss ratios for dental (DLR) health care services plans; public adjuster professional standards reform; third-party litigation funding, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) policy; and more. A general session titled Artificial Intelligence: A Major Benefit or Likely Menace for Insurance and Society? was moderated by Oklahoma Representative Forrest Bennett, chair of the NCOIL Financial Services & Multi-Lines Issues Committee. This was an important session to hold as the rapid development of AI means legislators will have to work quickly to address the concerns surrounding the technology. AI is sure to impact every industry and insurance is no exception, said Bennett. The Workers Compensation Insurance Committee, chaired by Ohio Senator Bob Hackett, met and heard an update on federal workers compensation issues. The committee also discussed medical marijuanas impact on the workers compensation marketplace, and overall work comp trends in light of continued advancements in medical treatment and diagnosis. The meeting also included a dialogue with representatives of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners: Kentucky Commissioner Sharon Clark, Louisiana Commissioner Jim Donelon, Maryland Commissioner Kathleen Birrane, Oklahoma Commissioner Glen Mulready, and Rhode Island Superintendent Beth Dwyer. NCOIL CEO Commissioner Tom Considine presented the NCOIL Lifetime Achievement award to Donelon. Commissioner Jim Donelon is an insurance public policy legend who has been an excellent public servant for the people of Louisiana and has also greatly benefitted public policy nationally through his leadership at the NAIC, said Considine. Topics Louisiana The Florida hospital at the center of the high-profile Maya Kowalski negligence case has asked for a new trial, alleging that the jury foreman improperly leaked information during the trial, which resulted in a $216 million verdict against the medical center. Johns Hopkins All Childrens Hospital asked the Sarasota County Circuit Court last week to permit its lawyers to interview the juror; to open discovery into alleged juror misconduct; to require the preservation of evidence, including texts by the juror and his wife; and to order a new trial, according to a motion filed Nov. 22. The jury foreman allegedly provided information during the trial to his wife, who may have shared the info with a social media influencer who was at the trial, who posted online, and was reportedly connected with the Kowalski family, the hospital argued in its motion. This motion sets forth a reasonable basis for a belief that Juror #1 the foreperson engaged in presumptively prejudicial misconduct during the course of the trial by deliberately disregarding the Courts specific instructions (i) not to discuss the case with anyone during the trial, (ii) not to consider any evidence or information outside of what was presented during the trial, and (iii) not to form or express any opinion about the case prior to deliberations, the motion reads. The evidence reveals a shocking level of involvement in the case and bias in favor of the plaintiffs on the part of the jury foremans wife, the motion notes. The juror also posted on social media shortly after the trial, the defendants said. The motion for a new trial came almost two weeks after the jury found in favor of the Kowalski family and ordered the hospital to pay $211 million in compensatory damages and some $50 million in punitive damages after Mayas mom died by suicide in 2017. The case gained worldwide attention this year when Netflix aired Take Care of Maya, a documentary. The trial and verdict has raised thorny questions about health care providers role when child abuse is suspected and about a hospitals liability and medical malpractice coverage in murky situations involving chronic pain and parents rights. Maya, age 10 at the time, was brought to All Childrens Hospital in 2016 with what was described as extreme pain and complex regional pain syndrome. Her mom, Beata Kowalski, a registered nurse, urged doctors to provide doses of ketamine, an anesthetic shown to cause hallucinations in some cases, according to news reports and court documents. Staff at the hospital raised concerns and reported their concerns to child protection authorities. A county official suspected Mayas mom suffered from Munchausen by Proxy, a mental condition in which the caregiver makes up symptoms or creates them. After reviewing the case, a judge ordered that the girl be sheltered, at least temporarily, at the hospital. After almost three months without physical contact with her daughter, Beata committed suicide. The family sued, and the jury in Venice, Florida, agreed with their contentions about medical negligence, battery, false imprisonment and other claims. The hospital said it plans to appeal, but last week asked for a retrial. The judge has yet to decide on the motion for a new trial. Topics Florida A former Allstate insurance agent in North Carolina has agreed to stop selling competing products to her former clients and to return confidential client information to Allstate. A federal judge finalized an agreement between longtime agent Janie Robbins, of Tarboro, North Carolina, and Allstate Insurance Co., the result of a lawsuit brought by Allstate that claimed Robbins had violated a 2011 non-compete agreement. Allstate customers with no relationship to Robbins are being solicited by Robbins, which is further evidence of Robbins using Allstate confidential information to solicit Allstate customers and compete with Allstate, reads the lawsuit complaint, filed in June in U.S. District Court for Eastern North Carolina. Allstate charged that Robbins left Allstate and its downtown agency office in late 2022 and opened a competing agency known as Fountain, Roberson, Anderson Agency (FRAA), less than a mile away. That was in violation of the non-compete agreement she signed when she started at Allstate, a type of agreement that all Allstate agents and licensed service professionals must sign, the complaint notes. She also began soliciting Allstate policyholders, urging them to transfer their business to the new agency, Allstate argued. Robbins admitted to taking a closely guarded Allstate customer list to solicit clients, the lawsuit alleged, and Allstate agencies in the area said they had received cancellation requests from policyholders. Allstate contends that Robbins new office recently moved further away from the Allstate agency in Tarboro, but not until after Allstate sent her strongly worded warning letters, in March of this year. And her solicitations of clients has continued, the insurance giant said. Allstate is prepared to protect its interests by all available means, the Allstate letter reads. The corporation filed suit, asking the federal judge to enjoin Robbins from continuing to ignore the agreements. The company said it was being irreparably harmed and that monetary damages may not suffice. Robbins could not be reached for comment but her attorney, Emily Massey, said that Robbins denied all the allegations but has reached an agreement with Allstate in the matter. She declined further comment, noting the injunction was part of a confidential settlement. A principal at the FRAA agency in Tarboro declined to comment. Allstate officials could not be immediately reached Tuesday. The lawsuit is one of the latest regarding alleged poaching of clients or employees by insurance agents and insurance companies. The practices and legal actions aiming to curtail poaching may be on the rise in the insurance industry, nationwide, as agencies face a shortage of workers, tough market conditions and an increase in the number of businesses and homeowners opting to self-insure. In Alabama, for example, two agents are now embroiled in suits, aspects of which recently made their way to the state Supreme Court. In Pennsylvania, the state Supreme Court in July upheld a $2.8 million jury verdict against an agency that tried to poach a competitors staff and book of business. Update: This article has been updated to include more information from Robbins attorney and about the consent agreement approved by the judge. Topics Agencies North Carolina JACKSON, Miss. (AP) Mississippi prosecutors have dismissed indictments against a man in the shooting death of a former state lawmaker and the earlier burning of a building, saying they need more time to investigate. The murder and arson charges against Billy Lamar Brooks were dismissed without prejudice, which means a grand jury could consider new charges later, according to a document filed Friday in Yalobusha County Circuit Court. Republican former state Rep. Ashley Henley, 40, was shot to death in June 2021 outside the burned-out mobile home in a rural area where her sister-in-law, Kristina Michelle Jones, was found dead in December 2020. After reviewing the case for trial, attorneys for the State requested additional time to fully investigate and review this matter, said the document signed by an assistant district attorney and Circuit Judge Smith Murphey. The document said it is not possible to estimate the timeframe needed to complete this investigation, but prosecutors could present the case to a grand jury at some point. Brooks attorney, Bradley Peeples, declined to comment Wednesday on this latest development. He told The Associated Press that Brooks has been out on bond since last year. Henley and other relatives contended Yalobusha County authorities were doing too little to examine possible criminal charges in Jones death. Relatives put up a homemade sign at the mobile home site with photos of Jones under the phrase, I was murdered. Yalobusha County coroner Ronnie Stark said Henley had been mowing grass at the site before she was killed. Brooks, who lived near Jones, was indicted in February 2022 on a charge of maliciously setting fire to the home of Jones and Terry Henley. Court records show that on June 30, 2022, a grand jury filed a new indictment against Brooks to add a murder charge in the death of Ashley Henley. Investigators said Henley`s body had been found on June 13, 2021. The dismissed indictment accused Brooks of killing her on or about the same day. Ashley Henley served in the Mississippi House from 2016 to 2020 in a district in DeSoto County, about 70 miles (115 kilometers) north of where she was killed. She was a teacher before she was elected to office, and she often took her young son to the state Capitol during legislative sessions. Henley sought a second term in November 2019 and lost by 14 votes to a Democrat. She challenged the election results, saying she believed she had found some voting irregularities. A bipartisan House committee held a public hearing on her challenge and unanimously dismissed her request for a new election. Photo: Former Mississippi Rep. Ashley Henley, R-Southhaven, speaking on teacher pay in 2019. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File) Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Mississippi The owners of a defunct Colorado funeral home where 190 sets of decomposing human remains were found have been returned to the state to face hundreds of felony charges. Carie Hallford appeared in District Court in Colorado Springs via video on Wednesday. District Judge Samorreyan Burney maintained her bail at $2 million cash during the advisement hearing, KRDO-TV reported. Jon Hallford`s advisement hearing was Friday and his bail also remained at $2 million. Carie Hallford`s public defender had asked for her bail to be reduced to $50,000, citing her lack of a criminal record, but Burney noted she faced more than 250 felony charges. Both Hallfords face 190 counts of abuse of a corpse, over 50 counts of forgery, five counts of theft and four counts of money laundering, federal court records said. Neither entered a plea. Their next court appearances are set for Dec. 5. Court records say the Hallfords are both being represented by the public defenders office, which does not comment on cases to the media. The case began in early October when the report of an abhorrent smell led to the discovery of the bodies at a Return to Nature Funeral Home location in Penrose, about 34 miles southwest of Colorado Springs. After the bodies were removed, officials said there were 190 sets of remains, with some having been there as long as four years. The coroner`s office used fingerprints and medical records to try to identify the bodies, and would use DNA if necessary, officials said. Family members had been falsely told their loved ones had been cremated and had received materials that were not their ashes, court records said. The couple was arrested on Nov. 8 at the home of Jon Hallford`s father in Oklahoma, according to a federal arrest warrant alleging they fled the state to avoid prosecution. The federal charge was dropped after their arrests. Carie Hallford was booked into the El Paso County Jail in Colorado Springs on Tuesday and Jon Hallford was returned to Colorado on Wednesday. Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Homeowners Colorado A state appeals court ruled that California can continue providing personal information of gun owners to researchers to study gun violence, reversing last year`s decision by a lower court judge who said such data sharing violates privacy rights. In 2021, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law allowing the states Department of Justice to share identifying information of more than 4 million gun owners in California with qualified research institutions to help them better study gun violence, accidents and suicides. The information, which the state collects with every firearm sale to perform background checks, include names, addresses, phone numbers, and any criminal records, among other things. Under the law, researchers can use the information and make their findings public, but can`t release any identifying information of gun owners. In response, gun owners and organizations sued the state, arguing that the disclosure of their information violates their privacy rights. San Diego County Superior Court Judge Katherine Bacal ruled to temporarily block the law last October. But on Friday, a three-judge panel of the California Court of Appeals for the Fourth District found that the lower court failed to consider the state`s interest in studying and preventing gun violence in its analysis before halting the law. In the opinion, Associate Justice Julia C. Kelety sent the case back to the lower court and said the preliminary injunction must be reversed. Lawyers representing the gun owners and firearms groups suing the state didn`t immediately respond to calls and an email seeking comment. The Friday ruling came months after a federal judge refused to block the law in a separate lawsuit. The data sharing law is among several gun measures in California that are being legally challenged. In October, a federal judge overturned the states three- decade-old ban on assault weapons again, ruling that the law violates constitutional rights. California Attorney General Rob Bonta said once the data sharing ruling is implemented, the state will resume providing this information to researchers. The courts decision is a victory in our ongoing efforts to prevent gun violence, Bonta said in a statement. He added: The law serves the important goal of enabling research that supports informed policymaking aimed at reducing and preventing firearm violence. Garen Wintemute, who directs the California Firearm Violence Research Center at University of California, Davis cheered the recent ruling. The center has been working with the state on studying gun violence. The courts decision is an important victory for science, Wintemute said in a statement. For more than 30 years, researchers at UC Davis and elsewhere have used the data in question to conduct vital research that simply couldnt be done anywhere else. Were glad to be able to return to that important work, which will improve health and safety here in California and across the country. Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics California Legislation Gun Liability A group of Lahaina wildfire survivors is vowing to camp on a popular resort beach until the mayor uses his emergency powers to shut down unpermitted vacation rentals and make the properties available for residents in desperate need of housing. Organizers with the group Lahaina Strong are focusing on 2,500 vacation rental properties they`ve identified in West Maui that don`t have the usual county permits to be rented out for less than 30 days at a time. For years their owners have legally rented the units to travelers anyway because the county granted them an exemption from the standard rules. Lahaina Strong says the mayor should use his emergency powers to suspend this exemption. Im kind of at the point where Im like too bad, so sad,' said organizer Jordan Ruidas. We never knew our town was going to burn down and our people need housing, The group says they are staying on Kaanapali Beach, exercising their Native Hawaiian rights to fish 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They planted fishing poles in the sand and are calling their action Fishing for Housing. Lance Collins, a Maui attorney, said the mayor has the authority to suspend the county ordinance that has allowed the 2,500 short-term vacation rentals. Similar action was taken during the COVID-19 pandemic when Hawaiis governor prohibited landlords from raising rents and when both the federal and state governments banned evictions, Collins said. Temporary alterations to the market to protect the common good and the welfare of our community as a whole is permitted on a temporary basis in the face of an emergency, he said. Permanently eliminating the exemption would require the county council to pass new legislation. Ruidas said the 2,500 units at issue could house a large share of the 7,000 Lahaina residents who are still staying in hotels months after the Aug. 8 fire destroyed their town. Vacationers have other options for places to stay, but Lahaina`s residents don`t, she said. Maui, like much of Hawaii, had a severe housing shortage even before the fire killed 100 people and destroyed more than 2,000 structures. The blaze only amplified the crisis. The U.S. government, through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has been putting survivors up in hotel rooms. They are also helping people pay rent, but the housing shortage means many survivors can`t find apartments or homes to move into. West Maui is one of the state`s biggest tourist destinations, second only to Waikiki. Just north of historic Lahaina, large hotels and timeshare properties line a miles-long stretch of white sand beach in the communities of Kaanapali and Napili-Honokowai. Condominiums there are rented to vacationers on a short- term basis. At Kaanapali Beach during a recent weekday, about a dozen people sat under tents talking, eating lunch and explaining what they were doing to tourists who stopped to ask. Upside down Hawaiian flags, a sign distress, billowed in gusty winds. Ruidas said the group will stay until the mayor suspends the vacation property exemptions. Were at the point where were going to fight for everything and anything because a lot of us feel like we have nothing. We have nothing to lose, she said. Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said in a statement that he is considering all options, but declaring a moratorium on short-term rentals would invite legal challenges and could have unintended consequences. His office is working with property managers who handle a significant number of short-term rentals, and Bissen said he has been encouraged by their willingness to cooperate. Shared sacrifice is necessary at this crucial time as we work to incentivize interim housing, Bissen said. Some in the tourism industry support the residents` protest. We thank them for what theyre doing because in order for us to even think of tourism, we need our workers, said Kawika Freitas, director of public and cultural relations at the Old Lahaina Luau. Freitas` company puts on shows featuring traditional Hawaiian music, dance and food. The business is still standing, but the company says decisions about reopening depend on when employees and the Lahaina community are ready. Freitas told a recent Native Hawaiian convention that Maui`s people will leave if they don`t have housing and will be replaced by workers from out of state. Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Wildfire Advocacy group NOYB has filed a complaint against Facebook-owner Metas new paid no-ads subscription service saying that it amounted to paying a fee to ensure privacy. The paid service launched in Europe earlier this month as a means of addressing EU concerns over the company processing users personal data for the purposes of behavioural advertising. Users have to either pay for the ad-free service or consent to their data being used for personalised ads. The complaint was made to the Austrian regulator but it will likely be forwarded to the Irish Data Protection Commissioner which oversees Meta because it has its European headquarters in Ireland. The ad-free service cost 9.99 monthly for web users and 12.99 for iOS and Android users. Meta has said that a subscription model is a valid form of consent for an advertising-funded service and was in line with a July ruling from Europe's top court. Vienna-based NOYB (None Of Your Business), the digital rights group founded by privacy activist Max Schrems, said it disagreed with Meta on the concept of consent. "EU law requires that consent is the genuine free will of the user. Contrary to this law, Meta charges a 'privacy fee' of up to 250 per year if anyone dares to exercise their fundamental right to data protection," Felix Mikolasch, NOYB data protection lawyer, said. NOYB filed the complaint with the Austrian Data Protection Authority. It also criticised the amount of the fee. "Not only is the cost unacceptable, but industry numbers suggest that only 3% of people want to be tracked while more than 99% don't exercise their choice when faced with a 'privacy fee,'" the group said. "If Meta gets away with this, competitors will soon follow in its footsteps." By comparison, Netflix charges 7.99 for a basic subscription plan, while Alphabet's Google, YouTube Premium costs about 12 and Spotify's Premium service is priced at about 11. NOYB, which has filed hundreds of complaints against big tech companies ranging from Alphabets Google to Meta over privacy violations, urged the Austrian privacy authority to launch an expedited process to stop Meta and also impose a fine. Reuters Pre-tax profits at the firm which operates the taxi app Free Now more than tripled last year, rising to 4.95m as the cab industry recovered from a pandemic-induced slump. Up from a pre-tax profit of just 1.6m in 2021, accounts filed by Free Now Ireland Ltd also report a 73% increase in annual turnover, rising to more than 38.4m in 2022 despite a surge in new competitors. In recent years, alternative taxi apps including Bolt and Uber have expanded their presence across Ireland, with FreeNow noting in its latest financial statement that a "significant number of start-ups" in the taxi hailing market, coupled with the "fragmented nature" of incumbents in the market would likely lead to increased future competition. While up significantly on 2021, profits at FreeNow have yet to recover from pre-pandemic levels. In 2020, Free Now posted a pre-tax profit of 6.38m, with a surge in new competitors coinciding with subdued earnings. Freenow, formerly known as MyTaxi prior to its rebranding in 2019, was founded in 2009 and is one of the largest mobility apps in Europe. Headquartered in Hamburg, the app spans across 150m cities and claims to have more than 48 million users. In addition to competition risks, FreeNow has also noted potential supply issues, adding that it relies on drivers to be available to fulfil demand, which may cause issues if driver acceptance rates drop significantly. The company has started trials with an electric scooter provider in Dublin and has continued to invest in electric vehicles, with FreeNow adding these moves would "ensure a future-proof business model" going forward. The taxi app reported a cash balance of more than 20.8m, up significantly from just over 14m in 2021, with net current assets also up by more than 4m to 14.9m following efforts to restrucuture its costs. The directors said they expect the company to stay in a profit position while still investing into the current business models to increase their activity in Ireland. At the end of December 2022, the firms shareholder funds stood at 15.8m which included accumulated profits of 4.31m, up from 2.09m a year earlier. Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Emphasizing a strong commitment to global growth, Deepal, the new energy vehicle (NEV) brand under Changan Automobile, plans to launch two all-new models next year, targeting a global annual sales volume of 450,000 vehicles by 2024, Deepal's CEO, Deng Chenghao, announced on Nov. 27 via his Weibo account. Changan Automobile hosted its Southeast Asia strategy launch event in Thailand on the same day. The Deepal S07 and L07 models made their official debut and were simultaneously put onto the Thai market. Mr. Deng highlighted this as a crucial step in Deepal's global ambitions and a milestone in expanding overseas markets. Notably, the Deepal S07, showcased earlier at the recently concluded Auto Guangzhou 2023, maintains the overall design of the Deepal S7, with adaptations for right-hand drive layouts catering to overseas markets. Manufactured in Changan's factory in Thailand, it is slated for distribution in Southeast Asia and Australia in the future. Mr. Deng expressed Deepal's commitment to the continual development of global-oriented car models, accelerating entry into the ASEAN and European markets to address local consumers' demands for intelligent electric vehicles and provide appealing choices for eco-friendly transportation. Deepal SL03; photo credit: Deepal Launched in April 2022, Deepal is Changan's NEV-dedicated brand, boasting the core competitive edge of "super-range extension" technology. With models like the Deepal SL03 and the Deepal S7 targeting the mid-size sedan and mid-size SUV markets, the automaker achieved a significant milestone on Sept. 22, announcing the cumulative sale of over 100,000 units within just 14 months upon its first model hitting the market. Households across the country were moved by the heartbreaking story of young Irish Traveller Patrick McDonagh on Monday night, with President Michael D Higgins calling for the powerful documentary to be shown in every school. RTEs Patrick: A Young Traveller Lost shines a light on the issue of high suicide rates among the Irish Traveller community through the story of 12-year-old Patrick who died by suicide one year ago. It follows Patricks parents Michelle and Pat as they come to terms with their loss while also looking at the wider challenges facing the community. According to the All Ireland Traveller Health Study, more than one in 10 Irish Travellers die by suicide. The suicide rate for Irish Traveller men is seven times higher than settled men. Through the documentary, Patricks parents hope to inspire people to speak up and ask for help when they need it. Reflecting on the bullying his son experienced, Pat McDonagh said: "He never told us deep down inside, the mental torture. God knows what he was going through. Patrick: A Young Traveller Lost. Picture: RTE Sitting in Patricks bedroom, his mother Michelle spoke of her heartbreak. I feel very heartbroken when I'm looking at all this stuff, she said. I didn't just want him for 12 years; I wanted him forever. I was meant to go first. Not him Suicide is the most hurtful thing to me as a mother. To lose a child. I feel like I have no answers. You know, why would he feel so hurt? That he thought he wouldnt be happy in life you know? Why? I don't get it. Michelle Ward in Patrick's Bedroom. Picture: RTE President Michael D Higgins has called for the documentary to be shown in every school, stating that it should be seen by every household in Ireland. "It would be so valuable if all members of the public could see this film, which describes a life lost to bullying. An incredibly talented boy, interested in all aspects of life and full of curiosity, within one year had his life destroyed," he said. "RTE and Alleycat Films have in my mind placed all of us in their debt in what is a splendid, valuable exercise in public service broadcasting. There are so many reasons I could think of why this film should be seen in every household, and it would be just incredibly valuable if it were seen in every school." The powerful documentary had a similar impact on viewers watching at home. Commenting on Patrick: A Young Traveller Lost on X (formally Twitter), UCC lecturer Dr Sharon Lambert said: A beautiful child and his heart broken parents #Patrick, a community asking for their children not to be bullied and broken. Grief stricken pleas that cannot fall on deaf ears, there is far too much grief for the community. Everyone of us has a role to play. Meanwhile, Orla Egan described the documentary as powerful and heartbreaking. I keep thinking about the words of Patricks mother last night, said to the bullies that tortured her son online. I forgive you, I dont hold any hate in my heart. What strength, in the face of such horror. If we had half of her nobility, said Karen Dervan in a separate tweet. - If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please click here for a list of support services. Patrick: A Young Traveller Lost is available to watch now on the RTE Player Broadstrand Christmas Swim Its 48 years since a small group of locals took to the sea at Broadstrand on Christmas morning and started the annual tradition that has continued every year since then. A few have never missed the occasion each year whatever the weather. For decades this shared venture between Courtmacsherry and Timoleague has raised much-needed funds for the local branches of COPE and Cystic Fibrosis charities. This years swim is at noon and there will be a cup of soup or a hot toddy afterwards. Contributions are fully divided between COPE in Clonakilty and the Paediatric Cystic Fibrosis Unit at CUH. Courtmacsherry Development Association has organised for online donations here. Organisers wanted to salute one of the shining lights of our swims the late Sean Connolly, from Cregane, Timoleague, whose wit and wisdom graced the Wild Atlantic waters at Broadstrand for decades on Christmas morning. Dunmanway Christmas Swim Dunmanway Christmas Swim This years swim takes place at Inchydoney Beach on Christmas morning at 11am. The swim is in aid of the Dunmanway Day Unit in Cork University Hospital where patients receive chemotherapy. Locals have been doing the swim for this unit for 24 years now. They have raised more than 300,000 over the 24 years and plan to keep it going far into the future. Organisers said: We raised more than 27,000 alone last year which we were so proud of! So many of our swimmers and volunteers have family and friends that have used the day unit and we are only thrilled to be able to give back to the unit and help them in any way possible. Meet in the lower car park at about 10-10:30am. Inchydoney Christmas Swim This years swim is at 11am from the main beach in Inchydoney on Christmas morning. Its in aid of local priest Fr John Kingston who has spent a lifetime in Mozambique. His mission is trying to keep young people in education at secondary level as a way of helping the next generations rise out of their current poverty. They depend on the funds from Christmas Swim to keep these pupils in school for another 12 months. Cash can be donated on the day, at Facebook or via their Go Fund Me Page. Donations can also be dropped into O'Donovans Hotel, Pearse St, Clonakilty. Cork Harlequins Club Annual Christmas Eve Swim at Myrtleville This one's actually taking place on Christmas Eve so don't miss it! It's at Myrtleville at 11am and is open to members, friends and family. It will raise funds for the club. Rosscarbery Christmas Swim Rosscarbery Christmas Swim 2022 Meet at The Warren at 11am. In aid of Rosscarbery Social Services and Cancer Connect West Cork. Donation buckets on hand on the day. Schull Christmas Day Swim in aid of Cope Foundation The annual Schull Christmas Day Swim in aid of Cope Foundation, will take place at noon at Schull Pier. Participants are invited to register online by clicking here. This is the preferred method of registration but there will be limited registration from 11.30am on the morning of the swim for latecomers. Organisers ask that all participants ensure they warm up after the event by having a warm cup of tea and thermal clothing. Funds raised support people with an intellectual disability and/or autism across the city and county to live a life of their choosing. Skibbereen Rowing Club Annual Charity Swim All proceeds will go to the Special Classes of St Joseph's and St Patrick's National Schools Skibbereen. Held at Tragumna Beach at noon sharp on Christmas Day. This is the 46th year of the swim and a huge crowd is expected its a great place to meet everyone home for Christmas, say the organisers. All swimmers and supporters welcome fancy dress optional! Santa promises to visit on his way back to the North Pole. Last year more than 150 brave swimmers took part and were supported by crowds of locals and visitors alike. Bucket collection on the day White Bay Christmas Swim in aid of Cork Simon Community Christmas sunshine and swimming. Picture Dan Linehan Christmas Day at noon at White Bay Beach (Cuan Ban), Glanagow. On the go since 1994, friends and families from home and abroad take the plunge to raise money for people experiencing homelessness and turning to Cork Simon for help. More details here. Ardmore Christmas Swim The Ardmore Christmas Day Swim is a fundraiser in aid of the Youghal Lifeboat Station The 27th year of this popular Christmas Day Swim. All funds raised in aid of Youghal RNLI last year's swim raised more than 4,534. This year's takes place at 12:15pm on Ardmore Beach. "We would love for some new faces join us and make that dash to splash!!" Sponsorship Cards are currently available through their Facebook and Instagram or contact Siobhan on 086 2145833. Donations can also be made on the day at their bucket collection. Billy Galgey 2023 Christmas Day Swim Organised by Ian Galgey in memory of his grandfather, Waterford local Billy Galgey, this years swim will take place at 11:15 on the slip opposite Dooleys The swim is in aid of Waterford Dragon Boat Club. Waterford Dragon Boat Club, founded in 2013, is a team of breast cancer survivors and supporters. Donate on the day or pick up a printed sponsorship card by getting in touch with any family member or Waterford Dragon Boat Club. Dungarvan Lions Club Christmas Swim There has been a Dungarvan Christmas Morning Swim for more than 40 years. Funds raised are donated to the Dungarvan Lions Club Christmas Appeal which provides fuel and food vouchers to people in Dungarvan and across West Waterford from Tallow to Kilmacthomas who struggle at this time of year. The Swim takes place at Clonea Beach (Hotel End) at noon come rain or shine. Bugler Dr Jim Stacey kicks it off and swimmers are welcomed back with cups of homemade soup provided by Aoife O'Brien. In keeping with tradition, this years swimmers will be led by Lions Club president Ron Twomey. Last year the club gave out more than 50,000 in vouchers. There is no pre-registration for this event. There will be collection buckets on hand on the day. Michael Power Christmas Day Memorial Swim, Kilmeaden Michael Power and some friends in 1983 decided to continue swimming up to Christmas, including Christmas Day that was the first group swim held at Kilmurrin Cove. Kill, County Waterford. In December 1984, Michel Power died suddenly. The swim was then named in his honour. It has raised thousands of euro for various charities in Waterford city and county, and for charities nationwide. This years swim is in aid of ACT for meningitis this charity was selected as the parish of Kill and surrounding parishes were shocked last year by the death of a popular teenage girl. The 2023 swim starts at noon. Bunmahon lifeguards oversee the safety aspects of the swim, with Portlaw Red Cross also on duty. This years swim will officially launch with a table quiz at Dunphy's Bar, Kill, on Friday, December 1 at 9pm. Banna Strand Christmas Swim This years swim is on Banna Strand, on December 25 at 12:30pm sharp. It will be the 40th Xmas Swim in aid of the emergency search and Rescue Unit, Banna Rescue. Banna Rescue is one of the 11 independent lifeboat teams in the country and the swim is the last fundraiser of the year. Fingers crossed there will be smiles all round, even those laughing off the chill through chattering teeth!. Lahinch Christmas Swim Lahinch Christmas Swim is on December 25 at 12.15pm. Its in aid of Cuan an Chlair Alzheimers Day Centre, based in Cahercalla, Ennis. Gather at the main slip and donations to buckets on the day. Loughrea Icebreakers Christmas Day Swim 2023 The annual Christmas Day Swim takes place on Christmas morning at 11.30am at the Long Point Loughrea Lake, Galway. Proceeds are in aid of CASA Loughrea in association with Loughrea Lions Club. Take the leap and a experience a refreshing swim on Christmas morning in support of this nonprofit organisation whose goal is to give persons with disabilities a social outlet. For those who would like to donate, there will be a bucket collection on the morning. COPE Galway Christmas Swim This one has been taking place since 1989 and this years swim is a hybrid event that actually takes place from December 20-26 as well as the live event on Christmas morning. Registration costs $20 and includes a swim t-shirt. Meet at Blackrock Tower in Salthill on Christmas morning Share & tag on social media @COPEGalway #BraveTheCold #COPEChristmasSwim And a Winter Solstice swim if you just can't wait for Christmas... Galway Simon Communitys, Dip at Dawn Winter Solstice Dip at Dawn Winter Solstice This will take place on Friday, December 22, from 8.30am 9.30am on Ladies Beach, Salthill, Galway. Registration opens on Monday, December 4. 100% of proceeds will go directly to Galway Simon Community who provide support and accommodation services to those experiencing, or at risk of homelessness in Galway, Mayo and Roscommon. And if you have a Christmas swim you'd like us to include, click here Jamie Lynn Spears has opened up on Im A Celebrity about how her daughter nearly drowned in a freak accident at their home pond. In Mondays episode of the ITV reality show, the actress and singer recalled the incident when her eldest daughter Maddie got caught under a quad bike when she was a child. Spears said the experience led her to become Catholic as she feels it was a miracle that Maddie survived. How can I ever complain about anything ever again? I was given the biggest gift #ImACeleb pic.twitter.com/DxhWQVHOSr I'm A Celebrity... (@imacelebrity) November 27, 2023 She said: I almost lost my oldest daughter she drowned and we couldnt save her. We tried really hard. She was trapped under a little side-by-side that we ride around our pond. This is in 2017 so she was eight or nine, something like that. Spears recalled how she, her husband and her parents-in-law rushed to save Maddie before emergency teams arrived. I could feel her arm, and Im jerking it, I couldnt get her up because its a pretty heavy machine, she said. In that moment you think, you know logically shes been under water too long nobody can live if theyve been under water this long. You logically are thinking these things. Then you hear the sirens coming. Thank god my mother-in-law, first thing she did was call 911. How could I ever complain about anything ever again? I was given the biggest gift you could ever be given (Maddie) was caught in the safety netting. So when they got there, she was not alive. They took her from me and they intubated her. Spears said she overheard her mother-in-law tell her mother on the phone that they had lost Maddie before a firefighter came over to reveal emergency workers had found a pulse. She said her daughter was airlifted to hospital and put on life support, but when the last rites were read, Spears said Maddies body physically sat up. Her spirit responded to it for whatever reason She got better and better every day and walked out of the hospital and this has no repercussions, she added. So thats when I became Catholic. For about five minutes I thought Id lost my daughter and then I was given the miracle of having her back. Most people and most parents in life would give anything for that. For me, I think about it this way: how could I ever complain about anything ever again? I was given the biggest gift you could ever be given. Britney Spears (PA) Spears also revealed her older sister Britney used to have crawfish sent to her overnight in ice chests after she found fame as a popstar, because she was such a big fan of the seafood. Fellow campmate Sam Thompson discussed what he imagined Spears home life was like when she was growing up in the southern US, including the family gathering to eat crawfish. Spears said: Were from Louisiana, we love crawfish. My sister and all of us, we love crawfish so much. But she (Britney) only wanted the good crawfish. So the company in Louisiana would have them overnighted in a box for her, in an ice chest. Even in Vegas, shed have crawfish, (shed be) eating crawfish in the Elton John suite. Im A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! continues on Tuesday at 9pm. There are major delays on the M50 in Dublin after multiple collisions on Tuesday morning. Dublin Fire Brigade attended a seven-vehicle collision near Junction 9 Red Cow in the southbound direction shortly after 7am. Two lanes were blocked off as a result, leading to tailbacks as far back as J4 Finglas. The collision has since been moved to the hard shoulder. In the same direction, there was a collision at J12 Firhouse which is blocking the third lane. #M50 J9 Red Cow Southbound 7 We're currently attending a seven vehicle road traffic collision on the @m50dublin Lanes 2 and 3 are blocked Delays on approach@LiveDrive @TIITraffic @DCCTraffic pic.twitter.com/9lCvVf273L Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) November 28, 2023 In Cork, there has been a road traffic incident on the N40 Westbound between Mahon and Bloomfield Interchanges blocking one lane. Resulting queues are back to the Dunkettle Interchange. More than 170 people have been killed on Irish roads so far in 2023. A man who was seriously injured in the loyalist bombings of Dublin in 1974 has died. Derek Byrne was 14 when he was pronounced dead following an explosion in Parnell Street almost 50 years ago, but woke up three hours later in a morgue and was rushed to hospital for emergency life-saving surgery. His death at the age of 63 came just days after he attended court in Belfast as part of a long-running claim for damages on behalf of victims. On May 17 1974, three no-warning bombs went off across Dublin city centre and one in Monaghan town. No-one has ever been convicted over the bombings but the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) admitted responsibility in 1993. Thirty-five people, including two unborn children, died in the 1974 bombings (Niall Carson/PA) An official memorial in Dublin honours the 35 victims of the bombings, which include two unborn babies. It remains the single greatest loss of life on any single day of the Troubles. The families, who allege collusion in the atrocities, have been pursuing damages in Belfast High Court since 2014. Mr Byrnes lawyer, Kevin Winters from KRW Law, said his client has joined the long list of Troubles victims who did not live to see the conclusion of their legal cases. Mr Winters said: We issued High court proceedings against the police, military and the Secretary of State for damages for conspiracy to murder and misfeasance amongst other torts in relation to collusion allegations around the Dublin-Monaghan Bombings. In December 2018 Derek was part of a large group of families of victims and survivors who travelled to Belfast to listen as the High court ordered the release of documents in their case. However the state immediately appealed the order and issued motions to strike the case out. Nearly five years on Derek returned to the same court to hear the defendants arguments to prevent discovery of material. He travelled wheelchair-bound on the train from Dublin. He did so knowing he was severely life-limited and very much against medical advice. Five days later he succumbed to his many illnesses and died. His incredible survival of that bomb blast was bookended 50 years on by his defiant act of attending court when at deaths door. Mr Winters said there was a real poignancy that Mr Byrne had died before hearing the outcome of the court case. Kevin Winters of KRW Law said it was poignant that Derek Byrne had died before hearing the outcome of the case (Liam McBurney/PA) He added: The recent positive soundings of the new (PSNI) Chief Constable (Jon Boutcher) on sharing of Troubles-linked information makes Dereks passing even more acute. The anticipated impactful outworkings of Jon Boutchers culture change vision on information sharing is a welcome antidote to the last five years of attritional litigation on the Dublin-Monaghan bombings case. However his pronouncement comes too late for Derek Byrne. He is the latest victim of a litigation system which has timed out on hundreds of other next of kin and survivors who never lived to see the end of their cases. Mr Winters said: Derek Byrnes sad passing really ought to be a timely reminder of the need for urgent implementation of the litigation culture change recently advocated. The Governments proposed reforms of pensions in Ireland may not sufficiently address the pressures that will be heaped on the system by our ageing population, a new report has claimed. As a result of Irelands changing demographics and labour force make-up, the current system of funding State pensions is not sustainable and will come under intense financial stress in the coming decades, the report from the independent Parliamentary Budget Office said. Often referred to as Irelands pensions timebomb, the PBO said the pressure on the public finances will heighten over the coming years as the population ages and more people leave the workforce and become eligible for the State pension. It said: Total spending on State pensions increased by 50% from 2012 to 2022 driven, primarily, by a 34.6% increase in recipients in the same period. Irelands population is ageing rapidly and living longer. The old age dependency ratio in 2023 is one retiree to four working age people. By 2050, this is forecast to be closer to 1:2. The PBO said the Governments decision that there would be no change to the pension age of 66 came in spite of the recommendation by the Pensions Commission. It said the Future Ireland Fund, established in Budget 2024, is aimed at financing elements of our future through some windfall tax receipts, Government investment and seed funding from the National Reserve Fund. While the Government believes this fund could reach 100bn by 2035, this does not take account of any possible economic shocks or a fall in windfall corporate taxes. It also said if using windfall tax receipts to shore up the State pension fund, there is no guarantee that these will last forever and it would create additional problems should these suddenly dry up. Dependent on continued economic growth and strong corporation tax receipts, the fund will only partially address future shortfalls in pensions, it added. Deeper reforms of the pension system are, therefore, still required. Earlier this year, Finance Minister Michael McGrath told an Oireachtas committee that the cost of providing existing levels of service to an ageing population will be 7-8bn higher than at the beginning of the decade. However, the reality of the demographic pressures we will face will become more acute as time goes on, he said. That is why we have to make provision for the future. PRSI increases The Government has been very open and upfront with people that the price for keeping the pension age at 66 involves us paying more in over time. That will mean both employers and employees paying more PRSI over time. Increases to PRSI had been flagged ahead of Octobers budget as a way of ensuring the pension age could be kept at 66 and to allow for the rollout of pay-related benefits for people who are made redundant. The increases will see the average employee pay an extra 46 a year from next October alone. During a heated Dail debate last week, Sinn Feins Pearse Doherty said his party would give people the right to retire at the age of 65 if they choose to. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar retorted that people are living longer and are retired for 20-30 years. That is great, but it has to be paid for, he said. Emily Hand thought she had been taken hostage for a year, her father has said. The nine-year-old Irish-Israeli girl was one of several hostages released by Hamas last Saturday as part of a truce deal between the group and Israeli authorities. She had spent 50 days in captivity since the October 7 attacks. On Tuesday, her father Thomas Hand told CNN they still don't know the extent of what she went through. "She's coming out slowly, little by little. We'll only know what she really went through as she opens up," he told CNN. Emily refers to Gaza as "the box", Mr Hand said, and had to move from house to house in the aftermath of her kidnapping. A short video of Emily reuniting with her father on Saturday went viral. -9: " , - ' '"https://t.co/CobRW5zIWd pic.twitter.com/XlWmXChGlA - N12 (@N12News) November 28, 2023 Mr Hand told CNN: "All of a sudden the door opened up and she just ran. It was beautiful, just like I had imagined it, running together. I probably squeezed her too hard." Mr Hand said the most shocking part of seeing his daughter again was that she was only able to whisper, having been conditioned to not make any noise in captivity. And when he asked her how long she thought she was gone, she replied a year. "Last night, she cried until her face was red and blotchy, she couldnt stop," he continued. She didnt want any comfort, I guess shes forgotten how to be comforted. She went under the covers of the bed, the quilt, covered herself up and quietly cried. However, he added there were signs that she was still her old self. "The first thing she did was get a Beyonce song on," he explained to CNN, adding she was also smiling and was starting to laugh again. The IRA kidnapping of Ben Dunne was hugely traumatic for him and was the source of much of his personal troubles throughout his later life, his funeral has heard. Mr Dunnes son, Mark, who was with his father in Dubai when he died suddenly, paid tribute to his generous and ambitious father but noted a particularly difficult period in his life. His kidnapping in 1981 was hugely traumatic on him and it was the source of much of his personal troubles throughout the years that followed, he told those who gathered to pay their respects to the well-known businessman. Businessman Larry Goodman arrives for the funeral mass of Ben Dunne. However, Mr Dunne said time is a great healer and his father held no ill will towards his captors saying: He did the Christian thing and forgave. Earlier in the day, a guard of honour was formed by uniformed Ben Dunne Gyms staff who lined the entrance to St Mochtas Church in Porterstown in Dublin while awaiting the arrival of Mr Dunnes wicker coffin. His wife Mary, his children and grandchildren were among hundreds who filled the church beyond its maximum capacity. A livestream of the funeral was set up in a local community hall due to the number of attendees. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald arrives for the funeral mass of Ben Dunne. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald, Independent TD Michael Lowry, and former minister Conor Lenihan were in attendance. While paying tribute to his father, Mr Dunne thanked staff at the Royal Meridien Hotel in Dubai who were the first responders when his father suffered a heart attack. He also expressed gratitude to the paramedics and medical staff who worked so hard to save Dad before thanking the Irish embassy in Abu Dhabi for their consular assistance. 'Ambitious and driven' Mark said his father was incredibly ambitious and driven, adding that there was no denying the former Dunnes Stores boss's passion for business. At the core of a family business is that word family and family always finds a way of going back to its roots, he said before paying tribute to his aunt Margaret Heffernan, for whom he said the day was particularly difficult. Ben Dunne's casket is carried into St Mochta's church in Clonsilla, west Dublin. Whilst they were both different people with different opinions, they loved each other dearly. They have been a great source of strength to each other over the years, he said. He said Mr Dunne and his siblings had some moments which were unfortunately very public. Mark noted that his father, who spent his childhood living in Ringmahon in Cork, had left Presentation Brothers School at an early age, and he always liked to say that he never failed an exam in his life". "Well, because he never did an exam, he quipped. Paying tribute to his mother, Mary, he said his father saw her as the rock of the family, whom he loved dearly and relied so much on her sensibility to navigate through any chaos". He said his parents had celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary earlier this year which was a testament to people who remain committed to their marriage through thick or thin no matter what life has thrown at us over the years. 'A brilliant and loving father' Mr Dunne voiced a particular fondness and gratitude for the time he spent travelling with his father adding that it was never all business and that he knew the importance of getting downtime". Michael Lowry TD, speaks with mourners following the funeral of Ben Dunne. He said family holidays abroad are his most treasured memories when his father was at his happiest adding that his last trip to Dubai was a tonic for him. He was a brilliant and loving father and grandfather, who would do anything to ensure the happiness and joy of his children and grandchildren. There was never a day that would go by without him calling each of us to check in and we're all going to miss those phone calls, he said. Those gathered heard that Mr Dunne never liked attending funerals but would always expect a full report from his son. Well this is one funeral that Dad sadly must attend, he said before adding: Even though he didnt like funerals, I know hes pleased to see so many people here today. He said there was humour in his fathers tendency for malapropisms, recalling one anecdote in which Mr Dunne saw a man park in a disabled parking space and asked him why, to which the man replied that he had a prosthetic leg. Well, I have a prostate too and you don't see me parking in a disabled spot, Mark recalled his father saying, to which the church erupted in laughter. Mr Dunne said over the past week, the family has been inundated with condolences, the vast majority of which mentioned his fathers generosity, and generous he was sometimes to a fault". He said his father simply just wanted to help, without the need for public acknowledgement in doing so. He wasn't looking to use it as any kind of public redemption. In fact, that openness and willingness to lay out his flaws was a major part of what people found so appealing about him and his personality, he said. He said it was raining in Dubai the day that he was returning home to Dublin with his fathers remains, a rarity in general. Perhaps it was a desert's way of saying a final goodbye to this good, decent, generous and loving Irishman who loved to visit there so much and who we called our dad. Rest in peace dad, we will all miss you, he said. The newly-established Electoral Commission is prepared to regulate online disinformation in the run-up to elections, an Oireachtas committee has heard. Art OLeary, the chief executive of the Electoral Commission, An Coimisiun Toghchain, said the Government has yet to commence parts of the legislation that will give it powers to regulate online political advertising and online disinformation around elections, but that it will be soon hiring experts in the digital space to work in these areas. We will be recruiting in the first half of next year for people to work with us in the area of monitoring, he said. And it will be digital natives, who are comfortable dealing with this, and people who are used to working in a regulatory environment with skills in that particular area. Concerns had been raised at the Oireachtas Housing Committee by Labour senator Rebecca Moynihan over the potential for incitement to hatred online. She said that, in the last week when rioting took place in Dublin, there have been outside actors who are for their nefarious means spreading online misinformation. Gardai have already commenced a criminal investigation into the role of far-right online agitators and their potential role in the riots last Thursday. Mr OLeary said his body will be working closely with the new media regulator but that examples of the kinds of incitement described by Ms Moynihan may not be within the Electoral Commissions remit, even during an election period. The definitions of misinformation, disinformation in the act are very specific, he said. The remit of the Electoral Commission comes within false information being spread in relation to the likes of false voting times being reported or people being told their votes wont be counted. Thats something we can easily correct, Mr OLeary said. Reporting directly to the Oireachtas, the Electoral Commission acts independently of the Government and is intended to be central to the administration and protection of Irelands democratic processes. In his opening statement, Mr OLeary said a potentially very busy electoral period is looming with the possibility of every possible type of electoral event all eight being held within the next 24 months. We also have functions related to the regulation of online political advertising and online misinformation and disinformation around election periods, he said. These functions, set out in Parts 4 and 5 of our founding legislation have yet to be commenced. In the area of online political advertising, he said they are also prepared to regulate in terms of transparency whos paying for adverts and which cohort of society is being targeted. Were prepared to be ambitious about how we target it, he said. Read More Deliveroo driver who intervened in Dublin knife attack offers support to injured girl Mr OLeary said that they have many tools at their disposal in terms of individual posts online but that they require cooperation from social media companies. Were looking forward to engaging with them in the weeks and months ahead, he said. He added that the Electoral Commission is well placed in the sense that it is a new organisation, and comes into being at a time when it can be attuned and flexible to what's going on in the digital space. Were building an agency now that suits the society in which we live, he said. Like most nine-month-olds, were crawling on the floor listening to everything that people are saying to us that we should be doing. Two gardai have told a court they saw five-time All-Ireland winning hurler Kyle Hayes kicking a man who was lying on the street outside a nightclub in Limerick City. The All-Star hurler told one of the two gardai to fuck off before escaping the gardas grip, and fleeing the scene, before being chased and apprehended by gardai, Limerick Circuit Court heard. Mr Hayes is charged with assault causing harm to Cillian McCarthy, aged 24, outside the Icon nightclub, Limerick City, on October 28, 2019. The hurler, who is also accused of two counts of violent disorder on the same night, denies all charges. Separately, Craig Cosgrave, aged 24, Caherally, Grange, Co Limerick, denies one count of violent disorder. Detective Garda Dean Landers, of Roxboro Road Garda Station, gave evidence he saw two men on the ground outside the Icon, on Upper Denmark St one had blood on his face, and the other was surrounded by a group of men, including Mr Hayes, who were punching and kicking [the man] while he lay on the ground. He said Mr Hayes stood out from the rest of the men because he was the taller of the group. Prosecution case The prosecution alleges Mr Hayes and others were involved in a dance floor brawl involving the alleged victim earlier on the night. It alleged Mr Hayes was upset that Mr McCarthy had spoken to two women at a bar in the club because one of them was seeing one of his friends. I saw him [Mr Hayes] throw numerous kicks into the male who was on the ground, said Det Garda Landers, and he identified the accused hurler in court as the perpetrator. Det Garda Landers said he heard the man who was being kicked screaming for Mr Hayes to stop. Det Garda Landers said he grabbed Mr Hayes by his arm and pulled him away from throwing more kicks into the man. I grabbed him [Mr Hayes] and identified myself as a member of An Garda Siochana and I told him to stay there. He told me to fuck off, and he pulled his arm, at force, away from my grip, and then he turned and ran. Det Garda Landers, who was dressed in plain clothes, said he chased after Mr Hayes on foot, repeatedly shouting at him stop garda, but Mr Hayes kept running. Det Garda Landers said he eventually arrested Mr Hayes after he cut him off after he spotted the Limerick sportsman running into the Watergate Flats area of the city. He said Mr Hayes made no reply after he cautioned him under the Public Order Act. He gave me his name as Kyle Hayes. Det Garda Landers said he had witnessed Mr Hayes kicking a man on the ground with a high level of force. He was swinging kicks directly into the male, all over his body. The male was curled up into the ground while receiving kicks. He said a number of others had also surrounded the man, but his focus was on Mr Hayes, whom he described as the taller man and who he suspected was the main culprit because of the ferocity of his kicks. Mr Hayes was taken to Henry Street Garda Station and processed through the custody suite at 1.38am before being initially released without charge. Cross-examination Under cross-examination by Mr Hayes barrister, senior counsel Brian McInerney, Det Garda Landers said Mr Hayes was the person causing the damage to a man on the ground. He said while he was perhaps not as fit as the All-Ireland winning hurler he had outsmarted him on the night by cutting him off in an alleyway at Watergate Flats. Det Garda Landers said he did not know Mr Hayes's brother Cian Hayes who Mr McInerney said was also over six feet tall. Mr McInerney put it to Det Garda Landers that Cian Hayes was in the vicinity of the alleged attack on the night and he was previously charged with violent disorder but that the Director of Public Prosecutions had later withdrawn the charge. Mr McInerney argued that it was Cian Hayes who came under attack on the night and that Kyle Hayes went to his brothers assistance. Garda Daniel ORiordan, of Roxboro Road Garda Station, who arrived on the scene along with Det Garda Landers, in an unmarked Garda patrol car, gave evidence he saw Kyle Hayes kicking a man on the street on the night. Garda ORiordan said he saw between 10 and 12 men fighting on the street. One man was lying on the street covering his head with his hands and surrounded by three men, including Kyle Hayes, who were raining kicks into him, said Garda ORiordan. When asked by the prosecution counsel, John OSullivan, if he was in any doubt that Kyle Hayes was kicking the man, Garda ORiordan replied: Absolutely no doubt about it. I observed him draw back and kick a man who was lying on the ground, kicking forward into the mans head and shoulder area twice. Garda ORiordan said he saw Kyle Hayes break away from Det Garda Landers's grip of him, and that he ran from the scene. He said he joined Det Garda Landers in the chase along Upper Denmark St, into High St, past the Milk Market, through Mungret St, and into a series of laneways at Watergate Flats. Under cross-examination by Mr McInerney, both Det Garda Landers and Garda ORiordan said they had not witnessed what had led to the attack on the man on the street, nor had they seen who had struck the first blow. Gardai agreed there was chaos and shouting and roaring and crowds of people on the street at the time. Garda ORiordan told Mr McInerney: Im not confused by what I saw, I saw Kyle Hayes he was most identifiable. With Gasgoo Daily, we will offer daily important automotive news in China. For those we have reported, the title of the piece will include a hyperlink, which will provide detailed information. Kia China's first EV5 all-electric SUV rolls off assembly line On November 28, Yang Honghai, Chief Operating Officer of Kia China, announced on social media platform that the first EV5 smart all-electric SUV from Kia China has officially rolled off the production line at the intelligent manufacturing plant in Yancheng city, Jiangsu province. It marks the commencement of global sales for this innovative full-electric vehicle. Photo credit: Yang Hongmei's Weibo account BYD FinDreams exports large-sized power lithium battery packs by air freight On November 23, 2023, large-sized power lithium battery packs weighing over 35kg, manufactured by BYDs FinDreams Battery, were transported via a SF Airlines flight from Ezhou Huahu Airport, Hubei province. The shipment took off and arrived at Frankfurt Airport in Germany in the early morning of Nov. 24, marking the first-ever air freight export of China-made large-sized power lithium battery packs. Tesla announces charging network upgrades on Chinese Mainland On November 28, Tesla announced on its official WeChat account that its full-scenario charging network on Chinese Mainland has been upgraded to support more non-Tesla vehicles, including home chargers, destination charging stations, and Supercharger stations. Changan Automobile's Deepal brand targets annual global sales of 450,000 units by 2024 Emphasizing a strong commitment to global growth, Deepal, the new energy vehicle (NEV) brand under Changan Automobile, plans to launch two all-new models next year, targeting a global annual sales volume of 450,000 vehicles by 2024, Deepal's CEO, Deng Chenghao, announced on Nov. 27 via his Weibo account. Tesla raises prices again in China, Model Y Long Range version up 2,000 yuan On Nov. 28, Tesla raised prices yet again in China, marking its fourth round of price increases this month alone. According to Tesla's Chinese website, the Long Range version of the China-made Model Y now starts at 306,400 yuan, 2,000 yuan higher than its last adjusted price on November 21. Jishi Auto starts nationwide delivery of its first production model 'Jishi 01' Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) maker Jishi Auto's inaugural model, the Jishi 01, officially began nationwide deliveries on November 25, according to the automaker's press release. Lynk & Co launches new brand dedicated to after-sale services At the Co Fans Party closed on November 18, Lynk & Co officially introduced its after-sales service brand Lingyue (translating to "Lynk Joy"). This initiative is grounded in a freshly upgraded service system that aims to bring transparency and efficiency to the forefront of the user experience. Changan Automobile releases brand strategy for Southeast Asian markets On Nov. 27th, Changan Automobile held a brand launch event in Bangkok, Thailand, marking its determined business expansion in the Southeast Asian markets. SAIC Volkswagen hits production milestone of 27 millionth vehicle On November 27, SAIC Volkswagen ("SAIC VW"), the joint venture between SAIC Motor and Volkswagen Group, declared the production of its 27 millionth vehicle, securing its place as the first passenger car manufacturer in China to achieve this remarkable milestone. Dongfeng Motor's VOYAH announces foray into Dutch auto market In recent days, the Fully Charged Live Europe car exhibition in the Netherlands opened its doors, featuring a grand showcase by Dongfeng Motor's premium new energy vehicle (NEV) brand, VOYAH, who exhibited there the VOYAH FREE and the VOYAH Dream models, according to a post on Dongfeng Motor's WeChat account. This signifies the official entry of VOYAH into the Dutch automotive market. The sister of a woman who was killed by a "deranged monster" who had beaten, threatened and controlled his victim during their relationship has called for stricter laws on coercive control and domestic abuse. Martin Hayes was sentenced on Tuesday to 12 years and six months in prison by Mr Justice Paul McDermott for the manslaughter of his partner, Amadea McDermott. Mr Justice McDermott said the killing was clearly a case of domestic violence and he noted that during her life, Hayes had tracked Ms McDermott's movements using a secret app on her phone. He had also made "menacing videos" in which he challenged Ms McDermott regarding Hayes's untrue and unfounded belief that Ms McDermott was involved in an incestuous relationship. The judge further noted the recent bruises on Ms McDermott's body as noted by a pathologist following her death and evidence that Hayes had a history of aggressive and violent behaviour towards his victim. 'Deranged monster' Speaking outside court, Eucharia McDermott described her sister as a "kind, caring, funny, loving, beautiful and amazing mother, daughter, sister, auntie and friend." She thanked gardai and the prosecution team who had, she said, "helped to convict this violent, sick, evil, twisted, deranged monster." She said Hayes had told "lie after lie without a shred of evidence" in his testimony to the trial when he falsely alleged that Ms McDermott had caused her own death by stabbing herself. "Throughout the trial he showed no remorse for taking our beautiful sister's life away from her and her family," she said. She said Hayes was "quite proud of his actions as he listed out the amount of bruises, one by one, on my sister's body, as if he were keeping count". While Amadea was "dying on the floor, gasping for breath," she said Hayes told the victim to "get the fuck up". Hours later, he "had a laugh and a joke... as if nothing happened" when being interviewed by gardai, Ms McDermott said. This is a sick, violent and evil monster. When he was cross-examined by Sean Gillane [senior counsel for the prosecution], the coward, thug and abuser was quite confident and proud, boasting 'If somebody hits me, I'll hit them back, I have every right to do so'. She said that although the family will "never get our beautiful Amadea back, we have protected many women from his evil, violent hands. In my opinion we have saved lives from his evil hands". She added: "The physical abuse, mental abuse and emotional abuse she endured and her violent death will haunt us to the day we pass. For every wound there is a scar and every scar tells a story. We strongly urge our nation to stand up against coercive control and domestic abuse. "Whether it be physical abuse, mental abuse or emotional abuse, we feel the laws in this country are too lenient and need to be changed urgently to help protect and save lives." Sentencing Grave digger Hayes (34) was found not guilty of Amadea McDermott's (27) murder but guilty of manslaughter by the majority verdict of a Central Criminal Court jury earlier this month. Hayes, with an address at Poddle Close, Crumlin, Dublin 12, had pleaded not guilty to murdering the mother of two at her home in Rathvale Drive, Ayrfield, Coolock, on or about July 20, 2017. He told the trial that his partner inflicted the injury on herself. Mr Justice Paul McDermott on Tuesday said Hayes still maintains that he is guilty of no offence and therefore there is no evidence that he has any remorse for what he did. The judge found that it was established beyond a reasonable doubt by the evidence heard during the trial that Hayes stabbed Ms McDermott once in the abdomen, causing her death. The single stab wound tracked downwards through the abdominal wall and ended at the spine. It caused substantial blood loss that led to death. The judge also noted bruises to Ms McDermott's limbs that a pathologist said were recently caused and bruises to her face that the pathologist said were "more likely" from direct blows than from a fall. Those included bruises and grazes above her right eye, lip, temple and left jaw. Mr Justice McDermott said the accused gave conflicting accounts of what led to the row but the judge noted that both had been drinking and taking cocaine before a row erupted. The judge said he is satisfied that the cause of the row was Hayes's "untrue and unfounded belief" that Ms McDermott had been involved in an incestuous relationship. He described this as an "obsession" and said he was satisfied that Hayes was the aggressor on the night. (Left to right) Eucharia, Euphrasia, Olivia and brother Zack, family members of Amadea McDermott outside the court recently for the manslaughter case of Martin Hayes. Photo: Collins Courts He noted aggravating features including the "clear history of violence against the deceased", and said the killing was "clearly an act of domestic violence, which is in itself an aggravating feature." Hayes's use of alcohol and drugs was an exacerbating, rather than a mitigating, factor given that it was "not out of character" for Hayes to be violent or aggressive towards Ms McDermott when intoxicated. The jury's verdict means they were satisfied that Hayes stabbed his partner but they did not find that he had the intention to kill or cause serious injury, the judge said. However, Mr Justice McDermott noted that the infliction of the stab wound was "on any view highly reckless". He further noted that Hayes had created "menacing videos" in which he confronted Ms McDermott with the untrue allegations regarding incest. In one video, he said Ms McDermott was "clearly in fear". The judge also noted Hayes's demeanour in giving evidence during the trial, which he said showed his "underlying violent disposition, he was violent in language and in action." He said it was "rare to be given such a clear demonstration of this" in a trial but Hayes's disposition was "shockingly clear to all but himself". The judge set a headline sentence of 14 years and noted there was only limited mitigation, such as Hayes's work record as a gravedigger and his attempts to address his drug abuse issues. Taking into account all matters, the judge set a sentence of 12 years and six months with no portion suspended. He backdated the sentence to April 4, 2022, when Hayes first went into custody. Predator A sentencing hearing earlier this month heard from members of the deceased's family, with one of the deceased's sisters shouting at Hayes: "You are a coward, an active predator and an abuser of women. You hide against your insecurities through your fists." The eldest sister, Olivia Heffernan, said her sister's life was stolen from her by Martin Hayes and that she knew the mother-of-two would never have taken her own life as she loved her family and children too much. Ms Heffernan said her sister was under the "coercive control" of the killer and when she saw Amadea lying "motionless and lifeless" in the hospital bed she was taken aback by the level of bruising "the gentle soul" had sustained. "My instincts and gut feelings were 100% right about you", she told Hayes. Ms Heffernan said "the hidden untraceable tracker" placed on her sister's mobile phone by Hayes had blown her away and she described the defendant as an "active predator, luring and waiting for his next prey waiting to abuse". She accused Hayes of "concocting lies" against the McDermott family which she said were "accusations of incest". Raising her voice on Tuesday, Ms Heffernan added: "To victims of domestic abuse everywhere around the world, stand up and be heard, don't hide behind the fists of cowards", saying if her sister had done this she would still be alive today. Ms Heffernan said her sister's killer had shown no respect for her and that he had given evidence of still having access to her Instagram account. "How deranged are you?" she asked. Evidence At a previous hearing, Detective Sergeant Anthony Maloney detailed the background to the case. He agreed with Sean Gillane SC, prosecuting, that the relationship between Hayes and Amadea had been ongoing for a number of years, where incidents of physical abuse and "a fair level of argumentation" arose from time to time. Outlining the events that led up to the killing, Det. Sgt Maloney said the defendant had made three calls to emergency services to attend the apartment in Coolock and also to members of Amadea's family. When medical personnel arrived they found Amadea in some distress having suffered a stab wound to the abdomen. Mr Gillane said Amadea was immediately brought to Beaumont Hospital and attempts were made to save her but unfortunately these efforts came to nought. Mr Gillane said the defendant told gardai that an argument had started on the night when Amadea ran out of cocaine and alcohol. Hayes also indicated to gardai that Amadea had lost control and grabbed a knife threatening to hurt herself, said the detective. Hayes told gardai that he had produced another knife at one point and retired to the bedroom to separate himself from Amadea, said Mr Gillane. The defendant told officers that he later returned to the living room where he found Amadea on the floor, indicating that the wound to her stomach was from self-harm. Mr Gillane said a post-mortem was carried out on the deceased where it was found that Amadea had died from a stab wound to the right side of the abdomen. Former State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy was shown a knife during the trial which had been placed on a table in the living room and she told the jury it could have caused the injury. "She also indicated no great force would have been required to cause the injury itself," Mr Gillane added. Dr Cassidy had also given evidence of blunt force trauma to the deceased as well as indicating areas of fresh and old bruising on her body. Mr Gillane said the expert witness had told the jury that bruising to Amadea's head, trunk and limbs could be due to a fall but that injuries to her face were more likely from direct blows. Mr Gillane said the investigation by gardai continued and Hayes was arrested on October 8, 2020, and detained until the next day but nothing of evidential value arose. Counsel said the jury had heard evidence of text message exchanges between Hayes and Amadea in the run-up to the incident, where the deceased had indicated that the defendant had "sick thoughts in his head". The jury also saw recorded video clips of an interaction between the couple, specifically of an untrue belief Hayes had about an inappropriate relationship that Amadea was having with a relative. "In one of those clips he was attempting to get Amadea to admit to it," said the detective. The court heard that Hayes has 29 previous convictions, of which 27 related to road traffic offences. A father of four who was viciously beaten with a crowbar and ended up with life-changing catastrophic injuries, including a brain injury, has settled a High Court action for 2million. Mark Lahive, the High Court heard, was subjected to a terrifying and vicious assault in the four-minute attack as he loaded up a work van in a Cork business park eight years ago. Two young men were later jailed by Cork Circuit Criminal Court after pleading guilty to assault causing serious harm at Exchange Business Park Churchfield, Cork, in what was described by the presiding judge as a truly egregious offence. In the High Court, Mr Lahives counsel, Oonagh McCrann SC instructed by Cantillons Solicitors, said that allegations of negligence and contributory negligence levelled by Mr Lahives employer and the business park operators against him over the attack were being formally withdrawn as part of the settlement. She said the allegations had greatly upset Mr Lahive and his family from Ballyvolane, Cork, and she said centred on a crowbar he had picked up when he saw two men trying to break into his van in the business park. The crowbar later dropped out of his hand when he fell and was used by the assailants in the attack, counsel said. She said the 2m settlement represented 50% of the full value of the claim. Mr Justice Paul Coffey, who approved the settlement, said he was particularly gratified that the unfounded allegations of negligence and contributory negligence have been formally withdrawn. The judge added that it was regrettable they were ever made and withdrawn so late. Mr Justice Coffey said Mr Lahive and his family had suffered enormously over the event. In court, Mr Lahive, who had worked as a sales representative, said the attack on April 28, 2015, had destroyed his life. I was fit as a fiddle and enjoying everything but from that day of the attack, everything was turned on its head. It has crucified me. And he said the claims of contributory negligence levelled against him in the proceedings had upset him. They were trying to blame me. For the last eight years and eight months it has destroyed me, he told the judge. I loved work, I was doing a day's work, he added. Mark Lahive (47) of Ballyvolane, Cork, had sued his then employer Robert Roberts Ltd, with registered offices at MillBank Business Park, Lucan, Dublin; the operator and managers of the business park where the assault took place, Exchange Business Park Management Company Ltd, with registered offices at Blackpool, Cork, and the two assailants who were both in their 20s at the time. Jamie OBrien of 23 Meadow Hills, the Meadows, Hollyhill, Cork, was jailed for six years with the last year suspended, and Eddie Murphy of 57 Kilmore Rd, Knocknaheeny, was jailed for six years at Cork Circuit Criminal Court for the assault. Judgement had previously been granted in default of appearance against both and their cases were adjourned generally. Claims against Mr Lahive Mr Lahive claimed against his employer that there was an alleged failure to provide a safe place of work and against the business park operators that there was an alleged failure to take any or any adequate or proper steps so as to protect Mr Lahive from the potential of assault. The claims were denied and it was contended by Robert Roberts Ltd that there was alleged contributory negligence on the part of Mr Lahive because he had allegedly confronted the two young men in circumstances where he knew or ought to reasonably have known that it was unsafe and dangerous to do so. Exchange Business Park Management also claimed there was alleged contributory negligence in that Mr Lahive had allegedly decided to use an iron bar as an implement of alleged threat. All these claims were formally withdrawn. Approving the settlement, Mr Justice Coffey said there was a litigation risk in the case but the settlement was prudent, fair and reasonable. A separate action by Mr Lahive's wife Rebecca for nervous shock was also settled and struck out. A casino customer allegedly attempted to swing a knife at a security man after being ushered into the lift to leave the premises in the early hours of the morning, a court has heard. Judge Mary Dorgan refused to grant bail to 21-year-old Cian OConnell, of 22 Elderwood Park, Boreenmanna Road, Cork. Defence solicitor Eddie Burke stressed that the accused was only charged with having a knife in his possession. He was never in prison before, Mr Burke added. Sergeant Gearoid Davis objected to bail being granted because of what was described as the seriousness of the charge. The case arose out of an alleged incident shortly before 4am on Sunday, November 26, at The Bank casino at Clarkes Bridge, Cork. It was alleged that the accused was present with a knife, the security guard approached him and he refused to co-operate. He was escorted into the lift and he struggled with the security guard, produced a knife, and attempted to swing the knife at the security guard. The officer restrained him awaiting the arrival of the gardai. The knife was seized by gardai at the scene. Judge Dorgan said: I am very concerned about the seriousness of the charge in this court. The size of the knife and the alleged fact that it was swung at a security guard. Cross-examining the accused, Sgt Davis asked: Did you have any reason for having it? He replied: Self-defence. Just fear, thats all it is. The defendants father testified that his son was more than welcome to come home and live with him and abide by any curfew the court might impose on him. Judge Dorgan remanded the young man in custody until December 4. Harrowing evidence of the final moments of Irish Coast Guard volunteer Caitriona Lucas who died while assisting in a search and rescue operation off the west coast, seven years ago, was given by her crew mates at the start of her inquest on Monday. Ms Lucas, of the Doolin Coast Guard unit, was assisting members of Kilkee Coast Guard unit because they were short of volunteers. She was the first Coast Guard member to die on active duty. The 41-year-old librarian and mother-of-two from Ballyvaughan, Co Clare, might have survived had she still been wearing her safety helmet that had earlier been ripped off her by a wave, when she was stuck by the Kilkee RIB and smashed against rocks off Kilkee Bay, it was heard. Ms Lucas, along with Kilkee coast guard volunteers Jenny Carway and James Lucey were searching the sea beneath cliffs at an area near the Pollock Holes for a missing man, on September 12th, 2016. Suddenly, a massive wave hit their RIB, and the three crew members were thrown out of the boat, into the sea. In her deposition, which was read out by Inspector Gary Thompson, Ms Carway stated: Caitriona shouted breaking wave, it broke straight in on top of us turning us upside down, we were all wearing our helmets and we were all alive at this stage. Another wave hit and we all got tossed about, the boat was upturned. Ms Carway said another wave swept them into a sea cave, and smacked her against the cave wall. Another series of waves kept her pinned against the cliff face. She said saw Ms Lucas and Mr Lucey were both moving at the back of the cave at this point. Ms Carway stated they were hit by another series of waves and she saw Caitriona lying face down in the water. She said she was fighting the waves and clutching onto her radio in the water and issuing a mayday alert for help. The radio was gripped to my hands and I was screaming for help, I was told keep swimming - don't give up, but I didnt have any more (energy) in me. She said her safety helmet was ripped off by a wave and she was washed down to the side of the cliff face. She was wearing a flotation device but she did not manually inflate her dry suit because it impedes your movement in the water. She was eventually airlifted to safety by the Shannon-based Coast Guard rescue helicopter Rescue 115. When asked by Michael Kingston, a maritime law expert who is representing Ms Lucas family at the inquest, if the Coast Guard service had offered her any supports since the fatal incident, Ms Carway replied No. She told the inquest jury of four men and three women at Kilmallock courthouse, Co Limerick, that the Kilkee unit was always short of volunteer crews, and it routinely required assistance from volunteers from outside units. The court heard that all three volunteers lost their safety helmets after being hit by successive waves. Ms Carway said her helmet was loose fitting an so she used an inflatable bladder inside her helmet, tied the chin strap extremely tight, and kept her visor closed, for her helmet to stay on her properly. She said if she hadnt been wearing her helmet when she was being smashed and tumbled against rocks in the cave she would not have survived. Her helmet was ripped off her when she was hit by a wave and pinned against the cave wall. Mr Kingston said Ms Lucas could be seen on video footage from rescuers cameras being struck by the Kilkee RIB and sea rocks, rendering her unconscious. When asked if Ms Lucas could have survived if she had been wearing her helmet at the time she was hit by the boat, Ms Carway, fighting back tears, replied: It could have been the difference between her being here today and not. The inquest heard the Kilkee boat logs had been requested by the Lucas family to be provided to the inquest but they were not available. It also heard that Ms Lucass dry suit had filled up with water. The crew were not aware they were entering a surf zone which was considered a no go zone for inflatable RIBs. Safety gear belonging to the three volunteers was put into evidence bags by Gardai and given to a representative of the Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB). These items had also been requested by the Lucas family but they had not yet been made available, Mr Kingston said. One maritime VHF radio was not working properly and a seat on the Kilkee RB was not in commission. Mr Kingston said he had been gagged by Coroner John McNamara, who said he would not allow him raise a 2014 incident in Dingle, Co Kerry involving a capsized vessel, as Mr McNamara had prevously ruled this was not relevant. Ms Carway and Mr Lucey told the inquest that Ms Lucas had been on the Kilkee RIB that day because there were not enough regular Kilkee coast guard members available on the day. It was accepted by Limerick Coroner, John McNamara, that a report compiled by the Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) into the fatal incident, included incorrect details of the location of where the Kilkee RIB capsized. James Lucey told the hearing: I saw a wall of water crashing towards us. It hit us and dragged us under. I remember being underwater, it was like being in a washing machine. Another wave crashed into us, they just kept coming. Mr Lucey said that every time that he tried to climb onto rocks, another wave washed me off. He was swept into the cave where the tide was coming in around them and when he surfaced after being hit by another wave, his helmet was gone. He said he initially saw Ms Lucas on her back on the water, but she ended up being face down in the water before being winched from the sea by the Rescue 115 helicopter to University Hospital Limerick where she was pronounced dead. He said he felt it was too dangerous to stay with the boat, after it had righted itself, given the waves crashing about them. He said they were all wearing flotation devices but that he did not inflate his dry suit as I deemed it would restrict my movements in the water. When asked by Mr Kingston if he expected his helmet would have stayed on, Mr Lucey replied: Yes. Mr Lucey said his dry suit was not full of water but that if it had been he would not have been able to get himself onto a ledge in the cave prior to being rescued by the coast guard helicopter. Retired Garda Sergeant John Moloney, Kilrush Garda Station, who was working on the day, fought back tears in court, recalling hearing the mayday alert and the words capsized screech over the rescuers radios. He said he asked a member of the Kilkee unit to join people who were operating a private boat and go search for Ms Lucas and her two colleagues. He said large rolling waves were smashing against the cliffs and this leisure boat could not reach the capsized crew. Becoming emotional, Mr Moloney said he witnessed Ms Lucas lying face down and being tossed around at the mercy of the breaking waves. She seemed unconscious. The RIB (boat) was upright and unoccupied near the cliffs. The inquest continues on Tuesday. All grass-fed beef produced on the island of Ireland will receive similar protections to those enjoyed by champagne from this week. Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue will on Tuesday inform Cabinet that beef produced in Ireland and Northern Ireland will receive a protected geographical indication (PGI) from the European Commission. The commission will this week announce its decision to include Irish grass-fed beef in the EU register, while Achill Sea Salt is to be given a protected designation of origin certification. This designation shows that an item is produced, processed, and developed in a specific area. Geographical indications are a type of intellectual property, protecting food product names which are linked to a particular territory or to a production method. The Irish push for a PGI had caused alarm among Northern farmers, who feared not being allowed to use the term Irish. However, after three months of negotiations, it was agreed last summer that the protection would apply to all beef which comes from the island of Ireland. The designations are part of an Irish push to designate more foods and products. This week, a process was begun to get a PGI for certified Irish Angus beef. Defence Forces overseas Also at Cabinet, Tanaiste Micheal Martin will seek approval for the continuation of the Irish Defence Forces participation in two missions abroad. He will seek approval to continue the provision of up to five members of the Defence Forces for the UN-authorised mission Operation Althea in Bosnia and Herzegovina until December 31, 2024. The EU military mission, formerly known as EUFOR, was established under a UN Security Council resolution in November 2004. The primary focus of the operation is on stability and security in the country, supporting the local authorities. A total of 20 countries, including EU member states and non-EU troop-contributing countries, are present in the mission. The force is concentrated in Sarajevo, with liaison and observation teams deployed throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mr Martin will also seek approval to continue Defence Forces participation in the UN Mine Action Service in Entebbe, Uganda. This would be on six-month rotations for a period of up to 24 months. The purpose of the deployment is to continue to deliver counter-improvised explosive devices training for troops deploying to UN peacekeeping missions. Research centre funding Meanwhile, Higher Education Minister Simon Harris is due to announce 70m in joint funding to establish two new research centres, based around food sustainability and climate change. The funding, which is coming from Government departments in Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Britain, is due to be announced as part of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference. Ireland is due to contribute 40m, while the British government will contribute 12m (13.8m) and the remaining 17m (19.6m) will come from Northern Irelands Department of Agriculture. Meanwhile, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has paid tribute to veteran Fine Gael TD Fergus ODowd, who has confirmed he will not contest the next general election. Mr ODowd has been a TD since 2002. Justice Minister Helen McEntee has withdrawn significant proposals around consent in the Governments major reform of existing rape laws. A provision in the legislation that has already been signed off by Cabinet sought to change the legal test around consent. The bill published in July proposed that people accused of rape would have to convince a jury they took steps to get consent from their accuser. The Irish Examiner has learned that Ms McEntee has now removed the provisions which were set out in amendment of Section 2 of the legislation reforming the 1981 rape laws. Dublin Rape Crisis Centre CEO Rachel Morrogh has said this will deny protection to victims of sexual violence and has urged the minister to reconsider this decision. A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said a section of the legislation has been removed for a number of reasons including a requirement for the provision to be thoroughly examined in order to ensure that they are constitutionally sound". Dublin Rape Crisis Centre CEO Rachel Morrogh: 'We believe the removal of these provisions weakens the legislation and we urge the minister to reconsider this decision.' Ms McEntee revealed the landmark legislation last year and received Cabinet approval in July this year to publish the wide-ranging bill that seeks to strengthens the law around sexual offences and improve protections for victims. She hailed the now-deleted section of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking) Bill 2023 which outlined that honest belief that a victim had given consent would no longer be a defence in rape cases. The question would become whether the belief is one that a reasonable person would have held in the circumstances, rather than whether such belief was honestly held. Ms McEntee also said changes were needed particularly around juries having regard to the steps the accused took to check whether the woman was consenting. Fianna Fail senator Lisa Chambers called on the justice minister to give a detailed explanation as to why the provisions have been dropped. Ms McEntees department said they hoped a separate piece of legislation addressing the matters would be progressed next year. However, senior government sources have said it would be "difficult" for it to be dealt with before the next general election. Ms Morrogh said she is concerned at the removal of a section since the earlier version of the bill was published. She said: The original version of the Bill would have been transformative in terms of victims access to justice, because it included the provision that consent must be ascertained before and during sex. "The news today that this will be dealt with in later legislation will deny victims of sexual violence the protection provided in the original bill until a second piece of legislation is passed. We believe the removal of these provisions weakens the legislation and we urge the minister to reconsider this decision. Ms Morrogh added: "We are concerned that it may be a step backwards in an area where there has been so much progress over recent years, where the minister and her department have shown great commitment and focus." The provisions included in the initial legislation arise from recommendations of the Law Reform Commission. A spokesperson for the department said: The Director of Public Prosecutions has highlighted serious issues with redefining the mental state in relation to rape in isolation, as had been recommended, without also extending it to sexual assault. The Department is also considering the implications of a recent Supreme Court judgment and how it may impact the proposals. The provisions need to be thoroughly examined in order to ensure that they are constitutionally sound. A separate sexual offences bill, putting sexual assault on a statutory footing, will ensure the law in relation to consent remains consistent across these offences. This will be progressed next year. The spokesperson added that other elements of the Bill are time sensitive, so it is "intended to proceed with the rest of the Bill without delay. Fianna Fail senator Lisa Chambers has called on Ms McEntee to give a detailed explanation as to why the provisions have been dropped and said it would be helpful for the Oireachtas for the serious issues raised by the DPP to be published. There will be a lot of disappointment about this, she said. Dear Government, Im writing to you all in the hope that youll all take a moment to listen. Because there are four things you really need to hear. And as an ordinary citizen of this country of ours, albeit one with a bit of experience in these matters, I think you need to hear them loud and clear. First off, all this resigning crack. Forget it, stop taking it seriously, stop huffing and puffing about it. Its like an essential part of the Irish psyche by now. The minute anything goes wrong, the first reaction is heads must roll. It often doesnt matter whose head rolls, or what head replaces it. Wed rather punish someone than fix the problem. Im going to take a lead from Sinn Fein instead. Not todays Sinn Fein, of course. Im old enough to remember the standard SF response whenever they or the IRA was criticised usually after some atrocity. I will not engage in the politics of denunciation, Gerry Adams used to say (again and again). Because they achieve nothing." That refrain served them well for years. You can be pretty certain that if they were in government today, the mantra would have been dusted down for regular use again. So, please regard all this resignation stuff as just an unnecessary distraction. But having said that, there are lessons to be learned, and if you dont learn them you will be punished and deserve to be. Secondly, you wont learn them without really understanding what actually happened on Thursday night. Ive read a lot that the gardai were very slow to react to a riot that everyone else saw coming. But is that right? What I saw unfolding was all of the emergency services, including the gardai, responding to a terrible incident in Parnell Square. They couldnt have known immediately how bad that incident was, how many assailants there were, or what the nature of it was. Gardai in Dublin city centre. Picture: PA But after they dealt with that and they seem to have responded to it magnificently they had to deal with an increasingly charged crowd and eventually a whole scale riot. I was in the city centre at the time, not near the scene, but I was keeping a close eye on X because (like so many others) I was shocked and horrified at what had happened to the children outside the school, and wanted to find out if they were ok. In real-time, an incredible number of vile messages of hate began to appear on X, all aimed at foreigners and asylum seekers. And then other messages began appearing, including one from an organisation that describes itself as challenging the consensus and rejects biased filters, which confirmed that the attacker was Algerian. I think if you were still following X after that youd really begin to wonder what poison has seeped into our collective bloodstream. Were the gardai late to arrive? Were they in sufficient numbers? Were they effective? Those questions need to be asked and answered fairly and honestly. For what its worth though, Ill tell you what made me proud. Individual gardai in uniform were harassed and threatened. They didnt flinch. Collectively, and quickly, they confronted gangs, and inch by inch they forced them back. There were no drawn batons, no charges, just a high degree of controlled pressure. If they, or anyone else, had lost control of the streets for an hour or so, they got it back in the most admirable and professional fashion I think Ive ever seen. So the third thing I believe the government needs to recognise is that Drew Harris runs a really good police service. He needs to listen to it much more than he seems to and his political masters should tell him that. I dont know him at all, but he seems to me far too committed to doing things his way. He needs to sit down with the representatives of the gardai in the coming weeks, with an open agenda and an open mind, and start putting some of their grievances to right. But theres a fourth thing you have to come to terms with. Right now. Its immigration. Theres a truth that has to be told. Protestors clashing with gardai. Picture: PA The entire right-wing commentariat is calling for an open and honest debate about immigration. One of them has called it the defining political issue of our age. Another has said that any honest debate about the Dublin riots has to include immigration policy. You could test this. Round up all these foreigners, every last one of them. Round up everyone with brown skin, everyone who wears different clothes, everyone who pays homage in a different church, everyone with a strange accent. Round them all up. And send them home. Dont tolerate any guff about persecution or Russian invasions. Just send them home. Take our country back from all these foreigners. Ireland is full, right? Then watch the businesses start to shut down. Watch the health and social care systems collapse. Watch the queues for essential life-saving operations get longer and longer. Watch the building industry grind to a halt. Watch every single public service start to struggle much more than they are now. Watch our economy start to tank and our society become lost and bewildered. Or we could all begin to confront it. Immigrants are not the problem. Of course, some bad people have come here, but thousands of people from all sorts of backgrounds have transformed Ireland for the better and we need to recognise that. Anyone with first-hand experience in healthcare, for instance, knows how brilliant they are and how much theyre needed. But they have become the other that we are told to target and hate. And that has happened in part because in all sorts of ways public policy is failing to meet the needs, especially of disadvantaged communities and families. The scene in Dublin last Thursday. Picture: PA I know communities too well where good people feel angry and bitter over the failure of housing policy, over the inaccessibility of health services, over the lack of income support when their backs are to the wall. Immigration isnt the cause of those things. An honest and open debate about the Dublin riots will ultimately have to address the breakdown of community and the alienation of people who are citizens from their own state. And it will have to rebuild public services that are under immense pressure. Theyre my four things you should know. Forget the resignation nonsense. Figure out as independently as possible what really happened on Thursday night. Rebuild trust between the gardai and their leadership. But above all, start concentrating on the communities that are in trouble. Id need more space to give you a detailed plan. But trust me, its about investing in communities that have been neglected for too long. Its about cutting through red tape and bureaucracy. Its about respecting the struggles that too many families have. Its about closing the gap and its a huge gap between you and them. Try to get that done and you might just stop future riots. WITH a human catastrophe occurring in Gaza and conflicts ongoing globally focusing the attention of the world, the UNs Cop28 summit has gone under the radar even as the climate change crisis intensifies. Government leaders across the world will join thousands of scientists, business leaders, engineers, academics, and activists for the annual global climate change summit in Dubai from Thursday, November 30, to Tuesday, December 12, and the stakes are high. The world is currently on course to surpass the 1.5C temperature rise limit, agreed at Cop21 in Paris in 2015. That 1.5C figure is crucial to grasping the severity of the climate change crisis gathering pace every season. According to the Paris Agreement, a 1.5C rise in temperatures was set as the goal limit for the rise globally, compared to 1850-1900, in order to stave off the very worst fallout from climate change. Considering the global temperature is merely flirting with a permanent 1.5C rise in the years since the Paris Accords, the change across the world in the past decade when it comes to extreme heatwaves, intensified storms, prolonged drought, and persistent rainfall should focus the minds at how ominous things would be if it went beyond that mark. According to scientific modelling, a 2C rise would mean the likes of coral reefs would die off, ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica would melt and cause huge rises in sea levels making prominent coastal cities and settlements vulnerable in decades to come and there would be untold wipeout of much of the worlds biodiversity, which is already teetering. Faith leaders are urging politicians to ensure the Cop28 climate conference counts, warning that humanity stands "on the brink of untold destruction" without urgent action. Picture: Ben Birchall/PA Wire Crop failures at 2C could lead to food production being halted and spikes in prices of everyday items, while diseases such as malaria and dengue fever would break out of their traditional hotspots to become health issues in places that would never have expected it. A 3C or even 4C rise not beyond the scope of possibility would bring unimaginable consequences in decades to come, with many parts of the world becoming virtually unlivable. Hosts ties to fossil fuel Why then has Cop28 not captured the worlds attention? Humanitarian catastrophes in Gaza, an ongoing Russian invasion in Ukraine, and other conflicts have obviously garnered attention from world leaders and populations, while environmental activists are cynical about the choice of host for Cop28. The Cop28 event has been the focus of intense criticism before it even begins, because of the United Arab Emirates ties to fossil fuel. The UAEs climate envoy and host of Cop28 is Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, head of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) the 12th largest oil-producing firm in the world. Environmental groups have castigated the choice of climate envoy, with Mr al-Jabers position described as ridiculous, considering Adnocs massive expansion of oil and gas production in the future. Climate leaders, such as former Irish president Mary Robinson, are insistent that legitimate criticism of the event cannot take away from the fact that it simply must deliver meaningful agreements and action. At Cop28, we need to drive greater ambition on climate action among world leaders and governments, Ms Robinson said. This is extremely important in order to keep 1.5C alive. For this, we need to phase out fossil fuels and scale up clean energy. Senegalese women participate in the third edition of the Women's March for Climate in Dakar, Senegal, Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. Picture: AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui It is extremely important to put people first and create outcomes that are fair for those who are on the front lines of climate impacts. We need to prioritise climate justice and unlock finance in order to ensure a sustainable, just, and equitable future that does not leave anyone behind. At the Cop27 climate change summit in Egypt last year, a landmark agreement on so-called loss and damage was agreed after years of geopolitical tussling. Loss and damage refers to the consequences of climate change that go beyond what people can adapt to, while climate finance refers to major nations paying a fairer share towards climate change bolstering in smaller nations. The agreement at Cop27 is designed to ensure wealthier nations pay a fairer share towards the aftermath of climate change-led events, such as extreme cyclones and drought, helping smaller nations who are facing the most severe consequences. Ireland committed at least 225m per year in international climate finance by 2025, at Cop26 in Glasgow, in November 2021. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, left, talks to journalists, accompanied by Chile's President Gabriel Boric at Chile's Eduardo Frei Air Force Base on King George Island, Antarctica, Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. Picture: AP Photo/Jorge Saenz According to Christian Aid and Trocaire, Ireland should be paying more than six times that amount by the end of the decade as a fair share. Official data for 2021 show Ireland paid just under 100m that year. The report by the charity organisations found wealthy countries initially pledged to provide $100bn (91.4bn) a year in support, to developing countries for climate action, in both 2009 (Copenhagen) and 2015 (Paris). However, more than a decade later, this target has still not been met OECD data states just $83bn (75.9bn) was provided in 2020, while academic and civil society estimates suggest the true value is less than a third of what has been reported, Christian Aid and Trocaire said. Those cynical are right to be so, according to Mrs Robinson but out of unexpected place can come landmark moments, she said. Cop28 is a key moment it comes when we are running out of time. It is the Cop that has the global stocktake, which has shown us that governments are not fulfilling the commitments they committed to at the Paris Agreement. I remember well because I was the special envoy of the UN Secretary General at the time when we went into the Paris Cop21 in December 2015, we didnt think we were going to get the goal we wanted, which included 1.5C in the text. We changed things and we got a goal that said we would stay well below 2C and work for 1.5C, Mrs Robinson added. Former President and Adjunct Professor of Climate Justice Mary Robinson during the launch of Trinity's 21st annual Greenweek "Healthy Planet, Healthy People" and the importance of Trinity becoming a leader in biodiversity and climate action not only in Dublin but in Ireland and internationally. at Trinity Business School, Dublin. The stocktake is when countries will review progress towards the Paris Agreement goals of 2015, including the goal of keeping global warming to well below 2C, while pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5C. Were now at the latter stage of that and we are running out of time, said Ms Robinson. I hope this Cop will very clearly say we not only have to phase out of fossil fuel, but that we have to do it with just transition for the workers, the communities that will be affected, and a just transition into affordable, accessible renewable energy that is in every home in the future. Just transition is the term used to describe making sure employment opportunities and societal benefits are present for those who live and work in communities tied to legacy industries, such as coal mining and peat extraction, as well as protecting less financially secure and vulnerable citizens. Leading by example Marie Aronsson-Storrier, Niamh Guiry, Archishman Bose, Claudia Hihetah, Dearbhla Richardson, and Kian Mintz-Woo are members of University College Corks Cop28 delegation. Ireland has a global part to play, not only in negotiations at Cop28 but also leading by example in the reduction of its own emissions, which are amongst the most intensive per person in the world. The argument that Ireland is merely a small player compared to the industrial powerhouses like the US, India, and China does not hold weight, according to Ms Robinson. It is a false equivalency, she said. We are a rich country not everyone in Ireland is rich obviously, we are an unequal country but by global terms, we are a rich country and our carbon footprint is quite high. We havent been in the front of reducing that, we have been a laggard until recently with good climate legislation. Now we are on course to reduce, by 29%, our commitment to reducing emissions by 2030 not 51% as is in our legislation, or 55% as it will be because the EU knows we have to get more urgent. 29% is not good we need to step up and do a lot better, and we are not small we are influential. We are at the table and we can make a difference. In June this year, stark figures revealed how far off course Ireland is from reaching its greenhouse gas emissions targets, by the end of the decade. By then, the goal was to have reduced emissions by 51%. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), they are on course to have been cut by just 29% with key sectors, such as agriculture and transport, way off target. Even that 29% cut will only happen if all emissions-reduction plans currently mooted and in train are implemented, the EPA says. If the planned actions are not implemented and existing measures are relied upon, the reduction is forecast to be just 11%. University College Cork (UCC), which will send a delegation to Cop28 as it has in recent years, says it has identified five worrying trends for Irelands environment. UCC, which has over 500 researchers engaged in sustainability, pinpointed two weather records have been broken in 2023 in Ireland: The warmest June and wettest July on record. Ireland has one of the most fossil fuel dependent economies in Europe, with fossil fuels meeting more than 85% of our energy needs, while 1m was spent per hour on oil and gas alone in 2022. Some 63% of Irelands bird species are in decline, while more than half of Irelands native plants are in decline, it said. The associate vice-president of sustainability at UCC, Prof Brian O Gallachoir, said: Cop28 has come under criticism for being held in Dubai, however UCC is sending a delegation. As the first Irish university to become an observer member of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, we feel its important to observe the Cop deliberations, to critically assess what emerges, and to report back both on the discussions and outcomes. It is also a timely opportunity to highlight significant challenges Ireland faces. The Government needs to listen to marginalised elements of society and be seen to do so to ensure their concerns are not exploited by elements of the far right intent on sowing division in society, President Michael D Higgins said recently, following riots in Dublin, kindled by a knife attack on Parnell Square involving young schoolchildren and their carer. "This necessary development, challenging as it may be, of offering economic, social and cultural policies that can improve conditions for marginalised groups and help drive the creation of a more equal and inclusive society, while confronting policies that marginalise the other can help confront the exploitative targeting of marginalised groups and their scapegoating in conditions of crisis," the President said. The prevailing view among policy makers across the globe is that political discourse must be embedded in one thing economic growth at the expense of almost everything else. When pressed, they emphatically state growth is responsible for the extraordinary improvements in welfare and life expectancy that weve witnessed over the last century. Growth is essential to improve peoples lives and to abandon it would be to abandon progress itself. But recent evidence questions the validity of this universally entrenched belief. The economic anthropologist Jason Hickel in Less is More (2020) says the relationship between growth and human progress is not quite as obvious as we once thought. Its not growth itself that matters what matters is what we are producing, whether people have access to essential goods and services and how income is distributed. "And past a certain point, more GDP isnt necessary for improving human welfare at all." Mounting evidence shows the relationship between GDP and human welfare plays out on a saturation curve, with sharply diminishing returns. After a certain point, which high-income nations have long surpassed, more GDP does little to improve core social outcomes and the relationship begins to break down. Hickel explains that in fact there are many countries that manage to achieve strikingly high levels of human welfare with relatively little GDP per capita. The key factors are distribution and investment in universal public goods. Life expectancy Despite 80% less income, life expectancy in Costa Rica is higher than the US. Take life expectancy. In 2020, life expectancy in the US was 78.7 years, with a GDP per capita of $59,000. Japan, by comparison had a life expectancy of 84 years the highest in the world, with a GDP per capita over a third (35%) less than the US. Portugal had almost two thirds (65%) less income in 2020 and a life expectancy of 81.1. The EU has over a third (36%) less income than the US and yet beats the US not only on life expectancy but on virtually every other indicator of human welfare. The most impressive example of all is Costa Rica. Despite 80% less income, life expectancy in Costa Rica is higher than the US. Not only that but the rainforest-rich Central American country achieved some of its most impressive gains in life expectancy during a time when its GDP per capita was one seventh of the US and not growing at all. Hickel asks what explains these remarkable results. "Its simple," he says. "Theyve all invested in building high-quality universal healthcare and education systems. When it comes to delivering long, healthy flourishing lives for all, this is what counts." Not only that, its not that expensive. Universal public health services are significantly more cost-effective. Spain spent $2,300 per person in 2020 to deliver high-quality healthcare to everyone as a fundamental right and its life expectancy figures of 83.5 show the system is delivering. By contrast, private healthcare in the US cost a monstrous $9,500 per person while simultaneously delivering much lower life expectancy and much worse health outcomes. Repeatedly, the evidence shows it is possible to achieve high levels of human development without high levels of GDP. According to UN data, countries can reach the very highest levels with as little as $8,000 per capita and very high levels on the education index with as little as $8,700. In fact, countries can succeed on a wide range of key social indicators health, education, employment, nutrition, social support, democracy, and life satisfaction with less than $10,000 per capita. Situation in Ireland What is the situation in Ireland? Luxembourg, Ireland and Norway lead the ranking with more than $100,000 in GDP per capita. Luxembourg is a key financial services centre in Europe, Ireland is headquarters to many multinational corporations and Norway is one of the largest energy exporters in the region, explaining their relative prosperity. Despite these extraordinary figures, recent data shows the gap between Irelands most disadvantaged areas and the national average has increased. Almost 200,000 (195,992) people now live in areas classed as very or extremely disadvantaged and urban areas contain more extremes of both highly disadvantaged and highly affluent areas, according to the 2022 Pobal HP Deprivation Index launched earlier this month. The index found a countrywide improvement in measures such as employment and population growth but persistent disadvantages remains for many communities. Taking the Luas from Heuston Station to Abbey Street any day of the week confirms the prevailing sense of menace that stalks streets on the northern side of the city. File picture: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie Disadvantaged communities experience significantly higher levels of unemployment and low educational attainment, with higher rates of lone parents. Urban areas contain the highest proportion of both highly disadvantaged and highly affluent areas, while rural areas tend to see less of these extremes. Disadvantage is disproportionally experienced in small pockets in Dublin city centre, north and west suburbs, on the outskirts of Cork, Waterford and Limerick, as well as a small number of towns. Relative affluence continues to be seen in south Dublin as well as the commuter belts surrounding Dublin, Cork and Galway. We dont need figures to tell us this. Taking the Luas from Heuston Station to Abbey Street any day of the week confirms the prevailing sense of menace that stalks streets on the northern side of the city. The other key finding from recent research is that after a certain threshold, more growth actually begins to have a negative impact. Growth 'uneconomic' At a certain point, growth begins to "uneconomic". Ecologist Herman Daly puts it succinctly it begins to create more "illth" than wealth. The continued pursuit of growth in high-income nations is exacerbating inequality and political instability and contributing to poor mental health, stress from overwork and lack of sleep, and high levels of chronic illness. Mounting research points to the importance of meaning in peoples lives when they have an opportunity to express compassion, co-operation, community and human connection. In Costa Rica, research from the Stanford School of Medicine showed the people who lived the longest were people from one of the poorest parts of Costa Rica in monetary terms. People from the Nicoya Peninsula had access to excellent public health but more importantly and something completely unexpected: community. "The Nicoyans who lived the longest had strong relationships with friends, family and neighbours. Even in old age they felt connected. They felt valued." "Imagine," people living in subsistence lifestyles in rural Costa Rica enjoy longer, healthier lives than people in the richest economies on Earth," Hickel concludes. Isnt it time we listened to the data, opened our eyes to widening inequality in our cities and valued all our citizens equally? Isnt it time we organised the economy around the needs of humans rather than the other way round? Dr Catherine Conlon is a public health doctor in Cork and former director of human health and nutrition at Safefood A two-day extension to the humanitarian pause in the Gaza Strip is insufficient to meet the needs of people there, charities have said as they called for an immediate ceasefire. The Qatari government announced on Monday that Israel and Hamas had agreed to extend the humanitarian pause for two more days. Further releases of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners in Israels jails are expected as the deal is structured to allow more exchanges for every day the pause holds. On Monday night, ActionAid welcomed a longer pause but warned it will not be enough to help women and girls sheltering in camps in southern Gaza. ActionAid welcomes the two-day extension to Gazas humanitarian pause, but without a ceasefire it warns it is not enough to help women and girls sheltering in overcrowded camps in southern Gaza. Read our latest statement https://t.co/GFqJS63RlJ pic.twitter.com/VxLRExY1fC ActionAid UK (@ActionAidUK) November 27, 2023 It claimed the delivery of 187 trucks of aid in recent days utterly fails to meet the needs of Palestinians in the territory and amounts to less than half the amount of aid allowed in before the war. One mother displaced in southern Gaza told the charity: We came to the school to find a mattress, blanket, or anything to cover ourselves with. We did not find any of this. We slept on the floor. We sleep without pillows and without blankets. The one blanket we have we put on the children. My sister recently gave birth, about two weeks ago. She could not find a blanket to cover her newborn with. Cold and rain are upon us, and there is no fresh water. We cant find food to feed the children. We go to the market and are surprised by the prices. They are unimaginable. Riham Jafari, advocacy and communication co-ordinator for ActionAid Palestine, said: We welcome the announcement of a two-day extension to the truce in Gaza to give extra time to deliver much-needed aid but again, only a ceasefire can meet the huge needs of millions of people. Until then, pauses can only provide a short relief from the relentless bombing and a tiny window to get in a fraction of the aid needed. Plan International, which advocates for childrens rights and equality for girls, described the extension to the pause as another positive step but called for an end to hostilities. The charitys UK director of influencing and youth engagement, Kathleen Spencer Chapman, said: The announcement of an extended two-day pause to the conflict in Gaza and the release of more hostages is another positive step. However, only a full and immediate ceasefire will stop children being killed and enable the scale of life-saving aid and supplies such as desperately needed clean water, food, fuel and medicines needed to be distributed across Gaza. A pause only offers children and families a temporary reprieve from the violence. (PA Graphics) We cannot allow children to return to the daily death and destruction they have been subjected to since October 7. Thats why we continue to call on the UK Government and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to back a full ceasefire now and not just a pause. Save the Children International wrote: We welcome the release of some Israeli children held hostage in Gaza and Palestinian children held in Israeli military detention. But we still need all hostages to be released unconditionally, for children in Israeli-run prisons to be better protected and a lasting ceasefire now. Its international chief executive Inger Ashing said: A few days pause in fighting wont keep children safe. We cannot let a whole generation of children bear the brunt of this conflict. We need a lasting ceasefire now. Mack Hogan The previous-generation Toyota Tacoma is a rightful legend. The trucks blend of utilitarian design, off-road capability, and unbeatable reliability have ensured its spot as the best-selling mid-size truck. There was only one issue with it: It is not a nice vehicle to drive or be driven in. The new redesign fixes that. The 2024 Toyota Tacoma handles well, rides better, and feels far more refined. It may not have the American trucks beaten on all counts, but it finally feels like a sophisticated product, one thats worthy of segment domination. Blame the new frame for a large portion of the Tacos improvement. The new truck rides on the same TNGA-F body-on-frame architecture that underpins the Tundra, Sequoia, Lexus LX, Lexus GX, and upcoming Land Cruiser. After our experience with the Tundra, LX, and Sequoia, we werent sure what to expect from the new Tacoma. The full-size products saw some improvement in the switch to TNGA-F, but none of them blew us away. Mack Hogan Its now clear that the Tacoma gets the biggest payoff from the switchover. The previous-generation truck was hampered by ancient bones and a series of patchwork upgrades to keep it competitive. But its weaknesses showed through, with a maximum capacity that all but guaranteed that any overland Tacoma build is over max payload. The new one can haul up to 1705 lbs in 4x4 Double Cab configuration with the i-Force Max hybrid powertrain. We wont get to drive the hybrid until spring of 2024. In the meantime, the only engine available is a turbo 2.4-liter in two states of tune. Base SR trucks ($31,500 to start) get 228 hp and 243 lb-ft of torque, while i-Force engines make 278 hp and 317 lb-ft of torque. That torque peak comes at 1700 rpm (or 1600 rpm for the base motor), so theres plenty of low-end oomph, even if you have to rev it to 6000 rpm for peak power. When the hybrids hit the market next spring, theyll offer 326 hp and 465 lb-ft of twist. Mack Hogan For now, the i-Force and standard 2.4 seem up to the job. The i-Force matches the power output of the 2023 trucks 3.5-liter V-6 while trouncing that engines 265-lb-ft torque max. The standard 2.4 beats the 159-hp, 180-lb-ft four-cylinder from last years truck on both metrics. Fuel economy improves, too, with figures ranging from 20/26 city/highway for the 4x2 base automatic truck to 18/23 for the manual, 4x4, i-Force model. Thats right, the manual is still on the menu, and you can even get it on the good trims. Story continues Powertrain-wise, Toyota made smart choices and serious improvements. In both specs the 2.4 has enough grunt to move the truck about. It just doesnt seem to enjoy the work. Toyota says that the 2.4 in the trucks is built for a 50 percent heavier duty cycle than the 2.4 turbo in the Highlander (with which it shares many parts), but the engine works hard and makes plenty of noise when powering a truck. Chevys 2.7 liter feels much more relaxed in the Colorado. That makes sense, given its midrange tune provides 310 hp and 391 lb-ft of torque. Mack Hogan The Chevy also pulls more. Rear-wheel-drive Tacomas can tow 6500 lbs. Subtract 100 lbs if you want a 4x4 truck. The Colorado and Canyon can pull 7700 lbs in either 4x2 or 4x4 configuration, as can the Jeep Gladiator. Fords redesigned Ranger should be able to handle 7500 lbs. Even the Nissan Frontier can tow 6640 lbs. So the new Tacoma keeps its family tradition, not besting competitors on stats but attempting to provide enough utility for the weekend hauler. As Toyota describes it, the Tundra is what you use to haul your toys to the sandbox. The Tacoma is a toy you use in the sandbox. Mack Hogan To demonstrate, the company took us on a sandy off-road loop on a ranch in Malibu, California. The route was primarily a fire road, with a few obstacles added by Toyota in the lead up to the event. Nothing the old Tacoma, or any old truck, couldnt handle. But the course gave us a chance to check out the TRD Off-Road ($41,800 to start) models best new trick, an electronically disconnected front sway bar. Disconnect itwhich you can do on the move, while maxxed out on articulationand you get an extra four inches of travel between the front two wheels. You can still lift a wheel thanks to that long wheelbase, but its much easier to keep traction. The TRD Off-Road model also gets a locking rear differential and monotube Bilstein remote-reservoir shocks. The TRD Pro steps it up to Fox internal-bypass shocks, and includes plenty of other goodies like shock-absorbing seats, but since that trim is hybrid-only its off-menu until next year. For now, the TRD Off-Road model provides plenty of capability for the weekend adventurer, with a comfortable ride on the trail, plenty of low-end power, a new and improved crawl control system, great articulation, and the requisite locking differential. Mack Hogan But its on-road where the Tacoma makes its biggest leaps. The new truck is far quieter than the last one, though engine noise remains. And Toyotas focus on driveability and road manners has paid off. The 2024 Tacoma is a comfortable truck, which cant be said of any of its predecessors. You still get body-on-frame jitters and some occasional busyness from the rear end, but Id have no problem with daily-driving this truck. I cant say whether it rides better than the new Colorado (or Ranger, which we havent driven) without a back-to-back comparison, but theyre finally in the same league. If the ride is good, though, the handling is exceptional. On the twisting canyons of Malibu, California, I was shocked by how easily I could huck even the base-model Tacoma into tight corners. The truck has secure, now electronically assisted steering, with a precise tiller and predictable dynamics. Its not a fun or engaging thing to hustle, but if youre in a hurry it wont fall apart when it counts. Plus, the new eight-speed transmission is good at keeping the I-4 in the meaty part of its powerband. I experienced all of this in the trucks full redesigned interior. Unlike previous Tacomas, the new ones cabin looks designed, rather than merely assembled. Its a far sleeker, cooler cabin, which feels somewhat antithetical to the Tacomas status as a folk hero, but its a better place to spend time. The interiors of our pre-production testers all had unfinished plasticsthey hadnt gone through the process Toyota uses to create depth and texture, so they were shiny and monotonousbut things looked far better than in the last truck. The new infotainment system is a breeze to use, and the dreadful seating position from the last truck has been corrected. I found it easy to find a comfortable spot for the seat, though at 5 6 Im not a good source for our tallest readers. Unfortunately the seat itself still felt cheap and not as supportive as Id like, though itd take a longer drive to confirm that feeling. Mack Hogan Still, its these leaps that are so important to the Tacoma. Because, yes, the Tacoma is not top-of-class when it comes to refinement, or interior design, or capability. But a product doesnt have to be the best at everything. It has to be the best at some things, and good enough at everything else. In 2023, the Tacoma was the best at long-term reliability and good at off-road capability, but the worst at almost everything else. For 2024, the Tacomas sterling reputation lives on, but now backed by a solid driving experience, even better off-road capability, good fuel economy, and a cabin that feels modern enough. It is not the most luxurious midsize truck. Its engine cant match the Colorados. But its good enough that I dont really care about those compromises. If the 2024 Tacoma can match the reliability reputation of the previous truckwhich is not guaranteed with an all-new truckthen its safe to say its the truck Id buy. Anyone can build a good product, but a great product is one that lasts. You Might Also Like Kate Middleton is accused of being cold and ignoring Meghan Markle's cries for help in a controversial new book about the royal family. Omid Scobies book, Endgame, which was published on Tuesday, asserts that the future of the monarchy is in a crisis and it is in a fight for survival. In the book a source claims that Kate can be cold if she doesnt like someone and the writer goes on to say: This is a side of Kate that rarely gets written about. Advocating for mental health causes the mental health of mothers, for that matter but ignoring her own sister-in-laws cries for help seemed out of character for someone the public knew as sweet and easy to get along with. In an interview with The Times, Mr Scobie said: That crisis being a lack of interest from young people, an apathy, a growing republican movement, questions over whether the family still uphold the morals and values of the Crown that the Queen did such a great job of. Author Omid Scobie claims there has been a long-standing rift between the Duke of Sussex and Prince of Wales (Jordan Pettitt/PA) Among the claims made in the book are that there is a rift between Britain's King Charles and his son Prince William, that the Queen has quietly thanked Piers Morgan for defending the Firm, and that a timid Kate has to be encouraged to take part in engagements. Mr Scobies book makes a series of allegations involving Prince Harry and Ms Markle including that William and other family members covertly sanctioned leaks to reporters about Harry, that the elder brother ignored texts from Harry when the family were making their way to Balmoral before the late Queen died last year, and that Charles and Meghan exchanged letters in the wake of her interview with Oprah Winfrey. The alleged letters are said to reveal the identity of two people that Meghan claimed, in the TV interview, aired concerns about the colour of then-unborn Archies skin. Mr Scobie is also the co-author of Finding Freedom, a biography of Harry and Meghan, which claimed that Harry was angered by what he perceived as Williams snobbish attitude towards his bride. The 42-year-old author said he did not interview Ms Markle for Endgame but shares mutual friends with her which helped with sourcing information. Harry and Meghan are said in the book to be in a good place. The book alleges that Kate has to be encouraged to participate in engagements (Cameron Smith/PA) In excerpts, Mr Scobie also writes that Harry was crushed at having to learn of the late Queens death from a BBC news report. Mr Scobie claims palace sources later briefed that the King shared the news with Harry personally in a bid to save face. He wrote that Harry was described by a source as being completely by himself as he tried to make plans to fly to Balmoral on the day of the Queens death, and said he remained in the dark about his grandmothers health in her final moments. Relations between William and Harry have long been strained, and worsened after the accusations Harry publicly levelled at his brother in double tell-alls: his memoir Spare and his Netflix documentary. The writer previously said of Endgame: I was talking to a source quite early on in the process, and they called Harry a defector, and said that was Williams view. He added: In the eyes of some within the institution, Harry is a threat to the Crown. The author said of the brothers relationship: Theres no going back. The books full title is Endgame: Inside The Royal Family And The Monarchys Fight For Survival, and its chapters include Race And The Royals: Institutional Bigotry And Denial, and another called Gloves On: Prince William, Heir To The Throne. Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace have been contacted for comment. A fragile truce between Israel and Hamas held for a fifth day on Tuesday, as the militant group released more hostages to delay the expected resumption of the war. Israel came under pressure from the United States to better protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza if its offensive resumes. The latest swap of hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel got under way on Tuesday evening. Israel said 10 of its citizens and two foreigners were freed by Hamas and had entered Egypt. Protesters release balloons as they call for the release of the Bibas family, whose members are being held hostage in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel (Ariel Schalit/AP) Mediators met in Qatar to try to extend the ceasefire beyond Wednesday. For the first time since it began, Israel and Hamas traded accusations of a serious violation with an exchange of fire between troops and militants in northern Gaza. But there was no indication that it would endanger the truce or the planned exchanges of hostages held in Gaza for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. Israel has vowed to resume the war with full force to destroy Hamas once it is clear that no more hostages will be freed under the deal. The Biden administration has told Israel it must avoid significant further displacement and mass casualties among Palestinian civilians if it resumes the offensive, and that it must operate with more precision in southern Gaza than it has in the north, according to US officials. CIA director William Burns and David Barnea, who heads Israels Mossad intelligence agency, were in Qatar, a key mediator with Hamas, to discuss extending the ceasefire and releasing more hostages, a diplomat said. A US official confirmed Mr Burns was in Qatar. US secretary of state Antony Blinken is set to visit the region this week, also with an eye to extending the truce. Israeli soldiers move tanks at a staging area near the border with the Gaza Strip, southern Israel (Ohad Zwigenberg/AP) Hamas and other militants are still holding about 160 hostages out of the 240 seized in their October 7 assault into southern Israel that ignited the war. Israel has said it is willing to extend the ceasefire by one day for every 10 additional hostages that Hamas releases, according to the deal brokered by the Qatar, Egypt and the US. But Hamas is expected to make much higher demands for the release of captive soldiers. Israel has vowed to end Hamass 16-year rule in Gaza and crush its military capabilities. That would almost certainly require expanding the ground offensive from northern Gaza to the south, where most of Gazas population of 2.3 million is now crowded. It is unclear where they would go if Israel expands its ground operation, as Egypt has refused to accept refugees and Israel has sealed its border. The latest freed hostages nine women and a 17-year-old teenager were being flown to hospitals in Israel, where they will be reunited with their families, the Israeli military said. Around 30 Palestinian prisoners are expected to be released as part of the deal negotiated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States. (PA Graphics) Tuesdays release brought to 60 the number of Israelis freed under the terms of the deal between Israel and Hamas. An additional 21 hostages have been released in separate negotiations. So far, 150 Palestinians have been released from Israeli prisons. Allied resistance forces in Kayah (Karenni) State have made impressive gains since launching their anti-regime Operation 1111 offensive on November 11. In a wide-ranging interview with The Irrawaddy, Karenni Nationalities Defense Force Deputy Commander-in-Chief Marwi describes the current battle situation, the objectives of the offensive, and the dangers that still lie ahead. The Irrawaddy: How is Operation 1111 progressing since its launch in Kayah (Karenni) State on November 11? KNDF Deputy Commander Marwi: Our primary target is to seize control of Loikaw, which is the command center of the regime [in Kayah State], and to pull down the pillars of the juntas administrative machinery. We started attacking junta positions around Loikaw at 5 am on November 11. We have now occupied all junta positions surrounding Loikaw town. We are attacking junta strongholds in the town, including Loikaw University and the state police station. The juntas administrative mechanism has collapsed in the town as our forces enter and attack junta troops there. Which revolutionary groups are involved in Operation 1111? Those involved in the fighting are the Karenni Nationalities Defence Force, Karenni Army, Karenni National Peoples Liberation Front, Peoples Defense Forces [PDFs] from Demoso, Moe Bye, Pekon, Loikaw townships, and some units under the command of the National Unity Government, as well as some local resistance groups. It is fair to say that almost all of the armed groups in Karenni State are involved. A video clip shows you asking junta soldiers at Loikaw University to surrender even though your superior troop numbers could have annihilated them. Can you explain the fighting there? We needed to pass through Loikaw University to get into Loikaw town. Two military battalions were deployed there to defend our attack. We started attacking them on Nov. 13. At around 3 pm on the fourth day of the attack, they were cornered. They requested reinforcements and air and artillery support. We could have wiped them out. They were outnumbered and outgunned. But according to the rules of engagement, if the enemy wants to surrender, we have to accept it. So, we warned them before we launched the final assault. I gave them 30 minutes to surrender or face a lethal attack. I gave them a second warning after 20 minutes. Around three minutes later, they shouted that they would surrender. I told them to leave their weapons behind and come out one by one. These are the rules of engagement; they are what good soldiers should do. We have not taken up arms out of cruelty. There were over 30 of them. We are taking care of them according to our rules on prisoners of war and international military law. After they walked out of the university campus, we gave them medical care, including those who were seriously wounded. They [the regime] have blocked delivery of medicines and medical supplies to Karenni State. They seize or destroy any they find. We took great pains to bring in medicines to take care of the civilian population and our comrades. And we have used those medicines to treat those who once destroyed them. We have shown magnanimity. They [junta troops] are humans and they have a right to life. What has Operation 1111 achieved so far? How many casualties has each side suffered? The operation has been successful so far. First, junta troops have been forced to withdraw from their positions in Karenni State. Second, they have been confined to their bases. Third, they cant help each other when they are attacked even though they are only around 300 meters from each other. Their administrative mechanism has collapsed in Loikaw town. We have occupied nearly half of the town and we can move around freely there. The regime has suffered between 200 and 300 casualties in the 10-plus days since the offensive was launched. We found over 60 bodies of junta soldiers in the compound of the Loikaw University rector. There were also piles of bodies in other places. In some places, the odor was so bad that we could not approach. We have also suffered casualties. We recovered all the bodies of our comrades and organized proper military funerals. But we have kept on fighting to take control of the entire town. How much territory has been taken by revolutionary groups in Kayah State? In previous interviews, I said we had control over some 60 percent of territory, the regime controlled some 20 percent, and both sides were active in the remaining 20 percent. But today, it is fair to say that we have seized control of around 80 percent. The regime has some 10 percent, and both sides are active in the remaining 10 percent. The Karenni State Interim Executive Council is currently installing its own administration. A junta warplane was shot down by revolutionary groups in Kayah State on the first day of Operation 1111 and one of the pilots has been arrested. What information have you gained from his interrogation? We downed the K-8 fighter jet with two machine guns on the first day of the fighting. One of its wings was hit and the aircraft turned southwards. In the evening, we heard that a pilot had bailed out, the plane had crashed, and his military equipment had been found. The KNDF captured the pilot, who holds the rank of major, a week later. We are interrogating him carefully. It is still too early to reveal his testimony. He is one of those responsible for war crimes. We will publicize his detailed confession soon. What expectations does the KNDF have about Operation 1111? It is not enough to merely fight back against junta troops that come to attack us. For the revolution to succeed, we need to fight in the locations where junta troops are present. We need to destroy the regimes command centers. We need to carry out a large-scale counter-offensive against the regime. The objective of Operation 1111 is to topple the regimes administrative mechanism. We will make junta troops feel too unsafe to leave their bases in Loikaw. The ultimate goal of the operation is to drive them out of Karenni State. The operation should enable us to bring the entire Karenni State under our control, install our own administration, and deliver public services to the people. Kayah State lies close to Naypyitaw, so Operation 1111 poses a direct military threat to the regimes nerve center. Observers believe the regime may respond with indiscriminate attacks to regain control of Loikaw. What preparations have resistance groups made to protect the civilian population? We outnumber junta troops in Loikaw. For the time being, our target is Loikaw. We will consider other things only after seizing Loikaw. We are conducting this operation in consultation with political entities. Just as we fight the battle, political entities are doing their job to install a civil administration, and rescue and help civilians who have been displaced by the fighting. Displaced people can seek help from the home affairs department of the Karenni State Interim Executive Council [IEC]. The council is doing its best to meet their needs. We have also installed a law enforcement department to facilitate the administration. And we have negotiated with our allies [in other regions and states] to help civilians who have fled into their territory. We will step up our attacks and fight until [regime troops] surrender or return to the embrace of the people. Family members of junta military personnel are also suffering heavily from the impacts of the fighting. Will they let their husbands or sons die protecting the interests of Min Aung Hlaing and a handful of individuals? Or will they join the people with dignity? It is time for them to think about it. The executive council is drafting plans to take proper care of defectors and their families. What do you plan to do with the rector and non-striking staff of Loikaw University, as well as junta soldiers captured in the battle? We have a duty to rescue unarmed people during the fighting, whether they are striking government employees, still working [for the regime], or civilians. We have a responsibility to save them if they are trapped by the fighting. We rescued the staff of Loikaw University despite a barrage of bullets, shells and bombs. We handed them over to the IECs home affairs department. We did not abduct any [civilians] during the fighting. We are holding no one except prisoners of war. There were rumors that the rector was killed by us. This untrue. We want to tell the families of university staff not to worry. It was the Myanmar militarys responsibility to rescue them but it left them behind in the fighting. What do you want to tell Loikaw residents and civilians in the rest of Kayah State about the operation? For now, the regime is bombing indiscriminately as it has lost control of large swaths of territory. It is using multiple rocket launchers that can fire up to 40 shells at a time. So there are air and artillery strikes everywhere. We would like to urge the people to leave [Kayah State] if possible. If not, they should take shelter in strong buildings and trenches. I would like to urge them to endure the suffering for now so they can enjoy peace for the rest of their lives. By the time we entered Loikaw, the town had already suffered damage caused by air and artillery strikes. But we guarantee that public property will not be damaged by us. I would like to ask people to allow us to use their food and water. We will make sure their belongings such as cars, motorbikes and household items are not damaged or stolen. We have heard that junta troops have been ordered to shoot anyone on sight in Loikaw town. Junta soldiers gunned down five civilians who returned to retrieve possessions from their homes. They also shot dead a person who went to recover the bodies. They are shooting anyone indiscriminately, whether they are civilians or not. So, we urge civilians not to rush to collect their belongings. The resistance offensive is also ongoing in other areas including northern Shan, Rakhine and Chin states as well as Magwe and Sagaing regions. There have been calls for a nationwide operation. What is your view on that? Operation 1111 is inspired by Operation 1027 [launched in northern Shan State on Oct. 27]. It is important that we launch operations in our respective areas so that a nationwide coordinated attack takes shape on its own. We urge revolutionary groups in other areas to carry out similar operations. We need to help each other, take strength from each others success and try to destroy the military dictatorship. We welcome and support the launch of any [anti-regime] operation that takes place. A KNDF battalion has joined Operation 1027. Some of our comrades have died in the fighting there. Our battalions also joined the battle for Kunlong [in northern Shan State]. The KNDF is ready to join all anti-regime operations across the country. Do you have anything else you would like to say? I would like to repeat my message to [regime] soldiers and police. We heartily and warmly welcome them to join the embrace of people. This is the most honorable act for society in the current situation. I would like to urge them to make the decision quickly for the sake of their families and relatives so that they can live with dignity in society. We will hand them jobs and opportunities according to their capabilities, once the military dictatorship is toppled. So, I urge them to make the right decision promptly before facing destruction, and defect to us before it is too late. Tens of thousands of people who were trapped in Laukkai Town as fighting raged in Kokang region are now fleeing to Lashio in northern Shan State after the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) opened a route for the mainly migrant workers to return to their homes or at least find safety. MNDAA units have encircled Laukkai as it prepares to retake the capital of Kokang Self-Administered Zone from the regime. Its goal is to regain complete control the zone, which is on the border with China. Ko Win Kyi and his coworkers from a construction site began departed Laukkai Town on November 26 in a van provided by their employer. The road between Laukkai and Kunlong was jammed with hundreds of vehicles, however. Ko Win Kyi and his co-workers decided to join friends travelling through the forest on motorbikes. The MNDAA soldiers helped arrange all the routes that we can go through safely to reach Lashio Township. But they confiscated our mobile phones and they destroyed them in front of us for security reasons. And we were not allowed to look sideways while we were going through the forest, Ko Win Kyi added. On November 28, all the hotels, motels and monasteries in Lashio filled with the thousands of people fleeing Laukkai as thousands more remained stuck on roads. Most were migrant workers from as far away as Ayerwaddy and Bago regions. Others were from Mandalay and Sagaing regions. The routes that the MNDAA opened for them included roads as well as paths through forests in Laukkai, Kunlong, and Laukkai townships and Wa Self-Administrative Region. But all of the migrants fleeing Laukkai had to first reach Lashio before continuing on to their homes. The roads were jammed with cars and crowds. We couldnt count how many precisely but there were tens of thousands of people. And we were doing our best to ensure their security, said MNDAA spokesperson Li Jar Wen. While tens of thousands of people are still being guided out of Laukkai, hundreds of ethnic Kokang people remain stranded near the border with China. Video footage showed police from China firing tear gas cannisters on them as they approached a border fence on November 25. Clips of the incident spread online, triggering the anger of ethnic Chinese Myanmar citizens in northern Shan State. A video clip showed ethnic Kokang people begging Chinese police not to shoot at them because they are internally displaced people seeking refuge. Still, Chinese police continued driving them from the area and ordered them not to get too close to the recently installed border fence. Sources in Kokang region and Lashio said the hundreds of people seeking refuge near the border with China were ethnic Kokang people fleeing Laukkai and villages in Kokang region after clashes broke out between the juntas military and Brotherhood Alliance, which launched an attack on regime forces in northern Myanmar on October 27. They are our Kokang ethnic people, and their situation is still very bad. They have no food, blankets and not even enough water, said Li Jar Wen. He said the group from the video footage had previously sought refuge near another area on the border (125 point) but fled to 127 point as the juntas artillery shells got closer. (127 point is where the tear gas cannisters were fired at them). The MNDAA has been warning residents inside Laukkai to avoid any junta offices since November 18. It also told Chinese citizens to return to China. The offensive against the military regime has intensified across Myanmar since the launch of Operation 1027. The regime lost around 200 positions in a month in northern Shan State, where its military forces are in chaos. Observers are well aware that the regime is unable to regain control of those positions. The offensive has since spread to other parts of the country. Resistance forces have seized Kawlin and Kamphat towns in Sagaing Region, and occupied police stations as well as the bases of junta troops and junta-affiliated militias in Sagaing and Magwe regions. In some cases, junta troops have been forced to abandon their positions because of a shortage of personnel, ceding large swathes of territory to Peoples Defense Force groups (PDFs). There have been barely any reports of junta raids and arson attacks on villages in Sagaing and Magwe regions recently. The regime is short of personnel to carry out such raids. In Chin State, ethnic Chin revolutionary organizations have gained control of much of the territory, seizing Rihkhawdar and Lailinpi towns. In Karenni (Kayah) State, Karenni resistance forces have seized Mese Township, and are fighting in the state capital, Loikaw. The juntas administration has collapsed in much of the state. In Kachin State, junta troops and administrative staff have also been forced to leave Injanyang town. The regime has also lost many bases and crucial transportation routes in Karen State. In Rakhine State, junta security forces have been forced to abandon at least 40 positions, and its administration has collapsed. Myanmars border trade with China, India and Bangladesh has been halted due to the fighting. It is indisputable that Operation 1027 has turned the tide of the war against the Myanmar military regime, less than three years after its coup. False assumptions When the Brotherhood Alliance launched the operation, the popular view was that China was pulling the strings behind the tripartite military alliance, and that it would stop fighting when China told them to stopeither after it achieved Chinas objectives, or when its interests were harmed. Operation 1027 has however proven to be an ambitious and systematic offensive. It has clear military objectives, and the alliance is determined to attain them. It fought for two days to seize Chin Shwe Haw. It fought for 12 days to seize Kunlong, and it fought for 28 days to occupy Mong Kyat base. This marks a significant departure from previous operations in which resistance groups would only carry out sneak attacks and withdraw after a while. The alliance is executing a strategy to accomplish its objectives and maintain control of the towns it has occupied. Junta positions seized by the Brotherhood Alliance are not ordinary outposts, but key bases commanded by battalion commanders, tactical commanders and division commanders. They are command offices and regimental headquarters. On Nov. 27, as the operation turned one month old, the ethnic alliance declared it was taking things to the next level by launching a nationwide offensive. Large piles of weapons and ammunition including armored vehicles and howitzers seized from some 200 junta positions over the past month will support this. Chinese rule? Shortly after the Brotherhood Alliance seized the Jin San Jiao (Kyin San Kyawt) border gate on Nov. 25, Chinas Peoples Liberation Army announced military exercises along its border with Myanmar. The Chinese Embassy in Yangon has told Chinese citizens to leave Laukkai, the capital of the Kokang Self-Administered Zone in northern Shan State, which the ethnic alliance is planning to attack. Chinas military drills have prompted rumors that Beijing is planning to install its own administrations in towns seized by the ethnic groups, as the alliance lacks administrative capacity. It is unusual for China to conduct a military exercise when clashes are happening along its border. It is not even responding as strongly as it did when fighting broke out in Kokang in 2015 after the Myanmar military carried out an offensive against the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army there. At that time, China announced live-fire drills and imposed a no-fly zone. The rumors that China will install administrations in northern Shan State towns have been deliberately spread by the Myanmar military, which always tries to portray itself as the protector of the country, while seeking to exploit anti-China sentiment among Myanmar people. Indonesias statement Indonesia issued an eyebrow-raising statement on Nov. 25 saying it hosted positive talks in Jakarta with interlocutors for the Myanmar military regime, representatives of the parallel National Unity Government (NUG), and armed groups belonging to ethnic minorities. The NUG said it held separate talks with Indonesias Office of the Special Envoy, but denied meeting any representative of the regime. Indonesias statement sowed considerable confusion amid high military tensions in Myanmar. Why has the Indonesian Foreign Ministry issued a misleading statement that suggests the likelihood of an inclusive dialogue in Myanmar while its special envoy only held separate talks with some of the countrys key stakeholders? It is unlikely that Indonesia did so simply to receive credit for taking action on the Myanmar crisis in its final month as the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) chair. Indonesia apparently holds the view that it would be more difficult to resolve the Myanmar crisis if the Myanmar military loses its position of power and the fabric of the country is disrupted. Perhaps this is the reason that drove Indonesia to issue such a statement to facilitate dialogue. Perceptions of the military Armed revolts have sprung up across Myanmar since the 2021 coup, but the turning point in the revolt did not come until Oct. 27, 2023. Observers at home and abroad believed it would be impossible for the resistance to gain the upper hand over the juntas military. So, they continued to hold the same military-centered view that has been dominant since the political reforms in 2011that the Myanmar military is the major stakeholder in Myanmars crisis. That notion was still strong when the Myanmar military organized an event to mark the eighth anniversary of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement on Oct. 15, 2023. Not only Myanmars neighbors China and India, but ASEAN and even some European countries considered a return to a military-centered peace process. Operation 1027 however has debunked that notion. A number of towns and some 200 positions in northern Shan State fell in a month. The fighting is northern Shan shows that the Myanmar military is not unassailable. The reality is that the military is unable to retake control of the towns and positions its has lost in northern Shan State. Operation 1027 has inspired similar offensives elsewhere across Myanmar. On various fronts, the Myanmar military is collapsing both materially and psychologically. This rapid deterioration suggests that the Myanmar military can be defeated and could collapse. The military-centered notion has been seriously challenged, shocking those who took it for granted for over a decade, and those who view the Myanmar military as the most important stakeholder in the country. Unable to accept the loss of the militarys position Not only the Myanmar military and its sympathizers, but also many observers at home and abroad are concerned about the possibility of the military losing its position. Only a few observers changed their viewpoints after the 2021 putsch. The majority of observers still held the view that the Myanmar military is the key player in solving the countrys crisis. This is not surprising given that the Myanmar military retained its grip on power for more than six decades and made careful propaganda efforts all those years. The so-called pundits were apparently confused by this distorted history. When it comes to dissidents and armed groups called rebels by the Myanmar military, such pundits tend to find fault with them, and jump to conclusions. But they failed to notice the cancer within the Myanmar military that has held power for so many years, and they are not willing to accept it now that the defects of the Myanmar military have finally been exposed. They cling to the belief that only the Myanmar military can resolve the crisis in the country. After witnessing a turning point in the post-coup war, they are no longer promoting the view that the Myanmar military will ultimately be able to keep things under control. But, they still hold the view that Myanmars powerful neighbors will intervene in the countrys affairs, or that the country will break up when the Myanmar military ceases to exist. In a last-ditch effort, they have called for giving the Myanmar military some room to withdraw. They are trying to save the military rather than the Myanmar people. In fact, the 2008 Constitution serves as a tool that the Myanmar military can use to get itself out of the crisis. Junta boss Min Aung Hlaing, who once said, There is nothing I wont dare to do, and his followers staged the coup, thereby cutting off any route for themselves to retreat. Observers are in fact calling for resurrecting a dead tiger. It is time for such observers to change their view, and re-center their approach around the Spring Revolution forces and the Myanmar people. They need not fear the chaos that follows change. When the Wa people split from the Communist Party of Burma, many people believed they would get into trouble. But 30 years on, they have built a strong institution and secured their territory. When it comes to resolving Myanmars issues, there wont be solutions unless the military-centered approach is abandoned. As long as we cling to the crumbling institution of the Myanmar military, we wont be able to objectively judge Myanmars issues. Wai Min Tun is a political analyst. At least 15 Myanmar junta soldiers were killed and four detained when Mandalay Peoples Defense Force (PDF) and the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA) seized a regime camp in Madaya Township, Mandalay Region, on Monday. The camp between Kyun Pin and Thaphan Kone village was held by around 120 soldiers and was seized after about two hours of fighting with Mandalay PDF reporting the seizure of 13 weapons and ammunition. We were still being shelled so we couldnt take photos of all the dead soldiers. Some corpses were taken by the fleeing soldiers, Mandalay PDF spokesman Osmond told The Irrawaddy. Injured prisoners of war were given medical treatment by Mandalay PDF in accordance with international law, he added. There were no resistance casualties, Osmond said. The Irrawaddy could not independently verify the report. The attack is part of Operation Taungthaman by Mandalay PDF, which is commanded by the civilian Ministry of Defense of the National Unity Government. Operation Taungthaman has involved attacks on bases in Nawnghkio and Kyaukme townships, southern Shan State, in late October to support Operation 1027. Operation 1027 by the Brotherhood Alliance has so far seized at least 220 junta positions in northern Shan State. The Mandalay-Lashio highway has been controlled by Mandalay PDF with the force reporting 37 clashes in Madaya and Mogoke in Mandalay Region and Nawnghkio and Kyaukme in the last month. Around 100 soldiers were killed and many injured during the clashes while two armored vehicles were destroyed, more than 100 weapons seized and more than 10 troops detained. The operation is being successfully carried out. Military objectives are being achieved step by step, Osmond told The Irrawaddy. Ten resistance members have been killed and 30 wounded, Mandalay PDF said. Myanmars junta has launched 32 airstrikes and has carried out shelling since the operation began, killing five civilians and injuring 10 others. As its ground troops face increasingly fierce attacks from the Brotherhood Alliance in northern Shan State, the junta is unleashing heavy airstrikes and shelling in a bid to hang on to its remaining trade routes with China, local media and resistance groups said. Junta bombs hit civilian targets on Monday as troops from the Brotherhood Alliance launched an attack to seize the 105 Mile China-Myanmar Trade Zone, targeting the juntas strategic base in the zone, reports said. They used drones to bomb the junta strategic hilltop base in the trade zone. The junta responded with heavy shelling and bombs from fighter jets that hit civilian targets, the reports said. A bomb dropped on a dairy farm in the trade zone killed two civilians and injured five more, Shwe Phee Myay news outlet reported. Another blast also set two trucks and a storage facility in the zone aflame, according to the report, which cited residents of the area. Clashes are intensifying there as we try to seize 105 Mile trade zone, MNDAA spokesperson Le Kyar Wen told The Irrawaddy on Monday evening. The alliance is attacking the junta base in the zone because those inside the base have so far refused to surrender, the Brotherhood Alliance said in their statement. Monday was day 31 of Operation 1027. The Brotherhood Alliances three members the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and Arakan Army (AA) launched the operation jointly in northern Myanmar on October 27. Since then, the three ethnic armies and allied resistance groups have taken complete control of seven towns and four main trade gates on the border with China. The alliance has also blocked the two most vital Myanmar-China trade routes in northern Shan State: Mandalay-Lashio-Muse Road and Mandalay-Lashio-Chin Shwe Haw Road. On Sunday, after fierce clashes with regime forces, the MNDAA seized the border trade gate of Kyin San Kyawt, located 7.9 miles from the 105 Mile trade zone in Muse Township. TNLA troops also attacked a junta base at a bridge in Muse Township on Monday as well as regime forces near Kaung Mu Lain village in Kyaukme Township. During a clash at a tollgate on the Mandalay-Lashio-Muse Road, a junta fighter jet bombed the area in in Kyaukme Township, setting the tollgate, trucks and a petroleum station aflame, local media reports said. On Monday, MNDAA and TNLA troops jointly attacked and seized a junta base on a hilltop in Kyaukme Township, according to the MNDAA. On Monday morning, the TNLA also attacked a junta base at Mine Le Village in Lashio Township, the capital of northern Shan State, seizing a small number of weapons. Later that day, the junta used a Y12 transport aircraft and a fighter jet to bomb three locations in Muse Township while a MI-35 helicopter was used to attack TNLA troops fighting regime forces in Lashio Township. YANGONThree Chinese navy ships have arrived in Myanmar for joint drills with its navy, the countrys junta said, as a border conflict strains ties between the Southeast Asian nation and its most important ally. A destroyer, frigate and a supply vessel carrying hundreds of sailors arrived at Thilawa port on Monday ahead of naval security exercises between Myanmar and China, the juntas information team said. It did not give details about the drills or when they would begin but state media reported the Chinese naval task force was 700 sailors strong. Beijing is a major ally and arms supplier of Myanmars junta and has refused to label its 2021 power grab a coup. Relations have been tested recently as the junta battles an alliance of ethnic minority groups across a swathe of territory near the China border. The junta has said the groups are using drones made in China in their offensive, which has seized trade hubs and dozens of military outposts in northern Shan State. Earlier this month protesters gathered at a rare demonstration in Yangon to accuse China of backing the armed groups, in what analysts say was a move sanctioned by junta authorities. Beijing has expressed strong dissatisfaction over the clashes in northern Shan State, home to oil and gas pipelines that supply China and a planned billion-dollar railway link. China has said the fighting has caused Chinese casualties on its side of the border, without giving details. Beijing has also been frustrated by the juntas failure to crack down on online scam compounds in Myanmars lawless borderlands that target Chinese citizens. On Saturday, China kicked off military exercises near the Myanmar border, days after an attack on a compound in the Myanmar border hub of Muse destroyed more than 100 vehicles. The offensive launched last month by an alliance of three ethnic minority armed groups has galvanized other opponents of the junta. Clashes have spread to the east and the west of the country and forced nearly 335,000 people to flee their homes, according to the United Nations. Autumn is an important time of the year for agricultural researcher Zhao Zhihai because it is when he can harvest what he has planted and also sow seeds in new experimental fields. Hailed as the "father of hybrid millet", 65-year-old Zhao is the chief expert at the Zhangjiakou Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, and a veteran of more than 40 years of research on foxtail millet. The team he leads made a breakthrough in research on the utilization of hybrid millet's advantages, something that had been pursued for three decades, Xinhua Daily Telegraph reported. Born into a farmer's family in Zhangjiakou's Huailai county in 1958, Zhao grew up eating millet. As a child, he watched family elders calculate how much land to plant, what yield could be expected, and whether it would be enough to support the family. "At that time, I often thought about whether we could harvest more crops," he said. "And this idea has accompanied me throughout my agricultural career and inspired me to firmly embark on the path of millet research." Millet used to be a major grain in northern China. However, the regions where it was grown were often drought-prone and impoverished, with very low yields. In the past, farmers in some mountainous areas who relied on millet farming for their livelihoods harvested around 1 metric ton of millet a hectare and often worried about meeting their basic food needs, the newspaper reported. In 1982, after graduating from Hebei Agricultural University in Baoding, Zhao volunteered to return to Zhangjiakou to work at an agricultural institute. While most people there were working on major crops such as wheat and corn, Zhao turned to millet research, believing that small crops also needed some attention. However, agricultural research takes a long time, with the birth of a superior variety requiring the selection, hybridization and combination of thousands of germ plasm materials, as well as several generations of selection, testing and cultivation. To accelerate the process, Zhao's team began conducting some experiments in the much warmer province of Hainan in 1984. Every winter, they would migrate like birds, spending half a year away from home. In Hainan, Zhao and his team members plow the soil on their experimental plots and sort seeds in November, sow seeds in December and January, see their millet pollinate in February and harvest in March and April. The second cropping in Hainan helps speed up their research. "This transfer has become our routine," Zhao said. "After harvesting the millet in Zhangjiakou in October, we immediately rush to Hainan to sow and make the most of the farming time." They then return to Zhangjiakou in May. In his study on the utilization of hybrid millet advantages, he broke away from research methods that had been used for more than 20 years and boldly adopted a new one that looked promising. "Millet has its own characteristics," he said. "Applying the research methods used for rice or sorghum would probably lead to failure." After years of effort by his team, the world's first hybrid millet variety cultivated by the newly adopted method was born in 2000. Zhangzagu 1 or Zhang Hybrid Millet 1-yielded over 30 percent more than conventional millet varieties on average and even achieved a record-breaking yield of more than 9 tons a hectare. Then in 2004, the world's first herbicide-resistant hybrid millet, Zhangzagu 2, was successfully cultivated, followed by the development of many more varieties. "Through years of unremitting efforts and twists and turns, my team and I have successively cultivated a series with independent intellectual property rights," Zhao said. He added that their millet varieties were high-yielding and drought-resistant, with yields ranging from 6 to 9 tons a hectare. They also set a world record yield of 12.18 tons a hectare. The varieties have been grown on more than 2 million hectares of land across the country. After achieving success in China, Zhao set his sights further, aiming to help more countries improve yields. In May 2008, he traveled to Africa for the first time and initiated successful millet-planting trials in Ethiopia. Hybrid millet has since become an important agricultural aid project in Africa, with more than 10 countries having conducted successful trials. "Although we have achieved some accomplishments, we are far from reaching my ideal goals," Zhao said. "I will continue to devote myself to millet research and promotion." zhangyu1@chinadaily.com.cn Credit: ABC Mark Cubans time in the Shark Tank is coming to an end. During an appearance on the Showtime podcast All The Smoke, the Dallas Mavericks governor told Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson that season 16 of the ABC series would be his final one. The show is currently in its 15th season, so hes still got one more ahead of him. In his run on the show, Cuban has invested over $29 million in 85 companies whose founders appeared looking for investments from the sharks. I love it because it sends the message the American dream is alive and well, Cuban said. I feel like in doing Shark Tank all these years, weve trained multiple generations of entrepreneurs that if somebody can come from Iowa or Sacramento or wherever, and show up on the carpet of Shark Tank and show their business and get a deal, its going to inspire generations of kids. Thats what happens, right? Now weve got people coming on saying I watched you when I was 10 years old. Im like, ****. But were helping them, right? Ive invested in, I dont know how many hundreds of companies. On a cash basis, Im down a little bit, but on mark-to-market meeting, the companies are still in operation. Im way up. Cuban initially appeared as a guest star in season 2 of the show before becoming one of the sharks the next season. He has been with the show since. Per Deadline, ABC hasnt commented on Cubans announcement but an insider told them that he has discussed leaving the show prior to this. According to Forbes, Cubans net worth at $6.2 billion, so hes doing fine. 1371138342::cfb49c8e-2422-11e5-99a3-d7f5c6e8b241 A weekly review of the best and most popular stories published in the Imperial Valley Press. Also, featured upcoming events, new movies at local theaters, the week in photos and much more. Screen grab: 97.1 The Fan Following Ohio States third consecutive loss to rival Michigan, Columbus radio hosts Mike Ricordati and Jonathan T-Bone Smith just wanted to wallow in their own self-pity. Unfortunately for the co-hosts of 97.1 The Fans Common Man & T-Bone, they also had a schedule to adhere to. But as a commercial break during the first hour of Mondays show approached, Ricordati decided hed rather keep complaining about the Buckeyes inability to beat That Team Up North. I dont want to take a break. As a matter of fact, Im not going to take a break, the Common Man said. How much are all the ads in this commercial break if we tally them all up? Im sure thousands of dollars, Smith responded. OK, I just bought em, Ricordati said. Ill buy em. Ricordati and Smith continued to discuss to potential consequences of not taking a commercial break, at a time in which they presumably should have been in a commercial break. Eventually, new 97.1 The Fan program director and operations manager Matt Fishman entered the studio to confront his hosts about why they werent going to their commercial break. Whats happening? an exasperated Fishman asked. I just dont want to take the break, Ricordati replied. OK. I just dont want to take my vegetables. Is that what this is now? Fishman responded. I think wed have a better show today if we just went the whole way through and didnt take a break, Ricordati said. The whole show? Fishman asked. I think thats where we are, Ricordati said. The back and forth continued, with Fishman reminding his hosts we do have a business to run here and Ricordati responding that he would take his bosss request to go to commercial under advisement. Ricordati later said that he had received an email from corporate informing him that if the show didnt take a commercial break and get back on schedule, it would be removed from the air. Following some back and forth regarding whether that meant to take a commercial at that exact time or the commercial break that had been planned to occur in four minutes, Ricordati opted for the latter. When the show returned from break, 97.1 The Fan host Tim Hall was in Ricordatis place as the Common Man discussed the matter with station higherups. Minutes later, a dejected Ricordati returned, stating there was a chance he wouldnt be on Tuesdays show. I almost got fired, Ricordati said. Columbus radio show Common Man & T-Bone had a wild Monday processing Ohio State's loss to Michigan which included skipping commercial breaks to rant uninterrupted and live on-air interventions from station management. pic.twitter.com/E2OH2KRVbe Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 28, 2023 Ultimately, 97.1 The Fan posted to X (formerly Twitter) that Ricordati and Smith would be on the air on Tuesday, while the latter joked about the matter on his own account. What a day it was yesterday. But good news @CommonManRadio and @DegenerateTBone will both be on the air today at 3PM, as per usual. https://t.co/4pHvulNOs5 97.1 The Fan (@971thefan) November 28, 2023 I'm just glad everyone is focused on corporate yelling at us for skipping commercialsand not on us openly drinking bourbon on the air. https://t.co/8swArLC77B pic.twitter.com/4JfCVOHXaI Jonathan Smith (@DegenerateTBone) November 28, 2023 Considering that this is a show known for its hijinks and that Fishman comes from ESPN Cleveland 850, which is known for its bits were not ruling out the possibility that this entire ordeal was orchestrated. Ultimately its hard to imagine that two veteran radio hosts would actually think that they could get away with not abiding by the sacred network clocks. [Awful Announcing on X] Reddit Email 116 Shares Gaza has been enduring one of the most devastating massacres in this century. The Strip has been under blockade for two decades, and the world has recently witnessed some of the bloodiest days in the regions history. On October 7th, following a horrific terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel that took some 1200 lives and made over 200 people hostages, Prime Minister Netanyahu declared, We are at war. He initiated a military operation that, despite its putative targeting of the Hamas cadres, has had a much more severe impact on thousands of Palestinian civilians. He cut off potable water, electricity, fuel and food. Charges of war crimes against Israel have been discussed by the UN, as the Israeli military has thumbed its nose at International Humanitarian Law (IHL), which makes attacks on hospitals and schools off-limits under most circumstances. Additionally, Israel has bombed refugee camps, churches, and mosques, leaving Palestinian noncombatants with no safe place. If these actions by Israel raise important questions regarding its compliance with international law, they also raise concerns about the effectiveness of the United Nations in addressing the crisis. Embed from Getty Images GAZA CITY, GAZA NOVEMBER 27: A view of the heavily damaged, collapsed buildings caused by Israeli attacks during the last day of the 4 day humanitarian pause at Tel al-Hawa neighborhood in Gaza City, Gaza on November 27, 2023. (Photo by Abdulqader Sabbah/Anadolu via Getty Images) The Ineffectiveness of International Law and Peace Institutions For decades, the Gaza Strip has been a hotbed of conflict and tension. 2.3 million residents (about twice the population of Hawaii) live in this small 41 kilometers (about 25.48 mi) long and between 6- and 12-kilometers wide enclave. Already trapped in one of the most densely populated areas on earth, its inhabitants have endured countless hardships Yet, despite countless resolutions, diplomatic negotiations, and the formation of international bodies dedicated to maintaining peace and security, nothing has changed for the people of Gaza. The international communitys response to the Gaza crisis has been a glaring example of the insufficiency and ineffectiveness of international law and peace and security institutions such as the United Nations. The current humanitarian pause is a mere band aid on a potentially mortal wound. The United Nations, which is the most important institution established for peace and security after the global horrors of WW II, appears to be powerless when it comes to the Gaza crisis. The countless past resolutions condemning the violence and calling for an end to hostilities have done little to change the situation on the ground. The Israeli government is vowing to start back up its devastating bombardment of the refugees later this week. Even during the current pause, the delivery of humanitarian aid remains insufficient. Some 500 trucks of aid entered the Strip daily before the current conflict, and less than a hundred per day are entering these days. The people of Gaza, already dealing with the consequences of long campaigns of total war that have put noncombatants in the crosshairs, face additional suffering because of the inability of international institutions to ensure that aid reaches those in desperate need. The Gaza crisis serves as a reminder of the limitations of international institutions and the pressing need for reform. It is time to question whether the current framework for maintaining international peace and security is equipped to address protracted conflicts in the 21st century. If the United Nations cannot even establish a reliable international aid corridor for one of the most vulnerable populations in the world, how can we expect them to address more complex global crises effectively? The international community must acknowledge the reality that international human rights law and the United Nations has not lived up to its intended purpose in the Gaza crisis. To be truly effective, international peace and security institutions such as the United Nations must be reevaluated and reformed to meet the demands of the modern world. The suffering of the people of Gaza serves as a grim testament to the inadequacy of the current system. It is time for change, and it is time to address the critical issue of an international aid corridor for Gaza as a starting point for broader reform. Middle East Eye: David Cameron urges Israel to respect humanitarian law in Gaza Time to Revisit United Nations Decision Making Procedure? As widely acknowledged, the United Nations Security Council bestows veto power upon its five permanent members. There exists a compelling argument for reexamining this veto privilege, particularly in the realm of humanitarian assistance. The United Nations serves as a global organization committed to upholding world peace, security, and facilitation of economic, social, and cultural collaboration among nations. A pressing concern arises when the veto power, wielded by these permanent members, extends its reach to include humanitarian aid decisions, as when the U.S. rejected any call for a ceasefire or the firm establishment of humanitarian corridors. This gives rise to a fundamental question: How can the United Nations effectively pursue its mission to address humanitarian crises and maintain global peace if the deployment of the veto power can impede crucial humanitarian initiatives? Even the overwhelming vote of the UN General Assembly in favor of a humanitarian pause was summarily sidelined by the United States. Embed from Getty Images KHAN YUNIS, GAZA NOVEMBER 27: An aerial view of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) tent camp, where hundreds of Gazan families fleeing Israeli attacks are trying to survive their daily lives under limited means and difficult conditions in Khan Yunis, Gaza on November 27, 2023. (Photo by Ashraf Amra/Anadolu via Getty Images) It is imperative to contemplate a revision of the Security Councils decision-making process concerning the enforcement of humanitarian law, with an emphasis on rendering these decisions not just declaratory but also legally binding and coercive. Without binding resolutions, the United Nations ability to accomplish its mission is severely hindered, and even changes in the Security Councils composition would yield a limited impact. Collaborating closely with the International Criminal Court may emerge as one of the most potent steps forward in this context. Enforcing the termination of ongoing atrocities as a prerequisite for achieving justice and lasting peace is a necessary approach to securing global peace and security. The persistent atrocities in Gaza have evoked significant international outrage and eroded the trust placed in the United Nations, an organization founded on the principles of upholding global peace and security. Given that the UNs response has so often been inadequate in Ukraine, Syria and now Gaza it is incumbent upon the organization to undertake structural reforms aimed at preserving its credibility and realizing its fundamental mission. Maiden M&I Resource Estimate at High-Grade JAC Zone: 5.3 Mt at 212 g/t AgEq Containing 36 Moz AgEq Toronto, ON - TheNewswire - November 27, 2023 - AbraSilver Resource Corp. (TSX.V:ABRA) (OTC:ABBRF) ("AbraSilver" or the Company) is pleased to announce a substantial increase to the Mineral Resource estimate (MRE) on the Companys wholly-owned Diablillos property in Salta Province, Argentina (Diablillos or the Project). The MRE comprises an updated estimate for the Oculto deposit plus estimates for the JAC, Fantasma and Laderas deposits, all of which are located to the west/southwest of Oculto. All four deposits are located at Diablillos. Key Highlights of the Updated MRE Compared to the MRE Announced November 3, 2022: A 36% increase in total contained silver in Measured Indicated (M) Mineral Resources to 148 million ounces (Moz) Ag (from 109 Moz Ag), primarily due to the recently discovered JAC deposit. Significant contained gold resource totaling 1.36 Moz Au in MI, representing a 5% increase in contained Au. A 32% increasein average silver grades in MI Mineral Resources to 87 g/t Ag (from 66 g/t Ag), due to higher silver grades at the JAC deposit and higher equivalent cut-off grades at Oculto. Maiden MI MRE for the JAC deposit of 5.3 million tonnes at 202 g/t Ag and 0.13 g/t Au, containing 34 Moz silver and 22 koz gold. The increased contained metal in the MRE comes despite the adoption of a Net Value per Block methodology and an increased equivalent average cut-off grade of 45g/t silver-equivalent (AgEq) compared to the 35g/t AgEq used previously, and further demonstrates the robustness and high grade of the mineralization at Diablillos. Key Highlights of the Updated MRE: Significant Growth: I Mineral Resources at Diablillos now contain an estimated 258 Moz AgEq, and the Inferred Mineral Resource contains an additional 8 Moz AgEq Four Conceptual Open Pits: The addition of the new high-grade JAC deposit, which will ultimately join the Oculto deposit, has further enhanced the overall quality of the Mineral Resource and is expected to boost flexibility and the economic strength of the Project in the upcoming Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS). Industry-Leading Discovery Costs: The Phase III drill program cost ~US$7.3M and added ~43 Moz AgEq to the MI Mineral Resources, representing an impressive cost of only US$0.17 per ounce AgEq added. Extensive Exploration Upside Potential: Future drilling will focus on exploration targets which include: JAC North, Alpaca, and the Oculto-Fantasma trends, each of which has the potential to continue to increase and add additional silver/gold mineralization. John Miniotis, President and CEO, commented, We are delighted to announce that M&I Mineral Resources at Diablillos are now estimated to contain approximately 260 Moz AgEq. The substantial increase in contained silver, despite the increased cut-off grade, is a testament to the exceptional quality of our Diablillos asset, and the ability of our technical team to consistently add value through our exploration efforts. The updated MRE will form the basis for the PFS which remains on track to be completed early in Q1 2024. David OConnor, Chief Geologist, stated, The updated MRE at Diablillos represents a major milestone for the Company, and we are very pleased to see a significant increase in both the quantity and grade of silver mineralization, stemming from our discovery of the high-grade JAC zone. Looking forward, we are very excited by the upside potential of future near-pit and regional exploration programs at Diablillos where we have already identified multiple new mineralized zones that we expect could further significantly enhance our mineral inventory beyond the current Mineral Resource estimate. November 2023 Mineral Resource Estimate Table 1 Diablillos Mineral Resource Estimate As of November 22, 2023 Notes for November 2023 MRE: Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and have not demonstrated economic viability. The formula for calculating AgEq is as follows: Silver Eq oz = Silver oz + Gold oz x (Gold Price/Silver Price) x (Gold Recovery/Silver Recovery). The Mineral Resource model was populated using Ordinary Kriging grade estimation within a three-dimensional block model and mineralized zones defined by wireframed solids, which are a combination of lithology and alteration domains. The 1m composite grades were capped where appropriate. The Mineral Resource is reported inside a conceptual Whittle open pit shell derived using US$ 24.00/oz Ag price, US $1,850/oz Au price, 82.6% process recovery for Ag, and 86.5% process recovery for Au. The constraining open pit optimization parameters used were US $1.94/t mining cost, US $22.97/t processing cost, US $3.32/t GA cost, and average 51-degree open pit slopes. The MRE has been categorized in accordance with the CIM Definition Standards (CIM, 2014). A Net Value per block (NVB) cut-off was used to constrain the Mineral Resource with the conceptual open pit. The NVB was based on "Benefits = Revenue-Cost" being positive, where, Revenue = [(Au Selling Price (US$/oz) - Au Selling Cost (US$/oz)) x (Au grade (g/t)/31.1035)) x Au Recovery (%)] + [(Ag Selling Price (US$/oz) - Ag Selling Cost (US$/oz)) x (Ag grade (g/t)/31.1035)) x Ag Recovery (%)] and Cost = Mining Cost (US$/t) + Process Cost (US$/t) + Transport Cost (US$/t) + GA Cost (US$/t) + [Royalty Cost (%) x Revenue]. The NVB method resulted in an average equivalent cut-off grade of approximately 45g/t AgEq. The Mineral Resource is sub-horizontal with sub-vertical feeders and a reasonable prospect for eventual economic extraction by open pit methods. In-situ bulk density was assigned to each model domain, according to samples averages of each lithology domain, separated by alteration zones and subset by oxidation. All tonnages reported are dry metric tonnes and ounces of contained gold are troy ounces. Mining recovery and dilution factors have not been applied to the Mineral Resource estimates. The Mineral Resource was estimated by Mr. Luis Rodrigo Peralta, B.Sc., FAusIMM CP (Geo), Independent Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101). Mr. Peralta is not aware of any environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues that could materially affect the potential development of the Mineral Resource. All figures are rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimates. Minor discrepancies may occur due to rounding to appropriate significant figures. Totals may not agree due to rounding. Figure 1 View of Conceptual Open Pits and Proposed Site Infrastructure at Diablillos Mineral Resource Estimate Methodology The November 2023 MRE was completed by Luis Rodrigo Peralta, B.Sc., FAusIMM CP (Geo), Independent Consultant, in accordance with Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) Definition Standards incorporated, by reference, and in compliance with NI 43-101, and has been reviewed internally by AbraSilver. The MRE is the result of approximately 133,000 metres of drilling in 630 drill holes (historical and current). This includes the latest Phase III drill campaign, conducted in 2022/23, which totaled 24,077 metres. The MRE is based on the Oculto, JAC, Fantasma and Laderas deposits within the broader Diablillos property and is reported inside a conceptual Whittle open pit shell. The cut-off grade was calculated using a Net Block Value calculation, based on the economic parameters outlined in the footnotes to Table 1 above. Gold and silver grades were estimated into the block model using reverse circulation drill holes, diamond drill holes including the recent drilling between 2019 to July 30th, 2022. They were estimated applying the industry-standard estimation methodology of ordinary kriging and bias was reviewed using an inverse distance squared estimate for comparison. Drill hole intervals have been composited to a length of 1 m, which is the average sampling length for core sampling. Grade capping has been applied to composited grade intervals on a case-by-case basis within each estimation domain. The estimation domains were defined using a combination of lithology domains, alteration domains, and oxide / sulphides state, defining a set of 24 domains for gold and silver. Significant Exploration Upside Potential Numerous opportunities exist to further expand the Mineral Resources within the existing deposits, in addition to defining new mineralized zones through a step-out exploration drill campaign. The Company is currently prioritizing and sequencing the various targets ahead of the next exploration campaign which is expected to commence in Q1/2024. Oculto: MRE is based on a total of 457 drill holes, or approximately 104,800 metres. Additional drilling would focus on expansion of the highest-grade portion of Oculto, the Tesoro Zone, and exploration of potential continuation of mineralization along known zones towards the northeast. JAC: The new high-grade JAC deposit was discovered in August 2022 and the maiden MRE is based on a total of 112 drill holes, or approximately 20,800 metres. Additional drilling would focus additional mineralized zones within the JAC magnetic low zone. Fantasma: MRE is based on a total of 39 drill holes, or approximately 4,300 metres. Additional drilling would focus on the potential continuity of mineralization along the approximately one kilometre zone connecting the Fantasma body to the Oculto deposit. Laderas: MRE is based on a total of 22 drill holes, or approximately 3,200 metres. Additional drilling would focus on continuity of the higher grade parts of the zone, as well as northeast extensions. Other Priority Targets Beyond the Current MRE: Reconnaissance exploration, in combination with structural mapping and magnetic surveys, continues to generate new targets in other underexplored areas of Diablillos. These targets include JAC North and Alpaca, neither of which have been included in the MRE due to insufficient drilling, as well as other zones with similar geological characteristics, where additional drilling is also warranted. JAC North: Initial drilling on the northern edge of the JAC deposit intersected a new zone of silver mineralization, JAC North, suggesting the possibility of a structure within the magnetic low anomaly parallel to the JAC deposit. This new target will be followed up in the next drill program. Alpaca: Historical drilling intersected silver mineralisation in the Alpaca area, located several hundred meters northwest of JAC. An interpretation of the magnetic signature suggests that a perpendicular zone of silver mineralisation may connect JAC with Alpaca. This is a high priority for the next drilling campaign. Figure 2 Long Section of Mineralized Zones at Oculto & JAC Comparison of 2023 and 2022 Mineral Resource Estimate Table 2 Comparison of the November 2023 MRE to the October 2022 MRE Notes to Mineral Comparison Table 1. Key Assumptions in 2023 MRE: Ag price: $ 24.00/oz & Au price: $1,850/oz Average recovery rates: 82.6% Ag and 86.5% Au Cut-off grade: based on Net Value per Block, with an average cut-off grade equivalent to ~45 g/t AgEq Open pit optimization parameters: Mining cost; $1.94/t; Processing cost; $22.97/t; G&A cost $3.32/t 2. Key Assumptions in 2022 MRE: Ag price: $25.00/oz & Au price: $1,750/oz Average recovery rates: 73.5% Ag and 86.0% Au Cut-off grade: based on straight AgEq formula, 35 g/t AgEq Open pit optimization parameters: Mining cost; $3.00/t; Processing cost; $24.45/t; G&A cost $2.90/t Figure 3 Visualization of Current & Prior MRE at Diablillos Supporting Technical Information Metallurgical recoveries: Metallurgical recoveries used in the MRE and open pit optimization were based on a new geo-metallurgical model built using recent metallurgical test works performed at the SGS Laboratory in Vancouver. This new model incorporates five domains, based on a master composite for each, comprised of approximately 15 samples per domain. A fixed value of metallurgical recovery has been applied to each domain. Overall weighted average recoveries of these five domains are 82.6% for silver and 86.5% for gold. Open pit slopes: Open pit shell slope angles at Oculto are based on the 2022 geotechnical drilling and subsequent modelling. Six geotechnical sectors have been defined for use in the open pit optimization with the angles varying between 35 degrees in the unconsolidated overburden to 55 degrees in the granitic rock type, with the average overall angle being 51 degrees. As the JAC deposit is covered with unconsolidated colluvium a conservative pit slope angle of 35 degrees was used. Importantly the overburden at the JAC deposit is expected to be free-digging, resulting in lower mining costs. Updated operating cost estimates from the ongoing PFS have been used in the Net Value per Block method, totaling US$28.23/tonne processed, and these have been based on 73% firm quotations. A full Technical Report in respect of the November 2023 MRE will be prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 and will be filed on SEDAR+ within 45 days of this news release. QA/QC and Core Sampling Protocols AbraSilver applies industry standard exploration methodologies and techniques, and all drill core samples are collected under the supervision of the Companys geologists in accordance with industry best practices. Drill core is transported from the drill platform to the logging facility where drill data is compared and verified with the core in the trays. Thereafter, it is logged, photographed, and split by diamond saw prior to being sampled. Samples are then bagged, and quality control materials are inserted at regular intervals at site; these include blanks and certified reference materials as well as duplicate core samples which are collected in order to assess sampling precision and reproducibility. Groups of samples are then placed in large bags which are sealed with numbered tags in order to maintain a chain-of-custody during the transport of the samples from the project site to the laboratory. All samples are received by the SGS preparation laboratory in Salta, where they are prepared and then the pulp sachets are dispatched directly to their facility in Lima, Peru, for analysis. All samples are analyzed using a multi-element technique consisting of a four-acid digestion followed by ICP/AES detection, and gold is analyzed by 50g Fire Assay with an AAS finish. Silver results greater than 100g/t are reanalyzed using four acid digestion with an ore grade AAS finish. Qualified Persons and Technical Information The site visit, review of various geological aspects including sampling techniques, drill core, logging, assay laboratory, secondary laboratory check samples and November 2023 MRE were done by Mr. Luis Rodrigo Peralta, B.Sc., FAusIMM CP (Geo). Mr. Peralta is an independent Qualified Person as defined by the NI 43-101. Mr. Peralta has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release. The full Technical Report, supporting the November 2023 MRE, which is being prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 by Mr. Peralta, will be available on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) under the Companys issuer profile within 45 days from this news release. The effective date of the MRE is November 22, 2023. About AbraSilver AbraSilver is an advanced-stage exploration company focused on rapidly advancing its 100%-owned Diablillos silver-gold project in the mining-friendly Salta province of Argentina. The current Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource estimate for Diablillos consists of 53.3 Mt grading 87 g/t Ag and 0.79 g/t Au, containing approximately 148Moz silver and 1.4Moz gold, with significant further upside potential based on recent exploration drilling. The Company is led by an experienced management team and has long-term supportive shareholders including Mr. Eric Sprott. In addition, AbraSilver owns a portfolio of earlier-stage copper-gold projects including the La Coipita copper-gold project in the San Juan province of Argentina. AbraSilver is listed on the TSX-V under the symbol ABRA and in the U.S. under the symbol ABBRF. Contact John Miniotis, President and CEO This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: +1 416-306-8334 Cautionary Statements This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements that address future plans, activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur are forward-looking information. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. When considering this forward-looking information, readers should keep in mind the risk factors and other cautionary statements in the Companys disclosure documents filed with the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. The risk factors and other factors noted in the disclosure documents could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those described in any forward-looking information. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. THUNDER BAY, ON / ACCESSWIRE / November 27, 2023 / Clean Air Metals Inc. ("Clean Air Metals" or the "Company") (TSXV:AIR) (FRA:CKU) (OTCQB:CLRMF) is pleased to announce it has received approval from the Ontario Ministry of Mines for its 3-year exploration permit as submitted in May 2023. The permit covers the down plunge extension to the south-east of the Escape deposit as has previously been communicated but also covers other areas of interest for future potential drilling and geophysical work within the Company's Thunder Bay North Critical Minerals Project near Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada (the "Project"). The Thunder Bay North Critical Minerals Project hosts an indicated mineral resource of 13.8Mt containing 1.2M ounces of 2PGE (Pt+Pd), 56,800 tonnes of Cu and 33,800 tonnes of Ni between the twin magmatic intrusions (chonoliths) known as the Current and Escape deposits. Both deposits remain open and largely unexplored below 500 metres in depth. In addition to the down plunge potential of the Escape Deposit, as outlined in the press release of August 29, 2023, this permit also includes proposed work to continue testing the Current chonolith down plunge, continued exploration of untested magnetotelluric (MT) anomalies associated with emplacement controlling structures of the Escape and Quetico faults and the capacity to undertake infill drilling for conversion of inferred to indicated mineral resources as required, in both the Escape and Current deposits. Figure 1. Plan view of the Current and Escape intrusions as defined by diamond drilling and magnetic interpretation. Spatial extend of Early Exploration permit PR23-000153 shown by green cross-hatching. Geoff Heggie, VP Exploration commented: "Approval of the 3-year early exploration permit which covers the two resource areas and the down plunge potential on both mineralized intrusions provides the Company the opportunity to continue expanding the mineral resource with future exploration programs." Company Update The Strategic Alternatives process announced by the Company on October 3, 2023, is fully in progress. The Company does not expect to have any material information to report on this process until early in the new year. Jim Gallagher CEO stated: "The press has recently begun to cover the difficult situation in the Canadian junior mining market, with investor interest and available financing at an all-time low despite the global concern for supply of Critical Metals to supply the green energy revolution. BlackRock, the large American investment fund that has significant holdings in both the mining and green energy spaces, recently expressed concern that if investors don't return to mining, the green energy transition cannot happen. Further compounding the issue is the fact that many of the critical metals, including Platinum, Palladium, Copper and Nickel, all of which are in the Thunder Bay North mineral resource, are at multi-year low prices. Management at Clean Air Metals has recognized this growing issue and has proactively reacted to it. In June 2023, we reduced staff, deferred exploration drilling until early 2024 at a minimum and cutback on attendance at investor conferences and other investor outreach programs. These activities do not yield the intended benefits in the current environment." Mr. Gallagher continues, "I have taken direct calls from many investors recently, concerned about the lack of activity and news flow from the Company and my response remains consistent: the Company is committed to managing its cash which sits at approximately $7 million at the end of October 2023. The Company has no debt. The quality of the asset and the mineral resource has not changed. It is a rare Platinum, Palladium asset outside of South Africa and Russia. The Project is in a stable jurisdiction and is close to all necessary infrastructure. The Project has 4 critical metals and the price for these metals is projected to rebound, perhaps dramatically given the imbalance between green energy demand and the current investment levels in mining. The Company is taking further steps to reduce costs. The Company's valuation is unrealistically low. We remain reluctant to raise funds at these poor valuations and are positioning ourselves to wait out these markets until investor interest returns to the market." Permitting One additional permit is still pending for a bridge crossing required to access the Escape down plunge drill setup area. The process is well underway, and the Company does not expect any issues with the application. Qualified Person Dr. Geoff Heggie, Ph.D., P.Geo., a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 and Vice President - Exploration for the Company, has reviewed and approved all technical information in this press release. Indigenous Community Social and Economic Engagement Clean Air Metals Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary Panoramic PGMs (Canada) Ltd. acknowledge that the Thunder Bay North Critical Minerals Project is located within the area encompassed by the Robinson-Superior Treaty of 1850, and includes the territories of the Fort William First Nation, Red Rock Indian Band, Biinjitiwabik Zaaging Anishinabek and Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek. Clean Air Metals also acknowledges the contributions of the Metis Nation of Ontario, Region 2 and the Red Sky Metis Independent Nation to the rich history of our area. The Company appreciates the opportunity to work in these territories and remains committed to the recognition and respect of those who have lived, traveled, and gathered on the lands since time immemorial. Clean Air Metals is committed to stewarding Indigenous heritage and remains committed to building, fostering and encouraging a respectful relationship with First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples based upon principles of mutual trust, respect, reciprocity and collaboration in the spirit of reconciliation. About Clean Air Metals Inc. Clean Air Metals' flagship asset is the 100% owned, high grade Thunder Bay North Critical Minerals Project, a platinum, palladium, copper, nickel project located near the City of Thunder Bay, Ontario and the Lac des Iles Mine owned by Impala Platinum. The Thunder Bay North Project hosts the Current and Escape deposits, twin magma conduits which form the basis for the new mineral resource estimate reported on May 4, 2023. CEO Jim Gallagher and COO Mike Garbutt lead an experienced technical team who are using an orthomagmatic mineral deposit model to guide ongoing exploration and development studies for a for potential mine development on the Thunder Bay North project. Mr. Gallagher was formerly CEO of North American Palladium which operated the Lac des Ilse Palladium mine just north of the Thunder Bay North project. After a significant operational and financial turnaround the company was sold to Impala Platinum of South Africa for approximately CND$ 1 billion . ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS "Jim Gallagher" Jim Gallagher, Chief Executive Officer of Clean Air Metals Inc. For further information, please contact: Jim Gallagher, Chief Executive Officer of Clean Air Metals Inc. Phone: 705.690.7997 Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Website: www.cleanairmetals.ca Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, including statements regarding the potential of the Thunder Bay North Project and the Escape and Current deposits and timing of technical studies including prefeasibility studies and updated mineral resource estimates. Forward-looking statements relate to information that is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Any statements that express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks related to the maintenance of stock exchange listings; risks related to environmental regulation and liability; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities or the completion of feasibility studies; the uncertainty of profitability; risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; results of prefeasibility and feasibility studies, and the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; risks related to commodity price fluctuations; and other risks and uncertainties related to the Company's prospects, properties and business detailed elsewhere in the Company's disclosure record. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations or projection. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / Orogen Royalties Inc. (TSXV:OGN)(OTCQX:OGNRF) ("Orogen" or the "Company") is pleased to report profitable financial results from its operations for the third quarter ended September 30, 2023. Paddy Nicol, CEO of Orogen, commented: "Orogen's profit primarily resulted from record royalty revenue from the Ermitano gold-silver Mine where increased production rates, strong gold grades and improvement in recoveries were achieved. Prospect generation remains profitable and we continue to obtain payments and transact on projects that organically grow our royalty portfolio. In addition, our positive cashflow from operations continues to strengthen our balance sheet and allows us to take advantage of counter cyclical opportunities in the current market." "We remain highly encouraged by the progress of AngloGold Ashanti NAs ("Anglogold") Expanded Silicon Project in Nevada, where drilling focused on the Merlin area, with eight drill rigs operating. According to AngloGold, the Mineral Resource delineation program at Merlin continues to return highly encouraging results that confirm and extend the modelled mineralization.1" Q3 2023 Highlights All amounts are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated. Net Income from Operations: Net income was $675,989 for the three-month period ended September 30, 2023, compared to a net income of $123,461 for the same period in 2022. This resulted in a net income of $1,439,818 or $0.008 per share year to date (2022 - net loss $99,093 or $0.001 per share). Net income was $675,989 for the three-month period ended September 30, 2023, compared to a net income of $123,461 for the same period in 2022. This resulted in a net income of $1,439,818 or $0.008 per share year to date (2022 - net loss $99,093 or $0.001 per share). Royalty Revenue: Royalty revenue of $1,628,409 was earned during the current period with 614 attributable gold equivalent ounces ("GEOs") sold at average price of US$1,928 per ounce, up 29% compared to the same period in 2022 and up 41% compared to the previous quarter. Royalty revenue of $1,628,409 was earned during the current period with 614 attributable gold equivalent ounces ("GEOs") sold at average price of US$1,928 per ounce, up 29% compared to the same period in 2022 and up 41% compared to the previous quarter. G&A Expenses : General and administrative expenses of $858,323 were incurred in the current period, up 7% compared to the same period in 2022 and down 10% compared to the previous quarter. : General and administrative expenses of $858,323 were incurred in the current period, up 7% compared to the same period in 2022 and down 10% compared to the previous quarter. Cash flow : Cash flow of $733,377 was used in operating activities in the current period. Cash flow generated from operating activities, excluding changes in non-cash working capital, was $993,571, up 565% compared to the same period in 2022 and up 46% from the previous quarter. : Cash flow of $733,377 was used in operating activities in the current period. Cash flow generated from operating activities, excluding changes in non-cash working capital, was $993,571, up 565% compared to the same period in 2022 and up 46% from the previous quarter. Working Capital: The Company has working capital of $17,473,228 at September 30, 2023 compared to $12,083,375 at the beginning of the fiscal year, an increase of $5,389,853. The Company has no long-term debt. For complete details of the Company's financial results, please refer to the condensed interim consolidated financial statements and MD&A for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023, and 2022. The Company's filings are available on SEDAR at www.sedarplus.ca and on Orogen's website at www.orogenroyalties.com. Please also see non-IFRS Measures at the end of this news release. Summary of Results First Majestic Silver Corp. ("First Majestic") operates the Ermitano Mine, where the Company holds a 2.0% net smelter return ("NSR") royalty. For the current quarter, the Company recorded $1,628,409 in royalty revenue consisting of 614 GEOs, up 29% compared to the same period in 2022. This is a record high for the Company since Ermitano began production in late 2021. Production at Ermitano included 226,292 tonnes processed containing average gold and silver head grades of 4.09 grams per tonne ("g/t") and 75 g/t, respectively, producing 28,367 ounces gold and 347,941 ounces silver. Total production increased by 41% compared to the previous quarter and this was due to higher grades and record silver and gold recoveries averaging 64% and 95%, respectively, compared to 52% and 94%, respectively, in the previous quarter. The improvements in recoveries were driven by the new dual-circuit plant, which allows for finer grinding and full utilization of the high intensity grinding mill. During the current period, the Company incurred $858,323 (2022 - $802,149) in G&A expenses. This is an increase of 7% compared to the same period in 2022 and a reduction of 10% compared to the prior quarter. The reduction in G&A expenses was due to continued optimization of administrative functions and lower overhead costs, which were offset by higher stock-based compensation cost for long-term equity-based compensation vested during the period. The Company capitalized $645,109 in acquisition and exploration expenditures, received $845,053 in recoveries from partners on alliances and option agreements, and recorded a gain of $450,227 from project sales and option agreements. Gains are recognized in a project when total recoveries including proceeds received from sale, option payments, and/or other reimbursement are greater than the project's total carrying value. To date, the Company has 26 royalties in Canada, United States, Mexico, Argentina, Kenya, and Colombia, most of which were generated organically through the Company's prospect generation business. The Company also has 9 mineral properties under option, 9 projects that are available for sale or option and one alliance. Expanded Silicon Project Update AngloGold provided an update during the quarter on the Expanded Silicon Project that now includes both the Silicon gold deposit and Merlin Exploration Target2. AngloGold has stated an Exploration Target3 for Merlin of 6 to 8 million ounces gold that is in addition to 4.22 million ounces gold (3.4 million ounces indicated, and 810,000 ounces inferred resource estimates) published for Silicon4. An initial Inferred Mineral Resource estimate for Merlin and an integrated concept study for the Expanded Silicon Project that considers synergies from the increased economy of scale and integrated infrastructure, with potential for large scale mining5 are expected to be completed by year-end. Orogen holds a 1% NSR royalty on the project. Qualified Person Statement All technical data, as disclosed in this press release, has been verified by Laurence Pryer, Ph.D., P.Geo., VP Exploration for Orogen. Dr. Pryer is a qualified person as defined under the terms of National Instrument 43-101. Certain technical disclosure in this release is a summary of previously released third-party information and the Company is relying on the interpretation provided. Additional information can be found on the links in the footnotes. About Orogen Royalties Inc. Orogen Royalties is focused on organic royalty creation and royalty acquisitions on precious and base metal discoveries in western North America. The Company's royalty portfolio includes the Ermitano gold and silver Mine in Sonora, Mexico (2.0% NSR royalty) operated by First Majestic Silver Corp. and the Silicon-Merlin gold project (1.0% NSR royalty) in Nevada, U.S.A, being advanced by AngloGold Ashanti. The Company is well financed with several projects actively being developed by joint venture partners. On Behalf of the Board OROGEN ROYALTIES INC. Paddy Nicol President & CEO To find out more about Orogen, please contact Paddy Nicol, President & CEO at 604-248-8648, and Marco LoCascio, Vice President of Corporate Development at 604-248-8648. Visit our website at www.orogenroyalties.com. Orogen Royalties Inc. 1015 - 789 West Pender Street Vancouver, BC Canada V6C 1H2 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Click here to access the resource Click here to access the resource Cautionary Note: The ranges of tonnage and grade of the Exploration Target are conceptual in nature and could change as the proposed exploration activities are completed. There has been insufficient exploration of the relevant property or properties to estimate a Mineral Resource at this point in time. It is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource and the Exploration Target therefore does not represent, and should not be construed to be, an estimate of a Mineral Resource or Mineral Reserve. Given the conceptual stage of the project, a number of risks, uncertainties and opportunities, are evident in the confidence of the known orebody and the potential for upside at Silicon, Merlin and in the surrounding area. The Merlin Exploration Target grade and tonnage ranges have been determined by a preliminary review of the location and weighted average grade of the mineralised intercepts. The geology of the deposit contains a significant number of faulted offsets, which require detailed geological modelling to fully define the extent and continuity of the mineralisation. A bulk density value of 2.4 t/m3 was used. No economic constraint has been applied to the deposit to determine the extent of what material may ultimately be extracted. Click here to access the resource Click here to access the resource Forward Looking Information This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward looking statements". All statements in this presentation, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that Orogen Royalties Inc. (the "Company") expect to occur, are forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believe the expectations expressed in such forward looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, and continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Furthermore, the extent to which COVID-19 may impact the Company's business will depend on future developments such as the geographic spread of the disease, the duration of the outbreak, travel restrictions, physical distancing, business closures or business disruptions, and the effectiveness of actions taken in Canada and other countries to contain and treat the disease. Although it is not possible to reliably estimate the length or severity of these developments and their financial impact as of the date of approval of these condensed interim consolidated financial statements, continuation of the prevailing conditions could have a significant adverse impact on the Company's financial position and results of operations for future periods. Forward-looking information in this news release includes disclosures regarding NSR royalty payments to be paid to the Company by First Majestic Silver Corp. ("First Majestic"), the owners and operator of the Ermitano mine located in Mexico and that the forecasted revenue which are based on First Majestic "NI 43-101 Technical Report on Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Estimates" having an effective date of June 30, 2021. In addition to the technical report, the disclosure herein also contains and the updated mineral reserve and resource estimates for the Ermitano mine based on the Santa Elena Mineral Reserve, Resource Estimates with an effective date of December 31, 2022 as announced by First Majestic on March 31, 2023 and as disclosed in their December 31, 2022 AIF, and First Majestic's MD&A for the period ended March 31, 2023. Forward-looking statements are based on several material assumptions, which management of the Company believe to be reasonable, including, but not limited to, the continuation of mining operations in respect of which the Company will receive NSR royalty payments, that the commodity prices will not experience a material adverse change, mining operations that underlie the royalty will operate in accordance with the disclosed parameters and other assumptions may be set out herein. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Except where otherwise stated, the disclosure in this news release relating to properties and operations in which Orogen holds a Royalty are based on information publicly disclosed by the owners or operators of these properties and information/data available in the public domain as at the date hereof, and none of this information has been independently verified by Orogen. Specifically, as a Royalty holder and prospect generator, the Company has limited, if any, access to properties on which it holds Royalty or other interests in its asset portfolio. The Company may from time to time receive operating information from the owners and operators of the mining properties, which it is not permitted to disclose to the public. Orogen is dependent on, (i) the operators of the mining properties and their qualified persons to provide information to Orogen, or (ii) on publicly available information to prepare disclosure pertaining to properties and operations on the properties on which the Company holds Royalty or other interests, and generally has limited or no ability to independently verify such information. Although the Company does not have any knowledge that such information may not be accurate, there can be no assurance that such third-party information is complete or accurate. Some reported public information in respect of a mining property may relate to a larger property area than the area covered by Orogen's Royalty or other interest. Orogen's Royalty or other interests may cover less than 100% of a specific mining property and may only apply to a portion of the publicly reported mineral reserves, mineral resources and or production from a mining property. Non-IFRS Measures The Company has included certain results in this news release that do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") including total GEOs sold, average realized gold price per GEO, and cash flow from operating activities excluding changes in non-cash working capital adjustments. The Company's royalty revenue is converted to a gold equivalent ounce by dividing the royalty revenue received during the period by the average gold price of the period. The Company has also used the non-IFRS measure of operating cash flows excluding changes in non-cash working capital. This measure is calculated by adding back the decrease or subtracting the increase in changes in non-cash working capital to or from cash provided by (used in) operating activities. VANCOUVER, BC, Nov. 28, 2023 /CNW/ - Prospect Ridge Resources Corp. (the "Company" or "Prospect Ridge") (CSE: PRR) (OTC: PRRSF) (FRA: OED) is pleased to announce new results of outcrop samples taken on the Copper Ridge mineralized zone which returned high-grade values in gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc, located at the Company's fully owned flagship Knauss Creek property, about 35 km northeast of Terrace, British Columbia. Following up on high-grade results previously reported on the Copper Ridge showing (see news releases dated January 26th, 2023, and November 8th, 2023), additional sampling continues to return high-grade values of gold, silver copper lead and zinc from the Copper Ridge mineralized zone. The recent results continue to extend the area of mineralization and now stretches over an east-west length of 1,250 metres and a north-south length of 500 metres. The elevation differentiation is approximately 250 metres. In plan view, the zone is over twice as large as previously announced. Further work will be completed to better define the metal zonation across this high-grade mineralized zone. Key Highlights from rock outcrop sampling: 15.90 g/t Au, 987 g/t Ag, 0.29 % Cu, 17.55 % Pb and 6.99 % Zn (W489424), (W489424), 0.55 g/t Au, 2900 g/t Ag, 2.24 % Cu, 4.24 % Pb and 0.24 % Zn (W500261), (W500261), 1.95 g/t Au, 1870g/t Ag and 5.93 % Cu (W489429), (W489429), 1.97 g/t Au, 1775 g/t Ag and 3.20 % Cu (W500259), (W500259), 1.67 g/t Au, 201 g/t Ag and 9.71 % Cu (W500257), and (W500257), and 0.73 g/t Au, 1105 g/t Ag, 1.67 % Cu, 0.65 % Pb and 0.28 % Zn (D791529). Images from samples in link (here). Prospect Ridge CEO Michael Iverson commented, "The new results indicate a significant expansion of the mineralized zone towards the south-east, while also unveiling a promising new trend towards the west. Almost all samples are from outcrops extruding between block fields and ridge crests, which are predominantly gold, silver, and copper-bearing. Copper Ridge is shaping up to be a potentially substantial polymetallic system. The diversity in the elevation of these samples not only confirms the presence of these minerals at the surface but also suggests their extension at depth. These results provide a new dimension to our understanding, offering both surface and depth perspectives in our exploration efforts." Prospect Ridge President Yan Ducharme added, "we are very pleased with the summer surface exploration program of prospecting and sampling that has continued to return high grade values for not only gold and silver, but also for copper, lead and zinc as well, thereby showing the high-grade potential of this polymetallic system. When we started prospecting this area during the summer, we immediately realized this was going to be the main target we will work on and after each day spent there, we were all anxious to go back. With the extent of the zone and the distribution of the samples, we are beginning to see a high-grade silver trend on the east side, which encloses most of the samples having more than a thousand grams per ton. Given that these samples were collected from rock outcrops, this provides confidence for our future surface prospecting and drilling. We are excited to return to this area to complete further exploration to improve our understanding of the mineralization. A review of the collected structural and geological data during the summer is currently ongoing and will help establish next year's drilling program." Located in the southern part of the Knauss Creek property (Figure 1), the Copper Ridge mineralized zone is now becoming a combination of several trends highlighted by the outcropping ridges extruding through fields of blocks and glacial till (Figure 2). The samples of a high-grade cluster obtained with the previously published results has been extended toward the east, west and south. On the left side of Figure 3, the vein sampled (W489429) is within a shear zone transecting a weathered diorite. Several stains of malachite are visible in the walls rock. Several sampled veins are in similar context. On the right side, the vein sampled (W489427) is visible going uphill several tens of metres. Structural measurements were taken when possible to aid in understanding the trends of mineralization for future drilling. At this point, mainly veins bearing chalcopyrite, pyrite, malachite, azurite and often galena and sphalerite, were sampled. The dominant host rock is interpreted to be a diorite. All samples were taken on outcrops unless specified otherwise. The location of collected samples is illustrated in Figure 2, while the samples details are listed in Table 1. Sample Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Cu (%) Pb (%) Zn (%) Au Eq g/t D791524 0.038 10.6 0.025 0.169 0.008 0.264 D791525 7.390 33.8 2.270 0.001 0.002 10.999 D791526 0.010 2.6 0.012 0.001 0.002 0.059 D791527 0.134 29.5 0.982 0.001 0.009 1.879 D791528 0.015 19.9 0.635 0.194 0.006 1.221 D791529 0.727 1105 1.665 0.648 0.276 16.766 D791530 0.124 121 0.144 0.056 0.184 1.881 D791531 0.102 61.9 0.419 0.002 0.023 1.450 D791532 0.011 7.3 0.399 0.001 0.003 0.663 D791533 0.174 33.2 1.420 0.003 0.003 2.579 D791534 0.070 21.1 0.329 0.002 0.004 0.791 D791535 0.203 12.6 0.076 0.002 0.003 0.464 D791536 0.049 19.8 0.271 0.001 0.011 0.675 D791537 0.002 0.4 0.003 0.001 0.001 0.012 D791538 0.125 97.4 0.094 0.087 0.185 1.538 W386307 0.756 13.2 0.014 0.019 0.019 0.949 W386308 2.070 33.0 2.310 0.005 0.016 5.733 W386309 0.35 3.1 0.007 0.005 0.002 0.400 W386310 1.365 0.7 0.002 0.001 0.001 1.377 W386311 0.959 23.7 0.465 0.004 0.007 1.905 W386312 0.674 11.2 0.066 0.003 0.006 0.906 W386313 1.065 301 1.015 0.012 0.156 6.199 W386314 2.520 33.1 1.675 0.003 0.009 5.285 W386315 0.022 0.9 0.097 0.001 0.008 0.173 W489418 1.020 49.2 0.574 0.015 0.008 2.432 W489423 0.025 0.1 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.028 W489424 15.90 987 0.290 17.550 6.990 37.159 W489425 0.357 32.0 2.350 0.080 0.023 4.093 W489426 1.605 264 0.860 0.041 0.042 6.039 W489427 0.230 188 3.150 0.004 0.152 7.003 W489428 1.235 165 1.370 0.006 0.034 5.176 W489429 1.945 1870 5.930 0.012 0.109 32.952 W489430 0.097 455 0.985 0.272 0.086 7.114 W489431* 0.087 43.8 0.308 0.004 0.009 1.055 W489432* 1.110 1220 1.030 0.183 0.073 17.401 W489433 0.576 243 0.555 0.134 0.119 4.389 W496066 0.002 2.6 0.005 0.002 0.004 0.043 W496067 0.002 0.7 0.004 0.001 0.003 0.018 W496068 0.078 3.2 0.219 0.001 0.003 0.427 W496069 0.305 4.0 0.203 0.001 0.004 0.641 W500255 0.257 32.0 1.160 0.004 0.004 2.282 W500256 0.013 0.7 0.031 0.001 0.001 0.066 W500257 1.670 201 9.710 0.001 0.040 17.801 W500258 0.455 60.0 4.880 0.002 0.031 8.071 W500259 1.965 1775 3.200 0.068 0.352 28.091 W500261 0.545 2900 2.240 4.240 0.240 40.342 W500262 0.117 78.8 0.065 0.049 0.070 1.206 W500263 0.136 83.0 0.100 0.064 0.021 1.311 W500264 0.499 135 1.300 0.044 0.069 4.006 W500265 0.213 128 0.447 0.006 0.018 2.399 W500266 0.140 40.2 0.527 0.001 0.067 1.395 W500267 0.129 46.8 0.019 0.006 0.002 0.724 W500268 0.018 2.8 0.010 0.001 0.002 0.067 W500269 5.050 65.9 0.093 0.011 0.011 5.986 W500644 2.330 108 0.763 0.005 0.001 4.713 W500645 0.312 180 2.580 0.007 0.052 6.147 W500646 0.501 1.5 0.003 0.002 0.002 0.525 W500647 0.447 2.9 0.009 0.008 0.001 0.498 Table 1: New Results from the Copper Ridge sampling *: Erratic block sample Gold equivalents were calculated with a gold price of $1,750/oz, silver at $21/oz, copper at $3.60/lbs, lead at $0.90/lbs and zinc at $1.00/lbs. Cautionary statements Outcrop samples are selective by nature and grades may not be representative of mineralized zones. True thickness or mineralization style and geological models cannot be determined with the information currently available. Quality control Rock samples were assayed for gold by standard 50 g fire-assaying with atomic absorption finish (Au-AA24) or gravimetric finish (Au-GRA22) or 1000g metallic screening (Au_SCR24) at ALS Canada in Terrace, British Columbia. The samples were also assayed for 35 metals from an aqua regia digestion with ICP-AES finish (ME-ICP41). For samples with overlimit results in silver, copper, lead and zinc, aqua regia with ICP finish was used (OG46 ore grade). A quality assurance/quality control program has been implemented and consists of inserting standards on a regular basis in the samples stream. Qualified Person All scientific or technical information included in this news release has been reviewed, verified and approved by Yan Ducharme, P.Geo., President of the Company and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. This news release was written and reviewed by Yan Ducharme. About the Knauss Creek property The fully owned Knauss Creek is approximately 35 kilometres northeast of the town of Terrace in the Province of British Columbia, Canada. It is easily accessible by highway 16 and a network of logging roads. It covers about 30 square kilometres and is contiguous to our fully owned Holy Grail property. Several gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc occurrences were discovered in the past. The most notable is the Dorreen mine where four adits were developed and, according to historical documents, approximately 700 tons of ore were mined out at an average grade of at 16.8 g/t Au, 58 g/t Ag, 0.22% Cu, 2.1% Pb and 1.4% Zn from a quartz vein (not 43-101 compliant). During the 2023 field season, the Company explored the Copper Ridge mineralized zone which has become the main focus for exploration on the property. The southern tip of the Golden Triangle is located immediately northwest of the PRR properties. The Bowser Lake and the Hazelton Groups hosting most of the deposits and mines of this area are also underlying the Knauss Creek and Holy Grail. About Prospect Ridge Resources Corp. Prospect Ridge Resources Corp. is a British Columbia based exploration and development company focused on gold exploration. Prospect Ridge's management and technical team cumulate over 100 years of mineral exploration experience and believes the Knauss Creek and the Holy Grail properties to have the potential to extend the boundaries of the Golden Triangle to cover this vast under-explored region. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This release includes certain statements and information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company regarding future events. Generally, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "intends" or "anticipates", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would" or "occur". This information and these statements, referred to herein as "forward-looking statements", are not historical facts, are made as of the date of this news release and include without limitation, statements regarding discussions of future plans, estimates and forecasts and statements as to management's expectations and intentions with respect to, among other things, positive exploration results at the Knauss Creek and Holy Grail projects and the Company's use of proceeds from the Private Placement. These forward-looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties and actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, that future exploration results at the Knauss Creek and Holy Grail projects will not be as anticipated and that the Company will use the proceeds from the Private Placement as anticipated. In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that future exploration results at the Knauss Creek and Holy Grail projects will be as anticipated and that the Company will use the proceeds from the Private Placement as anticipated. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, forward-looking information or financial out-look that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. We seek safe harbor. TORONTO, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Churchill Resources Inc. (Churchill or the Company) (TSXV: CRI) is pleased to announce the appointments of Mr. Malik Easah as Director and of Mr. Bill Fisher as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company. Mr Easah is Executive Chairman of Asante Gold Corporation (CSE: ASE), a gold production, exploration and development company with projects in Ghana, including its operating Bibiani and Chirano gold mines which together produce approximately 250k ounces per year, based on Asantes projections. Mr. Easah was a founder and Executive Director of Cardinal Resources Limited where he played a key role in the discovery and development of the seven million-ounce Namdini Gold Project in Northern Ghana. Cardinal Resources was acquired by Shandong Gold Company for approximately AUS $600 million. Mr. Easah has over fifteen years of exploration, mining and project development experience, and resides in Accra, Ghana. Mr. Fisher P.Geo graduated as a geologist in 1979 and has a proven record of discovery and development including a number of residential posts in Africa, Australia, Europe and Canada. Under his leadership, Karmin Exploration discovered the Aripuana polymetallic massive sulphide deposits in Brazil, currently being developed by Nexa Resources. From 1997 to 2001 Mr. Fisher was Vice President, Exploration for Boliden AB, a major European mining and smelting company where he was responsible for 35 projects in 9 countries. From 2001 to 2008 Mr. Fisher transformed GlobeStar Mining Corp. from an exploration company to an emerging mining company in the Dominican Republic, developing and financing the Cerro de Maimon copper/gold mine until it was sold to Perilya for $186 million. Mr. Fisher was CEO of GoldQuest Mining Corporation when it discovered the 3 million ounce Romero gold deposit in the Dominican Republic, where he currently serves as Chairman. Mr. Fisher served as Chairman of Aurelian Resources which was sold to Kinross Gold for $1.2 Billion after the discovery of the giant Fruta del Norte gold deposit in Ecuador, currently being mined by Lundin Gold. Mr. Fisher has recently resigned as Chairman of Horizonte Minerals, which discovered, acquired and developed the Tier 1 Araguaia and Vermelho nickel deposits in Brazil where the project is under construction. The Company also announces that its board of directors has approved the grant of an aggregate of nine million of stock options to certain directors, officers and consultants of the Company. The options were issued with an exercise price of $0.10 and have a five-year term. About Churchill Resources Inc. Churchill Resources Inc. is a Canadian exploration company focused on high grade, magmatic nickel sulphides in Canada, principally at its prospective Taylor Brook and Florence Lake properties in Newfoundland & Labrador. The Churchill management team, board and its advisors have decades of combined management experience in mineral exploration and in the establishment of successful publicly listed mining companies, both in Canada and around the world. Churchills Taylor Brook and Florence Lake projects have the potential to benefit from the provinces large and diversified minerals industry, which includes world class nickel mines and processing facilities, and a well-developed mineral exploration sector with locally based drilling and geological expertise. The province was recently ranked 4th in the world for investment attractiveness by the Fraser Institute in its 2022 annual survey of mining and exploration companies. Further Information For further information regarding Churchill, please contact: Churchill Resources Inc. Paul Sobie, Chief Executive Officer Tel. +1 416.365.0930 (o) +1 647.988.0930 (m) Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Alec Rowlands, Corporate Consultant Tel. +1 416.721.4732 (m) Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Information This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", proposed, "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, the Companys objectives, goals and exploration activities conducted and proposed to be conducted at the Companys properties; future growth potential of the Company, including whether any proposed exploration programs at any of the Companys properties will be successful; exploration results; and future exploration plans and costs and financing availability. These forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of the Company at the time such statements were made. Actual future results may differ materially as forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to materially differ from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors, among other things, include: the expected benefits to the Company relating to the exploration conducted and proposed to be conducted at the Companys properties; failure to identify any mineral resources or significant mineralization; the preliminary nature of metallurgical test results; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, including to fund any exploration programs on the Companys properties; fluctuations in general macroeconomic conditions; fluctuations in securities markets; fluctuations in spot and forward prices of gold, silver, base metals or certain other commodities; fluctuations in currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar to United States dollar exchange rate); change in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations pressures, cave-ins and flooding); inability to obtain adequate insurance to cover risks and hazards; the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining and mineral exploration; employee relations; relationships with and claims by local communities and indigenous populations; availability of increasing costs associated with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development (including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses, permits and approvals from government authorities); the unlikelihood that properties that are explored are ultimately developed into producing mines; geological factors; actual results of current and future exploration; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be evaluated; soil sampling results being preliminary in nature and are not conclusive evidence of the likelihood of a mineral deposit; title to properties; and those factors described in the most recently filed managements discussion and analysis of the Company. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure shareholders that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information, or the material factors or assumptions used to develop such forward-looking information, will prove to be accurate. The Company does not undertake to release publicly any revisions for updating any voluntary forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities law. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - November 28, 2023) - Canter Resources Corp. (CSE: CRC) (OTC Pink: CNRCF) (FSE: 6O1) ("Canter" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it will proceed with a non-brokered private placement of 8,000,000 units of the Company (the "Units") at $0.50 per Unit for gross proceeds of $4,000,000 (the "Offering"). Each Unit will consist of one common share in the capital of the Company (a "Share") and one-half of one transferrable common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one additional Share at a price of $0.70 for a period of 24 months from the closing of the Offering. In the event that the closing price of the Shares of the Company on the CSE (or such other stock exchange on which the Shares are traded) is equal to or greater than $0.95 per Share for a period of 5 consecutive trading days during the Warrant exercise period, the Company may at its option elect to accelerate the expiry of the Warrants by providing notice to the holders thereof within 10 calendar days following the end of such 5 consecutive trading day period, in which case the Warrants will expire on the date specified in such notice, which shall be not less than 30 calendar days following delivery of such notice. The Company may pay finder's fees on the Offering within the amounts permitted by the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE"). The Company may issue additional Units for total gross proceeds of up to approximately $6,000,000 in the event the Offering is oversubscribed. The Company will use the net proceeds from the Offering to complete Phase I drilling at the Columbus Lithium-Boron Project, evaluate and stake additional claims prospective for critical metals, and for general corporate purposes. Closing of the Offering is subject to a number of conditions, including receipt of all necessary corporate and regulatory approvals, including the CSE. All securities issued in connection with the Offering will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months plus a day from the date of issuance in accordance with applicable securities legislation. The Offering is not subject to a minimum aggregate amount of subscriptions. Water Right Appurtenance Agreement In addition, the Company is pleased to announce that, further to its news release dated November 13, 2023, the Company's indirect wholly-owned Nevada subsidiary, Altitude Lithium USA Corp. ("NevadaCo"), has entered into a water right appurtenance agreement dated November 27, 2023 (the "Water Right Agreement") to acquire a 100% interest in certain water rights permits applicable to the Columbus Lithium-Boron Property. CEO & Director, Joness Lang, commented: "Securing an option to purchase water rights with this agreement marks an important milestone for the Company, as it establishes future cost certainty for a critical component required to bring a project from successful discovery to a future mining operation." NevadaCo currently holds the sole option to acquire a 100% ownership position in the Columbus Lithium-Boron Property, through its option agreement (the "Option Agreement") with the property's optionors (the "Optionors"). Further details regarding the Option Agreement and the Columbus Lithium-Boron Project are provided in the Company's news release dated November 13, 2023 and available on the Company's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca. The Optionors are the owners of two applications soon to become permits to appropriate the waters of the State of Nevada filed with the Nevada Division of Water Resources, Applications 90140 and 92509 (collectively referred to as the "Permits"), for a total amount of groundwater of 2,235.64 acre-feet annum from the Columbus Salt Marsh Valley Basin, 118. There are currently no water rights appurtenant to the Columbus Lithium-Boron Property, except the Permits which the Optionors own, which are intended to be used for potential future mining activities at the Columbus Lithium-Boron Project. Pursuant to the terms of the Water Right Agreement, in order to acquire a 100% interest in the Permits, the Company (through NevadaCo) must complete the following payments to the Optionors: Date Cash (USD) Shares Effective date Nil Nil 6-month anniversary $20,000 300,000 12-month anniversary $30,000 400,000 18-month anniversary $50,000 500,000 24-month anniversary $300,000 600,000 Total $400,000 1,800,000 On completion of the above payments as prescribed in the Water Right Agreement, the Optionors shall convey the Permits to NevadaCo. About Canter Resources Corp. Canter Resources Corp. is a Canadian junior mineral exploration company advancing the Columbus Lithium-Boron Project in Nevada, USA, the Beaver Creek Lithium Property in Montana, USA, and the Puzzle Lake Property in Saskatchewan, Canada. The Company is preparing for a Phase I drill campaign at Columbus to test a highly prospective lithium-brine target and plans to leverage the Company's critical metals targeting database to generate a portfolio of high-quality projects with the aim of defining mineral resources that support the domestic clean energy supply chain in North America. For further information contact: Joness Lang Chief Executive Officer Canter Resources Corp. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. For investor inquiries contact: Tel: 604.908.1695 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. The securities to be issued pursuant to the Offering have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, United States persons absent registration or any applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This news release will not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States, nor will there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The Canadian Securities Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. The Canadian Securities Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the business of the Company, the completion of the Offering and the use of proceeds therefrom, the Company acquiring a 100% interest in the Columbus Lithium-Boron Property under the Option agreement, the Company acquiring a 100% interest in the Permits under the Water Right Agreement and related matters. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of Canter Resources Corp., including, but not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions, volatility of commodity prices, risks associated with the uncertainty of exploration results and estimates, currency fluctuations, dependency upon regulatory approvals, the uncertainty of obtaining additional financing and exploration risk. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements Kitoko discovery includes drill hole DD008 intersecting 5.19 metres true width, grading 11.64% copper, at a 1% copper cut-off Kitoko is Ivanhoe's fifth high-grade sedimentary copper discovery in the DRC Mineralogical characteristics of Kitoko are most similar to those of the tier-one Kakula copper orebody Discovery zone traced over a 1.9-kilometre strike and open in all directions Expanded drilling program continues around Kitoko and other Western Foreland targets Kolwezi, Democratic Republic of Congo--(Newsfile Corp. - November 28, 2023) - Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) (OTCQX: IVPAF) Founder and Executive Co-Chair Robert Friedland and President Marna Cloete are excited to announce today that the company has made a significant high-grade copper discovery on recently acquired joint venture licences in the Western Foreland, west of the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Ivanhoe Mines' geological team have aptly named the discovery KITOKO, which means "beautiful" or "gift" in several local languages in the DRC. The Kitoko discovery confirms the presence of a significant high-grade copper mineralizing system between 1,000 meters and 1,140 metres below the surface. Kitoko fine-grained copper mineralization is hosted in near flat-lying siltstone of the lower Grand Conglomerate, like that observed at the tier-one Kamoa, Kakula, Makoko and Kiala deposits. Also, like these deposits, the Kitoko mineralization is bottom-loaded with the highest copper grades occurring at the base of the mineralized zone. As mineralization occurs at the Kakula orebody, the lower section of the mineralized zone features occurrences of high-grade chalcocite and bornite copper sulphide minerals, with chalcopyrite copper sulphide mineralization more prevalent towards the top (see Figure 3). The currently defined mineralized zone is trending southwest over 1.9 kilometres of strike, with a dip extent of between 600 meters and mineralization remains open in all directions (See Figure 4). The Kitoko discovery is approximately 25 kilometres west of the ultra-high-grade Kakula Mine, and five kilometres south and southeast of the Makoko deposit and is located inside a package of newly acquired joint venture licences in the Western Foreland. The new package of licences increases Ivanhoe's highly prospective Western Foreland land position by 10% to 2,654 square kilometres. Under the terms of the joint venture that covers the 247 square kilometres of newly acquired licences, Ivanhoe has an initial interest of 10% with an earn-in right to increase its ownership by funding ongoing exploration activities. Ivanhoe expects to make further exploration spending commitments in 2024, to increase Ivanhoe's interest to 60%. Selected drill holes at the Kitoko Copper Discovery include: DD003 (the Kitoko discovery hole) intersected 3.37 metres (true width) of 3.54% copper, at a 1.0% copper cut-off, from a downhole depth of 1,077 metres. DD004 intersected 6.43 metres (true width) of 4.92% copper, at a 1.0% copper cut-off, from a downhole depth of 1,071 metres. DD006 intersected 4.18 metres (true width) of 3.60% copper, at a 1.0% copper cut-off, from a downhole depth of 1,065 metres. DD007 intersected 6.79 metres (true width) of 3.35% copper at a 1.0% copper cut-off, from a downhole depth of 1,089 metres. DD008 intersected two separate high-grade mineralized zones: 3.09 metres (true width) of 3.67% copper from a downhole depth of 1,118 metres, and a higher grade zone of 5.19 metres (true width) of 11.64% copper from a downhole depth of 1,135 metres, at a 1.0% copper cut-off. Ivanhoe Founder and Executive Co-Chair Robert Friedland commented: "Ivanhoe's latest high-grade discovery of Kitoko confirms the effectiveness of our exploration model for identifying tier-one copper mineralization across the Western Foreland. Our proprietary knowledge is the result of over 20 years of in-depth geological research in this previously unexplored terrain. "This year's drilling success proves that our geological team has the ability to unearth further major copper discoveries across the Western Foreland. We are fortunate to control such a large exploration land package with tier-one potential, in the identical geological domain as the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex, the world's greenest and fastest-growing major copper mining complex. "Our geologists are excited to find very high-grade copper very similar to the massive tier-one Kakula orebody, now discovered in the deeper parts of the Western Foreland basin that remains completely unexplored. When combined with the recent Mineral Resources at the nearby Makoko and Kiala deposits, the Kitoko discovery marks a turning point for our strategy in the Western Foreland. We are excited to explore options for near-term, high-grade copper production across our majority-owned licenses. "Importantly, the Lobito Rail Corridor to the nearest coastal port in Angola runs across this emerging world-class copper district... The railway and port will provide strategic advantages in terms of inbound and outbound transport and lower carbon emissions. In fact, the Lobito Corridor will dramatically improve the economics of the entire DRC mining industry, which is powered primarily by hydroelectricity. The Lobito Corridor will lower mining cut-off grades and increase the amount of economically recoverable copper that our world desperately needs from the Western Foreland and exploration properties in both Angola and the DRC will become far more attractive due to the very existence of the Lobito Corridor. "The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo strongly encourages exploration efforts, and Ivanhoe's team are proud to lead the way. Ivanhoe's talented and dedicated people possess sophisticated exploration technologies and invaluable intellectual property, together with a global track record of success. We are committed to unlocking the full potential of the DRC's endowment and we envision world-leading and ultra-green copper production across the Copperbelt for generations to come." Figure 1. Diamond core from hole DKTK_DD008 at Kitoko, showing two zones of high-grade mineralization. The lower zone returned 5.19 metres true width at a grade of 11.6% copper, at a 1% copper cut-off. The upper zone also returned significant grades of copper mineralization. Table 1 (below) contains a complete list of assay results for the drill holes completed to date at Kitoko, at both a 1% and 2% copper cut-off. For drill holes DD005 to DD011, independent assays are pending; only "Niton" X-ray fluorescent (XRF) results are currently available. The reader is cautioned that Niton XRF readings are not the same as laboratory assays and are not an estimate of resource grades disclosed in accordance with NI 43-101. However, based on more than 2,000 holes drilled to date at the neighbouring Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex, as well as on the Western Foreland Exploration Project, a high degree of correlation between Niton XRF readings and assay results is evident. The company is confident that these data readings are highly useful in confirming and shaping the next stage of the exploration drilling program pending final assay results. Figure 2. (L-R) Comparison of drill core from the Kakula orebody, alongside drill core from the Kitoko discovery. The Kitoko core displays many similar mineralization characteristics to Kakula core. Extensive exploration history and experience in Ivanhoe's Western Foreland fundamental to discovery Ivanhoe began exploration activities on the extensive Western Foreland land position in July 2017. Initially, activities were focused on the construction of all-season access roads, bridges and the development of new camp facilities. In parallel, Ivanhoe undertook airborne and ground-based geophysical surveys and revisited previously acquired geophysical and geochemical data sets. Targets, and subsequent discoveries, were identified first based on analysis of geological models from the airborne and ground geophysics, as well as surface and sub-surface geochemical sampling, and ultimately confirmed by diamond drilling. By year-end 2023, the company expects to have completed more than 166,000 metres of diamond drilling since 2017, including 36,000 metres completed year-to-date. The newly discovered high-grade mineralization at Kitoko is associated with siltstone and inter-banded gritty layers of sandstone, formed in periods of relatively low sediment input into the basin, within a large package of Grand Conglomerate diamictite. The siltstones contain early pyrite that reacted with ore fluids to deposit copper. Multiple packages, or layers, of pyritic siltstones, have been identified and are exploration targets when they occur in prospective basin locations. The Kitoko discovery is hosted in the Grand Conglomerate overlaying the Kibaran basement directly, whereas the Kakula, Kamoa, Makoko and Kiala deposits occur where the Grand Conglomerate is underlain by Mwasha sandstones. This highlights the potential for copper mineralization across a variety of underlying aquifer conditions and therefore increases the proportion of the Western Foreland that is prospective for high-grade mineralization. Figure 3: Strip logs showing the mineralization and lithological host of the Kitoko discovery. The two holes are in separate sections 1,400 metres apart. Note: Ng1.1.1 is the lowest stratigraphic package of the Grand Conglomerate, and KB is the Kibaran basement. Like the Kamoa and Kakula deposits, copper mineralization at Kitoko is hosted in the lowest reductant sedimentary layer. The deposition of copper mineralization occurs in basins where the circulating copper-bearing fluids are focused into sub-basins and shelf edges. Ivanhoe's 80-to-100%-owned exploration licences, plus the new joint venture licence package, cover approximately 175 kilometres of prospective strike length for this style of mineralization. Drilling is continuing at Kitoko to define the limits of mineralization, which remains open in all directions. When the extent of the mineralized system has been confirmed, infill resource drilling will begin. All-weather access roads have been constructed to enable operations to continue throughout the DRC rainy season, which typically runs from November through April. In conjunction with the drilling, detailed mineralogical studies on associated alteration have begun to complement the existing geological understanding. Exploration will continue to test other high-value exploration targets in conjunction with the continued drilling of Kitoko in 2024 and beyond. Kitoko discovery further advances Ivanhoe's proprietary exploration model Ivanhoe geologists have developed proprietary geological models based on increased knowledge of the architecture of this emerging copper district and the formation of high-grade mineralization, including grade distribution. This knowledge has been increased substantially during the mining of the high-grade Kakula deposit, demonstrating the advantage of an operating mine adjacent to active exploration. The discovery was solely targeted using knowledge of shelf architecture. The intersection of high-grade mineralization, at over 1,000 meters depth in the Western Foreland, confirms the criteria used for targeting blind mineralization across the 2,654-square-kilometre license package. Figure 4. Kitoko dip section, looking east, of discovery holes DD003 to DD011 The Kitoko discovery has no surface expression in either geochemistry or geophysics. Figure 5. Zoomed in dip section, looking east as shown in Figure 4, of the Kitoko discovery, showing grade intervals at a 1% cut-off Members of Ivanhoe Mines' exploration team with drill core from the 2023 exploration campaign, which led to the high-grade Kitoko copper discovery. Kitoko discovery follows release of maiden Makoko and Kiala Mineral Resources, further enhancing near-term development optionality for Western Foreland On November 13, 2023, Ivanhoe announced the independently verified, maiden Mineral Resource estimates for the high-grade Makoko and Kiala deposits, also within its Western Foreland Exploration Project. The Kitoko discovery is within five kilometres of the Makoko deposit. Makoko and Kiala are two distinct discoveries adjacent to the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex and continue Ivanhoe's distinguished track record of making greenfield discoveries in this uniquely endowed geological terrain. The Makoko Discovery remains open along an approximate west-east trending strike and there is potential for further resource expansion within the Makoko Exploration Area. High-grade copper mineralization has been outlined along a corridor that is currently approximately 700 metres wide and at least four kilometres in length. The Kiala Discovery remains open to the north, with the potential for parallel mineralized zones to be defined east and west of the current Mineral Resource. Nique Karaj a Zeng, Geologist, Ivanhoe Mines, holding Kitoko core from hole DD008 Table 1: Assay composites at 1% and 2% copper cut-off for Kitoko drill holes received to date. 1% Cu Cut-off 2% Cu Cut-off Hole ID From (m) To (m) Length (m) True Tk (m) Cu % From (m) To (m) Length (m) True Tk (m) Cu % DKTK_DD003 1076.90 1080.28 3.37 3.37 3.54 1076.91 1080.28 3.37 3.37 3.54 DKTK_DD004 1071.10 1077.57 6.46 6.43 4.92 1073.00 1077.00 4.00 3.98 6.91 DKTK_DD005 1043.60 1047.00 3.40 3.40 0.71 * DKTK_DD006 1065.30 1069.49 4.19 4.18 3.60 1065.30 1069.49 4.19 4.18 3.60 * DKTK_DD007 1088.53 1095.32 6.79 6.79 3.35 1088.53 1094.68 6.15 6.15 3.52 * DKTK_DD008 1134.51 1139.70 5.19 5.19 11.64 1134.51 1137.70 4.22 4.22 13.77 * 1117.84 1120.93 3.09 3.09 3.67 1117.84 1120.93 3.09 3.09 3.67 * DKTK_DD009 1040.19 1044.00 3.81 3.76 0.97 * DKTK_DD010 1103.18 1111.00 7.82 7.79 2.52 1105.24 1109.00 3.76 3.74 3.61 * DKTK_DD011 1038.86 1043.88 5.02 4.94 2.63 1038.86 1042.57 3.71 3.65 3.04 * *Denotes values from the Ivanhoe Mine Exploration Laboratory Niton X-Ray Fluorescent (XRF) instrument Table 2: Collar location and elevation for Kitoko drill holes. Note: Collar locations and elevations are based on Ivanhoe Mines's internal DGPS unit, apart from DKTK_DD010 which is based on a handheld GPS. Hole ID Easting Northing Elevation Azimuth Dip DKTK_DD003 273159.509 8793809.883 1236.639 340 85 DKTK_DD004 271960.324 8793011.512 1253.813 340 85 DKTK_DD005 271916.037 8793202.800 1251.572 340 85 DTKK_DD006 273093.673 8793991.330 1241.017 340 85 DKTK_DD007 272010.553 8792813.869 1256.779 340 85 DKTK_DD008 273205.391 8793607.265 1244.222 340 85 DKTK_DD009 272694.815 8793392.920 1251.959 340 85 DKTK_DD010 272106 8792409 1284 340 85 DKTK_DD011 273045.774 8794185.818 1239.359 340 85 Qualified Persons and Quality Assurance and Control Disclosures of a scientific or technical nature at the Western Foreland Exploration Project in this news release have been reviewed and approved by Tim Williams, who is considered, by virtue of his education, experience and professional association, a Qualified Person under the terms of NI 43-101. Mr. Williams is not considered independent under NI 43-101 as he is Ivanhoe Mines' Executive Head, Exploration. Ivanhoe Mines maintains a comprehensive chain of custody and QA/QC program on assays from its Western Foreland Exploration Project. Half-sawn core is processed at the on-site preparation laboratory and prepared samples then are shipped by secure courier to Bureau Veritas Minerals (BVM) Laboratories in Australia, an ISO17025-accredited facility independent of Ivanhoe Mines. Copper assays are determined at BVM by mixed-acid digestion with ICP finish. Industry-standard certified reference materials and blanks are inserted into the sample stream before dispatch to BVM. Ivanhoe conducts Niton (X-ray fluorescence or XRF) analyses routinely as part of its sample preparation and analysis. Sawn drill core is sampled on nominal 1-metre intervals, and then the sawn core is crushed to nominal 2 mm using jaw crushers. A quarter split (500 grams to 1,000 grams) is pulverized to >90% -75 m, using LM2 puck and bowl pulverizes. The remaining coarse reject material is retained. A 100-gram split is sent for assay and a 30-gram split is used for XRF analysis. The XRF split is placed in a powder cup, with analysis of the pulp occurring under controlled conditions. Ivanhoe inserts blanks and certified reference materials into the Niton XRF sample stream in the same way it does for its assays, with a 5% insertion rate for certified reference materials and blanks. Ivanhoe monitors the XRF results for accuracy and precision, and compares the XRF results to the ICP results, although Niton XRF results are used for indicative purposes only. About Ivanhoe Mines Ivanhoe Mines is a Canadian mining company focused on advancing its three principal projects in Southern Africa; the expansion of the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the DRC, the construction of the tier-one Platreef palladium-nickel-platinum-rhodium-copper-gold project in South Africa; and the restart of the historic ultra-high-grade Kipushi zinc-copper-germanium-silver mine, also in the DRC. Ivanhoe Mines also is exploring for new copper discoveries across its circa 2,400km2 of 80-100% owned exploration licences, as well as on the 247km2 of newly acquired joint venture licences, in the Western Foreland located adjacent to the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the DRC. Information contact Investors Vancouver: Matthew Keevil +1.604.558.1034 London: Tommy Horton +44 7866 913 207 Media Tanya Todd +1.604.331.9834 Cautionary statement on forward-looking information Certain statements in this news release constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company, its projects, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "expect", "believe", "plan", "anticipate", "estimate", "scheduled", "forecast", "predict" and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements. These statements reflect the company's current expectations regarding future events, performance and results and speak only as of the date of this news release. Such statements include without limitation: (i) statements regarding the company's further exploration and spending commitments in 2024, which are expected to allow the company to increase its interest in the newly acquired joint venture licenses to 60%; (ii) statements regarding the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex being the world's greenest and fastest-growing copper producer; (iii) statements that the planned Lobito Rail Corridor to the coastal port of Lobito in Angola could provide strategic advantages in terms of outbound transport and lower carbon emissions; (iv) statements that by year-end 2024, the company expects to have completed more than 166,000 metres of diamond drilling since 2017 over the area comprising the Western Foreland licenses; (v) statements that once the extent of the mineralization system at Kitoko is confirmed, infill resource drilling will begin; (vi) statements that exploration at Western Foreland will continue to test other high-valued targets in conjunction with the continued drilling of Kitoko in 2024 and beyond; and (viii) statements regarding the other planned exploration programs at the Western Foreland area. Forward-looking statements and information involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indicators of whether or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements or information, including, but not limited to, the factors discussed under "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the company's MD&A for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023, and its Annual Information Form, as well as the inability to obtain regulatory approvals in a timely manner; the potential for unknown or unexpected events to cause contractual conditions to not be satisfied; unexpected changes in laws, rules or regulations, or their enforcement by applicable authorities; the failure of parties to contracts with the company to perform as agreed; social or labour unrest; changes in commodity prices; and the failure of exploration programs or studies to deliver anticipated results or results that would justify and support continued exploration, studies, development or operations. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the company believes are reasonable assumptions, the company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Subject to applicable securities laws, the company does not assume any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this news release. The company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of the factors set forth in the "Risk Factors" section and elsewhere in the company's MD&A for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023, and its Annual Information Form. Vancouver, British Columbia November 28, 2023 - Perseverance Metals Inc. (Perseverance or the Company) is pleased to announce that it has closed the first tranche (the First Tranche) of its non-brokered private placement (the Private Placement) for aggregate gross proceeds of C$2,848,066. The First Tranche included a 9.9% strategic investment from Teck Resources Limited (TSX: TECK.A and TECK.B, NYSE: TECK) (Teck), one of Canadas leading mining companies, and significant investments from two prominent resource-focused funds in Quebec: SIDEX, LP (SIDEX) and Fonds de solidarite FTQ (Fonds FTQ). The First Tranche of the Private Placement was comprised of 1,489,325 common shares of the Company (the Hard Dollar Shares) issued at a price of C$0.80 per Hard Dollar Share; 864,675 common shares of the Company that qualify as "flow-through shares" within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada)(the Act) and sold to purchasers in the province of Quebec (the Quebec FT Shares) at a price of C$1.52 per Quebec FT Share; and 326,000 common shares of the Company that qualify as "flow-through shares" within the meaning of the Act and sold to purchasers in the province of Ontario (the Ontario FT Shares) at a price of CA$1.05 per Ontario FT Share. Michael J. Tucker, President and CEO of Perseverance commented, We are very pleased to welcome Teck, one of the worlds leading diversified mining companies, as a significant strategic investor. Teck's investment in Perseverance is a strong endorsement of the quality of the portfolio of critical mineral assets we have assembled, and of the vision, culture and expertise of our management team, exploration team, board of directors, and advisory board. In addition, we recognize the significant endorsement represented by the investments made by SIDEX (5.0%) and Fonds FTQ (3.0%) at our still-private stage, and look forward to deploying this capital to execute aggressive exploration programs at our Lac Gayot (Quebec), Voyageur (Michigan), and Armit Lake (Ontario) nickel projects in the coming months, as we progress towards our goal of making a major North American nickel discovery. The net proceeds received by the Company from the issuances of Quebec FT Shares and Ontario FT Shares under the Private Placement will be used to incur Canadian Exploration Expenses which qualify as flow-through critical mineral mining expenditures, within the meaning of the Act (Qualifying Expenditures) in connection with exploration programs to be carried out on the Company's mineral properties located in the Provinces of Quebec and Ontario respectively, and which Qualifying Expenditures will be renounced to the subscribers with an effective date no later than December 31, 2023. In connection with their participation in the Private Placement, Perseverance has granted each of Teck, SIDEX and Fonds FTQ equity participation rights allowing each party to participate on a pro rata basis in any future equity financings of the Company. About Perseverance Metals Perseverance Metals is pioneering a best-in-class North American critical minerals exploration company with a carefully curated, growing portfolio of high-grade nickel-copper-cobalt-PGM projects in Quebec, Michigan, and Ontario. Perseverance has assembled an industry-leading board of directors, management, and technical teams, and a hands on advisory board with mining and capital markets skillsets encompassing greenfield nickel exploration through globally significant nickel discoveries, mine development, and production. Perseverance was created to identify, acquire, and aggressively explore high quality critical mineral assets - with a particular focus on high-grade magmatic nickel-copper-cobalt-PGM sulphide projects - in pursuit of discoveries that will definitively achieve critical mass size and grade to advance and attract acquisition. Perseverances mineral projects include the Lac Gayot nickel-copper-cobalt-PGM project, which covers the entirety of the very high-grade Venus Greenstone Belt in Quebec and boasts multiple +8% nickel tenor occurrences; the Voyageur nickel-copper-cobalt-PGM project which covers 680 square kilometres of the Upper Peninsula in Michigan, 65 kilometres west of the only producing nickel mine in the United States, and the Armit Lake nickel-copper-cobalt project, which is the recently consolidated and underexplored western half of the nickel- and gold-rich Savant Lake Greenstone Belt in Ontario. The execution of Perseverances strategy provides investors with unrivalled exposure to multiple discovery opportunities of some of the most highly sought-after mineral deposits in the modern world. Additional information about Perseverance Metals can be found at perseverancemetals.com. On Behalf of the Board, Michael J. Tucker President, CEO and Director FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Perseverance Metals Inc. Michael J. Tucker, President & CEO +1 (778) 834-3528 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Perseverance Metals Inc. John Foulkes, VP Corporate Development +1 (604) 614-2999 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Forward-Looking Statements Would anyone in their right mind appear on the radio and confess to having committed murder?, asked Bai Lowe in his final statement in court, insinuating that the answer could only be no. And yet, that is exactly what the prosecution in Celle, Germany, believes he did. In an emotional final statement on November 24, the defendant from Gambia urged everyone to believe that he had never been part of ex-President Yahya Jammehs killing squad, that he had only shared what he knew from hearsay and that his sole motivation had been to liberate his home country from dictatorship. Next Thursday, November 30th, the verdict is expected in Germanys case against Bai Lowe for crimes against humanity committed in Gambia between 2003 and 2006. According to the indictment, the former dictator ordered his killing squad, the Junglers to assassinate investigative journalist Deyda Hydara and two of his employees, as well as a lawyer and a former soldier who Jammeh perceived as threats to his regime. Lowe is accused of being the death squads driver. He allegedly drove the killers to their missions and in Hydaras case used the car to block the victims vehicle. The most important evidence against Lowe is an interview he gave in 2013 to the oppositional US-based Freedom Radio, where he describes being present during the attacks. But in their closing arguments, he and his lawyer reiterated Lowes claim that he had lied about being there, to make his testimony more credible and expose Jammehs crimes to Gambia and the world. Contradictory accounts on Hydaras killing The 61st day of the proceedings against Lowe started on a stormy morning in the Northern German city of Celle. Lowe appeared in court with a black hooded jacket and his usual black sneakers. In his hands, he held some rolled up pieces of paper, an indication that he would make use of his right to address the court in a last word. But first, it was his lawyer Matthias Krackes turn to speak. He started his statement with a quote from German poet Friedrich Schiller: I am ready to die and beg not for my life, adding that these might as well be the words of his client, who had put himself at risk by exposing the crimes of Jammeh and the Junglers to the public. According to the lawyer, the findings of the court were not sufficient to prove Lowes involvement in those crimes beyond reasonable doubt. To underline this, Kracke first took some time to question the proceedings as a whole. The trial is possible due to the principle of universal jurisdiction that allows Germany to prosecute the gravest crimes against international law, such as crimes against humanity, genocide or war crimes. According to Kracke, such a trial is marked by problems, especially for the defense. For example, some of the most important witnesses and pieces of evidence were in Gambia, not Germany. This would not have been an issue, said Kracke, if the Gambian government had cooperated. Instead, it had ignored the rogatory letters from Germany throughout most of the trial. As a result, what we have is mostly indirect evidence such as hearsay, open source, and testimonies. Kracke also mentioned that the findings of the Gambian Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) had played a big role in court, but criticized that translating the TRRC statements was not as good as interrogating witnesses directly. It is difficult to evaluate the evidentiary value of these statements, he said and, as an example, reexamined the different accounts of Hydaras killing, which he deemed contradictory. In his interview with Freedom Radio, Lowe had mentioned three vehicles involved in the attack on Hydara, two of which had heckled the journalists car forcing him to stop. However, other reports and statements, including the testimony of Ida Jagne, who had been in the car with Hydara, only mentioned one car. Jungler Malick Jattah on the other hand, who had been part of the hit squad that day, told the TRRC of several cars. But he claimed that only one of them was involved in the killing. In that car, Tumbul Tamba was driving, and Jattah was firing the shots together with Alieu Jeng and Sana Manjang. All accounts describe a different course of events, concluded Kracke in an attempt to contradict the prosecutions evaluation of Lowes interview as credible. Also, this could mean, that even if Lowe was present at the crime scene, he might have been in a vehicle that was not directly involved in Hydaras killing. Kracke quoted Jattah as saying that the other cars were far behind the victims vehicle. The role of those cars is unclear, according to the lawyer. Whether or not Lowe was sitting in one of the cars, remains open. But the question whether driving another car would qualify him as a co-perpetrator must be answered with No. Lying to make statements more credible With regards to the killing of Dawda Nyassi, Kracke argued that the TRRC had found Jammeh and several Junglers responsible. If Lowe had been present at the crime scene, Kracke argued, surely the other perpetrators would have mentioned him in their statements at the TRRC. After all, it was his interview that had exposed the crimes of Alieu Jeng and Malick Jattah. They had no reason at all to protect him, said Kracke. And yet, the defendant is not mentioned in the report. (Indeed, the TRRCs final report only recommends Lowe for investigation in connection with the 2005 massacre of West-African migrants.) At this point, Kracke dove back into his clients defense, that he had lied about being involved in order to make his statement more credible. Kracke explained why this would make a lot of sense: in 2012, journalist Pa Nderry Mbai had published a book on Jammehs crimes, but had failed to trigger the outcry he had hoped for in Gambia. This is why Mbai wanted Lowe to reveal his knowledge but present it as a first-hand account, said Kracke. If he had merely talked about it as someone who heard the information from others, Mbais plans would not have succeeded. Finally, Kracke disagreed with the prosecution who had claimed that Lowes interviews were full of details and met most of the criteria that indicate he was recounting his own experience. There were not that many details, said Kracke, adding that Lowes statements did not concur with those of other witnesses and that they varied over time. If, then, the interviews were not credible, they could also not be used to prove the defendants involvement in the attempted murder of Ousman Sillah, for which there was hardly any evidence besides the interviews. Kracke asked the judges to acquit Lowe, although he did not believe that they shared his doubts and that his speech would be able to change that. In case of a conviction, he urged the court to consider Lowe a principal witness and lower his penalty accordingly. That really hurt me The defendant himself had been listening quietly to his lawyers final plea, his leg occasionally breaking into a nervous jiggle. When chief judge Gunther asked him whether he wanted to make a final statement, he answered Yes. Ja, and hectically proceeded to the stand, where he greeted the trial participants as well as the journalists and the public with a smile and a Salam alaikum. What followed was a 45-minute long, mostly improvised, at times messy, and in part highly emotional speech by Lowe on the whole of his military career and a number of people, places and events that led up to the fateful interview. It was hard to follow the defendant, who jumped back and forth between different years and events, between commenting on the crimes and pleading his innocence to the court. One of the points he made was that he was not, in fact, part of the Junglers, and that it were Tumbul Tamba, Malik Jattah, Alieu Jeng and Sana Manjang who killed Hydara. Nobody other than these four was involved. All of the murders were committed by these four. At the time, he himself had not known that Jammeh was behind the killings. This changed after a conversation he had with Jattah after a failed coup attempt in 2006. One of the many people arrested and killed in its aftermath, was apparently Lowes half-brother. He thought he had survived and escaped, until Jattah told him that the Junglers had broken his legs and then killed him. At this point of his speech, Lowe fell silent for a moment, visibly struggling to keep his composure. That really hurt me, he said, in tears. I was shocked. The plot He went on to explain how the killing of his brother and another close friend had made him want to investigate. Sniffling, he described how he bought rice and alcohol and even stole some of Jammehs sheep to bring to the Junglers, get them drunk and get all the information he needed from them. When I had the information, how could I not have shared it with Gambians? That would have made me an accomplice of Jammeh, said Lowe. He had the whole country in his hand and nobody dared say anything. Through a friend, he found out about journalist Pa Nderry Mbai and the Freedom Radio, but noticed that some of his reporting was not accurate. I had to contact him and tell him the truth. I had first-hand information. The prosecution was right in how they described the crimes, said Lowe, gesturing intensely. What I described in the interviews is what happened. But for the people to believe the story, someone had to sacrifice themselves. I knew this would get me into trouble, but I was wearing the uniform and was willing to die for my country. He swore that he was not a criminal and that he would gladly testify in any court that put Jammeh on trial. Addressing the judges directly, he said: You have done a good job, but you have charged an innocent person. Israel said Monday that 11 more hostages released in the Gaza Strip had arrived safely, hours after the announcement that a truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza will be extended by two days, opening the way for further releases. Hamas announced the agreement to prolong the truce by 48 hours shortly before it was due to end Tuesday, though there was no immediate confirmation from Israel. The move was nevertheless hailed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as "a glimpse of hope and humanity in the middle of the darkness of war". Late Monday, Israel's military announced that 11 hostages were "now in Israeli territory". "Our forces will accompany them until they are reunited with their families," it said in a statement, adding that the military "salutes and embraces the released hostages upon their return home". Shortly after the arrival of the hostages was confirmed, Israel's prison authority said 33 Palestinian inmates had been released. The freed Israelis are dual nationals of France, Germany and Argentina, according to Qatar, which helped mediate the deal. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock welcomed the release of the hostages, including "two German teenagers" after "52 days of suffering and despair". US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will pay his third wartime visit to the Middle East this week, a US official said Monday, just as mediators announced an extension of a truce in Gaza. A senior US official, speaking as Blinken arrived in Brussels for NATO meetings, said the top US diplomat would meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv and with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in Ramallah. "In his meetings in the Middle East, the secretary will stress the need to sustain the increased flow of humanitarian assistance to Gaza, secure the release of all hostages and improve protection to civilians in Gaza," the official said. "The secretary will discuss with partners in the region the principles he laid out for the future of Gaza and the need to establish an independent Palestinian state," the official said. Qatar -- with the support of the United States and Egypt -- has been engaged in intense negotiations to establish and prolong the truce in Gaza. Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari announced that "an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian truce for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip." Hamas, which runs Gaza and triggered the war when its militants made an unprecedented attack on southern Israel last month, said it was drawing up a new list of hostages for release. Israel has been clear that the pause is designed to allow Hamas to free more of the roughly 240 hostages it has been holding since the October 7 attack, which also killed 1,200 Israelis and foreigners, according to officials in the country. But there had been widespread calls to use the break in hostilities to allow more humanitarian aid to reach civilians in Gaza, where Israel's campaign against Hamas has killed almost 15,000 people, mostly Palestinian civilians, according to Gaza's Hamas government. Most Gaza residents have been displaced and the whole territory is short on essentials such as food, water and medical supplies. The extension announcements came after US President Joe Biden, top EU envoy Josep Borrell and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg added to calls for a longer break in fighting. Over the initial four days, a total of 50 hostages and 150 Palestinian prisoners were to be exchanged. - Scale of destruction - The tearful reunions of families and hostages have brought relief from images of civilian death and suffering in the seven-week war. "That's our goal, to keep this pause going beyond tomorrow so that we can continue to see more hostages come out and surge more humanitarian relief into those in need," Biden said Sunday. The White House welcomed the agreement to extend the truce. "We would of course hope to see the pause extended further, and that will depend upon Hamas continuing to release hostages," US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters. Kirby said that "in order to extend the pause, Hamas has committed to releasing another 20 women and children". The EU's Borrell had called for the pause to be prolonged "to make it sustainable and long lasting while working for a political solution." "Nothing can justify the indiscriminate brutality Hamas unleashed against civilians," he said. "But one horror cannot justify another horror." The third group of hostages released Sunday included four-year-old American Abigail whose parents were both killed in the October 7 attack, the worst since the country's founding in 1948. Inside Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry said that despite the four-day pause, no fuel had been taken to generators in hospitals in the north of the Gaza Strip. In Gaza City, the truce made the scale of the destruction clear. People walked or bicycled along debris-lined streets, where the cars were flattened and buildings torn apart. Gaza City Mayor Yahya al-Siraj said that without fuel, the territory could not pump clean water or clear waste accumulating in the streets, warning of a potential public health "catastrophe". At Al-Shifa hospital, which had been a focal point of the war, young Gazans were working to clean up the facility, and "we hope it can soon resume its activities," said Gaza health ministry spokesman Mahmud Hammad. A French warship arrived in the Egyptian town of El-Arish, near the border with Gaza, to serve as a hospital for wounded civilians, a port source said. - Call for investigations - While coming under pressure to extend the pause, Irael's leaders have dismissed any suggestions of a lasting halt to the offensive. "We continue until the end -- until victory," Netanyahu said in Gaza on Sunday, the first visit to the strip by an Israeli premier since 2005. His office has proposed a war budget of 30 billion shekels ($8 billion) for 90 days. Wearing military fatigues and surrounded by soldiers, Netanyahu vowed to free all the hostages and "eliminate Hamas", footage posted by his office showed. In another sign of mounting international concern, UN rights experts called Monday for independent investigations into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity carried out in Israel and the Palestinian territories since October 7. The European Union is considering a new round of sanctions against Russia over and above the 11 rounds that have already been imposed after the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out in February last year. A recent Bloomberg report says the new sanctions are aimed at cracking down on Russia's ability to circumvent existing sanctions through third countries. The EU's executive arm proposed a ban on importers reselling certain items, such as semiconductors used in weapons or needed to make them, to Russia and required them to put a sum of money into an escrow account to ensure compliance. At least half of this money would be transferred to a trust fund in Ukraine and the contract would be terminated if those rules were violated. Exporters are also obliged to notify their national authorities of any violations by companies in third countries. However, diplomats from some major EU member states raised concerns over the proposal. Some EU members also want to reduce the number of goods that can be covered, fearing the new proposal will put European companies at a disadvantage. Bloomberg previously reported that the new sanctions may involve 5 billion euros ($5.47 billion) of trade. It said the EU is considering banning exports of welding machines, chemicals and technologies that can be used for military purposes, and restricting imports of processed metals and aluminum products, as well as diamonds. The bloc is also considering adding more goods to the ban list and bringing relevant companies in third countries under the sanctions. The Wall Street Journal quoted EU officials as saying the EU executive body issued a new round of sanctions against Russia on Nov 14, but diplomats said it could take weeks for all 27 member states to adopt the measures. The 11 rounds of sanctions the EU has imposed on Russia cover energy, economy, trade and other areas. However, according to Russia's official statistics service Rosstat, the country's gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 5.5 percent in the third quarter of 2023, which is better than its previous official assessment. Amundi, Europe's largest asset manager, recently forecast Russia's economy would grow three times faster than the eurozone in 2024. The Dolce & Gabbana team proudly introduced Hallyu superstar Moon Ga Young as the newest global ambassador for Dolce & Gabbana this November. Moon Ga Young Revealed As Newest Dolce & Gabbana Ambassador On November 28, the Italian luxury brand Dolce & Gabbana released Moon Ga Young's stunning editorial photos as she was introduced as its newest global ambassador. Moon Ga Young is known for her charming performances in her K-dramas "True Beauty," "The Interest of Love," "Link: Eat, Love, Kill" and more. In September 2023, the Hallyu superstar captivated the world with her beauty when she was in attendance at the Dolce & Gabbana fashion show in Milan, Italy. Like the brand, Moon Ga Young also exudes elegant luxury and fashion authenticity as seen on her Instagram looks that her fans love. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Park Bo Young Named As Most Popular Actress of 2023- Where To See More of Hallyu Star With this, she's set to participate in Dolce & Gabbana's global campaign and events in expressing the essence of the brand. "I'm honored to work with the brand," Moon Ga Young shared through her agency, KeyEast. "I look forward to an amazing journey that I will make together with Dolce & Gabbana." Congratulations to Moon Ga Young on her new milestone! What To Expect From Moon Ga Young This 2023 Earlier this 2023, Moon Ga Young decorated prime time with her beauty and grace through the dramas "The Interest of Love" and "Delightfully Deceitful." Undoubtedly, she's among the best stars of Hallyu. She also has a huge following, consisting of fans from all around the world. At the moment, she's preparing for her long anticipated return to the acting scene through browsing the slew of offers she has. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE THIS: Shin Hye Sun Avoids Ji Chang Wook At All Costs In 'Welcome To Samdalri' Teaser Moon Ga Young is expected to take on a new genre challenge, which will switch up her wide spectrum of acting. On the other hand, Moon Ga Young is gearing up to participate in the upcoming 8th Asia Artist Awards alongside Ahn Hyo Seop, Kim Seon Ho, Lee Dong Hwi, Kim Young Dae, Yoo Seon Ho, Kim Sejeong and more. It will be held on December 14 at Philippine Arena, Bulacan, Philippines with Kang Daniel, IVE Wonyoung and Sung Han Bin as hosts. ALSO READ: Lee Se Young, Bae In Hyuk Share Kiss In New Drama: 'We took off our...' KDramaStars owns this article. Written by Elijah Mully. Park Bo Gum is ready for the highly anticipated 2023 MAMA Awards as he heads to Japan to participate in the annual event. The "Reply 1988" star was spotted at the Gimpo International Airport in Seoul in the afternoon as he prepared for the ceremony. Park Bo Gum Airport Fashion Swoons Fans Looking dashing with a casual outfit, Park Bo Gum's airport look exudes comfort and laid-back style. The South Korean hearthrob was spotted wearing a black leather jacket paired with straight-cut denim pants. He opted to wear light brown outdoor boots and a leather tote for comfort. Park Bo Gum Happily Greets Fans at the Airport As soon as he stepped out of the vehicle, Park Bo Gum was welcomed by the media and fans waiting for him. Passing the security entrance, the "Record of Youth" star smiled at the media and, at the same time, greeted the fans as he entered the gate. READ MORE: Park Bo Gum Steals Hearts & Spotlight With His Jaw-Dropping Visuals: 'His face is seriously insane' Moreover, Park Bo Gum's fan service was also praised by netizens, as he accepted gifts and letters from the people who waited for him. 2023 MAMA Awards Details As mentioned, the actor is in Tokyo to host the 2023 MAMA Awards together with Jeon Somi. Scheduled for November 28 and 29, the annual ceremony takes place at Tokyo Dome at 6 p.m. KST. Other than honoring individuals, personalities, and groups in the music industry, one of the highlights at the 2023 MAMA Awards are the performances from some of the biggest names in the K-pop world, including INI, JUST B, JO1, and TVXQ! , &TEAM, xikers, Kep1er, Tomorrow X Together, ENHYPEN, and more. As for the list of presenters, the 2023 MAMA Awards feature a slew of notable actors like "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" star Park Eun Bin, award-winning actor Ryu Seung Ryong, Lee Je Hoon, as well as Ahn Jae Hong, Jung Kyung Ho, and Cha Seung Won. What's Next for Park Bo Gum? Besides hosting the 2023 MAMA Awards, Park Bo Gum is set to star in an interesting project featuring an amazing cast lineup. For his K-drama comeback, the South Korean hearthrob headlines the romance K-drama "You Have Done Well." He will portray the role of Gwan Shik, who grew up on Jeju Island with his childhood friend Ae Soon, played by IU. In addition, Moon So Ri and Park Hae Joon will also star in "You Have Done Well," taking on the adult versions of Gwan Shik and Ae Soon. Adding to the list of Park Bo Gum's new dramas, he is also in talks to headline the action comedy series "Good Boy" with Kim So Hyun and Oh Jung Se. IN CASE YOU MISSED: Park Bo Gum, BTS V Showcase Visual Overload in Tokyo For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news, keep your tabs open here at KDramaStars. KDramaStars owns this article Written by Geca Wills TVING's "Death's Game" shared a glimpse of Lee Jae Wook's new acting role to fans' delight. The young Hallyu star becomes the fourth secret cast member to be revealed following Kim Ji Hoon, Sung Hoon and Jang Seung Jo, raising excitement to a new level. Keep on reading to know more. Lee Jae Wook Transforms Into Martial Arts Expert In New Drama On November 28, another secret cast member of "Death's Game" was finally revealed. Lee Jae Wook's first-ever stills in his new acting role were shared, much to fans' excitement. He joins the star-studded show, following his success as a young mage in "Alchemy of Souls." In the play, Lee Jae Wook transforms into Jo Tae Sang, a mixed martial arts fighter who gave up on his dreams due to his family's difficult financial situation. While living without a set goal in life, he finds himself in prison, waiting for his release. The published photos capture Jo Tae Sang's charisma as he takes power inside the detention center. Despite being outnumbered, he maintains his cool and penetrating gaze that adds tension to the upcoming drama. Attention is also given to Jo Tae Sang whether he will be able to leave prison. READ MORE: Moon Ga Young Unlocks New Milestone As Dolce & Gabbana's Global Ambassador On the other hand, "Death's Game" follows the life of a jaded man who gets punished by Death itself after giving up on his life and his dreams. Lee Jae Wook Shares Preparations For 'Death's Game' Following his performance in "Alchemy of Souls" in the past year, Lee Jae Wook successfully cemented his name as a rising actor of his generation. The 25-year-old star challenges himself with the thriller genre while meeting veteran stars like Seo In Guk, Park So Dam, Sung Hoon, Kim Ji Hoon, Jang Seung Jo, Oh Jung Se and more. To give life to Jo Tae Sang, Lee Jae Wook personally filmed and took on eight one-on-one fight scenes without acting double. Prior to filming, he attended action school to perfect his angles, choreography and body language. Through "Death's Game," the viewers will be able to see Lee Jae Wook's emotional acting and intense portrayal of an artist. Don't miss "Death's Game" debut this December 15 on TVING. ALSO READ: Sung Hoon & Jang Seung Jo Take Dangerous Risks In Thriller Series 'Death's Game' KDramaStars owns this article. Written by Elijah Mully. In high-school, the English teacher used to admonish me for using British spelling for certain words. This article is sponsored by Gilead Sciences, Inc. In this special sponsored episode from Gilead, Im joined by Anu Osinusi, an infectious disease physician and Vice President of Clinical Research for Hepatitis, Respiratory, and Emerging Viruses at Gilead, to discuss navigating COVID-19 today. We look back on the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and the development of treatments that helped get us to where we are today. The first days: Navigating the COVID-19 pandemic Like most of us, Dr. Osinusi remembers the first day she heard of COVID-19: December 2020 in an email about the mystery cases of pneumonia in the Wuhan district in China. Just a week later, these mystery cases were confirmed as a novel coronavirus, and Anu and her team at Gilead were off to the races. There were a lot of unknowns, but I think one thing that I was really proud of the team for is that we were never paralyzed by that fear, or the fear of the unknown, Dr. Osinusi says, We just kept pushing ahead, recognizing that if we could be part of the solution, we would want to be part of the solution. Gilead was one of the first pharmaceutical biotech companies to commit to addressing the pandemic, an accomplishment Dr. Osinusi credits to the companys 30 plus years of experience and expertise in viral diseases. COVID-19 treatment options available today In terms of where we are today with COVID-19, Dr. Osinusi emphasizes the tireless efforts by researchers across the globe that have yielded what she defines as remarkable treatment approaches and guidelines for the disease. These developments have led to COVID-19 vaccines, antiviral therapies, and immune modulators, including corticosteroid therapies. All these tools continue to play a critical role in the treatment of COVID-19 patients, especially those who are at the highest risk of complications or who are hospitalized for COVID-19. On the topic of COVID-19 treatment, Dr. Osinusi emphasizes the importance of avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach when treating viral infections. I think rather than us touting one treatment as superior to the other, its important to explore how different drugs and medications can be used in tandem to enhance the effectiveness of each individual treatment, and customized for each individual patient, Dr. Osinusi says. Unmet needs in the COVID-19 landscape Even today, there are still unmet needs in COVID-19 treatment. Gilead continues to pursue multiple approaches to transform and bring to the fold innovative medicines and science into transformative therapies to really address the unmet needs that remain with COVID-19, such as treating immunocompromised patients. I think real-world evidence increasingly offers this really crucial information on how the treatment is working in the actual clinical settings, which can then be used to supplement the clinical trial results, Dr. Osinusi says. And then it also gives us insights to populations maybe that werent necessarily greatly represented in the early treatment trials, especially I would think, for instance, immunocompromised patients who continue to be at higher risk of severe disease from COVID-19. Looking ahead Even as we see this shift to this endemic phase of the virus, its not going away, Dr. Osinusi says. COVID-19 has evolved in many ways, including greater awareness and interest in Long-COVID and its impact on patients and providers. And so, for us, the patients they are our North Star, its a focus for us on the Gilead research and development team, Dr. Osinusi says. With that commitment, weve been working very closely with regulatory agencies across the globe as well as researchers and academia to really learn about the unmet needs that remain in COVID-19. Backed by a strong heritage in virology and research and development, Dr. Osinusi is confident Gilead is built to continue to address unmet needs in the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as future pandemics because as Dr. Osinusi puts it, the next pandemic is not a matter of if, but rather of when. We need to definitely stay extremely vigilant because I think as weve seen since the very start of the pandemic, many variant lineages have continued to emerge, Dr. Osinusi says. Each variant brings very different transmissibility or different disease outcomes severity. And despite the tremendous progress, the impact of what the future variants will bring remains unclear. So, I think its important for the field as a whole for us to keep optimizing, adhering to the treatment recommendations, prioritizing antiviral treatment for hospitalized patients at high risk, but also continuing to innovate. Anu Osinusi is an infectious disease physician and Vice President of Clinical Research for Hepatitis, Respiratory, and Emerging Viruses, Gilead. VISIT SPONSOR https://www.gilead.com/ SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast RATE AND REVIEW https://www.kevinmd.com/rate FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/kevinphomd FOLLOW ON TIKTOK https://www.tiktok.com/@kevinphomd Volunteers gathered at the Odell Community Center on Monday to pack Mercy Meals. Pastor Greg Stuckwisch and his wife, Janet, has been organizing two packing events a year for 10 years in the community. The group works with Orphan Grain Train to ship the packages throughout the United States and internationally. Greg said he came to Our Savior Lutheran Church in Odell in July 2013. A hurricane had hit the Philippines, and they were looking for volunteers to pack meals. I had some experience from the church that I was at before with Mercy Meals, he said. The meals provide carbohydrates, protein, vitamins and minerals using a mixture of rice, soy, dehydrated vegetables, chicken flavor vitamin and mineral powder. About 180 volunteers worked throughout the twelve-hour day from Odell and area communities, churches, schools, and from as far away as Cuba, Kans. Janet said they had about a goal of packing 50,000 meals. It is 3:30 p.m. and weve done about 30,000 meals since the first shift started at 8 a.m., she said. Were hoping to reach 50,000. Greg said each meal costs about twelve cents. Each meal is about twelve cents which is really unbelievable, he said. So 50,000 meals is about $6,000. Thats stayed about the same for the last ten years. Each site pays for the supplies to put together the meals. Weve had generous donations, Greg said. The next packing event is scheduled for Feb. 19, 2024, in Odell. To make a donation or to volunteer for a two-hour shift, contact Pastor Greg Stuckwisch at 402-230-0698 or email mercymealsblueriver@gmail.com. By Philip Wafula The Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) has said that dirty vehicles are increasing the cost of maintaining the Jinja Nile Bridge. This is according to the Head of Bridges and Structures at the Authority, Eng Lawrence Pario. The over Shs300bn Cable Stay Bridge with a 120-year lifespan, was officially opened in October 2018, with the government of Japan fully bankrolling the project. Zenitaka Corporation and Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company from Japan and South Korea respectively erected the overpass. As contract manager, Eng Pario was responsible for certifying various stages of work for payment during the construction process, ensuring quality assurance, and quality control of works for compliance to specifications among other roles. But Eng Pario says much of the dirt is accumulated from dirty trucks which is increasing the cost of cleaning the bridge. Although he is non-committal on how much is spent on maintaining or cleaning the New Bridge, Eng Pario says driving across it with a dirty vehicle is like walking in your house with muddy feet. The Bridge is currently fairly clean, but our problem is village vehicles which come with mud. Mud is soil the trucks print on the highway, Eng Pario said in an interview on Monday. Meanwhile, Ashraf Galandi, a taxi driver from Nankandulo, Buzaaya in Kamuli district, says most drivers of old vehicles prefer driving through rural, usually muddy roads, in order to dodge traffic officers who man the main roads. Mr Alexander Waiswa, also a taxi driver, says if authorities want to avoid soiling at the New Bridge, they should let trucks start using the Old Bridge like boda boda riders do. Mr Dominic Mbalumya, another driver, says soiling at the New Bridge is because most roads which connect to Jinja City are marrum; therefore, vehicles pick up the soil as they move and drop some of it at the New Bridge. Mr Ibrahim Bogere, a truck driver who plies the Namayingo-Kampala route, says the current heavy rains have made most roads nearly impassable in rural areas, which makes their trucks dirty. Mr Sylvester Ngaga, another truck driver, asks Unra to deploy free car washing services so that whenever trucks arrive at the New Bridge they are first washed before being allowed to proceed. Eng Pario says such trucks and vehicles carry goods for economic development and suggests that roads that feed the economy be fitted with low-cost seals to enable farmers to sell goods on clean roads. The Inspector General of Government (IGG), Beti Kamya, has issued a warning to junior civil servants, urging them to avoid being manipulated into engaging in corrupt practices by their superiors. She emphasized the vulnerability of junior officers to corruption, as heads of departments and ministries often exploit them to sign off on illicit funds. This, she says leaves junior officers exposed to arrest during investigations, while their superiors evade accountability. Kamya explained that majority of civil servants caught in the corruption scandals are junior officers who unwittingly sign for misappropriated funds and hand them over to their superiors. She urged junior officers to resist such directives and adhere to established procedures. We are encouraging them (junior civil servants) that when they are given orders, to ask for those orders in writing but they are saying it is difficult to ask their bosses, Kamya said. The IGGs remarks came during a sensitization campaign aimed at combating corruption in the country, where she addressed procurement officers, transport officers, secretaries, and representatives from various government departments and agencies. Kamya singled out the procurement sector as a breeding ground for corruption, highlighting the need for heightened vigilance. By Sylvia Katushabe The Opposition Forum for democratic Change (FDC) party has ad vised the Leader of Opposition in Parliament (LoP) to seek other strategies as a way of demanding the 18 missing persons, saying the parliamentary boycott may not yield anything. Mr John Kikonyogo, the FDC spokesperson, urged the LoP, Mr Mathias Mpuuga, to engage all opposition party leaders so that they reach a consensus on the issue of boycott. FDC as a party has been a victim for many years, and inevitably, we have brought a lot of experience and a number of us are here for consultancy as of today on how we can handle these issues.This is an issue which all of us are not comfortable with [and] even some people in NRM are not comfortable with it. It should not be an individuals responsibility to fight alone and try to blackmail anybody else, Mr Kikonyogo said. He noted that one of the strategies to use is singling out different individuals, taking them to courts of law and tasking them to produce the missing persons as opposed to demanding the entire government. He made the remarks while addressing journalists during the weekly press briefing at their party headquarters in Najjanankumbi, Kampala, yesterday. He added: It is very dangerous if you are looking to rescue someone and at the same time you are fighting for political recognition. You may not succeed because those people who dont want you to succeed may end up fighting from your own camp. We expected our brothers to plan this boycott properly. You are going to the boycott,how are you going to play about it, and what type of end game do you expect? Mr Kikonyogo noted that FDC Members of Parliament are not participating in the boycott by the opposition because the party was never consulted. However, he asked the Opposition not to blackmail FDC saying they never understood their plans for the boycott and that the strategies of the boycott were not properly indicated. From my experience, when you are planning for a boycott, you have to look at many issues.Even if somebody doesnt follow you,he has not understood the reason why you are fighting,just move on,he will follow you when you teach him more on what to do,Mr Kikonyogo said. However, Mr Mpuuga said all political parties were engaged through their whips during the shadow cabinet and that the whips are expected to convey the outcomes to their party headquarters. By Jackson Onyango The Rules, Privileges and Discipline Committee of Parliament on Tuesday adjourned an inquiry into the case of alleged misconduct against Mityana Municipality MP, Francis Zaake to December 7th. This is after both Zaake and his accuser, the Rakai Woman MP Juliet Kinyamatama expressed inability to appear before the committee. Zaakes lawyer Erias Lukwago indicated that they could not attend the committee following the orders by the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among barring the boycotting opposition MPs from the committees. However, the deputy chairperson of the Rules Committee, Mr Charles Onen quashed the claim, arguing that the committee had not been served with a written communication from the Clerk to effect the directive. No chairperson of any committee can legally stop any member from attending because no written communication has been forwarded by the Clerk to the committee chairpersons and thats why yesterday I asked the honorable Lukwago to provide proof that the directive has been issued. The Speaker gave a directive but that cannot be implemented if the Clerk has not forwarded it to the chairpersons of the different committees., Onen said on Tuesday. This comes after the Bamunanika County MP Robert Ssekitoleko was yesterday thrown out of the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs committee of Parliament by the West Budama North East MP Fox Odoi Oywelowo who was sitting in for the chairperson. Onen has described Odois action as excitement. Zaake is battling two cases of misconduct before the Rules Committee one of which dates back to November 2022 where is accused of failing to heed the directive of the presiding officer, Thomas Tayebwa when he protested the abductions of opposition supporters. The second case is in relation to a concern raised by Kinyamatama who accuses Zaake of making derogatory remarks against her at an Independence Day rally in her district. The President General of the Democratic Party and Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Mr Norbert Mao, has outlined the key issues that need to be addressed in the long-awaited national dialogue. In light of the countrys current social, political, and economic situation, many stakeholders have long urged the government to organize a national dialogue to address citizens concerns. Mao, speaking to the media at the partys headquarters in Kampala, highlighted the major issues that need to be tackled in this dialogue to resolve the various conflicts and misunderstandings in Uganda today. Firstly, he called for the resolution of the Buganda question, which has historically caused tension between the Mengo and central governments. He emphasized that Buganda and Uganda are inextricably linked and cannot be separated. Mao also addressed the Military question, stressing the need to clearly define the role of the military in Ugandan society. Additionally, he raised the Karamoja question, calling for attention to the regions underdevelopment. He similarly urged the dialogue to address the Rwenzori and Northern questions. Karamoja was deliberately isolated from Uganda and the British called it the anthropological museum where human beings are supposed to be preserved in their natural state. As a result of this policy, the British required you to have a special visa. You needed a visa to go to Karamoja, they called it a special permit. So, the Karimojong lived there without knowing there was a cattle market so they remained in their culture reserved, as a result, every Karamoja intervention seems to leave Karamoja worse than it is. The more projects are announced for Karamoja, the more the problems seem, said Mao. Furthermore, Mao emphasized the need for the government to address issues of equity and transnational communities if Ugandan citizens are to fully enjoy their country and live in peace and unity. Overall levels of compliance at Comeragh Residential Services in Kilmacow, operated by Brothers of Charity Services Ireland CLG, remains very poor following a number of recent HIQA inspections. The centre provides a high support residential service for up to seven adults, of both genders, with intellectual disabilities. This most recent inspection was completed by two inspectors, over one day, to follow up on areas for improvement as identified on previous inspections. Registration of this centre was renewed in April 2023 with an additional condition applied that required the centre come into compliance with named regulations by 10 October 2023. This inspection took place prior to this date to determine progress towards compliance. The findings of this inspection indicate that levels of compliance overall remained very poor. In addition, according to the report, the provider failed to evidence whether plans or other improvement initiatives were in place to ensure they would reach the requirements of regulation within the time frame specified by the registration condition. The report notes that there remained a number of issues with resident compatibility and staffing that was impacting on the lived experience of residents. The report continues, As per previous inspection findings, the resident group living in this centre were assessed as not being compatible to live together. For example, residents with dementia, autism and other mental health presentations were clearly and frequently triggering each other's behaviours resulting in incidents or outbursts. In response to the areas for improvement identified in January 2023, the provider had committed to assigning an empty bedroom as a sensory room in order to afford additional communal spaces for the residents. The provider submitted the relevant information into the Office of the Chief Inspector to change the floor plans to reflect this. The inspectors had the opportunity to review this space on the day of inspection and found that this room was not fit for purpose. This was directly impacting on residents. Inspectors did note in this most recent report that some improvement was in place around access and participation in social activities. The standard of staff and resident interactions was more meaningful and person centred, the report noted. On the day of inspection, some residents left the centre and other residents had a music therapy session. From a review of relevant documentation, the provider was able to demonstrate an increased focus on ensuring residents were getting out into the community and engaging in in-house activities that were being offered. On review of the complaints log, the report noted that there were a number of recent complaints from 2023, submitted by residents, indicating they were unhappy with the noise level within the home. A similar pattern of complaints was also noted in 2022, the report added. Residents were assessed to require a high level of support and the staffing numbers in place reflected this. However, there was a reliance on agency staff within the centre which directly impacted continuity of care. Residents rights continued to be negatively impacted due to the ongoing compatibility issues of the resident group. When the Kilkenny People asked for a response to the report from Brothers of Charity Services Ireland CLG, they issued the following statement: Brothers of Charity Services Ireland acknowledge the issues raised in the HIQA report arising from an inspection in July relating to Comeragh Residential Services in Kilmacow, County Kilkenny with respect to the compatibility of the resident group. A comprehensive action plan to address the matters raised in the report was submitted to, and accepted by HIQA. Substantial progress has been made on addressing the issues highlighted and this was confirmed at a subsequent recent inspection. The inspection report arising from this most recent inspection is yet to be published. A Billings man is accused of drunkenly drawing a loaded handgun on customers and staff at a downtown bar last week. David Joseph Ramsbacher pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Yellowstone County District Court to multiple counts of assault and carrying a concealed firearm while intoxicated. The 32-year-old hosted firearm safety training in Billings, including courses in concealed carry, according to social media pages and a website associated with Ramsbacher. The nature of the allegations is extremely aggravating, said Deputy Yellowstone County Attorney Jacob Yerger during Ramsbachers arraignment in court. On Nov. 24, officers with the Billings Police Department responded to a physical disturbance call from Daisy Dukes Saloon in downtown Billings, court documents said. When they arrived, they allegedly met with security guards restraining a "highly intoxicated" Ramsbacher, according to charging documents. Witnesses told police the violence started with Ramsbacher arguing with a patron at the bar and shoving a woman. Ramsbacher then allegedly punched a man in the face and then pulled a handgun from his waistband, claiming to be a federal officer. Security staff managed to get the gun away from Ramsbacher, court documents said, but not before he pointed the pistol at several staff members. Ramsbacher also allegedly threatened to kill patrons at the bar. Police recovered the semi-automatic pistol, along with 16 rounds of ammunition. Ramsbacher entered Yellowstone County Detention Facility the following day. On a LinkedIn page associated with Ramsbacher, he is described as a firearms instructor through Ramsbacher Firearms Instruction LLC, which became a registered Montana business in August 2023. A website for the business offers classes in basic and advanced gun safety. Along with classes in concealed carry, the website also lists courses on defensive shooting and first aid. In the About Us section of the website, the business claims to provide top of the line quality instructional courses where you walk away feeling like you are more knowledgeable and that you can protect yourself in situations that are unfortunately becoming more common. In total, Yellowstone County prosecutors have charged Ramsbacher with three felony counts of assault with a weapon, one count of misdemeanor assault and one count of carrying a concealed weapon while under the influence. Appearing for his arraignment Tuesday via teleconference, Ramsbacher had a visible wound above his right eye. Jacob Yerger asked District Judge Thomas Pardy for a $50,000 bond. Although Ramsbacher has no previous criminal convictions, Yerger said the serious nature of the allegations against him warranted a higher bond in the interest of public safety. Judge Pardy set Ramsbachers bond at $40,000, and required that he not have any contact with the alleged victims nor leave the state should he make bail. If convicted of the most serious charge, assault with a weapon, he could be sentenced up to 20 years in prison. The allegations against Ramsbacher followed a month of violence in Billings, during which gunfire nearly doubled the number of homicides in Yellowstone County this year. In the span of only a few weeks, five people were killed. They included a 1-year-old boy, two teenagers and two men. TWO GARDAI have told a jury that they saw five-time All-Ireland winning hurler Kyle Hayes kicking a man on the ground during a disturbance in Limerick city centre. Giving evidence this Tuesday afternoon, Detective Garda Dean Landers (pictured below) said he was driving a garda vehicle on the night in question. I observed a large group of people on the street block traffic on Upper Denmark Street. A fight had broken out. I observed a male with blood all over his face on the ground. I observed a second male lying on the ground further up the street. He was being punched and kicked while he lay on the ground by a number of males. One male - the tallest of the group - was throwing numerous kicks to the male lying on the ground. He was screaming stop." The detective said he pulled the sleeve of the man kicking the man on the ground to pull him away to prevent him kicking the man on the ground. I identified myself as a member of An Garda Siochana and told him to stay there. He told me to f*** off. He pulled his arm at force to make me lose my grip and ran. I took off after him. I chased him, shouting 'garda, stop'. He went into Watergate flats (located close by). I cut him off around the corner and effected the arrest, said Det Garda Landers. Prosecuting barrister John OSullivan, instructed by State Solicitor Padraig Mawe, asked the detective who was this male? Kyle Hayes, said Detective Garda Landers. The detective said he focused on Mr Hayes after alighting from the garda vehicle due to the ferocity of the kicks. He was the main culprit, said Detective Garda Landers. Craig Cosgrave, aged 24, of Caherelly, Grange, Limerick and Kyle Hayes, aged 25, of Ballyoshea, Kildimo, Limerick have pleaded not guilty to alleged offences in the early hours of October 28, 2019. Mr Cosgrave is charged with one count of violent disorder in the Icon nightclub in Limerick city centre. Mr Hayes, a four-time All-Star, is charged with violent disorder in the Icon nightclub; violent disorder at Upper Denmark Street, and assault causing harm at Upper Denmark Street, Limerick city. The alleged victim is Cillian McCarthy, aged 24, of Tooreen, Ballysimon, Limerick. During cross-examination, Mr McInerney put it to the detective that he hadnt seen the start of it or who struck the first blow. In the witness box, the detective said he agreed this was the case. His brother Cian came under attack. Kyle went to his assistance, said Mr McInerney, who added that if you come into the middle of the movie you have missed the start. Det Garda Landers confirmed to the barrister that he didnt know the person on the ground that he pulled Kyle Hayes off of I grabbed the person causing damage to prevent the male on the ground from getting injured, said Det Garda Landers. Mr McInerney put it to him that there was chaos, confusion, shouting and roaring. Yes, said Det Garda Landers. The next witness was Garda Daniel ORiordan (pictured below) who was in the driver seat of the patrol car. He said he saw a male who was a good six inches taller than the other persons attacking the man on the ground. It was Kyle Hayes, said Det Garda ORiordan. Have you any doubt? asked Mr OSullivan. Absolutely, no doubt, said Garda O'Riordan. The garda said he observed this man draw back and kick into the head and shoulders of the man on the ground twice. Garda ORiordan said he pushed three men away to stop them joining the attack. Det Garda Landers called my name. He had a hold of the man drawing kicks by the arm. I saw Mr Hayes break away from the grip. Det Garda Landers stumbled back. Mr Hayes ran. Det Garda Landers took off running after him. I went after him shouting 'garda stop, said Garda ORiordan, who said he lost Mr Hayes in Watergate complex. Mr McInerney said Detective Garda Landers had stated he saw two males on the ground. Garda ORiordan said he saw one person on the ground. Mr McInerney put it to the witness that he didnt see the start of the incident or who struck the first blow. Kyle Hayes brother was in an altercation. He went to his assistance and defence, he said. I wouldnt agree. There was a man laying on the ground with four persons laying kicks into him, said Garda ORiordan. Mr McInerney said in the heat of the moment split second decisions are made when your brother is under attack. Garda ORiordan said he didnt understand how you can be defending someone when you are kicking a person on the ground. Mr McInerney said Mr McCarthy (the alleged injured party) had his arms outstretched across the road and was roaring and shouting. You dont know the nature of the threat, said Mr McInerney. No. I dont know what happened before I arrived on the scene, said Garda ORiordan. The trial continues before Judge Dermot Sheehan at Limerick Circuit Court. TAP '>' ARROW ABOVE FOR NEXT PIC St Canices Co-Ed Primary School in Kilkenny City is one of the many local schools taking part in this years Team Hope Shoebox Appeal. Pictured above by Vicky Comerford are some of the many pupils at the school handing over freshly filled shoeboxes to members of the Defence Forces. The boxes will soon go straight into the hands of children affected by poverty. Often these shoebox gifts are the only gift that a child will receive at Christmas and the joy that they bring is incredible. It is an opportunity to share a little joy with children who live in circumstances where it can often be in short supply. Team Hope works with trusted locally-based partners in the countries where shoeboxes are delivered, many of which they have been working with for many years. This year, Team Hope aims to send shoeboxes to children in Romania, Transnistria, Ukraine, Albania, Burkina Faso, Burundi, DR Congo, Lesotho, Eswatini, Malawi, Kenya and Rwanda. There is growing doubt among many in Butte that a multi-million dollar medical training facility called the Praxis Center will ever be built in Uptown Butte. When plans for the center were announced with fanfare in March 2018, the hope was construction would start in early 2019 and doors would open in 2020. Then it was the next year, and when that year came, it was next year. But a county board agreed to put more public assets into the $30 million project Tuesday this time $150,000 in taxpayer money and Praxis CEO Ray Rogers said he is confident construction on the center will start next spring. After the Urban Revitalization Agency board approved the grant, Rogers spoke to reporters and in response to a question, acknowledged some public skepticism about the project. This has been a long time in the making but I dont think people understand how difficult it is to do grassroots economic development, and we had to put a lot of pieces together in terms of financing to pull a project like this together, Rogers said. So weve never given up. Weve been committed to the community of Butte, he said. We want this done in Uptown Butte and we make incremental improvements with the project all the time. And were getting really close to the finish line now. So I know there are skeptics out there. We refuse to give up and we keep moving the project forward. The URA board approved the $150,000 grant to help Praxis pay for engineering and architectural design services. Praxis estimates total costs for that at $1.17 million and URA grant funds are only to be allocated when work is completed. The grant application said the Praxis Center was on target to meet a groundbreaking date of April 15, 2024. A board member asked if that was still going to happen. You know, were working with both the general contractor and the architects right now on what that date looks like, Rogers said. Since were making some design changes right now that timeline might slip a little bit, but were still looking for a spring timeline to break ground for this facility. The Montana Standard asked Rogers how confident he is that will happen, given previous next year predictions. Well, were finally at a point now where the financing is mainly in place, he said. We have our architect in place now, Cushing Terrell. Weve hired our general contractor, Sletten Construction, to build the facilities through the design portion of it and now we just need to do construction drawings on the project. So were advancing the project rapidly now, Rogers said. Were hiring our team and were even starting to stand up some early revenue and things are moving rapidly now. Im really confident well be in the ground this next year. Rogers told reporters that about $27 million in financing for the $30 million project has now been arranged and were raising the last bit of the equity required for the project. Praxis is hoping the U. S. Department of Agriculture will back 80% of a bank loan for construction through a loan guarantee. That application is still pending, Rogers said. The project is the brainchild of Rogers and the late Pat Dudley, and although timelines have changed, the premise and stated potential have not. The center would be built at the corner of Arizona and Park streets and provide high-tech medical simulation training for rural health care practitioners. Rogers reiterated Tuesday that it would have about 50 full-time and 25 part-time employees and would provide training for about 5,000 people every year. Butte-Silver Bow government has backed the project from the start, but there have been growing grumblings of frustration from some commissioners and county officials about the moving timelines and lack of construction. Commissioners agreed in 2018 and 2019 to steer a total of $200,000 in grants from a Hard Rock economic development program to the project, and they approved a $221,959 loan from a separate fund in 2022. The countys Superfund Advisory and Redevelopment Trust Authority agreed to guarantee up to $730,000 in land-acquisition costs, but Praxis ultimately purchased the land outright through a Butte Local Development Corp. loan so the SARTA money was never spent. The county has also deeded a vacant lot on the corner of Park Street to Praxis and in 2021, commissioners agreed to close off a block of Wyoming Street and turn it into a plaza and green space if the Praxis Center becomes a reality. On Tuesday, URA board members acknowledged the time that has passed since the project was announced but expressed understanding and optimism. Member Bob Brown said there has been a lot about Praxis in the press and weve read about this and heard about this for years. But he said he is now very excited that this project is going to become real. Rogers hopes the URA will approve another $150,000 next year and $150,000 more in 2025. Brown said the board cannot commit to spending in future years but told Rogers he could ask again in July when a new fiscal year begins. Board Chairman Dale Mahugh thanked Rogers for his diligence and patience. Were anxious to see the return on this one (grant), obviously, Mahugh said. Its a situation that everyone has mentioned its been a long time coming and Im glad that were seeing this. Member Bob Worley commended Rogers for sticking with the project and said most people would have folded. Its been on again, off again, on again, off again, Worley said. Its going to be nice to see dirt turn and walls go up. Thats all I can say. TAO is a financially strong organization with plans for accelerated growth through acquisition in the Middle East and North African region. By Jason Smith Egypt is a significant but underappreciated player in the global oil and gas market, producing approximately 700,000 barrels of oil per day TAG Oil Ltd. is undertaking Egypt's largest fracking operation in the Badr Oil Field's BED-1 which has the potential for renewed oil development through unconventional methods The company's strategic approach, experienced management, and ongoing drilling activities suggest potential for significant oil production, with upcoming flow tests expected to be a key catalyst With production of approximately 700,000 barrels of oil per day ("bopd"), Egypt is an underappreciated player in the global oil and gas market. The country possesses a wealth of oil and gas reserves, which are part of a diversified economy that includes mining, agriculture, shipping, tourism and textiles. A new area opening up in Egyptian oil and gas are unconventional plays, fracking ventures that promise to tap until now inaccessible oil and gas reservoirs. One Vancouver-based firm, TAG Oil Ltd. (TSXV: TAO | OTCQX: TAOIF), is in the process of executing Egypt's largest frack on the Badr Oil Field's BED-1 Field. The field is in the country's Western Desert and has been the site of past light oil production by Shell. While much of the "easy" oil has been produced at Badr, the Abu Roush F ("ARF") formation on which it sits is wide open to oil development via unconventional methods. "First big catalyst for TAG Oil will be when we flow test this well in just over a month." - Toby Pierce, Chief Executive Officer & Director, TAG Oil Ltd. Tapping into Egypt's rich history and geological advantage TAG Oil is currently drilling the first horizontal well on the Badr Oil Field, whose ARF formation in the BED-1 field is home to over 500 million barrels of oil-initially-in-place according to a recent independent resource evaluation. Shell discovered the Badr Field in 1982 and produced an estimated 90 million barrels of light oil over 30 years from an area that lies above the ARF. Since Shell surrendered BED-1 in 2021, it has been operated by BPCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation that is a state-owned oil and gas company. Current production from zones that are deeper but still above the unconventional ARF target at BED-1 is 5,000 bopd and the field has a 25,000-barrel processing facility. TAG Oil entered into a petroleum services agreement in the Badr Oil Field in October 2022, and is currently in a Phase 1 evaluation period. TAG Oil is developing the unconventional heavy oil ARF formation in BED-1. Building on the work of prior oil giants like Shell has been key to TAG Oil's strategy. The company's CEO, Toby Pierce, notes, "most of the major oilfields in Egypt were discovered by major oil companies." The result is an oil field in Egypt's Western Desert that is open to renewal with fracking. In terms of geological similarities, the ARF has an analog in the renowned Eagle Ford Shale play in South Texas. Pierce is excited about those similarities, because "the Eagle Ford formation produces over 1.2 million barrels of oil per day." That is almost double what is produced in all of Egypt. If, as was the case with Eagle Ford, fracking can produce significant oil at Badr, there is potential for the technique to unlock a large amount of production in the region. Fueling a promising path forward Hydra Capital analyst, Malcolm Shaw, thinks TAG Oil's emphasis on Egypt is well placed. "It's a wonderful place to look for oil and gas TAG Oil's field is covered by infrastructure and there's a skilled work force in the region, plus Egypt has a long-held respect for contracts." In addition to Pierce, TAG Oil has Abby Badwi as its Executive Chairman and Director, a proven oil and gas executive who has shepherded several public oil and gas companies to sales. Those include the sale of Kuwait Energy in 2019 for US$830 million, the sale of Albanian oil company Bankers Petroleum in 2016 for $790 million, the sale of Verano Energy in 2014 for $200 million, and the sale of Rally Energy in 2007 for $890 million. This collection of wins has given Badwi a strong network of contacts in the oil and gas industry, and particularly in the Middle East North Africa region. Shaw comments, "Management has done this before, and Abby knows Egypt as well as you can know Egypt." Combined with the team's experience in unconventional plays, this management experience should pay big dividends for TAG Oil as it looks to unlock the potential of the ARF formation. Already, TAG Oil's recent vertical BED 1-7 well has provided proof of concept at the BED-1 field with a cumulative production of approximately 10,000 barrels of oil from the ARF since April 2023. In September 2023, the company announced and completed the vertical portion of its BED4-T100 horizontal well and will look to complete up to 1,000m of horizontal drilling there in December. According to Pierce, the "first big catalyst for TAG Oil will be when we flow test this well in just over a month." Depending on the success of this well, another 23 wells are planned for 2024. TAG Oil's BED4-T100 horizontal well in BED-1. Shaw adds: "This is not a traditional wildcatting play. TAG Oil doesn't need to find the oil, the oil is there, it's just a matter of extraction." In that sense, he says, "it's more educated betting than pure wildcatting." After all, this is field that has been exploited for more than 40 years. There are a lot of past wells to provide data, but fracking technology and the company's depth of experience is allowing TAG Oil to explore a horizon that was not accessible before. TAG Oil is a company that is very much at an inflection point. If the company can deliver significant oil flow from the current T-100 well, it would serve as a promising catalyst for the implementation of their 20-well field development plan. And that could potentially have a marked effect in TAG Oil's share price. Learn more about TAG Oil Ltd. on their website and by following them on social media: Twitter LinkedIn Get all the essential market news and expert opinions in one place with our daily newsletter. Receive a comprehensive recap of the day's top stories directly to your inbox. Sign up here! (Kitco News) - Guanajuato Silver (TSXV: GSVR) today announced the commencement of development work and the processing of mineralized material from an existing stockpile at its 100% owned El Horcon mine located ~60km NW of Guanajuato, Mexico. According to the company, the El Horcon mine is a past producer dating back to the 16th century, with several existing underground workings, tunnels and access points. The company said that in 2017, the previous operator established a historical inferred mineral resource that was prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 of 2 million silver-equivalent ounces from 162,140 tonnes grading 3.44g/t gold, 76 g/t silver, 2.69% lead, and 3.79% zinc In addition to being able to immediately access low-cost mineralized material from the existing stockpile, GSilver said it is confident that the development programs it has planned for 2024 will add value to El Horcon. Chairman and CEO James Anderson said, "The past producing El Horcon mine is ideally situated to become a satellite mining operation that could significantly expand Guanajuato Silver's production profile. The El Horcon mine fits well within our strategy of further consolidating the Guanajuato mining district as we look to take advantage of the excess processing capacity of our two operating mills in the area. GSilver is a precious metals producer engaged in reactivating past producing silver and gold mines in central Mexico. The company operates the El Cubo mine complex, the Valenciana mines complex, the San Ignacio mine, and the Topia mine. Nov 27 (Reuters) - U.S. bond giant Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO) said on Monday it expects the next few years to provide the best opportunities for private credit investors since the global financial crisis. As banks become more cautious on lending due to lower liquidity and regulatory scrutiny, this has created a "void in lending markets" allowing private capital to step in, it said. Private investors could demand wider spreads and stricter covenants, and take advantage of growing opportunities to either purchase senior corporate loans at a discount or to refinance companies directly with more flexible loans and capital structures, it said. "As private credit investors, this is the environment weve been waiting for," portfolio managers at PIMCO said in a note. "The next few years will be great vintages, we believe, across the private opportunity set for a wide range of investor objectives," they said. PIMCO, which manages $1.8 trillion in assets, began this year to expand its reach into areas previously dominated by regional banks, increasing its offerings of private financing to struggling businesses to which banks have pulled back lending. In particular, PIMCO expects the lower liquidity environment to create opportunities for private credit investors in specialty finance - collateral-based loans to consumers and small businesses - as well as in senior corporate loans and commercial real estate. Within specialty finance, the asset manager singled out residential mortgage credit, solar and home improvement lending, equipment finance and aircraft leasing. PIMCO said it expects opportunities for private credit to provide such financing not just directly to borrowers, but also to banks and non-bank lenders. And with demand for capital outstripping supply, "investors wont need to take large risks, in our view, to generate compelling returns," it said. LONDON, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Reduced supply from major copper producers Panama and Peru may flip the global copper market into a deficit from surplus in 2024 or at least tighten oversupply if the disruptions are not resolved in coming months, analysts said on Tuesday. Panama's top court on Tuesday ruled that Canadian miner First Quantum's (FM.TO) contract to operate the Cobre Panama mine there is unconstitutional, while a union representing half of the workers at Peru's Las Bambas mine went on strike. If the Cobre Panama mine were to be permanently shut, then the market could easily move into deficit in 2024, said Macquarie analyst Alice Fox. However, if it is out of operation only until Panama's May 2024 presidential election, it would mean a loss of around 40,000 tons of copper this year and 160,000 tons next year, according to her estimate. "This could result in a small deficit this year but the market should be able to absorb the loss next year and remain in surplus, albeit a smaller one. This could provide some support to prices next year," she added. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange rose 1.4% to $8,480 a metric ton by 1721 GMT. Reuters' November poll of analysts forecast an oversupply at 302,500 tons of copper in 2024. Bank of America's 2024 base-case scenario sees the global copper market surplus at 150,000 metric tons, said analyst Michael Widmer. That includes 370,000 tons from Cobre Panama, 200,000 tons of production increase from Las Bambas and incorporates a 6% disruption allowance. "So losing any of these tonnages might well take us closer to a deficit," Widmer said. Copper, used in power and construction, is widely expected to benefit from the green energy transition in coming years, however it is up just 1.2% so far in 2023 amid patchy post-pandemic recovery of top metals consumer China and concerns about economic growth elsewhere. "Participation in the copper market has been slim. This could be the trigger for some longer-term investors to come in, especially given the deficit calls for the back half of this decade are now being brought forward," said Al Munro at broker Marex. Get all the essential market news and expert opinions in one place with our daily newsletter. Receive a comprehensive recap of the day's top stories directly to your inbox. Sign up here! (Kitco News) - Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) announced today it has made a "significant high-grade copper discovery on recently acquired joint venture licences in the Western Foreland, west of the Kamoa-Kakula copper complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). According to the company, the Kitoko discovery - which means "beautiful" or "gift" in several local languages in the DRC - includes drill hole DD008 intersecting 5.19 metres true width from a downhole depth of 1,135 metres, grading 11.64% copper, at a 1% copper cut-off. The company said the Kitoko discovery confirms the presence of a "significant high-grade copper mineralizing system between 1,000 meters and 1,140 metres below the surface, adding that mineralogical characteristics of Kitoko are most similar to those of the tier-one ultra-high-grade Kakula copper orebody. Importantly, Ivanhoe Mines noted that the currently defined mineralized zone is trending southwest over 1.9 kilometres of strike, with a dip extent of between 600 meters and mineralization remains open in all directions. Under the terms of the joint venture that covers the 247 square kilometres of newly acquired licences, Ivanhoe Mines has an initial interest of 10% with an earn-in right to increase its ownership by funding ongoing exploration activities. The company said it expects to make further exploration spending commitments in 2024, to increase Ivanhoe's interest to 60%. Founder and executive co-chair Robert Friedland commented, "Ivanhoe's latest high-grade discovery of Kitoko confirms the effectiveness of our exploration model for identifying tier-one copper mineralization across the Western Foreland. "When combined with the recent mineral resources at the nearby Makoko and Kiala deposits, the Kitoko discovery marks a turning point for our strategy in the Western Foreland. Kitoko is Ivanhoe's fifth high-grade sedimentary copper discovery in the DRC. Ivanhoe Mines is a Canadian mining company focused on advancing its three principal projects in Southern Africa; the expansion of the Kamoa-Kakula copper complex in the DRC, the construction of the Platreef palladium-nickel-platinum-rhodium-copper-gold project in South Africa; and the restart of the historic Kipushi zinc-copper-germanium-silver mine, also in the DRC. Ivanhoe Mines also is exploring for new copper discoveries across its circa 2,400km2 of 80-100% owned exploration licences, as well as on the 247km2 of newly acquired joint venture licences, in the Western Foreland located adjacent to the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the DRC. Get all the essential market news and expert opinions in one place with our daily newsletter. Receive a comprehensive recap of the day's top stories directly to your inbox. Sign up here! (Kitco News) - China continues to make progress on the rollout of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) as multiple large multinational banks have recently signed on to support digital yuan services for their customers. On Monday, Standard Chartered announced that would begin participating in trials for the e-CNY, becoming one of the first foreign banks in the country to do so. The bank will facilitate digital yuan transactions through its partner City Bank Clearing Services Co., and its clients will be able to purchase, exchange, and redeem the e-CNY within their bank accounts. As an international bank rooted in the Chinese market for 165 years, Standard Chartered is optimistic about the development prospects of digital Renminbi, said Xiaolei Zhang, president of Standard Chartered China. Standard Chartered will also join Chinas e-CNY pilot testing program to explore its use in cross-border merchant payments, trade financing, and supply chain financing. When it comes to launching a CBDC, it is important to understand that not all banks want or can provide the high level of requirements necessary to support such initiatives, said Alex Axelrod, founder and CEO of international payment platform Uluky. Standard Chartereds willingness to be one of the first foreign banks to join in on the e-CNY testing seems to reflect a high level of cooperation with the financial authorities of China. Its Hong Kong division is considered to be one of the largest foreign banks present in this market, with an appropriately well-developed level of service. This partnership is apparently intended to focus on facilitating e-CNY usage in cross-border B2B transactions, such as merchant payments and supply chain financing, he said. It is hard to tell how successful this initiative is going to be since the usage of CBDCs beyond their domestic markets is still an under-researched field with plenty of difficulties to be solved. However, it certainly appears that CBDCs are becoming the hidden dragon in Asia, with the potential of this technology growing more and more. On Tuesday, local news reports indicated that Hong Kong-based HSBC, Hang Seng Bank, and Taiwanese bank Fubon Bank have also added e-CNY integrations to their platforms. Clients at all four banks will now be able to transfer and withdraw digital yuan. Additionally, personal banking clients at Hang Seng Bank will be able to connect debit cards to the official e-CNY app to redeem digital renminbi, and they can also top up the digital renminbi wallet through the Hang Seng China Mobile Banking App. HSBC has added similar features for the retail use of the e-CNY. Fubon Bank has also made it so that their clients can recharge their digital yuan balance via mobile banking, along with transacting with the CBDC using their bank-issued card. As China looks to expand digital yuan integrations, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is looking to calm privacy concerns related to the integration of CBDCs. While speaking at the "Exploring central bank digital currency: Evaluating challenges & developing international standards" conference in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, Cecilia Skingsley, head of the BIS Innovation Hub, said central banks have no interest in personal data. One accusation often hurled at CBDCs is that they will be a threat to privacy and an instrument for social control, Skingsley said. Technology can be used for good or misused. This is nothing new. Many people are rightly worried about how much privacy we are losing today because of technology, and how much of our lives are already monitored through our phones. That sense of vulnerability certainly influences the debate about privacy and financial innovation. Addressing these concerns, she said that banks already know absolutely everything we spend, where and how, and noted that This information is protected by robust legal frameworks in most countries. So, these mechanisms can and should be preserved if and when countries decide to launch a retail CBDC, she said. The BIS Innovation Hub, which I lead, is working on several aspects of how CBDCs can protect privacy. Let me also state for the record, once again, that central banks have no commercial interest in personal data unlike the private sector, she said. Privacy is a social and legal construct, which correlates with the level of development and the strength of democratic institutions in each country. Skingsley also pointed out that individuals will be able to choose between different alternatives. A retail CBDC should not be something that is forced on individuals, she said. Those who wish to stick to cash or those who are happy with their cards should have these choices. Given their historical roles and current mandates, central banks will need to make sure money continues to work and meets society's broad needs, she said. While the purpose is clear, the plan is flexible. There is no one solution to rule them all. Different countries have different homework to do. But many issues rhyme, and collaboration is useful. Technology will not slow down for anyone, and digitalization affects everyone, she concluded. We should not end up in a position of just having to live with the effects. It is our collective job to make sure technology serves economically meaningful activities. Get all the essential market news and expert opinions in one place with our daily newsletter. Receive a comprehensive recap of the day's top stories directly to your inbox. Sign up here! (Kitco News) - The silver price is range-bound at around $23 an ounce, but that doesnt dissuade George Paspalas, president and CEO of MAG Silver (TSX:MAG). In mid-November Paspalas spoke to Kitco at the 2023 Precious Metals Summit Zurich event. He said the lack of price movement is puzzling given that demand is outpacing supply; last year there was a market deficit of 238 million ounces. You can't have increasing demand outstripping supply," said Paspalas. "Inventory is falling by 50%, and the price doesn't move. At some point in time silver will break out, and I think it will be quite significant," he said. MAG Silvers primary asset is the Juanicipio mine in Mexico, which started concentrate production and shipped its first commercial lead and zinc concentrates in March 2023. The Juanicipio processing facility achieved nameplate capacity during September, with silver recovery consistently above 88%. An important milestone was free cash flow, which Paspalas said helped grow the balance sheet to $55 million at the end of Q3. Short-term goals are to have success at Juanicipio, and to fund exploration programs at Deer Trail in Utah, and the Larder project in Ontario, located within the +200 million-ounce Abitibi gold province. Larder covers 7 km of the Cadillac/Larder Break between the Kirkland Lake (70Moz) and Kerr-Addison (12Moz) gold camps. MAG Silver recently put in place a $40 million senior secured revolving credit facility, leading Kitcos Paul Harris to ask about future plans. We want to continue to increase the number of cash-flowing assets that we have in MAG," said Paspalas. We've shown we're successful at exploration, but exploration has an embedded timeline and ultimately we're planning for success another discovery at Juanicipio, a discovery at Deer Trail, a discovery at Larder. The best-case scenario is probably some success there over the next three to five years." Now as we're starting to build up cash, we're starting to look: are there any accretive opportunities out there where maybe there's another access to a cash-flowing stream, that gives us some political diversity from just Mexico?'" Paspalas asked. We're not in a rush, but we want to take the wonderful asset that Juanicipio is, and the cash that that's going to contribute, and build ourselves into a mid-tier robust precious metal-producing company." He noted MAG Silver has only explored 5% of the Juanicipio property, whose assets are within the MAG Silver-Fresnillo joint venture. Paspalas said now that that Juanicipio is up and running, MAG Silver is looking to maximize margins and build up its balance sheet. The company has raised CAD$23 million in flow-through capital for its Larder project, funding exploration through 2024 including a 17,000-metre drill program. Roughly $10 million has been budgeted to drill Deer Trail in Utah. I hope 2024 is major discovery for MAG Silver, while also building cash on the balance sheet," he concluded. Special coverage of the 2023 Precious Metals Summit Zurich is brought to you by Vizsla Copper Corp. (TSXV:VCU). Get all the essential market news and expert opinions in one place with our daily newsletter. Receive a comprehensive recap of the day's top stories directly to your inbox. Sign up here! (Kitco News) - Access to capital will be a challenge for junior resource companies, and some sector consolidation would be a good thing, said Feneck Consulting's John Feneck. In mid-November Feneck spoke to Kitco Mining at the 2023 Precious Metals Summit Zurich event. "We'll just see how things play out, but hopefully [sector] consolidations are done in a prudent manner, meaning that the shareholders of these companies are going to get a payday, because it's been a really rough run here let's be honestfor three and a half years," he said, adding that "...investors don't invest in the junior space for 10% to 20% gains." In 2024 Feneck said gold will be a bright spot. "Next year we're going to see some love in the gold sector within the commodities world...gold will make a new all-time high," he said. "We've been very guarded on gold...for at least the last couple of years. We have said this year that the price being above $1,900 an ounce for months in a row with no down days below $1,900 is extremely bullish. "You've seen a new floor put in on gold because of the financial crisis we saw in March, and because of the Israel conflict." Feneck has some advice for investors who have seen losses in their portfolio. Many are holding onto stocks whose investment theses may no longer be valid. "Take some losses in the portfolio and redeploy that capital into names that have a better chance for success the next year." It's also important to construct a portfolio with a mix of metals, to limit risk exposure and to maximize returns, he added. Feneck noted the gold-silver ratio is approaching 90, which is historically a buy signal for silver and silver equities. "We have been buying more silver juniors over the last couple of weeks, because silver hasn't broken down. If you look at the chart, it doesn't look pretty, but it has hasn't broken and...gold and silver equities next year should do very well." Special coverage of the 2023 Precious Metals Summit Zurich is brought to you by Vizsla Copper Corp. (TSXV:VCU). Efforts to protect vulnerable birds have led to boom in population As the vast harvested fields are bathed in the plateau's morning light, the sound of black-necked cranes searching for food fills the air in Lhaze county in the Xizang autonomous region, also known as Tibet. At around 10 am, black-necked crane caretaker Tenzin sets off from Gyamda village on his electric tricycle for a patrol along the river and among the fields. A patrolman for more than two decades, he said protecting the rare birds is more than just a job. A first-class nationally protected species, the crane is also categorized as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and Tibetans regard the birds as harbingers of prosperity and auspiciousness. "Every year between October and March, the black-necked cranes choose to stay in our village, and my fellow villagers are happy to welcome them," said Tenzin, 72. "Whenever I hear them singing, I am very happy from the bottom of my heart, and they are very cute in my eyes." He said that after accompanying them for so long, the birds seem to be friendly toward him, and he can sometimes approach them quite closely. Tenzin said thousands of the birds spend the winter in his village, and the fields are spotted with them. He said he hasn't counted the population but has noticed its growth over the past few decades. He patrols the Yarlung Zangbo River and the fields once every two to three days, covering over 30 kilometers a day, and makes sure the cranes are not being harmed by stray dogs or getting injured by high-voltage wires. "Last year, two cranes died when they hit an electrified wire while landing in the fields," he said. "This year, I haven't seen any cranes harmed in such a way." Tenzin saved one bird that broke a wing years ago when it flew into a wire. He took it home, sent it to the local forestry and grassland bureau for further treatment and then took care of it for months. He said he has had to prevent stray dogs from chasing the birds from time to time, and has used a slingshot to shoo them away. Tenzin said that the local forestry and grassland bureau has been distributing forage for the birds every year, with around 50 sacks of grain distributed last year. He and his family usually oversee the feeding. The county's authorities and residents are now going above and beyond to protect the majestic black-necked cranes and their habitat in its black-necked crane national nature reserve. Established in 2003, the reserve has become a vital wintering site for the birds, and boasts a thriving population thanks to the unwavering commitment of conservation officers like Tenzin. Lhaze county has undertaken various measures to effectively manage and safeguard the reserve, including the establishment of protection stations, the appointment of conservation officers and regular patrols that help monitor any potential threats. The county now has five management and protection stations, with eight patrolmen dedicated to the daily management and protection of black-necked cranes. An additional 150 ecological forest rangers have been added to the protection and management force this year. They regularly patrol the protected area, rescue injured black-necked cranes and purchase feed and medication for use during winter. The county government has spent 1.26 million yuan ($172,000) on ecological restoration and afforestation, with 23 hectares of land in the black-necked crane nature reserve planted with trees. As a result of increased protection over the past decade, the region's black-necked crane population has increased from less than 3,000 in 1995 to more than 10,000 today, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the total in China. "I am very happy to see that the local government also attaches such great importance to the protection of wildlife, including the black-necked cranes, and I will do my best to protect the species during the twilight of my life," Tenzin said. "I hope my son and grandson will take on the job in the future." Contact the writers at palden_nyima@chinadaily.com.cn North Dakota's Health and Human Services Behavioral Health Division has established a grant program funded by money from settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors. The state is now accepting applications to the North Dakota Opioid Settlement Fund Grant. It's open to entities interested in providing services in the state including treatment and rehabilitation, preventive initiatives, training and education, and support for families and communities. Gov. Doug Burgum in January created the Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee to advise the state on the distribution of funds received under settlement agreements, and to make recommendations to HHS on how the money should be used to help combat opioid misuse. The move was at the recommendation of the Attorney Generals Office. More than three-fourths of the 107,000 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2021 involved an opioid, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency said that an average of 220 people died each day of that year from an opioid overdose. North Dakota might receive up to $62 million over the next four to 18 years under 11 settlement agreements with 13 opioid companies, according to Burgum's office. The 2023 Legislature in House Bill 1447 created a fund in the state treasury for the money. Lawmakers appropriated $8 million from the fund to HHS for the 2023-25 state budget period. At least 20% of the money must be used for opioid use prevention and overdose prevention. The deadline to submit an application is 11:59 p.m. Central time on Dec. 22. Successful applicants will be notified no later than Jan. 15. If funding is still available, subsequent applications will be reviewed on a quarterly basis. The notice of funding opportunity and application information is at hhs.nd.gov/opioids/settlement. For more information on the application process, contact Amy Lies at the HHS Behavioral Health Division at 701-328-8933, 711 (TTY) or amlies@nd.gov. Shenandoah, IA (51601) Today Generally cloudy. A few flurries or snow showers possible. High 38F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 19F. Winds light and variable. Its been a week and a half since anyone has seen 81-year old Bismarck resident Lloyd Liken. Its like looking for a needle in a haystack, Likens daughter Lisa Monroe said. Monroe, her husband, Chad, and nearly 20 other volunteers gathered Monday morning in the fellowship hall at McCabe United Methodist Church in Bismarck, planning another days search. Pastor Karl Kroger said Liken is a member of the congregation, and turning part of the fellowship hall into a command post is only logical. "It's the right thing to do. A space was needed for people to come together and we have it," Kroger said. "The church shouldn't be used just on Sunday." Liken was last seen Thursday, Nov. 16, leaving a residence in the 4400 block of Turnbow Avenue in Bismarck. His vehicle, a gold 2007 Toyota Highlander with North Dakota license plates 745 BMN, was last seen north of Bismarck on Friday, Nov. 17, when a McLean County deputy on U.S. Highway 83 ran his vehicle plates but did not make contact with the vehicle. Since then, the Monroes, friends, co-workers and volunteers have been out combing the area looking for any sign. Theyve covered a lot of ground. Inside the fellowship hall, large maps indicate areas already searched, and places yet to be searched. A public Facebook group, Looking for Lloyd Liken, has more than 3,000 members. It provides updates and is filled with comments of support for Liken's family. Searches in recent days have seen people looking in rural areas and communities in a wide swath of western and central North Dakota. Mondays search concentrated inside Bismarck-Mandan. At the morning briefing in the church, the volunteers were asked to concentrate their efforts on city streets and alleys. Volunteer search coordinator Sonja Murray said parking lots were less of an emphasis because police routinely patrol those areas. Im not going to tell you not to go into parking lots, but maybe more side streets or remote areas, industrial areas might be more of an area where we arent doubling up with the Bismarck Police Department, Murray said. Bismarck police also have been searching for Liken, and have asked landowners to check their properties for the vehicle, and for hunters to be on the lookout. The department also has sent officers in a Highway Patrol airplane to check rural areas surrounding Bismarck-Mandan. Police said Liken does not have a phone, and had gotten lost twice before recently but was located by law enforcement. Liken does not have any medical diagnosis of dementia, Alzheimers disease or similar medical conditions, making him ineligible for a Silver Alert, a statewide alert used to help locate a missing vulnerable elderly adult or someone with a disability, according to authorities. Liken is 6 feet tall, weighs 200 pounds, and has grey hair and blue eyes. He was last wearing a beige plaid button-up shirt with khaki pants and a dark brown bomber jacket, authorities said. Anyone with information is asked to call the Bismarck Police Department at 701-223-1212, or their local law enforcement agency. Murray, who works with Lisa Monroe at a local bank, acted as a de-facto briefing officer Monday. She described the search as a "volunteer, grassroots effort" led by friends and co-workers of Lisa Monroe and church members. They're being assisted by the Badlands Search and Rescue Service. Badlands is providing some technical support and also publicizing the effort via its Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/badlandsSAR. The Civil Air Patrol also has helped, according to Badlands. Murray urged volunteers to download the Strava app to their phones to be able to mark and share the areas they search. Features on the app make it possible for anyone interested in joining the search group to share their respective routes. Murray said use of the app came on the recommendation of Badlands Director Travis Bateman. Volunteers were also asked to carry and pass out flyers to people they might run across, and to be respectful of private property. They were also briefed about what to do and not do if Likens vehicle was spotted. Call 911 immediately, Johnson said. Do not touch it. You can look in it, but dont get too close, you might disturb some sort of evidence or a scent for a dog if hes not in the car. Chad Monroe cautioned anyone spotting his father-in-law's vehicle to approach it from the passenger side, then back away the same way to disturb as little as possible. Following the morning briefing, volunteers and Johnson plotted their respective search areas, with some getting help downloading the app. James Farrell, who is acquainted with Bateman, drove over from his home near Lake Tschida to help. Farrell volunteers with two volunteer fire departments near his home and has participated in missing person searches before. "Always hope for the best," Farrell said. "I hope somebody finds him." Permian Basin Royalty Trust (NYSE:PBT Get Free Report) announced a monthly dividend on Friday, November 17th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 30th will be paid a dividend of 0.157 per share by the oil and gas producer on Thursday, December 14th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.66%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 29th. This is a positive change from Permian Basin Royalty Trusts previous monthly dividend of $0.04. Permian Basin Royalty Trust has increased its dividend by an average of 40.2% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 1 years. Get Permian Basin Royalty Trust alerts: Permian Basin Royalty Trust Trading Down 0.5 % Shares of NYSE PBT traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $17.68. The company had a trading volume of 11,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 143,451. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.13. Permian Basin Royalty Trust has a 52-week low of $15.05 and a 52-week high of $27.77. The stock has a market cap of $824.06 million, a P/E ratio of 28.58 and a beta of 0.87. Analyst Ratings Changes Permian Basin Royalty Trust ( NYSE:PBT Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Permian Basin Royalty Trust had a return on equity of 13,208.86% and a net margin of 96.27%. The company had revenue of $3.34 million for the quarter. Several research firms have commented on PBT. StockNews.com started coverage on Permian Basin Royalty Trust in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a hold rating on the stock. TheStreet cut shares of Permian Basin Royalty Trust from a b rating to a c+ rating in a report on Thursday, November 9th. View Our Latest Report on PBT Institutional Investors Weigh In On Permian Basin Royalty Trust A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PBT. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. increased its position in Permian Basin Royalty Trust by 1,052.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 41,496 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $210,000 after acquiring an additional 37,895 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Permian Basin Royalty Trust by 108.4% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 52,536 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $657,000 after purchasing an additional 27,329 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Permian Basin Royalty Trust in the first quarter valued at approximately $148,000. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Permian Basin Royalty Trust during the first quarter worth approximately $1,934,000. Finally, PEAK6 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Permian Basin Royalty Trust during the first quarter worth $143,000. 28.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Permian Basin Royalty Trust Company Profile (Get 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. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Permian Basin Royalty Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Permian Basin Royalty Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Kendallville, IN (46755) Today A steady rain this morning. Showers continuing this afternoon. High 43F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch.. Tonight Light rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers overnight. Low 37F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Angola, IN (46703) Today Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers in the afternoon. High 43F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a half an inch.. Tonight Steady light rain this evening. Showers continuing overnight. Low 37F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. In the world of K-pop, (G)I-DLE's Soyeon is known for breaking molds and embracing her unique style. Her latest photoshoot, in collaboration with the renowned Cirque du Soleil for Harper's Bazaar, has not only left fans in awe but also sparked a wave of confusion among netizens. Since her debut, Soyeon has consistently pushed boundaries, both in her personal style and the group's musical endeavors. The Confusingly Captivating Shot: Soyeon and the Acrobatic Illusion The recent editorial, released by Harper's Bazaar on November 27, showcases Soyeon in a breathtaking collaboration with Cirque du Soleil, offering a visual feast that transcends the ordinary. In the series of photos, Soyeon exudes an otherworldly charm, each frame capturing a different facet of her artistic expression. From captivating close-ups highlighting the intricacies of her face to images reminiscent of a sophisticated Hollywood actress gracing the red carpet, Soyeon's versatility takes center stage. While the majority of netizens expressed sheer admiration for the mesmerizing photoshoot, one particular image triggered a delightful confusion among viewers. In this standout shot, Soyeon is portrayed alongside a male model or acrobat, their bodies intricately intertwined in a manner that transforms him into what can only be described as an "accessory" to the idol. READ ALSO: (G)I-DLE Soyeon Injures Hand During Appearance on 'M Countdown' The last photograph, featuring this unique pose, ignited a spirited debate among netizens attempting to decipher the acrobat's positioning around Soyeon, marveling at the seamless illusion created in the process. Here's How K-Netz Reacted: "Help I don't understand how the first picture works lmao my eyes can't figure it out" "i THINK both of the colorful legs belong to the acrobat(?) and he just has insane flexibility that makes it look super weird" "The acrobat is behind Soyeon with one leg wrapped around her waist and he's holding her hand, but he's contorting his body so it looks strange. Idek which leg (left or right) he has around her lol" "PLSSSS THAT WAS MY FIRST THOUGHT!! like why she have JYP crumpled up in her lap like that???" "My mouth has been hanging open since I scrolled down to this post. I think a bird has nested in it atp. What the F*CK? This is literal f*cking art and nobody can tell me otherwise. I'm enthralle" Soyeon's collaboration with Cirque du Soleil not only showcases her musical innovation but also brings her dreams to life in the realm of high-fashion editorials. The explosion of colors, textures, and dramatic flair has led netizens to dub the photoshoot as nothing short of "legendary." As the multifaceted artist continues to surprise and captivate, Soyeon's ability to blend innovation in music with her authentic personality shines through in this memorable collaboration, leaving fans eagerly anticipating her next creative endeavor. READ ALSO: (G)I-DLE Soyeon Indirectly Denies Claim She 'Dissed' NewJeans In MAMA - Here's What She Did Follow and subscribe to KpopStarz for more news. KpopStarz own this article. Cassidy Jones wrote this. Elizabeth Allmendinger and son Liam Allmendinger, 6, of Bismarck, had front row seats for the 42nd lighting of the North Dakota Christmas Tree on Monday night in Memorial Hall of the state Capitol. "He is so excited to see Santa and the Christmas tree, and we are putting up our Christmas tree tonight so, yes, he's very excited," Elizabeth Allmendinger said. Gov. Doug Burgum and first lady Kathryn Burgum were hosts for the ceremony featuring the St. Mary's Central High jazz ensemble, entertainers Michael Land and Joel Land, and reigning Miss North Dakota Sydney Helgeson. The theme of this year's State Christmas Tree is "Lighting the Way" in connection with the first lady's platform of inspiring people to know that recovery from the disease of addiction is possible. In her remarks on the holiday season the first lady said, "Everyone has the potential to be a beacon of light." This year there are 1,838 ornaments handmade by North Dakotans on the tree. SHREVEPORT, La. A decision on a lawsuit contesting the results of the Nov. 18 sheriff's race won't be known until next week. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. SHREVEPORT, La. - Just hours after a vote recount still had him on the losing end of the Cad Keynote speech by Simson at the Fourth PCI Energy Days Thank you Ditte, Honourable Member of Parliament, Mr Busoi, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good morning, everybody! Welcome to this year's PCI Days! I'm delighted to see you all. Today is the 4th edition of the PCI Days but it's probably the most important one yet. We stand at a crucial juncture: we're into the last year of this Commission's mandate and just a few months away from the European elections. So this is the time now to finish the job we've started and consolidate our achievements. Over the course of the past four years, the EU has been on an ambitious path to decarbonise its energy system. While travelling this journey, we have faced many obstacles including a pandemic, a war on our borders against an EU partner and an energy crisis. But in the face of difficult odds, we have never backed down from our Green Deal objectives. Quite the opposite. We have turned the challenge of an energy crisis into an opportunity to accelerate the clean energy transition and deploy more home-grown renewable energy. We have put all the building in blocks in place to rapidly roll-out renewables and electrified demand: Our ambitious targets for renewable energy; Our political ambition for offshore renewables; Our strategies for solar energy and for hydrogen; And our latest wind power package are just some examples. But with all this comes the need for infrastructure. And this is what makes today so important. Because today is all about infrastructure: future-proof infrastructure which we absolutely need to reach a net-zero Europe. I'll take a moment now to present: the first Union list of projects of common interest and projects of mutual interest under the revised TEN-E Regulation; and the Action Plan for Grids, adopted by the Commission this morning with an aim to modernise and buildout the EU's power grid and support the implementation of electricity PCIs. First, the new PCI/PMI list. It includes 166 projects, the majority in electricity and hydrogen. Half of the projects will modernise and better interconnect our power networks and add new energy storage facilities. There are also some smart electricity projects. The list also covers offshore networks, and there are 12 offshore hybrid and radial projects in the North Seas, Baltic Sea and the Atlantic. This shows just how important electrification and offshore grid buildout will be for Europe's energy sector. Important new additions to this list are the hydrogen and electrolyser projects. These will enable the export and transit flows of renewable hydrogen to neighbouring Member States and allow major industries to decarbonise and stay in the EU. We also have the cross-border CO2 networks. Here we see a jump from the current 6 projects to 14, stretching geographically from the Baltic Sea over the North Sea to the Western and Eastern Mediterranean. Yesterday I was at the CCUS Forum in Denmark, where we spoke about what a future Europe-wide CO2 infrastructure could look like, and how this new market can best be encouraged and regulated. The Commission will issue a strategy early next year, which will among other things, put forward a coordination mechanism to start planning for CO2 infrastructure. Finally, the new list is also a bridge to neighbouring countries which share the same decarbonisation vision as our Union. The ten Projects of Mutual Interest will pave the way for electricity, hydrogen and CO2 networks with Ukraine, the UK, Switzerland, Western Balkans, North African countries as well as Norway and Iceland. Now to the European Action Plan for Grids. In September, we organised together with ENTSO-E a High-Level Forum on the Future of our grids. This was an important moment when we brought together policymakers, regulators, investors, and industry to discuss new solutions and ideas to face the grids challenge. It was a successful event to which stakeholders asked for a clear follow up. Today's Action Plan is our response to these requests. Yes, grids are a True European success story of integration, cooperation, and mutual support. But recently, the pressure on our power network has been mounting. To integrate vast amounts of green electricity and electrify consumption sectors, we need to greatly expand our transmission and distribution grids. And we need to do so in a short time and in a cost-efficient manner. Right now, grid bottlenecks are delaying our clean transition with: Lengthy grid project development; Mounting grid connection requests; And grid congestions driving up use of costly redispatching; The Commission's European Action Plan for Grids tackles all of this and more with 14 actions on seven different areas. The focus of these seven areas is on: Accelerating the implementation of Projects of Common and Mutual Interest; Improving long-term transmission and distribution of network planning; Enabling regulatory incentives through anticipatory investments and offshore cross-border cost sharing; Creating smarter, more efficient networks and innovative technologies; Improving access to private finance and EU funding for grid projects; Making permitting faster; And strengthening grid supply chains. Dear friends, This decade, we will need to unlock over a half a trillion euros in investments to address grid challenges. This is huge. But without these investments in our transmission and distribution networks, the energy transition will not happen. Not at the pace that we need, in any case. Europe is ready to take on the challenges and unlock the needed investment. The new PCI/PMI list and the Action Plan for Grids is a step in that direction. Over the past four years, we've come a long way, accelerating the clean energy transition faster than expected and going above and beyond on renewables. Having the right infrastructure in place is the last piece of the puzzle. And we need to get this right. I count on all of you here today to help make these projects a reality on the ground. Let's keep up the political momentum. Let's finish the job and give Europeans the clean, affordable, and reliable energy system they deserve. Thank you! Zarazeno ut 28.11.2023 12:11:00 Zdroj Evropska komise en Original ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/api/documents?reference=SPEECH/23/6143&language=en lang en guid /SPEECH/23/6143/ learn, develop, improve That's the spirit of construct0, let's shed some light on the internal structure first; construct0 is (pending approval) registered as a unincorporated association (hereafter coined as an organisation) in Flanders, Belgium. The common goal of the organisation is to unify software designers, architects, engineers, developers and polymath visionaries in order to build open-source and closed-source software solutions. The open-source solutions are intended to be made available to the public under the MIT license and partially, to our disappointment, due to legal ambiguities, intertwined with an inherited The Unlicense license for some projects. Moving forward any modifying or extending development done to forks of repositories licensed under The Unlicense license will be performed under the MIT license. More information on this subject: https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/147111/what-is-wrong-with-the-unlicense Changing the license of a repository to an MIT license does not imply that the whole repository now falls under this license, as prior commits were performed under prior license. The merit of the The Unlicense license is clear and in line with the MIT license but contains legal ambiguities and contradictions, as long as the intentions of the contributors remain within scope of the MIT license, I do not foresee problems in regards to liability. Any further contributions will fall under the MIT license and any possible prior development liabilities rest with the contributors of those who participated while the The Unlicense license was active. Moving aside from the licenses which pertain to the open-source domain of the organisation, I'd like to shed some light on the structure of our presence on GitHub: The "construct0" organisation on GitHub contains new or forked repositories on which development will occur and contains both open-source and closed-source repositories. https://github.com/construct0 Current open-source repositories HetznerClient.NET repository, a new .NET SDK which will allow the .NET ecosystem to interact with Hetzner's API endpoints and infrastructure. openai, a fork of betalgo's OpenAI .NET SDK, it will mostly inherit from the upstream repository but modifications and extensions by contributors are accepted. nyzoVerifier, a fork of the n-y-z-o's distributed computing (blockchain) Java repository, this repository has inherited the The Unlicense license which was changed to the MIT license. We do wish to respect the authority of the core Nyzo team, merge requests to the upstream repository however will only be possible if the Nyzo team wishes to accept that any modified files and new files will fall under the MIT license. The MIT license of construct0's fork fully respects their work and attributes the Nyzo team as the primary entity, and mentions "contributors" to include further contributions made under the construct0 umbrella or it's successors. My humble request to the Nyzo team would be to adopt the MIT license - or to atleast - allow merge requests under this license. Current closed-source repositories Nyzo.org repository, this new multi-faceted repository contains source code and files to create a unified non-profit platform to enable the full potential which the Nyzo network, with respect to the methodologies and core values of the core Nyzo team. Current status: design and development. The domain is inactive, refer to nyzo.co for a network overview. It will leverage the open-source HetznerClient.NET SDK in order to allow for one-click deploys (and in a later stage, orchestration through a self-hostable management client) of verifiers, sentinels, relays, clients and documentation servers. Hetzner's policies do not allow cryptocurrency related activities on their platform , yet most of the active network participants use Hetzner as their go-to cloud provider and historically staff has been lenient, yet not permissive in the legal sense. The Nyzo verifier is not a "cryptocurrency miner" and does not act as a noisy neighbour , it is in the case of the verifier and sentinel "merely" a node which contacts other network participants to reach consensus in order to produce blocks, it manages incoming transactions, has on-chain storage capabilities and by design, allows for on-chain governance which allows the network to vote for proposals, for which rewards from its community fund are awarded to beneficiaries, without the potential of being overruled in the event of a sybil attack (it is possible, but draining the community fund for shell proposals devalues the network in its entirety). A sybil attack has occured on the network in the past, yet the owner of this cluster of nodes has respected the rules of the consensus mechanism and understands that stealing from the community fund is meaningless . The core Nyzo team has published a statement in this regard, further analysis will be made publicly available on Nyzo.org as the current status may deviate from the findings back then (many nodes have entered and left the network since then, increasing diversity). Irregardless of the findings, the stance of the construct0 team (currently just me, come join on Discord!) is that the community must discuss the further direction of the entry mechanism as the bear market of the industry has given the owner of this cluster the opportunity to establish themselves as the leader. Good news, the market is turning up. Bad news, the network has a small amount of queue nodes, the current status of the sybil attack is uncertain and the seed fund has been depleted (there are currently no rewards for active network participants other than transaction fees; yet they are still rewarded for the, albeit low amount, of transactions being processed by the network and the value of a vote is still significant considering the aforementioned on-chain governance and community fund). The network is currently at a cross-roads; either the network keeps stagnating until no more transactions occur on the network and active participants have lost confidence, or we come together and come to a solution to increase diversity of further network entrants. I currently propose: contains source code and files to create a unified non-profit platform to enable the full potential which the Nyzo network, with respect to the methodologies and core values of the core Nyzo team. Current status: design and development. The domain is inactive, refer to nyzo.co for a network overview. It will leverage the open-source HetznerClient.NET SDK in order to allow for one-click deploys (and in a later stage, orchestration through a self-hostable management client) of verifiers, sentinels, relays, clients and documentation servers. , and historically staff has been lenient, yet not permissive in the legal sense. The Nyzo verifier is not a "cryptocurrency miner" and does not act as a , it is in the case of the verifier and sentinel "merely" a node which contacts other network participants to reach consensus in order to produce blocks, it manages incoming transactions, has on-chain storage capabilities and by design, allows for on-chain governance which allows the network to vote for proposals, for which rewards from its community fund are awarded to beneficiaries, without the potential of being overruled in the event of a sybil attack (it is possible, but draining the community fund for shell proposals devalues the network in its entirety). A sybil attack has occured on the network in the past, yet . The core Nyzo team has published a statement in this regard, further analysis will be made publicly available on Nyzo.org as the current status may deviate from the findings back then (many nodes have entered and left the network since then, increasing diversity). Irregardless of the findings, the stance of the construct0 team (currently just me, come join on Discord!) is that the community must discuss the further direction of the entry mechanism as the bear market of the industry has given the owner of this cluster the opportunity to establish themselves as the leader. Good news, the market is turning up. Bad news, the network has a small amount of queue nodes, the current status of the sybil attack is uncertain and the seed fund has been depleted (there are currently no rewards for active network participants other than transaction fees; yet they are still rewarded for the, albeit low amount, of transactions being processed by the network and the value of a vote is still significant considering the aforementioned on-chain governance and community fund). The network is currently at a cross-roads; either the network keeps stagnating until no more transactions occur on the network and active participants have lost confidence, or we come together and come to a solution to increase diversity of further network entrants. I currently propose: allowing all previously dropped (aka left the active network | the cycle) to enter the network again, by subdividing them into 1-month slices (inspired by the 30-day incubation period under which queue nodes are currently subjected), giving these slices a weight, randomizing order within these slices and by determining the percentage of influence on the entire list allowing new cycle entrants and determining the percentage of influence on the entire list assesment of the sybil attack, identification of current in-cycle and out-of-cycle nodes of this participant and excluding the presence of these nodes in the list (this does not mean removing active nodes in the cycle!) the creation of a voting script to be adopted by the active cycle participants the creation of three lists: dropped nodes as described above possible to adopt an initiation_timestamp in the slice accompanying the expire_date, yet the processing_order is easier to interpret if possible, preferably provably-fair randomization, if not possible, the slice's size should establish trust in its order, which may be subjected to analysis by members if they so desire new cycle candidates as described above (queue members | new cycle entrants) stemming from the classical queue mechanism, including excluded nodes (to be cross referenced by the next list by the proposed script) regularly updated to keep in sync, I propose a daily interval - this should be sufficient with the incubation period in mind excluded nodes as described above must be well-justified, voting about it is illogical, analysis must rule this part and disregard any communications or cycle transactions, ofcourse the schema and contents may be up for debate example schemas If you are related to the Nyzo network, or were before but lost your nodes, or are otherwise interested in the determining of the weights or the general composition of the schemas, join the construct0 Discord! The core Nyzo team suggested a composition of a preferential KYC-ish list based on provable cryptography or cryptocurrency contributors. This should be respected and is a possibility. My personal take on this is that a different addition is also possible, a variety of GitHub repositories related to other cryptocurrency projects (Bitcoin, Ethereum, ..)'s have their stars and issues scraped and their profiles identified and may be given an opportunity to participate when contacted. The lists will be provided as files on a construct0 repository, which in its raw form can be used as an endpoint source for the script. It has to be discussed whether the script should contain some sort of cross-referencing with a node's queue perspective and the contents of the queue list to avoid fraud. The weight and order may also be incorporated in the script itself if deemed undesirable to hand over this control to the repository owner. Other lists are mostly static. Moving on, let's take a look at the proposed structure (sneak peek) of the future Nyzo.org website. Explore - blockchain explorer, will visualize mesh queue, entrants history (based on the blockchain contents cross referenced with the nicknames and identifiers on the core Nyzo team's explorer to verify and enrich the data), network health metrics, live feed of blocks being produced; the tx amount; live overview of rewards for verifiers as they occur, reward per verifier per multiple timeframes, live visualisation of queue node and verifier node threading time spans and calls, live logging output per logging verbosity level, live node overview (pct cloud, pct residential, age, removal scoring aka node health, ..), wall/spiral viz tbd depending on device, active cycle txs and votes, ... Learn - Documentation server content in a fresh UI, expanded upon by construct0 where necessary and with attribution to its author Trade - Overview of prices across exchanges, volume, potentially a SWIFT one-click buy module when deemed possible within the legal framework of an unincorporated association (could be an intermediary module leveraging exchange API's, with a premium to account for volatility, order book spread, previous end results, service provider costs. Any remainder will be used to further construct0's causes and can not be interpreted as profit for an individual due to the legal entity's characteristics) Transact - Overview of wallets, key tools, libraries, pointer to documentation server, best practices, protocols, .. Verify - Instructions on how to deploy a verifier and/or sentinel, ranging from a person's technical understanding and capabilities. (e.g. scripts, manager client, one-click cloud deploy, ..) (e.g. scripts, manager client, one-click cloud deploy, ..) Vote - Live overview of historical and currently pending cycle transactions, live overview of historical Nyzo team expenditures predating the existance of the decentralized community fund. Chat room and/or discussion forum whereby individuals can choose to verify that they are the owner of a verifier, displaying verifier age, .. Chat room would be [[proposal column][verified verifier chat][unverified chat]]. More TBD. Chat room and/or discussion forum whereby individuals can choose to verify that they are the owner of a verifier, displaying verifier age, .. Chat room would be [[proposal column][verified verifier chat][unverified chat]]. More TBD. Discuss - In conjunction with the above of #Vote, more leaning towards a forum. Includes references to social channels. Current status: attempting to recover the old community forum's database from a community member. Moving on, the "construct0-forks" organisation on GitHub contains forks of repositories for referential purposes only. https://github.com/construct0-forks In order to achieve the mission: combined open-source and closed-source development for non-profit purposes which enable the organisation and others to grow along supporting existing open-source projects Funding is required. The Nyzo on-chain governance is a solace for its contributors in that they may be eligible for rewards in the Nyzo currency, yet the current status of the Nyzo.org repository and the uncertainties surrounding the sybil attack's existence, accompanied by the current value of the network's currency make's this an unviable channel of initial funding. construct0's legal status is currently pending approval, which should be resolved in approximately 2 weeks. As the currently sole member of the organisation I do accept donations or contracts. In any case, you are more than welcome to initiate dialog either by email, through LinkedIn or preferably, on Discord. Thanks for your time and attention. Benjamin Van Renterghem @ construct0 ~ Nyzo on HLN. My special thanks goes out to: Validating your browser . . . Please turn JavaScript on and reload the page. Please enable cookies and reload the page. This may take up to 5 seconds Event ID: 142067424139236916276532928163083839218 As the U.S.-China rivalry intensifies with some speculating a new Cold War is in the offing many Asian countries are looking on with concern. If Washington seeks to maintain its role as a global leader, it should be judicious in how it contests Chinese influence in Asia, which seems likely to be the key battleground of the new Sino-American rivalry. The United States must understand that Asian countries do not want to be forced to constantly manage competing pressures from superpowers. Cold War-era Sino-American competition demonstrates that forcing Asian countries to choose sides can ultimately be counterproductive and undermines one of the United States chief attributes in this global competition. As the White House hosts its second Summit for Democracy this week, it should recall a vital lesson from the Cold War that ultimately helped Washington prevail: one of the United States key advantages over China then and now is the allure of the democratic model it shares with its allies in the free world. Lessons from the Cold War While the Soviet Union was Americas most significant great power rival during this era, in Cambodia, Laos and other countries in the region, the United States often devoted more resources and energy to hindering Chinese efforts to gain recognition and influence. But these policies had few successes and often ended up alienating the very people whose loyalties the United States was ostensibly vying to win. For instance, during the 1950s and 1960s, Washington constantly pressured the neutralist and fiercely nationalist Cambodian Prince Norodom Sihanouk not to establish diplomatic relations with the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). Yet Chinas influence loomed large in Cambodias neighboring states and the small Asian country found it impossible to make Beijing its enemy. The more pressure the United States put on Sihanouk the more resentful he became and the more he flouted American advice. He visited China in 1956 and normalized relations with the PRC two years later. Chinas a great country nearby and a reality, he told American officials after he returned from his visit and ignored Washingtons warning about the dangers posed by Beijing. Sihanouk was further enraged by Americas approach to Cambodia during the Vietnam War, which displayed little regard for his countrys sovereignty or neutrality and prioritized defeating Hanoi. By 1964, Sihanouk had unilaterally terminated all American aid programs and closed the Cambodian embassy in Washington. Relations between the United States and Cambodia were so bad that some American intelligence documents saw the once friendly country as part of a Beijing-Hanoi-Pyongyang-Phnom Penh-Jakarta axis. While not every American effort to deter Asian nations from maintaining relations with China was quite so catastrophic, it was almost never successful at dissuading neutral nations from pursuing their interests. Although India and China would clash in 1962, during the 1950s they built a cooperative relationship under the rubric of the Pancha Sila or Five principles of Peaceful Coexistence. American officials repeatedly cautioned Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru about Indias warming relations with the PRC and launched a propaganda campaign designed to make Indians more aware of Chinas bad intentions. But Nehru disliked being pressured and even praised Chinese premier Zhou Enlai as a great Communist leader in a press conference with American journalists. Sino-Indian entente did not last but this was mainly because of Beijings sensitivity to Indian criticisms of its policies in Tibet and Nehrus decision to grant asylum to the Dalai Lama when he fled Tibet in March 1959. Even after the 1962 Sino-Indian border conflict, India never recognized Taipei or took the kind of strong anti-China position American officials encouraged it to. Asia Amid the Rising Sino-American Rivalry Today, Asia has once again emerged as a major venue of Sino-American rivalry. Its close geographic proximity to the Chinese mainland has made it a natural target for Chinese leader Xi Jinpings efforts to expand Chinese influence and power. Moreover, most Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries have already become economically interdependent with the PRC to greater or lesser degrees while some, such as Cambodia and Laos, have moved almost entirely into Chinas economic orbit. The United States does not want to see China dominate the region and Washington remains a valued partner to some of its governments. Since 2017, both the Trump and Biden administrations have sought to use Washingtons leverage in the region to encourage its governments to downgrade their ties with the PRC and demonstrate unity against China. Biden in particular has stepped up American diplomacy in the region and made new promises of economic and security cooperation. Much as it did during the Cold War, Washington has sought to promote its vision of a world divided between democratic countries that play by the rules and authoritarians ones that threaten international peace and stability. While it does not bluntly demand that nations cut ties with China as it did during the Cold War, American initiatives are not so subtly designed to compete with China and win Asian countries to its side. For instance, the Biden administration launched the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with ASEAN in November 2022, roughly one year after China established a similar partnership with the association. Washington no doubt hopes to use its upgraded presence in the region to encourage more military and security ties with the United States while discouraging participation in China-led economic initiatives. But pressuring Asian countries to choose between the United States and China can have disastrous consequences for Washington today much as it did six decades ago. While approaches to managing great power rivalry vary across the Asian region, the majority of its leaders have made it clear that they view the competition in general as dangerous. When tensions between Beijing and Washington flare as was the case when Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan last year ASEAN leaders have expressed concern about volatility and encouraged dialogue. Leaders in the region have been even more blunt about not wanting to be forced to choose between Beijing and Washington. In a widely cited 2019 speech, Lee Hsien Loong, the prime minister of Singapore, warned both China and the United States not to try to divide Southeast Asia or pressure its leaders. He explained that Southeast Asian states all understood that they would benefit more from multilateralism than bilateral arrangements with one of the two great powers. He insisted on regional cooperation initiatives that could strengthen existing cooperation arrangements centered on ASEAN. These initiatives must not create rival blocks, deepen fault lines or force countries to take sides. Lees words should be sobering to American officials who seek to rally all of Asia against the PRC. American efforts to pressure Asian nations to side with it against China are unlikely to persuade leaders like Lee, who above all want to maintain independence and strategic flexibility. At the worst, the United States may once again end up alienating some countries in the region or even driving them into Chinas embrace. In other instances, insisting on greater alignment with the United States will lead to a loss of American credibility. Ultimately, there is little that Washington can do that would significantly reduce Chinas already deeply entrenched economic and political presence in the region. Indeed, it can be destabilizing and even dangerous given the high level of interdependence that already exists. Insisting that Asian leaders follow guidance that they are likely to reject will only highlight the limitations of American power and influence. The Formula for Success Yet Washington must also recognize that this does not mean that China will dominate Asia. During the Cold War, the United States often believed that neutralist countries were too soft on communism. It must avoid seeing ASEANs centrality or the determination of other countries to avoid taking sides as the equivalent of surrender to the PRC. Much to Americas surprise, during the Cold War, some leaders in the Non-Aligned Movement such as Nehru and Gamal Abdel Nasser in Egypt, who insisted that their neutrality be respected, were actually just as independent minded as they claimed to be and rebuffed pressures from both the free world and the Communist bloc. If Beijing seeks to force leaders in the region to take its side, it will also lose influence and credibility. And thus far, Beijings efforts to pressure and punish other countries in the region have been every bit as unsuccessful as Washingtons. If the United States wants to enhance its influence and prestige in Asia, a more patient and less insistent approach will serve its interests best. First, the United States needs to give China the space to fail. Regardless of how much China invests in Asia, its authoritarian political culture will make it likely to stumble in its relations with the region in the long-term. During the Cold War, friendships within the Communist bloc were more fraught and less durable than those in the free world. Today, Chinas soft power is weak and its cultural diplomacy often inept so it has few resources to draw upon when economic agreements dont work out. While it will be tempting for Washington to use Chinas failures to score political points, it will be better off respecting the capacity of Asians to understand Chinas shortcomings for themselves. Second, the United States needs to remain engaged in Asia without seeking to counter every Chinese initiative. Countries throughout Asia want the United States to maintain a presence there even if they fear the consequences of great power rivalry. Washington must find ways to cooperate with Asian countries whether in the military, economic or cultural realm that are innovative, distinctive and meet the needs of their people in ways that China cannot. This might mean leveraging its advantages in areas like higher education and technology to offer programs that have a more unique appeal. Finally, the United States must assure the continued success of Asian democracies such as South Korea. It must remember that the Cold War ultimately turned in its favor not because it pressured neutral countries, but because the free world offered more attractive models than Communist China. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Cultural Revolution had thrown the PRC into poverty and turmoil. But Taiwan, Japan and South Korea had experienced almost miraculous economic take-offs. With a few exceptions, Asian leaders no longer saw Communist China as a country that could help them to overcome their most pressing challenges. In this context, the CCP had little choice but to change course and seek rapprochement with the United States. Chinese influence in Asia will remain inevitable during the 21st century but its triumph is not. Patient and consistent American engagement rather than reactive and misguided efforts to pressure Asian leaders offers the best hope of assuring that the Indo-Pacific will remain free and open. Gregg A. Brazinsky is a professor of history and international affairs at the George Washington University. He currently serves as the director of the Sigur Center for Asian Studies and the Asian Studies Program. New Delhi [India], November 28 (ANI): Seeing the possibility of a large number of devotees coming from Nepal after the newly built Ram Temple is open to the public, Nepali businesses are keen on investing in Ayodhya City. Nepalese individuals and businesses are showing interest in investing in Ayodhya, as mentioned Nepal's ambassador to India, Shankar Sharma. Also Read | Microsoft Announces To End Support for Its Microsoft 365 Browser Extension on January 15. In an interview with ANI, the envoy said "Although the Nepalese government is not currently involved but private businesses from Nepal have already invested, and more are in the process of doing so in Ayodhya." The currently available properties in Ayodhya are insufficient for the expected increase in demand, especially after the inauguration of the Ram Temple in early 2024. Also Read | I-League 2023-24: Balwant Singh Scores As NEROCA FC Wins at Bhaini Sahib Amid Delhi FC Retaliation. He emphasised that once the temple is inaugurated, there's an anticipation of a significant influx of Nepalese devotees visiting Ayodhya, likening it to a swarm of devotees. "For decades, there has been a tradition among Nepali people to visit Ayodhya, where they perform rituals and take soil (procession) from the sacred land to fulfil the marriage rituals of Ram and Sita in Janakpur in Nepal," he told ANI. The Nepal envoy Shankar Sharma said, "I think this inauguration of Ram temple in Ayodhya will give a very strong and positive message to all Nepali people because I'm sure when this is inaugurated, almost everybody in Nepal would like to come and visit this place. So that will also, I think, have very significant and vital importance in strengthening Nepal-India relationship." Sharma stressed that Ram Temple is "extremely important" to Nepal. He noted that hundreds of thousands of people from Nepal will visit Ayodhya every year in the future. Top Nepalese government officials, including the President and Prime Minister, are expected to be invited to the inauguration of the Ram Temple on January 22 next year. Several dignitaries, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, will attend the Ram Temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand) [India], November 28 (ANI): Telecom operator Jio has provided data and voice services the vertical location of the hilltop of the Silkyara tunnel in short time of 12 hours. Workers from Jio assisted in restoring the connectivity in the hilltop for ease of rescue operation. Also Read | Delhi High Court Imposes Rs Two Lakh Fine on Ashneer Grover for Violating Court Order by Posting Against Bharat Pe. This is a hilltop location where vehicles can't go. There are no poles and no power. All these challenges have been surmounted and essential connectivity restored. Meanwhile, Nodal Officer for the Silkyara rescue operation and Secretary to the Uttarakhand government, Neeraj Khairwal, during a press briefing on Tuesday, informed that if there are no more hurdles, the rescuers are anticipating an early evacuation of the trapped labourers. Also Read | Bengaluru Child Trafficking Racket Case: Gangs Targeted Poor Mothers Who Bore Babies To Sell Them For Lakhs, Reveals Probe. Addressing the media at the tunnel site, Neeraj Khairwal said, "As of now, we have pushed 55.3 metres of the pipe. This includes clearing of the rubble as well as laying the pipe. Only a little more distance remains. It might be somewhere between 57-59 metres." "It might take a few more hours if there are no more hurdles. By evening we are hoping. Let's pray and hope for the best," he added. National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) Managing Director Mahmood Ahmad said that vertical drilling up to 44 metres is completed out of 86 metres needed adding that the operations on all fronts are progressing equally. "Vertical drilling is being done by SJVNL; drilling up to 44 metres out of the total 86 metres is complete. THDC executed 7th blast today. So, we gained another 1.5 metres. Work is ongoing, we have not stopped any of our various options," he said. "As far as horizontal drilling through the debris is concerned, the one being done inside the tunnel is complete up to 55.3 metres. We are doing this through manual excavation. After that, we do de-mucking. Pipe pushing follows this. Perhaps we will need 5-6 metres more. We are now pushing in smaller lengthened pipes. We are hoping for good news by late evening," he added. Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took stock of the ongoing rescue and relief efforts from Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami via call. PM Modi inquired about the well-being of the trapped workers and instructed the Chief Minister to ensure their safety along with those involved in rescue operations. CM Dhami reviewed the ongoing rescue operations inside the tunnel this morning. The relatives of the 41 trapped labourers have been asked to be prepared and keep the clothes and bags of the workers ready as the ongoing rescue effort raises hopes of an early evacuation, as per official sources. According to the sources, the workers will be taken to Chinyalisaur Hospital after being rescued and brought out. The multi-pronged rescue efforts continue at the Silkyara Tunnel collapse site with both vertical and manual drilling works taking off at an almost similar pace from atop the hill and inside the tunnel accordingly. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Validating your browser . . . Please turn JavaScript on and reload the page. Please enable cookies and reload the page. This may take up to 5 seconds Event ID: 198660603698420852614265872607664503532 Ormanjhi, Nov 28 (PTI) In Khirabeda, relief and happiness writ large on the faces of the family members of three workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand after the news of their rescue reached this nondescript village on the outskirts of Ranchi on Tuesday evening. A paralysed Shravan Bediya, 55, whose only son Rajendra was trapped there, was seen in a wheelchair outside his hut with some relief on his face after prolonged desperation. Also Read | Uttarakhand Tunnel Rescue Operation: Congress Congratulates Agencies Engaged in Rescue Ops at Silkyara Tunnel. Besides 22-year-old Rajendra, two others from the village -- Sukhram and Anil, both in their early 20s, were trapped inside the tunnel for 17 days. Anil's brother Sunil, who was camping outside the tunnel in Uttarkashi, told PTI over the phone in a choked voice, "Finally, God heard us. My brother could be rescued. I am with him in an ambulance on the way to hospital." Also Read | Ban on Pakistani Artists: Supreme Court Rejects Plea Seeking To Prohibit Pakistani Artists From Performing in India, Asks Petitioner 'Not To Be Narrow-Minded'. Asked which hospital, he said it was not clear to them but his brother's condition was stable. For the last one week, an anxious Sunil was living in the place his brother was staying along with the 40 other workers who were stuck inside the tunnel. Sunil, who also works in such projects, said this was the most difficult time of his life, with none left to tend to his old parents who were in a state of shock. "I could somehow arrange the funds to travel to Uttarkashi," he said. Here in Khirabeda, the mood was celebratory with villagers distributing 'laddoos'. Sukhram's paralysed mother Parvati, who was inconsolable since she found out about the disaster, was too happy to express her feelings. In Anil's house, where his grieving mother has not cooked anything for the last two weeks and the family surviving on whatever food their neighbours were providing, villagers gathered as the news of the rescue was shown on TV. The rescue efforts began on November 12 when a portion of the under-construction tunnel on Uttarakhand's Char Dham route collapsed following a landslide, cutting off the exit for the workers inside. Sukhram's sister Khushboo said that everyone in their village was celebrating. According to Ram Kumar Bediya, a villager, a group of 13 people, all between 18 and 23, had left Khirabeda on November 1 to work at the tunnel. When the disaster struck, three of them were working inside. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Chennai, Nov 28 (PTI) The Madras High Court on Tuesday set aside an order of a trial court, convicting and sentencing former AIADMK Minister T M Selvaganapathy to two years Rigorous Imprisonment in a cremation shed scam case. Allowing an appeal filed by Selvaganapathy, Justice G Jayachandran set aside the order of the Special Court for CBI Cases, passed in 2014, convicting and sentencing the former Minister to two years RI. Also Read | Ashneer Grover Slapped With Rs 2 Lakh Fine by Delhi High Court Over Defamatory Posts Against BharatPe. Selvaganapathy was a Minister during the AIADMK regime (1991-96) when late J Jayalalithaa was the Chief Minister. He had later joined the DMK. In 2014, when he was a DMK Rajya Sabha MP, he was convicted in the cremation shed scam by the special court and he lost his membership of the upper house. The judge also acquitted the then officials Bharathi, Krishnamoorthy and Sathyamoorthy, who were originally awarded 2 years RI by the Special court in the case while allowing the appeals filed by them. Also Read | Gyanvapi Mosque Case: ASI Again Seeks More Time From Varanasi Court To Submit Scientific Survey Report. The prosecution had alleged a scam to the tune of about Rs 23 lakh in the construction of cremation sheds. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Pune, Nov 28 (PTI) A joint India-Sri Lanka military exercise, Mitrashakti 2023, culminated on Tuesday at Pune's southern command foreign training node after 12 days. The forces, including troops from the Indian Army and the Air Force, learnt about each other's operational drills and tactics during this exercise, a defence release said. Also Read | Uttar Pradesh: Temple Purified With 'Gangajal' in Siddharthnagar After Visit by Samajwadi Partys Muslim MLA Sayeda Khatoon. Brigadier S Taluja, Commander, Aundh Military Station, and Major General PGPS Rathnayaka, Sri Lankan Army, addressed the contingents during the closing ceremony. "Joint exercises between armies are a facet of military diplomacy between nations across the world. It is increasingly becoming an important instrument in developing relationships, trust and confidence between the Armies which may eventually prove useful during joint military operations such as UN peacekeeping operations," the release said. Also Read | Telangana Assembly Elections 2023: Sonia Gandhi Urges People of State To Vote for Congress, Says People Have Given Respect by Calling Her 'Amma'. The joint exercise Mitrashakti 2023 commenced on November 16. "The contingent from both nations have displayed great enthusiasm and professionalism while practising joint drills during the conduct of the exercise. It has been a great learning experience for all the participants. "The forces, including troops from Indian Army and Air Force, have not only learnt about each other's operational drills and tactics but have also exchanged ideas and best practices being followed in the execution of sub-conventional operations under the UN mandate," the release stated. The camaraderie developed between the contingents during exercise will certainly assist in enhancing confidence between the armies which may be deployed together for such operations, it said. "The conduct of this military exercise is also an important step to uphold the values of peace, prosperity, international brotherhood and trust which is in line with the security and growth for all in the region," the release added. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Validating your browser . . . Please turn JavaScript on and reload the page. Please enable cookies and reload the page. This may take up to 5 seconds Event ID: 168197712731186924318370811557667896781 Budaun (UP), Nov 28 (PTI) A 24-year-old man died after being thrashed with sticks by several people allegedly for drinking water from a public tape, police said on Tuesday. On Monday night, one Kamlesh was beaten with sticks by Suraj Rathore and his accomplice in Sathra village of Ushait Police Station area for drinking from a tap, Additional SP, Amit Kishore Srivastava said. Also Read | Uttarakhand Tunnel Rescue Operation Update: 15 Among 41 Trapped Workers Rescued from Silkyara Tunnel (Watch Videos). He was rushed to a hospital, where he died during treatment on Tuesday, he said. Police arrested Rathore and filed an FIR against him at the complaint of the victim's father Jagdish, he said. Also Read | TRP Manipulation Case: Mumbai Cops Move Court for Withdrawal of Fake TRP Case in Which TV Journalist Arnab Goswami Is an Accused. Kamlesh's body has been sent for post mortem and a detailed probe is on in the matter, Srivastava said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Validating your browser . . . Please turn JavaScript on and reload the page. Please enable cookies and reload the page. This may take up to 5 seconds Event ID: 369774207770740426318048673598038806795 New Delhi, Nov 28 (PTI) The new national education policy stresses on innovation through education, aligning with the government's commitment to fostering a dynamic learning environment for the youth, Union Minister Anurag Thakur has said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's impactful initiatives such as the 'Pariksha Pe Charcha' showcase his dedication to alleviating exam-related stress, and ensuring that the country's youth is well-prepared for a prosperous future, the minister said. He was addressing the convocation ceremony of the GD Goenka University on Sunday. Also Read | Ashneer Grover Slapped With Rs 2 Lakh Fine by Delhi High Court Over Defamatory Posts Against BharatPe. Congratulations to GD Goenka University, students, teachers and parents on the splendid success of the 9th convocation ceremony," a statement issued by the private university quoted Thakur as saying in his address. Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the new national education policy brought after almost four decades emphasises innovation through education, aligning with the government's commitment to fostering a dynamic learning environment for Bhartiya youth, the Union minister said. Also Read | Jammu and Kashmir: Udhampur Girl Writes to PM Narendra Modi, Urges Him To Build Better Roads to School. As we celebrate this milestone, we reaffirm the government's pledge to empower the youth, steering Bharat towards development, with a goal to achieve a Viksit Bharat (developed India) by 2047, Thakur added. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Once again, dragging the attention away from issues, Elon "Pedo Guy" Musk found a way into the spotlight. Musk wants to look like a person who cares deeply about Jewish people after his public antisemitism has chased away his revenue. Even Tesla shareholders were reputed to be unsettled by Musk's recent nastiness, so the fail whale was squeezed into what looks like a teeny tiny bulletproof vest and shown around a site of the October 7th atrocity in Israel. Musk's tour guide was none other than highly polarizing and embattled Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. Musk also spent time with other Israeli leaders and the families of hostages taken into Gaza. I am sure this was time well used. I also doubt this rehabilitation tour will win back many advertisers. CNN: "Unfortunately, we are inundated with antisemitism, which is hatred of Jews," Herzog told Musk, according to the statement. "I think we need to fight this together, because the platforms you lead, unfortunately, have a large reservoir of hatred, hatred of Jews, anti-Semitism." In an earlier statement, the president's office said representatives of the families of hostages held by Hamas also joined the meeting, to share "the horrors of the Hamas terror attack, and of the ongoing pain and uncertainty for those held captive." During the visit to the destroyed kibbutz, Israeli officials described to Musk what had taken place, the Israeli government press office said. "The prime minister and Musk then proceeded to the Edan family home, where Musk heard about the family story of four-year-old Abigail Edan, whose parents were murdered and who was kidnapped to Gaza and released yesterday from Hamas captivity," the press office added. Musk could do a lot to combat antisemitism, but his "free speech absolutism" permits it to run rampant on his social media network. Validating your browser . . . Please turn JavaScript on and reload the page. Please enable cookies and reload the page. This may take up to 5 seconds Event ID: 348683851537349879110904148358435852750 Validating your browser . . . Please turn JavaScript on and reload the page. Please enable cookies and reload the page. This may take up to 5 seconds Event ID: 138601522801195266812698704933396189096 New Delhi, Nov 28 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed an order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) directing the Maharashtra government to deposit Rs 12,000 crore as compensation for improper management of solid and liquid waste. A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud passed the order while hearing a plea filed by the Maharashtra government against the NGT's September last year order. Also Read | Gyanvapi Mosque Case: ASI Again Seeks More Time From Varanasi Court To Submit Scientific Survey Report. In its order, the tribunal had said the compensation under section 15 of the NGT Act was necessary to "remedy" the continuing damage to the environment caused due to the shortcomings in waste management. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the state, told the apex court that the NGT had directed Maharashtra to deposit Rs 12,000 crore. Also Read | Surat Shocker: Man Abducts, Sodomises 5-Year-Old Boy Mistaken as Girl Due to Long Hair, Leaves Him Sobbing Outside His House; Held. "Notice... In the meantime, the direction issued by the National Green Tribunal requiring the state of Maharashtra to deposit an amount of Rs 12,000 crore as compensation in a 'separate ring-fenced account' shall remain stayed," said the bench, also comprising justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. The NGT had passed the order pursuant to the top court's directions requiring the tribunal to monitor enforcement of solid and liquid waste management norms. "Moreover, without fixing quantified liability necessary for restoration, mere passing of orders has not shown any tangible results in the last eight years (for solid waste management) and five years (for liquid waste management), even after expiry of statutory/ laid down timelines," it had said. The NGT had added that continuing damage was required to be prevented in future, and the past damage was to be restored. It had determined the compensation in respect of gap in treatment of liquid waste to be about Rs 10,840 crore, and in respect of un-remediated legacy waste to be around Rs 1,200 crore, and rounded the amount off to Rs 12,000 crore. The tribunal had directed the state government to deposit the amount in a separate ring-fenced account to be operated as per directions of the chief secretary and utilised for restoration measures. The restoration measures for sewage management would include establishing sewage treatment and utilisation systems, upgrading systems/operations to ensure full capacity utilisation, ensuring compliance with standards, including those for fecal coliform, and establishing proper fecal sewage and sludge management in rural areas, it had said. "With regard to solid waste management, the action plan would include setting up of required waste processing plants and remediation of left out 84 sites," the tribunal had noted. (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, November 28: The complainant women wrestlers have filed a written submission on framing of charges against MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in the Sexual Harassment case. The Rouse Avenue court is hearing arguments on charges over a sexual harassment case against former WFI Chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The matter pertains to complaints filed by six women wrestlers alleging sexual harassment. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Harjeet Singh Jaspal listed the matter on December 6 for filing written submissions by the Prosecution. The court said that the parties can file additional written submissions in rebuttal. Accused Singh has already filed his written submissions on the last date. On October 30, the court pulled up the counsel appearing to repeat the arguments on charges. ACMM Jaspal had asked the counsels for all the parties to file written submissions. WFI Chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh Has an Altercation With Woman Reporter, Breaks Mic on Being Asked Questions; Video Goes Viral On a lighter side, the judge had referred to an old English saying, " When not able to clarify, just confuse." "You are confusing me, Mr Counsel," he pointed out towards the defence counsel. ACMM Jaspal had said in the order that after hearing the arguments for a while this court encourages the three counsels for parties to file a written compilation of arguments so that the arguments can be concluded in a systematic manner. The court noted that it was argued by the defence counsel Rajiv Mohan that this court has no jurisdiction to try any offence allegedly committed outside India as the sanction under section 188 CrPc has not been obtained. It is also argued that no sanction is required when the offence is partly committed in India and partly outside India, the court noted. The court also noted the defence counsel's arguments that the alleged offences, as per the prosecution, have happened in Tokyo, Mongolia, Bulgaria, Jakarta, Kazakhstan, Turkey etc can not be tried by this court. Rahul Gandhi Says WFI Chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh Still in Suraksha Kavach of PM Narendra Modi The court asked the question of the Sexual Harassment can be called a continuing offence. Multiple offences separated by date, time and places can be covered? The court also noted the submissions made by the Additional public prosecutor (APP) that the act of sexual harassment was a continuing offence as it didn't stop at any particular time.As per Additional Public Prosecutor, the accused molested the victim whenever he got the opportunity and such harassment can not be looked at as isolated, the court noted. During the hearing, defence counsel submitted that one of the Complainants alleged that the accused made sexual advances in 2022. He further submitted that the incident of 2022 is of Bulgaria and WFI office. The incident at the WFI office was not mentioned before the oversight committee. He also referred to the SC judgement of 1993 which said that the offences committed here can be tried in India. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Validating your browser . . . Please turn JavaScript on and reload the page. Please enable cookies and reload the page. This may take up to 5 seconds Event ID: 1505614400082190312814229385824683667530 London, Nov 28 (PTI) Rajesh Agrawal, the Indian-origin Deputy Mayor of London for Business, is stepping down from the role to focus on the city of Leicester, from where he will be contesting to be elected a member of Parliament in the next general election. The 46-year-old Indore-born entrepreneur-politician was recently selected as the Labour Party's candidate from the constituency of Leicester East for an election expected next year. He announced his departure from the London Mayor's office on social media on Monday evening after serving two terms in Mayor Sadiq Khan's team in charge of the UK capital's business and investment policies. Also Read | US Murder Case: Man Who Killed His Mother and Stuffed Her Body in a Box in New York Could Walk Free if Cleared During Mental Health Assessment. "After my recent selection as the Labour Party's parliamentary candidate and careful consideration, I have made the difficult decision to step down as Deputy Mayor of London to focus on campaigning in Leicester East, said Agrawal. "It has truly been an honour and a privilege to serve Londoners in this capacity for past seven and a half years and I have given it my all. Like millions of other people, I arrived in this country with very little and made it my home. As I worked just above the minimum wage, I knew that there is a thin line between failure and success, he said. Also Read | North Korea Reports First Opposing Votes in Local Elections in Decades; 99.63% Voter Turnout Recorded. "This country gave me the opportunity, and with hard work and perseverance, I did well. But I never imagined that I would get the privilege to serve one of the greatest cities on earth as its Deputy Mayor not once, but twice. For that I will be forever grateful, he added. He went on to reflect upon his achievements and the great things achieved as the city's Deputy Mayor, including an increase in Londoners receiving higher wages and securing inward investment and creating jobs for the city. "All this against a backdrop of Brexit, botched trade negotiations, the pandemic and now the cost-of-living crisis. Finally, thanks to all Londoners I could spend some of the most productive years of my life to serve London the city I love so much, added Agrawal. His boss, the British Pakistani Mayor, extended his support for the next chapter in his political journey. "Rajesh has helped to deliver so much for our city: from a six-fold increase in Londoners receiving the real London Living Wage to the securing of billions of pounds of investment and the creation of hundreds of thousands of new jobs. Thank you Rajesh we wish you every success, said Sadiq Khan in response on X. On his selection to contest as an MP for Leicester East last week, Agrawal pledged to continue to champion the ideals he was committed to as London's Deputy Mayor. He has listed championing Leicester's economy, helping residents with the cost-of-living crisis and creating affordable homes among his top priorities for a constituency that represents one of the largest South Asian origin populations in the UK. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Validating your browser . . . Please turn JavaScript on and reload the page. Please enable cookies and reload the page. This may take up to 5 seconds Event ID: 1527153887235937853412185403901343938161 Validating your browser . . . Please turn JavaScript on and reload the page. Please enable cookies and reload the page. This may take up to 5 seconds Event ID: 7201451236645897312617956471887094905 New Delhi, November 28: The government on Tuesday launched a national protocol to provide for training of anganwadi workers to track and help children with disabilities. This is for the first time that anganwadi workers will spread awareness on the issue, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said. "If we look at it from a community perspective, it is a silent revolution in our community," she said after the launch of the Anganwadi Protocol for Divyang Children. For the first time, sisters from anganwadis will spread awareness that disability is not a challenge for society, but an opportunity for society to help a child. The mindset needs to be changed," Irani said. She said that the National Education Policy-2020 emphasises prioritising integration of divyang students into mainstream schools. "We know 85 per cent of a child's mental development happens by the age of 6. Today our education system has new provisions for divyang children..., she said. Irani said grassroots level data about divyang children will become available through anganwadi workers, and the children can be further tracked through the Poshan tracker. HC on Pension: Delhi High Court Imposes Rs 20,000 Fine on Central Government for Making 96-Year-Old Freedom Fighter Wait for Over 40 Years to Get His Pension The anganwadi eco-system reaches out to over eight crore children from birth to six years on a daily basis, and is a critical access point for building the base of the country's children, according to a statement issued by the Women and Child Development Ministry. According to the National Education Policy-2020, integration of divyang students into mainstream schools should be prioritized, rather than establish segregated educational institutions. The National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage 2022 further recommends approaches to addressing developmental delays and disability in schools, including advice on signs and symptoms, it said. In pursuance of these approaches, the Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi programme has adopted the national ECCE Taskforce recommendation for play-based and activity-based learning pedagogy and strongly advocates special and timely support for divyang children, the statement said. According to the Draft National Policy for Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) (2021), one-third of most disabilities in India are estimated to be preventable, if they are detected early enough and adequately addressed. PIB Fact Check Flags YouTube Channel Earn India Tech for Propagating Fake News Related to the Aadhar Card, PAN Card and Various Schemes of Government of India Through the 'Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi's' targeted focus on strengthening the foundation for India's future generations, 13.9 lakh anganwadi centres will be up-skilled to adopt a multi-sensory and toy-based approach to address the different needs of children. Validating your browser . . . Please turn JavaScript on and reload the page. Please enable cookies and reload the page. This may take up to 5 seconds Event ID: 438058770282790557316888274678218255982 I remember how excited I was to get Mirrorshades when it came out in 1986. It's an anthology of short science fiction stories, edited by Bruce Sterling. Authors include William Gibson, Tom Maddox, Pat Cadigan, Rudy Rucker, Marc Laidlaw, James Patrick Kelly, Greg Bear, Lewis Shiner, John Shirley, Paul Di Filippo, Bruce Sterling, Lewis Shiner. For lack of a better word, the stories can be considered "cyberpunk." For some reason, the book is out of print. Used copies on Amazon start at $90, and there's no e-book version. However, Rudy Rucker (whose story "Tales of Houdini" is featured in Mirrorshades) has put the entire book online, on a single webpage. Get it here! From Sterling's introduction: The energy problem in Puerto Rico has entered a new chapter as a proposed amended contract between the local government and the operator of a coal-fired power plant has drawn some scrutiny during a public hearing. Puerto Rico's Energy Bureau's hearing on the proposed amended contract earned the ire of environmentalists and lawyers as the amendments sought by AES Puerto Rico LP contained several redactions. The power plant operator is a known polluter in Puerto Rico and has been accused of contaminating low-income communities. The amendments it sought were mostly redacted and left many raising their eyebrows given its history. "It can say anything under those blackouts," Victor Alvarado, who serves as the environmental affairs secretary for the Puerto Rican Independence Party, told the Associated Press, citing concerns about what the redactions could have held. However, that amended contract was already approved by the governing board of Puerto Rico's Electric Power Authority. It explained that some of the details in the contract were redacted because the contract still had to be approved by the Energy Bureau and a federal control board. This comes as the island faces power issues that were exposed by Hurricane Maria, which ravaged the US territory's power grid in September 2017. Puerto Ricans are still reeling from that incident, which left many without electricity for years. Puerto Rico's power company argued that the controversial powerplant operator is already facing "severe" financial issues. Should the company cease to operate, the island's already precarious power grid would destabilize further and may result in power bills spiking. READ NEXT: Puerto Rico: Top 5 Resorts To Visit While in This US Territory Amended Contract Would Mean Increased Power Bills All Over Puerto Rico The amended contract is expected to go into effect starting December 1, 2023. However, this would also bring some bad news for Puerto Ricans as this would also mean that their power bills would increase. This is a huge blow for the populace as Puerto Rico already has one of the highest electricity costs in all US jurisdictions. AES is currently under investigation by the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the Puerto Rico government's decision to award more money to the embattled company has also raised eyebrows. Currently, the EPA is testing air and water in the region to see the company's environmental impact. A decision on the issue is expected to come from the territory's Energy Bureau within the next few days. Puerto Rico Also Looking Into Solar Energy To Solve Energy Problems To help solve Puerto Rico's continuing energy problems, Tesla Energy has introduced a virtual power plant program for people living in the US territory. The Australian clean energy company hopes this may alleviate the energy woes of many Puerto Ricans. According to Clean Technica, this Tesla Virtual Power Plant may help stabilize Puerto Rico's grid by adding extra capacity to households and, therefore, reducing blackouts in a severe emergency. By using this type of solar energy, Puerto Ricans may also save money, as the island is infamous for its high electricity costs. READ MORE: Puerto Rico's Wrestling Culture and Its Underrated Pro Wrestlers This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Rick Martin WATCH: Who is to blame for the power crisis in Puerto Rico? - The Newsmakers Peru is in the middle of a political crisis as the government has been clamping down on protests against President Dina Boluarte. Boluarte took power from former President Pedro Castillo, who tried to dissolve Congress to avoid being impeached. Boluarte is getting even more bad news in regards to those protests as Attorney General Patricia Benavides has filed new charges against her, accusing the embattled Peruvian leader of being the one responsible for the deaths of "several" anti-government protesters earlier this year. Also accused is Prime Minister Alberto Otarola Penaranda. The president and the prime minister have been charged with first-degree murder before the nation's congress in a procedure known as a "constitutional complaint." This means that the Congress of Peru will be reviewing the complaint and may lead to a trial should a majority of lawmakers approve. While the Peruvian constitution protects heads of state from most criminal charges during their time in office, they lose that immunity once out of office. This means that once her term ends or she is forced out of office, she will be open to prosecution even if she did those actions as the president of Peru. The country is already in the grip of a national crisis as it has had five presidents since 2016, none of them managing to finish their terms of office. Two of them, including Boluarte's predecessor, Pedro Castillo, were even impeached. In those protests that happened after Castillo was removed from office, at least 49 people were killed. He was replaced by Boluarte, who was his vice president and former running mate. She blamed "criminal groups involved in illegal mining and left-wing radicals" for the violence that killed the protesters. Peru President Dina Boluarte Denies Allegations, Calls Prosecutor 'Despicable' As the Peruvian AG gave the charges to Congress, embattled President Dina Boluarte fired back and called Benavides "despicable." She added that the complaint filed against her was "causing astonishment." READ MORE: Peru: Stealing Cell Phones Might Land You Life in Prison "We express our condemnation for such a despicable political maneuver that improperly uses the memory of deceased patriots to distract attention from a very serious complaint against the prosecutor herself," said the president. She is also rejecting the multiple investigations against her, claiming that they are an attempt to "destabilize the independence of powers" in Peru. However, AG Benevides shot back, saying, "The death of any Peruvian should not be allowed, as well as the abuse of power." Peru President Dina Boluarte Also Faces Impeachment Meanwhile, as the political unrest in Peru grows, several lawmakers in the country have filed a motion to impeach President Boluarte for "permanent moral incapacity" for violating Article 115 of the Peruvian Constitution. The motion was filed by 26 lawmakers from the left, as well as independents, according to AA. The article states that when a president leaves the national territory, "the first vice president takes charge of the office," or "failing that, the second vice president does so." However, Boluarte does not have a vice president, so there is nobody to succeed her. The articles of impeachment claimed that she broke the law when she left the country for the UN General Assembly, leaving nobody in charge of the government in her absence. READ NEXT: Dina Boluarte Is Peru's First Female President After Pedro Castillo Gets Arrested This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Rick Martin WATCH: How can Peru's political crisis be resolved? | Inside Story - Al Jazeera English DEAR MISS MANNERS: My question concerns the phrase thoughts and prayers, which imposes ones own religion on those with differing (or no) religious beliefs. I do respect the rights of individuals to believe in and practice their own religion. I do not, however, think that any religious beliefs/practices should be forced upon others. I am a lifelong atheist who abandoned religion once I was old enough to challenge my parents beliefs. I have now been diagnosed with potentially terminal cancer. Numerous friends and family have started praying for me, and very publicly announcing that they are doing so -- even to the point of recruiting people I dont know to participate. How should I respond to these unrelenting verbal proclamations, multiple daily, of thoughts and prayers? Despite the fact that my atheist beliefs are known to these people, they seem to be preying upon me as a weakened individual in order to recruit for their own faith. My inner voice wants to say, Praying is more for your own well-being -- to feel that you and your religion somehow deserve credit for my potential recovery, or that you did everything you could in the event of my demise. But I suspect that would be considered rude. Managing the physical and mental stress of a terminal illness is a full-time job. The last thing I need is to be constantly bombarded with self-serving religious proselytizing. Please help me with the right response. And help educate others about this offensive behavior. GENTLE READER: Thoughts and prayers has become such a commonplace reaction that Miss Manners doubts she can dislodge it. However annoying you find this, you know that these people intend it as sympathetic support. So no, you do not want a reply that sounds rude. But you might say, mildly, You know I am a devout atheist, dont you? Or, if you fear this might bring on proselytizing, I appreciate your thoughts. Your prayers are between you and your beliefs. *** MORE FROM MISS MANNERS: Miss Manners: My daughter and I made gifts for a business owner who then put them up for sale Miss Manners: Im happy to treat you to dinner, but that doesnt mean Im gonna pay for your to-go order Miss Manners: Im mortified that six months after my sons wedding thank-you notes havent been sent Miss Manners: We were invited to a birthday celebration three months from now, when must we RSVP? Miss Manners: Some people think their sense of virtue entitles them to be rude, if not worse *** (Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.) *** COPYRIGHT 2023 JUDITH MARTIN DISTRIBUTED BY ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106; 816-581-7500 Part of the sprawling site of the demolished Avon factory in Laois has been sold for 500,000 to the local authority. Laois County Council has plans to develop a business park on the Portarlington site, which is close to the commuter town's train station to Dublin. Sinn Fein Cllr Aidan Mullins has welcomed the announcement, made by CEO John Mulholland on Monday, November 27. "Last year I met with the Chief Executive of Laois County Council, John Mulholland, to discuss the shortage of serviced industrial sites for new businesses in Portarlington. There are currently no available serviced sites in the Business Park on Canal Road. "We visited the former Avon site in the town, which is now vacant, with a view to exploring the possibility of the Council purchasing all or part of the site. "The Environmental Protection Agency is currently working on the decontamination of a 2 acre section of the site which should be completed in a few years. "The announcement today that the Council has agreed to purchase a separate 6 acre section of the former Avon site for 500,000 is brilliant news for Portarlington and will greatly assist with the economic development of the town. "The Council will seek funding from the EU Just Transition Fund to enable them to service the site i.e. provide internal access roads / footpaths, public lighting, power, water and sewage services, to provide ready-to-go fully serviced sites for prospective business opportunities. "I congratulate John Mulholland and his staff for their foresight in acknowledging the potential of the site and in securing its purchase. John was committed to the project from the beginning and I commend his efforts over the past year in negotiating the deal. "I look forward to seeing the site's development and the growth of commercial and business opportunities including job creation on the Canal Road," he said. The American jewellery and make-up factory shut down in 1999. It was demolished in 2014 after being destroyed by a fire. The independent Laois business Nook & Cranny Gift Store in Portlaoise was honoured with a national award when it was named National Lifestyle Store of The Year 2023 at the AIBMS Retail Excellence Ireland Awards. The awards ceremony is the biggest event of the year in the Irish Retail calendar and was hosted in the Galmont Hotel in Galway. It was attended by almost 600 retail industry executives and is widely seen as the event which celebrates the very best in Irish retail, where outstanding achievements in the retail sector are recognised. Retail Excellence Ireland stated that as Lifestyle Store of the Year, Nook & Cranny exemplifies excellence in bringing style, comfort, and uniqueness to every aspect of life. The judging panel described Nook & Cranny as an acclaimed and inviting lifestyle store renowned for its charming and refreshingly unique selection of gift items on Portlaoise's Main Street. Visiting Nook and Cranny is a heartwarming experience, with its warm and welcoming atmosphere.making it a truly unique and memorable shopping destination, said the judges Ladonna McCartan spoke at the ceremony. Initially, we were absolutely honoured to be listed as a Top 30 stores in Ireland and thereby invited these glitzy awards. It meant that our store is included alongside so many other great stores around the country. But then, to have Nook and Cranny named as the National Lifestyle Store of The Year category 2023 sure, were on top of the world to bring that one back to Portlaoise with us, she said She explained what the win means. This is a wonderful award for our business which has been looking after customers on Portlaoise Main Street and beyond for over eight years now. The award is a direct reflection of our team and their absolute dedication to Nook and Cranny. It recognises our customers that return time and again because they love to find a gift thats a little out of the ordinary. These wonderful customers also value their community & having their main street filled with an array of independent stores in our gorgeous town, she said. The celebrations have continued in-store for the entire month of November, where customers have been invited to enjoy a glass of chilled bubbly as well as enter into a draw to win a beautiful tray framed piece of art entitled Colour by Irish Artist Rita Oates. MORE BELOW PICTURE. Pictured: Ladonna & Mark Healy at REI 2023 Awards Ladonna says there is much fulfilment from being a standalone business. Being an independent retailer has brought so much colour to our lives through joy, purpose, laughter and many of lifes moments that we share with the people we meet every single day. Im talking about our customers, supply partners, colleagues in business, local courier, local electrician, local painter, local sign company, local plumber. Its because of this supportive tribe, that we feel so extremely privileged to be able to come to work each day to do what we love and to hopefully in turn share even more colour in the process. As always, the paint strokes of this particular artist's wonderful piece are the perfect reflection of how we view the people who share our path. We hope the lucky winner of this gift from us all at Nook and Cranny Gift Store enjoys the piece and its warm sentiment as much as we do, she said. The winner will be announced in store and online at 7 pm on Thursday, November 30. As wisely commented on their dedicated Reddit community just two days ago, capybaras may just be the single greatest thing the universe has ever produced, with the majesty of all the world's natural and manmade wonders paling before their fuzzy magnificence. Such is the bliss I experienced on a recent outing image to the Phoenix Herpetological Society, which despite the name plays host to a variety of mammals in addition to literally hundreds of rescued reptiles. Among these are a pair of capybaras, including the one I got to have a hands-on experience with. Meet Tater Tot, the world's largest rodent. Everyone loves capybaras, including some creatures that love to eat them, and humans are certainly no exception. For those wondering, he felt like a particularly hairy coconut, and was very keen on showing off his weird rat teeth as he chowed down on a feast of mixed vegetables. Amazingly, the PHS is the only place in the entire US where you can actually touch a capybara (legally, that is) and get a hefty side order of snakes for your trouble- so if you're ever down in Arizona, it might literally be a once in a lifetime experience. You'd be helping out a worthy nonprofit while you're there too, so it's a win win! Laois Offaly TD TD Barry Cowen has thrown his hat in the ring to contest the next year's European Parliament elections. The brother of former Taoiseach Barry Cowen is reportedly campaigning to be a Fianna Fail candidate in the Midland North West constituency. Laois-Offaly was recently put back into to European constituency by the Electoral Commission. Dep Cowen, who was elected to the Dail in 2011, confirmed his intentions in a press release issued by the Fianna Fail press office. "At a special meeting of the Fianna Fail organisation in Offaly on Monday night, I notified my colleagues that I plan to put my name forward for selection as a candidate for the European Elections next June. "With the addition of Laois-Offaly into the Midlands-North-West constituency, I feel now is the right time for me to try and deliver for my constituency at a European level, having been a councillor for 20 years and a TD for 12 years. "I will be focused on the ongoing transition led by the EU towards sustainability across many sectors key to our success as an economy - food and farming, energy and enterprise, and making sure Irish views and interests are reflected in EU policies. "Reinstating a seat or seats in this constituency will be important for the party and I believe I can deliver that having successfully contested many elections with a strong network and family history of pro-European public service. "I am honoured at the support from the Fianna Fail organisation, locally and nationally, for me to pursue the nomination and seek to win back a seat for Fianna Fail in the Midlands-North-West constituency," said the statement. If successful the former agriculture minister would be the latest big name to depart Dail politics in Laois and Offaly. Fine Gael's Charlie Flanagan will not be contesting the next General Election when Laois and Offaly will be split into two three-seat constituencies. Were he to be elected, it would end a link between the Cowen family and Dail politics. His father Ber was first elected to the Dail in 1969. He was also a senator. Dep Cowen's cabinet career ended soon after it began in 2020 after a controversy over drink driving. He was removed from his role by the then Taoiseach and his party leader Micheal Martin. He was part of the negotiation team that helped form the current coalition with Fine Gael and the Green Party. An auctioneer, Dep Cowen is a former Offaly County Councillor. A tourist travelling Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way got "stranded" in a rural pub after her van got stuck in the mud, leading to one of the best nights of her trip. Vanlifer Jess Glynn has been travelling the country in her converted campervan and posting her adventures to her TikTok account (@itsjessglynn) - and she certainly made the best of a bad situation during her travels in Mayo recently. After realising that her van was stuck in the mud, Jess, who documented the experience in a video posted to TikTok, was forced to "hang her head in shame" and walk into the local pub in Ballycastle, Healy's, to find some assistance. The pub owner agreed to help her first thing in the morning and so began "one of the best nights of her entire trip" involving wine, music, company and craic. "Freaking stuck in the mud. God damn it. Cannot believe I've done this," Jess exclaims at the start of the video as she sits behind the steering wheel of her van. "Now I have to go hold my head in shame, go into the pub, and require some assistance. Oh my God, I'm such an idiot." Little did Jess know her luck was about to change. "When I walked into the pub, there were four local men sitting at the bar, and the owner told me he was gonna help me out first thing in the morning. "So now that I was there for the night, the lads started buying me glasses of wine. And I was not going to say no to that," she says with a chuckle. "And it only got better from there when I discovered one of the guys could play a bloody tin whistle." In the video, Jess shows a host of locals including one man playing a tin whistle while one woman plays the guitar softly. "Getting stranded in the car park of a pub in Mayo turned out to be one of the best nights of my entire trip," Jess reflects. "I've now had four glasses of wine and it's my bedtime. Finishing her video the following morning before setting off for her next destination, Jess said: "Please support this local business. This is Healy's pub down in Ballycastle. "Not only did they help me get out of the mud, they also gave me the best memory to look back on." You can watch the video posted to TikTok below: Video credit: @itsjessglynn TikTok The son of Irish businessman Ben Dunne has described him as a good, decent, generous, loving Irishman, who had a passion for business. Mr Dunne died over a week ago after suffering from a heart attack while on a trip to Dubai. The popular Cork-born man was a high-profile figure in Irish life, having been a former director of the family firm Dunnes Stores as well as the owner of a chain of gyms. In 1981, Ben Dunne was kidnapped by the IRA and was released seven days later after a ransom was reportedly paid, an event that his son said his father held no ill feeling towards. Hundreds of people attended his funeral mass on Tuesday, including Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald and businessman Larry Goodman. Ben Dunne gym staff formed a guard of honour at the gates of St Mochtas Church in Porterstown, Clonsilla. Mr Dunnes wicker coffin was carried into St Mochtas Church in Porterstown, Clonsilla, for the funeral mass. Addressing mourners, Mark Dunne said his father was incredibly ambitious and driven in each of his endeavours, and loved the fitness industry. He was razor sharp with numbers when it came to looking at business financials, or the figures, as he would call them. He said he was brilliant and loving to his children and grandchildren, and would call them regularly to check in on them. He added: My father endured many things with his siblings, some private and some, unfortunately, very public. However, at the core of a family business is that word family, and family always finds a way of going back to its roots. So I want to acknowledge as well that today is a particularly difficult day for my aunt Margaret. Margaret and dad spoke to each other almost daily about many things. Whilst they were both different people with different opinions, they loved each other dearly and they have been a great source of strength to each other over the years. His kidnapping in 1981 was hugely traumatic on him and it was the source of much of his personal troubles throughout the years that followed. But time is a great healer and he held no ill feeling towards his captors. He did the Christian thing and forgave. Recalling his fathers humour, Mark Dunne told a story involving his fathers dyslexia. I recall one time walking into our offices with him when he saw a man park his car in a disabled space. As the man got out of his vehicle, he roared at him What are you doing parking there? Ive a prosthetic, came the reply from the man. Well I have a prostate too, and you dont see me parking in a disabled spot. That was dad. Mark Dunne said his father had been quite reflective and philosophical on the trip in Dubai, and had revealed to him a prayer that he said to himself each night. So far, all my nights have been followed by more days. But in this world of mine, a night will come when there will be no more day for me. Lord, look after me today. He thanked emergency personnel, hotel staff in Dubai, Irish officials who provided consular assistance and others who helped in the aftermath of his fathers death. Mark Dunne told mourners his father never liked going to funerals but wanted a full report from ones his son had attended. This is one funeral that, sadly, he must attend, Mark Dunne told the congregation, adding he would be pleased to see so many people in attendance. Over the past week, weve received so many messages of condolences from so many people. And the overarching theme in all of these messages has been about dads generosity, and generous he was, sometimes to a fault. He looked after so many people and organisations, and he never looked for public acknowledgement of it. He simply just wanted to help. He was humble in his generosity. He wasnt looking to use it as any kind of public redemption. In fact, that openness and willingness to lay out his flaws was a major part of what people found so appealing about him and his personality. The parish priest told the congregation that Ben Dunne had a wonderful character, personality and charm, and said that he, like many, made mistakes. He said that we are living in very fragile and uncertain times, referencing riots in Dublin city on Thursday as events in the streets of our capital city. He said it was important to reflect on the true meaning of what our lives are all about, and to reflect on the use of social media, which he said was saturated by gossip. Gossip has been described as the devils radio please dont be one of its announcers. Gossip destroys and hurts so many people, he said. Irish Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has said a strong and visible police presence including four public order teams will remain in place in Dublin city centre up to and during the Christmas period. There had been pressure on Ms McEntee to respond to safety issues in the Irish capital before disorder broke out last week, resulting in cars, buses and trams being burned and shops being damaged and looted. In the wake of the riot, which was preceded by a stabbing attack in the city centre, the minister faced calls to resign as scrutiny of the policing response grew. Holding a press conference following a Cabinet briefing which discussed last Thursdays riot in the city, the minister said she had asked the Policing Authority to look at further support for the Irish police service An Garda Siochana in terms of equipment and guidance on the appropriate use of force. Ms McEntee also reiterated her belief that the police response to a riot in Dublin was absolutely exceptional, but added that there are lessons to be learned. She said: I do not want any member of An Garda Siochana looking over their shoulder unsure as to what type of level of force that they can use in responding to these type of difficult scenarios. Asked if gardai could not have stopped the burning of vehicles and looting of shops, Ms McEntee said: These are situations which unfold in a split second. I dont think anybody could have predicted what would have led to Thursday nights events. I think the way in which and the manner in which and the time in which the gardai responded was excellent. Asked if this meant nothing could have been done to prevent the riot, Ms McEntee added: There are always lessons to be learned. The minister said she believed the situation could have escalated even further but said order was restored by gardai. Ms McEntee also said the heads of a bill for the use of facial recognition technology, which could cover its use for investigating riots, would be before Government prior to Christmas. Asked if additional resources for arming additional gardai with firearms would be provided, Ms McEntee said there had been no discussions and no moves to change the current structure of a mostly unarmed police force. Two new all-Ireland research centres on climate and sustainable food are to be created with funding of 70 million euro (60.7 million). The funding will bring together academics, industry and policymakers across the Irish Government, UK Government and Stormont departments. One research centre will look at climate, biodiversity and water, while the other will be dedicated to researching sustainable and resilient food systems. Each will be led by a team of academics from Great Britain, Ireland and Northern Ireland. The investment was unveiled by Irish and UK science ministers Simon Harris and Michelle Donelan along with Katrina Godfrey, permanent secretary at Stormonts Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera). The two ministers are attending the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference in Dublin. Mr Harris said: Addressing climate change and achieving sustainable and resilient food systems are intertwined challenges facing us all. This investment in two new collaborative research centres is a major development in addressing these pressing issues in a co-ordinated and concerted way. Im delighted to see the very best minds and methods being brought together to create a dynamic research network across Ireland, Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Minister @SimonHarrisTD and Secretary of State @michelledonelan will today attend the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference (BIIGC) and announce 70 million in joint funding to create two research centres. Read more: https://t.co/YsAmtz0UdM pic.twitter.com/tCOEVGVALH Department of Further and Higher Education (@DeptofFHed) November 28, 2023 Ms Donelan said: As I know from my own family links, UK and Ireland share deep ties and in todays fast-moving world, we share many of the same challenges too. From our groundbreaking international work on AI, to our deal to join Horizon, the UK is determined to seize the opportunities for growth and prosperity that can be delivered when we work together on science and tech with our neighbours. By bringing together the genius that exists across our islands, we will unlock the new ideas and inventions that will help us secure our food chains and tackle climate change, delivering innovative solutions for global good. Ms Godfrey said: The co-centres programme is an excellent example of government funders working in partnership to support researchers and industry who will undertake cutting-edge research in areas of mutual economic, societal, health and environmental importance. I am particularly pleased that researchers in Northern Ireland will be integral to the establishment of these co-centres. The programme is funded over six years, with up to 40 million euro (34.7 million) from Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), up to 17 million from Daera, and up to 12 million through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and is co-funded by industry. The two new co-centres will formally commence activities in January and will be funded until 2030. The programme takes forward commitments in the New Decade, New Approach Agreement to establish all-island research and innovation hubs. Seven Laois students are carrying out a tricky little fundraiser on Portlaoise Main Street this weekend, ahead of a huge mercy mission to India. The girls are Transition Year students at Scoil Chriost Ri in Portlaoise, and they are going to fly to Kolkata to volunteer help and bring money for the HOPE Immersion Programme, which helps people suffering in slums and abject poverty. The volunteers are Roisin Murphy, Abbey Louise Byrne, Tilly O'Donnell, Aoibheann Stynes, Robyn O'Callaghan, Ailbhe Carroll and Carina O'Hanlon. They must each raise 2,500 to donate to the programmes helping street children and slum dwellers. To kickstart that huge fundraising goal, the seven are going to line up coins along Main Street, starting in Market Square and see how far they can get. That attempt will take place this Saturday, December 1, from 9am to 4pm, and the public are asked to help the girls by filling their donation buckets as they go. The girls will also be selling HOPE chocolates at 2 each. They have an online fundraiser too, and thanks to local businesses are selling raffle tickets for hampers. The seven decided to volunteer for the five day trip in October 2024, after being inspired by a talk in their school by HOPE's Leinster fundraising and schools officer Sheila Zebedee. "It will be great to see first hand the change that the money we raise could make, and how HOPE projects make a difference," Roisin told the Leinster Express. "It's meant to be lifechanging. We will see the medical care in the hospitals, and be walking through slums," Ailbhe said. While in Kolkata, the group will visit HOPE's residential childcare homes, hospital, education centres and creches, life skills vocational centre and most of all, meet street children and slum dwelling families who are born into a world of abject poverty. "HOPE's vision is of a world where it never hurt to be a child, and we are very grateful to Scoil Chriost Ri for helping us to realise this vision," Sheila Zebedee said. The seven girls also have set up an online fundraiser, see the link here. see their Instagram page here. People First Credit Union reminds local volunteers and charity groups to apply for their Community Champions Awards by Monday 4th December. The 'Community Champions Award', a remarkable 10,000 award for one volunteer group is aimed at recognising and supporting the tireless efforts of local volunteers within our common bond area of Portlaoise, Abbeyleix, Athy, Stradbally and surrounding areas within our common bond area. The award was announced during the prestigious Laois Community & Voluntary Awards ceremony held on the 3rd of November, where the spirit of community service and dedication was celebrated. With a heartfelt gratitude for the exceptional contributions of volunteers, People First Credit Union introduced this prestigious 10,000 award, emphasizing its commitment to fostering community development and well-being. The award is designated to empower a volunteer group within our common bond, with a vision to generate sustainable benefits for both the group and the wider community. In her speech at the event, Carol Murphy, Marketing Manager for People First Credit Union expressed, "Our credit union is powered by the spirit of volunteerism, and it is through our collective efforts that we've been able to give back a staggering 38,000 this year to various local groups, charities, and clubs through our Community Funding Project." She continued, "Tonight, I have the privilege of introducing a brand new initiative that is close to our hearts - the 'Community Champions Award' by People First Credit Union." The 'Community Champions Award' application process is made simple for all interested parties. Application forms are available at all People First Credit Union branches in Portlaoise, Abbeyleix, Athy, and Stradbally, or can be accessed and filled in online through the People First Credit Union website www.peoplefirstcu.ie/communityawards. The submission deadline for all applications is Monday, December 4th. The recipient of the award will be publicly announced before Christmas, with an assurance of continued support and collaboration throughout 2024 to ensure the success of the community project. Furthermore, People First Credit Union extends its gratitude to Laois County Council, Laois Public Participation Network and their own voluntary Community Funding Committee for their unwavering support and collaboration with this significant initiative. Voluntary groups interested in applying for the 'Community Champions Award' are encouraged to visit the People First Credit Union website for further details and assistance. For more information and updates, please visit the People First Credit Union website at https://peoplefirstcu.ie/communityawards. *SPONSORED CONTENT Better public swimming facilities are on the way following the successful launch of a pop-up swimming pool in north Kildare. Cllr Nuala Killeen asked Kildare County Council to commit to purchasing a larger pop up pool for the county considering the significant financial saving and accessibility for numerous residents following the successful trial of the Swim Ireland pop up pool in Leixlip. Cllr Killeen said that a permanent structure is not likely to be approved in the short term - but this should remain the goal given gather is no public pool in north Kildare. She said some 5,800 people visited the pop up facility and said there is a decades long wait for a pool in Leixlip. This is a perfect interim solution to make swimming accessible, said Cllr Killeen. Cllr Ciara Galvin said the project had been one of Swim Irelands most successful and it was used by a significant number of school children. Read more Kildare news She said the project has been extended to December and represents good value for money. Cllr Angela Feeney said it should not be a replacement for a permanent pool which is the real answer. KCC official Marian Higgins said the council is in discussion with Swim Ireland with a view to advancing a solution for north Kildare which will present more options to provide swimming facilities. Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. Excitement and Fanfare Mark the Opening of Ningde's Seventh Large Yellow Croaker Festival NINGDE, China, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As reported by the Min Dong Daily Media Center and Jiaocheng District Media Center, the Seventh China (Ningde) Large Yellow Croaker Culture Festival kicked off with fanfare on the morning of November 25 at Ningde City Exhibition Center. This year's theme, "Mountains and Seas of Ningde, Capital of Yellow Croaker," sets the stage for a celebration that merges natural beauty with culinary heritage. Organized by the Ningde Municipal Committee of the CPC, the Ningde Municipal People's Government, and the China Fisheries Association, carried out by Jiaocheng District Committee of the CPC and TopBrand Union (Beijing) Consulting Company, and managed by the People's Government of Jiaocheng District, the festival is a vibrant showcase of Ningde's famous large yellow croaker. It's a cultural immersion, aiming to introduce the "national fish" to a broader audience and extend its appeal beyond China's borders. The opening festivities of the festival were marked by notable events, including the launch of the comprehensive Blue Book on the Large Yellow Croaker Industry's Development and the introduction of the "Fujian Provincial Local Standard for Cultivating Large Yellow Croaker Grades and Specifications." A unique highlight was the inaugural naming ceremony of the Ningde Large Yellow Croaker High-speed Train. The ceremony also celebrated industry excellence, presenting awards in categories like "Leading Enterprises," "Annual Industry Leaders," and "Emerging Industry Figures." Additionally, a series of strategic partnerships focusing on exports, domestic procurement, and scientific research were signed, laying a robust foundation for the large yellow croaker industry's development and expansion from local markets in Ningde to the national and international stages. The opening festivities of the festival included several key events, among them the release of the comprehensive Blue Book on the Development of the Large Yellow Croaker Industry and the unveiling of the "Fujian Provincial Local Standard for Cultivating Large Yellow Croaker Grades and Specifications." The inaugural naming ceremony of the Ningde Large Yellow Croaker High-speed Train was a unique feature. The event also recognized industry leaders with awards in categories such as "Leading Enterprises," "Annual Industry Leaders," and "Emerging Industry Figures." Furthermore, the signing of strategic partnerships, covering exports, domestic procurement, and scientific research, established a solid foundation for elevating the large yellow croaker industry from its roots in Ningde to prominence throughout China and around the globe. Ningde, celebrated for its winding 1,046-kilometer coastline and a vast 44,600-square-kilometer sea area, comprising approximately a third of the province's total, stands as a powerhouse in the fishery sector. The region's abundant fishery resources earmark it as an ideal location for marine aquaculture. Focused on enhancing key regional industries, the local government prioritizes the large yellow croaker, spearheading efforts under its "National Fish Plan." This comprehensive strategy aims to elevate the entire value chain?from breeding and cultivation to processing, branding, and marketing?through the ambitious "Eight Ones" project. The objective is to establish Ningde as a benchmark for exceptional growth in the national fishery industry. In 2022, Ningde's aquatic product output was an impressive 1.072 million tons, resulting in a fishery output value of 34.32 billion yuan. Notably, the large yellow croaker contributed 194,700 tons to this figure, accounting for over 80% of the national output, valued at 8.875 billion yuan, and pushing the total industry chain value beyond 10 billion yuan. In the economically vibrant Jiaocheng District of Ningde city, celebrated for its extensive marine resources, the 211-kilometer coastline and 280 square kilometers of sea area are pivotal for advanced aquaculture. The district is home to three innovative green net cage aquaculture demonstration areas in Sandu'ao Baijiwan, Dawan, and Qiuzhu, showcasing sustainable practices. As the country's largest yellow croaker breeding region in China, Jiaocheng District spearheads the full spectrum of the industry, encompassing artificial breeding, cultivation, processing, sales, and export. This all-encompassing industry chain has reached a value of 11 billion yuan, cementing the district as a key area for this distinct Chinese agricultural product and earning it the accolade "Home of Chinese Large Yellow Croaker." The district is home to 35 large yellow croaker fry production companies, collectively breeding over 1.5 billion fry annually, contributing to more than 45% of China's total production. Accompanying these are 130 large yellow croaker aquaculture firms and 450 individual farmers. The 2022 aquaculture output was a notable 66,000 tons, valued at 3.762 billion yuan, and accounting for over 85% of the national large yellow croaker sales volume. These firms hold 576 general trademarks, including the esteemed "Ningde Large Yellow Croaker," a leading regional public brand in the aquatic product sector, ranking among the top 100 agricultural product regional public brands, and recognized as one of China's "Ten Treasures" in the quality miles campaign. SOURCE TopBrand Union (Beijing) Consulting Company 28 november 2023 at 05:46 News published onand distributed by: The US Customs and Border Patrol intercepted more than 2,500 syringes of vaginal tightening gel that arrived at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport from a Hong Kong. The injections were on their way to a residence in Woodbury, Minnesota. Resale value is around $19,000. "This dangerous shipment is another example of someone using unregulated gels to prey on unknowing consumers with false promises," said LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, Director, Field Operations-Chicago Field Office. "Not knowing what you are inserting in your body can be deadly, and consumers believe they are getting a discount, when in fact they are purchasing an inferior product with unapproved ingredients." According to the Border Patrol, "the shipment was found to contain commercial quantities of a gel inside injectables and required the user to wear chemical resistant gloves when handling. The packages containing the cosmetic gel were found in pink packaging appearing ready for resale." WESTERN COPPER AND GOLD ANNOUNCES FURTHER INVESTMENT AND ENTRY INTO A NEW INVESTOR RIGHTS AGREEMENT WITH RIO TINTO VANCOUVER, BC, Nov. 28, 2023 /CNW/ - Western Copper and Gold Corporation ("Western" or the "Company") (TSX: WRN) (NYSE American: WRN) announces a further C$6 million investment and the entry into an amended and restated investor rights agreement by Rio Tinto Canada Inc. ("Rio Tinto"), to continue to advance the Company's Casino Project in the Yukon. Rio Tinto has agreed to subscribe for and purchase 3,468,208 common shares at a price of C$1.73 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately C$6 million, resulting in Rio Tinto's ownership increasing to approximately 9.7% of Western's outstanding common shares. Western remains the sole owner of the Casino Project and will continue to be the operator. The Company will use the proceeds of this further investment to fund specific areas of study, specifically around providing infrastructure for the Casino Project, and streamlining the regulatory process, with the aim of progressing through permitting to a development phase for the Casino Project. "We are pleased that Rio Tinto has elected to continue to invest and work with Western to advance the Casino Project, with a focus on furthering infrastructure development and streamlining the regulatory process," said Paul West-Sells, President and CEO. "We are pleased to continue to work with Western to advance the Casino Project," said Bold Baatar, Chief Executive, Copper, Rio Tinto. In connection with this further investment by Rio Tinto, the Company and Rio Tinto will enter into an amended and restated investor rights agreement, whereby, subject to certain conditions, including ownership thresholds, Rio Tinto will have certain rights for a period of 18 months from closing of the investment, including the right to appoint: one member to the Casino Project Technical and Sustainability Committee Project Technical and Sustainability Committee one non-voting observer to attend all meetings of the board of directors of the Company one director of the Company, if Rio Tinto's ownership increases to at least 12.5% up to three secondees to the Casino Project In addition, Rio Tinto will have a right to participate in future equity issuances to maintain its ownership in the Company and will be provided with a one-time "demand registration right" and "piggy-back registration rights." Under the amended and restated investor rights agreement, for a period of 18 months, Rio Tinto has also agreed: to vote any shares in favor of each director nominated by the board of directors of the Company for election by shareholders not to acquire any securities of the Company, subject to certain exceptions not to sell, transfer, offer or otherwise dispose of any shares, subject to certain exceptions The closing of this investment is expected to occur on or about December 12, 2023 and is subject to regulatory approval, including that of the Toronto Stock Exchange and the NYSE American LLC. The common shares will be subject to a statutory hold period in accordance with applicable securities legislation. ABOUT WESTERN COPPER AND GOLD CORPORATION Western Copper and Gold Corporation is developing the Casino Project, Canada's premier copper-gold mine in the Yukon Territory and one of the most economic greenfield copper-gold mining projects in the world. For more information, visit www.westerncopperandgold.com. On behalf of the board, "Paul West-Sells" Dr. Paul West-Sells President and CEO Western Copper and Gold Corporation Cautionary Disclaimer Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Information This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, including statements with respect to the anticipated use of proceeds from the investment, the rights to be provided to Rio Tinto and the restrictions imposed on Rio Tinto pursuant to the amended and restated investor rights agreement, and the expected closing date for the investment. Statements that are not historical fact are "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward looking information" as that term is defined in National Instrument 51-102 ("NI 51-102") of the Canadian Securities Administrators (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "plans", "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "potential", "possible" and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions or results "will", "may", "could" or "should" occur or be achieved. In making the forward-looking statements herein, the Company has applied certain material assumptions including, but not limited to, the assumption that general business conditions will not change in a materially adverse manner. Forward-looking statements are statements about the future and are inherently uncertain, and actual results, performance or achievements of Western and its subsidiaries may differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements due to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors. Such risks and other factors include, among others, risks involved in fluctuations in gold, copper and other commodity prices and currency exchange rates; uncertainties related to raising sufficient financing in a timely manner and on acceptable terms; and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in Western's AIF and Form 40-F, and other information released by Western and filed with the applicable regulatory agencies. Western's forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, expectations and opinions of management on the date the statements are made, and Western does not assume, and expressly disclaims, any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation. For the reasons set forth above, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. SOURCE Western Copper and Gold Corporation 28 november 2023 at 06:00 News published onand distributed by: EPRI Launches Groundbreaking Electric Transportation Grid Planning Tool EPRI releases first-of-its-kind grid planning resource to identify when, where, and how much load electric vehicles will represent across the entire U.S. electrical grid as the utility industry prepares to meet the needs of the coming wave of transportation electrification. PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its EVs2Scale2030tm initiative, EPRI ? with support from truck and car manufacturers, fleet operators, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the DOE National Labs, RMI, and others ? released today eRoadMAPtm, an interactive online resource intended to help electric power companies and industry stakeholders effectively plan for the power and infrastructure needed to serve light-, medium-, and heavy-duty electric vehicles (EVs). "If you can't measure it, you can't manage it," said EPRI Director of Transportation Britta Gross . This free and public tool allows users to explore how quickly EVs are expected in different regions, and identifies energy needs across the U.S. at the individual feeder level?where critical utility planning occurs. To highlight both near-term and future energy needs, eRoadMAP incorporates the electrification plans of critical industry stakeholders as well as the future energy needs to support full electrification of the on-road transportation sector. This tool is a work in progress and will continue to be updated and improved with additional data. Future plans for the mapping tool include integrating important demographic data and other planning resources to help identify and prioritize areas where transportation electrification-related investments can be made to address specific market needs, including major freight hubs, corridors and disadvantaged communities. "If you can't measure it, you can't manage it," said EPRI Director of Transportation Britta Gross. "Despite the critical need, there has not been a single, comprehensive database to help with grid planning and cross-industry decision-making for electrified transportation. eRoadMAP will connect the dots for industry and government to work in collaboration to meet current and future EV infrastructure needs," she added. "As we work to decarbonize the transportation sector, visualizing the year-over-year anticipated grid loads using eRoadMAP will be critical to important planning conversations that enable the timely buildout of charging and grid infrastructure," said Michael Berube, DOE's deputy assistant secretary for sustainable transportation and fuels. "We look forward to continued work with EPRI, leveraging DOE and the national labs' longstanding expertise in modeling the energy needs for electric vehicles, to increase coverage of ground transportation sources and continually improve this valuable tool's projection accuracy." "Today, one in seven of all EVs in the nation are in PG&E's service area. We are committed to further accelerating transportation electrification to promote healthy communities and lower energy costs for our customers' families and businesses. To unleash the full potential of EVs, we must proactively plan for a resilient grid to accommodate new demand from EVs. eRoadMAP will give us insight into our customers' long-term plans, which we can utilize to better prepare our grid for future electrification demand," said Mike Delaney, PG&E VP of utility partnerships and innovation. "The availability of reliable electric charging infrastructure remains a critical bottleneck affecting the pace of commercial electric vehicle adoption and current infrastructure construction timelines are measured in years, not weeks or months. We applaud EPRI's leadership in releasing the first iteration of eRoadMAP through the EVs2Scale2030 initiative, which can inform critical planning and proactive investment decisions to expedite infrastructure construction. At the same time, eRoadMAP can also contribute to shaping future policy efforts and regulatory rulemaking," said Rakesh Aneja, Daimler Truck North America Vice President and Head, zero-emissions transformation group. To learn more about eRoadMAP, visit https://eroadmap.epri.com/. Contact: Samantha Gilman Communications Manager 980-348-8783 [email protected] About EVs2Scale2030 EVs2Scale2030tm initiative is a three-year commitment focused on leveraging industry scale to galvanize and align critical market stakeholders as electric vehicles are deployed at scale to achieve 2030 electrification goals. EPRI will leverage its industry partnerships to mobilize utilities, fleet operators, the automotive industry, and charging providers, and coordinate with federal agencies and labs, to support the rapid deployment of millions of electric vehicles ? while minimizing grid impacts and enabling critical benefits to the nation's grid. To learn more visit: EVs2Scale2030. About EPRI Founded in 1972, EPRI is the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, with offices around the world. EPRI's trusted experts collaborate with more than 450 companies in 45 countries, driving innovation to ensure the public has clean, safe, reliable, affordable, and equitable access to electricity across the globe. Together, we are shaping the future of energy. SOURCE EPRI 28 november 2023 at 06:00 News published onand distributed by: Datadobi Announces Enhancements to StorageMAP for the Most Comprehensive Unstructured Data Management at Massive Scale Datadobi, a global leader in vendor-neutral unstructured data management, today announced the latest release of its StorageMAP platform. StorageMAP 6.6 adds important enhancements that provide customers and channel partners with an even more powerful solution for analyzing, securing, and taking automated actions on all types of unstructured data at massive scale. In doing so, organizations are able to gain optimum value from their unstructured data, while reducing cost, risk, and carbon footprint. StorageMAP 6.6 enhancements include: StorageMAP Support for Object Storage : What's New? StorageMAP can now analyze object data stored on any S3-compliant platform, offering users a complete view of their unstructured data, including both File (SMB and NFS) and Object (S3) data. Significance : This enhancement enables organizations to manage and migrate their data seamlessly, including object migrations, all within the StorageMAP platform. : Richer File Copy and File Movement Functionality : What's New? Users can now search for files based on specific metadata criteria and copy those files to a file or object target. For instance, they can easily copy files from a file server to a data lake for normalization and aggregation prior to copying (or moving) training datasets to apps for analytics and/or AI processing. Significance: This enhancement provides users with more flexibility and control over their data copying and moving processes. : As a result of the enhancements, StorageMAP remains at the forefront of enabling its users to overcome the following challenges: Unlocking the Value of Data: By offering deeper insights and data handling capabilities, StorageMAP 6.6 helps businesses leverage their unstructured data for competitive differentiation, including initiatives such as AI/ML. It transforms data from being a cost center into a profit-generating competitive advantage. By offering deeper insights and data handling capabilities, StorageMAP 6.6 helps businesses leverage their unstructured data for competitive differentiation, including initiatives such as AI/ML. It transforms data from being a cost center into a profit-generating competitive advantage. Lack of Visibility into Unstructured Data Assets : StorageMAP 6.6 addresses the challenge of limited visibility into unstructured data by providing groundbreaking object and file analytics. This deep visibility allows organizations to understand and manage their vast unstructured data assets more effectively. : StorageMAP 6.6 addresses the challenge of limited visibility into unstructured data by providing groundbreaking object and file analytics. This deep visibility allows organizations to understand and manage their vast unstructured data assets more effectively. Scalability Issues: Many businesses struggle to manage the massive scale of their unstructured data, often measured in petabytes and billions of files. StorageMAP 6.6 offers a comprehensive user interface that empowers users to gain insights and take action on data at this enormous scale, overcoming scalability challenges. Many businesses struggle to manage the massive scale of their unstructured data, often measured in petabytes and billions of files. StorageMAP 6.6 offers a comprehensive user interface that empowers users to gain insights and take action on data at this enormous scale, overcoming scalability challenges. Complexity in Data Management: Unstructured data environments can be extremely complex. StorageMAP 6.6 simplifies data management by offering a user-friendly interface optimized for large-scale workloads. This helps organizations navigate their data with ease. Unstructured data environments can be extremely complex. StorageMAP 6.6 simplifies data management by offering a user-friendly interface optimized for large-scale workloads. This helps organizations navigate their data with ease. Inefficient Data Handling: StorageMAP 6.6 provides analytics, organization, and data handling capabilities that were previously unattainable at such a scale. This enables channel partners and end clients to optimize costs and reduce risks, ensuring more efficient and cost-effective data handling. "As a longtime strategic partner of Datadobi, we've seen firsthand how StorageMAP streamlines data management for customers. The latest release takes this to the next level by offering a single pane of glass for managing file and object data at a scale few can comprehend," said Kim Stevens, Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at Climb Channel Solutions. "This will be a game-changer for customers grappling with exponential unstructured data growth. With StorageMAP, they can maximize the value of their data and drive advanced business initiatives such as those powered by analytics-driven insights, machine learning, and AI." Stevens added, "We remain impressed with how Datadobi continues to innovate in ways that strengthen our partnership and allow us to bring even more value to customers." "StorageMAP has always been the most powerful and scalable platform for managing the complexities of unstructured data. With the 6.6 release, Datadobi is raising the bar yet again by bringing analytics and automation to petabyte-scale for the first time," said Carl D'Halluin, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Datadobi. "No other solution on the market comes close to providing this level of visibility, control, and insights across such massive datasets. StorageMAP 6.6 quite simply enables data-driven transformation at a scale previously unimaginable, cementing Datadobi's leadership in solving the biggest data challenges facing global enterprises." To learn more about StorageMAP, please visit: https://datadobi.com/solutions/. About Datadobi Datadobi, a global leader in vendor-neutral unstructured data management, brings order to heterogeneous unstructured storage and hybrid-cloud environments via its StorageMAP platform. StorageMAP software allows IT leaders to go beyond data stored to data managed on-premises and in the cloud. Datadobi helps enterprises manage unstructured data growth through the power of visualization, organization, and action in a single pane of glass. Founded in 2010, Datadobi is a privately held company headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, with subsidiaries in New York, Melbourne, Dusseldorf, and London. For more information, please visit: http://www.datadobi.com and follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Datadobi and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/datadobi/. 28 november 2023 at 09:10 News published onand distributed by: Armis Releases Q4 Update to Its Armis Centrixtm Platform Armis, the asset intelligence cybersecurity company, today announced the availability of version 23.3 of the Armis Centrixtm platform. New enhanced integrations, utilizing Armis' AI Asset Intelligence Engine, enhances organizations' ability to strategically combine comprehensive data and sophisticated intelligence to efficiently drive key security processes and outcomes. Automated ticketing for vulnerability prioritization and remediation and improved management of alerts are some of the developments customers will benefit from. Moreover improvements were added to Armis Centrixtm Connected Medical Device Security solution with focus on biomedical users to help them manage and monitor medical assets more effectively. Enhancements to Armis Centrixtm OT/IoT security solution increases coverage to more use cases and integrates with more OT vendors to increase scale and visibility across different OT networks. "Armis works in lockstep with its customers, developing new features to our platform based on customer growth paths and the challenges they face," said Dana Gilboa, chief product officer, Armis. "This release broadens the use cases and individual toolkits organizations can utilize through the platform as they manage their attack surface. With new techniques for asset discovery on top of existing network traffic analysis and integrations, enterprises can continue to take a proactive stance on risk and attack surface analysis." Version 23.3 also introduces a new user interface, which is more intuitive and includes major dashboard and reporting enhancements as well as new dark mode support. Improvements in user experience were also introduced with new functionality including better management of collectors, boundaries, network discovery, and integrations - which will dramatically speed up, and also automate, case loads to improve team performance. Version 23.3 also brings significant improvements to SOC use cases, including enhancements in alerts which enable globally distributed teams to conduct investigations regardless of their location. Armis Centrixtm, the cyber exposure management platform, is powered by the Armis AI-driven Asset Intelligence Engine, which sees, protects and manages billions of assets around the world in real time. Armis Centrixtm is a seamless, frictionless, cloud-based platform that proactively mitigates all cyber asset risks, remediates vulnerabilities, blocks threats, and protects the entire attack surface. For more information on our platform please visit: Armis Centrixtm. Armis Centrixtm is FedRAMP moderate and DoD IL4 authorized. About Armis Armis, the asset intelligence cybersecurity company, protects the entire attack surface and manages the organization's cyber risk exposure in real time. In a rapidly evolving, perimeter-less world Armis ensures that organizations continuously see, protect and manage all critical assets. Armis secures Fortune 100, 200 and 500 companies as well as national governments, state and local entities to help keep critical infrastructure, economies and society stay safe and secure 24/7. Armis is a privately held company headquartered in California. 28 november 2023 at 09:20 News published onand distributed by: Seve Paeniu (left), Tuvalu's minister of finance, on his arrival on the island of Kioa (Fiji) on August 7, 2023. ANDREW QUILTY/VU FOR LE MONDE This pact could have been a shining example of neighborliness. On Friday, November 10, Australia and the South Pacific country of Tuvalu unveiled the terms of a historic agreement under which Canberra will offer climate asylum to the 11,000 citizens of the small, sea-level archipelago, which is in danger of being swallowed up by the waves before the end of the century. But the text, which still has to be ratified by both parties before coming into effect, is proving controversial in this part of the world, where the climate crisis represents an existential threat for all low-lying island nations. The migration aspect of the agreement is not particularly controversial. Under its terms, 280 Tuvaluan citizens will be offered a special visa each year, enabling them to "live, study and work" in Australia, as well as access to "Australian education, health and key income and family support on arrival." This is the response of Anthony Albanese's Labor government to the Polynesian state's request. "We want to negotiate friendship agreements with countries that share our values, such as Fiji, New Zealand and Australia, so that our citizens can live there without giving up their nationality and enjoy the same socio-economic benefits as the rest of the population," Tuvalu's minister of finance, Seve Paeniu, recently explained to Le Monde. This is the first bilateral agreement that focuses specifically on climate mobility. It was hailed by Tuvalu's prime minister, Kausea Natano, as a "ray of hope" for his country, made up of coral reefs and atolls averaging 2 meters above sea level and already frequently inundated by coastal flooding. "For Tuvaluans, this pact is a bit like an oxygen mask on an airplane. You hope it never comes down, but if you need it, you're very glad it's there," said Jane McAdam, the director of the Andrew & Renata Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, who describes the text as "foundational." A 'band-aid solution' The problem lies in the other part of the agreement. After Article 3, devoted to "human mobility with dignity," Article 4 deals with security issues. Australia promises to come to Tuvalu's aid in the event of military aggression, natural disaster or pandemic but it also gets a say in "any partnership, arrangement or engagement" that Tuvalu might wish to enter into "with any other State or entity on security and defense-related matters." The text continues: "Such matters include but are not limited to defense, policing, border protection, cyber security and critical infrastructure, including ports, telecommunications and energy infrastructure." You have 50% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only. In DepthFighting against climate change implies major transformations over the next decade: electrifying, developing renewable energies and decreasing energy consumption. France's energy system is about to undergo an unprecedented revolution. In fewer than 30 years, everything must change: no more oil and gas imports; a lot more solar panels, wind turbines and bio-energies. Gone will be the gas stations and oil-fired boilers, replaced by electric vehicles, bicycle paths, and heat pumps. Many of the current nuclear power plants will be shut down, due to their age, and new reactors may have begun operating. Almost all of the facilities that will be producing energy in 2050 don't exist today. Is this radical transformation absolutely necessary? And is it inevitable? The answer is yes, if we want to combat climate change, fulfill our commitments, and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. To do this, we need to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible. In France, the energy sector is responsible for around 80% of these emissions. And fossil fuels, which are at the root of the climate crisis, currently account for 63% of the country's energy consumption. To move away from coal, oil and gas, we need a complete transformation. It must start now, and the next 10 years will be particularly decisive. 1 - WHY THE FUTURE WILL BE ELECTRIC There is one path toward decarbonisation on which everyone agrees: the need to electrify. Combustion-engine cars must be replaced by electric vehicles, gas-fired boilers by heat pumps, and coal-fired blast furnaces by electric furnaces. "Electrification is one of the most important strategies for reducing CO2 emissions from energy," the International Energy Agency has stated. The share of electricity in France's final energy consumption is expected to double by 2050 Evolution of the final consumption of energy in France, according to the most likely scenario according to RTE, France's electric grid operator Present 2030 2035 2050 Fossil fuels Electricity Renewable thermal and waste Decarbonated gas Hydrogen produced with electricity 1 600 TWh Final consumtion Electricity has several advantages: It is more efficient than fossil fuels, it can be used in most sectors and it is easy to decarbonize. Although it may seem omnipresent in our daily lives, it actually accounts for only a quarter of our energy consumption. This share is set to rise sharply: It could account for 35% of consumption by 2030, according to RTE, the operator of France's electricity grid, and more than 55% by 2050. The government is anticipating to reach 31% by 2030. The next stage of the electrification of France is already underway: In 2022, 13% of new vehicles sold were electric, compared with less than 2% in 2019, and sales of heat pumps have increased by 30% compared with 2021. But there's still a long way to go. Electric cars currently account for 1% of the car fleet, and while the government lists around 2.6 million air-to-water heat pumps, France also has some 12 million homes heated with gas and 3 million with oil. You have 75% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only. Tal Goldstein-Almog, 9, Monday November 27, the day after his release, in Petah Tikva, Israel. SCHNEIDER CHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER OF ISRAEL / VIA REUTERS The last day of the truce between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip was even longer than usual for the families of hostages awaiting their release. On Monday, November 27, the Israeli authorities were not satisfied with the list presented by Hamas, while 11 people were still to be released and almost 200 Israelis remained detained in Gaza. The situation was finally resolved at sunset. On the X social network, a message from Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that an agreement "had been reached to extend the two-day humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip" until 6 am on Thursday. An hour later, Israel confirmed the compromise. In the negotiations mentioned by Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday evening, two more days meant that an additional 20 hostages would be released 10 per day, as provided for in the war cabinet decision on November 22. One hundred and fifty Palestinian prisoners can still be released, compared with 50 Israeli hostages. On Tuesday morning, the Israeli government received a list of 10 hostages to be released during the day, without disclosing their names. The extension of the truce, which also allows humanitarian aid to be delivered to the partly destroyed enclave where "the humanitarian situation remains catastrophic," according to UN Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland, was happily received on the international scene. In Washington, John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council, welcomed the fact on Monday that "the humanization pause has already brought a halt to the fighting, together with a surge of humanitarian assistance," adding that the United States would "hope to see the pause extended further, and that will depend upon Hamas continuing to release hostages." "Thats really the goal here: Get all the hostages home with their families where they belong. However long that could take," he insisted. 'Psychological shock' Late on Monday evening, the Israelis finally found out who the latest freed hostages were. After those from the Kfar Aza kibbutz, those from Nir Oz will now be reunited with their loved ones. This locality, close to the border with the Gaza Strip, was also hard hit by the Hamas attack. Out of a total of 400 inhabitants, 25 were killed and 80 remain missing. Among them, how many hostages? At least 11: Two women and nine children were returned to Israel on Monday. After the first American hostage the four-year-old Abigail Edan, freed on Sunday it was the turn of three French-Israelis to regain their freedom, alongside two Germans and six Argentinians. Three of the released minors have dual French-Israeli nationality: Eitan Yahalomi and Erez Kalderon, two 12-year-old boys, and the latter's older sister, Sahar Kalderon, 16. Speaking on French radio station RTL on Tuesday morning, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said that the three youngsters were "doing well," but stressed they had suffered "psychological shock." You have 55% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only. A crowd of migrants gather in Assamaka, Niger, on March 29, 2023. STANISLAS POYET / AFP Niger's junta has signed a decree revoking a 2015 law that was enacted to curb the smuggling of migrants traveling from African countries through a key migration route in Niger en route to Europe, according to a government circular issued on Monday, November 27. "The convictions pronounced pursuant to said law and their effects shall be canceled," Niger's junta leader, General Abdourahmane Tchiani, said in a November 25th decree, a copy of which was seen Monday by The Associated Press. All those convicted under the law would be considered for release by the Ministry of Justice, Ibrahim Jean Etienne, the secretary general of the Justice Ministry said in the circular. The revocation of the law adds a new twist to growing political tensions between Niger and European Union countries that sanctioned the West African nation in response to the July coup that deposed its democratically elected president and brought the junta into power. Niger's Agadez region is a gateway from West Africa to the Sahara and it has been a key route both for Africans trying to reach Libya to cross the Mediterranean to Europe and for those who are returning home with help from the United Nations. Column Article reserve a nos abonnes 'Africa is one of the main playgrounds for large and medium-sized powers competing for influence' But the route has also become a lucrative place for people smugglers, prompting Niger's government, working with the EU, to sign the 2015 law to stop the movement of at least 4,000 migrants that the United Nations estimates travel through Agadez every week without travel documents. The law empowered security forces and the courts to prosecute smugglers who faced up to five years in prison if convicted. While the law transformed Niger into a migration hub housing thousands of migrants being returned to their countries, the UN human rights office has also noted that it "led migrants to seek increasingly dangerous migratory routes, leading to increased risks of human rights violations." Following the July 26 coup, which deposed Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum, Western and European countries suspended aid for health, security and infrastructure needs to the country, which relies heavily on foreign support as one of the least developed nations in the world. Rather than deter the soldiers who deposed Bazoum, the sanctions have resulted in economic hardship for Nigeriens and emboldened the junta. It has set up a transitional government that could remain in power for up to three years. THERE is a great sense of shock in a community close to the Limerick/Tipperary border following news of the sudden passing of Parish Priest, Fr Tadhg Furlong. A most popular cleric in Cappawhite and the surrounding areas, Fr Furlong failed to arrive to celebrate Monday morning Mass and this caused parishioners to call to his home. On arrival there they found that Fr Furlong had passed away overnight. Ordained in 1976, Fr Tadgh was a native of Annacarty, County Tipperary. He was a wonderful priest to his parishioners in Cappawhite and was hugely involved in all aspects of community life. Cappawhite Community Council issued the following statement on social media. "It is with immense sadness that Cappawhite Community Council extend their sympathies to the family, relatives, and friends of Very Rev Tadhg Furlong PP of Cappawhite. "Fr Furlong has been part of our lives here for many years, he has celebrated the good times with us and has also been there for so many of us during the sad occasions. "Those special moments in our lives has seen him at the centre of them; Christenings, First Holy Communions, Confirmation and Weddings. He led us in prayer as we said our final farewell to loved ones. "He visited the sick and the bereaved. He called to the schools, supported our clubs and attended many meetings. He served on the Community Council for many years and was an active member of the current Community Council, organising and helping at events and celebrations. "He will be sorely missed. Cappawhite parish mourns today, for the loss, not only of our Parish Priest, but our friend. Ar dheis De go raibh a anam," concluded the post. Just shy of his 74th birthday, Fr Furlong had a kindly and very spiritual disposition and the esteem in which he is held is evidenced by the huge outpouring of sympathy at his passing on social media. Deepest sympathy is extended to his siblings and to all the extended Furlong family and to the Archbishop and Priests of the Cashel & Emly Diocese. May his gentle soul rest in peace. An 83-year-old woman died Sunday while helping her daughter move out of a 100-year-old house in Salem, South Carolina. Rotten floorboards gave way underfoot and she fell into a 48-ft well long hidden beneath them, reports WHNS's Alvieann Chandler. According to Oconee County property records, the house was originally built in 1920. Deputies say the family knew the floor was rotten, but it's unknown if the family knew about the well shaft. The coroner ruled Downey's death as accidental. The Salem Fire Department and Oconee Emergency Services extricated the woman from the well at around 5:45 p.m. Something similar happened in Massachussets recently, where a man out walking in the woods was unlucky enough to fall into a forgotten well shaft. "Avon police confirmed they had previously visually searched that well," after his body was found in it months after he went missing. In my 100-year-old home there's a "drain" in the basement where if you drop a stone in it you don't hear the plop for a couple of seconds. I knocked around the edges of it to make sure the ancient rat slab was sound, then covered it with a 200 pound steel grate. A RESEARCHER at University of Limerick has been awarded almost 2 million in European Research Council funding to investigate social polarisation. Professor Mike Quayle of ULs Department of Psychology and a Funded Investigator with Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software based at UL, has been awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant for the project ID-COMPRESSION. The project seeks to make a fundamental breakthrough in social identity, social information, and social polarisation, defined as the splitting of society into groups based on class, gender, sexuality etc. The ERC grant will fund an interdisciplinary team of experts in psychology and maths, including several postdocs and fully funded PhD studentships, over five years. This award is one of only seven ERC grants in Ireland in 2023 and one of just two awarded in the social sciences and humanities domain. "We urgently need to understand social polarisation to tackle pressing issues like climate change, and in planning how to respond to future events like pandemics," Professor Quayle explained. "This is especially important since technological advances like social media and AI seem to be accelerating and amplifying polarisation in ways we do not understand well. "Since we tend to trust people much like ourselves, we are more likely to be persuaded by people who differ in a few small respects than by people with radically different perspectives. By aligning with people we already feel affinity to, and by feeling affinity with those we agree with, we create tribes of like-minded others and collectively create social information that encodes our social identities," he continued. "How do we build cohesive societies and simultaneously reach consensus on how to deal with contentious issues? If successful, this project will deliver a model of polarisation that will help us tackle this question." IN A BID to tackle environmental concerns, Councillor Joe Leddin has called for Limerick city to be made a campaign poster-free zone during the upcoming local elections, European Parliament elections, and the election of Limerick's first directly elected mayor. The councillor proposed the motion at the November Metropolitan Meeting of Limerick City and County Council (LCCC), highlighting the unique situation Limerick faces next June, with a minimum of three elections and the possibility of a constitutional referendum. The councillor expressed concern over the wallpapering [of] the city with election posters. I just think it's timely that we have a reasoned debate in terms of the suitability or otherwise of putting up posters. On top of the environmental issues, the Labour councillor also noted the aesthetic concerns they pose. We all know the issues with the cable ties that are swinging around poles, not for weeks and months, but probably for years after an election, and they're a complete eyesore, he stated. Cllr Leddin then acknowledged the financial challenges faced by smaller parties and Independents, suggesting that a poster-free area could level the playing field. I think it would send out a very powerful statement as well as we strive as a city and as a region to improve efforts towards the whole sustainability agenda, he added. Green Party councillor, Sean Hartigan, seconded the motion. STRIDING towards fostering research, development, and innovation (RDI) in the Mid-West, Enterprise Ireland (EI) engaged in a collaborative meeting with the Technological University of the Shannons (TUS) RDI division. The discussion centred around various EI-supported programmes that aim to provide companies and entrepreneurs continuous access to cutting-edge research, equipment, and facilities across the six TU campuses. In June, Ministers Simon Coveney and Dara Calleary, along with Enterprise Ireland, announced a substantial 47 million funding injection for the continuation of the Enterprise Ireland Technology Gateway Programme until 2029. Over 10 million of this funding has been designated for four projects rooted in TUS, along with an extra 5 million in capital funding. This week brought further good news for TUS, as it secured the highest cohort of Enterprise Irelands Capital Equipment Funding for 14 initiatives. This funding injection will fortify TUS gateways, positioning them at the forefront of strategic RDI projects and fostering collaborations between the Technological University sector, Irish SMEs, and multinational companies. Dr Liam Brown, Vice President for Research Development and Innovation at TUS stated: "This is a clear endorsement by Enterprise Ireland on the ability of TUS to deliver projects, processes products and technologies that will make a meaningful impact on the competitiveness of Irish businesses and deliver on the ambitious EI metrics of increased jobs and exports." Through the Technology Gateway Funding, TUS aims to encourage and support businesses in innovating and developing a competitive edge. The focus areas include manufacturing and materials engineering, biotechnology, life sciences, health and food, information and communication technology, digitalisation, design thinking, creative technologies, and sustainable development. The Enterprise Ireland Technology Gateway Programme in TUS is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union through the ERDF Southern, Eastern & Midland Regional Programme 2021-27. These investments are poised to drive innovation, job creation, and economic growth in both the Midlands and Mid-West regions, solidifying Irelands position as a hub for modern research and development. VITALOGRAPH, a global leader in respiratory diagnostics, has announced it's to create 60 new jobs in Limerick and Clare as part of a significant expansion. The company has a significant presence in Cecil Street in Limerick city centre and its primary location for Research & Development and Manufacturing has been Ennis, County Clare, since 1974. Its office in Limerick was opened last year, following the announcement of a 10m investment. The family-owned company was established in Buckinghamshire, England in 1963 and this year marks its 60th anniversary. Commenting on the expansion plans, Ambrose Downey, chief people officer at Vitalograph said: Irelands leadership in the MedTech sector is well documented; we punch well above our weight. Vitalograph is no exception. This recruitment drive is a strategic move to meet the increasing global demand for our respiratory diagnostic solutions and clinical trial services. "Vitalograph is having a meaningful impact tackling some of the worlds biggest healthcare challenges, and by building skilled teams, Vitalograph will be able to reach its fullest potential. The company designs and manufactures medical devices that help clinicians detect, diagnose, and manage respiratory conditions such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cystic fibrosis. The new roles, which will be in Limerick and Clare, include positions in clinical trial support, engineering, IT and finance. Notably, Vitalograph says it is seeking 50 Data Processors (Cough Analysts) to increase its capabilities for clinical trial support. The roles will be a boost for local employment, and a great number of these positions are entry-level, suiting a wide variety of people with diverse skills and backgrounds. Since the early 2000s, Vitalograph has been enabling pharmaceutical companies researching therapies for respiratory conditions through its clinical trial services. The new roles, announced this Tuesday, will bring the company's global headcount to 500, with 350 of those based in Ireland. A new forum, which will focus on facilitating the collaboration, networking, and representation of migrant voices in Limerick, held its first-ever meeting last Thursday. The Limerick Migrant Integration Forum aims to promote inclusive decision-making and social integration in the community. Established by the Limerick City and County Council as part of the EU INTEgreat Project, its inaugural meeting marks a significant step towards empowering migrant communities in the region. The Mayor of the City and County of Limerick, Cllr Gerald Mitchell, emphasised the importance of recognising and celebrating the population's rich diversity. With 17% of Limerick residents born outside of Ireland, exceeding the national average of 15%, he highlighted the invaluable asset that cultural diversity brings to the city and county. "Let us embrace the strength that lies in our diversity," said Mayor Mitchell. LCCC, in partnership with migrant support organisation Doras, is actively involved in delivering EU INTEgreat projects. John Lannon, CEO of Doras, expressed his enthusiasm for the new initiative. "The Migrant Forum is a great opportunity for people to have their voices heard and to get involved in local decision-making, Mr Lannon said. He added that he sees the forum as a vital space that will facilitate engagement and increase diversity in leadership in Limerick. Seamus OConnor, chief officer of the Local Community Development Committee at Limerick City and County Council, echoed this sentiment. He expressed his delight that the council was working to support the establishment of the Limerick Migrant Integration Forum. This Forum will provide an opportunity for all members to engage with various stakeholders in relation to policy development and other issues for the betterment of Limerick as a whole, he added. With over 30 members representing 20 diverse backgrounds, the forum itself reflects the rich cultural tapestry that makes up Limerick. https://www.limerickleader.ie/news/home/1316363/university-of-limerick-and-department-of-health-to-collaborate-on-migrant-and-refugee-health.html The Forum has outlined several objectives, including giving a structured voice to migrant communities, facilitating two-way communication between local agencies and new communities, and influencing local policy development. The group also hopes to encourage interaction among different communities, address barriers affecting migrant communities, and create a platform for learning, support, and sharing personal experiences. If youve ever wanted to hear donkeys whistle, youre in luck, as Gaelic Sounds promises to bring the best of Irish folk music and ballads to the Limerick Following a sell-out Wolfe Tones show last year, The Whistlin Donkeys will headline a fantastic line-up including George Murphy & Rising Sons, All Folkd Up, The Highstool Prophets, and Fieldsy & Guest. Itll be the first time in five years that The Whistlin Donkeys return to Limerick, bringing with them their unique blend of trad and Celtic rock. Hailing from Tyrone, the band have been entertaining crowds since 2011 and has gathered a wide following across the globe, selling out both Vicar Street and the RDS earlier this year, while also enjoying successful tours of America and Australia They wont be the only ones getting people's feet moving at the Ennis Road venue, as George Murphy & The Rising Sons, one of the most exciting voices in Irish folk music, join them off the back of their US tour. Bringing a new-wave feel to the Irish folk circuit, All Folkd Up will utilise their ability to reimagine classics and infuse them with a modern and up-tempo twist that will endear them to fans old and new. The High Stool Prophets will be adding their talent to the mix, after blazing a trail on the Irish folk scene with a string of sold-out shows, TV appearances and new music releases. Just having returned to her native Ireland from England, Dublin-born Fieldsy promises to bring a mixture of her enchanting powerful voice and upbeat rhythmic guitar to give an energetic performance. The gig will take place on Friday, August 30 at the Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest (TUS) Gaelic Grounds, with go on sale this Thursday 30, with tickets starting at 37.90. A LIMERICK family are celebrating in a big way after winning a massive 500,000 prize in a EuroMillions draw. The family syndicate had their dreams realised in Dublin after they visited the famous Winners Room at National Lottery offices to claim the prize which they won on the EuroMillions Plus draw on Friday, November 10. The Limerick syndicate won their 500,000 fortune with a Quick Pick ticket they purchased at the Daybreak store at Elm Court Service Station in Ballyneety. The family collectively burst into laughter when asked about the safe location they had kept their ticket ahead of their claim. You wont believe it. I left a ticket worth half a million euro outside the house in an unlocked car. I had no idea we had won. For those few days, it was definitely the most valuable car in Limerick, laughed the father of the group. Wed heard about the win in Limerick alright but once I heard where the winning ticket was sold, I made a dash for the car. I grabbed the ticket from the side of the car door and sure enough, there were five of the winning numbers all in a row. "Were absolutely blessed that the ticket was still there, Im just glad to hand it in now and finally have the lottery cheque in my hand heading out the door, he said. The family plan to put their winnings to good use by making payments on mortgages but first and foremost is a family Christmas celebration to remember. Were a large group so we wont have much change left once we pay off our mortgages and other small loans that we have. "Well enjoy the celebrations for sure and well have a very nice Christmas together. More than the money itself, its been a very exciting couple of weeks and to have this experience with the entire family is priceless in itself, added the Limerick dad. THE first all-female panel of judges to preside at the Court of Appeal has been told that a Limerick man who was jailed for ten years for a machete attack should have his conviction overturned, over the failure to disclose garda notebook evidence to the defence. The court was told this Tuesday, that the notebook was slid across the table by the prosecution to the defence solicitor while the relevant garda was giving evidence during the trial. At Limerick Circuit Criminal Court in November 2021, John O'Donoghue was convicted of assault causing serious harm to Willie O'Driscoll Sr, who was then aged 74, at Bothar Bui, Rathkeale, County Limerick, on December 17, 2017. ODonoghue, aged 54, of Lower Main Street, Rathkeale, was also convicted of engaging in violent disorder on the same date and at the same location. A jury unanimously convicted him of assault causing serious harm and engaging in violent disorder charge but found him not guilty of a charge of the production of an article a machete during the course of a dispute and of making threats to kill. During and appeal hearing this Tuesday, O'Donoghue's counsel argued that this was a "conflicting" verdict, as the defendant was cleared of producing a machete yet found guilty of assault causing serious harm in a case where the injuries could only have been inflicted by a machete. ODonoghue had pleaded not guilty on all counts. He was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment for the assault causing serious harm and to eight years' for the violent disorder offence. ODonoghues appeal was heard on an historic day for the Court of Appeal, which had, for the first time, an all-female panel of judges in presiding judge Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, Ms Justice Tara Burns and Ms Justice Una Ni Raifeartaigh. Michael Bowman for ODonoghue submitted that the disclosure of garda notebooks to the defence had been requested before the November 2021 trial to no avail. However, a garda notebook had been brought into the case by the prosecution, concerning the description of the scene after the incident. Mr Bowman said he had no knowledge of the contents of the notebook in advance and had acted in good faith but had not received an additional evidence notice from the prosecution. Mr Bowman said that while the garda was giving his evidence in court, a four-page copy of the relevant section of the notebook was slid across the table by the prosecution to the defence solicitor - a situation Ms Justice Kennedy described as most unsatisfactory. Mr Bowman said the production of a garda notebook during the trial of which the defence had no prior knowledge left Mr ODonoghue prejudiced and the defence became utterly exposed, as they had already cross-examined witnesses in the case. Counsel said the case had been exclusively prepared in relation to probative witness testimony but that the garda evidence now represented the entry of independent evidence previously unknown to the defence. Mr Bowman said that conflicting accounts from various witnesses of what happened on the day meant that independent evidence was going to be of value. It was clearly a matter that was going to be of concern, said counsel, who added that it was his client who had claimed to have actually been assaulted by Mr ODriscoll. Mr Bowman said that the ODriscoll family members had given evidence that they came under attack from bricks, stones and bottles thrown by the O'Donoghues but that there had been no visible damage to any caravan, while both the yard where the claimed incident occurred and that there was no garda photographic evidence to corroborate the claims. Separately, Mr Bowman said the prosecution failed in its duty to seek out crucial and paramount CCTV evidence in the case. He said that no CCTV had been retrieved by gardai even though there were 30 cameras in the area, according to an engineer hired by the defence. Counsel said disclosure issues had been brought to the attention of Judge Patrick Meghan by the defence before a jury was sworn in. Judge Meghan, said counsel, responded that the jury would be sworn and could then be discharged if disclosure issues arose during the trial. Mr Bowman said that in light of approaching the case in a very particular basis, that he had applied to the trial judge to have the jury discharged on the grounds of disclosure issues but was refused. Counsel also said conflicting verdicts had been returned by the jury who found his client innocent of the production of the machete yet convicted ODonoghue of the assault causing serious harm in a case where the injuries could only be sustained by a machete. The lawyer further submitted that the trial judges charge to the jury was insufficient regarding the core principles of the burden of proof and the capacity to draw inferences and failed to give the jury illustrative, specific examples of both concepts. Mr Bowman said that an effort to have the guilty verdict arrested also failed after someone purporting to be a juror emailed the defence claiming to be unhappy with the deliberation process and felt they had not been listened to. Responding, Lily Buckley BL, for the State, said the trial judge took a very careful approach to his charge to the jury and told them to treat each offence before them as a separate trial. Ms Buckley said the jurors were attentive and had inquired of the court for a definition of the word production in the context of the machete being allegedly produced in the course of the dispute. Ms Buckley said there had been conflicting accounts as to who had brought the machete to the scene with ODonoghue claiming that Mr ODriscoll had brought it to the scene but dropped it before it was picked up by the complainants son. On the issue of the notebook, Ms Buckley said she had to accept there was an issue with the timing of the service notice of the additional evidence, to which Ms Justice Burns interjected: There was no service. The document was left on a table. That is the extent of it. Ms Justice Kennedy said that not on any reckoning was this disclosure. Ms Buckley replied: It is unsatisfactory and I dont contend otherwise. But I would say it was not enough to stop the trial." Regarding the lack of CCTV evidence in the trial, Ms Buckley said she was not sure that there was any missing footage in the trial, noting that the injured party had crawled to a location from another where he received his injuries. Ms Buckley added this wasnt a perfect trial, no trial is and said that gardai had called to the house with the CCTV camera only to be told by the woman that the camera had been tilted since the incident. The woman told gardai that she didnt watch the camera or know how the system worked, said counsel. Ms Isobel Kennedy said the woman gave evidence saying the cameras were operational and had not been tilted towards the scene since the incident. Ms Justice Ni Raifeartaigh said: All that means is that the gardai might have found a record of what took place. It doesnt matter if she looked at it or not. It was uncontradicted evidence she gave. Her evidence was all one way. She told gardai it was operational and they didnt collect it. They were told there was relevant evidence and didnt come back." Ms Buckley said: I have to accept they didnt come back," adding that gardai concluded that there was nothing of evidential value arising from gardai canvassing for CCTV. I cant make the investigation other than what it was. There may be a concern over the absence of clarity but I submit it cant be enough for the court adopting an exceptional action and quashing the sentence, said Ms Buckley. Ms Justice Kennedy said the court would reserve its judgement in the matter. WIVB-TV (Channel 4) morning anchor Chris Horvatits is exiting Wake Up! by the end of the year, General Manager Joe Abouzeid confirmed. He has chosen to leave, said Abouzeid. Horvatits departure after more than a year in the role came to light after Channel 4 recently posted a job for a morning anchor on its website. The salary range for an applicant with at least five years of experience as a reporter or anchor is $65,000 to $75,000. Stations now must post the salary range of jobs under a recent New York State pay transparency law. Horvatits, a St. Marys High School graduate who grew up in Lancaster before studying broadcasting and mass communication at SUNY Oswego, declined to comment. He has been at Channel 4 for at least five years and previously worked in Watertown and Rochester. His departure continues the pattern of morning instability at Channel 4. Ali Touhey, a former anchor-reporter at WKBW-TV (Channel 7), became the permanent morning co-anchor in July after Abby Fridmann left for a similar role at a Rochester station. Touhey started at Channel 4 earlier in 2023 as the weekend morning anchor. Wake Up! has had several anchor changes over the years. Fridmann replaced Kelsey Anderson, who replaced Mel Orlins, who replaced Brittni Smallwood, who replaced Teresa Weakley, who replaced Diana Fairbanks. That sentence illustrates one of the significant problems with Wake Up!: Its revolving door of female co-anchors on its morning program when audiences in that time period appreciate stability. The station also has had turnover in its morning male co-anchors, with Jordan Williams, Dave Greber and Joe Arena all in that role over the last decade or so. Daybreak (Channel 2) co-anchor Melissa Holmes has been in that role for more than a decade on the areas first-place morning program and has worked alongside only two male co-anchors, Pete Gallivan and John Beard. Channel 4 likely will have several candidates to replace Horvatits. It might not have to look far to replace him. Scott Patterson, who was recently let go in a round of layoffs at Spectrum News, is one possible candidate. He worked at the cable news channel for almost 12 years, which certainly is a sign of stability. In his on-air goodbye in October, Patterson noted he is married to a Western New Yorker and plans to stay in the area. The first wave of excitement about generative artificial intelligence (ai) was like nothing else the world had seen. Within two months of its launch in November 2022, ChatGPT had racked up 100m users. Internet searches for artificial intelligence" surged; more than $40bn in venture capital flowed into ai firms in the first half of this year alone. The craze for consumer experimentation has since cooled a little: ChatGPT use has fallen and fewer people are Googling ai". Son Masayoshi, a Japanese investor notorious for diving into already frothy markets, is thought to be interested in investing in Openai , Chatgpts creator. But a second, more serious phase is beginning. An entirely new industry centred on supercharged ai models is taking shape. Three forces will determine what it eventually looks likeand whether OpenAI stays dominant, or other players prevail. The first factor is computing power, the cost of which is forcing model-builders to become more efficient. Faced with the eye-watering costs of training and running more powerful models, for instance, Openai is not yet training its next big model, gpt-5, but gpt-4.5 instead, a more efficient version of its current leading product. That could give deep-pocketed rivals such as Google a chance to catch up. Gemini, the tech giants soon-to-be-released cutting-edge model, is thought to be more powerful than OpenAIs current version. High computing costs have also encouraged the proliferation of much smaller models, which are trained on specific data to do specific things. Replit, a startup, has trained a model on computer code to help developers write programs, for instance. Open-source models are also making it easier for people and companies to plunge into the world of generative ai. According to a count maintained by Hugging Face, an ai firm, roughly 1,500 versions of such fine-tuned models exist. All these models are now scrambling for datathe second force shaping the generative-ai industry. The biggest, such as Openais and Googles, are gluttonous: they are trained on more than 1trn words, the equivalent of over 250 English-language Wikipedias. As they grow bigger they will get hungrier. But the internet is close to being exhausted. Many model-makers are therefore signing deals with news and photography agencies. Others are racing to create synthetic" training data using algorithms; still others are trying to work with new forms of data, such as video. The prize is a model that beats the rivals. Generative AIs hunger for data and power makes a third ingredient more important still: money. Many model-makers are already turning away from Chatgpt-style bots for the general public, and looking instead to fee-paying businesses. OpenAI, which started life in 2015 as a non-profit venture, has been especially energetic in this regard. It has not just licensed its models to Microsoft, but is setting up bespoke tools for companies including Morgan Stanley and Salesforce. Abu Dhabi plans to establish a company to help commercialise applications of Falcon, its open-source ai model. Another approach is to appeal to software developers, in the hope of getting them addicted to your model and creating the network effects that are so prized in tech. OpenAI is offering tools to help developers build products using its models; Meta hopes that llamA, its open-source model, will help create a loyal community of programmers. Who will emerge victorious? Firms like OpenAI, with its vast number of users, and Google, with its deep pockets, have a clear early advantage. But for as long as computing power and data remain constraints, the rewards for clever ways around them will be large. A model-builder with the most efficient approach, the most ingenious method to synthesise data or the most appealing pitch to customers could yet steal the lead. The hype may have cooled. But the drama is just beginning. BharatPe, one of Indias leading players in the fintech sector, today announced that it has turned EBITDA positive in October 2023. Additionally, it shared that its annualized revenue has surged past Rs. 1,500 Cr, a growth of 31% from c. This financial milestone is attributed to consistent growth across all its business lines. The company has also significantly cut down its EBITDA burnwhich was averaging at Rs. 60 Cr per month in FY23to attain EBITDA positivity. This significant milestone in conjunction with strong growth is a testament to the efforts of the team, enabled by strategic guidance from the Board. The company will continue taking strides toward being a market-leading financial services platform for the 50 million small businesses across India. The company has experienced consistent growth in its lending vertical over the past several months. In October, it facilitated loans exceeding Rs. 640 crores for its merchants in partnership with its NBFC partners, demonstrating a spike of 36% Y-o-Y. BharatPe has facilitated loans totaling over Rs. 12,400 crores since its foray into this segment in late 2019. Additionally, it recorded growth across verticals - including its payment products. The company also saw remarkable growth in the number and amount of transactions done on its soundbox devices. BharatPe, in October, also recorded a monthly TPV of over Rs. 14,000 crores across its diverse range of payment products. Speaking on the milestone, Nalin Negi, CFO and Interim CEO, BharatPe, said, BharatPe was started with the vision of empowering millions of offline merchants and MSMEs across the country, with best-in-class fintech products. This milestone reflects the trust bestowed upon us by our vast network of over 1.3 crores merchant partners. October was a great month for us- we achieved significant growth with loans facilitated on our platform. Also, our digital payments verticals grew considerably, boasting a monthly transaction count exceeding 37 crores. We will continue to cater to the needs of our merchant partners as well as customers and our strategic focus will be to ensure sustained profitability across our business lines. In the coming months, we'll focus on scaling our lending, POS, and soundbox businesses. We will also focus on launching new products tailored for our merchant partners while concentrating on the development of our consumer and NBFC businesses." Nalin added, This achievement is a testament to the dedication and hard work of our team. I would like to congratulate each and every team member of BharatPe for achieving this milestone. Moving forward, we continue to stay committed to building a sustainable business with growth across business lines. We will continue to focus on driving financial inclusion across Bharat, empowering more offline merchant businesses. Our goal is to establish BharatPe as one of the largest merchant-first fintech companies in the country." About BharatPe Group BharatPe was founded in 2018 to make financial inclusion a reality for Indian merchants. In 2018, BharatPe launched Indias first UPI interoperable QR code, the first zero MDR payment acceptance service. In 2020, post-Covid, BharatPe also launched a card acceptance terminal BharatPe Swipe. Currently with a registered network of over 1.3 crore merchants across 450+ cities, the company is one of the leading players in UPI offline transactions, processing 370 million+ UPI transactions. The company processes payments of annualized Transaction Processed Value of over Rs. 1.7 Lac Crores. The company has already facilitated the disbursement of loans of over Rs. 12,400 crores, in partnership with NBFCs. BharatPes POS business processes payments of over Rs. 29,000 crores annually on its machines. BharatPe has raised over US$ 583 million in equity till date. The companys list of marquee investors includes Peak XV Partners (formerly known as Sequoia Capital India), Ribbit Capital, Insight Partners, Amplo, Beenext, Coatue Management, Dragoneer Investment Group, Steadfast Capital, Steadview Capital and Tiger Global. In June 2021, the company announced the acquisition of PAYBACK India (Rebranded to Zillion), the countrys largest multi-brand loyalty program company with 100 million+ members. In October 2021, the consortium of Centrum Financial Services Limited (Centrum) and BharatPe, was issued a Small Finance Bank (SFB) license by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). BharatPe also entered the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) segment with the launch of postpe in October 2021. postpe has over 15 million downloads. In January 2023, BharatPe Group received an in-principle nod from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as an online payment aggregator. BharatPe is also a promoter in TrillionLoans, a renowned NBFC (Non- Banking Financial Company). For more details, please visit- https://bharatpe.com/. Facebook - BharatPeIndia X - bharatpeindia YouTube - BharatPeIndia LinkedIn - BharatPe Instagram - bharat.pe Media Contact Details Akanksha Jain (Head- PR and Communications), BharatPe, akanksha@bharatpe.com, +91-9871900447; Oeindrila Biswas (Sr Account Director), Avian WE, oeindrila@avianwe.com, +91-8447776880 Disclaimer: This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times does not endorse/subscribe to the content(s) of the article/advertisement and/or view(s) expressed herein. Hindustan Times shall not in any manner, be responsible and/or liable in any manner whatsoever for all that is stated in the article and/or also with regard to the view(s), opinion(s), announcement(s), declaration(s), affirmation(s) etc., stated/featured in the same. Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Navigating the complex world of immigration can be overwhelming, especially when it involves reuniting with loved ones. The Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, is a vital step for bringing family members together in the United States. Understanding this process and its requirements is crucial for success and can mean the difference between a smooth journey or a disappointing outcome. Are you ready to dive in and take control of your familys future? Get Professional Assistance and File with Citizen Concierge - Visit Official Site Key Takeaways Form I-130 is used to verify the relationship between a petitioner and alien relative, allowing them to apply for a green card. Eligibility requirements include being over 18 years of age, U.S. citizen or permanent resident status, valid evidence of family relationship and filing fee payment ($535). Tips for successful petitioning include following eligibility requirements accurately, seeking professional assistance and staying up to date on immigration laws. Understanding Form I-130: Purpose and Use View Full Image Form I-130: Purpose and Use Form I-130 primarily serves to verify the relationship between the petitioner and the alien relative. This confirmation allows the relative to apply for a green card and initiate immigrant visa petitions. When a U.S. citizen or permanent resident sponsor (petitioner) files Form I-130, they affirm a valid familial relationship with their relative (beneficiary), paving the way for the latter to seek permanent residence. This form is critical to the immigration process, as it serves as the foundation for family-based immigration. The outcome of the petition depends on the nature of the relationship between the petitioner and the beneficiary, which falls into two categories: Immediate Relative" and Family Preference". Immediate relatives typically experience a smoother path to adjusting their status, while family preference relatives may encounter a more extended waiting period. Establishing a Legitimate Relationship The approval of Form I-130 hinges on the demonstration of a valid relationship with the alien relative. The USCIS examines various factors to determine the legitimacy of the relationship, including supporting documents that validate the family bond, such as marriage certificates, birth certificates, or adoption records. However, certain relationships are ineligible for Form I-130 filing, such as those established through fraud or solely for immigration benefits. Moreover, specific relatives, like stepparents or stepchildren, are considered ineligible if the relationship was established after the stepchild turned 18. A successful petition requires validation of the relationship, as inconsistencies may trigger a denial or request for additional evidence (RFE). Benefits of an Approved Petition Approval of the Form I-130 petition significantly affects the alien relatives immigration status and their access to several benefits in the United States. Upon approval, the alien relative may apply for Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status, secure a Green Card, and work in the United States. Moreover, the approved petition demonstrates the sponsors responsibility and capability to support the family member, granting them access to certain public benefits, depending on the individuals circumstances and immigration status. Acceptance of Form I-130, the petition for alien relative, paves the way to a brighter future for the alien relative and their family in the United States. Eligibility Requirements for Filing Form I-130 Eligibility for filing Form I-130 is limited to U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents who are 18 years or older and have a valid family relationship with the alien relative. Grasping the eligibility requirements is crucial for a successful petition since any inconsistencies can lead to denial or a request for additional evidence (RFE). Establishing that a valid family relationship exists is a key prerequisite for Form I-130 eligibility, which applies to spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents of U.S. citizens. By providing evidence of the relationship, like a marriage certificate or birth certificate, the petitioner can demonstrate their commitment to supporting their alien relative and secure a successful outcome. Check Your Eligibility Here:Form 1-130 filing specialist Filing for Immediate Relatives Form I-130 can be filed on behalf of immediate relatives, such as parents, spouses, and offspring of U.S. citizens, granting them access to a more streamlined immigration process. Immediate relatives are prioritized by USCIS due to the close family bond, which often results in faster processing times and fewer barriers to obtaining lawful permanent residency. Filing Form I-130 for a parent, for example, requires the completion of a paper version of the form and adherence to the guidelines for filing by mail. Once submitted, the approval process can take between 10 to 14 months, which is typically faster than the waiting period for family preference relatives. Ineligibility Factors Certain relatives may be ineligible to file for an immigrant visa due to factors such as: fraudulent marriages relationships established after the child turned 18 ineligibility resulting from illegal entry, misrepresentation, and other immigration violations Recognizing these factors is vital to dodge potential pitfalls during the adjust status petition process. It is possible to waive or overcome ineligibility factors for filing Form I-130 through a waiver of inadmissibility or other forms of relief. However, it is essential to consult with an immigration attorney or USCIS for accurate and up-to-date information on overcoming ineligibility factors. Essential Documents for Form I-130 Submission View Full Image Providing necessary documents for the Form I-130 petition is crucial for its success. Providing necessary documents for the Form I-130 petition is crucial for its success. The required documents include: Form I-130 Filing fee Cover letter Proof of the petitioners U.S. citizenship or permanent residence Evidence of the familial relationship Any additional required documents Accurate and complete documentation is vital to avoid delays, denial, or requests for additional evidence (RFE). However, if primary documents are missing or unavailable, alternative documents or secondary evidence may be submitted. Providing all required supporting documents is critical for a smooth approval process and to circumvent potential complications throughout the immigration journey. Validating Family Relationships The Form I-130 process heavily relies on the validation of family relationships. Documents such as marriage certificates, birth certificates, or adoption records are required to demonstrate the legitimacy of the relationship between the petitioner and the alien relative. Providing accurate and complete documentation is essential for a successful petition, as any inconsistencies may lead to denial or request for additional evidence (RFE). A successful petition greatly depends on the validity of the relationship, since any discrepancies may lead to denial or a request for additional evidence (RFE). Also check out this analysis on Citizen Concierges EB2-NIW filing service. Dealing with Missing or Unavailable Documents If primary documents are missing or unavailable, alternative documents or secondary evidence may be submitted. Examples of alternative documents and secondary evidence include: A statement from the issuing government agency attesting to the unavailability of the birth certificate Other records exhibiting the facts of birth, such as a baptismal certificate or school records Written statements from relatives capable of verifying those facts Keep in mind the importance of consulting the official USCIS guidelines and instructions for Form I-130 for specific requirements and any additional documentation that may be necessary. By providing all required supporting documents and secondary evidence, petitioners can ensure a successful outcome for their Form I-130 petition. Filing Process and Fees for Form I-130 View Full Image By providing all required supporting documents and secondary evidence, petitioners can ensure a successful outcome for their Form I-130 petition. The filing process for Form I-130 can be done online or by mail, offering flexibility for petitioners to choose the method that best suits their needs. To file online, a USCIS account must be created, while mail submission requires a confirmed filing address. Regardless of the chosen submission method, adhering to the guidelines and instructions provided by USCIS is crucial for a successful submission. The current filing fee for Form I-130 is $535, payable by check, money order, or credit card. Verifying the current fee before submission is essential, as it is subject to change. By providing accurate payment and adhering to the filing process guidelines, petitioners can avoid delays or complications in the approval process. Online vs. Mail Submission Online submission of Form I-130 on the USCIS website requires the following steps: 1. Create a USCIS online account. 2. Access your case status and receive updates on your petition. 3. File online for a faster submission process. 4. Track the progress of your petition in real-time. Filing online offers the convenience of a faster submission process and the ability to track the progress of the petition in real-time. For mail submission, it is essential to validate the I-130 filing address, which may include the USCIS Dallas Lockbox, among other locations. Mailed petitions are then sent to a USCIS service center for processing. Regardless of the selected method, adhering to the USCIS instructions and ensuring correct completion of all petition sections is crucial to avoid rejection. Current Filing Fee and Payment Methods The filing fee for Form I-130 is subject to change, so it is essential always to check the current fee before submission. USCIS accepts various payment methods, including: Visa MasterCard American Express Discover Personal check Money order Cashiers check Electronic checking or savings (ACH) payment from a U.S. bank account. Additionally, it is important to stay updated with the National Visa Center for any changes in the filing fee or payment methods. In some cases, it may be possible to request a fee waiver or reduction if the petitioner meets specific financial requirements. To avoid delays or complications in the approval process, its crucial to pay the appropriate fee using the correct payment method. Using a Professional Filing Service - Citizen Concierge View Full Image Citizen Concierge Citizen Concierge provides web-based assistance to clients in completing the requirements for Form I-130 and becoming green card holders, offering guidance and support throughout the process. Utilizing a professional filing service enables petitioners, including a green card holder, to ensure the accurate completion and timely submission of their application, thereby enhancing the chances of a successful outcome. In addition to expert guidance, Citizen Concierge can help clients navigate the complexities of the immigration process by providing: Valuable information and resources to help petitioners make informed decisions Assistance in streamlining the Form I-130 process Improved chances of success By leveraging the expertise of a professional filing service like Citizen Concierge, petitioners can simplify the citizenship and immigration services process and increase their chances of a successful outcome with the help of reliable immigration services. Avoid Errors and Rejections by using Citizen Concierges Form i-130 filing service. What to Expect After Submitting Form I-130 After submitting Form I-130, petitioners can expect to receive a receipt notice with a case number, confirming that USCIS has received and accepted the petition. The case number is essential for future status checks and serves as a valuable reference throughout the immigration process. The outcome of the petition depends on the accuracy and completeness of the submitted documents and information. Possible outcomes include approval, denial, or a request for evidence (RFE). Petitioners can enhance their chances of a successful outcome by understanding the requirements and providing the necessary documentation. Receipt Notice and Case Number The receipt notice is a crucial document issued by USCIS, confirming that the Form I-130 petition has been received and accepted. The notice holds vital details. It includes the case number as well as contact info of USCIS customer service. It is recommended that petitioners keep the receipt notice in a secure location, as it will be necessary for verifying the status of the application at a later time. The case number is a unique identifier assigned to the Form I-130 petition by USCIS. This number is vital for subsequent status verifications, enabling petitioners to track the progress of their case and stay informed about any updates or decisions made by USCIS. Potential Outcomes: Approval, Denial, or Request for Evidence (RFE) The outcome of the Form I-130 petition depends on the accuracy and completeness of the submitted documents and information. If USCIS determines that the petition is complete and meets all requirements, they will approve the petition, allowing the alien relative to proceed with the process of obtaining permanent residence. However, if USCIS identifies any discrepancies or requires additional information, they may issue a Request for Evidence (RFE) or a Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID). In such cases, petitioners must respond promptly and provide the requested evidence to avoid denial of the petition. By understanding the requirements and providing accurate and complete documentation, petitioners can improve their chances of a successful outcome. Tips for a Successful Form I-130 Petition To increase the chances of a successful Form I-130 petition, it is crucial to understand the eligibility requirements, provide accurate and complete documentation, and seek professional assistance if needed. Adhering to the guidelines and instructions provided by USCIS allows petitioners to ensure a smooth approval process and circumvent potential complications during the immigration journey. Additionally, staying informed about the latest developments in immigration laws and regulations, as well as utilizing resources such as Citizen Concierge, can further improve the chances of success in the Form I-130 petition process, including navigating through immigration court proceedings. By taking these steps and remaining proactive throughout the process, petitioners can help secure a brighter future for their alien relatives in the United States. Avoid Errors and Rejections by using Citizen Concierges Form i-130 filing service. Summary Navigating the Form I-130 petition process can be a daunting task, but with the right understanding of eligibility requirements, submission guidelines, and essential documents, petitioners can improve their chances of success. By leveraging professional filing services and staying informed about the latest developments in immigration laws, petitioners can help secure a brighter future for their alien relatives in the United States. Ultimately, the Form I-130 petition process is a critical step toward reuniting families and building a life together in the land of opportunity. Frequently Asked Questions How long does it take for I-130 to be approved? Form I-130 processing time typically takes between 12.5 to 40 months depending on the applicant's relation and location. USCIS handles cases in the order they are received, however, certain cases may take longer to process. What is the I-130 form used for? Form I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative) is used by a U.S. citizen or green card holder to prove the existence of a valid family relationship with an eligible relative who wishes to immigrate to the United States. This form is the first step in the process of sponsoring a family member for a green card. How much does the I-130 petition cost? The Form I-130 filing fee is currently $535 and cannot be waived. The filing fee is not refundable, regardless of any action USCIS takes on this petition. DO NOT MAIL CASH. What supporting documents do I need for I-130? To submit an I-130 petition, you need to provide the checklist of items on the I-130 Checklist, as well as the supporting documents listed in the I-130. I 130 approved what next? Once the I-130 petition has been approved, your relative may apply for a green card. If they are an immediate relative, they can usually apply straight away. Otherwise, they will need to wait until a visa is available and then file Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. Disclaimer: This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times does not endorse/subscribe to the content(s) of the article/advertisement and/or view(s) expressed herein. Hindustan Times shall not in any manner, be responsible and/or liable in any manner whatsoever for all that is stated in the article and/or also with regard to the view(s), opinion(s), announcement(s), declaration(s), affirmation(s) etc., stated/featured in the same. Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. As we traverse through 2024, the quest for greater control over our mobile devices continues to drive users towards methods that can unlock new functionalities and freedoms. Two popular strategies that have emerged are IMEI unlocking and Jailbreaking/Rooting. While these methods may seem similar at first glance, they serve different purposes and offer distinct advantages. This article aims to demystify these concepts, delve into their differences, and help you make an informed decision about which approach suits your needs best. IMEI Unlocking: A Gateway to Carrier Freedom Understanding IMEI Unlocking International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) unlocking, also known as network or carrier unlocking, is a process that frees your phone from the restrictions imposed by the original carrier. Every mobile device has a unique IMEI number. When your phone is locked to a carrier, this number is stored in a shared database and recognized by all other carriers as being tied to a particular network. Unlocking the IMEI essentially removes this network restriction, allowing the device to be used with any carrier. Benefits of IMEI Unlocking The most significant benefit of IMEI unlocking is the flexibility to switch between different carriers2. This can be especially useful if you're unsatisfied with your current carrier's service, if you're traveling abroad and wish to use a local carrier, or if you want to change carriers to take advantage of a better deal. Additionally, unlocked phones tend to have a higher resale value as they can be used with any carrier. Jailbreaking/Rooting: Unleashing Your Device's Potential Understanding Jailbreaking/Rooting Jailbreaking (for iOS devices) and rooting (for Android) are processes that grant users root access to the operating system of their device. This allows users to bypass certain restrictions imposed by the device manufacturer or carrier, and modify the system's software to suit their preferences. Benefits of Jailbreaking/Rooting Jailbreaking or rooting your device offers a high degree of customization4. You can alter the look and feel of your device, install apps that are not available in the official app stores, and make changes to the system that can enhance the functionality and performance of the device. However, this comes with its own risks, including potential security vulnerabilities, voiding the device's warranty, and the possibility of bricking the device (rendering it unusable). Key Differences Between IMEI Unlocking and Jailbreaking/Rooting To provide a clear comparison, let's look at a table that succinctly outlines the differences: View Full Image Key Differences Between IMEI Unlocking and Jailbreaking/Rooting Note: For more information on the legal status of IMEI Unlocking and Jailbreaking/Rooting, please refer to the following sources: SIM Card Swapping vs IMEI Unlocking While IMEI unlocking and SIM card swapping might seem similar, they are fundamentally different. IMEI unlocking involves removing the carrier restriction from the device's IMEI, allowing it to work with any carrier. On the other hand, SIM card swapping involves physically replacing the SIM card in the device with another one from a different carrier. While SIM card swapping can provide immediate carrier flexibility, it doesn't remove the carrier lock on the device. This means that even after swapping the SIM card, the device might not work with the new carrier if it is locked to a different one. On the other hand, once a device is IMEI unlocked, it will accept any SIM card, granting true carrier freedom. The Role of Service Providers in IMEI Unlocking and Jailbreaking/Rooting Service providers often have policies in place regarding IMEI unlocking and jailbreaking/rooting. Some providers may allow IMEI unlocking after a certain period or if certain conditions are met. However, jailbreaking or rooting is generally discouraged as it can lead to security risks and may void the device's warranty. It's advisable to check with your service provider and understand their policies before proceeding with either method. Conclusion While IMEI unlocking and jailbreaking/rooting may seem similar, they serve different purposes and come with their own sets of advantages and disadvantages. IMEI unlocking provides carrier flexibility, which can be beneficial for those looking to switch carriers or use their phone internationally. On the other hand, jailbreaking/rooting can unlock new possibilities for customization and control over your device, but comes with higher risks. The choice between these two depends on what you value more - the freedom to choose your carrier or the ability to customize your device to your liking. Pro Tip: Make an Informed Decision Before you decide to go ahead with IMEI unlocking or jailbreaking/rooting, it's important to understand the implications and potential risks involved. Consider your needs, the benefits you hope to gain, and the potential downsides. If you're unsure, consulting with a professional can provide personalized advice based on your specific situation. Disclaimer: This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times does not endorse/subscribe to the content(s) of the article/advertisement and/or view(s) expressed herein. Hindustan Times shall not in any manner, be responsible and/or liable in any manner whatsoever for all that is stated in the article and/or also with regard to the view(s), opinion(s), announcement(s), declaration(s), affirmation(s) etc., stated/featured in the same. Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. MUMBAI : Leading hospital chain Aster DM Healthcare Ltd on Tuesday said it will separate its mainstay Gulf business and sell it to its Indian promoters (Moopen family) and a Dubai consortium for $1.001 billion, in a move it said will unlock shareholder value and attract more institutional investors. A consortium led by United Arab Emirates (UAE) government-backed Fajr Capital will own 65% of the Gulf entity, while Azad Moopen, the promoter of Aster, will own 35%, once the transaction is concluded. View Full Image Sarvesh Kumar Sharma/Mint Asters business in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries is housed under Alpha GCC Holdings Ltd, a wholly owned material subsidiary of Aster DM Healthcare. The current market cap of the combined India and GCC business stands at $2 billion. The transaction values the GCC business at an enterprise value of $1.7 billion ( 13,540 crore) and an equity value of $1.001 billion ( 8,215 crore), the company said. The deal will help erase the Gulf companys debt. Of the $1.001 billion, $903 million will be paid to Aster DM Healthcare. The bulk of the proceeds will be issued as dividends to Aster DM Healthcare investors, the company said, subject to board approval. The rest will be paid out subsequent to certain contingent events, including an earnout of up to $70 million based on Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) achieved by the GCC business in FY24, the company said. The Gulf business generates 70% of Asters revenues, but it was a drag on the India business because of lower margins, founder Azad Moopen said in an interview. The India market was not giving the value for the GCC business," Moopen said. Our investors told us that these two geographies have got their own destiny. We also realized that these two markets are different, we have to have a separate set of investors as well as a separate set of strategies and management teams for both strategies," he added. Moopen will continue in his role as founder and chairman, and will oversee both India and GCC businesses, while his daughter Alisha Moopen will be promoted to the position of managing director and Group CEO of the GCC business (currently, she is deputy managing director). Nitish Shetty will continue as CEO of the India business. While Fajr Capital will fetch the bulk of the money for the deal, the Moopen family will fund its share of the transaction through dividends secured from the listed India business. The company said that it is desirous" of declaring dividends to the shareholders of Aster DM Healthcare from the proceeds of the sale, subject to approvals required under law. We have some resources here, but we are the largest shareholders owning 42% in Aster DM Healthcare. The money that comes in (through dividends), we hope that we can fund using that," Moopen said. In the listed entity, the promoters 42% stake is pledged against a debt of $80 million, which will be retired, he said. There is a structural issue because of which we had to pledge all of our shares. But after this transaction is over, we hope to get out of this structural issue and repay the loan," Moopen said. The transaction is with a related party and done at arms length, the Aster statement clarified. The company said it had received requests from bidders for continued promoter participation in the GCC business. As previously disclosed vide the disclosure made on July 24, 2023, the company had received requests from bidders during the bidding process for continued promoter participation in the GCC business to ensure its sustainability following the restructuring," the Aster statement said. Moopen said the split will aid the listed entity since the Gulf business had lower margins. Profitability of the Gulf business was lower because the GCC region is hyper-competitive for a smaller population, while the India market is still underserved, he said. The GCC compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of the past five years for Aster DM was around 5.19%, while for India, it was around 16.2%, he said. According to Moopen, the GCC sale will unlock the Indian entitys potential for growth, which should see this business continue to grow at over 25-30%. What we hope is that we will also be able to grow inorganically as well as organically by investing in India. As we speak, we hope that well be adding 1,500 beds in the next two or three years, which will take our total bed count to 6,000 beds (in India) through organic growth," he said. The future expansion for Aster DM Healthcare will be funded by internal accruals, but the company may also sell stakes to private equity partners, Moopen said. According to Moopen, Aster DM was struggling to find PE partners earlier since it was not happy with the companys Ebitda growth, but after deciding to sell the business, many PE investors have shown interest and the companys stock rose significantly in the past one year. We have now become a sought-after bride in the Indian ecosystem." The Fajr Capital consortium also includes Emirates Investment Authority, Al Dhow Holding Co., Hana Investment Co., and Wafra International Investment Co. Aster DM Healthcare went public in February 2018 in an initial public offering raising 980 crore, selling its shares at 190 apiece. On Tuesday, the companys shares fell 1.41% to close at 334.35 as reports cited a possible sale announcement later in the day. Founded by Azad Moopen in 1987 as a single clinic, Aster DMs portfolio of healthcare facilities has vastly expanded since then in India and the Gulf. In India, it is present in five South Indian states through 19 hospitals, 13 clinics, 226 pharmacies and 251 patient experience centres. In the Gulf, it has 15 hospitals, 118 clinics and 276 pharmacies across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Jordan. Asters hospitals in India are located in Kochi, Kolhapur, Kozhikode, Kottakkal, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, and operated under the Aster Medcity, Malabar Institute of Medical Sciences (MIMS) and Aster Prime Hospital brands, according to its website. True North invested in Aster DM in 2008, though it subsequently sold some stake in 2019. The listed company also counts PE firm Olympus Capital as an investor. ASTER DM HEALTHCARE More Information Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Microsoft played a weak hand rather well in the drama that engulfed OpenAI last week. But the tech giant now has a complicated task ahead: It needs to solidify its relationship with the high-profile startup while also showing it can chart its own course in the vital field of artificial intelligence. Wall Street has cheered Microsoft CEO Satya Nadellas handling of the situation, which began with the surprise firing of OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman by the companys board of directors late on Friday, Nov. 17, and concluded with Altman agreeing four days later to return to his role. In the interim, Microsoft announced plans to hire Altman directly, along with any other OpenAI employees who cared to join. The latter likely played a major role in OpenAIs board rethinking its decision. Nearly all of the startups 770 employees threatened to quit if Altman wasnt restored to his position. Microsofts stock price has risen more than 2% since its Nov. 17 close, adding to a run that has boosted the companys market value by more than $1 trillion this year. We believe Microsoft emerges in a similar-to-better position relative to a week ago," RBC Capital analyst Rishi Jaluria wrote in a note following OpenAIs announcement of Altmans return. Still, the drama exposed a weak point in the AI strategy that has helped Microsofts stock outperform most of its major tech peers recently. The close partnership with OpenAI has given Microsoft a leg up in the race over generative artificial intelligence. Microsoft solidified that relationship with a $10 billion investment in the startup in January, two months after the high-profile launch of OpenAIs ChatGPT chatbot. That investment gave Microsoft a 49% ownership stake in OpenAI but no board seat or any actual power because of the startups unusual governance structure. That still cost Microsoft more than it has spent in all but three of the 245 acquisition deals it has made over the last three decades, according to data from FactSet. The fact that Microsoft was willing to lay out potentially billions more to bring top-shelf AI talent in house further drove the point home that the company needs for OpenAI to survive in some form or another. And even that plan had its drawbacks. Goldman Sachs analyst Kash Rangan wrote to clients last week that duplicating OpenAI would be a time-consuming and demanding task, notwithstanding IP consideration." Mark Moerdler of Bernstein noted that such a transition could also produce a gap in innovation" that would allow rivals such as Google and Amazon to catch up technologically and possibly in market perception." As such, Altmans return to OpenAI is the best outcome for Microsoft. And the restructuring of OpenAIs board, which now includes former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and experienced software vet Bret Taylor, is another plus. OpenAI reportedly is planning to further expand its board. Microsoft now has too much riding on the company just to watch from the sidelines. Bernsteins Moerdler predicted last week that Microsoft and other OpenAI investors were likely to push for board seats and more of a say to protect their investments" in the event that Altman would return. But Microsoft might also want to start hedging the risk of its perceived reliance on OpenAI. The company is already selling generative AI tools and services such as its Copilot digital assistant to big corporate customers, who value stability in their major technology investments. A loss of customer confidence in OpenAI is a net negative for Microsoft, there is no way to sugar-coat that," wrote Karl Keirstead of UBS in a note prior to the news of Altmans return. Wall Street already has high expectations; revenue from the Microsoft Cloud segment is expected to average 20% growth over the next two years, trumping the 17% growth Amazons AWS cloud business is expected to average in that time, according to consensus estimates from Visible Alpha. Building up more of its own AI technology wont be cheap. Microsoft is already spending more than $27 billion annually on research and developmenta new company record. But the company lost nearly that much in market value in just minutes after OpenAI announced the canning of its popular CEO. Microsoft might find that controlling more of its own destiny is cheaper in the long run. Write to Dan Gallagher at dan.gallagher@wsj.com NEW DELHI : New Delhi: In the sweltering heat of July, Prabhjeet Singh, a man normally used to spending his days in a plush office, was struggling to navigate the byzantine lanes of Shiv Durga Vihar, Faridabad. The president of Uber India and South Asia wanted to experience the business end of things and had turned taxi driver for the day. Singh, now in his ninth year at Uber, goes on such fact-finding trips every month to get to grips with the ground realities his driver-partners face and the expectations their passengers have. On this occasion, the middle-aged lady who had booked his cab wanted to be picked up right outside her door, in a narrow alley. Somehow Singh managed to get to her through the maze of alleys but the delay had made her irate. I got a reality checkI got a 1-star rating for factors beyond my control and lost my coveted 5-star rating average that day," he rued during an interaction with Mint in his Bengaluru office. On another trip, the rider cancelled his booking at the last moment as he had gotten a cab from a rival app. That was my second lesson that day on opportunity cost. This rider habitually hailed cars from multiple apps and then cancels whichever takes longer. That is terrible economics for us as both cars have spent time and fuel driving towards him," Singh said. The company now informs drivers of the destination beforehand and compensates them for the distance travelled to pick up the customer prior to the trip. At the same time, it has beefed up its feedback mechanism for customers, making it more interactive, safer and transparent. Anecdotally, service standards have improved and over a dozen riders and drivers that Mint spoke to in Delhi and Bengaluru said they preferred Uber over other players. We have given the drivers a seat at the table. That has been key," said Singh. It shows in the companys performance in the post-pandemic phase, as well. While the industry, as a whole, has recovered, Uber has regained its lead over others (see chart) and built on it. But Uber is not out of the woods yet. Profitabilitya key aspirationis still out of reach. New entrants are ever eager to disrupt and nibble into the gains made by incumbents, and the myriad regulatory challenges the industry faces can upend the business at any time. Regulatory headwinds View Full Image The cab aggregation business has always faced resistance from the traditional local taxi lobby. When incentives for drivers were cut, in 2018, thousands of drivers staged protests in Mumbai and Delhi. (PTI) As the first movers in the ride-hailing business, Uber and Ola have had a number of run-ins with the authorities. Many of those run-ins have to do with tax litigation. One case that Uber is still fighting pertains to an investigation by the Director General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), wherein there is a goods and services tax (GST) liability of 800 crore on the company for driver incentives. Another case relates to an outstanding demand of 114 crore by the income tax department. Other disputes with the authorities include a notice by the Central Consumer Protection Authority in 2022 accusing Uber of violating consumer rights. We are a public company scrutinized by regulators across the world and have some of the highest standards of governance compliance across the board. So, we are pretty confident about all the fronts that may be open. None of them make me worry in any material sense," Singh said. The open fronts may not be the end of it as more may open. The cab aggregation business has always faced resistance from the traditional local taxi lobby, with some local bodies having considerable clout with politicians. Innovations such as motorbike taxis have only aggravated matters. Under pressure from local autorickshaw unions for example, states such as Karnataka and Maharashtra have moved to curb this segment. This is bad news for Uber, which is eager to expand from four-wheeled cabs to three- and two-wheelers. Further, there are ongoing deliberations within the government on capping the extent to which platforms can use surge pricing, wherein platforms raise fares substantially in case there is a significant demand-supply mismatch. This is also a key component of the business that bolsters the bottom lines of these companies. Another proposed legislation refers to a cap of 20% that companies such as Uber can charge from drivers. Shared mobility is another flashpoint as it falls in a grey area from a policy perspective. All of these can potentially alter the landscape for business and upset the math. Does it make Uber nervous? It is important for regulatory predictability for companies like us to make forward looking investments. We do seek that," Singh said. View Full Image (Graphic: Mint) New challengers View Full Image Anmol Jaggi, cofounder of BluSmart. Some state governments have started insisting that cab aggregators have a percentage of their fleet as electric vehicles. This presents an opportunity for new entrants like BluSmart. What makes things more complicated is that transport is a concurrent subject in the Constitution, which means both the centre and states get to formulate policies. So, rules and regulations can differ widely from one state to the next, making it harder for large companies like Uber to adapt. This has become particularly evident with the advent of electrification. State governments, like in Delhi, Karnataka and Maharashtra, want cab aggregators to shift to electric much faster. They also prefer bike taxis to be completely electric. While this poses a challenge for existing players, it also presents an opportunity for new entrants. Which is where the likes of BluSmart, Envi, Evera, Shoffr, Lithium Urban Technologies and Snap E cabs have stepped in over the last few years. The leader of this pack is BluSmart, which already has a fleet of over 5,000 cars and operates in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru. Snap E is a relatively smaller player with 600 cars concentrated around Kolkata. It has plans to ramp up to 5,000 cars by 2025-26 and focus on underpenetrated tier II and III cities. Our cost of charging is between 1.75 and 2 per km whereas for a CNG vehicle it is 4.5 to 5 and diesel anywhere between 9 and 10 a km. Therefore, in the long run, we have a huge advantage in the running cost," says Mayank Bindal, founder and CEO, Snap E Cabs. The business model of these companies is also different. Uber and its biggest rival in India, Ola, are aggregators who provide a platform to individual cab drivers and do not themselves own vehicles. The electric vehicle (EV) players own or lease the cars and employ drivers in shifts. This gives them an edge when it comes to managing service standards and driver behaviour but can also be risky as the residual value of an EV is uncertain, and remains on their books. The high capital cost of EVs also means scaling up is tougher. Its going to be a long-haul gameplan for us. The idea of owning cars slows down our scalability in comparison to Ola and Uber," admitted Bindal. Uber has its own plans for electric vehicles, with a vision to go fully carbon neutral by 2040. But overhauling the existing business will not be easy. Over the next three years, the company plans to induct 25,000 electric cars in its fleet. By then, BluSmart aims to have a fleet four times that size. Auto, bike taxis rise View Full Image (Graphic: Mint) In the companys latest earnings call on 7 November, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi clubbed India along with the US, the UK and Canada as markets where Uber has strengthened its position. Since the end of the pandemic, Uber has recovered faster than others in the four-wheeler cab business, while it has doubled down on the three-wheeled autorickshaw and two-wheeled motorbike taxi segments which are growing at a faster pace. Khosrowshahi said during the earnings call that the autorickshaw segment accounted for 40% of all trips in Q3 of 2023. Today we do more trips on two- and three-wheelers than on cars, our flagship product," Singh said. On the flip side though, these are also segments with lower margins and where the threat of regulatory disruptions is higher. According to Redseer, a market research and consulting firm, the number of ride-hailing bookings in 2022, at 1.2 billion, topped the pre-covid 2019 level of 1.16 billion. But the industry that went into the pandemic isnt the same as the one that emerged from it. In 2019, cabs accounted for 65% of rides, while autorickshaws and two-wheelers accounted for 23% and 12%, respectively. Last year, the share of cabs had shrunk to just 38% followed closely by autorickshaws at 36%, and motorbikes at 25%. There are multiple reasons for the growth of bike taxis. The two-wheeler market is much bigger than cars, so availability is much higher, which is critical in smaller cities and towns. Also, they are at least four times more fuel efficient, so the fares are significantly lower. The online ride hailing market reached approximately 1.3 times its pre-covid level in October in terms of gross booking value, said Saurav Chachan, associate partner, Redseer. The industry has witnessed democratization with the increasing adoption of the 3-wheeler and 2-wheeler category post-covid, which is reflected in roughly two-three times growth for these categories compared to pre-covid levels," he added. This is both good and bad news for Uber. Despite its relatively thinner spread125 cities in India against Olas 200-plus cities, Redseer says Uber regained its lead over Ola in the first quarter of 2021 and has consolidated its position since then (see chart). In the cab segment, the gap has widened over the last four quarters. In the second quarter of 2021, Uber had a lead of about five million cab bookings over Ola. In the last quarter of 2022, even as both bounced back, Uber witnessed over 20 million more bookings than Ola. Chasing profitability View Full Image (Graphic: Mint) While the market may have recovered, the path to profitability is still hazy. Ubers revenue from operations in India slumped during the pandemic to 370.5 crore in 2020-21 from 719.06 crore in 2019-20 (the numbers are not strictly comparable as fiscal year 2020 included revenue from Uber Eats, which was bought by Zomato in 2020). Uber incurred a loss of 333.9 crore in 2020-21. The steps that Uber has taken to improve unit economics, such as reducing incentives to drivers and hiking fares, have had an impact on its bottom line. In fiscal year 2021-22, revenue grew to 397 crore while losses fell to 216 crore. Still, they are significant. Uber is yet to file earnings for 2022-23 with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, but the numbers are expected to be better. We are on a steady path to profitability and feel good about the economics of our business today," said Singh. There are parts of the business that are profitable, others where we are investing, and some where we are at an early stage of establishing a product market fit." Standard Chartered Plc is in the early stages of a search for its next chair as the emerging markets -focused bank prepares for the departure of Jose Vinals, whos entering his eighth year in the role. The London-based lender is working with outside recruiters on a global search to identify candidates to find a replacement for Vinals, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. Vinals, a former deputy governor of the Spanish central bank and International Monetary Fund executive, began as chairman in late 2016, when the bank was under fire from US prosecutors for sanctions violations linked to Iran. Nine years is the maximum length of service recommended by the UKs Corporate Governance Code. He is expected to announce his departure as early as next year, and the bank has begun a global search for his successor to ensure a smooth transition ahead of it, one of the people said. The Board (and nominating committee) regularly reviews succession planning and has oversight of detailed plans, including the process of external market mapping of key Board and senior management roles," according to a statement from Standard Chartered. The next chair will help oversee a new chief financial officer. In August, the lender said Andy Halford is retiring and will be replaced by investment banking veteran Diego De Giorgi over the next year. One of the top priorities for Vinals successor will be preparing for the eventual departure of Chief Executive Officer Bill Winters, who has led the firm since June 2015, making him the longest-serving CEO of a major British bank. The companys share price has dropped by around a third since Winters joined, giving it a market value of about 17.7 billion ($22.3 billion). Standard Chartered makes almost all of its money in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. It was in the spotlight at the start of the year after Bloomberg reported that First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC had explored a potential bid for the company. FAB said in January it had considered an offer but was not currently doing so. During his tenure, Vinals has overseen a turnaround of Standard Chartered as Winters curtailed risk, cut costs and moved to improve the banks digital offering. Vinals has also helped the lender walk a delicate tightrope between Beijing and Washington, given its role as a major US dollar clearer with significant operations in China. Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. The election campaign for the November 30 Telangana Assembly polls came to an end at 5 pm Tuesday, after witnessing the longest poll season among the five states including Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan, which have already completed the voting process of their elections. The upcoming Telangana Assembly elections is going to witness a triangular contest between Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), the Congress, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The ruling BRS is trying to retain power for the third consecutive term, while the Congress is vigorously trying make a comeback, and the BJP is also confident to win a clear majority to get into power in the state. As per election commission, as many as 2,290 contestants are in the fray for the upcoming Assembly elections, including BRS supremo and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, his minister-son KT Rama Rao, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president A Revanth Reddy, and BJP Lok Sabha members Bandi Sanjay Kumar, D Arvind, and Soyam Bapurao. Not only Telangana Chief Minister KCR is contesting from two constituencies Gajwel and Kamareddy but TPCC president Revanth Reddy is also contesting from Kodangal and Kamareddy and BJP MLA Etala Rajender from Gajwel and Huzurabad constituencies. Meanwhile, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, on the last day of campaigning, said it is the fight of ideology and neither PM Modi, nor he will compromise on it," PTI reported. "I fight the hatred in the heart of Narendra Modi. There are 24 cases against me. There are cases everywhere in Assam, Gujarat, Bihar, and Maharashtra. For the first time, I was sentenced to 2 years for defamation. After that, my Lok Sabha membership was cancelled. They took away my government house. I don't want your house, take it! My home is in the hearts of the crores of the people of India. Neither Narendra Modi will compromise with me nor will I compromise with him. It's a battle of ideology that my family has been fighting for years," PTI quoted Gandhi as saying. The former Congress president alleged that the BRS, BJP and AIMIM are working together, and pointed out that he BRS had supported the Modi government in Parliament. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed gratitude to the people of Hyderabad for their unforgettable support during his rally and said that BJP is emerging as Telangana's preferred choice. "Immense gratitude to the people of Hyderabad for their unforgettable support! It's clear that BJP is emerging as Telangana's preferred choice, reflecting our commitment to the state's progress and prosperity," PM Modi shared in a video on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter). Partnership could boost member outcomes Duane Conners describes the multiyear deal that his fast-growing technology startup recently signed with Independent Health as one of those "awesome local visionary contracts." In the partnership, Independent Health will use wellconnected's flagship product, allco, to connect its members to community services such as food and nutrition assistance, transportation services, housing assistance, income support and employment, educational programs and mental health counseling. "They just get what we can do," said Conners, co-founder and CEO of Cheektowaga-based wellconnected. "We're working together on how we can actually go and do those things. But there's a distinct value proposition for both of us to each other." Wellconnected's allco is a centralized digital platform that links health insurers, social care agencies and patients. Independent Health said allco's "user-friendly and accessible interface" will help its representatives to easily connect members to needed resources, which the health plan believes will boost access to services. Access, the insurer noted, is one of the key social determinants of health, the conditions that contribute to health outcomes and inequities. "While many services and organizations are available in our community, it can be hard for individuals to know who to call when they need help," said Roberta Rifkin, senior vice president of government affairs and strategic partnerships at Independent Health. "That's why we're glad to have partnered with wellconnected to make things easier for our members to connect them to the right resources they need." Conners and co-founder Jamie Bono started wellconnected in March 2021. Both left long careers in the health care industry to do consulting work, bringing modern technology solutions to nonprofit organizations and non-hospital-based health care providers. After a while, they noticed they were helping community-based organizations in Western New York with the same things. That's when they decided to form wellconnected, seeing the need for an all-in-one technology solution to bridge communication gaps in care and to improve collaboration between community-based organizations, community members and funding agencies. "We always knew health care was going to find value in what we did and how we do it and the data that can be curated and all the back end stuff that goes along with it," Conners said. "But in the real human element of it, it's really just designed to connect people to all the things that surround them in a way to make them more successful and healthy." Wellconnected, headquartered near Buffalo Niagara International Airport, has six employees and is "growing exponentially," Conners said. And while the Independent Health partnership isn't the largest deal wellconnected has done, Conners said it might be one of the most meaningful because of the local ties. "Having been in the startup scene here in Western New York for quite some time, it's really cool to be a local startup that's being used by, for lack of a better term, an enterprise-level agency in Western New York," Conners said. "And that's a really cool feeling." Welcome to Buffalo Next. This newsletter from The Buffalo News will bring you the latest coverage on the changing Buffalo Niagara economy from real estate to health care to startups. Read more at BuffaloNews.com. UB makes health insurance change for students University at Buffalo in mid-November announced it will no longer require health insurance for domestic students as of next fall. It also is discontinuing the university-sponsored insurance plan offered to them. The university said that health insurance will still be mandated for UB's international students, those studying abroad and intercollegiate athletes. John Della Contrada, vice president for university communications, said that fewer than 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students are enrolled in the university-sponsored plan that will be discontinued after the current policy year ends July 31. That's down from more than 4,000 enrollees at the plan's height, he said. To date, he said, UB has received "very few inquiries" from students about the change and is helping students, on a case-by-case basis, select a new plan. Della Contrada said the decision was based on two factors: the sharp decrease in the number of enrollees, which increased the plan's cost as well as the cost of health care services covered under the plan, as well as the broad availability of health insurance options for students through the public marketplace and due to New York's Medicaid expansion. "Given the availability of alternative options in the marketplace, the university is confident that students' well-being should not be negatively impacted," Della Contrada said. And while UB is eliminating the health insurance mandate for domestic students in fall 2024, the university said it still strongly recommends that all students carry health insurance. Typically, young adults can stay on a parent's health insurance plan until they turn 26. THE LATEST The Buffalo Niagara unemployment rate is rising. Doug Jemal got the green light to move ahead with the first part of his Simon Electric project. Elmwood Taco & Subs is facing charges at the National Labor Relations Board. What's the latest on the Buffalo Bills stadium construction project? Big Ditch Brewing is heading to Lockport. Renovations are on tap at two more facilities run by the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority. The state attorney general is suing PepsiCo. over pollution from single-use plastic containers. An ACV Auctions co-founder says WNY still has a ways to go to be a startup hotbed. Western New York cultural groups are sharing $1.3 million in state grants. A Jamestown nursing home is shutting down. Autism Services Inc. is dissolving. People Inc., The Summit Center are picking up the pieces. Buybuy Baby is coming back. The new Vive shelter is ready to open. Union workers at the General Motors engine plant in the Town of Tonawanda voted against a tentative contract agreement. A community group continues to criticize KeyBank's lending practices. Ellicott Development brings back Locker Room project. Lactalis seeks $1.2 million in tax breaks for latest investment project. Foursome plans new apartment project on Abbott Road in South Buffalo. A Clarence company is acquiring a Medina adult care facility. Renovations at a closed Buffalo school provide housing for veterans. Where will the local auto plants fit in an electric vehicle world? Gov. Hochul formed a new health commission. What will it do? The Buffalo Bisons are looking for state money for stadium improvements. ICYMI Five reads from Buffalo Next: 1. Why do grocery stores move stuff around? There's a lot of science that goes into it, but the bottom line is increasing sales. 2. The Buffalo Niagara job market is stuck. But it's not sick. 3. Delaware North's new chief operations officer comes with a reputation as a 'game changer.' 4. Plug Power is in deep financial trouble. What that means for its big plans in Genesee County. 5. Flexlume is aglow over its new Lackawanna home. The Buffalo Next team gives you the big picture on the regions economic revitalization. Email tips to buffalonext@buffnews.com or reach Buffalo Next Editor David Robinson at 716-849-4435. Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up to get the latest in your inbox five days a week. The European Union vowed it would provide Ukraine with one million artillery rounds by March of next year. But deliveries are lagging, and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said this month that we have to assume" this target will not be achieved." The lesson is that once defense production capacity atrophies, its not easy to restore. Ukraine fires some 6,000 to 8,000 shells a day. Its soldiers need large quantities of the 155mm artillery shells that are a NATO standard and can be used in howitzers from the U.S., France, Poland, Germany and Slovakia. Yet foreign-policy chief Josep Borrell said on Nov. 14 that the EU had reached only 30% of the overall objective" for ammo deliveries. As of mid-November the EU had provided Ukraine with some 300,000 rounds of ammunition, but that supply came from existing stocks, according to a recent brief by the European Parliamentary Research Service. The European Defense Agency has also signed at least eight contracts with defense firms to procure an additional 180,000 155mm rounds, but these havent yet been delivered. Regardless of political will, Europes ammunition promise is unlikely to be fulfilled" because of the lamentable state of the defense industry," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said this month, according to the newspaper Ukrainska Pravda. European military spending declined sharply after the Cold War. Rebuilding capacity will require investment in new facilities, machines, and worker recruitment and training. Europe has also run into supply-chain constraints, according to a paper published in June by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). Chemring, a supplier of explosive materials for ammunition producers, said some of its customers have asked for output increases of 100%-200%," the report notes. Meanwhile metals and plastics for fuses and casings" are also reportedly in short supply." The good news is that Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said that since February the EUs ammunition production capacity has increased 20% to 30%, according to the European Parliamentary Research Service. But Mr. Borrell said that even if the EUs defense industry has the capacity to produce 1 million shots a year" that does not mean that we [will] have 1 million shots ready by March." Even that capacity would still be too low, given that EU countries need to replenish their own stocks after giving ammunition to Ukraine. IISS cites reports suggesting that in a high-intensity conflict the U.K. could run out of ammunition in just eight days," while German stocks would last somewhere between a few hours and a few days." These shortages are especially dangerous as Russia moves to a wartime production pace of arms. The European Parliamentary Research Service says Russia produced some 1.7 million rounds in 2022 and seeks to produce some three million rounds annually by 2025. Tehran supplied Moscow with more than 300,000 shells between November 2022 and April 2023, the Wall Street Journal reports. And a South Korean lawmaker said the countrys top spy agency believes Pyongyang provided the Kremlin with more than a million artillery shells since early August, according to the Associated Press. Threats to global order will proliferate as the worlds authoritarians forge tighter defense ties. The post-Cold War peace is over, and the West is now paying for its decades of military under-investment. Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. The 54th edition International Film Festival of India (IFFI) concluded in Goa on Tuesday. The closing ceremony witnessed Endless Borders" winning the Best Film Award. Actor-director Rishab Shetty bagged the Special Jury Award for his film Kantara, veteran Hollywood actor and producer Michael Douglas was honoured with the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award and Panchayat Season 2 makers picked up the Best Web Series Award. Best Film: Endless Borders The Best Film Award Golden Peacock was given to Iranian film Endless Borders, directed by Abbas Amini. The film narrates the story of an Iranian teachers odyssey amidst the turmoil ignited by the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Best Actor-Male: Pouria Rahimi Sam Iranian actor Pouria Rahimi Sam bagged the award for best actor (Male) for his performance in the movie Endless Borders. A Russian oil tanker sanctioned by Washington is still floating about 1,600 miles from the Indian port where it was due to unload as New Delhi grapples with a dilemma over whether to let the vessel dock. The longer it drifts and the vessel has now been stuck in its current location for about 10 days the more it underscores the challenge that India faces as it seeks to import cheap Russian crude, and at the same time avoid the risk of damaging ties with the US. Any sign that the US can impede Russias capacity to deliver its own oil would concern the Kremlin, which has amassed a large fleet of vessels to work around Group of Seven sanctions following the war in Ukraine. The NS Century, a Liberia-flagged Aframax owned by Sovcomflot, started its journey from South Koreas Yeosu in late October, according to ship-tracking data. Cargoes of Sokol, which loads from the eastern Russian port of De-Kastri, have often undergone ship-to-ship transfers off Yeosu. Before it stopped, the vessel was heading to the Indian port of Vadinar, where state-owned refiner Indian Oil Corp. has a mooring facility and Nayara Energy, which counts Rosneft as its single largest shareholder, has a refinery. A Nayara Energy spokesman said the cargo didnt belong to the refiner. Indian Oil didnt immediately comment on the cargo or the delivery. Indias Directorate General of Shipping said last week it was awaiting instructions from the government as to whether the ship would be allowed to unload its cargo. The US recently sanctioned five vessels for using Western services for the transport of oil that cost more than $60 a barrel, a price cap imposed by the Group of Seven nations. The ships include NS Century. INDIAN OIL CORP More Information Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. After around 5 percent rise in the stock in November, brokerage house Axis Securities has picked Aarti Drugs as its top pick of the week. This is on the back of industry tailwinds in API, strong presence in niche segments and margins expansions due to fall in raw material prices. The brokerage has a buy recommendation on the stock with a target price of 528, indicating an upside of 10 percent from its current market price of 480.30. Aarti Drugs is a prominent manufacturer of APIs, Pharma Intermediates, and Specialty Chemicals. The company operates as part of the Aarti Group, a conglomerate with a net worth of $900 million. With over 50 compounds for antibiotics, antiprotozoal, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, and antifungal, Aarti Drugs has emerged as a market leader in APIs. The consolidated revenue for this year stood at 2,700 crore, with a significant contribution of 39 percent coming from export revenues. The companys exports of essential molecules to North America, Latin America, and Africa have further strengthened its reach. Regulated exports constituted 64 percent of the comprehensive export portfolio, which necessitated rigorous product approvals and facility enhancements. Semi-regulated market contributes 35 percent and non-regulated is 1 percent. Stock Price Trend The stock has gained 6.5 percent in the last 1 year and almost 9 percent in 2023 YTD. However, it has given positive returns in just 5 of the 11 months in the current calendar year, gaining the most in July, almost 28 percent, and shedding the most in January, down around 13 percent. It has risen around 5 percent in November so far, snapping losses after 3 straight months of decline. Between August and October, the stock shed 21 percent Currently trading at 480.30, the stock is over 25 percent away from its 52-week high of 645.00, hit on July 25, 2023. Meanwhile, it has advanced around 55 percent from its 52-week low of 310.80, hit on March 20, 2023. Earnings In the September quarter, the firm's net profit fell over 5 percent to 34.58 crore from 36.58 crore in the year-ago period. Meanwhile, its revenue also shed almost 8 percent to 577.54 crore as against 624.83 crore in the same quarter last year. Its EBITDA as well, declined around 6 percent to 66.16 crore in the September 2023 quarter versus 70.27 crore in the September 2022 quarter. Investment Rationale: Anti-diabetic in the API and specialty chemicals to support incremental growth: The company has augmented new capacities in antdiabetics and specialty chemicals and is expected to add incremental revenue of 400 crore- 500 crore over the next 3 years, said the brokerage. The growth is already contributed by the newly-launched niche product Chlorosulphonation in Q2FY24. The overall revenue is contributed by products like the antibiotic and therapeutic category which contributed 45 percent, antiprotozoal - 16 percent, anti-inflammatory -12 percent, anti-diabetic - 16 percent, antifungal - 8 percent, and the rest at 3 percent, it noted. The API segment witnessed a moderation in realisations for most of the API products along with moderation in input costs, it added. Healthy capex plans: The brokerage pointed out that the company has incurred a capex of 315 crore in the last 2 years, mainly towards capacity expansion, backward integration, and new product launches. Revenue growth in FY24 is expected to be supported by Tarapur Greenfield Capex for dermatology and specialty chemicals, which are expected to commence operations in Q4FY24 and Q2FY25, respectively. The company plans to make an additional capex of 250-300 crore in FY24E, it further stated. Specialty chemicals: The demand visibility in the industry around the globe has been weak. Moreover, the absence of a couple of campaign-based products in H1 FY24 has impacted this segment. Theres also some spillover of execution of campaign-based specialty products into the next quarter, said Axis. Industry outlook: Axis expects demand for API to continue in the upcoming quarters with the ease of supply-chain bottlenecks. An increase in volumes fall in solvent prices, and operating leverage also led to improvement in the EBITDA margins. It believes Aarti Drugs, being the leader in the domestic industry, is well-placed to grab this opportunity in the future. Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before taking any investment decision. AARTI DRUGS More Information Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Continuing their triumphant run for the 9th successive trading session, Bajaj Auto shares surged to a new historic high of 6,039 apiece in today's trading session, surpassing their previous high of 5,960 apiece. The stock began today's session at 5,969.80 apiece and remained flat throughout the day before gaining substantial momentum in the final hour of trade, breaching the significant 6,000 mark for the first time. Also Read: Bajaj Auto, Eicher Motors among 8 Nifty Auto stocks that touched new highs this year; check full list Following the company's October sales release, the stock witnessed a one-way spike. In addition to this, strong financial performance, analysts' optimistic views, and positive market sentiments towards the automobile industry have further propelled the stock. In November so far, the stock surged 13%, outshining Nifty Auto, which posted an 8% gain during the same period. Notably, the stock has registered a staggering 66% rally year-to-date, the best yearly performance since CY10. In the current year, the company's market capitalisation surged from 1,03,541 crore to 1,69,722 crore, marking an impressive addition of 66,181 crore. Global brokerage firm Morgan Stanley has maintained its overweight rating on Bajaj Auto with a target price of 6,229 apiece. The brokerage highlighted that Triumph sales are advancing at a faster pace than anticipated. Also Read: 35 lakh weddings in less than a month! Which sectors and stocks should you invest in this season? In Q2, the company sold more than 8,000 units of Triumph Speed 400 motorcycles. The company is on track to take the brand experience to over 100 cities by year-end, up from the current 26. Earlier in July 2023, Bajaj Auto launched the Triumph Speed 400 and Triumph Scrambler 400X in association with British bike maker Triumph in India at affordable prices. These bikes compete with Eicher Motors - Royal Enfield. Also Read: Can Himalayan accelerate Royal Enfields market share? Triumph has been a combination of classic, iconic style and modern technology. The affordable-priced Triumph would attract a new set of aspirational customers for Bajaj Auto, according to analysts. The company reported a 19% YoY increase in total sales, recording 4,71,188 units in October 2023 as compared to 3,95,238 units in the same month of 2022. The total two-wheeler sales witnessed a 19% YoY growth, with 4,08,144 units sold in October 2023 as against 3,41,903 units sold in October 2022. Also Read: Maruti sets stage for price hikes in 2024 On the commercial vehicles front, the company sold 63,044 units in the domestic market, recording a growth of 35% YoY, while the export market witnessed a drop of 28% YoY. Disclaimer: The views and recommendations given in this article are those of individual analysts. These do not represent the views of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Shares of DB Realty jumped 3.42% to 211.40 apiece in early trade on Tuesday. In a significant development, the company's promoter group has sold 1.46 crore shares, representing a 2.91% stake in the company. The sale of these shares generated a substantial sum of 301 crore. Notably, a considerable portion of the proceeds, after tax deductions, has been reinvested by the promoters into the company as repayment of related party transactions and unsecured interest-free loan, the company said in a regulatory filing today. "The funds so infused have enabled the company to retire its entire debt, and therefore the company, on a standalone basis, shall be debt-free on a standalone basis on or before November 30, 2023," the company added. Also Read: Rekha Jhunjhunwala portfolio: DB Realty share price hits 52-week high The companys journey to become debt-free started about 3 years ago, when it had a debt of 1,373 crore (standalone) and 3,140 crore (consolidated) as of September 30, 2021. Since then, the company has single-mindedly focused on becoming debt-free and has undertaken asset monetisation and joint ventures as a route to achieving this goal. Additionally, the company said it also undertook a massive de-coupling exercise with the promoter group. Previously, the company had invested 1,500 crore in various promoter group entities. As on date, the company has exited all investments in the promoter group companies, recovering its entire preferential investment. Also Read: Oberoi Realty makes the right moves to woo investors This massive de-coupling effort has resulted in cash flow becoming available to the company, leading to the acquisition of a 100% stake in the Grand Hyatt Goa, a 75% stake in the Hilton Mumbai, and a 50% stake in the upcoming Marriott Marquis Hotel & Convention Centre, St. Regis, Aerocity, and Prestige Trade Centre at Delhimarking the company's entry into the hospitality business. Looking ahead, the company aims to build a substantial annuity portfolio and expects to possess more than 2.00 million sq. ft. of prime leasable office space in Mumbai CBD by 2028. D B Realty is positioned among the top-listed entities in the country based on equity base and is among the top 10 real estate listed companies based on market cap. Also Read: Realty cos gear up to meet FY24 launch target In another development, the company said it received information through a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) that Dr Kirit Somaiya filed a Public Interest Litigation in the Honorable Bombay High Court, wherein he claimed that the erstwhile government and Mumbai Municipal Corporation awarded four contracts to DBS Realty and the Pune-based Chordia Group of Companies to construct tenements for project-affected people in Mumbai. The company clarified, stating, We state that no such notice has been received by us. However, we vehemently deny all these allegations as contained in the subject post, which are absolutely false and entirely baseless." DB Realty is a real estate development company based in India. It is engaged in the development, construction, and sale of residential and commercial properties. The company's projects encompass a wide range of real estate offerings, including residential complexes, commercial spaces, and mixed-use developments. DB Realty shares have more than doubled investors' wealth this year, moving from 95 apiece to 208.50, translating into a staggering rally of 120%. In contrast, Nifty Realty has gained 63% during the same period. Also Read: Sunteck Realty share price jumps over 5%; Motilal Oswal expects a 41% upside According to Trendlyne shareholding data, Rekha Jhunjhunwala owns 1.99% of the company, equivalent to 10,000,000 shares as of the end of Q2FY24. The company's promoters maintain the majority stake at 53.8%, and foreign institutional investors (FIIs) hold a 2.2% stake in the company, while the general public holds 44% stake. At 10:30 PM, the stock was trading with a gain of 2% at 208.50 apiece. Disclaimer: The views and recommendations given in this article are those of individual analysts. These do not represent the views of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. The Nifty closed at 19,794.7, up by 0.48%. Throughout the day, the Nifty reached a high of 19,916.85 and a low of 19,800.0. On the other hand, the Sensex traded between 66,256.2 and 65,906.65, closing 0.31% higher at 65,970.04, which was 204.16 points above the opening price. In comparison to the Nifty 50, the Nifty Midcap 50 performed better, closing 0.64% higher. However, small cap stocks underperformed the Nifty 50, with the Nifty Small Cap 100 ending at 13,827.5, up by 41.4 points and 0.3% higher. The Nifty 50 has provided the following returns: - In the last 1 week: 0.57% - In the last 1 month: 3.95% - In the last 3 months: 3.06% - In the last 6 months: 6.98% - In the last 1 year: 7.19% The top gainers in the Nifty index were Adani Enterprises (up 8.90%), Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone (up 5.30%), Tata Motors (up 3.53%), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (up 3.39%), and Coal India (up 2.75%). On the other hand, the top losers in the Nifty index were Apollo Hospitals Enterprise (down 0.64%), ITC (down 0.58%), Eicher Motors (down 0.58%), Cipla (down 0.53%), and ICICI Bank (down 0.42%). The Bank Nifty ended at 43,769.1, with an intraday high of 43,960.3 and a low of 43,739.8. The performance of the Bank Nifty is as follows: - In the last 1 week: 0.48% - In the last 1 month: 2.0% - In the last 3 months: -1.34% - In the last 6 months: -0.93% - In the last 1 year: 2.04% Here is the list of top gainers and losers in different indexes during the trading session on November 28, 2023: Sensex: Top gainers: Tata Motors (up 3.56%), Bajaj Finserve (up 2.32%), Ultratech Cement (up 2.11%), Bajaj Finance (up 1.49%), NTPC (up 1.46%) Top losers: ITC (down 0.58%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 0.42%), ICICI Bank (down 0.33%), Power Grid Corporation Of India (down 0.19%), HDFC Bank (down 0.16%) Nifty: Top gainers: Adani Enterprises (up 8.90%), Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone (up 5.30%), Tata Motors (up 3.53%), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (up 3.39%), Coal India (up 2.75%) Top losers: Apollo Hospitals Enterprise (down 0.64%), ITC (down 0.58%), Eicher Motors (down 0.58%), Cipla (down 0.53%), ICICI Bank (down 0.42%) Nifty MidCap 50: Top gainers: Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, NMDC, Max Financial Services, ACC, Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Top losers: Tata Communications, Bharat Forge, Aurobindo Pharma, Polycab India, Abbott India Nifty Small Cap 100: Top gainers: Multi Commodity Exchange Of India, NBCC India, Brigade Enterprises, Century Textiles & Industries, Birla Corporation Top losers: Suzlon Energy, Amber Enterprises India, Edelweiss Financial Services, Jindal Stainless, Metro Brands BSE: Top gainers: Adani Wilmar (up 9.96%), Adani Enterprises (up 8.66%), The New India Assurance Company (up 7.93%), Prism Johnson (up 7.51%), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (up 7.11%) Top losers: Raymond (down 4.27%), Amber Enterprises India (down 4.11%), Suzlon Energy (down 3.92%), Jindal Stainless (down 3.73%), Eclerx Services (down 3.70%) NSE: Top gainers: Adani Wilmar (up 9.94%), Adani Enterprises (up 8.90%), BSE (up 8.20%), The New India Assurance Company (up 8.18%), Prism Johnson (up 7.57%) Top losers: Raymond (down 4.17%), Suzlon Energy (down 4.06%), Amber Enterprises India (down 3.99%), Eclerx Services (down 3.79%), Jindal Stainless (down 3.66%). Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Good Morning The News in Summary The Adani groups plan to exit its edible oils joint venture Adani Wilmar looked to be on stream with a number of investors keen to buy its stake. Elsewhere, TCS announced a provision of $125 million in its Q3 results after failing to get any relief from a US court in the lawsuit filed against it by Epic Systems. Meanwhile, Redington Indias appointment of V.S. Hariharan, a former independent director, as its group CEO, has riled investors for its apparent flouting of Sebi norms. In aviation news, the Jalan-Kalrock Consortium (JKC) which submitted the winning bid for Jet Airways faced further hurdles to taking flight while Go Firsts moratorium period was extended by 90 days; but with no white knight in sight, the airline will stay grounded for now. Adani Finds Potential Buyers for Stake in Wilmar JV The Adani groups plan to exit its edible oils joint venture (JV) Adani Wilmar is finding traction, with its Singapore-based partner Wilmar International, GQG Partners Llc and the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) evincing interest in picking up the Indian conglomerates 43.97% stake for $2-2.2 billion. All three have existing relationships with the group, with QIA buying a stake in Adani Green in August this year while GQG has been bullish on multiple Adani companies post the Hindenburg report of January this year. Other global funds may also be in the fray to pick up a share of the stake on offer in the 24-year-old JV, with Adani keen to close a deal by the end of FY24. The move marks a shift in Adanis focus from non-core ventures such as commodities and retail consumer goods to core infrastructure, energy, ports, logistics and cement businesses. A potential deal is complicated by the companys current promoter holding which is way above the regulatory limit of 75%. That means the new investors may have to work out a plan to bring it into compliance either through an open offer or a buyback of shares from the public. TCS to Take $125 Million Hit in EPIC Systems Lawsuit IT services market leader TCS will take a big hit to its Q3 earnings with the provision of $125 million in its results in relation to a 2016 trade secret lawsuit filed against the company by US-based Epic Systems. The privately held American healthcare software company had alleged in its filing that TCS stole its intellectual property (IP) while it was contracted to implement Epic's healthcare software. While the case has dragged on for years, TCS has been forced to make the current provision after the US Supreme Court last week rejected its appeal against an earlier verdict passed by the District Court of Wisconsin, upholding an order that includes $140 million in punitive damages. In 2016, Epic had secured a $940 million award against TCS in the case from a Wisconsin federal jury but this was halved to $420 million the next year. Of this, $140 million comprised compensatory damages and $280 million was punitive. In August 2020, a United States Court of Appeal vacated the judgment of the district court awarding $280 million in punitive damage but affirmed the $140 million compensatory damages award. Hello there! To advertise in this newsletter, hit us up at newsletters@livemint.com CEOs Appointment at Redington Raises Investors Hackles A decision by Redington India, Apple Inc.s largest distributor in India, to name V.S. Hariharan, a former independent director, as its group CEO, has riled several investors. and proxy advisory firms who see it as a misinterpretation of Securities and Exchange Board of India norms. The market regulators rule on the subject is clear: No independent director, who resigns from a listed entity, shall be appointed as an executive / whole time director on the board of the listed entity, its holding, subsidiary or associate company or on the board of a company belonging to its promoter group, unless a period of one year has elapsed from the date of resignation as an independent director. In this case, Hariharan stepped down as chair of the boards nomination and remuneration committee on 23 August, quit as independent director on 1 September, and joined as CEO 10 days later. In its defence, Redington says that since Hariharan is group CEO and not on the board, the cooling-off rule does not apply. In addition, proxy advisory firms say that Hariharan has been appointed as manager and not managing director, in order to bypass Sebi rules. Jet Lenders Ask New Owners to Produce Air Operator Certificate Theres no sign of any let-up in the dispute between the lenders to Jet Airways and the Jalan-Kalrock Consortium (JKC), with the former led by State Bank of India now asking the airlines new owners to present the necessary Air Operator Certificate (AOC) which is a prerequisite for commencing flight operations. The request for the AOC came during the hearing in a case at the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) involving the airline's Committee of Creditors (CoC) which has been contesting the airlines ownership transfer to JKC pending repayment of their loans. The lenders have in the past raised concerns over the consortiums funding sources and investigations into suspected money-laundering activities of one of its investors, Florian Fritsch. The troubles of two Indian airlines, Jet and Go First, are a reminder of why the business is so volatile. This video, though 4 years old, provides some excellent insights into why so many airlines go bankrupt: Last Word The skeletons just keep tumbling out at Byjus. After auditors and investors, it is now the turn of investigative agencies to question the business practices of the edtech startup. With the Enforcement Directorate (ED) putting out its show cause notice for violation involving an amount of Rs. 9362.35 Crore under FEMA, 1999," on social media platform X, Byjus stern denial earlier appeared to be another sign of the chaos within. That the company has been poorly served both by its founders and the executive officers they appointed is apparent. The only question now is whether Byjus many faults can be attributed to intentional maleficence or merely to poor oversight. Answer to the Question Florian Fritsch, who is chairman of Kalrock Capital, invested in Tesla Corp in 2008, a case of putting his money where his mouth, is since he was also the first person to drive a Tesla in Bavaria. Do you have any questions? Send in your queries to sundeepkkhanna@gmail.com Were you forwarded this email? Did you stumble upon it online? Sign up here. Market regulator Sebi has decided to promote investments through Small and Medium REITs (SM REITs). On Saturday, the Sebi board approved amendments to REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) Regulations, 2014 in order to create a regulatory framework for the facilitation of SM REITs , with an asset value of at least 50 crore vis-a-vis minimum asset value of 500 crore for existing REITs.The decision was approved at the meeting of the board of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in Mumbai. Industry experts welcomed the Sebi decision to regulate fractional ownership real estate market. Aryaman Vir, CEO at WiseX said, As the pioneers of Fractional Ownership model and neo-realty investments in India, we applaud SEBI's progressive move in regulating the fractional ownership framework with the amendments to the REIT Regulations. Sebi Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch said the objective of the Small and Medium Real Estate Investment Trusts is to help expand the market significantly so that more retail investors can have fractional ownership in REIT units. She also said the regulator is open to looking at creating more such products. SEBI's acknowledgment of the growing trend of fractional ownership platforms and extending regulatory oversight is commendable, said WiseX CEO. "We believe that it will not only foster investor interest in the real estate space but also ensure investor protection, common disclosure practices, and a robust redressal mechanism," he added. Vir, further added, Further, the lowered minimum asset value of 50 crore for Small and Medium REITs will open exciting opportunities for investors seeking more accessible entry points into real estate ownership. The ability of SM REITs to create separate schemes enhances flexibility and innovation in structuring real estate portfolios. We look forward to the positive impact these regulatory changes will bring to the fractional ownership ecosystem, promoting more inclusivity and diversification in real estate investments." Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. -With agency inputs Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Baroda BNP Paribas Mutual Fund announced the launch of the Baroda BNP Paribas Gold ETF. The scheme opened for public subscription on November 28, 2023, and will close on November 30, 2023. The scheme re-opens for continuous sale and purchase within five days from the date of allotment. What kind of mutual fund scheme is this? This is an open-ended exchange-traded fund replicating/tracking the domestic prices of gold. This product is suitable for investors seeking Long-term capital appreciation Investment in physical gold and returns that track the domestic price of gold subject to tracking error What is the main objective of investing in this fund? The investment objective of the scheme is to generate returns that are in line with the performance of physical gold in domestic prices, subject to tracking error. However, there is no assurance that the investment objective of the scheme will be realized and the scheme does not assure or guarantee any returns. How may one invest in this scheme? Investors can invest under the scheme with a minimum investment of 5000 per plan/option and in multiples of Re 1. There is no upper limit for investment. Under normal circumstances, the asset allocation of the scheme will be as follows: Instruments Indicative allocations (% of total assets) Risk Profile Physical gold & gold related instruments 95% to 100% High Debt instruments, units of debt mutual fund schemes, money market instruments, cash & cash equivalents etc 0% to 5% Low to Medium Are there similar mutual funds in the market? To date, many asset management companies (AMCs) have launched such gold exchange-traded funds, thus, allowing inclined investors to avail of returns corresponding to the total returns of the securities in this particular index. These include: Name of the fund 10-year returns (in %) Axis Gold ETF 5.80 Nippon Gold ETF 5.80 SBI Gold ETF 6.02 IDBI Gold Exchange Traded Fund - ICICI Prudential Gold ETF - Invesco India Gold ETF 5.86 Kotak Gold ETF 6.13 HDFC Gold Exchange Traded Fund 6.02 UTI Gold Exchange Traded Fund - Aditya Birla Sun Life Gold ETF 6.12 SBI- ETF Gold - Canara Robeco Gold Exchange Traded Fund - Edelweiss Gold ETF - Source: MoneyControl How will the scheme benchmark its performance? The schemes benchmark is determined by the domestic price of gold, given that the scheme invests in both physical gold and gold-related instruments. The AMC/Trustee reserves the right to change the benchmark for evaluation of the performance of the scheme from time to time, subject to SEBI Regulations and other prevailing guidelines if any. Are there any entry or exit loads to this scheme? This scheme involves no Entry Load", which means that investors do not have to pay anything to park their earnings in this scheme. The Exit Load" would also be Nil". The AMC reserves the right to revise the load structure from time to time. Such changes will become effective prospectively from the date such changes are incorporated. Who will manage this scheme? Vishnu Soni would be looking after investments in this scheme. Does the fund contain any inherent risk? The scheme involves High Risk" as per the details mentioned in the Scheme Information Document and is best suited to investors willing to understand that their principal will be subject to high risk only. However, investors should consult their financial advisors if they doubt whether the product is suitable for them. Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. The National Labor Relations Boards acting regional director has dismissed union claims that Tesla illegally fired workers in retaliation for an organizing drive. Tesla Workers United had accused Tesla of firing over 30 workers the day after the organizing effort went public in February. Tesla denied the firings were retaliation; the company claimed the firings were based on performance reviews Tesla routinely makes, and that the decisions were made prior to the launch of the campaign. Tesla Workers United will appeal the dismissed charges to the NLRB general counsels Office of Appeals in Washington, D.C., said Michael Dolce, an attorney for Tesla Workers United. The NLRB said an appeal must be filed by Dec. 8. Bloomberg was the first to report the dismissal of the case. Under federal labor law, it is illegal for an employer to fire workers because of their union activity. But it needed to be proven that was the reason the Tesla workers were fired. In a letter to Dolce, NLRB acting regional director Dave Turner said the NLRB had investigated the charges and he had decided further proceedings were not warranted, leading to the dismissal. Turners correspondence to Dolce did not provide additional details of the investigation. Tesla Workers United had also alleged Tesla had violated the National Labor Relations Act in other ways, including engaging in surveillance of employees and interrogating employees about the union. Those allegations were also dismissed. The NLRB acting regional director found merit to two other allegations filed by Tesla Workers United, both involving workplace practices. If the parties dont settle, the NLRB will issue a complaint resulting in a hearing with an administrative law judge, according to NLRB documents. Tesla Workers Uniteds organizing drive, focused on workers in Teslas Autopilot division, drew widespread attention when it was announced, given the high profile of Tesla and Elon Musk, its CEO. Musk has spoken out against unions, and unions have unsuccessfully attempted to organize workers at his facilities. Workers United is well known for organizing campaigns at some other employers, including Starbucks and the Lexington Co-Op. Its campaign at Tesla has been low profile over the past few months, and has not yet led to an election overseen by the NLRB to vote on union representation. Before Telsa Workers United launched its campaign, there was an effort five years ago to organize workers at the Tesla site by the United Steelworkers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. That campaign has not yet resulted in an election, either. Meanwhile, Tesla remains a target of union organizers. The United Auto Workers, freshly off ratified contracts with the Detroit Three, has its eye on Tesla, among other automakers with nonunion workforces. UAW President Shawn Fain has talked about workers at Tesla, Honda and Toyota as the UAW members of the future. Come Thursday, Dubai will welcome global leaders at COP28, the annual climate change conference. Once again, the 198 parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will discussand bicker overhow to stop the Earth from heating beyond redemption. They are likely to discuss methane (an often overlooked greenhouse gas), climate finance (especially following the recently set-up loss and damage fund"), and the pace of phasing out fossil fuels (which no one quite wants to, or can, let go of, yet). Effective communication of the trickyand contentiousscience of climate again poses a challenge. Can the UN, with its enormous scientific knowledge, generate political will and consensus? COP through the years The US and China, the worlds two biggest emitters, have never hosted the annual conference. Germany has been the most frequent host, by virtue of having the seat of the secretariat in Bonn, and hence, the default host if no member comes forward. COP3, Kyoto Protocol (1997) Treaty requires 37 mainly developed nations and the EU to take the lead in reducing emissions as a reflection of their historical damage. COP7 (2001) The US, under the Bush administration, withdraws from the Kyoto Protocol following COP6. COP15 (2009) Developed countries make a pledge to mobilize $100 bn/year to help developing countries combat climate change. COP19 (2013) Series of walkouts by poor countries as advanced nations insist on postponing discussions on who should pay for climate action. COP21, Paris Agreement (2015) UNFCCC members agree to limit warming to 2C, preferably 1.5C. This requires halving global emissions by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2050. Introduction of a five-year plan called Nationally Determined Contributions by countries. COP25 (2019) The US, under Trump administration, withdraws from the Paris Agreement (rejoined in 2021) COP27 (2022) Breakthrough agreement on new loss and damage" fund for vulnerable countries. On the agenda The Global Stocktake": Governments will assess how they are placed to meet the promises of the 2015 Paris deal, and will accordingly chart the actions for the next phase. Energy transition: The phase-out of fossil fuels will again be in the spotlight. Climate finance gap: Crucial, especially with progress on the "loss and damage fund". Poorer and vulnerable nations need this money desperately as they face the music from the climate change largely brought upon them by the rich world. Also: Parties are expected to prioritize climate adaptation and resilience in low-income countries in order to combat climate change. Whats the latest on climate The 2015 Paris deal foresaw global warming "well below" 2C, with an aim for 1.5C (the extent of warming" is measured as the increase over levels seen before the worlds industrialization) in the long run. But the mercury has already breached that aim often this year, with record temperatures since July. Countries individual pledges for now fall so short that a 2.5-2.9C warming is on the cards by 2100 unless they show greater will, a new UN report suggests. Thats the context going into COP28. The culprits, then and now Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that heat the globe set a new record of 57.4 gigatonnes of CO-equivalent in 2022. According to a new UN report, by 2030, GHG emissions could rise a further 3%, instead of decreasing. Rich countries are responsible for the majority of the rise in global temperatures as fossil fuels led much of their industrialization. The three pillars of climate action Climate action and governance revolves around the following three pillars, which focus on not just prevention and cure, but also adjusting better to the grim reality. Mitigation involves reducing or preventing emissions through new technologies, renewable energy sources, making older equipment more energy-efficient, or changing consumer behaviour. While mitigation involves reducing harmful impact to the planets climate, adaptation is about adjusting better to actual or expected changes in climatic conditions. Loss and damage (L&D) The aim is to address the impact of warming on developing and less affluent nations, especially those highly vulnerable to the effects that cannot be avoided despite mitigation and adaptation efforts. The concept dates back to 1991, four years before COP1. Vanuatu, representing the Alliance of Small Island States, proposed an international insurance pool to address the repercussions of sea level rise. But it took two decades for the issue to resurface: at COP27, countries finally agreed on a fund to compensate vulnerable nations. Whats the latest? On 4 November, a panel set up at COP27 came up with a draft framework for funding that will be sent to leaders for adoption at COP28. Fuelling a disaster Power generation contributes the most to human-led emissions. Despite calls for a phase-out, investments in fossil fuels far exceed those in renewable energy. Fifteen G20 nations still meet three-quarters of their energy needs from fossil fuels, showed a Mint analysis. New Delhi: India is facing a major shortage of dry fodder, according to two scientists at the Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute (IGFRI), pointing to a supply gap that could further inflate milk prices. The shortage of between 25% and 90% of the critical livestock input is put down to increased cattle population, low availability of grassland area, stubble burning and use of paddy strawthat would otherwise become fodder for ethanol production. The 25% shortage in dry fodder is in mainland regions, but its much more pronounced in northeastern states and Himachal Pradesh, where it is up to 90%, according to one of the scientists at the Jhansi-based research institute. Both scientists spoke anonymously to Mint. The development assumes significance because retail milk prices have shot up year-on-year, as fodder, a key feed ingredient for livestock, has become more expensive. On Sunday, the all-India average retail milk price stood at 57.52 a litre against 54.9 during the corresponding period last year. Fodder makes 70% of the cost of livestock management, with the remaining 30% going on breeding and healthcare, this person said. The second scientist said the shortage of dry fodder is mainly because of the diversion of paddy straw to industry for ethanol production, shrinking grassland and an exponential rise in livestock population. Indias cattle population has gone up from 40 million at Independence to 527 million now, as per the 20th Livestock Census, released by the ministry of fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying in June. However, the area described a grassland has remained nearly the same as at Independence. The growing mechanization of agriculture has also impacted the natural sources of dry fodder, such as the crop residue generated from husking of paddy, wheat, pulses, and oil meal cakes, the second person said, adding that 40% of crop residue is utilized for livestock feed. Currently, India is dealing with a fodder crisis with the daunting challenge of producing enough feed and fodder from an already shrinking land resource. As per the Land Use Statistics 2018-19, out of Indias landmass of 328.7 million hectares, 139.3 million hectares is the net sown area and 197.3 million hectares the gross cropped area. Additionally, erratic fodder supply during the summer months or a drought-like situation widens the gap in the supply chain. The recently estimated deficit in green fodder is 11.24%, and 23.4% in the case of dry fodder. The shortage is regional and seasonal as well. During monsoon, production increases while in summer, it reduces to a minimum level. The grassland area is declining. We are demanding for creation of national grassland authority with the mandate to identify all grassland areas available in the country and work on its sustainable use," the second scientist said. Queries sent to the animal husbandry and dairying department, agriculture department and IGFRI remained unanswered at press time. India ranks fourth in global feed production with 43.3 million tonnes. The global animal feed market was $501.9 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow to $606.3 billion by 2028, according to the International Feed Industry Federation. As per the Food and Agriculture Organization, the world has to produce 60% more food by 2050 to feed a total population that is expected to rise to 9.3 billion. This also has implications for animal-based protein production, which has to increase. The Delhi High Court on Tuesday fined the former Managing Director and co-founder of Bharat Pe, Ashneer Grover, 2 lakh for sharing inappropriate posts about Bharat Pe, despite giving assurance to the court that he wouldn't do so., Hindustan Times reported. HT noted that the court, however, dismissed Bharat Pe's plea to prohibit Ashneer Grover from posting defamatory content. This decision takes into account Grover's commitment to refrain from sharing any content in the future and his apology for the previous behaviour. Also Read: Ill be last man standing', says Ashneer Grover amid EOW probe in BharatPe case Earlier on November 24, Resilient Innovations, the parent company of fintech firm BharatPe, has filed a new case in the Delhi High Court alleging that Ashneer Grover disclosed 'confidential information' about the company. The case seeks an injunction, as reported by the Economic Times on November 24th. Also Read: BharatPe files fresh case at Delhi HC against Ashneer Grover for sharing 'confidential information': Report During the previous week, Ashneer Grover, the co-founder of BharatPe facing challenges, shared information on platform X regarding the distribution of equity and secondary components involved in the company's Series E funding round. The funding round, spearheaded by Tiger Global and featuring involvement from the Dragoneer Investor group and other participants, raised $370 million and resulted in a valuation of BharatPe at $2.86 billion. Also Read: BharatPe fraud: Ashneer Grover, Madhuri Jain stopped at Delhi airport However, Grover later removed the tweet. Also Read: BharatPe Ashneer Grover, wife, Madhuri Jain to appear before EOW for questioning today Earlier, Ashneer Grover appeared in front of the Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) for interrogation in connection to an alleged fraud case. This development followed a status report from the EOW revealing connections between eight human resource (HR) consultancy firms and relatives of Grover's wife, Madhuri Jain. (This is a developing story.) Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. India is set to add another aircraft carrier to its fleet worth almost 40,000 crore ($4.8 billion) as it seeks to counter Chinas naval presence in the Indian Ocean region, according to people familiar with the matter. The Defense Acquisition Council the countrys top defense decision making body headed by defense minister, Rajnath Singh is expected to clear the acquisition of its second indigenous carrier on Friday, people with direct knowledge of the development said, asking not to be named because the discussions are private. The new carrier, which can hold at least 28 fighter jets and helicopters and displaces 45,000 tons of water a measure of size for ships, will be flying the French Rafale jets, the people said. Indias first homemade carrier, INS Vikrant, joined the fleet last year and was built by Cochin Shipyard Ltd. The country also has a Russia-made aircraft carrier. A three-carrier battle group will be a show of strength for the Indian navy in the Indian Ocean at a time when the naval wing of the Chinas Peoples Liberation Army the largest navy in the world, with 370 ships and submarines is increasingly marking its presence in the region. An enlarged fleet also gives India the ability to exert influence in the seas by being present at many faraway places continuously, the people said. Representatives for the ministry of defense and Indian Navy declined to comment. The Indian Ocean is already heavily militarized with as many as 125 naval vessels, including those from the US, France and Japan, roaming its waters any given time, roughly three times the number of vessels deployed in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks when the Washington invaded Kabul. The waters off India havent seen such intense competition since World War II as both China and the US and its allies deploy more warships in the area. Thats forcing the South Asian nation to also raise its game. India plans to have 160 warships by 2030 and 175 by 2035 at an estimated cost of 2 trillion, according to people familiar. More than 60 vessels of the Indian Navy are currently at various stages of construction, they added. The country is carrying out more warship patrols than ever before amid growing concerns over Chinas rising naval prowess. India has also upgraded the runway facilities at the Andaman and Nicobar Islands allowing the aircrafts to land at night, the people said. Thats a bid to keep a tighter watch over the narrow water straits of Malacca, Sunda and Lombok in the southern Indian Ocean. The island chain is used by India and its partners for maritime surveillance. COCHIN SHIPYARD More Information Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. New Delhi: Indians, typically known for finalizing their travel plans very late, might contribute an additional 20-30% to the recently-introduced, visa-free destinations such as Malaysia, Thailand and Sri Lanka. This presents a significant opportunity for travel companies like Thomas Cook, EaseMyTrip, among others, particularly during the winter travel season. The challenges of low entry barriers and visa complexities have been a significant concern for Indians, especially in post-covid era, with a few visa operators dominating the market akin to a monopoly, said experts. Thomas Cook India and its subsidiary SOTC are seeing at least 20% growth in bookings for October-December 2023, from a year ago for these destinations, with their customers favouring either no-visa destinations or those offering easy terms or those granting visas on arrival. Thailand is already seeing 30% growth for the upcoming holiday season over November 2022 and January 2023. It waived visa requirements for Indians, allowing 30 days stay from 10 November to 10 May. Sri Lanka, too, introduced visa-free entry for visitors from India and six other countries, effective until 31 March. Malaysia announced on Monday that it will offer visa-free entry to citizens of India and China for stays of up to 30 days beginning 1 December to boost tourism. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told the media that this decision is similar to the initiatives by the other two countries. Around 70% Indians opt for nearby destinations, according to a report by McKinsey & Co. Prior to covid, Indias outbound tourism was among the fastest-growing in Asia, it said. It has already recovered 61% of pre-pandemic market, with 13 million outbound tourists in 2022. The report said it could grow to 80 million by 2040. Thomas Cook is witnessing early indications of increased inquiries for the destinations across all customer segments, and its consumer data reveals a strong demand among Indians for mini-cations", particularly closer-to-home and easy visa destinations. Indians of all demographics, especially ones wanting to utilize the year-end leave, extended weekends and public holidays are planning mini-cations to easy visa short-haul destinations, it said. Clients, especially those in the luxury segment find it easier when they are not bound by visas. Visas are more of a monetary decision for mid-market customers, where it makes a difference in terms of budgets. But, we see an increase in luxury customers planning trips to Thailand," Radhika Khanijo, chief executive of luxury travel firm Welgrow Travels, said. Nishant Pitti, chief executive and co-founder EaseMyTrip, said: Thailand leads the list, experiencing a substantial influx of Indians. Other countries benefiting from increased Indian tourism due to on-arrival visas also include the Maldives, Myanmar, Indonesia. The spike in outbound travel to these countries ranges from 20-30%. However, in the case of Malaysia, it is still early to predict the surge." THOMAS COOK INDIA More Information Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Varuni Khosla Varuni Khosla is a journalist with close to 14 years of experience in writing business news stories for mainstream newspaper companies like Mint and The Economic Times. She reports and writes on luxury and lifestyle brands, hospitality and tourism news, the business of sports, the business of advertising and marketing and alcohol brands. Read more from this author NEW DELHI : European multinational companies facing hefty tax demands in India have filed a review petition urging the Supreme Court to follow the Vienna Convention in interpreting the most-favoured nation (MFN) clause in tax treaties, two people familiar with the matter said. Ruling on a batch of five petitions, a landmark 19 October Supreme Court verdict had backed the tax department in the matter, effectively doubling the withholding tax outgo of these companies, and potentially opening up more companies to similar tax demands. The aggrieved companies soon filed review petitions; among them, Steria India challenged a tax ruling pertaining to the India-France tax treaty. Concentrix Services BV and Optum Global Solutions challenged a tax ruling interpreting the India-Netherlands treaty; and Nestles appeal was about India-Switzerland tax treaty. While each of the cases vastly differed from each other, the common question of law involved the MFN clause. For example, dividends earned by Dutch companies in India are subject to a withholding tax of 10%, under the Double Tax Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) between the two countries. However, under the treatys MFN clause, if India has a lower withholding tax rate with any other country, dividends will be taxed at the lower rate, not the treaty rate of 10%. Since India has a lower withholding tax rate of 5% with some other countries, the Dutch companies calculated tax at that rate, which was rejected by the tax department on the grounds that the government had not specifically notified it. The Supreme Court backed the tax department in these cases. The apex court is expected to allot a bench to hear the review petitions soon, the people cited above added. Vienna Convention acts as a guiding framework for various international treaties. The petition seeks the court to reconsider the judgment, drawing upon the principles of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties," said Suresh Swamy, partner, Price Waterhouse & Co LLP. As per the convention, treaties in force obligate the parties to comply in good faith. Its noteworthy that while some Indian tax treaties necessitate a notification for the MFN clause to be operational, others may be inherently effective. This aspect merits careful consideration to ensure that treaty obligations are honoured appropriately," Swamy added. However, the apex court held that MFN tax provisions dont automatically apply, and that the Indian government would have to notify the lower tax rate and since India didnt notify, Dutch entities will be subject to 10% tax rate. However, the appellants are of the view that Indian law may require notification, but the same practice may not be existent in the other country which has signed a DTAA with India. In its verdict, the apex court cited the example of the Chicago Convention, which governs charter air services. The court observed that under this convention, a charter airline doesnt need to obtain permission from the country it is landing in, if it doesnt pick up or collect cargo/passengers. However, it is a matter of practice that in reality, all chartered flights obtain landing permission at every airport they landirrespective of whether they are picking up passengers or not. The court similarly held even with the existence of MFN clause, subsequent practice of notifying rules must be taken into consideration. Currently, a group of petitioners have filed a review petition against the honble SC ruling, citing various grounds, including the need for a reinterpretation of Article 31(3)(b) of the Vienna Convention and the interpretation of the term is in the protocol," said Sandeep Jhunjhunwala, M&A tax partner at Nangia Andersen LLP. While the honourable SC delved into the principles of international interpretation, it appears to have adhered primarily to an Indian law perspective, overlooking the treaty practices of both states." 41 workers trapped inside a collapsed portion of the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel were rescued in quick succession on Tuesday after approximately 400 hours in the dark. They were brought out on stretchers by NDRF and SDRF personnel and underwent an initial health check up at the temporary medical camp built in the tunnel. The rescued workers were then whisked away from the Silkyara tunnel site in ambulances. The success of the rescue operation of our labour brothers in Uttarkashi is making everyone emotional. I want to say to the friends who were trapped in the tunnel that your courage and patience are inspiring everyone. I wish you all well and good health," tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also lauded the patience and courage" shown by their families over the past two weeks and the multi-agency rescue effort. I also salute the spirit of all the people associated with this rescue operation. Their bravery and determination have given new life to our labour brothers. Everyone involved in this mission has set an amazing example of humanity and teamwork," Modi wrote. Chants of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and 'Modi hai to Mumkin hai' rang out as the multi-agency rescue operation concluded on Monday evening. Locals were also seen distributing sweets outside the Silkyara tunnel as the rescue efforts continued. They sang in praise of a local deity 'Baba Baukhnag' and offered prayers at a makeshift temple set up in the vicinity. I feel relieved and happy to learn that all the workers trapped in a tunnel in Uttarakhand have been rescued. Their travails over 17 days, as the rescue effort met with obstacles, have been a testament of human endurance," tweeted President Droupadi Murmu. She dubbed it one of the most difficult rescue missions in history" and hailed the resilience of the trapped workers. In the 2010s, Laetitia Gorra helped define an aesthetic for working women in cities across the U.S. At the womens-only co-working space the Wing, the interior designer developed corporate-chic interiors that brought color and texture to office furniture and conference rooms in urban locations. Now shes aiming to do it againbut this time, for the post-pandemic work-from-homers who are used to carefully curated suburban houses. In December, Gorra is opening a co-working space in Hastings-on-Hudson, a small village in Westchester County, New York, where she lives. Gorra renovated and transformed a building on her property into The Studio, a micro co-working space," as she called it, which she said could accommodate up to 8 guests at a time. The space is accessed by referral only, where the daily rate will be $75, or $500 for a monthly membership. Its a common theme with entrepreneurial women in hybrid work," she said. We all have this same problem of needing to step away from home." Gorra is opening The Studio at a time when a slew of co-working space companies have found success by focusing on smaller rooms outside downtown neighborhoods. Among them is the company Industrious, which has 70 percent of its new co-working spaces outside business districts, compared with 30 percent before the pandemic. Another is co-working giant IWG, which also announced in August that it would open more spaces in the suburbs to capitalize on hybrid work. Now that suburbs are a key destination for co-working spaces, Gorra has designed hers to feel homey. The design for The Studio resembles a tidy living room and highlights how much Gorras tastes have grown up," she said. There is no millennial pink in sight. The walls are soft brown and the wooden floors were refinished with white paint. Furniture includes a long, black vintage table, antique wooden chairs and a bright orange sofa meant to bring a flash of color. A side room has a Pilates reformer, bathroom and shower, and Gorra said there would be a private phone booth installed there, too. I think people easily get distracted when you work from home. We wanted people to walk into the space and feel inspired and calm," Gorra said. We chose neutral colors and thought the pop of orange is quite soothing." Gorra said she didnt intend to compete with bigger companies but that she saw the space as an option for women who didnt want to commit to long-term agreements. She said she could envision expanding her idea to other towns. She worked for the Wing from 2017 until mid-2020, filling spaces with Pepto-pink settees, terrazzo accents and books organized by color. She left at the beginning of the pandemic, when the co-working space shuttered because of Covid. The Wing closed indefinitely in 2022, citing an inability to recover financially, and after years of internal turmoil. After she left the Wing, Gorra co-founded Roarke Design Studio, where she and her partner designed several offices. She also worked on the interiors of The Six Bells, a Brooklyn home-goods store owned by the Wing co-founder Audrey Gelman. Laetitia has a rare ability to turn something as stodgy as a corporate office into something transportive and magical," Gelman wrote in an email. Ive worked with her on projects that range from hundreds of thousands of square feet, to a tiny shop in Brooklyn. She really brings the same prowess to spaces big and small." Gorra said the space had so far attracted members including a Google executive and a Pilates instructor. The actress Molly Ringwald is also a member and said she planned to use the space to finish her memoir. There is a different mindset to going someplace else that I find to be helpful," Ringwald said. There is always something to do to distract me at home. I never get the urge to vacuum more than when I sit down to write at home!" View Full Image Laetitia has a rare ability to turn something as stodgy as a corporate office into something transportive and magical, said Audrey Gelman, the Wings co-founder. Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis accused his British counterpart Rishi Sunak of canceling a meeting in London on Tuesday, November 28, in a diplomatic row over the status of the Parthenon Sculptures, Reuters reported. In an official statement, Mitsotakis said, I express my annoyance that the British Prime Minister canceled our planned meeting just hours before it was due to take place." Greece's positions on the issue of the Parthenon Sculptures are well-known, Mitsotakis said, adding that he had hoped to have the opportunity to discuss them with his British counterpart. "Anyone who believes in the rightness and justice of his positions is never afraid of confronting arguments," he said as quoted by Reuters. Mitsotakis also complained in an interview with the BBC on Sunday that talks over a possible return of the sculptures to Athens were not advancing quickly enough. Parthenon temple row Greece has repeatedly requested that the 2,500-year-old sculptures that British diplomat Lord Elgin took from the Parthenon temple during his time as ambassador to the Ottoman Empire be returned to the museum permanently. The Greek government has been in discussions with British Museum chair George Osborne on a possible loan deal for the sculptures, which have been a source of dispute between the two countries for centuries. He claimed that the sculptures' continuous display in the British Museum was akin to severing the "Mona Lisa in half" and that "reunification" rather than ownership was at issue, as per Reuters reports. The marbles, which comprise around half of the 160-meter (525-foot) Parthenon frieze, have long been disputed by the British government, which maintains that they were obtained lawfully. A law prevents the British Museum from removing objects from the collection in certain circumstances, but the legislation does not prohibit a loan. What does Britain say? A British government official, on the condition of anonymity, said the row over the marbles meant it was not suitable for the meeting to go ahead. A spokesperson for Rishi Sunak had earlier stated that there were no plans to return the sculptures. Speaking about Mitsotakis' statement, Sunak's office said Britain's relationship with Greece was "hugely important" and the two countries needed to work together on global challenges like tackling illegal migration. Deputy British Prime Minister Oliver Dowden was available to meet Mitsotakis to discuss these issues instead," Sunak's office said. A meeting between Mitsotakis and British opposition leader Keir Starmer went ahead on Monday as planned. The Financial Times last week reported that Starmer would not block a "mutually acceptable" loan deal for the sculptures. (With Reuters inputs) Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. US authorities have allegedly foiled a plan to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the leader of Sikhs for Justice, recognized as a terrorist in India. Gurpatwant Pannun faced charges of terrorism and conspiracy in November, following the posting of a video on social media where he was interpreted as making threats against passengers flying with the national carrier, Air India. Pannun had his situation addressed by the White House, expressing utmost seriousness" and engaging with Indian authorities at the highest levels. On November 22, a spokesperson from the Ministry of External Affairs said the information shared by the US was a cause of concern for both countries." Also Read: Who is Gurpatwant Singh Pannun? Know more about Sikh separatist leader at the center of assassination bid in US Meanwhile, the accusations of India's potential role in the thwarted assassination attempt arise amid renewed concerns about violence stemming from resurgent calls for Sikh separatism. In an exclusive interview with the TIME, speaking on what reasons might the Indian government have for being involved in a plot to assassinate him, Pannun said that they (the Indian government) cannot afford for me to be alive as he has achieved a narrative. So they cannot afford for me to be alive as I have achieved a narrative. I'm able to educate, and peacefully and democratically challenge India's narrative of terror and terrorism. There are reports from Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the US Department of State in 1994, and other agencies about what transpired between 1984 to 1995. But we havent had a peaceful and democratic resolution to the contentious issue that has never been asked since 1950: should Punjab be an independent country? It was never asked of the people of Punjab in 1947, nor has it ever been put up on a ballot," Pannun told the TIME. Also Read: US provided more specific information than Canada, says Indian envoy He further highlighted, We are going to open this question up through the Khalistan referendum voter registration in Punjab on January 26, 2024." Regarding intelligence reports of US President Joe Biden discussing with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20 Summit about India's potential role in an assassination plot targeting him, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun was asked by the TIME if he had prior knowledge of these reports before they were made public. Also Read: Explained. India's contradictory response on assassination attempt claims of Nijjar, Pannun He said, I will say that on this particular question, and this is my official statement, the Indian government and the Modi regime want to kill me, they want to eliminate me for running the global Khalistan referendum voting campaign." I have seen how the Indian government wanted to eliminate civil disobedience during Operation Blue Star," he told the TIME, so I decided I was going to use international laws to hold individuals accountable." Also Read: 39 years of Operation Bluestar: Pro-Khalistan slogans at the Golden Temple, security beefed up The attempted assassination plot that has been uncovered by the Financial Times, and to which the Biden administration has given its statement, is not about me anymore. It is a challenge to American sovereignty. It is a threat to freedom of speech and democracy in America itself. But Ill let US authorities speak more on this. Also Read: How to prevent re-run of events like blue star Explaining the significant presence of Sikh diaspora communities, particularly in countries like Canada and the US, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun stated that Sikhs who migrated from 1984 to 1997 did so in response to India's suppression of the Sikh community. They moved because of their persecution based on their religion and political opinion. They are still moving because of that." Also Read: Pro-Khalistani Nijjar supporters heckle Indian envoy Taranjit Singh Sandhu in New York Gurdwara However, Disagreeing with experts who suggest that within the Sikh community in India and, to some extent, the Sikh diaspora, there is less urgency for a separatist homeland compared to other issues such as farmers' protests, high debt, and drug addiction, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun said, No. That's why (the experts) are professors and we are revolutionaries who work on independence. They work on research papers, and we work on changing the narrative and bringing the facts out." Also Read: Why India Worries About the Push for a Separate Sikh State In response to India's dismissal of Canada's assertions regarding potential involvement in the assassination plot, Pannun emphasized his American identity. I am an American, and if somebody is trying to assassinate me, I think it is the responsibility of the Biden administration and US authorities to do something. We will be watching how (the Biden administration) will react. Do they value business, or do they value democracy? Do they value human rights, or a rogue state like India, which has already proved that it will use terror and violence and that it is not a trusted partner?" Pannun told the TIME. Furthermore, addressing inquiries about the implications of issuing a video where he cautioned Sikhs against flying on Air India, stating it would be "life-threatening," Pannun clarified that his message was to boycott" Air India. "I was saying "boycott" Air India, but the whole Indian narrative shifted to bomb" Air India. Somebody has to be a zombie to not differentiate between boycotting and bombing," Pannun added. Also Read: 'Don't fly by Air India on Nov 19' warns Khalistan extremist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun Pannun had said in the one-minute-37-second video that was circulating on social media that they are asking Sikh people not to fly via Air India on November 19. There will be a global blockade. Air India won't be allowed to operate. Don't travel by Air India on November 19 or your life will be in danger." It is the same day 19th November on which the final match of the World Terror Cup will be played," he said adding that Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport will remain shut on November 19. In July 2020, Pannun was designated a terrorist by the Union home ministry and two months later, the government ordered the attachment of his properties under Section 51A of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. BLUE STAR More Information Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. A drunken driver faces a maximum of 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to causing a fatal collision last month in the Town of Lancaster, Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announced. Nicholas M. Rich, 35, of Darien, entered a plea to aggravated vehicular homicide, a Class B felony, before State Supreme Court Justice Paul B. Wojtaszek. He continues to be held without bail pending sentencing Jan. 30. Prosectuors said Rich was speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol on the evening of Oct. 13 when he collided with another vehicle at the corner of Broadway and Schwartz Road in Lancaster. A 10-year-old boy in the other vehicle, Levi M. Zielonka, a student at St. Josephs School in Batavia, was taken to Sisters Hospital St. Joseph Campus in Cheektowaga, where he was pronounced dead. Rich, the driver of the other vehicle and another passenger were taken to Erie County Medical Center for treatment of their injuries. Dale Anderson Sanjay Kumar Verma, India's High Commissioner to Canada, stated that the Indian government is collaborating with an American inquiry related to an alleged foiled assassination attempt, rather than Canada's investigation into the June killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia due disparities in the information shared between the two nations during their respective investigations. Speaking to CTV's Question Period host Vassy Kapelos, Sanjay Kumar Verma said that his understanding is that US authorities have shared more specific information regarding the investigation with India than Canada has and that he stressed is likely the differentiating factor in the level of India's cooperation in both cases. Also Read: Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma urges Canada for evidence of allegations against India in Nijjar case A recent report by the UK-based Financial Times reported that the United States prevented an alleged plan to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a terrorist designated by India, on American soil. Citing sources familiar with the matter, the Financial Times indicated that the US had communicated its concerns about the purported plot to kill Pannun to Indian authorities. Also Read: Who is Gurpatwant Singh Pannun? Know more about Sikh separatist leader at the center of assassination bid in US Earlier in September, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made allegations regarding India's involvement in Nijjar's killing. India has rejected the allegations and called them absurd" and politically motivated." Verma said India was "absolutely" and "decidedly" not involved in the homicide, terming it a motivated and absurd allegation." The allegations caused diplomatic tensions between the two nations. One is that the investigation in the case of the US, as far as I know and understand, because again, I don't oversee India-US relations is at a much advanced stage. And therefore, I presume that there would be better information shared within India," he told CTV News. Also Read: Nijjar Killing row: Justin Trudeau's remarks damaged probe, Indian envoy reiterates New Delhi's stand on Canada The Indian envoy clarified that relations between India and the US are not within his jurisdiction. Nevertheless, he indicated his understanding that Indian authorities are actively collaborating in the American investigation, having been provided with inputs which are legally presentable." Discussing Canada's information regarding Nijjar's killing, he mentioned that Indian authorities cannot provide a response on the matter due to the possibility that discussions might include specific details of the case. Also Read: Explained. India's contradictory response on assassination attempt claims of Nijjar, Pannun Moreover, he emphasized that allegations and facts alone do not make the information specific and pertinent. Asked whether Canada's national security advisor shared inputs related to allegations related to Nijjar's killing, he said, Until the time it is not specific or relevant to the case, we will not be able to respond to it. There could be a lot of conversation. Conversations could have allegations, conversations could have some facts of the case, but allegations and facts do not make it specific and relevant." Also Read: Nijjar killing row: India must assist Canada Antony Blinken advises as friend of both nations So we need to have those facts. And we are always ready to do that. If you look at the most recent incident to where there are some allegations put out in one of the newspapers against India, the US did provide us inputs. And we have already started following up on that," he told CTV News. Verma stressed that conversations between India and Canada did take place during Canada's National Security Adviser's visit to India. However, he added that India needed specific information to seek permission from legal authorities to conduct an investigation. Also Read: India-Canada row: Justin Trudeau doubles down on claim, says if bigger countries violate law without consequences Asked whether Canada's National Security Advisor did not share any specific allegation, Sanjay Kumar Verma said, So conversations took place. But we needed something specific and relevant to go back to our legal authorities to seek permission to do investigation that we would have wanted to do. So until the time that those kinds of inputs are not there, in a country of rule of law, it will not be possible for us to move forward on the investigations." Revealing details regarding the inputs shared by US with India, Verma said that these inputs are regarding a nexus between gangsters, drug peddlers, terrorists and gun runners in the US and there are beliefs that there are some Indian connections with it, which he stressed were not government of India connections, CTV News reported. Also Read: Watch: Pro-Khalistani Nijjar supporters heckle Indian envoy Taranjit Singh Sandhu in New York Gurdwara Those inputs are a nexus between gangsters, drug peddlers, terrorists, and gun runners in the US, and there is a belief that some of the Indian connections -- now when I say Indian connections, I don't mean the government of India connections, there is 1.4 billion people, so some of the Indian connections are there -- they are ready to investigate. Because we have got inputs, which are legally presentable," Verma told CTV News. On November 22, the Ministry of External Affairs announced that the US had provided information concerning the connection between organized criminals, arms traffickers, terrorists, and others during recent talks on India-US security cooperation. Also Read: US foils bid to kill Sikh terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, issues warning to India: Report In response to media inquiries about discussions on security matters between India and the US, the MEA emphasized the seriousness with which India considers such inputs, as they impact its own security interests. The spokesperson noted that the shared information is a matter of concern for both countries, and appropriate follow-up measures are being implemented. (With inputs from ANI) Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. With an aim to press for more humanitarian aid for war-hit Gaza and help secure the release of all hostages kidnapped by Hamas, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Israel, the West Bank, and the United Arab Emirates this week. He will discuss what Washington wants to see in Gaza if Israel is able to eliminate Hamas. In Israel and the West Bank, Secretary Blinken will discuss Israels right to defend itself consistent with international humanitarian law, as well as continued efforts to secure the release of remaining hostages, protect civilian life during Israels operations in Gaza, and accelerate humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza," the US State department said. It will be his third trip to the region since October 7, when Hamas militants attacked Israel, killed more than 1,200 people, and took 240 hostages. Here are top 10 updates on Israel-Hamas war 1) Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip, a densely populated coastal enclave that is home to 2.3 million people, and mounted a ground offensive in the north, killing more than 15,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities. 2) Some hostages have been freed in recent days in exchange for Palestinians held by Israel in a deal mediated by Qatar and Egypt and agreed by Israel, Hamas, and the United States, Reuters reported. 3) The Israeli government has approved the inclusion of 50 women prisoners in the list of prisoners eligible for release as part of an agreement to extend a temporary truce with Hamas in Gaza, as per The Times of Israel reports. 4) The truce will be extended by two days, and Qatar and the US confirmed this and will see the release of about 10 more Israeli hostages per day. 5) As per the initial four-day truce agreement, which will expire today (Tuesday), Israel agreed to halt its military operations in Gaza for four days and emphasized that it would release three Palestinian security prisoners for each of the 50 hostages freed from Gaza. Since Friday, over 50 hostages have now been released, whereas, 117 Palestinians have been freed. 6) US President Joe Biden welcomed the additional two-day truce between Israel and Hamas after Qatar's successful mediation. I have remained deeply engaged over the last few days to ensure that this deal--brokered and sustained through extensive US mediation and diplomacy--can continue to deliver results." 7) Qatar also successfully negotiated an agreement between Israel and Hamas to extend the four-day truce between them by an additional two days, Doha's foreign ministry spokesperson said as quoted by ANI. 8) This temporary halt in hostilities provides some relief to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip from the devastating war that has resulted in thousands of casualties and widespread destruction in the enclave. 9) The exact number of hostages to be released under the extended truce agreement remains uncertain. However, Diaa Rashwan, the head of Egypt's State Information Service, previously mentioned that the negotiated deal would involve the release of 20 Israeli hostages and 60 Palestinian prisoners currently held in Israeli jails. 10) The decision to extend the truce followed appeals for a prolonged cessation of hostilities from US President Joe Biden, leading EU envoy Josep Borrell, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. (With inputs from agencies) Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. As a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza appeared set to continue for a fifth day on Tuesday, there are expectations that Hamas will release more hostages seized on October 7 in exchange for increased aid and the release of imprisoned Palestinians by Israel, Reuters reported. As per the report, following the release of 11 Israelis on Monday, Hamas has now freed 69 hostages out of approximately 240 taken during an incursion into southern Israel, resulting in about 1,200 casualties according to Israeli figures. Early on Tuesday, media affiliated with Hamas reported that Israel had released 30 Palestinian children and three women in the fourth exchange of the truce. Outside Israel's Ofer prison near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, a crowd of Palestinians, waving Palestinian, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad flags, gathered in anticipation of the release of more Palestinians. Reports from Palestinians indicated that the Israeli army had used tear gas on the crowd, Reuters reported. Also Read: Israel under international pressure to extend ceasefire with Hamas Following the October 7 attack, Israel has carried out airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and initiated a ground offensive in the north. According to Gaza's Hamas-run government, more than 15,000 Palestinians have been killed, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced. As per Reuters, Qatar, in collaboration with Egypt, has facilitated indirect negotiations between the two parties. Qatar announced an agreement to extend the original four-day truce, set to expire on Monday, by an additional two days. "We have an extension ... two more days," Qatar's UN Ambassador Alya Ahmed Saif Al-Thani told reporters after a closed-door UN Security Council meeting, saying both sides were to release more people. This is a very positive step." Also Read: Israel-Hamas truce in Gaza extended by two more days, announces Qatar During the four-day truce that began on Friday, Hamas has been releasing hostages daily, and Israel, in turn, has freed some of the Palestinians it holds. Israel had previously stated that it would extend the truce by one day for every 10 additional hostages released. This temporary halt in hostilities provides some relief to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip from the devastating war that has resulted in thousands of casualties and widespread destruction in the enclave. Also Read: Biden ignored warning on 'Hamas beheading babies' claim in Israel-Gaza war: Report Israel has not officially commented on extending the truce, but there is a potential indication of agreement. The Israeli prime minister's office has announced the government's approval to add 50 female prisoners to the list of Palestinians eligible for release if more Israeli hostages are freed. As part of the existing four-day truce agreement, Hamas was expected to release a total of 50 Israeli women and children held in Gaza, with no specified limit on the release of foreigners. Reuters reported that a senior US official said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken would visit Israel, the West Bank and the United Arab Emirates this week to discuss sustaining aid flows to Gaza and freeing all hostages as well as US principles for the future of Gaza and the need for an independent Palestinian state. Also Read: Elon Musk meets Israeli minister, agrees to provide Starlink services in Gaza, but The exact number of hostages to be released under the extended truce agreement remains uncertain. However, Diaa Rashwan, the head of Egypt's State Information Service, previously mentioned that the negotiated deal would involve the release of 20 Israeli hostages and 60 Palestinian prisoners currently held in Israeli jails. As reported by AFP, the decision to extend the truce followed appeals for a prolonged cessation of hostilities from US President Joe Biden, leading EU envoy Josep Borrell, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. In the initial four-day period, the agreement involved the exchange of a total of 50 hostages and 150 Palestinian prisoners. (With inputs from agencies) Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday told Elon Musk that the tech mogul has "a huge role to play" in combating anti-Semitism, which his social media platform is accused of spreading, according to AFP reports. The meeting came after the world's richest person visited a kibbutz community devastated in attacks by Hamas militants on October 7, and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defense officials. Musk has been criticized over what critics say is a proliferation of hate speech on X, formerly Twitter, since his takeover of the social media site in October 2022. He was accused by the White House of "abhorrent promotion" of anti-Semitism after endorsing a conspiracy theory seen as accusing Jews of trying to weaken white majorities. "Unfortunately, we are inundated by anti-Semitism, which is Jew hatred. You have a huge role to play," he said. And I think we need to fight it together because on the platforms which you lead, unfortunately, there's a harboring of a lot of... anti-Semitism," the Israeli President said. Musk did not mention anti-Semitism in his video remarks released by Herzog's office, but said Hamas militants "have been fed propaganda since they were children". It's remarkable what humans are capable of if they're fed falsehoods, from when they are children; they will think that the murder of innocent people is a good thing," he said as quoted by AFP. On October 7, Hamas militants broke through Gaza's militarised border into southern Israel to kill around 1,200 people and seize about 240 hostages, according to Israeli officials, in the worst-ever attack since the nation's founding. Vowing to destroy Hamas in response, Israel has carried out a relentless bombardment of targets in Gaza, alongside a ground invasion, that the Hamas government says has killed almost 15,000. A temporary truce has been in effect since Friday. Earlier on Monday, PM Netanyahu and Musk discussed "security aspects of artificial intelligence" with senior defense officials, the Prime Minister's Office said. They held a conversation on X following their tour of Kfar Aza, one of the communities attacked by Hamas. "We have to demilitarise Gaza after the destruction of Hamas. Then we also have to rebuild Gaza, and I hope to have our Arab friends help in that context," Netanyahu said, calling for a campaign to "deradicalize" the Palestinian territory. The Israeli PM told Musk that he hoped to resume United States-mediated normalization talks with Saudi Arabia after Hamas's defeat and "expand the circle of peace beyond anything imaginable". The war stalled progress toward a Saudi-Israel normalization deal, and in early November Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler denounced the conduct of Israeli forces fighting Hamas in Gaza, AFP reported. In September, Netanyahu urged Musk "to stop not only anti-Semitism, or rolling it back as best you can, but any collective hatred" on X. X Corp is currently suing nonprofit Media Matters on the grounds that it has driven away advertisers by portraying the site as rife with anti-Semitic content. Musk has also threatened to file suit against the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish advocacy group, over its claims that problematic and racist speech has soared on the site since he completed his $44-billion takeover. (With AFP inputs) Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has reportedly received images of the White House, Pentagon, and US aircraft carriers captured by the country's newly launched spy satellite, as announced by state media KCNA on Tuesday. As reported by Reuters, the satellite, launched last week, is described by North Korea as a reconnaissance satellite designed for monitoring the military activities of both the United States and South Korea. Also Read: North Korea, US envoys engage in rare public sparring at UN meeting The photos were the latest in a series of images of what KCNA described as major target regions" sent by the satellite, including the South Korean capital of Seoul and US military bases. KCNA said that Kim also inspected satellite photos of the Andersen Air Force Base in the US Western Pacific territory of Guam and a US shipyard and airbase in Norfolk and Newport, where a total of four nuclear-powered air carriers and a British air carrier were spotted. Also Read: North Korea accuses US, South Korea of pushing Korean peninsula towards nuclear war at UNGA The United States and South Korea have denounced the satellite launch by North Korea, considering it a breach of UN Security Council resolutions prohibiting the use of ballistic technology. Also Read: North Korea's Kim Jong Un orders steps to boost ties with Russia amid US, Seoul warning of weapons deal South Korean officials have expressed skepticism about North Korea's satellite capabilities, highlighting that the country has not provided evidence or released the captured photos. (With inputs from Reuters) Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. In an unusual and direct public exchange between the United States and North Korea, the United Nations ambassadors of both countries engaged in a heated debate at the Security Council on Monday. As reported by Reuters, the contentious discussion focused on North Korea's recent launch of its first spy satellite and the escalating tensions in the region. After an absence of nearly six years, North Korea resumed sending its envoy to UN Security Council meetings concerning its nuclear and ballistic missile programs in July. The meeting on Monday specifically addressed the spy satellite launch that occurred on November 21, Reuters reported. Also Read: North Korea's Kim Jong Un orders steps to boost ties with Russia amid US, Seoul warning of weapons deal Following the meeting's conclusion, both US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield and North Korean Ambassador Kim Song unexpectedly delivered remarks, engaging in a back-and-forth exchange of rights-of-reply across the council table. Each representative asserted that their respective countries were acting defensively in the ongoing tensions. One belligerent party, the United States, is threatening us with a nuclear weapon," Kim told the council. Also Read: North Korea accuses US, South Korea of pushing Korean peninsula towards nuclear war at UNGA It is legitimate right for the DPRK - as another belligerent party - to develop, test, manufacture and possess weapons systems equivalent to those that the United States already possess and, or (are) developing right now," he said. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly known as North Korea, has faced UN sanctions for its ballistic missile and nuclear programs since 2006. These sanctions include a prohibition on the development of ballistic missiles. Despite the ban, North Korea employed this technology in launching the recent satellite, which comes after a series of ballistic missile tests conducted over the past 20 months. The United States has consistently cautioned that Pyongyang is prepared to conduct its seventh nuclear test. Also Read: Kim Jong Un enroute to meet Putin; US urges N Korea not to sell Russia arms We reject strongly the disingenuous DPRK claim that its missile launches are merely defensive in nature, in response to our bilateral and trilateral military exercises," said Thomas-Greenfield, adding that the US exercises were routine, defensive and announced in advance. Once again, I'd like to express sincerely our offer of dialogue without preconditions, the DPRK only needs to accept," she said. Negotiations on denuclearization involving North Korea, South Korea, China, the United States, Russia, and Japan came to a standstill in 2009. Subsequent talks between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and then-US President Donald Trump in 2018 and 2019 also proved unsuccessful. Also Read: Travis King wants refuge from racism in US: North Korea Kim said that until the persistent military threat" was eliminated, North Korea would continue to strengthen its capabilities. Thomas-Greenfield said North Korea's actions were based on paranoia about a possible US attack. "If there's anything the United States wants to provide to the DPRK, that is humanitarian assistance for your people and not weapons to destroy your people," Thomas-Greenfield said. Also Read: North Korea threatens to use nuclear weapons against US-South Korea, blames alliance for escalating tension In recent years, the UN Security Council has been marked by divisions in its approach toward addressing the issue of North Korea. Russia and China, both wielding veto powers alongside the US, Britain, and France, have expressed the view that additional sanctions would be ineffective and advocate for the easing of such measures, Reuters reported. Also Read: What is Hero Kim Kun Ok, North Korea's new nuclear submarine to counter US naval power China and Russia argue that joint military exercises conducted by the United States and South Korea serve to provoke Pyongyang, whereas Washington alleges that Beijing and Moscow contribute to emboldening North Korea by shielding it from more sanctions. (With inputs from Reuters) Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently showed strong support towards skilled migrant workers stating that half of the UK's innovative companies have an immigrant founder and it is the best country in the world to invest and do business Amid growing calls to reduce immigration, he lauded the UK's "most competitive visa regime," positioning it as the world's best for investment and business. While speaking at Global Investment Summit, the UK PM said, We dont have a monopoly on talent in this country, and we recognise that nearly half of our most innovative companies have an immigrant founder." He further praised the countrys most competitive visa regime and said So, if youre an innovator, an entrepreneur, a researcher, you should know that the most competitive visa regime for highly skilled international talent is right here in the United Kingdom." His intervention comes against the backdrop of discontent within his own Conservative Party ranks after last weeks Office for National Statistics (ONS) data revealed record-high annual migration to the country and former home secretary Suella Bravermans allies laid the blame squarely at Downing Streets door. UK is the best place to invest and do business: PM Rishi Sunak Sunak also spoke about the High Potential Individual (HPI) visa, which gives young graduates (from top 50 universities in the world) the opportunity to come to the UK with family for two years to just explore, work, study, invent". "Nothing like that exists anywhere else in the world. And that tells you everything about our pro-innovation, pro-growth, pro-business philosophy. So thats the opportunity here in the UK. Thats why you should believe me when I say this is the best country in the world to invest and do business," he added. The underlying message to the warring factions of his party will not be lost on the day The Daily Telegraph reported at length on a four-point migration plan agreed between Sunak and Braverman when he took charge at 10 Downing Street last October. The Daily Telegraph reported on a migration plan agreed upon by Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman. The pact, revealed in the newspaper, includes Braverman's proposal to close the Graduate Visa route, affecting Indian nationals who make up 43% of students granted leave to remain for post-study work experience, according to recent ONS figures. (With inputs from PTI) Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. The truce between Israel and Hamas entered its fifth day on Tuesday. The pause of the relentless bombing and ground offensive that Benjamin Netanyahu's Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on Palestine's Gaza was extended for two more days, after the agreed upon four day truce. Hamas fighters from Gaza have agreed to release more hostage as part of the pause, and aims to delay the expected resumption of the war. Meanwhile, Israel has been under growing pressure to spare Palestinian civilians when it renews its offensive. The hostage and prisoner release deal that was brought in place because of the truce saw 51 Israelis freed under the initial four-day truce, along with 19 hostages of other nationalities. So far, 150 Palestinians have been released from Israeli prisons. Israel has said it would extend the cease-fire by one day for every 10 additional hostages released. The Palestinian prisoners released so far have been mostly teenagers accused of throwing stones and firebombs during confrontations with Israeli forces. According to AP, US President Joe Biden-led administration has warned Israel against significant further displacement" of Palestinian civilians in southern Gaza, as the world awaits an impending resumption of war. Israel has repeatedly vowed to resume the war with full force" to destroy Hamas once it's clear that no more hostages will be freed under the current agreement's terms. The Biden administration has told Israel it must avoid significant further displacement" and mass casualties among Palestinian civilians if it resumes the offensive, and that it must operate with more precision in southern Gaza than it has in the north, according to US officials. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to visit the region later this week for the third time since the start of the war, and is expected to press for an extension of the truce and the release of more hostages. Israel has vowed to end Hamas' 16-year rule in Gaza and crush its military capabilities. That would almost certainly require expanding the ground offensive from northern Gaza where entire residential areas have been pounded into rubble to the south, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people have packed into overflowing United Nations shelters. Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Fifteen years ago today was the day when nine of the 10 terrorists who attacked Mumbai were liquidated and the NSG began its mopping-up operations, ending Operation Black Tornado on the morning of 29 November. But the damage continues till date and probably will in perpetuity. Terror attacks are a weapon of war and the principal strategic objective of all wars is damaging the adversary economically. While the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai caused about 170 fatalities, hundreds of injuries and millions of dollars of property damage, that was tiny compared to its long-term impact. Any government reeling under a shock like 26/11 or the 9/11 attacks in the US, or 7/7 in London, deploys a slew of security measures in its aftermath. The modus operandi of the last attack drives the design of most counter-measures; so every hotel, airport, mode of public transport, mall, shopping centre and theatre now has baggage and car scanners, metal detectors, sniffer dogs, turnstiles and a massive increase of security personnel. Internal security, which already accounts for a substantial portion of government expenditure, is ramped up exponentially, diverting funds meant for developmental purposes towards a largely non-productive purpose. Every baggage scanner means an X-ray machine less, every metal detector means one less ventilator in a hospital. Every new security organization created deprives the nation of thousands of personnel who could have been gainfully employed elsewhere. This requires billions of dollars of capital and operational expenditure in perpetuity. The recent loss of five young lives of our elite special forces is a reminder of Pakistans return of investment" on terror as a strategy. But it doesnt end there. Apart from this huge calculable outflow, there are several other costs that the nation pays. Loss of opportunity for tourism, raising of insurance premiums, lowering of investor confidence in a country seen to be dangerous, and the psychological impact of all-pervasive surveillance and security measures, apart from its corrosive effect on democracy, are all incalculably costly in the long run. On top of this is the loss of velocity of virtually all movement, be it of goods, people or money, congealing the flow of the global economy. Aircraft have lower utilization because of security delays, cash registers in malls slow, and there is a security surcharge that we pay. It is like throwing a handful of sand into a well-oiled machine. Many measures that are deemed necessary are not necessarily effective. Fifteen years later, barring airports and perhaps a few government installations, anti-terror measures are largely a farcical ritual that do not really improve security. Take, for example, the ritual of checking of cars before entering hotels or malls. The mechanistic action of opening the vehicles hood and trunk and running a mirror under and a dog along its sides achieves nothing. Yet, this rite happens millions of times every day. Likewise, every man, woman and child being frisked before being allowed into a public place is irrelevant; all the attackers of 26/11 actually stormed into their target hotels firing weapons. The next terror attack will not follow previous attack vectors, and yet, once a ritual has begun, it is nigh impossible for it to be stopped or rationalized. This phenomenon is not unique to the government. All major organizations have similar rituals created in an erstwhile era for an erstwhile purpose. Yet, over time, these pointless rituals attain sacrosanct status, beyond questioning. Despite seismic social changes and the advent of technologies like machine learning and AI, not to speak of concomitant social changes, especially among the young, we see the persistence of old organizational structures, annual appraisals, top-down communication, an over-emphasis on academic credentials, one-size-fits-all training programmes and other outdated management practices. For instance, there is often a greater focus on measuring an employees physical presence in the office rather than her intellectual contribution. Rather than evolving structures that encourage collaboration, companies still implement frameworks like performance bell curves that foster fratricide. Employees who work 14-hour shifts are lauded, while firms should worry about a sure deterioration in their quality of life and thus work contribution. There is sanctioned double speak between articulated cultures and unarticulated expectations. In February 2021, while advocating the need for change, Prime Minister Narendra Modi cited the story of Churchills Cigar Assistant. This was a post created in the chief secretarys office of Tamil Nadu to ensure a supply of cigars to Winston Churchill, who was particularly fond of cheroots from Tiruchirappalli. Though Churchill lost polls in 1945 and India won its independence in 1947, this post continued for several decades, and only came to light after the state government set up a commission to revise employee salaries! There are probably millions of Churchills Cigar assistants in our professional and personal ecosystems who have long lost their relevance, but still drain scarce resources because its easier to go along with the status quo than to challenge it. But its a very expensive way to go on. Populist politicians are turning the climate crisis into a wedge issue, sacrificing the environment to the culture wars. If theres one pervasive problem thats allowed them to do that, its inequality. The unequal dynamic that may first come to mind is international relations between developed and developing nations. As the UNs CoP-28 climate summit draws near, discussions have grown urgent on how to distribute finances from wealthy countries, which have been responsible for the vast majority of carbon emissions, to vulnerable nations that are bearing the brunt of their impact. Although those negotiations will be vital for a just transition to a decarbonized global economy, socioeconomic inequalities within borders should receive equal attention. A recent report from Oxfam and the Stockholm Environment Institute explored the idea of carbon inequality, and came up with the figure that the richest 1% of the global population pollutes just as much as the poorest 66%. It also found that most of the inequality in emissions is now due to differences within countries rather than between them. Oxfams figures have been criticized for relying on imperfect assumptions: The authors allocate national consumption emissions to individuals within each country based on a functional relationship between income and emissions, rather than actual consumption. But whether or not the exact numbers are right, the basic premise is backed by multiple studies that have linked higher expenditure (which tends to increase with income) with more direct emissions (such as more flights and bigger cars) and indirect emissions (those embedded in goods). Unless a billionaire is lives self-sufficiently in an off-grid hut and refuses to fly, you can bet she has a higher carbon footprint than people on the breadline. Id argue it almost doesnt matter what our relative footprints look likethough they do help make the argument that the very wealthy should pay their dues, which I believe they shouldbecause a key problem is that climate change is regressive, affecting the poorest the most. Disadvantaged groups are more exposed to climate effects and less able to recover from damages. Take flooding: Less well-off populations often live in areas more prone to it, in homes more susceptible to water damage, and may not have been able to afford insurance, leaving them to cover costs themselves. Its not hard to see how this becomes a vicious cycle as extreme weather intensifies, ultimately widening the gap between the haves and have-nots even more. Unfortunately, were also at an awkward point where climate policies are sometimes designed in a regressive waymeaning that costs for low-income earners represent a bigger chunk of their income than that of high-income earnersleaving openings for backlashes globally against climate action. If allowed to continue, another vicious cycle may commence in which mitigation stagnates, temperatures rise and extreme weather becomes more hazardous, pushing more into financial distress while the wealthy get by. The most famous example to date, of course, is the 2018 gilets jaunes protests in France, which sprung up against a fuel-tax increase accused of disproportionately burdening rural working and middle-class households who have no choice but to drive, while exempting carbon-intensive companies. Backlashes against the Ultra Low Emission Zone expansion in London and gas boiler phase-out in Germany fit the same pattern. The upfront cost of heat pumps, energy-efficiency measures and electric vehicles do promise to come down; but theyre still out of reach for many. Its fair to be worried about disproportionate financial burdens, but its infuriating to see politicianslike UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunakusing these concerns as excuses to delay or avoid action, doing nothing to solve the root issue, rather than redesigning policies to better aid those in need. Its particularly exasperating as many measures could actually alleviate financial pressures on poorer households. French economist Thomas Piketty suggested to The Guardian the use of a progressive carbon tax by which activities beyond an emissions allowancesuch as frequent holiday flights, large houses or large vehicleswould be subject to a higher rate. Though the enforcement of such a measure might be difficult, there are other policies that could raise revenue and make it more expensive to pollute, such as frequent-flier levies and windfall taxes on oil and gas companies. Taking from the polluter elite and giving to the poor will help speed climate action, improve countless lives and create a fairer, safer world. Such a policy seems like a no-brainer to me. bloomberg NEW DELHI Sunil Kumar watched helplessly in July as his home and 14 others were washed away by intense monsoon rains lashing the Indian Himalayas. All my lifes work vanished in an instant. Starting over feels impossible, especially with my three children relying on me, said Kumar, a waste collector in the village of Bhiuli, in the mountainous state of Himachal Pradesh. This year's monsoon season in India was devastating, with local governments estimating 428 deaths and more than $1.42 billion in property damage in the region. But India was just one of many developing nations to suffer from extreme weather made worse or more likely by climate change, caused largely by greenhouse gas emissions that result from the burning of fossil fuels. Tropical storm Daniel hammered Libya with massive flooding in September, and Cyclone Freddy battered several African nations early in the year. Activists say all three disasters show how poorer nations, which historically have contributed less to climate change because they have emitted fewer planet-warming gases than developed countries, are often hit hardest by the impacts of global warming. Developing nations had long sought to address the problem, and finally broke through with an agreement at last years annual United Nations climate talks, known as COP27, to create whats known as a loss and damage fund. But many details were left unresolved, and dozens of contentious meetings were held in the year since to negotiate things like who would contribute to it, how large it would be, who would administer it, and more. A draft agreement was finally reached earlier this month, just a few weeks before this year's COP28 talks open Nov. 30 in Dubai. The agreement will be up for final approval at the climate talks, and dissatisfaction from both wealthy and developing nations could block approval or require additional negotiations. For us, its a matter of justice, said New Delhi-based Harjeet Singh, head of global political strategy at Climate Action Network International, a group that spent the past decade lobbying to compensate those nations. Poor communities in developing countries are losing their farms, homes, and incomes due to a crisis caused by developed countries and corporations." A recent report by the United Nations estimates that up to $387 billion will be needed annually if developing countries are to adapt to climate-driven changes. Even if details of a loss and damage fund are worked out, some are skeptical that it will raise anything close to that amount. A Green Climate Fund that was first proposed at the 2009 climate talks in Copenhagen, and began raising money in 2014, hasn't come close to its goal of $100 billion annually. Chandra Bhushan, head of New Delhi-based climate think tank International Forum for Environment, Sustainability and Technology, said he doesn't expect countries to contribute more than a few billion dollars to the loss and damage fund. Developing countries should be ready to manage these events independently, as seen with COVID-19. They cant always rely on others, Bhushan said. The draft agreement calls for the World Bank to temporarily host the fund for the next four years. It lays out basic goals for the fund, including its planned launch in 2024, and specifies how it will be administered and who will oversee it, with a requirement that developing countries get a seat on the board. The agreement asks developed countries to contribute to the fund but says other countries and private parties can, too. It says allocations will prioritize those most vulnerable to climate change, but any climate-affected community or country is eligible. Developing nations were disappointed that the agreement didn't specify a scale for the fund, and wasn't more specific about who must contribute. They also wanted a new and independent entity to host the fund, accepting the World Bank only reluctantly. They see the organization, whose president is typically appointed by the United States, as part of a global finance system that has often saddled them with crushing loans that make it more difficult to cope with the costs of climate change. They have long argued that there is a need for a larger, better coordinated pool of money thats available without deepening debt crises. This arrangement wont provide the new fund with true independence, will obstruct direct access to vulnerable communities, and will lack full accountability to governments and those most affected by climate change, said RR Rashmi, a former climate negotiator with the Indian government who is now a distinguished fellow at New Delhi-based think-tank The Energy Resources Institute. Meanwhile, wealthy nations sought to limit countries eligible for payments from the fund to the most vulnerable, like Afghanistan and Bangladesh in Asia, several African countries as well as island nations such as Kiribati, Samoa and Barbados. They also said all nations should contribute, particularly rapidly growing countries like China and Saudi Arabia. Its important that the fund focuses on the poorest and most vulnerable. Those who have the strength and resources to contribute should do so, said Dan Jrgensen, Denmark's minister for global climate policy. The eternal tussle between quantity and quality has been a subject of debate in various fields, including philosophy, art and innovation. This dichotomy is particularly relevant in the context of innovation, especially when considering the role of patents. Patents are commonly seen as a measure of a countrys innovative capacity. However, the sheer number of patents filed does not necessarily reflect true innovation. The number of filed patents and approvals by a country is not an end in itself, but rather a means to an end. The ultimate goal is for the nation to foster a culture of innovation. China has led the world in the count of patent filings since 2011. According to the World Intellectual Property Indicators (WIPO) 2023 report, Chinas global share of patents has almost doubled, from 24.4% in 2011 to 46.6% in 2021. Further, the highest numbers of patents in force have also been recorded in China. There are two reasons for such a spike in its number of patents. First, MNCs and even small international businesses are now patenting in China as a bulwark against a tide of counterfeits, with China noted as the source of 80% of seized counterfeit goods globally, according to OECD data. The aim is to halt the production of fakes within China. Second, Chinas push for innovation led to a flood of patents, but quantity overshadowed quality, leading to an abundance of junk patents with scant innovation. Despite hefty investments in research and development (R&D), meaningful innovation has lagged, with experts pointing out that large government subsidies have resulted in a glut of low-value patents. According to the WIPO, 90.4% of total patents in China were filed by residents. In contrast, the total number of patents filed by residents in India is 50%, and in the case of the US, only 42.5% of patent applications were filed by its residents (as opposed to non-residents). Chinese inventors predominantly seek domestic patents, as it is difficult for these inventions to meet the stringent norms of a triadic filing across the major tech markets of Japan, the US and Europe, which is seen as the gold standard. In 2020, China registered 5,897 triadic patents, trailing the USs 13,040 and Japans 17,469. The Chinese governments focus on favouring volume has ironically undermined its own goal of becoming an innovation leader. According to a 2019 report by China National Intellectual Property Administration, a quarter of Chinas patents were held by universities, yet these had low rates of industrial use and licensing3.7% and 2.9%, respectively. Patents by research institutions had an 18.3% industrialization rate and a 2% licensing rate. Chinas National Audit Office in 2020 found that just 8.4% of academic patents were used commercially, contrasting with 40-50% in the US. This is because the states policies are focused on direct financial perks, such as subsidies and tax benefits, and social advantages, all tied to patent registration. This top-down strategy gave rise to a side industry of patent agencies more interested in chasing subsidieswhich sometimes outpace the cost of patent filingthan in securing genuine innovations. This subsidy chase led to a spike in patent filings, many of which barely pushed the envelope or were simply rehashed old ideas. In recognition of these issues, Chinas State Council has released a Special Action Plan for Patent Commercialization and Application (2023-2025), aimed at enhancing the market orientation of patents as well as the commercialization of innovations. The Chinese patent approach has lessons for India. We must ensure the quality of our patents does not get compromised. In recent years, India has implemented significant process reforms in its patenting system. Getting patents in India was difficult. It was not because quality was put to excessive scrutiny, but simply a capacity constraint. The patent office was understaffed and underfunded to deal with applications, a problem the government has now fixed. In 2016-17, India recorded 45,444 patent applications with only 9,847 grants. In 2022-23, numbers have impressively increased to 82,805 and 34,153, respectively. However, as the country progresses in its ability to grant patents efficiently, a quality challenge might emerge. The focus should now shift towards ensuring that each patent granted represents a genuine and significant innovation. This shift from quantity to quality is essential in fostering a truly innovative ecosystem that can contribute significantly to global advancements. India should carry out a post-facto analysis of patent quality, possibly under the aegis of the Office of Principal Scientific Adviser. It could assess a patents value by the volume of subsequent citations it receives. This method is grounded in the rationale that a patent, like an influential academic paper, tends to accrue more citations if it pioneers a successful technological pathway. However, there are also studies which suggest ex-post patent quality outcome metrics are generally not in agreement as to which are the highest-quality patents." One can come up with better indicators. Further, we should also focus on making our Intellectual Property Rights regime even more robust, which in turn will incentivize more firms and research institutions to file high-quality patents. We should also ensure that in our quest for patents, we do not put in place an incentive structure, especially for educational institutions, that attracts low-quality patents. We need the opposite. The prevalence of low-quality patents perpetuates a cycle under which patentees are incentivized to continue filing low-quality patents. This trend, termed the patent paradox" by Gideon Parchomovosky, suggests that firms engage in high- volume, low-quality patenting strategies to maximize potential benefits or minimize losses from the patent system despite the negative cash value of most patents. Its critical for India to ensure that this does not happen in the country. These are the authors personal views. All anyone was talking about last week was OpenAI. Over the course of five short days, its chief executive officer Sam Altman was fired by the board, hired by Microsoft and reinstated as the head of OpenAI. But, while the events of last week were reported from the perspective of the 700 odd employees who threatened to walk out if their CEO was not reinstated, the tech giant whose $13 billion commitment to a company over whose board it had little control was imprudent to say the least, and also of the 37-year-old CEO who remains the undisputed face of todays Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution, despite the drama, the long-term effects of the weeks events will be most deeply felt by the governance community, whose attempt at controlling the most transformative technology in over a century has truly failed. OpenAI was born out of a fear that commercially funded AI research labslike Googles DeepMindwere hidden from public gaze, which meant that the technologies they were creating could be dangerous and no one would be any wiser. It was to ensure that AI development proceeds in a safe and responsible manner that OpenAI was set up as a non-profit organization with the objective of making sure artificial intelligence benefits humanity regardless of profit." Its original foundersSam Altman and Elon Muskcommitted up to $1 billion of their own money to a not-for-profit entity that had been established for that purpose. Despite the generous initial commitment, it soon became clear that building a large language model was far more expensive than they had originally imagined. OpenAI was going to need far more capital than a non-profit would ordinarily be able to access. To marry the twin objectives of raising private capital while prioritizing safety, OpenAI gave itself a somewhat unusual corporate structure in 2019with a for-profit unit housed within an entity that was supervised by a not-for-profit board. The not-for-profit board was vested with extraordinary powers in order to ensure that AI development proceeded safely. It was allowed to pull the plug if it believed that the company was going down a path that was harmful to societyeven if that came at the cost of investments its shareholders had made. It was obliged to let nothingneither the commercial interests of investors nor the hubris of the person at the helm of affairscome in the way of ensuring that the AI that was being built was safe. The moment it believed that a line was about to be crossed, it was empowered to take extreme measures to prevent that. This was the board that fired Sam Altman. It is still not clear, at the time of writing, what the exact reasons for his termination were. All that the boards official statement said was that Altman had not been consistently candid in his communications with the board." What exactly was communicated or why the board believed he was not candid is still anyones guessthe board was under no obligation to provide reasons. Its singular mandate was to assure themselves that the path along which the company was currently proceeding continued to be of benefit to humanity. If directors believed for any reason that this was not the case, and that removing Sam Altman as CEO was necessary to set things back on track, they were well within their rights to show him the door. This, as we all know, was not how things ended. In the face of vociferous protests from employees, pressure from its largest investor and a clamorous response from just about everyone in the tech community, Altman was reinstated as CEO five days after he was sacked. The board was also reconstituted with a group of individuals who, presumably, were less likely to depose him in the future. And with these changes, everyone seemed to relax, relieved that things had returned to what they should have been. But surely, even those who are happy with the outcome must realize that the safety net we thought we had put in place to protect us from malevolent AI lies well and truly breached. Let us, for a moment, assume that Altman was working on technologies that were a threat to humanity, and, knowing that the board would shut these down, had been less than candid with the information he had provided them. If this was indeed the case, the board was right to sack him. But what was the point of such a decision if all it would take to reverse it was a weekends worth of protests? Is this really our protection against a Skynet future? Whenever the responsibility of establishing governance frameworks for matters of societal importance is left to private enterprise, the systems set up by the latter inevitably fall short. Corporate entities, even those that are governed by not-for-profit boards, are driven by narrow commercial incentives. They are incapable of finding a balance between their financial imperatives and the larger societal interest. As I have often said in this column and in my other writing, we need a different approach to technology governanceone that is capable of withstanding the pressures that OpenAIs board clearly was not. This will require us to free AI from the control of a single organization that seems to be consolidating its grip over it. Maybe it is also time to check if key elements of the techno-legal approach to data governance that we have perfected in relation to digital public infrastructure (DPI) can be usefully applied to AI governance. If recent diplomatic activities are to be believed, China is bouncing back from the wilderness as more and more major actors on the world stage try to reset their engagement with Beijing. It has been a disastrous few years for Chinese diplomacy and most of it has been of its own making. The arrogance displayed at the strategic level, coupled with its wolf warrior diplomacy of recent times, almost destroyed the narrative of Chinas peaceful rise. As Chinese President Xi Jinping centralized power and shunned the sagacity of his predecessors on playing it lightly on the global stage, he emerged in much of the world as a global villain, even beating his close follower, the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-un. The world pushed back against Chinese assertiveness, especially as the covid outbreak and its aftermath also shattered the myth of the much-vaunted Chinese model of governance. The US, Europe and key players in the Indo-Pacific found their voice in challenging Beijings domineering attitude. With a geo-strategic focus on the Indo-Pacific galvanizing global politics, China has had to contend with significant powers showcasing their desire to shape the regional strategic landscape. The very concept of the Indo-Pacific became a zone of contestation with China resisting the rest of the worlds attempt to frame this broad region as central to the effort of opposing Beijings hegemony. Today, however, a gradual easing of that contestation might be visible. Britains new foreign secretary, David Cameron, has suggested that though he supported the Rishi Sunak governments current realistic, hard-headed policy" towards China, it is still right to engage" with Beijing as China is key to solving big issues like climate change. Earlier this month, Anthony Albanese became the first Australian prime minister to visit China in seven years. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met the Chinese President along the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco, where they tried to focus on common interests" and reaffirm a strategic relationship of mutual benefit and give it new meaning." And then, the foreign ministers of Japan, China and South Korea held their first in-person talks in more than four years recently, focusing on Northeast Asian stability. As a signal moment for a watching world, there was the highly anticipated summit between the US President Joe Biden and Xi Jinping that led to the two leaders agreeing to open a presidential hotline, resume military-to-military communication, and work together to combat the flow of fentanyl and the ingredients of this addictive drug into the US, which is facing a domestic addiction crisis. Bilateral ties between the two powers had fallen so low that the summit was an attempt to bring a semblance of normalcy to the Washington-Beijing relationship. The summit, in more ways than one, was therefore symbolic, and symbols matter in great power diplomacy. This reset is important for Xi Jinping as Chinas economic challenges show no sign of abating and Xis own reputation as an effective manager has gone for a toss, with a post-pandemic economic recovery still just a mirage at this stage. The Chinese state media, therefore, went overboard in describing the outcome of the Xi-Biden summit as historic" and the dialogue as new starting point" in bilateral ties. This, despite the fact that Biden once again described the Chinese leader as a dictator" and pointedly underlined Americas backing for a free and open Indo-Pacific. The same is true of other such recent engagements, where despite all the excitement, things have quickly fallen back to old despondency. Japan-China summitry has also failed to achieve much, with Tokyo reiterating its call for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait as well as a scientific reassessment by Beijing of its ongoing ban on Japanese seafood. Last week, Australia accused a Chinese warship of unsafe and unprofessional" actions after it emitted dangerous sonar pulses in international waters, thereby risking the safety of Australian divers. In the UK, David Cameron recognizes that this is not the China that he was used to dealing with as the British Prime Minister. He has acknowledged that China has become much more aggressive, much more assertive, over the Uighurs, over Hong Kong, the wolf warrior diplomacy." This means that London will have to align more carefully with our allies to make sure we can counter any malign threats coming from China." For all the hype around the new global outreach towards China, it is Beijing that is more keen on this renewed engagement. It wants to woo capital from its key economic partners and is keen to signal a thaw in its bilateral ties with them. But the world too has learnt its lessons and is now drawing new red lines for Chinese behaviour. If trust-based partnerships are the new norm, globally, then China continues to remain an outlier, and it is unlikely that a few highly publicized summits will rebuild that much-needed political trust. New Delhi, too, has drawn its red lines vis-a-vis China after the Galwan crisis in 2020, and in some ways has shown the world an effective template of how to manage an aggressive China. Given Indias own rise in the global hierarchy, while carefully assessing shifts in the global order and locating opportunities therein, New Delhi will have to set its own terms of engagement with Beijing. A shaky cease-fire between Israel and Hamas has allowed a surge of aid to reach Palestinians in Gaza, but humanitarian groups and civilians in the enclave say the convoys arent nearly enough to address the needs of the strips two million people. Despite the pause in fighting, Palestinians in Gaza are burning door frames and piles of garbage to cook, sleeping crammed into school classrooms and strangers homes, and scrambling onto trucks bringing aid from Egypt in a desperate grab for supplies, residents say. The cease-fire has also allowed Gazans a chance to bury the dead and to take stock of entire neighborhoods that have been reduced to rubble during seven weeks of Israeli bombing. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is adding to international pressure on Israel and Hamas to extend the initial four-day cease-fire to allow more aid to flow in and to stabilize the situation for civilians in Gaza. Egyptian and Qatari mediators said Monday that it had been extended another two days to Wednesday, with Hamas later confirming the extension that will allow more hostages to be released. Meanwhile, 1.7 million people are internally displaced, most of them crammed into the southern half of the Gaza Strip, after Israel demanded that civilians leave the north days after its military offensive began last month. Some say they are losing hope. I dont want humanitarian aid, I want to go back home to Gaza City," said Balsam Hisham, 35, a mother of six who fled the north and is living in a tent in the south. I wish I was killed in Gaza and didnt have to live this life here." Israel and Hamas began a cease-fire on Nov. 24 as a part of an agreement under which the militant group is slowly releasing hostages it took during the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. In return, Israel has agreed to release about 150 Palestinian prisoners and allow an increase in deliveries of aid into Gaza. More than 1,200 people were killed in the attacks, most of them civilians in towns neighboring Gaza. More than 14,800 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed in the resulting Israeli offensive in Gaza, according to authorities in the Hamas-run enclave. The number doesnt distinguish between civilians and combatants. Under the cease-fire agreement, humanitarian groups are allowed to dispatch 200 trucks a day to the Gaza Strip, more than at any point during the war. The convoys include deliveries of fuel to power generators at facilities, including hospitals. The Gaza Strip has had no regular supply of electricity since its sole power plant shut down on Oct. 11. Israel, which declared what it called a complete siege" of the Gaza Strip on Oct. 9, has said it is facilitating the flow of humanitarian aid into the Strip. We are currently focusing on humanitarian aid specifically for the wintertime, like tents, blankets and mattresses," Moshe Tetro, head of the Gaza Coordination and Liaison Administration for the Israeli military, said in a video tweeted on Sunday. The number of trucks is still less than half the daily average that entered Gaza before the war. Among the problems compounding the crisis in Gaza is that the war has brought the economy grinding to a halt. Much of Gazas food is brought in by truck from Israel and Egypt, with all shipments through crossings from Israel cut off by the Israeli government in retaliation for the Oct. 7 attacks. The United Nations and other organizations say they are being forced to step in for the private sector, which has collapsed because of the war and blockade imposed by Israel. That has raised the challenge of sustaining the Gazan population during what is expected to be several more months of war. If there are no commercial goods in the stores, what were doing effectively is actively turning an entire population into a population that exclusively relies on food aid, and that is so wrong in terms of managing Gaza," said Tamara Alrifai, a spokeswoman for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, which runs the largest aid operation in Gaza. Israel has said it plans to resume its military offensive in Gaza whenever the cease-fire ends. Israeli officials say that the military has largely routed the group in the north and that the next phase of the war will focus on uprooting Hamas from southern Gaza. Even during the initial four days of the cease-fire, Gazans say that the increase in deliveries of aid hasnt made a difference in their lives. In Gaza City, which has been encircled by the Israeli military for weeks, Palestinians leapt onto aid trucks, pushing and shoving one another as a convoy arrived on Sunday, with residents scuffling over sacks of flour and blankets, witnesses said. The situation in the northern Gaza Strip, including Gaza City, is especially desperate. Israel urged more than one million people living in northern Gaza to leave the area to give the Israeli military a freer hand to operate. Tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, are estimated to have stayed, aid groups say. Many stayed behind with sick, wounded or elderly relatives who were unable to move. Others chose to stay out of fear that they wouldnt be allowed back into their homes. Israel has told Palestinians who fled to the south not to return to the north for now, with Israeli forces using gunfire to disperse people who tried to enter the north over the weekend. The Israeli military said it warned people not to approach the area for their own safety. Were dealing with a completely new reality in Gaza," said Bushra Khalidi, a policy lead at Oxfam, an antipoverty charity. Its been a glimpse into the future of what Gaza will be like after the war, and its absolute chaos. Theres no rule of law. Theres no police. People are fending for themselves." In southern Gaza, food and other essentials are more readily available, but an increasing number of Palestinians there say they cant afford the soaring prices of essentials such as flour and vegetables. Palestinians in the area say they are waiting hours, sometimes staying in line overnight, to obtain essentials such as bread and water. A single line for cooking gas in the southern city of Khan Younis stretched for more than a mile, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Everything is expensive and we dont have money. We have not gotten any humanitarian aid," said Suha Mahmoud, 45, who is staying in a university in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis after having fled when Israeli tanks approached her home near the seaport in Gaza City. Like many other Palestinians, Mahmoud left her home carrying only a few possessions. She went to a local shop to buy a set of warm clothes for her 7-year-old daughter only to find that it would cost 50 Israeli shekels, or $13 dollars. We dont know whats going to happen after this pause, if we will ever go back home, if we will get any aid. We are heading into the unknown," she said. Sri Lanka has paved the way for a $4.5 billion investment by China in Hambantota. The town, which also houses a port that was leased to a Chinese state-owned shipping company in 2017, is at the heart of Indias concerns about growing Chinese influence in New Delhis strategic backyard. Mint take a look at the announcement and its implication. What exactly was announced? Sri Lankas energy minister Kanchana Wijesekera broke the news on Monday that Chinas Sinopec will be awarded a contract to establish a refinery at Hambantota Port. Cabinet approval was granted today to award the contract to China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) of China, to enter into an agreement to establish a new Petroleum Refinery & Associated Product Processing center in Hambantota," Wijesekera posted on X. This came after the country signed an agreement with Sinopec in May for the storage, distribution and sale of petroleum products. This was particularly important for Sri Lanka, given the energy shortages that have rocked the country in recent years. Why is this announcement significant? At the heart of this new development is Chinas growing influence in Indias strategic backyard. China has become a major investor, trading partner and political player in the island nation in recent decades. Hambantota Port, which was financed with an estimated $1.3 billion of Chinese money, is seen as a key example of the lengths to which China will go to expand its influence. Experts have suggested that the economic logic for building the port has always been weak. Some reports suggest it was built to shore up Chinas relationship with the Rajapaksa family, which has played a dominant role in the countrys politics. Whatever the case, the project ran up large debts and Sri Lankas government eventually handed it over to a state-owned Chinese firm on a 99-year lease in lieu of those debts. This is seen as an instance of China's debt-trap diplomacy". What are Indias concerns? New Delhi has a range of concerns about Chinas increased role in Sri Lanka. The first is that its economic presence gives it leverage over Sri Lankas government. Experts also suggest that India has been concerned about the security implications of Chinas investments in Hambantota. Chinese vessels like the Yuan Wang V have docked at Hambantota Port, amid concerns that these ships are in the Indian Ocean to gather intelligence on Indias military capabilities. Given that Sri Lanka is currently battling for its economic survival, Chinas role may continue to expand, as the latest investment from Sinopec suggests. How has India reacted to China's growing ties with Sri Lanka? India has stepped up its own efforts to become a partner of first resort for Sri Lanka. It approved a $4 billion economic rescue package for the country as its economic crisis worsened in 2022. It also played a key role in helping Sri Lanka secure a bailout from the International Monetary Fund. India has also unveiled a slew of new initiatives, including an energy pipeline, to alleviate some of Sri Lankas resource constraints. It has also conveyed its concerns to Sri Lanka about Chinas military presence in the region. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday drew parallels between Mahatma Gandhi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, describing the father of the nation as "mahapurush" of the last century and PM Modi as yugpurush" of this century. He called them two great personalities" while focusing on common things between them. Addressing an event dedicated to Jain mystic and philosopher Shrimad Rajchandraji, Dhankhar said, Mahatma Gandhi freed us from the slavery of the British through satyagraha and non-violence. Indias successful Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken us to a path where we always wanted to be." I want to tell you one thing. The mahapurush of the last century was Mahatma Gandhi. Narendra Modi is the yugpurush of this century," the Vice-President said after unveiling a mural of Shrimad Rajchandraji, who was born in Gujarat in 1867 and died in 1901. He is known for his teachings on Jainism and spiritual guidance to Mahatma Gandhi. Dhankhar added, One thing is common between these two great personalities, the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, and PM Narendra Modi. They have reflected with respect to Shrimad Rajchandraji. Such was the greatness of Shrimad Rajchandraji, that he inspired both Mahatma Gandhi and PM Modi." Opposition calls it shameful' His statement drew criticism from Congress leader Manickam Tagore who said that it is shameful to compare PM Modi with Mahatma Gandhi. "If you compare with Mahatma it's shameful sir, we all know there is a limit to sycophancy now you have crossed that limit, and to be in your chair and position and to be a sycophant does not add value, sir," Tagore wrote on X. Bahujan Samaj Party MP Danish Ali wondered on social media platform X, I would like to ask the Vice President which new era has begun by giving liberty to an MP of the PMs party to abuse a certain community." (With inputs from agencies) Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. Broadcom Chief Executive Hock Tan shelled out $40,000 to sit at Xi Jinpings table for the Chinese leaders recent dinner in San Francisco with the heads of American businesses. Tan had a lot more at stakea $69 billion deal he was waiting on China to approve. For months, Chinese regulators wouldnt clear the U.S. chipmakers bid to buy enterprise software developer VMware, leading Broadcom to put off its date for completion of the dealfirst announced in May 2022three times. Beijing had held up previous mergers involving U.S. companies. Intels planned acquisition of Israeli firm Tower Semiconductor, for more than $5 billion, was scuttled in August after Chinese regulators failed to approve it. A few days after the dinner, China signed off on Broadcoms deal. Beijing also gave a long-awaited green light to New York-based payments processor Mastercard to issue yuan-denominated cards bearing its brand in the country. Some observers saw the moves as olive branches to American corporations as firms grow wary of doing business in China. The moves also show how companies can become pawns in the intensifying geopolitical competition between Washington and Beijing. View Full Image Broadcom CEO Hock Tan secured a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in October. PHOTO: LUCAS JACKSON/REUTERS As recently as October, officials at Chinas antitrust regulator, the State Administration for Market Regulation, indicated to Broadcom that they were ready to sign off on the deal as long as the company met all its conditions, according to people familiar with the matter. Broadcom executives, however, extended the deal deadline after getting indications from Chinese officials that it wouldnt be a simple business decision. Chinas Foreign Ministry would have a say as well, the people said. With that in mind, Broadcoms Tan sought and succeeded in securing a spot in a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in late October, the people said. Wang, who was in Washington to pave the way for Xis November visit, held a meeting with U.S. business leaders on the sidelines of his trip. During the session, Tan, an ethnic Chinese businessman born in Malaysia who is now an American citizen, raised the Broadcom-VMware deal. Wang responded by saying Beijing continued to welcome foreign investment, without giving any clues to Chinas possible actions, the people said. Broadcom declined to comment. Mastercard didnt respond to questions. Chinas foreign ministry referred The Journal to the official statement released on Nov. 21 approving the Broadcom deal. The approvals for Mastercard and Broadcom are isolated successful cases and must be viewed in the context of the bilateral relationship, said Eric Zheng, the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, whose members have cited uncertain U.S.-China ties as their biggest concern operating in the country. View Full Image Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a meeting with U.S. business leaders on the sidelines of his trip to Washington in October. PHOTO: ELIZABETH FRANTZ/REUTERS These should be standard business practices, based on established laws and regulations," Zheng said in an interview. Foreign businesses want such events not to be politicized." China has long used access to its huge consumer market as a tool to eke out geopolitical and business concessions. More recently, it has leveraged its access to raw materials such as critical minerals and used antitrust approvals to hit back at trade actions it views as unfavorable. Chinese officials also feel frustrated by U.S. actions that Beijing views as unfairly punishing Chinese companies. Broadcom, Mastercard and Boeing were among the underwriters of the dinner for Xi hosted by American business groups. While Mastercard was granted access it had been seeking for years, U.S. plane maker Boeing is still frozen out. China hasnt bought passenger planes from Boeing since 2017, amid trade tensions between the two nations and two fatal crashes of Boeings 737 Max passenger jet. No resumption had been announced as of Monday, despite the hopes of some investors after Xis cordial summit with Biden that helped take the heat out of rising tensions between the worlds two biggest economies. Xis dinner with American leadersincluding Merit Janow, chair of Mastercards board of directorsleft many disappointed over the lack of talk about trade. View Full Image China hasnt bought passenger planes from Boeing since 2017. PHOTO: REUTERS Boeing declined to comment. Many business executives caution that recent approvals are unlikely to open the investment floodgates into China, and Beijing has much to do to convince multinationals that they are welcome there. A poll released by New York-based think tank the Conference Board on Thursday shows chief executives of multinational companies are becoming less confident about China as economic woes in the country persist. The survey of 35 China-based CEOs of mostly U.S. and European companies, conducted before the recent approvals, shows that a measure of their confidence in China dropped from 72 six months ago to 54 in the second half of the year. A reading of below 50 points reflects more negative rather than positive responses. The think tank also found that 40% of CEOs expected a decrease in capital investments and almost as many forecast a reduction in head count over the next six months, up from just 9% in the first half of the year. Overseas firms withdrew more than $160 billion in total earnings from China in the six successive quarters through the end of September, Chinese data show, an unusually sustained run of profit outflows illustrating the decline in the countrys appeal for overseas capital. Several challenges facing American businesses in China remain from opaque data localization laws to shrinking access to information within the country. Raids on foreign due diligence and consulting firms, including the detention of staff, and exit bans on executives have also made companies nervous about their presence there. Also, doing business there can draw scrutiny from officials and lawmakers in Washington. It is a carrots and sticks operating environment, and we appear to be in the carrots mode," James Zimmerman, a partner at Perkins Coie LLP, who counsels foreign companies on corporate and regulatory issues in China, said. China is an operating environment where every license, permit and approval is a process that can become highly politicized, and more so when U.S.-China relations go south," he said. Write to Lingling Wei at Lingling.Wei@wsj.com and Liza Lin at liza.lin@wsj.com Xiaomi released its Pad 6 series earlier this year, but the company is reportedly already working on the latest generation of its tablet range, with major upgrades planned in terms of processor and display, among other things. Also Read: Xiaomi expands HyperOS to more devices: Check if your device is on the list Mi Pad 7 Pro expected features: According to a report by GSMChina, the Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro has been codenamed 'Sheng', based on Xiaomi's practice of using musical instruments as codenames for its tablet lineup, and has been designated a model number 'N81A'. Reportedly, the Xiaomi Pad 7 Pro could be powered by last year's flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, giving it a performance boost over the Pad 6 Pro, which came with the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset. The Pad 7 Pro could also feature a 10-inch LCD display with a resolution of 1480*2367 and a refresh rate of 144 Hz. The tablet will also come with a dual rear camera setup with a primary sensor and a depth sensor, while the exact specifications of the front and rear cameras have not yet been revealed. The tablet could also come with a quad stereo speaker setup with support from Dolby while running on Xiaomi's new HyperOS out of the box running on Android 14. Also Read: Xiaomi enters the electric vehicle market with SU7: Here's everything you need to know Launch details: According to the report, Xiaomi is expected to launch the new Mi Pad 7 range in April next year with the Xiaomi 14 Ultra handset. Similar to the Xiaomi Pad 6 Pro, the Pad 7 Pro is unlikely to make it to India and other global markets, and may be restricted to the Chinese market. Meanwhile, the Xiaomi Pad 7, which is currently being tested in Xiaomi's lab, is expected to be released globally. Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. The information contained on this website shall not be construed as (i) an offer to purchase or sell, or the solicitation of an offer to purchase or sell, any securities or services, (ii) investment, legal, business or tax advice or an offer to provide such advice, or (iii) a basis for making any investment decision. An offering may only be made upon a qualified investors receipt not via this website of formal materials from the Knightsbridge an offering memorandum and subscription documentation (offering materials). 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Thank you for your interest in Knightsbridge. CLEVELAND (AP) An early blast of cold and snow shut down shut down schools in Cleveland and other areas Tuesday and the blanket of snow made driving on heavily traveled Interstate 90 in northern Ohio treacherous. A lake-effect snow warning was issued by the National Weather Service for areas from Cleveland eastward into Erie, Pennsylvania, and parts of western New York were bracing for the first significant snowfall of the year. Near-whiteout conditions and heavy snow were blamed for a 10-vehicle crash that seriously injured a 12-year-old boy in Wales, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) southeast of Buffalo, during the Monday afternoon commute, Erie County Sheriff John Garcia said Tuesday. The child was struck after getting out of his familys vehicle. People began to exit their vehicles and leave the roadway due to the amount of oncoming traffic continually striking the vehicles already involved in the accident, Garcia said in a statement. Forecasters said they expected up to 16 inches (40 centimeters) of snow in the greater Cleveland area. Just before 11 a.m. Tuesday, the weather service said observers had reported 13 inches (33 centimeters) or more in Ashtabula County in Ohio and Erie County in Pennsylvania along with 11.6 inches (30 centimeters) in Lake County, Ohio. In Erie, forecasters said snow accumulation in some areas could amount to 8 inches (20 centimeters), blown by with winds up to 30 miles per hour (48 kmh) before the snow warning is set to expire Wednesday morning. The Cleveland Metropolitan School District, which serves more than 36,000 students, said all of its schools would be closed Tuesday, and districts in some neighboring counties also closed. In Pennsylvania, the Northeastern School District in Albion closed schools Tuesday while other Erie and Crawford county districts delayed opening for two hours. The Ohio Department of Transportation said it had nearly 340 crews working across the state, most of them in northeast Ohio, and in Lake County speed limits on I-90 were reduced for a time during the snowfall. Department spokesperson Matt Bruning said clean-up crews will likely work 12 hour shifts even after the National Weather Services lake effect snow warning is dropped to deal with any issues caused by snow drifts resulting from high winds. A foot or more of snow also had fallen across a largely rural stretch of upstate New York east of Lake Ontario, with one spot recording 23 inches by Tuesday morning, according to the weather service. There were school closings and travel advisories around the Tug Hill region, which is known for prolific lake-effect snowstorms. Areas south of Buffalo, down to the Pennsylvania border, meanwhile, were digging out from a foot or more of snow that fell from Monday evening into Tuesday. Law enforcement reported several cars off the roads during a slippery morning commute and several school districts canceled classes. An additional 5 to 10 inches of snow were expected though early Wednesday in some Buffalo suburbs and neighboring counties. Donald Trump is currently facing 91 felony counts as the result of four criminal investigations, including one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. Trump's continuing effort to spread lies about the 2020 election are a hostile and destructive manipulation of the body politic. He knows his deception about a rigged election isnt true, yet he attempted to discount millions of legitimate votes in his determination to overturn the 2020 election. He has pending trial dates for obstruction and mishandling of classified and confidential documents that he illegally removed from the White House and precariously stored at his Mar-a-Lago residence. A jury in Manhattan has found Trump's company guilty of long-running criminal tax and insurance fraud schemes that lasted well into his presidency. Three of his children are testifying and refuting evidence concerning financial schemes of his real estate operations. He was found liable for sexually abusing and defaming E. Jean Carroll in a New York City department store and ordered to pay five million dollars in restitution. He paid $130,000 to Stormy Daniels, a porn star, to prevent her from sharing her story about an alleged affair she had with him during his 2016 presidential campaign. He repeatedly cozies up to tyrants, dictators, and autocrats around the globe - while distancing and isolating long-standing world partners and allies. His references look more like a criminal rap-sheet of a serial offender than it does the depiction of a candidate for the presidency of the United States of America. In spite of all of that, a recent New York Times/Siena poll shows that in five of the six swing states, Trump is within one point of Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential race. We have an election denying, classified documents pilfering, tax cheating, woman abusing, despot admiring, and criminally indicted loser who wants to reinstate his criminal empire from behind the Resolute Desk in Washington. If that doesnt scare you, it should. Have we lost our collective minds? Has America degenerated to such an extent that Trump can remain a viable candidate to govern over the most dominant military forces and critical economic engine in the world? Tyrannies invert the rule of law. They turn the law into an instrument of injustice. They cloak their crimes in a faux legality. They use the decorum of the courts and trials, to mask their criminality. - Chris Hedges New York Times Pulitzer Prize recipient and lecturer. James Galbo Buffalo Be mindful of 2023's package shipping deadlines to ensure presents are under the tree by Christmas. We have a scary issue on our hands when it comes to finding affordable housing. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, a majority of tenants are living paycheck to paycheck just to keep a roof over their heads. In fact, almost a third of the Greater Buffalo area residents are spending 50% or more of their income on rent, 25% more than financial experts recommend. The increased minimum annual income needed for renters has risen drastically since Covid-19. Landlords are now requiring proof of an annual income between $50,000 to $60,000, which is higher than the average income for Buffalo residents. I recently found myself in the middle of this crisis trying to find affordable housing while losing my current rental due to a property sale. I was forced to move out by a strict deadline. I looked everywhere for a place to live that was within my budget, appropriate distance from work and school. I called 10-20 places, only to be placed on a one-to two-year waiting list. After an exhausting search, I found an apartment to get me through. There is no place like home; everyone deserves to have a safe and affordable place to live. How did we get here? And how do we move forward to resolving this national issue? We need to continue to speak out to the people in power, and we need to march together in the streets to end this nightmare. Alyson Przybyl Hamburg (Alliance News) - The following is a round-up of earnings and trading updates by London-listed companies, issued on Monday and not separately reported by Alliance News: ---------- JLEN Environmental Assets Group Ltd - Guernsey-based environmental infrastructure investment fund - Corrects its earlier announcement that net asset value total return for the six months that ended September 30 is 0.3%, not 1.4% as reported earlier. Earlier, it said net asset value decreased during its latest half year, but that it remains on track to meet its full-year dividend target. NAV at September 30 was 119.7p per share, down 2.8% from 123.1p per share at March 31. Its portfolio evaluation at September 30 was GBP898.9 million, slightly up from GBP898.5 million at March 31. JLEN also declared a total dividend of 3.78p per share for the six months that ended on September 30, up from 3.57p for the same period in 2022. The company believes it is on track to meet its 7.57p target for the year ending on March 31, 2024, up from 7.14p for the prior year. ---------- Thor Explorations Ltd - Vancouver, British Columbia-based mineral exploration company - In the third quarter of 2023, net profit falls to USD2.3 million from USD7.6 million a year earlier. Revenue falls to USD36.6 million from USD55.7 million. Recovers 19,104 ounces of gold during third quarter, down from 23,078 ounces a year earlier. Says gold production targets on track for 2023 guidance, with full-year outlook of 85,000 ounces. Expects completion of pre-feasibility study workstreams regarding Douta project in the first quarter of 2024. Expects to complete Douta resource update by end of 2023. Chief Executive Officer Segun Lawson says: "Whilst the lower grades have led to lower revenue and profits in the quarter, we have maintained good levels of positive cash flow. We anticipate a stronger financial performance in the final quarter as the mine grade increases." ---------- Quantum Exponential Group PLC - London-based quantum technology investment firm - Notes portfolio company Oxford Quantum Circuits, which specialises in quantum compute-as-a-service, launches USD100 million series B fundraise. Quantum Exponential 0.3% of OQC and says the Series B fundraise is being led by SBI Investment of Japan. OQC also launches Toshiko, which it claims is the "world's first enterprise ready quantum computing platform", says Quantum Exponential. Chief Executive Officer Steven Metcalfe says: "As early investors, we are absolutely thrilled to follow the progress of OQC and witness just how much the company has achieved in a relatively short space of time. We believe that innovators such as OQC are pivotal to the integration and adaptation of quantum computing globally and are absolutely delighted to be part of its journey." ---------- CRH PLC - Dublin-based building materials - Non-Executive Director Richard Fearon buys 10,000 shares at USD61.37 each in New York on Wednesday last week. Total aggregate value is USD613,700. ---------- By Greg Rosenvinge, Alliance News senior reporter Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Experienced financial services executive Daniela Klasen-Martin, who has been CEO of Credit Suisse Fund Management for the last two years, has been named as the replacement for Ian Harcourt at RBS International Luxembourg. Harcourt, who has spent five years as the banks Country Head for Luxembourg, will stay with the bank until at least the end of April next year and will work closely with Klasen-Martin to complete a full handover whilst the regulatory approval process concludes. Klasen-Martin has sat on several fund and fund management boards, including at CSSF-regulated technology company FundsDLT. This is in addition to positions at the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (Alfi) and the Luxembourg Directors Association (ILA). Prior to joining Credit Suisse, she spent 11 years at private equity and real estate firm Crestbridge where she established their fund management and corporate services operation in Luxembourg, which had previously only operated in Jersey. Olly Holbourn, Chief Executive Officer, RBS International, welcomed the appointment of Klasen-Martin. Luxembourg is an important jurisdiction as we deepen and broaden our relationships with customers, particularly in the alternative funds market, he said. I am delighted Daniela is joining us to help continue our sustainable growth. To post appointments at your company or organisation here, email a short statement to info@luxtimes.lu. Make sure to include a high-resolution photo. The content of this column is the sole responsibility of the editorial team. TLC-Tionne T-Boz Watkins and Rozonda Chilli Thomaswill perform selections from their 1994 Diamond-certified album, 30 years after its release plus additional hits. The 90s themed shows will feature fan interaction, 90s fashion, and more surprises. Joining TLC are Busta Rhymes and En Vogue to ensure its a 90s night to remember! News / Local by Staff reporter Vice President Constantino Chiwenga received treatment from a veterinary doctor at the instigation of his ex-wife Marry Mubaiwa while being admitted in South Africa, the court heard.This was revealed by former Health and Child Care Deputy Minister Dr John Mangwiro who said Mubaiwa introduced one Dr Bruce Peck as the best in South Africa and would give the complainant treatment from time to time.Dr Mangwiro told the court that Dr Willi Leo Seiling suspected something mysterious about Dr Peck when he saw him kissing with Mubaiwa.He further submitted that he later learned that Dr Peck was a veterinary doctor after Mubaiwa introduced him as a family medical practitioner.He said Mubaiwa often requested confidential time with Vice President Chiwenga.The State seeks to summon Vice President Chiwenga to testify on December 7 for trial continuation.During the last sitting, Dr Mangwiro told the court that each time Mubaiwa went inside the room in which the Vice President was admitted, he would be fit but when she left, he would be unconscious and obtunded.Dr Mangwiro said the complainant's health condition would start deteriorating each time he was brought back to his house."Each time we took the complainant out of the country for medication, he would come back home well but he would start deteriorating when he got home. I don't know what was happening," he said.He said Mubaiwa was powerful that she would kick everyone out of the hospital room.At one point the accused refused to take the complainant to hospital but instead opted to take him to a hotel saying she wanted to rest.Mubaiwa is facing charges of attempting to kill VP Chiwenga by unplugging his life support system in a South African hospital. Police in Brazil investigating the shooting of Mallorcan David Peregrina and his wife Erika da Silva believe that they were executed. The couple ran a restaurant in Porto Seguro in the Brazilian state of Bahia. Their bodies were found at dawn on Friday last week. David Peregrina Capo, 53, had been shot twice in the chest and twice in the back. The body of Erika da Silva Santos, 38, was discovered on a terrace at the restaurant; she had been shot in the head. She was naked and had seemingly been attempting to flee. There was no evidence of sexual violence and nor was there any evidence of robbery at the restaurant. Having found no signs of robbery, the police are of the view that this was an execution. Investigators have requested bank information. They want to study transactions and they are examining phone calls that were made in the days leading up to the shootings. The police have also been interviewing neighbours to find out if they saw or heard anything strange prior to the crime. The restaurant is by the River Buranhem and is accessible only by boat. In 2012, David Peregrina was sentenced to three years and nine months for his part in a real-estate fraud case. He worked for the Caixa Rural de Muro and went on trial in Palma with 29 others. Manchester, VT (05254) Today Partly cloudy skies this morning will give way to cloudy skies and rain during the afternoon. High 49F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Rain showers this evening with overcast skies overnight. Low 36F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. The brands partnerships aim to push benefits and help extend availability to consumers Sekayas long-standing partnership with the Moringaling Philippines Foundation, Inc. (MPFI) has not only produced a high quality moringa supplement but has also contributed significantly to the development of a globally competitive Philippine moringa industry. Malunggay, familiar and beloved by Filipinos, is many things: a galactagogue to help boost milk production for breastfeeding moms, a nutrient powerhouse with vitamins C and A, calcium and potassium, and a rich source of disease-preventing antioxidants, amino acids, and anti-inflammatory agents. The Filipino plant-based brand under Synnovate (the natural products division of Unilab) produces an EU-certified organic moringa supplement, keeping its sourcing 100% local through farms under the MPFI network which pushes the research, development, and standardization of moringa grown in the country. Sekaya Organic Moringas impact covers consumers who reap the benefits of this local superfood, and farming communities that benefit from the support and promotion that showcases local farmers capability in organic moringa farming. We are extremely proud to partner with Sekaya in providing the local market with a high quality moringa supplement that is safe for anyone who takes it, says Bernadette Bernie Estrella Arellano, founder and chairperson of Moringaling Philippines Foundation, Inc. "Through this partnership, we are also showcasing the capabilities of our very own Filipino organic malunggay farmers who meet the stringent standards of international bodies like the European Union." Aside from big retailers like Mercury Drug and Watsons, and e-commerce sites Lazada and Shopee, Sekaya proactively works on getting its moringa supplement into more distribution channels, particularly provincial ones like Carlos Superdrug in Lucena City, Quezon, and Jhunbelle Drugstore in Coron, Palawan. Recently, Sekaya and RiteMed Philippines inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with social enterprise Plantsville Health to save 16 native cinnamon species, encourage farming of the local spice, and develop natural health products to boost the industry. Cinnamon is one of the most important spices used all over the world, and at one point in Europe, considered at par with how oil is valued globally today. Studies have shown that cinnamon may help control blood sugar by making insulin efficient, moving glucose to cells. It is also known to have other medicinal benefits for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties. According to Plantsville Health founder November Canieso-Yeo she discovered that the country not only has its own local cinnamon species, but these are also in the threatened species list of the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Its a shame because our country imports more than 95% of its current cinnamon consumption. How meaningful it could be if we could help grow back the Philippine cinnamon, while earning for the farmers and its suppliers, she says. Thats the aim of Canieso-Yeos social enterprise save the Philippine cinnamon and other aromatic indigenous species by planting them in partnership with small landholder farmers, buy their produce, and develop these into healthful products for consumers. And with collaborations and support from brands like Sekaya and RiteMed, she sees more concrete ways forward. To be able to direct the supply of cinnamon for natural health products to local sources would be a big win for the industry, Kamille Iris Abapo, Marketing Manager of Synnovate, points out. As a brand, Sekaya continues to work hard to support local farmers and suppliers while developing high quality natural health products that help set standards for the industry and benefit consumers, community and country. With partnerships that benefit Filipino consumers and emerging Filipino enterprises whose businesses support local resources, Sekaya continues to champion the power and health benefits of native superfoods to help optimize our own natural resources for both local and global markets. Sekaya is under Synnovate, the natural products division of UNILAB. Learn more about how you can benefit from Sekayas plant-based solutions and get health tips and information at sekaya.com.ph and by following @sekayaph on Facebook and Instagram. Don't miss out on the latest shoppenings! Follow Manila Shopper: facebook.com/ManilaShopper instagram.com/ManilaShopper Walk with Manila Shopper on youtube: MS Walks Taiwan 2024 Election: Militarization or Development Taiwan's elections loom just a few weeks away. Continued militarization would undermine past economic success. Taiwan is at its ultimate crossroads. Taiwans presidential elections will be held on January 13, 2024. Re-elected in 2020, the incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen cannot seek a third term. Tsais Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has been a divisive force that has benefited from President Obamas pivot to Asia, Trumps efforts at effective normalization and Bidens attempt to capitalize on the consequent tensions to contain Chinas economic rise regionally and globally. But nothing in this election is what it seems to be. DPPs American way After two consecutive terms, the incumbent Tsai resigned as DPP Chair in 2022, following the partys poor performance in the local elections that caused great concern among the DPP leadership. Afterwards, Vice President Lai Ching-te (also known as William Lai) was unanimously elected to succeed her as the party chair. Tsai beat Lai in the 2020 primary. To unify the DPP, Lai was then selected to be Tsais running mate. There was no primary. A legal trade scholar, Tsai spent years in the United States and the UK prior to her political career. Similarly, Lai, a public health expert, studied in the US. Recently, he named Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwans envoy to the US as his running mate. Born in Japan, Hsiao grew up in Taiwan but moved to the US as a teenager in the early 80s. A political operative, she became active in DPP in the US, not in Taiwan. She renounced her US citizenship only in 2000. In brief, Tsai, Lai and Hsiao have, as they say, "very intimate ties" with Washington. That seems to be the new norm from Afghanistan and Iraq to Ukraine and Israel. Failed opposition unity Until recently, the presidential election was dominated by four candidates: Lai Ching-te representing the incumbent DPP; medical professor Ko Wen-je, the former mayor of Taipei, representing the center-left Taiwan Peoples Party (TPP); Hou Yu-ih, a police director and former mayor of New Taipei and of the major opposition party Kuomintang (KMT); and Terry Gou, founder and ex-CEO of Foxconn, the worlds largest multinational electronics contract manufacturer (Figure 1). Figure 1 The Big-4 Source: Wikimedia Commons What complicated projections was Lais inability to raise his ratings and the effort by the KMT and TPP to combine their ticket. United, the two parties could have garnered up to 50% of the Taiwanese vote (Figure 2). But mired in a contest over which party should field the candidate for president and which for vice-president, the TPP and KMT failed to agree on a joint presidential ticket. Figure 2 Taiwans election polls in mid-November 2023 Sources: Local regression of Taiwanese 2024 election polls Now each has chosen his running mate. Hou opted for the fiery media personality Jaw Shaw-kong, who in the '90s led a pro-unification party. Recently, Jaw has reiterated his view that unification is the prime way to avoid a major conflict. He believes most Americans don't want a war in Taiwan Strait, but believes that the US military-industrial complex does. Ko's running mate is a TPP lawmaker Cynthia Wu, whose family is a major shareholder of conglomerate Shin Kong Group. Like DPP leaders, Wu has close ties with the West. She is an ambitious ex-Merrill Lynch banker who used to serve as an assistant for Peter Lilley, ex-minister of the Conservative Thatcher and Major cabinets; a pro-Brexit right-winger who the satirical Spitting Image oncedepicted as a Nazi commandant. The KMT/TPP combine would have been DPPs nightmare. But the failed joint ticket is manna from heaven to the DPP, which Beijing considers secessionist. What makes this scenario problematic is that it is a political stalemate that fails to reflect the voters views. Currently, one of every three Taiwanese supports DPPs highly confrontational policies toward China. By contrast, almost every second Taiwanese would prefer a less confrontational stance and greater focus on domestic economy. The changing status quo is reflected by the tight legislative race. Currently, the DPP has a majority, but the party may fail to maintain its hold over the unicameral legislature. US arms sales and Taiwans escalating militarization If tensions have escalated in the Taiwan Strait, much is due to Washingtons multi-billion-dollar military aid for Taipei in recent years, including an $8 billion deal to deliver 66 F-16 fighter jets by 2026. In the past, U.S. stated policy toward Taiwan prioritized peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. Today, the strategic objective seems to be the preemption of Chinas economic rise. From Beijings perspective, the US is exploiting Taiwan as a pawn in its not-so-grand chessboard, to undermine China. These concerns and Chinas large-scale military exercises in the area have intensified in parallel with US military escalation. Between 1950 and 2022, Taiwan was the 4th largest purchaser in the US foreign military sales; in 2020-22 combined, the largest (Figure 3). Figure 3 Taiwan Arms Sales 1990-2022 Sources: FMS Data from the Defense Security Agency (www.dsca.mil); Kan, S. 2015. Taiwan: Major US Arms Sales since 1990. CRS Report RI30957, Jan 5; last updated Dec 28, 2022 by US- Taiwan Business Council In July, the Biden administration announced it would transfer $345 million in defense items to Taiwan, which were later coupled with $135 million via military financing programs. The latter are likely to include portable air defense systems, small arms munitions and reconnaissance equipment. Thanks to US foreign assistance, Taiwan is also authorized to Pentagons stocks up to $1 billion annually in defense articles, services and training. In August, Taiwan announced plans to increase its total defense spending to a record $19.1 billion, equivalent to 2.6% of GDP. That outpaces even NATO allies, such as the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Germany (Figure 4). Figure 4 Taiwans Defense Budget ($ bn) and Growth Rate (%) Source: Ministry of Finance, Republic of Taiwan However, all military expenditures have opportunity costs. And the cold reality is that with increasing militarization these costs are climbing, fast. Taiwans double-whammy In the first half of the year, Taiwans GDP shrank, despite a rebound in the second quarter. The main risk to the outlook is persistently weak global demand, which continues to weigh on exports. Worse, exports to China, which Washington seeks to isolate, have not picked up in recent months despite continuing rebound there. China remains Taiwans primary export market for electronic components, accounting for more than half of the total. And China plays a critical role in a host of other Taiwanese industrial sectors. Still worse, any reconfiguration of supply chains in advanced technology, which the US is promoting in the name of national security, can further dampen Taiwan's exports. Bluntly put, Taiwanese economy is heading toward a double-whammy. On the one hand, DPP's leaders have pushed the island into the Pentagon's arms, which is penalizing the islands economic futures. On the other, this very same effort is associating Taiwan with the Wests cost-of-living crises and secular stagnation. Its a fatal embrace. From politics of distraction to economic traps In the late 20th century, Taiwan joined the newly-industrialized Asian dragons by focusing on economic development. But since 2016, the DPP has shifted national focus toward geopolitics. Such politics of distraction can sideline but not overcome the impending economic landmines. You can't have your cake and eat it too. In the past months, private consumption still bolstered growth, but the positive effects of loosened COVID-19 restrictions have waned and the export-oriented economy must now find new drivers of growth, as the Asian Development Bank recently suggested. In Taiwan, the key challenge is to translate the economic frustration of the people into a viable political force. Geopolitics is a recipe to a national disaster with regional, even global repercussions. Dr. Dan Steinbock is the founder of Difference Group and has served at the India, China and America Institute (US), Shanghai Institute for International Studies (China) and the EU Center (Singapore). For more, see http://www.differencegroup.net/ 2023 Copyright Dan Steinbock - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors. Dan Steinbock Archive 2005-2022 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. The brief speculation that Patrick Kane could sign with the Bruins fizzled quickly. The longtime Blackhawk and short-time Ranger is singing with the Red Wings. On his 32 Thoughts podcast, SportsNets Elliotte Friedman said there were teams who believed the Bruins are lurking in the Kane pursuit, but Friedman reported Kane to the Red Wings on Tuesday and tweeted first: Good morning. All eyes on Detroit and the possibility of Patrick Kanes arrival. Lets see how the day unfolds. Followed by: Lets go even further. Patrick Kane is signing with the Detroit Red Wings $200 INSTANT BONUS DRAFTKINGS MASS CLAIM OFFER BET $5, GET $200 BONUS BET FANDUEL MASS CLAIM OFFER BET $50, GET $250 BONUS CAESARS MASS CLAIM OFFER $1,000 FIRST-BET BONUS BETMGM MASS CLAIM OFFER MA only. 21+. Gambling Problem? If you or a loved one is experiencing problems with gambling, please call 1-800-327-5050 or visit gamblinghelplinema.org for 24/7 support. LiveChat with a GameSense Advisor at GameSenseMA.com or call 1-800-GAM-1234 MA Gambling Helpline. MA only. 21+. Gambling Problem? If you or a loved one is experiencing problems with gambling, please call 1-800-327-5050 or visit gamblinghelplinema.org for 24/7 support. LiveChat with a GameSense Advisor at GameSenseMA.com or call 1-800-GAM-1234 MA Gambling Helpline. Kane, 35, has 451 goals and 786 assists in his career and could be a veteran presence on a young Red Wings team. The Bruins were a long shot for salary cap reasons. Theyd have to create significant cap space to sign him. Their lack of salary cap space is why they werent serious suitors to bring back Tyler Bertuzzi or Dmitry Orlov. Christmas is right around the corner and if you are in the yuletide season make sure that you show it by writing a letter to a very popular person this time of year: Santa Claus. Santa is taking letters for the next several weeks. So whether its a new shiny toy, a puppy or some new clothes make sure to write up that Christmas wishlist and send it to Old Kris Kringle. Below for some ways to contact Santa Claus this year. USPS The USPS Operation Santa is a program run by the U.S. Postal Service that gets people to respond to letters written to Santa each year. The program started accepting letters to Santa on Sept. 18. Registration for people wishing to reply to these letters with presents from Santa Claus opened on Nov. 6 and closes on Dec. 18. Meanwhile, the final date to mail a letter is Dec. 11. The letters will be sent to 123 Elf Road, North Pole, 8888 with a return address to ensure volunteers can return the letters with gifts. Other mail options You can also mail your childs letter to Santa Claus to North Pole Postmark, Postmaster, 4141 PostMark Dr., Anchorage AK 99530-9998. Additionally, The Santa Claus Museum is accepting letters. Every letter received by the Museum by Dec. 16, will receive a response, according to the museums website. People can mail their letters to Santa Claus PO Box 1 Santa Claus, IN 47579. Email If snail mail isnt your thing, try emailing Santa on his website, where you can get a reply immediately. People can also email Santa Claus here, where they can tell Old Kris Kringle what gifts they want or whether theyve been naughty or nice. Calling Try calling Santa on his hotline at: 605-313-4000. Visiting Santa Santa usually visits several different malls in Massachusetts. For example, Santa will be at the Burlington Mall until Dec. 24. For more locations please check here. News / Local by Staff reporter Marry Mubaiwa has threatened to sue her ex-husband, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, for adultery.Chiwenga and Mubaiwa reportedly separated several years ago. Chiwenga has since married Colonel Miniyothabo Baloyi.In June 2022, President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced that his deputy had tied the knot with Col. Baloyi, a serving officer in the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA).However, Mubaiwa insists that if Chiwenga, whom she still refers to as her husband, wants a divorce, he should do it properly and give her a divorce token (gupuro).She posted on X:"My husband must be man enough to make it official that we are no longer together, leaving apart does not make things official. l don't know which "GUPURO" (divorce token) that he talks about because we never saw it but only heard about it through social media. Abuse of authority"I should sue him for adultery for what he is doing with that girl that has been courting him for many years."He used to tell me how much he hated her and she would bring him gifts including clothes and we would burn them, this was around 2011 and he referred to her as Zwangendaba."If he no longer wants me as a wife why not go through the proper procedure of division of property, custody of our kids and whatever else."He used me to have children nekuti musikana uyo haazvere ingomwa (because that girl is infertile). He wants me dead and buried and he won't rest until it's done."I was naive to actually believe that he loved me and he was in love with me and yet he was using me."My heart is broken, l just want my children and my properties from him and nothing else. l hope the President knows that he is dealing with "the devil in uniform".Mubaiwa is facing attempted murder charges for allegedly attempting to kill Chiwenga when he was on a life support system in South Africa in 2019.During her recent court appearance, former Health and Child Care Deputy Minister John Mangwiro told the court that whenever Mubaiwa walked into the room in which Chiwenga was admitted, he would become unconscious even though he was awake before her arrival.Mangwiro said this while being cross-examined by Mubaiwa's lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa. Krispy Kreme is helping people stick to the four main food groups from Elf this holiday season with doughnuts inspired by the classic Christmas film. The doughnut company is spreading holiday cheer for a limited time with their first-ever Elf doughnut collection in honor of the 20th anniversary of the movie. Read More: Buy tickets for this Edgar Allen Poe speakeasy coming to Boston for 6 days The limited-edition collection, which officially went on sale on Friday, Nov. 24, features four doughnuts inspired by the 2003 film starring Will Ferrell as Buddy the Elf. Three of the four doughnuts are new this year and join the Santa Belly Doughnut, which is a doughnut filled with Cookies & Kreme filling, dipped in red icing and decorated with Santas belt and belt buckle candy piece. The new lineup this year includes the following: Buddy Snow Globe Doughnut: Original Glazed Doughnut dipped in sugar cookie light blue icing and white sprinkles, topped with powdered sugary snow and a chocolate Elf piece. Buddy Makes Breakfast Doughnut: Original Glazed Doughnut topped with cake batter spaghetti buttercreme, milk chocolate colorful candies, sprinkles, and a maple drizzle. Christmas Lights Doughnut: Original Glazed Doughnut dipped in rich chocolate icing, drizzled with green icing, and topped with rainbow sprinkles and a chocolate Elf piece. For a limited time, Krispy Kreme is celebrating the 20th anniversary of "Elf" with doughnuts inspired by the movie.Krispy Kreme Doughnut and Elf lovers can also find a limited time Krispy Kreme 6-pack featuring the Buddy Snow Globe Doughnut, Festive Lights Doughnut and Santa Belly Doughnut in select grocery stores. The box is available at participating local Walmart, Kroger, Food Lion, Publix, Stater Brothers, Wakefern and more stores. Click here to find a store near you. The only Krispy Kreme locations in New England are at the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. There are no Krispy Kreme locations in Massachusetts. Multiple people had to be pulled from a building after several cars crashed into a vacant Boston Market on Route 1 in Saugus Monday night, according to Saugus Firefighters Local 1003. The crash was reported on the northbound side of Route 1 shortly after 7:20 p.m. on Nov. 27, WCVB said citing Saugus police. Read More: Man shot dead in Springfield apartment building early Monday morning Photos posted by Saugus Firefighters Local 1003 on Facebook showed at least two cars with extensive damage wedged into the building. The union said the vehicles and passengers had to be pulled from the structure. A 62-year-old man was said to be inside an Volvo SUV while a sedan was unoccupied, according to WCVB. At least one person was brought to the hospital, Boston25 reported. The cause of the crash remains under investigation. A 55-year-old man from Massachusetts died in a head-on car crash in Connecticut on Tuesday, according to Connecticut State Police. Clifton Graves, of Wilbraham, was killed in the crash that happened on River Road in Willington, Connecticut at 4:30 a.m. on Nov. 28, according to an accident report from state police. The report said Graves was driving a 2008 Cadillac CTS when a 2018 Chevrolet Equinox, going the opposite way, crossed over the center line and hit the other vehicle head-on. Graves was brought to Hartford Hospital where he was pronounced dead just before 6 a.m., according to the report. The driver of the Equinox, identified as an 18-year-old Stafford Springs man, was brought to St. Francis Hospital for treatment. The report did not specify his injuries. This crash remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact Troop C at 860-896-3200 or email Mark.Dennis@ct.gov. Ellen Leigh lives with the trauma of gun violence every day. So does Ilyse Levine-Kanji. Twenty years ago, Leigh, of Arlington, stared down the barrel of a would-be assailants gun, convinced she was going to die. It took the intervention of a passer-by to save her life. Three decades ago, Levine-Kanjis boss was among the eight victims of a mass shooting at a San Francisco law firm. The Westborough resident was on vacation with her family that day. Had she been there, Levine-Kanji believes she would have been among the dead. Both now are volunteers with the gun-violence reduction advocacy group Moms Demand Action. And on Tuesday, both were before a joint state House and Senate Committee taking testimony on nearly five dozen gun violence reduction bills. Together, they shared their stories as they pleaded the case for proposals that would among other things clamp down on so-called ghost guns; expand the states existing assault weapons ban, and prohibit people from carrying guns into polling places and other public spaces. Ive had panic attacks and felt like skyscrapers were going to fall on me, Levine-Kanji told members of the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security, Im still uncomfortable sitting near a window. Her voice breaking, Leigh told lawmakers that shes always considered myself one of the lucky ones, because I survived. Their stories, unique to them, but shared by the now countless thousands of Americans whose lives have been shattered by gun violence, were enough to break your heart. And it was clear that the lawmakers on the panel had been touched by their testimony. But it took roughly two minutes for their impassioned pleas to run into the same roadblock thats been thrown in the way of every legislative effort to reduce gun violence even in a state that has among the toughest gun laws in the country. And thats how to fight crime and stop the bad guys, while protecting the rights of gun owners who legally use their weapons for hunting, self-defense, or sport. On Tuesday, it came during an exchange over the proposal to keep guns out of polling places and schools. Your testimony is heartfelt and you should keep doing it, state Rep. Steven G. Xiarhos, R-5th Barnstable, and a former Yarmouth cop who lost an officer under his command, told them. But how do we stop these people when theres no one there to stop them? Christine Doktor of Attorney General Andrea Campbell's Gun Violence Prevention Unit, testifies before the Massachusetts Legislature's Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security. The panel held a hearing on nearly five dozen gun violence reduction bills on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, at the State House in Boston, Mass. (MassLive photo by John L. Micek)John L. Micek State Sen. John Velis, D-Hampden/Hampshire, whose district was rocked by a shooting on the streets of Holyoke in October that injured a pregnant woman and fatally wounded her baby, who died after delivery, relayed a conversation he said hed had with a retired judge. In two decades of hearing every variety of gun case, Velis said he asked the retired jurist how many had involved a legal gun owner? His answer was One, Velis told his colleagues. Tuesdays hearing came just about a month after the majority-Democrat state House approved a suite of updates to the states gun laws, and weeks before their colleagues in the state Senate, also controlled by Democrats, are expected to unveil their own reform proposal. The Houses version of the bill ran into the same roadblocks that faced reformers on Tuesday before it finally made its way to the floor. And the joint panels hearing was a preview of the same objections that the Senate seems guaranteed to face when its reform proposal bows in early 2024. But just because they are roadblocks does not mean theyre excuses for inaction. Or at least that was the message that seemed embedded in the testimony of one lawmaker whos spent years working on the issue. The glut of illegal guns is our most significant public health and public safety issue, state Rep. David Linsky, D-5th Middlesex, a former prosecutor, told his colleagues. And while Massachusetts remains a model for gun safety weve fallen behind other states. Our first duty is to protect public safety, he said. Christine Doktor and Ryan Mingo, who run Attorney General Andrea Campbells new gun violence prevention unit, reminded lawmakers that even with the states existing laws, an average of 255 people die and 557 are wounded by guns in Massachusetts. Levine-Kanji, who still spends every day living with the memory of a trauma as vivid as it was in 1993, told MassLive after her testimony that shes looking for lawmakers to finally send a comprehensive bill to Gov. Maura Healey. Leigh put it even more emphatically to lawmakers. We need to do better protecting each other and our future, she said. We have to treat this crisis with the urgency it deserves. Which, for them, means no more roadblocks and no more excuses. Ultimately, itll be up to lawmakers to agree. After nearly 40 years, the Bristol County District Attorneys Office has identified the body of a man who was found on the side of the road in Fairhaven in 1985. The man, who is believed to have been killed, was identified through genetic testing as Cranston, Rhode Island, resident Keith Olson, the DAs office said in a press release Tuesday. He went missing in 1981 and was 27 at the time. The investigation into Olsons body On April 8, 1985, a driver traveling west on I-195 in Fairhaven spotted a human skeleton on the side of the road, the DAs office said. He contacted police and took them to the bodys location about 45 feet from the road in the brush, just past the Mattapoisett town line. Police searched the scene and recovered the body, as well as some physical evidence, but found nothing indicating who the body belonged to, the DAs office said. The body was then submitted to the FBI. The FBI lab determined that the body was that of a white man who was around 5-foot-9 inches tall, that he had been killed a few years before his body was found and that a pair of shoes found at the scene had been manufactured in 1981. The skeleton also showed signs of trauma, and the mans death was ruled a homicide, the DAs office said. Investigators tried to use dental records to match the skeleton to that of missing persons, but were unsuccessful. They also released information about the body, as well as an image of what they believed the man looked like based on his skull, but came up empty, the DAs office said. Investigators created a rendering of what they believed the unidentified man looked like.Bristol County District Attorney's Office The skeleton remained unidentified until recently when the DAs office worked with a private lab and the FBIs genetic genealogy team to create a genetic profile based on DNA evidence recovered from the remains. The body was identified as Keith Olson using forensic genetic genealogy, which compares a genetic profile to thousands of other DNA profiles to find an unidentified persons relatives, the DAs office said. What investigators think happened to Olson Olson was born and raised in Rhode Island, and was last seen on April 15, 1981, the DAs office said. At the time of his disappearance, Olson had been dating a woman for a short time. This had resulted in friction between him and the womans ex-boyfriend North Providence resident John Broccoli, the DAs office said. Read more: Haverhill man arrested in connection with 2016 slaying of man at N.H. hotel A witness previously told investigators he saw two men escort Olson from his Cranston apartment shortly before he went missing. Additionally, the DAs office said, on the day Olson was last seen, Broccoli made cryptic statements to the woman Olson had been dating that suggested he was involved. Cranston, Rhode Island, resident Keith Olson was 27 when he went missing in 1981.Bristol County District Attorney's Office Broccoli, who was also known as Michael Corleone, died in 2019 at the age of 63, the DAs office said. According to his obituary, Broccoli was the owner of Spardellos Clothier in North Providence for over 20 years. He was also the subject of a Rhode Island Supreme Court case that reaffirmed his conviction in a 1985 robbery case. How investigators can close Olsons case Investigators are asking the public to help them gather information about Olsons disappearance and killing. Police have strong reason to believe that the crime was committed by at least two people and believe that there are individuals who could provide helpful information to solve this crime, the DAs office wrote in the release. Anyone with information about Olsons disappearance is asked to call Det. AnnMarie Robertson at (855)-627-6583. Rent-A-Center, one of the nations largest rent-to-own companies, recently reached a $8.75 million settlement with the states attorney generals office in order to resolve allegations the company violated Massachusetts law by routinely using unfair and deceptive practices against consumers. Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell announced Tuesday morning that the rental company agreed to pay the multi-million settlement as well as make significant changes in its business practices to follow the states consumer protection laws, including fair debt collection and repossession practices. I am proud of my teams dedication in securing a settlement with Rent-A-Center that sadly utilized egregious tactics to target and exploit low-income communities for profit, said Campbell. My office will continue to protect all consumers from harmful and exploitive practices by those who do business in our state. Based in Plano, Texas, Rent-a-Center operates more than 40 retail locations in Massachusetts. Many are located in predominantly low-income communities and communities of color, according to Campbells office. The company was founded in 1973 and it specializes in renting furniture, appliances, electronics and computers to customers, according to its website. It has 1,803 locations across the United States and Puerto Rico. After an investigation by the Attorney Generals Office of Consumer Protection and Civil Rights Divisions, the office alleged that Rent-A-Center repeatedly used coercive and abusive conduct towards customers who missed or failed to make rental payments under rental contracts. The office said it led to significant emotional and financial harm to the rental companys customers. Debt collection allegations In an effort to coerce consumers into making additional rental payments, the AGs office found that the company regularly filed applications for criminal theft and larceny against consumers who failed to make payments. Even for customers who paid significant amounts of money to the rental company over multiple years before falling behind on payments, the AGs office found that the company sought criminal charges. As part of the settlement agreement, the rental company will no longer continue its practice of filing criminal complaints against consumers for missing payments. The AGs investigation also found that the rental company excessively called consumers homes, workplaces and personal phones in violation of the debt collection rules. The rule states that debt collection calls can only be made to consumers twice within a seven-day period. The rental company is accused of showing up unannounced to consumers homes, often leading to physical confrontations between customers and Rent-A-Center employees. Consumers who believe they may have been subject to unfair and deceptive business practices may file a consumer complaint with the AGs Office. The two people who were killed in a late-night motorcycle crash in Boston on Saturday have been identified as Angel Maestre, 62, and Yordani Rodriguez, 27, Boston police and the Suffolk County District Attorneys Office told MassLive Tuesday. The crash involving a motorcycle and a pedestrian was reported in the area of Blue Hill Avenue and American Legion Highway in Dorchester around 10:44 p.m. on Nov. 25, Officer Michael Torigian told MassLive Sunday. Maestre was the pedestrian and Rodriguez was the motorcyclist, according to authorities. One person was pronounced dead at the scene. The other person, who was brought to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, was pronounced dead at the hospital, Torigian said. Homicide Detectives and the Fatal Collision Team were notified and responded, Torigian added. It is an ongoing investigation. In recognition of Native American Heritage Month in November, MassLive asked readers to identify people who are leaders from the Indigenous community throughout the state, working to make a difference in their own area of interest, be it politics, education, business or the arts. MassLive will publish profiles of these leaders through November. These are people our readers have identified as inspirational, who may be doing good acts for their communities. They are being recognized for their accomplishments, leadership and commitment to inspire change. Nayana LaFond is an artist based in Western Massachusetts. (Hoang 'Leon' Nguyen / The Republican)Leon Nguyen Nayana LaFond Age: 42 Community: Athol Her story: Nayana LaFond has always been an artist. She said she likes to use art as medicine to deal with what life has brought her. Her life has inspired her to unconsciously transition to artivism art that draws attention to social issues. Specifically, she began her journey into activism with the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People painting project. Art has become my means of raising awareness and promoting change, she said. LaFond said murder is the third leading cause of death for Indigenous people after cancer and heart disease, in comparison with national leading causes of death for non-Indigenous Americans. Murder doesnt crack the top 10, she said. LaFond uses art to bring attention to issues such as missing and murdered Indigenous people and domestic abuse. Shes also involved in the community as a board member of the Native Youth Empowerment Fund. In her words: Be careful and deliberate in everything you do. Remember that working with people who have experienced trauma should be done carefully and respectfully and no one should ever profit from it. Were always open to hearing about more inspiring people. If youd like to suggest someone else who should be recognized, please fill out this form. A New Bedford District Court judge ordered a 36-year-old man to be held without bail after he was arrested for breaking into his girlfriends apartment and violently assaulting her on Nov. 19, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn IIIs office announced Tuesday. Eberth Galicia-Giron of New Bedford was charged with domestic assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, breaking and entering, witness intimidation and destruction of property under $1,200, Quinns office said in a statement. That night, New Bedford police arrived at an apartment building after receiving a report of an intoxicated man who broke into an apartment, Quinns office said. Police found a woman crying, with scratches and fresh bruising and blood coming from her mouth. The apartment itself was in complete disarray, police observed according to Quinns office. Broken beer bottles were all over the floor and holes were seen punched in the walls, and a coffee table was seen to be in pieces. The woman said she had recently broken up with Galicia-Giron, who Quinns office said broke in, grabbed a knife and began screaming at her. He grabbed her neck and held the knife at her neck before punching her in the face several times. The woman was taken to Saint Lukes Hospital for evaluation after she fainted, Quinns office added. Galicia-Giron was found by police and arrested last week after the break-in, the district attorneys office said. MassLive reached out to New Bedford police about when he was taken into custody. Galicia-Giron was deemed dangerous by Judge Joseph Harrington, who also ordered him held without bail for 120 days. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recalled several brands of peaches, plums and nectarines sold in Massachusetts grocery stores because of a Listeria outbreak. The fruit was sold nationwide in stores from May 1, 2022 through November 15, 2022, and then again from May 1, 2023 through November 2023, according to the FDA. The recalled fruit was sold under multiple brand names in bags or as individuals pieces with different PLU stickers. The PLU stickers contained the following numbers with the following fruits: Yellow peach: 4044 or 4038 White peach: 4401 Yellow nectarine: 4036 or 4378 White nectarine: 3035 Red plum: 4042 Black plum: 4040 Peaches, plums or nectarines sold in HMC Farm-branded bags have also been recalled as well as peaches or nectarines sold in Signature Farms-branded bags and labeled with 6359 printed on a white sticker on the bag. Read More: New England ice cream brand recalls several products due to listeria More images of the product photos can be found here. The FDA added that the recalled fruit was sold to other manufacturers who may have frozen or relabeled the recalled fruit for resale under another brand. The fruit was sold at the following retailers: The firm has directly notified their customers who received recalled product and this advisory will be updated as more information becomes available, the FDA said. Recalled fruit is past expiration and no longer available for sale in retail stores but could have been frozen by consumers. Fresh whole peaches, plums, and nectarines currently available for sale at retail are not included in this recall. Customers are urged to not eat, sell or serve the recalled fruit if they still have it in their homes. The FDA also recommends that anyone who previously bought fresh peaches, plums or nectarines thrown them away. Consumers should also be aware of the potential for cross-contamination, and take extra precautions in cleaning and sanitizing and surfaces, containers or kitchenware that could have come in contact with the recalled fruit. Anyone who may have symptoms of listeriosis should contact their health care provider. Mild symptoms, which usually develop after two weeks of consumption, include fever, muscle aches, nausea, tiredness, vomiting, and diarrhea. More severe form symptoms may include headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and convulsions. According to data collected on Aug. 16, 10 of 11 people who were reported sick were hospitalized. At least one death was reported, according to the FDA. So far, no illnesses or deaths have been reported in Massachusetts. More information about the recall can be found here. News / Local by Staff reporter PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa's promises to break with the past and chart a new path for Zimbabwe after the ouster of long-time leader Robert Mugabe are ringing hollow as the southern African nation further slides into an authoritarian state six years on, political analysts have said.On 21 November 2017, Mugabe's iron-fisted rule came to an end after his prodigy, Mnangagwa, took the reins backed by the military.Euphoria gripped the 15-million-strong nation following Mugabe's ouster codenamed Operation Restore Legacy.Upon returning home following his sacking and dramatic escape from the country, Mnangagwa pledged to break with the past and usher in a new era for Zimbabwe."The voice of the people is the voice of God," he told multitudes gathered at Zanu PF headquarters on his return.Many thought this mantra signalled his plans to build a strong democracy in the region. But a series of events that were to later unfold told a different story.For starters, Mnangagwa lost international goodwill when the security forces opened fire on unarmed civilians protesting the delay in announcing the presidential election result.Now analysts say Zimbabweans are living in dire situations engulfed by a culture of impunity and fear.This, they say, has made Mugabe's repressive rule appear better compared to the status quo.A trend analysis of Afrobarometer data clearly shows that seven out of 10 Zimbabweans are unhappy with the direction the country has been taking since 2017.For instance, in early 2017 under the late president Mugabe, 60% of citizens felt Zimbabwe was going in the wrong direction.After Mnangagwa took over, this perception increased to 62% in mid-2018, then jumped to 67% in 2021 and reached 72% in 2022.There is also considerable consensus that, contrary to the 2017 grandiose governance promises, the situation is worse off.Professor of World Politics at London University's School of Oriental and African Studies, Stephen Chan, told The NewsHawks that all hope that was rekindled during the coup has been lost."The overthrow of Mugabe led briefly to great hope, but all hope was disappointed. Everything has gotten worse, both economically and in terms of free political openness. Space and prospects have been reduced for the majority of the people. Projects and policies are designed to benefit only the elite. One has to say that the Mnangagwa regime sees Zimbabwe in its worst state since independence," he said.Political analyst Vivid Gwede in an interview with The NewsHawks this week said: "What is clear is that the promises made during the coup have not materialised. Many people still struggle with their extreme poverty as shown by the World Bank reports, democracy is challenged by disputed elections, human rights violations still abound, and international re-engagement is a pipe dream."Of course the motivations of the coup, as people now realise, might have been different from what they expected. Over half a decade later, there is need for deeper reflection and a more inclusive development path." Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition spokesperson Obert Masaraure concurred."Mnangagwa has betrayed the legacy of the liberation struggle, betrayed his own Zanu PF party, betrayed the people of Zimbabwe and defiled the national constitution."The man has managed to reduce all state institutions into a circus in six years, reduce the majority of our people into paupers, destroy social services and even mortgage some national assets to foreigners."The highly corrupt Emmerson Mnangagwa government has trampled on workers' rights and destroyed education. Six years on, Mnangagwa isn't slowing down; he is on a spirited drive to destroy Zimbabwe," he said.Political analyst Rashweat Mukundu said that six years after the coup, Zimbabwe is now worse off."I think Zimbabwe is in serious trouble after that coup. It was the worst decision for the citizens of this country to support the coup," Mukundu said."We are actually seeing the negative effects of this unconstitutional removal of a political leader because the disregard of the rule of law by Mnangagwa in terms of how citizens in the opposition are attacked, changes in the constitution, brazen maladminstration of the electoral process, are all outcomes of the 2017 coup."So this was the worst thing that could happen to Zimbabwe if we look back retrospectively. We essentially destroyed the essence of the rule of law and we are seeing the effects now," he said.While corruption is still rampant, with the latest evidence being Al Jazeera's Gold Mafia corruption expose that caught the perpetrators of graft speaking on camera about they siphoned bullion worth millions of dollars, political tolerance and respect for human rights promised during the coup remain pie in the sky.Cases of opposition activists being the targets of systematic state-sponsored intimidation, brutality and in some cases extra-judicial killings are on the rise.The recent abduction, torture and murder of Mabvuku pastor and CCC activist Tapfumaneyi Masaya has also highlighted the growing culture of impunity as no charges have been placed on the suspects.He was murdered by suspected Zanu PF goons while coming for the opposition Citizens' Coalition for Change party. Weeks ago, an opposition MP, Takudzwa Ngadziore, was abducted, tortured and left for dead by suspected state security agents.After six years of the so-called new dispensation, Zimbabwe remains under Western sanctions and isolated from the community of nations because of its failure to reform from the dark days of Mugabe's draconian leadership style that included rigging elections, an occurrence that happened again on 23 August this year.On 15 April, 2022, just three days before Zimbabwe's 41st Independence anniversary, Mnangagwa dispatched a tweet whose central message is a stark summary of the current state of the nation."Zimbabweans, our roads are in a state of emergency. It pains me to see so many potholes on our once great highways. We must act urgently," he wrote on the social media platform, sparking animated debate across the country.However, the state of the roads, especially the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls highway remains deplorable. Rewind to 13 November 2017, the then commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces and now Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga held a Press conference shunned by state media and promised the nation that the military was geared to upholding the constitution and ensuring that citizens enjoy all their freedoms.There is a sharp increase in cases of brute repression and worsening levels of corruption, with many saying the discredited politics of old are still ruling the roost.On 13 November 2017, the then commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces and now Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga held a Press conference shunned by state media and promised the nation that the military was geared to uphold the constitution and ensure that citizens enjoy all their freedoms. The address by Chiwenga marked the beginning of the coup in earnest."Let us begin by quoting the constitution of this country, particularly the preamble which speaks of Exalting and extolling the brave men and women who sacrificed their lives during the Chimurenga/Umvukela and national liberation struggles and honouring our forebears and compatriots who toiled for the progress of our country' . . .""From a security point of view we cannot ignore the experiences of countries such as Somalia, DRC, Central Africa Republic and many others in our region where minor political differences degenerated into serious conflict that had decimated the social, political and economic security of ordinary people," said Chiwenga.He went on to quote specific sections of the constitution."Section 212 of the constitution of Zimbabwe mandates the Zimbabwe Defence Forces to protect Zimbabwe, its people, its national security and interests and its territorial integrity and to uphold this constitution."". . . Further, we must understand that the freedoms that we enjoy today were as a result of supreme sacrifice by some of our countrymen and women and this must not be taken for granted. Let us remove this air of uncertainty and allow Zimbabweans to enjoy their freedoms and rights as enshrined in the national constitution," he said.Two days later, in the early hours of 15 November 2017, the then major-general Sibusiso Moyo who at the time was chief of staff (logistics), made a hair-raising speech on the national broadcaster ZBC vowing that the army had begun an operation to arrest criminals around the late Mugabe and fight corruption in the country.At that time, the military had seized the ZBC, restricted Mugabe's movement and blocked access to government offices as the coup gained traction."Following the address we made on November 13, 2017, which we believe our main broadcaster, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation and The Herald were directed not to publicise, the situation in our country has moved to another level. Firstly, we wish to assure the nation that His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, and commander-in-chief of Zimbabwe Defence Forces, Comrade RG Mugabe, and his family are safe and sound and their security is guaranteed.""We are only targeting criminals around him who are committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in the country in order to bring them to justice," he said.The late Moyo, who died after having been appointed Foreign Affairs tzar, made further promises to improve the welfare of civil servants, ensure the independence of the judiciary, protection of the democratic roles of legislators, bring an end to political violence and the upholding of freedoms of citizens."To the judiciary, the measures underway are intended to assure that as an independent arm of the state you are able to exercise your independent authority without fear of being obstructed as has been the case with this group of individuals." "To our members of Parliament, your legislative role is of paramount importance for peace and stability in this country and it is our desire that a dispensation is created that allows you to serve your respective political constituencies according to democratic tenets.""To the generality of the people of Zimbabwe, we urge you to remain calm and limit unnecessary movement. However, we encourage those who are employed and those with essential business in the city to continue their normal activities. Our wish is that you enjoy your rights and freedoms and that we return our country to a dispensation that allows for investment, development and prosperity that we all fought for and for which many of our citizens paid the supreme sacrifice.""To political parties, we urge you to discourage your members from engaging in violent behaviour.""To the youth, we call upon you to realise that the future of this country is yours. Do not be enticed with dirty coins of silver. Be disciplined and remain committed to the ethos and values of this great nation.""To all churches and religious organisations in Zimbabwe, we call upon you and your congregations to pray for our country and preach the gospel of love, peace, unity and development," the late Moyo pledged in the televised address before he boldly declared: "To both our people and the world beyond our borders, we wish to make it abundantly clear that this is not a military takeover of government. What the Zimbabwe Defence Forces is actually doing is to pacify a degenerating political, social and economic situation in our country, which if not addressed may result in a violent conflict."However, many of those who celebrated Mugabe's dramatic ouster have since admitted their naivety.On 1 August 2018, barely a year after taking power, Mnangagwa's government deployed soldiers who shot dead six unarmed civilians in central Harare. They were protesting a delay in the release of presidential election results.When the massacre unfolded, the capital city was teeming with foreign journalists and election observers. The shootings were beamed to a stunned global audience. Mnangagwa had failed a major test; the fancy mask of the "Second Republic" had fallen.There were further killings in January 2019. Over the years, human rights groups have reported an escalation in cases of extrajudicial killings, state-sponsored abductions and torture. Pro-democracy campaigners, opposition activists and journalists have been arrested.Tafadzwa Mugwadi, Zanu PF's then director of information, recently made a startling revelation at that time: He expressed confidence that Zimbabwe would soon become a one-party state.With the clampdown on the opposition CCC through recalls of its MPs and councillors by an imposter Sengezo Tshabangu, it is clear Zanu PF is still pursuing that path predicted by Mugwadi.On 17 November 2022, Sapes Trust led by academic and publisher Professor Ibbo Mandaza convened a webinar on Zoom, titled Back to the Future: A Review of the Post-November 2017 Coup in Zimbabwe.Petina Gappah, an international trade lawyer, author and former government technocrat who later left the regime, explained why she parted ways with the Mnangagwa administration, pointing out it was because of its non-commitment to improving brand Zimbabwe."I was sabotaged, I was attacked, because people couldn't quite work out what my agenda was."And my agenda was very simple. It's an agenda, unfortunately, that is not shared by many people, which is why I left and my agenda was the country. Right, I want Zimbabwe to do well, and I left because I felt that the level of ambition was too low." The day after a Wareham man is believed to have killed his father, he pled not guilty during his court arrangement on Tuesday, Plymouth District Attorney Tim Cruzs office announced. Robert Gomes III was arraigned on one count each of murder, firearm-armed assault to murder a person over 60 or over, assault and battery with a firearm, possession of a firearm without an FID card, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building and carrying a loaded firearm without a license, Quinns office said in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter. At around 3:35 p.m. on Monday, Wareham police received several 911 calls, including one from Gomes, all saying that a shooting happened at 1146 Main St., Cruzs office said. First responders arrived at the address and found a man outside on the rear porch steps of the home with gunshot wounds to the chest. The man, who died at the scene, was 61-year-old Robert Gomes Jr., Quinns office said. Part of Main Street was closed to traffic between Pierceville and County roads as police and Massachusetts State Police arrived to investigate, the department posted on Facebook. Police added that the shooting did not appear to a random act of violence. Wareham police requested Massachusetts State Police detectives to the scene and began the investigation into Gomes death, Cruzs office said. Investigators found several shell casings and a black duffle bag containing a ghost gun without a serial number. State police troopers sought and obtained an arrest warrant for Gomes III, and he was taken into police custody, Cruzs office said. In court Tuesday, he pleaded not guilty and was ordered held without bail. Gomes III is expected to appear in court on Dec. 27. A Wareham man awaits his arraignment Tuesday after police arrested and charged him with shooting and killing his father Monday night, the NBC 10 Boston reported. Robert Gomes was charged with murder, assault to murder a person over 60 years of age, and assault and battery with a firearm, Plymouth District Attorney Timothy J. Cruzs office said in a statement to the Boston Globe. Court documents obtained by the Globe said Gomes was also charged with carrying a loaded gun without a license. Police investigated a shooting at 1146 Main St. in Wareham, Cruzs office said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, and speaking with the Globe. Part of the street was closed to traffic between Pierceville and County roads as police and Massachusetts State Police arrived to investigate, the department posted on Facebook. This is not believed to be a random act of violence, the post from Cruzs office said. Police added that the area was contained and there is no threat to the immediate public. Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts is looking for residents willing to host migrant families for a period of days or weeks as the social services organization seeks more permanent housing arrangements for them. The decision to ask residents to open their homes grew out of a need with the states emergency shelter limit reaching its cap, said James Greene, a rabbi and the CEO of Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts. About two dozen families in the Pioneer Valley associated with Jewish Family Services have already expressed interest in housing incoming migrants, Greene said. He also said that many local organizations had also started conversations with Jewish Family Services about reaching out to residents, but he did not immediately specify the number of organizations. Gov. Maura Healey capped the emergency shelter housing system at 7,500 families at the end of October. About half of the sheltered are migrants. The other half are Massachusetts families, MassLive previously reported. The waitlist prioritizes those with high needs, including health and safety risks, Healey said at an October press conference at the State House. Currently, there are about 100 families on the waitlist, according to State House News Service. The governors office did not immediately return a request for a comment. Many of the recent migrants to the state come from Haiti. Unlike immigrants from other countries, Haitians are not provided work authorizations upon their arrival in the U.S., according to Alex Kaezem, an immigration attorney for the Center for New Americans. As a result, many immigrants are forced to rely on the state for support, Kaezem said. For the families participating in hosting incoming migrants, Greene said families can consider short or long-term stays. Families open to a short-term stay offer their home as shelter for three to seven days, as needed. A longer-term stay, which would be roughly two to four weeks, is for families who are unable to get a work authorization upon their arrival to the U.S., Greene said. The stays have already started, he said. In a document dated Nov. 14, Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts also said it was looking for spaces in synagogues, churches or even empty residential space and gyms to temporarily host families. It noted that United Way could help provide grants to communities interested in providing spaces. It also asked for help securing clothing, food and items that will be compiled into kits and given to families seeking assistance. In August, Healeys declaration of a state of emergency also called on the Biden administration and private citizens to step up and alleviate the overburdened system, officially known as Emergency Assistance. In mid-November, about 20 to 25 migrants were arriving a day at Boston Logan International Airport. The need for shelters will only increase as it gets colder, Greene said. Gov. Maura Healey is launching the ResilientCoasts initiative, a new strategy to find and develop long-term solutions to the harms of climate change along 1,500 miles of coastal line across the Commonwealths communities. The initiative will be led by a new chief coastal resilience officer who has yet to be named within the Office of Coastal Zone Management. The initiative will work with 78 coastal communities in the Bay State to establish different districts based on their unique climate impacts, the governor announced Tuesday. Together, coastal communities and ResilientCoasts will work to create policies and strategies for addressing climate change while maximizing funding opportunities. On a statewide level, the Office of Coastal Zone Management will work with relevant state agencies to evaluate infrastructure needs, best scientific practices and financial strategy. Meanwhile, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency will lead a statewide buyout program to purchase properties that are at risk of climate change impacts. Climate change poses a very real threat to our coastal way of life, but it also presents a unique opportunity for us to build communities that are safer and more equitable for years to come, Healey said in a statement. This is a matter of fiscal responsibility. Our coastal cities and towns have been weathering erosion, sea level rise, and extreme storms without a holistic state strategy. Homeowners, small businesses, and municipal governments deserve a regional approach to this problem. Our ResilientCoasts initiative will allow us to bring the full powers of the state to deliver real solutions to our coastlines. State officials estimate that if global emissions are not significantly reduced, sea levels near Massachusetts could rise by up to 2.5 feet by 2050, compared to the levels recorded in 2008. Severe flooding is already expected to increase in Massachusetts, officials said. The increasing sea levels pose a threat to the infrastructure in coastal communities. Currently, the estimated value of infrastructure in these areas for the century is approximately $55 billion. But, by 2070, the Bay State could be paying over $1 billion per year to address the damages heavy rain and storms inflict on coastal communities. A little over half of the people who live in Massachusetts coastal regions consist of people of color, low-income residents, and/or communities facing language barriers. Now is the time for action, Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer said in a statement. This initiative will allow us to make prudent cost-saving investments that protect our communities and coastal ecosystems. The states 2022 Climate Assessment identifies a reduction in state and municipal revenues as an urgent impact of climate change with a major level of consequence. As we pull out all the stops to reduce emissions, these investments will help municipalities and the state save on climate response costs in the long term. The Secretary-General, The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, will lead the Commonwealth delegation at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai to call for accelerated action on the climate crisis in light of intensifying threats to small and vulnerable member countries. Scheduled from 30 November to 12 December 2023, the annual summit comes just months after Commonwealth environment ministers committed to accelerating climate action at their inaugural meeting, held alongside the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. The Secretary-General, who will deliver at least 20 speeches across the summit, will urge negotiators to deliver a transformative outcome at the summit. This includes accelerating efforts to implement national climate plans mandated under the Paris Agreement, using the findings of the global stocktake report to increase ambition and action, and delivering an inclusive, operational Loss and Damage Fund. Secretary-General Patricia Scotland will officially open the Commonwealth Pavilion COP28, which will host about 40 events across the two weeks, demonstrating the Commonwealths ability to convene vital dialogues between governments, experts, businesses, youth leaders and civil society. She will also meet with leaders and ministers from Commonwealth member countries and across the international community, to advance progress on emissions, finance, adaptation, biodiversity, oceans, health, innovation and the green economy. No more delays Ahead of the summit, the Commonwealth Secretary-General said: The worst predictions of climate change have become a daily reality. In the Commonwealths most vulnerable countries, fertile lands are turning to dust, wells are running dry, storms and floods are overwhelming communities, and the ocean is rising. This represents not only a threat to the health, welfare and survival of millions of people, but to our collective stability and economic prospects. Yet as climate change advances, the gap on emissions, finance and justice has widened, while the window for action continues to narrow. COP28 must close that gap. Every day of delay makes life more dangerous, and makes climate action more complex, challenging and expensive. There can be no more delays, and no more excuses this is the time for implementation. The health of us all and of our planet rests on a 1.5C degree cap on global warming, she added. We cannot lose sight of that objective, and I implore leaders at COP28 to renew their determination to deliver a bright, resilient, sustainable common world now and for generations to come. During the summit, the Secretary-General will call for increased support for small and vulnerable states, highlighting that despite ambitious pledges, these countries are receiving limited funds to mitigate, adapt to and build resilience against the impacts of climate breakdown. She will also draw attention to the broader consequences of the climate crisis on economic growth, leading to high debt burdens, food insecurity, stressed resources, and impaired livelihoods for many of the 2.5 billion people living across the Commonwealth. Commonwealth response Secretary-General Scotland will inform delegates at COP28 about the Commonwealths programme, designed to assist its member countries including 33 small states in dealing with the challenges posed by the climate crisis. These include: -the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub, which has mobilised US $310 million in climate finance for 17 vulnerable Commonwealth countries, with an additional US $500 million in the pipeline; -the Commonwealth Blue Charter, which is an agreement by all 56 member countries to actively co-operate to address shared ocean challenges; -the Commonwealth Living Lands Charter: A Call to Action, which commits Commonwealth countries to safeguard global land resources while taking coordinated action on climate change, biodiversity loss and sustainable land management; -the Commonwealth Disaster Risk Finance Portal, which gives countries open, 24-hour hour access to key information on financing to better manage the impact of disasters; and -the Commonwealth Sustainable Energy Transition Agenda, which seeks to fast-track an inclusive, just, and equitable transition to low-carbon energy systems across the group. News / Local by Stephen Jakes THE leader of the opposition Nationalist Alliance Party (NAP) which is a member of the Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD) Devine Muhambi Hove has been accused by Lungile Dube who claims to be his wife of dumping her and her child before wedding another woman whom he is allegedly preparing top elope with to the United Kingdom.Dube who has since started filing court papers to demand maintenance from Muhambi said they have been living together for quite some time and at some point Muhambi would disappear from their home and come after some days without telling her where he was."This person (Muhambi) went to wed engitshiya endlini lomntwana!! He sold polad car for $25 000 thats the money they used for wedding and the lady to go to Uk!! He has basement plaza mall that l contributed a lot to it but I am not getting anything now he sold the small car to her cousin," Dube said."He had a private wedding with this lady so that he follows the lady its painful what he did as a president. I am demanding upkeep for the baby. There are shops by the mall so l should get some shares. There are 90 shops in that mall. I want maintenance of at least US$600 to $800 per month for the baby!! The shops are $120 each and they are 90 of them so that's the least he can do. I Just want shares for my efforts only."Dube said efforts to serve Muhambi were being fruitless as she only hears that he is in Harare and has not been able to locate him.In the August 23 elections, Muhambi failed to participate after complaining over the high Zimbabwe Electoral Commission fees.According to the SI 144, a presidential candidate must pay US$20,000, up from US$1,000, while a member of parliament (MP) candidate pays US$1,000 from US$50, and a proportional representation candidate has to fork out US$200 from US$100. Baroness Falkner has said her group defends the rights of everyone, 'not merely those that shout the loudest' - ditGeoff Pugh Britain could be blacklisted at the UNs human rights body over its defence of biological sex, The Telegraph can reveal. The UKs Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is facing a special review of its international accreditation after lobbying by trans rights groups led by Stonewall, the controversial LGBT charity. The review could leave the EHRC stripped of its so-called A status, which means it would no longer have a place at the table of the UN Human Rights Council and other UN bodies. It is the latest row to involve the UK and the UN after the international bodys commission for refugees said that the Governments plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda did not comply with its obligations under international law. Now, the ability of the UK to take part in UN discussions on human rights is under threat from a review by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (Ganhri). Ganhri is an independent body whose accreditation grants access to the UN. The inquiry was launched after the EHRC gave advice to ministers that suggested that changing the law to define sex as biological sex would bring clarity to contentious issues such as the provision of single-sex spaces, Baroness Falkner of Margravine, the watchdogs chairman, has revealed. Targeted action Writing in The Telegraph, Lady Falkner said that she was disappointed that the EHRC was being investigated following targeted action by a group of campaign organisations. Despite the review, she said that the organisation would continue to consider the balance of rights and would not allow its decisions to be swayed by those that shout the loudest. Any change to the accreditation would put the EHRC behind similar watchdogs in countries which have a poor record on human rights including Iraq, Qatar, Colombia, The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zimbabwe. Countries which have previously been stripped of their A status by Ganhri include Azerbaijan, Mauritania, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Afghanistan, which was first downgraded before then being removed from the list entirely when its watchdog collapsed last year. Story continues The Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation held A status until it was suspended in March pending the results of a special investigation, which had been due to take place last month. Organisations with B status can observe international meetings but do not participate and do not have the right to submit documentation to the UNs Human Rights Council. Just last year, in the face of complaints by Stonewall and other trans rights lobby groups including Mermaids and the Good Law Project, the EHRC had its A accreditation confirmed as part of a routine review. However, in April this year, Lady Falkner provided advice to Kemi Badenoch, the Women and Equalities Minister, stating that changing the word sex to biological sex in the equalities law would help bring clarity on contentious issues such as sport categories and women-only shortlists. Undermining statutory role As a result of the letter, the EHRC experienced targeted action by a group of campaign organisations, who again used the UN accreditation process as a means to undermine our statutory role which involves a legal duty to advise on the effectiveness of equality laws, Lady Falkner said. She added: Our advice on this complex and divisive issue made clear that the Government should lean towards a biological definition of sex as the fairest way of protecting everyones rights, but that it should carefully identify and consider the potential implications of any such change. We were saddened to see that Stonewall and other campaigners chose to go low with unsubstantiated claims in matters which have little to do with the daily lives of the people or groups who we are there to protect, instead of engaging with us to discuss our proposals to improve the balance of rights and protections. Stonewall and others first lodged a complaint about the EHRC to Ganhri in February last year after Lady Falkner wrote to the governments in Holyrood and Westminster calling for them to pause before enacting laws governing legal gender recognition and conversion therapy. She has faced a number of challenges since taking on the role as chairman of the EHRC, including an internal bullying investigation which she says she was grateful to see closed last month. The lobby groups request for a special review was rejected, but they were invited to contribute to a regular five-year review which took place later in the year. That review re-accredited the EHRC as an A status organisation. However, in May this year Stonewall again led a complaint to Ganhri saying that the EHRCs suggested protections for biological sex were actively harming trans people. In a letter copied to UN human rights bosses, the organisations accused the EHRC of a lack of political independence and of issuing guidance on single-sex spaces which sought to enable greater exclusion of trans women from women-only spaces such as bathrooms and toilets. It said that the suggestion that sex should be defined in law as biological sex was unfair. Ganhri has since informed the EHRC it will be subject to a special review. A difficult position Lady Falkner said that she would be happy to discuss her bodys advice line by line with the trans lobby groups and that it absolutely refuted the latest allegations against it, which include that it was in cahoots with the Government in allegedly seeking to erode the rights of trans people. She noted that considering a balance of rights between different groups such as women and transgender people can put us in a difficult position but its position on sex and gender had received support from across the political divide. Lady Falkner added: We are confident that we can respond robustly to any questions the [review panel] may have for us in spring next year, when we will be invited to attend an interview to discuss the special review of our A status. In the meantime, we will continue to get on with the job. At the EHRC, we keep our eyes on our public duty first, which is to protect and promote the rights of everyone not merely those that shout the loudest. Ganhri has not yet responded to a request for comment but has previously said that its reviews are confidential until the final reports are published. 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. by Fern Siegel , November 28, 2023 Brand consultancy-creative agency 50,000feet tapped Doug Gallow as managing director and Mark Smeraglinolo as senior vice president, finance. Gallow will drive client and new business growth across the agency, centered on client work originating in the U.S. He will work on the Mastercard account. A seasoned brand consultant, Gallow began his career at Ogilvy. Most recently, he was associate partner at VSA partner, working with clients such as Kohler, Morningstar, UBS and AbbVie. Smeraglinolo has experience spanning both public accounting and private industry roles. For the last three years, he worked as vice president, controller at 3Q Digital (now DEPT). He started his career as an audit manager at Deloitte and director of accounting at The Duchossis Group. Both hires will be based in Chicago and report to Jim Misener, CEO, 50,000feet. advertisement advertisement 50,000feet is setting the standard for what it means to deliver brand transformation in a digitally transformed world, said Misener. The addition of Doug and Mark, as well as other recent additions to our team, is a testament to all of our collective talent, dedication and world-class work. In June, the company opened a London outpost that serves as a European hub for global clients, including Mastercard, BCG and Knoll. Two months ago, the firm added Turner-Duckworth veteran Moira Seymour as managing director, London. Mid-year, Erie Street Growth Partners invested in the consultancy to support its strategic growth. Gallow told Agency Daily that the agency "strikes a unique balance of strategic consulting and creativity, as well as integrates technology and the digital experience. This way of working allows the firm to really pay off what we do transforming brands for a digitally transforming world." In 2020, 50,000feet joined forces with design firm Carbone Smolan Agency, opening an office in New York. In February 2023, 50,000feet launched a health and wellness practice. Agency work includes BCG X, Sony and Northwest. by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, November 27, 2023 California's privacy regulator on Monday floated a proposal that could restrict companies' use of first-party data for advertising. The potential regulations, released by the California Privacy Protection Agency as a discussion draft, are part of a package of restrictions on the use of automated decision-making technology, such as algorithms used to compile ad profiles. The draft rules would prohibit businesses from harnessing personal data of users between the ages of 13 and 15 to profile them for behavioral advertising purposes without their opt-in consent. The draft proposal's language appears ambiguous regarding whether businesses would also have to allow older teens and adults to opt out of profiling, but the agency suggested in a broad statement issued Monday that its proposal is meant to include that requirement. advertisement advertisement The agency said in that statement that the proposed rules would apply to businesses using automated decision-making technology for profiling a consumer for behavioral advertising, without referencing that consumer's age. The statement also said the proposed rules would require companies engaged in "behavioral advertising" to provide consumers with the ability to opt out of profiling. A spokesperson for the agency declined to answer questions about the proposed regulations. The draft rules define "profiling" as "any form of automated processing of personal information to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person and in particular to analyze or predict aspects concerning that natural persons performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behavior, location, or movements." The proposal doesn't define "behavioral advertising." California's sweeping privacy law already requires businesses to allow residents to opt out of "cross-context behavioral advertising" -- meaning ads targeted based on people's activity across different sites, apps or services. That law also requires businesses to obtain opt-in consent from users between the ages of 13 and 15 before sharing their personal information. But these new rules -- assuming they are enacted, and that they give users 16 and older the right to opt out of profiling -- could also limit companies' use of their own data for advertising. Such restrictions would be a bridge too far, says Stu Ingis, an attorney at the law firm Venable who represents ad organizations. He adds that requiring publishers to allow people to opt out of profiling for ad purposes would basically allow people to opt out of advertising, given that much advertising today is fueled by data. What's more, he says, the restrictions on the use of first-party data could conflict with the portions of the law that only require companies to allow people to opt out of the sale or transfer of their data for cross-context behavioral advertising. But privacy advocate John Davisson, director of litigation at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, notes that California's privacy law specifically directs the state privacy agency to issue regulations regarding automated decision-making. He adds that a rule requiring companies to allow opt-outs would still allow publishers to serve targeted ads to consumers. The industry talks about how consumers want targeted advertising, he says, adding that an opt-out requirement calls them on their bluff. Other potential regulations unveiled Monday would give consumers in public places the right to opt out of profiling via technologies including biometrics (such as facial recognition and speech recognition), license-plate recognition, automated emotion assessment, location trackers and geofencing. The California Privacy Protection Agency will meet December 8 to discuss the potential regulations. Hoa Hakananaia, a basalt Easter Island head, is displayed at the British Museum (Dan Kitwood/Getty) A diplomatic spat has once more erupted between Britain and Greece over the ownership of the Elgin Marbles after prime minister Rishi Sunak unexpectedly cancelled a meeting with Kyriakos Mitsotakis, his Greek counterpart, after he said in an interview that he planned to raise the question of their return. Speaking to the BBC, Mr Mitsotakis compared the marbles also known as the Parthenon Sculptures and stored at the British Museum since the early 19th century to Leonardo Da Vincis Mona Lisa, saying Britain retaining them was akin to carving the famous Renaissance portrait in half and keeping part of it in London and the other in the Louvre in Paris. Prior to the cancellation of the meeting, at which illegal migrant sea crossings had also been on the agenda, a Downing Street spokesperson had rejected Mr Mitsotakiss analogy and said of the relics: These were legally acquired at the time, theyre legally owned by the trustees of the museum. We support that position and theres no plan to change the law which governs it. For its part, the Greek delegation pronounced itself baffled, surprised and not a little bit annoyed by the cancellation of the meeting with Mr Sunak. The British Museum has regularly faced criticism in recent decades over its right to hold onto the treasures of antiquity it houses, with some believing that many of the relics in its collection were effectively looted during the colonial heyday of the British Empire and ought to be returned to their countries of origin out of respect for the civilisations that created them. But the institution makes no secret of the debate surrounding the artefacts within its walls and lists contested objects on its website, explaining the historical circumstances of their acquisition and the current state of the often highly-sensitive discussions surrounding their retention. A list of disputed items from its archives follows. The Parthenon Sculptures Sections of the Parthenon Sculptures on display in the British Museum (Matthew Fearn/PA) The Parthenon Sculptures which come from the temple of Athena on the Acropolis in Athens, Greece represent one of the longest-running controversies concerning the British Museums collection, of which the present row between Mr Sunak and Mr Mitsotakis is only the latest instalment. Story continues The museum holds 15 metopes, 17 pedimental figures and a 247-foot section of decorative frieze, all of which are believed to have been crafted between 447 and 432 BC. They were removed by Lord Elgin, British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire still governing Greece in the early 19th century between 1801 and 1805 and were subsequently shipped to Britain. His actions were investigated by a parliamentary select committee in 1816, which ruled that he had committed no wrong but consigned the antiquities to the museum in the best interests of their conservation. The Greek government first requested they be returned in 1983 and discussions have taken place ever since without resolution. Human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson KC accused the museum of being among the worlds largest receivers of stolen property in 2019 over its failure to give back the sculptures and other pilfered cultural property. The British Museum states that it takes its commitment to be a world museum seriously. The collection is a unique resource to explore the richness, diversity and complexity of all human history, our shared humanity. The Parthenon Sculptures are an integral part of that story and a vital element in this interconnected world collection, particularly in the way in which they convey the influences between Egyptian, Persian, Greek and Roman cultures. We share this collection with the widest possible public, lending objects all over the world and making images and information on over four million objects from the collection available online. Mr Sunak last waded into the debate in March this year when he said the marbles are a huge asset and insisted they would not be returned, speaking in response to pressure from The Parthenon Project, a cross-party group of British MPs. Chinese cultural relics A Ming dynasty stoneware figure displayed at the British Museum (Getty) Prior to the current uproar, the most recent appeal for the museum to return items came from Chinas state-run newspaper The Global Times, which used the visit of UK foreign secretary James Cleverly to Beijing in August 2023 to publish an editorial demanding that the institution give back all items acquired through improper channels to China free of charge. It referred to Britains refusal to return artefacts to other countries and accused the museum in particular of adopting a resistant, protracted and perfunctory attitude. The British Museum houses the biggest collection of Chinese relics anywhere in the West at least 23,000 objects ranging from paintings that date back to the Tang dynasty (618 to 907 AD) to bronze vessels from the dawn of Chinas civilisation. Of these, The Global Times reported that about 2,000 are currently on display and cited a number of examples it regarded as particularly significant. These included The Admonitions of the Instructress to the Court Ladies by Gu Kaizhi, which the museum describes as a masterpiece and a milestone in Chinese painting history dating from between 400 and 700 AD. Other items cited include Liao tri-colored Luohan statues; ritual bronzes from the Shang and Zhou dynasties and stone Buddhist sutra scrolls from the Wei and Jin dynasties. A spokesperson for the British Museum told The Independent: We understand and recognise the significance of the issues surrounding objects from other countries, and work with communities, colleagues and museums across the globe to share the collection as widely as possible. There has been no request for the return of any objects in the collection by the Chinese government. The Rosetta Stone The Rosetta Stone on display as part of the museums recent Hieroglyphs: Unlocking Ancient Egypt exhibition (The British Museum/AP) Egypts former antiquities minister Dr Zahi Hawass launched a petition in November 2022 calling for the museum to return the Rosetta Stone on the 200th anniversary of its hieroglyphics being deciphered. That breakthrough greatly enhanced the worlds understanding of the wonders of Ancient Egypt. It is the time Egyptian identity comes back home. We are not asking the British Museum to return the 100,000 Egyptian pieces they have, we just ask them to return one item, Dr Hawass said. The stone was discovered by French soldiers in the northern town of Rashid in 1799 during Napoleon Bonapartes military occupation of the country but passed into British hands after the generals forces were routed in 1801. Dr Hawass said he hopes to see the stone, which he described as an icon of Egyptian identity, displayed in the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza once it opens in late 2023 or early 2024. He is also pursuing the return of the Zodiac of Dendera from the Louvre and the Nefertiti bust from the Neues Museum in Berlin, although he is still some way short of the 1m signatures sought to endorse his appeal for the Stones repatriation. A spokesperson for the British Museum told The Independent: We have received no formal request from the Egyptian government to repatriate the Rosetta Stone. The Rosetta stone is available to all interested audiences, whether in the galleries or via appointment to support academic research. The Benin Bronzes The Benin bronzes seen in a gallery of African relics in the British Museum in London (Leon Neal/Getty) The museum houses over 900 elaborately decorated brass and bronze sculptures and plaques from the West African Kingdom of Benin dating as far back as the 16th century. Commemorative heads, animals, human figures and royal regalia originally crafted by specialist guilds are among the collection. Benin City is now the capital of the state of Edo in southern Nigeria but was part of the British Empire from 1897 to 1960. Many of its relics ended up in the hands of British collectors during this period, including the likes of Harry Beasley, William Oldman and Sir Henry Wellcome, who subsequently donated their items to the British Museum in 1944, 1949 and 1954 respectively. The institution reports that it received a written request for the return of Nigerian antiquities from Nigerias Federal Ministry of Information and Culture in October 2021 and that representatives of the Benin Royal Palace have made a number of public statements calling for their return. The museum states that it has been in discussions over the issue for several years, with Mr Fisher visiting Nigeria in August 2018, and enjoys positive relationships with the royal palace in Benin City, with the Nigerian National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NNCMM) and with The Benin Dialogue Group. It says it remains committed to thorough and open investigation of Benin collection histories, and engagement with wider contemporary dialogues within which these collections are positioned. However, the shocking theft of 2,000 pieces from the museums Towneley collection of Graeco-Roman artefacts that emerged this summer have only heightened calls for the Benin Bronzes return, with Abba Isa Tijani, the NNCMMs director telling Sky News in August: Its shocking to hear that the countries and museums that have been telling us that the Benin Bronzes would not be secure in Nigeria have thefts happening there. The Maqdala collection The museum holds 80 objects from the reign of Ethiopias Emperor Tewodros II in the mid-19th century, including ornate ceremonial crosses, chalices, weapons, textiles, jewellery and archaeological material. Tewodros succeeded to the throne of Maqdala, now known as Amba Mariam, in 1855. Seven years later, he called on the British to help train his military in order to shore up his territorial claims in East Africa but the appeal was rejected. Enraged, Tewodros reacted by imprisoning the British consul and taking hostages, including Christian missionaries. Britain responded by dispatching troops under Sir Robert Napier to mount a rescue operation and lay siege to Maqdala, leading to the death of Tewodros in 1868 and the pillaging of his fortress by soldiers, much of the spoils subsequently picked up at auction by British Museum employee Richard Rivington Holmes and entering the archives. Delegates from Ethiopia have often visited Bloomsbury in recent years, including culture minister Hirut Kassaw in March 2019, to request the return of its sacred objects and the matter remains under discussion. The Moai Hoa Hakananaia, a basalt Easter Island head, is displayed at the British Museum (Dan Kitwood/Getty) Two moai are currently held at the museum. These are monolithic ancestral heads originating from Rapa Nui in the South Pacific, better known as Easter Island in English. The first moai, Hoa Hakananaia, is carved from basalt and has been dated to 10001200 while the second, Moai Hava, was made from volcanic tuff between 1100 and 1600. They were removed from the island by Commodore Richard Powell of HMS Topaze in 1868, who returned to England with them a year later. They were subsequently gifted by the admiralty to Queen Victoria, who in turn donated them to the museum. Rapa Nui requested their return in a letter of July 2018 and a delegation of representatives arrived the following November. A reciprocal visit was made in August 2019 and the museum is now in the process of developing a long-term relationship with the community of Rapa Nui. Early Australian shield The British Museum loaned a tribal warriors shield carved from red mangrove wood and thought to date back to the New South Wales of the late 1700s to the National Museum of Australia in Canberra for an exhibition in 2015/16. There, it was seen by Aboriginal man Rodney Kelly, who appealed for its return on behalf of his ancestors. He has since visited London on several occasions to meet with the curators, most recently in 2019, and has asked for further research to be carried out into the shields history. It is not clear precisely how the museum obtained it in the first place, although it is believed to have been shipped back from Sydney between 1790 and 1815, possibly by affiliate Joseph Banks, although this is not certain. Objects of uncertain provenance 1933-45 One of the most tricky and sensitive areas for the British Museum is establishing whether any of the objects donated to it since the Second World War were in fact stolen, looted or otherwise taken by the Third Reich prior to or during the conflict. In cases where it has become clear that an object was forcibly obtained by the Nazis, every effort has been made to ascertain that it was correctly restituted at the end of World War II and that the Museums acquisition was made with good title, the museum explains. It settled a number of claims related to artworks, antique clocks and watches and valuable porcelain between 2006 and 2014. Human remains The British Museum reports that it has over 6,000 human remains in its collection, which it says are managed in a way that protects the collection for the benefit of present and future generations. It says it has received two requests for repatriation since the Human Tissue Act 2004 came into force in 2005: the first in July that year for two cremation ash bundles from the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre and another in May 2011 for two skulls from a Torres Strait Islander organisation, in both instances in cooperation with the Australian government. Following a review, the ash was ultimately returned but the skulls were retained after the trustees ruled there was insufficient evidence to support the claim on them. The museum also lists six prior requests between 1995 and 2004, four of which had been made by the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre for the same material. by Colin Kirkland , November 27, 2023 The Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, wrote a lengthy post on X, detailing why she was leaving the social messaging platform formerly known as Twitter. Hidalgo blames the platform for exacerbating tensions and conflicts, calling it a tool for destroying our democracies. We must not deceive ourselves, she writes. We are dealing here with an utterly clear political project to push aside democracy and its values in favor of powerful private interests, she adds. Hidalgo's perspective highlights reasons why some of Xs biggest advertisers like Apple, Lionsgate, IBM and Disney have either paused or ended their campaigns on the platform in recent weeks following the proliferation of pro-Nazi and antisemitic content. In her post, Hidalgo alluded to X owner Elon Musk without naming him, writing: "This platform and its owner intentionally exacerbate tensions and conflicts. advertisement advertisement Last week, Musk, who has a history of engaging with hateful and controversial content, responded to an X user who wrote that he his disinterested in giving the tiniest shit now about western Jewish populations and that those flooding their country don't exactly like them too much. In response, Musk wrote, You have said the actual truth. The post has amassed almost 8 million views. After Media Matters for America released a report showing a plethora of ads appearing next to hate-fueled content on X, Musk sued the advocacy group, accusing it of manipulating Xs algorithm to drive advertisers away. X's revenue has plummeted since Musk's takeover. With dozens of advertisers pausing their ad spend, the company may be on track to lose up to $75 million in ad revenue by the end of this year. We need more than ever to keep real democracy alive, Hidalgo wrote in her announcement Monday. Twitter hinders debate, the quest for truth, and the serene and constructive dialogue needed between human beings. I refuse to endorse this evil scheme. Throughout her 10 years in office, Hidalgo has championed sustainability practices, fighting to make Paris a greener city. In her statement on X, Hidalgo wrote that the platform currently hinders the information needed to bring about the ecological and energy transformation we much need in favoring arguments by those pushing the use of fossil fuels. We can keep denying, clarifying and explaining, but the noise produced by a piece of misinformation will still dwarf the echo of a proven truth, she writes. In September, a report released by a coalition of over 50 environmental groups, ad agencies and other organizations named X the least likely to combat climate change misinformation among all other leading social-media platforms due to the app's lack of policies against the spread of misleading information around climate change. While Monday will mark Hidalgo's last day on Twitter, she made sure to let her 1.5 million followers know she would remain on other social media networks in which respectful exchanges can still take place, linking to Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky. by Erik Oster , November 27, 2023 What do you get when the entire wedding party is made up of wedding crashers? Hard Mtn Dew -- the beverage marrying the sugary caffeinated rush of PepsiCos Mtn Dew with alcohol -- has the answer, as the brand recently threw just such a wedding for the winning couple of a brand sweepstakes. The Hard Mtn. Dew-sponsored wedding came complete with a neon green and black aesthetic the brand described as unmatched (thats one way to put it). There was one other major twist: only wedding crashers were invited to attend. Sacramento, California "HARD DEWlywed" couple Alina Ibarra and Nicholas Enriquez won an all-expenses paid trip to Mtn Dew's birthplace -- Knoxville, Tennessee -- to get married during fall wedding season, with the brand also providing a stipend to purchase their own dress and tuxedo. Hard Mtn Dew received over 400 RSVPs, with the first 60 wedding crashers (are they still wedding crashers when they RSVP?) admitted. advertisement advertisement During the event, one wedding crasher purportedly stepped into the maid of honor role by making an impromptu speech -- possibly influenced by the drink at the center of the celebrations -- toasting the couple and brand alike. Of course, there were the kind of Hard Mtn Dew accessories youd expect from this type of branded bash: from candelabras and a centerpiece made of Dew cans to custom veil and pocket square. There was also an open bar stocked with all varieties of Hard Mtn Dew. And the cake, naturally, was an on-brand black and green. Some less expected touches? The Hard Mtn Dew-themed veil and pocket square, and the man officiating the wedding: Hard Mtn Dew Marketing Director Ryan Dunn, decked out in light green with a black cutoff denim jacket embroidered with the brand logo. Its not the first quirky wedding stunt from the brand. Last year, it held a contest resulting in one fan marrying a can of Hard Mtn Dew. Hard Mtn Dew Senior Brand Director Erica Taylor said the brands fans are are known for their outrageous, over-the-top fandom, and such marketing events celebrate their ridiculous passion. Taylor described the DEWlywed event extending the reach to more fans of the brand (and wedding crashers), and capturing the fun absurdity Hard Mtn Dew is all about. Now with consecutive annual entries, Hard Mtn Dew is seemingly vying to become the official brand of marital marketing stunts -- with a little competition from Cinnabon and Slim Jim, which earlier this year were joined in unholy matrimony. TikToks parent company ByteDance is restructuring Nuverse, its gaming brand, with plans to lay off hundreds of employees. The company is also set to divest itself of existing gaming titles including "Marvel Snap" and "Crystal of Atlan," and sell mobile gaming studio Moontoon, which it bought at a valuation of $4 billion in 2021. We regularly review our businesses and make adjustments to centre on long-term strategic growth areas. Following a recent review, weve made the difficult decision to restructure our gaming business, a ByteDance spokesperson told Reuters. As many as 700 of the 3,000 employees across ByteDances gaming business group could be affected by the companys plan to restructure, according to claims made by tech site 36Kr. A separate report by TechCrunch says that mass layoffs have been confirmed for Monday. advertisement advertisement The decision to wind down Nuverse -- which was originally created by ByteDance in 2019 -- is not expected to affect the companys other gaming endeavors, like casual games running on TikTok or Ohayoo, the gaming brand for TikToks Chinese counterpart Douyin. The news comes only weeks after ByteDance let go of a few hundred employees at Pico, its VR hardware company that launched a virtual reality headset in China last year that challenged Metas Oculus Quest. As of now, its unclear whether Nuverse will be fully ousted, though it marks a significant change in ByteDances ongoing competition with Tencent and NetEase, two of Chinas leading gaming giants. by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, November 28, 2023 Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to mature like a child going through mental and physical growing pains. Google Bard got a slow start when it was first released, but AI chatbots have recently become more useful -- not just to analyze and spit out information based on complex conversational queries, but to offer a deeper analysis of content, visuals and text in YouTube videos. Bard already had the ability to analyze YouTube videos from a previous update in September, but it could not analyze the content to interpret and provide summarized, detailed answers to queries. The YouTube update is available through the Bard experiment page. In one example provided by Android Authority, using Americas Test Kitchens recipe for an Espresso Martini with a time frame of 3:33, Bard will summarize the content in the video by specifying the video title and channel name or use tagged chapters in the video. Users also can type in summarize and paste in the videos URL. advertisement advertisement One publication brings up an interesting dilemma. What if a video is just behind a paywall on a publishers website? The video doesnt include the recipe in the video description. By watching the YouTube video every time an espresso martini is made, some value goes back to the publisher for that content, writes The Verge. By having Bard spit out the recipe, the viewer skips the step of pressing play, watching a preroll ad, and viewing the channels other recommended videos at the end. The prompt Give me a recipe for a holiday dinner. Show me a video in another example initially provides content focused on multiple videos. Bard answers the prompt by serving a collection of up to five videos from YouTube. Users can then ask for details about video content, such as Give me the recipe for video 4. Bard understands the meaning of video 4 and provides a text summary, including a breakdown of the ingredients and methods. Queries, for example, also can include questions like if there are any charts, graphs, or visual aids. Some suggest this could become worrisome for creators, especially when the content lives behind a firewall and the viewer needs to watch the recipe video repeatedly when they cannot remember the ingredients. Other AI bots have the ability to summarize content. While ChatGPT does not yet have the ability to summarize a complete PDF, users can drop the document into Claude, an AI assistant developed by Anthropic, to receive back a complete summary of the content, even if the document includes hundreds of pages of content. The AI will provide a complete summary of the content, as demonstrated during a class held by the Mobile Marketing Association. Hey fellow riders! I recently took an epic bike trip through Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. I had heard so much about the stunning mountain scenery and Buddhist monasteries in this remote corner of India and just had to experience it for myself. Let me tell you - riding through those winding Himalayan roads with snow-capped peaks in the distance was an adrenaline rush like no other! I also made plenty of stops to take in the views, visit ancient monasteries, and sample delicious local cuisine. In this guide, I'll give you all the nitty-gritty details for planning your own motorcycle adventure in Tawang: The best routes and must-see destinations Tips on renting a bike and dealing with the challenging terrain What clothes and gear to pack for the weather and altitude Where to find spare parts and mechanics if needed Local delicacies you have to try Whether you're an experienced mountain rider or a first-timer looking for some excitement, a biking trip through Tawang's jaw-dropping landscapes is absolutely worth it. So start prepping and get ready for a life-changing ride! Let the two-wheeled expedition begin! Tawang Biking - Itinerary Details Bajaj Dominar/ Instagram Day 1: Guwahati to Shergaon Canva Distance: 217 km Estimated Time: 10 hours Routes to Explore Begin your journey from Guwahati heading towards Shergaon Allocate time for relaxation upon reaching Shergaon Adjust to the cooler climate of this charming destination Shergaon, situated in the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh, awaits as your Day 1 destination. The 217 km drive, spanning approximately 10 hours, takes you through the scenic landscapes of bustling Guwahati. As you arrive in Shergaon, the beautiful town greets you with its serene atmosphere and cooler climate. Take advantage of the time to relax, immerse yourself in the local charm, and let the tranquil surroundings set the tone for an enjoyable journey ahead. Day 2: Shergaon to Tawang Canva Distance: 216 km Estimated Time: 5 hours Routes to Explore: Depart from Shergaon en route to Tawang Navigate through adventurous terrain with treacherous roads and steep inclines Experience the awe-inspiring Sela Pass, showcasing breathtaking mountain views Day 2 starts with an exhilarating journey from Shergaon to the charming town of Tawang. Brace yourself for an adventurous ride, as the route boasts treacherous roads and challenging inclines. Over the span of 5 to 6 hours and 216 km, you'll traverse the mesmerizing landscapes, reaching the highlight of the journey the stunning Sela Pass. Prepare to be captivated by the panoramic views of the majestic mountains that unfold before your eyes, making this leg of the trip a truly unforgettable experience. Day 3: Tawang Monastery Canva Explore Tawang Monastery Visit the largest monastery in India, Tawang Monastery. Immerse yourself in the cultural and spiritual significance of this revered site. Discover a rich collection of rare artifacts, scriptures, and thangkas at the monastery's museum On Day 3, dedicate your time to the cultural and spiritual marvel that is Tawang Monastery. As the largest monastery in India, it stands as a beacon of Buddhist heritage, drawing admiration from Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. Embark on a journey of exploration within its sacred walls, uncovering the profound significance of this revered site. Also, get into the monastery's museum, where a treasure trove of rare artifacts, scriptures, and thangkas awaits, offering a deeper understanding of the rich cultural tapestry that Tawang has to offer. Day 4: Tawang to Bumla Pass to Madhuri Lake Canva Distance: Varies (Tawang to Bumla Pass to Madhuri Lake and back to Tawang) Estimated Time: Full Day Day Trip Highlights Bumla Pass Excursion - Navigate the challenging drive to Bumla Pass. Embrace stunning panoramic views and serene surroundings. Madhuri Lake Visit - The journey from Bumla Pass to Madhuri Lake. Marvel at the glacial lake, named after Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit. Enjoy the picturesque scenery and indulge in a relaxing picnic lunch. Day 4 starts with a thrilling day trip from Tawang to Bumla Pass and Madhuri Lake. Brace yourself for a challenging drive to Bumla Pass, where the reward is breathtaking panoramic views and a tranquil atmosphere. From there, venture to the picturesque Madhuri Lake, named after the iconic Bollywood actress who graced its shores for a film shoot. Take in the stunning scenery, relish a picnic lunch, and soak in the serene ambiance before making your way back to Tawang. This day promises not only adventure but also moments of tranquility amidst nature's wonders. Day 5: Tawang to Dirang Canva Distance: 134 km Estimated Time: 4 hours Routes to Explore Head from Tawang to Dirang, a small town in West Kameng, Arunachal Pradesh. En route, make a stop at the scenic Jung Falls. Visit the hot springs at Nag Temple for a rejuvenating experience. Day 5 opens up in a delightful journey from Tawang to the charming town of Dirang. Covering approximately 134 km in around 4 hours, the drive offers scenic landscapes and cultural stops. Pause at the picturesque Jung Falls to immerse yourself in nature's beauty. Continue your drive to Dirang and make a refreshing stop at the hot springs near Nag Temple, adding a touch of relaxation to your adventure. The day encapsulates the essence of the region, combining scenic wonders with cultural experiences, making your journey from Tawang to Dirang a memorable one. Day 6: Dirang Valley to Bomdila Canva Distance: 42.3 km Estimated Time: 2 hours Routes to Explore Depart from Dirang Valley en route to Bomdila. Pause at the historic Dirang Dzong for stunning views of the valleys. Continue to Bomdila, where you'll explore the Bomdila Monastery and the traditional Arunachal handicrafts at the craft center. Day 6 invites you on a scenic drive from Dirang Valley to the enchanting town of Bomdila, covering approximately 42.3 km in a leisurely 2-hour journey. Along the way, seize the opportunity to visit the historic Dirang Dzong, an ancient fort offering breathtaking views of the valleys below. As you reach Bomdila, delve into the cultural richness with visits to the Bomdila Monastery, a spiritual gem, and the craft center, showcasing the traditional handicrafts of Arunachal Pradesh. This day promises a blend of historical exploration and cultural immersion, making your trip from Dirang Valley to Bomdila a fascinating and enriching experience. Day 7: Bomdila to Kaziranga Canva Distance: 199 km Estimated Time: 7 hours approximately Routes to Explore Depart from Bomdila to Kaziranga National Park. Journey through a approximate 7-hour drive covering approximately 199 km. Preparation for the Next Day Take some time to relax and rejuvenate. Prepare for an early-morning jeep safari. Explore the UNESCO World Heritage Site housing one-horned rhinoceroses Day 7 marks the transition from the picturesque Bomdila to the wildlife haven of Kaziranga National Park. Embark on a 7-hour drive covering around 199 km, immersing yourself in the changing landscapes. The day sets the stage for an exciting wildlife encounter, making your journey from Bomdila to Kaziranga a seamless blend of exploration and anticipation. Day 8: Kaziranga Jeep Safari and return to Guwahati Canva Early Morning Jeep Safari Wake up early for an exhilarating jeep safari in Kaziranga National Park. Encounter diverse wildlife, including tigers, elephants, and various bird species, in their natural habitat. Post-Safari Activities Enjoy breakfast and further explore the park at your leisure. Visit souvenir shops for gifts to bring back home. Return to Guwahati Commence the journey back to Guwahati, approximately 4-5 hours away. Evening in Guwahati Check into your hotel upon reaching Guwahati and freshen up. Explore local markets, indulge in street food, or simply relax before your departure This day encapsulates the thrill of wildlife exploration and the relaxed charm of local experiences, concluding your Tawang road tour with a perfect blend of adventure and leisure. Things To Pack Bajaj Dominar/ Instagram Certainly, the climate in Tawang can vary, so it's advisable to pack accordingly. Here's a list of clothing items to consider for your trip to Tawang: Warm Layers Thermals or long underwear for the colder days and nights. Sweaters or fleece jackets for added warmth. Insulating Jackets Canva A good quality insulated jacket or down jacket. Waterproof Outerwear Waterproof and windproof jacket to shield against rain and wind. Waterproof pants if you plan on trekking or spending time outdoors in wet conditions. Comfortable Bottoms Jeans or comfortable pants for daily wear. If you plan on trekking, consider packing comfortable and moisture-wicking trekking pants. Sturdy, waterproof hiking boots, especially if you plan on exploring the terrain. Comfortable sneakers or walking shoes for everyday use. Socks Woolen or thermal socks for warmth. Headwear Woolen or fleece hat to keep your head warm. Sunglasses to protect your eyes from the bright sunlight at higher altitudes. Gloves Canva Insulated gloves or mittens to keep your hands warm. Layers for Upper Body Long-sleeved shirts or t-shirts for layering. Miscellaneous A scarf or neck gaiter for added warmth. Umbrella or a rain poncho for unexpected showers. Sunscreen to protect your skin from the high-altitude sun. Lip balm and moisturiser to combat dryness. Casual Wear Casual clothing for exploring towns and monasteries. Remember to check the weather forecast for Tawang closer to your travel date to make any adjustments to your packing list. My Ride of Choice - Bajaj Dominar 400 When preparing for my bike expedition through Tawang, choosing the right motorcycle was key. I needed something powerful yet nimble enough to handle the challenging terrain. After doing some research, I decided to go with the Bajaj Dominar 400. This versatile bike turned out to be the perfect partner for conquering Tawang's winding mountain passes. Its liquid-cooled 373cc single-cylinder engine packs a decent punch - ideal for cruising smoothly on straight highways and able to tackle steep inclines when needed. Despite its bulkier build, I found the Dominar 400 surprisingly agile and easy to handle thanks to the sporty upright riding position. Taking tight turns on precarious edges became less intimidating. The bike felt firmly planted even riding through loose gravel or over cracked roads. By the end of my exhilarating 1,000km+ ride, I was thrilled with how the Dominar 400 performed every step of the journey. It was the perfect middleweight motorcycle packing just the right blend of power, comfort and maneuverability. Trust me, this bike never held me back from fully embracing the adventure! The Bottomline Bajaj Dominar/ Instagram Well, that wraps up my awesome biking adventure in Tawang! I gotta say, this trip totally exceeded my expectations. Sure, I planned out the route and main sights I wanted to see. But some of my best moments happened completely by chance - like stumbling upon that epic waterfall or the monk who let me stay at his remote monastery. At the end of the day, just being out on the open road taking in all that incredible scenery was what its all about for me. Yeah, that stretch up to Sela Pass just about killed my thighs. And getting a flat tire in the middle of nowhere wasnt too fun. But making it to the top of that pass and seeing the sun rise over the Himalayan peaks? Totally priceless. Would I jump at the chance to do a similar trip again? Heck yes! After experiencing Tawangs killer routes and culture firsthand, Im pretty much addicted to adventure biking now. And theres still so much more of Northeast India I have yet to discover on my trusty two wheels. I better start planning my next epic road trip! So if you riders get the chance to head out to Tawang, go for it! Just make sure to respect the local culture, watch out for those yaks, and take plenty of memory card space. And, for more such personalised biking experiences follow us on our new bikes category page. When the going gets tough, there are two voices within us a big one that asks us to give up and a small one that asks us to push through and walk towards success. We often ignore the second one and succumb to the first one in moments of dire struggle. However, Rizwan Sajans story is a testament to the results you get when you listen to that small voice telling you to keep going, even if it feels like youre moving against the tide. Hailing from a middle-class family in Mumbai, Sajan's journey from a street vendor selling books and firecrackers to becoming one of the wealthiest Indians in Dubai is nothing short of inspirational. Danube Group Website As a first-generation entrepreneur, Sajan faced the hardships of life early on. His father's untimely demise when he was just 16 marked a pivotal moment that steered him towards a path of determination. In the initial days, Sajan worked as a street vendor, selling books and delivering milk to support his family's needs. The turning point in Sajan's life came in 1981 when he joined his uncle's building materials shop in Kuwait. Starting as a trainee salesman, he swiftly climbed up the professional ladder, showcasing his tenacity and business acumen. Unfortunately, the Gulf War in 1991 compelled him to return to Mumbai. However, adversity did not deter Sajan; instead, he found unwavering support in his life partner. One thing that will always stick with me after what I have witnessed over the course of 2020 is that we must always have a contingency plan to face any adversity in life. Rizwan Sajan @ChairmanDanube, founder and chairman of Danube Group pic.twitter.com/rCFLvDjZw2 Friday Magazine (@Friday_Magazine) January 14, 2021 In 1993, undeterred by challenges, Sajan embarked on a new chapter by establishing the Danube Group. What began as a humble venture has now evolved into a billion-dollar conglomerate, standing as one of the largest building materials companies globally. With diversified branches spanning across the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and India, the Danube Group has become a beacon of success in the business world. Danube Group Website The group achieved a remarkable USD 1.3 billion annual turnover in 2019, reflecting Sajan's visionary leadership and strategic business decisions. His personal net worth, estimated at USD 2.5 billion according to the Ministry of Economy, UAE, translates to an astounding Rs 20,830 crores today. Rizwan Sajan's life story encapsulates the essence of resilience, determination, and the transformative power of entrepreneurship. From the bustling streets of Mumbai to the echelons of business success in Dubai, Sajan's journey is a beacon of inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs, reminding us that even the most challenging beginnings can lead to extraordinary destinations. Source: DNA Who doesnt like to multiply their money and ensure the effective achievement of their financial goals? If you do, you should look towards mutual funds as a viable investment that can allow you to collectively invest in a diversified portfolio, which can help reduce risk compared to investing in individual securities. However, when it comes to investing in mutual funds in India, the first question that comes to our minds is how to invest in mutual funds. If you have the same dilemma and are wondering how can I invest in mutual funds, you have come to the right place. We have curated this blog to help you find the right answer to how to invest in mutual funds in India. What Are Mutual Funds? The first thing you should understand in the process of learning how to invest in mutual funds in India is the basic definition of mutual funds and how they work. Mutual funds are investment instruments that pool investors' money and invest it in a diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds, or other securities. The pooled money is the money that investors like you invest while purchasing mutual fund units. Each unit represents your share in the funds assets based on the number of units you have purchased. Every mutual fund is managed by expert portfolio managers who constantly analyse the funds performance and make adjustments based on the fund's goals and risk profile. Thousands of mutual fund schemes are listed on the stock exchanges that you can invest in based on the funds investment objective, risk profile, and potential returns. How Do Mutual Funds Work? Freepik The second thing to know in the process of how to invest in mutual fund investment is how mutual funds work. Every mutual fund scheme is launched by an Asset Management Company (AMC), which details the objectives, types of investments, weightage, and risk profile beforehand to the investors. For example, the HDFC Mid Cap Opportunities Fund is a mutual fund scheme launched and managed by the HDFC Mutual Fund, which is the AMC. Once you invest your money in a mutual fund scheme, the AMC pools the money in securities such as stocks, bonds, commodities, and even real estate. The main goal of every AMC is to provide the highest possible returns to investors with minimum risk. To achieve this, the AMCs portfolio or fund managers constantly monitor the fund and make adjustments to ensure the effective alignment of your invested capital with the relevant securities. Apart from capital appreciation based on the securities prices, included stocks may distribute dividends, while included bonds pay interest. Once announced, the AMC distributes the respective dividends or interest to the shareholders, who can withdraw them or reinvest them by buying additional fund units. Why Should You Invest In Mutual Funds in 2024? Although how do I invest in mutual funds is an important and valid question, an equally important question you should ask is why you should invest in mutual funds in India. Here are some of the benefits of investing in mutual funds in India: Diversification: The portfolio or the fund managers ensure that the pooled money is invested in various instruments across asset classes for effective diversification. Diversification substantially lowers risk levels as losses in one instrument are recovered from the profits in other instruments. Furthermore, as the fund managers are investment experts, they constantly monitor the fund to ensure the best returns for the investors. Liquidity: Mutual funds are highly liquid, as investors can sell their holdings quickly, similar to how stocks are sold. Investors can place a sell order for mutual fund units, which are sold almost instantly. The redeemed amount is credited to the investors bank accounts within 1-4 days, depending on the type of mutual fund scheme. Accessibility: Mutual fund units are relatively inexpensive, and investors can invest in mutual fund schemes with relatively little money. Most mutual fund schemes allow investing through SIPs, where investors can invest as little as Rs 500 per month, allowing for a systematic long-term investment strategy. Tax Benefits: One of the best advantages of investing in mutual funds in India is the tax benefits they provide to the investors. Under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act 1961, investors can avail of tax deductions up to Rs 1.5 lakh per year if the investment is in ELSS or Equity Linked Saving Schemes. Such a tax deduction can save around Rs 46,800 each year on taxes. How To Start Investments In Mutual Funds? Freepik Before you invest in mutual funds, it is essential to seek the answer to the question of how can I invest in mutual funds online in India. Investing in mutual funds online is a simple process; you just have to follow the below steps: Creating an Account on AMCs Website: Once you have chosen the mutual fund scheme you want to invest in, you can visit the AMC website that manages the mutual fund scheme and create an account. You can find the instructions on how to create a mutual fund account on the website and fill in all the required details. Remember that you have to complete e-KYC by providing your Aadhar and PAN card details. Once verified, the AMC will send you a confirmation of successful account opening, and you can start investing thereafter. Stockbroking Platforms and Apps: AMCs allow investors to invest in mutual fund schemes through third-party stockbroking platforms and apps. For example, if you have a demat account with Zerodha, you can log in to its website or mobile app, search for the mutual fund scheme you want to invest in and place an order. You can choose a lump sum or SIP as your payment mode to invest in mutual funds through third-party platforms or apps. Apart from investing in mutual funds online, you can also invest in mutual funds offline by visiting the nearest branch of the scheme's AMC, Registrar & Transfer Agents (RTAs), or Investor Service Centres (ISCs). Ensure you have a duly filled application form, necessary documents, and a cheque or a bank draft for the payment. Conclusion Investing in mutual funds in India offers numerous benefits, including diversification and tax benefits. Although investing in mutual funds in India is straightforward, knowing the best ways to invest in mutual funds goes a long way. As there are numerous steps involved in the process of how to invest in mutual funds, you should ensure that you have learned about all of them before investing. Now that you know the answer to how do I invest in mutual funds, you can research the best mutual funds in India in 2024 and now and start investing for good returns. Visitors walk past a children's hospital in Beijing - Ng Han Guan/AP Countries across Asia are bracing for a wave of disease currently sweeping through Chinas hospitals amid fears it could soon cross international borders. Governments including India, Nepal, Taiwan and Thailand have ramped up surveillance and told doctors to be on alert for pneumonia cases within their populations. Chinese paediatric hospital wards have been overwhelmed in recent weeks, as respiratory viruses and the bacteria mycoplasma pneumoniae surge following years of suppressed transmission due to stringent Covid-19 restrictions. Health authorities in neighbouring countries are now preparing their own health systems to fight this mass wave of infections, should it spread beyond China. Were putting our guard up, said Dr Cholnan Srikaew, Thailands Public Health Minister, while Indias Health Ministry said it had proactively decided to review the [countrys] preparedness measures against respiratory illnesses, as a matter of abundant caution. Students are dismissed from a school in Beijing amid the respiratory outbreak - MARK R CRISTINO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock The scale of disease spreading through Chinas hospitals is yet unknown, according to the analytics firm Airfinity. In a situation report published on Monday, it said Shanghais Renji Hospital has seen a 175 per cent rise in paediatric outpatient visits since the start of November compared to last year, while appointments at Beijing Aviation General Hospital jumped by 50 per cent. According to the Chinese CDC, different groups of children have been hit by slightly different pathogens. Among those under four, influenza and rhinovirus are most prevalent; those aged five to 14 have been hit by influenza, mycoplasma pneumoniae, and adenovirus; while older age groups are commonly infected with influenza, rhinovirus, or human metapneumovirus. Health officials across Asia are now preparing for similar outbreaks. In India, the Health Ministry has directed all the state governments to hospital readiness and ensure there are enough hospital beds, drugs, vaccines, oxygen, antibiotics, personal protective equipment and testing kits to tackle a potential surge of respiratory illnesses. Story continues Illness not a new infectious disease Meanwhile on Friday, Taiwans Centre for Disease Control warned people travelling to China to pay attention to their hygiene, get vaccinated against the flu prior to their trip, wear a face mask and avoid visiting crowded places. Thailand has also advised people to wear face masks and wash their hands regularly, and has also tightened surveillance especially in tourist hotspots and at hospitals. Yet China is not the only country in the region to already report a spike in respiratory illnesses, including mycoplasma pneumoniae. South Korea recorded a 31 per cent increase in these cases in mid-November of 236 people hospitalised with acute bacterial respiratory infections in the second week of the month, 96 per cent had mycoplasma and 80 per cent of these were children. But it looks like the growth rate is levelling off and infection rates could decline in the coming weeks, Airfinty said. However, in a statement to the Telegraph, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said that although mycoplasma had recently been showing a gradual increase, cases remained low compared to 2019. Mycoplasma is not a new infectious disease like Covid-19, but the outbreak situation in China is being closely monitored through the WHO and media reports, the agency said. Dr Jerome Kim, director general of the International Vaccine Institute in Seoul said the outbreaks of respiratory diseases including mycoplasma pneumonia, adenovirus and flu were things you would normally expect at this time of year. Although there had been an uptick in influenza activity in South Korea and other countries in the region, it doesnt at this stage appear to be a new Covid strain or new version of Omicron, he said. Meanwhile, paediatric wards in southern Vietnam are full of patients with a mix of seasonal infections, including RSV, influenza and hand, foot and mouth disease, prompting hospitals to expand their bed capacity and bring in extra staff. At Can Tho Childrens Hospital, an average of 1,100 children with respiratory diseases visited every day in October, according to a report from Toui Tre News. [Its] nothing unusual, except they all seem to have come at once, a doctor in Ho Chi Minh City told the Telegraph. There are also some concerns in Nepal, which has already reported an increase in respiratory infections including influenza and mycoplasma pneumonia. Children are increasingly experiencing flu-like symptoms, Dr Sher Bahadur Pun, the Head of Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital in Teku, Kathmandu, told the Telegraph. In light of the growing number of tourists visiting Nepal in recent weeks, I believe its crucial for us to prepare for a potential outbreak originating from China. Pandemic flashbacks Fears about Chinas wave of sickness erupted last week when ProMed a surveillance system which monitors disease outbreaks worldwide said the symptoms described in media reports did not align with mycoplasma pneumoniae, which was cited as the cause. China has been tackling the bacterial infection since May. It spread north from southern provinces like Guangong to areas including Beijing, Liaoning and Shanghai, which reported a 70-80 per cent positivity rate in children in early November. The ProMed alert, which warned of a potentially undiagnosed pneumonia, sparked flashbacks to late 2019, when it first raised the alarm over a mystery virus later named Sars-Cov-2. Chinas initial secrecy then has also damaged trust now, and the World Health Organisation responded with a rare and unusually public official request for more information. Within 24 hours China was forthcoming with data, the UN agency later said, adding there had been no detection of any unusual or novel pathogens, but instead a surge of multiple diseases. While some remain unconvinced including the US ambassador to Japan, who said serious questions remain many public health experts believe this was to be expected in Chinas first post-lockdown winter. It is typical that outbreaks of respiratory diseases may occur after a prolonged lockdown, said Prof Charin Modchang, an epidemiologist at Mahidol University in Bangkok, adding that this trend has not been unique to China. This is because the fraction of people who lost their immunity to other diseases might increase during the lockdown, as the lockdown should reduce the circulation of pathogens. So, after the pandemic restrictions had been lifted, we might see unusual outbreaks of some diseases. Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security 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. Originally published by The 19th. In an old black and white photograph, four nuns flank a priest at a U.S. military hospital in Havana, Cuba. Their severe expressions speak to the harsh conditions they had faced during the Spanish-American War from the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota to military camps in Florida, Georgia and eventually Cuba. The four Lakota Sioux women Mary Anthony, Mary Joseph, Mary Gertrude and Mary Bridget were there to help care for sick and injured soldiers. They also put their stamp on history as the first known Native American women to serve in the United States military. Today, American Indians and Alaska Natives serve in the Armed Forces at five times the national average with the women serving in higher concentration than any other ethnic population. Nearly 20 percent of Native service members are women, compared with 15.6 percent of all other women service members. But as the first Native American women to serve, these nurses faced increased scrutiny and racial prejudice from military officials and the news media of the time. A handwritten note on each card recommending them for duty described the women as having dark coloring, being used to severe hardships, and privations, and exposure to heat and cold while working as missionaries on Indian land and being able to endure safely what most nurses cannot endure, according to the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. The women were members of a small religious order of Native American women on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota. The initial focus of the order, founded in 1892 by Father Francis Craft, a missionary priest from New York City, was on education. Then in 1898, the United States declared war against Spain. Craft had a medical background. The nuns quickly received nursing training and volunteered to serve as Army nurses. When women entered religious life, it was traditional that they be given a new name, typically the name of a saint: Sister Mary Anthony, also known as Susan Bordeaux, was 31; Sister Mary Joseph, also known as Josephine Two Bears, was 31; and Sister Mary Gertrude, also known as Ella Clarke, was 28, according to military records. It is unknown how old Mother Mary Bridget, also known as Anna Pleets, was when she enlisted. In 1898, the nuns signed contracts, which guaranteed them a monthly $30 stipend. More than six months after they volunteered, Craft and the four Lakota women were sent to their first appointment: Camp Cuba Libre in Jacksonville, Florida, where one correspondent from the Sioux City Journal wrote that the work of the sisters here will be watched and followed with great interest. Combat had ended by the time they arrived, but Camp Cuba Libre, hastily set up after facilities in Tampa grew too crowded, provided little for the group at first. They arrived to find spoiling meat, decaying fruit and inadequate amounts of bread, according to Cheryl Mullenbachs book Women of the Spanish-American War. The doctors and nurses worked tirelessly to treat gun and stab wounds, cuts, bone fractures, dysentery, typhoid, malaria and yellow fever. They were assigned to two wards set aside specifically for measles and mumps patients which often included about 50 sick soldiers. Sister Mary Bridget and Mother Mary Anthony covered the daytime hours, while Sisters Mary Joseph and Mary Gertrude took the night watches. Observers praised the women for their work. A reporter in Florida described Sister Mary Bridget as quite young with an ever ready and happy smile and very sturdy, rugged, as if no amount of fatigue could be too much for her. One newspaper headline in December 1898 read, Four Redskin Sisters Who Have Done Good Work in a Southern Hospital. Assumptions also informed how the women were perceived: The four Lakota nuns were believed to be immune either simply because of their race or because they had survived yellow fever, according to Mullenbach. The idea, she wrote, was that their Indian blood made them more able to withstand the poor conditions. The United States signed a peace treaty with Spain on December 10. But that didnt mean the nuns service was ending. Officials decided that medical personnel would still be needed as American soldiers would remain in Cuba and the Philippines indefinitely. A few days after the peace treaty was signed and less than two months after they had arrived in Florida, the four nuns and Craft were transferred to Camp Onward in Savannah, Georgia. They didnt stay long in Georgia as the camp was in flux. Military units were waiting to see where they would be needed; many had already left for Cuba. On December 22, the group followed, making their way to Camp Columbia in Havana. The group arrived in Cuba about one week before the American military occupation was officially set to take place. The Spanish military was still on its way out and there was unrest among some of the Cubans who were not on board with an American occupation. During this time, the medical professionals at camp treated Americans, Spaniards and Cubans alike. The camp, at an elevated location with a view of the sea on one side and mountains on the other, did not have water lines; inhabitants had to trek half a mile to the nearest clean water. The nurses had barely gotten started when, in February 1899, they were informed that the U.S. military was terminating their contracts. The groups standing with the Roman Catholic Church was also in question. For decades, Crafts eccentricities and outspokenness kept him in constant conflict with both government and church authorities. His words and actions repeatedly threatened to detonate the powder keg of Catholic-government relations, according to The Catholic Historical Review. The reason for their bad standing with the Church and the end of their military contracts has been contested by various historians. According to the Lakota Times, Craft had renounced his affiliation with the Catholic Church before the war started after accusations of abuse led to his banishment from all tribal reservations. But according to the Smithsonian American Womens History Museum, Crafts order of nuns was dissolved because of false rumors started by a disgruntled former Indian Department agent who resented his termination. According to Mullenbach, this drama with the Catholic Church back home had caught up with the priest. Craft claimed that conservative churchmen who opposed the more progressive ideas that he supported demanded that he and the nurses should be expelled from the island, Mullenbach wrote in her book. Craft also accused an archbishop in Cuba of targeting the women because of their race and acting with the old hatred against the Indian sisters. Mullenbach wrote that Craft claimed officials had also previously attempted to send the sisters back to the Indian camps. No longer under contract with the Army, the nurses and Craft decided to travel about 100 miles southwest to Pinar del Rio Province, where they volunteered at a medical facility, caring for both sick soldiers and civilians. Everything went well, Craft said, according to Mullenbach. Cubans and Spaniards were as well pleased as Americans with the American sisters and their work as nurses and physicians among the poor. The nurses were welcomed in the community, even joining a local parish choir. We will remain here with the army unless other means are found to drive us away, Craft said in April 1899. However, within months, the situation shifted. On October 15, Mother Mary Anthony, who had caught pneumonia in Florida, succumbed to her illness and died. She was buried in the local cemetery, where she remains, with military honors, according to military records. Craft wrote of her death: She was much beloved by the soldiers whom she had nursed back to health at the sacrifice of her own life and American soldiers mingled their tears and prayers with those of Cubans and Spaniards who loved her for her care of their orphans and sick. And by December, two of the other nurses wanted to leave. I want to come home because I am getting sick and very unhappy, Sister Bridget wrote in a letter to a priest friend back in the United States, asking for help getting home. The women were in poor health, not strong and had been posted to five different hospitals in four months, according to military records. Sisters Gertrude and Bridget returned to North Dakota within a month. Sister Joseph, who had stayed longer with Craft in Cuba to run an orphanage, eventually joined them in 1901. The groups war service, however brief, did not go overlooked in Washington. All four women were awarded the silver crosses of the Order of Spanish-American War Nurses. The U.S. House of Representatives also recognized the four Lakota nurses contributions to the war in February 1899. At the time, Craft wrote that the nurses had proved what they could do with the same care white Sisters get, according to Mullenbach. One patient, according to Mullenbachs book, who had been treated by the nuns in Cuba added: We should give our attention to the lady nurses who are in the service. They are the kindest, gentlest and most patient of creatures and deserve a world of credit from the wives and the mothers of the boys in blue, and their names and heroic deeds should be chronicled on the pages of our great, grand and glorious nations history. But that chapter was closed. The three surviving nuns, no longer in a religious order, returned to the use of their former names, and married. Craft later moved to Pennsylvania to become a parish priest, where he stayed for nearly two decades before his death in 1920. A senior civilian staffer at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point has been fired after being arrested on a felony charge of criminal sexual conduct, according to court documents. William Gentry, who was West Point's deputy brigade tactical officer, was arraigned Nov. 20 in Michigan on a second-degree criminal sexual conduct charge, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. The nature of the alleged crime was not disclosed in the court documents and under state law could involve a wide variety of sexual contact. Gentry, 56, had been employed as a senior administrative official since February but was fired from the academy shortly after his arrest earlier this month. Previously, he was an infantryman in the Army, serving numerous tours across Afghanistan and Iraq. He left the service as a sergeant major. Read Next: As Laser Pointer Incidents Spike, Airmen Are Getting Updated Eyewear That Provides Better Protection "The U.S. Military Academy takes these allegations very seriously," Lt. Col. Terence Kelley, an academy spokesman, told Military.com in a statement. "The charges are unrelated to his role at West Point, and we assisted New York State law enforcement in his arrest and extradition to Michigan, terminated his employment, and he will not return to West Point." Kelley added that there are no known allegations of any misconduct involving cadets or other personnel affiliated with West Point. It is unclear what the specifics for the allegations in Michigan are, based on publicly available court documents. Gentry is due back in court Dec. 5. It was also unknown whether he had obtained legal counsel. Gentry's awards include the Legion of Merit, six Meritorious Service Medals, 10 Army Commendation Medals, a Combat Infantryman Badge, and Drill Sergeant Identification Badge. This is the second high-profile incident involving conduct at West Point in recent months. In August, the Army quietly fired West Point's garrison commander, Col. Anthony Bianchi, an artillery officer. It's unclear what led to Bianchi's termination; he did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Military.com, and his lawyer declined to comment. Bianchi was commissioned out of West Point in 1997, and he took command of the garrison in 2022. He was fired by Lt. Gen. Omar Jones, commanding general of U.S. Army Installation Management Command, "due to a loss of trust and confidence in his ability to command," a spokesperson said in a statement in October, but those statements are blanket responses to press inquiries on officer misconduct that can range from general misconduct to criminal accusations. -- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on X @StevenBeynon. Related: Inside One of the Army's Most Chaotic Brigades Directors of historical feature films face a difficult task. How can they make the characters familiar to an audience without reducing them to caricature? How can they make sure that knowledge of the outcome battles won or lost, empires built then ruined doesnt make the story seem like its writing itself? Director Ridley Scott is not a historian and presumably wants to entertain rather than to enlighten. But the problem of historical truth is an interesting one. It is not easy to know the real Napoleon. Theres a recognisable version of him the confident general beloved of his troops, the instinctive military tactician who could run on empty for days at a time, his stern and somewhat petulant gaze. But much of this is the product of layers of historical storytelling, accrued by the labour of generations of artists, journalists and memoirists and of course, Napoleon himself. Abel Gances spectacular silent film Napoleon (1927), for example, charted the life and career of Napoleon up to his departure as a military general for the Italian campaign in 1796. In one scene, a heavy winter snowfall interrupts classes at Napoleons military college. The boys run outside to play and inevitably start throwing snowballs at each other. The scene depicts a very young Napoleon emerging as a natural commander, directing the combat as though on the field of battle. Yet the veracity of this moment rests primarily on a single account the memoir of one of Napoleons childhood friends, Louis de Bourrienne, who attended the same school. The author was later an employee of Napoleon, who sacked him for embezzlement in 1802. Many years later, in 1829, de Bourrienne penned a memoir in the hope of cashing in on the popular appetite for authentic tales of the great general. What we think we know about the real Napoleon is often filtered through self-interested and partial accounts like this one. Here are the facts and legends behind some of the major scenes from Ridley Scotts new Napoleon biopic. Did Napoleon crown himself? Napoleon went to great lengths to craft his image as a benign ruler and man of the people, often enlisting the talents of artists to do so. Most notoriously, Jacques-Louis David was commissioned to produce a series of grand paintings depicting Napoleons coronation in Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris in December 1804. In the most famous, we see Napoleon place a crown on the head of the new Empress Josephine while a reluctant Pope Pius VII looks on. In an astonishing act of hubris, Napoleon had indeed already placed a crown on his own head, though the oil painting shows him only in laurel leaves to signify his martial triumphs. What Scotts film depicts is the magnificence of the oil paintings, which showed Napoleon and his empress in the most flattering light, rather than the coronation ceremony itself. His relationship with Josephine There is no doubt that Napoleon felt a deep passion for Marie Josephe Rose de la Pagerie known to him as Josephine whom he married in 1796 as his military career was in the ascendant. Yet her depiction in Ridley Scotts film as a young seductress probably speaks more to sexist cliche than to Josephines undoubted self-assuredness. She was six years older than Napoleon, a widow and mother of two young children when they met, and the young generals romantic feelings were seemingly stronger than hers. While on campaign he wrote to her virtually every day, his pen sometimes piercing the parchment, such was the force of his emotions. Yet some of these letters to her remained unopened. Their relationship was as tumultuous as it was passionate, and both spouses had several affairs. Yet when Napoleon instigated divorce in 1809 for want of an heir, it was surprisingly amicable. The Empress retained her imperial title until her death in 1814 and was permitted to continue living in the imperial Chateau de Malmaison. Was Napoleon present at the execution of Marie Antoinette? The autumn of 1793 was especially busy for Napoleon given his increasingly important role in the Siege of Toulon. Federalist rebels had handed over the French fleet to the British admiral Samuel Hood, and the young artillery officer commanded the operation that eventually seized it back. Therefore it is highly unlikely that he ventured to Paris in October to be among the crowd that witnessed the execution of Queen Marie-Antoinette. In a letter to his older brother Joseph, however, Napoleon did claim to witness the storming of the Tuileries Palace by an angry crowd of republican protesters in June 1792. It revolted him. Did Napoleon really fire at the pyramids? Napoleon began his Egyptian campaign in 1798. The cultural legacy of the campaign can be seen in the well-stocked Egyptology section of the Louvre. But it was also the scene of atrocities. At one point, several thousand Ottoman soldiers were shot or driven into the sea on Napoleons orders, rather than taken prisoner. You dont need to invent ice traps or Napoleon ordering his men to fire at the pyramids, as Ridley Scotts biopic does, to convey his callous disregard for life. It was the rumour that he had ordered his own plague-stricken troops to be poisoned in the town of Jaffa that finally tarnished Napoleons reputation in the early 19th century. It stuck, no matter how brilliant the sanitising riposte of the artist Antoine-Jean Gros, whom Napoleon commissioned in 1804 to paint a different story. Ridley Scotts film does not represent the past so much as carry versions of the tales and images depicting Napoleon that have spun him into existence since his own lifetime many of which were crafted by his own hand. Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. Sign up here. Joan Tumblety is Associate Professor of French History at University of Southampton This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Strictly Come Dancing professional Amy Dowden has said she does get angry and it will take a while to accept her cancer diagnosis at such a young age while also managing a chronic illness. The 33-year-old Welsh dancer, who joined Strictly in 2017, announced her breast cancer diagnosis in May after finding a lump in her breast in April, the day before going to the Maldives on honeymoon with fellow professional dancer Ben Jones. She had previously revealed in 2019 that she was suffering from Crohns disease, and fronted the BBC programme Strictly Amy: Crohns And Me, in which she spoke about her battle with the condition and met other people with Crohns to hear about their experiences. The Caerphilly-born dancer appears on the cover of the December issue of Womens Health UK and told the magazine: Oh yeah I always say I never asked (for) this to happen to me. Ive always worked so hard. Ive always been a good person. I looked after myself, Ive exercised well, havent smoked I do get angry. I just think Ive been dealt a difficult one I think itll take a while to accept. It took me a long time to accept my Crohns. Until Im back dancing and back to my normal self, I dont think I will accept it. Crohns is described by the NHS as a lifelong condition in which parts of the digestive system become inflamed, and Dowden was diagnosed at the age of 19. People with the disease commonly experience phases of intense abdominal pain, severe vomiting, exhaustion and bloody diarrhoea, among other symptoms. On her decision to appear on the magazine cover without a wig, she said: Finding out I had Crohns, I didnt ever have anyone in the public eye to look up to or to say to my friends Thats what Ive got. And I just had a little moment I imagined teenagers being able to go to school and being able to embrace (not having hair) or go swimming and just be like Im like Amy whos off Strictly. And that just gave me the confidence to go Yeah, lets do this. Story continues Earlier this month Dowden revealed she had fractured her foot, ruling her out of making an appearance on Strictly this year. She was unable to have a celebrity partner on the popular BBC One show following her diagnosis and subsequent cancer treatment, but had planned to make an appearance on the dancefloor. She said she wants to be treated as normal, adding: When Im walking outside and Ive got my headscarf on, I dont want looks of sympathy or feeling sorry for me Im Amy Sometimes people dont know how to address it. Just ask how I am I will answer you. We dont want you to feel sorry for us. Were embracing it. Stand strong with us Dont give me that pity look I dont need it! Since her diagnosis and subsequent mastectomy and chemotherapy, she has raised awareness of breast cancer and posted regular treatment updates on Instagram, including appearing on Channel 4s Stand Up To Cancer broadcast this month to celebrate a decade of the appeal for Cancer Research UK. Read the full interview in the December issue of Womens Health UK, also available as a digital edition. Nancy Black Tribune Content Agency Linda Black Horoscopes for Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023 Todays Birthday (11/28/23). This year energizes your work and health. Faithful domestic routines provide central support. Shift directions to balance your work and health, before adapting around team challenges. Summer romance inspires your heart. Domestic renovations prepare for autumn parties and fun. Feed yourself: mind, body and spirit. To get the advantage, check the days rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging. Aries (March 21-April 19) Today is an 8 Youre especially brilliant. All is not as it appears to be. Stick with the facts. Keep communications simple and clear. Love has the advantage. Taurus (April 20-May 20) Today is an 8 Focus on making money. Get creative with a challenge. Monitor expenses carefully to leave a cushion for the unexpected. Keep your objective in mind. Gemini (May 21-June 20) Today is a 9 You can accomplish more than you think possible. Dress for the role you want. Your confidence is contagious. Fantasies fade. Polish your public image. Cancer (June 21-July 22) Today is a 6 Take it easy. Consider things from another perspective. Small changes reap big rewards. Process a transition. Exercise clears up mental fog. Rest and recharge. Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) Today is a 7 When you get stuck, love is the fallback position. Social plans could change. Support friends with a challenge. Expect miscommunications. Patiently clarify. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Today is a 7 Creatively uncover solutions to a professional puzzle. Misunderstandings abound. Learn from anothers experience. Revelations dispel a fantasy. Dont share unfinished work. Review and revise. Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) Today is an 8 Study, listen, and learn. Chaotic situations can reveal hidden opportunities. Research options. Review findings. Plot your course and set the pieces in place. Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Today is a 7 Financial disagreements could spark. Take the high road, especially where money is concerned. Discourage pipe dreams and fantastical plots. Pull together to surge ahead. Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Today is a 7 Listen to your partner and stay receptive. You can accomplish wonders together, if you can avoid silly arguments. Remember whats most important. Maintain focus. Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Today is a 9 Keep pace as the workload increases. Eat and rest well. Exercise feeds your mind, body and spirit. Score extra points for connection with nature. Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Today is a 7 Reconnect with someone sweet. Abandon romantic agendas. Things may not go as planned. Avoid controversy. Stick with old favorites and familiar fun. Relax. Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) Today is a 6 Invest time and energy in your home and family. Clear clutter. Cook delicious meals and snacks. Share the fruit of your labor. Love inspires. Astrologer Nancy Black continues her mother Linda Blacks legacy horoscopes column. She welcomes comments and questions on Twitter, @LindaCBlack. For more astrological interpretations like todays Gemini horoscope, visit Linda Black Astrology by clicking daily horoscopes, or go to www.nancyblack.com. 2023 Nancy Black. All rights reserved. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency. MARQUETTE, Mich. -- If youre looking to enjoy some holiday spirit in a winter wonderland setting, point your compass toward Marquette County, where December promises festive celebrations in one of the snowiest regions east of the Rocky Mountains. Events in the coming weeks include traditions like artful light displays, a weekly holiday market, and a downtown ball drop to ring in the New Year. Marquettes seasonal transformation into a picturesque snowscape is embraced by our community with incredible events and programming designed to welcome visitors from near and far, said Susan Estler, president and CEO of Travel Marquette. We look forward to celebrating the holidays and offering unique and unrivaled winter adventures, sure to delight visitors of all interests and ages. The following celebrations will be taking place in December 2023: Holiday Lasers on the Ore Dock: This annual tradition once again has turned Marquettes century-old Lower Harbor Ore Dock into the backdrop of a holiday laser light display. Now in the shows third year, the colorful projections will light up the dock with holiday, winter and Marquette themes now through New Years Eve. Marquettes Mattson Lower Harbor Park is a great place to enjoy the show on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 6 8 p.m. through December 31. More details here RELATED: Holiday laser light show returns to historic Upper Peninsula landmark Downtown Holiday Market: Marquettes Downtown Farmers Market will host its festive Downtown Holiday Market every Saturday in December from 10 a.m. 2 p.m. at the Marquette Commons. Visitors can peruse booths featuring local artisans and producers selling holiday gifts, along with farmers still providing fresh local food and Christmas trees. More details here New Years Eve Ball Drop: Close out 2023 and ring in the New Year in downtown Marquette at the annual New Years Eve Ball Drop, which closes down the 100 block of West Washington Street for a block-party bash. The event runs from 6 p.m. - 1 a.m., with a family-friendly ball drop from 6-8 p.m. More details here Find more information on Marquette travel and events at travelmarquette.com. . MANISTEE, MI A beloved historic church in Northern Michigan will open for public tours for six hours this weekend. The doors of Guardian Angels Church in Manistee will be open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 2-3, during the Victorian Sleighbell Parade and Old Christmas Weekend holiday festival. RELATED: Up North town with Victorian charm to step back in time for unique holiday festival The 133-year-old Romanesque Revival-style church has a 170-foot-tall steeple topped with a 12-foot cross. Its exterior and interior are marked by arches. The building is home to a 20,000-pound, 15-bell chime, a pipe organ with more than 1,600 pipes and many original furnishings. The interior of Guardian Angels Church during an event. Since November 2016, the church does not host mass but is available for select weddings and funerals, and the Guardian Angels Historic Preservation Project opens it about once a month for events.Provided by Matt LaMore/Guardian Angels Historic Preservation Project Dedicated in 1890 and recognized as a historic place in 2020, it became a limited-use facility in 2016. It remains part of the Divine Mercy Parish of the Catholic Church, but it does not host regular mass and is not generally open to the public. It became evident by 2018 that there was no plan for the building, Matt LaMore, a member of the Guardian Angels Historic Preservation Project, told MLive. Its one of Manistees tallest, most prominent buildings. Manistee was the Victorian city, but so many of those beautiful buildings have been lost. LaMore and many others didnt want Guardian Angels to end up among the vanished places. That year, the Guardian Angels Historic Preservation Project began with the goal of getting it on the National Register of Historic Places, which was quickly met when the church was added during spring 2020. With the efforts of a small committee, a dozen or so volunteers and donors throughout the state, more than $200,000 has been raised toward the buildings preservation and restoration. The group also works to open the building about once a month for self-guided tours, concerts and other events. The parish hosts weddings and funerals for registered parishioners. The exterior of Guardian Angels Church. Since November 2016, the church does not host mass but is available for select weddings and funerals, and the Guardian Angels Historic Preservation Project opens it about once a month for events.Provided by Matt LaMore/Guardian Angels Historic Preservation Project Part of the buildings historic significance is that its the only surviving work in Michigan of German-born architect Adolphus Druiding who was known throughout the United States for his Romanesque Revival churches. His works can be found in New York, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and other states, in cities big and small. Guardian Angels was designed for a predominantly German and Irish congregation. Its many rounded arches suggest an influence of the German Rundbogenstil, which translates to round-arch style. This style shows up in many of Druidings works. Officials placed a historic marker outside the building during a ceremony in October of this year. Guardian Angels Church was recognized as a historic place during October 2022. The marker was placed outside the church during October 2023. The exterior of Guardian Angels Church. Since November 2016, the church does not host mass but is available for select weddings and funerals, and the Guardian Angels Historic Preservation Project opens it about once a month for events.Provided by Matt LaMore/Guardian Angels Historic Preservation Project So far, the preservation project committee has rehabilitated the front facade, west-facing brick, chimney and other projects. Future projects include a new roof, and steeple and window restoration. These projects are funded through donations. After this weekends tours, the church will next open to the public at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 17, for the Christmas at The Angel concert. The churchs steeple chimes can be heard for about 30 minutes every Sunday at noon. VOLUSIA COUNTY, FL -- Tammy Sytch, better known to professional wrestling fans as Sunny in the WWE was sentenced Monday to 17 years in prison for her role in the death of 75-year-old Florida man last year. According to Fox-35 in Orlando, Sytch, 50, pleaded no contest earlier this year to eight total charges related to a March 2022 crash in which Sytch was accused of driving under the influence when she hit a car driven by Julian Lassiter. Lassiter then crashed into a car in front of him. He was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, but died as a result of his injuries. Police who administered a blood-alcohol test to Sytch after the crash reported that her BAC was more than three times the legal limit at the time. Prior to the 2022 crash, Sytch had been arrested multiple times for driving under the influence in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Sytch is known for her time with WWE where she worked from 1994 until 1998 as a manager and on-screen personality. She was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011 and made sporadic appearances at smaller wrestling shows for years after leaving WWE. She often credited as being the first diva of WWE. The judge sentenced Sytch to 17 years in prison for a DUI manslaughter charge and a charge of driving with a suspended license. Six misdemeanor charges related to the case were pleaded down as part of an agreement and Sytch was given credit for time served. Sytch addressed the court prior to sentencing and said she knows her words are not enough to change what happened. Every second of every day, and I will do whatever I can to make the changes I need to make sure this never happens again, Sytch said. No one should have to go through this and please know that every single second of every day since the crash, I wish I could change places with him. ANN ARBOR, MI -- Four people were injured in a crash between a bus and an Ann Arbor police patrol vehicle over the weekend. An on-duty Ann Arbor police officer, two bus passengers and the bus driver were all taken to the hospital for injuries not believed to be life-threatening after a crash between the bus and the patrol vehicle around 5 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 26, according to Chris Page, spokesperson for the Ann Arbor Police Department. An on-duty Ann Arbor police officer was responding to an emergency call when he crashed into a Michigan Flyer bus at the intersection of East Huron Street and South Fourth Avenue, police said. More than 40 people were on the bus at the time of the crash, police said. The crash remains under investigation, according to police. Indian Trails, the parent company for Michigan Flyer, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 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. ANN ARBOR, MI -- Ann Arbor community members can meet a second round of candidates in the running to become the citys next police chief. The four most recent candidates will be in attendance at a public reception from 5 to 7 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 30, at the Ann Arbor Justice Center, 305 E. Huron St. This is the second reception hosted by the city for police chief candidates, following one hosted for a different set of candidates in August. The city ultimately declined to move forward with those candidates. Read more: Search continues for Ann Arbor police chief, city officials say Former Ann Arbor police Chief Michael Cox stepped down from his job in July 2022, with former Interim Chief Aimee Metzer temporarily taking on the role. Metzer retired in October 2023, passing the position to Interim Chief Patrick Maguire. Candidates also will be interviewed by the Ann Arbor City Council at 8 a.m., Friday, Dec. 1, in council chambers at Larcom City Hall, 301 E. Huron St. The search for a new chief is led by executive search firm Baker Tilly. City Administrator Milton Dohoney Jr., who nominates candidates for the police chief position, said in a statement that he remains committed to having a permanent police chief by the end of the year. Read more about the candidates below. Candidate statements and biographies were provided by the city of Ann Arbor. Andre Anderson Andre Anderson served as assistant police chief of Tempe, Arizona, from 2021-23, executive deputy chief in Rochester, New York, from 2020-21 and as commander in Glendale, Arizona, from 2012-20. He has a bachelors degree in public safety administration and a masters degree in education leadership. I am committed to building mutual trust and public safety while creating a shared vision and leadership approach that sets our agency apart and revered as the nations model police agency, Anderson said. Eric Hawkins Although Eric Hawkins has served as the chief of police in Albany, New York, since 2018, he began his career in law enforcement in 1991 in Southfield, and served as its chief of police from 2012-18. He has a bachelors degree in public administration, a masters degree in public administration and a juris doctor degree. Ann Arbor is a wonderful community with high expectations for its public servants. I am eager to see if my skill set and service orientation match what the city is looking for in its next police chief, Hawkins said. Kyra Joy Hope Kyra Joy Hope has served as the second deputy chief of office and field support with the Detroit Police Department since 2022. She began with the department in 1987. Hope has a bachelors degree in psychology and a masters degree in business technology and management. Police accountability and transparency are paramount to gaining and maintaining the publics trust, Hope said. Our police officers should be accountable public servants who work collaboratively, transparently and fairly with all communities we serve by implementing strong policies and training, collaborating with our community stakeholders and civilian oversight to ensure that we provide quality service to our citizens. Carmelin Rivera Carmelin Rivera currently serves as a lieutenant of internal affairs with the San Diego Police Department. He has worked in various positions in the department since 2018, including acting captain/lieutenant of investigations for sex crimes/child abuse, lieutenant for domestic violence/family just center and acting captain/lieutenant for the neighborhood policing division. Rivera has a bachelors degree in general studies, a masters degree in executive leadership and is currently enrolled in a Leadership Studies doctoral program with specialization in organizational leadership. Entrenched in the 21st Century Policing framework, my team will be committed to alternative models of policing modern, innovative strategies that reimagine and reframe public safety efforts in complex situations, and care for the fluidity and breadth of public safety concerns, Rivera said. 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. OTTAWA COUNTY, MI -- Ongoing settlement talks with Ottawa County Health Officer Adeline Hambley are expected to get help from a mediator. Ottawa County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday, Nov. 28 to seek a mediator to be mutually selected by attorneys for Hambley and the county. The move came after a sixth meeting stemming from a late-October termination hearing for Hambley, who has been a target of a majority faction of commissioners tied to an ultra conservative group known as Ottawa Impact. Commissioners in January sought to terminate Hambleys employment and replace her with a Hudsonville man who works as a safety manager at a HVAC company. She sued the county for wrongful termination and remained on the job. Related: Court hearing delayed on $4 million settlement for Ottawa County health officer Despite the October termination hearing, commissioners on Nov. 6 revealed they were in settlement talks instead. Those talks broke down after Hambleys attorney, Sarah Howard, claimed commissioners were trying to back out of a $4 million settlement she said was memorialized in emails. Tuesday, commissioners voted to go with mediation but also to appoint a five-commissioner subcommittee to participate in mediation. Those commissioners are Chair Joe Moss, Gretchen Cosby, Sylvia Rhodea, Allison Miedema and Doug Zylstra. Of the commissioners on the subcommittee, only Zylstra is not affiliated with Ottawa Impact. Howard, who attended Tuesdays meeting with Hambley, said she would consider the mediator proposal and likely would accept the offer. I always think continuing discussions cant hurt, she said. Howard said the subcommittee might complicate the process and make it more tedious to reach an agreement. She said that any mediated settlement resulting in Hambley keeping her Ottawa County job would need to come with protection that she wouldnt face another termination hearing. Related: Is Ottawa County on hook for $4 million settlement? County attorney says no Ottawa County Corporate Counsel David Kallman said he believes mediation would be a positive step. Its a good faith step by the board to show they are really serious about trying to resolve issues. Where mediation ends up is anybodys guess, he said. 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. OTTAWA COUNTY, MI Ottawa County commissioner Lucy Ebel will face a recall election in May 2024. In a Facebook post late Monday, Nov. 27, Ottawa County Clerk Justin Roebuck said there are enough verified signatures to hold the recall election for Ebel. The recall election will operate similar to a normal election. Ebel, a Republican, will defend her seat against candidates who choose to run from other political parties or who are unaffiliated. Ebel represents District 2 on the county board. That district includes a little more than half of Holland Township and one precinct in Park Township. Ebel is a member of the ultraconservative majority faction on the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners called Ottawa Impact. Ottawa Impact commissioners began their terms Jan. 1. Larry Jackson, a Park Township resident, submitted the petition to recall Ebel in early July. That petition cited Ebels February vote to change the previous boards resolution appointing the current Ottawa County administrative health officer, Adeline Hambley. Other Ottawa Impact county commissioners also voted for the change. Ottawa Impact has been trying to replace Hambley since taking office. The county board will meet at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 28, to continue deliberations on whether to fire Hambley. The board is also considering giving Hambley a payout in exchange for her resignation and dropping her lawsuit against the board. Related: Court hearing delayed on $4 million settlement for Ottawa County health officer A total of 2,481 verified signatures were needed to trigger the recall election. The recall group submitted 3,370 signatures to Roebucks office for verification. Roebuck said his staff spent hundreds of hours verifying the signatures. His office threw out about 21.3% of the signatures, leaving 2,653 verified signatures. Ebel was then able to challenge the verified signatures, leading to 78 more signatures being discarded, Roebuck said. At the end, there were 94 verified signatures more than was needed to trigger the recall. Roebuck said Monday that he is committed to upholding his oath of office above and beyond any personal political belief or agenda. He added that that is what his staff has strived to do throughout the recall process. During the challenge review process over the past few days, Roebuck said that his office has fielded multiple comments regarding concerns over fraud and violations of Michigan election law, including that Roebucks office might allow fraudulent activity to occur on the part of the recall petition circulators. Roebuck said that several people had also warned him that they were watching him as his office prepared to release the final results of the challenge period. In an effort for further transparency around the process, Roebuck released his offices response to Ebel regarding her challenges. That letter can be found at this link. All of our voters deserve the ability to trust their elections and the system of election administration that upholds them, Roebuck said. Thats why Im releasing our response letter to Commissioner Ebel, in full transparency, to ensure that all voters know the detail with which we have reviewed both the initial petition, as well as the challenges submitted. WYOMING, MI An automation company in Wyoming is planning a $2.5 million investment at its factory and expects to add up to 25 new jobs. Orka Automation, which helps companies automate their manufacturing process, says it plans to build a 12,000 square foot expansion at its factory at 2630 Remico St. SW in Wyoming. The expansion will give the company space to consolidate component engineering operations and house operations for a company it acquired, West Michigan Gage, a news release said. The expansion of our facility will help us serve both new and existing customers with an even higher level of excellence, John Amrhein, executive vice president of Orka Automation, said in a statement. Were grateful for the support of The Right Place and their partners as we work to attract and retain highly skilled workers at Orka Automation. The company, founded in 2017, worked with The Right Place and the city of Wyoming on its expansion, according to a news release from The Right Place. Orka Automation received a tax cut from the city of Wyoming as part of its expansion, the release said. Greater Grand Rapids is striving to become the Midwests leading tech economy, said Jennifer Wangler, vice president of technology for The Right Place. As we continue to grow this sector, Orka Automations decision to expand here reaffirms the region as a vital hub where tech companies can thrive. Nicole Hofert, director of community and economic development for the city of Wyoming, said the city has a long history of supporting industrial companies investing in the community. We are excited that Orka Automation is expanding their operations here in the City of Wyoming to take advantage of the strategic location of tech companies in our region, she said in a statement. More on MLive: Increased hotel tax in Grand Rapids would be higher than Nashville, Chicago Grand Rapids hotel tax could rank among the highest in the U.S. Heres why. Ottawa County health officer initially sought $8 million as settlement, documents show Meijer Gardens lights up the holiday season with new Winter Glow experience WYOMING, MI No one was injured after a fire broke out Monday morning at a Wyoming home. The Wyoming Fire Department around 11:45 a.m. Monday, Nov. 27, responded to a house fire in the 5600 block of Averill Avenue. The first arriving firefighters saw smoke coming from the home, and crews were able to contain and quickly extinguish the fire, preventing it from fully spreading throughout the rest of the home, Wyoming fire officials said. No injuries to people or pets were reported, Wyoming fire officials said. The fire department was notified of the blaze thanks to observant neighbors and their quick call to 911, which saved valuable time, Wyoming fire officials said. Wyoming fire officials reminded residents to prioritize fire safety measures, including having working smoke alarms, developing well-rehearsed evacuation plans and establishing a meeting place outside the home. Its also important, fire officials said, for everyone in the home to be educated on how to dial 911 in an emergency. Anyone with additional information regarding Mondays house fire is asked to contact the Wyoming Fire Department Fire Investigator at 616-257-9764. KALAMAZOO, MI -- Donations to a Kalamazoo homeless shelter on Giving Tuesday will be doubled, up to $20,000, thanks to an anonymous couple. On Tuesday, Nov. 28, Kalamazoo Gospel Ministries encourages residents to donate for Giving Tuesday, a social media-driven day of giving back, the organization said in a news release. The couple donating the $20,000 matching gift to Kalamazoo Gospel Ministries wants to remain anonymous, the organization said. Donations will support people battling homelessness, hunger and poverty, Kalamazoo Gospel Ministries said. Without naming the couple, Kalamazoo Gospel Ministries shared a quote from them: We want to inspire others to give to the important work that God is using KGM to do in meeting the most basic needs of those hungry and homeless in Kalamazoo, the unnamed couple said in the news release. The organizations 2022 budget was more than $4 million, supported entirely through fundraising, Development Director Mary Denison said. On Giving Tuesday in 2022, with no promotional campaign and no matching donation, more than 500 people donated to Kalamazoo Gospel Ministries, raising about $11,000, Denison said. Our need is so much greater because of the number of people in need, Denison told MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette Monday, estimating theres been a 30% increase in the number of people Kalamazoo Gospel Ministries has served. More money is needed to meet the increasing need in the community, she said. This year, Kalamazoo Gospel Ministries said Giving Tuesday donations will have a bigger impact because of the matching gift. The anonymous donors have given to the organization in the past, she said, and they increased their donation amount significantly this year. The organization is thankful for the matching donation and gifts of all sizes, she said. Its crucial for us to be able to keep providing meals and a warm place for people to sleep, Denison said. Kalamazoo Gospel Ministries Vice President of Advancement Lynn Russcher said Giving Tuesday is a reminder of how much one day of giving can impact the lives of hundreds of people. Donations can be made online at www.kzoogospel.org. People can also donate their time through a variety of volunteer opportunities from mentoring a guest to signing up to serve food. People can donate clothing and household items at three locations: Simple Treasures Thrift Store, 185 Old Kilgore Road, Portage; Rescued Treasures Thrift Store, 524 N. Burdick St. in Kalamazoo or at Kalamazoo Deacons Conference, 1010 N. Westnedge Ave. in Kalamazoo. Kalamazoo Gospel Ministries is a religious-based organization serving people dealing with hunger, homelessness, abuse and addiction in Kalamazoo. It provides a place for people to stay the night in downtown Kalamazoo. It also offers programming to help people live a life free of sickness, disease and addiction and a course for spiritual growth. Kalamazoo Gospel Ministries is a collaborative community serving as the hands and feet of Jesus, respecting the value of every human being, empowering those who desire gospel-powered life transformation, equipping people with the resources for success, and shepherding them into a life of purpose and compassion, the organization said. MOUNT PLEASANT, MI After keeping his wifes body in his an Isabella County rural home for about a year, Terrell L. York appeared before a judge hoping to be set free after months in jail. Arguing for this, his attorney said the grisly crime has led to concerns over Yorks safety among other jail inmates. People arent liking the nature of this case, something like that? asked Isabella County Circuit Judge Mark H. Duthie at the outset of Yorks sentencing on Tuesday, Nov. 28. Defense counsel Ann M. Chamberlain replied in the affirmative. When Chippewa Falls police chief Matthew Kelm was trying to figure out what to do after high school, he sought a career that was meaningful not just to him but to the community in which he lived. I knew that I wanted to have a career that had meaning. And for me, that meant a career that when I retired I'd feel like my life had meaning, my career had meaning and I was doing meaningful work for people, he said. After almost eight years as chief and 24 years within the Chippewa Falls Police Department, Kelm decided its time to move on. Kelm announced he would leave the department in a resignation letter submitted last week to the Chippewa Falls mayor and the police and fire commission. My hope is that my last day will be Feb. 16. Although that is a plan, not a certainty. I may potentially go earlier than that, just depending on what job opportunities might come up, but my current plan is to give a 90-day notice, Kelm said Wednesday. I'll definitely be taking another job. Kelm said there is nothing negative driving this decision. Nothing bad happened. Its just time. I feel Ive done what I can with this position, he said. I feel like I've done what I set out to do as police chief, and it's time to turn the reins over to the next person and to take a look at a new challenge and some other things I want to try. Not retiring Kelm said though he is leaving the police department, he is not retiring. He plans to keep working, though hes not sure what the next career step will be. Im not necessarily limiting myself to law enforcement, but I wouldn't rule it out. I would say that there are some things that Im keeping an eye on, some opportunities that I'm watching for, and Ill just keep an open mind for what opportunities may come, he said. Finding a meaningful, and lengthy, career in law enforcement is something for which Kelm is grateful, he said. I knew years ago that I wanted to give back. For me, that meant doing something that was going to serve others, so I went to school and ended up getting my bachelor's degree in criminal justice. During his education at UW-Platteville, he took an internship with the Appleton Police Department. I knew right away that was what I was going to do with the rest of my life, and I haven't second guessed it, he said. After graduating college in 1998, he worked for a year in the city of Berlin before he was hired by the Chippewa Falls Police Department. Climbing the ranks Over the following years, Kelm rose through the ranks. After working patrol, Kelm went on to become a firearms instructor in 2004. Then he was promoted to patrol sergeant in 2008. I served as a patrol sergeant until 2013. That was an awesome assignment. I loved being a sergeant. That was really great, he said. Then in 2013 he was promoted to lieutenant. That same year, the department underwent numerous modifications, he said. The police department was going through significant changes. We had a lot of officers retire that year, and that was the same year we combined dispatch with the county and the same year that our department was restructured from eight-hour shifts to a 12-hour shift schedule, he said. In May 2016, Kelm was promoted to police chief. Its a job he has enjoyed, he said. Im proud of what Ive done here and everything that this team accomplishes today, every day. We set a high standard, and the officers and staff always meet them head on, Kelm said. In the last few years, Kelm said he worked diligently to help his staff overcome the rising negative perceptions of law enforcement. He believes the Chippewa Falls community has been receptive to that and wonderfully supportive of police. I think that we have a lot of credibility in the community. We have a ton of community support, he said. Thats not something you find everywhere. 'Solid foundation' As he gets ready to move on, Kelm said he feels the department is on steady ground. I think we're in great shape. Also since 2019, we were able to add three more positions to the police department. Prior to that we had just been going down, eliminating positions for many years before that. But from 2019 to 2022 with the referendum we were able to add three positions, including a middle school (school resource officer), which was huge, he said. The department is now has 26 officers, up from 23 in 2019. Kelm said he thinks the next chief will need to focus on recruitment and tackling the rising drug epidemic in rural Wisconsin. The number of drug-related calls just keeps rising, and I dont expect that to turn around any time soon, he said. "In addition the city keeps growing, which is good. But it does mean that recruitment to law enforcement and other first responder jobs is crucial. We have to have the best people working to keep the community safe." Kelm said he believes in his officers. They are doing a good job. They're doing good work. We have a lot of good leaders here, Kelm said. So I think that the new police chief is coming into an agency that already has a very solid foundation and a lot of good things that are already in place and will come in with the full support of the community. K-9 programs Kelm said one of the most enjoyable aspects of his work has been getting two police dogs for the department. My chiefs career has been bookended by dogs. Leo, our patrol dog, has been in place for four years now. That was one of the first things that I was able to do as chief was to get that canine program up and running through community donations, he said. One of the last big things I've done was get the therapy dog program up and running. Chip, the Chippewa Falls police therapy pup, is training now. Kelm said there is no indication yet as to who will be the next police chief. Two Democratic candidates for Senate in Michigan said they each received offers of $20 million in support from a pro-Israel lobbying group, if they would drop their campaigns and instead bring a primary challenge to the House seat currently held by Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit. Hill Harper confirmed the offer after Politico first reported the contents of the call last Wednesday. Then Monday morning, another candidate and prominent Arab American community leader, Nasser Beydoun, said he had been approached by former Michigan Democratic Party chair Lon Johnson with an identical offer in a Nov. 10 meeting. The money would have come via the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, known as AIPAC, in the form of $10 million in bundled donations given directly to their campaign and another $10 million in independent advertising supporting the candidate, according to Beydoun and the call reviewed by Politico. They basically said that even even though youre pro-Palestinian, they dont have a problem with that, Beydoun said. They just want Rashida out. Johnson did not return several requests for comment from MLive, but speaking to Politico reporters he reportedly denied Beydouns claims, saying, thats just crazy. I didnt offer him $20 million, or any other amount of money, to run against Rashida. Thats insane. Beydoun, who considers Tlaib a friend, said he immediately rejected the offer. Tlaibs campaign confirmed the two spoke after the meeting to discuss the details. MLive has not independently verified Harpers phone call or the identity of the donor, who was reported by Politico to be Linden Nelson, a Detroit-area entrepreneur. Harper said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the episode isnt about one person or one phone call. Its about a broken political and campaign finance system thats tilted towards the wealthy and powerful. AIPAC is the dominant force in U.S. foreign policy discussions around Israel, and wields significant monetary heft in elections. The group has reportedly committed $100 million to defeat Tlaib and three other progressive members of the House, collectively referred to as the squad, for their outspoken criticism of Israel and advocacy for Palestinian rights. AIPAC has cast their views as antisemitic, an accusation Tlaib and her colleagues have vehemently denied. AIPAC spokesperson Marshall Wittmann said the organization had absolutely no involvement in any way with these matters, and similarly denied the call with Harper to Politico. Beydoun, in a statement, made it clear he isnt interested in AIPACs support, calling their offer pathetic, un-American and borderline criminal. The pro-Israel lobby is a corrupt political behemoth that is hellbent on silencing Americans who dont fit their agenda, Beydoun said in the statement. I was shocked that they would think someone like me could turn on my community and my values for a pile of cash. AIPAC spent $28.5 million on the 2022 elections, according to Jewish Currents. Then-Rep. Andy Levin was defeated by Rep. Haley Stevens in a hotly-contested incumbent-on-incumbent primary in Oakland County, where AIPAC collected hundreds of thousands in contributions for Stevens and used super PACs to run ads supporting her. She ultimately beat Levin, a Jewish progressive who had criticized the Israeli government, with nearly 60% of the vote. Earlier this month Tlaib was censured by her House colleagues for comments following a social media post which utilized the phrase from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. Tlaib has said the idea of criticizing the Israeli government is not inherently antisemitic, and that conflating the two sets a very dangerous precedent that is being used to silence diverse voices speaking up for human rights across our nation. Some Michigan Democrats are increasingly concerned that President Joe Biden and the party as a whole has alienated Arab American voters, a crucial voting bloc in the state, over their handling of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. More: Michigan voters may reject Biden over Israel-Hamas war I believe if the election was held today that Biden would lose the election, Beydoun told MLive. Beydoun, who immigrated from Lebanon as a young child, feels he is the candidate best positioned to bring disaffected Arab Americans back into his party. I am the only one running for the U.S. Senate in the entire country thats trying to get people to understand both sides of the story, have a fair policy and work for a just peace, he said. In the end, were going to continue to this cycle until the Palestinians legitimate aspirations are achieved. Following the Oct. 7 terrorist attack that left roughly 1,200 Israelis dead, more that 13,300 Palestinians have been killed, roughly two thirds of them women and minors, according to Gazas Hamas-controlled Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. A four-day ceasefire following the first exchange of prisoners and hostage was extended earlier this week. Last week 24 members of the state legislature, all Democrats, sent a letter to the White House urging Biden to advance a lasting ceasefire to address the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, while also condemning the Oct. 7 terrorist attack. Other candidates have attempted to walk a more delicate line than Beydoun, offering unqualified support for Israel but lamenting the loss of life on both sides. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, who is considered an early frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, publicly rebuked Tlaib for not directly condemning Hamas attack but also voted against censuring her. In a statement earlier this month, Harper had called for a humanitarian ceasefire, but stopped short of criticizing the Israeli prosecution of the war. The answers to ensure long-term peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians are neither simple nor pain-free, but one truth stands firm: violence against defenseless children, trapped and frightened, is abhorrent, regardless of who is behind it, Harper said. KALAMAZOO, MI A federal judge has found the former Edenville Dam owner liable for almost $120 million in damage to Michigan natural resources. On Monday, Nov. 27, U.S. District Court Judge Paul Maloney issued a default judgement against Lee Mueller, finding the bankrupt Nevada businessman liable for $119,825,000 in damages to fisheries and aquatic mussels. Maloney said Muellers company, Edenville Hydro Property LLC, violated five parts of Michigans Natural Resources and Protection Act (NREPA) in a ruling which, absent an appeal, concludes the lawsuit filed against Mueller and his company, Boyce Hydro, by the state in 2020. According to the order, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) estimated that the 2020 Edenville Dam collapse and resulting flood caused more than $21 million in damage to state fisheries, and at least $90 million in damage to an ecosystem for freshwater mussels. The remaining $8.8 million stems from state law violations. The Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) and Attorney General Dana Nessel sought the judgment this month following a series of rulings against Mueller, who filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection in August. In an October summary judgment ruling, Maloney found Mueller culpable for the catastrophic dam failure and ruled that he hid evidence of the dams vulnerability from regulators. In the judgment against Muellers various related limited liability companies and trusts, Maloney cited evidence presented by the state that Mueller ignored structural flaws with the Edenville Dam for years and, instead of fixing problems that might have prevented the failure, he pursued profit ventures such as attempting to build a marina and host a music festival. In 2022, Maloney ruled that Mueller and his attorneys deliberately crafted a false public narrative about culpability for the disaster in an effort to deflect blame for the flood. In July, Muellers attorney and spokesperson Larry Kogan withdrew from the case. Muellers bankruptcy protection precludes the state from enforcing a monetary judgement, which the liquidating trustee in Muellers previous Chapter 11 case, highlighted in case filings. In a response to the states motion for default judgement, liquidating trustee Scott Wolfson suggested the states pursuit of additional rulings beyond summary judgement is gamesmanship to bolster its case against flood victims who are suing EGLE and the DNR, claiming state decision-making contributed to flood damage at their properties. The Liquidating Trustee remains concerned that the state is attempting to obtain adverse rulings against the Boyce Entities and to use the rulings against flood survivors, attorney Anthony Kochis wrote this month in a request that the motion be denied. Bankruptcy Court orders expressly prohibit the State from engaging in such gamesmanship. In a filed response, Nessel characterized the request for a final judgement against Mueller as simply a matter of housekeeping that puts an end to this litigation. This month, a state Court of Claims judge lifted a stay on the consolidated lawsuits brought by flood victims and ordered the state to file its first answer in the case. The lawsuits, led by plaintiff David Krieger, claim the state shares blame for the disaster after allowing Boyce Hydro to raise water levels in Wixom Lake, which amounts to inverse condemnation by damaging their properties without compensation. In September, the Michigan Court of Appeals refused to dismiss the case. Nessels office has asked the Michigan Supreme Court to review that decision. Nessel and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer each released statements on Tuesday, Nov. 27 hailing Maloneys default judgement against Mueller. In 2020, after historic flooding and dam failures, we made a promise to the community to do whatever it takes to make them whole again and hold bad actors accountable for the devastating damage, Whitmer said. It was incredible to see neighbors helping each other with food and shelter, contractors working quickly to repair roads and bridges, and the legislature coming together to secure $200 million to rebuild the dams. I want to thank Attorney General Nessel for leading this years-long effort to bring justice on behalf of the thousands of Michiganders whove suffered in the aftermath of the dam failure. In tough times, we come together as Michiganders to support each other. Nessel called the judgment important both as a measure of accountability to the community Mueller devastated and as a deterrent to other owners of critical infrastructure. Its been more than three years since heavy rain swelled Wixom Lake, causing a breach at Edenville on May 19, 2020 that overtopped the Sanford Dam and sent floodwaters into the village of Sanford, downtown Midland and beyond. The resulting 500-year flood caused more than $200 million in damage and forced the evacuation of 10,000 people downstream of the impoundment at the confluence of the Tobacco and Tittabawassee rivers. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) asked experts to study what happened at the Edenville and Sanford dams after the flooding disaster. The 2022 report said failure was foreseeable and preventable but could not be attributed to any one individual, group or organization. The dam failed by static liquefaction, a rare sudden loss of soil strength more commonly associated with mining wastewater dams. In 2021, FERC fined Mueller $15 million for failing to perform important safety work after the disaster. The agency revoked Muellers license to generate power at Edenville in 2018, citing his repeated failure to address safety concerns at the dam. The Four Lakes Task Force, which acquired the Boyce dams after the flood, is in the middle of a $350 million project to rebuild the structures and restore Wixom and Sanford lakes. In a statement, EGLE Director Phil Roos said the agency remains committed to supporting the community through permitting replacement structures as it rebuilds. Related stories: Judge orders stalled Edenville flood lawsuits to proceed Edenville Dam owner ignored structural flaws for years Edenville Dam owner hid evidence of vulnerability Judge says dam owner, attorneys lied about flood Tax plan approved for Wixom & Sanford lakes rebuild 30-year plan would restore Wixom, Sanford lakes Renowned actor, Jamie Foxx, has denied the recent sexual assault allegations lodged against him, with a spokesperson stating that the purported incident in August 2015 never happened. Responding to the lawsuit filed by an individual referred to as Jane Doe, the representative told PEOPLE, that the claims are identical to a 2020 case filed in Brooklyn, which was subsequently dismissed. We are confident they will be dismissed again, the spokesperson asserted. Furthermore, Foxx intends to pursue a claim for malicious prosecution against the accuser and her attorneys once the allegations are dismissed. In the lawsuit, filed under New Yorks Adult Survivors Act, Jane Doe detailed an encounter at Catch, NYC, where she alleged Foxx assaulted her. She claimed the actor, seemingly intoxicated, complimented her appearance and subsequently led her to a secluded area, where the alleged assault took place. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for pain and suffering, economic loss and other injuries. 28.11.2023 LISTEN Kenpong, the millionaire and CEO of Kenpong Travel & Tours, also known as Kennedy Agyepong, shocked music fans by acquiring a copy of musician Abiana's "Taste of Africa" EP and a miniature drum for GHS2000 during her album launch at Alliance Francaise on November 24. Amid calls for huge investments in the creative industry and the anticipation of Ghanaian billionaires supporting the sector, Kenpong's offer during the album launch left many unhappy. Research indicates that despite musicians' efforts in album releases and inviting prominent personalities, they struggle to raise significant funds during these events. Recently, social media criticized Sarkodie for purchasing his former label signee Akwaboah's song for a mere GHS3000. Many felt Sarkodie's goodwill and relationship with the artiste should have seen him do more than he did. While Kenpong is considered a friend to the creative industry, attendees at the event expected a higher pledge than just GHS2000. Notable figures like MP for Tamale South Alhassan Suhuyini and Asamoah Gyan's manager Anim Addo also attended and made pledges. As the new year approaches, with many Ghanaian Musicians planning album launches and private EP releases, Journalist and Blogger Attractive Mustapha will monitor if there's a shift towards greater financial commitments to the industry. Renowned Ghanaian music artist, Ofori Amponsah, has once again captured the public's attention by addressing the swirling rumors about his romantic life. In an interview on the 'Uncut Show' with Zionfelix, the artist delved into his romantic life and insights into his views on marriage. Ofori Amponsah, celebrated for his classic tunes, openly acknowledged his past record of engaging in multiple relationships, attributing his likeness by women to his status as a fine gentleman. During the interview, he confidently shared his perspective, revealing that all his past relationships ended due to their behavior. The artist spoke candidly about his charismatic personality, acknowledging that it naturally draws female attention, contributing to the multiple relationships he engaged in over the years. Despite the speculation surrounding his love life, Ofori Amponsah clarified that he is currently happily married to a woman named Serwaa. He expressed genuine affection for his wife and highlighted the strength of their marital bond. However, Ofori Amponsah did not shy away from threatening to go back to his old ways of finding another wife if his wife misbehaves. "I believe I can marry another one if she fools," he boldly asserted during the interview. The artist defended the idea that some men are naturally polygamous, suggesting that certain individuals are born to engage in multiple marriages. 28.11.2023 LISTEN Controversial marriage counselor, Charlotte Oduro has shared a secret about the night after her wedding, disclosing that her husband chose not to spend the night at their home. During an interview with Abeiku Santana, Counselor Charlotte Oduro disclosed that, after their wedding, her husband opted to stay at the altar in their church for 50 days before returning home. "We got married on Saturday, he did not sleep at home that night; he was asleep at the church. He stayed there for 50 days," she revealed. While the counselor did not delve into specific details regarding the reasons behind her husband's decision, she emphasized the essence of understanding the dynamics of relationships. Counselor Oduro highlighted the importance of open communication, calling for understanding and patience to build a successful marriage. Counselor Charlotte Oduro is well-known for her insightful advice on relationships and marriage. Nigerian superstar Davido has expressed his gratitude to Ghanaian dancehall star Stonebwoy for his warm reception during a recent visit to Ghana. In a social media post on Tuesday, November 28, Davido revealed he is still feeling full from the delicious fufu and light soup served him at Stonebwoy's house two days ago. The "If" hitmaker visited his fellow artiste at his home where he was treated to a hearty Ghanaian meal prepared by Dr. Louisa. "I'm still full from the fufu n light soup wey we chop for Stonebwoy house two days ago .... Dr. Louisa God bless u my sister .... Love you guys," Davido wrote on X while quoting Stonebwoy's wife Dr. Louisa. Davido and Stonebwoy have forged a strong friendship within the African music scene over the years. They first collaborated musically on the hit single "Activate" in 2020, blending their Afrobeats and Dancehall influences to critical acclaim. 27.11.2023 LISTEN The Ghana cedi exchange rates against major foreign currencies were largely stable on Monday according to data from the Bank of Ghana. The local currency is selling at GHS 11.58 and buying at GHS 11.57 per United States dollar on the interbank forex market - unchanged from Saturday. Against the British pound, the cedi also maintained its mid-rate from two days ago, selling at GHS 14.61 and buying at GHS 14.59 per pound sterling. The Euro, per rates published on CediRates.com, also saw no change in its exchange rate with the cedi, exchanging hands at GHS 12.67 on the interbank market at selling price to euro and GHS12.66 buying price. On digital platforms, the leading licensed exchanges CediConvert and WeWire Africa recorded marginal fluctuations in their cedi rates. CediConvert pegged one dollar at GHS12.21 at selling price and GHS 12.04 at buying price, while WeWire Africa quoted GHS 12.28 as the selling price and GHS12.16 buying price per dollar. CediConvert pegged its mid-rate for exchanging euros to Ghanaian cedis at GHS 12.67, which represents the average rate they would buy and sell euros. WeWire Africa also quoted two separate rates: GHS 13.19 as the rate at which customers could sell euros in exchange for cedis, and GHS 13.49 as the rate at which customers could buy euros using cedis. The stable exchange rates on the first trading day of the week come as some relief for importers and travelers using foreign currency. However, for online purchases and transactions processed using Visa cards, Ghanaians will continue paying the slightly higher exchange rates applied by payment providers. Ashanti regional President for the Council of Zongo Chiefs, Naaba Musah Akanbonga, has called on Ghanaians to consider electing a Muslim candidate in the upcoming 2024 general election and observe how they would handle the country. Naaba Akanbonga, who is also the Deputy National Public Relations Officer(PRO) for the Council, emphasised that no Muslim has been elected President since independence, despite some Muslims occupying the Vice-President position. In an interview with ClassFM's Elisha Adarkwah, Naaba Akanbonga said: It is about time Ghanaians test the Vice-President and Flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamadu Bawumia, who he described as capable of managing the affairs of the country. Naaba Akanbonga, who also serves as the Head of the Frafra Community in the Ashanti region, expressed hope that the Flagbearer of the NPP would select a Christian as his running mate for the 2024 general election. This, he believes, would ensure that both the Bible and the Quran remain at the Jubilee House. We Muslims, we believe that Christians, who are the majority in this country, will reason with Dr Bawumia and vote for him to become President with a Christian as the Vice, Naaba Akanbonga intimated. -classfmonline The Chairman of the NDC Council of Elders of South Africa, Mr. Benjamin Kofi Quashie has berated President Akufo-Addo for labelling the youth of the NDC as troublemakers. He describes the president's actions as very unfortunate and unfair. Speaking to Joy News, Monday, 27th November, 2023, the NDC Council of Elders chair averred that, the president's criticism of the actions of people he finds unlawful is apt but, lacks fairness if it is always directed at members of the NDC. Citing instances where members of the NPP engaged in unlawful acts but the president failed to raise a whisker, he narrated the situation where "Kennedy Agyapong openly threatened a judge with very unprintable words against him. The president was silent about it." According to him, the President criticised a chief for sitting down when the National Anthem was being played. "we applauded him for that show of statesmanship," he noted. After a week or later, Mr Quashie noted that his daughter did a similar thing and the president hasn't condemned it", adding the chief apologised afterwards for his actions, citing ill health as the reason but up till today, the President's daughter hasn't said anything concerning her behaviour, neither has she apologised. "Is it that there are different sets of rules for Ghanaians?; that if you're an NDC person the President saw nothing wrong with it. Mr. Quashie urged the President to stop the pick-and-choose attitude. He argued that the NDC members were at the former President's office to embark on a clean-up exercise which had nothing to do with violence. "I think that it is brilliant to condemn actions that are deemed unlawful; it's a good call and the call should be to all Ghanaians by the president, but he cannot pick and choose", he stated. Mr. Quashie claimed leaders who want their countries to grow and progress must be fair in their actions and "our leader, the President, must be exhibiting same tendencies. If you pick and choose, people don't take your issues seriously." UW-Madison freshman Enson Zhengs mother was preparing to take on the burden of his college education. Zhengs mother, Qing, owns a Chinese take-out restaurant in Greenfield, south of Milwaukee. As a single mother, shes adamant that Enson and his younger brother, Evan, focus on their education. As the daughter of immigrants, Qing couldnt go to college and instead opened the restaurant. Enson had been hoping to qualify for Buckys Tuition Promise, a program that helps pay for any remaining tuition balance after scholarships and grants. He was unaware that Buckys Pell Pathway, an expansion of the program that covers other school-related costs such as housing and food, was launching this fall. With Buckys Pell Pathway, that weight on the pre-med majors family was lifted. My mom likes to say that Dont worry about college, Ill pay for it. Dont worry about the money. But Ive always known that would mean that she would give me all her money, and I didnt want that, Zheng said. I want to sustain myself in college and my mom still has money to sustain herself. So, I found out (about the Pell Pathway program) shortly after I got accepted (into UW-Madison) and I got the email, and I was ecstatic. An increasing number of first-year UW-Madison students are qualifying for two of UW-Madisons tuition promise programs, with Pell Pathway intended to tackle the ever-growing cost of attending the states largest university. Promising programs The goal of the programs is to help alleviate the disadvantages students from low-income families frequently face. The assistance is only available to in-state students, and no state funds are used for either the Pell Pathway or the Tuition Promise program. Just less than 12% of students qualify for either Buckys Tuition Promise or Buckys Pell Pathway. Of this years freshman in-state students and transfer students, about a quarter of them qualify for either of the programs. Buckys Tuition Promise was started in 2018 by then-Chancellor Rebecca Blank and was made available to families making less than the states median income, then $56,000 annually. That income threshold has since increased to $65,000 for this fall. A quarter of our students are coming in under that, and I think that demonstrates not just students ability to attend, but what the initial hope of all of these programs was: That we could message early and often to students all across the state that if you get into UW-Madison, we can cover this cost for you, said Derek Kindle, vice provost for enrollment management. Buckys Pell Pathway covers tuition, housing and other costs associated with attending college for in-state students who also qualify for federal Pell Grants. Students learn they qualify for Pell Grants when they submit a federal student aid application; UW-Madison automatically enrolls in-state students in the Pell Pathway program if they have Pell Grants. This year, nearly 1,100 new students qualified for either of the programs, with 917 of them qualifying for Pell Pathway. In fall 2020, 755 students qualified for the Tuition Promise; in 2021, it was about 800 and in 2022, it was 932. Across the system Universities of Wisconsin adopted a mirror program, Wisconsin Tuition Promise, that its offering to students at the other 12 universities starting this fall, despite the Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee declining to fund additional years of the program. That program sets family income at $62,000. The system does not have numbers indicating what percentage of students at other campuses are enrolled in the Wisconsin Tuition Promise, spokesperson Mark Pitsch said. UW-Milwaukee has since launched its own tuition promise program for in-state students that will start next fall. There, a third of students are considered low-income and its estimated one in five students would qualify for tuition assistance. For Zheng, the Pell Pathway allows him to further his college education in ways he couldnt without it. Its allowed Zheng to join a lab as a freshman, dedicating his time there instead of also juggling a part-time job to make ends meet. Zheng tried having an off-campus job at the start of the year, but it left him with two or three hours of sleep per night. (Pell Pathway) allowed me to be a lot more ambitious, because I dont feel limited by financial burdens or having to work to sustain myself, he said. Because of that, I was able to do a research job and have a very academically challenging path. Starting small Buckys Pell Pathway always had been UW-Madisons ultimate goal, Financial Aid Director Helen Faith said. But the university started with the Tuition Promise in 2018 as part of a two-pronged strategy: First, administrators needed to ensure the program, supported by philanthropic support, could sustain itself; second, the university needed to start by addressing tuition, the most recognizable piece of the cost of attendance puzzle. The general public doesnt necessarily understand what cost of attendance means. Thats one of those terms you throw out there and you instantly you start to draw blanks in peoples expressions, but everybody has a sense of what tuition is, Faith said. Especially for students who might be intimidated by the cost of college, that is the piece that frightens students and their families the most. The university also needed to support students for more than the first year to get them in the door, Faith said without continued resources, students are at higher risk of dropping out or transferring elsewhere. Other students opt to make steep sacrifices to stay in school, often at the expense of their health and well-being: They might work more hours, forgo sleep, cut their food budgets or live in their cars to make ends meet, Faith added. Since 2018, private donations to Buckys Tuition Promise have covered thousands in tuition costs annually, although UW-Madison doesnt have a figure for the program. Tuition promise awards often dont cover a students full cost of tuition, but rather pick up the remainder after scholarships or grants have been used. More than tuition In addition to tuition, however, students also have to pay segregated fees, which support myriad campus departments and student organizations. Students purchase their own school supplies and often have to pay for books and other necessary course materials. And then theres housing and meals, which for in-state students living on campus cost more than tuition and segregated fees combined. Off-campus, housing for a year often costs more than tuition, as rents typically start at about $750 a month for a single bed or a shared room and can reach $1,000 or higher. An average cost of attendance is typically three times higher than tuition, Faith said. Its often a deterring cost for low-income families, Faith added, as many are averse to debt borrowing. Those students also, after completing school, dont have the same kind of family safety nets to help them to be successful in repaying those loans, Faith said. So, it was important to us to design a program that allowed students to be able to complete college without loans, and particularly focusing on Wisconsin residents, making sure that we are really keeping our most-talented students here at UW-Madison from the state of Wisconsin. Opening doors Freshman Emily Hokanson has dreamed of being a veterinarian since childhood when she and her grandfather would catch frogs in the river behind his house. Her grandfather, Kris Hokanson, helped cultivate her curiosity as the number of animal species at his house grew. Together, they bred fish and raised tadpoles. Hokanson, a Sussex native, knew she wouldnt bank on family assistance to afford that pre-veterinary program, though. The oldest of four kids, Hokansons mother, Mollie, supports her and her siblings on a single teachers salary and is still paying off her own college debt. Having the Pell Pathway will allow Hokanson to start a graduate veterinary program with no debt. Im going to have to go to school for eight years regardless for what I want to do. And knowing that I dont have to pay for my bachelors education is going to make graduate school a lot more doable for me, because that would have been well over the amount that I was able to pay, Hokanson said. Without Buckys Pell Pathway, UW-Madison freshman Aaliyah Golden-Whitehead would have needed gap years before starting college to avoid placing a further financial burden on her family. Golden-Whitehead, who grew up in Kenosha, and her sister have both spent the better part of the last few years working to support her mother. A few years ago, her mother contracted COVID-19 while working as a Navy dental technician. The impact of COVID-19, in conjunction with other chronic health issues, led her to resign. She now pieces together part-time jobs and relies on her daughters for financial stability. Golden-Whitehead was at first confused upon learning she would receive the Pell Pathway grant, but confusion quickly gave way to excitement. With the grant, shes able to be a fully committed student. Once I figured out what the scholarship really meant I was more than relieved, Golden-Whitehead said. This scholarship meant that I could finally give my full attention to my studies. My family screamed, actually screamed and cheered. 40 notable people who attended UW-Madison Virgil Abloh Shirley Abrahamson Stephen Ambrose Don Ameche Carol Bartz Steve Bornstein Laurel Clark Barbara Crabb Joan Cusack Ron Dayne Ada Deer Hector DeLuca August Derleth Andre De Shields Conrad Elvehjem William T. Evjue Jeff Greenfield Lorraine Hansberry Kevin Henkes Mary Hinkson bell hooks Jane Kaczmarek Robert M. La Follette Charles Lindbergh Karl Paul Link James Lovell David Maraniss Steve Miller John Morgridge Errol Morris John Muir Gaylord Nelson Joyce Carol Oates Vel Phillips George Poage Tommy Thompson Al Toon Greta Van Susteren Russell Wilson Frank Lloyd Wright The collapse of biodiversity is an "existential threat" for the world, warned French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne when presenting France's latest biodiversity strategy, which follows two other plans whose goals have yet to be attained. She promised "radical" results without "brutal" measures. "The collapse of biodiversity is so strong, so quick and so widespread that we are threatened by a sixth general extinction," Borne said Monday when presenting the final version of France's national biodiversity strategy, with 40 measures to implement by 2030. The collapse of biodiversity is an existential threat to our societies. We must rapidly contain it and strongly reverse the trend." Some of the main measures are the creation of protected areas and the planting of a million trees and 50,000 kilometres of hedges. The strategy lays out France's commitment to the COP15 biodiversity agreement signed in December 2022, which aims to protect 30 percent of the world's land and seas and restore 30 percent of degraded ecosystems. This is France's third biodiversity plan the goals of the first two have not been attained and Borne said the goal is the same: radical results without brutal measures. "It's a very operational and concrete plan, with 200 actions with followup points to be evaluated, France's junior Minister for Biodiversity, Sarah El Hairy, told the AFP news agency. It is not just big words. Blind spot Included in the 40 measures are the restoration of prairies, which serve as carbon sinks, and addressing under-water pollution. The government would like ten percent of France's territory "strongly protected", up from 4.2 percent in 2023. All actors, including the private sector, must be involved in protecting France's biodiversity, said El Hairy, because today biodiversity is the blind spot for the economic world. Environmental campaigners have criticised the strategy for not going far enough and addressing the PAC common agriculture policy, which provides 6.5 billion euros of subsidies to farmers who se practices are harmful to biodiversity. El Hairy said the the goal is to "progressively eliminate these harmful subsidies," and the agriculture and economy ministries are working on a plan to support the ecological transition". (with AFP) Former Member of Parliament (MP) for Builsa North, Timothy Ataboadey Awontirim has asked Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to get serious with his campaign to become the next President of the country. Speaking to Joy Prime, the former MP made the argument that the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is campaigning as if he is contesting for the position of SRC president. According to Timothy Ataboadey Awontirim, the 2024 general elections is no joke, indicating that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia should campaign on the ideas and policies he is bringing to the table. If today you are still talking about dumsor economy, you have started on a bad note. The elections this year are going to be based on policies.It's childs play; the people of Ghana have gone beyond the Dumsor economy. Bawumia must be a serious candidate. Bawumia should take the people of Ghana seriously; attacking John Mahama is not part of your policy, the former Builsa South MP said. Timothy Ataboadey Awontirim continued, I believe that having been in power for the past seven to eight years, he should have known the policies hes going out with; he does not even need a manifesto. He came into power, giving the people high hopes and policies that he thought he could do. He was a master class of his own. "Tell us why we should vote for you; tell us about the new ideas you are bringing; dont start as if you are campaigning to become an SRC president." Meanwhile, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has announced that very soon, Ghanaians will be able to use their Ghana cards to purchase cars on credit and pay in instalments. He said this while addressing the 57th Congregation of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) on November 24. 27.11.2023 LISTEN Ghana's real estate market has been experiencing notable shifts and developments in recent years, driven by a combination of economic growth, urbanization, and evolving consumer preferences. As the nation continues to attract both domestic and foreign investment, several emerging trends are reshaping the landscape of the real estate sector. Increased Demand for Affordable Housing One of the most prominent trends in Ghana's real estate market is the growing demand for affordable housing. With a rising population and increasing urbanization, there is a pressing need for housing solutions that are both cost-effective and meet quality standards. Real estate developers are responding by focusing on projects that cater to the middle and lower-income segments, incorporating innovative designs and construction techniques to keep costs down. Rise of Mixed-Use Developments Mixed-use developments are gaining popularity as developers seek to create sustainable and integrated communities. These projects combine residential, commercial, and sometimes industrial spaces in a single development, providing residents with convenient access to amenities such as retail outlets, offices, and recreational areas. This trend reflects a shift towards more holistic urban planning and a desire for well-rounded living environments. Technology Integration in Real Estate The adoption of technology is transforming various aspects of the real estate sector in Ghana. From digital property listings and virtual property tours to online mortgage applications, technology is streamlining processes and making real estate transactions more accessible. Additionally, smart home technologies are becoming increasingly common, enhancing the appeal of properties through features like home automation, energy efficiency, and advanced security systems. Focus on Sustainable and Green Building Practices Sustainability is a key consideration in modern real estate developments. Developers are incorporating green building practices, such as energy-efficient designs, waste reduction, and the use of renewable materials. This trend aligns with global efforts to address climate change and is driven by both consumer demand for eco-friendly living spaces and regulatory incentives promoting sustainable construction. Expansion of the Mortgage Market The mortgage market in Ghana is expanding, providing more accessible financing options for prospective homebuyers. Financial institutions are offering a variety of mortgage products, and government initiatives are aimed at making homeownership more achievable for a larger segment of the population. This is contributing to increased homeownership rates and a more dynamic real estate market. Tourism-Driven Real Estate Growth Ghana's growing reputation as a tourist destination is influencing the real estate market, particularly in coastal areas and historic sites. The demand for vacation homes, resorts, and Airbnb-style accommodations is on the rise as tourists and investors seek opportunities in the hospitality sector. This trend is contributing to the diversification of real estate offerings in the country. Government Initiatives and Policy Reforms The Ghanaian government has been actively involved in promoting sustainable growth in the real estate sector. Policy reforms and initiatives aimed at reducing bureaucracy, improving land registration processes, and enhancing transparency are positively impacting the market. These efforts create a more conducive environment for both local and foreign investors. Ghana's real estate market is evolving in response to demographic shifts, economic growth, and changing consumer preferences. The trends mentioned above indicate a dynamic and resilient sector that is adapting to meet the diverse needs of its population. As the country continues to develop, these trends are likely to shape the future of Ghana's real estate market, providing opportunities for investors, developers, and homebuyers alike. The writer, Joycelyn Kyei-Baffuor is a copy editor, real estate content specialist, and journalist. Supreme Court Judge, Her Ladyship Justice Professor Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu has admonished the private sector in Ghana, Africa, and the world to take a keen interest in peacebuilding. According to her, the private sector must invest in peacebuilding because they can only do their business and thrive when there is peace in the communities, they operate in. More and more, people are sharing the view that the private sector should invest more in peacebuilding since, they are the first beneficiaries of a peaceful environment. Some wars are prolonged because a war economy develops. That must surely mean that peace which represents the investment of the private sector would have local champions powerful enough to force compliance by economic muscle. Creating jobs to address post-conflict joblessness and its threat to peace can also be the contribution of the private sector. In short, wherever their investment goes, they are likely to keep a watchful eye on spoilers and those whose conduct can undermine the terrain of peace, Her Ladyship Justice Professor Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu said on Monday, November 27. She was delivering a keynote address at the Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA) Conference on Sustainable Regional Peacebuilding in Africa: Practices and Disconnects In her address, Her Ladyship Justice Professor Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu noted that the role of traditional authorities on the continent as vectors of conflict and agents of peace and development is acknowledged and appreciated. She argued that they wield significant influence in most societies and have the authority and clout to encourage positive developments and make significant input in measures to sustain the peace when involved at critical stages in post-conflict peacebuilding. If they are part of the problem, they can also be part of the solution. Strategies for sustainable peace must set example for national leadership by being inclusive, Her Ladyship Justice Professor Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu stressed. In the quest for peace, she proposed that Civil Society Organisations should be involved, indicating they play critical roles in various aspects of reconstruction and building sustainable peace. She said active civil society represented by CSOs is a great resource for assuring the utilisation of local knowledge, for mobilising communities to improve their own circumstances, and for building bridges of understanding in broken communities. In her address, Her Ladyship Justice Professor Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu said sustainable peacebuilding is a necessary component of the peace agenda underlying any intervention by the international community. She indicated that when undertaken with the outlined principles in mind, it holds real promise for reconstruction, either post-conflict or as a conflict-prevention measure as it enables the peace dividend to be enjoyed by the widest spread of the citizenry and thereby assures sustainable peace. Experience has shown that sustainable peacebuilding is more beneficial to host communities as peace is delivered as a coherent service rather than uncoordinated showtime initiatives that like torches, are lit and then flicker out leaving the surrounding area in more darkness than it used to be, Her Ladyship Justice Professor Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu said to conclude her address. In a speech read on behalf of the Provost of the Colleges of Humanities, he said in the era where conflict in the West African region appears not to be ending, the conference by MIASA on Sustainable Regional Peacebuilding is very important. He said indeed, there is the need to address several key questions such as the challenges of implementing peace building amid violence. Im happy the conference speaks to this and many more to promote peace and unity in Africa Im optimistic that insights shared will contribute to successful practices that will help in shaping the future of peacebuilding on the continent, the Provost of the Colleges of Humanities, Prof. Daniel Ofori said in his speech read on his behalf by Dr. Grace Diabah, one of the Directors of MIASA. Speaking at the Conference, MIASA Director Dr. Susann Baller assured that the Institute is committed to making African thinking increasingly relevant in the global academic world. Dr. Susann Baller She explained that this is why MIASA encourages intellectual exchange across existing boundaries: between disciplines, between different academic cultures, countries, and continents, between established and younger researchers as well as between researchers, policy-makers, and various social interest groups. In her address, Dr. Susann Baller expressed appreciation to Her Ladyship Justice Professor Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu for gracing the conference and also thanked the Legon Centre for International Affairs and Diplomacy (LECIAD) for the collaboration to organise the conference. MIASA conference on Sustainable Regional Peacebuilding in Africa, has been organised by the MIASAs ninth Interdisciplinary Fellow Group (IFG 9). This Conference is a two-day event that focuses on environment and peacebuilding, doing gender relationally for sustainable peace, sustainable peace in the midst of violence, among other topics. The Gbetsile Circuit Court has granted bail in the sum of GHS200,000.00 to Assistant Superintendent of Police Nasiru Amadu and No. 51836 G/CPL Emmanuel Mintah with three sureties for unlawful possession of narcotic drugs purportedly for trafficking. The case had been adjourned to December 20, 2023, for them to come back to court. The court, presided over by Mrs. Eleanor Kakra Banes Botchway, said their plea for bail was considered because they were Police Officers and well known in the community. Prosecuting Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Ernest Kuofie said the complainants were Police officers at Afienya District. The accused person, Amadu, 48 years old, is currently the second in command at Sakumono District Police Headquarters with Mintah. He said Mintah, aged 43, was working under him at the station as a service driver on November 19. The complainant was performing snap check duty when they picked up intelligence that a Nissan Navara vehicle with registration number GP 727 was loaded with narcotic drugs from Ho towards Accra. ASP Kuofie said that about 1915 hours the same day, the accused persons pulled up at the snap check point where they were intercepted. A search conducted in the vehicle revealed eight sacks containing 541 compressed parcels of substances believed to be narcotic drugs. The prosecution said the investigation revealed that Mintah had a family relation named Oluman, a resident of Ashaiman Tulaku, who traded in narcotics. The prosecution said that on November 19, Mintah was procured by the said Oluman to assist him in transporting a quantity of Indian hemp from Peki Tsibu in the Volta Region to Tulaku for a fee. Mintah then contacted Amadu about the deal, and he also contacted the said Oluman to agree on the terms of engagement. He said upon striking a deal with Oluman, the accused persons drove vehicle No. GP 727 from Sakumono to a forest around Peki Tsibu, where they received the exhibits from a waiting Benz bus. The prosecution said it was in the course of transporting the illicit drugs that police picked up intelligence and arrested them. It was detected that the incident on November 19, 2023, marked the second time the accused persons were engaged in such an illegal act. The exhibits have been examined by the forensic crime laboratory, which is yet to submit a test report. GNA 27.11.2023 LISTEN All is set for the Western Region to host the 39th edition of the National Farmers' Day at Tarkwa in the Tarkwa-Nsuaem Municipality on December 1. This is the first time the region is hosting the Day, which would be jointly organised by the ministries of Food and Agriculture, and Fisheries and Aquaculture Development. It is on the theme: Delivering Smart Solutions for Sustainable Food Security and Resilience, under the distinguished patronage of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. It promises to be a momentous celebration as the event will be attended by farmers, fishers, traditional rulers, policymakers, researchers and members of the public. Fifteen award categories are up for grabs. These are; the Overall National Best Farmer, the First and Second runners-up, National Best Livestock Farmer, National Best Female Farmer and National Best Physically Challenged Farmer. The rest are the Best Fisher, Best Marine Fisher, Best Inland Fisher, Best Fisher Farmer, Best Fish Processor, Best Cocoa Farmer, Best Most Promising Young Cocoa Farmer, Best Most Enterprising Cocoa Farmer, and the Best Shea Nut Picker. As a prelude to the national awards night same day, there would be a Regional Celebration where the Western Regional Minister, Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, will confer regional honours to deserving farmers. The agricultural sector accounts for at about 20 per cent of Ghana's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs about 60 per cent of the population in the agricultural value chain. The Western Region's contributions to the development of the country's agricultural sector has been enormous since about 58 per cent of the indigenes are into agriculture. The region is the nation's largest producer of cocoa, rubber, coconut and one of the major producers of oil palm, while having the potential to become a major producer of rice and livestock. In terms of fish production, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture reports that about 45 per cent of fish on the Ghanaian markets are from the region. It is also endowed with considerable natural resources like gold, oil, and bauxite, giving it significant economic importance within the context of national development. Mr John Kwamina Gyimah, the Western Regional Director of Agriculture, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview that the national awardees would arrive in the regional capital, Sekondi-Takoradi, on Thursday, November 30, to pay a courtesy call on the Regional Minister and other dignitaries. They would also be taken through some rehearsals before proceeding to Tarkwa, where the event would be held. On what the celebration was meant to the region, he noted that: The 39th edition of the farmers day comes to us a business blessing and a massive window of opportunity to showcase the economic potential of agricultural production in terms of crop, fish and animal productions. Mr Gyimah said the event would expose farmers to new strategies to improve upon agricultural production, including technology for marketing on both the local and international landscapes, job creation, capacity development, and partnerships. At this great meeting, all stakeholders in the agriculture industry, both local and international, are going to be present to explore the various agro-ecological production zones in the Western Region, he said. I believe many of them will remain here to establish new value chains due to our great potential, coupled with good weather and agronomic conditions for successful production in all sectors. Beyond the celebration, Mr Gyimah said his team would create opportunities for continuous engagement with industry players and interested groups to attract investment and create jobs for the youth This year's celebration would be preceded by a five-day national agricultural festival, dubbed: AgriFest Ghana 2023, from Monday November 27 to Friday, December 1. It will be held on the principal streets of the ministerial enclave in Accra. GNA 28.11.2023 LISTEN The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) has elected new National Executive Committee (NEC) members to steer the affairs of the Association for the next two years. The Association, in a statement issued and signed by its General Secretary, Dr Richard Selormey and copied to the Ghana News Agency, in Accra, said the new members were elected at the close of the Association's 65th Annual General Meeting held at Takoradi on November 11, 2023. The statement said Dr Frank Serebour, a Paediatrician Specialist and Medical Superintendent at the Bekwai Municipal Hospital, in the Ashanti Region, was elected President. It said Prof. Dr Ernest Yorke, a Consultant Physician and Endocrinologist at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, and a Senior Lecturer, University of Ghana Medical School, was elected Vice President. Dr Richard Selormey, Specialist Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon, at St. Elizabeth Catholic Hospital, Hwidiem Brong Ahafo, was elected as the General Secretary. Dr. Selorm Kutsoati, a Public Health Physician Specialist, Municipal Director of Health Services, Ga East Municipality, Greater Accra, is now the Assistant General Secretary. Dr Elizabeth Esi Crentsil, Senior Specialist, Obstetrician Gynecologist, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, is the new Treasurer of the Association. The statement said Dr Dan Anane-Frimpong, Specialist Paediatrician, Essikado Hospital, Western Region and Dr. Gladys Naa Lomole Lomotey Paediatrician, Department of Child Health, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, were elected as the new National Executive Members. GNA 28.11.2023 LISTEN Five people are feared dead in a tragic road crash, which occurred on Monday on the Sunyani-Berekum Highway. The Ghana News Agency (GNA) learnt that the accident occurred around 1400 hours when a taxi cab, with registration number BA GT 5591-12, heading towards Nsoatre, collided head-on with an unregistered private Salon car, which was coming from the opposite direction. All five occupants, including the driver, were reported to have died on the spot, while the other driver, who was the only occupant of the private car, is said to be in critical condition. When the GNA visited the scene, Police and Fire Service personnel retrieved the yet-to-be-identified bodies and deposited them at a mortuary in the area for preservation and identification. A police source at the scene told the GNA that investigations had begun into the issue. GNA Prophetess Lina Biney, the Overseer of the Crystal Grace Chapel International has urged Christians to appreciate the gift of life and be thankful to God. In a sermon at the church auditorium in Sarpeiman, Accra on Sunday, November 26, the astute prophetess asserts that once a person is alive, there is still hope for him or her to succeed in life. Preaching on the theme "Being Thankful to God", she said "When there is life, there is hope. The death has no hope so when God blesses you with life, be appreciative." The Prophetess noted that "Not everyone gets it like you have gotten. Something you achieved with ease, someone wallow but still doesn't get. It takes the grace of God to be alive." She advised Christians to remain obedient to God, saying "Anyone who obeys his object of worship prosper in life so Christian must be obedient to God." Prophetess Lina Biney also encouraged believers to learn to profess the goodness of God to others. Never forget your past...learn to be humble if you want to stay humble for long, averred Prophetess Biney. Quoting from Psalm 103:1-5, she said Christians should praise God with their whole being, including their soul and inmost self, for His excellent benefits and mercy towards them. She further reminded worshippers that "The only thing you can not miss or loose in life is the presence of God." Policy think tank IMANI Africa has criticized Ministry of Trade and Industrys proposed restrictions bill on certain strategic items bring imported, describing the move as a recipe for economic ruin. In a statement on Monday, November 27 IMANI Africa Founding President Franklin Cudjoe further described the bill by Trade Minister KT Hammond "the fastest route to economic suicide for the country. According to Mr. Cudjoe, restricting imports without first ensuring sustainable local alternatives will significantly damage Ghana's economy. Mr Cudjoe quoted the classical liberal theorist Frederic Bastiat, stating "'when goods dont cross borders, soldiers will.'" This, according to Mr Cudjoe, underscores the dangers of limiting imports without viable domestic substitutes in place. But sector Minister KT Hammond argues the Bill will support local industries and reduce import expenditures by $164 million on animal intestines alone. The minority in Parliament also remains opposed to the bill, blocking its laying in the House last week until more clarity is provided. The proposed Legislative Instrument seeks to ban imports of 13 selected items including rice, poultry and animal intestines. Its no secret that a large share of American voters want to see somebody besides President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on the ballot next November. That dynamic has not only fueled long-shot bids by other Democratic and Republican candidates but also led to a rising number of third-party candidates who political observers say have the potential to spoil the race for Trump or Biden. Earlier this month, a bipartisan group of former lawmakers warned that a presidential bid by the third-party group No Labels is hopeless but could lead to Trumps reelection. That came a week after a Wisconsin-focused Marquette Law School Poll found more Republicans than Democrats willing to vote for independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy an outcome that could sink Trumps hopes in the battleground state. There are few paths to the White House that dont run through Wisconsin, and next years presidential race in the battleground state is likely to go down to the wire. Given the narrow margins of many recent presidential races in Wisconsin, an even modestly successful third-party bid can be the decisive factor in the outcome. Im skeptical that (third parties) really throw the election very often, Marquette Law School Poll director Charles Franklin said. However, the seeds for it are there today. In widespread dissatisfaction with both Biden and Trump, their mutual unpopularity, were getting 18% to 20% who say they dislike both of those candidates. Theyve got three choices: Hold their nose and vote for the lesser of two evils, skip the presidential race or vote for a third party, he said. Members of the bipartisan anti-Trump group Citizens to Save Our Republic said No Labels, which calls itself a groundbreaking movement giving a voice to Americas commonsense majority, threatens the collapse of Americas political system if it results in reelecting Trump. If these were normal times, we would have no trouble with third parties, Citizens to Save Our Republic co-founder and former U.S. Rep. Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., said in a phone call with local and national media. Its a free country. Anybody can run for any office they want to run for. We have no problem with that. But these are not normal times. No Labels hasnt yet put forth a presidential candidate. And group CEO Nancy Jacobson told NBC News the group would end any presidential bid if it risked putting Trump back in the White House. But she didnt say how that risk would be measured. Recent polling Citizens to Save Our Republic cited polling showing Biden leading Trump 53% to 47% in a head-to-head race in Wisconsin. But on a three-way ballot along with a No Labels candidate, Biden has 37% support to Trumps 40% and No Labels 22%. This is the absolute wrong time to try to do this even if and they will make this argument even if they were to choose a Republican to be at the top of the ticket, former Rep. Reid Ribble, R-Wis., said on the media call. I still believe that it would it would pull voters, particularly center-left voters, away from likely President Biden. The polling No Labels cited also found that Biden would do worse with No Labels on the ballot in the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania as well losing in every case. In our democracy today its a two-party system, and given the stakes of next year, any third-party challenge is a vote for Donald Trump because it will draw both sides ... from a candidate like Joe Biden, and make it easier for Donald Trump to prevail, said former Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis. That logic doesnt appear to apply to every third-party candidate, however. A Marquette poll conducted in late October to early November found Kennedy Jr. pulling far more support from Republicans than Democrats. In that poll, 36% of Republicans, 44% of independents and 17% of Democrats in Wisconsin said they would probably or definitely vote for the independent presidential candidate. His threat is much more to draw some voters away from Republicans, not so much that hes a threat within the Democratic Party, at least at this point, Franklin said. Not so simple No Labels doesnt have ballot access yet in Wisconsin, nor does Kennedy Jr. Gaining ballot access can be difficult. In 2020, courts rejected the bids of rapper Kanye West and then-Green Party presidential candidate Howie Hawkins and vice presidential candidate Angela Walker to get on the ballot after the Wisconsin Elections Commission found the candidates filed to run too late or didnt file correct paperwork. Both No Labels and Kennedy Jr. have said theyre seeking ballot access in all 50 states. But the consequences of their being on the ballot wont be so clear, Franklin said. While Kennedy Jr. may be more likely to take votes from Trump than Biden, with the opposite potentially being true for No Labels, Franklin said its too simple to assume a vote for Kennedy Jr. takes a vote away from Trump. Theres absolutely good reason to believe that third-party candidates can get more of the vote than the margin between the two major candidates, especially here, especially given our 20,000-vote margins in recent presidential races, Franklin said. But which major candidate those third-party votes help or hurt more isnt easy to deduce, Franklin said. For example, Franklin said, theres a tendency for some to think that any vote for Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein would hurt the Democratic nominee since shes a progressive candidate. But that assumes that the Stein voters are as homogeneous as that claim is, that shes just a progressive, and that if she werent on the ballot, they would then turn to a second choice, rather than decide to stay home or vote for some other third party candidate to show their distaste for the two main candidates, he said. You dont vote for the third party candidate if youre satisfied with the two major candidates, he said. 28.11.2023 LISTEN The Ghana Association of Cocoa, Coffee and Sheanut Farmers (COCOSHE) has expressed worry about the delay in the supply of solar torch lights and mosquito nets to the farmers. The Association has, therefore, appealed to the management of Ghana Cocobod to expedite the supply of the items since the delay is having a heavy toll on the operations of the farmers. Our people are in dire need of the solar torch lights and mosquito nets to make our operations thrive for us," the president of the Association Alhassan Bukari said at a press conference in Accra today. President Akufo-Addo Assurance On May 10, 2019, COCOSHE paid a courtesy call on President Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House and made a plea through the President to Cocobod for solar torch lights and mosquito nets. After the engagement, the President instructed Cocobod to meet the request as soon as possible. Alhassan Bukari however noted that Since 2019, we have been patiently waiting for the supply of the product considering that the delay is beginning to affect our farmers who depend on these products, especially at night. On December 8, 2022, the association said they made a request to the Chief Executive of Cocobod about the delay and followed up with representatives of the Ghana Cocobod Board at various Board meetings. Although the Association may not be aware of the reason for the delay, "we appeal to the management of Cocobod to do everything within its authority for the farmers to get the product". Benefits of solar touch light According to the farmers, the solar touch lights and mosquito nets "are of tremendous importance to us as they help our farmers in remote communities in the Cocoa areas." They explained that sheanut pickers also use the touch lights to go into the bush at dawn to pick sheanuts with ease as it brightens under the shea trees for sheanut collection. COCOSHE said the supply of the items to farmers in the past had impacted positively on the health, welfare, and safety of farmers. It has indeed served as an incentive for increased production, It is therefore in the best interest of the Cocoa Coffee and Sheanut Industries that the request of the farmers is met as it has been long overdue, the Association said. 28.11.2023 LISTEN The West African Examination Council (WAEC) say it has concluded investigations into the alleged examination malpractices by some Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) candidates in the 2023 examination. According to WAEC, it found that the students under investigation cheated during the examination. The council is withholding the results of some subjects for these candidates until the final determination of the matter. The Branch Controller of WAEC for the Ashanti Region, Divine Walanyo Agbonyo in an interview with OTEC News said a decision will be taken on the matter for the students to know their fate. WAEC placed over 2,000 candidates under investigation due to suspected malpractices. The candidates were subsequently invited to WAECs offices to answer questions about alleged irregularities detected during the exams. Mr Walanyo revealed that some evidence they obtained proves clearly that there were some sort of cheating by some students. "You will realize that, in a particular school, in a hall, all the questions they answered were correct for everyone, with the same answers. In the event they had the answer wrong, it was still the same answers," he stated. 28.11.2023 LISTEN Metro TV's Eugenia Akorfa Kumi has been selected as one of 30 fellows for this year's Climate Change Media Partnership Fellowship (CCMP). She joins journalists from low and middle-income countries to cover the 28th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP28), in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from 30th November to 12th December. The fellowship, facilitated by Internews Earth Journalism Network and the Stanley Center for Peace and Security has been ongoing since 2007, and equips journalists with a deeper understanding of climate issues and aims to enhance media coverage on climate change, especially in regions facing critical impacts. With nearly 600 applications, Eugenia stood out as the sole Ghanaian selected after a rigorous review process. Expressing her excitement, she highlighted the significance of contributing to Ghana's climate discourse by shedding light on crucial matters. Im so thrilled by the opportunity. This is my second time of applying and this time I go in. Its really a dream come true. I deem this a rare opportunity to shed light on and contribute to the climate change discussions in Ghana by highlighting the key issues, she said in an interview. While 20 fellows will be on-site in Dubai 10 of them will cover it remotely from their home countries. The fellows covering COP28 in Dubai will participate in orientation activities, daily briefings, interviews with high-level officials, and other interactions organized by the Stanley Center and EJN to inform and facilitate quality reporting on developments and outcomes at COP28. COP28 marks an important event, hosting the first-ever Global Stocktake since the Paris Agreement, evaluating countries' progress on climate mitigation, adaptation, and fair implementation. James Fahn, EJN's Executive Director, expressed enthusiasm for supporting this talented cohort of journalists, given the heightened interest in COP among the media. Interest in the COP is greater than ever among the media, as demonstrated by the record number of CCMP applications we received, so were pleased to be able to support this talented group of journalists, he said. Source: Bernard Ralph Adams, Contributor India and Africa have long collaborated on defence matters. As requested by Emperor Haile Selassie, Indian Prime Minister Nehru decided to establish India's first overseas training facility in Africa in 1956. In 1958, the Imperial Military Academy in Harar, Ethiopia, was founded and opened for business. This institution, over time, educated a generation of Ethiopian military officers from several other independent African nations. India has earned a lot of goodwill in Africa by making special arrangements to train African military personnel at important Indian institutions like the NDA, IMA, DSSC, and NDC. Several African countries have sent army personnel to India for training. Up to six African military leaders, from both present and past, have received their training in India. Muhammadu Buhari, the outgoing president of Nigeria, attended Wellington's Defense Services Staff College in Tamil Nadu. India has been a part of UN Peacekeeping Operations (UNPKO) since the first mission in the Congo and has taken part in nearly all African missions. Two Indian Missions took part in UNPKO between July 14, 1960, and June 30, 1964, as Congo attempted to send out UN troops to stop secession and reunite the country after Belgian rule ended. India is currently the fourth-largest supplier of soldiers to PKO in Africa. Since gaining its independence, India has sent about 200,000 soldiers and police officers to serve with blue helmets. Currently, 4,483 Indian soldiers are engaged in peacekeeping operations in the following five African countries: Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Congo, and Morocco. Since 2016, India and the United States have collaborated to build the capacity of African troops for UN peacekeeping operations through the annual UN Peacekeeping Course for African Partners (UNPCAP-III) programme. As a result, the first United Nations Peacekeeping Course for African Partners (UNPCAP-01) was launched by the Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping in India (CUNPK), New Delhi. India has established defence academies and colleges in several African nations, including the military academy in Ethiopia, the Naval War College in Nigeria, and the Ghanaian Air Force. India has also dispatched training delegations to many African nations. Together with their counterparts in Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius, and Seychelles, these military training units have conducted joint exercises. An all-female police force from India was deployed to Liberia in 2007 as part of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). In the history of UN peacekeeping, this was the first all-female police unit. They were praised as role models for their nine years of service in Liberia. Their inspiration largely contributed to the increasing number of women soldiers in different security forces. Africa-India Field Training Exercise-2019 (AFINDEX-19), India's first-ever joint exercise with African nations, occurred in Pune in March 2019. The first iteration of the exercise included participation from 17 African countries in total. The AFINDEX-19 exercise was created to assist participating nations in organising and carrying out peacekeeping and humanitarian mine action (HMA) operations. India has solidly expanded its maritime security cooperation along with several other coastal African nations, including Mauritius, the Seychelles, and others. India has frequently been the first nation on the scene in HADR (humanitarian aid and disaster relief) crises and is guided by the SAGAR doctrine regarding maritime security. India's humanitarian and disaster relief efforts have been acknowledged and highly praised, including the Indian Navy's prompt assistance and meticulous professionalism during Cyclone IDAI in Mozambique in 2019. The right moment has come to advance this collaboration. The first India-Africa Defence Ministers' Conference (IADMC) was held in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, in February 2020 as part of the DefExpo military exhibition. The establishment of the IADMC successfully institutionalised the defence cooperation between the two countries. The Indian government also suggested making the India-Africa Defence Dialogue an official side event to the DefExpo. The biennial gathering is anticipated to hasten the development of existing relations between India and the participating African nations and identify numerous new cooperation areas requiring teamwork. In March 2022, on the sidelines of DefExpo 2022, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, hosted the second iteration of this defence conversation. Under the theme of "India-Africa: Adopting Strategy for Synergizing and Strengthening Defence and Security Cooperation", was attended by fifty African countries, including twenty Defence Ministers, seven CDS/Service Chiefs and eight Permanent Secretaries. India's maritime cooperation with African nations, particularly those in the East & Southern African region, is also growing. Along with the navies of Brazil and South Africa, the Indian Navy took part in Exercise IBSAMAR-VII in October 2022 in South Africa. During the harbour phase, professional exchanges, such as DC & FF drills, VBSS/cross-boarding lectures, joint diving operations, the interaction between special forces, and cross-deck visits. The sea phase took place on October 12 and included a variety of maritime operations. The debrief and closing ceremony was held onboard the INS Tarkash off Port Gqeberha. Every two years, the Indian Navy also holds the Milan Exercise. After a four-year hiatus, Milan 2022 was held in March 2022 and featured participation from over 40 nations and 26 ships. Due to the widespread pandemic, many African countries withdrew. However, African nations like Kenya, Mauritius, and Seychelles took part. The future of India's defence cooperation with Africa India came a long way from licenced production in 1960 to developing the fifth generation of weapons. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, India has strongly emphasised defence manufacturing over the past eight years. Rajnath Singh, the Indian defence minister, gave two rapid interceptor boats to the Mozambican Navy during his 2019 visit. Africa may benefit the most from these native Indian products as it works to reduce its reliance on traditional western allies for security. India can impart this knowledge to Africa as well. In particular, with air defence, air-to-air missile systems, and strategic weapon systems, the Indian industry can efficiently meet Africa's needs. India also provides financial support for the goal of a peaceful Africa. India supported AMISOM in Somalia in 2011 to the tune of $2 million. A similar $1 million in support was given to the UN mission in Mali in the previous year. According to international standards, the Indian Air Force has produced some helicopters for African war and rescue operations. For example, most African nations could benefit significantly from the Dornier aircraft produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. India is the fourth nation to launch 1,000 drones simultaneously, following the United Kingdom, Russia, and China. India used indigenously developed drones to deliver covid-19 vaccines in many rural areas with poor connectivity, particularly in North-Eastern India. India will be eager to share its military might and technological know-how with its African counterparts because it adheres to the Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (all is our family) and SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in The Region) ideologies. The Indian defence industry is also open to joint ventures in African nations. An MoU for cooperation in defence R&D has already been signed by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), India, and the Defence Research and Development Bureau (DRDB), Nigeria. Soon, more African nations are anticipated to join the DRDO initiative. Both India and Africa are becoming increasingly concerned about cyber security. Africa is embracing new technologies more widely thanks to the exponential rise in the ownership of mobile smart devices and the increased use of social media. Although this technological development is anticipated to aid in the development of the continent, it will also expose millions of uneducated and underprivileged Africans to the dangers and vulnerabilities that go along with them. India has a sophisticated cyber security infrastructure, a dedicated National Cyber Security, and a functional nodal organisation under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) called Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In). Most commercial activities now take place online since the coronavirus. Many African nations are now eager to work with India and gain access to its knowledge of the digital network. With India, many countries, including Egypt, Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco, Seychelles, and South Africa, already have a framework for cyber security cooperation. India is ready to help other African nations combat cyber threats and establish future cyber security technology collaboration. India's defence and security cooperation model has emerged as more natural and need-based in contrast to China's aggressive efforts to increase its military presence in Africa, focusing on resource extraction and safeguarding its strategic assets. This model emphasises African counterpart empowerment through training, capacity building, and humanitarian assistance. India's maritime capabilities have become the "new frontier" in efforts to provide humanitarian aid and disaster relief (HADR). India has a significant cost advantage over Africa's traditional security partners. The second-largest army in the world must work as hard in the African defence industry as the United States and China. As we advance, it is up to India and Africa to make the most of these opportunities to achieve win-win results. Samir Bhattacharya The author is Senior Research Associate with the Vivekananda International Foundation. The views expressed are personal. 28.11.2023 LISTEN MTN Ghana has begun implementing its announced price adjustments across all its products and services. In a circular issued to customers on November 24, 2023, MTN said the new prices will kick in from Tuesday, November 28, 2023. The surge in price affects calls, SMS, data and other offerings of MTN. MTN Ghana, categorised as a Significant Market Power by the National Communications Authority, attributed the upward adjustment to rising operational costs. Dear Valued Customer, kindly be informed that effective 28th November 2023, the prices of MTN products will be revised upwards due to increased operational costs. Continue enjoying our special offers on our network. Visit our website www.mtn.com.gh for more details. Thank you, the company said. Per the updated tariff structure, the 4.3-gigabyte Turbonet fixed bundle has now been pegged at GHS43. Also, the 91-gigabyte bundle has been revised to GH253, and the 350-gigabyte bundle is currently priced at GH516. MTNs Broadband Special Bundles have also experienced upward adjustments. A fee of GH150 will now afford access to a 39-gigabyte bundle, while GH300 will provide users with a 195-gigabyte bundle. With regard to the low-cost bundles, GH1 which could afford you 70.87MB worth of data in the past could only give you 35.57MB now. Customers of MTN Ghana have taken to social media to complain about the surge in the tariffs. -Citi Newsroom In a crackdown spearheaded by France, 31 men implicated in a child pornography network that was primarily operated via the encrypted messaging service Signal have been arrested across Europe. Between 13 and 17 November, police made 10 arrests in France, 10 in Spain, five in Hungary, four in Belgium and two in Bulgaria, said Colonel Pascal Peresse, head of the operations division at France's Centre for the Fight Against Internet Crimes. The operation was prompted by a tip-off from the US Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which flagged a 30-year-old man residing in southwest France. An investigation by cyber police from the Bordeaux Research Section made it possible to identify seven discussion groups, eight administrators and three secure storage spaces. Around 700 individuals of 73 different nationalities were identified by more than 70 investigators, including 25 specialising in new technologies, Peresse said. More arrests to come Undercover French gendarmes conducted an investigation and uncovered over 200,000 illicit files within the network. Forty child crime groups were investigated and 49 digital materials were seized. New arrests are also planned soon in Finland, Romania and Ukraine, Peresse said. Several suspects have been placed in pre-trial detention. Some are also being prosecuted for rape of a minor under 15 and corruption of minors. A former teacher from Mayotte, a Hungarian pediatrician, a radio host and tourists who have traveled to Thailand are among those arrested. (with AFP) The Office of the President says President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has not remained silent on the Criminal Offences Amendment (No.2) Bill 2023. The Minority in Parliament had cited the President for a breach of the Constitution, expressing concerns over his failure to assent to the Criminal Offences Amendment Bill and Anti-Witchcraft Bill, both passed several months ago. The bills, sponsored by Madina Member of Parliament (MP) Francis Sosu, were successfully passed in July of this year. The delay in the President's approval prompted the Minority in Parliament to demand explanations, particularly in light of reported killings related to accusations of witchcraft during this period. Tamale South MP Haruna Iddrisu was the first to raise concerns regarding the lack of action on the part of the President. Responding to the Minority, Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu acknowledged the delay and disclosed that major challenges had been identified in the bills, contributing to the Presidents hesitation to give his assent. Expressing his disappointment, the Speaker of Parliament highlighted that the President had not formally communicated to him regarding the bills, despite the significant time that had elapsed since their passage in July. In a statement issued on Tuesday, 28 November 2023, the Office of the President said: It is important to state that at the outset that the amendment is specifically designed to outlaw the role of witch doctors and witch-finders, in addition to prohibiting the act of declaring, accusing, naming or labelling an individual as a witch, alongside other related matters. It indicated that the Bill was officially presented together with other bills including the Wildlife Resources Management Bill, 2003, and National Petroleum Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2023, under cover of a letter dated Monday, 27 November 2023. The Office of the President indicated that: It is thus wholly, inaccurate that the Bill has been sitting on the desk of the President without receiving due attention. -classfmonline 28.11.2023 LISTEN When I arrived at the Kyebi Government Middle School in 1951, it was under the illusion that the school would not employ teachers who were as fond of caning pupils as had been the school Id just left Asiakwa Presbyterian Senior School. (Senior became Middle in 1951, without any explanation to us school children!) I had heard that at Kyebi, the emphasis was more on academic subjects than on things like mending the school fence and/or weeding the school park, activities which, at Asiakwa, often came between school children and the books they were supposed to master. Me, I wasnt having any of it. One year (Standard Four) was all I could take. On one occasion, instead of going to cut bamboos in the bush and bringing them to school, as Id been ordered, I went on a ride with a driver of the Agricultural station, who had promised to teach me how to drive. Thye driver, Mr Kwaku Robert, came from Kukurantumi (about fourteen miles from Asiakwa) and I won his favour by briefing him thoroughly about life in my hometown. He thus enjoyed living there. In return, he used to allow me to drive his car up and down the town, although my feet could hardly control the brake, accelerator and clutch pedals. Mr Roberts car was a beautiful Ford Pilot pickup, whose V-8 engine sounded so beautiful that it mesmerised me like very good music. It was a great joy driving it and making smooth gear changes with its synchromesh steering gear. (Id obtained my first driving lessons on a Bedford one-and-a-half-ton truck, whose pedals were so stiff I had to hold on tight to the steering mechanism, before I could summon enough power into my legs to depress the pedals!) With the Bedfoird discarded, I put everything into driving the Ford Pilot as if it had been made for me. Apparently, some busybody at Asiakwa had tipped my headmaster off that if he didnt take me seriously in hand, I would ditch the school and become a motor driver. So when he asked us to go and cut bamboo sticks and he discovered that instead of going with my mates to cut the bamboos, Id bribed someone else to cut someone for me, but that instead of bringing me six sticks, the guy had brought me only three, each of which Id then ingeniously cut in two to bring the number to six, the headmaster ordered that I should be given eighteen lashes of the cane. The whole school was assembled to watch my humiliation. Well, I thought there would be nothing like that at Kyebi. But I was wrong. The headmaster at the Government Senior School was a short, frisky man who walked so fast that his neck-tie was always flying from the front of his shirt to the back of the garment. Like my former headmaster, he too had a hangup he loathed children who came to school late. The school was surrounded by a hedge of thorny vegetation, and he deliberately allowed the hedge to grow so high that he could hide himself in the hedges without being seen by children who had come in late and wanted to reach the parade ground as fast as possible. (This was helped by the fact that, as I have already noted, he was quite a short fellow.) In my last year in the school, some really tough guys joined us. They came from nearby villages, such as Adadientam). These guys were inevitably late for school each day, as they were forced to walk at least three miles to school each day. As it happened, they were usually big boys physically, and the result was that they were given the job of becoming prefects and being put in charge of keeping discipline in the school. Their tasks included trimming the school hedge, so that it would look good to visitors to the school. What they did was to trim the hedge but to leave gaps so cleverly in the hedgerow that those who knew could come and pass through them to the school compound when the school gate was padlocked shut! This had been going on successfully until a day came, when (by whatever means) the headmaster discovered what had been going on, and he hid himself at a convenient spot. As each late-comer used the hidden path to gain access to the school compound, he felt a hand fall heavily on his shoulder and a sharp, whispered order saying GO AND WAIT FOR ME IN THE OFFICE! office! However, one very brave boy, perhaps surprised out of his wits by discovering that the headmaster was hiding in the hedges and had caught him, yelled out instinctively: OTER HOR OH! (HES HIDING THERE OH!) The rest of the late-comers thereupon took to their heels and made off back to town. They didnt turn up for school that day. The headmaster gave each of the boys who, on his orders, had earlier gone to wait for him in the office, twelve good lashes. It reminded me of my Asiakwa school days. But what was I to do? I had fervently persuaded my father to get me into the Kyebi Government School. Was I to confess to him that I had been wrong? How would he be able to trust my opinion in future? Yeah going to school in the colonial days of Ghana was not a beach holiday. Presbyterian o, Methodist o, Government School o, duka daaya! (All de same!) Yeah its only by the grace of God that some of us managed to stay in school until we were able to leave with our vastly overvalued certificates! We must thus thank God for little mercies! Former Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Yaw Buaben Asamoa, has revealed that his dismissal from the party is not only affecting him but is also taking a toll on his family. He said his son has become a subject of mockery which is also affecting his studies. Buaben Asamoa, who served as the Member of Parliament for Adentan, was expelled from the NPP together with three other members of NPP: Hopeson Adorye, former General Secretary Nana Ohene Ntow and former Madina MP Boniface Abubakar Saddique. In an interview with Kumasi-based Oyerepa FM, Buaben Asamoa expressed the effect the dismissal has had on his family. "When you offer yourself to lead people, it is a huge responsibility. In my case, it has affected my wife and children. With the question you are asking me now, my child has become a victim of mockery because his father was dismissed. Now, he is unable to focus and it is affecting his studies," lamented Buaben Asamoa. He rubbished claims that he left the party due to anger that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia won the flagbearer race. "Some are saying I left the party because I am annoyed. That cannot be taken lightly. As they keep saying that he is annoyed because someone else is leading the party, they should know that what they themselves are annoying and displeasing. I am not annoyed at anything going on," he added. 28.11.2023 LISTEN The Ghana Education Service (GES) has released the 2023 Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) into senior high schools and technical and vocational education and training schools. A press statement issued by the Head of Public Relations Unit, Cassandra Twum Ampofo, said out of 598.839 results received from WAEC, 585,797 candidates qualified to be placed. According to the release, 477,772 (81.56%) have automatically been placed in one of their choices, a significant improvement compared to last years. The statement directed the affected 108,025 (18.44%) candidates who could not be matched to visit the GES self-placement portal to select schools of their choice. "All such students are, therefore, to do Self-Placement to select from available schools," it added. The statement asked parents, guardians and students to obtain a placement pin code from an approved vendor, log onto the site www.cssps.gov.gh, enter the ten-digit index number and add 23 as the year of completion. E.g.: 123456789023, enter the pin code details (serial number and pin), click on submit and wait for placement to show up, then print the enrolment form, placement slip and prospectus. It stated that students who did not match any of their choices from the automatic placement system would be redirected to the self-placement portal to select by providing information on the region, residential preference, school, programme of choice, submit, print the form and visit the school to begin the admission process. Schools selected on the self-placement portal can be changed as many times as the candidate wishes on the portal until they enrol in a school, it added. GES assured the general public, especially students, those who could not get their choices during the automatic placement that all schools with vacancies have been uploaded on the portal for students to select from self-placement without hitches. It said heads of institutions are to begin registration and orientation from 4th December 2023 and urged parents not to pay money to unscrupulous persons who promise to change their schools. The public is also informed that apart from the National Solution Centre at the GNAT Hall, Adabraka and the Regional Solution Centres at the various Regional Education Offices, they can also call our helpline on 0308258001 for all concerns, it added. St. Johns Lutheran Holiday Soup Supper will be held from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 3, at 821 Denver St. in Schuyler. The supper features all-you-can-eat homemade chicken noodle and chili soup, desserts, coffee and juice. A goodwill offering will be collected at the door. There will be a bake sale various baked good and soup by the quart available from 4-7 p.m. There also will be a drawing and a silent auction. 28.11.2023 LISTEN Political Science Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Asah-Asante has laughed off arguments that Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia cannot be blamed for the economic woes of the country. According to him, it is laughable that people want to credit the Vice President for the good things that the government does but the same people shield him from the economic crisis. I think it is laughable in the sense that we have heard that anytime there is something worthy of praise relative to policy of the government of the day, quickly they credit the vice president but when there are difficulties they want to shield the Vice President, that he is not the man in charge. That argument is a bogus one that can never be taken seriously by anybody, Dr. Kwame Asah-Asante told TV3 on Monday during a discussion on the Ghana Tonight programme. In the last few years, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has been accused by the Minority in Parliament of failing woefully as Chairman of the Economic Management Team. The Minority shares the view that just as President Akufo-Addo should be blamed for the economic crisis that has confronted the country, Dr. Bawumia should equally be blamed as well. In the defense, some NPP officials have also argued that the Vice President is not the final decision-maker and cannot be blamed. Meanwhile, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has stressed that he has his own vision and will implement it when he is elected President at the end of the 2024 General Election. In a groundbreaking move, Ghana's Cabinet has given the green light to the long-awaited Affirmative Action Bill, disclosed by Hon Lariba Zuweira Abudu, the Minister for the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP). The bill, now under parliamentary consideration and urgency, seeks to usher in a new era of gender parity in the realm of Ghanaian politics. The proposed legislation, dormant in parliament for over a decade, aims to revolutionize the landscape by reserving a minimum of 40% of public offices for women. Drawing inspiration from successful implementations in African nations such as Rwanda, Ethiopia, South Africa, Guinea, Kenya, and Senegal, the bill strives to elevate women's participation in key decision-making positions. The announcement came during the 5th MoGCSP Annual Summit on the theme "Sustainable Social Protection Financing: A Key to Financial Inclusion of the Vulnerable." The summit served as the stage for the unveiling of not just the Affirmative Action Bill but a host of other critical bills and policies submitted to the Cabinet for consideration and approval. Hon Lariba Zuweira Abudu, in her address, highlighted the Ministry's relentless efforts in awareness campaigns on crucial issues like Child Rights Promotion, Social Protection, Child Marriage, Human Trafficking, and Domestic Violence. The ministry's collaboration with key partners has extended to 170 Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs), with 160 enrolled in the Social Welfare Information Management Systems (SWIMS) for effective case management and referrals. The Minister emphasized that true national development hinges on granting women equal access to financial resources, educational opportunities and entrepreneurial support. This move towards inclusivity aligns with global efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Mr. Osama Makkawai Khogali, the Country Representative of UNICEF, echoed the urgency of gender equity in achieving social protection financing. Commending MoGCSP for its commitment to leaving no one behind in the journey towards gender equality, he emphasized UNICEF's dedication to supporting the ministry, ensuring that no child is left behind in achieving the SDGs by 2030. The stage is set, and Ghana anticipates a transformative leap towards a more inclusive and equitable political landscape with the Affirmative Action Bill taking center stage in parliamentary deliberations. The critical role of Journalists in exposing and combating money laundering cannot be overlooked. It is becoming increasingly critical that journalists investigate suspicious financial activities, follow the money trail, and collaborate with experts to uncover potential illegal practices that threaten peace and security. It is against this background that the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) led by its President Albert Dwumfour has expressed readiness to intensify collaborations with the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering (GIABA) as GIABA takes advocacy and sensitization on financial crimes to a new phase. The GJA has further welcomed the establishment of various Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Media Reporting Desks in some selected media organizations in Ghana. According to the GJA President, it is essential for journalists to prioritize accuracy, verify sources, and adhere to ethical reporting standards while bringing issues such as financial crimes to light. Albert Dwumfour was addressing the opening ceremony of a two-day Media Outreach and Advocacy Programme for selected journalists being organised by GIABA from Monday 27th November to Tuesday 28th November 2023 at the Alisa Hotel. "Journalists play a crucial role in the fight against money laundering. Additionally, they can raise awareness about the impacts of money laundering on society. "By conducting in-depth research, interviewing relevant sources, and publishing accurate and timely information, journalists can help uncover illicit financial transactions, hold individuals and organizations accountable, and contribute to the prevention and detection of money laundering activities. "They have the responsibility to investigate and report on suspicious financial activities, expose corruption, and raise public awareness about the consequences of money laundering," he reiterated. For his part, the Director-General of the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) under ECOWAS, Mr. Edwin W. Harris Jnr. challenged Ghana Journalists to deepen efforts as reporters in identifying and exposing money laundering and terrorist financing activities. According to him, the media remains a veritable channel for increasing awareness of ML/FT among the populace. This was contained in a speech read on his behalf by Timothy Melaye, the Head of Communications at GIABA. The GIABA DG stated that GIABA has been working and building partnerships with media groups and individual journalists to bring to public awareness the negative consequences of ML/TF. "The media plays critical role to promote good governance, ensures optimal deployment of state resources, facilitating the protection of rights of citizens and ensures that corrupt officials and corrupt practices are exposed. The media serves as a change agent particularly as an anti-corruption crusade. "....therefore, this is another effort to establish and sustain further partnerships with media practitioners across the region. Desk Officers are to be selected through this initiative to attend and publicize GIABA's activities," he emphasized. He added "Since 2009, GIABA has engaged the media through sensitization programs to facilitate their understanding of AML/CFT issues. "....a significant outcome of the program is forming a Regional Network of Journalists involved in reporting economic and financial crimes." Touching on the core mandate of GIABA, he said GIABAs core mandate amongst others, includes ensuring the implementation of AML/CFT standards in compliance with acceptable international standards and practices, including the FATF 40 recommendations. He admitted that though the challenges have been complex with its accompanying onerous task, GIABA has risen to the challenge through various high-impact capacity-building programmes, technical assistance to various institutions of member States, sustained partnership with the international community, and far-reaching advocacies and sensitization programmes to a wide range of stakeholders. "GIABA promotes the implementation of AML/CFT measures by member States, while taking into account regional peculiarities and environment. It also acts as a forum where members can discuss regional issues and share their experiences. "GIABA organises self and mutual evaluations to measure the effectiveness of the measures taken as well as their technical compliance with acceptable international standards and conducts research on trends and methods with far-reaching outcomes and recommendations to address the menace of ML/TF "GIABA coordinates and supports member States in the implementation of AML/CFT systems and legislations regarding the proceeds of crime through mutual legal assistance and further assists member States in establishing and sustaining Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs)." The GIABA D-G was confident that the training workshop would become a springboard for a renewed commitment of all Journalists to identifying the key roles they must play in raising awareness as Journalists/Reporters are crucial in the information chain on money laundering and terrorist financing. "As the people bearing responsibility for the content of the news media, editors decide whether to give a news story on money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) prominence or to relegate it." Ghana's Minister of Information, Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, also used the same platform to admonish Ghana journalists to get more committed to programmes like these that help to shape and build their capacity in order to educate the public. He bemoaned several instances where journalists hardly commit to projects undertaken by similar institutions that help to build their capacities. "It is critically important for our colleagues in the media, who shine the light on the things that should concern us the most in our democracy, to be abreast with the key developments in the Anti Money Laundering and Terrorist financing ecosystem as we continue our journey in very turbulent times," he stated. The Minister of Information was also optimistic that the GIABA Media Outreach And Advocacy Programme will provide colleagues in the media with the necessary skills required to contribute in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing. "Our region is increasingly becoming unstable. With the incidents on terrorism and insecurity on the rise. "Recent events even in Northern Ghana where efforts to apprehend persons suspected to be associated with terrorism were thwarted by local youth, give cause for concern- that more needs to be done to raise the awareness of the society to her obligations in this fight," Hon. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah observed. He further indicated that the role of the media in securing the needed level of public awareness and cooperation is therefore key. "Weak regulatory frameworks, Political Instability, Highly Informal Economies, transactions across porous borders as well as growing sophistication in cyber activities are creating greater avenues for Money laundering and Terrorism financing. "Money laundering and terrorism divert resources away from legitimate economic activities, hindering economic development and contributing to persistent poverty. They exacerbate income inequality as the proceeds often benefit a small group of individuals or entities, widening the wealth gap. "They can deter foreign investors, by signaling weaknesses in a country's regulatory and governance frameworks. Persistent issues with money laundering can harm a country's international reputation, affecting its standing in global financial markets and diplomatic relations. "The media like other agencies has an important if not peculiar role to play in helping fight back. The media can educate the public about the dangers of money laundering and terrorism, its consequences, and how individuals can contribute to combating it," he emphasised. - Source: 28.11.2023 LISTEN On 21 March 1960 at 1.40 in the afternoon, apartheid South Africa's police opened fire on a peaceful crowd of about 4,000 residents of Sharpeville, who were protesting against carrying identity documents that restricted black people's movement. The police minimised the number of victims by at least one third, and justified the shooting by claiming that the crowd was violent. This shocking story has been thus misrepresented for over 60 years. Our new research retells the story of Sharpeville, about 70km south of Johannesburg, from the viewpoint of the victims themselves. As experienced historians who have undertaken archival research in South Africa since the 1970s we based our research on interviews with survivors and investigation into government records in both the police archives and the national archives in Pretoria. Our work reveals the true number of victims and the exact role of the police in the massacre. The Sharpeville Massacre ignited international outrage and the birth of the Anti-Apartheid Movement worldwide. It also led to renewed political protests inside South Africa. These were met with the total suppression of political movements that lasted for 30 years. Despite its historic importance, Sharpeville as a place and a community has remained unknown to the wider public and its residents anonymous. Yet they have a story to tell. Even though the Truth and Reconciliation Commission chose the 1960 Sharpeville massacre as the formal beginning of its investigation of apartheid crimes, its examination of the massacre itself was perfunctory. Only three witnesses from the community were invited to testify during just part of one day (out of 2,000 witnesses during five years of hearings). People in Sharpeville believe that the lack of attention to their plight since democracy in 1994 is because the original protest was organised by the rival Pan-Africanist Congress of Azania , not the governing African National Congress (ANC). Changing the narrative Based on our research, the new book Voices of Sharpeville traces the long residence of Africans in the greater Sharpeville area, as far as the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site 100km north. It also emphasises the crucial industrial importance of the greater Vaal Triangle in which Sharpeville is located, from the 1930s onward. Our work details the rich culture developed by urban Sharpeville residents in defiance of the attempts of Prime Minister HF Verwoerd's attempts to control African life. Using the words of witnesses as recorded from their hospital beds within days of the shooting, and for weeks and months later, the events of 21 March 1960 are recounted in detail, increasing the number of victims to at least 91 dead, and 281 injured. The official police figures first published in 1960 and repeated endlessly ever since were 69 and 180 respectively. The witness testimony places the responsibility for the shooting squarely with the police. New evidence The oral and documentary source material we used was previously off limits to researchers, insufficiently examined, or largely ignored. Access to many records held by the previous apartheid government was absolutely restricted prior to 1994, and since then many of the records have not been properly registered. This makes it challenging for researchers to find important documents. But with the help of archivists and librarians, we were able to locate rare and even hidden records of Sharpeville and its history, and record the voices of many of the town's residents. History of Sharpeville The first settlement in the Sharpeville area Top Location was razed in the 1950s to make space for white people's businesses and homes. Official records and aerial photographs reveal the previous existence of a large community on the now empty land. There is also an unmarked cemetery where about 3,500 residents were buried between around 1900 and 1938. By the mid-20th century, apartheid officials began to plan a bigger settlement in the vicinity. Sharpeville and other places like it were designed in the 1950s to segregate Africans away from the cities, which were reserved for white people only. Sharpeville's housing construction became a model for the ubiquitous four-roomed NE 51/9 houses in black townships throughout the country, none of which they could own outright but rent only. In almost 300 witness statements taken by the police immediately following the shooting, many of the everyday details of life in Sharpeville were revealed. These statements were recorded immediately after arrest and under oath by the police to determine guilt or innocence against the charges of public violence and incitement brought against them. They were also provided voluntarily in 1961 and 1962, also under oath, by survivors and family members to establish a basis for the compensation the victims unsuccessfully requested. Details of family life numbers of children, occupations, wages, and health were recorded, providing a wealth of information about Sharpeville's residents. The massacre: Testimony, both from the official 1960 commission of enquiry into the massacre, and the criminal court trial of over 70 Sharpeville residents in 1960-1961, detailed the actions of both the crowd and the police. The testimony by civilians and police alike, together with the claimants' statements, provides a minute-by-minute narrative of the day. The testimonies of the residents, including all the Africans who worked for the municipality and as police officers in Sharpeville, unanimously attested to the fact that the crowd gathered peacefully to protest the pass law . According to these witnesses, by the time of the shooting, almost 300 policemen had been moved into the township, including at least 13 white policemen armed with Sten machine guns. There were five Saracen armoured vehicles. Police testimony makes it clear that the officer in charge gave the order to shoot, with the machine gunners firing directly into the crowd from a distance of no more than 3-5 metres. As one white official noted: It made me think of a wheat field, where a whirlwind had shaken it. The crowd was taken utterly by surprise by the police fusillade. Over three quarters of them, dead and injured alike, were shot in the back as they fled. The victims: Crucial to gaining an accurate understanding of the numbers of victims their names, families, and injuries were the autopsy and medical records detailing the exact causes of death and injury for the over 300 victims. These forms and narrative statements, filled out by the hospital physicians who treated the injured and performed autopsies on the dead, prove conclusively that the government under-counted the victims by at least one third. This new information remained embargoed in police records throughout the apartheid years to 1994. Some of it was finally transferred to the national archives in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It details the injuries. Remembrance The people of Sharpeville wonder why the world has not listened to their stories even as they have told them from the day of the shooting to the present. In 2023, residents were able to use the information uncovered in our research to update the Wall of Names Memorial (which lists the name of every person who gave their life fighting for freedom in South Africa) at Freedom Park in Pretoria to reflect accurately the number of victims killed on 21 March 1960. But still they have received no compensation for their injuries. William H Worger receives funding from the University of California Office of the President. Nancy L Clark does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. By Nancy L Clark, Dean and Professor Emeritus, Louisiana State University And William H. Worger, Professor Emeritus of History, University of California, Los Angeles The High Court in Accra has dismissed the case brought by former National Service person, Deborah Seyram Adablah against her sugar daddy, Ernest Kwasi Nimako over alleged unfulfilled promises made during their romantic relationship. Presided over by Justice John Bosco Nabarese, the court ruled that the relationship between Adablah and Nimako was not publicly recognised by law, describing the writ as lacking any reasonable cause of action. The court also slapped Deborah Seyram Adablah with a cost of GH10,000. Following the ruling, Lawyer Nana Ama Amponsah, representing Ernest Kwasi Nimako, requested a higher cost of GH50,000, arguing that the damage caused to her client, especially in the era of social media, was immeasurable. However, the court settled on GH10,000 after considering arguments from both parties. The legal battle unfolded after Deborah Seyram Adablah took Mr Nimako to court earlier this year, seeking financial compensation and the fulfilment of promises made during their relationship. She demanded a lump sum for a business start-up, two years' rent, and other commitments allegedly agreed upon. Deborah Seyram Adablah had alleged that Mr Nimako, her "sugar daddy," failed to honor some promises, including buying her a car, covering accommodation expenses, providing a monthly stipend, marrying her after divorcing his wife and offering a lump sum for a business startup. Mr Nimako, in reaction, filed a counter application, urging the court to dismiss the case, deeming it frivolous and unworthy of legal action. 28.11.2023 LISTEN The Minority in Parliament has warned that it will not sit and watch unconcerned for government to give tax exemptions to any company it likes. In a statement from the Minority signed by its Leader Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, it has disclosed that government has applied for tax exemptions for 45 companies. According to the Minority, if Parliament approves the exemptions, the country will lose GHS5.5 billion in taxes. The Minority in raising concerns about these tax exemption applications, stresses that it will resist government by using all ways and means available. There are about 45 companies that have been presented to Parliament as one- one-district-one-factory companies, GIPC strategic investors, etc, to be exempted from the payment of taxes. In total, the government is asking parliament to grant tax exemptions to the tune of USD449,446,247.95 for these 45 companies. That is the equivalent of over five and a half (5.5) billion Ghana cedis! As a Minority in Parliament, we have a duty to let the Ghanaian taxpayer who is being burdened with all manner of taxes, know this truth. We, in the Minority are serving notice that we shall resist these tax waiver applications fiercely! In their current forms, we shall resist each and every one of the tax waiver applications with all the tools and strategies at our disposal," the release from the Minority stressed. The companies government is seeking tax exemptions for include Agrohao Ghana Company Limited, Amponsah-Efah Pharmaceuticals Limited, B5 Plus Limited, Beekaf Foods Ghana Limited, By Oa & J Pharmaceuticals Limited, Canadian Commercial Corporation, CIMAF, Ciments de l'Afrique Ghana Limited, CK Engineering and Construction Limited, and Continental Blue Investment Ghana Limited. Others are Echo Poly Industries Limited, Emperor Foods and Beverages Limited, EPAC Flexible Packaging Ghana Ltd, Everpack Limited, Everpure Holdings Limited, Ferro Fabrik Limited, Fu Cal Company Limited, Golden Africa Consumer Products, Golden Africa Soap Industries Ghana Limited, Golden Latex Products Limited, Happy Sunshine Company Limited Keda (Ghana) Ceramics Company Limited, Korban Company Limited, and Lesdy Company Limited. The Import Restrictions Bill, championed by the Minister of Trade and Industry, KT Hammond, suffered another setback in Parliament today, November 28 after the sector minister was prevented from laying the Legislative Instrument (LI) in the house. This is the third time the Minister has been prevented from laying the LI in Parliament. If approved, the Export and Import (Restrictions on Importation of Selected Strategic Product) Regulations, 2023, will restrict the importation of 22 selected strategic goods into the country. KT Hammond was hopeful of laying the LI today after holding pre-laying meetings with the Caucus of the House, but his hopes were dashed after the Minority vehemently resisted the move. The Minority had insisted that several business groups had petitioned Parliament to reject the LI; hence, their concerns must be addressed. The Minority also argued that the LI was dangerous and would adversely affect several businesses in the country. Minority Chief Whip, Ibrahim Ahmed, for instance, said the government should hasten slowly with the LI, while former Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, complained that affected countries could institute retaliatory measures against Ghana. The Minority Whip, Ahmed Ibrahim, said, Mr. Speaker, the matter is a very serious one that hinges on the survival of businesses in this country. Mr. Speaker, we are not just objecting, and care should be taken. Let's reflect on the serious issues that have been raised on this floor, and the minority has raised objections. Which of them didn't go back to come and fight for this country? And this is one of them. Mr. Speaker, just yesterday, six associationsGhana Union of Traders' Associations (GUTA), Food and Beverages Association of Ghana (FABAG), Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana, Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF), Chamber of Automobile Dealership Ghana (CADEG), and Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI)wrote a petition, having confidence in members of this house, that we should take that petition into consideration. Although the sector minister, KT Hammond, tried to assuage the fears of the Minority, saying most of the concerns raised by the Minority had been captured in an updated draft policy document, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, proceeded to defer the laying of the bill to Thursday, November 30, 2023. He directed the Minister to make the updated draft policy document available to members of the Subsidiary Legislation Committee so that all concerns could be addressed before the document is tabled in the House to prevent any further delay. The draft policy will mature 21 days after it is laid in Parliament. -citinewsroom Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Tuesday failed to appear at a summit in Ankara that Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan had earlier announced to reporters. However Iran says the meeting is still "on the books." The confusion around Raisi's visit underscores the tensions lingering between the two regional powers despite their shared views on the Israel-Hamas war. The Turkish presidency did not explain whether the visit had been cancelled or postponed. But Iran's semi-official Mehr News Agency reported that Raisi's trip was "still on the agendas of both countries". Quoting an unnamed source, the agency added that the foreign ministers of Iran and Turkey would be in New York on Wednesday to participate in a conference to discuss Gaza. Iran's foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, is to meet with members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League (Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Indonesia, Nigeria). Erdogan had personally announced the Iranian president's first official visit to Turkey on his return flight from a summit between regional leaders in Riyadh on 11 November. "Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is coming to us on the 28th of the month," Erdogan had told reporters on board the flight. The visit was also announced by Turkey's state media and discussed extensively on television as late as Monday. But it was never officially confirmed by Raisi's office or Iran's official media. The two presidents and the countries' top diplomats had phone conversations over the weekend focused on the Gaza war. (with newswires) The District Chief Executive (DCE) for North Tongu, Mr Osbourne Fenu, has called for stakeholder support to restore academic progress in the district, particularly in areas affected by the Akosombo Dam spillage. While briefing the Resident Representative of ECOWAS in Ghana during the presentation of some relief items, the DCE said various challenges that came with the crisis included the disruption of the academic calendar and it must be addressed to save education in the area. He said school had been disrupted for hundreds of students and pupils in the affected communities as classrooms and other structures have been turned into temporary shelters for the displaced and feared it could affect education outcomes in the district. Although schools have reopened but our classrooms are still used as safe havens, and St. Kizito for example is not in use and the students are sitting at home, he said. Mr Fenu said this had been a huge impediment therefore the authorities were looking for a place for the displaced people, so that children could go back to school. He however told the diplomat that plans for people to return to their homes awaited structural reports from the relevant agencies. He said one relocation housing project was ongoing by some corporate organisations, and appealed for more such initiatives. Baba Gaba Wakil, Resident Representative of the Commission presented a truckload of items worth GHC 120,000, and said it was a modest presentation. The donation included food and other items such as books for school children. The diplomat commended the Government and key bodies including the VRA for their response to the flood situation and said the Commission would deliver a standard response to upon the conclusion of necessary reports. More than 40,000 people have been displaced in the floods which affected nine districts, and that government has earmarked an amount of 220 million to support victims. Although floods have receded, many are unable to return to their homes and continue to seek refuge in schools designated as safe havens. GNA Ya-Na Abukari II, the overlord of Dagbon and his subjects have presented 300 bags of maize, 100 bags of rice to the victims of the spillage in Volta region and 100 bags of maize to the victims of Bulpe in the savanna region. Zangbalun Na. Dr. Yakubu, a sub-chief at Dagbon made the presentation on behalf of the Overlord at the Gbewaa palace in Yendi Municipality of northern region. Ya-Na said it was his widow's mite and promised to give more, if the situation continued that way, and would through another round of silver collection from their communities arrange another shipment. He extended their sympathy to the people of Volta Region and Buipe in the Savanna Region for the colossal loss of property and livelihoods due to the spillage of the Akosombo dam. According to Ya-Na, the solution to the problems caused by the spillage was beyond the capabilities of the people affected and called on the government and other benevolent organizations to continue to do more to speed up the recovery process. He said since they were mainly farmers, he had tasked his chiefs to arrange some food stuff for shipment to their brothers in need indicating that some of his Members of Parliament (MPs) who had contributed to organize food and transport included Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam (ANTA) MP for Karaga and Minister of State at the Presidency under the Ministry of Finance, Alhaji Alhassan Tampuli, MP for Gushegu and CEO of National Petroleum Authority and Alhaji Haruna Iddirisu former Minority Leader and MP for Tamale South. Mr. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, MP for North Tongu who received the items on behalf of the victims said Ya-Na's invitation to them came as a surprise, meaning the King of Dagbon did not only care for only his subjects, but had the heart for others beyond his jurisdiction. He, on behalf of the victims commended the Ya-Na for the feat. Mr. Ablakwa said the spillage of Akosombo to the lower volta basin affected 39,000 people with 12,600 people from North Tongu, 1,500 houses damaged, 53 schools destroyed with people losing their homes, farms, shops among others. He said a similar disaster happened 60 years ago. He called on Ghanaians to team up and find solutions to the issue and reassured Ya-Na that the food items would get to the beneficiaries with transparency as they had put in structures to take care of the distributions of items for all. He said the good will support by Ghanaians including Chief Imam gave them hope that they were not alone. The Gonja Youth Association in Yendi received the food items on behalf of Buipe Victims. Alhaji Hammed Abubakari Yussuf, Yendi Municipal Chief Executive and Regional Deputy Director of NADMO Iddirisu Abubakari Ziblim were present at the occasion. Mr. Samuel Ablakwa was accompanied by Togbe Azagba iv-Queen Mother of Battor, Monklalo Agbohla Dorfor Traditional area, and Manklalo Borbordzi, Bator Traditional Area In a related development, the Dagomba chief of America Na Mohammed Umar said they had supported the Dagbon Development Fund with $25,000 for the construction of the new Gbewaa Palace in Yendi. He said Ya-Na, the Overlord of Dagbon sent Kara Na Abubakari Natogmah to America for that purpose. The members of the Dagbon Development Fund Alhaji Sherif Mahama (Savanna) and Alhaji Abdul Rahman Kambodia were also present at the occasion. GNA With Thanksgiving come Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday for holiday sales, but on Nov. 28, Giving Tuesday presents people across America an opportunity to support area nonprofits. Habitat for Humanity of Columbus Executive Director Lori Peters said this is Habitat's second year working with Giving Tuesday and that, for them, it's a good way to draw some attention to online donations. "We have people who donate checks or stocks, but we needed a way to gather those who no longer donate that way. Last year, we were looking at fundraising in the community and how it's done in Columbus and Giving Tuesday seemed to be an open door to us," Peters said. "A lot of other campaigns are done, fundraisers are done ... we thought this was an opportunity for Habitat to try to bring support in electronically." They try to push Club82 as a donation opportunity for Giving Tuesday, Peters said. Club82 members donate $82 a year to remain a member, for which they get a license plate frame. The $82 figure is the approximate cost of a square foot of space in a Habitat home, which Peters said is a great way to visualize one's donation. This Giving Tuesday's contributions will go towards House 16 in the New Hope 2 subdivision, which will start construction in March or April of 2024. "We will always take donations of any size, all of them are important. It costs $82 to build a square foot of a habitat house, to be a change in someone's life. They can drive by and say 'I paid for one foot of that house,'" Peters said. More information on Giving Tuesday, Club82 and opportunities to donate or contribute can be found at hfhcolumbusne.org or at the Habitat for Humanity of Columbus, NE Facebook page. At the Columbus Area United Way, Development Director Jo Seuss said they try to use the day as a way to start capping off their annual campaign before it officially ends on Dec. 31. The donations accumulated each year go toward working with their partner agencies to support United Way's three pillars: education, financial stability and health. This year, the organization has an anonymous donor who will match Giving Tuesday donations, Seuss said, and they are especially trying to promote their mental health campaign this year, but donations do a lot. "Really they go to help families in crisis, families and children affected by domestic violence, children in our mentoring program, food instability," Seuss said. "This year we're focusing Giving Tuesday on our mental health PSA. We've been working over a year on education and awareness of mental health and the resources available in the community." Contributions to the Columbus Area United Way can be made in person, at columbusunitedway.com or via the Columbus Area United Way Facebook page. Nortreus says he supports the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, designed by the United Nations General Assembly. He urges for an end to violence against innocent black and white girls and women across the world as countries celebrate it from November 25th to December 10th each year. According to the United Nations, hundreds of thousands of girls and women are raped or killed each year. Violence against women and girls remains one of the most prevalent and pervasive human rights violations in the world. Globally, an estimated 736 million women almost one in three have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both, at least once in their lives. On November 27th, 2023, Nortreus said he supported the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women as he called for an end to violence against innocent black and white girls and women across the world. I am urging an end to violence against innocent black and white girls and women across the world on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. As men, we must do everything in our power to stop the killings of innocent women across the world. I strongly support the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women designed by the United Nations General Assembly. In Haiti, where I am from, a lot of innocent black girls and women are getting raped and killed by men every day, and such behavior needs to stop. Let's not tolerate that. I am urging innocent girls and women who are victims to speak up. Also, I am urging men who love to do that to stop doing that, Nortreus said on Monday, November 27th, 2023 on ending violence against innocent women across the world. According to multiple sources, people across the world have marked the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, demanding greater action. There are multiple protests and rallies across the world for such a day. The Teshie Mantse and President of the Teshie Traditional Council, Gbetsoolo Nii Ashitey Akomfra III has debunked rumour by some disgruntled elements within the Teshie Traditional Area that the Teshie Traditional Council is not a legitimate body. On Friday, November 24, 2023 a jubilant crowd cladded in white paraded the streets of Teshie to announce the destoolment of the Teshie Mantse, by the National House of Chiefs. Nii Akomfra III has however described the rumour as false, wicked and mischievous. Setting the records straight at a press briefing at the Teshie Traditional Council, Gbestoolo Nii Ashitey Akomfra III, stated that, last Friday the Judicial Council of the National House of Chiefs delivered a simple and straightforward judgment on an appeal made by him against the ruling by the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs over a decision in an application to strike out a petition in suit no. GARHCP.5/2019 for lack of capacity and forgery. He noted that he is still in office as the Teshie Mantse and the President of the Teshie Traditional Council and has never been destooled by the National House of Chiefs as is being alleged. He said the National House of Chiefs affirmed the ruling of the Regional House of Chiefs and therefore dismissed the appeal paving way for the matter to continue at the Regional House in Dodowa. The judgement by the National House of Chiefs according to him cannot be misconstrued as a destoolment order against a Chief whose name has already been entered into the register of the National House. "It is only the stark illiterate or mentally unstable intermeddler who will celebrate this judgment as a license to depose and install another chief when the National House of Chiefs have not expressly stated so," he stated. Below is the full statement: [THE EDITED VERSION ] PRESS STATEMENT ON THE DISTORTION OF THE JUDGMENT OF THE NATIONAL HOUSE OF CHIEFS BY THE TESHIE TRADITIONAL COUNCIL Ladies and Gentlemen I wish to welcome you to this Press Conference. In February 2023, Mr. Joseph Tetteh was posted as the 1st Registrar to the Teshie Traditional Council to facilitate the process for the inauguration of the Council. This was followed by an inspection tour of this office facility by Mr. Menka of the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs and the Registrar of the Greater Accra House of Chiefs on Friday, April 28, 2023. On Monday 6th November, 2003 Justice Patricia Quansah of the Tema High Court inducted Gbetsoolo Nii Ashitey Akomfra III, Teshie Mantse as the first President of the Teshie Traditional Council. Six other Gazettted Chiefs were also inducted into office alongside Gbetsoolo as members of the Council Gbetsoolo and the 6 chiefs were admitted to the Official Oath, the Judicial Oath and the Oath of Secrecy. The Chiefs so inducted include Nii Ashikwei Kwaobotswe II, Divisional Chief of Lenshie and Teshie Dzasetse, Nuumo Adjei Sankuma III, Klemusun Mantse/Osabu Ayiku Wulomo, Nii Kotey Afutu Brempong Ill, Pantang Mantse, Nii Nmertteh Aku I, Ayim Mantse, Nii Amartey Kwei III, Kweiman Mantse and Nii Laryea Brenya I, Danfa Mankralo. Since the coming into force of the Teshie Traditional Council, certain disgruntled elements within the Teshie chieftaincy divide have made it their business to undermine and torpedo the Council. They concoct and spread spurious claims and propaganda on social media and the rumour vine that the Teshie Traditional Council was not a legitimate body. The latest wicked and mischievous claim was made last Friday, 24th November, 2023 by a jubilant crowd cladded in white and parading the streets of Teshie to announce the false destoolment of Gbetsoolo Nii Ashitey Akomra III by the National House of Chiefs. We wish to reassure the General Public that Gbetsoolo Nii Ashitey Akomfra II is still in office as the Teshie Mantse and the President of the Teshie Traditional Council and has never been destooled by the National House of Chiefs as being alleged. Ladies and Gentlemen, last Friday the Judicial Council of the National House of Chiefs delivered a simple and straight forward judgment on an Appeal by Gbetsoolo Nii Ashitey Akomfra III against the Ruling by the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs. Ladies and gentlemen, What is the appeal about? The appeal is against this ruling of the GARHC: "For the foregoing reasons we dismiss the application as having no merit. MATTER TO TAKE ITS NATURAL COURSE" . The Parties in this Petition were listed as follows: Nii Ashitei Amarh, (2) Nii Okai Duamro, (3) Daniel Ashitei Amarh and (4) Asafoatse Yenko Yenda in their capacities as Head of Family of Ashitey We, Mankralo of Teshie, Principal Member and Lenshie Dzasetse all of whom are Kingmakers of the Teshie Paramount Stool. Nii Okang Duamro later wrote to disassociate himself with the Petition. The Respondents were listed as being Theophilus Amarh aka Gbetsoolo of Teshie and Theophilus Amarh Alias Nii Ashikwei Kwaobotswe. I Ladies and Gentlemen, please note very carefully that the so-called Teshie Council of Elders and the so-called Gbugblah Oblahiiamantse are not parties to this Suit. Their claim that judgment has been awarded in their favour is totally bogus and fraudulent. The Key Reliefs sought by Petitioners: A declaration that the purported installation of the 1st Defendant/ Respondent was invalid, void and of no effect. Counter-Claim by Respondents A declaration that Per Teshie Customary Law affirmed by Judgments of the GARHCs, The Mankralo, Shikitele, Osabu/Ayiku Wulomo and the Teshie Dzasetse are the only Teshie Kingmakers. Petitioners are not Teshie Kingmakers and therefore not clothed with any capacity to file any petition over matters affecting the Teshie paramount chief. The institution of an action in the name of the 2nd Petitioner without his knowledge amounts to contempt as an action cannot be founded on an illegality. Declaration that the election, nomination and election OF Gbetsoolo is not valid is not tantamount to destoolment and the addition of 2nd Petitioner as a party to the suit without his consent, who in any case has withdrawn from the matter, could not be proper ground for the petition to be struck out. Grounds of Appeal That the Committee erred in law and the facts in unduly restricting the meaning and scope of proceedings for the deposition of a Chief within the meaning of section 40 of the Chieftaincy Act, 2008 (Act 759) The Committee erred in Law when it held that the fact the present action brought in the name of the 2nd Petitioner/Respondent without his knowledge, consent and/or approval is not fatal to the matter. Judgment of the National House of Chiefs We have examined the record of appeal and hereby affirm the ruling of the Regional House of Chiefs and hereby dismiss the appeal. Ladies and Gentlemen No Ghanaian in his right-thinking senses will misconstrue or twist this simple and straight judgment as a destoolment order by the National House of Chief against a Chief whose name has already been entered into the Register of the National House. Ladies and Gentlemen It is only the stark illiterate or mentally unstable intermeddler who will celebrate this judgment as a license to depose and install another chief when the National House of Chief has not expressly stated so. Ladies and Gentlemen, while we patiently wait for the full written judgment to consider our next course of action, we wish to assure you that Gbetsoolo and the Teshie Traditional Council will not be detracted from the agenda to make Teshie an enviable place to live in. Therefore, the planned creation of new and additional Divisional Areas of the Teshie Paramount will go on unabated. We also plan to install new traditional office holders by the end of the Year. The long-awaited funeral of the late Teshie Mantse Nii Ashikwei Akomfra III, who passed away nearly 40 years ago together with other fallen royals like the late Nii Ashitey Otswansu II and other shall be performed before next years bloiahejuu ceremonies. Ladies and Gentlemen, We wish to serve judicial notice that from henceforth, this venue shall be the only offices of the Teshie Traditional Council and nowhere else in Teshie. Dont also forget that there is only one Teshie Mantse as the President of the Council with Gbetsoolo Nii Ashitey Akomfra III as the only President of the Council. Ladies and Gentlemen, we thank you for participating in this presser and urge you to go out there and spread this message to all those who have ears to hear. 28.11.2023 LISTEN At a time of global turmoil and division, the international community is preparing to seize the opportunity to reaffirm its political support and collective commitment to United Nations Peacekeeping at an upcoming Ministerial Meeting. Held for the first time in Africa, this high-level event will bring together Foreign and Defence Ministers from around the world in Accra on 5-6 December to make concrete pledges that will help strengthen the effectiveness of peacekeeping. One quarter of humanity live in conflict-affected areas and around 108 million people have been forcibly displacedmore than double a decade ago. In these times, we urgently need the full, unified support of the international community to better serve the worlds most vulnerable populations. Securing broad political support and mobilizing all actors, including local populations, is critical to achieve our primary objective of securing durable peace through political solutions. Enabling more nimble and effective peacekeeping, as it adapts to todays challenges, also relies on creating and deepening partnerships. This will be a key focus of ministers at the 2023 UN Peacekeeping Ministerial. At the event, Member States must demonstrate their commitment to UN Peacekeeping through new pledges that will help meet current and future needs as well as new or expanded partnerships on capacity-building, training, and equipping. To achieve the primary goal of UN Peacekeeping, we need Member States to provide stronger, unified political support to our efforts to help parties to conflicts to secure political solutions. This is in line with Secretary-General Antonio Guterress New Agenda for Peace, which provides a clear-eyed assessment of the challenges facing the collective security system, and offers action-oriented recommendations for Member States ahead of next years Summit of the Future. These complex peace and security challenges require the UN to be able to mount tailored operational responses, and support other actors, like the African Union, in doing so. This years Ministerial seeks to strengthen the tool of UN Peacekeeping Operations. More specifically, it will focus on bolstering the protection of civilians, a priority task of most UN peacekeeping missions. We also need to continue to improve the safety and security of peacekeepers, who are increasingly targeted by threats and violence. The provision of adequate mental health care is equally necessary. More also needs to be done in partnership with Member States to address and end misconduct, such as sexual abuse and exploitation, and to better support its victims. Durable peace is possible only if all members of the community are part of the solution, including ensuring more women are involved in political processes as well as deployed to our missions. Ghana is an exemplar as it deploys a significant number of women to peacekeeping operations at every level and in all roles. Among those is Ghanaian Captain Cecilia Erzuah, who won the UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award for helping improve protection efforts with the UN Interim Security Force in Abyei. Captain Erzuah is one of more than two million military, police and civilian peacekeepers who have saved countless lives, prevented conflict, and supported political processes over 75 years. We are doing our utmost and always striving to do better, including to further the legacy of 4,200 peacekeepers who have lost their lives serving peace. Over the decades, we have learned that for peace to be sustainable it must be driven through locally led solutions. Evidence of this is found in countries like Namibia, Cambodia, Sierra Leone, Timor Leste and Liberia, where peacekeepers worked alongside political actors, civil society, women and youth to navigate the difficult path from war to peace. Despite the demonstrable impact of peacekeeping, it can never meet all needs or expectations. Long-standing conflicts, driven by complex geopolitical and transnational factors, reveal its limitations. This is particularly the case when the Security Council gives missions overly ambitious mandates without adequate resources or political support. The horrific impact of current conflicts on civilians is a stark reminder of the urgency of political solutions. While many peacekeeping missions have operated for decades, they are far from relics of the past. UNIFIL, for example, supports efforts to de-escalate tensions along the Blue Line between Israel and Lebanon, including by liaising with both sides. These operations play a vital role in protecting civilians and maintaining cease-fires while the search for a final political resolution continues. If anything, their longevity is a sign of the complex equation of peace. An equation that requires the consent of all parties involved but also a collective, unwavering commitment by Member States to multilateralism. This remains necessary for UN Peacekeeping to continue to be an essential tool for peace. We look forward to this commitment being translated into action through concrete pledges by Member States in Ghana. The communities we serve deserve nothing less. By Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration of Ghana, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey and Under-Secretary-General for the United Nations Department of Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix In a spectacular triumph over the weekend, the Bluecrest School of Fashion and Design emerged as the Fashion Institution of the Year at the prestigious Ghana Tertiary Fashion Awards. This accolade not only solidifies Bluecrest's position as a leading educational institution but also showcases the remarkable achievements of its faculty and students. The night unfolded with anticipation as the college not only secured the coveted Fashion Institution of the Year award but also clinched three additional honors. The Sustainability Award for New Talent was bestowed upon Ms. Sylvia A. Gyampo, a distinguished faculty member at the school, recognizing her outstanding contribution to sustainable fashion practices. Ms. Beatrice Dede Addy, a recent graduate of Bluecrest School of Fashion, was celebrated with the Best Student Fashion Illustrator of the Year award, a testament to her creative prowess and the school's commitment to nurturing artistic talent. Adding to the accolades, Angela Effisah, a student and model from Bluecrest College, was crowned Student Model of the Year, showcasing the school's success in promoting versatility among its students. The Director of Strategy, Ms. Henrietta Mensah expressed pride in this significant accomplishment. She indicated Bluecrest School of Fashion has consistently stood out for its dedication to practical training and industry collaboration, providing students with a well-rounded education that extends beyond the classroom. As a Pan-African brand with campuses in Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, we are thrilled and proud to be recognized for the impact we continue to make in the fashion industry across the West Africa Sub-region. Beatrice Addy, a student and an award winner beaming with smiles for winning the Student Fashion Illustrator of the Year expressed Im excited to win this award, especially knowing that the skills I learned from Bluecrest School of Fashion and Design the last four years is what has propelled me to this very stage makes me so proud. Winning this award is a great achievement for myself and the family I have made at Bluecrest College. My sincere thanks to Bluecrest College. Receiving the Sustainability Award for New Talent is a profound honour for me and my institution, BlueCrest College, Mrs Sylvia Gyampo said. This recognition from the Ghana Tertiary Fashion Award inspires me to amplify my dedication to sustainable fashion for the Ghanaian fashion industry. Joining the team to receive the award on behalf of the school was Mr. Sunil Hangorani, the Group Finance Director of the College, The Director of Strategy, Ms. Henrietta Mensah, Mrs. Agnes Odamea Larbi, HOD for the school of fashion, Mrs. Sylvia Gyampo, a faculty, as well as students of the school. For any individual looking to explore Fashion and Design, Bluecrest College is the top fashion school in West Africa for this. The school's recognition at the Ghana Tertiary Fashion Awards serves as a testament to its excellence and dedication to shaping the future of fashion education in the region. Find out more about Bluecrest School of Fashion and Design www.sfd.edu.gh Some female farmers, who went for firewood collection were saved from thirst by good Samaritan officers of the Ghana Police Service. The farmers walked long distances to fetch firewood for preparing meals for their families, which takes several hours scavenging the bushes. Constable Stephen Nyamadu, Constable Eric Akomeah and Constable Samuel Asante, were spotted in a viral video providing sachets water for the women, who were returning from the farm under the scorching sun. The officers stationed at the Dambai Police barrier had since earned the admiration of many people after the gesture. Engaging with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Constable Nyamadu said their service to civilians had no bounds and would always work hard towards maintaining the highest integrity. We wanted the public to see the Police as their friends and number one servants, ready to protect them, he told the GNA. Constable Samuel Asante explained that citizens now approached them with a sense of guilt and shame, as over the years the Police had not engaged the citizens enough. They said the Police loved helping the vulnerable because helping the poor made them felt human and received blessings of God. Mrs Juliet Nasagma and her colleague farmers expressed their profound gratitude to the Police personnel for their thoughtfulness and kind gesture. GNA Private legal practitioner, Lawyer Maurice Ampaw has argued that the 24-hour economy proposed by former President John Dramani Mahama is a bad policy. For him, a 24-hour economy in Ghana will be a scary one. He noted that persons who work the night shifts in the 24-hour economy are likely to run into ghosts and bad spirits in the night. Speaking on Wontumi TV, Lawyer Maurice Ampaw called on witches and wizards whose activities would be interrupted at night to rise against John Dramani Mahama and ensure he does not get to become president to implement his 24-hour economy policy. Witches and wizards work in the night but Mahama is saying he wont let them work because of his 24-hour economy. All witches and wizards must rise against Mahama and ensure he does not come to power. Once he comes you wont be able to work at night, Lawyer Maurice Ampaw said. He continued, If we start doing night economy people will meet ghosts, bad spirits. Those who have accepted the 24-hour economy you dont know what you are talking about. Maurice Ampaw, a lawyer to President Akufo-Addo and a member of Bawumia's campaign team espouses one of the reasons Bawumia is against John Dramani Mahama's #24HourWorkingEconomy Policy. #BlameBawumia #24HourEconomy #TheGameChanger pic.twitter.com/50AXUwYyuB General Marcus! (@marcusadampah) November 28, 2023 The 24-hour economy proposed by John Dramani Mahama has become a topical issue in the country. It has widely been discussed on both traditional and social media. While economist notes that if properly implemented it will be beneficial to the economic growth of the country, officials of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) including Vice President John Dramani Mahama has described it as a bad idea. Despite the criticism and ridicule, the flagbearer of the NDC says Mahama will implement the 24-hour economy when Ghanaians vote for him to become President again. Farida Dauda, contestant no.8 28.11.2023 LISTEN The grand finale of Miss Health Ghana 2023 saw numerous and formidable contestants battle for the crown on Sunday, November 26, 2023 at the Labadi Beach Hotel in the Greater Accra Region. The fifth edition of Miss Health Ghana kick started on September 9, 2023 which brought together 15 various female talents across the country. The winner goes home with amazing prizes which include, an official car, ambassadorial deals and gifts from sponsors. Besides, Codo, contestant number 6 was adjudged the winner of Miss Health Ghana 2023 with a total vote of 17,828; the highest in the contest for the year 2023 as Arab, contestant number 3 emerged the 1st Runner-up with 10,356 votes. Esinu, contestant number 5 settled for the 2nd Runner-up position with a total vote of 9,306 to complete the top 3. Surprisingly, Farida Dauda, contestant number 8 leapfrogged six other ladies to arrive as the 3rd Runner-up despite having the second least votes of 840 on the night. Elsewhere, Dora, contestant number 9 who boasts 11,830 votes settled for the final slot in the top 5 as Tori (6,696 votes), Enyonam (587 votes), Mable (1,650 votes), Joycie (870 votes), and Abena (1,739 votes) eventually missed out in the top 5. According to reports on individual honors, Arab, contestant number 3 won the Most Eloquent of the beauty cavalcade whereas Esinu, contestant number 5 won Miss Catwalk. University of Education, Winnebas Farida won Best Talent as the crown queen Codo, contestant number 6 won the Beauty for Health Project. The event was fabulously hosted by Ohemaa Achia Agyekum and Afilola. Meanwhile, talking about the challenges prior to the showdown, Gladys Akyere, former Miss Health Ghana said it is disappointing for the queens to reach their maximum heights due to their work schedules and the amount of money required to run the project. Gladys noted that her outfit; Lamrock Agency intends to give 10,000 menstrual cups to people. The Eastern Nzema Traditional Council (ENTC) has tasked a seven-member committee to act as roving scouts to check galamsey activities that have polluted river bodies in their enclave. The move formed part of concrete steps taken by the traditional council to abate the galamsey nuisance which had degraded lands and polluted river bodies which flow into the Greater Amanzule River at Azulenloanu and other communities in the Ellembelle District. The committee is chaired by the Chief of Ambainu, Nana Nyamekeh Fofole, with the Chief of Azulenloanu, Nana Addo Nreda VI, the Chief of Bakanta, Nana Aka Nwoza III, and Chief of Nkroful, Nana Kwasi Kutuah V. as members. The rest of the members are, the Chief of Teleku-Bokazo, Nana Afful Kwaw II, the Divisional Chief of Kikam, Nana Etease II and the Chief of Esiama, Nana Ainoo-Kwagyan III. Among the terms of reference, the committee is tasked to inspect galamsey sites in various communities with the help of drones and slap injunction on communities found culpable of the menace. As part of the move, the committee is also expected to undertake thorough investigations and nip in the bud, galamsey operations which were having rippling effects on the Greater Amanzule River in recent times. Speaking to Ghana News Agency at his palace in Ambainu, Nana Nyamekeh Fofole expressed wary that galamsey activities in the area had devastated lands and river bodies making the future bleak for posterity. Nana Nyamekeh Fofole lamented that the upsurge in galamsey activities had far-reaching consequences such as drinking polluted and poisonous water with cyanide, lead and mercury. The Chairman explained that since upstream river bodies such as Rivers Subri, Broma, Ebi and Fienza meandered their way through communities such as Ebi, Tandane, Asasetre, Nvenlesolo, Bomoakpole, Anwia, Teleku-Bokazo, Nkroful and Esiama before they finally entered the Greater Amanzule River at Azulenloanu, Bakanta and Ambainu, the committee would patrol all those areas as part of the operations. The traditional ruler said the Council was vehemently opposed to galamsey activities and had made several moves to stop it. He warned communities which were neck deep in galamsey activities to halt the practice and find viable alternative livelihoods such as rubber plantation, skills training, and other self-employable skills to make a living. Nana Addo Nreda VI, the Chief of Azulenloanu where the Greater Amanzule River entered the sea, acknowledged that the colour of the river had changed in recent times. According to him, there was no galamsey activities going on in the Greater Amanzule proper but attributed the pollution of the river to rivers from neighbouring communities such as Ebi, Tandane, Asasetre, Bomoakpole, Anwia, Teleku-Bokazo, Nkroful among others. Nana Addo Nreda VI lamented that some detractors have tagged him to be involved in galamsey in the Greater Amanzule but denied flatly, adding that he was opposed to galamsey. He said the Greater Amanzule River had been the source of livelihood for people within the catchment area for decades and Nananom would fish out the culprits and bring them to book. Nana Addo Nreda VI said fighting galamsey had become difficult due to political interferences, adding that the power of traditional rulers had been de-emphasized. Nana Addo Nreda VI alleged that open galamsey activities were ongoing along the Teleku-Bokazo to Anwia main road in broad daylight but that the police had failed to arrest such Galamseyers. He was happy with the constitution of the committee and stressed that it would help clamp down on all illegal miners in the district. The Greater Amanzule River is a source of drinking water to many communities, it is also noted for its eco-tourist potential and wetlands conservation as well as a source of livelihood for indigenes and those in the diaspora. GNA Madam Maud Adjeley Ashong Elliot, the Vice President, Internet Society of Ghana, has advised women and girls to refrain from posting and storing their nude photographs online, particularly on social media platforms. In a presentation delivered at the National Stakeholder's Forum On Women's Online Rights in Ghana held in Accra, she said, the act, often done with clear intentions often caused cyber bulling, online harassment, blackmail, safety issues which compromised women's reputation, affect their mental health and self-worth. This, she explained, could lead to partial or total withdrawal from the online society thus defeating efforts to garner more female inclusion in the online space. Let's stop sharing our nude pictures online because, whenever you send a message on a platform such as Whatsapp, the original copy is kept in their servers. They only send a copy of it to the person you have sent the message to. Everything you post online is kept; whether you delete it on your phone or not. So, let's not even share nudes at all, she said. The University of Professional Studies also called for a more stringent legal framework, including education to safeguard the security of women and girls on the Ghanaian cyber space. Madam Hilda Odua Sowah, the Head of Accreditation and Certification at the Data Protection Commission, in an interview on data protection safeguards for women, cautioned them to be mindful of what they shared particularly personal data or information. She however, advised women to take deliberate steps to use technologies available to protect such online information. Once you are on social media and you have a password, I advise that you change it frequently, she said. She also asked all to know their data protection rights as stipulated in the Data Protection Act of 2012 (Act 843) to channel grievances that involved data breaches. Ghana, according to the Cyber Security Authority, was ranked eighth globally for the amount of time individuals spent online and ranked 21st for usage of the internet for work purposes. The above statistics made the country one of the most vulnerable countries prone to cyber-attacks such as Malware, Phishing, Business email compromises, mobile money scams, and data breaches. On his part, Mr Kwaku Krobia Asante, a lead fact checker, in his presentation dubbed, Gendered Disinformation in Ghana, called on the Government and Civil Society Organisations to build the capacities of journalists to produce, publish and promote online gender-sensitive content. GNA The recent declaration by the Catholic Bishops' Conference in support of the anti-LGBTQ bill under consideration in the Ghanaian parliament has underscored their stance that LGBTQI identities should not become normalized within Ghanaian society. This position aligns with the views previously expressed by numerous religious groups regarding the normalization of LGBTQI identities. Many of these groups also endorse the proposed legislation aimed at prohibiting LGBTQ activities. In a significant development, Cardinal Peter Turkson has offered a nuanced perspective on this religious viewpoint, marking a notable shift in the discourse. Cardinal Turkson has articulated that while LGBTQI lifestyles and behaviours should not be criminalized, it is essential to respect cultural sensitivities. He acknowledges that a lack of education and misconceptions about Western influence has contributed to the political complexities surrounding this issue. Cardinal Turkson emphasizes the need for a thorough and impartial discussion on this subject, advocating for the societal acceptance of LGBTQ individuals who are not criminals. He also points out that political and religious opinions, which may be influenced by perceptions of Western funding to promote certain freedoms, should not serve as a basis for criminalizing LGBTQ lifestyles. In light of Cardinal Turkson's position, the viewpoints expressed by the Speakers of Parliament and the Catholic Bishops' Conference appear to be premature and not fully aligned with the perspectives of their highest ecclesiastical authorities. It is evident that LGBTQI individuals are not criminals, and no legislation should be enacted in Ghana to criminalize them on this basis. Therefore, the current anti-LGBTQ bill in the Ghanaian parliament, which seeks to outlaw LGBTQ orientations, should not be misconstrued as a reflection of cultural or religious beliefs, but rather as a political strategy to engage in an economic confrontation with Western nations. Cardinal Turkson's stance serves as a reminder that religious beliefs should not restrict individuals' lifestyles and behaviours, and it calls for a broader understanding among religious communities that LGBTQ people are not criminals. BY Isaac Ofori Human Rights Advocate BA, MA, MPhil, PhD Student (UEW, SCMS) A prison inmate is suing the director of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services for his decision not to retroactively apply the sentencing reform bill passed by lawmakers earlier this year. Kirk Robinson said Director Rob Jeffreys issued a memo to the incarcerated population that the department would not be recalculating any incarcerated individual's sentence decided before Sept. 2, the date LB50 took effect. The law, which passed in a 34-15 vote, covers a wide range of criminal justice reforms, including increasing Nebraskas problem-solving courts and making certain offenders eligible for parole earlier. It was the latter that has raised questions, among Jeffreys and Rosalyn Cotton, chairperson of the Nebraska Board of Parole, who sought a formal opinion on the interpretation and constitutionality of LB50 from Attorney General Mike Hilger's Office. Lawmakers made their intention clear that the law was to be applied retroactively, but Hilger's office on Sept. 6 issued an opinion that it likely was a violation of the separation of powers and, therefore, unconstitutional. His office since has filed a lawsuit challenging that portion of the law. They sought first to directly file the case with the Nebraska Supreme Court, which denied the move. The case now will be heard by Lancaster County District Judge Susan Strong. In response to the opinion, which isn't binding on courts, Jeffreys said the department would not impose the new requirements retroactively on inmates sentenced before Sept. 2, the day LB50 took effect. In the petition for injunctive relief seeking to force the state to apply the law, Robinson, who is representing himself and is a prolific lawsuit filer, said he is currently housed with a cellmate in a cell designed for only one person, due to overcrowding. According to the prisons' website, NDCS is at 150% of design capacity, as of fiscal year 2022. Robinson said a new prison, which lawmakers approved funding for last session, may not be needed if LB50 was applied as intended, which would reduce the tax burden. "LB50 does not make parole mandatory. It merely intends to try to expedite the parole process. The parole board still can deny an individual parolee if it so chooses," he wrote. Before passing, LB50 faced pushback this year during every round of debate, primarily from a handful of Republican lawmakers and the County Attorneys Association, concerned among other things that it could reduce sentences for repeat offenders and substantially decrease the time inmates would serve in prison before being granted parole. Omaha Sen. Justin Wayne, who sponsored the bill, argued it was essential to the success of Nebraska's criminal justice system and said measures in it could help reduce recidivism rates contributing to Nebraska's prison overcrowding problem. Top Journal Star photos for November 2023 Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference (GCBC) has submitted a paper to Parliaments Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs expressing its position on the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, also known as the anti-LGBTQI+ bill. The GCBC in the paper affirmed its support for the bills objective to protect the institution of family and promote proper sexual human rights in Ghana. The Conference believes that the bill aligns with the moral teachings of the Catholic Church and the values held by a significant portion of the Ghanaian population. We, the Catholic Bishops of Ghana, write in support of the draft Bill presented to Parliament to make homosexual practices illegal in Ghana. Our voice needs to be heard on this matter not only because, in our view, it is morally unacceptable but also because according to the 2010 population census, the Catholic Church in Ghana constitutes a sizable percentage of the population, i.e., about 13.1 percent of the population of Ghana. While upholding the Churchs stance against homosexual practices, the GCBC emphasized that the bill should not infringe upon the fundamental rights of LGBTQI+ individuals. The Conference in its paper called for respect and compassion towards all persons, regardless of their sexual orientation. In the view of the Church, it is not right to subject homosexuals to any form of harassment simply because they are homosexuals. The intrinsic dignity of each person must always be respected in word, in action and in law. Homosexuals must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity. According to Pope Francis, the homosexual person needs to be respected in his or her dignity and treated with consideration, and 'every sign of unjust discrimination' is to be carefully avoided, particularly any form of aggression or violence (Amoris Laetitia 250). Families with LGBT members need respectful pastoral guidance from the church and its pastors so that gays and lesbians can fully carry out God's will in their lives (Amoris Laetitia 250). The paper presented by the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference comes on the back of the pronouncement by Cardinal Peter Appiah Turkson in a BBC interview where he stated that homosexuality should not be a criminal offence and people should be helped to understand the issue better. Parliament is currently considering the Promotion of Proper Sexual Human Rights and Ghanaian Family Values also known as the anti-LGBT bill. The Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill aims to criminalize LGBTQ+ activities, prohibit the promotion and advocacy of LGBTQ+ content, and provide protection and support for children and individuals involved in LGBTQ+ issues. Read the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conferences full paper below: THE CLERK TO THE COMMITTEE COMMITTEE ON CONSTITUTIONAL, LEGAL AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS OFFICE OF PARLIAMENT OSU-ACCRA GHANA CATHOLIC BISHOPS' CONFERENCE' PAPER ON THE DRAFT BILL ON HOMOSEXUALITY IN GHANA We, the Catholic Bishops of Ghana, write in support of the draft Bill presented to Parliament to make homosexual practices illegal in Ghana. Our voice needs to be heard on this matter not only because, in our view, it is morally unacceptable but also because according to the 2010 population census, the Catholic Church in Ghana constitutes a sizable percentage of the population, i.e., about 13.1 percent of the population of Ghana. As a Church, we want this abominable practice made illegal in our country. Our reasons will become clear from the following. The Bible and Homosexuality The Bible, which is foundational to Christian beliefs and practices, condemns the practice. In the Old Testament, this practice was seen as a perversion and a pagan abomination. In Lev 18:22 we read, You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. Similarly, in Lev 20:13 we read, If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death, their blood is upon them. Another passage relevant in this discussion is Gen 19:1-28. While admittedly the text of Gen 19:1-28 does not deal with homosexual people, it does not deny the fact that what the men of Sodom intended to do with the two male guests of Lot constituted homosexual acts (cf. Gen 19:5: the Hebrew verb yada' is a biblical euphemism for sexual relations). Lot's offer to give his two virgin daughters in place of the two male guests shows that he perceived the desire of the men of Sodom as perverted lust. While the idea of intolerance and hostility towards the stranger is present in the text, it is certainly sexual perversion, i.e., their desire to engage in homosexual acts, which is at the root of the crimes of the men of Sodom. Most of the references to homosexuality in the New Testament occur in the letters of Paul. The clearest is Rom 1:26-27. In this passage, Paul argues that pagans, even without the biblical revelation, ought to have honoured the true God but they turned instead to idolatry. Because of this primary disorder, God gave them over to sexual disorder as well, both women and men exchanging natural relations for unnatural ones: For this reason God gave them up to dishonourable passions. Their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural, and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due penalty for their error (Rom 1:26). This passage (Rom 1:26) is the only biblical text that addresses the particular issue of homosexual behaviour between consenting females. Rom 1:27 is the clearest statement in the New Testament regarding the issue of homosexual behavior between consenting adult males. Some interpreters suggest that Paul has in mind here sexual relations between men and boys (pederasty); however, Paul's indictment seems to include all kinds of homosexual practice, female as well as male, and was not directed against one kind of homosexual practice in distinction from another. In 1 Cor 6:9-10; 1 Tim 1:10 Paul speaks of homosexuality. These two verses may be discussed together. In 1 Cor 6:9-10 Paul says, Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor sexual perverts nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God. In 1 Tim. 1:10 Paul speaks of immoral persons, sodomites, kidnapers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine. The terms sexual perverts and sodomites in the two passages translate the same Greek word (arsenokoitai) and refer to homosexuals. The Greek word is a compound of male and intercourse. While its meaning is not easy to determine because of its seldom use in extant literature of the period, it is generally understood as referring to male homosexual offender. In fact, the highly rated Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature translates arsenokoites (singular) as a male who practices homosexuality, pederast, sodomite. The claim by some homosexuals that it refers to exploitative sexual relationships between men, and not to durable ones based on love and mutual care is neither supported by the immediate context of I Corinthians 6:7-11 nor by what we know of the Graeco-Roman society of the time. Paul is here warning his Corinthians Christians against engaging in homosexual acts which he considers as sinful and undignified of the Christian. The Catholic Church's Teaching on Homosexuality The Catholic Church has addressed the issue of homosexuality in a number of documents. The Church's teaching on homosexuality can be summarized as follows: The Church sees the practice of homosexuality as something condemned by the Scriptures and cites in its documents the biblical passages mentioned above that condemn homosexuality. In addition to these passages, the Church sees the practice of homosexuality as being incompatible with the creation stories relating man and woman in Genesis. In the opening chapters of Genesis, the creation of the sexes by God is presented as having a twofold purpose: men and women are meant to come together in a one-flesh unity of life (Gen 2:24) and to beget children (Gen 1:28). Since sexual activity was seen to be ordered to procreation and the continuance of the human race, any form of sexual activity other than heterosexual intercourse is against nature and is a clear violation of right reason. To choose someone of the same sex for one's sexual activity or for marriage is to annul the rich symbolism and meaning, not to mention the goals, of God's sexual design. Homosexual activity is not a complementary union, able to transmit life, and so it thwarts the call to a life of that form of self-giving which the Gospel says is the essence of Christian living. The Church makes a distinction between the homosexual condition or tendency and individual homosexual actions. For the Church, the latter is intrinsically disordered and is in no case to be approved of. In other words, while the Church does not condemn people for being homosexuals or for having the homosexual tendency, it condemns the homosexual acts that homosexuals perform. Although the particular inclination of the homosexual person is not a sin, it is a more or less strong tendency ordered towards an intrinsic moral evil, and thus the inclination itself must be seen as an objective disorder. The Church rejects the unfounded and demeaning assumption that the sexual behaviour of homosexual persons is always and very compulsive and, therefore, they should not be blamed for their homosexual acts. Even though the Church strongly condemns homosexual acts, it insists that the rights of homosexuals as persons should be respected. Homosexuals are also human beings, created in the image of God, and they should enjoy the same fundamental human rights that all people enjoy. However, what are these human rights? By human rights, we mean the universal, inviolable and inalienable rights that are due to the human person as a rational being possessing a free will. Human rights protect, or are intended to protect, the dignity of the human person against State and Society. Specific human rights include the right to life, personal liberty and due process of law; to freedom of thought, expression, religion, organization, and movement; to freedom from discrimination on the basis of race, religion, age, language, and sex; to basic education; to employment; and to property. Nevertheless, according to the Church's understanding of human rights, the rights of homosexuals as persons do not include the right of a man to marry a man or of a woman to marry a woman. For the Church, this is morally wrong and goes against God's purpose for marriage. We should also point out that the European Court for Human Rights has ruled that same-sex marriages are not considered a human right, making it clear that homosexual partnerships do not in fact equal marriages between a man and a woman. The ruling was announced on 9th June 2016 in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. Nonetheless, in the view of the Church, it is not right to subject homosexuals to any form of harassment simply because they are homosexuals. The intrinsic dignity of each person must always be respected in word, in action and in law. Homosexuals must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity. According to Pope Francis, the homosexual person needs to be respected in his or her dignity and treated with consideration, and 'every sign of unjust discrimination' is to be carefully avoided, particularly any form of aggression or violence (Amoris Laetitia 250). Families with LGBT members need respectful pastoral guidance from the church and its pastors so that gays and lesbians can fully carry out God's will in their lives (Amoris Laetitia 250). The long-held teaching of the Roman Catholic Church has been that while homosexual people, i.e., those who have an erotic inclination towards others of the same sex are to be loved and respected and not discriminated against, homosexual acts are intrinsically immoral. It is for this reason that the Church does not approve of unions between people of the same sex. Following the example of Jesus himself who came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance (cf. Luke 5:32 [NRSV]), the Church in its pastoral care is solicitous about the salvation of all God's children and endeavours to show them God's love and mercy. Signed Most Rev. Philip Naameh Metropolitan Archbishop of Tamale and President, Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference -citinewsroom Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited (ASX:BENPG Get Free Report) announced a interim dividend on Thursday, November 16th, MarketIndexAU reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of 1.373 per share on Tuesday, December 12th. This represents a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 29th. Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Stock Performance Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Company Profile (Get Free Report) Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited provides banking and financial products and services to retail customers and small to medium sized businesses in Australia. The company operates through Consumer, Business and Agribusiness, and Corporate segments. It offers a range of products and services, including personal and business banking, financial planning, commercial mortgages and unsecured loans, investment products, insurance, and superannuation. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Bendigo and Adelaide Bank and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (NYSE:CRT Get Free Report) announced a monthly dividend on Friday, November 17th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 30th will be given a dividend of 0.15 per share by the oil and gas company on Thursday, December 14th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.90%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 29th. This is a boost from Cross Timbers Royalty Trusts previous monthly dividend of $0.11. Cross Timbers Royalty Trust has raised its dividend payment by an average of 30.7% per year over the last three years. Get Cross Timbers Royalty Trust alerts: Cross Timbers Royalty Trust Stock Down 0.7 % Shares of CRT stock traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $20.23. The company had a trading volume of 2,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 46,126. Cross Timbers Royalty Trust has a 12 month low of $13.51 and a 12 month high of $30.40. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.51. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cross Timbers Royalty Trust Cross Timbers Royalty Trust ( NYSE:CRT Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 13th. The oil and gas company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $2.69 million during the quarter. Cross Timbers Royalty Trust had a return on equity of 431.53% and a net margin of 75.62%. A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Cross Timbers Royalty Trust in the 2nd quarter worth $1,569,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Cross Timbers Royalty Trust during the 1st quarter valued at about $780,000. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Cross Timbers Royalty Trust by 817.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 20,327 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $517,000 after purchasing an additional 18,112 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in Cross Timbers Royalty Trust by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 13,425 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $176,000 after buying an additional 1,138 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Cross Timbers Royalty Trust by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 13,010 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $197,000 after buying an additional 2,251 shares during the last quarter. Analysts Set New Price Targets Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Cross Timbers Royalty Trust in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a hold rating for the company. Check Out Our Latest Analysis on CRT Cross Timbers Royalty Trust Company Profile (Get Free Report) Cross Timbers Royalty Trust operates as an express trust in the United States. It holds 90% net profits interests in certain producing and nonproducing royalty and overriding royalty interest properties in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico; and 75% net profits working interest in four properties in Texas and three properties in Oklahoma. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Cross Timbers Royalty Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Cross Timbers Royalty Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Morguard North American (TSE:MRG Get Free Report) declared a monthly dividend on Wednesday, November 15th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Thursday, November 30th will be given a dividend of 0.062 per share on Friday, December 15th. This represents a $0.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of . The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 29th. This is an increase from Morguard North Americans previous monthly dividend of $0.06. Morguard North American Price Performance Morguard North American has a twelve month low of C$13.17 and a twelve month high of C$16.21. Get Morguard North American alerts: Morguard North American (TSE:MRG Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 24th. The company reported C$0.70 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$83.65 million during the quarter. Morguard North American Company Profile Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust (the Trust) is a real estate investment trust (REIT). The Trusts investment objectives are to generate stable and growing cash distributions on a tax-efficient basis; enhance the value of the REITs assets and maximize long-term Unit value through active asset and property management, and expand the asset base of the REIT and increase adjusted funds from operations per Unit primarily through acquisitions and improvement of its properties through targeted deployed capital expenditures. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Morguard North American Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Morguard North American and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. San Juan Basin Royalty Trust (NYSE:SJT Get Free Report) announced a monthly dividend on Friday, November 17th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 30th will be paid a dividend of 0.017 per share by the oil and gas producer on Thursday, December 14th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 29th. San Juan Basin Royalty Trust Stock Down 0.9 % SJT stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $6.84. The stock had a trading volume of 84,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 622,366. San Juan Basin Royalty Trust has a 52 week low of $6.45 and a 52 week high of $12.25. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.40. Get San Juan Basin Royalty Trust alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of San Juan Basin Royalty Trust in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Hedge Funds Weigh In On San Juan Basin Royalty Trust Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealthsource Partners LLC boosted its stake in San Juan Basin Royalty Trust by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wealthsource Partners LLC now owns 504,360 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $3,747,000 after buying an additional 28,587 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA lifted its holdings in shares of San Juan Basin Royalty Trust by 56,762.8% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 252,471 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $2,214,000 after acquiring an additional 252,027 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of San Juan Basin Royalty Trust by 198.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 208,562 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $2,194,000 after purchasing an additional 138,777 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of San Juan Basin Royalty Trust by 44.3% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 181,891 shares of the oil and gas producers stock worth $2,077,000 after purchasing an additional 55,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of San Juan Basin Royalty Trust by 772.0% during the 2nd quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 139,521 shares of the oil and gas producers stock worth $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 123,521 shares in the last quarter. 13.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. San Juan Basin Royalty Trust Company Profile (Get Free Report) San Juan Basin Royalty Trust operates as an express trust in Texas. The company has a 75% net overriding royalty interest carved out of Southland's oil and natural gas interests in properties located in the San Juan Basin in northwestern New Mexico. It also owns subject interests consist of working interests, royalty interests, overriding royalty interests, and other contractual rights in 119,000 net producing acres in San Juan, Rio Arriba, and Sandoval Counties of northwestern New Mexico, as well as 825.6 net wells. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for San Juan Basin Royalty Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for San Juan Basin Royalty Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Sienna Senior Living Inc. (TSE:SIA Get Free Report) announced a monthly dividend on Wednesday, November 15th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 30th will be given a dividend of 0.078 per share on Friday, December 15th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.63%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 29th. Sienna Senior Living Stock Performance Shares of SIA traded down C$0.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching C$10.85. 58,553 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 221,268. Sienna Senior Living has a twelve month low of C$9.87 and a twelve month high of C$12.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 254.64. The company has a market cap of C$791.72 million, a P/E ratio of -46.64 and a beta of 1.15. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is C$10.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$11.19. Get Sienna Senior Living alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets SIA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Laurentian boosted their price target on Sienna Senior Living from C$13.00 to C$14.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 15th. CIBC dropped their price target on Sienna Senior Living from C$13.00 to C$12.50 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 13th. National Bankshares dropped their price target on Sienna Senior Living from C$13.50 to C$13.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Sienna Senior Living from C$14.00 to C$13.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 20th. About Sienna Senior Living (Get Free Report) Sienna Senior Living Inc provides senior living and long-term care (LTC) services in Canada. It operates through Retirement and LTC segments. The company offers a range of seniors' living options, including independent supportive and assisted living, memory care, and long-term care services. The company was formerly known as Leisureworld Senior Care Corporation and changed its name to Sienna Senior Living Inc in May 2015. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Sienna Senior Living Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Sienna Senior Living and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Remember that uneasy sensation of feeling full and tight in the abdomen? It's that disruptive force in your daily routine that causes irritation and discomfort. Bloating, with its distended belly, gas, and sense of heaviness, persistently interrupts life, hindering both productivity and mood. Multiple factors, such as overindulging, rapid eating habits, intake of gas-inducing foods like beans or fizzy beverages, unintentional ingestion of air while eating, and underlying gastrointestinal conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or food intolerances, play a vital role in causing bloating. It is, hence, important to stay steer clear of these triggers and embrace mindful eating practices. Natural remedies: If you are dealing with bloating, several natural remedies can offer relief. Peppermint tea eases bloating by aiding digestion and relaxing the gastrointestinal muscles. Ginger, on the other hand, whether consumed as tea or part of meals, supports digestion, and reduces gas and bloating discomfort. Probiotics, found in yoghurt or kefir, foster gut health by balancing intestinal flora, and fennel seeds, (saunf) chewed after meals, helps in digestion and soothes gas-related discomfort. Additionally, Chamomile tea's anti-inflammatory properties help ease digestive discomfort and fight both bloating and gas. In addition to these natural remedies, some popular yoga poses can also aid in relieving bloating. Naveen Sharma, Yoga Lead at Cult.fit, recommends the following asanas: 6 yoga asanas that help in bloating relief 1. Padahastasana (Standing Forward Bend) Instructions: Begin standing upright in Tadasana. Inhale deeply, and as you exhale, hinge at your hips to fold forward, keeping your spine long. Attempt to place your palms or fingertips on the mat beside your feet. If this is challenging, grasp your elbows and allow your torso to hang. Benefits: This forward fold stimulates the abdominal organs, thereby improving digestion and relieving the discomfort of gas and bloating. 2. Ashwa Sanchalanasana (Equestrian Pose) Instructions: Start in a plank position. Step your right foot forward between your hands, ensuring your right knee is directly above your heel. Lower your left knee to the ground. Maintain for a few breaths, then repeat with the opposite leg. Benefits: Ashwa Sanchalanasana invigorates the abdominal muscles, aids in releasing digestive discomfort, and enhances the mobility of the digestive organs. 3. Ardha Matsyendrasana (Half Lord of the Fishes Pose) Instructions: Sit with your legs extended. Bend your right knee, placing your foot outside the left thigh. Bend your left knee, bringing your left heel towards your right buttock. Place your right hand behind you, and with an inhale, stretch your left arm up. As you exhale, twist to the right, bringing your left elbow to the outside of your right knee. Maintain for a few breaths, then repeat with the opposite leg. Benefits: This twisting pose stimulates digestion and relieves bloating by massaging the abdominal organs. It also helps to release tension in the spine. 4. Balasana (Childs Pose) Instructions: Kneel on the floor with toes together and knees hip-width apart. Exhale and lower your torso between your knees, extending your arms forward with palms down. Rest your forehead on the mat. Benefits: This restorative pose gently compresses the abdomen, aiding in the expulsion of gas. It also helps to relax the body and reduce stress, which can be a contributor to digestive issues. 5. Jathara Parivartanasana (Revolved Abdomen Pose) Instructions: Begin by lying on your back, extending your arms out to the sides in a T-shape for stability. Bend your knees and bring them towards your chest. As you exhale, gently lower your knees to the right side, ensuring that your left shoulder remains in contact with the floor. Turn your head to the left, creating a full spinal twist. Hold this position for a few deep breaths, then gently bring your knees back to the center and switch sides, lowering them to the left and turning your head to the right. Benefits: Jathara Parivartanasana is a highly effective pose for enhancing digestive function and relieving bloating. The twisting action massages the internal organs, helping to release trapped gases and improve bowel movements. 6. Apanasana (Knees-to-Chest Pose) Instructions: Lie on your back. Inhale and as you exhale, draw your knees towards your chest, clasping your hands over your shins. Keep your back flat on the floor. Gently rock side to side if it feels comfortable. Benefits: This simple yet effective pose aids in the expulsion of digestive gases and reduces bloating. It also helps in easing tension in the lower back. IBM has recently announced the opening of its new(CIC) in Gandhinagar, India. The move is part of IBM's continued expansion into non-metro and emerging cities across the country. One of the benefits of the Center is that it provides IBM Consulting with access to a wider talent pool while also helping to fast-track the region'sand economic growth.Speaking about the opening of the new IBM Consulting Client Innovation Center in Gandhinagar, Hon'ble Chief Minister of Gujarat Shri Bhupendra Patel said, "Gujarat has consistently set milestones for the country as it progresses in its digital transformation journey and contributing to the realization of the Digital India vision. Our collaboration with industry leaders like IBM has been a key driver of this success and has been a testament to the effective value proposition of Gujarat's forward thinking policies. IBM's expansion of its operations to Gandhinagar through the new IBM Consulting CIC will further strengthen our IT ecosystem and unlock the potential of Gujarat's rich talent pool".IBM Consulting intends to utilize the Center to concentrate on significant technology areas such as generative artificial intelligence (AI), hybrid cloud, and cybersecurity. The center will also employ the pool of security engineering experts to design cybersecurity platforms and accelerators for automating threat management, enhancing regulatory compliance, and proactively preparing clients against various attack plans. "India continues to play a key role in our growth strategy", said John Granger, Senior Vice President, IBM Consulting. "Expanding our CIC network to Gandhinagar will scale our asset-led delivery of IT services and enhance our value proposition to our clients and partners worldwide. This will help us address the growing client demand for productivity powered by generative AI and cybersecurity, which is fundamentally changing how businesses operate". IBM is expanding its presence in Gandhinagar, which will create new opportunities for existing employees and allow the company to tap into the potential talent pool of recent graduates from the surrounding educational institutions. With this expansion, IBM Consulting will now operate from twelve CIC locations across India, including Bhubaneshwar, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, National Capital Region, Pune, Mysuru, Kochi, and Coimbatore. Crypto Exchange OKX Officially Debuts in Brazil, Offers Trading With Advanced Features Disclosure: Crypto is a high-risk asset class. This article is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice. By using this website, you agree to our terms and conditions. We may utilise affiliate links within our content, and receive commission. Crypto platform OKX announced its official launch in Brazil, offering users with advanced crypto features including trading and staking rewards. The roll-out would feature a Web3 wallet in Brazil, providing a secured and trusted gateway to DeFi and crypto trading. The company said in a Monday official release, that it would provide trading with Brazilian real fiat-on ramp capabilities. We know that Brazilians expect fast and liquid trading, along with a secure self-custody wallet solution, all in one app, said OKX Brazil General Manager Guilherme Sacamone. The news comes days after the crypto exchange applied for a virtual asset trading platform (VATP) license in Hong Kong. OKX became the first major industry player to apply in Hong Kong under the new crypto regime. Wallet Features OKX President Hong Fang said that the OKX wallet comes with a slew of features including easy access to DeFi, NFTs, dApps and more. Further, the wallet features both Multi-Party Computation (MPC) technology and Account Abstraction (AA) features, which helps in wider adoption among non-technical users. We look forward to driving innovation and growth of the Web3 and crypto economy with millions of users as the market matures in Brazil. A recent study conducted by the OKX exchange revealed that Brazilians found security as the major concern. Among the responders, 92% urged for a clear and transparent security regulations for their investments. Over 85% voted for proof of reserves (PoR) as a legitimate way of verifying customer assets held by a crypto exchange. Given the results of our recent survey, we also recognize that security and transparency are top priorities for crypto users in the country, says Sacamone. Therefore, OKX provides its trading solutions with the best security features, such as our robust Proof of Reserves program. Singapore Central Bank Chief Sees No Future for Private Cryptocurrencies Disclosure: Crypto is a high-risk asset class. This article is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice. By using this website, you agree to our terms and conditions. We may utilise affiliate links within our content, and receive commission. Singapores central banks managing director, Ravi Menon, emphasized that private cryptocurrencies falling short of fundamental financial service tests will eventually fade from the monetary scene. Menon outlined his vision for the future monetary system, highlighting three key components: central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), tokenized bank liabilities, and well-regulated stablecoins. Private Cryptocurrencies Fail to Retain Value The panel discussion on the Future of the Monetary System was jointly hosted by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Bank for International Settlements. During the event, Menon pointed out the shortcomings of private digital coins, stating that they have miserably failed the test of money because they cant keep value. He emphasized that individuals typically do not entrust their life savings to these assets, viewing them as tools for quick profit rather than reliable stores of value. Menon predicted that private cryptocurrencies, specifically native digital tokens, will eventually exit the scene due to their inability to meet essential monetary criteria. RBI Deputy Governor Optimistic Over CBDC Success Meanwhile, M. Rajeshwar Rao, a deputy governor at the Reserve Bank of India, shared insights during the same panel discussion. Rao expressed optimism about the success of central bank digital currencies, highlighting the importance of meeting unmet user needs and employing accessible existing technology and infrastructure. He also mentioned the critical role of cybersecurity and resilience for CBDCs to gain trust. Rao noted that the Reserve Bank of India is actively exploring offline transactions to enhance the practicality of CBDC usage. The RBI, among the few central banks conducting CBDC pilots, envisions its digital currency facilitating interbank money market transactions. While CBDCs currently operate on a bilateral basis, Rao suggested that future considerations should explore implementing them on a multilateral basis. My dad loves Mexican food. No wait, let me say that again. My dad loves Mexican food. So when Monterrey Tacos in Shippensburg came across my radar, I knew he would be in favor of a visit and I was not disappointed. I floated the suggestion of an expedition out to the western Cumberland County restaurant in my familys group chat and was met with a text from my father less then 30 seconds later: Im in!!! According to the Shippensburg News Chronicle, Monterrey Tacos is new to town, having opened at 29 E. King St. in June. The restaurant serves a selection of (surprise) tacos, quesadillas, bowls, burritos, salads, nachos and other authentic Mexican cuisine with weekly hours of 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. A banner waves from the sidewalk outside the eatery announcing its presence. Inside, bright orange and green booths add pops of color beside wooden tables and balance out the restaurants simple walls, gray with the occasional accent of orange. Tables and a bar area offer alternate seating for those less inclined to opt for a booth, and an open kitchen allows the mouthwatering aroma of Mexican food to infiltrate the dining space without obstruction. Visitors step up to the counter to order their selection. Several choices are customizable, allowing customers to select a meat of their choosing from options such as chicken, steak, pork and ground beef. French fries and chips are the prominent sides with pairings like guacamole, salsa and queso. Horchata, a Mexican beverage with rice, cinnamon and milk that I sampled at Little Mexico Tacos in Carlisle, is one of several drink options. Others are aguas frescas, or all natural beverages and jarritos, which are fruit-flavored sodas. While I loved my horchata from Little Mexicos Tacos, I decided to switch it up at Monterrey Tacos and go with an agua fresca ($3.45). The gentleman at the counter informed me that the flavor of the day was tamarindo, a tropical fruit. It came in a large cup and while I personally believe the tart flavor could have done well with a touch more sweetness, I believe its refreshing nature would make it enjoyable on a hot summer day. The menu options were many, with even more possible combinations of meat and sauces, but I believe my dad and I put a dent in the selection with our choices. I started us off with a small side of chips and guac ($4.25), which preceded the arrival of our other items. Youll have to excuse me for forgetting to take a photo, but it looked like a typical paper bag of tortilla chips with a large souffle cup stuffed with cold, fresh guacamole. Typically I try to avoid filling up on an appetizer but in this case I was more than willing to make an exception. A number of menu choices caught my attention but considering the restaurants name is Monterrey Tacos, how could I have ordered anything but its namesake to shape my first impression? The traditional tacos ($12.49) come as a plate of four that allows customers to select one or multiple meat options. In the interest of sampling as many tacos as possible, I went with chicken, steak, ground beef and pork. I skipped the cilantro entirely and played it safe with the red tomato salsa, the most mild of the three options, which also listed medium green salsa and hot Monterrey salsa. Soft, warm tortillas cradled each pile of protein which was sprinkled with a healthy layer of onions, and even the mildest salsa had a little warmth to it. After tasting each of the four tacos, my dad and I agreed that they were equally enjoyable (and messy). Keep a napkin or two on hand. With the tacos properly sampled, my dad opted for a quesabirria torta ($11.95) and a quesadilla campechana ($11.99). The quesabirria torta was a sandwich that included shredded meat, a blanket of avocado and onions. Cilantro can also be added. Aside from the guac, I believe the torta was my favorite food of the evening; its juicy meat balanced with the crunchy onion and creamy avocado. My dad spoke highly of the quesadilla campechana as well, however after chips, guac, tacos and torta, I had practically no stomach space left for a taste. Besides, I had to save room for the Bavarian cream churros ($4.99), which came as an order of six, partially concealed by a healthy dollop of whipped cream and topped with a drizzle of chocolate. The still warm churros featured a firm shell with gooey insides and left a coating of cinnamon and sugar in their wake the perfect conclusion to a savory dinner. Monterrey Tacos might be the new kid on the block, but its no stranger to delicious, authentic flavors that are well worth a trip to Ship. Photos: An inside look at the Old Courthouse in Shippensburg Days after a boil water advisory was lifted for parts of Greene County, another advisory has been imposed. The advisory that was in effect for the Twin Lakes and Green Mountain Lakes neighborhoods that were at risk of E. coli contamination has been lifted. Now certain Ruckersville residents are under the same risk and under a new advisory after a recent water main break. The new advisory affects properties on the following roads: Westwood Drive. Branchland Court. Holly Lane. Meadow Lane. Knobhill Circle. Greene Lea Drive. Valley Lane. Spring Haven Lane. Fox Ridge Lane. South Ridge Lane. Rustling Oaks Way. Spring Oaks Lane. Wexford Ridge Road. Lillian Drive. Rosslare Court. Cedar Lane. And Longford Drive. Greene County Department of Water and Sewer, in conjunction with the Virginia Department of Health, is advising certain Ruckersville residents to use boiled tap water or bottled water for drinking and cooking purposes as a safety precaution due to a water main break on Monday, November 27, 2023, Greene County said in a statement issued at about 11:30 p.m. Monday night. Failure to follow this advisory could result in stomach or intestinal illness. The latest advisory is expected to be in effect for at least a week, according to the county. The first boil water advisory was imposed on Nov. 13 after Mountain Lakes Water Company customers in Twin Lakes and Green Mountain Lakes suffered a service disruption, the result of whats been described as significant water leaks. Water pressure was restored within a week for those customers, but E. coli infiltration remained a concern for days. While residents of Twin Lakes and Green Mountain Lakes can now safely drink tap water, residents of the aforementioned roads are instructed to not consume any water from a tap unless it has been boiled first. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, beverage and food preparation, making ice (including automatic ice makers), bathing, and brushing teeth until further notice, the county said in its Monday night statement. Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water and is the preferred method to assure that tap water is safe to drink. Bring all tap water to a rolling boil, let it boil for one minute, and let it cool before using. Alternatively, use bottled water. For those without gas or electricity, or who are otherwise unable to boil water: Use liquid household bleach to disinfect water. The bleach product should be recently purchased, free of additives and scents, and contain a hypochlorite solution of at least 5.25%. Public health officials recommend adding eight drops of bleach (about a quarter of a teaspoon) to each gallon of water. The water should be stirred and allowed to stand for at least 30 minutes before use. Or use water purification tablets. But be sure to follow the manufacturers instructions. For more information, contact the Greene County Department of Water and Sewer at (434) 985-1348 or visit the Virginia Department of Health website. With Thanksgiving wrapped up and stomachs still recovering from leftovers, the holiday season has officially begun. For some seasonal purists, however, it isn't officially Christmas without a tree in the living room filling the house with sweet earthy aromas. For Albany's downtown "living room" in this case, the corner of Second Avenue and Southwest Ferry Street we have a 40-plus-foot Douglas fir to fill that role. It was successfully placed at the Two Rivers Market parking lot on Monday, Nov. 27. That capped off a frosty morning of tree tagging, cutting and wrangling, which started in Lebanon at Weyerhaeuser's Snow Peak Tree Farm. Sierra Barfield, a Weyerhaeuser forester, was tasked with selecting Albany's Christmas tree this year. It's the third time she's been entrusted with the responsibility. It's a privilege for the Albany resident, and she takes special care with her selection, which typically starts a month before a tree is cut down, she said. Barfield will look for the perfect Christmas tree among areas undergoing logging operations at the tree farm. That makes the cutting more convenient for timber workers who don't have to haul their equipment and machinery too far. She looks for the classic conical shape, which is not as easy to find as it may seem. The best places to look, she said, are often just off the logging roads where there may be a stand-alone tree that doesn't have to compete with neighbors for light and space and can grow to its full form. The actual tree-cutting typically happens after Thanksgiving, which gets Barfield into the holiday spirit. "I couldn't think of a better way to start my week, honestly," she said. On this chilly November morning, which dusted the landscape in a crisp, white frost, she led a RAM Trucking driver up to an elevation of over 2,200 feet to her selection, which she tagged with a bright orange flag. Upon arrival, a large logging machine called a feller buncher like a forklift for trees, but bulkier and equipped with a saw skillfully and cleanly chopped her chosen Douglas fir and hauled it over to the truck, where it was then tightly secured with ropes. Kaia Bolster, another Weyerhaeuser forester, stood by watching the operation. She grew up near Albany and has regularly attended the Twice Around Christmas Parade. She was even a parade participant in high school, leading a group of cows as a member of Future Farmers for America. "It's always very interesting to see the tree and how much joy it brings to everybody in the community," she said. She's been with Weyerhaeuser since June, and this is her first Christmas tree cutting. It's an operation Bolster could take a lead on in the future, Barfield said. Once the truck arrived in Albany, Pacific Power workers took over, performing some last-minute chainsaw trims and guiding the tree into a trunk-sized hole in the parking lot. The operation wrapped up just before noon. Lise Grato, the executive director of the Albany Downtown Association, oversaw the effort from the ground. It's her seventh year helping organize the Christmas tree's journey to town. Albany's Public Works crew will finish decorations before the parade and lighting ceremony at 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 3, Grato said. She particularly liked the cones that remained hanging on the tree branches this year, which are sure to attract a few chipmunks. For Barfield, delivering Albany's Christmas tree is a kind of full-circle moment. She grew up in Overland Park, Kansas, and each year she'd go to the downtown plaza in Kansas City, awed by their giant Christmas tree. That was before she was even interested in forestry. Now, she's worked with the same truck drivers who've delivered trees to Kansas City and beyond. "I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, I was a kid, and now I'm working with you to deliver a Christmas tree. This is so cool,'" she said. Your actions must protect the company from what proposes to be a long-drawn acrimonious battle between Nawaz Modi and Gautam Singhania, corporate governance advisory firm, Institutional Investor Advisory Services India Limited (IiAS) has written in a letter to independent directors of Raymond Limited. The letter has been addressed to independent directors, Mukeeta Jhaveri, Ashish Kapadia, Dinesh Lal, K Narsimha Murthy and Shiv Surinder Kumar As per media reports, Nawaz Modi, a board member, alleged that she and her daughter were physically assaulted by Gautam Singhania, the companys chairman and managing director, at JK House (company property) in September. She has also alleged that company funds were being used for Gautam Singhanias personal benefit (CEO excesses)and that she was acting as a whistle-blower of sorts. Despite such serious and heinous accusations by one board member against another, you have been silent. Investors are worried, which is reflected in the significant erosion in stock price over the past few days. Your silence can be misconstrued surely you dont want stakeholders thinking that these accusations are to be tolerated, IIAS said. At the very least, as Independent Directors, you need to communicate with investors and other stakeholdersassuage their concerns and articulate a course of action that you have taken following these public allegations. In the interest of the company and safeguard the interests of a larger set of stakeholders, we urge you to undertake an independent investigation into the allegations of both, assault and CEO excesses. "Your legal counsel and the firm undertaking the independent investigation must neither currently be nor have previously been associated with the Raymond group of companies or connected with the Singhania family, it added. For the duration of this investigation, you must consider asking both, Nawaz Modi and Gautam Singhania, to take time off from their responsibilities as board members. We recognize that asking the promoters to step aside is not easybut as independent directors you have a fiduciary responsibility towards minority investors, employees and larger set of the companys stakeholders. Therefore, you will need to dispassionately separate ownership from management, IIAS said. If need be, we expect you to protect the company from its own promoters. We believe that any settlement between the two promoters cannot mean that such behaviour, unless the investigation shows otherwise, be condoned. Disclaimer: Information, facts or opinions expressed in this news article are presented as sourced from IANS and do not reflect views of Moneylife and hence Moneylife is not responsible or liable for the same. As a source and news provider, IANS is responsible for accuracy, completeness, suitability and validity of any information in this article. An announcement on 27 November 2023 by Carborundum Universal Ltd, a constituent of the Murugappa group, most likely signals the finale to the family strife which saw two of the women members of the family seek an equal right to occupy the position of directors that the male family members are entitled to. The dispute that dogged the otherwise low-profile group, known for a tightly knit family unit that has harmoniously managed different businesses, started sometime in 2017 after the demise of MV Murugappan. The two daughters, Valli Arunachalam and Vellachi Murugappan, disputed the settlement offer for their shareholding inherited upon the demise of their father and sought parity in treatment with the male members. On 20 August 2023, the groups listed entities simultaneously intimated to the stock exchanges the amicable settlement of the pending dispute and the withdrawal of the cases that were pending on this score. The communication implied a series of steps in this regard but with the clarification that the listed entities were in no way a party to the closure. On 1 November 2023, the companies again issued a press release that the family settlement was complete in all respects. Speculation was rife about how it was accomplished and what the respective parties gave up in the process. The announcement by Carborundum, referred to above, in many ways puts a quietus to the subject. The board of Carborundum met and took on record that Valli Arunachalam, Vellachi Murugappan and MV Murugappan Hindu undivided family-HUF (represented by Valli Arunachalam as Karta) stood derecognised as promoters of the company. This would be subject to the due approval by the shareholders of the company. The announcement makes it amply clear that both sisters have accepted a settlement, most likely in cash, to exit their interests in the group companies. The other listed entities of the group would follow suit and have similar board meetings to record a similar change in the status of the sisters from their position as promoters. The next question that would arise is the manner in which the settlement was achieved and the cost incurred in the process for the rest of the family. This is unlikely to be known fully in the public domain but some scattered information helps to piece together how this could have been managed. There are three instances from 20 August 2023, when the first announcement was made, to date that one of the groups promoter entities has sold significant shares in the listed entities, raising about Rs620 crore. The most recent one is the sale by Ambadi Enterprises Ltd of 40.3 lakh shares in EID Parry (India) Ltd for around Rs190 crore. On 29 September 2023, a substantial stake in Tube Investments of India Ltd amounting to Rs307 crore (approx.) was effected by Ambadi Enterprises Ltd and Murugappa and Sons. A week before that, on 22 September 2023, shares of Cholamandalam Finance Holding Co Ltd were sold for about Rs122 crore by Ambadi Enterprises Ltd. In these cases, Ambadi Enterprises has sold virtually all of its holdings in the respective listed entities. It is not to be assumed that the cash settlement is equal only to the extent of the funds raised by the sale of the shares mentioned above. It is possible that some more shares were sold which the present search could not reveal. It is also possible that some amounts would have been accrued in the various group private entities through periodic dividend receipts or raised through borrowings. The actual quantum can be known only when the annual accounts of the family holding companies like Ambadi Enterprises and Ambadi Investments are filed on the corporate affairs portal. The other hyper-technical question that may dog a curious professional would be how the money was passed on to the two sisters by Ambadi Enterprises. Is there a share extinguishment or a buyback or some other clever idea concocted by a tax expert? Maybe any of these or simply that the shares held by the sisters in the main holding company of the group, Ambadi Investments Ltd, were bought by Ambadi Enterprises with the funds at its disposal. What happens to the tax liability is too trivial a matter to seek an answer to. Most likely, the tax collection of the income-tax (I-T) department in Chennai would show a big jump in this quarter! It is observed as an aside that the shares sold by Ambadi Enterprises were effectively in three holding companies of the group: Tube Investments is a holding company of CG Power, Cholamandalam Finance Holdings is the holding company of Cholamandalam Investments and Finance Ltd and the non-life insurance venture, and EID Parry is the holding company of Coromandel International. In all these cases, the market value of the holding companies does not thoroughly pick up the value of the underlying investments! The family has actually raised a smaller sum for the effective holding divested! Further discussion on this is reserved for another day. For the time being, it is clear that the two women members of the Murugappa family have exited the group, marking perhaps the first such break in the family which is currently well beyond the third generation when family groups are feared to disintegrate. Compared to many family feuds that are multi-generational, the Murugappa family has solved and put a lid on what otherwise could have been opening a can of worms, as has happened and is happening in many cases in full public glare. You may also want to read is a classicist based in Wellington, New Zealand. He is the author of Early Greek Hexameter Poetry (Cambridge, 2015) and has written articles on many aspects of Greek language, literature, and myth. 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. Kenya raises alarm as flooding death toll rises to 76, with thousands marooned by worsening rains Kenya raises alarm as flooding death toll rises to 76, with thousands marooned by worsening rains View Photo NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) The Kenyan government on Monday urged people living in flood-prone areas to relocate to higher ground as heavy rains and flash floods continued to wreak havoc across East Africa. At least 76 people have died and 40,000 displaced from their homes since the rains began pounding the country in October. President William Ruto convened an emergency cabinet meeting on Monday and said 38 of Kenyas 47 counties had been affected by floods and mudslides made worse by the El Nino phenomenon. State House spokesperson Hussein Mohammed also noted disease outbreaks, destruction of infrastructure and property as well as prolonged power outages across Kenya and the region. The worst affected areas are the coastal cities of Mombasa and Malindi and the northern Kenya region which borders Somalia, also hit hard by flooding. In Kenyas Garissa town, thousands of people have been displaced after their homes were swept away. All roads are destroyed. I dont even know where people will go, Garissa resident Joel Ngui told The Associated Press. Many roads and bridges have been washed away or partially destroyed, making it difficult to reach people marooned by flood waters. Residents living by the Tana River, Kenyas largest, have been left homeless and hungry after it burst its banks. Marian Ware, a widow and mother of five, escaped with her children after her home was carried away. She constructed a makeshift shelter on higher ground. I had no one to help me, my husband died a long time ago, she said. I was struggling to get my children to safety. When I went back, everything was gone. Ruto on Sunday activated a National Disaster Operation Center but fell short of declaring the floods a national emergency. His spokesperson, Hussein, said that could change if things get out of hand, if things get worse. Kenyas meteorological department has warned that the heavy rains will continue into the new year. In Somalia, the death toll from the deluge stood at 96 on Monday. In Ethiopia, 44 people had been killed. ___ Inganga reported from Bangale, Kenya. By EMMANUEL IGUNZA and BRIAN INGANGA Associated Press US Navy removes fuel from plane that overshot Hawaii runway and is now resting on a reef and sand US Navy removes fuel from plane that overshot Hawaii runway and is now resting on a reef and sand View Photo KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii (AP) The U.S. Navy said Monday that it has removed nearly all of the fuel from a large plane that overshot a Hawaii runway and landed in an environmentally sensitive bay, but it doesnt have a timetable for when it will get the aircraft out of the water. Rear Adm. Kevin Lenox said there was an estimated 2,000 gallons (7,500 liters) of fuel on board the P-8A. The team extracted all the fuel that they could get out of those tanks. This process was completed successfully without any fuel being released into the bay, Lenox said at a news conference. Removing the fuel will reduce the risks for the rest of the salvage operation, he said. There were no injuries to the nine people who were on board when the plane landed Nov. 20 in shallow water just offshore of Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay. The base is about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from Honolulu. Cmdr. Mark Anderson, who is leading the Navys mobile diving and salvage unit working at the site, said the plane was sitting on a mixture of coral and sand. The left engine is resting on coral. The plane rises a little with the tide, so the full weight of the plane is not on the coral, he said. Kaneohe Bay is home to coral reefs, an ancient Hawaiian fishpond and a breeding ground for hammerhead sharks. There may have been some minor damage to the coral but there didnt appear to be massive chunks missing, Anderson said. Still, the focus currently is on stabilizing the plane and developing a plan to move it, he said. State environmental officials expect to conduct a damage assessment once the plane is removed. The Navy is studying two options for moving the aircraft, explained Lenox. The first is to float it and get it within range of a crane on the runway. Then it would be lifted onto the runway and set down on its landing gear, which is still in good condition. The second option is to float it on top of cylinders and roll it up onto the runway. Lenox said the Navy has three priorities while it does this work: safety of the salvage crew, protecting the environment and preserving the capability of the aircraft. The Navy now has three temporary floating barriers around the P-8A aircraft at its resting spot to prevent any potential fuel spill or other contaminants from polluting the ocean. The Navy hasnt had indications or reports that any fuel leaked from the plane, Lenox said. The Navy also tested the removed fuel and found that no water had seeped into it, which indicated the planes fuel system was still intact. In addition to the floating barriers, the Navy has placed material around the plane to help absorb any potential pollutants and provide early warning of petroleum spills. The Navy has also kept a skimmer on standby so it can remove any pollutants quickly. On Thursday, sailors retrieved the data recorder and conducted a hydrographic survey to assess the planes structural integrity. The Navy has come under intense scrutiny in Hawaii for its environmental stewardship and transparency after jet fuel leaked from a World War II-era fuel storage facility into Pearl Harbors drinking water in 2021. Some 6,000 Navy personnel, their dependents and civilians complained of physical ailments after the spill. After mounting pressure, the Navy agreed to drain the tanks, an operation that is currently underway. Lenox said he is aware of the distrust in the community toward the Navy and is striving to be transparent. He said the state of Hawaiis on-scene commander observed the defueling of the plane and requested that the Navy install a third temporary protective barrier around the plane. The Navy complied. The Navy uses P-8A planes to search for submarines and to conduct surveillance and reconnaissance. Manufactured by Boeing, the plane is a military version of the 737 passenger jet. The plane is assigned to Patrol Squadron 4 stationed at Whidbey Island in Washington state. Patrol squadrons were once based at Kaneohe Bay but now deploy to Hawaii on a rotating basis. The Navy has flown out another P-8A from Washington state to carry out patrol duties in place of the incapacitated jet. It is flying out of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, on the other side of Oahu. By AUDREY McAVOY Associated Press Rosalynn Carter honored by family, friends, first ladies and presidents, including husband Jimmy View Photo ATLANTA (AP) Rosalynn Carter was remembered Tuesday as a former U.S. first lady who leveraged her fierce intellect and political power to put her deep Christian faith into action by always helping others, especially those who needed it most. A gathering of first ladies and presidents including her 99-year-old husband Jimmy Carter joined other political figures in tribute. But a parade of speakers said her global stature wasnt what defined her. She had met kings and queens, presidents, others in authority, powerful corporate leaders and celebrities, her son James Earl Chip Carter III said. She said the people that she felt the most comfortable with and the people she enjoyed being with the most were those that lived in absolute abject poverty, the ones without adequate housing, without a proper diet and without access to health care. The service was held during three days of events celebrating the humanitarian who died Nov. 19 at home in Plains, Georgia, at the age of 96. Tributes began Monday in the Carters native Sumter County and continued at Glenn Memorial Church in Atlanta. Her funeral and burial are planned for Wednesday in her small hometown. Jimmy Carter, who is 10 months into home hospice care, watched from his wheelchair, reclining and covered by a blanket featuring his wifes face. Chip and his sister, Amy, held their fathers hands and were flanked by their brothers, Jeff and Jack. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, the Carters longtime friends, joined them in the front row, along with former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the other living former first ladies, Melania Trump, Michelle Obama and Laura Bush. Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff paid their respects, as did Georgias U.S. senators and Gov. Brian Kemp and his wife, Marty. More than 1,000 people, including a sizeable contingent of Secret Service agents, filled the sanctuary. Former Presidents Donald Trump, Barack Obama and George W. Bush were invited but did not attend. My mother was the glue that held our family together through the ups and downs and thicks and thins of our familys politics, Chip Carter said. The pews filled with political power players, but front and center were her children and dozens of grandchildren and great-grandchildren all surrounding Jimmy Carter, her partner of 77 years. Their partnership and love story was a defining feature of her life, said Amy Carter, who read a love note her father wrote to her mother 75 years ago. Journalist Judy Woodruff recalled Rosalynn Carter lobbying lawmakers, campaigning separately from her husband, attending Cabinet meetings and playing key roles including being the first presidential adviser to suggest Camp David as a negotiating place for Epypts Anwar Sadat and Israels Menachem Begin. Those negotiations led to historic peace accords between the two countries. Without Rosalynn Carter, I dont believe there would have been a President Carter, Woodruff said. It was Jimmy Carters first public appearance since he entered hospice care, other than a brief ride with Rosalynn in Septembers Plains Peanut Festival parade, where they were visible only through the open windows of a Secret Service vehicle. He was with his wife during her final hours but did not appear publicly during earlier events at her alma mater, Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus, and at his presidential library. He never wants to be very far from her, Carter Center CEO Paige Alexander said. The trip to Atlanta was hard for the former president but this is her last trip up and its probably his, too, she added. Hes determined. The Carters married in 1946 and became the longest-married presidential couple in U.S. history. Jimmy Carter is the longest-lived president; Rosalynn Carter was the second-longest lived first lady, trailing only Bess Truman, who died at 97. Family members described how Rosalynn Carter went from growing up in a small town where she had never spoken to a group larger than her Sunday school class to being a global figure who visited more than 120 countries. Kathryn Cade, who stayed on as a close adviser as Rosalynn Carter helped build The Carter Center and its global reach, called Rosalynn Carters time as first lady really just one chapter in a life that was about caring for others. Praised for her half-century of advocating for better mental health care in America and reducing stigmas attached to mental illness, she brought attention to the tens of millions of people who work as unpaid caregivers in U.S. households and was acclaimed for how integral she was to her husbands political rise and his terms as Georgias governor and the 39th president. Chip Carter recalled how his mom got him into rehab for drug and alcohol addiction. My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever met, he said. And pretty to look at, too. Jason Carter, her grandson, got laughs as he acknowledged the remarkable sisterhood of the first ladies in attendance, and then greeted the lovely husbands of Hillary Clinton and Jill Biden. She was so down to earth, yall, it was amazing, Jason Carter said as he shared family stories, including the time when his grandmother made pimento cheese sandwiches and handed them out on a Delta flight. She loved people, he said. She was a cool grandma. Country music stars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, family friends of the Carters and their successors as Habitat for Humanity ambassadors, performed a rendition of John Lennons Imagine toward the end of the service. Though the president didnt speak at the service, he and his wife shared a private moment with Jimmy Carter beforehand, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. Joe and Jill Biden were able to express their condolences directly to the Carter family, Jean-Pierre said, adding that the Bidens hold the entire Carter family close to their hearts. Rosalynn Carters funeral will take place Wednesday in Plains, with an invitation-only service at Maranatha Baptist Church, where the Carters have been members since returning to Georgia after his presidency. She will be buried after a private graveside service in a plot the couple will share, visible from the front porch of the home they built before Jimmy Carters first political campaign in 1962. ___ DeMillo reported from Little Rock, Arkansas. Associated Press writers Sudhin Thanawala and Fatima Hussein contributed to this report. By BILL BARROW and ANDREW DeMILLO Associated Press Customer sues Chopt eatery chain over salad that she says contained a piece of managers finger MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. (AP) A customer has filed a lawsuit against the fast casual chain Chopt over a salad that she says contained a piece of the managers finger. The lawsuit filed Monday by Allison Cozzi of Greenwich, Connecticut, alleges that she bought a salad at a Chopt location in Mount Kisco, New York, on April 7, 2023, and realized while eating it that she was chewing on a portion of a human finger that had been mixed in to, and made a part of, the salad. According to the suit, a manager at the restaurant accidentally severed a piece of her left pointer finger while chopping arugula. The manager went to the hospital but the contaminated arugula was served to customers including Cozzi, the lawsuit says. Westchester County health department records show that Chopt was fined $900. Cozzi said in the lawsuit that she suffered injuries including shock, panic attacks, migraine, cognitive impairment, nausea, dizziness, and neck and shoulder pain as a result of eating the contaminated salad. She is seeking unspecified monetary damages. An email seeking comment was sent to Chopt Creative Salad Co., a chain with more than 70 locations across the eastern United States. Cozzis attorney said Tuesday that she does not want to comment further. California city calls for permanent cease-fire in Israel-Hamas war, urgent humanitarian aid to Gaza View Photo OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) Oaklands City Council on Monday passed a carefully crafted resolution calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war after hours of hearing impassioned rhetoric about the deaths of thousands of civilians in Gaza. The council in the California Bay Area city voted 8-0 in favor of a motion supporting a congressional resolution for a permanent ceasefire, along with the unrestricted entry of humanitarian assistance into Gaza and a restoration of basic services, as well as respect for international law and the release of all hostages. Before the vote, the council voted 6-2 to reject proposed amendments by member Dan Kalb that specifically condemned killings and hostage-taking by Hamas, whose Oct. 7 attacks in Israel prompted the war that has devastated Gaza. The motion was met by boos and angry shouts from the packed chamber. Kalb later went on to vote with the majority, noting that the unchanged resolution also didnt mention Israel. In fact, councilmember Caroll Fife, who brought the resolution, said it went through four drafts and intentionally attempted to de-politicize the issue by lifting up what we support and not what we condemn. She said the issue of a cease-fire was deeply, deeply concerning to Oakland residents and called for a moment of silence for the lives lost on both sides of the conflict. I want Jewish children to live as much as I want Palestinian children to live, she said. The deaths of thousands of children, most of them in Gaza, weighed heavily on councilmembers. The number of children who have been killed just since Oct. 7 surpassed the number of children who have been killed in global conflicts over the past four years, council President Nikki Fortunato Bas said. I was absolutely mortified by seeing dead babies on social media, and a ceasefire would be crucial for stopping the killing, councilmember Kevin Jenkins said. Harsher language was used by most of the dozens of speakers, including Jewish anti-Zionist activists, who argued for passage of the measure. They accused Israel of colonization of Palestine and of apartheid and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. Weve seen the targeting and massacring of civilians, of health care facilities, of hospitals and ambulances, said one speaker, who identified herself as a recent medical school graduate. Silence in the face of oppression and genocide, I dont think, is an acceptable response. Others argued that Oakland taxpayers shouldnt be funding weapons for Israel when the money could be used for problems within the city, such as housing the homeless. A temporary cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, which Qatar helped broker, is currently in place. Similar resolutions have passed in Detroit and two other cities in Michigan, where a large percentage of Arab Americans live, as well as in Atlanta; Akron, Ohio; Wilmington, Delaware; and Providence, Rhode Island. U.S. cities have been adopting resolutions regarding the conflict even though they have no legal role or formal say in the process, said David Glazier, who teaches constitutional law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. It raises an interesting question on where they are getting this mandate to speak for the people in their city when nobody elected a city council person because of their stance on Middle East peace, he said. In the nearby city of Richmond, an approved resolution calling for a cease-fire and accusing Israel of ethnic cleansing prompted more than five hours of heated debate in October. The city of Ypsilanti, near Detroit, approved a peace resolution but rescinded it amid backlash. Oaklands resolution demands an immediate ceasefire; release of all hostages, the unrestricted entry of humanitarian assistance into Gaza; the restoration of food, water, electricity, and medical supplies to Gaza; and the respect for international law; and calls for a resolution that protects the security of all innocent civilians. Cities across the United States have increasingly been speaking up on matters that have long been relegated to diplomatic spheres, even working with local elected leaders abroad on what has been coined city-to-city diplomacy to tackle everything from housing refugees and asylum seekers to dealing with climate change. Now, city councils are just the latest arena where intense debates over the war and the United States support for Israel are playing out. Protesters calling for a cease-fire recently shut down traffic on a major bridge into San Francisco during an international economic summit, and the California Democratic Party recently canceled some events at its fall convention due to demonstrations. In some cases, the tension has turned violent. A pro-Palestinian protester was charged with involuntary manslaughter this month after a Jewish man died from head injuries following dueling protests in Southern California. He pleaded not guilty. In Vermont, a man has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted murder in the non-fatal shooting of three Palestinian men studying in the United States. Oaklands action comes as Hamas has released some hostages captured in the Oct. 7 attack, while Israel has released some imprisoned Palestinians. Israel has said it would extend the cease-fire by one day for every 10 additional hostages released, but that it remains committed to crushing Hamas military capabilities and ending the groups 16-year rule over Gaza, which would likely mean expanding the Israeli militarys ground offensive. The war started after Hamas broke through Israels high-tech Iron Wall on Oct. 7 and launched an attack that left more than 1,200 Israelis dead. Hamas also took nearly 240 people hostage. More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, roughly two-thirds of them women and minors, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza. ___ Jablon reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press journalist Julie Watson in San Diego contributed to this report. By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ and ROBERT JABLON Associated Press Blinken will return to Israel as the US hopes to see further extensions of the Gaza cease-fire Blinken will return to Israel as the US hopes to see further extensions of the Gaza cease-fire View Photo BRUSSELS (AP) U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return this week to the Middle East as the U.S. hopes to find a way to extend a cease-fire in Gaza and get more hostages released, the State Department said Monday. It will be his third trip to the region since Israels war with Hamas began last month. Blinken will travel to Israel and the West Bank after attending Ukraine-focused meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday in Brussels and Skopje, North Macedonia, where foreign ministers from NATO and the Organization for Peace and Security in Europe are gathering. Israel has agreed to pauses in its military operations in exchange for the gradual release of hostages taken by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. The agreement had been due to expire Monday but was extended for an additional two days, meaning the extension will be expiring just as Blinken is arriving in Israel. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday the U.S. hopes to see the pause extended further, but it is dependent on Hamas continuing to release hostages. In Israel and the West Bank, Blinken will discuss Israels right to defend itself consistent with international humanitarian law, as well as continued efforts to secure the release of remaining hostages, protect civilian life during Israels operations in Gaza, and accelerate humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement. He said Blinken also will discuss the principles for a post-conflict Gaza, as well as the need to establish an independent Palestinian state and prevent the conflict from widening. In the occupied West Bank, Blinken is expected to see Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Blinken and other U.S. officials have said they believe the Palestinian Authority should play a significant role in governing post-conflict Gaza. From Israel and the West Bank, Blinken will travel to the United Arab Emirates for discussions with regional leaders who will be in Dubai to attend the COP28 climate summit. Blinken has been engaged in furious diplomacy to try to prevent the Gaza conflict from spreading, expand the provision of humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians in the territory, secure the release of hostages and arrange for foreigners and dual nationals to leave Gaza overland to Egypt. On each of his prior two trips, Blinken has traveled to Israel and Jordan multiple times. Between the two trips, he also made stops in Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the UAE. Blinken will arrive in Israel having just participated in an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe foreign ministers meeting in Skopje. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said he plans to attend the OSCE meeting, possibly setting the stage for a U.S.-Russia confrontation there over Ukraine. In Brussels, Blinken will attend the two-day NATO gathering, which will include the first foreign minister-level meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, a body created by alliance leaders at their last summit to improve cooperation and coordination and help prepare Kyiv for eventual membership. Allies will continue to support Ukraines self-defense until Russia stops its war of aggression, said Jim OBrien, the top U.S. diplomat for Europe. The NATO meeting will also address the tensions in the Western Balkans, where there are calls for NATO to increase its military presence in response to concerns that hostility between Serbia and Kosovo could escalate to outright conflict. Violence between the two has broken out twice in recent months, and Western countries fear that Russia could try to foment trouble in the Balkans to avert attention from the war in Ukraine. Last week, Albanias prime minister urged NATO to further boost its military forces in Kosovo and secure the countrys borders with Serbia, warning that recent ethnic violence in Kosovo could potentially trigger a wider Balkan conflict. NATO has already strengthened its military presence in Kosovo established after the 1999 bombing campaign against Serbia with about 1,000 additional troops and heavier weaponry, bringing its deployment there to about 4,500 troops. Blinken will underscore U.S. and NATO support for democracy and stability in the region, including a commitment to back all countries aspirations to join the European Union, OBrien said. Serbia doesnt recognize Kosovos formal declaration of independence in 2008. Both countries want to join the European Union, which is mediating a dialogue between the former foes. Brussels has warned both that refusal to compromise jeopardizes their chances of joining the bloc. The NATO ministers will also discuss plans for the alliances 75th anniversary summit to be held in Washington in July 2024. By MATTHEW LEE AP Diplomatic Writer MERIDEN Holocaust survivor Esia Friedman, who made her way to Meriden after World War II, will share her story of hiding from the German and Polish armies in a talk Wednesday at 3 p.m. at the Meriden Public Library. Friedman left war-torn Eastern Europe and came to Meriden as a teenager. She taught in Meriden Public Schools and at the Hebrew Religious School in Temple Bnai Abraham in Meriden. She was also honored as a Woman of Valor by the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford. Friedmans talk is in conjunction with the Connecticut Voices of Hope program, a Holocaust memorial program in Farmington that provides educational resources about the genocide of European Jewish people during World War II. We are honored to have Esia Friedman scheduled to speak at our library, Library Director Rebecca Starr stated in an email. She has long-held ties to our Meriden community. Mrs. Friedman has a tragic tale to tell, reminding us that this horrific time in history should never be forgotten. Friedmans story Esia was born in Vilna, Poland, which at the time was a cultural and academic center for the Jewish community. Her grandfather was a rabbi who spoke 11 languages and her extended family were successful in business. Under the terms of the German-Soviet Pact, Vilna, along with the rest of eastern Poland, was occupied by Soviet forces in late September 1939. The following month, the Soviet Union transferred the Vilna region to Lithuania. The population of the city was 200,000 then, including over 55,000 Jews. In addition, some 12,000-15,000 Jewish refugees from German-occupied Poland found refuge in the city, according to the American Holocaust Museum. Soviet forces occupied Lithuania in June 1940. In August 1940, forces incorporated Vilna, along with the rest of Lithuania, into the Soviet Union. On June 22, 1941, Germany attacked Soviet forces in Eastern Europe. The German army occupied Vilna on June 24, 1941, the third day after the invasion. According to a 2017 interview with the PBS documentary series NOVA, Friedmans father tried to arrange the familys escape, but her mother refused to leave her sister and brother. Friedman and her mother lived in the Vilna ghetto, one of two set up in the city to gather Jews in one place before deportation. Some of the Jews were allowed to work and Friedmans mother would hide her at home, begging her to be silent. As word of the pending deportation spread through the ghetto, Friedmans mother directed her to seek out people her father had helped for assistance. She then tossed her over the walls of the ghetto onto the street, Friedman told NOVA. According to a NOVA transcript, Friedman recalled finding one of the better homes in the city she had visited with her father. I knocked on the door and I said, Mama said they're going to kill me. Maybe you'll take me in. So you know, I don't blame them for being scared. So she said, Shhh I don't know why the door was open to get into the building. I have no idea. Her name was Anna. And she went in to talk to her husband. His name was Liam, and their name was Lisak and she said, Okay, we will hide you. So why am I alive today? Because the Germans and their collaborators did not find (me) to kill me. And these two righteous people risked their lives to save me. To them, it is my gratitude. After the war Friedman will also share her experiences after the war and of her journey to Connecticut. I have spoken with Esia a few times and she sounds so lovely, said Doreen Guarino, library technical assistant in the adult reference department. We have been planning this program for a few months and are so excited that we'll all finally get to meet her, and hear her personal story. We are fortunate to have this opportunity to hear from a Holocaust survivor, in person, who spent so much of her life in Meriden. I'm grateful to Esia for agreeing to share her life story. She's a treasure. Voices of Hopes website says the group is a nonprofit organization created by descendants of Holocaust survivors from across Connecticut. Voices of Hope raises social consciousness by connecting people to the inhumanity of the Holocaust and other genocides through quality educational and community programming in order to ensure future generations never forget this horrific period in history. Without a specific curriculum provided by the state, schools turn to the group for its speakers bureau of survivors, such as Friedman, as well as second- and third-generation descendants; for learning materials such as the Trunks of Hope, which is a traveling exhibit of replica artifacts, documents and memoirs telling an individual survivors story that students can engage with over a period of time in their classroom; and for professional development opportunities with the Holocaust and genocide education partners within Connecticut. The reason Voices of Hope/the HERO Center provides this kind of education goes far beyond the classroom, said Jeri Butlien, associate director of the HERO (Holocaust Education Resource and Outreach) Center. According to a 2020 U.S. College Survey, students who have received Holocaust education are 28% more likely to challenge incorrect or biased information and 20% more likely to stand up for those being discriminated against than students who have not received Holocaust education. Our mission, always relevant, is to promote a culture of courage to stand up against hatred through Holocaust, and genocide education and remembrance, Butlien said. Go to tinyurl.com/2p9kk48h to register for the Friedman talk. Registration closes Wednesday at 2 p.m. mgodin@record-journal.com203-317-2255Twitter: @Cconnbiz Korean telco SK Telecom said on Monday it has signed several new publishing partnerships, including one with Malaysian operator CelcomDigi, to expand its metaverse product ifland to Southeast Asia. SKT said it has expanded its partnership with CelcomDigi, which began in February 2023, to include collaboration on ifland. The telco also signed MoUs with Indonesian game developer and publisher Agate and Philippine IT company Cosmic Technologies, an IoT platform provider and consumer electronics and mobile devices supplier. Under the partnerships, CelcomDigi, Agate and Cosmic Technologies will provide localized content and marketing for ifland in their respective markets, as well as primary customer support. SKT will focus on areas that apply to all global versions of ifland, such as service planning and operation and content creation. Yang Maeng-seog, VP and head of Metaverse CO at SKT, said the deals allow its partners to gain experience in the metaverse service business without making initial investments for service development, while SKT will be able to offer content tailored to each country or region quickly. By signing agreements with three leading IT companies in Southeast Asia, we will be able to carry out customized marketing in these countries, said Yang. The MoUs are part of SKTs ongoing plan to turn ifland into a global app. SKT launched ifland in Korea in 2021, and released the app in 49 countries in November 2022. In the past year its been developing a range of content and features for global users, such as virtual meetups with K-pop stars. SKT said its also working to add Indonesian, Malay, Hindi and Spanish to the list of supported languages, as these languages represent large potential user groups. SKT is also developing a curation feature that recommends content based on customer characteristics and region of access. Going forward, SKT will provide more administrator rights to its partners to vitalize use of ifland in each region. The telco also plans to recruit ifland partners in the US, India and Europe in the future, said Yang. We will continue to do our best to provide ifland users with content and services that understand their culture and society by partnering with more local companies. William Tyler and his band formerly just William Tyler Band, they recently started touring as William Tyler and the Impossible Truth have a refined knack for shifting at a moments notice from their time-honored Southern-fried krautrock to blues, punk or anything in between. Saturday night, Tyler & Co. returned to The Blue Room to reignite their annual Thanksgiving-time tradition of augmenting the sound theyre known for with a diverse selection of covers featuring guest vocal turns from fellow Nashville music mainstays. The general homecoming feel shares a lot with The Bands grand finale The Last Waltz, the concert portion of which was filmed in San Francisco exactly 47 years prior. Ahead of Saturday, Tyler riffed on the parallels on Instagram, noting that there probably will only be a couple Neil Diamond covers and everyone likes each other. Something else the two concerts share: an ephemeral feeling that grows from knowing what you see and hear is unlikely to be replicated. Electronic artist Eve Maret set the tone with her opening set, her table at center stage festooned with various synths, effects and cables. She began with shimmery bell sounds before introducing layers of live clarinet into the mix. Those swelled into a drone, and the visuals courtesy of Morgan Higby-Flowers dissolved and coalesced into forms akin to topographical maps or television test signals. Eventually, with a few twists of control knobs and buttons, the drone morphed into a hallucinogenic breakbeat while the images in the background streamed together in an array of colors before fading to white. Maret left the stage with a bow. After a quick intermission, pedal-steel ace Luke Schneider saged his instrument and adjusted its pedals, another meditative act before The Impossible Truth took the stage. Tyler and Schneider have played individually with folks like Lambchop and Margo Price and together in various bands, and the pairs paths have crossed frequently across the expanding universe of what theyve called cosmic pastoral music. Among the groups five members there are decades of experience, with music in Nashville and beyond. For a few select credits, bassist Jack Lawrence is an alum of various Third Man- and Jack White-affiliated supergroups, plus many others; Tylers onetime Silver Jews bandmate, drummer Brian Kotzur, has been rocking hard with Country Westerns; and keyboardist Jo Schornikow has been releasing much-loved solo LPs like last years Altar as well as touring with Sunny War and more. As they slid into their opening number I'm Gonna Live Forever (If It Kills Me) versions of which appear on Tylers 2016 solo release Modern Country and the bands recent live LP Secret Stratosphere you could detect fragments of the groups storied history along with plenty thats new and all their own. The special blend includes the ambient groove of past collaborators Kieran Hebden (aka Four Tet) and Steve Gunn with the jammed-out twang of the Allman Brothers or Little Feat. Tyler and the group stuck the landing throughout their set, including songs like Whole New Dude and We Cant Go Home Again. These pieces highlighted their talent with intricate bass solos, a zydeco-esque pedal-steel breakdown and a firm rhythmic foundation. Similarly, the duality of Tylers playing was a feature, both his inventive fingerstyle and his freak-out soloing that calls to mind Ira Kaplan or Thurston Moore. In the last few seconds, Tyler channeled Moore especially, falling to his knees and cradling his Gibson SG surrounded by a wall of noise. Following one more break, the band returned for the And Friends portion and poured their talents into being a first-rate cover band. Schornikow took the mic first for a rendition of The Magnetic Fields The Book of Love, followed by an equally moving cover of Linda Perhacs Hey, Who Really Cares? sung by Erin Rae. A few minutes later, they transitioned into a rowdy bar band, inviting Adia Victoria to the stage to cover Eddie Rabbitts Drivin My Life Away. Tyler introduced the next tune with a caveat: Were gonna play a Rolling Stones song, but dont worry, its not off Hackney Diamonds, he quipped, before the band played Cant You Hear Me Knocking with Annie Williams. Kotzur and Schornikow jammed together a while before the towering Tre Burt appeared to sing the epic cheating song The Dark End of the Street. Memphis legend James Carrs original version made the song famous, and its been covered many times; it was a perfect fit for Burts soulful vocal chops. As the night drew toward its close, The Impossible Truth transformed into a punk outlet, guided by Tylers all-time rock and life hero, The Jesus Lizards Duane Denison. The band ran through a surf-rock instrumental with Denison and Tyler trading quickened solos. For the final number, the band welcomed their official frontperson, Be Your Own Pets Jemina Pearl. Im the Ruby Starr to your Jim Dandy, she joked, calling back to Southern rockers Black Oak Arkansas. Pearls comment felt representative of the entire night, fusing deep-cut references and disparate genres into a cohesive whole. The last song, Wipers Youth of America, exhibited a panoply of techniques, with Kotzur and Lawrence laying an intricate beat beneath Pearls effects-modulated vocals as Schneider and Tyler wreaked sonic havoc. The jam session ended just as it began, riding waves of sludge and noise. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that NATO Foreign Ministers will address pressing security issues at their meeting starting on Tuesday (28 November 2023) in Brussels. Speaking at NATO Headquarters ahead of the meeting, Mr Stoltenberg welcomed the extension of the pause in the hostilities in Gaza and said that this has allowed for much needed relief for the people in Gaza, the release of more hostages, and the delivery of more humanitarian aid. Referring to the intense fighting along the frontline and waves of drone attacks against Ukrainian cities, the Secretary General said that this just makes it even more important that NATO Allies continue to support Ukraine. He welcomed recent announcements by Allies of additional support to Ukraine, including additional financial support from Germany and the Netherlands, the opening of a training centre for Ukrainian pilots in Romania for F16s, and a coalition of 20 countries to coordinate efforts to provide more air defence to Ukraine. The Secretary General said that ministers will also discuss China, the Western Balkans and the threats and opportunities in our southern neighbourhood. Orange revealed it pulled out of plans to acquire a 45% stake in Ethiopian operator Ethio Telecom, stating it saw no new value creation by going ahead with the move. In a statement Orange said: Orange confirms that it has decided to withdraw from the ongoing process regarding the sale of 45% of Ethio Telecom. "After analysis, the Group believes that the conditions do not allow for the rapid deployment of our strategy and the completion of a project that would create value for the company. The operator had submitted interest in the shares in 2021, as the state-owned operator looked to gain external investment to remain competitive against new rival Safaricom Ethiopia. Ethiopia was formerly a single operator market as international companies were banned from setting up shop. The East African nation opened its doors to outside investment when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was worn into office in 2018. Ethio Telecom has around 70 million subscribers in a market with a population of around 120 million, while Safaricom Ethiopia had reportedly gained several million since launching over 12 months ago. Oranges withdrawal follows the Ethiopian government shelving plans to issue a third telecoms licence to pave the way for a third operator, Bloomberg reported there was low interest due to political turmoil in the country. The Middle East and Africa has proven to be a source for growth in Oranges financials in previous quarters. On Tuesday (28 November 2023), NATO Foreign Ministers discussed pressing security issues, including NATOs deterrence and defence, support for Ukraine, and how to work more closely with partner nations. Speaking after the meeting, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Allies also expressed concern about the war in the Middle East. He welcomed the extension of the pause in hostilities between Israel and Hamas, which has allowed much-needed relief to people in Gaza, the release of more hostages, and the delivery of more humanitarian aid. Mr. Stoltenberg said that Allies reiterated their determination to support Ukraines path to NATO and to support them as they defend their country. Referring to new financial pledges from Allies, a new training centre for Ukrainian pilots, and the provision of more air defences and ammunition, he said this helps to save Ukrainian lives and sends a message to Russia that our support will not falter. Foreign Ministers also addressed the challenges that China presents to Euro-Atlantic security. Stressing that China is not our adversary, the Secretary General said that we must be clear-eyed about the impact of Chinas coercive policies on our security and welcomed that Allies are engaging in dialogue with Beijing on issues of mutual concern. Highlighting that the challenges we face are global, he stressed the need to work more closely with partners, including in the Indo-Pacific, to stand up for our values and interests. On NATOs southern neighbourhood, Mr. Stoltenberg said that he had appointed an independent group of experts to examine the challenges emanating from the region and that they will submit recommendations by next spring. The Secretary General also announced that NATO Foreign Ministers had approved the Alliances first-ever quantum strategy and that Allies recently agreed to upgrade NATOs AWACS fleet of aircraft, one of the Alliances biggest-ever capability purchases. He said this demonstrates how NATO adds value by pooling resources to deliver major new capabilities for our security. NATO Foreign Ministers will also meet on Tuesday to address the situation in the Western Balkans, along with the European Unions High Representative. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to NATO Headquarters on Tuesday (28 November 2023), at the start of a two-day meeting of Allied Foreign Ministers. The Secretary General thanked the United States for its leadership and resolute support to Ukraine, and he welcomed Secretary Blinkens strong personal commitment to NATO and the Transatlantic Alliance. The Secretary General said that ministers will address several issues, including Ukraine; China; the Western Balkans; and NATOs southern neighbourhood. (As delivered) Good afternoon. Today, Foreign Ministers discussed NATOs deterrence and defence, our support for Ukraine, and our partnerships, As we look to our Summit in Washington next summer. Ministers also expressed concern about the war in the Middle East. I welcome the extension of the pause in hostilities between Israel and Hamas. This has allowed for much-needed relief to the people in Gaza. The release of more hostages. And the provision of more humanitarian aid. I hope it will be possible to further extend the pause. In our meeting today, Allies reiterated determination to support Ukraine on its path to NATO. And unwavering support as the Ukrainians bravely defend their country. We have seen major new announcements just in recent days. Germany pledged 8 billion euros for next year, and the Netherlands pledged over 2 billion. Romania has opened an F-16 training centre for Ukrainian pilots. Allies including the US and Finland are sending more air defences and ammunition. And 20 Allies have established an air defence coalition for Ukraine. All of this helps to save Ukrainian lives. And sends a message to Russia that our support will not falter. We also addressed challenges China presents to Euro-Atlantic security. China is not our adversary. And I welcome that Allies are engaging in dialogue with Beijing on issues of mutual concern. At the same time, we must be clear-eyed about the impact of Chinas coercive policies on our security. NATO will remain a regional Alliance of Europe and North America. But the challenges we face are global. So we need to work more closely with partners. Including in the Indo-Pacific. To stand up for our values and our interests. We also discussed challenges emanating from our southern neighbourhood. I have appointed an independent group of experts to address this in detail. They will submit recommendations by next spring. Focused on what more NATO can do to prevent crises, fight terrorism, and enhance stability. Ministers also addressed the importance of technological innovation. Today, Allies approved NATOs first-ever quantum strategy. Quantum technologies can strengthen our cyber security and capabilities. But they can also be used to crack it. Our new strategy will help us to seize the opportunities presented by quantum technologies. While preventing competitors from using these technologies against us. This month, Allies also agreed to upgrade our AWACS fleet with next generation command and control aircraft. Production of six new Boeing E-7A Wedgetail aircraft will begin in the coming years. And the first will be ready for duty by 2031. This project will be one of NATOs biggest-ever capability purchases. And make a key contribution to our integrated air and missile defence in the future. This shows the strength of transatlantic defence cooperation. And demonstrates how NATO adds value by pooling resources to deliver major new capabilities for our security. Later today, Ministers will address the situation in the Western Balkans. And tomorrow, Ukraines Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will join us in the NATO-Ukraine Council. For the first ever meeting at this level in the NATO-Ukraine Council. With that, I am ready to take your questions. Acting NATO Spokesperson Dylan White: Thanks. We'll start with the Wall Street Journal in the third row here in front of me please. Dan Michaels (Wall Street Journal): Thank you very much, Dan Michaels with the Wall Street Journal. You mentioned that ministers expressed concern about the war in the Middle East. Did it come up anything beyond that? Clearly, it's not NATO territory, but the members are involved more or less and have - many of them have strikingly different positions. For example, the US and Turkey are on pretty much opposite sides of this. So I'm curious how you reconcile that. And curious whether this figures into any of the work of the group of experts on the southern neighbourhood, you know, considering that we've had migrant crises coming out of the Middle East in the past. Thank you very much. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg: Allies welcome the extension of the pause in those hostilities and welcome the fact that hostages are released and that there is now relief for the people in Gaza and also that more humanitarian aid can be delivered. At the same time, I think it's important to recognize that NATO as an Alliance does not play an active role in the Israel-Palestine conflict. Some Allies are active in different ways. But NATO as an Organisation is not directly involved. We are present in the wider Middle East region. We have a training mission in Iraq to help to fight ISIS. We have a close partnership with many Arabic states in the Gulf, in North Africa, and in the Middle East, including a very close partnership with Jordan, where we do some defence capacity building activities. The King of Jordan just visited NATO. And I also actually in the near future, will also visit the Gulf region to meet with NATO partners there. So, therefore, one of the messages from NATO is that it is important that this conflict does not escalate to a bigger regional conflict. And the message to Iran is that they should not use or seize the instability and the conflict we now see to further escalate and they have to rein in their proxies Hamas and Hezbollah. So Allies are active in different ways, but NATO as an Alliance is not directly involved in this particular conflict. When it comes to the group of experts, well, it's a bit too early to say exactly what they will conclude. But, of course, part of the instability we see in our southern neighbourhood is also linked to the instability and the conflicts we have seen for decades in the Middle East. So I expect them also to address the challenges and how NATO can play a role also to help to stabilize this region. For instance, by working more closely with our partners, Israel, but also many Arabic countries. Acting NATO Spokesperson Dylan White: We will go to VG, in the back. Alf Johnsen (VG): Thank you. Alf Johnsen from VG. One can get the impression that Western countries express their opinion different on Russias violation of human rights. And when friendly countries like Israel limits access for civilian in Gaza to the same protection, in your opinion, are there different standards here on friends and adversaries when it comes to criticizing them? NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg: So my message is that international law, humanitarian law has to be respected in all conflicts and civilian lives has always to be protected. And that has been the message, both on the conflict in Gaza, but also of course, when it comes to other conflicts we see around the world so upholding international law, upholding humanitarian law is important, regardless of the type of conflict then I think it's also important to recognize that the situation in Gaza and the situation in Ukraine is different in many different in many ways. Ukraine never posed a threat to Russia. Ukraine never attacked Russia. The Russian invasion of Ukraine was an unprovoked invasion, full scale invasion of another country. So of course, Ukraine has the right to self defence against an unprovoked attack and to uphold territorial integrity, and also to support Ukraine's right for self defence is something that all Allies agree on. No least because the right for self defence is enshrined in UN Charter. So international law, humanitarian law applies in all conflicts and we continue to support Ukraine because this is about protecting national law. Acting NATO Spokesperson Dylan White: Go next to the Sydney Morning Herald. Latika Bourke (The Sydney Morning Herald): Secretary General, Latika Bourke from the Sydney Morning Herald, just on China, where exactly do you want to land NATO's strategy on China? You raised economic coercion, what's actually in your toolkit to stop or hedge against that? And do you think you'll have your liaison office opened in Tokyo by the time you cease to be SG? NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg: Well, I think we need to realize that NATO has come a long way, when it comes to China because not so many years ago, we didn't address the challenges that China poses to our security at all. It was not mentioned in our previous strategic concept at all [inaudible] with a single word. The first time actually we had some agreed language at NATO was in 2019. And since then, we have developed a common position, a common approach, realizing that, yes, China is in Asia, and China is not a land border with NATO allies. But what China does matter for our security. We see that China is heavily modernizing their armed forces, we see the way they are coercing neighbours, and other countries, not least around the South China Sea. We see China's disregard for human rights. And of course, all of this matters for our security. And just to recognize that it's actually something which NATO didn't do before but Allies agree on that today. I also have to underline that NATO will remain an Alliance, regional Alliance of North America and Europe but this region faces global threats and challenges. And one of the challenges we face is the security consequences of China's behaviour. Also that they are working more and more closely together with Russia. So then many of the things we do are relevant for addressing the challenges posed by China without having necessarily China label on that. For instance, over the last years we have started to do much more when it comes to developing technology. We have established a new innovation fund, we have established a network of centres to develop technology and this is also to ensure that we maintain our technological edge as we see China is investing heavily in new disruptive technologies. When we work with our partners in the Indo Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea and actually now have started invite them to our summits. That's also part of what we do to address the challenges that China poses to us and our partners in the Indo Pacific and not least when we now are stepping up what to do on protecting our critical infrastructure. That is also partly because of the challenges we see [inaudible] China poses to us. Not so many years ago, the issue of 5G was assessed as purely an economic, commercial decision, then actually not least because of the discussions and the work we did here at NATO, Allies realized that who controls the 5G networks is also about our security, and therefore Allies have been much more consensus and much more aware of the security risks related to 5G. So with 5G technology being working with partners, resilience, and of course, also ensuring that we have credible deterrence and defence. All of this is relevant for NATO's response to China. And I expect that when you meet in Washington, we will further develop this agenda as a united Alliance. Acting NATO Spokesperson Dylan White: We have time for just one or tomorrow. Go to Bloomberg here, please. Natalia Drozdiak (Bloomberg): Natalia Drozdiak from Bloomberg, so Finland has now announced that it would seal off its entire eastern border with Russia. What does NATO assess that Russia is trying to achieve by pushing asylum seekers to Finland's border? And what do you think the impact is of a border going up between Europe and Russia here? Thank you. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg: Well, I think this is another example of how Russia is using many different tools to put pressure on neighbours, we have seen them using energy, we have seen them using cyber attacks, we have seen them using different kinds of clandestine operations to try to undermine our democracies. I just visited the Balkans where you [inaudible] them being present. And also trying to undermine some of the governments we have in the Western Balkans not least in Montenegro some years ago. So these are the sorts so the fact that that Russia is now using migration as a tool is yet another example of the attempt to have pressure put pressure on neighbours, NATO Allies, and they will not succeed because we stand together. We support each other. And I welcome therefore, also the decision by the European Border Agency, Frontex, to actually support and assist Finland. There has been no request for a NATO increased presence. Border Control is something that Allies do themselves also sometimes with support from EU agencies, and I'm absolutely confident that Finland is capable of dealing with this themselves and therefore I trust they're absolutely made the right decision when it comes to controlling their borders. Acting NATO Spokesperson Dylan White: Very last question to ANSA here, in the third row. Mattia Bagnoli (ANSA): Thank you, Secretary General Mattia Bagnoli, ANSA, the national Italian news agency. Secretary General, in few days there will be a ministerial in Skopje, North Macedonia, a NATO Ally. Most of the minister present today will travel to Skopje, I say most because for instance the Baltic states and Ukraine. They say that they wont participate to the ministerial because of the expected presence of Mr. Lavrov. I just wanted to ask you if the issue did come up today in the discussions and if you personally think that is appropriate for Mr. Lavrov, to travel right now in a NATO country. Thank you. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg: Well, it's for the OSCE to organize their meetings. The OSCE has played an important role for many years. NATO Allies are as individual countries are members of the OSCE and it's for the OSCE to organize their meetings. So I don't have any advice to give to another organization. My responsibility is to organize NATO meetings and then the OSCE organize their meetings. Acting NATO Spokesperson Dylan White: That's all we have time for now. The Secretary General will be back to brief you again tomorrow. Thank you. (As delivered) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg: Secretary Blinken, Tony, welcome back to NATO. It's always a pleasure to have you here, not least because of your strong personal commitment to NATO and the Transatlantic Alliance. Today and tomorrow, NATO Foreign Minister will address many different pressing security issues, including the Middle East, and I welcome the extension of the pause of hostilities in Gaza. This has allowed for a much needed relief for the people of Gaza and also the release of more hostages. And let me thank you, Secretary Blinken, for your personal efforts to ensure that this happened and that agreement was reached. Ukraine will be high on the agenda. We see continued Russian attacks. intense fighting continues along the frontline. And that just makes it even more important that NATO Allies continue to support Ukraine. And I praise the United States for the leadership, for the critical military equipment the United States are delivering to Ukraine. But let me highlight that this is actually a joint effort by the United States, Canada and European Allies. The European Allies and Canada provide almost 50% of the military support. So this is actually something we do together as Allies on both sides of the Atlantic. We will address China, the Western Balkans, and also how to work to ensure stability in our Southern neighbourhood. Many important issues. Always great to have you here and look forward to the meeting. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken: Thank you very, very much. It's always very good to be back in Belgium, in Brussels, Here at NATO. It's almost become like a second home over the last three years. But I think it's evidence of the fact that what we're doing with the NATO Alliance is more important than it's ever been. And you've seen over the last three years, NATO stepping up in very important ways to deal with the challenges that that we face. And that we're facing together. We will be strongly reaffirming our support for Ukraine as it continues to face Russia's war of aggression. We will be looking to the summit next year in Washington to celebrate the 75th anniversary of NATO, but not just celebrate that anniversary continue, to carry the Alliance forward, including with the commitments that its members are making to our collective defence. We have a lot of work that we'll be doing, as you said as well, on the Western Balkans, with our partners for NATO from around the world, including the Asia-Pacific, and of course we will be talking about the crisis in Gaza and the broader Middle East. Like you, Jens, I'm very pleased to see hostages returning home, coming back to be with their loved ones. And we're determined to continue that for as long as possible to bring as many people home as we possibly can. And that continues. So we have a lot a lot on the agenda. But I have to say this: everything that we've been able to do with the NATO Alliance over the last few years, strengthening the Alliance, making it fit for purpose for the challenges that we're going to be facing in the years ahead, dealing with the Russian aggression against Ukraine, so many other things, none of that, none of that would have happened without the leadership of Jens Stoltenberg. We are grateful to you grateful for that extraordinary leadership at a moment where it counted more than ever, so it's good to be here. Good to work with you as always. Thank you. Top 5 reasons ANY WAR is a GOOD WAR for the Democrats in Washington D.C. Without mail-in ballots and serious machine-flipped votes, the Biden Regime is in deep trouble for the POTUS election coming next year, and Donald J. Trump will surely win. Without a new plandemic, Obama will not serve his fourth term from 2024 to 2028 (he's the Biden puppet master right now). Without World War III beginning in a big way, or at least something close to it, the Democrats won't be able to stave off the biggest election in the history of the Republic (which could easily be the END of the Republic should the CCP-led Biden Regime win by fixing the election again). War has proven for decades to be the easiest way for politicians to launder money and generate the money they need to stay in power. The military industrial complex works very simply, but most Americans have no clue, while they watch the nightly news and cheer for Ukraine, Israel or any other nation that the crooks in D.C. claim is getting a bully beat down. Politicians fuel the war, run companies that overbill for everything and keep the difference. This includes for tools, weapons and buildings. For example, Dick Cheney made billions via Halliburton during the Iraq War for more than 5 years. It's a formula for disguising planned chaos, and it's rather simple. The War in Ukraine is a war chest for the Biden Regime. The War in Gaza is another money pit, and the Democrats have their deep pockets wide open like a net there. The trick? Get most Americans to pick a side and cheer it on. The Biden Regime needs the great reset to really take effect this time around. The scamdemic set the wheels in motion, but it's not enough to keep them in power. They need a World War in the next 12 months. The question is, how will they start it, and who might "finish" it? The United States is run by hostile terrorists right now and child trafficking freaks who are flirting with (or outright planning) the worst disaster the USA has ever seen. That brings us to the top five reasons any war is a good war for the demonic Democrats in Washington D.C.: #1. The military industrial complex is the easiest way for politicians in control to launder billions and trillions of dollars annually. #2. War makes the public accept limitations to their freedom, in the name of safety and security. Even a war declared on our own soil, like 9/11 or the plandemic, is acceptable to them as they want complete control over everything and everyone. #3. A massive world war could postpone the POTUS election that the Demon Dems are sure to lose without a viable candidate, fraudulent mail-in ballots and vote-flipping machines in every swing state. #4. Conning at least half of America into supporting a (staged) war that supposedly staves off the boogeyman (Russia) means stealing taxpayer money to cripple the Republic and turn the USA into a full-blown communist nightmare for good, with the elites in control. #5. The ever-unstated goal of the O'Biden Regime is to wipe out the middle class in America, so a war of "pandemic proportions" is a formula for that "success." One cannot put a purposeful war past the Democrats in D.C., because we've already witnessed their war against all things ethical. We see the perversions in the school system with the whole trans-surgery-and-drugs for kids and teens campaign (that includes pedos and human trafficking). We see the hate system in place for "whitey" and "Russia." We see Resident Biden pulled around like a puppet by globalists, Big Tech, Big Pharma and Big China (CCP). We saw the entire supply chain crumble during the China Flu outbreak. Then there's the Proxy War On Ukraine and Gaza. Listen folks, keep your eyes open and your truth news in check by adding Preparedness.news to your favorites list and tuning in daily for updates on real news about surviving and thriving in the near future, and news that's being scrubbed from MSM and social media as you read this. Sources for this article include: Censored.news NaturalNews.com Expose-news.com Never forget: The coronavirus pandemic, the governments totalitarian actions, and the medias propaganda were scripted back in 2019 At the 2019 Trinity Health Freedom Expo in Chicago, IL, an expert panel of speakers discussed the very real possibility of upcoming vaccine mandates and vaccine passports for travel. What sounded like conspiracy theory at the time, turned out to be reality just a few months later, when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global coronavirus pandemic and demanded strict lockdowns and a new vaccine to get back to normal. Truth-tellers would later be targeted by the federal government for spreading disinformation Many of the truth-telling Paul Reveres at the Trinity Health Freedom Expo would later be targeted as spreaders of misinformation their posts banned, their pages censored across social media. Some of these truth-tellers would later be targeted by the federal government as being part of a Disinformation Dozen. The Biden administration publicly demanded that the Disinformation Dozen be removed from social media platforms, and the heads of federal agencies worked directly with the companies to stifle the truth. However, the intimidation, defamation, and censorship did not change the truth of the matter, and the health freedom movement grew exponentially in the wake of this plandemic. As a scripted coronavirus pandemic was brought to life, with vaccine mandates, vaccine passports, and other forms of medical tyranny, more people began to see the evil and predatory intentions behind the plandemic. Lock downs, fear propaganda, and vaccine mandates were all planned in 2019 at Event 201 In October of 2019, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, the World Economic Forum, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation converged at Event 201. At the infamous meeting, these elitist groups would discuss an upcoming coronavirus pandemic and how they would script the government and media response. This planning would occur ten weeks before the COVID-19 outbreak first began in Wuhan China. This infamous meeting is discussed in a documentary called Plandemic: Indoctornation. This eye-opening documentary is banned from social media and has even been removed from YouTube, but is available here. The script was laid bare at Event 201, with pre-planned media messages that mimic what eventually carried out in 2020-2022. The media messages promoted lockdowns and the destruction of civil liberties for the greater good. There are scripts for PPE shortages and calls to arrest those who spread "misinformation" about the coronavirus. The scripted messages pushed vaccine mandates, and even showed riots, economic turmoil, and the breakdown of civil society. This documentary uncovers the criminal conspiracy behind the covid-19 vaccine agenda, the laboratory development of SARS-CoV-2, the business plans and patents behind SARS coronaviruses, and the wave of propaganda that was necessary in order to manipulate the public into submission with totalitarian global agendas. The documentary takes a closer look at the role of the WHO and Tedros Adhanom, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Dr. Anthony Fauci at the National Institutes of Health. It also uncovers the money laundering schemes perpetrated by pharmaceutical companies and other multinational corporations. It breaks down the scripted media response and the role that Silicon Valley tech giants had in suppressing the truth. The institutions that controlled the narrative played a part in the creation of covid-19 One important fact of the plandemic is that the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) owns the patent for SARS-CoV. The CDC filed a petition with the patent office in 2007 to make this patent confidential. The CDC also owns patents for the testing kits used to detect for their patented virus. Its important to note that if SARS-CoV is a natural virus, then the patent would be illegal. If the virus was made in a laboratory, then the CDC would be violating biological weapons treaties and international laws. Either way, the CDC still operates above the law and controls who can make inquiries into their patented virus and the corresponding testing kits. Additionally, there is also a patent that describes the methods for producing recombinant coronaviruses. That patent is held by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Experiments on coronaviruses took place at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which was funded by grants provided by Dr. Anthony Fauci at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, and funneled through Dr. Peter Daszak at EcoHealth Alliance. These are the same institutions that controlled the narrative during the covid-19 lockdowns and vaccine mandates. For a more detailed story, check out Plandemic: Indoctornation and The Great Awakening, available on the film website, PlandemicSeries.com. Sources include: NAChicago.com NaturalNews.com TheEpochTimes.com PatentImages.storage [PDF] PlandemicSeries.com PlandemicSeries.com PlandemicSeries.com Professors: Free speech and intellectual diversity are not essential to higher education In The Indispensable Right , I discuss how academics are now leading an anti-free speech movement on campuses that challenges the centrality (or even the necessity) of free speech protections in higher education. The latest such argument appeared this month in the Chronicle of Higher Education. (Article republished from JonathanTurley.org) Two Arizona State University professors Richard Amesbury and Catherine ODonnell wrote that free speech concerns yield too much to the right wing and that free speech should not be given the protection currently afforded by universities and colleges. Indeed, they argue that free speech may be harming higher education by fostering unworthy ideas. Amesbury teaches religious studies and ODonnell teaches history at ASU. They wrote an article titled Dear Administrators: Enough with the Free Speech Rhetoric! It Concedes Too Much to the Right-Wing Agenda. The two academics challenge the long-held view of the centrality of free speech and intellectual diversity to higher education. Notably, many of us have been alarmed by the erosion of both values on our campuses, but Amesbury and ODonnell seem to worry that there is still too much protection for opposing views. Worse yet, they suggest that the free speech objections are often part of a right-wing funded agenda. In fairness, to the two professors, they do not reject the overall value of free speech and refer to free speech as among the important values to be balanced in the academic setting. While referring to free speech as essential, we clearly defer on what that means. They are less supportive of intellectual diversity. The authors challenge the assumptions that free speech is a cardinal virtue of higher education, and that colleges should aspire to a diversity of opinions. They insist that higher education is about finding truth and that means that false ideas are inimical to our mission as educators. Indeed, they question the need for intellectual diversity: Our contention is that calls for greater freedom of speech on campuses, however well-intentioned, risk undermining colleges central purpose, namely, the production of expert knowledge and understanding, in the sense of disciplinarily warranted opinion. Expertise requires freedom of speech, but it is the result of a process of winnowing and refinement that is premised on the understanding that not all opinions are equally valid. Efforts to democratize opinion are antithetical to the role colleges play in educating the public and informing democratic debate. We urge administrators toward caution before uncritically endorsing calls for intellectual diversity in place of academic expertise A diversity of opinion intellectual diversity isnt itself the goal; rather, it is of value only insofar as it serves the goal of producing knowledge. On most unanswered questions, there is, at least initially, a range of plausible opinions, but answering questions requires the vetting of opinions. As some opinions are found wanting, the range of opinion deserving of continued consideration narrows. As a threshold matter, what is so striking about this argument against intellectual diversity is that it is made at a time with little such diversity in most departments. Seeking a wider range of viewpoints on departments does not concede too much to the right-wing agenda. It acknowledges a growing problem across higher education, It is an educational agenda that has prompted many of us to raise the reduction of intellectual diversity. We have already seen faculties purged of conservative and libertarian colleagues. We previously discussed how surveys at universities show a virtual purging of conservative and Republican faculty members. For example, last year, the Harvard Crimson noted that the university had virtually eliminated Republicans from most departments but that the lack of diversity was not a problem. Now, a new survey conducted by the Harvard Crimson shows that more than three-quarters of Harvard Arts and Sciences and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences faculty respondents identify as liberal or very liberal. Only 2.5% identified as conservative, and only 0.4% as very conservative. Likewise, a study by Georgetown Universitys Kevin Tobia and MITs Eric Martinez found that only nine percent of law school professors identify as conservative at the top 50 law schools. Notably, a 2017 study found 15 percent of faculties were conservative. Another study found that 33 out of 65 departments lacked a single conservative faculty member. Compare that to a recent Gallup poll stating, roughly equal proportions of U.S. adults identified as conservative (36%) and moderate (35%) in Gallup polling throughout 2022, while about a quarter identified as liberal (26%). Even with this purging of departments, Amesbury and ODonnell still worry that intellectual diversity could be maintained as a goal in higher education. They are not alone in this view. As we have previously discussed, some professors reject the notion that campuses should protect the free speech rights of those who are . . . well . . . wrong. For example, after many of us expressed disgust at the treatment of a federal judge shouted down by Stanford law students, Professor Jennifer Ruth wrote a column in the Chronicle of Higher Education heralding their actions. It is an extension of her book Its Not Free Speech: Race, Democracy, and the Future of Academic Freedom (with Penn State Music Professor Michael Berube) declaring certain views as advancing theories of white supremacy and thus having no intellectual legitimacy whatsoever. Once declared as harmful, it is no longer free speech and therefore worthy of censorship or cancellation. It is that easy. These academics reject the long-held view that higher education rests on the preservation of intellectual diversity, as discussed in the famous Kalven Report. In 1967, the University of Chicago assembled a committee to study academic freedom and free speech that would become one of the most important projects in modern higher education. It became known as the Kalven Committee after its chair, the great law scholar Harry Kalven, Jr. The report contained an eloquent and profound defense of diversity of thought and expression that seems utterly abandoned by many today. It was cited by the Stanford Law Dean in her letter to the law students and stated in part: From time to time instances will arise in which the society, or segments of it, threaten the very mission of the university and its values of free inquiry. In such a crisis, it becomes the obligation of the university as an institution to oppose such measures and actively to defend its interests and its values. Amesbury and ODonnell reject the precept that departments should foster intellectual diversity since accepting this role for the humanities and social sciences, however, means that their faculties risk losing the ability to judge any ideas (or proposed curricula or public programming) unworthy of sponsorship. It is a rationalization for the current echo chamber of higher education. Of course, many of these academics would be outraged if conservatives were to take hold of faculties and start to exclude their views as unworthy. Indeed, that was once the response to far left professors like critical legal scholars and socialists. Now, however, the left has control of these departments and has declared opposing views to be unworthy of protection. One can certainly understand the appeal of this argument to many faculty and publications like the Journal of Higher Education. By simply declaring opposing views unworthy or wrong, you relieve yourself of any obligation to allow such opposing views on faculties or in publications. We saw the impact of this orthodoxy during the pandemic. For example, the media, academic departments, and government agencies allied to treat anyone raising a lab theory as one of three possibilities: conspiracy theorist or racists or racist conspiracy theorists. Academics joined this chorus in marginalizing anyone raising the theory. One study cited the theory as an example of anti-Chinese racism and toxic white masculinity. As late as May 2021, the New York Times Science and Health reporter Apoorva Mandavilli was calling any mention of the lab theory as racist. Conversely, one former New York Times science editor Nicholas Wade chastised his former colleagues for ignoring the obvious evidence supporting a lab theory as well as Chinese efforts to arrest scientists and destroy evidence that could establish the origin. Others in academia quickly joined the bandwagon to assure the public that there is no scientific basis for their theory, leaving only racism or politics as the motivation behind the theory. In early 2020, with little available evidence, two op-eds in The Lancet in February and Nature Medicine went all-in on the denial front. The Lancet op-ed stated, We stand together to strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that Covid-19 does not have a natural origin. No reference to the lab theory was to be tolerated. When Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) merely mentioned the possibility in 2020, he was set upon by the usual flash media mob. The Washington Post ridiculed him for repeating a debunked coronavirus conspiracy theory. In September 2020, Dr. Li-Meng Yan, a virologist and former postdoctoral fellow at the University of Hong Kong, dared to repeat the theory on Fox News, saying, I can present solid scientific evidence . . . [that] it is a man-made virus created in the lab. The left-leaning PolitiFact slammed her and gave her a pants on fire rating. Academics were stripped of their positions on leading boards and suspended from social media, including professors who co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration. The Declaration advocated for a more focused Covid response that targeted the most vulnerable population rather than widespread lockdowns and mandates. Many are now recognizing the basis for those views and questioning the efficacy and cost of the massive lockdowns as well as the efficacy of masks or the rejection of natural immunities as an alternative to vaccination. Federal agencies now accept the lab origin theory. Yet, these experts and others were attacked for such views just a couple years ago and their views were deemed unworthy by many for schools or publications. The problem with rejecting or devaluing intellectual diversity in higher education is that it fosters orthodoxy and ignorance. Rejecting opposing views certainly can advance careers. There are more opportunities for the compliant or the orthodox. Professors face less challenge or contradiction in their own writings. Promotions, speaking engagements, and publishing opportunities are certainly enhanced with the elimination of colleagues with opposing views. However, the result is the gradual death of higher education. It is evident in the rising intolerance shown on our campuses for opposing views and increasing demands for censorship and blacklisting. It is the triumph of the majority, but it looks more like an academic mob. Once all of the unworthy thoughts and faculty are purged, what is left appears more like indoctrination than education. Update: Professor ODonnell has responded to this column and I appreciate her willingness engage us on the blog. I would that all of our readers will show the same civility and respect as does Professor ODonnell. I also wanted to share a response to her arguments. Here is her comment: I appreciate your attention to the piece Richard and I recently wrote. Our argument is not that free speech is unimportant. Nor do we argue against a diversity of ideas. And we certainly never suggest that ideas should go unquestioned: to the contrary, we make the same point that you do, which is that ideas must face scrutiny, competition, and skepticism if knowledge is to advance. Our argument is two-fold. First, that universities should have a more modest sense of their role in society. Free speech is important, we argue, for a vibrant public sphere. The distinguishing value of higher education, however, is academic freedom the freedom to participate without hindrance in the disciplinary processes by means of which knowledge can be sifted from mere opinion. This means that rather than seeking to be an all-encompassing speech forum, universities should instead embrace their limited role as places of scholarship, learning, and teaching, with the pursuit of truth at their core. Second, we argue that free speech and intellectual diversity exactly because one is so easily chastised for questioning them have become gates through which unexamined orthodoxies, buoyed by government or donor influence, enter universities and take root. Imperfect as academia is, weve found that our critics come up with examples of how, when disciplinary processes are pursued, knowledge does advance. You observed that legal theories that were once absent from academia entered the mainstream; new legal theories will emerge to displace those now at center stage if disciplines undertake their role of questioning and vetting. That displacement cant happen if their adherents can simply appeal to intellectual diversity for their protection. Another critic pointed out that eugenics was once important to some university departments. Precisely, we say. Scholarship informed by the tragic moral understanding that followed WWII, eventually displaced eugenic pseudoscience. Eugenics could now be reinserted into universities under the banner of free speech or intellectual diversity. We can all surely agree that this is not desirable. And if we agree to that, perhaps we can move past the assertion that the mere invocation of free speech and intellectual diversity must always capture the moral and intellectual high ground. I must confess that I remain skeptical. Professor ODonnell explains that [t]his means that rather than seeking to be an all-encompassing speech forum, universities should instead embrace their limited role as places of scholarship, learning, and teaching, with the pursuit of truth at their core. This is a common defense against academic diversity. No one is seriously questioning the role of universities as places of scholarship or learning. The issue is the dramatic reduction of conservative, libertarian, or even dissenting faculty at many schools. While raising such concerns can be dismissed as a right-wing agenda, there are a host of polls and surveys showing students and faculty are reporting a lack of tolerance or diversity of thought in classrooms. When these concerns are raised, the mantra is that we have not hired conservative or libertarian scholars because their views lack merit or intellectual vigor. For example, Above the Law Senior Editor Joe Patrice defended predominantly liberal faculties and argued that hiring a conservative professor is akin to allowing a believer in geocentrism to teach. Professor ODonnell also notes that we argue that free speech and intellectual diversity have become gates through which unexamined orthodoxies, buoyed by government or donor influence, enter universities and take root. The dominance of the left found in these surveys is not due to unexamined orthodoxies. It is due to the dismissal of opposing views as unworthy and not intellectually rigorous. That rationale has been used to purge faculties of most conservatives. Most faculties run from the left to the far left. There is no explanation other than to claim that no sufficiently qualified conservative, libertarian, or dissenting candidates applied. Years go by for many schools without a single qualified candidate with conservative or dissenting views on major issues. In the meantime, states are expected to continue to fund schools that often exclude the values and views of the majority of the taxpayers. The disconnect defies logic. For example, half of the judges and roughly half of the populace hold fairly conservative views on constitutional issues. Half of Congress hold such views. However, only a small percentage of conservative faculty (if any) can be found at most law schools. That is not due to these views being unexamined. Likewise, it is relatively rare to have opposing views on gender identity, climate control, abortion, social justice issues found on many campuses. Indeed, faculty with such views have been subject to cancel campaigns and university investigations. Professor ODonnell adds that You observed that legal theories that were once absent from academia entered the mainstream; new legal theories will emerge to displace those now at center stage if disciplines undertake their role of questioning and vetting. However, this blog is full of accounts of dissenting faculty being removed from publications, societies, and faculties. The political orthodoxy that has taken hold of our campuses has made it far less likely that such views can be fairly presented. None of this is, as claimed, is offered to use of free speech or intellectual diversity to push a right-wing agenda. These are questions that have long been raised and remain, even after this column, unanswered. Second update: I was distressed to hear from the authors that they have been subject to hateful messages. While other sites also covered this story, I hope that our discussion has not fueled such disgraceful conduct. This is a free speech forum that values a diversity of opinions, including those of these authors who are thoughtful academics. I have been the subject of threats against myself and my family for years. I would not want to contribute to such attacks against others. This column is discussing a fundamental debate on the essential elements to higher education. It is a worthy debate to have in a civil and respectful manner. For those who use this as a license to vent their rage, this is not the blog for you. Read more at: JonathanTurley.org Conservative Geert Wilders becomes surprise winner of Dutch election amid rising concerns over illegal immigration Geert Wilders of the conservative and anti-immigration Party for Freedom (PVV) has scored a huge victory in the Dutch parliamentary election With nearly all votes counted, Wilders' PVV has won 23.69 percent of the vote and 37 out of 150 seats, 20 more than the seats the party held in the previous election in 2021. Wilders has been known as an outsider in Dutch politics for over two decades due to his views on immigration and the European Union which mainstream parties in the Netherlands have labeled far too "extremist." But with his surprise victory, Dutch parliamentarians will no longer be able to ignore Wilders and his party. (Related: Illegal migrants enjoy life aboard five-star cruise ship moored in the Netherlands while Dutch citizens struggle to eat and stay warm.) Wilders' agenda includes holding a referendum on leaving the European Union, massively curbing immigration, a total halt to accepting asylum seekers and imposing restrictions upon Islamic extremism in the Netherlands, including possibly closing down certain mosques and Islamic schools in the country. "Voters said, 'We are sick of it. Sick to our stomachs,'" said Wilders, referring to out-of-control migration. "The Dutch will be number one again. The people must get their nation back." Wilders-led government not a certainty Because the PVV won the most votes and seats in the election, it gets the first opportunity to form a coalition government that could control a majority of at least 76 out of the 150 seats in the Dutch parliament. "The voters have spoken. The seats are fixed. Now it is important that we look for things we can agree on," said Wilders in a plea to the other parties. Unfortunately for Wilders, many of the larger parties have already expressed their intention to not even listen to the PVV in government formation negotiations. GroenLinks-PvDA, a fusion between two major green and socialist parties, is the second-largest party and won 25 seats. Its leader, Frans Timmermans, has ruled out the possibility of forming a coalition with the PVV over its views regarding immigration. "We will never form a coalition with parties that pretend that asylum seekers are the source of all misery [in the Netherlands]," said Timmermans. Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius, leader of the third-largest party, the liberal-conservative People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), has said that she was keeping the door open for her party and its 24 new lawmakers but not if it means Wilders becomes the prime minister. She also said Wilders would have to drop his goal of holding a referendum on E.U. membership. Pieter Omtzigt of the new moderate and Christian democratic party the New Social Contract (NSC), which won 20 seats, is the biggest party to express an openness to participate in a government under Wilders. He noted that he was "available" for talks, but admitted that government formation negotiations would not be easy and that there was no guarantee that the NSC would end up participating in a PVV-led government. Read more stories like this at BigGovernment.news. Watch this video from Benny Johnson reporting on Wilders, the "Dutch Donald Trump," and his shock landslide win in the Dutch election. This video is from the GalacticStorm channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: MIGRANT INVASION: "Large influx" of Gaza refugees coming into Germany as Israel bombs them out of Gaza. ABSURD: European Parliament strips four conservative Polish politicians of parliamentary immunity over comments about illegal immigration. Parisians voice out SAFETY CONCERNS regarding ILLEGALS coming from the Italian island of Lampedusa. Sweden recruits military to help police amid surge in migrant gang violence. Italy struggles to deal with influx of 6,000 migrants in one day. Sources include: TheNewAmerican.com APNews.com TheGuardian.com France24.com Brighteon.com Soulless GOP demons use whistleblowers FBI weaponization testimonies for political advantage, betray informant by approving budget for new FBI HQ In an exclusive interview with the conservative blog site RedState, a whistleblower who shared his disclosures about the weaponization of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) concerning the January 6 investigations, expressed his utter disappointment with the GOP-dominated House of Representatives. In August last year, former supervisory special agent and member of the bureau's SWAT units Steve Friend exposed that the FBI used the SWAT in large-scale arrest operations to apprehend J6 suspects who were accused of nonviolent crimes and misdemeanors. A year after, the informant, who is now a fellow on domestic intelligence and security services at the Washington-based think tank Center for Renewing America, surfaced to voice his frustrations, calling House Republicans "soulless demons," for actually "rewarding the FBI despite his disclosures," with $300 million worth of funds for a new headquarters (HQ). The Congress, whom Friend said has all the political will to reform the troubled bureau, has not even done anything about "rehabilitating" the bureau. Last year, I brought protected whistleblower disclosures about @FBI weaponization to @HouseGOP. They used it to go on TV & get elected. I lost my career and am under FBI investigation. Today the House GOP voted to give the FBI a $300 million HQ. Soulless demons. Go to hell. Steve Friend (@RealStevefriend) November 9, 2023 "It was a mixture of being utterly frustrated and disappointed, and the feeling of betrayal because that was one of the, albeit symbolic, gestures that I felt was insufficient," said Friend, adding that when 70 House Republicans voted to approve the construction of a new FBI HQ in Greenbelt, Maryland, it was a direct contradiction of a concrete commitment made to him by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. He said Jordan committed to him after he testified on May 18 before the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. He shared his bombshell information along with FBI staff operations specialist Marcus Allen and FBI special agent Garret O'Boyle. Their testimony focused on ways the Justice Department and the FBI targeted conservatives for harassment, surveillance and any chance to pull them into criminal proceedings. Another FBI whistleblower, Kyle Serafin, came forward with similar experiences. "We met afterward for a few minutes back in the majority's offices and had a lunch set up, and he [Jordan] said 'What do you think could be done to fix the FBI?' and before we had a chance to answer, he said 'Obviously they're not going to get new headquarters,'" Friend disclosed. In 2014, the General Services Administration (GSA) began the process of building a new FBI headquarters 2013 under the title "FBI Headquarters Consolidation," to take the current headquarters at the J. Edgar Hoover Building at Washington's 935 Pennsylvania Avenue, off the books. Out of three locations proposed, the GSA favored the Greenbelt, Maryland site. But FBI Director Christopher Wray opposed it probably because it is a further drive to the airport for him. "He hates sitting in traffic before abusing the @FBI jet," Friend said. He also claimed he told Jordan, who was joined at the luncheon by representatives Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Dan Bishop (R-N.C.), that the FBI was already building out facilities in Alabama to function as its new headquarters. "At that point, I informed him that there was a two-and-a-half billion dollar facility in Huntsville presently that was intended to be a new headquarters," he said. "That took him by surprise. He said they would look into what was going on with that." Later, Gaetz brought an amendment to the House floor to defund the next phase of building the new FBI headquarters on Nov. 8. Gaetz said: "Building a new headquarters would condone, reinforce and enable the actions of the Washington field office's nefarious behavior. We shouldn't do it." But the amendment was defeated 145-273, with both Bishop and Jordan voting in support of the amendment. Matt Gaetz introduces an amendment to keep the FBI from building a massive new headquarters larger than the Pentagon. "Building a new headquarters would condone, reinforce, and enable the actions of the Washington field office's nefarious behavior. We shouldn't do it." pic.twitter.com/H0GbY5RCko Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) November 9, 2023 FBI employees are aware of corruption in the agency but are scared to come out Following this event, Friend posted on social media saying House Republicans used information he and the other whistleblowers provided before and after the 2022 midterm elections for their political advantage, but not for the reforms the information was meant to create. "There's a lot more tools at their disposal that I think they have that they've not used," he said. "They can defund particular individuals' salaries, positions and programs, and they just haven't done it." He further lamented that more individuals inside the FBI are aware of the political corruption of the institution. But when they see how previous whistleblowers and their information are treated, they are going to keep their information to themselves. "A legitimate part of being a government employee, who swears an oath to the Constitution and the rule of law, is to come forward if you believe that there is waste, fraud, abuse, or an unnecessary risk to the public safety. If you protect the guys that have already come forward, you will have more come forward as a result of the outward and public retaliation," he said. According to Friend, who is now under FBI investigation as well, "There are people that are now on the inside and in a position to either verify the information that we've already brought forward or bring forward more information but they are scared because they saw what happened to guys like O'Boyle, Allen, Serafin and myself." (Related: FBI punishing whistleblowers who dare to reveal the politicization of the agency under Biden.) Check out FBICorruption.news for more stories related to this. Sources for this article include: Judiciary.House.gov RedState.com GSA.gov Clerk.House.gov Israel-Hamas conflict exposes lies and propaganda in media reporting on Russia For nearly two years now we have heard the claims that Putin is a power-crazed imperialist who is out to conquer Ukraine and other surrounding countries in order to realize his dream of reestablishing the Soviet Empire in Europe. (Article by Vasko Kohlmayer republished from LewRockwell.com) A case in point is a CNN piece titled Restoration of Empire Is The Endgame For Russias Vladimir Putin that ran in June of last year. In it we read: By summoning the memory of Peter the Great, it also becomes clear that Putins aims are driven by some sense of historical destiny. And Putins project of imperial restoration could in theory extend to other territories that once belonged to the Russian Empire or the Soviet Union, something that should raise alarms in all the countries that emerged from the collapse of the USSR. Such statements, however, are completely detached from reality, since the evidence plainly shows that Putins plan was never to conquer even the whole of Ukraine much less any of the surrounding countries. This becomes obvious when we juxtapose Putins military approach to Ukraine with that of Israel in Gaza. When Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, he did so with some 190,000 troops. As part of the Israeli governments response to the October 7 attack by Hamas, it amassed 300,000 troops around the Gaza Strip in anticipation of a ground invasion. To give a sense of proportion, the Gaza Strip is a narrow stretch of coastal land that is some 25 miles in length and 7.5 miles at its widest point. Its total area is 141 square miles populated by some 2.2 million people. Ukraine, on the other hand, is one big country. It is, in fact, the second largest country in Europe (after Russia). It runs for 817 miles from west to east and 554 miles from north to south. Its area totals 233,032 square miles, and it has more than 42 million inhabitants. Thus, the territory of Ukraine is more than 1600 times larger than that of the Gaza Strip and its population is nearly 20 times more numerous. Just contemplate the implications of the facts on the ground: The Israelis gathered 50 percent more troops than Russia to invade a coastal strip whose population is five percent that of Ukraine and whose territory is less than one percent of Ukraines territory. To put it another way, Israel mobilized far more troops for its invasion of the tiny Gaza Strip than Vladimir Putin had amassed for his alleged plan to conquer not only the second largest country on the continent but potentially also other European nations. To place the Kremlins intrusion into Ukraine into further perspective, consider these numbers from various invasions of the past: Germanys 1941 invasion of France involved 3.3 million troops. When Germany invaded Poland in September of 1939 it did so with more than 1.4 million troops. During its invasion of Poland in 1920 the Soviets sent some 900,000 troops into the country. In 1812 Napoleon invaded Russia with some 500,000 troops (at the time the population of Russia was roughly 25 million). In 1945 the United States entered Germany with more than 1.5 million soldiers. From the above we can see that Putins invasion force of less than 200,000 soldiers was very small by any measurable standard or comparison. This should make it very obvious that Vladimir Putin had no plans to conquer the whole of Ukraine much less other lands. If Putin wanted to really conquer Ukraine, he would have to go in with far greater numbers. As John Mearsheimer, one of the worlds leading foreign policy experts, stated in "a recent interview, theres no way that an army that had 190,000 troops (at the most) could have conquered all of Ukraine its just impossible. According to Professor Mearsheimer, to conquer and occupy Ukraine, would require at least two million troops. Any suggestion that Putin planned to overrun Ukraine and potentially other European states with less than 200,000 soldiers is completely detached from reality. That number of soldiers would not even suffice to subdue the capital Kyiv which in itself is larger and more populous than the Gaza Strip. Russias entry into Ukraine on February 24, 2022, was not an invasion whose objective was to conquer the country, but rather a limited tactical intrusion. The question then becomes: If Putin did not intend to conquer Ukraine what was the purpose of the operation? The primary reason was to bring the Zelensky government to the negotiating table. What Putin wanted was to obtain guarantees that Ukraine would not join NATO. That this was his main reason was confirmed by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg who said that just weeks before the invasion Putin sent NATO in a draft treaty asking that Ukraine remain neutral. Putin indicated that if this security concern was met, he would not invade. This is how Stoltenberg explained it: The background was that President Putin declared in the autumn of 2021, and actually sent a draft treaty that they wanted NATO to sign, to promise no more NATO enlargement. That was what he sent us. And was a pre-condition to not invade Ukraine. Of course, we didnt sign that. Tellingly, the same point was made in a BBC piece that ran on February 26, 2022, just two days after the start of the invasion: Russia says the crisis can only be solved if the West agrees to a list of demands, including a guarantee that Ukraine will never join NATO. After having his legitimate security concerns haughtily dismissed by NATO, Putin felt that he had no choice but to force the issue directly with the Zelensky government. His plan initially worked. Within a few weeks of the intrusion, Ukraine and Russia met at a negotiating table in Istanbul and a draft treaty was agreed on under the terms of which Ukraine would remain neutral. The deal, however, was scuttled by the United States who instructed Zelensky to withdraw from the negotiations, and instead promised to supply whatever military assistance was necessary to defeat Russia. The result has been a needless and disastrous war that cost hundreds of thousands of lives and left Ukraine in ruins. And now seeing the hopelessness of the situation the US is slowly starting to urge Zelensky to return to the negotiating table. Russias resistance to NATOs encroachment has been the driving dynamic of the Ukrainian war. But our government does not want us to know this, because then it would have to accept its share of responsibility for that disaster, first but relentlessly pushing for NATOs eastward expansion and then by aborting negotiations revolving around Kremlins legitimate security concerns. This is the reason why they claim that Putin is a mad, power-crazed expansionist bent on conquering large chunks of Europe. The evidence, however, clearly shows the absurdness of such claims. Read more at: LewRockwell.com With 78 femicides, the state press claims that there are no 'significant manifestations' of gender violence in Cuba 'Every act of violence against women is a scar on human consciousness, a setback in the evolution of the species, an insult to those who gave us life,' says Diaz-Canel. According to the state press in Cuba, there are no significant manifestations of gender violence and discrimination against women, despite the fact that independent observatories have verified in 2023 double the number of femicides in 2022. The state-run Cuban News Agency (ACN) said on November 25, the date on which the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is observed, that "although Cuba does not feature significant manifestations of this nature, compared to other countries in the world, they still continue to occur." Without referring to the increase in violence against women in Cuba, the ACN noted that "violence against women and girls remains one of the most widespread and pervasive human rights violations in the world." "It is estimated that, globally, 736 million women (almost one in three) have been victims of physical and/or sexual violence at least once in their lives, according to data from the United Nations (UN)," it added. Two days earlier, the Gender Observatory of the feminist magazine Alas Tensas (OGAT) and the feminist platform Yo Si Te Creo (IBelieveYou) in Cuba raised the number of femicides they have corroborated in 2023 to 78. The figure, which constitutes an under-registration, is more than double those verified by both observatories in 2022: 36. The number of victims confirmed by the OGAT and Yo Si Te Creo makes Cuba the country with the biggest increase in femicides in 2023, according to the Latin American Map of Feminicides (MLF), released on November 22. The MFL, on which Cuba was included for the first time in 2022 thanks to the work of OGAT and Yo Si Te Creo, shows that at least 1,945 women, adolescents and girls were victims of femicides in Latin America and the Caribbean during the first half of 2023. This represents a 12.5% increase in relation to the same period the previous year. In Cuba, in the first half of the year there were 48 cases of fatal VAW, 12 more than in all of 2022. The 78 femicides in less than 11 months constitute an increase of over 51%. The ACN also cited a post on the platform X by Miguel Diaz-Canel, who did not make any public reference to the problem until mid-April, when VAW had produced 23 fatalities in Cuba. The president then announced "zero tolerance" against VAW in Cuba, which he described as "an unacceptable act" for socialist society. This time Diaz-Canel wrote that "every act of violence against women is a scar on human consciousness, a setback in the evolution of the species, an insult to those who gave us life.#ZeroTolerance." The general secretary of the regime's Federation of Cuban Women (FMC), Teresa Amarelle Boue, spoke in similar terms on the same social network. "The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is commemorated annually on 25 November to condemn violence against women around the world. The Cuban State has a policy of #0Tolerance." "Gender violence is a global phenomenon and Cuba is not exempt from suffering it," admitted the member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party. Amarelle Boue referred to the National Program for the Advancement of Women, the Comprehensive Strategy for the Prevention of Gender-Based Violence, and the Family Code as state-backed policies against violence and discrimination against women. To these policies she added "continuous work by the FMC." On November 20 the organization recognized the increase in femicides and complaints by women who have been victims of violence. However, she referred to these murders of women and as "femicides" and not as "feminicides", with the clear intention of absolving the State of responsibility for them. The organization also ignores the physical and verbal attacks suffered by dissidents and opponents, despite the fact that they constitute forms of violence suffered by Cuban women. It will happen suddenly As the Great Unravelling progresses, we shall be seeing many negative developments, some of them unprecedented. (Article by Jeff Thomas republished from InternationalMan.com) Only a year ago, the average person was still hanging on to the belief that the world is in a state of recovery, that, however tentative, the economy was on the mend. And this is understandable. After all, the media have been doing a bang-up job of explaining the situation in a way that treats recovery as a general assumption. The only point of discussion is the method applied to achieve the recovery, but the recovery itself is treated as a given. However, as thorough a distraction as the media (and the governments of the world) have provided, the average person has begun to recognise that something is fundamentally wrong. He now has a gut feeling that, even if he is not well-versed enough to describe in economic terms what is incorrect in the endless chatter he sees on his television, he now senses that the situation will not end well. I tend to liken his situation to someone who suddenly finds all the lights off in his house. He stumbles around in the dark, trying to feel his way. Although he can picture in his mind what the layout of his house is, he is having trouble navigating, often bumping into things. This is similar to the attempt to see through the media and government smokescreens during normal times. But soon, as his government undergoes collapse, he will be getting some bigger surprises. He will find that the furniture has inexplicably been moved around. Objects are not where they are supposed to be, and it is no longer possible to reason his way through the problem of navigating in the dark. Many of those who observe the daily news reports are beginning to figure out that they are being fed misinformation. Many are beginning to recognise that neither political party truly represents them or, for that matter, is even concerned for their welfare. These folks are now navigating in the dark. But the bigger surprises have not yet occurred. There will be a certain amount of lead-up, plus a great deal of confusion, but the actual occurrences will be sudden. No one will be able to predict the dates on which they occur, except those very few people who control the triggers to these events. Crashes in the Markets Major bull markets rarely end with a whimper. They end with a major upside spike. And, unfortunately, brokers and investors alike tend to think that, if the market has been up for the last week, the last month, or the last year, it can be expected to be up again tomorrow. This makes them prime pickings for governments who may choose to falsely inflate a given market, creating an upside spike to encourage investors to toss their last few coins into the pot, just before the bottom drops out. In previous eras, it could take time for people to sell, and even in panic times, the bloodletting was not instantaneous. However, with the Internet, all that is necessary is a major sell-off by one entityone that goes through the stops of a large number of investors, and in a flash, the market goes though the floor. (Editors note: Stops are orders placed with a broker to sell a security when it reaches a certain price.) The average investor wakes in the morning to find that he has been wiped out. Commitments by Governments Should there be a currency crash, as is expected in many countries, promises made by governments will be abandoned suddenly, as though they had never existed. Whilst millions of people will find themselves lost, unable to function without their entitlements, governments will evade their guilt through finger-pointing. Tories will blame Labour; Labour will blame the Tories. (The equivalent will take place in other countries.) The net result will be the disappearance of entitlements, either in part or in total. The public will take out its anger through increased hatred of whichever party it is that they already consider to be the evil one. They will fail to understand that collapse was unavoidable. Assumed National Strengths Will Vanish International alliances will fall away. Former allies will suddenly not be at the side of the failing nation. Former friends will sign alliances with the other side. Trade agreements will suddenly cease. Wealth, initiative, and favour will flow to the new foremost country and its allies. All of the above will happen incrementallynot by any means on the same daybut in each case, the actual occurrence will be sudden. Just as Julius Caesar was at his peak of power when his fellow members of the Senate drew their knives, a powerful nation is coddled right until the time of its fall. In this regard, the US will see the greatest abandonment of loyalties that any nation will experience. (The greater the empire, the greater the pretence of loyalty to it. And the greater the abandonment when the fall comes.) When an empire collapses, it dies slowly. Unless it comes to an end through conquest, it deteriorates in a series of sudden jolts. Its leaders grasp at anything that might cause a delay, even if this means a worse outcome in the end. The process may take years and even decades. However, it is in the first few years that the major events occurthe events that create the most significant damage. This occurs for two reasons. The first is that the leaders of the country, believing in their own power, believe that they can maintain control of their trade, their overseas control, their military, etc. and find that, when the crashes come, the rats desert the ship in every area. The second reason is that any empire builds its strength upon lies and exaggeration as much as it builds on its true attributes. After a crash, these lies and exaggerations fall away, and in a short time, it becomes clear that the empire was, in its latter stages, a house of cards. The warning signs are already taking place but are not heavily publicised. The stage is set, and we are approaching the first major events. The victims in this play are, unfortunately, the average people, who simply hope to have a decent life. They will be caught unawares and unable to even understand what has occurred, let alone take action to save themselves. Those who have not spent the previous years educating themselves and preparing an alternative life will suffer most greatly. All who live in a country that is undergoing collapse will be negatively affected. Some will do better than others, but to live on this slim hope is much like being fortunate enough to live on the outskirts of Hiroshima in 1945. There is little comfort in being one of the least injured. Better to have been in another country altogetherboth during the actual event and during the terrible time that is sure to follow. Read more at: InternationalMan.com January 6 committee run by Kinzinger and Cheney a sham, says GOP senator calling for new investigation Now that more than 40,000 hours of January 6 "insurrection" footage has been released by GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), there is simply no more denying that no actual "insurrection" took place It was all a ruse, we now know, thanks to newly released footage suggesting that Capitol police were in on the false flag. Take the following video, for instance, which shows a Capitol Police officer uncuffing a protester and bumping fists with another officer while carousing down a Capitol hallway: Here's a January 6 video they've never shown the public. A protester is uncuffed by Capitol police and then fist bumps another officer down a hallway away from everyone. pic.twitter.com/ft1yTOITLr Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) November 17, 2023 Then there is this video showing that Capitol Police ushered peaceful protesters into the Capitol building, leading them to believe that their conduct was lawful: Jan 6 defendants have long argued that the initial entrants were peaceably escorted into the building by Capitol Police, and therefore had no reasonable expectation that their conduct was unlawful This video, suppressed for almost 3 years, confirms itpic.twitter.com/F24MAf0mXS Michael Tracey (@mtracey) November 18, 2023 (Related: House Speaker Johnson made "getting vaccines into arms" one of his top priorities during the Wuhan coronavirus [COVID-19] "pandemic.") Liz Cheney calls Sen. Mike Lee a "nutball conspiracy theorist" Clearly Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger lied about J6 based on what they concluded in their report, or perhaps they never bothered to even look at any more of the footage in question. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Ut.) raised questions about their report on X (formerly Twitter), pointing out that they got the whole thing wrong based on the full footage that has since been publicly released. "Why didn't Liz Cheney and Adam Kizinger [sic] ever refer to any of these tapes?" Lee asked. "Maybe they never looked for them." "Maybe they never even questioned their own narrative ... Maybe they were just too busy selectively leaking the text messages of Republicans they wanted to defeat." Said committee is now fully disbanded, but it should be noted that both Cheney and Kinzinger claim to be republicans. In Sen. Lee's view, the two of them were quietly and carefully sharing information on a selective basis to withhold the truth from view. Cheney responded to Sen. Lee's post with the same carefully selected recycled footage that America already saw from the very beginning, only proving his point. "Liz, we've seen footage like that a million times," Sen. Lee responded. "You made sure we saw that and nothing else ... It's the other stuff what you deliberately hid from us that we find so upsetting." Sen. Lee also asked Cheney how many of the guys seen in her video were just feds in disguise trying to incite a riot. Cheney of course never responded. Sen. Lee is so upset about the matter, which he calls a "sham," that he is now calling for an investigation into the committee itself and its alleged misuse of taxpayer dollars along the way. An investigation could bring to the surface crucial information that was "deliberately lost or destroyed," thus proving that Sen. Lee's allegations against it are correct. Sen. Lee linked to an article published by the New York Post bearing the headline, "FBI lost count of how many paid informants were at Capitol on Jan. 6, and later performed audit to figure out exact number." This alone suggests that agent provocateurs were present at J6 who turned it into the spectacle it ended up becoming. In response to all this, the only thing Cheney could say is that Lee is a "nutball conspiracy theorist" so mature, Liz. The latest news about J6 can be found at FalseFlag.news. Sources for this article include: ZeroHedge.com NaturalNews.com Nebraska establishes board to collate health records under the pretense of healthcare improvement The Nebraska legislature passed LB 1183 or the Population Health Information Act in 2020 to create the states Health Information Technology (HIT) Board, which now collates health information on all Nebraskans in a centralized data and surveillance system, which the lawmakers claimed will be used in improving patient care. The HIT board is composed of 17 members who are appointed by the governor and then confirmed by the legislature. The majority of members are said to be credentialed healthcare providers, enabling them to use their clinical experience and expertise to make the most informed decisions about the health data that they help govern. The board also designated CyncHealth, a regional health data utility (HDU) that manages the data of more than five million patients in more than 1,100 healthcare facilities across the Midwest. The health records that are accessible are patient histories, physicals, discharge summaries, immunization records, radiology, lab and pathology results and ordering, medication history, allergies and advance directives. "When providers aren't able to communicate, mistakes happen, costs rise, and patients suffer," CyncHealth said. "That's why we're breaking down barriers to deliver the right information at the point of care every time." The centralized data collection will also enable public health and hospital administrators "to analyze trends in utilization, determine appropriate care management strategies, enable effective review to detect and mitigate fraud, waste and abuse, and more effectively direct funding to high-value care initiatives," the HDU said about its team of advisers. Critics could not help but worry that a centralized system as such could be a step toward the oppressive control of digital ID and digital currency that could sweep the state, the entire nation and eventually the whole world. Stacey Skold, a board member of the Children's Health Defense (CHD) Nebraska Chapter, said she and other chapter members are troubled by the sudden centralization of Nebraskas health data that has occurred since the pandemic. "My biggest concern is if you connect the dots, we've laid the groundwork for digital IDs and [central bank digital currency] CBDC and that's alarming," she said. "When you talk about CBDC and a social credit system, it seems far off. But it seems very near here and starting in a very specific way." At one of the regular CHD Nebraska meetings last year, a member's daughter told the group she had discovered the HIT Board on the internet and its control of nearly all health data in the state. Alarmed by the implications for privacy, Skold thought, "Gosh, we've gotta get a better handle on this." So, Skold and other chapter members began monitoring the HIT Board meetings on Zoom under the Nebraska Open Meetings Act. They were "horrified" to learn that while CyncHealth is based in Omaha, it is a member of the CARIN Alliance under its old name, Nebraska Health Information Initiative. CARIN is a global multi-sector nonprofit with giant healthcare and digital organization members like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Cigna, CVS Health and AARP. It is devoted to developing global digital ID credentials in coordination with the Vaccine Credentials Initiative, the World Health Organization, the World Economic Forum and other global stakeholders, Skold revealed. Journalist calls for the rejection of the HIT Board Independent journalist James Roguski urged the people of Nebraska to "consider exercising their right to reject any act passed by the Nebraska Legislature via the power of referendum." He cited the Nebraska State Constitution: "The people reserve for themselves the power to propose laws and amendments to the Constitution and to enact or reject the same at the polls, independent of the legislature, which power shall be called the power of initiative. The people also reserve power at their own option to approve or reject at the polls any act, item, section, or part of any act passed by the legislature, which power shall be called the power of referendum." He also said that he could not find mention of "any authority granted to the state government to control health, healthcare or health-related data" in the Constitution. "It seems that they are acting outside their constitutional authority when they enacted LB 1183," he told the Defender. Meanwhile, Skold said she hopes lawyers will take up the cause in Nebraska to turn back the digital centralization of healthcare records as she has been worrying about the damage to her relationship with providers and a loss of informed consent and privacy. As per CyncHealth, it follows the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) privacy law, which required the creation of national standards to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient's consent or knowledge. Skold added that she fears she wont be able to find a doctor who operates outside the system, and that ultimately, she fears total loss of freedom from digital ID and digital currency for herself and her children and the future of humanity. "We're the test state," she said. "If we can do something to stop it here, then we can potentially stop it everywhere." (Related: Gates and his globalist buddies set to accelerate DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE in 50 countries by 2028.) Check out HealthCoverage.news for more stories on healthcare policies that invade people's privacy. Sources for this article include: ChildrensHealthDefense.org CyncHealth.org 1 CyncHealth.org 2 BE AFRAID: The next pandemic could be more contagious and deadlier than COVID-19, say experts Health experts are worried that the next pandemic, which they are calling the "Big One," could be "simmering in the background," about to unleash what may be the most contagious and deadliest diseases known to mankind One notable virus that health experts are worried about comes from the paramyxovirus family, which has over 75 viruses, including those responsible for measles, mumps and respiratory tract infections. Paramyxoviruses were added to the list of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases pandemic pathogens to watch last October. One of the viruses of the paramyxovirus family is known as the Nipah virus. It can infect cells lining the central nervous system and vital organs through receptors that regulate what goes in or out of cells. Compared to the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), which has a fatality rate of around two percent, the Nipah virus has a fatality rate of 40 to 75 percent. According to experts, unlike the flu and coronavirus which are "speedy shape-shifters," paramyxoviruses do not mutate as they spread. However, they have become very good at transmission among humans. Michael Norris, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto, explained that things could be worse if "a paramyxovirus emerged that was as contagious as measles and as deadly as Nipah." Benhur Lee, a virologist at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, said that influenza has been sequenced to death, but the same can't be said for paramyxoviruses, especially since most people infected with one do not survive. Lee warned that this makes it almost impossible to develop treatments. While researchers have known about paramyxoviruses for more than a century, they still don't fully understand how the viruses move into new species and mutate to infect humans. To illustrate, the mumps virus was previously believed to infect only humans and select primates, but cases have also been discovered among bats. Experts also still don't understand how paramyxoviruses can cause minor infections in one host but kill another. (Related: Australian research institute says WHO must have more power to enforce global pandemic rules.) According to Paul Duprex, a virologist at the University of Pittsburgh, rubulaviruses, one of the paramyxovirus subfamilies that includes mumps, are also of concern. Humans, apes, dogs and pigs are natural hosts of these viruses and are easily infected in close quarters. The measles virus is also a cause for concern. Measles was first documented in the 9th century by a Persian doctor. However, it was not until 1757 that a Scottish physician discovered an infectious agent in patients' blood that caused measles. Emmie de Wit, chief of the molecular pathogenesis unit at Rocky Mountain Laboratories, suggested that measles could eventually be eradicated, ending the need for vaccinations. But when this happened with smallpox in 1980, monkeypox soon took its place. Other viruses that could fuel the next pandemic A study published in the British Medical Journal warned that deaths from several viruses that spread from animals to humans are expected to increase at least 12-fold by 2050 because of factors like habitat encroachment. Three viruses, namely, the filoviruses that cause Ebola and Marburg, the Nipah virus and the SARS virus, are currently on the World Health Organizations list of priority pathogens because of their potential to cause the next pandemic. The Ebola-like Machupo virus is also a contender, added the study authors. Regardless of which pathogen ends up starting the next global health crisis, researchers believe that they should all be studied. Epidemics of these viruses could cause a combined death toll of more than 15,000 annually by 2050, even if they dont make an evolutionary leap that allows them to decimate the globe. These zoonotic viruses could spread from animals to humans, who can then transmit them to other people. Watch the video below to learn more about America's pandemic obsession. This video is from the Son of the Republic channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: RFK Jr. says WHO should be DEFUNDED if it continues to focus on MEDICAL TYRANNY instead of health. Dr. Meryl Nass warns: WHO pandemic treaty is about global dominion by the few and total control of the masses. UN, WHO plotting total ENSLAVEMENT of humanity with all-powerful global health dictatorship. Sources include: DailyMail.co.uk Fortune.com Brighteon.com NYPD has been stalking civilians with tracking robots, drones and GPS locators The activity of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) has raised several concerns amid the interest in maintaining privacy and the push to address overreaching surveillance. Corinne Worthington, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project's (STOP) Research Manager, and Aaron Greenberg, STOP's research intern, have warned that the NYPD has been operating surveillance technologies that track civilians. According to the New York-based non-profit organization, this type of tracking includes the use of drones for aerial surveillance, GPS locators for tagging vehicles and robots for tracking movement within the city's subway system. STOP's findings have implications that go beyond privacy invasion. Without accountability, the NYPD's intrusive practices can be abused for unchecked power dynamics, which can then threaten the justice system and individual rights. The Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology (POST) Act was introduced to prevent these issues as it requires the NYPD to be more transparent about surveillance practices. Additionally, the POST Act demands detailed disclosure of technology usage and data-sharing policies, along with impact assessments to warrant that surveillance is commensurate with justice. However, there is proof that the NYPD has disregarded the POST Act's regulations since its inception three years ago. Worthington and Greenberg explained that the city councils approval is required before the NYPD can renew contracts or acquire new technology. This suggestion follows the failure of existing oversight mechanisms to hold the NYPD accountable for compliance with the POST Act. According to the NYPD's report, the department failed to submit specifics about the technology it employs for surveillance, in turn failing to comply with the POST Act. The department has also strategically worked around existing loopholes, at times introducing new technologies as enhancements for current ones to avoid the need for justifying these additions. Additionally, the NYPD's report on the technologies' impact lacks the necessary details, at times concealing crucial information such as their technology vendors. K5 robots, StarChase and Digidog Early in 2013, Mayor Eric Adams held a press conference in Times Square to launch three new surveillance tools that will be piloted by the NYPD, namely the K5 Autonomous Security (K5), which will be deployed in a Times Square subway station; the StarChase system that shoots GPS tags at fleeing cars; and "Digidog," a four-legged robot that was canceled by the previous administration following public criticism. (Related: NYPD deploys robot cop to Times Square subway station.) The department started using K5 and the Digidog last summer. The Adams administration claimed that these tools would help protect both officers and civilians. However, instead of releasing new impact and use policies that describe exactly what these tools can do and how they'll be used, the NYPD only updated existing policies with brief addendums. A day after the press conference, Michael Sisitzky, assistant policy director at the New York Civil Liberties Union, warned that what happened at the event was just as predicted. Based on the NYPD report, the departments use of the word "enhancement" is crucial. According to the POST Act, if the NYPD wants to "acquire or acquires enhancements to surveillance technology" or operate surveillance technology for "a purpose or in a manner not previously disclosed," then the existing impact and use policy should receive an addendum. The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) mentioned other issues with the NYPD report, such as the use of "generic and general language in the impact and use policies." Because of these and other issues, the OIG explained that it was unable to conduct an audit of the impact and use policies, as required by the POST Act. Instead, their report included 15 recommendations for the NYPD. One of the recommendations is for the NYPD to issue an impact and use policies for each individual surveillance technology. Surveillance.news has more articles about police surveillance in the United States. Watch the video below to learn how Amazon Ring and police departments are working together to invade the privacy of citizens. This video is from the Tenth Amendment Center channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: British government caught surveilling social media presence of school staff members. EU visitors will soon be subject to facial scans and fingerprinting under new initiative. SPY IN THE SKY: NYPD will use surveillance drones to monitor private Labor Day parties this weekend. Sources include: ReclaimTheNet.org NYC.gov Brighteon.com Sen. Hawley calls out Metas DOUBLE STANDARD censoring conservatives while ignoring child predators Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) has called out the double standards in Mark Zuckerberg's Meta Platforms, specifically how it censors conservatives while turning a blind eye on pedophilia. He issued this rebuke against the tech giant during a Nov. 7 hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which touched on "social media and the teen mental health crisis." Hawley and other senators heard testimony from Arturo Bejar, former director of engineering for Meta's Protect and Care team. Bejar's daughter had also been a target of online sexual predators, according to LifeSiteNews. "Facebook, among others, actively coordinated with the present administration to censor First Amendment protected speech. Not this garbage that is not protected by anything in our Constitution, but First Amendment protected speech," Hawley argued. "Here's what gets me. Facebook devoted all kinds of resources and people actual human people to doing things like monitoring posts on COVID-19 vaccine efficacy. But the things that your daughter experienced, this ring of pedophiles Facebook just can't find the time for." Bejar told the Missouri senator that on Oct. 5, 2021, he emailed Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg that "one in eight children" on Facebook had received sexually inappropriate messages on the platform within the "last seven days." Bejar also added in his correspondence that nearly one in three children had experienced similar "sexual advances" in general. The witness told Hawley that despite the concerning findings he outlined in the email, neither Zuckerberg nor Sandberg met with him to discuss the message. This led Hawley to accuse the two executives of turning a blind eye to information they did not deem favorable to the company. The senator told the committee that Meta's failure to address the issue of child exploitation on Facebook was especially egregious, in light of the Murthy v. Missouri lawsuit (formerly Missouri v. Biden). The complaint accused Meta of censoring conservative political speech at the behest of the Biden administration. (Related: Missouri v. Biden seeing tremendous progress as DOJ gets EVISCERATED for clueless disregard towards First Amendment.) Bejar: Meta's own ALGORITHMS responsible for PEDOPHILIA During his testimony, Bejar also mentioned how Meta's own algorithms used in two of its platforms Facebook and Instagram often facilitated pedophilia and connected like-minded nefarious individuals. This followed Hawley citing a June 7 story by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) about this matter. The WSJ story saw in-house researchers team up with their counterparts from Stanford University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, who examined Instagram. The team of researchers found that Instagram's algorithm "helps connect and promote a vast network of accounts openly devoted to the commission and purchase of underage-sex content." According to Bejar, Meta's algorithms funnel nearly all of its resources into combatting a "very narrow definition of harm." Because of this narrow application of what is defined as harm, users who like or follow pedophilic content will see more of such courtesy of this algorithm. Given that it does not detect an issue with the content, the algorithm will continue promoting questionable content. He also pointed out that both Facebook and Instagram users can report "sexually inappropriate" advertisements. This prompts the algorithm to stop showing the said ad, and any other similar ads, to the user. Aside from this, users can also report accounts to the company for dealing in child exploitation material or behavior. Bejar unfortunately disclosed that Meta only acts on a "fraction of a percent" of the aforementioned complaints. Moreover, such a reporting system does not exist for users sending sexually explicit messages to children leaving the latter with little to no recourse in the event that they are contacted by a user looking to exploit them. Hawley then asked Bejar if much of the problem lies with Meta's shift in its moderation methods in the mid-to-late 2010s. The Big Tech firm adopted an automated process of content monitoring driven mainly by artificial intelligence (AI). Earlier, it utilized actual human employees to sift through reports and online posts. Bejar responded that he was no longer employed by Meta during the period it transitioned to AI for content moderation. He nevertheless commented that AI-driven systems are "only as good as their inputs," which he said are lacking on Meta's platforms. Watch Dr. Vernon Coleman explains how ruthless censorship concealed the COVID-19 genocide below. This video is from the Vigilant Citizen channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Facebook bans hashtag #savethechildren Big Tech now protecting PEDOPHILES. PEDO PLATFORM: Instagram's algorithms promote a "vast pedophile network," report reveals. Facebook "glitch" allowed adult pedophiles to openly chat with underage children was it really a glitch?. Sources include: LifeSiteNews.com Brighteon.com Unintended consequences of Israels assault on Palestine According to the Zionist propaganda Hamas is a collection of evil beasts.How do we reconcile this propaganda with the excellent condition of the Israeli women and children hostages released by Hamas? (Article by Paul Craig Roberts republished from PaulCraigRoberts.org) Despite the Israeli devastation of Gaza and murder of Palestinian women and children, Hamas has obtained a victory of sorts. Netanyahus vicious attack on civilians has exposed the underbelly of the Apartheid Zionist State. It is no longer possible for Israels apologists to maintain that Israel can do no wrong. For decades Israel has been slowly but surely squeezing Palestinians out of Palestine. The world has tolerated it, in part because the Zionist violence was limited in time and extent and the impossible situation papered over with talk about the two-state solution. But this time, the violence is unlimited and has the declared aim of emptying Palestine of Palestinians with Gazans driven into tent cities in Eqypts Sinai Desert. It is not another case of emptying one specific village in the West Bank or a limited incursion into Gaza. This time the world is faced with a declared Zionist agenda of genocide. This makes a problem for the Western governments that pretend to support human rights and to deplore war crimes. It also makes a problem for American evangelicals known as Christian Zionists. Genocide is not something that can be reconciled with the teachings of Jesus. The evangelicals will have to decide between worshipping Israel and worshipping Jesus. A consequence of Washingtons wars for Israel in the Middle East is that Western countries are now the homes of millions of Muslim refugees who take umbrage to the Wests support of Palestinian genocide. This introduces into the Western countries countervailing power at the street level to the Zionist lobby that focuses on controlling the governments. Western governments now have a new element of instability to manage, and the consequence could be a less one-sided stance toward Zionist Israel. Not all of Israel is Zionist. Netanyahu has minority support. The outcome could be different for Israel than Netanyahu and his US neoconservative allies intended. Read more at: PaulCraigRoberts.org America sees 550% increase in illegal immigrants coming in from Canada One sector of the seemingly less chaotic northern border of the United States with Canada saw a 550 percent increase in migrant apprehensions during the previous fiscal year This is according to Chief Patrol Agent Robert Garcia, head of Customs and Border Protection for the Swanton Sector, which covers nearly 300 miles of the U.S.-Canada border across Clinton, Essex, Franklin, St. Lawrence and Herkimer Counties of northeastern New York; Coos, Grafton and Carroll Counties of northern New Hampshire; and all of Vermont. In public posts Garcia made on social media, he reported that the Swanton Sector Border Patrol saw a 550 percent increase in apprehensions, with 6,925 apprehensions between Oct. 1, 2022 to Sept. 30, 2023, the end of the fiscal year. (Related: Over 70,000 "special interest aliens" from countries that promote or protect TERRORISM have entered the U.S. since 2021.) In the previous fiscal year from Oct. 1, 2021 to Sept. 30, 2022 the Swanton Sector only saw a little over 1,000 apprehensions by Border Patrol. Garcia noted that the 6,925 apprehensions recorded in the previous fiscal year came from 79 different countries, with the most common coming from Mexico, India, Venezuela, Haiti and Romania. Garcia warned that a lot of the illegals who braved the journey across the border did so during the winter, recklessly endangering their children, including babies. "The risk to human lives including Border Patrol Agents is increasing," he warned. "[This is] illegal and irresponsible." Border security along northern border remains lacking The massive surge in apprehensions of illegals at the northern border is part of a broader surge in illegal immigration at both the northern and southern borders, although the numbers of illegals being apprehended at the southern border continue to vastly eclipse those seen at the northern border. Through the entirety of the U.S.-Canada border, Border Patrol recorded 189,402 migrant encounters during the 2023 fiscal year. This represents a sharp increase from the approximately 27,000 encounters during the 2021 fiscal year and the 109,535 encounters during the 2022 fiscal year. Meanwhile, at the southern border, there were more than 2.4 million recorded migrant encounters. To respond to the surge in apprehensions and encounters at the northern border, federal authorities back in March agreed to increase the number of Border Patrol agents patrolling certain sections of the U.S.-Canada border, primarily along the northeastern U.S. border with the French-speaking Canadian province of Quebec. But a slight increase in border agents might not be enough. The U.S.-Canada border is the longest land border in the world at over 5,500 miles long. This border only has 115 ports of entry, and the crisis at the southern border throughout the years means security along this border is largely understaffed, if at all. Garcia recalls previously calling for volunteers when his sector of the border initially saw a spike in apprehensions, particularly due to Mexicans attempting to cross without any legal documents. "Due to the increased numbers, stations are task saturated with processing large groups, which has contributed to gotaway events, pedestrian and vehicle incursions," said Garcia back in February. Learn more about American border policies and incidents along the country's ports of entry at OpenBorders.news. Watch this clip from Fox News reporting on a recent chaotic episode at the U.S.-Canada border involving a "fiery" vehicle explosion. This video is from the News Clips channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Venezuelan migrant family regrets coming to the U.S. as American Dream becomes too difficult to reach for illegals. NO MORE AMERICAN DREAM: Illegals are leaving "sanctuary city" Chicago due to harsh living conditions. Picky guests: Illegals REFUSE accommodation in tent city, return to Manhattan HOTELS they were formerly housed in. Sanctuary City New York spent over $5 billion in taxpayer money the previous fiscal year to provide services for ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS. CONFIRMED: Mexican cartels are now INSIDE the U.S. forming gangs and SNIPER NESTS to take out Americans. Sources include: DailyMail.co.uk FoxNews.com Newsmax.com CBP.gov Brighteon.com More evidence emerges that Israel bombed and killed its own citizens on October 7 Although there is no doubt that Hamas terrorists were behind the barbaric attack on Israel on October 7, more evidence is emerging that some of the Israeli deaths that day actually came at the hands of their own military whether it was friendly fire or intentional decisions to prevent Israelis from being taken hostage. Some insiders believe that Israeli fire was responsible for a portion of the Israeli body count that day, including a retired Israeli army major. The veteran, who goes by the name Major Graeme, was born in South Africa but settled in Israel at 18 and served in its army for 29 years, participating in numerous major operations. In a video posted online, he theorized that Israelis who were being taken hostage by Hamas were possibly killed by Israeli airstrikes when the Israeli Air Force attacked vehicles that were returning into Gaza. This is backed up by an Israeli police source, who told Haaretz that an Israeli military helicopter shot some civilians who attended the Supernova rave where 364 people died that day. The paper, which did not specify how many Israelis died at the hands of their own military, admitted: According to a police source, the investigation also shows that an IDF combat helicopter that arrived to the scene and fired at terrorists there apparently also hit some festival participants. This was believed to be the first direct acknowledgement by Israel that it killed some of its own civilians. One eyewitness told Israeli broadcaster Kan that she saw Israelis die at the hands of their own troops. Yasmin Porat, who survived the incident at Kibbutz Beeri, claimed that numerous Israeli civilians died after Israeli forces fired heavy weapons and tank shells at the small house on the kibbutz where Hamas fighters were holding them. She said that they had been treating them humanely prior to that and planned to take them as hostages rather than kill them. Soldiers fired at people despite trouble distinguishing Israeli civilians from Hamas terrorists In a recent interview on MSNBC, a spokesperson for the Israeli government, Mark Regev, inadvertently admitted that some carelessness took place that day, saying that Israeli forces burned hundreds of individuals to death in indiscriminate fire without distinguishing Hamas fighters from Israeli civilians. He was trying to make the point that Israel admitted its mistake when it revised its death toll downward from the figure of 1,400 that was repeated across the media since the day of the attack to 1,200, but his statement revealed how much trouble they had setting terrorists apart from Israeli civilians. He told host Mehdi Hasan: We originally said, in the atrocious Hamas attack upon our people on October 7th, we had the number at 1,400 casualties and now weve revised that down to 1,200 because we understood that wed overestimated, we made a mistake. There were actually bodies that were so badly burnt we thought they were ours, in the end apparently they were Hamas terrorists. This can be interpreted as an admission that Israels bombardment of frontier settlements in Gaza was so indiscriminate that it took out numerous Israelis along with the Hamas terrorists it intended to kill. Israels air force has said it deployed dozens of attack helicopters that fired significant numbers of missiles and shells on October 7 despite the pilots being unable to distinguish terrorists from civilians in some cases. A report by the Israeli publication Ynet quoted one helicopter squadron leader as saying that it was very difficult to distinguish between terrorists and [Israeli] soldiers or civilians but that he nevertheless directed his pilots to shoot at everything they see in the area of the fence with Gaza. Although the idea was to prevent terrorists from entering into Israel through holes in the fence, the fact remains that Hamas fighters were returning to Gaza with Israeli hostages, and shooting at everything would include Israeli civilians. With all the difficulty and the pain that a decision like that entails, the Israeli army is continuing as if there are no hostages, Major Graeme said. Sources for this article include: ElectronicIntifada.net TheGrayZone.com Former Jewish State Department official cheers on Palestinian genocide, says more children in Gaza need to die The Zionist lobby is really jumping the shark on the latest Israel-Gaza conflict, including a former executive official named Stuart Seldowitz who worked under Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Hussein Obama. Seldowitz is a career diplomat and "regular," you might say, in American politics. He is also Jewish and lives in New York City where street vendors, often run by Arabs, are showing their support for the millions of Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip who are now in the crosshairs of Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Apparently, Seldowitz has been harassing one cart of the halal variety for several weeks now. He reportedly blocks customers from purchasing food while harassing the cart's operator for supporting the Palestinians. In at least one disturbing exchange, Seldowitz told the cart operator that even more children in Gaza need to die because not enough of them have had their lives taken by the Israeli military. This man wearing a green jacket was berating and harassing a halal cart vendor off 83rd and 2nd Ave in NYC. Does anyone know who this man is? Planning to report to the authorities. pic.twitter.com/GwklyXpsPH Layla ? (@itslaylas) November 21, 2023 (Related: IDF soldiers are now being accused of abusing and torturing Palestinian laborers who were working in Israel legally at the time of the October 7 Hamas attack.) Seldowitz says some use Koran "as a toilet," says Mohammed "was a child molester" In another exchange, Seldowitz badgered the Arab man about the prophet Mohammed, asking the man if he rapes his own daughter "like Mohammed did." "The holy Koran ... some people use as a toilet," Seldowitz reportedly said to the Arab man on another day. "What do you think of that people who use the Koran as a toilet? Does it bother you?" Since the Arab man spoke with a broken English accent, Seldowitz harassed him for this, too. "You don't speak English? That's too bad," he said mockingly one day. "That's why you're selling food in a food cart. Because you're ignorant. You should learn English. It will help you when they deport you back to Egpyt and the Mukhabarat (intelligence service) wants to interview you." In other exchanges, Seldowitz further mocked Mohammed, the prophet of Islam, calling him "a child molester." Seldowitz also loves to show off the Israel flag bearing what many now recognize as the Star of Remphan mentioned in Amos 5. It would take a construction worker to finally intervene on behalf of the Arab man in defending him against Seldowitz's constant harassment, which caused Seldowitz to make national headlines. "I regret the whole thing that happened and I'm sorry," Seldowitz later apologized, sort of, in an interview with City & State New York. "But you know, in the heat of the moment, I said things that probably I shouldn't have said." It is worth noting that the Arab man who runs the food court had previously stated something along the lines of "I approve of Hamas" or "I like Hamas," to quote Seldowitz's claims about why he even engaged with the guy in the first place. Seldowitz is a member of the Israeli American Council's Rimon Club, which requires an annual contribution of at least $5,000 in order to remain active. "The mission of the Israeli-American Council (IAC) to build an engaged and united Israeli-American community that strengthens the Israeli and Jewish identity of our next generation, the American Jewish community, and the bond between the peoples of the United States and the State of Israel," the group's website explains about its mission. What will happen in the Middle East in the coming days and weeks? Learn more at Chaos.news. Sources for this article include: ZeroHedge.com NaturalNews.com Hamas releases 24 hostages in exchange for 39 Palestinian women and children unlawfully imprisoned by Israel On the first day of the temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas , the Palestinian militant group in Gaza has agreed to release 24 hostages in exchange for 39 Palestinian women and children unlawfully imprisoned by Israel. The temporary ceasefire, whose first day began at 7 a.m. local time on Friday, Nov. 24, was the result of weeks of negotiations between Israel and Hamas and brokered by other nations like Egypt and Qatar. The 24 hostages transferred out of Gaza include 13 Israeli women and children, 10 Thai farm workers and one Philippine caregiver. They were transferred first into the custody of Egyptian authorities at the Rafah border crossing, where their health was monitored by staff members from the International Committee of the Red Cross. (Related: Israel approves MULTI-DAY CEASEFIRE DEAL: Hundreds of imprisoned Palestinian women and children to be released in exchange for 50 Israeli hostages.) Some of the Israeli hostages are dual citizens, including four children accompanied by four other members of their respective families. The remaining five Israelis are elderly women. They were transferred from the care of Egyptian authorities into Israeli custody and underwent medical assessment inside Israeli territory before being reunited with their families. "I miss her very, very much, I want her to be back already," said Corinne Moshe, daughter-in-law of 72-year-old hostage Adina Moshe, who was among the first to be released. She said her husband and his siblings met their mother at the hospital when she was released. "I want to have dinner with her and the entire family again." In exchange for the release of the 24 hostages, the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also agreed to release 39 Palestinians 24 women and 15 children it has unlawfully detained in Israeli jails. "We have just completed the return of the first batch of our hostages. Children, their mothers and other women. Each and every one of them is a world in itself," said Netanyahu. "But I stress to you, the families, and to you, citizens of Israel: We are committed to returning all our hostages." Temporary ceasefire could be extended by Israel in exchange for more hostages Over 200 hostages are still held in the custody of Hamas, and hundreds more Palestinian men, women and children alike mostly from the occupied West Bank continue to languish under unlawful detention in Israeli jails. Netanyahu's office has confirmed that the temporary ceasefire could be extended if more hostages are released. But his government has vowed to resume the offensive once the truce ends, supposedly to wipe out Hamas. Nevertheless, other nations are optimistic that this temporary ceasefire and the limited hostage and prisoner swap could be the foundation for a more long-term ceasefire in Gaza and possibly even a lasting peace in Israel and Palestine. President Joe Biden himself said there was a real chance of extending the truce and that the pause in fighting was a critical opportunity to get more humanitarian aid into Gaza. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who commented because four of the Israelis who were released were dual citizens of Germany, expressed the need for the ceasefire to "last as long as possible." Watch this episode of "Brighteon Broadcast News" as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, discusses the temporary ceasefire and hostage swap between Israel and Hamas. This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: War in Gaza not only claiming lives but also devastating Israel's economy. NEW POLL: 70% of Americans support a permanent CEASEFIRE in Gaza. Israel PURPOSELY targeting innocent women and children in Gaza to level fertility playing field: "The plan is to kill the children." Netanyahu says Israel will maintain "indefinite security control" over Gaza Palestinians will forever be held as POWs in a concentration camp. Gaza's dwindling Palestinian Christian community could be COMPLETELY WIPED OUT by Israeli attacks. Sources include: Breitbart.com Reuters.com APNews.com Brighteon.com How the Democratic Party faked an American insurrection Last week, more than 40,000 hours of Jan. 6 Capitol Police security footage was released in the public domain that once and for all blew a hole in the pro-Trump violent insurrection narrative so dear to the Democrats. (Article by Robert Bridge republished from Strategic-Culture.su) The one question on countless Americans minds following the release of the damning videos was: will all those men and women recently locked away as political prisoners for dozens of decades get another day in court? Indeed, January 6 may have been a lot of things to many people, but another Boston Tea Party it most definitely was not. Social media was alight over the weekend showing one benign scene after another of the insurrectionists casually strolling through the Capitol Building premises, exchanging pleasantries with the on-duty police officers, even giving each other fist-bumps. Here's a January 6 video they've never shown the public. A protester is uncuffed by Capitol police and then fist bumps another officer down a hallway away from everyone. pic.twitter.com/ft1yTOITLr Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) November 17, 2023 The revelations of the true nature of the event came to light as newly appointed House Speaker Mike Johnson released the security footage, which came as a political manna from heaven for former president Donald Trump and other members of the Republican Party. Truth and transparency are critical, Johnson said in a prepared statement. This decision will provide millions of Americans, criminal defendants, public interest organizations, and the media an ability to see for themselves what happened that day, rather than having to rely upon the interpretation of a small group of government officials. Democrats, however, who have milked the insurrectionist narrative for everything it is worth, predictably chafed at the release, calling it a risk to national security. It is unconscionable that one of Speaker Johnsons first official acts as steward of the institution is to endanger his colleagues, staff, visitors, and our country by allowing virtually unfettered access to sensitive Capitol security footage, said New York Democrat Rep. Joseph Morelle, who sits on the Committee on House Administration. That he is doing so over the strenuous objections of the security professionals within the Capitol Police is outrageous. This is not transparency; this is dangerous and irresponsible. And just like that the J6 Committees violent insurrection narrative has crumbled The Capitol Police facilitated the protesters passage through the building The vast majority of J6ers should be immediately released.pic.twitter.com/Lb1dEGT1yI Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) November 17, 2023 For almost two years, Democrats, who managed to cherry-pick the most suggestive scenes of the footage, portrayed January 6th as everything from another September 11 to a second Pear Harbor. Last year, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), the photogenic member of the Democrats radical progressive wing, was shown visibly upset after having to relive the events of the Capitol riot. I am so angry. Having to relive that footage, she sobbed, rubbing her forehead. I know its not just me. This is everyone. These attacks killed people, traumatized people and for any of you right-winger Trump loyalists, he sent his own people to jail, and promised his own people that he would pardon them. The inconvenient truth, however, is that only one person was killed on the day of the Capitol riot unarmed Air Force veteran and avid Trump supporter, Ashli Babbitt, who was shot by a police officer. Now, Republicans are demanding justice be served and that the incarcerated protesters be immediately set free. And just like that the J6 Committees violent insurrection narrative has crumbled, said conservative commentator Charlie Kirk over X (formerly Twitter). The Capitol Police facilitated the protesters passage through the buildingthe vast majority of J6ers should be immediately released. However, with the Democrats still in control of Washington, D.C., together with the FBI, the Justice Department and other administrative offices, the Republicans will have to wait until November 4th and possibly longer if they lose their White House bid before any real justice is meted out. Meanwhile, federal officials have said there is no evidence that law enforcement officials helped coordinate the attacks. If you are asking whether the violence at the Capitol on January 6 was part of some operation orchestrated by FBI sources or agents the answer is emphatically no, FBI Director Christopher Wray told Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) during a House Committee hearing. Higgins was questioning Wray about two Greyhound buses he said dropped off FBI agents dressed as Trump supporters at the Capitol on January 6, referring to the vehicles as ghost buses. Whatever the case may be, the fresh revelations were a silver lining in a shitstorm that has been following Donald Trump, who hopes to win back the White House next November despite multiple legal woes. Congratulations to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson for having the Courage and Fortitude to release all of the J6 Tapes, which will explicitly reveal what really happened on January 6th! Trump wrote on Truth Social Friday. Read more at: Strategic-Culture.su New lawsuit says Pfizer knowingly distributed unsafe drugs to children Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against pharmaceutical giant Pfizer for allegedly administering a popular ADHD drug to children "despite the drug's pattern of failing quality control tests." Paxton says that Pfizer and partner Tris Pharma "knowingly distributed" the drug, known as Quillivant, despite the fact that criminal fraud took place with its regulatory approval. "I am horrified by the dishonesty we uncovered in the investigation," Paxton commented about the case in a tweet, adding that Pfizer intentionally unleashed this dangerous drug while fooling regulators and defrauding government healthcare systems. Paxton would go on to explain that Pfizer and its drug partners "altered the drug's testing method in violation of federal & state laws to ensure Quillivant passed regulatory hurdles and could continue to be sold." (Related: Did you know that Pfizer's latest Wuhan coronavirus [COVID-19] "booster" shots were never tested on people? Less than a dozen mice were the only trial recipients.) Time for CEO Albert Bourla to be charged and tried for crimes against humanity Quillivant contains the same active ingredient as Ritalin, a more popular ADHD drug from years past that was apparently rebranded by Pfizer in an attempt to boost sales. Pfizer has generated hundreds of millions of dollars from the sale of Quillivant, claiming all the while that any associated problems with taking the drug are the result of "quality control" issues. This is a bald-faced lie, of course, but this is what drug companies do: They lie through the teeth because, even when caught, they usually only have to pay a paltry penalty fee that is just a fraction of the overall profits the company rakes in from illicit drug sales. Pfizer also continues to lie about its mRNA COVID injection, with CEO Albert Bourla falsely claiming in April 2021 that the company's Phase 3 clinical trials with BioNTech revealed "that our COVID-19 vaccine was 100% effective in preventing #COVID19 cases in South Africa." Bourla has lied on many occasions about Pfizer's COVID jabs, which are linked to many serious adverse events and deaths that, conveniently, the company never mentions but the internet is always watching. Dr. Peter A. McCullough and many others have noted that specific batches of Pfizer's COVID jabs appear much more dangerous than others, and that adverse events associated with such primarily exist within certain lots of the drug. The latest case filed by Paxton is just one of many to come down the pike against Pfizer in recent years and it will almost certainly not be the last. Pfizer has a lot of retribution to pay for what it has done to humanity, and now is the time for the hammer to drop. As of this writing, not a single state in America has taken legal action against Pfizer for its behavior during the "pandemic." Not even Texas, with Paxton in charge, has taken up a case like this, though Florida, we are told, recently empaneled a grand jury that is currently in the process of investigating the adverse effects associated with COVID shots from Pfizer and the others that participated in Operation Warp Speed. "Paxton has been a stalwart on Big Pharma, the border and election integrity," one commenter wrote, approving of Paxton's efforts to hold Pfizer accountable. "No coincidence that they tried to impeach him. Red state AGs have a lot on their plates, let's hope they have the courage to fight for the people." "Were the people involved in initiating the impeachment proceedings tipped off about this case when they started their investigation?" asked another, speculating as to why Paxton may have been impeached. "Was the impeachment a way to try to kill his Pfizer investigation?" Will Pfizer ever be held accountable for crimes against humanity? Learn more at BadMedicine.news. Sources for this article include: Dossier.today NaturalNews.com School vaccine campaigns come under scrutiny in France after 12-year-old boy dies on school floor following HPV shot Despite there being multiple court cases in the U.S., India, Japan, Colombia, Spain and France proving the HPV vaccine to be an instrument of death and debilitation , pharmaceutical companies and multinational organizations continue to fund HPV vaccine campaigns in school systems around the world. A nationwide HPV vaccine campaign was launched in French schools on October 19, 2023. The vaccine campaign targeted schoolchildren ages 11-14. Not only did the toxic, aluminum-based injection poison every single student injected, but the vaccine program also went on to cause the death of a 12-year-old boy named Elouan. 12-year-old boys death following Gardasil vaccine prompts nationwide outcry The young Elouan collapsed just minutes after receiving Gardasils HPV vaccine at Saint-Dominique College, a private school in Saint-Herblain near Nantes. Upon collapsing, the boy suffered head trauma and was taken to the Nantes University hospital. At the hospital, his condition worsened, and he passed away on October 27th. The Regional Health Authority of Pays de la Loire (ARS) reported that Elouan fell heavily to the floor after receiving the vaccination, with the back of his head striking the hard surface in the room where the vaccination took place. ARS reported: Despite the intervention of the nurses present, Elouans condition deteriorated in the following days in relation to the severity of his head trauma. These tragic events prompted an investigation by the Nantes public prosecutors office. Prosecutor Renaud Gaudeul seeks to determine whether the medical treatment of this minor before, during and after the injection was carried out according to the rules of the art. Gaudeul told Ouest France, We want to understand how a young boy could have died in these circumstances. Those involved are being investigated for involuntary manslaughter. French health officials dismiss the obvious, protecting the deceptive HPV vaccine racket The ARS, on the other hand, immediately denied any connection between the boys death and the vaccine. The ARS claimed that malaise can occur from stress induced by getting vaccinated. The ARS claimed that the boys malaise and syncope could not be related to the vaccine, nor could it be related to a quality defect of the pharmaceutical product. The hasty ARS response highlights the governments tendency to overlook obvious circumstantial evidence to coverup vaccine injuries and conceal any further acts of medical malfeasance. ARSs dismissal of life-threatening vaccine injuries is modeled after the World Health Organizations definition of syncope following vaccination. The WHO acknowledges that fainting is a potential adverse event of vaccination, but they define this problem as temporary loss of consciousness with a quick recovery that is an immunization stress-related response. In other words, the WHO claims that fainting or syncope is of psychological origin, and not the fault of the vaccine itself. The French Minister of Health, Aurelien Rousseau, has already dismissed the boys case. He told the French National Assembly that Elouans malaise is the main adverse effect of any form of vaccination and had no link with the injected product. Everything will obviously be examined and made public, Rousseau said. As I speak to you, approximately 20,000 doses have been injected. This is the only serious, tragic adverse event that we have had to experience. However, this is not true. In the U.S. alone, the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program has paid more than $70 million in damages to children injured by Gardasil. Are French prosecutors preparing to hold the vaccine industry accountable for killing children? Syncope is just one of many serious adverse events of HPV vaccines. According to Rosenberg, the Gardasil vaccine is associated with autoimmune diseases and disorders, dysautonomia, neurological disorders, reproductive disorders and more including but not limited to: chronic fatigue and chronic pain syndrome, fibromyalgia, Guillain-Barre syndrome, immune thrombocytopenia, lupus, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, small fiber neuropathy and death. Despite these callous dismissals by public health officials, the prosecutors office is pressing forward with an investigation, looking into the conditions under which the vaccine was administered; the medical supervision of the child; and the conditions for medical care of the child after the life-threatening injury occurred. According to a French parent, the vaccination days were announced in March 2023 and were carried out on October 2nd by mobile teams with/without a doctor present. Didier Lambert, president of the Mutual Aid Association for Macrophage Myofascitis Sufferers (E3M), spoke about his investigation in an interview with Nexus. Lambert said E3M filed a request to investigate the presence of aluminum and/or HPV DNA in [Elouans] brain, and that E3M had been asking for a moratorium on HPV vaccination in middle schools for several months. Lambert is also pressing the public prosecutor to conduct an autopsy that searches for HPV DNA fragments and aluminum adjuvant. However, the vaccination campaign continues, despite growing public opposition. Sources include: Business-HumanRights.org ChildrensHealthDefense.org Ouest-France.fr WHO.int Bloomberg.com Nexus.fr ChildrensHealthDefense.org [PDF] U.S. to deploy previously banned missiles against China as a deterrent The U.S. military plans to deploy previously banned medium-range missile systems in the Pacific region next year to serve as a "deterrent" against potential Chinese aggression in Taiwan. Gen. Charles Flynn, commander of the U.S. Army Pacific Forces, revealed this development on Nov. 25. He said the deployment will feature a land-based version of the Tomahawk missile, previously prohibited by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty ratified in 1987. Earlier, the U.S. Marine Corps activated its inaugural Tomahawk battery in California. The new land-based batteries utilizing Tomahawk missiles can reach targets up to 1,000 miles. Interestingly, the INF treaty had prohibited the development of land-based missiles within a range of between 310 and 3,400 miles. "We have tested them, and we have a battery or two of them today," Flynn announced. "In 2024, we intend to deploy that system in your region. Im not going to say where and when. But I will just say that we will deploy them." Though Flynn refrained from specifying the deployment location for the Tomahawk missiles, but there are indications they could be positioned in Japan. Simultaneously, the U.S. is enhancing its military presence in the Philippines as part of its broader strategy against China, which American military officials assert is aimed at deterring conflict. (Related: Air Force general warns US will be at war with China by 2025.) Washington officially withdrew from the INF Treaty in August 2019, over allegations that Russia was building a new missile in violation of the document. The U.S. began testing intermediate-range nuclear weapons with ground-based Mk-41 launchers shortly thereafter. Meanwhile, Moscow denied the allegations and accused America of violating the treaty. It cited Washington's deployment of Aegis Ashore missile defense systems in Romania and Poland, equipped with Mk-41 vertical launchers capable of housing Tomahawk missiles. Flynn: More military forces want exercises with U.S. counterparts According to Flynn, more military forces in the Asia-Pacific region are looking to conduct joint drills with U.S. forces as a response to Chinas increasingly aggressive behavior toward some countries there. Pointing to Beijing's accelerated military capabilities, he remarked that what the Chinese People's Liberation Army "is able to perform is very different in 2023" compared to previous years. "That trajectory that theyre on is a dangerous one for the region," the commander said. "Candidly, its a dangerous moment for the world." While Flynn has no idea when Beijing will invade the island nation, he cited factors as to why Chinese leader Xi Jinping wants to do so. He remarked: "The first is economic sanctions, particularly the economic sanctions that have been levied on Russia; can they withstand that?" Secondly, Flynn said China is doubling down on the region to fragment, fracture, disassemble the network of allies and partners that the U.S. enjoys, and they are working every day on that. He noted that China is doing that in information space, in the air, in the sea, and on the ground. The third factor, according to Flynn, is Chinas military readiness. I believe that they are, you know, assessing, he said. [Xi] is essentially assessing the military proficiency of his force to actually conduct a cross-strait invasion. That is a highly, highly complex operation, not to be taken lightly. The success of Chinas influence and information operations, especially upon Taiwans January elections will be the final factor affecting the likelihood of a near-term invasion, according to Flynn. They have to win the information war, he said. The U.S. has to be seen as a declining power and unreliable and they are seen as a reliable and ascending power and they have to win that war. Meanwhile, China perceives the U.S. buildup as a containment strategy, escalating tensions and potentially increasing the likelihood of conflict. Watch Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) explain that China wants to divide America against itself. This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: STRATCOM report reveals China has a larger nuclear ICBM arsenal than the US. US accuses China of pouring BILLIONS of dollars into GLOBAL DISINFO campaign (while the US govt. spews endless lies about everything). Chinese Defense Minister warns: Severe China-US conflict would be an UNBEARABLE DISASTER for the world. Sources include: ZeroHedge.com DefenseOne.com Brighteon.com U.S. warship in the Red Sea shoots down attack drones fired by Yemens Houthi rebels The United States Navy guided-missile destroyer Thomas Hudner has reportedly shot down multiple attack drones launched from areas of Yemen controlled by the Houthis. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the interception of the "multiple one-way attack drones" on the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 22, noting that this is the second time that the Thomas Hudner was able to shoot down drones launched from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen, with the first incident being on Nov. 15. (Related: Yemen's Houthi rebels join war against Israel to protect Palestinians in Gaza.) The Thomas Hudner shot down the attack drones on Wednesday while on patrol in the Red Sea as part of the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, most of which is currently deployed in the Eastern Mediterranean as part of the U.S. Armed Forces' response to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas and other Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip. CENTCOM's statement regarding the intercept incident was very brief, only adding that neither the ship nor the crew sustained any damage or injury from the interception. It also remains unclear if the attack drones were targeting the Thomas Hudner or, like previous Houthi drone strikes, if the drones were heading for southern Israel. Houthis participating in the conflict between Israel and Gaza The Houthis have been participating in the conflict between Israel and Gaza since late October, when it first launched a barrage of missiles and drones for southern Israel. Since then, the Houthis have announced themselves to be part of an "axis of resistance" On the same day that the Thomas Hudner intercepted the attack drones, Israel announced that it had thwarted several cruise missiles heading for the country's south. These cruise missiles were reportedly heading toward different military targets. Houthi leadership later claimed responsibility for this attempted cruise missile strike. A Houthi spokesperson later claimed that the rebel group will continue carrying out military operations against Israel until Israeli violence against the people of Palestine in both Gaza and the West Bank ceases. The Houthis have even vowed to continue attacking any ship that passes through the Red Sea and is in any way affiliated with Israel. On Sunday, Nov. 19, the Houthis captured the Galaxy Leader, an Israel-linked cargo ship, and have taken the ship's 25 international crewmembers hostage. The Israeli military described this seizure as a "very grave incident of global consequence." A U.S. military spokesperson said it was a "flagrant violation of international law." The Houthis' vow to continue participating in the conflict comes as the Department of Defense announces how U.S. forces deployed in the region have been attacked 66 times since Oct. 17. During this time, more than 60 U.S. military personnel have been injured by these attacks, including several very serious injuries. The U.S. has since retaliated, including conducting a targeted strike on alleged weapons facilities in Syria linked to Iranian-backed groups and several other strikes on positions held by Hezbollah-aligned militias just south of Baghdad in Iraq. Watch this video featuring footage of the Houthis' recent operation to seize a cargo ship linked to an Israeli corporation. This video is from the Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Cargo ship with Israeli ties hijacked by Houthi rebels; 25 hostages taken. Israel's "holy war" against Gaza already expanding to include Syria, Yemen. White House preparing contingency plans to evacuate Americans from the Middle East as Israel's ground invasion of Gaza looms. Second U.S. carrier strike group arrives in eastern Mediterranean Sea to deter hostile actions against Israel. U.S. Navy warship shoots down missiles and drones fired by Iran-backed militants in Yemen possibly toward Israel. Sources include: News.USNI.com AlJazeera.com NavyTimes.com MarineInsight.com Brighteon.com Study: Vaccinated children shed COVID-19 virus up to 3 times LONGER than unvaccinated kids A research letter published on Oct. 23 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics has found that children given the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine and those who were unvaccinated both shed the virus for at least three days The results of the research led the scientists to suggest that school policies requiring students with COVID-19 to stay at home for five days are appropriate. But while all the unvaccinated children in the study were clear of the virus by day six, 10 of the 52 vaccinated children (19 percent) took double the time to be virus-free. Three subjects (about six percent) were still infectious on day 10, a period that is three times longer than the reported median. How long the children remained contagious after a COVID-19 diagnosis remains a discussion topic, despite global data confirming that children overwhelmingly survive infection. Another study also revealed that children rarely transmit the virus to adults, which is unsurprising because a 2021 study found that, compared with swabs from adults, the nose/throat swabs from infected children were only half as likely to contain a virus capable of causing illness. Vaccinated children just as likely to pass on COVID-19 as unvaccinated kids Between April and September 2022, Neeraj Sood, a health policy expert at the University of Southern California, and his fellow researchers recruited 76 children aged seven to 18 with a positive PCR test for COVID-19. Half of the young volunteers were male and 68.4 percent (52 subjects) were vaccinated for COVID-19. Out of the vaccinated children, 35 had received two doses, 15 received a third shot or booster and two did not provide details. The research team took throat swabs from the subjects on the day they tested positive (day 0), and every two days thereafter up to day 10. The samples were tested for their ability to infect cultured cells through a "cytopathic" or cell-changing effect. Cytopathic assays use microscopes that are not powerful enough to see viruses or their entry into cells but look for visually obvious changes over time in test cells exposed to the viral swab. Microscopic examinations occurred on days six, eight and 10. The researchers discovered that the "median duration of infectivity" or how long a child was infectious was three days for both the vaccinated and unvaccinated volunteers. The median of a dataset is the middle value, with an equal number of values above and below. The average (mean) equals all the values divided by the number of total entries. The mean and median of the same data can be different. However, Soods tactic of designating the 20 percent of his subjects who continued to shed the virus for up to 10 days as "outliers" is questionable, especially since they were vaccinated. Figure 1 from the results revealed that the 10 vaccinated subjects (19 percent) who remained contagious at the end of day six were not outliers and their infectious status was not a rare, unexplained event but something common for this dataset. Using median instead of mean infectivity duration minimizes the significance of much of the vaccinated subject data in Soods study. The approach is also wrong for the unvaccinated group because the data is "tightly distributed around the three-day mark with no outliers." Equating median values for the vaccinated versus the unvaccinated allowed the research team to combine data from the two groups and report that 14 participants (18.4 percent) were infectious on day five and three (3.9 percent) were still shedding on day 10. The data researchers reported that all subjects still positive after day six were vaccinated, but hiding this fact allowed them to claim, without considering the more informative mean values, that "there was no association between duration of infectivity and vaccination or booster status." This contradiction is evident in Figure 1B, which shows the percentage (vertical axis) of vaccinated (orange solid line) and unvaccinated (black solid line) subjects contagious since their initial COVID-19 diagnosis in days (horizontal axis). The numbers below the graph represent the number of patients still shedding the COVID-19, with the "unvaccinated" and "vaccinated" groups shown separately. By day six, none of the unvaccinated subjects were contagious but 10 vaccinated patients were still shedding the virus. On day 10, when the last cell infection test was conducted, three of the vaccinated subjects were still shedding the virus. (Related: Study links Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine to VAIDS in children.) Visit VaccineDeaths.com for more about the negative impact of COVID-19 vaccines. Watch the video below as Health Ranger Mike Adams and Dr. Pierre Kory talk about treatment protocols for COVID-19 vaccine INJURIES and spike protein toxicity. This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: CDC report reveals significant increase in developmental disabilities among children stemming from COVID-related restrictions. Mom sues D.C. doctor who gave her children covid vaccines without consent. HALF of all UK children are PERMANENTLY DAMAGED by covid lockdowns, study finds. Sources include: ChildrensHealthDefense.org JAMANetwork.com Brighteon.com Houston, a city renowned for its culture and diverse communities, is also home to families who cherish their beloved pets. Although dogs are commonly seen as companions, unfortunate incidents involving dog attacks can occur, resulting in emotional distress for the victims. In situations, it becomes crucial to seek assistance from legal experts. This article explores the role played by dog attack lawyers in Houston in advocating for victims and navigating the legal landscape surrounding such cases. The Increase of Dog Attacks In years, there has been a rise in reported cases of dog attacks in Houston. Various factors, like ownership, lack of proper training, and inadequate containment measures, contribute to these incidents. Victims of dog attacks not only suffer injuries but also endure long-lasting emotional trauma. After such traumatic events take place, seeking recourse becomes essential to ensure justice and compensation for the victims. Understanding Texas Dog Bite Laws Texas has laws that govern dog bites and attacks. Both victims and legal professionals must comprehend these regulations thoroughly. In the state, there is a "one bite" rule, which means that if a dog owner knows about their dog's tendencies or if the dog has bitten someone before, they can be held responsible for any injuries caused to another person. Lawyers specializing in dog attacks in Houston are well-versed in these laws. Use their expertise to build cases for their clients. Role of Lawyers in Houston Dog Attack Cases Lawyers specializing in dog attacks in Houston play a role in advocating for victims, ensuring that they receive fair compensation for their injuries. These legal professionals have expertise in injury law, specifically dealing with cases related to dog attacks. From the consultation all the way through case resolution, they provide guidance and support to victims throughout the process. Case Evaluation Upon taking on a case, lawyers handling dog attack cases in Houston evaluate it to assess its strengths and potential challenges. They collect evidence and interview witnesses. Evaluate the extent of the victim's injuries to build a case. Legal Representation In negotiations with insurance companies, when required, lawyers representing victims of dog attacks act as advocates for their clients both inside and outside of courtrooms. The main objective of Houston dog attack lawyers is to ensure that victims receive the maximum compensation to cover expenses, lost wages, and emotional distress. Dealing with Insurance Claims Many cases involving dog bites require negotiations with insurance companies. Houston dog attack lawyers are skilled at navigating these negotiations, ensuring that victims are not taken advantage of and receive a settlement. Advocacy in the Courtroom If a fair settlement cannot be reached, dog attack lawyers in Houston are prepared to bring the case to court. They present arguments supported by evidence to persuade judges and juries to rule in their client's favor. Informing Clients An important aspect of the role played by Houston dog attack lawyers is educating their clients about their rights and the legal process. They provide concise information, empowering victims with the knowledge to make decisions about their cases. Challenges in Dog Attack Cases Dealing with the complexities of dog attack cases presents challenges for Houston dog attack lawyers. One major obstacle is determining who should be held responsible since ownership and liability may not always be straightforward. Proving negligence is another aspect requiring an examination of the dog owner's knowledge about their pet's aggressive behavior. Moreover, accurately assessing the extent of the victim's damages, including emotional harm, poses a multifaceted challenge. Houston dog attack lawyers excel in overcoming these hurdles by leveraging their understanding of Texas state laws and past cases. Their expertise empowers them to build arguments that ensure victims receive compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, and the long-lasting emotional impact caused by dog attacks. In the face of these challenges, these legal professionals unwaveringly advocate for the rights and well-being of dog attack victims in Houston. Conclusion In a city like Houston, incidents involving dog attacks can have ranging consequences for victims. Houston attorneys specializing in dog attack cases play a role in supporting and assisting victims in navigating the complexities of the system and advocating for their rights. With the increasing incidence of dog attacks, these legal professionals are instrumental in seeking justice and fair compensation. If you or someone dear to you has experienced a dog attack in Houston, it is essential to seek the guidance of an attorney who specializes in cases. This step is crucial to ensure that you receive the justice and compensation that you rightfully deserve. Authorities detected the first human case of flu strain that is similar to the virus affecting pigs. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has detected a single confirmed human case of influenza A(H1N2)v. First Human Case Detected Experts said that influenza A(H1N2)v is similar to the flu viruses currently circulating in pigs in the UK. They noted that this is the first detection of this strain of flu in a human being in the country. They said that as usual in emerging infection events, officials from the UKHSA are working closely with partners to determine the characteristics of the pathogen and assess the risk to human health. According to UKHSAA, the first human case was detected as part of the routine national flu surveillance undertaken by UKHSA and the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP). ''It is thanks to routine flu surveillance and genome sequencing that we have been able to detect this virus. This is the first time we have detected this virus in humans in the UK, though it is very similar to viruses that have been detected in pigs,'' Meera Chand, Incident Director at UKHSA, said. The individual was tested by their GP after experiencing respiratory symptoms. Furthermore, the influenza A(H1N2)v virus was detected by UKHSA using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing and characterized using genome sequencing. Physicians noted that the individual concerned experienced a mild illness, adding that the patient has already fully recovered. The source of their infection has not yet been ascertained as it also remains under investigation by experts. Meanwhile, close contacts of the case are being followed up by UKHSA and partner organizations. Any contacts will be provided with testing as necessary and it has also been advised that they will be given any necessary care if they have symptoms or test positive. Read Also: Avian Influenza Epidemic: H5N1 Variant at Mink Farm in Galicia, Spain Reported for the First Time Increasing Surveillance At present, the UKHSA is monitoring the situation closely and is taking steps to increase surveillance within existing programs involving GP surgeries and hospitals in parts of North Yorkshire. Authorities said that in order to assist in the detection of cases and assessment of transmission, those people who are contacted and asked to test are encouraged to do the measures being imposed by health officials. Chand said authorities are currently working rapidly to trace close contacts and reduce any potential spread. Moreover, Chand added that in accordance with established protocols, investigations are underway to learn how the individual acquired the infection and to assess whether there are any further associated cases. Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss said that some diseases of animals could really be transferred to humans - which is why high standards of animal health, welfare and biosecurity are so important. Middlemiss said that through the animal and human surveillance systems, experts work together to protect the public from the virus. ''In this case we are providing specialist veterinary and scientific knowledge to support the UKHSA investigation. Pig keepers must also report any suspicion of swine flu in their herds to their local vet immediately,'' Middlemiss said. Related Article: African Swine Fever Threat in US: Simulation Study Reveals the Challenges and Costs of Containing an Outbreak A Sumatran rhino was born in western Indonesia, marking a rare sanctuary birth for the critically endangered mammal, adding another hope for the restoration of the species' population. New Calf for the Endangered Species A female named Delilah gave birth to a 25-kilogram (55-pound) male calf at a Sumatran rhino refuge in Way Kambas National Park in Lampung province, on Sumatra's southern tip. The calf is fathered by Harapan, a male born at the Cincinnati Zoo in 2006. He was the final Sumatran rhino in the world to be repatriated to Indonesia, which means that the whole Sumatran rhino population is currently in Indonesia. It was the fifth calf born at the park as part of a semiwild breeding program, said Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar. The new addition to Way Kambas' Sumatran rhino herd of ten comes after another baby Sumatran rhino was born there in September. "This birth is the second birth of the Sumatran rhino in 2023. This further strengthens the government's commitment to rhino conservation in Indonesia," the minister said. Delilah and her kid are doing well, as the calf can now stand upright and walk. He was able to breastfeed in a standing posture not long after he was discovered. The yet-to-be-named calf is Delilah's first successful delivery. "Two years ago there was only one captive Sumatran rhino pair in the world able to successfully produce offspring. Now there are three pairs - six rhinos - who are proven breeders. Those are much better odds for the long-term survival of this species," said Nina Fascione, the International Rhino Foundation's (IRF's) executive director. Read Also: Sumatran Rhinoceros are Striving for Genetic Diversity Despite Extinction Sumatran Rhino Population Sumatran rhinoceroses are the smallest living rhinoceroses and the only Asian rhinoceroses to have two horns. They have lengthy hair and are more closely connected to extinct woolly rhinos than any other rhino species living today. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) believe that the Sumatran rhino population in Indonesia is less than 80. The Sumatran rhino once inhabited the slopes of the Eastern Himalayas in Bhutan and eastern India, as well as Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, China, and the Malay Peninsula. The species is now exclusively found on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Borneo. According to experts, the third subspecies is most likely extinct. In Indonesia, the Sumatran rhino is legally protected. The International Rhino Foundation (IRF) established the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary (SRS) in 1996 in collaboration with the local NGO Yayasan Badak Indonesia (YABI), which now oversees the SRS, the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Way Kambas National Park, and Taman Safari International. Sumatran rhinos are listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. They are threatened by the erosion of tropical forest habitat and poachers who murder the animals for their horns, which are treasured in China and other areas of Asia for manufacturing ornaments and for use in traditional medicine. Related Article: Wild Sumatran Rhinos Considered to Be Extinct in Malaysia Extreme snow events are expected for some parts of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan this week, according to the latest United States winter weather advisory by the National Weather Service (NWS). This means that heavy snow with howling winds and frigid temperatures are possible across the Northeast US and its surrounding regions. By the start of the week, meteorologists have reported that millions of Americans are affected by winter weather alerts. Last week, the weather service issued several weather alerts for a looming winter storm system over parts of the Pacific Northwest and midwestern regions. In addition, a cross-country storm was also forecasted following the recent Thanksgiving national holiday, which continued to affect domestic travel nationwide. Now, updated US winter storm forecasts show that the country could enter experience early-season winter storms ahead of the official 2023 US winter season next month. US Winter Weather Advisory Millions of American residents and travelers are reportedly affected by current winter weather alerts as of Monday, November 27, as a cross-country storm continues to impact the country. In the Midwest and Great Lakes regions, over 10 million people by the weather alerts as Thanksgiving vacationers return to their homes via roads and skies. In its winter weather advisory at 3:32 a.m. CST (local time) on Tuesday, November 28, the NWS warned that winter weather hazards are expected across the northeastern states and its surrounding areas. The mentioned states earlier could experience these hazards through midweek and even by the end of the week. Also Read: US Winter Storm Could Intensify Into a Bomb Cyclone; Blizzard and Winter Storm Warnings Remain in Effect Winter Weather Affected Areas In New York, snowfall rates could reach up to 1 inch per hour at certain times, while blowing snow and drifting snow with gusty winds are also possible. This snowfall event is projected to stay north of the New York Thruway, the NWN says. Last year's winter season, the state became a hazard area for a deadly blizzard storm when it struck the Buffalo area of New York, leading to multiple fatalities. In Michigan, the highest snowfall is expected in the northern part of the state's Iron County and the occurrence of a lake effect snow near the Michigan border. In Pennsylvania, officials of the state's Department of Transportation and Turnpike Commission acknowledge the winter weather impacts, reminding motorists to adjust their speeds based on varying driving conditions. The authorities highlighted that hazards include thick snow that can cover roads and limit visibility in some areas. In addition, the weather service is also expecting the continuance of cold air and winter storm in the form of a heavy lake effect snow across the Great Lakes through Wednesday, November 29. These wintry conditions will make travel very difficult, according to the US weather agency. On the other hand, no short-term significant weather events are in store for the central and southern states. Related Article: US Winter Storm Update: Weather System Forecast to Spread Across Eastern States Into Early Next Week [NWS] Wild feral pigs dubbed as "super pigs" are set to cross from Canada to the United States border soon, with predictions that the hogs' southward movement spill into the northern tier of the US. Specifically, reports project the wild animals will end up in the states of Minnesota, Montana, and North Dakota. A potential shift of the apparent animal migration activity could also land the swine group in other parts of the country. The super pigs could make their debut in the North US before the official start of the 2023 North American winter season, where winter storms, heavy snow, and cold temperatures are expected. Although the feral pig is not known to be a migratory animal, they tends to stay within the boundaries of their initially identified home. However, wildlife experts say wild pigs can also make significant movements as a response to consistent disturbances in their ecosystem or season-related activities. Super Pigs Invasion The super pigs invasion is a result of wild feral pigs coming from the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. Yet, this is not the first time that a wild feral pig invasion has taken place in the country. According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), approximately 6 million individual swine have already entered at least 35 states of the country. The wild pig's arrival in the US is not only a matter of ecological threat but also a potential public threat. After all, experts warn that they are still wild animals that can exhibit violent behavior with little or without warning. In recent months, similar incidents have been reported in Poland, where a wild boar population is growing and invading Polish cities. Aside from the risk of wild pig attack, native animals or species could also be threatened by non-native wild pig species. Wild feral pigs are descendants of escaped or released pigs. Regardless of their species, the feral swine are dangerous, destructive, and an invasive species. These large mammals are also referred to by other names like wild boar, Russian boar, Eurasian boar, razorback, and piney woods. In 2019, a fatal wild hog attack involved the death of a 59-year-old woman in Texas. It is the fifth recorded wild super pig attack recorded since 1825. Also Read: Experts Fear Ecological Disaster as Wild Pigs Are Rapidly Spreading Across Western Canada Americas Feral Swine History The first members of super pigs were first brought to the US during the 1500s by early explorers and settlers as a source of food, according to the USDA. However, this repeated introduction paved the way to the uncontrollable entry of the invasive pig species, which have thrived and expanded over the past several centuries, even some have become domestic pigs. Prior to 1539, there have been no swine species found across the North America continent, with only a pig-like animal called the peccary was found in the Americas, according to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks (MDWFP). Related Article: Wild Boar Population Increases in Warsaw, Other Polish Cities; Increasing Risk of African Swine Fever Sorry, something doesn't look right. Something seems unusual about your device or browser. Please contact support. By: Gabriel Gomane, Senior Product Marketing Manager at HPE Aruba Networking. In our digital world, organizations have massively moved their workload to the cloud. Users connect from anywhere and access sensitive data in the cloud using untrusted links. To tackle the threats and security challenges posed by the growing amount of data in the cloud and data privacy as well as remote access, organizations are adopting zero trust and SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) architectures. At the same time, regulators are creating new security frameworks and standards such as GDPR, NIST, SOX, PCI DSS and HIPAA to protect organizations, employees and consumers, and reduce cybersecurity risks. In 2022 alone, 493.33 million ransomware attacks were detected by organizations worldwide[1] and around 30 percent of adults worldwide encountered phishing scams[2]. Additionally, the number of data compromises in the United States stood at 1802 cases, and over 422 million individuals were affected in the same year by data compromises, including data breaches, leakage, and exposure[3]. These regulations and standards help address multiple cybersecurity threats including: Malware and ransomware: Threats can originate from malicious websites, emails, software and other files. Threats can originate from malicious websites, emails, software and other files. Phishing and social engineering: Cybercriminals trick users into revealing sensitive information. Cybercriminals trick users into revealing sensitive information. Insider threats: Suspicious activities that include data theft or sabotage can be difficult to detect by organizations. Suspicious activities that include data theft or sabotage can be difficult to detect by organizations. Data loss and data breaches: Data exfiltration is a significant concern for organizations. Many regulations require organizations to report data breaches to authorities and affected individuals. Data exfiltration is a significant concern for organizations. Many regulations require organizations to report data breaches to authorities and affected individuals. Third party risks: Vendors and suppliers represent a major cybersecurity concern for organizations. Regulations require organizations to conduct due diligence on vendors and suppliers to ensure compliance with security standards. Vendors and suppliers represent a major cybersecurity concern for organizations. Regulations require organizations to conduct due diligence on vendors and suppliers to ensure compliance with security standards. IoT explosion: Over the past few years, the number of IoT devices have grown exponentially, increasing the attack surface and exposing organizations to major cybersecurity risks. SASE is a term coined by Gartner in 2019 and stands for Secure Access Service Edge. It combines SD-WAN capabilities with SSE (Security Service Edge) that provides a comprehensive set of security functions including ZTNA (Zero Trust Network Access), CASB (Cloud Access Security Broker), and SWG (Secure Web Gateway). Here are five ways SASE and SD-WAN can help improve compliance to regulations and standards: 1. Data protection To ensure compliance with regulations such as GDPR or HIPAA, organizations must ensure that sensitive data is protected. CASB and DLP (Data Loss Prevention) help enforce data protection. CASB can discover and monitor cloud-based applications, identify users and enforce enterprise-wide security policies. DLP can identify and classify sensitive data based on content and context, and monitor user behavior. CASB and DLP monitor data at risk and prevent users from downloading/uploading sensitive data into cloud applications such as Dropbox, Github or Salesforce, intentionally or unintentionally. CASB also helps reduce shadow IT and identify unsanctioned SaaS applications in organizations, and enforce security policies such as authentication and Single Sign On (SSO). Additionally, SD-WAN and SASE create encrypted tunnels between a user and an application protecting data in transit, required by regulations and standards. It is worth noting that CASB solutions can decrypt data in transit for inspection. This requires deploying a trusted certificate on the user's device. Regulatory bodies may require additional security measures to manage certificates and encryption keys. Another approach used by CASB is to access data at rest in the cloud, in decrypted form, using APIs. 2. Access Control Many industry standards and regulations require a Zero Trust architecture to limit access to systems and data based on the need to know and according to roles in the organization. ZTNA provides least privilege access through fine grained segmentation based on role and identity. This ensures that users access resources consistent with their role in the business on a need-to-know basis while only authorized users access sensitive data. ZTNA indeed provides an additional layer of security compared to VPN, as VPN gives access to any resources once a user is connected, increasing security risks. Additionally, some ZTNA solutions are agentless. This enables organizations to seamlessly give access to third party contractors, who might represent a potential risk of non-compliance, without installing a ZTNA agent on their devices. In branch locations, a secure SD-WAN with next-generation firewall capabilities provide advanced micro-segmentation capabilities to protect critical parts of the LAN and the WAN. Administrators can create zones, assign applications to them, and create unique security policies that control access between and across zones. The policies can completely block access, allow traffic in one direction only, or restrict interzone traffic to specific uses. The solution also helps secure IoT devices that cannot run security agents, by ensuring that the IoT traffic remains isolated from mission-critical applications. 3. Threat Protection Regulations and standards often require enforcing strict internet usage policies across the organization to reduce cybersecurity threats and ensure compliance. SWG provides real-time protection for users by creating a safe environment. It scans internet traffic for malicious activity including malware and phishing attacks and blocks malicious content, enabling organizations to protect their data and systems from cyber threats, as required by regulatory mandates. SWG also blocks access to websites known for their malicious content, that may violate compliance requirements. By decrypting and inspecting SSL/TLS traffic, SWG helps organizations to meet regulatory mandates and provides visibility into encrypted traffic. Secure SD-WAN solutions also include intrusion prevention (IDS/IPS) and DDoS protection capabilities to protect users in branch offices. These functionalities can be centrally configured based on firewall zones enforcing granular security policies. 4. Centralized policy management Hosted in the cloud, SASE and SD-WAN solutions allow network and security administrators to centrally manage policies and deploy them instantly to remote users and branch offices. Not only does this approach provide consistent security policies across branches and remote users, but also it helps comply with regulations and standards. With centralized policy management, administrators can ensure that users are following the established policies. This is particularly useful in the case of remote sites located overseas where it can be more difficult to enforce compliance, but that may also operate with different regulatory mandates such as GDPR in Europe and CCPA in California. 5. Visibility, reporting and auditing SASE and SD-WAN provide advanced visibility on the network and security incidents. They continuously monitor the network enabling architects to implement remediation actions in real-time. They can capture events related to traffic sessions, as well as reasons for those events. This information can be sent to SIEM solutions to help identify and respond to security incidents. By integrating with SIEM solutions, architects get a comprehensive view of security threats and vulnerabilities. They can filter, sort, navigate and view the collective security event notifications generated across the entire network to help them pinpoint security events that require further investigation. In addition to resolving security issues, audit logs and reporting can be used to demonstrate compliance with regulations. With digital transformation and an increasing regulatory environment, SD-WAN and SASE enable IT leaders, risk managers and GRC (Governance, Risk and Compliance) teams to accelerate compliance to regulations and standards such as HIPAA, PCI-DSS, NIST or GDPR. These solutions provide data encryption, they secure web access, prevent data loss and malware attacks. They use least privilege access principles to access cloud-hosted resources, identify and monitor data flows in the cloud and block malicious content. Additionally, a secure SD-WAN in branch locations provides micro-segmentation capabilities to ensure that mission-critical applications and IoT traffics are isolated. It offers an enhanced user experience and flexibility to steer traffic to the cloud without backhauling the traffic to a data center, and helps reduce the hardware footprint in branch offices by integrating routing and firewall functionalities, in addition to SD-WAN capabilities. Accelerate compliance to IT security frameworks and standards with SASE and SD-WAN HPE Aruba Networking SSE is a cloud-native SSE platform designed to offer secure access to business applications and accelerate the transition to the modern workplace. It delivers authenticated user access to private applications at the network edge (ZTNA), a secure web gateway (SWG) to safeguard user access to the Internet, and a cloud access security broker (CASB) that enforces policies to protect sensitive data. Tightly integrated with EdgeConnect SD-WAN, it enables organizations to build a unified SASE architecture and meet the challenges of digital transformation and hybrid working to protect SaaS applications and accelerate regulatory compliance efforts. HPE Aruba Networking products have earned various security certifications including SOC2 (type 1 or type 2), Common Criteria and FIPS 140-2. HPE Aruba Networking Central also achieved FedRAMP Authorization and PCI DSS compliance. In addition, HPE Aruba Networking is committed to helping customers to comply with GDPR. EdgeConnect SD-WAN showed that it met the TrustArc Privacy & Data Governance Framework, for following and continually improving GDPR-compliant privacy practices: The solution has also earned the ICSA Labs certification for secure SD-WAN. To learn more, please visit our webpage on unified SASE. Other resources: Data Privacy web page Regulatory compliance web page ArubaOS 10 hardening guide GDPR and CCPA Compliance: Ensuring Data Protection with SD-WAN and SASE How the EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform Supports PCI DSS Compliance HIPAA Compliance: Delivering Privacy and Security for ePHI with a Business-driven SD-WAN [1] Annual number of ransomware attacks worldwide from 2017 to 2022, Statista [2] Phishing Statistics & Facts, Statista [3] Annual number of data compromises and individuals impacted in the United States 2005-2022, Statista By PTI BALLIA: A 13-year-old girl was allegedly kidnapped by a man from a village in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia district and taken to Hyderabad where she was raped for almost a week, police said on Tuesday. The girl was rescued on November 25 from an area under the Maniyar police station in Ballia, while the man (19) was arrested on November 27 from the local bus station, they said. Police said the man used to live in the girl's neighbourhood. He has been sent to jail, they said. Maniyar Station House Officer (SHO) Mantosh Singh said she was kidnapped on November 18, and a case under pertinent sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered on a complaint from her father. In her statement, the girl said the man kidnapped her, took her to Hyderabad and raped her for almost a week, the SHO said. Following the girl's statement, section 376 (rape) of the IPC as well as relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act were added to the case. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp BALLIA: A 13-year-old girl was allegedly kidnapped by a man from a village in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia district and taken to Hyderabad where she was raped for almost a week, police said on Tuesday. The girl was rescued on November 25 from an area under the Maniyar police station in Ballia, while the man (19) was arrested on November 27 from the local bus station, they said. Police said the man used to live in the girl's neighbourhood.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); He has been sent to jail, they said. Maniyar Station House Officer (SHO) Mantosh Singh said she was kidnapped on November 18, and a case under pertinent sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered on a complaint from her father. In her statement, the girl said the man kidnapped her, took her to Hyderabad and raped her for almost a week, the SHO said. Following the girl's statement, section 376 (rape) of the IPC as well as relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act were added to the case. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp Dilip Singh Kshatriya By Express News Service AHMEDABAD: At least 24 people lost their lives, 23 left injured and 71 animals were killed in the rain-related incidents in Gujarat, officials said on Monday. The western state has been receiving unseasonal rain for two days. According to 2officials at the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC), one person died each in Ahmedabad, Amreli, Anand, Kheda, Devbhoomi Dwarka, Panchmahal, Patan, Botad, Mehsana, Sabarkantha, Surat and Surendranagar. Moreover, two people in Tapi, three each in Banaskantha and Bharuch and four in Dahod district died in lightning strikes. Since Sunday morning, Gujarat has been experiencing unseasonal heavy rain accompanied by hailstones in various parts of the state. As predicted by the state meteorological department, 50 to 60 per cent of Gujarats districts received unseasonal rainfall ranging from one to 144 millimeters. There are concerns about agriculture as farmers may witness losses in farm produce, cabinet minister and government spokesperson Rishikesh Patel told the mediapersons. According to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patels decree, the survey to access the losses will begin as soon as the rain stops, and farmers who have experienced losses will receive aid based on the survey, he added. According to the SEOC, Gandhinagar and Gir Somnath experienced 38 mm of rainfall,Junagadh witnessed 35 mm, Amreli recorded 13 mm while and Rajkot saw 6 mm since Sunday morning. Earlier, the India Meteorological Department issued a yellow alert (64.5 to 115. 5 mm) for Surat, Navsari, and Valsad in south Gujarat. The IMD in its latest bulletin, said the state was likely to experience dry weather from Tuesday, with minimum temperatures expected to dip by four to five degrees Celsius. According to reports, the unprecedented rain has also affected the ceramic industry in the Morbi district in the Saurashtra region of the state as factories were forced to remain shut. The untimely rains were caused due to a cyclonic circulation lying over the north-east Arabian sea and adjoining Saurashtra and Kutch regions, the IMD said in a bulletin earlier. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp AHMEDABAD: At least 24 people lost their lives, 23 left injured and 71 animals were killed in the rain-related incidents in Gujarat, officials said on Monday. The western state has been receiving unseasonal rain for two days. According to 2officials at the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC), one person died each in Ahmedabad, Amreli, Anand, Kheda, Devbhoomi Dwarka, Panchmahal, Patan, Botad, Mehsana, Sabarkantha, Surat and Surendranagar. Moreover, two people in Tapi, three each in Banaskantha and Bharuch and four in Dahod district died in lightning strikes. Since Sunday morning, Gujarat has been experiencing unseasonal heavy rain accompanied by hailstones in various parts of the state. As predicted by the state meteorological department, 50 to 60 per cent of Gujarats districts received unseasonal rainfall ranging from one to 144 millimeters. There are concerns about agriculture as farmers may witness losses in farm produce, cabinet minister and government spokesperson Rishikesh Patel told the mediapersons.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); According to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patels decree, the survey to access the losses will begin as soon as the rain stops, and farmers who have experienced losses will receive aid based on the survey, he added. According to the SEOC, Gandhinagar and Gir Somnath experienced 38 mm of rainfall,Junagadh witnessed 35 mm, Amreli recorded 13 mm while and Rajkot saw 6 mm since Sunday morning. Earlier, the India Meteorological Department issued a yellow alert (64.5 to 115. 5 mm) for Surat, Navsari, and Valsad in south Gujarat. The IMD in its latest bulletin, said the state was likely to experience dry weather from Tuesday, with minimum temperatures expected to dip by four to five degrees Celsius. According to reports, the unprecedented rain has also affected the ceramic industry in the Morbi district in the Saurashtra region of the state as factories were forced to remain shut. The untimely rains were caused due to a cyclonic circulation lying over the north-east Arabian sea and adjoining Saurashtra and Kutch regions, the IMD said in a bulletin earlier. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp Ramashankar By Express News Service PATNA: Bihar education department has courted controversy after it scrapped holidays for festivals like Rakshabandhan and Janmashtami and curtailed holidays for Diwali, Chhath and Durga Puja but instead increased number of holidays for Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha (Bakrid). In an unprecedented move, the education department's annual calendar for Standard I to Standard XII. Earlier, the district administration was responsible for declaring holidays for election schools while the secondary school directorate was authorised to declare holidays for secondary and higher secondary schools. As per the order issued by the education department, there will be summer vacation for school students from April 15 to May 15. During the summer vacation, teachers and non-teaching staff will be attending their duties at schools like other days. District Magistrates can declare holidays in special circumstances but they have to take prior permission in front of the headquarters as holidays cannot be declared at the Principal level. #WATCH | On CM Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government reportedly reducing the number of holidays for the states schools during Hindu festivals, Union Minister Nityanand Rai says, " Bihar govt is doing appeasement in the state. Leaves for Hindu festivals have been reduced and the pic.twitter.com/X5hSWwBoRn ANI (@ANI) November 28, 2023 While it will be a day's holiday and a three-day holiday for Diwali and Chhath respectively, there will be holidays for two days in Holi and for three days during Durga Puja. The education department has also scrapped holidays for Teej, Jitiya, Janmashtami and Mahashivratri. Meanwhile, former deputy chief minister and BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi slammed the Bihar education department, alleging it was a "Tughlaqui and anti-Hindu." He further went on to say that the decision had hurt Hindu sentiments. He also said that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar wanted to secure Hindu votes by dividing them on the caste lines along with Muslim votes by increasing the number of holidays for their festivals, and contended that BJP would not succeed in its game plan. He claimed that it also reflected CM's anti-Hindu mindset, demanding that the decision to scrap or reduce the number of holidays for Hindu festivals should be immediately rolled back. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp PATNA: Bihar education department has courted controversy after it scrapped holidays for festivals like Rakshabandhan and Janmashtami and curtailed holidays for Diwali, Chhath and Durga Puja but instead increased number of holidays for Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha (Bakrid). In an unprecedented move, the education department's annual calendar for Standard I to Standard XII. Earlier, the district administration was responsible for declaring holidays for election schools while the secondary school directorate was authorised to declare holidays for secondary and higher secondary schools. As per the order issued by the education department, there will be summer vacation for school students from April 15 to May 15. During the summer vacation, teachers and non-teaching staff will be attending their duties at schools like other days. District Magistrates can declare holidays in special circumstances but they have to take prior permission in front of the headquarters as holidays cannot be declared at the Principal level.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); #WATCH | On CM Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government reportedly reducing the number of holidays for the states schools during Hindu festivals, Union Minister Nityanand Rai says, " Bihar govt is doing appeasement in the state. Leaves for Hindu festivals have been reduced and the pic.twitter.com/X5hSWwBoRn ANI (@ANI) November 28, 2023 While it will be a day's holiday and a three-day holiday for Diwali and Chhath respectively, there will be holidays for two days in Holi and for three days during Durga Puja. The education department has also scrapped holidays for Teej, Jitiya, Janmashtami and Mahashivratri. Meanwhile, former deputy chief minister and BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi slammed the Bihar education department, alleging it was a "Tughlaqui and anti-Hindu." He further went on to say that the decision had hurt Hindu sentiments. He also said that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar wanted to secure Hindu votes by dividing them on the caste lines along with Muslim votes by increasing the number of holidays for their festivals, and contended that BJP would not succeed in its game plan. He claimed that it also reflected CM's anti-Hindu mindset, demanding that the decision to scrap or reduce the number of holidays for Hindu festivals should be immediately rolled back. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp Rajesh Kumar Thakur By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The BJP on Monday criticised opposition parties, including Congress and TMC, for their comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modis sortie on a Tejas fighter. BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia condemned the oppositions remarks, stating that it reflected their hatred not only for the Prime Minister but also for the welfare of the nation. It shows the hatred that they have, not just for the honourable Prime Minister...but the welfare of Bharat as well, he said. Making a scathing attack on the UPA government, Bhatia said, Gone are the days when our armed forces were asking for bulletproof jackets, and when Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and the then Congress government were busy buying VVIP choppers for themselves and never cared for jawans. The opposition, including the Congress, took a swipe at the PM over his Tejas sortie. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh urged Modi to acknowledge efforts and endeavours undertaken before 2014. It doesn't cost the master of 'chunavi photo-ops' much to acknowledge the efforts and endeavours prior to 2014 that were essential to his claiming credit now," tweeted Jairam Ramesh. BJP files complaint against Congress govt in Karnataka A BJP delegation, led by Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav, filed a complaint with the Election Commission of India (ECI) against the Congress government in Karnataka on Monday. They accused the Karnataka government of violating poll guidelines by placing advertisements in Telangana media to influence the upcoming assembly polls on November 30. Yadav alleged that the Congress violated the Representation of the People Act and the Model Code of Conduct in Telangana through these advertisements. Yadav condemned the Karnataka government for publishing advertisements in Telanganas English and vernacular media for the past two days, terming it a corrupt practice aimed at influencing the polls. He asserted that such actions demonstrated the oppositions struggle in Telangana and accused them of devaluing democratic institutions. During the media briefing, BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi joined Yadav in demanding accountability from the Congress and the Karnataka government. They called for legal action against the Karnataka government for misusing public funds to influence elections in another state. Bhatia emphasised a shift from those times, asserting that the current government prioritizes the welfare of soldiers over personal interests. This condemnation came in response to Congress and TMCs criticism of PM Modis Tejas sortie as a mere photo-op and concerns about the aircrafts safety. (With inputs from Online Desk) Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp NEW DELHI: The BJP on Monday criticised opposition parties, including Congress and TMC, for their comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modis sortie on a Tejas fighter. BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia condemned the oppositions remarks, stating that it reflected their hatred not only for the Prime Minister but also for the welfare of the nation. It shows the hatred that they have, not just for the honourable Prime Minister...but the welfare of Bharat as well, he said. Making a scathing attack on the UPA government, Bhatia said, Gone are the days when our armed forces were asking for bulletproof jackets, and when Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and the then Congress government were busy buying VVIP choppers for themselves and never cared for jawans.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The opposition, including the Congress, took a swipe at the PM over his Tejas sortie. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh urged Modi to acknowledge efforts and endeavours undertaken before 2014. It doesn't cost the master of 'chunavi photo-ops' much to acknowledge the efforts and endeavours prior to 2014 that were essential to his claiming credit now," tweeted Jairam Ramesh. BJP files complaint against Congress govt in Karnataka A BJP delegation, led by Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav, filed a complaint with the Election Commission of India (ECI) against the Congress government in Karnataka on Monday. They accused the Karnataka government of violating poll guidelines by placing advertisements in Telangana media to influence the upcoming assembly polls on November 30. Yadav alleged that the Congress violated the Representation of the People Act and the Model Code of Conduct in Telangana through these advertisements. Yadav condemned the Karnataka government for publishing advertisements in Telanganas English and vernacular media for the past two days, terming it a corrupt practice aimed at influencing the polls. He asserted that such actions demonstrated the oppositions struggle in Telangana and accused them of devaluing democratic institutions. During the media briefing, BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi joined Yadav in demanding accountability from the Congress and the Karnataka government. They called for legal action against the Karnataka government for misusing public funds to influence elections in another state. Bhatia emphasised a shift from those times, asserting that the current government prioritizes the welfare of soldiers over personal interests. This condemnation came in response to Congress and TMCs criticism of PM Modis Tejas sortie as a mere photo-op and concerns about the aircrafts safety. (With inputs from Online Desk) Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp Narendra Sethi By Express News Service DEHRADUN: All the 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district have been rescued by rescue teams after 16 days of hard work and the expertise of top experts and scientists from 19 leading institutions of the country. A portion of the under-construction 4.5-km tunnel of Silkyara-Dandalgaon in Uttarkashi had collapsed during a landslide in the early hours of November 12, the day of Diwali. After this, 41 workers were trapped there when they were about to get out of the tunnel to prepare for the festival. "Due to the festival of Diwali, the rest of the workers had left earlier, otherwise the number of laborers there is usually close to 400", rescued labourers said. For the relief work that has been going on for the past fortnight, oil and natural gas corporation (ONGC), Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVNL), Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) and Teri Hydro Development Corporation Limited (THDCL) were assigned specific responsibilities under the joint aegis of the Centre and the Uttarakhand government. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said, "The government will give financial assistance of Rs One lakh each to all the workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel". For this, the officials have been instructed to make full arrangements for treatment in the hospital and going home. #WATCH | #Uttarakhand Chief Minister #PushkarSinghDhami and Union Minister General V K Singh met the labourers rescued from the tunnel by relief teams. pic.twitter.com/hDvsn0QjK2 The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) November 28, 2023 "All the workers trapped in the tunnel have been admitted to the hospital. The government will bear the cost of their treatment. Additionally, arrangements are being made for the food and lodging of family members and workers," he added. Making another special announcement on the occasion, Dhami said, "With the grace of Baba Boukhanag and Devbhoomi's gods and goddesses, the operation has been successful". A grand temple of The Bauknag Devta will be built in Silkyara. For this, necessary instructions have been given to the officials. The tunnel, which is being constructed under the supervision of the National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), had to recall its general manager Colonel Deepak Patil, who was transferred from Silkiara in late October. ALSO READ | President, PM, political leaders hail operation rescuing trapped workers from Uttarakhand tunnel Colonel Deepak Patil, in-charge of the rescue team, told The New Indian Express, "A team of 'rat miners' specialising in the job was finally engaged in the operation after the Auger machine got stuck inside the tunnel on November 26". The Army assisted this special team in this work. 'Rat Miners' is a team of experts who specialize in high-speed excavation. "Manual drilling and excavation using rat-hole mining method began on Monday to rescue 41 workers trapped in Uttarkashi's Silkiara tunnel for 16 days", people familiar with the matter said, adding that "six rat-hole mining experts have been deployed for rescue operations". According to highly placed official sources, "Bernard Gruppe, a German-Austrian engineering consultancy hired by the Indian company building the tunnel, had stated in August that since 'the start of tunnel driving, the geological conditions have proved to be more challenging than specified in the tender document.' It is not clear why an 'escape passage' approved for the tunnel in 2018 had not been built until the time when the tunnel collapsed." ALSO READ | All 41 workers rescued from Uttarakhand tunnel after 16-day ordeal; taken to local health centre Although government officials say that a detailed investigation will reveal what caused the part of tunnel to collapse, there is a lot of speculation. One of them is that it collapsed due to a landslide in the fragile Himalayan region. Several experts have pointed out that hasty development in the ecologically sensitive area was responsible for the incident. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp DEHRADUN: All the 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district have been rescued by rescue teams after 16 days of hard work and the expertise of top experts and scientists from 19 leading institutions of the country. A portion of the under-construction 4.5-km tunnel of Silkyara-Dandalgaon in Uttarkashi had collapsed during a landslide in the early hours of November 12, the day of Diwali. After this, 41 workers were trapped there when they were about to get out of the tunnel to prepare for the festival. "Due to the festival of Diwali, the rest of the workers had left earlier, otherwise the number of laborers there is usually close to 400", rescued labourers said. For the relief work that has been going on for the past fortnight, oil and natural gas corporation (ONGC), Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVNL), Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) and Teri Hydro Development Corporation Limited (THDCL) were assigned specific responsibilities under the joint aegis of the Centre and the Uttarakhand government.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said, "The government will give financial assistance of Rs One lakh each to all the workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel". For this, the officials have been instructed to make full arrangements for treatment in the hospital and going home. #WATCH | #Uttarakhand Chief Minister #PushkarSinghDhami and Union Minister General V K Singh met the labourers rescued from the tunnel by relief teams. pic.twitter.com/hDvsn0QjK2 The New Indian Express (@NewIndianXpress) November 28, 2023 "All the workers trapped in the tunnel have been admitted to the hospital. The government will bear the cost of their treatment. Additionally, arrangements are being made for the food and lodging of family members and workers," he added. Making another special announcement on the occasion, Dhami said, "With the grace of Baba Boukhanag and Devbhoomi's gods and goddesses, the operation has been successful". A grand temple of The Bauknag Devta will be built in Silkyara. For this, necessary instructions have been given to the officials. The tunnel, which is being constructed under the supervision of the National Highway Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), had to recall its general manager Colonel Deepak Patil, who was transferred from Silkiara in late October. ALSO READ | President, PM, political leaders hail operation rescuing trapped workers from Uttarakhand tunnel Colonel Deepak Patil, in-charge of the rescue team, told The New Indian Express, "A team of 'rat miners' specialising in the job was finally engaged in the operation after the Auger machine got stuck inside the tunnel on November 26". The Army assisted this special team in this work. 'Rat Miners' is a team of experts who specialize in high-speed excavation. "Manual drilling and excavation using rat-hole mining method began on Monday to rescue 41 workers trapped in Uttarkashi's Silkiara tunnel for 16 days", people familiar with the matter said, adding that "six rat-hole mining experts have been deployed for rescue operations". According to highly placed official sources, "Bernard Gruppe, a German-Austrian engineering consultancy hired by the Indian company building the tunnel, had stated in August that since 'the start of tunnel driving, the geological conditions have proved to be more challenging than specified in the tender document.' It is not clear why an 'escape passage' approved for the tunnel in 2018 had not been built until the time when the tunnel collapsed." ALSO READ | All 41 workers rescued from Uttarakhand tunnel after 16-day ordeal; taken to local health centre Although government officials say that a detailed investigation will reveal what caused the part of tunnel to collapse, there is a lot of speculation. One of them is that it collapsed due to a landslide in the fragile Himalayan region. Several experts have pointed out that hasty development in the ecologically sensitive area was responsible for the incident. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp Namita Bajpai By Express News Service LUCKNOW: The headmaster of a government school in a village in Unnao district was arrested on Monday for allegedly sexually abusing at least 18 girl students studying there. An FIR in this connection was lodged against the headmaster of the school (Class 1-8), said police sources. They added that the alleged incident came to light after one of the victims reached out to the school cook and two other women of the school staff to share her ordeal. The cook, in turn, told the teachers about it. The teachers took the matter to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), which sent a team to the school on Saturday to record the statements of the students. The teachers also registered a complaint on the Prime Minister of Indias website. According to the sources, child commission member Preeti Bharadwaj Dalal met the victims and spoke to them at length. At least 18 girls, in the age group of 7-14 years, confirmed that headmaster Rajesh Kumar used to harass them sexually. The students said the teacher used to touch them inappropriately and bribed them with candies to keep silent. As per Kotwali station house officer (SHO) Pramod Mishra, an FIR was registered on the basis of a complaint by the woman cook. On the basis of a complaint by the school cook, an FIR was registered against Kumar under provisions of the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, said the SHO. The FIR was registered in the case the same day under Sections 354 (assault or use of criminal force to any woman to outrage her modesty) and 294 (obscene acts and songs) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 9F (whoever being on the management or staff of an educational institution or religious institution, commits sexual assault on a child in that institution) and Section 10 (aggravated sexual assault) of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. Interacting with media persons, NCPCR member Preeti Bhardwaj, said the school was a co-educational institute till Class VIII. At least 18 students, aged between seven and 14 years, came forward and told us that the headmaster was sexually harassing them, she alleged, adding that the students also informed them that the headmaster identified in the FIR as Rajesh Kumar, 51 would call them over and give them Rs 5 or Rs 10 (as allurement). Soon after the FIR was registered, the districts basic shiksha adhikari suspended Kumar. As per the FIR, the cooks claimed that a group of female students informed them that the school headmaster called them near him and "indulged in obscene acts and wrongful gestures". The girls further shared about facing bad touch from the headmaster following which the cooks informed a female teacher of the school. More teachers spoke to the students after that. The teachers then informed the basic shiksha adhikari (basic education officer of the district) and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, said the FIR. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp LUCKNOW: The headmaster of a government school in a village in Unnao district was arrested on Monday for allegedly sexually abusing at least 18 girl students studying there. An FIR in this connection was lodged against the headmaster of the school (Class 1-8), said police sources. They added that the alleged incident came to light after one of the victims reached out to the school cook and two other women of the school staff to share her ordeal. The cook, in turn, told the teachers about it.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The teachers took the matter to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), which sent a team to the school on Saturday to record the statements of the students. The teachers also registered a complaint on the Prime Minister of Indias website. According to the sources, child commission member Preeti Bharadwaj Dalal met the victims and spoke to them at length. At least 18 girls, in the age group of 7-14 years, confirmed that headmaster Rajesh Kumar used to harass them sexually. The students said the teacher used to touch them inappropriately and bribed them with candies to keep silent. As per Kotwali station house officer (SHO) Pramod Mishra, an FIR was registered on the basis of a complaint by the woman cook. On the basis of a complaint by the school cook, an FIR was registered against Kumar under provisions of the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, said the SHO. The FIR was registered in the case the same day under Sections 354 (assault or use of criminal force to any woman to outrage her modesty) and 294 (obscene acts and songs) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 9F (whoever being on the management or staff of an educational institution or religious institution, commits sexual assault on a child in that institution) and Section 10 (aggravated sexual assault) of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. Interacting with media persons, NCPCR member Preeti Bhardwaj, said the school was a co-educational institute till Class VIII. At least 18 students, aged between seven and 14 years, came forward and told us that the headmaster was sexually harassing them, she alleged, adding that the students also informed them that the headmaster identified in the FIR as Rajesh Kumar, 51 would call them over and give them Rs 5 or Rs 10 (as allurement). Soon after the FIR was registered, the districts basic shiksha adhikari suspended Kumar. As per the FIR, the cooks claimed that a group of female students informed them that the school headmaster called them near him and "indulged in obscene acts and wrongful gestures". The girls further shared about facing bad touch from the headmaster following which the cooks informed a female teacher of the school. More teachers spoke to the students after that. The teachers then informed the basic shiksha adhikari (basic education officer of the district) and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, said the FIR. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp Dilip Singh Kshatriya By Express News Service AHMEDABAD: Gujarat BJP is hoping to set a record by winning all 26 Lok Sabha seats for the third time in a row. It would not be tough for the BJP because the state is strongly polarized and urban voters are die-hard Hindutva supporters. The results of the 2022 assembly elections provide a solid foundation for repeating the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha outcomes since it won 156 seats in the assembly elections in December 2022. Recently, while addressing party workers in Surat on Gujarati New Year's Day, BJP state unit president C R Patil said, "People are highly satisfied with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's good governance and result-oriented practices, which will bring the party back to power with a thumping majority for the third term." BJP had won 156 seats in assembly elections in December 2022. But, still, party workers and local leaders are keeping their fingers crossed and are worried that it is going to be a tough ride for them. The reason for this is likely an alliance between Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party, if that happens, its strategy of dividing the Congress vote bank will fall flat. Not only that, but it will face a straight fight between Congress and BJP and on one or two seats between BJP and AAP. According to party sources, its internal survey is hinting at OBC and tribal votes consolidating in favor of the Congress in the coming elections. Which will have a direct impact on at least two to three seats in North Gujarat, three seats in Central Gujarat, and one or two seats in Saurashtra. Especially it is afraid that if the Congress party's caste-based census poll planks work it will dent huge in its vote bank which it has gradually developed over two to three decades and created an image of party for all. Yet, Patidars have more say and control in the party, which can unite other backward, tribals and scheduled castes. At the same time, party leaders argue that even if Congress focuses on caste census, in Gujarat, it may reap targeted results in the Congress's favour for two major reasons, first and foremost is that the party is not united, they don't have a strong, acceptable face from OBC, Scheduled Tribe and Schedule Castes. On the other hand, Congress is yet not clear, whether the party state leaders will go by the national leadership view of alliance with the AAP or not. After tribal leader Sukhram Rathva, even former state unit president and former Leader of the Opposition Arjun Modhvadia has voiced against any alliance with AAP in the state, but few party leaders are of the view that AAP is in the fray it will damage more than the alliance with it, because its presence in the elections as a third party, is not denting BJP vote bank but it is dividing the Congress party votes. In the 2022 assembly elections, Congress has lost its seats heavily in tribal and OBC-dominated areas, because of AAP, to avoid any further damage, the alliance will help the Congress, believes a few leaders. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp AHMEDABAD: Gujarat BJP is hoping to set a record by winning all 26 Lok Sabha seats for the third time in a row. It would not be tough for the BJP because the state is strongly polarized and urban voters are die-hard Hindutva supporters. The results of the 2022 assembly elections provide a solid foundation for repeating the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha outcomes since it won 156 seats in the assembly elections in December 2022. Recently, while addressing party workers in Surat on Gujarati New Year's Day, BJP state unit president C R Patil said, "People are highly satisfied with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's good governance and result-oriented practices, which will bring the party back to power with a thumping majority for the third term." BJP had won 156 seats in assembly elections in December 2022. But, still, party workers and local leaders are keeping their fingers crossed and are worried that it is going to be a tough ride for them. The reason for this is likely an alliance between Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party, if that happens, its strategy of dividing the Congress vote bank will fall flat. Not only that, but it will face a straight fight between Congress and BJP and on one or two seats between BJP and AAP.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); According to party sources, its internal survey is hinting at OBC and tribal votes consolidating in favor of the Congress in the coming elections. Which will have a direct impact on at least two to three seats in North Gujarat, three seats in Central Gujarat, and one or two seats in Saurashtra. Especially it is afraid that if the Congress party's caste-based census poll planks work it will dent huge in its vote bank which it has gradually developed over two to three decades and created an image of party for all. Yet, Patidars have more say and control in the party, which can unite other backward, tribals and scheduled castes. At the same time, party leaders argue that even if Congress focuses on caste census, in Gujarat, it may reap targeted results in the Congress's favour for two major reasons, first and foremost is that the party is not united, they don't have a strong, acceptable face from OBC, Scheduled Tribe and Schedule Castes. On the other hand, Congress is yet not clear, whether the party state leaders will go by the national leadership view of alliance with the AAP or not. After tribal leader Sukhram Rathva, even former state unit president and former Leader of the Opposition Arjun Modhvadia has voiced against any alliance with AAP in the state, but few party leaders are of the view that AAP is in the fray it will damage more than the alliance with it, because its presence in the elections as a third party, is not denting BJP vote bank but it is dividing the Congress party votes. In the 2022 assembly elections, Congress has lost its seats heavily in tribal and OBC-dominated areas, because of AAP, to avoid any further damage, the alliance will help the Congress, believes a few leaders. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp Dilip Singh Kshatriya By Express News Service AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat government had hoped to build the Kalpsar dam on the Gulf Cambay to create a sweet water reservoir. The project was conceived in the late 1990s, but it has yet to take off; in the most recent fiscal year 2022-23, the state government fell short of utilizing the assigned funds for the project. According to the Narmada Water Resources and Irrigation Departments progress report, it allotted Rs 62.88 crore for the fiscal year 2022-23, but it could only spend Rs 14.89 crore until December 2022. According to this report in the year 2021-22, it used Rs 1.76 crore less the budgeted amount of Rs 41.05 crore. It also states that planning of the command area and water distribution network is going on. The original plan of the project was to build a 32 32-kilometer dam on the Gulf of Cambay, between Saurashtra and South Gujarat. which will create a sweet water reservoir from the water of the Narmada Canal, Mahi, Dhadhar, Sabarmati, and other rivers from Saurashtra. The primary estimate is that the said reservoir water storage capacity would be 8,000 million cubic meters. The said water reservoir, planning to provide 45,000 million cubic meters of water for irrigation, addressing the need for 10 lakh hectares of land along the sea coast of 37 Taluka of nine districts, according to the progress report. The remaining water will be supplied for drinking, commercial, and industrial usage. It is expected to decrease salinity in the area and increase agricultural production. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat government had hoped to build the Kalpsar dam on the Gulf Cambay to create a sweet water reservoir. The project was conceived in the late 1990s, but it has yet to take off; in the most recent fiscal year 2022-23, the state government fell short of utilizing the assigned funds for the project. According to the Narmada Water Resources and Irrigation Departments progress report, it allotted Rs 62.88 crore for the fiscal year 2022-23, but it could only spend Rs 14.89 crore until December 2022. According to this report in the year 2021-22, it used Rs 1.76 crore less the budgeted amount of Rs 41.05 crore. It also states that planning of the command area and water distribution network is going on. The original plan of the project was to build a 32 32-kilometer dam on the Gulf of Cambay, between Saurashtra and South Gujarat. which will create a sweet water reservoir from the water of the Narmada Canal, Mahi, Dhadhar, Sabarmati, and other rivers from Saurashtra. The primary estimate is that the said reservoir water storage capacity would be 8,000 million cubic meters.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The said water reservoir, planning to provide 45,000 million cubic meters of water for irrigation, addressing the need for 10 lakh hectares of land along the sea coast of 37 Taluka of nine districts, according to the progress report. The remaining water will be supplied for drinking, commercial, and industrial usage. It is expected to decrease salinity in the area and increase agricultural production. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp Yeshi Seli By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Israel has recently declared Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) a terrorist organisation as it was involved in the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai which also targeted Jews. Israel is hopeful that India will also label Hamas a terror organisation. "We have provided India with all details on Hamas and it is up to the government to take a call and decide when to label it a terror organisation. Had India done this in the past, Hamas leader Khaled Mashal could have been prevented from addressing a pro-Palestinian rally in Kerala virtually," said Israels envoy to India Naor Gilon on Tuesday. At present, there is a ceasefire to facilitate the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners. For every Israeli hostage that Hamas releases, they get three prisoners in a swap agreement. Meanwhile, Israel has nearly razed Hamass infrastructure in northern Gaza and is gearing up to launch an offensive in southern Gaza. Around 175 Israeli hostages continue to be in Palestine. Some are feared to be held captive by the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad. "We have destroyed the on-ground infrastructure of Hamas in northern Gaza and nearly two million Palestinians have moved to southern Gaza. We will keep giving a days extension to the ceasefire until the hostages are released, following which we will begin our offensive in southern Gaza," said Ambassador Gilon, adding that they fear that most of the hostages are inside the underground tunnels. Israel is also expecting more Indians to work in their country as caregivers, construction workers and agricultural workers. "There are nearly 18,000 Indians working in Israel and we have signed two protocols (government to government) for getting workers in agriculture and construction from India," said Ambassador Gilon. Israel has also expressed unhappiness with the UNs biased attitude towards them. They say that the UN has been expressing concern over the deaths of civilians including children in Palestine but doesnt share the same sentiment for Israeli hostages who were picked up from their houses including women who were raped. Meanwhile, Israels President Isaac Herzog will be making a short trip to the UAE to attend the COP 28 Summit. "PM Modi too is going to be there for a short duration. If the schedules work, the two leaders could end up meeting on the sidelines of the summit," said Gilon. ALSO READ | Israel declares Lashkar-e-Taiba as 'terror organisation' ahead of 15th anniversary of 26/11 attacks Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp NEW DELHI: Israel has recently declared Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) a terrorist organisation as it was involved in the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai which also targeted Jews. Israel is hopeful that India will also label Hamas a terror organisation. "We have provided India with all details on Hamas and it is up to the government to take a call and decide when to label it a terror organisation. Had India done this in the past, Hamas leader Khaled Mashal could have been prevented from addressing a pro-Palestinian rally in Kerala virtually," said Israels envoy to India Naor Gilon on Tuesday. At present, there is a ceasefire to facilitate the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners. For every Israeli hostage that Hamas releases, they get three prisoners in a swap agreement. Meanwhile, Israel has nearly razed Hamass infrastructure in northern Gaza and is gearing up to launch an offensive in southern Gaza. Around 175 Israeli hostages continue to be in Palestine. Some are feared to be held captive by the Palestinian group Islamic Jihad.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); "We have destroyed the on-ground infrastructure of Hamas in northern Gaza and nearly two million Palestinians have moved to southern Gaza. We will keep giving a days extension to the ceasefire until the hostages are released, following which we will begin our offensive in southern Gaza," said Ambassador Gilon, adding that they fear that most of the hostages are inside the underground tunnels. Israel is also expecting more Indians to work in their country as caregivers, construction workers and agricultural workers. "There are nearly 18,000 Indians working in Israel and we have signed two protocols (government to government) for getting workers in agriculture and construction from India," said Ambassador Gilon. Israel has also expressed unhappiness with the UNs biased attitude towards them. They say that the UN has been expressing concern over the deaths of civilians including children in Palestine but doesnt share the same sentiment for Israeli hostages who were picked up from their houses including women who were raped. Meanwhile, Israels President Isaac Herzog will be making a short trip to the UAE to attend the COP 28 Summit. "PM Modi too is going to be there for a short duration. If the schedules work, the two leaders could end up meeting on the sidelines of the summit," said Gilon. ALSO READ | Israel declares Lashkar-e-Taiba as 'terror organisation' ahead of 15th anniversary of 26/11 attacks Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp Anuraag Singh By Express News Service BHOPAL: Special prayers and rituals at famous temples, including Pitambara Devi and Baglamukhi Devi temples in Madhya Pradesh for the poll success of politicians isnt new. However, similar prayers and rituals being performed by priests in the jungles of neighbouring Kuno National Park (KNP) the first habitat where cheetahs were reintroduced in India last year, are defintely a surprise. A team of Hindu priests led by their guru Dr Pandit Batukacharya in Karahal village neighbouring the buffer zone of the KNP (currently home to 14 surviving Namibian and South African cheetahs and one cub) is engaged from over a month in performing special prayers and rituals for 15-20 candidates, whove contested the recent assembly polls in MP, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. While the 15-20 candidates of different political parties await with bated breath, the counting day (December 3), when the poll results will be out, the priests are offering at least seven hours of special prayers dailyat a Hanuman Temple, to pray for the poll success of their politician jajmans (clients). Not ready to share the details of the politician clients, the head of the priests Dr Pandit Batukacharya told this newspaper on Sunday, Our job is to pray to the Parmatama (god) for the electoral success of the jajmans, rest all is in the hands of the supreme power. All I can tell you is that the jajmans are around 15-20 from the three states where assembly polls were held recently, for whom all special prayers, particularly the prayers dedicated to Goddess Baglamukhi (one of the ten Mahavidyas) are being performed. While some of the jajmans had gtaken oaths for the special prayers and rituals even before the poll dates were out (as they had already been assured of tickets from various parties), some others took it after the poll dates were out and their tickets were subsequently finalised. At least seven hours of special prayers (three hours in the morning and four hours in the evening) are being performed daily, he added. The Karahal village where the concerned temple is located is neighboured by the KNPs buffer zone, which also houses the cave in which the head of these priests has been living for long. Importantly, the Karahal village and the KNP are part of the same Karahal development block in Sheopur district of MPs Gwalior-Chambal region. The village where the special prayers are currently being offered was among those villages, where one of the male Namibian cheetahs Oban aka Pawan was regularly straying in the summers of 2023, before being brought back into the safe enclosures. Prayers for at least 15 candidates For candidates belonging to various political parties awaiting the verdict on December 3, the priests are offering at least seven hours of special prayers at Hanuman Temple in Karahal, near the Kuno National Park, for the success of their politician clients. A team of priests has been engaged in performing prayers for all candidates cutting across party lines in MP, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp BHOPAL: Special prayers and rituals at famous temples, including Pitambara Devi and Baglamukhi Devi temples in Madhya Pradesh for the poll success of politicians isnt new. However, similar prayers and rituals being performed by priests in the jungles of neighbouring Kuno National Park (KNP) the first habitat where cheetahs were reintroduced in India last year, are defintely a surprise. A team of Hindu priests led by their guru Dr Pandit Batukacharya in Karahal village neighbouring the buffer zone of the KNP (currently home to 14 surviving Namibian and South African cheetahs and one cub) is engaged from over a month in performing special prayers and rituals for 15-20 candidates, whove contested the recent assembly polls in MP, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. While the 15-20 candidates of different political parties await with bated breath, the counting day (December 3), when the poll results will be out, the priests are offering at least seven hours of special prayers dailyat a Hanuman Temple, to pray for the poll success of their politician jajmans (clients).googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Not ready to share the details of the politician clients, the head of the priests Dr Pandit Batukacharya told this newspaper on Sunday, Our job is to pray to the Parmatama (god) for the electoral success of the jajmans, rest all is in the hands of the supreme power. All I can tell you is that the jajmans are around 15-20 from the three states where assembly polls were held recently, for whom all special prayers, particularly the prayers dedicated to Goddess Baglamukhi (one of the ten Mahavidyas) are being performed. While some of the jajmans had gtaken oaths for the special prayers and rituals even before the poll dates were out (as they had already been assured of tickets from various parties), some others took it after the poll dates were out and their tickets were subsequently finalised. At least seven hours of special prayers (three hours in the morning and four hours in the evening) are being performed daily, he added. The Karahal village where the concerned temple is located is neighboured by the KNPs buffer zone, which also houses the cave in which the head of these priests has been living for long. Importantly, the Karahal village and the KNP are part of the same Karahal development block in Sheopur district of MPs Gwalior-Chambal region. The village where the special prayers are currently being offered was among those villages, where one of the male Namibian cheetahs Oban aka Pawan was regularly straying in the summers of 2023, before being brought back into the safe enclosures. Prayers for at least 15 candidates For candidates belonging to various political parties awaiting the verdict on December 3, the priests are offering at least seven hours of special prayers at Hanuman Temple in Karahal, near the Kuno National Park, for the success of their politician clients. A team of priests has been engaged in performing prayers for all candidates cutting across party lines in MP, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp Parvez Sultan By Express News Service Exuding confidence in BJPs victory in the assembly elections in five states, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Singh Thakur has said unfulfilled promises and alleged scams would result in the fall of Congress governments in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. In a conversation with Parvez Sultan on the sidelines of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2023 (in Goa), Thakur also speaks about the possible benefits of the incentives to foreign filmmakers and the rising popularity of the event. Excerpts: The assembly polls in five states have entered the final phase. Your assessment of the BJPs performance? Our party has carried out a magnificent campaign in all states against corruption and fake promises made by the respective governments. There was a huge resentment against false assurances in Chhattisgarh. Ill governance in the state led to negativity. This was not visible before 4-6 months. A narrative was set suggesting that everything was fine. But voters vented their anger in the elections. Be it Mahadev app, liquor, mining or cereal scam, their effect was visible on the ground. Due to exam paper leaks and bogus promises, there was no credibility (of the government in Rajasthan). No promise was fulfilled. Because of administrative failure and infighting in Congress, Rajasthan is number one in corruption, atrocities, scams, and crime against women. The installation of the BJP government in the state is guaranteed. In MP, several schemes were very popular, for instance, the Ladli Behna Yojana. Major changes took place in basic infrastructure. Irrigated land has increased from seven lakh hectares (Ha) to 47 lakh Ha. The BJP has been in power for the last 20 years except 18 months in between. This in itself is a challenge. However, there have been many achievements under the BJP rule. In Telangana, the BJPs popularity graph climbed six months ago. I strongly believe that the party will do magnificently as it did in the Greater Hyderabad municipal elections. Will these elections have an impact on Lok Sabha polls next year? In previous (2018) elections in these states, the BJP didnt do well but we won the Lok Sabha polls. Every election is fought on different issues. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the most popular leader in the world. People want to see him as a PM to ensure that our nation excels. They will vote for Modi in the general election for sure. Under his leadership and guidance, India successfully hosted the G20 summit, witnessed the success of Chandrayaan Mission and won the highest number of medals in Asian and other games. India is now the fifth-largest economy in the world. The citizens want Viksit Bharat (developed India) and therefore, they have already decided to vote for PM Modi again. Will the INDIA bloc help the Opposition in Lok Sabha polls? This alliance doesnt make a difference. But tell me whether an alliance exists. Each of them is singing a different tune. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar is speaking his own language. Because of vote bank politics, how can one stoop so low and insult women like that? Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi didnt utter a word. In West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee doesnt allow them (Congress leaders) to enter the state. Akhilesh Yadav (of the Samajwadi Party) has also shut doors for Congress leadership. This is the state of the INDIA four months ahead of the elections. Once the election process starts, the coalition will collapse. Incentives for foreign film production were introduced last year. However, these have been increased from Rs 2.5 crore to Rs 30 crore If we want filmmakers to come to India, then there should be a level-playing field; we will have to give lucrative offers. Given the competition at the international level, it was required. Incentives should be at par with other countries or better. The provision of an additional five percent for Significant Indian Content (SIC) will help in showcasing Indian culture and stories. The incentive scheme will help in promoting India as a hub of film production and post-production jobs. How will a film/production be selected for additional incentives? We will frame rules. If the Indian content gets centre stage; India, its culture and locations are part of the story, we will grant an additional five percent. This will become a great attraction for international filmmakers to come to India. Award for best OTT series has been introduced this year at IFFI. Is OTT a threat to cinemas? Recently released films such as Pathaan, Gadar 2 and Jawan did a record business. Earlier too, there were KGF, RRR and Pushpa. Both genres have options. Everything on streaming platforms is not a hit. Sometimes things dont click on OTT. If the content is good, it works. Viewers clearly know what to watch and where to watch. Following the intervention of technology, disruption is bound to happen. The pressure is now on producers to produce good content. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp Exuding confidence in BJPs victory in the assembly elections in five states, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Singh Thakur has said unfulfilled promises and alleged scams would result in the fall of Congress governments in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. In a conversation with Parvez Sultan on the sidelines of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2023 (in Goa), Thakur also speaks about the possible benefits of the incentives to foreign filmmakers and the rising popularity of the event. Excerpts: The assembly polls in five states have entered the final phase. Your assessment of the BJPs performance? Our party has carried out a magnificent campaign in all states against corruption and fake promises made by the respective governments. There was a huge resentment against false assurances in Chhattisgarh. Ill governance in the state led to negativity. This was not visible before 4-6 months. A narrative was set suggesting that everything was fine. But voters vented their anger in the elections. Be it Mahadev app, liquor, mining or cereal scam, their effect was visible on the ground. Due to exam paper leaks and bogus promises, there was no credibility (of the government in Rajasthan). No promise was fulfilled.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Because of administrative failure and infighting in Congress, Rajasthan is number one in corruption, atrocities, scams, and crime against women. The installation of the BJP government in the state is guaranteed. In MP, several schemes were very popular, for instance, the Ladli Behna Yojana. Major changes took place in basic infrastructure. Irrigated land has increased from seven lakh hectares (Ha) to 47 lakh Ha. The BJP has been in power for the last 20 years except 18 months in between. This in itself is a challenge. However, there have been many achievements under the BJP rule. In Telangana, the BJPs popularity graph climbed six months ago. I strongly believe that the party will do magnificently as it did in the Greater Hyderabad municipal elections. Will these elections have an impact on Lok Sabha polls next year? In previous (2018) elections in these states, the BJP didnt do well but we won the Lok Sabha polls. Every election is fought on different issues. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the most popular leader in the world. People want to see him as a PM to ensure that our nation excels. They will vote for Modi in the general election for sure. Under his leadership and guidance, India successfully hosted the G20 summit, witnessed the success of Chandrayaan Mission and won the highest number of medals in Asian and other games. India is now the fifth-largest economy in the world. The citizens want Viksit Bharat (developed India) and therefore, they have already decided to vote for PM Modi again. Will the INDIA bloc help the Opposition in Lok Sabha polls? This alliance doesnt make a difference. But tell me whether an alliance exists. Each of them is singing a different tune. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar is speaking his own language. Because of vote bank politics, how can one stoop so low and insult women like that? Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi didnt utter a word. In West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee doesnt allow them (Congress leaders) to enter the state. Akhilesh Yadav (of the Samajwadi Party) has also shut doors for Congress leadership. This is the state of the INDIA four months ahead of the elections. Once the election process starts, the coalition will collapse. Incentives for foreign film production were introduced last year. However, these have been increased from Rs 2.5 crore to Rs 30 crore If we want filmmakers to come to India, then there should be a level-playing field; we will have to give lucrative offers. Given the competition at the international level, it was required. Incentives should be at par with other countries or better. The provision of an additional five percent for Significant Indian Content (SIC) will help in showcasing Indian culture and stories. The incentive scheme will help in promoting India as a hub of film production and post-production jobs. How will a film/production be selected for additional incentives? We will frame rules. If the Indian content gets centre stage; India, its culture and locations are part of the story, we will grant an additional five percent. This will become a great attraction for international filmmakers to come to India. Award for best OTT series has been introduced this year at IFFI. Is OTT a threat to cinemas? Recently released films such as Pathaan, Gadar 2 and Jawan did a record business. Earlier too, there were KGF, RRR and Pushpa. Both genres have options. Everything on streaming platforms is not a hit. Sometimes things dont click on OTT. If the content is good, it works. Viewers clearly know what to watch and where to watch. Following the intervention of technology, disruption is bound to happen. The pressure is now on producers to produce good content. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp Harpreet Bajwa By Express News Service CHANDIGARH: The three-day Punjab farmers' stir against the state and central government ended on Tuesday with the union leaders meeting Governor Banwari Lal Purohit and submitting a memorandum of their demands. The farmers are said to meet Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian on December 4 and then Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on December 19 for a final discussion. Earlier in the day, the farmer leaders met state agriculture minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian and it was decided at the meeting that they would meet Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on December 19. Harinder Singh Lakhowal General Secretary of Bahrtiya Kisan Union (Lakhowal) said, "After meeting the agriculture minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian and submitting a memorandum to Governor Banwari Lal Purohit we have ended our protest." "Khuddian has asked us to give our demands in detail on December 4 so that the government can study them with their legal experts then after discussing with us in another meeting we will have the final meeting with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on December 19 for a final discussion. If then our demands are accepted by the government and implemented fine, otherwise then the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) will hold a meeting and then decide on a further course of action,"he added. As part of their protest, scores of farmers have gathered at the Mohali-Chandigarh border to press the central government to accept their demands, including a legal guarantee for minimum support price for crops. ALSO READ | Samyukta Kisan Morcha's three-day protest starts; farmers gather near Mohali-Chandigarh border The farmers have been demanding the withdrawal of cases filed against them during the 2020-21 stir against the now-repealed farm laws and for burning the paddy straw, compensation and jobs for any one of the family members of farmers who died during the stir, extension of MSP to other crops, loan waiver, Rs 10,000 pension per month for farmers aged 60 and above, free electricity and withdrawal of Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2022, compensation for crops damaged by floods and pest attacks and action against Union Minister Ajay Misra in the Lakhimpur Kheri case. The farmers from across Punjab gathered at the Mohali-Chandigarh border near Phase-11 in Mohali. They had come on more than 3,000 tractor trolleys, besides cars and other vehicles with ration, bedding, utensils, cooking gas, and cylinders. They had erected tents and set up a stage in the middle of the road, where farmer leaders were addressing the protesters. Meanwhile, farmers from Haryana ended their three-day protest after submitting a memorandum to the state governor. Now they will hold a meeting of the farmer unions in Hisar to decide their next course of action. Fifteen farmer leaders met the governor at the Haryana Raj Bhawan today afternoon. Farmer leader Suresh Koth said, "The Samyukt Kisan Morcha has decided to end their protest. We met the governor and discussed our long-pending demands. We have submitted the memorandum. Now the Centre is supposed to take a decision. He said the farmers are awaiting action and would intensify the protest in case the matter stood unresolved. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp CHANDIGARH: The three-day Punjab farmers' stir against the state and central government ended on Tuesday with the union leaders meeting Governor Banwari Lal Purohit and submitting a memorandum of their demands. The farmers are said to meet Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian on December 4 and then Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on December 19 for a final discussion. Earlier in the day, the farmer leaders met state agriculture minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian and it was decided at the meeting that they would meet Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on December 19. Harinder Singh Lakhowal General Secretary of Bahrtiya Kisan Union (Lakhowal) said, "After meeting the agriculture minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian and submitting a memorandum to Governor Banwari Lal Purohit we have ended our protest."googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); "Khuddian has asked us to give our demands in detail on December 4 so that the government can study them with their legal experts then after discussing with us in another meeting we will have the final meeting with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on December 19 for a final discussion. If then our demands are accepted by the government and implemented fine, otherwise then the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) will hold a meeting and then decide on a further course of action,"he added. As part of their protest, scores of farmers have gathered at the Mohali-Chandigarh border to press the central government to accept their demands, including a legal guarantee for minimum support price for crops. ALSO READ | Samyukta Kisan Morcha's three-day protest starts; farmers gather near Mohali-Chandigarh border The farmers have been demanding the withdrawal of cases filed against them during the 2020-21 stir against the now-repealed farm laws and for burning the paddy straw, compensation and jobs for any one of the family members of farmers who died during the stir, extension of MSP to other crops, loan waiver, Rs 10,000 pension per month for farmers aged 60 and above, free electricity and withdrawal of Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2022, compensation for crops damaged by floods and pest attacks and action against Union Minister Ajay Misra in the Lakhimpur Kheri case. The farmers from across Punjab gathered at the Mohali-Chandigarh border near Phase-11 in Mohali. They had come on more than 3,000 tractor trolleys, besides cars and other vehicles with ration, bedding, utensils, cooking gas, and cylinders. They had erected tents and set up a stage in the middle of the road, where farmer leaders were addressing the protesters. Meanwhile, farmers from Haryana ended their three-day protest after submitting a memorandum to the state governor. Now they will hold a meeting of the farmer unions in Hisar to decide their next course of action. Fifteen farmer leaders met the governor at the Haryana Raj Bhawan today afternoon. Farmer leader Suresh Koth said, "The Samyukt Kisan Morcha has decided to end their protest. We met the governor and discussed our long-pending demands. We have submitted the memorandum. Now the Centre is supposed to take a decision. He said the farmers are awaiting action and would intensify the protest in case the matter stood unresolved. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp Namita Bajpai By Express News Service LUCKNOW: Members of Hindu outfits and civic body officials sprinkled 'Ganga Jal', water from river Ganga on a temple in Uttar Pradesh's Siddharthnagar in an effort to 'purify' it after the visit by a Muslim MLA of the Samajwadi Party. SP MLA from Domariaganj, Saiyada Khatoon, claimed that she was invited by the administration of Samya Mata temple in Balwa village in her constituency to attend Maha Chandi Yagya on Sunday. After she left, some people not in favour of her visit purified it with 'Ganga Jal' amid the chanting of mantras. However, the MLA asserted that she wont stop going to temples because of controversies created by misguided people. Some people are unnecessarily creating controversy regarding my visit to get personal attention, said the SP MLA while interacting with media persons. As per the police sources, the chairman of the local panchayat and members of some other Hindu organisations visited the temple on Monday, sprinkled Gangajal, recited the Hanuman Chalisa, and shouted slogans against Khatoon. According to Barhni Chafa Nagar Panchayat chairman Sharmaraj Verma, Samya Mata Mandir is a centre of faith for devotees. People throng the temple. The local MLA is a non-vegetarian and her visit affected the sanctity of the place, said the chairman who led the members of different Hindu Organisations, including Santosh Paswan, Mithlesh Pandey, Vijai Madhesia and Promod Gautam in purifying the temple premises by Ganagjal. However, taking note of the incident, Domariaganj circle officer Sujit Kumar Rai said a police team was patrolling the area to avert any untoward incident in the light of he given incident. He added that the local police would take suitable action against the culprits if a complaint was filed in that connection. The cop said that local villagers had constituted an organising committee for the religious event. The S MLA was invited by Shrikant Shukla, secretary of organising committee and Pujari Prasad, head priest of the temple. Siddharthnagar SP Abhishek Kumar Agarwal said that they were inquiring into the incident and keeping a close eye on the development. Khatoon said some elements were misleading a group of people. I respect all religions. Moreover, I am a public representative. Be it a temple or a mosque, I will surely go there if I am invited, she said. Renovation of various temples was funded by her MLA local area development fund, she added. Dharamraj Verma, chief of Badhani Chafa's Nagar Panchayat where the temple is located, led the purification. The lawmaker was invited by some "unrighteous" people, he said. "Because Sayeda Khatoon is a Muslim and eats cow meat, her visit to this holy place had made it impure," he said. "After this purification, this place has now become completely pure and suitable for worship." The pujari of the temple, Sri Krishna Dutt Shukla, said the MLA was invited for the 'mahayagya' and she had come there in the evening. According to Shukla, the MLA remained there for some time and talked about amity in society before leaving. "The next morning Verma and his team came here and questioned me why she had been called and said the temple had become impure because of her presence. They then sprinkled 'Ganga Jal' and carried out the cleaning exercise," Shukla said. A similar incident happened in Bihar last year after a Muslim minister entered the Vishnupad temple along with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, prompting the temple staff to purify the premises. (With inputs from PTI) Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp LUCKNOW: Members of Hindu outfits and civic body officials sprinkled 'Ganga Jal', water from river Ganga on a temple in Uttar Pradesh's Siddharthnagar in an effort to 'purify' it after the visit by a Muslim MLA of the Samajwadi Party. SP MLA from Domariaganj, Saiyada Khatoon, claimed that she was invited by the administration of Samya Mata temple in Balwa village in her constituency to attend Maha Chandi Yagya on Sunday. After she left, some people not in favour of her visit purified it with 'Ganga Jal' amid the chanting of mantras. However, the MLA asserted that she wont stop going to temples because of controversies created by misguided people.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Some people are unnecessarily creating controversy regarding my visit to get personal attention, said the SP MLA while interacting with media persons. As per the police sources, the chairman of the local panchayat and members of some other Hindu organisations visited the temple on Monday, sprinkled Gangajal, recited the Hanuman Chalisa, and shouted slogans against Khatoon. According to Barhni Chafa Nagar Panchayat chairman Sharmaraj Verma, Samya Mata Mandir is a centre of faith for devotees. People throng the temple. The local MLA is a non-vegetarian and her visit affected the sanctity of the place, said the chairman who led the members of different Hindu Organisations, including Santosh Paswan, Mithlesh Pandey, Vijai Madhesia and Promod Gautam in purifying the temple premises by Ganagjal. However, taking note of the incident, Domariaganj circle officer Sujit Kumar Rai said a police team was patrolling the area to avert any untoward incident in the light of he given incident. He added that the local police would take suitable action against the culprits if a complaint was filed in that connection. The cop said that local villagers had constituted an organising committee for the religious event. The S MLA was invited by Shrikant Shukla, secretary of organising committee and Pujari Prasad, head priest of the temple. Siddharthnagar SP Abhishek Kumar Agarwal said that they were inquiring into the incident and keeping a close eye on the development. Khatoon said some elements were misleading a group of people. I respect all religions. Moreover, I am a public representative. Be it a temple or a mosque, I will surely go there if I am invited, she said. Renovation of various temples was funded by her MLA local area development fund, she added. Dharamraj Verma, chief of Badhani Chafa's Nagar Panchayat where the temple is located, led the purification. The lawmaker was invited by some "unrighteous" people, he said. "Because Sayeda Khatoon is a Muslim and eats cow meat, her visit to this holy place had made it impure," he said. "After this purification, this place has now become completely pure and suitable for worship." The pujari of the temple, Sri Krishna Dutt Shukla, said the MLA was invited for the 'mahayagya' and she had come there in the evening. According to Shukla, the MLA remained there for some time and talked about amity in society before leaving. "The next morning Verma and his team came here and questioned me why she had been called and said the temple had become impure because of her presence. They then sprinkled 'Ganga Jal' and carried out the cleaning exercise," Shukla said. A similar incident happened in Bihar last year after a Muslim minister entered the Vishnupad temple along with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, prompting the temple staff to purify the premises. (With inputs from PTI) Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp By PTI UTTARKASHI: After almost 17 days of intense efforts by multiple agencies, all 41 workers trapped in Uttarakhand's Silkyara tunnel here were evacuated safely on Tuesday. President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi night led the country in hailing the successful operation. Following is a timeline of the disaster and the rescue efforts: November 12: The labourers get trapped as portions of the Silkyara-Dandalgaon under-construction tunnel on the Brahmkhal-Yamunotri highway collapse following a landslide at around 5.30 am on the day of Diwali. Arrangements made to supply oxygen, electricity and eatables to the trapped labourers through air-compressed pipes as multiple agencies, including the NDRF, SDRF, BRO, project executing agency NHIDCL and ITBP, begin rescue efforts. November 13: Contact is established with the trapped workers through a pipe meant to supply oxygen to them and they are reported to be safe. Fresh rubble keeps falling from above due to which the debris accumulated in an area of around 30 metres spreads to 60 metres. November 14: Steel pipes of 800- and 900-millimetre diameter are brought to the tunnel site to be inserted through the rubble with the help of an auger machine for horizontal digging. However, when more rubble falls from the cavity created by the cave-in, two labourers sustain minor injuries. November 15: Dissatisfied with the first drilling machine, the NHIDCL asks for a state-of-the-art auger machine, which is airlifted from Delhi to speed up the operation. November 16: The drilling machine is assembled and installed. It starts working past midnight. November 17: The machine drills about 24 metres through the 57-metre rubble stretch by the afternoon and four MS pipes are inserted. The process comes to a halt when the fifth pipe hits an obstacle. Another high-performance auger machine is flown down for the rescue efforts. ALSO READ | President, PM, political leaders hail operation rescuing trapped workers from Uttarakhand tunnel In the evening, during the positioning of the fifth pipe, a big cracking sound is heard in the tunnel. Fearing the possibility of further collapse in the vicinity, the operation is suspended immediately. November 18: Drilling does not resume on Saturday as experts feel that the vibrations created by the diesel-driven 1,750-horse power American auger inside the tunnel might cause more debris to collapse, posing a risk to the lives of the rescue personnel. Alternative options are explored by a team of officials from the PMO and experts who decide to work on five evacuation plans simultaneously, including vertical drilling through the top of the tunnel to rescue the trapped labourers. November 19: Drilling remains suspended while Union minister Nitin Gadkari who reviews the rescue operation says boring horizontally with the huge auger machine appeared to be the best bet. November 20: PM Narendra Modi speaks to CM Pushkar Dhami over phone to take stock of the operations. However, the team is yet to resume the horizontal drilling that got suspended after a boulder appeared to block the progress of the auger machine. November 21: Rescuers release the first video of the labourers trapped. ALSO READ | All 41 workers rescued from Uttarakhand tunnel after 16-day ordeal; taken to local health centre The workers, wearing yellow and white helmets, are seen receiving food items sent to them through a pipeline and talking to each other. Two blasts are set off at the Balkot-end of the tunnel, beginning the process of drilling another tunnel - an alternative to the Silkyara-end option. But experts said the approach could take up to 40 days. The NHIDCL resumes overnight the horizontal boring operation from the Silkyara end that involved an auger machine. November 22: Horizontal drilling of 800 mm diameter steel pipes reaches about 45 metres with only 12 metres remaining of the around 57-metre debris stretch. Ambulances are kept on standby. However, in a late evening development, the drilling hits a hurdle when some iron rods come in the way of the auger machine. November 23: The iron obstruction that had caused a delay of six hours in the drilling is removed. Officials say the 48-metre point has been reached by the drill. But boring through the rubble is put on hold again apparently after cracks appeared in the platform on which the drilling machine rests. November 24: The the 25-tonne machine is restarted and drilling is resumed. However, in a fresh hurdle, the drill hits a metal girder halting the operation again. November 25: The blades of the auger machine drilling through the rubble is stuck in the debris, forcing officials to consider switching to options that could drag on the rescue by several days, even weeks. Officials now consider two alternatives: manual drilling through the remaining 10-12 metres of the rubble or drilling down 86 metres from above. November 26: Vertical drilling of 19.2 metres is done to create an alternative escape route. As the drilling progressed, 700-mm wide pipes are being inserted to create an escape passage. November 27: Rat-hole mining experts are called in to help with rescuers requiring to dig through horizontally around 10 metres of rubble. Simultaneously, vertical drilling from above the tunnel has reached a depth of 36 metres. November 28: Rat-hole mining experts break through the last stretch of the rubble at about 7 pm. NDRF and SDRF men enter the steel chute to reach the trapped workers and start bringing them out on wheeled-stretchers one by one. All 41 workers were evacuated safely. WATCH | Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp UTTARKASHI: After almost 17 days of intense efforts by multiple agencies, all 41 workers trapped in Uttarakhand's Silkyara tunnel here were evacuated safely on Tuesday. President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi night led the country in hailing the successful operation. Following is a timeline of the disaster and the rescue efforts:googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); November 12: The labourers get trapped as portions of the Silkyara-Dandalgaon under-construction tunnel on the Brahmkhal-Yamunotri highway collapse following a landslide at around 5.30 am on the day of Diwali. Arrangements made to supply oxygen, electricity and eatables to the trapped labourers through air-compressed pipes as multiple agencies, including the NDRF, SDRF, BRO, project executing agency NHIDCL and ITBP, begin rescue efforts. November 13: Contact is established with the trapped workers through a pipe meant to supply oxygen to them and they are reported to be safe. Fresh rubble keeps falling from above due to which the debris accumulated in an area of around 30 metres spreads to 60 metres. November 14: Steel pipes of 800- and 900-millimetre diameter are brought to the tunnel site to be inserted through the rubble with the help of an auger machine for horizontal digging. However, when more rubble falls from the cavity created by the cave-in, two labourers sustain minor injuries. November 15: Dissatisfied with the first drilling machine, the NHIDCL asks for a state-of-the-art auger machine, which is airlifted from Delhi to speed up the operation. November 16: The drilling machine is assembled and installed. It starts working past midnight. November 17: The machine drills about 24 metres through the 57-metre rubble stretch by the afternoon and four MS pipes are inserted. The process comes to a halt when the fifth pipe hits an obstacle. Another high-performance auger machine is flown down for the rescue efforts. ALSO READ | President, PM, political leaders hail operation rescuing trapped workers from Uttarakhand tunnel In the evening, during the positioning of the fifth pipe, a big cracking sound is heard in the tunnel. Fearing the possibility of further collapse in the vicinity, the operation is suspended immediately. November 18: Drilling does not resume on Saturday as experts feel that the vibrations created by the diesel-driven 1,750-horse power American auger inside the tunnel might cause more debris to collapse, posing a risk to the lives of the rescue personnel. Alternative options are explored by a team of officials from the PMO and experts who decide to work on five evacuation plans simultaneously, including vertical drilling through the top of the tunnel to rescue the trapped labourers. November 19: Drilling remains suspended while Union minister Nitin Gadkari who reviews the rescue operation says boring horizontally with the huge auger machine appeared to be the best bet. November 20: PM Narendra Modi speaks to CM Pushkar Dhami over phone to take stock of the operations. However, the team is yet to resume the horizontal drilling that got suspended after a boulder appeared to block the progress of the auger machine. November 21: Rescuers release the first video of the labourers trapped. ALSO READ | All 41 workers rescued from Uttarakhand tunnel after 16-day ordeal; taken to local health centre The workers, wearing yellow and white helmets, are seen receiving food items sent to them through a pipeline and talking to each other. Two blasts are set off at the Balkot-end of the tunnel, beginning the process of drilling another tunnel - an alternative to the Silkyara-end option. But experts said the approach could take up to 40 days. The NHIDCL resumes overnight the horizontal boring operation from the Silkyara end that involved an auger machine. November 22: Horizontal drilling of 800 mm diameter steel pipes reaches about 45 metres with only 12 metres remaining of the around 57-metre debris stretch. Ambulances are kept on standby. However, in a late evening development, the drilling hits a hurdle when some iron rods come in the way of the auger machine. November 23: The iron obstruction that had caused a delay of six hours in the drilling is removed. Officials say the 48-metre point has been reached by the drill. But boring through the rubble is put on hold again apparently after cracks appeared in the platform on which the drilling machine rests. November 24: The the 25-tonne machine is restarted and drilling is resumed. However, in a fresh hurdle, the drill hits a metal girder halting the operation again. November 25: The blades of the auger machine drilling through the rubble is stuck in the debris, forcing officials to consider switching to options that could drag on the rescue by several days, even weeks. Officials now consider two alternatives: manual drilling through the remaining 10-12 metres of the rubble or drilling down 86 metres from above. November 26: Vertical drilling of 19.2 metres is done to create an alternative escape route. As the drilling progressed, 700-mm wide pipes are being inserted to create an escape passage. November 27: Rat-hole mining experts are called in to help with rescuers requiring to dig through horizontally around 10 metres of rubble. Simultaneously, vertical drilling from above the tunnel has reached a depth of 36 metres. November 28: Rat-hole mining experts break through the last stretch of the rubble at about 7 pm. NDRF and SDRF men enter the steel chute to reach the trapped workers and start bringing them out on wheeled-stretchers one by one. All 41 workers were evacuated safely. WATCH | Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp Indias bid to attract foreign capital just received a shot in the arm. Foxconn announced in an exchange filing that it will invest $1.6 billion on several projects in India. Though the details are not yet known, the funds are for operational needs, possibly to set up two factories in Karnataka for the manufacture and assembly of iPhones. This is one among many examples where Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai, and other Taiwanese manufacturers are continuing to exit China in preference for countries such as India, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia. Big US multinationals have also announced they are diversifying their investments. Intel and Microsoft are moving some operations from China to the US. Nike and Dell said they will relocate to Vietnam and Mexico. There is a growing disenchantment with China. The political climate under Xi Jinping has turned increasingly nationalistic and unstable. Their post-pandemic rebound has been tepid because of a real estate slump and growing local government debt. The uncertainty has pushed Chinese families to save rather than spend, thereby depressing demand. In August, foreign investors pulled out $12 billion from Chinese equities, while India saw a net inflow of $1.5 billion. India is scoring over China on growth too: the IMF has predicted Indias real economy will grow at 6.3 percent through 2023 and 2024, while China will grow at 5.0 percent and 4.2 percent. Pandemic-induced supply chain disruptions are continuing to sink in everywhere. In India, private aviation consultancy CAPA has predicted as many as 200 of Indias 789 aircraft may be grounded by end-March because of supply chain issues. Chinas disruption as the intermediate manufacturer to the world has opened an enormous window for India, if she gets it right. China became the worlds manufacturer of choice for four reasons: low labour costs and a young workforce; government support through tax breaks and subsidies; good infrastructure of airports, ports and communication; and a strong technology sector to lean on. Apple, which has led the investment shift from China to India, has cited all these reasons, underlining that a vast skilled workforce and the scope to increase sales in India if it manufactured locally were the clinching factors. India seems to have had a good start. Creating a stampede of investors will now depend on two factorswhether we can reduce red tape and how quickly we can provide the necessary infrastructure. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp Indias bid to attract foreign capital just received a shot in the arm. Foxconn announced in an exchange filing that it will invest $1.6 billion on several projects in India. Though the details are not yet known, the funds are for operational needs, possibly to set up two factories in Karnataka for the manufacture and assembly of iPhones. This is one among many examples where Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai, and other Taiwanese manufacturers are continuing to exit China in preference for countries such as India, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia. Big US multinationals have also announced they are diversifying their investments. Intel and Microsoft are moving some operations from China to the US. Nike and Dell said they will relocate to Vietnam and Mexico. There is a growing disenchantment with China. The political climate under Xi Jinping has turned increasingly nationalistic and unstable. Their post-pandemic rebound has been tepid because of a real estate slump and growing local government debt. The uncertainty has pushed Chinese families to save rather than spend, thereby depressing demand. In August, foreign investors pulled out $12 billion from Chinese equities, while India saw a net inflow of $1.5 billion. India is scoring over China on growth too: the IMF has predicted Indias real economy will grow at 6.3 percent through 2023 and 2024, while China will grow at 5.0 percent and 4.2 percent. Pandemic-induced supply chain disruptions are continuing to sink in everywhere. In India, private aviation consultancy CAPA has predicted as many as 200 of Indias 789 aircraft may be grounded by end-March because of supply chain issues. Chinas disruption as the intermediate manufacturer to the world has opened an enormous window for India, if she gets it right. China became the worlds manufacturer of choice for four reasons: low labour costs and a young workforce; government support through tax breaks and subsidies; good infrastructure of airports, ports and communication; and a strong technology sector to lean on. Apple, which has led the investment shift from China to India, has cited all these reasons, underlining that a vast skilled workforce and the scope to increase sales in India if it manufactured locally were the clinching factors. India seems to have had a good start. Creating a stampede of investors will now depend on two factorswhether we can reduce red tape and how quickly we can provide the necessary infrastructure.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp Jaison Wilson By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a notice to TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu and sought his response on a plea filed by the Andhra Pradesh government challenging a High Court order granting him regular bail in the skill development corporation scam case. The court also relaxed the former chief ministers bail conditions and allowed him to participate in public rallies and meetings till December 8, the next date for hearing the case. While issuing the notice, a bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and SC Sharma said, Issue notice. Returnable on December 8. The conditions imposed in the bail order shall be continued, except participation in public rallies and meetings. Earlier, the High Court had converted Naidus four-week interim medical bail into absolute bail and ordered his release on regular bail, considering his age, ailments, non-flight risk and other reasons.It had said that the interim bail conditions such as refraining from making any public comments related to the scam case or organising or participating in public rallies and meetings will continue to be in force till November 28 and will be relaxed from November 29. During Tuesdays hearing, Naidus counsel argued that officers of the investigation department (APCID) are continuing to make public statements with reference to issues that are pending before the top court. If there has to be a restraint, it ought to apply to both sides, he contended. Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi vehemently objected and said, Restraint applies to an accused, it cant apply to the government. After the HC granted bail to Naidu, the State government moved the Supreme Court and sought directions for setting aside the verdict. The State government submitted to the apex court that the accused (Naidu) is an influential person and has helped two of his key associates (including a government servant) to flee the country.The accused is therefore clearly obstructing the conduct of the investigation and, therefore, ought not to be granted bail, the Special Leave Petition (SLP) read. READ MORE | Chandrababu Naidu gets bail in AP Skill Development case, State govt to move SC Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a notice to TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu and sought his response on a plea filed by the Andhra Pradesh government challenging a High Court order granting him regular bail in the skill development corporation scam case. The court also relaxed the former chief ministers bail conditions and allowed him to participate in public rallies and meetings till December 8, the next date for hearing the case. While issuing the notice, a bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and SC Sharma said, Issue notice. Returnable on December 8. The conditions imposed in the bail order shall be continued, except participation in public rallies and meetings. Earlier, the High Court had converted Naidus four-week interim medical bail into absolute bail and ordered his release on regular bail, considering his age, ailments, non-flight risk and other reasons.It had said that the interim bail conditions such as refraining from making any public comments related to the scam case or organising or participating in public rallies and meetings will continue to be in force till November 28 and will be relaxed from November 29.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); During Tuesdays hearing, Naidus counsel argued that officers of the investigation department (APCID) are continuing to make public statements with reference to issues that are pending before the top court. If there has to be a restraint, it ought to apply to both sides, he contended. Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi vehemently objected and said, Restraint applies to an accused, it cant apply to the government. After the HC granted bail to Naidu, the State government moved the Supreme Court and sought directions for setting aside the verdict. The State government submitted to the apex court that the accused (Naidu) is an influential person and has helped two of his key associates (including a government servant) to flee the country.The accused is therefore clearly obstructing the conduct of the investigation and, therefore, ought not to be granted bail, the Special Leave Petition (SLP) read. READ MORE | Chandrababu Naidu gets bail in AP Skill Development case, State govt to move SC Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp By Express News Service KOLLAM: The probe into the abduction of a six-year-old girl from Oyoor on Monday is yet to yield results even as the investigators have extended their manhunt across the state. Police managed to release the sketch of the kidnapper, but no breakthrough has been achieved even 20 hours after the shocking incident, which has sent ripples in the society. On Tuesday morning, three men were picked up for questioning from Thiruvananthapuram. Though initial reports hinted that their detention could be in connection with the kidnapping case, the police later clarified that they were not involved in the incident. The police raided a car washing center at Sreekanteswaram in Thiruvananthapuram by around 6.30 am. Three individuals, including the car washing center owner Pratheesh and a Sreekaryam native, were taken into custody. Reports indicate that police found 19 bundles of Rs 500 in a bag at the center, which comes to the tune of about Rs 7.5 lakh. "As we intensified the search for the child, we came across these men, some of them having criminal antecedents. They are not involved in this crime, but we took them in for some other cases," said a police officer. ALSO READ | Girl abducted in Kerala yet to be traced as police widen dragnet Though the police are giving pan-Kerala attention to the case, Kollam and neighboring districts remain keenly watched by the police. In addition to Paripally and Pullikkal, which are in Kollam, the police have extended their investigation to inter-state border areas in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts as well. South Zone IG Sparjan Kumar had earlier said that the investigation is being pursued from all angles. The police have identified a white Desire car in CCTV footage, though confirmation of its connection to the abduction is pending. The proof revealed that a fake number plate was used by the kidnappers while committing the offense. Abigail Sara Reji, a resident of Ayoor, was reportedly abducted on Monday at 4:30 p.m. while en route to a tuition class with her eight-year-old brother. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp KOLLAM: The probe into the abduction of a six-year-old girl from Oyoor on Monday is yet to yield results even as the investigators have extended their manhunt across the state. Police managed to release the sketch of the kidnapper, but no breakthrough has been achieved even 20 hours after the shocking incident, which has sent ripples in the society. On Tuesday morning, three men were picked up for questioning from Thiruvananthapuram. Though initial reports hinted that their detention could be in connection with the kidnapping case, the police later clarified that they were not involved in the incident. The police raided a car washing center at Sreekanteswaram in Thiruvananthapuram by around 6.30 am. Three individuals, including the car washing center owner Pratheesh and a Sreekaryam native, were taken into custody. Reports indicate that police found 19 bundles of Rs 500 in a bag at the center, which comes to the tune of about Rs 7.5 lakh.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); "As we intensified the search for the child, we came across these men, some of them having criminal antecedents. They are not involved in this crime, but we took them in for some other cases," said a police officer. ALSO READ | Girl abducted in Kerala yet to be traced as police widen dragnet Though the police are giving pan-Kerala attention to the case, Kollam and neighboring districts remain keenly watched by the police. In addition to Paripally and Pullikkal, which are in Kollam, the police have extended their investigation to inter-state border areas in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts as well. South Zone IG Sparjan Kumar had earlier said that the investigation is being pursued from all angles. The police have identified a white Desire car in CCTV footage, though confirmation of its connection to the abduction is pending. The proof revealed that a fake number plate was used by the kidnappers while committing the offense. Abigail Sara Reji, a resident of Ayoor, was reportedly abducted on Monday at 4:30 p.m. while en route to a tuition class with her eight-year-old brother. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp By PTI WASHINGTON: The Biden administration, because of the significance it attaches to its ties with New Delhi, 'bent backwards' to be very polite in its public responses following the Canadian allegations against India over the killing of one of its citizens, a top American expert on India-US relations has said. "I think the US response was actually quite remarkable because Canada is a very close ally, and if it was any other country than India, I think the US response would've been much more vocal and much more strident," Ashley J Tellis, the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and a senior fellow at the prestigious Carnegie Endowment for International Peace told PTI in an interview. Tellis was responding to a question on the criticism in India about the US response to the Canadian allegations that they were investigating allegations that the Indian government was involved in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. India has dismissed the allegations as "absurd" and "motivated" and has told Canada to provide it with any evidence that it might have. The Biden administration has expressed concern over the allegations and urged India to cooperate with Canadian authorities in this investigation. "I think this administration bent backwards to be very, very polite in its public response, encouraging India to obviously join the Canadian investigation, but without uttering any words of direct condemnation. And I think that is quite remarkable for the administration. I think people should recognise how different the administration's response was, both in its tonality and in its substance," Tellis said in response to a question. Tellis, who is considered to be the most respectable and foremost American expert on Indian issues, said that the three years of the Biden administration have been fantastic for the India-US relationship. "It has been fantastic. When I look back, it is hard to imagine that any administration, particularly after Trump, would have put so much investment into this relationship with New Delhi. It is really to President (Joe) Biden's credit that he has taken responsibility for this relationship. You can see that very clearly in the way that he treated the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) when he came on the State Visit and all the initiatives that have occurred since," he said." The big question now is whether the president will be able to go to India for Republic Day and for the QUAD meeting. "Next year, my suspicion is even if the president goes, which would be wonderful if he can pull that off, I think will be a year that consumes both governments in different ways because of the election," he said. "So, the tempo of the relationship will obviously proceed as it has been in the last several years. But I do not think both sides will have the capacity for big initiatives because President Biden is going to be completely consumed by an election process that lasts almost the entire year all the way to November of next year. And Prime Minister Modi will be up for election sometime in the first half of the next calendar year," he said. "So, I think expecting big initiatives might be tough, but there is so much on the plate already that we don't need big initiatives. We need some time to just enjoy what we have eaten, and the digestion has to work its way through," Tellis said. The overall picture of the relationship, he said, is very good. "There is a remarkable commitment on the part of the leadership on both sides to take the relationship forward. Both Prime Minister Modi and President Biden have put very impressive chips on the table with respect to where they want to go," he said. "he strategic dimension of the relationship is well understood, but the technology dimension, the educational dimension, the issues relating to things that previously we did not pay too much attention to. Everything from agriculture to science and technology, everything now is on the table as an aspect of cooperation," he said. In the context of the competition with China, the US competition with China, the effort that the administration is making to diversify the production base, particularly for manufacturing, is really very impressive. "India features very highly in that plan because it is seen as a trusted partner. So, I think the future of the relationship is extremely bright. We will always have problems that have to be managed along the way, but as long as both sides keep their eye on the ball and focus on what the long-term opportunities are, I think we'll be in a very good place," Tellis said. China, he said, is a very important factor in the India-US relationship. "And we should not pretend that it's not because it adds a dose of realism when we talk about the relationship. China has of course brought this situation about. I mean I think the US-India relationship was moving in the right direction even before China was seen as a strategic competitor," he said. "But China certainly accelerated that process because it has threatened India and pushed India in a sense almost into US arms. And it has threatened US interests in the Indo-Pacific. That has pushed the United States even closer to India because it sees India as a very important part of that global strategy of coping with China's rise," Tellis said. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp WASHINGTON: The Biden administration, because of the significance it attaches to its ties with New Delhi, 'bent backwards' to be very polite in its public responses following the Canadian allegations against India over the killing of one of its citizens, a top American expert on India-US relations has said. "I think the US response was actually quite remarkable because Canada is a very close ally, and if it was any other country than India, I think the US response would've been much more vocal and much more strident," Ashley J Tellis, the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and a senior fellow at the prestigious Carnegie Endowment for International Peace told PTI in an interview. Tellis was responding to a question on the criticism in India about the US response to the Canadian allegations that they were investigating allegations that the Indian government was involved in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); India has dismissed the allegations as "absurd" and "motivated" and has told Canada to provide it with any evidence that it might have. The Biden administration has expressed concern over the allegations and urged India to cooperate with Canadian authorities in this investigation. "I think this administration bent backwards to be very, very polite in its public response, encouraging India to obviously join the Canadian investigation, but without uttering any words of direct condemnation. And I think that is quite remarkable for the administration. I think people should recognise how different the administration's response was, both in its tonality and in its substance," Tellis said in response to a question. Tellis, who is considered to be the most respectable and foremost American expert on Indian issues, said that the three years of the Biden administration have been fantastic for the India-US relationship. "It has been fantastic. When I look back, it is hard to imagine that any administration, particularly after Trump, would have put so much investment into this relationship with New Delhi. It is really to President (Joe) Biden's credit that he has taken responsibility for this relationship. You can see that very clearly in the way that he treated the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) when he came on the State Visit and all the initiatives that have occurred since," he said." The big question now is whether the president will be able to go to India for Republic Day and for the QUAD meeting. "Next year, my suspicion is even if the president goes, which would be wonderful if he can pull that off, I think will be a year that consumes both governments in different ways because of the election," he said. "So, the tempo of the relationship will obviously proceed as it has been in the last several years. But I do not think both sides will have the capacity for big initiatives because President Biden is going to be completely consumed by an election process that lasts almost the entire year all the way to November of next year. And Prime Minister Modi will be up for election sometime in the first half of the next calendar year," he said. "So, I think expecting big initiatives might be tough, but there is so much on the plate already that we don't need big initiatives. We need some time to just enjoy what we have eaten, and the digestion has to work its way through," Tellis said. The overall picture of the relationship, he said, is very good. "There is a remarkable commitment on the part of the leadership on both sides to take the relationship forward. Both Prime Minister Modi and President Biden have put very impressive chips on the table with respect to where they want to go," he said. "he strategic dimension of the relationship is well understood, but the technology dimension, the educational dimension, the issues relating to things that previously we did not pay too much attention to. Everything from agriculture to science and technology, everything now is on the table as an aspect of cooperation," he said. In the context of the competition with China, the US competition with China, the effort that the administration is making to diversify the production base, particularly for manufacturing, is really very impressive. "India features very highly in that plan because it is seen as a trusted partner. So, I think the future of the relationship is extremely bright. We will always have problems that have to be managed along the way, but as long as both sides keep their eye on the ball and focus on what the long-term opportunities are, I think we'll be in a very good place," Tellis said. China, he said, is a very important factor in the India-US relationship. "And we should not pretend that it's not because it adds a dose of realism when we talk about the relationship. China has of course brought this situation about. I mean I think the US-India relationship was moving in the right direction even before China was seen as a strategic competitor," he said. "But China certainly accelerated that process because it has threatened India and pushed India in a sense almost into US arms. And it has threatened US interests in the Indo-Pacific. That has pushed the United States even closer to India because it sees India as a very important part of that global strategy of coping with China's rise," Tellis said. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp By AFP PARIS: The French government said on Tuesday it would ban smoking on all the country's beaches, in public parks and forests and near schools. "From now on, no-smoking areas will be the norm," Health Minister Aurelien Rousseau told reporters at a presentation of the government's anti-smoking programme. He said there were already 7,200 tobacco-free areas in France but they had been mostly designated by local authorities, not the central government. "We are now shifting the responsibility and establishing a principle which will become the rule," Rousseau said. Taxes on cigarettes will be hiked, Rousseau also said, with a pack of 20, currently at around 11 euros ($12), rising to 12 euros by 2025 and 13 euros the following year. The government was also planning to ban so-called "puffs", single-use disposable e-cigarettes that are particularly popular among young people, he said. The government aims to create "the first tobacco-free generation by 2032", as President Emmanuel Macron had promised, Rousseau said. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp PARIS: The French government said on Tuesday it would ban smoking on all the country's beaches, in public parks and forests and near schools. "From now on, no-smoking areas will be the norm," Health Minister Aurelien Rousseau told reporters at a presentation of the government's anti-smoking programme. He said there were already 7,200 tobacco-free areas in France but they had been mostly designated by local authorities, not the central government.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); "We are now shifting the responsibility and establishing a principle which will become the rule," Rousseau said. Taxes on cigarettes will be hiked, Rousseau also said, with a pack of 20, currently at around 11 euros ($12), rising to 12 euros by 2025 and 13 euros the following year. The government was also planning to ban so-called "puffs", single-use disposable e-cigarettes that are particularly popular among young people, he said. The government aims to create "the first tobacco-free generation by 2032", as President Emmanuel Macron had promised, Rousseau said. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp Press Release November 28, 2023 Hontiveros files Senate reso urging Malacanang to cooperate with ICC probe in PH Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday filed a Senate resolution urging Malacanang to finally cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) and assist the international tribunal in its investigation of the human rights situation in the Philippines. In proposed Senate Resolution No. 867, Hontiveros noted that no less than President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has vowed "to promote human rights and a 'high level of accountability' for human rights violations." "The best way for Malacanang to show its commitment to upholding human rights is to work with the ICC in securing justice for human rights violations victims, and in upgrading mechanisms of human rights protections in the Philippines. Ayon sa mga pinakahuling pahayag ng Pangulo, mukhang posible itong kooperasyon na matagal nang hinihingi ng mga biktima ng human rights violations at ng kanilang pamilya," Hontiveros said. President Marcos has recently confirmed that his administration is studying the possibility of the Philippines resuming its membership in the ICC, nearly five years after former President Rodrigo Duterte led the country in withdrawing from the Rome Statute - the ICC's founding treaty. According to Hontiveros' resolution, the Philippines' withdrawal from the ICC on March 16, 2018 - done amid an active ICC probe of summary killings linked to the "War on the Drugs" - does not mean that the country no longer has any obligation to cooperate with the international tribunal. The resolution cited Article 172(2) of the Rome Statute, which provides that "withdrawal shall not affect any cooperation with the Court in connection with criminal investigations and proceedings in relation to which the withdrawing State had a duty to cooperate and which were commenced prior to the date on which the withdrawal became effective, nor shall it prejudice in any way the continued consideration of any matter which was already under consideration by the Court prior." Likewise, the resolution pointed out that the Supreme Court, in the landmark ruling Pangilinan v. Cayetano, declared that the Philippine's withdrawal "does not undermine or diminish the International Criminal Court's jurisdiction and power to continue a probe that it has commenced while a state was a party to the Rome Statute," and "does not discharge a state party from the obligations it has incurred as a member." "The Philippines has historically been at the forefront of advancing humanitarian law and international justice, and it is high time that we affirm our commitment to these values before the international community," Hontiveros' resolution said. "The recent pronouncements by the President, his allies and his deputies offer hope for a "gamechanger" for the families of Kian delos Santos, Carl Angelo Arnaiz, Reynaldo "Kulot" de Guzman, and thousands of other Filipino families seeking justice for human rights violations. Sana ay hudyat na ito ng mas matibay na pagpapahalaga ng pamahalaan sa hustisya at karapatang pantao - at hindi pakitang tao lamang," Hontiveros concluded. The Industry Growth Program has rolled out a game-changing advisory service, aiming to empower startups and innovative small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) on their journey to market success. The program introduces a national network of Industry Growth Program Advisers, designed to deliver personalized guidance during the pivotal early stages of business development, where translating ideas into profitable products can be particularly daunting. Led by the newly appointed Executive Director, David Chuter, the program not only ensures comprehensive support for advisers but also positions Chuter as the public face of this transformative initiative. His role extends to providing crucial backing to industry partner organizations and leveraging expertise in priority sectors to amplify the programs impact. What do you get? Effective from 2024, businesses benefiting from the advisory service may seize the opportunity to apply for grants ranging from $50,000 to $250,000, specifically crafted to bolster early-stage commercialization projects. Furthermore, substantial grants ranging from $100,000 to $5 million will be accessible for businesses engaged in commercialization and growth projects, contingent upon alignment with the National Reconstruction Funds priority areas. Industry Growth Program Grants will open in 2024. Who is this for? Innovative small and medium enterprises with commercialisation and/or growth projects in one or more of the National Reconstruction Fund priority areas. Recognizing the pivotal role played by innovative SMEs and startups in the economy, the Industry Growth Program is geared towards easing the challenges these businesses face in bringing their groundbreaking ideas to market fruition. By aligning with the National Reconstruction Funds priority areas, including renewables, medical science, and defense capability, the program aims to not only foster innovation but also stimulate economic growth in key sectors. Check if you can apply You can apply if you meet the eligibility criteria. The eligibility criteria are a set of rules that describe who we can consider for the Advisory Service. You can apply if you: are an eligible entity have an eligible innovative product, process or service in one or more of the NRF priority areas. The rules are in the program information guide. About the Program: The Industry Growth Program supports SMEs in commercialization or growth projects in priority areas outlined by the National Reconstruction Fund. These sectors include renewables, medical science, transport, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, resources, defense capability, and enabling capabilities. The program strives to aid businesses in commercializing ideas, expanding operations, and positioning themselves for national and international market engagement, paving the way for future investment opportunities. Program Dynamics: Advisory Excellence: Industry Growth Program Advisers strategically stationed across Australia provide tailored advice to facilitate commercialization and growth projects. Grant Opportunities: Businesses benefiting from advisory services may become eligible to apply for grants starting in 2024. In addition to these core elements, industry bodies will contribute specialized sectoral expertise, advice, and services, further solidifying the programs commitment to driving innovation and transforming Australias economic landscape. Click here to apply: Keep up to date with our stories on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. New York, Nov 27 ' Bridgerton' star Charithra Chandran will headline the cast of 'Arzu', a drama series based on the novel of the same name by Mumbai-based Riva Razdan, according to an exclusive report run by 'Variety'. Geetika Lizardi, whose writing credits include 'Bridgerton', 'Mira, Royal Detective' and 'Outsourced', will write the series and also serve as showrunner. The project comes out of the first-look deal between Fifth Season-backed Blink49 Studios and Canadian YouTuber Lilly Singh's Unicorn Island Productions. 'Arzu' follows a brilliant, young heiress who escapes scandal in Mumbai and lands in New York City. But while training to enter into glamorous Manhattan high society, Arzu risks throwing it all away for the adventure of living life on her own terms, reports 'Variety'. "I am delighted to be part of a show that is full of glamour, romance and drama, and fearlessly touches on societal issues," Chandran said, adding: "Excited for the world to see it." Lilly Singh added: "'Arzu' is an inspiring story about a woman who rejects societal norms in favour of her own passions and pursuits. It's sexy, surprising and subverts the limited South Asian stereotypes we've grown all too accustomed to seeing." 'Arzu' brings together 'Bridgerton' star Charithra Chandran and Lilly Singh Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Mumbai, Nov 27 S ocialite Paris Hilton is having a "pink Christmas", who already has a son Phoenix with husband Carter Reum and announced that they welcomed daughter London, posed with her eldest in front of a bright pink Christmas tree to celebrate the new arrival. She wrote on Instagram, "Celebrating our baby girl London with a pink Christmas." The former "Simple Life" star initially sparked speculation that she had become a mother for the second time earlier this week when posted a picture of a pink outfit emblazoned with the word "London", which she has repeatedly said she would choose as a name if she had a little girl, alongside a pair of tiny red sunglasses and a teddy bear. She captioned the post, "Thankful for my baby girl (sic)." And amongst the photos from her Thanksgiving celebrations shared to her Instagram Story, Paris also posted a picture of Phoenix which was captioned, "The big brother. The socialite previously revealed she had always wanted a daughter named after the English capital. Speaking on a "This is Paris" podcast titled "This is I'm Pregnant??" before she had her son, she said, "One day I want to have a little girl, and I want to name her London. That's always been my dream ever since I was a little girl, because I just love London and Paris together." "For a boy, I want to name him after a city or a country or a state as well. I have a name, but I'm not going to say it yet, I want to keep it a surprise, and I don't want anyone stealing my baby name for that one. I've said London for a long time so I can't really hide that one now," she continued. And when she confirmed Phoenix's name, she said she had chosen a moniker that would complement London. Paris Hilton celebrates 'pink Christmas' after announcing second child Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Tel Aviv, Nov 27 B usinessman and investor Elon Musk on Monday visited the Kfar Aza in Israel where the October 7 attack took place in which at least 1200 people were killed by Hamas. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accompanied Elon Musk to the residence of Ofir Liebstein, who fought back and died while fighting Hamas. The IDF Spokesperson Liad Diamond gave a detailed presentation to Elon Musk about the October 7 attacks. The head of the Negev Council, Yossi Keren also met Elon Musk at Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Musk was also taken to the site Abigail Idan, where a 4-year-old American-Israel citizen was kidnapped during October 7 attack. Israel President Issac Herzog is scheduled to meet Elon Musk later in the day. The relatives of the hostages will also meet Musk. Elon Musk visits Oct 7 attack site in Kfar Aza Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Kanye West gives surprise performance of new song 'Vultures' in Dubai Los Angeles, Nov 27 R apper Kanye West appeared on stage in Dubai alongside Lil Durk and Ty Dolla Sign, where they gave a surprise performance of their new song 'Vultures'. The performance took place during Lil Durk's show at nightclub Blu Dubai, who posted clips of the song on social media. On the club's Instagram Stories, West can be seen rapping the song's incendiary lyrics, including, "How am I anti-Semitic? I just f***** a Jewish b****," reports 'Variety'. West debuted the new song on November 17. It marks his first official release since July 2022s 'Hot S***' with Cardi B and Lil Durk. In December, West's career tailspin worsened when he appeared on Alex Jones 'Infowars' talk show, during which he praised Hitler and made anti-Semitic jokes. As per 'Variety', West's string of anti-Semitic comments culminated in him being kicked off of Twitter (though he has since been reinstated on Elon Musk's X), losing his partnership with Adidas. According to Wests own Instagram post, he lost $2 billion in one day due to his hate speech. West gave his first performance since the anti-Semitism controversy in August, when he joined Travis Scott on stage during a tour stop in Rome. Together, West and Scott performed 'Praise God' and 'Can't Tell Me Nothing'. "There is no 'Utopia' without Kanye West. There is no Travis Scott without Kanye West," Scott said, referencing his new album. "There is no Rome without Kanye West. Make some noise for Ye." Kanye West gives surprise performance of new song 'Vultures' in Dubai Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Dev Deepawali became spiritual event not just of Kashi or India, but of the world: CM Yogi Varanasi, November 27 U ttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said that because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi 'Dev Deepawali' has become a spiritual event all over the world. "Dev Deepawali has been part of this place's legacy for the past 100 years but because of PM Modi, 'Dev Deepawali' has become a spiritual event not just of Kashi or India but, of the world," CM Yogi celebrates Dev Deepavali in Varanasi. He further said that today you can see thousands of diyas are being lit here and diplomats and ambassadors of 70 countries are attending this event "Two years ago PM Modi himself participated in 'Dev Deepavali' in Kashi. Today you can see thousands of diyas are being lit here and diplomats and ambassadors of 70 countries are attending this event...I thank PM Modi for this," he added. Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh CM also interacts with Ambassador of Denmark to India, Freddy Svane in Varanasi as the city celebrates 'Dev Deepavali' on the occasion of Kartik Purnima. Varanasi celebrated the 'Dev Deepawali,' by adorning with brilliant lights and decorations, setting the stage for a breathtaking spectacle. Dev Deepavali, often referred to as "the Diwali of the Gods," unfolds on the full moon night of the Hindu month of Kartika, embellishing the riverfront ghats of the Ganges from Ravidas Ghat to Rajghat with over a million earthen lamps. The festival promises a visual feast with a show featuring firecrackers, lasers, and music against the backdrop of the moonlit sky. A green aerial firecracker display is set to enhance the divine ambience of the event, illuminating the sand in front of the Ganga gate of Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham. The festivities, organised by the Uttar Pradesh Government, include a laser and crackers show along with the illumination of the ghats with a staggering 12 lakh lamps. A green aerial firecracker show, lasting approximately 13 minutes, will captivate the audience, showcasing the grandeur of Dev Diwali in Varanasi. With over 7 to 8 lakh devotees expected to attend this year's celebration, stringent security arrangements are in place to ensure a safe and joyous experience. The Deputy Director of the Tourism Department, Rajendra Kumar Rawat, emphasised the meticulous preparations for the Green Aerial Fire Crackers Show, promising a breathtaking spectacle that will leave a lasting impression. As the city resonates with hymns dedicated to Lord Shiva, including "Har-Har Shambhu" and "Shiv Tandav Stotra," Varanasi is poised to offer a truly enchanting and spiritually uplifting experience. Under the vision of Prime Minister Modi and the UP govt, Dev Diwali has transcended local boundaries, captivating a global audience and cementing Varanasi's status as a beacon of cultural and spiritual vibrancy. Dev Deepawali became spiritual event not just of Kashi or India, but of the world: CM Yogi Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! New Delhi, November 27 P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday expressed happiness about the presence of diplomats from several nations, who got a glimpse of India's cultural vibrancy in Kashi's Dev Deepavali. In a post on X, PM Modi said, "Kashi is synonymous with Dev Deepavali and this year as well, the celebrations have been grand. Equally gladdening is the august presence of diplomats from several nations, who have got a glimpse of India's cultural vibrancy." Today, millions of lamps illuminate Varanasi's Ghats as devotees throng the holy city for Dev Deepavali celebrations, which is also known as 'the Diwali of the Gods' or 'festival of lights of the Gods,' on Monday. The full moon day or the eighth lunar month, is referred to as Kartik or Kartik Purnima. This year, Kartik Purnima fell on Monday, November 27. The festival coincides with the full moon of the Hindu month of Kartika and occurs fifteen days after Diwali. In the morning, devotees throughout the country offered prayers at various temples and ghats on the occasion of Kartik Purnima and Dev Deepawali. Devotees offered prayers at the Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati, Assam, on the occasion. A huge crowd was seen at Digha Ghat in Patna to take a bath in the Ganga on Monday morning. In a breathtaking spectacle on Kartik Purnima evening, the ghats of Kashi looked celestial, illuminated with 21 lakh earthen lamps (diyas). Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took part in the Koti Deepotsavam programme, in Hyderabad on Monday. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated the celebrations by lighting the first lamp on Dev Diwali. The event, attended by citizens and dignitaries, including ambassadors and envoys from 70 countries, 150 delegates and their families, showcased the splendour of Kashi on the festival. Varanasi witnessed the lighting of approximately 21 lakh diyas, with over 12 lakh people adorning the crescent-shaped ghats. One lakh lamps were made from cow dung, adding a traditional touch to the luminous display. Kashi is synonymous with Dev Deepavali: PM Modi Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Over 99% mobile phones used in India are manufactured locally: Ashwini Vaishnaw Bengaluru, Nov 28 U nion Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Monday that 99.2 per cent of the mobile phones used in the country are manufactured locally. "The mobile manufacturing industry has crossed $44 billion worth," he underlined. Speaking to reporters after visiting the Tata iPhone plant in Tamil Nadu's Hosur, Vaishnaw slammed the Opposition for "still thinking that the mobile phones used in the country are imported". "They (Opposition) don't know that 99.2 per cent of the mobiles used here are manufactured in India. Presently, there are many cell phone manufacturing units in the country," he stated. India has an ambitious goal to produce electronic goods worth more than $300 billion by 2025-26 and the manufacturers are encouraged by schemes and subsidies, the Union Minister said. India is surpassing China in the production of mobiles and marching ahead, he underlined. "Apple increased the production of its major iPhones in India last year. Cupertino Tech is contemplating raising the production in India to $40 billion in four to five years," Vaishnaw added In the last nine and half years, we have reached the stage of exporting electronic products. There is considerable progress in the semiconductor sector. Recently, Google announced that it will start producing Pixel smartphones here. This would prove to be a boost for India's ambition to emerge as a global manufacturing hub, he elaborated. Earlier, Vaishnaw visited and inspected the Yeshwantpur Railway station in Bengaluru and declared that it is going to emerge as a world-class station. Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya also joined the Union Minister to inspect the progress of the redevelopment of Yeshwantpur Railway Station, undertaken by the Central Government at a cost of Rs 366 crore. "Yeshwantpur is a crucial transport hub in Bengaluru undergoing significant redevelopment aimed at transforming it into a world-class station. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to integrate such stations into multi-modal transport hubs will go a long way in addressing rapid urbanization and population growth, he said. "The redevelopment is being carried out by keeping in mind the increased footfall in the coming decades and the integration of suburban rail. Once completed, it will also feature a roof plaza for recreational activities and showcasing local products. Glad to note that works are proceeding smoothly without causing hindrance to station operations," Surya said. Over 99% mobile phones used in India are manufactured locally: Ashwini Vaishnaw Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! President Vo Van Thuong and Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko enjoyed banh mi at a restaurant opened by two Vietnamese during an official visit to Japan Tuesday. President Thuong, accompanied by his wife Phan Thi Thanh Tam, along with Governor Yuriko and leaders of major Japanese corporations, visited Banh Mi Xin Chao (Banh Mi Says Hello) restaurant in Tokyo to savor a variety of Vietnamese delicacies, including banh mi, pho, coffee, spring rolls, and sweet soup desserts. Banh Mi Xin Chao, established in 2016 by former Vietnamese students Bui Thanh Duy, 37, and Bui Thanh Tam, 32, has since grown into a chain of 15 establishments across Japan. President Vo Van Thuong (R, 2nd) and Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko (L, 3rd) enjoy banh mi in Tokyo, Nov. 28, 2023. Photo courtesy of The World and Vietnam Report "When it comes to Japanese cuisine, Vietnamese people are familiar with sushi, ramen noodles, tempura, and sake. Conversely, the Japanese associate Vietnam with images of banh mi, pho, spring rolls, and coffee. These culinary similarities contribute to the positive relationship between our two countries," Thuong said. The president expressed joy in experiencing Vietnamese cuisine in Japan and highlighted the cultural connection fostered by shared food traditions. (From L) President Vo Van Thuong, his wife Phan Thi Thanh Tam, and the Governor of Tokyo Koike Yuriko at Banh Mi Xin Chao restaurant, Nov. 28, 2023. Photo by VnExpress President Thuong acknowledged the deepening relationship between Vietnam and Japan, culminating in the recent upgrade to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership on Monday. He underlined the importance of this milestone in opening a new chapter in the development of relations between the two countries. With approximately 500,000 Vietnamese residents, the second-largest foreign community in Japan, Thuong extended best wishes for their success in both personal and business endeavors. The president asked the Tokyo Governor to support the Vietnamese community's business, living, and educational endeavors in Tokyo. Following Governor Koike's introduction of Tokyo's flood prevention system, the president proposed collaboration to share experiences in fire and flood prevention with Hanoi and other Vietnamese areas. Thuong is on an official visit from Nov. 27 to 30 at the invitation of the Japanese government. Vietnam and Japan established diplomatic ties on September 21, 1973, elevating them to a strategic partnership in 2009. Japan is one of Vietnam's most important economic partners, biggest official development assistance provider, second biggest partner in terms of labor cooperation, third in terms of investment and tourism, and fourth in trade. Bilateral trade was worth nearly US$50 billion last year, with both nations' exports being almost equal. Los Angeles, Nov 28 H ollywood star Jennifer Lawrence's appearance has shifted because she's "ageing" and not because of plastic surgery, says the actress. The 33-year-old actress agrees that her appearance has changed over recent years, but she says she hasn't gone under the knife. "I started at 19, so I get the before and after pictures from when I'm 19 to 30 and I'm like, 'I grew up. I lost baby weight in my face, and my face changed because I'm ageing.' Everybody thought I had a nose job, and I'm like, 'I've had the exact same nose. My cheeks got smaller. Thank you for bringing it up,' " Lawrence told Interview magazine. She highlighted the influence of Hung Vanngo, the acclaimed make-up artist, reports aceshowbiz.com. She explained, "I also think it's incredible what make-up can do because I work with Hung, who overlines the lip, and I call him a plastic surgeon because everybody in the last few months, since I've been working with him, is convinced that I had eye surgery." Meanwhile, Lawrence previously revealed that she struggles with mom guilt. The award-winning actress confessed that she was still trying to come to terms with the demands of motherhood. Jennifer Lawrence denies plastic surgery rumour, says her face changed due to aging Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! New Delhi, Nov 28 C ommonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland will lead the delegation at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai to call for accelerated action on the climate crisis in light of intensifying threats to small and vulnerable member countries. Scheduled from November 30 to December 12, the annual summit comes just months after Commonwealth environment ministers committed to accelerating climate action at their inaugural meeting, held alongside the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. The Secretary-General, who will deliver at least 20 speeches across the summit, will urge negotiators to deliver a transformative outcome at the summit. This includes accelerating efforts to implement national climate plans mandated under the Paris Agreement, using the findings of the "global stocktake" report to increase ambition and action, and delivering an inclusive, operational Loss and Damage Fund. Secretary-General Patricia Scotland will officially open the Commonwealth Pavilion COP28, which will host about 40 events across the two weeks, demonstrating the Commonwealths ability to convene vital dialogues between governments, experts, businesses, youth leaders and civil society. She will also meet with leaders and ministers from Commonwealth member countries and across the international community, to advance progress on emissions, finance, adaptation, biodiversity, oceans, health, innovation and the green economy. Ahead of the summit, the Commonwealth Secretary-General said: "The worst predictions of climate change have become a daily reality. In the Commonwealths most vulnerable countries, fertile lands are turning to dust, wells are running dry, storms and floods are overwhelming communities, and the ocean is rising. "This represents not only a threat to the health, welfare and survival of millions of people, but to our collective stability and economic prospects. "Yet as climate change advances, the gap on emissions, finance and justice has widened, while the window for action continues to narrow. COP28 must close that gap. "Every day of delay makes life more dangerous, and makes climate action more complex, challenging and expensive. There can be no more delays, and no more excuses -- this is the time for implementation." During the summit, the Secretary-General will call for increased support for small and vulnerable states, highlighting that despite ambitious pledges, these countries are receiving limited funds to mitigate, adapt to and build resilience against the impacts of climate breakdown. She will also draw attention to the broader consequences of the climate crisis on economic growth, leading to high debt burdens, food insecurity, stressed resources, and impaired livelihoods for many of the 2.5 billion people living across the Commonwealth. Commonwealth Secy-General calls for accelerated climate action at Dubai summit Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Akasa's new track 'Kalleyan' is about love that remains after heartbreak Mumbai, Nov 28 S inger Akasa, who recently released her new song 'Kalleyan', said the track is about love that remains after heartbreak, calling it a 'sad bop'. Featuring Taaruk Raina, 'Kalleyan' is a composition that weaves together love, desire and a myriad of emotions into a harmonious tapestry. With rhythmic beats and compelling lyrics, the song promises to create an immersive experience. The love song is accompanied by a music video featuring Akasa and Taaruk. It showcases a series of aesthetic scenes that radiate positivity and charm. Talking about the song, Akasa said: "'Kalleyan' is so special because it is a collaboration with a friend whom Ive known so personally and sung with for years. It is a song that speaks about the love that remains after heartbreak... about mending the broken heart with the same love. "Also whats cool about 'Kalleyan' is that its a sad bop, which truly reflects the mental situation of todays generation - heart is sad but the vibes must remain banging. I hope people appreciate it as much as they did 'Manmaani', because again this song is me sharing a very personal side of myself that I don't do often." Taaruk added, "This song is more personal to me than anything Ive ever done before... its a song about real friendship, its real and its relatable, it asks the question 'how late is too late?' And the answer is 'its never too late'." Akasa's new track 'Kalleyan' is about love that remains after heartbreak Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Aerial view of the Nhat Tan Bridge in Hanoi at 6:30 a.m., Nov. 28, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh Several Hanoi stations recorded harmful air quality levels that can severely impact people's health on Tuesday, as IQAir AirVisual ranked it the fourth most polluted city in the world. At 8:30 a.m., a station on Nguyen Van Cu Street, Long Bien District by the Pollution Control Department under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) value at 225, meaning "very unhealthy" levels of air pollution that affect everyone. Among the 16 stations of the Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, seven of them recorded "unhealthy" AQI values between 151-200, seven others at 101-150 levels which mean the air quality is "unhealthy for sensitive groups", two at the "moderate" 51-100 range and none at the good quality range 0-50. Stations on Pham Van Dong Street, Bac Tu Liem District recorded the highest AQI values at 194, and a station on Ly Thai To Street, Hoan Kiem District recorded AQI levels at 184. Among the stations of the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, one station at the United Nations International School of Hanoi in Tay Ho District recorded an AQI value at 270. Switzerland-based air quality monitoring facility IQAir AirVisual on Tuesday ranked Hanoi the fourth most polluted city in the world, behind India's Delhi and Pakistan's Karachi and Lahore. The Pollution Control Department said there have been dust pollution in certain Vietnam localities in recent days, especially in Hanoi. Dry weather conditions have caused dust to spread, and the burning of trash and other leftover agricultural products also contributed to more pollution. "Air quality is getting worse, and harbors the risk of affecting the communitys health and socio-economic development," the department said. Hoang Van Thuc, head of the department, has requested localities to continue monitoring air quality, announce results and recommend people to have protective measures, especially for those who go out at 5-7 a.m. and 2-7 p.m. Champaign, IL (61820) Today Rain likely. High 46F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.. Tonight Cloudy with light rain this evening. Low 39F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Using laboratory engineered tissue, scientists at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have created a full thickness, biodegradable patch that holds the promise of correcting congenital heart defects in infants, limiting invasive surgeries and outlasting current patches. The findings were published this week in the journal Materials Today. The ultimate goal is to make lab-grown heart tissue from a patient's own cells that can be used to restructure the heart to correct for heart defects." Jeffrey Jacot, PhD, study's senior author, associate professor of bioengineering, University of Colorado School of Medicine About 10,000 babies are born with a complex congenital heart defect every year in this country, requiring surgery in the first year of life. Some of these operations require the implantation of a full-thickness heart patch. But the current materials used in the patch are non-living and non-degradable. They don't grow with the patient and often fail because they don't integrate with the heart. Jacot said these surgeries are largely palliative, extending survival only until the next surgery. But his lab's patch, called a tissue engineered myocardial patch, could survive the mechanical forces of the heart wall and integrate into the heart itself. Ideally, it would last for as long as the patient lives. "The current patch materials available to pediatric heart surgeons are exclusively non-living and non-degradable, which often fail in their long-term therapeutic efficacy due to low compliance, an increased risk of thrombosis and intimal hyperplasia, and their inability to remodel and integrate with the heart," the study said. Permanent fixes require biomaterials that are degradable but which also promote heart regeneration so that the patches are eventually replaced by healthy myocardium, the middle muscular layer of the heart and the thickest. "Any patches that are not replaced by healthy tissue prior to their degradation will inevitably fail and lead to long-term complications," Jacot said. The patch was created in the lab using a technique known as electrospinning, where electricity is applied to liquid solutions to create nanofibers used to make a `scaffold.' The scaffold is then injected with living cells. This eventually becomes the patch. "The scaffold was found to be mechanically sufficient for heart wall repair," Jacot said. "Vascular cells were able to infiltrate more than halfway through the scaffold in static culture within three weeks." The patch requires more tests before it can be used in humans. Jacot is optimistic that it will play a critical role in the future treatment of congenital heart defects and other cardiac conditions. "This is the first successful demonstration of a very thick, porous electrospun patch specifically for cardiac tissue engineering," he said. Researchers from Critical Analytics for Manufacturing Personalized-Medicine (CAMP) Interdisciplinary Research Group (IRG) at Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), MIT's research enterprise in Singapore, in collaboration with Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), have developed a novel method capable of identifying contaminants in T-cell cultures within 24 hours. This method, adept at detecting low-abundance levels of microbial contaminants while effectively determining their types, ensures that therapeutic products like T-cell therapies are safe from contamination, with a faster turnaround reducing the risk for patients and speeding up the process of getting these treatments to those in need. Cell therapies are increasingly prevalent in the treatment of incurable diseases. For example, chimeric antigen receptor T-cells (CAR-T) are used for the treatment of blood-related cancers. Because these living medicines cannot be sterilised, assuring that cell therapy products are safe from microbial contamination before administering them for use in patients is of paramount importance. Current traditional sterility tests help to guarantee microbial safety by ensuring that medical treatments are free from harmful contaminants. They improve the safety and efficiency of cell therapy manufacturing, playing an essential role in reducing the risk of treatments for patients. These traditional sterility methods are laborious and take between seven to 14 days; hence, faster methods could potentially be lifesaving for patients who cannot afford delays in their treatment. SMART CAMP's breakthrough method could enhance both the safety and efficiency of cell therapy manufacturing, resulting in improved patient outcomes and a more streamlined production process. In a paper titled "Machine learning-based detection of adventitious microbes in T-cell therapy cultures using long-read sequencing", published recently in the journal Microbiology Spectrum, SMART researchers detailed a novel method to detect contaminants in T-cell cultures within 24 hours, significantly faster than traditional methods that can take 7-14 days. The researchers employed cutting-edge technology like third-generation nanopore long-read sequencing and DNA extraction alongside machine learning algorithms to improve the overall process and ensure accuracy and speed. The primary objective is to differentiate between clean and contaminated samples and pinpoint the organisms most likely causing the contamination. SMART's novel method utilises third-generation nanopore long-read sequencing methodology to identify harmful microorganisms, followed by an advanced machine learning algorithm, computational analysis and optimisation. Through this process, the researchers successfully identified the presence and types of microbial contaminants even at low abundance levels while also achieving this more quickly than standard compendial tests. The practical application of this discovery is vast; it offers faster product validation for biopharmaceutical manufacturers, reducing downtime and potentially accelerating product-to-market timelines. These advancements hold significant promise for the biopharmaceutical industry, as they not only enhance quality control but also improve overall efficiency and cost-effectiveness, ultimately benefiting patients by ensuring the safety and reliability of cell therapy products." Dr James Strutt, Senior Postdoctoral Associate at SMART CAMP and first author of the paper The research was presented at the A*STAR Mini Symposium in the Advances in Cell and Gene Therapy (A*CGT) in Singapore, and at the 31st Annual Intelligent Systems For Molecular Biology and the 22nd Annual European Conference on Computational Biology held in Lyon, France, by Dr James Strutt. SMART CAMP is preparing to initiate testing to evaluate the integration of the novel T-cell sterility test into their processes and to further enhance the accuracy of contamination detection, while future research will focus on providing a similar level of detection for viruses and is currently being finalised at MIT. This advancement aims to provide more robust and dependable sterility assessments, in line with the SMART researchers' core goal of swiftly and accurately identifying sample contamination. "Our rapid method offers a more efficient way to not only detect microbial contamination, but identify the contaminating species. We demonstrated that this method can deliver a high-sensitivity microbial sterility assessment within just 24 hours, providing a valuable tool for researchers and hopefully practitioners in the near future," added co-corresponding author Dr Stacy L. Springs, Principal Investigator at SMART CAMP and Executive Director at MIT Center for Biomedical Innovation. The research is carried out by SMART and supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) Singapore under its Campus for Research Excellence And Technological Enterprise (CREATE) programme. What if a single one-dollar dose could cure cancer? A multi-university team of researchers, supported by federal funding, is developing a highly efficient bacterial therapeutic to target cancer more precisely to make treatment safer through a single $1 dose. Traditionally, cancer therapies have been limited in their efficacy in treating patients. Some, like radiation and chemotherapy, cause harmful side effects, while others tend to result in low patient responsiveness, not to mention the cost it takes to receive treatment. Findings from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network recorded that 73% of cancer survivors and patients were worried about how they were going to pay the cost of their cancer care, and 51% said they were in medical debt from treatment. For example, state-of-the-art cancer therapy can cost up to $1,000,000. Texas A&M University and the University of Missouri are leading the effort to develop a low-cost, safe, and controlled cancer treatment. Researchers received a $20 million grant from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to fight cancer. The four-year project is part of the current administration's Cancer Moonshot initiative, an effort to advance and increase funding for cancer research. It is one of the first projects funded by the newly established agency that aims to accelerate better health outcomes for everyone by supporting the development of high-impact solutions to society's most challenging health problems. Rapidly analyzing cells $12 million of the grant will go to the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station/Texas A&M, where co-principal investigators Drs. Arum Han, Jim Song and Chelsea Hu are developing synthetic programmable bacteria for immune-directed killing in tumor environments (SPIKEs). The idea is to engineer bacteria to help T cells kill cancerous tissue, destroy itself once the cancer is gone, and leave the body safely as human waste. SPIKEs can specifically target tumor cells. And since it's only targeting cancerous tissue and not the surrounding healthy cells, the safety of the patient is exponentially increased. It's a great honor to be on this team, tackling a major health problem that affects a lot of people." Arum Han, the Texas Instruments Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Han's lab is developing high-throughput microfluidic systems that can rapidly process and screen massive bacterial therapeutic libraries, one cell at a time, to quickly identify the most promising treatments. These systems are enabled by integrating microfabrication methods and biotechnology to achieve a pico-liter-volume liquid handling system that can accurately analyze single cells with high precision and high speeds, creating devices to analyze individual cells quickly. "The major challenge is figuring out how to actually develop these sophisticated microdevices that allow us to conduct millions and millions of fully automated tests with almost no manual or human intervention," Han said. "That's the engineering challenge." Rescuing anti-tumor immune cells While Han innovates and designs microdevices, Song -; an immunologist with a background in microbial pathogenesis, T cell biology and T cell-based immunotherapy -; has been working on bacteria immunotherapy for the past five years. A certain bacteria known as Brucella Melitensis can manipulate the microenvironment of the human body and promote T cell-mediated anti-tumor immunity to treat at least four types of cancers. "We are working to improve Brucella Melitensis to more efficiently prevent or suppress tumor growth," said Song, a professor at the Texas A&M School of Medicine. "Our current approach involves finding out how to engineer bacteria to rescue anti-tumor immune cells, enhancing their effectiveness in killing tumor cells. "Data so far shows that Brucella's efficiency is dramatically higher than other cancer treatments, such as Chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy and T-cell receptor therapies, with a more than 70% responsiveness rate," Song said. Safe and controllable therapeutics While Song continues to test the bacteria's efficiency using cancer models, Hu, an assistant professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering and a synthetic biologist, is working to ensure the living bacterial therapeutic is safe and controllable. "The Brucella strain we're using has been shown to be safe for the hosts because it is an attenuated version, meaning a key gene that is required for bacteria virulence has been deleted," Hu said. "Ultimately, we want to control the bacterium's rate of growth, where it grows within the tumor environment, and its ability to self-destruct when its mission is completed." To control the growth rate, the bacterium's genes will be altered to regulate its population and oscillate around a specific setpoint. Hu also plans to engineer biosensors into the bacteria, enabling them to differentiate between healthy tissue and tumor tissues to ensure they grow only within the tumor microenvironment. The bacterium will be engineered to have a receptor to ensure that once the cancer is gone, the patient can take antibiotics that will signal the bacterium to essentially cut itself into pieces and be removed safely from the patient's body. "As humans, we're actually covered in bacteria, and a lot of diseases are caused by an imbalance in these bacterial communities," Hu said. "For instance, while some people have incredibly fragile stomachs, others have robust ones. The science behind it is that those people with strong immune and digestive systems have a healthy community of bacterial cells in their gut. There's a lot of potential in living therapeutics." "It's a really great opportunity to have an incredible team who have expertise and can push this technology to the front line," Hu said. "So that sort of goal is to reach the clinic and provide patients with an effective cancer treatment at less than $1 per dose." Attacking difficult issues using unconventional approaches Other collaborators include Dr. Zhilei Chen at the Texas A&M Health Science Center and Dr. Xiaoning Qian in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, along with the principal investigator, Dr. Paul de Figueiredo, from Missouri University. "The three key advantages to this work are high safety, low cost and specific targeting of cancerous tumors," Han said. "We are very excited that we are one of the first teams that are getting support from ARPA-H, which is a brand-new agency established and supported by Congress to really tackle hard problems in broad areas of health. We're attacking difficult issues using unconventional approaches. High risk, high impact is the hallmark of our approach." And the future applications of engineering bacteria that this research unlocks are limitless. "For our next big project, we will work together to engineer bacteria against autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis," Song said. Bacterium-based immunotherapy represents a groundbreaking frontier in medicine, offering the potential to revolutionize the treatment of autoimmune diseases. With the power of beneficial microbes harnessed to modulate the immune system, we are on the verge of changing the future of medicine. Our research and expertise hold the promise of transforming the lives of millions of people, providing them with new hope and healthier tomorrows." President Vo Van Thuong and his spouse Phan Thi Thanh Tam met with Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako on Tuesday, as part of his ongoing official visit to Japan. (From L) Japanese Emperor Naruhito, Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong, his wife Phan Thi Thanh Tam, and Japanese Empress Masako meet in Japan on Nov. 28, 2023. Photo by VNA Sharing profound memories of his previous visits to Japan in various capacities, President Thuong told the hosts that the two countries share cultural similarities. It is the unanimity of their leaders and people that has laid a solid foundation for the development of Vietnam-Japan friendly and cooperative ties. He affirmed that the historical visits to Vietnam in 2017 by the then Japanese Emperor and Empress, the official Vietnam visit in 2009 by the then Crown Prince, as well as the recent September visit by Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess, have left good impressions on the Vietnamese leaders and people, contributing to deepening mutual trust and understanding between their people, elevating the Vietnam-Japan relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia and the world. On behalf of the State and people of Vietnam, President Thuong invited the Japanese Emperor and Empress to visit Vietnam. The Emperor and Empress expressed their delight at welcoming the President and his spouse to Japan on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties this year. They said the historical connections and similarities in culture and people between the two nations are fundamental factors for their close-knit relationship across various fields like today. The hosts also believed that cultural and people-to-people exchanges held in many localities of both countries this year will raise understanding between the people of the two countries, making important contributions to boosting friendly cooperative ties between the two countries. In the afternoon the same day, the Emperor and Empress hosted a banquet in honour of President Thuong and his wife. If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741. The GoFundMe request jumped out at me as I was scrolling through posts on LinkedIn. Nora Super, executive director of the 2015 White House Conference on Aging and former director of the Milken Institutes Center for the Future of Aging, was seeking contributions after suffering a severe spinal cord injury. "Right now, I have no feeling below the waist. I need lots of equipment to go home from the hospital and live safely and independently," she wrote in her appeal. Since coping with disability and the cost of coping with disability is an enormously important issue for older adults, I wondered if Super would discuss her experiences and try to put them in perspective. The Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire ran the numbers for me: About 19 million people 65 and older in the U.S. a third of that age group had some type of disability in 2021, the latest year for which data is available. This includes difficulty with hearing, vision, cognition, mobility, or activities such as bathing, dressing, or shopping. Super agreed to talk to me, but her story was more complicated than I anticipated. First, some context. Super, 59, has been open about her struggle with major depression, an issue she's written about. In mid-June, after being fired from the Milken Institute, she began slipping into another depression her fifth episode since 2005. Super's psychiatric medications weren't working, she said, and she sought electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), which had been effective for her in the past. But mental health services are difficult to get in a timely way, and Super couldn't get an ECT appointment until Aug. 7. On July 30, convinced that her life had no value, she attempted to end it. This was the event that led to her injury. After two weeks in intensive care and a recovery unit, Super was ready to leave the hospital. But no rehabilitation facility would take her because of her mental health crisis. Without psychiatrists on staff, they claimed they couldn't ensure her safety, said Len Nichols, her husband. Nichols, 70, has held several high-level health policy positions during his career, among them senior adviser for health policy at the Office of Management and Budget during the Clinton administration and director of the Center for Health Policy Research and Ethics at George Mason University. Using every contact he could, Nichols searched for a facility in New Orleans where Super could get intensive rehab services. During the pandemic, the couple had moved there from their longtime home in Arlington, Virginia. New Orleans is where Super grew up and three of her sisters live. It took six days to get Super admitted to rehab. And that was just one of the challenges Nichols faced. Over the next month, he prepared for Super's return home, at considerable expense. An elevator was installed in the couple's three-story home (their bedroom is on the second floor) for $38,000. A metal ramp at the home's entry cost $4,000. A lift for their Jeep cost $6,500. A bathroom renovation came to $4,000. An electronic wheelchair-style device that can be used in the shower was another $4,000. Super's privately purchased insurance policy covered a wheelchair, bedside commode, hospital bed, and a Hoyer lift (a device that helps people transfer in and out of bed) with a small monthly copayment. "It's been surprising how much stuff I've needed and how much all of it costs," Super admitted when we spoke on the phone. "Even with all our education, resources, and connections, we have had a hard time making all the arrangements we've needed to make," Nichols said. "I cannot imagine how people do this with none of those three things." He showered praise on the physical and occupational therapists who worked with Super at the rehab facility and taught him essential skills, such as how to move her from bed to her wheelchair without straining his back or damaging her skin. "I don't think I ever appreciated how essential their work is before this," he told me. "They explain what you'll be able to do for yourself and then they help you do it. They show you a pathway back to dignity and independence." Still, the transition home has been difficult. "In the hospital, nothing was expected of me, everything was done for me. In rehab, you're very goal-oriented and there are still people to take care of you," Super told me. "Then, you come home, and that structure is gone and things are harder than you thought." Fortunately, Nichols is healthy and able to handle hands-on caregiving. But he soon needed a break and the couple hired home-care workers for four hours a day, five days a week. That costs $120 daily, and Super's long-term care insurance pays $100. They're lucky they can afford it. Medicare typically doesn't pay for chronic help of this kind, and only about 7% of people 50 or older have long-term care insurance. What does Super's future look like? She isn't sure. Physicians have said it could take a year to know whether she can recover function below her waist. "I'm happy to be alive and to see how I can take where I've ended up and do something positive with it," she said. "I still have a voice, and I can help people understand what it is to live with physical limitations in a way that I've never really understood before." Hopefully, this sense of purpose will sustain her. But it won't be easy. After we spoke, Super became discouraged with her prospects for recovery and her mood turned dark again, her husband said. "Knowing her, I believe that she will make it her mission to help others better understand the enormous and multiple challenges associated with the onset of a disability, and she will press for changes in our health system to improve the lives of families who have to deal with disabilities," said Stuart Butler, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who has worked with Super in the past. Persistent accessibility problems for people with disabilities are part of what Super wants to speak out about. "I live in an old city with sidewalks that are very uneven, and just getting down the street in my chair is a big hassle," she said. "Finding parking where we can open the door fully and get me out is a challenge." Nichols has been surprised by how many medical offices have no way of lifting Super from her wheelchair to the exam table. "The default is, they ask me, 'Can you pick her up?' It's stunning how poorly prepared they are to help someone like Nora." Then, there are reactions Super encounters when she leaves the house. "Going down the street, people look at me and then they look away. It definitely feels different than when I was able-bodied. It makes me feel diminished," Super said. Nichols finds himself thinking back to something a neurosurgeon said on the day Super was injured and had her first operation. "He told me, 'Look, there's more damage than we thought, and she won't be what she was. You're not going to know for six to 12 months what's possible. But I can tell you to do as much as you can as soon as you can to move on to a new normal. Millions of people have done it, and you can too.'" We're eager to hear from readers about questions you'd like answered, problems you've been having with your care, and advice you need in dealing with the health care system. Finland has a strong public health care system; nevertheless, personal wealth is associated with the costs of hospital care and medication in people with Alzheimer's disease. Higher levels of wealth were associated with greater costs of hospital care before the diagnosis, a new study from the University of Eastern Finland shows. The study included 70,531 persons diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease between 2005 and 2011, whose medication costs and costs of hospital care were compiled from Finland's national registers. The researchers examined the costs over a seven-year period, which started five years before the Alzheimer's diagnosis and ended two years after the diagnosis. The personal wealth indicators used in the study included taxable wealth, taxes and tax-like charges, and disposable income and current transfers received, on which data were obtained from Statistics Finland for 1995-2006. Despite slight differences in the different wealth indicators, the study showed that people with higher levels of wealth also had higher health care costs before the Alzheimer's diagnosis, which may be explained by better health awareness and earlier seeking of care. On the other hand, higher levels of wealth were associated with lower health care costs after the Alzheimer's diagnosis, but this association was explained by differences in comorbidities across different wealth levels. Although the data are from more than ten years ago, the findings are of global interest, as they reveal the existence of health inequalities in a country that is traditionally considered to have strong public health care system. In addition, the association between personal wealth and costs of care among people with dementia has been studied surprisingly little. It would therefore be interesting and important to conduct the study on more recent data, and also to include other costs of treatment and care." Anna-Maija Tolppanen, University of Eastern Finland The study was carried out as part of the MEDALZ study at the University of Eastern Finland School of Pharmacy, which examined the health and use of medications in people with Alzheimer's disease. Researchers from the Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition at the University of Eastern Finland and from London School of Economics also contributed to the study. The study was carried out on a grant awarded by the Social Insurance Institution of Finland. Five firms, including affordable housing finance company India Shelter Finance, pencil maker DOMS Industries and lender Jana Small Finance Bank, have received capital markets regulator Sebis go-ahead to raise funds through initial public offerings (IPOs). The other two firms that obtained the regulators nod to float maiden public issues are Vadodara-based Shiva Pharmachem and FMCG firm Onest Ltd.. Also Read: TCS Share Buyback Date Announced: IT Major To Start Process On December 1 These five firms, which filed preliminary IPO papers with the regulator between July and August, obtained observation letters from November 7-16, an update with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) showed on Tuesday. In Sebis parlance, obtaining observation letters means its go-ahead to launch the IPO. Going by the draft papers, the Rs 1,800-crore proposed IPO of India Shelter Finance comprises a fresh issue of equity shares worth Rs 1,000 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of Rs 800 crore by investor shareholders. Those offering shares in the OFS include Catalyst Trusteeship Ltd, Madison India Opportunities IV, MIO Starrock, Nexus Ventures III Ltd, and Nexus Opportunity Fund II Ltd. India Shelter Finance, which is backed by Westbridge Capital and Nexus Venture Partners, plans to utilise the proceeds of the fresh issue to meet future capital requirements towards onward lending and for general corporate purposes. The pencil makers maiden public issue consists of a fresh issue aggregating up to Rs 350 crore and an OFS aggregating up to Rs 850 crore by promoters, according to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP). Under the OFS, corporate promoter F.I.L.A. Fabbrica Italiana Lapis ed Affini S.p.A. will offload shares worth Rs 800 crore and individual promoters Sanjay Mansukhlal Rajani and Ketan Mansukhlal Rajani will sell shares to the tune of Rs 25 crore each. The funds raised through the fresh issue would be used for setting up a new manufacturing facility to expand the companys production capabilities for a range of writing instruments, watercolour pens, markers and highlighters, as well as for general corporate purposes. Jana Small Finance Banks IPO comprises a fresh issue of shares aggregating up to Rs 575 crore and an OFS of up to 4,051,516 equity shares by the companys existing investors. Those offering shares in the OFS are Client Rosehill Ltd, CVCIGP II Employee Rosehill Ltd, Global Impact Funds, S.C.A., SICAR, Sub-Fund Global Financial Inclusion Fund, Growth Partnership II Ajay Tandon Co-Investment Trust, Growth Partnership II Siva Shankar Co-Investment Trust, and Hero Enterprise Partner Ventures. The small finance bank proposed to utilise the net proceeds from the fresh issue towards augmenting its Tier 1 capital base to meet future capital requirements such as organic growth and expansion. The IPO of Shiva Pharmachem is entirely an OFS of up to Rs 900 crore by promoters. Since the IPO is completely an OFS, the entire proceeds will go to the selling shareholders and the company will not receive any funds from the issue. The initial share sale of Onest comprises a fresh issue of Rs 77 crore and an OFS of up to 32.5 crore shares by a promoter and other selling shareholders. Proceeds from the fresh issue to the tune of Rs 60 crore will be utilised towards funding the working capital requirements of the company and a portion will be used for general corporate purposes. Due to adverse weather, schools in Aligarh have been advised to remain closed today, November 28. According to Times Now, the announcement of the school break was made by the Education Officer-in-Charge in accordance with District Magistrate Indra Vikram Singhs directions. For updates on the reopening of schools, parents and students are encouraged to stay in contact with the schools. Bad weather today has forced the closure of all state board, CBSE, and ICSE institutions, ranging from preschool to class 8. Previously, a school holiday was declared for all of Uttar Pradesh on September 12. Following the DMs directives, all schools from pre-primary to class 12 in the districts of Barabanki and Lakhimpur Kheri were asked to announce a holiday. Schools in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh were closed on November 27 in observance of Guru Nanak Jayanti. Schools, banks, and government offices were all closed on Monday in observance of Guru Nanak Jayanti 2023. Other holidays this month included the observance of Guru Teg Bahadur Shaheedi Diwas on November 24. According to the announcement obtained from the District Magistrate Office, schools were closed for pupils from Pre-Nursery to Class 12th on Friday, November 24, to mark Guru Teg Bahadur Shaheedi Diwas. Meanwhile, schools in Chennai and the surrounding areas were closed on November 25 due to the extensive rains that hit many parts of Tamil Nadu last week. Several districts, including Madurai, Dindigul, Theni, Mayiladuthurai, Coonoor, and Kanyakumari, had additionally declared a school holiday on several days earlier this month due to rainfall. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will shortly release the examination schedule for the Classes 10 and 12 board examinations for the academic year 2023-24. According to the most recent media reports, CBSE is expected to announce the class 10 and 12 timetable around the end of November or the first week of December. The datesheet for CBSE Board Exams 2024 will be available at cbse.gov.in. The respective schools will receive their roll numbers for the CBSE Board Exams 2024 in the interim. The Pariksha Sangam portal offered by CBSE is used to share the roll numbers and hall tickets with the affiliated schools. The admit cards will be downloaded by the school administration, duly signed and handed out to the students. Sanyam Bhardwaj, CBSE Exam Controller, issued a statement in July that read, The Central Board of Secondary Education has decided to conduct the 2024 examinations from the 15th of February 2024. However, the comprehensive subject-by-subject timetable is yet to be released by CBSE in the form of a PDF. Furthermore, applicants should be aware that the annual board examinations for the Secondary School Examination and Senior Secondary School Examination will last around 55 days and are scheduled to finish on April 10. CBSE Class 10,12 Datesheet 2024: How To Download Step 1: Navigate to the Central Board of Secondary Educations official website at cbse.gov.in. Step 2: Go to the webpage and click on the CBSE Class 10 or CBSE 12 Date Sheet 2024 pdf link. Step 3: The CBSE Class 10 and 12 Date Sheet 2024 will then appear on the screen. Step 4: Carefully review the exams date, time, and other key instructions before downloading the PDF date sheet. Step 5: Finally, print a copy of the Class 10 and 12 exam timetable for future reference. Practical exams for winter-bound CBSE schools have already begun, while those for regular schools across the nation and abroad will begin in January 2024. The lists of candidates, or LOC, that the board has approved will serve as the basis for the schools internal examinations once the finalised list of students is released. Additionally, it will be the schools responsibility to share with the board the results of the internal and practical exams. The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) will close the application edit window for the Company Secretary December 2023 exam today, November 28 at midnight. Candidates willing to change the exam centre, module, medium of language, and other details in the ICSI CS December 2023 exam form may visit the official website at icsi.edu. Candidates will also be allowed to make changes in their optional subject and resubmit their call for documents if they have applied for exemption on the basis of higher qualifications. The ICSI CS December 2023 exam for executive and professional programmes will be conducted by the institute from December 21 to December 30 between 2 PM and 5:15 PM. Candidates should further note that an extra 15 minutes will be given to the examinees for reading the question papers. However, the company will reserve December 31, January 1, January 2, and January 3 to meet any exigency. ICSI CS December 2023: How to Edit Application Form Step 1: Visit the ICSIs official website at icsi.edu Step 2: On the home page, click on the application correction link Step 3: As the new page opens, click on the registration link and the required login details Step 4: Edit the required particulars, pay fees Step 5: To complete the process, submit the ICSI CS December 2023 exam form and take a printout of the same for future use. ICSI announced the results of the professional programme exam for the December 2022 session on February 25. As per the official merit list, Chiraag Agarwal has secured rank 1, followed by S Swathi at rank 2, and Riya Bhagchandani at rank 3. The ICSI CS executive and professional December 2022 session exams were conducted between December 21 and 30. Nikita Rameshbhai topped the CS Professional June 2022 session exam followed by Girishakar D Murar in the list of toppers. The results of the exams were declared on August 25. The June session for both courses was conducted between June 1 and 10. The US Embassy clarified that applicants who have erroneously used an incorrect passport number to create a profile or schedule an appointment should rectify this by either creating a new profile with accurate passport information or by updating an existing profile with the correct details. The US Embassy has made a few changes to the visa application process for Indian students, which comes into effect from November 27. The revised US student visa rules will be uniformly applied across all Embassies and Consulates located in various cities in India. The students preparing to pursue their education in the United States under the F, M, and J visa categories should review the new changes to the application process. The US Embassy recently announced the changes to the student visa application process to prevent fraud and abuse of the appointment system. All applicants for F, M, and J student visa categories are mandated to utilise their passport information while creating a profile and scheduling their visa appointments, the Embassy said. The US Embassy warned that applicants who use incorrect passport information to create a profile or book an appointment will face rejection at the Visa Application Centers (VAC). Such applicants will witness the cancellation of their appointments, resulting in the forfeiture of the visa fee. Attention Students!To prevent fraud and abuse of the appointment system, we are announcing the following policy change which will be implemented beginning November 27, 2023.All F, M, and J student visa applicants must use their own passport information when creating a profile pic.twitter.com/2JqoEg3DJ1 U.S. Embassy India (@USAndIndia) November 24, 2023 For individuals seeking F or M visas, attendance at an institution or programme certified by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) is a prerequisite. Those pursuing a J visa must secure sponsorship from an organisation approved by the Department of State. Furthermore, the US Embassy clarified that applicants who have erroneously used an incorrect passport number to create a profile or schedule an appointment should rectify this by either creating a new profile with accurate passport information or by updating an existing profile with the correct details. However, this correction process will come with a fee if the previous profile carried inaccurate passport information. In situations where an old passport is lost or stolen, the US Embassy stipulates that a photocopy or alternative evidence of the old passport number must be presented during the visa appointment at the VAC. In a related development, the US Ambassador affirmed the commitment to expedite visa issuance from India by increasing staff and inaugurating new consulates. Notably, new consulates are slated to be established in Ahmedabad, with one recently inaugurated in Hyderabad. Highlighting the surge in visa applications, the US Embassy earlier this month disclosed that the India team processed a record number of visa applications in 2023, surpassing all previous years. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) civil service examination (CSE) is considered one of the most competitive exams in the country. Every year, thousands of students appear for the examination, but only a few of them are able to clear it. These aspirants prepare for years in order to get an administrative post in the Indian government. The UPSC civil service examination is held in three parts: prelims, mains and an interview. Those aspirants who are able to clear all three rounds become IAS, IFS, IRS, or IES officers, depending upon their ranks. Now, lets look at the success story of Sreedhanya Suresh, who became the first tribal woman from Kerala to clear the UPSC CSE and become an IAS officer. Sreedhanya Suresh belongs to the Kurichiya tribe and was born in the Wayanad district of Kerala. Her childhood had been full of struggles, and she was always deprived of resources. But despite all the issues, she kept her focus on her studies and worked hard. She completed her school education at St. Josephs College in Calicut. After that, she went to Kozhikode to pursue zoology. After completing her graduate studies, Sreedhanya again went to Calicut University to pursue a masters degree in applied zoology. She had always been a bright child but a lack of essential resources was a hindrance. After completing her masters, Sreedhanya worked in the Scheduled Tribe Development Department of the state government. In order to earn some extra money, she also used to work as a warden in the hostel of tribal students, where they used to pay her money. But despite earning money, she wasnt satisfied with her job. She wanted to do something else in her life. Then she finally decided to start preparing for the UPSC CSE. In 2018, she cleared the first two rounds. But the interview round was in Delhi, and she didnt have enough money to go there. At that time, her friends stood up for her, and they gave her Rs 40,000 to go to Delhi. After giving the interview, she finally cleared the UPSC CSE with AIR 410 and became the first tribal woman from Kerala to become an IAS officer. Telangana Assembly Election: Poll-campaigning came to an end in Telangana on Tuesday as the state prepares for voting scheduled on November 30. Rahul Gandhi along with other senior leaders of Congress conducted a roadshow in Hyderabad on the last day of poll campaigns. A row erupted on Monday over the the Election Commissions decision to withdraw the permission given to the BRS-led state government for disbursement of financial aid to farmers for rabi crops under the Rhythu Bandhu Scheme. ECs decision came after the EC cited a violation of the model code of Vote katwa (vote cropper) is a term political analysts in Uttar Pradesh have coined to define the position of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh assembly polls, the results of which will be declared on December 3. UPs political analysts say that the BSP may not be a non-factor in its home state, but it may act as a deciding factor in the Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh elections. How? The BSP is perhaps one party that has an altogether different strategy when it comes to politics. Unlike the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that are fighting neck-and-neck and are leaving no stone unturned to win, the BSP is well aware that it is contesting to lose. But one thing that still makes the BSP a deciding factor is the dent of votes it causes to the other party. This is the only reason why it is called vote katwa (vote cropper) in local parlance, said Shashikant Pandey, head of political science department, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University. THE 2018 SPOILER POLITICS & 2023 Pandey said the Rajasthan state elections 2018 is a glaring example of the BSPs spoiler politics. Of the 200 seats, the BSP contested 190 and registered a vote share of 4%, winning six seats, including Udaipurwati, Nadbai, Karauli, Nagar, Tijara and Kishangarh Bas. However, all six BSP MLAs joined the Congress in 2019. In all 30 seats, where there was a triangular contest between the Congress, BSP and BJP, the BSP acted as a spoiler and impacted the prospects of the parties in fray, said Pandey. Of the 30 constituencies, the Congress had won 17 seats, the BJP 10 and three went to independents. The BSP caused a major dent for the BJP, which lost 17 seats. Of these, the Congress won 16 seats and one seat went to an independent. Had the BJP won all those seats, its tally would have gone up from 73 to 90 and the Congresss would have dropped from 100 to 84, said Pandey. He said in the 2023 polls in Rajasthan, too, the situation is similar in 29-30 seats, including Dolpur, Sapotra, Gangapur, Chomu, Karauli, Nadbai, Bansur, Sanchore, Masuda and others, where there is a triangular contest between the BSP, Congress and BJP. Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are no different in terms of the BSPs strategy. PARTYSPEAK A senior BSP leader, who did not wish to be named, said they were hoping to win at least 13 seats in Chhattisgarh. There are high chances of a coalition government in Chhattisgarh. In such a situation, even if we win 12-16 seats, it would be difficult for the other parties to ignore us in the formation of the government, he added. In a recent statement, Madhya Pradesh BSP president Pradeep Ahirwar said the party will drastically improve its tally, win 32 seats and even think of heading the next government. Neither the BJP nor the Congress is going to get a majority. In this case, the Congress will support us to form the government in Madhya Pradesh. The key to the next government formation will be with Mayawati ji. Our first priority is to form a government in MP. We want her to call the shots in the state, he added. President Vo Van Thuong (L) shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio before the talks in Tokyo on Nov. 27 2023. Photo by VNA President Vo Van Thuong has called on the Japanese government to ease entry procedures and waive visas for Vietnamese citizens during a meeting with Prime Minister Kishida Fumio. During talks at the Japanese prime minister's office on Monday Thuong hoped Japan would soon start issuing electronic and multiple-entry visas for Vietnamese visiting for personal purposes. Vietnam waives visas for Japanese nationals visiting for up to 45 days, but Japan does not reciprocate. Nearly half a million Vietnamese live in Japan. Vietnam has been one of Japan's seven biggest tourism markets this year with 397,000 arrivals, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization. The two leaders agreed to further strengthen economic ties and expand cooperation in areas such as innovation, technology transfer, digital transformation, and green transformation. Thuong is on an official visit from Nov. 27 to 30 at the invitation of the Japanese government. Vietnam and Japan established diplomatic relations in 1973, upgraded ties to a strategic partnership in 2009 and to an extensive strategic partnership in 2014. On Monday, the countries officially upgraded their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership, the highest level of partnership between countries. Japan is one of Vietnam's most important economic partners, biggest official development assistance provider, second biggest partner in terms of labor cooperation, third in terms of investment and tourism, and fourth in trade. Bilateral trade was worth nearly US$50 billion last year, with both nations' exports being almost equal. The high-pitch campaign for the November 30 assembly election in Telangana came to an end on Tuesday evening. Bigwigs of the BRS, Congress and BJP camped in the state to support their candidates. The ruling BRS has made all efforts to score a hat-trick, while the Congress, which has been on a winning spree with a massive victory in Karnataka, is also eyeing power by assuring six guarantees to voters. The BJP, meanwhile, is going with the slogan of making a leader from the backward classes chief minister if it comes to power. BRS Chief minister and BRS boss K Chandrashekar Rao has held 96 rallies since launching the partys poll campaign on October 15 during a public meeting in Husnabad, where he also released the BRS manifesto. He made whirlwind tours across the state along with the partys working president KT Rama Rao and minister T Harish Rao. On average, he took part in four rallies per day. Taking a cue from his father, KTR also took part in the poll campaign for 60 days and attended 30 public meetings, held 70 road shows and gave 30 interviews. He also gave a boost to the party cadre by conducting 150 teleconferences. On the last day of campaigning, KCR took part in a rally at Gajwel. Congress Assuring that it will implement six guarantees within 100 days if it comes to power, the Congress also made a mark in the poll campaign. National president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a total of 10 public meetings, while other senior leaders like Rahul Gandhi attended 23 meetings; Priyanka Gandhi attended 26 rallies and state chief Revanth Reddy took part in 55 public meetings. Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah took part in three rallies, his deputy DK Shivakumar addressed 10 public meetings and Chhattisgarh counterpart Bhupesh Baghel came for four rallies. The Gandhis, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, Revanth Reddy and general secretary KC Venugopal took part in a road show at Malkajgiri in support of Congress candidate Mynampalli Hanumantha Rao on the last day of campaigning. Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who did not take part in the poll campaign, has appealed to the people of Telangana in a message to vote for the Congress so that it can turn the Dorala (landlords) Telangana to Prajala (peoples) Telangana. BJP The BJP also launched its poll campaign after the election schedule was released. After tasting defeat in the recently held Karnataka elections, the BJP put its whole focus in Telangana. Prime Minister Narendra Modi; national president JP Nadda; union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Anurag Singh Thakur, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti; chief ministers Yogi Adityanath, Pramod Sawant, Eknath Shinde and Himanta Biswa Sharma, all campaigned in support of BJP candidates. The BJP launched its poll campaign from Palamur well before the election schedule was announced. The prime minister attended the first poll rally in Telangana there and slammed the BRS on various fronts. He has attended eight public meetings and one road show in a total of five days. Shah has addressed 17 rallies and seven road shows in eight days, while Nadda has attended eight public meetings and three road shows in five days. The Congress on Tuesday accused Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao of betraying the people of the state, and said his warranty has now expired. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh claimed the state has not seen development beyond Hyderabad. Telangana state was created to bring development to all regions and districts of the state. Nine years later, development is still in and around Hyderabad, he said in a post on X. Ramesh said Telangana state was created to ensure employment opportunities for local youth. Nine years later, he noted, Telangana has the highest rate of youth unemployment in the country and other than for constables, no significant recruitment has taken place through the Telangana State Public Service Commission. Telangana state was created to deepen social justice. To provide a share in governance for Dalits, Adivasis, backward castes and minorities of the state. For nine years, the state has been controlled in every way by KCR, his son, nephew and daughter. After these nine years of total and complete betrayal, the people are saying KCR garu Telangana prajalaku nammakadroham chesaru. KCRs warranty has expired. Time for the 6 Congress guarantees has begun, the Congress leader said ahead of the state assembly elections. The Congress is seeking to wrest power in the southern state while the BRS is trying for the third term in a row. Assembly elections in Telangana are slated on November 30 and the counting of votes shall take place on December 3. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said he aims to put an end to hatred in the country and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to be defeated at the Centre for the purpose. Addressing an election rally at Nampally here, he alleged that RSS, Modi and hardliners have spread hatred in the entire country. Congress coined a slogan of opening a mohabbat ki dukaan (shop of love) in the nafrat ke bazaar (market of hate) during his Bharat Jodo Yatra, he said, adding that as he fights Modi, 24 cases have been filed against him in various states and the courts summon him from time to time. First time, for defamation, I got two years punishment. My Lok Sabha membership was cancelled. My government house was taken away. I said I dont want it. My home is in the hearts of the crores of poor people in the country, he said. An MP-MLA court in Uttar Pradesh on Monday summoned Gandhi in a 2018 defamation case over alleged objectionable comments he made against Union minister Amit Shah. Rahul Gandhi made no reference to the UP court summoning him in his speech in the rally at Nampally here. The fight is ideological and I cannot compromise on it, Gandhi said. Attacking AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, he asked how many cases are there against him. Claiming that agencies like ED and CBI are behind himself all the time, Gandhi asked if any agency is behind Owaisi. The question arises why there is no case against Owaisi, and the answer is that the AIMIM president helps Modi, he claimed. He also accused AIMIM of fielding its candidates to damage the Congress and help the BJP in various states. My aim is to erase hatred in the country and, for that, Modi should be defeated in Delhi, Rahul Gandhi said. If Modi is to be defeated in Delhi, BRS President and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao should be defeated in Telangana first, he said. He alleged that the BRS, BJP and AIMIM are working together, and pointed out that the BRS had supported the Modi government in Parliament. He also sought to know if there are any cases against KCR. He (KCR) runs the most corrupt government, he said. Agencies like ED, CBI and IT are not behind KCR or AIMIM, he said. Later Rahul Gandhi and his sister Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra participated in a roadshow in Malkajgiri near here. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra urged the people to elect the Congress to power and promised to implement the partys six guarantees in the state. If you want a lazy and corrupt government, then vote for the BRS and if you want a good and honest government, then elect Congress, she said, appealing to the people to give Congress an opportunity and oust the BRS government, which is being run from a farmhouse. She asked the gathering if they want a dorala government (run by feudal lords) or prajala (peoples) government. Speaking on the occasion, Rahul Gandhi said that once the Congress comes to power in Telangana, it would ensure that poor people get back the money taken away by KCR from them, in their bank accounts by implementing its promised welfare measures. Telangana is going to witness a toofan (storm) of support for the Congress, he said and expressed confidence that the people would ensure the partys victory. Earlier, Rahul Gandhi also held an interaction with gig workers, civic workers and autorickshaw drivers. He said the Congresss manifesto has promised to set up a welfare board and provide Rs 12,000 financial assistance for auto-rickshaw drivers, as well as implement a single permit policy and settle pending traffic challans on a 50 per cent discount.Later, he also took a ride in an autorickshaw in the city. He promised insurance and a welfare board for gig workers as well, and said the citys civic sanitation workers would be regularised and given timely salary increments. The Congress party, which is hoping to come to power in Telangana, ended its poll campaign for the November 30 assembly elections in the state with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra attacking the ruling BRS and BJP, alleging that the parties have a tacit understanding between themselves. The siblings had offered prayers at the historic Ramappa Temple in Mulugu district on October 18 before kickstarting the Congress campaign and launching a bus tour Vijayabheri Yatra. Women voters have outnumbered the voting by men in both Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. But how much money you will get as a woman from the government depends not just on which poll-bound state you live in, but also on the party that comes to power on December 3. Sample this: The Congress has promised Rs 30,000 a year for women in Telangana, Rs 18,000 for women in Madhya Pradesh, Rs 15,000 in Chhattisgarh and only Rs 10,000 in Rajasthan. In the BJP camp, Rs 15,000 a year is being presently given to women in Madhya Pradesh and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has promised to take it to Rs 36,000 a year ultimately if the party returns to power. The BJP has also promised Rs 12,000 a year to women in Chhattisgarh if it comes to power in the state. But intriguingly, the BJP has not promised any monetary allowance for women in Rajasthan and Telangana if it comes to power in these states on December 3. What could be the reasons for this variance? News18 spoke to leaders in both the BJP and the Congress, and they explained the decision is based on the extent of the allowance on the per-capita income of a particular state, the fiscal deficit that exists in that state and also the chances either parties see of winning the state. For example, a senior BJP leader told News18 they were sure of winning Rajasthan, but not so hopeful of winning Telangana, so it has not offered any monetary allowance for the women in either of the two states. We have offered a lump-sum money for the girl child in Rajasthan. Madhya Pradesh is a very close fight, so both sides are wooing the women voters. Our promise under CM Ladli Behana Yojana is almost double of what the Congress is offering, the BJP leader explained. Another reason is competitive politics. In Chhattisgarh, neither the BJP nor the Congress had offered any monetary allowance for women till the first phase of polling. Only a few days before the second phase of polling in the state did the BJP surprise all by announcing Rs 12,000 a year aid for women if it was voted to power. The ruling Congress was forced to follow suit two days before the second phase of polling, promising Rs 15,000 a year to women if it is voted to power. In Madhya Pradesh, too, the Congress was the first to promise Rs 18,000 a year to women before CM Chouhan launched his Ladli Behana Yojana on the same lines. Telangana has seen the biggest monetary offer so far for women with the Congress promising Rs 30,000 a year which is even higher than the Rs 24,000 a year being given to women in Karnataka by the Congress. In Himachal Pradesh, which saw elections earlier this year, the Congress has started paying Rs 18,000 a year to women as per its poll promise. Himachal Pradesh was left in a severe fiscal deficit by the BJP still Congress government is trying to fulfil its promise, a state Congress leader told News18. Overall, women are spoilt for choice in poll-bound states. MC Stan doesnt need any introduction. He is known for his performance in Bigg Boss 16 and how he managed to win everyones hearts. He is a well-known rapper and has been entertaining with his lyrics. Well, when MC Stan was inside the house he became friends with Abdu Rozik along with Sajid Khan, Sumbul Touqeer Khan, Nimrit Kaur Ahluwalia, and Shiv Thakare. The group was popular as Mandali but something went wrong and MC Stan, and Abdu Rozik stopped talking to each other Recently, in an interview with ETimes, when asked about Abdu Rozik, he just avoided the question and said, From Bigg Boss, I am in touch with Sajid (Khan) sir. I have also bumped into Shiv (Thakare) and Nimrit (Kaur Ahluwalia). The time I spent in the BB house was a good learning experience for me. Abdu Rozik and MC Stans fight is no secret. The two, who were a part of Mandali in Bigg Boss 16 house, even lashed out at each other via their respective statements. Abdu Rozik and MC Stans fight reports made headlines after the former said Mandali khatam (Mandali is over) in one of his media interactions. Later during an Instagram live session, Abdu claimed that Stan does not even answer his calls. His team also issued a statement and claimed that even though Abdu tried contacting Stan on several occasions but until this day Stan has not responded or addressed why he has not got back to Abdu. On the same topic, Sajid Khan mentioned that Abdu and Stan are very young and added that such arguments can be resolved with just a hug. I feel they are very young. Look at their age Stan is 23 and Abdu is 19, friends usually fight with each other and it is very common. It is not a big deal. I am sure once Abdu comes back to India, Mumbai, we all will have food together. It will just take a hug to make things normal. I feel they have already spoken over the phone. I also feel these things are exaggerated on social media for numbers, Sajid said as quoted by The Times of India. MC Stan has reportedly contributed to Farrays soundtrack, offered advice to Bigg Boss 17 contestant Anurag Dobhal, encouraging him to stay on the show and embrace Salman Khans guidance positively. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), the worlds seventh largest oil producer, will host the 28th UN climate change summit (COP28) in Dubai from November 30 to December 12. The 28th round of the annual UN climate talks to be held in the UAE is anticipated to involve intense negotiations on compensation from rich countries to developing ones for climate impacts, fossil fuel usage, methane emissions, and financial aid for reducing planet-warming emissions and adapting to climate change. The main task at COP28 is a first-time assessment of countries progress towards meeting the 2015 Paris Agreements goal of limiting the global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius, while aiming for 1.5 Celsius. Who is Attending, Who is Skipping? COP28, which begins on November 30, is expected to be attended by 167 world leaders, including King Britains Charles III and Pope Francis. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the annual climate change conference, underlying Indias commitment to the issue of climate change, the government said in a statement. PM Modi will be in UAE for two days from November 30 to December 1. US President Joe Biden will not attend a gathering of world leaders in Dubai, a US official said last week. John Kerry, the US climate envoy and a former secretary of state and senator, will be leading the US team at the COP28 meeting along with two other senior official. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to attend the summit while King Charles will give the opening speech, along with the UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan. Chinese President Xi Jinping is also not expected to attend the summit. Chinas climate envoy Xie Zhenhua and other high-level representatives are expected to attend. Pope Francis will also attend the event along with the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. What Issues Would Dominate COP28? Here is an overview of the issues expected to dominate the negotiations at COP28: Loss and Damage: This COP will determine how to direct support to developing and poor countries that bear the brunt of the climate crisis, despite contributing little to it. At COP27 in Egypts Sharm El-Sheikh last year, rich countries agreed to establish a loss-and-damage fund. However, the decisions on funding allocation, beneficiaries and administration were referred to a committee. A draft agreement arrived at earlier this month will be up for a final approval at the climate talks. Climate Finance: Finance for energy transition, mitigation and adaptation in developing countries will take centre stage at the Dubai climate talks. According to a recent report by the United Nations, up to USD 387 billion will be needed annually if developing countries are to adapt to climate-driven changes. COP28 will also hold discussions on a new climate finance goal for the post-2025 period, which countries said should be in trillions and not billions. Fossil Fuels: There is a mounting global push for a phaseout of fossil fuels coal, oil and gas which are the largest contributor to global climate change, accounting for more than 75 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90 per cent of all carbon dioxide emissions. There has been resistance from fossil fuel-producing nations and companies who argue that they should be allowed to keep extracting oil and gas as long as they capture carbon emissions using sophisticated technologies, which experts say are expensive and unproven. Tripling of Renewable Energy Capacity: The International Energy Agency (IEA) says the world must triple its renewable energy capacity and double the rate of energy efficiency by 2030 to drive down demand for fossil fuels and limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. Led by the US, the European Union (EU) and the UAE, more than 60 countries now back a commitment to triple renewable energy and double energy efficiency. Side Deals: Apart from the official UN negotiations, governments and companies will be making their own announcements. The United Arab Emirates plans to launch a voluntary pledge from oil and gas companies to cut emissions, in a bid to bring the fossil fuel industry into the climate fight. Other initiatives set to be announced on the sidelines of COP28 include pledges to curb emissions of the greenhouse gas methane, limit emissions from air conditioning and restrict private finance for coal plants. COP28 contradictions While Dubai is gearing up to host the largest COP ever, it also comes with an unprecedented carbon footprint. At every COP, critics point to the number of flights taken by negotiators and NGOs and denounce private jets shuttling high profile attendees. During COP27 held in Egypt last year, emissions linked to the international travel of 46,000 participants accounted for 44,104 tonnes of CO2, according to the organisers or around one millionth of global annual emissions. In Dubai, organisers expect more than 70,000 people in the conferences blue zone designated for negotiators. But COP28 remains set to break records, with travel responsible for 70-80 percent of conference emissions said Marc Halgand from the climate consultancy group EcoAct. (With inputs from agencies) A horrific case in Kerala has sent shockwaves where a woman has been found guilty for allowing her lovers to sexually abuse her two minor daughters. A Special Fast Track Court has sentenced the Thiruvananthapuram women to 40 years and 6 months of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 20,000 for letting her live-in partners to rape her minor daughters. The Court in its order noted that the accused brought shame to motherhood and deserves no apology. How the Crime Unfolded? The crime was reportedly committed between March 2018 and September 2019. The women left her husband, who was mentally ill, to stay with her two lovers. At that time, her daughters were aged 11 and 7. When the first lover Shishupalan, who is also the first accused, was with the woman, he brutally abused the seven-year-old minor while she was studying in Class I. At that time, the victim told the entire incident to the accused but she did not do anything and she helped the other lover to abuse the victim, Special Public Prosecutor RS Vijay Mohan told ANI. The mother, reportedly, brought the child to his house several times, and assaulted the minor in the mothers presence. When the victims eleven-year-old sister came home, the child informed her about the abuse. However, Shishupalan didnt stopped. He also abused the elder child, who was 11. The two children didnt disclose the information because he threatened them. The incident came to light when the elder sister escaped from the house with the younger one and went to their grandmothers house. The grandmother disclosed the incident and moved them to a childrens home. The children recounted the incident during the counselling held there as well. The court found that Shishupalan raped the girl, resulting in injuries to her private parts. The girl was sexually assaulted by the accused several times with the connivance of her mother during 2018 and 2019. One of the daughters was also sexually assaulted by another lover and a separate case in the matter is being heard. What the Court Said? Thiruvananthapuram Fast-Track Special Judge R Rekha sentenced the woman to 40 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 20,000 under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) case. The court examined 22 witnesses and 33 documents were submitted in the case. The Ayiroor-native was accused of turning a blind eye and later facilitating the rape of her younger daughter by her lover. According to Special public Prosecutor R S Vijay Mohan, the mother will serve 40 years, which is the highest of the varying jail terms. The trial was held against the mother alone as the prime accused Shishupalan died by suicide during trial. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has renewed the decade-old call for special category status for the state, stressing that in addition to own expenses, states were saddled with a sizeable share of cost of central schemes. Kumar stepped up his attack for the long-standing demand to grant special status to the state by passing a resolution in the state cabinet. The cabinet has passed a resolution requesting the Centre for grant of special category status to Bihar, Kumar said adding that the fresh demand was necessitated by findings of the caste survey his government recently carried out. A special status will benefit not just our SCs, STs and other backward classes, but also the poor among the upper castes. To put pressure on the Centre, I intend to launch a campaign. I hope you all are in support of such a campaign, the chief minister said. What is the Demand for the Special Status? The special category status (SCS) is a classification granted by the Centre to assist the development of States that face geographical or socio-economic disadvantages. The idea of SCS was introduced in 1969 after the central government acknowledged that several states were more disadvantaged than the others. The states to be classified as SCS depended on several factors likes hilly terrain, low population density, tribal population, strategic location along international borders or economic backwardness among other things. In 1969, three States Jammu & Kashmir, Assam and Nagaland were granted the SCS. Currently, eleven states including Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Telangana, and Uttarakhand are given the SCS. What are the Benefits Given to special category States? The Special Category States receive grants were earlier based on the Gadgil-Mukherjee formula, which earmarked nearly 30 percent of the total central assistance for States to the SCS States, according to The Hindu. However, after the abolition of the Planning Commission and the recommendations of the 14th and 15th FC, this assistance to SCS States has been subsumed in an increased devolution of the divisible pool funds for all States (increased to 41% in the 15th FC from 32%). Why is Bihar Demanding the Special Status? Bihar has been demanding special status ever since the mineral-rich Jharkhand was carved out of the state in 2000. Nitish Kumar, the longest serving Chief Minister of Bihar, has been at the forefront of demanding inclusion in the category since 2006. The special status for Bihar has also been a poll promise of Nitish Kumars party in the assembly elections. With a per-capita GDP of around Rs 54,000, Bihar has consistently been one of the poorest States. As per Centres Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report, Bihar ranked as the poorest state in India, estimating that nearly 52 per cent of its population, without any access to requisite health, education and living standards. The state is home to around 94 lakh poor families and the granting of SCS will help the government get about Rs 2.5 lakh crore required to fund various welfare measures over the next five years. The state, with nine per cent of Indias population but just 2.9 per cent of its land area, is under extraordinary pressure according to the state government. The centre, however, has not accorded the status to Bihar yet. Why Bihar has Not Been Given the Special Category Status? Although Bihar meets most of the criteria for SCS, it does not fulfil the requirement of hilly terrain and geographically difficult areas, which is one of the primary reasons for difficulty in infrastructural development. In 2013, the Raghuram Rajan Committee set up by the Centre suggested a new methodology based on a multi -dimensional index for devolving funds instead of a SCS, which can be revisited to address the States socio-economic backwardness. The committee placed Bihar in the least developed category. The Centre has remained mum on the question of special status to Bihar. The BJP, which is in the opposition in the state, has called it a political stunt. Former Bihar Deputy CM and senior party leader Sushil Modi said that the 14th and 15th Finance Commissions abolished the concept of special status. He also blamed the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, which ignored the demand though Lalu Prasad Yadav, whose party is in alliance with Nitishs JD(U), played a crucial role in the government back then. Four women, between the ages of 18 and 20 years, consumed poisonous substances together in Bihars Aurangabad district in an apparent suicide pact. The incident occurred on Sunday evening, following which two women died, while the other two are in critical condition and battling for their lives in Magadh Medical College, Gaya. According to police, of the four women, two were sisters, and the other two were their friends. The family members of the four girls, including the two sisters, are clueless about the reason behind this suicide pact. The sisters consumed poisonous substances at home as they were upset over an issue. On learning of this, their two friends followed suit, a police official said, according to a report by Times of India. The four were rushed to Aurangabad Sadar Hospital after their condition deteriorated. They were later referred to Anugrah Narayan Magadh Medical College and Hospital in Gaya. One of the two sisters died on the way to the Gaya hospital on Sunday while one of their friends died at the facility on Monday, the TOI report said. Amanullah Khan, SDPO, Sadar, Aurangabad said, We have learnt that four girls consumed poisonous substances together in a village that comes under Kutumba police station. We are waiting for the recovery of the girls to know the reasons behind their actions. At present, they are not in condition to give a statement, Khan said. An order of the education department has sparked controversy in the state of Bihar. According to the Holidays Calendar 2024 released by the education department under the additional chief secretary KK Pathak, government school teachers will not be able to get holidays on festivals such as Rakshabandhan, Ram Navami, Janmashtami and others. The education department stated that the revised holiday calendar aims to ensure that classes are held for at least 220 days in the year, in accordance with the Right to Education (RTE) Act. While teachers are unhappy with the curtailing of Hindu festival holidays, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is accusing the Nitish Kumar-led Mahagathbandhan government of playing appeasement politics. The BJP has also accused the state of forcing Islamisation, as the order has stated that Muslim-dominated areas can keep schools closed on Fridays, with the permission of district magistrates. National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chairperson Priyank Kanoongo has sought an action taken report from Chief Secretary of Bihar, ensuring children get equal opportunity to celebrate their religious festival. Amid the BJPs criticism of what it called an anti-Hindu, Tughlaqi diktat, the Janata Dal (United) (JDU) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), while defending the order, said that amendments can be made, if need be. KEY TAKEAWAYS According to the calendar, there are nine holidays for Hindu festivals compared to 30 last year. Muslim holidays on Eil-ul-Fitr have been increased from one to three days, Muharram and Bakrid will have two holidays each instead of one. Durga Puja holidays have been cut short from six to three. Chhath Puja and Diwali festivities have been cut short from nine days to four. Holidays for Ram Navami, Janki Navami, Srikrishna Janmashtami, Teej Jitiya, Vishwakarma Puja, Makar Sakranti, Nag Panchami, Vasant Panchami and Raksha Bandhan have been scrapped. School children will get 30 days holidays in summer vacation, but teachers will have to come to school for official work and to conduct parent-teachers meetings. POLITICAL STORM Sushil Kumar Modi, BJP MP and ex Dy CM of Bihar, said, Ram Navami and Janmashtami holidays have been cancelled. Holi, Diwali and Chhath holidays have been cut short. The government has gone crazy. On the one hand, you cancel holidays of Hindus, on the other hand, you are increasing the holidays of Muslims. The government has also proposed to shut schools on Friday for namaz. It seems Kumar is trying to gain votes by dividing Hindus on the basis of caste and appease Muslims by giving such a calendar. Earlier too, the government tried to bring this kind of proposal, but under pressure from the BJP, they had to back off. We are not going to let this appeasement and anti-Hindu politics happen as it is going to hurt the sentiments of Hindus. Why do you involve teachers in extracurricular activities such as doing surveys? You use teachers for almost 100 days for non-educational purposes and then you cut short their holidays, this is not acceptable. We are going to agitate and we will bring teachers on one platform to protest against this move. JDU spokesperson Neeraj Kumar defended the order. The BJP is trying to spread false propaganda in some matters. Not all holidays have been cancelled, some of them have been curtailed and some have been raised because there is a provision for 220 school days. Everyone has the right to protest to express their displeasure. But I want to ask the BJP why there is double standard. How many holidays are given for Chhath in Uttar Pradesh? For Diwali, states like Gujarat give 20-day holidays compared to other states. This shows the diversification of religion and festivals. Government and different states have different rules as far as holidays are concerned, but still if anything needs to be amended, the government will look into it. RJD spokesperson Shakti Yadav defended the governments order saying that there was a clear written order by the Centre to states to have classes in school for a minimum of 220 days in a year. Holidays have to be curtailed, but those holidays which are given for major festivals such as Chhath, Diwali, Durga Puja will not be cut short. The BJP is against education and doesnt want the poor and underprivileged to gain education and move forward. If you want children to attend minimum 220 days of schools then holidays need to be curtailed. The calendar has been made according to the requirements of different communities and following the rules made by the central government. This is the dushtikaran of the BJP. Having said that, we will keep in mind everyones interest and if changes are required, we will make those. WILL THIS ORDER TOO BE ROLLED BACK? In August, the education departments additional chief secretary KK Pathak had issued a similar order curtailing 12 holidays mainly during Hindu festivities. The order was strongly opposed by the teachers and BJP leaders. After intervention of the Chief Minister, it was rolled back. This calendar for 2024 will face a stronger opposition. The leaders in the government, including the JDU and RJD have assured that this order will be scrutinised and after discussions, might be amended in the interest of the people. Ashok Chaudhary, JDU minister who had held education portfolio in the past, said, The department should have accepted traditions. I am sure once the matter comes to the notice of the chief minister, he will ensure that amendments are made. Besides visa waivers, foreign travelers also want Vietnam to quickly fix some of its malaises that affect tourists such as taxi scams, slow immigration procedures and pollution. The number of foreign arrivals in the first 10 months of this year was 10 million, admittedly far higher than the full-year target of eight million, but the figure remains modest compared to that of neighbors such as Thailand (23.2 million) and Malaysia (14.4 million). While industry insiders have urged the government to waive visas for nationals of more rich countries, some foreigners suggest Vietnam should look elsewhere to foster a tourism recovery. "The government needs to look into the overcharging by taxis drivers, especially at the airport," Jeremy Baratta of the U.S., who visited Vietnam last month, said. "It doesn't bode well for the tourism industry when a visitor's first experience in the country is being ripped off." He was shocked when a taxi driver charged him VND500,000 (US$21) for a three-kilometer ride, more than 10 times the normal prices. Since Vietnam reopened after Covid in March last year, a number of taxi scams have been reported by foreign tourists and authorities have pledged repeatedly to crack down on this. Baratta was also cheated by a SIM card seller who told him a card was valid for three months but was locked after 10 days. Peter Zimmermann of Germany, who has been coming for five or six months every winter to Vietnam since 2013, said there are several things that prevent foreigners like him from coming to Vietnam again after one visit. "It's the garbage that lies everywhere on the streets and in squares. There is nothing like this in Thailand or Malaysia, and especially Hong Kong and Singapore. It's shocking how people in Vietnam treat their environment. Only in Vietnam did we see people sitting in food stalls next to huge piles of rubbish and eating." Peter Zimmermann (R) and his wife in Nha Trang, May 2022. Photo courtesy of Peter Zimmermann He said garbage should be cleared and draconian penalties should be slapped on people who litter. The discharge volume of plastic waste at famous tourist destinations has been occurring at an "alarming rate," according to a recent report by the Institute for Tourism Development Research and International Organization for Conservation of Nature. Loud karaoke is another thing he finds overwhelming. "No consideration is given to other neighbors at night, especially by drunk people." Vietnam now offers a three-month tourist visa for visitors from all countries and territories. Mukul Arora of Australia, who arrived in Vietnam last month, said his bad experience was not related to obtaining a visa but to tardy immigration procedures at the airport, which "takes hours." Martin Koerner, chairman of the Vietnam Business Forums tourism working group, said one of the most common complaints from tourists visiting Vietnam is the long waiting time at immigration at the airports, especially in HCMC. The procedures for both entry and exit are often "slow and inefficient," causing frustration and inconvenience for travelers, he said. "There are no dedicated lines for women with children or seniors." In May the government admitted the tourism industry faced major challenges like poor infrastructure, environmental issues and shortage of skilled tourism workers, adding digital transformation in tourism has been slow. Vietnam is now striving to attract 12-13 million visitors this year. A fashion show led by Muslim women at an Uttar Pradesh college has reportedly angered Islamic organisations, who objected to burqa being shown as an item for fashion display. They also questioned the education system and warned the college of consequences if similar shows happen in future. The fashion show, Splash 2023, was organised in Muzaffarnagars Shriram Group of Colleges on Sunday night, where former Bollywood actress Mandakini and TV actor Radhika Gautam were the chief guests. A video of the show has gone viral, where women in burqa can be seen confidently walking down the ramp and greeting the audience with adaab. Catwalk in burqa in Shriram College, Muzaffarnagar!! Jamiat Ulema said "Burqa is not a part of fashion, it is used for curtain. College students should not do this in future." pic.twitter.com/fjeWgel6SE T R A N S L A T O R (@enghinditweets) November 27, 2023 While the organisers of the show said that it was a platform for Muslim women to show their creative side, Jamiat Ulama district convener Maulana Mukarram Qasmi expressed strong objection to it. Claiming that the burqa is not an item for fashion display, Qasmi said that such an act targets a specific religion, potentially hurting the sentiments of the Muslim community. He warned that if similar events are organised in the future, legal action would be taken. A report in India Today quoted Alina, one of the participating students, as saying that they wanted to showcase that the burqa could also be fashionable and not just a garment to be worn at home. She explained that since she couldnt take part in the kind of fashion show where short dresses are worn, she wanted to do something for the women of the Muslim community, the report stated. Manoj, a teacher at Shri Ram College, supported the students initiative. He was quoted as saying that hijab or burqa can boost confidence among Muslim women and that there are growing opportunities in fashion related to these garments globally. They are very hardworking students. One of them thought that they should do something creative for Muslim women and show that even hijabs can be fashionable, he told reporters. The report stated that Jamiat-e-Ulema has said that this fashion show hurt the religious sentiments of Muslims. If you are doing a fashion show then do it but do not target any one religion. Meanwhile, actress Mandakini appreciated the Beti Bachcho, Beti Padhao theme of the show, and said that girls should be educated and empowered. She requested parents to let women choose whatever field they want to pursue, and let families support and inspire them. In a separate event, the former Bollywood actress urged people to curb honour killing. She said that writer Liaquat Mansoori gifted her the novel, Mujhe Udne Do, and told her that the novel was based on incidents of murders committed by family members. Mandakini added that many films have also been made on the incidents of honour killing, and the society as a whole must come forward to stop it. Old Incident When Burqa-clad Woman was Threatened with Beheading Earlier, in June, a video of woman at an alcohol shop in Muzaffarnagar had gone viral. She was apparently stopped by three miscreants from buying liquor, and warned of consequences, if she tried to do it again. A passerby who shot the video, later uploaded the two-minute clip online. In the video, one of the men could be heard saying in a threatening tone, Why are you buying alcohol here, you dont know me, Ive been to prison many times I will behead you right now. The other two soon joined in and let the woman go after giving her a warning. The police later arrested three people Baku alias Shahanawaz, 40, Adil Ahmed, 30, and his brother Sajid Ahmed, 35 for threating to behead the woman. The Supreme Court on Tuesday, once again, pulled up the AAP government for not providing funds to the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridors to Alwar in Rajasthan and Panipat in Haryana. Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said, You can make 500 something crore budgetary provision for advertisement but you cant make the same of 400 something crore for this project? The reprimand came after Arvind Kejriwal-led government informed that some transfers have been made. Earlier, a bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia had stayed the order for a week, granting time to the government to comply with its earlier promise on payment at the request of its counsel. The top court said that budgetary provision was something that the state government should look into but if such national projects were to be affected and money was spent on advertisements, it would be inclined to direct that those funds be transferred for this project. Last week, on Friday, the Delhi government had said it has transferred Rs 415 crore for the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project, four days ahead of the apex court-mandated deadline of November 28. Today, on November 24, payment of Rs 415 crore has been made to NCRTC by the transport department, a statement from Delhi transport minister Ashok Gahlots office said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had last month inaugurated the maiden journey on the 17-km priority section of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) train or RAPIDX, the countrys first mass rapid system dedicated to regional connectivity. The inauguration ceremony took place at Sahibabad station of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor, which once fully completed, will reduce travel time between Delhi and Meerut to a little less than an hour. The RRTS has been designed to reach a speed of 180 km per hour, while the operational speed it 160 km per hour. It is a transformational regional development initiative, which is designed to provide high-speed trains for intercity commuting every 15 minutes, which can go up to a frequency of every five minutes according to requirements, the Prime Ministers Office earlier said. A 25-year-old constable shot himself inside a police station with his service rifle in Chhattisgarhs Sukma district in an alleged attempt to commit suicide, but survived and suffered injuries in the process, an official said. The trigger for the suicide attempt was not immediately known, but it was revealed the constable was undergoing medical treatment for an old injury and was upset over not getting cured. The incident took place at around 6.45 pm on Monday in Chhindgarh police station premises in the Naxalite-hit district. Constable Narendra Negi, posted at the Chhindgarh police station, shot himself on right side of the chest with an Insas (Indian Small Arms System) rifle following which he was immediately shifted to Sukma district hospital for treatment of his injuries, the official said. As per preliminary information, Negi was undergoing treatment for a long time for an old head injury and was disturbed as he was not getting cured. Prima facie, it could be the reason for his suicide attempt, the official said. Further investigation was underway, he added. Often a selfless or kind act can win the hearts of many. After all, it is important to be compassionate and kind towards everyone, especially towards animals and birds. Such random acts of kindness also instil a sense of goodwill and karma. Many in India feed stray cows, dogs and cats. However, one woman from North Kannada has grabbed the headlines for her daily ritual of feeding crows. Not a handful of them, but about 60 of them every day. Meet Jaya Nayak, a resident of Kumta Taluk in Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka who is 60 years old. She earns her livelihood by selling pottery items in the town. However, what sets her apart from others is her consistent act of feeding birds every day. Jaya feeds about 60 or more crows every day from 6 am to 7 am without fail. What makes this incident remarkable and extra special is the punctuality of the crows. The birds always reach the spot at 6:30 am without fail anticipating the meal. Sometimes, Jaya offers them food at 7:00 am as well. However, there has not been a single day when these birds have missed eating the food offered by Jaya Nayak. While many individuals give leftover food like rotis, chapatis, rice or other food items to the animals or birds. Jaya Nayak prefers to go the extra mile in giving them fresh food. She wakes up early every morning and then makes food specifically for the feathered friends. The crows eat the meal offered by the woman and fly away happily. For the crows, she is more than their provider, like a nurturing and motherly figure in their lives and they have developed a bond with her. These act of kindness serves as constant reminders that a little compassion can ensure a beautiful bond between humans and animals. Jaya Nayaks dedication to serving the feathered beings also earned her respect in her community and how such acts can boost harmony between humans and nature. Engineering student Lareb Hashmi who attacked a bus conductor in UPs Prayagraj with a cleaver for allegedly abusing a Muslim and boasted about the act in a video is a highly radicalised individual, top intelligence sources told News18. Sources added that Hashmi, who was nabbed the same day from Chandi village after a gunfire encounter with police, was also found to be following Tehreek-e-Labbaik chief Khadim Rizvis speeches. The intelligence officials drew parallels between the Prayagraj incident and the 2021 murder of a Sri Lankan in Pakistans Sialkot wherein a mob of factory employees tortured and burned the Sri Lankan manager over apparent blasphemy. The mob had reportedly consisted of Tehreek-e-Labbaik followers. Tehreek-e-Labbaik (Movement of the Prophets Followers) is an extremist Sunni Islamist group whose main focus is protecting Pakistans draconian blasphemy laws and punishing blasphemers. The movement was born in 2015 out of a protest campaign to seek the release of Mumtaz Qadri, a police guard who assassinated Punjab governor Salman Taseer in 2011 over his calls to reform blasphemy legislation. Qadri was later executed. The group founded a political party at Qadris funeral in 2016 attended by tens of thousands of people. According to sources, Hashmi in his statement also talked about punishing France. Notably, the Tehreek-e-Labbaik had carried out violent protests over a series of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad published in the French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo. The incident came into light when a video shot by Hashmi went viral on the social media. He was abusing a Muslim. Insha Allah he will not survive, Hashmi says in the video referring to the bus conductor. Nobody should think that the government is of Modi and Yogi. Only Mustafa rules our hearts. Allah hu Akbar, Allah hu Akbar, he said. Hashmi in the video also shows the cleaver with which he attacked the conductor, Harikesh, who is undergoing treatment for the serious wounds. When interrogated in the hospital, Hashmi reportedly told police that the bus conductor had said rude things to him because of which he attacked him. Hashmi after his arrest took police to a bush where he had hidden the cleaver. Police recovered a pistol also from there. The accused, according to police, fired at police first and was shot in leg in retaliation. On the complaint of Harikeshs father Ram Shiromani Vishwakarma, a case under section 307 (attempt to murder) of IPC has been registered against Hashmi. A 17-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a man she befriended on social media and three of his friends in a car in Madhya Pradeshs Gwalior, police said. Provisions under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act were invoked as the victim is a Dalit, an official said. So far no arrest has been made in connection to the case. Although the incident took place on November 21, a complaint was lodged after four days because the accused threatened the girl over disclosing the incident, an official noted. The complaint was filed by the girl and her family, Niranjan Sharma, Additional Superintendent of Police, said. The teen victim became friends with the accused on Facebook last year. Sharma said that the man took her to a deserted forest area in a car where he along with his three friends raped her. They also threatened to kill her, he added. A case under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 376 (punishment for rape), 377 (unnatural act) and other relevant sections, along with the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, was registered by the police. Just two days ago, a 12-year-old girl was abducted, assaulted and gang-raped allegedly by two of her classmates at a village in Uttar Pradeshs Deoria. Two of the accused were detained, police said, adding that another boy was detained for making a video of the incident and uploading it online. A video of the incident went viral on Friday after which police took cognizance of the incident, booked the unidentified accused and launched a probe, police said. Later that day, the girls mother also filed a complaint, based on which an FIR was registered against the two minors under IPC sections 376 (rape), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 506 (criminal intimidation) and sections of the POCSO Act. The third accused was booked under sections of the Information Technology Act. A woman was allegedly raped by two men posing as policemen while she was waiting with her husband at a railway station in Madhya Pradeshs Ashok Nagar district, police said on November 25. The incident occurred at Mungaoli railway station, where the woman, who is in her 30s, was waiting with her husband after they missed their scheduled train to Jaipur, Rajasthan, late on Friday night, an official said. A 16-year-old girl from Rajasthans Ladnun was allegedly abducted and raped by three people on November 19 and was pushed out of their car near her house later in the evening. Ladnun Station House Officer (SHO) said that among the three accused, two suspects identified as 38-year-old Jasaram and 34-year-old Mahavir have been arrested on charges of raping the minor girl. The SHO added that the third accused, a 16-year-old was detained and action against him was being taken separately under juvenile law. (With PTI inputs) When the Silkyara tunnel rescue efforts hit a big roadblock last week as the auger machine broke down, the resolve of the Centre to get the 41 workers out safely became like a top-level mission. Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to send in three top-level functionaries of the government to camp at the tunnel site and personally monitor and oversee the renewed rescue efforts in Uttarkashi. ALSO READ | Uttarkashi Tunnel Collapse LIVE Updates HERE The Principal Secretary to the PM, PK Mishra, who is the countrys foremost disaster management expert, former Army Chief and now Union Minister VK Singh, who has handled such crises in the past, and Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, who had been playing a key role in coordinating rescue efforts, all of them reached the Silkyara tunnel to give some vital tips to the rescuers and monitor the effort. PM Modi was in constant touch with them as well as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Dhami, over the progress. Finally, after 17 days, the 41 labourers were rescued on Tuesday night. This was just another example of how the Modi government responds to a crisis and shows exceptional strategic thinking and empathy in the process, senior officials in the government told News18. The message was simple every Indians life matters. , Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 28, 2023 MISSION MODE: OVER 17-PLUS AGENCIES AT WORK In the Silkyara tunnel rescue, right from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) of the Centre to state rescue agencies, international drilling experts and local rat-mining labourers, whom most had forgotten about, all played a key role. It was yet another example of how during any crisis or calamity, the whole of the government gets into a mission mode", doing all that is possible to ensure a coordinated and mission-focused strategy", a top official said. Modi was in direct touch with all stakeholders at multiple levels even during his travel and busy schedule. A key decision was a landline facility set up by BSNL with a handset given to the workers trapped inside the partially collapsed tunnel for communication. ALSO READ | From Photo Ops in Past to Humane Approach: Odisha Train Crash Shows Changing Face of Governance The entire Uttarakhand episode demonstrates yet again that when it comes to PM Modi, he will leave no stone unturned to ensure the safety of any Indian, whether that Indian is stuck in a tunnel inside a mountain or an Indians trapped abroad on foreign soil in Ukraine or Afghanistan," BJP spokesperson Shehzaad Poonawalla told News18. He said 17-plus agencies including the Prime Ministers Office (PMO), Chief Ministers Office (CMO), Indian Air Force (IAF), NDRF, Border Roads Organisation (BRO), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways among others were employed in Uttarkashi. Manush, machine aur Mahadev, all three were invoked," Poonawalla told News18. "Your courage and patience has inspired everyone": PM Modi's message to workers who've been rescued from collapsed #Uttarakhand tunnel. "I salute the spirit of all involved in rescue efforts, he adds News18's @AmanKayamHai_ shares his inputs @Zakka_Jacob | pic.twitter.com/DaguYNF5Xq News18 (@CNNnews18) November 28, 2023 KEY FACTORS THAT WORK Senior officials said that a hallmark of the government is to work in mission mode during the time of crisis and mobilizing all available resources and departments to work together towards a common goal. This approach ensures that the governments response is swift, efficient, and effective," the official said. The PMs direct and personal involvement in such crisis management helps immensely, the official said. He is in regular touch with stakeholders and often sends his trusted ministers on the ground. The involvement of top ministers is directly on the ground. This hands-on approach helps in better coordination and quicker decision-making," the official further explained. The Modi government seems to have learnt lessons from the missteps in earlier regimes during the 26/11 attacks when lack of coordination between the government was exposed due to delayed responses and security breaches such as the live telecast of operation details. The National Security Guard (NSG) arrival in Mumbai was delayed during the 26/11 attacks and live TV coverage aided Pakistani handlers across the border to alert the terrorists in the Taj hotel. Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami tweets, "PM Narendra Modi called up once again today and sought details about the rescue and relief operation ongoing at the under-construction tunnel at Silkyara, Uttarkashi" pic.twitter.com/j4QLrkQO3v ANI (@ANI) November 21, 2023 EARLIER CRISES: FROM UKRAINE TO SUDAN TO ODISHA During the Odisha train disaster, one saw how Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew down to assess the situation at the crash site and meet the injured and their families, while Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw coordinated the response and stayed at the site till it was cleared. NDRF teams were actively engaged in the rescue operation too. #WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with members of the Hakki Pikki tribe, who were evacuated from Sudan under #OperationKaveri, in Shivamogga earlier today#Karnataka pic.twitter.com/SW8EOuLFTT ANI (@ANI) May 7, 2023 During the Sudan crisis, India launched Operation Kaveri to address the situation of 3,000 Indians stuck in Sudan during clashes between the army and paramilitary forces. The PM chaired high-level meetings to direct officials to devise a contingency plan for their safe evacuation and Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar engaged with Saudi Arabia and UAE to facilitate the evacuation of Indians. The IAF operated 17 flights and Navy executed five sorties to evacuate nearly 3,900 Indians. Union Minister of State for External Affairs, V. Muraleedharan, was deputed on the ground in Saudi Arabia to oversee these operations. A similar approach was seen in Operation Ganga to help evacuate 22,500 Indians from Ukraine during the war, including Indians stranded in Romania, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. ALSO READ | Never Said Not Today: PM Modis Leadership Helped Ride Out Covid, FM Nirmala Sitharaman Tells News18 The PM deputed four Union Ministers to different locations to assist in the evacuation Jyotiraditya Scindia to Romania and Moldova, Kiren Rijiju to the Slovakia border, Hardeep Singh Puri to the Hungary border, and former General VK Singh to Poland. These ministers facilitated safe passage and smooth evacuation of Indian nationals. Indias handling of the Covid pandemic, from a swiftly implemented nationwide lockdown and fast approvals for indigenous vaccines also highlighted a similar approach. The Delhi High Court (HC) on Tuesday deferred hearing arguments on condonation of delay in a plea by Delhi Police against the trial courts order discharging Congress MP Sharoor Tharoor in his wife Sunanda Pushkars death case. The matter was listed for hearing before a bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma. However, as the judge was on leave due to her ill health, the hearing got deferred to January 16, 2024. In December 2022, the Delhi Police moved the High Court challenging the trial courts order discharging Tharoor in connection with his wifes death case. On August 18, 2021, Special Judge Geetanjali Goel of the Rouse Avenue Court discharged Tharoor of all charges pressed by the Delhi Police. Pushkar was found dead in a room of a luxury Delhi hotel in mysterious circumstances on the night of January 17, 2014. The couple was staying in the hotel due to some renovation work at Tharoors official bungalow. A First Information Report (FIR) was registered by the Delhi Police after Pushkar was found dead in her suite. In 2019, the Delhi Police pressed for framing of charges against Tharoor under Section 498A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty), 306 (abetment to suicide) or alternatively under 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code. Senior Advocate Vikas Pahwa appeared on behalf of Tharoor whereas Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Shrivastava had appeared on behalf of the State. Appearing for Tharoor, the Senior advocate had told the court during the arguments that the probe carried out by the SIT absolved Tharoor of all charges levelled against him. He had also sought Tharoors discharge from the case, arguing that there was no proof against the politician implicating him in the case under either Section 498A or Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Whereas the prosecution urged the Court to frame charges against Tharoor based on the prima facie existence of a case for trial in terms of Section 221 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). All workers trapped inside a trapped in Uttarakhands Uttarkashi since November 12 were safely rescued on Tuesday evening. The multi-agency rescue mission has clocked more than 400 hours. Member of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd) had earlier said the operation to bring out the workers is likely to take the entire night. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Indian Army and other state as well as central agencies have been working day and night to rescue the trapped workers. Here is all you need to know about the rescue team behind the Uttarakhand tunnel rescue operation: IAS officer Neeraj Khairwal Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami appointed IAS officer Neeraj Khairwal as the nodal officer in the Silkyara tunnel collapse. He has been overseeing all rescue and relief operations for the past 10 days and is tasked with sending hourly updates to the chief minister and prime ministers office. Underground tunnelling expert Arnold Dix Arnold Dix is an international underground tunnelling expert and scientific researcher, who has been at the incident site almost since the beginning of the rescue operation. He supervised the use of the American auger machine for horizontal drilling, and together with government officials also conducted an inspection of the site to find out the best way to rescue the trapped workers. Micro-tunnelling expert Chris Cooper With decades of experience on hand, micro-tunnelling expert Chris Cooper joined the rescue operation on November 18. According to a report published in Hindustan Times, he is a chartered engineer with specialisation in civil engineering infrastructure, metro tunnels, large caverns, dams, railway, and mining projects. He is also the international consultant on the Rishikesh Karnprayag rail project, the report added. 12 rat-hole mining experts A team of 12 rat-hole mining experts began manual drilling and horizontal excavation through the last 10 metres or 12 metres of rubble on Monday (November 27). They have been split into two teams of seven and five. They were called in by two private companies involved in the rescue operation. Uttarkashi Tunnel Rescue Updates: All 41 workers trapped inside the Silkyara under-construction tunnel in Uttarakhands Uttarkashi were safely rescued from the tunnel on Tuesday evening. Rat-hole mining experts manually drilled through the last 10- 12-metre stretch of debris of the collapsed portion of the under-construction tunnel on the Char Dham route and cleared it. Now, in the final leg of the mission, the trapped workers will start coming out through the pipe pushed in manually soon. The United States strongly condemns North Koreas November 21 launch of a space launch vehicle, or SLV, using ballistic missile technology, in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions, said U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield. The very next day, Pyongyang launched another ballistic missile. In addition to launching three SLVs this year, North Korea has launched 29 ballistic missiles, including four ICBMs. And now a North Korean reconnaissance satellite has been confirmed in orbit, said Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield in recent remarks before the UN Security Council. The DPRK is unabashedly trying to advance its nuclear weapons delivery systems by testing ballistic missile technology in clear violation of this Council's resolutions. This reckless, unlawful behavior threatens all of the DPRKs neighbors and all member states. North Korea is undermining the authority of the Security Council and how we respond ... ultimately determines our credibility, declared Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield. But two Security Council member nations, Russia and China, have been unwilling to condemn this dangerous escalatory launch and others like it: Russia is expanding its military relationship with the DPRK, which by Putin's own admission, could include helping the DPRK build more satellites like the one launched last week. And our information indicates that the DPRK has provided Russia with more than 1000 containers of military equipment and munitions that will be used to support Russia's brutal war in Ukraine. Colleagues. How many more times must we gather for briefings like this before Russia and China join us in demanding the DPRK abandon its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs? The United States continues to call for dialog with North Korea without preconditions. The DPRK can choose the time and the topic, but the DPRK needs to make that choice, declared Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield. She further urged the Security Council to speak out once again to encourage the DPRK to focus less on stocking an arsenal and more on stocking the pantries of the DPRK people, who suffer from severe economic hardship and malnutrition and accept the UN's offer of support, to urge the DPRK to engage in diplomacy, and to exercise our responsibility to maintain international peace and security and uphold the global nonproliferation regime. Stuck in the Uttarkashi tunnel for the last 16 days, the workers seem to get a relief soon with the authorities inching closer to a major breakthrough on Tuesday. While all the preparations are underway to save life, the authorities are also ensuring proper post-evacuation care. Post rescue care is as important as the rescue itself. The workers will be taken to the hospital at the earliest. For that, arrangements have been done for air and road transport depending on their health and conditions, an official aware of the matter told News18. They will be taken most likely to Dehradun or the district hospital as per the need. A team of doctors are at the incident location. There are 41 ambulances, one for each worker, and two helicopters if anyone needs immediate hospitalisation. Further, the Air Force will also be involved, if needed, the official said, adding that a Chinook helicopter is also stationed in Chinyalisaur, for airlifting the workers in case of any medical emergency. Not just physical care but the authorities are also ready to provide mental care to the workers. The official continued that being stuck for so long in a closed space, the workers may face psychological traumas as well. Psychiatrists have been in touch with the workers since the last few days. They will be given proper counselling post rescue as well, they added. The 41 workers have been trapped in an under-construction tunnel, a portion of which collapsed on November 12. The collapse occurred in the tunnel from Silkyara to Barkot due to debris falling in a 60-metre stretch on the Silkyara side. The area of entrapment, measuring 8.5 metres in height and 2 km in length, is the built-up portion of the tunnel, offering safety to the labours with available electricity and water supply. Last week, the authorities also managed to supply fresh cooked food and do video communication with the workers. Before that they could only pass packed food items. Loud cheers and slogans erupted as the 41 trapped workers emerged, one by one from the collapsed part of the Silkyara tunnel on Tuesday night. Some with smiling faces and others looking grateful and exhausted at the end of the 17-day ordeal, the workers were taken to the closest community health centre in ambulances. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was taking hourly updates on the intense rescue operation the past 17 days, spoke to the rescued workers over the phone. On social media, he lauded the successful operation, stressing that everyone involved in the mission has created an amazing example of humanity and teamwork. The prime minister also said the multi-agency rescue exercise has made everyone emotional. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he saluted the spirit of those involved in the operation and said their courage and resolve have given a lease of life to the 41 labourers. Everyone involved in the mission has created an amazing example of humanity and teamwork, he said. Addressing the 41 rescued workers, Prime Minister Modi said their courage and patience have inspired everyone as he wished them good health and well-being. It is a matter of great satisfaction that these friends of ours will meet their dear ones after a long wait, he said. Local residents distributed sweets while many anxious relatives, camping in the area, became emotional as they were united with the workers after days of uncertainty. Back home, many said they will celebrate Diwali now. It was on the morning of the festival on November 12, that the workers got stuck inside the under-construction tunnel. Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and union minister VK Singh welcomed the 41 workers with garlands, shook hands and embraced them, while the rescue teams and officials clapped. The intense rescue mission clocking more than 400 hours, delayed by a series of snags and overshadowed by equal parts hope and despair ended in success for everyone involved. On the last day, rescuers broke through the last stretch of the rubble around 7 pm using the rat-hole mining technique. Less than an hour later, the process of laying the escape pipe into the drilled passage was complete. Then, NDRF and SDRF teams entered the steel chute to reach the trapped workers and started bringing them out on wheeled stretchers, one-by-one. Here is a timeline of the disaster and rescue operations: Day 16, November 27 Rescuers bore 36 metres into the hill above the tunnel by evening as two teams of seven and five men, who are experts in the technique of rat-hole mining, are now at the site after they are called in by two private companies involved in the rescue operation. The experts have been called in for manual drilling and horizontal excavation through the last 10 or 12 metres of debris. About 40 percent of the 86-metre vertical drilling required is done. For the horizontal through-the-rubble option, officials decide that the final stretch will be handled through a manual approach in which individual workers will go into the escape passage with drills, as well as gas-cutters to tackle obstacles like iron girders. Another 8-inch shaft being drilled from a nearby point reaches about 75 metres down. This probe, also expected to act as a supply line for the trapped workers, indicates that there are no serious geological obstacles for the main shaft up to this point. The vertical drilling, however, encounters some water underground and dewatering is carried out. It does not, however, seriously affect the operation. Principal secretary to prime minister, PK Mishra; home secretary Ajay Bhalla; and Uttarakhand chief secretary SS Sandhu take stock of the operation while Mishra speaks to the trapped workers, assuring them that multiple agencies are at work to evacuate them and they should remain patient. Day 15, November 26 Rescuers begin drilling into the hill above the tunnel, boring nearly 20 metres on the first day of adopting the new approach. The vertical approach is one of five options on which preparatory work began some days ago. As the drilling progresses, 700-mm wide pipes are being inserted to create an escape passage. A little distance away, a thinner, 200-mm probe is being pushed in. It has reached the 70-metre mark. The vertical boring option was picked as the next best alternative after the latest in a series of snags, which hit the horizontal drilling operation from the Silkyara-end, where an estimated 60-metre stretch of rubble faced rescue workers.Individual workers have been entering an incomplete escape passage, in which a steel chute has been inserted, to cut through and bring the stuck blades and the augers shaft out in pieces. A plasma cutter is airlifted from Hyderabad to supplement the gas cutter. A team from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and army engineers from the Madras Sappers also reach Silkyara. Drilling is also being carried out from the Barkot-end of the tunnel, and the work has progressed about 10 out of 483 metres. Day 14, November 25 Mobile phones and board games are sent in for the 41 trapped workers to alleviate stress. The blades of the auger machine drilling through the rubble gets stuck in the debris, forcing officials to consider switching to other options. According to international tunnelling expert Arnold Dix, the auger machine is busted. Officials now shift focus to two alternatives manual drilling through the remaining 10-12 metre stretch or drilling down around 86 metres from above. Day 13, November 24 Drilling was halted again in yet another setback. The auger drilling machine faces a hurdle, apparently a metal object, a little after drilling resumed, a day after officials put the operation on hold following technical problems. Those problems were set right earlier in the day and the 25-tonne machine was restarted in the evening but the boring continued for about an hour before the drill bit hit the metal girder. Day 12, November 23 Boring through the rubble is put on hold again after cracks appeared in the platform on which the drilling machine rests, in a fresh hurdle. This came hours after the operation resumed earlier in the day, following a six-hour delay to cut through an iron girder in the way of the auger machine. It is the third time that the drilling exercise is halted since the rescue mission began on November 12. The drilling is stopped to stabilise the platform on which the 25-tonne machine is mounted, as some cracks have apparently appeared in the structure. Day 11, November 22 Ambulances are put on standby and a special ward at a local health centre is readied in the evening. In a late evening development, drilling of steel pipes through the rubble hits a hurdle when some iron rods come in the way of the auger machine. Till 6 pm, up to 44 metres of an escape pipe have been inserted into the debris of the collapsed stretch. A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is spotted entering the tunnel in the evening. A team of 15 doctors, including chest specialists, is deployed in anticipation of the evacuation. Relatives of workers who have spoken to them through a new six-inch pipeline express optimism. Today, we were taken inside the tunnel and we spoke to our family member. Sonu repeatedly told me not to worry now and that we would meet soon, said Devashish, whose brother-in-law is among the 41 workers. We called him on Diwali but could not reach him. His colleagues told us that his mobile phone was damaged. Later, we saw his name in the newspaper and learnt that he was trapped inside the tunnel, he added. The second lifeline is being used to ensure an ample supply of food items like rotis, sabzi, khichdi, dalia, oranges, and bananas in the tunnel. Day 10, November 21 The first visuals of the 41 workers trapped inside emerge. According to officials, focus remains on digging horizontally through the debris of the collapsed stretch but rescue workers continue to prepare for other options, including drilling from above the tunnel to reach the workers. At the disaster site, a video clip captured by an endoscopic camera sent in through a new six-inch wide pipeline brings some hope to relatives camping there for days. The pipeline was pushed late on November 20 through 53 metres of debris the collapsed stretch. In the video, workers wearing yellow and white helmets are seen receiving food items sent to them through the pipeline and talking to each other. Officials watching them on a screen are heard giving instructions, asking them to clean the lens. The workers are told to come near the camera and use walkie-talkies, apparently sent down earlier. The camera is then pulled back up so that water can be released under pressure to clean the pipeline. Day 9, November 20 Rescuers push a six-inch-wide pipeline through the rubble, the first breakthrough at the site to help supply larger quantities of food and possibly allow live visuals. A four-inch existing tube was being used to supply oxygen and items like dry fruit and medicines. Drones and robots from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) are brought to the site to look into the possibility of other escape routes. The first machine for construction of a vertical rescue shaft, possibly around 80-metre deep by drilling from near the hilltop, also reaches the tunnel. A road to the hilltop is laid, and the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) arranges for more equipment. Also, work starts on drilling from the other side, the Barkot-end, of the tunnel. International tunnelling expert Arnold Dicks also reaches the disaster site to conduct a review. The pipeline development comes on the day Prime Minister Modi called up the CM to take stock of the rescue operation. Day 8, November 19 Rescue work is put on hold as the agencies involved in the effort set themselves up for the next stage adopting multiple approaches to reach the 41 trapped men inside. A road to the top of the hill is laid in a single day for digging a vertical shaft down into the tunnel. Day 7, November 18 Drilling does not resume on Saturday as experts feel that the vibrations created by the diesel-driven 1,750-horse power heavy-duty American auger inside the tunnel might cause more debris to collapse, posing a risk to the lives of the rescue personnel. Alternative options are explored by a team from the PMO and experts who decide to work on five evacuation plans simultaneously, including vertical drilling through the top of the tunnel to rescue the trapped labourers. Day 6, November 17 Working overnight, the machine drills about 24 metres through the rubble by the afternoon and four MS pipes with a length of six metres each are inserted. The process comes to a halt when the fifth pipe hits an obstacle. Damage to the machine is also reported. Yet another high-performance auger machine is flown down from Indore to assist in the rescue efforts following a request from the NHIDCL. In the evening, the NHIDCL reports that around 2.45 pm, during the positioning of the fifth pipe, a big cracking sound was heard in the tunnel and the rescue operation suspended immediately. The sound creates panic among the rescue team members. An expert involved in the project warns about the possibility of further collapse in the vicinity. Subsequently, the drilling and pipe-pushing activity is stopped. Day 5, November 16 The high-performance drilling machine is assembled and installed. It starts working past midnight. Day 4, November 15 Dissatisfied with the performance of the first drilling machine, the NHIDCL asks for a state-of-the-art American auger machine, which is airlifted from Delhi to speed up the rescue efforts. Day 3, November 14 Steel pipes of a diameter of 800 and 900 mm are brought to the tunnel site to be inserted through the rubble with the help of an auger machine for horizontal digging. However, the efforts suffer a setback when more rubble falls from the cavity created by the cave-in and causes minor injuries to two labourers. A team of experts begins a survey of the tunnel and surrounding areas for soil testing. The trapped workers are supplied food, water, oxygen, electricity and medicines as some of them complain of nausea and headache. Day 2, November 13 Contact is established with the trapped workers through a pipe meant to supply oxygen to them and they are reported to be safe. Rescue efforts continue as Dhami visits the site. Not much progress is made in removing the debris accumulated on the collapsed part of the tunnel as fresh rubble keeps falling from above, further complicating the task of the rescuers. As a result, the debris accumulated in an area of around 30 metres spreads to 60 metres. A strategy is devised to stabilise the loose soil inside the tunnel applying the method of shotcreting (spraying concrete) and then insert large-diameter steel pipes through the rubble to prepare an escape passage. Day 1, November 12 The labourers get trapped as portions of the under-construction tunnel on the Brahmkhal-Yamunotri highway collapse following a landslide around 5.30 am on the day of Diwali. Rescue efforts are launched by the district administration and arrangements made to supply oxygen, electricity and eatables to the trapped labourers through air-compressed pipes. Multiple agencies, including the NDRF, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Border Roads Organisation (BRO), project executing agency NHIDCL and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), join the rescue efforts. (With PTI inputs) Disclaimer: The feature image previously used in this copy was sourced from PTI feeds, however, it was later learnt that the image was AI-generated. Therefore, News18 has removed it from its platform. News agency PTI has also retracted the picture after the fact-check. Taj Palace, New Delhi, the capitals iconic landmark, hosted a glittering evening of glamour, fashion, cuisine and craftsmanship at its celebrated Indian restaurant, Loya in association with Satya Paul. As a part of the restaurants signature series of storytelling-based events befittingly titled, Loya Qissa, the sparkling evening witnessed the whos who of the capital city in gracious attendance. The highlight of the Loya Qissa was a fashion show by Satya Paul. Uniquely presented amidst the realms of the immersive restaurant while transforming the space into an eclectic runway, the showcased collection, In Rainbows took the audience into flowering fields and fantastic rainbows. This collection continued to play on the sari and other garments, expanding the limits of their possibility. The prints that appeared on the fabrics drew inspiration from references as diverse as wild flowers to incredible peacocks. The palettes were psychedelic and designed to pop on every garment be it a warm, quilted jacket or an evening dress for a party-goer who must navigate multiple plans at once. With print as power, it was classic Satya Paul. Speaking on the occasion, Nayan Seth, General Manager, Taj Palace, New Delhi said, We are humbled and grateful to our guests and patrons for the love and support that we have received for Loya over the past one year. From being the only restaurant in the country to have its own music album to breaking the mould and curating a fashion show within the very realm of a restaurant with this Loya Qissa in collaboration with Satya Paul, we endeavour to continue our tradition of pioneering immersive experiences, unique culinary and beverage concepts and experiential lifestyle events. The exquisite evening also saw the launch of Loyas all-new cocktail program, S.P.I.C.E. intertwining the realms of music, food, and beverage into a multi-sensorial experience. The libations blend artistry, expertise, and a dash of musical inspiration, embodying the spirit of the restaurants liquid philosophy. Crafted by the restaurants dynamic team of mixologists, the collection of ten unique cocktails featuring indigenous ingredients from the heart of the North like galgal and turmeric are derived from the pillars of S.P.I.C.E., i.e., Scale, Pitch, Instrumentation, Chords, and Expression. Some of the cocktails like Whis-Gal, Haldi, Highway 44 and Loya Mary received much praise from the guests in attendance. Launched last year, Loya takes diners on a journey through the vivid landscape of the North, from the foothills of the Himalayas to the terrains of Punjab, the snow-capped peaks of Kashmir and beyond. The menu revives lost culinary traditions of cherished and long-preserved authentic recipes made with heirloom ingredients. The spotlight is on the inherent uniqueness and time-honoured cooking techniques of dungaar, the art of smoking and slow-cooking; aromatics of baghar, spices tempered in hot oil; and sigdi, cooking over an open fire; and the practice of pounding masalas with a sil-batta, pestle and mortar. Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansalis niece, actor Sharmin Segal looked ethereal as a modern-day bride. Exuding grace and elegance in a timeless yet contemporary lehenga, Sharmin made her wedding bridal look an extension of her charming personality. Sharmin, who tied the knot with business tycoon Aman Mehta of Torrent Pharmaceutical on November 24th in Ahmedabad, celebrated the intimate wedding ceremony among close family and friends. While the star is yet to post her wedding pictures on social media, News18 received images of Sharmin, who looked like a Bride-chilla in the regal lehenga. The ecru and rose-gold timeless ensemble was designed by celebrated fashion designer duo Rimple and Harpreet Narula, who have previously worked on the costumes of Sanjay Leela Bhansalis film Padmaavat, Sharmin back in the day had also worked on the sets of film Padmaavat, as an assistant director and during the long schedule created a special bond with Rimple. So, when it was time to create her dream wedding look, Sharmin rang up her dear friend and the rest is history. Sharmins wedding ensemble comprised a delicate skirt with bejewelled peacock and floral vine motifs, inspired from the vintage 18th-century French lace fragments sourced from Rimple and Harpreet Narulas personal archives. A mesmerising display of creativity, each motif was embroidered first followed by the intricate cutwork to create a magical illusion of jaali-like lace. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gossip Girl (@bolly_newzz) The beauty of this statement piece was the intricate craftsmanship including the signature cutwork on the opulent skirt. Embroidered with zardozi and marodi, each embroidered panel was further layered with dabka, naqshi, sequins, pearls, crystals and semi-precious stones. Following the pastel palette, Sharmin paired the exquisite lehenga with an embroidered choli and draped a sheer tulle dupatta featuring a scalloped cutwork border. The highlight of this royal look was enhanced with a 12-foot-long train, which added the finishing touch to the graceful sequin-encrusted diaphanous tulle veil. Sharmins bridal look also featured a maang tika, a choker and a layered necklace that added to her wedding look. Speaking about designing the opulent bridal look for Sharmin, the designer duo Rimple and Harpreet Narula, said, Sharmin is a beautiful girl and we are delighted to custom make her dream wedding outfit that perfectly blends with her style requirements which revolve around comfort, ease and her deep-rooted love for Indian heritage crafts. We wish her the best and are also super excited to see her adorn our creations in Heeramandi. Sharmin Segal will soon be seen in the forthcoming magnum-opus historical-drama series Heeramandi, directed by filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Sharmins costumes in the Netflix series are designed by the designer duo Rimple and Harpreet Narula. Sandeep Reddy Vanga looked back at the criticism Kabir Singh received and seemingly took a dig at Karan Johar. The filmmaker, who is preparing for the release of Ranbir Kapoors Animal, was subjected to strong criticism after he released Shahid Kapoor starrer Kabir Singh. Many accused the film for promoting misogyny and toxic masculinity. Although Sandeep has defended the film time and again, the director seems to have taken a jibe at people in the industry who discussed about the film on public platforms. He accused them of trying to get publicity before the release of their own films. Speaking with The Hindu, the Animal director said that the definition of toxicity differs for everyone. It depends on how you look at a story and its characters, he said. I did not face much criticism for Arjun Reddy, but it was different for Kabir Singh. I dont want to name anyone but I saw a few people debating about Kabir Singh to get publicity before the release of their own films. Sandeep Vanga Reddy Takes an Indirect Jibe at Karan Johar? A leading producer-director said he was scared to admit liking Kabir Singh. People acted as though I had made a film on the lines of the French film Irreversible. That film left me disturbed for days, though I could also see the artistic side of it, Sandeep Vanga Reddy added, seemingly referring to Karans statements about Kabir Singh at the Film Companion roundtable session in 2019. What Karan Johar Said About Kabir Singh: In 2019, Karan Johar appeared on a roundtable with Film Companion in which he admitted he enjoyed Kabir Singh but was embarrassed to admit it. He said that when he first watched Kabir Singh, he was invested in the emotionality and the intensity of the character. I didnt notice that there could be aspects that could be misogynistic and that would definitely offend viewers. When there were debates around me, I went back and thought, initially there was a point of time that I was embarrased to say that I really loved the film because there were people with such strong voices around me screaming. So I thought Ill stay silent but I dont want to lie. I really liked the film. When women close to Karan voice their opinions against the film, Karan admitted he had not seen the film from that perspective. He added that he didnt want to be fake and start saying the right things. He said he might be right or wrong to love the film but he cannot deny liking the film. About Kabir Singh: Kabir Singh was a remake of Arjun Reddy. The original film starred Vijay Deverakonda and was loved by the Telugu speaking audience. Arjun Reddy and Kabir Singh marked Sandeep Reddy Vangas directorial debut in Telugu and Hindi, respectively. Despite the cricitism, both films were a massive hit in their respective languages. Ranbir Kapoors film Animal has been cleared by the Censor Board but with a few changes. The Central Board of Film Certification gave the film an Adults Only (A) certificate and asked director Sandeep Reddy Vanga to make five changes. One of the changes they have asked the team do is reduce the length intimate scenes. In the certificate leaked online, one of the pointers reads, Modified the intimate visuals of Vijay and Zoya by deleting the close-up shots at TCR 02:28:37. For More: Animal: CBFC Orders Ranbir Kapoor Film To DELETE Close-Up Steamy Scenes, Replace Word Vastra Mansoor Ali Khan has been making headlines ever since his controversial comment regarding Trisha went viral. Days after the Tamil actor apologised to his Leo co-star, he has now revealed that he will sue Trisha and file a defamation case against the actress. In an exclusive conversation with CNN News18, Khan revealed that he will file a case against Trisha later today. For More: Mansoor Ali Khan To Sue Trisha After Apologising For Rape Comment: Documents Are Ready Salman Khan recently met with a fan who pretended to be Shah Rukh Khans character Pathaan. The actor couldnt stop laughing when he along with the fan shot a video, where the latter tried to recreate the Tiger-Pathaan dialogue. This happened during the promotion of Salman Khans niece Alizehs film Farrey. Despite the fan making four attempts to deliver the dialogue, Salman continues to burst into laughter after each take. Not only did the fan try to mimic the dialogue, he was also dressed as Shah Rukhs character from the film. For More: Shah Rukh Khan Mimic Poses With Salman Khan, Leaves Him In Splits; Watch Hilarious Expressions Ranbir Kapoor was promoting his upcoming movie Animal at a mega event in Hyderabad on Monday, November 27. Besides Ranbir, the event was also attended by actor Mahesh Babu and filmmaker SS Rajamouli. While several videos from the mega show are going viral on social media, what has now caught everyones attention is the shocking statement by the Telangana Minister of Labour and Employment, Malla Reddy. For More: Telangana Minister SHOCKS Ranbir Kapoor At Animal Event, Says Telugu People Will Rule Hindustan Karan Johar has revealed that Kajol accidentally snubbed Mani Ratnam when he reached out to her for Dil Se. The actress will be seen in the upcoming episode of Koffee With Karan 8 with Rani Mukerji by her side. During the episode, Karan is set to revisit some of Kajols films. We have now learnt that Karan will also be discussing the films she lost out on, one being Dil Se. The director will reveal that Mani Ratnam had reached out to Kajol over a phone call and she hung up on him assuming it was a prank. For More : Kajol Cried After Mani Ratnam Called Her For Dil Se and She Snubbed Him: Thought It Was A Sunny Deols son and Dharmendras grandson Karan Deol turned a year older on Monday, November 27. On this special day, Karan took to his Instagram handle and dropped an adorable photo in which he was seen posing with Dharmendra. The two were also joined by Karans wife Drisha Acharya. In the caption of his post, Karan penned down a heartwaming note and thanked all for making his day extra special. Feeling truly blessed and overwhelmed with all the love! Thank you everyone for the heartwarming birthday wishes. Your love has made my day extra special! he wrote. Check out the post here: Soon after the post was shared, fans and friends rushed to the comments section to send birthday wishes to the actor. Among others, Karans father Sunny Deol also dropped red-heart emojis. Earlier in the day, Sunny also took to his Instagram handle to send birthday wishes to his son. He dropped an unseen picture from Karans wedding ceremony earlier this year and wrote, Love u my son. Happy Birthday. Karan also reacted to it saying, Love you papa. Karan, the elder child of Sunny and Pooja Deol, made debut with Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas co-starring Sahher Bambba. He will be next seen in Apne 2 alongside Sunny, Bobby Deol, and Dharmendra. On the personal front, Karan Deol tied the knot with Drisha Acharya on June 18 this year. After getting married, Deol took to his Instagram handle and dropped his official wedding pictures. In the photos, he was dressed in an ivory-white kurta and turban whereas Drisha looked stunning in a red bridal lehenga. You are my today and all of my tomorrows The beginning of a beautiful journey in our lives. We are overwhelmingly thankful for the abundant blessings and well wishes that surround us! he had written. Mansoor Ali Khan has been making headlines ever since his controversial comment regarding Trisha went viral. Days after the Tamil actor apologised to his Leo co-star, he has now revealed that he will sue Trisha and file a defamation case against the actress. In an exclusive conversation with CNN News18, Khan revealed that he will file a case against Trisha later today. We are doing it (filing defamation case) today. We have prepared all the documents. (My) lawyer will share all other information later today at 4o clock. He will meet the press, Mansoor Ali Khan said. Asked about his apology, Khan added, It is the biggest joke. What Did Mansoor Ali Khan Say Against Trisha? Mansoor Ali Khan grabbed everyones attention after a video of the actor went viral on social media in which he said in Tamil, When I heard that I was acting with Trisha, I thought there would be a bedroom scene in the film. I thought I would carry her to the bedroom just like I did with other actresses in my earlier movies. I have done so many rape scenes and its not new to me. But these guys didnt even show Trisha to me on the sets during the shoot in Kashmir. When Mansoor Sought An Apology From Mansoor Earlier this month, Trade analyst Ramesh Bala took to his X handle to share Mansoor Ali Khans statement. My co-actress Trisha, Please forgive me! a part of Khans statement read. The statement came after Khan was questioned with regard to the insensitive and derogatory comments he made against Trisha. He was booked under Section 354 A (sexual harassment) and Section 509 (word, gesture, or act intended to outrage modesty of woman) in the case. Later, Trisha also reacted to Mansoor Ali Khans apology. To err is human,to forgive is divine, she wrote. Hollywood actor and producer Michael Douglas recently attended the 54th International Film Festival of India in Goa. The actor was presented with the Satyajit Ray Excellence in Film Lifetime Award at the event. He spoke on a panel with Hollywood actress Catherine Zeta-Jones and lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Thakur. Speaking about the festival, the actor said, I also think this is more and more the sort of spirit, and the beauty of this festival is you had 78 foreign countries represented and its only a reflection of the strength of your Indian filming, which is renowned and known around the world. I think youre in very good hands. As I mentioned I do think that under minister Anurag Thakur as well as Prime Minister Modi the last few years weve seen more money put into the production and financing of films, its been a very successful time, the actor lauded PM Modi and Anurag Thakurs contribution in the field of cinema. The actor also spoke about the contribution of films in bringing together cultures and uniting people irrespective of race, religion and gender. He said, I mean with all the different languages we speak movies share the same language, audiences from wherever you are in the world can understand whats going on, movies bring us closer together and I think thats a very important aspect of it. The 54th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa kicked off last week with a star-studded opening ceremony, showcasing the grandeur of cinema. Aparshakti Khurana and Karishma Tanna hosted the ceremony at Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, marking the beginning of the film gala in Goa from November 20 to 28. Headlined by Shahid Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit, the event saw a mix of glamour and artistry, featuring stars like Shriya Saran, Nushrratt Bharuccha, Pankaj Tripathi, as well as musical maestros Shantanu Moitra, Shreya Ghoshal and Sukhwinder Singh. BTS band members, including V, Jungkook, Jimin, and RM, are gearing up to fulfill their mandatory military service in South Korea. This move will see them join their fellow bandmates Jin, J-Hope, and Suga in completing their military duties. Notably, during a recent fan meeting as part of ZE: As Park Hyung-Siks Asia Tour SIKcret Time at YS24 Live Hall in Seoul, fans were treated to an unexpected surprise. At the event, Park Hyung-Sik and Park Seo-Joon, members of the Wooga Squad and friends of BTS V, made surprise guest appearances. The Wooga Squad, comprised of BTSs V, Park Seo Joon, Park Hyung Sik, Choi Woo Shik, and Peakboy, is a close-knit friend group. During the meet-up, Park Hyung-Sik took the opportunity to convey a special message about V. He shared that V is on the verge of beginning his military service, and they recently met. A little while ago, a few days ago, theres a friend who will be going to the military soon now, and I thought I should see him before he goes, and we drank quite a bit, he said, as reported by Koreaboo. ARMY couldnt get over V and Park Hyung-Siks unbreakable bond. Social media platforms are flooded with their heartwarming moments. Taehyung is Hyungsiks little baby brother pic.twitter.com/eBmvzJLKHj LAYO( )ER (@mybwits) November 26, 2023 Hyungsik: I have a friend who is going to the military soon, so I drank alcohol. Its sad..Its literally his little toddler Taehyung pic.twitter.com/bf3l4wOdHU Jiya () (@Iam_kths) November 26, 2023 BigHit Music, the management company for K-pop sensation BTS, has officially announced that members Jungkook, RM, Jimin, and V will soon commence their mandatory military enlistment process. The formal declaration indicates that they are expected to embark on their military service journey, with the commencement likely scheduled for December. We would like to inform our fans that RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook have initiated the military enlistment process. We ask you for your continued love and support, label Big Hit Music said in a statement. Previously, speaking of his relationship with the squad, Park Hyung-Sik had earlier expressed how close he is to each member of the group. He told India Today, They are my true friends. They are the ones I turn to not only in difficulties, but also in times of laughter and tears all together. V joined the group after forming close bonds with some members during his acting debut in the K-drama Hwarang: The Poet Warrior. Since then, the members have maintained strong connections and frequently share their moments on social media. They even have a reality series titled In the Soop: Friendcation. Overview of the event. (Photo: qdnd.vn) The project is part of Futuremakers, a global initiative by Standard Chartered to tackle inequality. Representatives from the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs' General Directorate of Vocational Training, as well as representatives from Standard Chartered Bank in Vietnam and several businesses that worked with HNIVC and REACH to build capacity and provide job and internship opportunities for project beneficiaries, attended the ceremony. The project "Ready for Work COVID-19 Recovery and Digital Economy" was jointly implemented by HNIVC, REACH, and PIV in the two years 2022-2023 under the funding of SCF, with the goal of Addressing youth economic exclusion and unemployment caused and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Pham Thi Huong, HNIVC Principal, emphasized, at the moment, Beauty Care and 2D Graphic Design are among those that attract a high level of labor in the labor market. The project supporting the implementation of short-term courses for young people in difficult circumstances has helped learners shorten their time at school while also addressing employment needs, allowing them to earn income sooner. HNIVC has implemented 05 short-term vocational training classes as part of the project, exposing 150 students to the labor market. Many positive outcomes have resulted from the project, including meeting labor market needs with high-quality trained human resources and assisting underserved youths to receive vocational training with 100% scholarships. After nearly two years of implementation, the project has yielded many encouraging results, with nearly 1,500 disadvantaged youth aged 16 to 29 receiving financial assistance for short-term vocational and/or soft skills training, and over 90% of young people finding paid jobs after participating in short-term vocational classes. The project has also attracted the participation of over 90 businesses in capacity-building activities and job-search assistance for young people. 101 HNIVC and REACH officials and teachers, as well as 80 parents, received gender equality and disability inclusion training in order to improve the quality of vocational training activities and create jobs for underserved young people. Rewarding short-term training class students with difficult circumstances who made outstanding achievements. (Photo: qdnd.vn) "Through the project, we have organized many gender-inclusive career counseling activities in the community to get closer to disadvantaged youth and help them choose a career that suits their desires and abilities," said Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen, Project Coordinator from REACH Institute. Trinh Nhu Quynh, Head of Corporate Affairs, Brand & Marketing, Standard Chartered Bank Vietnam, of the Ready for Work - COVID-19 Recovery and Digital Economy project said that the project has helped provide training and employment opportunities for underserved people, allowing them to reach their full potential and become financially self-sufficient. Representing the projects direct beneficiaries, Yen, 2D graphic design graduate, emphasized, Before taking this course, I had no idea about my future and nor what I should do. My communication abilities were also lacking. Now I'm much more confident, and I've made a lot of new friends. I know what career I should pursue, and I am confident that it will enable me to earn enough money to support myself and my family. Le Quynh Lan, Acting Country Director of Plan International Vietnam, underlined, We are committed to working with our partners and young people to continue to make a positive difference in the lives of young people by providing market-oriented career guidance and training programs that respond to the rapid changes in the labor market in the post-COVID-19 period. In discussing Futuremakers' future plans, Natasha Kwakwa, Global Head of SCF's Global Community Impact, stated that Standard Chartered will continue to find better ways of supporting young people, especially women and disabilities, all around the world to ensure everyone, everywhere is able to participate in the economy and create a better future./. Randeep Hooda is all set get married to his lady love Lin Laishram tomorrow. Ahead of their wedding, they have reached Manipur to kick start the festivities. On Tuesday, the lovebirds visited the famous Govindaji temple at Imphal to seek blessings for their special day. Post their wedding, reportedly they will be having a wedding reception in Mumbai. While speaking to PTI, the actor said, I pray for a happy future, peace for Manipur and everywhere in the world, a happy married life and many more things. I hope I get them. The Sarbjit actor was also asked if other Bollywood celebs are expected to attend the wedding, to which he said, Its just me. When asked if he is feeling nervous about the pre-wedding festivities, he shared, Well, everybody is. STORY | "I pray for a happy future, peace for Manipur and everywhere in the world, a happy married life and many more things," says Bollywood actor Randeep Hooda after arriving in Imphal to marry his girlfriend Manipuri model and actress Lin Laishram.READ: pic.twitter.com/X6GnXBCfHO Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 27, 2023 Randeep and Lin Laishram have been quite private about their relationship. They do drop glimpses of their moments together on several occasions on social media platforms. Confirming their wedding date, they issued a joint statement on Instagram. The statement read, Taking a leaf out of Mahabharata where Arjuna married Manipuri Warrior Princess Chitrangada, We are getting married with the blessings from our families and friends. We are filled with immense joy to share that our marriage will take place on the 29th of November 2023, Imphal, Manipur followed by a reception in Mumbai. As we set to embark on this journey, we seek your blessings and love for this union of cultures, for which we are forever indebted and grateful. IN LOVE AND LIGHT, LIN & RANDEEP. A source close to the wedding told Hindustan Times, The wedding will only be attended by family members and close friends. After the wedding, they will be hosting a reception for their industry friends and everyone close to them in Mumbai. However, the date for reception is not yet decided. Randeep is a private person, and he doesnt want the media attention for the wedding. And that is one of the reasons he is going to Manipur to get married. Another big reason is because he wants to start the new chapter of his life at a place from where his lady love is. Moreover, Randeep Hooda and Lin Laishrams wedding will also have a mythological touch to it, Arjunaone of the five Pandava brothersvisited Manipura and married Chitrangada, the princess of the kingdom and it finds mention in the announcement post. As per the source, That is the theme of their wedding. Indias pharmaceutical industry is at a pivotal juncture. With its well-established prowess in generic drug manufacturing, it has been called on by the world to build a reliable base for the manufacture of raw materials, which offers an opportunity for India to attract the bulk of the pharmaceutical supply chains away from China. India has answered this call and is well-poised to tap into its potential, gather its best in the mission and meet this geopolitical demand. In recent years, India has been actively promoting the growth of domestic manufacturing in active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), and this policy is already yielding results. The world sees India as the greatest alternative to China in this aspect and India is determined to seize the opportunity. In just the last two years, India has started producing 45 new APIs for which it was earlier dependent on imports from China. Big Pharma is also looking to increase orders with Indian contract manufacturers to steer supply chains away from China. India has started producing 45 APIs after China stopped providing key ingredients during the Covid-19 pandemic, said Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya at the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) in September. The Narendra Modi government has nudged the Indian pharma industry to actively pursue API manufacturing and shed dependence on China. Its support has also come in the form of Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes. In 2021, the Union Health Ministry launched a PLI scheme with an outlay of Rs 15,000 crore over six years to promote domestic manufacturing of APIs, KSMs (key starting materials) and drug intermediaries. The China Problem China is deeply entrenched in the pharmaceutical supply chains. It extensively produces APIs, KSMs, and drug intermediates, all of which are crucial for the worlds pharma industry. APIs are the active ingredient that deliver the intended therapeutic effect in a drug. These are produced with KSMs and intermediates. KSMs or key starting materials are raw materials comprising basic chemicals needed in the manufacture of drugs. Intermediates are generally chemical compounds used in the process of making APIs. China is a global leader in the production and export of APIs with 40% share in global API exports. Over the past three decades, the proportion of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) imported into India from China has surged, rising from approximately 1% in 1991 to around 70% in 2019. The worlds pharma industry has learnt hard lessons from its sweeping dependence on China for APIs in past few years first during the US-China trade war and then with Covid when supply chains met crippling snags owing to lockdowns in China. Tensions with India at the border have also contributed to the problem as Indian drug manufacturers heavily rely on raw material from China. It does not help that in the recent past, there has been a steep increase in the actual market price of some of the APIs imported from China contributing to market price volatility affecting Indian drug manufacturers. Untapped Potential At the pinnacle of the global pharmaceutical landscape, India proudly bears the title of the Pharmacy of the World. Most noteworthy is Indias contribution to about 20% of global exports in generic drugs. Over the past few decades, the Indian pharmaceutical industry has witnessed substantial growth, securing its position as the third largest producer by volume and the 14th largest by value globally. Contributing approximately 1.72% to the nations GDP, the industry is projected to reach $65 billion by 2024 and $130 billion by 2030. This remarkable growth is fuelled by an increasing demand for affordable and high-quality medicines, both domestically and internationally. India has firmly established itself as a critical player in the global pharmaceutical market, with exports experiencing an impressive 103% growth since 2013-14, reaching Rs 1,83,422 crore in 2021-22. The Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) segment is a pivotal component of the pharmaceutical industry, contributing approximately 35% to the market. India holds the position of the third-largest producer of APIs globally, commanding an 8% share in the industry. With the manufacturing of over 500 different APIs, India contributes 57% of APIs to the World Health Organizations prequalified list. Forecasts indicate that the Indian API market is poised to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 13.7% in the initial four years, surpassing the generic API industry by about 8%. The Indian API sector has garnered significant interest from investors and venture capitalists due to the countrys robust domestic market, advanced chemical industry, skilled workforce, adherence to stringent quality and manufacturing standards, and cost advantages (approximately 40% lower than in the West) for establishing and operating modern plants, providing a distinct edge. India produces more than 500 APIs and the number is growing fast to meet the countrys ambition to manufacture raw materials locally. The PLI scheme launched by the Modi government has found a positive response from industry majors. Major pharma companies like Sun Pharmaceuticals, Cipla, Dr Reddys Laboratories, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Wockhardt, Biocon, Biological E, Panacea Biotec, Torrent Pharma, Aurobindo Pharma, Intas Pharma, Natco Pharma and Lupin. Bulk manufacturing of raw materials needed for drugs is a critical challenge for India, which is tagged often as the Pharmacy of the World with its dominance in generic drugs. China maintains its hegemony with highly competitive prices that are the result of cost-efficiency in production, high labour productivity, cheaper electricity, logistics costs and supportive government policies. India also needs to compete with China in the realm of ease of doing business to establish extensive manufacturing capacity for pharmaceutical raw materials. The Indian Fix India is best placed to offer a fix to the worlds heavy dependence on China for pharmaceutical raw materials. In a strategic move to harness its API potential, India is actively developing a comprehensive and supportive ecosystem. In 2020, the government granted approval for a PLI scheme, allocating Rs 6,940 crore to promote the domestic manufacturing of Key Starting Materials (KSMs)/Drug Intermediaries (DIs) and APIs. The manufacturing of 45 active pharmaceutical ingredients has commenced in India under the PLI scheme, representing about 70% of APIs for which the country has a 90% import dependence. Simultaneously, the Department of Pharmaceuticals has granted in-principle approval to proposals from Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh under the Promotion of Bulk Drug Parks scheme. With a budget of Rs 3,000 crore, this initiative aims to provide financial assistance to these states for establishing bulk drug parks, thereby reducing manufacturing costs through the creation of world-class common infrastructure facilities. This strategic move is anticipated to enhance the competitiveness of the domestic bulk drug industry. Additionally, the Government of Assam has proposed a pharmaceutical park in Chaygaon, Kamrup Rural, covering 100 acres with an estimated project cost of Rs 153.64 crore. In fostering innovation within the industry, various measures have been proposed, including raising the limit for foreign direct investment (allowing up to 100% through the automatic route for Greenfield pharmaceutical projects) and implementing a new strategy for safeguarding intellectual property rights. These measures have collectively instilled confidence in Indias pharma industry with Big Pharma keen on placing its bets here. If successful in its endeavour, India will not only become a major exporter of APIs but also give way to thousands of new pharma jobs in the country. Experts argue that the increase in recent cases appeared to be driven by a rise in the number of children contracting pathogens that two years of Covid restrictions have kept them away from. And they ruled out a novel virus, such as the one that sparked the Covid-19 pandemic. Touching the feet of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and with Jai Jagganath on his lips, V Kartikeyan Pandian, the 49-year-old IAS officer who opted for voluntary retirement in October this year, formally joined the Biju Janata Dal on the auspicious day of Kartik Purnima. As all of you know, hes been working very hard for several years for the people of our state, and has earned their respect and trust. He will continue to do so as a member of the party. I wish him all the best, said Odisha CM and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik, emphatically and unambiguously supporting his former private secretarys entry into the party. Replying to Patnaik, Pandian said: With the blessings of the Almighty, the guidance of the Chief Minister and your support, I will serve the people of Odisha sincerely, humbly and selflessly. What was to be an official induction mimicked the ceremonial handing over of the baton by the old guard to young blood; except that Tamilian VK Pandian would be the unlikely inheritor of a legacy that 78-year-old, five-time chief minister Naveen Patnaik built so carefully over quarter of a century since the death of his father and iconic chief minister Biju Patnaik. While on the campaign trail in 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Patnaik was often asked on who his successor would be and his answer remained the same: The people of Odisha will decide. And, there were a few occasions when the visits of Arun Patnaik, Naveen Patnaiks nephew, sparked speculation of the former joining the BJD. That, however, never happened. Therefore, the BJD supremos endorsement of Pandian is a huge political signal to his party, the opposition and the people, coming as it does just months before the crucial Odisha elections. I think its a very positive development. He brings to the table vast administrative experience and very finely honed political skills because he has worked very closely with Naveen Patnaik whose political mind is peerless. So hes had the advantage of learning at the feet of a master. The BJD will vastly benefit from these qualities. And, there is little doubt that the state will also continue to benefit from his experience and acumen. He is exceptionally hardworking and is known to work from 4am to 10pm without a break, BJD MP Pinaki Misra said. Incidentally, most of Pandians visits to Puri are before daybreak. Pandians whole life is service to the state. Now service to the party will be added, which everybody in the BJD will only welcome, Misra added. Denying speculation of any resentment within the BJD, Misra argued, Everybody welcomes a winning ticket, and if they believe that Kartik ji joining the party will make their ticket a confirmed winning ticket, there is no question of any resentment by anyone in the BJD. Misra, however, added that Pandians induction should not be seen as a succession plan. Naveen babu still has a long way to go. Therefore, this should not be looked upon as a succession plan. Instead, it is a reinforced and very determined bid to ensure Naveen babu comes back as Chief Minister for a record sixth term. Misra could very well be voicing the opinion of other senior leaders of the BJD who lined up first at Naveen Niwas, the Chief Ministers residence, and then at Sankha Bhawan, the BJDs headquarters in Bhubaneswar, to welcome Pandian to the party. The CMs open endorsement of Pandian had sent a strong political signal. Suave, soft-spoken and impeccably mannered, Patnaik has been ruthless when it comes to dealing with any rebellion or challenge to his position. Pyari Mohan Mohapatra, the first bureaucrat Patnaik had relied on to run the government and party upon becoming CM, had nurtured chief ministerial ambitions of his own; Bijoy Mohapatra, senior BJD leader who posed a threat to Patnaik; MP Baijyant Panda who aspired for a bigger role in the state; and, most recently, MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, who questioned the growing clout of Pandian were all axed mercilessly. I would rate Naveen Patnaik as a first-rate politician as he is clinical and unemotional. He is not attached to anybody. He does the right thing at the right time, a veteran BJD leader had told this reporter once. Ahead of the 2024 elections, the rank and file within the BJD have adjusted to the changing equations that Pandians entry into the party engenders, knowing the powerful role he will play. Former BJD MP and editor of Odia Daily Dharitri Tathagat Satpathy said, This is an internal matter of the party. The party will decide what is good or bad for them. After his voluntary retirement, Pandian was appointed as chairman of 5T (Transformational Initiatives) and Nabin Odisha, and was given a cabinet rank. However, with his formal entry into the BJD, he will transition into the role of a politician. In any case, over the past one year, in his capacity as 5T Secretary, Pandian has toured all 147 Assembly constituencies, addressing public gatherings, carrying out high-octane temple visits that help brush his non-Odia image, maintaining a tight grip over party affairs and ceaselessly meeting various groups of people. Pandians public meetings attracted criticism from the opposition, forcing Chief Minister Patnaik to clarify in the Assembly that the former was doing so at his instructions. Every move that the once publicity-shy bureaucrat has made indicates desire to be accepted by the people of Odisha. So the question is, would VK Pandian also take the electoral plunge and contest in 2024? Talks of Pandian inheriting the legacy of Naveen Patnaik may be too early, for, after all, he is a Tamilian who is married to Odia IAS officer Sujatha Kartikeyan. Former BJD leader and current BJP national vice-president Baijyant Panda said: It is one thing to rule from behind the curtain and quite another to do so openly. Only time will tell how this will play out. The founder of the Biju Janata Dal, Biju Patnaik, was a proud Odia, and today, his soul will be pained as will that of 4.5 crore Odia people, not one of whom was deemed fit to run the party. Odisha has already had a non-Odia chief minister in Biren Mitra from October 2, 1963 to February 20, 1965. However, 2023 is not 1963. Roots matter in politics and Pandian knows that well. In fact, the late Biju Patnaik is not known to have had any succession plan for the BJD, with his three children Prem, Gita and Naveen growing up outside Odisha. Post Patnaiks death in 1997, seeing the swell of support during his funeral, the partys central leadership offered the Aska constituency to Prem Patnaik. Prem refused and then it was offered to Naveen Patnaik, who took it up. The rest, as they say, is history. As BJD leader AU Singh Deo said once: Bhilam looti gopiyan/wahi Arjun, wahi vaan/purush nahi/samay ho, toh balwan (As long as your time is good, you keep winning battles.) Union Home Minister Amit Shah will address a rally in Kolkatas Dharmatala on Wednesday. This rally, named Kolkata Chalo, will take place at the same location where the Trinamool Congress holds its July 21 Annual Martyrs Day Rally. According to the Bharatiya Janata Party, Kolkata Police without stating any reasons did not give permission to Shahs rally, following which the party approached the High Court seeking permission for the same. A single judge bench of the Calcutta High Court gave the permission, however, this was also challenged by the State in the Division bench. The Division bench also rejected the States plea allowing Shahs rally to take place in Dharmatala on November 29. Reacting to this, Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said, They are afraid of us. Thats why Mamata Banerjee-led administration was trying to stop Amit Shahs rally. Is Dharmatala only TMCs place to do a rally? Adhikari asked. Additionally, BJP has claimed that they will bring in people who have not received benefits from the Centres schemes due to TMCs corruption. Speaking to News18, BJP State General Secretary, Jagannath Chattopadhyay said, We have made forms and on November 29, people from across the state will submit their grievances in the drop box at the rallys venue. We can take them to Delhi for justice. Huge number of people will come to the rally and you will see how our honourable Home Minister addresses us. ALSO READ | TMC Arranges Special Buses to Take MGNREGA Cardholders to Delhi, Names the Protest Fight for Right Meanwhile TMC has claimed that people who worked under MGNREGA have not gotten their money for over two years. TMC General Secretary, Abhishek Banerjee had taken these people with him to Delhi, where he along with the workers went to stage a protest and meet the Rural Development Minister. However, the party claimed that the Minister did not meet with them, following which Banerjee sat on a protest outside the Raj Bhavan in Kolkata. ALSO READ | Abhishek Banerjee Slams Bengal Governor, Vows to Continue MGNREGA Protest Experts suggest that in a similar way, BJP is also trying to bring people who, according to the party, are victims of TMCs corruption. LoP Suvendu Adhikari, BJP State Vice-President Dilip Ghosh and other party members are holding several meetings to build up to the Kolkata Chalo rally as it will set the tune for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Speaking on Shahs rally, BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said, Mamata Banerjee and her leaders have eaten up peoples money and thats why our honourable Home Minister will come here and justice will take place. This is why I am requesting all of you to bring saffron tsunami in Kolkata on November 29. Because people will see, we will make this rally a historical one. Insiders from the saffron party said that after May 2021 results of the West Bengal assembly elections there were several murders and party workers had to leave their homes. Even then the party tried to work hard and they are now confident that Union Minister Amit Shah will show them the way. ALSO READ | TMC Shouldnt Get The Bengal Verdict Wrong. Political Violence Will Not Further Its Mission While the stage is being set for Shahs rally, TMC MLAs will stage a sit-in dharna in the Bengal assembly on November 28 and 29 protesting over the state not receiving the MGNREGA money. The MGNREGA money has now become an issue for both the BJP and TMC. While the latter is trying to project that the BJP government does not want to give the money to Bengal, the former is trying to show that it is because of TMCs corruption, that the people of Bengal are not getting Centres money. Citing this reason, party leaders said that this why the people should vote for BJP in Lok Sabha. On the other hand, TMC has claimed that Abhishek Banerjee as promised has provided financial assistance to the victims of the MGNREGA. Banerjee wrote a letter from his side to the people who have joined the MGNREGA protest and told them that in the coming days, the protest will continue on a bigger scale. TMCs State General Secretary, Kunal Ghosh also commented on Shahs rally and said, They (BJP) dont have any support base, its winter time and they are just bringing people from various places to roam around in Kolkata and witness the meeting. There is nothing else. During his visit to Bengals Birbhum district four months ago, Shah had said that he needs 35 seats from Bengal, however now, all the eyes are on what he will say on November 29. Google has officially acknowledged an issue affecting Google Drive, causing users data to disappear from the cloud. Google notes that the company is currently investigating reports of an issue impacting a limited subset of Drive for desktop users and will provide updates soon. Additionally, the search giant has highlighted key points to consider until this issue is resolved. How to Safeguard Yourself From This Issue According to Google Firstly, users must not click on Disconnect account inside Drive for desktop. Secondly, users should not delete or move the following app data folders on Mac and Windows: macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Google/DriveFS Windows: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Google\DriveFS As an added protection measure, you can create a backup of the app data folder on a physical storage drive. How This Issue Surfaced Online The news of this mysterious disappearance was first reported by The Register when a user logged into their Google Drive and discovered that the state of their Drive was as it was in May 2023, meaning all uploads since then had disappeared. Despite multiple attempts, the user failed to recover any data. I followed recovery process that Google support team ask me to (South Korea team). They put a recovery program and failed. ask me to backup and restore DriveFS folder, nothing changed. I reported the issue to the Google support team probably in States and they ask me to report the issue to their engineer. But no answer from the engineer and cannot know whether they are reviewing my issue, the user posted on Google Drive community forum. Since then multiple users have reported the same issue, with one user stating: Same thing happened to me too. Im devastated right now because the missing files dated back >3 months ago. Our IT team try to contact google support but no solution yet. Hopefully the files can be restored. A Canadian travel blogger, Amy, recently shared her story of a disaster trip to Iceland. She has advised other travellers to choose their travel companions carefully. Amy talked about her trip to Europe after breaking up with her partner in 2017. As per the New York Post, she was afraid to travel alone and invited everyone she knew to join her. Eventually, the only person who was available was a girl I worked with at a restaurant, she mentioned on Instagram. We were acquaintances and work pals but not exactly besties. However, after arriving in Iceland, Amy began to notice the dark side of her travel companion. She claimed that her partner was arrested in their hostel on their first night by six or seven police officers. She also stated that the woman she travelled with attempted to attack me, punched the hostel receptionist in the face, and was later kicked out of the hostel. Check Amys post here: View this post on Instagram A post shared by amy canadian travel creator (@spellbound.travels) After all the chaos, Amy soon discovered that she was travelling alone. She remarked, I had to completely rearrange my plans to avoid her. Luckily, she had enjoyed a wonderful time in Iceland and had made some friends at the hostel as well. Amy drove around Icelands most well-known scenic route, the Golden Circle, saw the northern lights, went on group hikes, and also saw waterfalls and geysers, according to her now-viral post. Amy stated at the end of her post that its important to be selective about whom you travel with and that sometimes the best people to travel with are strangers you met at your hostel. Amy expresses her gratitude to the strangers who enhanced her experience and offered her the self-assurance to travel independently in the future. During her entire trip, Amy did not see the woman whom she thought would be a true travel companion. But they had to take a plane back together, and she called it insanely awkward. Not surprisingly, they have stopped talking, reports add. Six years later, Amy is a seasoned traveller and is organising her own group trip back to Iceland for the next year. On the other hand, since November 11, the Nordic Island nation has been under a state of emergency as it prepares for a potential volcanic eruption in the Reykjanes peninsula, which is home to the well-known geothermal spa Blue Lagoon, one of the main tourist destinations in the nation. A housing society in Hyderabad has recently stirred controversy as a photo of their notice imposing fines on workers using the lift went viral on social media. The notice explicitly stated that delivery boys, maids, and workers should refrain from utilizing the passenger lift within the building, and if they are caught doing so, a fine of Rs. 1,000 will be imposed on them. While the underlying reasons for the notice are still unverified, it has sparked significant backlash online, with concerns raised about classism and discrimination. Numerous individuals took to the micro-blogging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to express criticism of the residents decision. One user emphasised, As a society we are programmed to hide our dark and dirty secrets and today we think the people who do our hard labour work cannot coexist in a same space as we are. Incase they are caught? Like its a crime? Fine of 1000? Its probably 25% of most of their salary, Accompanying this rant was an image of the controversial notice. Also Read: Shocking Video Of Gurugram House Help Thrashing Dog In Elevator Sparks Outrage Another critic chimed in, People who are paid 15000 every month will be fined 1000 for using the same lift as elites. What kind of people are these? A third quoted George Orwell, lamenting, All animals are equal, some are more equal than others. As a society we are programmed to hide our dark and dirty secrets and today we think the people who do our hard labour work cannot coexist in a same space as we are. Incase they are caught? Like its a crime? Fine of 1000? Its probably 25% of most of their salary. pic.twitter.com/bmwkcs37J9 Shaheena Attarwala (@RuthlessUx) November 26, 2023 People who are paid 15000 every month will be fined 1000 for using the same lift as elites. What kind of people are these? pic.twitter.com/kd7Ah0BfoQ Renjith Thomas (@TowardsLiberti) November 27, 2023 However, some argued that this doesnt necessarily imply discrimination. One individual explained, Not at all. Most of these societies hav >100 flats per building with 3-4 main lifts & 1 service elevator. Hence, if multiple maids, Delivery Ppl start using the main lifts the waiting time for Flat owners will increase. So its prudent that Service people use their designated one. Another echoed this sentiment, stating, With the number of maids working in high rises and travelling in the lifts through out the day the wait time is nearly 10-15 minutes at times . You do not feel that residents deserve this much convenience? Not at all. Most of these societies hav >100 flats per building with 3-4 main lifts & 1 service elevator. Hence, if multiple maids, Delivery Ppl start using the main lifts the waiting time for Flat owners will increase. So its prudent that Service people use their designated one Hemant (@GaulechhaNitin) November 27, 2023 Its not necessarily that it is bcoz people cannot coexist . Service lifts are for transfer of goods . If maids use it then the wait time increases .There are buildings where there diff lifts for members and servants . Thats does not mean that people do not want to travel Punita Toraskar (@impuni) November 27, 2023 Also Read: Sick Society: Delivery Guy Being Asked Not to Share Lift With Residents Sparks Outrage Despite the controversy, its important to note that this is not the first time such notices in elevators have come to public attention. US-Palestinian researcher and the dean of Princetons School of Public and International Affairs Amaney Jamal said Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip were hostile to Hamas ahead of the groups brutal October 7 attack on Israel. Some Gazan civilians even went to the extent of comparing Hamas rule in Gaza to the second occupation, according to polling data analysed by her and Michael Robbins. The findings of the poll were released by Arab Barometer and Foreign Affairs. Rather than supporting Hamas, the vast majority of Gazans have been frustrated with the armed groups ineffective governance as they endure extreme economic hardship, the report said. 2023 Israel-Hamas War: Full Coverage Most Gazans do not align themselves with Hamass ideology, either. Unlike Hamas, whose goal is to destroy the Israeli state, the majority of survey respondents favoured a two state solution with an independent Palestine and Israel existing side by side, the report titled What Palestinians Really Think of Hamas said. ALSO READ | Two-State Solution? Fatah in Gaza? Blinken Heads to West Bank, Israel for Third Wartime Visit Hamas came to power in Gaza in 2006 and ousted the Fatah from the blockaded coastal enclave in a bloody coup. It won the elections and has been ruling Gaza ever since. This is especially important because of the (erroneous) argument that all of Gaza supports Hamas, and therefore all of Gaza should be held accountable for the actions, atrocious actions of Hamas, Jamal told news agency AFP in an interview. The survey also revealed that Gazans believe there is corruption in the governance of Hamas. The survey was carried out between September 28 and October 8, surveying 790 respondents in the West Bank and 399 in Gaza. At least 75% of respondents from Gaza said that in the last 30 days (preceding October 6) they could not afford to feed their households. The World Bank says that the poverty rate in Gaza rose from 39% in 2011 to 59% in 2021. Respondents also said that they are buying less preferred or less expensive food (75%) and 69% said they have reduced the size of their meals. 31% of the respondents surveyed said that government mismanagement as the primary cause of food insecurity in Gaza. In short, Gazans were more likely to blame their material predicament on Hamass leadership than on Israels economic blockade, the report said. The surveyor, Jamal, who is 52 years old, was born in California and brought up in her familys native Ramallah. She said that there is a perception that both the Palestinian Authority or the Hamas-led government have become more dictatorial and more authoritarian. The survey also reflected this sentiment: Most Gazans saw no avenue for publicly expressing their grievances with the Hamas-led government. Only 40% said that freedom of expression was guaranteed to a great or moderate extent, and 68% believed that the right to participate in a peaceful protest was not protected or was protected only to a limited extent under Hamas rule. Jamal said that contrary to popular opinion, when Gazans are asked who they blame instead of assigning Israel the title of the number-one culprit, they feel Hamas corruption is more to blame for the fate of Gazans. Leadership Troubles and Long-Term Peace The report outlines that continued violence and bombardments by Israel which makes life more difficult for ordinary Gazans only end up increasing the support for Hamas. Past Israeli crackdowns that make life more difficult for ordinary Gazans have increased support for Hamas. If the current military campaign in Gaza has a similar effect on Palestinian public opinion, it will further set back the cause of long-term peace, the report said. The report also points out that the Palestinian Authority (PA), which governs the West Bank, led by Mahmoud Abbas, the President of Palestine, is also widely unpopular. Gazans as well as the West Bank Palestinians see the PA, also known as Fatah, as collaborators and backed by the Israeli regime. 52% respondents believe that the PA is a burden on the Palestinian people. In Gaza, when asked about their preferences in a presidential election featuring Ismail Haniyeh, Mahmoud Abbas, and Marwan Barghouti, 24% favored Haniyeh, 32% supported Barghouti, and 12% chose Abbas. About 30% said they wouldnt participate. Before the attacks on Israel, over half of respondents in Gaza preferred a two-state solution. Other respondents chose a Palestinian-Israeli confederation or a one-state solution. However, at least one in five Gazans, across several age groups, supported the idea of an armed resistance. Most respondents were open to peaceful reconciliation based on 1967 borders. (with agency inputs) US President Joe Biden on Monday (local time) said he and his country will keep working towards the two-state solution and believes that it can bring lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians as Israel and Hamas extended their truce by 48 hours. A report by AFP, however, pointed out that Hamas announced the agreement to prolong the truce by 48 hours shortly before it was due to end Tuesday, though there was no immediate confirmation from Israel. Israels military announced that 11 hostages were now in Israeli territory on Monday. The truce extension came as these hostages were freed from Gaza and 33 more Palestinians were released. This is the last exchange under the existing deal. A two-state solution is the only way to guarantee the long-term security of both the Israeli and the Palestinian people. To make sure Israelis and Palestinians alike live in equal measure of freedom and dignity, we will not give up on working towards that goal, Biden said. The extension of the truce was welcomed internationally, with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres calling it a glimpse of hope and humanity in the middle of the darkness of war. The truce has paused fighting that began when Hamas terrorists poured over the border into Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping dozens, according to Israeli officials. Israels retaliatory ground and air operation in Gaza has killed almost 15,000 people, mostly civilians, according to the territorys Hamas government. Relief on Both Sides The hostages released on Monday were mostly dual nationals, with Argentinians, Germans and French among those released. All the 11 hostages were from the Nir Oz kibbutz, the community said. (The releases have brought) a sigh of relief to our community, however we remain deeply concerned about our loved ones that are still held hostage, kibbutz official Osnat Peri was quoted as saying by news agency AFP. French-Israeli child Eitan Yahalomi was among the hostages released. He was pictured gripping his mother tightly when he was reunited with her. In east Jerusalem, Muhammad Abu Al-Humus, a Palestinian prisoner said he felt an indescribable joy and kissed his mothers hand as he entered his home when he was released from Israeli custody. Crowds waving Hamas flags greeted the released prisoners in the West Bank town of Beitunia. Way Ahead US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will make his third wartime visit to West Asia and meet both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in Ramallah. The secretary will stress the need to sustain the increased flow of humanitarian assistance to Gaza, secure the release of all hostages and improve protection to civilians in Gaza, a senior US official told the news agency. Blinken will discuss the principles he laid out for the future of Gaza and the need to establish an independent Palestinian state, the official further added. More Release Expected The AFP in its report said that 50 Israeli hostages were released under the truce deal and 150 Palestinian prisoners were freed. 19 hostages were freed under separate agreements, including Thai workers and a dual Russian-Israeli citizen. Hamas is now drawing up lists of additional hostages who will be released. They have highlighted that the process is complicated by the fact that some are held by other terrorist groups. In order to extend the pause, Hamas has committed to releasing another 20 women and children, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. Tourists visit Qinghai Lake in northwest China's Qinghai Province, Nov. 23, 2023. Located in the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Qinghai Lake is key to maintaining the ecological balance in western China. It is also a natural barrier for controlling the eastward spread of desertification and ensuring the safety of agricultural areas in eastern China. In recent years, with various ecological projects carried out in the Qinghai Lake, the environment here has been greatly improved. (Xinhua/Geng Huihuang) A water bird is pictured at Qinghai Lake in northwest China's Qinghai Province, Nov. 23, 2023. Located in the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Qinghai Lake is key to maintaining the ecological balance in western China. It is also a natural barrier for controlling the eastward spread of desertification and ensuring the safety of agricultural areas in eastern China. In recent years, with various ecological projects carried out in the Qinghai Lake, the environment here has been greatly improved. (Xinhua/Geng Huihuang) Water birds are pictured at Qinghai Lake in northwest China's Qinghai Province, Nov. 23, 2023. Located in the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Qinghai Lake is key to maintaining the ecological balance in western China. It is also a natural barrier for controlling the eastward spread of desertification and ensuring the safety of agricultural areas in eastern China. In recent years, with various ecological projects carried out in the Qinghai Lake, the environment here has been greatly improved. (Xinhua/Wang Yan) This aerial photo taken on Nov. 23, 2023 shows a view of Qinghai Lake in northwest China's Qinghai Province. Located in the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Qinghai Lake is key to maintaining the ecological balance in western China. It is also a natural barrier for controlling the eastward spread of desertification and ensuring the safety of agricultural areas in eastern China. In recent years, with various ecological projects carried out in the Qinghai Lake, the environment here has been greatly improved. (Xinhua/Wang Yan) This aerial photo taken on Nov. 23, 2023 shows a view of Qinghai Lake in northwest China's Qinghai Province. Located in the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Qinghai Lake is key to maintaining the ecological balance in western China. It is also a natural barrier for controlling the eastward spread of desertification and ensuring the safety of agricultural areas in eastern China. In recent years, with various ecological projects carried out in the Qinghai Lake, the environment here has been greatly improved. (Xinhua/Wang Yan) A water bird is pictured at Qinghai Lake in northwest China's Qinghai Province, Nov. 23, 2023. Located in the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Qinghai Lake is key to maintaining the ecological balance in western China. It is also a natural barrier for controlling the eastward spread of desertification and ensuring the safety of agricultural areas in eastern China. In recent years, with various ecological projects carried out in the Qinghai Lake, the environment here has been greatly improved. (Xinhua/Wang Yan) Editor: JYZ A Jewish community centre in Montreal was firebombed in the early hours of Monday an act decried by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as vile and hateful amid flaring tensions in Canada over the Israel-Hamas war. A Molotov cocktail was thrown through the buildings front door shortly after midnight, coming on the heels of several shootings and another firebombing targeting Jewish schools and institutions in Canadas second-largest city. The weapon smashed through the glass door and exploded in a hallway, burning part of a carpet. No one was present and minimal damage occurred, the head of Montreals Jewish Community Council, Rabbi Saul Emanuel, said in a statement. The rise in anti-Semitism in our city is frightening and the repeated violence and attacks on our community are abhorrent and condemned in the strongest terms, he added. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on X, formerly Twitter, the continued acts of anti-Semitic violence are deplorable and unacceptable and must stop immediately. We must all stand united against such vile, hateful acts, he said. Earlier this month, two Jewish schools were fired on, twice in one case, and a synagogue was struck with a Molotov cocktail. There were no injuries. Police in Montreal and Toronto both with large Jewish communities warned of a recent spike in hate crimes, particularly anti-Semitic acts. Several countries around the word, notably in Europe, have seen attacks on Jewish targets increase amid the intense Israeli strikes on Gaza in response to the bloody October 7 attack by militants of the Palestinian group Hamas. A new group of Israeli hostages were due to be freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners under an extended truce on Tuesday as mediators worked for a lasting halt to the devastating seven-week war. International figures hailed the pause in hostilities and releases of captives as a cause for hope in the conflict sparked by deadly Hamas attacks that prompted an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip. Israel and Hamas accused each other of violating the extended pause in incidents on Tuesday, though Qatari officials mediating in the conflict said this did not knock the truce off track. As a two-day extension to the truce began Tuesday, US and Israeli intelligence chiefs were in Doha, capital of Qatar, to discuss the next phase of the deal, a source briefed on their visit said. Israel and Hamas are under international pressure not to return to all-out fighting when the latest truce ends on Thursday, but instead to build on the prisoner swaps to find a solution to the conflict. A source close to the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas told AFP that 10 hostages held in Gaza would be freed in return for 30 prisoners released from Israeli prisons on Tuesday. In addition to those releases, some foreign workers held in Gaza will also be freed, the source told AFP. The truce paused fighting that began on October 7 when Hamas militants poured over the border into Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping about 240. Israels retaliatory ground and air operation in the Gaza Strip has killed almost 15,000 people, mostly civilians, according to the territorys Hamas government. Truce Violations Alleged Palestinian movements denounced what they dubbed truce violations by the occupier, and an AFP journalist saw an Israeli tank fire three times in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood of Gaza City as Palestinians attempted to return to their homes. The Israeli military described the shelling as warning shots, saying a tank fired as suspected militants approached army positions. At least one person was hurt, the AFP reporter saw. The Israeli military meanwhile alleged that three explosive devices were detonated near its forces in the northern Gaza strip, violating the framework of the operational pause. In one of the locations, terrorists also opened fire at the troops, who responded with fire. A number of soldiers were lightly injured during the incidents, the army said, adding that its troops were positioned in compliance with the truce agreement. Qatars foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari told a news conference: There have been some minimal breaches which have been noted by both parties but they did not harm the essence of the agreement and the agreement is still ongoing. Next Phase Israeli bombardments since October 7 have left buildings flattened in the Gaza Strip and residents walking through the rubble of ruined homes. I hope this truce will lead to a complete ceasefire, because we are fed up of sleeping outdoors in the rain, of losing our loved ones and having to flee, said Umm Mohammed, who was driven from her home in northern Gaza by the assault. One day for sure I will return and I hope that my house will be waiting for me, she told AFP. Israel has vowed to stick to its war aim of destroying Hamas and rescuing all remaining hostages. The return of the hostages is a bright light for us all, Israels army chief Herzi Halevi said in a video released Tuesday by the military. The release of dozens so far is also further evidence of the results of significant military pressure and resolute ground operations, which created the conditions for the return of our civilians home, he said. Qatari spokesman Ansari said that his government would use the extension to work for a sustainable truce. The head of the CIA and the director of Israels Mossad spy agency were in Qatar to discuss the Gaza truce with Qatars prime minister, a source briefed on their visit said, asking not to be named due to the talks sensitivity. The discussions aim to build on the progress of the extended humanitarian pause agreement and to initiate further discussions about the next phase of a potential deal, the source added. Indescribable Joy The latest round of exchanges on Monday night brought the total number of people released under the truce to 50 Israeli hostages, and 150 Palestinian prisoners, all women and minors. Another 19 hostages held in Gaza have been freed under separate deals since the truce began on Friday, including Thai workers and a dual Russian-Israeli citizen. Among images of the hostages released on Monday, a video released by the Israeli military showed French-Israeli child Eitan Yahalomi reunited with his mother, who gripped him tightly to her. The boys aunt told French news channel BFMTV that his mother had said he lived through horrors in captivity, including being struck by Palestinian civilians and threatened with weapons. Israels prison authority said 33 Palestinian inmates had been released in exchange on Monday. In Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, Palestinian prisoner Muhammad Abu al-Humus called his release an indescribable joy and kissed his mothers hand as he entered his home. Im very happy. I hope that others will soon be released my friends, my cousins. Call For Gaza Aid Israel views the truce as a temporary measure to secure hostage releases and says it plans to continue its military offensive against Hamas. We are committed to completing these missions: freeing all of the hostages, eliminating this terrorist organisation above and below ground, Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video released Tuesday by his office. But Israel faces increasing pressure for a more lasting ceasefire and the ramp-up of humanitarian aid to Gaza, where an estimated 1.7 million people have been displaced, according to the United Nations. The World Food Programme said it had delivered food to 121,161 people in Gaza since Friday, but that a high risk of famine remained. What we see is catastrophic, said WFPs director for the Middle East, Corinne Fleischer German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock welcomed Monday the release of 11 Gaza hostages, including two German teenagers as part of the truce agreement between Israel and Hamas. After 52 days of suffering and despair, their mother can hold them in her arms again. My thoughts are with the families who are still waiting in fear. We are doing everything we can so that they too can hold them in their arms, Baerbock posted on X, formerly Twitter. The release of the two hostages on Monday brings the total number of German passport-holders released by Hamas to 10 four were released on Friday and four more on Saturday. Baerbock also welcomed the announcement by Hamas of a truce extension, which she said would allow precious time for our aid to reach the people of Gaza. And its a glimmer of hope so we dont lose sight of what could happen: concrete steps towards a secure future for all the people in the region. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will not be making a previously announced visit to Ankara on Tuesday, the Turkish presidency told AFP, without providing a reason. The visit had been announced earlier this month by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said the two leaders would focus on forging a joint response to the Israel-Hamas war. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has emerged as one of the Muslim worlds most vocal critics of Israels onslaught on Gaza in response to Hamas militants October 7 attack. He has branded Israel a terrorist state and called Iran-backed Hamas a liberation group. Erdogan has also suggested trying Israeli politicians and military commanders in the International Criminal Court in the Hague. But past meetings between Muslim and Arab leaders including talks this month in Riyadh have failed to find common ground over what immediate economic and political steps to take. Analysts believe that Raisi will pressure Turkey to move past the rhetoric and cut its blossoming trade and energy relations with Israel. Iran expects Turkey to end its direct and indirect trade with Israel, Istanbuls Centre for Iranian Studies director Hakki Uygur told AFP. Turkey, on the other hand, has taken an attitude that cares about separating political and commercial issues. According to Gazas Hamas-led government, nearly 15,000 people mostly civilians and including thousands of children have died since Israel began to retaliate for Hamass unprecedented cross-border attacks in which Israel says 1,200 people, mostly civilians, died. Raisis visit comes with efforts focused on extending a truce that has seen dozens of Israeli hostages freed in return for the release of more than 100 Palestinian prisoners. Permanent peace Iran and Turkey share a 535-kilometre (330-mile) border and a complex history of close economic relations and opposing views on regional disputes. Turkey backed rebel efforts to topple Iranian and Russian-backed President Bashar al-Assad during Syrias civil war. Ankaras support for Azerbaijans two victorious wars over Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh also created deep unease in Iran. Tehran fears that Bakus resurgence in the Caucasus region could feed the separatist ambitions of Irans large ethnic Azerbaijani minority. Iran is also anxious about a proposed trade route running along its northern border between Azerbaijan and Turkey that could potentially complicate its access to Armenia. The most important conflict between Turkey and Iran was over the Caucasus and Karabakh, Ankara-based Iran expert Arif Keskin said. With the Gaza conflict, this issue was pushed to the back burner, but it still remains there as an important issue, Keskin told AFP. The Turkish presidency said Erdogan discussed finding a common stance against Israels brutality by phone with Raisi on Sunday. Analysts believe that Iran is trying to calibrate the extent to which it uses groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon to pressure Israel and the United States. Iran has been wary of intervening in the ongoing Middle East crisis and is likely to avoid any action that might escalate the conflict, the Eurasia Group said in a report. As Iran does not have total control over its allies, there is a risk that unintended actions bring US retaliation and escalate the conflict, it said. Erdogan has also voiced repeated worries about the spread of war. Iran and Turkey will continue to work in unity to make the temporary ceasefire permanent and achieve permanent peace, Erdogans office said after his call with Raisi. Israel said a four-day Gaza truce and hostage release will not start until at least Friday, stalling a breakthrough deal to pause the war with Hamas. A Palestinian official with knowledge of the negotiation process said the delay stemmed from last-minute details over which hostages would be released and how. Israel and Hamas, which have been at war since October 7, had announced a deal on Wednesday allowing at least 50 hostages and scores of Palestinian prisoners to be freed, during a four-day truce. The deal, facilitated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, is to take effect in stages that can be extended and broadened. It is also intended to provide aid to Gazas 2.4 million residents. Here is what we know so far: Release on hold at least one day Israeli national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi indicated the release of at least 50 Israeli and foreign hostages held by Hamas would still take place, but would not happen on Thursday as expected. The contacts on the release of our hostages are advancing and continuing constantly, he said. The start of the release will take place according to the original agreement between the sides, and not before Friday. Another Israeli official said a temporary halt in fighting would also not begin on Thursday. The Palestinian official, who asked to remain anonymous, said the truce had been put back over the names of the Israeli hostages and the modalities of their release. Talks continuing Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said Thursday talks were continuing and progressing positively. The timing of the pause will be announced within the next few hours, he said. Two-stage release Israel has said the exchange would take place in two phases. In a first step, 50 hostages and 150 Palestinian prisoners are set to be released during the four-day pause. If successful, a second phase could see 150 more Palestinian prisoners freed in exchange for another 50 hostages during an extended truce, Israels government said. While hostages are moved, Israeli reconnaissance of Gaza would be put on temporary hold, Ansari said. Who will be freed? An estimated 240 hostages were abducted during the unprecedented October 7 attack by Hamas that Israel says killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel. Under the agreement, Hamas says 50 women and children held in Gaza would be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. A senior US official said three Americans, including three-year-old Abigail Mor Idan, were among them. Qatar said no military prisoners were among those to be released. Israel published the names of 300 Palestinian detainees who could be freed mostly teenage boys. Of those on the list, 49 are identified as Hamas members, 60 as belonging to Fatah, the party which leads the Palestinian Authority in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and 17 as being affiliated with the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Aid surge planned EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said she had ordered aid deliveries to Gaza to be stepped up following the announcement of the pause. The European Commission will do its utmost to use this pause for a humanitarian surge to Gaza, she said. Qatar said the deal would include the entry of a larger number of humanitarian convoys and relief aid, including fuel designated for humanitarian needs. Senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu said at least 200-300 aid trucks would enter, including eight carrying fuel and gas. Israel says war not over Although Qatari mediators held out hope the deal could lead to a more durable ceasefire, Israeli officials stressed they intended to resume their campaign to eliminate Hamas as soon as the hostage releases are over. Israel pledged to continue the war in order to return home all of the hostages, complete the elimination of Hamas and ensure that there will be no new threat to the State of Israel from Gaza. Ahead of the cabinet meeting which approved the deal, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said he had won assurances it would not spell the end of the war. Immediately after we have exhausted this phase he said, security operations would continue in full force. The United Arab Emirates planned to use its role as host of the COP28 the UN climate talks as an opportunity to sign oil and gas deals with over 15 nations, the BBC said in a report. The UN body told the news agency that the hosts are expected to act unbiased and in ways that are devoid of self-interest. The BBC said in its report that the UAE team did not deny using COP28 meetings for business talks. Private meetings are private, the team was quoted as saying by the BBC. The team said that the work focuses on meaningful climate action. The documents accessed by the news agency showed that the UAE team prepared talking points to boost the interests of ADNOC, a state-owned oil firm. The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is headed by COP president-designate Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber. The documents revealed that ADNOC was willing to jointly evaluate international liquefied natural gas (LNG) opportunities in Mozambique, Canada and Australia. The papers accessed by the news agency showed that a Colombian minister was told that the UAE state-run oil company is ready to support Colombia to develop its fossil fuel resources. The papers also revealed that ADNOC wants to collaborate with governments of 13 other countries, including Germany and Egypt, to develop fossil fuel projects. These moves have concerned environmentalists, wildlife conservation experts, climate change activists and experts in this area because the COP28 meeting is seen as a strong effort to contain warming to the most ambitious Paris Agreement target of 1.5C (2.7F) above pre-industrial levels by 2100. This years COP28 is the UNs latest round of global climate talks and is being hosted by the UAE in Dubai. At least 167 world leaders, including the Pope and King Charles III, will attend the summit. The COP28 president-designate, Dr Sultan al-Jaber, will meet representatives of the governments who will attend the summit and will push them to act as aggressively as possible to reduce emissions. However, the documents accessed by the BBC showed that ADNOC and state renewable energy company, Masdar, drew talking points which are to be discussed with the government representatives. It should be noted that Jaber is also CEO of ADNOC and Masdar. These documents which were leaked contained a summary of the objectives for the meetings and what issues and topics Jaber should raise. These documents showed that the Brazilian environment minister would be asked to help with securing endorsement for Adnocs bid for Latin Americas largest oil and gas processing company, Braskem. It also showed that Germany would be told that LNG supplies would continue. The UAE COP28 team responded to the leaked documents by saying: Dr Sultan al-Jaber is singularly focused on the business of COP and delivering ambitious and transformational climate outcomes at COP28. The team also shot back by saying that these reports would cause a distraction suggesting that the work taken by Jaber was not focused on meaningful climate action. The fact that Dr Sultan al-Jaber holds a number of positions alongside his role as COP28 president-designate is public knowledge and something we have been transparent about from the outset, the COP28 team further added. However, experts told the BBC that these moves could be counterproductive for the global target of reducing emissions because UAE is currently the custodian of UN process aimed at reducing global emissions but if these reports are to believed then one may assume that they are trying to do deals that may increase global emissions. An American man on Monday was charged with attempted murder in Vermont over the shooting of three men of Palestinian descent, in a crime authorities described as an act of hatred. Vermont state attorney Sarah George said there was not yet sufficient evidence to support a hate crime enhancement of the charges against the suspect, identified as Jason Eaton, 48. But I do want to be clear, George told reporters in Burlington, the northeastern US city where the shooting occurred. There is no question this was a hateful act. Police said the gunman stepped off a front porch and unprovoked opened fire on the three college students as they walked together Saturday on a city block. The attack comes during heightened tensions in the United States over the Israel-Hamas war. College campuses and other locations have seen mounting threats and incidents of violence including acts of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism. President Joe Biden said he was horrified by the shooting of the students, who had gathered to observe the American holiday of Thanksgiving. There is absolutely no place for violence or hate in America. Period, Biden said in a statement. The attack also prompted anger and shock among several US lawmakers. Eaton was arrested Sunday, and appeared before a judge in a Burlington court on Monday. NBC reported he pleaded not guilty to the shootings. Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad described how law enforcement agents encountered Eaton when they knocked on his apartment door, and he responded by saying Ive been waiting for you. When the agents asked why, Eaton said I would like a lawyer. Authorities searched the premises and retrieved a weapon and ammunition that matched the shells recovered from the scene of the shooting. Domestic violent extremists US Attorney General Merrick Garland warned Monday of increasing threats from domestic violent extremists amid growing attacks against minority groups, as he vowed a full investigation into the shooting. There is understandable fear, Garland said, as the United States experiences a sharp increase in threats and attacks against Jewish and Muslim communities since October 7, when Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip launched a deadly raid on Israel, sparking a brutal war. Burlington police had earlier described the shooter as a white man with a handgun. Without speaking, police said, he discharged at least four rounds from the pistol and is believed to have fled on foot. A police statement said two of the victims were in stable condition, and the third suffered much more serious injuries. It said two are US citizens and one a legal resident. Two of the young men were wearing keffiyehs, the traditional black and white Palestinian scarf. All three victims were graduates of the Ramallah Friends School, a private Quaker school in the West Bank, and are now attending different universities in the northeastern United States. This was a crime fueled by hate, the families said in a statement. We welcome the decision by law enforcement and the Vermont Attorney Generals office to continue the investigation and pursuit of hate crimes charges. We believe a full investigation is likely to show our sons were targeted and violently attacked simply for being Palestinian. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will pay his third wartime visit to West Asia this week and meet Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv and with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in Ramallah. The US officials gave only a few details about the agenda of the meetings but a report by AFP citing senior American officials said the US secretary of state will discuss the principles he laid out for future of Gaza and the need to establish an independent Palestinian state. A two-state solution is the only way to guarantee the long-term security of both the Israeli and the Palestinian people.To make sure Israelis and Palestinians alike live in equal measure of freedom and dignity, we will not give up on working towards that goal. Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) November 28, 2023 The secretary will stress the need to sustain the increased flow of humanitarian assistance to Gaza, secure the release of all hostages and improve protection to civilians in Gaza. (He will discuss) the principles he laid out for the future of Gaza and the need to establish an independent Palestinian state, the official told the news agency. The US is also pressuring Israel to work with the Palestinian Authority and rein in settlers who have launched attacks against Palestinian villagers in the West Bank since October 7. Netanyahu is a long-time critic of Abbas and does not prefer the two-state solution. The US and Biden have backed Israel following the Hamas-led October 7 attacks which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in Israels deadliest-ever attack. But they have also expressed concern regarding the Israeli retaliations toll on civilians, which have galvanised public opinion in much of the world. The bombing and ground campaign has left almost 15,000 people dead, mostly Palestinian civilians, according to Gazas Hamas government. US President Joe Biden on Monday (local time) said he and his country will keep working towards the two-state solution and believes that it can bring lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians as Israel and Hamas extended their truce by 48 hours. A two-state solution is the only way to guarantee the long-term security of both the Israeli and the Palestinian people. To make sure Israelis and Palestinians alike live in equal measure of freedom and dignity, we will not give up on working towards that goal, Biden said. Fatah in Gaza? Both US President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier said that following the war Gaza should be unified with the Israeli-occupied West Bank under a revitalised Palestinian Authority (PA) led by Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas PA, also known as Fatah, controls large parts of the West Bank in close coordination with Israel but Palestinians call them collaborators. A report by the New York Times said that only a small section of people in the West Bank as well as Israel feel the authority is capable of governing a post-conflict Gaza. The West Bank Palestinians view Fatah as a subcontractor to the Israeli government which controls almost every aspect of life in the West Bank. The report also pointed out that without the security provided by the Israeli Army the Fatah may struggle to even survive in the West Bank. It also said that Palestinians consider the Fatah authoritarian, corrupt and undemocratic administration. The New York Times report said that if elections were held imminently, it is probable, based on what experts and polls suggest, that Hamas would win again. Ukraine said Tuesday it will boycott an OSCE meeting in the North Macedonian capital Skopje this week after the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, who said he plans to attend. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania also said they will not take part in the annual ministerial conference of the pan-European security body. The announcement came the day after Bulgaria said it will open its airspace to the Russian minister, making a diplomatic exemption to European skies being closed to Russia over its Ukraine invasion. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will boycott the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) meeting over the decision to allow Lavrov to attend, Kyiv told AFP. Lavrov is under European sanctions and had asked for North Macedonia and neighbouring Bulgaria to open their airspace to enable him to fly into Skopje. The top Russian diplomat said Monday that he plans to travel to Skopje if he will be let through. If it works out, we will be there, he said, according to Russian news agencies. The annual ministerial conference in Skopje begins on Thursday. Kyiv has called for Moscow to be excluded from the organisation. We must work together to save the OSCE from Russia, Nikolenko said in a later post on social media. He said Russia should be removed from the OSCE as it unleashed the largest armed aggression in Europe since the end of WWII. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania also said Tuesday their top diplomats would not attend the meeting in protest over the invitation to Lavrov. Lavrovs attendance trivialises the atrocious crimes that Russia continues to commit, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels. EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said he will attend the meeting in Skopje, but will not meet Lavrov directly. Russia will present its point of view, we the Europeans will present ours, Borrell said. But I will not have a direct discussion with him. North Macedonia currently holds the rotating chairmanship of the European security body. When Poland hosted the annual meeting last year, it did not allow Lavrov into the country. US and Israeli intelligence chiefs have arrived in Doha to discuss the next phase of a deal between Hamas and Israel in Gaza, a source briefed on the visit said on Tuesday. The leaders of the US Central Intelligence Agency and Israels Mossad were scheduled to meet Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the source said, adding that Egyptian officials were also taking part. The director of the CIA and the director of the Israeli National Intelligence Agency are in Doha to meet with the Qatari prime minister, the source told AFP, requesting anonymity due to the talks sensitivity. The discussions aim to build on the progress of the extended humanitarian pause agreement and to initiate further discussions about the next phase of a potential deal, the source said. Qatar has been engaged in intense negotiations, with support from Egypt and the United States, to extend the truce in Gaza that was originally due to last four days. The gas-rich Gulf state announced late on Monday, the day of the truces expiry, that successful talks with Israel and Hamas had resulted in a two-day extension. Over the initial four-day pause, 50 civilian hostages all women and children were freed in return for 150 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. The informed source said CIA director Bill Burns and Mossad head David Barnea would hold a series of meetings initiated by prime minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha to discuss the potential terms of a deal beyond the two-day extension. Sustainable Truce On Tuesday, Qatars foreign ministry spokesman said the mediator would use the extension to work towards a sustainable truce between Israel and Hamas. Our main focus right now, and our hope, is to reach a sustainable truce that will lead to further negotiations and eventually to an end to this war, Majed Al Ansari told reporters. However, we are working with what we have. And what we have right now is the provision to the agreement that allows us to extend days as long as Hamas is able to guarantee the release of at least 10 hostages. Ansari confirmed the truce would continue with the release of 20 further hostages. We are hopeful that in the next 48 hours we will be getting more information from Hamas regarding the rest of the hostages, he added. The spokesman said minimal breaches in recent days had not harmed the essence of the agreement. Qatar has held parallel negotiations between Hamas and other nations which led to the release of 17 Thais, one Filipino and one Russian-Israeli dual national. Before Friday, just four hostages had been released by Hamas. A fifth had been rescued by Israeli troops and two more found dead. Israel says around 240 hostages were seized when Hamas gunmen stormed across Gazas militarised border on October 7 and mounted the deadliest attack in the countrys history. Israel says the attack killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians. In response, Israel launched a relentless bombing campaign and ground offensive in Hamas-ruled Gaza, which the Hamas government says have killed almost 15,000 people, most of them women and children. Press Release November 28, 2023 Opening Statement of Senator Risa Hontiveros during the Committee on Foreign Relations Hearing discussing International Labour Organization Convention No. 190 or the Convention Concerning the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work (ILO 190), and UNESCO 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions November 28, 2023 Naimbag nga malem sa ating Committee Chair, Senator Imee Marcos, to our Majority Leader Joel Villanueva at sa lahat ng mga kasamang kong Senador, Senador Robin Padilla, sa mga union leaders partikular sa mga representatives ng Global Unions, at sa lahat ng mga bisita at resource speakers na nandito ngayon. Bilang Chairperson ng Committee on Women and Children and Family Relations, ako po ay masayang masaya na finally natitipon-tipon tayo ngayon para simulan ang pag-concur sa pag ratipika ng nakapalapit sa aking puso, ang Convention 190 or the Convention on the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work. C190 defines violence and harassment as a "range of unacceptable behaviors and practices, or threats thereof, whether a single occurrence or repeated, that aim at, result in, or are likely to result in physical, psychological, sexual or economic harm, and includes gender-based violence and harassment". As the author and sponsor of the Safe Spaces Act, which protects women in all spheres of our life including in the workplace, I know that violence in the world of work has no place in our society. Karapatan ng bawat babae ang maging ligtas saan man tayo nandoon, kasama na ang ating pinagtatrabahuhan. Women should not have to live in silence and fear, and should not have to be forced to choose between being victims of violence or losing livelihood. Hindi dapat mamili ang mga kababaihan sa karahasan o sa pangangalam ng tiyan. It is our duty to ensure the concurrence and ratification of ILO C190 as soon as possible. While the protection of women is paramount and is important in and of itself, violence in world of work also leads to dire social and economic consequences that affect all of us. The concurrence in ILO C190 will pave the way for key government agencies, employers and different institutions and stakeholders to work together for an environment of a gender-violence and harassment free space for all workers - whether in the public or private sector, or in the formal or informal economy. Alam ng karamihan sa inyo na marami na tayong pinagdaanang mga pulong, proseso at kampanya para sa ratipikasyon ng ILO C190 at upang wakasan ang lahat ng uri ng karahasan na nararanasan ng ating mga manggagawa sa iba't - ibang paraan at lugar - at ng ibat ibang sektor ng ating lipunan, lalo lalo na ang sektor ng kababaihan. Sa katunayan, last August 23, I filed a resolution urging the executive department to ratify the ILO C 190 and also wrote a letter to our Chair, Imee Marcos requesting her Committee to lead the process of concurrence of the ILO 190. Agyamanak Chair for doing this. I deeply believe that concurring with ILO C190 will help advance women empowerment, increase labor productivity and contribute to peaceful industrial relations. It will also support the Philippine government's effort to implement the recommendations of the ILO High Level Tripartite Mission to address violations on labor rights, and freedom of association. Finally, ILO C190 ratification will help us meet our target to achieve Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 5 - advancing full and productive employment and decent work opportunities and improved public services and socio-economic development. I am very happy and honored that we are all here today, this is an achievement and another milestone to celebrate. We will continue to work to end violence and harassment in the world of work. Mabuhay tayong lahat, mabuhay ang kababaihan, mabuhay ang kilusang paggawa! Congratulations in advance, Madam Chair. Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Astana, Kazakhstan, Nov. 27, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Yan) ASTANA, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- China stands ready to work with Kazakhstan to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, promote the high-quality construction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and push the permanent comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Kazakhstan to a higher level, said Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang on Monday. Ding, who paid a visit to Kazakhstan from Nov. 26 to 27, made the remarks when meeting with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Astana. Ding, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, conveyed Chinese President Xi Jinping's cordial greetings and best wishes to Tokayev. Noting that China-Kazakhstan cooperation enjoys a solid foundation, huge potential and broad prospects, Ding said China stands ready to work with Kazakhstan to cement the foundation of mutual trust, strengthen the synergy of development strategies, enhance policy coordination and expand mutually beneficial cooperation to help each other achieve their development goals. Ding called on the two sides to promote the synergy of the BRI and Kazakhstan's Bright Road initiative, actively explore new forms and paths of cooperation, and deepen cooperation in culture, tourism, education, sports, youth and at sub-national levels to carry forward the traditional friendship between China and Kazakhstan. China is ready to work with Kazakhstan to promote the stable operation of China-Central Asia mechanisms to jointly maintain regional peace and stability, he added. Tokayev asked Ding to convey his sincere greetings to Chinese President Xi, and said Kazakhstan firmly supports high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and welcomes Chinese enterprises to invest in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is willing to work with China to deepen practical cooperation in various fields, resolutely crack down on the "three forces" of terrorism, strengthen people-to-people exchanges and sub-national cooperation, and push for new achievements in the permanent comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, Tokayev said. During his visit to Kazakhstan, Ding also met with Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov, and co-chaired the 11th Meeting of the China-Kazakhstan Cooperation Committee with Kazakh First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar. Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Astana, Kazakhstan, Nov. 27, 2023. (Xinhua/Yan Yan) Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov in Astana, Kazakhstan, Nov. 27, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Tao) Editor: WRX Prominent Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi is on the list of 50 female Palestinian prisoners approved for potential early release as part of an extended truce agreement with Hamas, an Israeli media report on Tuesday. Tamimi, considered an icon of resistance for Palestinians, was arrested earlier this month during a raid in the West Bank, on suspicion of inciting violence and terrorist activities in the town of Nabi Salih. Icon of the Palestinian cause Tamimi became famous at age 14 when she was filmed biting an Israeli soldier to prevent him from arresting her brother who had his arm in a cast. She has become an icon of the Palestinian cause and a large portrait of her has been painted on the Israeli separation wall with the West Bank in Bethlehem near Jerusalem. Earlier this month, Tamimi was arrested after posting on social media that Palestinians will slaughter settlers and drink your blood, The Times of Israel reported. Tamimi, now 22, became an icon of the Palestinian cause after she was jailed as a teenager for slapping an Israeli soldier. She said the soldiers had shot her cousin in the head with a rubber bullet an hour prior to the filmed encounter. Controversial Instagram post She was arrested in 2017 and held for eight months for slapping two Israeli soldiers in the courtyard of her family home in the West Bank as she asked them to leave. Though Tamimi was under scrutiny for an Instagram post that called for a massacre of Israelis in the West Bank and made reference to Hitler, her mother Narimane Tamimi denies that she wrote the post. Her mother added, When Ahed tries to open a social media account, its immediately blocked. Meanwhile, the Israeli media has dismissed her as a provocateur who knows how to publicise her actions and her family have been accused of exploiting her. Michael Oren, a former Israeli ambassador to the US, alleged in 2017 that the family dresses up kids in American clothes and pays them to provoke (Israeli) troops on camera. This cynical and cruel use of children constitutes abuse, he said on social media platform X. Truce Extension On Monday, a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas was extended for two more days. In the fourth swap under the original four-day truce, 11 Israeli hostages, all women and children, were released from Hamas captivity Monday night in the Gaza Strip. Early Tuesday, 33 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons were freed and driven to the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah. The Israeli Justice Ministry published the list of the 50 additional names late Monday. (With agency inputs) The Ministry for Communities and Territories Development and Infrastructure of Ukraine and the USAID Energy Security Project (ESP) signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at restoring, reforming and developing the energy and municipal infrastructure of communities, ensuring energy sustainability, the press service of the Ministry of Restoration reports. Reforming the energy sector in accordance with EU best practices, optimizing Ukraines municipal heating system, promoting the large-scale implementation of decentralized energy supply, integrating various sources of renewable energy, and increasing energy efficiency will contribute to the decarbonization of the energy system and increase energy security. I am grateful to our American partners for their willingness to help Ukraine in ways to transform and modernize our energy system, noted Deputy Ministry of Restoration Oleksandr Butenko. USAID, through the Energy Security Project, will support the ministry in reforming the district heating and power sector. It will contribute to improving energy sustainability by prioritizing energy infrastructure project concepts at the municipal level aimed at economically feasible and financially sustainable distributed energy generation with integrated cogeneration, promoting the deployment of various energy sources. An important element is to promote the development of cogeneration, which will reduce the number of potential power outages in emergency situations. This will also ensure a constant supply of energy to critical infrastructure facilities in communities. In order to strengthen the resilience of heating infrastructure and ensure the supply of energy to critical infrastructure in local communities, we will focus on supporting a range of investment projects for distributed generation using various energy sources and developing the technical capacity of local authorities and sector stakeholders, in addition to special attention, which we will devote to the development of regulatory documents on distributed generation in district heating systems, said Michael Trainor, head of the USAID Energy Security Project. The memorandum provides for both cooperation to meet priority needs and assistance in strategic planning for the restoration and reform of energy and heat supply. Saying the social media platform has become "a tool for destroying our democracies," the mayor of Paris announced Monday that she's quitting X. She didn't name Elon Musk but made clear that it's all gotten worse since he took over Twitter, Politico Europe reports. "This platform and its owner act deliberately to exacerbate tensions and conflicts," Anne Hidalgo wrote in a post , saying that its algorithms changed the site since its beginning as a way to make information freely available, per the New York Times . Now, she said, X is "a vast worldwide sewer." Musk and X have taken increasing criticism lately over misinformation and his endorsement of an antisemitic remark on X; he visited Israel on Monday, possibly prompted by the backlash. The Socialist mayor, who's been in office for almost a decade, has battled misinformation on X about issues and her tenure. "Facts are irrelevant" on the site, Hidalgo said. She also was displeased by an X report that said France was the top country in Europe when it comes to postings of violent and illegal content. "We need more than ever to keep real democracy alive," the mayor said. "Twitter hinders debate," she added, as well as the "constructive dialogue needed between human beings." X did not respond to a request for comment. (Read more Twitter stories.) Hundreds of people turned out Monday to salute Rosalynn Carter on the former first lady and global humanitarian's final journey from her hometown to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta. The Carter family began three days of memorials following her death Nov. 19 at age 96, the AP reports. Former President Jimmy Carter, who is 99, plans to attend a church service Tuesday in Atlanta for his partner of more than 77 years, the Carter Center confirmed. The tributes started Monday morning as Rosalynn Carter's casket traveled by motorcade through the Carters' native Sumter County, where well-wishers gathered along the route in their hometown of Plains and attended a wreath-laying ceremony at the college from which she graduated in 1946. Lyndea Brown came to the short ceremony at Georgia Southwestern State University from nearby Albany, saying she wanted to salute "a remarkable woman" who attended local cancer benefits and fought for rural health services. "They were always real hometown people," Brown said. "We don't get presidents and first ladies like that anymore, people who have true hometown roots and understand what it's like to grow corn and peanuts and whatever else and to struggle over health care." During the stop at Rosalynn Carter's alma mater, her four childrenJack, Chip, Jeff, and Amywatched as wreaths of white flowers were placed beside a statue of their mother on the campus where she founded the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving to advocate for millions of unpaid caregivers in American households. Generations of the Carter familyincluding the former first lady's grandchildren and great-grandchildrenaccompanied the hearse to Atlanta, where she was to lie in repose as members of the public paid respects Monday evening at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum. Two funerals, planned for Tuesday in Atlanta and Wednesday in Plains, are for invited guests. President Biden and first lady Jill Biden, longtime friends of the Carters, plan to lead the dignitaries at the Atlanta service. The burial Wednesday in Plains will be private. story continues below The schedule, a product of detailed planning that involved the former first couple, reflects the range of Rosalynn Carter's interests and impact. That includes her advocacy for better mental health treatment and the elevation of caregiving, her role as Jimmy Carter's closest adviser, and her status as matriarch of Plains and Maranatha Baptist Church, where she and the former president served in various roles after leaving the White House in 1981. "All over the world, people are celebrating her life," said Kim Fuller, the Carters' niece, while teaching a Bible lesson Sunday at Maranatha. "And of course we're coming into a week now where we're gonna celebrate even more." (Read more Rosalynn Carter stories.) A group of would-be carjackers were forced to flee without the Porsche they were trying to carjack once they discovered it was a manual transmission and they didn't know how to drive stick. The car's owner was outside a business in Bethesda, Maryland, late Sunday when the group approached and demanded his keys, pistol-whipping him with a gun, Fox 5 DC reports. The man ran back into the business while the suspects tried to take off in his SUV. But after they saw the stick shift, they ended up escaping the scene in another vehicle. They are still being sought, and the man is recovering from his injuries. A former WWE wrestler was sentenced to more than 17 years behind bars Monday after a DUI crash last year in Florida that left a 75-year-old man dead. Police say Tamara "Tammy" Sytch, who went by "Sunny" during her wrestling days, had a blood alcohol content four times the legal limit when she ran into Julian LaFrancis Lasseter's car while he was stopped at a red light, and that she later admitted to drinking vodka before the crash. She pleaded no contest to one count of DUI manslaughter; driving while license suspended with death; four counts of DUI with damage to person; and two counts of DUI with damage to property, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reports. She also received eight years of probation following her incarceration, during which time she must meet certain conditions including substance abuse evaluation. Her attorneys had argued she has mental health issues and had suffered trauma and abuse during her lifetime and should be granted leniency; Sytch, who was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2011, had faced up to 26 years in prison, ClickOrlando reports. But prosecutors argued for a harsher sentence, pointing out that in 2015, Sytch was arrested three times in a one-month period for drunk driving in Pennsylvania. She had also previously violated probation in another case, and her driver's license was suspended at the time of the crash, Fox 35 Orlando reports. (Read more WWE stories.) Malaysian police had to investigate an unusual case of road rage in which the angered party was a herd of elephants. It seems a 48-year-old driver struck an elephant calf with his car on a highway Sunday evening in foggy, rainy conditions, reports the Straits Times. "Seeing this, the other (five) elephants rushed towards the car and started trampling it," says Gerik Police Superintendent Zulkifli Mahmood, per CNN. Fortunately, none of the mammals involved appear to have been seriously hurtnot the three family members in the car nor the calf, who police say got up and walked off with its small herd when the trampling was over. Ron DeSantis may be on the verge of a "full Grassley" in Iowa , but rival Nikki Haley has just secured a potentially bigger prize. The political network founded by billionaire brothers Charles and (the late) David Koch endorsed her in the 2024 race, reports the Hill . Tuesday's endorsement by Americans for Prosperity Action, announced in a memo , marks the first time the group has endorsed a candidate in a presidential race, per the Washington Post . "In sharp contrast to recent elections that were dominated by the negative baggage of Donald Trump and in which good candidates lost races that should have been won, Nikki Haley, at the top of the ticket, would boost candidates up and down the ballot," the memo reads. It adds that the nation "is being ripped apart by extremes on both sides," and that Haley, a former UN ambassador and governor of South Carolina, has the experience "to pull our nation back from the brink." As for the implications of the endorsement: DeSantis has long had an organizational advantage over Haley because of the super PAC affiliated with his campaign, and the Koch endorsement could close that gap, per the New York Times. "It will give her access to a direct-mail operation, field workers to knock on doors, and people making phone calls to prospective voters in Iowa and beyond," per the story. Plus, she'll get TV and mail advertising campaigns, notes Politico. Haley and DeSantis, of course, are battling for second place behind Donald Trump, who maintains a huge lead over everyone. The Florida governor's campaign sought to downplay the endorsement on Tuesday. "Every dollar spent on Nikki Haley's candidacy should be reported as an in-kind to the Trump campaign," wrote spokesman Andrew Romeo on X. "No one has a stronger record of beating the establishment than Ron DeSantis, and this time will be no different." (Read more Nikki Haley 2024 stories.) Polish Infrastructure Minister Andrzej Adamczyk has sent a letter to Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov, in which he proposed Kyiv to meet the demands of protesting Polish truck drivers, Ukrainian media reported, citing the Polish Infrastructure Ministry's statement published on its website. The electronic queue system was behind the protests, among other reasons, Adamczyk said. "This has resulted in a substantial increase in the waiting time for vehicles registered in the European Union, which are returning from Ukraine without cargo, to cross the Ukrainian-European border," Adamczyk was quoted as saying in the statement. Adamczyk urged the Ukrainian side to take urgent measures to meet the Polish truck drivers' demands, in particular, drop the requirement to register in the electronic queue of vehicles at the two border checkpoints Zosin-Ustyluh and Nizhankovychi-Malhowice. In addition, the protesting truck drivers demand the reinstatement of international transportation permits for Ukrainian transport companies, which were canceled in accordance with the EU-Ukraine agreement (the so-called transport visa-free regime), the Polish Infrastructure Ministry said. In this regard, Adamczyk asked European Commissioner for Transport Adina Valean to reinstate the validity of such permits. He also called on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to support his address to the Ukrainian government to abolish the electronic queue system. Alex Murdaugh is already in prison for the murders of his wife and son, but as ABC News reports, Tuesday brought a different piper for the disgraced South Carolina legal scion to pay: His former clients. Murdaugh pleaded guilty to bilking them out of millions of dollars over the course of years, and agreed to a plea deal that will add another 27 years in prison to his tally. And unlike Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, the AP reports that these 18 victims were in the court room with all the time in the world to look their former lawyer in the eye and say whatever was on their minds. One of the victims who spoke was Tony Satterfield, one of the adult sons of housekeeper Gloria Satterfield, who died after an accident at the Murdaugh home, the BBC reports. Prosecutors said a $3.5 million life insurance ended up in one of Murdaugh's account, with the family receiving nothing. "You lied. You cheated. You stole. You betrayed me and my family and everyone else," Satterfield told Murdaugh. He said his Christian faith obliged him to forgive the former lawyer. Murdaugh had "an insatiable need for money," said prosecutor Creighton Waters of the state Attorney General's Office. The 27-year sentence is an insurance policy for prosecutors in case his murder conviction is overturned on appeal. Under South Carolina law, Murdaugh will have to serve almost 23 years of the sentence, even if he is a model prisoner. He would be 76 before he could be released. Judge Clifton Newman, who also presided over the murder trial, accepted the plea deal. He said that apart from a man who killed an off-duty police officer and burned the body, Murdaugh has the "emptiest soul" of anyone he has seen in his 23 years as a judge, the AP reports. (Read more Alex Murdaugh stories.) The wife of Ukraine's spymaster was poisoned with heavy metals and is now recovering in the hospital, say Ukrainian officials. Marianna Budanova, a psychologist, is the wife of Kyrylo Budanov, who heads the GUR military intelligence agency, reports Reuters . Russia has a long history of poisoning its enemies , per the New York Times , but Ukraine is not pointing any fingers just yet. Much about the poisoning is unclear, including whether Budanov might have been the intended target. Several other members of the GUR also had mild symptoms, per the BBC, with the best guess being that the poison was delivered via food. The Ukrainian news outlet Babel first reported the poisoning, quoting an unnamed official who said the substances used were "not used in any way in everyday life or military operations." Budanova was undergoing treatment and expected to recover. Her husband has said the two of them were living out of his office for some time, partly for safety reasons. Though suspicions turned immediately toward Moscow, the Times quotes a former Ukraine intelligence official who is skeptical about that, given the close proximity that would have been required. Russia "just doesn't have the needed kind of agents on the territory of Ukraine that would be able to poison someone," said Viktor Yahun. (Read more Ukraine stories.) The Israeli army said Tuesday that 10 Israelis and 2 foreigners held hostage in Gaza have been released, arriving in Egypt on the fifth day of a temporary ceasefire. Hamas released nine women and a 17-year-old late on Tuesday evening local time, the Israeli army said. The hostages will be flown to hospitals in Israel, where they will be reunited with their families. Around 30 Palestinian prisoners are expected to be released as part of the deal negotiated by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States, the AP reports. The original four-day ceasefire, which expired Monday, was extended for an additional two days. Earlier Tuesday, mediators met in Qatar to try to extend the ceasefire beyond Wednesday, and for the first time since it began, Israel and Hamas traded accusations of a serious violation with an exchange of fire between troops and militants in northern Gaza. But there was no indication that it would endanger the truce or the planned exchanges of hostages held in Gaza for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. Israel has vowed to resume the war with "full force" to destroy Hamas once it's clear that no more hostages will be freed under the deal. CIA director William Burns and David Barnea, who heads Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, are in Qatar, a key mediator with Hamas, to discuss extending the ceasefire and releasing more hostages, a diplomat told the AP on condition of anonymity. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to visit the region this week, also with an eye to extending the truce. Hamas and other militants are still holding about 160 hostages out of the 240 seized in their Oct. 7 assault into southern Israel that ignited the war. Israel has said it is willing to extend the ceasefire by one day for every 10 additional hostages that Hamas releases, according to the deal. But Hamas is expected to make much higher demands for the release of captive Israeli soldiers. (Read more Israel-Hamas war stories.) Rosalynn Carter was memorialized Tuesday as a matriarch who felt most comfortable among the impoverished and vulnerable as she was mourned by a rare gathering of all living US first ladies and multiple presidents, including her 99-year-old husband Jimmy Carter. The tribute service marked the second day of a three-day schedule of public events celebrating the former first lady and global humanitarian who died Nov. 19 at home in Plains, Georgia, at the age of 96. Tributes began Monday in the Carters' native Sumter County and continued at Glenn Memorial Church in Atlanta. "My mother was the glue that held our family together through the ups and downs and thicks and thins of our family's politics," her son James Earl "Chip" Carter III said. The former president, who is 10 months into home hospice care and hadn't been seen in public since September, watched from his wheelchair, reclining and covered by a blanket featuring his wife's face, with Chip and his daughter Amy holding his hands. Their other sons, Jeff and Jack, flanked them. "He never wants to be very far from her," Carter Center CEO Paige Alexander said. President Biden and first lady Jill Biden, their longtime friends, joined them in the front row, along with former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former first ladies Melania Trump, Michelle Obama, and Laura Bush, the AP reports. More than 1,000 people, including a sizeable contingent of Secret Service agents, filled the sanctuary. Former Presidents Donald Trump, Barack Obama, and George W. Bush were invited but didn't attend. The service reflected Rosalynn Carter's status as a global figure while emphasizing her more private profile as a family matriarch who preferred a simple life and held a deep religious faith. "She had met kings and queens, presidents, others in authority, powerful corporate leaders and celebrities," Chip Carter said. "She said the people that she felt the most comfortable with and the people she enjoyed being with the most were those that lived in absolute abject poverty." story continues below "Without Rosalynn Carter, I don't believe there would have been a President Carter," said Judy Woodruff, a journalist who covered the Carter presidency. It was Jimmy Carter's first public appearance since entering hospice care, other than a brief ride with Rosalynn in September's Plains Peanut Festival parade, where they were visible only through the open windows of a Secret Service vehicle. He was with his wife during her final hours, but did not appear publicly during earlier events at Rosalynn Carter's alma mater, Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus, and at his presidential library. Alexander said the trip to Atlanta was "hard" for the former president but "this is her last trip up and it's probably his, too He's determined." (Read more Rosalynn Carter stories.) Decision to open EIB representative office in Kyiv is important signal for Ukrainian business - Zelenskyy at meeting with banks management President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting in Kyiv on Monday with President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Werner Hoyer and Vice-President of the EIB Teresa Czerwinska. I met with the president and vice-president of the European Investment Bank. I thanked them for the visit to Ukraine and the decision to open a regional office of the EIB in Kyiv, the president wrote on Telegram. First of all, according to Zelenskyy, this is an important signal for our people that you believe in Ukraine, in the development of our state. This is also of great importance for Ukrainian business. He also thanked the banks management for the funds previously sent to Ukraine to cover priority needs. In turn, the President of the European Investment Bank said that it was an honor for him to come to Ukraine on a visit. He also noted the progress in the development of Kyiv during the war. According to the presidential press service, during the meeting special attention was paid to the issue of accelerating the implementation of existing investment projects, in particular locally and in the regions. We would like priority to be given, first of all, to infrastructure projects for the restoration of our state. So that this work would have a greater effect, said the president of Ukraine. In turn, Werner Hoyer noted that the visit of the EIB delegation to Ukraine is evidence of unwavering support, especially in the face of Russian aggression. From the very beginning of the Russian invasion, we have worked with the Ukrainian authorities to facilitate reconstruction projects, supporting the country's remarkable resilience. With the opening of our EIB regional office for Eastern Europe in Kyiv, we want to underline our strengthened commitment to accompany Ukraine on its European journey. Ukraine is an integral part of the European family, and the EIB is a key part of the EU's long-term support," he said. According to Werner Hoyer, the European Investment Bank continues close cooperation with Ukraine, which provides for a series of new initiatives to restore infrastructure and support the economy of the Ukrainian state. These initiatives include two loan agreements totaling EUR450 million, which were recently approved by the EIB Board of Governors. The initiatives will be financed through the EU for Ukraine fund. As reported, on November 27, the EIB management announced the opening of its representative office in Kyiv. The purpose of its work will be enhanced support for Eastern Europe and, in particular, Ukraine. The bank also announced new recovery initiatives through the EU for Ukraine fund. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa commended the American Mission Hospitals efforts in providing the best medical care to citizens and residents and the excellent reputation it maintains, making it the regions first leading hospital with over 120 years of experience in the field. HM the King was speaking as he received Minister of Health, Her Excellency Dr. Jaleela bint Al Sayed Jawad, CEO and CMO of American Mission Hospital, Dr. George Cheriyan, and Ms. Julia Tovey, AMH Group CEO. HM King Hamad received a model of the newly opened hospital from Dr. Cheriyan, along with a book titled A Journey Through Time, a book written by Ms. Tovey documenting the history of the American mission since 1902. His Majesty hailed the historic Bahrain-US relations in various sectors, including in health and medicine. Dr. Cheriyan thanked HM the King for his ongoing support, which reflects the long-standing cooperation between the two countries. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com The Bahrain Cabinet reiterated the governments commitment to developing agricultural, livestock, and mariculture sectors through plans and initiatives aimed at bolstering food security. This follows the Cabinets review of a report submitted by the Minister of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture, noting the organisational efforts made by the Ministry and the relevant government agencies, which contributed to the success of the event. The Deputy Prime Minister, HE Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, yesterday chaired the weekly Cabinet meeting held at Gudaibiya Palace. The Cabinet commended the opening of the sixth edition of the Bahrain Animal Production Show (Maraee 2023), held under the patronage of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. The Cabinet congratulated Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, Wife of HM the King and President of the Supreme Council for Women (SCW), on Bahraini Womens Day. It commended the efforts of the SWC in empowering Bahraini women and highlighted Bahraini womens achievements across various fields. Congratulations The Cabinet congratulated the president, government and people of the UAE on their 52nd Union Day. It noted the UAEs ongoing development, led by the President, HH Shaikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, with the support of Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, HH Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of the Presidential Court of the UAE, His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, wishing them further growth and prosperity. COP28 The Cabinet affirmed the importance of the 28th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), which will be hosted by the UAE. It wished the UAE success in hosting this global event. In this regard, the Cabinet approved a memorandum submitted by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs on documents related to the COP28. The Cabinet also discussed and approved several important memorandums during the meeting. The Cabinet discussed several memorandums during the meeting, approving the following: 1. A memorandum submitted by the Ministerial Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs and Fiscal Balance on updating the performance indicators of the 2022-2026 Industrial Sector Strategy, which falls under the priority of developing promising sectors within the Kingdoms Economic Recovery Plan and strengthen them with initiatives that achieve environmental security. 2. A memorandum submitted by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs on a draft decree naming the relevant Minister and Ministry responsible for implementing the decree-law on regulating fishing, exploitation, and protection of marine wealth. 3. A memorandum submitted by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs on a draft decision regarding the establishment of functional requirements and controls for urban heritage. 4. A memorandum submitted by the Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture regarding a draft re-issuing a decision on classifications in regulatory requirements for modern construction. 5. A memorandum submitted by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs on the governments response to 3 proposals submitted by the Council of Representatives. The Cabinet reviewed a memorandum submitted by the Ministerial Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs and Fiscal Balance on the economic outcomes of the recent events hosted by Exhibition World Bahrain, during the month of November. The Cabinet expressed its gratitude to all parties who have helped organise these events. In addition, the Cabinet noted the following ministerial reports: 1. Outcomes of the Kingdoms participation in the 11th session of UAE-Bahrain Joint Higher Committee. 2. Outcomes of the Kingdoms participation in the First meeting of the Bahraini-Egyptian Governmental Committee for Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation. 3. Outcomes of the Kingdoms participation in The 5th Islamic Conference of Labour Ministers. 4. The Kingdoms participation in the Dubai Airshow 2023. 5. Outcomes of the Kingdoms participation in the 25th Meeting of Committee of Undersecretaries of Ministries of Transport in the GCC. 6. The Kingdoms participation in 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference. 7. The Kingdoms participation in the 17th meeting of the executive office of the Arab Water Conference, 15th session of the Arab Ministerial Water Council and the fifth Arab Water Confrence. 8. Outcomes of the Kingdoms participation in the Shenzhen Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship Conference 2023. 9. The external participations of various ministers and visits of foreign delegations to the Kingdom of f Bahrain in December 2023. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com In a significant event anticipated by students, graduates, and employers alike, the University of Bahrain is gearing up for the twentieth edition of its Career Fair, set to kick off today. The inauguration, under the auspices of His Excellency Dr. Mohammed bin Mubarak Juma, Minister of Education and Chairman of the University's Board of Trustees, promises a dynamic convergence of academia and industry. A total of 43 institutions and companies from diverse sectors in the Kingdom of Bahrain are actively participating in this annual three-day event, underscoring its pivotal role in creating employment opportunities, fostering connections between graduates and potential employers, and aligning academic offerings with the evolving needs of the labour market. Dr. Fuad Mohammed Al-Ansari, President of the University of Bahrain, emphasised the integral role of the Career Fair as a cornerstone in the university's annual calendar. Beyond a mere event, it has become an academic tradition, carefully orchestrated to prepare students and graduates for the realities of professional life. Dr. Al-Ansari noted that the fair serves as a bridge, connecting the aspirations of University of Bahrain students with the dynamic requirements of the local and global job markets. Multi-faceted initiative The exhibition, extending over three days, is a multi-faceted initiative designed to foster meaningful connections between students and a spectrum of industries. Dr. Al-Ansari highlighted its broader objectives, emphasizing the university's commitment to showcasing opportunities and expanding horizons for students to seamlessly transition into the labour market. In line with this vision, the Career Fair facilitates direct interactions between institutions, companies, and the university. It goes beyond job announcements, providing students with valuable insights into labour regulations and laws. The fair also serves as a platform to encourage students to explore approved job opportunities within various sectors and familiarise them with training and development programs offered by participating institutions. The diverse sectors represented at the Career Fair play a pivotal role in developing students' relationships with companies. By showcasing career options and announcing available job vacancies, companies aim to engage with potential candidates, offering a unique platform for dialogue and mutual exploration. As the curtains rise on the twentieth edition of the Career Fair at the University of Bahrain, the anticipation is high, echoing the institution's commitment to nurturing well-rounded graduates and fostering partnerships that contribute to the advancement of Bahrain's workforce. AFP | Jerusalem The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com A truce between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip will be extended by two days, the Palestinian group and mediator Qatar said yesterday, opening the way for further releases of hostages and prisoners. With just hours to go before the so-called humanitarian pause was to end early today, Hamas said that an agreement had been reached to prolong it by 48 hours under the existing terms. There was no immediate confirmation from the Israeli side of the extension, which was nevertheless hailed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as a glimpse of hope and humanity in the middle of the darkness of war. Qatar - with the support of the United States and Egypt - has been engaged in intense negotiations to establish and prolong the truce in Gaza. Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari announced that an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian truce for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip. Hamas, which runs Gaza and triggered the latest round of fighting by launching a bloody cross-border raid last month, said it was drawing up a new list of hostages for release. Meanwhile, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it had informed families of the identities of hostages to be released yesterday, the last day of the initial four-day truce. Israel has been clear that the pause is designed to allow Hamas to free more of the hostages it is holding since the October 7 attack, which killed 1,200 Israelis including many women and children, according to Israeli officials. But both sides are under pressure to build on the break in hostilities to allow humanitarian aid to reach civilians in Gaza, where Israels campaign against Hamas has left almost 15,000 dead, mostly Palestinian civilians, according to Gazas Hamas government. An online directory provides quick access to listing of products and services brands owned and/or led by women across Canada A campaign promoting #SHOPFROMWOMEN features female-founded companies including Blume, Corner Collection, Dermapure, Ecksand, Everist, Poppy Barley , The Unscented Company, Yukon Soaps Company and more TORONTO, Nov. 28, 2023 /CNW/ - This holiday season, The Brand is Female (TBIF) is introducing their Shop from Women Directory and campaign to celebrate and support female entrepreneurship. With Canadians projected to spend a staggering $20 billion on holiday gifts this season, TBIF wants to encourage Canadians to allocate a more substantial share of their holiday budget towards supporting women-owned and led businesses. In Canada, where only 18% of businesses are majority-owned by women, and with over 99% being small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), TBIF seeks to spotlight the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs. This includes a substantial funding gap, where financing for men-owned businesses exceeds that for women-owned businesses by approximately 150%. These challenges are amplified for women with intersecting identities, such as Indigenous women, Black women, 2SLGBTQ+ women and women with disabilities. Eva Hartling, Founder and President of The Brand is Female, articulates the initiative's vision, stating, "Our goal is to break down barriers further by providing a platform for businesses owned by women from diverse backgrounds to be celebrated and supported. With holiday spending already underway, we want Canadians to make a positive impact with their purchases by offering an easy one-stop shop for them to buy from women-owned and led businesses. This is one step towards advancing gender equity and women's participation in the economy, benefiting all Canadians." The Shop From Women Directory includes a selection of businesses from across Canada, emphasizing environmental and social responsibility, while also highlighting BIPOC-owned enterprises. Marilyne Gagne's Vision: Cultivating Confidence and Inspiring Women in Business Marilyne Gagne, Founder & President of Dermapure, the largest network of aesthetic medicine clinics in Canada, emphasizes the broader impact of supporting women-led businesses: "As a woman entrepreneur, I know firsthand the challenges and triumphs inherent in building a business. Every day, my commitment to positively impact women's self-confidence in my profession extends to uplifting and nurturing the leadership skills of the women on our team. Beyond our immediate circle, supporting fellow women isn't merely about gender equality it's an investment in diverse perspectives, promising a more radiant and equitable future. Backing women-led businesses is a powerful step towards realizing this vision." Karen Danudjaja's Small Business Journey: The Impact of Your Support on Blume Every purchase makes a difference when supporting small businesses, underscoring the impact Canadians can have by considering where their dollars are spent. Karen, Danudjaja, Co-Founder & CEO of superfood latte brand Blume, reflects on her journey to success: "It's unbelievable to think that my small business, which started in my kitchen, is now in locations across the world, reaching over 4,000 shelves, including Whole Foods and Target. But, just like many other small businesses, the journey is ongoing, and support is still needed. Consumers choosing to purchase our products means the world to us it's not just a transaction; it's what keeps our mission alive to make kinder options accessible to everyone. This holiday season and beyond, every gesture be it a purchase, review, recommendation or follow adds to the success of businesses like ours." Corner Collection: Nurturing Legacy Through Hospitality Corner Collection, an award-winning collection of boutique hotels, restaurants and spas in Montreal, family-owned by Dina, Anna, Maria, and Dimitri Antonopoulos, share their perspective on supporting women-led businesses: "At Corner Collection, a legacy nurtured in the heart of Montreal by our father, we've learned that hospitality is more than a service; it's a way to connect and enrich our community. We, three proud sistersDina, Anna and Maria Antonopoulos, alongside our brother Dimitri, stand as co-owners at the helm of Corner Collection's portfolio of hotels, restaurants and spa. Our journey of taking over the reins has been a blend of preserving tradition and infusing innovation, ensuring every guest feels the warmth of a home away from home. By choosing women-led companies this holiday season, you're not just enjoying a meal, a stay or a spa treatment; you're partaking in a movement that values diversity, empowerment, and the legacy of a family that has been a cornerstone of Montreal's hospitality scene. As we step into the festive season, it's a time to reflect on the choices we make and the impact they have; choosing to support women positively rewards so many." Anie Rouleau and Sustainable Living: The Unscented Company's Mission This holiday season, a growing trend towards sustainable alternatives is evident, with 55% of Canadians willing to pay more for sustainable products. Anie Rouleau, Founder & CEO of The Unscented Company, a B. Corp-certified company dedicated to providing effective, natural, and exclusively unscented home and body care products, comments on the shift: "I'm delighted to see a growing awareness of individuals embracing planet-friendly choices in their purchases a shift that wasn't always a priority in the past. Like many small businesses, we place a strong emphasis on environmental and social responsibility. This holiday season, consider supporting businesses like ours and being mindful of the origins, ingredients, and values behind your purchases, as they play a crucial role in contributing to a more sustainable future." Ethical Glamour with Erica Bianchini: Ecksand's Commitment to Sustainable Jewelry Sustainable jeweler Ecksand is committed to offer Canadians a responsible alternative when it comes to jewelry: the brand offers recycled precious metals, ethical precious stones and locally-made fine jewelry at fair prices. Co-Founder and Creative Director Erica Bianchini believes supporting purpose goes a long way: "When you choose to support female-founded brands, you become a part of a movement that uplifts women's creativity and entrepreneurship. Our collection of sustainable jewelry pieces is a testament to our commitment to ethical craftsmanship. By choosing from our selection this holiday season, you're not only purchasing a beautiful accessory but also empowering female founders like me to continue our journey in ethical craftsmanship. Your support sustains our passion, fuels our creativity, and enables us to make a positive impact." Poppy Barley's Conscious Luxury: Justine & Kendall Barber's Call to Uplift Women Entrepreneurs As a Certified B Corporation, luxury footwear and accessories brand Poppy Barley meets the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. Founders Justine & Kendall Barber believe in the impact supporting the community brings to all women in business: "We firmly believe that the holiday season is more than a time of giving; it's a powerful opportunity to uplift and support women entrepreneurs. Each purchase, big or small, is a vote of confidence in the dreams and hard work of these incredible women. It's about creating a community where success is shared and where every woman's entrepreneurial journey is celebrated. This holiday season, let's join hands to empower women entrepreneurs, acknowledging their vital role in weaving the rich tapestry of our economy and society." Everist's Impactful Choices: Jayme Jenkins on Sustainable Self-Care Everist, a carbon-neutral, low-waste, waterless, hair and body care brand making an impact, shares a similar vision. Jayme Jenkins, Co-Founder & Chief Brand Officer of Everist, states: "As we approach the holiday season, it's vital to recognize the immense impact our shopping choices have. By supporting female founders, we're not just buying a product; we're investing in diverse perspectives, sustainable practices, and innovative solutions that shape a better future. This holiday, let's choose to make an impact. Let's choose to support women in business who are not just selling goods but are also driving positive change in our communities and our world." Joella Hogan's Cultural Connection: The Yukon Soaps Company's Purpose-Driven Approach The Shop from Women Directory highlights small businesses that are making a difference, both socially and environmentally, while ensuring visibility for BIPOC entrepreneurs. Joella Hogan, Owner of The Yukon Soaps Company, a business that creates handcrafted soaps, shampoo bars, bath salts, essential oil blends, and more, emphasizes: "Choosing to support Indigenous-owned businesses during the holidays is an opportunity to celebrate diverse cultures and uplift communities. Beyond soap, our commitment is to connect people to culture and land, with a strong focus on economic diversification, fostering genuine customer relationships, and empowering our community, youth especially. Supporting impact-driven small businesses like ours bridges commerce and compassion, creating positive change and fostering unity." As we enter the holiday season, The Brand is Female invites you to give purposefully. Explore The Shop from Women Directory here: www.thebrandisfemale.com/shopfromwomen Let this season be a testament to the positive impact we can collectively make when we shop with purpose by supporting women-owned and led businesses. About The Brand is Female: We're a strategic consulting agency and media platform working with innovative leaders to highlight, enable and accelerate equitable and inclusive leadership. The Brand is Female transforms workplace culture by fostering inclusion and equity, thereby granting women and other underrepresented leaders access to new opportunities. Our services span strategic communications, thought leadership, media production and DEI consulting, and curated content to support initiatives dedicated to purpose and impact. We also host in-person and virtual events and workshops to help women and other underrepresented leaders and entrepreneurs succeed. SOURCE The Brand is Female For further information: and interview requests: Naomi Kixmoller-Gosley, PR Manager, The Brand is Female, +1.778.677.5679, [email protected] Zelenskyy signs into law bill on state budget for 2024 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed into law a bill on the state budget for 2024. According to the information about relevant bill No. 10000 on the website of the Verkhovna Rada, the document was returned to the parliament with the president's signature on November 28. As reported, the Verkhovna Rada adopted bill No. 10000 on the state budget for 2024 on November 9. OTTAWA, ON, Nov. 28, 2023 /CNW/ - Today, Canada's Taxpayers' Ombudsperson, Mr. Francois Boileau, released his annual report, Upholding Your Rights, which was tabled earlier today in the House of Commons by Ms. Iqra Khalid, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue. The report provides an overview of the activities of the Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson (OTO) between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023. Annual report 2022-2023 infographic (CNW Group/Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson) The report details the impact the OTO has by identifying Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) service issues and the trends in complaints. It also includes four recommendations to the Minister of National Revenue and the Chair of the Board of Management to improve the CRA's service to Canadians. During the period covered, we continued to receive significantly more complaints than in years before the COVID19 pandemic, and we noticed they are more and more complex. We did, however, receive fewer complaints than in 2021-2022. Similar to the previous fiscal year, many of the complaints were related to delays in receiving COVID19 benefits. As well, approximately 17% of complaints related to Right 5 of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, which states that Canadians have the right to be treated professionally, courteously, and fairly by the CRA. The annual report uses the framework of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights to highlight the OTO's work to improve the CRA's services for all Canadians. It also places a focus on our efforts to reach out to vulnerable populations to hear their perspectives. The report concludes with an update on the OTO's recommendations from its 20212022 annual report and the work the CRA has done to make sure it respects taxpayers' rights. 20222023 report highlights: Recommendations The Ombudsperson recommends: () that the CRA proactively inform Canadians on Canada.ca of delays a program may be experiencing to increase transparency and provide Canadians with the information they need. () that the CRA: a) update its Check CRA Processing Times tool to include tax returns and tax-related requests that have internal processing timeframes but no service standard; and b) provide links from its income tax and benefit package web page and other tax-related request web pages to the Check CRA Processing Times tool. () that the CRA: a) simplify the administrative process for the tax clinics and continue offering the Grant Program for the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program and the Income Tax Assistance Volunteer Program in Quebec ; and b) consider making long-term investments in the program for the benefit of Canadians. () that the CRA find new ways to estimate and identify non-filers in Canada and their demographical make-up. The CRA will then be able to use this data to better educate and inform vulnerable populations who may be entitled to apply for benefits but who are not currently receiving them. Trends Quality of service provided by CRA contact centres: CRA contact centres continued to generate complaints. For many years, Canadians have made us aware of their dissatisfaction with this service. Some of the issues raised by Canadians related to excessive wait times, receiving conflicting or inconsistent information, or calls being dropped prematurely. Delays in processing income tax and benefit returns and adjustment requests: Delays in processing income tax and benefit returns and adjustment requests have generated complaints to our Office for many years. In fact, we published a report on the issue called "Sub-Standard" in 2020. Collection action by the CRA: Over the past year, we have restarted receiving complaints about the CRA's collection efforts. Many Canadians have told us the CRA is causing them hardship by collecting too much money at one time. Delays in obtaining COVID-19-related benefits: Many Canadians who contacted us reported service issues related to obtaining COVID-19 benefits. Some of the complaints were about delays in assigning cases to the CRA's validation program to verify an applicant's eligibility for the benefits. Delays in obtaining the Canada child benefit (CCB): Canadians told us that they experienced CRA delays in processing their CCB applications or verifying their eligibility or that they received benefits late due to CRA delays in processing their income tax and benefit returns. Quote "Since the introduction of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights in 2007, the CRA has been working to build on its stated values of professionalism, respect, integrity and collaboration. For taxpayers, this means they can expect to receive a high standard of treatment. The CRA generally succeeded in upholding its values of professionalism and respect when working with Canadians. However, the high number of enquiries and complaints we received this year shows that there is room for improvement, notably in terms of better, timelier and more transparent communication with the public." Francois Boileau, Taxpayers' Ombudsperson Links Background information The Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson works independently from the CRA. Canadians can submit complaints to the Office if they feel they are not receiving the appropriate service from the CRA. Our main objective is to improve the service the CRA provides to taxpayers and benefit recipients by reviewing individual service complaints and service issues that affect more than one person or a segment of the population. The Taxpayers' Ombudsperson assists, advises and informs the Minister of National Revenue about matters relating to services provided by the CRA. The Ombudsperson ensures, in particular, that the CRA respects eight of the service rights outlined in the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. Media Relations Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson / Government of Canada [email protected] Follow Us Follow us on Twitter: @OTO_Canada Like us on Facebook: @TaxpayersOmbudsperson Follow us on LinkedIn Subscribe to our electronic mailing list Add our RSS feed to your feed reader Visit our website SOURCE Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson Travellers will have access to a broader network through enhanced commercial collaboration and optimization TORONTO and MONTREAL, Nov. 28, 2023 /CNW/ - Air Transat, air carrier subsidiary of Transat A.T. Inc. ("Transat"), and Porter Airlines ("Porter") are extending their existing code-sharing agreement by creating a joint venture (the "Alliance"), transforming the current Canadian aviation competitive landscape. By combining both airlines' complementary networks, this Alliance offers travellers significant benefits, including enhanced travel options across multiple regions. The Alliance expands services between North, Central and South America, Europe, North Africa, Mexico and the Caribbean, integrating Porter's and Transat's highly-complementary, non-overlapping networks at Toronto Pearson (YYZ) and Montreal Trudeau (YUL) airports. Travellers will have access to a broader network through enhanced commercial collaboration and optimization (CNW Group/Porter Airlines Inc.) This feeder network strategy is designed to facilitate the acceleration of both airlines' expansion in their respective markets: domestic and transborder short- and medium-haul for Porter, and international medium- and long-haul for Air Transat. It will also foster stronger network optimization through collaboration on scheduling and route planning. The Alliance will be gradually implemented throughout 2024. "This historic agreement constitutes a significant step forward in executing Transat's strategic plan and an important milestone in developing a more sustainable competitive network," said Annick Guerard, President and Chief Executive Officer of Transat. "We are delighted to further extend our collaboration with Porter, a partner that shares our customer-centric approach and values. Through this Alliance, we will accelerate the expansion of our transatlantic footprint by allowing us to leverage the domestic market served by Porter, while allowing for a more efficient use of our fleet." "Porter is in the midst of disrupting the North American market through a significant continental expansion that will only be amplified by this Alliance," said Michael Deluce, President and CEO of Porter. "The flow of passengers on both carriers means that Porter will be able to develop a more robust network by increasing flight frequency on key domestic and transborder routes, and entering into new markets with less point-to-point traffic. As we continue receiving deliveries of up to 100 new Embraer E195-E2 aircraft, our options for deploying this fleet are even greater based on this collaboration with Air Transat." This Alliance is an evolution of the current codeshare agreement between Air Transat and Porter, which has been active since October 2022. It demonstrates the commitment of both companies to a long-term collaboration, allowing Air Transat and Porter to align goals, strategies and resources to achieve their ambitions. Air Transat brings its expertise in leisure travel, serving over 60 international destinations, and its 35-year presence in the Quebec and Ontario markets, while Porter contributes its 17 years of expertise in facilitating air travel within Eastern Canada and the United States with a growing coast-to-coast presence within North America. About Air Transat Founded in Montreal 36 years ago, Air Transat is a leading travel brand voted World's Best Leisure Airline by passengers at the 2023 Skytrax World Airline Awards. Its program offers access to international destinations, mainly in Europe, the Caribbean, the East and West coasts of the U.S, South America and North Africa. Air Transat is recognized for its excellent customer service. By renewing its fleet with the most energy-efficient aircraft in their category, Air Transat is committed to a more sustainable travel industry. Based in Montreal with major hubs in Montreal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL) and Toronto Pearson Airport (YYZ), it has near 5,000 employees with a common purpose to bring people closer together. Air Transat is a business unit of Transat A.T. Inc. (TSX: TRZ). www.airtransat.com About Porter Since 2006, Porter Airlines has been elevating the experience of economy air travel for every passenger, providing genuine hospitality with style, care and charm. Porter's fleet of Embraer E195-E2 and De Havilland Dash 8-400 aircraft serves a North American network from Eastern Canada. Headquartered in Toronto, Porter is an Official 4 Star Airline in the World Airline Star Rating. Visit www.flyporter.com or follow @porterairlines on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. SOURCE Porter Airlines Inc. For further information: Transat, [email protected]; Porter Airlines, [email protected] EXCEL Gum's 'EXCEL Study Beats' campaign blends gum and ASMR to provide students with a unique and effective way to conquer 'examiety' TORONTO, Nov. 28, 2023 /CNW/ - In a world where academic pressure and the challenges of studying have reached an all-time high, EXCEL Gum, Canada's #1 gum brand made by Mars, has unveiled an initiative to address the study-related stress that plagues students at colleges and universities across the nation. Dubbed 'EXCEL Study Beats,' this program leverages the power of ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) and the soothing sounds of gum to transform study sessions into moments of tranquillity, conquering 'examiety.' Just like their predecessors, Gen Z students actively seek ways to make studying and test-taking more manageable and enjoyable; however, in the digital era, a new star has risen ASMR. A 2022 Ipsos survey1 reveals that a staggering 83% of Gen Z students have turned to platforms like YouTube to find soothing content, specifically tailored to help them relax. Among these, ASMR videos stand out as the most-watched format, with over 65 billion views in 2021 alone. "At EXCEL Gum, we understand that studying can be a pivotal daily challenge for many," shared Barbara Cooper, Marketing Director, Mars Wrigley Canada. "'EXCEL Study Beats' is the way we're trying to help, infusing the calming world of ASMR with the experience of enjoying our gum. This initiative is about providing students with a supportive ambiance, allowing them to embrace their study time in a more relaxed state. It's about creating a personal study rhythm in the midst of study pressures, and empowering students to feel confident as they navigate their paths to academic success." Launching in collaboration with three prominent ASMR creators, Canada's #1 gum brand is bringing rhythmic chewing, satisfying soft pops from its blister pack and much more to YouTube, TikTok, and Spotify - the brand's first-ever streaming profile - ensuring students have access to year-round ASMR content that encapsulates calming aspects of its gum, from the rhythmic chewing to the satisfying pop of the blister pack and much more. Influencers @asmrjas , @mashakatasonov and @kawaiimlln , renowned in the ASMR universe, will craft mesmerizing content on YouTube and TikTok, offering a delightful blend of ASMR experiences. They will also host live ASMR study sessions on TikTok, providing a soothing symphony of relaxation for students. For those seeking relaxation during study sessions, visit EXCEL Gum's dedicated Spotify page to immerse themselves in the world of gum ASMR. For every stream, Mars will make a $1.00 donation (up to $25,000) to Food Banks Canada , a national charitable organization dedicated to helping Canadians living with food insecurity by supporting a network of Provincial Associations, affiliate food banks and food agencies that work at the community level to relieve hunger. Don't forget to explore EXCEL Gum's partners' pages ( @asmrjas , @mashakatasonov and @kawaiimlln ) for their carefully curated ASMR content on YouTube and TikTok. Finally, mark your calendar for the brand's TikTok ASMR 'Study With Me' live sessions, starting November 30th. ABOUT MARS, INCORPORATED Mars, Incorporated is driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. As a global, family-owned business, Mars is transforming, innovating, and evolving to make a positive impact on the world. Across our diverse and expanding portfolio of quality confectionery, food, and pet care products and services, we employ 140,000+ dedicated Associates. With almost $45 billion in annual sales, we produce some of the world's best-loved brands including Ben's Original, CESAR, EXCEL, KIND, M&M'S, MARS, SNICKERS, PEDIGREE, ROYAL CANIN, and WHISKAS. We are creating a better world for pets through our global network of pet hospitals and diagnostic services including AniCura, BANFIELD, BLUEPEARL, Linnaeus and VCA using cutting edge technology to develop breakthrough programs in genetic health screening and DNA testing. For more information about Mars, please visit www.mars.com. Join us on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn and YouTube . About Food Banks Canada Food Banks Canada provides national leadership to relieve hunger today and prevent hunger tomorrow in collaboration with the food bank network from coast-to-coast-to-coast. For 40 years, food banks have been dedicated to helping Canadians living with food insecurity. Over 4,750 food banks and community organizations come together to serve our most vulnerable neighbours who in March of this year made nearly two million visits to these organizations, according to our 2023 HungerCount Report. Over the past 10 years, as a system we've sourced and shared over 1.4 billion pounds of food and Food Banks Canada shared nearly $168 million in funding to help maximize collective impact and strengthen local capacity while advocating for reducing the need for food banks. Our vision is clear: create a Canada where no one goes hungry. Visit foodbankscanada.ca to learn more. ________________________________________ 1 On behalf of YouTube, Ipsos conducted an online survey of individuals aged 18-24 in U.S., U.K., AU, FR, DE, MX, IN, KOR, CAN, JP, BR, KSA, EGY, May 2022. n=5,722. SOURCE Mars, Incorporated For further information: Mars Canada: tamar.nersesi[email protected]; Middle Child LP: [email protected] State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Washington D.C. West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Puerto Rico US Virgin Islands Armed Forces Americas Armed Forces Pacific Armed Forces Europe Northern Mariana Islands Marshall Islands American Samoa Federated States of Micronesia Guam Palau Alberta, Canada British Columbia, Canada Manitoba, Canada New Brunswick, Canada Newfoundland, Canada Nova Scotia, Canada Northwest Territories, Canada Nunavut, Canada Ontario, Canada Prince Edward Island, Canada Quebec, Canada Saskatchewan, Canada Yukon Territory, Canada Postal Code President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in his evening video address, informed about the ongoing active work at all levels of government on the issue of receiving new defense support packages from partner states. "Today I also held a preparatory meeting on various international events planned for the coming weeks and until the end of the year. We clearly see the Ukrainian perspective and what is needed to achieve our goals. Every day we work with our partners to provide new defense support packages for our warriors," Zelenskyy said. Former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, said the 2023 general elections were credible in many substantial aspects. Jega disclosed this in an interview on Channels Televisions Politics Today on Monday. The former INEC both noted that, however, blame should be apportioned appropriately. His comment comes in the wake of mixed reactions trailing the elections, their outcomes, ensuing legal battles, and some of the decisions by election petitions tribunals and, subsequently, the Court of Appeal. Jega said his favourable assessment of the polls was not necessarily in defence of his successor and incumbent INEC chairman, Prof. Yakubu Mahmood. He said, I would say that, in many substantial aspects, it was credible. In areas where we have seen serious challenges that are avoidable and should have been avoided, I believe that to a large extentand you asked me to be very frank with youwe have a tendency to heap blame on the leadership of an electoral management body, and I have had my own fair share of those kinds of blames. We should apportion blame appropriately. In a lot of the areas where there were very serious challenges, politicians played a direct role. According to Jega, such influence more or less circumscribed the powers of INEC and its chairman. So, to my mind, really, its unfortunate that it has happened on the watch of Yakubu Mahmood, but it has happened not becauseto my mind, I have no evidence that he is complicit in these things, Jega added. The court of appeal in Abuja has nullified the election of Yusuf Liman, speaker of the Kaduna state house of assembly. The three-member panel ordered a rerun in five polling units of the state. In September, the Kaduna state assembly election petition tribunal sacked Liman and ordered a rerun in 42 polling units. The petition was filed by Solomon Katuka, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Makera constituency. Displeased with the ruling of the tribunal, Liman, who was the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in a joint suit with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), approached the appeal court. According to Channels Television, the appeal court, on Friday, dismissed his suit and ordered a rerun in five polling units instead of 42. The court ruled that the 382 margin of victory between Liman and Katuka was less than the number of permanent voter cards collected in the affected polling units. The affected polling units are Barnawa ward PU 005 and 009, Kakuri Gwari PU 006, Television Ward PU 022, and Kakuri Hausa Ward PU 045. An Appeal Court sitting in Lagos State has affirmed the election of Siminalayi Fubara as the governor of Rivers State. The court dismissed the petition filed by the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Patrick Tonye-Cole, against Fubara of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). In the courtroom on Tuesday, the APC candidate requested that the court order INEC to declare him the winner of the March governorship election in Rivers. Coles case contesting Fubaras election as governor was initially dismissed by the Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in October. Dissatisfied with the tribunals judgment, the APC candidate approached the appellate court. However, the court on Tuesday upheld the Tribunal ruling, which affirmed Fubaras victory in October. Details later The Federal Capital Territory High Court has adjourned till January 18, 2024, for the continuation of the trial in the alleged procurement fraud suit against a former Central Bank of Nigerias Governor, Godwin Emefiele. Emefiele was accused of using his position to confer a corrupt advantage on Saadatu Yaro, a staff member of the CBN by awarding a contract for the procurement of 43 vehicles worth N1.2 billion between 2018 and 2020. He was subsequently remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending a ruling on his bail application on November 22. Justice Hamza Muazu, however, granted Emefiele bail in the sum of N300 million. He added that the former CBN governor must produce two sureties in like sum. The judge noted that the sureties must have certificates of occupancy and titles of properties within the Maitama district in Abuja Emefiele has yet to meet his bail conditions as he was brought to court and taken away by armed personnel of the Nigerian Correctional Service. Details later The Nigeria Customs Service, Tincan Island Command, has handed over a $54,330 bribe offered to the command by importers of tramadol tablets to the Lagos Zonal Commander of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr Michael Wekas. The command announced this in a statement on Tuesday. The Customs Area Controller in charge of the command, Dera Nnadi, while handing over the money, reiterated the zero tolerance for corruption stance of the Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi. He explained that the imported tramadol tablets were falsely declared as electrical appliances valued at over N856m while the bribe was offered to compromise officers. Nnadi who commended the officers for rejecting the bribe and working ethically and lawfully in the interest of national security, said the act was in clear violation of Section 233 of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023. He called for continuous compliance on the part of port users, reiterating that the service in collaboration with sister agencies like EFCC will continue to frustrate criminal activities in the port. Two suspects that were arrested in connection with the two containers are currently being investigated by the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control for possible prosecution, Nnadi added. Earlier, Wekas while receiving the cash, described the feat as a victory for the country and all security agencies. Wekas also lauded the CGC for the letter of commendation in appreciation of the six customs officers who refused to bow to pressure and inducement from the owners of the illicit drugs. He promised continued collaboration between the service, EFCC, and sister agencies. The Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, says his ambition to contest in the forthcoming governorship election in the state is a divine directive from God. Shaibu said he had conferred with God and got an unequivocal directive to contest the gubernatorial poll. He spoke on Tuesday while featuring on Channels Televisions Sunrise Daily programme. What I mean is no one can stop us, we are Edo people, from our ancestral backgrounds we are confident, we fight for our rights. So when I said nobody can stop me, yes, no human being because I believe in God and God is the only one that has the power that can say something cannot happen. Humans cannot say things cannot happen because if God gives us power, he gives us power for certain purposes. The same God that gives power is the God that I have gone to and has asked me to go ahead. I dont do things by my strength so since I am sure that God is with me, no man can stop me, he said. The deputy governor on Monday formally announced he would contest the Edo State gubernatorial election in 2024 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Shaibu has been involved in a running battle with his principal, Governor Godwin Obaseki, over his gubernatorial ambition. Ahead of the governorship election in Edo State, the states deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu has vowed to defeat the anointed candidate of Governor Godwin Obaseki. Shaibu said he would defeat Obasekis anointed candidate because he has the backing of the people of the state. He spoke while appearing on a TVC programme on Monday evening. According to Shaibu: Definitely, Ill defeat the so-called candidate of the governor, not because I have the power, but because Edo people want their own and I am their own. Edo people do not want importation; they want their own. The problem I have with the governor is that he has allowed certain individuals that have interest in governance to come between us. He is managing in his own style and the way he feels he can manage it. I am also managing it the way I feel I can manage it. When I said I was pressed, but not distressed, I understand the kind of intimidation and oppression I have gone through. Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation, says that the pilots who flew the United Nigeria Airlines wet lease flight were foreigners who were not familiar with Nigerian terrain. A wet lease is any leasing arrangement whereby a person agrees to provide an entire aircraft and at least one crew member. The minister made this known on Monday during a meeting with heads of regulatory agencies over safety concerns in the aviation industry. On Saturday, a United Nigeria flight destined for Abuja on Saturday landed in Asaba, Delta state capital. A few hours after the incident, United Nigeria claimed the flight was diverted to Asaba due to bad weather. On Monday, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) had said it commenced an investigation into the diversion of the United Nigeria flight. Speaking on the issue, Keyamo said the ministry has taken precautionary and preliminary steps due to the incident. He said the ministry has listened to the transcript from the tower to the pilot, as released by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), adding that all pilots on the plane were foreigners. Keyamo said from the transcript heard, the tower kept asking the pilot to confirm again that the plane was heading to Abuja, not Asaba the pilot replied that he was going to Asaba. It was clear that when the pilot was taking off from Lagos, he was headed to Asaba, not Abuja, he said. Whereas the flight was headed to Abuja. There was no weather problem in Abuja. It was a question of a wet lease where the pilot and the crew were all foreigners, not Nigerians. He added that they (the pilots) were not familiar with the Nigerian terrain, adding that it was purely an in-house administrative issue. Keyamo said the dispatcher and those involved in the incident have been interviewed and sanctions will be meted out as required. WET LEASES MUST HAVE NIGERIAN PILOT Keyamo said an agreement has been reached by aviation agencies that all wet leases must have a Nigerian pilot for every flight. He said the incident has opened the eyes of regulators to new steps they must take. The minister said he has spoken with them we have all agreed that wet leases coming into Nigeria, you must have a Nigerian pilot seated at least on the jump seat must be sitted there with the foreign pilot. A Nigerian pilot must be there with them in the wet leases even if it is for a few hours, he said. I have also directed NCAA that within the next 72 hours, they should summon all pilots and crew who are operating wet leases in Nigeria for further briefing because the lives of Nigerians were at stake. They are flying Nigerians and our sacred duty is to protect Nigerians. On that plane were innocent souls that they took to another destination that they do not have plans to go. There was no weather problem. Keyamo said if regulators within the airlines fold fail in their aircraft assessment duty, NCAA should withdraw their licences and blacklist them. One person was injured as a result of a missile strike carried out by Russian invaders on one of the enterprises in Zaporizhia on Tuesday morning, Head of Zaporizhia Regional Military Administration Yuriy Malashko said. "At 08:51, during an air raid, the enemy launched one missile strike on the territory of an enterprise in one of the districts of Zaporizhia. Currently, the type of missile is being specified. Preliminarily, it is one of the modifications of the Iskander ballistic missile. According to preliminary data, at the moment it is known that one slightly wounded person," Malashko said on Telegram. In addition, according to him, one of the stores located near the impact site was damaged by the blast wave. No other damage or casualties were reported. As Anatoliy Kurtev, secretary of Zaporizhia City Council, said, windows in nearby buildings were damaged. "It is currently known that due to the blast wave, windows in three multi-storey buildings and three educational institutions were damaged. The inspection of the territory continues," Kurtev said on Facebook. Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the house of representatives, says the lower legislative chamber will organise a town hall meeting for citizens to contribute to the 2024 budget. Abbas spoke in Abuja on Monday at a capacity-building retreat organised for chairpersons of the houses standing committees. Abbas said President Bola Tinubu would present the 2024 appropriation bill to the national assembly in a few days after which the various committees in the house would commence work on the budget. The speaker said the lawmakers would organise a town hall meeting to enable citizens to make contributions to the budget. As we expect to receive the 2024 appropriation bill in a few days, I wish to state that the house will convene a budget town hall meeting to enable citizens to make inputs into the 2024 appropriation, Abbas said. It is the first time such an engagement is planned at the national level. I invite our partners to work with us in preparing for a vigorous and all-inclusive budget process. To ensure speedy passage of the 2024 budget, I charge all committees to double their efforts and finalise all considerations in two weeks. The speaker said this does not imply that the budget should be considered in a haphazard and superficial manner noting that it is a challenge to committee chairpersons to deploy all resources and make the needed sacrifices to ensure that the appropriation is passed in good time. STANDING COMMITTEES GROSSLY UNDERFUNDED The speaker said the standing committees of the house have not been functioning optimally because they are grossly underfunded. Abbas said the paucity of funds Tmakes it nearly impossible for them to perform their work satisfactorily to the expectation of Nigerians. Anyone familiar with the inner workings of the legislature knows the quantum of resources required to undertake robust oversight adequately, hire experts and consultants, undertake inspection visits and draft quality legislations, he said. Ironically, while Nigerians expect the best representation from the national assembly and its members, they do not always understand that this is only possible through adequate funding. The speaker said the green chamber under his watch is committed to transparent engagement with the public, which he noted, would be necessary to reduce suspicion, build trust and generate support from Nigerians. Abbas said to ensure compliance with the houses legislative agenda, a committee on monitoring and evaluation has been set up to evaluate the work of standing and ad hoc committees. The committee will submit regular reports to the house and leadership on the activities of all committees, he said. The speaker asked committees to be guided by integrity, impartiality, and a commitment to serving the public good while interfacing with ministries, departments and agencies. By upholding these values, we can foster public confidence in the legislature, he added. Oba of Benin, Oba NEdo Uku Akpolokpolo Ewuare II, has said that God ordained Bola Ahmed Tinubu as Nigerias President. Ewuare II said this while urging Nigerians to live in unity irrespective of differences. He stated this when he paid a courtesy visit to the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu at the Lagos House, Marina. God has ordained that Tinubu would become President of Nigeria. We are all one. I am for peace and tranquility. We must live together as one. Nigeria is big. We must iron out our differences and learn to live together as one, big family, he said. The Lagos Governor tweeted the visit afterwards, saying he was honoured by the visit by the Oba of Benin. He said the monarchs visit reaffirms our commitment to cultural harmony and collaboration. The Oba urged Sanwo-Olu to do more in his second four years in office. Governor Sim Fubara of Rivers State vowed on Tuesday not to lose focus on fulfilling his promises to improve the lives of youths. Fubara spoke during the swearing-in ceremony of the 2023 Batch C Stream II of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). The governor said his administration would provide adequate security and welfare for corps members deployed to the state. The governor, represented by Hamilton Amadi, the Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Bureau, Office of the Secretary to the State Government, pledged to be steadfast and resolute in giving them the best dividends of democracy. I am confident that with God on our side, we will deliver; we will never lose focus in fulfilling our promises to uplift the quality of life for the youths as the bedrock of our society and, by doing so, make Rivers the envy of other states, he said. The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has tackled some tertiary institutions it claimed are issuing certificates and graduating students who were never matriculated. Ishaq Oloyede, the registrar of the board, said some of the affected institutions have failed to matriculate any student in the last five years. According to JAMBs latest bulletin, Oloyede spoke during a two-day refresher training for all its admission desk officers. The training was held at the JAMB headquarters in Abuja last week. Oloyede said admitting students for a degree programme without matriculation amounts to a flagrant disregard for extant regulations of the board. A number of them got approval to operate no doubt, but they never bother following other requisite regulations thereafter, they just continue running the institutions their own way, he said. How can a school that never admitted any candidate continue to issue certificates and graduating students? Oloyede said the erring institutions who did not matriculate their students in any given year will be regarded as not having admitted students in that year. He said the institutions would only be running their programmes at risk as graduates from such institutions would not be mobilized for their compulsory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme. Oloyede asked the desk officers to constantly communicate with institutions, particularly if there is any reason for which the schools could not be permitted to matriculate. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos says it is challenging the appeal court judgment that affirmed the victory of Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of the state. Hakeem Amode, the publicity secretary of the PDP in Lagos, in an interview with NAN on Monday, said the appeal court failed to do justice with the petition of the party. BACKGROUND In March, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Sanwo-Olu as the winner of the Lagos governorship election. Sanwo-Olu polled 762,134 votes to defeat his close challenger, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party (LP), who scored 312,329 votes. Abdulazeez Adediran, the PDP governorship candidate, popularly known as Jandor, came a distant third with 62,449 votes. On September 25, the Lagos governorship election petition tribunal dismissed the case filed by Adediran seeking to nullify the victory of Sanwo-Olu at the poll. Displeased with the verdict, on October 13, Jandor filed 34 grounds of appeal challenging the judgment of the tribunal. On November 15, the court of appeal in Lagos dismissed the suit filed by Jandor. WEVE STRONG BELIEF IN SUPREME COURT During the interview, Amode said the PDPs appeal will get to the apex court in the coming days. We are challenging the ruling of the appeal court, affirming Sanwo-Olu as winner at the election. In a couple of days, our petitions will get to the supreme court, he said. Looking at some of the appeal courts rulings, there have been so many inconsistencies in its stands on pre-election matters. We, as a party, feel justice is yet to be served in our petitions against the outcome of the March 18 gubernatorial election in this state. We have a strong belief in the supreme court to look at the crux of the matter and make a statement that will serve as precedent. The party and our candidate are not deterred, we have reviewed the November 15 appeal courts ruling and decided to pursue justice at the supreme court. The United Kingdom said Nigeria has the highest number of dependents brought in by international students in the last four years. According to the UK government in a recent report, the number of dependents from Nigeria rose to 60,506 at the end of September 2023, rising by 59,079 from 1,427 in 2019. Nigeria overtook India, as the Asian country accounted for 43,445 dependents at the end of the third quarter this year, compared to 2,127 in 2019. Part of the increase in dependants is linked to the increase in main applicants (see section 1) but there have also been large increases in dependants of Indian and Nigerian nationals, UK said. There were 60,506 dependants of Nigerian nationals in the year ending September 2023, an increase of 59,079 compared to 2019 and 9,435 more visas issued than to main applicants in the same period. Indian nationals had the second highest number of dependants, increasing from 2,127 to 43,445 in the same time period. The UK said both the total number of dependants and the proportion of all sponsored study-related visas granted to dependants have increased since 2019. This may reflect a change in the composition of students coming to study in the UK with more students coming for higher education compared to before the pandemic, the UK said. The UK government said students coming to study at a higher level are typically older and might be more likely to have already established a family. NIGERIA HAS THIRD HIGHEST INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN UK The report also said 486,107 persons from India, China, Nigeria, the United States and Pakistan migrated to the UK for study purposes at the end of September 2023. Among these five countries, India topped the list, followed by China, Nigeria, Pakistan and the United States respectively. However, out of the countries, Pakistan had the highest percentage increase, of up to 33 percent to 33,150 at the end of September 2023. Indian nationals in the year ending September 2023, a small increase of 5,804 (+5%) compared to the year ending September 2022 but their numbers are now nearly 5 times higher than in the year ending September 2019, the report said. Indian nationals accounted for over one-quarter (27%) of all sponsored study grants to main applicants in the latest year. Chinese nationals were the second most common nationality granted sponsored study visas in year ending September 2023, with 108,978 visas granted (22% of the total). Grants to Chinese nationals decreased by 7% compared to the preceding year. Chinese and Indian nationals together comprised half (50%) of all sponsored study grants. Nigerian nationals were issued 51,071 sponsored study visas in the year ending September 2023, similar to the previous year but around 8 times the number in the year ending September 2019. Meanwhile, in May 2023, UK announced restrictions barring foreign students from bringing family members into the country from 2024. The move followed reports that net migration into the UK had hit 1 million with Tory MPs asking Rishi Sunak, UK prime minister to get a grip on the rocketing numbers. The 200-level student of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife Osun state, Subair Enitan, early midnight on Monday completed 58 hours of hand wash-a-thon. This is in a bid to set a record for the longest hand cloth washing by an individual after applying to the Guinness World Record for the task last June. She began the quest on Friday afternoon at the Student Union Building Motor park inside the University campus with thousands of students rallying around her. Various students artist and University officials also paid solidarity visit to the task pavilion to cheer her to victory. She completed the 58 hours around midnight on Monday from where she was taken in the School Ambulance to the institutions clinic for a medical check. Speaking before heading to the clinic, Enitan said she was fulfilled to have completed the task right in front of her mother, Omogbolabo Afolake, who was at the venue for over two days. I am very fulfilled to have completed the task right in front of my mum, friends and colleagues who thronged this venue to show love and support my ambition, she said. Philip Shaibu, the Deputy Governor of Edo State, has stated that despite their differences during the 2020 governorship election, Adams Oshiomhole, the former Governor, is still like a father to him. He further said he would find time to apologise to Oshiomole for the improper words he used against him in the last governorship election in the state, adding that his rift with the governor astarted after he congratulated the ex-governor for his senatorial victory in the 2023 elections. Shaibu on Monday declared his intention to run for governor in the 2024 election in the state, under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He made this known while appearing on Channels TV Sunrise Daily on Tuesday. His words: My relationship with Comrade Adams Oshiomhole is cordial. When I mean cordial, he is still my father. Political, we are in different political parties. I am happy that the governor (Obaseki) has started inviting the former governor (Oshiomhole) and my father to political functions. That is what I have been praying for. And now that he has started, I think that the next step is for me to reach him and also first apologise to him (Oshiomhole) for some use of words during the election but in terms of principle of supporting Obaseki, I will still support Obaseki because God told me that is the right thing to do. One of the crises that I had was when I went to the Senate to congratulate Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and I was seen in a viral video. That was where my headache started because the governors style is that a friend of the governor, you must be friend to him and an enemy to the governor, you must be enemy to him. I understand that principle and I am being careful. What I was waiting for was for the governor to make that move because I will not make that move if the governor had not made the move. Now that he has made the move to be inviting Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, I am emboldened to go and see him, he said. The Chairman of the Caretaker Committee of All Progressives Congress, APC, Rivers State, Chief Tony Okocha, has downplayed claims that President Bola Tinubu handed over the partys structure to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike. Okocha said Tinubu will not hand over the partys structure to Wike because the minister is not a member of the APC. He said Wike has not indicated any interest to leave the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Speaking on a live radio programme in Port Harcourt on Monday, Okocha said, If you are talking about an alliance, I aligned with Nyesom Wike and I am still aligning with him. The issue of handing over the party to Nyesom Wike; he is not a member of the APC for crying out loud and everybody knows that he is a staunch founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He has boasted times without number that he has benefited a lot from the PDP and that he was not in a hurry to leave the party. I am not aware; he hasnt mentioned it to me and he has not mentioned it to anybody. Of course, he is not a man that will hide a decision like that from Nigerians. If Wike wishes at any time to enter any other political party different from the PDP, Nigerians will hear; Nigerians will know. So, as we speak, he is a staunch member of the Peoples Democratic Party. For anybody to assume that the President is handing over APC structure to a PDP member, that person will be missing the point. Godwin Emefiele, former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), will remain in Kuje correctional facility, Abuja after he failed to meet his bail conditions. The former CBN boss was brought into court by operatives of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) where he is being remanded. On November 18, Emefiele was arraigned on a six-count charge bordering on procurement fraud. Emefiele was accused of using his position to confer a corrupt advantage on Sa'adatu Yaro, a staff of CBN, by awarding a contract for the procurement of 43 vehicles worth N1.2 billion between 2018 and 2020. The vehicles included 37 Toyota Hilux at the cost of N854.7 million, one Toyota Avalon at the cost of N99.9 million, one Toyota Landcruiser V8 at the cost of N73.8 million, two Toyota Hilux Shell Specification at the cost of N44,200,000. He was also alleged to have awarded Yaro a contract for the procurement of two Toyota Landcruiser VXR V8 worth N138 million. Emefiele pleaded "not guilty" to the amended charge and was later granted bail in the sum of N300 million. According to the court, the former CBN governor must produce two sureties in like sum. The sureties must have certificates of occupancy and titles of properties within the Maitama district in Abuja. Emefiele is mandated to deposit all his travel documents with the registrar of the court and must remain within the Abuja Municipal Council. Mathew Burkaa, Emefiele's lead counsel, told journalists that his client was yet to meet the bail conditions. After the court session on Tuesday, the former CBN governor was taken away by officials of the prison service. As result of Russian shelling in Nikopol, one killed, two wounded local authorities Russian occupiers on the morning of Tuesday, November 28, struck Nikopol. An artillery shell hit a five-story building, Head of Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration Serhiy Lysak has said. "A 63-year-old man died. Two women, 65 and 63 years old, were injured," Lysak said in his Telegram channel. He clarified that people may remain under the rubble. Sierra Leone says its security forces have restored calm to the country after armed men attacked the military barracks on Sunday. Chernor Bah, the countrys minister of information and civic education, had said unidentified individuals attacked the barracks which houses several foreign embassies, including those of China, Germany, Austria, Gambia, Lebanon and Syria. Following Bahs announcement, the government declared a nationwide curfew. Prisoners also escaped from a detention facility after a coordinated jail break orchestrated by gunmen. In an address on Sunday night, Julius Bio, president of Sierra Leone, said most of the leaders of the attack have been arrested. Although Bio refrained from describing the chain of events as a coup, he labelled them an attempt to undermine the stability the country has worked hard to achieve. The attackers have been repelled by a combined team of gallant security forces and calm has been restored, the president said. Most of the leaders have been arrested, security operations and investigations are ongoing. We will ensure that those responsible are held accountable through due process. I acknowledge the bravery and dedication of our armed forces, police, and all those who played a role to defeat this attempt to undermine the peace and stability weve worked so hard to achieve. Bio asked citizens to be reminded of national unity and advised that everyone remain vigilant and cooperate with the security forces. In another statement, the minister of information and civic education said a new curfew would be imposed from 9 pm to 6 am local time till further notice. Bah also asked citizens to report suspicious activities to security agencies. Sierra Leone has been engulfed by a tense political climate since Bio was re-elected in June. The result of the election was rejected by the opposition candidate and questioned by international partners, including the US and European Union, who said the polls lacked transparency. The unrest in Sierra Leone comes in the wake of a slew of military coups in West and Central Africa. In his address to the nation following the attack on the barracks, Bio called on the West African nations political and traditional leaders to work to preserve peace. President Bola Tinubu has transmitted an executive communication to the Senate, indicating his intention to present the 2024 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly tomorrow, Wednesday, November 29, by 11 am. President Tinubus letter of intent was read by Senate President, Godswill Akpabio at the plenary on Tuesday, November 28. Recall that Mondays Federal Executive Council meeting approved the N27.5 trillion 2024 Appropriation Bill. Minister of Budget and Economic Planning Atiku Bagudu explained that the budget was shored up from N26 trillion to N27.5 trillion due to foreign exchange rate changes. As required by the Constitution, Tinubu is expected to present the 2024 appropriation bill before the National Assembly. The 2023 Rockefeller Center Christmas tree that is standing tall in New York Citys Rockefeller Plaza this holiday season is an 80-foot tall, 12-ton Norway Spruce from Vestal, N.Y. Crews have been working round the clock to wrap the 80-to-85-year-old tree in 50,000 lights and top it with a 900-pound star featuring 70 spikes with 3 million Swarovski crystals to prepare for the 91st annual tree-lighting ceremony, which takes place Wednesday, Nov. 29. Here is what you need to know about the tree-lighting ceremony, how to watch, who will host, the performances, the tree-lighting schedule through the holiday season, and where the tree will go after the holidays are over. The Rockefeller Center tree lighting ceremony is on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023 from 8-10 p.m. EST. The ceremony will be broadcast live on NBC as part of the Christmas in Rockefeller Center live special. If you dont have cable and want to stream the entire TV broadcast, you can watch on streaming platforms such as Fubo TV or Sling TV, which have NBC. Both offer a free trial, and each has a live TV and a DVR function, so viewers can watch the parade in real-time or on-demand. The tree-lighting event is open to the public, so if you plan on viewing the spectacle in person make sure to arrive with enough time before crowds begin to form. The tree is displayed between West 49th and 50th streets and Fifth and Sixth avenues. Kelly Clarkson will host and perform at the tree-lighting special. NBC Today anchors Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Al Roker and Craig Melvin will also appear on the broadcast. Christmas in Rockefeller Center has been broadcast on live television since 1951. Several big names will be performing at the tree-lighting ceremony in New York City, including: Chloe Bailey Adam Blackstone Cher David Foster Liz Gillies Darlene Love Seth MacFarlane Barry Manilow Katharine McPhee Keke Palmer Carly Pearce Manuel Turizo The Radio City Rockettes, who will perform an excerpt from their Christmas Spectacular. The tree will be lit daily from 5 a.m. to midnight after the ceremony. On Christmas Day, the tree stays lit for 24 hours and on New Years Eve it is lit from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. When the tree comes down at a to-be-determined time in January, it will be transported to a mill in New Jersey where it will be chopped into wood and then shipped to a landscaping company to be dried in a kiln where the wood pieces are smoothed over. The finished beams are then donated to Habitat for Humanity. This has been a tradition since 2007. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Katherine Rodriguez can be reached at krodriguez@njadvancemedia.com. Have a tip? Tell us at nj.com/tips. Nine employees who were fired from a popular Philippines-based chain restaurant in Jersey City for attempting to organize will each receive more than $84,000 in back pay in a settlement with the global company. The workers at Jollibee in Journal Square had been reinstated last month and Monday officials with the group advocating for their rights, Justice for Jollibee Workers, announced the settlement, which include an apology. The Jersey City Police Department is expected to receive a $2.5 million holiday gift. The Public Safety Department is juggling funds from its various divisions to cover the unbudgeted expenditures in overtime in the police department, an annual tradition of sorts. Thats just one of seven resolutions the city council will vote on Wednesday involving a transfer of appropriations within city departments. Public Works, city administration, Office of the City Clerk, Architecture, Finance and the Department of Housing, Economic Development, and Commerce each have a resolution listing a shifting of funds. A driver was killed Monday morning when his car traveled the wrong way down a highway and hit a truck, New Jersey State Police said. The crash occurred on Route 31 near milepost 39 in Hampton Borough in Hunterdon County at 7:44 a.m., when a Subaru entered the left lane of the highway traveling in the wrong direction and struck a Mack truck head-on, police said. The driver of the Subaru, identified as Christopher Jones, 56, of Hampton, was killed in the crash, officials said. A driver and passenger in the truck suffered minor injuries. An investigation into the crash is ongoing. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Nicolas Fernandes may be reached at nfernandes@njadvancemedia.com. Thirty Seconds to Mars is heading out on their first tour in more than five years. The group, comprised of Jared Leto and his brother Shannon Leto, will begin the North American leg of their tour on July 26 in Auburn, Wash. and will wrap up on Sept. 4 in Mountain View, Calif. While on tour, the brothers will perform in Camden on Aug. 14 at the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion. They will also perform at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Aug. 17. AFI, Poppy and KennyHoopla will join as support on the Seasons 2024 World Tour. How to get Thirty Seconds to Mars tickets Tickets to see Thirty Seconds to Mars in 2024 are currently available to purchase on Ticketmaster. Fans can also find tickets on secondary markets such as StubHub, Vivid Seats, TicketCity, MegaSeats and TicketNetwork. The cheapest ticket we could find for their N.J. concert at the time of publication, before fees, is $28 on StubHub. First-time Vivid Seats users can save $20 on ticket orders over $200 by entering promo code NJ20 at checkout. You can find a full calendar of Thirty Seconds to Mars tour dates here. More upcoming tours in 2023-2024 Thirty Seconds to Mars are not the only artists heading to Barclays Center while on tour. Here are a few more upcoming tours you wont want to miss. RELATED STORIES ABOUT LIVE EVENTS: Where to buy last-minute Sebastian Maniscalco tickets for his Atlantic City shows 20 Taylor Swift gifts for the Swiftie in your life Taylor Swift Eras Tour 2024: Taylor Swift surprises fans by adding 3 new shows Rolling Stones Tour 2024: How to get tickets to the Hackney Diamonds tour Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Nicole Iuzzolino can be reached at niuzzolino@njadvancemedia.com. Have a tip? Tell us at nj.com/tips. UPDATE: This story was updated with comments from Steven Salamis attorney. A state appeals court on Monday reinstated two money laundering charges against a former New Jersey real estate attorney accused of stealing more than $1 million from clients. Steven H. Salami faces 63 charges of stealing or misapplying trust account funds for clients real estate transactions in 2019. He was arrested in October of that year and disbarred two months later an action he did not fight. Real estate attorneys often temporarily hold large sums of client money in separate trust accounts, also called escrow, for down payments and other transactions. Salami, who was based in Hazlet in Monmouth County, either failed to use trust money for the client real estate deals or pocketed it for personal use, authorities alleged. During the ongoing criminal case in Monmouth County, his lawyer successfully argued to the trial judge that two of the charges should be dismissed first-degree financial facilitation of criminal activity, more commonly known as money laundering. The appeals court reversed that decision Monday, finding the judge erred in examining the allegations against Salami. The judge found that Salami, who was accused of moving chunks of client money from his trust accounts to his business accounts, had not violated the money laundering laws requirement of two transactions. Such money movements are really one transaction, the judge reasoned, finding there was no logical difference between such a transfer and a common thief placing stolen money into his pocket. During grand jury testimony, though, a Monmouth County detective presented evidence that Salami was using newer clients trust money to satisfy existing clients deals, essentially running a Ponzi scheme with his law practice. That allegation qualifies as financial facilitation of criminal activity, the appeals court found. A Monmouth County Prosecutors Office spokesman said Monday prosecutors are pleased with the decision and are proceeding with the case, which is next scheduled for a court hearing on Jan. 2. Salamis lawyer, Steven E. Nelson, said he and his client were hopeful the courts appellate division would use the case to address the use of the money laundering law. And they chose not to do so, Nelson said. Nelson and his client plan to file an application to have the state Supreme Court hear the case. The appeals decision and state records show the case against Salami has grown in the past four years. The prosecutors office issued a press release in early October 2019 reporting they had arrested Salami on charges relating to mishandling money of four clients, totaling $285,000. After news stories were published, the office received hundreds of phone calls from people reporting thefts, the decision says. A detective later testified in front of a grand jury that investigators identified 60 instances in which Salami allegedly swindled a total of $1,179,990. Of that, Salami was accused of using $587,986 for his personal benefit. According to the appeals decision, his trial lawyer said Salami had serious substance abuse and gambling problems for years and started to neglect his law practice in 2018, but accepted new clients well into 2019. Two state bodies also started investigations. First, the Office of Attorney Ethics disbarred Salami. The agency said Salami acknowledged he could not defend against charges of knowing misappropriation of client and escrow funds. Salami was also disbarred in New York. And the New Jersey Lawyers Fund for Client Protection, which is funded by lawyers across the state and exists to reimburse people if their lawyers steal from them, started collecting claims. One of that agencys early Salami claims involved a man who in August 2019 allegedly wired $178,000 to Salamis trust account for a home purchase. Salami allegedly stopped answering his calls, never transferred the money to the seller and the man lost the home and the $178,000. This year, the client protection fund paid its 73rd and 74th reimbursements to Salami clients, for $10,000 and $24,000, records show. The total payout is currently $1,574,660. On his LinkedIn page, Salami says he currently works as a television producer. Thank you for relying on us to provide the local news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com Pablo Guzman, a longtime New York television journalist, died Sunday morning, CBS New York announced Monday. He was 73 years old. Known as a legendary voice in New York journalism, Guzman worked at WNEW-TV Channel 5 from 1984 to 1992, before moving to WNBCs Channel 4, CBS reported. He was most recently a senior correspondent at CBS2 in New York. Guzman covered crime, local politics, the courts and his beloved New York Yankees, the TV outlet reported. He graduated from the Bronx High School of Science and attended the State University of New York at Old Westbury. After leaving Westbury, he became a founder of the Young Lords, a primarily Puerto Rican revolutionary party based in New York, CBS reported. Guzman also wrote for the Village Voice, Billboard, Rolling Stone and the New York Daily News. He leaves behind his wife Debbie, children Angela and Daniel, and his mother Sally, the news outlet reported. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Brianna Kudisch may be reached at bkudisch@njadvancemedia.com. A 23-year-old man has been charged with murder in the shooting deaths of his three family members at a condominium in central New Jersey, authorities said. Police arrived at the condo unit, located on Coppola Drive in South Plainfield, about 9 a.m. on Monday following reports of shots fired. Inside the home, officers found two men Dilipkumar Brahmbhatt, 72, and Yashkumar Brahmbhatt, 38 and one woman, Bindu Brahmbhatt, 72, who all had gunshot wounds, the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office said. Dilipkumar and Bindu were both pronounced dead at the scene and Yashkumar later died in an area hospital, officials said. Om Brahmbhatt, 23, who was at the home when police arrived, was quickly identified as a suspect, authorities said. He has since been arrested and charged with three counts of first-degree murder and related weapons offenses. Prosecutors said Om Brahmbhatt lived in the home, not far from New Durham Road, with the three victims, but did not specify his relation to them. Om Brahmbhatt is being held in Middlesex County jail pending a detention hearing. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Nicolas Fernandes may be reached at nfernandes@njadvancemedia.com. Vice-President of the European Commission Vera Jourova believes that Ukraine is doing everything to strengthen the fight against corruption. "My message to Brussels and the member states who will discuss and decide on the new accession process in mid-December is that Ukraine is doing everything to strengthen the fight against corruption," Jourova said at a briefing in Kyiv on Monday. She said the criticism that she sometimes hears is that there are corruption cases in Ukraine, therefore it is a corrupt country. But she said differently: by the fact that these cases exist, and that they are being investigated, Ukraine is creating an effective system. Jourova expressed admiration for the people who are engaged in the reforms necessary for Ukraine to join the EU. The vice president noted that she visited Ukraine in 2017 or 2018, and discussed the fight against corruption with representatives of the government, anti-corruption agencies, the media and civil society organizations. She said that then she hadn't the feeling that the intention to end it was serious. Jourova said now it is a completely different state compared to 2017. According to her, Ukrainians are tired of old Ukraine and they want a new system. They want institutions to function well, to investigate cases of corruption at all levels, not only at high levels, but also at lower levels, she also said. At the same time, Jourova said the system has to be sustainable, emphasizing that for a sustainable and strong anti-corruption system, three things are needed: good laws, strong institutions and the right people doing their jobs. Jourova also said it is important to increase the number of personnel of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine. When a mysterious dark money group known as Jersey Freedom started pushing conservative candidates late in this years election cycle, many suspected South Jersey Democrats were behind the nonprofit group. A report released Monday by the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission confirmed those suspicions. Jersey Freedom, which has a Queens P.O. Box address, raised more than $225,000, all of which came from a South Jersey Democratic super PAC called Brighter Future Forward. That group received funding from a separate South Jersey Democratic PAC with ties to George Norcross, a longtime Democratic powerbroker in New Jersey politics. A 29-year-old man died in the hospital four days after he was shot on a Camden city street, officials said. Edward Ross, of Camden, was pronounced dead at Cooper University Hospital on Nov. 21 at 6:38 p.m., the Camden County Prosecutors Office said on Monday. He had been in critical condition since the night of the shooting. Ross was suffering from gunshot wounds when he was located by police on Nov. 16, authorities said. Officers found him on North 33rd Street at 8:23 p.m. No arrests have been made in the case as of Monday afternoon. The Camden County Prosecutors Office is asking anyone with information to call Detective Cody Skinner at 609-575-4863 or submit an anonymous tip online. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Nicolas Fernandes may be reached at nfernandes@njadvancemedia.com. UPDATE: First snow of season coats ground in parts of N.J. as blast of frigid air arrives Gusty winds and the chance of snow showers for parts of New Jersey on Tuesday will feel more like late January than late November, according to the latest weather forecast. While accumulation of more than a few tenths of an inch is unlikely, the National Weather Service said that theres a 30% to 50% chance of snow showers in northwest New Jersey with a lesser shot along the Interstate 95 corridor and into central New Jersey. Slick roads, especially, along the Interstate 80 corridor in northwestern New Jersey are also possible. While areas within the I-95 corridor and parts of western New Jersey can see some flakes, not expecting any measurable accumulations, the National Weather Service said in its morning forecasts discussion. Wind gusts of 25 to 35 mph are expected Tuesday in and around New Jersey, according to AccuWeather.com.AccuWeather.com Everyone that sets foot outside, though, will deal with temperatures that only reach the mid to upper 30s under cloudy skies. Winds that gust as high as 30 to 35 mph will make it feel considerably colder, forecasters say. There wont be much relief from the cold tonight, although winds are expected to die down. Lows are expected to drop into the 20s. Wednesday will be sunny and brisk, but not nearly as frigid as temps reach the upper 30s to low 40s. Nighttime temps on Wednesday will dip into the mid 20s. Temperatures rebound to normal on the last day of November on Thursday with highs in the upper 40s to low 50s on another sunny day. Snow flurries are possible on Tuesday, primarily in the northern part of New Jersey.AccuWeather.com Forecasters are eyeing the potential rain on Friday. It wont be anything significant with a half-inch or less expected, the weather service said. Highs will reach the low 50s. Current weather radar Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Six-day (Tuesday through Sunday) print subscribers of the Watertown Daily Times are eligible for full access to NNY360, the NNY360 mobile app, and the Watertown Daily Times e-edition, all at no additional cost. If you have an existing six-day print subscription to the Watertown Daily Times, please make sure your email address on file matches your NNY360 account email. You can sign up or manage your print subscription using the options below. The first round of consultations with Italy on concluding a bilateral agreement on security guarantees, as provided for in the G7 Joint Declaration on Support for Ukraine, started on the instructions of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Head of the President's Office Andriy Yermak has said. As reported on the presidential website on Tuesday, the Ukrainian negotiating group was headed by Deputy Head of the President's Office Ihor Zhovkva. "Ukraine has already started bilateral consultations with all G7 countries, including Italy. It is Italy that will chair the G7 next year. We value the significant contribution of our Italian friends to the defense of Ukraine and the approach of common victory. Italy's provision of security guarantees to Ukraine will be an important step to bring our state closer to membership in the EU and NATO," he said. Press Release November 28, 2023 Senate adopts resolution expressing condolences on the death of former Japan House Speaker The Senate adopted on Tuesday, November 28, 2023 a resolution expressing the profound sympathy and sincere condolences of the Senate on the death of Hiroyuki Hosoda, former speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan. Senate Resolution No. 869 was authored by Senate President Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri and Majority Leader Joel Villanueva. All Senators present were made co-authors of the resolution. "We remember the speaker for his warmth and kindness and his eager commitment to building a strong connection with our country," Zubiri said in his sponsorship speech. "We commit to continuing his work of strengthening the friendship between our countries, Japan and the Philippines. Once again, our deepest condolences to the family of speaker Hiroyuki Hosoda and to the Japanese parliaments," the Senate President said. Hosoda, former Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan, passed away on November 10, 2023 at the age of 79. Hosoda was born on April 5, 1944 in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture to Kichizo Hosoda, former Transport Minister and Member of the House of Representatives of Japan. He graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Tokyo. He was a long-time member of the House of Representatives, having held this post since 1990 and became Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Secretary General during the time of Prime Minister Taro Aso and led the Hosoda faction of the LDP of Japan from 2014 to 2021. Prior to his election as Member of the House of Representatives from Shimane Prefecture, Speaker Hosoda held various posts in the Japanese government, first of which was in the Ministry of International Trade and Industry in 1967, then as Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs, Chief Cabinet Secretary in 2004 and Speaker of the House of Representatives from November 2021 to October 2023, where he was also engaged in parliamentary diplomacy. He resigned as Speaker of the House of Representatives last month due to health reasons. Speaker Hosoda's government career spans a total of 50 years, interrupted only when he served as secretary to his father, former Transport Minister, from 1986 to 1990. During the Senate parliamentary visit to Japan in April 2023, Speaker Hosoda warmly received the delegation composed of Senate President Juan Miguel F. Zubiri, Majority Leader Joel Villanueva, Senators Joseph Victor "JV" Ejercito, Sonny Angara, Imee Marcos, Pia S. Cayetano, Sherwin Gatchalian, Grace Poe, Nancy Binay, Mark Villar, and Lito Lapid. "The passing of a dedicated public servant and leader of the Japanese government is a great loss to the Japanese nation and leaves an irreplaceable void," the resolution stated. President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola and Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk signed on Tuesday, November 28, an updated Memorandum of Understanding between the Verkhovna Rada and the European Parliament. At a joint press conference with Verkhovna Rada Chairman Stefanchuk in Brussels on Tuesday, Metsola said they signed an updated Memorandum of Understanding on supporting parliamentary democracy between the two parliaments. This is an important and symbolic step in further strengthening their long-standing relationship. She said it is also a practical way in which the European Parliament can help Ukraine prepare for EU accession. This partnership will be further strengthened by its decision to establish a permanent presence of the European Parliament in Kyiv, Metsola said. The President of the European Parliament said that by signing the updated memorandum, they are strengthening their parliamentary ties. Metsola also noted the importance of the need to continue to provide support to Ukraine, military support, in particular through the European Peace Facility, as well as from member states on a bilateral basis. She also said the European Parliament's position is clear, they must agree on a new $50 billion fund for Ukraine as soon as possible. In addition, Metsola noted the tremendous efforts of Ukraine and, in particular, the Verkhovna Rada, to solve all the tasks of opening negotiations on accession to the EU. She said, as Parliament, they hope and expect a positive decision from the European Council this December. In conclusion, their message is this: the European Parliament will continue to support Ukraine as long as it takes. Euractiv previously reported that the European Parliament intends to open an office in Kyiv at the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. According to the Verkhovna Rada Chairman, a plan for its implementation will be developed based on the memorandum. "Today we signed an essential memorandum that outlined the main framework of our cooperation. And on the basis of this memorandum we will develop a plan for its implementation," Stefanchuk said. He said cooperation between parliaments will strengthen every year. Stefanchuk expressed hope that the Ukrainian side in this cooperation will perhaps act in a new capacity as an "associated member of the European Union." NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is convinced that allies, including the United States, will continue to support Ukraine by providing the necessary weapons in order to achieve peace in the war waged against the country by Russia. He said this in Brussels on Tuesday before the start of a two-day meeting of the foreign ministers of the alliance member countries, within which a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council at the level of foreign ministers will also be held for the first time. Asked whether Ukraine should think of a new strategy to win, Stoltenberg said NATO responsibility is to ensure that they give Ukraine the weapons it needs, because if President Putin wins, it will be a tragedy for the Ukrainians, but it will also be dangerous for all, because then the message to all authoritarian regimes, not only in Moscow but also in Beijing, will be that when they violate international law, when they invade another country, when they use force, they get what want. He said NATO allies are providing an unprecedented level of military support. The NATO Secretary General also expressed confidence that the United States will continue to provide support because it is in its security interests. Stoltenberg said NATO is providing assistance to Ukraine in terms of modernizing its Armed Forces to ensure their full compatibility with NATO forces. He also recalled the work of the contact group in Ramstein format, which includes fifty countries that also provide support, which is of great importance. Answering a question about what Ukraine must do to win on the battlefield, the secretary general said he is very cautious about forecasting developments on the frontline, as wars are unpredictable by nature. At the same time, he noted that the courage and skill of the Ukrainian Armed Forces impressed the whole world. "We have to remember where this conflict started at the beginning of the war. We feared that Ukraine would collapse within weeks and that President Putin would control Kyiv within days. That didn't happen, the opposite happened. The Ukrainians were able to push Russian forces out to the north, in the east and in the south. They liberate 50% of the territory that Russia occupied at the beginning of the war with a full-fledged invasion." In this regard, Stoltenberg called on allies to continue to support Ukraine. "So what we do know is that the more military support we provide to Ukraine, the stronger their position will be on the battlefield and the stronger their position will be on a potential negotiating table. We have to remember where this conflict started at the beginning of the war. Our responsibility is to put them in the strongest possible position. Therefore, I welcome the continued support from a NATO Allies," he said. Whose land? Re: The letter Whose Land? (The Nugget, November 23): The writer of this letter is under certain misconceptions about the history of Palestine and the Palestinian people. She alleges that the only people who have ancestral ties to Israel as their historic homeland and nation are the Jewish people. Does she believe that ancient Israel and modern Israel are the same thing? If so, this is nonsense. Not even Jews, especially Orthodox Jews, believe this. Or does she believe that because there was some kind of Jewish state in Palestine thousands of years ago that this justifies the creation of a modern Jewish polity in Palestine at the expense of the indigenous people? This is also nonsense. The number of Jews who can actually trace their ancestry to even premodern Palestine is probably insignificant, especially given the number of Jews in Europe and North Africa who were converts. None have ancestral ties to the modern state of Israel, which would be an oxymoron. As for cultural ties with Palestine, those of Jews are no more important than those of Christians or Muslims. Her muddled thinking about the term Palestinian is risible. If Golda Meir called herself a Palestinian because she lived in geographical Palestine before 1948, so what? She never renounced her cultural or religious identity as a Jew. Moreover, she never recognized the Christian and Muslim natives of Palestine to be a people with their own identity. They were just Arabs and, in her words, could go to Arabia. We must not forget that modern Israel is a colonial settler state. It was driven by an ideology, Zionism, which demanded the creation of an exclusive Jewish state in Palestine. There was no place in it for the indigenous Christians and Muslims. They had to go. Golda Meir was from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. For those looking for insight into the current disaster, it is important to listen to Israeli scholars like Ilan Pappe and Benny Morris and American Jewish scholars like Noam Chomsky and Norman Finkelstein, or even Miko Peled, the son of an Israeli general. They are on YouTube. If one has the stomach, there is a video by Israeli public broadcasting of Israeli children singing how they will eliminate all Palestinians within one year. Meanwhile, the Israeli killing of innocents goes on. Now more than 5,000 children. Gary Leiser Its simple To the Editor: For once, Mr. Mackeys reference to a biblical quote was right on the money. Proverbs 14:15-18 states: The simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps. Wow. I couldnt have said it better. It goes on to state: The simple inherit folly but the prudent are crowned with knowledge. Right now, there seems to be a decided lack of crowns in this country. There is, however, too many people who want to keep it simple. I love how Mr. Mackey puts scientists in air quotes as if theyre not real. Im sure he chipped out his letter on a piece of stone before trekking over to The Nugget. If you dont believe in someone, you certainly wouldnt want to use anything that they had anything to do with, such as ink, paper, laptops, email, etc. I think Sharon Booth left out a word when she was talking about not opinions, but facts, (here is where I would have inserted knowledge) like ice ages developing over thousands of years. Then Mr. Mackey wouldnt have misunderstood thinking that youd have to be there thousands of years ago to get the data. Apparently, hes not familiar with ice core samples or analogies. How we went from climate change to COVID kinda stumped me, but I guess if you want to prove that scientists are not telling the truth, and you dont know the truth, conspiracy theories are always a good way to go. I wonder if Mr. Mackey has overcome the trauma of the vaccines he got as a child. You know, polio, smallpox, diphtheria, etc. Those pesky scientists. I couldnt help but notice Mr. Mackey left out Russia when he was questioning climate change being a bigger threat than China, Iran, North Korea. Russia may well be the biggest threat we have on the foreign relations front. If they attack NATO, its war on a huge scale with a country with a lot of nukes. China would think twice about a war with us cause then theyd never get back the money we owe them and who would they sell all their crap to. If North Korea sent a nuke to the U.S. or Japan, theyd be turned into radioactive slag. So, in answer to your question, yes, climate change is the bigger threat and even our enemies will suffer from it. Its simple. Bruce Campbell Dangers of drinking To the Editor: Hello everybody, grace and peace to you. I would like to share a second letter with the people of Sisters to talk about my experience with the powerful liquid drug known as alcohol. This information is for any and all AA and NA participants. I believe separatism and divisionism is the foundation of war, conflict, and bloodshed. Alcohol is a drug. The Food and Drug Administration classified it as an adult beverage, however, I believe it should be classified as a drug. What I am about to tell you is scientific and medical fact. Alcohol is a double-barrel shotgun. The first barrel is the constant consumption of alcohol leads to the creation of a drug called THIQ. This drug is more addictive than heroin. So if you are addicted to alcohol than you are in worse condition than a heroin addict. The chemical compound THIQ was fist created and used in the middle of World War II. The navy physician went to their chemist requesting a drug less addictive than morphine. The Navy physicist chemist cooked up the drug now known as THIQ. A year later the medics went back to the Navy and requested that they return to morphine because THIQ was so addictive. In 1962, a female neurologist named Virginia Davis was studying cancer in Houston, TX and the process of the human brain, which means she whittled on brains. The brains she was dissecting were the brains of winos. One day she made a comment to her colleagues, I cant figure out how these winos can afford their heroin. She was the one who discovered that the brain can only process so much alcohol, and with the excess alcohol the brain creates THIQ, which as we already know is more addictive than heroin. Thus the metaphor for the double barrel is this second barrel, and thats called relapse. Relapse pulls the second barrel. The human brain enters into withdrawal with the absence of alcohol (THIQ). They are now fighting with a craving more powerful than the relapse a heroin addict experiences, which is why it is so difficult for someone to put down a drink. How many bars and lounges and restaurants do you have that are selling alcohol? It is one of the greatest and most dangerous issues facing Sisters, but we dont address it at all. These facts pertain to weekend warriors, social drinkers, and those late-stage chronic addicts. Chuck Morse Congrats on retirement To the Editor: A tip of the hat to Bonnie Malone. She and Sisters are connected at the hip in more ways than one! Congratulations on your retirement, Bonnie! Judy Bull Compliments To the Editor: You need a topic category of compliments! I just read the November 15th issue and want to say how much I enjoyed the Keeping the wild in Whychus Creek story and The long echo of the guns commentary. I always appreciate the current local news, but savor the inclusion of stories that go a little bit bigger in context and focus, especially with an historical perspective. Thank you for such a great local newspaper! Sara Stamey Public lands permits To the Editor: As a follow-up to my letter regarding stripping branches from cedar trees, I can report that some action was taken by Ian Reid, Sisters district ranger. He and a colleague hiked with me to see two of the worst sites along the trail. He brought the permit to check items of compliance or violation, and was open about acknowledging definite abuse of the permit. I learned that permits measure tonnage, not confined specific areas, and that this particular permit was for two tons of branches! However there is no system for checking amounts cut or compliance, and rare consequence issued, mainly because of staff and logistic limits. His colleague said they just hope that 80 percent of the people do the right thing and obey limits. We discussed that by definition, public lands have three designated purposes; commercial, conservation and recreation, and the Forest Service must seek some balance. He explained the many duties that require prioritizing, like wildfires, homeless camps, illegal tree felling, safety, camping sites, trails, education, and the current philosophy of thinning by logging and prescribed burns. The mandates are national, but managed locally. While we cannot undo the damage and illegal actions, it is important for ordinary citizens to note when something seems not right, and pursue answers or action that can be fruitful, ultimately. Mr. Reid promised to review how permits are issued and how better to enforce them, with that department, for future use. I appreciated that they took time to communicate, visit the damage, and follow up, and we all learned from the experience. Wendie Vermillion Our major parties To the Editor: Does the USA have two major political parties? Dumb question? You decide. Out of 50 states, 31 states and the District of Columbia (DC) register voters by party affiliation. The other 18 states register voters without party affiliation. Therefore, over 1/3 of U.S. states are excluded from political party affiliation totals. That is a very big hole in determining which are the major parties. In 2022 there were 168.42 million registered voters. In 2023, it jumped to 210 million. Yay! The 18 states that do not allow party affiliation at registration have 139.9 million people out of U.S. population of 336 million, or 42 percent. The number of registered voters (210 million) is 63% of US population. If that last percentage (voters to population) holds true for the 18 states, then the estimated number of registered voters for which we do not know their party affiliation is 88.1 million (63% of 139.9 million). Of the 31 states plus D.C. that do track affiliation at registration, 40% are Democrat, 29% are Republican, and 28% are Independent (as in party, not as in nonaffiliated). Also, in 19 of these states plus D.C., there are 20% more Democrats registered than Republicans, and of the remaining 12 states Republicans have a 12% lead over Democrats. The party affiliations also indicate that 12 states plus D.C. have a Democrat plurality, eight states have a Republican plurality, and 10 states have Independent Party plurality. Yet we continue with a two-party system from primaries to divided congresses. Looks to me like we have three major parties. Go figure. Susan Cobb U.S. Steel is indefinitely idling primary operations at its Granite City Works steel mill in Illinois. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker warned it would lay off up to 1,000 steelworkers at the steel mill near St. Louis. "U. S. Steel has indefinitely idled Granite Citys primary operations and will meet customer demand by leveraging the companys active iron and steelmaking facilities. This action was taken in order to help ensure melt capacity is balanced with our order book," U.S. Steel spokeswoman Amanda Malkowski said. "Accordingly, the company has sent the required notices to employees who potentially may be affected. We thank our employees for their contributions and will keep them informed throughout this process." The steel mill in southwestern Illinois makes hot-rolled, cold-rolled and coated sheet steel products for a number of sectors, including construction, automotive, container, and piping and tubing. It can make up to 2.8 million tons of steel a year. U.S. Steel idled Blast Furnace B at Granite City a few months ago as a result of the United Auto Workers union's national strike, which put a dent in steel demand. It believes about 60% of the workers who got WARN notices will be impacted, Malkowski said. The rolling and finishing lines will continue to operate. "Granite City Works' primary operations will be indefinitely idled, including blast furnaces, steel making, casting and related operations. U. S. Steel issued WARN notices to approximately 1,000 employees, most of whom are associated with Granite City Works primary operations," Malkowski said. "In September 2023, U. S. Steel temporarily idled the second blast furnace at Granite City Works, meaning that both blast furnaces are currently idled. Rolling and finishing lines will continue to run using slabs from other facilities in order to meet the needs of our customers." VALPARAISO It was 62 years ago Tuesday that Porter County Sheriff's Department Patrolman Edward Blakely was ambushed and gunned down while responding to a report of a vehicle in a ditch that had been tied to a shooting and killing in neighboring Lake County. "The suspect had shot and wounded a man outside of a Gary tavern and stole his car," according to a recounting of the story on the Officer Down Memorial Page. Edward Blakely Porter County Sheriff's Department Patrolman Edward Blakely "When the car broke down, he killed a Hobart Township resident outside his home and stole his car," the online report says. Blakely, who was 47, was reportedly called out to investigate a report of the suspect's vehicle stuck in a ditch in the area of U.S. 30 and County Road 475 West. "Patrolman Blakely was found shot to death beside the stolen car," according to the memorial page. "He was killed with a 16-gauge shotgun taken from the trunk of the murdered resident's automobile." The shooter, who is described in the police tribute report as a 20-year-old former convict and dishonorably discharged Marine, was captured in Gary after crashing Blakely's patrol car a few hours later. He reportedly claimed to be so drunk he could not remember his actions. The shooter was committed by a judge to a mental hospital in Westville on March 14, 1962 and after being found fit to stand trial in 1968 was convicted of murder and sentenced to die, the tribute page says. The Indiana Supreme Court ordered a new trial in 1972 and on June 20 of the following year, the man was found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to life. He was reportedly paroled in 1988. Porter County Sheriff Jeff Balon said Tuesday the man who shot Blakely was, "a coward who had no regard for the lives of others." "Officer Blakely had selflessly served the citizens of Porter County and sacrificed his life in an attempt to help others," Balon said. "Officer Blakely will forever be in the hearts of every past, present and future member of the Porter County Sheriff's Office." "I admire every police officer who puts on the uniform and is willing to sacrifice their life to save someone else and it is my prayer that every police officer makes it home at the end of their shift to be with their family," Balon said. "Patrolman Blakely has served with the Porter County Sheriff's Department for three years and previously served with the Chesterton Police Department," according to the memorial page. "He was survived by his wife, daughter, three brothers, sister, and four grandchildren." A woman identifying herself as Blakely's granddaughter wrote on the police memorial page in 2012 that she was just a few days shy of turning 7 when the killing took place. "I remember it being such an awful and sad time in our lives," she wrote. "He always was and always will be my hero. He took several bullets to the body protecting others. Every day I pray for the safety of all officers." Gallery: Recent arrests booked into the Porter County Jail Lwiyhi Torres-Alvarez Michael Oprisko Shayna McNeil Quentin Heckman Destiny Grakauskas Daniel Sutton Kameron Watkins Lily Stratton Travis Schirato Lewis Stahl Jonathon Daniels Seth Garrison Annie Brasher Jeremy Worley Selena Rivera Jonathan Thien Rachael Trinidad Benjamin Long Raymond Byrd Ryenn Dearing Jennifer Hurt Brian Augustynski Hector Ayala Joshua Vasquez Brett Volk Brock Pappas Antonio Tito-Acatitlan Tonya Worley Kayden Whiteside Patrick Carter Edward Remm Dylan Apgar Luke Bucksbarg Jonathon O'Brien Anthony Kyle Keon Moten Trennell Walker Brooke White Justin Troutwine Willie Armstrong Richard Drescher Holly Hardee Scott Pachowicz James Pierce The Ukrainian delegation will not participate in the OSCE ministerial meeting at the level of the Minister of Foreign Affairs; Kyiv believes that the presence of the Russian delegation will only aggravate the crisis into which Russia has driven the OSCE, Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Oleh Nikolenko said. "Ukraine highly appreciates the efforts of North Macedonia as the 2023 Presidency and personally by Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani, who have demonstrated high professionalism and unwavering commitment to defending the principles and commitments of the OSCE. We are grateful to North Macedonia for prioritizing the issue of countering Russian aggression against Ukraine during its chairmanship. Russia is consistently destroying the OSCE by abusing the rule of consensus," Nikolenko said on Facebook. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that by resorting to blackmail and open threats, Russia systematically blocked consensus on key issues, and the blocking of Estonia's candidacy for the OSCE chairmanship in 2024 was also "self-willed." The Foreign Ministry recalled that Russia also illegally detained three Ukrainians representatives of the OSCE, who have been in prison for more than 500 days. "Russia has created an existential crisis in the OSCE and turned the organization hostage to its whims and aggression. In such conditions, the presence of the Russian delegation at a ministerial meeting for the first time since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine will only aggravate the crisis into which Russia has driven the OSCE," Nikolenko said. The department said "we should work together to save the OSCE from Russia, and not send signals about the possibility of returning to the forms of cooperation that existed before February 2022, to a state that unleashed the largest armed aggression in Europe since the end of the Second World War and grossly violated all the principles of the Helsinki Final Act." In this regard, the Ukrainian delegation will not participate in the OSCE ministerial meeting at the level of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the department said. "At the same time, Ukraine remains committed to the principles of the OSCE and is ready to continue working with partners in order to restore respect for the Helsinki Final Act, in particular based on the implementation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Peace Formula," the spokesman said. A meeting of the OSCE Council of Foreign Ministers will be held in Skopje on November 30 to December 1. RENSSELAER After watching his son lie in a hospital bed for more than a week and eventually die Sunday as a result of colliding on his motorcycle with a deer, Lloyd Ostler Sr. is hoping to use his family's personal tragedy to convince other riders to wear helmets. "You can't wear a seatbelt on a motorcycle, but you can wear a helmet," he said. Lloyd Ostler Jr., 44, of Rensselaer, crashed with the deer Nov. 18 in the 1000 block of West Washington Street in Rensselaer, officials said. He was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Illinois, where he died shortly before 4 p.m. Sunday, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office. Ostler Sr. said his son was not wearing a helmet at the time of his crash and suffered a traumatic brain injury resulting in him being placed on life support until his death Sunday. UPDATE: 2 homicides in Gary on Monday, police say The second man then began to walk out after being told when the restaurant opened, "but not before pulling a handgun and firing several shots at the victim killing him." Indiana law requires use of helmets and face shields for riders under the age of 18, but no such requirements are in place for adults. Ostler Sr., who lives in La Crosse, Indiana, said he was still processing his son's death Tuesday morning. But he was able to reflect back on happier times of taking his son to weekly car races as he was growing up. The younger Ostler became a fan of motorcycles as an adult and often took part in benefit rides. "He loved his motorcycle," his father said. Further details of the crash were not immediately available Tuesday morning from the Rensselaer Police Department. Today in history: Nov. 28 1919: Lady Astor 1942: Cocoanut Grove Nightclub 1943: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin 1961: Ernie Davis 1964: Mariner 4 1979: Plane Crash 1990: Margaret Thatcher 1994: Jeffrey Dahmer 2016: Plane Crash 2016: Cuba Flights 2020: Joe Biden 2020: Sarah Fuller 2021: Lee Elder 2022: Payton Gendron Decisions are made by those who show up is an axiom that's perhaps never more true than on Election Day. However, data obtained by The Times reveals most Northwest Indiana residents seemingly are content to let others decide the fate of their communities for them. Official results from the Nov. 7 municipal elections show nearly 4 out of 5 voters in Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties living in a city or town where an election was held opted not to cast a ballot. Voter turnout in Northwest Indiana was lowest in Lake County where just 17% of registered voters took advantage of the once-every-four-years opportunity to select their local leaders, results show. That's despite Lake County offering the longest early-voting period in the Region giving voters nearly a full month of weekdays and weekends to cast their ballot in-person at any one of 11 locations ahead of the 12-hour voting period on Election Day. While many of the major races in Lake County communities were blowouts, such as Democrat Eddie Melton winning election as Gary mayor with 95% of the vote, others were much closer, including the Lake Station school funding referendum that was defeated by only 14 votes and a city council race in Hobart decided by just 9 votes. Results show voter turnout was slightly higher in LaPorte County where 20.7% of registered voters living in a locality with an election cast a ballot this year. Porter County, meanwhile, had the highest voter turnout in Northwest Indiana with a 21.8% participation rate, fueled in part by high-profile mayor and council races in Portage and Valparaiso the two largest cities in the county. Nevertheless, voter turnout in both Porter and LaPorte counties was down this year compared to the 2019 municipal elections when Porter County saw 27.5% of registered voters participate and LaPorte County tallied 24.7% turnout. Lake County, in contrast, saw higher turnout in 2023 versus 2019 when just 15.7% of eligible voters cast a ballot in city or town government contests. Voter turnout in all three counties is expected to soar next year when the presidency, a U.S. Senate seat, Indiana governor, attorney general, state legislators, and a host of other state and local elected offices will be on the ballot. The initial opportunity to cast a ballot will be May 7 when the Democratic and Republican parties decide their nominees for most offices, followed by the general election on Nov. 5. In-person early voting ahead of both elections will be available. In 2020, voter turnout for the general election was 60% in Lake County, 66.5% in Porter County and 62.6% in LaPorte County, records show. Gallery: Get to know these new Indiana laws that took effect July 1 AirTags Alcohol permits Animal facilities Army veteran in Aberdeen repeatedly victimized by teens, calling him a 'terrorist' Book bans Bullying Charter schools Child molesting Childrens hospitals Domestic violence Drinking water Electric/hybrid vehicles Encroachment FAFSA Financial literacy Firefighting equipment Food and beverage tax Gender-affirming care Gary schools Gasoline tax Human trafficking Illiana Expressway Inmate gender Insurance fund Juror pay Juveniles Lake County convention center Lake County recorder Landlords Little Calumet River Lost farmland Machine guns Mail-in ballots Mental health Military bases Military pay Pension investments Public health School board elections Service animals Sex education SNAP assistance Speed cameras State comptroller Storage units Tax sales Taxpayer receipt Teachers unions Throwing stars Transit Development District 21st Century Scholars Valparaiso lawsuit Xylazine Several holiday light displays are illuminating the Region to put people in the holiday spirit. Harvest Tyme Family Farm at 17904 Grant St. in Lowell brought back its Christmas Tyme Lights, which it switched from a drive-thru to a walking trail this year. "This year, we are incredibly excited to bring a fresh walkthrough experience to our guests," said Josh Sickinger, the owner of Harvest Tyme Family Farm. "The interactive walking trail provides a better opportunity for visitors to enjoy their visit, take their time and fully engage in a delightful holiday experience." The half-mile-long trail aims to create holiday magic with Christmas displays and millions of twinkling lights, including 10 light tunnels that make for Instagrammable backdrops. The family-owned farm will pump in traditional Christmas music have have campfires where guests can warm up and toast marshmallows for s'mores. Popular kids characters like Bluey and Bingo, the Grinch, the Elf on the Shelf, Jack Skellington and Frosty the Snowman will roam around, posing for pictures with the kids. Harvest Tyme also will sell concessions like hot cocoa and freshly baked cookies at Christmas Tyme, which runs through Dec. 30. For more information, visit www.harvesttymefun.com or call 219-440-2FUN. Michigan City The Festival of Holiday Lights display in Michigan City started as a Christmas tree created with a pole and a few strands of light 33 years ago. The light display has exploded into an estimated 2,500 strands of light at the lakefront Washington Park at 115 Lakeshore Drive and downtown. A dozen park maintenance employees put in 3,100 hours setting up the extravagant lakefront display, which includes 95 individual commercial yard ornaments and animated displays, 23 pole displays and 1,000 extension cords. Visitors can see the "A Christmas Story" leg lamps and scenes like bears with gifts at the lakefront. Valparaiso The Winter Lights drive-through has returned to the Sunset Hill Farm County Park at 775 Meridian Road in Valparaiso. The display is lit from 4:30-10 p.m. through Jan. 1. The annual Porter County Parks tradition features festival holiday light scenes with a country twist like Santa driving a tractor and tossing presents to the kids. Hobart The Winter Wonderlights drive-through returned to 7595 E. Lincoln Hwy in Hobart for the third year. The half-mile-long display features festive lights, illuminated tunnels, twinkling Christmas trees and holiday music. Tickets range from $22.40 to $40. Fair Oaks The Forest of Lights is lit up at Fair Oaks Farms at 856 N. 600 E. in Fair Oaks. The agritourism destination that teaches visitors about modern farming practices turns the Fair Oaks Farms Nature Trail into a winter wonderland with a dazzling light show this time of year. Holiday scenes include Disco Icicles, Musical Woods, Corridor of Cheer, Mistletoe Magic, Winter Orchard and Tractor Snow Globes. Visitors also can warm up at bonfires and fire pits or imbibe at the Forest Pub. "Changing scenes of lights, interactive color displays, perfect photo opportunities for families and friends this is not to be missed," Fair Oaks Farms said in a press release. "Along the trail will be bonfires for making smores, warm drinks, and an adult beverage station." It's open from 5-9 p.m. Thursday to Sunday through Dec. 13 and then daily from 5-9 p.m. from Dec. 14 through Dec. 31 The last admission is sold at 8:30 p.m. The attraction is closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Tickets are $12 for people over the age of 13 and $8 for ages 3 through 12. It's free for kids 2 and younger. Tickets can be purchased on-site at the Admissions Building. For more information, visit foffarms.com Ozinga has rolled out its candy cane-striped Merry Mixer to spread holiday cheer. The Mokena-based concrete supplier, which has Calumet Region operations in Schererville, Gary, Cedar Lake, Crown Point, Chesterton, Valparaiso, Portage, LaPorte, Wheatfield, Knox and Chicago Heights, lights up one of its iconic red-and-white-striped concrete mixers with more than 40,000 LED lights every Christmas season. It's synced to 11 classic holiday songs for a unique mobile holiday light show that often makes appearances in parades, festivals and holiday celebrations. The 95-year-old construction contractor, which has tackled many major Region construction projects over the years, first debuted the holiday-themed Merry Mixer in 2017. It's since been rolled out to more than 180 community events in greater Chicagoland, Southeast Wisconsin and Northwest Indiana. The Merry Mixer visits Comer Childrens Hospital in Chicago and the Advocate Childrens Hospital in Oak Lawn every year, donating toys to try to cheer up the kids there. Ozinga brought the Merry Mizer to Chesterton's Twilight Christmas Parade this weekend. It will dispatch the illuminated concrete truck to 33 different community events this holiday season, including the Christmas Parade & Tree Lighting in DeMotte on Thursday and the Holiday Lighted Parade in South Bend on Dec. 8. The Merry Mixers also will be at Cedarhurst Senior Living assisted living home at 21507 Wolf Rd in Frankfort from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Dec. 19 and the Hickory Creek Church at 10660 W Lincoln Hwy from 7:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Dec. 19. For more information, visit ozinga.com/merrymixer. LAPORTE A deer just outside LaPorte is now free of the plastic pumpkin stuck over its face for about two weeks as it roamed the countryside. After numerous sightings, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources contacted a veterinarian who sedated the deer with a tranquilizer gun Friday night in the 300 block of Bordeaux Drive. There were growing concerns about the adult-sized does ability to survive with her mouth and snout totally inside the hollow plastic jack-o-lantern. Dr. Larry Smith, who examined the deer after firing a tranquilizer into it from about 35 feet away, said the animal was a little underweight but still in relatively good shape. He also said the animal did not appear dehydrated. DNR Conservation Officer Tyler Brock said there was some water at the bottom of the orange bowl shaped pumpkin when it was removed from the head of the deer. Brock said that leads him to believe the deer bobbed her head into nearby Pine Lake or a stream to fill the container with water. He said water could have seeped in from the gaps between her face and upper rim of the pumpkin for her to drink at the bottom. Brock didnt see how it would be possible for the deer to have eaten much, if anything, with her mouth covered. After awakening a few minutes later as the effects of the tranquilizer wore off, the deer stood up on its own and scampered away. Im sure it had a good meal quickly after, Brock said. Brock said the plastic handle on the trick-or-treating pumpkin was draped over the top of the deers forehead, creating just enough tension to keep the container from slipping off her face. The relief, the happiness, I cant even describe, said Gretchen Worley, who lives at 1714 N. Rustic Drive. Her home is near the heavily wooded subdivision just outside the city limits where the deer was tranquilized and most often spotted. On most days, Worley said she spent hours at a time searching for the deer, hoping to get close enough to remove the plastic pumpkin with a four-foot long hook pole. She spotted the deer on several occasions and once got as close as 25 feet from the animal, but each time it ran off. Worley said she also worked with a couple that made the drive from Jasper County to assist in the search with a drone. Out of habit, Worley said she caught herself trying to spot the animal from inside her vehicle while driving home the night after the deer was set free of the pumpkin. I had to tell myself that its over. I dont have to be on pins and needles. I dont have to have my binoculars glued to my eyes. I got accustomed to it, she said. Brock said the deers ability to survive was probably helped by the fat which wild animals put on this time of year to feed off when food is not as plentiful during the winter. He also said only veterinarians in the state are licensed to tranquilize wild animals, as long as a conservation officer is present. Smith said it was getting dark when he fired the tranquilizer gun from the back yard of a home while conservation officer Alex Toth kept his flashlight on the deer that was inside a wooded area. He said the orange pumpkin shining in the light above the shoulders and neck of the deer helped provide him with a target through the slight clearing between the trees. Luckily, I was able to take a shot and hit it on the first shot, Smith said. Brock said other wild animals like raccoons and opossum sometimes wind up with things like bags and boxes over their heads. He said the objects usually work themselves loose from the animals, though, before conservation officers have to get involved. Regardless of the outcome, he feels theres a lesson for the public to learn each time. Its just an example of being aware of what were leaving out and how that can affect wildlife, Brock said. PORTER Construction crews on the South Shore Line's Double Track project are performing their final major tasks this winter while workers on the West Lake Corridor commuter rail project have passed the halfway point. "We are really, really close," South Shore President Michael Noland said about Double Track at Monday's meeting of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District Board of Trustees. Major construction is about 95% complete, he said. "The last thing that will occur ... is that we will finish installing and turning on the signaling system," Noland said. "And to do that, we need to finish up the overhead catenary system so we can power up." After major construction work ends in six to eight weeks, testing and training will take place in anticipation of the start of full revenue service in May. The project includes adding a second set of tracks to single-track territory between Gary and Michigan City, as well as new stations in those cities and upgrades to stations and parking at other locations. While the new station in Miller is almost complete, work has just begun on the new station building and parking garage on 11th Street in Michigan City. That part of the project will extend beyond Double Track's completion into late 2024. The station's exterior will include the restored terracotta facade from the former station, and inside, the station will be home to a museum depicting the history of the South Shore Line. The Michigan City passenger platform and ground-level parking spaces are currently serving passengers. The new station is being built by the firm Flaherty & Collins, which is also building the mixed-use buildings that will fill out the city block with residential and retail units. That latter are slated for completion in late 2025. West Lake passes half-way mark Close to four miles of track have been installed on the eight-mile rail line from Hammond to Dyer, Noland said. The project reached a milestone in late October at 45th Street in Munster when a set of tasks were completed that will allow that will allow the commuter railroad to bridge the four-lane thoroughfare and the freight rails at Maynard Junction just to the north. The work, necessary to allow contractors to install bridge piers, included CSX railroad moving one of its signals, installation of a new 60-inch sewer main, and NIPSCO moving power lines underneath the tracks. "The contractor now has clear sailing to build the project all the way through to the Munster-Dyer border," Noland said. Platforms at Ridge Road and 173rd Street are done; the project's elevated section through downtown Hammond has also taken shape this year. "If you drive through Hammond you'll see where the railroad is going to be, starting at Douglas Street all the way to where the Gateway Station is going to be," Noland said. West Lake will merge with the South Shore Line shortly west of the Gateway Station. "The big hurdle right now is to finish up a tunnel, in the Munster/Dyer area, where we are going to build a vehicular underpass under CSX," Noland said. "We see a pathyway to finishing up West Lake on track, which is May of 2025." Monday's NICTD board meeting was the last regular meeting of the year, and the last for Mayor Jerome Prince of Gary and Mayor Matt Murphy of Valparaiso. They are among four board members appointed by the governor, each representing one of the four counties the South Shore serves. Those members must be elected officials, and both mayors are leaving office at the end of this year. "It's been great, sharing, being a member for the last year. Thank you all for everything that you've done, for your professionalism, and it's just been great to serve," Prince said as Monday's meeting concluded. GALLERY: The Times Photos of the Week Southlake Mall in Hobart is kicking into full gear for the holiday season. The super-regional mall at U.S. 30 and Mississippi Street has extended its hours for the holidays. The mall is now open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. It will be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day except Sunday starting on Dec. 8 and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day but Sunday starting on Dec. 15. "It's our busiest time of the year," Southlake Mall Marketing and Business Development Manager Kristyn Filetti said. Santa Claus also has come to town for photo ops with the kids. The Southlake Mall plans several holiday events, including a Sensory Friendly Santa Experience, Pet Photos with Santa, a Giving Tree to benefit Campagna Academy and giveaways. Photos with Santa will run through Christmas Ave on the lower level by Forever 21. Santa will pose for pictures between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday through Saturday through Dec. 14. Kris Kringle will be on break between 3 and 4 p.m. daily. Saint Nick will be on hand between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. from Dec. 15 to Dec. 23 with a break between 3 and 4 p.m. Procrastinators will get a last chance to get Santa photos from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Dec. 24, with a break between 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. People can take Pet Photos with Santa between 4 and 7 p.m. Nov. 27 and Dec. 4, 11 and 18. A Sensory Friendly Santa Experience will cater to people of all ages with different abilities between 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Dec. 3 and 10. It will take place in the Center Court before the stores open to provide a calm and welcoming environment with no music, reduced noise and little foot traffic. People can take gift requests off the Giving Tree in the Center Court and drop them off by Dec. 13 to benefit residents of the Campagna Academy, the residential treatment facility in Schererville that takes care of troubled youth. The presents can be dropped off at the Management Office and Yankee Candle. Southlake Mall also is hosting a raffle that will give shoppers a chance to win gift packages valued at $100 from a number of retailers. It will raffle off gift-wrapping packages on Instagram and is offering holiday gift wrapping by Chicks that Wrap through Christmas Eve on the Lower Level near Macy's. The 1.3 million-square-foot mall is the second largest in Indiana after only Castleton Square Mall in Indianapolis. The two-story mall is home to more than 160 stores, including Macy's, JCPenney, H&M, PINK, Vans, Dry Goods, Journey's, White Barn and Coopers Hawk Winery. State regulators are soliciting feedback on NIPSCO's proposed 10.6% natural gas rate hike. The Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, the state agency that advocates for consumer interest, is asking the public to weigh in on Merrillville-based NIPSCO's bid to raise $161.9 million more in annual operating revenues. The electric and natural gas utility is asking the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to let it raise rates to fund infrastructure upgrades and higher maintenance and operating costs. NIPSCO customers can submit written comments through Jan. 24. The Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor plans to file its testimony on the rate case on Jan. 31. The utility's 859,000 customers across 32 counties in northern Indiana pay market prices for natural gas to heat their homes and cook their food. NIPSCO is seeking to increase the distribution charge from $54.89 a month to $64.90 a month for 50 therms, to $70.35 a month to $80.65 a month for 70 therms and for $93.54 a month to $104.29 a month for 100 therms. The exact amount would vary depending on usage. NIPSCO has also proposed raising the $16.25 customer service charge to $25.50, a fixed charge that does not vary. The base rates, last increased in July, account for about half of the average residential natural gas bill. It pays for operating, maintenance and infrastructure costs. The two-phase rate hike would kick fully into effect in March 2025. To weigh in on the cast, visit www.in.gov/oucc/2361.htm, email uccinfo@oucc.IN.gov, or mail Public Comments, Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, 115 W. Washington St., Suite 1500 SOUTH, Indianapolis, IN 46204. All comments should include the consumers name, city, zip code and a reference to either IURC Cause No. 45967 or NIPSCO Gas Rates. For more information, call 1-888-441-2494. A LaPorte man convicted in March of drug dealing resulting in death, a level 1 felony, received a fair trial, according to a ruling issued Tuesday by the Indiana Court of Appeals. Devante King, 31, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for selling the heroin that caused the March 6, 2020, overdose death of 26-year-old Anthony Comeno in the bathroom of his grandparents' home in Michigan City, according to court records. King argued in his appeal that prosecutors failed to present sufficient evidence to convict him of drug dealing resulting in a death, as well as a second level 4 drug dealing charge following a controlled purchase by a police informant. In a 3-0 ruling, the appeals court said the trial record shows King and Comeno exchanged text messages on their phones to arrange the heroin buy and location data show King and Comeno met at a gas station to complete the drug purchase. "A reasonable jury could have readily concluded from the state's evidence that King delivered heroin to Comeno as charged," the court said. The appeals court noted an identical process was used for the subsequent controlled drug buy giving the jury sufficient evidence to sustain that conviction as well. Separately, the appeals court rejected King's contention that a text message he received from another drug client, alerting him something was "wrong" with his heroin prior to completing his sale to Comeno, should not have been presented to the jury. "The state offered the exhibit to show that King could have foreseen Comeno's death resulting from the sale of King's heroin," the appeals court said. "The evidence at issue thus was highly probative to a material element of an offense." King still can ask the Indiana Supreme Court to consider reviewing his case. Otherwise, his earliest possible release date from prison assuming good behavior is Oct. 27, 2042, records show. Gallery: Recent arrests booked into LaPorte County Jail Kristy Miller Donald Starks Jeremy Marshall Andre Johnson Victoria Vasquez Allen Fugate Thomas Reeder Samuel Fleming Giovanni Ferreyra-Ruiz Cleophis Swanson Jr. Yvonne Noe Bonnie McGriff Tabitha Ramirez Rickey Bureau Quayshuan Kelly Almani Flippins Amber Coursel Barry Geber Jordan Glancy Donald Franklin Lauren Smith Jermaine Carter Calvin Simmons New York City officials are investigating after hundreds of Queens high school students protested against a pro-Israel teacher, who was moved to another part of the building during the demonstration, the schools chancellor said Monday. The recent episode at Hillcrest High School erupted after the teacher, who is Jewish, had changed a social media profile photo to an image of her holding up an I Stand With Israel sign, the chancellor, David C. Banks, said. On Nov. 20, as roughly 400 teenagers roamed the school in between class periods, the teacher was moved to a different floor, Mr. Banks said. Mr. Banks said the teacher had been targeted for her backing of Israel and for expressing her Jewish identity, adding that it was completely unacceptable. After TikTok clips of the raucous scene gained online attention and The New York Post published a story reporting that the teacher had hidden in a locked office, the events at the southeast Queens school became the latest high-profile flashpoint in the tensions over the Israel-Hamas war that have rocked public school districts and college campuses. But on Monday, Mr. Banks said there had been many rumors and misinformation about what happened. The teacher was never in direct danger or barricaded into a room, he said, but was moved to a different floor of the building when the protest began. Violence, hate and disorder have no place in our schools, Mr. Banks, who himself attended Hillcrest in the 1970s, said at a news conference. Still, the chancellor also called for a measure of understanding, saying the war was a very visceral and emotional issue at Hillcrest, where about 30 percent of students are Muslim. They feel a kindred spirit with the folks of the Palestinian community, Mr. Banks said, adding that the notion that these kids are radicalized was irresponsible. Within hours of first reports of the incident last week, Mayor Eric Adams condemned the episode as a vile show of antisemitism. Melinda Katz, the boroughs district attorney and a Hillcrest alumna, said it both angers me and breaks my heart to see young people using violence to try to silence supporters of Israel. And one Republican city councilwoman called for Hillcrest to be shut down pending a full and thorough investigation. The incident at Hillcrest was a stark example of just how fraught the fallout from the war has been for school communities across the nation. At times, videos of students marching through campuses or banging on classroom doors have gone viral setting off swift firestorms. In San Francisco, for example, students said their peers and administrators had their personal information published online after a short clip of teenagers shouting Palestine will be free from the river to the sea during a school rally was viewed more than 17 million times on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. In New York City, the initial reports on the episode at Hillcrest a large high school of roughly 2,500 students in Jamaica, Queens were met with immediate criticisms from officials. The teacher who was targeted has not spoken publicly. She was not at the school on Monday, officials said, but is expected to return later this week. Many local politicians said they worried that intolerance and antisemitism had been allowed to impede her from doing her job. Whats going on overseas is not license for anyone to hate, Eric Dinowitz, who leads the City Councils Jewish caucus, said at a rally earlier on Monday that had been organized to respond to the Hillcrest incident. We do not have a Department of Education that is acting with the urgency of the moment. Mr. Adams said in a statement on Saturday that the incident was motivated by ignorance-fueled hatred, plain and simple. It will not be tolerated in any of our schools, let alone anywhere else in our city, the mayor added. We are better than this. School officials said some of the students involved in the protest had received suspensions for their conduct, though the officials were barred from discussing individual cases. On Monday, Mr. Banks and other city leaders attempted to quell the mounting online backlash against students at the school. On social media, some commenters had begun labeling the teenagers as terrorists or criminals and demanded harsh penalties for the full student body. To speak of every child in this school as antisemitic is simply wrong, said Donovan Richards, the Queens borough president. He added in an interview that because the Department of Education had not addressed the war in the Middle East head on, you had this powder keg waiting to explode. In the aftermath of the incident, Hillcrest also attracted attention for other recent issues at the school some of which the chancellor said had also been portrayed incorrectly online. A week earlier, four teenagers had been taken into police custody after they fought in school and injured several school safety agents, the police said. Mr. Banks said the brawl was completely unrelated to the incident last Monday. Another 18-year-old student was also charged with aggravated harassment and making a threat of mass harm on Nov. 21, but the schools principal said that it was also unconnected to the protest the previous day. Outside Hillcrest on Monday, more than a dozen police officers and school safety agents stood on the front steps. In interviews, a half-dozen students, who asked that their names not be published, shared mixed feelings about what had taken place. Several were frustrated over how their school had been portrayed online. One called the episode unacceptable and said he worries for his safety if other incidents occur. Most of the teenagers said they believed that while some of their peers sought to protest the teachers post and express support for Palestinians, many of their classmates participated because they wanted to have fun or were curious about the commotion. In interviews, students, teachers and local politicians briefed by the authorities on the demonstration described a chaotic scene during the protest, which occurred in the middle of the school day on Nov. 20. They also noted that student organizers had been making plans for a rally days before it occurred. Around 11 a.m., some of the organizers sent out a message telling their peers the protest was on. Hundreds of teenagers filled the schools third floor and many did not return to classrooms when the 11:11 a.m. bell rang for their next class. Some waved Palestinian flags, and one carried a large microphone. Others rushed toward the classroom of the Jewish teacher, who was removed and taken to another section of the building. At around 11:20 a.m., school safety agents contacted their sergeant, asking for help with a disorderly group of students. About 25 officers were sent to help, and all of the teenagers eventually returned to their classrooms, police officials said. One student later warned a teacher that the protests would continue as long as the teacher remained on staff and on Nov. 22, the school was placed under lockdown as rumors spread of another planned demonstration. Two teachers at the school, who spoke on condition of anonymity since they were not authorized to speak publicly, said they believed their school mishandled its response to the initial incident. Some Hillcrest students had openly discussed their plans in the lead-up to Nov. 20, the two teachers said. By the weekend beforehand, they said, the Jewish teacher had learned she could be a target and informed a union representative and the principal. But those details were not shared with the full staff, the two teachers said, adding that they felt blindsided when chaos erupted. Both said they wished for more robust communication. And they questioned whether the protest could be have been better controlled with more preparation. Muhammad Ghazali, the student government president for the schools senior class, said at the news conference he was disappointed with how the events unfolded, adding that the entire Hillcrest community was hurt and broken because of how some students behaved. It didnt turn out the way it should have been, he said. It was meant to be a peaceful protest from the very beginning. But some of these students lack maturity. The Shevchenkivsky District Court of Kyiv ordered businessman Ihor Kolomoisky to be held in custody until January 26, 2024 with the option of posting bail of UAH 3.712 billion. "To extend the period of detention of suspect Ihor Kolomoisky within the pretrial investigation until January 26, 2024 inclusive. To set for suspect Ihor Kolomoisky bail of 1.118 million subsistence minimums of able-bodied persons, which is UAH 3.712 billion, which can be posted either by the suspect himself or by another individual or legal entity," the judge read out the court decision before closing the hearing on Tuesday. According to her, if bail is granted, Kolomoisky will be subject to a number of procedural obligations, and bail applied will be considered the preventive measure. As reported, on October 24, the Shevchenkivsky District Court of Kyiv upheld Kolomoisky's detention with an alternative bail of UAH 3.8 billion, not satisfying the lawyers' request to change the preventive measure to 24-hour house arrest. Kolomoisky faces fraud and PrivatBank funds embezzlement charges. The Security Service of Ukraine served a notice of suspicion against him under two articles of the Criminal Code: Article 190 (fraud), Article 209 (illegal takeovers of property). Law enforcement officers established that the businessman during 2013-2020 legalized more than UAH 0.5 billion by transferring them abroad. At the same time, he used the infrastructure of controlled banking institutions. According to the investigation, in the period from 2013 to 2014, Kolomoisky was behind a plan to steal UAH 5.8 billion. To do this, he created a criminal group consisting of employees of the bank, which he founded and owned. The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) notified the former ultimate beneficiary of PJSC CB PrivatBank Kolomoisky and five of his former top managers of suspicion of embezzling bank funds worth more than UAH 9.2 billion. When we meet them, we start with small chitchat while offering some snacks and coffee. We dont go all alpha like the men, thus the situation never heightens. REZEKI AMALIA, part of a team of women rangers in Indonesia who protect land from squatters looking to clear trees for timber or farm the soil. The companys first two-act work, the moving and momentous Lazarus, by the hip-hop choreographer Rennie Harris, came under Battles leadership, too. And there was range, including dances by Twyla Tharp the sort that even ballet companies struggle with because of their rhythmic complexity and groove. Roys Joys, set to recordings by Roy Eldridge, is abundant with layers of vernacular dance, ballet and modern everything to grow a company of dancers, and grow they did under Battle. That mix of new and the unexpected old was also important in the bigger picture of dance Roys Joys (1997) was granted a second, much-needed life at Ailey. Carolyn Adams, a former Paul Taylor dancer, was a crucial mentor for Battle, and one of his first steps was to introduce the Taylor repertoire to the company. Why had no one ever thought of that? Alvin Ailey studied with Martha Graham; Taylor was in her company. This was lineage up there on that stage. Ill never forget the invigorating sight of Ailey dancers performing Taylors Arden Court, a bold, crisp example of showing them, as he said, in new ways. Not everything was lasting or important, of course. There werent enough new works by women of substance, as usual. But Battle branched out, and as he dusted off the Ailey company, he led it into the 21st century with a public persona that was as fresh as his artistic agenda. Delivering curtain speeches, he was unpretentious and loose; his words were true invitations to the dance they swung. The announcement of Battles resignation was made less than two weeks before the companys annual City Center engagement, a blockbuster event that draws rapturous crowds to the theater for their holiday fix of Revelations. Again, the timing, and the suddenness of it, are strange. So what are we to make of a biennial that rejects, in ways small and large, the idea of proceeding on a biennial timeline? Is this bravery? Irony? A triumph of the ad hoc over the polished and easily marketable? A principled decision to support community organizations that do good work and have obvious needs, such as Urban Growers Collective? It may be all of those things. Or it may be something simpler. It may be what happens when you hand over the reins of an architecture biennial to an art collective. Of course they are going to see architecture mostly as a vehicle for a different in their minds larger and more pressing set of goals. It would be strange if they didnt. Surely there is a limit, though, to the architecture professions willingness to be used primarily as fertilizer, however delicious the locally grown vegetables wind up tasting. When architecture is content to operate as all means and no ends serving agendas but never setting them it may be doing little more than rehearsing its own marginalization. Chicago Architecture Biennial 5: This Is a Rehearsal Through Feb. 11, 2024, at the Chicago Cultural Center and other venues around Chicago; chicagoarchitecturebiennial.org. Every year, starting in the spring, we spend months debating the most exceptional books that pass across our desks: the families we grow to love, the narrative nonfiction that carries us away, the fictional universes we cant forget. Its all toward one goal deciding the best books of the year. Things can get heated. We spar, we persuade and (above all) we agonize until the very end, when we vote and arrive at 10 books five fiction and five nonfiction. We dive more into the list in a special edition of our podcast. And in case youd like even more variety, dont miss our list of 100 Notable Books of 2023, or take a spin through this handy list, which features all the books weve christened the best throughout the years. The U.N. climate summit starts tomorrow Two facts loom over the COP28 U.N. climate talks, which begin tomorrow in Dubai: Earth is careening toward climate disaster, and governments are acting too slowly to avert it. Diplomats from nearly 200 countries, and many heads of state and government, will gather to try to draft a plan to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels. The United Arab Emirates, the worlds fifth-largest oil producer, is hosting COP28, drawing the anger of activists. The conference is taking place against a backdrop of wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, making international cooperation even more difficult. For some insight, I reached out to my colleague Lisa Friedman, who is covering the annual conference for the 12th time. What will you be watching this time around? Lisa: There are a number of important things set to take place, including a global assessment of how successful nations have been in meeting the climate targets they set in Paris in 2015; and finalizing the details of a new fund to help vulnerable countries cope with the loss and damage caused by global warming. But the big thing Ill have my eye on is the political agreement nations are debating around phasing out fossil fuels. Fossil fuel burning is the main driver of climate change, but so far nations have been unwilling to collectively call for a phase-out. Hamas and Israel prolong cease-fire Israel and Hamas agreed to extend by two days a cease-fire that has brought a measure of calm to the Gaza Strip after seven weeks of intense warfare, the Qatari government said. The two sides struck a deal to exchange more hostages and prisoners and to allow more aid into the beleaguered area. The lengthened respite in fighting raised hopes in Washington that the trajectory of the conflict could bend toward the release of additional captives as well as the delivery of more humanitarian aid for Gaza, where thousands of civilians have been killed and conditions are desperate. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli government. Diaa Rashwan, the head of the State Information Service in Egypt, which is also mediating in the talks, said that the extension would include the release each day of 10 hostages in Gaza in exchange for 30 Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, as well as the entry of more medicine, food and fuel supplies into Gaza and restrictions on Israeli flights over the territory. By the numbers: Hamas yesterday released 11 Israelis, including 3-year-old twins and their mother, and Israel provided to Hamas a list of 33 Palestinian prisoners it planned to set free later Monday night, keeping to the three-to-one ratio the sides have observed so far. Israel and Hamas have extended their truce for two days through tomorrow which will bring the pause in fighting to six days. The deal is a sign that both sides have benefited from it. What comes next is less clear, though. For Israels leaders in particular, the pause has created a strategic dilemma. They have big reasons to extend it again and big reasons to resume fighting. On the one hand, many international groups and other countries support a cease-fire, pointing to the brutal death toll among Gazan civilians since Oct. 7. President Biden has also pushed for the pause to continue so long as Hamas is releasing hostages. Within Israel, families of the hostages have called on their countrys leaders to prioritize the release of all hostages. On the other hand, the pause offers advantages to Hamas. Its leaders can move to new hiding places. Its militants can fortify their positions in southern Gaza before future fighting. And Hamas can hope that the pause leads the U.S. to push Israel to moderate its war aims. To end the war now would leave Hamas still in charge of most of Gaza, my colleague Patrick Kingsley has written. Charles T. Munger, who quit a well-established law career to be Warren E. Buffetts partner and maxim-spouting alter-ego as they transformed a struggling New England textile company into the spectacularly successful investment firm Berkshire Hathaway, died on Tuesday in Santa Barbara, Calif. He was 99. His death, at a hospital, was announced by Berkshire Hathaway. He had a home in Los Angeles. Although overshadowed by Mr. Buffett, who relished the spotlight, Mr. Munger, a billionaire in his own right Forbes listed his fortune as $2.6 billion this year had far more influence at Berkshire than his title of vice chairman suggested. Mr. Buffett has described him as the originator of Berkshire Hathaways investing approach. The blueprint he gave me was simple: Forget what you know about buying fair businesses at wonderful prices; instead, buy wonderful businesses at fair prices, Mr. Buffett once wrote in an annual report. That investing strategy was a revelation for Mr. Buffett, who had made his name in the 1950s buying troubled companies at deep discounts. (He called them cigar butts, because investing in them, he said, was like picking up a discarded cigar butt that had one puff remaining in it.) Tesla sued Swedens Transport Agency on Monday over a strike by postal workers that has blocked delivery of license plates for Tesla cars, the latest escalation of a widening battle between Swedens labor unions and the U.S. manufacturer of electric vehicles. A month ago, mechanics at seven Tesla-owned repair shops in Sweden walked off their jobs. Since then, hundreds of laborers from other industries across the country have joined in the action, aimed at getting Tesla to sign a collective bargaining agreement with the mechanics union, IF Metall. Dockworkers, electricians, painters and postal employees have all joined the strike, refusing to provide the company with their services. Last week, some 50 metalworkers at a factory that produces aluminum parts for Teslas factory in Germany walked off the job. On Nov. 20, postal workers joined the action, refusing to deliver any mail or packages to Teslas facilities, including the license plates. As the host of global climate talks that begin this week, the United Arab Emirates is expected to play a central role in forging an agreement to move the world more rapidly away from coal, oil and gas. But behind the scenes, the Emirates has sought to use its position as host to pursue a contradictory goal: to lobby on oil and gas deals around the world, according to an internal document made public by a whistle-blower. In one example, the document offers guidance for Emirati climate officials to use meetings with Brazils environment minister to enlist her help with a local petrochemical deal by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, the Emirates state-run oil and gas company, known as Adnoc. Emirati officials should also inform their Chinese counterparts that Adnoc was willing to jointly evaluate international LNG opportunities in Mozambique, Canada and Australia, the document indicates. LNG stands for liquefied natural gas, which is a fossil fuel and a driver of global warming. The Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament welcomes the positive recommendation of the European Commission to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and expects the recommendation to be confirmed by the European Council at its meeting in December. As reported on the website of the European Parliament, the Conference of Presidents welcomes Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk and the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Verkhovna Rada and the European Parliament. "This is an important step in strengthening the multidimensional partnership, which is a crucial element in the preparation of Ukrainian political institutions for EU integration. This partnership will be reinforced by the establishment of a permanent European Parliament's presence in Kyiv, developing and supporting our links with the Verkhovna Rada and the Ukrainian people. On this occasion, the Conference of Presidents reiterates its strong support for the European Councils decision to grant EU candidate status to Ukraine in 2022 and welcomes the positive recommendation from the European Commission on 8 November 2023 to open accession negotiations with Ukraine. It expects the recommendation to be confirmed by the European Council at its meeting in December," the report notes. The Conference of Presidents trusts Ukraine will continue its constructive and ambitious approach towards the necessary reforms. Political Group leaders reaffirm their commitment to Ukraine's EU membership, which "represents a geostrategic investment in a united and strong Europe." "The Conference of Presidents stresses that Ukraine is and will remain a priority for the European Parliament. Ukraine can count on the restless effort and commitment to uphold the legitimate ambitions and aspirations of the Ukrainian people," the report notes. Thus, the leaders of political groups hope to intensify cooperation with the Verkhovna Rada in 2024, including through inter-committee meetings and visits during the elections to the European Parliament and beyond. The Conference of Presidents consists of the President of the European Parliament and the chairmen of the political groups. While many in the world of cocktails are familiar with Tom Bullock, renowned for his juleps and long considered the first African American bartender to publish a cocktail manual, fewer know the work of Atholene Peyton, a home economics teacher whose 1906 Peytonia Cook Book predated Bullocks by a decade. Peytons story is just one told in Toni Tipton-Martins new book, Juke Joints, Jazz Clubs and Juice: Cocktails From Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks, a chronicle of the ways in which Black people contributed to American cocktail culture. This is really a work of investigative journalism. Its not just a book of cocktails, said Ms. Tipton-Martin, a James Beard award-winning author of several cookbooks and the editor of Cooks Country magazine, who pored through centuries worth of published recipes for her new work. The book is a continuation of her 2015 book, The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks, which credited Black women for much of the countrys culinary history, and her 2019 follow-up, Jubilee: Recipes From Two Centuries of African American Cooking. By the standards of Bologna, Simona Scapin is a mortadella upstart. Thats not only because shes young and the sole local producer of certified organic mortadella. Nor is it just because her family has been making mortadella for a mere four decades in the city where the recipe was ordained by papal authority in 1661. People think that a girl cant be a butcher, she said. But I was born to do this. In the streets around the Piazza Maggiore, it can seem as if Bologna produces nothing else, with window after window filled with cylinders of mortadella showing off their patterns of pink meat, bright white fat and sometimes a constellation of pistachios, olives or truffles. Some mortadellas are as big around as a beach ball, and watching workers armed with giant blades carve off thin, silky slices for sandwiches is hypnotic. The mosaic of the mortadella is a beautiful thing, said Evan Funke, who lived and studied in Bologna before opening his Los Angeles restaurants Felix and Mother Wolf. Most of the new treatment sites were teaching hospitals in regional centers, but she insisted on a pilot project at a rural hospital in an isolated region in the north, knowing that if Ghana was to truly wipe out the disease, frontline staff would have to be the ones to provide the treatment. The rural site had patients screened, tested and enrolled within a week. Testing remained a problem: only private laboratories offered the viral load tests that are necessary to track hepatitis treatment, and they charged several hundred dollars per test. Dr. Nartey has 340 patients enrolled for potential treatment, but only 290 of them have been able to raise the funds for the viral load test they need to start. The new hepatitis program negotiated a lower rate, promising a steady flow of patients, but at about $80 per test, it remains the biggest challenge to the program. For patients who had been living with not only the financial cost of the disease but also anxiety and fear as they saw relatives die of liver disease, the news of free treatment was almost unbelievable. Mr. Musah first began to feel ill as a high school student living in a small town in the north. The hospital near his home couldnt explain his back pain and feverish nights, and tested for everything from a dairy allergy to syphilis to H.I.V. After hundreds of dollars in tests, he was finally given a hepatitis diagnosis but was told he would need a specialty hospital to help him. He traveled to Accra, where doctors said there were drugs, but he would have to pay for them. Mayor Eric Adams of New York said on Tuesday that the 25-year-old woman he had chosen to manage his political fund-raising was no longer working in that role, weeks after a search of her home by the F.B.I. revealed a federal investigation into his campaign and plunged his administration into turmoil. The announcement by Mr. Adams was something of a reversal: He had previously said he had full confidence in the fund-raiser, Brianna Suggs, adding that she was qualified for the job and that he would love for her to remain on his team. At his weekly press briefing on Tuesday, Mr. Adams declined to explain the reasons for the change, saying as he often does that he would not discuss private conversations. She is no longer doing fund-raising for the campaign, Mr. Adams said, in response to a question from a reporter. They are fighting back with an unlikely weapon: red tracer dye. The dye will not harm the hydrilla. Instead, it is meant as a test run for herbicides the scientists plan to put into the river next year. They will track how quickly it dissipates in specific areas to decide how much herbicide to use. Their goal is to find a sweet spot: enough herbicide to kill the hydrilla, but not enough to hurt native plants. Were using that dye as a surrogate to inform us using as little herbicide as possible, said Benjamin Sperry, a research biologist with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center who specializes in aquatic plants. The scientists, many of whom work with the Army Corps of Engineers, sometimes start applying the dye before sunrise. It disperses quickly in the water, vanishing to the naked eye. But it leaves fluorescent traces that appear when scientists shine sensors into the water. At the same time, scientists are studying this new strain of hydrilla considered genetically distinct from other varieties found in the U.S. to understand its growth patterns. Four months after New York City disbanded a celebrated but largely illegal street market in Queens that had exploded in popularity during the pandemic, the vendors are expected to return this week with far fewer stalls and, for now, none of the food that brought them acclaim. The market at Corona Plaza, where more than 80 vendors once packed a block-wide public square every day, will reopen each Wednesday to Sunday with a rotating roster of just 14 stalls, the mayors office announced on Tuesday. For at least the first week, only merchandise vendors will return, because of additional health and safety requirements the food vendors must meet. The Queens Economic Development Corporation, a nonprofit business development group, said it had entered into a four-month contract with the city to manage the eclectic mix of vendors selling everything from tacos al pastor and aguas frescas to hard-to-find wares from Central and South America. Sanitation and police officers had dispersed the vendors in late July, amid growing concerns from some local residents and businesses that the plaza was becoming overcrowded, unsanitary and harmful to brick-and-mortar stores. House Democrats on Tuesday moved to force a vote this week on whether to expel Representative George Santos of New York from office, a strategic effort to prevent Republican leadership from slow-rolling any bid to push one of their own out of office. The Democratic effort, led by Representatives Robert Garcia of California and Dan Goldman of New York, comes shortly after another resolution introduced this month by the Republican chairman of the House Ethics Committee, following its scathing report that found substantial evidence that Mr. Santos, a Republican, had violated the law. When the ethics chairman, Representative Michael Guest of Mississippi, introduced his resolution on Nov. 17, he did so without attaching a timeline. Since then, Republicans have debated whether to shield or expel Mr. Santos, aware that either path could come with grave costs. But the resolution from Democrats is privileged, meaning that Speaker Mike Johnson must address it within two days. Republicans could still move to table or postpone the vote, moves that would each require the support of a majority of the House. Those maneuvers would not rule out a vote on Mr. Guests resolution, however, if Republican leadership chooses to act on its own partys motion to lessen the appearance of Democrats forcing the Republicans hand. It would be too simple to conclude that the Dutch have suddenly turned into right-wingers on all issues; 74 percent voted for parties other than Mr. Wilderss and the two others on the far right. Still, even some younger urban people fell prey to his stigmatization of migrants. He is a straight talker and tells it like it is, a 23-year-old Rotterdam waitress told The Guardian. Others expressed concern over the cost of living. Mr. Wilders has promised to bring down housing prices by building more apartments (as has virtually every other party) and to prioritize Dutch citizens for public housing. The country needs housing, but it also needs migrants. With a low fertility rate and 114 open jobs for every 100 unemployed people, Dutch people need to either throw away the birth control and wait 20 years or accept that some of these jobs are going to have to be filled by people born elsewhere. But these policy decisions must first await the formation of a cabinet. Mr. Wilders does not have a record of working well with others; coalitions typically require smaller parties to shave off their more extreme positions, which Mr. Wilders has in the past refused to do. The closest his Party for Freedom has come to being in government was an agreement to support the minority government coalition from 2010 to 2012 and the head of the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy, Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius, announced Friday morning she would not join a cabinet with Mr. Wilders. That means he needs to bring in more, smaller parties, which is tougher to negotiate, or to lead a minority cabinet, which requires going to other parties later when the coalition wants to pass particular legislation. Neither bodes well for his ability to govern. Should he fail to form a government, Mr. Timmermans of Green Left-Labor would be given a chance. Ms. Yesilgoz-Zegeriuss participation is more assured in that case, but D66 would probably need to join as well, and its leader, Rob Jetten, seems to have particular disdain for his counterpart in the Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy. Though he was referring to agricultural policy specifically, words spoken to me by Harold Zoet, who sits in a provincial statehouse representing a new farmer-oriented party that hopes to join Mr. Wilderss coalition, when I interviewed him last month, apply here as well. We need to do it together, he said. We have to be more forward-thinking and listen to people everywhere. Perhaps there is hope yet for the polder model. Starting in the 1970s, the 1948ers were known as the rejectionist front. More recently, they have become the axis of resistance. Membership includes Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Assad regime in Syria and Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps a whos who of designated terrorist groups and their state sponsors. On Oct. 7, the axis of resistance became the face of the Palestinian movement. On Oct. 8, demonstrators around the world chose to embrace that axis. Sometimes they did so unwittingly, believing there was no contradiction between being pro-Palestinian and supporting Israels right to exist, or not understanding the implications of the slogans they were chanting. But just as often they have done so wittingly. When Mohamed Khairullah, the mayor of Prospect Park, N.J., said 75 years of occupation is too long at an October rally, he was embracing the 1948 narrative. When Rashida Tlaib, the Michigan congresswoman, posted that 75 years later, the Nakba continues to this day and declined to accept Israel as a Jewish state, she was embracing it. When Judith Butler, the Berkeley professor, told an interviewer that the roots of the problem are in a state formation that depended on expulsions and land theft to establish its own legitimacy and supported a binational state, she was embracing it. When the Los Angeles chapter of Black Lives Matter responded to the Oct. 7 massacres with a Facebook post claiming, When a people have been subject to decades of apartheid and unimaginable violence, their resistance must not be condemned, but understood as a desperate act of self-defense, it was embracing it. When the BBC Arabic service repeatedly described ordinary Israelis as settlers, it was embracing it. Such embraces have consequences. For one, they put a growing fraction of the progressive left objectively on the side of some of the worst people on earth and in radical contradiction with their professed values. A left that, rightly, demands absolute condemnation of white-nationalist supremacy refuses to disassociate itself from Islamist supremacy, Susie Linfield, a professor of journalism at N.Y.U., wrote in an important recent essay in the online journal Quillette. A left that lauds intersectionality hasnt noticed that Hamass axis of support consists of Iran, famous most recently for killing hundreds of protesters demanding womens freedom. If Donald Trump is the Republican nominee for president in 2024, its now clear he will likely still have criminal indictments hanging over his head on Election Day. Its possible that his criminal liability for the events leading up to the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol will remain unresolved. If that happens, voters will go to the polls without knowing whether one of the candidates in the current election is criminally responsible for trying to overturn the last one and subvert the will of the voters. Having an election under such circumstances is unthinkable. As Richard Nixon might have put it, voters have a right to know whether their candidate is a crook. It can be avoided, but its going to require the judiciary to take some extraordinary steps. And whether it happens will be decided by a relative handful of federal jurists including a number appointed by Mr. Trump himself. Of the four criminal cases pending against Mr. Trump, the federal election interference prosecution in Washington currently has the best chance of going to trial before the 2024 presidential vote. The trial date is set for March 4. The Federal District Court judge overseeing the case, Tanya Chutkan, has been doing an admirable job of keeping it on track. But legal developments that are out of her hands now threaten to derail that schedule: Expected pretrial appeals could push the trial date past the November election. Russian authorities have begun preparations for holding presidential elections, including in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, the Main Intelligence Agency of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reports. "In November 2023, a closed meeting was held in the Kremlin with the leaders of Russian regions and the occupation leaders of Moscow in the temporarily enslaved territories of Ukraine. The meeting was chaired by the deputy head of the administration of Russian dictator Putin, S. Kiriyenko," a message states on the Telegram channel. According to intelligence information, Kiriyenko announced the directives as part of intensifying preparations for the so-called electoral process. "During the meeting, it was ordered: to allocate social assistance to voters from local budgets; to intensify propaganda about the supposedly 'positive' trends in the Russian economy, the 'stability' of the ruble and the 'improvement' of people's living standards," the message says. The leaders of the Russian occupation administrations also received the task of bringing the level of compulsory passportization in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine to no less than 85%. The life of a pet dog follows a predictable trajectory. Over time, the floppy-eared puppy that keeps falling asleep in his food bowl will become a lanky-legged adolescent with an insatiable interest in squirrels before eventually settling into adulthood as a canine creature of habit, with a carefully chosen napping location and a well-rehearsed greeting ritual. But as the years progress, his joints will stiffen and his muzzle will gray. And one day, which will inevitably arrive too soon, his wagging tail will finally still. When you adopt a dog, youre adopting future heartbreak, said Emilie Adams, a New Yorker who owns three Rhodesian Ridgebacks. Its worth it over time because you just have so much love between now and when they go. But their life spans are shorter than ours. In recent years, scientists have been chasing after drugs that might stave off this heartbreak by extending the lives of our canine companions. On Tuesday, the biotech company Loyal announced that it had moved one step closer to bringing one such drug to market. The data you provided are sufficient to show that there is a reasonable expectation of effectiveness, an official at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration informed the company in a recent letter. (Loyal provided a copy of the letter to The Times.) In any other circumstance it would have been a shocking sight. But it was only fitting that in her death Rosalynn Carter, the pioneering woman who turned the role of first lady into a job, did one final thing no one else has been able to do this year: lure Melania Trump out of Mar-a-Lago and back into the public eye. Not only that, but she created a situation in which Mrs. Trump was seated right next to Michelle Obama. Mrs. Trump has eschewed almost every major event since leaving the White House in January 2021, including her husbands several court appearances (the rare exception being his November 2022 announcement that he was once again running for president). But on Tuesday, as is custom, she joined the three other living former first ladies Mrs. Obama, Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush as well as Jill Biden, the current first lady, at the Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church in Atlanta, for Mrs. Carters memorial service. Rosalynn Carter would be so pleased she brought all of you together on this day, the journalist Judy Woodruff said. Amazon was quieter about its A.I. plans until more recently. In September, it announced that it would invest up to $4 billion in Anthropic, an A.I. start-up that competes with OpenAI, and develop advanced computing chips together. Amazon also introduced a platform this year that allows customers to have access to different A.I. systems. As the leading provider of cloud computing, Amazon already has business customers storing vast amounts of information on its cloud servers. Companies were interested in using chatbots in their workplaces, Mr. Selipsky said, but they wanted to make sure the assistants would safeguard those hoards of corporate data and keep their information private. Many companies told me that they had banned these A.I. assistants from the enterprise because of the security and privacy concerns, he said. In response, Amazon built Q to be more secure and private than a consumer chatbot, Mr. Selipsky said. Amazon Q, for example, can have the same security permissions that business customers have already set up for their users. At a company where an employee in marketing may not have access to sensitive financial forecasts, Q can emulate that by not providing that employee with such financial data when asked. Underscored by music, the montage of images has a visceral impact; we dont need language to understand it, or to think and feel in response. (Projections are by Brad Peterson, sound design by Dan Moses Schreier.) Amid Falling Walls, though, relies heavily on lyrics and spoken text, almost all of it in Yiddish; non-Yiddish speakers, like me, will spend the performance reading supertitles, which are in English and Russian. The placement of those titles, far above the actors heads on a set by Jessica Alexandra Cancino, fundamentally thwarts this fast-paced pageant, whose arc takes it from the Vilna Ghetto, in what is now Lithuania, to a displaced persons camp in Germany. It becomes a fragmented experience: Take our eyes off the titles and were lost for meaning, but read only the titles and we miss the show. Either way, the fullness of the productions emotion and artistry remains out of reach. Curated by Avram Mlotek, who wrote the libretto, and his father, Zalmen Mlotek, who is the shows music director and arranger as well as the companys artistic director, Amid Falling Walls sounds gorgeous. Its 28 musical numbers folk music and cabaret, elegies and anthems are played by a nine-piece orchestra tucked away upstage. And the show has an ace in its fine eight-person ensemble: Steven Skybell, who starred as Tevye in the National Yiddish Theater Folksbienes excellent Yiddish-language production of Fiddler on the Roof. One of Skybells songs here, Reuven Lipshitzs Motele From the Warsaw Ghetto, is the rare number in the show with a tempo slow enough to allow both reading the titles and watching the performance, which in its restraint is absolutely searing: the story of a boy, not yet 13, doing his part to resist the Nazis sneaking in and out of the ghetto and dying for it. Humanitys most true history is written only in blood, Skybell says in English near the top of the show, and it is an arresting line. But before bloodshed comes the process of dehumanization that features in all ethnic hatred, and Amid Falling Walls delineates that vividly. First the trucks arrived, carrying armed men toward the mist-shrouded mountaintop. Then the flames appeared, sweeping across a forest of towering pines and oaks. After the fire laid waste to the forest last year, the trucks returned. This time, they carried the avocado plants taking root in the orchards scattered across the once tree-covered summit where townspeople used to forage for mushrooms. We never witnessed a blaze on this scale before, said Maricela Baca Yepez, 46, a municipal official and lifelong resident of Patuan, a town nestled in the volcanic plateaus where Mexicos Purepecha people have lived for centuries. Follow live news updates on the Israel-Hamas war. President Bidens guests did not try to hide their anguish. Just weeks after the start of the Israel-Hamas war, Mr. Biden had invited a small group of prominent Muslim Americans to the White House to discuss Islamophobia in America. The participants were blunt with him, according to four people who were in attendance. They told him that his embrace of Israel after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks was seen by many as permission for Israels bombing in Gaza. They said the presidents statement casting doubt on the death toll among Palestinians was insulting. And they said the fatal stabbing of a 6-year-old Muslim boy outside Chicago was just one devastating result of the dehumanization of their community. The private meeting, which had been scheduled for 30 minutes, stretched to more than an hour, attendees said. Mr. Biden waved off aides who tried to pull him out of the room as he listened to the criticism and shared his own experience with loss and grief. Mr. Comer quickly rejected the offer, insisting that Mr. Biden first speak to the oversight panel behind closed doors, but said that he could still testify publicly down the road. Hunter Biden is trying to play by his own rules instead of following the rules required of everyone else, Mr. Comer said in a statement. Our lawfully issued subpoena to Hunter Biden requires him to appear for a deposition on Dec. 13. We expect full cooperation with our subpoena for a deposition but also agree that Hunter Biden should have opportunity to testify in a public setting at a future date. Should Mr. Biden speak publicly in the House under oath, he would be taking risks, both criminally and politically. He is the subject of a federal criminal investigation now being led by a special counsel, and he is under indictment on charges of lying about his drug use on a federal form he filled out to purchase a handgun in 2018. Any testimony he provides to Congress could be used against him. Mr. Biden has also engaged in activities leveraging his fathers status for profit, accepting expensive gifts from overseas interests, failing to pay taxes on time, drug use and prostitution that while already well documented could be politically damaging to President Bidens re-election efforts if they become the focus of additional attention. But those familiar with Hunter Bidens strategy say his offer was designed to limit both of those risks. By testifying publicly, he could avoid manipulation of his words that could occur through selective leaks from closed-door testimony. And by putting Mr. Comer in the position of rejecting an offer of public testimony, Mr. Bidens team was able to signal that he feels he has nothing to hide. The United States has warned Israel that it must fight more surgically and avoid further mass displacement of Palestinians in its war against Hamas to avoid a humanitarian crisis that overwhelms the worlds ability to respond, according to senior Biden administration officials. The White House has told Israel that replicating the scale of its bombardment in northern Gaza as it makes an expected push into southern Gaza once the recent pause in fighting ends would produce a crisis beyond the capacity of any humanitarian support network, the officials said on Monday night. The United Nations has said the fighting has already displaced most of Gazas population of 2.2 million. The statements are the Biden administrations strongest warning to Israeli officials to date about the next phase of their military operation. For weeks, the White House has been careful to say it does not dictate how Israel conducts its military operations, but President Biden and senior members of his staff have grown more vocal as the humanitarian crisis has unfolded. They also come as the administration officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic issues, said they were ramping up humanitarian aid during the cease-fire that took effect late last week, and expressed optimism that aid could continue even when fighting resumed. Among other things, American officials have told the Israelis that any coming military operations should not hamper the flow of power and water or impede the work of humanitarian sites such as hospitals and U.N.-supported shelters in south and central Gaza. The Israeli government was receptive to the requests, one official said. The cease-fire, to allow for the exchange of hostages held by Hamas and Palestinians taken prisoner by Israel, has allowed for the first extended break in the violence since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas gunmen and other militant groups killed an estimated 1,200 people in Israel. Gazan health officials say at least 13,000 people were killed during the nearly 50-day Israeli bombardment and ground invasion that followed. Israels prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has made clear that he intends for Israel to continue fighting after the truce ends, though it was extended by two more days on Monday. On Tuesday, Hamas released 12 more hostages, including 10 Israelis and two Thai nationals, the Israeli military said. The Biden administration officials said the United States was taking advantage of the extra time. On Tuesday, a U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft delivered more than 54,000 pounds of humanitarian supplies, including medicine and food, to neighboring Egypt for distribution to Gazan civilians. The United States is planning additional flights in the coming days, officials said. The United States will continue to lead the humanitarian response in Gaza to further support those in desperate need, the U.S. Agency for International Development said in a statement on Tuesday. It called on other nations to join what it described as a woefully underfunded global humanitarian effort. Administration officials emphasized the extraordinary progress that has been made in aid delivery, though they acknowledged that the level of assistance was still not enough to support normal life in Gaza. The officials also said that the increase in aid, including much-needed fuel, was not contingent on hostage releases, offering hope that the shipments could continue when fighting resumed. John F. Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said on Monday that since the pause in fighting had taken effect, Gaza had received its largest humanitarian convoy since the war began. The convoy brought the total number of aid trucks to over 2,000 since Oct. 21, he said. Mr. Kirby said that the administration would take advantage of every hour of every day that theres a pause to try to help the people of Gaza. Our team has prioritized getting this much-needed relief into Gaza to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian civilians there, he said. Of course, most of them have nothing to do with Hamas. The political network founded by the billionaire industrialist brothers Charles and David Koch has endorsed Nikki Haley in the Republican presidential nominating contest, giving her organizational muscle and financial heft as she battles Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida to be the top rival to former President Donald J. Trump. The group announced its plans in a memo on Tuesday. The commitment by the network, Americans for Prosperity Action, bolsters Ms. Haley as the campaign enters the final seven weeks before the Iowa caucuses. Since the first Republican primary debate, Ms. Haley has steadily climbed in polls, even as Mr. DeSantis has slipped. Mr. Trump remains the dominant front-runner in the race. In sharp contrast to recent elections that were dominated by the negative baggage of Donald Trump and in which good candidates lost races that should have been won, Nikki Haley, at the top of the ticket, would boost candidates up and down the ballot, reads the memo from Emily Seidel, a senior adviser to Americans for Prosperity Action, who adds that Ms. Haley would win the key independent and moderate voters that Trump has no chance to win. The memo goes on to say that the country is being ripped apart by extremes on both sides, adding: The moment we face requires a tested leader with the governing judgment and policy experience to pull our nation back from the brink. Nikki Haley is that leader. Fox News will host a 90-minute debate between Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, starting at 9 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday. The unusual event, between a Republican presidential candidate and a high-profile Democratic governor who has been a surrogate for the Biden administration, will be moderated by Sean Hannity, the conservative prime-time host and a close Trump ally. Here are the ways you can watch: Fox News Channel will show the event starting at 9 p.m. as part of a two-hour broadcast of Mr. Hannitys prime-time show. Fox News Radio will broadcast the debate simultaneously. The debate will also be streamed on FoxNews.com, but cable authentication will be required to view it online. The matchup Mr. DeSantis is facing an intensifying race as he pushes for a strong showing in Iowas first-in-the-nation caucuses in January. More than six months after joining the campaign as the most prominent rival to former President Donald J. Trump, Mr. DeSantis has been losing support in recent polls. New upheavals within his campaign will only add to the pressure for a strong performance from Mr. DeSantis in front of a national prime-time audience. He is facing Mr. Newsom, who has been a key ally of President Bidens and a leading voice of the national Democratic Party. Mr. Newsom has gathered the kind of national support and connections with donors that would place him in a strong position for a future presidential run. For 2024, Mr. Newsom has firmly backed Mr. Biden and has offered reassurances that he will not threaten the presidents re-election campaign. Why are they debating? Presidential candidates typically do not debate people who are not themselves running for president. Mr. Newsom had challenged Mr. DeSantis to a debate more than a year ago, when the Florida governor had not officially begun his campaign but had long been seen to be preparing a run for the presidency. Mr. Newsoms participation is likely to further fuel speculation that he has his eye on the White House. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba, speaking at a conference in the European Parliament in Brussels, called for putting aside all political and legal differences and creating a full-fledged Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. "The crime of aggression against Ukraine has been committed. It must be punished. If we allow Putin and his cronies to get away with their crimes, we will condemn our children to live in a world full of war and injustice. We must put aside all political and legal differences and create a full-fledged Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine," the press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry quotes Kuleba as saying. Kuleba especially emphasized the need to resolve the issue of immunities of the so-called "troika (three):" Vladimir Putin, his prime minister and foreign minister. The minister noted that the Special Tribunal will also make it possible to achieve justice for the dead Ukrainian military personnel. According to Kuleba, punishment for the crime of aggression against Ukraine is an integral part of ensuring full and comprehensive accountability, which is one of the key components of President Volodymy Zelenskyy's peace formula. According to the head of Ukrainian diplomacy, one of the main reasons for the extension of Russian aggression against Ukraine is Putin's hope that a war of attrition or a frozen conflict will allow Russia and its leadership to avoid responsibility for the crimes committed. "We have already seen how quickly wars can break out. Unfortunately, there are many forces in the world who believe in war as an effective way to achieve their goals. If these forces see that Russian aggression led to certain troubles for Moscow, but overall allowed it to achieve the goals of this aggression, then nothing will prevent them from repeating Russian actions in other parts of the world," Kuleba emphasized. The small West African nation of Sierra Leone announced on Tuesday that it had arrested 13 military officials and one civilian in connection with a thwarted coup attempt on Sunday, when 20 people were killed and more than 2,000 prisoners were let loose. What happened on Sunday, 26th November 2023, was a failed attempted coup, Chernor Bah, the countrys information minister, told reporters on Tuesday. But he did not identify any of the 14 people arrested. Residents remained on edge in the capital, Freetown, where there was a heavy military presence on the streets and an increased number of security checkpoints. Most schools were shut down. The countrys president, Julius Maada Bio, 59, a former military officer who took part in two coups during Sierra Leones civil war in the 1990s, was re-elected in a tight vote in June. But the results of the vote have been rejected by his main opponent, contributing to a tense political atmosphere, and the election was deemed to be not transparent by many international observers. After a 17-day effort to free dozens of Indian construction workers trapped inside a Himalayan road tunnel, rescuers finally cleared a path through debris on Tuesday and pulled the men out, ending an excruciating wait for the workers and their families. The rescue operation had hit repeated roadblocks, with officials trying multiple ways to reach the 41 stranded men in the northern state of Uttarakhand, including the deployment of miners using hand tools after a drilling machine had failed. Pushkar Singh Dhami, the states chief minister, said the rescued workers were sent for health checks before they reunite with their families. The first rescues came close to 8 p.m. local time. While officials had said the process to get them all out could take about three hours from the first rescue, all the men were removed to safety in under an hour. The workers had decided among themselves that the youngest would exit first, and that the team leaders would leave last, Mr. Dhami, the states chief minister, said at a news conference after all the men were rescued. On a cool Saturday morning, in a hotel basement in Beijing, throngs of young Chinese gathered to do what millions had done before them: dream of an American education. At a college fair organized by the United States Embassy, the students and their parents hovered over rows of booths advertising American universities. As a mascot of a bald eagle worked the crowd, they posed eagerly for photos. But beneath the festive atmosphere thrummed a note of anxiety. Did America still want Chinese students? And were Chinese students sure they wanted to go to America? We see the negative news, so its better to be careful, said Zhuang Tao, the father of a college senior considering graduate school in the United States, Australia and Britain. He had read the frequent headlines about gun violence, anti-Asian discrimination and, of course, tensions between the United States and China, at one of their highest levels in decades. After all, the entire situation is a bit complicated. She had met with officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in March to discuss a plan for the climate deal, the Just Energy Transition Partnership, an effort among the United States, Japan and other developed countries to persuade developing economies to abandon coal. The nine nations had announced in December that Vietnam would receive $15.5 billion in grants and loans in exchange for a commitment to renewable energy. Ms. Nhien, 48, never got the chance to see Vietnam present the plan. She was arrested in September and remains in a detention center on a charge of appropriating documents of agencies and organizations. The other five who were detained were charged with tax evasion, which rights groups say are trumped-up accusations in response to their advocacy. Four were tried in closed hearings that lasted less than a day each, and given jail time, punishments more severe than the norm. While two activists have since been released, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights said in September that the prosecutions and the arbitrary application of restrictive legislation are having a chilling effect on environmentalists in Vietnam. Activists and academics say that Vietnam appears to be emboldened by its growing importance to the West and has taken the opportunity to clamp down, knowing there will be few repercussions. The country has presented itself as an increasingly important geopolitical player, and one of the few Southeast Asian nations that has publicly pushed back against China. President Biden visited Vietnam in September, elevating ties to a new strategic relationship that he said would be a force for prosperity and security in one of the most consequential regions in the world. As tempers flared on a recent evening in a nightlife district in Auckland, New Zealands largest city, Joanne Paikea sensed an altercation or even an arrest brewing. Bro, you know the cops are behind us, she said, describing her efforts to soothe the surging tension between two groups. So youre either going to listen, or get arrested. Its your choice. What do you want? To go home and have a feed, or get in the cells? Ms. Paikea is a Maori Warden, one of about 1,000 Indigenous volunteers across New Zealand who minister to the vulnerable, calm the vexed and occasionally intervene with the violent, working independently of but in tandem with the police. The role of policing has recently come under the microscope in New Zealand, where lurid crime stories have dominated headlines. Shootings, gang tensions and scores of ram raids when miscreants smash into stores with cars to loot them have rattled the peaceful nation and became an important issue in last months election. The teenager was lying next to his bloodied sword when the police captured him outside a Toronto massage business where one woman had been stabbed to death and another seriously injured. The sword was inscribed with a sexist epithet and a note promoting an ideology of violence against women was found in the pocket of the teenager, Oguzhan Sert. With the evidence stacked against Mr. Sert, he pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder. But a Canadian judge ruled that the attacks were acts of terrorism, in part because Mr. Sert wanted to send a message that he hated women. On Tuesday, the judge, Justice Suhail Akhtar, sentenced Mr. Sert who was 17 at the time of the attack to life in prison, though he will be eligible for parole after 10 years. Finland said Tuesday it was temporarily closing its only remaining open border crossing with Russia to stem an influx of asylum seekers that it accuses Moscow of orchestrating in retaliation for Finlands decision to join NATO. The Finnish authorities have been raising alarms for weeks over an increased number of migrants crossing into the country to seek asylum, describing it as a Kremlin bid to sow discord. They had already closed seven of the eight crossings along Finlands vast frontier with Russia, leaving just the Raja-Jooseppi checkpoint in hard-to-reach northern Lapland, above the Arctic Circle, open to travelers. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said that Raja-Jooseppi would also close for two weeks at midnight on Wednesday to help the government get a handle on a situation that he said threatened Finlands national security. Asylum applications will be restricted to airports and seaports. The governments goal is that the exceptional situation on Finlands eastern border is normalized as soon as possible, he said at a news conference. The activity witnessed on Finlands border must end. The plea for continued military assistance for Ukraine came as several European states announced they would boycott an upcoming summit of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe because it would include Sergey V. Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister. Russia is a member of the OSCE, but the foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania said its planned attendance this week belied its war of aggression and atrocities against its sovereign and peaceful neighbor Ukraine. Ukraine said it would also boycott the OSCE meeting in Skopje, North Macedonia. The U.S. secretary of state, Antony J. Blinken, is expected to attend, as is Josep Borrell Fontelles, the European Unions chief diplomat. We have to go, we are members of this organization, and we have to present our views and counter the views of Russia, Mr. Borrell said on Tuesday at a separate meeting in Brussels with Ukraines foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba. State Department officials have given no indication that Mr. Blinken wants or expects to have contact with Mr. Lavrov, whom he last met in a brief encounter on the sidelines of a Group of 20 meeting in March. At NATO, Mr. Blinken tried to assuage concerns about dwindling American support for Ukraine. A White House proposal to send Ukraine about $61.4 billion in additional emergency aid out of an overall $105 billion plan has stalled in the Republican-led House. That has left the United States with less than $5 billion available to contribute to the war. American military aid to Ukraine has so far totaled about $45 billion in weapons and equipment. We will be strongly reaffirming our support for Ukraine as it continues to face Russias war of aggression, Mr. Blinken said as he headed into Tuesdays meetings. Almost as soon as Pope Francis became the head of the Roman Catholic church in 2013, Raymond Burke, an American cardinal, emerged as his leading critic from within the church, becoming a de facto antipope for frustrated traditionalists who believed Francis was diluting doctrine. Francis frequently demoted and stripped the American cleric of influence, but this month, the pope apparently finally had enough, according to one high-ranking Vatican official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Francis told a meeting of high-ranking Vatican officials that he intended to throw the cardinal out of his Vatican-subsidized apartment and deprive him of his salary as a retired cardinal. The news of the possible eviction was first reported by the conservative Italian newspaper La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana, which is close to Cardinal Burke and recently sponsored a conference featuring the prelate criticizing a major meeting of bishops convened by Francis. The newspapers report comes only weeks after Francis removed another vocal conservative critic, Joseph Strickland, the bishop of Tyler, Texas, after a Vatican investigation into the governance of his diocese. If this is accurate, it is an atrocity that must be opposed, Bishop Strickland said in a post on the social media platform X on Monday. If it is false information it needs to be corrected immediately. Pope Francis, following his doctors orders, will not attend the United Nations climate summit in Dubai later this week, the Vatican said Tuesday. Although the pontiffs general health was improving after a bout of flu and lung inflammation, his doctors had asked Francis to take it easy, the Vatican said in a statement. Pope Francis regretfully accepted the doctors request, and the trip has been canceled, said Matteo Bruni, the Vatican spokesman. Francis had been scheduled to begin a three-day visit to Dubai on Friday to attend the climate summit, known by the acronym COP28. The Vatican said it would seek ways to ensure that the pope and the Holy See could be part of the discussions taking place in the coming days, without specifying how. As a result of shelling by Russian troops in the town of Seredyna-Buda, Sumy region, three people were killed, including a seven-year-old child, and three were injured, the regional prosecutor's office reported. "On November 28, 2023, at about 12:30, using methods of warfare prohibited by international law, the enemy, according to preliminary data, fired at the civilian infrastructure of the city of Seredyna-Buda, Sumy region, with MLRS. As a result of the attack by the invaders, at least five private houses were destroyed, the bodies of two dead women and two wounded men were found under the rubble," the Sumy Regional Prosecutor's Office said in a statement on its Telegram channel on Tuesday. Also, according to the prosecutor's office, a civilian and his 7-year-old stepdaughter were injured in their own car. The girl subsequently died in hospital. Under the procedural leadership of the Sumy Regional Prosecutor's Office, a pretrial investigation is being conducted into violation of the laws and customs of war, involving premeditated murder (Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The wife of Ukraines military intelligence chief has been poisoned and is recovering in a hospital, Ukrainian intelligence officials said on Tuesday, an incident that has led to widespread speculation that Russia was stepping up efforts to target Ukraines senior leadership. Andriy Chernyak, an official from the Ukrainian military intelligence agency, said that Marianna Budanova had been poisoned and was receiving treatment. Her husband, Kyrylo Budanov, is the head of the agency known as G.U.R. and is one of the countrys most senior military leaders. Mr. Chernyak declined to speculate on the perpetrator or the type of poison used and provided no further details, citing the ongoing investigation. The agencys spokesman, Andriy Yusov, later issued a statement with a similar account of the incident and said more information would be released as the investigation proceeds. Hamas released a group of 12 hostages on Tuesday, most of them Israelis or dual nationals but also including two Thai nationals, all of whom had been kidnapped during the Hamas-led Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel. It was the fifth group to be released since Friday, when a temporary cease-fire between Israel and Hamas went into effect. Heres what we know about the Israeli hostages released on Tuesday. Clara Marman, 63; Mia Leimberg, 17; Gabriela Leimberg, 59 Clara Marman, Mia Leimberg and Gabriela Leimberg. Credit... Hostages and Missing Families Forum Ms. Marman, 63, a member of Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, was taken hostage on Oct. 7, along with her partner, Luis Norberto Har, and three visiting family members: a brother, Fernando Marman, 60; a sister, Gabriela Leimberg, 59; and Ms. Leimbergs 17-year-old daughter, Mia Leimberg, a high school senior who lives in Jerusalem. Moshe Leimberg, Gabrielas husband and Mias father, stayed home in Jerusalem that day because he had the flu. In a notice he posted on LinkedIn, Mr. Leimberg said that since Oct. 7, he had heard nothing from or about his wife and daughter. Not a word, not a picture, he wrote. They just disappeared, leaving behind a few scattered personal effects, almost as if they never existed. Their absence, he said, has left a gaping hole. Gabriela Leimberg is the manager of a day-care center for youth adults with autism. The organization, Shekel, has pleaded for the familys release. Mia Leimberg, who is known for her singing voice, has studied at the Jersualem High School of the Arts, and also worked at a bookshop, according to the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum. The family dog was taken with the family; on Tuesday, videos on local news outlets showed Mia carrying a dog as she approached the International Committee of the Red Cross vehicles. A banner hanging at Mias high school reads, Were waiting for you, Mia, to come back. Mr. Har and Mr. Marman are still believed to remain in Gaza. Ditza Heiman, 84 Image Ditza Heiman Credit... Hostages and Missing Families Forum Ditza Heiman, 84, was one of the first members of Kibbutz Nir Oz and had spent her entire adult life at the kibbutz, her son, Gideon Heiman, said at a news conference held by the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum earlier this month. Ms. Heiman, who worked as a social worker, retired just before she turned 80, Mr. Heiman said. She spent her whole life helping people and helping take care of people, he said. Ms. Heiman requires anticoagulant medication and suffered from a pulmonary embolism in the past, Dr. Sharon Kleitman, the family physician of Kibbutz Nir Oz, said at the same news conference. My mother is not a healthy woman, and she needs medicine, Mr. Heiman said. When the family tried to call Ms. Heiman on the day of the attack, someone picked up and said, Its Hamas, her daughter, Neta Heiman, said in a video posted by the forum. When I envision my mother there, shes taking care of everyone, Ms. Heiman said in the video, adding: Thats my mother. Shell take care of everyone if she only can. If they only let her. My mother, and many of her friends on Kibbutz Nir Oz who were massacred, were people of peace, Neta Heiman said in an opinion piece in the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, adding, All that my mother and her friends wanted was to live in peace in the small Eden they had built there in the desert. Tamar Metzger, 78 Image Tamar Metzger Credit... Hostages and Missing Families Forum Tamar Metzger, 78, was taken hostage along with her husband, Yoram Metzger, from Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7, according to a report in the Times of Israel. The couple has three children and seven grandchildren. She had worked in the kibbutz nursery and ran the general store, but in recent years had been a full-time grandmother, spending a lot of time caring for her grandchildren, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. Tamar has limited mobility, according to the forum, and spends a lot of time on her balcony, reading, doing crossword puzzles and smoking cigarettes. Her husband is believed to remain in Gaza. Noralin Babadila, 60 Image Noralin Babadila Agojo. Credit... Hostages and Missing Families Forum Noralin Babadila, 60, was visiting friends at Kibbutz Nirim on Oct. 7, when terrorists attacked, killing her partner, Gideon Babani, and taking her hostage. The kibbutz was celebrating the anniversary of its founding that weekend. Ms. Babadila was born in the Philippines but lived in Yehud, a city in central Israel. She spoke with her brother by telephone in the early morning of Oct. 7 and told him that she was scared and that she might not return, according to a report in The Times of Israel. Ada Sagi, 75 Image Ada Sagi. Credit... Hostages and Missing Families Forum Ada Sagi, 75, a resident of Kibbutz Nir Oz, has taught Hebrew and Arabic, according to the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum. The child of Holocaust survivors from Poland, she moved to a kibbutz when she was 18, according to The Associated Press. She was getting ready for a planned a trip to London to visit her family and to celebrate her 75th birthday when she was kidnapped on Oct. 7. Meirav Tal, 53 Image Meirav Tal Credit... Hostages and Missing Families Forum Meirav Tal, 53, her boyfriend, Yair Yaakov, and his children, Or, 16, and Yagil, 12, were all taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7. Both Or and Yagil were released on Monday, the fourth day of the cease-fire, as part of a group of 11 freed Israeli hostages. Yair Yaakov is believed to remain in Gaza. Rimon Kirsht, 36 Image Rimon Kirscht. Credit... Hostages and Missing Families Forum Rimon Kirsht, 36, and her husband, Yagev Buchshtab, 34, were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nirim on Oct. 7. The couple married two years ago, according to the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum, and had five dogs and five cats, most of which had been abused before being adopted. Ms. Kirsht practices alternative medicine and reflexology, and volunteered at Maslan, a support center for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence in southern Israel. Ms. Kirsht loves growing plants, adopting and raising animals and listening to music, favoring Israeli bands, Guns NRoses and U2, according to the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum. Ms. Kirsht was included in a hostage video released by Hamas in late October. Mr. Buchshtab is believed to remain in Gaza. Ofelia Adit Roitman, 77 Image Ofelia Adit Roitman Credit... Hostages and Missing Families Forum Ofelia Roitman, 77, moved to Israel from Argentina in 1985, according to a Facebook post by the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum. She lived in Kibbutz Nir Oz and has nine grandchildren. Ms. Roitman was an educator who taught first and second grade students for twenty years, her daughter, Natalie Madmaon, said in a video posted by the Israeli public broadcaster, Kan. Her family lost contact with her on Oct. 7, Ms. Madmaon said in the video. She worked in education in the kibbutz for many years, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. Johnatan Reiss contributed reporting. The decision by Israel and Hamas to extend their brief truce has created short-term benefits for both sides but amplified uncertainty about how, when and whether Israel will continue its invasion of the Gaza Strip. The agreement to prolong the cease-fire to six days from four has raised expectations that both sides will now agree to more short extensions but if that happens, it may only increase the competing pressures on Israel. From the outside world, Israeli leaders will face calls to make the cease-fire permanent. Within their own country, however, there will be competing demands that they resume fighting and crush Hamas, while also securing the release of Israeli hostages. On Tuesday, both Israel and Hamas accused each other of violating the truce. The Israeli military said that explosive devices had been detonated near its troops in two places in northern Gaza, and that militants in one area had fired on them. Hamas said its fighters had engaged in a field clash provoked by Israel, without offering additional details. William J. Burns, the C.I.A. director, arrived in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday for a new round of negotiations aimed at freeing more hostages held in Gaza, according to U.S. officials. Mr. Burns and David Barnea, the head of the Mossad, Israels spy service, met with Gen. Abbas Kamel, the head of Egypts intelligence service, and Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani, the prime minister of Qatar. Both Egypt and Qatar have had prominent roles in the hostage talks. Qatar hosts Hamass political leadership in Doha. And Qatari officials in recent days have been speaking with Hamas representatives about how to potentially expand the hostage releases, according to an official briefed on the talks. Qatar announced on Monday that Israel and Hamas had agreed to extend a pause in fighting for two additional days to exchange more hostages and prisoners and to allow more aid to come into Gaza. One U.S. official said Mr. Burnss talks in Qatar would be meant to build on that agreement. U.S. officials have been deeply involved in pushing for a deal to release hostages taken during the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct. 7. Mr. Burns traveled to Doha on Nov. 9 as he and Mr. Barnea held talks with Qatari officials who have been working on the issue. Hamas and Israel finally reached a deal on Nov. 21, and exchanges began later that week. During the first four days of the truce, 50 Israelis or dual nationals were released under the framework of the deal, and an additional 19 hostages 17 Thais, one Filipino and one Russian-Israeli dual citizen were released through separate negotiations. In exchange for the release of the Israelis and dual nationals, Israel paused its military campaign in Gaza, allowed more aid to flow into the enclave and released some Palestinian prisoners. Some American officials have expressed hope that the temporary pause can be extended into something of a more permanent cease-fire, though Israeli officials have said their military campaign must continue. A spokeswoman for the C.I.A. said the agency does not comment on the directors travel. Israel has been concerned that some of the Hamas hostage releases have separated children from their mothers or broken apart siblings. Throughout the talks this month, Israeli officials have pressed for Hamas to release entire families and over the weekend stressed to American officials that they did not believe Hamas was living up to the bargain. Those concerns were addressed enough on Monday for the pause to be extended and for the parties to agree to additional talks in Doha. Mr. Burns was chosen to represent the United States in the hostage talks after Israel selected Mr. Barnea to work with the Qatari government to secure a deal. Neither Mr. Burns nor Mr. Barnea has negotiated directly with Hamas officials, instead working through Qatari intermediaries. President Biden has often used Mr. Burns as a secret negotiator, taking advantage of his long diplomatic experience and the C.I.A.s policy of trying to keep the directors travel secret. But Mr. Burns is particularly well suited for the current negotiations. A former ambassador to Jordan, he has a deep level of trust with leaders across the Middle East, according to U.S., Israeli and Arab officials. During his visit to Israel, Jordan, Egypt and Qatar earlier this month, he focused largely on building support for an agreement to release hostages. U of Calgary Shops for Ag Specialist Tue., Nov. 28, 2023 The University of Calgary, one of Canadas top facilities, is seeking a strategic communications partner to bolster the profile of its Simpson Centre agricultural institute. Travis Parman Philip Morris International has named Travis Parman VP, chief communications officer, US. Most recently, he was most recently CCO at AppHarvest, a tech-driven, sustainable food company based in Kentucky. Parman previously held multiple roles with the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance in Paris, Nashville, and Yokohama, Japanmost recently as VP, international communications and global engagement. He has also served in public relations and communications leadership roles at General Motors, Ally Financial and PulteGroup. At PMI, Parman will lead communications for the companys US business as the company focus on smoke-free alternative to cigarettes. With his passion for positive change and deep communications experience in the U.S. and internationally, Travis will be a valuable addition to our leadership team, said PMI president, Americas region and CEO of US business Stacey Kennedy. Middlesex, NJ Needs PR Services Tue., Nov. 28, 2023 The borough of Middlesex, New Jersey is looking for an agency that can provide public relations and design consulting services. Red Door Interactive signs on to lead awareness efforts for California Grown, an organization launched in 2001 by a collection of farmers, ranchers and agricultural marketers as a way to harness the pride many Californian's felt towards products grown in the state. The agency will support California Grown's campaign strategy, creative execution and paid media management, promoting 470 California-grown products. "We're thrilled to partner with Red Door Interactive to deepen the connection between consumers and the farmers and producers who bring delicious produce to our tables," said California Grown executive director Cherie Watte. The Decker/Royal Agency lands tour operator Unforgettable Travel and luxury small ship cruise company Cruise Croatia. Decker/Royal has signed on to provide strategic planning including message development, media relations and thought leadership for both clients. Launched in December 2021, Unforgettable Travel offers exclusive luxury tours to over 40 destinations worldwide, from Japan to Tanzania, with itineraries ranging from immersive food and wine tours to Africa safaris. Cruise Croatia, established in August 2019, stands out as the premier luxury small ship cruise company in the country. Its 177-ft. ships feature 19 spacious cabins, many with private balconies. Decker/Royals roster also include US clients Lindblad Expeditions, Beaches Resorts and Holland America Line, as well as UK clients Tourism Fiji, Insight Vacations and sustainable travel non-profit TreadRight. Fastlane, which works with brands in sectors including food and beverage as well as health and wellness, is selected as marketing agency of record by beverage company MADO Energy. The company produces what it says is the first energy drink in the US that infuses natural Astaxanthin, a powerful natural compound and strong antioxidant, into the base of each flavor. Our team is pumped to join MADO to increase its digital and physical distribution and expand the brand from a regional provider to a national leader in its class," said Fastlaine founder and CEO Chris Faust. OFFALY TD Barry Cowen has announced that he wishes to seek a seat in the European Parliament. Deputy Cowen told Fianna Fail party colleagues at a special meeting last night (Monday) that he plans to put his name forward for selection as a candidate for the June 2024 elections. With the addition of Laois-Offaly into the Midlands-North-West constituency, I feel now is the right time for me to try and deliver for my constituency at a European level, having been a councillor for 20 years and a TD for 12 years, said Deputy Cowen. I will be focused on the ongoing transition led by the EU towards sustainability across many sectors key to our success as an economy - food and farming, energy and enterprise, and making sure Irish views and interests are reflected in EU policies. Reinstating a seat or seats in this constituency will be important for the party and I believe I can deliver that having successfully contested many elections with a strong network and family history of pro-European public service. I am honoured at the support from the Fianna Fail organisation, locally and nationally, for me to pursue the nomination and seek to win back a seat for Fianna Fail in the Midlands-North-West constituency. Earlier this year Deputy Cowen said there was no truth in rumours that he would seek a seat in Europe but the return of Offaly to the Midlands-North-West will have been a strong factor in the Clara man's change of mind. Fianna Fail has no MEP in the European Parliament Midlands-North-West constituency which has been allocated an extra seat, bringing it from four to five. A high profile Fianna Fail senator, Lisa Chambers from Co Mayo, is also seeking a seat in the constituency. A second Fianna Fail senator who has indicated his intention to seek a nomination is Donegal man Niall Blaney. Fianna Fail will be aiming to win at least one of the five available seats in a constituency which comprises Offaly, Laois, Cavan, Donegal, Galway, Kildare, Leitrim, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Roscommon, Sligo and Westmeath. If Deputy Cowen succeeds in his bid it would bring to an end representation from the Cowen family in the Dail which stretches back to 1969 when Ber Cowen, father of Barry and former Taoiseach Brian, was first elected. Barry Cowen's exit from the Dail would also pile pressure on the party to find a suitable candidate for the next general election, which must take place by spring 2025 at the latest. Offaly will be a stand-alone three-seat constituency and population considerations might dictate the selection of a candidate living in the Tullamore area or in the north of the county. Potentially, two sitting councillors from Tullamore, Tony McCormack and Declan Harvey, could seek a nomination, as could former Dail candidate and councillor for the Edenderry area, Eddie Fitzpatrick, who is a farmer in Cloneyhurke, Portarlington. Another bid for a Dail seat by Cllr Peter Ormond from Shinrone, who ran for Fianna Fail at the last general election in 2020, is also a possibility. Cllr Frank Moran is now the Clara-based Fianna Fail representative in the Tullamore Electoral Area. Local party supporters will also likely point to the importance of maintaining the Cowen dynasty in the Dail. Brian Cowen won the bye-election caused by the death of his father Ber in 1984 and was appointed a senior government minister for the first time in 1992. His younger brother Barry was co-opted onto Offaly County Council and was returned to the local authority at subsequent elections until he won the Dail seat vacated by then Taoiseach Brian in 2011. Barry Cowen was briefly Minister for Agriculture in the current Government before being sacked by Micheal Martin amid a row over a drink driving ban from four years earlier. The sitting MEPs in the Midlands-North-West Euro constituency are Fine Gael's Maria Walsh (Mayo) and Colm Markey (Louth), Chris MacManus of Sinn Fein (Sligo) and Luke 'Ming' Flanagan, the independent representative from Roscommon. Mr Markey replaced Mairead McGuinness after she was appointed an EU commissioner and Mr MacManus replaced the MEP elected for Sinn Fein at the last poll in 2019, Matt Carthy, who won a seat in the Dail in 2020. Ms McGuinness said earlier this month her focus is on the European Commission, where she has another year to serve, and she will not seek a return to the European Parliament. The level of homelessness in Tipperary is worse than ever, and thousands of young people are leaving Ireland because of the housing crisis, a recent Council meeting was told. This months Nenagh Municipal District Meeting, held on Thursday the 16th, saw the presentation of the latest housing report and Councillor Seamus Morris mentioned the need to include the number of notices to quit within this report. These reports arent reflecting the reality on the ground, he pointed out. We Councillors are regularly dealing with people losing their houses, who are being given notices to quit. These people get up in the morning, go to work, and come home to a notice to quit. These are working people that are just doing their best, but they aren't being given a fair hand. Thousands of young people are moving abroad because they can't get affordable homes or fair rents here. Let's call a spade a spade. One in six houses are owned by Vulture Funds and the government is working for the profits of the Vulture Funds rather than for the improvement of the lives of our young people. Landlords often get a bad rap but if it wasnt for landlords we wouldnt have nearly as much social housing as we do, but the landlords have had enough. Theyre getting out of the business because of the cost increases; where they are being used by the government as a cash cow, where the government are taxing them out of it. The councillor then went on to note that 166 people are using homeless services throughout Tipperary, which he deemed a serious crisis, pointing out that the homeless crisis in the county is worse than ever. Cllr Rocky McGrath, Chairman of Nenagh MD, said the housing section in the Council is working very hard but they are worn down and stressed. And we Councillors are contributing to their stress because we are conveying our constituents' problems. The level of worry and stress out there in the general public is a considerable problem. It was also noted within the meeting, by a member of the Council executive, that an application for extra funding for void houses had been sent to the government department, and had received a positive response. Written confirmation of extra funding is needed before any work can begin, the executive member said, however several houses are ready to start as soon as funding is confirmed. In the Housing Report it was stated that the County Council had received confirmation that they will receive a total of 3,408,125 in private grant funding for housing for 2023. The allocation which Tipperary has received for the Disabled Persons' Grants is 2,110,262, for 2023, which is the highest allocation in the country. A target of 99 houses to be completed in Tipperary under the Energy Retrofit Program was set by the department for the current year. In fact 101 units are currently in various stages of retrofitting work and are due to be completed by the end of the year. Construction works have been completed on half of the units, with snagging and post works energy surveys underway. This years programme includes units in Cloughjordan, Ballina, Roscrea, Borrisoleigh, Templemore, Thurles, Clonmel Town, Carrick-on-Suir Town, Tipperary Town and Cahir Town. Qualifying works under the scheme typically involve insulation, upgrades of windows and installation of heat pumps. A total of 68 Housing Loan Applications have been received by Tipperary County Council so far this year. 29 of these were valid, and 15 were approved. 13 of these loans have been issued equaling a total value of 1,314,750. 74 formal applications to purchase have been submitted under the Tenant Purchase Scheme throughout the county. 55 of these were approved, and 16 of the sales have been completed. The total proceeds is 1,022,000. There are a total of 943 properties under the Rental Accommodation Scheme in the county. In Tipperary, 1,980 households are availing of the HAP scheme. Of those 51.8% are in employment and have a median earned income of 12.898. In the Nenagh district there have been 772 approved Housing Applicants. There are 21 vacant houses in the district. 4 of these are available for letting, 16 need minor repairs, and 1 needs major refurbishment. There are currently more than 3,500 council-owned houses which are vacant around Ireland, with 112 of them in Tipperary. The Housing Report finished by stating that there have been 52 Offers of Tenancy in the county with 31 being accepted, 2 being refused, and 19 pending. Next week, the EU mission will go to Kyiv to discuss with the Ukrainian side proposals for security obligations to Ukraine, said the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell. Borrell said at a joint briefing with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Brussels that they had made progress in their obligations to ensure the security of Ukraine. The council approved the structure. Today they started discussing this. And next week the Under Secretary General for Security and Defense will travel to Kyiv to share this with their Ukrainian colleagues so that Borrell has the opportunity to present this to the EU Council before the end of the year. Earlier, Borrell said that in early December, a mission of the European Union would visit Ukraine to discuss proposals for possible guarantees to Kyiv in the field of security. Borrell said that at the last EU Council, he was tasked by European leaders to develop the European Union's security commitments to Ukraine. They are working on this with member countries. At the beginning of the month he will send a mission to Ukraine to discuss our proposals with the Ukrainians. If he can go, he would be very happy, but in any case, the Under Secretary General for Security and Defense will go to Ukraine and present proposals that member states are still discussing. SUSPENDED sentences and fines were imposed by Judge Andrew Cody after Tullamore District Court was told of an early morning violent incident at a take-away in Birr. Five men pleaded guilty to violent disorder at Romayo's Cafe on O'Connell Street in the town on August 7 last year. They were Brendan Doyle (24), Drumbane, Birr; Hubert Doyle (24), Croghan Road, Birr; Paul Lynch (26), Kill, Kiltormer, Ballinasloe, John McDonagh (25), Drumbane, Birr and Keith McDonagh (30), Drumbane, Birr. Sergeant Richard Thornton told the court gardai were called to the scene of an incident at 1.40am on August 7 where a number of males were fighting and it was captured on CCTV. Sergeant Thornton said that Paul Lynch and Hubert Doyle had an altercation and when another individual tried to break it up he received a kick to the head. There were a total of six persons involved in the incident but five of them were the main aggressors and CCTV identified all of them. Four of the men apologised afterwards and Paul Lynch admitted throwing the first punch, Sergeant Thorton added. However, John McDonagh did not apologise, the court was told. The sergeant said John McDonagh had consumed a lot of alcohol and had previous convictions for public order offences and dangerous driving. Hubert Doyle had a conviction for assault and for a breach of the Covid-19 movement regulations. Brendan Doyle, Hubert Doyle, John McDonagh and Keith McDonagh were represented by Donal Farrelly, solicitor. Mr Farrelly said Keith McDonagh, a married father of four, had been taken out for the night by Brendan Doyle because of a bereavement and John McDonagh and Keith McDonagh were also with the group. They had a lot to drink and words were exchanged in the take-away. Mr Farrelly said Brendan Doyle was a single man with no previous convictions and John McDonagh and Hubert Doyle were also single men. The solicitor said that all those involved were on good terms since. When they sobered up everybody was sorry for what occurred, he told Judge Cody. Paul Lynch was represented by Patrick Martin, solicitor, and Mr Martin said his client had been out with his girlfriend that night. Mr Lynch may have had too much to drink that night, had no previous convictions, and did not know the other men involved. An employed man, he apologised for his involvement in what was a very short incident. Judge Cody imposed a fine of 500 on Brendan Doyle, 750 on Paul Lynch and 500 on Keith McDonagh. He noted that Keith McDonagh had no previous convictions and said that Paul Lynch was the man who had kicked it off and had been aggressive towards Hubert Doyle. The judge said that Hubert Doyle had a previous conviction for assault so he sentenced him to three months in prison, suspended for three years on his own bond of 100. Judge Cody sentenced John McDonagh to four months in prison, saying he had kicked a man and had then refused to apologise. The sentence was not suspended. Mr Farrelly asked the judge to be more lenient, saying that though John McDonagh had a lot to drink that night, he thought he had apologised. The solicitor said John McDonagh had been very clear to him when speaking to him about the matter before it came to court that he had apologised. Mr McDonagh told the court himself last week that he had apologised to the gardai afterwards but maybe they had not heard him. Mr Farrelly said the man had been very upset to hear in court that he had not apologised and that the absence of an apology was on the garda file. The solicitor asked Judge Cody not to single out John McDonagh. The judge then changed his original order and suspended the four-month sentence for three years but also fined John McDonagh 800. The upcoming 12th package of EU sanctions includes an important element - measures aimed at suppressing the Russian Federation's ability to produce missiles and drones, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said. "Four important decisions are in the pipeline. The sanctions package that Josep mentioned - we appreciate the ongoing efforts. I would like to highlight one specific element of this sanctions proposal, namely measures aimed at suppressing Russia's ability to produce missiles and drones. Some of these measures are already included in the package and we look forward to their adoption by member states," Kuleba said at a joint briefing with EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Josep Borrell in Brussels. Also, as Kuleba noted, a decision is expected on the use of frozen Russian assets in order to restore Ukraine. The third topic, as the minister indicated, is the decision to launch a new Ukrainian fund to provide macro-financial assistance to Ukraine. "But first of all - the first and most important thing - is, of course, the decision to open negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union. And I can confirm that Josep and I discussed this issue in detail," the Foreign Minister said. He added that work continues with Member States to reach this decision. On X (Twitter), Kuleba said that they "also discussed in detail my proposal to create a pan-European Defense Industries Area with EU members, candidates, and like-minded countries joining efforts in defense production." Auto Facility For Irular Tribe Children At Government Expense, Yet Another Wonder Of Dravidian Model Tata Set To Double Apple iPhone Manufacturing Unit Capacity In Hosur; Expected To Employ 28,000 People Chennai oi-Prakash KL Tata Electronics, a division of the Tata Group, is having a big plan to expand its iPhone-casing manufacturing facility in Hosur, aiming to double its current size, according to sources cited by the Economic Times. After the recent acquisition of Wistron's iPhone assembly plant in Karnataka, Tata Electronics is strategically positioning itself to enhance its contract manufacturing capabilities for premium electronic devices and accessories. The existing Hosur unit, established with a significant investment of Rs 5,000 crore, spans 500 acres and employs over 15,000 individuals. The proposed expansion, expected to be completed within 12-18 months, could lead to a workforce increase to approximately 25,000-28,000 individuals at the consolidated site. A senior government official told the daily: "The company is looking to expand the unit to 1.5-2 times the current size and capacity." Although speculations indicate that the new facility would mainly focus on manufacturing components for Apple phones, the chances of manufacturing components for other smartphones cannot be ruled out. In October, Electronics and Technology Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar announced that Tata Group will start making Apple iPhones in India for domestic and international markets within two and half years. Taiwan's Wistron Corp., a contract manufacturer for Apple, will sell its India division to the Tata Group for a sum of $125 million. Coming to Tata Group, it is already producing an iPhone chassis, which forms the metallic framework of the device, at its factory located across hundreds of acres of land in Tamil Nadu. Apple's decision to set up manufacturing operations in India is strategically significant, as India is a crucial market for the company. In an earnings call earlier this month, Apple CEO Tim Cook underscored India's importance, pointing out the company's record revenue in the June-September quarter. Cook stated, "We had an all-time revenue record in India, we grew very strong double digits. It's an incredibly exciting market for us and a major focus of ours. We have a low share in a large market and so it would seem that there's a lot of headroom there... We see an extraordinary market-a lot of people moving into the middle class." Why Some Groups Are Not Happy With Congressional Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh And Jain Caucus In US? After Muslim MLA Enters Temple In UP, Hindu Groups Purify It With 'Gangajal' India oi-Prakash KL After a Muslim lawmaker paid a visit to a temple in Uttar Pradesh's Siddharth Nagar district, several members from Hindu outfits sprinkled 'Gangajal' on the temple's premises to "purify" it, the IANS reported. Saiyada Khatoon, SP MLA from Domariaganj, visited the temple to attend an event. The legislator said that the temple administration had invited him to take part in the event on Sunday. Following the Ram Katha event, on Monday, the Chairman of the local panchayat, along with members of various Hindu organizations, visited the temple. They sprinkled Gangajal, recited the Hanuman Chalisa, and chanted slogans against Khatoon, the police said. Speaking to the news agency, Dharmaraj Verma, Chairman, Barhni Chafa Nagar Panchayat, said, "Samya Mata Mandir is a centre of faith for devotees. People throng the temple with a dedication that was disrespected by the local MLA. She is non-vegetarian and her visit affected the sanctity of the place." Several members of different Hindu organisations, including Santosh Paswan, Mithlesh Pandey, Vijai Madhesia and Pramod Gautam had come with Verma, who admitted that they sprinkled Gangajal on the temple to "purify" it. According to Domariaganj Circle Officer Sujit Kumar Rai, a police team is patrolling the area to prevent any potential confrontation. He added that they have not received any complaints related to the incident so far. Rai stated that the residents of the locality had formed an organizing committee for the Ram Katha. Shrikant Shukla, the secretary of the organizing committee, and Pujari Prasad, the head priest of the temple, were appointed as its leaders. The SP leader was extended an invitation by this committee. "We are inquiring into the incident and keeping a close eye on the development," said the Superintendent of Police, Siddharth Nagar, Abhishek Kumar Agarwal. The SP MLA said, "I respect all religions. Moreover, I am a public representative. Be it a temple or a mosque, I will surely go there if I am invited." The MLA further said the renovation of several temples had been financed through her local area development fund. This occurrence is not unprecedented in Uttar Pradesh, as a similar incident took place in 2018 when a temple in Hamirpur district underwent purification with Gangajal after a Dalit woman lawmaker, affiliated with the Bharatiya Janata Party, visited the temple. Bihar Govt Slashes Hindu Holidays For Schools, BJP Accuses Nitish Of "Appeasement Politics" India oi-Prakash KL The BJP on Tuesday slammed the Bihar government after it reportedly reduced the holidays for the state-run schools during the Hindu festivals. Union minister Ashwini Choubey attacked Chief Minister Nitish Kumar calling him the "master of appeasement politics and accused the JDU-RJD government of hating "Sanatan for vote bank". In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the BJP leader said, "Once again, the anti-Hindu face of the uncle-nephew government came to the fore. On one hand, holidays for Muslim festivals are being extended in schools, while holidays for Hindu festivals are being abolished." "Shame on the government that hates Sanatan for the vote bank," the post added. Union Minister Giriraj Singh alleged that the Hindu holidays have been slashed while increasing the number of holidays for the Muslim festival. "This clearly shows that Nitish Kumar-led Bihar Govt is working in the state on the basis of Islamic religious beliefs...CM Nitish Kumar will have to suffer in the upcoming elections if these holidays are not reinstated," he added. According to recent reports, the Bihar education department released the holiday calendar for 2024, emphasizing the need for a minimum of 220 teaching days in compliance with the Right to Education. The updated calendar for 2024 reflects significant changes, including an extension of summer vacation from 20 to 30 days. In addition to it, holidays for Hartalika Teej and Jitiya have been eliminated, while the duration of holidays for Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha (Bakrid) has been extended to three days each. BJP Is Not In Alliance With AIADMK, Will Decide Before Polls, Says D Jayakumar AIADMK accuses DMK of deceiving farmers and minorities in Tamil Nadu AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday accused the ruling DMK of deceiving Tamil Nadus farmers and minorities by duplicity in its actions. India -Krishna Kripa Coimbatore, Nov 28: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday accused the ruling DMK of deceiving Tamil Nadu's farmers and minorities by "duplicity" in its actions. Palaniswami slams DMK government Addressing a meeting organized here in connection with the Christmas celebrations, Palaniswami slammed the state government over the detentions of farmers protesting against the SIPCOT project in Melma in Tiruvannamalai district and for allegedly not extending state funds to Christians for Jerusalem pilgrimage. DMK contradicted itself He claimed that the DMK contradicted itself by staunchly opposing the then AIADMK government on all issues and projected itself as a custodian of the farmers and minorities. But after coming to power, the DMK has been going against the interests of the people, especially the farmers and the Christians. Stalin's hypocrisy "As opposition leader M K Stalin sported a green shawl and proclaimed himself to be a farmer hailing from the Delta district. But under his rule as chief minister, the farmers who protested against the Melma SIPCOT project were detained under the Goonda Act," Palaniswami said. Government not extending funds to Christians Palaniswami also alleged that the state government did not extend the state funds to enable the Christians to undertake a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, . Minority institutions facing difficulties "The government-aided minority institutions are now finding it difficult to fill up vacant posts, the former chief minister claimed. DMK deceiving farmers and minorities "See how the DMK is cleverly deceiving the farmers and minorities. Stalin projected himself as a champion of farmers and opposed the AIADMK projects and now he is going against the farmers interests. Same is his approach towards the minorities now," he remarked. The arrest of the farmers protesting the SIPCOT project and the detention of seven of them under the Goondas Act had evoked criticism from various quarters including farmers and opposition parties. Stalin revoked the order detaining six farmers on November 17. Delhi BJP alleges corruption in sewage treatment plants The Delhi BJP on Tuesday alleged corruption in the construction of sewage treatment plants by the DJB for cleaning the Yamuna River. India -Krishna Kripa New Delhi: The Delhi BJP on Tuesday alleged corruption in the construction of sewage treatment plants by the DJB for cleaning the Yamuna River. President of the state unit of the BJP, Virendra Sachdeva, said the party will hold a protest outside the Delhi Jal Board DJB headquarters on November 30, demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Ramvir Singh Bidhuri attacks AAP Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, attacked the Aam Aadmi Party, saying he complained to Delhi Lt Governor on August 29 last year about a scam worth crores of rupees concerning sewage treatment plants. The BJP leader said the Lt Governor sent his complaint to the Delhi government for appropriate action, but nothing was done. Delhi BJP secretary Bansuri Swaraj accuses Kejriwal government of corruption Delhi BJP secretary Bansuri Swaraj also accused the Kejriwal government of indulging in corruption in the name of cleaning the Yamuna River. The ruling AAP had earlier accused the BJP of protecting corrupt officials while levelling corruption allegations against its government in the city every day. Everyone knows that the bureaucracy in Delhi reports to the BJP-ruled Centre. They have all the power to take any kind of disciplinary action against any official. So far, the BJP has chosen to protect all corrupt officials of the Delhi government, the AAP had said earlier. The BJP's allegations of corruption in the construction of sewage treatment plants by the DJB have sparked a political row in Delhi. The AAP has hit back, accusing the BJP of protecting corrupt officials. It remains to be seen what action, if any, will be taken in response to the allegations. In Final Phase Of Uttarakhand Tunnel Rescue, Expert Arnold Dix Offers Prayers Outside Collapse Site India oi-Madhuri Adnal As the trapped workers are just moments away from coming out, Arnold Dix, an esteemed international tunneling expert, offered prayers at a temple near the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi, praying for the safety of the 41 men. A significant breakthrough marked the Uttarkashi tunnel rescue operation today with the successful completion of laying the rescue pipe for the 41 trapped workers. Their emergence is anticipated within the next hour. Simultaneously, arrangements at the Community Health Center in Chinyalisaur, designated for the workers' post-rescue care, have been finalized. Preparations are in full swing to welcome the workers upon their extraction, with officials bringing garlands to the operation site in readiness for their arrival. When science and technology meets faith. International tunnelling expert, Arnold Dix joins a priest in praying for the safe evacuation of 41 workers trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel, in Uttarakhand. pic.twitter.com/fhOBF0OCVh Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) November 28, 2023 Eager family members of the trapped workers await outside the tunnel, expressing relief and anticipation. "We are glad for their imminent rescue," shared family members. "We are preparing a warm welcome. We assured them that the rescue team would reach them soon." At the tunnel's entrance, ambulances, NDRF troops, SDRF personnel, and a contingent from various agencies stand poised for action. According to official sources, the NDRF crew is set to methodically enter the tunnel one by one to effect the liberation of the trapped laborers. India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Urges Concrete Action, Not Just Rhetoric, at COP28 India oi-Prakash KL In the lead-up to the pivotal 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28), India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has made a forceful plea for substantial progress in climate finance and technology transfer. At the India Global Forum Middle East and Africa 2023 (IGF ME&A) taking place in Dubai on Monday, Sitharaman articulated her concerns over the sluggish advancement on pledges outlined in the Paris Agreement, underlining the urgency for concrete actions, particularly for the developing and emerging economies that are bearing the brunt of climate change effects. She further gave assurances that geopolitical frictions would not impede the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor, a strategic initiative designed to strengthen trade and partnerships between the regions. "India will certainly be pushing forward to showcase what it has achieved with its own funds. The Paris Commitment, given by us, has been funded by us. We didn't wait for the hundred billion that is never on the table. A lot of talk, but no money coming on the table; No pathways to show how technology is going to be transferred," she observed. Demanding action instead of words, the Minister added, "Particularly for developing and emerging market economies, funding this is going to be a huge challenge. So, I would think the conversations can happen, a lot of talk can happen but eventually COP 28 should show the direction, both for transfer of technology and for the actual funding." While admitting there would be challenges, Sitharaman said that the current geopolitical tensions in the Middle East would not affect the ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (IMEEC) that was announced during the G20 Summit in September. "IMEEC is not going to be dependent on one or the other major event of concern, but it is something on which the vision drives the implementation in the long run. So, it's going to face challenges alright, but it has got its own strengths, and countries who are directly or indirectly in connection with this project are absolutely clear that this, through India, is going to be critical for global trade, global partnerships and also making sure that this corridor will benefit each one of these countries," she said. Under the theme 'Unleashing Ambitions,' IGF ME&A convenes business leaders, policymakers, and thought leaders from India, the Middle East, and Africa to discuss opportunities for further collaboration and growth between these regions through a series of exclusive networking opportunities, panel discussions, and keynote speeches, covering a range of topics including trade, investment, innovation, technology, and sustainability. Underscoring shared economic interests, India Global Forum Founder and Chairman, Manoj Ladwa said, "With India's growing dependability as a trusted global partner, its expertise in digital innovation, and enterprise, the Middle East's financial might and geographic position as a gateway between east and west, and the diversity, scale, and untapped human capital of Africa's markets, there is every reason to work together to achieve our common goals of bringing about sustainable and rapid economic prosperity. Or to put it another way, what reason could there possibly be not to work together?" The transformative role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) was a recurring motif, with the UAE's Minister of Artificial Intelligence, Omar Al Olama, extolling the dynamic impact of AI on fostering economic progress and societal transformation. He commended India's strides in developing homegrown AI platforms and stressed the importance of prudent governance and regulation of AI technology. "If anyone, whether in the UAE or another country, says we're going to stop or not allow you to use these tools, it's going to have a detrimental impact on your quality of life. This is the fact of the matter. That's why countries like India, for example, went down the non-conventional path of creating its own platforms, which I think is very smart and really the way that many countries of that size need to go. In that sense, AI is driving the economy, AI is impacting the society. And AI is today the technology that is enabling people to go into the 21st century in the right way. Governing it the right way, regulating it the right way and developing certain forms of the right way is really the only way to go." Meanwhile, voicing scepticism on AI regulation, the UAE Minister said: "Calls for regulation of AI are non-starters and I've been saying this for a few years. You don't regulate electricity, you regulate where electricity is used and what are the outcomes. AI is a field of computer science. It is very difficult for you to have one set of regulations that cut across all case scenarios. Secondly, the impact of AI differs on geography. I'm sure the Indian stakeholders in India that are looking at the impact of AI in India will see much different challenges to India than I'm seeing in the UAE because of demographic differences, because of different job classes and types of jobs and maturity of the technology." In conclusion, forums like the IGF ME&A are vital for setting the agenda and building momentum towards large-scale international conferences such as COP28. By fostering dialogue and highlighting critical issues like climate finance, technology transfer, and the potential of AI, these platforms can catalyze change and spur nations into action. IGF Forum also witnessed interventions from Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Gujarat Industries Minister Harsh Sanghavi, and Author and Monk Gaur Gopal Das among others. To watch the day's sessions please click here and to access the photo gallery click here About India Global Forum India Global Forum tells the story of contemporary India. The pace of change and growth India has set itself is an opportunity for the world. IGF is the gateway for businesses and nations to help seize that opportunity. To know more, click here Social Media Handles & Hashtag to Follow Twitter: @IGFUpdates & @manojladwa LinkedIn: India Global Forum For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, November 28, 2023, 14:23 [IST] Manifestation of Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva on the concurrence to the ratification of ILO C190 Madame Chairperson, my esteemed colleagues, and to everyone present in today's hearing, good afternoon. First of all, I would like to thank the Chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Relations, Senator Imee Marcos, for including in today's hearing agenda the International Labour Organization Convention No. 190 or the Convention Concerning the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work (ILO C190). Earlier this year, this representation filed Proposed Senate Resolution No. 456, urging the Executive Department to ratify ILO C190. Kaya naman po, Madame Chairperson, ikinagalak natin ang ratipikasyon ng Malacanang sa ILO C190 noong nakaraang buwan at ang pagsumite nito sa Senado upang ito'y masang-ayunan, batay sa nakasaad sa Konstitusyon ng Pilipinas. ILO C190 offers a vital channel to address the violence and harassment problems faced by our OFWs. Thousands of our migrant workers encounter maltreatment, mistreatment, contract violation, contract substitution, sexual harassment, and rape, among others. In fact, based on DMW data, there were 65,136 labor and welfare cases in Riyadh, 43,225 cases in Kuwait, and 29,049 cases in Malaysia, from January to July 2022. Madame Chairperson, concurrence to the ratification of ILO C190 demonstrates our country's unwavering dedication to fostering work environments free from violence and harassment. This is a step towards aligning our policies with global standards, particularly following the 2023 report of the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations on the Philippines' compliance with other ratified ILO conventions. ILO C190 is not just any treaty; it signifies our commitment to enact tangible measures for the welfare and protection of our workers. Thank you and may God bless us all. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba said that he discussed with head of EU diplomacy Josep Borrell the proposal to create a pan-European defense industry space with EU members, candidate countries and like-minded countries that would join forces in production of weapons and ammunition. "I emphasized the need to create a pan-European defense space, where the defense industry policy will be coordinated, where all processes will be synchronized and streamlined, which will allow Europe not only to stably support Ukraine, but also itself, its Armed Forces and defense capabilities. I believe that this pan-European space, the defense-industrial space should include not only EU members, but also candidate countries and like-minded countries. I openly shared these ideas with Josep and will continue to discuss them tomorrow at NATO," Kuleba said at a joint briefing with European Union High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Josep Borrell in Brussels. Kuleba emphasized that "our determination and our ability to produce defense technologies and defense products are the key to security and victory in war." In addition, the ministers will discuss the NATO Washington summit in 2024 on November 29. MNS Chief Raj Thackeray slams Maha govt for failing to implement SC directive on Marathi signboards MNS chief Raj Thackeray on Tuesday criticised the Maharashtra government for failing to implement a Supreme Court directive on installing Marathi signboards on shops and other establishments. India -Krishna Kripa Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray on Tuesday criticized the state government for failing to implement a Supreme Court directive on installing Marathi signboards on shops and other establishments. He claimed that the ruling coalition pays just lip service to Marathi and Hindutva issues. Thackeray slams state govt Speaking to reporters in Pune, Thackeray said the state government talks about the ideologies of Shiv Sena founder late Bal Thackeray but never follows them. Replying to a question related to MNS agitation for Marathi signboards on shops and various other commercial establishments, Thackeray said despite a Supreme Court order on the matter, the state government has failed to implement it. "Our government pays just lip service to Marathi and Hindutva issues. They talk about the ideologies of Balasaheb Thackeray, but do not follow or act on them. Despite a court order on the Marathi signboard issue, they have been unable to implement it. When I asked them to remove loudspeakers atop mosques, that time also they did not do so," said the MNS leader. SC order on Marathi signboards The Supreme Court earlier gave shopkeepers and other commercial establishments in the state a two-month deadline to install signboards in the Marathi Devnagri script in bold letters. The deadline ended on November 25. As per the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments Regulation of employment and conditions of service Rules, 2018, and the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service Amendment Act, 2022, respectively, the signboards of establishments must be in Marathi. Thackeray's criticism of the state government for failing to implement the Supreme Court order on Marathi signboards has sparked a debate on the issue. It remains to be seen whether the government will take any action in response to Thackeray's demands. Maharashtra School Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar Rebukes Woman Over Question About Delay in Teachers Recruitment A video of Maharashtra School Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar rebuking a woman over her question about delay in teachers recruitment went viral on social media on Tuesday. India -Krishna Kripa A video of Maharashtra School Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar rebuking a woman over her question about the delay in teachers' recruitment went viral on social media on Tuesday. The incident took place in Beed city on Monday when the minister was meeting some candidates for school teachers' posts. Minister's Reaction Kesarkar, who belongs to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, later said in his reaction that the woman was not following discipline during the interaction. In the video, the woman, apparently aspiring to be a government school teacher, is heard asking the minister about the delay in the recruitment process and saying they are tired of waiting. There was no advertisement about recruitment, she said, while the minister replied that every district has been instructed to issue an advertisement. The woman interrupted him and asked when the advertisement will be issued. Kesarkar was then heard telling her that if she continued to behave in an indisciplined way, she cannot get a government job. "I am as strict as I am affectionate. For me, my students are important. You are worried about the job and for that I made available 30,000 jobs but if you teach the same indiscipline to students, then I won't accept it," the minister said. As she continued to speak, the minister warned that he will seek out her name and ask the officials to disqualify her. NCP MP Criticizes Minister NCP MP Supriya Sule criticized Kesarkar over the incident and said Chief Minister Eknath Shinde should rein in his ministers. "Kesarkar should apologize to the woman," she said in a social media post. The incident has sparked a debate on social media, with many people criticizing the minister's behavior. Some have accused him of being arrogant and disrespectful, while others have defended him, saying that he was right to put the woman in her place. It remains to be seen whether the incident will have any impact on Kesarkar's political career. Fact Check: Are Exit Polls For Rajasthan Out? Old Survey Falsely Circulated As 2023 Results Man slits daughters throat, sets her on fire in Rajasthans Pali A man allegedly killed his daughter in Rajasthans Pali district on Tuesday afternoon by slitting her throat and later setting her on fire, police said. India -Krishna Kripa In a shocking incident, a man allegedly killed his daughter in Rajasthan's Pali district on Tuesday afternoon. The accused, identified as Shivlal Meghwal, slit his daughter's throat and later set her on fire, according to the police. Efforts On to Nab Accused Efforts are currently underway to apprehend the absconding accused. Preliminary investigations have revealed that Meghwal had been living separately from his family in Pali for 12 years. His wife and children resided in Gujarat. Family Discord According to the deceased's kin, Meghwal believed that his elder daughter Nirma, who was married, was the source of discord in the family. Nirma had come to Isali village of Pali on Monday to attend a wedding ceremony when her father met her. Murder Meghwal asked the victim and her younger sister to accompany him to a place. He then asked his younger daughter to wait while he went ahead with Nirma to a secluded place. There, he allegedly slit her throat and set her body on fire after sprinkling petrol. Discovery When Meghwal returned and his other daughter spotted blood on his hand, she raised an alarm and called the villagers. The villagers then alerted the police upon discovering Nirma's half-burnt body. Case Registered A case has been registered against the accused under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code. The police are making efforts to nab him. 'Matter Of Great Satisfaction', Says PM Modi As 41 Workers Rescued From Uttarakhand Tunnel India oi-Madhuri Adnal As all 41 workers who were trapped inside the Uttarakhand tunnel were rescued on Tuesday evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the labourers for their "courage and patience". Soon after the workers were brought out of the tunnel, PM Modi saluted the spirit of those involved in the operation and said their courage and resolve have given a new life to them. ''Everyone involved in the mission has created an amazing example of humanity and teamwork,'' he said in a post on X. , Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 28, 2023 Wishing the rescued workers good health and well-being, he said their courage and patience inspire everyone. ''It is a matter of great satisfaction that these friends of ours will meet their dear ones after a long wait,'' PM Modi said, asserting that the patience and courage of their family members cannot be praised enough. President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday night led the country in hailing the successful operation to rescue 41 workers trapped in Uttarakand's Silkyara tunnel for almost 17 days, saying it is an emotional moment for everyone. Murmu said the nation salutes the resilience of the workers and remains grateful to them for building critical infrastructure, even at great personal risk. ''I congratulate the teams and all experts who have acted with incredible grit and determination to perform one of the most difficult rescue missions in history,'' she said in a post on X. Union Home Minister Amit Shah said this was great news for the nation and said it salutes the grit of the workers in facing such a challenging situation for so long. He also expressed his gratitude to all the people and the agencies that made tireless efforts to save the lives. Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said he is ''relieved and happy'' as all the trapped workers have been rescued. ''This was a well-coordinated effort by multiple agencies, marking one of the most significant rescue operations in recent years. Various departments and agencies complemented each other despite facing numerous challenges,'' he said. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge Kharge said it is a matter of great relief and joy for everyone that the workers were brought out of the tunnel safely. He urged the government to provide prompt health benefits and an appropriate compensation to the workers and demanded that a safety audit be conducted of all under-construction schemes so that a similar situation does not arise again. Party general secretary Jairam Ramesh lauded the resilience and fortitude of the labourers. Thanking Modi for providing constant support during the rescue efforts, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said no worker is critical but all of them will be kept under medical observation before being sent home. He said evacuation began with the youngest of workers. They were all fit and crawled out of the passage on their own, he said. Dhami also said Rs 1 lakh will be given to each rescued worker. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath thanked ''everyone who made their invaluable contribution'' in saving the lives of the workers. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, November 28, 2023, 22:17 [IST] Three Noida University Students Granted Interim Bail in Drug Trafficking Case Three Noida University students were granted interim bail in a drug trafficking case, while six others were sent to judicial custody. India -Krishna Kripa A local court in Noida, India granted interim bail on Tuesday to three university students who were arrested on charges of drug trafficking. Six others, including another student, were sent to judicial custody, according to officials. Arrests and Charges The accused were arrested on Monday and booked under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act after being charged with drug trafficking. When produced in court, the judicial magistrate granted interim bail to three of the studentsAditya, Apoorva, and Sagaron the grounds that they have exams to take up this week, while others were sent to jail, police said. Reasoning Behind the Bail Grant The court heard the bail plea of the three students and granted them bail till December 1, considering they have examinations to take up this week. The private university confirmed that exams have started from November 28. The police are consulting the prosecution counsel to get the bails canceled. Release Conditions The three students were released after submitting personal bonds of Rs 30,000 along with sureties of a similar amount. They have been ordered to surrender before the court on December 1. Arrests and Drug Seizure On Monday, the Noida police announced the arrest of nine people, including the four students, for their alleged involvement in supplying drugs to college-goers and others. The police seized various Indian and foreign-origin drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, hashish, and MDMA, estimated to be worth around Rs 30 lakh in the black market. The police claimed international links in the racket. Details of the Accused The arrested individuals have been identified as Akshay Kumar (32), Rajan Singh (20), Darshan Jain (21), Aditya Kumar (21), Satendra Srivastava (21), Sagar Bajaj (22), Anit Som (22), Apoorva Saxena (28), and Narendra Kumar (28). Investigation and Further Action The police have seized electronic weighing machines, mobile phones, cash, an SUV, and two motorcycles allegedly used for drug supply by the accused. Investigations are ongoing, and the police aim to take strict action against those involved in the drug trade. The Noida drug trafficking case highlights the issue of drug abuse among college students and the involvement of organized criminal networks. The arrests and subsequent investigations aim to disrupt the drug supply chain and bring those responsible to justice. The focus on curbing drug trafficking and protecting the well-being of students and communities remains a top priority for law enforcement agencies in India. PM Modi Reaches Out To Rescued Uttarkashi Tunnel Workers, Asks About Their Well-Being Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the successful rescue operation of 41 workers trapped in an under-construction road tunnel in Uttarakhand, saying it is an amazing example of humanity and teamwork. India -Krishna Kripa Prime Minister Narendra Modi has lauded the successful rescue operation to save 41 workers trapped in an under-construction road tunnel in Uttarakhand. The Prime Minister asserted that everyone involved in the mission has created an amazing example of humanity and teamwork. Modi Speaks to Rescued Workers Modi also spoke to the rescued construction workers over the phone and enquired about their well-being. The Prime Minister said the multi-agency rescue exercise has made everyone emotional. Salutes the Spirit of Those Involved in the Operation In a post on social media platform Koo soon after the workers were brought out of the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi, Modi saluted the spirit of those involved in the operation and said their courage and resolve have given a new lease of life to the 41 labourers. Rescue Workers Pulled Out All 41 Trapped Workers The rescue workers on Tuesday evening pulled out all the 41 workers who got trapped after a portion of the Silkyara tunnel, part of the Centre's ambitious Char Dham project, collapsed due to a landslide on November 12. Amit Malviya Takes Swipe at Opposition Later, in a post on Koo, Bharatiya Janata Party's BJP IT department head Amit Malviya took a swipe at the opposition and said, "Just so that the Opposition ecosystem further stews in their bile, let it be known that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the head of the National Disaster Management Authority, which oversaw the arduous Silkyara rescue operation. Modi is the man who deserves all the credit for the successful rescue operation," he added. The successful rescue operation in Uttarakhand is a testament to the courage and dedication of the rescue workers involved. The Prime Minister's praise for their efforts is well-deserved, and their story is an inspiration to us all. Punjab Cabinet Minister Harjot Singh Bains refutes allegations of illegal sand mining Punjab Cabinet Minister Harjot Singh Bains on Tuesday refuted allegations of illegal sand mining in his constituency, saying he was ready to face any probe. India -Krishna Kripa Chandigarh: Punjab Cabinet Minister Harjot Singh Bains on Tuesday refuted allegations of illegal sand mining in his constituency, saying he was ready to face any probe. During the Zero Hour on the first day of the two-day winter session of the Punjab Assembly on Tuesday, Congress MLA Pargat Singh alleged that illegal mining was going on in the Anandpur Sahib constituency of Bains. Bains Dares Opposition Leader to Furnish Evidence The minister dared the opposition leader to furnish evidence to back his allegations. "I am ready to undergo a polygraph or narco test, said Bains. Bains said when he was the mining minister, he got a man arrested for his involvement in illegal mining and asserted that the state earned the highest revenue from the mining sector. Bains Blames Congress Government for Cancellation of Recruitment of Assistant Professors After Pargat Singh raised another issue of the recruitment of 1,158 assistant professors, Bains said the Congress government started the process for the recruitment of college teachers at the last moment when the model code of conduct was being enforced. He pointed out that the Vice Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar had written a dissent note regarding the recruitment process and despite this, the previous government continued with the recruitment process by going against the rules, which was rejected by the high court. Therefore, the Congress government is fully responsible for the cancellation of these recruitments, he added. High Court Quashed Selection Process Candidates had applied for 1,158 posts ofassistantprofessorsand librarians in the state colleges in 2021 during the Congress regime. Against these posts, some candidates were given appointment letters. However, after some candidates challenged the recruitment criteria, the Punjab and Haryana high court in August 2022 quashed the selection process. Bains said a hearing on the review petition of the Punjab Government concerning the recruitment of 1,158 assistant professors/librarians will take place on November 29. The state government will request the court to permit immediate allotment of stations to 600 assistant professors selected under this recruitment drive, said Bains. SAD MLA Seeks Probe Into Firing Incident Meanwhile, Akali MLA Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi sought a probe into the firing incident in Sultanpur Lodhi by the CBI or a sitting judge of the high court. A home guard Jaspal Singh was killed when a group of Nihangs resorted to unprovoked firing in Sultanpur Lodhi in Kapurthala a few days back. The incident took place when policemen tried to get Gurdwara Akal Bunga Sahib in Sultanpur Lodhi vacated from a faction of Nihangs. Congress MLA Seeks Adoption of Resolution to Press Centre to Accept Farmers' Demands Congress MLA Partap Singh Bajwa sought an adoption of a resolution to press the Centre to accept the demand of farmers who are demanding legal guarantee to the MSP, withdrawal of cases filed against them during the 2020-21 stir against the now-repealed farm laws, compensation, and jobs for any one of the family members of farmers who died during the stir, debt waiver, and pension. Mann Says Farmers' Demand Should be Fulfilled After the Zero Hour, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said the demand of farmers should be fulfilled by the Centre. But the people should not face any inconvenience because of the farmers protest, Mann said. Joyful Reunion: Families Express Thanks To Govt After Successful Rescue of 41 Workers From Silkyara Tunnel Practised Yoga, Took Walks To Keep Spirits Up: Rescued Workers Tell PM Modi U'khand CM Dhami Announces Rs 1 Lakh Aid For Rescued Tunnel Workers, Pledges Reconstruction Of Baukhnag Temple India oi-Madhuri Adnal Uttarakhand Chief Minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami, announced a grant of Rs 1 Lakh for each rescued worker, PTI reported on Tuesday. Alongside this aid, CM Dhami confirmed the reconstruction of the Baukhnag temple and announced plans for a comprehensive review of the ongoing tunnel construction projects. The successful liberation of the 41 workers confined within the Silkyara tunnel concluded a grueling 17-day saga. Commending the unwavering dedication of the rescue teams, CM Dhami expressed gratitude, saying, "I extend my heartfelt thanks to all the individuals involved in this operation. Prime Minister Modi remained in constant communication with me, diligently monitoring the progress of the rescue mission. His unwavering support made this achievement possible. Just moments ago, he emphasized the need for thorough medical check-ups for everyone and ensured arrangements for their safe return home." #WATCH | Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand) tunnel rescue: CM Pushkar Singh Dhami says, " I want to thank all the members who were part of this rescue operation...PM Modi was constantly in touch with me and was taking updates of the rescue op. He gave me the duty to rescue everyone safely pic.twitter.com/TldZLK6QEB ANI (@ANI) November 28, 2023 #WATCH | Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand) tunnel rescue: CM Pushkar Singh Dhami says, They(workers) all have come out from a different environment and condition so we will do as per the advice of the doctors...first they will be kept under medical supervision, their monitoring will be pic.twitter.com/peC78V181X ANI (@ANI) November 28, 2023 Rescue workers pulled out all 41 workers trapped in Uttarakhand's Silkyara tunnel in a multi-agency rescue operation that hovered between hope and despair for almost 17 days. A portion of the tunnel on the Char Dham route collapsed on November 12, blocking the exit of the workers who were inside. 'Matter Of Great Satisfaction', Says PM Modi As 41 Workers Rescued From Uttarakhand Tunnel Manual miners played a crucial role in the underground rescue operation, as highlighted by CM Dhami, who also mentioned, "International experts were consulted to determine the shortest route for rescuing the workers." Expressing gratitude, he acknowledged the challenges faced by the Auger machines, thanking the manual miners for their pivotal role in accomplishing the tunnel rescue mission. Regarding the condition of the rescued workers, CM Dhami assured that none were critical, emphasizing, "Considering their transition from a different environment, we'll follow doctors' advice... they will undergo medical supervision with close monitoring." The Chief Minister's office reported Prime Minister Narendra Modi contacting CM Pushkar Singh Dhami, expressing well wishes for the safe evacuation of the 41 Silkyara workers and seeking updates on their status. Union Minister General VK Singh (Retd) praised PM Modi's guidance, stating, "We received everything needed due to PM Modi's guidance... there was excellent coordination among all members involved." Earlier, a video posted by PTI showed Dhami lauding the workers, accompanied by Union Minister VK Singh. Teams from SDRF and NDRF had entered the tunnel with stretchers before the initial evacuation, with Union Minister VK Singh joining CM Pushkar Singh Dhami at the site to welcome the workers. The tunnel collapse occurred on November 12 due to a landslip, trapping the workers within the 4.5-kilometer structure. The majority of those trapped were migrant laborers from various parts of the country. Families of these workers have gathered at the site for days, eagerly seeking updates on the rescue operation and hoping for a reunion with their loved ones. The Verkhovna Rada plans to open its office in the European Parliament, Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk said. "We discussed (with President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola) very important issues about the mutual opening of offices. That is, in Kyiv it is planned to open an office of the European Parliament, and here, in the European Parliament, we plan to open an office of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine," Stefanchuk said on the national telethon on Tuesday, announcing his working visit to Brussels. The speaker of the Ukrainian parliament also spoke about the work being done to ensure that even before Ukraine's membership in the EU, MPs "have the opportunity... to be observers at meetings of the European Parliament so that we implement our vision, our procedures to those existing in the European Parliament." Stefanchuk also spoke for the need to unify the activities of the apparatus of the Verkhovna Rada and the European Parliament. "That is why we are now conducting a study of the activities of the apparatus of the European Parliament so that these norms and procedures can be transitioned into the activities of the apparatus of the Verkhovna Rada," Stefanchuk noted. According to the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, it is very important for the Ukrainian parliament to meet the criteria of democratization and parliamentarism, since Ukraine is integrating into Europe and "we want to have full compatibility." Unseasonal Rains Affect Nearly 1 Lakh Hectares of Land in Maharashtra Unseasonal rains have adversely affected nearly 1 lakh hectares of land under cultivation in different parts of Maharashtra, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has said. India -Krishna Kripa Unseasonal rains have caused significant damage to crops in various parts of Maharashtra, affecting nearly 1 lakh hectares of land under cultivation. The Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde, has announced compensation for affected farmers and has directed authorities to conduct a panchnama survey to assess the extent of damage. Two Deaths Reported in Nashik In Nashik district, two individuals have lost their lives due to rain-related incidents. The affected farmers in the region will receive compensation for their crop losses, as confirmed by Chief Minister Shinde. The government has also been directed to provide adequate compensation to farmers based on the panchnama survey. Preliminary Assessment Indicates Extensive Damage According to preliminary estimates, around 99,381 hectares of agricultural land have been impacted by the unseasonal showers. Crops ranging from grapes to vegetables have suffered damage across 16 districts in the state. Nashik, a major hub for onion and grape cultivation, has incurred the most significant losses, with over 32,833 hectares of crops affected. Government Support for Affected Farmers The state government has taken prompt action to address the situation. The rehabilitation and disaster management minister, Anil Patil, has instructed officials to expedite the panchnama process in Nashik district and submit a final report within a week. This will facilitate the speedy provision of compensation to affected farmers. Crop Damage Assessment and Compensation The government has emphasized the importance of ensuring that no farmer is left out during the crop damage assessment survey. After receiving the final report, detailed discussions will be held with the Chief Minister and Deputy CMs to determine appropriate measures for farmer welfare. Assistance for Farmers in Nashik District In Nashik district, around 70,000 farmers have suffered losses due to the unseasonal rains. The district administration has reported that 11,652 hectares of grapes, 10,673 hectares of onion, and other crops have been damaged. Financial aid of Rs 4 lakh each will be provided to the families of the two individuals who lost their lives in rain-related incidents. Appeal for Expedited Assessment in Bhiwandi Union Minister Kapil Patil has urged Chief Minister Shinde to expedite the assessment of crop damage caused by rain and hailstorms in his Lok Sabha constituency, Bhiwandi, in Thane district. The affected farmers in Bhiwandi, Shahapur, Murbad, and Wada talukas have experienced substantial losses, including damage to paddy crops and disruption of the paddy thrashing process. The Union Minister has called for financial relief to support the affected farmers. The unseasonal rains in Maharashtra have caused significant challenges for farmers, with nearly 1 lakh hectares of land affected. The state government has taken prompt action to assess the damage and provide compensation to affected farmers. The support and assistance provided by the government will play a crucial role in helping farmers recover from the losses incurred and ensuring their continued resilience in the face of adverse weather conditions. Joyful Reunion: Families Express Thanks To Govt After Successful Rescue of 41 Workers From Silkyara Tunnel Practised Yoga, Took Walks To Keep Spirits Up: Rescued Workers Tell PM Modi Uttarakhand Tunnel Rescue: Air Force's Chinook Helicopter Ready To Airlift As India Waits For 41 Workers India oi-Madhuri Adnal Rescuers are on the brink of extricating 41 workers who've been stuck inside an under-construction tunnel in Uttarkashi for 17 days, drawing global attention to the massive operation. An Indian Air Force Chinook helicopter has landed at the Silkyara tunnel, preparing to airlift the workers post-rescue. Skilled experts are actively constructing a ramp to reach the trapped workers, who will be brought out once the ramp is completed. Efforts are escalating to extract the 41 individuals confined within the Silkyara tunnel. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami shared via X (formely known as Twitter) that the insertion of the rescue pipe inside the tunnel is finished, ensuring the imminent rescue of all workers. #WATCH | Uttarkashi tunnel rescue: Chinook helicopter present at Chinyalisaur airstrip to airlift the workers after their rescue from Silkyara tunnel. pic.twitter.com/ZRFgM6VvDp ANI (@ANI) November 28, 2023 "Our workers brothers will be taken out soon," Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said, adding that work on laying pipes to pull out the workers was complete. The Managing Director of the company involved in the tunnel rescue operation confirmed the initiation of the laborers' rescue process. "The pipe has been carefully inserted without any obstruction, marking a breakthrough. The rescue of the laborers has commenced. There are around 3-4 phases in this operation... NDRF teams are inside. Once the ramp is ready, the workers will be brought out," he stated. Meanwhile, a temporary medical setup has been established within the tunnel. Following the evacuation of the trapped workers, they will undergo health assessments at this location. The health department has arranged eight beds in case of emergencies, with a dedicated team of doctors and experts on standby. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, November 28, 2023, 16:37 [IST] Joyful Reunion: Families Express Thanks To Govt After Successful Rescue of 41 Workers From Silkyara Tunnel Practised Yoga, Took Walks To Keep Spirits Up: Rescued Workers Tell PM Modi Uttarakhand Tunnel Rescue: Evacuation Of Workers To Take 3-4 Hours, Says NDMA India oi-Madhuri Adnal In a race against time, rescue operations continue fervently for the 41 workers trapped inside the under-construction tunnel in Uttarkashi. Lieutenant General (Retd.) Syed Ata Hasnain, a member of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), emphasized the meticulous implementation of safety measures, cautioning against premature announcements that could jeopardize the ongoing efforts. "We are on the brink of a breakthrough," he affirmed, detailing the progress made to reach a depth of 58 meters within the tunnel. The relentless manual labor, supported by rat miners, experts, and Army engineers, has propelled the operation forward, inching closer to the trapped workers. Lieutenant General (Retd.) Syed Ata Hasnain, Member, NDMA, says "We are near a breakthrough but not yet there. Manual work has carried on and we have reached 58 metres. The debris had been cut and the work was going on the entire night. Our rat miners, experts and Army engineers have been able to take it to 58 metres and the pipe has been pushed with the help of the auger machine..." Less than an hour later, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the process of laying the escape pipe into the drilled passage was complete. "Soon all brother workers will be brought out," he posted on social media. An eight-bed makeshift health centre was set up inside the tunnel to provide immediate medical care to the workers after their evacuation. Ambulances had lined up at the mouth of the tunnel to rush the rescued workers to the community health centre about 30 kilometres away, after the initial checkup at the site. A stretch of mud road was re-laid to make the passage of ambulances easier. Stretchers were being taken inside the mouth of the tunnel. As information about the "breakthrough" emerged at the site, some people outside chanted "Jai Shri Ram". Earlier, L&T team leader Chris Cooper predicted an early end to the workers' ordeal. "It is likely that they will be out before 5 pm,'' he told reporters. He said vertical drilling, the simultaneous drilling operation to reach the workers from above the tunnel, had now been called off. Officials decided to switch to manual boring to break through the last 10 metres of the rubble after the heavy-duty auger drilling machine got stuck in the rubble on Friday. Twelve rat-hole mining experts were called in to finish the last stretch of drilling using hand-held tools in a confined space. Waiting at the tunnel site to see his 22-year-old son Manjit, Chaudhry said officials had told the families camping in Silkyara that arrangements will be made for them wherever the workers are taken after evacuation. ''Even, nature looks cheerful today," Jaimal Singh said as he waited for his brother Gabbar Singh's evacuation. "We have been asked to keep our belongings rolled up and wait for further instructions,'' he said. A special ward with 41 oxygen-supported beds was readied days earlier at the community health centre in Chinyalisaur, about 30 km from Silkyara, for the rescued workers. Doctors were standing by and arrangements made to fly the workers to more advanced hospitals, if needed. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, November 28, 2023, 16:59 [IST] Uttarkashi Tunnel Rescue: Pipe Laying Work Completed, Good News Soon, Says CM Dhami India oi-Prakash KL Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday announced that the work of laying pipes in the Silkyara tunnel where 41 workers have been trapped for over 17 days has been completed and they will be pulled out soon. "As a result of the immense grace of Baba Baukh Nag Ji, prayers of crores of countrymen and the tireless work of all the rescue teams engaged in the rescue operation, the work of laying pipes in the tunnel to take out the workers has been completed. Soon all the labor brothers will be taken out," he said on X. According to Akshet Katyaal, MD of Accurate Concrete Solutions, the pipe has been cautiously inserted without any hurdle, a breakthrough has been achieved and the pipe has passed through. "The work to rescue labourers has started. There are at least 3-4 phases in the rescue operation...Teams of NDRF have entered inside. The labourers will be taken out once the ramp is made," he said. Mahmood Ahmad, the MD of National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), said that "good news" will arrive by late evening. "Vertical drilling is being done by SJVNL; drilling up to 44 metres out of the total 86 metres is complete...THDC executed 7th blast today. So, we gained another 1.5 metres. Work is ongoing, we have not stopped any of our various options. As far as horizontal drilling through the debris is concerned, the one being done inside the tunnel is complete up to 55.3 metres. We are doing this through manual excavation. After that, we do de-mucking. Pipe pushing follows this...Perhaps we will need 5-6 metres more. We are now pushing in smaller lengthened pipes. We are hoping for good news by late evening," ANI quoted him in a tweet. #WATCH | Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand) tunnel rescue | Several ambulances enter the Silkyara tunnel. NDRF, SDRF and several other agencies continue to be at the spot. pic.twitter.com/qwbZIjFjcj ANI (@ANI) November 28, 2023 On the other hand, ambulances and NDRF personnel have been deployed at the entrance of the tunnel. The NDRF team will be going inside the tunnel to bring out the trapped labourers one by one, ANI reported citing official sources. #WATCH | Uttarkashi tunnel rescue | Preparations complete at Community Health Center Chinyalisaur for the treatment of 41 workers who will be brought here after they are rescued and brought out of Silkyara tunnel. pic.twitter.com/MZJUZ8F0x8 ANI (@ANI) November 28, 2023 During a press briefing earlier today, the Nodal Officer for the Silkyara rescue operation and Secretary to the Uttarakhand government, Neeraj Khairwal, informed that if there are no more hurdles, the rescuers are anticipating an early evacuation of the trapped labourers. 423-Hour Ordeal Ends: How Uttarakhand Tunnel Rescue Operation Unfolded | WATCH VIDEO India oi-Madhuri Adnal The unwavering 17-day rescue operation bore fruit, ultimately saving the lives of 41 laborers hailing from various states across the country, including Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh. This extensive rescue mission showcased a blend of cutting-edge technologies and the remarkable skills of rat-hole miners, who efficiently drilled through the remaining 12 meters in a remarkably short period. It served as a global lesson on integrating both machinery and human expertise for the success of such crucial rescue operations. The ordeal began on November 12, the auspicious day of Diwali, when a section of the under-construction Silkyara tunnel collapsed, trapping 41 laborers inside. NHIDCL, the tunnel construction company, initially attempted to clear the debris to rescue the workers. However, due to subsequent collapses, an alternative approach was sought. Collaborating with various agencies, NHIDCL considered laying a path using a drilling machine. Uttarakhand Rescue Operations: 41 Trapped Workers Successfully Pulled Out From The Tunnel #UttarakhandTunnelRescue #UttarakhandTunnel pic.twitter.com/rsoAuLIgmj Madhuri Adnal (@madhuriadnal) November 28, 2023 #WATCH | Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand) tunnel rescue: CM Pushkar Singh Dhami meets the workers who have been rescued from inside the Silkyara tunnel. pic.twitter.com/5gZHyuhrqF ANI (@ANI) November 28, 2023 By November 14, a drilling machine was deployed, but its effectiveness was limited. This left the rescuers grappling with devising a strategy to expedite the life-saving mission. #WATCH | Uttarkashi tunnel rescue | Ambulances leave from the Silkyara tunnel site as 35 workers among the 41 workers trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand since November 12 have been successfully rescued. pic.twitter.com/K5hboVEa0I ANI (@ANI) November 28, 2023 After this, the PMO intervened in the matter. An American Auger drilling machine was airlifted to Chinyalisaur and transported to Silkyara. Despite successfully carving out a 46-meter path, the machine encountered multiple obstacles, ultimately ceasing its operation. Moreover, the machine's weight led to vibrations in the tunnel, and during work, a distressing cracking sound emerged, signaling a potential risk due to tunnel cavity formation from a landslide. #WATCH | Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand) tunnel rescue: Locals distribute sweets outside Silkyara tunnel as trapped workers are being rescued from the tunnel pic.twitter.com/oASZAy8unf ANI (@ANI) November 28, 2023 Meanwhile, the government engaged several agencies to explore alternative routes. Entities like ONGC, SJVNL, THDC, and RVNL stepped in to prepare rescue routes in different sections of the tunnel. SJVNL and ONGC were tasked with vertical drilling at both ends, while THDC focused on the tunnel's construction towards Barkot. Additionally, the agency entrusted with constructing the edit tunnels was also brought into action. Despite facing numerous obstacles such as metallic barriers and rocks blocking the American Auger drilling machine, hindering rescue efforts and dampening hopes, a shift to rat-hole mining techniques proved remarkably effective. This switch enabled the swift rescue of workers trapped for an agonizing 17 days. Throughout the ordeal, challenges persisted. Yet, the government ensured the well-being of the workers by addressing their food, oxygen, and health needs within the tunnel. Amidst complaints of ailments like stomach aches and vomiting, a comprehensive medical team was swiftly dispatched to Silkyanra. Care wasn't just limited to physical health but extended to mental well-being, with continuous efforts to bolster the workers' morale. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Union Ministers, and other officials maintained constant communication with the workers. Several high-ranking officials, including Central Ministers General VK Singh and Nitin Gadkari, personally visited Silkyara to oversee the workers' condition. VK Singh even stayed on-site to monitor progress. Chief Minister Dhami relocated his office to Matli, a village close to Silkyara, from where he closely supervised operations and made frequent visits. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also monitored the rescue operation's advancements closely, leaving no stone unturned in arranging necessary facilities. A concerted effort involving the Indian Air Force, Indian Army, and experts in tunnel technology, including international figures like Arnold Dix, was marshaled to aid the operation. The government spared no effort in ensuring essential provisions and improving communication channels. BSNL set up a telephone exchange for continuous contact between workers and their families. Mock drills by NDRF and SDRF were conducted using pipes for potential evacuation, while a 45-bed hospital was swiftly erected in Chinyalisaur for immediate medical attention. AIIMS in Rishikesh remained on standby to cater to any post-tunnel health concerns. Efforts were made to enhance the supply of essentials to sustain the trapped workers during these precarious circumstances. In the face of fluctuating fortunes, prayers became a refuge. Despite the setback caused by the removal of the temple of Baba Boukhnag, revered in the area, a makeshift temple was built by the construction company to rectify the situation. Prayers and rituals to Baba Boukhnag persisted throughout the rescue campaign, as locals fervently hoped for its success. Amidst the challenges and setbacks, the authorities, with the support of the Indian Army, utilised a combination of modern technology and traditional rat-hole mining techniques to successfully rescue the 41 workers trapped in the tunnel for a grueling 17 days. Rat-hole mining, a traditional practice in some parts of India, involves digging narrow tunnels to extract minerals. After weeks of uncertainty, a team of six soldiers, armed with only their hands and shovels, tirelessly dug through the remaining debris, ultimately reaching the trapped workers. Teachers who engage in a campaign to show solidarity with Palestine have been warned they could face misconduct processes if they are found to be in breach of their professional code of conduct. 2008-2023 One News Page Ltd. All rights reserved. One News is a registered trademark of One News Page Ltd. Modern diagnostic techniques, new NCCN guidelines, achievements of world medical science in oncology and real cases and practices of Ukrainian medical community - all this and other important issues were discussed at the largest event of the year in the field of oncology - the annual 4th Oncology Congress "Up-to-date 4.0 + Molecular Meetings". This year's oncology congress was held in fruitful cooperation of leading medical institutions with deep expertise in oncology. The event was organized by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, Ukrainian Union of Clinical Oncologists (USCO) - OncoHUB, National Cancer Institute, CSD LAB Medical Laboratory and Global Medical Knowledge Alliance (GMKA). The event took place on November 23 and 24 in the capital of Ukraine, in the Parkoviy ECC, and gathered more than 800 doctors of various specializations in oncology from all over the country. Viktor Lyashko, Minister of Health of Ukraine, Elena Efimenko, General Director of the National Cancer Institute, Alexander Dudin, Managing Partner of CSD LAB and Andriy Beznosenko, Chairman of ONCOHUB spoke at the opening of the event. The main thesis of Viktor Lyashko was the statement about the need to provide quality and modern medical care that meets the current challenges of Ukraine. After all, the full-scale invasion leads, unfortunately, to an increase in the number of cancer patients. Therefore, there is an urgent need to update not only clinical guidelines, standards and protocols, to develop technical equipment of medical institutions, but also to work together to improve the knowledge and competence of doctors, attracting the best practices and methods. "The Up-to-date 4.0 + Molecular Encounters conference is our new step towards an even bigger realization of the common goal of CSD LAB Medical Laboratory and our OncoHub colleagues: to bring physicians together to share knowledge, advanced technologies, experiences and new opportunities. These should help the physician to be more effective and the patient to have a chance at survival and a better quality of life. And this is very important, because despite the availability of opportunities for accurate diagnosis and treatment, Ukraine still remains in the top countries in terms of cancer mortality," said Alexander Dudin, managing partner of CSD LAB Medical Laboratory. "The event is aimed at bringing together doctors in Ukraine, which provides us with the opportunity to share new research and personal experience. For the first time we have expanded the horizons of our program to include molecular oncology, which is aimed at deeper study of molecular aspects of oncology. This is a unique opportunity for the physician community to gain insights into current trends and interact with recognized experts. Also for the first time a section on radiation oncology was held for a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach in the daily clinical practice of oncologists", commented Andrey Beznosenko, Chairman of OnsoHUB. The current program "Uptodate 4.0 + Molecular Meetings" included more than one hundred reports from leading physicians from Ukraine, USA, France, Latvia, Armenia, Slovakia, Germany and Israel. The conference brought together surgeons, clinical oncologists, pathomorphologists, geneticists and community activists, as well as all those who want to be more deeply informed about the topic of oncology. "To realize our goal of raising awareness of timely diagnosis, personalized treatment tactics - we must be in constant communication with the medical community and the public. And, most importantly, to encourage people to take care of their health in time to prevent disease or detect it early with a much higher chance of successful treatment. And CSD LAB provides a full range of diagnostic solutions needed for this purpose, according to international protocols," added Alexander Dudin, Managing Partner of CSD LAB Medical Laboratory. Under a current temporary ceasefire, Hamas has released women and children, but the ten-month-old hasnt been included on the lists of those set to be freed, according to his family. Eurasia Review 30 Nov 2023 Since the start of the war, Qatar has been playing a proactive role in brokering a deal between Israel and Hamas to exchange.. Doha says 10 hostages held in Gaza will be released on Tuesday and 10 the day after, following the extension of a truce between Israel and Hamas. Follow DW for more. Russian forces are slowly advancing into Ukrainian territory near the town of Avdiivka in the east, a UK report says. Meanwhile, NATO foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels. DW has the latest. Africa is the most vulnerable continent for the effects of climate change, the UN says. Young Africans are calling for urgent action, and for ramping up funding for African-made solutions to tackle the climate crisis. A group of GOP attorneys general says a rule proposed by the Biden HHS would effectively exclude Christian families from being foster parents, jeopardizing child welfare. Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., has survived two other efforts to oust him from Congress in recent weeks, will Republicans expel the Republican from New York? San Francisco's third poet laureate, devorah major, speaks on Palestine and how poetry can help us connect as we navigate the.. Eurasia Review 29 Nov 2023 Australia will ban imports of disposable vapes from January 1, the government said Tuesday, in a crackdown quickly welcomed by doctors. A clip on social media shows former intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils describing the 7 October attack by Hamas as 'brilliant, spectacular'. However, he tells News24, the clip was taken out of context and he was referring to soldiers and not civilians. EXPO FORUM INVESTMAN UKRAINE will take place on November 30 in ECC Parkoviy INVESTMAN UKRAINE is a place of strength and partnerships for all interested in the business space of Ukraine, as the main place of Investmen, where everyone contributes to the development of the investment sphere, leading industries and the economic front of our country as a whole. When - 30.11.2023 (Thu) Where? - Parkoviy ECC (Kyiv) What time? - start of registration 10:00, start of the event program at 11:00 networking and informal part from 17:00. It will be held in the format of the First Investment Exhibition, which will include: - Expo-zones of investment companies and projects by areas; - Topical panel discussions and QA sessions in separate mini-halls; - Lots of networking and socializing; - Drawings from partners; - Charitable initiatives - Setting a Ukrainian Record. Sponsor of the event in the direction of technological projects - "Brave Inventors". Partner of the event on land investments - "ZemInvest". Let's create together a productive synergy of business activity and trend actualization, negotiations and networking, providing or attracting investments, successful contracts and partnerships, expert opinions and exchange of experience in an unforgettable atmosphere of community of the most courageous investors of Ukraine. THE NUMBER OF VISITORS IS LIMITED BY SECURITY CONDITIONS Don't hesitate and choose your best participation format - https://www.investman.com.ua/doluchitisya/. Media partners: Interfax-Ukraine, open4business, Experts club, Fixygen For seven decades, the Palestinian people have endured the injustice of being denied their right to self-determination, while suffering under the brutal occupation and oppression of Israel. The recent escalation of violence between Hamas and Israel is a manifestation of this long-standing political impasse. The complicity of... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Either this nation shall kill racism, or racism shall kill this nation." (S. Jonas, August, 2018) Bundesarchiv Bild 102-04062A%2C N%C3%BCrnberg%2C Reichsparteitag%2C SA- und SS-Appell. Now wouldn't Trump like to have a rally THAT size! (Image by Wikipedia (commons.wikimedia.org), Author: Author Not Given) Details Source DMCA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Trump/Fascism danger is now being widely recognized. (Actually, it is the Republo--fascism danger, roaring down the track [2021], for which Trump is just the brightly glowing headlamp. But not too many observers want to make that connection --- yet.) For example, on the day I began writing this column, Nov. 21, 2023 (the day before my 87th birthday, by the way), The New York Times had a front-page story headlined: "Autocratic Tone Intensifies Fears of Trump's Plans." The word fascism even appears in the URL cited just above. Last week, I republished my "early-warning" column from 2015 entitled "Is it Hair Trump or Herr Trump?" This week I am republishing a much earlier "early warning" column --- about Hitler's Nazi Germany. It was entitled "Warnung; Warnung Auch:" "Warning; Warning Also." As a sequel to my repeated column of two weeks ago, I thought that it would be useful to also republish that "Warnung," from 1935, once again, as the Trump-fascist danger is becoming even more openly spoken about, by Trump himself, and others (such as, as his close ally The Heritage Foundation). In the past, fascist-leader-wannabees have rarely spoken openly about just what they would do, on the violence/Constitution-of-the-nation-sundering side, if and when they took over. Trump is historically unique in that regard. He, and the ruling-class supporters of his, like those ensconced in The Heritage Foundation, are hardly being shy in telling us how they would trample over the Constitution and the laws of the land enacted pursuant to it. From arbitrary arrests, imprisonments, and executions to (more mundanely, in this context) destroying the Federal Civil Service (again, without taking into account the laws under which it exists --- a distinctly fascist way of doing things). And so, I republish here a column drawn from a book on Nazi-German-as-it-was-happening, originally published in 1935 (Nazi Dictatorship: A Study in Social Pathology and the Politics of Fascism). My Introduction to that column read: "About 4 years ago, in a used bookstore, my son came across a fascinating book of history and political science on the development of fascism in a nation-state. Knowing my interest in this subject matter, he purchased it and forwarded it to me, tout suite. At that time, in this space I presented a few excerpts from that book. Now, given what we as a nation will be facing should the Republo-fascists take one House of Congress, or even worse, both Houses, in the upcoming mid-term elections, as well summarized recently by The New York Times' Michelle Goldberg (as well as many others to be sure), I thought that it would be useful to revisit those excerpts, published back then. As I did at the time, I presented them with certain edits and alterations for present relevance. This time around, I will put those edits and alterations in italics to make it clear exactly which text is updated. As it happens, the text which has been updated here is very limited. Most of what is presented here is exactly the same as it was in the original.)" And so, from that column and the work which makes up the bulk of its text, with a few updates/additional comments to/for that text , if you will, in italics: "A wholly definitive study is still impossible, because of the timing, and because many indispensable sources of information, such as party and organizational archives, such documents as income tax returns, intra-leadership communications, and 'classified [for various reasons] documents,' are as yet closed to scholars (unless leaked). With regard to many events, judgments must be based upon admittedly incomplete evidence. These difficulties, which always beset the student of contemporary politics, are aggravated here by the determined and well-organized efforts of the new government and party-in-power to discourage incisive research into its methods and objectives and to misrepresent many of its goals and techniques for reasons of political expediency. Deception is a political imperative in all government. In this regime, it is an applied science and a fine art. "The new leaders who 'think with their hearts' repudiate all objectivity and scientific detachment as evil products of liberalism... Under these circumstances any effort at objectivity implies per se the adoption of an attitude evoking negative emotional response from the officials under observation. Like every form of highly emotionalized and subjectivized mass politics, Trumpism demands acceptance or rejection, period. "Only a social revolution can destroy the Trumpist state. Only an upheaval in which the political power of the economically-dominant sector of the ruling class is permanently broken by mass action from below can offer hope of weakening the grip upon the sources of power of the Trumpist state. The new Trumpist absolutism is the only possible source of power for the ruling class in the age of increasingly concentrated monopoly capitalism, since it protects their interests far better than any imaginable alternative. "In the run-up to Trumpism, the true left in the United States accepted this view of the situation. But their small size, the destruction of the militant trade unionism that they had led many years before, undertaken by a concerted effort of the ruling class across the nation, and the incredibly destructive in-fighting over who indeed were the 'true leftists,' especially in relationship to the history of the Soviet Union and its leadership, and over the 'lesser of the evils' proposition, with the resulting failure to form a Popular Front, rendered them very limited in what they were able to do to effectively fight the onslaught of Trumpism. At the same time, the bourgeois liberal forces over the years leading up to the triumph of Trumpism, on the one hand implemented a large number of policies and programs which led directly into the hands of the Trumpites, and on the other, because of their politico-economic history and record, they were totally unable to design and present an electoral politico-economic program that was a clear alternative, capable of defeating the Trumpites." END OF THE QUOTATION, HERE. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The basic text, for which I have taken the (obvious) liberty, with a few italicized comments here and there, of putting it into the contemporary U.S. context, is hardly contemporary. In fact, as noted above, it is drawn from a remarkable book entitled The Nazi Dictatorship: A Study in Social Pathology and the Politics of Fascism, by Frederick L. Schuman, Ph.D., an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago. "So," you might say, "what is so remarkable about that? A zillion of so books have been written about the Nazi era, a few even from a true left-wing perspective." "Well yes," I would respond. "That is so. Except that the first edition of this book, from which the bulk of the (edited/updated-to-be-sure) text above was drawn, was published, by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York, on April 22, 1935, with the second, historically updated edition published on May 11, 1936." With this understanding, it should be quite easy to see where, in the original, words like "Nazi," "fascist," "Communist Party of Germany," "Socialist Party of Germany," and so forth appeared. (And oh, by the way, in 1935-36 Prof. Schuman predicted the coming of the Second World War, as a natural outcome of fascism in most, but not all countries [e.g., Franco Spain] and its need for perpetual expansion.) There are many lessons for the opposition to Trumpism to be drawn from this book and the history it presents, from a then contemporary perspective. As for a definition of fascism-in-the-21st century, on the Trumpian model, this is the one that I am using currently: There is a single, all-powerful executive branch of government, in service of a capitalist ruling class that controls, for the most part, the functions of production, distribution, finance, and exchange. There is no separation of the principal governmental powers: executive, legislative, and judicial. There are no independent media. There is a single national ideology, based on some combination of racism, misogyny, religious bigotry and authoritarianism, homophobia, and xenophobia. There is a political party supporting the movement. There is a state propaganda machine using the big and little lie techniques. There may be a full-blown dictatorship, a charismatic leader, engagement in foreign wars, and the use of the mob/private armies to enforce governmental control." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As regular readers know, I have written extensively on contemporary Republo-fascism. Further, I have pointed out that the fascist movement in today's Republican Party had its origins many decades ago (see my "forward history" The 15% Solution: A Political History of American Fascism, 2001-2022, the first version of which projected history of American Fascism, 2001-2022 was published in 1996). Obviously, Trump is not anything like the creator of the movement (except as a poseur), Benito Mussolini. That is one of the ways in which he is distinctively different from Adolf Hitler, Mussolini (who seems to be making an after-life comeback in Italy), Francisco Franco, or the "fascist waanabe," Republican love-object, Viktor Orban (among others, for example history's first fascist-type dictator, Admiral Miklos Horthy of Hungary). Further, for Trump, as is being revealed in whole cloth by his current screaming, at its center, for him, it is personal: "These people individually and collectively, have all done these terrible things to me, and I am going to get back at them, in spades." No excuse for not making labour and migration safe and fair for women SHOBHA SHUKLA - CNS #NoExcuse: End all forms of gender-based violence, everywhere (Image by CNS) Details DMCA Female migrant workers, despite contributing a significant share to the economy, face alarming levels of sexual and other forms of gender-based violence and harassment all across the migration cycle. Actions to make labour and migration safe and fair a reality for them are sketchy at best or few and far between. The deadly divide between "what we know works" in reducing the risk factors for gender-based violence and harassment, and "what we are doing" is unacceptable. Failure to end all forms of gender-based violence will also wreak havoc on other sustainable development goals and targets. Though some progress has happened in different settings, the writing on the wall is clear: we will fail to end all forms of gender-based violence unless preventative actions (those that stop abuse from happening in the first place or from recurring) that are more gender-transformative in nature and those that tackle power inequalities and the discriminatory social norms (which drive inequality between men and women, especially women migrant workers), are urgently implemented in letter and spirit and taken to scale - everywhere. 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence "This [gender-based violence] is a crime against women and girls and the human family as a whole. It is also costly, with some countries estimating the economic impact at some 3.7 per cent of GDP as a result of gender-based violence. Yet, investment is pitiful, a mere 0.2 per cent of overall aid in 2022. Our collective folly in failing to invest is all the more frustrating because we know what to do: reform and implement laws and multisectoral policies; ensure survivors have access to the services they need; scale up evidence-based prevention interventions and hold perpetrators to account. But these will not happen by themselves. We must do what we always do when we recognize the gravity of an issue: allocate serious resources," said UN Under-Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous, while speaking at this year's official UN commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. "We still live in a male-dominated culture that leaves women vulnerable by denying them equality in dignity and rights," said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "Let's build a world that refuses to tolerate violence against women anywhere, in any form, once and for all." The 16 days of activism against gender-based violence is an annual global campaign that runs from 25th November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10th December, Human Rights Day, indicating that violence against women is the most pervasive breach of human rights worldwide. This year's theme of "Invest to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls" focuses on the importance of financing different prevention strategies to stop violence from occurring in the first place. There should be no place for any kind of violence in any woman's life. Nine years ago I had spoken to Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, whose story of abuse had raised an international furore and brought the plight of women migrant workers centre-stage. Erwiana had come to Hong Kong from Indonesia to earn money, as her family was unable to fund her college education. "As I really wanted to bring a change in my life, and the pay in Jakarta was not enough I decided to be a migrant worker abroad. I chose Hong Kong because it is said to be a safe country and I had heard no news about migrant workers being abused there. When I arrived in Hong Kong, all my papers, such as my passport and employment contract, were taken by my recruiting agency and I began working as a domestic help. My employer would beat me up, would let me sleep only for 4 hours a day and did not give me sufficient food to eat. I was not allowed to go out or speak with other people or use the telephone. Eight months of abuse and torture left my body badly bruised and in pain. So one day my employer decided to send me back to Indonesia. She brought me to the airport, helped me check-in, and then left. She threatened to kill my family if I ever spoke of my plight to any other person. Abandoned at the airport and unable to walk, I luckily met an Indonesian lady who not only helped me reach home but also took a photograph of my injuries and posted it on her Facebook." The social media spread the news far and wide and brought Erwiana's case into limelight. Finally her employer was convicted and found guilty by the authorities in Hong Kong. Erwiana was put on Time Magazine's list of 100 Most Powerful Persons. Erwiana's words, spoken 9 years ago, are still as relevant today as they were back then: "As women and girls we need to raise our voice against exploitation. We need to unite in this fight against discrimination and exploitation which many girls and women face. My case was finally exposed because of the unity of the migrant workers' movement." No excuse for any form of gender-based violence The Asia-Pacific region hosts nearly 30% of the estimated 281 million international migrants, with women constituting nearly 50% of migrants in the region. South East Asia and the Pacific is home to 11.6 million documented migrant workers out of which 5.2 million are women. In the ASEAN region (comprising Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam), almost 50% of the 9.9 million migrants are women. Women's migration in search of livelihoods to support themselves and their families is on the rise in the Asia Pacific Region. This feminisation of labour migration is influenced by the lack of decent work for women in countries of origin, and an increase in the demand for female labour - particularly in occupations that are associated with specific gender roles, like domestic and care work - in destination countries. Women migrant workers make vital social and economic contributions to their communities and countries of origin and destination. A Regional Study shows that financial remittances from migrant workers are a great source of income for all countries within the ASEAN region. For example, an estimated US$36.240 billion in remittances was received in the Philippines in 2021 (equivalent to 9.4% of its GDP), followed by Viet Nam, with remittances accounting for 5% of its GDP. And yet, women migrant workers in ASEAN earn significantly less than men. When vulnerabilities fuel each other While migration has a positive impact on the economies of countries and empowers women, it also puts them at increased risk of violence, trafficking, and discrimination that limits their access to fair practices and decent work. Women migrant workers are at great risk of gender-based violence and harassment because of the discrimination and inequality that they face as women (including in their countries of origin) and as migrants (especially in countries of destination). In Asia-Pacific countries, between 30-40% of women workers have reported some form of harassment. In a survey of returned women migrant workers from Bangladesh all reported that they had been physically, psychologically, or sexually abused at the employers' house with 60% reporting that they often faced physical torture during employment. The root cause of gender-based violence is the power and control that privileged or entitled people (mostly men) exercise over those with less privilege and entitlement (mostly women). It is the product of our inequitable, discriminatory and patriarchal legal, economic and social systems, which place women in disadvantageous positions across their life cycle. Inequalities between countries and the lack of political will to extend rights to migrant workers also limit women's access to the available protection mechanisms. The way forward Migration should be an informed choice that is free from all forms of violence and harassment. Banning women from migrating, under the pretext of keeping them safe, will put them at greater risk of gender-based violence and harassment. What is needed is a human rights-based, and gender-responsive labour migration for women, where they are not subjected to gender-based violence and harassment. It requires a multi-level approach that includes political will by way of not only passing but also enforcing laws to combat violence against women; regional cooperation and specific strategies to address harmful practices; tackling stigma and discrimination and providing access to support services for women. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Citizen News Service - CNS Social Media Pages: Citizen News Service (CNS) specializes in in-depth and rights-based, health and science journalism. For more information, please contact: www.citizen-news.org or @cns_health or www.facebook.com/cns.page The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors. OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help. If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership. STAY IN THE KNOW If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content. Daily Weekly OpEd News Newsletter Name Email (Opens new browser window) This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here. How repetitive history sometimes seems when it comes to slaughter! The response to having 1,200 people in your country, including at least 29 children, brutally killed is to slaughter 5,000 or more children in the land where your enemy is hiding. Does that make any sense at all? And keep in mind that, when it comes to the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza, that 5,000 is no more than a holding figure for what could, in the weeks to come, prove to be thousands more kids dead (and who knows how many more wounded ones), some slaughtered by bombs, missiles, and bullets, some undoubtedly succumbing to starvation and disease. We're already talking about significantly more dead children than the total number of those killed in conflicts globally in 2022. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has all too accurately labeled Gaza "a graveyard for children." (But given what's happening, it will undoubtedly be a "graveyard" without tombstones or monuments.) Tell me if that makes sense. What did any children ever do to deserve such a fate? Could this truly be, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims, evidence of "the battle of civilization against barbarism"? Does such ongoing slaughter including staggering numbers of air strikes against Gaza, the destruction of much of its housing and its hospitals, the displacement of nearly 1.7 million of its 2.3 million people, and the denial of the most basic human needs (food, fuel, and water) add up to a reasonable response to the nightmare of Hamas's October 7th attack? And honestly, has "the essential nation" on this planet, as President Biden likes to call the United States, done faintly what's necessary to bring things under control (rather than rushing yet more weapons to Israel and two aircraft carrier task forces, troops, and planes to the region, creating the possibility of an even wider war of some sort to come)? Given such a nightmare, doesn't it make sense to think about other ways to face the violence that seems such an essential part of the human condition? In that context, let TomDispatch regular Rebecca Gordon explore the idea of a nonviolent response to our violent world. Tom Is It Time (Once Again) for Nonviolent Rebellion? On Ending Dreams of Revenge in Israel, Palestine, and Elsewhere By Rebecca Gordon When I was in my early twenties, I seriously considered murdering someone. He had given my best friend genital herpes, which many health practitioners then believed was the agent responsible for causing cervical cancer in women. (It wasn't.) Back in the 1970s, though, I believed that, by infecting my friend, he might have set in motion a process that would someday kill her. That he was an arrogant jerk made it that much easier for me to contemplate murdering him. But there was a larger context to my private dream of revenge. My anger was also fed by a growing awareness that so many of us were just then acquiring of the history of systematic patriarchal threats to, and constraints on, the lives of women. And in those heady days of second-wave radical feminism, I could imagine killing that man as a legitimate response, however brutal, to the male violence that seemed to surround me, and as part of a larger uprising of women. Lest you think that my sense of systemic, state-supported male violence was nothing more than a fever dream of the times, remember that, in the 1970s, domestic violence was still often treated as a predictably normal possibility in marriage. Men's white sleeveless T-shirts were known as "wife-beaters" and, on reruns of The Honeymooners, I could still watch comedian Jackie Gleason threaten to use his fist to send his wife Alice "to the moon." Oh, and should you think that everything has changed since then, today, more than half a century after my murderous daydreaming, the Supreme Court is considering a case that could overturn a federal law prohibiting someone from buying a gun while still under a domestic-violence restraining order. When I remember what I considered doing at the time, however, I'm now horrified. Even then, I was an antiwar activist, a proponent of nonviolent action against the still-ongoing American war in Vietnam and in the struggle for Black rights here at home. But truly grasping the level of woman-hatred then drove me a little crazy and gave me the urge to fight back in kind. Epistemic Certainty and War Was I overreacting to the idea of my friend getting a sexually transmitted disease? Of course I was, especially by trusting so completely my "knowledge" about the connection between herpes and cervical cancer. In fact, what I "knew" would prove dead wrong decades later. Indeed, I didn't even know (with what a philosopher might call "epistemic certainty") that my friend had gotten herpes from that particular guy in the first place. But someone gave it to her, and someone, I thought, should pay. My murderous intentions then might serve as a miniature version of President George W. Bush's epistemic certainty in 2003 that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. (It didn't.) Did Bush and his vice president, Dick Cheney, truly believe in those weapons of mass destruction? My guess is that they just wanted to invade Iraq and didn't care one way or the other. Nonetheless, enough people in this country did believe in them including that illustrious flagship newspaper the New York Times for the invasion to take place with the support of a majority of Americans. According to the Iraq Body Count project, at least 300,000 people would die in that war, a substantial majority of them civilians. Brown University's Costs of War Project has tallied up the human costs of all of America's post-9/11 wars of revenge and found that "at least 940,000 people have been killed by direct war violence in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, and Pakistan. The number of people who have been wounded or have fallen ill as a result of the conflicts is far higher." Millions more, Costs of War's research suggests, were killed indirectly through economic collapse, the disruption of public services and health systems, and environmental contamination. And 38 million people were displaced from their homes thanks to Washington's post-9/11 "Global War on Terror." That's about 1,300 people made homeless for each of the almost 3,000 who died in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). The Columbia River Fire & Rescue District and the local firefighters union signed a 2022-2025 contract but never had a meeting of the minds on substantial salary increases for two firefighter classifications, an arbitrator has found. He ordered the contract be rescinded and renegotiated. Authorities havent yet ruled out foul play as they investigate how a Portland man ended up dead on Larch Mountain last month. A group of people chanced upon the body of Travis D. Jackson, 43, while out picking mushrooms in a secluded area just past mile marker 5 on Larch Mountain Road on Oct. 15. Kristin Kinkel, the sister of Thurston High School shooter Kip Kinkel, told The New Yorker in a rare interview that she has maintained a strong bond with her brother from the time of his arrest and that they both hope one day he will win release. She reached out to the magazine for the interview this past spring, according to the story published online Monday, as her brother has lost multiple appeals, was turned down on a recent attempt to get a murder review hearing before the state parole board and wasnt considered for clemency with others convicted as juveniles. Kip Kinkels lawyer intends to appeal the parole boards decision to the Oregon Court of Appeals, according to court records. A Centennial neighborhood woman identified her 50-year-old son, James Jamie Mack, as the person fatally shot Saturday night on their front porch in Southeast Portland. Alice Nimz, 73, said she was inside her home off Southeast 154th Avenue and Powell Boulevard when she heard her son arguing with another man outside shortly after 10 p.m. Worried the mens voices would disturb neighbors, Nimz said she opened her front door and grabbed her sons arm to pull him inside. BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. Baku Network platform hosted discussions on France's role in the South Caucasus, Trend reports. Members of the Azerbaijani Parliament Tural Ganjaliyev, Sevil Mikayilova and hief editor of the French Lagazetteaz.fr online newspaper Jean-Michel Brun reviewed the Azerbaijani-Armenian normalization process, focusing on the prospects of a potential peace treaty. The talks went further to delve into France's role in these diplomatic processes. Brun pointed out that the Armenian diaspora in France, consisting of 800,000 people, stands as the largest in Europe. Highlighting France's internal challenges, he noted that when the government is weak, it seeks domestic and foreign enemies. In this context, he believes that the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan is now framed by France as a struggle on religious grounds. MP Ganjaliyev noted that Armenias territorial claims against Azerbaijan are presented as Muslim Azerbaijan attacking Christian Armenia, which is a manipulation aimed at changing the essence of the conflict. In this regard, MP Mikayilova highlighted the importance of clarifying to international partners, particularly France that the core of the problem lies in territorial claims, not religious differences. The speakers also said that it is crucial for Azerbaijan to enhance its efforts in countering the information war waged against it. They in particular emphasized the substantial disparity in the perception of Azerbaijan and Armenia within Western countries, underscoring the importance of addressing this biased attitude. A 39-year-old Nigerian man was sentenced to a year and a half in federal prison for his role in a stolen identity tax fraud scheme. The lawyer for Okiemute Bobby Dotie argued that his client played a minor role, wasnt aware what he did was criminal and that the main culprit is his alleged accomplice who initiated the scam and remains on the lam. Gov. Tina Kotek vowed Tuesday to plan for statewide changes to education funding, priorities and transparency, the need for which she said was laid bare by the protracted teacher strike in Portland Public Schools. The strike was a reflection of larger challenges that districts across the state are facing, Kotek said in a statement. From (educator) salaries not staying competitive with the market, to backlogs in facility maintenance, to classroom disruptions related to the behavioral health needs of students, we clearly have work to do. Under a waxing gibbous moon, a magical group of youngsters dressed as gnomes and holding handmade lanterns joined the procession of the 31st annual Ashland Festival of Light celebration on Friday. Bouncing beneath pointy red hats, some in curly-toe shoes and sporting beards crafted from colored paper, the Wish Lantern Makers, as they were named, lighted the path along East Main Street for Wanda the Winter Queen, a giant walking puppet. Thousands of spectators cheered on the jovial gnomes as they swished their lanterns in the air and made their way to the downtown Plaza area to witness Santa Claus switching on the twinkling lights adorning the 19th-century storefronts. The gnome roam didnt end there. The next day, a Gnomecoming Dance was held at ScienceWorks Hands-on Museum, which hosts monthly themed events and parties, like gnome dances, as well as year-round interactive experiences that blend art and culture with science, said museum curator Cynthia Salbato. The museums homecoming setting had fantasy features to entice fans of gnomes and other ancient earth-dwelling spirits who guard underground treasures. Gnomecoming celebrates the return of winter when gnomes get especially active and can be called upon to help with the holiday season, said Salbato, who was dressed in a red dress and furry, polar bear-white leggings. The weekend before the parade and dance, humans aspiring to be gnomes gathered at ScienceWorks and were provided lantern-making supplies by the museum and the popular downtown TreeHouse Books store. Sitting around tables with sticky surfaces, the lantern makers dunked tissue paper into tubs of runny paste and smoothed the pieces onto balloons blown up all the way to globe shape or halfway to look like a gourd. After the papier-mache sculptures dried, the balloons were popped, an LED light stick was dropped inside the paper lantern and string handles were added. Each lantern was then hung at the top of a pole-like tree branch, ready for parade day. Parade goers with keen eyes and who were standing outside of TreeHouse Books on the Plaza noticed a portal to the magical realm, a tiny second entrance. Once inside, they were surrounded by books about gnomes, elves, tomtes, brownies, leprechauns and and other diminutive household spirits as well as wizard kits and faery supplies. Here, visitors can also ask for a map created by the nonprofit Art Now, founded by TreeHouse Books owner Jane Almquist and Salbato, showing the way to other secret gnome doors at the mayors office, Ashland library and more spots around the city. Tiny gnome homes displayed at ScienceWorks intend to inspire visitors to gnome-ready their residences for winter, Salbato told The Oregonian/OregonLive. Our No. 1 goal at ScienceWorks is to be of service to our community. With Gnomecoming, the museum staff invited guests to remember the magic of the world around us, Salbato said, adding that many of the stories about gnomes, elves and tomtes came from northern cultures where winter can be inhospitable unless people pay attention and care for their home and town. Our gnome theme reminds us to work with our environment rather than against it. Care for your gnome and your gnome will care for you, she said. Gnomes are a story placeholder for the spirit of place. In winter and when we gather together, the places we call home are important to our sense of belonging and security. Story writing and more gnome arts and crafts will be taught at ScienceWorks Storyworlds Gnomekeeping Camp from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 29, Dec. 13 and Dec. 20 at 1500 E. Main St. ($10 each day, free to members; scienceworksmuseum.org/camps). Campers will help organize a gnome lantern procession to welcome winter on Dec. 21 at the Wishing Tree in downtowns Lithia Park, adjacent to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival campus and near the Ashland Rotary Centennial Ice Rink. Salbato explained the history of Scienceworks, a nonprofit center that opened in 2001 with exhibits built by community volunteers. The mostly retired entrepreneurs wanted the Rogue Valley to have the same access to science educational experiences as found at the Exploratorium: The Museum of Science, Art & Human Perception in San Francisco and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) in Portland. Their big-hearted mission didnt fully acknowledge that we have a smaller and less materially prosperous community in southern Oregon, said Salbato. Thus to be sustainable, we have to work a little harder to remain accessible and interesting to as much of our community as possible. The museum invites businesses to participate and they have. Ashland Aerial Arts installed a vertical wall on the outside of the 26,000-square-foot museum building and the groups youth and adult aerial students performed as stilt walkers in the parade organized by the Ashland Chamber of Commerce. The Ashland Independent Film Festival hosts screenings on the ScienceWorks Plaza and the Funagain Games store provides card and board games. At the homecoming, dance caller Brooke Friendly guided people through traditional jigs from England, Scotland and the United States as fiddlers with Creekside Strings performed and DJ Veach added more music. Scienceworks also collaborates with Larks Home Kitchen Cuisine, the Rogue Valley Growers & Crafters Market, Mt. Ashland ski area and other Ashland businesses and organizations to throw these monthly parties, Salbato said. Janet Eastman | 503-294-4072 jeastman@oregonian.com | @janeteastman Strategies 360, one of the Northwests most prominent lobbying and political consulting firms, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday night to fight off what it calls a takeover effort launched by a former senior executive. Ron Dotzauer, chief executive officer of the Seattle-based firm, and former business partner Eric Sorenson are battling over $6 million, Dotzauer told employees of the firm earlier Monday. Sorenson claims Dotzauer and the firm have repeatedly defaulted on payments promised as part of a buyout. He filed a motion in King County Superior Court to get a receiver appointed to essentially replace Dotzauer as the top executive. High pressure lingering over the Pacific Northwest will offer up another sunny dry day and widespread morning frost Tuesday. Many metro areas were reporting temps well below freezing early Tuesday with even some readings in the low 20s in Forest Grove and the Yamhill Valley area. Portlanders should see widespread frosty conditions through about 9 a.m., and then clear, sunny skies again through Tuesday evening. The high will be near 47 degrees. Brrrrrr!! It's a chilly morning across northwest OR & southwest WA, with minimum temps in the 20s to low 30s across the region since 12 AM 11/28. There is also freezing fog in the south Willamette Valley & parts of the Lower Columbia River Valley. (1/2) #ORwx #WAwx pic.twitter.com/BlMDCyBI4Y NWS Portland (@NWSPortland) November 28, 2023 The National Weather Service and the Department of Environmental Quality have issued an air quality advisory in the southern and central Willamette Valley. A subsidence inversion and weak winds have limited air mixing at the surface and can trap pollution and smoke particles. Those with breathing problems or health issues effected by pollution should limit time outdoors and seek the advice of a professional if they have breathing complications. The advisory is expected to end on Thursday when rain moves back into the region. Advisory may remain in place until Thursday.NOAA/Portland The Portland/Vancouver areas will see another clear day Wednesday after morning frost. The high will be near 46. This will be the final dry day for a while. If youre still working on those outdoor Christmas lights, Wednesday will give you time to get it done. A cold front moving south from the Gulf of Alaska will move into the region early Thursday morning. Snow levels will still be low, and the Cascade Mountain passes may see a bit of snow as the weak system moves through. This is not expected to be a big rain maker. The weather service is seeing only a 10-20% chance of exceeding 0.50 inches of rainfall in the valleys. The Coast Range and Cascades see a better chance at about 50-70%. Portland will see rain mainly after about 10 a.m. The high will only be 44 degrees, so make sure you bundle up. Friday will be another wet day with rain likely all day and breezy winds. The high will be near 46 degrees. Friday will also be a snowy day across the Cascades. Mountain pass roads could see light accumulations, but no advisories are planned at this time. The extended forecast calls for more light snow in the mountains through Saturday, and rain in the valleys. A warm front is set to arrive on Sunday which should raise the snow level and continue rain showers in the valleys. BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. Azerbaijan has demined 111,207 hectares as a result of demining works conducted since November 2020, Chairman of the Board of the Azerbaijani Mine Action Agency (ANAMA) Vugar Suleymanov said, Trend reports. He spoke at the II International Workshop on "Mine action: innovations and best practices" organized by ANAMA. "A total of 109,552 mines and other explosive objects (30,753 anti-personnel mines, 18,531 anti-tank mines and 60,268 unexploded ordnance) were detected and neutralized," he emphasized. The Chairman of the Board noted that Azerbaijan is among the countries most contaminated with mines globally. He also mentioned that according to preliminary calculations, about 1.5 million mines were placed in the territories of Azerbaijan liberated from Armenian occupation, and about 9,000 square kilometers of territory were mined. The II International Technical Conference organized by Azerbaijan is attended by more than 100 representatives of international organizations, operating and production companies engaged in demining activities from 25 countries, government officials, as well as representatives of state structures and diplomatic corps accredited in Azerbaijan. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Algerian Minister for Foreign Affairs and the National Community Abroad, Ahmed Attaf, said here Tuesday the Libyan electoral process needs a national reconciliation process for which the United Nations is working to bring together the legal and political conditions necessary for its success as a permanent and lasting solution to the Libyan crisis Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Chairman of the Libyan Administrative Control Authority, Abdallahi Kadiryabouh, and a delegation accompanying him took part in the opening session of the seventh meeting of the General Assembly of the Association of African Ombudsmen and Mediators (AOMA), held in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, to discuss ethical dilemmas in mediation and the role of ombudsmen Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Libyan press agency warned on Tuesday of serious consequences of the decision by the President of Niger's Military Council, General Abdourahmane Tiani, to repeal the law passed in 2015 against traffickers of illegal migrants Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) voiced its concern on Tuesday about the adoption of a law that will increase government control over the media in Burkina Faso Photo: (Photo : Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) In a significant development for education in Oregon, over 40,000 students returned to their classrooms on Monday, marking the end of the longest teachers' strike in the United States for the year 2023. The strike, which began on November 1st, was concluded over the weekend when Portland Public Schools (PPS), the state's largest school district, reached a tentative agreement to end the three-week-long industrial action. Tentative Agreement Reached in Portland's Longest Teachers' Strike The strike's resolution came with a $175 million contract agreement, which is still pending approval by the union. As schools reopen, there is a palpable sense of relief and optimism among students, teachers, and parents. Angela Bonilla, President of the Portland Association of Teachers (PAT), described the contract as a "watershed moment" for the Portland education community. She emphasized the cooperation among educators, families, students, and allies, which was crucial in securing the funding for schools. The strike, which spanned 11 instructional days, excluding weekends and holidays, was a result of prolonged negotiations. Portland's nearly 4,000 educators have achieved significant victories, including enhanced mental health support, reduced class sizes, and cost of living compensation increases. These "key wins" are seen as vital steps toward improving the educational environment in Portland. Reed Scott-Schwalbach, President of the Oregon Education Association (OEA), lauded the tentative agreement as "historic" and transformative. He emphasized its potential to not only benefit students in Portland but also to positively impact students across the state. The strike has been a poignant moment for many educators, like veteran teacher Tiffany Koyama Lane from Sunnyside Environmental School. Her return to school was met with overwhelming support from students and parents, a testament to the strong community bonds forged during this challenging period. Read Also: Ukrainian Mother Shields Baby From Russian Missile Strike in Kyiv, Gets Seriously Injured Comprehensive Deal: Pay Raises, Classroom Renovations, and Special Education Focus The Portland strike is part of a broader national trend where teachers have been vocal about their demands for fair wages and other critical issues. These include guaranteed planning time, which many teachers lost during the teaching shortages exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has also highlighted the increasing academic and social needs of students, adding to the challenges faced by educators. In addition to the pay raise, which amounts to approximately 14% over three years, the agreement includes $20 million for classroom renovations and a groundbreaking contract article dedicated to special education. This comprehensive deal reflects a deep understanding of the multifaceted needs of the modern educational landscape. Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, representing Oregon, acknowledged the challenges of post-pandemic teaching on social media. She emphasized that the proposed agreement not only fairly compensates PPS teachers but also equips them with the necessary resources and support to guide their students towards success. As a part of the agreement, students and teachers will compensate for the missed class time during the winter break and the upcoming year. This strike, while disruptive, has been a catalyst for significant changes in the educational system in Portland and potentially across Oregon, signaling a new era of recognition and support for educators and the invaluable role they play in shaping future generations. Related Article: California Teachers Mock Students Who Joined 'Day Without Immigrants' Strike, Social Media Post Sparks Outrage This service is a courtesy for our print subscribers to give them access to our online edition at no additional cost. If you haven't registered on the new site, you must do it now before you do anything else. Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. Ordinary people and saints living together. Dragons and snakes all mixed up. Blue Cliff Record From one angle Zen did proceed from the brow of Zeus. Like Athena, a goddess of intelligence and wisdom. It is here. This is it. Fully present. It has always been. What you see is what you get. And it is ready to be engaged. From another angle Zen has a history. And a recent part of that history is how Zen, the pearl of great price of Asian wisdom has come West and spread across the Global North. It has also touched other parts of the globe, but thats for another time. Here a little more of that history. Among the various maybes and possibilities of that history of Zen coming West, specifically to North America, is the suggestion that possibly a Chinese expedition including five Buddhist monks led by the Bhikshu Hui Shen touched at points along the California coast sometime before the fifth century of our common era. Its unlikely, but possible. And I do enjoy thinking maybe, possibly. Zen certainly came to North America in the nineteenth century with Chinese workers. Chinese Buddhism, however, is not so clearly sectarian, but it can easily be assumed among these immigrants were a number of Chan practitioners. The Chinese brought Buddhism and Zen here decades before white Americans noticed. In 1853 the Sze Yap Company, one of the earliest of the Chinese Six Companies, built what appears be the first known Buddhist temple in San Francisco at the corner of Pine and Kearney. Interestingly this happened within two years of the benevolent associations founding, suggesting a high priority. Within a quarter of a century there were eight Buddhist temples serving Chinese immigrants in San Francisco alone, and there were hundreds on the West coast. Outside the Chinese community these temples were usually called joss houses, and by the 1860s were attracting tourist attention. No doubt some among those visitors began to look more deeply into what was being offered. Chinese Buddhism is not so sectarian as Japanese Buddhism. So, the offerings included Zen, or more properly Chan, as well as Pure Land teachings. And it could be hard to sort one thread out from the others. Japanese immigrants would create perhaps the first unambiguously Zen communities here in North America. In 1922, after establishing a temple in Hawaii, the Reverend Hosen Isobe established a Soto Zen temple in Los Angeles. A couple of years later he founded another temple in San Francisco. Others would follow. A decade after Reverend Isobes first foundation, the Reverend Nanshin Okamoto founded a Rinzai Zen temple on Maui. And here it is important to note an almost immediate divide. Part of the sadness for the Buddhist sanghas in the West, like their Christian counterparts, are the lines between ethnic communities from East and West. Theyre not hard and fast, but neither are they easy to cross. So, it is relatively rare to see someone of European or African descent in the communities originally gathered to support Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, or Korean immigrants and their children, and now grandchildren. Similarly, theres not a lot of crossover from the birthright communities the other way. Some people of color, Latinx and African American have walked into variations of the same problems. These were people whove deeply seen the hurt. And who believed there is a possibility of healing in this Buddhist and Zen way. And who were willing to deal with those added on problems, slights, insults, and other hurts of being minority members of Buddhist temples and centers. When we consider how we humans treat others that are not immediately like us, it becomes easy to see how theological doctrines like original sin may arise. It seems so deep, so pervasive, that anyone hoping to bridge great chasms might despair. And it probably needs to be added in, culture is important, and identity, and this wanting to protect is not an unmitigated evil. Its very, very complicated. And, thankfully, some persist in crossing those boundaries. Among those whove been able to persist, were now seeing teachers begin to appear. The first African American monk Im aware of was Saunders Smith ordained as Suhita Dharma (and Thich An Duc) in 1974. He received Taman, the Vietnamese version of Inka, in 2006. The next two first fully acknowledged African American Zen teachers Im aware of are Merle Kodo Boyd, who received dharma transmission in 2006 and Inka 2015. And Jules Shuzen Harris, who received Denkai transmission in 2002, dharma transmission in 2007, and Inka in 2019. Others have followed. And the problems continue, if somewhat attenuated by a lot of conscious effort. As an aside, Im also noticing how birthright and convert are often outdated distinctions. Or, at least not accurate enough. Many Jewish Zen practitioners say theyve never converted. Ive noticed this among Zen practitioners, as well. And. Increasingly there are people not of Asian descent who were born into Buddhist and Zen identified families. Just as for generations now there are people of Asian descent who are deeply culturally Christian. And of course, to keep it all lively, people of Asian descent raised nonreligious or perhaps Christian, or something else, who discover Buddhism and Zen other than at home, often in a classroom. Lots of messiness. Many invitations into a certain humility, especially when tempted to make categorical assertions about the human heart. A possibly more useful distinction could be birthright and non-natal, that is people born into the Zen way and those who came to it later. Whatever, a generally acceptable term of art has yet been settled on. Perhaps revealing how liminal our moment is. How it is complicated, both dangerous and overflowing with possibilities. Still. And Half a century ago Dr Martin Luther King, Jr observed Sunday morning as the most segregated hour in America. The divides at our religious moments continue. And it has turned out to be no different for Buddhists. For the self-reflecting person this reveals one more aspect of the usually unconscious but harsh divides between the dominant ethnicity and any minorities of any sort. And that part about religion being about social cohesion. Much hurt follows. And continues. Probably its impossible to completely separate out a religious community from a larger cultural identity. This would apply both to the larger culture and any minority cultures within a larger community. For me this apparently unconscious repeating of ancient tribal-like patterns is harsh and sobering. Especially as in North America we live in cultures that rhetorically see themselves as expressly not based in where our ancestors came from. There never really has been a melting pot. Ive tasted just a bit of what that othering can look like when finding myself among Japanese Zen priests and in attending Japanese descent Buddhist communities. Small but accumulating slights, together with the odd direct insult making sure Im not missing the othering. Mixed abundantly with genuine welcoming at the same time. Sometimes from the same people. So, what to do? I find it all an invitation into humility. One I fail at constantly, but constantly aspire to. Frankly, what we fail at constantly, but into which were constantly invited. Like Zen itself, it is a constant invitation into intimacy. Which, it turns out, brings many, many facets of our humanity. And there are reasons to hope. Zen communities in the West have had more obvious success in addressing gender equity, although it still is a work in progress. One of the first handful of Zen teachers in the wave at the end of the nineteen sixties and beginning of the nineteen seventies, Houn Jiyu Kennett, was a woman. Today among the more prominent women who are Zen teachers are Jan Chozen Bays, Bobbie Rhodes, Joan Halifax, Melissa Myozen Blacker, Wendy Egyoku Nakao, and Enkyo Pat OHara, just to begin a long list. That has only worked because the majority of people involved pay attention to the actual problems, and most all involved really try to open their, our hearts. What were about in this project is too important for us to not confront our failings. Noticing this lacuna in my, and I suspect many peoples understanding of this tradition and its communities, invites further examination about the nature of religious communities, writ large. That said there is something emerging here in North America and the West. And it has history. It has a story. And that story of this emerging community of practice can be outlined briefly. In the years before the Second World War a handful of Zen teachers began to work with Westerners. Among them the Soto missionary Soyu Matsuoka, the Rinzai master Sokei-an, and the priest Nyogen Senzaki, a disciple of the renowned Rinzai master Soyen Shaku who himself visited America to participate in the 1893 World Parliament of Religions in Chicago. Probably the most important thing for reaching the non-Asian community during these years were the writings of D. T. Suzuki, another disciple of Soyen Shaku, a lay Rinzai practitioner and scholar who wrote compellingly of something called Zen enlightenment. A British admirer, Alan Watts, took Suzukis writings and ran with it. Sokei-ans America widow Ruth Fuller Sasaki would immigrate to Japan, ordain, and then lead a translation team who would join in the project begun by Suzuki in providing an increasing wealth of Zen materials in English. The Beats picked up the rhetoric, and Zen, and enlightenment, and koans, especially the sound of one hand clapping became a part of the intellectual counterculture. In the 1950s and early 1960s a number of personalities central to the establishment of Zen as practice began to take their place here. Shunryu Suzuki representing Soto Zen, Rinzai priests Joshu Sasaki and Eido Shimano settled in America. Before the 1960s were over Hsuan Hua would bring Chinese Chan, while Thich Thein An and Thich Nhat Hanh brought Vietnamese Thien. Thich Nhat Hanhs Buddhism departing from normative Vietnamese Zen in some very interesting ways. And his influence on Buddhism in the West is hard to overstate. In 1972 Omori Sogen established a Rinzai temple in Hawaii, the first officially independent Rinzai institution outside of Japan. As an aside in Europe, while there is a long history of Buddhism coming the Europe and Europeans reacting, the reach of Zen is first primarily through the writings of D. T. Suzuki. In 1970 when Taishen Deshimaru established the Association Zen dEurope, which not only takes root, but today seems to represent a significant percent of European Zen practitioners. Also, in the early 1970s Jiyu Kennett would establish a branch of what came to be called the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives in England, and today seems to represent the largest Zen oriented organization in Great Britain. The Vietnamese master Thich Nhat Hanh would spend much of his life centered in France. Other lineages would follow, including a relatively robust Sotoshu mission. Of particular interest are the several Zen Christian lineages. The first notable figure in this movement is the German Jesuit Zen master Hugo Enomiya-Lassale. Father Lassale like most of the Zen Christians practice within the SanboZen lineage, and sometimes their community. Returning to North America. Philip Kapleau, Robert Aitken, and Richard Baker would become the first Americans of European descent to be acknowledged as teachers. Philip Kapleaus lineage would also have a part in the establishment of European Zen. It wouldnt be until 1972 that the Korean master Seung Sahn arrived, but his peripatetic nature quickly assuring a version of Korean Son would also become a widely available option. In the same year the Rinzai priest Sogen Omori established a training temple in Hawaii. Finally in 2007 the Korean Taego priest Jongmae Park initiated a domestic training program for North Americans and Europeans. Some of these would not make significant inroads among European and African descent people. For instance, while the Venerable Hsuan Huas community is extensive, it only counts a handful of non-Chinese descent people. While this is also largely true of the mission of the Venerable Sheng Yen, his dharma transmission to several lay heirs is gradually becoming significant in our shaping North American and Western Zen beyond the Chinese descent enclave. That less direct influence can also be said of the Korean Jogye based communities in the West, although it should be noted the other Korean Zen organization, the Taego Order is now aggressive in attempting to bridge the gap between East and West establishing temples and Zen meditation groups across North America and Europe. As I write this what Ive come to think of as the great die off is beginning. The first generation of convert Zen practitioners and teachers, my generation are rapidly aging. Within two decades a goodly majority of us will have died. A decade after that, perhaps two or three extremely aged teachers will still be around to tell of the heady days when it all began. Maybe not even those two or three. There are now some substantial Zen communities. The San Francisco Zen complex is perhaps the largest. Significant training centers exist around the country. There are literally hundreds of small centers. There are several training monasteries. And many teachers. There are three established trans-lineage institutions for teachers, the Soto Zen Buddhist Association, the American Zen Teachers Association, and the Lay Zen Teachers Association. Others are forming. Our Zen teachers in the West include monastics, priests, householders, men, women, and people who live variously within the fluidity of human sexuality. I have been particularly proud of how weve faced sexuality, and issues of gender. Again, nowhere near a done deal. But there have been mind boggling changes in a few decades; and it shows us a way forward. And should give us hope. Our communities tend to identify largely with the American progressive camp. I suspect largely because interest in religions outside of ones birth communities comes with some of the freedoms that accompany higher education and higher income levels, and with that the assumptions of a more cosmopolitan perspective. Certainly, the demographics of the North American Zen communities show well educated people who at least began in the middle and upper middle classes. Again, for those who notice the demographics, class and access to Zen training for those not financially privileged joins the issues of race among the problematic issues of this emergent movement. One of the most interesting things Ive seen as I look at Zen as it is forming in the West is how there is no hard divide between a larger community of believers and a smaller professional class. When people speak of Zen ad their relationship to it, they almost always use the term practice, saying they are Zen practitioners. Not believers. Often, not even Buddhists. Practitioners. There are no reliable numbers that I know of for this community. But, based on my observations, Id hazard here in America, people of European, African, and Asian descent specifically committed to Zen and its disciplines as defined as North American Zen probably number between ten to fifteen thousand people. Perhaps more. Unlikely to be fewer. Those ten to fifteen thousand or more people are gathered into communities of practice and depth all across the country, although there is a weighting toward the West and East coasts. Almost all are small. Possibly with only one or two exceptions, all are very precarious. And. Of course, theres the die off coming. As small as our numbers are I believe there are enough younger people here and continuing to come in to pretty much assure there will continue to be a Zen presence. I suspect it will be dicey, but I am pretty sure something will continue. What isnt really clear, is out of the plethora of Zen practices that are flowering, which are the ones that will survive? I look at the San Francisco Zen Center complex, with its three anchoring institutions, the City Center, Green Gulch, and its rural training temple Tassajara, as well as its various branches gathered as Branching Streams, and there is no doubt younger people are attracted and are committing to the rigors of their requirements, which include a five year residency. The other major institutions, the White Plum and the Kwan Um, while they have different expectations for their members, there remain serious commitments to practice. The other two major lineages the White Plum, a Japanese derived lineage that is rooted in the Soto school but is heavily marked by the transmission of a reformed koan curriculum has at least as many participants as Branching Streams. However, while there is a historic home temple, the Zen Center of Los Angeles, the individual sub lineages are wildly diverse and the closer one looks the harder it is to see what holds it together beyond the lineage itself and perhaps a lingering admiration for its founders charismatic and visionary first successor among the converts, Bernie Glassman. The Kwan Um also has a center training temple in Cumberland, Rhode Island. It has a more centralized training program, but it has mutated from its founders vision of a combined monastic and householder leadership, becoming almost exclusively a lay organization. Once I posted a query on social media at several sites devoted to Zen practice asking about what formation experiences were expected, the necessary if not sufficient conditions in forming priests and teachers. The information I gleaned was too disparate to be part of any quantitative reflection. But I did notice how some very significant contemporary Western Zen teachers in their years of formation and practice, did not have that significant monastic experience. And I suspect this is going to continue to be a significant element of our forming North American Zen community. In Japanese Zen one who leads first spends time in the monastery, usually between one and three years, and usually then trundles off to the family temple and a life as a parish minister. Some stay and dig in. Among those some small number will be recognized as masters of the way. In Soto dharma transmission is bestowed around the time one assumes pastoral duties and the home temple. The sense of mastery is usually associated with the title shiki. A shiki is a person allowed to lead a training monastery. Rinzai does not conflate that priestly authorization allowing one to lead that home temple with dharma transmission, instead reserving Transmission for those who become shiki within their school. In China and Korea there was no direct connection between ordination as a monk or nun and dharma transmission, although almost all who received dharma transmission were monastics. Although it is important to note there have been from the beginning householders whove received transmission. The Taego order holds several transmission lines. With the interesting footnote that in Europe a Kwan Um Zen master has crossed over to the Taego, bring Seung Sanhns transmission into that community. But the bottom line for the vast majority of continental Zen, the mainland of China and Korea and Vietnam in practice there is an assumption that some form of monasticism is what actual Zen practitioners do. Chinese versions are different than Japanese. In Chinese lineages there is no parish priest option for those who want to ordain but marry, as in Japan. Normative practice is monastic. Or, for some, but a notable minority, householder practice. The Korean derived Kwan Um school was founded in North America and the West to be both monastic and lay. Although over the years the monastic option has largely fallen away, leaving an organization where the large majority of its teachers are householders. And with that, householders. The foundational literature of Zen is full of examples of enlightened lay practitioners. Some even receive dharma transmission. Always a minority, but from close to the beginning always an actual real option. In truth all Asian cultures most householders dont have formal practices. Instead, a believer embraces a life marked by devotion, and support of the professional practitioners sometimes as a practice, sometimes as a way of accumulating merit, and more likely mostly some combination. That noted, there have always been practicing householders. And here in North America and the West, practicing householders count for the majority of Zen practitioners. It is an overarching fact of Zen in North America and the West. And. So. Here they are. Here we are. Many making Zen and the intimate way a central part of lives that also have a significant experience within the world. Working. Marrying. Raising children. To one degree or another, a normative assumption of being a Zen person is being a Zen practitioner no matter what else is true. And here we find that somewhere between ten and fifteen thousand people who identify as people of the Zen way. What this new category of spiritual practitioner is, doesnt have a good name. Lay suggests not serious. It also implies professionals and those who consume their services. Maybe Householder Zen. But that doesnt fully describe it, either. There are monastics. And there are many priests. The new baseline for this convert community is the assumption everyone is a practitioner. Where will this lead? People have views. But the reality is we dont know. Which is just perfect for a tradition founded in Not Knowing BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. The latest statements and actions taken by the U.S. have seriously damaged Azerbaijan-U.S. relations, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said in a phone call with United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Trend reports. The head of state noted that the remarks about our country, made by the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James OBrien at the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on Europe hearing on November 15, 2023, were biased, failed to reflect reality and were rejected by Azerbaijan. It was emphasized that Azerbaijani side took note of the statement about canceling the senior-level engagements with Azerbaijan and no chance of business as usual, and responded adequately. President Ilham Aliyev reminded that Azerbaijans Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on this matter on 16 November, and that Azerbaijan had in its turn canceled all senior-level visits from the U.S. Boy, Nvidia and Microsoft are sure getting chummy, huh? Just a couple of weeks after Microsoft added Xbox account syncing and Game Pass titles to the GeForce Now streaming service, Nvidia is throwing in three months of the PC version of Game Pass with new RTX card purchases. Thats on top of the expected GeForce Now freebies. Not bad, especially if you picked up one of the cards on a Black Friday or Cyber Monday discount. According to Nvidias promotional page, buyers of just about any RTX 40-series card will qualify for three free months of Microsofts PC Game Pass subscription. That includes the RTX 4060, 4060 Ti, 4070, 4070 Ti, 4080, and 4090. Buyers in North America and much of Europe also get three free months of GeForce Now Priority access, which as weve already reported, is a peanut butter-and-chocolate situation now that the two platforms work together. Anyone who buys six months of GeForce Now Ultimate also gets three months of PC Game Pass. To redeem your freebies, install your new graphics card, install the GeForce Experience app, then go to the Account drop-down menu and click REDEEM. Most cards from both Nvidia and its OEM partners should qualify, so long as the purchase was fairly recent and from a major retailer. Stanbic Bank Ghana has facilitated the participation of Ghanaian businesses at the 6th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, China. The event, which took place from 5th to 10th November 2023 saw two Ghanaian businesses participate in matchmaking sessions. Speaking on the significance of the participation of Ghanaian businesses in the expo, Head of Africa-China Trade Banking at Stanbic Bank, Aurelia Baaba Ofori Odame, the bank is committed to providing access to markets for its clients and thus believes that the Chinese market presents a unique opportunity for Ghanaian businesses. She said At Stanbic Bank, we are dedicated to fulfilling our promise of being more than just a bank. Our commitment extends beyond traditional banking services to creating new opportunities and fostering growth for our valued export clients and prospective partners. By innovatively expanding access to alternative markets, we empower businesses to reach untapped prospects and unlock their full potential. Through strategic initiatives and approaches, we strive to be a catalyst for success, enabling our clients to thrive and that is why we found it critical to facilitate the participation of our clients at this expo. Aurelia Baaba Ofori Odame further explained the role of the bank in facilitating the expo saying What we are doing here is to facilitate connections between Ghanaian businesses and ready Chinese buyers through matchmaking, and offer support in navigating the regulatory landscape in China. For those who need to overcome language barriers, we provide access to staff who are proficient in both English and Mandarin and this makes it easier for businesses from the two countries to do business. Beyond this, we collaborate with our partners to provide assistance with marketing and distribution in China, enabling clients to reach a broader consumer base and scale their businesses. The CIIE is a trade expo hosted by the Ministry of commerce of the Peoples Republic of China and the Shanghai Municipal Peoples Government. The event is a major initiative of the Chinese government to firmly support trade liberalization and economic globalization and open the market to the world and has been held annually since 2018. With over 1.4 billion population China is the largest economy in the world as well as the second-largest economy, importer, and consumer. In the next five years, China expects to import products and services valued at more than 10 trillion U.S. dollars, which provides a historic opportunity for Ghanaian enterprises to enter the huge Chinese market. The trade expo, therefore, is an avenue for Ghanaian businesses to showcase their products to ready Chinese buyers. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video FinGreen, a financial literacy programme by QNET, an international wellness and lifestyle focused direct selling company, has successfully trained around 700 people including small business owners, young adults, and women running micro enterprises, in Accra, as well as in the regional capital of the Volta Region, Ho. FinGreen was launched by QNET in October in partnership with esteemed Ghanaian accounting firm JA Abrahams, as a free programme to benefit the underserved communities in Ghana, which are often vulnerable to financial scams and predatory lending, due to limited financial literacy. FinGreen focuses on young adults, women, and small-scale business owners, providing them with the tools necessary for informed personal and business-related financial decisions. The launch event of FinGreen, held in Accra on October 24, 2023, drew an impressive array of attendees, including financial experts, banking sector leaders, university professors, local government officials, students, and female traders, alongside significant media coverage. This gathering highlighted the critical need for financial literacy and showcased FinGreen's comprehensive approach to addressing these challenges. Voices from the Ground Mr. Lawrence Adjatey a manager of a small savings and money-lending scheme popularly called Susu, said he learnt how to manage the funds of susu contributors better and how to make faster and more accurate financial decisions that would improve the scheme. Ms. Abass Bushira, a young woman leading an agricultural venture said: The FinGreentraining felt like it was designed with me in mind. The curriculum covered topics such as budgeting, investment strategies, debt management, banking, financial planning and others. These are areas that are very relevant to my business and personal finance. I really learnt a lot and Im in the process of improving my business and my life. According to Robert Kwasi Asmah, a level 400 of the University of Professional Studies, Accra, he learnt how to manage his finances better and how to analyse risk factors that affect his finance. He added that he is now in a better position to advise others on how to manage their personal finances. FinGreen's curriculum, tailored to the Ghanaian context, is designed to be accessible and relevant, ensuring participants can apply their newfound knowledge effectively. The programme is facilitated through a strategic collaboration with J. A. Abrahams & Co, a distinguished 65-year-old firm with extensive expertise in assurance services, accountancy, tax, and business advisory services. The first phase began in October and will run through December 2023. FinGreen is fully aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Addis Ababa Agenda, recognizing that achieving financial inclusion is a critical component of sustainable development. Since its launch in 2022 in Nigeria and Turkey, QNETs FinGreen has empowered about 2200 individuals to take control of their financial future. For more information about QNET and FinGreen, please visit Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Professor Joseph Osafo has urged government to hold a stakeholder consultation with the Joint Business Consultative Forum comprising the Ghana Union of Traders Associations (GUTA), Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana and four three other associations regarding its L.I to restrict food imports into the country. The Minister of Trade, Kobina Tahir Hammond, is pushing for the legislation which he believes will help the cedi appreciate as well as grow local businesses. When the bill is enacted, food commodities such as rice, fruit juice, margarine, cement, fish, sugar and 16 other products that the government terms "strategic products" will be affected by the restriction. But the Joint Business Consultative Forum which comprises the abovementioned business associations including the Food and Beverages Association of Ghana (FABAG), Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF), Chamber of Automobile Dealership Ghana (CADEG), and Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI), argue the bill will be detrimental to their businesses. They have therefore laid a petition before Parliament urging the House to reject it. Outlining their concerns, the associations further argued that the imports restriction "will eventually lead to monopolistic or oligopolistic position for a few select business in the country at the expense of many smaller businesses. The permit will definitely hinder the flow of goods from exporting countries to receivers in Ghana since importers would no longer be able on market demands to dictate the quantities to be ordered as companies will be at the whims of the Minister of Trade and Industry". Discussing the issue during Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" show, Professor Joseph Osafo, a Senior Psychologist, pleaded with government to pause the passage of the bill until they have held broader consultations with the stakeholders and ensured there is a understanding between all entities. He also admonished the business associations not to rubbish the bill. "I plead with GUTA and the other stakeholders not to kick against it but I agree with them that this is too hasty. Let's hold a stakeholder consultation" to address the issues, he said. Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Regimanuel Gray Ltd (RGL), is bent on continuing its landmark impact on the housing landscape with its new Satellite City development near East Legon Hills in Accra. The project, spearheaded by Mrs Regina Botchwey, RGL's Group Vice Chairman, is poised to deliver 17,000 homes across 10 Communities including a light industrial enclave. Expansive Satellite City Development RGL's Satellite City development spans an impressive 1,200 acres, strategically located and bordered by key areas such as Amrahia township to the north, East Legon Hills to the south, Katamanso to the east, and the Adenta - Oyibi Highway to the west. Elite Population Influx The strategic location of this development captures the spill over of the elite population from Adenta into East Legon Hills, Katamanso and beyond towards the Akwapim Hills. This phenomenon has attracted eight other real estate companies to explore the area with various projects. Major roadworks are in progress to seamlessly connect the Satellite City development to Adentan townships, including East Legon Hills, Nanakrom, and Amrahia. Commitment to Quality and Longevity Mrs. Botchwey, during a recent Project Process Re-engineering session in Accra, emphasized RGL's commitment to addressing Ghana's estimated 1.8 million housing deficit. In her words, "We are crafting this 10-Community Satellite City, one community at a time. It is a testament to our commitment to contribute to the housing deficit in our country." The development model involves meticulous planning, acquiring land decades in advance, and making extensive infrastructure investments before the construction of houses begins. Mrs Botchwey further highlighted that RGL builds to last for generations. Indeed the East Airport/Spintex Development, which is over 20years old attests to this fact. And the RGL Homeowners by their testimony have assisted in our sales and marketing efforts, she concluded. Professional Management and Quality Assurance RGL emphasizes the use of quality building materials and professional estate management services for sustained property value. Having invested in subsidiaries that produce quality building materials, quality control is assured. Furthermore, RGL estates are professionally managed post-sales, providing progressive value to the properties over time. Milestones and Future Phases Phase 1 of the First Cluster (a.k.a. Adom Gate) is already completed and boasts a 90% occupancy rate. The upcoming second phase, Adom Gate Pearls, will introduce new and exciting building designs, further expanding the housing options within the Satellite City. Media Contact: Micheal Djanie - [email protected] Source: regimanuelgray.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Leading real estate developer in Ghana, VAAL Real Estate Company, has unveiled its latest upscale residential project, Legato Heights in Ridge, as part of its commitment to offering high-end living spaces to the local population. The prominent real estate firm showcased its state-of-the-art apartment building, featuring contemporary studio apartments and a plush penthouse, during an exclusive event held at the Kempinski Hotel on Friday, November 24, 2023. In attendance were the Deputy Minister of Works and Housing, the Turkish Ambassador, as well as other dignitaries in the real estate space. Speaking at the ceremony, Hon. Abdulai Abanga, Deputy Minister of Works and Housing, praised VAAL Real Estate's executives for their ongoing dedication to crafting cutting-edge homes and communities in Ghana. He emphasized that VAAL Real Estate's projects go beyond mere structures; they take into consideration the individuals who will eventually call these residences home." He also added that this launch has highlighted the collaborative efforts between the government and the private sector. Hon. Abanga assured continued support from the Ministry of Works and Housing in creating conducive environments for the real estate sector to flourish. He said, We will continue to create enabling environments for the real estate sector to thrive while also expanding other initiatives aimed at ensuring new homes are constructed and delivered in a more sustainable manner. He also stressed the impact of this initiative, saying, In a nation where housing is a vital component of our social and economic development, initiatives like these play a pivotal role in shaping the landscape of our communities and the lives of our citizens." Speaking on the launch, VAAL Ghana CEO, Mr. Alaa Zayed stated that Legato Heights offers state of the art amenities and craftmanship that defines each space. Every detail reflects a commitment to luxury, creating an unparalleled living experience that redefines elegance within the heart of Accra. Mr. Abdulmecid Saadettin, the Group CEO of VAAL Real Estate, expressed his belief that real estate investment stands as one of the most lucrative options available. "I believe that this will be the best investment option for investors who are looking to buy something modern and futuristic that will fetch them good rental returns in the future, he remarked. For his part, Mr. Nazir Ahma, the Head of Sales, encouraged potential investors to seize the opportunity presented by the launch of this off-plan luxury property. He emphasized that early investment in the development could lead to substantial returns once the project reaches completion, making it an advantageous prospect for those contemplating recent investments in the real estate sector. He expressed that if you have considered investing recently, consider yourself lucky. With the launch of this off-plan luxury property, you get to invest early and earn generous returns once the development is delivered. Along with Legato Heights, VAAL also unveiled Nirvana Villas, a set of eight five-bedroom townhouses in Ridge which aims to redefine luxury mansions in Ghana. VAAL Real Estate has been successful in developing modern homes such as apartments and town houses in Ghana. With a combined international experience of over 20 years, VAAL Real Estate has ventured into the Ghanaian market by storm with one vision: to build better modern homes that are of international architectural standards with the hopes of becoming the market leader in real estate. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Bia East, Richard Acheampong has questioned the government's decision to give tax exemption to the One District One Factory (1D1F) companies. He described the move as Unfair to local producers who are paying excessive taxes on raw materials he wants equal opportunity for all. Richard Acheampong who is also a member of the Parliament Committee on Finance called on the government to rethink its decision to help local producers to produce more for the country. The government know what is right and I am not the one to advise them, he was speaking to NEAT FMs morning show, 'Ghana Montie'. Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com/ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Listening bureau, a real estate brokerage and facility management company under The LB Group has been adjudged Most Trusted Luxury Real Estate Broker of the year at the Ghana Property Awards held at the Accra International Conference Center on Saturday, November 25, 2023. The category acknowledges an institution's unwavering commitment to integrity and client satisfaction, earning the trust of high-end clientele. The other nominees in the category were Akka Kappa Ghana and Westfield Real Estate. 20 outstanding stakeholders at the 15th edition were rewarded over the weekend for their pivotal roles in shaping the real estate industry countrywide. The individuals, institutions alongside other stakeholders have contributed immensely to the socio and economic vibrancy of the industry. This year's theme Housing Policy, Regulation & Evaluation Impact on Delivery, highlighted the impact of regulatory frameworks and policies that will shape the trajectory of real estate. The theme underscores the critical role government policies and regulations play in influencing the delivery of housing projects, ensuring sustainable development and meeting the evolving needs of Ghanaians. Mrs. Akua Maafo Dosoo, C.E.O of Listening Bureau in a statement to the press after she received the award charged the government on the need to introduce policies that encourage public and private institutions to incorporate maintenance as a key component in their annual budgets. She believes this move will ensure stakeholders pay more attention to safety and integrity of their properties through regular maintenance. The government should have a policy that encourages all private institutions and government parastatals to have maintenance as a key component in their budgets. It is believed that most buildings around the country are not maintained properly because Ghanaians dont have a maintenance culture, a part of the statement reads. She wrote further the issue is not due entirely to the lack of a maintenance culture alone but also primarily because provisions for maintenance are not included in the budgets of these institution and hence cannot be expended on or implemented regardless of the culture of the officials in charge of these buildings and facilities. Mrs. Maafo Dosoo who is a Facilities Management Professional (FMP), a leading stakeholder and thought-leader in luxury real estate believes a public-private partnership can improve the maintenance culture of facility owners. The government must have private public partnership with organizations like the Listening Bureau to maintain and enhance the functionality, comfort, safety, sustainability and efficiency of the buildings they operate from. We believe such partnerships will help public and private infrastructure stand the test of time and contribute to sustaining the development of the country, she said. A policy by the government to ensure all real estate developers set up a fund in collaboration with homeowners to ensure that facilities are effectively managed and maintained will also sustain the development of the nation, Mrs. Maafo Dosoo added. Listening Bureau is a registered and active member of the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA). Formed in 2011, theyre in the process of becoming an ISO 9001 International Standard Certified organization. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video In an inspiring tale of entrepreneurship and innovation, a former student of Kumasi Technical University has transformed her final-year project into a flourishing commercial venture. Ms. Anastasia Acquah, an alumna of the University who pursued a Bachelor of Technology programme in Pharmaceutical Sciences under the Faculty of Health Sciences, has harnessed the power of natural remedies to create a very efficacious skincare product. Anastasia's journey to success began when she joined the four-year bachelor's degree programme as a Top-up student, following the completion of a Higher National Diploma (HND) programme in Dispensing Technology within the same institution. In her final year, she undertook a research project under the supervision of Prof. Samuel Osei-Djarbeng, focusing on the formulation of a unique bar soap utilizing the leaf extract of Azadirachta indica, commonly known as Neem. The Neem tree, known for its myriad medicinal properties, is a revered plant in Ayurvedic medicine and Indian mythology. Motivated by the remarkable potential of Neem for enhancing skin health, the decision was made to formulate a bar soap from Neem leaves, aimed at addressing various skin conditions. The project was executed with resounding success, and the positive feedback from early users of the Neem soap was amazing. Reflecting on her journey, Ms. Anastasia Acquah expressed her profound appreciation for pursuing the Bachelor of Technology in Pharmaceutical Sciences programme offered at Kumasi Technical University. She sees the programme as a gateway for serious students to acquire practical skills that empower them to become self-employed upon graduation. "I must say, I am proud of myself, proud of my supervisor and proud of KsTU," she said. Anastasia's venture showcases the power of dedication, innovation, and the pursuit of meaningful solutions. It does not only exemplifies the potential of higher education to nurture budding entrepreneurs but also underscores the significance of utilizing natural resources for the benefit of society. As Ms. Anastasia Acquah continues her journey in the world of business, her Neem soap stands as a testament to the transformative potential of ideas born in the lecture hall. It's an extraordinary reminder of the many untapped opportunities that await those with the vision to see them and the courage to pursue them. I will advise potential university students to seek professional guidance in the selection of programmes to pursue at the universities so that they select programmes that will empower them to become entrepreneurs. As my supervisor would always say, the future does not hold for job-seekers but embraces job-creators, it is therefore important that individuals make adequate use of the knowledge they acquire from such programmes to make them self-sufficient. Additionally, it is beneficial to choose project topics with tangible outcomes and concentrate on developing such projects after graduation. Individuals should be courageous enough to develop and market such project outcomes after adequate research. This approach, to me, will not only empower individuals to be self-employed but will also contribute to job creation, thereby addressing the issue of unemployment in the country. Source: University Relations Office Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video In recognition of excellence in communication, Zoomlion Ghana Limited's Communications Team, has emerged triumphant at the prestigious 5th National Communications Awards (NCA 2023) and Digitalization Expo 2023. The Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs at Zoomlion Ghana Ltd. who leads the team Ms. Emma Adwoa Appiaa Osei-Duah, received the coveted title of Exemplary Communications Personality of the Year (Female). Simultaneously, her dynamic department clinched the title of Communications and Corporate Affairs Team of the Year in the Private Sector. Under the theme "Ghanas Digital Economy: Emerging with Resilience," the event unfolded over the weekend, drawing together a diverse assembly of stakeholders, industry experts, government officials, innovators, and thought leaders in the digitalization realm. The Chief Executive Officer of RADCOM Communications Limited, Mr. Richmond Anim Damoah, highlighted that the Digitalization Impact Edition serves as a milestone celebration, uniting key players to recognize outstanding achievements shaping Ghana's digital landscape. Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, MP, Tamale South, conveyed a message on behalf of the Guest of Honour, H.E John Dramani Mahama, encouraging stakeholders to harness the potential of the digital space and rally behind the government and relevant entities to propel Ghana to international acclaim. Among the notable awardees and institutions at the event were Mrs. Adelaide Araba Siaw Agyepong (Asian Africa Consortium), Dr. Nick Danso Adjei-Ghana Link Network Services, Mr. William Boateng-Director of Communications, ECG, Mr. Stanley Martey-Director of Communications, Ghana Water Company Limited, America International School, Subbah Info Solution, Goil Ghana Limited, KGL Group, ABSA Bank, Oyerepa TV, UTV, and others. Established in 2006, Zoomlion Ghana Limited, a proud member of the Environmental Services Providers Association and ISWMA, is a Ghanaian-owned company at the forefront of providing comprehensive waste management solutions. As part of the Jospong Group of Companies, Zoomlion collaborates with 23 sister companies, collectively dedicated to achieving total waste management solutions. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. With the aim of normalization of relationship, U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken has asked President Ilham Aliyev in a phone call to allow the visit of the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James OBrien in December to Azerbaijan, Trend reports. President Ilham Aliyev has agreed to this proposal on the condition that after this visit the unfounded ban on the visits of Azerbaijani high-level officials to the United States will be lifted. Secretary Blinken has accepted that. Ghana's Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori Atta, expresses confidence in the nation achieving food self-sufficiency by next year, citing strategic measures taken by the government already. After touring the Agrifest exhibition, a five-day showcase of agriculture and food innovations, Hon. Ofori Atta applauds Ghanaians' commitment to supporting the government's agenda for food sufficiency. Highlighting the government's focus, he said government aims to boost the agricultural sector's growth from 6.3% last year to end imports, saving approximately "US$2 billion worth of food in poultry, rice, etc." In a bold move, the Ministry of Finance allocates GHc1 billion in the 2024 budget, with an additional GHc2 billion expected from the Development Bank of Ghana to bolster the agricultural sector. Through the Domestic Debt Exchange Program (DDEP), the government injects GHc10 billion into commercial banks to ensure robust financial support for agriculture. Asian African Consortium (AAC) Revolutionizes Ghana's Rice Sub-Sector Commending the Asian African Consortium (AAC) at Agrifest, Mr. Ofori Atta praises the company's efforts in transforming Ghana's rice sub-sector. AAC provides crucial technical and machinery support to smallholder farmers, addressing financial constraints. Adelaide Siaw Agyepong, CEO of AAC, underscores the significance of their machinery in pre-farming activities, emphasizing its role in land development, crop enhancement, and irrigation. The equipment, part of a collaboration with the Yama group of companies, aims to make Ghana's agricultural sector competitive and sustainable. National Farmers Day Celebration Unveils Agrifest Ghana 2023 As part of the 39th National Farmers Day celebration, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture launches Agrifest Ghana 2023, a five-day agricultural fair showcasing diverse food items and crops from different regions. The event, initiated under the second phase of the Planting for Food and Jobs program, aims to raise awareness about various food items, their sources, and appreciates the dedicated farmers contributing to the nation's agricultural success. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video 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. SES HD PLUS Ghana Limited has been recognized for its innovative contribution to the broadcasting landscape in Ghana with the Innovation in Digital Solutions Award at the just ended 5th National Communications Awards & Digitalization Expo 2023. The award is a testament of SES HD PLUSs commitment to democratizing quality TV viewing experiencein Ghana. The organizers of the National Communication Awards, RAD Communications Ltd highlighted SES HD PLUS trailblazing efforts in revolutionizing the content delivery experience and ensuring an entire HD infrastructure from production through to transmission to the viewer as a key factor in their decision to award SES HD PLUS. They stated, This award is in recognition of your exceptional service, ground-breaking innovations, and relentless dedication to advancing communications infrastructure, technology, and digitalization within your industry. Upon accepting the award, the CEO of SES HD PLUS, Adelaide Abbiw-Williams, expressed her gratitude to RAD Communications for recognizing her companys commitment to innovation and excellence. She extended her appreciation to the team at SES HD PLUS and their cherished partners and subscribers who have consistently believed in the value of quality television viewing. This win is for all of us! Looking forward to collaborating with more stakeholders so we can push boundaries and inspire change in the world of satellite TV technology she said. SES HD PLUS innovative approach to content broadcasting has made it a leader in HD television viewing in the Ghanaian market. The company launched HD+ to democratize quality TV viewing for Ghanaians and offers the greatest linear content via over 20 channels in HD pictures for as low as GHS12 plus 100 free SD channels. HD+ offers several innovative features, convenient payments with call centre support and accessible across multiple devices including the HD+ Decoder, Samsung TVs and My HD Plus Mobile App. The company has consistently invested in Ghanas human capital through its various training programmes. In May 2023, the company attained a milestone of training 10,000 persons since inception and initiated a special training program for Ghanaian female prison officers in satellite installation. SES HD PLUS Ltd believes that empowering locals with skills does not only enhance its after sales service but contribute to the economic empowerment of locals through job creation. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The glittering effects of the Vice President and newly elected Presidential Candidate of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) His Excellency Dr Alhaji Mahamadu Bawumia, was on full display yesterday at the Manhyia Palace when he joined the Asantehene and Asanteman to mark the last Akwasidae of the year 2023. Just like what occurred a week ago during the final funeral rites of the Late First Lady, Mrs. Theresa Kufuor, the Ashanti Region once again did not disappoint as the Vice President and his entourage received a mammoth welcome to the traditional seat of the Asante Kingdom. Clad in both Asante customary dress and party colours, enthusiastic residents and party faithful could not help but exhibit their love and admiration for the new 'kid on the block' of Ghana politics as he and political bigwigs made up of ministers, MPs, MMDCEs and party executives arrived at the colourful ceremony. Bringing proceedings to a near standstill, the Vice President subtly responded to cheers from the crowd. The Vice President and the Asante Kingdom have since ventured into mainstream politics, forged a very smooth and cordial relationship, with the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II referring to him as his son whilst the Vice President also considers The King as his father. Dignitaries who accompanied the Vice President included the Second Lady, Hajia Samira Bawumia, two former presidential aspirants, Ing Kwabena Agyapong and Hon. Addai Nimoh, National Chairman of the party, Mr. Stephen Ntim, General Secretary, Justin Frimpong Koduah, Ashanti Regional Chairman, Chairman Wontumi, Minister for Education, Majority Leader and MP for Suame, Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah, Hon. Yaw Adutwum, Energy Minister, Hon. Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Ashanti Regional Minister, Hon. Simmon Osei Mensah, MP for Effiduase and Hon. Dr. Nana Ayew Afriyie. Others were Hon. Adwoa Sarfo, Hon. Carlos Ahinkorah, Hon. Alexander Tettey and Hon. Alfred Obeng. Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Audio Attachment: Listen to Mike Ocquaye Jnr. in an interview with Kwami Sefa Kayi. The Chief Executive Office of the Ghana Free Zones Authority, Mike Ocquaye Junior has dsiclosed his intention to contest the Dome-Kwabenya parliamentary seat again when nominations open. He disclosed in an exclusive interview with Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM's 'kokrokoo' programme Tuesday morning. "I want to inform the people of Dome-Kwabenya through your medium that as soon as there is the opening for picking up forms and filing of nomination, I Mike Ocquaye Jnr. will stand to represent the people Dome-Kwabenya," he told Kwami Sefa Kayi. Then Ghana's High Commissioner to India, Lawyer Mike Ocquaye Jnr lost the Dome-Kwabenya constituency seat to incumbent Lawyer Sarah Adwoa Safo who was also a deputy Majority Leader in Parliament in the 2020 primaries. The Member of Parliament for Dome-Kwabenya had a total vote of 496 while lawyer Mike Ocquaye Jnr had 488 votes. The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) has announced that the parliamentary primaries for its 174 constituencies with representation in parliament will be held on January 20, 2024. Nomination shall open on 20th December, 2023, and close on 22nd December, 2023. The Party shall soon issue detailed guidelines to govern the conduct of the primaries in these Constituencies, part of the statement, which was issued by the General Secretary of the party, Justin Frimpong Koduah, reads. The party also announced that it will be holding the partys parliamentary primaries for constituencies without representation in parliament (orphan constitutes) on December 2, 2023. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video By Alex Mann, Baltimore Sun (TNS) A man pleaded guilty to murder in the shooting of Chesley Patterson, the general manager at the restaurant La Scala in Little Italy who was killed almost two years ago during what Baltimore Police described as a robbery spree. Samuel Wise, 24, also admitted Monday to using a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence during the Jan. 23, 2022, shooting and to first-degree escape. Police said at the time of his arrest that he attempted to flee from Baltimore Police headquarters. Heeding the plea agreement Wise struck with prosecutors, Baltimore Circuit Judge Althea M. Handy sentenced Wise to life in prison with all but 50 years incarceration suspended. Handy also tacked on three years of probation for Wise when he is released. People convicted of crimes of violence in Maryland are eligible for parole after serving 50% of their sentence. Wises attorney declined to comment. In a statement, Baltimore States Attorney Ivan Bates said Wises punishment reflected his administrations commitment to holding violent offenders accountable. The tragic death of Mr. Patterson was a shock to this tight-knit community and our City as a whole, Bates said. As his family and loved ones approach the second anniversary of his murder, we continue to grieve with them and extend our victim services to them during this immensely difficult time. Patterson, 44, was gunned down while on his way home from work, around 11 p.m. and less than a half-mile from La Scala. The killing unfolded during a particularly violent spell in the city and shook the close-knit community of Little Italy. Some 300 mourners gathered outside the restaurant where Patterson worked for close to 17 years, remembering him as a dapper, kind and outgoing man who embodied hospitality. Police arrested Wise months later, in April, finding that he and other suspects set out to rob people in Southeast Baltimore that evening. Wise and his accomplices robbed two other people before Patterson, according to charging documents for Wise. One of the other suspects in Pattersons killing, Shamal Scott, was killed in Baltimore in the same month detectives arrested Wise, police said at the time. Its unclear whether police arrested a third suspect. Detectives found surveillance video that captured the homicide. According to charging documents, the footage showed Patterson drive to a liquor store in the 1700 block of Eastern Avenue. He went inside the store and returned to his car, putting items in his trunk before returning to the drivers seat. A gray Honda Odyssey minivan pulled up next to Pattersons vehicle, blocking his exit, according to charging papers. A person wearing all black got out of the passengers side, according to charging papers. The assailant, clad in black, approached Patterson, pointed a gun at him and pulled the drivers side door open. Police wrote that the gunman fired once and returned to the van while Patterson collapsed on the street. Later, an officer working in Cherry Hill recognized the van as it pulled into a gas station, according to charging documents. Police tried to stop the van, but it fled. The vehicle was located, abandoned, days later. Crime scene technicians recovered a fingerprint from the passengers door matching Wises. In an interview March 17, 2022, Wise told detectives he was in the front passenger seat of the van, but said he didnt know who he was with, the charging documents said. Detectives also learned that Wises cellphone was in the area around the time of Pattersons killing. Police highlighted Wises text messages. Before gunning down Patterson, Wise had texted a contact Im robbing, according to charging documents. Days after the killing, he texted the same person, during an argument, that he was going to get booked for a ... murder. 2023 Baltimore Sun. Visit baltimoresun.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. A Newville couple will be reunited with their children and serve five months of probation after police charged them for leaving the children home alone. Travis Laughner, 33, and Taryn Laughner, 29, received the negotiated sentence Tuesday at a hearing in Cumberland Countys Courthouse. The Laughners own a contracting business a short walk from their home, and left their three younger children in the care of their then-11-year-old child for extended periods of time, according to Travis attorney, Brian Perry. Neighbors and police found the Laughners children playing on the roof of their house and walking by themselves to a Family Dollar store about 12 minutes away, police wrote in charging documents. Pennsylvania has no law for the minimum age of babysitters nor the minimum ages for children to be left home alone. However, parents can be cited for what happens when children are left home alone. After the Laughners were charged with several counts of endangering the welfare of children, they transferred custody to a relative. Being charged with endangering the welfare of children also violated a pre-existing probation sentence, so they were sent to jail for four months. Since then, the Laughners have been released and are completing parenting therapy with Alternative Behavioral Consultants, a private agency Cumberland County contracts to help remediate parents. The Laughners have completed the first part of treatment, and are now onto the final phase: Reunification, which involves moving the children back into their home. The Laughners have six children, according to Perry. But only four were involved in the incident, he said. Theyve come a long way, and grown up, Perry said of Travis Laughner. Its time to get this family back together. County Judge Christylee Peck, who rendered the sentence, ordered each parent to pay a $100 fine and complete five years of probation. They are to continue to comply with all recommendations regarding parental treatment and to continue parenting therapy. Finally, Judge Peck ordered that the Laughners not allow their children to be home alone under any circumstance. Police initially charged the Laughners after someone reported their children were playing on the roof of their Fairfield Street home Dec. 23, 2022, court documents said. When police arrived, they saw a 4-year-old girl jump back into a second-story window from the roof on the first floor, according to court documents. Eventually, police interviewed the parents and said he thought we were on the same page that they needed to have a sitter if they were going to be away at work. But reports kept coming in about the parents leaving the children home alone, according to court documents. The Laughners believed the 11-year-old daughter was mature enough to watch her five younger siblings while they were at work, and didnt see an issue with the children walking to a nearby Family Dollar store by themselves, according to court documents. A knife-wielding man stabbed three people, including a security guard, before a SEPTA police officer shot the man down on Monday. It happened in Center City at Broad Street and South Penn Square outside of City Hall in Philadelphia around 8 p.m., when police received a call about a man attempting to stab people walking by on the northbound platforms at the Walnut-Locust Station. An unarmed security guard approached the man who then stabbed her in the neck. The man then slashed two other passengers before escaping the platform. In all, there were up to three victims. According to SEPTA Transit Police Chief Charles Chuck Lawson, all victims were treated and sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Im told preliminary that it seems unprovoked, that the individual came into the station and started making slashing motions just at people walking by, Lawson said to 6ABC. Authorities converged on the scene at City Hall and came across the suspect at the station. They chased him for a short time, and police used a stun gun on the suspect, but it didnt work. They told him to stop and freeze, but he kept on going. He kept on going and he just tried to run..., Lamar Hargrove of North Philadelphia, a witness, said to NBC10. Thats when a six-year veteran of the SEPTA Transit Police Department shot the suspect three times and wounded him. The suspect, who police said appears to be homeless and in his mid-40s, was taken to a hospital and treated. There is no word on his condition, according to reports. Outside City Hall Monday night, shell casings and two knives were found on the ground and recovered. Thanksgiving has come and gone, sparking the start of the 2023 holiday season. If youre in a traveling mood during this most wonderful time of the year, perhaps consider some of the following places in Pennsylvania, which will give you a guaranteed dose of Christmas cheer. As sent via press release by visitPA which is the official tourism website of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvanias Department of Community and Economic Development these places are noted for a variety of holiday reasons, from holly-heavy hotels to season-specific events. Merry-seekers can book a stay or even just drop by the Historic Hotel Bethlehem in Bethlehem for its more than 35,000 twinkling lights, 7-foot toy soldiers, and " uniquely decorated Christmas trees and wreaths (or even for some of its ghosts). Theres also the Annville Inn in Annville, which boasts a whopping 52 Christmas trees and special china that breakfast is served on during the holiday season. Each room, too, comes fully decked out. If youd rather seek out events as opposed to stay in a hotel, theres the famed Christkindlmark in Bethlehem, a festive market that reaches back many, many years. Or you can head over to the Hawley Winterfest in Wayne County for some carriage rides, live music, and lots of twinkling lights. Speaking of which, be sure to add a couple of light shows to you list, too: Theres the display in Hershey thats particularly sweet and which promises animated displays crafted from 2 million lights that stretches through two miles of fields and wooded trails. For more information on where to go during the holidays, check out www.visitpa.com. By BILL BARROW, Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) Rosalynn Carter will be memorialized Tuesday with classical music and beloved hymns, some of her favorite Biblical passages, and a rare gathering of all living U.S. first ladies and multiple presidents, including her 99-year-old husband Jimmy Carter. The tribute service at Glenn Memorial Church in Atlanta falls on the second of a three-day schedule of public events celebrating the former first lady and global humanitarian who died Nov. 19 at home in Plains, Georgia, at the age of 96. Tributes began Monday in the Carters native Sumter County and continued in Atlanta as she lay in repose at The Jimmy Carter Presidential Center. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, longtime friends of the Carters, lead the list of dignitaries joining the widowed former president in Atlanta. Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, along with former first ladies Melania Trump, Michelle Obama and Laura Bush, will pay their respects, as will Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and his wife Marty Kemp. Former Presidents Donald Trump, Barack Obama and George W. Bush were invited but will not attend. Jimmy Carters participation in the events has been a day-by-day question; he is 10 months into home hospice care. The Carter Center confirmed his plans to attend the Tuesday service. It will be his first public appearance since September, when he and Rosalynn Carter rode together in the Plains Peanut Festival parade, visible only through open windows in a Secret Service vehicle. Jimmy Carter, who was with his wife during her final hours, did not appear publicly during any part of a public motorcade through and wreath-laying ceremony Monday at Rosalynn Carters alma mater, Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus. The Carters married in 1946, their 77-plus years together making them the longest-married presidential couple in U.S. history. My grandmother, in addition to being a partner to my grandfather, was a force on her own, said Jason Carter, who will be among the speakers Tuesday. Members of the public pay respects to former first lady Rosalynn Carter at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, Monday, Nov. 27, 2023, during the public repose.AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, Pool Rosalynn Carter has been praised for a half-century of advocacy for better mental health care in America and reducing stigma attached to mental illness. She brought attention to the tens of millions of people who work as unpaid caregivers in U.S. households. And shes gained new acclaim for how integral she was to her husbands political rise and in his terms as Georgias governor and the 39th president. Jason Carter, himself a former state senator and one-time Democratic nominee for governor, called her the best politician in the family, a distinction Jimmy Carter never disputed. My wife is much more political, the former president told The Associated Press in 2021. Indeed, the Carters, perhaps much more because of him than her, never settled comfortably into Washington power circles, even after winning the White House. They were later on the periphery of the unofficial Presidents Club that has made friends out of former White House occupants who once operated as rivals and reconvenes publicly in whole or in part for inaugurations and funerals. Biden, who plans to eulogize Jimmy Carter at his state funeral when the time comes, is indisputably the friendliest ally Carter has had in the Oval Office since he left Washington in 1981. But Carter, who lost reelection in a landslide to Ronald Reagan, got a cool reception from his earlier Democratic successors, Clinton and Barack Obama, as both men tried to steer clear of the perceived political failure. Rosalynn Carter, according to some people close to her, was not happy with that treatment. Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter confirmed they voted in the 2016 Georgia Democratic presidential primary for Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton. Jimmy Carter also rankled some of his successors with criticism of their foreign and military policy, especially George W. Bushs 2003 invasion of Iraq. The casket of former first lady Rosalynn Carter is covered with a flower arrangement during a repose service at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, Monday, Nov. 27, 2023.AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, Pool The Carters had perhaps the wildest relationship with Trump. Jimmy Carter aligned with Trump on his willingness to talk to isolationist and authoritarian North Korea. But he also suggested Trumps election in 2016 was illegitimate. Trump answered by calling Carter the worst of all U.S. presidents. Hes modified the charge as he campaigns for the 2024 Republican nomination, telling audiences Jimmy Carter is the happiest man alive because Biden has usurped the dubious distinction. Trump offered the quip as recently as Nov. 18, the day after Jason Carter announced that his grandmother had entered end-of-life care at home. Trumps absence Tuesday will ensure no awkward encounters with the Carter family or with Biden as the two men appear to be on course for a rematch of the 2020 general election. For Melania Trump, it will mark a rare public appearance; she has remained largely absent in her husbands bid for a comeback. The Carters did grow close to their 1976 opponents, Gerald and Betty Ford, after that campaign. Jimmy Carter said he maintained a mostly strong relationship with President George H. W. Bush, another Republican. But the Carters outlived both Fords, the elder Bush and Barbara Bush. Jimmy Carter is the longest-lived president; Rosalynn Carter was the second-longest lived first lady, trailing only Bess Truman, who died at 97. The service Tuesday will feature music from the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and country music legends Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, friends of the Carters through their work with Habitat for Humanity. Family members will read Bible passages. The Carters personal pastor, Tony Lowden; Kathryn Cade, a one-time White House adviser in the first ladys office; and journalist Judy Woodruff will speak. Rosalynn Carters funeral will take place Wednesday in Plains, with an invitation-only service at Maranatha Baptist Church, where the Carters have been members since returning to Georgia after his presidency. She will be buried after a private graveside service on a plot the couple will share, visible from the front porch of the home they built before Jimmy Carters first political campaign in 1962. BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. On 21 of November Armenia sent its comments with regard to Azerbaijans proposals on the text of peace treaty, which was submitted on 11 of September 2023. Thus, Armenia has delayed its response for 70 days, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said in a phone call with United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Trend reports. "70 day long delay demonstrates again that Armenia misuses the text of the peace treaty as a pretext for the prolongation negotiations process," President Ilham Aliyev said. During the telephone conversation the sides also exchanged views with respect to the upcoming meeting of the Commissions on the delimitation of the state borders which will take place on 30 of November at the Azerbaijan-Armenia conditional border. By Lisa Rathke, The Associated Press BURLINGTON, Vt. Three college students of Palestinian descent out for a walk in Vermont were seriously injured over the weekend when a man shot them at close range on a city street an attack being investigated as a possible hate crime, authorities said Monday. Jason J. Eaton, 48, made his initial court appearance by video from jail on three counts of attempted murder, and a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf on Monday. He was ordered held without bail. The U.S. Department of Justice, along with Vermont authorities, were investigating whether Saturdays shooting was a hate crime amid an increase in threats against Jewish, Muslim and Arab communities across the U.S. since the Israel-Hamas war began, Attorney General Merrick Garland said. There is understandable fear in communities across the country, he said. The three men, all age 20, were spending their Thanksgiving break in Burlington, and were out for a walk while visiting one of the victims relatives when they were confronted by a white man with a handgun, police said. They stated that the person had not made any comments to them and had merely approached them while they were walking down the street, essentially minding their own business, Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad told reporters. Two of the young men were struck in their torsos, while one was hit in the lower extremities, Murad said. All three were being treated at the University of Vermont Medical Center, and one faces a long recovery because of a spinal injury, a family member said. Ive been with them almost constantly since Saturday evening. Ive been listening to them talk to one another and try to process the events, and Im blown away by their resilience, by their good humor in the face of these difficult times, said Rich Price, the uncle of one of the students. The Institute for Middle East Understanding, in a statement from victims families on X, formerly known as Twitter, identified the men as Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmad. We are extremely concerned about the safety and well-being of our children, the statement said. We call on law enforcement to conduct a thorough investigation, including treating this as a hate crime. We will not be comfortable until the shooter is brought to justice. The three shooting victims have been friends since first grade at Ramallah Friends School, a private school in the West Bank, and all are remarkable, distinguished students, said Rania Maayeh, head of the school. Awartani is studying mathematics and archaeology at Brown University in Rhode Island; Abdalhamid is a pre-med student at Haverford College in Pennsylvania; and Ali Ahmad is studying mathematics and IT at Trinity College in Connecticut, Maayeh said. Awartani and Abdalhamid are U.S. citizens while Ali Ahmad is studying on a student visa, Maayeh said. Our students are not safe in their own country because of the occupation. Theyre studying abroad and have a bright future ahead of them, and look at what happens, she said. This has deeply shaken us. Abdalhamids uncle Radi Tamimi, who flew from California and spoke Monday at the press conference, shared a similar sentiment. Kinnan grew up in the West Bank and we always thought that that could be more of a risk in terms of his safety and sending him here would be a right decision, the uncle said. We feel somehow betrayed in that decision here and were just trying to come to terms with everything. Eaton moved to Burlington over the summer from Syracuse, New York, and legally purchased the gun used in the shooting, Murad told reporters. According to a police affidavit, federal agents found the gun in Eatons apartment on Sunday. Eaton came to the door holding his hands, palms up, and told the officers hed been waiting for them. Syracuse police said Eatons name appeared in 37 police reports from 2007 until 2021, but never as a suspect. The cases ranged from domestic violence to larceny, and Eaton was listed as either a complainant or victim in 21 reports, according to Lt. Matthew Malinowski, the departments public information officer. In a still frame from video first responders use a gurney to remove an injured man from the scene of a shooting, Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023, in Burlington, Vt. Burlington Police Department arrested Jason J. Eaton, suspected in the shooting of three young men of Palestinian descent, who were attending a Thanksgiving holiday gathering near the University of Vermont campus Saturday evening. (Wayne Savage via AP)AP Price, Awartanis uncle, said the gunman shot them without saying any words and that the family suspects they were targets of a hate crime. The familys fear is that this was motivated by hate, that these young men were targeted because they were Arabs, Price said. The victims were speaking in a mix of English and Arabic and two of them were also wearing the black-and-white Palestinian keffiyeh scarves when they were shot, Murad said. Speaking at a news conference, Sarah George, states attorney, said law enforcement officials do not yet have evidence to support a hate crime charge, which under Vermont law must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. But, she said, I do want to be clear that there is no question that this was a hateful act. Murad echoed Georges language. Whether or not this is a hate crime by the law, it was a hateful act. Its one that we abhor, he said. And anybody who steps out from a porch and attacks three random passersby for whatever reason, hes expressing a form of hate. This image provided by the Burlington Police Department shows Jason J. Eaton. (Burlington Police Department via AP)AP Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger, who called it one of the most shocking and disturbing events in the citys history, said he spoke to President Joe Biden on Monday. Biden said he and his wife were horrified by the shooting and were praying that the students make a full recovery. While we are waiting for more facts, we know this: there is absolutely no place for violence or hate in America. Period. No person should worry about being shot at while going about their daily lives, Biden said in a statement. Burlington has gone from a city that typically saw two shootings per year to one that experienced 26 in 2022, said Murad, who created a task force last year to address the increase. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont Independent, also denounced the shooting. It is shocking and deeply upsetting that three young Palestinians were shot here in Burlington, Vermont. Hate has no place here, or anywhere. I look forward to a full investigation, Sanders said in a statement. Gov. Phil Scott said the shooting was a tragedy, and called on the states residents to unite and not let this incident incite more hate or divisiveness. Demonstrations have been widespread and tensions in the U.S. have escalated as the death toll rises in the Israel-Hamas war. A fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas was set to continue for two more days past Monday as 11 more hostages were handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza under what was originally a four-day truce deal. Last month, an Illinois landlord was charged with a hate crime after being accused of fatally stabbing a 6-year-old Muslim boy and seriously wounding his mother in suburban Chicago. Police and relatives said he singled out the victims because of their faith. In this still frame from video provided by WCAX-TV law enforcement officers stand by police tape near a scene Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023, where three men of Palestinian descent were shot and injured, in Burlington, Vermont. (WCAX-TV via AP)AP University of Vermont graduate student Jacob Friz-Trillo, who lives down the street from where the weekend shootings took place, said he believes New England itself has sort of a different type of racism than the rest of the United States, but that the violence was out of character in a city regarded as super liberal. Maayeh said the most recent attack shows safety must improve. This incident is a reminder of the urgency to change the discourse, which has dehumanized Palestinians. They are people who are deserving of empathy, compassion, rights, freedom, happiness and life, she said. Associated Press writers Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire; Lindsay Whitehurst in Washington; and David Sharp in Portland, Maine, contributed to this report. UPDATE: All highways have reopened as of 9 a.m. Tuesday. Tuesday morning crashes are affecting traffic on highways in Dauphin and Perry counties, officials said. Only one lane is open in both directions on the Clarks Ferry Bridge in Duncannon due to multi-vehicle crashes on either side of the road, according to PennDOT spokeswoman Fritzi Schreffler. In Dauphin County, an Interstate 81 southbound ramp is closed at exit 70 to Interstate 83 south/Route 322 east toward Harrisburg. Schreffler said a multi-vehicle crash caused the closure. The National Weather Service warned snow squalls are possible in central Pennsylvania Tuesday morning and afternoon. Winds could gust more than 30 mph, and forecasters said temperatures may barely rise above freezing. Schreffler said salt trucks are at the scene of the crashes, but there is no estimate on how long traffic will be affected. Traffic conditions can be monitored through 511PA. A Pennsylvania college student shot in Vermont along with two other Palestinians over the weekend reportedly received non-life-threatening injuries and is recovering in a hospital. Kinnan Abdalhamid, a 20-year-old junior at Haverford College in suburban Philadelphia, and his two friends were shot Saturday while walking in Burlington near the University of Vermont, police said. Citing police in Vermont, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that two of the men were wearing keffiyehs, or headdresses, when the shooting occurred. Jason Eaton, 48, was arrested on Sunday and has pleaded not guilty to three charges of second-degree attempted murder, according to CBS News, which also reported that police said two of the students were in stable condition while one had more serious injuries. Jason J. Eaton, 48, has been accused of shooting and injuring the three young men of Palestinian descent in Burlington, Vt. on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. Authorities there say he's originally from Syracuse, N.Y.Burlington Police Department The Inquirer reported that Abdalhamid is a biology major and a member of the Haverford track team. PennLive found that Abdalhamids bio for his private Instagram account includes sprinter and NREMT, which typically stands for the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians. An unidentified friend of Abdalhamid told the Inquirer that he is a really bright kid and very active in Palestinian causes on campus. The friends said Abdalhamid was in Vermont at a friends house for the Thanksgiving holiday. Abdalhamid described himself as an Illinois-born Palestinian who had lived under Israeli military occupation from when he was three until he began at Haverford, in an October article by the Haverford Clerk student newspaper. In that article, Abdalhamid was critical of the media and Haverford President Wendy Raymond following her comments about Israels assault on Gaza after Hamas attacked Israel in early October. She did not mourn the Palestinian citizens who were killed, or the children who were killed by this ruthless bombing, Abdalhamid told the Clerk. I dont expect much from Western media or the college to mention much about Israels oppression and apartheid, but I at least expect the thousands who were killed to be mentioned and mourned. All three of the students graduated from the Quaker-operated Ramallah Friends School in Palestines West Bank, the school said in a Facebook post on Sunday. While Abdalhamid attends Haverford, Hisham Awartani is a student at Brown University and Tahseen Ahmed attends Trinity College, the school said. A statement on Sunday from Raymond and Haverford Dean John McKnight described the students injuries as non-life-threatening. On Monday, Raymond released another message directed to Palestinian, Muslim and Arab students. Please know that I see you, I hear you, and you are seen, heard and held by your fellow community members at Haverford, she said. Raymond said McKnight had gone to Vermont to support Abdalhamid and his family, and the college was offering counseling to students as well as increasing security around campus. Haverford welcomes visitors, and, at the same time, we think its prudent for our Campus Safety presence to be more present and visible than usual, she said. Editors note: This post was updated to correct a typographical error regarding the total earned income tax rate proposed under Newville Boroughs recovery plan. It is proposed to rise from 1.65 percent at present to 3.15 percent in 2024. UPATE: Newville council OKs huge hike in local income tax; no call yet on property taxes, police staffing NEWVILLE First, raise taxes. Thats the unfortunate position residents of this tiny borough in western Cumberland County are facing as Newville officials start the hard process of reckoning with having put too much trust for too long a period into the wrong person. Borough Council will take public comment and likely vote Tuesday night on a financial recovery plan that would start by raising residents earned income taxes from 1.65 percent to 3.15 percent, effective Jan. 1, 2024. Then, theres also a very real likelihood of higher property taxes too. Newvilles recovery coordinators argue these are the first, but essential steps to getting the boroughs fiscal house back in order after years of little oversight of the finances under longtime and now terminated borough manager Fred Potzer. This is a community that, whoever was at fault, has struggled with financial mismanagement for years, said Gordon Mann, a managing director with PFM Group Consulting, the firm hired to assist the borough after it was deemed a distressed municipality this summer. That designation came via Pennsylvanias Act 47, the law that provides for state technical and financial help to municipalities large and small that are in financial distress. The medicine In order to stop digging the hole and present a balanced budget for 2024, Mann said, officials have to right-size revenues to meet needed expenses. Newvilles current 1.65 percent earned income tax is currently split between the borough (0.5 percent) and Big Spring School District (1.15 percent). Under the plan, the boroughs portion of that tax would jump to 2.0 percent of a residents wages, for a total levy of 3.15 percent. If approved by council and a mandatory review by county courts, a person with an annual income of $50,000 would see a jump in local taxes from $825 to $1,575 next year. Thats an increase of $750 for that hypothetical citizen, or about $62 per month. Thats just part one of a combination punch to close a projected 2024 operating deficit of $783,000. To complete the balancing of the 2024 budget, Newvilles council will also be asked to choose between a significant increase in the boroughs property tax rate, or making some level of cuts in staff to the small, three-person police department. Keeping current police services in-house at current levels could require a 3-mill increase in the 4.895 millage rate, Mann said Monday. That would push the annual property tax bill on a home valued at $129,000 the current median in Newville, according to PFM from $631 to $1,018. The borough of Newville in Cumberland County. November 27, 2023. Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.comDan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com How it happened Potzer for years was the trusted, well-liked face of borough government here. But when he had a medical emergency near the end of 2022 and wasnt there to intercept the mail, we began finding out a lot of things, borough solicitor Marcus McKnight said. The revelations included: Newville was several years behind on its minimum municipal obligation payments to its two employee pension plans, to the tune of more than $600,000; it had unpaid bills to vendors in excess of $60,000; and it had not repaid a 2022 cash flow loan of $158,632. The total amount owed exceeded $1 million, according to a July estimate contained in PFMs proposed financial recovery plan. Thats a huge load for this community of fewer than 1,400 people, situated about 11 miles west of Carlisle. And because borough officials werent getting accurate reports from Potzer about the situation, they were unable to take corrective steps. People who know whats going on feel that they were betrayed by Fred because had we known the true situation we could have started working on this a long time ago, and it wouldnt have been nearly as bad as its turned out to be, McKnight said Monday. The council voted to terminate Potzer for willful misconduct in January 2023. Cumberland County District Attorney Sean McCormack has launched a forensic audit into Newvilles finances. Reached Monday, McCormack said the investigation is still in progress, and his office is awaiting a final report on the audit results. Attempts by PennLive to reach Potzer Monday were unsuccessful. Meanwhile, theres a new budget to build for 2024 and not enough money to fund it. Next steps A PFM projection of the boroughs current financial picture shows general fund expenditures exceeding income by $783,000 in 2024 thats based on projected general fund revenue of $623,000 against spending estimated at $1.4 million. The income tax is described in the coordinators plan as the one step that borough officials can take now that will help to reset the budget in the near term. It will not be enough on its own to balance the budget, the report cautions, but it is essential part of a larger strategy to do so. Other short- and long-term measures under consideration include the yet-to-be-determined mix of property tax increases and spending cuts also on Tuesdays agenda; new financial management rules to safeguard against repeating past mistakes; and longer term moves like studying a sale of the public utilities to a private-sector operator. The path forward will start to be set Tuesday night. A public hearing on the Act 47 plan, which carries implementing language for the increased income tax, is scheduled for 7 p.m. at borough hall. In the voting session that follows, council is expected to act on both the Act 47 plan and take preliminary action on the property tax rate for 2024. A man serving up to 264 years after being convicted of a mass machete attack at a York County school has died in prison on Monday, according to officials. The State Correctional Institution of Dallas said inmate William Stankewicz, 78, was found unresponsive in his cell Monday morning at the State Correctional Institution at Dallas in Luzerne County. Officials said he was pronounced dead at 7:41 a.m. Officials said Stankewicz was serving a 132- to 264-year sentence for a 2001 criminal homicide conviction from York County. On Feb. 2, 2001, Stankewicz was armed with a machete when he went on a rampage at North Hopewell-Winterstown Elementary School in Red Lion Area School District, injuring 14, including 11 kindergarten students, two teachers and the school principal Norina Bentzel, according to a report from York Daily Record. The principal and two teachers wrestled with Stankewicz to get the weapon away and subdued him until police arrived. Bentzel was honored after bravely intervening in the attack and protecting students. Inspired by forgiveness shown by the Amish community to Charles Carl Roberts IV after he killed five children ages 6 to 13 at a schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Lancaster County, she later forgave Stankewicz. Stankewicz pleaded no contest to charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault and possessing weapons on school grounds. He has been housed at SCI Dallas since May 2012. Officials said Pennsylvania State Police were notified and will conduct an investigation. The Luzerne County Coroners Office will determine the cause. DOC officials said Stankewiczs family had been notified. By John A. Tures Youre probably wondering if this college professor is calling for some donations to destroy higher education. In reality, Im letting would-be donors know that theres a new positive revolution on college campuses, where they could go beyond the insular ivory tower model, and help students use the knowledge they learn to help benefit the community. At the 2023 meeting of the Georgia Political Science Association, I brought five eager LaGrange College undergraduates, ready to present the research conducted in class by another 50 or so college students in their classes. Each project not only incorporated undergraduate research, but also the concept of service learning, where you take what you learn in class, and help a client from the community with that knowledge. Our statistics work was designed to help with projects related to national parks to affordable housing to tax credits for building low-income housing to the benefits of publicly acknowledging past wrongs like lynchings, to testing the benefits of having an independent judiciary. We werent alone. From Valdosta State University to Southwest Virginia, other professors were doing the same thing. Two had their students help use their knowledge of survey tools to help local law enforcement with recruiting candidates. Another team had their students use some kind of mathematical modeling to help link churches and local charities to better meet the Food Security Network needs of the struggling population in rural areas. A third pair helped local nonprofit organizations increase their presence and impact in South Georgia. Any American at the panel would say now thats what Im talking about! Thats what colleges should be doing! Donors can help with this process. Some donate funds for a building, while others may endow a chair. Still others help create scholarships that are all about service learning and undergraduate research. For example, theres the Wilkinson Family Servant Scholars program, where their generous donation funds students to work on community-based research projects in their junior and senior years. There are signs and presentations where our college and local area all know who contributed to so many beneficial programs around our West Georgia area. Over the past year, Lettie Pate Whitehead provided for a scholarship program that helps female students become future leaders. The winners of these funds are paired with an experienced community member, where they learn now only how they can help, but gain other lessons like confidence, how to make connections in the business world. A great quote from Etienne Grellet, provided by Whitehead and cited by one of the mentors, Beth Hudson, reads, I shall pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again. Given that two-thirds of all future jobs will require a college degree, and only a little more of a third of Americans have a degree, the need for our economy is critical. Of course, evidence shows that donors tend to shower their dollars on a handful of schools, mostly Ivy League and a few big-name state schools. Just remember the little liberal arts colleges and the lesser-known state schools, who have the opportunity and need to help their professors and students get involved in helping others. As my students demonstrate, the willingness to help is there and is very strong. Give them a chance this Giving Tuesday. John A. Tures is a professor of political science at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Georgia. His views are his own, and do not speak for LaGrange College faculty, students, staff or administration. He can be reached at jtures@lagrange.edu. His Twitter account is JohnTures2. Prince George RCMP is alerting parents and caregivers to the dangers of sextortion after determining that a 12-year-old boy killed himself after being blackmailed online. The RCMP logo is seen outside the force's 'E' division headquarters in Surrey, B.C., on Thursday, March 16, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck Cars pass by a billboard advertising COP28 at Sheikh Zayed highway in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Monday, Nov. 27, 2023. Canadas image at the worlds signature climate negotiations could be complicated by infighting, some observers fear, as two of the federal governments ardent critics at the provincial level look to capture attention at the United Nations climate summit known as COP28.THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Kamran Jebreili Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce steps to the podium before speaking to journalists at the Queen's Park Legislature in Toronto on Friday August 25, 2023. Grade 10 students in Ontario will soon get mandatory education on the Holodomor famine in Ukraine and its impact on the community in Canada as part of their Canadian history course. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, Trend reports. "Dear Mr. President, On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I extend my most sincere congratulations to you and all your people on the occasion of the national holiday of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania Independence Day. I believe that we will continue to make joint efforts to develop our friendly relations and cooperation on a bilateral and multilateral basis, taking advantage of the existing opportunities for the welfare of our peoples. On this remarkable day, I wish you robust health, success in your activities, and your friendly people everlasting peace and prosperity," the letter said. Residents of Kitchener Centre are set to vote Thursday in a provincial byelection. Voters line up outside a voting station to cast their ballot in Toronto on Monday, October 22, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young Search and rescue crews in B.C. found a hiker who was stranded for nine hours after sliding down the side of Mount Seymour in North Vancouver. A RCMP officer stands at the tail head of a popular hiking trail on Mount Seymour in North Vancouver, B.C., Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward The 70th session of the European Integration Commission was held under the leadership of the Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Gharibashvili. According to the government's press service, the session, held at the government administration, focused on discussing Georgia's reform agenda and approved the action plan for implementing the recommendations of the European Commission. "The preparation of the action plan was coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with the Parliament of Georgia. The plan was developed with the involvement of all relevant agencies, describing specific steps to be implemented within the framework of the recommendations. The responsible agencies and the deadlines for implementation are clearly defined," as noted in the information from the Government of Georgia.Juansher Burchuladze held a bilateral meeting with the Minister of National Defense of Turkey, General Yasar Guler. Talking to his colleague, the Minister of Defense of Georgia thanked the Turkish side for its firm political and practical assistance and unwavering support for Euro-Atlantic aspirations.According to the Defense Ministry of Georgia, the minister highlighted the successful cooperation with the strategic partner in the defense sector, emphasizing Turkey's active involvement in the development of Georgia's defense forces, including material-technical and financial assistance.Among the key subjects addressed during the meeting were the security environment in the region, emerging challenges, and growing threats in both the Black Sea region and the global context. The discussion delved into topics such as collaboration with NATO, military education initiatives, and the coordination of joint military exercises. BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to President of Albania Bajram Begaj on the occasion of the Independence Day, Trend reports. "Dear Mr. President. On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I sincerely congratulate you and through you, your entire people on the occasion of the national holiday of the Republic of Albania. Over the past 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Albania, the friendly ties between the two countries, which stem from the will of our friendly peoples, have strengthened, our mutually beneficial cooperation has developed dynamically. The establishment of the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Albania last year, including our reciprocal visits, gave an impetus to raising our interstate relations to a new level, and expanding our cooperation in various areas, particularly in the energy sector. I believe that we will successfully continue our joint efforts to strengthen our relations of friendship based on mutual trust and support, and deepen our beneficial cooperation both bilaterally and in the framework of international organizations. On this festive day, I wish you good health, happiness, success in your endeavors, and the friendly people of Albania everlasting peace and prosperity," the letter reads. BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. The EU will continue to support Azerbaijan in the field of humanitarian demining, Head of the European Union (EU) Delegation to Azerbaijan Peter Michalko said, Trend reports. He spoke at the II International Workshop on "Mine Action: Innovations and Best Practices" organized by the Azerbaijan Republic Mine Action Agency (ANAMA). "Demining is critical for a dignified life, security, prosperity, and safe return." The European Union has been a trusted partner in demining for Azerbaijan and is the major foreign donor in this subject. Since 2020, we have successfully conducted various initiatives with ANAMA as well as foreign partners such as UNDP, UNICEF, and other international organizations," Michalko emphasized. According to him, the EU is a global leader in demining operations. Michalko also stated that the EU acts as a peacemaker in the region, encouraging peace, stability, and long-term prosperity. The II International Technical Conference organized by Azerbaijan is attended by more than 100 representatives of international organizations, operating and production companies engaged in demining activities from 25 countries, government officials, as well as representatives of state structures and diplomatic corps accredited in Azerbaijan. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. United Nations Development Program (UNDP) will continue to work together with Azerbaijan in the field of demining in the coming years, said UNDP Resident Representative in Azerbaijan Alessandra Roccasalvo at the II International Technical Conference "Combating Mine Threat: Innovations and Best Practices", Trend reports. She pointed out that women in Azerbaijan also have potential to make significant contribution to mine clearance. "With the support of the European Union, we have established six demining teams. Today we are certifying two of them, which are compiled from women. This is significant for many countries and for us, and we are eager to share this experience with the world," said Roccasalvo. "Our efforts in mine clearance in Karabakh must exemplify dedication, financial resources, expertise, and global partnership. This is a task that cannot be accomplished by a country alone," she added. Roccasalvo also emphasized that it is necessary to develop partnership to spread Azerbaijan's positive experience in the field of demining around the world. The conference has been organized by Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA). More than 100 representatives of international organizations, operating and production companies engaged in mine clearance activities from 25 countries, government officials, and representatives of state structures and diplomatic corps accredited in Azerbaijan are taking part in the event as well. Stay up to date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Day 2 of the 2023 Merit Poker Gangster Series $5,300 High Roller hosted by the Merit Crystal Cove Hotel saw a total field of 121 players after late registration had closed. After 18 levels of play, Frances Maxime Chilaud bagged a massive chip lead with an impressive stack of 1,729,000. Chilaud was quiet early on, but seemingly out of nowhere, he was the first player to surpass the million-chip mark. He would not lose the chip lead for the remainder of the night and will go into Day 3 as the only player still sitting with over 100 big blinds. Chilaud is also no stranger to winning big at this property. Earlier this year he took down the 2023 Merit Poker Carmen Series Main Event for a cool $376,800. Is there another Merit Poker Trophy in his future? Chances are he will let his chips answer that question by day's end. Maxime Chilaud This would be followed by the Turkish crusher Recep Aydemir (1,055,000), Polands Dawid Smolka (1,000,000), Bracelet winner Guo Liang Wei (971,000), and Rytis Strigunas (907,000) to round out the top five. Top Ten Chip Counts Place Name Country Chips Big Blinds 1 Maxime Chilaud France 1,729,000 108 2 Recep Aydemir Turkey 1,055,000 66 3 Dawid Smolka Poland 1,000,000 63 4 Guo Liang Wei China 971,000 61 5 Rytis Strigunas United Kingdom 907,000 57 6 Aleksandr Kirichenko Russia 865,000 54 7 Leonid Sidelkovskii Russia 839,000 52 8 Kully Sidhu United Kingdom 632,000 40 9 Dmitrij Pokhabov Cyprus 505,000 32 10 Natan Chauskin Belarus 451,000 28 Some other notable names to find a bag on Day 2 include two-time bracelet winner Dmitry Yurasov with 228,000, Giorgiy Skhulukhiya of Georgia with 451,000, Natan Chauskin of Belarus with 451,000, and Day 1 chip leader Dmitry Gromov with 255,000. Giorgiy Skhulukhiya Unfortunately, not everyone is still in the mix for the $149,200 top prize. Ivan Govorov, who won the $2,200 Warm Up fell short of a cash, Warm Up third place finisher Ankit Ahuja had a good showing but couldnt break through to the third day, and Danut Chisu could not secure another win in the Gangster Series High Roller. Ankit Ahuja Day 3 of the High Roller kicks off on Tuesday at an earlier time of 2:00 p.m. and is scheduled to play down to a winner. The final table is set to be live-streamed on the Merit Poker YouTube channel. There is a total of $556,660 in the prize pool, but as of now, none of the players have made the money. There are still 22 players remaining, and only 15 of them will earn a minimum cash of $8,900. The players will begin the day at level 19 with blinds of 8,000/16,000/16,000. The current average stack is still at 34 big blinds, and there will still be a lot of movement up and down the leaderboard for players. Make sure you don't miss any of the action! As always, stay tuned into PokerNews for all the updates on the Merit Poker Gangster Series and all the other best events happening around the world! Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Senate Democrats say that they will discuss putting conditions on future US aid to Israel that will involve limiting civilian casualties. Sen. Bernie Sanders is one of many in the Democratic caucus who are pushing for the conditions: Senate Dems plan to discuss idea of conditioning Israel aid at their lunch tomorrow, per multiple Dems. Sen. Bernie Sanders tells me: I do not support simply giving $14 billion to Israel without any conditions at all, so I think its an issue that needs to be debated. Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) November 27, 2023 The Biden administration has been trying to get Israel to be mindful of the lives of the innocent Palestinian people who are not aligned with Hamas. The crisis in Gaza has gotten the attention of Democrats in Congress and the White House, who are growing increasingly reluctant to give Israel a blank check if they are not going to do more to keep Palestinian civilians safe. The idea that the Israel-Hamas conflict is a deeply divisive issue for Democrats has been overblown. Democrats almost universally agree that innocent Palestinians should have their safety prioritized. It would make sense if Senate Democrats put some conditions on future aid to Israel and President Biden supported it. If Israel wants American aid in their fight against Hamas, a few humanitarian conditions are not too much to ask for in return. A Special Message From PoliticusUSA If you are in a position to donate purely to help us keep the doors open on PoliticusUSA during what is a critical election year, please do so here. We have been honored to be able to put your interests first for 14 years as we are the only answer to our readers, and we will not compromise on that fundamental, core PoliticusUSA value. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) ripped Chair James Comer (R-KY) for rejecting Hunter Bidens offer to publicly testify. Ranking Member Raskin said in a statement provided to PoliticusUSA: Let me get this straight. After wailing and moaning for ten months about Hunter Biden and alluding to some vast unproven family conspiracy, after sending Hunter Biden a subpoena to appear and testify, Chairman Comer and the Oversight Republicans now reject his offer to appear before the full Committee and the eyes of the world and to answer any questions that they pose? What an epic humiliation for our colleagues and what a frank confession that they are simply not interested in the facts and have no confidence in their own case or the ability of their own Members to pursue it. After the miserable failure of their impeachment hearing in September, Chairman Comer has now apparently decided to avoid all Committee hearings where the public can actually see for itself the logical, rhetorical and factual contortions they have tied themselves up in. The evidence has shown time and again President Biden has committed no wrongdoing, much less an impeachable offense. Chairman Comers insistence that Hunter Bidens interview should happen behind closed doors proves it once again. What the Republicans fear most is sunlight and the truth. If Rep. Comer had evidence that President Biden did anything wrong, he would welcome the offer to present his case in public before the American people and get the testimony of the Presidents son in front of the entire nation. However, Comer has no evidence of Biden wrongdoing, so he wants witnesses to testify behind closed doors where he can then warp and manipulate testimony transcripts to give the appearance of wrongdoing. Rep. Comer has used this tactic with every high-profile witness, and his points have been debunked once the transcripts have been released. Comer rejected Hunter Bidens offer to testify by saying, Hunter Biden is trying to play by his own rules instead of following the rules required of everyone else. That wont stand with House Republicans. Our lawfully issued subpoena to Hunter Biden requires him to appear for a deposition on December 13. We expect full cooperation with our subpoena for a deposition but also agree that Hunter Biden should have opportunity to testify in a public setting at a future date. Rep. Comer has been exposed as the impeachment house of cards continues to collapse. A Special Message From PoliticusUSA If you are in a position to donate purely to help us keep the doors open on PoliticusUSA during what is a critical election year, please do so here. We have been honored to be able to put your interests first for 14 years as we only answer to our readers and we will not compromise on that fundamental, core PoliticusUSA value. The State Law Enforcement Division has identified a man who was injured Sunday morning in an exchange of gunfire with Aiken County deputies. No one else was hurt. SLED said Cody Talley, 30, was shot by deputies after he shot at the officers. A woman called 911 just after 1 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 26, to report that an armed man was at her residence but left. Deputies said they searched the area around her residence, which is on Depot Avenue Northeast in Salley, and found a man with a shotgun. After some coaxing, the man put down the shotgun, but had his hand behind his back in his waistband, according to a sheriff's office news release. Despite officers urging him to show his hand, he kept it in his waistband. Deputies fired a beanbag round at the man, which struck him, the release said. The man then fired a handgun at deputies, and was shot when deputies returned fire, the release said. Deputies rendered aid until EMS arrived, and he was taken to an area hospital for treatment. Capt. Eric Abdullah with the Aiken County Sheriff's Office said the officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave, which is a common practice among law enforcement agencies during such investigations. SLED is handling the investigation. Sunday's shooting was the 39th involving an officer in South Carolina this year and the third involving the Aiken County Sheriff's Office. Last year, South Carolina had 32 officer-involved shootings, with four involving Aiken County deputies. Sundays shooting was the second in Aiken County in less than a week. SLED reported that Wagener officers fired on a patrol vehicle as someone was driving off with it. Police have charged 30-year-old Devin Davon Davenport, of Wagener, with grand larceny, value of $10,000 or more, in connection to the theft. No one was injured. The Timberland High School girls basketball team returns a seasoned group for the 2023-24 campaign on the hardwood. The Lady Wolves bring back four starters from a squad that won 18 games and captured a region crown for the second year in a row in 2022-23. Read moreLady Wolves going to court with seasoned group NEW YORK Stocks closed mostly higher Thursday as the market ended November with its biggest monthly gain in more than a year. Read moreWall Street closes out its best month in more than a year A state consumer watchdog agency wants to slow down a process that would give the developer of a proposed Dorchester County data center special electricity rates that amount to less than half of what the utility's residential customers pay. The state's Office of Regulatory Staff, which represents consumers in utility matters, has asked the S.C. Public Service Commission to delay consideration of a power contract between Dominion Energy and Mallard LLC, a data center developer that appears to be linked to internet search giant Google. The commission, which under state law is required to review deals offering such special power rates, is scheduled to vote on the contract proposal at its Nov. 30 meeting. The Office of Regulatory Staff, or ORS, has asked the commission to delay that vote so it can gather more information about the contract's terms, whether it complies with approved electricity tariffs, how much investment will have to be made in power delivery infrastructure and how the deal might impact consumers, among other things. "It is not unusual for ORS to ask that a matter be carried over when discovery needs to be conducted on a particular matter," said Andrew Bateman, the agency's executive director. Bateman added that any delay "is in the purview of the commission." Robert Bockman, spokesman for the commission, said the ORS request "will be addressed by the commission at the open public meeting" which starts at 2 p.m. on Nov. 30. "The commissioners consider all requests to delay consideration of matters on a case-by-case basis," Bockman said. The commission's meeting will be live streamed at www.tinyurl.com/595m4vbw. A heavily redacted version of the proposed contract was filed on the commission's website on Nov. 9, but the ORS did not receive a copy of the unredacted, confidential version until Nov. 14, according to agency spokesman Hank Page. There hasn't been enough time for ORS to assess the contract prior to a commission vote. Subscription to paid content Gain access to all that Trend has to offer, as well as to premium, licensed content via subscription or direct purchase through a credit card. COLUMBIA One man died and three women were wounded in unrelated shootings over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Richland County Sheriff's deputies responded to a shooting at Club Lavish, a lounge on at 7950 Bluff Road, shortly after midnight on Nov. 25. Officials said they found found an unconscious woman with a gunshot wound to the torso lying on the ground outside the club. Two other women were shot during in the incident, which is still under investigation, officials said. Emergency Medical Services took all three women to a local hospital, where they were reported to be in stable condition. The following day, deputies responded to a separate, fatal shooting in the Seven Oaks neighborhood in northwest Columbia. Officials said when they arrived on the 200 block of Wynn Way they found a man with a gunshot wound to the torso. The man died on the scene, according to RCSD. No further details on the investigation into the Club Lavish shooting were available, but the investigation into the shooting of the man on Wynn Way determined it was a justified homicide. A woman was initially detained, but she will not be charged. Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said the woman had an active order of protection against the man due to a history of domestic violence. The man had followed the woman to her house, "aggressively approached her and then began swinging at her in an attempt to strike her," and she acted in self-defense by shooting the man, RCSD said. The woman will not face charges. COLUMBIA The number of teacher vacancies in South Carolina's public schools is continuing to climb from already record-high numbers, according to the latest report from the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention and Advancement. Those vacant positions, 1,613 of them, according to the Winthrop University-based center's annual Educator Supply and Demand Report, are nearly three times higher than in the 2019-20 school year and a jump from the 1,474 reported in 2022. The continued increases come after state legislators voted to raise teacher pay and ensure free time for teachers during the school day efforts that are still "not enough," said South Carolina Education Association President Sherry East. "Someone made the comment that only two people know their leave date, and it's prisoners and unhappy workers," East said. "It's sad that teachers are in the same mindset of counting down their time out." Educator vacancies can have a significant impact on students' academic performance, as education research has shown teachers have a strong influence on academic outcomes and that teachers improve as they get more experience. "No other in-school factor has a greater influence on student academic achievement than access to a high-quality teacher, and strong relationships with caring educators strongly benefits student safety and well-being," the Palmetto State Teacher Association said in a statement. GOOSE CREEK Food connects people. Dining establishments can be more than just places to quell a fit of hunger. For the more than 7,000 Brazilian immigrants who live in South Carolina's eighth largest city, markets are the cornerstone of their livelihood. The food sold at multiple Brazilian markets in Goose Creek provide Brazilians with a taste of their home. Their meaning goes beyond the produce and butchered-to-order meats. Establishments like Sky Market Brazilian Restaurant and Bakery, which opened in November 2022, serve as gathering places for South Carolina residents of Brazilian descent, many of whom speak their native Portuguese and not English. Markets are where Brazilians residing here start to build the friendships and community that will become key to their lives in the U.S. This makes them a pillar of the local community, said Morgan Bezerra, one of two women behind Smart News, a Goose Creek-based online news outlet that has published stories about South Carolina's Brazilian community in Portuguese, Spanish and English since launching in January. Markets are a place where Brazilians can gather and find the products they have been missing, said Bezerra, who moved to South Carolina from Brazil in 2001. Whether they have been gone for one month or more than two decades, like Bezerra, Brazilians will always crave the connection and camaraderie they have been able to find at Sky Market, she said. Born in Minas Gerais, Brazil, Sky Market co-owner Olinto Abrantes immigrated to the U.S. with his family during his childhood. In 2002, they settled in New Hampshire, home to a growing Brazilian population, much like the Boston area and town of Goose Creek. USC in Columbia, SC will offer a class on global pop sensation Taylor Swift that will explore business, the music industry and the success of her Eras Tour. Read moreUSC to offer course on Taylor Swift. Are you ready for it? GEORGETOWN The second Georgetown location of a Savannah-based convenience store chain is open for business. Parkers Kitchen recently opened a store at 230 Church St. off of U.S. Highway 17 beside the Quality Inn hotel and across from Taco Bell. The 24-hour location with Lowcountry-inspired architecture joins one that opened last year across from the Walmart shopping center at 1347 N. Fraser St. As our corporate footprint continues to extend north into Myrtle Beach, we saw Georgetown as an opportunity to expand our popular Parkers Kitchen food concept to meet the growing needs of customers in coastal South Carolina, said Parkers founder and CEO Greg Parker in a news release. In addition to fuel, Parker's Kitchen features a hot bar with made-from-scratch food for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as a wide range of grab-and-go convenience items including fountain drinks with chewable ice, coffee, lemonade, sweet tea and beer. Popular menu items include the companys fried chicken tenders, spicy chicken tender sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, salads and potato logs. The store offers six fueling positions with unleaded, premium unleaded, ethanol-free marine and high-flow diesel as well as three high-flow diesel fueling positions for trucks. Situated near the Great Pee Dee River Bridge, the U.S. 17 store is the 78th for Parkers since its founding in the mid-1970s. The chain includes a portfolio of locations in Georgia and South Carolina, though many stores are concentrated in the Savannah/Hilton Head and Charleston areas. In recent months, the company has announced plans to expand to other areas of the state, including the Grand Strand. Parker's employs more than 1,360 workers. A company spokeswoman has said Little River, Conway, Myrtle Beach and Murrells Inlet are all in line for Parkers locations in the future. In September, Parkers spokeswoman Allison Hersh said in an email that the company plans to build seven stores in Horry County. GREENVILLE Upscale downtown Greenville restaurant Scoundrel was recognized as one of the best new restaurants in the country by a national magazine. The restaurant, opened in October 2022, was named on Esquire Magazine's Best New Restaurant List for 2023. It was the only one from South Carolina to make the annual list that recognizes the most noteworthy new destinations from coast to coast. The magazine's effort this year, the 41st for the Best New Restaurants list, was led by Lifestyle & Culture Director Kevin Sintumuang with support from Jeff Gordinier, Omar Mamoon and Joshua David Stein, according to information provided by Esquire. The team, along with the magazines other food writers, dined at more than 200 new restaurants around the United States to create the list of the 50 best. Want the latest food and dining news from Greenville? Sign up to receive our free newsletter every Thursday to keep you informed on everything happening in the Upstate culinary scene. Email Sign Up! Scoundrel chef and owner Joe Cash had just landed Nov. 28 from a trip to Japan when he heard the news. Its always great to get a nod like that, especially on a national level, Cash told The Post and Courier. It reinforces all the hard work you put into it. Scoundrel is the culmination of Cashs culinary journey from his hometown of Greenville to New York City, where he worked at Per Se. From there, he went to Copenhagen, Denmark, to work at the famed Noma. He then returned to New York City, where he led the kitchen at The Pool, from the notable New York restaurant group Major Food Group. Cash returned to Greenville in 2021 with the hope of creating something elegant, but also fun, creative and precise in his hometown. GREENVILLE The long-sought homeless court in the city of Greenville could see its first participants early next year. The city lags behind others in South Carolina that have created similar programs, which provide paths through the judicial system for homeless people accused of minor offenses which often trap them in homelessness. Homeless court will be held the first Monday of every month at Triune Mercy Center, Municipal Judge Matthew Hawley said during a City Council work session Nov. 27. They hope to assign attorneys to the first group of participants Feb. 5. Sign up for updates! Get the latest Greenville news from The Post and Courier in your inbox. Email Sign Up! The program will give participants the potential to have their charges dismissed, previous convictions expunged and fines suspended all designed to encourage them to receive and complete treatment and rehabilitation programs. A person will be eligible to apply if theyre homeless, were homeless when charged with a crime or face homelessness due to a pending criminal charge. Hawley said theyre finalizing a basic application form to distribute to all patrol officers, and interested individuals can apply at their first court appearance before a municipal judge or if their attorney tells them about the program. Ineligible offenses include charges for driving under the influence, domestic violence, violent offenses and past convictions for any of those offenses. If the person has convictions for any of these categories and has shown rehabilitation, and the municipal judge and victim consent, the person may be eligible. GREENVILLE The city wants to close a gap in its development code that led to the approval of a controversial development aimed at affordable housing, a dispute that is now playing out in civil court. Greenville City Council plans to consider an amendment at its Dec. 11 meeting that would clarify where certain types of residential buildings are allowed in the city that is managing a tidal wave of growth. If the amendment passes, it would address characteristics of the Union House project at the edge of the North Main community, which has been embroiled in controversy after it was approved essentially under a technicality in the code. Sign up for updates! Get the latest Greenville news from The Post and Courier in your inbox. Email Sign Up! The distinction between the terms group living and household living sparked confusion during hearings before the Board of Zoning Appeals for the four-home development on Rutherford Road. Each home, by developer Matthew McPheely, consists of six bedrooms with a private bathrooms each, and shared living and cooking spaces. Affordable housing advocates praised Union House for its ability to provide a place to live for people making middle incomes without any government support. But neighbors lamented what they said is a housing option incompatible with the community. GREENVILLE Bryan Norris always buzzed his hair. He was a military man who served in the Air Force. And even after he left, he kept a clean cut for 20 years. Then, his grooming preference shifted. He was tired of shaving and let his beard and hair grow. It wasn't long before people started to make comments. Youre going to look like Kenny Rogers, a friend said. Or Santa. Norris took that to heart. Fourteen years later, he doesnt go by just Bryan. These days, it's Santa Bryan, who answers the phone saying "ho-ho-ho," spends 15-hour days in a red suit and will serve as the Santa for the Kringle Holiday Village in downtown Greenville. "This is my ministry," Norris said. "That's to bring joy and hope and put a smile on as many as I can." The third-annual Kringle Holiday Village, which runs Dec. 8-10 at Fluor Field, is a downtown festival with a philanthropic focus organized by the Rotary of Greenville and the Greenville Drive. For three days, the festival will take over Fluor Field featuring a biergarten, live music, train rides, inflatables, face-painting and a holiday market with over 25 vendors. This year, proceeds will go toward Rotary Charities projects including Alexander Elementary School, the Greenville County Teacher of the Year program and Service Above Self college scholarships, among others. But to have a holiday event, they needed Santas. They landed on Santa Bryan, who will meet-and-greet for photos at "Santa's Village" on Dec. 9 and 10 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.. The weekend will also feature a separate "Brunch with Santa" with a different Mr. and Mrs. Claus. The Rock Hill native who currently lives in Gaffney knew he wanted to dress as Santa after his first event 13 years ago. It was at The Cliffs At Glassy, booked through GigMasters. About 120 to 130 people were there, mostly adults, allowing him to spend more time talking with kids. BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. Armenia fully recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, said Armenian Speaker of the Parliament Alen Simonyan at a briefing, Trend reports. The Karabakh issue, according to Simonyan, does not exist in Yerevan. "The Republic of Armenia has no such issue now," he added, adding that Armenia fully acknowledges Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, including Azerbaijan's Karabakh region. "We have probably talked about it eight times in the last year and a half," he explained. The most important thing for Armenia now, he believes, is to establish a peace deal with Azerbaijan. Will be updated Stay up to date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Kingstree, SC (29556) Today Cloudy this morning. A few showers developing during the afternoon. High 68F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Showers this evening becoming less numerous overnight. Low 58F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%. U.S. Sen. Tim Scott has many admirable qualities that would have made him a compelling presidential candidate in another year. Still, given the state of the Republican race, his decision to drop out of the GOP primary should be welcomed. Read moreCommentary: Do the right thing, like Tim Scott FLORENCE Pee Dee residents can make House of Hope of the Pee Dee's vision of the Church Community Resource Building for the homeless a reality. To do so, Florence and Pee Dee residents need to dip into our wallets and purses to donate to the cause. You can donate online at www.hofh.org or text Homeless to 73256 to give via text message. Homelessness is a pervasive issue throughout South Carolina. It is easily seen in Florence. On Thanksgiving Day, a woman bundled in blankets sat on a bench along South Irby Street for hours. Her head drifted to the side as she fell asleep. At the Five Points intersection on West Palmetto Street, a homeless man held a cardboard sign that said he was homeless and needed money for food. Residents can see homeless people seeking money for food and other necessities at shopping center parking lots throughout Florence. The 2020 State of Homelessness Report counted 184 people who were homeless in Florence County. Approximately 100 were in various shelters in Florence, but 84 were unsheltered. The 2022 State of Homelessness Report shows that 13,399 people in South Carolina received homeless services in 2020-21. It's an increase of 18.9 percent from the 2019-20 report. Some may be thinking, "What is the House of Hope's Church Community Resource Building, and how will it be an agent for change?" It's been part of House of Hope's vision for more than five years. It will give unsheltered homeless people a place to shower, relax, eat and connect them to other resources that could change the direction of their lives. It's important and much-needed in the city of Florence. The 5,000-square-foot facility will offer showers, laundry, lockers, food, vouchers, free Wi-Fi and free Pee Dee Regional Transportation Authority passes for homeless people who meet with House of Hope's case management team. The Church Community Resource Building will be a place of refuge during storms, heat waves and cold snaps. It will even be a gathering place for someone who wants to avoid the general public. The Nao Trinidad, a replica of the Spanish ship that took part in the Magellan Expedition, is docked at the Charleston Maritime Center and serves as a "floating museum" for visitors. The ship sailed across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain to begin it's tour in America and runs mainly on modern engines but still raises sails in good conditions. Close Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger has died, his consulting firm says. He was 100. Kissinger dominated foreign policy as the United States extricated itself from Vietnam and broke down barriers with China. Read moreHenry Kissinger, secretary of state under Presidents Nixon and Ford, dies at 100 SPARTANBURG It's been more than a year since a massive Confederate battle flag was raised on a flagpole over Interstate 85 in Spartanburg County as the legal battle between the county and the property owner inches forward. Spartanburg County has sued the Spartanburg County Board of Zoning Appeals' determination that the property owner wasn't required to have a permit to construct the towering pole, which allowed the flag to keep flying. On Nov. 27, parties on either side of the legal action argued before Circuit Judge Mark Hayes on the issue of whether a permit should have been required. Hayes will rule at a later date. On Aug. 6, 2022, the South Carolina state flag was raised for two months before the Confederate battle flag was raised on the same 120-foot-tall pole. The Confederate flag has continued to fly where more than 80,000 vehicles pass by it daily. The Spartanburg County Planning and Development Department issued on Oct. 21, 2022, a notice of violation citing a 1999 zoning law banning flagpoles that have no accompanying uses, such as a home or a business. This past January, the Spartanburg County Board of Zoning Appeals voted that the county's violation notice should not have been issued to the local Sons of Confederate Veterans chapter. The county filed an appeal on Feb. 28 asking the court to reverse the Spartanburg County Board of Zoning Appeals' decision. Attorney Ethan Jedziniak, representing the county, argued at the hearing the flagpole was a structure that should have required a permit to build. He said the Confederate flag was not the issue. "I don't care what they have flying up there," Jedziniak said. "That is not what this day is all about. This is not a 6-foot pole you put in your driveway. You have got to get a permit for something like this." The only permit issued by the county was one for electrical work at the site on Teaberry Road. A permit from the Federal Aviation Administration was secured to clear the height of the flagpole. Fundraisers were held to help build the flagpole. BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. Armenia and Azerbaijan may sign a peace agreement within the next 15 days, Armenian Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan said at a briefing, Trend reports. "As we have reached an agreement on almost all fundamental issues, the pending peace agreement can be signed within the next 15 days upon wish. I don't want to disclose details to avoid harming the process," he noted. Recently, the Armenian Foreign Ministry announced a response to the latest proposal from Azerbaijan for the peace agreement. As the ministry said, after the statement by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on November 18 regarding the intensification of diplomatic efforts to sign a peace agreement with Azerbaijan, Armenia presented a sixth package of proposals for the peace agreement to Azerbaijan and committed to refine and sign a document to normalize relations based on previously stated principles. On November 18, Pashinyan, during the opening of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's autumn session in Yerevan, stated that Azerbaijan and Armenia came to an agreement on the peace agreement's basic principles. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Several weeks ago, anti-Semitic demonstrations broke out around the world, calling for the destruction of Israel and for a cease fire between Israel and Gazai.e., an end to Israels counter-offensive. The demonstrators got their wish, and so far, the cease fire is playing out as I had feared. Israels military momentum is gone, and Israel has lost control over the situation. All focus now is on the hostage/prisoner exchanges. That puts Hamas in the drivers seat, and the terrorist regime likely can drag out the cease fire almost indefinitely by dribbling out hostages a few at a time. Having gone down this path, it is hard to see a basis on which Israels government can withdraw from the process. So, despite brave assurances from some Israeli officials that the offensive will resume as soon as a brief truce is over, that eventuality is starting to look remote. Meanwhile, U.S. support for Israel is draining away. Joe Biden is leaning on Israels government not to resume its offensive and to be more sensitive to civilian casualtiesa suggestion that ought better be addressed to Hamas. Congressional Democrats are talking about conditioning ongoing aid to Israel on that countrys obeying international law. Which, of course, it does, but the intent is clear. A few weeks ago it seemed incredible that Hamas might remain in power in Gaza, given Israels fury over the satanic events of October 7. Now that appears like a real possibility. If Israels offensive is suspended indefinitely, if events dwindle into a prolonged hostage for prisoner exchange in which potentially thousands of Palestinian criminals and terrorists are let go, and if Hamas (or essentially the same elements under a different name) remains in control of Gaza, it will be a searing defeat for Israel and a diabolical triumph for Hamas. The sneak attack of October 7 will have proved a rousing success, and more attacks and more taking of hostages will be virtually guaranteed. Worse, if Israel fails to stand up for its absolute right to defend itself, it may compromise its ultimate ability to fight for its own survival as attacks by its Islamic enemies and the Left intensify. Perhaps this reading of the situation is too pessimistic. Maybe the current truce will be short-lived, and Israel will get back to the business of defeatingno, destroyingits mortal enemy. I sincerely hope so. But at the moment, I do not like the direction in which events are moving. With each passing week since October 7, the outbursts of anti-Semitism in America have become more brazen, more widespread, more ferocious, and with fewer attempts to disguise its true character with academic jargon about colonialism. The Jew-hatred is completely out in the open now. The most shocking example this previous week occurred at Hillcrest High School in Queens, New York, where students rioted in the hallways against a teacher who had attended a pro-Israel rally, forcing the teacher to lock herself in her office. The video of the incident conveys the true horror of the moment far beyond the printed accounts: The scene at Hillcrest High School in Queens as a Jewish teacher hid in her locked office for hours while students demanded she be fired for attending a pro-Israel rally. pic.twitter.com/jzVCEofvJS Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) November 25, 2023 The steady unfolding of what ought to be understood as Americas slow-motion Kristallnacht summons to mind Leo Strausss haunting words in his preface to his early book about Spinoza, reflecting on what it was like to be a young Jew in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s: The Weimar Republic was weak. . . On the whole it presented the sorry spectacle of justice without a sword or justice unable to use the sword. This latter sentence comes to mind when surveying the reaction of leading New York public officials to the Hillcrest High School atrocity. New York City Mayor Eric Adams put out a Tweet: A good start. Wont be tolerated, the mayor says. So what actions does he suggest will be taken? Outreach. To explain to students why this behavior is unacceptable. Straight from a conflict resolution seminar at an Ivy League school, where most of the noxious doctrines justifying anti-Semitism have been nurtured for a generation now. Yeah, Im sure outreach will do the trick. The response of the chancellor of New Yorks public school system, David C. Banks, is even more indicative of justice unable to use the sword. Again, a good start. So what is he going to do about it? More outreach? Yup: Open dialogue. Facilitated by outside organizations! It gets worse from here. If you dont believe me, read his entire pathetic thread. Memo to Chancellor Banks: You know what might work (though things may have passed the point of no return)? Expel every student who rioted. Fire every teacher who taught the noxious ideology that made students believe anti-Semitism is socially acceptable. Junk the curriculum and reading lists that propagandize this loathsomeness. Of course no one in a position of responsibility in our schools or universities will do any such thing. Justice without a sword or justice unable to use the sword. Meanwhile the White House is worried about Islamophobia and violence this year against 24 LGBTQIA+ persons. Theres another passage from Strausss preface worth revisiting and updating: The election of Field-Marshall von Hindenburg [at age 78] to the presidency of the German Reich in 1925 showed everyone who had eyes to see that the Weimar Republic had only a short time to live. Might a future historian someday record that The election of Joe Biden [at age 78] in 2020 to the presidency of the United States showed everyone who had eyes to see that the American Republic had only a short time to live. Too fanciful or alarmist? Recall that in 1987 Allan Bloom, in his famous book The Closing of the American Mind, wrote that contemporary America was a Disneyland version of the Weimar Republic. The irony here is that it is hard to say whether his invocation of Disney should be taken lightheartedly as Bloom meant it then, or deadly seriously, given the significance of Disneys wokery as a sign of our republics perilous condition. Its later than you think. The Biden administration is doing its best to engineer Israels submission to Hamas, or so it seems to me. Caroline Glick reads the tea leaves in her JNS column Biden is the primary obstacle to Israeli victory. In the column Glick picks up on Bidens apology to five unnamed but prominent Muslim Americans as reported by the Washington Post. The Post story relates that Biden had voiced skepticism about the Gaza death toll provided by the Gaza Health Ministry you may have heard that it is controlled by Hamas and therefore about as much of a Health Ministry as Orwells Ministry oF Truth was a Ministry of Truth. I have no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed, Biden said on October 25. However, this could not stand. The Post story corroborates Glicks quotation of Bidens apology: Here it is important to note that the number of actual civilians that have died as a result of Israels bombings remains unknown. On Oct. 25, Biden acknowledged that the Gaza Health Ministrys data on civilian casualties lacks credibility in light of the fact that the Health Ministry is simply an organ of Hamas and reports the numbers it is told to report by Hamass terror masters. That data counts every dead terrorist as a dead civilian. Israelis were thrilled with Bidens statement. But the next day, he apologized for it. According to Fox News, in a meeting with Muslim American leaders on Oct. 26, Biden apologized for telling the truth. Im sorry. Im disappointed with myself, he said. Since Oct. 26, the administration has embraced as fact Hamass casualty counts and uses them as the basis for its demand that Israel minimize Palestinian casualties. The administrations willingness to ignore the fallacies at the heart of those data indicates that its policy is based on something other than concern for Palestinian civilians, and therefore is not a tactical challenge that Israel may be capable of contending with and still win. Biden is sorry. We can all agree on that. To borrow a phrase, he is a boneless wonder. On a related note, the New York Post reports: A 10-month-old Israeli boy the youngest hostage captured by Hamas and his family have been handed off to another Palestinian terror group in what one relative decried as just more psychological torture. Arabic spokesman for the IDF Avichay Adraee revealed Monday night that the Bibas family including infant Kfir, his 4-year-old brother Ariel, and their parents were being held captive in the southern city of Khan Younis following the disturbing move. In Hamas prison, infants under one-year-old who have not seen the light of day for more than 50 days are detained, Adraee wrote in a post to X. Hamas treats them as if they were spoils and sometimes hands them over to other terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip. The New York Post story is linked in the tweet below. The Babylon Bee to the contrary notwithstanding, perhaps it will give the Nobel committee second thoughts about awarding the Peace Prize to Hamas for releasing a few of the children they kidnaped. On Sunday there was a major demonstration in London, in opposition to anti-Semitism. It was peaceful and dignified, and stood in stark contrast with the pro-Hamas, pro-genocide demonstrations that engulfed the city on previous Saturdays. But the anti-anti-Semitism demonstration was controversial; too controversial for BBC employees to attend. Some did anyway. Dozens of Jewish BBC staff defied a ban on attending last weekends march against antisemitism, it has been revealed. Jewish employees working in current affairs and factual journalism told Times Radio that being Jewish took precedence over what the BBC thinks. Staff members attended the march on Sunday despite being referred to impartiality rules that say that editorial staff should not participate in public demonstrations or gatherings about controversial issues. We live in a world in which the Left promulgates increasingly demented standards for what is considered controversial. A recent Pride demonstration, for instance, was not deemed controversial, so that BBC employees were permittedencouraged, I suspectto participate. But opposition to the demonic anti-Semitism that has broken out in Gaza and around the world is, according to the BBC, in the same controversial category as the from the river to the sea protests that called for the abolition of Israel and the extermination of the Jewish people. An anonymous Jewish BBC employee told Times Radio why they decided to attend the demonstration regardless of the consequences. I learnt last week that the BBC was barring members of staff from attending the planned march against antisemitism and lets face it, were really talking about Jewish members of staff here, because theyre the only ones who would really be wanting to go so the BBC knew exactly who it was stopping. That last is a revealing comment. Of course there were many non-Jews among the 100,000 or so who participated in the demonstration. To reach that number, I would think a majority, or in any event a large percentage, would have to be Gentiles. My wife and I are currently in London; if we had been here two days earlier, we would have participated. But I dont know of any reason to doubt the BBC employees statement that no one in that organization who isnt Jewish would be interested in taking part in a march against anti-Semitism. If that is correct, it explains a lot about the BBCs news coverage. On October 9, two days after the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, a pro-Hamas mob in Massachusetts trampled on the American flag. If this leaves observers puzzled, the principle at work has been dramatized in popular culture. In Fort Apache the Bronx, police toss an innocent Puerto Rican to his death from the roof of a building. Leftist critics viewed the 1981 film as cinema verite about conditions in Ronald Reagans America. This is nothing, said Russian comic Yakov Smirnoff. In Russia, KGB throws guy off roof to hit guy they really want. Call it the Smirnoff Syndrome and its kicking in now. The pro-Hamas sturmtruppen, joined by BLM and Antifa thugs, denounce Israel, but have no doubt that America is the primary target. The syndrome can also be deployed against individual politicians. When Hillary Clinton lost, the FBI launched the Crossfire Hurricane operation against Donald Trump. The deep state drones went after Carter Page, George Papadopoulos, Michel Flynn, Roger Stone, et al. In effect, the Democrats spetsnazsquad threw these guys off the roof to hit the guy they really wanted. The Democrats continue their jihad against Trump, who believes hes not the primary target. In the end, theyre not coming after me, Trump said in June. Theyre coming after you and Im just standing in their way. Joe Biden provided evidence of that reality in his September 1, 2022 speech, like something directed by Leni Riefenstahl, with son et lumiere and Marines at the ready. The greatest threat to the nation, Biden charged, are those who want the nation to be great. The Delaware Democrat was not bluffing. While claiming that they do not investigate people on the basis of their politics or affiliations, FBI bosses now confirmthat the vast majority of its anti-government investigations are of Trump supporters. The Smirnoff Syndrome remains in effect, and its no laughing matter. As inspector Claude Lebel (Michael Lonsdale) told Madame de Montpelier (Delphine Seyrig) in The Day of the Jackal, be in no doubt as to the seriousness of your position. And to paraphrase Milan Kundera (The Unbearable Lightness of Being), the struggle against repression is the struggle of memory against forgetting. PR-Inside.com: 2023-11-28 12:00:25 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 494 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Biopharma executive with proven track record brings substantial strategy, business development, and licensing experience to AbTherx leadership teamMOUNTAIN VIEW, CA / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / AbTherx, a privately held biotech company with innovative technologies that enable and accelerate antibody discovery, today announced the appointment of David Meininger, PhD, MBA to the newly created position of Chief Business Officer. Dr. Meininger will be responsible for overseeing AbTherx's strategic planning, partnerships and collaborations, and licensing activities.Dr. Meininger has over 25 years of biopharma experience and a diverse background that spans startup, midsize, and industry-leading organizations, where he has proven himself successful in new company formation, business development, and licensing. Prior to joining AbTherx, Dr. Meininger was the Co-founder and CEO of Link Immunotherapeutics. While there, he played an integral role in the company's formation, successful fundraising, and development of next-generation T-cell engaging therapies. Prior to his time at Link, Dr. Meininger was Chief Business Officer at Trianni, where he was responsible for dramatically expanding the company's licensing activities, including value creation through transactions with large pharmaceutical and biotech partners. Earlier in his career, Dr. Meininger held senior BD&L and biotherapeutic research roles of increasing responsibility at a number of companies, including Merck, Boehringer Ingelheim, Amgen, and Genentech.Dr. Meininger received his PhD from the University of California, San Diego and his MBA from the University of Washington, Michael G. Foster School of Business."We're delighted to welcome Dave to our leadership team at such an exciting moment for AbTherx as we advance our Atlas Mouse platform and technology pipeline into expanded commercialization," said Justin Mika, Chief Executive Officer of AbTherx. "Dave has a track record of driving strategic alliances that move novel medicines closer to patients. His licensing expertise and deep understanding of the drug development landscape are critical to executing our near-term strategic initiatives while planning thoughtfully for the future." "AbTherx is overcoming challenges that have limited advancements in the discovery of therapeutic antibodies and has assembled a skilled and highly motivated team," said David Meininger, Chief Business Officer of AbTherx. "I look forward to joining the team at this exciting stage and broadly distributing innovative technologies and capabilities that will make a meaningful difference in outcomes for patients with serious unmet medical needs." About AbTherxAbTherx is advancing medicine with novel technologies that accelerate and enable therapeutic antibody discovery. AbTherx's Atlas Mouse platform enables the development of a clinically validated bispecific antibody format most similar to native antibodies and uses natural mechanisms to generate long CDR3 antibodies to improve the chance of success against challenging drug targets such as GPCRs and ion channels. AbTherx is also increasing access to transgenic mice expressing full human antibody diversity. Through technology licensing and research collaborations, AbTherx partners with drug developers of all sizes to overcome the most demanding challenges in delivering innovative medicines. For more information, please visit www.abtherx.com Media Contact:Stacey Bordersstacey@ abtherx.com SOURCE: AbTherx, Inc. PR-Inside.com: 2023-11-28 05:15:52 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 471 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW ORLEANS, LA / ACCESSWIRE / November 27, 2023 / Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have until January 2, 2024 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS), if they purchased the Company's securities between July 22, 2019 and October 12, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Central District of California.What You May DoIf you purchased shares of Barclays and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ( lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com) , or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-bcs/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court by January 2, 2024.About the LawsuitBarclays and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.The alleged false and misleading statements and omissions include, but are not limited to, that: (i) contrary to false public assertions, the Company's former CEO, James Staley, had a close relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, was reportedly aware of Epstein's criminal activities and may have even sexually assaulted a victim who had previously been trafficked by Epstein; (ii) if discovered, the relationship and potential criminal activity could bring reputational, legal, and financial harm to Company; (iii) the Company's response to an inquiry by the British Financial Conduct Authority regarding Staley's relationship with Epstein was materially false; (iv) when the Company became aware of information contradicting its response to the inquiry, it failed to update the response so that it would be accurate, or otherwise take any meaningful action; and (v) as a result, the Company's statements about its business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.The case is Merritt v. Barclays Plc, et al., 23-cv-9217.About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCKSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. KSF serves a variety of clients - including public institutional investors, hedge funds, money managers and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, California, Louisiana and New Jersey.To learn more about KSF, you may visit http://ksfcounsel.com/ CONTACT:Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCLewis Kahn, Managing Partnerlewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com1-877-515-18501100 Poydras St., Suite 960New Orleans, LA 70163SOURCE: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC PR-Inside.com: 2023-11-28 19:10:21 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 669 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 The leading Medtech event brought together industry professionals to discuss the future of the medical device industry.SANTA CLARA, CA / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / BIOMEDevice Silicon Valley, the leading West Coast exhibition for medical device companies and manufacturers, wrapped this month with over 1,400 attendees, reporting a 15% growth from 2022. The annual event connected influential and impactful medtech and life science professionals shaping the industry's landscape.BIOMEDevice Silicon Valley featured over 40 educational speakers focused on challenges and solutions surrounding the medtech industry. Conference attendees had access to nine educational tracks including device security, product design, machine learning, policy and regulations. Topics included FDA approvals for medical device start-ups, fundamentals of X-ray sterilization and generative artificial intelligence.Y-Combinator and Axiom Space female visionary speakers, Surbhi Sarna and Pearly Pandya respectively, presented groundbreaking case studies and keynoted the two-day conference where each addressed unique entrepreneurial development and funding challenges of early-stage ovarian cancer detection as well as the next international space station manufacturing biomedical products in space.Surbhi Sarna, Partner and Author at Y-Combinator and CEO, Founder of nVision, states, "Inspiring innovation in medtech and healthcare starts with the power of conversation. Being an advocate and sharing my story as a patient and entrepreneur at events such as BIOMEDevice Silicon Valley sparks collaboration that can propel our industry towards researching and funding more life-saving advancements." "In-space manufacturing represents the next frontier for medical innovation," says Pearly Pandya, In-Space Manufacturing for Biomedical Applications at Axiom Space. "Presenting Axiom Space's microgravity research to likeminded medical industry professionals in the thriving technology landscape of Silicon Valley can help shape the future of biomedical advancements." With significant surges in research and development, Silicon Valley is a hub for pioneering advancements in medtech and is recognized as a region of substantial funding and start-up development. In partnership with California Life Sciences, the state's most influential and impactful life sciences organization, BIOMEDevice Silicon Valley hosted a Master Class Conference, Start-up Stadium and Start-up Pavilion, to provide a platform for emerging medical device companies from Northern California to gain exposure and credibility in front of thousands of industry leading potential suppliers, investors and engineers."In the dynamic landscape of medical technology, Silicon Valley stands at the forefront of innovation, driving transformative solutions with impact shaping the future of our healthcare," says Adrienne Zepeda, BIOMEDevice Event Director, Informa Markets Engineering. "Highlighting revolutionary products, BIOMEDevice is the Bay Area's stage for discovering and connecting with the most transformative medical solutions available on the market now and upcoming. The expert insights provided here showcase the creative intelligence that fuels inspiration and ingenuity of device manufacturing." Over 175 exhibitors were represented on the expo floor, showcasing a broad range of solutions and products including sensor-driven micromedical devices, laser cutting, linear and rotary motion components and high-performance metal parts. Industry leading companies in attendance included Hiwin, Matrix Plastic Products, Nelson Labs, Pacific BioLabs, Senso Medical, Starfish Medical, Qosina and Velentium, among others.BIOMEDevice Silicon Valley will return to the Santa Clara Convention Center Nov. 20-21, 2024.Medical Design and Manufacturing (MD&M) West, Informa Markets Engineering's West Coast based medtech event, is taking place Feb. 6-8, 2024. For more information, please visit www.imengineeringwest.com About Informa Markets Engineering:Informa Markets Engineering portfolio, a subsidiary of Informa plc (LON:INF), is the leading B2B event producer, publisher, and digital media business for the world's $3-trillion advanced, technology-based manufacturing industry. Our print and electronic products deliver trusted information to the engineering market and leverage our proprietary 1.3-million-name database to connect suppliers with buyers and purchase influencers. We produce more than 50 events and conferences in a dozen countries, connecting manufacturing professionals from around the globe. The Engineering portfolio is organized by Informa, the world's leading exhibitions organizer that brings a diverse range of specialist markets to life, unlocking opportunities and helping them to thrive 365 days of the year. For more information, please visit www.informamarkets.com Media Contact:Jordan Douglas Informa Markets Engineering pr.ime(@)informa.com SOURCE: Informa Markets Engineering BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. Azerbaijan is leading humanitarian mine action, especially in the involvement and empowerment of women in this very important area of work, UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan Vladanka Andreeva told Trend. "Since 1999, when we supported the establishment of ANAMA, the United Nations family in Azerbaijan has been a strong supporter of mine action. And, since 2020, we have been working very closely with the government and partners, with the primary backing of three UN agencies: UNDP, UNICEF, and UNHCR," she stated. According to her, the UN family in Azerbaijan will continue to collaborate closely with the Azerbaijani government, ANAMA, and partners since the organization is firmly convinced that the path to 2030 and the accomplishment of sustainable development goals must be mine-free. Andreeva further stated that the UN is committed to helping Azerbaijan achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). "The United Nations family in Azerbaijan, together with the government of Azerbaijan, has signed a cooperation framework in 2021, and that's our roadmap for the next five years on how to support Azerbaijan's very ambitious agenda to reach sustainable development goals by 2030," she added. The Resident Coordinator emphasized that the UN has four key priorities for Azerbaijan to achieve the SDGs: inclusive growth, strengthening national institutions, fighting against climate change, and empowerment of women and girls. Andreeva recalled that the SDG Summit was held in New York in September 2023, where all member states decided to continue supporting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Azerbaijan was among 32 countries that submitted national commitments. Azerbaijan renewed its pledge to continue to be the leader in the South Caucasus when it comes to sustainable development. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel PR-Inside.com: 2023-11-28 22:20:32 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 788 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 The Nation's Premier Learn to Swim' Provider in Salt Lake City partners with Hope Floats FoundationSALT LAKE CITY, UT / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / British Swim School, the nation's leading "learn to swim" franchise, is proud to announce its newest partnership with Hope Floats Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing swimming lessons and water safety education to underserved communities. This collaboration is set to make a splash by offering the life-saving gift of swim education to those who need it most.Hope Floats Foundation, known for its commitment to drowning prevention and water safety, aligns seamlessly with British Swim School's mission to empower individuals with essential swimming skills. By joining forces, the swim school aims to create a ripple effect of positive change in the local community.British Swim School of Salt Lake City owner, Scott Houck, expresses his enthusiasm for the partnership, stating, "We believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to learn how to swim and gain confidence in the water. Partnering with Hope Floats Foundation allows us to extend our reach and make a meaningful impact on lives through the transformative power of swimming." Hope Floats Foundation focuses on breaking down barriers to water safety education, particularly in communities facing socio-economic challenges. Through collaborative efforts with British Swim School, the foundation aims to increase accessibility to swim lessons, ultimately reducing the risk of drowning incidents in the Salt Lake City area and beyond.The collaboration between British Swim School and Hope Floats Foundation is not just about swimming lessons; it's about fostering a safer, more confident community. As they embark on this shared journey, both organizations look forward to transforming lives and creating a lasting legacy of water safety awareness.For over 40 years, British Swim School has been dedicated to teaching water survival skills by teaching infants, children, and adults of all ages the skills needed for water acclimation, water survival, and stroke development. Its mission - ensure that every person, regardless of age or ability, has the opportunity to become a safe and happy swimmer.Across the nation, eleven people die every day from unintentional drownings, with nearly 4,000 deaths occurring each year. Research shows that participation in formal swim programs, such as those offered by British Swim School, can reduce the risk of drowning by 88% among children who are most at risk for deaths caused by drowning. However, the risk of drowning isn't limited to children: a Red Cross survey found that more than half of all Americans (54%) either can't swim or don't have the basic swimming skills needed to save themselves in the event of a water emergency.Ashley Gundlach, President of British Swim School, commends Scott for his dedication to water safety and community well-being. She states, "We are proud to see Scott taking a proactive role in promoting water safety through this partnership with Hope Floats Foundation. The commitment to making swim education available to everyone aligns with our core values at British Swim School, and we are confident that together, we can make a significant impact on drowning prevention efforts." For more information about British Swim School of Salt Lake City or to book a lesson, visit www.britishswimschool.com/SLC/ To learn more about the benefits of British Swim School's franchising opportunities, visit www.britishswimschoolfranchise.com About British Swim SchoolBritish Swim School, the nation's most established swim school franchise, with over 40 years in business, believes that every individual, regardless of age or ability, should have the opportunity to become a safe and happy swimmer. Offering lessons for babies, children, and adults, the brand is dedicated to its mantra, "Survival of the Littlest," focusing first on the survival skills needed to survive a water accident, then moving on to stroke development and more advanced skills. Not only does British Swim Schools give peace of mind to countless families who seek the essential life skill the brand offers their children, but the purpose-driven franchise also offers an exceptional opportunity for entrepreneurs who seek a fulfilling business venture with a sound foundation, low investment, and easily scalable model. Part of the Buzz Franchise Brands family, British Swim School currently operates over 350 schools across the United States and Canada.For more information about British Swim School, visit www.britishswimschool.com To learn more about the benefits of British Swim School's franchising opportunities, visit www.britishswimschoolfranchise.com About Hope Floats FoundationHope Floats Foundation is a non-profit organization focused on drowning prevention and water safety education. By providing swim lessons to underserved communities, the foundation aims to reduce the risk of drowning incidents and promote water safety awareness. For more information, visit www.hopefloats.foundation/ MEDIA CONTACT:Mike Toper(919) 813-6511MToper@919 Marketing.com SOURCE: British Swim School PR-Inside.com: 2023-11-28 15:05:05 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 729 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Newest Carebox Connect Clinical Trial Sponsor Website Helps Mirati Therapeutics Deliver on Its Commitment to Patient-CentricityRALEIGH, NC / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / Carebox, a leading provider of clinical trial matching solutions, proudly welcomes the launch of Mirati Trials as the newest member of the Carebox Connect family of Trial Sponsor websites. The new web application at https://trials.mirati.com/ streamlines the patient experience and increases the speed and ease in which patients living with cancer and their providers can identify and learn more about Mirati clinical trials."The Mirati Trials website represents our commitment to patient-centricity, innovation and collaboration, consolidating Mirati clinical trials in one central location to provide an optimized patient, caretaker and HCP experience and a clearer picture of our ongoing clinical trials," said Denise Bruns, PhD, Senior Vice President, Integrative Sciences, Clinical Development, Mirati Therapeutics.The Carebox Connect trial database is synchronized daily with the ClinicalTrials.gov clinical trial data maintained by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Applying its human-supervised AI, Carebox converts the unstructured text in ClinicalTrials.gov that describes eligibility criteria for enrollment into a searchable index of clinical criteria for matching with patient characteristics.On that foundation, Carebox continually partners with clinical trial sponsors, like Mirati Therapeutics, with a deep commitment to patient centricity to evolve innovative ways to connect appropriate patients, families, and treating physicians with the investigational treatment options available only in research studies."The Mirati Trials website represents our commitment to patient-centricity, innovation and collaboration, consolidating Mirati clinical trials in one central location to provide an optimized patient, caretaker and HCP experience and clearer picture of our ongoing clinical trials." Denise Bruns, PhD Senior Vice President Integrative Sciences, Clinical Development, Mirati TherapeuticsAs Brian Weiss, Carebox CEO, explains: "Too often, trial sponsors are sending patients to ClinicalTrials.gov or re-purposing regulatory disclosure tools presented as clinical trial finders. This approach is not sufficient for patients and families to answer their most pressing questions about what investigational treatment options a trial sponsor might have for them." The Mirati Trials website homepage features an interactive map that allows qualified patients to quickly zoom in on nearby trials not only by distance from their location but also by condition and genomic mutation/deletion.The ContentfulTM content management platform that is embedded into the Carebox Connect platform enables Mirati Trials to present engaging visual and text content about clinical trials in general, the types of cancers that Mirati's research is focused on, the genetic mutations that are targeted by Mirati's drug development, and each of the individual trials showcased in Mirati Trials - in an interconnected, easy-to-navigate structure.Mirati Trials also features condition questionnaires for trial matching and pre-screening, as well as referral management, to ensure trial sites receive pre-qualified referrals. It is supported by the Carebox Clinical Trial Navigation bilingual call center in the United States to assist patients and caregivers with any questions.Brian summarizes: "Carebox Connect is a rich platform with unique capabilities that enables solutions like Mirati Trials to go well beyond typical clinical trial finders. We're proud to support Mirati's commitment to industry-leading levels of patient support." About Carebox Carebox connects patients and physicians seeking treatment options with clinical trials. For patients and families, access to information about the newest and most advanced treatment options is obscured and frustrating to find. For pharma companies, clinical trial recruitment is the primary bottleneck in the $100B+ drug development market now being reshaped by precision medicine treatment specificity, new trial models, diversity requirements, and digital health consumer expectations. Carebox is at the forefront of addressing these challenges for patients and their families, as well as for the ecosystem of companies involved in sponsoring, running, and recruiting for clinical trials. Learn more about Carebox at careboxhealth.com About Carebox Connect The Carebox Connect cloud platform digitizes Carebox's two decades of experience in navigating over one million patients seeking clinical trial options. It enables trial sponsors of all sizes to educate, engage, navigate, match, qualify, refer, and enroll patients in their clinical trials. Pharma trial sponsors, hospital research centers, and patient advocacy groups use Carebox Connect to present their clinical trial portfolios to the public, optimize trial recruitment, and enhance participant diversity in support of ongoing clinical research.Contact InformationMadeleine Moench madeleine@ newswire.com SOURCE: Carebox Healthcare Solutions PR-Inside.com: 2023-11-28 08:22:13 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 583 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Project partners include Congressman Barry Goldwater Jr., Ken Pinckard, and Tarek El MoussaEAGLE, ID / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / Eagle, Idaho - In a momentous event that took place on November 7th, Cedar Creek Capital marked the initiation of its groundbreaking development in Surprise, Arizona. The occasion was graced by esteemed attendees, including CEO A.J. Osborne and influential partners such as Former Congressman Barry Goldwater Jr., Serial Entrepreneur Ken Pinckard, and TV Personality Tarek El Moussa, Mayor Skip Hall, Councilmember Alyson "Aly" Cline, and Jeanine Jerkovic, CEcD from the City of Surprise Economic Development Team, added their presence, further elevating the significance of the ceremony.The groundbreaking event centered around the unveiling of Storelocal Surprise, a self-storage facility promising an unparalleled experience for customers. The project boasts climate-controlled storage units, spacious RV bays, and exceptionally convenient drive-up storage spaces, setting a new standard in the industry.Kris Cassens, Economic Development Coordinator at the City of Surprise, expressed enthusiasm about the project, calling it "truly extraordinary." The presence of VIP guests and project partners Barry Goldwater, Jr., Kenneth Pinckard, Tarek El Moussa, and AJ Osborne added an extra layer of excitement to the event.Osborne, the visionary CEO and Founder of Cedar Creek Capital, shared his excitement about the Surprise, Arizona development, saying, "It was an incredible experience witnessing the groundbreaking with the entire team, partners, and investors. The event served as a precursor to what promises to be an exciting and successful project in the months to come." The groundbreaking not only marked a significant step in the project but also opened up opportunities for some additional accredited investors. With capital space still available, investors can join this venture at a stage where the development is underway, mitigating some of the risks often associated with earlier developments.The key details of the project include a 178,000 rentable square feet storage development in a high-demand market, strategically located alongside Loop 303 - one of the fastest-growing areas in the country. Investors are encouraged to take advantage until the end of the year to secure the same cost basis as the initial investors in the project, providing a unique opportunity to engage in a high-potential project with reduced risk.To further engage with potential investors, Osborne will be hosting a live webinar on November 16th at 5 pm MT. This webinar aims to address any questions and concerns potential investors may have about the Surprise, Arizona development. Interested parties can register for the webinar here or register to have the webinar sent to them.Cedar Creek Capital's Surprise, Arizona development signifies not only the commencement of a groundbreaking project, but also an invitation for investors to be part of a transformative venture in the thriving self-storage industry. As the development progresses, the promise of a storage revolution in Surprise takes shape, setting the stage for a new era in storage facility design and functionality.About AJ OsborneAJ Osborne is the CEO of Cedar Creek Capital and has an impressive 20 years of experience as a self-storage owner, operator, and developer. He is a founder and board member of the largest self-storage co-op, Storelocal, as well as Tenant Inc - a saas company supporting self-storage facility management. AJ has also written the No. 1 bestselling book on self-storage investing and hosts the top rated and listened to self-storage podcast, Self Storage Income. Accredited investors can find more information here: cedar.cc/invest Media Contact:Name: AJ OsborneEmail Address: contact@ cedar.cc SOURCE: Cedar Creek Capital PR-Inside.com: 2023-11-28 13:07:32 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 933 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 PORT VILA, VANUATU / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / The CWG Markets Traders Fair South Africa concluded with resounding success, showcasing the exceptional advantages of CWG's trading platform and underscoring the unique value and appeal of this prominent trade event. This year's fair proved to be a beacon for global traders, a hub for innovation and technology enthusiasts, and a champion of sustainability and social responsibility.Global Trade OpportunitiesThe CWG Markets Traders Fair South Africa drew participants from around the world, offering a global platform for trade and investment. With a diverse range of industries represented, the fair facilitated valuable connections and transactions, reinforcing its status as a key player in the international trade arena. Attendees had the opportunity to explore new markets, forge partnerships, and discover exciting ventures, all under one roof.Innovation and Technology FocusInnovation and technology were at the forefront of this year's fair. CWG's trading platform, renowned for its cutting-edge features and user-friendly interface, received particular attention. Traders and investors had the opportunity to experience firsthand the advantages of using CWG's platform, which offers real-time data, advanced analytics, and customizable tools to optimize trading strategies. CWG remains committed to fostering a culture of innovation within the trading community.Sustainability and Social ResponsibilityCWG recognizes the importance of sustainability and social responsibility in today's interconnected world. The fair featured numerous sessions and exhibitors dedicated to promoting ethical trading practices and environmentally conscious investment choices, all seamlessly integrated into the CWG platform. Attendees gained valuable knowledge about how responsible trading can positively impact the global community. CWG is committed to continuing its efforts in promoting sustainability within the trading industry.Unparalleled Learning OpportunitiesThroughout the event, attendees were treated to an array of seminars, workshops, and panel discussions conducted by prominent figures in the financial world. These sessions covered an extensive range of topics, from the basics of trading to advanced strategies, providing a comprehensive learning experience for both novice and seasoned traders alike. The opportunity to engage directly with industry experts proved invaluable, offering attendees the chance to gain firsthand knowledge and practical insights into the ever-evolving landscape of financial markets.Networking and CollaborationThe Traders Fair South Africa served as an ideal platform for fostering connections and collaborations within the trading community. Attendees had the chance to interact with like-minded individuals, establish meaningful professional relationships, and exchange ideas that have the potential to shape their trading journeys positively. The event's conducive environment facilitated networking among participants, enabling the forging of new partnerships and the sharing of diverse perspectives.Insights from Esteemed SpeakersDistinguished speakers and experts from various sectors of the financial industry graced the event with their presence, imparting their expertise and wisdom to an eager audience. These speakers shared their unique perspectives on market trends, risk management, and innovative trading strategies, offering invaluable insights that resonated with attendees. Their thought-provoking presentations and discussions sparked contemplation and dialogue, leaving a lasting impression on all those in attendance.Exhibition Booths and Technology ShowcaseThe Traders Fair South Africa also featured an exhibition area where leading companies showcased their products, services, and technological advancements in the financial sphere. Attendees had the opportunity to explore cutting-edge trading tools, platforms, and software, gaining firsthand exposure to the latest innovations designed to enhance their trading experiences. The exhibition served as a hub for discovering new opportunities and staying abreast of emerging trends in the financial technology sector.Commitment to Education and EmpowermentCWG Markets' commitment to empowering traders through education and community engagement was evident throughout the Traders Fair South Africa. By providing a platform that encouraged learning, networking, and collaboration, CWG Markets demonstrated its dedication to supporting traders at every stage of their journey. The event's success underscores the company's mission to facilitate access to valuable resources and knowledge, thereby enabling traders to make informed decisions in the dynamic world of finance.User-Centric ExperienceCWG's trading platform is designed with the trader in mind. Its intuitive interface and robust features cater to both novice and experienced traders, making it accessible to a wide range of users. The platform's reliability and speed ensure seamless trading experiences, even during peak market hours. Additionally, CWG offers exceptional customer support, providing assistance and guidance whenever traders need it.Comprehensive Market AccessCWG's platform provides access to a wide range of financial markets, international securities, including convertibility, stocks, and commodities. This diversity allows traders to diversify their portfolios and seize opportunities in various asset classes, all from a single account.The CWG Markets Traders Fair South Africa has once again proven itself as a premier event in the trading and investment world, offering a unique blend of opportunities, innovation, sustainability, and social responsibility. As the trading community eagerly anticipates the next installment, the world can expect nothing less than excellence from both CWG and its outstanding trading platform.Looking Towards the FutureAs the curtains close on yet another successful Traders Fair South Africa, the impact and significance of this event continue to reverberate within the trading community. The knowledge gained, connections established, and experiences shared during the fair will undoubtedly serve as catalysts for growth and success in the future endeavors of all those involved. CWG Markets remains committed to fostering a thriving trading ecosystem and looks forward to continuing to facilitate such impactful events in the times ahead.About CWG MarketsCWG Markets is a leading global financial trading platform dedicated to providing comprehensive solutions and support to traders worldwide. With a commitment to innovation, education, and customer satisfaction, CWG Markets continues to empower traders with the tools and resources necessary to navigate the complexities of fi PR-Inside.com: 2023-11-28 13:30:41 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 1046 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / Fabled Copper Corp. ("Fabled Copper" or the "Company") (CNSX:FABL)(FRA:XZ7) announces that it has received its Mines Act Permit which entitles the Company to drill from 15 drill stations over a period of 2 years on the Muskwa Copper Project.The Muskwa Project is comprised of the Neil Property, the Toro Property and the Bronson Property located in northern British Columbia. The Neil Property area was granted the drilling permit and in particular the Davis Keays Eagle Vein area is the Company's first priority interest. See Figure 1 below.Figure 1 - Location MapPeter Hawley, President, CEO reports; "We at Fabled Copper Corp. are very excited to finally receive our long-awaited drill permit. Subject to funding being available, the Company wishes to embark on a helicopter supported diamond drill program consisting of 3,000 - 5,000 meters on the First Priority Davis Keays Eagle Vein. This will be the first ever surface drilling of the Eagle Vein area known.As outlined below and through detailed cutting-edge technology we believe the question is not if we will intercept the Eagle vein given our target accuracy is 3 cms BUT how many copper bearing veins will we intercept before hitting the Eagle Vein. Not only is the potential upside redefining the Eagle vein ore body but also evaluating the Eagle vein below the current 5,800 level and the potential of the parallel veins sets evaluated during the 2022 work program." BackgroundA May 1990 Feasibility Report to the Davis Keays Mining Co. ("David Keays") outlined a 6 year, 365,000 tons / year mining life of the Eagle Vein based on $0.60 per pound copper.To support their findings, over period of 3 months, 8 feet high by 9 feet wide adits were driven by Davis Keays into the mountain on the Eagle vein on the 7,300 level, 6,950 level and 6,400 levels, and at every 300 foot centers 110-120 foot cross cuts were excavated for underground diamond drilling where the area was drilled above and below the levels.In addition, all the entire excavated underground workings were mapped and vein chip sampled at 10 foot intervals and whereever the vein went into the wall, sampled with a test hole.Based on these findings the Feasibility Report outlines Proven Reserves of 1,007,360 tons grading 3.56% copper, *Probable Reserves of 562,320 tons grading 3.18% copper and Possible Reserves grading 3.18% copper.As mentioned in the report, "these Reserves are to the 5,800 foot level only but there is no geological reason to expect the vein the terminate at this level. There are excellent possibilities of extending these Reserves, through a continuing of exploration and development to depth on the Eagle Vein and other known veins as well.Shortly thereafter, and as a result of the development work post Feasibility Study, the 5,800 level was developed. See the Company's press release dated September 28, 2022 to view the entrances of 6400 and 5800 adit portals.The work carried out under the 1990 Feasibility Report was not carried out or reported using current categories of Mineral Resources or Mineral Reserves under NI 43-101. A Qualified Person has not done sufficient work to classify the abovementioned historical estimate as a current resource. The Company is not treating the historical estimate as a current resource. The Company's proposed 2024 drill program will seek to begin the process of verifying the historical estimate and exploring the Eagle Vein below the 5,800 level.Fabled Copper's 2022 work on Eagle Vein AreaBelow is a summary of the results of Fabled Copper's work on the Eagle Vein undertaken in the summer of 2022. The below dates reference the dates of the Company's press releases in which readers can find further information.April 27, 2022 - Fabled Copper Corp Reports on the Davis Keays UAV Drone Mission Survey"16 terrain - following missions were completed over the area with 3-23 cm resolution and grade accuracy of 1-3 cm." May 4, 2022 - Fabled Copper Reports on Davis Keays Eagle Vein Area with 6 Additional Parallel Veins discovered and Values as high as 6.73%May 11, 2022 - Surface Geophysics outlines Parallel EM Conductor to the Eagle Vein at Davis Keays. Detailed ground VLF - Electromagnetics and Total Field Magnetics. A strong parallel EM conductor was delineated 160 meters northwest of the Eagle Vein."May 25, 2022 - Underground Inspection of Eagle Vein does not disappoint.June 1, 2022 - Interpretation of Davis Keays Eagle Vein Area Defined Three Structural Corridors. One of which corresponds to the Eagle Vein with at least 5 additional vein sets in addition to the eagle vein and all having the same attitude.September 28, 2022 - Fabled Secures Underground Portals.October 12, 2022 - Fabled Presents Preliminary Underground LiDAR Survey Findings. 913.93 meters of the 6,400 foot level of the Eagle Vein was surveyed with a maximum error of 3.61 cm and clearly outlines the copper mineralization and veining."The Company will provide details of the proposed 2024 drill program, which is dependent upon securing additional financing, in due course.As always Fabled Copper acknowledges that the Muskwa project occurred on lands and in watersheds of importance to Kaska, Fort Nelson First Nation, and Treaty 8 Nations. We are honored to share responsibility for the stewardship of these places.About Fabled Copper Corp.Fabled is a junior mining exploration company. Its current focus is to creating value for stakeholders through the exploration and development of its existing drill ready copper properties located in northern British Columbia. The Company's current property package consists of the Muskwa Project and the Bronson Property and comprises approximately 16,219 hectares in three non-contiguous blocks and located in the Liard Mining Division in northern British Columbia.Mr. Peter J. Hawley, President and C.E.O.Fabled Copper Corp.Phone: (819) 316-0919peter@ fabledcopper.org For further information please contact:info@ fabledcopper.org The technical information contained in this news release has been approved by Peter J. Hawley, P.Geo. President and C.E.O. of Fabled, who is a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.The Canadian Securities Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.Certain statements contained in this news release constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is used in applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information is based on plans, expectations and estimates of management at the date the information is provided and is subject to certain factors and assumptions, including, that the Company's financial condit PR-Inside.com: 2023-11-28 17:00:45 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 702 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 BOSTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / The Builders and Remodelers Association of Greater Boston (BRAGB) held its highly acclaimed PRISM awards ceremony and presented Feinmann, Inc. with Gold and Silver awards. The prestigious event, held this year at the Boston Museum of Science, recognizes the finest projects and outstanding achievements of home building professionals.Feinmann, Inc., a design-build company and longtime contributor to the advancement of the design-build profession, was presented with a Gold Award in the category of Best Kitchen Remodel Over $300,000 and a Silver Award in the category of Best Bathroom Remodel over $150,000. "We are proud of the team and client collaboration that made these projects successful, and we are delighted that a national panel of distinguished industry professionals recognized our work in this manner," notes Peter Feinmann.Gold Award Winner, "Antique Charm Meets Modern Lifestyle," is a kitchen redesign and expansion in a 200-year-old home located in Charlestown, Massachusetts. Early in the project it was discovered that the rear section of the house had no foundation. Feinmann, Inc. worked through this unforeseen challenge by designing a two-story addition which replaced the entire back of the house. The lower level of the addition now accommodates a bright, spacious kitchen while the upper level is a luxurious, second-story bedroom suite. The kitchen, informed by an old-world aesthetic, has many eye-catching features that blend antique charm with modern living. Hand-sanded reclaimed wood flooring, an expansive marble island, soapstone perimeter countertops, windowed French-style doors, a wrought iron fire back, and a traditional range from Italy contribute significantly to this ambience.Silver Award Winner, "Soaking Up the View," is the transformation of a cookie-cutter, new construction home whereby the primary bathroom was redesigned to create a luxurious haven, infused with artistic details, improved lighting, a more cohesive floor plan, and a spectacular view of Boston. Typical in many homes, the owners had the square footage and the potential for more light, yet the house was not designed to harmonize with the movement and flow of natural sunlight. In this artful collaboration, Feinmann listened to the clients' vision and renovated the primary bathroom by opening the space and softening corners to achieve a seamless flow. A captivating vanity wall sets the tone and creates an elegant ambience, complemented with a freestanding, grand soaking tub. The result is a spa-like sanctuary that accentuates the skyline view.Feinmann, Inc., is an industry leader in the design-build process and offers its clients award-winning design, schedule and budget predictability, and unparalleled client attention. Under the direction of President, Peter Feinmann, the firm has evolved and become instrumental in defining the cost and control advantages of the design-build process while demonstrating creative and inspired solutions. The leadership of the firm has progressed and stands proudly as an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) whereby employees are co-owners of the company and thus benefit directly from their own contributions, resulting in both happier employees and clients.The Builders and Remodelers Association of Greater Boston, established in 1944, is the region's preeminent home building association. It advances the professionalism and success of its members, promotes high ethical standards, influences public policy, and encourages civic and environmental responsibility within the building industry. The annual PRISM Awards recognizes projects and people of superior achievement within the home industry. Winners receive significant regional, state-wide and national recognition. The annual 2023 Gala event hosted 415 housing industry professionals and their guests.EndAbout Feinmann, Inc.Feinmann, Inc. was founded in 1987 by president, Peter Feinmann. The firm's dedication to innovative designs, a well-articulated process, superb craftsmanship, and respect for its clients' budgets has resulted in Feinmann, Inc. ranking as one of the top design-build firms in the Boston and New England area.About The Builders and Remodelers Association of Greater Boston (BRAGB)BRAGB, a trade association affiliated with the National Association of Home Builders and Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Massachusetts, has represented the industry since 1944. BRAGB Members include single-family, multi-family, remodeling residential contractors, and both service and product providers to the industry. BRAGB is one of New England's most prominent and influential trade organizations.CONTACTDebra LaPorteDebra LaPorte Communications978-375-9413debra@ debralaporte.com SOURCE: Feinmann, Inc. PR-Inside.com: 2023-11-28 05:15:32 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 442 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW ORLEANS, LA / ACCESSWIRE / November 27, 2023 / Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have until January 8, 2024 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC), if they purchased or otherwise acquired the Company's shares between November 2, 2022 and October 20, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.What You May DoIf you purchased shares of FMC and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ( lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com) , or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-fmc/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court by January 8, 2024.About the LawsuitFMC and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.On September 7, 2023, Blue Orca Capital reported that the Company had made a series of false statements about the status of patent protections for its flagship products following legal defeats in India, China, and Brazil, that allowed competitors to launch competing generic products at much lower prices. On this news, the price of FMC's shares dropped more than 7.4%, to close at $76.10 per share, representing approximately $630 million in investor losses, on high trading volume.Then, on October 23, 2023, the Company disclosed further cuts to its Q3 2023 outlook and guidance for revenues for Q4 and FY 2024, projecting earnings well below analysts' expectations, citing substantially lower sales volumes in Latin America. On this news, the price of FMC's shares plummeted by $8.83 per share, or 12.18%, to close at $58.12 per share.The case is Heeg v. FMC Corporation, et al., 23-cv-4938.About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCKSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. KSF serves a variety of clients - including public institutional investors, hedge funds, money managers and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, California, Louisiana and New Jersey.To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com CONTACT:Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCLewis Kahn, Managing Partnerlewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com1-877-515-18501100 Poydras St., Suite 960New Orleans, LA 70163SOURCE: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC PR-Inside.com: 2023-11-28 14:33:04 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 389 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 ATLANTA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / Georgia-Pacific and Curley Dossman, president of Community Programs, Georgia-Pacific, and vice president, Koch Company Charitable Fund, were honored by the Islamic Speakers Bureau of Atlanta (ISB) during its annual ISB Celebrating Diversity & Inclusion Gala. Georgia-Pacific was recognized for its initiatives facilitating diversity and inclusion, served as an Ambassador Sponsor for the gala, and donated $25,000 to the organization. Dossman was honored with the ISB Distinguished Leadership Award for his work throughout the community, along with his long relationship with ISB and role on the Advisory Council.The ISB gala is an inspiring evening celebrating leaders and corporations who work to make the community better through diversity and inclusion. More than 500 leaders from Atlanta's business, nonprofit, civil rights, education, and faith sectors attended the event to celebrate the Muslim community's contributions. ISB facilitates opportunities for people to learn about Islam and Muslims in an objective and educational manner through dialogue and outreach programs.Georgia-Pacific President and CEO Christian Fischer accepted the corporate award on behalf of the company. During the acceptance speech, Fischer thanked ISB Atlanta's founder and executive director, and former Georgia-Pacific employee Soumaya Khalifa. Learn more about Georgia-Pacific's support for ISB and diversity and inclusion by clicking on the video below.Georgia-Pacific was recognized for its initiatives facilitating diversity and inclusion, served as an Ambassador Sponsor for the gala, and donated $25,000 to the organization.Dossman was honored by ISB Atlanta with the ISB Distinguished Leadership Award. He has served on the ISB Atlanta Advisory Council since 2016. Dossman expressed thanks not only for the recognition, but the opportunity to give back to the community by serving on one of the most diverse groups in the city and leading impactful initiatives and discussions that invite differing opinions and points of view and highlight Atlanta's diversity. Click on the video below to learn more about his contributions to ISB and the Atlanta community.Curley Dossman was honored by ISB Atlanta with the ISB Distinguished Leadership Award. He has served on the ISB Atlanta Advisory Council since 2016.Georgia-Pacific is committed to supporting education and investing and supporting programs that enrich the community. Learn more about our initiatives here.View original content here.View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Georgia-Pacific on 3 blmedia.com Contact Info:Spokesperson: Georgia-PacificWebsite: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/georgia-pacificEmail: info@3 blmedia.com SOURCE: Georgia-Pacific PR-Inside.com: 2023-11-28 23:30:49 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 704 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEWTOWN, PA / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / The law firm of Edelson Lechtzin LLP is investigating securities fraud claims on behalf of all purchasers of Holley Inc. ("Holley") (NYSE:HLLY) common stock between July 21, 2021, and February 6, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period").Investors who purchased Holley Inc. common stock may move the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky to appoint them as lead plaintiffs, no later than January 5, 2024. Current holders of Holley stock may pursue corporate governance reforms. Please contact Edelson Lechtzin LLP at 844-696-7492 to discuss your investment losses, or by e-mail at elechtzin@ edelson-law.com . A copy of the class action complaint can be viewed HERE.Background on Holley Inc. f/k/a Empower Ltd.Headquartered in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Holley specializes in designing, manufacturing, and distributing high-performance automotive products. Their products are primarily sold in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Holley offers a wide range of automotive products, including carburetors, fuel injection systems, exhaust products, transmission products, and automotive software.The Securities Fraud ClaimsThe Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or omissions regarding Holley's business, operations, and prospects, including that: (i) due to Holley's emphasis on its direct-to-consumer (DTC) channel, the company's relationships with resellers and distributors, who previously contributed substantially to Holley's revenue, suffered significant harm; (ii) Holley utilized discounting to grow its DTC channel, which harmed its relationship with resellers and distributors by undercutting its historically maintained pricing discipline; (iii) Holley's relationships with resellers and distributors have been strained, resulting in a decrease in their purchases of Holley products. They have also been returning products at a significant level, which is far above the historical norms. Additionally, they have been increasing their purchases of competitors' products; (iv) Holley's growing DTC channel could not offset the negative financial impact of Holley's growing strained relationships with its resellers and distributors, and as a result, Holley's critical relationship with resellers and distributors was deteriorating; (v) Holley had failed to successfully integrate and capture synergies from its numerous acquisitions, which left Holley with inefficient operations, excess costs, and inventory management problems; and (vi) Holley received a temporary boost in sales and performance due to the COVID-related stimulus money. However, the defendants allegedly misled investors by making them believe that the growth was sustainable and a result of strong demand, which supported their positive financial guidance. This growth was unsustainable and temporary, but investors were led to believe otherwise.On July 28, 2022, Holley announced preliminary financial results that were lower than expected and reduced its full-year 2022 outlook, causing the price of Holley stock to drop by over 47% in just two trading sessions.On November 14, 2022, the Company announced more disappointing financial results for the third quarter of 2022. On this news, the price of Holley stock fell 6.85%.On February 6, 2023, Holley announced the immediate retirement of its CEO and President, Tom Tomlinson. Michelle Gloeckler was appointed as Interim President and CEO while the Company searched for a permanent CEO with the help of Heidrick & Struggles, a company retained by the Board for succession planning. On this news, the price of Holley stock fell more than 27% over two trading sessions.For more information, please contact:Marc H. Edelson, Esq.Eric Lechtzin, Esq.EDELSON LECHTZIN LLP411 S. State Street, Suite N-300Newtown, PA 18940Phone: 844-696-7492 or 215-867-2399 ext. 1Email: medelson@ edelson-law.comEmail: elechtzin@ edelson-law.comWeb: Edelson Lechtzin LLP is a national class action law firm with offices in Pennsylvania and California. In addition to cases involving securities and investment fraud, our lawyers focus on class and collective litigation in cases alleging violations of the federal antitrust laws, employee benefit plans under ERISA, wage theft and unpaid overtime, consumer fraud, and dangerous and defective drugs and medical devices.This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions. No class has been certified in this case, so you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. Your ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.SOURCE: Edelson Lechtzin LLP PR-Inside.com: 2023-11-28 19:15:26 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 975 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / Inogen Alliance will have a presence at the upcoming COP28 held in Dubai. UN's COP (Conference of the Parties) is the largest annual climate summit driving action to address global warming across world leaders, country delegates, representatives of business, civil society, local communities and media.The event titled "Practices to Strengthen Financing for Climate Transition through Public and Private Interventions" will take place 4 December, 16.00 - 18.00 in the Azerbaijan Pavilion (MS01G1) in the Blue Zone.Our Associate Sustainera in Azerbaijan is leading this event with support from our Associates Antea Brasil, Integral Consult Egypt, and Tonkin+Taylor New Zealand with speakers and a panel discussion.The Inogen Alliance panel event aims to identify proper channels for accessing finance through the GCF (Green Climate Fund) which would mobilize investments by the private sector; explore and promote effective strategies and practices that enhance Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) which promotes investment by the private sector for a successful transition toward a low emissions and climate-resilient future. This event will delve into the means and examples of how to access funding by GCF and the critical role of ESG principles in shaping investment decisions and financial mechanisms to combat climate change and foster a more sustainable global economy.Sustainable finance, including the increasing array of related financial products, is attracting the attention of private sector investors, policy makers, and civil society stakeholders because of its potential to deliver long-term enterprise value that aligns with societal values and contributes to sustainability and climate-related objectives. Despite noteworthy progress, considerable challenges still hinder the potential for these approaches. Access to adequate finance by governments which can mobilize private sector investments in climate action for most developing countries is still lagging behind. Different sources of finance, including the Green Climate Fund (GCF) are available channels for governments. The GCF offers several options to prepare countries to be ready to access such finance including readiness activities, project proposal facility and others.One of the most important avenues for the private sector to be ready to identify, prepare, and implement climate action is through proper Environment, Social and Governance practices. Challenges facing the private sector to implement such practices include, the promulgation of different approaches, data inconsistencies, lack of comparability of ESG criteria and rating methodologies, as well as inadequate clarity over how ESG integration affects asset allocation. Important opportunities around partnerships and the scaling of solutions are likely to be generated as well.ESG ratings, which are applied to companies representing around 80% of market capitalization in 2020, have evolved in recent years to incorporate long-term financial risks and opportunities in investment decision making processes. At the same time, the environmental E' pillar score of ESG rating is being increasingly used as a tool to align investments with a low-carbon transition, and a range of financial market products and measurement approaches have developed to help investors align portfolios with specific climate-objectives and strategies in line with the Paris Agreement. Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) plays an important role in identifying the support needed and received for climate action.Panelists and Speakers include:Dr. Abdel-Aziz, Chairman of Integral Consult, our Associate in Egypt, with more than 29 years of experience, including climate mitigation projects in the energy, industry and waste sectors. Dr. Abdel-Aziz worked on the preparation of Iraq country program submitted to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and on the preparation of Georgia's Technology Needs Assessment (TNA) which included concept notes to be submitted to the GCF.Dr. Abdel-Aziz has been extensively involved in the negotiations process and is currently a senior advisor to COP27 presidency team leading on mitigation and transparency issues. He is also the advisor to the Egyptian Minister of Environment on climate change issues since 2014. He was also the Like-Minded Group of Developing Countries transparency coordinator during the negotiations of the Modalities, Procedures and Guidelines of the Enhanced Transparency Framework of the Paris Agreement. He is an expert in emissions projections with UNFCCC and a lead reviewer for reviewing Annex I Parties national communications, biennial reports and GHG inventories and has also led technical analysis teams for non-Annex I Parties BUR.Gulnara Aslanbayli is Executive Director of American Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan since 2020. Ms. Aslanbayli has previously worked with the I.C.E. Istituto Commercio nel Estero as a Senior Trade Analyst. Amcham Azerbaijan is the leading business association in Azerbaijan and recognizes the pivotal role that business communities play in addressing climate change. Since becoming executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan, Gulnara Aslanbayli has initiated a new direction in activity of the Chamber related to the sustainable development. Inspired by this strategy, the Chamber organizes various events to encourage the private sector of the country to the climate-focused actions.AmCham Azerbaijan believes that the private sector is a key driver of sustainable development. As Amcham encourages its members to embrace ESG principles, we hope it will help Azerbaijan to leverage these unique experiences to contribute to a future that is both environmentally conscious and economically vibrant.Ilkin Haji is Founder of Sustainera Solutions, our Associate in Azerbaijan. I.H is a professional specialized in sustainable development and project management. Ilkin worked with various UN Agencies, inter alia United Nations Industrial Development Organization's Office in New York as Sustainable Development Expert, UN Development Programme, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Azerbaijan International Development Agency. His areas of expertise are project management in international development context, financing for development, South-South and Triangular cooperation, partnership building, resource mobilization and science and technology for sustainable development.Hilton Lucio is a Brazilian senior consultant and CEO of our Associate Antea Brasil, with 27 years of experience in Environmental Global Projects, covering the areas of manufacturing, mining and agriculture. Mr. Lucio's most recent work is around the construction of frameworks and partnerships for the impleme BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. Armenian Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan once again distorted the existing realities in the region and expressed opinions far from the truth in his statement to reporters on November 28, Trend reports, referring to the statement of Azerbaijan's Milli Majlis (parliament). "This interview of the Armenian parliament speaker not only clearly shows that the Armenian leadership is queuing up for "absurd statements", but also demonstrates that it is fighting to curry favor with its foreign patrons. It is impossible to give any other explanation for the latest statements. This 'desire' to erase the fact of Armenia's 30-year occupation of the internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan from memory and remove this black stain of Armenian history from the agenda of the international community Simonyan is trying to veil under the guise of looking into the future," the statement reads. "It would be great if Simonyan started talking about the future by apologizing for the fact that more than 1 million Azerbaijanis became refugees and IDPs as a result of Armenia's policy of ethnic cleansing, leaving their native lands, committed the Khojaly genocide, destroyed 9 towns and hundreds of villages during the occupation," said the statement. "The statements of the speaker of the Parliament of mono-ethnic Armenia, who destroyed hundreds of historical, cultural, and religious monuments belonging to Azerbaijanis in the territories of Azerbaijan during the occupation and on the territory of Armenia, changed the names of monuments and places of residence, wrote false history, regarding Azerbaijan, where different ethnic groups coexist amicably and peacefully, and their historical and cultural heritage is protected at the state level, in fact, exposes its true face," the statement said. It was noted that Simonyan's primitive attempt to give a legal tone to the fact that 7 villages of Gazakh region and the village of Kyarki still remain under Armenian occupation, and vice versa, to accuse Azerbaijan of occupation is nothing but a manifestation of sick thinking. "The Armenian leadership is used to repeating lies aimed at deceiving the international community that supposedly 'Azerbaijan is preparing for war' and 'refuses peace negotiations'. We would like to remind Simonyan once again that it was Azerbaijan, after the 44-day war, that initiated the signing of a peace treaty with Armenia based on the principles of international law," the parliament said. "Over the past 3 years, Armenia has tried to hinder the peace process with its political and military provocations. Now there is a historic chance for the establishment of long-term peace in the region. Azerbaijan has repeatedly declared its readiness for peace with Armenia on the basis of recognizing the territorial integrity and sovereignty of both countries. And at such a moment Armenia is trying to prolong the negotiation process by delaying for a long time to respond to Azerbaijan's proposals on the text of the peace treaty. We once again state that Azerbaijan is a supporter of sustainable peace in the region and supports the normalization of relations with Armenia and the signing of a peace treaty. We believe that now there are ample opportunities for signing the peace treaty. Therefore, we call on the Armenian side to refrain from such provocative and far-from-the-truth statements and make its contribution to peace," the statement reads. PR-Inside.com: 2023-11-28 13:30:44 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 529 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Highlights QIII/2023:Product launch: HydroQuick, the ultra-efficient hydroponic cultivation systemR&D development: positive progress with the patent for the ecommerce productOperational milestone: ecommerce project is underway, negotiations with potential partnersTEL AVIV, ISRAEL / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / oceansix future paths Ltd. ("the Company" or "oceansix") is a publicly-traded Company on the TSX Venture Exchange in Toronto (TSXV:CUSIP 001194828, OSIX), in New York (OTCQB:AKMYF), and Frankfurt Stock Exchange (WKN: A3EFB0, ISIN: IL0011948283, 5FC0). oceansix is a technology and manufacturing company on an environmental mission, using plastic waste to create innovative products and build transformative businesses. The Company is headquartered in Israel and operates a research and development center as well as a production facility in Valencia, Spain.Financial Statements and MD&A for QIII/2023The Company announces the release of its consolidated financial statements for QIII/2023 ended September 30, 2023 and related management discussion and analysis ("MD&A"). These documents, among others, are posted under the Company's profile on SEDAR www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.oceansix.com . All values in this news release and the Company's financial disclosures are in United States dollars unless otherwise stated.Invitation: The Company welcomes your participation in a Teams-Meeting, where the Company's financial results will be explained in more detail and questions will also be gladly answered.The Teams-Call will take place onTuesday, November 28, 2023, 8:00AM EST (Toronto) / 14:00 CET (Berlin), please dial in at this link: Click here to join the meetingYou are invited to be a part of oceansix' impact, business, and future to build better tomorrows.For more information, please visit oceansix.com , and connect on LinkedIn and Twitter.For Investor Relations information, please contact:maximilian@ oceansix.com | phone +49 89 139 28 890oceansix future paths Ltd. | Elad Hameiri, CEO | phone +34 673 435 571Derech Menachem Begin 11 | Ramat Gan | IsraelAbout oceansixoceansix is a global source of radical, sustainable solutions and waste-to-product inventions. Powered by a vision of creating meaningful solutions, oceansix constantly invents ways of combining advanced technology with sustainable production and products from plastic waste. oceansix builds successful businesses in global industries while resolving some of Earth's burning challenges. The Company is propelled by its circular model, where products are manufactured from waste, and revenue is funneled to imagine revolutionary ideas for new products with huge market potential and impact.DisclaimerThis release may contain forward-looking statements and information which may be identified by formulations using terms such as "expects", "aims", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes", "seeks", "estimates" or "will". Such forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and certain assumptions, which may be subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties. The results actually achieved by oceansix future paths Ltd. may substantially differ from these forward-looking statements. oceansix future paths Ltd. assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements or to correct them in case of developments, which differ from those, anticipated.Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.SOURCE: oceansix future paths Ltd. PR-Inside.com: 2023-11-28 18:00:21 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 407 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / FedEx Corporation:Tony Matteroli, Sr. Specialist - Talent Acquisition, FedEx Freight, has a special connection to Tanzania and the Maasai people - his adopted daughter, Angel, was born and raised in a small Maasai village.Recently they returned from a summer trip where Tony and Angel visited her family, with whom she remains close, and brought much-needed donated items such as shoes, clothing, electronics, and more for people in the village. It's a journey Angel embarks on each summer, accompanied by Tony every other year.Tony began volunteering at an American school in Tanzania in November 2010. "I had always wanted to visit Africa," Tony says, "and I had always wanted to do some international volunteer work; and the opportunity came up to do both in one trip." It was on this trip that Tony first met then 11-year-old Angel, a student at the school. Angel grew up in a traditional Maasai village where people live in small mud huts with no running water or electricity and often faced a scarcity of food. Despite the lack of resources, she was raised by a large, loving family with a father, who believed in the value of education. Her father, unable to send all 16 of his children to school, selected Angel and one of her sisters to attend school in another village.While there, Tony developed a close bond with Angel, in whom he saw so much potential, and her family. In 2012, Angel's family agreed to allow Tony to adopt her, so she could take advantage of educational opportunities in the U.S. With the adoption, Angel's family grew larger by one more father!Angel began a new life in Colorado and excelled in school with Tony's support. Never losing the connection to her village, she founded a nonprofit - 1 Love - while in high school. Through her nonprofit, Angel helps provide clean water, electricity, safer housing for the village, and opportunities for more Maasai children to attend school.Angel is now a senior at the University of Colorado Boulder, majoring in Digital Communication and Media/ Multimedia. She continues to spend summers with her family in Africa providing support for not only them, but the entire village.***Photo credit Angel Mollel, 1 LoveView additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from FedEx Corporation on 3 blmedia.com Contact Info:Spokesperson: FedEx CorporationWebsite: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/fedex-corporationEmail: info@3 blmedia.com SOURCE: FedEx Corporation PR-Inside.com: 2023-11-28 15:04:57 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 632 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 CORAL SPRINGS, FL / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / One Firefly, a digital marketing agency that caters to technology professionals in the residential and commercial custom integration markets, is proud to announce a year of significant accomplishments and growth in the face of challenging economic conditions. With innovation and resilience at the forefront, the company is on track to achieve a remarkable 20% growth this year.The company's commitment to delivering exceptional marketing solutions to the niche audio-visual space has been unwavering, and this dedication has translated into a series of achievements and milestones over the past year.SMART Approach: Navigating Success in Uncertain TimesOne Firefly introduced the SMART Approach, a strategic framework designed to help businesses navigate challenging marketing waters during uncertain times. This approach focuses on securing customer loyalty, maintaining brand awareness, adding market share, reinforcing the future, and transmitting strength.Launching New Products and SolutionsThroughout the year, One Firefly expanded its product portfolio by introducing several new solutions designed to help AV professionals grow their businesses. These innovations include:LinkedIn & MSN Advertising: Expanding their advertising reach, One Firefly's introduction of LinkedIn and MSN advertising has empowered clients with even more ways to connect with their target audiences.Amplify People: A groundbreaking solution for AV hiring, Amplify People redefines talent acquisition in the industry, making the hiring process more efficient and effective. Amplify People was honored with the prestigious Residential Systems Best of Show Award at CEDIA 2023.Apple TV UI University: The Apple TV UI University Library offers an extensive collection of HD tutorials showcasing the extensive features and functionalities of using a smart Apple TV.A Redesigned Website and Enhanced User ExperienceOne Firefly unveiled a redesigned website after an extensive project, enhancing user experience and making it easier for clients and partners to access valuable information and resources.Corporate Programs and PartnershipsOne Firefly introduced new rounds of existing corporate programs, including Sony (4th iteration), Sony Projector (2nd iteration), DISH (2nd iteration), and Crestron Commercial (2nd iteration). In addition, the company established brand-new partnerships and unique co-marketing programs with Sony Commercial, DMF Lighting, AtlasIED, Lucetta, Focal Naim, and Savant Power, all leading manufacturers in the industry.Thought Leadership in AIIn the evolving landscape of technology, One Firefly continued to lead the way by providing thought leadership and guidance to the industry. Their contributions to harnessing the revolutionary power of AI have set the standard for innovation and progress.Active Industry EngagementOne Firefly attended 13 industry events throughout the year, reinforcing their commitment to staying at the forefront of industry developments and trends.Expanding into the UKOne Firefly expanded its services into the United Kingdom, marking a significant step in its global growth strategy. The team also attended their first UK trade show, EI Live, solidifying their presence in a worldwide market.Inc. 5000 RecognitionFor the fourth consecutive year, One Firefly earned a coveted spot on the Inc. 5000 list, landing at #3,844, a testament to their ongoing growth and success.Denver All-Staff Team EventIn July, One Firefly celebrated team unity with an all-staff event in Denver, Colorado, which included their first-ever all-staff Volunteer Day event. This event not only strengthened team bonds but also reinforced the company's commitment to giving back to the community.As the year draws to a close, One Firefly looks ahead with excitement and optimism, ready to continue making a significant impact in the custom integration industry in the coming year. Keep an eye out for exciting new product launches, AI initiatives, and more, coming soon in 2024.###About One FireflyOne Firefly is an award-winning, full-service marketing agency that caters to technology professionals in the residential and commercial custom integration markets. One Firefly is headquartered in Coral Springs, Florida, with staff throughout North America, and has been operating since 2007.Contact InformationMaria Penaloza maria.penaloza@newswire.com Related ImagesAI LogoEi LiveDenver Team EventSMART ApproachSOURCE: One Firefly PR-Inside.com: 2023-11-28 08:20:35 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 1050 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 UPPSALA, SWEDEN / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / Biovica International (STO:BIOVIC-B)(STO: BIOVIC.B)(FRA:9II) Continued sales growth and several commercial agreements signed!SEK tQ2 23/24Q2 22/23May-Oct 23/24May-Oct 22/23Full year 22/23Net sales2,5639614,3161,5063,383Operating profit (loss)-25,316-23,310-57,508-43,973-110,457Profit (loss) for the period-25,684-23,250-57,949-44,254-110,492Earnings per share, after dilution-0.56-0.81-1.27-1.55-3.17Number of shares at the end of the period45,741,39428,573,37245,741,39428,536,08934,828,207Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period46,93246,99746,93246,997114,327Significant events during the second quarterCAP accreditation obtained for the Biovica CLIA laboratory in San DiegoBiovica signs agreement for DiviTum TKa with world-renowned cancer clinic in FloridaDiviTum TKa to pursue Gap-fill process for CMS pricing decisionBiovica signs second agreement with largest healthcare provider in MissouriBiovica signs US agreement with leading healthcare provider in ArizonaBiovica announces the start of a prospective DivTum TKa clinical trial in partnership with Yale Cancer CenterResolution by the Board to conduct a rights issue of SEK 120 millionSummons to extraordinary general meeting on 23 NovemberSignificant events after the end of the periodCMS decides on price for DiviTum TKa for Medicare in USABiovica signs commercial partner for the DiviTum TKa assay in the NordicsResolution on rights issue passed at the extraordinary general meeting on 23 November 2023Webcast: When: 28/11 2023 kl. 15.00 CETWhere: register via lyyti: https://www.lyyti.fi/reg/Biovica_Q2_Earnings_call_2023__Live_Event_2257 Broadcast language: in EnglishCEO's commentsWe made progress during the quarter in all three of our priority areas, which are the USA, Europe and collaboration with pharmaceutical companies. Our focus remains on commercial activities, and we take great pride in witnessing the myriad advantages that DiviTum TKa brings to various stakeholders, including payers, pharmaceutical companies, and most importantly, the patients whose lives are positively impacted.Our work to sign contracts is progressing at a good pace and the agreed prices are in line with, or even above the expected levels. We have thus far announced the signing of three agreements with major hospital chains. They are with leading healthcare providers in the states of Arizona, Florida and Missouri. In total, these agreements cover approximately 50 hospitals.Our team in the USA has been very busy and we anticipate that there will be ten agreements signed with major hospital chains by the end of the financial year, in line with what we have previously communicated.The agreements are very important, since they facilitate being able to offer DiviTum TKa to patients who are being treated for their cancer. They also generate revenue for Biovica.We are also delighted by the enthusiasm we are seeing from oncologists who keep ordering the assay via our CLIA lab in San Diego. They have been placing regular orders and many are even increasing the frequency of their orders.The process of getting reimbursed from private insurance providers became further simplified during the quarter when our CLIA lab obtained CAP accreditation, which is verification of meeting the important standards on patient care and safety. It's a great achievement for our lab team!Since 1 October, Biovica has had a specific PLA code that is used by payers and suppliers for invoicing, reporting and processing of healthcare claims for our assay. The code is very important, since it is a prerequisite for becoming established in the US payment system.We previously communicated that our goal is to have an average price of USD 400 per assay in the US market. The decision from CMS issued in mid-November indicates that our chances of reaching that level or an even higher level are very good!CMS decided that DiviTum TKa will be able to use the crosswalk process to link a price to our PLA code, effective 1 January 2024. We regard this as very good news, since it shortens the processing time by a full year and also removes uncertainty about the pricing of our assay.The clinical use of the test is being bolstered by positive studies. Two important studies investigating the clinical utility of DiviTum TKa are TK IMPACT (currently underway at Washington University) and a study that got underway this quarter at Yale Cancer Center. A summary from both studies will be presented as posters in December at San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), which is the world's largest breast cancer symposium.Thus far in the TK IMPACT study, we have evidence that DiviTum TKa has been able to improve patient monitoring compared to the current standard. If the study continues in this direction and there is a successful outcome, it will significantly strengthen Biovica's argument for inclusion of the assay in guidelines and payment systems.One clear trend we are seeing is that there is demand from oncologists for biomarkers that give them feedback on whether the treatment they are administering is effective, since this is obviously very important for the patient. It is a trend that is gaining even more momentum because of Project Optimus. It is an initiative by the FDA to reform dose optimization and selection paradigm in oncology drug development, with a shift from maximum tolerated dose to minimum effective dose. This is fueling an even greater need for good biomarker assays that can be used to evaluate treatment effect, which is precisely what DiviTum TKa is.In Europe, our goal for quite some time has been to sign partnership agreements with the five largest, most populous countries in the EU (Italy, Spain, Germany the UK and France) plus the Nordics. We have already achieved that in Italy and our progress with negotiations indicates that we will have another agreement signed by the end of the fiscal year. Our partnership agreements in Europe give us access not only to a sales force, but also laboratories that perform analyses.Subsequent to the end of the period, we signed a commercial partnership agreement for the Nordics with Axlab, which is one of the leading companies for cancer screening and diagnostics in the Nordics. Axlab has an excellent network in the field of oncology, as well as extensive experience in oncology healthcare processes. They currently have 22 individuals in their oncology sales force but will be recruiting two more in conjunction with signing the agreement with Biovica, which makes us very enthusiastic about the collaboration.Three new projects started up during the period, which means that we now have 19 ongoing projects for collaboration and sales to pharm PR-Inside.com: 2023-11-28 17:05:17 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 406 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 HAMBURG, NY / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / Rezolut, LLC, a high-growth medical imaging business, is pleased to announce it has entered into a partnership agreement with Southtowns Radiology, headquartered in Hamburg, NY.Rezolut Logo Southtowns Radiology is a multi-modality, all-digital radiology network in Western New York, consisting of three imaging centers in Erie County. Southtowns provides women's imaging, preventative screenings, MRI, CT, Interventional Radiology, and a host of additional diagnostic imaging services. Founded in 1959 and led by a team of over 20 physicians, Southtowns is renowned for its compassionate technologists and board-certified radiologists - offering a patient-centric approach to care.Over the decades, Southtowns Radiology has garnered the trust of both healthcare providers and patients through a commitment to delivering expertise and compassion at every stage. Their patient-centric approach focuses on providing top-tier diagnostic imaging services with exceptional quality. This is made possible by a team of highly qualified and widely respected physicians, as well as committed technologists and staff members in the imaging centers.According to Dr. Jin Kim, CEO of Rezolut, "This partnership is important to Rezolut because of Southtowns' dedication to the community it serves, its core values, and its vision of delivering exceptional patient-centered care align seamlessly with our own. We are excited to join a team of professionals who prioritize patients' health and employ innovation through expertise and advanced technology to improve health outcomes. Additionally, our partnership with Southtowns strengthens our footprint in the Northeastern United States." "We are very excited about the opportunity to work closely with Rezolut to explore the growth and expansion of our Radiology services," said Dr. Asha Ziembiec, who has been serving as President of Southtowns Radiology. "We are also pleased to be able to continue operating our private practice group of Radiologists and will continue to provide interpretation services to Southtowns' patients while partnering with Rezolut." The acquisition increases Rezolut's number of outpatient imaging centers to 43 nationally, with 19 in the Northeast. The move demonstrates Rezolut's commitment to building an innovative, national, multi-modal platform that delivers high-quality patient service.About Rezolut, LLCRezolut is a national platform of diagnostic medical imaging services. With a focus on four key platforms, its mission is to provide and facilitate top-notch patient care, partnered with innovative technology, to achieve better health outcomes. To learn more about Rezolut, visit www.rezolut.com Contact InformationMike Morgan Associate Director of Marketing mike.morgan@rezolut.com 520-991-0322SOURCE: Rezolut, LLC PR-Inside.com: 2023-11-28 14:32:31 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 526 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 MIAMI, FL / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / Luminar Media Group, Inc. (OTC PINK:LRGR) Royale de Monte Carlo, "The World's Most Prestigious Vodka", today announces a series of strategic alliances to further enhance its brand presence and intensify customer engagement from its Miami office.Under the guidance of the acclaimed Rock Orange Agency, these partnerships aim to propel Royale de Monte Carlo to new heights, reinforcing its status as the pinnacle of vodka craftsmanship. This initiative is a testament to the brand's commitment to quality, leveraging its rich heritage and the skilled artisanship of fifth-generation master distillers in France.The expansion of its distribution network marks a significant milestone, with Royale de Monte Carlo proudly joining forces with Mexcor International in Florida, Nationwide Wine & Spirits in Pennsylvania, and Stefano Selections in the Washington DC area. These partnerships are meticulously chosen to bolster the brand's footprint and ensure its prominence in key markets.Complementing these distribution efforts, Royale de Monte Carlo has also enlisted Synergy Promo to create engaging off-premise events and tastings. This collaboration is crucial to the brand's strategic initiative to enhance its presence in Florida, aiming to make Royale de Monte Carlo a revered name among refined vodka aficionados.Juan Sese Chief Operating Officer at Royale de Monte Carlo, speaks on the new partnerships: "Uniting with Rock Orange, Mexcor International, Nationwide Wine & Spirits, Stefano Selections and Synergy Promo marks a significant chapter in our quest to offer unparalleled vodka experiences. These alliances are pivotal to our expansion strategy, mirroring our passion for excellence and our innovave approach to customer engagement." Rock Orange is ready to harmonize these new partnerships into a comprehensive branding strategy that will distinguish Royale de Monte Carlo as a leader in the luxury spirits sector.About Royale de Monte Carlo/ Luminar Media Group, Inc.Boasting offices in Miami, Florida, and distilled in the iconic Cognac region of France, Royale de Monte Carlo epitomizes ultra-premium vodka. This luxury beverage is adored globally for its refreshing coolness and impeccably smooth taste, crafted meticulously by fifth-generation master distillers in France. For further details, visit www.royaledemontecarlo.com About RockOrangeRockOrange is an award-winning integrated marketing and communications agency serving up Fresh Solid Ideas with global reach since 2012. Never checklist thinkers, our band of RockStars are driven by creative curiosity and strategic insights that deliver powerful personal connections. With expertise across businesses and around the globe, we use our proprietary FRESH Approach - a holistic set of guiding principles, to go deeper and deliver solid solutions for our partners that evoke emotion, set trends, and make an impact in the communities they serve.Get in touch: www.rockorange.com; Stay in touch: @teamrockorange.Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements concerning the prospective business opportunities of Royale de Monte Carlo/ Luminar Media Group, Inc. These statements are based on current beliefs and assumpons, and it is recommended to exercise caution due to inherent uncertainties. Further details on potential risks are available in the periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov Investor Relations Contact Robert Rico Royale de Monte CarloPh: 305-283-9237SOURCE: Luminar Media Group, Inc. PR-Inside.com: 2023-11-28 15:01:22 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 669 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Local nonprofit honors major donors and invites philanthropists to invest in the future of Weymouth's public libraries.WEYMOUTH, MA / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / On this Giving Tuesday, the Weymouth Libraries Foundation (WLF) proudly joins the global movement, reaffirming its commitment to transforming the town's local libraries into vibrant community hubs. Founded on the belief that libraries celebrate and sustain the growth of community, collaboration, and culture through traditions of reading, learning, and sharing, WLF continues to evolve and make significant strides since its inception in 2021. With a growing donation base, the addition of dedicated board members, and innovative initiatives on the horizon, WLF is poised to make a lasting impact on Weymouth's community for generations."The libraries represent our most significant investment in defining the next chapter of Weymouth's history," said Matt Tallon, President of Weymouth Libraries Foundation. "They cater to people of all ages and backgrounds, offering dynamic services that make a difference. Since the completion of Tufts Library's rebuild in late 2020, it has transformed into an important regional asset. The WLF is committed to enhancing the ongoing positive impact on our community by providing endowed resources that will shape our future." Momentum: Building a Stronger FutureIn the last year, WLF has experienced notable growth, witnessing a significant year-over-year increase in major donations, emphasizing the community's faith in its mission. The organization also launched its Foundational 400 campaign on the heels of Weymouth's 400th anniversary in 2022, which continues to serve as an opportunity for local families to invest in Weymouth's next chapter while recognizing the town's legacy. This growth has enabled WLF to expand its reach and begin developing more concrete plans to foster new programs designed for the Tufts and Fogg Libraries.Moreover, WLF has welcomed new esteemed board members in 2023, including Directors: Kerry Hynes of South Shore Bank, Erin O'Brien of UMASS Boston, Nina Pfister of MAG PR, and community advocate & donor Julie Hackett, whose passion and dedication have already begun to shape the foundation's impactful journey.Honoring Julie Hackett: A Beacon of CompassionJulie Hackett, a native of South Weymouth and a retired professional, has become an integral part of Weymouth's community fabric. Her participation as an active board member and sizable donation to WLF exemplify the spirit of generosity and dedication, inspiring others to actively engage in community service. Julie's involvement in the South Shore Food Bank and Weymouth Food Pantry, and her commitment to nurturing young readers at the Tufts Library, exemplify her profound impact.Reflecting on her childhood experiences as a Weymouth resident, Hackett shared, "The library has always been one of my favorite places to visit, and I wanted to make today's Weymouth libraries a favorite place for others." WLF aims to honor Hackett and her family with a dedication of the Jack and Pat Hackett Children's Program Room.Vision for What's Next: Transparent CommitmentWLF is committed to transparency. The first tangible initiative on the nonprofit's horizon involves financing innovative programs that directly align with Weymouth Public Libraries FY2024 Action Plan. As part of this commitment, donations will be used to fund educational and community-building initiatives, ensuring a positive impact on our libraries and the community they serve.This Giving Tuesday, we invite you to join us in empowering the future of our libraries. Your support will enable us to continue fostering a love for reading, learning, and community engagement. To make your tax deductible donation today, visit our website and/or email Matt Tallon at weymouthlibrariesfoundation@ gmail.com to schedule a meet-and-greet.###About Weymouth Libraries FoundationWeymouth Libraries Foundation is a 501(c) non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing literacy, education, and community engagement in the town of Weymouth, MA. Through strategic partnerships, innovative programs, and community support, the foundation strives to transform libraries into inclusive spaces that empower individuals of all ages to explore, learn, and grow. Learn more on our website at www.weymouthlibrariesfoundation.org Media Contact: Nina Pfister, Board Member, Weymouth Libraries Foundation; E: weymouthlibrariesfoundation@ gmail.com; T: 781-929-5620SOURCE: Weymouth Libraries Foundation PR-Inside.com: 2023-11-28 14:16:03 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 771 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Appliances installed in schools through the program now provide an estimated 50,000 students across 40 states with access to clean clothes, helping to combat chronic absenteeismNORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / Whirlpool Corporation brand announces its eighth and biggest year of the Care Counts Laundry Program, which provides access to washers and dryers in schools primarily located in underserved communities. For the 2023-2024 academic year, the program has expanded to 154 schools across 40 states, including new schools in Connecticut, Michigan, Montana, North Carolina and Oregon. The program now provides an estimated 50,000 students with clean clothes, a driver of absenteeism in the United States. Chronic absenteeism remains a national education crisis, impacting an estimated 16 million students across the country1, or approximately one in three students."We are immensely proud of the profoundly positive impact that the Care Counts Laundry Program has had in decreasing absenteeism in participating schools; not only has the program had a direct impact in increasing student attendance, but also their grades," said Nelly Martinez, senior brand leader for Whirlpool brand. "At the core of our brand's values lies a deep commitment to improving the lives of families, and this program continues to reflect our purpose with a meaningful impact on a critical issue." We are immensely proud of the profoundly positive impact that the Care Counts Laundry Program has had in decreasing absenteeism in participating schools; not only has the program had a direct impact in increasing student attendance, but also their grades," said Nelly Martinez, senior brand leader for Whirlpool brand.With support from Teach For America, the Care Counts Laundry Program by Whirlpool brand has increased attendance rates and grades since the program's inception in 2015. Based on findings from the 2022-2023 academic year, nearly 80% of participating high-risk elementary school students2 where the program is active saw an increase in attendance."As a former teacher, I've seen what the lack of basic resources would have on my students and how something as simple as a clean shirt could make a major difference," said McKenzie Roney, Managing Director of Corporate Partnerships at Teach For America. "Since TFA began supporting the Care Counts Laundry Program by Whirlpool brand, we've seen a noticeable increase in attendance, grades and even student engagement within their classrooms." In analyzing the impact of the Care Counts Laundry Program since its inception, Whirlpool brand has observed:Participating high-risk elementary school students3 saw an average increase in attendance rate that would result in 16 more days in school across a full academic year.Nearly 68% of participating high-risk elementary school students4 decreased their level of chronic absenteeism while in the Care Counts Laundry Program.Nearly 61% of participating high-risk students5 were no longer at risk for chronic absenteeism at the end of the 2022-2023 academic year.By 2028, Whirlpool brand is committed to expanding the Care Counts Laundry Program to all 50 states and doubling the number of participating schools in the fight to eliminate chronic absenteeism. Beyond Teach For America, Whirlpool will continue to work with schoolteachers, administrators and researchers to monitor the impact of the program."There is an undoubtable research-based correlation between access to clean clothes and attendance given the lack of resources available to students nationwide" said Richard Rende, Ph.D., a developmental psychologist and researcher supporting the program. "Whirlpool has made tremendous strides in combating the issue of absenteeism with this successful, hands-on approach, and this is set to continue on a positive trajectory as the program grows." For a visual representation of the program's impact, Whirlpool brand has also released Care Counts Continued, a short film that features students, teachers and other partners who have benefitted from the Care Counts Laundry Program since its start. To learn more about the Care Counts Laundry Program by Whirlpool brand, visit https://www.whirlpool.com/care-counts 1 Source: A Review of State Attendance Data Policy and Practice in School Year 2022-232 High-risk elementary school students are defined as elementary students who have missed 10% or more days of school during a reporting period.3 High-risk elementary school students are defined as elementary students who have missed 10% or more days of school during a reporting period.4 High-risk elementary school students are defined as elementary students who have missed 10% or more days of school during a reporting period.5 High-risk elementary school students are defined as elementary students who have missed 10% or more days of school during a reporting period.View original content here.View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Whirlpool Corporation on 3 blmedia.com Contact Info:Spokesperson: Whirlpool CorporationWebsite: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/whirlpool-corporation Email: info@3 blmedia.com SOURCE: Whirlpool Corporation PR-Inside.com: 2023-11-28 15:02:34 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 549 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 BEIJING, CHINA / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / On November 17th, Beijing XSKY Technology Co., Ltd. (XSKY) announced its groundbreaking distributed all-flash architecture "XSEA (eXtreme Shared-Everything Architecture)" and XINFINI, an all-flash distributed storage solution.The CEO of XSKY, XU Xin, stated that leveraging the pioneering "XSEA" architecture, XSKY has developed XINFINI, an all-flash distributed storage solution that would significantly reduce the cost of using all-flash storage. This move aims to propel the entire industry into the era of "All Data on All Flash." Embracing the XSEA Shared-Everything Architecture for All-Flash Data CentersThe CTO of XSKY, WANG Haomai, explained that the XSEA architecture is the result of eight years of continuous refinement and innovation in storage technology. Built on the latest standard storage protocols and network technologies, XSEA introduces three key technological innovations:Shared Everything: XSEA employs a shared-everything model, enabling each node to directly access all SSDs. This provides better performance scalability and service quality, offering a global perspective on data logic.Single Tier Flash: Utilizing Append Only writing method, optimized for TLC NVMe SSD, reducing hardware configuration complexity.End-to-End NVMe: The storage system provides NVMe-oF protocol externally, while internally, replication networks and IO processing also use NVMe-oF, ensuring efficient handling of IO paths.With these innovations, XSEA achieves three significant milestones:Achieving an ultra-low latency of 100 microseconds at 40%-60% loadsAchieving over 100% storage usable efficiency (usable capacity/raw capacity) through global EC and data compression technologiesSwift switching within 100 milliseconds during slow drives or subhealthy network scenarios, ensuring system stability.XINFINI all-Flash Storage Serving Diverse Business ScenariosLeveraging the XSEA architecture, XSKY introduced the XINFINI software and XINFINI 9000 all-flash storage appliance, marking the industry's first shared-everything architecture for distributed all-flash primary storage.XINFINI software is a highly integrated and modular storage system, inheriting the capabilities of XSKY SDS block storage and file storage. It provides a unified storage platform supporting converged deployments for scenarios such as virtualization, private cloud, OLTP, HPDA, and AI/ML.XINFINI 9000, combining validated hardware with XINFINI software, delivers top-tier all-flash storage performance, the reliability of centralized storage, and exceptional space efficiency, ensuring a seamless storage experience.The XINFINI software and XINFINI 9000 are dedicated to providing a comprehensive storage solution for all-flash data centers across various business scenarios. During the launch event, XSKY, in collaboration with customers and partners such as Intel, showcased NVMe DAS comparative tests, centralized all-flash comparative tests, and public cloud high-speed disk comparative tests.Built on the innovative XSEA architecture and XINFINI all-flash storage, XSKY has established a robust ecosystem. It has collaborated with numerous partners, including Intel, Inspur, GDTV Wuzhou, Kirin Software, openEuler, ZStack, Alauda, OceanBase, Transwarp, SinoSoft, and SCUTECH, and more, to validate the entire stack of technology from hardware devices, cloud platforms, operating systems, critical business components to core business applications.WANG Haomai emphasized that the XINFINI products based on the XSEA architecture will further integrate with the existing XSKY SDS V6. XSKY remains committed to its single technology platform strategy, ensuring a consistent storage experience. The company will continue to provide superior software-defined storage products and solutions to help customers achieve its goal of data "make data alive".For more information about XSKY, please visit: https://www.xsky.com/en/ Media ContactName: Jinhua QiEmail: qi.jinhua@xsky.com SOURCE: XSKY The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace, Festus Keyamo, has said that the Abuja-bound aircraft that landed in Asaba, Delta State, on Sunday, was not due to bad weather, contrary to the claim of the airline. The aircraft, belonging to United Nigeria Airlines Limited, landed at Asaba International Airport in Delta State, instead of Abuja, causing confusion among air passengers. Salihu Tanko-Yakasai, the 2023 governorship candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) in Kano State, who was a passenger on the flight, shared an account of the incident in a post on his X handle. We departed Lagos about an hour ago on @flyunitedng to Abuja, and upon arrival, the cabin crew confidently announced that weve arrived Abuja, only for us to realise that we landed in Asaba, Mr Tanko-Yakasai wrote at about 4:22 p.m. on Sunday. Shortly after the incident was reported, the airline in a statement by its spokesperson, Uchegbu Achilleus-Chud, explained that the affected aircraft, NUA 0504, was temporarily diverted to Asaba International Airport due to poor destination weather. A United Nigeria Airlines flight, NUA 0504, operating from the MM@ in Lagos enroute Abuja on Sunday, November 26, 2023, was temporarily diverted to the Asaba International Airport due to poor destination weather, the airline said. But in his reaction, Mr Keyamo maintained that there was no bad weather in Abuja on the said day and what happened was an administrative mistake on the part of the airline. He explained that the aircraft was operated through a wet lease arrangement and the crew members were foreigners. Wet leasing refers to leasing an aircraft with pilots, cabin crew, maintenance or insurance, and typically applies to longer timeframes. Mr Keyamo disclosed that he listened to the communication between the tower and the pilot, as released by the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA). According to him, the pilot confirmed to the tower that the plane was heading to Asaba, not Abuja. It was clear that when the pilot was taking off from Lagos, he was headed to Asaba, not Abuja. Whereas the flight was headed to Abuja. There was no weather problem in Abuja. It was a question of a wet lease where the pilot and the crew were all foreigners, not Nigerians, he said. The NCAA already said that it was investigating the incident to forestall future reoccurrence. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. A delegation headed by the Chairman of the State Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture of the Republic of Azerbaijan Anar Guliyev is taking part in the third session of the UN Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat), which is held at the headquarters in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, Trend reports, referring to the State Committee for Urban Planning and Architecture. The session discusses the development of an international guidance document on smart cities around the world and the implementation of roadmaps for the development of UN-Habitat's strategic plan for 2026-2029. Back in October 2023, an event dedicated to World Habitat Day was held for the first time in Baku within the Azerbaijan Urban Week, organized jointly by the State Committee for Urban Planning and Architecture of Azerbaijan and the UN Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat). The event consisted of two sessions and plenary meetings on various topics, and was attended by government officials, experts, media representatives from Azerbaijan and foreign countries. The 2nd Azerbaijan National Urban Development Forum, themed Sustainable cities as a leading force for economic development and the fight against inequality, as part of the Urban Week events, organized jointly with the UN Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat), was held in Zangilan. In September 2023, Azerbaijan signed a document to allocate $1 million to the UN Human Settlements Program. Stay up to date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Experts on gender-based violence have called for the use of a community-based approach to end Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in Nigeria. The call was made on Saturday in Abuja during an event to mark the closing session of the Sista Sista Book Club and the commencement of the 16 Days of Activism against SGBV. The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an annual international campaign that kicks off on 25 November. The Sista Sista Book Club, an initiative of the Feminism Lab project of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), Nigeria, was established to use reading as a vehicle for promoting sisterhood built on the ideals of feminism and to build the capacity, self-esteem, and agency of young girls and women in Nigeria. The event featured a panel of discussants, moderated by a journalist, Bakare Majeed, titled; Inter Sectoral and Community Driven Discussion on Securing Children and Responding to SGBV in Public Spaces. The session featured Istifanus Shegaje, the Esu of Chika; Fatima Bamalli, an Islamic counsellor; Kemi Ajet, the head of the gender unit at the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and a filmmaker and gender specialist, Priye Diri, The experts emphasised the need to have a community-driven engagement to end the menace of SGBV and create safe spaces for women and girls. They also highlighted the need to engender trust between law enforcement agencies and the community to ensure quick response and implementation of policies on ending SGBV. Furthermore, they called for the enforcement of relevant laws that seek to protect women and girls in Nigeria. Speaking on the sidelines of the event, Mrs Ajet said the NSCDC is repositioning the gender unit to effectively respond to issues around gender. She added that the corps is hoping to see an improvement in the budget of the gender unit. Presently, the NSCDC is a gender responsible organizationfriendly and sensitive organization. The government has seen the work we are doing and is also looking to see that the gender budget line for the NSCDC is inculcated into the 2024 budget, Mr Ajet said. Another panellist, Mrs Bamalli urged the government to create an enabling environment that would encourage prompt reporting of cases and swift judgement. One of the ways forward is practical actions and simple steps. Practical actions, no matter how little, keep piling up and become bigger actions. Government must be assertive. For instance, we have the Child Rights Act, but the action is not there. Let the government take prompt action. Once a case of rape, molestation or abuse is reported, consequences should be immediate, she said. The coordinator of Sista Sista Club, Andrea Kwen, stated that 16 days of activism is beyond the social media hashtag or events but taking the campaign to households. She stated that SGBV will continue to reduce as long as society becomes more equal. Today marks the commencement of the 16 days of activism campaign and I think that as a feminist, it goes beyond the hashtag or the grand gestures. It is about taking action in our private spaces. The more equal our society is, the less the number of women suffering SGBV, she said. Speaking about the Sista Sista Club, Juliana Anosike, a project manager at FES, explained that it affords young girls a safe place to read and share ideas. She noted that the closing event for the club is now an annual event. Dozens of young girls participated in this years closing session of the Sista Sista Book Club. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print A group, the Gender Mobile Initiative (GMI), has called on President Bola Tinubu to assent to the Sexual Harassment Prohibition in Tertiary Education Institutions Bill that is currently before him. The Lead Director of the group, Omowumi Ogunrotimi, made the call at a press conference in Abuja on Monday, as part of the activities marking this years edition of 16 Days of Activism annual programme. The programme runs from the 25 November to 10 December every year to call for an end to violence against women. The theme for this year is: Unite to End Violence against Women Campaign. Ms Ogunrotimi said sexual harassment has in the recent time assumed a critical dimension in Nigerian tertiary institutions, thereby making the need for a legal framework to tackle the menace more urgent. She said addressing sexual harassment in tertiary institutions is a national emergency that demands swift and decisive action. In Nigeria today, we have over 350 institutions of higher learning; thats to tell you that addressing the issue in one institution at a time, would probably take a long time, she said. But when we have a comprehensive legal framework its not that there are no frameworks, there are frameworks but they are inadequate. Bill history In 2016 Ovie Omo-Agege, as then a member of Nigerian senate, introduced the bill to prevent sexual harassment in tertiary institutions. Debates on the bill were not concluded as of the end of the 8th National Assembly in 2019. But Mr Omo-Agege, when he later became the the Deputy Senate President in the subsequent 9th National Assembly, alongside 106 other senators, reintroduced the bill in 2019. The bill titled: A Bill for an Act to Prevent, Prohibit and Redress Sexual Harassment of Students in Tertiary Educational Institutions and for Matters Concerned therewith, 2019, was reintroduced in the Senate on 9 October 2019 and scaled second reading on 6 November 2019. he bill, which seeks to promote and protect ethical standards in tertiary institutions, proposes up to 14 years jail term for offenders. It also seeks to protect students against sexual harassment as well as prevent sexual harassment of students by educators in tertiary institutions. But the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) opposed the bill when it was introduced. The then President of the Union, Abiodun Ogunyemi, a professor, said the bill was targeted at stigmatising lecturers of higher institutions. Mr Ogunyemi made his position known during a public hearing on the bill in February, 2020. Both houses of the National Assembly, however, passed the bill in June and transmitted it to the president for assent. But the president has yet to assent to the bill. Harassment as epidemic Ms Ogunrotimi noted that the recent protest against the Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Calabar (UNICAL) by some brave students underscores the urgency to confront the gravity of the issue and demand immediate action to protect the rights and well-being of students across the nation. The epidemic proportion of this issue serves as a poignant reminder that we must address the root causes and implement robust measures to dismantle the culture of sexual harassment that pervades our institutions of higher learning, she said. She said there are various initiatives to combat the scourge of sexual harassment including a sexual harassment prohibition policy co-designed and validated by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the GMI, and higher education institutions, and endorsed by the Federal Ministry of Education. However, a critical void persists as an urgent need for a comprehensive legal framework that provides statutory backing to criminalise sexual harassment in higher education institutions is necessry, she said. She added that the absence of a dedicated legal framework leaves a critical gap that must be filled to ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of efforts against sexual harassment. Promising solution The GMI Lead Director noted that the passing of the Sexual Harassment bill to become a law remains the promising solution. She said the legislation is crafted to address the nuances of sexual harassment, providing a clear definition of offenses, establishing stringent penalties for perpetrators, and outlining mechanisms for the prevention and redress of sexual harassment. She added that the presidents action will send a powerful message about the nations values and its dedication to fostering an environment where every student, particularly female students, can thrive. Ms Ogunrotimi noted that the need for statutory backing is not just a formality, but a fundamental requirement to ensure that the provisions of the bill are legally enforceable to effect real change. Qosim Suleiman is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Following a security breach that occurred in Sierra Leone on Sunday, Nigeria and ECOWAS on Monday sent a delegation to Freetown. Sierra Leone President Julius Bio made this known in a post on X where he described the delegation as high-powered. The delegation included Nigerias National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; Nigerias Chief of Defense Staff, Christopher Musa; Chief of Defence Military Intelligence, Emmanuel Udiandeye, and the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Touray. According to Mr Bio, the delegation conveyed a message of solidarity from the Chairman of the ECOWAS Committee of Heads of State and Nigerias President, Bola Tinubu, as well as that of the other ECOWAS Heads of State and Government. He noted that the delegation reiterated the sub-regional blocs commitment towards preserving democracy and good governance across the sub-region while assuring of their readiness to work with his government towards forestalling any future security occurrences. My Governments commitment to democracy, justice, the well-being and safety of our citizens remains unwavering, he said. READ ALSO: Sierra Leones government on Sunday announced a nationwide curfew following an attack on a military armoury. The attack saw the abduction of prisoners from a correctional facility. The government has, however, assured citizens that it is on top of the situation and has arrested some persons responsible for the attack including some senior military officers. Mr Bio assured that his government will continue to work towards preserving and promoting the priceless peace that Sierra Leone has enjoyed as a country since the end of its decade-long civil war 21 years ago. The security breach in Sierra Leone is occurring during a period of political uncertainty in many West and Central African countries with the resurgence of military coups. Coups have taken place in countries like Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad and Gabon in recent years. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print President Bola Tinubu is seeking approval of the Senate to obtain another loan facility of $8.69 billion and 100 million as part of the 2022-2024 external borrowing plan of the federal government. President Tinubus request was contained in a letter read by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, during the plenary sessions on both chambers on Tuesday. There are, however, indications that it is not a fresh request but an increase in the figure the president requested in his letter to the National Assembly on 1 November. On 1 November, Mr Tinubu asked the National Assembly to grant him permission to go ahead with with the processing of a loan facility of $7.86 billion and 100 million requested during the administration of Mr Buhari as part of the external borrowing plan of 2022 2024. The loan request has not been granted since it was requested. Although he did not state it in Tuesdays letter, it is believed that the president increased a component of the loan from $7.86 billion to N8.69 billion. The presidents request is coming a day before he is billed to present the 2024 budget to the National Assembly. In the letter, Mr Tinubu said the loan was first requested during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari under the 2022 2024 external borrowing plan. This is the second time the president will be requesting permission of the lawmakers to obtain foreign loan under the 2022 2024 external borrowing plan initiated by Mr Buhari before he exited office in May. Loan for key sectors Mr Tinubu said the new loan request will be used to finance infrastructure, agriculture, health, education, water supply, security and employment as well as financial management reforms. He said the loan is necessary in order to make his administration fulfill its promises. The letter reads I write in respect of the above subject and to submit the attached federal government 2022-2024 external borrowing plan for consideration and early approval of the National Assembly to ensure prompt implementation of the projects. The senate may wish to note that the past administration approved a 2022-2024 borrowing plan by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) held on May 15, 2023. The project cuts across all sectors, with specific emphasis on infrastructure, agriculture, health, water supply, roads, security, and employment generation as well as financial management reforms. Consequently, the required approval is in the sum of $8,699,168,559 and 100 million. I would like to underscore the fact that the projects and programmes in the borrowing plan were selected based on economic evaluations as well as the expected contribution to the social economic development of the country, including employment generation, and skills acquisition. Given the nature of these facilities, and the need to return the country to normalcy it has become necessary for the Senate to consider and approve the 2022- 2024 external abridged borrowing plan to enable the government deliver its responsibility to Nigerians. Two weeks ago, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, said Nigeria cannot rely on borrowing to fund the 2024 budget. Mr Edun said this when he appeared before the joint Senate Committee on the 2024-2026 MTEF in Abuja. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print President Bola Tinubu has transmitted the 2022/2023 external borrowing plan to the House of Representatives for approval. According to a letter from the president read on the floor of the House by Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, on Tuesday, the government is seeking to borrow $8.6 billion and 100 million. The borrowing plan includes $1 billion from the African Development Bank and $1.5 billion from the World Bank group. President Tinubu said the 2022-2024 external borrowing rolling plan was approved by the previous administration of President Muhammadu Buhari on 15 May 2023. The Honourable members may wish to know that the past administration approved the 2022 -2024 borrowing plan at the Federal Executive Council held on 15 May 2023, the letter reads in part. He said the loan would be used to execute projects which cut across sectors with specific emphasis on infrastructure, agriculture, health, education, water supply, roads, security, and employment generation as well as financial management among others. Mr Tinubu stated that the borrowing becomes necessary considering the huge infrastructure deficit in the country and the enormous financial resources required to bridge the gap in funding infrastructure in the face of dwindling financial resources. Given the nature of these facilities and the need to return the country to normalcy, it has become necessary to request the House of Representatives to consider and approve the 2022-2024 external abridged borrowing plan to enable the government to deliver its responsibilities to Nigerians through expedient disbursement and efficient project implementation, the letter reads. Mr Tinubu had earlier in November sent a borrowing plan to the National Assembly for approval. The letter contained approval of $7.8 billion and 100 million. The new plan shows that the government has now increased its borrowing plan. The president in his letter on Tuesday appears to have increased a component of the loan from $7.8 billion to $8.6 billion. Federal debt stock According to the National Bureau Statistics (NBS), Nigerias public debt stock which includes external and domestic debt rose to N87.38 trillion (US$113.42 billion) in Q2 2023 from N49.85 trillion (US$ 108.30 billion) in Q1 2023. This, according to NBS, indicates a growth rate of 75.27 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis. The statistics office said total external debt stood at N33.25 trillion (US$43.16 billion) in Q2 2023, while total domestic debt was N54.13 trillion (US$70.26 billion). Tinubu presents 2024 budget Mr Tinubu also informed the House that he will be presenting the 2024 budget to the legislature at 11 a.m. May I crave the kind indulgence of the House of the House of Representatives to grant me the .1100 hours on Wednesday 29th November 2023, to formally present the 2024 appropriation bill to a joint session of the National Assembly, Mr Tinubu said. After the speaker read the letter, the House dissolved into a closed-door session for about one hour. Upon resumption, the Chief Whip of the House, Bello Kumo, moved a motion to reserve 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday for the president to enter into the chamber and address the joint session. The motion was adopted unanimously and passed. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The police in Enugu State, South-east Nigeria, have detained some officers accused of misconduct in the state. PREMIUM TIMES reported that the Commissioner of Police in the state, Kanayo Uzuegbu, ordered an investigation into an alleged unprofessional conduct of police operatives in the Nsukka Area of the state. Mr Uzuegbu had explained that his directive followed a recent receipt of social media reports alleging unprofessional conduct on the part of some police officers in Nsukka town, according to a statement issued on Sunday by the police spokesperson in the state, Daniel Ndukwe. The police in the state, in a post on their X handle on Monday, confirmed the detention of the officers. The police team is in custody, the police wrote on the microblogging platform. The identities of the detained officers were, however, not disclosed in the post. The police, meanwhile, have asked victims of the officers alleged misconduct to come to the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID). The request, according to the police, was to help in ensuring speedy investigation and disciplinary trials of the detained officers. We kindly request those who may have suffered any act of misconduct by any member or the team as alleged, to visit the State CID Enugu and volunteer information/evidence, the police added. Background Cases of alleged police misconduct against Nigerians are not new. In October 2020, Nigerian youths protested against police brutality across the country and called for disbandment of the now defunct Special Anti-Robbery Unit (SARS) of the police. Despite the ban on SARS, the cases of police brutality have persisted across the country. Six officers, for instance, were caught in a viral video, in April, using a machete to smack two unidentified people in Imo State. The police in the state would later begin an orderly room trial of the officers. In September, four police officers were arrested for allegedly assaulting a traveller in Rivers State. Days after, a young man accused some officers in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, of allegedly kidnapping, locking him up in a police cell and forcing him to pay a sum of money before being released. The police in the state subsequently arrested the officers who allegedly carried out the act. In April, a police officer who was filmed slapping a motorist in the Emouha Area of the state, was demoted. The Emouha incident occurred a few days after Ubi Ebri, another officer, allegedly shot dead a young man in the neighbouring Delta State for reportedly refusing to give a N100 bribe. PREMIUM TIMES reported how youths in Delta State protested with the victims corpse along major roads in Asaba. Mr Ebri, the officer, was immediately arrested, dismissed from service and later arraigned. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print A group, North-central Development Initiative, has accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of exclusion of North-central indigenes from major federal appointments. Coordinator of the group, Musa Otigba, said this at a press conference in Abuja on Monday. The North-central geo-political zone comprises six states, namely Benue, Nasarawa, Kwara, Niger, Plateau and Kogi. The Federal Capital Territory is also in the zone. Mr Otigba said Mr Tinubu has not been fair to the region in the appointments he made since he assumed office in May. In all appointments of heads of government agencies, departments and parastatals made so far by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the North-central region has not been carried along as there is no important position given to anyone from the region. As mentioned earlier, top cabinet appointments were given to the exclusion of North central region. In the same vein, the heads of very important agencies like the Nigeria army, police, customs and immigration, EFCC, CBN, Band of Industry, FIRS, FCSC, NPHCDA, NIPOST, ITF, NEPZA, Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, NIWA, ARCON, NSIPA, NELMCO, and still counting, are all given to a particular region, while the North-central region has almost nothing, he said. Mr Otigba also said the appointments so far made by President Tinubu are against the principles of the federal character. This is not good in a country that practice democracy and said to be guided by federal character principles. As we speak today, all our political leaders who toiled through thick and thin to convince our people in the region to vote APC/Tinubu during the election are not carried along in the government they laboured so hard to bring on board, he said. The coordinator said the people of North-central region have the capacity to head Ministries Departments and Agencies of the federal government He therefore called on the president to do whatever he can by appointing people from the region into some strategic agencies of the federal government. The region has capable hands that can head strategic government agencies like NIMASA, NPA, NNPC Limited, BCDA, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), FERMA, NEMA, RMAFC, NPC, PSC, etc, just like any other region. The government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, should do whatever it can, to erase the suspicion in some quarters that, there is a deliberate attempt to continue to undermine the North-central region and its people under this administration. The North-central deserves better deal that it has gotten so far in this government. Mr Otigba also appealed to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to look into the issue of marginalisation of the region. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The police in Anambra State said they have arrested Jeff Nweke, the managing director of Blue Shield Securities, a private security company in Awka. The Commissioner of Police in the state, Aderemi Adeoye, confirmed the arrest to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Awka on Monday. NAN reports that the police had accused Mr Nweke of sponsoring a nude protest in Awka against the police with a view to evading criminal charges against him. The police also accused him of illegal possession of forearms, land grabbing, shooting of police operatives and terrorism. The matter was charged to three courts but the suspect refused to appear in any, according to the police. The police commissioner said the suspect had been on the run but was arrested in Abuja on Friday. Yes, Jeff Nweke has been arrested, he was arrested in Abuja last Friday. His arrest is with respect to the various charges against him and his arraignment, which he has evaded, he said. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Cross River State Government, on Tuesday, gave N1 million grant each to 10 hotels in Calabar as part of its efforts to boost tourism in the state. The 10 exceptional hotels were carefully selected based on their commendable efforts in staying up-to-date with licensing requirements and their potential for remarkable growth. The recognition is not merely a financial grant. It is a vote of confidence in their commitment to excellence, service quality, and the advancement of the states tourism landscape, Ojoi Ekpenyong, managing director, Cross River Tourism Bureau, said at the Cross River Tourism Grant Award Presentation. He said the effort was also aimed at ensuring that hotels in the state were in good shape. The 10 hotels that got the grants would be closely monitored in line with the grant criteria and the minimum requirements for industry standards, he added. Mr Ekpenyong said the award, which was starting with hotels in the Southern Senatorial District of the state, would continue in the first quarter of 2024 in the Central Senatorial District, and then move to the Northern District in the third quarter before returning to the south before the 2024 Calabar Carnival. We acknowledge that the tourism industry thrives when our hospitality partners are thriving. It is in this spirit that we embarked on this journey of empowerment, knowing that by investing in our hotels, we invest in the very essence of our tourism potential, he said. In his remarks, the state Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Abubakar Ewa, noted that the hospitality industry in Cross River suffered stagnation in the last few years and needed to be revived. Mr Ewa appealed to the benefitting hotels to use the grants judiciously, noting that Cross River would move from strength to strength with support from the hospitality industry. Responding, the Chairperson, Cross River chapter of Hoteliers Association of Nigeria, Charles Ogar, said it was the first time such gesture was extended to hoteliers in the state. He advised the 10 benefiting hotels to use the grant judiciously as they had been chosen out of 360 hotels in the state. A beneficiary of the grant and Chief Executive Officer of his Calabar-based hotel, Ettete Samson, expressed appreciation to the state government for the grant. He said, however, that more needed to be done to boost tourism in Cross River, particularly in the area of power supply, low patronage and the dearth of flights into Calabar. The grants came as kickers for the commencement of the 2023 Calabar Carnival, the first under the administration of Governor Bassey Otu. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. The II International Workshop on "Mine action: innovations and best practices" has started in Baku, Trend reports. The goal of this two-day workshop is to promote global awareness of Azerbaijan's existing mine problem, to present breakthrough technology in the field of humanitarian de-mining, and to establish international relationships in this area. The workshop organized by Azerbaijan includes over 100 representatives from international organizations, operational and manufacturing companies engaged in de-mining activities from 25 countries around the world, official government officials, as well as representatives of state structures and the diplomatic corps accredited in Azerbaijan. The Chairman of the Board of the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) Vugar Suleymanov delivered an opening speech at the workshop, informing participants about the scale of the mine problem in the country. Mines and explosive remnants of war, he said, continue to pose major difficulties to the sustainable development of freed territory, people's well-being, and the environment. Suleymanov urged for increased cooperation in this sector, the exchange of information and experience, and global collaboration to achieve a world free of mines. Rufat Mammadov, Chief of Staff at Azerbaijan's Cabinet of Ministers, emphasized the relevance of the technical workshop in terms of examining the capabilities of international demining institutions, evaluating experience and outcomes in this sector, overcoming problems, and boosting partnership. Speaking at the occasion, UN Resident Coordinator Vladanka Andreeva emphasized that innovative approaches to identifying long-term solutions to mine threats, efficient use of technology, and the exchange of advanced experiences among mine-affected nations are critical. She stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation and international assistance in combating the mine danger in Azerbaijan as precondition for long-term prosperity and peace. The official opening of the 2nd International Technical Workshop on "Mine threat" within a European Union-funded project implemented in collaboration with the UN Development Program, ANAMA, the International Eurasia Press Fund, and non-governmental organization MAG (Mines Advisory Group) was followed by a certificate award ceremony for members of Azerbaijan's first women's de-mining group. The workshop, which included representatives from local and foreign government structures as well as international organizations, included panel discussions on the most recent innovations in the process of researching territories, the environmental impact of mine threats and demining, information management, and the use of modern technologies in informing about explosive hazards. An exhibition of items from operating structures and manufacturing enterprises is on display as part of the event. The program will continue on the second day with relevant presentations and panel discussions from participating groups. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel A book by a former editor of Nigerian Tribune, Folu Olamiti, will on Thursday be presented to the public at the University of Ibadan International Conference Centre, Ibadan. The chairman of the organising committee of the event, Raheem Adedoyin, disclosed this in a statement, on Monday. According to Mr Adedoyin, the book, titled A Peep Into the Past, is part memoir and part collection of landmark articles and reportage by Mr Olamiti in his about 50 years career in journalism. A former governor of Ogun State and doyen of journalism in Nigeria, Olusegun Osoba, has been announced as the chair at the event that is expected to be attendd by a number of veterans as well as practicing journalists. Mr Osoba will be supported in the role by a former Managing Director of Daily Times of Nigeria, Tola Adeniyi, who also wrote the foreword to the book. The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris Malagi, as standing in as the Special Guest of Honour and Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State as the Chief Host Governors Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu(Ondo) ,Mr. Abiodun Qbayomi Oyebanji(Ekiti), AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq(Kwara) who doubles as Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum) and former Governors of Ekiti and Ondo states, Dr Kayode Fayemi and Dr Segun Mimiko respectively are expected to attend. This book is more or less a guide and a tutorial on political reporting as well as a study in human and public relations. Even though it is not a biography or autobiography, it nonetheless reveals the innermost character trait of Folu Olamiti as a humanist, a philosopher imbued with the deepest candour and spiritual piety. It could well have been titled A Peep into Folus Mind, Mr Adeniyi wrote in the foreword. Profile The author is a fellow of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), who worked for 32 years at the African Newspapers of Nigeria Plc, Publishers of the Tribune titles, in different roles as Editor of the Sunday Tribune, Editor of the Nigerian Tribune and Executive Director of the Tribune titles. After leaving Tribune, Mr Olamiti served as a media consultant to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). He is a member of the International Press Institute, Fellow Institute for Governance and Leadership Studies in Africa (IGLSA) and immediate past Chairman of the Board of Management Advent Cable Network Nigeria Television (ACNNTV). Olamiti reflected his rich tapestry of experience in all the places he had worked and all the posts he had held in the book that hes launching on November 30, 2023 in the ancient town of Ibadan, the statement said. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Funsho Doherty, the candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the Lagos States 2023 governorship election, has demanded a probe into an alleged payment of N200 million by the state government to lawyers who handled personal partisan cases of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. He demanded that an independent special investigator be appointed to carry out the probe. Mr Doherty made the demand on Monday in a new letter to the state government over its spendings. In the new letter, Mr Doherty asked the government to explain why the Ministry of Justice awarded contracts totalling N200 million to four law firms for legal representation in partisan cases that are personal to Governor Sanwo-Olu. He also directed additional questions to the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency over its response to his previous letter. In light of the obvious irregularity of such awards, and the apparent involvement of the Justice Ministry, I hereby suggest that an independent special investigator be appointed to examine this specific matter and report findings to the public, he wrote in the new letter dated 27 November.. Background Last week, the ADC candidate made headlines and sparked conversations on social media when he wrote an open letter to Mr Sanwo-olu, demanding explanations for spendings by the state government in the first and second quarters of this year. In the previous letter, he flagged a N2 billion spending for the supply of rechargeable fans, lights and fridge in the office of the deputy governor as well an N18.5 million for the supply and distribution of 2,000 Noiler chicken across the local government areas and wards in the state, awarded to the office of the chief of staff to the governor. He also flagged contracts and government spendings he considered to be wasteful in The Lagos Lotteries and Gaming Authority and the Blue Rail Line, among others. But in his reaction, the deputy governor, Obafemi Hamzat, said his office received N2 million and not N2 billion quoted in Mr Dohertys letter. The procurement agency also said there was a misunderstanding arising from a lack of clarity. The agencys Director-General, Fatai Onafowote, then sent a line-by-line response to the items raised in Mr Dohertys letter. But Mr Doherty said he was not convinced by the explanations made over about 34 of the 45 items responded to. In the remaining 11 items, he responded either with This is Noted or No further comment. Meanwhile, in the other 34 items, Mr Doherty either maintained his initial question with Our comment is maintained or followed the procurement agencys response with additional questions and comments. Some of the items he did not provide additional comments on include the N7 million budget for the replacement of fragrance in the office of the governor, which procurement agency said covers the entire 2023 and is not limited to the governors office but extends to several offices and state houses. On the N20 million spent for the decoration of the venue for political delegates conference, the procurement agency explained that the event was a strategic programme aimed at fostering interaction and collaboration between elected legislators and members of the state executive council. Meanwhile, on the N531 million budgeted for the renovation of Saint Andrews Anglican Church, Oke-Popo, the procurement agency explained that the church is a significant historical landmark in the state having been established in 1889. The agency added that the amount includes compensation given to the church for the necessary demolition of sections of its property due to road expansion. Mr Doherty, however, suggested that such should also apply broadly and equitable to other designated heritage sites in the state. The pictures below are the line by line responses by Mr Doherty to the Lagos State Procurement Agency. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Ahead of the UN climate change conference, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, has decried the alarming speed at which the ice in the Antarctica is melting as a result of global warming. He outlined how the world should unite to find solution to the existential threats of climate change and its associated problems. He said only a global pact to triple renewable energy use, a doubling in energy efficiency and access to clean power for all by 2030, will be sufficient to address the existential threats caused by the change in climate which is in turn causing global warming. According to UN News, Mr Guterres said this while speaking to journalists in New York on Monday following his visit to Antarctica last week. The UN Chief said the ice in the Antarctica is melting at a profoundly shocking speed, three times faster than the rate in the early 1990s. What happens in Antarctica does not stay in Antarctica, Mr Guterres said, adding that We live in an interconnected world. Melting sea ice means rising seas and that directly endangers lives and livelihoods in coastal communities across the globe. UN News reported that new figures reveal that sea ice at the South Pole is now 1.5 million square kilometres below average for this time of year; which is equal to the combined surface area of Portugal, Spain, France and Germany. READ ALSO: The solutions are well known. Leaders must act to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, protect people from climate chaos, and end the fossil fuel age, Mr Guterres noted. However, with no let-up in fossil fuel extraction, he warned that we are heading towards a calamitous three-degree Celsius temperature rise by the end of the century. Mr Guterres noted that the movement of waters around Antarctica distributes heat, nutrients and carbon around the world, helping to regulate our climate and regional weather patterns but that is slowing down as a result of global warming. Further slowdown or entire breakdown, would spell catastrophe, he warned. If we continue as we are, and I strongly hope we will not, the Greenland and West Antarctica ice sheets will cross a deadly tipping point. He urged world leaders attending the conference starting 30 November to break the cycle. Leaders must not let the hopes of people around the world for a sustainable planet melt away, Mr Guterres charged. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The former chairperson of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Attahiru Jega, has asked President Bola Tinubu to review the appointment of partisan individuals as INEC officials. Mr Jega, a professor, spoke when he appeared as a guest on Channels TVs Politics Today on Monday night. President Tinubu, last month, announced the nomination of 10 Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs). The nominees were Etekamba Umoren (Akwa Ibom State), Isah Shaka Ehimeakne (Edo), Oluwatoyin Babalola (Ekiti), Abubakar Maaji (Gombe), Shehu Wahab (Kwara), Bunmi Omoseyindemi (Lagos) and Aminu Idris (Nasarawa). Others are Mohammed Yelwa (Niger), Anugbum Onuoha (Rivers), and Abubakar Dambo (Zamfara). PREMIUM TIMES had reported that at least two among the new electoral commissioners may be card-carrying members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and two others were also found to be long-term allies of prominent politicians serving in Mr Tinubus government. The Nigerian Senate went ahead to confirm the nominations of the individuals despite opposition from civil society organisations. Speaking on the issue, Mr Jega, who served as the commissions chairperson between June 2010 and June 2015, said it was not yet too late for Mr Tinubu to review the appointments despite being confirmed by the Senate. My advice will be to immediately review the appointment of the Resident Electoral Commissioners that was passed by the Senate recently. It is very important because clearly not only does it send a wrong signal about the governments intention to improve the integrity of elections, it also suggests that there is indifference with regard to protecting the independence and impartiality of the election management body, Mr Jega said. I would want to believe that Mr President was either misinformed or was not really furnished with all the necessary details with regards to these appointments. The former INEC chief stressed that the issue was serious and capable of undermining the integrity of the electoral process in the country. He recalled an incident in Adamawa State where a REC illegally declared the result of the 2023 governorship election in the state before the conclusion of the exercise, saying the situation was possible because politicians help such people to get appointed in order to manipulate the electoral process. One of the things that I recommended to be able to deal with this is that the Senate must be very serious about screening people who are nominated for appointments in these kinds of places, especially INEC, he said. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The police in Imo State, South-east Nigeria, have narrated how two of their operatives were killed on Monday in Imo State, South-east Nigeria. PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that the two police operatives were shot dead at Ahiara Junction in Ahiazu Mbaise Local Government Area of the state on Monday. The police spokesperson in Imo State, Henry Okoye, in a statement on Tuesday, said that one of the slain operatives was a Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in the council area while the other was an inspector. He did not, however, mention the name of the slain operatives. Mr Okoye, an assistant superintendent of police, said the killing was carried out by gunmen suspected to be members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). How they were killed Mr Okoye said the DPO and other police officers were fueling their operational vehicles at a filling station in Ahiara Junction in Ahiazu Mbaise Local Government Area when the gunmen attacked them. The police spokesperson said the gunmen, who were dressed in military camouflage as well as black and red regalia, opened fire at the DPO and the inspector, killing them instantly. He said the gunmen operated in three vehicles. Manhunt The Commissioner of Police in Imo State, Aboki Danjuma, has deployed a special tactical squad of the police in the state and equipped them with operational assets to track down the killers, Mr Okoye said. Mr Danjuma said the police squad will carry out the operation in collaboration with personnel of the Nigerian military. Meanwhile, PREMIUM TIMES gathered that a total of 18 suspects have been arrested over the killing as of Tuesday morning. Worsening insecurity Like other states in Nigerias south-east, security has deteriorated in Imo State with frequent attacks by armed persons. The attacks often target security agencies, government officials and facilities. READ ALSO: This latest attack occurred about two days after gunmen abducted and then killed the traditional ruler of Otulu Community in Ezinihitte Mbaise Local Government Area of the state. The killing of the traditional ruler happened barely 48 hours after gunmen killed Chiedoziem Anyanwu, a ward chairperson of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state. The Nigerian government has accused the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) of being responsible for the deadly attacks in the region. However, the group has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks. IPOB leading agitation for an independent state of Biafra which it wants carved out from the south-east and some parts of South-south Nigeria. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The President of Zambia, Hakainde Hichilema, has appealed to the leadership of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa-CDC), to establish the regions indigenous cholera vaccine production hub in his country. Mr Hichilema said this at the ongoing 3rd International Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA), noting that Zambias strategic location and commitment to health equity make it an ideal candidate to host such a facility, catalyzing improved health outcomes across Africa. He said he anticipates a world where no one succumbs to preventable diseases like cholera, malaria, or any other illness. We must ensure that no one dies from a preventable disease, he said. He noted that cholera has plagued Zambia since 1977, with Lusaka as one of the primary outbreak hotspots. However, research indicates that beyond Lusaka and other known hotspots, all high-risk districts in Zambia share borders with neighbouring countries, he said. Benefits of local manufacturing of healthcare needs Meanwhile, health experts have listed the benefits of local manufacturing of vaccines, diagnostics, therapeutics, and other medical products. Speaking at the event holding in Lusaka, Zambia, the Director-General of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa-CDC), Jean Kaseya, said ensuring that Africa can manufacture its own vaccines will represent the second independence of the region. Mr Kaseya said increased local manufacturing of vaccines, medications, and diagnostics is one important way to improve public health across Africa. He said excessive dependence on imports for essential healthcare products is a matter of grave concern to the African region. He noted that less than 1 per cent of vaccines, 5 per cent of diagnostics and 30 per cent of therapeutics used in Africa are currently manufactured in Africa. This imbalance, he said underscores the urgent need to strengthen Africas medical manufacturing capabilities to enhance self-reliance and reduce vulnerability to supply disruptions. As I have to say it, local manufacturing is the 2nd independence of Africa, because it will mitigate our reliance on external sources, build our health security, promote local innovation, and lead to job creation, economic growth, peace and security, he said. Many African countries got their independence in the 1960s, but we saw in COVID-19 that we are not independent,. Vaccine production Mr Kaseya said the Africa CDC is advocating for an ambitious agenda that aims to ensure that by 2040, a minimum of 60 per cent of vaccines and medicines used in Africa are manufactured on the continent. He said the Partnerships for African Vaccine Manufacturing (PAVM) is driving the ambition, which he noted has received huge support from the Global Vaccine Alliance (GAVI). He noted that Gavis policy committee has approved a $1 billion investment in a partnership with the Africa CDC to support the development of African vaccine manufacturers. Others speak In his address at the opening plenary, Norwegian Ambassador for Global Health, John-Arne Rttingen, said improving manufacturing isnt enough, noting that Africa needs to build an entire biomedical system. Mr Rttingen said that global health had come a long way since the era of colonial researchers but that this process of decolonisation needed one more step African health research systems led by Africans. In his remark, the Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Ghebreyusus, said he was elected as the first African head of the global body because the African region stood together to support one nomination. Mr Ghebreyesus said this unity had enabled Africans to be elected to head the World Trade Organisation, UNAIDS, and other UN bodies. It is very important for Africa to continue to be united, he said. CPHIA23 CPHIA is an annual conference organised by Africa CDC. The conference provides a unique African-led platform for leaders across the continent to reflect on lessons learnt in health and science and align on a way forward for creating more resilient health systems. The organisers said the four-day conference will spotlight cutting-edge research and innovations, and present African-led solutions to public health challenges. The conference is themed: Breaking Barriers: Repositioning Africa in the Global Health Architecture. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Omotayo Ogunsulire, a career diplomat, passed on Monday, 20 November, at the age of 93. The ambassador was one of the first 12 young diplomats hired into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1957. Mr Ogunsulires passing is the 11th leaving Phillip Asiodu as the only surviving of the first crop of professional diplomats, otherwise famously named, The 12 Apostles, three years to Nigerias Independence. The 12 Apostles admitted to Nigerias Foreign Service in 1956 were Omotayo Ogunsulire, Olu Omololu, Soji Williams, John Garba, Aminu Sanusi, Adedokun Haastrup, Leslie Harriman, Phillip Asiodu, Dixon Igwe, John Ukeagbu, Chuks Ifeagwu, and Chike Chukwura. Mr Ogunsulire specialized as a diplomat for the Francophone world, serving in Paris and several Francophone African countries, including the Republic of the Congo where he was Charge dAffairs during the era of Patrice Lumumba until his assassination. He also served as the first Executive Secretary for the Lake Chad Basin Commission, which was founded in 1964, to ensure the sustainable and equitable management of Lake Chad and other shared water resources. He was the head of the Africa Department till his retirement in 1976. He was born into the famous family of Ogunsulire of Ondo City on 12 November 1930. He entered the prestigious Ondo Boys High School, Nigerias first community secondary school, in 1943, after completing elementary education at St Stephens Primary School in Ondo. After obtaining with flying colours the Senior Cambridge School Certificate in 1948, he worked briefly in Lagos as a telex operator and at the Customs and Excise before proceeding to Fourah Bay College of Durham University in Freetown, Sierra Leone, where he was for two years the president of the Colleges Foreign Relations Club. As a young diplomat, Mr Ogunsulire accompanied Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa and General Yakubu Gowan on several trips to Francophone countries of West and Central Africa as a specialist in French and Francophone culture. After his retirement from diplomatic service in 1976, Mr Ogunsulire started a second career in banking, as Deputy General Manager of the United Bank for Africa. He later rose to the position of Executive Director of the Bank. During his tenure at the bank and because of his language expertise, he served as President of the West African Bankers Association for two years before his second retirement in 1986. While in the bank, Mr Ogunsulire got involved in the establishment of the Franco-Nigeria Chamber of Commerce & Industry and later became the pioneer chairman of the organization. After serving on the Board of Alliance Francaise de Lagos as Treasurer, he also served as vice president of the alliance for many years. At the 60th Independence anniversary celebration of Nigeria, the Association of Retired Career Ambassadors of Nigeria (ARCAN), honoured some of its prominent members for their distinguished service to the nation. He was among five retired diplomats honoured in the Platinum category as Smbassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo and head of the Africa Department, along with C. Olisemeka, former Ambassador to the US, Canada, and Israel and first Career Ambassador to serve as Foreign Minister; Abdullahi Attah, former High Commissioner to Canada, Ambassador to Cuba and Head of the Intelligence Service; Olusola Sanu, former Ambassador to the African Union (AU), Washington DC, High Commissioner to Australia and Special Envoy to the Sudan Peace Process; and B. Akporode Clark, former Permanent Representative to the United Nations. As if he was in a valedictory mood to the world of diplomacy and international relations, Mr Ogunsulire with his wife hosted the 2023 meeting of the Association of Retired Career Ambassadors of Nigeria (ARCAN) early in the year of his own death. Mr Ogunsulire was survived by his wife, Soba Ogunsulire, and three children: Kola, Yinka, and Ronke. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The body of a missing Fulani leader, Umar Ibrahim, who went missing on Wednesday, has been found in an abandoned well in Jokom, a community in Mangu Local Government, Plateau State. The spokesperson of Operation Safe Haven, Oya James, a captain, confirmed the incident to reporters on Monday. The deceased was the Ciroma of Kumbun district in Magun. The chairman of Gan Allah Fulani Development Association of Nigeria, (GAFDAN), Garba Abdullahi, told Daily Trust, that the deceased had gone missing when he left a hospital on Wednesday to buy food for his sick wife who was on admission at a hospital. After searching for four days the body was found in an abandoned well, close to the hospital. The corpse was recovered by soldiers attached to Operation Safe Haven who have been maintaining peace in the area. We are calling on all our members to remain calm and never take laws into their hands. We should continue to be law-abiding. The security agencies are doing their best. We are calling on the security to do fish out the perpetrators of the dastardly act and bring them to book, the Daily Trust quoted Mr Abdullahi as saying. The incident occurred barely two months after Adamu Idris, the Ardo (Fulani leader) of Panyam in the same Mangu Local Government was killed. READ ALSO: Suspected killer of Fulani leader in Plateau arrested in Lagos Mr Idris was declared missing on 24 September, when he was said to be returning from a condolence visit to Mangu. His corpse was later found in a shallow grave in neighbouring Bauchi State. However, the Nigerian Army, in a statement, said personnel of its Operation SAFE HAVEN (OPSH) tactical team arrested one Philip Gokas, alias Jaykimo, in Lagos State, who is believed to be the alleged mastermind of the killing. There are often tit-for-tat attacks between the Mwaghavuls and the Fulanis in Mangu. The conflict has claimed hundreds of lives on both sides and several thousands of people.1 have been displaced. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Almost eight years after escaping death from a collapsed church building that killed several people in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, the former governor of the state, Udom Emmanuel said, the incident remains a mystery to him. Mr Emmanuel was a guest of the founder of Reigners Bible Church, Akan Weeks, who was billed for consecration as a Bishop on 10 December 2016 the day the church building caved in. The blaring sounds of musical instruments and shouts of joy were suddenly replaced with stampede, tears and weeping over the tragic incident. Confusion engulfed the state as people became worried over the safety of the governor who later addressed the people through a state-wide broadcast. Speaking on Sunday in a Thanksgiving Service and Reception organised in his honour by the United Evangelical Church (Founded as Qua Iboe Church) in Lagos, Mr Emmanuel, who became emotional while recalling the incident said, the collapsed structure shattered the seat he was sitting. Mr Emmanuel said his eyes became teary when the pastor, in the Thanksgiving service, spoke about the collapse of the church building. I thank God (that) he prayed immediately. It would have been probably, I dont know, probably you would have waited for December to do a memorial service but today Im here alive, Mr Emmanuel said. Its still a mystery in the course of my serving the people that I cannot decode. We cannot mention what happened that day but trust me as the pastor said, the same white seat that I was sitting, the central conics of the whole building shattered the seat. Where I was I dont know but I came out alive not even a scratch, he said in a testimony that was intermittently interrupted by applause from the congregants. The bible says let the living praise the Lord, he continued. There are so many multiple wonders that I might not be able to say it all but I want to summarise as (Biblical) David said. He said this God who has shown us marvellous kindness in a strong city. The former governor thanked God and the people for supporting him throughout his 10 years in political office he first served for two years as a secretary to Akwa Ibom State Government before serving for two terms as governor. He said that his greatest regret was that as governor he had no control over national policies, adding that Akwa Ibom would have been miles ahead of where it is today. Reigners Church Collapse The Reigners Bible Church, which was at Uyo Village Road, some meters from Government House, Uyo, was still under construction when it caved in during the consecration service, killing several people. The Akwa Ibom State Government had set up a Judicial Commission of Enquiry headed by a retired judge, Umoekoyo Essang, to investigate the incident. The commission submitted its report to the state government in 2017 and indicted the church founder, Mr Weeks. The commission in its report said that Mr Weeks undue interference in the construction work was responsible for the building collapse. However, the state government under Mr Emmanuel, who is a close friend of the church founder, rejected the recommendations of the report saying Facts available indicate that Apostle Akan Weeks relied on the professionals he engaged. Despite public outcry on the incident, the state government has refused to prosecute the people indicted by the commission, leaving the victims without justice. In his testimonies on Sunday, Mr Emmanuel thanked God that his wife did not attend the event, suggesting that the fatality figures would have been more. I also thank God that day my wife did not attend that programme. It could have been a different story. You know women move like black swans, in droves. Women would have filled up that place and only God knows what would have happened but God saved us, he said. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print * Ten years ago, the first Confucian lecture hall was established in Beidongye Village, Sishui County near Nishan Mountain, where Confucius is believed to have been born. * So far, Shandong Province has established more than 22,000 Confucian lecture halls in rural communities over the past decade, and holds over 120,000 cultural activities every year. * The Confucian lecture hall in rural communities is starting to function as a cultural center where traditional Chinese culture is taking root, bringing more people access to diverse cultural experiences. JINAN, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- On weekends, children in Ruanjia Village always come to the lecture hall early instead of the playgrounds. In the village of Qufu City, the birthplace of the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius in east Chinas Shandong Province, traditional Chinese culture courses are provided for free every weekend at the Confucian lecture hall, attracting more than 30 students. "Ive been studying in the Confucian lecture hall for over three years. I love what Ive learned here -- paper cutting, traditional Chinese painting, making dough figurines, and everything," said Hu Wenzhe, a 10-year-old student. A teacher guides students to make moon-shaped fans at a school in Qufu City, east Chinas Shandong Province, Oct. 6, 2023. (Photo by Yang Guoqing/Xinhua) Ten years ago, the first Confucian lecture hall was established in Beidongye Village, Sishui County near Nishan Mountain, where Confucius is believed to have been born. A group of scholars specializing in Confucianism from home and abroad gathered in the village and discussed how to revitalize traditional Chinese culture in modern society, especially in rural areas. Since then, lecturers and volunteers delivered lectures on Confucian classics and told stories concerning the philosophy of harmony, integrity, and filial piety in Confucian lecture halls, combining the traditional Chinese culture and modern social norms. Students learn to make traditional Chinese salute at a Confucian lecture hall in Qufu City, east Chinas Shandong Province, June 12, 2023. (Photo by Cao Junbo/Xinhua) So far, Shandong Province has established more than 22,000 Confucian lecture halls in rural communities over the past decade, and holds over 120,000 cultural activities every year. In recent years, Shandong has brought the Confucian lecture hall into the rural public cultural service system and established unified standards for facilities, course contents, lecturer qualifications, and activities to build it into a platform for cultural communication. Having been carried out for a decade, Confucian lecture halls are gaining popularity by providing more interactive and immersive experiences that now appeal to youngsters. In addition to courses on Confucian classics, children can now participate in traditional cultural activities such as paper cutting, painting, calligraphy, and traditional instruments, among others. The Confucian lecture hall in rural communities is starting to function as a cultural center where traditional Chinese culture is taking root, bringing more people access to diverse cultural experiences. An inheritor of a traditional craft of weaving "Huaxi" teaches students to make weaving artworks at a school in Qufu City, east Chinas Shandong Province, Oct. 6, 2023. (Photo by Yang Guoqing/Xinhua) When approaching the Confucian lecture hall in Qingye Village, Shandongs capital city Jinan, people will first hear the lingering melody of Wuyin Opera, a traditional local folk opera with a history of nearly 300 years. As the cradle of the opera, Qingye Village now tries to promote the ancient form of art at the Confucian lecture hall. "I did not miss any of the lectures with performances of Wuyin Opera. I like it so much," said Zhang Guilan, a 77-year-old villager. A volunteer performs to promote traditional Chinese culture in Sishui County of Jining, east Chinas Shandong Province, April 19, 2014. (Photo by Ji Ranran/Xinhua) Ma Benli, Party chief of the village, said that Wuyin Opera was once on the verge of extinction. "Now, with the regular Confucian lectures, more people can enjoy this intangible cultural heritage," Ma said. "We hope that through the construction and promotion of the Confucian lecture halls, people of all ages could have the chance to enjoy traditional Chinese culture," said Ji Ranran, an official at the center of traditional culture inheritance and development in Sishui County. (Video reporters: Feng Yuanyuan, Zhu Xiaoguang, Wu Xiaotong, Qu Lei, Zhai Longkang, Wang Nian; video editors: Liu Yutian, Li Qin, Jia Xiaotong, Ma Ruxuan) * Ten years ago, the first Confucian lecture hall was established in Beidongye Village, Sishui County near Nishan Mountain, where Confucius is believed to have been born. * So far, Shandong Province has established more than 22,000 Confucian lecture halls in rural communities over the past decade, and holds over 120,000 cultural activities every year. * The Confucian lecture hall in rural communities is starting to function as a cultural center where traditional Chinese culture is taking root, bringing more people access to diverse cultural experiences. JINAN, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- On weekends, children in Ruanjia Village always come to the lecture hall early instead of the playgrounds. In the village of Qufu City, the birthplace of the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius in east Chinas Shandong Province, traditional Chinese culture courses are provided for free every weekend at the Confucian lecture hall, attracting more than 30 students. "Ive been studying in the Confucian lecture hall for over three years. I love what Ive learned here -- paper cutting, traditional Chinese painting, making dough figurines, and everything," said Hu Wenzhe, a 10-year-old student. A teacher guides students to make moon-shaped fans at a school in Qufu City, east Chinas Shandong Province, Oct. 6, 2023. (Photo by Yang Guoqing/Xinhua) Ten years ago, the first Confucian lecture hall was established in Beidongye Village, Sishui County near Nishan Mountain, where Confucius is believed to have been born. A group of scholars specializing in Confucianism from home and abroad gathered in the village and discussed how to revitalize traditional Chinese culture in modern society, especially in rural areas. Since then, lecturers and volunteers delivered lectures on Confucian classics and told stories concerning the philosophy of harmony, integrity, and filial piety in Confucian lecture halls, combining the traditional Chinese culture and modern social norms. Students learn to make traditional Chinese salute at a Confucian lecture hall in Qufu City, east Chinas Shandong Province, June 12, 2023. (Photo by Cao Junbo/Xinhua) So far, Shandong Province has established more than 22,000 Confucian lecture halls in rural communities over the past decade, and holds over 120,000 cultural activities every year. In recent years, Shandong has brought the Confucian lecture hall into the rural public cultural service system and established unified standards for facilities, course contents, lecturer qualifications, and activities to build it into a platform for cultural communication. Having been carried out for a decade, Confucian lecture halls are gaining popularity by providing more interactive and immersive experiences that now appeal to youngsters. In addition to courses on Confucian classics, children can now participate in traditional cultural activities such as paper cutting, painting, calligraphy, and traditional instruments, among others. The Confucian lecture hall in rural communities is starting to function as a cultural center where traditional Chinese culture is taking root, bringing more people access to diverse cultural experiences. An inheritor of a traditional craft of weaving "Huaxi" teaches students to make weaving artworks at a school in Qufu City, east Chinas Shandong Province, Oct. 6, 2023. (Photo by Yang Guoqing/Xinhua) When approaching the Confucian lecture hall in Qingye Village, Shandongs capital city Jinan, people will first hear the lingering melody of Wuyin Opera, a traditional local folk opera with a history of nearly 300 years. As the cradle of the opera, Qingye Village now tries to promote the ancient form of art at the Confucian lecture hall. "I did not miss any of the lectures with performances of Wuyin Opera. I like it so much," said Zhang Guilan, a 77-year-old villager. A volunteer performs to promote traditional Chinese culture in Sishui County of Jining, east Chinas Shandong Province, April 19, 2014. (Photo by Ji Ranran/Xinhua) Ma Benli, Party chief of the village, said that Wuyin Opera was once on the verge of extinction. "Now, with the regular Confucian lectures, more people can enjoy this intangible cultural heritage," Ma said. "We hope that through the construction and promotion of the Confucian lecture halls, people of all ages could have the chance to enjoy traditional Chinese culture," said Ji Ranran, an official at the center of traditional culture inheritance and development in Sishui County. (Video reporters: Feng Yuanyuan, Zhu Xiaoguang, Wu Xiaotong, Qu Lei, Zhai Longkang, Wang Nian; video editors: Liu Yutian, Li Qin, Jia Xiaotong, Ma Ruxuan) BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. Azerbaijan is one of the leaders in the region on greening, Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan Umayra Taghiyeva said, Trend reports. She spoke at a round table on global climate change. She also noted that about 2 million trees have been planted in Azerbaijan this year. "State institutions, NGOs and citizens are getting involved in tree planting, which is encouraging," Taghiyeva added. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has reacted to a PREMIUM TIMES report on his abandonment of a newly built multi-billion naira Government House in Umuahia, the state capital, since assuming office about six months ago. This newspaper on Sunday published how Mr Otti was running the government from his country home outside of Umuahia, after abandoning both the New Government House and Old Government House Complexes. Lawyers told this newspaper that Mr Otis action was not illegal but raised questions about the use or abandonment of public properties. The governors decision to operate from his private residence in his village has placed a financial burden on the Abia State Government with about N2 million spent monthly for fueling of vehicles of state officials who travel to the village for meetings, findings by PREMIUM TIMES showed. Why I operate from my private residence Addressing reporters on Tuesday through his spokesperson, Kazie Uko, Mr Otti said he preferred operating from his private residence to save cost instead of lavishing public funds to renovate the governors lodge within the old Government House, Vanguard newspaper reported. Mr Otti suggested that both the old and the new government complexes were in bad condition and that they require serious funds to be put in order. The governor claimed that he decided to sacrifice his personal comfort so as to be able to attend to the urgent needs of the state with positive impacts on the masses. He also claimed that the new governors lodge commissioned by the administration of the former governor of the state, Okezie Ikpeazu, on the eve of his handover day, was yet to be completed. Despite video evidence published by PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Otti claimed that the new Government House building was hurriedly commissioned by Mr Ikpeazus administration without completion with cables dangling everywhere and without power supply. This is the multi-billion Abia New Government House they said Gov. Otti abandoned. You have seen the inside. Its like a carpentry workshop and a showroom. You see how part of the parapet is beginning to peel off. Part of the fence has already collapsed and you saw workers rebuilding it, he said. However, a PREMIUM TIMES reporter who visited on 3 October, observed that there was no sign of human activity within the complex. Also, the governors spokesperson had told this reporter during his October visit that renovating the complex for use was not among the state governments priorities. When asked by the reporters on Tuesday if six months was not enough for him to rebuild the Government House to his taste and operate from it, Mr Otti said he did not consider fixing his official lodge a priority amidst various emergencies in the state. Some contractors were bringing quotations that ran into hundreds of millions, and some close to N1 billion just to renovate the Government House. And the governor said it was not a priority when Abia pensioners were being owed, civil servants not paid and our hospitals in ruins, he said. The governor was silent on the financial burden placed on the state government occasioned by his running the government from a private residence outside the state capital. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Tuesday, confirmed receiving over $54,000 cash seized as proceeds of bribery by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) for further investigations. The anti-graft agency said in a statement on Tuesday that an assistant commander of the commission, Michael Wetkas, received the monetary exhibit from a customs official at EFCCs Zonal office in Lagos. The money was handed over to Mr Wetkas by the Customs Area Comptroller, Tincan Island Port, Apapa, Lagos, Dera Nnadi. While submitting the money to Mr Wetkas, Mr Nnadi said it was paid in an attempted bribery for illegal release of seized narcotics. Mr Nnadi said the Customs officers approached by the criminals resisted the bribery. The names of the suspects involved in the crimes were not given in the EFCC statement But Mr Wetkas, according to the statement, assured that the case would be investigated. He also assured of greater support in the fight against corruption and fraud-related offences. He thanked the leadership of the NCS for the sustained collaboration between the two agencies. Read EFCCs full statement below: EFCC PRESS RELEASE Bribery: EFCC probes $54,230 Handed Over by Customs The Lagos Zonal Commander of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE II Michael T. Wetkas, has assured the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, of further investigation into an alleged bribery of its officials to the tune of $54,230( Fifty Four Thousand, Two Hundred and Thirty United States of American Dollars). He gave the assurance on Tuesday, November 28, 2023, while receiving the money handed over to the EFCC by the Customs Area Comptroller, Tincan Island Port, Apapa, Lagos, Comptroller Dera Nnadi. Wetkas, who thanked the leadership of the NCS for the sustained collaboration between the two agencies, assured of greater support in the fight against corruption and fraud-related offences. Speaking earlier, Nnadi said: We always look forward to collaborating with other agencies, one of which is the EFCC. The money we are handing over to you today is proceeds of crime that emanated from the import of illicit drugs. An attempt to illegally release the drugs was resisted by the Customs officials. There was also further attempts by the importers and their collaborators to compromise officers of the NCS by bribing them with the sum of Fifty Four Thousand, Two Hundred and Thirty United States Dollars, which was resisted. He also disclosed that, the importer, agents as well as the containers have been handed over to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, for further investigation. Nnadi also used the occasion to seek more robust collaboration with the EFCC as well as other law enforcement agencies in the fight against smuggling within the command. Dele Oyewale Head, Media & Publicity November 28, 2023. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Lagos Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), on Tuesday, 28 November arraigned a couple, Oriyomi Idowu and Ruth Idowu, before Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos on 20-count charges. The charges border on obtaining money by false pretence, money laundering, stealing, retention of stolen property, and forgery to the tune of N2.7 billion. They were arraigned alongside Food Commodity Processing Enterprise, Bonway Food Processing Company Limited, Samee Idowu Company Limited and Farmex Integrated Companies Limited, which all belong to Ruth Idowu. One of the counts reads: Ruth Sameeha Idowu, aka Loiry Ventures, Oriyomi Kabeer Idowu, aka Yocli Ventures, Food Commodity Processing Enterprise, Bonway Food Processing Company Ltd, Samee Idowu Company Limited, Farmex Integrated Companies Limited, sometime in 2023 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable court, converted the sum of N10,000,000 to purchase a GLK Benz, purchase sum derived from converting the sum of N500,000,000 belonging to Creditpro Business Support Services with the aim of disguising the illegal origin of the funds. Another count reads: Ruth Sameeha Idowu, aka Loiry Ventures, Oriyomi Kabeer Idowu, aka Yocli Ventures, Food Commodity Processing Enterprise, Bonway Food Processing Company Ltd., Samee Idowu Company Limited, Farmex Integrated Companies Limited, sometime in 2023 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable court, dishonestly retained the sum of N936,619,876 (Nine Hundred and Thirty-Six Million, Six Hundred and Nineteen Thousand, Eight Hundred and Seventy-Six Naira only ) in your UBA bank account, property of Creditpro Business Support services knowing same to be funds fraudulently obtained from Creditpro Business Support Services. The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read to them. In view of their pleas, prosecution counsel, Bilikisu Buhari, prayed the court for a trial date and the remand of the defendants at a correctional facility. Counsel to the first defendant, G. Onwubuya, informed the court of the bail application of his client, which had yet to be served on the prosecution. He prayed the court to remand the defendants in the EFCC custody and also sought a short adjournment for the hearing and determination of the bail application. In her objection, Ms Buhari informed the court that the holding facility of the EFCC was already overstretched. She also told the court that the appropriate place, following arraignment, was a Correctional Centre. The judge held that there was no bail application before the court for the second defendant, whose counsel, J.J. Ogunyemi, had yet to file. Consequently, Justice Dada adjourned the matter till 15 December and ordered that the defendants be remanded at the correctional centre pending hearing and determination of their bail applications. Dele Oyewale Head, Media & Publicity November 28, 2023. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Going forward, the Tinubu administration must come up with a national position on power beyond the general statements in the 2023 election campaign manifesto I suggest that the President should set up a National Council on Power Reforms which will report directly to him, to begin a much-needed conversation about and around the electricity sector. Following the three-day retreat held for Ministers, Special Advisers, Permanent Secretaries and heads of Agencies and Departments by President Bola Tinubu, rather belatedly, three weeks ago, with the theme, Delivering on the Renewed Hope Agenda, some of the Ministers have been jumping up and down, as if the Retreat was the shot in the arm they needed to shift out of their slumber. We have seen quite a number of body movements lately: from the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace, Festus Keyamo, telling the heads of agencies and parastatals under his Ministry that whoever wants to sabotage him through non-performance would be fired. The Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, has also made a big show of launching tricycles and sewing machines to empower women the Pink Riders Transport Scheme. Candidly, I dont know how many women ride tricycles across Nigeria, but it is the pattern around here that policies are often rolled out without thought or reason or prior research. The Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa has also launched a road map for the cultural sector. But the Ministry that is the focus of this piece is Power, and its new Minister, Adebayo Adelabu, grandson of the inimitable legend, Adegoke Adelabu, a stormy petrel of Nigerias First Republic/Ibadan/Western Region politics and brilliant author of the book, Africa in Ebullition. It must have occurred to Adebayo Adelabu that as power minister, he too must be seen to be doing something. So, shortly after the presidential retreat, he called a press conference where in a copy-cat manner, he read out a riot act to the heads of agencies under his Ministry, with the tone of condescension already copyrighted by Festus Keyamo: anybody that does not support me will be fired! President Tinubu may have to call the mini-emperors, closet headmasters in his cabinet to order. Going about intimidating people with threats is not how to be a Minister. One Minister has even turned himself into a quasi-military administrator of the Federal Capital Territory! However, Minister Adelabu has shown some enthusiasm for the job, and he should be advised on the basis of the things that he has said. On 8 November, he told his audience, in addition to the aforementioned threat, that President Tinubu has directed that stable electricity supply must be achieved before anyone can raise the issue of a cost-reflective tariff, which should have been done before now, but with the present administration having removed fuel subsidy, it would be politically inexpedient to add to the peoples burden by increasing electricity tariffs. Hence, the Federal Government is subsidising electricity up to N70 per kilowatt hour, whereas the actual cost should be about N130/N140 per kilowatt hour. Indeed in 2015, President Buhari disallowed the Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO). And, the Minister said it is shameful that Nigeria is generating just about 4,000 MW. Previously, he had promised that under his watch, Nigeria should have 20,000 MW of electricity supply by 2026; he also promised to investigate the legality of the five-year license extension of the licenses given to DisCos and GenCos, which expired on 31 October, and he talked about government playing a more central role in the electricity sector. I am determined to make impact, he reportedly said. I like his enthusiasm, but that is not enough. I have seen at least one detailed commentary on aspects of the Ministers rhetoric, notably Ijeoma Nwogwugwus Penkelemesi in The Power Sector (ThisDay, back page, 13 November). I want to add my voice to the conversation that my big worry is that Minister Adelabu has been sounding too strident, as if he is a regulator. No, he is not, and he has to resist the temptation to keep sounding as if he is from the moon. The remit of the Minister is policy and helping to provide an enabling environment for the sector to thrive. Nigeria needs a reform-minded Minister in the power sector. The Minister needs to break the jinx, and so, he cannot afford to gamble. The road map for the electricity sector in Nigeria was put in place from Obasanjo to Jonathan as presidents. The latter kickstarted a comprehensive reform. But under President Buhar,i the privatisation and deregulation process got truncated, mismanaged, turned upside down. Nothing worked because there was no proper coordination in the whole of eight years. Nigeria would need a minimum of about 42,000 MW to jumpstart anything but here we are, at the level of 4,000 MW, far behind most African countries and yet our electricity needs, given our population, far outstrips the African average. South Africa, with a population of 57.3 million people, generates about 41,194 MW of electricity and that is not even enough for it. The Minister is right when he describes the situation as shameful. It is embarrassingly obvious, however, that he has not been talking to industry stakeholders. Nigeria is not short of ideas. What we lack is effective implementation. He needs to set out by finding out what the problems are. Managing the electricity sector is a specialised job, and there are people in this country who know where the corpses are buried, and who the members of the dangerous cabal in that sector are. The more he talks, the more the cabal people will plot against him. He must ask questions from the regulatory agencies also: What are their roadmaps? What happened to the original sector roadmap? He should study the terrain and simplify the issues through rigorous consultations. Why, for example, has the Electric Power Sector Reform Act of 2005 not worked? Who are the perpetrators of impunity, lapses and sabotage within the sector? Then he must clear the table: Nigerias electricity sector is corrupt. All the people feeding fat at the peoples expense, be they government officials or contractors, must be identified and sanctioned through a proper, preliminary audit of performance within the valuechain. Has the Minister bothered to find out what happened to or is happening to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN)? The Nigerian government appointed Manitoba, a Canadian Company, to manage power transmission in Nigeria through a management contract of over $200 million. Money was released to Manitoba but the company was never allowed to function. It could not execute all the projects that it was supposed to manage and deliver upon. Minister Adelabu can learn from the experience of two previous Ministers. He knows Bola Ige (SAN), orator, lawyer, statesman, who was Minister of Mines and Power (1999 to 2000). Upon assumption of office, Bola Ige of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), working for Obasanjos Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government, boasted that he was going to fix Nigerias electricity problems in six months. He underestimated the problem. Those were the days of the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA). It is commonly agreed that Bola Ige was sabotaged by the generator importers and contractors, who were making humongous profits from Nigerias inefficiency. Chief Ige later became the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice but his tenure in the Ministry of Mines and Power was a low point in his otherwise sterling career in Nigerias public space. The Obasanjo administration spent over $12 trillion on the power sector in eight years. Everything went down the drain. Years later, when former Governor of Lagos, Babatunde Raji Fashola was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari as Minister of Power, Works and Housing, and some people started suggesting that he had promised that he too would fix Nigerias power supply in six months, he quickly rushed to the media to say that he never said so. Buhari spent eight years but Nigeria still faces the crisis of epileptic power supply. In fairness to Fashola though, he prioritised consultation with stakeholders. He held regular sectoral meetings, even if those meetings eventually degenerated into conflicts between him and the distribution companies (DisCos), but those meetings offered him a better understanding of the sector, even if the challenges in the sector were overwhelming. Adelabu must proceed with a sense of history. There are other stakeholders in the sector that should be consulted: Dr Ransom Owan, Dr Sam Amadi, both formerly of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC); Ambassador Godknows Igali, former permanent secretary of the Ministry of Power; Engineer Beks Dagogo-Jack, former chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Power and co-chairman of the Committee on Gas to Power (2012-2014); Professor Chinedu Nebo, who handed over the assets of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), successor of NEPA, to private investors in November 2013; Rilwan Lanre Babalola, who was Minister of Power from 2008 to 2010, and a host of others. They are in a position to show him where the corpses are buried in a sector that is practically a graveyard of hopes and aspirations! In his time, Professor Nebo, who is a man of the cloth, promised that he would drive away the evil spirits in the power sector. Those evil spirits defied Nebo. They are still there. The Minister also needs to find out what happened with the Rural Electrification Agency, which became a cesspool of corruption. Every Minister comes along with the promise to improve electricity supply but the only people who benefit from all the investments are corrupt people within the value chain. It has become fashionable to blame the DisCos, who occupy the last mile of electricity delivery, but the problem is not with the DisCos. Has the Minister bothered to find out what happened to or is happening to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN)? The Nigerian government appointed Manitoba, a Canadian Company, to manage power transmission in Nigeria through a management contract of over $200 million. Money was released to Manitoba but the company was never allowed to function. It could not execute all the projects that it was supposed to manage and deliver upon. Manitoba has since left Nigeria out of frustration. The Transmission Company is now unfortunately in the hands of government officials, the same old NEPA officials whose cognomen is Never Expect Power Always. There must be an audit of TCN as soon as possible, and an urgent probe of all persons who have subverted government policy. Nigeria cannot continue to move from darkness to darkness the unfortunate reality that we are dealing with is that there are incompetent people in the value chain. And how effective is the interface between TCN and the GenCos and DisCos? What happened to loans disbursed in the past? The other major challenge is the supply of gas. The Governor of Niger State has been asking for a share of the derivation fund because his state hosts hydro dams, and he thinks his people deserve more from the national cake because of the hydro dams in Kainji, Jebba, and Shiroro in his state. Some of these Nigerian governors and ministers sound like they just left primary school, but that is not the focus of this piece today. The truth is that in the power sector, the main source of power is gas that is thermal power which relies on natural gas to generate electricity about 85 per cent gas, as opposed to 15 per cent hydro. Nigerias thermal plants include Olorunsogo, Geregu, Egbin, Omotosho, Afam, and Sapele. But gas supply is a problem, a big constraint for the GenCos, in part because gas supply has not been decoupled from oil. What is the way forward? The Minister must sit down with stakeholders. When they call him, he should have enough presence of mind to return their calls. He is holding a public office, not a private office. He must also work hard to dismantle the cartels in the sector. The industry needs to be more investor-friendly, and it is the duty of the Ministry to create an enabling environment. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been discussing the power sector with the Germans. Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor was in Nigeria on a state visit in October. Nigeria and Germany have had strong bilateral relations for more than 60 years. Recently, President Tinubu also travelled to Germany to attend the Compact With Africa summit on the sidelines of the G-20 meeting. He and Chancellor Scholz met again and one of the issues they discussed was Nigerias power sector and specifically Nigerias deal with Siemens, the German company, with which the Buhari administration entered into an agreement a three-phase plan to provide electricity in Nigeria. The agreement was signed under what was called the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI). By that plan, it was expected that by 2023, Siemens would have provided up to 11,000 MW of electricity to the national grid. We are at year-end. That has not happened. Even the idea of mini-grids has not worked. Siemens is an equipment company, not a Transmission company, not a DisCo, but everyone refers to how that company has helped the electricity generation process in Egypt. Siemens has not worked well here because it is mired in Nigerias complex web of zero transparency and lack of accountability. As it turned out, Nigeria started adding other things, talking about local content. Which local content? What does Nigeria produce as local content in the electricity sector? Then, COVID-19. Then the Russia-Ukraine War. And then, no magic from Siemens. The German Chancellor reportedly told President Tinubu that generating the electricity is not the problem but Nigeria has to follow through at its end. He was absolutely right. Everything is about us. We have to follow through. Minister Fashola managed to plug some missing links in distribution because he paid attention. Adelabu must pay attention to details. What is the way forward? The Minister must sit down with stakeholders. When they call him, he should have enough presence of mind to return their calls. He is holding a public office, not a private office. He must also work hard to dismantle the cartels in the sector. The industry needs to be more investor-friendly, and it is the duty of the Ministry to create an enabling environment. In addressing petty corruption in the sector, government also needs to focus on energy theft. More than 50 per cent of the meters supplied so far to consumers are being by-passed. Nobody really wants to pay for electricity because the chaos in the sector is well known. To break the jinx, the TCN must be handed over to concessionaires. TCN and the Nigerian Gas Company are controlled by government. It is not clear how the industry can make progress if government continues to constitute itself into an obstacle. The Minister wants to review the extension of licenses. If he had done his home-work, he would have discovered that the extension is the result of a mutual agreement between government and the DisCos both parties having failed to fulfil their own parts of the bargain since 2013. Going forward, the Tinubu administration must come up with a national position on power beyond the general statements in the 2023 election campaign manifesto. On pages 30 to 32 of the Renewed Hope Manifesto, Tinubu promised to eliminate the disconnect between generation and distribution, provide support for meter asset providers, investment for power in rural areas, power sector governance reforms, and what is generally described as Nigeria First Power Policy. I suggest that the President should set up a National Council on Power Reforms which will report directly to him, to begin a much-needed conversation about and around the electricity sector. Reuben Abati, a former presidential spokesperson, writes from Lagos. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print As we push the boundaries of scientific understanding and self-awareness, the future of the future could usher in a profound shift in human consciousness. Exploring altered states of awareness, such as through virtual reality, augmented reality and neural interfaces might enable us to perceive reality in ways previously unimaginable. This could lead to a deeper connection with our minds, as well as with others. It hardly begs any emphasis that the very idea of the future has always compelled the antinomy of admiration and awe by our broad humanity. What does the future hold for me, for us, we intone introspectively or in amplified voices. This question, which may seem an abstraction, correlates with the central problem of existentialism. The question of the future is at the core of the episteme of West African gnosis, exemplified in the principle of discovery that underwrites Sankofa and Ifa. There is also that other very important way of coming to terms with this same problem, as developed in the space-time theories and concepts associated with, say, an Albert Einstein or a Stephen Hawking. The Future! Although earlier human efforts such as the Ifa canon had gestured at Future studies, its recent formalisation as an academic field is credited to when an assemblage of social scientists began to question positivism as a plausible theory of knowledge and instead turned to pluralism. As we stand on the precipice of rapid technological advancements, social transformations and environmental challenges, the future of the future itself has become an intriguing and complex topic. How will future perceptions of time, innovation, and existence evolve in the years to come? As we embark on a journey to unravel the enigma of the future of the future and delve into the potential trajectories that lie ahead, it is expedient to note that the future of the future is not itself something that can be definitely known, in that it exists on a scale of probability. What is more, the experiences of the future may have already played out in the past, the future thus becoming a replay of the past. The possibility of the future to never attain the future could be an issue of contention as decades dance towards us. An older friend of mine who doubles as a techy described AI as a necessary evil; he likened it to salt, an essential ingredient in the kitchen which, if rightly proportioned, could lead to a memorable meal experience, in spite of its potential dangers. Explaining further, he noted that AI should, however, not be accorded the right to VOLITION, by which he meant that it should not be granted freewill to make decisions on its own. Time has been a constant companion in human existence, yet our understanding of it continues to evolve. The future could see a shift in how we perceive time itself. With the advent of quantum computing, the idea of non-linear time and the ability to process vast amounts of data instantaneously may challenge our conventional notions of past, present, and future. Concepts such as time loops and multiple dimensions could become more than just science fiction, opening new avenues for exploration and discovery. The relentless pace of technological innovation shows no signs of slowing down. The future might witness groundbreaking advancements that redefine our relationship with technology. Artificial Intelligence (AI), biotechnology, nanotechnology, and renewable energy could converge to create a new era of unprecedented progress. Humans and machines might become symbiotic partners, leading to enhanced cognitive abilities, extended lifespans, and the possibility of overcoming some of our most pressing global challenges. An older friend of mine who doubles as a techy described AI as a necessary evil; he likened it to salt, an essential ingredient in the kitchen which, if rightly proportioned, could lead to a memorable meal experience, in spite of its potential dangers. Explaining further, he noted that AI should, however, not be accorded the right to VOLITION, by which he meant that it should not be granted freewill to make decisions on its own. Unfortunately, though, AI is built into too many things that enchant us daily. Shasha Reeves wrote on her blog thus: AI has become so pervasive that the examples of our daily encounters are seemingly infinite. And there are too many devices to count in this respect. Take, for instance, chatbots taught to impersonate the conversational styles of customer representatives through natural language processing. They then might have the capacity to answer complex questions requiring detailed responses. In fact, if you give a bad rating for the response you got, the bot could then identify the mistake it made and correct it against the next time, ensuring maximum customer satisfaction. The shift in paradigm should be more focused or centered on preventive measures to stop AI from building its own culture as technology evolves. We could ask ourselves one or two questions. The last time you were given answers to your questions on ChatGPT, did you make any effort to ask why it responded in such a manner? This is to say that makers and users of AI should ensure putting in place and exploring backdoor measures that will facilitate or enhance reset functions in AI apps and other such technologies. Aside the aforementioned, a cabby I recently conversed with on a chilly and drizzling Saturday morning raised a common alarm of AI taking over human roles in different workspaces and job descriptions in a few years time. It is already happening; after the unforeseen breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic, industries and organisations turned to digitally skilled employees that would work in remote jobs around the globe. The organisation of work is moving increasingly away from the practice of the physical workspace culture. The question: is: Will AI totally phase out the physical workspace? How many individuals would be remotely employed in the coming years? Recently, I attended a 24-hour course on Generative AI facilitated by LinkedIn Learning. A Generative AI instructor and AI director at Cuebric and Seyhan Lee, Pinar Seyhan Demirag, argues that AI will not make employees lose out on their jobs, rather it will enhance a cultural embrace and gross shift towards digital skills acquisition. In her words, humans are the primary instructors of Artificial Intelligence, as we process every information required for it to function successfully. How then can natural languages machines dismiss humans from their duties! The future holds both promise and uncertainty, and our ability to navigate this uncharted territory will require a blend of foresight, adaptability, and collaboration. As we peer into the horizon of possibilities, it becomes clear that our actions today will reverberate through time, shaping the world that future generations will inherit. As we push the boundaries of scientific understanding and self-awareness, the future of the future could usher in a profound shift in human consciousness. Exploring altered states of awareness, such as through virtual reality, augmented reality and neural interfaces might enable us to perceive reality in ways previously unimaginable. This could lead to a deeper connection with our minds, as well as with others, ultimately reshaping our understanding of empathy, compassion, and the nature of human relationships. The ecological crisis facing our planet has prompted a growing recognition of the need for sustainable practices and environmental stewardship. In the future, our relationship with the natural world could undergo a transformation. Innovations in clean energy, regenerative agriculture, and circular economies might pave the way for a harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature. The development of eco-friendly technologies could mitigate the impact of climate change and ensure a habitable planet for generations to come. As technology continues to advance, questions of ethics and morality become increasingly complex. The future will demand thoughtful consideration of the ethical implications of our actions. Discussions around AI ethics, genetic manipulation, and data privacy will become central to shaping our shared future. New forms of governance and global cooperation may arise, driven by the need to address emerging challenges that transcend traditional borders. The future holds both promise and uncertainty, and our ability to navigate this uncharted territory will require a blend of foresight, adaptability, and collaboration. As we peer into the horizon of possibilities, it becomes clear that our actions today will reverberate through time, shaping the world that future generations will inherit. By embracing innovation, fostering ethical frameworks, and nurturing our collective consciousness, we have the opportunity to shape a future that reflects our highest aspirations and values. Ayomiposi M. Adegbulugbe is an independent researcher and a graduate student of Cultural Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print When he assumed the mantle of leadership as the executive governor of Kaduna State by taking over from his predecessor, Mr Nasir el-Rufai on the 29th of May 2023, the immediate past Senator representing Kaduna Central, Mr Uba Sani was not unaware of the global economic realities, particularly the financial standing of the state he aspired to govern. But, like other great leaders of national and international repute he accepted the daunting challenge to lead Kaduna to a greater height. Despite his predecessors scary valedictory speech, which exposed Kaduna as the second most indebted state in Nigeria, Mr Sani in his inauguration address gave hope to the citizens of Kaduna State. Even when he acknowledged the challenges he was inheriting, he expressed belief in his knowledge, commitment and determination to navigate the state out of troubled waters. Former Governor El-Rufai declared before the mammoth crowd that came to witness Sanis inauguration at the Murtala Mohammed Square, that he was leaving the state better than when he assumed office in 2015, adding that his administration initiated legacy projects that would empower the citizens, but he openly admitted that he left a domestic debt of N80.60 billion and a foreign debt of $577.32 million for the incoming Uba Sani administration. According to Mr El-Rufai: As of the last financial year, Kaduna State has the following liabilities -Domestic debt: N64.54bn, other contingent liabilities: N16.06bn and foreign debts: US $577.32m. However, rather than play politics with the challenges at hand as some of his colleagues across the country are doing, the new Kaduna Governor rolled up his sleeves and swung into positive actions that would change the statistics, having realised that, he was not voted to come and lament. At inception, Governor Sani promised that his administration would run a people-oriented government and work hard to speedily achieve a secured, peaceful and united Kaduna State that guarantees investment in its economy as well as hope and certainty for the future. His words, I am close to the people enough to know that things have become so tough for many families that they have become anxious and are even beginning to lose hope. For these people, I say to you that I know you, I see you, and I hear you loud and clear. I vow to you today, that as your governor, I shall work round the clock, deploying all my God-given talents, modern governance tools and the most gifted personnel that this state can boast of, to not only alleviate your condition but to give the majority of our people sustained prosperity and hope again. Within the past six months, political observers have noted the convergence of Governor Sanis seal and commitment to development in many fronts. These include infrastructural, human capital and job creation, wealth creation and employment, which led to him seeking investments from investors across the world. Beyond rhetorics, Governor Sani has been very pragmatic in his developmental programmes. He has been able to match his words with action. As part of his promise to address housing deficit in the state, Mr Sanis government has secured a tripartite partnership with Qatar Charity Foundation and Qatar-owned Sanabil Foundation, to establish an economic city and build houses for 500,000 low income earners in Kaduna State. Just few weeks after signing the agreement, Governor Sani brought the Qatari Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr Ali Bin Ghanem Al-Hajri to perform the ground-breaking of the two projects at the Millennium City area of the state capital. He said, the Economic City is designed to establish world-class infrastructure and position Kaduna as a benchmark for contemporary affordable living. It will offer a secured environment and a conducive atmosphere for thriving business activities. The City would facilitate global trade and simultaneously serve as a nurturing platform for local entrepreneurs and traders, he started. He also disclosed that, the housing project which is aimed at uplifting the lives of the States vulnerable and under-served population, extends to provision of clinics, shops, poultry farms, and farmlands for the rainy season and irrigation farming. The Ambassador, Dr Al-Hajri, while speaking at the ground-breaking event stated that the Qatari Charity had also pledged various interventions and empowerment programmes for Kadunas poor and under-served. He added that, these include scholarships for orphans and children of the poor, distribution of sewing machines, welding machines, irrigation pumping machines, salon kits, and drilling of hundreds of boreholes across the 23 local governments of Kaduna State. Like the Qatar partnership, Governor Sanis purposeful efforts to bring the government of Kuwait to equally invest in Kaduna has reached an advanced stage, as the Kuwaiti Ambassador to Nigeria, Abdelaziz Albisher recently indicated his countrys interest to invest in Kaduna State. In the area of human capital development, as well as youth and women employment, the Uba Sani government has been able to secure a pact with Google to train 5,000 women and girls in data science, artificial intelligence, and entrepreneurial application of digital technologies. The initiative, which was part of Governor Sanis broader skills development programme, is aimed at empowering the women and young people across the state with 21st-century skills, positioning them for opportunities in the digital and creative industries. The programme, which is being executed by Data Science Nigeria and designed to set up Arewa Tech4Ladies across four key semi-urban and rural communities in Kaduna State, will offer specialised women-focused learning, mentoring, and job placement support facilities. Though not about erecting physical structures, the partnership with Google is about putting Kaduna on the global map of the sort after tech experts, as ICT and Artificial Intelligence are among the current mainstay of the global economy. This is why the Governor while signing the Google agreement said, Inclusion in technology is not just about social equity; its about economic progress. By empowering our women with digital skills, we are not only breaking gender barriers but also setting the stage for significant economic growth. This partnership with Google underscores our commitment the vast potential of our women for the socio-economic transformation of Kaduna State and Nigeria at large. Google Director for West Africa, Olumide Balogun commended the Sani government for its foresight, saying that, the future of tech in Nigeria hinges on tapping into the potential of every individual, irrespective of gender. Our collaboration with the Kaduna State Government is a testament to our unwavering belief in the transformative power of women in tech. Through the support of Google.org, we are dedicated to fostering a more inclusive digital landscape, ensuring every trained woman becomes a beacon of change in the tech world. Also at international level, Governor Sani has commenced the process of strengthening and expanding the partnership between the State Government and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in critical areas of Agriculture, Health, Education and Financial inclusion. It was in furtherance of that, that he recently received a high-powered delegation from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) led by the President of its Global Growth & Opportunity Division, Mr Rodger Voorhies. The Sani government also joined other states from the North-West region in a recent tour of Code dIvoire to seek the intervention of Africa Development Bank (AfDB) in power and agriculture. The Deputy Governor, Dr Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe joined the other governors of the northwest region at a meeting with AfDB President, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, where they presented a regional approach developed by the seven states to position the region to better utilise the opportunities offered by the Banks Agro-Industrial Processing Zones Programme. She further called for AfDBs intervention in Kaduna State under the National Transmission Expansion Project to energise a 2 by 60MVA transmission substation for the Green Economic Zone, pointing out that Kaduna State has already conducted pre-feasibility studies for energising 5,000 off-grid communities. We have done deep dives and investor pitch for two clusters of 42 communities and what remains is for them to be powered now. The Sani government has also signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Basscomm Nigeria Limited and Eneriv Power Limited to provide solar power to KDSG civil servants as a clean and affordable alternative source of electric power under its Solar-For-All programme. The initiative is in line with Governor Sanis pro-people style of governance and commitment, to seeking climate friendly sources of energy in the face of environmental challenges. The Solar-For-All Programme will cater for over 70,000 public servants in the Kaduna State Civil Service. Through the programme, eligible workers can purchase high quality solar systems for their homes, small businesses or farms at stipulated rates with a payment plan of three years. Additionally the solar systems will be installed safely by certified solar energy providers to ensure compliance with international best practices and standards. With the feat so far achieved in less than six months in office, Governor Sani has no doubt demonstrated understanding of governance during challenging times. No wonder he has always been on the move. Like a father whose house has ran dry of food and drinks, he knows the right thing to do, is, go out, work and bring food home. The condition Governor Sani met Kaduna State in terms of financial standing, requires that he goes after investors to seek for foreign direct investments. And in truth, he has been reaching out physically to convince foreign investors to invest in the State. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Zenith Bank Plc has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the French Government to establisha subsidiary of Zenith Bank Plc in France. The MoU was signed by the founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Jim Ovia, and the French Minister for Trade, Attractiveness and French Nationals Abroad, Olivier Becht on Friday, 24 November, 2023. The agreement will enable Zenith Bank, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Zenith Bank (UK) Limited, to seek and secure the requisite regulatory approval from the Autorite de Controle Prudentiel et de Resolution (ACPR) to establish a strategic presence in France. Speaking during the signing ceremony, the founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Mr Ovia said, It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to Nigeria and Zenith Bank. I am indeed very delighted about the signing of this MoU with France. For me, it is an honour to do this on behalf of the bank, and we look forward to securing the licence and starting operations in early 2024. He thanked the French Ambassador to Nigeria, Emmanuelle Blatmann and her colleagues at the French Embassy in Nigeria for their efforts towards improving French-Nigerian business relations. Also speaking during the ceremony, the French Minister for Trade, Attractiveness and French Nationals Abroad, Mr Becht, said: I want to thank you very much for your decision to open a branch of Zenith Bank in Paris. We are thrilled to welcome in France Zenith Banks first office inside the European Union. For us, thats a very good signal, and it is undoubtedly a demonstration of mutual confidence. No doubt also, that your vision on international finance guided you to decide to open this branch and this decision in many respects can also be regarded as a milestone in French-Nigerian economic relations and an illustration of our friendship. He noted that the government of President Macron had adopted a pro-business agenda in order to make France more attractive by undertaking several reforms in labour law, simplifying a lot of procedures and cutting business taxes, corporate taxes and production taxes by more than 25 billion Euros. He that we hope that the opening of the branch of Zenith Bank in France will also be an occasion to boost the French-Nigerian business in order to have more French companies investing in Nigeria and also to have more Nigerian companies investing in France. Zenith Bank has continued to distinguish itself in the Nigerian financial services industry through superior service offerings, unique customer experience and sound financial indices. The bank remains a clear leader in the digital space, with several firsts in deploying innovative products and solutions and an assortment of alternative channels that ensure convenience, speed, and safety of transactions.Zenith Bank also has subsidiaries in Ghana, Zenith Bank (Ghana) Limited; Sierra Leone, Zenith Bank (Sierra Leone) Limited; The Gambia, Zenith Bank (Gambia) Limited. The Bank also has a Representative Office in The Peoples Republic of China. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The allure of teaching English abroad is an endeavour that promises a world of exploration and cultural immersion. In the heart of Southeast Asia, Thailand beckons with its breathtaking landscapes, vibrant traditions, and a steadily increasing demand for English education. While the prospect of teaching in this mesmerising nation is a dream for many, some harbour misconceptions that only native English speakers can fulfil this ambition. However, heres the twist: the opportunity to teach in Thailand is not exclusively reserved for those from native English-speaking countries. In this article, we will debunk the myths surrounding teaching English in Thailand, demonstrating that non-native speakers from Nigeria, Kenya, Ukraine, Spain, Denmark, or any other non-native English speaking country, can not only secure fulfilling teaching positions but also thrive. As we delve into the possibilities, we will also draw a stark contrast with China and South Korea, where stringent restrictions are imposed on non-native English speakers, highlighting Thailands welcoming and inclusive attitude towards educators from various linguistic backgrounds. Native English Speaking Countries Recognized in Thailand In Thailand, the definition of native English speaking countries adheres to international linguistic standards. Recognised native English-speaking countries are those where English serves as an official language and the primary mode of communication. The United Kingdom, the birthplace of the English language, holds an undisputed position on this list. The United States, known for its vast English-speaking population and global cultural influence, is also among the recognized native English-speaking nations. Canada, with English as one of its official languages, is acknowledged as a native English-speaking country, even though it is officially bilingual with French. Australia and New Zealand, both countries where English is the dominant language of communication, complete the list. Thailands acknowledgment of these nations as native English-speaking countries aligns with global norms, creating fewer language-related barriers for teachers from these regions seeking employment opportunities. Nevertheless, Thailands teaching landscape is becoming more inclusive, welcoming non-native English speakers with strong language proficiency and relevant qualifications, reflecting a broader commitment to diversity in education. Debunking the Myths About Teaching In Thailand Teaching English in Thailand has long been an enticing prospect for adventurous educators seeking an enriching experience. The countrys stunning landscapes, vibrant culture, and welcoming atmosphere make it a top destination for teachers worldwide. However, misconceptions about the eligibility of non-native English speakers often deter many qualified candidates from pursuing this opportunity. Lets shed light on these myths and provide clarity for those who aspire to teach in Thailand. Myth 1: Only Native English Speakers Can Teach in Thailand One of the most persistent myths is that Thailand exclusively hires native English speakers for teaching positions. While its true that some schools and language centres have historically preferred native speakers, this is changing. Thailands growing demand for English teachers, coupled with a focus on hiring qualified educators, has led to a more inclusive approach. Non-native English speakers with strong language skills and relevant qualifications are increasingly valued in the Thai education system. Myth 2: Language Fluency and Accent are Absolute Barriers Concerns about fluency and accents can be daunting for non-native speakers. Its essential to understand that fluency is more important than accent. The ability to communicate effectively and teach the language is what truly matters. Non-native speakers with a high level of English proficiency and clear communication skills can excel in teaching roles. Myth 3: Non-Native Speakers Face Insurmountable Visa Issues Some non-native speakers worry about visa issues when considering teaching in Thailand. While obtaining a work visa may have different requirements compared to native speakers, its far from insurmountable. With the right qualifications and proper guidance, non-native speakers can navigate the visa process successfully. The key is to ensure that your degree and teaching credentials are authenticated and to work with a school or language centre that supports your visa application. Myth 4: Non-Native Speakers Are Limited to Specific Roles Another misconception is that non-native English speakers are restricted to specific teaching roles in Thailand. While certain schools may have preferences, the opportunities for non-native speakers are diverse. Public schools, private language centres, and tutoring are all potential avenues for non-native speakers to find teaching jobs and make a significant impact on their students English proficiency. Requirements to Teach in Thailand Teaching English in Thailand requires meeting specific qualifications. These typically include having a bachelors degree, regardless of your native language, along with a high level of English proficiency. Non-native English speakers will be required to pass the TOEIC exam. Additionally, holding an English language or education degree can be advantageous or certifications such as TEFL or TESOL can help demonstrate teaching skills. Thailand vs China and South Korea: The Non-Native English Speakers Perspective When considering opportunities in Asia, destinations such as Thailand, China, and South Korea often take centre stage as popular destinations. While these countries offer unique experiences, their approaches to non-native English-speaking teachers differ significantly. Since 2019, China has tightened restrictions on non-native English speakers aspiring to teach within the country. These measures, mandated by the government, now officially require English teachers to be native speakers from one of the seven recognized English-speaking nations. Consequently, non-native English speakers have found opportunities in China, securing teaching positions in subjects other than English. In comparison, South Korea has long maintained stringent restrictions on non-native English speakers, a policy deeply rooted in official government requirements. To teach English in South Korea, candidates must hail from one of the seven recognized English-speaking countries. Notably, South Korea and China stand as the only countries globally that impose official restrictions on non-native English speakers. However, its essential to note that Chinas restriction pertains specifically to teaching English, leaving doors open for non-native speakers to explore teaching opportunities in other subjects. Thailand, on the other hand, warmly welcomes non-native English speakers who meet the necessary qualifications. Here, fluency in English and the ability to effectively teach the language take precedence over a teachers native or non-native status. Thailand recognizes that the essence of a successful educator lies in their teaching skills, making the country an attractive option for non-native English speakers looking to impart their knowledge. While China and South Korea are the only countries that officially restrict non-native English speakers by making it a requirement to receive a visa requirement, schools in many countries still have a preference for native English speakers when it comes to hiring. So some countries are naturally better than others when it comes to securing jobs. Although Thailand is one of the best choices in Asia, there are also some other great alternatives for non-native English speakers wanting to make their mark in the region. Exploring Opportunities In Thailand As A Non-native English Speaker The journey to teach English in Southeast Asia is an exciting adventure. In this context, Thailand shines as a land of opportunities for non-native English speakers, offering an inclusive teaching landscape that warmly embraces educators from different backgrounds. Thailands warm smiles and rich culture create a welcoming environment where non-native English speakers can thrive. The misconception that only native speakers can teach English in Thailand is dispelled, as the country invites teachers from diverse origins to help students of all ages develop their English language skills. Thailands open approach to non-native English speakers values fluency, teaching skills, and a genuine love for education above all. Its a place where the dream of teaching abroad can come true for non-native speakers. To secure these opportunities, weve discussed the qualifications and requirements necessary for teaching in these countries. For non-native speakers, fluency and teaching certifications such as TEFL or TESOL are often key to success. As you set out on your teaching adventure in Asia, keep in mind that you can explore a multitude of exciting opportunities on jobs sites such as Teast, where you can discover teaching positions in Thailand and beyond. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print At least 321 Gender-Based Violence (GBV) cases including 120 rape cases were recorded in Akwa Ibom State in 11 months, spanning January to 24 November. The figure is contained in data released by the Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Response Department in the State Ministry of Justice, Akwa Ibom State. The 120 rape cases recorded within 11 months indicate an average of 10 rape cases in a month with the highest cases 18, recorded in May, followed by June and July which had 14 cases each. The least cases five, were recorded in September. A further breakdown of the data reveals that 170, out of the 321 reported cases of GBV, representing 53 per cent, were cases of spousal battery. From the report 20 of the spousal battery representing 12 per cent resulted in physical injury. The highest cases of spousal battery, 21, were recorded in April out of which seven, representing 33 per cent, resulted in physical injury. The data shows that the highest cases of Gender-Based Violence, 39, were recorded in April, followed by 37 in May, and 33 in November. Thirty-two cases were recorded in February, and 31 in July while January, June and August tied at 30 each. Some cases of GBV may have been unreported in the state, it is believed. The Akwa Ibom State Government, especially under Governor Udom Emmanuels administration, stepped up sensitisation, prosecution and conviction of suspects of GBV in the state. Dont feign ignorance when law catches you Governors wife Patience Eno, the wife of the Akwa Ibom State governor, a few days ago warned rapists and paedophiles not to feign ignorance when the law catches up on them over cases of abuses, PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported. The governors wife gave the warning on Saturday while flagging-off the 16 Days Activism Against Gender-Based Violence in the state. Mrs Eno, who warned that it will no longer be business as usual, called on men to support the advocacy by saying no to rape and all forms of abuse against women and the girl-child. Lets put a stop to this menace, she said. In 2021, over 1000 women in the state staged a protest in Uyo after a 26-year-old philosophy graduate of the University of Uyo, Iniubong Umoren was raped and killed and her body buried in a shallow grave. The victim was lured out of her home with a fake job interview. Addressing the protesters in their black outfits, Martha Emmanuel, the wife of the then Governor Udom Emmanuel, said the society should put a stop against sexual violence against women. Enough is Enough, Iniubong Umoren has paid the price for rape and murder, she said. The fake job recruiter, Uduak Akpan was later convicted and sentenced to death by hanging by a state High Court. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially declared Azerbaijan a country free of such diseases as measles and rubella since 2015 (no endemic cases have been registered in the country), Trend reports, referring to the statement of the Ministry of Health of Azerbaijan. Despite the fact that the country has had two small localized outbreaks of measles infection in recent years (in 2014 and 2018), Infection outbreaks were removed as quickly as possible thanks to the anti-epidemic and preventive measures implemented. Due to infection imports from neighboring nations, sporadic outbreaks (single outbreaks of measles) have been documented among the population since April 2023. Infection transmission has been reported primarily among children. During the previous period, the country recorded 284 instances of measles infection. Only 12 percent (35 patients) of confirmed cases are adults and the elderly. Epidemiologic analysis of cases of infection shows that the main cause of infection is the evasion of vaccination. These are mainly unjustified refusals to be vaccinated. Thus, 95 percent of infected patients are children not immunized according to the "preventive vaccination schedule". In connection with the current situation, given the more favorable environment for the spread of airborne infections as a result of close contact with children in collectives (especially boarding schools) and closed institutions (orphanages, sanatoriums), preventive vaccination work is being carried out in all medical institutions throughout the country. At the same time, control over the pro-active identification of children excluded from routine vaccination due to age and their involvement in urgent vaccination has been strengthened. Also, anti-epidemic measures are carried out in the centers of infection, persons in contact with the diseased are identified, and medical observation is carried out for 21 days. For the purpose of prevention, taking into account the epidemiological situation, the measles and rubella vaccines will be used among the middle-aged and elderly populations. Regarding the detection of measles in 8 students of Azerbaijan Technical University (AzTU) during November, one student of the university with suspected measles infection was requested from AzTU. According to the results of the examination and tests, the infection was not confirmed. Stay up to date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Nationally Trusted Plumbing and HVAC Franchise Sets Sights on Providing High-Quality Services to More Communities Nationwide PEARLAND, Texas, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- 1-800-Plumber +Air an industry leading plumbing and HVAC franchise, has announced plans to continue its expansion nationwide into new territories through franchising. With over 60 territories currently operating throughout the U.S., 1-800-Plumber +Air has established itself as a trusted expert in the home services industry. 1-800-Plumber +Air provides services for both residential and commercial customers. The brand's highest priority is to create an excellent customer experience through its innovative technology, skilled technicians, and home protection measures. Mark Collins, CEO of 1-800-Plumber +Air, is a 5th generation plumber, with his family spanning almost 120 years in the industry. Over a century of family experience has been forged into the model and mission of 1-800-Plumber +Air. "Growing up in the industry, I've learned that the most important part of running a business and operating a franchise is to have a strong passion for what you do and to be intentional on creating a positive impact for anyone encountering our brand, primarily our customers and employees," said Collins. "With 1-800-Plumber +Air, we are aiming to redefine the standard surrounding plumbing and HVAC work, and are seeking people-driven franchise owners to carry on our mission of creating the best customer experience possible." 1-800-Plumber +Air provides high-quality support for their franchise owners through its unique, community-like company culture. The brand invests effort, time and training in each and every one of its franchise locations, having implemented innovative technology that allows for an easy and effective training process for all. 1-800-Plumber +Air prides itself on being a needs-based service for its customers, with franchise owners meeting a necessary need for their communities. "As a needs-based service, we are able to weather the changing marketing conditions and economy better than most," said Kyle Smith, Chief Marketing Officer of 1-800-Plumber +Air. "People will always need plumbing and HVAC services to maintain safe, healthy, and happy homes, and that's what our team is here to provide." 1-800-Plumber +Air is actively seeking potential franchise owners with a motivation to grow and a desire to provide high-quality plumbing and HVAC services to their communities. The estimated investment required to open a 1-800-Plumber +Air franchise is $127,780 to $284,270. To learn more about 1-800-Plumber +Air's franchise opportunity, please visit https://1800plumberfranchise.com/ About 1-800-Plumber +Air Franchising since 2018, 1-800-Plumber +Air is an industry leading plumbing and HVAC franchise, providing high-quality plumbing, heating, cooling, and emergency services. Currently operating in over 60 service areas across 16 states, the company is fast-growing and was recognized in Entrepreneur's 2023 Franchise 500 Ranking. The brand remains dedicated to meeting all plumbing and HVAC needs, emphasizing community enhancement, customer well-being, and unwavering support for employees and franchisees. For more information, please visit https://1800plumber.com/ SOURCE 1-800-Plumber +Air HIGHLAND, Calif., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians will donate $1 million on Giving Tuesday to 10 impactful nonprofit organizations to support underserved communities across the nation. Pictured are members of the Center for Native American Youth, a native women-led organization that focuses on education advocacy for Native American youth. The center will be one of the organizations to receive a $100,000 donation from the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians.. Leaders of the Chinle Planting Hope Foundation pictured here will receive $100,000 from the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians to construct a library as part of an educational community play space and development project in the Navajo nation. Less than 1% of U.S. philanthropic funds go to causes that support Native American communities. Nonprofit organizations in the Inland Empire receive less than $26 per capita compared to $262.99 per capita across California. In honor of Native American Heritage Month and to facilitate greater impacts for underserved communities, grants of $100,000 each will be granted to ten organizations that serve Native American and Inland Empire communities. The Giving Tuesday Grant recipients are the following: Norton Science and Language Academy Native Forward Scholars Fund Stronghearts Native Helpline Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums Confederated Tribe and Band of Yakama Nation Cherish Ministry Center for Native American Youth at Aspen Institute Chinle Planting Hope Spotlight Documentaries All 10 grantees are addressing critical issues and align with the Tribe's four philanthropic pillars: inspiring our future through education, empowering lives, reinforcing healthy and resilient communities, and preserving cultural traditions and empowering Indian Country. It is imperative to fund causes that make a real difference in the communities they serve. More than 35 million adults participated in Giving Tuesday in 2022. This global encouragement for generosity is a reminder to make a change. The Giving Tuesday donations are in addition to the 161 grants approved by the Tribal Council in September which totaled over $13 million. About the Grantees Norton Science and Language Academy (NSLA) in San Bernardino provides an educational environment that celebrates diversity, encourages inclusivity, and nurtures the holistic growth of their 1,200 students. Native Forward Scholars Fund (NFSF) is the largest scholarship provider to Native students. Each year NFSF awards some 17,000 scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students. Stronghearts Native Helpline provides culturally relevant and Native-centered support for American Indian and Alaska Native persons impacted by domestic, dating and/or sexual violence. The Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums (ATALM) is an international association dedicated to preserving and advancing the language, history, culture, and lifeways of Indigenous peoples. The Garcia Center for the Arts in San Bernardino provides cultural and art programming and is a space for creatives to practice and develop their crafts without barriers. The Confederated Tribe and Band of Yakama Nation's CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) program seeks to make sure every dependent child within their jurisdiction is in a safe, caring, culturally responsive family. Cherish Ministry in Fontana supports at-risk single mothers in underprivileged communities, many of whom are survivors of abuse. Each year, Cherish provides baby care items, infant to kindergarten educational resources, life-skills classes, in-home mentoring, spiritual support, positive parenting classes, and job-readiness training to 450 mothers and children. The Center for Native American Youth is a Native women led organization of the Aspen Institute that focuses on the education and advocacy of Native youth on reservations, in rural communities and urban areas across the nation. Their work helps improve health, safety, and overall wellness of native youth. Chinle Planting Hope is an indigenous-led organization providing creative community development in the Navajo Nation. The organization's newest initiative, the Imagination Station, will include a library, playground, children's museum, and educational community play space. Spotlight Documentaries utilizes the power of film to produce and fund documentaries to highlight pressing issues and launch impact campaigns to advance these important issues in the world. Currently, Spotlight Documentaries is using their platform to raise awareness on sextortion, online solicitation by predators, human trafficking and cyberbullying with an impact campaign called SAFE ONLINE. About the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians is a federally recognized Indian tribe located on the San Manuel Indian Reservation near Highland, California. San Manuel exercises its inherent sovereign right of self-governance and provides essential services for its citizens by building infrastructure, maintaining civil services, and promoting social, economic and cultural development. As the Indigenous people of the San Bernardino highlands, passes, valleys, mountains and high deserts, the Serrano people of San Manuel have called this area home since time immemorial and are committed to remaining a productive partner in the San Bernardino region. For more information, visit http://www.sanmanuel-nsn.gov SOURCE San Manuel Band of Mission Indians SANTA CLARA, Calif., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sage, a leading medical device contract product development and early-stage manufacturing firm, is excited to announce the appointment of Rupesh Desai as General Manager, Santa Clara. Bringing a wealth of experience and a proven track record of operational leadership, Rupesh is poised to elevate Sage's West Coast presence. In his new role, Rupesh is responsible for overseeing Sage's operations, capabilities, and client relationships on the West Coast. His extensive background in medical device product development and his exceptional leadership skills make him a valuable addition to the Sage leadership team. "I am excited to join Sage and lead the team in Santa Clara in delivering excellence to our clients and contributing to the company's continued success," said Rupesh. "I am committed to fostering a culture of technical excellence, efficiency, transparency and flexibility to meet the needs of client companies in the Bay Area and beyond." With an impressive track record of medical device development and operations leadership, Rupesh brings significant technical depth and operational excellence to Sage. His leadership abilities and technical depth align perfectly with Sage's commitment to growing the company's Bay Area presence. "We are delighted that Rupesh has joined us as General Manager of our Santa Clara operation," said Jeffrey Cerier, President of Sage. "His proven ability to develop and lead high-performance teams and his deep understanding of the West Coast medical device market will enhance our ability to meet the needs of client companies." Sage has been at the forefront of medical device contract product development for 12 years, consistently delivering high-quality solutions that address the unique challenges of the industry. With the addition of Rupesh to Sage's leadership team the company will further strengthen its presence in the Bay Area and better support the product development and early-stage manufacturing needs of West Coast medical device companies. For media inquiries or more information, please email: [email protected] About Sage: Sage Product Development is a leading medical device contract product development and low-to-mid-volume manufacturing firm dedicated to partnering with client companies to bring to market innovative devices that have a positive impact on the lives of patients and clinicians. With offices in Foxborough, Massachusetts and Santa Clara, California, and a focus on technical excellence, operational efficiency, transparency and flexibility, Sage strives to be a trusted long-term partner for medical device companies of all sizes. www.sagepd.com SOURCE Sage Product Development, Inc. HOUSTON, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Founding partners Amir Alavi and Demetrios Anaipakos from the Houston trial law firm Alavi Anaipakos are being recognized for their years of expertise in intellectual property law on the recently announced IAM Global Leaders 2024 list published by London-based Law Business Research. The IAM Global Leaders roster includes the "world's top private practice experts" nominated by industry peers for their experience in all facets of intellectual property law and their ability to deliver value for clients. A team of researchers from Law Business Research assembled the list based on interviews with legal and technology professionals in North America, Europe, and Asia. Earlier this year, Mr. Alavi, Mr. Anaipakos, and fellow Alavi Anaipakos attorneys Masood Anjom and Scott Clark earned selections on the 2023 IAM Patent 1000 listing of the nation's top patent lawyers in private practice. "We are particularly thankful to all of our clients, our adversaries, and our trusted co-counsel who nominated our attorneys for these honors," says Mr. Anaipakos. "We take great pride in how we win, which is by staying ahead of technology and practicing trial law as our clients deserve and have come to expect from our team." Alavi Anaipakos recently extended the firm's streak of patent victories for clients by helping Los Angeles-based GoTV Streaming, LLC, win a patent infringement verdict in California federal court against Netflix Inc. covering a series of technology patents. The recent recognition from IAM for the Alavi Anaipakos trial lawyers follows earlier professional honors for the firm and individual firm lawyers, including Best Law Firms, Benchmark Litigation Stars, Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America, Texas Super Lawyers, The Best Lawyers in America, BTI Client Service All-Stars, Chambers USA, and others. Houston-based Alavi Anaipakos is home to high-stakes trial lawyers known for solving complex problems. The firm's attorneys have handled some of the world's largest patent infringement disputes and significant commercial cases across various industries, from oil and gas, energy, software, high-tech, financial services, and beyond. Our team members have been in the trenches in marquee legal battles across the nation and the world for nearly 30 years. SOURCE Alavi Anaipakos PLLC AIX Platform Streamlining Processes for DAI's Growing Client Base PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Alternative Investment Exchange (AIX) , a market leader dedicated to simplifying alternatives investing, formally announced its partnership with DAI Securities , seamlessly facilitating alts investing and providing multi-asset class support for DAI's growing client base. Based in Atlanta, DAI is a full-service boutique broker-dealer and registered investment adviser (RIA), specializing in alternative investments with a focus on due diligence. DAI Chief Operating Officer Matt Ingber said, "Partnering with AIX is critical for DAI as it streamlines new business for our clients while supporting our entire investment portfolio, well beyond alternatives. It also gives our team a single interface to manage client assets and back-office functions, allowing us to give our clients an edge as they invest." AIX Chief Operating Officer Brad West said "DAI understands the value and dynamic nature of alternative investments and knows technology can radically improve how related services are delivered. We also appreciate the continuing opportunity to facilitate workflows for DAI beyond alts, including top-rated mutual funds, competitive variable annuity and variable universal life products, 529 college savings plans and trust solutions for self-directed IRAs. "The successful partnership with DAI is further evidence that we're rapidly growing our business as alts-focused independent broker dealers and RIAs adopt the AIX platform to optimize their advisor and client experience," he said. For alternative investments, the AIX platform works as a data-driven workflow management solution with data populating forms and relevant systems automatically, creating a seamless experience for all involved advisors, clients, sponsors, custodial parties, home offices, and compliance. AIX also enables the fluid movement of data, connecting all parties dynamically and eliminating manual interventions. About AIX Alternative Investment Exchange (AIX) is an end-to-end digital platform built to improve the processes related to buying, owning, and selling alternative investments. AIX's technology reduces friction, mitigates risk, and creates value across all alternative investing stakeholder groups - wealth managers, asset managers, custodians, transfer agents, and fund administrators. By evolving beyond documents to make data the connective tissue between alternative investment players, AIX makes it easier to conduct business and accelerate industry growth. For more information, please visit aixplatform.com or LinkedIn . Media Contact Randy Williams for AIX [email protected] +1.917.213.5980 SOURCE Alternative Investment Exchange Building upon the successful acquisition of Clipper Magazine, AmatoMartin continues to expand its portfolio of marketing solutions, fostering savings for consumers and growth for businesses. NEW YORK, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- AmatoMartin, a privately held investment holding company, is thrilled to announce its strategic acquisition of Valpak, a respected marketing and advertising solutions provider and industry leader in direct mail. This milestone aligns seamlessly with AmatoMartin's mission to help businesses grow and consumers save. With a dedicated workforce exceeding 1,000 professionals, Valpak is set to play a pivotal role within the AmatoMartin portfolio. Collaborating alongside Clipper Magazine, the direct marketing powerhouses are poised to transform the sector, redefining how businesses connect and transact with local consumers in the mailbox and inbox. A steadfast commitment to enhancing consumer savings and engagement remains paramount, amplified by streamlined access to offers with the ability to interact or purchase offers offline or online for local and national businesses. Valpak's expansive network converging with Clipper Magazine's extensive reach paves the way for unparalleled savings and an abundance of opportunities for consumers. AmatoMartin's John Amato expressed enthusiasm about the acquisition, stating, "The integration of Valpak into our portfolio marks a watershed moment in the marketing and advertising industry. Pairing Valpak with Clipper Magazine broadens our reach with a market-leading 60 million households, through publications and shared mail, with hyper-targeting capabilities spanning the US offline and online through our leading digital and e-commerce platforms, serving our over 50,000 business customers. Our commitment lies in harnessing the collective strengths of Valpak and Clipper Magazine to forge a dynamic and comprehensive solution catering to businesses and consumers alike. This heralds an era of unprecedented scale and innovation." Solomon Partners served as exclusive financial advisor to Valpak. Salem Partners served as financial advisor to AmatoMartin. This acquisition exemplifies AmatoMartin's unwavering dedication to innovation, entrepreneurship, and transforming business sectors. Their vision for a future where businesses can connect with target audiences in a seamless and sophisticated way, while delivering enhanced savings to consumers, solidifies this as an ideal addition to the AmatoMartin portfolio. About AmatoMartin AmatoMartin is a privately held investment holding company headquartered in New York. The firm's holdings employ more than 1,850 professionals, serving 65,000 business customers, reaching over 60,000,000 homes across the US. About Valpak Valpak is the nation's premier direct mailer, trusted for more than 55 years by thousands of local and national businesses. We drive sales and brand awareness through easy-to-measure, results-oriented advertising solutions that work. Our network of nearly 140 local offices provides unparalleled customer service and market knowledge to business owners in 42 U.S. states. Each month, our Blue Envelope of savings mails to more than 41 million demographically targeted households, and we offer a diverse suite of additional, fully customizable solutions driven by best-in-class data and targeting capabilities. Contact us today at valpak.com/advertise or connect on Twitter: @Valpak and Facebook: @ValpakAdvertising. Media Contact: Mandy Febus, Chief Marketing Officer, [email protected] SOURCE Valpak; AmatoMartin American Heritage Schools Also Ranked No. 1 Private School and No. 22 Largest Employer in South Florida FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. and BOCA RATON, Fla., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- American Heritage Schools is pleased to be recognized for its philanthropic distinctions by the South Florida Business Journal (SFBJ) in the publication's annual "Book of Lists" rankings. American Heritage Schools has been ranked No. 16 in Corporate Philanthropy in South Florida. American Heritage Schools has been recognized for its philanthropic distinctions in South Florida Business Journal's annual Book of Lists 2023 American Heritage Schools The ethos of philanthropy is deeply ingrained in the identity of American Heritage Schools, epitomized by its motto of knowledge, integrity and compassion. Last year, American Heritage Schools proudly supported the community by contributing to over 320 benefitting causes through over $630,000 given in corporate donations and over 636,000 hours of community service. With over 88 student-run clubs, as well as the schools' Pre-Professional programs in fields including pre-med, pre-law, pre-engineering, biomedical engineering, business and entrepreneurship, and computer science, the philanthropic desire to help others locally and globally is at the heart of everything the students, families, faculty and administrators do at American Heritage Schools. Each year, fundraising goals are surpassed, and there is no limit to what can be accomplished. "At American Heritage Schools, we maintain an unwavering commitment to excellence and contributing positively to our community while also making a meaningful impact in the lives of our students," said Dr. Douglas Laurie, president of American Heritage Schools. "This recognition not only solidifies our standing in the region but also underscores our substantial impact in the education sector and our role as a major employer." American Heritage Schools was also ranked as the No. 1 Private School and the No. 22 Largest Employer in South Florida in the "Book of Lists" rankings. SFBJ is the leading source for business news, data and networking in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. SFBJ's "Book of Lists" provides readers with more than 1,000 of the most significant area companies in their fields, by ranking. Since its founding nearly 60 years ago, American Heritage Schools has become known as a leading private school for academic excellence throughout the nation, and enrollment has steadily increased to approximately 4,800 students in PK3 through 12th grades at the Broward and Palm Beach campuses. A strong work ethic is evident in all facets of American Heritage Schools. American Heritage Schools in Broward, Florida, is the No. 1 high school in Florida and the No. 2 private school in the nation for the highest number of National Merit Scholars; the Schools' Palm Beach campus is the No. 2 school in Florida and the No. 3 private school in the nation for the highest number of National Merit Scholars. The school has the No. 1 math competition team out of all private schools in the United States. The Model UN team is top three in the nation, and the Speech and Debate team is in the top 1% in the nation. American Heritage Schools is the No. 1 K-12 Private School in Florida , according to Niche. To learn more about American Heritage Schools' recognition, please visit https://ahschool.info/SFBJ23 . About American Heritage Schools: American Heritage Schools, founded in 1965, is a nationally-ranked private, nonsectarian, and co-educational college preparatory day school with two 40-acre campuses: the Broward Campus is located in Plantation, Florida, and the Palm Beach Campus is located in Delray Beach, Florida. Its campuses serve approximately 4,800 students in PK3 through 12th grades, and the student body represents over 60 different countries throughout the world. Approximately 70 percent of the faculty hold postgraduate degrees. American Heritage Schools is nationally and internationally accredited by the following associations: Association of Independent Schools of Florida (AISF), Middle States Association (MSA-CESS), and National Council for Private Schools. The Lower School includes advanced classes and 15 electives, and the Upper School offers over 300 courses with 138 honors classes, 28 Advanced Placement classes, and 75 fine arts classes. Pre-professional programs are offered in pre-med , pre-law , pre-engineering , biomedical engineering , business & entrepreneurship , and computer science with classes taught daily by doctors, surgeons, lawyers, judges, engineers, and computer scientists currently practicing in their fields. For 13 years, American Heritage Schools has been ranked the No. 1 high school in Florida for the highest number of National Merit Scholars, and the school is home to the No. 1 math competition team out of all private schools in the U.S. The Model UN team is top 3 in the nation, and the Speech and Debate team is in the top 1% in the nation. American Heritage Schools is ranked among the top private schools in Florida in STEM, according to Niche. For more information about American Heritage Schools, visit its website at www.ahschool.com Broward Campus: (954) 472-0022 ext. 1 or email [email protected] Palm Beach Campus: (561) 495-7272 ext. 1 or email admissions.palmbeach@ahschool.com Media Contact: Duree & Company, Inc. 954.723.9350 / [email protected] SOURCE American Heritage Schools PROVIDENCE, R.I., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- From the ability to conduct clinical visits online to utilizing artificial intelligence to effectively diagnose patients, technology has changed how all doctors practice medicine. One published paper in the November/December issue of Annals of Family Medicine explains how AI-driven technology presents new opportunities for more effective patient care while a second paper describes the interplay between fulfillment of basic psychological needs at work and technology use in maintaining clinician well-being. In a six-month observational study and corresponding paper titled, "Home Monitoring of Asthma Exacerbations in Children and Adults using AI-Aided Stethoscope," researchers examined the use of artificial intelligence on 149 home-monitored asthma patients of various ages in Poland. They first identified the critical measurable symptoms of asthma exacerbation. They then queried to what extent an AI-aided home stethoscope could support detection of asthma exacerbations, especially in young children. The researchers used standard certified medical devices to take measures of certain asthma symptoms (pulse oximeters for peripheral capillary oxygen saturation and peak flow meters for expiratory flow) in study participants over 5 years old. For more subjective, auditory symptoms, a Conformite Europeenne-certified StethoMe, an AI-based home stethoscope, recorded sounds from standard chest points of all study participants and transferred the sound files to a cell phone app. The recordings were automatically analyzed by an AI module and then generated results (pathological sound intensities, heart rate, respiratory rate, inspiration-to-expiration duration ratio), which were displayed in the app. Physicians analyzed all data via an online platform to identify exacerbation occurrences. Ultimately, results suggest that while taking multiple measures is preferable, AI analysis of home stethoscope recordings alone can efficiently detect asthma exacerbation in patients of all ages, including children under 5 years old. The researchers concluded that the StethoMe can be a useful tool for optimizing patient-doctor collaboration via telemedicine. For children under 5, the authors argue that it could significantly facilitate asthma monitoring by their parents and caregivers. In a separate study, Canadian researchers examined how virtual care during the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted primary doctors' basic psychological needs and subjective well-being. Their paper is titled, "Family Physician Motivation and Well-Being in the Digital Era." The team examined how autonomous (vs. controlled) motivation among family physicians impacted their subjective well-being when shifting to virtual care and whether satisfaction vs. frustration of their basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, mediated that relationship. The researchers gathered qualitative data by surveying 156 family physicians in Alberta, Canada. The questionnaire measured motivational quality towards using virtual care, workplace psychological need fulfillment, and subjective well-being. The authors found that primary care doctors who felt that they had little choice in using virtual care had lower well-being, and frustration of their workplace needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, fully mediated that relationship. Conversely, basic workplace psychological need satisfaction -- though not autonomous motivation towards using virtual care -- was associated with higher well-being. The findings suggest that when family physicians' motivation towards using virtual care is less self-determined, it will lead to poorer subjective well-being because of basic psychological need frustration. Articles cited: Home Monitoring of Asthma Exacerbations in Children and Adults Using AI-aided Stethoscope. Kamil Janeczek, Andrzej Emeryk, Eric Derom, Barbara Kuznar-Kaminska, Anna Zelent, Mateusz ukaszyk, Tomasz Grzywalski, Anna Pastusiak, Adam Biniakowski, Krzysztof Szarzynski, Dick Botteldooren, Jedrzej Kocinski, Honotara Hafke-Dys Family Physician Motivation and Well-Being in the Digital Era. Adam Neufeld, Oksana Babenko, Vishal Bhella SOURCE Annals of Family Medicine BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. Armenia is trying to conceal the occupation of 8 villages in Azerbaijan with a slanderous statement of Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan, the Western Azerbaijan Community said, Trend reports. Armenia, making such an unfounded statement, once again demonstrates its disinterest in signing a peace treaty with Azerbaijan, said the statement. "The West Azerbaijan Community strongly condemns the absurd and slanderous statement of Armenian Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan about the alleged 'full or partial occupation' of 31 Armenian villages by Azerbaijan. Armenian officials should start a dialog with the Western Azerbaijan Community in this direction, taking a real step instead of saying nice words about return," the community's statement reads. Stay up to date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- FontGear, Inc. announced today the immediate availability of FontXChange version 6.0 for Mac OS. FontXChange is a powerful, easy to use font-conversion application that converts fonts between common font formats. FontXChange is able to convert font files to OpenType, Web Fonts, PostScript Type 1, and TrueType for both Macintosh or Windows. Many graphic artists, designers, and agencies have been impacted by MacOS recently dropping support for legacy font files, potentially costing them thousands of dollars to update their digital files. https://helpx.adobe.com/fonts/kb/postscript-type-1-fonts-end-of-support.html A recent user commented "Awesome! Works like a charm! Thank you so much for your kind support! And thanks for making this great converter! I guess with this you saved the lifes (sic) of thousands of graphic designers." FontXChange converts fonts between common font formats, including OpenType (PS), Web Fonts (WOFF), PostScript Type 1, and TrueType for both Macintosh and Windows. FontXChange is designed to understand many different font formats and can convert fonts into many different formats. This makes FontXChange useful to: Convert PostScript Type 1 fonts (Macintosh or Windows format) into a single modern OpenType font file that works on both Macintosh & Windows. End the headaches of the outdated two-file system of screen font and printer font combinations. Just one font file that works. Convert TrueType fonts to PostScript fonts. No more printing problems and incompatibilities associated with TrueType fonts and high-end output devices. Convert Windows fonts to Macintosh and vice-versa. Easily share fonts across different computers, even different operating systems. Convert to web fonts that can be used on web pages What's new in version 6: Updated for MacOS Sonoma (14.x +) Refined line spacing in converted fonts Broader support for legacy Mac TrueType font files Other useful features include: Batch processing for converting entire font libraries Font inspection window with previews Support for many font encodings, including Adobe Standard, Unicode, Mac Roman , and Windows ANSI, and European. , and Windows ANSI, and European. FontXChange is available for Mac OS (13 or greater) for $99 (Single User License, no subscription, free updates for life) Version 6 is a free update for current FontXChange users and can be download at: https:// fontgear.com/pages/downloads A free demonstration version can also be downloaded at https://fontgear.com/pages/downloads More info at: https://fontgear.com/products/fontxchange-for-macintosh Download: https://fontgear.com/pages/downloads "...you can't go wrong with FontXChange. Its support for OpenType, Mac and Windows PostScript and TrueType, and Web Fonts is a huge help for Web and print designers and publishers" - MacWorld Magazine FontGear Inc. is a leading professional software company for Macintosh and Windows, specializing in font application tools for creative professionals and the publishing industry. FontGear Inc. is located in Charlotte, North Carolina. FontGear Inc. 10130 Mallard Creek Rd. Suite 300 Charlotte NC 28262 [email protected] www.FontGear.com For more information, screen shots, not-for-resale (NFR) copies, demos, etc., please contact FontGear Inc. at: [email protected] SOURCE FontGear Inc. CYPRESS, Texas, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Petra Automotive Products, the fastest growing premium automotive products manufacturer, is pleased to announce CEO Arnold Gacita has been named an All-Star in the Parts and Service, Vendor, category by Automotive News, the leading source of news for the automotive industry. Gacita was among 28 industry leaders honored, including Elon Musk of Tesla, Roger Penske of Penske Automotive, and Euisun Chung of Hyundai Motor Corp., for their commitment to pushing boundaries in the automotive industry this year. Arnold Gacita of Petra Auto The honor is only given to one automotive vendor in the Parts and Service category per year and voted upon by the Automotive News staff. An All-Star is an industry forerunner recognized for delivering excellent products and services to their customers, introducing innovations that are key to the future of mobility and making other significant contributions to the industry in myriad ways during 2023. They are executives who exhibit operational excellence in their respective categories and have demonstrated significant impact on the industry. The All-Stars winners are determined based on the accomplishments in their category each year, and they are selected through a staff meeting with the Automotive News editorial team. "I am so honored and humbled to be named to this prestigious list, but the reality is I can't be an All Star without an All Star team," said Gacita. "We would not be where we are today without the dedication of our employees, distributors, and industry partners. They are the real all stars." Gacita's charity work with Petra Cares helped him earn the All-Star designation and stand out as an important contributor to the automotive industry. Petra Cares is a non-profit organization that helps young adults aging out of foster care and at-risk youth by providing job training and placement in the auto repair industry. Gacita will be honored at an awards ceremony on December 4th in Detroit, Michigan. For more information on Petra Automotive products, please visit www.petraautoproducts.com . About Petra Automotive Products Petra Automotive Products is family-owned and headquartered in Cypress, Texas, just outside Houston. Since 2010, the company's mission has been to create automotive maintenance products and services that facilitate superior vehicle performance and provide world-class customer service through automotive dealers, auto chains, and independent vehicle repair facilities. To date, Petra has created over 360 offerings and is the fastest growing premium automotive products manufacturer in the world, delivering Petra branded products to 38 countries worldwide. Since its inception, Petra has continued to build product strength and value by offering innovative warranty programs and vehicle maintenance training. To learn more, visit www.petraautoproducts.com or call 1-888-Petra-61. Media contact: Laurie Halter Charisma! Communications 503-816-2474 [email protected] SOURCE Petra Automotive Products The growing demand for AI-based solutions and the rising need for intelligent business processes are expected to drive the global artificial neural network market growth. NEW CASTLE, Del., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Artificial Neural Network Market by Component (Solution and Service), Deployment Mode (On-premise and Cloud), Enterprise Size (Large Enterprises and Small & Medium-sized Enterprises), and Industry (Healthcare, BFSI, Retail and E-commerce, Manufacturing, Automotive, and Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20222032". According to the report, the artificial neural network industry generated $227.8 million in 2022 and is anticipated to generate $1.4 billion by 2032, witnessing a CAGR of 19.9% from 2023 to 2032. Prime determinants of growth The notable factors positively affecting the artificial neural network market include the growing demand for AI-based solutions and the rising need for intelligent business processes. However, a lack of computational resources and a skilled workforce with expertise in artificial neural network (ANN) can hinder market growth. Furthermore, advancements in big data analytics and the availability of high-performance computing systems offer lucrative market opportunities for the market players. Download Sample Pages: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/13364 Report coverage & details: Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 20232032 Base Year 2022 Market Size in 2022 $227.8 Million Market Size in 2032 $1.4 Billion CAGR 19.9 % No. of Pages in Report 450 Segments covered Component, Deployment Mode, Enterprise Size Industry, and Region. Drivers Growing demand for AI-based solutions The rising need for intelligent business processes Opportunities Advancements in big data analytics. The availability of high-performance computing systems. Restraints A lack of computational resources and a skilled workforce with expertise in artificial neural network (ANN) Buy this Complete Report (450 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, and Figures) at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/artificial-neural-network-market/purchase-options The solution segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period Based on component, the solution segment held the highest market share in 2022, accounting for less than two-fifths of the artificial neural network market revenue, and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. This is attributed to the growing need for a high level of personalization which is one of the primary reasons enterprises are increasing their investment in the artificial neural network market. However, the services segment is projected to manifest the highest CAGR of 21.8% from 2023 to 2032. The services segment is expected to witness the highest growth, as these services help to reduce the time and costs associated with optimizing systems in the initial phase of deployment. The on-premise segment to maintain its lead position during the forecast period Based on deployment mode, the on-premise segment accounted for the largest share in 2022, contributing for more than one-fourth of the artificial neural network market revenue. An increase in the need for secure and reliable data within the organization is fueling the market growth for on-premises-based artificial neural network solutions. However, the cloud segment is expected to portray the largest CAGR of 21.2% from 2023 to 2032 and is projected to maintain its lead position during the forecast period. It provides several advantages such as reducing costs, supporting business, and effectively controlling the business environment in the organization. The large enterprises segment to maintain its lead position during the forecast period Based on enterprise size, the large enterprises segment accounted for the largest share in 2022, contributing for more than one-fourth of the artificial neural network market revenue, owing to the growing demand for artificial neural network solutions in large enterprises which is fueling the market growth in these enterprises. However, the small and medium-sized enterprises segment is expected to portray the largest CAGR of 22.2% from 2023 to 2032 and is projected to maintain its lead position during the forecast period. It provides various benefits to the small and medium-sized enterprises organization. The healthcare segment to maintain its lead position during the forecast period Based on industry vertical, the healthcare segment accounted for the largest share in 2022, contributing for less than two-fifths of the artificial neural network market revenue, owing to the development of digital technologies in IT sector. However, the manufacturing segment is projected to manifest the highest CAGR of 24.3% from 2023 to 2032. The surge in implementation of automation trends and the increase in utilization of digital technology in this sector are expected to provide lucrative opportunities for the market. North America region dominated the global artificial neural network market in 2022 Based on region, the North America segment held the highest market share in terms of revenue in 2022, accounting for less than two-fifths of the artificial neural network market revenue. The increase in the usage of artificial neural network solutions in businesses to improve businesses and the customer experience is anticipated to propel the growth of the market in this region. However, the Asia-Pacific segment is projected to manifest the highest CAGR of 21.8% from 2023 to 2032. Countries such as China, India, and South Korea are at the forefront, embracing digital technologies to enhance their effectiveness and competitiveness, which is further expected to contribute to the growth of the market in this region. Enquiry Before Buying: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/13364 Competition Analysis: Recent Product launches in the Artificial Neural Network Market In April 2023 , Google LLC launched a cloud-based automation toolkit for healthcare organizations and previewed Med-PaLM 2, a neural network capable of answering medical exam questions. , Google LLC launched a cloud-based automation toolkit for healthcare organizations and previewed Med-PaLM 2, a neural network capable of answering medical exam questions. In August 2021 , IBM Corporation unveiled details of the upcoming new IBM Telum Processor designed to bring deep learning inference to enterprise workloads to help address fraud in real-time.. Recent Partnerships in the Artificial Neural Network Market In June 2023 , Snowflake partnered with Microsoft to simplify joint customers' artificial intelligence projects. A core focus of the collaboration is Microsoft's Azure OpenAI Service. It provides cloud-based versions of OpenAI LP's machine learning models, including GPT-4. , Snowflake partnered with Microsoft to simplify joint customers' artificial intelligence projects. A core focus of the collaboration is Microsoft's Azure OpenAI Service. It provides cloud-based versions of OpenAI LP's machine learning models, including GPT-4. In November 2021 , Qualcomm Technologies partnered with Google Cloud, on Neural Architecture Search (NAS), enabling the companies to create and optimize AI models automatically rather than manually. Leading Market Players: - Amazon Web Services Inc. Google Inc. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP IBM Corporation Intel Corporation Microsoft Corporation NVIDIA Corporation Oracle Corporation Qualcomm Technologies Inc. Salesforce Inc. The report provides a detailed analysis of these key players in the artificial neural network market. These players have adopted different strategies such as new product launches, collaborations, expansion, joint ventures, agreements, and others to increase their market share and maintain dominant shares in different countries. The report is valuable in highlighting business performance, operating segments, product portfolio, and strategic moves of market players to showcase the competitive scenario. AVENUE- A Subscription-Based Library (Premium on-demand, subscription-based pricing model): AMR introduces its online premium subscription-based library Avenue, designed specifically to offer cost-effective, one-stop solution for enterprises, investors, and universities. With Avenue, subscribers can avail an entire repository of reports on more than 2,000 niche industries and more than 12,000 company profiles. Moreover, users can get an online access to quantitative and qualitative data in PDF and Excel formats along with analyst support, customization, and updated versions of reports. Get an access to the library of reports at any time from any device and anywhere. For more details, follow the link: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/library-access Trending Reports in ICT & Media Industry: Network Equipment Market Size is Expected to Reach $69.7 Billion by 2032 Multi-access Edge Computing Market Expected to Reach $102 Billion by 2032 Cloud Native Technologies Market Expected to Reach $53.6 Billion by 2032 Online Language Learning Platform Market Expected to Reach $44.8 Billion by 2032 About Us: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Wilmington, Delaware. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports Insights" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies, and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact: David Correa 1209 Orange Street, Corporation Trust Center, Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware 19801 USA. Int'l: +1-503-894-6022 Toll Free: +1-800-792-5285 UK: +44-845-528-1300 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1-800-792-5285 help@alliedmarketresearch.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/636519/Allied_Market_Research_Logo.jpg SOURCE Allied Market Research NEW YORK, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Caffe Borbone is making waves, proudly announcing its official entry into the US market. Originating from Naples, Italya city synonymous with extraordinary beauty, rich history, and an appreciation for the simple and authenticCaffe Borbone brings a legacy of passion for coffee to the heart of America. Crafting Moments, Sharing Passion Caffe Borbone Elevates the American Coffee Experience with a Grand Entrance Caffe Borbone was born in Naples, Italy in 1997. In just a few years, we have established ourselves in Italy as one of the main producers of single-portioned coffee in compostable pods and capsules compatible with the most popular dispensing systems. Thanks to a dense commercial network and to marketing, the company has recorded growing sales volumes year after year. Caffe Borbone has always made sustainability and attention to nature its flagship, and our approach to the American market starts with a compostable format. Caffe Borbone's mission is to redefine the American coffee experience, delivering not just a cup of coffee, but a commitment to deliciousness, sustainability, and the art of sharing. Compostable Innovation The spotlight of Caffe Borbone's American venture is K-Cup* Compostable Coffee Pods, embodying the commitment of a premium Italian coffee brand to sustainable practices. From the rich, bold notes of Positano, the perfect blend of fruity, floral, and sweetness of Ravello, the smooth, aromatic blends of Arabica and Robusta in Amalfi, to the balanced allure of Ischia (Half-Caff)each sip promises an Italian-inspired journey. The Italian Art of Coffee in Every Cup As Caffe Borbone unfolds its story in America, it brings the essence of the Italian art of coffeewhere meticulous sourcing, blending, and roasting converge to create an unparalleled experience in every cup. This isn't just about coffee; it's a cultural bridge, a journey into the heart of Italy with every sip. Press Contact: Davide Vidoz Email: [email protected] or [email protected] *Keurig K-Cup are registered trademark of Keurig Green Mountain, Inc.- Caffe Borbone Srl. is not affiliated with Keurig Green Mountain, Inc. Commercially compostable only- BPI certification (facilities may not exist in your area). Easy recycling after use- process applies if local rules allow it: the capsules will become soil fertilizer (compost), throw used capsules in the food waste or organic waste bin, and waste is sent for industrial composting. Refer to your local recycling facility, not recycled in all communities. SOURCE Caffe Borbone America GLENDALE, Calif., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Creating student wellness corners, starting a cow eyeball dissection lab, expanding school music programs, and incorporating multi-media into school newspapers are just a few of the school projects receiving funding from California Credit Union through its Fall 2023 Teacher Grant program. Inglewoods Animo Leadership Charter High School Teacher Grant Recipient Judith Flores (center) receives a grant from (left) California Credit Union Inglewood Assistant Branch Manager Mary Nathan and (right) Gloria Rogers, California Credit Union Vice President, School & Community Development. The grant will be used to fund a Spanish Class Library at the school. As part of its commitment to help educators create innovative learning opportunities for their students, the credit union has provided 10 grants of $500 each to underwrite class projects across Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties. The credit union grants will fund a diverse range of programs illustrating the creativity and commitment teachers bring to their classrooms and communities. "California Credit Union is honored to continue our commitment to our local schools and students through our Teacher Grant Program," said California Credit Union President & CEO Steve O'Connell. "The energy and passion of these educators is remarkable as they outlined creative ways to support hands-on projects that inspire their students. We wish these teachers continued success in their classrooms." The Fall 2023 California Credit Union Teacher Grant recipients include: California Credit Union Grant Recipient School City Yesenia Carvajal Maywood Center for Enriched Studies Maywood Cindy Ekk Columbus High School Downey Hugo Espanta Eagle Rock High School Los Angeles Judith Flores Animo Leadership Charter High School Inglewood Eugene Kim Castaic High School Castaic John Le Eagle Canyon Elementary Chino Hills Leticia Monarrez Harrison Street Elementary Los Angeles Michelle Napoli Downey High School Downey Jonathan Serrano Virgil Middle School Los Angeles Shawn Vasquez Our Community School Chatsworth Photos of all recipients can be found here. Since the creation of the program in 2012, California Credit Union has awarded $185,000 in teacher grants to support innovative learning projects. Up to 20 grants are awarded bi-annually in the spring and fall. Any full-time classroom teacher in Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, and Riverside County can apply for a grant for a program that has clearly defined learning objectives tied to students' academic needs, displays creativity in education, and targets a significant number of students. More information is available at ccu.com. About California Credit Union California Credit Union is a federally insured, state chartered credit union founded in 1933 with assets over $4.5 billion, nearly 200,000 members and 24 retail branches. The credit union serves community members and businesses in the California counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura as well as school employees throughout the state. The credit union operates in San Diego and Riverside Counties as North Island Credit Union, a division of California Credit Union. The credit union offers a full suite of consumer, business and investment products and services, including comprehensive consumer checking and loan options, personalized financial planning, business banking, and leading-edge online and mobile banking. California Credit Union is certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) with a Low Income Designation, offering inclusive products and services to build financial stability in our underserved communities, including a checking account certified as meeting the Bank On National Account Standards. Visit ccu.com for more information or follow the credit union on Instagram or Facebook @CaliforniaCreditUnion. SOURCE California Credit Union Celebrating Cambodian Culinary Excellence on the Global Stage RIYADH , Saudi Arabia, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In a historic moment for Cambodian culture and cuisine, the culinary masterpiece "SAOY - Royal Cambodian Home Cuisine" has garnered multiple nominations at the esteemed 29th Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. Elevating Cambodia's culinary heritage globally, the book stands nominated in three significant categories: Best Of The Best (Books Publishers B02) Asian-Books (Countries and Regions C08) Heads Of State (Gastrodiplomacy G05) "SAOY - Royal Cambodian Home Cuisine" INDULGE IN THE UNIQUE AND FLAVORFUL WORLD OF CAMBODIAN CUISINE, AND EXPERIENCE THE RICH HISTORY AND CULTURE BEHIND EVERY DISH. GET YOUR COPY NOW AND EMBARK ON A JOURNEY TO SAVOR THE UNFORGETTABLE TASTES OF ROYAL CAMBODIAN HOME CUISINE. Chef Nak and her team who behind the book. The achievement truly reflects the creativity and passion of Chef Nak and her team. Out of 205 participating countries, "SAOY" has achieved the honor of being recognized as the best in these categories, a true testament to Cambodia's rich cultural diversity. "I never imagined winning prizes when I started this project three years ago. Working with a few friends who value cuisine, art, and culture was my goal. Now, the Gourmand Awards recognition is above my expectations. It's a reminder that even the simple joy of food deserves to be celebrated." - Serey SOT, designer/illustrator. "As an artist and photographer, I take immense pride in the collective achievements of our team. It brings me great pleasure to share the remarkable success of the book with our nation. This endeavor has truly been a labor of love, and I echo the sentiment of 'Work from the heart.'' - La Mo, artist/photographer "SAOY" is more than a cookbook; it's a vibrant celebration of Cambodian heritage, a repository of culinary knowledge passed down through generations, and a heartfelt tribute to the nation's people, art, and culture. The majority of the recipes were interpreted from Princess Norodom Rasmi Sobbhana's recipes between 1950 and 1970. Within its pages, readers embark on a sensory journey, capturing the essence of Cambodian cuisine and offering a delectable taste of the country's vibrant flavors and traditions. "This is another exciting moment for Cambodian cuisine and culture. A talented and driven group of artists dedicated to showcasing the depth of Cambodian cultural heritage created this stunning work of art. This achievement truly reflects the creativity and passion of Chef Nak and her team." - Charley Todd, Cambodian Living Arts Board President Emeritus "This book is a treasure! It's simply beautiful to look at; Chef Nak will teach you how to cook beautiful, delicious, royal Khmer cuisine; and Chef Nak's love for the villagers who taught her their wonderful recipes is also beautiful. " Robert Cutler, Managing Director, Narrowcasters The climax of this extraordinary journey is at the Riyadh Gourmand Awards Ceremony, a part of the Saudi Feast Food Festival, the Middle East's largest culinary event, taking place from November 27 to 29. Chef Nak, the author, has the honor of representing Cambodia, showcasing the pinnacle of Cambodian culinary artistry. Supported by H.E. Hun Many, President of the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia, four key team members, including the author, photographer, designer, and director, presented in Riyadh to share Cambodia's beauty and culture with the world. "I am glad that the UYFC and I are able to contribute in however small a capacity toward the overall success" - H.E. Hun Many, President of the UYFC . This achievement is a collective success, reflecting the unwavering dedication and passion of the entire team behind Chef Nak. Their broader mission is to bring and elevate the vibrant flavors and cultural heritage of Cambodian cuisine to the world stage, envisioning a future where Cambodian cuisine is celebrated as a globally renowned culinary art that ignites innovation across the globe. "We broaden our passion for culinary art through unique services in addition to publishing cookbooks and creating engaging social media content to preserve and promote the rich tapestry of Cambodian cuisines. Luxury home dining experiences, private cooking classes, luxurious homestays, and restaurant consultancy are among them." - Chef Nak SAOY - Royal Cambodian Home Cuisine, is a cultural bridge that fosters the integration of tradition and innovation. Its pages not only include tempting recipes, but they also serve as a cultural guide, taking readers through the heart of Cambodian heritage. Chef Nak and her team hope to develop a culinary legacy by raising worldwide interest in Cambodian cuisine and forging cross-cultural connections. For more information, visit the Chef Nak website , purchase the book on Amazon , or contact Chef Nak: Phone: 855 12 90 60 24 Email: [email protected] SOURCE Chef Nak Children's book illustrated by grandmother, daughter, granddaughter trio was translated into Ukrainian and distributed by global humanitarian NGO CORE to communities it serves NEW YORK, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- enCOURAGEment Ink. LLC, Bubbles, Balloons and Birds: Learning to Thrive- Helping Kids Cope with Adversity was translated into Ukrainian and distributed by CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort), the global humanitarian relief organization co-founded by Sean Penn and Ann Lee. Ukranian children read books about child Franco Prussian war survivor Books on Coping Reach Ukrainian Children We all need a role model--someone who can understand something of what we have been through. This children's story was inspired by real-life events. A child survivor of the Franco-Prussian war, "Dr. J" comes back to today in a time-traveling air balloon to offer children survivors of war hope and coping skills. Dr. Pierre Janet, ("Dr. J as it's easier to say") eventually translated his childhood fears into hope, resilience, and helping the greater good. In reality, he became one of the leading psychologists of all time and his work informs all modern-day trauma treatment. In this historical piece of fiction, Bubbles, Balloons & Birds (BBB) touches on Janet's childhood experience in a kid-friendly way and offers hope and creative solutions that are forged out of friendship and learning from one another. The book also teaches some fun facts about his beloved hometown Paris, France. BBB, the second book in this new self-reflective series for families, is a sequel to the first book, The Leader of the Parade introduced psychologist Dr. Alfred Adler, and focused on the importance of The Cosmos and how we are all connected to one another. In BBB Janet and Adler work together to help the children build a community based on mutual respect and kindness. The Leader of the Parade is available on https://www.amazon.com/Leader-Parade-Mary-C McCluskey/dp/1958729108/ref=sr_1_1?crid=23IQWXYMLGMFC&keywords=the+leader+of+the+parade+book&qid=1675171446&sprefix=%2Caps%2C49&sr=8-1 Mariel Hemingway, who wrote the book's foreword, says, "I am so excited by this book because through its inclusivity it oers children of all walks of life, opportunities to find relief from the traumas that destabilize their innocence. This book is a loving hand oered to children. It is a lifeline to discover how to be healthy and balanced in the face of trauma." CORE, which has been providing critical relief in Ukraine, Romania, and Poland since the onset of the war has begun distribution of these books in the communities it serves to support the mental health and well-being of those affected by the war. The author of this book, Dr. Mary McCluskey is hoping to partner with other organizations like CORE so these books can be translated into other languages and reach more people in need, particularly those who live with the ongoing trauma of racism, oppression, and war. Dr. Mary C. McCluskey, LCSW specializes in treating trauma and is the owner of a group practice in New York City called The Empowerment Opportunity LCSW PLLC, as well as a new related educational company named enCOURAGEment INK. LLC. Dr. McCluskey teaches social work at New York University. Dr. McCluskey hopes that the characters' various struggles will make it easier for kids to discuss their own difficult topics in both therapy and at home. Mental health, wellness, and compassion need to be taught from an early age- that is what these books are designed to do. The books are meant to be interactive and inspire kids to build community, appreciate the planet and each other for all their similarities and differences, as well as inspire discussion between children and adults. These innovative books and their activities are used as therapeutic tools in her child therapy practice (https://theempowermentopportunity.com/). Media Contact: Mary McCluskey 9177144794 [email protected] SOURCE Encouragement Ink. LLC SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Safer Smarter SF a coalition of San Francisco unions representing emergency room nurses, 911 operators, human services workers and other city employees today urged the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to vote to place the San Francisco Police Full Staffing Act on the March 2024 ballot. The proposed Charter Amendment would increase police minimum staffing levels and promote recruitment of new police officers using future dedicated revenues from corporate taxes to increase public safety. "This is about making San Francisco safer," said Larry Mazzola, Jr., President of the San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council. "San Francisco needs more police officers, but we also need more firefighters, nurses, 911 dispatchers, and other city workers who keep San Francisco safe. This measure would allow us to have both." "We urge the Board of Supervisors to let the voters choose a sensible approach to public safety," said Kristin Hardy, Vice President of SEIU 1021, which represents nurses at San Francisco General Hospital, 911 dispatchers and other public workers. "If San Franciscans vote to support the Police Full Staffing Act, our union is committed to making sure the city's biggest corporations pay their fair share for a safer San Francisco." "We need a fiscally responsible plan to get more cops on San Francisco streets," said Supervisor Catherine Stefani. "I will support any measure that increases police staffing and allows San Francisco to hire more police officers without forcing layoffs of firefighters, nurses, 911 dispatchers and other public safety workers to pay for it." "San Francisco needs a fiscally responsible plan to fully staff our police and public safety positions," said Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin. "The Police Full Staffing Act will help us recruit the officers we need while preserving fire, emergency public health and 911 services." "Polling shows San Franciscans support fully staffing all the functions we need for better public safety," said Gus Vallejo, President of IFPTE Local 21, which represents health and safety professionals in city and county government. "This measure would guarantee staffing of critical public safety functions, including police officers, without creating massive budget deficits and new taxes on residents and small businesses." BACKGROUND: Safer Smarter SF is a growing coalition of unions, community groups and small businesses across San Francisco who are advocating for new revenue streams to fund life-saving City services: Small Business Forward, SEIU Local 1021, IFPTE Local 21, SF Building and Construction Trades Council. Safer Smarter SF released new polling , conducted by David Binder Research from October 25-29, 2023, among 400 likely primary election voters in San Francisco. It shows that San Francisco voters rank 911 response and emergency public health services above increased police staffing and prefer an approach to police full staffing that preserves all vital public safety services. SOURCE IFPTE Local 21 AZIMA Awards Recognize Arizona's 'Best and Brightest' Digital Marketers PHOENIX, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Colling Media, one of the fastest-growing advertising agencies, is pleased to announce it has received seven Arizona Marketing Innovation Association (AZIMA) TIM awards spanning five categories. This latest recognition brings the agency's total award count to 21 since its first submission in 2016. Maria Colling, Brian Colling, Jordan Walsh, Jordan Schuster, October Newson, Doug Campbell "We take great pride in the acknowledgment of our efforts and commitment at the AZIMA TIM Awards. It's a reflection of the powerful collaboration between our team and our clientsa testament to the strength of our partnerships. The awards aren't just a victory for Colling Media; it's a shared success we celebrate with our valued partners. I am thrilled by this collective achievement we can proudly share," said Kristen O'Neall, Director of Client Services. Email Marketing Campaign: Excellence Transportation insurance and surety service brand Colling Media advertising agency Integrated Consumer Campaign: Excellence World-renowned music school Integrated Consumer Campaign: Mastery Leading nail lacquer eCommerce brand Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Excellence Leading nail lacquer eCommerce brand Social Influencer Marketing: Excellence National vehicle cleaning product company Search Marketing (PPC): Excellence Leading nail lacquer eCommerce brand For more information on the agency's award-winning campaigns, visit Colling Media Receives Seven 2023 AZIMA TIM Awards Recognizing Top-Performing Campaigns . "Winning AZIMA TIM awards is not just an honor, but a testament to the power of collaboration and innovation in the advertising industry. It's a celebration of the joint efforts with our clients, where we push boundaries to create campaigns that not only deliver spectacular results but also set new standards in the industry," added CEO Brian Colling. "The recognition reaffirms our commitment to excellence and drives us to continue making our mark in the world of advertising. Thanks to AZIMA for the 2023 TIM Awards, bringing together Arizona's best and brightest digital marketers together." The AZIMA TIM Awards are dedicated to honoring and recognizing marketing professionals and their successful digital marketing campaigns and innovation executed between July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023. Click here to see this year's AZIMA TIM awards and winners list. About Colling Media Based in Phoenix, AZ, Colling Media is a full-service national digital advertising and marketing agency specializing in advertising branding and strategy, digital and traditional advertising, media buying, paid search, lead generation, content marketing, and SEO. For more information, visit collingmedia.com or follow the company on LinkedIn , Facebook , Twitter and TikTok . Media Contact: Rebeca Moreno 602.456.4395 369212@email4pr.com SOURCE Colling Media Cooper Machinery Services ("Cooper") announces the acquisition of Terrecorp, LLC. The acquisition advances Cooper's position as the leading manufacturer and service provider of mission-critical compression and engine systems. HOUSTON, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Cooper Machinery Services ("Cooper") today announced the acquisition of Terrecorp, LLC ("Terrecorp"). This action advances Cooper's position as the leading manufacturer and service provider of mission-critical compression and engine systems. Founded in 1998 and based in Indianapolis, Indiana, Terrecorp is a manufacturer of aluminum, bronze, and steel-backed bearing shells and bushings for a large variety of reciprocating engine brands such as AJAX, Clark, Cooper-Bessemer, Ingersoll Rand, and Worthington. "We are excited to add Terrecorp to the Cooper family. Terrecorp's quality products, robust manufacturing processes, and short lead times are highly regarded in the compression market. This acquisition further expands the products and services we can directly offer our customers", said Cooper CEO, Scott Buckhout. About Cooper Machinery Services Cooper Machinery Services, a portfolio company of Arcline Investment Management, is the original equipment manufacturer ("O.E.M.") and supplier of parts and after-sale services, and emissions reduction technologies to a large installed base of highly respected engine-compressor brands. The company's O.E.M. brands include AJAX, Cooper-Bessemer, CSI, Enterprise, Gemini, Superior, TSI, and TXC. They also are a major supplier of after-sale support for non-Cooper engine-compressor brands such as Clark, CAT (3600 engines), IR, Waukesha (VHP engines), and Worthington. Manufacturing is conducted in its facilities in Houston, Texas, Salina, Kansas and McPherson, Kansas, while on-site services are delivered through its extensive network of field technicians operating out of fully equipped repair and overhaul shops strategically located around the world. Press Contact: Matt Forcey, 713-354-1900, http://www.cooperservices.com SOURCE Cooper Machinery Services BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. Chairman of the State Committee for Refugees and IDPs of Azerbaijan Rovshan Rzayev received the inquiries of citizens registered for reception in the order of queue and answered their questions on November 28, Trend reports, referring to the information from the State Committee. "The participants of the meeting were informed that the political line pursued by President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev ensures comprehensive and sustainable development of the country, a consistent realization of all social projects. It was noted that President Ilham Aliyev has defined solution to problems of IDPs as one of the priority directions of social policy. Necessary measures are being taken to improve their living and housing conditions and ensure sustainable placement of the population in the territories freed from occupation. First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva also pays special attention to the solution of housing, educational and medical problems of IDPs, carries out important work in this sphere," the State Committee said. Citizens' appeals mainly concerned improvement of housing and living conditions, public utilities, status, single monthly allowance, employment, return to the territories liberated from Armenian occupation, and other matters. "At the meeting, the appeals of citizens, most of whom were former IDPs, were heard and recorded properly. They were informed that the raised issues would be considered and solved in accordance with the legislation. At the end of individual meetings, the Chairman of the State Committee met with a group of residents of Sus village, Lachin district. The chairman informed the participants of the meeting in depth about the realization of the tasks set by the head of the state to restore the territories liberated from Armenian occupation and return the IDPs to their native lands," the State Committee said. It was noted that the construction of Sus village continues, a survey is conducted to assess the needs of the residents, and other measures defined for the effective organization of the return are implemented. Residents who participated in the meeting stated that the absolute majority of the villagers are ready to return to their native land. Stay up to date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel LONDON, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Costero Brokers, Costero Brokers Ltd., a privately held London-based brokerage, is delighted to announce that Jonathan Olley has joined as Cyber Divisional Director effective 27, November 2023. Jonathan comes to Costero following three and a half years cyber broking at Marsh in London where he was an SVP. Jonathan specialised in open-market Cyber and Tech E&O programmes for large multi-national and mid-market clients. Previously, Jonathan worked for a risk management consultancy and served in the British Army. Jonathan's focus will be the growth of Costero's cyber offering, working with brokers and clients to place business in the London Market. "I am absolutely delighted to join the Costero team at a very exciting time for both the business and the wider cyber insurance industry," said Jonathan Olley, Cyber Divisional Director. I look forward to working alongside highly professional, entrepreneurial, and experienced colleagues to grow a comprehensive cyber broking capability." "Jonathan Olley brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table as our new Cyber Divisional Director. His depth of experience and entrepreneurial approach to this complicated space will undoubtedly prove most valuable to our clients and team," said John Tallarida, CEO of Costero Brokers. "We are excited to have Jonathan on board and are confident that under his leadership, our cyber division will thrive and deliver exceptional results." CONTACT: Jonathan Olley Cyber Divisional Director Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-olley-1898a370/ About Costero Brokers Ltd. Costero Brokers Ltd., formed in 2017, is an independent, dynamic, and entrepreneurial insurance and reinsurance Lloyd's of London wholesale broker specializing in finding capacity for hard-to-place or emerging risks. Costero focusses on open market facultative, binding authority, reinsurance, and alternative risk transfer business placed into Lloyd's of London, European, and international company markets. Whether clients are brokers, coverholders (MGAs), captives, or insurers, the team draws upon steadfast relationships with underwriters and is passionate about delivering tailor-made solutions to their insurance and reinsurance needs. Costero Brokers is an approved Lloyd's coverholder, which it uses strategically to support clients' business. CORAL SPRINGS, Fla., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Cruise Planners kicks off their annual convention in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with over 1,000 advisors in attendance at the Broward Convention Center from November 26-29 and then sailing onboard the Celebrity Ascent November 29-31. Cruise Planners Executive Team (Left to Right), CSO Scott Koepf, COO Theresa Scalzitti, Founder and CEO Michelle Fee, CIO Brian Shultz. This year's convention is centered around the theme "CP World: Limitless," showcasing endless possibilities where not even the sky is the limit for their Cruise Planners travel advisors. Cruise Planners' CP World serves as the embodiment of their five brand pillars: Marketing, Technology, Training, Support, and People & Culture. This concept encapsulates the essential elements that set Cruise Planners apart from all other hosts and franchise networks. Cruise Planners celebrates a historic 30 years in business and achieved a major milestone of more than $1 Billion in sales in 2023 as well as a record year in both purchases and departures. Cruise Planners' record year culminated with overall growth in purchases in 2023 by an astounding 39% compared to last year; departures for 2023 are up 44% over 2022. Cruise Planners is looking ahead to another great year of sales in 2024 with future departures already up 38% compared to this same time last year. This year, Cruise Planners earned numerous awards and recognitions. It was listed among South Florida Business Journal's Top 100 Private Companies and Top 50 Fastest Growing Companies. Additionally, it received distinctions such as Franchise Business Review's #1 Travel Franchise, Most Innovative Franchise award, and five years in a row as Top Franchise for Veterans. Cruise Planners was honored with four Magellan Awards for their outstanding marketing and technology, including the patent-pending LivePlanner tool, Luxury Marketing Campaign, Amenity Tracker tool, and the Where2Next Virtual Event Series. Notably, Cruise Planners also received the Chairman's Award from Celebrity Cruises and was acknowledged as the Top Franchise Network by Scenic Group. Company Background: Cruise Planners was founded in 1994 and is the nation's largest home-based travel agent franchise network. As a leader in the travel franchise industry, Cruise Planners positions a nation-wide network of 2,500 franchise owners for success by providing innovative marketing programs, proprietary and cutting-edge booking and technology tools, as well as professional development and hands-on training with the industry's top executives. The company continues to be an industry leader and was named the No.1 travel franchise by Entrepreneur magazine for 18 consecutive years and awarded by Franchise Business Review as "Best-In-Category" for 2 years. Franchise Business Review also ranked Cruise Planners #3 OVERALL on their list of Top 200 Franchises of 2022. Cruise Planners was recently featured in Entrepreneur as one of the top 30 franchise innovators in technology, has been consistently named as one of the Top Women-Owned Businesses by the South Florida Business Journal, is on the Inc. 5000 list as one of the fastest-growing private companies in America, and was recognized as one of the Top Workplaces by the Sun Sentinel. Visit our website, www.cruiseplanners.com, for more information or to view the complete list of awards and honors . For those interested in becoming a franchise owner, please visit https://www.cruiseplannersfranchise.com/ . SOURCE Cruise Planners Franchising, LLC LOS ANGELES, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Roslyn Cohn, also known as "Roz," ventures into the literary realm with an important book that serves as part memoir, part call-to-action for pup lovers everywhere. "Who Saved Who" is both a love letter to our canine family and a philanthropic endeavor, with 10% of the proceeds benefiting animal rescue Hanks Legacy Foundation, [email protected], which also plays an important role in the book. Who Saved Who - A Memoir "There's something incredibly meaningful when rescuing a dog," said Roz. "It's a soul to soul, lifesaving connection on both sides that no standing ovation can replace." "Who Saved Who?" Book Synopsis Roz begins the book with her unique parents and upbringing which is so crucial in understanding both her and her journey during 2022. She shares some terrific life lessons her folks instilled in her, takes us on a quick recap of her next two decades with some of their beloved family dogs who saw them through difficult times, and quickly lands us in her 2022 full of twists and turns that no crystal ball could ever have predicted. Life in an animal shelter is terrifying. And in that squalid and frightening world, "Who Saved Who?" becomes the ultimate question. While living in a post-Pandemic world, her career on hold and with politics and the environment in a persistent state of toxic tension, there was little left of life to be desired. So believed Marin County raised and NYC-ripened actress Roslyn Cohn. Born to parents who broke the mold Howard Alan Cohn, pawnbroker and jeweler, whom San Francisco Chronicle's Herb Caen frequently featured; and Jeanne Emmons Cohn, an animal and environmental rights activist who co-partnered to lead the much-anticipated Joys of Hiking from Marin County to locations as far as the Galapagos Islands Roz's upbringing ultimately helped pull her through 2022, a year that challenged her will to live and bestowed upon her the biggest life-affirming gift ever. Told through words, pictures, and video, "Who Saved Who" is an honest, sometimes funny, many times moving, and ultimately joyous journey of 2022 with a woman who was lost. The words that her Mother said to her years ago, "We save dogs, Roz, that's what we do," would prove to be the message needed to help pull her from the depths of tremendous sadness and ignite a purpose she didn't know was flickering inside. In "Who Saved Who," readers may recognize their own journey in loving dogs perhaps heal themselves from the loss of their own beloved furry family member and best of all, readers may find their hearts open to saving their next canine companion. "Who Saved Who" does more than warm the heart, it can help heal the spirit. It's an easy and fulfilling read paws down. Readers can find "Who Saved Who" via Amazon. About Roslyn Cohn Roslyn Cohn is an actress who has worked from stages the size of a postage stamp to Broadway with the likes of Tony Randall, Jack Klugman, Jerry Stiller, Julie Hagerty, and Ellen Greene as well as appeared in TV, film, and commercials. Roz has won awards in Intimate Theatre (known as 99 Seat) in Los Angeles; awards for her Short "Essential Tremors" about her neurological disorder; and in 2013, with Jake Anthony and Joshua Finkel, co-wrote and stars in the groundbreaking, Broadway World Award-nominated "diffiCult to leave," about her 23 years in the Cult of Scientology. The entire show lives on her YouTube channel: RoslynCohn. You can visit her at: www.RoslynCohn.com. #WhoSavedWho #ShelterDogsRock #AdoptDontShop Media Contact: Roslyn Cohn 1-310-365-4540 365433@email4pr.com SOURCE Roslyn Cohn SEOUL, South Korea, Nov. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Daewoong Pharmaceutical is pleased to announce that its Osong factory in Korea achieved Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification from the Regulatory Authority of Brazil, ANVISA. Daewoong Pharmaceutical, represented by CEO Seng-ho Jeon and Chang-Jae Lee, proudly announced that their Osong factory passed the Brazilian Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) inspection with a flawless "Zero" Observation in terms of compliance. This success in the rigorous GMP inspection underscores the Osong plant's commitment to the highest quality standards and the excellence of its smart manufacturing practices. This Successful Inspection paves the way for Daewoong Pharmaceutical to further its entry into the Brazilian pharmaceutical market. Brazil's GMP review is known to be challenging, involving stringent requirements. ANVISA actively conducts on-site inspections overseas, meticulously examines not only pharmaceutical quality management on-site but also data integrity, manufacturing facilities, and compliance with GMP in production processes. Within the industry, passing Brazil's GMP without any issues is publicly recognized as a difficult task, and achieving a flawless inspection is considered a remarkable accomplishment. Daewoong Pharmaceutical emphasized the crucial role of the Level 4 smart factory system in the Osong Plant. Level 4 facilitates proactive measures and optimal decision-making, allowing for advanced process operation simulations where data integrity is demonstrable. Daewoong Pharmaceutical, leveraging its smart process, plans to actively pursue GMP certifications in additional countries, including developed nations. This strategic move aims to establish a smooth global expansion of their innovative drugs. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on the current beliefs and expectations of Daewoong Pharmaceutical's management. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: (1) Regulatory and governmental approvals: The approval process for pharmaceutical products is subject to extensive regulations and may involve uncertainties and delays. Any failure to obtain necessary approvals or the occurrence of delays in the approval process could adversely affect Daewoong Pharmaceutical's business and results of operations; and (2) Clinical trials: The success of Daewoong Pharmaceutical's products depends on the results of clinical trials. The results of early clinical trials may not be indicative of the results of later-stage or larger-scale clinical trials. SOURCE Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd DONGGUAN, China, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The much-awaited 10th Humen International E-Commerce Festival opens at Humen Convention and Exhibition Center, Dongguan on November 28. Comprising five exhibition areas collectively spanning over 10,000 square meters, the event brings together hundreds of outstanding exhibitors and popular e-commerce platforms from across China, aiming to showcase a chain of digital commerce services. The exhibition areas at the event's main venue are dedicated to the ecosystem of e-commerce platform services, goods from original sources, supply chains, local life, and activities and forums, according to the Organizing Committee. Notably, as a magnet for more than 100 domestic and foreign trade platforms and service providers, the specialized area of the e-commerce ecosystem is set to deliver one-stop opportunity-matching solutions to exhibitors and a broader business community. A well-established leader in China's apparel industry, Humen has been revitalized by the e-commerce boom, said Xia Lingmin, secretary-general of China National Textile and Apparel Council and president of its distribution branch, in his speech. Over the recent years, he added, the town has created an ecosystem integrating e-commerce, industry, and public services. Such has ensured effective services tailored to the needs of manufacturing sectors in Dongguan and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area for their transformation and empowered fashion brands to innovate and drive consumption. Also, the festival is on its way to becoming one of the most influential e-commerce events in China. According to Wu Qingqiu, deputy secretary of the CPC Humen Town Committee and the town's mayor, the e-commerce festival initiated a decade ago allowed the industry an opportunity to "speak out" and go global. Ten years on, the town has seen an average annual growth of over 13% in e-commerce sales, and its online sales surpassed 57 billion yuan in 2022. It is now home to more than 10,000 e-commerce businesses, including over 2,000 selling products or services to an international audience. Over the past decade, Humen has remained committed to delivering exemplary e-commerce services, as evidenced by rendering the operation of e-commerce and e-commerce parks highly standardized and specialized. On this journey, it was recognized as a national demo center for apparel e-commerce, and has since developed a system of standards for the industry, making it possible to constantly enhance the core competitiveness of e-commerce clusters and bolster the model that blends Dongguan's manufacturing strength and Humen's booming online sales. Such can put the town on a faster track to digitally transforming its manufacturing sector and integrating with the new economic development paradigm of "dual-circulation". Beyond that, the festival attracts world-leading e-commerce platforms, including Taobao & Tmall Group, Amazon Global Selling, Douyin E-Commerce, jd.com, Pinduoduo, Temu, AliExpress, Lazada, TikTok, and Mercado Libre. While conducting various activities and forums on the sidelines of the event, they will introduce the latest rules of their respective platforms and release industry data, in a bid to support businesses in expanding markets. Also, experts from these e-commerce giants are expected to provide their insights into overseas market trends, women's wear to go viral, the "gold-digging" plan in Latin America, domestic and foreign trade platforms, and logistics services. SOURCE The Organizing Committee of the 10th Humen International E-Commerce Festival NEW YORK, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The digital printing market for packaging size is expected to grow by USD 12 billion from 2022 to 2027. In addition, the growth momentum of the market will progress at a CAGR of 8.92% during the forecast period, according to Technavio. Growing consumption of packaged beverages globally is notably driving the digital printing market for packaging. However, factors such as the high price of printing ink materials may impede market growth. The market is segmented by Technology (Inkjet printing and Electrophotography printing), Type (Labels, Flexible packaging, Corrugated and folding cartons, and Other packaging types), and Geography (APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and Middle East and Africa). We provide a detailed analysis of 20 companies operating in the digital printing market for packaging, including CCL Industries Inc., colordruck Baiersbronn, DS Smith Plc, DuPont de Nemours Inc., Eastman Kodak Co., Elanders AB, Flint Group, HP Inc., Landa Corp. Ltd., Mondi Plc, Multi Color Corp., Packman Packaging Pvt. Ltd., Printpack Inc., Quad Graphics Inc., Quantum Print and Packaging Ltd., Smurfit Kappa Group, Tetra Laval SA, THIMM Group GmbH plus Co. KG, Traco Manufacturing, and Xerox Holdings Corp.The report offers an up-to-date analysis of the market, and to know the exact growth variance and the Y-O-Y growth rate, Request Sample Report. Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Digital Printing Market for Packaging 2023-2027 Digital Printing Market For Packaging 2023-2027: Company Analysis Colordruck Baiersbronn: The company offers digital print for packaging such as digital pre-press, printing, punching, and gluing, as well as individual logistics. This report provides a full list of key companies, their strategies, and the latest developments. Buy Now for detailed company information Digital Printing Market For Packaging 2023-2027: Segmentation The inkjet printing segment is estimated to witness significant growth during the forecast period. The inkjet printing segment involves the deposition of small ink droplets from nozzles within print heads, shaping printed images. The food and beverage industry stands out as a primary end-user of this segment. Notably, key players in the food and beverage sector emphasize packaging as a crucial element for enhancing sales. A significant advantage of this segment is its ability to facilitate customized packaging design for sales displays. Learn about the contribution of each segment summarized in concise infographics and thorough descriptions. View PDF Sample Report Digital Printing Market For Packaging 2023-2027: Key Highlights Historic Market Size 2017-2021 CAGR of the market during 2023-2027 Detailed information on factors that will assist the digital printing market for packaging growth during the next five years Estimation of the digital printing market for packaging size and its contribution to the parent market Forecasts on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior The growth of the digital printing market for packaging Analysis of the competitive landscape and detailed information on companies Comprehensive details of factors that will impede the growth of the digital printing market for packaging companies Related Reports: The digital printing and dyeing machines market size is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 8.98% between 2022 and 2027. The market size is forecast to increase by USD 8,304.8 million. The Commercial Printing Market size is estimated to grow by USD 49.89 billion between 2022 and 2027 accelerating at a CAGR of 2.49%. ToC: Executive Summary Market Landscape Market Sizing Historic Market Sizes Five Forces Analysis Market Segmentation by Technology Market Segmentation by Type Customer Landscape Geographic Landscape Drivers, Challenges, & Trends Company Landscape Company Analysis Appendix About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contacts Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com SOURCE Technavio More than 60 feeding programs received financial support as part of $400 ,000 monthlong campaign Surprise funding will help smaller agencies keep food pantries stocked GREENVILLE, S.C., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy is wrapping up a monthlong initiative to support organizations that address food deserts, insecurities and inequities across South Carolina by announcing nearly $240,000 in surprise microgrants and contributions to community organizations across the state. The announcement wraps up a monthlong initiative that provided over $400,000 to more than 60 feeding programs throughout the month of November supporting organizations including Mill Village Farms, FoodShare South Carolina, Harvest Hope Food Bank and AIM and many more. Duke Energy employees and retirees also provided their time volunteering with these and other organizations throughout the month by providing sweat equity to feeding programs in their neighborhoods. "If you grew up in South Carolina, you likely know that a 'surcee' is a small, unexpected gift," said Mike Callahan, Duke Energy's South Carolina president. "Giving Tuesday is the perfect opportunity to give a little something extra and highlight the great work these organizations do throughout the year to help keep our friends and neighbors from going hungry." The microgrants and contributions were not solicited by the receiving organizations. The 'surcee' funding opportunities recognize the important gaps these typically smaller agencies fill in the neighborhoods they serve. A complete list of recipients can be found here. Every bit of support to local food banks or soup kitchens is helpful any time of year but particularly during the holiday season. To find a community feeding partner near you, search online at SC211.org or text "FOOD" to 211211. Quotes "Sumter United Ministries values our partnership with Duke Energy. They have shown time and time again their desire to help our communities' most vulnerable people and we are grateful. This donation will directly help us better serve people with one of their most basic needs food." Mark Champagne, executive director of Sumter United Ministries "The non-perishable food items we deliver throughout the year ensures that all our 450 recipients have access to nutritious meals during emergencies or when fresh food distribution is challenging. We appreciate the support of Duke Energy as these funds will help purchase shelf stable items that are delivered to our homebound seniors and those seniors that attend our Young at Heart senior centers." Kim Valentin, executive director of Pickens County Meals on Wheels "This funding will allow us to continue to provide over 7,000 individual meals to our neighbors monthly. The demand for our services has increased by over 20% in the past six months, and this funding from Duke Energy will allow us to keep up with the continued demand for our food-insecure community." Melinda Waddell, executive director of The Manna House in Florence "We are fortunate to have the support of the Duke Energy team in Greenwood . This microgrant will assist us in spreading holiday cheer to many families in our community during the holiday season." Andrea White, director of Food Bank of Greenwood County "Over the years, the Duke Energy Foundation has been a great friend of our United Way. Time and time again when we needed it most, the foundation has supported our mobile nutrition center." Donny Supplee, president of the United Way of Kershaw County Duke Energy Foundation The Duke Energy Foundation provides more than $30 million annually in philanthropic support to meet the needs of communities where Duke Energy customers live and work. The foundation is funded by Duke Energy shareholders. Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 8.2 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 50,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 27,600 people. Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy transition to achieve its goals of net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050. The company has interim carbon emission targets of at least 50% reduction from electric generation by 2030, 50% for Scope 2 and certain Scope 3 upstream and downstream emissions by 2035, and 80% from electric generation by 2040. In addition, the company is investing in major electric grid enhancements and energy storage, and exploring zero-emission power generation technologies such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear. Duke Energy was named to Fortune's 2023 "World's Most Admired Companies" list and Forbes' "World's Best Employers" list. More information is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos and videos. Duke Energy's illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook. Contact: Ryan Mosier 24-Hour: 800.559.3853 SOURCE Duke Energy Pledge of Ongoing Support Enables Red Cross to Prepare for and Respond to Disasters SHELTON, Conn., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Edgewell Personal Care Company (NYSE: EPC), based in Shelton, CT, is partnering with the American Red Cross to support Red Cross Disaster Relief and International Services as part of the Ready 365 Giving Circle, and in pursuit of Edgewell's core purpose, values and behaviors. Ready 365 members pledge donations on an ongoing basis, in advance of major disasters, to ensure the Red Cross can respond immediately to meet the needs of those affected by disasters of all sizesfrom wildfires to home fires. Red Cross services are provided to those in need of assistance at no cost and regardless of income through the generosity of Red Cross donors. "To fulfill our lifesaving mission, the Red Cross relies on the generosity of our volunteers and donors," said Richard Branigan, Interim CEO, American Red Cross Connecticut and Rhode Island Region. "Thanks to the support of Edgewell and other Ready 365 companies and foundations, the Red Cross can immediately respond to the needs of people affected by disasters whenever and wherever they strike." Every year, disasters and crises impact millions of lives. Positioned within the world's most extensive humanitarian network, the Red Cross offers both relief and hope worldwide. Its International Services not only helps to reconnect families torn apart by crises but also aids in reconstructing and fortifying communities hit by disasters. Furthermore, by collaborating with health organizations to combat global diseases, the Red Cross has helped to vaccinate more than 3 billion children against measles around the world. Edgewell Personal Care is committed to making a meaningful impact within its communities and the world, including providing assistance and humanitarian relief in times of crisis. Through its Sustainable Care 2030 strategy, the company aspires to further extend its positive community impact by strategically partnering with organizations that focus on promoting people, planet and local communities. The Red Cross is well suited to help make that possible and this partnership makes it clear that the company's values extend beyond its own walls and into the greater community. Rod Little, CEO of Edgewell Personal Care stated, "We at Edgewell couldn't be more proud to support the American Red Cross. One of our core principles is to act as a People First company, practicing empathy, showing authenticity, deepening relationships, and contributing to our communities wherever we can. With this partnership, we hope to deliver on all those actions, and know that this pledge will help to support caring for those affected by disasters in their time of need." Each year, the Red Cross responds to more than 62,000 disasters down the street, across the country and around the world including home fires, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, and wildfires. In Connecticut and Rhode Island, the Red Cross responds on average to three home fires each day. The generous donations from Ready 365 members enable the Red Cross to prepare communities for disasters big and small, respond whenever and wherever disasters occur and help families during the recovery process. About Edgewell: Edgewell is a leading pure-play consumer products company with an attractive, diversified portfolio of established brand names such as Schick, Wilkinson Sword and Billie men's and women's shaving systems and disposable razors; Edge and Skintimate shave preparations; Playtex, Stayfree, Carefree and o.b. feminine care products; Banana Boat, Hawaiian Tropic, Bulldog, Jack Black, and CREMO sun and skin care products; and Wet Ones products. The Company has a broad global footprint and operates in more than 50 markets, including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Germany, Japan, the U.K. and Australia, with approximately 7,000 employees worldwide. About the American Red Cross: The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members, and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross. SOURCE Edgewell Personal Care Company Believes Crown Castle Adopted Aggressive Entrenchment Provisions with Clear Purpose of Disenfranchising Shareholders Argues That the Bylaw Changes Represent a Breach of Fiduciary Duties by the Crown Castle Board Reiterates Call for the Company's Board to be Reconstituted WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Elliott Investment Management L.P. ("Elliott"), which manages funds that collectively have an investment of approximately $2 billion in Crown Castle Inc. ("Crown Castle" or the "Company"), today submitted a Section 220 demand and accompanying letter to the Crown Castle Board (the "Board"), requesting inspection of the Company's books and records. This request follows the Company's adoption of shareholder-unfriendly amendments to its bylaws that compromise the fundamental tenets of the shareholder franchise: to nominate directors and seek change in the Boardroom. The letter took aim at the Board's adoption in 2021 of expansive "Acting in Concert" provisions, which Elliott called "an inappropriate and aggressive form of corporate entrenchment with the clear purpose of disenfranchising shareholders." In its letter, Elliott contended, "the overarching issue is Crown Castle's track record on corporate governance," which Elliott had recommended improving in 2020. Rather than adopting best-in-class governance, however, the Crown Castle Board subsequently approved the problematic bylaw amendments, which were designed to have the effect of stifling "even the most basic forms of shareholder communication and at the very least were designed to weaken the shareholder franchise," the letter said. Elliott wrote further, "we note that the Board adopted these bylaws less than six months after the Delaware Court of Chancery very visibly struck down a virtually identical 'acting in concert' provision." In its letter, Elliott wrote, "the Board's actions constitute a classic form of entrenchment," and stated its belief that the provisions "are prohibited under Delaware law and that, in implementing them, members of the Board breached their fiduciary duties." The letter concluded by stating, "It is time for Crown Castle's Board to be reconstituted with directors who share a commitment to best-in-class governance." Elliott, the letter said, "look[s] forward to receiving the documents requested in our Section 220 demand to better understand the Board's process and will evaluate our next steps." The full text of the letter follows: November 28, 2023 Board of Directors Crown Castle Inc. 8020 Katy Freeway Houston, TX 77024 Dear Members of the Board: We are writing to you again on behalf of Elliott Associates, L.P. and Elliott International, L.P. (together, "Elliott" or "we"), which have an investment of approximately $2 billion in Crown Castle Inc. (the "Company" or "Crown Castle"). As stated in our prior letter, we believe the Crown Castle Board adopted extraordinarily shareholder-unfriendly amendments to its bylaws in 2021 that compromise the fundamental tenets of the shareholder franchise: to nominate directors and seek change in the Boardroom. Not only did the Board's actions constitute a classic form of entrenchment, we believe the Board adopted provisions that are prohibited under Delaware law and that, in implementing them, members of the Board breached their fiduciary duties. Today, we have submitted a Section 220 demand to allow us to inspect the Company's books and records related to these actions. The Board's adoption of expansive "Acting in Concert" ("AIC") provisions is an inappropriate and aggressive form of corporate entrenchment with the clear purpose of disenfranchising shareholders. These provisions would deem any person to be "acting in concert" with any other shareholder that nominates directors if the person supports the nomination and engages in any "parallel" activity, regardless of whether any agreement or understanding has been formed with the nominating shareholder. Even worse, the AIC provisions adopted by this Board include a "daisy-chain" feature, which would classify any third person as "acting in concert" with the nominating shareholder even if the nominating shareholder and third person have never communicated or even know each other exist. Taken together, these provisions create a minefield for entirely appropriate shareholder communication in the context of a shareholder election. While we can only assume that the Board was advised by its lawyers in the adoption of these provisions (and chose to proceed anyway), we note that the Board adopted these bylaws less than six months after the Delaware Court of Chancery very visibly struck down a virtually identical "acting in concert" provision. In the February 2021 Williams Cos. v. Wolosky decision, the Court concluded that a substantively identical AIC provision in a shareholder rights plan contained an "extreme, unprecedented collection of features" that rendered the AIC provision unreasonable on its face. The Court criticized the "broad language" of the AIC definition, which "sweeps up potentially benign stockholder communications 'relating to changing or influencing the control of the Company.'" The Court also criticized the same "daisy chain" provision that has been adopted by the Crown Castle Board, noting it "operates to aggregate stockholders even if members of the group have no idea that the other stockholders exist." These offending provisions, the Court concluded, have a "stifling impacton stockholder communications," and "impede a stockholder's ability to launch a proxy contest by cutting off private communications in advance of proxy contests." The Court also credited an academic analysis identifying several problems with AIC provisions like those adopted by this Board, which noted that: "[The provisions] do not clearly specify what activities would result in aggregationsuch vague provisions would have a chilling effect on an activist's ability to communicate with other shareholders"; and "[T]hese sorts of provisions threaten to chill the sort of shareholder interaction upon which sound corporate governance depends and that decades of reform have sought to encourage."1 To demonstrate the absurdity of the expansive AIC provision like the one adopted by the Crown Castle Board here, the Court used the following example of hypothetical, unaffiliated stockholdersRemus and Lupineach of which owned 3% of Williams's stock: "Remus sends a letter to Williams asking for ESG initiatives and threatening to buy up stock and run a proxy contest if the Board does not adopt his proposal. Lupin has reviewed and agrees with Remus's proposal. Can Lupin meet with the Board, Remus, or other Williams stockholders to discuss Remus's ESG proposal without triggering the Plan? Probably not. Can Remus communicate with other stockholders to determine whether there is support for his ESG proposal before launching the proxy context without fear of triggering the Plan? Not without risk of aggregating those stockholders under the AIC Provision." Virtually identical AIC provisions were also litigated in 2019 in In re Versum Materials, Inc. Stockholder Litigation. There, the Court did not have an opportunity to issue a decision on the merits of the shareholder challenge because the company decided to "remove[] the acting-in-concert provision" at issue. However, Vice Chancellor Laster expressed concern with the "truly expansive" provision, explaining that "[w]hat the act[ing]-in-concert provision attempts to cut off, or at least threaten, is all of the activities that lead up to the giving of the revocable proxy." While we believe these legal issues are of critical importance in assessing the validity of Crown Castle's bylaws and whether members of the Board breached their fiduciary duties, the overarching issue is Crown Castle's track record on corporate governance. We remind you of Elliott's recommendation during our 2020 engagement that the Crown Castle Board adopt "best-in-class" corporate governance. A year later, this Board approved bylaw amendments that had the effect of stifling even the most basic forms of shareholder communication and at the very least were designed to weaken the shareholder franchise. As the academic article cited by the Williams court expressly recognized, "Thirty years of corporate law reform has been aimed at encouraging shareholders to become more active and to consult with other shareholders[I]n an effective corporate democracy, shareholders meeting together is a necessity, not a danger." Yet, this is precisely what this Board's bylaw amendments sought to prevent. It is time for Crown Castle's Board to be reconstituted with directors who share a commitment to best-in-class governance. We look forward to receiving the documents requested in our Section 220 demand to better understand the Board's process and will evaluate our next steps. Best regards, Jesse Cohn Managing Partner Jason Genrich Senior Portfolio Manager About Elliott Elliott Investment Management L.P. (together with its affiliates, "Elliott") manages approximately $59.2 billion of assets as of June 30, 2023. Founded in 1977, it is one of the oldest funds under continuous management. The Elliott funds' investors include pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, foundations, funds-of-funds, high net worth individuals and families, and employees of the firm. ___________________________________ 1 The Williams court cites extensively to the Boston University Law Review article, Anti-Activist Poison Pills, authored by Marcel Kahan, George L. Lowry Professor of Law at NYU School of Law, and Edward Rock, Martin Lipton Professor of Law. Media Contact: Stephen Spruiell Elliott Investment Management L.P. (212) 478-2017 [email protected] SOURCE Elliott Investment Management L.P. TUSAYAN, Arizona, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Grand Canyon, an awe-inspiring marvel in every season, transforms into a magical backdrop during winter. The fiery sandstone and evergreen trees acquire a newfound allure under a pristine blanket of snow. Squire Resort at the Grand Canyon, nestled just five minutes from the South Rim, beckons adventurers to embrace the tranquility and splendor of the Grand Canyon in the winter season. Squire Resort at the Grand Canyon Squire Resort is the perfect base for exploring Grand Canyon National Park, situated among the closest lodgings to the South Rim, which unlike the winter-closed North Rim, welcomes visitors year-round. With convenient access to the park's top attractions, guests can enjoy an intimate adventure, escaping summer crowds. Set against the stunning contrast of dramatic red rocks beneath a delicate dusting of snow, Squire Resort at the Grand Canyon offers a warm and inviting retreat following days of exhilarating exploration, with an array of captivating activities: Polar Express Holiday Magic: Embark on a Polar Express-themed train ride from Williams, Arizona , to the "North Pole." Delight in the holiday spirit with hot cocoa, cookies, and a visit from Santa during this enchanting winter evening trip with Grand Canyon Railway. Embark on a Polar Express-themed train ride from , to the "North Pole." Delight in the holiday spirit with hot cocoa, cookies, and a visit from Santa during this enchanting winter evening trip with Grand Canyon Railway. Snow-Kissed South Rim Hiking: Trek across the snow-kissed beauty of the Grand Canyon with trails like the Rim Trail, Bright Angel, or South Kaibab. These winter wonderlands are accessible to all during the cooler months, providing a serene and uncrowded escape into the heart of nature. Trek across the snow-kissed beauty of the with trails like the Rim Trail, Bright Angel, or South Kaibab. These winter wonderlands are accessible to all during the cooler months, providing a serene and uncrowded escape into the heart of nature. Winter Scenic Drives: Cruise along Desert View Drive and Hermit Road with the freedom of private vehicles from December through February. Navigate the snow-dusted roads, enjoying the lack of crowds and the striking views of layered Paleozoic rocks. Cruise along Desert View Drive and Hermit Road with the freedom of private vehicles from December through February. Navigate the snow-dusted roads, enjoying the lack of crowds and the striking views of layered Paleozoic rocks. Aerial Winter Wonderland: Soar above the snowy landscape with an aerial tour in an EcoStar or jet-powered helicopter. Marvel at the winter beauty while witnessing the Grand Canyon's most picturesque viewpoints blanketed in snow. Soar above the snowy landscape with an aerial tour in an EcoStar or jet-powered helicopter. Marvel at the winter beauty while witnessing the most picturesque viewpoints blanketed in snow. Mule-Drawn Winter Trails: Experience the winter serenity on a mule ride offered year-round. Journey into the snow-covered South Rim, following the trails of early tourists and creating lasting memories amid the winter canyon landscape. Experience the winter serenity on a mule ride offered year-round. Journey into the snow-covered South Rim, following the trails of early tourists and creating lasting memories amid the winter canyon landscape. Winter Wonderland Jeep or Hummer Tours: Hop on a Jeep or Hummer tour for a chauffeured, scenic ride through the winter canyon. Explore popular lookout areas adorned with a snowy landscape, unveiling dramatic rock formations and prehistoric gorges in their seasonal splendor. Hop on a Jeep or Hummer tour for a chauffeured, scenic ride through the winter canyon. Explore popular lookout areas adorned with a snowy landscape, unveiling dramatic rock formations and prehistoric gorges in their seasonal splendor. Indoor Retreat: In case of encountering an especially chilly or windy day during a winter adventure, seek refuge in the boundless indoor attractions at Squire Resort. Roll into excitement at the on-property six-lane bowling alley, inviting friends to a lively showdown. Immerse in the captivating world of arcade games at the Squire Pub + Social, featuring classic video games, billiards, and skee ball. But the fun doesn't stop there; the property's indoor pool and hot tub provide a cozy and soothing sanctuary. Another indoor option is to explore the Grand Canyon Visitor Center at Mather Point, immersing in the canyon's rich history, wildlife, and formation. This winter, answer the call of adventure at Squire Resort at the Grand Canyon. Book an escape today and immerse in the breathtaking beauty of one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. For more information, please visit www.grandcanyonsquire.com. About Squire Resort at the Grand Canyon Squire Resort at the Grand Canyon is a 322-room hotel and resort perfectly situated in Tusayan, Arizona, boasting several food and beverage offerings, both indoor and outdoor resort-style pools, a fully equipped fitness center and a bowling and arcade area making it the ultimate family-friendly destination. Whether travelers are looking for a scenic drive to capture the vast landscapes and stunning vistas or considering a multiday adventure, Squire Resort at the Grand Canyon is full of opportunities to make Grand Canyon memories. For more information, visit www.grandcanyonsquire.com. MEDIA CONTACTS: Alycia Rea + Lizzie Toles The Zimmerman Agency parks&resorts@zimmerman.com SOURCE Delaware North Parks & Resorts BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. The State Service on Property Issues under the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan will auction a "Vikhr" ("Whirlwind") vessel (made in 1986) owned by the State Border Service, a source in the State Service on Property Issues told Trend. The source said that starting price is set at 1.8 million manat ($1.06 million). "The upcoming auctions will take place on December 12, 19, and 21. At the auction scheduled for December 12, buyers will be offered 11 cars made in South Korea, Russia, and Germany (1989-2014). The starting price ranges from 2,000 manat ($1,180) to 14,000 manat ($8,240)," the source noted. "The auction on December 19 will feature 79 cars produced between 1978 and 2016, with starting prices ranging from 8,000 manat ($4,710) to 10,500 manat ($6,180)," the source mentioned. "On December 21, the auction will offer 40 vehicles, including the "Vikhr" vessel. To participate in the auction, a prepayment of 10 percent of the initial price is required," the source added. From January through September 2023, the State Service on Property Issues held 43 auctions on the privatization of state property. The auctions saw the privatization of shares of nine joint-stock companies, 13 small state-owned enterprises, three unfinished buildings, and 382 vehicles. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Estonia's COP28 Delegation: Uniting Private Sector and Government Leaders to Spearhead Green Initiatives From 57% CO2 Emission Reduction to 100% Renewable Energy: Estonia's Trailblazing Journey DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As the Conference of the Parties (COP) 28 convenes in Dubai, Estonia stands ready to lead the charge in forging a sustainable future. The Estonian delegation arrives at this pivotal climate conference with a resounding commitment to illuminate the pathway towards a sustainable society. Through an unwavering dedication to exchange ideas and innovative solutions, Estonia aims to propel ambitious goals set forth by the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Estonia Targets 100% Renewable Energy by 2030, Showcasing Green Initiatives at COP28 Prime Minister Kaja Kallas of Estonia reaffirmed the nation's strong dedication to climate action, asserting, "Estonia has significantly cut its CO2 emissions by 57% since reclaiming independence in 1991." This aligns with Estonia's collective ambitions within the European Union. She also highlighted Estonia's commitment to achieving climate neutrality by 2050, with plans to phase out fossil fuel-based energy production by 2040. Notably, presently a third of Estonia's electricity is sourced from renewables, set to reach 100% by 2030. Prime Minister Kallas emphasised the importance of the twin transition, merging digital and e-solutions to achieve climate objectives. Estonia's digital expertise and open business landscape position the country as an ideal hub for innovative greentech solutions. Many of these solutions will be showcased at COP28 in Dubai, underscoring Estonia's role as a pioneer in this domain. At the heart of Estonia's delegation are government representatives including the Climate Minister, Mayor of Tallinn, EU Commissioner, UN Representative, and Climate Youth Delegate. This consortium of public and private sectors is primed to spotlight groundbreaking initiatives across three key topics: Twin Transition: Leveraging Estonia's digital expertise to drive the green transition. Waste as a Resource: Championing a circular economy and green technologies through pioneering projects. Climate-Proof Future Cities: Showcasing digital infrastructure and nature-based solutions for climate adaptation. Estonia's commitment to environmental stewardship has seen innovative projects transforming oil shale ash into emission-free calcium carbonate and producing asphalt from wood residues, underscoring its drive towards a sustainable, circular economy. "Estonia's transition is not only an environmental necessity but a gateway to economic opportunities," notes Prime Minister Kallas. This transformation, infused with sustainability, fosters an ecosystem of green innovation, technology, and services, shaping a new economy ripe for growth. Estonia's ethos of innovation embraces adaptability, showcased through pioneering projects in e-governance, cleantech initiatives, and other green innovations. As COP28 unfolds, Estonia stands poised to share its success stories, innovation, and commitments, offering a beacon of hope and inspiration for a greener, sustainable future. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2286971/Enterprise_Estonia.jpg SOURCE Enterprise Estonia These executives join an accomplished group of leaders who help guide the GS1 US strategy to drive the adoption and use of GS1 Standards as a common foundation for retail commerce, consumer experiences and supply chain management. The cross-industry GS1 US Board of Governors represents companies in apparel, general merchandise, retail grocery, foodservice, healthcare and 20 other industries. "These accomplished leaders' experience in shaping successful supply chains for four of the most prominent companies in the world will be instrumental in helping us guide our members in their respective transformation efforts," said Bob Carpenter, president and CEO, GS1 US. "As the world moves deeper into a digital economy, unique identification of products, entities, locations and more, will remain critical to connecting physical and digital channels to create a seamless shopping experience for consumers and also to provide deeper levels of visibility for all stakeholders in supply chains." Pavan Heda, Ph.D., has worked at J&J for 25 years. During his tenure, Dr. Heda gained diverse experiences across all segments of the company (Innovative Medicine, MedTech, and previously owned Consumer Health) in wide-ranging areas of strategy development, portfolio management, product development, research & development operations, supply chain, project management, and integration of acquired assets. Leading Kroger's data and advanced analytics agenda, Todd James has broad responsibility across both Kroger and its subsidiary, 84.51. He leads technology, data science, research & development, and the Consumer Research P&L at 84.51. Additionally, at Kroger he is responsible for digital analytics, business intelligence, research and development, and enterprise data. In this role, Mr. James leads efforts to build on Kroger's rich data, science, and technology capabilities, drive digital transformation, and pave the way for continued growth. At Target, Kraig Narr is responsible for design engineering, activation, and product teams that create solutions to enable a great guest and team member experience. Mr. Narr has been a Target Team Member since 1998 and has held various roles across the Target technology teams, most recently as the vice president of stores and supply chain technology. Mike Stigers joined Wakefern Food Corp., the largest retailer-owned cooperative in the United States, in 2023, as its President. Mr. Stigers brings with him five decades of food industry knowledge and has a distinguished track record in both the retail and wholesale sides of the supermarket business, having held executive roles in both operations, merchandising, supply chain, and fresh. The GS1 US Board of Governors comprises executives from leading organizations including Amazon; Beth Israel Lahey Health in Boston, The Coca-Cola Company; Dot Foods, Inc.; eBay, Inc.; Golden State Foods; Google; Johnson & Johnson; Kroger; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; PepsiCo; The Procter & Gamble Company; Publix, Inc.; PVH Corp.; Target; Topco Associates LLC; Wakefern Food Corp.; Walmart; and Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. The full list is available at: www.gs1us.org/bog . For more information about GS1 US, visit www.gs1us.org . About GS1 US GS1 US enables companies to power their supply chains to deliver safe, consistent, authentic, and trusted experiences. Best known as a source for UPC barcodes, GS1 is a not-for-profit, global data standards organization that creates a common language for companies to identify, capture, and share trusted data that links their physical and digital supply chains. Millions of businesses around the world power commerce with GS1 Standards. Learn more at www.gs1us.org. SOURCE GS1 US Modal title PRN Top Stories Newsletters Sign up to get PRNs top stories and curated news delivered to your inbox weekly! Enter Your Email Select Country Select Country Submit Thank you for subscribing! Our newsletters contain tracking pixels to help us deliver unique content based on each subscriber's engagement and interests. For more information on how we will use your data to ensure we send you relevant content please visit our By signing up you agree to receive content from us.Our newsletters contain tracking pixels to help us deliver unique content based on each subscriber's engagement and interests. 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Vous pouvez a tout moment revenir sur votre consentement par le biais des informations situees au bas de chaque e-mail recu. Consumers encouraged to make this year's holiday charcuterie board the best one yet HAYWARD, Calif., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- While no one holiday gathering is the same, certain traditional elements are consistent with parties this time of year. Lights and decorations adorn roofs, walls and fixtures, surrounded by beloved friends and family in the warmth of an inviting home. And of course, what holiday party is complete without an appetizing spread of delicious food? Use a flame to introduce a brulee of cheese, such as brie or goat cheese, to your holiday charcuterie board. Consider adding heat in the spicy sense, too. The Sun Kissed combination, seen here, is just one of a wide selection of Perfect Charcuterie Bites developed by the COLUMBUS brand team, marrying the heat of COLUMBUS hot capicolla with the buttery flavor of a young Mahon cheese and a slightly charred fresh pineapple spear. Columbus Craft Meats logo (PRNewsfoto/Columbus Craft Meats) Charcuterie has become an integral part of holiday celebrations for people throughout the country, as charcuterie boards consisting of meat, cheese, acid, crunch and a "wow" factor are especially popular this time of year. The charcuterie experts at Columbus, a subsidiary of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL), are well aware of this emerging phenomenon, and as experts, they have their collective finger on the pulse of what's trending in this space. "We know more than three-quarters of those who have tried charcuterie love it," said Sean McNeil, senior brand manager for the Columbus brand. "On social media, the visually appealing and engaging nature of charcuterie shines as trending content. There are 2.5 billion #charcuterie hashtags on TikTok, and there are 3.3 million #charcuterie posts on Instagram. And according to research from Exploding Topics, online consumer searches for 'charcuterie board' continue to spike, up 800% in five years." With the holiday season upon us, now is the time to explore the latest charcuterie trends to enable consumers to take their holiday boards to the next level. "Charcuterie is a staple at holiday events and parties, and for good reason," said Evan Inada, charcuterie director at Columbus. "Charcuterie boards are easy to assemble, and it's a great opportunity to get creative and try something new." Consider the following tips and tricks from Inada and his team of experts: WOW THE CROWD : Make your holiday board memorable with engaging elements that will impress your guests, providing not only delicious flavors, but an unforgettable experience as well. Consider adding chocolate or even leftover Halloween candy to the mix. Sweet and spicy candied ginger is another potential addition that provides an element of surprise to any charcuterie bite. : Make your holiday board memorable with engaging elements that will impress your guests, providing not only delicious flavors, but an unforgettable experience as well. Consider adding chocolate or even leftover Halloween candy to the mix. Sweet and spicy candied ginger is another potential addition that provides an element of surprise to any charcuterie bite. BRING THE HEAT : Use a flame to introduce a brulee of cheese, such as brie or goat cheese, to your holiday board. Consider adding "heat" in the spicy sense, too. The "Sun Kissed" combination just one of a wide selection of Perfect Charcuterie Bites developed by the Columbus brand team marries the heat of Columbus hot capicolla with the buttery flavor of a young Mahon cheese and a slightly charred fresh pineapple spear. : Use a flame to introduce a brulee of cheese, such as brie or goat cheese, to your holiday board. Consider adding "heat" in the spicy sense, too. The "Sun Kissed" combination just one of a wide selection of Perfect Charcuterie Bites developed by the brand team marries the heat of hot capicolla with the buttery flavor of a young Mahon cheese and a slightly charred fresh pineapple spear. EASY ON THE EYE : Charcuterie is meant to be an experience. While taste is perhaps the foremost part of that experience, presentation is also important. Use of food molds, cutouts with knives, and cookie cutters can add eye-pleasing elements to a holiday board. Try adding a festive centerpiece, too, like Santa or a snowman. Make it fun! : Charcuterie is meant to be an experience. While taste is perhaps the foremost part of that experience, presentation is also important. Use of food molds, cutouts with knives, and cookie cutters can add eye-pleasing elements to a holiday board. Try adding a festive centerpiece, too, like Santa or a snowman. Make it fun! DON'T FORGET THE DRINKS: Cocktail and mocktail pairings help enhance the flavors in salumi and accoutrements, making it ideal for holiday parties. Entertaining expert Paul Zahn , TV host and cocktail guru, recommends a dry lemon martini or perhaps a pear elderflower non-alcoholic spritz to pair with the Bold and Bleu bite. Certain meats also pair best with particular types of beer or whiskey, as the Columbus brand team demonstrated earlier this year. The pairing options are endless. Said Zahn: "Pairing beverages with your holiday charcuterie is the perfect way to elevate any soiree!" Need more charcuterie inspiration? Many Perfect Charcuterie Bites are available on the Columbus Craft Meats website, all of which encourage aspiring charcutiers to try something unique and draw new inspiration for their own board making. "Our Perfect Charcuterie Bite recipes have a balance of savory, acidic and sweet flavors, and complementary textures, so the flavors come together to create something magical that's greater than the sum of its parts," Inada said. "Whether you're new to charcuterie or a seasoned charcutier, our team at Columbus aspires to be a resource for everyone around the holidays to make sure this year's charcuterie board is the best one yet." For more information on Columbus products, including more charcuterie tips and where to buy, visit columbuscraftmeats.com. About Columbus Craft Meats Founded in 1917 by Italian immigrants in San Francisco, Columbus produces premium salumi and deli meats sold in grocery deli departments nationwide. The company's products are made authentically from traditional recipes that bring out the bold, unique flavors of the finest cuts of meat, making the brand a leader in today's market. More information can be found at columbuscraftmeats.com. About Hormel Foods Inspired People. Inspired Food. Hormel Foods Corporation, based in Austin, Minn., is a global branded food company with over $12 billion in annual revenue across more than 80 countries worldwide. Its brands include Planters, Skippy, SPAM, Hormel Natural Choice, Applegate, Justin's, Wholly, Hormel Black Label, Columbus, Jennie-O and more than 30 other beloved brands. The company is a member of the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, was named on the "Global 2000 World's Best Employers" list by Forbes magazine for three years, is one of Fortune magazine's most admired companies, has appeared on the "100 Best Corporate Citizens" list by 3BL Media 13 times, and has received numerous other awards and accolades for its corporate responsibility and community service efforts. The company lives by its purpose statement Inspired People. Inspired Food. to bring some of the world's most trusted and iconic brands to tables across the globe. For more information, visit hormelfoods.com. Contact: Media Relations Hormel Foods [email protected] SOURCE Hormel Foods Corporation; Columbus Fiat 500e gets a spotlight role to help the planet on December 7 during Art Basel Miami Beach 2023, when three bespoke vehicles designed in collaboration with iconic Italian brands Armani, Bvlgari and Kartell will be auctioned at an undisclosed location. Proceeds will benefit a nonprofit to be named following the auction. "It is rare for an automaker to combine efforts with the most iconic Italian brands of three different sectors, fashion design, furniture design and luxury, to create something truly unique that combines art with an earth-friendly message, making the cars available through auction is even more unusual," said Olivier Francois, CEO of FIAT and global chief marketing officer of Stellantis. "These three special builds set the stage for FIAT's sustainable mission and create momentum as we approach the arrival of the all-electric Fiat 500e in North America." This cadence of events contributes to the momentum created as FIAT prepares to launch the all-electric Fiat 500e. The new Fiat 500e is Stellantis' first EV offering in North America. Unlike any available electric city car, the Fiat 500e democratizes not only electric mobility, but also how to buy them, all while playing a significant role in the Stellantis Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan that targets 50% passenger car and light-duty truck BEV sales mix in the United States and 100% passenger car BEV sales mix in Europe by 2030. Stellantis is on track to become a carbon net zero corporation by 2038, all scopes included, with single-digit percentage compensation of remaining emissions. Simon de Pury will conduct the auction. On November 28, an online catalogue will be published on his innovative de PURY platform. This provides an exclusive chance for those unable to attend the event to register for pre and absentee bidding, granting them access to registration, online and telephonic bidding ahead of the auction. "I am very excited to conduct the auction of the three unique Fiat 500 cars. They are stunning and beautiful works of art on wheels. It is wonderful that the proceeds of the auction will entirely go to environmental work," said Simon de Pury. Simon de Pury Auctioneer, art dealer, curator, photographer and dj, Simon de Pury is one of the leading figures in the art world. Renowned for his legendary performance on the auction podium, which have earned him the moniker "the Mick Jagger of auctions", de Pury has auctioned and secured some of the most legendary art collections. Moreover, as an active charity auctioneer, it is estimated that de Pury has raised several billion dollars for a number of charities and cultural institutions over the course of his career. As a mentor and curator, de Pury has been instrumental in championing the careers of many contemporary artists, photographers and designers, and has been the subject of and featured in several documentaries and films, including BBC documentary "The Man with the Golden Gavel" and more recently, Darren Star's comedy-drama series, "Emily in Paris." In 2021, de Pury launched de PURY Presents, a new exhibition series collaborating with international artists in their studios. In 2022, he introduced the innovative online platform de PURY platform. Simon de Pury is the former chairman and chief auctioneer of Phillips de Pury & Company, former Europe chairman and chief auctioneer of Sotheby's, and former curator of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection. FIAT Brand FIAT brand celebrates more than 120 years as an automaker and some things haven't changed. Iconic Italian design and refinement, plus a fun-to-drive factor come standard with every Fiat. In early 2024, FIAT brand will launch the Fiat 500e, the first Stellantis retail battery-electric vehicle offering in North America and the best-selling city EV in Europe. FIAT is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker and mobility provider Stellantis. For more information regarding Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), please visit www.stellantis.com Follow Fiat and company news and video on: Company blog: http://blog.stellantisnorthamerica.com Media website: http://media.stellantisnorthamerica.com Fiat brand: www.fiatusa.com Fiat blog: blog.fiatusa.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/fiatusa Instagram: www.instagram.com/fiatusa Twitter: www.twitter.com/fiatusa or @StellantisNA YouTube: www.youtube.com/fiatusa or https://www.youtube.com/StellantisNA SOURCE Stellantis CHICAGO, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- FieldWare, a leading provider of criminal justice software solutions for judicial and community supervision agencies, announced today its acquisition of Orion Communications -- a leader in operational workforce management SaaS software for public safety. This strategic partnership underscores FieldWare's commitment to provide cutting-edge technologies that improve workforce efficiencies for a wide range of criminal justice practitioners. Renowned for its comprehensive suite of case management and remote check-in software, FieldWare is now poised to serve law enforcement, fire and correctional personnel by adding Orion's SaaS software to its portfolio. Orion has served public safety agencies nationwide over the past two decades by automating complex schedules, payroll, asset assignments and training processes based on each customer's unique policies. FieldWare CEO, Scott Grundberg, emphasized the significance of this alliance stating, "At FieldWare, our mission has always centered on spearheading advanced technological solutions for the justice and community supervision domains. Aligning with Orion is a testament to our vision of providing a comprehensive suite of solutions for a wider range of public sector personnel. By merging FieldWare's strengths with Orion's expertise, it sets the stage for transformative offerings that result in operational efficiencies and cost-effectiveness for our clients." While specific terms of the acquisition remain confidential, the acquisition promises exciting prospects for both companies and their clients. Ultimately, FieldWare intends to seamlessly incorporate Orion's technological capabilities to offer an all-encompassing solution that addresses the multifaceted needs of various agencies. "This is an exciting time for Orion to join forces with FieldWare," states Leslie DeLatte, Orion's President. "Our existing and new customers can expect to see benefits immediately as we take our solutions to expanded levels that will increase their impact on daily workforce operations." This acquisition marks the continuation of FieldWare's expansion vision, with a focus on future acquisition alignments that will serve the public sector well into the future. Chuck Haling, FieldWare's President added, "The acquisition of Orion Communications brings together two outstanding teams, each brimming with talent and expertise. This union represents more than a corporate transaction; it signifies the fusion of creative minds, innovators, and industry leaders. FieldWare and Orion share a common commitment to pushing the boundaries of technology in our fields, and we're eager to leverage our collective talents to drive innovation, develop cutting-edge solutions, and deliver excellence to our clients in the justice and public safety sectors." About FieldWare Pioneering software solutions for the justice and community supervision sectors, FieldWare offers a suite of unmatched tools and services. With an emphasis on exceptional user experience and scalability, FieldWare seamlessly integrates with over 50 state, county, and local systems, serving numerous prestigious agencies. About Orion Communications Orion is an operational workforce management SaaS software provider, dedicated to providing solutions for the Federal, State and Local public safety workforce that results in operational and administrative efficiencies. A certified GSA MAS contract holder, Orion is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Visit our website to learn more. Contact: Chuck Haling FieldWare, LLC https://fieldware.com/ 847.980.8832 [email protected] SOURCE FieldWare Providence Public Schools Welcome Four New EV Buses PROVIDENCE, R.I., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- First Student, the leading operator of electric school buses in North America, and Providence Public Schools, joined federal, state, and city leaders to announce the deployment of the first electric school buses in the City of Providence. The four buses are also the company's first EVs in Rhode Island. The zero-emission electric school buses will serve hundreds of students and families in the Providence School District (PPSD) and replace four diesel buses in the District's fleet. First Student and Providence Public Schools made the announcement at an event in Providence featuring U.S Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S Representatives Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amon, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Angelica Infante-Green, and Providence Public School District Superintendent Dr. Javier Montanez. "These four new, electric school buses are an investment in the future. By replacing aging, diesel buses, we're putting a down payment on cleaner air, lower carbon emissions, and reduced noise pollution for kids and the community," said U.S. Senator Jack Reed. "I look forward to helping more local school districts and communities throughout the state update their school bus fleets with clean, electric buses." "Replacing old diesel school buses in Providence with state-of-the-art electric ones is a clear win for our kids, our environment, and the public health," said U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. "Our historic American Rescue Plan helped get Rhode Islanders back on their feet after the pandemic, making smart investments in the Ocean State's future. There is much more to come on electrifying the nation's fleet of school buses as part of our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law." "Rhode Islanders deserve clean air, and these four new electric school buses take an important step toward reducing air pollution, combating climate change, and improving public health for kids and the community," said U.S. Representative Seth Magaziner. "Today's announcement is a great federal investment in Rhode Island's families, our environment, and our future," said U.S. Representative Gabe Amo. "I am excited that this funding will enable our students to reliably get to school on electric school buses, while helping us fight climate change, build a greener world for the next generation, and help us improve our air quality. This is another example of the success of the American Rescue Plan that Congress passed to put our economy on a path to recovery by investing in our communities." $1.2 million in funding for the buses comes from the American Rescue Plan's Electric School Bus Rebates program. The program is administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and is designed to help school districts replace existing diesel school buses with zero-emission buses. A grant from Rhode Island Energy helped fund the bus chargers and charging infrastructure. "Reducing pollution and greenhouse emissions through more eco-friendly transportation options will help promote a more sustainable Rhode Island," said RIDE Angelica Commissioner Infante-Green. "We're pleased to welcome this new school bus fleet which will help students in the capital city go to class as we continue our focus on improving attendance." "This is another investment Providence is making in combatting climate change and improving air quality throughout our city," said Mayor Brett P. Smiley. "By providing our students with clean, emission-free transportation to school we are prioritizing the health and wellbeing of our students and taking a significant step forward in building a greener, more sustainable community. I am thankful to all of our local, state, and federal partners who have helped make this possible." "I'm thrilled to see these first electric school buses in Providence. Not only is this a win for the environment - but also the health of our students riding the bus," said Providence Councilor Sue AnderBois. "We will not only reduce our greenhouse gas emissions but also all sorts of other pollutants and particulate matter that is harmful to breathe. Thank you, First Student, for beginning to electrify in PVD!" "Electric school buses provide quieter, cleaner, healthier and safer rides for students, ensuring they start their day ready to learn and achieve their full potential," said First Student Head of Electrification Kevin L. Matthews. "We are proud to help Providence Public Schools deploy the district's first electric buses, which can provide better learning experiences and healthier futures for children, and we are excited to see this transformative effect here in Providence. We thank the district, city, state and federal champions for making this possible." "Providence Public Schools is proud to be a part of the transition to electric school buses and welcome the first four First Student electric school buses in Providence," said PPSD Superintendent Dr. Javier Montanez, "Our priority is always ensuring our students have the healthiest, safest and best environment for learning. We look forward to working First Student and all of our partners to create healthier and more sustainable futures for our students." First Student is the largest operator of electric school buses in North America. The company has committed to transitioning 30,000 of its diesel buses to electric by 2035 to improve the health and well-being of even more students and communities. First Student currently operates more than 300 electric buses that cover more than two million miles of service. About First Student As a leading school transportation solutions provider in North America, First Student strives to provide the best start and finish to every school day. With a team of highly trained drivers and the industry's strongest safety record, First Student delivers reliable, quality services, including full-service transportation and management, special-needs transportation, route optimization, and scheduling, maintenance, and charter services with a fleet of about 40,000 buses. For more information, visit firststudentinc.com. About Providence Public Schools The Providence Public School District (PPSD) is the largest public school district in Rhode Island, serving 22,000 students in 37 schools. With over 3,200 employees, PPS is committed to ensuring a quality and equitable education for every student from all backgrounds. For more information, visit providenceschools.org. CONTACT Jen Biddinger 513.362.4600 SOURCE First Student Memorandum of Understanding with UK Government Outlines Areas of Cooperation CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and LONDON, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Flagship Pioneering, the bioplatform innovation company, today marked the official launch of its UK presence with an event co-hosted in partnership with the UK Government's Office for Life Sciences, bringing together top leaders from industry, government, and academia with a focus on breakthrough innovation. The event marked Flagship's public announcement of its strategic commitment to the UK life sciences ecosystem a week after launching Quotient Therapeutics, its first company located in both the UK and US. Earlier this year, driven by the country's strong commitment to scientific research and development, as well as its regulatory environment that supports a culture of innovation, Flagship began growing its presence in London and established an office, its first such office outside the United States. Located in London, the new office will serve as a regional hub for Flagship's operations in the UK, and into Europe. "We are pleased to officially debut the UK effort today, which has been expanding behind the scenes for over a year," said Noubar Afeyan, Founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering. "With our announced regional hubs in both London and Singapore, Flagship aims to strengthen its position as a global leader in the biotech industry and enhance its ability to engage stakeholders around the world." Earlier this month, Flagship announced its expansion into the Asia-Pacific region, with the establishment of a hub in Singapore and the appointment of Andre Andonian as Chair of Asia Pacific and Senior Advisor. Flagship Pioneering creates and builds platform companies designed to generate multiple products that secure a healthier and more sustainable future. For more than 20 years, Flagship has originated and fostered more than 100 scientific ventures, resulting in more than $90 billion (USD) in aggregate value. The current Flagship ecosystem comprises 40 impactful companies spanning human therapeutics, agriculture, and nutrition. Though several Flagship companies, including Invaio and Inari, have operations outside the US, last week's unveiling of Quotient Therapeutics marks its first company co-anchored in the UK. Quotient is co-located in Cambridge, MA and Cambridge, UK with research facilities in both cities. Quotient's platform was created by Flagship scientists in partnership with leading geneticists at the Wellcome Sanger Institute (UK) and the University of Texas Southwestern (US). "From Brunel's engineering revolution in the 19th century through to breakthroughs in genetic medicine in the 21st, British ideas have changed the world because of a willingness to ask big questions and do things differently," said Michelle Donelan, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology of the United Kingdom. "But to be successful, our innovators and risk-takers need backing. Flagship Pioneering choosing the UK as their home in Europe is another vote of confidence in our mission to put real financial firepower behind the UK's world-leading science. Backing the brightest ideas with serious capital will help deliver improved healthcare, new medical treatments, and high-skill jobs." "The UK offers immense opportunities for collaboration with academic institutions, research centers, national data resources, and biotech startups," said Tom Kibasi, Flagship Senior Vice President and UK Initiative Lead. "We look forward to continuing to work closely with the UK biotech community and contributing to the advancement of scientific research and development in the country." "The official debut of Flagship UK, and its strong and growing team in London comes at a time when the biotech sector is experiencing tremendous growth and innovation," said Professor the Lord Darzi of Denham who chairs Flagship's Preemptive Health and Medicine initiative. "I have no doubt that Flagship will make a tremendous contribution to the vibrant and innovative biotech ecosystem in the United Kingdomand benefit from it, too." About Flagship Pioneering Flagship Pioneering is a biotechnology company that invents and builds platform companies, each with the potential for multiple products that transform human health or sustainability. Since its launch in 2000, Flagship has originated and fostered more than 100 scientific ventures, resulting in more than $90 billion in aggregate value. To date, Flagship has deployed over $3.4 billion in capital toward the founding and growth of its pioneering companies alongside more than $26 billion of follow-on investments from other institutions. The current Flagship ecosystem comprises 40 companies, including Denali Therapeutics (NASDAQ: DNLI), Foghorn Therapeutics (NASDAQ: FHTX), Generate:Biomedicines, Inari, Indigo Agriculture, Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA), Omega Therapeutics (NASDAQ: OMGA), Sana Biotechnology (NASDAQ: SANA), Seres Therapeutics (NASDAQ: MCRB) and Tessera Therapeutics. Media Inquiries [email protected] Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2156098/Flagship_Pioneering_Logo.jpg Fastest-Growing Physical Therapy Franchise Celebrates a Successful 2023 with Multiple Awards SARASOTA, Fla., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Centers, the country's fastest-growing physical therapy franchise, is celebrating a banner 2023, having been ranked No. 240 on the 2023 Entrepreneur Franchise 500 list, a highly-respected ranking within the industry, as well as ranking No. 3543 on the Inc. 5000 list, and by Franchise Business Review as a Most Innovative Franchise brand. These are highly sought-after awards and rankings in the franchise industry and a testament to the brand's strong growth and leadership, even during the unique challenges and changes that influence the franchise industry. Entrepreneur recognizes FYZICAL's success in building a business model that prioritizes the needs of their patients while also offering invaluable support to franchise partners year after year. Franchise Business Review's Most Innovative Franchise Award was awarded to the brand based on high scores from an independent survey of franchisees, which focused on critical areas of their business and satisfaction with the brand and its leadership. Inc. 5000 rankings recognize the brands that have maintained rapid revenue growth while navigating the economic and labor challenges this year. With over 75 franchise deals secured by FYZICAL and over 65 clinics opened so far in 2023, the past year has been exceptional for the brand. The company's innovative approach to physical therapy, dedication to falls awareness and prevention, and its comprehensive franchise business model will help FYZICAL continue this momentum into 2024. "As 2023 comes to a close, we are grateful for all of the accolades we have been awarded and want to recognize all the hard work our team and franchise partners have put in to help get us there," said Brian Belmont, CEO of FYZICAL. "As we look forward to the New Year, we are committed to our mission of making an impact in the lives of our patients and continuing to find innovative ways to serve our communities." In addition to these new rankings, FYZICAL has also been recognized with several other prestigious awards this year. Franchise Times awarded FYZICAL with their "Healing Touch" Zor Award and named it as one of the top brands to buy. The company was also ranked as a Top 150 Brand for Multi-Unit Franchise Owners by Entrepreneur. Additionally, FYZICAL was named a Top Recession Proof Business by Franchise Business Review for the third year due to the brand's high franchisee satisfaction rating. To learn more about franchising opportunities with FYZICAL, visit fyzicalfranchise.com. To schedule an appointment at a clinic near you, visit fyzical.com. About FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Centers: FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Centers stands at the forefront of the health and wellness industry as the nation's fastest-growing physical therapy franchise, boasting an extensive network of over 525 locations that span across 46 states. Committed to a holistic approach, FYZICAL provides top-notch, personalized care plans to treat patients of all ages experiencing muscle, joint, and neurological conditions including balance and vestibular issues. As an advocate for patient choice and direct access, FYZICAL empowers individuals to take control of their well-being to achieve optimal physical health and balance. For more information about FYZICAL or to find the nearest location, visit fyzical.com. Media Contact: Maddie LaPorta, Fishman Public Relations, [email protected] or 847-945-1300 SOURCE FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Centers JAKARTA, Indonesia, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo formally began his election campaign on Tuesday to win Indonesia's election next February. Cheered by thousands of supporters at the formal launch in Sabang and Merauke, in the eastern-most and western-most regions of Indonesia, Ganjar and his Vice President running mate Mahfud MD stressed the importance of creating a superior Indonesia by accelerating equitable economic development that would benefit all Indonesians. "We will win this election. Mahfud and I are ready to tackle head-on all the challenges the country faces, so that we can improve the lives of all Indonesians," said Ganjar. A former governor of Central Java, Ganjar is a leading contender to succeed current president Joko Widodo in the presidential election due in three months. During his decade as governor, Ganjar succeeded in lifting one million people out of poverty. He mandated free basic education, building of public infrastructure, increasing anti-poverty programs and empowering farmers. Ganjar and Mahfud are aiming to boost opportunities for all Indonesians once elected. On the first day of the campaign, they launched three flagship programs concurrently. In Merauke, Ganjar acknowledged the importance of universal access to primary health care and pledged to build one medical facility and provide one doctor/health worker in every village. On the other side of the country, in Sabang, a part of Aceh province that is identified as a Muslim region, Mahfud said he would ensure the prosperity of mosques and their workers and provide salaries to Koran teachers. Mahfud's background as an Islamic scholar strengthens his aim to increase Muslim community prosperity in Indonesia. Ganjar has also made anti-corruption a key campaign pledge with the support of Mahfud, who is well-known for tackling corruption in Indonesia and is currently the country's Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs. "The time has come for Indonesia to remove corruption at all levels. It is the biggest obstacle facing our country and is stopping us from achieving our true potential," said Mahfud. The pair are candidates of the ruling party, Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), led by former president Megawati Soekarnoputri. With Ganjar's strong track record and forward-looking manifesto, he is keen on taking their message across the country. Ganjar and Mahfud will spend most of the next 90 days on the campaign trail. In a country spread across 17,000 islands, this will be a logistical challenge. But it also features in their plans for Indonesia's future. Ganjar wants the country to lead the world in building a strong green economy that better utilizes Indonesia's maritime potential. "Our world is facing a climate crisis that threatens us all. We must use Indonesia's natural resources for the good of our people and to ensure that the environment remains sustainable," said Ganjar. NEW YORK, Nov. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The significant driver in the genomics market is the decreased cost of genetic sequencing, driven by the completion of the Human Genome Project (HGP) and advancements in genomics. Innovations in technologies such as NGS, DNA microarray, and CRISPR have revolutionized sequencing methods, allowing for targeted and high-throughput sequencing, particularly in clinical and research applications. The cost of genome sequencing has notably reached more than 99.99% from 2000 to 2019, making genomics-based tests like paternity tests more affordable and thus increasing consumer adoption, thereby boosting the demand for genomics products and services. Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Genomics Market 2023-2027 The global genomics market size is estimated to grow by USD 18.24 billion from 2022 to 2027, according to Technavio. The market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of over 10.53% during the forecast period. Continual progress in sequencing technologies remains a prevailing trend within the genomics market. The conclusion of the Human Genome Project (HGP) and strides in next-generation genetic testing methods have significantly contributed to comprehending human genomics and variations in genetic makeup. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has transformed genetic research by facilitating extensive sequencing, identification of disease-linked mutations, and cost reduction in sequencing procedures. Technologies like high-throughput sequencing and DNA microarrays have optimized processes and decreased operational expenses. For more insights on the historic (2017 to 2021) and forecast market size (2023 to 2027) - Buy the report Global Genomics Market - Segmentation Assessment Segment Overview Technavio has segmented the market based on solution (products and services) Application (Diagnostic, Drug discovery, and Others) and Geography (North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of World (ROW)). The products segment is anticipated to experience substantial growth in market share during the forecast period. This segment encompasses instruments and consumables utilized in research and testing activities. Instruments consist of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) systems, Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)-Cas systems, next-generation sequencers, and microarray instruments. These tools are commonly employed for tasks such as nucleic acid extraction, isolation, purification, gene cloning/amplification, high-throughput sequencing, and gene expression analyses. Geography Overview By geography, the global genomics market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of World (ROW). The report provides actionable insights and estimates the contribution of all regions to the growth of the global genomics market. North America is projected to contribute 37% to the global market growth during the forecast period, with the US as the leading country in the region. The rise in research funding and advancements in precision medicine and personalized therapies are driving the demand for genomics analyses in North America . Moreover, the region shows the presence of key market players like Illumina, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Agilent Technologies, Thermo Fisher Scientific, PerkinElmer, and Fluidigm Corp. These factors collectively shape the dominating position of North America in the global market. Insights on the market contribution of various segments including country and region wise, historic (2017 to 2021) and forecast market size (2023 to 2027) - Download a Sample Report Global Genomics Market Market Dynamics Major challenges hindering the market growth Shortage of skilled genetics professionals in the genomics market set a challenge due to limited expertise in gene editing, sequencing, and counseling, impacting accuracy and precision. Growing demand for laboratory technicians contrasts with limited availability owing to an aging workforce and inadequate accredited training programs, exacerbating the shortage of trained professionals. Scarcity of skilled experts stands as a significant challenge in the genomics market, affecting accurate interpretations and observations, and hindering advancements in the field. Insights on Market Drivers, trends, & Challenges, historic period(2017 to 2021) and forecast period(2023 to 2027)- Request a sample report What are the key data covered in this Genomics Market report? CAGR of the market during the forecast period Detailed information on factors that will drive the growth of the Genomics Market between 2023 and 2027 Precise estimation of the size of the Genomics Market size and its contribution to the market in focus on the parent market Accurate predictions about upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior Growth of the Genomics Market industry across North America , Europe , Asia , and Rest of World (ROW) , , , and Rest of World (ROW) A thorough analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information about vendors Comprehensive analysis of factors that will challenge the growth of Genomics Market vendors Related Reports: NGS-based RNA-seq Market: The global NGS-based RNA-seq market size is estimated to grow by USD 3,753.73 million between 2022 and 2027 accelerating at a CAGR of 15.34%. Bioinformatics Market: The bioinformatics market size is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 13% between 2022 and 2027. The market size is forecast to increase by USD 8,535.52 million. TOC Executive Summary Market Landscape Market Sizing Historic Market Size Five Forces Analysis Market Segmentation by Solutions Market Segmentation by Application Customer Landscape Geographic Landscape Drivers, Challenges, and Trends Company Landscape Company Analysis Appendix About US Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provide actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. There are potential for Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan to diversify their partnership, Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov wrote on X (Twitter), Trend reports. "We met with Rashid Meredov, the Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs, as part of our working visit to Turkmenistan. During our discussions, we highlighted the benefits of deepening our bilateral relations. We highlighted the favorable opportunities for diversifying cooperation, emphasizing both countries' rich potential," he noted. Citing data from Azerbaijan's State Customs Committee, Azerbaijan's commercial turnover with Turkmenistan was $710.3 million during January through October 2023 ($377.2 million year on year). As a result, the two countries' trade turnover surged by 88.31 percent. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BEIJING, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The healthy and stable development of China-US relations not only safeguards the fundamental interests of the people of both countries but also aligns with the common expectations of the international community, said Yang Wanming, head of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), during an exclusive interview with the Global Times. Chinese President Xi Jinping met with US President Joe Biden recently in San Francisco where the two established the "San Francisco vision" oriented toward the future, providing direction and outlining a blueprint for the healthy, stable, and sustainable development of China-US relations. Xi said that China is ready to invite 50,000 young Americans to China on exchange and study programs in the next five years to increase exchanges between the two peoples, especially between the youth. "Amity between the people holds the key to sound state-to-state relations. As President Xi has emphasized on different occasions this year, noting that the hope of the China-US relationship lies in the people, its foundation is in our societies, and the source of strength lies in the friendship between the two peoples," said Yang. As an organization engaged in people-to-people diplomacy in China, the CPAFFC aims to enhance people's friendship, further international cooperation, safeguard world peace and promote common development. It has established friendly cooperation relationship with about 400 NGOs and institutions in more than 150 countries. Vibrant exchanges landscape To deepen the exchanges between the peoples of China and the US, the CPAFFC has taken the initiative to proactively facilitate various events. The CPAFFC invited the Flying Tigers to return to China after 80 years for a 10-day visit in early November. A delegation of more than 30 people visited various cities in China and left many touching moments. Unlike in China, the stories of the Flying Tigers may not be very well known in the US. They are a group of volunteer US pilots who came to China in 1941, standing shoulder to shoulder with the Chinese people to fight against Japanese aggressors. More than 2,000 US pilots gave their lives during the war. The Chinese people also provided Flying Tigers with assistance at all costs. More than 200 pilots in distress were rescued, with thousands of Chinese people giving their lives during the rescue operations. Two of those valiant pilots, Harry Moyer and Melvin McMullen, aged 103 and 98 respectively, made it to China for the most recent CPAFFC-organized event. Yang pointed out that it was a commemorative moment to learn from the glorious history of the Flying Tigers during the war, and a chance to enhance exchanges between the youth of both countries, carry forward the spirit of the Flying Tigers, and foster friendly ties between the peoples of China and the US, making further contributions to the cause of peace. Also, in early November, the fifth China-US Sister Cities Conference themed "Build Green Cities for the People," co-hosted by the CPAFFC and the Jiangsu provincial government, was held in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province. The vitality of China-US relations comes from exchanges at sub-national levels. Yang noted that the China-US Sister Cities Conference has been successfully held five times thus far and has become an important platform for Chinese and American cities to strengthen exchanges and cooperation, and to enhance friendship. "Sister cities' interactions and exchanges leverage unique local resources and use art, cuisine, local culture and folk customs as mediums. By actively mobilizing various resources and involving as many people as possible in sister city exchanges, these activities are more targeted, organized, planned and sustainable. They are beneficial to the systematic introduction of each other's culture, social customs and policy concepts, promote mutual understanding and respect between the peoples of the two countries, and play a fundamental role in maintaining China-US relations," he said. Looking toward future Civilizations are like water, moistening everything silently. Diversity spurs interaction among civilizations, which in turn promotes mutual learning and their further development. People-to-people exchanges are the strongest force in advancing mutual learning among different civilizations. "No two leaves in the world are identical, and no histories, cultures, or social systems are the same. The languages, thoughts and lifestyles of the Chinese and American people are different, but our aspirations for cultural exchange and mutual learning between the two civilizations are the same. The recent visit of the Philadelphia Orchestra to China, which was very well received, is the best proof of this," said Yang. In November, the Philadelphia Orchestra performed a 50th anniversary concert in Beijing. They later performed in Tianjin, Suzhou and Shanghai. The orchestra is a vivid witness to the friendship between the two peoples of China and the US, and continues to carry on the legacy of non-governmental exchanges through music. "More Americans from all walks of life, especially the young are welcomed to visit China," said Yang. Among those who came to visit China with the Flying Tigers veterans was Jackson Long, the 15-year-old great-grandson of Flying Tiger Clifford Long Sr. As a member of the young generation who is expected to carry forward the legacy of friendship, he told the media during his visit that China is "a lot different" from the impression he has gained from the US media and politicians. "You can't really grasp everything about China just by looking at social media... you have to be here to experience all the amazing different cultures that China has to offer," he said. Moving forward, Yang introduced that CPAFFC will step up efforts to promote cultural exchanges among Chinese and American youths, inviting both to learn about each other's cultures and experience the civilizations of China and the US through their first-hand experiences. "After all, the future of the China-US relationship depends on the youth," he concluded. SOURCE Global Times BEIJING, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Timothy Brook visited China for the first time in the 1970s, and has returned to the country many times since then to conduct deep exchanges with Chinese scholars. A specialist in Chinese history, Brook is particularly fascinated by the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and has published several books and academic papers on the topic over the decades. His latest book, The Price of Collapse: The Little Ice Age and the Fall of Ming China, was published by Princeton University Press in November. "One of the reasons why I'm so interested in the Ming Dynasty is that it was the beginning of the dialogue between China and Europe that continues to this day," Brook said, speaking in fluent Chinese, on Thursday. "Europeans began to come to China in the 16th century," he noted. A broad global context Unlike a lot of other China scholars, Brook's observations usually situate China in a broad global context, and present the connection between China and the West. "China and the world should understand each other better," said Brook, noting that both Westerners and Chinese people should understand their history differently. He suggested that today's young international scholars should look at China in a more global context, especially in the era of globalization, when mutual learning among civilizations matters greatly. "You have to not only immerse yourself in Chinese culture and language, but also immerse yourself in the world - use the knowledge of where you come from, and bring that to bear on the knowledge that you gain about China," Brook told the Global Times. However, doing this is "not easy." Hailed as one of the best storytellers among North American historians, Brook has found a broad readership both in China and overseas for his many books, such as The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China and Vermeer's Hat: The Seventeenth Century and the Dawn of the Global World. The books open a window for international readers to learn more about Chinese history and civilization. "I keep writing books about China in order to increase the outside world's understanding of China," said Brook. It's important to let foreigners know that Chinese history is not something far away, strange or difficult to understand, he noted. For Chinese readers, Brook's observations and insights offer a precious "outsider" perspective. "Even though I will never fully understand China as an 'insider' does, this 'outsider' has crafted ideas and insights that may help us to achieve a more objective and universal knowledge of China, and not just of China on its own terms and for itself, but of China as part of the world, which is, after all, where we all live," Brook said in an acceptance speech at the forum on Friday. Looking through Baik Young-seo's books and academic papers, "East Asia" is probably one of the most frequently mentioned terms. As the first South Korean scholar to win the Award for Distinguished Contributions to China Studies, Baik adds a valuable South Korean perspective to the world's current China studies, much of which is based on observations from the West. "Compared with countries in other areas like Latin America or Europe, countries in East Asia share more common ground among civilizations," Baik said on Thursday, in response to a question raised by the Global Times. East Asian countries enjoy some common civilization assets, Baik said. Nonetheless, "[We should] not only explore which of the assets can be shared, but also make greater efforts in analyzing and researching which of the assets can help the actual development of this area," he said. Baik recalled that after 1992, when China and South Korea established diplomatic relations, exchanges between the two countries became increasingly frequent, which enhanced regional thinking on East Asia. Since then, Baik has studied the history and reality of China from an East Asian perspective. 'Inclusiveness and flexibility' Baik has served as president of the Korean Association for Contemporary Chinese Studies and the Korean Association for Studies of Modern Chinese History. His major books, including Returning of East Asia and East Asia as Intellectual Thought, have had a wide influence on the academic community of China studies in both China and South Korea. "What I like most about Chinese civilization is its inclusiveness and flexibility," said Baik. East Asian countries should "respect each other's differences, eliminate contradictions, and enhance their ability to listen to each other," he told the Global Times. "In the early 1970s, I became interested in China mainly because I wanted to reflect on South Korea by learning from China," he said in fluent Chinese in an acceptance speech at the forum on Friday. Nowadays, China studies needs mutual learning and a reference to related countries including South Korea, he added. Having been to China many times, Baik has built good friendships with Chinese scholars in recent decades. He said that in China, he sometimes enjoys hot pot and Chinese liquor with Chinese historians such as Xu Jilin, who was also present at the event on Thursday. "I do not study China's history and modern reality from the perspective of a 'spectator,'" Baik said. "I'm a participant." SOURCE Global Times With this acquisition, Globant continues its journey of creating a powerful global creative tech organization ready for growth After being a client for three years, Globant buys its own advertising agency in a golden and unique move NEW YORK, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Globant (NYSE: GLOB), a digitally native company focused on reinventing businesses through innovative technology solutions, today announced the acquisition of a majority stake in GUT, an independent creative agency, to strengthen and grow Globant's creative capabilities. This acquisition will shape a partnership that will boost Globant's technology and creative offering, taking it to a new level, and support GUT's expansion to new markets and industries while leading the inception of technology into advertising. From left to right: Nestor Nocetti (EVP Corporate Affairs & Co-Founder - Globant), Anselmo Ramos (Co-Founder & Creative Chairman - GUT), Martin Migoya (Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder - Globant), Martin Umaran (Co-Founder & Chairman for EMEA - Globant), Gaston Bigio (Co-Founder & Creative Chairman - GUT) and Guibert Englebienne (Globant X and Latin America President & Co-Founder Globant) "Technology and creativity have never been more closely linked than they are today," said Martin Migoya, Co-founder and CEO of Globant. "We always say that Globant is where innovation, design, and engineering meet scale, and we couldn't be more excited to bring the world's most creative marketing and communications company into the mix. With this acquisition, we will be able to offer a unique blend of top-notch technology and bold ideas to brands from the very beginning of the creative ideation process." "We are thrilled to enter into this next chapter of our expansive growth powered by such an entrepreneurial and innovative partner as Globant, who will help us rapidly achieve the scale we've always dreamed about," said Anselmo Ramos, Co-Founder and Creative Chairman of GUT. "Our mission when we founded GUT was to be the most diverse, creative, and influential agency Network ever, so we know that this reinvention with Globant will only accelerate that goal to hopefully becoming our reality soon." The five-year-old network has employees across seven offices in Miami, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Toronto, Mexico City, Los Angeles, and Amsterdam. It has also attracted over 60 clients globally, including AB InBev, Mercado Libre, Google, Kraft Heinz, Coca-Cola, and Tim Hortons. This year, GUT was named Cannes Lions Independent Network of the Year after winning 35 Lions, including 3 Grand Prix, 8 Golds, 12 Silvers, and 12 Bronzes across its Network. GUT Buenos Aires was also named both Cannes Lions Agency of the Year and Independent Agency of the Year in 2023. And this fall, Adweek named GUT the Breakthrough Agency of the Year, as well as GUT Buenos Aires office as the International Agency of the Year. GUT will remain operating as fully independent as it does today, and GUT's leadership team will remain in place with a continued focus on building culture and driving growth. Both companies will work together identifying cross-selling opportunities and leveraging their unique skills to provide even more innovative solutions to their customers. "Globant has been a trusted client for many years. We've done so many wonderful and successful things together as an agency and client, and now together, we know they will help us realize the dreams we've had since we were founded in 2018," said Gaston Bigio, Co-Founder and Creative Chairman of GUT. "Ultimately, we're excited to be part of the team that will propel us into the next phase of growth and success at GUT, and set us up for even more growth and success in the long term for our People and clients around the world." "GUT and Globant share a solid culture, endless passion for supporting their clients, and a strong commitment to bravery, creativity, and innovation", said Martin Umaran, Co-Founder and Chief Corporate Development Officer of Globant. "In past years, Globant doubled-down on its inherent creative side of technology by adding marketing and advertising agencies such as Habitant, in Spain, Vertic, in Denmark, Ad_Bid, in Colombia, and KTBO, in Mexico. We have already merged these teams with Globant's own Digital Marketing and Digital Sales Studios to create a new end-to-end Studio Network with an agency approach enhanced with AI and diverse and talented professionals. GUT will play a critical role in being part of this Network", he added. Both organizations are ranked among the top ten global organizations in their respective industries: Globant is the 8th strongest IT brand globally according to the latest Brand Finance report, and GUT is the most creative independent advertising network in the world according to Cannes 2023 Report forming a powerful global creative tech company poised for even greater growth. Globant was also included by Fortune on its latest list of "100 Fastest-Growing Companies", ranked first among peers in the Information Technology Services category and recognized for its revenue, profit and stock return over the last three years. About Globant We are a digitally native company that helps organizations reinvent themselves and unleash their potential. We are where innovation, design, and engineering meet at scale. We have more than 27,500 employees and are present in 30 countries and five continents, working for companies like Google, Electronic Arts, and Santander, among others. We were named a Worldwide Leader in AI Services (2023) and Worldwide Leader in CX Improvement Services (2020) by IDC MarketScape report. We were also featured as a business case study at Harvard , MIT , and Stanford . , , and . We are active members of The Green Software Foundation (GSF) and the Cybersecurity Tech Accord. Contact: [email protected] Sign up to get first dibs on press news and updates. For more information, visit www.globant.com About GUT GUT is an award-winning Global Creative Network with offices in Miami, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Toronto, Mexico City, Los Angeles, and Amsterdam, created on the foundation of three essential values: Courage, Transparency, and above all, Intuition. Since its founding in 2018 by Anselmo Ramos and Gaston Bigio, GUT's strength has been to help brands generate a disproportionate amount of buzz, infiltrate pop culture, influence behaviors, create brand love long term, and ultimately help solve brands' biggest business challenges. The GUT Network has also won multiple accolades at the industry's most prestigious award shows, including at Cannes Lions 2023, where it won a total of 35 Lions (3 GPs, 8 Gold, 12 Silver and 12 Bronze), and became #1 Independent Network of the Year, LATAM Regional Network of the Year, and its GUT Buenos Aires office became both Independent Agency of the Year and Agency of the Year - a first for Argentina. More recently, GUT was named as Adweek's #1 Breakthrough Agency of the Year, and its Buenos Aires office was named as the #1 International Agency of the Year. Learn more at https://www.gut.agency Forward Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The expectations related to the businesses of Globant and Gut may differ from their actual results and consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "believe," "may," "will", "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "should," "plan," "expect," "predict," "potential," or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, expectations with respect to the anticipated benefits of this majority shareholding acquisition. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the expected results. Most of these factors are outside of the control of Globant and Gut and are difficult to predict. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to: (1) the risk that disruption from the transaction materially and adversely affects Gut's business and operations; (2) Globant's ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of this majority shareholding acquisition, (3) costs related to this majority shareholding acquisition, (4) Globant's ability to successfully grow Gut's business; (5) potential adverse reactions or changes to business relationships resulting from the announcement and completion of this majority shareholding acquisition; (6) the ability of Globant to retain and hire key Gut employees; (7) changes in applicable laws or regulations, (8) the demand for Gut's services together with the possibility that Gut may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; and (9) other factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in our most recent Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and any other risk factors included in subsequent reports on Form 6-K. Because of these uncertainties, you should not make any investment decision based on these forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this press release whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2287082/Globant_and_Gut__Founders_picture.jpg CORAL GABLES, Fla., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Gulliver Preparatory School is proud to announce the selection of Simon Hess as its new President and Chief Executive Officer. His leadership will chart a course to strengthen, support, and refine Gulliver Prep as it continues along its path of being a preeminent, thought leading institution. Headshot of Simon Hess "Gulliver Prep will welcome a proven leader and educator whose lifelong pursuit of excellence has taken him to a variety of institutions across the country," said Board Chair Scott Davidson. "Not only does Simon have the professional experience leading as a president, CEO, and principal, he also comes to Gulliver with a philosophy that focuses on the individual learner a principle we have held dear at Gulliver Prep since the remarkable Marian C. Krutulis instilled her vision to create an academic community devoted to educational excellence, with a personal touch, that fulfills each student's potential." Simon joins Gulliver Prep from his most recent position as President of Crossroads, a recognized leader in Boston's youth development sector. Prior to this, he was Chief Program Officer at Boston Plan for Excellence and CEO at ChicagoRise and Civitas Schools in Chicago, as well as Principal at Gordon Tech High School, also in Chicago. Simon earned an MBA from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University; a Master's in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy from Harvard University Graduate School of Education; and a Bachelor of Arts from College of the Holy Cross. "I am thrilled and honored to join the Gulliver family," said Simon. "In getting to know the school community over the past several months, I have been inspired by the vibrance of its culture, the depth of its attention to the aspirations of each young person, and the power of its commitment to providing an unparalleled educational experience. At Gulliver, it is clear to me that each student is seen, valued, and challenged to step boldly into their learning, act with great heart, and learn to lead wisely. I look forward with great energy and enthusiasm to guiding our community to write the next great chapter in the story of this amazing institution." Simon's leadership will be crucial as Gulliver Prep continues to fulfill the promise of their capital campaign, Transformation. Together. 2026. , and begin preparations to celebrate their centennial in 2026. He will begin his tenure on January 29, 2024, replacing Cliff Kling who has served as Gulliver's president, the first in school history, since 2018. Established in 1926, Gulliver Preparatory School is a 501(c)(3) private, non-profit, independent, coeducational, nonsectarian day school serving 2,200 students in grades PK-12. The school's mission is to create an academic community devoted to educational excellence, with a personal touch, that fulfills each student's potential. Media Inquiries: Diego Meeroff [email protected] 305.666.6333 SOURCE Gulliver Preparatory School Certification Prioritizes Emotional and Physical Well-Being of Pet Patients, Their Owners and Hospital Teams AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In a groundbreaking achievement, the Heart of Texas Veterinary Specialty and 24-Hour Emergency Center in Round Rock, Texas, a Thrive Pet Healthcare partner, becomes the first combination emergency and specialty hospital to attain Fear Free Veterinary Practice Certification. This recognition highlights the hospital's dedication to providing a stress-free environment for pets during medical crises, supporting pet owners coping with a beloved pet's illness, and assisting hospital teams working in an emotionally charged setting. "We understand the unique stress that veterinary visits can have on pets and their families." Post this Team members from Heart of Texas Veterinary Specialty and 24-Hour Emergency Center in Round Rock, Texas, proudly display their Fear Free Veterinary Practice Certification, become the first combination emergency and specialty hospital in the country to achieve this status. Pet owners can expect to see the Fear Free philosophy in action, from the waiting room to the examination room, ensuring that every pet receives gentle, loving care tailored to their emotional needs. Recognizing the impact of emotional health on physical well-being, the Heart of Texas team has integrated Fear Free practices into all aspect of patient and client care protocols. "We understand the unique stress that veterinary visits can have on pets and their families," says Heart of Texas Veterinary Specialty and 24-Hour Emergency Center Medical Director Dr. Meighan Daly DeHart. "This certification required a team-wide effort. It's more than a title; it's a reflection of our commitment to provide a safe, effective and stress-free experience for all. We're proud to lead the charge as the first ER/specialty hospital to embrace this game-changing philosophy fully." Fear Free, initiated by Dr. Marty Becker in 2016, provides online education and certification programs for veterinary professionals. "Fear Free practices are essential in modern veterinary medicine," explains Dr. Becker. "The principles we advocate are not just about treating animals; they're about creating a healing environment that reduces anxiety for everyone involved." To achieve Fear Free Practice Certification status, the Heart of Texas team underwent rigorous training, showing significant improvements in client retention, visit frequency, and care quality. Pet owners can expect to see the Fear Free philosophy in action, from the waiting room to the examination room, ensuring that every pet receives gentle, loving care tailored to their emotional needs. This approach not only helps pets feel more comfortable but also allows veterinary professionals to perform their roles with greater ease and safety. "Seeing Heart of Texas Veterinary Specialty and 24-Hour Emergency Center become the first combination ER/specialty hospital to be Fear Free Certified is a landmark moment for us at Fear Free," said Dr. Jennifer Merlo, Director of Veterinary Affairs at Fear Free. "Thrive Pet Healthcare's commitment to integrating our principles has set a remarkable precedent in veterinary medicine. It exemplifies how a focused effort on reducing fear, anxiety and stress can transform the care experience for pets, their families, and the veterinary teams who work tirelessly to support them." Randy Valpy, CEO of Fear Free celebrates this achievement, stating, "The Heart of Texas Veterinary Specialty and 24-Hour Emergency Center is setting a new bar for veterinary excellence. Their dedication to the Fear Free mission is a beacon for other practices to follow." "When our hospitals achieve Fear Free Practice Certification status, that means they have taken the commitment to creating a stress-free environment to the next level," says Dr. Kelly Cairns, Thrive Pet Healthcare's Vice President of Medical Excellence and Education. "In doing so, they not only change the way their hospital operates, but they also transform the way pets and people experience veterinary care." Thrive Pet Healthcare's initiative to integrate Fear Free practices across their network of more than 380 hospitals in 37 states has paved the way for veterinary establishments to elevate the standard of care. In addition to Heart of Texas, the following eight Thrive Pet Healthcare partner hospitals have taken Fear Free philosophy and practice to the next level by achieving practice certification status: Primary Care Clark Veterinary Hospital, Nashua, New Hampshire South Baton Rouge Animal Hospital, Baton Rouge, Louisiana Suburban Animal Hospital, Rochester, New York Bargersville Veterinary Hospital and Wellness Center, Franklin, Indiana Estrella Veterinary Hospital, Capistrano Beach, California Primary/Specialty Care Saint Francis Veterinary Center of South Jersey, Swedesboro, New Jersey Bloom Animal Hospital, Livonia, Michigan Emergency Care Emergency Pet Clinic San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas To locate a Thrive Pet Healthcare location near you, including primary, specialty, urgent and emergency veterinary care services, visit www.ThrivePetCare.com. About Thrive Pet Healthcare: Thrive Pet Healthcare is a leading veterinary service network that uniquely delivers a continuum of care to pet families and services to veterinary hospitals. With an industry-first membership program and more than 380 acute, primary, and specialty providers, Thrive Pet Healthcare offers personalized, accessible care through every stage of a pet's life and health. The veterinarian-founded organization provides premier benefits for practice staff while elevating privately held veterinary hospitals with innovative service and technology solutions. By focusing on the needs and aspirations of veterinary care providers, Thrive Pet Healthcare is supporting the well-being of the industry and raising the national bar for veterinary excellence. To learn more about Thrive Pet Healthcare, please visit www.thrivepetcare.com. About Fear Free Founded by Dr Marty Becker and developed by hundreds of experts in behavior, medicine, and handling, Fear Free offers online and in-person education to veterinary professionals, the pet professional community, animal shelter staff and volunteers, and pet owners. Fear Free provides both professionals and pet lovers alike with the knowledge and tools to look after a pet's physical and emotional wellbeing. Veterinary or pet professionals can learn more about becoming Fear Free Certified by visiting fearfreepets.com. Pet owners can visit fearfreehappyhomes.com to access free videos, articles, and more that will help improve the physical and emotional health of their pets right at home. Shelter, rescue, and animal welfare employees and volunteers can visit fearfreeshelters.com to enroll in the complimentary program. SOURCE Thrive Pet Healthcare The only hotel to open in San Francisco in 2023 unveils a spectacular renovation SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The highly anticipated new Embarcadero neighborhood hotel, The Jay, an Autograph Collection Hotel, is now open. Following a multi-million dollar renovation, the 360 room iconic hotel boasts incredible views, a new outdoor rooftop terrace and a stunning dining outlet, The Third Floor, from The Omakase Restaurant Group. The hotel, which was designed as an homage to the spirit and people of San Francisco, reflects unique moments in the city's history while offering a luxury respite for both business and leisure travelers. The Jay joins the Autograph Collection, part of Marriott Bonvoy's portfolio of over 30 brands, and includes a diverse and dynamic collection of over 290 hotels around the world that are independent, one-of-a-kind, and champion values of vision design and craft. The Jay Hotel "We're so pleased to unveil The Jay at this exciting time in San Francisco history," said The Jay's General Manager Michael Musarra. "The city offers such dynamic experiences, beautiful sights and amazing cuisine. We are thrilled to incorporate all those elements into this new, stunning hotel in the vibrant Embarcadero neighborhood." With interiors by the local San Francisco studio of award-winning global design firm AvroKO, the renovation design embraces The Jay's brutalist exterior from noted architect John Portman and introduces the concept of warm brutalism. In honoring the building's architectural history, the concept of warm brutalism blurs the lines between design modalities while providing subtle nods to the local artists and creators who served as inspiration. While the concrete exterior of the building remains, everything from the porte cochere to the penthouse was reimagined to create a modern and welcoming environment. Guestrooms offer angled floor-to-ceiling windows, drawing in natural light and giving guests views of the Bay, Coit Tower and the downtown skyline. Featuring warm wall coverings, soft furnishings and clean lines, guestrooms offer space for rest, relaxation and work. The design blends brutalist shapes with a tone-on-tone palette reflecting calm in both color and shape. Warm oak wood screens with bronze mirror detailing; custom closet doors inspired by the building's facade; a stone and walnut console that combines the desk, dresser and mini fridge; custom lighting; and soft custom carpets bring refined and comfortable feel to the rooms. As guests explore San Francisco, they will recognize touches woven throughout the hotel's design that were inspired by the sights, sounds and people of the city. "We're thrilled to be a part of this exciting new lifestyle hotel right in our backyard," says Greg Bradshaw, co-founder and principal of AvroKO. "We've envisioned The Jay to feel like a 'friend in the know' someplace friendly and warm, but also sophisticated and well crafted. By bringing a layer of warm woods, textured stones, and plasters we were able to honor the building's original Brutalist structure while giving it a new life and energy that we believe San Francisco's next chapter can be. We really think this is one of the best hotels in all of SF." Small and large touches throughout the hotel connect back to San Francisco, from wall coverings inspired by Ruth Asawa's iconic notebook to artist Peggy Caserta's unique blend of patterns and textures. A three-story circular staircase, featuring bronze castwork by artist Arnaldo Pomodoro and sculptural wood screens, leads to the hotel's lobby, The Third Floor Restaurant & Lounge, and the rooftop terrace bar. The staircase was inspired by one designed by John Portman for his own home. The Third Floor Restaurant & Lounge is a modern update to the timeless experience of the hotel lobby restaurant and bar. This upscale, light-filled environment offers a comfortable lounge serving three meals a day, cocktails and a modern spin on traditional afternoon tea. Featuring seasonal menus that reflect the bounty of California, Executive Chef Michael Magallenes is creating a new downtown dining destination. "It is fitting that our first hotel partnership is with a property that is a love letter to San Francisco," said Omakase Restaurant Group CEO and co-founder Kash Feng. "This city has brought me so much opportunity to share the foods and flavors that inspire me and we are so excited to now share with even more guests at The Jay." The Third Floor features progressive San Francisco cuisine - a California slant on Asian flavors such as duck wonton soup, a selection of yakitori, Korean fried cauliflower and locally-sourced seafood towers. The Third Floor also introduces a fresh take on traditional afternoon tea service, offering local Red Blossom Teas with sweet and savory selections that include raw oysters served with apple mignonette and champagne espuma and persimmon cream puffs. The Jay has 13,000 square feet of meeting space across 16 distinct meeting areas on two floors. Each meeting room's unique modern design tells a story that aligns with the San Francisco legend for which the rooms are named. The Jay's meeting facilities offer the highest quality meeting amenities and world-class banquet capabilities, with customizable menus featuring local ingredients and to feed the body and soul. About The Jay Hotel The Jay Hotel is a newly renovated luxury hotel located in the heart of San Francisco's vibrant and historic Embarcadero neighborhood. Formerly Le Meridien, The Jay boasts 360 guest rooms and suites and 16 meeting areas, making it the ultimate destination for visitors and locals alike. Designed by the award-winning, global design firm AvroKO, The Jay is infused with the history of San Francisco which can be seen in each component of the design, creating a narrative that weaves through San Francisco history. The Jay is also home to The Third Floor, the hotel's only restaurant operated in partnership with the award-winning Omakase Restaurant Group, which serves as a three meal dining outlet built around the buzzy, social hotel lobby. About AvroKO Founded in NYC by four partners, Kristina O'Neal, Adam Farmerie, William Harris, and Greg Bradshaw, AvroKO has earned a reputation as one of the world's most innovative design firms, due in large part to its integrated design process and focus on creating emotionally-connected experiences through Hospitable Thinking. The firm's critically hailed portfolio includes restaurants, bars, hotels, retail, residential and mixed-use projects from New York to Hong Kong, all characterized by a unique convergence between the ideals of the past and an off-beat, forward-looking sensibility. Over the past 20+ years, the firm has grown globally to five offices (New York City, Bangkok, San Francisco, London, and Miami) working on projects across 22 countries in 32 cities. About Omakase Restaurant Group The Omakase Restaurant Group is the brainchild of co-founder and CEO Kash Feng, a Xi'an born entrepreneur with an inclination for hospitality. Multi-concept in nature, the Omakase Restaurant Group serves the Bay Area and prides itself on offering the highest caliber Asian and American cuisine that remains quintessentially Californian. The restaurants under Feng's conscientious direction include Omakase, a Michelin one star edomae sushi bar; Okane, a Michelin Bib Gourmand which offers refined Japanese comfort food; Niku Steakhouse, a Michelin one star American steakhouse with Japanese influence; The Butcher Shop, a certified purveyor of Kobe and Wagyu beef; Dumpling Time, a fast-casual restaurant offering imaginative handmade dumplings; Live Sushi, a family-friendly, neighborhood sushi bar; and Rosemary & Pine, a seasonally evolving Californian cuisine from Michelin-starred chef Dustin Falcon. SOURCE The Jay NEW YORK, Nov. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In a bold move to counter the widespread consumer disappointment following this year's Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Roomza Times Square at Pestana CR7 announces an extraordinary initiative for Travel Tuesday. Understanding the frustration of customers who faced deceitful marketing tactics instead of genuine deals, the hotel is launching an exclusive offer that promises not just a memorable stay but also a rewarding experience. A Genuine Deal if You're Traveling to New York Hotel Startup Roomza Makes Things Right with a Huge Times Square Travel Offer After Black Friday and Cyber Monday Flops Post this Smiling, happy, woman standing in Times Square in New York City, New York From now until March 31st, guests who book a stay at Roomza Times Square at Pestana CR7 will receive Amazon.com Gift Cards* valued at $50 per night, up to a maximum of $250, for each night of their stay. This initiative, unprecedented in the hotel industry, is Roomza's way of standing in solidarity with consumers who felt let down by misleading and disappointing Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions. About Roomza Times Square at Pestana CR7 Roomza Times Square at Pestana CR7, located in the heart of New York, is known for its commitment to providing a personalized and flexible accommodation experience. The hotel combines the autonomy and flexibility of short-term-rentals with the ease and comfort of a hotel. This is all powered by 24-hour Host service, available to Roomza's guests. Making Things Right for Consumers in Hotels & Beyond "We believe in the importance of transparency and real value," says Curtis Crimmins, CEO and Founder of Roomza. "Our guests come to us seeking an honest and personal experience, and that's what we're committed to providing. This offer is our way of saying that consumers deserve a real, fair, deal not empty marketing and if you feel underserved by other lodging options, we're here to welcome you." A Unique Opportunity for Travelers This offer presents an exceptional opportunity for travelers planning a visit to New York. Not only will they enjoy the attentive service and personalized accommodations of Roomza Times Square at Pestana CR7, but they will also benefit from the additional value provided through the Amazon.com Gift Cards*, making their stay both enjoyable and rewarding. Booking and Availability Guests can book their stay directly at Roomza.com/offers. The offer is valid for stays completed before March 31st, subject to availability. Terms and conditions apply. *Amazon.com is not a sponsor of this promotion. Except as required by law, Amazon.com Gift Cards ("GCs") cannot be transferred for value or redeemed for cash. GCs may be used only for purchases of eligible goods at Amazon.com or certain of its affiliated websites. For complete terms and conditions, see www.amazon.com/gc-legal. GCs are issued by ACI Gift Cards, Inc., a Washington corporation. All Amazon , & are IP of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. No expiration date or service fees. SOURCE Roomza DUBLIN, Nov. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Fintech Market in India 2023 - 2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The fintech market was valued at INR 3.70 Trn in FY 2023. The market is expected to reach INR 11.36 Trn by FY 2028, expanding at a CAGR of ~24.95% during the FY 2024 - FY 2028 period. Boasting over 9,000 fintech companies, India ranks third globally in terms of the highest number of fintech entities and commands a 14% share of startup funding in the country. Approximately 84% of surveys anticipate a substantial or predominant influence of fintech's in the future, with respondents identifying SME lending, retail lending, fintech SaaS, and wealth management (including advisory and brokerage services) as the sectors poised for the most significant fintech advancements and innovations. Market Insights: Fintech companies have transformed into pivotal players within the financial services sector, capturing substantial market share in key segments like payment gateways, small-ticket personal loans, and buy now, pay later (BNPL) lending. The sector is swiftly expanding its influence in areas like card issuance, asset management, and insurance distribution, currently constituting 3-5 percent of the overall income in financial services. Despite these advancements, industry insiders posit that sustained growth for fintech's hinges on addressing specific challenges. These include the attainment of enduring profitability, the establishment of a business model in compliance with regulations, and the adherence to stringent risk and security standards. COVID-19 impact analysis: Future fintech services will be entrusted with making the financial scenario safer, as well as more efficient, accessible, and affordable. To accomplish this, financial service providers have incorporated cutting-edge, contactless payment methods and made them available to consumers. Among these are dynamic QR codes, contactless biometric authentication, and contactless card payment options. Furthermore, most individuals, especially those in remote regions, are already linked to Aadhaar. In the post-pandemic financial environment, AePS (Aadhar enabled payment system) can play a vital role in enabling the essential paradigm to shift toward a new, critical financial ecosystem. Key Topics Covered: Chapter 1: Executive summary Chapter 2: Socio-economic indicators Chapter 3: Introduction 3.1. Market definition and structure Chapter 4: Evolution of fintech in India 4.1. Evolution of fintech in India Chapter 5: Global fintech market 5.1. Global fintech market - An overview 5.2. Global fintech customer experience 5.3. Global position of India fintech market Chapter 6: India fintech market 6.1. The fintech market - An overview 6.2. Fintech clusters in India 6.3. Fintech hub development opportunities in India Chapter 7: Fintech market in India - Current landscape 7.1. India's fintech landscape: Key players 7.2. India's fintech startup landscape: Subsectors 7.3. Top 10 biggest fintech startup rounds in H1 2023 Chapter 8: Cross border payments 8.1. Cross border payment ecosystem in India 8.2. Fintech Startups Operating in Cross Border Payments Space 8.3. Investors backing Indian cross border payment startups Chapter 9: Applications of fintech in India 9.1. Market segmentation - Digital payments 9.1.1. Digital payments segment 9.1.2. Impact assessment of tech innovations on the digital payments segment 9.1.3. Lending segment 9.1.4. WealthTech segment 9.1.5. InsurTech segment 9.1.6. RegTech segment 9.1.7. Key players in the market Chapter 10: COVID-19 impact analysis 10.1. COVID-19 impact analysis Chapter 11: Market influencers 11.1. Market drivers 11.2. Market challenges Chapter 12: Market trends Chapter 13: Competitive landscape 13.1. ET Money 13.2. Ezetap 13.3. Freecharge Payment Technologies Private Limited 13.4. Mswipe Technologies Private Limited 13.5. One Mobikwik System Private Limited 13.6. One97 Communications Limited 13.7. PhonePe Private Limited 13.8. Pine Labs Private Limited 13.9. PolicyBazaar.com 13.10. PayU Payments Private Limited Chapter 14: Recent developments For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/xa9few About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets Educators will use IXL's personalized learning platform to supplement daily instruction, deliver targeted reading interventions, and close knowledge gaps SAN MATEO, Calif., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- IXL , the personalized learning platform used by 15 million students, has announced an expansion of its partnership with Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) in Florida. In this new phase of collaboration, the district will leverage IXL's award-winning platform to support core math instruction in grades 6-12 and deliver targeted reading interventions to high school students. IXL is used by 30 percent of all K-12 students in Florida, accounting for one million learners. Thousands of IXL's adaptive skills are aligned to Floridas B.E.S.T. Standards, and skill plans prepare students for the Florida Standards Assessment. Orange County Public Schools is the eighth-largest K-12 school system in the country. It is deeply invested in student success and provides 208,000 learners with the education and skills needed for college or a career after graduation. OCPS began using IXL's all-inclusive platform in 2021 to support Algebra 1 and Geometry instruction, and recently expanded its implementation to cover all middle and high school math. Additionally, the district adopted IXL ELA to assist high school students in need of academic interventions and ensure that they are better prepared to pass state assessments. At the beginning of the school year, the district used IXL's adaptive assessment, the Real-Time Diagnostic , to identify knowledge gaps in reading intervention students and create personalized action plans to close them. The diagnostic's action plans link seamlessly to specific ELA skills, offering educators a simple way to differentiate instruction and facilitate meaningful progress. OCPS educators also use the diagnostic to track student growth throughout the school year by setting weekly goals to ensure students progress and master essential reading concepts. Teachers use IXL's comprehensive curriculum to provide personalized support, giving students the agency to choose their own learning pathways while working on skills that will help them grow. Each skill is truly adaptive, adjusting in difficulty with every question based on students' responses to ensure they are perfectly challenged and supported at the right level. "We are excited to deepen our partnership with Orange County Public Schools and provide even more educators with resources that help all students realize their full potential. With IXL's first-of-its-kind assessment suite and comprehensive curriculum, educators can more effectively close learning gaps and offer individualized support to help each student thrive," said Paul Mishkin, CEO of IXL Learning. "We take pride in our role as a partner to the district and look forward to continuing our work with OCPS." How Florida educators use IXL's award-winning platform IXL's impact on academic achievement in Florida is well documented: A 2022 study found that IXL Math significantly improved FSA Mathematics scores for a large Florida school district across a variety of student subgroups. Additional research shows that IXL schools outperform others by as much as 17 percentile points on language arts state assessments. IXL ELA is a valuable asset for schools focused on reading intervention. Florida educators rely on IXL's first-of-its-kind assessment suite to troubleshoot each student's unique reading and writing challenges and put them on the path to success. IXL's adaptive assessment, the Real-Time Diagnostic , pinpoints students' grade-level proficiency in key ELA strands, generates personalized action plans that help close gaps, and assists teachers in making smarter instructional decisions. Additionally, IXL's Diagnostic Snapshot gives school and district administrators all the benefits of a nationally-normed benchmark assessment in a lightweight and flexible format. IXL's state-of-the-art assessment suite pairs seamlessly with its comprehensive K-12 curriculum. Thousands of adaptive skills are aligned to Florida's B.E.S.T. Standards, and skill plans prepare students for the Florida Standards Assessment. Educators also rely on up-to-date reports from IXL Analytics to track student progress, monitor readiness for exams, and differentiate instruction to close achievement gaps. About IXL Currently used by 15 million students and in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts, IXL is an all-inclusive educational platform that provides a comprehensive PK-12 curriculum and instructional resources, actionable analytics and a state-of-the-art assessment suite. IXL's end-to-end teaching and learning solution supports personalized instruction in math, English language arts, science, social studies and Spanish. With more than 130 billion questions asked and answered around the world, IXL is helping schools and parents successfully boost student achievement. The IXL Learning family of products also includes Rosetta Stone , TPT , SpanishDictionary.com , ingles.com , Wyzant , Vocabulary.com , ABCya , Education.com and Emmersion . To learn more about IXL, visit www.ixl.com , facebook.com/IXL and twitter.com/IXLLearning . Press Contact Joslyn Chesson IXL Learning [email protected] SOURCE IXL Learning, Inc. The funding round led by Bright Pixel Capital, joined by 3TS Capital Partners and Pragmatech Ventures, will fuel product development and accelerate market expansion. VIENNA, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- JENTIS, a leader in next-gen data capture technology, today announced that it raised 11 million in a Series A funding round led by Bright Pixel (former Sonae IM) and new co-investor 3TS Capital Partners, with participation by existing investor Pragmatech Ventures. JENTIS empowers businesses to own and control their web data capture independently of third parties. Its breakthrough technology enables radically improved data accuracy for business insights while complying with privacy regulations worldwide JENTIS leadership team The funding round follows a year of high growth for JENTIS as businesses demand first-party data capture and data protection compliance. Its breakthrough server-side tracking technology that shifts website data collection from users' browsers to a secure cloud has found rapid adoption by large European e-commerce retailers, among trusted brands in banking and finance, and at major digital publishers in the US and Central Europe. JENTIS' Data Capture Platform, positioned at the beginning of the data value chain, enhances data accuracy, availability, and compliance in real time. This positively impacts all upstream and downstream tools and platforms, including Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) and analytics platforms. Its broad compatibility enables quick implementation and cost-effective operation without changing existing technology setups. Customers report significant performance improvements, with data uplifts of up to 30%, data correction rates of up to 60%, and significantly faster web page load times. In an era where data control and ownership are becoming increasingly vital, JENTIS empowers businesses to adapt seamlessly to this changing landscape, offering them a competitive edge in data management and strategy. This capability is crucial in the context of Google's anticipated 2024 phase-out of third-party cookies. The company was founded in 2020 by a team of data analytics and web tracking specialists around CEO Thomas Tauchner. The company opened its German office in 2022 and was named the Austrian Scaleup of the Year in Digital Transformation by Ernst & Young in 2023. JENTIS will utilize the new investment to accelerate its geographic growth in key European and US markets and enhance its product development efforts, leading the way to realize universal data capture from all digital data sources including web, mobile, and the Internet of Things on one platform. Thomas Tauchner, Founder and CEO, JENTIS, said: "We see first-party data capture rapidly gaining traction but marketers and advertisers are struggling to realize the full potential for their businesses. We developed our platform to make it easy for businesses to capture the highest web data quality while complying with data protection regulations. With this funding round, we are ready to accelerate our growth and bring our technology to new markets across the globe." Leonor de L'Hermite, Operating Partner, Bright Pixel Capital, said: "We are seeing the demand for accurate data rising across industries while availability has plummeted. JENTIS has developed an elegant and powerful solution to a complex problem and is positioned to be the first to achieve universal data capture at the beginning of the value chain. We are excited to be part of the journey to make it vastly easier for businesses to achieve data-driven growth while respecting their users' privacy." "We are impressed by JENTIS' breakthrough Data Capture Platform, which is defining a new, rapidly growing segment in the web infrastructure market. Clients from multiple verticals have realized significant increases in marketing and revenue results leveraging higher data quality, while taking back control over their customer data and ensuring compliance. We are thrilled to join forces and work alongside the JENTIS team as the Company scales." added Sever Totia, 3TS Partner, who is also joining JENTIS' board of directors. Evgeny Sergeev, Founder and General Partner, Pragmatech, said: "We are excited to continue supporting JENTIS as they grow into a leading vendor in the first-party data capture and privacy compliance space. From their early days, when we first met, the company has grown exponentially, which clearly demonstrates a strong market demand and relevance of innovation made by JENTIS. With this new backing, the team under Thomas's leadership is well-equipped to continue its global reach in key markets." For more information about JENTIS, please visit: https://jentis.com/en About JENTIS JENTIS is an Austrian scale-up specializing in advanced server-side web tracking and data protection technologies. Its Data Capture Platform is an all-in-one tracking solution that provides enhanced data quality and data sovereignty to businesses while enabling compliance with GDPR and other global data protection regulations. JENTIS raised a seed funding round of 3 million in 2022 ahead of a 11 million Series A round in November 2023. SOURCE JENTIS BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. Compensations amounting to more than 65 million manat ($38.2 million) were paid to 1,849 protected depositors of Azerbaijan's Muganbank over the past 24 hours, Azerbaijan Deposit Insurance Fund told Trend. This is about 32 percent of the estimated compensation amount for the bank. Compensation issuance is now successfully continuing. "Once again we remind depositors that the provision of compensation payments will be carried out in accordance with the requirements of the legislation, and there is no reason to worry about it. According to Article 28.5 of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On Deposit Insurance", the compensation payment is made not later than 30 calendar days from the date of acceptance of depositors' applications," the Fund said. Detailed information on the process of compensation payment is available on the website of the Deposit Insurance Fund. Compensation payments are made through International Bank of Azerbaijan (ABB) and Kapital Bank. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Partnership will further expand Julius' clinical trial services capabilities to advance new therapeutics. ZEIST, Netherlands, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Julius Clinical Research ("Julius Clinical" or the "Company"), a leading academic clinical Contract Research Organization ("CRO") providing clinical trial services and real-world evidence studies to biopharma sponsors, proudly announces a majority recapitalization by Ampersand Capital Partners ("Ampersand"). The investment and partnership with Ampersand will enable the Company to expand its scientific and therapeutic expertise as well as build its geographic footprint in Europe and North America to accelerate growth of its CRO services. Ampersand Capital Partners is a middle market private equity firm dedicated to growth-oriented investments in the healthcare sector. (PRNewsfoto/Ampersand Capital Partners) As part of this transaction, Julius Clinical is pleased to announce the appointment of Daniel Spasic as Executive Chairman of the Company's Board of Directors. Mr. Spasic has spent his entire career in the pharmaceutical outsourcing industry and is the founder and former CEO of TFS HealthScience, a leading global, mid-size CRO. Founded in 2008 as a spin-out from the University Medical Center Utrecht ("UMC Utrecht"), Julius Clinical has grown into a specialty clinical CRO that has successfully supported over 130 clinical trials, enrolling more than 200,000 patients in approximately 40 countries. Julius Clinical provides its sponsors access to a unique global network of research sites and key opinion leaders ("KOLs") in carefully selected disease areas such as ALS, Alzheimer's disease, Epilepsy, NASH, and RSV. The investment by Ampersand will support Julius Clinical's strategic vision of growing its geographic footprint while enhancing its therapeutic expertise in CNS, renal, cardiometabolic and infectious diseases. Julius Clinical's CEO, Martijn Wallert commented, "Julius Clinical Research is extremely pleased to have secured the support of Ampersand to help expand our expertise and geographic reach as a global research and scientific partner to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. We've been on a growth journey at Julius Clinical, driven by a combination of world-class scientific expertise and clinical study execution skills." He continued, "Today's announcement follows on 15 years of dedication to the highest standards of expertise, integrity, operational excellence, and customer satisfaction. I am grateful to our founders, partners, employees, sponsors and UMC Utrecht, whose strong support has led to this milestone announcement. We are now entering the next phase in our development, pursuing accelerated growth through our partnership with Ampersand. Their expertise and resources will enable us to enhance our clinical support services and make an even larger contribution to advancing medical science and drug development globally. I look forward to embarking with Daniel and the rest of the Ampersand team on this exciting growth journey. " Daniel Spasic, incoming Chairman of Julius Clinical, commented on the Company's unique position, "Julius Clinical Research has carved out a distinctive role in the clinical CRO landscape. The Company's scientific heritage from UMC Utrecht and established KOL and research networks in CNS, renal, cardiometabolic and infectious diseases make it a highly differentiated CRO able to provide its customers with strong scientific support and clinical trial execution to advance new therapeutics and treatments for the benefit of patients globally. I am excited to work with Martijn and the talented team at Julius Clinical to further strengthen its position and grow the business." Ampersand Vice President Hidde Van Kerckhoven added, "Our investment in Julius Clinical aligns well with Ampersand's strategy of supporting high quality companies with established leadership positions in attractive segments of the pharmaceutical outsourcing market. We believe the Company's scientific expertise, differentiated services offering and dedicated management team are strong foundations for future growth. Ampersand looks forward to supporting the Julius Clinical team in this next phase of the Company's growth journey." About Julius Clinical Research Julius Clinical Research, founded in 2008 and based in Zeist, The Netherlands, is a scientifically focused CRO providing end-to-end clinical trial service to pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers, as well as governments and academia. Julius Clinical's renowned scientific leaders are at the forefront of their fields, which combine with operational excellence and a global network of research sites to deliver tailor-made solution for customers and their clinical trials. With a focus on the therapeutic areas of neurology, renal, cardiometabolic and infectious diseases, Julius Clinical has grown to approximately 200 employees and has supported over 130 clinical trials, enrolling more than 200,000 participants in around 40 countries. Learn more about Julius Clinical Research at www.juliusclinical.com. About Ampersand Capital Partners Ampersand Capital Partners, founded in 1988, is a middle-market private equity firm with $3 billion of assets under management, dedicated to growth-oriented investments in the healthcare sector. With offices in Boston, MA, and Amsterdam, Netherlands, Ampersand leverages a unique blend of private equity and operating experience to build value and drive long-term performance alongside its portfolio company management teams. Ampersand has helped build numerous market-leading companies across each of the firm's core healthcare sectors. For additional information, visit www.ampersandcapital.com or follow us on LinkedIn. SOURCE Julius Clinical Research DUBLIN, Nov. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "KEYTRUDA Drug Insight and Market Forecast - 2032" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This report provides comprehensive insights about KEYTRUDA for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) in the seven major markets. A detailed picture of the KEYTRUDA for MPM in the 7MM, i.e., the United States, EU4 (Germany, France, Italy, and Spain) and the United Kingdom, and Japan for the study period 2019 -2032 is provided in this report along with a detailed description of the KEYTRUDA for MPM. The report provides insights about mechanism of action, dosage and administration, as well as research and development including regulatory milestones, along with other developmental activities. Further, it also consists of future market assessments inclusive of the KEYTRUDA market forecast analysis for MPM in the 7MM, SWOT, analysts' views, comprehensive overview of market competitors, and brief about other emerging therapies in MPM. Drug Summary KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) is an anti-PD-1 immunotherapy and it works with your immune system to help fight certain cancers. KEYTRUDA is a humanized monoclonal antibody that blocks the interaction between PD-1 and its ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2, thereby activating T lymphocytes which may affect both tumor cells and healthy cells. Merck has the industry's largest immuno-oncology clinical research program. There are currently more than 1,200 trials studying KEYTRUDA across a wide variety of cancers and treatment settings (Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp, 2020). This drug has been approved by the US FDA and by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to treat several types of cancer. The immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA) has shown effectiveness in mesothelioma patients through clinical trials and the Merck Access Program. In June 2020, the US Food and Drug Administration approved its use as a second-line treatment for cancer patients with high tumor mutation burden, or TMB-H, including late-stage mesothelioma patients. The FDA concluded that late-stage mesothelioma patients whose disease has progressed following prior treatment and who have no viable alternative options are eligible to receive KEYTRUDA. In-depth KEYTRUDA Market Assessment This report provides a detailed market assessment of KEYTRUDA for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) in the seven major markets, i.e., the United States, EU4 (Germany, France, Italy, and Spain) and the United Kingdom, and Japan. This segment of the report provides forecasted sales data from 2023 to 2032. KEYTRUDA Clinical Assessment The report provides the clinical trials information of KEYTRUDA for MPM covering trial interventions, trial conditions, trial status, start and completion dates. Key Questions Answered What is the product type, route of administration and mechanism of action of KEYTRUDA? What is the clinical trial status of the study related to KEYTRUDA in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) and study completion date? What are the key collaborations, mergers and acquisitions, licensing and other activities related to the KEYTRUDA development? What are the key designations that have been granted to KEYTRUDA for MPM? What is the forecasted market scenario of KEYTRUDA for MPM? What are the forecasted sales of KEYTRUDA in the seven major countries, including the United States , Europe ( Germany , France , Italy , Spain , and the United Kingdom ), and Japan ? , ( , , , , and the ), and ? What are the other emerging products available and how are these giving competition to KEYTRUDA for MPM? Which are the late-stage emerging therapies under development for the treatment of MPM? Key Topics Covered: 1. Report Introduction 2. KEYTRUDA Overview in MPM 2.1. Product Detail 2.2. Clinical Development 2.2.1. Clinical studies 2.2.2. Clinical trials information 2.2.3. Safety and efficacy 2.3. Regulatory Milestone 2.4. Other Developmental Activities 2.5. Product Profile 3. Competitive Landscape (Marketed Therapies) 4. Competitive Landscape (Late-stage Emerging Therapies) 5. KEYTRUDA Market Assessment 5.1. Market Outlook of KEYTRUDA in MPM 5.2. 7MM Analysis 5.2.1. Market Size of KEYTRUDA in the 7MM for MPM 5.3. Country-wise Market Analysis 5.3.1. Market Size of KEYTRUDA in the United States for MPM 5.3.2. Market Size of KEYTRUDA in Germany for MPM 5.3.3. Market Size of KEYTRUDA in France for MPM 5.3.4. Market Size of KEYTRUDA in Italy for MPM 5.3.5. Market Size of KEYTRUDA in Spain for MPM 5.3.6. Market Size of KEYTRUDA in the United Kingdom for MPM 5.3.7. Market Size of KEYTRUDA in Japan for MPM 6. SWOT Analysis 7. Analysts' Views 8. Appendix For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/oadjc7 About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets Pre-Settlement Firm stands ready to assist plaintiffs and their loved ones in cases involving "the system" where it needs to be held accountable in more ways than one. LOS ANGELES, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Legal-Bay LLC, The Lawsuit Settlement Funding Company, an industry leader in lawsuit funding services, legal funding, civil rights cases, and excellent customer service, reaffirms today their ongoing dedication to victims of wrongful imprisonment, wrongful conviction, police brutality, wrongful death, prison injury, prison neglect, prison rape, police beatings, and systemic corruption in all fifty states. For over a decade, Legal-Bay has been assisting plaintiffs with individual yet similar horrific stories of abuse and corruption within "the system," and the lawsuit cash advance firm stands ready to assist you or your loved ones now. Legal-Bay is not only known as "one of the best lawsuit funding companies" or "the best lawsuit funding company" out there, but they have a passion for assisting victims involved in wrongful imprisonment, wrongful incarceration, wrongful conviction, police brutality, and police misconduct cases. Legal-Bay also understands the serious societal effects when innocent people are subject to wrongful imprisonment, horrific prison conditions, prison neglect, prison beatings, or other types of injustice. It is for this reason that Legal-Bay commits its time and resources to helping victims in cases like these with getting their lives back in ordereven when it feels like the rest of society has turned its back on them. Over the years, Legal-Bay has funded countless cases for victims of various types of injustice. In effort to help as many victims as they can, Legal-Bay maintains a team of experienced underwriting attorneys to assist with claim evaluation in an expedited manner. Typically, wrongful imprisonment, wrongful death, police brutality, police injury, women or woman prison rape, prison death, prison neglect, prison accident, and police neglect cases fund within just 48 hours. In addition, they tend to fund at high settlement values in order for the victim or their loved ones to have the needed cash to get on with their lives with dignity. Legal-Bay has approved settlement funding of $1MM for individual wrongful conviction cases in the past. Chris Janish, CEO commented on the company's dedication on civil rights case funding, "Our long history of helping wrongfully convicted prisoners get back on their feet when they are released is second to none in the industry. The reason why is our staff and underwriting team have the most experience and understanding of the corruption that goes on in police forces and in department of corrections throughout prisons nationwide. The long list of innocent project cases and civil lawsuit settlements reaching settlement values in the millions can no longer be swept under the rug. And individuals that need help while they fight their case, can always look to Legal-Bay." Legal-Bay is committed to working with you, your loved ones, and/or your attorney to assist you regardless of the obstacles you've been faced withor if you already have an existing funding with another lawsuit funding company. In most instances, other lawsuit funding companies will not assist plaintiffs who have already had a prior lawsuit cash advance; however, Legal-Bay stands ready and able to assist those plaintiffs as well. So if you think you might have a lawsuit on your hands, please don't hesitate to contact Legal-Bay today for more information, at: 877.571.0405. Legal-Bay is an industry leader in the lawsuit pre-settlement funding industry, providing lawsuit cash advances to plaintiffs while they await payments prior to case settlements. The cash advances are on a non-recourse basis, which means the plaintiff is only required to repay the advance if they win their case. Legal-Bay does not buy the full claim but simply advances a small portion of the expected settlement amount. Any fees or expenses accrued on the cash advance will be repaid by the plaintiff's lawyer if and when the case if officially settled and paid. If you've suffered due to wrongful imprisonment, police brutality, police beating, prison guard beating, CO beating, correctional officer beatings, corrections officer rape, police misconduct, prison injury, prison neglect, prison assault, or prison abuse, and you find yourself in need of funds now, Legal-Bay encourages you to begin their quick and efficient funding process. Agents are standing by 24 hours to assist you with your claim. To apply for the 24-hour approval process on your settlement or pre-settlement funding request, please visit: https://lawsuitssettlementfunding.com/wrongful-imprisonment.php Legal-Bay states other similar cases listed below (as well as others not listed) that Legal-Bay's underwriting team will consider for lawsuit settlement funding: Violation of Civil Rights Claims and False Arrests Illegal Search and Seizure Cases Illegal or Excessive Taser Cases Los Angeles, California , or other State Police Brutality Cases during routine arrests , or other State Police Brutality Cases during routine arrests Prosecutorial Misconduct involving long term wrongful incarceration Prison Medical Malpractice Cases involving serious neglect of injuries Please note that all fifty states are eligible for lawsuit funding and fast approvals. However, some of the states from which Legal-Bay receives a high rate of applications for police brutality, fatal police shootings, wrongful imprisonment, or wrongful incarceration are: New York, Tennessee, Texas, Michigan, Georgia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and California. As a result, Legal-Bay swiftly prioritizes lawsuit funding and cash settlement requests in these areas, ensuring victims get their money immediatelysometimes by tomorrow. Below are just some of the false imprisonment and police brutality cases Legal-Bay has funded recently: Wrongfully imprisoned for murder for 15 Years (2 co-defendants in New York who were sentenced to Attica Upstate New York Prison) who were sentenced to Attica Upstate New York Prison) Police brutality case in Detroit, Michigan where family member suspect was shot and killed where family member suspect was shot and killed Inmates subject to unsafe prison conditions and outside work crews who were seriously injured in Tennessee and Indiana and Women prison rape cases and sexual misconduct by correction officers in Wisconsin and New York and Police brutality case where a New York /New Jersey Port Authority police officer senselessly beat an innocent man in Manhattan /New Jersey Port Authority police officer senselessly beat an innocent man in Bronx and Brooklyn, New York young men who were falsely arrested on gun, knife, and weapon charges who were then detained for years on Rikers Island, New York's city/county jail Many plaintiff and law firms refer to Legal-Bay as "the best lawsuit loan company" or "one of the best lawsuit loan companies out there." However, the cash advances the firm provides are not lawsuit loans, a lawsuit loan, or a loan on lawsuit, as if a client loses their case then there is no recourse. The funding requests are mistakenly perceived as settlement loans, pre-settlement loans, loan for settlement, lawsuit loans, loans for lawsuits, etc, but they are not loans on lawsuits, loans on settlements, or loans on pre-settlements. They are, often necessary, pre-settlement or settlement cash advances that a client only pays back if and when they win their case. To learn more, or if you have a similar experience and need assistance with your lawsuit funding request today or find yourself wondering how you can "get a loan on your lawsuit," please call Legal-Bay's 24-hour hotline at 877.571.0405 or visit their website geared specifically for these kinds of cases, at: https://lawsuitssettlementfunding.com/wrongful-imprisonment.php Legal-Bay LLC (as well as their related companies) is not a law firm and cannot provide legal advice on your case; however, Legal-Bay works with lawyers who can provide you with a free legal consultation at the consumer's direction. SOURCE Legal-Bay, LLC MADISON, Wis. and VANCOUVER, BC and CHICAGO, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Balancing Act from Polco , Envisio , and Euna Solutions today announced survey results showing that less than half of public sector finance professionals rated their current budget practices excellent or good for building trust with their communities. While most respondents gave excellent or good ratings to current budgeting practices, they gave lower ratings for building trust with stakeholders, incorporating resident priorities and involving residents in decision-making. Conducted by Polco in partnership with the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), and with the close collaboration of Envisio and Euna Solutions, the survey investigated how local government finance leaders feel about current budgeting practices and their readiness to embrace modernized approaches. The multi-wave online and mailed survey sampled GFOA members, resulting in 285 completions. A high proportion of respondents represented GFOA Distinguished Budget Award Winners, causing results to reflect more innovative practices. The survey investigated how local government finance leaders feel about current budgeting practices. Post this "We are in a critical time with building trust and transparency," said Michelle Kobayashi, Principal Research Strategist, Polco. "The more local governments can evolve these best practices in budgeting, the better equipped they'll be to build a bridge with residents, given that trust is low and they want us to do something different." In May 2023, the companies released "A Roadmap to Real Collaboration in Government Budgeting," describing how software built purposely for local governments (municipalities, counties, school districts) can support GFOA's Rethinking Budgeting initiative. The collaboration has since been working on a readiness assessment, which will be released by the GFOA in the first quarter of 2024. "The Rethinking Budgeting initiative is responsive to this pervasive feeling in the public that our institutions need updating," said Shayne Kavanagh, Senior Manager of Research, GFOA. "Our work with government technology companies is about bringing together a lot of divergent ideas into a coherent package that can be used by local governments to advance the way they do budgeting." For the survey summary, visit RBLearning.net . About Balancing Act from Polco, Envisio and Euna Solutions Balancing Act from Polco gets residents involved in local government decision-making. Envisio provides the most widely used strategic planning and performance management solution in local government. Euna Solutions delivers cloud solutions that power public sector administration functions and financial operations. Media Contact: Stacey Hartmann stacey@keetonpr.com SOURCE Polco BOCA RATON, Fla., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Reformed former Trump insider Lev Parnas is set to release his biographical memoir, Shadow Diplomacy: Lev Parnas and his Wild Ride from the Streets of Brooklyn to Trump's Inner Circle, offering readers an unprecedented insider's perspective into the murky world of international politics under the 45th president's covert direction. Pre-sales for the highly anticipated book commenced on Black Friday, November 24, 2023. Lev Parnas Unveils Explosive Memoir, SHADOW DIPLOMACY, in Highly Anticipated Black Friday Book Launch Shadow Diplomacy delves into Parnas's firsthand experiences, shedding light on the secret maneuvers and clandestine negotiations that shaped the global geopolitical landscape during his years of international travel to Ukraine, Turkey, Spain, Israel, Austria, and France, the UK, and Poland. As a key figure with unique access to corridors of power who acted as a shadow presidential envoy, Parnas provides readers with a compelling narrative. The book's timeline spans his involvement in critical diplomatic efforts, spanning from his conversation with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro alongside the president's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, to his solo discussions with two Ukrainian presidents and his former political allegiance with an obscure Florida congressman who later became the state's controversial governor because of their friendship. With an unlikely path into politics that led him to intersect with pivotal historical moments, Parnas offers an unfiltered account of the shadowy undercurrents that influence international relations. The memoir reveals untold stories, shedding light on the intricate dance between political figures, governments, and behind-the-scenes operators, including the story behind the facts that led to ex-President Donald Trump's first impeachment trial. Shadow Diplomacy will impact political news because the House Republican caucus continues an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Bidenover his son, Hunter Bidenover events depicted in the book that prove his innocence. In a statement, Lev Parnas remarked, "I'm thrilled to share my experiences with readers in Shadow Diplomacy. Never did I expect to land in the middle of our country's international affairs alongside America's mayor and a wealthy, powerful New York real estate developer who became President of the United States. Readers need to learn how Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani conducted underhanded dealings, then turned around and betrayed the very people they sent to do their dirty work." Pre-sales for Shadow Diplomacy began on Black Friday, November 24, 2023, allowing readers to secure copies before the official release date. The book will be available through major retailers, online platforms, and independent bookstores. For media inquiries, review copies or interview requests, please contact: Jerry Langton, Co-Author [email protected] 212-470-8330 About Lev Parnas: Lev Parnas is a political actor and podcaster with a wealth of experience in American politics and international affairs. Known for his keen memory, a trove of relationships, and receipts, Parnas has become a trusted voice on matters of global significance. Shadow Diplomacy marks his latest contribution to the discourse on international relations. Bronxkill Publishing www.LevRemembers.com Twitter/X: @levparnas @levremembers SOURCE Lev Parnas VERO BEACH, Fla., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pelican Landing Assisted Living and Memory Care sits along the beautiful Treasure Coast of Sebastian, Florida and the senior living residents are seizing every opportunity to celebrate the abundant opportunities provided in their beautiful community. The Pelican Landing team ensures that each day provides residents opportunities for engagement, socialization, learning and interaction through a variety of unique activities both within their senior living community and along the Treasure Coast. Residents enjoy invigorating activities and events both in and out of their community at Pelican Landing Assisted Living and Memory Care in Sebastian, Florida. Pelican Landing is an award-winning senior living community operated by Watercrest Senior Living. Just this fall, the community has been bustling with non-stop events including Oktoberfest, the Wholeness Expo, Harvest Festival, Veterans Day Ceremonies, Artful Expressions classes, and the incredibly popular Disney-themed Halloween Bash. Residents also have frequent outings outside of their community visiting the Sebastian Annual Clambake, the Alzheimer's Walk to Remember, the Navy SEAL Museum or the Victory Casino Cruise. Pelican Landing even hosted a beautiful wedding at their community. These experiences offer joy, purpose, and personal connection and is an essential element of multi-sensory programming at Pelican Landing. Pelican Landing is an award-winning senior living community operated by Watercrest Senior Living and prestigiously recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a 2022-23 Best Assisted Living Community and Best Memory Care Community. Watercrest Senior Living takes a unique approach to healthy aging focusing on individuals achieving personal wholeness through participation in programs aligned with the seven facets of wholeness. These facets provide the framework for their Live Exhilarated program which focuses on celebrating the residents' story, encouraging their pursuit of new passions, optimizing their experience, and offering variety and choice to all residents. Pelican Landing is ideally located at 13085 US Highway 1 in Sebastian, Florida, and offers 63 assisted living and 26 memory care apartments with attractive accommodations and outstanding care. For information, call 772-758-7354 or visit www.thepelicanlanding.com. About Watercrest Senior Living Group Watercrest Senior Living Group was founded to honor our mothers and fathers, aspiring to become a beacon for quality in senior living by surpassing standards of care, service and associate training. Watercrest senior living communities are recognized for their luxury aesthetic, exceptional amenities, world-class care, and innovative memory care programming offering unparalleled service to seniors living with Alzheimer's and dementia. A six-time certified Great Place to Work, Watercrest specializes in the development and operations of assisted living and memory care communities and the growth of servant leaders. For information, visit www.watercrestseniorliving.com. SOURCE Watercrest Senior Living Group ROATAN, Honduras, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Margaritaville and Karisma Hotels & Resorts are excited to announce plans to debut the newest all-inclusive resort under the Island Reserve Inclusive Collection: Margaritaville Island Reserve Resort Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras. This destination will complement Karisma and Margaritaville's footprint in Mexico, Belize, and the Dominican Republic, joining Margaritaville Island Reserve Resort Cap Cana, Margaritaville Island Reserve Resort Riviera Cancun, Margaritaville Island Reserve Resort Riviera Maya, and Margaritaville Beach Resort Ambergris Caye, Belize. Margaritaville Island Reserve Resort Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras Margaritaville Island Reserve Resort Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras "We are thrilled to join forces once again with our esteemed partners at Margaritaville," said Mario Mathieu, Senior Vice President of Business Development, Design and Construction at Karisma Hotels & Resorts. "Together, we are dedicated to creating an unforgettable and authentically local Margaritaville experience in Honduras that truly captures the essence of Roatan." The Margaritaville Island Reserve Inclusive Collection by Karisma debuted as Margaritaville's first collection of all-inclusive luxury properties. These 5-star resorts combine Karisma Hotels & Resorts' renowned service and incredible food and beverage with Margaritaville's authentic sense of fun and escapism, signature food and beverage concepts, and iconic design elements. "We are excited to bring the Margaritaville brand to the island of Roatan in Honduras. It's an incredible destination with rich culture and history, offering guests the perfect island getaway," said Shamim Lodin, Executive Director of Development at Margaritaville. "This location is an excellent fit for Margaritaville and will be an iconic property for guests, promising laid-back luxury and authentic Bay Islands charm." Margaritaville and Karisma Hotels & Resorts will partner with development group Island Shipping, S. de R.L. to bring this all-inclusive resort to life. The new build, slated for completion in 2025, will include 164 rooms, live outdoor music venues, a world-class spa, and branded dining concepts, including LandShark Brewery, JWB Steakhouse, The Beach House, and 5 o'Clock Somewhere Bar. "We are thrilled to bring such an enticing lifestyle brand to the island; our master planned coastal development could not be a more perfect setting for Margaritaville," said Jerry Hynds, CEO of Island Shipping. "Roatan is experiencing significant growth, and we are proud and excited to be part of the journey to change the hospitality landscape on the island." Nestled in the crystalline waters of the Caribbean, Roatan, a gem among Honduras' Bay Islands, is rapidly gaining recognition as an enchanting and relatively undiscovered destination. Renowned for its vibrant coral reefs, Roatan's underwater wonders attract divers and snorkelers seeking a pristine marine paradise. The island's lush landscapes and untapped beaches further enhance its appeal, providing a serene backdrop for those seeking relaxation. With a tropical climate and a growing reputation for diverse flora and fauna, Roatan invites travelers to embark on an off-the-beaten-path adventure, promising a perfect blend of excitement and tranquility in this emerging Caribbean paradise. While maintaining its authentic charm, Roatan has experienced measured growth in tourism infrastructure and garnered recognition as a "Best of the Best" destination by the 2023 TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice Awards. For more information, visit online here . View images here . About Margaritaville Margaritaville, a state of mind since 1977, is a global lifestyle brand inspired by Jimmy Buffett, whose songs evoke a passion for tropical escape and relaxation. Margaritaville features over 40 lodging locations and over 20 additional projects in the pipeline positioned across a variety of full-service and boutique hotel and resort brands, branded real estate, premium RV destinations, and gaming properties, all complemented by an extensive suite of food and beverage concepts, including Margaritaville Restaurant, award-winning JWB Prime Steak and Seafood, 5 o'Clock Somewhere Bar & Grill, and LandShark Bar & Grill. Hotel brands include Margaritaville Hotels & Resorts, Compass by Margaritaville, Margaritaville Beach House, Margaritaville St. Somewhere, and the all-inclusive product, Margaritaville Island Reserve. Further elevating experiences, Margaritaville's branded real estate includes Latitude Margaritaville, "55 and better" active adult brand; Margaritaville Cottages, Villas and Residences; One Particular Harbour Margaritaville; and Margaritaville Vacation Club by Wyndham. The newest brand additions to Margaritaville's properties include the rapidly-growing Camp Margaritaville RV Resorts and Margaritaville at Sea, which debuted in 2022 with its first ship, Margaritaville at Sea Paradise. Additionally, consumers can escape every day through a collection of lifestyle products, including apparel, footwear, frozen concoction makers, home decor, a SiriusXM radio station, and more. More than 20 million travelers and consumers every year change their latitude and attitude with Margaritaville. For more information, visit www.margaritaville.com and follow Margaritaville on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram . About Karisma Hotels & Resorts Karisma Hotels & Resorts is an award-winning luxury hotel collection that owns and manages an impressive portfolio of properties in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe. Property brands include Margaritaville Island Reserve by Karisma; Azul Beach Resorts by Karisma; and Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts. Properties have been honored with the industry's top accolades, including Conde Nast Traveler's "Top 30 Hotels in Cancun," World Waterpark Association "Leading Edge Award," Travel Weekly "Magellan Awards," and AAA's "Five Diamond Award" and "Four Diamond Award." Karisma Hotels & Resorts is committed to employee and community support while delivering authentic experiences to guests, receiving worldwide recognition for its compassionate and creative approach to hospitality management and product innovations. About Island Shipping S. de R.L Island Shipping S. de R.L is a pioneering cargo company that has been navigating the seas for over three decades. Founded with a vision deeply rooted in the heart of Roatan, Honduras, the company has evolved into a symbol of economic growth and community development. Committed to showcasing the natural beauty of Roatan, Island Shipping S. de R.L has expanded its horizons to include the establishment of a world-class resort, becoming a beacon for prosperity while generating jobs and opportunities that directly benefit the island's residents. Media Contact: Malaika Hollis, Alliance Connection malaika@allianceconnection.com SOURCE Karisma Hotels & Resorts In a first-of-its-kind digital and out-of-home campaign for the company, Mars revives iconic advertisements from beloved brands to engage and inspire the public around climate action. The Mars campaign is aimed at raising consumer awareness by 'reusing' old, iconic adverts and showcasing creative ways to leave a lighter environmental footprint in advertising, following the recent publication of the Mars Net Zero Roadmap. The focus on engaging a wider consumer audience comes after a recent Ipsos/Mars survey involving over 14,000 people across the world's seven largest economies found, on average, 69% of adults want businesses to focus on tackling climate change as much as, or even more than, economic issues. Andrew Clarke , Member of the Global Mars, Incorporated Leadership Team and President of Mars Wrigley , welcomed the campaign as a fun way to harness the power of iconic brands and marketing to inspire and drive consumer awareness. MCLEAN, Va., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Mars, Incorporated launches a first-of-its-kind digital and out-of-home campaign that 'reuses' fan-favorite advertisements giving them a second life with new messages of hope and progress around climate. The campaign, titled "Healthy Planet Productions", follows the recent publication of Mars Net Zero Roadmap to accelerate action towards achieving Net Zero emissions by 2050, including a new Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi) approved target to cut carbon emissions in half by 2030 across its full value chain. Advertisements in the Mars 'reused' advertisement campaign will run in the U.S., U.K. and Mexico across Meta platforms and YouTube and will include out-of-home activations in select markets. In the U.S., the campaign will highlight advertisements for M&Ms, TWIX and Ben's Original. The U.K. will feature Bounty, M&Ms and TWIX. Mexico will include M&Ms. Andrew Clarke, Global President of Mars Wrigley, said consumers want to connect with brands on critical issues: "They share our urgency in tackling climate change, but it's not always clear what companies are doing to deliver real change. That is why we decided to use our iconic brands in the adverts consumers know and love and deliver a message of hope and optimism on climate change. We are taking action now to reduce carbon emissions - from working with farmers to protect forests to sourcing renewable electricity. We want consumers to know we're working on having tangible impact now." Barry Parkin, Chief Procurement and Sustainability Officer said, "When we launched our Net Zero Roadmap back in September, we talked about delivering real impact and the need to inspire and involve everyone in the challenge. With this campaign, Mars is taking the work we are doing across our value chain to reduce carbon emissions and making it easy for consumers to engage and feel good about the products and brands they know and love." The Mars 'reused' advertisements campaign reduced production emissions by cutting emissions and removing the need for travel, filming and set production by repurposing content; and it minimized remaining emissions by prioritizing carbon avoidance as a key consideration in decision-making and creative development, including forgoing emission-intensive animation techniques for more sustainable methods. Mars also partnered with organizations and businesses committed to sustainability and that hold industry designations, such as Certified Green Energy Offices and Studios. Find more information on the Mars Net Zero Roadmap at www.mars.com/sustainability-plan/healthy-planet/net-zero-2050. For media, please find a media kit of assets for download here: https://www.mars.com/healthy-planet-productions/mars-net-zero-roadmap-2050-multimedia-assets NOTES TO EDITORS For more information and full results from Ipsos, visit: https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/perceptions-businesses-focus-economic-challenges-vs-climate-change ABOUT MARS, INCORPORATED Mars, Incorporated is driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. As a global, family-owned business, Mars is transforming, innovating, and evolving to make a positive impact on the world. Across our diverse and expanding portfolio of quality snacking, food, and pet care products and services, we employ 140,000+ dedicated Associates. With more than $47 billion in annual sales, we produce some of the world's best-loved brands including Ben's Original, CESAR, Cocoavia, DOVE, EXTRA, KIND, M&M's, SNICKERS, PEDIGREE, ROYAL CANIN, and WHISKAS. We are creating A Better World for Pets through our global network of pet hospitals and diagnostic services including AniCura, BANFIELD, BLUEPEARL, Linnaeus and VCA using cutting edge technology to develop breakthrough programs in genetic health screening and DNA testing. For more information about Mars, please visit www.mars.com. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube. Press contact: Liza Pluto [email protected] Dan Strechay [email protected] Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2283968/Mars_is_reusing_ads_to_talk_about_climate_change.jpg Funding expansion provides unprecedented investment for memorializing a more accurate American story in our public spaces NEW YORK, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Mellon Foundation today announced it has doubled the funding commitment to a total of $500 million for its Monuments Project, which is aimed at transforming the nation's commemorative landscape to ensure our collective histories are more completely and accurately represented. This unprecedented investment underscores Mellon's commitment to leverage the power of the arts, culture and humanities to create more just communities. Mellon's expanded investment comes at a critical time in our nation's history with book banning and criminalization of knowledge increasing in schools, universities, and libraries across the country. By committing $500 million the largest such commitment in the Foundation's history Mellon aims to expand capacity for the continued creation of and community engagement around new monuments and commemorative spaces that tell of our shared past and collective futures. "The project of transforming our commemorative landscape is the work of more than one generation," Elizabeth Alexander Post this "The project of transforming our commemorative landscape is the work of more than one generation," said Elizabeth Alexander, president of the Mellon Foundation. "Our $500 million commitment to the Monuments Project reflects both the urgency and the gravity of fostering more complete and inclusive storytelling of who we are as Americans. We stand at the beginning of this significant collective effort to make sure that our public spaces convey the truth about our history and shift who has the power to shape our present and our future." Launched in 2020 with a $250 million commitment, the initiative has since provided more than $170 million in critical funding to an expansive slate of 80 projects . Projects span the memorialization of lesser-known events, the preservation of archival materials and historical sites, a reexamination of the very ways in which we talk about civic spaces and geographies, and foster more representative participation in the creation of our nation's commemorative sites and practices. The National Monument Audita 2021 study undertaken with Mellon support by non-profit public art and history studio Monument Labconfirms the nation's commemorative landscape disproportionately venerates a limited few, mostly white and male, while overlooking many who have profoundly shaped our society but are frequently denied historical recognition. In just three years, the Monuments Project has supported projects that showcase the evolving nature of monuments within our cultural imagination, as well as the continued urgency of their respective work as a means of ensuring a more just and equitable future. Highlights of major projects and milestones since 2020 include: Bureau of Indian Affairs ( Washington, DC ) - Bureau of Indian Affairs, which is part of the US Department of the Interior, will receive Mellon funding to establish an oral history project as part of the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative. This first-of-its-kind undertaking for the US government will encompass the collection of oral history from Indigenous survivors of the Federal Indian boarding school system, as well as establishing a permanent collection for related artifacts, collected oral histories, and other work to memorialize the era of Federal Indian boarding schoolsand the Federal government's role in establishing the systemin American history. - Bureau of Indian Affairs, which is part of the US Department of the Interior, will receive Mellon funding to establish an oral history project as part of the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative. This first-of-its-kind undertaking for the US government will encompass the collection of oral history from Indigenous survivors of the Federal Indian boarding school system, as well as establishing a permanent collection for related artifacts, collected oral histories, and other work to memorialize the era of Federal Indian boarding schoolsand the Federal government's role in establishing the systemin American history. Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument ( Tallahatchie, MS and Chicago, IL ) - Mellon has provided substantial support to a network of organizations working to interpret and commemorate Emmett Till's life and legacy. These include the Emmett Till Interpretive Center (ETIC) in Tallahatchie, Mississippi ; the National Trust for Historic Preservation African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, and the National Park Foundation; the National Park Foundation, who partnered with ETIC and other organizations to facilitate the creation of a new, multi-site National Park Service site in Tallahatchie County, MS and Chicago, IL ; and the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Institute, which is leading efforts to preserve and interpret Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Chicago , where Till's open-casket funeral was held. - Mellon has provided substantial support to a network of organizations working to interpret and commemorate Emmett Till's life and legacy. These include the Emmett Till Interpretive Center (ETIC) in ; the National Trust for Historic Preservation African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, and the National Park Foundation; the National Park Foundation, who partnered with ETIC and other organizations to facilitate the creation of a new, multi-site National Park Service site in and ; and the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Institute, which is leading efforts to preserve and interpret Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in , where Till's open-casket funeral was held. The Great Wall of Los Angeles ( Los Angeles, CA ) - The Social and Public Art Resource Center received Mellon funding to support the preservation, activation, and expansion of artist Judy Baca's Great Wall of Los Angeles , one of the country's largest monuments to interracial harmony through civic engagement and muralist training. - The Social and Public Art Resource Center received Mellon funding to support the preservation, activation, and expansion of artist Great Wall of , one of the country's largest monuments to interracial harmony through civic engagement and muralist training. Harriet Tubman and Underground Railroad Monument ( Newark, NJ ) - Newark Arts Council received Mellon funding to commission and construct a new monument to honor the legacy of Harriet Tubman , the city's role in the Underground Railroad, and Newark's legacy of Black activism. - Newark Arts Council received Mellon funding to commission and construct a new monument to honor the legacy of , the city's role in the Underground Railroad, and legacy of Black activism. Irei Names ( Los Angeles, CA ) The University of Southern California received Mellon funding to support the creation of the Irei Names Monument. The Monument comprises a sacred book of namesa comprehensive, accurate list of the names of all those of Japanese ancestry whom the US government incarcerated during World War IIthat will be housed at institutions across the country, an interactive website, and innovative light installation memorials that will be displayed at former incarceration sites around the country. The received Mellon funding to support the creation of the Irei Names Monument. The Monument comprises a sacred book of namesa comprehensive, accurate list of the names of all those of Japanese ancestry whom the US government incarcerated during World War IIthat will be housed at institutions across the country, an interactive website, and innovative light installation memorials that will be displayed at former incarceration sites around the country. Kinfolk Foundation ( New York, NY ) - Kinfolk received Mellon funding to support the development of the Kinfolk Augmented Reality Monuments app and archive, including the commissioning of artists, from across the US, to create 100 AR monuments. - Kinfolk received Mellon funding to support the development of the Kinfolk Augmented Reality Monuments app and archive, including the commissioning of artists, from across the US, to create 100 AR monuments. Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), "Monumental Perspectives" ( Los Angeles, CA ) - LACMA received Mellon funding to support the curation, community engagement, and related public programming for LACMA's collaboration with Snap Inc. to develop augmented-reality monuments and murals led by local artists and technologists. The program is an effort to celebrate the region's diversity and use AR technology to reflect the inclusive perspectives from local communities that are often untold. The virtual monuments were available through the Snapchat app, and the grant also supports the expansion of Monumental Perspectives to include additional artists in the coming years. - LACMA received Mellon funding to support the curation, community engagement, and related public programming for LACMA's collaboration with Snap Inc. to develop augmented-reality monuments and murals led by local artists and technologists. The program is an effort to celebrate the region's diversity and use AR technology to reflect the inclusive perspectives from local communities that are often untold. The virtual monuments were available through the Snapchat app, and the grant also supports the expansion of Monumental Perspectives to include additional artists in the coming years. A Monument to Listening ( Memphis, TN ) - The Memphis River Parks Partnership received Mellon funding to support the redesign of Tom Lee Park, including the installation of A Monument to Listening, an interactive installation that serves as a reflection on the heroism of Tom Lee a Black river worker who saved 32 people from the river after a steamboat capsized, designed by artist Theaster Gates . - The Memphis River Parks Partnership received Mellon funding to support the redesign of Tom Lee Park, including the installation of A Monument to Listening, an interactive installation that serves as a reflection on the heroism of Tom Lee a Black river worker who saved 32 people from the river after a steamboat capsized, designed by artist . Public Memory in Richmond ( Richmond, VA ) - Several Richmond-based organizations and projects received Mellon funding to support their work examining, preserving and reimagining the city's rich historical narratives. Grantees include: The City of Richmond , which is leading planning, development, and initial operations of a cultural space located at the historic Shockoe Bottom train shed that memorializes and commemorates the history of slavery in Richmond . The JXN Project , a non-profit preservation organization pursuing redemptive storytelling around the pivotal role of Richmond particularly Jackson Ward , the nation's first historically registered Black urban neighborhood in the evolution of the national Black American experience. The Valentine Museum , which is developing research and educational experiences that tell a more honest history of both the Richmond region and the museum itself. This includes reimagining the studio of the museum's namesake, Edward Valentine , a sculptor whose work propped up the "Lost Cause" myth; reinterpreting the Wickham House, a former site of enslavement; and providing a deeper understanding of the Jim Crow era through public programming and online resources. Reclaiming the Monument to support its "Recontextualizing Richmond" public art project a series of temporary light-based artworks addressing issues of historical, racial, and social justice in the city of Richmond, Virginia and the surrounding capital region. - Several Richmond-based organizations and projects received Mellon funding to support their work examining, preserving and reimagining the city's rich historical narratives. Grantees include: The Sacred Red Rock (I'zhuje'waxobe) ( Lawrence, KS ) - The University of Kansas received Mellon funding to support the I'zhuje'waxobe project, covering the significant cost to safely relocate the Sacred Red Rock, a 25-ton stone of deep spiritual and cultural significance to the Kanza people of the Kaw Nation, and to prepare the site to receive it, as well as support programming celebrating its return. - The received Mellon funding to support the I'zhuje'waxobe project, covering the significant cost to safely relocate the Sacred Red Rock, a 25-ton stone of deep spiritual and cultural significance to the Kanza people of the Kaw Nation, and to prepare the site to receive it, as well as support programming celebrating its return. The Totem Pole Trail (Kooteeyaa Deiyi) ( Juneau, AK ) - The Sealaska Heritage Institute received Mellon funding to support commissioning Native artists in several Southeast Alaska communities to create ten totem poles for installation along the two-mile public waterfront of downtown Juneau, Alaska . The totem poles convey the history of tribes and individual clans and their relationship to the land, seas, and universe. - The Sealaska Heritage Institute received Mellon funding to support commissioning Native artists in several communities to create ten totem poles for installation along the two-mile public waterfront of downtown . The totem poles convey the history of tribes and individual clans and their relationship to the land, seas, and universe. The Trust for the National Mall ( Washington, DC ) - The Trust for the National Mall (TNM), nonprofit partner of the National Park Service (NPS), received Mellon funding to support the 2023 exhibition Beyond Granite , a set of six dynamic installations on the National Mall. The temporary exhibition, curated by Monument Lab and executed in partnership with the National Capital Planning Commission as well as TNM and NPS explored expressions of a more inclusive, equitable, and representative commemorative landscape in the nation's public square. Participating artists included Ashon Crawley , Derrick Adams , Paul Ramirez Jonas, Tiffany Chung , vanessa german, and Wendy Red Star . - The Trust for the National Mall (TNM), nonprofit partner of the National Park Service (NPS), received Mellon funding to support the 2023 exhibition , a set of six dynamic installations on the National Mall. The temporary exhibition, curated by Monument Lab and executed in partnership with the National Capital Planning Commission as well as TNM and NPS explored expressions of a more inclusive, equitable, and representative commemorative landscape in the nation's public square. Participating artists included , , Paul Ramirez Jonas, , vanessa german, and . Washington National Cathedral's The Now and Forever Windows ( Washington DC ) - The Washington National Cathedral received Mellon funding to support the commissioning of The Now and Forever Windows, transformative racial justice-themed stained-glass windows, created by artist Kerry James Marshall , replacing windows depicting confederate leaders, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. To learn more about Mellon's Monuments Project, please visit mellon.org/article/the-monuments-project-initiative. About The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is the nation's largest supporter of the arts and humanities. Since 1969, the Foundation has been guided by its core belief that the humanities and arts are essential to human understanding. The Foundation believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom that can be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. Learn more at mellon.org . SOURCE The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation NEW YORK, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A latest research report [110+] pages with 360-Degree visibility, titled "Metabolism Assays Market Share, Size, Trends, Industry Analysis Report, By Product (Assay Kits and Reagents, Instruments and Analyzers); By Application; By End User; By Region; Segment Forecast, 2023- 2032" published by Polaris Market Research in its research repository. Metabolism Assays Market, Metabolism Assays Industry, Metabolism Assays Market Size, Metabolism Assays Market Share, Metabolism Assays Market 2023, Metabolism Assays Market 2032 According to [115+ Pages] research report, the global metabolism assays market size and share is predicted to grow from USD 1,464.72 million in 2022 to USD 2,803.50 million in 2032. It is anticipated to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.5% from 2023 to 2032, according to the latest report by Polaris Market Research. What are Metabolism Assays? How big is Metabolism Assays Market Size? Overview Metabolism is a sophisticated process that lies at the core of biology. It incorporates a set of biochemical reactions, having the function of converting substrate molecules through a series of metabolic intermediates. The biochemical reactions in cellular metabolism allow organisms to grow and reproduce. Also, they play a crucial role in maintaining the structure of organisms and responding to environmental changes. As a result, changes to metabolism can have profound effects. The state of cell differentiation and characterization of immune response can be done by studying cell changes. Besides, examining changes in cells can help define the most optimal way to treat a disease. Metabolic assays, which are primarily used to identify metabolic stability in cell structures, are an easy way to get a holistic overview of cell metabolism. They help understand the specific cell or disease model or how the target or compound affects metabolic pathways, impacting the metabolism assays market size favorably. Request Sample Copy of Metabolism Assays Market Research Report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/metabolism-assays-market/request-for-sample (The sample of this report is readily available on request. The report sample contains a brief introduction to the research report, Table of Contents, Graphical introduction of regional analysis, Top players in the market with their revenue analysis and our research methodology.) Who Produces Metabolic Assays? Abcam plc Agilent Technologies, Inc. Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. Bio-Techne Corporation BioLegend, Inc. BioVision, Inc. Cayman Chemical Company Cell Biolabs, Inc. Enzo Biochem, Inc. G-Biosciences Merck KGaA (MilliporeSigma) PerkinElmer, Inc. Promega Corporation Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. Directly Purchase a copy of report with TOC @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/buy/2984/2 Important Highlights from the Report The market for metabolism assays benefits from continuous technological advancements that improve the sensitivity, accuracy, and speed of assay methodologies and equipment. The evolution of precision medicine and higher demand from pharmaceutical companies are anticipated to spur the market demand. The metabolism assays market segmentation is primarily based on product, application, end-user, and region. Asia Pacific is anticipated to experience significant growth over the forecast period. Metabolism Assays Market Details Report Attributes Details Market value in 2023 USD 1,464.72 million Market value in 2032 USD 2,803.50 million CAGR 7.5% from 2023 2032 Base year 2022 Historical data 2019 2021 Forecast Period 2023 2032 Market's Prime Determinants of Growth, Trends, and Opportunities Growth Drivers Rise in chronic conditions: The rising prevalence of chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome demands metabolic assessments for diagnosis and continuous monitoring. This, in turn, drives the metabolism assays market growth. Evolution of precision medicine: Precision medicine's evolution relies on metabolic profiling to offer highly individualized approaches to treatment. Metabolomics and genomic medicine use metabolic data to provide medicines and treatments that match the patient's unique profile. Robust demand from the pharmaceutical industry: There is a high demand for metabolic assays in the pharmaceutical industry. They are an important element in the drug development process, helping researchers assess the toxicity and efficacy of drugs. Inquire more about this report before purchase @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/metabolism-assays-market/inquire-before-buying (Inquire a report quote OR available discount offers to the sales team before purchase.) Trends and Opportunities Introduction of advanced analytics: Advanced analytic solutions can take metabolic profiles and derive valuable data and insights from them. As the capabilities of data analytics solutions continue to grow, the requirement for skilled professionals who can interpret and derive insights from metabolic data is on the rise. Segmental Analysis Assay Kits and Reagents Segment Held a Significant Market Share By product, the assay kits and reagents segment account for a significant portion of the metabolism assays market share. These kits and reagents, which contain specialized enzymes and reagents, are important tools in clinical settings and laboratories for assessing metabolic processes. They aid in the measurement of cellular metabolism and enzyme activity. Also, they have applications in drug screening, toxicology assessments, and monitoring metabolic disorders. Furthermore, they play a crucial role in biomarker discovery and help advance the field of personalized medicine. Diagnostics Emerged as the Largest Segment in 2022 Metabolism assays play a major role in diagnostics. These assays help in the early detection of diseases and facilitate the monitoring of treatment efficacy. They aid in the identification of metabolic conditions such as diabetes and genetic disorders. Also, metabolism assays developed by metabolism assays market key players assess health risks and provide valuable insights by monitoring parameters such as cholesterol and glucose levels. Furthermore, they keep a check on the progression of diseases and guide treatment adjustments if needed. Overall, metabolism assays are vital for the diagnostic landscape. Request Customized Copy of Report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/metabolism-assays-market/request-for-customization (We customize your report according to your research need. Ask our sales team for report customization.) Regional Insights Which Region Leads the Metabolism Assays Sector? North America: North America has a large number of biotechnology and pharmaceutical firms actively involved in the discovery and development of drugs. They play a major role in the drug screening and development process, making them indispensable for these firms. Government organizations, especially the National Institute of Health (NIH), provide significant funding for metabolic research projects. The financial aid provided by government entities significantly boosts the demand for metabolism assays and drives the industry's demand. Asia Pacific: The metabolism assays market in Asia Pacific region is anticipated to experience significant growth. APAC has several esteemed research universities and institutions that emphasize metabolic research. This shifting focus toward metabolic research has increased interest in cutting-edge studies, thereby driving the demand for metabolism assays. Concurrently, the healthcare sector in the Asia Pacific is evolving, with a rising emphasis on personalized medicine and diagnostics. In this changing healthcare landscape, metabolism assays assume a critical role by offering insights into individual health conditions. Browse the Detail Report "Metabolism Assays Market Share, Size, Trends, Industry Analysis Report, By Product (Assay Kits and Reagents, Instruments and Analyzers); By Application; By End User; By Region; Segment Forecast, 2023- 2032" with in-depth TOC: https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/metabolism-assays-market For Additional Information OR Media Enquiry, Please Mail Us: [email protected] Key Questions Answered in the Report How big is the market for metabolism assays? What are the key factors that are driving the metabolism assays market demand? At what CAGR is the industry anticipated to grow? What are the key trends and opportunities? Who are the prominent players in the industry? Which segments accounted for the largest share of the metabolism assays market? Polaris Market Research has segmented the Metabolism Assays market report based on product, application, end user, and region: Metabolism Assays, Product Outlook (Revenue - USD Million, 2019 - 2032) Assay Kits and Reagents Instruments and Analyzers Metabolism Assays, Application Outlook (Revenue - USD Million, 2019 - 2032) Research Diagnostics Metabolism Assays, End User Outlook (Revenue - USD Million, 2019 - 2032) Hospitals Diagnostics Labs Pharmaceutical and Biopharmaceutical Companies Others Browse for More Research Reports: Full Dentures Market Research Report, 2023-2032 Mouth Ulcer Treatment Market Research Report, 2023-2032 Disposable Bronchoscope Market Research Report, 2023-2032 Peek Implants Market Research Report, 2023-2032 Medical Equipment Maintenance Market Research Report, 2023-2032 About Polaris Market Research: Polaris Market Research is a global market research and consulting company. The company specializes in providing exceptional market intelligence and in-depth business research services for PMR's clientele spread across different enterprises. We at Polaris are obliged to serve PMR's diverse customer base present across the industries of healthcare, technology, semi-conductors and chemicals among various other industries present around the world. We strive to provide PMR's customers with updated information on innovative technologies, high growth markets, emerging business environments and latest business-centric applications, thereby helping them always to make informed decisions and leverage new opportunities. Adept with a highly competent, experienced and extremely qualified team of experts comprising SMEs, analysts and consultants, we at Polaris endeavor to deliver value-added business solutions to PMR's customers. Contact: Likhil G 30 Wall Street 8th Floor, New York City, NY 10005, United States Phone: +1-929 297-9727 Email: [email protected] Web: https://www.polarismarketresearch.com Follow Us: LinkedIn | twitter Blog: https://www.polarisnewsblog.com Photo:https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2287100/Metabolism_Assays_Market.jpg Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1316207/Polaris_Market_Research_Logo.jpg SOURCE Polaris Market Research BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. The inauguration of representative office of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) has taken place in Ashgabat, the Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan Mikayil Jabbarov wrote on X (Twitter), Trend reports. "As part of our working visit to Turkmenistan, President of SOCAR Rovshan Najaf and myself took part in the inauguration of SOCAR's representative office in Ashgabat. This signifies our confidence in the long-term collaboration with Turkmenistan, anticipating mutual benefits in the energy sector for both countries," Jabbarov said. SOCAR operates in diverse sectors, encompassing oil and gas field exploration, oil, gas, and gas condensate extraction, processing, and transportation, alongside the distribution of oil and petrochemical products in both domestic and international markets. Furthermore, the company plays a crucial role in supplying natural gas to both industrial enterprises and the general population of Azerbaijan, as well as extending its services to Europe. Beyond Azerbaijan, SOCAR is actively involved in numerous international ventures, spanning countries such as Turkiye, Georgia, Romania, Switzerland, Germany, and Ukraine. Additionally, the company engages in significant trading operations primarily based in Switzerland, Singapore, and Nigeria. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Second annual VMX/blendvet event provides opportunity for underrepresented students to explore a career in one of the least diverse professions ORLANDO, Fla., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- For the second year, the North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) and nationally-recognized veterinary certification program blendvet will host a full day of hands-on learning for middle school students from underserved communities. The students will learn alongside veterinarians and veterinary nurses/technicians how to examine pets, perform proper animal CPR techniques, suture, and more. The event is in conjunction with the 2024 Veterinary Meeting & Expo (VMX) in Orlando and is sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim, Hill's Pet Nutrition and Merck Animal Health. This partnership will open new doors for minority youth to pursue veterinary careers in the years to come. Post this Students practice surgery skills at last years VMX BLEND event. Veterinary medicine is one of the least diverse fields in America. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, 93.3% of veterinarians are white, with as few as 1.2% Black, 4.7% Latinx and 5.6% Asian. Meanwhile, pet ownership is extremely diverse. "Trust is the foundation of medical care, whether for humans or animals," said Dr. Niccole Bruno, founder and CEO of blendvet. "When diverse pet owners do not feel heard or connected to their vets, they're much less likely to trust their advice and get their beloved pets the care they need, making this an extremely impactful issue in veterinary medicine. Through our blendvet pathway programming, especially our partnership with the NAVC, we can open new doors for minority youth to pursue veterinary careers in the years to come." "At NAVC, we are committed to opening career opportunities in veterinary medicine for the next generation, especially those underserved youth not well-represented in today's veterinary industry," said NAVC CEO Gene O'Neill. "Our partnership with blendvet is crucial to our organization's efforts to support and promote DEI in our industry and is especially impactful at VMX, where we can introduce so many veterinary professionals to the blendvet program. We are eager to continue offering opportunities for underrepresented youth to pursue veterinary careers, especially after the success of last year's blendvet program." On Tuesday, January 16, 2024, from 9 a.m.- 4 p.m., blendvet will host more than 50 students at the Hyatt Regency Orlando for "Believe & Belong in Veterinary Medicine." Led by Dr. Bruno, participating students will learn about the various aspects of veterinary medicine from a diverse group of veterinary experts and try their hand at immersive training experiences such as placing sutures and checking samples under microscopes. Activities planned for students include: Hands-on experience using workshop stations to learn about veterinary surgery, emergency medicine, clinical pathology and preventive care. Students will practice drawing blood using a model in the clinical pathology station, suturing models at the surgery station, performing CPR in the ER station and observing physical examinations. An educational station on animal nutrition about obesity and proper nutrition in pets. Educational sessions on various topics related to the different pathways in veterinary medicine and a day in the life of a veterinary professional. Networking lunch with experts from different areas of veterinary medicine. Discuss the next steps for students interested in a veterinary career by providing resources to veterinary summer camps, scholarship programs, in-clinic shadowing and more. Participants will be presented with a certificate verifying they have earned six hours of education in veterinary medicine. Students will also be given a list of local veterinarians interested in providing shadowing opportunities to allow them to continue on in the field of veterinary medicine as their education progresses. Following the program, blendvet hosts a parent program virtually to educate parents on the various pathways in veterinary medicine and share resources on the next steps for their children. The blendvet faculty share their personal stories of resilience and success in veterinary medicine with the support of their families. In addition to blendvet's primary mission of creating education and training opportunities to inspire future veterinary professionals, another important goal is to make the field of veterinary medicine more inclusive through outreach programs. In addition to VMX, blendvet offers pathway programs nationwide with minority students. Previous programs have been held in Nashville, St. Petersburg and San Diego. Through its partnership with NAVC, blendvet will expand to other communities in 2024. To register and learn more about blendvet's event at VMX, visit www.blend.vet . Registration for blendvet closes on December 15, 2023. Photos and interviews are available. The B-roll from the 2023 blendvet event can be found here . About the NAVC The North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and advancing veterinary professionals worldwide. The world's leading provider of veterinary continuing education, NAVC delivers essential training, tools and resources for veterinary professionals to stay abreast of advances in animal medicine and provide the best medical care for animals everywhere. Through its commitment to innovation and excellence, the NAVC has developed a diverse portfolio of products and services, including educational events, headlined by VMX, the world's largest, most comprehensive continuing education conference and launchpad for new products and innovations within the veterinary industry; a robust digital platform for virtual learning and engagement; the veterinary industry's largest and award-winning portfolio of trade publications; and an advocacy arm which unites the veterinary community and pet lovers. The NAVC was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Orlando, FL. Since 2017, the NAVC has been recognized as one of the Top Workplaces by the Orlando Sentinel. To learn more about the NAVC's products and brands, visit https://navc.com . To see our schedule of upcoming events, visit https://navc.com/calendar/ . About blendvet blendvet is a veterinary certification program in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB). It is founded, owned and backed by a diverse group of leaders in veterinary medicine. blendvet is the first program designed to create an inclusive workplace culture geared toward fostering environments of belonging for teams and clients and creating the next generation of diverse veterinary professionals through student and parent programming. SOURCE North American Veterinary Community Industry Veteran Established and Designed Virtual Kitchens Around the World ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Nala Robotics, an AI technology company revolutionizing the culinary industry, today announced the appointment of Massimo Noja De Marco as chairman to its strategic advisory board. The restaurant concept innovator has established business ties with emerging and major brands, such as Chick-Fil-A, White Castle, Pokeworks, Wetzel's Pretzels and Halal Guys. He also has helped raise tens of millions of dollars in venture capital for his own businesses and others, attracting financial backers including GV, formerly known as Google Ventures. Restaurant Innovator Massimo Noja De Marco Appointed Chairman of Nala Robotics Strategic Advisory Board "Nala Robotics welcomes Massimo as chairman to our strategic advisory board," said founder and CEO Ajay Sunkara. "His wealth of knowledge, expertise in automation, robotics and AI, as well as his global connections and business acumen, will prove immeasurable to lead our advisory board as we execute on the next phase of our growth strategy." In February, De Marco was appointed CEO of Ghost Kitchen Brands America, which prepares and distributes food items from well-known restaurant brands, such as Cinnabon, MrBeast Burger, Nathan's Hot Dogs, Salad Works and The Cheesecake Factory, among others. He also established Kitchen United in 2017, driving design innovation and some of the first concepts for virtual restaurants. "I am thrilled to join Nala Robotics and look forward to working with management to take the company to the next level," said De Marco. "I have been impressed by Nala Robotics' technology, innovations and adoption in restaurant kitchens across the country and plan to leverage my industry experience to keep the momentum going." Prior to launching Kitchen United, De Marco owned and operated PH+E, a boutique consulting firm specializing in opening restaurants, hotels and bars across the U.S., Mexico and Europe. He also owned and operated restaurants in New York City and Los Angeles and served as vice president of operations at Wolfgang Puck Catering and Events, overseeing major events and awards shows such as the Academy Awards. Massimo was named among the top ten of Nation's Restaurant News' 2020 "Power List" of business leaders bringing game changing solutions and unrivaled creativity to the restaurant industry. He also was voted in Nation's Restaurant News' "Readers Pick" as one of 2021's "Most Influential Restaurant CEOs in America." De Marco previously served on the board of directors of Miso Robotics, and as an advisor at OrderMark, ROBOjuice, Babylon Micro Farms and Nurish. About Nala Robotics Nala Robotics is an AI technology company disrupting the culinary industry with the introduction of The Wingman, Pizzaiola, Nala Chef, Bowl Bot and Sandwich Bot. Its fully automated, customizable robots use machine learning to cook infinite recipes replicated with exact precision anytime, anywhere. The company's autonomous robotic solutions are ideal for multiple cuisines including American, Chinese, Indian and Thai. Based in Arlington Heights, Ill., Nala Robotics has offices in California, India and Ukraine. For more information, visit https://nalarobotics.com/ or follow the company on LinkedIn and X @nalarobotics. SOURCE Nala Robotics NEW YORK, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Advantage Books announces the release of renowned management consultant Nancy Geenen's book, The Advantage of Other: A Leader's Guide to Building an Equitable, Dynamic, and Productive Workplace. Geenen's book is designed to support business leaders who are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. Nancy Geenen Book, Cover The Advantage Of Other "As leaders," she writes, "we must unlearn some old habits and replace those with new practices that become habits over time. An inclusive leader values others' perspectives and creates belonging. This leader creates a high-trust environment where everyone at the table knows their ideas are respected and given the consideration as if they were the most important person in the room. "Inclusion is often the determining factor as to whether top talent remains and thrives." For leaders who are serious and passionate about creating a culture of mattering and belonging, Geenen serves as their navigator toward true understanding and awareness of the challenges that exist within the workplace. She takes the reader step by step through the process of creating a culture of inclusivity to build a high-performing team. She writes about the five pillars of an organization people, presence, pipeline, partners, and profits and includes personal stories, struggles, recommendations, and actionable objectives for personal and professional transformation. About Nancy Geenen Nancy Geenen ( www.nancygeenen.com ) is CEO of Flexability, an equity and inclusion consulting firm. Flexability has been recognized for three consecutive years as a "Best for the World: Governance" by B Labs. In 2022, Inc. recognized Flexability as Best in Business for Management Consulting. Geenen drives the culture and strategy of this social impact workplace consulting firm, building high-performance teams through diversity, equity, and inclusion. Geenen also founded and managed a trial consulting firm and for eight straight years was named one of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area (San Francisco) Business by the San Francisco Business Times. She is a graduate of Harvard Business School and holds a JD from Santa Clara University School of Law. In addition, she has an MA in education and a BA in English from Stanford University, where she also earned varsity letters in three sports. About Advantage Media Group Advantage Media offers independent publishing programs and Authority Media services purpose-built for transformational business leaders, entrepreneurs, and industry experts who seek to inspire a new generation, ignite social change, and grow their reputation as thought leaders. The company has published more than 2,000 Authors who reside in 12 countries and have translated their books into more than 20 languages. Media Contact: Terry Stanton, [email protected] SOURCE Advantage Media Group MIAMI BEACH, Fla., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Netrality Data Centers, the largest, privately held owner and operator of core interconnection facilities in the U.S. announced it has secured a $380 million sustainability-linked credit facility ("SLL"). J.P. Morgan acted as the Administrative Agent, Joint Bookrunner and Joint Lead Arranger while Societe Generale and TD Securities (USA) LLC acted as Joint Bookrunners, Joint Lead Arrangers and Sustainability Structuring Agents. In addition, Huntington Bank acted as Managing Agent. Goldman Sachs was also a lender in the facility. The SLL will fuel data center expansion projects that embody sustainable designs and implement infrastructural measures to support the reduction of power usage effectiveness ("PUE") levels across Netrality's portfolio. The SLL is comprised of a $125 million initial term loan, a $145 million revolving credit facility, and a $110 million delayed draw term loan. Interest payments on the SLL are adjusted based on Netrality achieving annual targets related to energy-efficient capital expenditures and reduction in portfolio PUE, which will be externally verified by third parties. The SLL reinforces Netrality's mission to enhance the energy efficiency of its existing data halls and sustainably add new data halls equipped with robust network architectures and energy-efficient infrastructure that meets critical power utilization goals. Qualifying capital expenditures defined in the SLL will support the sustainable buildout of new data halls with a design PUE of less than or equal to 1.5. Cognizant of the environmental impact of its operations, Netrality will also allocate funds toward advancing existing data halls with state-of-the-art technologies and energy-efficient upgrades to optimize power consumption and lower current PUE levels. Sustainability initiatives will include advanced waterless cooling and liquid cooling technologies, artificial intelligence "AI" enabled cooling software, high-efficiency UPS and electrical distribution upgrades, renewable energy purchases, and smart LED lighting to drive greater environmentally responsible energy usage. Gerald M. Marshall, President and Chief Executive Officer of Netrality, said, "We are thrilled to announce the successful closing of a sustainability-linked loan, marking a significant milestone in our journey toward a more sustainable future. With this loan, we are making a significant step in accomplishing our broader environmental commitments, encompassing carbon emission reductions, energy efficiency, and responsible water usage. In addition to refinancing a portion of our existing debt facilities, the loan plays a pivotal role in enabling the expansion of our portfolio meeting the ever-growing demands for capacity and connectivity in an environmentally conscious manner." Josh Maes, Chief Operating Officer of Netrality added, "The objectives outlined in the sustainability-linked loan align seamlessly with our broader environmental, social, and governance ("ESG") strategies implemented to support the sustainability initiatives of our stakeholders, from our valued customers to our debt and equity investors. This commitment underscores our dedication to operate in harmony with ESG principles and prioritize our environmental stewardship." Lana Feteiha, of Societe Generale's Sustainable Finance team said, "This was an especially gratifying deal for Societe Generale to work on, partnering with a leading data center company on a financing solution that will spur the expansion of critical technology infrastructure in a more energy efficient, sustainable manner." "TD Securities was pleased to support Netrality as a Sustainability Structuring Agent on the sustainability-linked credit facility. Decarbonization of digital infrastructure is critical to advancing the low-carbon economy and Netrality's commitment to creating sustainable data center environments furthers this objective," Amy West, Global Head of ESG Solutions, TD Securities, commented. The SLL marks Netrality's second sustainability-focused loan. On January 11th, 2023, Netrality announced it secured a $45 million construction loan with Oakwood Bank as Administrative Agent, Sole Lead Arranger, and Sole Bookrunner, along with Blue Sky Bank and Bank Midwest. The loan supports the construction, which has been designed for energy and water conservation, at Netrality's KC2-7801 Nieman Road facility in Shawnee, Kansas. Netrality's facilities are located where the densest long-haul fiber optic networks and metro-fiber intersect offering customers interconnectivity, rapid data transmission, network diversity, and global reach. The recent sustainability-linked financing expands Netrality's ability to deliver always-on connectivity for latency-sensitive, mission-critical businesses within an environmentally conscious framework. Andrew Weisberg, Kerrick Seay, and Chiara Eramo of White & Case LLP, represented Netrality Data Centers in the transaction. Stephen Miklus, Skip Sullivan, and Heena Wozny of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP represented the lenders under the SLL. About Netrality Data Centers Netrality Data Centers owns and operates strategic interconnection data centers and Meet Me Rooms, providing a mix of colocation, powered shell, and wholesale data center solutions driven by fiber-dense, network-rich interconnection environments. Today, Netrality's eighteen properties span 3.3 million square feet and over 100 megawatts of capacity across North America. Well-capitalized with a long-term investment from Macquarie Asset Management, Netrality is the largest privately held owner-operator of core interconnection facilities in the United States. Netrality acquires strategically located core network interconnection data centers that provide best in market network resiliency, ensuring always-on connectivity for latency-sensitive and mission-critical businesses. For more information: www.netrality.com, LinkedIn, Twitter. SOURCE Netrality Data Centers COMPREHENSIVE PRIMARY CARE, URGENT CARE, IMAGING & LABS AVAILABLE NOW AT CONVENIENT SIXES ROAD LOCATION CANTON, Ga., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The city of Canton has long been known for its desirable location in northwest Georgia; nestled between the peaceful foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains and the city life of Atlanta. The blending of some of the best Georgia has to offer happens right here, and the newest business to call Canton home is no exception. Aylo Health, the major healthcare provider in south metro Atlanta, has opened the doors of their newest location right here in Canton. Aylo Health is known for their mission to redefine and simplify healthcare by blending the very best in patient care with services and hours that are more convenient for patients than traditional primary care. Aylo Health Primary Care at Canton, Sixes Road is now open and accepting new patients; schedule your appointment today! https://aylohealth.com/location/north-atlanta/primary-care-at-canton-sixes-rd/ The new Aylo Health Primary Care at Canton, Sixes Road office offers extended hours, weekend and urgent care appointments, in-house labs, x-rays, and imaging services to best serve their patients' needs. "It's exciting to see so many of our patients' needs being met in one office" Tim Reichert, Vice President of Marketing for Aylo Health commented about the Canton location. "We're bringing together board-certified and knowledgeable doctors, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants that our patients can trust and giving them on-site access to the state-of-the-art tools they need!" As a busy community of growing families and young professionals as well as the home of many retirees, the diverse Canton community will be able to take full advantage of this new medical office open 7 days a week, with extended hours and same-day appointments. Aylo Health believes that when patients need urgent care they should go to the doctors who know their health history and won't rush through an appointment. Primary Care at Canton, Sixes Road practices a team-based care model. This means all the Aylo Health healthcare professionals are working together to provide comprehensive coordinated care. During the upcoming winter months, with cold and flu, many Canton residents are sure to find this level of access to care a timely and welcomed addition to the community! "Canton welcomes new businesses like Aylo Health that make it their mission to care for our residents and to give back to our community" Canton Mayor Bill Grant responded to the Aylo Health Primary Care at Canton opening. Aylo Health has online appointment booking available for new and existing patients as well as booking by phone. Please visit https://aylohealth.com/location/north-atlanta/primary-care-at-canton-sixes-rd/ to book online or call 470-369-9743. Aylo Health Primary Care at Canton | 3290 Sixes Rd, Canton, GA 30114 Office Hours: Monday-Thursday | 8:00 am - 7:00 pm Friday | 8:00 am - 5:00 pm Saturday | 9:00 am - 5:00 pm Sunday | 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm CONTACT: Tim Reichert Vice President of Marketing (770) 914-0116 x 11820 SOURCE Aylo Health Shortens Time to Weight Bearing to Two Weeks from Current Six-Eight Weeks ATLANTA, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Shotel Medical today announced its Shotel Ankle Arthrodesis Nail System, which uses a novel device design to treat end-stage ankle arthritis. It was used in Florida for the first time in a procedure in Delray Beach last month. Two weeks post-operation, the patient was weight bearing with the use of a CAM walker boot, a significant improvement from the six to eight weeks time to weight bearing that traditional ankle arthrodesis systems deliver. Shotel Medical Ankle Arthrodesis Device (PRNewsfoto/Shotel Medical) The patented Shotel Nail System, which is manufactured and distributed by BioPro Implants, differs from traditional ankle arthrodesis devices because its unique curved design allows for a minimally invasive approach with very small incisions. It is designed to achieve fusion at the tibiotalar joint while allowing unrestricted motion to remain at all other joints. This benefits the patient with faster healing, quicker recovery and earlier time to weight bearing. End-stage ankle arthritis is increasingly common and can lead to notable physical disability. There are an estimated 50,000 new cases of ankle arthritis each year in the U.S.1 "We designed our ankle fusion nail system so that patients have smaller incisions, which enables them to heal faster and return to function much earlier, giving them an enhanced quality of life. The improvement in time to weight bearing for the patient is meaningful," Christopher Weathers, Chief Commercial Officer, said. "We are thrilled to see our Shotel Nail System gaining traction among surgeons around the country. To date, 24 operations with it have been performed." Kevin Palmer, DPM, double board-certified podiatric surgeon of Boca Raton and Delray Beach, FL, who performed the procedure, said, "The patient presented with a progressively deteriorating ankle condition and pre-existing structurally compromised hardware. The novel design of the Shotel Nail System gave me confidence that it would be stable and hold up over the long term. During the procedure, after I removed the patient's current hardware, the Shotel Nail System went in smoothly, with a smaller incision, and a much less invasive approach than traditional ankle fusion systems. I also like that it provides several layers of compression, which is required across the fusion site to expedite healing. "I cannot emphasize enough how significant it is that the patient started walking at less than two weeks with a CAM walker boot," Dr. Palmer added. "This will be a game changer and life changing for many patients going forward." For more information on the Shotel Ankle Arthrodesis Nail System or for surgical training, visit www.shotelmedical.com. About Shotel Medical Shotel Medical is the developer of the Shotel Ankle Arthrodesis Nail System, an entirely novel device that has the potential to transform patient care and significantly impact the healthcare landscape. Developed in conjunction with a team of biomechanical engineers, orthopedic surgeons and industry thought leaders, the device addresses the needs of patients with end-stage ankle arthritis. Its unique design provides patients with faster healing, earlier return to function, and improved quality of life compared to current treatment options. The company, founded in 2017, has offices in New Orleans and Atlanta. About BioPro For over three decades, BioPro has been at the forefront of orthopedic innovation, dedicated to enhancing the lives of patients suffering from orthopedic conditions. The company is committed to developing cutting-edge implants and surgical devices that reduce pain and restore functionality, providing patients and surgeons with a diverse portfolio of established solutions and new technology. To learn more visit https://bioproimplants.com/ . Media Contact: Barbara Bickel 305-215-2121 [email protected] _______________________ 1 Smyth, Niall A. MD; Dawkins, Brody J. BA; Goldstein, Joshua P. BS; Kaplan, Jonathan R. MD; Schon, Lew C. MD; Aiyer, Amiethab A. MD. Consumer Prices for Surgical Management of Ankle Arthritis: Limited Availability and Wide Variability. JAAOS: Global Research and Reviews 3(7):p e011, July 2019. | DOI: 10.5435/JAAOSGlobal-D-19-00011 SOURCE Shotel Medical JUNO BEACH, Fla., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE) and NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE: NEP) today announced that members of the senior management team will participate in various investor meetings throughout November and December. They plan to discuss, among other things, long-term growth rate expectations for NextEra Energy and NextEra Energy Partners. In addition, John Ketchum is scheduled to participate in a fireside chat at the BofA Securities 2023 Renewables Conference on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, at 9:30 a.m. ET. A live webcast and a copy of the presentation materials will be available at www.NextEraEnergy.com/investors or www.NextEraEnergyPartners.com. For those unable to listen to the live webcast, a replay will be available for 90 days by accessing the links listed above. NextEra Energy, Inc. NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE) is a leading clean energy company headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida. NextEra Energy owns Florida Power & Light Company, which is America's largest electric utility that sells more power than any other utility, providing clean, affordable, reliable electricity to approximately 5.8 million customer accounts, or more than 12 million people across Florida. NextEra Energy also owns a competitive clean energy business, NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, which, together with its affiliated entities, is the world's largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun and a world leader in battery storage. Through its subsidiaries, NextEra Energy generates clean, emissions-free electricity from seven commercial nuclear power units in Florida, New Hampshire and Wisconsin. A Fortune 200 company, NextEra Energy has been recognized often by third parties for its efforts in sustainability, corporate responsibility, ethics and compliance, and diversity. NextEra Energy is ranked No. 1 in the electric and gas utilities industry on Fortune's 2023 list of "World's Most Admired Companies," recognized on Fortune's 2021 list of companies that "Change the World" and received the S&P Global Platts 2020 Energy Transition Award for leadership in environmental, social and governance. For more information about NextEra Energy companies, visit these websites: www.NextEraEnergy.com, www.FPL.com, www.NextEraEnergyResources.com. NextEra Energy Partners, LP NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE: NEP) is a growth-oriented limited partnership formed by NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE). NextEra Energy Partners acquires, manages and owns contracted clean energy projects with stable, long-term cash flows. Headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida, NextEra Energy Partners owns interests in geographically diverse wind, solar and energy storage projects in the U.S. as well as natural gas infrastructure assets in Texas and Pennsylvania. For more information about NextEra Energy Partners, please visit: www.NextEraEnergyPartners.com. Cautionary Statements and Risk Factors That May Affect Future Results for NextEra Energy, Inc. This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are not statements of historical facts, but instead represent the current expectations of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NextEra Energy) and Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) regarding future operating results and other future events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of NextEra Energy's and FPL's control. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, among others, statements concerning long-term growth rate expectations. In some cases, you can identify the forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as "will," "may result," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "intend," "plan," "seek," "potential," "projection," "forecast," "predict," "goals," "target," "outlook," "should," "would" or similar words or expressions. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are not a guarantee of future performance. The future results of NextEra Energy and FPL and their business and financial condition are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause their actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, or may require them to limit or eliminate certain operations. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those discussed in this news release and the following: effects of extensive regulation of NextEra Energy's and FPL's business operations; inability of NextEra Energy and FPL to recover in a timely manner any significant amount of costs, a return on certain assets or a reasonable return on invested capital through base rates, cost recovery clauses, other regulatory mechanisms or otherwise; impact of political, regulatory, operational and economic factors on regulatory decisions important to NextEra Energy and FPL; disallowance of cost recovery by FPL based on a finding of imprudent use of derivative instruments; effect of any reductions or modifications to, or elimination of, governmental incentives or policies that support utility scale renewable energy projects of NextEra Energy and FPL and its affiliated entities or the imposition of additional tax laws, tariffs, duties, policies or assessments on renewable energy or equipment necessary to generate it or deliver it; impact of new or revised laws, regulations, interpretations or constitutional ballot and regulatory initiatives on NextEra Energy and FPL; capital expenditures, increased operating costs and various liabilities attributable to environmental laws, regulations and other standards applicable to NextEra Energy and FPL; effects on NextEra Energy and FPL of federal or state laws or regulations mandating new or additional limits on the production of greenhouse gas emissions; exposure of NextEra Energy and FPL to significant and increasing compliance costs and substantial monetary penalties and other sanctions as a result of extensive federal regulation of their operations and businesses; effect on NextEra Energy and FPL of changes in tax laws, guidance or policies as well as in judgments and estimates used to determine tax-related asset and liability amounts; impact on NextEra Energy and FPL of adverse results of litigation; impacts on NextEra Energy or FPL of allegations of violations of law; effect on NextEra Energy and FPL of failure to proceed with projects under development or inability to complete the construction of (or capital improvements to) electric generation, transmission and distribution facilities, gas infrastructure facilities or other facilities on schedule or within budget; impact on development and operating activities of NextEra Energy and FPL resulting from risks related to project siting, planning, financing, construction, permitting, governmental approvals and the negotiation of project development agreements, as well as supply chain disruptions; risks involved in the operation and maintenance of electric generation, transmission and distribution facilities, gas infrastructure facilities, retail gas distribution system in Florida and other facilities; effect on NextEra Energy and FPL of a lack of growth or slower growth in the number of customers or in customer usage; impact on NextEra Energy and FPL of severe weather and other weather conditions; threats of geopolitical factors, terrorism and catastrophic events that could result from terrorism, cyberattacks or other attempts to disrupt NextEra Energy's and FPL's business or the businesses of third parties; inability to obtain adequate insurance coverage for protection of NextEra Energy and FPL against significant losses and risk that insurance coverage does not provide protection against all significant losses; a prolonged period of low gas and oil prices could impact NextEra Energy Resources, LLC's (NextEra Energy Resources) gas infrastructure business and cause NextEra Energy Resources to delay or cancel certain gas infrastructure projects and could result in certain projects becoming impaired; risk to NextEra Energy Resources of increased operating costs resulting from unfavorable supply costs necessary to provide NextEra Energy Resources' full energy and capacity requirement services; inability or failure by NextEra Energy Resources to manage properly or hedge effectively the commodity risk within its portfolio; effect of reductions in the liquidity of energy markets on NextEra Energy's ability to manage operational risks; effectiveness of NextEra Energy's and FPL's risk management tools associated with their hedging and trading procedures to protect against significant losses, including the effect of unforeseen price variances from historical behavior; impact of unavailability or disruption of power transmission or commodity transportation facilities on sale and delivery of power or natural gas by NextEra Energy, including FPL; exposure of NextEra Energy and FPL to credit and performance risk from customers, hedging counterparties and vendors; failure of NextEra Energy or FPL counterparties to perform under derivative contracts or of requirement for NextEra Energy or FPL to post margin cash collateral under derivative contracts; failure or breach of NextEra Energy's or FPL's information technology systems; risks to NextEra Energy and FPL's retail businesses from compromise of sensitive customer data; losses from volatility in the market values of derivative instruments and limited liquidity in over-the-counter markets; impact of negative publicity; inability of FPL to maintain, negotiate or renegotiate acceptable franchise agreements with municipalities and counties in Florida; occurrence of work strikes or stoppages and increasing personnel costs; NextEra Energy's ability to successfully identify, complete and integrate acquisitions, including the effect of increased competition for acquisitions; environmental, health and financial risks associated with NextEra Energy Resources' and FPL's ownership and operation of nuclear generation facilities; liability of NextEra Energy and FPL for significant retrospective assessments and/or retrospective insurance premiums in the event of an incident at certain nuclear generation facilities; increased operating and capital expenditures and/or reduced revenues at nuclear generation facilities of NextEra Energy or FPL resulting from orders or new regulations of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; inability to operate any of NextEra Energy Resources' or FPL's owned nuclear generation units through the end of their respective operating licenses; effect of disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in the credit and capital markets or actions by third parties in connection with project-specific or other financing arrangements on NextEra Energy's and FPL's ability to fund their liquidity and capital needs and meet their growth objectives; inability of NextEra Energy, FPL and NextEra Energy Capital Holdings, Inc. to maintain their current credit ratings; impairment of NextEra Energy's and FPL's liquidity from inability of credit providers to fund their credit commitments or to maintain their current credit ratings; poor market performance and other economic factors that could affect NextEra Energy's defined benefit pension plan's funded status; poor market performance and other risks to the asset values of NextEra Energy's and FPL's nuclear decommissioning funds; changes in market value and other risks to certain of NextEra Energy's investments; effect of inability of NextEra Energy subsidiaries to pay upstream dividends or repay funds to NextEra Energy or of NextEra Energy's performance under guarantees of subsidiary obligations on NextEra Energy's ability to meet its financial obligations and to pay dividends on its common stock; the fact that the amount and timing of dividends payable on NextEra Energy's common stock, as well as the dividend policy approved by NextEra Energy's board of directors from time to time, and changes to that policy, are within the sole discretion of NextEra Energy's board of directors and, if declared and paid, dividends may be in amounts that are less than might be expected by shareholders; NextEra Energy Partners, LP's inability to access sources of capital on commercially reasonable terms could have an effect on its ability to consummate future acquisitions and on the value of NextEra Energy's limited partner interest in NextEra Energy Operating Partners, LP; effects of disruptions, uncertainty or volatility in the credit and capital markets on the market price of NextEra Energy's common stock; and the ultimate severity and duration of public health crises, epidemics and pandemics, and its effects on NextEra Energy's or FPL's businesses. NextEra Energy and FPL discuss these and other risks and uncertainties in their annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 and other Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, and this news release should be read in conjunction with such SEC filings. The forward-looking statements made in this news release are made only as of the date of this news release and NextEra Energy and FPL undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. Cautionary Statements and Risk Factors That May Affect Future Results for NextEra Energy Partners, LP This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are not statements of historical facts, but instead represent the current expectations of NextEra Energy Partners, LP (together with its subsidiaries, NEP) regarding future operating results and other future events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of NEP's control. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, among others, statements concerning long-term growth rate expectations. In some cases, you can identify the forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as "will," "may result," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "intend," "plan," "seek," "aim," "potential," "projection," "forecast," "predict," "goals," "target," "outlook," "should," "would" or similar words or expressions. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are not a guarantee of future performance. The future results of NEP and its business and financial condition are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause NEP's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties could require NEP to limit or eliminate certain operations. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: NEP's ability to make cash distributions to its unitholders is affected by the performance of its renewable energy projects which could be impacted by wind and solar conditions and in certain circumstances by market prices; operation and maintenance of renewable energy projects and pipelines involve significant risks that could result in unplanned power outages, reduced output or capacity, personal injury or loss of life; NEP's business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects can be materially adversely affected by weather conditions, including, but not limited to, the impact of severe weather; NEP depends on certain of the renewable energy projects and pipelines in its portfolio for a substantial portion of its anticipated cash flows; NEP may pursue the repowering of renewable energy projects or the expansion of natural gas pipelines that would require up-front capital expenditures and could expose NEP to project development risks; geopolitical factors, terrorist acts, cyberattacks or other similar events could impact NEP's projects, pipelines or surrounding areas and adversely affect its business; the ability of NEP to obtain insurance and the terms of any available insurance coverage could be materially adversely affected by international, national, state or local events and company-specific events, as well as the financial condition of insurers. NEP's insurance coverage does not provide protection against all significant losses; NEP relies on interconnection, transmission and other pipeline facilities of third parties to deliver energy from its renewable energy projects and to transport natural gas to and from its pipelines. If these facilities become unavailable, NEP's projects and pipelines may not be able to operate or deliver energy or may become partially or fully unavailable to transport natural gas; NEP's business is subject to liabilities and operating restrictions arising from environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, compliance with which may require significant capital expenditures, increase NEP's cost of operations and affect or limit its business plans; NEP's renewable energy projects or pipelines may be adversely affected by legislative changes or a failure to comply with applicable energy and pipeline regulations; Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) may claim certain immunities under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and Mexican law, and the subsidiaries' of NEP that directly own the natural gas pipeline assets located in Texas ability to sue or recover from Pemex for breach of contract may be limited and may be exacerbated if there is a deterioration in the economic relationship between the U.S. and Mexico; NEP does not own all of the land on which the projects in its portfolio are located and its use and enjoyment of the property may be adversely affected to the extent that there are any lienholders or land rights holders that have rights that are superior to NEP's rights or the U.S. Bureau of Land Management suspends its federal rights-of-way grants; NEP is subject to risks associated with litigation or administrative proceedings that could materially impact its operations, including, but not limited to, proceedings related to projects it acquires in the future; NEP's operations require NEP to comply with anti-corruption laws and regulations of the U.S. government and Mexico; NEP is subject to risks associated with its ownership interests in projects that are under construction, which could result in its inability to complete construction projects on time or at all, and make projects too expensive to complete or cause the return on an investment to be less than expected; NEP relies on a limited number of customers and is exposed to the risk that they may be unwilling or unable to fulfill their contractual obligations to NEP or that they otherwise terminate their agreements with NEP; NEP may not be able to extend, renew or replace expiring or terminated power purchase agreements (PPA), natural gas transportation agreements or other customer contracts at favorable rates or on a long-term basis; if the energy production by or availability of NEP's renewable energy projects is less than expected, they may not be able to satisfy minimum production or availability obligations under their PPAs; NEP's growth strategy depends on locating and acquiring interests in additional projects consistent with its business strategy at favorable prices; reductions in demand for natural gas in the U.S. or Mexico and low market prices of natural gas could materially adversely affect NEP's pipeline operations and cash flows; government laws, regulations and policies providing incentives and subsidies for clean energy could be changed, reduced or eliminated at any time and such changes may negatively impact NEP's growth strategy; NEP's growth strategy depends on the acquisition of projects developed by NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE) and third parties, which face risks related to project siting, financing, construction, permitting, the environment, governmental approvals and the negotiation of project development agreements; acquisitions of existing clean energy projects involve numerous risks; NEP may continue to acquire other sources of clean energy and may expand to include other types of assets. Any further acquisition of non-renewable energy projects may present unforeseen challenges and result in a competitive disadvantage relative to NEP's more-established competitors; NEP faces substantial competition primarily from regulated utility holding companies, developers, independent power producers, pension funds and private equity funds for opportunities in North America; the natural gas pipeline industry is highly competitive, and increased competitive pressure could adversely affect NEP's business; NEP may not be able to access sources of capital on commercially reasonable terms, which would have a material adverse effect on its ability to consummate future acquisitions and pursue other growth opportunities; restrictions in NEP and its subsidiaries' financing agreements could adversely affect NEP's business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to its unitholders; NEP's cash distributions to its unitholders may be reduced as a result of restrictions on NEP's subsidiaries' cash distributions to NEP under the terms of their indebtedness or other financing agreements; NEP's subsidiaries' substantial amount of indebtedness may adversely affect NEP's ability to operate its business, and its failure to comply with the terms of its subsidiaries' indebtedness could have a material adverse effect on NEP's financial condition; if NEP is not able to close the sale of the Texas pipelines as planned, NEP would have to rely on other sources of capital to finance its plan to purchase noncontrolling membership interests in certain of its subsidiaries and to repay certain borrowings; NEP is exposed to risks inherent in its use of interest rate swaps; widespread public health crises and epidemics or pandemics may have material adverse impacts on NEP's business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations and ability to make cash distributions to its unitholders; NEE has influence over NEP; under the cash sweep and credit support agreement, NEP receives credit support from NEE and its affiliates. NEP's subsidiaries may default under contracts or become subject to cash sweeps if credit support is terminated, if NEE or its affiliates fail to honor their obligations under credit support arrangements, or if NEE or another credit support provider ceases to satisfy creditworthiness requirements, and NEP will be required in certain circumstances to reimburse NEE for draws that are made on credit support; NextEra Energy Resources, LLC (NEER) and certain of its affiliates are permitted to borrow funds received by NextEra Energy Operating Partners, LP (NEP OpCo) or its subsidiaries and is obligated to return these funds only as needed to cover project costs and distributions or as demanded by NEP OpCo. NEP's financial condition and ability to make distributions to its unitholders, as well as its ability to grow distributions in the future, is highly dependent on NEER's performance of its obligations to return all or a portion of these funds; NEER's right of first refusal may adversely affect NEP's ability to consummate future sales or to obtain favorable sale terms; NextEra Energy Partners GP, Inc. (NEP GP) and its affiliates may have conflicts of interest with NEP and have limited duties to NEP and its unitholders; NEP GP and its affiliates and the directors and officers of NEP are not restricted in their ability to compete with NEP, whose business is subject to certain restrictions; NEP may only terminate the Management Services Agreement among, NEP, NextEra Energy Management Partners, LP (NEE Management), NEP OpCo and NextEra Energy Operating Partners GP, LLC under certain limited circumstances; if the agreements with NEE Management or NEER are terminated, NEP may be unable to contract with a substitute service provider on similar terms; NEP's arrangements with NEE limit NEE's potential liability, and NEP has agreed to indemnify NEE against claims that it may face in connection with such arrangements, which may lead NEE to assume greater risks when making decisions relating to NEP than it otherwise would if acting solely for its own account; NEP's ability to make distributions to its unitholders depends on the ability of NEP OpCo to make cash distributions to its limited partners; if NEP incurs material tax liabilities, NEP's distributions to its unitholders may be reduced, without any corresponding reduction in the amount of the IDR fee; holders of NEP's units may be subject to voting restrictions; NEP's partnership agreement replaces the fiduciary duties that NEP GP and NEP's directors and officers might have to holders of its common units with contractual standards governing their duties and the New York Stock Exchange does not require a publicly traded limited partnership like NEP to comply with certain of its corporate governance requirements; NEP's partnership agreement restricts the remedies available to holders of NEP's common units for actions taken by NEP's directors or NEP GP that might otherwise constitute breaches of fiduciary duties; certain of NEP's actions require the consent of NEP GP; holders of NEP's common units currently cannot remove NEP GP without NEE's consent and provisions in NEP's partnership agreement may discourage or delay an acquisition of NEP that NEP unitholders may consider favorable; NEE's interest in NEP GP and the control of NEP GP may be transferred to a third party without unitholder consent; reimbursements and fees owed to NEP GP and its affiliates for services provided to NEP or on NEP's behalf will reduce cash distributions from NEP OpCo and from NEP to NEP's unitholders, and there are no limits on the amount that NEP OpCo may be required to pay; increases in interest rates could adversely impact the price of NEP's common units, NEP's ability to issue equity or incur debt for acquisitions or other purposes and NEP's ability to make cash distributions to its unitholders; the liability of holders of NEP's units, which represent limited partnership interests in NEP, may not be limited if a court finds that unitholder action constitutes control of NEP's business; unitholders may have liability to repay distributions that were wrongfully distributed to them; the issuance of common units, or other limited partnership interests, or securities convertible into, or settleable with, common units, and any subsequent conversion or settlement, will dilute common unitholders' ownership in NEP, may decrease the amount of cash available for distribution for each common unit, will impact the relative voting strength of outstanding NEP common units and issuance of such securities, or the possibility of issuance of such securities, as well as the resale, or possible resale following conversion or settlement, may result in a decline in the market price for NEP's common units; NEP's future tax liability may be greater than expected if NEP does not generate net operating losses (NOLs) sufficient to offset taxable income or if tax authorities challenge certain of NEP's tax positions; NEP's ability to use NOLs to offset future income may be limited; NEP will not have complete control over NEP's tax decisions; and distributions to unitholders may be taxable as dividends. NEP discusses these and other risks and uncertainties in its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 and other Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, and this news release should be read in conjunction with such SEC filings made through the date of this news release. The forward-looking statements made in this news release are made only as of the date of this news release and NEP undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. SOURCE NextEra Energy, Inc.; NextEra Energy Partners, LP Resilient, High-Aesthetic Products to be Prominently Featured on HGTV Hit in 2024 JOHNS CREEK, Ga., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Nichiha USA, a top-tier manufacturer of building material solutions, will once again supply exterior cladding and design support to contestants on the forthcoming season five of "Rock the Block," which airs on HGTV. The highly rated program brings together some of the nation's leading designers who compete against each other as they oversee the planning and construction of a home in a single neighborhood. This is Nichiha's third season of involvement in the show following a successful partnership with a contestant on the program's fourth season in 2023. Designer Michel Smith Boyd and partner Anthony Elle took home the top prize with Nichiha VintageWood cladding in Cedar and TuffBlock in Pewter. The Berthoud, Colorado, home featured corner pieces that matched the home's cladding, a Nichiha specialty that allows for a coveted wrap-around cladding look. In the upcoming fifth season of "Rock the Block," four contestant teams will have six weeks and a budget of $250,000 to add the most value to a waterfront home in Treasure Island, Florida. Winners take home bragging rights and will have the block named in their honor. "Michel Smith Boyd set a high bar with his winning design in season four, a design that prominently featured Nichiha architectural wall panels (AWP) on the exterior," said Kenny Collins, sales director of Nichiha's residential division. "His vision brought a luxurious, alpine feeling to a Denver-area home. This season, we're excited to see how Nichiha products will be incorporated into a coastal, waterfront setting. A designer's ability to specify Nichiha AWP in such vastly different climates speaks to Nichiha's true versatility." Nichiha AWP provides architects, designers, building owners, and homeowners with the ability to mimic traditional building materials such as wood, masonry, concrete, stucco, and more. Comprised of robust fiber cement, Nichiha products are impressionable in the manufacturing process. This allows Nichiha AWP to deliver the desired look without the pitfalls associated with maintaining the traditional materials they resemble. All AWP install easily and quickly with the brand's Ultimate Clip System. Such features can help designers and builders quickly realize a sought-after aesthetic without the need for specialized labor. "Several Nichiha offerings can be specified in custom colors without additional cost or minimum quantity, which makes it a true ally for savvy designers and builders," added Collins. "Contestants on 'Rock the Block' will be able to achieve luxurious looks that install with the same method. These features provide big benefits when budget is more of a consideration." Season five of "Rock the Block" is scheduled to premiere in early 2024 on HGTV. For more information on Nichiha, visit www.nichiha.com. About Nichiha USA Nichiha USA, a subsidiary of Nichiha Corporation, is a leading manufacturer of high-functioning cladding for commercial and residential building applications. Founded in Japan in 1956, Nichiha now employs over 2800 employees at 13 locations worldwide. Nichiha creates long-term value for architects, builders and contractors through building material solutions that are durable and available in a breadth of colors, styles and textures, with customized support to meet any specification and help customers get the most out of their projects. To learn more, visit www.nichiha.com. Media Contact: Sean McFarland, MA 412-851-3242 [email protected] Photos: https://www.bldpressroom.com/nichiha/rock-the-block-2024 SOURCE Nichiha USA SAN DIEGO, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Creating a mindfulness planetarium, building solar powered lanterns, starting a Maker Space and launching an entrepreneur program are just a few of the school projects receiving funding from North Island Credit Union through its Fall 2023 Teacher Grant program. High Tech Elementary Explorer Teacher Angela Beckwith (left) receives a grant check from North Island Credit Union VP, Regional Manager Therese Caballes. The grant will be used to fund a classroom space design project for 1st grade students. As part of its commitment to help educators create innovative learning opportunities for their students, the credit union has provided 10 grants of $500 each to underwrite class projects across San Diego County. The credit union grants will fund a diverse range of programs illustrating the creativity and commitment teachers bring to their classrooms and communities. "We are honored to continue our commitment to San Diego schools and students through our Teacher Grant Program," said North Island Credit Union President & CEO Steve O'Connell. "The energy and passion of these educators is remarkable as they outlined creative ways to support hands-on projects that inspire their students. We wish these teachers continued success in their classrooms." The Fall 2023 North Island Credit Union Teacher Grant recipients include: North Island Credit Union Grant Recipient School City Angela Beckwith High Tech Elementary Explorer San Diego Sonja Donahue CVLCC Elementary School Chula Vista Marisol Duenas Logan Memorial Ed Campus High School San Diego Edwin Gough Mount Everest Academy San Diego Jedzida Herron La Mirada Elementary School San Ysidro Tan Huynh Integrity Charter School National City Brian McKinney e3 Civic High School San Diego Shelby O'Reilly-Gronke High Tech High Media Arts San Diego Katherine Velliquette Launch Virtual Academy San Diego Teresa Youssofi Loma Verde Elementary School Chula Vista Photos of all recipients can be found here. Since the creation of the program in 2012, the credit union has awarded $185,000 in teacher grants to support classroom programs. Up to 20 grants are awarded bi-annually in the spring and fall. Any full-time classroom teacher in San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside County can apply for a grant for a program that has clearly defined learning objectives tied to students' academic needs, displays creativity in education, and targets a significant number of students. More information is available at northisland.ccu.com. About North Island Credit Union, a division of California Credit Union California Credit Union is a federally insured, state chartered credit union founded in 1933 with assets over $4.5 billion, nearly 200,000 members and 24 retail branches. The credit union serves community members and businesses in the California counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura as well as school employees throughout the state. The credit union operates in San Diego and Riverside Counties as North Island Credit Union, a division of California Credit Union. The credit union offers a full suite of consumer, business and investment products and services, including comprehensive consumer checking and loan options, personalized financial planning, business banking, and leading-edge online and mobile banking. California Credit Union is certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) with a Low Income Designation, offering inclusive products and services to build financial stability in our underserved communities, including a checking account certified as meeting the Bank On National Account Standards. Visit northisland.ccu.com for more information or follow the credit union on Instagram or Facebook @northislandcu. SOURCE North Island Credit Union WASHINGTON, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Fourteen press freedom and First Amendment civil society groups, led by the National Press Club and the NPC Journalism Institute, on Monday wrote to Secretary of State Antony Blinken to urge him to swiftly declare that RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva has been wrongfully detained by the Russian government. "Alsu has already been held in a detention center in Kazan for more than a month now and charged with failure to self-register as a 'foreign agent,'" reads the letter, whose other signatories include the Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders and the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation. "Our understanding is that Russia has not officially notified the State Department of her detention however, the U.S. should not delay its own process due to what appears to be a stalling tactic. We are deeply concerned this has resulted in Alsu not receiving any regular consular visits yet." The civil society group letter further noted its concerns about Moscow's growing pattern of unjustly detaining journalists, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. The coalition urged Blinken to update the department's "outmoded requirements" for designating wrongful detentions in the event that more journalists are detained and held hostage by foreign governments in the future. Such a designation brings with it heightened department resources for securing the American individual's freedom. A copy of the letter can be viewed here. Founded in 1908, the National Press Club is the world's leading professional organization for journalists. The Club has 3,000 members representing nearly every major news organization and is a leading voice for press freedom in the United States and around the world. The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes an engaged, global citizenry through an independent and free press and equips journalists with the skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire a more representative democracy. The NPCJI is the nonprofit affiliate of the National Press Club. Media Contact: Bill McCarren for the National Press Club, 202-725-7534, [email protected] SOURCE National Press Club Journalism Institute NEW YORK, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The open-angle glaucoma therapeutics market is expected to grow by USD 2.36 billion from 2022 to 2027. In addition, the momentum of the market will progress at a CAGR of 6.4% during the forecast period, according to Technavio Research. The market is segmented by channel (hospital pharmacy, retail pharmacy, and online pharmacy), product (PGAS and non-PGAS), and geography (North America, Europe, Asia, and the Rest of the World (ROW)). North America is estimated to contribute 51% to the growth of the global market during the forecast period. The high prevalence of glaucoma is primarily a factor that contributes to market growth in the region. Public organizations and service providers in this area have also increased their awareness of these illnesses through various educational programs, because of the large number of people affected by eye disorders. This report offers an up-to-date analysis of the current market scenario, the latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. Read a PDF Sample Report Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Open-Angle Glaucoma Therapeutics Market 2023-2027 Company Profile: AbbVie Inc., Alcon Inc., Bausch Health Companies Inc., D.Western Therapeutics Institute Inc., Hikma Pharmaceuticals Plc, Inotek Pharmaceuticals, Merck and Co. Inc., Nicox S.A., Novartis AG, Ocuphire Pharma Inc, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Pfizer Inc., Santen Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. AbbVie Inc.- The company offers open-angle glaucoma therapeutics such as Lumigan and Combigan. To gain access to more company profiles available with Technavio, buy the report! Open-Angle Glaucoma Therapeutics Market: Segmentation Analysis The market share growth by the hospital pharmacy segment will be significant during the forecast period. Hospital pharmacies play a crucial role in distributing medicine and are often one of the main sources of medicinal products used to treat glaucoma within hospital settings. Learn about the contribution of each segment summarized in concise infographics and thorough descriptions. View a PDF Sample Report "Besides analyzing the current market scenario, our report examines historic data from 2017 to 2021"- Technavio Open-Angle Glaucoma Therapeutics Market: Driver & Trend: Promising pipeline and recent approvals Increasing demand for combination drugs Rising geriatric population The promising pipeline and recent approvals are key factors driving market growth. Substantial investments are being made in developing new medicines for Open-angle glaucoma by pharmaceutical companies due to the large incidence of this disease. Additionally, a number of companies have received approval to market their medicines for the treatment of open-angle glaucoma in recent weeks. The growing awareness about glaucoma is a major trend in an open-angle glaucoma therapeutics market. Identify key trends, drivers, and challenges in the market. Download a sample report to gain access to this information. Related Reports: The immunoassay market size is estimated to grow by USD 8.64 billion at a CAGR of 4.42% between 2023 and 2028. The amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) treatment market size is estimated to grow by USD 663.7 million at a CAGR of 12.79% between 2023 and 2028. What are the key data covered in this open-angle glaucoma therapeutics market report? CAGR of the market during the forecast period Detailed information on factors that will drive the growth of the open-angle glaucoma therapeutics market between 2022 and 2027 Precise estimation of the open-angle glaucoma therapeutics market size and its contribution to the market in focus on the parent market Accurate predictions about upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior Growth of the open-angle glaucoma therapeutics market across North America, Europe, Asia, and ROW A thorough analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information about companies Comprehensive analysis of factors that will challenge the growth of open-angle glaucoma therapeutics market companies ToC: Executive Summary Market Landscape Market Sizing Historic Market Sizes Five Forces Analysis Market Segmentation by Channel Market Segmentation by Product Market Segmentation by Geography Customer Landscape Geographic Landscape Drivers, Challenges, & Trends Company Landscape Company Analysis Appendix About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provide actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base comprises enterprises of all sizes, including over 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contacts Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com SOURCE Technavio NEW YORK, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The organic baby shampoo market is expected to grow by USD 148.4 million from 2022 to 2027, according to Technavio. In addition, the growth momentum of the market will progress at a CAGR of 4.91% during the forecast period. The rising popularity of natural ingredients in baby products is notably driving the organic baby shampoo market. However, factors such as high cost associated with organic baby shampoo may impede market growth. The market is segmented by type (Below 500ml and Above 500ml), distribution channel (offline and online), and geography (North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and Middle East and Africa). Technavio provides a comprehensive report summary describing the market size and forecast along with research methodology. The sample report is available in PDF format Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Organic Baby Shampoo Market 2023-2027 Key Segment Analysis The below 500 ml segment is estimated to witness significant growth during the forecast period. As children's hair needs a minimal amount of shampoo, it is mainly accepted by parents to use an organically formulated baby soap of less than 500 ml. In addition, sachet shampoos are considerably more cost-effective both in terms of distribution and packaging. Furthermore, the sales of organic baby shampoo are supported by improvements in product innovation as well as an increasing trend to launch organic or natural products with less than 500 ml. Hence, these factors are expected to drive segment growth during the forecast period. To know additional highlights and key points on various market segments and their impact in coming years, View the PDF Sample Report. Geographical Market Analysis Europe is estimated to contribute 32% to the growth of the global market during the forecast period. Another region offering significant growth opportunities to companies is North America. The main drivers of growth in the market are innovation and portfolio expansion, followed by an increase in awareness about baby hygiene products. In general, organic baby shampoos are sold through offline channels such as hypermarkets and supermarkets in the region. Furthermore, organic baby shampoos are not laden with chemicals and have been deemed suitable for infants' health. Company Insights The organic baby shampoo market is fragmented, and the companies are deploying organic and inorganic growth strategies to compete in the market. The report analyzes the market's competitive landscape and offers information on several market companies, including Artsana Spa, Beiersdorf AG, California Baby, Earth Mama Angel Baby LLC, Earth Rhythm Pvt. Ltd., Erbaviva LLC, Galderma SA, Himalaya Global Holdings Ltd., Johnson and Johnson, Laboratoires Expanscience, LOreal SA, Mothercare Plc, Natures Baby Organics, Pigeon Corp., Sebapharma GmbH and Co. KG, The Clorox Co., The Good Glamm Group, The Honest Co. Inc., Unilever PLC, and Weleda Group View the PDF Sample Report to find additional highlights on the growth strategies adopted by companies and their product offerings. Related Reports: The baby shampoo and conditioner market size is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 5.53% between 2022 and 2027. The market size is forecast to increase by USD 703.26 million. The Baby Bath Products Market Size is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 5.61% between 2022 and 2027. The size of the market is forecast to increase by USD 2,145.47 million. ToC: Executive Summary Market Landscape Market Sizing Historic Market Sizes Five Forces Analysis Market Segmentation by Type Market Segmentation by Distribution Channel Market Segmentation by Geography Customer Landscape Geographic Landscape Drivers, Challenges, & Trends Company Landscape Company Analysis Appendix About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provide actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base comprises enterprises of all sizes, including over 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contacts Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com SOURCE Technavio 303-unit Luxury Multifamily Community in Knoxville, TN trades for $120.7M KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Passco Companies, a privately held California-based commercial real estate company that specializes in acquisition, development, and property and asset management throughout the U.S., in conjunction with its joint venture partner, Greystone, a national commercial real estate finance and investment company, has acquired One Riverwalk, a 303-unit luxury apartment community completed in 2019 and located within Knox County in the Knoxville, TN MSA. The property is 97% occupied. "One Riverwalk is a one-of-a-kind generational opportunity to own and one of the best assets in the state of Tennessee." Post this One Riverwalk - 151 E. Blount Ave. Knoxville, TN Through a long-term relationship with Augusta-based Southeastern, the developer of One Riverwalk, Passco was able to negotiate the direct purchase of the property, which represents the third direct transaction between the two firms since 2019. The total consideration of transactions between Passco and Southeastern has now exceeded $250MM. The other two assets include Grand Oaks at Crane Creek in Augusta, GA and One Hampton Lake in Bluffton, SC. The purchase was subject to the assumption of a 10-year, $64.29MM Freddie Mac loan bearing a 3.12% fixed rate with over 3 years interest only periods remaining. The loan assumption was key to both firms finding mutually beneficial motivations to transact, during a time where multifamily transactions are down nationally nearly 75% since last year. Passco was very attracted to the opportunity to expand their holdings in the Knoxville market and has experienced tremendous success from their performance of their other two multifamily assets in the market, Tapestry Turkey Creek and Trustwell Living of West Knoxville. Both assets have been outsized performers within Passco's $4 billion portfolio. According to Colin Gillis, Senior Vice President of Acquisitions at Passco, "One Riverwalk has exhibited phenomenal performance metrics since reaching stabilization in 2020 which underscores how special the asset and location are. Apartment fundamentals within the Knoxville MSA are some of the strongest in the country and have remained consistently robust in a time where there has been significant softness across the rental sector nationally." "One Riverwalk is a one-of-a-kind generational opportunity to own what is arguably one of the best assets in one of the best locations in the state of Tennessee. The property has an unbelievable setting overlooking the Tennessee river and can be seen from nearly all parts of downtown. Having been built on top of the former abandoned Baptist Hospital in an underutilized blighted pocket of town, the property single handedly transformed the south side of Knoxville into a burgeoning hub of exciting new developments. Southeastern had tremendous vision when they undertook this project and the impact that One Riverwalk had on the immediate area has been truly phenomenal", explains Gillis. "We're thrilled to partner with Passco on this transaction. The ongoing collaboration serves as a testament to our relationship and further demonstrates our ability to execute within these market conditions," said Stanley Wuu, Director, Greystone, who works closely with Passco to help grow a portfolio of attractive multifamily investments for the two companies' joint venture DST platform. This waterfront property sits upon 3.35 acres boasting views of Downtown Knoxville. One Riverwalk is comprised of two 5-story residential buildings offering a mix of studio, 1, 2-bedroom units averaging 884 square feet. Each unit is modern with quartz countertops, luxury faux wood flooring, tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances, full lighting packages and beautiful views of the Tennessee River. The community is just a bridge away from everything and located at 151 E. Blount Ave. Knoxville, TN. About Passco Companies Passco Companies, LLC is a nationally recognized market leader in the acquisition, development, and management of multifamily and commercial properties throughout the U.S. Passco offers a full set of real estate services including asset and property management, leasing, as well as property development and construction. Headquartered in Irvine, California, Passco currently has $4 billion assets under management across the country and is actively growing its portfolio in primary and secondary markets throughout the United States. For more information, visit www.passco.com. About Greystone Greystone is a private national commercial real estate finance and investment company with an established reputation as a leader in multifamily and healthcare finance, having ranked as a top FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac lender in these sectors. Loans are offered through Greystone Servicing Company LLC, Greystone Funding Company LLC and/or other Greystone affiliates. For more information, visit www.greystone.com . Contact: Stacy Stemen Passco Companies 949-375-5213 [email protected] SOURCE PASSCO COMPANIES Awards support generation and use of reliable patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research findings to improve health and health care decision making WASHINGTON, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) today announced the approval of funding awards totaling $225 million, which include $207 million to support 20 new patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER) studies. By comparing various approaches to care, these studies will help fill evidence gaps related to maternal illness and death, adolescent mental health, delirium in older adults, cardiovascular disease and a range of other high-burden health conditions. PCORI Executive Director Nakela L. Cook, M.D., MPH PCORI Deputy Executive Director for Patient-Centered Research Programs, Harv Feldman, M.D., MSCE Four awards include support for large patient-centered CER studies in which community organizations and research institutions as coequal partners will tackle clinical and social factors that contribute to inequities in maternal morbidity and mortality. "Evidence generated by PCORI-funded studies provides patients, clinicians and other health care decision makers trustworthy information to help them evaluate their options and make informed decisions, improving health and health care for people across the nation," said PCORI Executive Director Nakela L. Cook, M.D., MPH. "These latest awards demonstrate PCORI's ongoing commitment to funding important research addressing evidence gaps on key health issues, including the persistent and worsening crisis of maternal morbidity and mortality and the related alarming disparities." This latest round of PCORI funding awards also includes CER studies researching questions about how to optimally use brief interventions to prevent alcohol use among adolescents; ways to prevent delirium among hospitalized patients, a particular concern for older adults and their families; strategies to achieve better blood pressure control; and ways to enhance use of cancer screening and treatment of depression. Several studies specifically aim to address questions about how to optimize use of therapies and care delivery approaches to achieve greater equity in care access and outcomes among historically underserved populations. Several will evaluate optimal approaches for use of telehealth, such as apps and remote care via video. Recognizing that generating evidence is not the end of the process of improving outcomes, PCORI supports projects designed to assess and expand ways to promote the uptake of PCORI-funded CER findings in clinical practice. To that end, PCORI approved around $10 million for four implementation projects. One focuses on enhancing shared decision making related to colorectal cancer screening among older adults and a second on shared decision making related to anesthesia options for patients undergoing hip fracture surgery. The third and fourth projects aim to accelerate the adoption of evidence-based approaches, one focused on treating PTSD and the other on monitoring cancer symptoms during outpatient treatment. To further enhance the rigor and quality of patient-centered CER, PCORI also approved $4 million to fund four studies to improve methods for conducting CER and nearly $3 million for two studies that will strengthen the evidence base on engaging patients and other health care decision makers in designing and conducting CER. "It takes rigorously designed and conducted research using evidence-based approaches to generate reliable results, which is why PCORI invests in studies focused on methodology and the science of engagement," said Harv Feldman, M.D., MSCE, PCORI's Deputy Executive Director for Patient-Centered Research Programs. "PCORI also recognizes the need for comparative clinical effectiveness research findings to reach those whom they can help the most, which is why the organization funds projects to proactively disseminate and implement useful evidence, so it can be adopted faster in every day clinical care." Details of all the newly funded studies and projects are available on PCORI's website. All funding awards were approved pending a business and programmatic review by PCORI staff and the issuance of formal award contracts. With these latest awards, PCORI has invested more than $4.5 billion to fund patient-centered CER and support other projects. About PCORI The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) is an independent nonprofit organization authorized by Congress in 2010. Its mission is to fund research that will provide patients, their caregivers and clinicians with the evidence-based information needed to make better-informed health care decisions. PCORI is committed to continuously seeking input from a broad range of stakeholders to guide its work. SOURCE Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute "Pets play a special part in our families, participating in everything from holiday family photos and tree farm outings to homemade ornaments," said David Thayer, Senior Marketing Director for Pet Food Express. "Gift giving is equal parts joy to the families and to the pets, so our holiday collection this year highlights favorite items big and small that your pet will love and are sure to leave room in your budget." Gift Giving for Pet Parents Pet Food Express is hosting its GIFT OF GIVING Sweepstakes. Enter online at www.petfood.express for a chance to win one of three grand prizes - a $500 shopping spree for yourself, and a participating shelter of your choice. Sweepstakes ends 12/31/23. Gift Giving for Pets Pet Food Express is making gift giving affordable this holiday for pet parents. Available in all stores and online, the holiday collection features interactive toys, tasty treats, and special stocking stuffers ensuring that no pet is left out of the joyous gifting period. Gift Giving for Animal Organizations in Need Now through December 31, Pet Food Express is running its annual Holiday Shopping Spree program to gift in-need animal rescue and shelter partners with personalized shopping sprees. Pet Food Express will gather financial contributions in its 66 California stores and online at www.petfood.express/shopping-spree to directly support 112 in-need animal rescue and shelter partners. 100% of the contributions are distributed to participating organizations to spend on pet products to provide care for their animals. From food, to litter, to fun things like toys and treats, the organizations get to choose the items that are right for them. Pet Food Express will start the effort with a $25,000 contribution. In 2022, the Pet Food Express Holiday Shopping Spree raised $396,505, including a $25,000 contribution from Pet Food Express. 100% of the funds contributed were distributed to animal rescues and shelters across California to buy supplies for year-round animal care. Pet Food Express's holiday collection is available online at https://www.petfood.express/shop/collections/holiday/ and in all 66 California stores. ABOUT PET FOOD EXPRESS Pet Food Express is California's trusted pet expert dedicated to helping pets live longer, healthier lives. It has reimagined pet care by focusing on the very best products, selling only what they trust to care for their own pets. From the variety of nutrient-rich foods like raw and fresh prepared foods and high quality pet supplements to the extensive training its animal-loving customer service team gets and its 65 neighborhood stores with pet community support groups. Pet Food Express leads the way for pet parents and as a committed partner to 300+ non-profit animal rescue and shelter organizations. Shop and learn more at www.petfood.express. Get social on Facebook, Instagram and on Twitter. Pet Food Express is proud to support California's animal rescue network through its Community Outreach programs. Learn more at https://www.petfood.express/community-outreach/. CONTACT: Sarah Andrus | Pet Food Express | [email protected] SOURCE Pet Food Express George Balanchine's holiday tradition returns to the Philadelphia Ballet December 8-30 with presenting sponsor, Independence Blue Cross PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Philadelphia Ballet proudly presents the return of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, a dazzling holiday classic featuring over 170 dancers, and many other artists including those of the Philadelphia Ballet Orchestra who bring Tchaikovsky's score to life at every performance. The Nutcracker opens December 8 and runs through December 30 at the Academy of Music. This season's run of 31 performances includes a student performance (December 14 at 11a.m.) and a sensory friendly performance (December 26 at noon). The Nutcracker is one of the company's most enchanting productions and is also one of the most complex ballets in the company's repertoire. Tickets, starting at $25 for all performances and just $10 for opening night, are now available at philadelphiaballet.org . "The Nutcracker is our company's largest and most dazzling production, featuring 47 company dancers and 130 students from the School of Philadelphia Ballet, School of Philadelphia Ballet New Jersey, and the Metropolitan Ballet Academy, in more than150 breathtaking costumes," said Angel Corella, The Ruth & A. Morris Williams, Jr. Artistic Director. "There is so much that goes into each performance and our entire company, from the Principal dancers to our youngest students, work extremely hard to bring the magic of The Nutcracker to life for our audiences. With hundreds of roles, exquisite set designs and mesmerizing music, there's something new to discover in every performance." The 2023 Philadelphia Ballet production of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker is made possible by Independence Blue Cross. "Philadelphia Ballet's presentation of The Nutcracker is a cultural staple of the holiday season in the city," said Gregory E. Deavens, president and CEO of Independence Blue Cross. "As the region's hometown health insurer for 85 years, Independence Blue Cross is proud to be a long-standing supporter of the Philadelphia Ballet and the presenting sponsor for this treasured tradition." Philadelphia Ballet and Independence Blue Cross hosted a special holiday event at IBX headquarters on Market Street to celebrate the official start of the holiday season and the 55th year of Philadelphia Ballet's presentation of The Nutcracker. Attendees were treated to a special pop-up appearance from popular characters the 'Nutcracker' Snowflakes and the Mouse King. They also enjoyed a hot chocolate bar and Nutcracker-themed cookies. At the event, Mike Sullivan, executive vice president and president, Diversified Markets for Independence Blue Cross, and member of the Philadelphia Ballet Board of Trustees, shared why the relationship is so special: "At Independence Blue Cross, we understand the key role that the arts can play in strengthening our social and cultural connections. Through this sponsorship with the Philadelphia Ballet, Independence once again demonstrates our on-going commitment to prioritizing the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of the community." George Balanchine's grand spectacle, The Nutcracker, has captivated generations of audiences with resplendent costumes, opulent sets, and spectacular choreography. Set to Tchaikovsky's score, The Nutcracker follows Marie on a night of adventure as she is transported from her bedroom to The Land of Sweets, a magical wonderland where flowers waltz, snowflakes twirl, and enchanted toys transform into handsome princes. A cherished holiday tradition, this is a story beloved by all ages. "It's always our goal to find connection and spread joy through dance. It's heartwarming to see so many families and friends come together over the holidays to enjoy The Nutcracker year after year," said Shelly Power, The Dr. Carolyn Newsom Executive Director. "We're honored to be a part of the special traditions and everlasting memories of so many." For more information about The Nutcracker, related events and the other productions of Philadelphia Ballet's 2023/2024 60th anniversary season, please visit philadelphiaballet.org . About Philadelphia Ballet Founded in 1963 by Barbara Weisberger, a protege of George Balanchine, Philadelphia Ballet is one of the nation's premier ballet companies and a true cultural treasure of Philadelphia. Furthering a nearly sixty-year artistic lineage in Philadelphia, The Ruth & A. Morris Williams, Jr. Artistic Director Angel Corella leads an ensemble of 48 dancers from around the world and an ever-evolving repertoire of classic and contemporary works. The Dr. Carolyn Newsom Executive Director Shelly Power spearheads development and strategic plans to strengthen and expand the company's presence and impact locally, nationally, and internationally. Recognized as one of the top ten ballet companies in the United States, Philadelphia Ballet's 33-member Board of Trustees is led by local business leader and philanthropist David F. Hoffman. In addition to its performances on the Kimmel Center Cultural Campus, Philadelphia Ballet serves more than 30,000 individuals across the region every year with hands-on arts education and engagement activities brought to children and adults alike regardless of ability or socioeconomic background. For more, visit philadelphiaballet.org or connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Philadelphia Ballet is supported in part by a grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Community & Economic Development and receives support from The Philadelphia Cultural Fund and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. About Independence Blue Cross Independence Blue Cross is the leading health insurance organization in southeastern Pennsylvania. For 85 years, we have been enhancing the health and well-being of the people and communities we serve. We deliver innovative and competitively priced health care products and services; pioneer new ways to reward doctors, hospitals, and other health care professionals for coordinated, quality care; and support programs and events that promote wellness. To learn more, visit ibx.com. Connect with us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Independence Blue Cross is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Media Contacts: Lindsay Doyle For Philadelphia Ballet [email protected] 215-275-6541 Kathleen Conlon Independence Blue Cross [email protected] 267-918-8057 SOURCE Independence Blue Cross BOSTON and NEW YORK, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Provident Healthcare Partners ("Provident"), a leading healthcare investment banking firm, announced it has advised East Coast Institute for Research ("ECIR") in its partnership with Gauge Capital to provide a growth investment for the Company. ECIR is a preeminent Southeast clinical research site management organization with eight sites in Florida and Georgia, 14 partnered provider practices, and 26 principal investigators. Led by Rushab Choksi and Rebecca Goldfaden, ECIR manages all aspects of the Phase II Phase IV trial process and holds deep sponsor relationships across several indications including cardiovascular, dyslipidemia, diabetes, obesity, and ophthalmology. The transaction represents Gauge Capital's entrance into the clinical research site sector. Provident's deal team was led by Managing Director Eric Major and Vice President Conor Duffey. Axia Legal Services served as legal counsel to ECIR and McDermott Will & Emery served as legal counsel to Gauge Capital. "We're very excited to partner with Gauge on this next chapter of growth for ECIR. Through the process with Provident, we were able to evaluate multiple high-quality partners in parallel and are confident we chose the right team at Gauge to take our organization to the next level. We look forward to continuing to provide the same dedicated clinical research support to other practices nationally," commented Rushab Choksi, Co-Founder of ECIR. "Rebecca, Rushab and the rest of the ECIR team have developed a differentiated and highly scalable research site network in the Southeast," noted Major. "The Gauge team separated themselves as an ideal partner for ECIR given their dedicated thesis in the research site space and strong track record of providing growth capital for founder-led healthcare organizations." About East Coast Institute for Research ECIR is a comprehensive site management organization partnered with specialty provider practices serving the Florida and Georgia markets since 2007. The Company is dedicated to developing innovative research involving the latest medications and devices not yet available to the public. The Company is led by Rushab Choksi and Rebecca Goldfaden who both look forward to driving continued expansion throughout the Southeast and United States. Visit www.eastcoastresearch.net to learn more. About Gauge Capital Gauge Capital is a leading middle-market private equity firm based in Southlake, Texas. Gauge invests in five key sectors: business services, food & consumer, government & industrial services, healthcare, and technology. The Firm manages more than $3.0 billion in capital and in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023, Inc. Magazine named Gauge one of the top private equity firms for founders. In 2021, 2022, and 2023 Gauge was also named to the Top 50 PE Firms in the Middle Market by Grady Campbell. In 2022, Gauge ranked in the top five out of 517 private equity firms in the HEC Paris DowJones Small-Cap Buyout Performance Ranking. Visit www.gaugecapital.com for more information. About Provident Healthcare Partners Provident is a leading healthcare investment banking firm specializing in merger and acquisition advisory, strategic planning, and capital formation services for healthcare companies. The firm has a comprehensive knowledge of all healthcare services subsectors, including pharma services. Provident also has unsurpassed experience and insight into the M&A process, which includes working with a multitude of investors such as private equity firms and strategic consolidators. For additional information, visit www.providenthp.com or follow Provident on LinkedIn. SOURCE Provident Healthcare Partners LLC SHANGHAI, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pylontech and BloombergNEF (BNEF) achieved a significant milestone in advancing the energy storage industry through the joint release of an in-depth white paper titled "Scaling the Residential Energy Storage Market" at the BNEF Summit Shanghai on November 27th. This collaborative effort underscores the close partnership between the two entities, emphasizing their shared commitment to driving the energy sector forward and contributing to global energy transition initiatives. Over the past few years, the residential energy storage industry has experienced rapid growth. However, there are questions remaining about the choice of products, the value chain of the industry, and the policies and business models which will allow residential battery owners to capture the value of the grid flexibility they may provide. The white paper delves into these issues, providing profound insights by analyzing the current state of the residential market and projecting future developments. The white paper conducts a comprehensive analysis of the value of residential energy storage from multiple dimensions. In addition to delivering economic benefits to users and empowering them with the ability to autonomously manage energy, residential energy storage, as an integral component of distributed energy, can provide essential services to the power system. This supports society in exploring more effective methods of energy dispatch, ultimately establishing a flexible, stable, and reliable new energy network. The white paper emphasizes the significance of global collaboration within the industry value chain. Some Chinese companies have secured long-term technological and manufacturing advantages in battery cells, battery modules, BMS (Battery Management Systems), and more. Conversely, some local foreign companies possess stronger deployment capabilities, enabling them to offer aggregation and energy trading services. Collaboration between the two can yield complementary advantages, maximizing the value of residential storage. Pylontech, a pioneering industry leader with over a decade of deep-rooted experience, holds global recognition, particularly in the residential storage sector. BloombergNEF is an authoritative research provider specializing in analyzing future energy trends. Their collaborative effort in releasing the global white paper on residential storage offers profound insights for the industry, fostering innovation and collaboration, and collectively contributing to the development of a sustainable global residential storage market. Read the white paper here: https://bit.ly/3sPhVRo About BloombergNEF BloombergNEF (BNEF) is a strategic research provider covering global commodity markets and the disruptive technologies driving the transition to a low-carbon economy. Their expert coverage assesses pathways for the power, transport, industry, buildings and agriculture sectors to adapt to the energy transition. BNEF help commodity trading, corporate strategy, finance and policy professionals navigate change and generate opportunities. About Pylontech Pylontech (stock code: 688063 ) was founded in 2009 as a dedicated battery energy storage system provider and became the first publicly listed company in China in 2020 with a primary focus on energy storage as its core business. Pylontech integrates industrial chain with its robust research and development capabilities and comprehensive manufacturing expertise, spanning from cells, battery management systems and system integration. Its products and solutions have established a presence in over 80 nations and regions, with over one million energy storage systems successfully commissioned. In 2022, Pylontech was ranked as No.1 residential battery energy storage provider by S&P Global Commodity Insights." SOURCE Pylontech America's Largest Bathroom Remodeler Finds 'Growth from Within' Strategy Helping Drive Aggressive Domestic Expansion PHOENIX, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Re-Bath, the nation's largest complete bathroom remodeling franchise, announces five signed agreements all with existing franchisees further validating the franchise opportunity and proven business model. This news builds on the brand's impressive development efforts as it inches closer to a unit count of over 150 in the coming years. Existing franchisees are doubling down on their investments with the brand, validating Re-Bath's unparalleled franchise office support and infrastructure for growth. Behind the five newly signed agreements are: Existing franchisees are doubling down on their investments, validating Re-Bath's unparalleled franchise opportunity. Post this Guy & Patricia Lolmaugh The Lolmaughs signed on with Re-Bath in 2011 to operate in Lake Villa, IL. Their Re-Bath operates as a family business with Guy and Patricia at the helm and support from their daughter Christina Lolmaugh , along with daughter Beth Van Dyke and her husband Jon Van Dyke . Looking to take on a major DMA, they signed on for the Milwaukee market and are now open and operating. The Lolmaughs signed on with Re-Bath in 2011 to operate in Their Re-Bath operates as a family business with Guy and Patricia at the helm and support from their daughter , along with daughter and her husband . Looking to take on a major DMA, they signed on for the market and are now open and operating. Mark and Karen Dufour The husband-wife-team has owned Re-Bath in Panama City Beach since 2010. Finding immense success over the past decade-plus, the duo recently signed on to add Pensacola to their portfolio which is set to begin servicing the market in Q1 2024. The husband-wife-team has owned Re-Bath in since 2010. Finding immense success over the past decade-plus, the duo recently signed on to add to their portfolio which is set to begin servicing the market in Q1 2024. Jeff Oslund With nearly three decades of success operating Re-Bath in the Detroit DMA, Oslund also now operates the Toledo market having begun servicing the area early this year. Eager to capitalize on Midwest expansion opportunity, Oslund adds Traverse City to his portfolio as a natural extension of the success he continues to build in the Michigan market. Re-Bath in Traverse City is set to open in Q1 2024. With nearly three decades of success operating Re-Bath in the Detroit DMA, Oslund also now operates the market having begun servicing the area early this year. Eager to capitalize on Midwest expansion opportunity, Oslund adds to his portfolio as a natural extension of the success he continues to build in the market. Re-Bath in is set to open in Q1 2024. Henery Wall Wall currently owns four territories spanning Oklahoma and Texas . He operates these businesses with multiple family members, and has done so for the past 12 years. Since opening his doors, he's experienced impressive growth with steady year-over-year revenue increases. This has impacted his decision to further grow his portfolio, adding Wichita, KS to his growing roster which is set to open in Q1 2024. Wall currently owns four territories spanning and . He operates these businesses with multiple family members, and has done so for the past 12 years. Since opening his doors, he's experienced impressive growth with steady year-over-year revenue increases. This has impacted his decision to further grow his portfolio, adding to his growing roster which is set to open in Q1 2024. Joel Dichi After moving from Venezuela to the United States in 2015, Dichi brought his natural entrepreneurial spirit with him and joined the Re-Bath franchise system in 2020. He currently operates two Florida markets, Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach , and was recognized by the brand as "Rookie of the Year" in 2022 for his tremendous accomplishments. Now, he's decided to expand his portfolio even further to operate the Miami DMA in Q1 2024. "Investing in more territories within this franchise was a no-brainer," said Dichi. "After purchasing two existing territories in Florida, we were able to grow our sales more than six times over since we first opened, and knew there was more that we could achieve. The unwavering support and the rock-solid business model provided by our franchisor have been instrumental in our success. We've witnessed firsthand the commitment to our growth, and it's that kind of partnership that makes expanding with this brand a truly exciting journey." Large retail partnerships have proven successful for Re-Bath's overall growth and market share gains, driving nearly a 31% year-over-year increase in systemwide franchise installed sales. Not only are these partnerships with top-tier retailers helping to elevate brand awareness, but they are also contributing to franchisee's bottom line. Per Re-Bath's Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees that opened prior to 2020 had average revenues of $4.9M in 2022*. "We've set forth aggressive franchise development goals, and when existing franchisees choose to expand their commitment, it truly validates our business model as we continue to welcome new owners to the system as well," said Brad Hillier, CEO of Re-Bath. "This validation from within our own franchisee community reinforces the trust and partnership that defines our brand's success. We are excited to see our franchise family grow, knowing that their enthusiasm and entrepreneurial spirit will continue to shape our collective future." With the home improvement industry projected to reach $620B by 2025, Re-Bath is poised to continue its market leadership and growth. The brand continues to seek strategic franchise partners to expand its footprint nationwide. Company leadership has identified prime growth markets across Florida, including Tallahassee, Gainesville, North Tampa, and Port St. Lucie, as the state continues to experience a major housing boom. The impressive growth achieved by the brand has not gone unnoticed as Re-Bath recently earned the No. 283 spot on Entrepreneur Magazine's 2023 Franchise 500, the world's first, best and most comprehensive franchise ranking. Re-Bath also ranked No. 2 on Qualified Remodeler's Top 500 Nationals List and was recognized as No. 1 in the "Best Bathroom Renovations" category on Bob Vila's 2022 Best Home Improvement Contractors of 2022 Ranking. For more information on Re-Bath and franchise opportunities, visit www.rebathfranchise.com/ or call 888-454-8842. *The figures reflect the average gross sales per franchise unit and average gross profit for 63 Re-Bath franchised businesses that opened prior to 2020. These averages are based on a 52-week fiscal period from January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2022. Of these 63 franchised businesses, 25 (or 39.7%) attained or exceeded the average gross sales per unit and 31 (or 49.2%) attained or exceeded the average gross profit. Some outlets have sold this amount. Individual results may vary. There is no assurance that you will sell as much as the average. See 2023 Re-Bath Franchise Disclosure Document for details. About Re-Bath Re-Bath is the nation's largest complete bathroom remodeling franchise that has grown to more than 100 locations across the country. The parent company's first entry in the bathroom remodeling industry occurred in 1978 and focused on the hospitality sector. In 1991, Re-Bath launched its first franchise location to focus on the residential market. The company offers complete bathroom remodels, tub and shower updates, plus aging and accessibility solutions. From simple bathtub replacements to complete bathroom redesigns, Re-Bath makes bathroom remodeling effortless, convenient and affordable, all with professional, friendly and factory-trained installers. Re-Bath is a one-stop service that covers the entire process from design to done in three easy steps: consultation, removal, and installation. Re-Bath assembles its own exclusive line of products at its headquarters located in Phoenix, Ariz., and offers best-in-class products from national brands for its customers. For more information, please visit www.rebath.com or www.rebathfranchise.com for more details on the franchise opportunity. Media Contact: Kelly Hammond, Fishman Public Relations, (847) 945-1300 or [email protected] SOURCE Re-Bath CHICAGO, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The report "Reactive Hot Melt Adhesives Market by Resin Type (Polyurethane, Polyolefin), Substrate (Plastic, Wood), Application (Automotive & Transportation, Doors & Windows, Furniture & Upholstery, Lamination, Textile), & Region - Global Forecast to 2028", is growing at a high rate due to the increased demand from various applications. The global reactive hot melt adhesives market size was USD 1.6 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 2.6 billion by 2028, at a CAGR of 7.5% between 2023 and 2028. In the market for reactive hot melt adhesives, Asia Pacific is in the lead. Manufacturing and industrialization have surged because of the Asia Pacific region's several nations experiencing swift economic growth. This has consequently increased demand across a range of industries for sophisticated adhesive solutions like reactive hot melt adhesives. Reactive hot melt adhesives' increased performance, adaptability, and application efficiency are all a result of technological developments in the industry. Improvements in curing technology help to make curing procedures quicker and more effective. One example of this is the creation of adhesives that cure more quickly, allowing for speedier manufacturing cycles across a range of sectors. These days, certain reactive hot melt adhesives come with dual-cure systems that combine UV (ultraviolet) and hot melt curing technologies. This enables improved control over the curing process and offers versatility in bonding various materials. Browse in-depth TOC on "Reactive Hot Melt Adhesives Market" 408 Tables 56 Figures 334 Pages Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=222009468 Polyurethane segment is expected to hold largest share of the reactive hot melt adhesives market during the forecasted period. Polyurethane reactive (PUR) hot melt systems typically serve as one-component adhesives, rapidly bonding to various substrates. Once applied, PUR initiates cross-linking, achieving 50%-80% of its ultimate bond strength within 3-6 hours, with a complete reactive cure expected within 24-36 hours post-application, influenced by air and substrate moisture conditions. These bonds are very strong and have exceptional heat resistance, cold resistance, and moisture-, cold, and moisture resistance. Plastic substrate segment holds the largest segment in overall reactive hot melt adhesives market during forecast period. Reactive hot melt adhesives are used widely on plastic substrates. The unique characteristics of reactive hot melt adhesives make them well-suited for bonding plastic substrates. They provide strong, durable, and efficient adhesion in industries such as automotive and electronics where plastics are widely used. When exposed to heat, reactive hot melt adhesives undergo a reactive process, often involving crosslinking. This results in a bond with enhanced strength and durability, which is crucial for applications with a robust connection, such as in the assembly of plastic components in automotive or electronics. Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=222009468 Automotive & Transportation is the fastest-growing application of the global reactive hot melt adhesives market during forecasted period. In the automotive sector, reactive hot melt adhesives find broad application in bonding diverse components, such as plastic and metal parts. They play a crucial role in enhancing structural integrity, reducing noise, and streamlining assembly processes. These adhesives are extensively employed to create lightweight designs, enhance performance, and construct structures using a variety of materials like carbon fiber composites, glass fiber-reinforced composites, aluminum, and other multi-material combinations. Asia Pacific region likely to account the largest share of the global reactive hot melt adhesives market during forecasted period. Asia Pacific is one of the largest reactive hot melt adhesives markets, in terms of both value and volume, and is projected to grow significantly during the forecast period. The thriving construction industry, propelled by urbanization and infrastructure development, significantly contributes to the demand for these adhesives. Their applications extend to bonding materials in construction, furniture, and related sectors. Notably, the automotive industry, a key consumer of reactive hot melt adhesives, has witnessed remarkable growth in the Asia Pacific region. The increased utilization of these adhesives for purposes like lightweighting and structural bonding in the automotive manufacturing process has further fueled their demand. The key companies profiled in this report are Henkel AG & Co. KGaA (Germany), The Dow Chemical Company (US), H.B. Fuller Company (US), Jowat SE (Germany), and 3M (US). Browse Adjacent Market: Coatings Adhesives Sealants and Elastomers Market Research Reports & Consulting Related Reports: Adhesive & Sealants Market - Global Forecast to 2028 Hot Melt Adhesives Market - Global Forecast to 2027 About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets has been recognized as one of America's best management consulting firms by Forbes, as per their recent report. MarketsandMarkets is a blue ocean alternative in growth consulting and program management, leveraging a man-machine offering to drive supernormal growth for progressive organizations in the B2B space. We have the widest lens on emerging technologies, making us proficient in co-creating supernormal growth for clients. Earlier this year, we made a formal transformation into one of America's best management consulting firms as per a survey conducted by Forbes. The B2B economy is witnessing the emergence of $25 trillion of new revenue streams that are substituting existing revenue streams in this decade alone. We work with clients on growth programs, helping them monetize this $25 trillion opportunity through our service lines - TAM Expansion, Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy to Execution, Market Share Gain, Account Enablement, and Thought Leadership Marketing. Built on the 'GIVE Growth' principle, we work with several Forbes Global 2000 B2B companies - helping them stay relevant in a disruptive ecosystem. Our insights and strategies are molded by our industry experts, cutting-edge AI-powered Market Intelligence Cloud, and years of research. The KnowledgeStore (our Market Intelligence Cloud) integrates our research, facilitates an analysis of interconnections through a set of applications, helping clients look at the entire ecosystem and understand the revenue shifts happening in their industry. To find out more, visit www.MarketsandMarkets.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Contact: Mr. Aashish Mehra MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: [email protected] Research Insights: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/reactive-hot-melt-adhesives-market.asp Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/reactive-hot-melt-adhesives.asp Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg SOURCE MarketsandMarkets STERLING, Va., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- REI Systems has been awarded a contract from the Department of Defense (DOD)'s Insider Threat Management and Analysis Center (DITMAC) to build a case management service solution on the Salesforce.com platform. This system will offer a more efficient way for DOD staff and the public to report behaviors that may indicate insider threats such as espionage, sabotage, cyberattacks, suicide, or workplace violence. This contract win is a direct result of REI's proven success with the DOD Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, the NASA SBIR and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program, the effective rollout of the SBIR.gov platform, as well as the company's vast experience deploying Salesforce for Federal agencies for workflow and case management needs. "I am tremendously excited about our team supporting DITMAC with this mission-critical endeavor," said REI Systems Chief Growth Officer Wagish Bhartiya. "This contract win reinforces REI's growing footprint in the defense market and bolsters our portfolio of low-code and case management capabilities. The DITMAC mission is core to keeping our country safe from internal threats. There is no higher calling than protecting those who work to protect our everyday citizens." Under the contract, REI Systems will replace the current manual process for reporting potential insider threats, thereby accelerating alerts and utilizing artificial intelligence to improve predictive warnings. The company is set to develop a new centralized repository, accessible through a dedicated webpage, to enable both DOD personnel and the public to report incidents either anonymously or with their identity disclosed. This new system is anticipated to simplify the reporting process and draw upon data analysis best practices, allowing for more effective tracking and real-time analysis of threats and incidents. By incorporating a commercial-like digital experience into DITMAC's existing framework, the DOD is poised to make a substantial improvement in its technological approach to insider threat management. About REI Systems REI Systems has been a pioneering force in the government IT sector for over three decades, consistently delivering solutions that improve efficiency and expand the reach of federal, state, local, and nonprofit agencies. We take a Mindful Modernization approach in delivering our application modernization, grants management systems, government data analytics, case management systems, and advisory services. Mindful Modernization is the REI Way of delivering mission impact by aligning our government customers' strategic objectives to measurable outcomes through people, processes, and technology. Learn more at REIsystems.com. Media Contact [email protected] SOURCE REI Systems YANTAI, China, Nov. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- RemeGen Co. Ltd. ("RemeGen" or "the Company") (9995.HK, SHA: 688331), a commercial-stage biotechnology company, today announced its two Phase II, open-label, multicenter, single-arm studies for Disitamab Vedotin (RC48-C005 and RC48-C009) have demonstrated consistent efficacy in patients with HER2-positive (immunohistochemistry 3+ or 2+) locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) who have progressed through at least one previous line of systemic chemotherapy. The pooled analysis of these two studies have been published in the latest issue of the world-renowned Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO). The pivotal Phase II trial (RC48-C005, NCT03507166) was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of disitamab vedotin in HER2-positive previously treated advanced urothelial carcinoma (UC) patients. Based on the early positive results and the guidance of the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) in China, the RC48-C005 trial enrollment was prematurely halted, and a subsequent study (RC48-C009, NCT03809013) was conducted to validate the initial findings. A combined analysis of the two studies with adaptive trial design endorsed by the NMPA was required to improve the estimation precision of both efficacy and safety. Both trials demonstrated promising efficacy and manageable safety profiles for patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) who had previously experienced progression on systematic chemotherapy. Based on the robust results from both studies, in January 2022, disitamab vedotin gained conditional approval in China for patients with mUC resistant to platinum-based therapies. The Company's CEO, Dr. Jianmin Fang commented, "The reported results demonstrate that disitamab vedotin is among the first HER2-targeted therapies to have meaningful clinical value against metastatic or locally advanced urothelial cancer. These two China-based studies have led to the drug's accelerated approval in China and large international studies (NCT04879329, NCT05911295) initiated by our partner, Seagen Inc., are underway." Key Results One hundred and seven patients were enrolled in total and received a 2 mg/kg IV infusion of disitamab vedotin treatment once every two weeks. The primary end point was objective response rate (ORR) assessed by a blinded independent review committee (BIRC). Progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and safety were also assessed. The overall confirmed ORR by BIRC was 50.5% (95% CI, 40.6 to 60.3). Consistent results were observed in prespecified subgroups including patients with liver metastasis and patients previously treated with antiPD-1/L1 therapies. By the cutoff date of May 10, 2022, the median duration of response was 7.3 months (95% CI, 5.7 to 10.8). The median PFS and OS were 5.9 months (95% CI, 4.3 to 7.2) and 14.2 months (95% CI, 9.7 to 18.8), respectively. The most common treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) were peripheral sensory neuropathy (68.2%), leukopenia (50.5%), AST elevation (42.1%), and neutropenia (42.1%). Fifty-eight (54.2%) patients experienced grade 3 TRAEs, including peripheral sensory neuropathy (18.7%) and neutropenia (12.1%). Locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma (UC) has a poor prognosis, with only about 5% of patients at stage IV (metastatic) surviving longer than five years. Platinum-based chemotherapy remains the first-line standard of care for advanced UC with the objective response rates (ORRs) of 44.6%-72% historically and the median overall survival (mOS) of 14.0-15.2 months. "We are firmly committed to providing effective and safe treatment options to prolong and improve the quality of lives of patients with HER2-positive locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer. In these studies, we were pleased to find that disitamab vedotin has consistent efficacy and manageable safety in patients with chemotherapy-refractory mUC," said the principal investigator of the studies, Dr. Guo Jun. About RemeGen Co. Ltd. Founded in 2008, RemeGen (9995.HK, SHA: 688331) is a leading biopharmaceutical company in China committed to providing solutions to the unmet clinical needs of patients suffering from life-threatening illnesses. RemeGen has research laboratories and offices throughout China and the United States. The company is committed to discovering, developing, and commercializing innovative and differentiated biologic drugs of significant clinical value in the key therapeutic areas of autoimmune, oncology, and ophthalmic diseases. For more details, please visit: www.remegen.com About Disitamab Vedotin (RC48) Disitamab Vedotin (RC48) is an investigational anti-HER2 antibody-drug conjugate targeting prevalent cancers with significant unmet medical needs and is the first domestically developed ADC to receive marketing approval in China. The drug was granted conditional marketing approval in June 2021 by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) in China to treat locally advanced or metastatic gastric cancer. In the same month, the company submitted an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for the treatment of HER2-expressing advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma with disitamab vedotin. In 2021, RemeGen and Seagen Inc. entered into an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement to develop and commercialize disitamab vedotin. The company is implementing a differentiated development and commercial strategy for disitamab vedotin, including (i) gastric cancer (GC), (ii) urothelial carcinoma (UC), (iii) breast cancer (BC), and (iv) other HER2-expressing cancers. Forward-Looking Statements This news release may contain certain forward-looking statements that are, by their nature, subject to significant risks and uncertainties. The words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intend" and similar expressions, as they relate to RemeGen, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. RemeGen does not intend to update these forward-looking statements regularly. These forward-looking statements are based on the existing beliefs, assumptions, expectations, estimates, projections and understandings of the management of RemeGen concerning future events at the time these statements are made. These statements are not a guarantee of future developments and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond RemeGen's control and are difficult to predict. Consequently, actual results may differ materially from information contained in the forward-looking statements as a result of future changes or developments in our business, RemeGen's competitive environment and political, economic, legal and social conditions. RemeGen, the Directors and the employees of RemeGen assume (a) no obligation to correct or update the forward-looking statements contained on this site; and (b) no liability if any of the forward-looking statements do not materialize or turn out to be incorrect. SOURCE RemeGen Co., Ltd Remote sensing technologies, utilizing satellites and sensors, enable data collection about Earth's surface without direct contact. This data finds applications in environmental monitoring, agriculture, and disaster management. The global market for remote sensing technologies is rapidly expanding due to technological advancements and increasing demand for real-time, accurate data. This growth is driven by diverse sectors, from environmental concerns to precision agriculture, leading to innovative solutions and sustainable development practices worldwide. BOSTON, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- "According to the latest research study, the demand for Remote Sensing Technologies and Global Markets reached $13.1 billion in 2022 and is estimated to increase from $14.7 billion in 2023 to reach $27.1 billion by 2028, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.9% from 2023 through 2028." Dive into the future of remote sensing technologies with our comprehensive report, where we meticulously analyse various platforms including satellites, airborne systems, and other terrestrial and aquatic solutions. This in-depth study not only explores the diverse applications but also pinpoints the lucrative investment opportunities available to companies. Unveiling a panorama of the market, our report delves into the competitive landscape, regulatory nuances, driving forces, challenges, and emerging trends shaping the industry. With market projections spanning from 2023 to 2028, we offer valuable insights into the potential growth trajectories. Rooted in 2022 data and extending to 2028, our estimates provide a clear picture of the market's evolution, all presented in constant U.S. dollars, ensuring a reliable analysis of revenue trends. Embark on this insightful journey to navigate the landscape of remote sensing technologies and make informed strategic decisions. Learn More Embark on a transformative journey into the realm of remote sensing technologies, where innovation knows no bounds. Picture a future where drones and UAVs soar high, not just as marvels of engineering but as the vanguards of cost-effective and efficient data collection. This futuristic approach redefines the landscape, making cutting-edge technology accessible to all. But that is not all; governments' strategic investments in space technologies, particularly in earth observation, are set to revolutionize the entire game. Imagine a world where the sky is not the limit but a launchpad for groundbreaking discoveries and insights. Furthermore, the synergy of precision farming and advanced agriculture monitoring techniques paints a promising vista, injecting the agricultural sector with lucrative growth opportunities. It is more than just advancements; it is a paradigm shift, where innovation meets practicality, creating a tapestry of possibilities in the vast universe of remote sensing technologies. Buckle up for a journey where the future unfolds before your eyes, and every moment resonates with the pulse of progress. Driving forces behind the remote sensing technologies market's growth comprise: 1. Increasing Investment by International Governments: One of the primary drivers propelling the growth of the remote sensing technologies market is the surge in investment by international governments. Governments worldwide are recognizing the strategic importance of remote sensing for applications such as environmental monitoring, disaster management, national security, and infrastructure development. These investments often come in the form of funding for research and development, the launch of new satellite programs, and the establishment of public-private partnerships. With the backing of governments, the industry benefits from a boost in resources, which accelerates innovation and the development of cutting-edge technology. This not only stimulates the market, but also leads to the creation of new job opportunities and economic growth. 2. Increasing Number of Earth Observation Satellites: The proliferation of earth observation satellites is another key driver of the remote sensing market. The past decade has witnessed a remarkable increase in the number of these satellites launched into orbit. This expansion is driven by both government space agencies and private companies aiming to capture high-resolution imagery and other data about Earth's surface. The combination of these satellites provides more frequent and detailed information, enabling a broad range of applications, from monitoring climate change to assessing natural resources and managing urban development. As satellite technology continues to advance, the data collected becomes increasingly accurate and accessible, creating new opportunities for businesses and researchers. 3. Rapid Expansion of Remote Sensing and GIS (Geographic Information Systems): The rapid expansion of remote sensing and GIS technologies is another pivotal market driver. The integration of remote sensing data with GIS has opened new dimensions in data analysis, visualization, and decision-making. Businesses, governments, and research institutions are increasingly recognizing the value of combining spatial data with remote sensing information to gain deeper insights into various processes, environments, and trends. This integration enhances the efficiency of operations, such as urban planning, natural resource management, and disaster response. As a result, the demand for remote sensing and GIS solutions continues to grow, driving the market forward and fostering innovation in these interconnected fields. Request a Copy of the Remote Sensing Technologies and Global Markets Report Synopsis Report Metrics Details Base year considered 2022 Forecast Period considered 2023-2028 Base year market size $13.1 billion Market Size Forecast $27.1 billion Growth Rate CAGR of 12.9% for the forecast period of 2023-2028 Segment Covered Platform, Application Regions covered North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Rest of the World (Row) Countries covered U.S., Mexico, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, U.K., Rest of Europe, China, India, Japan, Rest of Asia-Pacific Key Market Drivers Increasing Investment by International Governments Increasing Number of Earth Observation Satellites Rapid Expansion of Remote Sensing and GIS The Rising Demand for Remote Sensing Technologies and Global Markets: The global demand for Remote Sensing Technologies is experiencing a significant upswing, reshaping markets across the world. This surge is propelled by a multitude of factors, including the growing need for accurate environmental data, climate change monitoring, disaster management, and precision agriculture. Businesses, governments, and research institutions are increasingly relying on remote sensing solutions, driving innovation in satellite technology, sensors, and data analytics. The global market is witnessing rapid expansion, with increased investments in space technologies and the integration of artificial intelligence further enhancing the capabilities of remote sensing applications. As industries continue to recognize the immense value of real-time, detailed Earth observation data, the global market for remote sensing technologies is poised for continued growth, shaping the future of various sectors on a global scale. Trends and Innovations: The landscape of Remote Sensing Technologies is witnessing transformative trends and innovations, reshaping global markets across industries. Integrating AI (Artificial Intelligence) and machine learning, miniaturized sensors, and hyperspectral imaging are revolutionizing data analysis and accessibility. Drone-based sensing and satellite IoT (Internet of Things) connectivity are enabling real-time, high-resolution data collection, while emphasis on instant processing enhances disaster management and decision-making. These advancements signify a shift towards more efficient, accurate, and responsive remote sensing applications, driving growth and shaping the future of diverse global markets. Challenges and Opportunities: Remote Sensing Technologies present challenges such as data security concerns, high initial costs, and the need for skilled professionals. However, they offer immense opportunities, including a growing market for environmental monitoring and precision agriculture. Advancements in AI enhance data analysis, and collaborations between sectors foster innovation. Additionally, the emphasis on sustainability opens doors in renewable energy and conservation efforts. Navigating these challenges can lead to thriving businesses capitalizing on the vast opportunities in the global market. This report on the Remote Sensing Technologies and Global Markets provides comprehensive insights and analysis, addressing the following key questions: 1. What are the anticipated market dimensions and expansion rate? The worldwide remote sensing technologies sector, valued at $13.1 billion in 2022, is slated to attain $27.1 billion by 2028. 2. What factors contribute to the market's rapid growth? The market for remote sensing technologies is expanding swiftly, driven by factors such as government funding, increasing agricultural sector needs, and the widespread adoption of advanced technologies. 3. What categories are included in the market analysis? The market analysis encompasses segments such as platform types, applications, and geographical regions. 4. Regarding applications, which segment is projected to lead the market by 2028? Infrastructure applications held market dominance and are anticipated to reach $5.2 billion by 2028. 5. Which region has the highest market share in the market? North America holds the highest market share in the market in terms of region. Some of the Key Market Players Are: AIRBUS BLACKSKY GLOBAL DESCARTES LABS ESRI HEXAGON IMAGESAT INTERNATIONAL N.V. MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES INC. PLANET LABS INC. REMOTE SENSING SOLUTIONS THALES GROUP TRIMBLE URTHECAST CORP. Browse More Related Reports: Environmental Sensing and Monitoring Technologies: Global Markets: The global market for Environmental Sensing and Monitoring Technologies is experiencing significant growth and transformation. These technologies, vital for assessing environmental conditions and ensuring sustainable practices, are witnessing increased adoption worldwide. With a focus on addressing climate change, pollution, and natural resource conservation, businesses, governments, and research institutions are investing in innovative sensing and monitoring solutions. This market evolution is driven by the pressing need for real-time environmental data, prompting the development of advanced sensors, satellite technologies, and IoT-based monitoring systems. The sector's expansion is also fuelled by stringent environmental regulations, emphasizing the importance of accurate monitoring and reporting. As a result, Environmental Sensing and Monitoring Technologies are at the forefront of global efforts towards a greener, more sustainable future. Satellites: Services, Launch, and Sharing Global Markets: The global market for Satellites, encompassing services, launch, and sharing, is experiencing a profound shift in dynamics. With the increasing demand for satellite-based services in communication, navigation, earth observation, and scientific research, the industry is witnessing a surge in satellite launches. This growth is driven by both government space agencies and private companies aiming to expand their satellite constellations. Moreover, satellite sharing initiatives are gaining traction, enabling collaborative efforts, and reducing costs for multiple stakeholders. This market evolution is marked by advancements in satellite technology, making launches more efficient and cost-effective. As the demand for satellite-based services continues to rise, the industry is poised for further expansion, with a focus on enhancing global connectivity and driving innovation in various sectors. Directly Purchase a copy of the report with BCC Research For further information or to make a purchase, please get in touch with [email protected]. About BCC Research BCC Research provides objective, unbiased measurement and assessment of market opportunities with detailed market research reports. Our experienced industry analysts' goal is to help you make informed business decisions, free of noise and hype. Contact Us Corporate HQ: BCC Research LLC 49 Walnut Park, Building 2 Wellesley, MA 02481, USA [email protected], +1 781-489-7301 Data and analysis extracted from this press release must be accompanied by a statement identifying BCC Research LLC as the source and publisher. For media inquiries, email [email protected] or visit www.bccresearch.com/media to request access to our library of market research. Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2183242/BCC_Research_Logo.jpg SOURCE BCC Research LLC CHICAGO, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Respiratory Diagnostics Market in terms of revenue was estimated to be worth $5.6 billion in 2023 and is poised to reach $8.2 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 6.6% from 2023 to 2029 according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets.The integration of artificial intelligence and data analytics in respiratory diagnostics allows for more efficient analysis of complex data, aiding in early detection and personalized treatment plans. Global health emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, have emphasized the importance of respiratory diagnostics. The need for quick and accurate diagnostic tools during outbreaks can drive innovation and market growth. Government initiatives aimed at controlling and managing respiratory diseases, along with favorable healthcare policies, increased funding and support can facilitate the adoption of advanced diagnostic technologies. Advances in diagnostic technologies, including imaging techniques, molecular diagnostics, and rapid testing methods, enhance the accuracy and efficiency of respiratory diagnostics. Technological improvements often drive market growth by providing better diagnostic tools. Increased awareness about the importance of early detection and diagnosis of respiratory diseases among both healthcare professionals and the general population contributes to the growth of the respiratory diagnostics market. The cost associated with respiratory diagnostic tests, especially advanced imaging and molecular diagnostic techniques, can be a barrier to accessibility and adoption, limiting market growth, particularly in regions with resource constraints. Download an Illustrative overview: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=163390459 Browse in-depth TOC on "Respiratory Diagnostics Market" 83 - Tables 45 - Figures 146 - Pages Respiratory Diagnostics Market Scope: Report Coverage Details Market Revenue in 2023 $5.6 billion Estimated Value by 2029 $8.2 billion Growth Rate Poised to grow at a CAGR of 6.6% Market Size Available for 20212029 Forecast Period 20232029 Forecast Units Value (USD Billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered Product and Service, Test Type, Disease Indication, End user, and Region Geographies Covered North America US Canada Europe Germany UK France Spain Italy Rest of Europe Asia Pacific China Australia Japan India Australia South Korea Rest of APAC Latin America Brazil Mexico Rest of LATAM Middle East and Africa Report Highlights Updated financial information / product portfolio of players Key Market Opportunities Growing awareness about ill effects of untreated sleep apnea Key Market Drivers High prevalence of tobacco smoking "Instruments and Devices segment accounted for the largest share and is expected to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period." The growing trend towards point-of-care testing (POCT) represents a paradigm shift in healthcare, significantly contributing to the growth of the instruments and devices segment. Portable respiratory diagnostic instruments, such as handheld spirometers, peak flow meters, and portable imaging devices, enable real-time assessment of lung function and conditions. The integration of point-of-care respiratory testing not only enhances diagnostic efficiency but also improves patient outcomes by facilitating faster initiation of appropriate interventions. This trend aligns with the broader healthcare goals of personalized and timely care, making respiratory diagnostic instruments and devices a pivotal component in addressing the evolving needs of healthcare delivery. "The Mechanical Tests segment accounted for the largest share and is expected to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period." The escalating prevalence of respiratory disorders, particularly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma, underscores the critical role of mechanical tests in assessing lung function. Mechanical tests, such as spirometry and peak flow test, play a fundamental role in evaluating lung function by measuring parameters like airflow, lung volume, and capacity. Given the chronic nature of respiratory diseases, early and precise diagnosis is essential for effective management and timely intervention. Mechanical tests enable healthcare professionals to objectively assess the severity of respiratory impairments, monitor disease progression, and tailor treatment strategies accordingly. As the burden of respiratory diseases continues to rise, the demand for mechanical tests is expected to grow. "Asthma segment accounted for the largest share of the global respiratory diagnostics market." Personalized asthma care is increasingly reliant on sophisticated diagnostic tools that consider individual patient profiles. Advanced diagnostics, such as molecular testing and biomarker analysis, enable healthcare professionals to delve into the specific genetic and molecular factors contributing to a patient's asthma. By understanding these intricate details, clinicians can formulate highly personalized and targeted treatment strategies. As a result, the asthma segment in the respiratory diagnostics market is poised for significant growth, driven by the increasing recognition of the value of personalized medicine in delivering more effective and patient-centric asthma care. "Hospitals and clinics end-user segment held the largest market share growing at the highest CAGR during the forecast period of the respiratory diagnostics market." Hospitals and clinics are increasingly integrating respiratory diagnostics into routine care protocols. The seamless integration of respiratory diagnostics within hospitals and clinics ensures that diagnostic services are readily accessible to a broad spectrum of patients seeking routine or specialized care. This proactive approach not only facilitates early disease detection but also enables ongoing monitoring of respiratory health. Regularized diagnostic protocols become an integral part of patient care pathways, allowing for swift intervention and personalized treatment plans. As hospitals and clinics become primary hubs for respiratory diagnostics within routine care, the utilization of these services is expected to surge, propelling the growth of the respiratory diagnostics market. "North America to witness significant growth during the forecast period." In 2022, North America held the largest market share for respiratory diagnostics market. The growing awareness of the significance of early detection and effective management of respiratory diseases has emerged as a significant factor propelling the utilization of respiratory diagnostics products and services in North America. Simultaneously, the general public's increased awareness has led to a shift in health-seeking behavior, with individuals becoming more proactive in seeking respiratory health assessments. Recognizing the potential impact of respiratory diseases on overall well-being, there is a collective effort to undergo diagnostic tests for early detection and timely intervention. Consequently, this heightened utilization of respiratory diagnostics not only leads to better patient outcomes through early identification and management of respiratory conditions but also serves as a driving force behind the growth of the respiratory diagnostics market in North America. Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=163390459 Respiratory Diagnostics Market Dynamics: Drivers: 1. High prevalence of tobacco smoking Restraints: 1. Unfavorable reimbursement scenario Opportunities: 1. Growing awareness about ill effects of untreated sleep apnea Challenge: 1. Low awareness and lack of diagnosis of respiratory diseases Key Market Players of Respiratory Diagnostics Industry: Some of the prominent players in the respiratory diagnostics market are Koninklijke Philips N.V. (Netherlands), BD (US), Abbott (US), Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (US), GE HealthCare (US), Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (US), BioMerieux (France), Revvity, Inc. (US), Seegene Inc. (South Korea), Nihon Kohden Corporation (Japan), Vitalograph (UK), SDI Diagnostics (US), ResMed Inc. (US), Siemens Healthcare GmbH (Germany), Cosmed (Italy), Hologic, Inc. (US), Qiagen (Netherlands), Vyaire (US), Visby Medical, Inc (US), Briota Technologies Private Limited (India), Bird Healthcare (Australia), Lowenstein Medical Technology (Germany), ProAxsis (Northern Ireland), ndd Medical Technologies (US) and Compumedics Limited (Australia). Breakdown of supply-side primary interviews: By Company Type: Tier 1 35%, Tier 2 40%, and Tier 3 25% By Designation: C-level 30%, Director-level 23%, and Others 47% By Region: North America - 35%, Europe 20%, APAC 25%, Latin America 13%, Middle East & Africa 7% Get 10% Free Customization on this Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=163390459 Respiratory Diagnostics Market - Key Benefits of Buying the Report: The report can help established firms as well as new entrants/smaller firms to gauge the pulse of the market, which, in turn, would help them garner a greater share. Firms purchasing the report could use one or a combination of the below-mentioned five strategies. This report provides insights into the following pointers: Analysis of key drivers (rising prevalence of respiratory diseases, Increasing incidence rate of preterm births, growing outbreaks of infectious diseases affecting the respiratory system, growing population with sleep disorders, rising R&D investments for technological advancement of medical devices), restraints (unfavorable reimbursement scenario for respiratory care diagnostics), opportunities (high respiratory diagnostics market growth opportunities in Asia Pacific and Latin America , improving POC diagnostics, growing awareness about the ill effects of untreated sleep apnea), and challenges (low awareness and lack of diagnosis of respiratory diseases) influencing the growth of respiratory diagnostics market. and , improving POC diagnostics, growing awareness about the ill effects of untreated sleep apnea), and challenges (low awareness and lack of diagnosis of respiratory diseases) influencing the growth of respiratory diagnostics market. Product Development/Innovation: Detailed insights on upcoming technologies, research and development activities, and product launches in respiratory diagnostics market. Market Development: Comprehensive information about lucrative emerging markets. The report analyzes the markets for various types of respiratory diagnostics across regions. Market Diversification: Exhaustive information about products, untapped regions, recent developments, and investments in respiratory diagnostics market. Competitive Assessment: In-depth assessment of market shares, strategies, products, distribution networks, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players in respiratory diagnostics market. Related Reports: Molecular Diagnostics Market - Global Forecasts to 2028 Respiratory Care Devices Market - Global Forecasts to 2028 Infectious Disease Diagnostics Market - Global Forecasts to 2027 Next Generation Sequencing Market - Global Forecasts to 2027 Influenza Diagnostics Market - Global Forecasts to 2026 About MarketsandMarkets: MarketsandMarkets has been recognized as one of America's best management consulting firms by Forbes, as per their recent report. MarketsandMarkets is a blue ocean alternative in growth consulting and program management, leveraging a man-machine offering to drive supernormal growth for progressive organizations in the B2B space. We have the widest lens on emerging technologies, making us proficient in co-creating supernormal growth for clients. Earlier this year, we made a formal transformation into one of America's best management consulting firms as per a survey conducted by Forbes. The B2B economy is witnessing the emergence of $25 trillion of new revenue streams that are substituting existing revenue streams in this decade alone. We work with clients on growth programs, helping them monetize this $25 trillion opportunity through our service lines - TAM Expansion, Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy to Execution, Market Share Gain, Account Enablement, and Thought Leadership Marketing. Built on the 'GIVE Growth' principle, we work with several Forbes Global 2000 B2B companies - helping them stay relevant in a disruptive ecosystem. Our insights and strategies are molded by our industry experts, cutting-edge AI-powered Market Intelligence Cloud, and years of research. The KnowledgeStore (our Market Intelligence Cloud) integrates our research, facilitates an analysis of interconnections through a set of applications, helping clients look at the entire ecosystem and understand the revenue shifts happening in their industry. To find out more, visit www.MarketsandMarkets.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Contact: Mr. Aashish Mehra MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: [email protected] Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/respiratory-diagnostics-market.asp Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/respiratory-diagnostics.asp Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg SOURCE MarketsandMarkets DUSSELDORF, Germany, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Rhino Rescue made a strong appearance at Medica in Germany, showcasing the comprehensive range of its latest technologies and products. During the event, more than 20 companies expressed their intention to partner with Rhino Rescue, thereby expanding its global prospects even further. This appearance has presented Rhino Rescue with great opportunities to solidify its leading position in the emergency medical industry. Picture took from Rhino Rescue's booth at Medica Medica attracted top-notch industry leaders and professionals from around the globe, providing a premier platform to delve into crucial topics that propel the medical field forward. These topics span a wide range, encompassing medical tech & devices, digital health, lab & diagnostic, physio tech, and disposables. In the realm of emergency medical services, efficiency is paramount, and Rhino Rescue goes the extra mile by attentively listening to customers and continuously improving their products to deliver exceptional results that create a lasting impression. One of the standout products showcased at Medica was the Quick-Response Compressed Gauze, a game-changer in the realm of traditional gauze usage. This innovative product allows users to simply open the package from the top and directly pull out the gauze to fill the wound. It revolutionizes the user experience by enabling swift identification and precise placement of the gauze during application. This remarkable advancement greatly enhances convenience and reduces rescue time, providing an invaluable solution in critical situations. Another highlight of the event was the joint exhibition with Flamor, an esteemed Italian brand. Rhino Rescue showcased its integrated tactical rescue solutions, featuring Flamor's cart stroller, which offers seamless patient transfer and treatment. The Rhino series, renowned for its exceptional quality, received multiple commendations and recognition from clients. Moreover, Rhino Rescue actively engaged in collaborative discussions that centered on evolving market needs and the development of new products with global experts during the exhibition. Rhino Rescue Sets the Pace with Swift Product Updates, Quality Assurance, and an Integrated Supply Chain Rhino Rescue introduces 3-5 new products each year while maintaining a strong focus on quality. All products meet high standards with CE and FDA certifications. With an integrated supply chain, Rhino Rescue ensures meticulous oversight of the manufacturing process. Their primary focus lies in the development of class 2 medical equipment, catering to the unique requirements of healthcare professionals. Embracing a localized approach, Rhino Rescue strives to create tailored solutions for different markets, ensuring optimal effectiveness and customer satisfaction. "I tried Rhino Rescue a few years ago. As soon as I tried it, I realized that it was a high-quality product. Rhino Rescue is adding new products and actively listening to user feedback, which I love!" said DR. Francisco, an emergency physician in Hungary. Rhino Rescue remains dedicated to unleashing the power of technology, joining forces with like-minded individuals to save more lives. Together, they strive to make a meaningful impact and create a brighter future for those in need of life-saving assistance. For more information, please visit https://rhinorescuestore.com/index Contact: Hui Chen, [email protected] SOURCE Rhino Rescue 20 -year Consumer Product Goods and Alcohol Beverage veteran will lead Human Resources at Riboli Family Wines LOS ANGELES, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Riboli Family Wines has announced that Dan Goldstone has been appointed to the newly created position of Chief People Officer (CPO), responsible for leading all human resources functions for the company starting immediately. Goldstone will report to Steve Riboli, Owner/President of Riboli Family Wines. Dan Goldstone Goldstone brings more than 20 years of human resources experience to the Riboli Family of brands, most recently as Senior Vice President and Corporate Affairs, at Chicken of the Sea where he led the Human Resources Function for Thai Union's companies in North America. Prior to that he was the director of human resources for the U.S., Canada and Latin America divisions of Treasury Wine Estates, one of the world's largest wine companies. He held senior human resources roles at Bright View Corporation, the nation's leading commercial landscaping company; Brown-Forman Corporation, parent company to Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey; and E. & J. Gallo Winery, the largest exporter of California Wines. As a foremost human resources expert, Goldstone offers specialized skills in talent management, training & development, talent acquisition, organizational development, cultural engagement, diversity equity and inclusion, crisis management, strategy, shared resources and human resources business partnering. "We are extremely excited to welcome Dan into our rich tradition of success at Riboli Family Wines to the newly created position of Chief People Officer. Dan brings with him tremendous leadership and a diverse background to enable the further growth of our people and brands. Said Riboli "His wealth of experience will be critical to growing the capabilities of our people that fuels their success and the success of our high-performance culture at the company." Goldstone, who resides in (Orange County) Calif., graduated from San Diego State University with a bachelor's degree in political science. He recently completed the Human Capital and Effective Organizations Leadership program at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business and is a lifelong learner, who believes in the importance of service leadership to enable individual and organizational success. For more information on Riboli Family Wines, visit http://www.riboliwines.com ABOUT RIBOLI FAMILY WINES Riboli Family Wines, family-owned since 1917, celebrates over a century crafting award-winning wines. Winner of Wine Enthusiasts' 2018 "American Winery of the Year", Riboli Family Wines includes the Riboli Fine Wines division including CA estate-based brands from the family's 1,800 acres of sustainably farmed vineyards and Imported wines representing family growers committed to sustainable and organic practices , as well as Stella Rosa, the #1 Import Brand in the USi. With an affinity for business and innovation, the 3rd and 4th generations of the Riboli Family lead the industry and push the boundaries of winemaking and the wine drinking experience. For more information, please visit www.riboliwines.com. 1 Source: Impact Databank 2022. Media Contact: Natasha Hayes, [email protected] SOURCE Riboli Family Wines NORTH CHICAGO, Ill., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science announces a new tenant in its Innovation and Research Park: 32 (Three Squared) Biosciences , which builds companies that leverage artificial intelligence to better understand the gut microbiome and uses that knowledge to prevent diseases. 32 Biosciences and its subsidiary companies, Gateway Biome and Covira , signed an agreement, effective Nov. 1, for space within the Innovation and Research Park . Covira had previously been a member company in RFU's Helix 51 incubator. A rapidly growing body of research shows that the gut microbiome a previously unrecognized vital organ plays a central role in neurodegenerative (Alzheimer's, Parkinson's), cardiovascular (hypertension, atherosclerosis), metabolic (obesity, diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)) and gastrointestinal (IBD, colorectal cancer) diseases. 32 Biosciences was formed to harness the full potential of Gateway Biome and Covira, spinouts from the University of Chicago. "We want to support both companies as they move toward commercialization of their technologies," said CEO Peter Farmakis, MBA. "This distinctive structure drives operational efficiencies and reduces risk, while maintaining scientific focus at Gateway Biome and Covira. We are thrilled to move into our new home in the IRP." Covira received notice in late 2022 of a $299,000 NIH Seed Fund Fast Track Award with the potential for additional milestone payments for the study "A novel, non-antibiotic, microbiome-directed agent to prevent post-surgical infection." The company appointed Brian Yoor, former Chief Financial Officer of Abbott, as Chairman of the Board earlier this year, and continues to build the overall team. "We have watched the rapid progression of Covira and now 32 Biosciences, and are excited about their 'graduation' from the Helix 51 Incubator into the Innovation and Research Park (IRP)," said Executive Vice President for Research Ronald Kaplan, PhD. "RFU is committed to expanding collaboration between academic research and the life science industry to improve prevention and treatment of disease." RFU completed the final buildout of 14,000 square feet of IRP wet lab and office space for bioscience-industry occupancy in June helping to meet the growing demand for wet lab space in the Chicago region and creating an environment where academic and industry scientists can work together to solve complex health challenges. About Rosalind Franklin University RFU encompasses six colleges and 12 research centers. Learn more at rosalindfranklin.edu . Office of Marketing and Communications [email protected] SOURCE Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science SHANGHAI, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Runergy has achieved a significant milestone by being included in the latest BloombergNEF Tier 1 PV Module Manufacturers list for Q4 of 2023. This recognition is a testament to the exceptional quality and reliability of Runergy's products, its outstanding performance in global projects, and its strong bankability. BloombergNEF (BNEF) is renowned as one of the most reputable industry research institutions in the global new energy sector. BNEF has developed a tiering system for PV module products based on bankability, with the goal of creating transparent differentiation between the hundreds of manufacturers of solar modules on the market. To qualify as a Tier 1 PV module manufacturer, companies must demonstrate the production of self-owned brand PV modules for six different projects, financed by six different commercial banks. Runergy's high-efficiency N-type double-glass module products are built on the latest generation of ultra-high efficient N-type cell technology developed by the Photovoltaic R&D Institute established by Runergy. These modules offer several advantages, including lower LCOE, better BOS cost, higher power efficiency, and are widely utilized in large-scale ground-mounted projects and tracking systems, C&I projects, and residential roofs. Runergy is committed to meeting the diverse needs of global customers and delivering higher returns for them. Since entering the PV module business in 2022, Runergy's module products have been exported to numerous countries and regions worldwide, with increasing shipments. The company has established extensive partnerships in key markets such as the United States, South America, Europe, and Southeast Asia, and has implemented PV power projects in various locations. One of Runergy's flagship products is the N-type Double Glass 144-Piece Module, which has received recognition as the RETC "Overall Highest Achiever", demonstrating exceptional performance in rigorous tests of quality, performance, and reliability. Currently, Runergy is strategically expanding its vertical industrial chain, covering polysilicon, cells, modules, and power systems. The company has established independent production sites in multiple locations worldwide. Runergy implements stringent management practices in intelligent manufacturing, quality control, and after-sales support to ensure the delivery of efficient and high-quality products and services to customers, with the commitment of becoming the most reliable global solar solution partner. In response to the global energy transformation and evolving market trends, Runergy will accelerate the development of its entire industry chain, focus on module business growth, and establish a stable and trustworthy module production supplier brand. SOURCE Jiangsu Runergy New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. The first Indian woman to win the WISE Prize for Education for her contribution to girls' education in rural India MUMBAI, India, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Safeena Husain, Founder, Educate Girls, has been awarded the prestigious WISE Prize for Education at the WISE 11 Summit (World Innovation Summit for Education). The WISE Prize for Education is the first global distinction of its kind that honours an individual for outstanding contribution to education. Safeena Husain, Founder, Educate Girls wins the WISE Prize for Education In a rapidly changing world, India is emerging as an innovator by harnessing technology for social impact. Educate Girls, led by Safeena Husain, exemplifies this innovative approach, employing AI to identify villages with high numbers of out-of-school girls. Equipped with this information, over 21,000 gender champions go door-to-door in the hardest-to-reach villages of India to identify these girls. Working in partnership with the government and communities, Educate Girls reintegrates them into the formal education system. Educate Girls has mobilised over 1.4 million girls for enrolment and supported over 1.9 million students with remedial learning since its inception through this comprehensive approach in rural India. Presented by the Qatar Foundation, the WISE Prize is a testament to Safeena's commitment to bridging the gender gap in education in India. Safeena shared her sentiments on this accolade, "I am honoured and humbled for this recognition. This is a collective win for all of us working towards girls' education, right from the government and local communities, to our dedicated gender champions and our valued supporters. Girls' education is the closest thing to a silver bullet and a transformative force in solving the world's most complex problems. But most importantly, it is her inherent right. At Educate Girls, we are steadfast in our commitment to contributing to this transformation." Safeena emphasises the synergy between human compassion and technological innovation as the powerhouse for transformative change, "AI can help us find the most vulnerable girls faster and help us deliver quality education at scale; however, we must not forget that the human touch remains the indispensable element on the ground." One of Educate Girls' most notable achievements is pioneering the world's first Development Impact Bond (DIB) in education that ties funding to outcomes. With the WISE Prize, the organisation is well-poised for its next big goal of impacting 10 million adolescent girls and young women in 10 years. The focus extends beyond completion of education and connects girls and young women to further opportunities for employment and skilling. This commitment ensures that the future for girls in India is one of endless opportunities and dreams. About Educate Girls Educate Girls is a non-profit that focuses on mobilising communities for girls' education in India's rural and educationally backward areas. Working in partnership with the Government, Educate Girls currently operates successfully in over 24,000 villages of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar and has mobilised over 1.4 million girls for school enrolment, aligning with the 'Right to Education Act' and the Government's vision for better access to primary education. Learn more at www.EducateGirls.ngo | Facebook | LinkedIn | X | Instagram | YouTube For any media inquiries, please contact: [email protected] About WISE Founded in 2009 by Qatar Foundation under the visionary leadership of its Chairperson, Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, WISE (World Innovation Summit for Education) has evolved into an international, multi-sectoral platform dedicated to fostering innovation and evidence-based approaches in education. WISE 11, the summit's 11th edition, marks a significant milestone, emphasizing a new era of global educational transformation. Through its biennial summit, collaborative research, and a number of ongoing programs, WISE has become a global point of reference for new educational paradigms. To stay up to date, follow WISE on LinkedIn , Instagram , Facebook and X . Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2287091/Safeena_Husain_Educate_Girls.jpg Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1359275/4426416/Educate_Girls_Logo.jpg SOURCE Educate Girls SAN ANTONIO, Nov. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- San Antonio holidays will be even more memorable starting this year with the launch of what will become a time-honored tradition. Set against the backdrop of one of the most historic and charming promenades, San Antonio Holidays on Houston Street runs through January 2. Of special note, December 15-17 will be chockfull of enhanced special events. Cowboy Santa will charm all at the new San Antonio Holidays on Houston Street. From the Alamo to Legacy Park, San Antonio Holidays on Houston Street takes over five blocks of one of the most historic and charming promenades in the Alamo City. San Antonio Holidays on Houston Street runs through January 2 with a special enhanced weekend December 15-17 to include a European-style Christkindl Market, and nightly Holiday Lights in the Sky showings. Go to VisitSanAntonio.com for more. The City of San Antonio, CENTRO San Antonio and Visit San Antonio have partnered to bring more holiday sparkle to five blocks of Houston Street (from Legacy Park to the Alamo). The stretch will glisten with twinkling lights, oversized decor elements, bustle with entertainers and themed offerings from businesses. For the market, guests will feel they have stepped into a charming European Christkindlmarket. The nostalgia of San Antonio holidays will unfold under the soft glow of Houston Street lampposts, recalling memories of Christmas' past, and inspiring the making of new holiday memories for all. For all Holidays on Houston Street happenings, go here. For overall holiday events in San Antonio, click here. Ongoing: through January 2 Enhanced decor includes almost 400,000 lights on 80 trees. Shops, hotels, restaurants and bars present special holiday offers. Entertainers fill the street with holiday music December 13-18 and 24. and 24. More than a dozen new murals by local artists. Alamo Lights shine through January 3 with festive lighting, extended hours. with festive lighting, extended hours. Family-friendly holiday-themed movies at Legacy Park. River Walk illuminated by thousands of lights through January 7 . illuminated by thousands of lights through . Travis Park's H-E-B Christmas tree and Rotary Ice Rink through January 15 . Date Specific: December 12-19 December 12: Taste of Houston Street Community Dinner. Join diners at a block-long communal table under the historic Majestic Theater marquee. December 15-16: Legacy Park. Urban green space offers food, children's activities, and prime viewing for Holiday Lights in the Sky. December 15-17: Enhanced Weekend. Step into a European-style Christkindl market at the Holidays on Houston Market for carefully curated gifts. for carefully curated gifts. Houston Street Experiential Lounge , where revelers add San Antonio experience-based gifts to their bags. , where revelers add experience-based gifts to their bags. Holiday Lights in the Sky look skyward as 15-minute shows feature drones choreographed to holiday music. Every 30 minutes from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. December 19: Holidays on Houston Street Fun Run. Don both holiday costume and running shoes for the first Holidays on Houston Street Fun Run. SOURCE Visit San Antonio A person walks past a "#COP28" sign during The Changemaker Majlis, a one-day CEO-level thought leadership workshop focused on climate action, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Oct 1, 2023. [Photo/Agencies] A senior environmental expert has called for establishing an international mechanism to track the compliance of developed nations financial commitments to the Global South, as poorly materialized pledges are jeopardizing the trust seriously needed in the global climate process. He said a similar mechanism is also needed at the national level, as that will help countries draw a clear picture about existing financial gaps in meeting their climate targets, based on which global funders can make contributions. Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, CEO of the Global Environment Facility, made the remarks in an exclusive interview with China Daily in the run-up to the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP28, which is scheduled to start on Thursday. That developed nations should honor their long-standing pledge to mobilize $100 billion per year by 2020 to help poor countries cope with climate change has been a topic for years at the annual UN climate gathering. "Expert groups are telling us that were far from the $100 billion (target)," Rodriguez said. Only around $83 billion has been mobilized so far, he said, quoting a recent assessment report, adding that this figure might not be in line with the actual situation. Established in 1991, the Global Environment Facility is one of the worlds most influential funders of environmental projects. Its grants, blended financing and policy support help developing countries address their biggest environmental priorities and adhere to international environmental conventions. According to Rodriguez, his funding organization contributes about $1 billion, and roughly $3 billion comes from the Green Climate Fund. "So where is this $83 billion? You put everything there, and a lot of everything is not directly linked to the Paris Agreement (on climate change)," he said. Noting that this is an "underlying element" that has jeopardized the trust between developed countries and developing nations, he said, "So how are we going to agree on a new 2025 financial target if there is no trust?" At COP26, which was held in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2021, developed nations were urged to double the collective provision of climate adaptation finance from the 2019 level by 2025. But "very little is happening", Rodriguez said. He said the introduction of a global mechanism that tracks the compliance may help address the problems. "I think that it is not until we establish a reliable, transparent global mechanism of reporting that things will change." As a former negotiator of Costa Rica in UN climate negotiations, Rodriguez said he proposed such a mechanism "quite a few times", but received no proactive response from the Global North. "Thats the position I continue to see.... That is an element that really continues to limit progress." He said that a tracking mechanism also doesnt exist in any of the 144 countries where his funding organization currently has projects. "I think that we need a decision, so countries should be reporting how much they are investing from all sources." This is important because it helps countries to have an idea of the gap and then work out a plan to narrow that gap, he said, adding that his funding organization can then invest in what these countries have defined in their plans. Rodriguez, Costa Ricas former minister of environment and energy, also shared some practices in his country that have helped make its power sector completely clean and renewable in the past decade. While many countries have separate ministries for energy and environment, Costa Rica merged the two and established the Ministry of Environment and Energy in 1986. The same year, about 40 percent of electricity in the Central American nation was generated using renewables. The proportion has stayed at 100 percent each year in the past decade, except for 2022, which registered 99 percent, he said. "The lesson is you need to create an institutional framework that helps, because there are a lot of conflicts within environment and energy at the national level," he said. Rodriguez emphasized efforts to mobilize domestic resources as another key factor for the success of Costa Ricas energy transition. The country invested $9.3 billion in renewables, particularly in nontraditional types. Costa Rica understood that it is in its own interest to go the renewable way, while many other developing countries said they are not going to invest in energy transition unless they get financial support from outside as part of the $100 billion pledged by developed countries, he said. Schneider Electric is the first manufacturer to join the NAED Education & Research Foundation (NERF) program improving the impact and sustainability of the channel BOSTON, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Schneider Electric, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, today announced a $1,000,000 pledge to the NAED Education & Research Foundation (NERF) to support their Next Level Now campaign. Schneider Electric is the first manufacturer to join the industry-wide effort to develop insights, tools, and services that support the digital transformation and modernization of the distribution channel. Schneider Electric is a long-time member of NAED and the program's first at the Visionary Circle level pledging $1,000,000 over the next five years. This investment will improve the impact and sustainability of the channel, as well as its modernization by developing strategies and tools to optimize business practices. Schneider Electric shares the vision of a modern, digital channel to benefit all stakeholders involved by engaging a new and larger customer base, increasing sales, and providing a better overall customer experience. "We provide a shared experience to our customers, and the industry wins on the quality of that shared experience," Mike Montanari, Vice-President of Channel Development, said. "The Next Level Now Campaign is an opportunity for us to align together so we can continually deliver the best possible experience for the customers we collectively serve. Schneider Electric is honored to support this vital initiative." With its five-year commitment to the program, Schneider Electric demonstrates the strength of its relationships with distribution partners and its leadership position in the industry as distributors explore and develop new capabilities to optimize their businesses and keep pace with customer expectations and needs. For more information on Schneider Electric, please visit www.se.com/us. About Schneider Electric Schneider's purpose is to empower all to make the most of our energy and resources, bridging progress and sustainability for all. We call this Life Is On. Our mission is to be your digital partner for Sustainability and Efficiency. We drive digital transformation by integrating world-leading process and energy technologies, end-point to cloud connecting products, controls, software and services, across the entire lifecycle, enabling integrated company management, for homes, buildings, data centers, infrastructure and industries. We are the most local of global companies. We are advocates of open standards and partnership ecosystems that are passionate about our shared Meaningful Purpose, Inclusive and Empowered values. www.se.com Hashtags: #NAED #Schneider Electric #NextLevelNow #Partner SOURCE Schneider Electric NEW YORK, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Barclays PLC ("Barclays" or the "Company") (NYSE: BCS). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980. The investigation concerns whether Barclays and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. [Click here for information about joining the class action] On November 1, 2021, after market hours, Barclays filed a current report on Form 6-K with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, announcing the departure of Barclays Group Chief Executive Jes Staley ("Stayley") as a result of Stayley's relationship with the late Jeffrey Epstein. On this news, the price of Barclays American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs") fell $0.25 per ADR, or 2.23%, to close at $10.93 per ADR on November 2, 2021. Then, on November 12, 2021, before the domestic market closed, the Financial Times published an article entitled "Jes Staley exchanged 1,200 emails with Epstein that included unexplained phrases." On this news, the price of Barclays ADRs fell $0.05 per ADR, or 0.469%, to close at $10.62 per ADR on November 12, 2021. Then, after hours on March 8, 2023, relating to the litigation Jane Doe 1 v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., 22-v-10019-JSR (S.D.N.Y.), JPMorgan Chase Bank filed a third-party complaint against Staley for indemnity, contribution, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of the faithless servant doctrine in the event that it is found liable. On this news, the price of Barclays ADRs fell $0.29 per ADR, or 3.59%, to close at $7.77 per ADR on March 9, 2023. The price of Barclays ADRs then declined by an additional $0.24 per ADR, or 3.08%, to close at $7.53 per ADR on March 10, 2023. Finally, on October 12, 2023, the Financial Conduct Authority published an announcement on its website entitled "FCA decides to fine and ban James Staley". On this news, the price of Barclays ADRs fell $0.39 per ADR, or 4.98%, to close at $7.43 per ADR on October 12, 2023. Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered billions of dollars in damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com. CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP [email protected] 888-476-6529 ext. 7980 SOURCE Pomerantz LLP DALLAS, Nov. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) today shared Executive Leadership changes and organizational alignment effective Friday, Dec. 1, to provide additional focus and clarity to support the Company's strategic priorities. "We're closing out a year of purposeful investment in our capabilities and resiliency, having made enormous strides in a more seamless experience for our Customers," Bob Jordan, Southwest Airlines President & Chief Executive Officer said. "These changes solidify Southwest's Executive Leadership Team as we work to achieve our objectives for 2024 and beyond." Justin Jones will elevate to Executive Vice President Operations , reporting to Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson . Jones will lead the Teams coordinating modernization and oversight of the daily operation of the airline. will elevate to , reporting to Chief Operating Officer . Jones will lead the Teams coordinating modernization and oversight of the daily operation of the airline. Tony Roach will advance to a new role as Senior Vice President & Chief Customer Officer under Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer Ryan Green , who now will report to Watterson. Roach will oversee the end-to-end Customer Experience. will advance to a new role as under Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer , who now will report to Watterson. Roach will oversee the end-to-end Customer Experience. Elizabeth Bryant will advance to Senior Vice President & Chief People Officer ; Whitney Eichinger will advance to Senior Vice President & Chief Communications Officer; both will continue reporting to Chief Administration Officer Linda Rutherford . Angela Marano will join Rutherford's Executive Leadership Team in assuming the role of Vice President Artificial Intelligence & Data Transformation to lead a new organization defining an infrastructure and governance to harness the power of data and artificial intelligence and the Company's Data Privacy Office. will advance to ; will advance to both will continue reporting to Chief Administration Officer . will join Rutherford's Executive Leadership Team in assuming the role of to lead a new organization defining an infrastructure and governance to harness the power of data and artificial intelligence and the Company's Data Privacy Office. Jason Van Eaton will advance to Senior Vice President & Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, reporting to Executive Vice President and Chief Legal & Regulatory Officer Mark Shaw . "These changes not only individually recognize the excellent contributions from these Executive Leaders," Jordan added, "we're collectively creating an organizational structure that reflects our priority of caring for the Employees who serve our Customers, elevating the experience of traveling, and bolstering our foundational Reliability and financial performance." Operations Justin Jones, promoted from SVP Operations & Design to EVP Operations, will create closer alignment between operating and implementation Teams and provide Leadership support for Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson. Jones will lead the organizations responsible for Operations & Hospitality, Air Operations, Technical Operations, and Ops Strategy & Design. Jones joined Southwest Airlines in 2001 and has since held positions across the Company, including Executive roles in Operational Strategy & Performance, Technical Operations, and Revenue Management & Pricing. Commercial As SVP & Chief Customer Officer, Tony Roach will oversee Marketing, Customer Experience, Digital Experience, Travel Products, Customer Engagement, Customer Support & Services, and Innovation. With more than two decades of experience at Southwest, Roach drove transformational changes at Southwest, including the establishment of a Customer Experience corporate function, leading the Southwest Promise (the Company's COVID response program), spearheading the digital self-service and cabin modernization programs, and provided Leadership in many Customer-impacting roles across Field Marketing, Corporate Sales, Product Development, Loyalty Marketing & Partnerships, Customer Experience, and Customer Relations. Roach and the Customer organization will continue to report to EVP & Chief Commercial Officer Ryan Green. Ryan and the Commercial organization will begin reporting to Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson, aligning the Commercial and Operational functions by tightening a feedback loop between the two disciplines. Enterprise Administration Angela Marano assumes the VP Artificial Intelligence & Data Transformation role to harmonize work from Teams responsible for Data Science, Automation, and Artificial Intelligence into one organization. She additionally will hold responsibility for creating an Information Governance practice incorporating the Data Privacy Office. While at Southwest, Marano has served as a catalyst for great transformation in building new capabilities for enabling transformation and modernization of the airline operation, Customer Experience, and Enterprise functions. Elizabeth Bryant advances to SVP & Chief People Officer to provide Executive Leadership for People (Human Resources), Talent & Leadership Development, Total Rewards (Benefits and Compensation), and Southwest Airlines University (Training.) Since joining Southwest in 1997, she has led many transformative initiatives, including training centralization, furthering performance management, implementation of new HR-related technologies, and the Integration of AirTran Employees into the Southwest organization. Whitney Eichinger advances to SVP & Chief Communications Officer to lead Culture & Communications in differentiating the Southwest brand for internal and external audiences with transparent and creative communication, strong community support, and a highly engaged workforce well-recognized for celebrating Customers and each other. Eichinger has shaped nearly two decades of innovative engagement and memorable experiences for Southwest Customers and Employees. Marano will join Bryant and Eichinger in reporting to Chief Administration Officer Linda Rutherford. Regulatory Affairs Jason Van Eaton will advance to SVP & Chief Corporate Affairs Officer from SVP Governmental Affairs & Real Estate, where he'll manage legislative and regulatory policy, airport relationships, facility construction and maintenance, corporate security, and real estate planning. Before his nearly nine years at Southwest, Van Eaton's professional life revolved around project management, strategic planning and development, and legislative and regulatory policy. He held positions in the U.S. Senate for 13 years before founding a consulting services company. ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO. Southwest Airlines Co. operates one of the world's most admired and awarded airlines, offering its one-of-a-kind value and Hospitality at 121 airports across 11 countries. Southwest took flight in 1971 to democratize the sky through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel and now carries more air travelers flying nonstop within the United States than any other airline1. Based in Dallas and famous for an Employee-first corporate Culture, Southwest maintains an unprecedented record of no involuntary furloughs or layoffs in its history. By empowering its more than 74,0002 People to deliver unparalleled Hospitality, the maverick airline cherishes a passionate loyalty among more than 126 million Customers carried in 2022. That formula for success brought industry-leading prosperity and 47 consecutive years3 of profitability for Southwest Shareholders (NYSE: LUV). Southwest leverages a unique legacy and mission to serve communities around the world including harnessing the power of its People and Purpose to put communities at the Heart of its success. Learn more by visiting Southwest.com/citizenship. As the airline with Heart, Southwest has set a goal to work toward achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Southwest has also set near-term targets and a four-pillar strategy to achieve its environmental goals. Learn more by visiting Southwest.com/planet. 1Based on U.S. Dept. of Transportation quarterly Airline Origin & Destination Survey since Q1 2021 2Fulltime-equivalent active Employees 31973-2019 annual profitability SOURCE Southwest Airlines Co. Respected executive and entrepreneur with years of experience in commerce and identity will lead Commerce growth for publisher, merchant and affiliate network clients BOULDER, Colo., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sovrn , a publisher technology platform that helps content creators earn and keep more of their revenue, today announced that it has hired Carla Holtze Cell as its first-ever Managing Director of Commerce. In this new role, Cell will be responsible for setting the strategy and executing the go-to-market plan for Sovrn's suite of commerce products. She will report directly to Chris George, President of Sovrn. "Commerce is an important growth area for publishers who are focused on diversifying their advertising businesses. At Sovrn, we uniquely bring together commerce, advertising, and data solutions, creating powerful opportunities to help our customers grow," said George. "Bringing Carla on board positions Sovrn to accelerate its innovation in the commerce space in ways that will benefit our partners. With her strong background in data and commerce, Carla brings the ability to develop holistic solutions for publishers that truly leverage each aspect of their business and we couldn't be more excited to have her on our team." Much of the commerce space has proven to be overly complex and inefficient for publishers, making it difficult to form strong relationships with merchants and deliver dynamic, relevant, and engaging shoppable content that drives revenue for both publishers and retailers. Sovrn Commerce is a reimagined solution that provides the freedom and control content creators need to efficiently manage their affiliate business through a simple, scalable all-in-one solution that allows them to understand, influence, and monetize the purchase behavior of their audiences. Cell will lead the commercial team to not only drive revenue, but to also work closely with the product team to launch new software products and reporting tools into the market, which will ultimately help each publisher's bottom line. She will work with customers across the publisher, merchant and affiliate networks, including publishers such as DotDash Meredith, Bauer Media, and Zola, and merchants and affiliate networks such as Walmart, Nike, Wayfair, Macy's, Rakuten, and more. "Sovrn has long been a company I have known and respected. I am aligned with its mission to be an ecosystem that supports the breadth of digital publishers from premium publishers and platforms to independent influencers and content creators," said Cell. "Specifically in affiliate commerce, I strongly believe that if you inspire content as a publisher, you deserve to be rewarded, and that's exactly what I am setting out to do at Sovrn. There is much room for innovation, creativity, and data for publishers to further capitalize on their content, and I am beyond excited to be a part of solving that problem for our customers." Cell comes to Sovrn after co-founding Parrable in 2014, a digital identification SaaS company, where she served as CEO for nearly a decade. In this position, she led all aspects of the business, including the creation and launch of a patented identification technology to replace third-party cookies, enabling transparency, accuracy, targeting and attribution. An entrepreneur at heart, Cell also co-founded and served as CEO for Have to Have, a social commerce platform designed to drive monetization for publishers, ROAS for merchants and to gather rich customer intent data for enhanced retargeting. She also worked at the BBC and The Economist Intelligence Unit and began her career at Lehman Brothers in both New York and Hong Kong. To learn more about Sovrn Commerce, please visit sovrn.com/commerce . About Sovrn Sovrn provides products and services to thousands of online publishers to help them understand, operate and grow their business. Sovrn is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, with offices in New York, San Diego, and London. With thousands of customers deploying advertising, affiliate commerce, and data products across more than 50,000 websites, Sovrn reaches 500 million active consumers across more than 40 billion page views every day. Sovrn has been a leader in online publisher technology since its founding, and has been recognized by IAB, JICWEBS and TAG for its role in combating fraud and promoting pro-transparency initiatives. Sovrn is dedicated to helping content creators do more of what they love, and less of what they don't. www.sovrn.com SOURCE Sovrn Holdings, Inc. Dr. Morhaf Al Achkar joins Team Karmanos as the associate center director for Education DETROIT, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute welcomes Morhaf Al Achkar, M.D., Ph.D., MSCR, FAAFP, as the associate center director for Education. Dr. Al Achkar brings over 10 years of experience in education and teaching, research, and clinical family. He also brings valuable personal experience to his new role as a seven-year stage IV lung cancer survivor. Morhaf Al Achkar, M.D., Ph.D., MSCR, FAAFP, joins Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit as the associate center director for Education. "It has been a pleasure and an exciting transition moving from Seattle to Detroit to join the team here at Karmanos," said Dr. Al Achkar. "I have begun building relationships and connecting with colleagues and community members. My responsibilities at Karmanos center around advancing education and training initiatives for the cancer center community. Additionally, I am deeply passionate about enhancing the cancer care experience for our patients and addressing health disparities." Dr. Al Achkar refuses to be defined or stopped by his incurable condition. He was diagnosed in 2016 following episodes of shortness of breath. His tests revealed the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangement, or ALK fusion, a genetic alteration linked to lung cancer. Advances in treatment have enabled him to live with lung cancer as a chronic condition. As the associate center director for Education at Karmanos, Dr. Al Achkar oversees the Office of Cancer Research Training and Education Coordination (CRTEC), is responsible for establishing a vision for the cancer center's education efforts, and leads professional development across the training continuum from high school students to tenured faculty and health care professionals, throughout the Karmanos catchment area (46 Michigan counties) and beyond. He oversees the integration of education and training into the scientific research programs, assesses a broad range of active training programs, catalogs cancer education activities through the Wayne State University (WSU) School of Medicine, and advocates for and initiates new research training and development opportunities to enrich the educational environment for the cancer center community. "The addition of Dr. Al Achkar furthers our research and expands research training and education," said Boris Pasche, M.D., Ph.D., FACP, president and CEO of Karmanos. "His broad experience in research, teaching, and practice provides a wonderful base for Dr. Al Achkar to build and develop our scientific research initiatives." Dr. Al Achkar joins Karmanos following a six-year tenure at the University of Washington in Seattle. During his time there, he served as an associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine, an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Health Services School of Public Health, and was a core faculty member at the AIMS Center within the Department of Psychiatry. Additionally, Dr. Al Achkar has spent five years as an attending family medicine physician and assistant professor at Indiana University. In 2018, Dr. Al Achkar received the Pearls Award from the North America Practice Care Research Network for a research study that will impact clinical practice. He has also received the Family Medicine Residency Program's Faculty of the Year Award at Indiana University and multiple recognitions from the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine. A Syrian immigrant, Dr. Al Achkar completed his medical degree at Aleppo University in Syria. He completed his residency training at Florida Hospital in Orlando and Winter Park, Florida, where he also served as a chief resident. Dr. Al Achkar holds a Master of Science in Clinical Research from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Inquiry Methodology and Education from Indiana University in Bloomington. He's also board-certified with the American Board of Family Medicine and is involved with the North America Practice Care Research Network, the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, and the American Academy of Family Physicians. Dr. Al Achkar began his role at Karmanos in September. He also joins WSU as a faculty member at the School of Medicine. About the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute Karmanos Cancer Institute is a leader in transformative cancer care, research and education through courage, commitment and compassion. The Karmanos vision is a world free of cancer. As part of McLaren Health Care, Karmanos is the largest provider of cancer care and research in Michigan. For more than 75 years, the administrative and research headquarters, along with the premier specialty cancer hospital, have been located in downtown Detroit. With 16 network sites, Karmanos delivers world-renowned care and access to clinical trials throughout Michigan and northern Ohio. The National Cancer Institute recognizes Karmanos as one of the best cancer centers in the nation with a comprehensive cancer center designation. Its academic partnership with the Wayne State University School of Medicine provides the framework for cancer research and education defining new standards of care and improving survivorship. For more information, call 1-800-KARMANOS (800-527-6266) or visit www.karmanos.org. Follow Karmanos on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. SOURCE Karmanos Cancer Institute Factors such as the increase in demand for surface computing for enhancing businesses drive the growth of global market. In addition, evolution of touch-based product and increasing demand for augmented reality (AR) integration are also anticipated to enhance market growth. NEW CASTLE, Del., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Surface Computing Market by Component (Hardware and Software), Display Type (Flat Display and Curved Display), and Industry Vertical (Healthcare, BFSI, Automotive, Hospitality, Retail, and Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032". According to the report, the surface computing industry generated $42.5 billion in 2022, and is projected to reach at $762.1 billion by 2032, witnessing a CAGR of 33.8% from 2023 to 2032. Prime determinants of growth The increase in demand for surface computing for enhancing businesses drives the growth of global market. In addition, surge in demand for cloud services and rise of digitalization are anticipated to propel the growth of the surface computing market during the forecast period. Moreover, evolution of touch-based product and increasing demand for augmented reality (AR) integration are also anticipated to enhance market growth. Furthermore, the surge in technological advancements, which in turn is expected to create numerous opportunities for the growth of the market. However, security concerns and costs and budget constraints hamper the growth of the market. Moreover, growth of work from home (WFH) policy is expected to provide lucrative growth opportunities for the market in the coming years. Download Sample Pages: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/180872 Report coverage & details: Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 20232032 Base Year 2022 Market Size in 2022 $42.5 Billion Market Size in 2032 $762.1 Billion CAGR 33.8 No. of Pages in Report 265 Segments covered Component, Display Type, Industry Vertical and Region. Drivers The increase in demand for surface computing for enhancing. Rise of digitalization. Evolution of touch-based product. Increasing demand for augmented reality (AR) integration. Opportunities Surge in technological advancements. Growth of work from home (WFH) policy. Restraints Security concerns Costs and budget constraints COVID-19 Scenario The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically affected businesses across the world. It has positively impacted adoption of surface computing owing to lockdowns imposed by governments of different countries. This causes the global market for surface computing to re-evaluate its traditional production methods, which primarily propels the digital transformation and industry 4.0 practices across the production lines. Furthermore, the manufacturers are also collectively forced to devise and deploy multiple new and agile approaches to monitor product and quality control. However, the pandemic has also created economic turmoil for small, medium, and large-scale industries worldwide. Buy this Complete Report (265 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, and Figures) at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/surface-computing-market/purchase-options The hardware segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period By component, the hardware segment held the highest market share in 2022, accounting for less than three-fifths of the surface computing market revenue, and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. This is due to the rise in demand of digital technology in businesses to enhance operation. However, the software segment is expected to portray the largest CAGR of 35.1% from 2023 to 2032 and is projected to maintain its lead position during the forecast period. Rise in demand for touch-based products and advanced application-based system are expected to provide lucrative opportunities for the market growth during the forecast period. The flat display segment to maintain its lead position during the forecast period By display type, the flat display segment accounted for the largest share in 2022, accounting of nearly two-thirds of the surface computing market revenue. Flat display surface computing offers several key benefits that contribute to its widespread adoption in various industries. The seamless and expansive display surface provides a natural and immersive user experience, allowing for intuitive interactions through touch, gestures, and stylus input. However, the curved display segment is expected to portray the largest CAGR of 36.2% from 2023 to 2032 and is projected to maintain its lead position during the forecast period. Advancements in manufacturing technologies are making curved displays more cost-effective and accessible. The integration of curved displays with augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) applications is a prominent trend, creating more realistic and captivating environments. The healthcare segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period By industry vertical, the healthcare segment held the highest market share in 2022, contributing for more than one-fourth of the surface computing market revenue, and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. Advancements in technology have played a crucial role in the development of surface computing systems for healthcare sectors. However, the retail sector is projected to manifest the highest CAGR of 38.5% from 2023 to 2032 Through interactive touchscreens and immersive displays, surface computing technologies provide retailers with innovative tools to engage customers in-store. In addition, surface computing facilitates personalized customer interactions through features like facial recognition and targeted promotions, contributing to improved customer satisfaction and loyalty. North America region to maintain its dominance by 2032 By region, the North America segment held the highest market share in terms of revenue in 2022, accounting for nearly two-fifths of the surface computing market revenue. This region has advanced technological infrastructure and a thriving ecosystem of innovation contribute to the prominence of surface computing specially in the U.S. and Canada. However, Asia-Pacific is expected to witness the fastest CAGR of 37.5% from 2023 to 2032, and is likely to enhance the market growth during the forecast period. This region is witnessing a growing emphasis on local innovation and the development of cost-effective surface computing solutions to cater to a diverse market. Enquiry Before Buying: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/180872 Leading Market Players: - Microsoft Corporation Dell Inc. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd Apple Inc. LG Electronics Inc. Planar Systems Inc. Lenovo Group Ltd. HP Inc. Fujitsu Ltd. Sony Corporation The report provides a detailed analysis of these key players in the surface computing market. These players have adopted different strategies such as new product launches, collaborations, expansion, joint ventures, agreements, and others to increase their market share and maintain dominant shares in different countries. The report is valuable in highlighting business performance, operating segments, product portfolio, and strategic moves of market players to showcase the competitive scenario. AVENUE- A Subscription-Based Library (Premium on-demand, subscription-based pricing model): AMR introduces its online premium subscription-based library Avenue, designed specifically to offer cost-effective, one-stop solution for enterprises, investors, and universities. With Avenue, subscribers can avail an entire repository of reports on more than 2,000 niche industries and more than 12,000 company profiles. Moreover, users can get an online access to quantitative and qualitative data in PDF and Excel formats along with analyst support, customization, and updated versions of reports. Get an access to the library of reports at any time from any device and anywhere. For more details, follow the link: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/library-access Trending Reports in ICT & Media Industry: Cloud Computing Services Market Expected to Reach $2044.6 Billion by 2032 Virtual Event Platforms Market Expected to Reach $83.8 Billion by 2032 Demand Side Platform (DSP) System Market Expected to Reach $228.4 Billion by 2032 Cloud Data Security Market Expected to Reach $27.4 Billion by 2032 Artificial Neural Network Market Expected to Reach $1.4 Billion by 2032 About Us: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Wilmington, Delaware. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports Insights" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies, and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact: David Correa 1209 Orange Street, Corporation Trust Center, Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware 19801 USA. Int'l: +1-503-894-6022 Toll Free: +1-800-792-5285 UK: +44-845-528-1300 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1-800-792-5285 help@alliedmarketresearch.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/636519/Allied_Market_Research_Logo.jpg SOURCE Allied Market Research 17 global companies have been awarded the Sustainable Markets Initiative's 2023 Terra Carta Seal The Terra Carta Seal recognises global companies which are actively leading the charge to create a climate and Nature-positive future. Winners were selected by a panel of global experts from the environmental, business, political and philanthropic worlds. Designed by Sir Jony Ive, the Terra Carta Seal embodies the vision and ambition of His Majesty King Charles III and the Terra Carta, as a recovery plan for Nature, People and Planet. LONDON, Nov. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Sustainable Markets Initiative today announced its 2023 Terra Carta Seal winners. The Seal recognises global companies which are actively leading the charge to create a climate and Nature-positive future. The Terra Carta Seal is awarded to companies which have demonstrated the success of a high-impact, large scale company-wide project, initiative or strategy which aligns with one or more of the Sustainable Markets Initiative's ten Terra Carta Articles. The Articles underpin the Terra Carta, the Sustainable Markets Initiative's guiding mandate which provides a roadmap and framework to accelerate the transition to an ambitious and sustainable future, placing Nature, People and Planet at the heart of global value creation. The 17 2023 Terra Carta Seal winners span multiple geographies and industries, and include: Airbus Carbon Clean CDPQ DLA Piper EY Haier Smart Home Hitachi LanzaTech Novartis OrangePing An Bank Pollination ReNew Robertson Siemens Energy Soneva Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Jennifer Jordan-Saifi, CEO, Sustainable Markets Initiative, said: "The Sustainable Markets Initiative's Terra Carta Seal recognises those companies which are taking great strides in delivering real-world outcomes. As we stand on the eve of COP28, public, private sector and philanthropic actors will come together at the inaugural Business and Philanthropy Climate Forum to bridge the gap between ambition and action. It is examples exemplified by the 2023 Terra Carta Seal winners that are helping to inspire and lead the way." The Terra Carta Seal was launched in 2021 at COP26 by His Majesty King Charles III when he was the Prince of Wales. Since its inception, the Sustainable Markets Initiative has awarded its coveted Seal to just 83 companies globally. For the first time this year, the judging process involved independent, external partners Verdantix and the Expert Review Panel, who worked together to assess the eligibility and impact of each nominated project against recognised global sustainability criteria. This year's cohort of winners impressed the judges with the breadth and scope of their projects, which included pioneering use of hydrogen and engineering-based initiatives to support carbon emission reductions, to the development of new frameworks to support the distribution of private capital, at scale, into transition-related infrastructure across the African continent. David Metcalfe, CEO, Verdantix, said: "We are privileged to work with the Sustainable Markets Initiative, contributing our expertise in independent evaluation to the judging process. We take great pride in being an integral part of this esteemed global initiative, alongside a distinguished and diverse panel of experts. Together, we are dedicated to acknowledging and applauding the companies who lead the way in demonstrating their commitment to creating a sustainable future." The Terra Carta Seal was designed by Sir Jony Ive and his creative team at LoveFrom. The design, with its host of natural references including oak leaves, fern, magnolia and honeybees and intricate patterns both in nature and in the arts, creates a visual celebration which reflects the power of, and reverence for, nature that is at the heart of the Terra Carta. Media Contact: Ortega Pittman, Communications Manager Sustainable Markets Initiative Secretariat Phone: 610-805-4347 Email: [email protected] About the Terra Carta Seal Sir Jony Ive and his creative team at LoveFrom created a physical and animated seal engineered with paper that is both simple and beautifully crafted. The design combines a host of natural references including oak leaves, fern, magnolia and honeybees and intricate patterns both in nature and in the arts, creating a visual celebration which reflects the power of and reverence for nature that is at the heart of the Terra Carta. Read more: https://www.sustainable-markets.org/terra-carta-seal/intro/ About the Sustainable Markets Initiative Founded by His Majesty King Charles III in 2020, as Prince of Wales, the Sustainable Markets Initiative has become the world's 'go-to' private sector organisation on transition. Launched in 2021, the Terra Carta serves as the Sustainable Markets Initiative's mandate with a focus on accelerating positive results for Nature, People and Planet through real economy action. Read more: www.sustainable-markets.org About Verdantix Verdantix is the essential thought leader for world-enhancing innovation. It supports changemakers with its proprietary data, unique expertise, and executive networks. Its impactful analysis is delivered via a digital platform, consulting engagements and in-person events to thousands of decision-makers in more than 100 countries. From offices in London, New York, and Boston, the Verdantix research team applies the principles of rigour, accuracy, and curiosity to help its globally distributed clients solve their most complex challenges. verdantix.com About LoveFrom and Sir Jony Ive: Sir Jony Ive KBE is a designer. He joined Apple in 1992. As chief design officer, Jony was responsible for all hardware, user interface and packaging design, as well as the major architectural projects Apple Park and Apple retail stores. He led the design team for more than two decades, creating the iMac, PowerBook, MacBook, iBook, iPod, iPhone, iPad, AppleWatch, AirPods and HomePod. Co-founder Steve Jobs referred to Jony as his creative partner. He holds more than 14,000 patents worldwide, uniquely spanning both software and hardware design. Jony currently serves as chancellor of the Royal College of Art, is frequently voted one of Britain's most culturally influential figures. In 2019, Jony gathered the creative collective LoveFrom, which includes designers, architects, musicians, filmmakers, writers, engineers, and artists. The combined experience, achievement and recognition of these creatives is without precedent. The collective has been working quietly together since 2019, announcing multi-year collaborations with Airbnb and Ferrari. It has studios in San Francisco and London. lovefrom.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2285391/Sustainable_Markets_Initiative_Logo.jpg SOURCE Sustainable Markets Initiative CHICAGO, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Switchgear Market is expected to reach USD 119.9 billion by 2028 from USD 93.1 billion in 2023 at a CAGR of 5.2% during the 20232028 period according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. The Switchgear Market is poised for substantial growth during this period, primarily due to the development of power distribution infrastructure in response to the growing demand for electricity. Furthermore, the expansion of renewable energy-based capacity and increased investments in industrial production are likely to drive the demand for switchgear. Browse in-depth TOC on "Switchgear Market" 120 Tables 80 Figures 200 Pages Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=1162268 Switchgear Market Scope: Report Coverage Details Market Revenue in 2023 $93.1 billion Estimated Value by 2028 $119.9 billion Growth Rate Poised to Grow at a CAGR of 5.2% Largest Market Asia Pacific Market Size Available for 2021-2028 Forecast Period 2023-2028 Forecast Units Value (USD Million/Billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered By Installation, By Insulation, By Current, By Voltage, and By End- User Geographies Covered Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and South America Key Market Opportunities Advancements in smart technologies and digital transformation Key Market Drivers Modernization of power distribution infrastructure High voltage segment, by voltage, to occupy majority of Switchgear Market share. During the forecast period, the high voltage segment, categorized by voltage, is expected to secure a dominant market share. High-voltage switchgears, operating above 36 kV, are crucial in transmission, heavy industries, mining, railways, and commercial infrastructures. The main component, a high-voltage circuit breaker, is integral. Gas-insulated switchgears are prevalent in these applications. Typically placed outdoors due to space requirements, they consist of circuit breakers, isolators, transformers, and bus bars. Faulty tripping is rare, and these switchgears often remain ON for extended periods. They play a vital role in renewable power transmission and medium-voltage substations. As electrification and renewable integration rise, the demand for high-voltage switchgear, especially automated and smart ones for smart grids, is expected to surge in the forecasted period. Commercial & residential segment, by end user, to be third-largest and third-fastest market. Urbanization, particularly in regions like Asia Pacific, South America, and Africa, is driving a surge in commercial and residential constructions. As urban centers grow due to economic opportunities, the need for housing and commercial buildings escalates. Switchgear plays a vital role in supplying, safeguarding, and regulating power for various equipment in these constructions. Additionally, contemporary switchgears are engineered to handle earth leakage current faults, enhancing their safety features. Consequently, the demand for switchgear in commercial and residential applications is anticipated to rise significantly in the coming years. Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=1162268 North America to emerge as the third-largest Switchgear Industry. During the forecast period, North America is anticipated to hold the third-largest market share in the global Switchgear Market. Encompassing the US, Canada, and Mexico, the region boasts extensive trade ties and significant foreign investments, with the US and Canada jointly contributing around 93.8% to North America's Switchgear Market. With a combined population of nearly 530 million and an economy representing over one-quarter of the world's GDP, the region faces substantial power demands, leading to increased investments in fortifying and modernizing its transmission and distribution utilities. Notably, energy consumption per capita in North America saw a 4% rise, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2022. The region is undergoing a transformative phase in its utilities sector, marked by a shift towards digital operational strategies focusing on decentralization, digitization, and decarbonization of power systems. Aging power infrastructures, constituting nearly 72% of the US power infrastructure beyond 25 years of service, pose a blackout risk, prompting active government initiatives to upgrade and replace these structures for enhanced grid reliability. Key Market Players: Key players in the global Switchgear Companies include ABB (Switzerland), General Electric (US), Siemens (Germany), Schneider Electric (France), and Eaton (Ireland). Inquiry Before Buying : https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_BuyingNew.asp?id=1162268 Recent Developments In October 2022 , ABB has completed the acquisition of ASKI Industrie Elektronik GmbH (ASKI Energy) in Austria , a move that significantly enhances ABB's digital energy management portfolio. This acquisition plays a vital role in advancing ABB's ecosystem of digital energy services, emphasizing the company's commitment to innovation and expansion in the energy sector.. , ABB has completed the acquisition of ASKI Industrie Elektronik GmbH (ASKI Energy) in , a move that significantly enhances ABB's digital energy management portfolio. This acquisition plays a vital role in advancing ABB's ecosystem of digital energy services, emphasizing the company's commitment to innovation and expansion in the energy sector.. In April 2022 , Siemens Smart Infrastructure was contracted by EWE NETZ GmbH, which operates highly efficient power grids in Germany . EWE NETZ installed fluorine gas-free blue GIS medium-voltage switchgear from Siemens. , Siemens Smart Infrastructure was contracted by EWE NETZ GmbH, which operates highly efficient power grids in . EWE NETZ installed fluorine gas-free blue GIS medium-voltage switchgear from Siemens. In October 2021 , Schneider Electric launched the next-generation BlokSeT LV switchboard with enhanced safety features that include a real-time thermal monitoring solution. Browse Adjacent Markets: Energy and Power Market Research Reports & Consulting Related Reports: Gas Insulated Switchgear Market by Installation (Indoor, Outdoor), Insulation Type (SF6, SF6 free), Voltage Rating, Configuration (Hybrid, Isolated Phase, Integrated three phase, Compact GIS), End-User and Region - Global Forecast to 2028 DC Switchgear Market by Voltage (Up to 750 V, 750 V to 1,800 V, 1,800 V to 3,000 V, 3,000 V to 10 kV and Above 10 kV), Deployment Type (Fixed Mounting, Plug-In, and Withdrawable Units), Application, and Region - Global Forecast to 2026 Switchgear Monitoring System Market by Type (GIS, AIS), Voltage (High, Medium), Component (Hardware, Software & Services), Monitoring (Temperature, PD, Gas, Others), End User (Utilities, Industries, Commercial), & Region - Global Forecast to 2025 About MarketsandMarkets: MarketsandMarkets has been recognized as one of America's best management consulting firms by Forbes, as per their recent report. MarketsandMarkets is a blue ocean alternative in growth consulting and program management, leveraging a man-machine offering to drive supernormal growth for progressive organizations in the B2B space. We have the widest lens on emerging technologies, making us proficient in co-creating supernormal growth for clients. Earlier this year, we made a formal transformation into one of America's best management consulting firms as per a survey conducted by Forbes. The B2B economy is witnessing the emergence of $25 trillion of new revenue streams that are substituting existing revenue streams in this decade alone. We work with clients on growth programs, helping them monetize this $25 trillion opportunity through our service lines - TAM Expansion, Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy to Execution, Market Share Gain, Account Enablement, and Thought Leadership Marketing. 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Contact: Mr. Aashish Mehra MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: [email protected] Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/switchgear-market.asp Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/switchgear.asp Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg SOURCE MarketsandMarkets TGH Innovation Challenge incentivizes entrepreneurs, innovators and critical thinkers to tackle critical need for oncology care in rural communities. TAMPA, Fla., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Cancer care, whether for yourself or a loved one, can be one of the most difficult challenges in anyone's life, especially for those with limited access to early detection, care and treatment. Tampa General Hospital (TGH) and its Cancer Institute partnered with Synapse Florida to issue a challenge and invite innovative solutions that can provide potentially lifesaving care and reduce cancer mortality in rural areas. "While we are working to increase access to world-class care across Florida, we recognize there are some challenges we face that require system disruption," said John Couris, president and CEO of Tampa General. "Through TGH Innoventures and in partnership with Synapse, we're working to incentivize innovation so that we can transform care delivery. With this challenge, we invite experts, entrepreneurs and critical thinkers to offer up solutions that have the potential to have a real, meaningful impact." The Innovation Challenge encourages individuals and organizations to propose innovative solutions that address the significant need for cancer care where it otherwise may not exist. This initiative enables Tampa General to crowdsource ideas from a broad cross section of the innovation ecosystem both locally in Florida, as well as nationally and globally. There are 46 million Americans who live in rural areas and who collectively have a higher cancer death rate compared to urban residents. Additionally, rates for lung, colorectal, prostate and cervical cancers are higher in rural America, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Access to cancer prevention, screening, treatment in rural areas contribute to higher cancer death rates. Rural residents also have greater risk factors, including smoking and obesity, according to the Census Bureau. Furthermore, residents in rural areas may not be able to afford the expense or time to travel to major health care systems, such as Tampa General. TGH Innoventures supports various initiatives and programs that employ gamification strategies to drive innovation from its team members and beyond. Gamification is the process of adding competitive elements to a project to encourage participation. "The Innovation Challenge is illustrative of the work we do at TGH Innoventures, assisting Tampa General's stakeholders in solving big problems in health care by looking outside the four walls of the organization," said Rachel Feinman, Tampa General's vice president of Innovation and managing director of TGH Innoventures, Tampa General's venture capital arm and innovation team. "By fostering partnerships and supporting projects, we can advance cancer care across Florida." The Innovation Challenge is intentionally broad with the goal of receiving a wide array of potential solutions, which may include anything from care navigation, improved treatments, early detection, novel care delivery or other enhancements. Tampa General is offering a prize valued at $50,000 to support a potential partnership or pilot project with the winning solution in collaboration with TGH Innoventures and the TGH Cancer Institute. This support may include IT resources, project management, subject matter expertise and other areas that would bring the effort to fruition. "In addressing the unmet need of cancer care with the goal of reducing mortality in rural Florida, Tampa General aims to bring all aspects of world-class care closer to those communities," said Dr. Eduardo Sotomayor, vice president and executive director, TGH Cancer Institute. "By establishing a joint effort, we can build trust, improve access, educate people and ultimately save lives." Individuals and businesses interested in being part of leveling the playing field in the fight against cancer can find out more at: TGH Innovation Challenge - Synapse Florida. The application period began Nov. 15, 2023, and submissions must be received by Jan. 20, 2024. A virtual information session is scheduled for Dec. 6, 2023. Finalists will be announced on Feb. 2, 2024, and will be invited to present at Synapse Summit 2024. The winner will be announced on Feb. 28, 2024, on the main stage of the Synapse Summit, which takes place in Tampa, Florida. This is a national call for solutions; applicants need not be from, or located in, Florida to be eligible. "Hosting an innovation challenge is a strategic move for any business seeking fresh, creative solutions," said Lauren Prager, CEO of Synapse Florida. "Through these challenges, organizations like Tampa General are establishing a direct channel for new ideas by engaging with innovators beyond their immediate sphere. This approach is particularly effective as it draws from a diverse pool of contributors, including those from outside the health care industry, such as patients, caregivers and businesses from varied sectors. Large organizations can significantly benefit from this open exchange, as it not only drives innovation but also strengthens community ties, fostering a culture of collaboration and inspiration." Synapse Florida is a non-profit that connects the state's diverse innovation ecosystem in driving economic growth and social impact. Its objective is supported by the company's partnerships, volunteer programs and benefits. TGH Innoventures serves as Tampa General's corporate venture capital arm and innovation team. It identifies, partners and invests in emerging health care companies that are redefining the care experience for clinicians and patients. The goal is to support entrepreneurs, financially and strategically, who want to solve problems and enhance patients' lives. ABOUT TAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL Tampa General Hospital, a 1,040-bed, not-for-profit, academic health system, is one of the largest hospitals in America and delivers world-class care as the region's only center for Level l trauma and comprehensive burn care. Tampa General Hospital is the highest-ranked hospital in the market in U.S. News and World Report's 2023-24 Best Hospitals, with six specialties ranking among the top 50 best hospital programs in the United States. Tampa General Hospital has been designated as a model of excellence by the 2022 Fortune/Merative 100 Top Hospitals list. The academic health system's commitment to growing and developing its team members is recognized by two prestigious Forbes magazine rankings in the top 100 nationally in the 2023 America's Best Employers for Women and top 25 in Florida in the 2023 America's Best Employers by State. Tampa General is the safety net hospital for the region, caring for everyone regardless of their ability to pay, and in fiscal year 2021, provided a net community benefit worth more than $224.5 million in the form of health care for underinsured patients, community education, and financial support to community health organizations in Tampa Bay. It is one of the nation's busiest adult solid organ transplant centers and is the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. With six medical helicopters, Tampa General Hospital transports critically injured or ill patients from 23 surrounding counties to receive the advanced care they need. Tampa General houses a nationally accredited comprehensive stroke center, and its 32-bed Neuroscience, Intensive Care Unit is the largest on the West Coast of Florida. It also is home to the Jennifer Leigh Muma 82-bed neonatal intensive care unit, and a nationally accredited rehabilitation center. Tampa General Hospital's footprint includes 17 Tampa General Medical Group Primary Care offices, TGH Family Care Center Kennedy, TGH Outpatient Center, TGH Virtual Health, and 21 TGH Imaging outpatient radiology centers throughout Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Palm Beach counties. Tampa Bay area residents also receive world-class care from the TGH Urgent Care powered by Fast Track network of clinics. To see a medical care professional live anytime, anywhere on a smartphone, tablet or computer, visit Virtual Health | Tampa General Hospital (tgh.org). As one of the largest hospitals in the country, Tampa General Hospital is the first in Florida to partner with GE Healthcare and open a clinical command center that provides real-time situational awareness to improve and better coordinate patient care at a lower cost. For more information, go to www.tgh.org. ABOUT SYNAPSE FLORIDA Synapse is a non-profit that connects and catalyzes Florida's innovators across industries, technologies, and communities. As a year-round connector, Synapse brings together enterprise innovation leaders, startup entrepreneurs, investors, and resources to accelerate the growth of innovation in Florida. Through its flagship event, Synapse Summit, mission alliances, ecosystem partners, innovation challenges, industry cohorts, academicians, strategic advisors, and Impact Board, the Synapse ecosystem works together to fuel statewide innovation. For more information, visit www.synapsefl.com. Media Contact: Beth Hardy, APR Senior Communications Specialist (727) 510-6363 (cell) [email protected] SOURCE Tampa General Hospital Funds Raised Will Support Life-Saving Research and Essential Programs for Breast Cancer Survivors, Thrivers, and Caregivers HAUPPAUGE, N.Y., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Teachers Federal Credit Union (Teachers), one of the largest credit unions in the United States with $9.7 billion in assets and more than 470,000 members, reaffirmed its commitment to serving the community by partnering with the American Cancer Society and raising over $140,000 for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. "We take great pride in our efforts to support the communities we serve, and with one in eight women in the United States diagnosed with breast cancer, we are steadfast in our commitment to helping the American Cancer Society provide care to those affected by this disease," said Brad Calhoun, President and CEO of Teachers Federal Credit Union. "This year, Teachers had the privilege of sponsoring three Making Strides events in New York and Florida, and we are honored to play a role in helping the American Cancer Society exceed its fundraising goals." Making Strides of Long Island, which took place on Sunday, October 15, is the largest Making Strides event in the country. Teachers proudly returned for the second year as the Presenting Sponsor of the event, with more than 300 Teachers employees participating in the walk and fundraising. In 2023, the walk helped raise a total of $2.25 million for the fight against breast cancer. "We were elated to have Teachers Federal Credit Union back for the second year as the Presenting Sponsor of Making Strides of Long Island," said Katie Goepfrich-Schafer, Executive Director of Long Island Market, American Cancer Society. "The Long Island Walk is the number one Making Strides event in the country, and with Teachers as our presenting sponsor for the past two years, we have experienced our strongest events to date." In addition to its support for Making Strides of Long Island, Teachers Federal Credit Union served as the Flagship Sponsor of Making Strides of Eastern Long Island on September 30 and Making Strides of Tampa on October 28. Teachers Federal Credit Union is committed to its community stewardship year-round by sharing its time and resources with non-profit organizations that support education, research, health and human services, and economic development. For more information on Teachers community initiatives, please visit teachersfcu.org/about/community . ABOUT THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY The American Cancer Society is a nationwide, community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem. We invest in lifesaving research, provide 24/7 information and support, and work to ensure that individuals in every community have access to cancer prevention, detection, and treatment. For more information, visit cancer.org . ABOUT TEACHERS FEDERAL CREDIT UNION: Teachers Federal Credit Union (Teachers) is one of the country's largest credit unions, with more than $9.7 billion in assets and more than 470,000 members across all 50 states. Founded in New York in 1952, Teachers is a full-service, not-for-profit financial institution with an open charter offering membership to anyone in the U.S. through its 32 full-service branches and best-in-class digital solutions. Teachers is a key supporter of the communities it serves and is proud to offer a range of member-focused products with competitive rates and low fees. What started as a smart solution for teachers is now smart for all. For more information, visit www.teachersfcu.org. SOURCE Teachers Federal Credit Union ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, November 28. Turkmenistan and the US discussed joint cooperation in reducing methane emissions, Trend reports. According to an official Turkmen source, these problems were discussed during a phone call between Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Change John Kerry. The main topics of discussion were preparations for the upcoming COP-28 conference in Dubai, climate issues, specifically cooperation between Turkmenistan and the US in the field of reducing methane emissions into the atmosphere and the possibility of legislative consolidation of cooperation in this area. During the discussion, it was emphasized that global environmental concerns provide new challenges to world governments, especially related to the modernization of national plans and strategies, including modern criteria for decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Change John Kerry both expressed in support of more constructive interstate cooperation at the end of the conversation. Meanwhile, Turkmenistan and the United States confirmed their willingness to strengthen effective 'green' cooperation in the interests of common development at the end of September this year. This readiness was indicated during a discussion between John Kerry and Serdar Berdimuhamedov, who is in the United States on a working visit to attend the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly. SHANGHAI, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Data Exchange is increasingly crucial in the rapid expansion of China's data factor market, advancing the digital economy's growth. The Global Data Ecosystem Conference 2023 (GDEC 2023) was held in Shanghai on November 25, 2023. In attendance and inaugurating the event was Gong Zheng, Deputy Party Secretary and Mayor of Shanghai. Keynote addresses were given by Liu Liehong, Party Secretary and Head of National Data Bureau, and Chen Jie, Vice Mayor of Shanghai. The conference was themed "Data World, Connected Future". It featured the concurrent launch of multiple international data products and showcased major accomplishments in the development of the data factor market infrastructure. Several data exchange institutions collaborated to set up a data exchange chain (DexChain), collectively launching the "Trust Framework" initiative, focused on boosting the integrity and dependability of the data factor market. The conference included an opening ceremony, a main forum, a data exchange festival, and twenty themed forums. Presenters were over 20 senior researchers and global experts, along with top-level executives from more than 20 international organizations and national think tanks. The event featured over 300 thematic presentations, panel discussions, and corporate roadshows. More than 1,000 data service providers worldwide and over 10,000 industry professionals attended in person. International Data Products Rollout: From Local to Global Integration and Cross-Border Collaboration The joint launch of international data products at the conference marked a progression in global data collaboration, shifting from local to international data networks. The Shanghai Data Exchange (SDE) spearheaded the establishment of an international platform, enhancing procedures for cross-border data flows and promoting data exchange partnerships between domestic and multinational corporations. Emphasizing this evolution, ten industry frontrunners, including Dun & Bradstreet, SberAnalytics, Euromonitor, Bloomberg, London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), Mandata, WK Info, Innobator, China National Publications Import and Export (Group) and PIESAT Information Technology, presented their international data offerings. These offerings covered various countries and regions Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Russia, South Korea, the UK and the US spanning the finance, industry, environment, biomedicine, and remote sensing sectors. This initiative significantly boosted the availability of premium data products, playing a vital role in the development of a worldwide data ecosystem. Furthermore, SDE is set to engage in both global and regional collaborations with entities such as the International Data Spaces Association (IDSA), DAMA International, CATENA-X Association, the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), and the Hong Kong Chamber of Data & Digital Commerce. These partnerships are designed to foster worldwide data connectivity. Shanghai's initiatives will enhance its global data exchange platform, bolstering international integration to improve support for cross-border capital, technology, and trade flows. New Shanghai-Hong Kong Data Link: Dual-City Collaboration in the Development of a Data Ecosystem 2023 marks the 20th anniversary of the Shanghai-Hong Kong collaboration mechanism, a partnership characterized by continuous growth and deepening of exchanges with significant achievements. To further bolster comprehensive data exchange and collaboration between Shanghai and Hong Kong, the conference included a dedicated Hong Kong venue. This location featured a forum, a symposium for data service providers, and a lineup of corporate networking events. Discussions at these events primarily focused on the sharing, circulation and exchange of data products, and the advancement of Web3.0. During GDEC 2023, the Hong Kong Chamber of Data & Digital Commerce Organizing Committee was officially launched. This newly established association formed a strategic alliance with the Shanghai Data Service Provider Association, aiming to jointly introduce new data products, build a data ecosystem, and cultivate third-party service providers. The objective of this alliance is to advance mutual empowerment and facilitate the development of data ecosystem and data assetization. DexChain Goes Live, Enabling "Unified Listing, Nationwide Acceptance" Throughout China At the conference, DexChain was officially launched, achieving a significant milestone whereby data products made available through any of the cooperating entities can be cross-traded anywhere across the entire network. The establishment of the network is the culmination of a cooperative effort among seven provincial data trading institutions: SDE, Zhejiang Big Data Exchange Center, Shandong Data Exchange, Guangzhou Data Exchange, Beibu Gulf Data Exchange, Western China Data Exchange, and Northern China Big Data Exchange. These organizations have set up consensus nodes in a consortium blockchain network, enabling deep collaboration in the build of the data ecosystem. Additional institutions such as the Zhengzhou Data Exchange Center, Hunan Big Data Exchange, Qingdao Big Data Exchange Center, and Suzhou Big Data Exchange, among others, have shown keen interest in joining as a second wave of participants. Together, they have embarked on the "Trust Framework" initiative, working collaboratively on creating unified systems, establishing shared standards, promoting the data exchange chain, sharing services, and facilitating interconnected ecosystems. DexChain spans the entire spectrum of the marketplace for data exchange, offering a full suite of services that include basic and value-added data exchange, transactional support, and financial services for data products. Looking ahead, the National Data Exchange Alliance plans to expand its reach by launching more regional hubs and industry-specific exchange platforms. This growth strategy will involve establishing regional nodes within the chain and implementing operational standards and norms. These standards will cover areas such as node access and exit procedures, tiered and delegated management, security and operational efficiency, regulatory compliance, and sustainability measures to minimize energy consumption. The primary objective of this initiative is to promote "data interconnectivity, cross-domain collaboration, intelligent orchestration, and reliable exchange" within an integrated, multi-tiered nationwide data factor marketplace. Creating the Data Factor Market Development Index as a Market Sentiment Gauge During GDEC 2023, the Data Factor Market Development Index was unveiled, serving as a crucial barometer for the market. This index, a collaborative creation of SDE and the National Engineering Laboratory for Big Data Distribution and Exchange Technologies, comprises two components: the Data Factor Market Cities 30 Index and the Data Factor Market Sentiment Index. These indices are designed to offer comprehensive and precise reference data, assisting both government policy-making and decision-making processes within market entities. The Cities 30 Index acts as a gauge of the status of the data asset market across major cities in China. This index adheres to the principles outlined in the "Opinions on Building Basic Systems for Data to Maximize the Role of Data Factor", alternatively referred to as the "Twenty Data Measures", issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council. Simultaneously, the Sentiment Index is structured to mirror a Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the data factor market. It assesses the sector's health and future prospects, considering variables such as transaction volumes, order books, profitability, pricing trends, workforce dynamics, R&D activities, and market expectations in data exchange. Announcing Key Annual Infrastructure Milestones, Pioneering Innovation in the Data Asset Market At GDEC 2023, Shanghai positioned as a pivotal center for China's data factor market, highlighted significant developments in its market collaborations, further elevating its profile as a key player within the industry. Key highlights include: Global Cross-border Data Flows Rules Panorama : Benchmarking against international digital economy regulations, the overview serves as a basis for exploring new models for international data collaboration; : Benchmarking against international digital economy regulations, the overview serves as a basis for exploring new models for international data collaboration; Typical Application Scenarios Cases for Data Factor Circulation : Highlighting 28 leading examples across 8 industries, the analysis provides fresh perspectives on data valuation, shaped by diverse industry-specific contexts; : Highlighting 28 leading examples across 8 industries, the analysis provides fresh perspectives on data valuation, shaped by diverse industry-specific contexts; 2023 China Data Transaction Market Research and Analysis Report : Providing an in-depth analysis of the Chinese data exchange market in 2023, the report integrates global trends and market insights; : Providing an in-depth analysis of the Chinese data exchange market in 2023, the report integrates global trends and market insights; 2023 China Data Ecosystem Industry Development Report : The extensive report not only delineates the current landscape of the data exchange sector but also formulates customized data exchange development strategies for various cities, considering their unique local dynamics. : The extensive report not only delineates the current landscape of the data exchange sector but also formulates customized data exchange development strategies for various cities, considering their unique local dynamics. Data Assets Incorporating Into The Balance Sheet and Valuation Practice and Operations Guidebook : Besides offering valuation methods, the guide also addresses the complexities in recognizing data assets in balance sheets, furnishing a practical framework for financial reporting methodologies. : Besides offering valuation methods, the guide also addresses the complexities in recognizing data assets in balance sheets, furnishing a practical framework for financial reporting methodologies. Commercial Bank Data Value Insight and Research: The document introduces a groundbreaking approach using data asset mapping technology, establishing a new paradigm for data assetization in the banking sector. Introducing Shanghai's Initial Data Brands, Enhancing Data Solutions with Expertise and Branding Through its coordinated initiatives, Shanghai drives the evolution of the data exchange sector, guiding data products towards analytical sophistication, brand equity, and niche expertise, and enhancing the sector's innovation capacity, informational depth, and market maturity. In October, Shanghai rolled out a data branding program, implementing the "Shanghai Data" certification process with a focus on creating synergies between established companies and quality data. During GDEC 2023, the inaugural group of certified "Shanghai Data" brands was unveiled. The brands featuring prominent names such as ICBC Shanghai Municipal Branch, E&P International, Shanghai Public Transportation Card Company (SPTCC), UnionPay Advisors, COSMOplat, CRIC, ChinaScope, JinRon Digits, Nana Technology, Winner Technology and Midu, with ample coverage of the finance, manufacturing, transportation, sports, and technology sectors. Moving forward, Shanghai is committed to driving both the growth and quality enhancement of data products. The city also seeks to refine the integration of brand development with the expansion of data services, further establishing the "Shanghai Data" brand's stature and impact in the sector. Fast-Tracking Data Infrastructure Frameworks, 20 Specialized Theme Forums Deliberate on Strategic Roadmaps GDEC 2023 hosted 20 specialized theme forums, addressing a broad spectrum of critical topics. These encompassed the development and utilization of and innovation in government open data, regulatory compliance in data circulation and exchange, data infrastructure, international data transfer, and innovative applications of data assets. The forums drew over 1,000 participants from global and domestic data service providers, sparking dialogues on current and emerging trends in the data factor market. They provided a vital convergence point for industry leaders and prominent data exchange entities, creating a platform for global exchange and collaboration. This setting was instrumental in fostering innovative thinking and investigating new models for advancing China's data factor market. The interactions and partnerships formed at these forums underscored the necessity of enhancing fundamental data governance and exchange frameworks, with a focus on continuous innovation and leading experimental initiatives in these areas. SOURCE Shanghai Data Exchange NAMM spotlights a full feature of programs for the pro audio community at its January show CARLSBAD, Calif., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NAMM (The National Association of Music Merchants), the largest global not-for-profit music trade organization, is ready to celebrate its role as the U.S. home of pro audio when the NAMM Show opens its doors in January 2024. Tens of thousands of visitors from around the world will pour into the Anaheim Convention Center exhibit halls between January 2528 in Anaheim, California, ready to do business with pro audio's leading brands while an unmissable schedule of education, networking and business opportunities unfolds across the NAMM Show campus. Among the brands joining their peers in ACC North the home of pro audio at The NAMM Show will be d&b audiotechnik, DiGiCo, Adamson Systems Engineering, EAW, Meyer Sound, Solid State Logic, Audinate, Blackmagic Design, Genelec, Avid, QSC, Sennheiser, Alcons Audio, RCF, Electro-Voice, DPA Microphones, Waves, Shure, Sony, Mackie, PMC, Allen & Heath, FBT and a range of brands from Music Tribe, including Midas. Those and dozens more are set to help make this one of the biggest NAMM shows on record, replete with new technology and countless product demonstrations. "The professional audio community is an essential ingredient of what makes The NAMM Show so special, and we are beyond excited to welcome everybody to Anaheim in January," said John Mlynczak, NAMM president and CEO. "The strength of the two ACC North halls really drives home how hard the pro audio community has worked to turn the challenges of recent years into a triumph for the whole industry. In January, we're going to commend that with a phenomenal NAMM Show." Outside the exhibit hall, NAMM members can book into official Dante training by Audinate with sessions taking place on January 25 January 27. Four special Pro Production seminars, hosted by PLSN and FOH magazines, will fill room 204A on Friday January 26. ESTA will present seminars and training opportunities on lighting technology, electrical, rigging and safety across all four days of the show, while the Event Safety Alliance will offer sessions for production professionals between Thursday and Saturday. Meanwhile, TEC Tracks sessions will feature four busy days of sessions in recording, live sound and music business. Of course, no NAMM Show would be complete without an unforgettable fringe festival of awards ceremonies, star-studded performances and pool parties. The 2024 Parnelli Awards will honor live production legends Buford Jones, Carol Dodds and Jim Brammer on Friday, January 26, while the TEC Awards will recognize the best in new technology on Saturday, January 27. Last but never least, all pro audio professionals are invited to grab a wristband and join co-sponsors NAMM, DiGiCo and The Inside Story poolside at the Anaheim Marriot for the 2024 Pro Audio Pool Party on Thursday, January 25, starting at 7p.m. Registration is now open for The 2024 NAMM Show. To register, please visit https://www.namm.org/thenammshow/attend. Media Contacts NAMM Communications - John Dolak, Director [email protected] 619.735.4028 Barney Jameson, James Ling The Inside Story [email protected] / [email protected] +44 (0)1892 525141 About NAMM The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) is the not-for-profit association with a mission to strengthen the $19.5 billion music products industry. NAMM is comprised of 15,400 global member companies and individual professionals with a global workforce of over 475,000 employees. NAMM events and members fund The NAMM Foundation's efforts to promote the pleasures and benefits of music and advance active participation in music-making across the lifespan. For more information about NAMM, please visit namm.org. The 2024 NAMM Show will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center January 25 to 28. SOURCE NAMM RALEIGH, N.C., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Three distinguished North Carolina business leaders have officially joined the State Board of Community Colleges following a swearing-in ceremony last week. Esteemed Raleigh developer John Kane, Wilson businesswoman Paula Benson, and former MetLife executive Geoffrey Lang were sworn-in at the November 17 board meeting, strengthening the Board's focus on workforce development and addressing the dynamic needs of community college students. Left to right: John Kane, Paula Benson, Geoffrey Lang "We have set the expectation for our colleges that we are going to be extraordinary and to do that we need extraordinary leadership," said State Board Chairman Tom Looney. "The additions of John Kane, Paula Benson, and Geoffrey Lang three tremendous heavy hitters in our state are going to help us build a top-down system that reimagines college education and training for all North Carolinians." John Kane is a dedicated leader in the business and economic development sectors. He is Chairman and CEO of Kane Realty Corporation, an organization he founded in 1978. Kane leads the organization, which has developed sustainable mixed-use communities, regional malls, neighborhood and community centers, office buildings, hotels, and health centers. He is a graduate of Wake Forest University with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration. He is a member of the Young Presidents' Organization, Chief Executives Organization and World Presidents' Organization. John serves on the Economic Development Board of the NC Board and previously served on Boards of Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority, Duke Heart Center, Research Triangle Regional Partnership, NC Chamber, Duke Raleigh Hospital, Duke University Health System, and NC Symphony. Paula Benson is a visionary leader currently serving as Executive Director of Wilson Forward. In January 2024, she will step down from that role after 12 years to become Director of the Healthcare Foundation of Wilson. Benson has served in numerous leadership roles for organizations in Wilson and she has worked with local, regional and statewide partners on issues and opportunities in education, workforce development, health and wellness. Prior to her role at Wilson Forward, Benson worked at SAS Institute and Ernst & Young, where she began her career as a certified public accountant. Benson earned her bachelor's degrees in business administration and economics at Meredith College. Geoffrey Lang retired in 2020 after a distinguished career in business and recruitment. He served as Vice President and General Manager of the MetLife Global Technology Campus in Cary, where he connected MetLife to the area's rich talent pool and leaders in the technology industry. His past experience also includes 22 years at IBM where he developed a deep set of skills in technology and the financial services industry. Prior to that role, he served as Chief Information Office at RBC Bank for seven years. He has been a member of several boards in the Triangle, including the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, Cary Chamber of Commerce, Wake Technical Community College Board of Trustees, Habitat for Humanity, and the Regional Transportation Alliance. In 2018, he received Triangle Business Journal's CEO of the Year Award. "The North Carolina Community College System plays a critical role in the economic development of North Carolina by providing customized workforce development training to more than 22,000 employees at over 700 existing and new companies in the state," says Christopher Chung, CEO of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. "Having a business leader like John Kane on the State Board of Community Colleges offers a unique perspective into the needs of businesses and insights into how the community college system can continue to make North Carolina's workforce the best in the nation." The new board members replace outgoing members Burr Sullivan, Bobby Irwin, and Jerry Vaughan. The State Board, which serves as the policy-making body for the North Carolina Community College System, has the responsibility of overseeing various aspects such as budgets, capital projects, and curriculum. This Board is composed of 22 members, with their appointments coming from the North Carolina General Assembly and the Governor's Office. Among these members, three are agency representatives by virtue of their positions, and one represents the student body. "I am eager to get to know our new board members and it is clear to me they are all going to add value to our NC Community College System." Earlier this year, the North Carolina General Assembly passed legislation aimed at reducing the board's size to 18 members by 2027, evenly split between the House and Senate, with nine members from each chamber. SOURCE North Carolina Community College System DUBLIN, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Medical Tourism - Top 25 Source Countries" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global landscape of medical tourism is evolving rapidly, with shifting trends in both the countries of origin for medical tourists and the reasons behind their travel abroad. The report, titled "Medical Tourism - Top 25 Global Destinations," delves into the top 25 source countries for medical tourists, shedding light on the factors that have contributed to their prominence in this growing industry. The annual growth of global medical tourism continues to be significant. However, the key changes lie in the countries from which medical tourists originate and the motivations driving them to seek healthcare services overseas. This report, authored by a seasoned expert with 15 years of experience in the field of medical tourism, explores the dynamics shaping this industry. The report provides a comprehensive analysis of the top 25 source countries for medical tourists, offering insights into why these nations have emerged as major contributors to the global medical tourism market. By examining outbound numbers and revenue, it identifies both current and potential opportunities within this ever-evolving sector. One of the distinctive features of this report is its timeliness. Recognizing that many medical tourism reports become outdated shortly after publication, this report is different. It utilizes a global medical tourism database that is updated weekly, ensuring that the information presented is always current. The bespoke report is compiled within five working days, providing the latest insights and data available in the medical tourism industry. Country Specific Details Include: Overview Potential Medical tourism numbers out Medical tourism outbound spending Where medical tourists go Why outbound medical tourists go abroad Health insurance and medical tourism For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ih6f1w About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets Turing Prize Winner Yann LeCun gives keynote speech HONG KONG, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Top artificial intelligence (AI) experts, scholars and industry leaders from around the world have converged at a symposium in Hong Kong recently to share their knowledge, research and insights of ways to tap the potential of AI to improve the life of humankind. It will take years or decades for the development of artificial intelligence (AI) to reach human-level AI. Robots will not take over the world. "Open source" is the only option. These are among the thought-provoking insights that Turing Prize winner Prof. Yann LeCun, hailed by the media as one of the "Godfathers of AI", elaborated in the symposium as a keynote speaker. Entitled AI NEW HORIZONS 2023: A Symposium with Scientific Leaders, the event was jointly hosted by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and the Greater Bay Area Association of Academicians (GBAAA). In his keynote speech, Prof. LeCun envisioned objective-driven AI will help predict the future, and Joint Embedding Predictive Architecture (JEPA) model will make a paradigm shift in predictive modeling, that JEPA could bring about a "new Renaissance." AI, Prof. LeCun said, will become a "shared infrastructure" in the future, like the Internet today. That also means, he said, AI platforms must be made "open source." "All interactions with the digital world will be mediated by AI assistants They will constitute a repository of all human knowledge and culture," the leading AI expert said. The issue of "open source" AI platform was further discussed at a "Fireside Chat" among Prof. LeCun, HKUST Council Chairman and AI expert Prof. Harry Shum and Director of HKUST's Center for AI Research Prof. Pascal Fung, at the symposium held at the Asia Society Hong Kong Center. Admitting that the issue was complex and controversial, Prof. LeCun said open source platform would promote diversity. Prof. Shum shared the view that "open source is a good thing," but added the AI industry would be divided on the idea in view of their different considerations in developing Large Language Models (LLM). "If you think from a commercial point of view, whoever is Number One (in the industry) would not want to go open source for financial reasons. If you are Number Two, you will then struggle (and ask) should I open source or compete with (Number One)?" Prof Shum said. "Like many new technologies, it would take time to formulate the relevant laws and regulatory mechanisms to tackle the problems that may arise," he added. Responding to the question by Prof. Fung about universities and industry co-operations, both Prof. LeCun and Prof. Shum underlined the importance of greater collaborations between the industry and the academia in AI. Prof. Shum said resources were important to research development, "we will continue to encourage faculties and students to get more fundings and do start-ups This is what HKUST has been doing." The symposium was the first large-scale academic conference held by the GBAAA since its establishment in 2021, and also one of the series of conferences recently organized by HKUST with a focus on AI. Prof. Nancy Ip, HKUST President and GBAAA Council Chair who spearheaded the symposium, expressed her deep appreciation to the experts and scholars who shared their valuable insights at the event. The symposium, she said, was aimed at "exploring the current AI research landscape and delving into the cutting-edge work being undertaken, to understand the potential AI holds as well as its limitations." "The launch of Open AI's ChatGPT and other generative AI tools early this year has suddenly thrusted AI into the forefront of our life and imagination," she said. "As AI research progresses, we can anticipate even more transformative advancements that will redefine the way we work and live." As an officiating guest of the event, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Prof. Sun Dong, said Hong Kong possesses distinct competitive advantages to be developed into an international I&T center. He outlined the Government's I&T strategy and plans to digitalize public services set out in the 2023 Policy Address, which include the establishment of a supercomputer center to foster AI development. The symposium was also attended by scholars from different regions and senior executives from leading innovation technology firms. They include Prof. Kathleen McKeown at Columbia University; Dr. FENG Junlan at China Mobile; Dr. LI Hang at ByteDance; and Dr. ZHOU Jingren at Alibaba Cloud Intelligence. Representatives from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and eight local tertiary institutions including the City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University, Lingnan University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The Education University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, HKUST and The University of Hong Kong, shared with participants their AI research achievements in the full-day symposium. Download photos of the forum here: http://udz039.ust.hk/~meu/AI_NEW_HORIZONS_2023/ SOURCE The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform infrastructure enables five-fold increase in application response times for better customer experience while lowering energy costs 60% ANKARA, Turkey and SANTA CLARA, Calif., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hitachi Vantara, the data storage, infrastructure, and hybrid cloud management subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), today announced that Turk Telekom, a leading Turkish information and communications technology company, is reducing energy costs while also boosting performance and management of its data infrastructure through the deployment of Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform (VSP) solutions. The new architecture is more environmentally sustainable by design, reducing Turk Telekom's total footprint from 23 cabinets to nine and decreasing power and cooling requirements from the replaced cabinets by approximately 60%. The upgrade has also led to a 30% reduction in total cost of ownership. For more information about how Hitachi Vantara is helping customers achieve sustainability, visit: https://www.hitachivantara.com/en-us/solutions/sustainability.html Turk Telekom serves more than 15 million broadband and 25.6 million mobile subscribers. As the company plays a critical role in leading Turkey's digital transformation, they sought to modernize their infrastructure supporting business-critical systems, including core billing and charging applications and databases, SAP applications, and virtualization and cloud service platforms. Having the right infrastructure is crucial for business-critical systems that sit at the center of Turk Telekom's digital architecture. "Our main goal is to provide systems that will improve the daily lives of our customers, and to do that requires integrating the latest technologies into an end-to-end architecture," said Mehmet Fatih Bekin, data center and cloud services director at Turk Telekom. "We need to be sure that our storage systems won't start causing bottlenecks that could impact performance and reliability for our end-users. And just as importantly, the energy efficiency of our new VSP arrays is not just better for the environment, it also reduces our operational expenditure." Turk Telekom deployed new VSP 5000 Series arrays, enabling a successful switch from hybrid disk to non-volatile memory express (NVMe) storage, dramatically improving performance with a five-fold improvement in application response times. The new infrastructure also reduced data center space and cooling requirements. Additionally, the ability to consolidate systems in the data center provides a much smaller footprint and a considerable reduction in power consumption, which reduces CO2 emissions. "We know that eco-friendly infrastructure not only helps businesses reduce emissions and carbon footprints, but it can also reduce space requirements and lower costs," said Bharti Patel, senior vice president, Product Engineering, Hitachi Vantara. "As a leader in data center decarbonization efforts, Hitachi Vantara has continually lowered greenhouse gas emissions across the entire lifecycle of our data infrastructure solutions. We have patented technology within our arrays to reduce power consumption so that our customers can meet their sustainability responsibility needs, improve their bottom line, and accelerate their competitive advantage." Powering an Eco-Friendly, Data-Driven Future Hitachi Vantara helps governments, cities and companies cut their carbon footprint by combining data-driven outcomes with industrial know-how. The company has followed a rigorous process for lowering the carbon footprint of its systems as a core design principle for more than a decade. For example, Hitachi Vantara has reduced the CO2 emissions per 1TB per year of Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform by up to 30-40% since 20141, and several models have been certified under the U.S. ENERGY STAR program. Additionally, the company's Storage Virtualization Operating System (SVOS) utilizes enhanced data reduction technology, which lets customers store more user data on their purchased capacity. Reduced usage leads to reduced power and cooling costs, which helps reduce CO2 emissions in some use cases, by as much as 60%. Hitachi Vantara takes a non-disruptive approach when it comes to the replacing older systems with next generation systems, without the need for data migration. Doing so allows organizations to avoid a time-consuming project that requires old and new systems to run in parallel throughout the migration. Such processes consume a lot more power and require additional cooling and floorspace, as well. Hitachi Vantara recently announced a new hybrid cloud approach to data storage with the introduction of Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform One, a single data platform experience to consume and manage block, file, object, and mainframe data. For more information on how Hitachi Vantara is helping customers provide a data-driven approach to data storage and sustainability, please click here. Additional Resources Connect With Hitachi Vantara About Hitachi Vantara Hitachi Vantara is transforming the way data fuels innovation. A wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd., Hitachi Vantara provides the data foundation the world's leading innovators rely on. Through data storage, infrastructure systems, cloud management and digital expertise, the company helps customers build the foundation for sustainable business growth. To learn more, visit www.hitachivantara.com. About Hitachi, Ltd. Hitachi drives Social Innovation Business, creating a sustainable society through the use of data and technology. We solve customers' and society's challenges with Lumada solutions leveraging IT, OT (Operational Technology) and products. Hitachi operates under the business structure of "Digital Systems & Services" - supporting our customers' digital transformation; "Green Energy & Mobility" - contributing to a decarbonized society through energy and railway systems, and "Connective Industries" - connecting products through digital technology to provide solutions in various industries. Driven by Digital, Green, and Innovation, we aim for growth through co-creation with our customers. The company's consolidated revenues for fiscal year 2022 (ended March 31, 2023) totaled 10,881.1 billion yen, with 696 consolidated subsidiaries and approximately 320,000 employees worldwide. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at https://www.hitachi.com. HITACHI is a trademark or registered trademark of Hitachi, Ltd. All other trademarks, service marks, and company names are properties of their respective owners. 1 Registration number VSP G1000: CR-CI05-14003-B, VSP G1500: CR-CI05-17010, VSP 5500H: CR-CI06-20015, VSP 5600:JR-BF-22002C-A, (https://www.cfp-japan.jp/) CFP Program (https://ecoleaf-label.jp/english/) Japan EPD Program by SuMPO SOURCE Hitachi Vantara BOZEMAN, Mont., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- TUV Rheinland, a global leader in independent testing and inspection services, has partnered with Texbase, a leading provider of software solutions for transparency, compliance, testing, and materials innovation. TUV Rheinland is the newest addition to the Texbase Connect platform, making their facilities in Bangladesh, Shenzen and Shanghai available for laboratory test data collaboration with any of Texbase's global network of brand and retail subscribers. Texbase Connect is designed to facilitate seamless connections between supply chain partners, allowing TUV Rheinland to attract new customers and serving existing ones with greater efficiency. This partnership with TUV Rheinland allows brands and retailers to utilize Texbase's integrated data management platform to accelerate communication of timely information that is critical to product development and production quality control. Texbase Connect ensures that all stakeholders, including third-party labs like TUV Rheinland, have access to up-to-date test requests and testing requirements while their customers benefit from digital test results including automatic pass/fail evaluations, allowing for prompt and informed decision-making. "By adopting Texbase Connect, TUV Rheinland is aiming to create seamless connections with customers using Texbase to collaborate more effectively while paving the way for new partnerships across the globe" said Haley Sprague, Global Key Account Manager Senior, NA Retail of TUV Rheinland. About TUV Rheinland TUV Rheinland stands for safety and quality in virtually all areas of business and life. The company has been operating for more than 150 years and ranks among the world's leading testing service providers. It has more than 20,000 employees in over 50 countries and generates annual revenues of around 2.3 billion euros. TUV Rheinland's highly qualified experts test technical systems and products around the world, support innovations in technology and business, train people in numerous professions and certify management systems according to international standards. In doing so, the independent experts generate trust in products as well as processes across global value-adding chains and the flow of commodities. Since 2006, TUV Rheinland has been a member of the United Nations Global Compact to promote sustainability and combat corruption. Website: www.tuv.com About Texbase: Texbase provides software solutions that revolutionize compliance, quality, and materials management for the textile and consumer products industries. Texbase is the trusted source for centralized data management, driving innovation and excellence in product design and compliance programs. Contact us for press inquiries: Mariana Taborda do Amaral Telephone: +55 11 3514 5867 Email: [email protected] Michael Garcia Carbajal Phone: +52 55 3488 2108 Email: [email protected] SOURCE TUV Rheinland The company has the accreditation of twelve national standards to review the commercial information of a large number of products imported into the country. It is mandatory for importing companies to comply with the standards, otherwise they may be fined up to 10% of the value of the imported goods. TUV Rheinland celebrates its 30th anniversary in Mexico by innovating its portfolio of quality and safety services. MEXICO CITY, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- TUV Rheinland in Mexico, a leading company in certification, testing and inspection with 30 years of experience at national level and 150 years at global level, will provide the labeling review service corresponding to 12 national standards established for products that are imported and/or manufactured in Mexico. "We are excited about this growth in our Products Business Unit, since this year we are celebrating the 30th anniversary of TUV Rheinland in Mexico and we were recognized as one of the best conformity assessment bodies in the country; so having a Commercial Information Inspection Unit will help us continue our leadership based on our comprehensive services with a focus on safety", highlights Lillian Peregrina, Director of Products at TUV Rheinland. TUV Rheinland received accreditation to carry out the review of commercial information on packaging, artwork or labeling to ensure the issuance of Conformity Opinions and Certificates of Conformity according to regulatory compliance for: paints, inks, varnishes, lacquers, enamels, textile products, clothing, its accessories and household linen, toys, natural tanned leathers and skins and synthetic or artificial materials with that appearance, footwear, leather goods, as well as products made with such materials, packaging, instructions and warranties for electronic, electrical and household appliance products. As well as prepackaged food and non-alcoholic beverages, alcoholic beverages, cocoa, chocolate and similar products, and cocoa derivatives, lubricating oils for gasoline and diesel engines, prepackaged cosmetic products, household cleaning products and products in general. The review of commercial labeling on products entering the country is important because it is governed by mandatory standards for companies, which are issued by the competent agencies of each industry. This process contributes to the empowerment of the population, since it analyzes that the information on the products is present, which promotes product comparison and an intelligent purchase. Thus, in the event that an importing company does not comply with them, it may be subject to a foreign trade fine ranging from 2% to 10% of the value of the merchandise, in addition to a retention or seizure of the merchandise or even a seizure from customs to warehouses or points of sale. In this way, it becomes transcendental that companies comply with national standards to provide a product with a quality standard, which would lead to an exponential economic growth. An example of this is that according to INEGI's Merchandise Trade Balance, at the beginning of 2023, total imports in the country reached a value of 93,494 million pesos, which represented a 9.8% increase over the same period in 2022, so it is expected that international trade will follow a positive trend with phenomena such as nearshoring and e-commerce. "At TUV Rheinland we have a team of experts in quality and safety for different industries, so now having twelve new accreditations to analyze a vast variety of products allows us to expand our portfolio of services to continue providing comprehensive solutions to each national and international client. In addition, it boosts us in the market as an Inspection Unit to serve a wide range of sectors such as paints, textiles, food, cosmetics, toys, among others, so we are optimistic about the future," concludes Peregrina. Thus, TUV Rheinland de Mexico reaffirms its commitment to make the world a safer and more sustainable place by providing specialized attention to its clients with services that are key to maintain the safety and confidence of consumers in the country. To learn more about the Inspection Unit click here. About TUV Rheinland TUV Rheinland stands for safety and quality in virtually all areas of business and life. The company has been operating for more than 150 years and ranks among the world's leading testing service providers. It has more than 20,000 employees in over 50 countries and generates annual revenues of around 2.3 billion euros. TUV Rheinland's highly qualified experts test technical systems and products around the world, support innovations in technology and business, train people in numerous professions and certify management systems according to international standards. In doing so, the independent experts generate trust in products as well as processes across global value-adding chains and the flow of commodities. Since 2006, TUV Rheinland has been a member of the United Nations Global Compact to promote sustainability and combat corruption. Website: www.tuv.com. Contact us for press inquiries: Mariana Taborda do Amaral Telephone: +55 11 3514 5867 Email: [email protected] Michael Garcia Carbajal Phone: +52 55 3488 2108 Email: [email protected] SOURCE TUV Rheinland The Plymouth location serves the bustling west metro region STRONGSVILLE, Ohio, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Union Home Mortgage (UHM), a high-growth independent mortgage banking company with a world-class culture, announced today the details of a ribbon cutting event in celebration of a partnership between its west Minneapolis branch and the local Wayzata Chamber of Commerce. The event will occur at 4pm on December 4th at the branch location, 3525 Plymouth Blvd. Plymouth, MN. The branch is led by Chris Carr, a 25-year veteran of the financial services industry. Chris has a deep connection to the community and an encyclopedic knowledge of local real estate from Minnetonka to Elmo and beyond. He is joined by Bob Clausen, Quan Hargrove, Steve Delich and Vanessa Kahle. Together the team's specialties include traditional mortgage financing (Conventional, FHA, USDA, VA), First-Time Homebuyers and Jumbo Loans as well as down payment assistance programs and Construction to Permanent Loans. "As a relative newcomer to the UHM family, I have been blown away by this company's culture and commitment to homebuyers," said Carr. "Customers can expect tremendous communication and a clear understanding of the process designed to help clients reach their goals. I'm excited to continue our growth, recruit more Partners and share our mission with colleagues and neighbors alike." With a more than 50 year history, Union Home Mortgage has grown from a single location outside Cleveland, Ohio to encompass loan officers in communities across the country. There are no employees at Union Home Mortgage, only Partners, a title reflecting the company's deep commitment to its people and its exceptional culture, unrivaled in the mortgage industry. The company's midwestern roots have continued to grow and each year it invites Partners nationwide to a multi-day event called All Partners Celebration in downtown Cleveland. UHM is deeply connected to the community through the Union Home Mortgage Foundation, which has distributed more than $1 million to nonprofits focused on financial literacy and housing access across the company's footprint. About Union Home Mortgage Union Home Mortgage Corp. (UHM) is a high-growth, full-service retail, wholesale and consumer direct independent mortgage banking company with over 200 branches across the U.S. For nine consecutive years, UHM has been awarded as a Top Workplace. With a world-class culture that stands out in the mortgage industry, UHM Partners (employees) are guided by a Code of Conduct that emphasizes respect, open communication and accountability. UHM is an approved direct lender of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, VA, USDA and other conforming and non-QM loan products, with over $13 billion in responsible lending per year. Chris Carr | NMLS 403758 Bob Clausen | NMLS 135119 Quan Hargrove | NMLS 232427 Steve Delich | NMLS 218487 Vanessa Kahle | NMLS 194868 NMLS #2229, www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org. This is not an offer to enter into an agreement. Any such offer may only be made pursuant to subdivisions 3 and 4 of MN Statute Section 47.206. | Mortgage Banker License #0930335 | Licensed by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. Residential Mortgage Lending Act License number 4131047 SOURCE Union Home Mortgage ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Webull Corporation ("Webull"), the owner of the popular Webull trading platform that has been downloaded over 40 million times worldwide, today announced its acquisition of all of the outstanding shares of Miflink S.A.P.I. de C.V. ("Flink"). Flink is an investment platform based in Mexico City that allows Mexican customers the unique opportunity to invest in fractional shares of U.S. listed companies without commissions. As part of the transaction, Webull will also acquire Mexican brokerage Vifaru Casa de Bolsa, which Flink agreed to purchase in May 2022, subject to regulatory approval by Mexico's CNBV. Webull Completes Purchase of Flink in Mexico Ruben Guerrero, Webull's Head of Latin America, stated, "Webull is thrilled to launch in Mexico, a market with a young and vibrant population that has a strong and untapped demand for technology-based wealth building solutions. We believe the early success of Flink is proof of this demand, and that Webull's approach of using technology to provide low-cost access to global markets for investors in all economies is a perfect fit for Mexico. We anticipate building on Flink's success by offering its customers a broader set of investment products, user-friendly technology, and world-class support." Flink's customers will continue to have access to trading U.S. stocks over the Flink platform. Over the coming months, Webull will further enhance the Flink platform by integrating its proprietary technology and plans to launch local Mexican investment and cash management products. The Webull trading platform launched in the United States in 2018 through a subsidiary of Webull that is an SEC-registered broker-dealer and FINRA member. Webull's innovative and intuitive mobile trading platform, along with its offering of low commission trading, allowed it to quickly expand in the U.S. and other markets. Similarly, Flink launched in Mexico in 2018 as one of the first investment platforms to allow Mexican investors access to the U.S. markets and has been a leader in Mexico at democratizing finance. "Flink is thrilled to be joining the Webull family, as our two companies share similar visions and values around democratizing access for the everyday investors," said Sergio Jiminez, Flink's co-founder. "The synergies among Webull and Flink are obvious and will provide a great service to Mexican investors." Anthony Denier, Head of the Americas and Europe for Webull, stated, "We are excited to launch our expansion into the Latin American market with the acquisition of Flink. Given our success in the United States and the establishment of our global headquarters in St. Petersburg, Florida, the Mexican market is a natural next step in our efforts to democratize finance for investors across the world. We anticipate using Mexico as a springboard into greater Latin and South America, where we believe there is a strong desire among retail investors to access global markets." With the addition of Mexico, Webull now offers its investment platform in nine markets, namely the U.S., Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, South Africa, Japan, and the U.K. About Webull Webull is a leading digital investment platform built on next generation global infrastructure. The Webull Group is headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida and backed by private equity investors located in the United States, Europe and Asia. Webull serves tens of millions of users from over 180 countries, providing retail investors with 24/7 access to global financial markets. Users can put investment strategies to work by trading global stocks, ETFs, options and fractional shares, through Webull's trading platform, which is currently available in the United States, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, South Africa, Australia, Indonesia, and Mexico. Webull also offers investment education services, with lessons covering a wide range of topics. For more information about Webull, visit Webull's corporate website at https://www.webullcorp.com. About Flink A financial app created by young Mexicans in 2017, Flink specializes in investments and is a pioneer in the country by providing access to fractional shares and ETFs listed on the New York Stock Exchange, starting from USD 1. Flink aims to change the financial system, creating a more equitable market so that individuals can access simple, secure, and regulated tools to generate more income with their money. The app is available for smartphones with iOS, Android, and Huawei operating systems. About Vifaru: Vifaru is a Brokerage House established in 2014 that is subject to the supervision of the National Banking and Securities Commission. Since 2022, MiFlink and Vifaru have begun collaborating and operating under the Flink ecosystem with the goal of providing new investment tools. Vifaru offers access to a stock investment account that invests in government debt (Repo Operations) starting from 30 pesos, generating short-term gains, daily liquidity, and one of the most competitive rates. To use Vifaru's service, you only need to download the Flink app and open an account. Available for iOS, Android, and Huawei. Learn more about us and check the terms and conditions at: www.miflink.com. SOURCE Webull Corporation BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan have discussed the prospects of cooperation in the energy sector, Trend reports, referring to the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan Republic. According to the Ministry of Economy, the 7th session of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan on Cooperation in Economic and Humanitarian Spheres was held during the visit of the Azerbaijani delegation headed by Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov to Turkmenistan. During the meeting, it was noted that there is a great potential for increasing trade turnover by expanding the range of supplied products, as well as the free trade regime between the countries contributes to further growth of trade turnover. In addition, it was emphasized that successful cooperation in the field of trade can help stimulate mutual investments, there are great opportunities for cooperation with Turkmenistan in various areas, including investment, energy, customs, transport, agriculture, food safety, as well as within the framework of the Baku International Sea Trade Port. During the meeting, information was presented on Azerbaijan's growing economic indicators and favorable business environment, including business potential and opportunities created for investors in the territories liberated from occupation, and the importance of systematic holding of events to identify new areas of cooperation was noted. The sides discussed initiatives in the economic sphere meeting common interests and prospects of cooperation in various directions. A protocol of the 7th meeting of the Azerbaijan-Turkmen Joint Intergovernmental Commission was signed at the end of the meeting. The document was signed by the Commission's co-chairmen - Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov and Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers for Trade, Textile Industry, and Entrepreneurship Batyr Atdayev. The protocol envisages the expansion of partnership in trade, industry, energy, transportation, agriculture, and other areas. Stay up to date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel The list recognizes tech breakthroughs across industries that promise to transform the future. SAN DIEGO, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Wiliot , the Internet of Things pioneer whose IoT platform is enabling trillions of "things" to gain intelligence, today announced that its ambient IoT Pixels and Visibility Platform has been named to Fast Company's third annual Next Big Things in Tech list. The esteemed award program honors the technology breakthroughs that promise to shape the future of industriesfrom healthcare and security to artificial intelligence and data. The Wiliot ambient IoT Visibility Platform, which is currently found inside the supply chains of many of the world's largest companies, was recognized for its ability to connect the digital and physical worlds using its IoT Pixels stamp-sized, self-powered compute devices that cost pennies. These IoT Pixels can attach to any "thing" to connect it to the internet; not just expensive things like cars, appliances, shipping containers, and crates, but the things inside them: fruits, veggies, vaccine vials, clothes, airplane parts, and just about everything else. Once connected, products transmit real-time, case and item-level information about their location, temperature, humidity, and carbon footprint equipping some of the world's largest companies with the data they need to make more profitable, sustainably-minded decisions that increase revenue, improve safety, and create a more livable planet. The ambient IoT will also act as the extended nervous system for artificial intelligence, enabling businesses to communicate with trillions of Wiliot-connected products through generative AI platforms from OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, and others to come. Integrating ambient IoT and generative AI goes beyond just passive supply chain visibility, enabling business leaders to take action to address supply chain issues, such as fixing bottlenecks; taking action when vegetable containers are above their temperature thresholds; and reducing the carbon footprint of a specific product line in real time. "The ambient IoT represents an evolution of the traditional Internet of Things that brings connectivity and product intelligence from large, expensive things to almost everything," stated Steve Statler, Wiliot's CMO. "By embedding item-level intelligence into trillions of things, and connecting these products through generative AI platforms, businesses are equipped with the real-time data they need to solve many of their most pressing challenges. Wiliot's benefits are broad and deep: we create more efficient, response supply chains, reduce their carbon emissions, enhance food and medicine safety, and so much more." This year, 119 technologies developed by established companies, startups, or research teams are highlighted for their cutting-edge advancements and potential to impact consumers, businesses, and society overall. While not all the technological developments are available in the market yet, each one is reaching key milestones to have a proven impact in the next five years. "Fast Company, and its Next Big Thing in Tech Awards, have a prescient ability to smartly identify the technologies and innovations that are poised to positively impact the world," continued Statler. "We're honored to have our ambient IoT Pixels and Visibility Platform recognized by Fast Company and we are committed to living up to their decision in 2024 and beyond." Wiliot is now working with many of the world's largest retail, apparel, food & beverage, healthcare, and postage carriers. To deliver on these massive orders, Wiliot has partnered with leading smart tag manufacturers Avery Dennison, Identiv, and Tadbik to enable Wiliot to scale to meet this exploding demand. Wiliot has been recognized by many of the world's most prestigious organizations with various awards including a TIME Best Invention Award, issued by TIME; a VIP Award, issued by NRF; a GLOMO Award, issued by MWC; a Cool Vendor Award, issued by Gartner; and now a Next Big Thing in Tech Award, issued by Fast Company. "The Next Big Things in Tech is not just a look around the cornerit's a look around the corner after that," said Brendan Vaughan, editor-in-chief of Fast Company. "These are the products and ideas that will define technological innovation for the rest of this decade and beyondand solve some of the world's most pressing issues. We are thrilled to honor the organizations that are making them a reality." Click here to see the final list of Fast Company Next Big Things in Tech honorees. The Winter 2023/2024 issue of Fast Company is available online now and will hit newsstands on December 5. For more information on Wiliot, click here . For hi-res photography, click here. About Fast Company Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. The editor-in-chief is Brendan Vaughan. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with our sister publication, Inc., and can be found online at fastcompany.com. About Wiliot: Wiliot is an ambient IoT data carrier platform company. Our Visibility Platform connects the digital and physical worlds using IoT Pixels, battery-free smart tags that push data to the cloud in real-time without human intervention. Our platform exists within a fast-growing ambient IoT ecosystem. We have partners in that ecosystem that provide applications, tags, and edge devices. Ambient IoT is an evolution of legacy IoT and RFID technologies with lower costs, end-to-end privacy and security, and the addition of new intelligence and sensing capabilities. It's on a path to scaling to trillions thanks to telecommunications standards Bluetooth, 5G Advanced, and 802.11 AMP. Our mission is to make every single thing an agent of change, enabling ambient IoT by adding intelligence and automation to food, apparel, packaging, pharmaceuticals, and other products. Connecting new categories of things through AI and the internet is transforming manufacturing, distribution, and product use to deliver on our vision: a minimum waste, full trust, perfectly timed world where people, profits, and the planet are aligned. Visit www.wiliot.com to learn more. Media Contact: Daniel Griffin 212-481-3456 x23 [email protected] SOURCE Wiliot Former Ameriprise Team Joins Osaic Through Affiliated Advisors PHOENIX, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Osaic, Inc. (Osaic), one of the nation's largest providers of wealth management strategies, announced the successful recruitment of Integrity Wealth Management (Integrity) of Saint Joseph, Missouri. The women-owned and operated firm is led by Founder and President Jennifer Griffis, CFP, APMA and includes financial advisor Erin Bradley. The former Ameriprise Financial team brings $128 million in total client assets to Osaic through Affiliated Advisors. "I am excited to welcome Integrity Wealth Management to Affiliated Advisors," said Rita Robbins, Founder and President, Affiliated Advisors. "Our mission has always been to help financial advisors grow their businesses and reach new levels of success. Jennifer has the drive and work ethic to continue to expand her business well into the future. I'm looking forward to being here to empower her every step of the way." Integrity provides full-service wealth management services to its individuals, multi-generational families and small business clients. Ms. Griffis and her team leverage their considerable experience, financial insight, and personalized service model to help clients achieve their long-term financial goals. Ms. Griffis said, "After nearly 25 years with the same firm, I chose to move my practice to Osaic and Affiliated Advisors for the complete services, expert support and true independence we need to grow. They are as focused as I am to provide the highly personalized experience my clients deserve. Their flexible technology and innovative tools will allow us to deliver the best solutions from a broad array of options." "I'm thrilled to welcome Jennifer and her team to Osaic," added Kristen Kimmell, Executive Vice President Business Development, Osaic. "It is a true testament to our compelling value proposition that we continue to attract high-quality practices like Integrity Wealth Management to our firm. We are committed to Integrity with resources they need to succeed. I also congratulated Rita on the continued growth of Affiliated Advisors, one of Osaic's largest groups." About Osaic Osaic, Inc. ("Osaic"), a portfolio company of Reverence Capital Partners, is one of the nation's largest providers of wealth management solutions, supporting over 11,000 financial professionals. Our mission is to support the strategic role that financial professionals can play in the lives of their clients. Cultivating a spirit of entrepreneurship and independence, Osaic champions the enduring value of financial professionals. For more information visit www.osaic.com. Securities and investment advisory services are offered through the firms: Osaic Wealth, Inc., Triad Advisors, LLC, Osaic Institutions, Inc., and Woodbury Financial Services, Inc., broker-dealers, registered investment advisers, and members of FINRA and SIPC. Securities are offered through Securities America, Inc., American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc., and Ladenburg Thalmann & Co., broker-dealers and member of FINRA and SIPC. Advisory services are offered through Arbor Point Advisors, LLC, American Portfolios Advisors, Inc., Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management, Inc., Securities America Advisors, Inc., and Triad Hybrid Solutions, LLC, registered investment advisers. Advisory programs offered by Osaic Wealth, Inc., Securities America Advisors, Inc., Triad Advisors, LLC., and Woodbury Financial Services, Inc., are sponsored by VISION2020 Wealth Management Corp., an affiliated registered investment adviser. About Affiliated Advisors Founded nearly 30 years ago by industry veteran Rita Robbins, Affiliated Advisors is a team of experienced and innovative industry experts with a passion and mission to help solo advisors and emerging teams build the practices of their dreams through a dedicated service and support platform. Affiliated Advisors' award-winning suite of marketing, technology, compliance, service, financial planning, practice management and succession planning resources is helping nearly 100 financial advisors grow and better manage their advisory businesses. Media Inquiries Joseph Kuo / Donald Cutler Haven Tower Group [email protected] or [email protected] 424 317 4851 or 424 317 4864 SOURCE Osaic, Inc. MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As 2023 is coming to a close, bookings for 2024 travel are on the rise. Yonder Travel Insurance has analyzed current 2024 travel insurance policy data, unveiling insightful travel trends for the upcoming year. Yonder customers are opting for warm destinations in 2024. Here are the top five travel destinations they plan on visiting: British Virgin Islands Mexico Guatemala French Polynesia Bahamas Yonder data shows that travelers are also spending around 40% more on their trips than in 2023, raising the average trip cost in 2024 to $8,815. That being said, travelers are pleasantly surprised to find out that the cost of travel insurance is only usually 4-8% of their trip cost amount. Policy premiums for travel insurance average around 6.7% of the cost of the trip. Most travelers are booking their trips around 8 months in advance. After making their first deposit or payment towards their trip, most travelers are then purchasing travel insurance within a month. This is likely to obtain time-sensitive benefits and increased knowledge about buying travel insurance early to protect against unexpected events. Given current world events, many travelers have increased concerns their trips could be affected in 2024. The most common time-sensitive benefit Yonder customers acquire is Cancel for Any Reason , also known as CFAR, a benefit that must be purchased within 1-21 days from the deposit date and would protect 50-75% of their trip investment if they canceled for any reason at all. The most common types of trips Yonder customers are taking in 2024 include cruises, tours, and vacations, and will be traveling for a total of 9.5 days. "Although travelers are booking trips for later in 2024, they understand how important it is to consider travel insurance earlier in the travel planning process. Many of our customers are booking yacht charters, safaris, volunteer-based trips and tours, or aiming for a well-deserved break from reality," says Terry Boynton, co-founder and president of Yonder. The experts at Yonder Travel Insurance have poured over hundreds of policies from the best travel insurance providers in the US to provide the best travel insurance recommendation for how YOU travel. Contact: Meagan Palmer, Marketing Director (952-358-6459) [email protected] SOURCE Yonder Travel Insurance BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan have engaged in discussions regarding the joint development of the 'Dostlug' hydrocarbon field, Trend reports. Azerbaijan's Minister of Economy, Mikayil Jabbarov and SOCAR President Rovshan Najaf have met with Deputy Chairman of Turkmenistans Cabinet of Ministers Batyr Amanov, and his colleagues. The discussions focused on key aspects of bilateral energy cooperation, encompassing ongoing collaboration in energy exchange and joint exploration of hydrocarbon resources at the 'Dostlug' field. Additionally, they explored SOCAR's potential involvement in the development of other fields in Turkmenistan. A memorandum of understanding between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan for the joint exploration and development of hydrocarbon resources at the 'Dostlug' deposit in the Caspian Sea was signed on January 21, 2021. 'Dostlug' is the new name for the field, previously known as 'Kapaz' in Azerbaijan and 'Sardar' in Turkmenistan. Prior negotiations had been conducted for the joint development of this field. This oil and gas field, as assessed by SOCAR, could have its reserves confirmed using modern seismic exploration methods and possibly exploratory drilling. Addressing numerous technical and commercial considerations is essential for the ongoing development of this field. ASTANA, Kazakhstan, November 28. The International Monetary Fund's mission held consultations with the departments of macroeconomic analysis and forecasting, budgetary, tax and customs policy of the Ministry of National Economy of Kazakhstan, Trend reports. The Ministry displayed the macroeconomic forecasting methodologies used. The methods utilized by Kazakhstan's Ministry of National Economy were positively evaluated by IMF experts. At the same time, the IMF delegation presented the Comprehensive Adaptive Expectations Model, which is extensively utilized as a fundamental instrument in creating economic policies and stabilization programs by international financial organizations, central banks, and governments of leading countries. The parties highlighted further directions for increasing the Ministry's potential in the sphere of macroeconomic forecasting based on the review mission's findings. Mumbai, Nov 28 : Actress Nupur Sanon, who shared screen space with Ravi Teja in Telugu film 'Tiger Nageshwar Rao', helped her to understand a different demographic, contributing to the evolving Indian cinema landscape. She said: "Global films are breaking barriers, with Indian stories gaining recognition at the Oscars and Emmys. In my third film, venturing into Telugu cinema has been a valuable experience, fostering growth and learning. It allowed me to understand a different demographic, contributing to the evolving Indian cinema landscape." She added: Despite cultural differences, emotions connect us, and stars now play a vital role in reaching diverse audiences nationwide, making films a universal language." Sharing her observation of the current aspiration among actors to become pan-Indian stars, she notes the global shift in filmmaking and the universal appeal of Indian stories. She added: "Doing a Pan-India film is a game-changer, moving away from the typical Hindi film heroine role. It brings diversity to my work and mirrors the changing narrative where actors go beyond stereotypes." "A Pan-India approach expands my reach, connecting with audiences across the country, going beyond the usual limits of a Hindi film heroine." New Delhi : Bollywood actors Vicky Kaushal and Sanya Malhotra with film director Meghna Gulzar during a promotional event for their upcoming film 'Sam Bahadur'. Image Source: IANS News New Delhi, Nov 28 : Actress Sanya Malhotra, who currently awaits the release of her upcoming film 'Sam Bahadur', credits director Meghna Gulzar for helping her play her part of Siloo Manekshaw in the biographical war drama. 'Sam Bahadur' is based on the life of India's first field Marshal, Sam Manekshaw played by Vicky Kaushal in the film, which is slated to release on December 1. Talking about playing Manekshaw's wife Silloo, Sanya credited Meghna for all the help. "Completely 100 per cent, because of her (Meghna Gulzar) I could play Siloo Manekshaw. The challenge was to play her the best way and I got to know it from Meghna Gulzar how their daughters want them to be portrayed in the right way," she told IANS. She shared that the film not only covers what happens in the life of a soldier but also their families. "Ofcourse, there was some sort of pressure but I was also very excited as I knew it was one of the biggest opportunities for an actor to play this character. So, plus the excitement to play and learn something new." Sanya added: "A lot of our film's aspect shows what our Jawans are doing and also their families." The film is set against the backdrop of the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War, Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw led the Indian Army from the front leading to Bangladesh's liberation. --IANS dc/shb Lucknow, Nov 28 : The Lok Bandhu Hospital in Lucknow has constituted a five-member committee to probe the death of a 40-year-old woman and her newborn baby, allegedly due to medical negligence. According to the family, Aarti Sharma (40), a resident of Sarojini Nagar, was admitted to the hospital on November 24 following labour pain. While she was delivering a baby, weighing five and a half kilograms -- about one and a half kilograms above normal -- the infant died. Aarti was placed on a ventilator but she also succumbed. Her brother Kuldeep said that his sister was supposed to deliver through C section operation, but doctors under pressure from the in-laws, decided to go for normal delivery, which led to the deaths of the mother and the baby. Medical superintendent, Lok Bandhu hospital, Ajay Tripathi said: aWe have constituted a committee to investigate the matter and submit its report within a week. Action will be taken on the findings of the committee." --IANS amita/ksk New Delhi, Nov 28 : Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn plans to invest $1.54 billion in India, as the country doubles down on local manufacturing. In a stock exchange filing, Foxconn said that the investment will help it fulfil "operational needs." The company, however, did not provide further details. Foxconn is the main assembler of Apple iPhones and both companies are keen to move away from China and create alternative supply chains. Foxconn already has an iPhone factory in Tamil Nadu, which employs 40,000 people and has signed an agreement to invest Rs 1,600 crore in a new electronics components unit in the state that will create 6,000 jobs. The company has also announced that it will be investing an additional Rs 3,300 crore in its manufacturing facility in Telangana. This will take the total investment of the company in the state to more than Rs 4,550 crore. In September, Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the government was "fully committed" to support Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn's ambitious plans to double its manufacturing capacity in the country. "Fully committed to support and facilitate," Vaishnaw said on X in response to Foxconn India representative V Lee's LinkedIn post to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 73rd birthday in which he said the company was "aiming for another doubling of employment, FDI (foreign direct investment), and business size in India" by this time next year. Foxconn chairman Young Liu had visited India recently to attend the 'SemiconIndia 2023' event hosted for global semiconductor companies that was inaugurated by PM Modi in Gandhinagar. Speaking at the event, the Foxconn chairman said, "I can feel the determination of the Indian government. I am very optimistic about where it's headed." Singapore, Nov 28 : The Singapore High court has ordered businessman Lee Hsien Yang -- who is the brother of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong -- to pay damages to two Indian-origin ministers for his defamatory comments on Facebook relating to the rental of their colonial-era bungalows in the city-state. The judgment was granted in favour of Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam and Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, after Yang failed to respond to their defamation suits against him. The amount of damages to be paid will be assessed at a subsequent hearing, The Straits Times newspaper reported on Monday. In his ruling, Justice Goh Yi Han said the two ministers had met the requirements for a default judgment against Yang. In addition, he also granted an injunction restraining Yang from further publishing or disseminating the false and defamatory allegations. Goh, in a written judgment on November 27, said he granted the injunction as there were "strong reasons" for him to conclude that Yang would repeat his defamatory statements. He noted that Yang had refused to take down his July 23 social media post despite having been issued a letter of demand by the ministers on July 27. Yang has accused the ministers of acting corruptly and for personal gain by having Singapore Land Authority (SLA) give them preferential treatment by illegally felling trees without approval, and also having SLA pay for renovations to 26 and 31 Ridout Road bungalows. Shanmugam and Balakrishnan had undergone anti-corruption investigations in July, which found no wrongdoing with their respective leases of the houses. Following this, the ministers sent letters to Yang on July 27, asking him to remove the post and all related comments. The letter also demanded that Yang post a public apology on his social media page for four weeks. He was also asked to pay SG$25,000, which the ministers intended to donate to charity. After receiving the lawyers' letter by the ministers, Yang said in a July 29 Facebook post that he was simply stating the facts, adding that the two ministers should sue him in a court in Britain, where he presently resides. On August 14, the ministers' lawyers applied to the court for permission to serve the papers to Yang "wherever he may be found in the UK", following which the ministers were granted permission to serve the papers out of jurisdiction on Yang. The court order stated that within 21 days after the papers are served on him, Yang was to file a document to indicate whether he intended to contest the claim. The Straits Times said quoting the judge that the implication of Yang's decision not to respond to the suits was that the court was unable to take into account any countervailing materials regarding the claims Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 28 : Eighteen hours have passed since a six year-old girl was kidnapped near Kollam while returning home along with her brother, but the Kerala police have failed to make any significant breakthrough in the case leaving the entire state perplexed. According to police, the incident took place when the girl, along with her eight-year-old brother, was returning home at Oyoor near Kollam when a white car stopped beside them around 4.45 p.m on Monday. The men got down, pushed the boy and sped away with the girl. Despite a massive combing operation by police, the child remains untraced. The six year-old girl has been identified as Abigel Sarah Regi. At around 8.15 p.m., the girl's mother received a call in a man's voice saying that the girl is safe. Soon, a woman came on line and demanded Rs 5 lakh as ransom for the release. Later, after 10 p.m, the woman called again raising the ransom money to Rs 10 lakh and said if they paid, on Tuesday morning, they would bring the girl to her home at 10 a.m. Top police official IG of Police Spurgen Kumar, who is leading the probe, said multiple teams are doing their job and they have managed to get some information. He confirmed that the registration of the car on which the girl was whisked away is a fake one. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has urged the police to ensure that nothing is left to chance and to do their best in tracing the child. New Delhi, Nov 28 : Congress on Tuesday launched a broadside against Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar for drawing parallels between Mahatma Gandhi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In a post on X, Congress leader Manish Tewari getting out at the Vice-President said, "The Vice President never ceases to amaze. This one has however taken the cake of aa" "We may have personal views but to be completely unmindful of the position one occupies is beyond belief. Sad what has the vice Presidency come too....." He also attached a news report that referred to the comments made by Dhankhar during his address at an event dedicated to Jain mystic and philosopher Shrimad Rajchandraji on Monday. At the event, Dhankhar said, "I would like to say one thing, The 'mahapurush' of the last century was Mahatma Gandhi. Narendra Modi is the yugpurush of this century." "Mahatma Gandhi freed us from the slavery of the British with truth and non-violence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has put the country on the path of progress on which we always wanted to see," he added. Even Congress MP Manickam Tagore lashed out at the Vice-President and dubbed his comments "shameful". In a post on X, Tagore, who is Congress Goa in charge said, "If you compare with Mahatma it's shameful Sir, we all know there is a limit to sycophancy now you have crossed that limit, and to be in your chair and position and to be a sycophant does not add value Sir. With respect Vice President." Doha/Gaza, Nov 28 : With the four-day ceasefire expiring on Tuesday, Israel and Hamas have agreed to extend the humanitarian pause by two days, a Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirmed. "The State of Qatar announces, as part of the ongoing mediation, an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian pause for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip," the spokesperson said on X. Deeming the extension as "a glimpse of hope and humanity in the middle of the darkness of war", UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said: "I strongly hope that these will enable us to increase even more the humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza that (are) suffering so much." Xinhua news agency reported On Monday, the last day of the Israel-Hamas truce which came into effect on November 24, Israel confirmed that Hamas released another 11 captives in the Gaza Strip, while 33 Palestinians released by Israel arrived early Tuesday in the West Bank town of Ramallah. The Qatari Foreign Ministry said the 11 hostages freed by the Hamas were all dual nationals, comprising three Israeli-French citizens, two Israeli-German citizens, and six Israeli-Argentinian citizens. They were released 52 days after being taken hostage by Hamas militants in their deadly attack on southern Israel on October 7. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel Security Agency (ISA) forces are currently accompanying 11 released hostages in Israeli territory, according to an official statement. "After they undergo an initial medical assessment, our forces will escort them until they are reunited with their families," it added. With Monday's releases, the Hamas has so far freed 69 hostages, primarily women and children, since the truce came into force on November 24 Israel has freed at least 150 Palestinians from prison, mainly women and minors, till date. Many of these prisoners were detained but never charged. Of the about 240 hostages captured by Hamas, less than one-third have been released so far, according to IDF figures. Under the original four-day truce deal, Hamas will release 50 Israelis in exchange for some 150 Palestinians from Israel. The humanitarian pause in the Gaza Strip entails a cessation of hostilities and an increased flow of aid trucks carrying relief supplies and fuel through the Rafah crossing. Hamas said in a statement to Xinhua that the extension of the truce will be carried out "under the same conditions as listed in the previous ceasefire deal". Over the weeks since the Israel-Hamas fighting began, Qatar has played a crucial role in facilitating the truce, while more international efforts of mediation are coming soon. Early Tuesday morning, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said that it had received a new list of hostages to be released in the day by the Hamas. The latest swap came just hours before the four-day truce was due to expire. Further lorry-loads of humanitarian supplies entered the Gaza Strip on Monday with food, fuel and medicines being distributed by aid organisations As of Tuesday morning, more than 14,800 people have been killed in Gaza since the eruption of the hostilities, including about 6,000 children and 4,000 women. The death toll in Israel stood at over 1,200 and the West Bank has reported at least 231 fatalities. Mumbai, Nov 28 : Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar has called Mahatma Gandhi as a 'Mahapurush' (Great Person) of the last (20th) century and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the 'Yugpurush' (Person of the age) of the present (21st) century. "I wish to say one thing... Mahatma Gandhi was the 'mahapurush' of the last century... Narendra Modi is the 'yugpurush' of this century," said Dhankhar on Monday. He was addressing the inauguration function of the Shrimad Rajchandra Memorial in Mumbai to mark the birth anniversary of Shrimad Rajchandra, the spiritual guide of Mahatma Gandhi, at the Shrimad Rajchandra Mission offices in Opera House, south Mumbai. The VP said that Mahatma Gandhi freed us from the slavery of the British rulers through his Satyagraha and Non-Violence. Indiaas successful PM Modi has taken the country on the path which we always wanted to see. In both - the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, and the PM Modi - one common thing is "they reflect the spirit and teachings of Shrimad Rajchandraji", he pointed out. Raising concerns over growing confrontations, chaos, pandemonium and bitterness during Parliament sessions, Dhankhar urged the Members of Parliament to dwell on the life and teachings of Shrimad Rajchandra, and listen to his speeches, which would bring a positive impact to their lives. Helsinki, Nov 28 : Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and his Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson, held discussions here which focused on bilateral relations, security issues and other topical international and EU affairs. Orpo stressed the importance of closer contact between Finland and Sweden, especially on security issues, reports Xinhua news agency. During a joint press conference on Monday, Orpo mentioned Finland's consideration of new measures to address unauthorised immigration, emphasizing the importance of proportionate and effective actions. For his part, Kristersson said the EU external border is "no longer a matter for Italy, Greece and Spain" only, but also a concern for the Nordics. He expressed strong support for Finland's efforts in protecting the EU border, saying: "We have a common interest." Both leaders stressed the importance of the 2024 European Parliament election. "Finland and Sweden are cooperating to have a strong impact on the future European Union agenda," Orpo said. They also discussed their roles as NATO members, with Kristersson emphasizing that the transition "from following NATO to shaping NATO" represents a new identity. "You have to be there when the decisions at NATO are de facto being taken," he said. On the same day, the Prime Ministers also held a joint meeting with the Foreign and Defence Ministers of the two Nordic nations. The Swedish delegation also met Finnish President Sauli Niinisto. Warsaw, Nov 28 : Poland's new government led by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has been sworn in and now his cabinet is subject to approval by the country's lower house of parliament (Sejm) within the next two weeks. On Monday afternoon, Morawiecki submitted a proposal to President Andrzej Duda for the formation of a new Council of Ministers, reports Xinhua news agency. According to a government spokesperson, the cabinet includes experts who have not previously held political positions, as well as politicians specializing in specific areas. In the new government, Szymon Szynkowski vel Sek will take charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while Mariusz Blaszczak remains the head of the Ministry of National Defence and Marlena Malag has become Minister of Development and Technology. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the Law and Justice (PiS) party and former deputy prime minister, is not in the new cabinet. Meanwhile, more than half of the ministers in Morawiecki's government are women. Morawiecki now has 14 days to present a piece of writing exposing himself to the Sejm with a request for a vote of confidence. If he fails to secure this vote, the Sejm will take over the task of selecting a prime minister to form a government. In the parliamentary elections held on October 15, PiS won 194 seats, falling short of a majority in the 460-seat Sejm. The three main opposition groupings, the Civic Coalition led by former Prime Minister Donald Tusk, the Third Way and the New Left collectively obtained 248 seats. The opposition alliance signed a coalition agreement on November 10. New Delhi, Nov 28 : Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who is the host of the quiz based reality show 'Kaun Banega Crorepati 15', was left amazed by a 13-year-old contestant, after hearing his business idea, and said India's future is becoming bright. In the episode 76 of the knowledge based show, host Big B welcomed Namish Chopra, an eighth grade student, from Hyderabad, Telangana to the hot seat. Reading Namish's report card, Amitabh said: "Ambition - I want to be a successful businessman.' You think this way at just 13 years of age. I couldn't even tie my shoelaces when I was 13 years old. How could you...? What business do you plan to do?" The little boy went on to say, "Sir, my business idea is to have a shoe company. The name of the company would be 'Boot Ace'. For me, Ace stands for the three addressable markets for my company or my business." "The first one is the armed forces. Many soldiers in the armed forces face the problem of unbearable leg, knee and back pain as they have to carry heavy boots. They keep walking wearing those boots and frequent different places which worsens their condition. So my company has thought of an idea. We should find a solution for them. We must make shoes for them which are durable, comforting and long-lasting and it solves their problems," shared Namish. The contestant further said: "The army protects the common people of their country. So my second addressable market is the common man. We may take the example of our farmers. They work in fields and they face similar problems. Their legs, knees and back pain. I have the same idea for them as well. We must make comforting shoes for them which are long-lasting and durable." "The next market is the elite class. The elite class includes businessmen and Gen Z. They want to customise their shoes and make their shoes more comfortable. So my idea is in case they buy shoes from my company, they could change the colour of their shoes via an app or via Al," shared Namish. The contestant said: "This was one of the reasons for coming to KBC. I want to use the winning amount for my education and to fund my business." Listening to the business plan of the young boy, the 81-year-old actor was left speechless, and said: "We are proud of you. You are the upcoming generation of India. India's future is becoming bright." The contestant further added: "Sir, I want to tell you something. All of us know your birthday is on October 11. My birthday is also on October 11." Big B laughed and added: "Really? That's amazing. Let me tell you something. The people born on October 11 are awesome." 'Kaun Banega Crorepati 15' airs on Sony. Los Angeles, Nov 28 : Hollywood star Mark Wahlberg shared advice for leading a "healthy lifestyle", whilst discussing his own routine and approach to exercise which has undergone a change in recent years. The actor, 52, who is known for films like the aDeparteda and aTransformers: Age of Extinctiona, attracted attention over his 'strict' typical daily schedule a few years ago. It included being scheduled to work out twice a day, reports Mirror.co.uk. Mark spoke to Fox News Digital about his routine recently and is said to have provided his tips for people who want to lead "a healthy lifestyle". The actor commented: "Eat right, exercise and rest," adding that you have to "find balance". He continued by dismissing the idea of living a "boot camp type existence". As per Mirror.co.uk, Mark said that you want to be able to "have fun" and "reward yourself" for hard work. He then went on to further discuss celebrating achievements in life. The actor said he thinks everyone wants to "celebrate their accomplishments". He added that you then "get up the next day" and "get after it," with him telling the outlet that finding a "nice balance" and a "routine" for yourself is "key". Discussing his routine, Mark said he takes a "cold plunge" each morning and still goes to the gym. It was suggested that he rests two days a week though, now focused on "being able to move and feel good for the long haul". The actor, who was once a member of the group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, said such an approach is in opposition to simply "worrying about aesthetically trying to get bigger and stronger". He said that this leads to injuries. According to the outlet, Mark further spoke about changing his training schedule in the interview after having been committed to his previous one for years. It was suggested that it would have led to more injuries if he's continued it. Mumbai, Nov 28 : Actor Arjit Taneja, who plays Virat in the impossible love story 'Kaise Mujhe Tum Mil Gaye' has expressed his excitement on being cast opposite his best friend Sriti Jha, and called it a 'cherry on top'. The show weaves the journey of two contrasting characters -- Amruta and Virat, portrayed by Sriti and Arjit respectively. It unfolds against the vibrant backdrop of Mumbai, where Amruta, a 29-year-old unmarried Marathi Mulgi and worldly wise Punjabi Munda find their paths crossing in the most unexpected of ways. While she believes in the power of love and the sanctity of a meaningful life partnership that both sides need to constantly work on, he harbours a skeptical view on marriage after having burnt his fingers. He is anti-marriage, having concluded that most women are gold-diggers. For the first time, the audience will get to see besties Sriti and Arjit cast opposite each other. Talking about the same, Arjit said: "The added excitement of being cast opposite my best friend is like a cherry on top. When I heard Sriti has been locked for Amruta's character, I guess that was it, I immediately said yes too." "Amruta's optimism clashes with Virat's wariness towards marriage and this paves the way for a rollercoaster of emotions," he added. Produced by Mukta Dhond, the show has a layered narrative, replete with twists and turns, making for an entertaining viewing experience. The show delves into the intricacies of today's love dynamics. Mukta said: "The story tries to depict the two most predominant outlooks the youth seems to have, today, about love and marriage. While half of them seem to be optimistic about finding a suitable match, there's an equally large and growing number who have begun to question the institution or even view marriage in an unfavourable light." The producer said: "Writing Amruta and Virat, who represent these diverse schools of thought, has been a joy as they're so culturally different with opposing mindsets, and still have one thing in common -- they can go to any lengths for their families." The show also boasts of an ensemble cast with Kishori Shahane Vij who will play the role of Babita Ahuja (Virat's mother), an elitist Punjabi mother from South Delhi who is very proud of her social status and Hemangi Kavi as Bhavani Chitnis (Amruta's mother) who is a true blue, middle-class, Maharashtrian woman for whom her family is everything. The show is airing on Zee TV. Patna, Nov 28 : In what is being perceived as a minority appeasement strategy ahead of the Assembly and the Lok Sabha polls, the Mahagathbandhan government of Bihar has reduced the holidays on Hindu festivals while increasing the same for Muslim festivals. On Monday evening, the education department issued a leave notification in this regard. Besides, it has also increased the summer vacation by 10 more days. As per the fresh notification for year 2024, the education department has made mandatory 220 days of studying for the students. However, the holidays for Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Juha and Muharram were enhanced from 2 days to three. Even the summer vacation has also increased from 20 days to 30 days for the year 2024. Holidays for Hartalika Teej, Janmastami, Mahashivratri, Ram Navami, Saraswati Puja, Rakhi, Teej and Jitiya stand cancelled. Interestingly, the central government announced a holiday on Janmastami, Mahashivratri, Ramnavami, with all central government offices and banks closed every year. Union minister Giriraj Singh reacted sharply to the development saying Nitish Kumar is working under the agendas of Quran and Sharia law to make Bihar a Muslim state. "The way this government has sliced the leave of Mahashivratri and Janmastami and enhanced the leave of Eid and Muharram, its appears that Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad who have become Mohammad Nitish Kumar and Mohammad Lalu Prasad Yadav are working on line of Muslim religion," he jibed. Due to the policies of this government, the population of Muslims in Araria, Purnea, Katihar, Kishanganj and other districts of Seemanchal region has increased now. The Kumar government has also announced Friday leave in Muslim dominant areas which is also a violation in this secular country," Singh said. "The Bihar government has taken a Tughlaq decision late on Monday night and sliced the leave of Hindu festivals and enhanced the leave of Muslim festivals. This is an 'anti-Hindu' mindset that Nitish Kumar government has adopted to please the Muslim vote bank. Kumar is thinking that he would get Hindu votes by dividing into castes and lure Muslims by increasing the leave. I want to tell the CM that this mindset would not work in the state. BJP strongly condemns this move and demands an immediate roll back. Trinamool not to walk the Partha Chatterjee way in case of Mallick. Image Source: IANS News Kolkata, Nov 28 : West bengal Minister Jyotipriya Mallick arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) sleuths in connection with the multi-crore ration distribution case in the state, was shifted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of the S.S.K.M. Medical College & Hospital here on Tuesday after his medical conditions deteriorated. Earlier this month, he was shifted to the hospital from the Presidency Central Correctional Home after he complained of acute physical uneasiness. Informed sources said decision to shift Mallick, who is the state's incumbent forest minister, to the ICU was taken after his blood pressure level started declining. However, speculations have started arising among the political circles as Mallick is supposed to be presented at a special court in Kolkata this Thursday for the next hearing on the ration distribution case. In the next hearing, according to sources, the central agency sleuths are expected to present crucial evidence in front of the court about how the minister involved family members, including his wife, daughter, mother-in-law and brother-in-law, in a number of shell corporate entities meant for diversion of the scam proceeds. The ED has so far tracked a total of 10 such corporate entities, out of which these close relations of Mallick were made directors at some time or the other. The companies where the ministeras in-laws were made the directors for a certain period of time were mainly linked with Bakibur Rahaman, the Kolkata-based businessman who was the first to be arrested by ED in the case. The three doubtful corporate entities where the ministeras mother-in-law and brother-in-law were directors are Shree Hanuman Realcon Private Limited, Gracious Innovative Private Limited, and Gracious Creation Private Limited. As per EDas findings, these three entities were floated for a limited period of time having the sole purpose of fund diversion. New Delhi, Nov 28 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain a plea filed by jailed Tamil Nadu Minister Senthil Balaji seeking bail on medical grounds in connection with the alleged cash-for-jobs scam. During the hearing, a bench comprising Justices Bela M. Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma remarked that Balaji's illness "could be cured with medicines also". "There is nothing as such seriousNowadays, bypass is like appendicitis. Person comes home within two days. We are not satisfied with your illness," the bench told senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who represented Balaji. The condition that a "sick" or "infirm" person may be released on bail does not require a particular threshold of sickness, contended Rohtagi. At this, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Enforcement Directorate (ED), retorted: "Seventy per cent of inmates would be sick if we go by only sickness." Sensing the disclination of the top court to release Balaji on medical bail, Rohtagi requested for withdrawal and sought liberty to apply for regular bail before the trial court. "I will withdraw (the special leave petition) and I will apply for regular bail," he said. Rohtagi requested that the adverse observations made by the Madras High Court in its impugned order, including flight risk, should not influence the decision of the trial court. "Any observations in impugned order against the petitioner on merits shall not come in the way of the petitioner filing regular bail application," noted the top court in its order. In the previous hearing, the Supreme Court had called for Balaji's latest medical reports after it was argued that the DMK leader is likely to suffer a brain stroke if not treated. It may be recalled that a bench of Justice G. Jayachandran of the High Court refused to release the DMK leader on bail accepting the contention raised by the ED that Balaji is an influential person who could tamper evidence and influence witnesses if released from custody. The anti-money laundering agency, which had arrested Balaji on June 14 this year, contended that retention of the accused as a minister in the state cabinet without any portfolio clearly indicates that he is highly influential. In the special leave petition filed before the apex court, it has been contended that during the custody period, Balaji underwent a major by-pass surgery in June this year at Chennai's Cauvery Hospital and is still under medication. "Despite the medications that are being taken under the care of Puzhal Prison Hospital, his recovery is very slow and still suffering from chest discomfort, pain and discomfort on the left leg (surgical side). He was advised by the doctors not to sit or stand for a long time. A numbness is occurring in the legs of the petitioner often, which requires further treatment," said the plea filed through advocate Misha Rastogi. The petition said that the High Court erroneously dismissed the bail petition filed by Balaji under section 439 of Cr.P.C read with 45(1) of PML (Prevention of Money Laundering) Act. Before his arrest by the ED, Balaji was in charge of Power and Excise Departments in the Tamil Nadu government. The probe agency has charged that the minister and his accomplices had taken money from gullible job seekers and promised them jobs in the state transport department during his tenure as the Transport Minister from 2011 to 2016 in the then AIADMK government. New Delhi, Nov 28 : Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy, R.K Singh after his visit to the 2000 MW Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project in Arunachal Pradesh/Assam expressed satisfaction over the pace of ongoing work and urged NHPC officials to complete the project on schedule. The minister's visit to the hydro power project site comes ahead of the COP28 meet in Abu Dhabi to fight climate change. He told journalists that the importance of hydel projects has increased since round-the-clock renewable energy is not possible without hydro power. "I went into all the details and I believe that by and large, the Subansiri project is progressing as it should. The importance of hydro projects has increased since we need to make energy transition, reduce emissions and move to renewables. While we have solar and wind, too, among renewables, round-the-clock renewable energy is not possible without hydro. Our hydro capacity is increasing," he added. The minister took stock of the ongoing construction activities and was briefed about the progress on Monday. Later in the day, he took a review meeting in which he was briefed about the various steps taken to address the challenges in the project. Addressing NHPC officials and representatives of contractors of major works, Singh instructed everyone to work with maximum zeal to complete the project as per schedule. The minister also said that India's hydro power capacity is increasing, and besides Subansiri which is a large project, the Government of Arunachal Pradesh has entered into MoUs with central public sector undertakings for 13 projects, which will amount to a hydroelectric capacity of 13,000 MW in Arunachal. "These projects will bring in investment of around Rs 1.4 lakh crore in the state, resulting in quadrupling of per capita income. And the nation will get clean power. Similarly, five hydel projects are under construction in Jammu & Kashmir; hence, our hydro potential in J&K too is moving ahead and a lot of investment is coming in," Singh added. The minister spoke of the efforts being taken to better tap into the available hydro power capacity of the country. "Today, our hydro power capacity is 47,000 MW, which is 35% of our available hydro power potential. Developed countries however have utilised around 70%-80% of their available hydro potential." Singh said India's power demand is growing and this requires addition of power capacity at a fast pace. "Our power demand grew by 20% in August, September and October 2023, relative to the previous year. Our demand will keep growing at this rate, since according to NITI Aayog, our economy will keep growing at 7.5% for the next two decades. The peak demand in 2013 was around 1.35 lakh MW, while today it is around 2.31 lakh MW. Our power demand will double by 2030; our total consumption today is 1,600 billion units, which will become around 3,000 billion units. However, even now, our power consumption is low compared to developed countries; Europe's per capita power consumption is around 3 times that of ours today. Our challenge hence is to add power capacity as fast as the growth in our power demand." He said India's under-construction capacity in renewables is around 70,000 MW, while in thermal, it is 27,000 MW. However, another 53,000 MW would be added to under-construction thermal capacity to enable the country to meet its power demand of 2030. The minister said that India has become a world leader in energy transition and that India has been pursuing a path of responsible growth. "In COP21 in Paris, we had committed to make 40% of our capacity to be from non-fossil-fuel sources by 2030; we achieved this target in 2021, nine years in advance. Hence, we are growing faster than developed countries," he added. "Developed countries have become developed by using fossil fuels. Hence, if we need to use fossil fuels for our growth, we will use it. Our per capita carbon emissions are one third of global average; while per capita greenhouse gas emissions of developed countries are three times that of global average. 80% of the carbon dioxide load in the atmosphere due to which there has been a rise in global temperature is due to the emissions by developed countries, while our contribution to the cumulative load is just 3% and our population is 17% of world population," he explained. ASTANA, Kazakhstan, November 28. Kazakhstan has expressed interest in promoting comprehensive cooperation with Togo, Trend reports. This was stated during a meeting between the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and the President of Togo Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe in Astana. "We discussed existing opportunities of mutual interest for interaction between Kazakhstan and your country the day before, during an informal conversation." Of course, we are on various continents and in different regions, but at times of international crisis, we must band together. In this sense, Kazakhstan and Togo, like other countries, must work together to enhance international ties, according to Tokayev. As Kazakhstan's President remarked, countries must develop continual conversation in order to promote the bilateral and international agendas. In turn, Togo's President stated that both countries have huge prospects to revitalize relations. Mumbai, Nov 28 : A woman trainee sailor from Kerala reportedly died by committing suicide, at a women's hostel in Malvani area of Malad west, a police official said here on Tuesday. The woman, identified as Aparna Nair, 20, was undergoing her navy training at the INS Hamla in Malad, and she may have resorted to the ultimate step owing to personal reasons, said an investigating officer. Nair had come to Mumbai for the training and was staying at a private hostel with another couple of dozen girls. Senior Police Inspector, Malvani Police Station Chimaji Adhav said that the police have lodged an accidental death report, and further investigations are on into the motive behind the incident. According to her roommate who returned to her room around 10.30 a.m. on Monday, and knocked repeatedly at the door, Nair apparently did not respond. Later, she informed the other girls and the hostel staff who broke open the door and found Nair's body there. She was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was declared dead on admission and later the police were summoned for the probe. Seoul, Nov 28 : Samsung Electronics on Tuesday said its automotive and audio electronics subsidiary Harman International has acquired the US music streaming platform Roon in a bid to expand its presence in the digital audio sector. The New York-based Roon is a comprehensive music management and listening solution catering to music enthusiasts, supporting all major operating systems and manufacturing hardware server appliances called Nucleus, according to Samsung. However, specific financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed. Harman expects the acquisition will diversify its business portfolio by tapping into Roon's open device ecosystem which includes collaborations with more than 160 other audio brands, reports Yonhap News Agency. "At Harman, we take great pride in our ability to create exceptional audio experiences for our partners and consumers around the world," Dave Rogers, president of Harman's lifestyle division, said in a statement. "The team at Roon shares our passion in bringing exceptional sound and connectivity to music lovers as they browse, discover, and listen at home and on the go," he added. The company said Roon will continue to operate independently following the acquisition. Samsung, the world's largest memory chip and smartphone vendor, completed its acquisition of Harman for $8 billion in March 2017 to expand into the rapidly growing in-vehicle electronics market. Patna, Nov 28 : After the Bihar government slashed leaves on Hindu festivals in the state, Union MoS Home Affairs Nityanand Rai sharply attacked Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and said that he is a "king of "appeasement who is not hesitating to take "Tughlaqi decisions". "Nitish Kumar should immediately stop playing with the sentiments of Hindu. The Nitish Kumar government has slashed the leaves on Hindu festivals and increased the same on Muslim festivals, he is conspiring to take Bihar towards Islam. The people of the country would not accept Islamic facilitators like Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav," Rai said. Meanwhile, state building Construction Minister Ashok Choudhary said: "Such a decision may have been taken by lower rank officers. Such a decision has not been taken by a cabinet minister or additional chief secretary level officer. A similar decision was taken in the past too and the state government rectified it. This time too, we will rectify it." Neeraj Kumar, the JD(U) MLC said that the state Education Minister has increased the leaves on some of the Muslim festivals and reduced the leaves of Sab-E-Barat which is also a Muslim festival. It is up to the education department to clarify the logic behind enhancing the leave." The Education Department issued a notification cancelling the leaves on many Hindu festivals and increased the same on Muslim festivals. Besides the education department also enhanced the summer vacation by 10 days. As per the fresh notification for year 2024, the education department has made mandatory 220 days of study for the students and 60 days leave. However, the leave of Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Juha and Muharram were enhanced from two days to three days. Even the summer vacation has been enhanced from 20 days to 30 days for the year 2024. The education department has cancelled the leave of Hartalika Teej, Janmastami, Mahashivratri, Ram Navami, Saraswati Puja, Rakhi, Teej and Jitiya. Seoul, Nov 28 : North Korea on Tuesday said there were votes against candidates for deputies to local assemblies in the latest local elections, marking the first time in decades that the repressive regime has reported opposing votes in its polls. A total of 27,858 workers, peasants, intellectuals and officials were elected new deputies for local assemblies of provinces, cities and counties in the local elections Sunday, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The voter turnout was recorded at 99.63 per cent, reports Yonhap News Agency. Among voters who cast ballots, 99.91 per cent voted for the candidates for deputies to provincial people's assemblies and 0.09 per cent voted against them, the KCNA said. In terms of deputies to city and county people's assemblies, 99.87 per cent voted for selected candidates and 0.13 per cent voted against them. North Korea's state media carried a report of opposing votes in local elections for the first time since November 1956, when approval rates stayed below 100 per cent in two local elections. Elections in the North are widely viewed as a formality, as the candidates are hand-picked by the North's ruling Workers' Party and rubber-stamped into office. In the elections to pick deputies to local assemblies in July 2019, the voter turnout was 99.98 percent and 100 per cent voted for the candidates. In March of that year, North Korea reported 99.99 per cent voter turnout and 100 per cent approval in the elections to select deputies to the Supreme People's Assembly, the country's parliament. North Korea's rare revelation of opposing votes in the latest local elections may be intended to show that it democratically held the election following the revision of the election law. For Sunday's voting, Pyongyang allowed two candidates to be recommended in some constituencies and held a preliminary election to decide on a final single candidate. Seoul's Unification Ministry said the North's report of opposing votes does not mean that the country guarantees people's political rights. New Delhi, Nov 28 : A 28-year-old man was arrested by the Delhi Police for sending obscene messages to random girls. When any girl replied to his messages, he would then pressure them through various means to engage in obscene acts over the phone, an official said on Tuesday. The accused was identified as Rohit Kumar, a resident of Pandav Nagar area in Delhi. According to the police, a case was registered based on the complaint of a woman residing in Karkardooma. She alleged that she received obscene messages on her WhatsApp during odd hours, and the caller pressured her to share private images. Subsequently, the caller continued to stalk and sexually harass her. During the investigation, a police team analysed the Call Detail Records (CDR) of the alleged phone number and discovered that when the accused committed the crime, he was in India. Afterward, he travelled to Croatia, going out of India. "Following continuous technical surveillance, the accused person was finally traced to Pandav Nagar. A raid was conducted, resulting in the arrest of Rohit Kumar, and the mobile phone used in the commission of the crime was recovered from his possession," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara), Rohit Meena. "Further investigation revealed that Rohit sent obscene messages to random girls. When any girl replied to his messages, he would then pressure them through various means to engage in obscene acts over the phone. The passport of accused Rohit has also been seized," said the DCP. San Francisco, Nov 28 : Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (also known as CZ), who pleaded guilty to criminal charges tied to his cryptocurrency exchange, has been ordered by a federal judge to remain in the US at least temporarily, according to a ruling issued by the court. Zhao was released last week on a $175 million bond and has a sentencing hearing on February 23. Prosecutors urged that Zhao be prevented from leaving the country before his sentencing, but his lawyers argued that he be allowed to travel, saying in a briefing that he "voluntarily flew" to the US for his guilty plea, reports CNBC. "In the vast majority of cases, a multi-billionaire defendant who has pleaded guilty, faces possible prison time, and lives in a country that does not extradite its citizens to the US would be detained," the government wrote in a filing to the court. Prosecutors stated that they had already submitted an "exceptional recommendation" that Zhao be allowed to remain free until his sentencing. They stated that Zhao poses a flight risk, but that it "could be managed by requiring him to remain in the US and preventing him from returning to the safe haven of the UAE", the report mentioned. Last week, Zhao stepped down as the CEO of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, after pleading guilty to federal charges and agreeing to pay $4.3 billion in fines. "Zhao, a Canadian national, also pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering (AML) programme, in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and has resigned as CEO of Binance," the Justice Department said in a statement. According to court documents, Binance admitted to prioritising growth and profits over compliance with US law. New Delhi, Nov 28 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday took strong exception over "partial compliance" of its order requiring the Delhi government to make arrangements of funds for construction of the Delhi-Alwar and Delhi-Panipat corridor of Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project. "You have to be arm twisted to give money which you are liable to pay. This is the problem. Why do they not make the budgetary provisions? You can make budgetary provisions for 580 crores odd for advertisements but you can't make budgetary provision of 400 odd crores," a bench headed by Justice S.K. Kaul told Delhi government's counsel after she said that the government of the national capital is making budgetary allocation for the rapid rail project. The bench, also comprising Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, said that it passed the order transferring the funds allocated for advertisement purposes to the RRTS project to make the government realise "what they are doing". It added that the Delhi government wants "all monies to be withdrawn out of environment fund only" and "does not want to make budgetary provisions". "We are concerned with compliance with our order. Have you paid or have you not paid? Have you transferred the funds or not," the top court asked. "Funds are not transferred," submitted senior advocate Atmaram Nadkarni, who appeared on behalf of the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), before the apex court. Referring to the sanction order issued by the Delhi government on November 24, Nadkarni highlighted that only "partial compliance" has been made by paying 415 crores towards the fulfillment of its share for construction of the Delhi-Meerut corridor of RRTS. "150 crores for Delhi-Alwar and Delhi-Panipat corridor has not been settled," he added. In its order, the top court noted that the sanctioned amount may not have been credited into the account of the NCRTC a joint venture company of government of India and states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh which is implementing the RRTS project. "However, the sanction order itself states that it is 'partial compliance'. There cannot be no question of partial compliance and complete compliance must take place as per the schedule," it added. The matter will be taken up for further hearing on December 7. In an earlier order passed on November 21, the apex court was "constrained" to direct that funds allocated for advertisement purposes be transferred to the RRTS project. However, it had kept its order in abeyance for a period of one week and said that if the funds are not transferred, the order will come into operation on November 28. In its application, NCRTC had said that the Delhi government by not releasing promised funds had breached its undertaking given earlier to the Supreme Court. In Julyr, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Sighvi, appearing for Delhi government, had assured the top court that the project's overdue amount of Rs 415 crore and other arrears will be paid within a stipulated timeline. Lucknow, Nov 28 : The Lucknow police commissionerate has formed a specialised economic offences cell. The cell will exclusively handle cases involving Rs 50 lakh or above to expedite investigation and ensure thorough handling of cases involving fraud, forgery and property disputes, It will focus on cases related to corruption, invoice manipulation, bogus imports, counterfeiting and money laundering. Joint commissioner of police, law and order, Upendra Agarwal said that the cell comprises 10 officers, including eight sub-inspectors and two inspectors. He explained that the cell is envisioned to function akin to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The JCP informed that the need for a dedicated investigative unit arose from the surge in cases related to fraud, forgery and property disputes, with nearly 2,000 such cases reported in the past year-and-a-half. He said that the cell's establishment will not only provide relief to complainants, but also streamline the court process. "All ten officers in the team are from recent batches, with the eldest entrant from 2015. They are tech-savvy and have a keen interest in investigation and some also have prior knowledge of financial fraud investigation," he said. The officer added that all personnel assigned to the cell have proactively sought this opportunity and are currently undergoing training. "Police officers are accustomed to handling cases like murder, robbery, rape and dacoity. However, when confronted with crimes like housing scams, jewellery scams and bank scams, they require months to learn the intricacies of such investigations," Agarwal said, adding that members of the newly formed cell will now receive specialised training which will enable them to expedite crime detection and ensure timely filing of charge sheets. The officer also disclosed that he has developed a module for the cell, encompassing four key aspects which include legal provisions --This module outlines the legal framework governing such cases; Collaboration with financial probe agencies --The module guides officers on effectively interacting with financial probe agencies like SEBI, SFIO, ED, CBI and others; Critical evidence for conviction -- The module highlights the crucial evidence necessary to secure convictions in these cases; Apprehension of accused --This module provides strategies for handling criminals/ accused who have fled the state or country. The module also elaborates on the distinction between property disputes as 'civil suits' and 'criminal offences' within the standard operating procedure (SOP). New Delhi, Nov 28 : Of the 8.051 candidates analysed in five states who contested the Assembly elections, as many as 1,452 have criminal cases registered against them, while 959 are facing serious charges, a report revealed on Tuesday. The study was undertaken by the National Election Watch and Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) which analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 8,051 out of 8,054 candidates who contested in the five states Assembly elections of Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana. As per the report, three candidates from Chhattisgarh were not analysed due to unclear affidavits available on the Election Commission of India (ECI) website at the time of making this report. The report said that out of 8,051 candidates analysed, 2,117 are from national parties, 537 -- state parties, 2,051 -- registered unrecognized parties and 3,346 candidates are contesting independently. "Of the 8051 candidates analysed, a total of 1,452 have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits," the report said. It also said, "959 candidates have declared serious criminal cases against themselves." The report stated that 22 candidates in five states have declared cases related to murder, while 82 have declared cases related to attempt to murder and 107 candidates have declared cases related to crime against women. "Of the 107 candidates, five have declared cases related to rape," the report said. It also said that in Mizoram 174 candidates contested for the 40-member Assembly in November 7 polls, while 1,181 contested in the 90-member Assembly in Chhattisgarh which went for polling in two phases on November 7 and 17. In Madhya Pradesh, 2,534 candidates contested for November 17 polls for the 234-member Assembly while for 200 member assembly in Rajasthan 1,875 candidates were in poll fray. For the 119-member Assembly in Telangana, where the polling is scheduled on November 30, there are 2,290 candidates. The report also said that out of the 2,117 candidates of the national parties, 656 candidates are facing criminal cases while 404 are facing serious criminal cases against themselves. It said that out of the 537 state parties candidates, 154 are facing criminal cases while 100 are facing serious criminal charges. In case of the registered unrecognised parties, out of 2,053 candidates affidavits of 2,051 candidates were analysed out of which 252 are facing criminal cases while 184 are facing serious criminal charges against themselves. The report also said that out of the 3,347 independent candidates, affidavits of 3,346 candidates were analysed and 390 candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves while 271 are facing serious criminal cases. It further stated that the directions of the Supreme Court have had no effect on the political parties in selection of candidates in the five States Assembly Elections this year as they have again followed their old practice of giving tickets to candidates with criminal cases. All major parties contesting in the five states assembly elections 2023 have given tickets to candidates who have declared criminal cases against themselves. The report further stated that in Mizoram out of 174 candidates, seven have declared criminal cases, while all seven have also declared serious criminal cases against themselves. In Chhattisgarh, out of 1,178 candidates analysed, 126 candidates have declared criminal cases, while 72 have serious cases against them. Out of 2,534 candidates analysed in Madhya Pradesh, 472 candidates have criminal cases against them while 291 have declared serious criminal cases. In Rajasthan, the report claimed, out of 1,875 candidates, 326 are facing criminal cases while 236 are facing serious criminal cases. Of the 2,290 candidates in Telangana, 521 have criminal cases against them while 353 have serious criminal cases against them, the report said. The report also said that Congress which fielded 677 candidates has 268 candidates with criminal cases and 162 with serious criminal cases. In case of the BJP, out of the 654 candidates fielded 224 are facing criminal cases while 129 are facing serious criminal cases. Of the 3,346 independent candidates analysed, 390 are facing criminal cases, while 271 have serious criminal cases against them, the report said, adding tha out of the 532 candidates fielded by BSP, 77 have criminal cases and 54 have serious criminal cases against them. It also said that BRS, which is contesting on all 119 seats in Telangana has fielded 57 candidates with criminal cases against them while its 34 are facing serious criminal cases. AAP, the report said, which fielded 210 candidates in the elections has fielded 60 candidates with criminal cases against them while 40 of its candidates are facing serious criminal cases. Even the Samajwadi Party which fielded 98 candidates, its 24 candidates are facing criminal cases while 16 are facing serious criminal cases. The report also said that CPI(M) which fielded 44 candidates in the elections has 27 candidates which have criminal cases against them while 19 are facing serious criminal cases. A total of 2,371 candidates in the election fray this year have assets more than Rs one crore while average assets of the candidates is Rs 3.36 crore. Mumbai, Nov 28 : Director-producer Karan Johar, who hosts the popular streaming show 'Koffee With Karan', recollected how he managed to attend actress Rani Mukerji and filmmaker-producer Aditya Chopra's destination wedding when KJo's own film was about to release in theatres. Karan also revealed that Adi and Rani got hitched in Manchester. The upcoming episode of the show will see Bollywood stars Rani Mukerji and Kajol gracing the controversial couch. The two ladies, who are also cousins, shared the screen in KJo's directorial debut 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai', and have a lot to discuss with the show host during the episode. Talking to the ladies, Karan recollected how he attended Rani and Aditya's wedding when his own production '2 States' starring Alia Bhatt and Arjun Kapoor in the lead was about to release. Destination weddings are in trend now, but Karan revealed the OG couple who were the first to do it in B-town. Talking about this, Karan said: "Kajol, you actually knew Adi way before even Rani did. He is my best friend in the whole world. We have to talk about the fact when Rani and Adi got married. It was a destination wedding, actually they began the destination wedding of movie stars if nobody knows it. I don't even want to say where it was because I think he will still fire me like decades later. He further mentioned, "He literally threatens me that if I ever put a photograph of his and mine that we take every Diwali. But like, he told me, 'Meri shaadi ho rahi hai, there are 18 people attending. If word gets out of this wedding, it will be you. The only person who will open his mouth is you, if I see there is a mention of this wedding in any publication at that time newspapers were still dominating'. I was so hyper and hysterical." "I had to lie to my mother, we had a release, it was April 2014, I will never forget it, '2 States' was releasing. I had to abandon my movie release, tell everybody I have an event in Manchester, for some reason made it up. But everyone was like 'On release weekend, why are you going to Manchester?' I was like, 'I have to go, I have to go," KJo added. 'Koffee with Karan' streams on Disney+ Hotstar. Tumakuru, : Nov 28 (IANS) A group of parents on Tuesday staged protest inside the school premises demanding action against a teacher who has allegedly misbehaved with girl students in Tumakuru district of Karnataka. The incident was reported from Rantawala village in Madhugiri taluk. The protestors alleged that the teacher, Lakshmikanth, came to the school in an inebriated state and misbehaved with girl students. The parents also claimed that the accused teacher used to lure school girls with money and by claiming that he knew their fathers. The accused allegedly told them that he is friends with their fathers and sexually harassed them. Education Department officials have rushed to the spot, and parents who were staging the protest confronted them, demanding that the accused teacher must be immediately transferred and action should be initiated against him. Bengaluru, Nov 28 : Karnataka BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal on Tuesday filed an interim petition before the High Court questioning the Congress government's decision to withdraw consent for a CBI probe against Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar. Stirring a huge controversy, the state cabinet recently took a decision to withdraw consent for the CBI probe in the disproportionate assets case against Shivakumar. The previous BJP government had handed over the case to the CBI. "Attempts have been made to thwart the investigation by the High Court with regard to the case. The CBI investigation in this case is in the completion stage. At this stage, the Congress government's decision is against the law," Yatnal claimed in his petition. The government's move is aimed at scuttling the CBI probe, and an attempt is being made to interfere with the judiciary, the petition stated. MLA Yatnal, in his petition, maintained that the High Court to allow him to submit his arguments, confining to the government's decision to withdraw consent for the CBI probe. The decision was made in this regard on November 23 in the state cabinet. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stated that the decision to hand over the disproportionate assets case to the CBI was against the law, as the then BJP government did not bother to take consent from the Speaker. However, former Speaker Vishveshwara Hegde Kageri, slamming the remarks, maintained that at that point, his consent was not required." Whether a resolution professional can be subject to prosecution under the PC Act, SC seeks CBIs response. Image Source: IANS News New Delhi, Nov 28 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed a decision passed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) requiring the state of Maharashtra to pay a compensation of Rs 1,200 crore for improper solid and liquid waste management. A bench presided over by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud and comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, issued notice on an appeal filed by the Maharashtra government and stayed the operation of the impugned order issued by the NGT in the meantime. In an order passed in September last year, a bench headed by Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and comprising Justice Sudhir Agarwal and expert member Dr. A. Senthil Vel of the green tribunal determined a liability of Rs 12,000 crore to be deposited in a separate ring-fenced account within two months for restoration of environment. The Tribunal also dismissed the review plea saying that the "review application does not put forward any tangible ground and is a mere expression of inability to pay compensation". "Continued pollution is a serious offence by the state and its authorities which cannot be taken lightly. Liability having already accrued, mere statement that the State is unable to arrange funds is not a tenable plea." The Supreme Court has repeatedly passed orders requiring NGT to deal with the issue of solid and liquid waste management. --IANS pds/ksk Mumbai, Nov 28 : A woman Agniveer Logistics trainee from Kerala reportedly died by committing suicide at a women's hostel in Malvani area of Malad west, a police officer said here on Tuesday. The woman, identified as Aparna V Nair, 20, was undergoing her navy training at the INS Hamla in Malad, and she may have resorted to the ultimate step owing to personal reasons, said an Investigating Officer. Taking strong cognisance of the incident, the Indian Navy has ordered an inquiry. "Regret to inform the unfortunate incident of the unnatural death of Aparna V Nair, Agniveer Logistics (F&A), 20, at INS Hamla, Mumbai on Nov. 27. An enquiry has been ordered to investigate the incident. Indian Navy extends heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family," said an official statement. Senior Police Inspector, Malvani Police Station Chimaji Adhav said that the police have lodged an accidental death report, and further investigations are on into the motive behind the incident. According to her roommate who returned to the room around 10.30 am on Monday, Nair apparently failed to respond to repeated knocks at the door. Suspecting that something was amiss, the room partner informed the other girls and the hostel staff, who broke open the door and found Nair's body there. She was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was declared dead on admission and later the police were summoned for the probe. Police said Nair had arrived in Mumbai around two weeks ago for training and was living in a nearby private women's hostel along with a couple of dozen other girls. Patna, Nov 28 : Two policemen have been arrested while Digha police station SHO has been suspended after the officials seized liquor bottles kept in a barrack of the Digha police station. "The SHO Rampreet Paswan was suspended with immediate effect while two policemen have been arrested and a FIR has been lodged against four other police personnel," Patna Central City SP Vaibhav Sharma said. He identified, the four policemen against whom FIR has been filed, as sub-inspector Phool Kumar Choudhary, home guard constable Rajesh Kumar, home guard constable Chandan Kumar and home guard constable Surendra Kumar. The two arrested policemen have been identified as Phook KUmar Choudhary and Rajesh Kumar. Sharma said that large amount of liquor has been seized from two different places in Digha police station on November 26. He said that the Patna SSP Rajiv Mishra received information that the seized liquor bottles were kept allegedly by some police personnel in the barrack of the police station. "We constituted a team and raided the barracks and seized the liquor bottles," Sharma said. As per the norm, the seized liquor should be deposited in the Malkhana however but the alleged police team had kept it in the police station. Officials said that investigation is underway to investigate the alleged links between police and the liquor mafias. New Delhi, Nov 28 : Adani Group stocks rallied up to 20 per cent on Tuesday after the Supreme Court on November 24 reserved its order in the Adani-Hindenburg case. Adani Total Gas is up 19 per cent, Adani Energy is up 17 per cent, Adani Green is up 14 per cent, Adani Power is up 13 per cent, Adani Enterprises is up 10 per cent. The court said that the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) cannot be expected to follow what newspaper reports have said in order to make its findings. The Chief Justice of India also expressed displeasure over the use of information from reports by organizations like the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and Hindenburg Research by the petitioners. The Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta brought new facts regarding the OCCRP report to the notice of the Supreme Court. As per the Solicitor General, when the SEBI wrote to the OCCRP seeking details and documents relied upon by the organisation while making the allegations against the Adani Group in the August 31 report, the OCCRP did not share the details of the allegations and said that they could instead be obtained from an NGO in India, which had provided it the information. As per the Solicitor General, this NGO is run by Prashant Bhushan. During the hearing, the Solicitor General of India informed the Court that investigation in 22 out of the 24 cases relating to allegations against the Adani Group were over. "For remaining two, we need information from foreign regulators etc. and some other information. We have been in consultation with them. Some information has come but that is where we are not in control of the time limit for obvious reasons...," he said. London, Nov 28 : The High Commissioner of India to the UK, Vikram K. Doraiswami launched the book titled India's Moment: Changing Power Equations around the World, by Prof. (Dr.) Mohan Kumar, Dean, Strategic and International Initiatives, O.P. Jindal Global University last week. The Guest of Honour was the Lord Patel of Bradford, Member of the House of Lords, the UK Chairman, India Business Group and Prof. (Dr.) Mark E. Smith, President and Vice Chancellor University of Southampton. The Institutional partner was The India Centre for Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development, University of Southampton, represented by Prof. Sabu Padmadas, its Director. The idea of how India negotiates with the world is at the heart of this book. Career diplomat Mohan Kumar represented India at multiple international fora over a career spanning three and a half decades. During this time, he would invariably be told that Indian negotiators were among the best in the business. And yet, several of his interlocutors would ask, in the same breath, why India was such a tough customer when it came to international negotiations. This book is a sincere attempt to set the record straight. At one level, India is not very different from other countries insomuch as it seeks to protect where necessary, and advance where possible, its national interest. There are several unique aspects about India and the way it approaches international negotiations. The book dwells on some of those fundamental factors and traces how India's positions in international negotiations have evolved over time. The High Commissioner of India to the UK, Vikram K. Doraiswami said: "Ambassador Mohan Kumar is one of India's leading experts on foreign trade. The hallmark of great writing is to make something highly complex appear simple and lucid and Ambassador Mohan Kumar sets a gold standard in that. The context of India's story is that at the time of India's independence, 90 per cent of our population lived below the poverty line and only 16 per cent had access to education. No democracy in the world, including the west, has survived in less propitious conditions, starting with such an unequal society. From there, to now, no system would have been able to reach this level of development. Our challenge has been to leverage international partnerships for growth but at the same time to preserve the complexities of dealing with a country with millions of people living in multiple centuries at the same time. As Prof. Mohan Kumar suggested we need to take decisions on a non-ideological and pluralistic basis which support the national interest of India." Prof. (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor O.P. Jindal Global University said: "The next century will define India's role in the world. Mohan Kumar is a distinguished diplomat and scholar who has bridged the gap between theory and practice and I congratulate him on his new book. He has incisively evaluated India's leadership in key areas of international relations. A central contention of this book is that India has moved, slowly but surely, from being an alleged naysayer to becoming a putative partner for the world in key multilateral negotiations. More broadly, this reflects India's growing political, economic and strategic clout in the world today. It is only when this transformation is fuller and more substantial that India will be able to fulfil its manifest destiny of becoming a leading power, capable of shaping global rules." The author of the book, Mohan Kumar, who is also the Dean, Strategic and International Initiatives, O.P. Jindal Global University said: "It is a great honour that the book is being launched in the presence of such luminaries. It was my experience in Geneva at the WTO, which is the arena of some of the toughest negotiations in the world, that led me to write this book. It is about explaining India's position and for this purpose I have crafted an integrated framework for assessment of India's actions in the international arena. This framework, which is borne out of my experience, comprises first and foremost the Gandhi Litmus Test, or what I have termed as the poverty veto. There are a huge number of people living in poverty in India and this has an impact on how India conducts international negotiations. Similarly, realpolitik and domestic politics also play a part. It is the poverty veto which made India object to IPRs in the WTO, to the complete phase-out of coal in climate change negotiations and which made India buy Russian oil. India is well on its way to become a leading power but in order to achieve that, the most important prerequisite is to reduce the number of people living in poverty and make growth inclusive. In terms of geopolitical imperatives, today the power differential with China is big so that we are now required to be closer to the west, especially the United States. This is what IR scholars call external balancing which India achieves through these strategic partnerships. The important conclusion is that India must become a $10 Trillion economy with inclusive growth. It will then be India's moment - to transition from a balancing power to a leading power in the world." The Lord Patel of Bradford OBE, Member of the House of Lords, the UK and Chairman, India Business Group in his address as the Guest of Honour said: "The role higher education plays in the relationship between India and the UK is crucial. It is now widely accepted that India's position on the world stage is becoming increasingly impactful in influencing nations across the globe. India offers enormous opportunities. With its space programme, India is making significant contributions to the world's scientific knowledge, technological innovation and space discoveries. During the pandemic, India became the pharmacy to the world. India puts the global south at the centre of the global development agenda. For growth we need higher education, international collaborations like the one between JGU and Southampton University and skill based education. Southampton University has an India research centre and we need to consolidate the India-UK relationship in education." Prof. (Dr.) Mark E. Smith, President and Vice Chancellor, University of Southampton in his concluding remarks said: "O.P. Jindal Global University has world class infrastructure and is rapidly developing its reputation as being one of the institutes of excellence. But more importantly, we value our link with India. India clearly has been a major power, but that power is clearly on a rapidly ascending trajectory. We as a leading education institute believe that India is the place to be both in partnership and more importantly we look forward to developing our strategy and partnerships with a whole range of institutions within such an important country." The vote of thanks was given by Prof. (Dr.) Sabu Padmadas, Director, The India Centre for Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development, University of Southampton, who said, "This book, which is actually a culmination of experience, reflections, observations and critical insights of the author is absolutely phenomenal. We can all agree that while knowledge empowers, wisdom actually transforms. This Book does precisely that." New Delhi, Nov 28 : "Your actions must protect the company from what proposes to be a long-drawn acrimonious battle between Nawaz Modi and Gautam Singhania," corporate governance advisory firm, Institutional Investor Advisory Services India Limited (IiAS) has written in a letter to independent directors of Raymond Limited. The letter has been addressed to independent directors, Mukeeta Jhaveri, Ashish Kapadia, Dinesh Lal, K. Narsimha Murthy and Shiv Surinder Kumar As per media reports, Nawaz Modi, a board member, alleged that she and her daughter were physically assaulted by Gautam Singhania, the company's Chairman and Managing Director, at JK House (company property) in September. She has also alleged that company funds were being used for Gautam Singhania's personal benefit (CEO excesses) and that she was acting as a whistle-blower of sorts. "Despite such serious and heinous accusations by one board member against another, you have been silent. Investors are worried, which is reflected in the significant erosion in stock price over the past few days. Your silence can be misconstrued surely you don't want stakeholders thinking that these accusations are to be tolerated," IIAS said. "At the very least, as Independent Directors, you need to communicate with investors and other stakeholders assuage their concerns and articulate a course of action that you have taken following these public allegations. "In the interest of the company and safeguard the interests of a larger set of stakeholders, we urge you to undertake an independent investigation into the allegations of both, assault and CEO excesses. "Your legal counsel and the firm undertaking the independent investigation must neither currently be nor have previously been associated with the Raymond group of companies or connected with the Singhania family," it added. "For the duration of this investigation, you must consider asking both, Nawaz Modi and Gautam Singhania, to take time off from their responsibilities as board members. We recognize that asking the promoters to step aside is not easy but as independent directors you have a fiduciary responsibility towards minority investors, employees and larger set of the company's stakeholders. Therefore, you will need to dispassionately separate ownership from management," IIAS said. "If need be, we expect you to protect the company from its own promoters. We believe that any settlement between the two promoters cannot mean that such behaviour, unless the investigation shows otherwise, be condoned." (Sanjeev Sharma can be reached at Sanjeev.s@ians.in) Hyderabad, Nov 28 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday claimed that his Bharat Jodo Yatra changed Indian politics forever as it brought back the word 'Mohabbat' (love) in the political discourse. Addressing an election rally in Nampally constituency in Hyderabad, he said it was during Mahatma Gandhi's times that the word 'Mohabbat' was used in politics. "No body was using the word Mohabbat in politics before Bharat Jodo Yatra. We promoted love in politics," he said reiterating that his goal is to open "Mohabbat ki dukan" in "nafrat ke bazaar". Stating that India is a country of love and brotherhood, the Congress MP alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, RSS and other hardliners were spreading hatred in the country. "I am fighting Modi, the hatred he had in his heart and his anger and thatas why have 24 cases in different states. For the first time, in a defamation case I was sentenced for two years. They snatched my house. I told them that I donat live in a building but in the hearts of crores of people," he said. Stating that it is a fight of ideology, Rahul Gandhi claimed that his family has been carrying on this fight for decades. He made it clear that there is no question of compromise in this fight. Speaking in a constituency considered a stronghold of Asaduddin Owaisi-led Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), he alleged that Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and MIM are hand in glove with the BJP. "I have 24 cases against me. ED, CBI and other agencies are all after me. How many cases are there against Owaisi. Which agency is after Owaisi," he asked. "MIM has no votes in Assam but it fields candidates there and the list of candidates also comes from BJP. It also contests in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Goa. Whenever they can damage Congress and help BJP, they field their candidates," he said. He claimed that his first goal is to end hatred in the country. Alleging that Modi is spreading hatred in the country, he said KCR and Owaisi were helping him in this. "We will have to defeat Modi at the Centre and for this first we have to defeat KCR in Telangana," he said. Calling BRS, BJP and MIM as one team, he asked why they were no against KCR when he was running the most corrupt government in the country. Rahul Gandhi alleged that BRS supported Modi on GST, demonetisation and in passing other bills in the Parliament. He reiterated the allegation that KCR committed a scam of Rs.1 lakh crore in the Kaleshwaram project. "I have seen Kaleshwaram. The barrage is sinking. There are big cracks in the piers," he said. The Congress leader alleged that KCR also snatched lands of 20 lakh people through Dharani portal in the name of computerisation. "KCR what has Congress done? I want to tell him that the roads he walks on and the school, college and university he went to were all built by Congress," he said He claimed that it was Congress which built Hyderabad Metro, the new international airport and developed the city as an important global IT destination. Kolkata, Nov 28 : Expelled youth Trinamool Congress leader, currently in judicial custody in connection with the multi-crore cash-for-school job case in West Bengal, was instrumental in collecting money on behalf of the prime accused in the case, Sujay Krishna Bhadra. This accusation came from Tapas Mondal, a third accused in the case, while speaking to the media while being presented at a special court in Kolkata for a hearing relating to the case. "Kuntal Ghosh used to collect money from different agents involved in the school job case on behalf of Bhadra. I do not know why he is singing a different note now. It is because of Kuntal I got framed," Mondal said. He also claimed that Kuntal Ghosh had been deliberately trying to mislead the investigators since the beginning. To recall, Kuntal Ghosh came into the limelight earlier this year after he accused the Enforcement Directorate (ED) sleuths investigating the case of putting pressure on him to name Trinamool Congress' National General Secretary and the party's Lok Sabha member Abhishek Banerjee in the case. The main charge against Tapas Mondal is that he was acting as a middleman as the president of the All Bengal Teachers' Training Achievers' Association (ABTTAA), an umbrella organisation of private teachers' training institutes operating in the state. Mondal was also known as an extremely close confidant of Trinamool Congress legislator and the former president of West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) Manik Bhattacharya, who is also in judicial custody now in connection with the school job case. The sleuths of the Central Bureau of Investigation CBI, which is conducting a parallel probe in the case, has already frozen 12 bank accounts of Mondal. Mondal was arrested by the CBI sleuths on February 19 this year along with another middleman in the scam Niladri Ghosh. ASTANA, Kazakhstan, November 28. Kazakhstan and Togo intend to increase trade turnover between the countries, said President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev during a briefing with his Togolese counterpart Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe, Trend reports. "In particular, we noted Kazakhstan's enormous potential for exporting grain crops to Togo. As you are aware, the Islamic Organization for Food Security was established thanks to initiative of our country," he stated. As Tokayev observed, Kazakhstan asked Togo to join this group and capitalize on its potential. According to Kazakhstan's President, both countries are rich in natural resources and can collaborate to discover, extract, and develop deposits of iron, phosphate, bauxite, and other rare earth minerals. "Kazakh entrepreneurs are ready to explore the opportunities of the Togolese mining industry," he went on to say. Furthermore, according to Tokayev, the parties discussed bilateral cooperation in the transport and logistics sectors. "Kazakhstan was invited to consider the potential of the port of Lome, which ranks second in West Africa in terms of the scale of its activities. We must make every effort to develop a mutually beneficial partnership," Tokayev noted. Helen Flanagan body-shamed for racy pics: 'Not setting a very good example to your daughters'. Image Source: IANS News Los Angeles, Nov 28 : 'Coronation Street' actress Helen Flanagan has delighted fans as she returns to her acting career with a new theatre role. The actress will join the 2024 UK tour of 'Cluedo 2 - The Next Chapter' as she takes up the role of interior designer Annabel Scarlett, reports Mirror.co.uk. The role marks a West End debut for the star, as she picks up her first acting role since leaving 'Coronation Street' in 2018. Taking up her part in the classic 'whodunnit' plot, Helen will play the iconic character of Miss Scarlet with her trademark red dress as she joins her fellow cast. As per Mirror.co.uk, the mum-of-three couldn't be more excited as she announced her return to acting to fans - admitting she'd been waiting for the "right role" for quite a while. Speaking about her new role, Helen said: "I've long been looking for the right theatre role for ages and I'm so excited to be making my stage acting debut in the iconic role of Miss Scarlett. It could not be more perfect! 'Cluedo 2' is going to be so much fun and I am thrilled to be working alongside such a great actor as Jason. I can't wait to begin rehearsals in the New Year, and, of course, wear the famous red dress". Helen joins others in the theatre show including 'Casualty' actor Jason Durr as Colonel Mustard. Jason has recently played Davide Hide in 'Casualty', but was also known for his role in ITV series 'Heartbeat' as well as movies like 'The Mysterious Island'. Tel Aviv, Nov 28 : Even as the Qatari mediators have succeeded in extending the truce between Hamas and Israel for two more days, there were reports of heavy shelling between Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hezbollah as well as other Palestinian organisations in Lebanon. Lebanese officials have reported that the IDF have commenced shelling in the frontier area at select Hezbollah tarets. It is to be noted that Hezbollah is an organisation that has the support of Iran and is much more professional than Hamas. However, in a recent televised address, Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasarullah did not say anything on its attack plans against Israel. Hezbollah is often referred to as a direct proxy of the Republic of Iran. --IANS aal/ksk New Delhi, Nov 28 : Google will start deleting those personal accounts, which have been inactive for two years, from this week. The tech giant announced this policy in May, saying, the company will purge the content in inactive accounts within Google Workspace (Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar), YouTube and Google Photos. Starting December 1, the company will begin deleting such accounts. "Google products reserve the right to delete your data when your account has not been used within that product for a 2-year period," the company said in its Inactive Google Account Policy. "December 1, 2023, is the earliest a Google Account will be deleted due to this policy," it added. This policy only applies to users' personal Google Account. The company said, "this policy doesn't apply to any Google Account that was set up for you through your work, school, or other organisation". Google when announced the policy, explained that if an account hasn't been used for an extended period of time, it is more likely to be compromised. "This is because forgotten or unattended accounts often rely on old or re-used passwords that may have been compromised, haven't had two-factor authentication set up, and receive fewer security checks by the user," it added. In August, the tech giant sent emails to its billions of users, saying the company updating the inactivity period for a Google Account to two years across all its products and services. November 28, 2023 : India Cocktail Week, is back to stir up the vibrant city of Mumbai with its one-of-a-kind celebration of mixology, culture, and creativity. This annual festival, now in its 2nd Edition, is set to be bigger and better, promising a weekend filled with innovative cocktails, music, brand experiences, and a sense of community like no other. The event is on the 2nd and 3rd December, 2023. India's biggest cocktail festival is a testament to the growing cocktail culture in the country. With a mission to elevate the appreciation of cocktails and foster a sense of community within India, the festival brings together cocktail enthusiasts, spirits industry professionals, brand representatives, tastemakers, lifestyle and beverage bloggers, influencers, music enthusiasts, and curious consumers. Curators of ICW, Akshat Kumar, Sharan Behl, and Rakshay Dhariwal, express their excitement about this year's season and the unique experience it promises to offer to attendees. As quoted by the spokesperson, "The concept revolves around celebrating the best international and homegrown brands, mixologists, innovative cocktails, and visiting bartenders from the world's top 50 bars. It is a week that combines a shared passion for cocktails, creativity, stirring the flavors, music, and the joy of shaking things up. Mumbai was chosen as a kickstart city due to the overwhelming response it received during the last edition. The patrons eagerly anticipated the return of India Cocktail Week and the organizers can't wait to be back with another edition, promising double the fun". One of the unique selling points is its ability to unite all these diverse groups under one roof for a fun-filled weekend of flavors and discovery. Highlights include brand experiences, live and electronic music performances, guest shifts by award-winning bartenders, innovative cocktail creations, masterclasses, food and retail pop-ups, and much more. During the two-day festival, they will showcase over 25+ brand experiences, host bartender guest shifts from the world's top 50 bars, conduct cocktail masterclasses, and provide an energetic lineup, a craft alley, a gaming arcade zone, and much more. (Brands: Johnnie Walker Black Label, Tanqueray, Singleton, Don Julio, Bailey's, Signature, Gordon's Gin, Black & White, Absolut, Beefeater, Jameson, Monkey Shoulder, Hendrick's, Monkey 47, Ki No Bi, Malfy, Bacardi Carta, Jack Daniel's, Pistola, Wild Turkey Bourbon, Sitara Rum, Jose Cuervo, Bushmills, 1800 Tequila, Lucifer's Gold, Bacardi Breezer, Red Bull and more. Artists: Prateek Kuhad, Sickflip, Tech Panda x Kenzani, Kayan, DJ Kan-i, Lynston, Choksi, Aria x DJ Maark IV, and many more.) IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in Chandigarh, Nov 28 : Taking cognizance of the incident where the principal of Government Senior Secondary School for Girls in Jind district had misbehaved with students, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday issued termination orders of principal Kartar Singh. The decision has been taken following the investigation report submitted by the department, an official statement said. Over 50 girl students of the school had accused their principal of sexual harassment. An official spokesperson said the government in the exercise of powers conferred upon by virtue of Article 311 (b) of the Constitution had taken this action. The spokesperson shared that the report sent by the SDM of Uchana, highlighted statements from several students against the principal's misconduct. Subsequently, considering the seriousness of the case and the allegations against the principal, this action has been taken. The accused had already been arrested by the police, and a woman principal had been appointed at the respective school, along with the appointment of 16 new staff members. The victim girls, in a five-page handwritten letter to the National Commission for Women on August 31, said the principal, with the help of a woman teacher, had been sexually harassing girl students. They alleged the principal had fixed black glasses in the window of his room. "A woman teacher sends girls to meet the principal in his room. The principal touches the girls inappropriately and also talks in filthy language," one of the girls had said in the complaint. Kolkata, Nov 28 : The Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, was suspended from the House on Tuesday and barred from attending the ongoing Winter Session for alleged unruly behaviour. Suvendu Adhikari has been suspended on charges of unacceptable behaviour not in line with the rules and protocols of the House. The ruckus started after the Speaker of the Assembly Biman Bandopadhyay expunged a particular word of BJP legislator Shankar Ghosh from the proceedings of the House for the day. Suvendu Adhikari vehemently protested against the decision to expunge the word and started protesting on the floor of the House. The Speaker was heard cautioning Suvendu Adhikari and telling him to mind his conduct on the floor of the House to avoid disciplinary proceedings against him. Soon after, a senior Trinamool Congress leader brought a motion on the floor of the Assembly demanding suspension of the LOP for the session. The Speaker soon announced the decision to suspend Suvendu Adhikari for the remaining part of the ongoing Winter Session of the House. The remaining BJP legislators immediately walked out of the House in protest and they also announced the decision to boycott the discussion on the motion on 'Constitution Day.' Later speaking to the media persons Suvendu Adhikari alleged that the Opposition MLAs are always denied their legitimate protection within the House. "So there is no point in participating in sweet discussions on the occasion of Constitution Day. I had been saying it repeatedly that the provision and norms of the Constitution are being regularly violated in the House," he said. This is not the first time that Suvendu Adhikari has been suspended from attending any session of the House. In March last year Suvendu Adhikari and four other BJP legislators were suspended from the House. However, later their suspension was revoked soon after. Jaipur, Nov 28 : Rajasthan Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Praveen Gupta was admitted to the emergency ward of after he complained of breathlessness and Rajasthan Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Praveen Gupta was admitted to the emergency ward of a hospital after he complained of breathlessness and chest pain.chest pain. According to sources, Gupta suffered chest pain and breathlessness at home while having breakfast and lost consciousness. He was rushed to Sawai Mansingh Hospital where he underwent ECG, blood test and an X-ray. The CEO was then shifted to the medical ICU where his condition stabilised after medication. A 1995 batch IAS officer, Gupta was the Commissioner in the Investigation Department from February 2020 to July 2020. Apart from this, he has also held the posts of Member in Revenue Board, Ajmer, Secretary in Finance Department, Commissioner in Social Justice and Empowerment Department, and Special Secretary and Deputy Secretary in the Chief Minister's Office. Before this he had also been the collector of Bharatpur and Jhalawar. Enactment of laws in English will not harm growth of regional languages: Kerala HC. Image Source: IANS News Kochi, Nov 28 : Taking a strong position, the Kerala High Court has initiated a 'Contempt of Court' case against 29 lawyers allegedly involved in a recent protest that halted proceedings before a woman Magistrate's court in Kottayam. On November 23 the slogan-shouting angry lawyers misbehaved with the Chief Judicial Magistrate Viveeja Sethumohan at a court in Kottayam during their protest against the registration of a FIR against a lawyer. Last week the Kerala High Court initiated a suo motu contempt of court case and on Tuesday, when this matter came up for hearing a Division Bench of the Court pointed out that the allegations against the lawyers were serious. "There is also a video clipping. If necessary, we will view it in open court. The allegations are very, very serious," said the court. The High Court has posted the case for hearing again on Thursday. With the issue becoming a serious one, the Bar Council formed a four-member team to probe the issue and has asked for a detailed report on the incident. Jaipur, Nov 28 : Rajasthan's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Praveen Gupta was admitted to the emergency ward of Sawai Man Singh Hospital here after he complained of breathlessness and chest pain. According to sources, Gupta suffered chest pain and breathlessness at home while having breakfast and lost consciousness. He was rushed to Sawai Man Singh Hospital where he underwent ECG, blood test and an X-ray. The CEO was then shifted to the medical ICU where his condition stabilised after medication. A 1995 batch IAS officer, Gupta was the Commissioner in the Investigation Department from February 2020 to July 2020. Apart from this, he has also held the posts of Member in Revenue Board, Ajmer, Secretary in Finance Department, Commissioner in Social Justice and Empowerment Department, and Special Secretary and Deputy Secretary in the Chief Minister's Office. Before this he had also been the collector of Bharatpur and Jhalawar. Jaipur, Nov 28 : The Rajasthan government has banned import, manufacture, sale and use of glue traps to catch rodents. On PETA, India's appeal, Animal Husbandry Department Director and state Animal Welfare Board member secretary Bhavani Singh Rathore wrote a letter to all district collectors and the chair of the committee and issued necessary directions against the manufacture, use, purchase and export of the sticky traps with immediate effect. Welcoming the move, PETA India Advocacy Officer Farhat Ul Ain said: "PETA India applauds the Rajasthan government for taking steps to protect animals, no matter how small, and calling for effective implementation and adherence to the ban." "Glue traps are ineffective in the long term because they don't address the underlying issue. Instead, more rats and mice move in to fill the void traps create, as a temporary increase in the food supply prompts them to breed. The result is a vicious killing cycle in which many animals suffer and die." Rajasthan is the latest of 30 states and union territories to issue directives against these cruel and illegal sticky traps. The governments of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal have issued similar circulars directing action against and imposing prohibitions on these cruel traps. New Delhi, Nov 28 : The Centre on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that it may extend the tenure of the incumbent Chief Secretary of Delhi, who is due to superannuate on November 30. "Right now, the Centre intends to extend the tenure of the existing person (Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar) for a limited period," submitted Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta before a Bench presided over by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud. The Bench, also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, asked SG Mehta to show the provisions or rules empowering the Union Government to extend the tenure of Delhi's top-most bureaucrat. During the hearing, Mehta stressed that the Centre will extend the tenure for a "limited period" only and "will not extend the tenure for three or four years." Opposing this, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who appeared on behalf of the Delhi Government, said that "there is absolute breach of communication, trust and faith of any kind between this Chief Secretary and the administration." Singhvi added that the Centre did not provide a panel of five senior bureaucrats as suggested by the apex court in the last hearing. "In the whole of India, among the IAS officers, you have nobody except this one person? Is there nobody else?" he said, adding that the court may appoint any senior bureaucrat out of a panel of five or ten IAS officers to the post of Chief Secretary. "Let this man (incumbent Chief Secretary) superannuate. You make a fresh appointment under Section 45A (of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2023)," remarked the top court. At this, SG Mehta said, "Even superannuated person can be extended if the (Centre) Government so wishes." "We are not saying you (Centre) to give them (Delhi Government) an option. Go by Section 45A. You appoint somebody," added the apex court. Mehta responded that the tenure of the same person can be extended under the law, adding that such is the "statutory power" of the Centre. "Show us the power to extend, tomorrow. Show us the grounds on which you want to extend. Otherwise, you make an appointment, whoever you want," said the Supreme Court as it adjourned the hearing. In the previous hearing, the apex court had said that it would put an end to the issue on November 28. The plea filed by the Delhi Government challenges the Lieutenant Governor's "unilateral" determination of the national Capital's Chief Secretary. The Delhi Government had pleaded that it was always 'exclusively' the Government of NCT of Delhi, which appointed the Chief Secretary. In a bid to give a "workable solution", the Supreme Court had asked SG Mehta to give the list of five senior bureaucrats by 10.25 a.m and the Delhi Government may "pick one name" out of those suggested by the Centre. It had said that doing so would meet the "concerns of the Union Government" and at the same time, "foster a degree of confidence in the officer in the elected arm of the state". Mumbai, Nov 28 : Domestic equities were positive on Tuesday despite mixed global cues, after global rating agency S&P raised India's GDP growth forecast for FY24 by 40 bps to 6.4 per cent, said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Retail Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services. Nifty opened higher and sustained its upward move to close with gains of 95 points, or 0.5 per cent, at 19890 levels, while the Sensex jumped 204 points, or 0.31 per cent, to end at 66,174 levels. Majority of the sectors ended in green with action seen in oil & gas, metals, PSU bank and auto. Oil marketing companies are witnessing renewed interest on account of fall in oil price ahead of the OPEC+ meeting this week. Mining stocks will remain in focus as the government plans to launch its first tranche auction of 20 blocks of critical and strategic minerals on Wednesday, Khemka said. Even auto stocks are likely to remain in the limelight amid strong volume sales data for OEM in November due to buoyant festive demand. Further, the momentum is expected to continue with record weddings expected over the next one month, he added. On Wednesdat, the state-owned Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) is anticipated to make its public debut with about 34 premium. This indicates that in comparison to the issue price of Rs 32 per share, the listing price is anticipated to be about Rs 43, said Vaibhav Vidwani, Research Analyst at Bonanza Portfolio. In addition to being the first of the five initial public offerings that concluded this past week, this would be the first listing for a government entity since Life Insurance Corporation of India in May 2022. Among the five IPOs, Tata Technologies attracted the most interest in the stock market following an astounding subscription demand of around 70 times for the issue. Given the tremendous demand from investors and the investor-friendly pricing, which highlights the Tata Group's history of rewarding shareholders, a significant listing gain of more than 75 per cent may be anticipated relative to the issue price of Rs 500 per share, Vidwani said. Based on street assumptions, there's a good chance that Tata Technologies might be a doubler contender after listing. Political parties are promising universal healthcare in their home states; if this materialises, PSUs will gain business from private businesses. PSUs might receive a sizable portion of new business, which set off a rise in NIA and GIC, Vidwani said. New Delhi, Nov 28 : Delhi High Court on Tuesday imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh on BharatPe's former MD Ashneer Grover in response to alleged defamatory social media posts against the fintech company. Justice Rekha Palli expressed dismay at the persistent and blatant violation of earlier orders and assurances made by Grover. The judge, appalled by this behaviour, decided to close the matter, binding Grover to his undertaking but imposed a cost of Rs 2 lakh. The court directed the payment to the high court's clerks' association. The court took on record Grover's apology and undertaking but proceeded to levy the fine, saying that it cannot be taken for granted. Senior advocate Akhil Sibal for plaintiff -- owner of BharatPe, Resilient Innovations Pvt Ltd -- pointed out Grover's continued violation of court orders and urged the court to issue an injunction restraining him from posting defamatory content. In response, Grover's counsel mentioned his client's apology and undertaking to refrain from offensive posts in the future, suggesting the matter be disposed of. The counsel also proposed mediation to resolve the dispute. Earlier, the court had directed Ashneer Grover and the officials of the fintech company not to speak in a "unparliamentary" or "defamatory" manner against one another. After Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) filed an FIR against Grover and members of his family, BharatPe had filed an application alleging that Grover had been tweeting defamatory statements ever since. BharatPe filed the application in its already pending defamation suit related to Grover's earlier tweets. "This is not a street fight between some rival gangs in the corner of the city. These are corporate people, educated people, articulate people who can surely adjudicate their grievances against each other in a more refined way," Justice Prateek Jalan had said. "If you have both decided to enter the gutter, then please remain there." Appearing for the fintech company, senior advocates Rajiv Nayar and Dayan Krishnan had referred to some of Grover's tweets which alleged that the firm has spent several crores on "lawyers and fixers". Grover can dispute the BharatPe complaint against him and the Delhi Police's FIR in court if he has issues with the company's complaint, the counsel had argued. Highlighting some of the tweets by BharatPe officials, advocate Giriraj Subramanium, appearing for Grover, had said that BharatPe officials have used similar language against his client on social media and levelled allegations against Grover in the Press. The bench then said that such statements should not be made by two sides. "Issue notice, Mr Subramanium learned counsel for all respondents accepts notice. Reply be filed by May 20, rejoinder by May 22. List before the roster bench on May 24. While keeping the application pending for adjudication on contest, the learned counsel on all sides have requested to advise their clients to avoid recourse to unparliamentary and defamatory publication against each other," the court ordered as Subramanium said that he will advise Grover to use more decorous language. BharatPe had approached the High Court months after Grover and his wife were dismissed from the company over allegations of misappropriation of funds. In its suit, running into 2,800 pages, BharatPe has claimed damages worth Rs 88.67 crore from Grover, his wife, and his brother for alleged cheating and misappropriation of funds. The damages sought include a claim for payment made against the invoices of non-existent vendors amounting to Rs 71.7 crore, a claim for Rs 1.66 crore penalty paid to GST authorities, payments totalling Rs 7.6 crore made to vendors purportedly providing recruitment services, payments of Rs 1.85 crore made to a furnishings company, payments for personal expenditures up to Rs 59.7 lakh and payment of Rs 5 crore damages for loss of reputation to the company caused by tweets and other statements made by them. In its suit, the fintech company claimed that a Rajasthan-based travel company had raised invoices for foreign tours twice, once for Grover and his wife and second time, for their children. The family also used the company's funds to travel abroad. The suit further claimed that the Grovers used the company funds to pay the rent and security deposit of their posh duplex and for home appliances, too. The duplex was first taken over by Grovers as the company's guest house but eventually they started living there, the suit claimed. Mumbai, Nov 28 : Actor Rohit Choudhary, who is a part of the show 'Dalchini' opened up on the experience of shooting for the same, and said how he was actively seeking an opportunity to play a positive role. Rohit said he is happy to be a part of 'Dalchini'. Talking about the shoot, Rohit said: "The experience has been truly wonderful. It's going really well because I always had a desire to portray a positive character. I was actively seeking an opportunity to play a positive role, and now that I have it, things are going exceptionally well. When you play a negative character, you have to change yourself completely." "In such roles, you might not connect with half of what you're doing, and there's a constant need to act. However, in this positive character, I find a deep connection. Many things that I say align with my character, and when we deliver dialogues and perform, it comes from the heart. It feels great to know that it has been conveyed well and touched the heart," he shared. Rohit said: "That's why I love this character. I'm truly enjoying shooting for this show, and while the biggest learning from this set is just starting, I haven't encountered any specific significant lessons yet." On his bonding with the co-stars, Rohit said: "On the set, the entire cast is truly amazing, and everyone is nice. I feel a strong bond with everyone, including mom, Dalchini, Kala, my brother, and the uncles who are part of the show." "I also have a cast member from my last show, Swarnagadh, who plays Chachi in this show. I've known her since the Last show. When it comes to bonding, I can't choose just one person because I connect well with everyone. Whether it's my 'brother' Deepak or anyone else, I have great bonding with everyone because they are all really nice. Whenever I have the time, I make sure to spend it with everyone on the set," he added. The show is produced by Ravie Dubey and Sargun Mehta, and will soon air on Dangal TV. November 28 : Aamir Khan Productions expressed deep sorrow and grief as they announced the untimely demise of Gururaj Jois, a visionary cameraman whose exceptional work behind the camera brought iconic films like 'Lagaan' to life. The veteran cinematographer, aged 53, breathed his last on the morning of 27th November in Bangalore, succumbing to a heart attack. Gururaj Jois leaves behind a legacy of remarkable contributions to the world of Indian cinema and is survived by his wife and child. Aamir Khan Productions shared a tweet, it read, Deeply saddened to hear about the loss of Gururaj Jois. One of the many passionate souls on that desert whose work behind the camera brought Lagaan to life, May your soul rest in peace Gururaj Jois played an integral role in shaping the visual narrative of Bollywood, particularly through his collaborations with director Apoorva Lakhia. His journey in the film industry began as an assistant to cinematographer Anil Mehta during the making of 'Lagaan,' where he crossed paths with Apoorva, who was then assisting director Ashutosh Gowariker. Deeply saddened to hear about the loss of Gururaj Jois. One of the many passionate souls on that desert whose work behind the camera brought Lagaan to life May your soul rest in peace pic.twitter.com/W4zDymclpF Aamir Khan Productions (@AKPPL_Official) November 28, 2023 Aamir Khan Productions, in a heartfelt statement, paid tribute to Gururaj Jois as one of the passionate souls whose dedication behind the lens enriched the cinematic experience of 'Lagaan.' The production house expressed condolences and wished for his soul to rest in peace. Gururaj's expertise extended beyond 'Lagaan,' encompassing a diverse array of films that showcased his versatility as a cinematographer. Some notable works in his filmography include 'Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost,' 'Shootout At Lokhandwala,' 'Mission Istanbul,' 'Ek Ajnabee,' 'Zanjeer,' and 'Gali Gali Chor Hai.' His keen eye for capturing visuals and creating the right ambiance through his lens earned him respect and admiration within the film fraternity. San Francisco, Nov 28 : A new iOS17 update has added a feature called 'NameDrop' that has raised privacy concerns among iPhone users. The new 'NameDrop' feature enables users to quickly share their contact information with nearby iPhones or Apple Watches, rather than handing over their phone to a new person to exchange information. According to Fox23, several local law enforcement agencies in the US, like Dewey police expressed concern about the update. According to them, this feature is 'ON' by default, so if you want to shut it off, go to Settings, tap General, then AirDrop, then 'Bringing Devices Together' and change it to off. Police also said that "you should remember to do this on your children's phone too if you choose to." While the feature is enabled by default, it should be noted that the user must manually authorise any information sent and has the option to decline. Many users took to social media to warn against utilising the new feature. "The NameDrop feature aims to make sharing contacts easy but at a privacy cost. Without knowing, you could be sharing your info with nearby iPhone users," a user warned on X. "Dear iPhone users: How to turn NameDrop off after update. 1. Go to Settings 2. Tap 'General' 3. Tap 'AirDrop' 4. Toggle 'Bringing Devices Together' to off. You're welcome," another user wrote. One more user mentioned, "FAQ: Is NameDrop always enabled? Yes, it's on by default. This means your iPhone could be oversharing without you realising". Mumbai, Nov 28 : The Congress on Tuesday demanded immediate aid for the lakhs of farmers reeling under the severe crop losses owing to the recent spell of unseasonal rains that lashed large parts of the state in the past few days. State party President Nana Patole and Leader of Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar have called upon Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to disburse urgent assistance of Rs 25,000 per acre for non-irrigated crops and Rs 50,000/acre for irrigated crops as immediate relief to the farmers. Wadettiwar told mediapersons that the standing crops on over 100,000-hectares have been razed due to the heavy rains and hailstorms that pounded many regions in the state, raising big questions on the viability of the Rabi crop season. Similarly, in a letter to the Chief Minister, Patole pointed out that this year, the farmers have been at the receiving end of nature's fury, battling one crisis after another. While the Kharif (monsoon) season was wiped off due to a prolonged dry spell, while the Rabi (winter) season is practically written off owing to the unseasonal downpour. "Farmers in 17 of the 35 districts have lost an entire year of crops, with the worst hit being cotton, soybean, sugarcane, tur, onion, potato, maize, paddy, wheat, grapes, mango, pomegranate, papayapa, banana and orange, besides all types of vegetables," Patole said in the letter. Wadettiwar pulled up the government accusing it of delays in declaring a "drought" in some parts of the state, but demanded that the regime should not prolong declaration of the current spell of losses in the interest of the farming community. "The government is misleading by claiming it has sought Rs 2,500 crore as aid from the Centre. Then who is the guardian of the state farmers? The situation has come to a stage when the tillers are offering to sell off their body organs to rid themselves of loans/debts," said Wadettiwar sharply. Patole and Wadettiwar also said that the crop insurance companies should expedite disbursal of compensation to the farmers on priority. "While Rs 7,000 crore was given to crop insurance companies, the Agriculture Minister is saying that these companies will provide Rs 1,800-crore, then where is the remaining money going?" asked Wadettiwar. The Congress leaders said the government should not "abandon" the farmers who are the life-givers to the nation and this is the time to extend a helping hand to them when they are facing a crisis of survival. San Francisco, Nov 28 : Instagram's algorithm, which shows reels as per the users' interest, has offered sexually explicit content, including provocative footage of children as well as overtly sexual adult videos and advertisements for some of the biggest American brands, according to an experiment conducted by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). WSJ conducted the experiment to see what Instagram's Reels algorithm would recommend to test accounts set up to follow exclusively "young gymnasts, cheerleaders, and other teen and preteen influencers active on the platform". Furthermore, these salacious ads were also mixed in with ads for well-known US brands, including Walt Disney, Walmart, Pizza Hut, Bumble, Match Group, and even WSJ. The report added that the Canadian Centre for Child Protection achieved similar results with its own tests separately. While Walmart and Pizza Hut declined to comment, Bumble, Match Group, Hims, and Disney have either pulled their ads from Meta or pressed the firm to address the issue. The company "would never intentionally advertise adjacent to inappropriate content", and that the company is suspending its ads across Metaas platforms, Robbie McKay, a spokesman for Bumble, was quoted as saying. According to Charlie Cain, Disney's vice president of brand management, the company has imposed rigorous boundaries on what social media content is appropriate for advertising and has pressured Meta and other platforms to strengthen brand-safety features, the report mentioned. In response, Meta informed its clients that it was investigating and that it "would pay for brand-safety auditing services to determine how often a companyas ads appear beside content it considers unacceptable." However, the company did not provide a schedule or specifics for future prevention. Recently, several companies have halted their ads on X after Elon Musk endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory. According to the internal documents seen by The New York Times, X could lose as much as $75 million in advertising revenue by the end of the year as dozens of major brands pull out their marketing campaigns. More than 200 ad units of companies from the likes of Airbnb, Amazon, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, and others have halted or are considering pausing their ads on X, according to the report. Agartala, Nov 28 : Tripura's opposition Tipra Motha Party (TMP), which has been demanding 'Greater Tipraland' or a separate state for the tribals under Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution, met the Centre's envoy and advisor to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) A.K. Mishra here on Tuesday. After the meeting, TMP supremo Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barman said that his party is sticking to its aGreater Tipraland' demand and "Centre should fulfil our demand and they should come out clearly with their views about our demand". "Pakistan tried to impose the Urdu language on the people of East Pakistan and then the language movement started (in 1948) leading to the creation of sovereign Bangladesh. Similarly, tribal language should be respected by all and we need our own script for the language of the indigenous people," he told the media. Mishra, who is also looking after the various tribal related issues and demands in Nagaland and Manipur, also held a meeting with Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Monday night and discussed various aspects. The TMP's 'Greater Tipraland' demand, which is supported by the rulling BJPas ally Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), become a major issue in Tripura politics since 2021. After the TMP wrested the power in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) in April, the party intensified their agitation in support of their demand, which has been strongly opposing by the BJP, CPI-M led Left Front, Congress and Trinamool Congress and other parties. The TMP leaders led by Deb Barman during the past several months held a series of meetings with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, both Shah and Sarma, as well as the Tripura Chief Minister, rejected the its 'Greater Tipraland' demand, saying no division of Tripura would be done. BJPas ally IPFT has also been demanding to upgrade the TTAADC as a full-fledged state. The TTAADC, which has a jurisdiction on over two-thirds of Tripura's 10,491 sq km area and is home to over 12,16,000 people, of which around 84 per cent are tribals, is, in terms of its political significance, second most important constitutional body after the Tripura Assembly. Political pundits said that both the TMP and the IPFT, to capitalise the tribal vote bank, raise tribal-centric demands like upgradation of the TTAADC as a separate for the tribals even though they fully aware that such demand would never be fulfilled due to obvious reasons. Both TMP and the IPFT in support of their separate state like demands organised agitations both in the state and in Delhi. Pune : , Nov 28 (IANS) The President of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), Prakash Ambedkar, said on Tuesday that the party will hold a peace rally in Mumbai on December 8 in support of the people of Palestine who are currently facing a war with Israel. Ambedkar said that the peace meeting-cum-rally will be organised with the participation of several Muslim and non-Muslim organisations and eminent personalities. "If the scope of the Israel-Hamas war escalates, it will affect India... Peace is imperative. Our country may have to bear the responsibility of ensuring the security of more than 5 crore Indians living and working in the Gulf region," Ambedkar said. A senior party official said that the peace rally is likely to be held at the sprawling Azad Maidan in which a large number of Dalits shall also join. Lakhs of Dalits from all over India are expected to join the annual Mahaparinirvan Divas to mark the death anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar on December 6. A significant number of these attendees are expected to stay back for a couple of days to attend the pro-Palestine peace rally planned by the VBA, the official said. On his part, Ambedkar has appealed to all political parties and organisations in the state, as well as the common masses, to cast aside their religious differences and join the peace rally in support of the crisis-hit people of Palestine. CCTV: We noted that the UAE will hold the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) in Dubai from November 30 to December 12 this year. Can you share Chinas expectation for the conference? Wang Wenbin: COP28, which will open at the end of this month, will see the first-ever global stocktake since the Paris Agreement came into effect. It will be of milestone significance. China highly commends the UAEs leading role as the host of COP28 in advancing green and low-carbon development and galvanizing global joint response to climate change. President Xi Jinpings Special Representative, Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council Ding Xuexiang will attend the World Climate Action Summit in the UAE. China will work with all parties to support the UAEs presidency and use the global stocktake as an opportunity to step up implementation, strengthen supporting measures and jointly build a fair, reasonable and win-win global climate governance system. China Daily: The Global AI Governance Initiative China put forward not long ago has drawn extensive attention around the world. Can you share more with us? Wang Wenbin: President Xi Jinping announced Chinas Global AI Governance Initiative at the opening ceremony of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. The Initiative has received high attention and positive comments from the international community. It is widely recognized that the Initiative fully embodies the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind, meets countries need for AI development, and has made unique contribution to the healthy, safe and orderly development of AI. Some developing countries noted that AI rules-making cannot be determined by a few developed countries. It is important to increase the say of the Global South and build a fair and equitable international governance system in the area of AI. Many countries have expressed their willingness to enhance exchange and cooperation with China in AI. China stands ready to take the implementation of the Initiative as an opportunity to carry out communication, exchange and practical cooperation with various parties on global AI governance, and ensure that AI develops in a way that advances human civilization. Shenzhen TV: Its reported that as the ocean discharge of the Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water started by the Japanese government enters the third month, TEPCO recently started damage identification and compensation of domestic victims of the ocean discharge. Whats your comment? Wang Wenbin: The ocean discharge of Japans Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water bears on the health of all humanity, the global marine environment and the international public interest. Japan needs to take seriously domestic and international concerns in the same manner, especially strong concerns of neighboring countries, communicate with stakeholders with a responsible and constructive attitude and address seriously the legitimate demand for damage identification and compensation from stakeholders. With more Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water being dumped into the sea, the Japanese side must engage in full, sincere consultations with stakeholders, especially its neighbors, put in place a long-term monitoring arrangement as soon as possible that is carried out in a comprehensive, effective and independent manner and involves all stakeholders, so as to avoid irrevocable consequences stemming from the ocean discharge. Reuters: Three Chinese navy ships have arrived in Myanmar on a goodwill visit. Are there any updates on the situation in Myanmar? What is Chinas assessment of the situation at the current time? Wang Wenbin: On November 27, the 44th Chinese naval escort taskforce arrived in Yangon, Myanmar, for a four-day friendly visit. This is a normal military exchange between China and Myanmar. As to Chinas position on the conflict in northern Myanmar you mentioned, weve shared it with you on multiple occasions. China is closely following the conflict. We call on relevant parties to cease fire as soon as possible, settle disputes in a peaceful manner through dialogue and consultation, avoid escalation of the situation, and take effective measures to ensure the security and stability of China-Myanmar border areas. Antara: The World Health Organization says it has requested more information on an increase in respiratory illness and pneumonia cluster among children. Although Chinese health authorities have not detected any unusual or novel pathogens, there are increasing concerns among the international public about the safety of traveling to China as well as people who travel from China. What is the ministrys response? Wang Wenbin: As for your question, Chinas National Health Commission (NHC) has held a press conference in a timely manner. The NHC and the National Administration of Disease Prevention and Control, at the request of the WHO, has arranged for exchanges between experts and the WHO on the recent situation of respiratory infectious diseases. If you are interested in any specifics, I would refer you to the competent authorities. Let me assure you that it is safe to travel and do business here in China and theres no need to worry. Reuters: Britains investment minister Dominic Johnson said he was working to attract Chinese car manufacturers to build a factory in Britain and that investment from China was crucial for Britain to meet environmental targets. How does China view these remarks? Have there been any ongoing talks? What are the progress on these talks? Wang Wenbin: China and the UK are both major economies in the world. Cooperation in business, trade and investment between the two sides helps to achieve common development and contributes to global growth and prosperity. China stands ready to work with the UK on the basis of mutual respect and win-win cooperation to leverage respective strengths, expand cooperation in business, trade and investment, and promote green growth. We hope that the UK will work with China in the same direction and make concrete efforts to provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese businesses to invest and operate in the UK. China News Service: We noted that construction of the Al Dhafra PV2 Solar Power Plant in the UAE, contracted by a Chinese company, fully completed recently. The UAE side noted that this is of great significance as the country is about to host the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28). Do you have any comment? Wang Wenbin: The Al Dhafra PV2 Solar Power Plant is the worlds largest single PV project and an important project of Belt and Road cooperation in the area of green energy. According to reports, the plant can supply power for 200,000 households, reduce 2.4 million tonnes of carbon emissions per year, and raise the ratio of clean energy in the UAEs overall energy structure to over 13 percent. Rows of PV components have formed an energy oasis in Abu Dhabis desert. China is a doer in advancing global climate governance. We have not only built the worlds largest clean power generation network, but also provided support and assistance in this regard to other developing countries to the best of our capability. Aside from the UAEs Al Dhafra PV2 Solar Power Plant, China has undertaken other clean energy projects, such as the Sachal wind power project in Pakistan, the Noor III solar-thermal power plant in Morocco, the Al Kharsaah PV power station in Qatar and the Garissa PV power plant in Kenya. All these are vivid examples of China acting on the vision of green development, supporting the green and low-carbon construction and operation of infrastructure and enhancing international cooperation in climate response. COP28 will open soon in Dubai. We support the UAE in making the event a success. We will continue to synergize the green Silk Road with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, deepen practical cooperation in green infrastructure and green energy, and contribute more to the low-carbon and green development in all countries. Reuters: The New York Times reported that the CIA and other American spy agencies have issued warnings about an Emirati firm G42 working with large Chinese companies including Huawei that US officials consider as security threats. US officials are also worried that the advanced American technology could be siphoned to Chinese companies or the government via this Emirati firm. The report also says that the US has even pointed to the prospect of sanctioning this Emirati firm. Our question is: Has the Emirati firm G42 raised these matters with China? Has any of the Chinese firms also brought this to the governments attention? How does China respond to this report? Wang Wenbin: Im not aware of the specifics you mentioned. I would like to stress that the US has sabotaged cooperation between Chinese companies and other countries on multiple occasions under hypothetical pretexts, which is economic coercion. When asked by relevant countries to provide credible proof for the so-called security threat, the US has been stammering around or giving ambiguous answers. China always opposes the US overstretching the concept of national security, politicizing and weaponizing economic and trade issues or approaching them from an untenable security angle, and obstructing normal investment activities in the industrial community and private sectors. Such moves by the US undermine international economic order and trade rules and threaten the stability of global industrial and supply chains. Those attempts find little support and will not get anywhere. BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, November 28. In 2024, the Kyrgyz government plans to invest 74.9 billion soms ($843 million) in energy sector development, the Chairman of Kyrgyzstan's Cabinet of Ministers and Head of the Administration of Kyrgyzstan's president Akylbek Japarov said, Trend reports. He stated that Kyrgyzstan will soon begin major projects that will generate 7,000 megawatts of electricity. This involves increasing power generation at the Toktogul HPP, Kambarata-2 HPP, and Uch-Kurgan HPP. "We will build HPP cascades in Kazarman, Chatkal, Suusamyr-Kokomeren, and Sary-Jaz." "The Kulunak HPP, as well as more than 30 small hydroelectric power stations, will be launched," he stated. Japarov underlined that Kyrgyzstan and the World Bank (WB) have agreed to update the technical and economic feasibility of the Kambarata-1 HPP. In addition, he stated that wind and solar power plants would be built. Citing the State Statistical Committee of Kyrgyzstan, the country generated 10.384 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity from January through September 2023, which is a rise of 9 percent compared to the same months in 2022 (8.985 billion kilowatt-hours). SC to hear on Tuesday Andhra plea against bail granted to Chandrababu Naidu. Image Source: IANS News New Delhi, Nov 28 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to examine a plea filed by the Andhra Pradesh Government challenging grant of regular bail to TDP supremo and former Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu in connection with the alleged Skill Development Corporation case. A Bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma issued a notice to Naidu and asked him to respond before December 8 on a Special Leave Petition filed by the Andhra Pradesh Government. The Bench said that the condition imposed by the Andhra Pradesh High Court restraining the political leader from making any public comments related to the case will continue till the next date of listing. However, it did not favour extending the condition imposed by the High Court barring Naidu from organising or participating in public rallies and meetings. It may be recalled that a Bench of Justice T Mallikarjuna Rao of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on November 20 ordered that the TDP leader be released on regular bail on the bail bond already furnished by him. The High Court made aabsolutea the interim bail granted to Naidu on October 31 on medical grounds. The Supreme Court recently indicated that it will likely deliver its verdict post the Diwali break on the plea filed by the former CM seeking quashing of criminal proceedings in the case. In the FiberNet case, the Andhra Pradesh CID had undertaken before the apex court that it will not arrest Naidu till November 30 -- the next date of listing. New Delhi, Nov 28 : The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought the Central and city governments' response on a plea challenging the existing rule that exclusively permits female candidates to apply for the B.Sc (Hons.) Nursing Course in nursing colleges run by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, the Delhi University, and the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University. The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) by the Indian Professional Nurses Association seeks a reconsideration of the rule urging the court to direct the implementation of a new regulation that would make individuals of all genders eligible for admission to B.Sc.(H) nursing courses. A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Mamohan and Justice Mini Pushkarna has asked the governments as well as the institutes and Indian Nursing Council to file their replies within four weeks. The association, a registered non-governmental body dedicated to the welfare of nurses nationwide, says that restricting admission solely to females is deemed arbitrary and contrary to the fundamental principles of democracy, fairness, and equality. It argued that the practice is "manifestly arbitrary" and fails to meet the standards of reasonable classification outlined in Article 14 of the Constitution. "The classification created only entitles female candidates to a specific B.Sc. (H) Nursing course on the basis of a rule that does not consider the present day realities," it said, adding that the gender-specific eligibility rule overlooks the pressing need for more nursing professionals in the country and, consequently, runs against the broader interest of the public. --IANS spr/vd Bengaluru, Nov 28 : Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said that the popularity of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "waning" in the country while contending that his government's performance will impact the November 30 Telangana polls. Taking to social media, Siddaramaiah said: "The effectiveness of our government's guarantee schemes has sparked extensive debate, causing concern among BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who fear defeat.". Siddaramaiah also said that this election in Telangana is "not a simple Congress vs BJP battle" but "a showdown between the Congress's integrity and the BJP's falsehoods". "The electorate is keenly aware of the Modi government's failure to fulfil even a fraction of its promises over nine years, diminishing the impact of PM Modi's campaign efforts in Telangana. The Karnataka Congress government's dedication to fulfilling its promises has significantly bolstered the Telangana electorate's confidence in the party's commitments. Leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjuna Kharge, the AICC President, have been successfully engaging voters by highlighting the 'Karnataka model' of governance in their public addresses," he said. "Our party's diligent promotion of the achievements of both our previous (2013-18) and current governments in Karnataka has generated a wave of support. The Congress is perceived as a beacon of hope in Telangana, contrasting starkly with the unfulfilled promises of the state's BRS party and the central BJP government," he added. Siddaramaiah said that Modi's waning popularity, evidenced in the Karnataka elections, foreshadows outcomes in Telangana and other states. The sidelining of regional BJP leaders by Modi and Amit Shah has left a vacuum of trust at the local level, he claimed. "Telangana's voters have come to recognise the Congress's role in the state's formation and are disillusioned with the BRS's empty rhetoric and rampant corruption. I am very confident that this realisation sets the stage for Congress victory in the upcoming elections," he opined. Mossad Chief in Doha for fresh talks, will meet CIA Chief for release of more hostages. Image Source: IANS News Tel Aviv, Nov 28 : Mossad Chief David Barnea reached Doha on Tuesday to hold fresh talks with Hamas, he will also meet Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Chief William Barns. The meeting assumes significance in wake of hostage release negotiations between Hamas and Israel. The CIA Chief William Barns has played a pivotal role in securing the release of the hostages and has also undertaken several discussions with the Qatar mediators for the release. Qatar senior officials were also hosted by Mossad Chief in Israel a few days earlier. Sources told IANS that Mossad Chief will ask Hamas for the release of all the women and children. They said that he will also hold talks with Qatar authorities and CIA Chief for the release of soldiers in Hamas captivity. Hamas has already released 51 Israeli citizens including women and children and 19 foreign nationals since the release of hostages commenced on November 24. Israel has agreed to the release 30 Palestinian security prisoners. Sources said that Mossad Chief has communicated that it will increase the ceasefire for a further couple of days if more hostages are released from Hamas captivity. Kolkata, Nov 28 : The West Bengal Government has sent a team to Uttarakhand, on Tuesday to bring back three workers from the state who are among the 41 men trapped at the Silkyara tunnel there. An announcement on this count was made by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday. "Have rushed a team to Uttarkashi for helping our people. The team, led by Rajdeep Dutta, Liaison Officer, Office of Resident Commissioner, New Delhi, will help in the evacuation and safe return of the trapped workers in the tunnel at Silkyara, Uttarkashi to their homes in West Bengal," the Chief Minister said in a message on her official X handle on Tuesday. In the message, Mamata Banerjee has also given the names and mobile numbers of the members of the team who have been sent to Uttarakhand. According to her, three workers from West Bengal reported to be trapped at the tunnel include Manir Talukdar from Cooch Behar, Sevik Pakhera from South 24 Parganas and Jaidev Pramanik from Hooghly. The members of the team have already started for Uttarkashi from New Delhi by car on Tuesday, according to the Chief Minister. Tokyo, Nov 28 : Japan on Tuesday started the trial of over-the-counter sales of morning-after contraceptive pills, according to a media report. The emergency contraception drugs, available without a doctor's prescription, will be now sold at 145 drug stores nationwide at prices ranging from around 7,000 yen ($47) to 9,000 yen as part of the Health Ministry's investigative trial, Kyodo News agency reported. Women aged 16 and older, who partake in the trial, can obtain the drugs study after calling the pharmacy in advance, while other 16- and 17-year-olds may need a parent or guardian's approval. The pills, NorLevo and the generic version levonorgestrel, work best within 72 hours after unprotected sex and have an efficacy rate of 80 per cent, according to the ministry. Before the trial, women in Japan, including victims of sexual assault, had to go to a clinic or hospital for a prescription to obtain an emergency contraceptive. Selling the drug without a prescription was discussed by a ministry panel in 2017, but the ministry stopped short of giving the green light, with critics saying it would make people less likely to practise safe sex, the report said. The drug stores selected for the study must meet certain conditions, such as having trained pharmacists able to provide pills at night, on weekends and on holidays, as well as a private consultation room, Xinhua news agency reported. Purchasers will be asked to answer questionnaires, which will be used in the study. Medical professionals have called for better access to the drug within Japan, as it could provide rape victims with vital protection after a traumatic incident while also potentially reducing the need for abortions which are considered more physically and emotionally damaging, the Kyodo report said. Morning-after pills are available over the counter in about 90 countries and regions, according to research conducted by the Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry. --IANS rvt/vd Arrested from Imphal by NIA, accused in transnational conspiracy case sent to 5-day police custody. Image Source: IANS News Patna, Nov 28 : Three persons were arrested by Patna Police late on Monday night for beating students of a DAV Public School in city. The incident happened on November 25 when two groups of students involved in a quarrel with each other and one of the groups hired three men to beat the students of another group outside the campus. The victim student lodged an FIR against those three persons in Shastri Nagar police station in the city. "As the matter was very serious, we have identified the accused and conducted raids at several places. Our team finally managed to arrest them," said Dharmendra Kumar, SHO of Shastri Nagar police station. "The accused have been identified as Sonu Kumar alias Sonu Star, a native of Patel Nagar Patna, Ritik Singh, a resident of Sahar Bhojpur and Karan Kumar, a resident of Punaichak Patna. They were booked under relevant sections of IPC and produced before a judicial magistrate who sent them to judicial custody for 14 days," Kumar said. The school administration has also taken disciplinary action against those children who invited the accused inside the school premises for violence. Las Vegas, Nov 28 : Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Tuesday announced a new palm-scanning identity service that will allow companies to authenticate people when entering physical premises. Called 'Amazon One Enterprise,' the service eliminates operational overhead associated with the management of traditional enterprise authentication methods, like badges and PINs, the company said during its 'AWS re:Invent 2023' event here. The palm-recognition technology uses advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning to create a palm signature that is associated with identification credentials like a badge, employee ID, or PIN. The palm signature is a unique numerical vector created from the user's palm image that cannot be replicated or used for impersonation. "Amazon One Enterprise's palm recognition technology is designed to deliver a highly accurate identification service that increases an organisation's overall security, while offering seamless authentication management with lower operational overhead," said Dilip Kumar, vice president of AWS Applications. Amazon One Enterprise provides highly accurate and secure enterprise access control through an easy-to-use biometric identification device. Security is built into every stage of the service, from multi-layered security controls in the Amazon One device to protection of data in transit and in the cloud, said the company. "Amazon One Enterprise combines palm and vein imagery for biometric matching and delivers an accuracy rate of 99.9999 per cent, which exceeds the accuracy of other biometric alternatives even more accurate than scanning two irises," AWS said. The palm signature is a unique numerical vector created from the user's palm image that cannot be replicated or used for impersonation. To implement Amazon One Enterprise, IT and security administrators can easily install Amazon One devices on-site and activate them in the AWS Management Console. "Administrators can also manage all aspects of user authentications in the console, including monitoring the status of installed devices, managing software updates, and getting analytics on user enrollment and usage, while reducing the amount of time and overhead involved in the manual verification of credentials," said the company. Amazon One Enterprise is available in preview in the US. "We are excited to work with Amazon One Enterprise for a more secure, efficient way to manage authentication and access our systems," said Nick Krieble, global head of Identity and Access Management, IHG Hotels & Resorts. HSBC facing a 'hit' of over 6.3 bn as a result of unsecured commercial property loans into China: Report. Image Source: IANS News London, Nov 28 : HSBC is facing a "hit" of more than A6.3 billion as a result of unsecured commercial property loans into China, a UK-based tax consultant has warned, a media report said. Payments and banking consultant Bob Lyddon branded the situation as a adisastera, and warned of a "financial contagion" risk which could have a knock-on effect on Britainas economy, Express UK reported. Earlier this month, HSBC had confirmed it was setting aside A910 million to cover expected loan losses, including A412 million related to the commercial real-estate sector in China - but Lyddon said the actual picture was much worse, Express UK reported. The founder of Lyddon Consulting Services outlined his concerns in an analysis specifically written for Express UK, urging the bank not to underestimate the seriousness of the situation. He said: "HSBC's stake in its Chinese bank - Hang Seng - looks overvalued by A3.3 billion given the benchmark set by Standard Chartered. Forty-two per cent of HSBC's commercial property loans into China are either sub-standard or credit-impaired: A4.6 billion out of A11 billion. That's a disaster. "The equivalent figures just for Hong Kong are 63 per cent, and A3.8 billion out of A6 billion. That's a catastrophe," Express UK reported. Even worse, A3 billion of this A3.8 billion was not backed by real-estate security, Lyddon stressed. Mumbai, Nov 28 : The government-owned Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd (BHEL) on Tuesday said that it has signed an MoU with France's state-owned company Electricite de France, S.A., for collaboration on the proposed Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project (JNPP) in Ratnagiri. In regulatory filings with the NSE and the BSE, the BHEL said that it will "explore the opportunity to maximise the local content of the JNPP", being set up by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL). The JNPP would comprise six European Pressurised Reactions (EPRs) of 1,650 MWe each, slated to come up in the coastal village of Jaitapur and others in Maharashtra. The BHEL and EDF would also examine "larger collaboration for the European Pressurised Reactors (EPRs), and for the NUWARD SMR (Smaller Modular Reactor)". Despite repeated attempts by IANS, BHEL or NPCIL officials were not available to elaborate on these aspects of the MoU, though the day's development suddenly brought alive the issue again in the coastal Konkan. Once completed, the JNPP site would be India's largest generating 9,900 MW electricity and among the biggest in the world. Envisaged in 2005, the JNPP has encountered huge protests and opposition from the locals, particularly the fisher-folk, who feel threatened that their livelihood would be hit badly. One of the prominent activists, Forum Against Disastrous Projects in Konkan Convenor Vaishali Patil said that "even today, the locals are 100 percent strongly opposed to the project" and would not allow it to come up at any cost. "If, after 19 years, the project is still at agreement signing stage, then is there any seriousness even on the part of the government that they will construct it even in the next 50 years," Patil countered. The Konkan Bachao Samiti (Save Konkan Committee) Co-Convenor Adwait Pednekar pointed out that though "|there are no ground-level protests currently", the people of Konkan region are still vehemently against the JNPP for the larger and long-term consequences. "There are also issues of the high cost of power that would be produced here that would entail additional government subsidies and it is suspected that the JNPP may end up being a white elephant," Pednekar said. Both Patil and Pednekar aver, that though the project affected persons (PAPs) of Madban and surrounding villages have reluctantly accepted the compensation for the lands acquired from them, "by no stretch of imagination can it be inferred that they are in favour of the JNPP". Pednekar emphatically added that the fishers from Sakhari-Nate fishing village along the Jaitapur Creek who shall be the worst-hit have not been treated as PAPs or given any compensation by the authorities. Presently, the JNPP complex comprises a boundary wall, certain internal roads and a field office to oversee the operations there. (Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in) BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. The Committee on Constitutional Legislation, State Structure, Judicial-Legal Issues, and the Parliament's Regulations of Kyrgyzstan has approved a draft law to amend the state flag, Trend reports via the parliament's press service. The draft law "On amending the law of the Kyrgyz Republic 'On the state symbols of the Kyrgyz Republic'" was initiated by MPs Nurlanbek Shakiev and Ulan Primov. Primov stated that the draft law aims to improve one of Kyrgyzstan's most important state symbols, the flag. It is proposed that the rays on the country's flag be changed from wavy to a shape that clearly mimics sun rays. The writers - developers of the initial flag - were involved in developing the new design of the sun rays on the Kyrgyzstan flag, and mathematical calculations, drawings, and related work were completed. Zhusup Mataev, one of the authors, stated that the original version was altered (at first, a design resembling sun rays was proposed). Several MPs raised concerns about the draft bill during the debate, focusing on specific parts of the flag. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel New Delhi, Nov 28 : The Delhi High Court has dismissed a plea seeking the transfer of matters pending before a Family Judge of Patiala House Courts to another court, saying that apprehensions leading to such requests should be reasonable and not merely a product of oversensitivity. Justice Navin Chawla, in rejecting the plea, noted that while it is recognised that justice must not only be done but also appear to be done, any apprehension of not receiving justice in a particular court must be founded on reason and not just an overly sensitive mindset. The petitioner's argument, based on alleged remarks made by the Family Judge during hearings, was not deemed sufficient grounds for transfer, especially considering the petitioner's vacillating stance in prosecuting the proceedings before the Family Court. The court referred to the Supreme Court decision in R Balakrishna Pillai vs State of Kerala, pointing out that a mere allegation of apprehension should be reasonable, genuine, and justifiable. The court observed that the petitioner's plea was an attempt to delay the proceedings and found no valid grounds to transfer the matters to another court. The petitions were subsequently dismissed. New Delhi, Nov 28 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday deferred hearing on an interim bail application filed by Professor Shoma K. Sen, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case. A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Augustine George Masih could not take up the plea for hearing as an adjournment was sought on behalf of Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, who represents the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the matter. As per the details available on the website of the apex court, the application seeking bail on medical grounds is likely to be heard on November 30. On November 2, the top court had posted Senas plea for hearing on November 24 due to non-availability of ASG Raju. Earlier, it had allowed the counsel appearing on Senas behalf to file a rejoinder to the counter-affidavit filed by the NIA. The Supreme Court in August this year had sought the response of the anti-terror agency on an interim bail application moved by Prof Sen seeking temporary release for medical reasons. Sen had petitioned the apex court against an order of the Bombay High Court where her application seeking release was disposed of and she was asked to apply afresh for bail before the Special NIA court after the investigating agency had filed a charge sheet against her, and others. In December 2021, the High Court had granted default bail to lawyer-activist Sudha Bharadwaj. However, the division bench of Justices S.S. Shinde and N.J. Jamadar had declined the applications of eight other co-accused in the same case including Sen. New Delhi, Nov 28 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday said that it has arrested a Principal General Manager and an SDE, both working in Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal in a bribery case. A CBI official said that the accused have been identified as Mahendra Singh, posted as Principal General Manager of BSNL and Rakesh Yadav, SDE, BSNL, both posted in Bhopal. The official said that a case was registered on complaint against Yadav and Singh, both working in BSNL, Bhopal on the allegations of demanding undue advantage from complainant. The official said that it was alleged that a chargesheet for departmental disciplinary action was issued to the Complainant by PGM and the further proceedings in the matter were pending. "It was further alleged that the SDE demanded undue advantage of Rs 40,000 from complainant and informed him that the PGM of BSNL had demanded the said bribe for amicable settlement of pending chargesheet in his favour," the official said. The official further said that it was also alleged that Yadav told the complainant that in case, he would not pay the demanded bribe, then PGM would take strict action against him. Yadav also allegedly informed the Complainant that the PGM had asked to initially pay an amount of Rs 15,000 out of total bribe of Rs 40,000 and rest of the amount can be given subsequently, the official said. "CBI laid a trap and caught Singh while accepting bribe of Rs 15000 from Complainant," the official said. Searches were conducted at the premises of PGM at Bhopal which led to recovery of cash Rs 8 lakh, 240.5 gm of Gold and 1915 gm Silver items, and incriminating documents. Later, Yadav was also caught. During search at his premise incriminating documents and locker key were recovered, the official said. Both the accused were produced before the competent court at Bhopal and were remanded to police custody. New Delhi, Nov 28 : Moments after several trapped workers were rescued from the Uttarakhand's Silkyara tunnel, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said that it's a matter of great relief and joy while congratulating the team engaged in the rescue operation. He also urged the government to provide prompt health benefits and appropriate compensation to the workers and demanded for safety audit of all under construction projects should be conducted. "It is a matter of great relief and joy for all of us that the workers trapped in the under construction tunnel in Silkyara, Uttarkashi for the last 17 days were taken out of the tunnel safely today," Congress President wrote on X. He said that due to the prayers of 140 crore Indians and the long running operation of all the agencies including NDMA, the rescue operation was finally successful. "Request the government to provide prompt health benefits and appropriate compensation to the worker brothers. Safety audit of all those under construction projects should be conducted so that such situation does not arise again," Kharge said. His remarks came after several of the trapped workers were safely pulled out of the collpased tunnel. Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh applauded the dedication of entire rescue team for the rescue operation and said, "After a harrowing 17 days the 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand are being evacuated. "The entire country salutes the remarkable resilience and fortitude of the workers themselves. The nation also applauds the dedication, skill and perseverance of the entire rescue team and thanks them wholeheartedly," Ramesh added. Rat-hole mining was started on Monday evening as rescue efforts to reach the 41 workers trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel entered its 16th day. Relief and rescue work, which entered the 16th day, is being carried out by scientists, international experts, NDRF, SDRF, BRO on a war footing. On November 12, an under-construction tunnel collapsed in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi leaving 41 workers trapped. --IANS aks/dan New Delhi, Nov 28 : The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) plans to extend its ground operation to southern Gaza, having nearly cleared overground Hamas military infrastructure in the enclave's north, an Israeli military official said on Tuesday. On a day of the Israel-Hamas truce that halted fire and allowed the exchange of some Israeli citizens taken hostage by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners, and the passage of humanitarian aid into war-ravaged Gaza, the official said the IDF could launch the ground raids in the south any time after the fighting resumes. He did not give details. "The north is more or less clear," Colonel Avichai Zafrani, the defence attache at the Israeli Embassy in Delhi, told reporters of Hamas' military infrastructure on the ground in Gaza, adding that tunnels were being searched. According to Zafrani, Hamas' two main operations in the coastal enclave were in or under the Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical facility in the Gaza Strip, located in the north, and in Khan Younis, a city in the south. He said caches of arms and ammunition, including anti-tank explosive devices and mines, were found in the hospital area, under which tunnels exist that had been used by Hamas; and that a tunnel shaft had been found near an amusement park and a rocket launcher near a mosque. "The government had given the IDF two objectives one was to eliminate Hamas, and, two, to get the hostages released," Zafrani said. The Palestinian militant group that attacked Israel on October 7 has been hit hard through Israeli airstrikes, ground raids and naval blockades. "Hamas is under pressure" and wants to negotiate a ceasefire longer than the present pause, Zafrani said. By the time of filing of this report, 51 Israeli hostages, including with dual citizenship, and 20 foreign hostages, mostly Thai farm workers in Israel, had been released by Hamas, as part of a swap deal for 150 Palestinian prisoners in Israel. An estimated 168 hostages still remain in captivity, be it with Hamas or another Palestinian militant outfit that had entered Israel on October 7. When asked where the civilians of Gaza would seek shelter when the IDF carries out raids in the south, Zafrani said a related plan would be announced. Earlier in the war, which is now in its eighth week, tens of thousands fled their homes in the north to take refuge in camps, schools and other makeshift accommodation in the south. They, along with Gazans in the south, will likely have to relocate again soon. But it is not clear yet where the humanitarian shelters will be put up once Israel's southern ground offensive begins. Of Gaza's 2.3 million people, 1.7 million are displaced, according to UN estimates. The war, which is unlikely to stop in the coming weeks, unless there's a diplomatic breakthrough, was triggered after Hamas attacked Israel with rockets and overground incursions, killing 1,200 people. Some 14,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli's retaliatory strikes, the media in the Middle East report, citing Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilian and Hamas deaths. Israeli officials have said the IDF has killed a large number of Hamas fighters but, so far, no names have been made public other than of some that the IDF said were Hamas commanders. New Delhi, Nov 28 : Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said that he was relieved as all the 41 trapped workers from the under-construction Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand were rescued safely. He said that it was a well coordinated effort by multiple agencies marking one of the most significant rescue operations in recent years. "I am completely relieved and happy as 41 trapped laborers in the Silkyara Tunnel Collapse have been successfully rescued," he wrote on X. "This was a well-coordinated effort by multiple agencies, marking one of the most significant rescue operations in recent years." The minister pointed out that various departments and agencies complemented each other despite facing numerous challenges. "Tireless and sincere efforts by everyone, coupled with prayers from all, have made this operation possible. The dedicated endeavors of the rescue teams have yielded favorable results. aI express gratitude to each agency and individual involved in this rescue operation. Deep appreciation for the international rescue experts, administrative officers, and the Uttarakhand government for their swift and effective response," Gadkari said. "I take this opportunity to thank Prime M Narendra Modi, who has been constantly monitoring the entire operation and providing guidance and support whenever required. aCM Uttarakhand Pushkar Dhami and my colleague Gen V.K Singh almost camped there during the operation. Last but not least, I thank the officers and engineers of MoRTH for their sincere efforts," Gadkari said. His remarks came shortly after all the 41 trapped workers were pulled out safely from the tunnel situated in Uttarakhand's Uttarakashi area. Rat-hole mining was started on Monday evening as rescue efforts to reach the 41 workers trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel entered its 16th day. Relief and rescue work, which entered the 16th day, is being carried out by scientists, international experts, NDRF, SDRF, BRO on a war footing. On November 12, an under-construction tunnel collapsed in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi leaving 41 workers trapped. Hyderabad, Nov 28 : On the last day of campaigning for Telangana Assembly elections on Tuesday, a candidate of ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) created flutter by saying that if he loses the poll, he, along with his family members, will die by suicide. P. Kaushik Reddy, the candidate from Huzurabad constituency, told the voters at an election rally that if he wins, there will be a victory procession but if he loses, there will be funeral procession on December 4. Flanked by his wife and daughter, Kaushik Reddy told the people that it was their wish if they wanted to see them taking their lives by hanging. "Itas up to you what you want. If you donat vote for me, you will see our dead bodies," he said. Kaushik Reddy, who is a member of the Telangana Legislative Council, appealed to people to give him a chance by electing him to the Assembly in the November 30 election. Kaushik Reddy is contesting against BJPas sitting MLA and former minister Eatala Rajender and Congress candidate Vodithala Pranav. Kaushik Reddy had lost 2018 elections from the same constituency as the candidate of Congress to Rajender, who was then elected on the TRS (now BRS) ticket. In 2021 when Rajender joined the BJP and quit as MLA to force the by-election, Kaushik Reddy had quitthe Congress to join the BRS in the hope of securing a party ticket. However, the BRS had fielded G. Srinivas Yadav in the by-election. Rajender retained the seat with a majority of over 23,000 votes. The BRS had later nominated Kaushik Reddy to the Legislative Council. However, the ruling party fielded him to take on Rajender. The BJP MLA is also contesting against BRS president and Chief Minister KCR in Gajwel constituency. Elections to the 119-member Assembly are scheduled on November 30. Counting of votes will take place on December 3. New Delhi, Nov 28 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that the success of rescue operation to bring out 41 trapped workers from Uttarakhand's Silkyara tunnel is making everyone emotional and hailed the courage of the workers as an inspiration to others. The Prime Minister also congratulated the multiple people engaged in rescue operation for their bravery and determination to bring out all trapped workers safely. "The success of the rescue operation of our labor brothers in Uttarkashi is making everyone emotional. I want to say to the friends who were trapped in the tunnel that your courage and patience is inspiring everyone. I wish you all well and good health," Modi wrote on X. He said that it is a matter of great satisfaction that after a long wait these friends of ours will now meet their loved ones. He said that the patience and courage that all these families have shown in this challenging time cannot be appreciated enough. "I also salute the spirit of all the people associated with this rescue operation. The bravery and determination have given new life to our labor brothers. Everyone involved in this mission has set an amazing example of humanity and teamwork," Modi said. The remarks from the Prime Minister came after all the 41 trapped workers at the Uttarakhand's Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakashi area were pulled out safely on Tuesday evening after 17 days of mega multiple agency operation. The Prime Minister has been taking regular updates from Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on the rescue operation. Relief and rescue work which entered the 16th day on Tuesday, was being carried out by scientists, international experts, NDRF, SDRF, BRO on a war footing. On November 12, an under-construction tunnel collapsed in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi leaving 41 workers trapped. New Delhi, Nov 28 : Shots were fired at the house of a Delhi scrap dealer allegedly by members of the Hashim Baba gang from whom they had demanded Rs 50 lakh, police said on Tuesday. Deputy Commissioner of Police, Northeast, Joy Tirkey said that at around 1 a.m. during the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday, a police control room (PCR) call was received in Welcome police station regarding firing at O Block, Welcome. "It was found that two boys had come on a scooty and fired some shots outside the house of Abrar Ahmed, 45, a resident of Welcome area. He is a scrap dealer. Three empty shells were found at the spot. No one had been injured," he said. Ahmed told police that he had recently received a call on his mobile phone demanding Rs 50 lakh. "The caller claimed that he was calling on behalf of the Hashim Baba gang," the DCP said. A case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered and police teams are also scanning CCTV cameras to identify and trace the accused, said an official privy to the investigation. Srinagar, Nov 28 : Protests were held on Tuesday by local students of the National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Srinagar city against an "inflammatory" social media post by a non-local student. Local students of NIT locked both the entrances to the college and raised slogans against the social media post by a non-local student which, they said, has hurt the religious sentiments of Muslims. College authorities have sent the non-local student home on leave while the protesting students demanded stringent action against him by the authorities. Police is trying to pacifying the protesting students while the college authorities said they are contemplating appropriate action against the non-local student. BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, November 29. Concrete Canvas, building material company from the UK, is considering the possibility of opening a factory in Kyrgyzstan in the near future, Trend reports. Concrete Canvas manufactures concrete fabric used in irrigation and hydraulic structures due to its high level of waterproofing. These construction materials are produced using innovative technologies and are exported to more than 100 countries worldwide. Recently, a meeting between the Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan and Head of the Presidential Administration, Akylbek Japarov, and director of Concrete Canvas Will Crawford was held in the city of Cardiff, where the sides discussed the matter. Crawford acquainted the Kyrgyz delegation with the factory's productive activities. Representatives of the company expressed their interest in close collaboration with the Kyrgyz side and highlighted their readiness to establish production in Kyrgyzstan. In turn, Japarov said that the Kyrgyz government is prepared to offer assistance and support to potential investors. Panaji, Nov 28 : Persian film 'Endless Borders' by Abbas Amini has bagged the Golden Peacock for Best Film at the 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) that concluded here on Tuesday. An emotionally-charged narrative set against the backdrop of an Iranian teacher's odyssey amid the turmoil ignited by the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the film intricately delves into the complexities of prejudice, moral dilemmas, and forbidden love. The jury praised the film's ability to transcend physical and emotional borders, lauding director Abbas Amini's courageous storytelling. In a citation, the jury said, "The film is about how complicated physical borders might be yet nothing can be more complicated than the emotional and moral borders that you impose upon yourself. Film festivals, after all, are about crossing borders and in the case of this film, the director has crossed political borders at the cost of his own freedom." Bulgarian director Stephan Komandarev won the Silver Peacock for Best Director for 'Blaga's Lessons', Pouria Rahimi Sam was honoured with Silver Peacock for Best Actor (male) for his nuanced acting in 'Endless Borders', while Melanie Thierry was awarded Silver Peacock for Best Actor (Female) for her seamless expression of a wide spectrum of emotions in 'Party of Fools'. Indian filmmaker Rishab Shetty bagged the Special Jury Award for 'Kantara', while Reger Azad Kaya received Best Director Award for Debut Feature Film for 'When the Seedlings Grow'. Acclaimed filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, the Jury Chairperson, said that every film was taken seriously while judging them for the coveted awards. "It is so difficult to make a film. You have a script, nobody wants to listen to your script... then you get someone to listen to your script... then we say where the money is going to come from, then you find money and work for years trying to get a film made. So every film deserves all the attention," Kapur said, highlighting how important it is to take every film seriously. "Why is the film festival important? In the context of what is happening in the world right now... It is very important to tell our stories, because our stories are who we are... and if you tell our stories to people and they listen to our stories across borders, then people will understand each other. Films ultimately tell who you are, what your culture is," he said, adding that one needs to find human beings in every story and share the stories through platforms like IFFI. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said the response to IFFI has been overwhelming, with thousands of delegates participating in it. "With the lush green forests, rivers and waterfalls, Goa is a filmmaker's paradise. When it comes to film locations, we have got a streamline system for film shootings and hassle-free permits," he said. CM Naveen Patnaik announces financial support of Rs 10 Lakh each to Asian game-bound Odisha athletes. Image Source: IANS News Bhubaneswar, Nov 28 : Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday launched 'AMA Bank' facility in the gram panchayats of the state where the banks have no branches. As many as 4373 out of the total 6798 Gram Panchayats in the state have no bank branches. The residents of 4373 panchayats having no bank branches will get 15 bank related services under the scheme. The government has aimed to provide banking services in all the unbanked panchayats under the scheme by March 2024. The state will provide house, electric connection, internet and other necessary amenities to the banks in the above panchayats for the next five years. "Today the 'AMA Bank' scheme of the state government commenced for the gram panchayats of our state having no bank branches. In the first phase, 754 Customer Service Point (CSP) Plus outlets have been opened in different panchayats of 30 districts. "The 'Ama Bank' outlets will be opened in all the unbanked panchayats of the state by the 2023-24 financial year," the Chief Minister said. He said that all types of banking services will be provided at the door steps of the people residing in such areas. He said that senior citizens, pregnant women and physically handicapped persons will get bank related services at their doorsteps. Patnaik asserted that the Ama Bank scheme under the 5T initiative is first of its kind in the whole country. He said that the state government will spend Rs 500 crore for the scheme. This scheme will empower the people residing in the villages and bring huge transformation in the rural economy. "No country or state can ever attend inclusive growth without achieving financial inclusion of its people," Patnaik said. He also thanked the State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India, UCO Bank, Bank of India and Bank of Baroda for collaborating with the government of Odisha for the landmark and people centric initiative. The Chief Minister urged the banks to make the scheme a grand success and cooperate for the all round development of the banks. Patnaik said the CSP plus banking outlet model of Odisha will be a role model for other states. --IANS gyan/dan New Delhi, Nov 28 : President Droupadi Murmu, Home Minister Amit Shah and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hailed the rescue of 41 trapped workers from Uttarakhand's Silkyara tunnel and also congratulated the multiple teams engaged in the mega operation. The President in a post on X said, "I feel relieved and happy to learn that all the workers trapped in a tunnel in Uttarakhand have been rescued." She said, "Their travails over 17 days, as the rescue effort met with obstacles, have been a testament of human endurance. The nation salutes their resilience and remains grateful to them for building critical infrastructure, even at great personal risk, far away from their homes. "I congratulate the teams and all experts who have acted with incredible grit and determination to perform one of the most difficult rescue missions in history." Shah in a post on X, said, "It is great news for the nation that all our 41 Shramik brothers trapped in a tunnel in Uttarkashi have been rescued safe and sound. Nation salutes their grit in facing such a challenging situation in the tunnel for so long." "My heartfelt gratitude to all the people and the agencies that have made tireless efforts to save the lives of our fellow citizens," Shah added. Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in a post on X said, "All the workers who were trapped between life and death for the last 17 days in the Silkyara Tunnel of Uttarkashi have come out safely. Salute to each and every brave person engaged in the rescue operation. You have made the prayers of the entire country successful." She also prayed for their speedy recovery congratulated their families. The remarks came after all the 41 trapped workers at the Uttarakhand's Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakashi area were pulled out safely on Tuesday evening after 17 days of mega multiple agency operation. Relief and rescue work which entered the 16th day on Tuesday, was being carried out by scientists, international experts, NDRF, SDRF, BRO on a war footing. On November 12, an under-construction tunnel collapsed in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi leaving 41 workers trapped. New Delhi, Nov 28 : The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked Delhi Police to decide by November 29 a plea moved by the Mission Save Constitution (MSC) seeking permission to hold All India Muslim Mahapanchayat at the Ramlila Maidan on December 18. Justice Subramonium Prasad also asked MSC, an NGO engaged in promoting awareness about constitutional rights, to provide the list of the people who would be the speakers at the event to Delhi Police. "Please consider it (list of speakers) and pass an order. Day after tomorrow, I am hearing the writ petition," the judge told the police counsel. "Either you say that you have already taken a decision to reject the application (for permission), then I will proceed ahead based on the judgement of the Supreme Court," Prasad added, as he listed the matter for next hearing on November 30. On November 25, without going into the controversy as to which organisation should have approached which authority first, the court had directed the Delhi Police and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to consider the feasibility of holding the public meeting at the Ramlila Maidan on December 18. Justice Prasad had said that MSC's application for holding the public meeting on December 18 be treated as a representation. ".and the Respondent No.3/MCD and the police authorities are directed to consider the feasibility for holding the Mahapanchayat at Ramlila Ground on 18.12.2023," the court had said. Last month, the court had upheld Delhi Police's decision to revoke initial permission granted to MSC, stressing on the importance of the period of end of Shradh till Diwali, calling it extremely auspicious for people belonging to the Hindu community. However, the court had said that it is always open to the authorities, after the festive season is over, to consider afresh the organisation's plea for permission to hold the event. Earlier, Delhi Police had apprised Justice Prasad that it received an application from another organisation as well for organising a programme at the Ramlila ground from December 3 to 5 and no objection certificate (NOC) has been issued for it. Now, while the permission was initially sought for holding the public meeting on December 4, the MCD informed the court that the Ramlila Maidan is not available for the said date and the same can be allotted subject to NOC from Delhi Police. On the other hand, Delhi Police said that NOC was already given to Maha Tyagi Seva Sansthan for organising 'Mahayagya for Vishwa Jan Kalyan' at the Ramlila Maidan from December 3 to 15, and therefore, the place is not available on December 4. In response, the court said that it was not going into the controversy as to whether the Maha Tyagi Seva Sansthan should have first approached the MCD and then the police authorities, or as to whether the petitioner organisation should have first approached the police authorities and then the MCD. The petitioner's counsel submitted before the judge that out of the dates given by the MCD and the police authorities, December 18 was the most convenient for holding the public meeting. New Delhi, Nov 28 : The Delhi High Court has said that banks should respond diligently to information requests from the Cyber Crime cells of police. While addressing cases related to fraudulent transactions and duping of customers, Justice Prathiba M Singh directed several banks to submit their procedures for replying to queries raised by investigating agencies. Delhi Police has raised concerns about banks not promptly responding to queries aimed at ensuring compliance with orders from police authorities or courts. The court has also called for the RBI to clarify if there are guidelines for banks regarding compliance with orders issued by police or courts while noting the challenges posed by cases where the accused are located in different states, making it difficult for the Delhi Police's Cyber Crime Cell to prosecute them. Recognising the need for coordination between the Cyber Crime Cells of various police authorities, Justice Singh directed the Centre to organise a meeting of all such cells. The court set a deadline for the meeting, directing it to be held by December 20, and listed the matter for next hearing on February 1, 2024. Patna, Nov 28 : Three men on a bike, travelling with high speed, were killed when they rammed a police vehicle head on in Bihar's Nalanda district on Tuesday evening, police said. The accident occurred at Ruchakpur village under Ekangarsarai police station on Hilsa-Ekangarsarai road around 4.15 pm. The police vehicle was escorting the prisoners van towards Hilsa sub-divisional court when the high speed bike rammed it head on. "Three persons on the bike sustained grievous injuries and were taken to primary health centre at Ekangarsarai where doctors declared them brought dead. The identification of the deceased has not been ascertained yet," Ekangarsarai SHO Sumit Kumar said. He also said that some police personnel on the jeep also sustained injuries and were admitted to hospital. New Delhi, Nov 28 : A Delhi court has granted regular bail to Dev Inder Bhalla, an accused in a money laundering case linked to a UPA-era defence deal involving aircraft manufacturer Embraer. Special Judge Anil Antil, who had previously deemed arrest of Bhalla, who is the Director of Interdev Aviation Services Pvt Ltd, Singapore, illegal and granted interim bail on February 16, has now extended regular bail on a personal bond of Rs 5 lakh with one surety of the same amount. The judge noted that the charge sheet in the case was filed in 2021 after completing the investigation without the arrest of Bhalla. He categorised the case as a "complaint without arrest" based on the factual matrix and directions from superior courts. The bail application argued that Bhalla was not needed for custodial interrogation, and there was no risk of tampering with evidence or influencing witnesses. Bhalla, identified as an alleged middleman, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the supply of 3 EMP-145 aircraft to the Indian government. The case involves allegations that Bhalla created shell companies to launder money received as a commission in the aircraft deal. --IANS spr/vd Families seek help after 9 go missing in attempt to enter US illegally, Gujarat HC responds. Image Source: IANS News Ahmedabad, Nov 28 : The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking to impose a prohibition on the utilisation of loudspeakers for broadcasting azaan, or the Islamic call to prayer, from mosques. A bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Aniruddha P. Mayee termed the petition as "wholly misconceived". The PIL by Bajrang Dal leader Shaktisinh Zala alleged that amplifying azaan via loudspeakers resulted in "noise pollution," adversely affecting the health of the general populace, particularly children, and causing other inconveniences. However, the court observed that the petitioner's claims lacked empirical evidence and scientific basis. In its judgment, the bench emphasised that azaan, typically lasting a maximum of 10 minutes, was unlikely to reach decibel levels that could constitute a significant noise pollution hazard. It expressed skepticism regarding the petitioner's ability to establish that the human voice, amplified through loudspeakers during azaan, could generate sufficient decibels to create a public health hazard. The court further questioned the petitioner's counsel about sounds of bells and gongs during temple rituals. "In your temple, the morning aarti with drums and music also starts early at 3 am. Does it not cause noise? Can you claim that the noise of ghanta (bell) and ghadiyal (gong) is confined within temple premises only and does not extend outside?" the bench asked. Highlighting the existence of scientific methods for measuring noise pollution, it noted that the PIL needed to furnish concrete data or studies to substantiate the claim that a 10-minute azaan could result in noise pollution. Bengaluru, Nov 28 : Karnataka Minister for Large and Medium Industries and Infrastructure Development M.B. Patil on Tuesday met US Consul General Christopher W. Hodges. During the discussion, he invited Hodges to consider opening an office of the Consulate General at Whitefield in Bengaluru. Patil also briefed the US Consul General with regard to the proposed development of Knowledge, Healthcare, Innovation and Research (KHIR) City on the outskirts of Bengaluru, which will help strengthen Bengaluruas position as a hub of medical tourism, providing employment to local people and also help in attracting skill sets from across the globe. "Spread over 2,000 acres the KHIR City will have a final plan ready in the next 2-3 months. KHIR City, for Karnataka, has the first moversa advantage and to that extent is also of national interest. We also plan to have roadshows in the US and UAE for KHIR City in the coming months," he said. The minister also detailed opportunities in sectors such as aerospace and defence, semiconductors, biotech and machine tools. "Karnataka is already strong in IT and design and now we want to take it further to the manufacturing sector. In the Tier-II and Tier-III cities, we do have very good connectivity which can help new businesses," he said. Hodges told the minister that US companies are keen to invest in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities in the state. "We have been getting feedback from the US companies to look at cities beyond Bengaluru to expand business. In February, our (US) trade delegation will be visiting Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to explore the landscape of these states mainly in the Tier-II and Tier-III cities to see whether they can facilitate the setting up of businesses for our companies," Hodges said. Bhupalpally: Telangana's Bhupalpally district have been alerted and extensive police inspections have been launched in the wake of the bandh call given by Maoists in a protest against the encounter of a Maoist at Devellagudem of Gundala mandal in Bha. Image Source: IANS News Hyderabad, Nov 28 : Police in Telangana have imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code in view of the Assembly elections scheduled on November 30. Soon after the campaigning came to an end on Tuesday evening, prohibitory orders were imposed across the state. The authorities also ordered closure of liquor shops for 48 hours. The shops will re-open only after polling comes to an end on Thursday evening. Chief Electoral Officer Vikas Raj said the enforcement agencies were keeping a tight vigil to prevent distribution of freebies, liquor, and cash. The enforcement agencies have seized cash, liquor, gold, drugs and freebies all worth over Rs 730 crore since the model code of conduct came into force on October 9. The Election Commission has also ordered outsiders to leave constituencies. The CEO said a close vigil will also be maintained to ensure that the restrictions with regard to the silent period are not violated. He said there should be no poll campaigning on social media. Publication of only approved advertisements will be allowed in the print media. Star campaigners and other political leaders have been directed to refrain from addressing the media by way of press conferences and giving interviews on election matters. More than 3.26 crore voters are eligible to cast their votes in all 119 constituencies. The authorities have set up a total of 35,655 polling stations. The state has a total of 3,26,02,799 voters, comprising 1,62,98,418 men, 1,63,01,705 women, and 2,676 transgenders. There are 15,406 service voters and 2,944 NRI voters. The number of voters in the age group of 18-19 is 9,99,667. More than 2 lakh personnel will be on poll duty. These include 22,000 micro observers, who will monitor the polling process. Webcasting will be arranged at 27,094 centres across the state. A total of 2,290 candidates including 221 women and one transgender are in the fray. Polling will be held from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. However, in 13 constituencies, polling will conclude at 4 p.m. These constituencies are Sirpur, Chennur, Bellampalli, Mancherial, Asifabad, Manthani, Bhupalapally, Mulugu, Pinapaka, Yellandu, Kothagudem, Aswaraopet, and Bhadrachalam. Counting of votes will be taken up on December 3. New Delhi, Nov 28 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre and Manipur government to look into a plea filed by a group of students, displaced due to ethnic strife in the north-eastern state, seeking accommodation in different Central universities in the country to prevent loss of one academic year. At the outset, a bench, headed by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud, asked senior advocate Meenakshi Arora, appearing on a petitioneras behalf, to approach the Manipur High Court. However, Arora contended that the displaced students are living in different states across the country and it would not be feasible to approach the Manipur High Court. She said that the petitioners a" a group of 284 students under the umbrella of Manipur University Eimi Welfare Society a" have already lost a valuable time of six months of the academic year. The senior counsel added that similar relief was extended to migrant students from Kashmir in central varsities. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Union government, said that the apex-court appointed committee should not be arrayed as a respondent in the petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution. The bench, also comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, asked Mehta and the Advocate General of Manipur to look into the grievance raised in the plea and posted the matter for hearing on December 4. New Delhi, Nov 28 : The Special Cell of Delhi Police has arrested an inter-state arms trafficker who supplied semi-automatic weapons to gangsters and criminals across the national capital, an official said on Tuesday. The accused has been identified as Sonu (38), a resident of Hapur in Uttar Pradesh, who trafficked around 40 pistols since January. Eight semi-automatic pistols and 10 bullets were recovered from his possession Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell), Alok Kumar, said that a tip-off was received that gangsters and hardcore criminals in Delhi-NCR have been procuring sophisticated firearms from some inter-state arms suppliers. "On November 23, specific information was received that a member of this syndicate, Sonu, had collected a consignment of firearms and ammunition from an arms supplier in Madhya Pradesh, and would arrive near the bus stop at Dhaula Kuan to hand over the same to one of his contacts between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.," the DCP said. Accordingly, a trap was laid by the police and Sonu was cornered at about 3:20 p.m. while he was waiting for someone at the bus stop. "On sensing being surrounded by the police, he even whipped out his pistol, pointed its towards the police, and threatened to open fire, but he was overpowered and disarmed by the members of the raiding team," the DCP said. The DCP said that Sonu is a habitual criminal and has been previously involved in more than half-a-dozen cases of robbery, attempt to murder, drugs trafficking etc. in Ghaziabad and Amroha, UP. On interrogation, he disclosed that after being released from a jail in Chhattisgarh, he started trafficking firearms from Burhanpur. "He has trafficked almost 40 pistols in the past one year. The recovered firearms were bought from a person named Ramesh Sardar and were to be delivered to a person named Alam in Delhi. Efforts are on to identify the other members of the syndicate," the officer said. "The accused disclosed that he used to purchase a semi-automatic pistol for Rs 8,000 from MP and sell it for Rs 25,000 to criminals in Delhi-NCR," the DCP added. Vadodara, Nov 29 : In a twist to the missing case of 19-year-old Fardeen Vohra, Vadodara rural police have intensified their search amid growing suspicion that he may be hiding. Vohra, who disappeared on November 21, was allegedly trying to elope with a minor girl from his neighborhood, leading to a dramatic sequence of events. The police initially believed Vohra might have taken his own life after leaving the girl at Gol Gamedi chowkdi in Chhota Udepuras Sankheda taluka. However, this theory was put into question after extensive searches in the Narmada canal failed to recover a body. The minor girl has since returned home safely. The families of both Vohra and the minor had warned them to stay away from each other due to the girlas age. This is not the first time they attempted to leave together. It seems Vohra panicked after a phone call from her mother and suggested to the girl that they jump into the canal together. However, she refused, and he left her at the Gol Gamedi chowkdi. Given the absence of a body and any sightings, the likelihood of suicide seems less now, officials confirmed. The police have formed teams and are searching for Vohra, suspecting that he is evading arrest under the fear of being booked under the POCSO Act for kidnapping a minor. The incident has stirred the community, with police maintaining a constant presence in the area where both families reside. Ceasefire day 2: 14 Israeli hostages to be freed today in exchange for 42 Palestinian prisoners. Image Source: IANS News Tel Aviv, Nov 29 : Hamas has handed over 10 more Israeli hostages to the Red Cross, as announced by the Qatar Foreign Ministry Spokesperson. With the handing over of 10 more Israeli hostages, the total number of Israeli hostages released since the ceasefire began on November 24 has touched 60. The released hostages on Tuesday include nine women and a child. A Filipino national has also been released from the custody of Hamas. The hostages who are released will reach Israel by late Tuesday night and will be taken for a medical check-up. In exchange to the release of 10 Israeli hostages, 30 Palestinians will be released from the prisons of Israel. ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, November 28. Turkmenistan and the Netherlands have identified specific aspects of further cooperation, Trend reports. These concerns were discussed by Turkmenistan's Deputy Foreign Minister Berdyniyaz Myatiev and Nicolaas Schermers, the newly appointed Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (with residence in Astana). During the conference, Turkmen and Dutch delegates held extensive discussions on current and important issues concerning bilateral cooperation between the two countries in priority areas. Furthermore, they selected and investigated certain factors that will serve as the cornerstone for their future collaboration, paving the path for expanded and mutually beneficial collaborations. At the same time, the parties highlighted successful and productive cooperation within the framework of international and regional organizations, with a special focus on their interaction in the UN and the EU. The diplomats noted significant opportunities in expanding trade and economic cooperation, industry, agriculture and water management, and also discussed issues of expanding cooperation in the field of exchange programs in the field of culture and education. Meanwhile, the development of cooperation between Turkmenistan and the Netherlands is a dynamic process based on mutual respect and common interests. Economic cooperation is becoming a key focus, including cooperation in trade, investment and technological exchange. Larry Hughes, who began his publishing career as an assistant editor at Pocket Books in 1949 before rising to become chairman of the Hearst Trade Book Group some 40 years later, died on November 14. He was 98. Hughes's most significant career move came in 1960, when he became president and CEO of William Morrow & Company after buying the publisher with two partners. Under his active leadership, Morrow acquired such prominent authors as Ken Follett, John Irving, Sidney Sheldon, Margaret Truman, and Joseph Wambaugh. Morrow was sold to textbook publisher Scott, Foresman in 1967, which in turn sold it to Hearst in 1981. In PW's 125th Anniversary issue, which was published in July 1997, Hughes was one of a number of people noted for shaping publishing in the previous 25 years, and his entry was republished in our 150th Anniversary issue last year. Throughout the different ownership changes, we noted, Hughes continued to run the company as one of the last of the great editor-managers, acquiring and editing a string of major authors, training a generation of editors and being one of the more eloquent, and popular, spokesmen for the book business in the process. The sale of Morrow to Hearst led to the creation of the Hearst Trade Book Group, over which Hughes presided as CEO and, eventually, chairman, from 1985-1990, when he stepped down to become editor-at-large and group advisor. Hughes moved into a more active advisor role in 1999, when Jane Friedman, then CEO of HarperCollins, hired him as a consultant following HCs acquisition of the Hearst Trade Book Group. He left that position at the end of 2001 to devote more of his time to Hobson and Hughes, a company he formed whose activities include serving as agent for the estate of Erle Stanley Gardner. Hughes was active in a host of publishing and publishing-related organizations, including as a board member of the Association of American Publishers, for which he also served a term as chair; a trustee of both the Pierpont Morgan Library and the Fund for Free Expression; a member of the board of governors for Yale University Press; and a board member of the National Book Foundation, which Hughes, along with a group of publishing executives including Simon & Schuster's Dick Snyder, founded in the 1980s to revive the struggling National Book Awards. A memorial service will be announced at a later date. After weeks of anticipation, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit will hear oral argument on November 29 in the states appeal of judge Alan D. Albrights August 31 decision to enjoin key provisions of HB 900, Texass controversial book rating law. In a final reply brief filed late last week, Texas state attorneys insist the appeals court must reverse the injunction and send the case back to Albright with instructions that he dismiss the plaintiffs case. In their brief, state attorneys reiterated what they see as three fatal flaws in the case. First, the state argues that the case presented by the plaintiffs (two Texas bookstoresAustins BookPeople and Houstons Blue Willow Bookshoptogether with the American Booksellers Association, the Association of American Publishers, the Authors Guild, and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund) is not ripe because there is no actual injuryin other words, because the first ratings are not required until April 2024, plaintiffs cant point to lost business. Furthermore, in an argument not likely to be popular in the supposedly business-friendly state of Texas, the state argues that the cost of doing the ratings can simply be passed on to taxpayers. Plaintiffs have not shown that anticipated compliance costs are nonrecoverable, the states reply brief argues. Ordinary economics give rise to a presumptionwhich Plaintiffs have done nothing to rebutthat such costs are likely to be passed on to Plaintiffs customers. Second, the state argues that that the plaintiffs claims are barred by state sovereign immunity, a legal doctrine which generally protects states from being sued in federal court. But there is an exceptionknown as Ex parte Youngthat allows state officials to be sued in their official capacity, which the District Court easily found applies here. The state, however, contends that because there is currently no threat of action against any of the plaintiffs, the Ex parte Young exception fails. And finally, if the appeals court does not dismiss the case on technical grounds, the state argues that the law is not unconstitutionally vague, nor does it compel the plaintiffs speech. Rather, in its reply brief, the state again compares the book ratings to generic warning labels, and insists that it has broad powersand, in fact, a responsibilityto regulate the books provided to minors in Texas schools, awkwardly comparing the government's purchase of library books to the purchase of weapons. Precisely because government can place conditions on government programs, the United States can condition defense purchases on promises that the weapons will perform for their function, and Texas can condition purchase of library books on promises that the books comply with standards governing which materials belong in a school library, the government brief argues. Precisely because government can place conditions on government programs, the United States can condition defense purchases on promises that the weapons will perform for their function, and Texas can condition purchase of library books on promises that the books comply with standards governing which materials belong in a school library. And even if the court finds that the ratings are "compelled speech," as Albright did in his September written decision, the state brief argues that an exception to the general prohibition on compelled speech exists for essential operations of the government, suggesting that, in another awkward comparison, compelling booksellers to adopt state-sanctioned ratings of books for sexual content is "no less essential than requir[ing] sex offenders to register their residence to protect the public.'" Signed by Texas governor Greg Abbott on June 12, HB 900 requires book vendors to review and rate books, both new and previously sold, for sexual content. Books rated sexually explicit (books that include material deemed patently offensive by unspecified community standards) are banned entirely from Texas public schools under the law. Books rated sexually relevant (books with any representation of sexual conduct) would require written parental permission for students to access them. Furthermore, the law gives the state the ultimate power to change the rating on any book, and to bar vendors that do not accept the state's ratings as their own from selling to Texas schools, essentially imposing a state standard. In their November 13 filing with the appeals court, attorneys for the plaintiffs laid out the legal and practical arguments against what they called an onerous and unconstitutional law, insisting that district court judge Alan D. Albright was justified in issuing his August 31 preliminary injunction blocking it. Fundamentally, the plaintiffs argue, the case is about whether the government can compel private entities to, at their own expense, make highly subjective, complex determinations about the content of books in violation of their sincerely held beliefs, or be barred from distributing constitutionally protected books to public schools. The appeal before the Fifth Circuitwidely considered to be the most conservative court in the countryis the latest move in the closely-watched litigation over HB 900, and comes after Albrightfollowing two hearings in Augustissued and unequivocal 59-page written opinion and order blocking the law. In his opinion, Albright wrote that the burdens placed on vendors by HB 900 are so numerous and onerous as to call into question whether the legislature believed any third party could possibly comply. And he called the states attempt to outsource book ratings to private vendors a textbook example of compelled speech. The Court does not dispute that the state has a strong interest in what children are able to learn and access in schools, Albright concluded in his September 19 written opinion. That said, [the law] misses the mark on obscenity with a web of unconstitutionally vague requirements. And the state, in abdicating its responsibility to protect children, forces private individuals and corporations into compliance with an unconstitutional law that violates the First Amendment. In a legal twist, however, a motions panel of the Fifth Circuit issued an administrative stay on Albrights injunction on September 25a stay not based on the merits of the caseessentially putting Albright's injunction on ice while the appeals court considers that state's challenge. Thus, despite being found unconstitutional, HB 900 is currently in effect pending further action by the appeals court. In their appeal brief, the plaintiffs have asked the appeals court to lift the administrative stay while it decides the case. The state has asked for the administrative stay on Albrights injunction to remain in place. And even though the appeals court is hearing the case on expedited schedule, a decision could still take considerable time. It's worth noting that the court has yet to rule on an appeal of an injunction in another prominent Texas book banning case, Little v. Llano County, despite hearing oral arguments nearly six months ago. TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, November 28. Uzbekistan plans to launch 10 wind power plants with a total capacity of 4,400 MW by the end of 2027, Trend reports. As per data provided by Uzbekistans Ministry of Energy, the list of the new renewable energy stations for the year 2025 looks as follows: - a wind farm with a capacity of 500 MW will be launched in the Tomdy district of the countrys Navoi region. The first phase of the project is planned to be launched by the end of 2023. - two wind power plants with a total capacity of 1,000 MW will be launched in Peshkun and Gijduvan districts of the Bukhara region. - a 100 MW wind farm will start operating in the Karaozak district of the Republic of Karakalpakstan. Additionally, in 2026, Uzbekistan will launch a wind farm with a capacity of 600 MW in the Gijduvan district of the Bukhara region. In 2027, three wind power plants with a capacity of 500 MW each will be launched in the Kungirot district of the Republic of Karakalpakstan. Furthermore, in 2027, a 500 MW wind farm will be launched in the Bulungur district of the Samarkand region. Uzbekistan has set goals for the production of renewable energy, aiming to increase its share of this area in the energy balance to 25 percent by 2026. This entails the addition of 15 GW of new renewable energy capacity. In addition, according to official forecasts, by the end of 2023, the newly deployed capacities of renewable energy sources put into operation in Uzbekistan will reach 2 GW. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Innovation of Uzbekistan developed a program to install 44.8 MW of solar panels with a capacity of 89.6 million kWh of electricity in all state universities of the republic based on the annual energy demand of the country. Moreover, Uzbekistan plans to attract $7 billion of private investment to create an additional 9 GW of generating capacity. The total volume of necessary investments in the electric power industry is estimated at $52 billion. Call them zombie schools. A significant but unknown number of public schools across the U.S., particularly in big cities, have lost so many students in the last half-decade that many of their classrooms sit empty. Gone is the loud clatter of students bursting through crowded hallways and slamming lockers. Marguerite Roza: "Too many schools, not enough kids." The harm from these half-empty schools is inflicted directly on all students in a district. Without enough per-pupil state funding to cover their costs, they require financial subsidies to remain open, forcing district-wide cutbacks in academic programs. I visited one school that takes up an entire city block but there were only five classrooms used, plus a library, a computer room, and an afterschool room, said Sam Davis, a member of the Board of Education in Oakland, California. As our budget officer said, if you dont have enough students for two teams to play kickball, there are a lot of other academic activities that are not going to be sustainable either. But nothing in public education is more controversial and difficult than closing a neighborhood school. The protests that recently flared up in cities like Oakland and Denver over proposals to shut low-enrollment schools, which also tend to be the worst academic performers in districts, are just a prelude of the reckoning to come, according to interviews with school leaders, researchers, educators, and charter officials. The permanent closure of schools slowed drastically during the pandemic, even though many urban districts suffered a major exodus of students, with double-digit losses in New York City and Los Angeles. Many hollowed-out districts have temporarily sidestepped the tempest of shutting schools because Congress provided them with a historic windfall of pandemic-related funding and wide latitude in spending it, said Georgetown Professor Marguerite Roza, who directs the Edunomics Lab. Above, an Oakland school-closing protest highlighted by the California Teachers Association. Unions argue that closures pose unfair labor practices. And racial justice advocates call the issue a matter of equality rather than wasteful spending. But the $190 billion lifeline called the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund ends next September. So school leaders are facing mounting pressure to shrink their oversized districts, setting up the next battleground over public schools. Many districts have too many schools, not enough kids, and are propping them up with federal relief funds, Roza said. And they havent laid the groundwork for closures when the funding goes away. Imagine the anger and protests when families learn suddenly that their schools are on the list to close. With aid flowing during the pandemic, districts shut an average of 810 schools a year in 2021 and 2022, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Thats far less than the 1,350 average from 2011 to 2020, a difference that underscores the magnitude of the problem of zombie schools. Why Schools Are Hard to Close In the business and nonprofit sectors, wasteful spending is typically reined in by downsizing operations into fewer buildings and personnel. But public schools often find protection from the calls for efficiency. The first wave of pandemic-era proposals to shut schools in several districts has been countered by a formidable coalition of local advocates, forcing school boards to backpedal on their consolidation plans. Rachel Canter: "Closures are long overdue." Families are leading the protests at school board meetings. Some have sentimental ties to neighborhood schools that go back generations, and others cite transportation issues in switching to another location thats further from home. Teachers unions have joined the fight in Oakland and other cities, arguing that closures pose unfair labor practices. And racial justice advocates have succeeded in reframing the issue as a matter of equality rather than wasteful spending since nearly all the schools to be closed serve mostly black and Latino kids. Districts like Seattle that aim to shutter schools often cite reasons that are out of their control. The birth rate has been dropping since 2007, according to federal data, chipping away at enrollment. Families are also leaving cities like Los Angeles and Chicago because of the rising cost of living and concerns over crime and homelessness. San Francisco, for instance, lost 7.5% of its population between 2020 and 2022, according to the census. But public schools share in the blame. With test scores on the Nations Report Card in decline since 2012, families have been quitting traditional schools in search of a better education and a safer environment at charters, micro, and home schools. Charter enrollment, for instance, grew 7% from 2020 to 2022, while district schools lost 3.5% of students, according to the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools. School districts cant do anything about the birth rate. But many of them do control the fate of charters. In Los Angeles and other cities facing closures, school boards that formerly encouraged the expansion of charters have grown hostile toward them and blocked their expansion, in part to preserve their own enrollment. How Zombie Schools Hurt Education Some districts are now devising proposals to close under-enrolled facilities because of the financial burden they create. Even a school at half capacity needs a principal, support and food service staff, custodians, and sometimes a nurse, librarian, and counselor. Education is highly labor-intensive, with compensation comprising at least 85% of a schools expenses, Georgetowns Roza says. Since zombie schools dont cover their own expenses, superintendents have to pull resources from other schools and programs to subsidize them. Funding for art, music, special education, and advanced placement classes may be cut, affecting students throughout the district. In the end, districts have to spread resources too thinly, across too many buildings, and nobody gets served well, Roza says. In Denver, Superintendent Alex Marrero detailed the financial benefit of shutting schools in a memo to families last year. In proposing to close 10 out of about 155 traditional and innovation schools one of which had only 93 students Marrero said the cost to the district to subsidize them was $5 million annually. That money was pulled from healthier schools and programs. But if the 10 skeletal schools were closed, the superintendent added, the district could hire an additional 50 full-time employees to benefit students. The financial logic of school closures has won the day in some districts. Indianapolis announced it was shutting six schools in May to promote the efficient use of taxpayer funding and higher student achievement. St. Louis said it would lock the gates on eight schools, some of them half-empty, two years ago. The city of Jackson, Miss., may approve a sweeping closure plan in December. The superintendent is calling for the elimination of more than a quarter of its 55 district schools after community outcries scuttled plans over the years to close under-enrolled facilities. The closures are long overdue and I think they will happen, says Rachel Canter, executive director of Mississippi First, a nonpartisan education policy group. The reality is that the population has declined so much that Jackson cannot support the number of schools it has and provide a quality education. Opponents Prevail in Oakland Empty shells: Without enough per-pupil state funding to cover schools' costs, all students suffer from district-wide cuts. But in many cities, schools that are almost empty shells are protected from closing. Consider the heated battle in Oakland. Sam Davis, Oakland board member: We no longer have that robust environment for teachers or students. The performance of the Oakland school district, which is two-thirds Latino and black, is among the worst in California: Just 25% of students meet or exceed math standards, and only 33% reach this bar in English. The poor results have contributed to a steady drop in enrollment to about 34,000 last year from more than 50,000 two decades ago. Many students left for charters, which now educate about a quarter of students in Oakland. To improve performance, the district had set up a number of small schools with about 400 kids. That provided enough funding for a couple of teachers at each grade, as well as art and music programs, to create a rich learning environment. Thats now mostly gone. Several of our campuses have dwindled to what I call micro schools that are each under 250 students, with only one class at every grade level and without much enrichment, said Davis, the school board member. We no longer have that robust environment for teachers or students. The urgency for Oakland to close schools, in addition to buildings it shut years ago, is underscored by the state takeover of the district in 2003 to prevent bankruptcy. The district is still paying off the bailout loan, so wasting money on under-enrolled schools could prompt another intervention by its Alameda County overseer. Sasha Ritzie-Hernandez, Oakland school-closing opponent: "There was not robust community engagement." To stave off more financial trouble, the board approved a plan in 2022 to shut or merge 11 schools, beginning with two that year. The savings would give the district a chance to reinvigorate the remaining schools with more teachers and programs. But weeks of community demonstrations and a hunger strike by a group of protestors culminated in the election of new board members who opposed school closures. Two of the winners were backed by the Oakland Education Association teachers union. In January, the new board hastily overturned the earlier vote on closures, saving five schools from shuttering without considering the financial impact in apparent violation of its own policy. Sasha Ritzie-Hernandez, who has numerous relatives attending Oakland schools, helped rally thousands of protesters to keep them open. She says the schools targeted by the board were disproportionally black and low-income and questioned whether the savings would actually benefit students or get absorbed in what she considers a bloated district bureaucracy. I oppose closing schools, said Ritzie-Hernandez, who lost a race for an open board seat in November. Families in Oakland didnt feel like they were involved in the decision-making process, so we mobilized parents to the board meetings because there was not robust community engagement. The decision to keep the schools open adds at least $5 million a year to the districts budget, forcing the board to consider across-the-board cuts to its 78 schools, which could only add to their struggles. Up Next: Denver The Denver school district is now in the throes of a closures fight after enrollment has suffered from a declining birth rate and gentrification. Alex Marrero, Denver superintendent: Close 10 of the 15 schools with fewer than 215 students. While Latinos make up the biggest group of students, their families are having fewer children. At the same time, rising housing costs are pushing lower-income families out of the city, and young couples without kids are moving in. The district is becoming whiter and smaller. Enrollment peaked in 2019 at about 94,000 students and has fallen each year to 89,000 in 2022, according to the district. It projects it will lose thousands more students in the next few years. When birth rates fall, elementary schools are emptied first. At the beginning of the year, the Board of Education expected that 15 district-run elementary and middle schools would have fewer than 215 students. Two elementary schools would have fewer than 120 students and not enough incoming kindergarteners to form a viable class. After more than a year of gathering community feedback and analysis by an advisory committee, Superintendent Marrero, in the fall of 2022, recommended closing 10 of the 15 schools with fewer than 215 students. Nine of them were predominately Latino and black. Auontai Anderson, board vice president: The closure plan is a tactic of white supremacy culture." In the racial politics of Denver, the plan drew swift blowback from families and some members of the school board, which was entirely backed by the influential Denver Classroom Teachers Association. Vice President Auontai Anderson declared in the media that the closure plan was a tactic of white supremacy culture despite the fact that it was developed by a Latino superintendent. Bowing to pressure, several weeks later, Marrero was expected to cut the list in half to five schools, targeting those that required the largest subsidies. Instead, he chopped the list to just two schools. Still, that wasnt good enough. The school board rejected the slimmed-down plan, saying more input from the community was needed. A few months later, in early 2023, as the financial burden of zombie schools sank in, the board finally acted, closing just three of them. What will happen to the rest of the under-enrolled schools is anyones guess. This month, Denver voters signaled they wanted a more moderate school board, electing three new members none of them backed by the teachers union to the seven-person panel. One new member is the former CEO of a charter network in Colorado who has expressed support for closing under-enrolled schools. If Denver shutters more schools, it will likely happen slowly over many years, says William Anderson, a former public school teacher in the city whos now on the faculty at the University of Denver. Maybe they close three next year, and see if its working the way they expected, and then they tweak the process before closing three more, he says. Denver charters are called especially effective in accelerating the academic growth of low-income students. Charters on the Firing Line As a subplot in the battle over vacated schools, districts in Oakland and Denver have rejected several requests by charters to expand. While that may help protect a districts funding, its not good for families looking for better options for educating their children. Charters, which are publicly funded but privately managed, have been particularly effective in accelerating the academic growth of low-income students, outperforming traditional schools by a significant margin, according to a 2023 study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford. This is true in Denver, according to a separate CREDO study of the city, where charters make up about a quarter of all public schools. DSST, a charter network in Denver with waiting lists for many of its schools, stands out. It won national acclaim for the outstanding academic results of its disadvantaged students, 80% of whom are Latino or black. All of its graduates have been admitted to college since 2008, according to its website. Yet DSSTs expansion in Denver has come to an abrupt halt. It last started a school in 2021, and that required the charter to appeal to the state after the school board sought to delay the opening for years. Since 2020, the Denver board has received three requests for new charter schools and rejected all of them, citing the potential difficulties they would have in recruiting students and other reasons, according to board memos. The local school board has been controlled by members who are hostile to authorizing new charter schools, says Todd Ziebarth, senior vice president for state advocacy at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. While Colorados law does create an appeals process, the time-consuming nature of it can serve as a deterrent to growth." In Oakland, the school board has rejected two charter proposals it has received since 2020: a new school was denied because it didnt have a sound educational program, and an expansion was shot down because of the financial impact on the district from losing more students to the charter, said Davis, the board member. Facing a further loss of students -- and funding -- Oakland's school board shoots down charter expansions in the city. Even Yu Ming, the top performing K-8 public school in Alameda County, which includes Oakland, encountered resistance in its request to grow its enrollment in the city. Students in the Mandarin immersion charter30% of whom are low-incomeperformed about three times better than Oakland students on a 2022 state test, an extraordinary margin. Although Yu Ming has a waiting list, the Oakland board passed a resolution to compel the county, which controls the charter, to allow it to expand into a neighboring city. The problem is that if we expand enrollment at charter schools, including the highly successful ones, that contributes to the decreasing enrollment in the district and leads to us closing more neighborhood schools, which is very painful, Davis said. But the benefit to students who would have enrolled in an expanded charter like Yu Ming could be significant. One of the most effective ways to deal with the chronic academic problems of low-income students is simply to put them in a better school. That alone makes a big difference, according to a CREDO study of school closures in 26 states. The research showed that students particularly blacks and Latinos who transferred to superior schools made greater academic gains than their peers who remained in poorly performing schools. But a little less than half of the displaced students were moved to higher quality schools, which are in short supply in many cities. Margaret Raymond, the CREDO director, says local boards closing facilities should also focus on finding ways to transfer students to better schools, including charters, even if districts take a financial hit. The lesson is that choosing the worst schools to close is probably a good thing, but thats only half the exercise, Raymond said. Districts also have to figure out how to marshal those kids into settings where they have a chance of recovering academically. Property details: Nearly 2 acres of land in sought after area of Jacksonville, Florida. Quit Claim Deed provided to winning offer. $495 processing fee added to winning bid. All sales are final. Perform your own due diligence. Priced for quick sale.... Price: $ 15,000 Seller State of Residence: Virginia Type: Homesite, Lot Zip/Postal Code: 33993 Zoning: Residential State/Province: Florida Location: 220**, Falls Church, Virginia You will be redirected to eBay Nearby Florida TAHSKENT, Uzbekistan, November 28. Spar, a large Dutch retail chain, will emerge in Uzbekistan in 2024, Trend reports. The news was shared by Nargis Baymirzayeva, Director for Corporate Development of the Uzbek Korzinka supermarket chain, during the Retail Central Asia Forum in Tashkent. "Through a partnership with the Korzinka supermarket chain, Spar will make its debut in the Uzbek market next year. Korzinka has obtained the license and will represent Spar in Uzbekistan," Baymirzayeva stated. According to a corporate spokesman, strategic conversations between the two companies are now continuing on two different approaches to creating a new network in Uzbekistan. Aziz Voitov, Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan, met with Andre Carstens, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Netherlands to Uzbekistan, and earlier discussed potential areas of cooperation. During the meeting, the head of the Dutch diplomatic mission expressed his country's intention to expand the scope of agricultural collaboration with Uzbekistan. The trade volume between Uzbekistan and the Netherlands reached $287.6 million in 2022. Uzbekistan's exports to the Netherlands amounted to $69.6 million, while imports from the Netherlands totaled $217.9 million. In honor of his father, Mark, Christian Spence partnered with the Parkinsons Foundation to organize Going the Distance for PD, a fundraiser to spread awareness throughout the community about Parkinsons disease. Spence plans to run the Longest Night 50K Ultramarathon in Greenville, South Carolina, on Dec. 16 alongside fundraising $25,000. The Mumbai-based real estate developer Oberoi Realty has been one of the top-performing companies in its segment and most brokerage remains bullish on the stock. Photograph: Courtesy, Oberoi Realty The companys stock price is 52 per cent in the last 12 months beating the broader market by a huge margin. The benchmark BSE Sensex is up just 6.5 per cent during the period. The stock, however, largely underperformed at the BSE Realty Index and is up 57 per cent in the last 12 months. Oberoi Realty closed at Rs 1349.8 per share on November 20, up from Rs 888.7 a year ago on November 22, 2022. The rally in the companys stock price came after it reported better-than-expected results in Q2FY24. The company's consolidated net sales were up 76.8 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 1217.4 crores while net profits were up 43.4 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 456.8 crore in Q2FY24. As a result, its stock price is up 23 per cent since its Q2FY24 results better than the BSE Realty Index which is up 18.4 per cent during the period. The company declared its Q2FY24 results on October 27. Analysts expect the company to maintain its growth momentum and continue to deliver strong earnings growth with new project launches. "Given the expected robust cash flows from ready-to-move-in inventory in the 360W and Mulund projects along with new business development outside the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), we remain constructive on Oberoi Realty," says Parikshit D Kandpal and Manoj Rawat of HDFC Securities in the company's Q2FY24 result review. "Oberoi Realty reported a healthy operational and profit and loss performance in Q2FY24, which was above our estimates. "While the launch pipeline remains strong, we cut our pre-sales for FY24 by 13 per cent on account of the pushout of the Pokhran road project launch to 4QFY24. "With the stock trading at 50 per cent above its residential net asset value (NAV), a large part of this growth is already priced in. "Thus, investments in new land could be the only positive trigger for the stock," says Pritesh Sheth and Sourabh Gilda of Motilal Oswal Financial Services. According to Motilal Oswal, Oberoi Realty has enough land banks, which can enable it to strive through multiple cycles and hence, it does not want to be aggressive in adding new projects. The company recently forayed into the National Capital Region (NCR) and bought 15 acres in Gurgaon for a luxury residential development. According to an analyst at Motilal Oswal, the Gurgaon project has the potential to generate revenues worth Rs 9,000-10,000 crore with a gross cash surplus of around Rs 5,000 crore before overheads and taxes. The company plans to launch this project in the next 12 months, and the size of the launch will depend on the demand scenario. Analysts at Yes Securities have rerated the stock on the back of strong cash flows from new projects and its strong delivery record. We increased premium to 25 per cent from 20 per cent on the current portfolio and arrived at a sum of the parts (SoTP) based 1-year forward NAV of Rs 1422/share, says Abhishek Lodhiya and Sonu Upadhay of Yes Securities. Disclaimer: This article is meant for information purposes only. This article and information do not constitute a distribution, an endorsement, an investment advice, an offer to buy or sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any securities/schemes or any other financial products/investment products mentioned in this article to influence the opinion or behaviour of the investors/recipients. Any use of the information/any investment and investment related decisions of the investors/recipients are at their sole discretion and risk. Any advice herein is made on a general basis and does not take into account the specific investment objectives of the specific person or group of persons. Opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice. IMAGE: Congress supporters at a meeting at Andole, in Sangareddy, November 26, 2023, addressed by party leader Rahul Gandhi for the Telangana assembly elections. Photograph: ANI Photo The final leg of the five-state polls will see Telangana voting on Thursday, November 30, 2023. 2,290 candidates will contest 119 seats in the state. Financial Background According to data collected by Association for Democratic Reforms, 580 crorepati candidates are in the fray. The Bharat Rashtra Samithi has fielded 114 crorepati candidates followed by the Congress (111), the Bharatiya Janata Party (93) and 30 by the Bahujan Samaj Party. Criminal Records According to data collected by Association for Democratic Reforms, of the 2,290 candidates. 521 have declared criminal cases against them of which 353 are with serious criminal cases registered. The Congress tops the list with 85 candidates with criminal cases and 60 with serious criminal cases. The BJP has fielded 79 candidates with criminal cases and 54 candidates with serious criminal cases. The ruling BRS has fielded 57 candidates with criminal cases and 34 with serious criminal cases. Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com Experts foresee possible scenarios: A BRS government with less majority, a BRS government with BJP and AIMIM support, or a Congress government. IMAGE: Bharat Rashtra Samithi President K Chandrashekar Rao holds a mace during the Praja Ashirvada Sabha meeting in Karimnagar, November 17, 2023, ahead of the Telangana assembly elections. Photograph: ANI Photo Before the commencement of the election process in Telangana, the public's attention was captivated by a three-day Rajashyamala Sahitha Subramanyeswara Yagam conducted by Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao (popularly known as KCR), the chief minister of Telangana and founder of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, at his farmhouse in Erravalli in Siddipet district. According to his party, the yagam was performed for the state's well-being, with 170 Vedic priests from Telugu states, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka participating. Criticism from the state Bharatiya Janata Party labelled it as a tantric puja while other parties doubted its electoral impact on KCR and his team this time. Nevertheless, Telangana is witnessing a triangular contest between the BRS, the Congress, and the BJP, a shift from the 2018 scenario where the BRS (formerly the Telangana Rashtra Samithi) won 88 seats, the Congress secured around 19 seats, and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) claimed approximately seven seats. In contrast, in 2014, the BRS won a simple majority of 63 seats, and despite being a formidable force now, the BJP only secured one seat in 2019, compared to five seats in 2014. Voting for the 119-seat assembly in Telangana is scheduled for November 30. The social sector initiatives implemented by the KCR government over the past nine years, such as Rythu Bandhu (also known as the farmer's investment support scheme), Dalit Bandhu (a welfare scheme for empowering Dalit families and enabling entrepreneurship among them), free power to farmers, pension schemes for single women, and the Kalyana Lakshmi scheme (providing financial assistance to unmarried women between ages 18 and 21), are perceived as major advantages for BRS. "The BRS is banking on these 10 tp 12 welfare schemes, given Hyderabad city's contribution to Telangana's revenue after bifurcation," says Rama Krishna Sangem, a veteran journalist and political analyst. "The government claims 22,000 industries have been set up, employing 2.8 million people in the past nine years." Additionally, KCR is credited with major investment projects like the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (a multi-purpose irrigation venture on the Godavari river in Kaleshwaram), Mission Kakatiya (a scheme for restoring all the minor irrigation tanks, ponds, and lakes in Telangana), and Mission Bhagiratha (a safe drinking water project for every village in Telangana). According to Telangana's data, through TS-iPASS (Telangana State Industrial Project Approval and Self-Certification System), the state has attracted 22,745 industries, with investments exceeding Rs 2.6 trillion, creating employment for 1.75 million. Political experts predict a two-digit number for the BJP, but party officials expect to form or be part of the government with a larger share of seats. Naraparaju Ramchander Rao, a senior BJP leader, asserts, "In the triangular fight, the BJP will have a clear advantage. We have excellent chances in 35-40 seats. The visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has changed the scene." The BJP gained strength after winning two recent by-elections, with victories in Huzurabad (Etela Rajender) and Dubbaka (Madhavaneni Raghunandan Rao). Modi promised Telangana would have its first OBC CM if the BJP was voted into power. While the Congress, despite initiating the state formation plans, has seen KCR and his party reap the most benefits, it's gearing up with incentives for voters. A senior political analyst notes, "There is a buzz in Telangana that the Congress is coming to power." Congress incentives include monthly aid of Rs 2,500 for women, annual support of Rs 15,000 for farmers, 200 units of free electricity for eligible households, Vidya Bharosa cards worth Rs 5 lakh for students, and a monthly pension of Rs 4,000 for the elderly. Interestingly, Yeduguri Sandinti Sharmila Reddy (the daughter of former undivided Andhra Pradesh CM Yeduguri Sandinti Rajasekhara Reddy, popularly known as YSR), chief of the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Telangana Party, has extended unconditional support to the Congress. The BJP and the Jana Sena Party, led by actor-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan, are contesting the Telangana assembly polls together. Criticism surrounds the BJP's perceived leniency by central machinery towards KCR and his family, particularly after the Delhi liquor policy scam involving KCR's daughter, Kalvakuntla Kavitha. Telangana has 31,732,727 voters and the number of polling booths has increased to 35,356 from 32,812 in 2018. As political parties gear up for a triangular contest, experts foresee possible scenarios: A BRS government with less majority, a BRS government with BJP and AIMIM support, or a Congress government. Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com The Delhi high court asked the police in Delhi on Tuesday to decide by Wednesday a plea moved by Mission Save Constitution, an organisation, for permission to hold the "All India Muslim Mahapanchayat" at the Ramlila grounds next month. IMAGE: A view of Ramlila ground in New Delhi. Photograph: ANI Photo Justice Subramonium Prasad asked the organisation to give the list of speakers at the event to the Delhi Police and listed the case for further hearing on Thursday. "He is giving the list of speakers today. Please consider it and pass an order. Day after tomorrow, I am hearing the writ petition," the judge told the police counsel. "Either you say that you have already taken a decision to reject the application (for permission), then I will proceed ahead based on the judgment of the Supreme Court," the judge added. On November 25, the court asked the authorities to consider the feasibility of holding the mahapanchayat at the Ramlila grounds on December 18. Mission Save Constitution had earlier approached the court stating that it is aggrieved by the pendency of a decision by the deputy commissioner of police, Central district on its application seeking a no-objection certificate for organising the "All India Muslim Mahapanchayat" on December 4 at the Ramlila grounds. The court had said last month that once the festive season was over, the petitioner was free to approach the authorities for permission to hold the event after submitting the list of speakers and giving a proper assurance that the event would not raise communal tension in the area. The counsel appearing for the Delhi Police, Arun Panwar, said the authorities are not against the fundamental rights of the petitioner but there are law-and-order concerns. In a status report filed in the case, the city police said a large religious gathering as proposed by the petitioner in an area that has a mixed population is alarming and in the interest of communal harmony and law and order, the petitioner should change the venue of the event. It also said it has already given an NOC to Maha Tyagi Seva Sansthan for organising the "Mahayagya for Vishwa Jan Kalyan" at the Ramlila grounds from December 3 to 15 and therefore, the venue is not available for the petitioner on December 4. The report said being in the vicinity of the New Delhi railway station, commercial hubs and hospitals, a 12-hour rally is deemed impractical in central Delhi as there is a probability that it will disturb the general public. Mission Save Constitution has said in its plea that it wants to initiate a series of events for strengthening the weaker sections of the society, beginning with minority communities and followed by other communities like Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes, and that the voice of all the oppressed would be raised at its meetings. The organisation, headed by advocate Mehmood Pracha, has said it works to raise awareness among the masses, especially the oppressed classes, about their rights as enshrined in the Constitution and for utilising the constitutional and legal provisions for the alleviation of their distress and suffering. As rescuers in India on Tuesday successfully pulled out all 41 construction workers trapped in a collapsed mountain tunnel in Uttarakhand after 16 days, the global media hailed the rescue operation and provided live coverage of the dramatic development. IMAGE: Rescue operations at a tunnel, where workers are trapped after the tunnel collapsed, continue through the evening, in Uttarkashi, in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, November 28, 2023. Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters "Outside the tunnel, there have been celebrations at the news of the first man coming out of the tunnel," the BBC reported while providing regular updates on the rescue operation. It uploaded on its website a photograph that showed Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami and Union Minister VK Singh meeting the first worker rescued from the tunnel. "Video footage from the scene showed Pushkar Singh Dhami, chief minister of Uttarakhand state meeting the workers, who appeared to be in good health, as they were removed from the tunnel amid jubilant scenes," CNN reported. The first workers were removed following a series of agonizing setbacks, during which rescue efforts were halted when the heavy machinery used to drill through the debris broke down, forcing workers to partially dig by hand and adopt other riskier methods to bring them to safety, it said. The evacuation of the men to safety began more than six hours after rescuers broke through to end an ordeal that began on November 12 when the tunnel caved in, Qatar-based news channel Al-Jazeera reported. It said the ambulances with their lights flashing lined up at the mouth of the tunnel to transport the workers to a hospital about 30km away. "The labourers are being pulled out through a passageway made of welded pipes that rescuers had previously pushed through dirt and rocks," it said. British daily The Guardian reported that the dramatic scenes of the first men emerging on stretchers from the entrance of the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel came after over 400 hours, during which the major rescue operation hit multiple obstacles, delays and false promises of imminent rescue. "Human labour triumphed over machinery as the specialists managed to manually drill through the final 12 metres of rubble to reach the men. An 'escape passage' pipe was inserted, enabling the rescuers carrying wheeled stretchers and oxygen cylinders to enter and finally reach those inside," the paper said in its detailed report. Military engineers and miners drill 'rat hole' through debris to complete a painstaking extraction mission, said London-based daily 'The Telegraph' in its lead story. A portion of the tunnel collapsed on November 12, blocking the exit for the workers who were inside. Food, medicines and other essentials were sent to them through a six-inch pipe pushed through the rubble of the collapsed portion. India's high commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma said that Indian government is cooperating with an American investigation into alleged thwarted assassination attempt and not Canada's probe into the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia's Surrey due to a disparity between the information both nations shared in their investigation. IMAGE: India-designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. Photograph: @SFJ_Gurpatwant/X Speaking to CTV's Question Period host Vassy Kapelos, Verma said that his understanding is that US authorities have shared more specific information regarding the investigation with India than Canada has and that is likely the differentiating factor in the level of India's cooperation in both cases. Recently, UK-based Financial Times published a report claiming that the US thwarted a plan to allegedly assassinate India-designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil. According to the report the US had shared its concerns with India regarding the alleged plot to kill Pannun. Earlier in September, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made allegations regarding India's involvement in Nijjar's killing. India has rejected the allegations and called them "absurd" and politically motivated." Verma said India was "absolutely" and "decidedly" not involved in the homicide, terming it a "motivated and absurd allegation." The allegations caused diplomatic tensions between the two nations. The Indian envoy stated that ties between India and the US are not under his purview. However, his understanding is that Indian authorities are cooperating in the American investigation as they have been presented with "inputs which are legally presentable." "One is that the investigation in the case of the US, as far as I know and understand, because again, I don't oversee India-US relations is at a much advanced stage. And therefore, I presume that there would be better information shared within India," he told CTV News. Speaking about Canada's inputs related to Nijjar's killing, he said that Indian authorities will not be able to respond on the case as conversations could have some facts of the case. However, allegations and facts do not make it specific and relevant. Asked whether Canada's national security advisor shared inputs related to allegations related to Nijjar's killing, he said, "Until the time it is not specific or relevant to the case, we will not be able to respond to it. There could be a lot of conversation. Conversations could have allegations, conversations could have some facts of the case, but allegations and facts do not make it specific and relevant." "So we need to have those facts. And we are always ready to do that. If you look at the most recent incident to where there are some allegations put out in one of the newspapers against India, the US did provide us inputs. And we have already started following up on that," he added. Verma stressed that conversations between India and Canada did take place during Canada's National Security Adviser's visit to India. However, he added that India needed specific information to seek permission from legal authorities to conduct an investigation. Revealing details regarding the inputs shared by US with India, Verma said that these inputs are regarding a nexus between gangsters, drug peddlers, terrorists and gun runners in the US and there are beliefs that there are some Indian connections with it, which he stressed were not government of India connections. "Those inputs are a nexus between gangsters, drug peddlers, terrorists, and gun runners in the U.S., and there is a belief that some of the Indian connections -- now when I say Indian connections, I don't mean the government of India connections, there is 1.4 billion people, so some of the Indian connections are there -- they are ready to investigate. Because we have got inputs, which are legally presentable," Verma told CTV News. Responding to media queries on reports of discussions between India and the US on security matters, the Ministry of External Affairs said India takes such inputs seriously since it impinges on its own security interests as well. He said the inputs are the cause of concern for both countries and necessary follow-up action is being taken. Allowing the Enforcement Directorate to proceed with its probe into alleged illegal sand mining in Tamil Nadu, the Madras high court, however, stayed on Tuesday the summons issued by the agency to five district collectors to question them in connection with its investigation. A division bench comprising Justices S S Sundar and Sundar Mohan granted the interim stay on the petition filed by state public department secretary K Nanthakumar. The ED, which is probing 'illegal' sand mining under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act apprised the court that it is in possession of credible scientific evidence. Such evidence established rampant illegal mining in the jurisdiction of various district collectors including the five officials to whom summons had been issued. The bench said the ED can go ahead with its probe into the alleged sand mining in the state. The top public department official filed the plea on behalf of the district collectors of Ariyalur, Vellore, Thanjavur, Karur and Tiruchirapalli. The petition sought to quash the summons issued by the ED which asked them to appear in person on various dates with details related to sand mining in their respective districts. Directing the state government and the five district collectors to file their reply affidavit to the objection petition filed by the ED, the bench posted to December 21, further hearing of the case. On November 27, the bench reserved orders, after hearing arguments of senior advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for the state government and Additional solicitor general A R L Sunderesan for the ED. In his petition, Nanthakumar submitted the ED has resorted to a 'fishing and roving' enquiry and issued summons to district collectors, seeking information on all sand mines in their district. The senior official said sand, a minor mineral, is a subject matter under the Constitution over which the state exercises exclusive power. Therefore, the ED was not entitled to enquire and investigate into the subject matter or matter connected therewith, he added. Objecting to the ground of a fishing and roving enquiry, the ED said that it was an assumption and it is false. On the contrary, the Directorate said it is in direct possession of enough crucial evidence of proceeds of crime generated out of criminal activity. It is necessary to examine such district collectors in the course of their investigation on the criminal activity that has happened in their jurisdictions. The evidence collected includes those obtained following conduct of LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and Bathymetric surveys (measuring depth of water body and mapping features of a water body). Also, it includes use of drones and satellite imagery processing. The ED said, hence it was 'perplexing' the state government itself has filed this writ to protect the various accused persons who have cheated the state exchequer. Instead of assisting the ED to investigate the offence and related money laundering, "the state government has been repeatedly attempting to stonewall the investigation, for the reasons best known to them," the agency had said. BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. Israel has received a new list of people in the Gaza Strip who Hamas can release on November 28, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said, Trend reports. According to information, Israeli authorities are studying a list containing the names of the hostages. On the first day of the 4-day humanitarian ceasefire on November 24, Israel and Hamas exchanged hostages. According to the terms, Israel returned three Palestinian prisoners for each hostage. On November 25, 13 Israeli hostages and 39 Palestinian hostages were released. 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. The government is set to positively consider the Indian Navy's proposal for the construction of a second aircraft carrier at a cost of around Rs 40,000 crore, in a major move that comes against the backdrop of rising concerns over China's increasing forays into the Indian Ocean region. IMAGE: An MH60R helicopter undertakes maiden landing on aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, May 31, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo Top government sources told PTI that the Defence Procurement Board, a key body of the defence ministry, has accorded in-principle approval to the ambitious proposal signalling the government's readiness to go for the second indigenous aircraft carrier, to be known as IAC II. The mega procurement proposal will shortly be placed before the Defence Acquisition Council, the defence ministry's top body on procurement, they said. The DAC, headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, is likely to meet on Thursday and it is learnt that the proposal for the IAC-II will be examined by it. The DAC is also likely to consider the Indian Air Force's proposal for procurement of an additional batch of 97 Tejas Mark-1A aircraft at a cost of Rs 1.15 lakh crore, the sources said. The Navy has been making a strong push for having the IAC-II with a displacement of 45,000 tonnes which is estimated to cost close to Rs 40,000 crore with the envisaged specifications. India's first indigenously-built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant was commissioned in September by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Built at a cost of around Rs 23,000 crore, INS Vikrant has a sophisticated air defence network and anti-ship missile systems. It has the capacity to hold 30 fighter jets and helicopters. At the commissioning ceremony of the vessel, Modi called it a "floating city" and that it was a reflection of India becoming self-reliant in defence. The sources said the IAC II will be kind of a repeat order of the IAC I. According to the plan, the IAC II will be built by state-run Cochin Shipyard. The Navy has been pitching for three aircraft carriers to deal with China's growing naval prowess and its growing influence over the Indian Ocean region. At present, India has two aircraft carriers -- INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant. INS Vikramaditya is a Russian origin platform. The INS Vikrant has over 2,300 compartments, designed for a crew of around 1700 people, including specialised cabins to accommodate women officers. Vikrant has a top speed of around 28 knots and a cruising speed of 18 knots with an endurance of about 7,500 nautical miles. The IAC is 262 metres long, 62 metres wide and has a height of 59 metres. On the procurement of additional 97 Tejas Mark 1A aircraft, the sources said the DAC is set to clear it. With the additional fleet, the number of indigenously-developed Tejas aircraft being procured by the IAF would go up to 180. In February 2021, the defence ministry sealed a Rs 48,000 crore deal with state-run aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd for procurement of 83 Tejas MK-1A jets for the IAF. Maharashtra cabinet minister and OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Tuesday said he was not against any community, but asserted a social group has to fight to protect its rights, comments coming in the backdrop of the ongoing agitation by the Marathas for reservation in government jobs and education. IMAGE: Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar along with minister Chhagan Bhujbal (left) and MLAs arrive for the first day of the Monsoon Session of the state Legislative Assembly, in Mumbai. Photograph: ANI Photo Bhujbal, who has strongly opposed the demand to include the Marathas in the other backward classes category for quota benefits, said a new social system is taking shape in Maharashtra which is different from the order envisaged by prominent social reformers. The state food and civil supplies minister was speaking at an award ceremony organised by his outfit Samta Parishad at Phule Wada in Pune. "...Mahatma Phule, Babasaheb Ambedkar, Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj worked tirelessly to end the caste system and bring equality in society. But as I said, a new kind of social order is coming up in the state. You know what I mean. I will not reiterate. "That (past) social order was different and today's social order is different. Nowadays, things like eligibility (layaki) and higher, lower status are being discussed," he said, taking potshots at Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange over his recent remarks. Jarange, spearheading the latest round of agitation seeking reservation for the Marathas in government jobs and education, said at a recent rally in Pune that in the absence of quota, his community's youths have no option but to work under "undeserving people". He later withdrew the comments, which invited strong criticism from OBC leaders. The NCP (Ajit Pawar group) leader, who has said the Marathas should be given reservation without "encroaching" on the existing OBC quota, asserted he was not against community. "I am not against any community and I request all of you not to talk against any community, but for our rights we will have to fight," Bhujbal said. Jarange, who has undertaken hunger strikes on two occasions since August-end as part of his agitation, has sought quota for the Maratha community under the OBC category. The state government last month published an order asking officials concerned to issue fresh Kunbi caste certificates to eligible Maratha community members, paving the way for them to avail reservation benefits under the OBC category. Kunbis, a community associated with agriculture, are grouped under the OBC category in Maharashtra. Bhujbal has opposed giving Kunbi caste certificates to eligible Maratha community members, citing "irregularities" in the process. At least 24 people were briefly arrested by the Sri Lankan security forces for defying a ban on celebrations to mark the 69th birthday anniversary of the slain Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam supremo V Prabhakaran, which is commemorated by his followers as 'great heroes day'. IMAGE: Velupillai Prabhakaran, leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, who was slain by the Sri Lankan army in May 2009. Photograph: LTTE/Handout/Reuters Prabhakaran used to make his annual policy speech on his birthday on November 26 during the days when LTTE ran a parallel state in parts of the northern and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka. Maaveerar naal or great heroes' day is observed on November 27 by sections of Sri Lankan Tamils regarded as being generally supportive of the Tigers. It is the day on which fallen members of the LTTE are commemorated. At least 24 people were arrested by the security forces for defying the ban on celebrations, officials said. However, those arrested were later released after a warning, they added. The residents of Vavuniya, Jaffna, Mannar, Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi were seen lighting lamps at the graves of those who died in the conflict. At Jaffna University on Sunday, students celebrated the 69th birth anniversary of Prabakaran by cutting a cake. Similarly, a group of Tamil provincial politicians cut a cake opposite the house of Prabhakaran's birth at Valvettithurai. Oil lamps were lit at different places in the north and east despite authorities banning holding the celebrations. The police were accused on Monday of storming a Heroes Day celebration held in the eastern district of Batticaloa. Tamil groups said that armed with riot gear the police tore down red and yellow flags and pulled oil lamps out of the ground to disrupt the celebrations. The police obtained court orders at some places banning the celebrations. The LTTE had run a military campaign for a separate Tamil homeland in the northern and eastern provinces of the island nation for nearly 30 years before its collapse in 2009 after the Sri Lankan Army killed its supreme leader Prabhakaran. Rat-hole mining may be illegal but the talent and experience of rat-hole miners were used in the rescue operation to save the 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel, a National Disaster Management Authority member said on Tuesday. IMAGE: Manual drilling underway in the Silkyara tunnel, Uttarkashi, November 28, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) member Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain said that rat-hole miners did a phenomenal job by digging 10 metres in less than 24 hours. "Rat-hole mining may be illegal, but rat miners' talent and experience which is being used, it is their capability which is being used," he said in a media briefing in New Delhi. The National Green Tribunal in 2014 imposed a ban on coal mining using the rat-hole mining technique in Meghalaya. Rat-hole mining involves digging of narrow tunnels, usually 3-4 feet high, for workers to enter and extract coal. The horizontal tunnels are often termed "rat holes", as each just about fits one person. At the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi, at least 12 experts have been called by Trenchless Engineering Services Pvt Ltd and Navayuga Engineers Pvt Ltd to deploy the rat-hole mining technique horizontally in the collapsed part of the main structure. They have come from Delhi, Jhansi and other parts of the country. NHAI member Vishal Chauhan explained that NGT has prohibited coal mining by that technique, going into tunnel kind of thing and getting coal out but this technique is still used in construction sites. "This is a special situation, this is a life-saving situation ...they are technicians helping us," he said. Twelve rat-hole mining experts are involved in the horizontal excavation through the last 10 or 12-metre stretch of debris of the collapsed portion of the under-construction tunnel on Uttarakhand's Char Dham route. Asked who hired rat-hole miners, Chauhan said, "Jab hum whole government ki baat karte hain, toh kharcha idhar se aaya udhar se aaya, ek hi baat hai (When we talk about whole government, it does not matter who is paying the bill)." Rescue workers on Tuesday were close to breaking through the 60-metre stretch of rubble of the collapsed Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand in which 41 workers are trapped for the last 16 days, officials said. At the disaster site, state government's information department chief Bansi Dhar Tiwari told reporters a little after 1.30 pm that the drilling was over. Less than an hour later, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the process of laying the escape pipe into the drilled passage was complete. Soon all brother workers will be brought out, he posted on social media. Earlier, NHIDCL managing director Mahmood Ahmed did not immediately confirm that the drilling work was over. He told reporters that the last section of the pipe was being pushed through. But at his 4 pm media briefing in Delhi, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) member Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata said the rescue workers were near a breakthrough, but not quite there. He said the rat-hole mining experts -- manually drilling through the last stretch -- had reached the 58-metre point, and there were about two more metres to go. But at the disaster site the mood was upbeat over the imminent end of the multi-agency rescue operation. An eight-bed makeshift health centre was set up inside the tunnel to provide immediate medical care to the workers after their evacuation. Ambulances had lined up at the mouth of the tunnel to rush the rescued workers to the community health centre about 30 kilometres away, after the initial checkup at the site. A stretch of mud road was re-laid to make the passage of ambulances easier. Stretchers were being taken inside the mouth of the tunnel. As information about the breakthrough emerged at the site, some people outside chanted Jai Shri Ram. Earlier, L&T team leader Chris Cooper predicted an early end to the workers' ordeal. It is likely that they will be out before 5 pm," he told reporters. He said vertical drilling, the simultaneous drilling operation to reach the workers from above the tunnel, had now been called off. Officials decided to switch to manual boring to break through the last 10 metres of the rubble after the heavy-duty auger drilling machine got stuck in the rubble on Friday. Twelve rat-hole mining experts were called in to finish the last stretch of drilling using hand-held tools in a confined space. Waiting at the tunnel site to see his 22-year-old son Manjit, Chaudhry said officials had told the families camping in Silkyara that arrangements will be made for them wherever the workers are taken after evacuation. "Even, nature looks cheerful today, Jaimal Singh said as he waited for his brother Gabbar Singh's evacuation. We have been asked to keep our belongings rolled up and wait for further instructions," he said. A special ward with 41 oxygen-supported beds was readied days earlier at the community health centre in Chinyalisaur, about 30 km from Silkyara, for the rescued workers. Doctors were standing by and arrangements made to fly the workers to more advanced hospitals, if needed. A temple in Uttar Pradesh's Siddharthnagar district was 'purified' with Ganga jal after a visit by a Muslim MLA of the Samajwadi Party. IMAGE: SP's Doomariyaganj MLA Sayeda Khatoon (right). Photograph: Courtesy Sayeda Khatoon on X Doomariyaganj MLA Sayeda Khatoon had on Sunday visited the Samay Mata temple at the invitation of the local people to participate in a Shatchandi Mahayagya. After she left, some people not in favour of her visit purified it with Gangajal amid chanting of mantras. Dharamraj Verma, chief of Badhani Chafa's Nagar Panchayat where the temple is located, led the purification. The lawmaker was invited by some "unrighteous" people, he said. "Because Sayeda Khatoon is a Muslim and eats cow meat, her visit to this holy place had made it impure," he said, adding, "after this purification, this place has now become completely pure and suitable for worship. Such an act should never be tolerated." Sayeda Khatoon told PTI from Lucknow that she being a people's representative would continue to visit places related to all religions and sects and would not be deterred by any such acts. "Many Brahmins and seers of the area are associated with me and had invited me to the 'Samay Mata temple' about ten days ago. I honour all religions, I am a legislator for all the people in the area and will go wherever I am invited," Khatoon, who is known to have got several temples renovated in the area, said. She said Verma, an elected member, is associated with Bharatiya Janata Party and Hindu Yuva Vahini, a right wing group started by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The priest of the temple, Sri Krishna Dutt Shukla, said the MLA was invited for the mahayagya and she had come there in the evening. According to Shukla, the MLA remained there for some time and talked about amity in society before leaving. "The next morning Verma and his team came here and questioned me why she had been called and said the temple had become impure because of her presence. They then sprinkled 'gangajal' and carried out the cleaning exercise," Shukla said. Samay Mata temple is a revered religious site for Hindus located in the Siddharth Nagar district on the banks of the Rapti River. Devotees from the neighbouring country Nepal and nearby districts also visit the temple. A day after Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar compared Mahatma Gandhi with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Manish Tewari said that comparing the great Mahatma Gandhi to anybody is nothing short of a "sacrilege". IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi paying tributes Mahatma Gandhi after unveiling Mahatma's bust in Hiroshima, Japan, May 20, 2023. Photograph: @narendramodi/X Vice President Dhankhar on Monday described Mahatma Gandhi as the 'Mahapurush' of the last century and Modi as the 'Yugpurush' of this century. "The great Mahatma, fashioned, crafted and honed, the instrument of non-violence. As a means of passive resistance when the only thing the world knew was war as a means of resistance and conflict as a method of opposing oppression. At this time Mahatma mobilized millions and millions of Indians to passively struggle against British imperialism and was the harbinger of India's freedom in 1947," said Tewari. Tewari said the Mahatma was a secularist and democratic in his disposition and the only person who measured upto him was Nelson Mandela. "Mahatma Gandhi has been considered to be perhaps the tallest figure of the 20th century. The only person who measures up to him in some manner is the late Nelson Mandela, who had dismantled apartheid in South Africa," the Congress leader said. "Even Mandela used to consider the great Mahatma as a spiritual mentor, therefore under those circumstances, to compare the great Mahatma to anybody for that matter is nothing short of sacrilege," Tewari added. Vice President Dhankar also received sharp criticism from Congress MP Manickam Tagore for drawing the comparison. Reacting to the Vice President's remarks, Tagore said that even PM Modi would not accept this comparison. "It is very unfortunate and it shows that each institution in India is collapsing. Vice President Dhankar comparing Mahatma to Prime Minister Modi is unacceptable," Tagore said. "Even PM Modi won't accept it. This is the limit of sycophancy. With great respect to the Vice President, this pains us. People like the honourable Vice President of India should not give these kinds of comparisons on which Mahatma Gandhi is insulted. I feel pain and I hope that this kind of sycophancies must be stopped," he added. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said history and the people decide who is a purush, yugpurush and a mahapurush. Dhankhar while speaking at the birth anniversary celebrations of Jain mystic and philosopher Shrimad Rajchandraji on Monday said, Mahatma Gandhi freed us from the slavery of British through satyagraha and non-violence. India's successful Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken us to a path where we always wanted to be." I want to tell you one thing. The mahapurush of last century was Mahatma Gandhi. Narendra Modi is the yugpurush of this century, Dhankhar said. Brattleboro, VT (05301) Today Partly cloudy skies this morning will give way to cloudy skies and rain during the afternoon. High 49F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Showers early with some clearing overnight. Low 34F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. Brattleboro, VT (05301) Today Partly cloudy skies this morning will give way to cloudy skies and rain during the afternoon. High 49F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Rain showers this evening with mostly cloudy conditions overnight. Low 34F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. For the First Time Ever, Sight & Sound Will Stream MIRACLE OF CHRISTMAS in Homes Worldwide After 30 Years on Stage, Experience the Beloved Christmas Production in a Special Holiday Streaming Event only on Sight & Sound TV NEWS PROVIDED BY Sight & Sound Nov. 27, 2023 LANCASTER, Pa., Nov. 27, 2023 /Standard Newswire/ -- For nearly three decades, audiences have flocked to Sight & Sound Theatres to experience MIRACLE OF CHRISTMAS live on stage. With their 2023 season completely sold out in Lancaster, the theater company is thrilled to host a special holiday streaming event for audiences worldwide on Sight & Sound TV December 1-3. Known for state-of-the-art, fully immersive productions, Sight & Sound's MIRACLE OF CHRISTMAS presents the birth of Jesus in magnificent detail with three story tall sets, live animals and a cast of 50 professional actors. Audiences are invited to travel back in time from Nazareth to Bethlehem as the original Christmas story unfolds all around them. Journey alongside Mary and Joseph, a flock of surprised shepherds and three wisemen -- along with their camels too! There may be no room at the inn, but God has a lowly stable prepared as the angels announce the coming of the Messiah! "For 30 years, families from all over the world have joined us to make MIRACLE OF CHRISTMAS a part of their holiday traditions," said Katie Miller, Director of Marketing & Communications for Sight & Sound. "However, we know not every family can make the trip visit us in person. This three-day streaming event on Sight & Sound TV provides us the opportunity to meet families wherever they are in the world and celebrate the ultimate gift of Christmas together." Sight & Sound's streaming platform, Sight & Sound TV, launched in 2020. This virtual third location for the Pennsylvania based theater company, welcomed a new global audience from over 175 countries across the globe. "Passionate about sharing these stories with as many people as possible, we wanted a way to bring the live theater experience home," said Miller. The platform features special broadcast events, behind-the-scenes content and encore performances of your favorite Sight & Sound productions. MIRACLE OF CHRISTMAS will be available for online streaming from December 1-3, 2023. Exclusive access to the holiday production can be purchased for just $19.99, while an annual subscription is available for those who wish to unlock additional content. For more information, visit: https://www.sight-sound.com/shows/lancaster/miracle-of-christmas/2023 About Sight & Sound Sight & Sound is a storytelling company passionate about bringing true stories of redemption to life on stage and on screen that reveal the power of the Gospel. Since its beginning as a traveling multi-media show in 1976, Sight & Sound has inspired over 30 million people with stories from the pages of scripture and history. Today, Sight & Sound operates two live-theater venues, immersing over a million people each year in state-of-the-art original productions. In 2020, Sight & Sound launched an online streaming platform, welcoming a new global audience from over 175 countries around the world. Most recently, Sight & Sound expanded into feature films, debuting at #2 in movie theaters across the nation. Sight & Sound is headquartered in Lancaster, PA with over 700 employees companywide. For more information, visit www.sight-sound.com. SOURCE Sight & Sound MEDIA CONTACT: Lauren Briggs, A. Larry Ross Communications, 972-267-1111, lauren@alarryross.com BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. On November 3, 2023, at the 10th Summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in Astana (Kazakhstan), by the decision of the Heads of State of the Turkic Countries, Aktoty Raimkulova was appointed President of the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation, Trend reports. President of the Foundation Aktoty Raimkulova thanked Gunay Afandiyeva for her contribution to the development of culture and heritage of the Turkic world. In turn, Gunay Afandiyeva wished Aktoty Raimkulova success in continuing the activities of the organization and expressed gratitude to the staff for the joint work done with great love and enthusiasm during her tenure. President of the Foundation Aktoty Raimkulova noted that the organization will intensively continue its further projects and activities in order to further deepen common ethnic, cultural and historical ties in the Turkic world. BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. The French Dixmude warship arrived at the port of Al-Arish in Egypt on a humanitarian mission, Trend reports. According to the information, the ship, equipped to provide "hospital support" to Palestinians from the Gaza Strip who were seriously injured during the fighting between Israel and Hamas, has 60 medical beds. The helicopter carrier also has two blocks for performing surgical operations. Departing from the naval base in Toulon (Var department) on November 20, Dixmude was replaced by another helicopter carrier Tonnerre. BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. Turkiye will build a field hospital in Gaza Strip, Trend reports via media of Turkiye. A delegation of Turkiye specialists traveled to the Gaza Strip to carry out preparatory work for the construction of the hospital. "The technical staff left for Gaza via Egypt this morning. It is planned that the hospital will be put into operation in the near future," the source said. Turkiye's Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca said on November 23 that he had contacted the governments of Egypt and Israel regarding the construction of a field hospital in Gaza. According to him, a coordination group has already visited Egypt to discuss the matter and select a site for the hospital. 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, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced a mass gathering of reservists. Stay up to date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Following the detection of elevated concentrations of synthetic chemicals in the blood of residents in Osaka prefectures city of Settsu in Japan, Chinese social media users claimed that these findings were linked to the discharge of treated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in August 2023. But the claim is false. The chemicals in question, known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, were not radioactive and could not have come from the treated wastewater discharged into the ocean, according to experts. Such chemicals had been detected in higher-than-safe levels in rivers and groundwater across Osaka and other Japanese prefectures several years before the wastewater release. The claim, shared here on Chinas popular social media platform Weibo on Nov. 13, said: Some residents of Japan have abnormal blood tests, and those who survive in the future are all superhuman! The post was shared alongside three screenshots, the first two of which show the reaction of Japanese citizens to the PFAS pollution and the third of which depicted a press conference. PFAS, a group of nearly 15,000 synthetic chemicals, have been used in industrial and consumer products such as food packaging, non-stick sprays and firefighting foams since the 1940s. Large numbers of netizens on Weibo say the higher than normal levels of PFAS found in residents of Settsu is related to Japans decision to discharge treated wastewater into the sea at Fukushima. (Screenshot/Weibo) The claim began to circulate online after Japanese media outlets reported that the largest PFAS epidemiological survey in the country had started in Osaka. Harmful concentrations of PFOA, a type of PFAS, detrimental to health upon consumption, have been identified in rivers, groundwater, soil and crops in Settsu, located in Osaka prefecture. Additionally, elevated amounts of these chemicals have been found in the blood of local residents, Japanese news outlet Tansa reported on Nov. 11. Lee Cheng-Shiuan, an assistant researcher for the Research Center for Environmental Changes at the Academia Sinica in Taiwan, said he believes there is no link between findings in Settsu and the discharged wastewater. While 80% of the wastewater may also contain PFAS, the concentration levels are very low and it isnt necessarily related to nuclear power, he explained. Several industries including nuclear plants use products containing PFAS in their production process. Such machines likely could have released the chemicals into the pipelines discharging the wastewater at Fukushima, said Lee. Lee added that since Japans nuclear power plants are mostly located by the sea and do not rely on river water for cooling, it would be unlikely for the abnormal levels of PFAS in Osakas rivers and groundwater to have come from the plants. Separately, a representative from Osakas Environmental Management Office also told AFCL that the PFOA found in Settsu is a non-radioactive substance unrelated to the wastewater discharge. Keyword searches found that Japan has experienced unusually high levels of PFAS across various prefectures for several years, with many media reports on this issue predating the discharge of wastewater from Fukushima as seen here, here and here. PFAS impact on human health Lee from the Academia Sinica said determining PFASs long-term health effects is challenging due in part to the fact that most people are exposed to them in low concentrations over long periods of time, as well as the fact that such chemicals are far from the only pollutants found in everyday life. While PFAS are common in the environment, skin contact only leads to minimal absorption, and ingestion via contaminated water or food is the main concern for human exposure, Lee noted. However, studies and a U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences report link significant PFAS exposure to health risks like cancer, liver damage, metabolic changes, weakened immunity, and reduced fetal growth. Translated by Shen Ke. Edited by Taejun Kang and Malcolm Foster. Asia Fact Check Lab (AFCL) is a branch of RFA established to counter disinformation in todays complex media environment. Our journalists publish both daily and special reports that aim to sharpen and deepen our readers understanding of public issues. Chinese developers are believed to have started testing electromagnetic catapults on Chinas third aircraft carrier, which analysts say is an important milestone in the countrys naval ship construction. The catapults will be used for launching airplanes from the carrier, named Fujian after the Chinese province closest to Taiwan. The Fujian features a so-called Catapult Assisted Take-Off Barrier Arrested Recovery, or CATOBAR, system that is much more advanced than the first two carriers. A video clip, said to be filmed from an overflying airplane and shared first on Chinas Weibo microblogging website, shows what appeared to be a test vehicle being dropped from a catapult position on the Fujian aircraft carrier into the water. The apparently successful test took place on Sunday. A satellite image from Nov. 26 provided by the U.S. Earth imaging company Planet Labs shows the Chinese aircraft carrier sitting at its berth at the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai. A crane that may be used during the test launch was visible at the front of the ship. This is one of the most eagerly awaited milestones besides the first sea trial, said Andreas Rupprecht, a well-known Chinese military blogger. Suffice to say, an important step towards getting the ship operational, wrote another analyst, Alex Luck, on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. The 80,000-ton Fujian also called Type 003 is Chinas third aircraft carrier, built with a fully indigenous design. It is also the first Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) carrier equipped with electromagnetic catapults and arresting devices similar to the ones on U.S. aircraft carriers. The PLAs first aircraft carriers Liaoning and Shandong use a less advanced ski jump-style launch system but the Fujians CATOBAR will help launch a bigger variety of aircraft faster and with more ammunition. Chinas maritime ambition Currently, only France and the United States are members of the CATOBAR club, and China, having never operated a CATOBAR carrier before, is starting from the ground up in developing one, according to Robert Farley, a senior lecturer at the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce, University of Kentucky. Fujian carries electromagnetic catapults (EMALS), which are a complicated new technology, said Farley. I don't know if we can generate a clear estimate on the length of catapult testing because it's uncharted territory. Aircraft carriers represent Chinas maritime ambitions and the carrier fleet may be expanded to five ships in the next 10 years, according to a report by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA), an independent U.S. think tank specializing in defense policy, planning and budgets. The PLA developed Liaoning, its first aircraft carrier, from a Soviet-built ship and commissioned it in 2012. The second carrier and the first domestically-built Shandong was commissioned seven years later. The construction of the Fujian aircraft carrier began during the 2010s and the ship was launched in June 2022. It is currently undergoing mooring trials at the shipyard before being put on sea trials. Compared to the Liaoning and Shandong, the Fujian with an 80,000-ton displacement is not only much bigger but also far more technologically advanced. Still a long way Although Fujian looks to be an impressive ship, larger than any carrier in the world other than the U.S. supercarriers, Farley believes the Chinese are still significantly behind in several areas. The U.S. Navy has 11 aircraft carriers, most of them of the large supercarrier category, which are much more advanced and powerful. As a ship, Fujian is only about 80% as large as existing U.S. carriers, and is conventionally propelled rather than nuclear, which makes a big difference for range, endurance, and carrying capacity, he said. Chinese aircraft carrier Fujian at the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai, Nov. 26, 2023. Credit: Planet Labs It will take a while for the ship to become fully operational as the Fujian has yet to begin sea trials. For the first ship of a new class, the entire process of trials can often take a year or more. Her predecessor, Shandong, took 19 months from completion to commissioning and was of a far less advanced design, the analyst told Radio Free Asia. After sea trials are done the PLA Navy will need to begin work on carrier group training, which will require very detailed procedures of launch and landing to be worked out, he added. The PLA has historically been careful and deliberate with training for its carrier operations and I would expect them to continue to do so. Military experts say the Fujian may be commissioned by 2025 but its capacity will be gradually built up in the following years. According to Farley, training up to U.S. standards will take years, if not decades. The PLA has the largest navy in the world by number with an overall battle force of over 370 ships and submarines, compared to the U.S.s 293, according to the Pentagon. Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang. The post, claiming to be penned by Law's brother, suggests family members are being 'held hostage,' observers say. A social media post claiming to be penned by the brother of exiled pro-democracy lawmaker Nathan Law, who is wanted by police under the National Security Law, has called on him to come home and face the music as Hong Kong authorities filed bankruptcy proceedings against another wanted lawmaker in exile, Ted Hui. The post, which appeared on Instagram on Monday night, said Law's brother had cut off ties with him and called on him to return to Hong Kong, where national security police have a warrant out for his arrest and a HK$1 million bounty on his head. Signing off with the name of Law's brother Law Kwun-peng, the author described themselves as "a patriotic Chinese, born and bred," and took aim at Law for allegedly advocating "independence" for the city from overseas, a phrase frequently used by Chinese officials to describe any kind of political opposition by Hong Kongers. The post, the latest in a string of actions designed to put pressure on the eight wanted overseas activists, called on Law to "go back home and face up to everything." It came from an account that was opened several years ago, but which had lain dormant until three weeks ago, a pattern of activity that has previously been linked to Beijing-backed disinformation campaigns on social media. Law declined to comment when contacted by Radio Free Asia on Monday, saying only: "I don't know and have no comment." Ted Hui delivers a statement to the media at Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong, Nov. 27, 2019. ( Leah Millis/Reuters) The post was picked up by pro-Beijing media within two hours, including the state-run China News Service and Hong Kong's Chinese Communist Party-backed Ta Kung Pao newspaper. Law, who now lives in the United Kingdom, announced in 2020 that he had cut ties with his family back in Hong Kong in a bid to protect them. But they were hauled in for questioning by Hong Kong police in July, as the city's leader John Lee vowed to pursue Law and the seven other wanted activists for the rest of their lives under a national security law criminalizing public criticism of the authorities. Political retaliation? The post appeared as authorities took action against another wanted Hong Konger in exile, former pro-democracy lawmaker Ted Hui, filing for his bankruptcy after he was unable to pay outstanding legal fees because police froze his assets after he fled the city. Hui said the legal fees likely stem from several lawsuits he brought against the authorities, including over the firing of live ammunition at protesters in 2019 and a lawsuit demanding to know the ingredients of tear gas, which was fired at protesters by riot police at the rate of hundreds a day at the height of the protests. He said the "bankruptcy" application was a form of political retaliation. "This bankruptcy application is extremely unreasonable because I am not insolvent," Hui said. "The amount I left with the Hong Kong law firm for litigation purposes is higher than the amount [of outstanding legal fees] stated in the Hong Kong government's bankruptcy application." "The Hong Kong government continues to pursue, harass and suppress me politically," he said. "It's definitely a new form of transnational repression," Hui said, citing Beijing's "long-arm" enforcement activities and harassment of dissidents far beyond China's borders. Current affairs commentator Sang Pu said Law's family seem to be being treated as political "hostages" in the authorities' attempts to harass overseas activists. "I'm worried that his family may not even be allowed to leave [Hong Kong]," Sang said. "That they have become hostages, vulnerable in the hands of the authorities." "This isn't about the law it's more about using Cultural Revolution-style struggle session tactics to undermine family ties of love, affection and trust," he said. "This is the Communist Party's modus operandi, and now it has arrived in Hong Kong." Chief Superintendent of Police (National Security) Li Kwai-wah speaks during a press conference to issue arrest warrants for eight activists and former lawmakers, in Hong Kong, July 3, 2023. ( Joyce Zhou/Reuters) Chung Ching Kwong, Hong Kong Campaigns Coordinator for the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, agreed. "The Hong Kong government is using methods similar to those used in mainland China, which is of course a form of transnational repression," Chung said. "They do these things to try to manipulate you, freezing assets, anything to harass you and put you under pressure." "Everyone's going to be more worried now about their property back in Hong Kong," she said. Sang said the government's plan to pass new security laws next year will likely make such actions more common in future. "After that law gets passed, they will just be able to freeze your bank account because they suspect you are a spy," Sang said. "It will be even easier for them." Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster. A school sends an entire class home for several days, citing flu-like illness and fever in one third of them. Children and their parents wait in an outpatient area at a childrens hospital in Beijing, China, Nov. 23, 2023. A wave of respiratory infections that saw hospitals in northern China crowded with sick children last week has spread to the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, as officials sought to reassure the world that no new diseases have been detected. Hospitals in Guangzhou, particularly pediatric outpatient clinics and children's hospitals, are full in many places, according to a report on the website of state-run China National Radio. "[We] visited a number of medical facilities in Guangzhou, and found that Mycoplasma pneumoniae, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus and other pathogens have been co-circulating recently," the report said. "The number of children infected with respiratory diseases has increased, and patients are crowding into pediatric and maternal health facilities," it said. People and children leave a children's hospital in Beijing, China, Nov. 27, 2023. Credit: Tingshu Wang/Reuters Meanwhile, a copy of a notice suspending some classes at the Wanjiang No. 2 Primary School in Guangdong's Dongguan city for four days was posted to X on Tuesday. "Due to illness among students in class 108, mostly flu and fever, affecting a third of the class, following suggestions and requirements from the Wanjiang Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Class 108 will close for four days," the notice said. "Class will resume next Monday or Tuesday," it said. "This pneumonia wave has already spread to the south," current affairs commentator Ji Feng told Radio Free Asia. "Guangzhou Children's Hospital is overcrowded." "That primary school in Dongguan had to close because one third of a class got sick," he said, adding that not much information about the outbreak has been made public by local authorities. A person connected with the school who declined to be named said students aren't allowed to go back to class until they get a certificate of recovery from the hospital. "Hospitals are overcrowded right now, and a lot of outpatient clinics have been turned into fever clinics," the person said. "A lot of students are absent from school every day." "We don't know if it's mycoplasma because they won't tell us clearly [what is happening]," the person said. "We're confused and we don't know." WHO calls for data The news emerged as the World Health Organization called on Beijing to share its data on an outbreak in Beijing and Tianjin that made international headlines last week. Chinese health authorities said they haven't detected any new or unusual bugs and provided the requested data on an increase in respiratory illnesses and reported clusters of pneumonia in children, the World Health Organization said last week. "The National Health Commission and the National Administration of Disease Prevention and Control, at the request of the WHO, has arranged for exchanges between experts and the WHO on the recent situation of respiratory infectious diseases," foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a news briefing in Beijing on Tuesday. "Let me assure you that it is safe to travel and do business here in China and theres no need to worry," Wang said. The WHO request came after the Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases (ProMED) reported clusters of "undiagnosed pneumonia" in children in north China. According to Chinese officials, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus and adenovirus have been in circulation since October, while "no unusual pathogens have been detected in the capital of Beijing and the northeastern province of Liaoning," Reuters reported. People stand outside a children's hospital in Shanghai, China, Nov. 24, 2023. Credit: Nicoco Chan/Reuters Reports have also emerged on local media and social media platforms of the reappearance of white-clad disease control officers, who were last seen enforcing mass quarantines, lockdowns and compulsory testing during the three years of ruling Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping's zero-COVID policy, which ended in December 2022 following nationwide protests. Repeated calls to children's hospitals in Beijing and Tianjin returned only busy signals during office hours on Tuesday. An employee who answered the phone at the Dalian Children's Hospital in the northeastern province of Liaoning said it was no longer possible to register a patient online or to make an appointment, and that pneumonia patients are being treated in "emergency mode" now. They declined to say what was causing the wave of pneumonia cases, although a number of experts have been quoted in Chinese media reports as saying it is partly due to mycoplasma pneumonia. "Pneumonia cases can only register in person at our emergency room, and in most cases we have to administer a drip," the staff member said. Repeated calls to the cell phone of respiratory disease specialist Zhong Nanshan rang unanswered on Tuesday. Wave of respiratory infections National Health Commission spokesperson Mi Feng told a news conference in Beijing on Sunday that there is a wave of respiratory infections in China caused by various pathogens including rhinovirus, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, respiratory syncytial virus and adenovirus. Some experts have blamed post-lockdown waves of infections on "immunity debt," while others say this is a "dangerous and misguided concept" that plays into narratives that childhood diseases should be allowed to run their course without public health interventions. The outbreak follows the mass infection and reinfection of China's population with the Omicron variant of COVID-19 immediately following the lifting of nationwide zero-COVID restrictions in December 2022. Some recent medical research has pointed to weakened immunity from infection and reinfection with COVID-19, which has also been linked to recent surges in respiratory infections in children. Translated by Luisetta Mudie. The failure of a "blue-white" alliance last week looks set to split the opposition vote. Taiwans incumbent vice president and ruling Democratic Progressive Party candidate Lai Ching-te is leading in opinion polls now that a proposed opposition pact has fallen apart, according to figures released on Monday. Lai is currently polling at 31.4%, with Taiwan People's Party candidate Ko Wen-je at 27.3% and Kuomintang candidate Hou Yu-ih at 26.6%, with 14.7% undecided, according to the telephone poll of 1,084 participants from Nov. 20-22. The figures come after an attempt by former Kuomintang President Ma Ying-jeou to broker an opposition pact between Ko and Hou fell through, and after Foxconn founder Terry Gou dropped out of the presidential race altogether, leaving just three candidates by the time formal registration closed on Friday. Campaigning for the Jan. 13 election to replace Tsai Ing-wen will center around how to deal with growing military tensions with China and ties with the United States, as well as answering concerns about the domestic economy and the desire of Taiwan's 23 million people to maintain their freedoms and democratic way of life. The poll conducted by World United Formosans for Independence and the Taiwan National Security Institute put support for the ruling party at 34.8%, with the Kuomintang in second place at 26.5%, compared with the Taiwan People's Party at just 18.7%. From left, Taiwan's Kuomintang Chairman Eric Chu, Hou Yu-ih, candidate for Taiwan's presidency from Kuomintang, former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou and Taiwan Peoples Party Chairman Ko Wen-je hold hands as they pose for a group photo in Taipei, Nov. 15, 2023. Credit: Ann Wang/Reuters Nearly half of respondents 47.4% were in favor of formal diplomatic ties with the United States, which switched diplomatic recognition to China in 1979, a condition of which was the derecognition of the 1911 Republic of China government in Taipei. The poll, reported by the Taipei Times, had a 95% confidence level and 2.98 percentage point margin of error. Ties to Washington Nearly 30% thought the island's government should definitely work toward formal diplomatic ties with Washington, compared with 26.5% last year and 40.8% in 2021, the poll found, in a sign that Lai's running mate Hsiao Bi-khim, the island's former Washington envoy, was likely a strong choice. Soon after talks broke down over a "blue and white" alliance ticket featuring Hou and Ko, Ko announced that he would campaign with lawmaker and Shin Kong conglomerate heiress Wu Hsin-ying as his running mate. Current affairs commentator Wu Kun-yu said that Ko's move appeared to be largely financially motivated. "Naturally, the need for funding is a very important reason," he said, adding that the pair would likely put up a strong fight in the media for the opposition vote. He said the Kuomintang's Hou picked former lawmaker and talk-show host Jaw Shau-kong as his running mate to help him fight the battle of words in the media and online, known in Taiwanese election jargon as "air combat," while face-to-face contact with voters and in-person rallies and hustings are known as "land combat." Taiwan's Taiwan People's Party presidential candidate Ko Wen-je and his vice presidential candidate Cynthia Wu Hsin-ying wave to the media outside the Central Election Commission in Taipei, Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. Credit: Chiang Ying-ying/AP The Hou-Jaw campaign will try to persuade voters that a vote for them is nothing less than a vote for peace over war with China, which Hsiao Bi-khim described last week as "not an option." Announcing their ticket, Hou and Jaw told reporters that they had once more reached out to Ko before formalizing their partnership, but that he didn't pick up the phone. Jaw is widely remembered as the politician who enabled the Democratic Progressive Party's first victory in the Taipei mayoral elections in 1994 by breaking with the Kuomintang and facilitating the political rise of the partys first president, Chen Shui-bian, who served in the islands top job from 2000-2008. "But things have changed over the past 30 years, and now he is back calling for unity," Wu Kun-yu said. "It's a very funny situation." Questions remain Wu said the Lai-Hsiao ticket is looking in good shape, but questions remain over whether they can win over a substantial number of opposition supporters. China has labeled the pair as "separatists," for not supporting the Chinese Communist Party's territorial claim on Taiwan, yet both have pledged a "pragmatic" approach to ties with China, and to work to maintain the status quo. Lai's approach to cross-straits tensions echoes that of his current boss, President Tsai Ing-wen, who has angered Beijing by refusing to pay lip-service to its claims. Taiwan's Nationalist Party presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih and his vice presidential candidate Chao Shao-kang pose for the media outside of the Central Election Commission in Taipei, Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. Credit: Chiang Ying-ying/AP "Taiwan is already an independent and sovereign nation and thus we do not have a need to further declare Taiwan independence," Lai told journalists when he took over as ruling party leader in January, in a reference to the 1911 Republic of China government that has controlled the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu since the 1940s. Former National Dong Hwa University professor Shih Cheng-feng said Hsiao's inclusion on Lai's ticket sends a message about how close voters might expect such an administration to be to Washington. "Taiwanese diplomacy isn't only about the United States," Shih said. "Is Hsiao acting as a mouthpiece [for Washington] or its supervisor?" He said Wu Hsin-ying was a similarly gifted running mate for Ko, coming as she does from a financial background, with international experience at least the equal of Hsiao's. He said the ruling DPP and its 'green camp' is seeing its support base shrink, yet the Kuomintang-led 'blue camp' is unlikely to benefit from this. "Ko Wen-je is likely to win over 'light blue' and 'light green' voters from each camp," he predicted. Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster. But the claim is still under question due to a lack of supporting evidence. North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un meets with members of the Non-Standing Satellite Launch Preparation Committee, in this picture released by the Korean Central News Agency on November 24, 2023. UPDATED at 10:40 am ET on Nov. 28, 2023. North Korea claimed Tuesday that its spy satellite launched last week in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions has captured images of significant U.S. locations, including the White House. North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un thoroughly reviewed the photographs of the White House, the Pentagon, and other targets in Washington D.C., taken by its newly-launched satellite at around 11:35 pm Pyongyang time Monday, according to the Norths official Rodong Sinmun newspaper. The state-run newspaper said on Tuesday that the satellite also captured images of U.S. military bases including the Naval Station Norfolk, the Newport News Shipyard, and the surrounding airport area highlighting that it surveilled four U.S. Navy nuclear aircraft carriers and a British aircraft carrier. The paper, however, did not release images taken by the satellite. North Koreas official Korean Central News Agency had also claimed on Saturday that its newly launched satellite passed over Hawaii and observed a naval base in the Pearl Harbor, the Hickam air-force base in Honolulu. No satellite photos were published in that case either. The Associated Press reported that outside experts remain skeptical about whether the North Korean satellite can send high-resolution imagery and perform proper military reconnaissance. While the lack of supporting evidence makes the Norths claims questionable, it appears to be signaling that it poses a direct threat to the U.S. North Korea has repeatedly issued threats against the U.S., specifically targeting the White House, declaring that it would turn it into an inferno and ashes. North Korea launched the satellite last week, drawing international condemnation. The launch violated U.N. Security Council resolutions that prohibit such launches by the North. The rocket technology can also be used for ballistic missiles, which potentially could be used to deliver nuclear weapons. Trading Barbs With North Korea ramping up its provocation, the envoys of the United States and North Korea traded barbs at the U.N. Security Council in New York on Monday. North Korean Ambassador Kim Song criticized the U.S. for being hostile to his country, as he defended Pyongyangs launch of its satellite. One belligerent party, the United States, is threatening us with a nuclear weapon, said Kim. Referring to North Koreas formal name, Kim continued: It is [a] legitimate right for the DPRK, as another belligerent party, to develop, test, manufacture and possess weapons systems equivalent to those that the United States already possess and, or [are] developing right now. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, however, said that the U.S. and its allies joint military exercises which Pyongyang claims as hostile are defensive in nature, emphasizing that these exercises cannot justify the Norths violation of Security Council resolutions. We reject strongly the disingenuous DPRK claim that its missile launches are merely defensive in nature, in response to our bilateral and trilateral military exercises, said Thomas-Greenfield, noting the U.S. drills with South Korea and Japan are announced in advance, and are purely defensive in nature. Once again, Id like to express sincerely our offer of dialogue without preconditions, the DPRK only needs to accept, she added. Edited by Elaine Chan, Taejun Kang and Mat Pennington. Recasts top of story. Lawmakers say the draft law wasnt specific enough about how zones would be governed. Some members of the Lao National Assembly sought better control over special economic zones, such as the Boten Special Economic Zone [shown in 2022] in Luang Namtha Province bordering China. A draft law that sought to exert greater government control over Special Economic Zones in Laos was rejected by the National Assembly because lawmakers felt it wasnt specific enough, sources in the country told Radio Free Asia. The move comes amid concerns about the nearly non-existent oversight that Lao authorities have over the zones, called SEZs, that have drawn foreign investors, particularly from China, to set up casinos and scam-related businesses. They have also become a magnet for human trafficking. The Golden Triangle SEZ in the northern province of Bokeo, for instance, has been described as a lawless, de facto Chinese colony that Lao police have virtually no control over. The draft law proposed a new department in the Ministry of Planning and Investment called the Special Economic Zone Authority that would supervise and manage the vast tracts of land. Another large one is the Boten SEZ, which borders China in Luang Namtha province. But many lawmakers expressed reservations during a National Assembly meeting on Nov. 16 and 17, saying they felt the proposed law didnt go far enough and didnt specify how the zones would be supervised, or state the rules by which foreign nationals living in the areas would be governed. The drafted law focuses only on promotion of investment but doesnt mention about the supervision, management and governance of the SEZs at all, Ketkeo Sihalath, a representative from the capital Vientiane said. If there is no supervision, a problem might be that the number of people living in the SEZs is not so small, he said. Most of the foreigners living in the SEZs are workers, and the government should keep track of births, deaths and relocations within the zones, he said. We should also specify what language and what currency they use in the special economic zones and how the SEZs should be governed, he said. The vote count was not made public. Hazy Government officials have conceded that current laws governing SEZs are inadequate as they do not clearly indicate which authorities have jurisdiction. According to the current vaguely-worded law, the Decree on Special Economic Zones, an SEZ is defined as an area that has a special administration and management to create favorable conditions to attract investment. The zones were set up to attract foreign investment to the impoverished country. Currently, the country has 21 special economic zones covering 33,000 hectares (127 square miles) of land that has attracted 1,377 businesses worth US$419 million, according to the Lao Ministry of Planning and Investments. In 2023 alone, the zones attracted 111 companies that invested $121 million. The management and supervision of the SEZs is difficult, an official with the Lao Ministry of Industry and Trade said. The current division of responsibility is not right. If Chinese [residents] make trouble, the Chinese authorities should take care of that trouble, not the Lao side. We should discuss this issue further. Several Lao residents said they were happy that the bill was rejected, particularly because it is perceived to grant unfair advantages to Chinese nationals. I agree with the members of the National Assembly who asked the Lao government to monitor and inspect the documents, activities and work of Chinese, especially those who work in the Golden Triangle SEZ and Boten SEZ, a resident of Luang Namtha province, who like all unnamed sources in this report requested anonymity for security reasons, told RFA Lao. The government must keep track of these Chinese, he said. Who allows them to come here and what kind of work do they do? In Luang Namtha Province, I see only Chinese written everywhere. The situation is chaotic. We dont know who is good or bad. The draft law also lacked provisions that describe what types of businesses can be developed in the SEZs, said Lone Soutsihapanya, a member of the Lao National Assembly from Xayaburi Province. I think that the businesses that should be promoted in the zones are, for example, modern technology; scientific research; innovative, clean and organic agriculture; commercial plantations; processing industries; health; education; and tourism, he said. Translated by Max Avary. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster. The arrival comes amid insurgent conflict along the border in northern Shan state. Three Chinese naval vessels have arrived at Thilawa Port in Yangon for joint drills with Myanmars navy amid insurgent conflict along the neighboring nations shared border, according to the countrys military and pro-junta media reports. Nearly 700 sailors with a Chinese naval task force landed at Myanmars largest city on Monday aboard the destroyer Zibo, frigate Jingzhou and replenishment vessel Qiandaohu to take part in a maritime security drill and a goodwill visit, the Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services website said. Details about the date, location and format of the drills were not made publicly available. Junta Deputy Information Minister Major-General Zaw Min Tun categorized the visit as typical of two strategic partners who have established a strong friendship between militaries. But the arrival of the three vessels comes amid bilateral tensions stemming from a surge of conflict in northern Myanmar along the border with China since late October. Senior Myanmar naval officers [right] welcome members of the Chinese navy upon their arrival at Thilawa Port in Yangon, Myanmar, Monday, Nov. 27, 2023. (AFP/Myanmars Military Information Team) In the month since the Three Brotherhood Alliance of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, the Arakan Army and the Taang National Liberation Army launched an offensive on Oct. 27 dubbed Operation 1027 the rebels have made notable gains against the military in several key cities in Shan state in the countrys northeast. The alliance claims to have captured more than 170 military outposts since the start of the campaign. In an address to the National Defense and Security Council on Nov. 8, junta chief Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing said that the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, or MNDAA, has been using drones to attack the military, which he noted can easily be bought in China. Not long after, pro-junta supporters staged a protest in front of the Chinese Embassy in Yangon, accusing Beijing of supplying arms to the Three Brotherhood Alliance. In the meantime, Chinas Peoples Liberation Army on Nov. 25 began conducting live-fire drills in southern Yunnan province near the border with Shan state. Chinese state media has run footage of the drills involving armored vehicles, artillery shelling and small arms fire, saying they are aimed at safeguarding national sovereignty, border stability and the lives and property of the people against repercussions from civil war in northern Myanmar. Shoring up ties Hla Kyaw Zaw, a China-based analyst of Myanmar affairs, told RFA Burmese that the visit is meant to reinforce the trade relationship of the two neighboring nations amid the border conflict. The military recently raised an anti-Chinese voice, but now has praised the tour of Chinese vessels as a success in diplomatic relations, he said. China has made a lot of investments in its business across the world. It is also a major trade partner of more than 100 countries. So, China is seeking to maintain good relationships with its trade-partner countries. Political and military commentator Aung Myo, a former officer in the Myanmar military, told RFA that Chinas visit is meant to show support for the junta. China has made a visit of navy vessels to offer their guarantee of a constructive, strategic relationship with Myanmar, and it is likely meant to relieve junta suspicions that China is involved in the armed conflict in northern Shan state, he said. Another message is to show that the influential power of China is standing with the [military] and its supporters. Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army troops examine the recaptured Nansalet military camp on Nov. 25, 2023. (The Kokang) However, political commentator Than Soe Naing noted that the joint drills were scheduled before the start of Operation 1027 in northern Shan state, suggesting they are not meant to signal support for the junta. The visit of the navy vessels is likely to be part of a goodwill tour and does not indicate Chinese support for the junta in its armed conflict, he said. China has expressed an unwillingness to take any sides either that of the military or the resistance forces while calling for peace dialogue. On Oct. 27, the day that Operation 1027 began, Chinas foreign ministry called for dialogue to end the conflict. Since then, there have been several high-level meetings between Chinese and junta officials in both China and Myanmar that have included talks on the fighting in Shan state, but clashes have continued, and the analysts RFA spoke with say there is no end in sight. Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army forces recaptured Nansalet military camp on Nov. 25, 2023. (The Kokang) Attempts by RFA to contact the Chinese Embassy in Yangon for comment on the drills and the state of Myanmar-China relations went unanswered Tuesday, as did requests for comment to junta officials. From Nov. 7-9, junta troops conducted drills alongside around 800 sailors and three destroyers from the Russian navy in the Bay of Bengal near Myeik township in southern Myanmars Tanintharyi region. Translated by Aung Naing. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster. Junta bombing in western Myanmar killed four people, locals told Radio Free Asia on Tuesday. Heavy artillery fired at Rakhine states War Shee Lar village on Monday evening exploded, injuring seven people. Five of the seven are in critical condition and were sent to Buthidaung Hospital in the townships capital. The deceased include eight-year-old Arru Shu Lar and 11-year-old Abdullah, as well as 50-year-old Ha Bezar. The injured are in their 30s to 40s, said a War Shee Lar resident who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. They died and were injured when a heavy weapon dropped while they were working in the vegetable farm. Arru Shu Lar and Ha Beza died on the spot, he told RFA. Another child died on the way to the hospital. The dead have been cremated in the village. Heavy artillery was fired by a Buthidaung township-based junta battalion, he added. The shelling continued even as villagers cremated the bodies of the deceased in the village cemetery. War Shee Lar is a Rohingya village with about 1,000 people. Locals said that all the residents are afraid, but they have to hide in the village because there is no place to run. To Buthidaungs southeast, a teenager was killed when junta troops fired at a village in Mrauk-U township. Fifteen-year-old Cho Cho died on Monday night in Pan Be Tan village after being struck in the stomach by a bullet in her home, residents said. The shooting was from a Mrauk-U-based junta infantry battalion, locals alleged. RFA contacted Rakhine states junta spokesperson Hla Thein by phone, but he did not reply by the time of publication. The junta has not released any information through official channels or regime-backed media regarding the killings. The juntas army has been deliberately targeting civilians since Nov. 13, when fighting with the Arakan Army resumed, said Pe Than, a former member of parliament from the Arakan National Party in Rakhine state. Now the junta army can no longer go directly to the battleground and fight. Thats why they open fire with small and heavy artillery from their camps. And they mainly target civilian areas, he told RFA. Its like burning down the barn when they cannot hit the rats. [The junta] has been fighting in a way that harms the people since the beginning of the fighting in Rakhine state. The military has blocked roads connecting Rakhine state from the rest of the country, as well as roads and waterways between towns and villages, he said, adding peoples livelihoods were severely affected by this tactic. Fighting between the junta and Arakan Army resumed on Nov. 13 after a year-long ceasefire. According to data compiled by RFA, fighting since Nov.13 has killed 17 civilians and injured 57 more. Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn. The planned trip of 40 civilian boats comes amid rising territorial tensions between the Philippines and China. Philippine Coast Guard personnel and journalists sail on a rigid inflatable boat as they head back after filming the BRP Sierra Madre, a World War II-era ship deliberately grounded by Manila to serve as its territorial outpost in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, in the South China Sea, Nov. 10, 2023. The Philippines has green-lighted a large convoy of civilian boats to bring Christmas cheer to troops stationed on its outposts in the South China Sea, the government said Tuesday, despite some tense standoffs lately with Chinese ships in those disputed waters. Citing a risk of a heightened confrontation with China, the Philippine National Security Council compelled the organizers of the planned convoy a civilian coalition called Atin Ito! Or This Is Ours! to veer away from their original plan to sail directly to the BRP Sierra Madre. The World War II-era ship was deliberately grounded at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, a reef that lies within the Philippiness exclusive economic zone, to serve as Manilas military outpost there. Organizers told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service, that as many as 40 civilian boats would participate in the convoy, which will conduct its trip from December 10 to 12. Both parties agreed that a convoy to the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal would not be advisable at this time since the safety of the civilian convoy is of paramount consideration, Jonathan Malaya, assistant director general at the National Security Council, said in a statement on Tuesday. The agreement ensures the safety and security of the Christmas Convoy and the timely delivery of donated items to our fisherfolk and front-liners and upholds our sovereign rights to the West Philippine Sea, he added. Malaya said the convoy would still pass through the general vicinity of Ayungin Shoal as far as practicable on its way to other Philippine-occupied features in the West Philippine Sea, the part of the South China Sea within Manilas 200-nautical mile EEZ. The convoy will make a stop at Pag-asa (Thitu) island, a territory occupied by the Philippines, to transfer Christmas gifts and donated supplies to the navy. The items will then be delivered to marines stationed in Ayungin via the navys routine rotation and resupply missions. Pag-asa, located beyond the Philippine exclusive economic zone, is the largest of the nine features occupied by Manila in the South China Sea and the only one with a civilian population. The waters around Ayungin Shoal have grown increasingly perilous due to heated encounters between Philippine and Chinese ships in recent months. China Coast Guard ships and Chinese maritime militia ships have persistently tried to block or pursue Philippine Coast Guard vessels, as well as wooden boats delivering supplies to the marines stationed on the Sierra Madre. Philippine authorities also explicitly recognized that the potential for escalating tensions with China had played a role in their decision to prevent the civilian convoy from traveling to the Sierra Madre. It could add to the tensions between us and China, Malaya said. They cannot go inside the lagoon, and they cant board the BRP Sierra Madre. What is paramount is their safety and security. Chester Cabalza, a security expert and founder of the International Development and Security Cooperation based in Manila, said even though the convoy would avoid Ayungin Shoal, the trip could still be viewed by China as a provocation. In Manilas version, its an exercise of a right to travel and for its own citizens to explore the territories of the Philippines, which perhaps may be misconstrued by China again as a provocation, Cabalza told BenarNews. China lays claims over a large swath of the South China Sea. In 2016, an international arbitration court, using the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, ruled against Beijings expansive claims and sided with the Philippines based on a complaint. But China, a signatory to UNCLOS, has ignored the landmark ruling. BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated news service. BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 28. Russia's Pulkovo Airport has resumed its operations following normalization of the weather conditions in St. Petersburg, Trend reports. "Currently, there are no departure delays due to weather conditions, while 13 flights are delayed on arrival due to late arrival of aircraft, and they are expected in St. Petersburg shortly," the airport said. "Instances of late arrival of aircraft at the airport and weather conditions may have an additional impact on increasing the time of service and taxiing. Pulkovo Airport continues to serve passengers and airlines without interruption," the airport noted. Owing to severe weather at Pulkovo Airport, Russian airline Aeroflot canceled lots of flights between Moscow and St. Petersburg this morning. As a result, flights SU016 and SU022 from Moscow to St. Petersburg returned to the departure airport. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Sikyong Penpa Tsering (C) of the Central Tibetan Administration met with Canadian lawmakers James Maloney (3rd from R), Julie Vignola (3rd from L) and John McKay (2nd from R) and others during his four-day visit to Ottawa in November. The leader of Tibets government-in-exile has met with Canadian lawmakers, government officials and Tibet supporters in Ottawa to urge their continued support for Tibetan causes, including their freedom struggle, and raising the issue of Chinas human rights violations in the region Sikyong Penpa Tsering, executive head of the Central Tibetan Administration, or CTA, headquartered in Dharamsala, India, visited Ottawa on Nov. 20-23, following the Halifax International Security Forum in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Nov. 17-19, where he spoke to some of the hundreds of delegates from more than 70 countries. The Halifax International Security Forum is an annual security summit for government and military officials, academic experts, and global industry leaders, journalists and human rights defenders from around the world. During his meetings with Canadian lawmakers in Ottawa, Tsering urged them to adopt resolutions and take a principled stand on Tibet in light of systematic repression by the People's Republic of China, said Namgyal Choedup, the representative of the Office of Tibet in Washington who accompanied Tsering on his visit. More specifically, he urged the lawmakers to adopt legislation in concurrence with the U.S. on the issue of Dalai Lamas succession as enacted in Tibet Policy and Support Act of 2020, he said. The act, signed into law in December 2020, makes it official American policy that Tibetan Buddhists would decide the succession of Tibetan Buddhist leaders, including that of the Dalai Lama, their spiritual leader, without interference from the Chinese government. Those who interfere in the selection process will be subject to sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act, including the denial of entry into the United States. Tserings visit comes at a time when Chinese authorities are increasing their grip on Tibet with policies that seek to eliminate Tibets linguistic, cultural and religious traditions, especially among younger generations of Tibetans. Authorities have eliminated the teaching of subjects in the Tibetan language in schools in the Tibetan Autonomous Region as well as in those in Tibetan-populated areas in Chinas western provinces. They also have forcibly assimilated more than 1 million Tibetan children into state-run boarding schools. In Ottawa, Tsering had back-to-back meetings with 32 lawmakers from different political parties, including four cabinet ministers, the co-chairs of the Parliamentary Friends of Tibet, and the parliamentary secretaries to the foreign affairs and international development ministers, according to information issued by the CTA. He also met with Speaker of the House Greg Fargus and held discussions with officials from Canadas Foreign Ministry on the human rights situation in Tibet, including the forced separation of Tibetan children into boarding schools and concerns about religious freedom. In addition to political support for the Tibetan peoples basic fundamental rights, Sikyong discussed support for the Central Tibetan Administration's preservation of Tibetan language, culture and religion in India, Nepal and Bhutan, and the lawmakers have agreed to continue to give their support, Namgyal Choedup said. James Maloney, a Liberal Party caucus member who also serves as parliamentary secretary to the minister of justice and attorney general, called Tsering the voice of the Tibetans around the world and in Canada while extending him a cordial welcome to the House of Commons, the lower house of the Canadian Parliament. Translated by Tenzin Dickyi for RFA Tibetan. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster. The move is a concern to thousands of Vietnamese in Thailand. Thailands Royal Police and immigration authority have arrested 11 Montagnard Vietnamese who were taking refuge near the capital city of Bangkok, according to a member of an organization representing the ethnic group. Y Quynh Buondap is a member of Montagnards Stand For Justice (MSFJ) and has been living as a refugee in Thailand for many years. Speaking to Radio Free Asia on Monday he said thousands of Montagnards in Thailand are living in fear. Strangers follow them when they go out and often take photos of their rental homes, he said. On the morning of November 24, many cars from Thailands police and Immigration Department came to a Montagnard peoples residential area. They asked them to open the door in the Vietnamese language. He said most of the Montagnard people there were sleeping and did not know what was happening. As some did not open their doors, the police broke them down to search for people. They arrested all the men they found. They said that these people are living illegally in Thailand regardless of their having the U.N. card [recognizing refugee status] or not and that Thailand did not accommodate people coming illegally. Then the arrestees were taken to and detained at Bang Yai police station. He said the current situation was very tense, and some sources told him that women could also be arrested if they did not have children. According to the human rights activist, the UNHCR (United Nations Refugee Agency) and law firms havent taken any measures to help those arrested. He added that other refugees were extremely worried. Men left home to avoid being arrested. Some hid themselves in pagodas, while others slept in bushes. Thoan Siu and his family left Vietnam for Thailand in 2018 and have all been granted refugee status by the UNHCR. However, his son Nay-Luyn was still arrested during Fridays raid. Eleven Central Highlands [Montagnard] people, who were sleeping at home in Bang Yai, were arrested at 6 a.m. on November 24 Thai police even arrested people having been granted refugee status, he said. Thoan Siu said he had to leave Vietnam for Thailand because his land had been stolen, and he was prevented from practicing freedom of religion. [We are] very confused and anxious as we were chased in Vietnam and now we are also being chased in Thailand. Many refugees are worried about their lives on a daily basis, not knowing how their future could be. Hleo Nie is the mother of two primary school children. Despite fleeing Vietnam to Thailand two years ago, her family did not obtain an interview by UNHCR until last month. Her husband, Y Khuong Eban, was among the 11 Montagnard people arrested last week. I am very worried and scared. I don't know where to go, she said. My family hasnt got refugee status yet. We just had the interview a month ago. We have to worry about everything here: No money for rent, no money for daily necessities, and we are always sick. The Thai police are still chasing us. They said they would even arrest women. RFA calls to Thailands Royal Police and Bang Yais police to seek information about those arrested went unanswered. RFA also tried to contact the UNHCR office in Bangkok but failed as their telephone line was always busy. An attorney from a law office in Bangkok specializing in providing assistance to refugees who wished to remain anonymous for safety reasons, confirmed the arrest of the 11 Vietnamese. The attorney said that on Sunday morning, all 11 people had been put on trial and convicted of illegal entry into Thailand as well as illegal residence. He also said each had to pay THB5,000 (US$140) as a trial fee and would be sent to the Immigration Detention Center (IDC) in Bangkok this week. According to the attorney, one of the requirements for a detainee to leave the IDC is to pay a bail of THB50,000, which could be a fortune to a refugee without a legal and stable job. He added that his organization is looking for funds to help the arrestees and their families. According to Y Quynh Buondap, 17 Montagnard people have been arrested over the past few months, of whom nine have already been granted refugee status. Among them, two were arrested in August, four on November 20, and 11 on November 24. All are being held in the IDC, he said. Montagnard is the largest ethnic minority Vietnamese group taking refuge in Thailand, with around 2,000 people, followed by Hmong and Khmer groups, with hundreds of people each. Dozens of Vietnamese activists are also living in Thailand to avoid persecution by the Vietnam government. Translated by Anna Vu. Edited by Mike Firn and Elaine Chan. The move comes as Asian nations seek to strengthen and de-risk supply chains that have relied heavily on China. Vietnams President Vo Van Thuong (L) and Japans Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (R) look on during a document exchange ceremony between the two countries after their meeting at the prime ministers official residence in Tokyo, Japan November 27, 2023. Vietnam and Japan have officially upgraded relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership during a visit by the Vietnamese president to Tokyo. Mondays agreement came during talks between President Vo Van Thuong and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The two said they would cooperate more closely on security issues, work on defense equipment and technology transfers and start discussing a new Japanese aid program for militaries of like-minded developing countries in the region, the Associated Press reported. This is an important event, opening a new chapter in Vietnam-Japan relations, Thuong said in a speech broadcast on national television. The deal follows a similar move between Vietnam and the United States last month when American President Joe Biden visited Hanoi. Four other countries: China, India, Russia and South Korea have raised their relationship with Vietnam to the highest level. The upgrade is commensurate with the level of Japans engagement with Vietnam, especially in trade, investment, infrastructure development, human resources development, and recently maritime security, Hanh Nguyen, a Yokosuka Council on Asia Pacific Studies (YCAPS) Research Fellow, told Radio Free Asia. It sends a signal to both China and the U.S. that Vietnam is not going to take sides in the great power competition and will continue to pursue its traditional strategy of hedging and multilateralization of foreign affairs. Japan is the third-largest overseas investor in Vietnam and the fourth-biggest trading partner. Bilateral trade reached US$47.6 billion last year and neared $37 billion in the first 10 months of 2023 according to the Center for WTO and International Trade of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Japan and Vietnam both have territorial disputes with China, Tokyo arguing with Beijing over sovereignty of islands in the East China Sea and Hanoi clashing with the Chinese government over shoals and land reclamation in the South China Sea. In 2020, Tokyo agreed to a $348 million loan agreement for Vietnam to build six maritime patrol vessels. I expect that with the upgrade in partnership, it will open up opportunities for further maritime security cooperation, especially capacity building activities for Vietnams Coast Guards and Navy, which have been going on for a few years now, Nguyen said. Maritime security equipment transfers, and arms transfer might see more developments. Vietnam in general is more comfortable with Japan as a partner of security cooperation due to Hanois perceptions of Tokyo as a reliable and trustworthy partner, who is also less likely to criticize Vietnam's human rights record. Human Rights Watchs Asia Division Deputy Director Phil Robertson was more skeptical about the agreement between Japan and Vietnam. If everyone becomes comprehensive & strategic allies, doesnt that denigrate the meaning of Vietnams upgrades? he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. Thoung is on a four-day visit to Japan, to mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries. Edited by Taejun Kang and Elaine Chan. Pakistan has issued an ultimatum to the Afghan Taliban: Expel the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) extremist group from Afghanistan or face the consequences. Pakistans special representative for Afghanistan, Asif Durrani, repeated the warning on November 11, saying that the Afghan extremist group must choose Pakistan or the TTP. The Afghan Taliban denies sheltering the TTP, with which it has close ideological and organizational ties. The TTP has intensified its deadly insurgency against Pakistan since the Afghan militants seized power in Afghanistan in 2021. By refusing to rein in the TTP, Pakistan believes the Afghan Taliban has made its choice. Islamabad has sought to strongarm the Afghan militants by expelling hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees from Pakistan, shutting key border crossings, and temporarily blocking Afghan transit goods in recent months. Experts said the relationship between Pakistan and the Taliban, which have been close allies for decades, has reached a crisis point. They warn that further escalation could have major security and economic ramifications for both countries. Pakistan and the Taliban are on a collision course, said Asfandyar Mir, a senior analyst at the United States Institute of Peace. Pakistan's pressure campaign has the potential to be very painful for the Taliban and the Taliban's retaliatory measures, like letting the TTP undertake even more attacks, can impose serious costs on Pakistan as well, Mir added. Pressure Tactics The Afghan Taliban has accused Pakistan of using pressure tactics to make the group bow to Islamabads demands. Last month, Islamabad ordered 1.7 million undocumented Afghan refugees and migrants to leave the South Asian country or face arrest and forced deportation after November 1. Over 400,000 Afghans have returned to their homeland since then, in a move that has further aggravated the devastating humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, the worlds largest. Pakistan said its decision was in direct response to the Taliban's alleged refusal to expel the TTP, also known as the Pakistani Taliban. "After noncooperation by the Afghan interim government, Pakistan has decided to take matters into its own hands, and Pakistan's recent actions are neither unexpected or surprising," Pakistani caretaker Prime Minister Anwar ul-Haq Kakar said on November 8. Kakar claimed that terrorist attacks inside his country have increased by around 60 percent since the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan in August 2021. Since then, he said, some 2,300 Pakistanis have been killed in those attacks. Pakistan also temporarily blocked the transit of thousands of containers filled with imports bound for Afghanistan that were stranded at Pakistans port city of Karachi for months. To open alternative international trade routes for landlocked Afghanistan, the Taliban has sought access to Iran's strategic Chabahar Port, located in the countrys southeast. Pakistan has also sporadically closed the border with Afghanistan, stranding thousands of mostly Afghan civilians and halting hundreds of vehicles carrying goods between the two countries. Pledge Of Allegiance Some experts said Pakistans tactics are unlikely to change the Afghan Talibans calculations. Sami Yousafzai, a veteran Afghan journalist and commentator who tracks the Taliban, said it was unlikely that the Afghan Taliban would expel the TTP. In 2001, the Taliban refused to hand over the Al-Qaeda leaders that Washington held responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In response, the United States invaded Afghanistan and ousted the Taliban regime from power. Today, the TTP is a much closer ally, said Yousafzai. Successive TTP chiefs have sworn allegiance to the Talibans spiritual leader. Like the Afghan Taliban, many TTP fighters are from the Pashtun ethnic group. The TTP also hosted and fought alongside the Afghan Taliban during its nearly 19-year insurgency against the Western-backed Afghan government and international troops in Afghanistan. The TTP made many sacrifices to enable the Taliban to return to power, Yousafzai said. How can the Taliban abandon them now? Yousafzai said the Afghan Talibans confrontation with Pakistan has also allowed it to shed its image as a Pakistani proxy. Islamabad has been the Afghan Talibans key foreign sponsor since the mid-1990s, when the extremist group first emerged. The current tensions give the Taliban a golden opportunity to undo those accusations, he said. Military Option Islamabad could resort to military force to compel the Afghan Taliban to change its behavior, according to some experts. The Afghan Taliban has tried to appease Pakistan. In June, the Afghan Taliban relocated TTP fighters and their families away from the border with Pakistan to other areas of Afghanistan, a move intended to placate Islamabad. Last year, the Afghan Taliban brokered yearlong peace talks between the TTP and Islamabad that broke down. Ihsanullah Tipu Mehsud, an Islamabad-based director at Khorasan Diary, a website tracking militant groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan, said that senior Pakistani officials feel they have exhausted all diplomatic and political options. Here, the current mindset is that the TTP can only be contained through force, he said. One possible option being considered here now is to begin cross-border strikes on suspected TTP bases and hideouts inside Afghanistan. In April 2022, Pakistan carried out unprecedented air strikes in eastern Afghanistan, killing dozens of people. Pakistan said it was targeting the TTP. The air strikes provoked harsh exchanges, with the Taliban issuing threats against Islamabad. There have been reports of other Pakistani cross-border attacks that have targeted the TTP over the past year. Some of those incidents have led to the TTP launching retaliatory attacks against Pakistani forces, Mehsud said. Pakistani attacks inside Afghanistan have raised fears of a direct conflict between Islamabad and the Afghan Taliban. But experts said they expect the sides to reach a compromise that would prevent a worst-case scenario. Mir of the United States Institute of Peace said that the Afghan Taliban is unlikely to rein in the TTP unless Pakistan offers concessions to the Pakistani militants. During the failed peace negotiations with Pakistan, the TTP demanded that Islamabad withdraw a large portion of the tens of thousands of Pakistani troops stationed in northwestern Pakistan, the extremist groups former stronghold. The TTPs other demands included the implementation of Islamic Shari'a law in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the reversal of democratic reforms in the same province. Pakistan may settle for less than a Taliban crackdown or expulsion of the TTP, said Mir. But, at a bare minimum, it will want an end to the TTP violence. Thousands of Buryats, a distinctive ethnic minority in Russia, fled tsarist conscription during World War I as well as the Soviet repressions that followed to form their own microcosm of Buryat culture in a remote region of Mongolia. Karina Pronina, a journalist with the Siberian online magazine Lyudi Baikala, visited the north Mongolian village of Dadal where some of these Buryat emigrants settled in the last century, and came back with this report, which has also been published by RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities. *** In 1924, a starving Buryat family left their village of Bada, in the south of the nascent Soviet Union, and fled toward Mongolia. During the weekslong journey, it's said that one of the women, exhausted, placed her baby daughter on the ground. She covered the infants face with a scarf to keep the flies away, then hurried after the rest of the group. "Soon a relative asked her, Where is your child?'" says 74-year old Yumzhavyn Tsevelmaa, a direct descendant of that same woman. They forced her to return and pick up her child. If they hadnt done that, I wouldnt be standing here talking to you now. Tsevelmaa was born and has lived all her life in the Mongolian village of Dadal, where some 70 percent of the 3,000 inhabitants are descendants of Buryat migrants who left the Buryatia and Transbaikal regions of today's Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. Buryats are an ethnic minority of Siberia whose population of around half a million largely follow a blend of Buddhism and Shamanism. The Buryatia region has been hit hard by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with thousands of Buryat men being mobilized to fight. Buryatia has reportedly suffered the highest casualty rate of any region behind only the neighboring Tuva Republic. Around 50,000 ethnic Buryats currently live in Mongolia. They were afraid for themselves and for their children, Tsevelmaa says of the reasons her relatives fled the Soviet Union as it was being formed. The Russian Civil War had just ended, there was a famine. In Mongolia, my family felt safe. Over time, the new arrivals began to thrive in Mongolia. They were resourceful and hardworking, Tsevelmaa says. "Everything they earned was kept in chests. There was jewelry, Chinese silks, coral, leathers." But in the 1930s, during communist purges in the Mongolian People's Republic, everything was shaken out of those chests and confiscated, Tsevelmaa says. The Buryats were called traitors and enemies. They were accused of betraying the Soviet Union because they fled the country. When Mongolia's Soviet-backed authorities arrested Tsevelmaas grandfather he reportedly told others not to worry, saying, Im not guilty of anything. Her grandfather put on his best clothes, got on his favorite horse and rode off to give himself up for interrogation. He was later executed. Like many other residents of Dadal, Tsevelmaa believes the repression of Buryats in Soviet-backed Mongolia took place on the personal orders of Josef Stalin in Moscow. But the former teachers views of Russia today are without emotion. We need to be friends with Russia, because it is our neighbor. A very big neighbor, she says. Dadal is located in northeastern Mongolia, just 34 kilometers away from the Russian border but nearly 400 kilometers from the Mongolian capital, Ulan Bator, as the crow flies. Half of that journey is across rough dirt roads of the steppe. Dont bother asking Google, a driver in Ulan Bator laughs when I check the driving time to Dadal on my phone. The navigation app claims a travel time of seven hours. In fact, we drive for some 14 hours. When we arrive, my mind and body are so jarred from the endless shaking that it seems like weve arrived in a Russian village. Instead of Mongolias endless steppes and sheep herds, here there are lakes, rivers, and meadows. In a pine forest near the entrance to Dadal, fine edible mushrooms grow on the side of the road. The feeling of distance from Mongolian culture intensifies inside Dadal. There are no yurts -- the traditional houses of nomadic farmers in the East Asian country -- everyone here lives inside wooden houses, many with cows and roosters wandering outside. Gelegzhamsyn Purev, 77, and his wife, 70-year-old Dugarzhav Dolgormaa, live on the outskirts of Dadal. With his camouflaged hunting jacket and flat cap, Purev looks like any ordinary pensioner from a Buryat village in Russia. But he was born in Dadal and speaks no Russian, only a mixture of Buryat and Mongolian. The Purev family are prosperous livestock managers, owning 1,000 sheep, 100 cows, and 200 horses. Purev doesnt call himself a farmer, but modestly introduces himself as a pensioner. His business success came through selling milk and cottage cheese to workers toiling on roads in the region. Purev says his relatives fled to Dadal from Buryatia in 1924. The settlers walked with children, livestock, and their possessions loaded onto a cart. When they crossed the border of the fledgling Soviet Union, they tied the dog's muzzles shut so they couldnt bark, and wound rags around their horses' hooves to muffle the sounds of their escape from any potential border patrols. Buryats left for Mongolia in three waves. The first wave came at the beginning of the 20th century when ethnic Russian settlers arrived in Buryatia en masse, squeezing the indigenous population out of pasture areas for livestock. The second wave took place during World War I as Buryats were being mobilized to assist the Russian Army. Despite not being assigned to frontline fighting roles, many died from harsh conditions in the military. The third wave of Buryat settlement in Mongolia came after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution and the conflict that followed. The Russian Civil war became an accelerating factor [of resettlement], says Ivan Peshkov, the head of Central Asian studies at Polands Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan. By 1934 there were already 35,000 Buryats living in Mongolia, mostly in regions along the Soviet border, Peshkov says. Today, most descendants of the settlers know little about how the exodus took place -- potentially dangerous knowledge during the Soviet period -- but some legends have been handed down through the generations. Badam Baterdene, a guide at the local museum, says his family arrived in 1902 as one of the first to move to Mongolia. Baterdene's great-great-grandmother was five years old at the time. According to the myth-like family story, she was riding in a cart, fell asleep on the way and tumbled out without the adults noticing. In the morning they realized the girl was missing, Baterdene recounts. When a relative retraced their route he saw the girl riding toward him on a dog, which had allegedly guarded the child. It's estimated that some 20,000-35,000 enemies of the revolution were executed in Mongolia under communism. As in the U.S.S.R., the peak of repression in Mongolia occurred in the 1930s. Buddhist monks were the first to be targeted, then Buryat migrants. According to my Mongolian colleagues, a third of the Buryats living in the country were arrested. Peshkov says. Of those, around a quarter were shot. The rest were imprisoned, exiled to Siberia, fired from work, or restricted in employment. In Mongolia, the Buryats were perceived as a dangerous people associated with Japan, explains Peshkov of the Asian minority of the U.S.S.R. The fact that they left the Soviet Union only served to confirm suspicions. For many, Peshkov says, their 'cross-border' status became a death sentence." Of the 2,000 residents of Dadal, it's said that more than 600 people -- nearly a third of the entire population at the time -- were arrested in the 1930s. Many were executed, including three women, one of whom was pregnant. Stalin really didnt like the Buryats who left him, says 63-year-old Dadal resident Tsyrendorzhi Monbish. In the 1930s, her grandfather and his two sons were arrested. Monbish's grandfather was exiled to Siberia and never returned. His fate remains a mystery. Her grandfathers eldest son was also exiled to the Soviet Union and died there. Her grandfathers second son worked for the state but was also arrested. During interrogations, he denied being guilty of any crime. And they shot him,Monbish says. He could have simply remained silent, but he boldly declared his innocence. He was brave. When asked her opinion of Russia today she indicates a positive attitude to the country but says war with Ukraine? I am against war! The image of Russia has sunk so low, I want [Russian President Vladimir Putin] to die. She adds, I know that Putin is sending the Buryats to war. We are against this. Buryats have borne a heavy burden from the Kremlins invasion of Ukraine. In the first wave of mobilization in the autumn of 2022, more than 4,000 Buryat men were reportedly drafted into the army. Some Dadal residents decline to express their opinions about Russia's invasion of Ukraine -- especially officials. Badam Baterdene, who also works in the agricultural department of the local administration, says that initially he thought, Russia is right in this war. "We read that Ukrainians are former Nazis," he says. "But now I cant understand who, what, why and what for." Other locals are more forthcoming. Tsyrendorzhi Yanzhima, a cafe owner says that she cannot understand why the Buryats are being sent to war. In the 1930s, the Buryats were repressed; now repressions have returned. Young guys get sent to war, and may never return. Let them move here instead. If all the Buryats [in Russia] moved to Mongolia, we would help them she says. There is a lot of work here. Yanzhima leads me to the local monastery. Several years ago, three Buddhist stupa were placed here to commemorate the Buryats killed during the communist era. A Buddhist drum was placed nearby with all the names of the villagers killed by the authorities. Yanzhima points out several names on the drum that are her relatives. All the men were taken away from us, all the mens work was done by women and boys, Yanzhima says. They mowed hay, chopped firewood, slaughtered the cows. It was a difficult time, but it strengthened this village. We became even more hardworking. Many people want to marry a Buryat because we are very competent and we dont complain about life. One ardent critic of the Russian government is Galsangiin Dorzhsuren, the former mayor of Dadal. When we meet Dorzhsuren he is working in a potato field in rough old clothes. Soon, however, he heads inside his house and changes into a traditional Buryat suit and hat. Buryats in Russia go to war because they live very poorly there, Dorzhsuren says. "They are fleeing to us in Mongolia because your economy is weak." He recalls his impressions from a trip to Buryatia 15 years ago. There were destroyed villages, destroyed houses, devastation all around, he says. Dorzhsuren invites us to sit with him. Nuts, Russian chocolates, and a bottle of vodka are served up. This is the first time we have been offered alcohol in Dadal. The spirit is poured into shot glasses for everyone, then the ex-mayor gives a long toast about how good it is that Russians such as us have come to Dadal. And then after glasses are clinked he shouts in Russian: Lets go! And we drink. Iran's strategy in the Middle East is essentially a take on an old proverb: Give your proxies and partners weapons and you can sustain their battles for a day. Teach them to make weapons and they can fight your enemies for a lifetime. With Iranian-backed militant groups taking the charge in the Islamic republic's fight against Israel and the United States, Tehran is seeing its effort to help them acquire their own weapons-manufacturing capabilities pay off. "Iran has established a network of allies and partners throughout the Middle East, from the Huthis in Yemen, to pro-Iranian groups in Iraq, to pro-Iranian groups in Syria, to Hizballah in Lebanon, to Hamas in Gaza," said Samuel Bendett of the Virginia-based Center for Naval Analyses. "And [Tehran] basically feeds some of its technology there directly, or provides kits and parts and other assistance to the local developers from those units, from those groups, and either gives them training in Iran or trains them on their location." Increasingly, those Tehran-backed militant groups are turning to weapons they have produced themselves, often based on Iranian blueprints or manufactured or assembled with Iran's assistance. "Those groups now have a lot of know-how which was provided to them by Iran," Bendett said. "And they're now using them against the U.S. and its allies in the region." The Iranian-backed Islamic Resistance Movement -- better known as Hamas and considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union -- utilized a vast array of indigenously produced weapons and employed advanced battlefield tactics during its surprise multipronged attack on Israel on October 7 that left around 1,200 people dead. The Israeli Defense Forces said they recovered Iranian-manufactured mortars and explosives used by the Palestinian extremist group after the assault, and Israeli military officials have reportedly estimated that up to 10 percent of the weapons used in the attack were made in Iran. But most were produced or refined by Hamas indigenously in the Gaza Strip, including assault rifles, missiles, rockets, mortars, shells, and ammunition, according to Israeli defense officials. Some of the at least 19 Iranian proxies and partners in the region that help make up Iran's so-called axis of resistance have also used Iranian-derived or indigenously manufactured weapons built with Tehran's help against Israel as well as U.S. troops based in the region since the Hamas assault. These militant groups boast varying levels of firepower in their respective arsenals made up of Soviet-era, Russian, Iranian, and indigenously manufactured weapons based on Iranian designs. While Iran denies delivering arms to the groups directly, many of the missiles, rockets, and other weapons are similar to those produced by Iran. Lebanese Hizballah boasts the most formidable arsenal of projectiles among Tehran's proxies -- including its own manufactured or refitted missiles and rockets. Since October 7, Hizballah has launched hundreds of rockets and missiles at Israel. The Iranian-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen claim to have launched ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones, at Israel. On November 8, the Pentagon announced that a U.S. military surveillance drone was shot down off the coast of Yemen by Huthi forces. In an apparent response to U.S. support for Israel's retaliatory land invasion and aerial bombardment of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, Iranian proxies in Iraq and Syria have launched 58 attacks against U.S. forces in the past month, according to the Pentagon. Tehran has denied involvement in the Hamas attack, and in early November Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reportedly pressed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh to silence those calling for Iran and Lebanese Hizballah to join the Israel-Hamas war. According to sources cited by Reuters, Khamenei said during the meeting with Haniyeh in Tehran that Iran would continue to offer political and moral support but would not directly enter the conflict. But Iran has publicly boasted about the military aid it has provided to Hamas in recent years. And despite international sanctions and a sea and land blockade on the Gaza Strip that was imposed by Israel and Egypt in 2005, experts say it is clear that Tehran has provided assistance to boost Hamas's fighting capabilities. Middle East political analyst Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib told RFE/RL that Hamas built up its arsenal by looting weapons from former stockpiles of the Palestinian Authority or illegally purchasing them decades ago from Israeli sources through straw-man sales, smuggling arms and materials across the border with Egypt, and domestically producing drones, rockets, and various munitions. But there is little evidence that any seaborne smuggling of arms has taken place since Hamas took power in the Gaza Strip in 2007, he said. And the smuggling from Egypt that reached its height after the Egyptian revolution in 2011 declined sharply after the Muslim Brotherhood government there was overthrown in 2013 and has since "been reduced to a trickle." Nevertheless, Alkhatib said, "the weaponry and the arsenal that Hamas has right now has been building up for over a decade" and benefited from thousands of tons of smuggled arms and materials that could be used to manufacture its own weapons. "Even if the smuggling stopped, those are still significant and vast enough to offer Hamas and other groups the ability to inflict damage as we saw on October 7 and as we're seeing in their defensive battle with advancing Israeli ground troops," said Alkhatib, a U.S. citizen from Gaza. Whereas Hamas historically focused on building up a stockpile of rifles and machine guns, he says, it turned its attention to developing kinetic capabilities -- including mines, targeted explosive warheads, improvised explosive devices, anti-tank missiles, and rocket propelled grenades. Hamas has also invested heavily in developing longer-range rockets and guidance and targeting capabilities as well as a range of unmanned aerial vehicles, including fixed-wing and weaponized commercial-grade drones. Hamas had a falling out with Tehran, including over the extremist group's support of the Syrian uprising in 2011, Alkhatib says. But Yahya Sinwar, Hamas's leader in Gaza, realigned the organization with Tehran "because they have realized that without Iran, their military capability won't stand a chance in continuing to evolve." The realignment "with Iran, with the Syrian regime, and certainly with [Lebanese] Hizballah," he added, "are directly related to Hamas's needs and reliance on Iran to procure materials and, more importantly in the era of limited to no smuggling, technologies and know-how to domestically produce [weapons] systems." Aided by Iranian weapons blueprints and the use of modern digital platforms for remote training, Hamas has learned how to upgrade old rockets and missiles to expand their range and lethality, he said. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and Lebanese Hizballah have also been able to remotely teach Hamas fighting tactics and how to develop its massive tunnel network. "And, more importantly, Iran is also teaching Hamas how to use strategic capabilities," Alkhatib said, such as how to integrate drones on the battlefield. "What was particularly spectacular about the October 7 attack," Alkhatib said, "is that Hamas for the first time demonstrated a combined-arms approach to guerrilla warfare, whereby intelligence was linked with the artillery barrage, was linked with the aerial capabilities of using the paragliders, was linked with the ground troops with the elite forces, with the logistical networks to transport the hostages back to Gaza and to send the attacks in waves with internal operational security. "This was a qualitative leap forward in Hamas's fighting doctrine. And it could have only been learned and developed through assistance from Iran, broadly, and more specifically, its proxies and its arms in the region such as Hizballah and the IRGC," he added. Elsewhere in the Middle East, Iran's support for proxies and its involvement in the Syrian civil war now leaves it with a significant number of experienced fighters at the ready for future conflicts. Alkhatib notes that Iran supported hundreds of thousands of Shi'ite militias and fighters in Iraq and Syria, both to support the government of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria and to combat the Islamic State (IS) extremist group alongside Syrian and Iraqi government forces. "Now that both have been largely defeated, IS and the Syrian rebels, Iran was left with these powerful, battle-hardened, well-trained, well-organized militias that had nothing to do," Alkhatib said. "And so, they have been recycled and repurposed by the IRGC to further bolster the so-called axis of resistance, and to be used in a potential fight with Israel and the United States." The human rights group Memorial has recognized Alsu Kurmasheva, a veteran journalist of RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service who has been in Russian custody since October 18, as a political prisoner. Kurmasheva, a Prague, Czech Republic-based journalist with RFE/RL who holds dual U.S. and Russian citizenships, traveled to Russia for a family emergency in May. She was temporarily detained while waiting for her return flight on June 2 at the airport in the capital of the Tatarstan region, where both of her passports were confiscated. She was not able to leave Russia as she awaited the return of her travel documents. On October 11, Kurmasheva was fined 10,000 rubles ($103) for failing to register her U.S. passport with the Russian authorities, according to local media reports based on court documents they'd seen. Kurmasheva was detained again on October 18 and this time charged with failing to register as a "foreign agent," a crime that carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The Investigative Committee said Kurmasheva was being charged under a section of the Criminal Code that refers to the registration of foreign agents who carry out "purposeful collection of information in the field of military, military-technical activities of Russia," which, if received by foreign sources, "can be used against the security of the country." It gave no further details. The Investigative Committee said its investigation found that while the Russian Justice Ministry did not add her to the list of foreign agents, she failed to provide documents to be included on the registry. Kurmasheva and RFE/RL have both rejected the charge. Russia's detention of Kurmasheva, the second U.S. media member to be detained by Moscow this year, triggered a wave of criticism from rights groups and politicians saying the move signals a new level of wartime censorship. Sergei Davidis, the leader of Memorial's Support of Political Prisoners project, told RFE/RL that Kurmasheva was recognized as a political prisoner because the group considers illegal the Russian Criminal Code's article on foreign agents and its connection with so-called "purposeful collection of information in the field of military, military-technical activities of Russia." Davidis added that Memorial considered the prosecution and possible conviction of people for failing to carry out "a so-called obligation to voluntarily declare themselves as foreign agents...also illegal." "That request is illegal because, de facto, it is not about punishment for failure to declare, but for implementation of legal activities. The information in question is not classified and it is not illegal to collect such information," Davidis said, stressing that the Federal Security Service (FSB) had given a vague explanation about what can be considered information banned for collecting. "Additional to that, we see concrete political goals in [Kurmasheva's] case that were obvious by how the persecution was carried out. First, she was detained and convicted of failure to declare the second citizenship, and after that only, after obvious thinking over and looking for reasons -- they filed the second case," Davidis said. "This is the first criminal case and arrest of that kind. It explicitly indicates the artificial grounds of the whole construction. This illegal charge was thought over for a long time before it was used. They had searched for something to deprive Alsu Kurmasheva of her freedom," he added. Russia has been accused of detaining Americans to use as bargaining chips to exchange for Russians jailed in the United States. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested for alleged spying -- a charge he and the newspaper vehemently deny -- in March. WATCH: The husband of the RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who was detained in Russia on October 18, has said she is a "political prisoner." Since 2012, Russia has used its so-called foreign agent laws to label and punish critics of government policies. It has also been increasingly used to shut down civil society and media groups in Russia since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Amnesty International, the UN Human Rights Office, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and the chairman of the U.S. House of Representative's Foreign Affairs Committee have called for the immediate release of Kurmasheva. The "foreign agent" law allows authorities to label nonprofit organizations as "foreign agents" if they receive funding from abroad and are engaged in political activities. RFE/RL says the law amounts to political censorship meant to prevent journalists from performing their professional duties and is challenging the authorities' moves in Russian courts and at the European Court of Human Rights. More than 30 RFE/RL employees have been listed as "foreign agents" by the Russian Justice Ministry in their personal capacity. In March, a Moscow court declared the bankruptcy of RFE/RL's operations in Russia following the company's refusal to pay multiple fines totaling more than 1 billion rubles ($14 million) for noncompliance with the law. Memorial, founded in 1987 to remember victims of Soviet repression, was closed down by Russia's Supreme Court in November 2021 -- citing the "foreign agents" law -- although it still functions outside the country and has managed to continue some activities inside Russia. Kurmasheva is one of four RFE/RL journalists -- Andrey Kuznechyk, Ihar Losik, and Vladyslav Yesypenko are the other three -- currently imprisoned on charges related to their work. Rights groups and RFE/RL have called repeatedly for the release of all four, saying they have been wrongly detained. Losik is a blogger and contributor for RFE/RLs Belarus Service who was convicted in December 2021 on several charges including the organization and preparation of actions that grossly violate public order and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Kuznechyk, a web editor for RFE/RLs Belarus Service, was sentenced in June 2022 to six years in prison following a trial that lasted no more than a few hours. He was convicted of creating or participating in an extremist organization. Yesypenko, a dual Ukrainian-Russian citizen who contributed to Crimea.Realities, a regional news outlet of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, was sentenced in February 2022 to six years in prison by a Russian judge in occupied Crimea after a closed-door trial. He was convicted of possession and transport of explosives, a charge he steadfastly denies. Police in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk detained an LGBT activist, Aleksandra Sinko, while she was holding a single-person picket, which does not require advance permission from the authorities. She was protesting a request filed by the Justice Ministry earlier this month to recognize the international LGBT rights movement as an extremist group. Sinko, who is an openly trans woman, was holding a poster on November 28 with text saying LGBT persons are not extremists. She was charged with "propagating untraditional sexual relations" -- a charge that carries a fine or up to 15 days in jail. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities, click here. Cerilon, a company based out of Alberta, Canada held an open house at Trenton High School on Wednesday, Nov. 8. At the meeting, members of Cerilons leadership and technical teams were available to provide an update on the project and answer questions about the 24,000 barrel-per-day gas-to-liquids facility they are planning near Trenton. The facility will use natural gas which is abundant in the region to create premium quality synthetic energy products including lubricant base oils, ultra-low sulfur diesel, and naphtha. They explained some of the various products they would be producing and a few of the methods they would be using like the Fisher-Tropsch production method. According to the National Energy Technology Laboratorys website, http://www.netl.doe.gov, Fisher-Tropsch technology uses a well-known and established catalytic chemical process to produce liquid transportation hydrocarbon fuels and various other chemical products. Trenton was selected due to its access to utilities and infrastructure, abundant natural gas supply, suitable geology for carbon sequestration, and available transportation to markets. Construction is planned for mid to late 2025 with operations in 2028. After the open house, Rochelle Harding, Cerilons Director of Sustainability and Engagement, said We were extremely pleased with the turnout to this event and really appreciated the thoughtful input and questions we received from residents and business owners. The single-piece editions in the new Les Cabinotiers Recits de Voyages collection reflect Vacheron Constantin's geographical expansion Crossing Europe, the journey passes through Paris, a capital where Vacheron Constantin has had its own agent since the early 19th century and whose current urban planning stems from the major works conducted by Georges Eugene Haussmann under the Second Empire. Witness Les Cabinotiers Malte Tourbillon Tribute to Haussmannian style watch, distinguished by its in-house manual-winding Calibre 2790 SQ, an ultra-thin skeleton movement featuring a tourbillon regulator with date and power reserve. Vacheron Constantin and Europe Europe proved bountiful territory for Vacheron Constantin. Jean-Marc Vacheron, whose workshop founded the Manufacture in 1755, was himself the son of a weaver who had emigrated to Geneva. France and Italy soon came to represent major commercial outlets for the founder's descendants, with ports such as Genoa and Livorno offering close contacts with merchant navies. From the beginning of the 19th century following the partnership concluded between Jacques-Barthelemi Vacheron and Francois Constantin in 1819, the Maison gradually extended its reach to the main countries of Europe, to the point where, by 1850, its watches were already being sold throughout the continent. Les Cabinotiers Malte Tourbillon - Tribute to Haussmannian style Vacheron Constantin Francois Constantin was the architect of this expansion. His travels inevitably took him to Paris, where he began sourcing jewellery in the early 1820s, convinced that watches and jewellery would have to complement each other in order to appeal to European customers. At the same time, his supplier, the jeweller Watin, became Vacheron Constantin's agent in the French capital. A few decades later, in 1880, an encounter with Ferdinand Verger in Paris sealed an exceptionally enduring partnership that was to be one of the Maisons most fruitful. The City of Light had just undergone colossal urban development spearheaded by Georges Eugene Haussmann. Vacheron Constantin's Recits de Voyages echoes this masterful architectural undertaking with the single-piece Les Cabinotiers Malte Tourbillon Tribute to Haussmannian style edition. A Haussmann-style case, top-notch engraving work To ensure the watchmaking tribute is worthy of the model, a highly architectural, even threedimensional piece was the obvious choice. The entire movement and case passed through the expert hands of the master engraver, whose task was to sculpt the latter using Haussmanntype facades as inspiration, as well as to adorn each movement component with a motif recalling the metal structures of the Eiffel Tower. This meticulous task required 150 hours of work on a watch whose tonneau shape already evokes Parisian chic through the harmonious curves of its case middle. First introduced in 1912, this barrel shape is part of Vacheron Constantin's heritage and typical of the Malte collection that was redesigned a century later. At the time, Vacheron Constantin had already distinguished itself through this creative freedom in a watchmaking world that rarely ventured away from the classic conventions of the round watch. Today, it reaffirms this aesthetic moment through a new timepiece brimming with character. Les Cabinotiers Malte Tourbillon - Tribute to Haussmannian style Vacheron Constantin The master artisan has left no surface blank on the 18K 5N pink gold case. The bezel and caseback are circular-grained and engraved with gadroons that are round on the front and hollowed on the back. While the lugs feature concave gadroons, the case middle provides an exceptional showcase for artistry, while recalling that this watch with its ultra-thin calibre is only 12.7 mm thick. It features a motif recalling the work of Baron Haussmann: while standardising the face of Paris, the latter encouraged the use of ornamentation, resulting in lions taking over the capital, its monuments, its building facades and door-knockers as well as its parks. The case middle of the watch adopts the feline in the form of a bas-relief sculpture surrounded by a frieze. After tracing the decor with a dedicated scriber, the engraver sets about creating a champleve (raised field) by removing the material around the motifs, of which the volumes are created using a burin. The result is a meticulously accurate depth effect corresponding to 4/10ths of a millimetre for the lion and 2/10ths for its frieze that still requires polishing. This extremely delicate operation is designed to strike the right balance between the gleam of the metal and the relief of the volumes, whose shadows are accentuated by small incisions or line engraving. The work is completed by fine chasing on the base, hand-crafted point by point to accentuate the contrasts and bring out the shimmering decoration. A fully openworked and engraved ultra-thin movement, Calibre 2790 SQ The mechanism has also been meticulously finished and embellished, a task rendered all the more complex by the fact that it is an ultra-thin movement. At just 6.1 mm thick, given its tonneau shape and, above all, its tourbillon regulator, manual-winding Calibre 2790 SQ represents a veritable technical feat. Unveiled by Vacheron Constantin in 2014, this 246-component movement powering displays of the hours and minutes, small seconds on the tourbillon, date and power reserve, is entirely skeletonised to create a highly architectural three-dimensional decoration. The movement has also been designed to offer a striking view of the regulating organ, oscillating at 2.5 Hz (18,000 vibrations per hour), a relatively slow tempo perfectly suited to this mechanical ballet. Similarly, the axis of the hours hands has been moved slightly upwards to leave more space for the tourbillon carriage shaped like a Maltese cross, the emblem of the Maison since 1880. Once the calibre has been skeletonised, the work of the engraver consists of reworking the components, essentially the fixed parts, mainplate and bridges, in order to give depth to each surface and thus ensure optimal light reflection. The result is an impression of lightness due to the airy design of the movement, whose technical sophistication is highlighted by the meticulous work of the master artisans wherever their scorpers can cut into the material, including interior angles of less than 45. Les Cabinotiers Malte Tourbillon - Tribute to Haussmannian style Vacheron Constantin This tonneau-shaped Calibre 2790 SQ with its complete absence of right angles offers a striking horological vision, enhanced by the opulence of the case. In the grand tradition of ultra-thin movements presented by the Manufacture throughout its history, it perpetuates the Maisons expertise as much in terms of the technical mastery required to develop them as the aesthetic research required to transform them into works of art. The Les Cabinotiers Malte Tourbillon Tribute to Haussmannian style bears the prestigious Hallmark of Geneva a guarantee of fine craftsmanship, precision as well as High Watchmaking decoration and comes fitted with a dark brown alligator leather strap secured by a folding clasp, also engraved in the style that was intended to "aerate, unify and embellish" Paris, exactly as Prefect Haussmann wished. Les Cabinotiers Recits de Voyages series Vacheron Constantin's vocation has always been to perfect the art of watchmaking in Geneva while remaining open to the world. The founders grandson Jacques-Barthelemi Vacheron (1787- 1864) was the first to criss-cross the roads of France and Italy, followed by his partner Francois Constantin (1788-1854), a tireless traveller who oversaw the commercial development of the Maison. He established commercial relations with Central Europe, South America, Scandinavia and Asia, during a period in time when Vacheron Constantin was also gaining a foothold in the United States and China, as well as in Brazil, Hong Kong and Cuba. Francois Constantin's correspondence stretching over a quarter of a century paints the portrait of a Manufacture that was open to a Europe undergoing major restructuring in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars and the Congress of Vienna. This scope and reach continued to expand as the Vacheron Constantin name crossed borders and conquered new markets. Since that time, the very notion of travel has been inherent to the values of the Maison, an integral part of the human adventure characterising its nearly 270-year history. Following in its founders footsteps, the Maison offers these Recits de Voyages series as a watchmaking odyssey through the world and its wonders, applying craftsmanship and mechanical art as its means of expression. Les Cabinotiers Malte Tourbillon - Tribute to Haussmannian style Vacheron Constantin Sum-up As part of its new Les Cabinotiers Recits de Voyages collection, which reflects its spirit of openness to the world, the Maison presents the single-piece Les Cabinotiers Malte Tourbillon Tribute to Haussmannian style edition. Inspired by the major late 19th century construction projects that gave the French capital its current appearance, this tonneaushaped 18K 5N pink gold watch bearing the Hallmark of Geneva, features ultra-thin in-house Calibre 2790 SQ with a tourbillon, date and power reserve. The entire case and movement have been expertly engraved. The bezel, case back and lugs feature gadrooned decoration, while the case middle is finely sculpted with a lion's head and frieze. The mainplate and bridges of the entirely skeletonised movement are also adorned with motifs recalling the structure of the Eiffel Tower. The technical sophistication of this watch is highlighted by means of dedicated hand-crafted ornamentation. Interview with Sandrine Donguy, Product & Innovation Director Could you share the relevance of this Parisian leg of the new Les Cabinotiers - Les Recits de Voyages collection? Looking back at the origin of a project that consists in expressing Vacheron Constantin's spirit of openness to the world through timepieces and the consequent efforts expended to establish commercial relations in new markets from a very early stage it seemed to us that the Recits de Voyages formula was perfectly appropriate. All the more so given that the very extensive correspondence between Jacques-Barthelemi Vacheron and Francois Constantin from the time of their collaboration in 1819 which is preserved in our archives and spans more than 20 years frequently resembles a set of travel diaries, over and above the commercial aspects mentioned. This led us to imagine a journey that would represent the Maisons international expansion. It naturally all began in Europe, in local markets, before destinations further afield took shape in the Americas, Asia and the Middle East. Paris was one of the first cities to interest Vacheron Constantin, not only because of its clientele but also because of the professional relationships that could be forged there. One may recall that as early as the 1750s, a decade corresponding to the origins of Vacheron Constantin, many of the great watchmaking minds travelled to Paris. For Vacheron Constantin, it was a natural outlet, as was Italy. Les Cabinotiers Malte Tourbillon - Tribute to Haussmannian style Vacheron Constantin Why opt for the Malte watch? The choice of the Malte watch can be explained first and foremost by the tonneau-shaped case that first appeared at Vacheron Constantin in 1912 and which at the time marked a break with the rounded form of pocket watches and even the first wristwatches. This transgression is reminiscent of Baron Haussmann, who did not hesitate to overturn established architectural codes in order to assert his vision of modern urban planning. These major works shaped the Paris we know today. For this European stage, we wanted to pay tribute to him with a watch that is historically just as subversive as his grand project, offered in a skeletonised version out of respect for this great architectural work. The engravers skills then come into play to highlight this incredible Calibre 2790 SQ, whose curved and rounded construction is a textbook example of such craftsmanship. Why the choice of a sculpted lion on the body? If you're visiting Paris, lions are everywhere. Sculptures in squares, parks and gardens, starting with the famous Belfort Lion on Place Denfert-Rochereau. They can also be found on doors and facades, lampposts, balconies, the pediments of public buildings and cemeteries... A symbol of power and majesty, the lion with its bushy mane is highly expressive when sculpted in bronze or stone. As Baron Haussmann's plans for Paris involved harmonising the facades of the major boulevards, he himself expressly encouraged their ornamentation. The lion, which was already well established in Paris, as in many other cities, became extraordinarily popular. Our Haussmann tribute could not fail to include the king of the jungle. This is an animal that we have already represented, notably in the form of a roaring lion ronde-bosse engraving sculpted on the bow of the Les Cabinotiers Westminster Sonnerie Tribute to Johannes Vermeer watch. Here, it appears in an equally expressive version thanks to the talent of the master engraver lavished on the entire timepiece. The Long X Arts Foundation is combining the arts with small business this holiday season as it hosts the Art in Business Shopping Event Nov. 24Dec. 24. The foundation has partnered with area Watford City Main Street businesses as well as local artists to make shopping local, unique gifts, and art easy and fun. Nine local artists will have their work on display and for sale in seven different retail locations in Watford City. With the holiday shopping season in full swing this is a great way to offer a unique experience for shoppers as well as artists and retailers, said Jessie Veeder Scofield, Long X Arts Foundation Director. The local businesses have been so gracious to host these artists, and the hope is that it will help bring more traffic through their stores as well. Shopping local is so important. Participating artists and businesses include Shop Local Artists in Local Businesses this Holiday Season! Door 204- Bryan Fevold Photography | Diane Kay Photography | Karatcake Art Elles Boutique LLC- Nikki Rodriguez Fine Art Larsen Service Drug & Soda Fountain- Chad Ziemendorf Photography Long X Arts Foundation-Doug Engberg Art on Leather Pioneer Gifts & Books and Long X Visitor Center-Trish Stevenson Fine Art Meyers Department Store-Bold West Art Saddle Up - Saddles, Tack and Western Wear-We Three Bs In conjunction with hosting local artists, the Long X Visitor and Art Center and Pioneer Gifts and Books will be hosting a Holiday Open House on Dec. 2 from 10 a.m.4 p.m. featuring discounts at the gift shop and Pride of Dakota food samplings. The Long X Arts Foundation will also be hosting some fun holiday themed art classes including a vintage ceramic Christmas tree class that day at 2 p.m. Additional classes include a vintage ceramic Christmas tree night light on Dec. 9 at 2 p.m. and a small vintage ceramic Christmas tree on Dec. 9 at 4 p.m. Then join them for a cute ceramic Christmas cookies dunk mug on Dec. 22 at 2 p.m. All classes take place in the Long X Art Gallery located in the lower level of the Long X Visitor Center. For more information about these classes visit http://www.longxarts.com. Watch for additional open house and shopping events from participating retailers throughout the holiday shopping season! For more information contact the Long X Arts Foundation at 701-770-8659 or email [email protected] It is that time again and people across Richland County are receiving mailings asking for donations to the Foundation For Community Care's Bridge Fund. Those who donate have a chance to help ease one of the results of living in Eastern Montana. There are times when Sidney Health Center patients need a specialist at a larger facility for further treatment. This can be a stressful time for the family because often the specialist is hundreds if not thousands of miles away. The Bridge Fund was created to help ease the financial burden associated with travel costs in these circumstances. The Bridge Fund is designed to help families and individuals who are currently receiving healthcare from Sidney Health Center and are required to seek treatment elsewhere. Each family in need is allowed to file one application per year for the grant program. If they are approved, patients are awarded up to $500 to help ease the cost of transportation to their specialist appointment. Sidney Health Center patients can apply by picking up a printed copy at either the Foundation for Community Care office at 221 2nd St. NW, or Sidney Health Center, calling or emailing the Foundation for Community Care office, or just printing off an application from their website, foundationforcommunitycare.org, and turning it into the office. Previous donors will be receiving a mailing soon if they have not already received one. According to the mailing, this year, they are featuring the Dragers, a family of six, whose youngest member was born with clubfeet. Nolan Drager was referred to Ortho Montana in Miles City after a few treatments; however, he was referred again to Shriner's Hospital in Spokane, WA, 739 miles away. "We were relieved to know that the Foundation for Community Care's Bridge Fund could help with the cost of travel for Nolan to get the care he needed," said his mother, Kaylie. In 2023, the Bridge Fund has been awarded to 44 patients, covering $20,750 in travel expenses. When donors make either a memorial or honorary gift to the Bridge Fund the Foundation for Community Care will send a special holiday card to whomever they want and if the foundation receives it before Dec. 13, they will recognize the memorials and honorariums in the Roundup Newspaper. Foundation business hours are Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. and Friday 8 a.m.-12 p.m. They can be reached by phone at 406-488-2273. Ruling means 49 of 56 counties under-collected state school equalization dollars with property tax bills sent this fall. The Montana Supreme Court Wednesday ruled against Montana county governments in a dispute over the Montana Department of Revenues authority to order the full collection of the 95-mill state-level school equalization levy, a formerly obscure piece of tax bills that became a flashpoint this fall as state and local officials contended with frustration over rising property taxes. The ruling means that the 49 of 56 Montana counties that chose to collect a lower, 77.9-mill rate on tax bills sent to property owners this fall will likely have to make up the difference when they mail their next round of semi-annual tax bills in the spring. Im amazed, Beaverhead County Commissioner Mike McGinley said of the ruling, which was issued by justices the day before Thanksgiving. I guess Im going to have to donate this turkey and go get some crow. Rising property values meant the 95 mills, which fund part of a state effort to balance funding between tax-base-rich and tax-base-poor school districts, are expected to bring in about $99 million more this year than last, revenues that were baked into the budget passed by this years state Legislature. The revenue department directed counties to collect the full 95 mills in September, interpreting the relevant tax law in the way it has for decades. McGinley and many other county officials, however, rallied around an interpretation of the tax code that, if it had been accepted by justices, would have limited the growth of the school equalization collections to the lower millage rate. The county-backed rate would have reduced collections by about $80 million a year statewide, producing savings of roughly $104 a year for a home valued at $450,000. McGinley and most other county officials have been adamant that, with the state General Fund relatively flush, the state could accommodate lower collections without hurting schools. Education advocates have worried, however, that reducing collections would force them to put a $160 million request for supplemental education funding before potentially skeptical lawmakers when the Legislature meets in 2025. The dispute has produced at least four separate lawsuits filed before state district judges and the Montana Supreme Court. Wednesdays Supreme Court ruling came in a case filed by the Montana Association of Counties and some individual officials against the state and the revenue department, which is run by a director appointed by Gov. Greg Gianforte. Montanas 1972 Constitution requires the state to provide the public with an education system that provides [e]quality of educational opportunity. The 95 mills, technically a bundle of multiple school taxes that are in some cases displayed separately on property tax bills, were adopted by the Legislature in an effort to meet that requirement. In their 7-0 ruling, Supreme Court justices said they generally defer to state agencies like the Department of Revenue when questions arise about a law that agencies have consistently interpreted in a particular way for considerable lengths of time. DORs methodology has been untested for two decades, and its interpretation of the statute is consistent with the States constitutional directives, Chief Justice Mike McGrath wrote on behalf of the majority. Gianfortes office and education advocates applauded the ruling Wednesday. Todays decision reaffirms what has guided us: We have an obligation, both constitutional and moral, to ensure each Montana child has access to a quality education, and we wont defund our public schools, Gianforte said in a statement. The governor also touted his administrations efforts to offset rising taxes by offering property tax rebates of up to $675 a year this year and next. The property tax rebates are available to homeowners, but not to renters or commercial property owners. Lance Melton, the director of the Montana School Boards Association, said in an interview that schools had dodged a bullet with the ruling. Melton also said he believed the ruling would preempt a lawsuit filed against county governments by the Montana Quality Education Coalition. Montana Federation of Public Employees president Amanda Curtis, whose members include unionized teachers, said through a spokesperson that the ruling protects our local schools from becoming collateral damage as Montanans grapple with the fallout from the Legislatures failure to find long-term solutions to rising property taxes. Marissa Amato is the new children's counselor with Sidney's Eastern Montana Community Mental Health Center. She loves to work with children and is looking forward to helping the children of Richland County. (Photo by Jaymi Mozeak) The Sidney branch of the Eastern Montana Community Mental Health Center is proud to announce they have a new kids counselor. Marissa Amato specializes in kids and families and can meet in person at the Sidney clinic. Like many things in Eastern Montana, Sidney has been a little short on in-person child therapists. In fact, EMCMHC in Sidney has not had an in-person therapist since COVID-19 and has not had a children's therapist for even longer. Children needing services from EMCMHC needed to go to other towns or do counseling through telehealth in the mental health clinic office. Amato has always enjoyed working with children and, while attending college, decided she wanted to become a therapist. She attended Walla Walla University Satellite campus in Billings, pursuing a Master's Degree in clinical social work. Shortly after finishing her bachelor's degree, however, she was able to work with kids in a comprehensive school and community treatment program. She ended up working there for eight years. Her time there helped her decide to go into counseling. By this time, her younger sister and brother lived in Sidney, clear on the other side of the state, and frequent visits were no longer enough. She and her mom moved to Sidney to be closer to them. "When I got here I noticed there wasn't many counselors that specialize in kids." Amato said, but that was something she could help with. She finished her Master's program in June 2023 and began working for Eastern Montana Mental Heath Clinic in Sidney that July. Amato is currently working under the supervision of a licensed therapist and is working towards becoming a fully licensed therapist in the state of Montana. She is currently taking patients. Amato uses play therapy, art therapy, talk therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy( a treatment that usually involves efforts to change faulty or unhealthy thinking patterns) to help her patients. at Sidney Eastern Montana Mental Health Clinic in Sidney MT. The clinic is located at 1201 W. Holly St. #4 and is open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. with an hour break for lunch from noon-1 p.m. For an appointment, call (406) 433-4635. Memorial services for Jerry Redlin, Sidney, MT, are Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023, at 11 a.m. at Pella Lutheran Church, Sidney, MT, with Pastor Barb Haugerud officiating. A luncheon will follow the service for a time of fellowship and sharing. Gerald will be laid to rest in Richland Memorial Park Cemetery, Sidney, MT. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Lutheran World Relief, the Foundation for Community Care, the MonDak Heritage Center, or a charity of your choice. Fulkerson Stevenson Funeral Home, Sidney, MT, is assisting the family. Remembrances, condolences, and pictures may be shared with the family at http://www.fulkersons.com. Gerald "Jerry" Grawunder Roger Redlin was born in Sidney, MT, on May 16, 1924, to Ernest and Hedwig "Hattie" (Grawunder) Redlin. He grew up on the family farm in the Three Buttes Community, initially attending the rural school there. His father's determination that his sons all receive an advanced education led him and his brothers to also attend schools in Minneapolis and Seattle, as the family's situation was buffeted by the Great Depression and the onset of WWII. Every spring, however, the family would return to the Montana farm. With the world at war, Jerry was drafted into the army in 1944, attending basic training in California and Officer Candidate School in Georgia, where he was commissioned as a second lieutenant. He boarded a troop ship to Japan in October 1945, where he was a member of the occupation forces, initially heading up a tank battalion motor pool because the military figured a farm boy would know his way around the machinery. The devastation he saw in firebombed Tokyo, and later in a specially authorized tour of war-torn Germany in 1948, made him a lifelong pacifist. After mustering out of the Army in 1946, Jerry had an opportunity to attend the "Encampment for Citizenship" program in New York City, which brought together young people from all over the world to live and study together for several weeks. While there, he was notified that he had received a one-year scholarship to Ruskin College in Oxford, England, to study economic theory. He sailed for England in 1948. His time in Tokyo, New York, and Oxford afforded him several surprising encounters for a Montana farm kid, including a courtroom view of Tojo's war crimes trial, a car ride with Eleanor Roosevelt, a concert with a young Pete Seeger, and a meeting with then Princess Elizabeth, to name just a few. In 1949, with his classes at Oxford completed, Jerry returned to the family farm and enrolled in Business College at Minot, ND, earning an associate degree in accounting. Jerry had an entrepreneurial streak and in those early years started or helped start businesses leasing minerals, fabricating fiberglass burial vaults and dune buggy bodies, and selling steel Quonset buildings. Jerry met his future wife, Elsie Hoversten, on a visit to Crosby, ND in 1952. Two years later on Feb. 7, 1954, they were married. They made their first home in Sidney and began their family with the arrival of twin sons Jonathon and Jeffrey, and daughters, Bethany and Meredith. The young family moved to Wolf Point where Jerry worked as an insurance adjuster and son, Nathaniel, was born, but once again they returned to the Sidney area, this time to take over the family farm. For the next 28 years, they lived in the Three Buttes Community near Lambert, MT, and raised their family now including youngest sons, Bradley and Marcus. To help support their growing family, Elsie returned to teaching at Lambert High School for a short period, and Jerry started a machinery dealership (with his brother, Ernie) on the home farm. While family always came first for Jerry, church and community were close seconds as he strove to provide his family with well-rounded lives that took into account those in less fortunate circumstances. Jerry, along with Elsie, was an active member and leader in the local Democratic Party. Jerry also served his community through his work with the local Farmers Union organization and grain elevator, the First Lutheran Church in Lambert and later Pella Lutheran Church in Sidney, and the rural Three Buttes Elementary School (the same one he had attended as a child). Jerry also served 36 years on the Montana Farmers Union Mutual Insurance Board, and 20 years on the board of directors for the Grain Terminal Association, now Cenex Harvest States, a farmer owned cooperative and Fortune 100 company. In 1991, Jerry and Elsie retired from farming and moved into Sidney where he lived for the next 30 plus years. In "retirement" Jerry continued to serve on various boards, including the Sidney Health Center board when plans for a new assisted living center, The Lodge, were initiated. He joined Kiwanis. He and Elsie worked as volunteers with the hospice program in Sidney. It was also in retirement that Jerry joined many lifelong (and new) friends for coffee and spirited conversation, meeting five days a week for more than two decades. It became a highlight of his day, even as his health failed. Jerry and Elsie had another passion, traveling to new places to expand their appreciation for the diverse peoples and cultures of the nation and the world. They were able to travel extensively, including trips to Egypt, the Sinai Peninsula, Japan, England, Jamaica, Mexico, Spain, Australia, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Greece, Turkey, and more. For Jerry's 90th birthday, his children returned with him to England where he shared stories and haunts from his time there as an Oxford student. Jerry's greatest joy and biggest challenge in retirement was completing a two-year lay ministry program of the Evangelical Lutheran Church alongside Elsie. The two of them accepted interim positions at three different multi-point parishes across northeastern and central Montana, serving as lay pastors for nearly three years. Jerry was a very warm, kind, and generous man, who could strike up a lifelong friendship as easily as he did a conversation with a stranger. A caretaker by nature, he lovingly nursed two brothers and his beloved wife in their last days. His children were blessed to care for him, in turn. Jerry's greatest joys throughout his 99 years of life remained his faith, friends, and always his family. He passed on peacefully at home on Tuesday, Nov. 21, with his children at his side. He is survived by his seven children and spouses, Jeffrey (Misty) Redlin, Jonathon (Karen) Redlin, Bethany (Dan) Redlin Mocko, Meredith Redlin, Nathaniel Redlin, Bradley (Erin) Jordahl Redlin, and Marcus (Karen) Redlin. Jerry is also survived by 16 loving grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren including: Jen (John) McFadden and Mahayla; Steven Paulson; Jared (Chelsea) Paulson, Elly, Jesse, Neve, and Calum; Julian (Katie) Paulson; Jeanne (Chris) Sessing, Mattias and Olivya; Jacquie Redlin and Xavier; Stacey Redlin; Ian (Jeni) Redlin, Isabel and Finley; Melissa (Doug) Hagenbuch, Mason, Lily, and Maddalen; Rhea (Wes) Christensen, Molly and Jorgen; Devon Redlin; Eli and Asa Jordahl Redlin; and Emma, Kellyn and Daniel Redlin. He is also survived by nine nephews and nine nieces, with whom he also shared a special relationship. He was proceeded in death by his parents; wife of 58 years, Elsie Redlin; brothers, Ernie, Rolland, Ward, and Robert Redlin; sisters-in-law Thelma Golden and Christine Redlin; brother-in-law Ted Hoversten; nieces Julie Kottsick, Kristi Redlin; and nephew Bruce Redlin. Delhi Flight Latest Update Changing Weather Patterns Bring Unexpected Rain and Thunderstorms to the Capital, Prompting Flight Diversions Delhi Flight Latest Update: In an unforeseen turn of weather events, Delhi experienced heavy rainfall and thunderstorms on Monday evening, leading to significant disruptions in flight operations at the Delhi airport. At least 16 flights were diverted due to adverse weather conditions, causing inconvenience for travelers. An official from Delhi Airport reported that the diversions occurred between 6 and 8 pm, with 10 flights rerouted to Jaipur, three to Lucknow, two to Amritsar, and one to Ahmedabad. Advertisement Furthermore, five Air India flights, including one from Sydney, were diverted to alternative destinations due to the challenging weather conditions. Notably, the Vistara flight UK742, en route from Guwahati to Delhi, faced diversion to Jaipur due to the inclement weather and air traffic congestion at Indira Gandhi International Airport. As a response to the disruptions, Indigo Airlines issued a travel advisory, cautioning passengers about potential delays and changes in flight schedules attributed to the ongoing rain and air traffic challenges at Delhi Airport. Advertisement Weather Outlook: According to India Meteorological Department (IMD) scientist RK Jenamani, Delhi is expected to remain cloudy on Tuesday, with the possibility of rain in various areas. The meteorological update suggests a continuation of unsettled weather conditions in the region. Travelers and residents are advised to stay updated on weather forecasts and anticipate potential travel disruptions as authorities work to manage the aftermath of the unexpected rainfall in the capital. (For More News Apart from Delhi Flight Latest Update, Stay Tuned to Rozana Spokesman) Chinese Gaming Company News Young Intern's Death Sparks Outrage as Chinese Gaming Firm Initially Denies Responsibility, Citing Lack of Awareness Chinese Gaming Company News: In a distressing incident, a young intern employed by a Chinese gaming company met an untimely demise, prompting outrage as the company initially refused to acknowledge responsibility for the tragedy. The victim, Li Hao, a graduate student on a 6-month internship, had been live-streaming for the company and tragically passed away, leading to questions surrounding the company's ethical and legal obligations. Li Hao, a graduate from Ping Ding Shan Vocational and Technical College, joined the Chinese gaming company in October for a 6-month internship, with a promised monthly salary of Rs 35,000. His role involved live-streaming gaming sessions for the company. Advertisement The tragedy unfolded on November 10 when Li Hao, after engaging in a continuous live-streaming session from 9 pm to 6 am the previous night, experienced health issues. Despite being rushed to the hospital, he couldn't be saved. The company, named Zhengzhou, initially distanced itself from any responsibility, claiming ignorance regarding Li Hao's night shift work. The victim's father revealed that Li Hao's health deteriorated after a month of continuous live-streaming sessions. On the fateful day, he was observed breathing rapidly, leading to his untimely demise. The company's records indicate that Li participated in 89 live-streaming sessions between October 15 and November 10. In a shocking turn of events, the gaming company denied direct employment, asserting that Li Hao was hired through a third party. This denial of responsibility has triggered a wave of criticism on social media platforms, with users expressing outrage at the company's seemingly callous response to the tragic incident. Advertisement The controversy surrounding Li Hao's death brings attention to the pressing issues of workplace conditions, especially in the gaming industry, and the responsibilities companies bear toward their employees. As public scrutiny intensifies, questions are raised about the adequacy of compensation offered by the company, which stands at a mere Rs 58,000, adding another layer to the unfolding narrative of this unfortunate incident. (For More News Apart from Chinese Gaming Company News, Stay Tuned to Rozana Spokesman) New Zealand Govt Lift Tobacco Ban News Controversial Move Sparks Criticism from Health Experts as New Zealand Decides to Lift Tobacco and Cigarette Ban Enacted in 2022 New Zealand Govt Lift Tobacco Ban News: In a surprising development, the newly elected government of New Zealand has announced its decision to lift the ban on tobacco and cigarettes, citing the move as a means to provide tax relief to the public. The decision comes in contrast to the Smoke Free Environment Act passed in December 2022, which aimed to curb smoking habits, particularly among those born after 2008. The repeal of the law banning tobacco and cigarettes has stirred controversy, with health experts, including the New Zealand Doctors Association, expressing shock and disappointment. Professor Richard Edwards of Otago University remarked, "This is a step taking the country backward," emphasizing concerns about the potential health implications. Advertisement The Smoke Free Environment Act, introduced by then Health Minister Ayesha Verrall, was initially hailed as a significant step towards a 'smoke-free future.' Verrall had highlighted the expected benefits, projecting savings of Rs 26,400 crore (3.2 US billion dollars) for the health system and improved overall public health. The law aimed to decrease the percentage of daily smokers in New Zealand by 5%, with the hope that every passing year would witness a decline in the number of people purchasing tobacco products. Critics argue that the reversal of the tobacco ban contradicts the initial goal of creating a healthier, smoke-free nation. The move is seen as a departure from the government's commitment to reducing smoking-related diseases and improving overall well-being. Comparisons to India's stringent regulations, including the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) enacted in 2003, highlight the global effort to control tobacco consumption. India's laws include restrictions on smoking in public places, advertising tobacco products, and selling tobacco to individuals under 18 years of age. Advertisement (For More News Apart from New Zealand Govt Lift Tobacco Ban News, Stay Tuned to Rozana Spokesman) Australia will on Tuesday release October numbers for retail sales, highlighting a light day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. Sales are expected to rise 0.2 percent on month after picking up 0.9 percent in September. Taiwan will provide Q3 data for gross domestic product, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 2.32 percent on year - accelerating from 1.36 percent in the three months prior. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Economic News What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more. Swiss drug major Novartis AG is recalling two lots of its Sandimmune Oral Solution (cyclosporine oral solution, USP), 100 mg/mL at the consumer level in the US, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said. The recall was initiated after crystal formation was observed in some bottles, which could potentially result in incorrect dosing. Sandimmune Oral Solution is indicated for the prophylaxis of organ rejection in kidney, liver, and heart allogeneic transplants. The drug may also be used to treat chronic rejection in patients previously treated with other immunosuppressive agents. The affected drugs were packaged in 50 mL bottles, with lot numbers and expiration dates of FX001500 (expiration date 09/2024) and FX001582 (expiration date 09/2024) NDC 0078-0110-22. These lots were only distributed to wholesalers across the US, beginning in January 2022 and September 2022, respectively. According to the agency, crystallization of cyclosporine in Sandimmune Oral Solution is likely to result in non-uniform distribution of the cyclosporine in the product, resulting in under-dosing or over-dosing. Under-dosing may result in lower exposures and decrease in efficacy which could ultimately lead to graft rejection and graft loss in transplant patients, while over-dosage may manifest itself as cyclosporine toxicity in the long term if over exposure continues. The issue was identified during an investigation of crystallization in a different lot of Sandimmune Oral Solution. No other Sandimmune formulations are impacted. Novartis has not received any reports of adverse events related to the recalled product to date. The company is urging distributors, retailers, and consumers to return the product, and to inform care providers who have prescribed the drug. Novartis earlier in September had recalled one lot of its Sandimmune Oral Solution citing the same issue of crystal formation. The affected lot number was FX001691 with expiration date of December 2025. For More Such Health News, visit rttnews.com For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Vp Plc (VP.L), an equipment rental specialist, on Tuesday reported a rise in pre-tax income for the first-half, amidst an increase in revenue, supported by a revenue growth in almost all divisions. For the six-month period to September 30,2023, the company posted a pre-tax income of 19.896 million pounds, compared with restated 17.858 million pounds, registered for the same period last year. After tax, profit stood at 14.383 million pounds or 36.12 pence per share as against last year's restated 13.577 million pounds or 33.86 pence per share. Profit before tax, amortization, impairment of intangible assets, and exceptional items improved to 21.690 million pounds from previous year's restated 21.395 million pounds. Operating income was at 24.797 million pounds, compared with restated 21.840 million pounds a year ago. Operating earnings before amortization, impairment of intangible assets, and exceptional items were at 26.591 million pounds as against restated 25.377 million pounds in 2022. Revenue was 190.920 million pounds, up from restated 186.487 million pounds a year ago. The Group will pay an interim dividend of 11.5 pence per share, higher than last year's interim dividend of 11 pence per share, to be paid on January 10, 2024 to shareholders of record on December 8, 2023. Looking ahead, the company said: "The Board anticipates a full year performance broadly in line with market expectations." For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Professional services major Accenture plc (ACN) on Tuesday announced that it has agreed to acquire Ammagamma, an Italy-based firm. The financial details of the transaction have not been divulged. Founded in 2013, Ammagamma aims to harness artificial intelligence or AI to improve the productivity and performance of Italian businesses. The deal is part of Accenture's $3 billion investment towards large-scale application of AI. On Monday, Accenture shares closed at $332.43, down 0.48% on the New York Stock Exchange. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) announced plans to open its first-ever Lilly Gateway Labs location in San Diego, Calif. in the first half of 2024. This will be the company's third Gateway Labs location. Gateway Labs is Lilly's shared innovation accelerator that provides participating companies with lab space and access to Lilly scientists, researchers and executives. The new site will be located in Alexandria's University Town Center campus. It will offer nearly 62,000 square feet of rentable, flexibly-designed lab space, as well as open workstations. It is expected to accommodate 10 companies and more than 120 biotech and Lilly employees. For More Such Health News, visit rttnews.com. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) announced an agreement with the German National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds on the reimbursement amount for ROCTAVIAN for people with severe hemophilia A. The company noted that this is the first gene therapy for hemophilia to receive an agreed federal price in Germany. BioMarin and GKV-SV have agreed on an outcome-based prospective cohort model for ROCTAVIAN. The agreement, with a minimum term of 3 years, ensures the supply and reimbursement for eligible patients in Germany with ROCTAVIAN. BioMarin said it continues to work with private and public payers in the U.S. to enable access. For More Such Health News, visit rttnews.com. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News African Journal of Higher Education Community Engagement By Nizole Qete In a momentous virtual gathering, the Rhodes University community witnessed the launch of the first online open issue of the African Journal of Higher Education Community Engagement (AJHECE). The event, spearheaded by Ms Di Hornby, Director of Rhodes University Community Engagement, showcased a collaborative effort to bring forth a publication dedicated to advancing community-driven education. Hornby stated, "It's really an exciting day for us in the community engagement sector as we birth a baby that has taken a lot to grow." Key figures within the academic community, including the Chairman and Members of the South African Higher Education Community Engagement Forum (SAHECEF), were acknowledged for their instrumental roles in positioning community engagement as a core function of higher education institutions. The diverse and global nature of the Editorial Advisory Board was highlighted, showcasing a collaborative effort that spans across India, Uganda, Argentina, Canada, the United States, Zambia, and South Africa. Special appreciation was directed to Emeritus Professor Peter Clayton, former Rhodes University Deputy Vice Chancellor, for his unwavering support, without whom the journal might not have come to fruition. University leadership, including Vice-Chancellor Professor Sizwe Mabizela and Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Mabokang Monnapula-Mapesela, shared profound insights into the transformative potential of the AJHECE. Professor Mabizela emphasised the paramount role of the journal in fostering a social purpose within universities. He stressed the importance of drawing lessons from successful and unsuccessful initiatives, signalling a commitment to learning and adaptability. Highlighting Rhodes University's dedication, Professor Mabizela articulated, "This will contribute an important voice and perspective, informed by our local context and shaped by how it fits into the global scholarship and debate on community engagement." His words underscored the University's commitment to locally responsive, highly engaged knowledge, aiming to create a just and sustainable society. Professor Monnapula-Mapesela echoed these sentiments, stating, "Today we are making history for Rhodes University. For South Africa, and Africa. We are building a community of engaged scholars in knowledge sharing, amplifying their voices, and initiating scholarly work." She highlighted the significance of launching the first African Journal of Higher Education, dedicated to the corpus of knowledge on community engagement. Reflecting on the historical context, Professor Monnapula-Mapesela noted the long journey to officially recognise community engagement as one of the three important pillars of education in South Africa. She emphasised the milestone reached by Rhodes University in breaking the record as the first institution to launch a journal dedicated to community engagement in Africa. Professor Monnapula-Mapesela underscored the transformative role of the journal in deconstructing the ivory tower ideology that has distanced universities from their localities. She highlighted that the journal would elevate and give prominence to community engagement and scholarship, emphasising its importance in teaching, learning, and research within local contexts. Dr Margie Maistry, the Editor-in-Chief of the AJHECE, outlined the journal's key objectives. The primary aim is to contribute to building a body of knowledge for community engagement in Africa. The journal seeks to publish diverse aspects of community engagement, emphasising research and practice, impacting teaching and learning. The objectives include fostering international dialogue, amplifying African voices, and combating side-lining alternative knowledge paradigms. AJHECE aims to grow community engagement as a discipline, contributing to community development's social, cultural, psychological, spiritual, and political dimensions. Furthermore, the journal intends to embed community engagement in all university activities, promoting collaborative research methodologies. It aims to provide a platform for discourse on community engagement and the scholarship of engagement, fostering connections between the Global South and North. Additionally, AJHECE adopts a developmental approach, supporting young authors and editorial board members. Dr Maistry highlighted the tagline "educating for life and a living," emphasising the role of community engagement in preparing students for life's challenges in a fast changing, uncertain and complexed world. The event's culmination was the official unveiling of AJHECE by Mr Van der Walt, Head of Technical Services at Rhodes Library. Participants were encouraged to explore the journal's website, submit manuscripts, and engage actively with its rich content. Rhodes University's launch of the first online open issue of AJHECE heralds a new era in academic discourse, emphasising the pivotal role of community engagement in higher education. As the digital pages of the journal come to life, they symbolise a commitment to collaborative scholarship that transcends geographical boundaries, providing a platform for diverse voices to contribute to the discourse on higher education's role in community engagement. Honda 2W sales saw a YoY growth both in domestic and global markets with over 4.90 lakh units sold In October 2023, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) sold a total (domestic + exports) of 4,91,838 units. These included 4,62,747 units sold in domestic markets while 29,091 units were exported. It was a significant increase over 4,49,414 units sold in October 2022 but distinctively lower on a MoM basis when compared to 5,25,816 units that the company sold in September 2023. Honda 2W Sales Breakup October 2023 Honda domestic sales in October 2023 stood at 4,62,747 units, up 8.63 percent from 4,25,992 units sold in October 2022. This was a 36,755 unit volume growth. It was however, lower on a MoM basis as the company had reported domestic sales at 4,91,802 units in September 2023. Every model in the company lineup has seen its MoM sales dip significantly. Honda Activa once again ruled the domestic sales charts with a 47.29 percent share and 2,18,856 units sold last month. This was a YoY growth of 3.92 percent from 2,10,623 units sold in October 2022. At No. 2 was the CB Shine with 1,31,816 units sold last month, up 0.69 percent YoY from 1,30,916 units sold in October 2022 to garner a 28.49 percent share. Increased demand was seen for Honda Dio, sales of which improved 34.19 percent YoY to 32,385 units last month from 24,134 units sold in the same month last year. There was the relatively new Honda Shine 100 that saw sales of 31,771 units last month to command a 6.87 percent share on this domestic list. Sales almost halved for Honda Unicorn with a 48.72 percent YoY decline, down to 16,404 units from 31,986 units sold in October 2022. However, it featured at No. 4 on the list of 150-200cc motorcycle sales last month after the Pulsar, Apache and Yamaha FZ. While Honda Dream sales improved 11.48 percent to 9,612 units last month, that of SP160 stood at 8,014 units. Honda SP160 was launched in India in August 2023 and is slotted between the Unicorn and XBlade in price while it shares its engine with the Unicorn. Honda Livo sales dipped 24.09 percent to 5,103 units last month while sales of Hornet 2.0 improved by 176.52 percent to 3,650 units from 1,320 units sold in October 2022. The Hornet 2.0 is particularly found to be attractive to buyers thanks to its sporty design and advanced features. Sales of CB350 also dipped by 35.80 percent to 2,883 units on a YoY basis. The highest percentage increase was seen in the case of Honda CB200X. Sales stood at 1,810 units last month, a 990.36 percent increase from 166 units sold in October 2022. CB300 and Gold Wing recorded dip in demand by 36.12 percent and 166.67 percent respectively. Honda Navi and Dio Command Export List in October 2023 Honda 2W exports last month was also positive with a 24.20 percent YoY growth to 29,091 units, up from 23,422 units shipped in October 2022. This was a growth of 5,669 units in terms of volumes. Honda Navi (12,217 units) and Dio (5,268 units) command the export list in October 2023 with a combined share of 60 percent. Activa scooter exports also improved significantly by 2033.33 percent to 3,328 units up from just 156 units sold in October 2022 to take on an 11.44 percent share in global markets. Exports of CB Shine dipped by 34.06 percent YoY to 2,130 units while Hornet 160R grew by 7.80 percent YoY to 1,216 units. There were also 1,160 units of the CB350 exported last month while numbers dived for the Dream (1,100 units), X-Blade (960 units), Livo (800 units), Unicorn 160 (444 units) and Grazia (120 units). The export list also had the Aviator (120 units) and Shine 100 (108 units). In the span of just one decade, Bulgaris Octo Finissimo series has achieved iconic status, a remarkable feat typically taking watchmaking brands many more years to accomplish This rapid success owes much to Bulgaris consistent habit of embarking on daring experiments with cutting-edge alloys and avant-garde finishes. And, of course, being Italian doesnt hurt either. Reflecting on how titanium became the material of choice for the record-breaking Octo Finissimo watches, Fabrizio Buonamassa, Head of Design at Bulgari Watches, offers insights. Titanium was chosen for its unique qualities, he explains. I proposed titanium but the reaction was a bit cold; someone said that this material was not noble enough for one of the noblest complications of the Swiss watchmaking heritage. I countered by reminding them that we are Italian and that not many brands were using titanium. I wanted this material for both case and dial with a sandblasted finish to highlight the very unique color of this metal. We were able to turn a technical constraint into an opportunity to create a new aesthetic like you often see in the Italian industrial design approach. Presented in 2016, the Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater in a titanium case earned Bulgari its second worlds thinnest record with its BVL 362 movement measuring a mere 3.12mm thick. From that moment on, Bulgari has continued to captivate year after year with new ultra-thin timepieces, all clad in the signature monochromatic titanium attire. Bulgari also revisits past models, crafting watches from a range of materials, including steel, ceramic, gold, tantalum and carbon composite. Octo Finissimo CarbonGold Automatic Ref. 103779 and Octo Finissimo CarbonGold Perpetual Calendar Ref. 103778 Bulgari Octo Finissimo CarbonGold Automatic Ref. 103779 CASE: carbon composite, transparent caseback, water resistance to 100m SIZE: 40 x 6.9mm DIAL: carbon dial with gold-toned hands and hour-markers MOVEMENT: BVL 138 caliber, ultra-thin automatic, 3Hz, 60h power reserve FUNCTIONS: hours, minutes, seconds BRACELET: carbon composite, with folding clasp Octo Finissimo CarbonGold Perpetual Calendar Ref. 103778 CASE: carbon composite, transparent caseback, water resistance to 100m SIZE: 43 x 7.6mm DIAL: carbon dial with goldtoned hands and hour-markers MOVEMENT: BVL 305 caliber, ultra-thin automatic, 3Hz, 60h power reserve FUNCTIONS: hours, minutes, retrograde date, day, month and retrograde leap year BRACELET: carbon composite, with folding clasp The perfect fusion Our selection highlights a few Octo Finissimo watches that showcase the fusion of the Italian approach to design and Swiss watchmaking traditions bolstered by modern technological advancements: starting with with the CarbonGold Automatic and Perpetual Calendar models which brought a fresh perspective to the Octo style by juxtaposing the high-tech, textured anthracite carbon with gold accents a luxurious duo of sporty timepieces that excel in water resistance. These watches feature a titanium container for the movement onto which carbon composite parts are assembled. Enhanced water resistance to 100 meters is achieved through the use of a thicker sapphire crystal and a screw-down crown. According to Philippe Saltarski, responsible for Bulgari Watch Development & Quality Assurance, waterproofing thin watches is not necessarily more challenging; the difficulty lies in integrating all the functions seamlessly. The ability to withstand water pressure is determined by factors such as the design, construction, strength-to-weight ratio, elasticity and resistance to deformation. For instance, the sapphire crystal on the CarbonGold models is 1.3mm thick, compared to just under a millimeter on earlier Finissimo models. Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Skeleton Chronograph Ref. 103796 (2023) Bulgari Bulgari Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Skeleton Chronograph Ref. 103796 (2023) CASE: satin and polished 18k yellow gold, sapphire crystals front and back, water resistance to 30m SIZE: 43 x 7.4mm DIAL: openworked with sun-brushed yellow gold chronograph counters and inner flange MOVEMENT: BVL 388 caliber, ultra-thin automatic, 3Hz, 52h power reserve FUNCTIONS: hours, minutes, one-minute tourbillon, chronograph, mode selector BRACELET: 18k yellow gold satin-brushed and polished, with folding clasp A stunning timepiece, both visually and technically In 2020, the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon Skeleton Chronograph debuted, clad in its classic titanium attire, clinching Bulgaris sixth world record for thinness. This technical marvel seamlessly merged some of the most intricate features, reaffirming the Italian brands dominance in ultra-thin watchmaking. With a svelte 3.50mm profile, its self-winding BVL 388 movement with a peripheral rotor is a marvel, housing a one-minute tourbillon operating at 3Hz, a mono-pusher chronograph equipped with a column wheel, a mode selector for transitioning between winding and time-setting. In 2023, following the definitive sandblasted grade 5 titanium model, it was time for one of the most complicated timepieces in the collection to shine in a warmer and more opulent 18k yellow gold, with every element of the case and bracelet meticulously crafted from this luxurious alloy. The dial featured a yellow gold-toned module that seamlessly integrated the inner flange and chronograph sub-counters. Time was elegantly conveyed through the openworked black-toned hands, creating a striking contrast for a watch of this caliber. Remarkably, while identical to the titanium model, the layout maintained its irresistible appeal, characterized by a captivating sense of symmetry. The finishing on both sides is impeccable, with the back revealing a modern and intricate design where the chronograph mechanism took center stage. The two tones, yellow gold and titanium complemented each other perfectly. An expression of very pure and rigourous design vision The Octo Finissimo Skeleton 8 Days was first released last year a luxurious gold version with an anthracite grey movement. While it may not have achieved record-breaking status like some of its counterparts in the fascinating Octo Finissimo collection, the Skeleton 8 Days watch is undeniably impressive. It harnesses 192 hours of energy from the in-house Caliber BVL 199SK housing a single barrel and measuring a mere 2.5mm thick. When the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Skeleton 8 Days returned in 2023 in full titanium attire, adorned in the monochromatic style of the collection, it received a warm welcome. This hand-wound Octo Finissimo timepiece, crafted from titanium encompassing the 40mm-dimaeter and 5.95mm-thick case, integrated bracelet and dial, is slightly thicker than the classic Octo Finissimo Automatic yet boasts an impressive weeklong power reserve. The case maintains the intricate design signature of the Octo Finissimo collection with its combination of octagonal and round shapes, as well as the use of sandblasted titanium, the preferred metal for most models in the Octo Finissimo collection thus creating a distinct aesthetic and delivering a unique ownership experience. Again, this watch may not be a record-breaker, but it is very much on at the pinnacle Octo Finissimos achievements. The Bulgari Octo Finissimo Skeleton 8 Days in Titanium creates a distinct aesthetic and delivers a unique ownership experience. Octo Finissimo Skeleton 8 Days Ref. 103610 (2023) Bulgari Bulgari Octo Finissimo Skeleton 8 Days Ref. 103610 (2023) CASE: titanium, water-resistant to 30m, transparent caseback SIZE: 40 x 5.95mm DIAL: openworked MOVEMENT: BVL 199 SK caliber, ultra-thin manual winding, 3Hz, 192h power reserve FUNCTIONS: hours, minutes, small seconds, power-reserve indicator BRACELET: titanium bracelet with three-blade folding clasp Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT Ref. 103661 (2022) Bulgari Bulgari Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT Ref. 103661 (2022) CASE: stainless steel, water-resistant to 100m, transparent case back SIZE: 43 x 8.75mm DIAL: silvered with vertical brushes finishing, rhodium-plated hour-markers with SLN MOVEMENT: BVL 318, ultra-thin automatic, 3Hz, 60h power reserve FUNCTIONS: hours, minutes, small seconds, second time zone, chrono functions BRACELET: satin-polished stainless steel bracelet and folding clasp Sporty, opulent, innovate ! In 2019, the Octo Finissimo Chronograph GMT etched its name in horological history by redefining the limits of thinness. Its sandblasted titanium case, a mere 6.90mm thick, cradled the remarkably slender BVL 318 movement measuring just 3.30mm. This extraordinary timepiece secured its place as the worlds thinnest automatic chronograph, with the added complexity of a GMT complication. The following year, this ultra-thin marvel found a new home in a larger steel case, donning an exquisite blue dial. In 2022, Bulgari unveiled yet another iteration, an all-steel version featuring a silver-toned dial, perfectly encapsulating the iconic aesthetic synonymous with the Octo Finissimo lineage. Bulgaris decision to fortify the Octo Finissimo case for enhanced durability and water resistance ushered in a sportier, more robust timepiece ideal for everyday wear. While the stainless steel case experienced a slight enlargement, expanding from 42mm to 43mm and an increase in thickness from 6.90mm to 8.75mm, this transformation came with a significant payoff: an impressive surge in water resistance from 30m to 100m. Remarkably, the case retained its slim and intricate octagonal architecture, replete with a myriad facets. Bulgari harnessed the inherent qualities of steel, introducing a captivating blend of textures, from a radial-brushed bezel to vertically satin-finished surfaces on the case and bracelet, embellished with polished accents. In any iteration, the Octo Finissimo Automatic exudes an unmistakable air of luxury and sophistication. Octo Finissimo Automatic Ref. 102912 (2020) Bulgari Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic Ref. 102912 (2020) CASE: sandblasted 18k pink gold, sapphire crystals front and back, water resistance to 30m SIZE: 40 x 5.15mm MOVEMENT: BVL 138 caliber, ultra-thin automatic, 3Hz, 60h power reserve FUNCTIONS: hours, minutes, seconds BRACELET: pink gold bracelet with double folding clasp The allure of sophistication With every fresh iteration of the beloved Octo Finissimo model, the use of novel materials and finishes breathes new life into its appearance, unveiling a beguiling and distinct aesthetic. While the titanium Octo Finissimo Automatic from 2017 etched its place in history as a record-holder, it is only fitting to reserve a special spot for the 2020 version, cast in sandblasted pink gold a true showstopper. The Octo Finissimo Automatic possesses dimensions that make it a true standout. With a 40mm width and 45mm lug-to-lug length, its flat caseback ensures an even and comfortable fit on the wrist. Its wide lugs establish a broad and balanced connection point between the case and bracelet, akin to the comfort of a cuff. This design endows the Octo Finissimo with a wrist presence unlike any other watch, especially the Octo Finissimo Automatic Ref. 102912, in sandblasted pink gold. Its aesthetic radiates modernity, style, and a sense of luxurious fun when adorning the wrist. Within this captivating case design resides Bulgaris automatic BVL 138 movement. In any iteration, the Octo Finissimo Automatic manifests an unmistakable air of luxury and sophistication, with this movement showcasing the level of craftsmanship required to compete at this echelon. Although it may appear identical in form to its titanium counterpart, the ceramic Octo Finissimo Automatic is constructed with a distinct approach. A technical and aesthetic challenge Among the materials now gracing the Octo Finissimo collection, ceramic takes its rightful place, with only a few ceramic models possessing a magnetic allure. From various perspectives, the matt black ceramic Octo Finissimo Automatic (2019) emerges as a resounding success story. The Automatic Ref. 103077 is a timepiece nearly entirely composed of ceramic. Except for the movement, hands, and bracelet pins, every element, from the dial to the clasp, exudes ceramic craftsmanship. Although it may appear identical in form to its titanium counterpart, the ceramic Octo Finissimo Automatic is constructed with a distinct approach. Crafting it is a challenge, as traditional screws cannot be used with ceramic. Instead, the ceramic case middle is nestled between the bezel and back. The bezel consists of a ceramic cap atop a titanium inner bezel, featuring tubes to accommodate not the conventional casebackscrews but hex-head bolts instead. These bolts secure the entire case structure by entering through the back and traversing special shafts into the titanium bezel, effectively holding the watch together. Beyond its technical achievements, the Octo Finissimo Ceramic Automatic seamlessly marries this cutting-edge caliber with an elaborate, lightweight ceramic case and captivatingly monochromatic ceramic dial, resulting in a watch of unparalleled style. Octo Finissimo Ceramic Automatic Ref. 103077 (2019) Bulgari Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ceramic Automatic Ref. 103077 (2019) CASE: black ceramic, water-resistant to 30m, transparent caseback SIZE: 40 x 5.5mm DIAL: ceramic MOVEMENT: BVL138, ultrathin automatic, 3Hz, 60h power reserve FUNCTIONS: hours, minutes, seconds BRACELET: black ceramic with a folding clasp Octo Finissimo Automatic Ref. 102713 (2017) Bulgari Octo Finissimo Automatic Ref. 102713 (2017) CASE: sandblasted titanium, transparent caseback, water resistance to 30m SIZE: 40 x 5.15mm DIAL: titanium dial, black hands with PVD treatment MOVEMENT: BVL 138 caliber, ultra-thin automatic, 3Hz, 60h power reserve FUNCTIONS: hours, minutes, seconds BRACELET: titanium with folding clasp The strenght of a style The Octo Finissimo Automatic marked Bulgaris third world record achievement in ultra-thin (5.15mm) watchmaking. It succeeded the Octo Finissimo Tourbillon from 2014, which boasted a remarkably slim 1.95mm thick movement, and the Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater from 2016, equipped with Caliber BVL 362 measuring a mere 3.12mm. Still, its safe to say that the more accessible Octo Finissimo Automatic with its BVL 138 self-winding micro-rotor movement, only 2.23mm thick and 36.60mm in diameter, played a pivotal role in solidifying the iconic status of the Octo Finissimo series. The Octo Finissimo Automatic resides within the distinct multifaceted case that defines the collection. Crafted from sandblasted titanium with a titanium dial, it marked the second record-breaking ultra-thin Bulgari watch presented in this material, eventually becoming the series signature look. Bulgari combined Swiss watchmaking expertise with Italian design flair, forging a powerful combination that enabled the brand to excel in numerous technical categories while maintaining a distinctive design language. Over the years, as observers have doubtless noticed, Bulgari has released various iterations of the Automatic to underscore its willingness to experiment with diverse materials and textures. Nevertheless, with its matt, textured appearance, the sandblasted titanium Octo Finissimo Automatic remains an exceptional standout. As a WorldTempus reader, we are delighted to offer you the digital version of this GMT Magazine, as well as the official catalog of the GPHG, that you can download here. Nadia and Ghita Bradley : the story of two Moroccan sisters engaged in the struggle for the Palestinian people./Ph. DR Morocco was engaged in the struggle of the Palestinian people against the Israeli occupier throughout years. This is confirmed through the breathtaking story of two Moroccan sisters. Nadia and Ghita Bradley indeed left their marks in the history that the two nations, Morocco and Palestine share. In 1971, the international public opinion woke up to a shocking announcement made by the Israeli authorities. They had just arrested a commando that targeted several sites in Israel on behalf of the Palestinian resistance. What was really unusual about this announcement is that two Moroccan women were part of the armed group. The two sisters wanted to carry out an attack against the Zionist entity. The Paris incident in 1970 The story of the two sisters interest in the Palestinian cause had gotten considerably more coverage since September 1970 when the Jordanian army attacked Palestinian armed factions in several Jordanian cities. Thousands were killed and others were wounded from both camps. The incident generated sympathy, particularly in the Arab World, and put the Palestinian people, forced into exile, under the spotlight. The following year, Nadia Bradley, who was studying Philosophy and literature at the Sorbonne University back then, was the victim of a serious accident in Paris. She was saved by her neighbor, who was the head of the European Office of the Democratic Front for the liberation of Palestine in Paris. After the incident, Nadia and the Palestinian national became friends. He told her about the Palestinian cause, the Zionist practices and the struggle of his people. All of that made Nadia think seriously of the Palestinian struggle and consider supporting the liberation of the land. As a result, the young woman started planning for the attack she wanted to carry out in order to support the Palestinian revolution. Thus, Nadia (25) and Ghita (19), her younger sister, started getting committed to the idea of targeting facilities in Tel Aviv. The trip from Paris to Tel Aviv Once their decision was made, the two sisters residing in Paris started training with the help and assistance of Palestinian militants. They learned how to prepare explosives and after a few weeks, they were ready to join the Easter Commando, a group of three French and two Moroccan women. On the 11th of April 1971, they arrived at Lod International Airport (now known as the David-Ben-Gurion international airport), near Tel Aviv. The Israeli authorities then discovered explosive materials in their luggage. The sisters had carefully hidden them inside their shoes, makeup and clothes. They were arrested, beaten and tortured by the Israelis, according to the account of Ghita, the youngest Bradley sister who spoke to Al Jazeera TV channel. The fact that we were injected twice with chemicals affected our health. On top of that, they were depriving us of food and sleep and we had to sit on chairs, blindfolded. They also made us drink something that made us sick, says Ghita Bradley. She also reported that each of them had lost between 10 and 15 kilos during that period. But we were determined. By the way, we were inspired by the screams of the Palestinian detainees around us. It filled us with strength. The Israeli authorities had also separated us from each other. My sister had been put naked in an isolated cell for two or three months in addition to the tiresome investigations. Afterwards, the Israelis proceeded for the first time to using what they call the truth serum. Detained in Tel Aviv After the investigations were concluded, the trial hearings began at the military court. They were considered as terrorists. At that moment, Ghita Bradley reports that they had gone through all the stages. We were first sentenced to death then to life imprisonment before they told us that it was between ten and twelve years, she told Al Jazeera. Eventually a final verdict was pronounced by the court. Ghita was sentenced to ten years in prison while her sister Nadia had to serve twelve years. I spent 5 years in prison and Nadia spent 4 years and three months, said Ghita as quoted by LEconomiste on July the 6th2001. Their mother, Irene Pellicer, has managed to save her daughters. When I saw that my daughters were at their weakest, I threatened to expose everything. I told them that my daughters were political prisoners and that they had to be treated as such the mother recalled. Her youngest daughter affirms that her mother went to meet Francois Mitterrand, party leader at that time. I dont know what he did. Perhaps he gave his instructions so that the Moroccan women are liberated along with the French ones, said Irene Pellicer Bradley. After nearly four years of detention, Nadia was seriously ill. It is at this moment that the French consul in Israel decided to interfere. He was efficient and determined. When the Israelis announced that they would amputate my sisters fingers, he intervened to say that this is unacceptable and intolerable and could trigger a diplomatic crisis, Ghita told Al Jazeera. Nadia was later released due to external pressure. She then left prison after four years and a few months spent in prison. Her little sister was released almost eight months later. Supporting Palestinians After embracing freedom, everyone thought that the two sisters would go back to Morocco or France and live peacefully. Everyone thought that the Bradley sisters would forget the past. But Nadia and Ghita left prison only to get more attached to the Palestinian cause. As soon as they arrived in Paris, they started thinking about moving to Lebanon, the cradle of the Palestinian factions at the time. Following their arrival to Lebanon, the Moroccan nationals were welcomed as heroes, according to Ghitas account. Yasser Arafat, then head of the Palestine Liberation Organization, entrusted them with a completely different mission, although they had been trained to use weapons. He asked them to present a show on the Radio Sawt Palestine (voice of Palestine) in Hebrew. We were talking with Israelis. Nadia was involved in ideological politics and education as I dealt with security issues, said Ghita. In 1982, the two sisters decided to return to Morocco. Nadia started working for a media platform before founding the French-language newspaper Le Liberal. Her sister chose to return to her normal life after spending years and years completely committed to the Palestinian cause. In 1995, Nadia died of an illness dating back to her detention in Israel. At the age of 50, on August the 10th 1995, Nadia Bradley passed away. She died of septicemia, a general infection that she suffered from. A small microbe turned into septicemia and it killed her in 15 days, said the younger sister. Regarding Nadia, Abdelnasser Ferwana, head of the studies and documentation for the Palestinian National Authority, said she was a woman who had not received the attention she deserved. The Arab media have failed to give her the attention she owed. Many Palestinians and Moroccans are unaware of her story and do not know that Moroccan nationals have backed the Palestinian struggle, he said. Abdelnasser Ferwana also stressed that the two women deserve the title of Martyrdom. Mauritanians celebrate every year the 28th of November, commemorating their independence. A special celebration that brings us back to a shared history, Moroccans have taken part to during the 60's. Indeed, declaring Mauritania an independent State in November the 28th 1960 was not a joyful announcement for everybody at the time. And as Mauritanians celebrated their independence, Moroccans witnessed their dream of building a great Maghreb collapse before their eyes. Long before Mauritania was granted independence, in 1956 the Moroccan Kingdom had constantly claimed its sovereignty over the Saharan territories. Claims that have been accentuated right after independence, highlighting the history shared between Morocco and Mauritania. However, France was not ready to withdraw from North Africa, leaving a state extending from Tangier to the Senegal river. Mauritania has indeed been since then that other bone of contention between Morocco, newly proclaimed independent, and colonial France. On the 25th of February 1958, only a few months after Morocco was granted independence, King Mohammed V visited MHamid El Ghizlane. It was a historical and symbolic event for the Kingdom which was finally able to embrace independence, especially in the southern regions of the country, said Jilali El Adnani, a historian and professor at the Mohammed V university in Rabat, when asked by MAP news agency last February. It was during this visit that the Sahrawi tribes including Teknas, Rguibats, Ouled Dlim, Laarossiyines and others had come to renew their allegiance and their attachment to their motherland, he added. France defending its own interests Although the Kings visit led to the recovery of Tarfaya on the 16th of April, 1958, the Kingdom was planning to seize back the rest of its Saharan provinces. These provinces included neighboring Mauritania, according to a reportage broadcasted by the French national TV at the time and released a few years later by the French National Audiovisual Institute (INA). Produced in 1960, [the reportage] seems to have been produced by the French news agency but has never seen light. The reason probably lies in the thesis defended by the journalist, who explicitly takes the Moroccan side regarding the Mauritanian question, states an explanation that preceded the report. It also mentioned in particular that several Mauritanian personalities have visited Morocco to hold talks with King Mohammed V. The official visit of His Majesty Mohammed V to the south of the country is only one of the most recent aspects of the Moroccan sovereignty over Mauritania. This vast territory of a million square kilometers is populated by one million inhabitants. Anxious to defend its own interests, France urged after Morocco gained independence to found the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, detached from Moroccan sovereignty under the leadership of a pseudo-government. For INA, the reportage highlighted the fact that Mauritanians were among Moroccos highest authorities, () showed that they have opposed the pseudo-government of Mokhtar Ould Daddah described as entirely controlled by France [and] seemed to be part of the press campaign initiated by the Kingdom to defend its claims over Mauritania. Morocco divided into seven parts after the protectorate Long before the independence of Mauritania, Allal El Fassi, the founding father of the Istiqlal party (Independence party) defended the idea of founding a greater Morocco in 1955. A territory extending from Tangier to St. Louis River in Senegal. This version of the story was supported by the account provided by Zamane. In an article published in 2014, the magazine specialized in history, shed light on Mauritania. It indicates that the 28th of November was a day of mourning in Morocco. Zamane insisted that with the arrival of France and Spain, the Kingdom was divided into seven parts. A French protectorate in the center, another Spanish one in the North, an international zone in Tangier, a Spanish colony in Oued Eddahab, another one in Saguia El Hamra, with the Spanish presence in Sebta and Melilla and finally a French colony in the southern region of the Kingdom extended to the Senegal River, adds the same source. When the French-Moroccan was signed in March 1956, it was normal from the Moroccan point of view to see these seven zones included in the historical and natural boundaries they represented before 1912. But that never happened. Morocco was granted independence through multiple stages, which resulted in losing parts of its land. Morocco and Mauritania to turn the page by 1969 In a document dedicated to the independence of Mauritania, issued in June 2013, Al Massae gives its version of the story regarding this historical event, arguing that despite the opposition of King Hassan II, then Crown Prince, King Mohammed V supported the idea of annexing Mauritania. A position that was based on the historical relations that linked the Saharan tribal leaders to the Alaouite sultans. Al Massae also reports that during these events, King Mohammed V hosted on the 28th of March the Emir of Trarza, Fal Ould Oumeir (appointed Minister of State in November 1960), Mohammed Ould Bah, Edday Ould Sidi Baba and other Mauritanian personalities to discuss the terms and conditions for the recovery of Mauritania. A meeting that angered the French authorities at the time, according to the same source. While opposing France, Morocco decided to pull the rug out from under Frances feet. A real diplomatic counterattack throughout 1960 was launched, according to INA. Al Massae refers, meanwhile, to a White Paper from November the 4th 1960, in which Morocco exposes the historical and legal foundations defending its claims. On 28th of November from the same year, Mokhtar Ould Daddah declared the independence of his country. The following year, Nouakchott was recognized by the United Nations. An international recognition that Morocco kept refusing until 1969. On the 22nd of September 1969, King Hassan II hosted for the first time the Mauritanian President Mokhtar Ould Daddah in Rabat, marking the end of a controversial chapter in the history of North Africa. On November 27, Baku hosted a trilateral meeting between the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov, the Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Turkiye, Mr. Yashar Guler, and the Minister of Defense of Georgia, Mr. Juansher Burchuladze. Azernews reports At the meeting, it was noted that our peoples have lived in good neighborliness and friendship for centuries, and today these ties are developing steadily under the leadership of the three countries heads of state and government. It was emphasized that cooperation based on mutual trust is of great importance in terms of ensuring the well-being of our peoples. The importance of joining efforts in the fight against factors that may pose a threat to regional security was mentioned at the trilateral meeting. The Defense Ministers highlighted the significance of expanding the scope of trilateral exercises and training. Sides expressed confidence that the expansion of trilateral cooperation in the field of defense will contribute not only to our countries but also to strengthening peace, stability and security in the region. The meeting exchanged views on the development prospects of cooperation in the fields of military, military education, military medicine and other aspects of mutual interest. At the end, a press conference was held for media representatives and a protocol was signed on the conclusion of the trilateral meeting. The famous Ukrainian designer Andre Tan shared a story that happened in 2011. The fashion designer invited American socialite Paris Hilton to Kyiv to take part in his fashion show. ADVERTISIMENT However, things did not go as well as he would have liked. A PR stunt involving a famous celebrity almost ended in a nervous breakdown for Andre Tan, he said on his Instagram page. The designer admits that he still can't understand how he decided to take such a step, because at the time it seemed incredible. It was a great PR move for the Ukrainian brand, which became a kind of revolution in the domestic fashion world. However, it cost the fashion designer her nerve cells, because after the famous American arrived in Kyiv, she was unhappy with absolutely everything. "Paris didn't like everything - the makeup artist, the hairdresser. We couldn't find her shoes in size 42," said Andre Tan. ADVERTISIMENT According to the plan, Hilton was supposed to walk the runway wearing white pants and a vest. However, after trying on the outfit, the star rejected it because it exposed her stomach. The designer had to make a new outfit overnight. "It was quite a night... When I think back, it gives me the creeps," he added. After the screening, the star guest threw a loud party where she drank too much. "And I had to clean up the mess... I don't know how I managed to keep my hair that day," the Ukrainian recalls. ADVERTISIMENT Earlier, OBOZ.UA told how Andre Tan proved himself at the age of 23 and revealed the main secret of his success. Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has captured a very detailed image of the Herbig-Haro object 797 (HH 797), which is located in the northern constellation of Perseus. Herbig-Haro objects are small bright patches of nebulosity associated with protostars. These objects were first observed in the 19th century by the American astronomer Sherburne Wesley Burnham, but were not recognized as being a distinct type of emission nebula until the 1940s. The first astronomers to study them in detail were George Herbig and Guillermo Haro, after whom they have been named. Herbig-Haro objects are formed when hot gas ejected by a newborn star collides with the gas and dust around it at speeds of up to 250,000 kmh (155,000 mph), creating bright shock waves. They come in a wide array of shapes, the basic configuration is usually the same: twin jets of heated gas, ejected in opposite directions from a forming star, stream through interstellar space. Herbig-Haro objects are transient phenomena they disappear into nothingness within a few tens of thousands of years. HH 797, which dominates the lower half of this image, is very close to the young open star cluster IC 348, which is located near the eastern edge of the Perseus dark cloud complex, Webb astronomers said. The bright infrared objects in the upper portion of the image are thought to host two further protostars. The new image of HH 797 was captured with the Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam) onboard Webb. Infrared imaging is powerful in studying newborn stars and their outflows, because the youngest stars are invariably still embedded within the gas and dust from which they are formed, the astronomers explained. The infrared emission of the stars outflows penetrates the obscuring gas and dust, making Herbig-Haro objects ideal for observation with Webbs sensitive infrared instruments. Molecules excited by the turbulent conditions, including molecular hydrogen and carbon monoxide, emit infrared light that Webb can collect to visualize the structure of the outflows. NIRCam is particularly good at observing the hot (thousands of degrees Celsius) molecules that are excited as a result of shocks. In an earlier study, astronomers found that for cold molecular gas associated with HH 797, most of the red-shifted gas (moving away from us) is found to the south (bottom right), while the blue-shifted gas (moving towards us) is to the north (bottom left). A gradient was also found across the outflow, such that at a given distance from the central protostar, the velocity of the gas near the eastern edge of the jet is more red-shifted than that of the gas on the western edge. Astronomers in the past thought this was due to the outflows rotation, the researchers said. In this higher resolution Webb image, however, we can see that what was thought to be one outflow is in fact made up of two almost parallel outflows with their own separate series of shocks (which explains the velocity asymmetries). The source, located in the small dark region (bottom right of center), and already known from previous observations, is therefore not a single but a double star. Each star is producing its own dramatic outflow. Other outflows are also seen in this image, including one from the protostar in the top right of center along with its illuminated cavity walls. The end-Cretaceous mass extinction, which included the elimination of all non-avian dinosaurs, occurred after the impact of the Chicxulub asteroid and during a stretch of the Deccan Traps volcanism in western India. Although it is known that the impact is temporally linked to the extinction, the relative roles are hard to disentangle. To help resolve the scientific debate, researchers at Dartmouth College tried a new approach they removed scientists from the debate and let computers decide. They developed a new modeling method powered by interconnected processors that can work through reams of geological and climate data without human input. They tasked nearly 130 processors with analyzing the fossil record in reverse to pinpoint events and conditions that led to the end-Cretaceous mass extinction. About 66 million years ago, the end-Cretaceous extinction event eradicated roughly 75% of the animal and plant species on Earth, including whole groups like non-avian dinosaurs and ammonites. Early theories attributing the event to volcanic eruptions have been eclipsed by the discovery of an impact crater in Mexico known as Chicxulub that was caused by a huge asteroid now thought to be primarily responsible for the extinction event. The theories have begun to converge, however, as fossil evidence suggests a one-two punch unlike anything in Earths history: the asteroid may have slammed into a planet already reeling from the massive, extremely violent eruptions of volcanoes in the Deccan Traps. But scientists still do not know nor agree on the extent to which each event contributed to the mass extinction. So, Dartmouth College researchers Alexander Cox and Brenhin Keller decided to see what they would get if they let the code decide. Their model suggested that the outpouring of climate-altering gases from the Deccan Traps alone could have been sufficient to trigger the global extinction. The Deccan Traps had been erupting for roughly 300,000 years before the Chicxulub asteroid. During their nearly 1 million years of eruptions, the Traps are estimated to have pumped up to 10.4 trillion tons of carbon dioxide and 9.3 trillion tons of sulfur into the atmosphere. Weve known historically that volcanoes can cause massive extinctions, but this is the first independent estimation of volatile emissions taken from the evidence of their environmental effects, Dr. Keller said. Our model worked through the data independently and without human bias to determine the amount of carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide required to produce the climate and carbon cycle disruptions we see in the geologic record. These amounts turned out to be consistent with what we expect to see in emissions from the Deccan Traps. The model did reveal a steep drop in the accumulation of organic carbon in the deep ocean around the time of the Chicxulub impact, which likely resulted from the asteroid causing the demise of numerous animal and plant species. The record contains traces of a decrease in temperature around the same time that would have been caused by the large amount of sulfur a short-term cooling agent the mammoth meteorite would have ejected into the air when it collided with the sulfur-rich surface on that area of the planet. The asteroid impact also would have likely emitted both carbon and sulfur dioxide. However, the model found that there was no spike in the emissions of either gas at that time, suggesting that the asteroids contribution to the extinction did not hinge on gas emissions. In modern context, the burning of fossil fuels from 2000 to 2023 has pumped about 16 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere per year, Cox said. This is 100 times greater than the highest annual emission rate scientists project from the Deccan Traps. While alarming on its own, it would still take a few thousand years for current carbon dioxide emissions to match the total amount that spewed forth from the ancient volcanoes. Most heartening is that the results we achieved are broadly physically plausible, which is impressive given that the model could have technically run completely wild without stronger prior constraints. The results were published in the journal Science. _____ Alexander A. Cox & C. Brenhin Keller. 2023. A Bayesian inversion for emissions and export productivity across the end-Cretaceous boundary. Science 381; doi: 10.1126/science.adh3875 The Kyiv Prosecutor's Office has appealed the sentence handed down to the famous Ukrainian actor Ostap Stupka, who caused a car accident in the capital in April this year while he was heavily intoxicated. On November 24, the Holosiivskyi District Court of Kyiv sentenced the star to three years' restriction of liberty, but the prosecutor's office disagreed with this decision. ADVERTISIMENT The department believes that the punishment for the culprit of the accident was "too lenient." The press service of the Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office reported on the appeal against the verdict, UNN reports. "The Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office appealed the sentence of 3 years in prison handed down to actor Ostap Stupka for a drunken driving accident, claiming that the punishment was too lenient. An appeal was filed today," the statement said. It should be noted that on November 24, when the court announced the verdict against the artist, the press service of the Kyiv Prosecutor's Office said in a comment to OBOZ.UA: "The court passed a verdict - found him guilty under the article he is charged with and sentenced him to 3 years of restraint of liberty with deprivation of the right to drive vehicles for 8 years. The prosecutor's office will appeal this decision, as we asked for a real punishment in the form of imprisonment. We do not agree and will appeal." ADVERTISIMENT As a reminder, in addition to restricting his freedom for 3 years, the court also ordered the star to pay about 10 thousand hryvnias for the examinations and to take away his driver's license for 8 years. Neither the artist nor the prosecution was satisfied with this scenario. The star's lawyers are preparing an appeal. At the pre-trial hearing, Stupka was charged with violating traffic safety rules while intoxicated, which caused serious bodily harm to the victim. The victim, named Yaroslav, who was hospitalized after the accident, said that he spent three days unconscious in intensive care, underwent surgery, and continues to undergo treatment. According to the driver of the Mitsubishi that the actor's Range Rover hit, he saw the culprit only a few times. ADVERTISIMENT Theaccident occurred on Fedorov Street in the Holosiivskyi district of Kyiv. Investigators found that Stupka drove into the oncoming lane and crashed into a parked car driven by a 38-year-old driver. Afterward, he said that he did not consider himself a criminal, and the actor called the accident an accident. Moreover, according to the celebrity, this incident was sent to him by fate or "a father from heaven." As OBOZ.UA previously reported, the Ivan Franko National Academic Theater publicly reacted to the accident. They believe that the accident is not a reason to fire the actor. Stupka himself has recently confidently stated that he is thankful to God that "everyone is alive and well," and that this story is supposed to end soon. Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! American actor and producer Sean Penn, who visited Ukraine for the third time since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, wore boots from a Ukrainian brand. The artist came to the meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wearing shoes with the inscription "Glory to Ukraine." ADVERTISIMENT They also featured a small blue and yellow flag. The photos were shared by the Office of the President of Ukraine (scroll to the bottom of the page to see the photos). "And Sean Penn is classic, he doesn't take off our boots, thank you for your trust, it's unreal, I can't believe it," the Dneprovskiy Bukin brand wrote on Instagram. The American was given a pair of military shoes back in the summer when he came to Ukraine. As you know, this morning, Sean Penn presented President Volodymyr Zelenskyi with his Oscar as a symbol of faith in the victory of our country. The present will stay in Ukraine until the victory over the occupiers. ADVERTISIMENT As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, Hollywood actor Sean Penn was in Ukraine on the day of the Russian invasion. He came to Kyiv to shoot a documentary about our country. The Oscar-winning actor came to Ukraine for the second time in late June. Sean Penn visited Bucha and Irpin to see with his own eyes the consequences of the actions of the Russian occupiers in our country. It is also known that the director is filming a documentary about the war in Ukraine. TikTok can provide some really useful advice. The experience of Bella Woodard, a 21-year-old medical student at East Tennessee State University (USA), is a proof of this. ADVERTISIMENT According to the New York Post, the girl is currently working as a waitress and once saw a video from a colleague who recommended braiding her hair at work. Allegedly, this hairstyle makes customers leave bigger tips. Bella decided to test this claim in practice and quickly saw the results. One of her clients tipped her as much as $135. After learning about this life hack, the magazine's journalists decided to interview other waitresses about their secrets to increasing tips. It turned out that customers were more willing to give them money if the girls spoke with a southern accent, dyed their hair blonde, used a lot of lip gloss, had their nails done, or wore shorts to work. It turned out that these practical conclusions were in line with the findings of an academic study by Professor William Michael Lynn of Cornell's School of Hotel Administration. He studied the topic of tipping for many years and collected 20 ways to increase these additional payments from customers. So Lynn recommends that waiters wear unusual clothes at work, compliment the choice of dishes, write "thank you" or draw small pictures on the receipts, squat or stand closer to the guest, and, of course, smile a lot. ADVERTISIMENT As for pigtails, the professor commented on the success of this hairstyle by saying that it makes the waitress look younger and more sexually attractive. And several studies have already shown that attractive restaurant workers receive more money for tips. At the same time, customers also like it when waitresses wear makeup. At the same time, the publication argues that the conclusion that the size of the tip depends on appearance makes women in the food service industry feel uncomfortable. This is because their earnings are highly dependent on their appearance. As OBOZREVATEL wrote, American waiters told us which celebrities are the most generous with tips. One of the participants in the list paid the staff ten times more than the cost of his meal! Rolls-Royce unveiled its mid-term financial targets on Tuesday, aimed at ushering in a significant transformation in its performance. The FTSE 100 company said its targets included achieving an operating profit within the range of 2.5bn to 2.8bn, an operating margin of 13% to 15%, free cash flow between 2.8bn and 3.1bn, and a return on capital ranging from 16% to 18%. It said the targets, spanning various divisions, were set for 2027 and built on the expectation of progressive improvements year-on-year. Civil aerospace was notable among its divisional targets, which was expected to make a remarkable leap from a 2.5% operating margin in 2022 to a range of 15% to 17%. In defence, the aim was to improve from 11.8% in 2022 to 14% to 16%, while in power systems, the target was to enhance performance from 8.4% in 2022 to 12% to 14%. Rolls-Royce said its strategic update, launched in February, was based on four key pillars - portfolio choices and partnerships, advantaged businesses and strategic initiatives, efficiency and simplification, and lower carbon and digitally enabled businesses. The firm aimed to focus on specific markets and businesses where it could leverage its strengths and achieve profitable growth. One key strategy was exploring partnerships in areas where they could enhance market positions, build capabilities, and reduce capital investment. While the mid-term targets were not dependent on securing new partnerships, Rolls-Royce said it was open to collaborations that create additional value. Such partnerships could span civil aerospace, small modular reactors (SMRs), power generation, and battery energy storage systems. Furthermore, Rolls-Royce announced a divestment program targeting gross proceeds of 1bn to 1.5bn over the next five years. The move was intended to reallocate capital to areas where the company could generate more value. Rolls-Royce Electrical, for instance, could exit or reduce its position to minority in the short to mid-term. The firm said its strategic initiatives, including efficiency measures, were expected to deliver sustainable savings of 400m to 500m in the mid-term. It was also focused on strengthening its balance sheet, aiming for an investment-grade profile and optimising shareholder distributions. In terms of current trading, Rolls-Royce reported that it was in line with expectations and has reconfirmed its guidance for 2023. Engine flying hours for large civil engines on long-term service agreements were at 86% of 2019 levels for the first ten months of 2023, aligning with expectations for the full year. Rolls-Royce said it would provide its next update on 22 February, when it would publish its full-year 2023 results and offer guidance for 2024. Rolls-Royce is at a pivotal point in its history - after a strong start to our transformation programme, we are today laying out a clear vision for the journey we need to take and the areas where we must focus, said chief executive officer Tufan Erginbilgic. We are creating a high-performing, competitive, resilient and growing Rolls-Royce that will have the financial strength to control and shape its own destiny. We are confident in our ability to achieve these ambitions and have a clear and granular plan to deliver on our targets. Erginbilgic said Rolls-Royce had made significant progress, with 2023 profit and cash forecast materially ahead of 2022. We are setting compelling and achievable financial targets for the mid-term, which will take Rolls-Royce significantly beyond any previous financial performance. This will benefit not just our shareholders but our people, customers and partners. We are building one Rolls-Royce - a company that can fully realise its potential, ensuring the excellence and innovation that helped shape the modern world, and endures long into the future. At 0804 GMT, shares in Rolls-Royce Holdings were up 3.58% at 251.9p. Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com. Saga said on Tuesday that chief executive Euan Sutherland will be standing down after four years with the business. Sutherland will be replaced by current chief financial officer Mike Hazell, who in turn will be succeeded by Mark Watkins, currently group chief corporate development officer. Saga said Sutherland informed the board earlier this year that he believed the time was right time for him to stand down, allowing for the appointment of a new CEO "to take Saga onto the next phase of its development". Saga said that Hazell - who joined Saga in October this year - has more than 25 years of multi-sector experience in a variety of executive roles. Most recently, he was interim CFO at the Co-op Group. Before that, he was joint CEO of Debenhams, and had held senior roles at BSkyB and Pfizer. Hazell and Watkins will assume their new roles with immediate effect and Sutherland will stay on until the end of January 2024 to support in the transition to new leadership. Non-executive chairman Sir Roger De Haan said: "I would like to thank Euan for the enormous contribution he has made to Saga since he joined the business four years ago. His belief in the strength of the Saga brand and the talent of our people was central to everything he has done to stabilise this business and return it to profitable growth. We wish him well for the next phase of his career. "I am delighted that Mike is becoming group CEO and that Mark is stepping up into the role of CFO. These changes are the result of carefully managed succession planning. Mike and Mark have the right skills and experience to take Saga into the next phase of its development." Londons FTSE 100 was down 0.4% at 7,430.12 in afternoon trade on Tuesday. Rolls-Royce surged as it set out its medium-term targets ahead of a capital markets day. The engine maker said it plans to deliver operating profit of 2.5bn to 2.8bn, operating margin of 13% to 15%, free cashflow of between 2.8bn and 3.1bn and return on capital of 16% to 18%. Lloyds Banking Group was boosted by an upgrade to overweight at Morgan Stanley. B&M was also lifted by a broker note, as Citi upped its stance on shares of the discount retailer to buy from neutral. It noted the "quasi-defensive" nature of its value-led proposition and around 5% per annum space runway in a category with a 10-year trailing compound annual growth rate of 10%. "These traits help to underpin our 15x PER target price of 640p (from 540p) and expectations for total shareholder return of 14-16% for FYMar25E/FYMar26E (ETR +19%), with the recent bond issuance also paving the way for the continuation of its special dividends," Citi said. Burberry fell as HSBC slashed its price target on the 'hold' rated stock. It noted that the repositioning of the brand is underway with the products from the new designer having started to reach the shelves in September 2023. However, HSBC said the pricing of the new collection - 20% higher - combined with the general slowdown of the luxury market increasing polarisation (consumers favouring the more established luxury brands) lead it to question the efficiency of the turnaround. "Even if management maintained its long-term target, the profit warning for FY23/24 announced in November is not reassuring," the bank said. It added that while the valuation may seem attractive, visibility is too low. FTSE 100 - Risers Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 259.30p 6.62% Smurfit Kappa Group (CDI) (SKG) 2,798.00p 3.40% Mondi (MNDI) 1,369.50p 1.22% Smith (DS) (SMDS) 282.80p 0.78% Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 42.26p 0.50% National Grid (NG.) 1,019.50p 0.49% B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 553.40p 0.47% Shell (SHEL) 2,581.00p 0.41% International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 151.45p 0.40% BP (BP.) 476.80p 0.37% FTSE 100 - Fallers Pearson (PSON) 926.80p -4.41% Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,459.50p -2.96% Entain (ENT) 830.00p -2.61% Rightmove (RMV) 521.80p -2.21% Land Securities Group (LAND) 617.40p -2.19% Ocado Group (OCDO) 562.60p -2.09% Prudential (PRU) 890.40p -2.02% Rentokil Initial (RTO) 440.00p -1.94% SEGRO (SGRO) 804.00p -1.83% Unite Group (UTG) 962.00p -1.79% The European Commission (EC) has approved a proposal to ban the sale of diamonds from Russia, which could have a very negative impact on its economy. The Ru now intends to send it to the EU member states for approval. The decision is expected to be made in the coming days. ADVERTISIMENT This was reported by AFP. They noted that according to available information, the EC intends to ban trade of: diamonds originating or exported from Russia; Russian diamonds cut and polished in third countries. It is emphasized that the ban is planned to be introduced in stages. Thus, from January 1, 2024, it will apply to: non-industrial natural and synthetic diamonds; diamond jewelry. The ban on imports of Russian diamonds cut or polished in third countries will be introduced later in stages as well: from March to September 2024. "The phased implementation... takes into account the need to introduce an appropriate tracking mechanism. This will ensure the effectiveness of the restrictions and minimize the negative consequences for market participants," the draft ban says, according to analysts. A serious blow to Russia ADVERTISIMENT The imposition of sanctions against Russian diamonds could cause significant damage to Russia. The fact is that, according to The New York Times, this country is the world's largest supplier of small diamonds. Thus, in 2021, this gem accounted for more than $4.5 billion of Russian exports. This makes diamonds one of the main sources of non-energy revenues for the Russian Federation. As reported by OBOZ.UA, meanwhile, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy imposed sanctions against more than 300 legal entities and about 150 individuals from Russia and other countries. In particular, a number of energy companies were subject to restrictions. Only verified information is available on OBOZ.UA Telegram and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Londons FTSE 250 was down 0.1% at 18,438.87 in afternoon trade on Monday. Johnson Matthey surged as Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgraded the shares to buy from underperform and hiked the price target to 2,000p from 1,600p as it argued the company has a far better cash flow profile than its valuation discounts. "We believe Johnson Matthey (MAT) can extract more value than we previously thought from its Clean Air franchise thanks to managements cost cutting efforts," BofA said. "We also see encouraging signs that it can generate new revenue streams in its Catalyst Tech business." West End landlord Shaftesbury also gained as it hailed a strong start to the Christmas trading period, with footfall high and sales tracking above the prior year. The company said customers reported sales up 12% on 2022 levels and 16% above 2019 levels. It pointed to "sustained" demand across all uses. Shaftesbury said leasing activity in the second half totalled 220 transactions, representing 15.6m of rent, 6% ahead of 30 June 2023 ERV. FTSE 250 - Risers Shaftesbury Capital (SHC) 121.30p 4.21% Johnson Matthey (JMAT) 1,601.00p 3.56% Dr. Martens (DOCS) 111.20p 2.49% Centamin (DI) (CEY) 92.30p 2.38% Digital 9 Infrastructure NPV (DGI9) 43.05p 1.89% Howden Joinery Group (HWDN) 715.40p 1.65% TBC Bank Group (TBCG) 2,800.00p 1.63% Hilton Food Group (HFG) 720.00p 1.55% Tritax Eurobox (GBP) (EBOX) 56.10p 1.45% Workspace Group (WKP) 545.00p 1.40% FTSE 250 - Fallers 888 Holdings (DI) (888) 76.50p -4.67% Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 190.00p -2.76% FDM Group (Holdings) (FDM) 398.50p -2.69% Ithaca Energy (ITH) 155.50p -2.32% Virgin Money UK (VMUK) 143.00p -2.09% Chemring Group (CHG) 312.50p -2.04% Indivior (INDV) 1,282.00p -1.99% Coats Group (COA) 68.20p -1.73% HGCapital Trust (HGT) 403.00p -1.71% FirstGroup (FGP) 163.40p -1.68% Grapefruit is a rather controversial fruit. Nutritionists claim that the fruit has anti-sclerotic and tonic properties, and is good for the digestive tract and metabolism. However, recent studies have shown that grapefruit juice can be deadly. ADVERTISIMENT Healthy eaters often drink grapefruit juice for breakfast because it is rich in beneficial vitamins and minerals. The Science Alert publication told us what irrefutable evidence of the danger of this type of juice scientists have found. When grapefruit juice can be deadly The chemical compounds furanocoumarins, which are found in high concentrations in grapefruit, can reduce or enhance the effect of certain medications. This leads to dangerously low - or, more often, dangerously high - levels of these drugs in the body. The compound bergamotin is also found in pomelos and bergamot oranges, and dihydroxybergamottin in pomelos and Seville oranges, the latter of which are often used to make marmalade. As pharmacologist Shiv Mei Huang of the FDA explained, "Grapefruit juice allows more drugs to enter the bloodstream. And when you have too much medicine in your bloodstream, you can experience more side effects." ADVERTISIMENT Chemical properties of the interaction between grapefruit and drugs The body - mainly in the liver and small intestine - produces an enzyme called cytochrome P450 3A4 (or CYP3A4). It helps to break down small foreign molecules, such as toxins or medications, so that the digestive system can eliminate them. It is the cytochrome that plays a crucial role in the metabolism of many drugs. At the same time, furanocoumarins interfere with the ability to produce or effectively utilize cytochrome CYP3A4. The danger of one glass of juice Scientists have proven that just one glass of grapefruit juice can interfere with the production of CYP3A4, and repeated consumption reduces the activity of cytochrome in the liver. This reduces the ability of the gastrointestinal tract to metabolize certain oral medications. As a result, a larger amount of the drug enters the bloodstream. The medicine stays in the body longer, creating an overdose effect, even if you took the correct dose. ADVERTISIMENT By the way, the types of medications that grapefruit affects are very diverse: from cholesterol and blood pressure pills to cancer drugs and antidepressants. At the same time, in the case of fexofenadine, an antihistamine, grapefruit consumption reduces the effectiveness of the active ingredient. The body's reaction can be quite unpredictable: heart palpitations begin; destruction of muscle tissue occurs; shortness of breath begins; gastrointestinal bleeding occurs; symptoms of kidney failure, etc. In extreme cases, these interactions can be fatal. So if you are taking medication, ask your doctor what the interaction of a particular drug with grapefruit may be. It's better not to take any risks and drink a glass of water with your pills. OBOZREVATEL recently wrote why you should never eat dry chia seeds. ADVERTISIMENT Subscribe to OBOZREVATEL 'sTelegram and Viberchannels to keep up with the latest developments. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the company that manufactures iPhones, has announced plans to invest another NT$50 billion ($1.6 billion) in construction projects in India. The announcement was made in an exchange filing in Taiwan. The company did not provide any further details about the investment except that it was for "operational needs". When asked about the new facilities, a spokesperson for the company declined to comment on their location. Taiwanese electronics manufacturers, including Hon Hai (also known as Foxconn), are diversifying their businesses outside of China due to rising tensions between Washington and Beijing. Foxconn generates about half of its revenue from business with Apple Inc. The company has been manufacturing iPhones and other products in India for several years, including the latest iPhone 15. In September, a Foxconn representative in India announced on LinkedIn that the company plans to double the size of its business in the South Asian country. In August, India's Karnataka state government announced that Foxconn planned to invest $600 million in two-component factories in the southern Indian state. That included a plant that will make mechanical enclosures for iPhones and a semiconductor equipment manufacturing plant it will operate with Applied Materials Inc, the government said at the time. Airbus SAS plans to enhance its partnership with Tata Advanced Systems to diversify India's defence supply chain and introduce new products that meet the country's defence needs. Jorge Tamarit-Degenhardt, who is in charge of the Airbus transport aircraft programme, shared this information as per the report. The report states that the partnership will include investments in developing various capabilities such as acquiring raw materials, manufacturing detailed parts, and establishing sub-assembly and assembly facilities. The initiative will be implemented in phases, with the initial focus on sourcing components such as metallic and composite manufacturing technologies. The primary focus in the early stages will be on metallic and composite manufacturing technologies, with a priority on electric harnesses to strengthen India's supply chain. The objective is to meet the demand for military transport aircraft as India replaces its aging military transport fleet. The Indian Air Force made a significant deal with Airbus in 2021, agreeing to purchase 56 military transport aircraft for a total of Rs 21,395 crore. The two companies' collaboration aims to supply transport aircraft and other defence platforms since the Indian military needs around 100 aircraft. They plan to produce the first India-manufactured aircraft in 2026 and will use their final assembly line in Vadodara, which will start operating by November 2024. This strategic partnership further aligns with India's efforts to establish a robust domestic defence supply chain, encouraging global defence companies to invest and manufacture in the country. Initiatives like indigenization lists, Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020, and defence industrial corridors aim to facilitate foreign firms' entry, support startups, and boost research within India. Gujarat's Home Minister, Harsh Sanghvi, recently attended the India Global Forum Middle East and Africa 2023 in Dubai. During the event, he highlighted the state's achievements and business opportunities with the aim of attracting investments ahead of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit. Sanghvi emphasized that the investments coming into Gujarat will benefit not only the state's youth but also the entire country. "Vibrant Gujarat is a great platform for investors who want to get high ROI by investing in India. Through this initiative, we have not just empowered the youths but also other parts of the country, as it has helped generate employment opportunities for the youth", Sanghvi said at the forum. The BJP leader also said that "Gujaratis have been working 100 plus hours a week", and this is the reason they have reached where they are today. Sanghvi said, "I have come along with a special delegation of the Gujarat government to attend the India Global Forum. In the next three to four days, we will hold one-to-one meetings with many investors from the UAE and especially African countries. We will be talking about our new policies and how they will help the companies set up their businesses and provide them better opportunities here. Also, we are giving invitations for the Vibrant Gujarat 2024". The Gujarat Home Minister also attended a panel discussion, where he talked about Gujarat's performance on "policy-driven governance, FDI magnet, how Gujarat emerged as an economic powerhouse, Gujarat's smart work ethic, Gujarat as a global investment hub, Gujarat as a strategic export hub and, the innovative development initiatives of Gujarat". Sembcorp Industries has announced that it will acquire wind power assets totalling 428 MW in China and India. The Singaporean energy company, which is backed by state-owned investor Temasek Holdings Pte, will purchase 228 MW of Leap Green Energy Pvt Ltd's operational wind power assets for SGD 70 million and 200 MW of Qinzhou Yuanneng's assets for SGD 130 million. The total value of the acquisition is SGD 200 million (approximately INR 1,247 crore). Sembcorp has been operating in India for more than 12 years, with a presence across 18 states. With this acquisition, the company now has a balanced portfolio of 3.7 GW of renewable assets, comprising 2.25 GW of wind and 1.45 GW of solar assets. Last year, it announced the acquisition of Vector Green to add 583 MW of renewable assets in India. "Sembcorps wholly-owned subsidiary, Sembcorp Energy (Shanghai) Holding Co Ltd has signed an agreement with Envision Energy Co Ltd to acquire 100 percent of the share capital in Qinzhou Yuanneng Wind Power Co Ltd (Qinzhou Yuanneng) for an equity consideration of approximately 130 million Singaporean dollars. Qinzhou Yuanneng owns 200MW of operational wind assets in Guangxi, China", the statement said. "Sembcorps wholly-owned subsidiary, Sembcorp Energy (Shanghai) Holding Co Ltd has signed an agreement with Envision Energy Co Ltd to acquire 100 percent of the share capital in Qinzhou Yuanneng Wind Power Co Ltd (Qinzhou Yuanneng) for an equity consideration of approximately 130 million Singaporean dollars. Qinzhou Yuanneng owns 200MW of operational wind assets in Guangxi, China," the statement said. Separately, its wholly-owned subsidiary, Green Infra Wind Energy Limited (GIWEL), has signed an agreement with Leap Green Energy Private Limited (Leap Green Energy), an independent power producer in Tamil Nadu, India. "Under the agreement, GIWEL will acquire from Leap Green Energy 100 percent of the share capital in two special purpose vehicles (SPVs) for an equity consideration of approximately 70 million Singaporean dollars. The SPVs own 228MW of operational wind assets in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, India", it said. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Authorities say a career burglar targeted a home last month on Staten Island, weeks after an early release from a minimal security treatment-based prison. Robert Loggia, 53, of Tony Court in Dongan Hills, was indicted by a grand jury earlier this month on charges that include second-degree burglary, second-degree criminal trespass and third-degree criminal possession of stolen property in connection with the Oct. 24 incident, court records show. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Police allege they found a rifle in the Annadale home of a 46-year-old man who stands accused in a separate assault. Officers responded to the home of Joshua Simpson on the 4800 block of Hylan Boulevard on Sunday and officers recovered the rifle, a Hi-Point Firearms Model 995, in Simpsons bedroom, the criminal complaint alleges. Simpson gave police permission to search his home, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation. The semi-automatic, 9 mm rifle has the ability to accept a detachable magazine, and has a second handgrip that can be held by a non-trigger hand, the complaint alleges. I bought my gun in Florida, the criminal complaint quotes Simpson as saying to police. I took the magazine out a week ago. A search of the Domain Awareness System, an NYPD database, led authorities to determine that the defendant had no license to possess an assault weapon and is not a dealer in firearms in New York City, the complaint alleges. In an unrelated incident, Simpson allegedly punched and scratched a woman previously known to him, according to the complaint and police. The victim suffered redness, swelling, and pain to the face and chest. Simpson has been charged with criminal possession of a weapon, assault and harassment. The suspect has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Bail has been set at $10,000/$5,000 cash and he is due back in Criminal Court on Dec. 1, according to public records. An attorney for the defendant did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Burlington, VT A man who has been charged with shooting three college students of Palestinian descent in Vermont this weekend has ties to Syracuse, Burlington, Vt. police chief said at a news conference Monday. The man, Jason J. Eaton, 48, recently arrived in Burlington from Syracuse, Police Chief Jon Murad said. He said they would be looking more into his Syracuse area connections. Public records show a man by the same name working for several financial advising firms in the Syracuse area over the past 17 years. A man by the same named is currently listed as living on James Street in Syracuse. Eaton faces three counts of attempted murder after he allegedly shot the three college students. The three men, all 20, were walking during a visit to the home of one of the victims relatives when they were confronted by a white man with a handgun, police said. Without speaking, he discharged at least four rounds from the pistol and is believed to have fled, Murad said. All three victims were struck, two in their torsos and one in the lower extremities. Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said that Eaton does not have a local criminal history. The only record of Eaton interacting with police stemmed from a 911 call from an ex-girlfriend in DeWitt. In October 2019, the woman reported that Eaton was inappropriately contacting her after she had asked him to leave her alone. The messages were not threatening, Fitzpatrick said. She did not want to press charged but police spoke to Eaton to make sure he stopped contacting her. A man with the same name and age is shown working for Cadaret, Grant & Co. in Liverpool from 2006 through 2012, then Edward Jones in East Syracuse from 2018 to 2019, and at TD Ameritrade in Fayetteville from 2019 to 2021 before going to Cusco Financial Services, according to FINRAs web site. At Cuso Financial Services, hes listed as a broker/dealer working with bank or credit union-based financial advisors. Cuso is owned by Atria, according to the firms website. According to FINRA records, his employment at Cuso ended Nov. 10. The three Palestinian college students who were shot in Vermont are Tahseen Ali Ahmad, from left, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Hisham Awartani. (Awartani family/Institute for Middle East Understanding/TNS)Provided photo Elizabeth Doran covers education, suburban government and development, breaking news and more. Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact her anytime 315-470-3012 or email edoran@syracuse.com. . STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Michael W. Daly of Great Kills, a retired firefighter, died in his home Sat., Nov. 25, following a long battle with a 9/11-related illness. A family obituary said he was surrounded by his family in his final moments. He was 56. His death was announced by the Uniformed Firefighters Association, who wrote FF Daly served our great department for 9 years. Daly was born in Brooklyn, according to the family obituary. He joined the FDNY in 1999 and was eventually assigned to Ladder 87 in Annadale. He retired from the department in 2008. After surviving and helping to save others during rescue efforts following the terrorist attacks, Daly would go on to battle for his life when he was diagnosed with two different types of cancer, the Advance/SILive.com reported in 2015. Despite his illness, Daly was not only active in charitable causes, but he cared deeply about the safety of his community. In 2010, while with his children at Great Kills Park, after discovering a dirty syringe in the sandbox, Daly had a back-and-forth with the Department of Parks and Recreation who eventually sent workers to search and clean the park. In 2013 the Daly family was profiled by the Staten Island Advance/SILive.com when their newborn son Logan was born at only 29-weeks-old. That year the Dalys served as the ambassador family for March of Dimes 41st annual March for Babies to help save premature babies. Michael Daly was photographed in April 2013 at a recognition event at the borough president's office to recognize the March of Dimes. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)Jan Somma-Hammel In 2015, Daly was the keynote speaker at the Celebration of Hope Gal to benefit the American Cancer Society, while wife Jessica severed as chairwoman. Daly is survived by his wife Jessica; children Mason, Madison and Logan; sister Kerry Malvino, his mother and father-in-law Yvette and Robert Vazquez; sister-in-law Veronica Mora; and nieces and nephews Ravyn, Joey, Edgar, Olivia and Sophia. This past September the FDNY added 43 names to the World Trade Center Memorial Wall for deaths related to illnesses from the terror attacks on Sept. 11, including eight members of the department who either lived on Staten Island, formerly lived on the Island or were assigned to work here. This addition was the second largest group of names to be added to the World Trade Center Memorial Wall since it was created in 2011 with 55 names. A Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 4 at St. Clare Church located at 110 Nelson Ave. Interment will be in Ocean View Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 5 - 9 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 2, and on Sunday, Dec. 3, from 2 - 4 p.m. and 7 - 9 p.m. at John Vincent Scalia Home for Funerals, Inc., 28 Eltingville Blvd. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. President Joseph Bidens administration came out against a bill from Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island/South Brooklyn) Monday that would ban migrant housing on federal properties like Fort Wadsworth. The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a policy statement outlining the administrations opposition to the legislation that is set to be voted on in the House of Representatives Thursday. The Administration strongly opposes H.R. 5283, which would prohibit the use of Federal funds to provide temporary shelter to certain noncitizens, including migrants seeking asylum, on federal lands falling under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, or the Forest Service, OMB wrote in its policy statement. The Administration opposes this legislation because it would significantly restrict the ability of the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture to make decisions regarding the appropriate uses of their lands and resources, even in emergency or other situations. In addition to blocking federal funding from being used to house migrants on federal land, Malliotakis legislation would also retroactively dismantle the lease agreement between the federal government and New York City that set up a recently-opened shelter complex at Brooklyns Floyd Bennett Field, which is part of the same Gateway National Recreation Area as Fort Wadsworth and Great Kills Park. The bill has won the support of some of Malliotakis Republican colleagues in the House of Representatives, but has no Democratic co-sponsors. Additionally, a similar bill has not been advanced in the Democrat-controlled Senate. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island/South Brooklyn) and other local elected officials gather at the gate of Fort Wadsworth to note their disapproval of the choice of this site and other sites to house migrants on Staten Island. Wednesday, August 23, 2023. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel) Over the summer, Malliotakis and other members of Staten Islands delegation of elected officials spoke out against the rumored possibility of a migrant shelter opening at Fort Wadsworth. That was at the height of the citys push to shelter tens of thousands of the more than 130,000 migrants who have come to the city since the spring of 2022. While their shelter enthusiasm has waned, Mayor Eric Adams administration has moved to cut billions of dollars from city programs to help pay for the migrant crisis that they say will cost the city upwards of $12 billion over the next few years. Malliotakis issued a statement criticizing Democrats, including Biden, Adams, Gov. Kathy Hochul, and Sen. Charles Schumer for their parties handling of the migrant crisis and its opposition to her bill. Not only did President Biden create this crisis but he unfairly wants to continue taking tax dollars and public spaces like Floyd Bennett Field from citizens to perpetuate it, she said. I expect and look forward to the House passing my bill this week and sending a clear message to Biden, Schumer, Hochul and Adams that the people of this district have had enough of their self-created migrant crisis that they can and should end today. One of the most common complaints among airline passengers is the lack of legroom near the seat. Due to the tightly arranged seats, tall passengers have difficulty standing up. ADVERTISIMENT Some airline customers even agree to pay extra for seats with extra legroom, which carriers are happy to do. Meanwhile, the Daily Star has listed as many as 5 ways to get such a seat for free. Avoid early check-in This tip is best suited for those who travel alone or don't mind sitting separately from their companion. In this case, patience at check-in can be rewarded by the airline checking you into a seat with extra space for free simply because this seat was left unoccupied for some reason. Use loyalty programs for frequent flyers Airlines often have loyalty programs for those passengers who frequently use their services, but they don't advertise them too much. So, take a step forward and ask the carrier you frequently use if you are entitled to additional privileges. These may include priority boarding, extra hand luggage, and, of course, extra legroom. ADVERTISIMENT Choose seats in the first row If you are going to fly on a large airplane with a cabin divided into classes, feel free to take a seat near the partition. Yes, you'll have to look at a blank wall for the entire flight, but you'll be able to sit with extra comfort. After all, most of us look at the screen of our gadgets during the flight anyway. Try to take a risk If you are traveling with someone else, try to outsmart the system. When checking in, book seats in the same row near the window and in the aisle so that the middle seat remains free. If the flight is not full, it is likely that no one will choose this seat and you will have extra legroom. If a stranger does sit between you, just politely ask to change seats so that you can sit with your fellow traveler. For such negotiations, you will have a trump card in your hands, such as a window seat. If you are willing to give it up, of course. ADVERTISIMENT Get seat alerts There are mobile apps and websites that can notify you when a seat becomes available on the flight you want. Also, there's nothing wrong with asking the airline staff at the check-in counter if you can move to a more spacious seat. After all, sometimes the risk is worth it. As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, experienced flight attendants told passengers how to get rid of the feeling of nausea during the flight if they are motion sickness. IN CLASS: This feature is part of an ongoing education column highlighting the various activities that engage school communities. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Students at a Staten Island elementary school were recently able to take part in a week-long residency program at the American Museum of Natural History. PS 54 in Willowbrook sent two classes to travel to the museum in Manhattan every day for one week allowing students to engage in various activities throughout different exhibits in the museum, according to Amanda Henderson, a special education teacher at the school. Its part of the American Museum of Natural Historys Beyond Elementary Explorations in Science (BEES) program, a new educational pilot that offers a week-long field trip experience for New York City public schools. The student experience was part of the American Museum of Natural Historys Beyond Elementary Explorations in Science program. (Courtesy/Amanda Henderson)Amanda Henderson Its one of three new educational programs launched in conjunction with the opening of the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation. Classes are invited to treat the entire museum campus as their classroom for the week and engage with exhibitions, collections, educators and scientists as part of a curriculum that combines science, math, literacy and social studies for a hands-on, immersive learning experience. The museum utilizes a multi-sensory approach to meet the needs of all different types of learners. While a traditional school field trip spans just one day, BEES transforms that experience over the course of one week. For PS 54 science students, they visited the Solomon Family Insectarium to understand the decline of insect populations worldwide, and the Davis Family Butterfly Vivarium to observe live butterflies and discover the butterfly lifecycle. During the week-long program, students learned all there is to know about global ecosystems through the eyes of insects. Students took on the role of entomologists, explored the halls of the museum, asked scientific questions about insect behavior and traits, modeled local and global ecosystems, explained with evidence the role of insects within ecosystems, and designed solutions about the importance of insects. During the week-long program, students learned all there is to know about global ecosystems through the eyes of insects. (Courtesy/Amanda Henderson)Amanda Henderson Students used the museum as a classroom, exploring areas like the Hall of African Mammals, Hall of Ocean Life, Hall of North American Forest, Dinosaur Halls, Hall of Biodiversity and more. They also were able to meet different animal ambassadors to learn about the roles of different insects in the ecosystem. The efforts build on the museums hallmark Urban Advantage (UA) program, a citywide partnership between the city Department of Education (DOE) and cultural organizations that launched in 2004 and served nearly 100,000 City students in 2022. PS 54 students participated in a new program that involved a week-long field trip experience to the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan. (Courtesy/Amanda Henderson)Amanda Henderson PS 54 students participated in a new program that involved a week-long field trip experience to the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan. (Courtesy/Amanda Henderson)Amanda Henderson PS 54 students participated in a new program that involved a week-long field trip experience to the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan. (Courtesy/Amanda Henderson)Amanda Henderson PS 54 students participated in a new program that involved a week-long field trip experience to the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan. (Courtesy/Amanda Henderson)Amanda Henderson ENROLL IN IDENTITY MONITORING FOLLOWING INCIDENT Earlier this year, thousands of New York City public school students and school staff were among millions of victims who had their personal information compromised through a MOVEit data breach. Approximately 45,000 students in addition to school staff and related service providers were affected by the breach. All individuals whose confidential information was compromised were notified. Data impacted includes: Social Security Numbers, OSIS numbers, dates of birth, employee IDs, and approximately 19,00 documents access without authorization. Those types of documents include student evaluations/related services progress reports, Medicaid reports related to the provision of related services, and internal records related to DOE employees leave status. And its not too late to enroll in identity monitoring. The deadline has been extended to Dec. 15. If you received a letter from the DOE about this incident through its vendor, IDX, you have an opportunity to enroll in two years of free credit/identity protection services. The DOE will cover the cost, but you must enroll and activate the services. To enroll in the credit/identity protection services, call 1-800-939-4170 or 1-888-429-9444, scan the QR code at the top of your letter, or visit https://app.idx.us/account-creation/protect. It only takes five minutes to enroll. You will be asked to provide the Enrollment Code found at the top of your letter. SEND US YOUR STORIES Do you have a story idea for the In Class education column? Email education reporter Annalise Knudson at aknudson@siadvance.com. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Northern and western New York state continue to see substantial snowfall, with current accumulative amounts standing at more than two feet in some localized areas. Ski resorts are sure to be happy with the latest layer of snow, as fresh precipitation falls across regions of the state. As previously forecast, a lake-effect snowfall event was primed to whip up intense winds and funnel arctic air across the water of the Great Lakes early Monday into Tuesday. Precipitation predictions were largely accurate, and in some cases, snowfall amounts have already exceeded expectations. The Tug Hill region, north and east of Syracuse, was expected to receive up to two feet of snow by AccuWeather meteorologists; some of the greatest amounts of this storm. However, the 48 hours prior to 7 a.m. Tuesday saw portions of the region receive 30 inches of snowfall, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). While the heaviest concentration thus far has targeted Tug Hill, a wide span of New York state has witnessed varying snowfall amounts. Areas along the eastern end of Lake Erie have seen up to a foot of snow in the 48 hours preceding 7 a.m. Tuesday. Buffalo has largely dodged the lake-effect snow, the outskirts seeing a couple inches, as reflected by the NWS snowfall analysis graph. An expansive stretch of land east of Lake Ontario has taken on more than half a foot of snow, with some areas bearing more than a foot of snowfall, among them the hamlet of Old Forge, as noted in the NWS snowfall analysis. S(NO)W MERCY A short range forecast discussion issued by the NWS Weather Prediction Center early Tuesday morning shows an extended period of snowfall to come. Embedded shortwaves in northwesterly cyclonic flow rounding a deep upper-level low over Canada will continue to produce snow downwind of the Great Lakes Tuesday, particularly, Lakes Erie and Ontario, the discussion reads. These areas can expect an extra 8-16 inches of snow through Wednesday morning; the totals to exceed two feet of snow in some cases. The uncertain nature of the snowfall and gusty winds will lead to poor travel conditions, as noted by the NWS. Gov. Kathy Hochul released a statement on Sunday urging New Yorkers to prepare for the snow event. In keeping track of the storm, Hochul urged New Yorkers to continue monitoring their local forecast and to take it slow should you need to drive, in a post on X. More lake effect snow is on the way for the areas near Lakes Ontario and Erie today. Please continue to monitor your local forecast and follow local guidance. If you need to drive, be prepared, take it slow, and dont crowd the plow. https://t.co/zemMafnTtw Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) November 28, 2023 Even as this storm moves out of the area, an Alberta clipper storm could enhance the lake effect in some spots and bring yet another round of lake-effect snow later in the week, as noted by AccuWeather. CITY FLAKES Although Staten Island is not expected to see measurable snowfall, flurries broke out in the early afternoon Tuesday; the days high reaching 39 degrees according to the Advance/SILive.com weather station. However, by Wednesday morning, Accuweather meteorologists predict that temperatures in the NYC area will dip into the 20s for the first time this season, and may even drop into the teens at times for those commuting to work, school or holiday season shopping. Winds are forecast to ease up by Wednesday evening, but the air will remain chilly with temperatures near the freezing mark for the tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center. The Enhanced Subscription provides digital access to all our award winning content from our inception. This package also includes special access to the pdf replica of the print paper which we call the e-edition. We keep the past 90 issues in addition tot he current issue. In addition, you have the ability to comment on our articles. Finally, you have the good feeling of supporting real, local news in your community. If you have an event you'd like to list on the site, submit it now! Go to form People were feeling the strain of having paid more for goods at a market in Melbournes south on Wednesday, shoppers acknowledging recent inflationary pressure had meant accepting theyd be paying more for fresh produce. Remy Muller said he was buying fewer quality cuts of meat for his family of four. At $5 a punnet, he said the blueberries had been left on the shelf during this weeks shop too. Its everywhere the same now, unfortunately, we have to ride the wave, he said. Remy Muller says his weekly fresh produce bill had almost doubled in recent months. Credit: Jason South There were some signs this week that price pressures on Australians were starting to ease, with monthly inflation falling sharply through October. The Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday said inflation through last month fell to 4.9 per cent from 5.6 per cent in September. In October alone, the bureau said consumer prices dropped by 2.3 per cent. Underlying inflation fell sharply from 5.5 per cent in September to 5.1 per cent this month, excluding volatile items such as petrol, holiday travel, fruit and vegetables. Muller said hed been buying fruit and vegetables from the same South Melbourne Market store for about eight years. The Pascoe Vale man said his weekly fresh produce bill had almost doubled in recent months. If I had a full trolley 10 years ago, Ive got a handful in the bag now, he said. Muller said his work as a hospitality trainer had him oversee five food venues in Victoria. He said business owners were all feeling the pressure from wage costs, recent rent rises and increasing costs of goods. Unfortunately, as a business, you need to put the prices up, he said. But as a customer; the prices are too high. Its like the snake is biting his own tongue. One of the biggest factors in inflation, rents, fell from an annual rate of 7.6 per cent to 6.6 per cent as the federal governments changes to Commonwealth rent assistance started filtering through the property market. Rebecca Overbury was shopping at South Melbourne with her daughter Gwen Utano, who had just finished high school. She said both her adult daughters currently planned to continue living at home in St Kilda East while studying at university as rent had climbed so high this year and attaining a degree had become so costly. Rebecca Overbury says her weekly shopping bill has gone up about $50. Credit: Jason South An arts degree now sets you back $15,000 a year and then you come out with $15,000 worth of debt, then youre meant to be trying to find a house and look after a family, she said. Overbury said her family had switched from buying staples at Coles or Woolworths to shopping at Aldi after their weekly bill went up about $50. Utano said, the price of dining out had crept up so much her friends were much more likely to split the bill rather than shouting one another a meal.Ive gone to cheaper coffees as well, which sounds weird, going from lattes to espressos because they cost less, she said. Everythings going up so its nice to get a cheaper coffee. Read the full report on monthly inflation here. In 1982 Dales Women of Ideas and what men have done to them, reclaimed the rightful position of women in ideas and literature over three centuries tracking womens writing back beyond Daniel Defoe. Reclaiming womens intellectual heritage, she said, was a deeply feminist act: Unless we can reconstruct our past, draw on it and transmit it to the next generation, our oppression persists. (Women of Ideas, 1982). Writers and sisters Dale (right) and Lynne Spender. Credit: Fairfax Dales London years until the late 1980s saw her immersed in a literary life and second-wave feminism. In London she joined the Fawcett Society, a charity named after Millicent Fawcett, a suffragist and womens rights campaigner. She adopted the purple, green and white of the suffragists and determined that in future she would wear only purple. She uncovered the Dora Meeson 1908 suffragists banner stowed away at the Fawcett Society and worked to have it returned to Australia where it is now on permanent display in Parliament House. The banner depicts and symbolises the women of Australia, who had the vote; it urges the British parliament to Trust The Women and give them the right to vote as the Commonwealth of Australia had done. She became part of a network of writers and thinkers and embarked on a period of research involving weeks and months at a time in the British Library (down in the stacks) where she discovered the published books of 18th and 19th century Australian women writers. She had never heard of them and was determined to bring them out of the stacks and onto the bookshelves of schools, libraries and homes. As editor of Penguin Australias Womens Library and with the establishment of Pandora Press (the Routledge Press feminist imprint), she orchestrated the republication of many early women writers whose works had been forgotten. She also produced The Diary of Elizabeth Pepys (1991), a literary spoof based on the famous 17th-century Diary of Samuel Pepys. Purportedly written by Elizabeth, Pepys wife, the book is a feminist view of womens lives in 17th-century London. For many years she also edited a womens studies international journal with Cheris Kramarae at the University of Illinois. She was in demand as an inspirational speaker in many countries and formed lifelong friendships with women across the world. In England she interviewed and became friends with women from first-wave feminism and in 1983 published her lively interviews with them under the title Theres always been a womens movement this century. Rebecca West offered the oft-quoted I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat, or a prostitute. These were inspiring words for new, second-wave feminists. In Australia, she forged connections with women such as Faith Bandler (an Indigenous rights advocate) and Quentin Bryce (sex discrimination commissioner and then governor of Queensland and Australian governor-general). Dale Spender in Coogee ahead of speaking at the Alliance of Girls School Conference about de-skilling of teachers and the digital age, 2004. Credit: Fairfax On returning to Australia, Dale was criticised by those working in the same intellectual fields as not being scholarly, as too prolific, as a populist and tall poppy. She applied for several academic positions in Australia but was not successful, perhaps on the grounds that are familiar to other intellectuals who made their name and fame outside of Australia. Or perhaps it was because she cheekily advised women that to change the world, they should be rude to men, three times a day. Undaunted, she determinedly forged a new career as a writer, consultant and speaker in areas as diverse as copyright, information technology, Indigenous and girls education. In 1995 she published Nattering on the Net: Women, Power and Cyberspace, arguing that new technologies were being used to exclude women from culture and society just as a male-controlled publishing industry had done in previous times. In Brisbane, where she has lived since the late 1980s, she was instrumental in establishing the Second Chance Program, with her friend Marjorie Morton, an organisation that raises funds to assist homeless women. She was close to her family. She had a strong bond with her parents, especially her mother, and with her brother Graeme and sister Lynne. She and Lynne together published Scribbling Sisters, a collection of letters that they wrote to each other from different continents. Loading She was an eccentric purple aunt to Graemes and Lynnes children. She lived for over 45 years with Ted (Emeritus Professor E. T.) Brown AC, an academic and geotechnical engineer acknowledged as an eminent scholar and world expert in the field of rock mechanics. She once said that she would have never been published but for Teds absolute insistence that she do her homework before putting her words into print. Dale Spender was intelligent, witty, creative, generous, prolific and brilliantly controversial. She will be sadly and sorely missed by those who knew and loved her and who benefited from her generosity and humour, her prescience and her lifelong commitment to feminism and womens equality. It's been 25 years since the first Taxi movie was released. In 1998, director Luc Besson released the film, which made the main characters stars who are still at the peak of popularity today. ADVERTISIMENT Since then, eight parts of the film have been released, but connoisseurs consider the first cast to be the most successful. OBOZREVATEL compared how the stars have changed in a quarter of a century. Emma Wiklund The Swedish actress Emma Wiklund, who played a seductive police commissioner, has become a fashion model and TV presenter. She has only 10 films to her credit. Now she lives with her family in Sweden, raising two children and hosting her own TV program. Bernard Farcy ADVERTISIMENT The French actor Bernard Farcy played Commissioner Gibert, and it was this character that made him popular. Farcy also has about 10 movie roles to his credit. In 2018, he starred in the movie Taxi 5, where he was already the mayor of Marseille. Today, the actor's career continues despite his advanced age. Edouard Montoute Inspector Alain was played by French actor Edouard Montoute. He has over 20 movie roles to his credit. In 2018, he starred in the movie Taxi 5 in the same role. Marion Cotillard ADVERTISIMENT Frenchwoman Marion Cotillard played the role of the main character Daniel's girlfriend, Lily. Her career began in 1993 and continues to this day. The actress has won many prestigious film awards. Cotillard married the director Guillaume Canet, and now they have two children. Frederic Diefenthal Frederic Diefenthal played the role of an inexperienced police inspector Emilien. He has 20 movie roles. In 2004, he married French actress Gwendoline Hamon. Diefenthal is an active actor and was nominated for a Cesar Award for Best Young Actor. Earlier, OBOZREVATEL wrote about the fates of the star handsome men of Indian cinema. Photos then and now. ADVERTISIMENT Only verified information is available on Obozrevatel Telegram, Threads and Viber. Don't fall for fakes! At a superficial level, Sydney could claim to be Australias cultural capital. Beyond a plethora of small galleries and strong emerging artist network, the inner city boasts the Sydney Opera House on Bennelong Point, Museum of Contemporary Art at Circular Quay, recently expanded Art Gallery of NSW in the Domain, soon-to-be-rebuilt Powerhouse in Ultimo, and increasingly popular Australian Museum near Hyde Park. Further west, $800 million is being spent on the exciting new Powerhouse Parramatta. These institutions have enriched our lives for so long that we have taken their continued success as a given. MCA director Suzanne Cotter says entry fees are not the desirable option but they may have no choice in order to to keep the museum afloat. Credit: Falvio Brancaleone But through the dogged work of arts writer Linda Morris, the Herald has built a good sense of what is really going on behind-the-scenes and its not a pretty picture. Many of the venues entrusted to protect and showcase our art and history have been slowly strangled by a toxic combination of rising costs and stagnant government funding, seriously undermining Sydneys claim to be a world-class cultural destination. Sydney likes to talk a big game when it comes to its cultural footprint, but political interest in the arts often only extends to making sure buildings look good. How the institution itself operates is of less importance to Macquarie Street decision makers, who see little political capital in making sure our galleries and museums have enough money to pay staff, keep the doors open seven days a week, maintain free entry, stage groundbreaking exhibitions, share their collections with regional galleries and museums, and act as an incubator for new talent. Charges against a police officer accused of Tasering an elderly woman who later died have been upgraded to manslaughter by NSW Polices homicide squad. The lawyer for Senior Constable Kristian White said the development was concerning. White, 33, was called to Yallambee Lodge aged care home in Cooma on the morning of May 17 after reports that 95-year-old Clare Nowland, who had dementia, was holding a knife. Senior Constable Kristian White is accused of Tasering 95-year-old great-grandmother Clare Nowland, who later died. Credit: James Brickwood, Nick Moir He is accused of Tasering the great-grandmother, causing her to fall and hit her head and sustain an eight-centimetre bruise to the back of her head and an inoperable bleed on the brain. She died in hospital a week later on May 24. NSW Police are set to announce a $500,000 reward for information on the 12-month anniversary of a womans disappearance after she accepted a lift from a stranger at a Sydney pub. Described by friends as a sweet lady without one bad bone in her body, Jessica Zrinski vanished after getting into a blue Holden Commodore at a pub in Greenfield Park in the citys south-west last year. Jessica Zrinski was last seen in November 2022. Credit: NSW Police Zrinski, then 30, is believed to have been in the car park of the Greenfield Tavern at about 10pm on Monday, November 28, 2022, before leaving in the vehicle 10 minutes later. The vehicle is believed to have travelled west on the M4 motorway and Great Western Highway into the Blue Mountains. Traffic chaos continued to plague roads around Sydneys new Rozelle interchange on Tuesday as recurrent choke points became clear, and the government asked motorists to be patient as people adjusted to the new conditions. A multi-prong merge from Victoria Road on to the Anzac Bridge, delays through Annandale to the new bypass, and confusing bus lane arrangements in Rozelle all contributed to drivers frustration during the second morning peak since the underground spaghetti junction opened. Heavy congestion plagued Victoria Road through Rozelle for the second morning in a row. Credit: Louise Kennerley Commuters endured journey times of 40 minutes from Rozelle to the foot of the Anzac Bridge, or more than a quarter of an hour to crawl one block city-bound on Johnston Street. Balmain Greens MP Kobi Shetty, who was herself stuck on a bus on the City West Link on Tuesday morning, said conditions on day two were slightly better but still absolutely unacceptable. She asked the government to review options immediately rather than wait to see if traffic improved. The HSC subject of engineering studies is dominated by boys who go to private and Catholic schools, while girls from the public system make up just 1.7 per cent of the 9000 students enrolled in the course. A Herald analysis of HSC enrolment data shows public school students made up more than two-thirds of all students in the subjects of Aboriginal studies and Japanese beginners, according to 2021 figures, the latest year for which public school data is available. By comparison, private and Catholic school students made up 70 per cent of students in French extension and more than 60 per cent of students in science and history extension. Almost all students enrolled in studies of religion were from non-government schools, which often make the subject mandatory for students in years 11 and 12. President of the NSW Secondary Schools Principals Council Craig Petersen said in the case of subjects like engineering, public school numbers were lower because of a lack of qualified teachers. A 90-year-old woman has died in hospital, days after a man in his 30s allegedly broke into the elderly womans room at an aged care facility and sexually assaulted her, causing serious injuries, on NSWs Central Coast. Brett Anthony Crawford, from nearby town The Entrance, allegedly broke into the facility at Bateau Bay on November 15, NSW Police allege. Police say Brett Anthony Crawford broke into an aged care facility and sexually assaulted a 90-year-old woman. She died in hospital this week. Credit: NSW Police Crawford, 34, allegedly made his way to the 90-year-old womans room and pinned her to the bed, using bedding to silence her screams for help. Police allege Crawford sexually assaulted the woman, tearing her skin and causing injuries to her arms and legs, before stealing her belongings and fleeing the scene. RICHARD CARLSON October 11, 1941-November 2, 2023 Richard Carlson was one of the most distinguished and decorated designers of his time. Richard was born in Elsternwick, and little is known of his early childhood other than he attended Pascoe Vale Primary School, followed by his years at the Coburg Technical School. He was to eventually enrol at the Royal Melbourne Technical College in industrial design and completed his studies after three years. Richard had a few commissions in industrial design, but nothing significant until he joined Decor. Brian Davis and Richard would form a significant partnership over the coming years. Davis was the founding director of Decor, and he set a very high standard. Over the years, Richard would form a partnership with English-born designer Tony Wolfenden and together they created a host of Decor products. Mika Shani was staying at a friends place when Hamas gunmen entered Kibbutz Beeri on October 7, where her family lived, killing at least 130 people as the sun rose and taking dozens of others hostage including her 16-year-old brother Amit. She was texting her mother and sisters as their home was invaded. Mika Shani standing next to an effigy representing her 16-year-old brother Amit, who is being held by Hamas. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen [My mother] begged ... take me instead, take me instead, she tried to explain to them that he is not a soldier, that he is a teen boy, Shani said. She screamed at him dont be afraid, we will get you out, I love you I dont know why they didnt kill all of them, but they just left [my mother and sisters] on the grass. The worst offenders released from immigration detention could be locked up again under new preventative detention laws the Albanese government vows to rush through parliament before Christmas. In outlining its reasons for overturning indefinite detention, the High Court left the door open to re-detaining people considered a risk to the community if new laws were passed. Home Affairs Minister Clare ONeil has foreshadowed new laws to re-detain some of the people released following the High Court ruling. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen Speaking on Tuesday afternoon, Home Affairs Minister Clare ONeil urged parliament to support the government in protecting the Australian community. Today our government received reasons from the High Court. We are moving quickly to finalise a tough preventative detention regime before parliament rises. The safety of Australian citizens is our utmost priority, she said. Australians will be banned from making the Nazi salute in public after the federal government reversed its position on the issue amid pressure from the opposition and Jewish community groups. The government will also move to ban the public display of the symbols of any proscribed terrorist organisation a designation including Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic State rather than a previous plan that singled out a flag associated with IS. Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus announced the government would ban the Nazi salute. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen Labor members of the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security earlier this month rejected a Coalition proposal to ban the Nazi salute in a rare breakdown of bipartisanship within the committee. Peter Khalil, the Labor chair of the committee, said at the time the governments intention to outlaw symbols such as the swastika but not the Nazi salute was informed by police advice, noting laws could not be effective unless they could be enforced. Everything is perfect in the looks of the first ladies: a cut that perfectly outlines the figure, a shade that harmonizes with the color type, and a simple design. Who is behind this? Their stylists. They take into account the mood and personality traits of presidential wives and, of course, the protocol dress code. ADVERTISIMENT Find out what are the key features of the outfits of Olena Zelenska, Queen Letizia and other first ladies. What made them fashion icons? Read all about it in the OBOZREVATEL article. 1. Olena Zelenska (First Lady of Ukraine since May 20, 2019) The First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska has a personal stylist, Natalia Kamenska. She is the founder of the Gunia Project brand and former co-founder and designer of Lake Studio. In an exclusive interview for ELLE, she spoke about how she selects looks for the wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Natalia balances classics and modernity and adds interesting design elements (Wormwood brooches, a shirt with embroidered spikelets, a map of Ukraine brooch or, for example, the one in the form of the legendary rooster from Borodianka). ADVERTISIMENT Zelenska, according to the stylist, communicates with the world through her looks, so her clothes are mostly created by Ukrainian designers. "I wanted the wardrobe not to make her someone else, some conventional character, another first lady, but to emphasize and extend her," Kamenska says. As Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine continues, Natalia chooses a simple style for her VIP client: with a restrained cut and color palette. But still, each look of Olena emphasizes her strength, intelligence and resilience. ADVERTISIMENT Nowadays, the first lady's wardrobe includes more suits than dresses. Natalia gave a logical explanation for this, "As for me, nowadays a suit better conveys the state of a Ukrainian woman. It is a symbol that we are focused, strong and always ready. And a men's cut pantsuit is even more confident. Why does the first lady appear in suits more and more often? It's a message to the world: Ukraine is fighting." 2. Letizia (Queen Consort of Spain since 2014) Queen Consort Letizia is one of the most stylish first ladies in the world. During official events, she does not wear outdated tweed outfits and matching gloves, but modern suits and midi and maxi sheath dresses. The Queen can also often be seen wearing blouses and culottes or linen shirts and A-line skirts. She complements her looks with hats and shoes with sturdy heels. ADVERTISIMENT Letizia's formal outfits are made by little-known Spanish designers, including Felipe Varela. Her Majesty also buys things in the mass market (Uterque, Mango, Zara, Massimo Dutti or Hugo Boss). It is also interesting that she wears her favorite outfits several times, which is not often practiced by first ladies and royals. 3. Brigitte Macron (First Lady of France since May 15, 2017) The author of the unique style of the First Lady of France Brigitte Macron is Mathieu Barthelat Colin. This stylist easily creates non-standard ensembles. For example, Louis Vuitton dresses with Alexandre Vauthier and Balmain jackets. And while the first brand is traditional in the wardrobes of presidential wives, the latter two are favorites of it-girls like Hailey Bieber, Gigi Hadid, or, say, Zendaya. ADVERTISIMENT In this way, Brigitte demonstrates that she is not afraid to go against protocol in favor of the latest fashion trends. One of the most striking examples is a dress with black lace trim in the chest area, which Mrs. Macron wore for a meeting of the UN General Assembly. The basis of the French First Lady's wardrobe is silhouetted skirts with slits, midi dresses, leather jackets, Slim jeans and sneakers or pumps. Of course, there are also strict suits, simple dresses and tweed jackets. ADVERTISIMENT 4. Carla Bruni (First Lady of France from 2008 to 2012) Carla Bruni, First Lady of France from 2008 to 2012, made her first official visit to the palace of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain. The wife of the 23rd French President Nicolas Sarkozy wore a gray Dior coat, a matching hat, and black ballet flats. After the tabloids praised the newly minted first lady's look, she decided to continue her collaboration with Dior. The English fashion designer John Galliano, who is the artistic director of Christian Dior, created elegant outfits for Carla that perfectly outlined her figure. Throughout Sarkozy's presidency, she wore classic suits, dresses, and coats in neutral colors. She complemented them with a minimum of jewelry. Simple and tasteful. ADVERTISIMENT 5. Michelle Obama (First Lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017) Michelle Obama did not constrain herself with outdated rules and traditions in terms of clothing style. She wore what suited her. Both democratic J.Crew and extravagant Gucci and Versace Couture. For her everyday looks, Michelle Obama chose affordable brands, including Tracy Reese, Maria Pinto, Alice+Olivia, and Zero. The First Lady rarely wore pantsuits. She preferred dresses and blouses with skirts. And for good reason: they made her look feminine and elegant. ADVERTISIMENT Earlier, OBOZREVATEL wrote about the most striking and elegant looks of the first ladies of Ukraine. Only verified information is available on Obozrevatel Telegram and Viber. Don't fall for fakes! Dodson was Australias first recognised Aboriginal Catholic priest. Credit: Source unknown Instead, he felt called to the Catholic priesthood, believing he could assist his people spiritually and physically as a missionary. As Australias first recognised Aboriginal Catholic priest although he always believed there must have been others Dodson fell afoul of the church hierarchy in the Northern Territory when he encouraged his flock to combine their traditional culture with Christianity. By the early 1980s, he couldnt reconcile his own cultural beliefs with Catholicism he believed ancient Aboriginal rituals celebrated the same spiritual forces as those worshipped by Christians and quit the priesthood. It tipped him into a life at the forefront of Aboriginal causes. The clerical collar gave way to what would become the Dodson signature: a black hat banded with the colours of the Aboriginal flag, set off with a great flowing white beard. While others spoke loudly and sometimes angrily, Dodson was a listener and thoughtful storyteller. Loading These were the attributes that made him, in 1987, a commissioner of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, which produced a report that revealed the stories of institutional discrimination and depths of despair that afflicted large parts of Aboriginal Australia. In 1991, he was the natural choice to become the founding chair of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation. His open-handed approach and the gravitas he brought to the position earned him the lasting title of father of reconciliation. But he found himself in a testy relationship with then-prime minister John Howard, and was unable to support legislation the government introduced to reduce the impact of High Court findings on native title. He quit the council in 1998, declaring I fear for the spirit of this country. Dodson found himself in a testy relationship with then-prime minister John Howard. Credit: Mike Bowers He spent 2010 to 2016 helping lay out a path towards an Indigenous Voice to parliament as co-chair of the governments Expert Panel for Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians. In 2016, Dodson, who had previously resisted attempts to harness him to institutional politics, was appointed to the Australian Senate representing Western Australia the state from which his parents fled with a baby Patrick in 1950 to escape laws banning mixed-race families. When Labor won government last year, Dodson was made Special Envoy for Reconciliation and Implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart. But cancer robbed him of an active role and meant his nationally respected voice was missing from the crucial final months of the Voice debate. Dodson addresses the National Press Club via videolink from Broome in October. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen He was diagnosed shortly before Easter with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which became life-threatening when he developed an infection of the oesophagus. His health became further complicated when he was attacked by shingles. The snowy beard was gone, and the famous hat sat on a bald head when he eventually reappeared in a televised address to the National Press Club. Shortly before the referendum, Dodson, ever the optimist, told this masthead he believed the Australian people would recognise the goodness and the justice of what the Voice could achieve. It was not to be. Senator Pat Dodson (centre) flanked by Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians and Assistant Minister for Indigenous Health Malarndirri McCarthy (left) and Senator Jana Stewart (right) depart after a press conference at Parliament House on Tuesday. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen He will celebrate his 76th birthday a few days after his retirement on January 26. Dodson has never lost the famous generosity of spirit that once recognised the discomfiture of a little boy new to school. And he wont stop advocating for a better, fairer and more inclusive society. Hundreds of Sydney University students will have to sit replacement exams after three papers were leaked online. The university says the reason for the leak which it has blamed on a technical issue is being investigated. Three exams were uploaded to the student portal. Credit: Wolter Peeters The leaked papers were first discovered when a student told the university an exam was available to view on the online teaching platform. It forced administrators to hastily cancel three health sciences exams and remove the three compromised test papers. The government will inject a further $72.6 million into initiatives to prevent and address the states family and domestic violence scourge, with a high-profile survivor promising to hold them to account. The funding was announced at the governments 16 Days in WA campaign breakfast on Tuesday morning and will include the expansion of the respectful relationships program into more public schools, as well as $22.6 million to replace the ageing Stirling Womens Refuge. Family and Domestic Violence Minister Sabine Winton, WA Premier Roger Cook and FDV advocate Courtney Ugle. Credit: Hamish Hastie The distribution of the funding was informed by the family and domestic violence taskforce set up in September after a spate of horrific domestic violence murders including that of 32-year-old Georgia Lyall, shot by her ex-partner in her South Guildford home in July. WA Premier Roger Cook said the funding would help victims and survivors as well as provide intervention, education and prevention. This article is part of Travellers Holiday Guide to ocean cruising. Oligarchs will find the Coral Geographer compact. The regular cruise contingent looking for a swimming pool, casino and sequined entertainment will be disappointed too. Nor is there a smidgen of bling, unless you count attractive Indigenous artworks. Going places that bigger shops cant the Coral Geographer at sea. Nothing on this ship is superfluous to Coral Geographers confident focus, which is the exploration of remote regions in reasonable comfort. The lounge doubles as a bar and lecture room. You get a single restaurant, small gym, outdoor space that wraps the ship so you never miss a view and a top-deck bar for sunset drinks. Any parties afterwards? No. Passengers are satiated with sun, salt and adventure. The only nightclub sparkle is created by staggering outback stars. Brussels: NATO boss Jens Stoltenberg says leaders must be clear-eyed about Chinese coercion after wrapping up a foreign ministers meeting dominated by the war in the Middle East. In a sign of how the wars in Ukraine and Gaza have overtaken the topic of strategic competition that usually preoccupies Washington, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not even include China as a focus in his statement announcing his travel to Brussels and a third trip to Israel. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg shake hands at the NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels. Credit: AP Stoltenberg, however, placed the matter third on the meetings agenda and welcomed recent breakthroughs made by member states in resuming dialogue with Beijing but warned at the same time, we must be clear-eyed about the impact of Chinas coercive policies on our security. Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea are Asia-Pacific partners of NATO technically the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as part of efforts to co-ordinate an allied strategy. Paris: Six teenagers have gone on trial in Paris over accusations they were connected to the killing of Samuel Paty, a history teacher whose beheading by an Islamic extremist in 2020 inflicted lasting trauma on France. Most of the defendants, former middle-school students at the school where Paty taught, are accused of helping the killer identify and track the teacher, although they are not believed to have known that he intended to kill. Officials have not publicly identified the defendants, and they are being tried behind closed doors at a criminal court for minors in Paris. They face up to 2 years in prison. A memorial portrait of Samuel Paty at a bus stop in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, the Paris suburb where he taught. Credit: Dmitry Kostyukov/The New York Times A separate trial for eight adults who have been charged in the case is expected to be held next year. Balata Camp, West Bank: The newly released prisoners, lit by street lamps and the moon, were received as returning heroes. Teenage boys were draped in the green flag of Hamas and carried high on strong shoulders through the cheering crowd. To Aseel al-Titi, sitting atop a car, the red, black, white and green Palestinian flag across her back, her first hour of freedom felt electric. Aseel al-Titi, wearing a Hamas headband, a former Palestinian prisoner who was released by the Israeli authorities, is greeted by friends and family members in Balata. Credit: AP But when the 23-year-old finally arrived home, almost a year and three months after she left it, she struggled to sleep. Her euphoria was wearing off; suddenly the night felt very quiet. In homes across the Balata refugee camp, televisions broadcast images of the bloodshed in Gaza that had cleared the way for her release. It was a grim formula, people here said. Three Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli custody in exchange for each Israeli hostage set free by Hamas militants in Gaza. Gaza/Jerusalem: Hamas and Israel were expected to release more hostages and prisoners on Wednesday, the last day of a prolonged six-day truce in the Gaza war, as attention focused on whether mediators Qatar and Egypt could negotiate another extension. Israel has said the four-day truce which has already been extended by two days could be extended further provided Hamas continued to free at least 10 Israeli hostages a day. But with fewer women and children still in captivity, keeping the guns quiet for longer may require negotiating to free at least some Israeli men for the first time. The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and allied group Islamic Jihad freed 12 hostages on day five of the extended truce, bringing the total released since the truce began on Friday to 81. Those released have been mostly Israeli women and children along with foreign citizens. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office declined to comment on the state of any talks, but noted that an extra 50 Palestinian women detainees had on Tuesday been added to a list of hostages to be released if a new swap was agreed. Buenos Aires: Javier Mileis incoming administration is shaping up to be one of the most pro-Israel governments in Argentinas history, at a time when other Latin American nations have spoken out against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus strategy to eradicate Hamas. A week after winning the November 19 run-off election, Milei arrived in New York on Monday for his first trip abroad as president-elect and headed straight to the tomb of famous orthodox rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersons grave to pay respects, wearing a kippah and all-black outfit. Javier Milei speaks after winning the Argentinian presidential election earlier this month. Credit: Getty The symbolic gesture illustrates how committed the incoming leader is to deepening Argentinas cultural and political ties with Israel, while much of South America, a Catholic stronghold, remains neutral or even critical. Milei went to the grave site before any other meetings with US officials or the International Monetary Fund in Washington. PHILIPSBURG:--- The Economic Controllers of the Inspectorate of Economic and Transport Affairs (IETA) continue to execute controls in local supermarkets for adherence to the regulation on the maximum price for the basket of goods as well as checking the price of gasoline and diesel being sold at local gas stations. Last week the Economic Controllers visited all local gas stations on the Dutch side to verify that the new price of ANG 2.268 and ANG2.002 per liter, for ULG (gasoline) and Gasoil (diesel), respectively went into effect on November 21, implemented. Additionally, price controls in supermarkets continue with additional fines being issued to supermarkets on Billy Folly Road and on A.T. Illidge Road for items in the basket of goods that were being sold at a price higher than permitted by the Minister of TEATT. Fine amounts start from ANG250 to a maximum of ANG10,000. Price controls will continue and the IETA is calling on supermarkets (big and small) to comply in order to strike a balance between market forces and the well-being of the populace. The Ministry of TEATT has created the website www.maxpricesxm.com to inform the community on price developments, regulations and more. We encourage you to use this platform to view the most current basket of goods price list, report violations, and shop around based on price comparisons and weekly specials. Polish activists have blocked all 4 checkpoints for trucks weighing more than 7.5 tons. A queue of thousands of trucks has formed at the border, and the situation is only getting worse. Farmers have joined the protesting carriers. ADVERTISIMENT Poland's Ministry of Infrastructure commented on the protesters' blocking of checkpoints on the border with Ukraine. According to a statement from the Polish ministry, the strikers are opposed to the electronic queue, among other things. According to the Polish side, it has caused "a significant increase in the waiting time for vehicles registered in the European Union that return empty from Ukraine to cross the Ukraine-EU border." Ukraine has been accused of "unequal treatment of carriers from Ukraine and Poland" under the new system. "The idea is to eliminate the requirement to register in the electronic queue for vehicles returning from Ukraine to the EU without cargo at at least two border crossings: "Zosyn-Ustyluh and Nyzhankovychi-Malkhovytsia," the statement reads. The second fatality was recorded on the Ukrainian-Polish border. The driver of a car with Kharkiv license plates died. According to the vice president of the Association of International Road Carriers of Ukraine, Volodymyr Balin, the driver died in a parking lot in Korchova. ADVERTISIMENT The Ukrainian side is seeking negotiations with the participation of Poland and the EU. However, the European Commission has not yet confirmed the receipt of a letter requesting a monitoring mission on the Ukrainian-Polish border, Radio Liberty reports. Ukraine proposed that this group should record the situation at the checkpoints: the passage of dangerous goods and humanitarian aid, as well as the conditions under which Ukrainian drivers stay for more than two weeks. "We see our role in this situation primarily as facilitating discussions between the Polish government, Ukrainian authorities and protesters. We are staying in touch with the governments, and of course we are following the situation on the ground very closely, which is actually surprisingly dire," said Adalbert Janz, a representative of the European Commission. ADVERTISIMENT Losses of carriers are only part of Ukraine's economic losses. As Iryna Kosse, a research fellow at the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting, explained to OBOZ.UA, the losses of the entire Ukrainian economy are much higher, given the failure of enterprises to fulfill contracts and the suspension of production. Poland also has problems, and they are proportional to those of Ukraine. " Polish business will also suffer losses from this blockade. And it is possible that these losses are comparable to the Ukrainian ones," the expert noted. Meanwhile, the strike is only gaining momentum: as of November 24, a queue of thousands of trucks has formed at the border, and four checkpoints have been blocked: "Yahodyn-Dorohusk, Rava-Ruska-Hrebynne, Krakovets-Korchova, and Medyka-Shehyni. . Ukraine plans to hold talks with Poland and the European Commission this week to unblock the Ukrainian-Polish border, where "Polish carriers" are protesting. ADVERTISIMENT Who is behind the action Ukrainian carriers claim that only one association of Polish carriers, which had previously worked actively with Russia, supported the blockade of the borders. It was politically represented by Polish politician Rafal Mekler. His party has a small representation in the Sejm. He represents the far right, which is against Poland's integration into the EU and in favor of limiting ties with Ukraine. However, the far-right does not enjoy much support in Poland (it has only 6 seats out of 460 in the parliament). Rafal Mekler represents the far-right party Ruch Narodowy. He actively spreads Russian propaganda fakes about Ukraine, telling his voters about "Banderites." A few days after the outbreak of a full-scale war and the influx of Ukrainian refugees into Poland, he declared the "need to preserve the ethnic order". ADVERTISIMENT According to Mykola Solsky, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, the situation is complicated by the specific demands of the strikers. It is "difficult to find any constructive things in them". As reported by OBOZ.UA, due to the blockade of the border by the Polish far-right, Ukraine's economy is suffering significant losses, in particular, due to a decrease in the number of goods imported into the country. However, there is no need to talk about a critical decline in imports and an impending shortage of certain items: businesses are actively looking for alternative ways to import goods or offer Ukrainians affordable analogues. Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Don't fall for fakes! PHILIPSBURG (DCOMM):--- Minister Plenipotentiary, Rene Violenus, and his cabinet have reached out both to the Council of Ministers and the Sint Maarten Chamber of Commerce and Industry (COCI) regarding one of their economic outreach activities that has the potential of contributing to the labor market issue on Sint Maarten, namely De Nationale Carrierebeurs. The Minister Plenipotentiary personally initiated constructive discussions with the Dutch company Memory Group, the main company for the National Career Fair that promotes Working in the Caribbean. The main goal is to mobilize the diaspora of Sint Maarten in the Netherlands so that talented persons return and contribute to the national development of their country. On Thursday, November 30, at 10:00 a.m., a live presentation for organizations and companies is scheduled at the Government Administration Building, room 1 + 2. The information will be about the on- and offline talent acquisition and the process of creating profiles to be matched with an employer will be provided. There will also be feedback from employees from last year talking about their experience(s). In addition, the Prime Minister/Minister of General Affairs, Silveria Jacobs, the Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor, Omar Ottley, and the Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication, Arthur Lambriex, have been invited to join the information sessions underlining the mutual interest in making this initiative a success. Interested in joining Thursday, November 30 information session, you can send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. As part of the promotion, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Memory Group, Geert Nab, and the Chief Operations Officer (COO) Mylene Van Puffelen, are currently conducting a tour within the Caribbean. On November 2, the Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, Ardwell Irion, and the Minister of Justice, Anna Richardson were briefed on the significance of the Career Fair and were introduced to the CEO and COO of the company Memory Group. The company, which has organized more than 50 career fairs in the Netherlands, has recently received the Corporate Live Wire Innovation in Recruitment Services Award 2023 which event was held on August 30, 2023, in London. As a result, they will receive even more international recognition for their innovative recruitment services that will benefit employers and training institutes from Sint Maarten in 2024 and beyond, this according to Memory Group. De Nationale Carrierebeurs is the largest career event in the Netherlands, with different career sections of which Working in the Caribbean is one of them. Various employers of Sint Maarten already committed themselves which includes the Port Sint Maarten Group, the Council of Advice, the General Pension Fund (APS), and the Public Prosecutors Office. Over 15,000 visitors are expected at the Fair, which is scheduled for March 22 and 23, 2024 in the Amsterdam RAI, the Netherlands. For more information: www.carierebeurs.nl PHILIPSBURG (DCOMM):--- The Collective Prevention Services (CPS), a department within the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labor (Ministry VSA), is recommending to persons especially high-risk groups to get their seasonal flu shot. Influenza is an acute viral infection that spreads very easily from person to person and can affect anybody in any age group. Check with your physician to see whether or not you are part of the high-risk group and be proactive. Get vaccinated and apply strict and consistent preventive measures to stop you from getting the flu. Influenza is a serious public health problem that causes severe illnesses and deaths for higher risk populations. Vaccination (flu shot) is the most effective way to prevent infection. Persons who form part of the risk groups are: all pregnant women who are in the last six months of pregnancy or second trimester from their fourth month onwards; with pulmonary disease: asthma (when maintenance medication is given; this also holds true for children), COPD, carcinoma of the lung, anthracosilicosis, lungfibrosis , mucoviscidosis, severe kyfoscoliosis, status after resection of a lung, breathing difficulties; with cardiac disease: having experienced a myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, arrhythmias, valve dysfunction, cardiac failure; with diabetes mellitus, even if not on medication; with chronic kidney disease/failure: dialysis, kidney transplant; after a recent bone marrow transplant; with HIV-infection; with an intellectual disability in an intramural setting; with a diminished resistance to infections: livercirrosis, (functional) asplenia, auto-immune illnesses, chemotherapy, immunosuppressive medication; 60 years and older. Front-line workers as well as health care workers who may be in contact with patients in these risk groups (personnel in nursing homes, senior citizen home, hospital, outpatient clinics and general practitioner/specialist practices), should get their flu vaccination. Home care givers of persons with a very high risk for severe illness and mortality attributed to the flu should also get vaccinated. The flu vaccine will not protect you against COVID-19. For persons who plan to get their booster COVID-19 vaccine, you can get your flu vaccine either one week before or two weeks after receiving the booster COVID-19 vaccine. Consult your family physician (house doctor) in due time once you dont feel well, and do not place others at risk. Take the necessary preventive measures when in the vicinity of any sick persons. Apply strict cough etiquette and proper hand hygiene. Eat healthy foods, get a lot of exercise, and maintain a good sleep schedule which is usually eight hours. PHILIPSBURG:--- Riddhi Samtani, a youth activist and Sint Maartener will be representing the island at the United Nations Climate Conference (COP28) in Dubai from November 30, 2023, to December 12, 2023. Part of the 35-strong Caribbean Climate Justice Leaders Academy (CCJLA) founded earlier this year by Island Innovation and the Open Society Foundations (OSF), Samtani was one of 10 cohort members selected to take part at COP28. While in Dubai the group will participate in panel discussions, meet international delegates, and interact with other young climate leaders, providing them with additional skills and experience they can leverage to further their own work in the Caribbean. Keen to support local activists representing their communities on the international stage, is NAGICO Insurances, a leading insurer in the Caribbean that paid almost 1 Billion USD to the Caribbean community after Hurricanes Irma and Maria and contributed significantly to an improved and more resilient region. Together with Grant Thornton in the Dutch Caribbean, a member firm of the Grant Thornton global professional services network, they have provided further support to Samtani ahead of her trip to Dubai with the CCJLA delegation. Grant Thorntons Environmental Policy Statement is a testimony to their commitment and this translates into the joint support effort with NAGICO Insurances. Commenting on this, Samtani expressed, The message is clear: climate change is real, and though we're on the front lines, we lag behind. We shouldn't wait for another Category 5 hurricane to wake us up. We have a chance to lead the region, collaborating across French and Dutch borders to protect our beloved island. As a youth, it's my duty to convey this message to those who are listening. I'm thrilled and honored to have the support of organizations like Island Innovation, enabling my presence on the global platform. This year, I'm grateful for local sponsors, Grant Thornton and Nagico Insurances, who want to empower my voice. Hurricane Irma has had a longstanding impact on Sint Maarten since it made landfall in 2017, damaging over 90% of the islands homes, and killing eight people. Sint Maarten is the Netherlands most climate-affected region, and they should have a voice at both a national and international level - and they will through Samtani. HMF brings innovations from its own development to PMRExpo HMF Smart Solutions is coming to Cologne for PMRExpo the leading European trade fair for secure communication (from 28 to 30 November 2023). In Hall 8 at Stand F030/G031, HMF will be presenting its own brand-new MCX solution \made in Germany\ as one of the highlights. This broadband communication solution developed by HMF offers so-called Mission Critical Services (MCX) in accordance with the 3GPP standard which will be trend-setting in the field of mission-critical and business-critical communication. At PMRExpo, the HMF team will be presenting its own development to the public for the first time. 5G dimensions of HMF HMF\-s 5G system solutions offer almost unlimited application possibilities and can be customised for specific industries. With the 5G Smart Box, HMF is presenting a complete, compact private 5G (campus) solution at the exhibition. Indoor or outdoor? Both are possible. Flexibility? Of course. Pre-existing networks based on other technologies can be integrated or efficiently combined to suit the respective area of application. As a specialist for holistic communication solutions, HMF offers comprehensive project support from planning and development to implementation, ongoing service and network operation. To this end, HMF supports its customers with comprehensive Smart Services. TETRA a the next decade The ACCESSNETA-T IP TETRA system from HMF combines all the strengths of mission-critical voice and data communication and is \ready for the next decade\. HMF\-s Smart Services make the TETRA network future-proof in an intelligent, secure and efficient way. At PMRExpo, the TETRA specialists will be showing several examples of how the optimisation potential can be fully exploited. Visitors can find out about operational network planning using innovative tools for coverage verification and analysing traffic loads. Regarding network monitoring and management, HMF will be showing examples of network resource control and intuitive, modular network administration. Maximum flexibility is offered using web clients, which enable network access from anywhere, as well as comprehensive data analysis and real-time network capacity management. The security of the TETRA system is the top priority. Multi-level security services optimise security through system and process hardening, threat analysis and adapted access levels, among other things. PT890Ex und PT590 Latest TETRA radio devices At PMRExpo, HMF Smart Solutions will be showcasing the latest TETRA radios from its portfolio. With the PT590 handheld radio, trade fair visitors will get to know the first TETRA radio in its class that supports voice control and has a universal USB Type-C connection. The PT590 also impresses with its outstanding audio quality, excellent radio coverage and innovative safety functions. The PT590 takes TETRA communication to a new level. The intrinsically safe PT890Ex from Hytera is brand new on the market for particularly harsh environments powerful, secure and robust at the highest level. HMF at the PMRExpo summit Security of 5G campus networks, 5G in object radio, interoperability of various KRITIS radio technologies: The HMF experts will be represented at the PMRExpo summit with a variety of topics. Bernhard Klinger, Chief Strategy Officer at HMF and Chairman of the PMeV Board, will kick off the trade fair on Tuesday, 28 November at 11 a.m. with a keynote speech on the topic of \Digitalisation and secure, high-availability communication\. Visit HMF at the PMRExpo Would you like to find out more? Then come to PMRExpo in Hall 8 at Messe KAln from 28 to 30 November. The HMF team is looking forward to your visit at stand F030/G031. HMF Smart Solutions GmbH, based in Bad MAnder, Germany, has been developing and implementing customised, mission-critical communication solutions in the field of professional mobile radio for more than 40 years. HMF is an established specialist for technologies such as TETRA and LTE/5G, offering easily available and secure radio communication solutions for industrial, utility and transport companies, the oil and gas industry as well as for security and rescue forces among others. HMF regards itself as a holistic solution provider whose core expertise is comprehensive project support from a single source a from development and planning to implementation, including services and network operation. Islamic banking is undergoing a historic transformation propelled by groundbreaking fintech advancements. In the last four years, assets in Islamic banking have surged from $1.8 trillion to $2.8 trillion, with a projected leap to an astounding $4 trillion by 2026, primarily driven by the GCC nations. The new exclusive report by red_mad_robot, titled "State of Fintech: The Islamic Banking Industry," provides an in-depth exploration of this financial evolution. Digital transformation and fintech in Islamic banking present many opportunities. Islamic financial institutions seek to differentiate their business while ensuring competitive prices to capture new market space and generate economic demand, the report points out. The global Islamic fintech market is estimated to reach around $79 billion in transactions in 2021, with an expected average annual growth of 18%, reaching $179 billion by 2026. The largest fintech markets are in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, UAE, Malaysia, and Indonesia, with Indonesia leading in the number of Islamic Fintechs. Crowdfunding, investment platforms, robo-advisors, payment services, digital banks, smart contracts, blockchain, cryptocurrencies, information security in the financial sector, and insurtech are promising directions for the digital transformation of Islamic banking. The report covers topics such as: The current state of Islamic banking by countries and regions; How fintech firms are reshaping Islamic finance; New digital solutions and services revolutionizing the operations of Islamic banking; Promising regions, including the UK, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Australia, poised to set new standards in Islamic banking; and the main challenges of Islamic fintech and the digitalization of Islamic banking. Islamic finance is an integral part of the Islamic economic system, encompassing economic relations adhering to Islamic law regarding fund distribution and utilisation. Originally emerging in rural and agricultural economies, Islamic banking has evolved into a coherent system of financial services, products, and principles. The report delves into the variation in banking systems across countries, where some are entirely based on Sharia principles, while others incorporate Islamic financial services within conventional banks. - TradeArabia News Service Due to the blockade of the border by the Poles, Ukraine has had problems importing certain food products from Europe. Against this backdrop, prices for such goods may rise, especially if the blockade is prolonged. In particular, we are talking about coffee, salt, exotic fruits, seafood and alcohol. In addition to food, price increases may affect detergents and cosmetics. ADVERTISIMENT This was reported by representatives of the largest supermarket chains in Ukraine,Interfax-Ukraine reports. Despite the fact that retailers are sounding the alarm, Denys Marchuk, deputy chairman of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council (AAC), is confident that there will be no food shortage in Ukraine. He noted that it is not yet possible to say that certain imported products will disappear from the shelves of Ukrainian stores. However, the longer the blockade lasts, the higher the likelihood will be. "Perhaps this may be limited to red fish, oysters, squid. Such "overseas things"... It could be dairy products. But it is still hard to say how critical it will be," the expert noted. At the same time, according to Natalia Krasnikova, Deputy General Director of ECO Market for Logistics, the cost of domestic goods should change minimally. The exception may be those items where the share of imported components prevails. ADVERTISIMENT "All of this may lead to a redistribution of the market in favor of Ukrainian companies whose production facilities are located in Ukraine, whose product components are also produced here, and whose companies have sufficient production capacity to close the niches previously occupied by imports," says Krasnikova. In her opinion, in the short term, the blockade is unlikely to have a strong impact on end-user prices. However, if the situation drags on, prices will start to rise primarily for imported goods. A number of products are at risk due to the border blockade: what retailers say ATB supermarkets note that, in addition to Polish goods, goods from Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and the Baltic countries are delivered through the blocked border crossing points. And the share of such goods in the ATB market's assortment is quite significant. In particular, the share of Polish producers is significant in the categories of dairy products, frozen vegetables and fruits, pasta, beverages and alcohol, as well as cosmetics and household chemicals. ADVERTISIMENT The Kolo chain tries to focus on Ukrainian products. But, according to the chain's director, Maryna Sergienko, some products, such as cocoa, coffee, oranges, and salt, are mostly imported. "Today, we estimate our risks at UAH 25-30 million per month. In particular, in the categories of confectionery, alcohol, cheese, and citrus fruits," emphasized Sergienko. She also said that retailers are trying to stock up before the New Year holidays. However, the blockade of the border has a negative impact on business processes. "This can lead to a shortage of some goods on the shelves. It is important to understand that this may also affect Ukrainian-made products due to the lack of manufacturing components or packaging materials," Sergienko said. She warned that using other checkpoints does not help retailers solve the problem. Due to the influx of freight transport, queues form there as well, which slows down logistics and leads to additional costs. ADVERTISIMENT "For example, crossing the Ukrainian-Romanian border can increase the delivery time by two to three days, leading to an increase in the cost of delivery by 600-1000 euros per flight. In such circumstances, even if transportation of goods across other borders becomes possible, problems with temperature conditions during transportation may remain critical for food," Sergienko emphasized. As OBOZ.UA previously reported, the blockade of the Polish far-right's border causes significant losses to Ukraine's economy, in particular, due to a decrease in the amount of goods imported into the country. However, there is no need to talk about a critical decline in imports and an impending shortage of certain items: businesses are actively looking for alternative ways to import goods or offer Ukrainians affordable analogues. ADVERTISIMENT Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! The media often "sing odes" to Kim Keon-hee, the wife of South Korean President Yun Seok-yeol. The fact is that she is 51 years old, but no one will give her more than 20! There are no wrinkles on her face, and her figure remains as slim as it was in her youth. This first lady is able to impress not only with her youth, but also with her sophisticated style, which you want to imitate. ADVERTISIMENT Let's take a look at some of the most striking images of Kim Keon-hee. Some of them seem to be inspired by Hepburnian retro. Pay attention to her choice of cut, color palette and design solutions. Read more in the article by OBOZ.UA. 1. Black and white suit On June 20, 2023, Yoon Suk-yeol and Kim Keon-hee met with French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron. For the event, the South Korean first lady wore an elegant ivory jacket with a black collar, a white blouse, a black wrap skirt, and pumps. These styles are her favorite. We are talking about new look suits: Bar jackets with an accent on the waist and wide skirts made of thick fabric. ADVERTISIMENT 2. Emerald dress In the summer of 2023, Kim Keon-hee arrived in Hanoi to meet with her Vietnamese counterpart Phan Thi Thanh Tam. At that time, the wife of the South Korean president impressed everyone present with a traditional Vietnamese outfit called Ao dai (aozai). It was made of emerald fabric with golden threads. The First Lady wore minimal makeup, only slightly emphasizing her eyes and lips. Her hair was styled simply and elegantly. 3. Black pants and accent jacket On November 22, 2023, President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife attended an event to encourage cultural figures initiated by King Charles III of Great Britain. Kim Keon-hee wore a strict black shirt, straight-cut trousers, and a fitted jacket in noble blue. This look emphasized the fragility of the first lady. ADVERTISIMENT 4. Purple suit with a blouse Despite her love for restrained black suits and dresses, the first lady of South Korea is not afraid of bolder style experiments. For example, on November 8, 2023, she had a friendly conversation with the daughter of the Italian President Laura Mattarella, who arrived in Korea on a state visit. At that time, Kim Keon-hee wore a snow-white blouse, as well as a purple skirt and jacket. She completed the look with a tiny brooch depicting the flag of her country (by the way, it can often be seen on this lady's clothes). ADVERTISIMENT 5. Jacket and silk skirt On October 11, 2023, Kim Keon-hee attended a tea party with the Korean Women's Association in Japan at the Presidential Office Building in Yongsan. For this special event, the first lady chose a double-breasted jacket in a soft milky color and a silk peach skirt. This outfit was successfully complemented by laconic shoes to match the top. Exquisite and tender! 6. A suit and tie On September 18, 2023, President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife traveled to the United States to attend the 78th UN General Assembly. At that time, Kim Keon-hee looked as restrained and elegant as ever: she wore a gray suit, a white blouse, and an unexpected accessory in the form of a tie. ADVERTISIMENT 7. The yellow dress On July 13, 2023, Kim Keon-hee had a friendly meeting with the wife of the President of Poland, Agata Kornhauser-Duda. At the time, the first lady of South Korea looked brilliant. She wore a bright yellow trapeze dress with a white flower brooch, which she styled with black velvet shoes and a clutch. Earlier, OBOZ.UA wrote about the changes in Olena Zelenska's style, hairstyle, look and character since February 24, 2022. ADVERTISIMENT Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber.Do not fall for fakes! The Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament (EP), the body that brings together the EP leadership, has supported the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union (EU). This decision may be made by the EU Council in December 2023. ADVERTISIMENT This was stated by the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola at a conference on Ukraine's European integration, the European Parliament reports. The call of the EP leadership is contained in an already approved communique, she said. "Ukraine is making impressive efforts. And the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament confirmed today (November 28 - Ed.) that Ukraine has demonstrated a solid basis for opening accession negotiations," Metsola said. In the communique, the leaders of the European Parliament's political groups noted that Ukraine's accession to the EU is a "strategic investment in a united and strong Europe." It is also emphasized that the European Parliament believes that Ukraine will continue to "ambitiously implement all necessary reforms". "Ukraine is and will remain a priority for the European Parliament. Ukraine can count on our continuous efforts and our readiness to support the legitimate ambitions and aspirations of the Ukrainian people," the EP said. ADVERTISIMENT At the same time, the European Parliament intends to strengthen cooperation with the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. In particular, meetings between the relevant committees, as well as a series of mutual visits by parliamentarians, are planned for 2024. The day before, on November 27, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed Ukraine's progress in implementing the EC's recommendations for starting negotiations on our accession to the EU with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Zelenskyy assured that Ukraine would fulfill all the recommendations by the December meeting of the EU Council. However, there may be problems with the EU Council meeting. A consensus of all EU member states is needed to make a decision at this level. However, Hungary is going to prevent the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU. The administration of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is called a friend of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, believes that the EU should offer Kyiv a "privileged partnership" instead of membership. ADVERTISIMENT As reported by OBOZ.UA, on November 8, the European Commission recommended starting negotiations on Ukraine's membership in the European Union. The process will be launched at the end of March 2024. However, there will be no accelerated accession procedure as Ukraine needs to ensure development in some areas. The issue must be agreed upon by the 27 member states at the next summit in Brussels on December 14-15. Only verified information on our Telegram OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Andy Perry, MD of convenience at Asda said: We identified London as a focus area for our growth in convenience, not only due to the size of the population, but also because of the higher propensity of convenience store usage amongst Londoners. In a densely populated area, with relatively low car ownership, we know that shopping locally is often preferable. He told the board of Saga earlier this year that it was the right time for him to resign and for someone else to take the firm into the next phase of its development, the company said. The so called Trade and Cooperation Agreement hammered out by Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen on Christmas Eve 2020 was a lot better than the hard Brexit alternative, but self evidently desperately poor compared with what had gone before. A survey today from Bibby Financial Services reveals that 58% of SMEs the bedrock of the British economy that trade internationally are struggling with tariffs, customs and other barriers. It is the single most frequently cited challenge, ahead of the cost of doing business oversas and currency fluctuations. The thing about Hamas is that they are the same as Islamic State, Boko Haram and other terrorist organisations who hate women and girls. And they will use this silence about Hamas to justify their own abuses. I know I am going to get a lot of flak for saying what I am saying, but I have never been scared to tell the truth nor call out those in positions of power when they are wrong. This time last year when the UK held a conference on ending sexual violence in conflict, those in the room were given feedback on their selective outrage of violence against women and girls. At the time there was a war raging in Ethiopia where mass rape was being reported. Yet few of the institutions and leaders in the room said anything. They were rightly called out by womens organisations, especially those from Africa. Croydon council collapsed into bankruptcy three years ago almost to the day, amid a gaping black hole in its budget and exposure to risky loans. Birmingham city council went bankrupt in September, warning it did not have the resources to balance its books. The point is we do not know how many more Croydons or Birminghams there are across the capital how many more ticking financial timebombs that could cost the taxpayer billions because we simply cannot see the numbers. The longer this continues unchecked, the greater the risks at play. The Commons public accounts committee investigated the difficulties of local authorities across England. It warned of the scale of the problems ahead. More than 400 local government bodies missed the deadline for publishing audited accounts, with the cumulative backlog of unpublished opinions rising to 632 for 2021/22, meaning the risk of significant financial or governance issues being detected too late increases significantly. The Albanian city of Kukes has lost half of its population because young people are leaving en masse to work in the UK. UK taxpayers have allocated more than $10 million to solve the problem and restore the city, but this did not stop young Albanians. ADVERTISIMENT Kukes is on the list of the poorest populated centers in Albania and is being destroyed. This was reported by the Daily Mail. The UK government has recently allocated money for job creation and community projects in the region. The local mayor has launched a campaign to persuade citizens who have emigrated to return home. The area was chosen for funding due to population loss: since 1990, young people have been paying smugglers to take them to the UK by boat and truck. Mass emigration has led to the region's capital, Kukes, and surrounding mountain villages being called "ghost towns" as many young people and families have left, leaving only elderly citizens. ADVERTISIMENT The region in northeastern Albania near the border with Kosovo has the highest percentage of people living illegally in the UK or seeking asylum of any region in the former communist country. The new mayor of Kukes has pledged to spend most of the British money on convincing people to return, offering tax rebates and grants to set up tourism-related businesses, which he believes is key to boosting the region's economy. However, the investigation showed little impact on the teenagers: they still want to leave for Britain as soon as possible. The young people believe that it is there that they can easily find a job and earn much more than at home. ADVERTISIMENT Official figures show that last year the number of Albanians seeking asylum in the UK increased to almost 16,000. British Home Secretary James Cleverly said last month that the number of Albanians detected on arrival in the UK had fallen by 90 percent. This can be explained by the increased cooperation of the British with the Albanian authorities and the willingness to return those who do not have a legal right to stay. Such actions have made the UK a less attractive destination for emigration. But young residents of Kukes insist that many people are still willing to risk their lives by venturing on the dangerous journey across the English Channel in open boats or by smuggling in trucks. ADVERTISIMENT Earlier, OBOZ.UA told about how cities in Italy, Switzerland and other European countries appealed to foreigners with an attractive offer: 80 thousand euros for moving. Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Scobie claims that while Kate rarely puts a foot wrong, she has a harsher side too, never reaching out to Meghan. "She wasn't a fan of Meghan since the start, says one aide, while another says: She spent more time talking about Meghan than talking to her. These days, Scobie says: Kate has jokingly shivered when Meghan's name has come up. Scobie says that Kate is rarely criticised by royal writers, even though she does few public engagements, and has had five different private secretaries in six years: one is said to have found the job "uninspiring and frustrating, Scobie writes. The girl band, who formed in 2002 on reality show Popstars: The Rivals, have also clocked up the highest number of consecutive appearances on 13 volumes with a track in every album from Now 54 released in April 2003 to Now 66 in April 2007. Scobie didnt help himself when Finding Freedom came out by claiming to be six years younger than he really was in an interview, before being found out by someone on the internet. Im 42, he tells me when I ask about the episode. I work in an industry where Im surrounded by people who are, lets say, conservative with telling their age, particularly in television, he explains, saying it was par for the course to swipe a few years off. Scobie says he had a little insecurity about turning 40, and gambled that no one would ever know or care about him enough to check. You learn from those mistakes. I cant do much more than own it, he says sheepishly. This organised crime group was unravelled quickly. The case is a prime example of the skill of our teams in counter-terrorism Policing and our determination to disrupt and bring to justice criminals whose activity could facilitate terrorism or harm our national security. Three gangsters who plotted to sell a gun to a terrorist as he planned a deadly attack in Hyde Park in central London have been jailed. Tyler King, 21, Caleb Wenyeve, 21, and Reis Forde, 27, were all part of the deal for 22-year-old Edward Little to buy a firearm and bullets for 5,000. Little was travelling in a taxi from Brighton to London to collect the weapon when he was intercepted by anti-terror police on September 23 last year. His target was a Christian preacher at Speakers Corner and he had spoken of his desire to get a gun in encrypted chats on the Threema messaging platform, the Old Bailey was told. At one point, he wrote: I dont think there has been an attack in the UK with guns so a semi-automatic rifle would send a (sic) even stronger message. Wood, who attended with his wife Sally, said they discussed the life-size gorillas they painted for the cause - which have raised over 100,000 in their sales - and the upcoming Stones tour for the bands new album, Hackney Diamonds, with the Prince. We have cared for the marbles for generations and our position is we want that to continue. The world comes to the UK regularly to see the marbles and there are no plans to change that or to change the law, he said. But on Sunday, the Greek prime minister told the BBC that he would push Mr Sunak for the return of the ancient sculptures from the British Museum, saying the current situation with the rest of the collection in Athens was like cutting the Mona Lisa in half. It will be hard to believe it is true until we are able to embrace in person. Our first priority is my mums mental and physical health and we ask for time and space while we prioritise her wellbeing. With current knowledge, it is clear that some species of animal, e.g. ferrets and other mustelids, may be easily infected by infected humans in close contact. So animals in the market could have been the route of transmission to animals or could have been infected by humans. The Ukrainian delegation will boycott the OSCE meeting at the level of foreign ministers in the capital of North Macedonia. The reason for this decision was the intention of the Russian delegation to participate in the meeting. ADVERTISIMENT Ukraine's diplomatic service noted that the presence of representatives of the aggressor country, Russia, at the ministerial meeting would only exacerbate the crisis into which Russia has driven the OSCE. This was reported on Facebook by Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko. According to him, Ukraine highly appreciates the efforts of North Macedonia as the presiding state in 2023 and personally of Foreign Minister Buyar Osmani for prioritizing the issue of countering Russian aggression. At the same time, the ministry reminded that it is Russia that consistently destroys the OSCE by abusing the consensus rule. "Resorting to blackmail and open threats, the Russian Federation has systematically blocked consensus on key issues. The blocking of Estonia's candidacy for the OSCE chairmanship in 2024 was also arbitrary. In addition, Russia has illegally detained three Ukrainian OSCE representatives who have been in prison for more than 500 days. Russia has created an existential crisis in the OSCE and turned the organization into a hostage to its whims and aggression," said Nikolenko. ADVERTISIMENT The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson also emphasized that the presence of the Russian delegation at the ministerial meeting is unacceptable and will only harm the OSCE. Nikolenko emphasized that the civilized world should work to save the OSCE from Russia, not send signals about the possibility of returning to forms of cooperation. Despite the boycott of the OSCE meeting at the level of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ministry assured that Ukraine remains committed to the OSCE principles and is ready to continue working with partners to restore respect for the Helsinki Final Act. As a reminder, after blocking Estonia's 2024 OSCE chairmanship, Russia prevented an alternative vote to elect Malta as the OSCE chair. Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Serhii Lavrov complained that he could not attend a meeting of OSCE foreign ministers in Skopje, North Macedonia. He even sent a letter to the government of this country demanding to "ensure his presence in Skopje." ADVERTISIMENT Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Gibraltars unique position proved invaluable during World War II. Most of the civilian population were evacuated for safety, except for 4,000 people who stayed to "defend the freedom of the Rock". The territory served a vital role in both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Seas, controlling virtually all naval traffic into and out of the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean. The Canadian rockers will take the stage in cities across the UK and Europe in the Get Rollin arena tour, following on from their successful North American leg. The band will hit 12 cities across eight countries in May and June. Wolf spiders carry their egg sacs. They typically tear a hole open in the sac to release the young spiders when the time comes, and are known to carry their young on their abdomen. New York State Representative, Zohran Mamdani, said to the crowd: We are hunger striking for a world where everyone is with their family. And it is a world that can only be made possible through a ceasefire. It is not war that brought us these reunifications. It is negotiations; it is a cessation (of hostilities)." For the first time since the pause began, Israel and Hamas traded accusations of a serious violation with an exchange of fire between troops and militants in northern Gaza. But there was no indication that it would endanger the truce or the planned exchanges of hostages held in Gaza for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. Israel has vowed to resume the war with "full force" to destroy Hamas once it's clear that no more hostages will be freed under the deal. She is now on trial for being an accomplice in three further murders, including that of Leeds University student Joanna Parrish, who was originally from Gloucestershire. The Washington-based think tank reported that the storm forced Russia to return all of its naval vessels and missile carriers to their bases, and suggested that the threat of mines drifting in the Black Sea will increase because the storm has dispersed minefields. All three of the victims are recovering from their injuries in an intensive care unit in hospital. The relatives of 20-year-old Hisham who was shot in the back said his recovery will be long but described him as a resilient young man. Severe weather conditions in Ukraine have already killed 10 people. Another 23 people were injured, including minors. ADVERTISIMENT Rescuers have pulled about 1,500 vehicles out of the snowdrifts. This was reported by the press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. In Odesa region, rescuers pulled 849 vehicles out of snow traps, including 24 buses and 17 emergency vehicles. Help was provided to 2,498 people, including 162 children. In the Odesa region, 5 people died and 15 others were injured as a result of the weather. Traffic on a number of highways was restricted due to snow drifts. In Mykolaiv region, rescuers responded to calls 66 times and towed 144 vehicles. Traffic remains difficult on some road sections. Two people were killed and two others injured in the region. In total, 8 roads in Ukraine remain closed to traffic, all in Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad regions. 411 settlements in 11 regions are without electricity. A total of 1,530 vehicles have been towed from the snowdrifts. ADVERTISIMENT As a reminder, a mega-storm hit the Krasnodar region of Russia, flooding localities. Huge waves flooded the streets of Sochi, in particular. Moreover, a three-story building collapsed in Sochi as a result of the storm. Earlier it was reported that on the afternoon of November 26, the snow "apocalypse" hit primarily Odesa region. The roads and streets were in chaos, and in the regional center, the wind tore down a boiler room pipe. ADVERTISIMENT As reported by OBOZ.UA, the sea burst its banks in the temporarily occupied Crimea. The storm was the largest on the peninsula in the last 100 years, and the sea waves washed away Russian trenches. Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! 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"We have identified common objectives for action in the legislative and administrative measures for the protection and restoration of movable and immovable cultural heritage, as well as for preventing and combating trafficking in cultural goods. Another subject of priority importance for both nations is resuming the support scheme for the production of audiovisual works in Romania, as American companies have a long history of collaboration with Romanian producers. With the resumption of this programme under the Ministry of Culture, Romania will be back on the map of production destinations, opening the way for closer cooperation and commercial and cultural exchanges in the film industry," Raluca Turcan said in a post on her Facebook page on Tuesday. The minister says that, together with the colleagues from the Romanian Embassy in Washington, she will continue "to collaborate with the Department of State in these areas of particular importance for cultural diplomacy and strengthening trade ties between our countries in the creative industries." Raluca Turcan also paid a visit to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, saying that it is "a valuable opportunity to discuss the principles that guide one of the most important cultural centres in the world in a modern approach to the creative industries." "Today's meeting reaffirmed the strong ties with Romania and laid the foundations for future projects that aim to highlight and promote internationally the artistic and cultural richness of our country, while encouraging permanent exchanges of expertise in creative environments. (...)," Turcan also mentions. The Romanian minister voiced her conviction that "our common principles of improving access to quality cultural events, bringing the public closer to the creators and recognising the unique artistic and cultural value of Romania provide a solid basis for the continuation of this exceptional cultural collaboration." DefMin Tilvar urges British companies to participate in procurement of equipment for Romania's armed forces National Defence Minister Angel Tilvar urged British companies to participate in the procurement of equipment for Romania's armed forces, during a meeting with UK Minister of State for Defence Procurement James Cartlidge, told Agerpres. According to a press release the Ministry of National Defence (MApN) sent to AGERPRES on Tuesday, the discussion with James Cartlidge took place on the sidelines of Minister Tilvar's visit to the UK from Monday to Wednesday. The meeting was attended by head of the Directorate General for Armaments, Lieutenant General Teodor Incicas, and Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Mihai Panait. In the context of the modernisation process of the Romanian armed forces, the minister of Defence had an exchange of views on the opportunities and challenges facing the national defence industries in the security context generated by the aggressive war of the Russian Federation in Ukraine. "I would like to reaffirm our openness in strengthening cooperation with the UK in the area of endowment with equipment needed immediately, but also for the future, at interoperable standards. We encourage British companies to participate in the competitive procurement procedures for equipping Romania's Armed Forces and to work together with companies in the defence industry in our country, to the benefit of both parties," Minister Tilvar said. In this context, the importance of Romania's acquisition of two Sandown class mine-hunting vessels was stressed, which will provide the Romanian Naval Forces with an effective solution to combat the danger of sea mines drifting in the Black Sea. The first of the two ships, modernised and delivered by the British side, has already entered the service of the Romanian Naval Forces. The Romanian official brought to mind that the Romanian Government earmarks 2.5% of GDP to the defence budget as of this year, which ensures the acceleration of essential endowment programmes and, at the same time, creates opportunities for the involvement of the national defence industry in the process of endowing the Romanian Army with high-tech equipment and ensuring their maintenance. The agenda of the delegation led by the defence minister also included a trip to Portsmouth Port in the south of the United Kingdom, where he visited the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier and where he had, together with the members of the Ministry of National Defence delegation, a meeting with representatives of the main companies in the naval defence industry in the UK. During the discussions, specific naval equipment was presented. Ministry of Finance borrows over half a billion euros off banks on Tuesday The Ministry of Finance (MF) borrowed 512.7 million euros from banks on Tuesday, through two issues of state bonds, according to data made public by the National Bank of Romania (BNR), told Agerpres. Thus, the MF attracted 383.4 million euros through a state bond issue of treasury certificates with a discount, with a residual maturity of 12 months, at an average yield of 4.18% per year. The nominal value of the issue was 200 million euros, and the banks subscribed 485.9 million euros. Also, the ministry attracted 129.3 million euros through a bond issue, with a residual maturity of 24 months, at an average yield of 4.50% per year. The value of the issue was 100 million euros, and the banks subscribed 179.3 million euros. The Ministry of Finance (MF) planned, in November 2023, loans from commercial banks in the amount of 5 billion RON, to which the amount of 675 million RON can be added through additional sessions of non-competitive bids, related to bond tenders. The total amount, of 5.675 billion RON, is 920 million RON less than the one that was scheduled in October, of 6.595 billion RON, and will be intended for refinancing the public debt and financing the state budget deficit. On Monday, October 10, 2022, the terrorist state of Russia launched massive missile attacks on many cities in Ukraine. At least 19 people were killed and 105 injured. Due to problems with mobile network congestion, in some cases, first aid had to be provided by eyewitnesses of Russian crimes. ADVERTISIMENT In this regard, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine has reminded the algorithm to be followed in case of need for first aid. How to provide first aid The most important condition for providing first aid to victims is safety. Therefore, anyone who wants to help victims must first make sure that the danger has passed. If the victim has minor injuries, you should help him or her move to a safer place and only then begin to provide assistance. When approaching the victim, the first thing to do is to see if he or she is conscious and breathing. Doctors advise simply asking the victim how he or she is feeling. If the person is conscious, then there is no need to check the pulse and breathing. If the victim is unconscious, pay attention to his or her breathing: he or she should take 2-3 breaths in 10 seconds. ADVERTISIMENT After that, you should call 103 to call an ambulance, or call the police and the State Emergency Service and report the emergency. If the victim has heavy bleeding, it must be stopped. To do this, apply a tourniquet, tourniquet, or tight bandage to the limb. This should be done as high as possible on the limb. After stopping the bleeding, hemostatic agents should be used, or, in the absence of such agents, the victim's wound should be clamped and not released until the arrival of paramedics. The ambulance crew will also need to be informed about when the tourniquet, bandage, or tourniquet was applied. It is also necessary to ensure the victim's airway is clear if he or she is unconscious. To do this, remove visible foreign objects or vomit from the mouth. If all of the above actions do not result in the victim showing signs of life, cardiopulmonary resuscitation should be initiated. ADVERTISIMENT To do this, the victim should be laid on his or her back and pressed in the middle of the chest with both hands, placing one palm on top of the other. According to the Ministry of Health, the depth of pressure should be 5-6 cm, and the frequency should be 100-120 strokes per minute. If the victim remains unconscious, he or she should be kept in a stable lateral position until the arrival of paramedics. Doctors also advise not to leave victims unattended, even if they are conscious. Because of the shock, they may try to remove the tourniquet or tourniquet applied. The Ministry of Health also advised Ukrainians to watch a short video course that explains in detail how to provide first aid under martial law. ADVERTISIMENT Where to call if you are afraid because of Russian attacks The Ministry of Health also addressed Ukrainians who are afraid of new large-scale Russian attacks, noting that it is normal to feel fear. "We cannot be intimidated or overcome, but everyone is afraid - it's normal," the Ministry of Health wrote. They reminded that there are psychological support hotlines in Ukraine where you can get free and qualified help. 0 800 505 201 - Hotline of the Ministry of Health; 1547 - Government line; 0 800 33 20 29 - Help line for veterans and their families of the Ukrainian Veterans Fund; 1548 - Line of the Ministry of Reintegration; 0 800 100 102 - Line of the National Psychological Association; 0 800 210 160 - Line of the international humanitarian organization "Person in Need"; (044) 456 17 02, (044) 456 17 25 - Lines of the Kyiv City Center for Psychological and Psychiatric Assistance in Cases of Mental Crisis; ADVERTISIMENT Nuclearelectrica and consortium led by AtkinsRealis sign agreement to refurbish unit 1 of Cernavoda nuclear plant Nuclearelectrica, together with Candu Energy Inc. (CEI), a subsidiary of the Montreal-based SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. doing business as AtkinsRealis, and the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC), a federal state-owned corporation, signed a 781 million Canadian dollars agreement on Tuesday to supply reactor tooling and components, as well as services of engineering and technology, to extend the life of Unit 1 CNE Cernavoda, told Agerpres. According to a press release of Nuclearelectrica (SNN), the signing of the agreement took place at the World Nuclear Exhibition in Paris, during a ceremony attended by Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade of Canada (the ministry responsible for the CCC), Dan Dragan, secretary of state with the Romanian Ministry of Energy, Teodor Chirica, president of the Board of Directors of SNN, Bobby Kwon, president and general manager of CCC, Ian Edwards, president and general manager of AtkinsRealis, and Joe St. Julian, president of the Nuclear department at AtkinsRealis. Previously, on November 7, 2023, Nuclearelectrica informed that, following the completion of the respective award procedure, it sent a note to Candu Energy Inc. and Canadian Commercial Corporation regarding the awarding of the agreement for the supply of reactor tools and components, as well as engineering and technology services, in support of the extension of the life of the CANDU reactor of Unit 1 of the Cernavoda nuclear plant. However, the coming into force of this agreement depends on the approval of the General Assembly of the SNN Shareholders, in the context in which the CCC did receive the final approval from the Government of Canada. According to the president of the SNN's Board of Directors, Teodor Chirica, this new agreement represents a step forward in the Refurbishment of Unit 1, as well as in the long-term cooperation between Romania and Canada in the nuclear field, which began over 55 years ago. "Fundamentals from the nuclear power market show that there will be sustained and robust demand from governments around the world for reactor life extensions and new construction," commented Ian L. Edwards, president and CEO at AtkinsRealis. He stated that, since the early 1970s, approximately 600 commercial nuclear reactors have been built around the world, and approximately 440 are still in operation. Many of these reactors are nearing the end of their life. As the exclusive licensee of the CANDU intellectual property portfolio and contributing its unique experience and know-how in all aspects of CANDU technology, AtkinsRealis is the only organization that has assumed a leadership role in all life extension projects of CANDU reactors so far globally, including those successfully executed or underway in Asia, North America and South America. The two CANDU units from Cernavoda supply 20% of Romania's electricity. Since the commissioning of the two units, in 1996 and 2007, respectively, the country avoided the release of 205 million tonnes of CO2. The long-term operation of the Cernavoda plant is essential when it comes to Romania's goal of achieving its energy stability and decarbonisation, as well as to phase out almost 4 gigawatt hours of coal-fired electricity by 2032. The Romanian government and SNN also announced their intention to build two more CANDU reactors at Cernavoda. Four operational CANDU reactors at the plant would bring the share of nuclear energy in Romania's electricity production to 33%. Additionally, SNN has signed a memorandum of understanding with a subsidiary of the Ontario Power Generation to collaborate on the production of life-saving medical isotopes using their CANDU reactors. The co-production of medical isotopes while the reactor simultaneously produces electricity is a unique feature of CANDU technology, already successfully exploited by CANDU operators in Ontario, the release states. Unit 2 of the CANDU reactor at Cernavoda holds the world record for the highest capacity factor (composed of reliability and operating time) among all nuclear reactors worldwide. Ontario's CANDU technology holds the record for longest continuous operation of any nuclear reactor in the world. The long-term exploitation of CANDU technology, both through the existing CANDU reactors at Cernavoda, and through the new CANDU reactors to be built, will contribute to Romania's potential to become a regional centre for energy security and clean electricity in Eastern Europe, with the support of Canadian technology. Parliament adopts decision establishing Regional Special Operations Component Command Parliament, in a joint session on Tuesday, adopted, at the request of President Klaus Iohannis, the decision to establish the Regional Special Operations Component Command (HQR-SOCC) on the territory of Romania, in the Garrison of Targu Mures, as a non-permanent structure, on the principle of lead nation, with rotational command, told Agerpres. There were 239 votes "in favour," three "against" and 38 abstentions. "The organisation and functioning of the Command shall be established bilaterally between Romania and Bulgaria, through technical arrangements," the decision provides. In drawing up the Regional Plan for the South-East (RP-SE), NATO identified the need for a Special Operations Forces (SOF) command and control (C2) structure for the Black Sea region to ensure the command, control and synchronisation of allied SOF efforts in the region against the backdrop of the radically changed international security environment caused by the Russian Federation's aggression against Ukraine, the head of state explained in the letter to Parliament. ''In this context and given the proximity of Romania and Bulgaria to the conflict zone, the military structures of the two countries have proposed a project to set up a Regional Special Operations Component Command, in a bilateral format, to fill the command and control vacuum, and subsequently to be included in the created structure. The common intention of Romania and Bulgaria is to achieve full operational capability by the end of 2024," President Iohannis' letter also showed. President Iohannis participates in the 28th Conference of States Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change President Klaus Iohannis is set to participate, December 2-4, in the 28th Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), which will take place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, informs the Presidential Administration in a press release on Tuesday. President Klaus Iohannis will deliver the national declaration on Saturday morning and will highlight the fact that climate change is intensifying,with disastrous effects throughout the world. "At the same time, he will emphasise the importance that climate and environmental education has in the education system in Romania, and also Romania's ambition to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as Romania is open to cooperation in a multilateral framework on topics relevant to our country's climate diplomacy," the same source says. In his speech, the head of state will call for an ambitious joint commitment aimed at protecting the environment, to the benefit of all citizens. Also on Saturday, president Iohannis will participate in the High-Level Event on Climate Change Mitigation, during which, together with other heads of state and government, he will discuss the global response to climate change through mitigation measures that emphasis on the just climate transition. On the same day, the head of state will attend an event promoting the Net Zero Nuclear initiative, which Romania supports at COP28. On this occasion, he will intervene on issues related to the role of nuclear energy in ensuring energy security and in the global decarbonisation process. On Sunday, President Klaus Iohannis will participate in the event marking Romania's accession to the International Solar Alliance. On Monday, the head of state, as the main speaker, will participate in the Sustainable Innovation Forum to expand the dialogue with non-state actors whose importance is crucial in limiting climate change. Effective climate action needs investments, new business models, collaboration on multiple levels and the involvement of universities in the development of new technologies and climate solutions, the Presidential Administration states in the same press release. The Presidential Administration also specifies that Romania will be actively involved at the political and technical level to support the global process of mitigating and adapting to climate change, as it has constantly done in recent years. The same source indicates that Romania has a low level of greenhouse gas emissions per capita in relation to other EU countries, a commitment to further reduce emissions and the objective to collaborate with other countries in the process of managing the unprecedented challenge of climate change. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu met on Tuesday at the Victoria Palace of Government with the European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira. "Romania has a 90 percent absorption rate of European funds for the 2014-2020 financial year, ranking 4th in the EU," Ciolacu wrote on Facebook after the meeting. He added that this "historic first" was welcomed in Bucharest by European Commissioner Elisa Ferreira. "The commissioner encouraged us to continue developing administrative capacities and to think further about economic specialization programs and increasingly sophisticated technologies, in order to move from the infrastructure development stage to that of an economy producing goods with high added value," Ciolacu further wrote Romania wants to speed up cooperation with Brazil in areas with potential for both countries Romania wants to speed up cooperation with Brazil in areas with potential for both countries, namely agriculture, automotive industry, oil and gas industry, defence and aeronautics, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania (CCIR) Mihai Daraban said. Daraban welcomed on Tuesday Ambassador of the Federative Republic of Brazil to Romania Ricardo Guerra de Araujo, who voiced special interest in identifying the common means meant to speed up the commercial exchanges between the two countries. At the same time, Daraban showed full availability to continue the support for the demarches carried out by the Brazilian Embassy in Bucharest aimed at involving companies in Romania and Brazil in projects with impact in the economy, producing high added value, through mutual investments and technology transfer, in strategic areas. "Brazil is ahead of signing the MERCOSUR Agreement with the European Union, and CCIR will support the general efforts for completing the ratification of this agreement, as the business community in Romania is interested in future advantages and facilities of access on the largest market in Latin America. We have in view speeding up cooperation with Brazil, under the new context, in areas with potential for both countries, namely agriculture, automotive industry, oil and gas industry and defence and aeronautic industry," Daraban said. In turn, Ricardo Guerra de Araujo said he would work on syncronising the sides' effort for the organisation of the Romania Brazil joint committee in the beginning of 2024. "As a first demarch of my term, I will work on synchronising the sides' efforts, for the organisation in the beginning of 2023 the Romania Brazil joint committee, on the sidelines of which a business forum would be organised, an excellent occasion for materialising the ideas presented today in my dialogue with President Daraban," Ricardo Guerra de Araujo mentioned. Talks on extraordinary JHA Council meeting on Schengen file at December-end (sources) At the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council meeting, scheduled to take place in Brussels on December 4 and 5, having on its provisional agenda Romania's and Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen area, there will not be a vote on the subject, government sources said on Tuesday, told Agerpres. According to the sources, there are discussions about organising an extraordinary JHA Council meeting towards the end of December, where Romania's accession to Schengen would be considered in two stages, the first being with the entry of the air borders into the European free movement area, from March 2024. The accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen area is on the provisional agenda of the Justice and Home Affairs ministers' meeting in Brussels in early December, according to the agenda published on the Council's website. The Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council meeting is scheduled for December 4 and 5, and, according to the provisional agenda, on the second day of the meeting there would be an exchange of views on the general situation in the Schengen area and a possible vote on the accession of Romania and Bulgaria. Chairman of Save Romania Union (USR) Catalin Drula said on Monday that the case file concerning the purchase of vaccines is "the biggest legal malpractice" he has seen since he entered politics. He said the case file is "a political attack" on the opposition and said Vlad Voiculescu will remain on USR's list of candidates for the European Parliament election. "Nothing fits in this story. This is the biggest legal malpractice I have seen since I have been in politics. It's a case file - I don't understand where it's coming from, I have some suspicions, some of them have been presented by the press. I understand that the prosecutor there has anti-vaccination beliefs. I understand that Mr. Bologa, who was head of DNA [the National Anticorruption Directorate] and was not comfortable enough for the current power, was changed because he felt that this case file has no structure, it doesn't check out," the USR leader told private broadcaster B1 Tv. The USR leader said that the case file "criminalises a procedure" of the European Union and does not refer to "any act of corruption". The USR leader stressed that the vaccines were purchased by the EU, which contracted 4.5 billion doses for a population of 450 million citizens. "The people with the European Commission who took part in these negotiations decided that. Romania did not contract ten times the population, but 80 million for 19 million citizens (...) In fact, the EU did not take ten times either, because in the end 2.5 billion doses were actually bought at EU level. Romania didn't take 80 million either, only 35 million. No Member State made direct purchases apart from Hungary, which bought its own vaccines from Russia and China. The rest of the Member States participated in a joint procurement mechanism, in which each of these contracts and subsequent acts, established by the EC, participated according to its population," Drula said. The USR leader deemed outrageous" the way the case file is constructed. "They take the orders of the European Union, not Romania, and the prosecutor decides which ones are OK. The first five, which are made by Nelu Tataru, he says are OK. The first order made by Vlad Voiculescu, four days after he was sworn in as minister, is also good. The second order turns him, Florin Citu and everyone else into criminals. (...) I read this report, it is the report of an anti-vaxxer, of a man who does not believe in science and of a man who interprets some EU decisions, not Romania's, two years prior," he added. Catalin Drula pointed out that the decisions on vaccination belonged "entirely" to President Klaus Iohannis and former Prime Minister Florin Citu. He mentioned that President Klaus Iohannis was the one who discussed at European level about Romania's participation quota. "In the coalition meeting where they discussed which which party would take which ministry and USR was given the Ministry of Health, we asked for vaccination. And we were told: 'No, the vaccination is the heart project of the PNL [the National Liberal Party] and the PNL will coordinate the vaccination'. (...) A report on vaccination came out last year, carried out under the PNL government, in which we can see, on the first page of this report, that vaccination was an absolute success, 'mission accomplished'. Who is there? Klaus Iohannis," the USR leader further said. He also declared that Germany had ordered 660 million doses for a population of 83 million, of which 200 million were destroyed because they had expired. According to him, if Romania had refused to participate in the European Commission's mechanism, in the weeks that followed, our country would not have received a full tranche, but one corresponding to the order. Drula pointed out that a decision-maker must respond politically for acts of expediency. "They appointed a chief prosecutor of DNA, Mr Voineag - who is the one who helped to cover up Ciuca's [Nicolae Ciuca, former prime minister, ed.n.] case file - so as to advance it [the case file on vaccines, ed.n.]. When did he do it? When Florin Citu showed signs of dissidence in the PNL and other actors... It is political persecution. I know people in DNA who do an absolutely admirable job and expose themselves through the work they do. And I know that when they look at me tonight, they're ashamed of what's going on. Everybody knows George Matei, that he is anti-vaxxer. Everybody knows that this case file has no substance. What's the corrupt act? Did Citu go to Ibiza with the Pfizer bosses? Does he have any proof? (...) This prosecutor did not find any legal text that has been violated. He chose an extremely vague text from the public finance law, which says that public money must be spent with care," the USR leader went on to say.A The National Confederation for Women Entrepreneurship (CONAF) organises a press conference on Wednesday to launch an X-ray of the employers' situation in Romania in the context of the tax changes that will come into force on January 1, 2024, and the prospect of tax increases from 2025. The event will be attended by members of the CONAF board, made up of Cristina Chiriac, Anca Damour, Alina Gamauf, Camelia Sucu, Marius Ghenea, Corneliu Bodea, Amalia Nastase, Nicoleta Munteanu, Hildegard Brandl, Viorica Puscas, together with Adrian Negrescu, founder of Frames. The conference will present the results of a study on the employers' situation in Romania carried out by Frames consultancy company at the request of CONAF. It will also discuss solutions to stimulate the economy fiscally, legislatively, in the perspective of an extremely difficult 2024. Another topic of discussion will be lobbying, why it does not work in Romania at the level of other Western countries and what can be done so that business can have a say in economic legislation. CONAF is the strongest confederation in Romania that gathers the interests of entrepreneurs in the European spirit of gender equality and equal opportunities. CONAF came into being as a result of the need to create a modern, sustainable and fair entrepreneurial culture, not only for female entrepreneurship, but also for the whole business environment. The Confederation has 2 federations, 9 employers' associations, 15 associations, 27 branches and more than 5,500 companies with over 170,000 employees. Esquire magazine has named Sado, the Hill sushi restaurant from acclaimed chef Nick Bognar, one of the 50 best new restaurants in the country. The article, online Tuesday and available in print Dec. 5, describes Bognar as a merry ronin behind the sushi bar. Plenty of labor goes on unseen (theres a large kitchen with an area for aging fish), but its worn lightly, it's given freely, and its fruits are tasted with joy, food writer Joshua David Stein says of Sado in the article. Bognar said Esquire told him Sado would be featured in a restaurant round-up, but the magazine did not specify it would be a list of this year's best new establishments. "I was pretty excited," he said. Sado is one of only a few Midwest representatives on the list, which features numerous honorees from New York and California. The other restaurants on the list look "incredible," Bognar said. "Like four years ago, I just feel like there was only a handful of places that that were doing all these things. And now every restaurant is just, like, insanely good looking, (and) expressing themselves, and the food is so much more vibrant." Esquire previously honored Bognars first restaurant, Indo, in 2020 as one of that years best new restaurants nationwide. The 2023 honor adds to Bognars collection of national accolades. Esquire itself previously honored Bognars first restaurant, Indo, in 2020 as one of that years best new restaurants nationwide. Bognar was a semifinalist for Best Chef: Midwest in the 2023 James Beard Awards. In 2020, Food & Wine magazine named him of the countrys Best New Chefs. Sado opened in late March at 5201 Shaw Avenue. Though a new restaurant, Sado is a relocation and reinvention of Nippon Tei, the sushi restaurant that Bognar's mother, Ann Bognar, opened in 2001 in west St. Louis County. Bognar sometimes worried Sado might be overlooked for the sort of recognition Indo has earned. The new restaurant is much larger with more employees, making it a challenge to present more complex dishes. "So, you know, I'm just happy that the hard work is kind of showing (up) at this point because there's a lot of people putting a lot into it tokeep it going," Bognar said. For the Post-Dispatch, this restaurant critic called Sado Essential, my highest rating. On November 28, another car caught fire in the temporarily occupied Mariupol. The cause of the fire is currently unknown. ADVERTISIMENT This was reported by the advisor to the mayor of Mariupol Petro Andriushchenko. At the same time, activists of the Ukrainian resistance hinted that the car was burning not as a result of an accident. "A car is on fire again in the central district of Mariupol. Mariupol Resistance has not commented yet. We are waiting for details and clarifications. An interesting version from the Russians," Andriushchenko noted. Meanwhile, the resistance activists ridiculed the constant attempts of the Russian invaders to hide the consequences of the liquidation of the occupiers and explain numerous explosions and fires by "domestic" causes. At the same time, the presence of the occupation army and FSB officers at the site of the next emergency negates these attempts. "We are waiting for the official version of the gas cylinder explosion. As for the military and FSB officers, it was just a coincidence, probably," the Mariupol Resistance sneers. ADVERTISIMENT Earlier, it became known that a 15-fold increase in the radiation background was recorded in occupied Mariupol. The invaders blamed the storm and assured that this level of radiation is supposedly absolutely safe for people. At the same time, they do not want to measure the radiation background in other parts of the city, in particular, at Azovstal, which the invaders mercilessly bombed. According to Petro Andriushchenko, an advisor to the mayor of Mariupol, this reluctance is explained by the fact that the occupiers suspect that such measurements would show impressive results. ADVERTISIMENT Back in 1954, just nine years out from the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japanese filmmaker Ishiro Honda and special effects designer Eiji Tsuburaya dreamed up a giant dinosaur-like creature that came from the depths of the ocean, mutated by nuclear radiation, a kaiju named Godzilla. The monster was a metaphor for Japanese atomic trauma, and the film, produced and distributed by Toho, was a hit, spawning the longest-running film franchise of all time. Some 70 years later, the 33rd Toho Godzilla film (the 37th in the franchise), Godzilla Minus One, written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki, brings Godzilla back to its Japanese roots (its the first Toho Godzilla film since 2016s Shin Godzilla), as well as its World War II roots. Taking place in the immediate post-war period in 1945, the film reckons with more than just the metaphorically monstrous nuclear fallout of the war, but also the devastatingly human emotional effects. When this monster surfaces, glowing neon blue from the nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll, it unearths all of the repressed shame and trauma of Japanese veterans, specifically a failed kamikaze pilot, Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki). Shikishima has already encountered Godzilla by the time the monster stomps its way into Tokyo. During his failed kamikaze flight, he stopped on Odo Island for assistance, where the mythical creature came ashore to wreak havoc. Having already fled his mission, Shikishima freezes in the face of this monster, failing to shoot it and unable to assist his new friends, the airplane mechanics, who perish in the attack. Two years later, Godzilla rears its head again from the ocean depths off Japan, mad as hell. Shikishima has now formed an unlikely family unit with Noriko (Minami Hamabe), and a young child, Akiko (Saki Nagatani) who was orphaned in the bombing of Tokyo. Hes been working with a crew to clear mines from the ocean floor, and they are conscripted into tangling with Godzilla, who has been chomping through heavy cruisers and blasting them with atomic heat rays, before heading to shore to wreck its way through a Tokyo still struggling to get back on its feet. The scrappy crew aboard this wooden boat will remind audiences of Jaws, as will the Japanese governments unwillingness to warn citizens about the impending threat, much like the mayor of Amity Island in Steven Spielbergs shark movie. There are also other references to Jaws, like the dead deep sea fish that bubble to the surface as a harbinger of Godzillas arrival, and Yamazaki has said that he was inspired by that film. Yamazakis script does reckon with the lasting effects of World War II in Japan, and while the nuclear mutation of Godzilla is part of the plot, the themes of Godzilla Minus One are focused more on the the Japanese government, including their failure to protect its citizens from this threat, as well as the oppressive imperial regime that pressured young men into suicide missions during the war. Its a group of private naval vets who end up taking on Godzilla not the government while Shikishima struggles with his own shame around failing as a kamikaze pilot, and failing to stop the monster back on Odo. Its not until he can fulfill his mission that he can be free of this shame, and it takes Godzillas destructive arrival to bring that into focus for him. Yamazakis take on Godzilla is classical, utilizing the giant kaiju as a metaphor for social commentary, and his aesthetic take is classical as well, combining a retro 1940s style with cutting-edge visual effects for one of the most striking Godzilla monsters weve seen in years. The way its craggy fins break the surface of the ocean is almost photo-realistic, and when Godzillas atomic-powered glowing spine bursts with power, its breathtakingly beautiful. While some of the emotional beats are a bit pat, the way Yamazaki grapples with some of the wider nuances of wartime trauma feels fresh and innovative, if not radical, proving that even after seven decades of wreckage, this iconic kaiju still has plenty of gas in the tank. GODZILLA MINUS ONE 3 stars (out of 4) MPA rating: PG-13 (for creature violence and action) Running time: 2:05 How to watch: In theaters Friday Joe Holleman Political correspondent/columnist Follow Joe Holleman Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today The U.S. beat the Soviets in space decades ago. But now, what about the Chinese? Thats the concern expressed recently by U.S. Sens. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., and Kyrsten Sinema, I-Arizona. The two high-ranking members of the Senates space and science subcommittee Sinema is the chair, Schmitt is the ranking Republican want federal regulators to step on the gas for approving commercial space launches. Last week, the senators argued that at the Federal Aviation Administrations current pace of approving such licenses, the U.S. could fall behind China in the new space race. In a letter, the two urged the FAA to eliminate bureaucratic red tape and adapt to keep pace with American innovation as well as adversarial threats in space. The FAA has already licensed 104 launches this year, compared to 26 launches in 2019, an FAA spokesperson said. It is no secret that the United States is in a space race with China, our chief economic and military adversary. Schmitt said in an interview with CNN. We cannot be our own worst enemy when it comes to beating China to the moon and Mars. Joe Holleman Political correspondent/columnist Follow Joe Holleman Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today St. Louis County Executive Sam Pages insistence on denying former Police Chief Tim Fitch part of his pension is going the cost the county more money. A lot more. Following a Missouri Court of Appeals recommendation, the county has agreed to settle a lawsuit with Fitch one that will significantly increase the final cost to the county. The settlement reached on Nov. 14 calls for the county to pay Fitch $339,000, the amount it owed him for the four years his pension was withheld. But the settlement also requires the county to pay Fitch about $105,000 in interest and about $160,000 for Fitchs legal fees. The county also will have to pay more than $17,000 in legal fees to outside counsel it hired to help handle the case. Doug Moore, a spokesperson for Page, declined to comment on the settlement. This was not the first time the county has come out on the wrong end of legal action on the issue. When Fitch, who spent 31 years with the county police department, was elected in 2019 to the County Council, then-County Executive Steve Stenger stopped Fitchs pension payments, about $85,000 a year. The countys argument was that because Fitch was an employee, through his election to the council, his pension should be suspended. In June 2022, a county circuit judge rejected the countys argument by ruling that the county retirement ordinances did not apply to elected officials. After the circuit court ruling in his favor, Fitch offered to settle with the county for just the money that had been withheld, about $260,000 at that time. We had an agreement; and Sam Page agreed to it, Fitch said. But shortly after winning the Democratic primary in August 2022, Dr. Page changed his mind and decided the county would appeal the ruling. So its dragged out ever since, and itll end up costing them about double what it would have, Fitch said. ST. LOUIS A former North County Police Cooperative officer charged with sexually assaulting more than a half-dozen people he arrested is now accused by federal prosecutors of covertly taking photos of people in public bathrooms. Authorities said they have identified at least 10 more victims. Marcellis Blackwell, 34, of St. Louis, is already facing 16 counts of the civil rights charge deprivation of rights under the color of law and five counts of altering records in a federal investigation. He was also charged in St. Louis County with arresting and sexually assaulting a handcuffed man near Normandy High School. And prosecutors said Monday that in addition to the covert photos and assault victims many of whom were taken to isolated areas before he turned off his body camera and abused them, according to charges prosecutors also found photos of dozens of drivers licenses and several high school IDs on Blackwells cellphone. The latest accusations were part of federal prosecutors argument on Monday that Blackwell should stay in jail until trial. He has not been charged in connection with the latest allegations. Blackwells lawyer opposed a federal judges earlier decision to keep Blackwell in jail, arguing Blackwell has no criminal history and has an incentive to show up to court dates because he has family in the St. Louis region. He has a stable residence in Illinois where he can live with his mother and be subject to monitoring while on pretrial release, the motion says. But in prosecutors counter to that argument, they noted that Blackwell took photos of private citizens who had not been arrested in a small elevator and public restrooms where he recorded men at urinals or in stalls from under a wall of an adjacent stall. Some of those photos were taken while he was on duty as a police officer. Blackwell also photographed about 120 personal IDs, mainly drivers licenses, and kept them on his phone along with pictures of several Normandy High School student ID cards, which contained their name, grade and a photograph, federal prosecutors said. Considering the data that (Blackwell) collected and retained and the knowledge that there are additional victims cooperating with continued investigation, the safety of the community in general, as well as specific individuals, is at risk should the defendant be released, the motion from Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Krug says. Beyond the photos, prosecutors also say Blackwell, a former trucker, has failed to appear for other court dates. He and his company, One Stop Transportation, were sued in 2016 after an insurance company said he sent a bad check and then failed to pay roughly $19,000 on a commercial insurance policy. He was ordered to pay that amount back in 2018. Three years later, when he applied for the police academy and later the North County Police Cooperative in north St. Louis County, he did not disclose the existence of One Stop Transportation nor the garnishment against him, prosecutors said. He still hasnt paid back the money. This indicates deceit and/or fraud by the defendant, Krug wrote. Blackwell had worked for the North County Police Cooperative, which polices eight small municipalities, for just over a year when he was charged with the assaults near Normandy High School. A judge will rule at a later date whether Blackwell should stay in jail until trial. The attorney in his federal case declined comment Monday. Blackwell is set to appear in St. Louis County court on Dec. 11. ST. LOUIS The Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council is suing St. Louis developer Paul McKee and affiliated companies to recover $1.8 million stemming from a 2020 loan the union made for the sputtering Greenleaf Market grocery store north of downtown. Its the latest lawsuit from the Chicago-based union organization to clean up the finances of the defunct St. Louis-Kansas City Carpenters Regional Council. The parent union, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, dissolved the St. Louis-based regional council without warning in late 2021, ousting leader Al Bond and putting its operations under Chicagos control. For McKee, the lawsuit is another setback for his ambitious plans to redevelop a large swath of north St. Louis. He owns hundreds of acres north of downtown and helped assemble the site for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agencys new western headquarters. But he has faced criticism from neighbors and officials for neglecting his vast holdings, and the handful of developments he has actually built, including the Greenleaf grocery and a yet-to-open urgent care center, have struggled. Only a gas station McKees companies built across from the grocery store appears to be operating regularly. In its lawsuit, filed in St. Louis County Circuit Court last week, Mid-America said the St. Louis-based council made a $1.5 million loan in January 2020 to McKee and St. Louis Grocery Group LLC. Also listed as borrowers were McKees wife, Marguerite, her trust and companies tied to the GreenLeaf project registered to Glenn Mitchell, the president of McKees M Property Services. Documents filed with the lawsuit say no payments have been made on the loan, which was due Jan. 31. As collateral for the loan, McKee pledged his interest in an OFallon, Mo., office building at 2342 Technology Drive. But in December 2020, Simmons Bank foreclosed on that building. McKees companies never informed the St. Louis council or obtained its consent to transfer the property, another breach of the loan agreement, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit also raises further questions about the St. Louis councils accounting under Bond, whom the United Brotherhood of Carpenters accused of misappropriating funds and defrauding the union. Bond disclosed in documents filed in unrelated litigation last year that he faced investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, though it is unclear if any investigation is ongoing. While the lawsuit says no payments had been made on the loan, documents filed with the Office of Labor Management Standards record a $424,000 payment on the loan sometime before July 2020, reducing the balance to a little under $1.1 million. Yet after Mid-America took over, the loan balance reported on union disclosure forms increased to nearly $1.5 million and has remained at that amount as recently as June 30. Mid-America, in its lawsuit, now says McKee and the other borrowers owe more than $1.8 million on the GreenLeaf loan. Lawyers for the Mid-America did not respond to questions about the loan balance discrepancies. GreenLeaf Market opened in April 2019 to much fanfare, including an appearance by McKee ally and former U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay. But more recently, it has stopped stocking shelves, its hours are irregular and the stores parking lot is mostly empty. Under Bonds leadership, the St. Louis council made loans to area developments to support construction projects that employed its members. But the loan to GreenLeaf was made after construction on the store had been complete for over six months. A lawyer for McKee previously said the financing was used to support the startup of the stores operations. In a statement Tuesday, McKee lawyer Joseph Dulle said McKees companies and the carpenters union have had a long and productive relationship that has created unprecedented man hours for union members. Operating urban grocery stores is a difficult business, he wrote, and the pandemic and high food costs have placed additional burdens on the store. But he said GreenLeaf is ramping up operations and expects the 2025 opening of the NGA to provide a major boost. St. Louis Grocery Group representatives had been in extended discussions with the attorney for the Carpenters and were under the impression that an extension of the loan was in the works, Dulle wrote. In light of past discussions with the Carpenters regarding other recently renewed loan facilities, we are confident that an accommodation can be reached in this matter. The grocery loan wasnt the only one the St. Louis council made to McKee. The developers NorthSide Urgent Care LLC the company behind the yet-to-open 3-bed hospital on North Jefferson Avenue branded as the Homer G. Phillips Memorial Hospital owes nearly $3 million on a loan the council first made while Bond was still its leader. That loan matures in September 2025. The two loans to McKee projects are by far the largest in the Mid-America Carpenters Regional Councils portfolio. Mid-America also is in litigation over a $4 million billboard advertising deal Bond inked with two companies owned by James Neumann, who lawyers for the union say had a close personal relationship with Bond. Hannah Wyman of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report. ST. LOUIS Harris-Stowe State University, which for decades produced most of the teachers in St. Louis, has failed to meet standards for training new teachers and risks losing accreditation with the state education department. The university was the only educator preparation program out of 43 statewide to receive a letter of noncompliance this month from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Leaders in the Harris-Stowe College of Education failed to submit the number of education majors who enrolled and completed the program in 2023 as required for its annual performance review, according to the Nov. 6 letter from the state. Harris-Stowe awarded 24 bachelors degrees in education in 2022, federal data show, enough to fill fewer than 20% of the teaching vacancies in St. Louis Public Schools. The Missouri State Board of Education will consider Harris-Stowes accreditation status at its February meeting, the letter states. A statement released by Harris-Stowe on Monday said, a proactive plan is outlined to prevent similar oversights in the future, illustrating the institutions commitment to timely addressing and averting such issues. The setback is the latest in a long series of troubles for the historically Black public university. One year ago, the Higher Learning Commission placed Harris-Stowe on notice for being at risk of falling out of compliance with accreditation requirements. The university was ordered to correct the issues by February 2024 before a follow-up visit from the accrediting body in the spring. The commission found fault in several components of its accreditation criteria, including a late audit of fiscal year 2021, inadequate tracking of student academic outcomes and a lack of strategies to improve retention and graduation rates. Harris-Stowe is the only school on notice out of 109 Missouri colleges rated by the commission and one of only three in the country along with Morton College outside Chicago and Wilberforce University in Ohio. Of the eight campuses nationwide on probation, a higher-level sanction, one is in Missouri Hannibal-LaGrange University. A 2019 state audit of Harris-Stowe found several areas of concern including a lack of oversight of payroll and accounting systems and violations of Missouris Sunshine Law for public transparency. Last year, university President LaTonia Collins Smith called the past few years an unusual time for the school with three presidents and one interim president overseeing the campus along with challenges related to the pandemic. Enrollment has fallen by one-third since the pandemic started down to 1,084 students last year from 1,630 students in fall of 2019. All of the universitys students receive financial aid to help cover the $6,000 annual tuition. Harris-Stowes graduation rate of 20% in six years is among the lowest in the country. Collins Smith, who was named president in March 2022, said the university made a hard reset by hiring new chief financial and academic officers, appointing a new comptroller and compliance officer along with refining the oversight procedures. Harris-Stowes origins started in the 19th century as separate colleges to train white and Black teachers for St. Louis Public Schools. Prospective white teachers attended Harris Teachers College, and prospective Black teachers attended Stowe Teachers College, an extension of Sumner High School. The St. Louis school board merged the two colleges in 1954 as part of the effort to integrate public education in the city. For decades, most SLPS teachers came from Harris-Stowe. Harris-Stowe College became part of the state system of higher education in 1979. The renamed Harris-Stowe State College expanded beyond education majors in 1993 and gained status as a university in 2005. Education is now one of the universitys less popular majors, behind biology, business, criminal justice, liberal arts and social sciences. JEFFERSON CITY A state lawmaker is asking her Republican colleagues to sign a letter calling on Gov. Mike Parson to ban Palestinian refugees from being allowed to settle in Missouri. Rep. Chris Dinkins, R-Lesterville, who is running for a Senate seat representing a swath of southeast Missouri, said on social media Monday that she is concerned that the safety of Missourians would be compromised if individuals from the war-torn Gaza Strip in Israel were allowed in the U.S. This week I will be issuing my letter to #mogov @mikeparson. I am asking for my Republican Colleagues in the Missouri Legislature to join me in calling for Governor Parson to proactively prohibit the resettlement of any Palestinian refugees from Gaza in our state. #moleg #mosen pic.twitter.com/eaFp9QrOcO Chris Dinkins (@ChrisDinkinsMO) November 27, 2023 I lack faith in the Biden (administration) to properly vet refugees from Gaza to ensure we are not brin(g)ing a terrorist threat to American soil. We must clearly say we will not accept any Gaza refugees under any circumstance, wrote Dinkins, who was elected to the House in 2018. Parsons office did not have an immediate response to the maneuver, which has become a talking point for Republicans running for president. Former President Donald Trump, for example, has suggested that a surge of civilian refugees could allow extremists into the country. But U.S. law and the Department of Homeland Securitys screening process makes such an onslaught unlikely. Of an estimated 60,000 refugees admitted into the U.S. during the last fiscal year, only 56 came from Palestinian territories. Dinkins missive was met with skepticism from Democrats. Rep. Keri Ingle, D-Kansas City, asked on social media, WWJD, shorthand for What would Jesus do? Ray Reed, a Democrat running for a seat in St. Louis County, said Missouri should be welcoming to those seeking refuge. Palestinian refugees bring cultural diversity that enriches our communities and contributes to our economic growth through their skills and talents, Reed said on X, formerly Twitter. The proposal could be among a slew of legislation filed this year focusing on alleged threats to Missouri by foreign entities. House and Senate leaders are planning to push for a ban on Chinese ownership of farmland, while Missouri Treasurer Vivek Malek has sought to limit investments in China from being part of the states pension programs. ST. LOUIS In a laboratory at Washington University, guinea pigs in one room breathed filtered air. A second test room was open to the city atmosphere. The year was 1932. Eighteen months later, the filtered room was home to twice as many critters as the other. Id see these little shavers get the sniffles and then flicker out, Dr. Lee Wallace Dean, a research physician, said of the unprotected population. The killer was the coal-smoke pollution that smothered St. Louis every winter. Factories, locomotives and homes burned sooty, high-sulphur soft coal from mines in Southern Illinois. It was cheap and plentiful, but it belched thick, choking smoke. It darkened daytime and covered everything with black dust. St. Louisans had grumbled about it since at least the 1820s. The city adopted its first smoke ordinance in 1867, but pollution grew with the city. By the 1930s, national studies called St. Louis air the nations worst. In 1936, the St. Louis grand jury called the city a nose and throat doctors paradise. Five years later, the air was much clearer. How that happened is one of this communitys signal achievements. It required battling entrenched household habits and major interests from business and labor. And it took an infamously nasty day to force change. The solution was to greatly reduce the use of Illinois coal. The St. Louis Smoke Abatement League, a reform organization, proposed the idea in 1933. Coal interests howled, arguing for 25,000 miners and 15,000 distributors. The Coal Exchange of St. Louis urged people to install more efficient furnaces. There was serious talk of building neighborhood power plants to provide steam for houses, much like the steam loop that still heats many downtown buildings. In 1937, the Board of Aldermen voted to require that low-quality coal be washed, an expensive process that smaller mines couldnt afford. It didnt work. Dealers kept slipping across the Mississippi River bridges with dirty coal. Then the city required them to sell smaller chunks. Coal interests opposed that, too. Then came Nov. 28, 1939, or Black Tuesday the ninth day of thick smoke with a winter season barely begun. Bright sunshine illuminated the suburbs. East of Kingshighway, motorists used headlights to inch through haze. Trains ran late. Street lights stayed on, glowing dimly. This time, it was the gasping citizenry that howled. Mayor Bernard F. Dickmann created a special Smoke Elimination Committee, including Raymond R. Tucker, an engineer and the citys dogged smoke commissioner. Three months later, the committee recommended that all customers, big and small, install efficient and expensive mechanical fireboxes or use anthracite high-quality hard coal. On April 8, 1940, aldermen adopted the plan 28-1 after endorsing, then rejecting, a last-minute exemption for railroads. About 250 angry coal dealers heckled from the gallery during the vote. The city helped arrange shipments of hard coal from Arkansas for the next winter. Illinois communities talked of boycotting St. Louis-made products. City smoke inspectors hunted bootleg coal dealers in alleys. But changing fuel did the job. For winter 1940-41, the Weather Service reported seven bad smoke days compared to 30 the year before. Railroads bought diesel engines. Homes and businesses switched to natural gas. In five years, the city cut coal smoke by 75 percent. Raymond Tucker, dogged smoke-pollution fighter Raymond R. Tucker was teaching mechanical engineering at Washington University when he became secretary to Mayor Bernard F. Dickmann in 1934. Three years later, he helped write the city's first major coal-smoke ordinance, which created a powerful new job of smoke commissioner. Nobody wanted it. The word around engineering circles was that the political headaches weren't worth the $6,000 salary. Tucker already made that as mayor's secretary. Dickmann talked him into taking the job, even though the ordinance wouldn't allow for a raise. Tucker jumped into it with determination and an engineer's eye for detail. He soon concluded that the problem was the fuel, not how it was burned. He backed the call for banning low-quality coal Illinois coal except in furnaces with automatic stokers, an expensive proposition that made the cheap coal impractical for most customers. He was Dickmann's expert when the mayor persuaded the aldermen to adopt that key reform in 1940. Tucker returned to the university in 1942 and later served as city civil defense director for two years until 1953, when he ran for mayor. He was re-elected twice, becoming the city's second three-term mayor, but lost his bid for a fourth term to Alfonso J. Cervantes in 1965. Later on, Tucker was fond of saying that the job of smoke commissioner was tougher than being mayor. He died in 1970 at age 73. Newspaper wins Pulitzer Prize for smoke reporting On Nov. 26, 1939, the Post-Dispatch ran a lead editorial of about 1,400 words under the headline, "An Approach to the Smoke Problem." It called for a community-wide effort to solve "the evil that is ruining our city." Two days later became known as Black Tuesday, when the blanket of coal smoke covering the city was so thick that motorists and streetcar operators had trouble seeing where they were. Mayor Bernard F. Dickmann later said the fortuitously timed editorial "gave the opportunity we were looking for" in enacting needed reform. The newspaper covered the issue with nearly daily articles, features and photographs nothing flashy, just thorough journalism. The staff effort earned the Post-Dispatch the 1941 Pulitzer Prize for public service. CLAYTON A man who killed his 16-year-old high school classmate during a confrontation in a Normandy neighborhood over a borrowed gun was sentenced Monday to 24 years in prison. A jury found Korrie D. Black Jr., 23, guilty of second-degree murder and armed criminal action in September for the 2018 killing of Gerrian Jerrod Green Jr. The two had been friends and classmates at McCluer South-Berkeley High School, where Gerrian was a junior and Black, 18 at the time of the shooting, was a senior. Black was originally charged with first-degree murder in the case, but the jury convicted him of the lesser offense of second-degree murder. The more serious charge requires prosecutors to prove a killing stemmed from deliberation and cool reflection. Prosecutors argued during the trial that the older teen borrowed a gun from Gerrian, refused to return it, then shot Gerrian when the 16-year-old angrily confronted him asking for the gun back. Black testified in his own defense during the trial, claiming he was scared for his life after Gerrian threatened him. The shooting happened about 1:30 p.m. Nov. 24, 2018, when Black arrived at a home in the 5800 block of Bermuda Drive to find Gerrian and Gerrians younger sister there waiting for him. Gerrians younger sister was 15 when she witnessed her brothers killing and testified during the trial, acting out the distance between the shooter and her brother. I hope this sentence brings some closure to the victims family, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell said in a written statement Tuesday. And I pray that our community especially our young people stop escalating arguments into violence. We have had enough senseless murders. Gerrians mother, Talisa Townsend, told the Post-Dispatch in 2018 that Black had referred to her son as his brother and called her Ma. Why did you shoot my baby and keep shooting him? she asked during a vigil after the death. He loved you. TEL AVIV, Israel Israel and Hamas agreed to extend their cease-fire for two more days Monday, raising the prospect of further exchanges of militant-held hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel and a longer halt to their deadliest and most destructive war. Eleven Israeli women and children, freed by Hamas, entered Israel Monday night in the fourth swap under the original four-day truce, which began Friday and was due to run out. Thirty-three Palestinian prisoners released by Israel arrived early Tuesday in east Jerusalem and the West Bank town of Ramallah. The prisoners were greeted by loud cheers as their bus made its way through the streets of Ramallah. The deal for two additional days of cease-fire, announced by Qatar, raises hopes for further extensions, which also allow more aid into Gaza. Conditions there remained dire for 2.3 million Palestinians, battered by weeks of Israeli bombardment and a ground offensive that drove three-quarters of the population from their homes. Israel says it would extend the cease-fire by one day for every 10 additional hostages released. After the announcement by Qatar a key mediator in the conflict, along with the United States and Egypt Hamas confirmed it had agreed to a two-day extension "under the same terms." But Israel says it remains committed to crushing Hamas' military capabilities and ending its 16-year rule over Gaza after its Oct. 7 attack into southern Israel. That would likely mean expanding a ground offensive from devastated northern Gaza to the south. Monday's releases bring to 51 the number of Israelis freed under the truce, along with 19 hostages of other nationalities. So far, 150 Palestinians have been released from Israeli prisons. "We can get all hostages back home. We have to keep pushing," two relatives of Abigail Edan, a 4-year-old girl and dual Israeli-American citizen who was released Sunday, said in a statement. Hamas and other militants could still be holding up to 175 hostages, enough to potentially extend the cease-fire for 2 weeks. But those include a number of soldiers, and Hamas is likely to make much greater demands for their release. Fourth release The newly released hostages included three women and nine children including 3-year-old twin girls and their mother from the kibbutz Nir Oz, a community near Gaza that was hard hit in Hamas' Oct. 7 attack. The kibbutz said 49 of its residents remain in captivity, including the father of the twins. The Israeli military said late Monday that the hostages were undergoing initial medical checks in Israel before being reunited with their families. So far, 19 people of other nationalities have been freed during the truce, mostly Thai nationals. Many Thais work in Israel, largely as farm laborers. The Palestinian prisoners released so far have been mostly teenagers accused of throwing stones and firebombs during confrontations with Israeli forces, or of less-serious offenses. Many Palestinians view prisoners held by Israel, including those implicated in attacks, as heroes resisting occupation. Respite in Gaza More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, roughly two-thirds of them women and minors, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. More than 1,200 people were killed on the Israeli side, mostly civilians killed in the initial attack. At least 77 soldiers have been killed in Israel's ground offensive, Israeli officials say. The calm from the truce allowed glimpses of the destruction wreaked by weeks of Israeli bombardment that leveled entire neighborhoods. Footage showed a complex of several dozen multistory residential buildings that were pummeled into a landscape of wreckage in the northern town of Beit Hanoun. Almost every building was destroyed or severely damaged, some reduced to concrete frames half-slumped over. At a nearby U.N. school, the buildings were intact but partially burned and riddled with holes. The Israeli assault drove three-quarters of Gaza's population from their homes, and now most of its 2.3 million people are crowded into the south. More than 1 million are living in U.N. shelters. The Israeli military barred hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled south from returning north. Rain and wind added to the hardship of displaced Palestinians sheltering in the compound of Al-Aqsa hospital in central Gaza. Alaa Mansour said the conditions are simply horrendous. "My clothes are all wet, and I am unable to change them," said Mansour, who is disabled. "I have not drunk water for two days, and there's no bathroom to use." The U.N. said the truce made it possible to scale up the delivery of food, water and medicine to the largest volume since the start of the war. But the 160 to 200 trucks a day is still less than half what Gaza imported before the fighting, even as humanitarian needs soared. Long lines formed outside stations distributing cooking fuel, allowed in for the first time. Fuel for generators has been brought for key service providers, including hospitals and water and sanitation facilities, but bakeries have been unable to resume work, the U.N. said. Iyad Ghafary, a vendor in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, said many families were still unable to retrieve the dead from under the rubble left by Israeli airstrikes, and that local authorities weren't equipped to deal with the level of destruction. On the night of November 28, the aggressor country Russia attacked Khmelnytsky region with Shahed drones, among other things. The defenders of the sky practiced on enemy targets: The UAV was shot down, but its wreckage caused damage. ADVERTISIMENT Fortunately, there were no casualties. This was reported by the first deputy head of the Khmelnytsky regional military administration, Serhiy Tyurin. The morning Russian air attack on the region lasted almost an hour and a half: the alert was announced from 04:42 to 06:07 on Tuesday. The air force warned of enemy kamikaze drones moving toward Starokostiantyniv. A representative of the regional military administration noted that air defense forces repelled the attack. As a result of the downing of the attack UAV, the debris fell on the roof of a private house in Khmelnytsky district. No fire broke out at the scene, and no one was injured. All relevant services were working there. "We thank the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the reliable defense of the sky over Khmelnytsky region," Tyurin added. As reported by OBOZ.UA, during the Russian drone attack on Ukraine on November 22, the wreckage of the Shahed caused a fire in Khmelnytsky region. After the drone was shot down in the sky, its remains fell on a non-residential outbuilding - there were no casualties. ADVERTISIMENT Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! ST. LOUIS (AP) Authorities allege that a former suburban St. Louis police officer who is charged with sexually assaulting several arrestees also covertly took photos of people in public bathrooms. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that 34-year-old Marcellis Blackwell, of St. Louis, is not charged with the latest allegation. But federal prosecutors discussed the covert photographing allegation Monday in seeking to have him remain jailed until his trial. Blackwell had worked for the North County Police Cooperative, which polices eight small municipalities, for just over a year when he was charged with taking some people he arrested to isolated areas before he turned off his body camera and abused them. He faces 16 counts of deprivation of rights and five counts of altering records in a federal investigation. He was also charged in St. Louis County with arresting and sexually assaulting a handcuffed man near Normandy High School. His lawyer argues that Blackwell has no criminal history and has an incentive to show up to court dates because he has family in the St. Louis region. Prosecutors countered that Blackwell poses a safety concern if released. They alleged that he recorded men at urinals or in stalls from under a wall of an adjacent stall. They said some of those photos were taken while he was on duty as a police officer. Blackwell also photographed about 120 personal IDs, mainly drivers licenses, and kept them on his phone along with pictures of several Normandy High School student ID cards, federal prosecutors said. A judge will rule at a later date if Blackwell should stay in jail until trial. AWM Secures More Victories in USPTO Rulings SOLANA BEACH, CA / ACCCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / American Wave Machines, Inc. (AWM) announced that AWM patents challenged by WhiteWater West Industries, Ltd. (WW), a waterpark attraction supplier and promoter of Endless Surf, have been reviewed and validated by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Prior to this ruling, in a victory for AWM, the USPTO had declined a request made by WW to challenge additional patents. In summary, to date, three of the four patents challenged by WW have been confirmed in their entirety, and one patent retains a majority of patentable claims. These latest decisions further strengthen AWM's sole ownership in sequence-based pneumatic surf technology, trademarked as PerfectSwell. The patents have related foreign counterparts in Canada, Germany, France, Spain, and the UK. AWM owns an extensive and growing patent portfolio protecting PerfectSwell Technology as seen here in Brazil where PerfectSwell is the anchor in a multi-use real estate development partnering with JHSF. The Law Office of Manuel de la Cerra prosecuted AWM's patents. Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP, a global law firm, acted as AWM's legal counsel in the IPR proceedings and its commercialization efforts as AWM continues its rapid expansion of the PerfectSwell global network, most recently in the US, Brazil, Portugal, Australia, and Japan. "The company's continuing innovations and significant investment in acquiring and defending patents secures the value of PerfectSwell destinations for AWM and our business partners, protecting all stakeholders from unfair competition," said Bruce McFarland, Founder of AWM. "The PerfectSwell brand is fueled by patented innovations covering all aspects of pneumatic surf generating, wave designing, damping, machinery and surf pool shapes." "Sequencing is the secret sauce, that's why we patented it. The victory means the PerfectSwell style of sequenced peeling waves, like the A-Frame", Point Break", Split Peak" and others remain covered by AWM's patents," said William McFarland, Business Development Manager at AWM. "The company will continue to push forward new ideas and innovation as we launch PerfectSwell surf destinations." About American Wave Machines American Wave Machines, Inc. is the inventor and developer of PerfectSwell surf technology. AWM develops world-class surf facility destinations backed by proven financials and stoked surfers. PerfectSwell is the only sequence-based pneumatic surf technology on the market protected by over 50 patents worldwide. Since 2007, over 4,000,000 surf sessions have been enjoyed at American Wave Machines locations around the globe. About Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP With partners and other advisors in over 31a offices across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, including in all major money centers, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP is a fully integrated global law firm that provides clients with connected legal advice, wherever and whenever they need it. Thaae firm is known for its relationship-driven, collaborative culture, diverse legal experience and induastry-shaping innovation and offers clients one of the most active M&A, real estate, financial services, litigation, and corporate risk practices in the world. About Manuel de la Cerra Manuel de la Cerra is a MIT and Stanford trained patent attorney with over 25 years of legal experience. Mr. de la Cerra understands highly sophisticated intellectual property and provides his clients with the highest level of representation. He has worked as an attorney at major law firms renowned for their specialty in intellectual property, and has in-house experience, heading the intellectual property litigation team of a large multinational electronics corporation. Contact: Manuel de la Cerra [email protected] SOURCE: American Wave Machines, Inc. View source version on accesswire.com: NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / CNH Industrial In September, CNH Industrial proudly collaborated with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in launching the first-ever Global Conference on Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization. The United Nations' (UN) FAO marks its first high-level institutional event on the topic with the Global Conference on Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization (GAMC). The opening ceremony of this significant occasion was presided over by Qu Dongyu, Director-General of the FAO. At the event, Gilles Mayer, New Holland (a brand of CNH) Global Head of Tractors for Alternative Fuels, highlighted the ways in which our industry is innovating to enable farmers to contribute positively to the environment. This includes the development of technologies for the use of biomethane and electric propulsion in agriculture, as well as precision farming technology. With this Global Conference, in collaboration with the FAO and UN, CNH maintains its commitment to providing solutions for a diverse range of farming equipment needs worldwide, and its dedication to creating a more sustainable future for farming. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from CNH Industrial on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: CNH Industrial Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/cnh-industrial Email: [email protected] SOURCE: CNH Industrial View source version on accesswire.com: ARLINGTON, VI / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / The Department of Financial Transactions, a regulatory body for overseeing financial transactions, has announced its services to safeguard the interests of all entities involved. The department's primary focus remains the disclosure of relevant information, enforcement of registration laws, and safeguarding of all parties associated with the transactions. With the recent progress, Department of Financial Transactions has maintained a comprehensive data bank of resources and valuable information and actively participates in providing relevant data when applicable. Department of Financial Transactions provides facilities for regulating financial services and overseeing the transfer of funds between financial firms, investors, and customers. With a directive to regulate, control, and enforce federal securities regulations, the department is deeply involved in corporate filings, documentation, and administration procedures. The company is committed to adopting changes in applicable regulations and rules, particularly those concerning shareholder transfers. Department of Financial Transactions works to improve corporate governance and promote good business practices, emphasizing the importance of parameters in facilitating these transfers. Department of Financial Transactions has announced its multifaceted approach that includes planning, security, and information protection. Planning: Department of Financial Transactions bolsters comprehensive coverage by maintaining a data bank of resources, valuable information, and consumer guidance for licensed money transmitters. Security: Drawing parallels with risk management strategies implemented to protect investments, Department of Financial Transactions advocates for strategies to protect all stakeholders involved in financial transactions. Information: As part of its commitment to consumer protection, Department of Financial Transactions actively handles consumer complaints and information requests related to the industries it regulates. Department of Financial Transactions is the primary regulator when it is time for filing of release funds in the mergers and acquisitions industry. For more information about Department of Financial Transactions and its services, please visit their website. About Department of Financial Transactions: Department of Financial Transactions' main priority is the establishment of governmental oversight and disclosure of pertinent information, policing registration laws, and keeping safe everybody that is involved and deals with the parties and entities involved. Their aim is to make sure that participants and their clients are fully aware of the legality of their actions and to be capricious in their dealings. Media Contact Organization: Department of Financial Transactions Contact Person: Joseph B. Burris Website: http://www.doft.us Email: [email protected] City: Arlington State: Virginia Country: United States SOURCE: Department of Financial Transactions View source version on accesswire.com: VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / Fabled Copper Corp. ("Fabled Copper" or the "Company") (CNSX:FABL)(FRA:XZ7) announces that it has received its Mines Act Permit which entitles the Company to drill from 15 drill stations over a period of 2 years on the Muskwa Copper Project. The Muskwa Project is comprised of the Neil Property, the Toro Property and the Bronson Property located in northern British Columbia. The Neil Property area was granted the drilling permit and in particular the Davis Keays Eagle Vein area is the Company's first priority interest. See Figure 1 below. Figure 1 - Location Map Peter Hawley, President, CEO reports; "We at Fabled Copper Corp. are very excited to finally receive our long-awaited drill permit. Subject to funding being available, the Company wishes to embark on a helicopter supported diamond drill program consisting of 3,000 - 5,000 meters on the First Priority Davis Keays Eagle Vein. This will be the first ever surface drilling of the Eagle Vein area known. As outlined below and through detailed cutting-edge technology we believe the question is not if we will intercept the Eagle vein given our target accuracy is 3 cms BUT how many copper bearing veins will we intercept before hitting the Eagle Vein. Not only is the potential upside redefining the Eagle vein ore body but also evaluating the Eagle vein below the current 5,800 level and the potential of the parallel veins sets evaluated during the 2022 work program." Background A May 1990 Feasibility Report to the Davis Keays Mining Co. ("David Keays") outlined a 6 year, 365,000 tons / year mining life of the Eagle Vein based on $0.60 per pound copper. To support their findings, over period of 3 months, 8 feet high by 9 feet wide adits were driven by Davis Keays into the mountain on the Eagle vein on the 7,300 level, 6,950 level and 6,400 levels, and at every 300 foot centers 110-120 foot cross cuts were excavated for underground diamond drilling where the area was drilled above and below the levels. In addition, all the entire excavated underground workings were mapped and vein chip sampled at 10 foot intervals and whereever the vein went into the wall, sampled with a test hole. Based on these findings the Feasibility Report outlines Proven Reserves of 1,007,360 tons grading 3.56% copper, *Probable Reserves of 562,320 tons grading 3.18% copper and Possible Reserves grading 3.18% copper. As mentioned in the report, "these Reserves are to the 5,800 foot level only but there is no geological reason to expect the vein the terminate at this level. There are excellent possibilities of extending these Reserves, through a continuing of exploration and development to depth on the Eagle Vein and other known veins as well. Shortly thereafter, and as a result of the development work post Feasibility Study, the 5,800 level was developed. See the Company's press release dated September 28, 2022 to view the entrances of 6400 and 5800 adit portals. The work carried out under the 1990 Feasibility Report was not carried out or reported using current categories of Mineral Resources or Mineral Reserves under NI 43-101. A Qualified Person has not done sufficient work to classify the abovementioned historical estimate as a current resource. The Company is not treating the historical estimate as a current resource. The Company's proposed 2024 drill program will seek to begin the process of verifying the historical estimate and exploring the Eagle Vein below the 5,800 level. Fabled Copper's 2022 work on Eagle Vein Area Below is a summary of the results of Fabled Copper's work on the Eagle Vein undertaken in the summer of 2022. The below dates reference the dates of the Company's press releases in which readers can find further information. April 27, 2022 - Fabled Copper Corp Reports on the Davis Keays UAV Drone Mission Survey "16 terrain - following missions were completed over the area with 3-23 cm resolution and grade accuracy of 1-3 cm." May 4, 2022 - Fabled Copper Reports on Davis Keays Eagle Vein Area with 6 Additional Parallel Veins discovered and Values as high as 6.73% May 11, 2022 - Surface Geophysics outlines Parallel EM Conductor to the Eagle Vein at Davis Keays. Detailed ground VLF - Electromagnetics and Total Field Magnetics. A strong parallel EM conductor was delineated 160 meters northwest of the Eagle Vein." May 25, 2022 - Underground Inspection of Eagle Vein does not disappoint. June 1, 2022 - Interpretation of Davis Keays Eagle Vein Area Defined Three Structural Corridors. One of which corresponds to the Eagle Vein with at least 5 additional vein sets in addition to the eagle vein and all having the same attitude. September 28, 2022 - Fabled Secures Underground Portals. October 12, 2022 - Fabled Presents Preliminary Underground LiDAR Survey Findings. 913.93 meters of the 6,400 foot level of the Eagle Vein was surveyed with a maximum error of 3.61 cm and clearly outlines the copper mineralization and veining." The Company will provide details of the proposed 2024 drill program, which is dependent upon securing additional financing, in due course. As always Fabled Copper acknowledges that the Muskwa project occurred on lands and in watersheds of importance to Kaska, Fort Nelson First Nation, and Treaty 8 Nations. We are honored to share responsibility for the stewardship of these places. About Fabled Copper Corp. Fabled is a junior mining exploration company. Its current focus is to creating value for stakeholders through the exploration and development of its existing drill ready copper properties located in northern British Columbia. The Company's current property package consists of the Muskwa Project and the Bronson Property and comprises approximately 16,219 hectares in three non-contiguous blocks and located in the Liard Mining Division in northern British Columbia. Mr. Peter J. Hawley, President and C.E.O. Fabled Copper Corp. Phone: (819) 316-0919 [email protected] For further information please contact: [email protected] The technical information contained in this news release has been approved by Peter J. Hawley, P.Geo. President and C.E.O. of Fabled, who is a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. The Canadian Securities Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Certain statements contained in this news release constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is used in applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information is based on plans, expectations and estimates of management at the date the information is provided and is subject to certain factors and assumptions, including, that the Company's financial condition and development plans do not change as a result of unforeseen events and that the Company obtains any required regulatory approvals. Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause plans, estimates and actual results to vary materially from those projected in such forward-looking information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: impacts from the coronavirus or other epidemics, general economic conditions in Canada, the United States and globally; industry conditions, including fluctuations in commodity prices; governmental regulation of the mining industry, including environmental regulation; geological, technical and drilling problems; unanticipated operating events; competition for and/or inability to retain drilling rigs and other services; the availability of capital on acceptable terms; the need to obtain required approvals from regulatory authorities; stock market volatility; volatility in market prices for commodities; liabilities inherent in mining operations; changes in tax laws and incentive programs relating to the mining industry; as well as the other risks and uncertainties applicable to the Company as set forth in the Company's continuous disclosure filings filed under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com . The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, other than as required by applicable law. SOURCE: Fabled Copper Corp. View source version on accesswire.com: VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 /Gold Terra Resource Corp. (TSX-V:YGT)(Frankfurt:TX0)(OTCQX:YGTFF) ("Gold Terra" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that Gold Terra has received the 2023 Mining and Exploration (MAX) Award for Environmental, Social & Governance in the Northwest Territories, Canada. Gold Terra is committed to ESG, sustainability and engaging with local communities as they continue to explore for high-grade gold on their district scale project adjacent to the City of Yellowknife. The 2023 Mining and Exploration (MAX) awards were presented to recipients at a banquet on November 16, held during the annual Yellowknife Geoscience Forum. The Max Awards celebrate Mining and Exploration Excellence in NWT. The NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines presented Gold Terra Resources, and four other companies, Ekati, Diavik and Gahcho Ku Diamond mines, and Pine Point Mining for "their unflinching and significant contributions to support emergency efforts during the unprecedented wildfire emergency the NWT experienced. Whether it was major cash donations to emergency relief organizations, devoting staff to assist with wildfire support, or pitching in to ensure shelves didn't go empty in communities, the recipients demonstrated their commitment to NWT residents and communities." (please see Nov 21, 2023 Chamber of Mines press release). Diavik, Gahcho Kue, Gold Terra, Pine Point and Ekati mine representatives receive the Environmental, Social & Governance award from the Chamber of Mines' President Kenny Ruptash. About Gold Terra The Yellowknife Project (YP) encompasses 918 sq. km of contiguous land immediately north, south and east of the City of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories. Through a series of acquisitions, Gold Terra controls one of the six major high-grade gold camps in Canada. Being within 10 kilometres of the City of Yellowknife, the YP is close to vital infrastructure, including all-season roads, air transportation, service providers, hydro-electric power, and skilled tradespeople. Gold Terra is currently focusing its drilling on the prolific Campbell Shear, where 14 Moz of gold has been produced, and most recently on the Con Mine Option (CMO) property claims immediately south of the past producing Con Mine which produced 6.1 Moz between the Con, Rycon, and Campbell shear structures (1938-2003). The YP and CMO properties lie on the prolific Yellowknife greenstone belt, covering nearly 70 kilometres of strike length along the main mineralized shear system that hosts the former-producing high-grade Con and Giant gold mines. The Company's exploration programs have successfully identified significant zones of gold mineralization and multiple targets that remain to be tested which reinforces the Company's objective of re-establishing Yellowknife as one of the premier gold mining districts in Canada. Visit our website at www.goldterracorp.com. For more information, please contact: Gerald Panneton, Chairman & CEO [email protected] Mara Strazdins, Investor Relations Phone: 1-778-897-1590 | 604-689-1749 ext 102 [email protected] Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE: Gold Terra Resource Corp View source version on accesswire.com: NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / American Airlines On Giving Tuesday, American Airlines is reminding customers and our team members of the many opportunities to participate in the airline's charitable giving programs. Together, we give back by volunteering time and contributing miles and money to organizations that benefit those in need. "Caring for people is at the foundation of everything we do at American, and we're proud to use the resources of our global airline to give back year-round," said Ron DeFeo, American's Chief Communications and Marketing Officer. "In the spirit of Giving Tuesday, we encourage our generous customers to join in with our team in making the world a better place. It's amazing to see what we can accomplish together." Give time More than 300 American team members recently distributed holiday meals and other groceries to 6,000 North Texas families at this year's Thanksgiving Mega Mobile Market. The airline teamed up with the Tarrant Area Food Bank and Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic for the third year to spread holiday cheer and put food on the tables of local families in need. Give miles American Airlines AAdvantage miles can make all the difference to organizations that depend on air travel. American donated 50 million miles to Make-A-Wish this year to ensure the organization can continue granting wishes to children with critical illnesses. Customers can donate miles to support American's nonprofit partners through Miles for Social Good, Miles for Global Health and Well-Being, Miles for Heroes and Miles for our Planet. Give money When disaster strikes, American provides relief efforts through our partnership with the Red Cross. Donations through the site help to provide relief and hope during hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and other disasters. The airline has raised $1.8 million this year for disaster relief by activating its Red Cross site in times of great need. A donation to Stand Up to Cancer will earn you 10 bonus AAdvantage miles for every dollar you give on a donation of $25 or more. Through this year's annual fundraising campaign, American raised nearly $4 million for innovative and life-saving cancer research. The American Airlines Family Fund helps American team members who are facing financial hardship after a natural disaster or an unforeseen catastrophic situation. Already this year, the Family Fund has provided a record-breaking $1 million in grants to colleagues in need, including team members grappling with the recent wildfires in Maui. Learn more about American's charitable giving at www.aa.com/letgoodtakeflight. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from American Airlines on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: American Airlines Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/american-airlines Email: [email protected] SOURCE: American Airlines View source version on accesswire.com: Double-digit growth in Salesfloor transactions sets promising tone for 2023 holiday shopping season MONTREAL, QC / ACCESSWIRE / November 28, 2023 / Salesfloor, the leading provider of customer engagement technology for retailers, proudly announces its Black Friday-Cyber Monday recap, and a strong start to this year's holiday shopping season. Black Friday & Cyber Monday emerged as the pinnacle shopping event of the year for Salesfloor clients, showcasing the enduring resilience of retail consumers. Salesfloor's Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend* highlights include: 15% increase in average total sales per Salesfloor retailer, compared to Black Friday-Cyber Monday weekend last year. 16% increase in average total transactions per Salesfloor retailer Retailers using Salesfloor's Conversational AI module saw the largest year-on-year increases, with 28% more sales compared to last year. "Our clients spend all year preparing for the peak holiday shopping season," said Ben Rodier, Chief Client Officer at Salesfloor. "Despite a challenging year for the retail industry, these results are a testament to our partners that choose to focus on their brand by delivering personalized experiences that translate into real results." Retailers continue to expand with Salesfloor, with recent additions like DXL, Sunglass Hut, and Fabletics joining the fold this year. This growth has helped fuel innovation with upcoming product updates rolling out between now and early 2024: Connect 2.0 and Maestro AI ". Salesfloor will be attending the National Retail Federation's Big Show 2024, set to take place in New York on January 15-17, 2024. For more information, please contact [email protected] or visit booth #916. *Salesfloor's 2023 Black Friday-Cyber Monday data is based on gross merchandise volume (GMV) as tracked by Salesfloor retailers online and in-store, between November 23, 11:59 p.m. EST to November 28 11:59 p.m. EST. GMV represents the total dollar value of orders tracked by a retailer and reported in Salesfloor, which does not include taxes, shipping or returned merchandise. About Salesfloor: Salesfloor is the leader in Total Experience Retail Platforms for enterprise retailers. Brands such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Holt Renfrew, Bloomingdale's, GNC, Ben Bridge Jeweler, Chico's and more, choose Salesfloor to drive results such as higher online conversion rates, increased basket sizes and decreased return rates. For more information, visit www.salesfloor.net. Contact Information Cyndi Sutton Communications Consultant [email protected] 571-213-0401 SOURCE: Salesfloor View source version on accesswire.com: WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Commonwealth Financial Network, a national firm dedicated to providing financial advisors with holistic, integrated business solutions, announces that Mammini Company, a former Lincoln Investments firm from San Diego, California, has joined its network of affiliated advisors. With nearly $3 billion in client assets, Mammini is built to last and is poised for its next wave of growth. Owner and president Mike Mammini, CFP, CIMA, AIF, is one of four advisors, including son Mitch Mammini, CFA, on the staff of eight. Mammini grounds its relationships with clientsespecially labor unions and corporate retirement plan sponsorsin the shared value of craftsmanship and integrity. Mammini Company has worked shoulder to shoulder with its clients, who are located throughout California and the West Coast, since its founding more than 30 years ago. For more information, visit www.mammini.com. Labor unions and corporate retirement plans are a core component of the firms practice, according to Mike Mammini. The foundation of our defined contribution retirement plan practice stems from my fathers leadership in the Sheet Metal Workers Union and has forged our roll-up-your-sleeves approach to designing sustainable retirement plans for working-class families. The shift to Commonwealth positions Mammini for strategic expansion because it now has access to a broader and deeper tool kit for serving organizations and individuals. Partnering with Commonwealth gives us, and our clients, access to sophisticated technology that we just didnt have before. We see big value in Commonwealths institutional knowledge, the full Investment Research team, and the accessible support of being eight miles away from the San Diego home office." Equally important, Mammini sought peers who could provide context and community as it expands. We wanted to be with a fresh cohortwith firms of a similar size, doing similar things, that we can learn from, said Mammini. The mutual respect he, his son, Mitch, and the firm staff have resonated with Commonwealth leaders and signaled a strong start to a sustainable collaboration. Mike Mammini added, Even if we werent in the same business, wed get along with them. We have similar goals and values, and we both understand how important service and accountability are to our clients. With the next generation of leadership in place, the firm is now engineering another wave of growth, translating its trust fund experience and retirement plan expertise to expand its footprint in both markets. Fresh services, such as personalized financial wellness programs for employees, amplify Mamminis value to all employer-sponsored plan clients. The Mammini family heritage of equipping working families with financial security is dear to the heart of the Commonwealth mission, said Becca Hajjar, managing principal and chief business development officer. We are happy to welcome them to the Commonwealth community and look forward to merging their experience with energy and resources that fuel all our affiliated advisors. About Commonwealth Financial Network Commonwealth Financial Network, Member FINRA/SIPC, a Registered Investment Adviser, provides financial advisors with holistic, integrated solutions that support business evolution, growth acceleration, and operational efficiency. J.D. Power ranks Commonwealth #1 in Independent Advisor Satisfaction Among Financial Investment Firms, 10 Times in a Row. Privately held since 1979, the firm has headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts, and San Diego, California. Learn more about how Commonwealth partners with more than 2,100 independent financial advisors overseeing more than $242.9 billion* in assets nationwide by visiting www.commonwealth.com. Commonwealth received the highest score among independent advisors in the J.D. Power 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 20182023 U.S. Financial Advisor Satisfaction Studies. Presented on July 5, 2023, for December 2022 to April 2023, it is based on responses from 4,183 advisors employed by or affiliated with the firms included in the study. Not indicative of the firms future performance. Your experience may vary. Study is independently conducted, and the participating firms do not pay to participate. Use of study results in promotional materials is subject to a license fee. Visit jdpower.com/awards for more details. * As of 12/31/2022 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128543215/en/ Sarah Baun 781.464.7138 Public Relations Manager [email protected] Commonwealth Financial Network commonwealth.com Source: Commonwealth Financial Network The United States remains the leader in providing arms and military equipment to Ukraine. However, almost half of the military assistance to our country is provided by European NATO member states and Canada. ADVERTISIMENT This was stated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during a joint statement with U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken before the meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels, Ukrinform reports . He emphasized the importance of continuing such support for Ukraine, which is suffering from full-scale Russian aggression. During his speech, Stoltenberg thanked the United States for its powerful military assistance to Ukraine. However, he noted that the United States is not alone in this. "And I thank the United States for your leadership, for the critical military equipment that the United States is providing to Ukraine. But let me emphasize that this is really a joint effort between the United States, Canada and European Allies. And the European Allies and Canada are providing almost 50% of the military support. So this is really something that we do together as Allies on both sides of the Atlantic," he said. ADVERTISIMENT According to Stoltenberg, the war in Ukraine will be one of the key topics for discussion during the meeting of NATO foreign ministers. Our country, he emphasized, "will be at the center of the agenda" in Brussels. "We are seeing the continuation of Russian attacks, intense fighting continues along the frontline, and this makes it even more important that Allies continue to support Ukraine," Stoltenberg emphasized. The two-day meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers started in the Belgian capital on Tuesday, November 28. The meeting is expected to reaffirm long-term support for Ukraine. And on Wednesday, November 29, the foreign ministers will meet for the first time at a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council. Prior to the event, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Stoltenberg are expected to make a joint statement. ADVERTISIMENT Earlier, the NATO Secretary General noted Ukraine's achievements in the war. According to Stoltenberg, the Alliance sees Ukraine's current achievements on the battlefield despite the fact that the front line is hardly moving. He emphasized that the allies are impressed by the bravery and professionalism of Ukrainian defenders and their ability to hit the rear of the occupiers. In addition, it was reported that Stoltenberg made a statement regarding peace talks with Russia. The NATO Secretary General emphasized that Ukraine will make its own decision on the terms of ending the war with Russia. At the same time, he added that the Alliance's task is to assist Kyiv on the battlefield. NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has acquired Incapsulate, a leading digital transformation consulting firm that specializes in Salesforce solutions. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231120594835/en/ Accenture has acquired Incapsulate, a leading digital transformation consulting firm that specializes in Salesforce solutions. (Photo: Business Wire) Founded in 2008, Incapsulate designs and implements Salesforce solutions for organizations in the public sector and financial services industries. As a Salesforce Platinum Consulting partner, Incapsulate fortifies Accentures Salesforce capabilities, which focus on helping clients use data and AI-driven insights to transform how they connect with customers and meet their ever-evolving needs. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., Incapsulate also has offices in Boston and Toronto, as well as in Ahmedabad and Hyderabad, India. Its team of more than 275 Salesforce practitioners and software engineers, who hold over 1,100 certifications, are joining the Accenture Salesforce Business Group within Accenture Technology. Incapsulates Salesforce capabilities, industry acumen and client-centric approach make them an ideal fit to complement our existing capabilities, said Emma McGuigan, senior managing director and Enterprise & Industries Technology lead at Accenture. With Incapsulate onboard, we have strengthened our Salesforce services, particularly in the insurance and public sector industries, enhancing our ability to accelerate digital transformation and unlock business value for our clients. For 15 years, our clients have relied on us to deliver high-quality solutions that not only meet their technical requirements but, more importantly, their underlying business needs, said Ajay Batish, CEO, Incapsulate. By joining forces with Accenture, we can further scale both our industry and Salesforce expertise and experience to support an even broader spectrum of clients, while offering new growth opportunities for our people. We are excited for this launchpad for innovation, service enhancement and boundless opportunities, propelling both our clients and our exceptional staff into an exciting future. With more than 50,000 Salesforce-skilled professionals, Accenture drives some of the worlds largest, most transformational Salesforce projects. For more information on the Accenture and Salesforce relationship, visit https://www.accenture.com/salesforce. About Accenture Accenture is a leading global professional services company that helps the worlds leading businesses, governments and other organizations build their digital core, optimize their operations, accelerate revenue growth and enhance citizen servicescreating tangible value at speed and scale. We are a talent- and innovation-led company with approximately 733,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Technology is at the core of change today, and we are one of the worlds leaders in helping drive that change, with strong ecosystem relationships. We combine our strength in technology and leadership in cloud, data and AI with unmatched industry experience, functional expertise and global delivery capability. We are uniquely able to deliver tangible outcomes because of our broad range of services, solutions and assets across Strategy & Consulting, Technology, Operations, Industry X and Song. These capabilities, together with our culture of shared success and commitment to creating 360 value, enable us to help our clients reinvent and build trusted, lasting relationships. We measure our success by the 360 value we create for our clients, each other, our shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at www.accenture.com. Forward-Looking Statements Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as may, will, should, likely, anticipates, aspires, expects, intends, plans, projects, believes, estimates, positioned, outlook, goal, target and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance nor promises that goals or targets will be met, and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that are difficult to predict and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These risks include, without limitation, risks that: the transaction might not achieve the anticipated benefits for Accenture; Accentures results of operations have been, and may in the future be, adversely affected by volatile, negative or uncertain economic and political conditions and the effects of these conditions on the companys clients businesses and levels of business activity; Accentures business depends on generating and maintaining client demand for the companys services and solutions including through the adaptation and expansion of its services and solutions in response to ongoing changes in technology and offerings, and a significant reduction in such demand or an inability to respond to the evolving technological environment could materially affect the companys results of operations; if Accenture is unable to match people and their skills with client demand around the world and attract and retain professionals with strong leadership skills, the companys business, the utilization rate of the companys professionals and the companys results of operations may be materially adversely affected; Accenture faces legal, reputational and financial risks from any failure to protect client and/or company data from security incidents or cyberattacks; the markets in which Accenture operates are highly competitive, and Accenture might not be able to compete effectively; Accentures ability to attract and retain business and employees may depend on its reputation in the marketplace; if Accenture does not successfully manage and develop its relationships with key ecosystem partners or fails to anticipate and establish new alliances in new technologies, the companys results of operations could be adversely affected; Accentures profitability could materially suffer if the company is unable to obtain favorable pricing for its services and solutions, if the company is unable to remain competitive, if its cost-management strategies are unsuccessful or if it experiences delivery inefficiencies or fail to satisfy certain agreed-upon targets or specific service levels; changes in Accentures level of taxes, as well as audits, investigations and tax proceedings, or changes in tax laws or in their interpretation or enforcement, could have a material adverse effect on the companys effective tax rate, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition; Accentures results of operations could be materially adversely affected by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; changes to accounting standards or in the estimates and assumptions Accenture makes in connection with the preparation of its consolidated financial statements could adversely affect its financial results; as a result of Accentures geographically diverse operations and strategy to continue to grow in key markets around the world, the company is more susceptible to certain risks; if Accenture is unable to manage the organizational challenges associated with its size, the company might be unable to achieve its business objectives; Accenture might not be successful at acquiring, investing in or integrating businesses, entering into joint ventures or divesting businesses; Accentures business could be materially adversely affected if the company incurs legal liability; Accentures global operations expose the company to numerous and sometimes conflicting legal and regulatory requirements; Accentures work with government clients exposes the company to additional risks inherent in the government contracting environment; if Accenture is unable to protect or enforce its intellectual property rights or if Accentures services or solutions infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others or the company loses its ability to utilize the intellectual property of others, its business could be adversely affected; Accenture may be subject to criticism and negative publicity related to its incorporation in Ireland; as well as the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed under the Risk Factors heading in Accenture plcs most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this news release speak only as of the date they were made, and Accenture undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements made in this news release or to conform such statements to actual results or changes in Accentures expectations. Copyright 2023 Accenture. All rights reserved. Accenture and its logo are trademarks of Accenture. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231120594835/en/ Hannah Unkefer Accenture +1 206 839 2172 [email protected] Source: Accenture VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Alpha Cognition Inc. (CSE: ACOG) (OTCQB: ACOGF) (Alpha Cognition, or the Company), a biopharmaceutical company committed to developing novel therapies with the potential to transform the lives of people with debilitating neurodegenerative disorders, today reported financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2023, and provided a corporate update. "We recently achieved a significant milestone in our journey with the submission of our New Drug Application to the FDA at the end of September. Our dedicated team has tirelessly advanced our lead product, and we now stand on the cusp of a new chapter, confident in the strength of our data and the expertise that underpins our submission. The Company expects FDA approval in the second half of 2024. We believe that ALPHA-1062 will offer a meaningful differentiated therapy for patients with Alzheimers dementia," said Michael McFadden, the Companys Chief Executive Officer. Corporate Updates NDA Submission Alpha Cognition announced on September 29, 2023, the submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for ALPHA-1062, a proprietary, patented, delayed release oral tablet formulation in development for the treatment of mild-to-moderate Alzheimers Disease. This submission marks a significant milestone in the company's ongoing commitment to advancing patient care for patients suffering from Alzheimers disease. Issued Patent Alpha Cognition received from the US patent office issued patent No. 11,795,176 titled Solid Forms of ALPHA-1062 Gluconate which includes claims for crystalline solid forms of ALPHA-1062 and will bolster existing patents that the company holds. The Company expects to file additional patents for ALPHA-1062 within the quarter, which will build on the robust patent portfolio the company already holds. Awarded Department of Defense $750,000 R&D Grant On June 5, 2023, the Company was awarded a $750,000 research and development grant from the Army Medical Research and Material Command for a pre-clinical study on the use of the ALPHA-1062IN to reduce blast mTBI (mild Traumatic Brain Injury) induced functional deficit and brain abnormalities. The study grant is issued in collaboration with the Seattle Institute of Biomedical and Clinical Research and is endorsed by the Department of Defense. Researchers initiated the study in Q3 2023 and the Company expects to report initial findings in Q2, 2024. PPM Financing On May 30, 2023, the Company announced a best-efforts private placement offering to raise gross proceeds of up to US$6.5 million of units at a price of $0.22 per unit. Each unit consists of one common share and one-half of a common share purchase warrant. Each whole warrant will entitle the holder to purchase an additional common share of the Company at a price of US$0.31 per share for a period of three years from the closing date. The Company expects to use the net proceeds from the offering for research and development, general and administrative matters, and working capital. The Company has US$3.8 million remaining of the US$6.5 million of units to be issued in the private placement, as of the date of this press release. TBI Out-Licensing Plan The Company continued its work to out-license to a newly formed private entity, Alpha Seven Therapeutics, Inc. (Alpha Seven) which will develop ALPHA-1062Intranasal (IN) for applications in traumatic brain injury. Alpha Seven will focus on the advancement of ALPHA-1062IN initially for the treatment of Cognitive Impairment with mTBI using an intra-nasal formulation, including advancing clinical trials with the goal of FDA approval. The establishment of Alpha Seven Therapeutics is expected to provide for separate funding and advancement of the TBI applications of ALPHA-1062IN while permitting Alpha Cognition to remain focused on advancing ALPHA-1062 for use in the treatment of symptoms of Alzheimers disease. If successful, the Alpha Sevens advancement of this program in 2023 will allow for potential upcoming inflection points including IND acceptance and first patient enrolled in Ph2 trial during 2H 2024, followed by initial Phase 2 clinical results. Financial Highlights for Second Quarter and Nine months ended September 30, 2023 (Expressed in United States Dollars) Research and development (R&D) expenses were $1.5 million for the three months ended September 30, 2023, and $3.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2023, compared to $1.6 million and $6.4 million in the same periods in 2022, respectively. R&D expenses decreased from the prior year primarily due to the completion during 2022 of the main clinical trails for ALPHA-1062. General and administrative (G&A), excluding non-cash expenses relating to accretion, amortization, depreciation, and share-based compensation, were $0.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2023, and $2.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2023, compared to from $1.0 million and $2.8 million in the same periods of 2022 respectively. The G&A expense decreases for both the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023 was primarily related to lower management fees and salaries, investor relations expense, professional fees, financing costs, and subcontractors expenses, offset some by higher consulting fees. The overall G&A decrease year over year was due to the Companys cost cutting efforts and focus on the advancement if its main asset, ALPHA-1062 in AD. The Company recorded a loss on revaluation derivative liability for the three months ended September 30, 2023, of $0.5 million and $0.5 million for nine months ended September 30, 2023, compared to a gain of $0.3 million and $1.7 million in the same periods of 2022 respectively. On August 31, 2023, the Companys functional currency changed to USD from CAD; as such, the Company recorded a derivative liability on the warrants outstanding with previously issued CAD exercises prices and the derivative liability on warrants previously issued in USD was derecognized. The Company performs a revaluation each reporting period for its derivative liability and records the change in fair value of its warrants issued in a currency that differs from the functional currency at the end of each period. Effective August 31, 2023, the functional currency of the Company was updated to USD as management assessed that the currency of the primary economic environment in which the Company operates changed to USD on that date. The Company reclassified its derivative liabilities upon the change in functional currency, which resulted in an increase of $4,189,576 in derivative liabilities with a corresponding increase in reserves of $351,969 and decrease in share capital of $4,541,545 at August 31, 2023. Share-based compensation under general and administrative was $0.5 million for the three months ended September 30, 2023, and $1.5 million for nine months ended September 30, 2023, compared to $0.2 million and $1.0 million in the same periods of 2022, respectively. The 2023 increases was primarily related to new stock option grants issued in 2023, the repricing of previously issued stock options during the first quarter of 2023, and related fluctuations in the Companys stock price over the periods. The Company incurred foreign exchange gain/losses of nil in the three months ended September 30, 2023, and nil for the full nine months ended September 30, 2023, compared to a gain of $0.5 million and $0.5 million in the same periods of 2022, respectably. The third quarter of 2023 net loss was $3.3 million, or a net loss of $0.03 per share, and for the nine months ended September 30, 2023, net loss was $8.0 million, or a net loss of $0.09 per share, compared to the third quarter of 2022 net loss of $2.8 million, or a net loss of $0.04 per share, and for the nine months ended September 30, 2023, net loss of $8.8 million, or a net loss of $0.13 per share. Cash and cash equivalents at September 30, 2023 were $0.9 million, including $0.2 million in restricted cash. Shares of common stock outstanding at September 30, 2023 were 101,064,722. About Alpha Cognition Inc. Alpha Cognition Inc. is a clinical stage, biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing treatments for patients suffering from neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimers disease and Cognitive Impairment with mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI), for which there are currently no approved treatment options. ALPHA-1062, is a patented new chemical entity being developed as a new generation acetylcholinesterase inhibitor for the treatment of Alzheimers disease, with expected minimal gastrointestinal side effects. ALPHA-1062s active metabolite is differentiated from donepezil and rivastigmine in that it binds neuronal nicotinic receptors, most notably the alpha-7 subtype, which is known to have a positive effect on cognition. ALPHA-1062 is also being developed in combination with memantine to treat moderate to severe Alzheimers dementia, and as an intranasal formulation for Cognitive Impairment with mTBI. Neither Canadian Securities Exchange (the CSE) or the OTC Markets Group, accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-looking Statements This news release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Except for statements of historical fact, any information contained in this news release may be a forwardlooking statement that reflects the Companys current views about future events and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forwardlooking statements by the words may, might, will, could, would, should, expect, intend, plan, objective, anticipate, believe, estimate, predict, project, potential, target, seek, contemplate, continue and ongoing, or the negative of these terms, or other comparable terminology intended to identify statements about the future. Forward-looking statements may include statements regarding the TBI out-licensing plan and associated financing, the availability of funding pursuant to financings, the Companys business strategy, market size, potential growth opportunities, capital requirements, clinical development activities, the timing and results of clinical trials, regulatory submissions, potential regulatory approval and commercialization of the Companys products. Although the Company believes to have a reasonable basis for each forward-looking statement, we caution you that these statements are based on a combination of facts and factors currently known by us and our expectations of the future, about which we cannot be certain. The Company cannot assure that the actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forwardlooking statements speak only as of the date of this news release and the Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forwardlooking statements for any reason, even if new information becomes available in the future. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (expressed in United States Dollars) Three months ended Sept 30, Nine months ended Sept 30, 2023 2022 2023 2022 Operating expenses $ (2,829,663 ) $ (2,857,472 ) $ (7,586,202 ) $ (10,217,787 ) Other income (expenses) (493,603 ) 782,268 (389,290 ) 2,225,426 Net loss for the year (3,323,266 ) (2,075,204 ) (7,975,492 ) (7,992,361 ) Currency translation adjustment (11,232 ) (680,619 ) (19,753 ) (857,068 ) Comprehensive loss $ (3,334,498 ) $ (2,755,823 ) $ (7,995,245 ) $ (8,849,429 ) Basic and diluted loss per common share $ (0.03 ) $ (0.04 ) $ (0.09 ) $ (0.13 ) Weighted average shares 97,010,836 68,023,450 89,891,646 67,954,621 Selected Consolidated Balance Sheet Data (expressed in United States Dollars) Sept 30, December 31, 2023 2022 Cash (unrestricted) $ 706,864 $ 2,083,696 Working capital (deficiency) $ (1,751,793 ) $ (1,724,103 ) Adjusted working capital (deficiency) (1) $ (1,920,536 ) $ (1,724,103 ) Total assets $ 1,699,385 $ 2,950,951 Total long-term liabilities $ 4,941,535 $ 214,284 (1) excludes restricted cash and related accrued expenses. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128712804/en/ Michael McFadden, CEO Tel: 1-858-344-4375 [email protected] https://www.alphacognition.com/ Source: Alpha Cognition Inc. SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Arlo Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: ARLO), a leading smart home security brand, today announced that Arlo management will present at the Raymond James TMT and Consumer Conference in New York. Event: Innovation in Consumer Technology Panel Speakers: Matthew McRae, CEO of Arlo Technologies, and Patrick Spence, CEO of Sonos Date: Monday, December 4, 2023 Time: 2:50 p.m. ET Place: New York, NY Event: Fireside Chat Speakers: Matthew McRae, CEO, and Kurt Binder, CFO Date: Tuesday, December 5, 2023 Time: 2:50 p.m. ET Place: New York, NY The panel and presentation will also be webcast on Arlos IR website at http://investor.arlo.com. Interested parties should access the webcasts approximately 10 minutes before the scheduled start time. The webcast replays will be available as soon as possible following the events on Arlos IR website. About Arlo Technologies, Inc. Arlo is an award-winning, industry leader that is transforming the ways in which people can protect everything that matters to them with advanced home, business, and personal security solutions. Arlos deep expertise in AI- and CV-powered analytics, cloud services, user experience and product design, and innovative wireless and RF connectivity enables the delivery of a seamless, smart security experience for Arlo users that is easy to set up and interact with every day. Arlos cloud-based platform provides users with visibility, insight, and a powerful means to help protect and connect in real-time with the people and things that matter most, from any location with a Wi-Fi or a cellular connection. To date, Arlo has launched several categories of award-winning connected devices, software, and services. These include wire-free, smart Wi-Fi and LTE-enabled security cameras, video doorbells, floodlights, security system, and Arlos subscription services: Arlo Secure and Arlo Safe. With a mission to bring users peace of mind, Arlo is as passionate about protecting user privacy as it is about safeguarding homes and families. Arlo is committed to implementing industry standards for data protection designed to keep users' personal information private and in their control. Arlo does not monetize personal data, provides enhanced controls for user data, supports privacy legislation, keeps user data safely secure, and puts security at the forefront of company culture. 2023 Arlo Technologies, Inc., Arlo and the Arlo logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Arlo Technologies, Inc. and/or certain of its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. Other brand and product names are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holder(s). The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. Arlo shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein. All rights reserved. Source: Arlo-F View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128918137/en/ Media Relations: [email protected] 949-438-1088 Investors: Arlo Investor Relations Tahmin Clarke [email protected] Source: Arlo Technologies, Inc. Report from Pivotree and Spryker revealed 90% of respondents have seen increase in demand for digital B2B buying experiences in past two years TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Pivotree Inc. (TSXV: PVT) (Pivotree or the Company), a leading provider of frictionless commerce solutions and services, has teamed up with commerce technology platform Spryker, the leading composable commerce platform for sophisticated use cases in B2B Commerce, Enterprise Marketplaces, and Thing Commerce, to sponsor a trends report on buying behavior in the B2B space. Developed by WBR Insights and B2B Online, the report surveyed 100 leaders from B2B companies across the U.S. and Canada. It explores cross-functional alignment in B2B companies and aims to provide readers with details about the latest innovations in B2B sales and customer journey development. The B2B commerce realm has witnessed a significant shift towards online purchasing, said Bill Di Nardo, CEO at Pivotree. With this shift, it is vital that businesses seek to understand and adapt to these new buying behavior norms and according to the report, many B2B leaders feel that they can and should be improving their processes to adapt to this new reality. 33% of respondents say they are not satisfied with their ability to provide an excellent customer buying experience and almost all respondents (90%) say that the demand for digital B2B buying experience has increased over the past two years. To account for this substantial growth in digital, many B2B organizations look to the thriving consumer eCommerce sector as a blueprint for their own customer journeys, with many B2B brands leveraging marketplace experiences with first-and third-party vendors to sell both products and services to other businesses. The challenge that B2B companies are faced with is how they can best improve and optimize their customer buying experience. Companies can start implementing key strategies such as website optimization, personalization, secure check-out, customer support channels, and using data analytics to understand buyer behavior. Achieving success in this space ultimately depends on what technologies companies have at their disposal and how effectively they can use them. According to the respondents, the most important solutions and technologies to their customers digital purchasing journeys are: Supply chain management systems (87%) CRM solutions (76%) Third-party eCommerce platforms (53%) Mobile and smartphone apps (51%) To further simplify the B2B buying process, companies should integrate predictive search, personalization, comprehensive digital catalogs, video tutorials, and educational materials. Leveraging these strategies will inevitably result in a more personalized and interactive customer experience. Additionally, the role of AI in digital B2B strategies cannot be overlooked. Generative AI technologies can deliver real-time, personalized customer service, efficiently handle queries, offer product recommendations, and automate many back-office processes. The report found that many B2B leaders have a positive view of AI, with 72% of respondents saying they expect AI to make their work more accurate. In the evolving B2B landscape, the convergence of artificial intelligence and digital commerce is poised to redefine the future, said Boris Lokschin, Co-founder and CEO at Spryker. As businesses embrace generative AI to increase efficiency and productivity, use cases around automated customer service, inventory management and real time pricing optimization emerge. Companies might increasingly use generative AI to better train sales teams, to detect fraud or automatically generate contracts and manage those in order to achieve efficient growth or AI-fficiency. This smart application of AI not only ensures scalability but also empowers enterprises to meet the evolving expectations of customers, ushering in an era where AI becomes the catalyst for efficiency and innovation in the B2B sector." Over the next few years, B2B companies expect to become more customer-centric and overall, B2B distributors and manufacturers will implement a mixture of internal and customer facing solutions to increase digitization, produce insights, and optimize their supply networks for the next phase of B2B eCommerce. To read the full report, please visit https://www.pivotree.com/resources/driving-digital-growth-in-the-b2b-customer-journey/ Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. About Pivotree Pivotree, a leader in frictionless commerce, designs, builds and manages digital platforms in Commerce, Data Management, and Supply Chain for over 250 major retail and branded manufacturers globally. Pivotrees portfolio of digital solutions, managed and professional services help provide retailers with true end-to-end solutions to manage complex digital commerce platforms, along with ongoing support from strategic planning through platform selection, deployment, and hosting, to data and supply chain management. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada with offices and customers in the Americas, EMEA, and APAC, Pivotree is widely recognized as a high-growth company and industry leader. For more information, visit www.pivotree.com About Spryker Spryker is the leading composable commerce platform for enterprises with sophisticated business models to enable growth, innovation, and differentiation. Designed specifically for sophisticated transactional businesses, Sprykers easy-to-use, headless, API-first model offers a best-of-breed approach that provides businesses the flexibility to adapt, scale, and quickly go to market while facilitating faster time-to-value throughout their digital transformation journey. As a global platform leader for B2B and B2C Enterprise Marketplaces, Thing Commerce, and Unified Commerce, Spryker has empowered 150+ global enterprise customers worldwide and is trusted by brands such as ALDI, Siemens, Hilti, and Ricoh. Spryker is a privately held technology company headquartered in Berlin and New York backed by world class investors such as TCV, One Peak Partners, ProjectA, Cherry Ventures, and Maverick Capital. Learn more at spryker.com and follow Spryker on LinkedIn and X. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128943449/en/ For further information: Sarah Kirk-Douglas, Vice President of Marketing, Pivotree [email protected] 905-251-6502 Source: Pivotree Inc. NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Candex, a leading vendor management and tail spend solutions provider, is pleased to announce a Series B investment of $45 million, led by Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Asset Management (Goldman Sachs) with new investor WiL (World Innovation Lab) who both join existing investors Altos, NFX, Craft, JP Morgan, American Express and Edenred. This brings the companys total amount raised to $85 million. The capital will be used to support the company's high growth and expand into new markets. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128720395/en/ Candex co-founders Shani Vaza and Jeremy Lappin (Photo: Business Wire) The investment from Goldman Sachs comes from its $5.2B growth equity fund, dedicated to investing in high-growth businesses with strong market positioning and durable business models. Clare Greenan, of Goldman Sachs, will join Candexs Board of Directors to advise on the company's next stage of growth. New investor WiL (World Innovation Lab) will help Candex accelerate expansion into the Japanese market. Tail spend, usually defined as the 90% of a companys vendors that represent less than 10% of spend, creates operational and compliance challenges for large companies. Candex enables its customers which include Sanofi, HSBC, Dell, Eaton, Roche, LOreal, Colgate and Danone, among others to use their full P2P buying process while reducing the vendor onboarding and payment cycles from several weeks down to a few minutes. "Goldman has been using Candex to tackle some of their own tail spend challenges for the last couple of years, and we are thrilled to strengthen that relationship and bring them on as a major investor," said Jeremy Lappin, CEO of Candex. "Candex has been doubling its size every year over the last four years and is on track to more than double revenues again this year. With this $45 million investment and a shared vision about how our unique offering will revolutionize the way businesses transact, Goldman is adding another clear vote of confidence in the strength and potential of our business. "Candex creates incredible value for its clients by solving one of procurements greatest challenges. I have been following the company closely for years and am excited to finally join them on their journey to revolutionize tail spend management. Jeremy and his team have built a world-class solution and demonstrated their ability to serve the worlds most demanding businesses year after year. We see remarkable potential in Candex and are thrilled to join forces with existing investors to help accelerate Candexs global expansion and enhance its product offerings." said Clare Greenan, a Vice President in the Growth Equity business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management. About Candex Candex is a leading provider of vendor management solutions, offering a user-friendly platform that simplifies vendor management and payment across 42 countries. With its advanced analytics and automation capabilities, Candex helps businesses save time and money while improving their vendor relationships. Some of the worlds largest and most demanding businesses have trusted Candex with their tail spend, including Sanofi, HSBC, Dell, Eaton, Roche, LOreal, Colgate, Danone and many more world leading companies. For more information, visit www.candex.com. About Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Asset Management Goldman Sachs Asset Management delivers investment and advisory services across public and private markets for the worlds leading institutions, financial advisors and individuals, overseeing more than $2.6 trillion in assets under supervision as of September 30, 2023. The firm is driven by a focus on partnership and shared success with its clients, seeking to deliver long-term investment performance drawing on its global network and deep expertise across industries and markets. Since 2003, Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, comprising more than 75 individuals, has invested over $13 billion in companies led by visionary founders and CEOs. The team focuses on investments in growth stage and technology-driven companies spanning multiple industries, including enterprise technology, financial technology, consumer and healthcare. Goldman Sachs Asset Management is one of the largest managers of private capital globally and invests in the full spectrum of alternatives, including private equity, growth equity, private credit, real estate, infrastructure and sustainability. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128720395/en/ Ali Moore [email protected] 949-648-0324 Source: Candex SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Carlisle Companies Incorporated (NYSE: CSL), will release a video and presentation featuring its Vision 2030 strategy and long-term financial targets on December 7, 2023 at 7:00 a.m. ET. Vision 2030 will outline the next phase of profitable growth and superior returns following the pivot of Carlisles portfolio of businesses to a pure-play building products company and the highly successful achievement of its key Vision 2025 objectives three years ahead of plan. The Vision 2030 pdf presentation and approximately 50-minute Vision 2030 video will both be accessible by visiting the Investors section of the Companys website at www.carlisle.com. Visitors to the site will be able to register and view the video beginning Thursday, December 7, 2023 at 7:00 a.m. ET. About Carlisle Companies Incorporated Carlisle Companies Incorporated is a leading supplier of innovative building envelope products and solutions for more energy efficient buildings. Through its building products businesses Carlisle Construction Materials (CCM) and Carlisle Weatherproofing Technologies (CWT) and family of leading brands, Carlisle delivers innovative, labor-reducing and environmentally responsible products and solutions to customers through the Carlisle Experience. Carlisle is committed to generating superior shareholder returns and maintaining a balanced capital deployment approach, including investments in our businesses, strategic acquisitions, share repurchases and continued dividend increases. Leveraging its culture of continuous improvement as embodied in the Carlisle Operating System (COS), Carlisle has committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128511948/en/ Mehul Patel Vice President, Investor Relations Carlisle Companies Incorporated (310) 592-9668 [email protected] Source: Carlisle Companies Incorporated SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Coalition, the world's first Active Insurance provider designed to prevent digital risk before it strikes, today announced the appointment of Mr. Oliver Bate, Chief Executive Officer of Allianz SE, to the companys Board of Directors. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128438754/en/ Oliver Bate (Photo: Business Wire) Were thrilled to have Oliver join Coalitions Board as its a testament to his commitment to technological innovation in insurance, said Joshua Motta, Coalitions Chief Executive Officer and co-founder. The cyber insurance market is always evolving, and having Olivers insight and expertise on the industry, global operations, and long-term planning will be invaluable as we all seek to achieve an ambitious goal: to protect all those organizations that are currently unprotected. As a longstanding executive at the Allianz Group, Oliver Bate began serving as CEO of Allianz SE in 2015, a position preceded by serving as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer. Prior to this, he served in a number of leadership positions at McKinsey & Company, including Director of the firms European insurance and asset management practice. Today, businesses across the world are experiencing new types of risks, and our industry requires new thinking to address them, commented Oliver Bate, Chief Executive Officer of Allianz SE and new Coalition Board Member. I am encouraged by Coalitions innovative approach to managing and mitigating cyber risk in todays digital world and am pleased to join Coalitions Board of Directors. Bate joins Coalitions prestigious Board of Directors, which includes Bret Johnson, CFO of SpaceX; Julie Richardson, Independent Board Member; Shardul Shah, Partner at Index Ventures; Nick Shalek, General Partner at Ribbit Capital; John Herring, co-founder of Coalition; and Joshua Motta, CEO and co-founder of Coalition. About Coalition Coalition is the world's first Active Insurance provider designed to help prevent digital risk before it strikes. By combining comprehensive insurance coverage and cybersecurity tools, Coalition helps businesses manage and mitigate digital risks. Coalition offers its Active Insurance products in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia through relationships with leading global insurers, as well as cyber capacity through its own carrier, Coalition Insurance Company. Coalition's Active Risk Platform provides automated security alerts, threat intelligence, expert guidance, and cybersecurity tools to help businesses worldwide remain resilient against cyber attacks. Headquartered in San Francisco, Coalition is a distributed company with a global workforce that collaborates digitally and in office hubs. Insurance products are offered by Coalition Insurance Solutions Inc. (CIS), a licensed insurance producer and surplus lines broker with its principal place of business in San Francisco, CA (Cal. license #0L76155), acting on behalf of a number of unaffiliated insurance companies and available on an admitted basis through Coalition Insurance Company (CIC) a licensed insurance underwriter (NAIC #29530). Insurance products offered through CIS and CIC may not be available in all states. CIS may receive compensation from an insurer or other intermediary in connection with the sale of insurance. All decisions regarding any insurance products referenced herein, including approval for coverage, premium, commission, and fees, will be made solely by the insurer underwriting the insurance under the insurers then-current criteria. All insurance products are governed by the terms, conditions, limitations, and exclusions set forth in the applicable insurance policy. Please see a copy of your policy for the full terms, conditions, and exclusions. Copyright 2023. All rights reserved. Coalition and the Coalition logo are trademarks of Coalition, Inc. or its affiliates. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128438754/en/ Marisa Graves Communications at Coalition [email protected] Source: Coalition DOVER, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- To improve productivity and the customer experience, Columbia County, Georgia, has selected Claritis Community Development Platform to replace its legacy permitting software. Implementation will begin in January, led by Unisys, a trusted Clariti partner. Columbia County is one of the fastest growing counties in Georgia and has experienced many years of residential and commercial growth. With just 70 staff in the departments responsible for permitting and business licensing, each year, the county issues over 15,000 permits and 6,000 business licenses, and answers roughly 22,000 calls and 52,000 emails. Its population has grown 30% since 2010. Currently, the county relies on a 16-year-old legacy permitting system that hasnt evolved to meet its modern-day needs. Largely unchanged from when it was implemented, the systems functionality is lacking, and for most permits, customers still have to apply in person. Staff also still rely on Excel spreadsheets and ancillary programs for permitting-related tasks, and its difficult to work with from a reporting perspective. Theres a lot of in-person contact, and not [a lot] that occurs online, explains Michael Blanchard, the countys Director of Technology Services. Thats one of the things we want to change - we want to push a lot of that [online] so people can do self-serve. In addition to a user-friendly portal to provide customers easy access to permitting and business licensing services online, with Clariti, the countys biggest goal is to increase staff efficiency and productivity, especially because they operate lean. Right now, staff spend a lot of time struggling with less-than-optimal workflows and insufficient reporting capabilities that dont meet their needs. We evaluated several systems, [and] Clariti appeared to [offer] the best workflow capabilities, reporting, and end-user/customer interface, says Michael. Were thrilled to support Columbia Countys productivity and customer experience goals with our easy-to-use, highly-configurable community development platform, says Clariti Co-CEO, Cyrus Symoom. Once live, multiple departments will use the new system, including plan review, planning, stormwater compliance, building standards, licensing, and water utility. About Clariti Claritis government software helps North Americas largest and fastest growing communities deliver exceptional community development, permitting, and licensing experiences online. Founded in 2008, Clariti is built as an alternative to code-heavy, non-configurable systems that create technology barriers for governments to meet their communitys evolving needs. Our software is trusted by government agencies that serve over 150 million people across North America. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128657426/en/ Jeremy Bosch VP, Marketing Clariti [email protected] Source: Clariti DUBAI, United Arab Emirates--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Dubai International Chamber, one of the three chambers operating under the umbrella of Dubai Chambers, has inaugurated its seventh representative office on the African continent in Nigeria. Located in Lagos, the chambers 28th international office worldwide will further strengthen the economic and trade ties between Dubai and Africa. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231127842550/en/ H.E. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, Governor of Lagos State (4th from left), and H.E. Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, President and CEO of Dubai Chambers (5th from left), during the inauguration ceremony for Dubai International Chambers new representative office in Nigeria. (Photo: AETOSWire) The office was inaugurated during the chambers New Horizons trade mission to West Africa, which saw a delegation of 15 Dubai-based companies participate in specially arranged business forums in Nigeria and Cote dIvoire to learn more about the local business landscapes and explore partnership opportunities. The two events attracted more than 450 attendees and around 365 bilateral business meetings were arranged between the companies from Dubai and their counterparts from West Africa. H.E. Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, President and CEO of Dubai Chambers, said: The Nigerian market is one of the largest in Africa and enables Dubai-based traders to access a wide range of markets across Central and Western Africa. Our Lagos office will establish new channels of communication and economic cooperation, and we look forward to working together to boost bilateral trade and investment. The new office will seek to strengthen relationships with key public and private sector stakeholders and deliver a comprehensive range of support to the local business community, including assisting Nigerian companies to enter the Dubai market and expand through the emirate. The team will also support and guide Dubai-based businesses that plan to enter the Nigerian market throughout every stage of their international growth. The trade mission followed a recent similar roadshow to East Africa, in which 19 companies visited Kenya and Rwanda. More than 400 bilateral business meetings were conducted during the East Africa roadshow, with the forum events in each country attracting a combined total of over 300 attendees. The trade missions to Africa came as part of New Horizons, an initiative that enables companies to explore investment opportunities and joint economic partnerships in targeted markets. New Horizons forms a key part of the chambers strategy to achieve the ambitions of Dubais foreign trade plan, which seeks to increase the value of non-oil foreign trade to AED 2 trillion by 2026. *Source: AETOSWire View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231127842550/en/ Mohamad Mouzehem PR & Corporate Communications Tel: +971 4 2028537 Email: [email protected] Source: Dubai International Chamber TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- dynaCERT Inc. (TSX: DYA) (OTCQX: DYFSF) (FRA: DMJ) ("dynaCERT" or the "Company"), a global leader in carbon emission reduction technology, had its French distributor, IPMD SAS, attend, with a large booth, the biennial trade fair for haulage and urban transport professionals, Solutrans, which belongs to the la Federation Francaise de Carrosserie. Solutrans is where innovation and information in the Heavy Goods Vehicle sector come together. Solutrans, the global hub for heavy & light commercial vehicles took place in Lyon (France) from 21 to 25 November 2023. dynaCERTs distributor IPMD SAS indicated that Solutrans 2023 was its official launch in France and the trade show ended on a very satisfactory note for dynaCERT and distributor IPMD SAS. They indicated that the biennial trade show for industrial and urban vehicle transport was a mobilizing event on vital issues for transport players: the imperative to accelerate the energy transition. IPMD SAS further indicated that transport companies and mobility professionals in France gave dynaCERTs HydraGEN Technology a very positive reception, as the technology is designed to provide a concrete and immediate response to the challenges of energy and ecological transition. Through IPMD SAS, in preparation for its commercial launch in France, HydraGEN has already been in service with several French transportation operators since May 2023 on a wide variety of vehicles, representing seven manufacturers: trucks, line buses, school buses and commercial vehicles. Enrico Schlapfer, VP of Global Sales of dynaCERT, stated, IPMDs official launch of the HydraGEN technology at this year's Solutrans in Lyon has attracted great interest from the French transportation industry as well as the associated industry associations. Once again this shows how important the decarbonization of this particular industrial sector can become. Thanks to HydraGEN technology, designed to reduce pollutant emissions such as CO2, NOx etc., its benefits can be deployed in cities, agglomerations, and rural areas. HydraGEN technology development in France looks promising, with additional purchase confirmations prior and during Solutrans and installations scheduled before year end. In addition, agreements with dealers and truck workshops are being set up to strengthen and extend the dealer and installer network. About dynaCERT Inc. dynaCERT Inc. manufactures and distributes Carbon Emission Reduction Technology along with its proprietary HydraLytica Telematics, a means of monitoring fuel consumption and calculating GHG emissions savings designed for the tracking of possible future Carbon Credits for use with internal combustion engines. As part of the growing global hydrogen economy, our patented technology creates hydrogen and oxygen on-demand through a unique electrolysis system and supplies these gases through the air intake to enhance combustion, which has shown to lower carbon emissions and improve fuel efficiency. Our technology is designed for use with many types and sizes of diesel engines used in on-road vehicles, reefer trailers, off-road construction, power generation, mining and forestry equipment. Website: www.dynaCERT.com. READER ADVISORY This press release of dynaCERT Inc. contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements". Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause dynaCERTs actual results, performance or achievements, or developments in the industry to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In particular, information relating to IPMD SAS and Solutrans cannot be independently verified. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Actual results may vary from the forward-looking information in this news release due to certain material risk factors. This news release is not intended for distribution to U.S. news services or for dissemination in the United States. Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. We cannot guarantee future results, performance of achievements. Consequently, there is no representation that the actual results achieved will be the same, in whole or in part, as those set out in the forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause the results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: uncertainty as to whether our strategies and business plans will yield the expected benefits; availability and cost of capital; the ability to identify and develop and achieve commercial success for new products and technologies; the level of expenditures necessary to maintain and improve the quality of products and services; changes in technology and changes in laws and regulations; the uncertainty of the emerging hydrogen economy; including the hydrogen economy moving at a pace not anticipated; our ability to secure and maintain strategic relationships and distribution agreements; and the other risk factors disclosed under our profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned that this list of risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. We undertake no duty to update any of the forward-looking information to conform such information to actual results or to changes in our expectations except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Toronto Stock Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the release. On Behalf of the Board Murray James Payne, CEO View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128106135/en/ For more information, please contact: Jim Payne, CEO & President dynaCERT Inc. #101 501 Alliance Avenue Toronto, Ontario M6N 2J1 +1 (416) 766-9691 x 2 jpayne@dynaCERT.com Investor Relations dynaCERT Inc. Nancy Massicotte +1 (416) 766-9691 x 1 nmassicotte@dynaCERT.com Source: dynaCERT Inc. Beltone Financial Holding, has seen its nine-month (9M) operating revenue zoom 271% to record EGP957 million ($30.96 million) and net profit soar 161% to EGP86 million. In 9M 2023, the company witnessed remarkable transformation and restructuring that led to a solid turnaround. Operating Revenue increased driven by strong operational performance across the Non-Banking Financial Institutions (NBFIs), complemented by the Investment Bank and Other Ventures. EBITDA amounted to EGP266 million in 9M2023, a growth of 9.5x YoY. Net Profit recorded EGP86 million, an increase of 161% YoY, compared to a Net Loss of EGP140 million during the same period last year, a strong testimony to the restructuring and turnaround that took place over the past year. NBFIs Operating Revenue The NBFIs Operating Revenue recorded EGP478 million in 9M2023, a growth of 680% YoY. Leasing Revenue was one of the main drivers behind said growth, followed by Consumer Finance, Microfinance and Venture Capital. The Investment Bank Operating Revenue amounted to EGP198 million in 9M2023. The Securities Brokerage Margin Lending Portfolio grew to EGP621 million during 9M2023, increasing 2.1x YoY. While Assets Under Management reached EGP23 billion, a growth of 16% YoY. As part of Beltones transformation and restructuring strategy, the Company launched its new revamped brand identity. The Consumer Finance arm was rebranded from BelCash to seven, reinforcing Beltone's position as a leading Consumer Finance powerhouse which offers innovative fintech payment solutions that bridge the gap between financial capability and aspiration. Beltone Leasing Beltone Leasing received regulatory approval on adding Factoring to its lines of business during 3Q2023. Furthermore, Beltone Mortgage Finance received regulatory approval on its license in November 2023, which brings Beltones existing licenses to 16 licenses. Beltone Venture Capital increased its investments during 9M2023, by investing in SehaTech, WayUp Sports, Bosta and Ariika. In September 2023, Beltone acquired 100% of Cash for Microfinance, a leading FRA-licensed microfinance provider in Upper Egypt, with ambitious plans to strengthen its reach by increasing its branches capacity across Egypt and launch many mobile branches, to make its financial services available to customers especially in remote areas.--TradeArabia News Service On the night of November 28, Russian troops launched a missile attack on Kryvyi Rih. The consequences of the attack are being clarified. ADVERTISIMENT This was reported by the head of the Dnipropetrovs'k Regional Military Administration Serhiy Lysak. "At night, the aggressor fired a missile at the city of Kryvyi Rih. All details are being established," he wrote on his Telegram channel. In addition, the aggressor's army fired at the Marhanets community in Nikopol district with heavy artillery. There are no preliminary casualties. The information on the damage is being clarified by the rescuers, the rest of the region is free of hostile attacks, added Serhiy Lysak. ADVERTISIMENT It should be noted that at night, the air alert was announced twice in Dnipropetrovsk region: from 00:03 to 00:33 and from 01:58 to 02:21. During the second alert, monitoring channels reported a missile moving toward Kryvyi Rih, and as of 02:13, explosions were reported in the city. As reported by OBOZ.UA: - On the night of November 28, Russia attacked Ukraine with "shaheds" and missiles. In Khmelnytsky region, air defense shot down a drone, but the wreckage caused damage. The Ukrainian Air Force warned of "targets" moving in the direction of Starokostiantyniv. ADVERTISIMENT Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Leveraging their investment in the Calix broadband platform to rapidly deliver differentiated value for their residential subscribers, the Indiana-based cooperative launches Bark to thousands of their members, with plans to make the service available to hundreds of thousands more families in 2024 SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Calix, Inc. (NYSE: CALX) today announced that Endeavor Communications (Endeavor) is leveraging the Calix broadband platform to quickly make social media monitoring service Bark available to thousands of families in Indiana. With this initiative, Endeavor is helping protect childrens mental and physical health from pervasive threats related to digital content. Bark monitors childrens texts, email, YouTube, and 30+ apps and social media platforms. If a child interacts with alarming content, Bark sends parents alerts so they can take immediate action. Because Bark is a SmartHome managed service fully integrated for the Calix broadband platform, Endeavor executed an initial launch of Bark in just eight weeks. In 2024, Endeavor will leverage their national managed IT services business (Endeavor IT) to further extend the reach of Bark to hundreds of thousands of customers across the northern, midwestern, and southern United States. Broadband leaders like Darin LaCoursiere, president and chief executive officer at Endeavor, are leveraging their positions as trusted local broadband providers to make critical services like Bark more accessible to communities that often lack adequate mental health resources. Additionally, many parents struggle to understand how to help their children navigate the documented dangers of social media. In addition to arming them with AI-enabled text and social media monitoring technology, Bark provides deep educational resources for parents. I did not have these tools at my disposal when my child was dealing with school bullying that followed her home via social media, said LaCoursiere. Social media amplifies the reach of bullying, and our move to a new town left us unaware of available support resources. If we had known that our internet provider could assist us in dealing with this issue, it would have been such a relief. Endeavor is a growing broadband service provider (BSP) founded by a telecommunications cooperative that has served their communities for over 70 years. To educate their communities about Bark, Endeavor offered free accounts to local educators to help students. In late October, they launched Bark to families in their current broadband territory. At Endeavor, we emphasize the importance of parental education, said LaCoursiere. Families should not have to experience a traumatic event to learn about the tools available to them. The simplicity of deploying Bark via the Calix platform frees our teams resources to focus on educating our community and strategizing how to reach more families. Plus, Calix Smart Start for Managed Services helped us build out our deployment playbook. The Endeavor team also leveraged customizable creative assets in the Calix Electronic Content Builder to accelerate their education campaigns. We are proud to support Endeavor as they make an incredible difference in the lives of the families they serve, said Michael Weening, president and chief executive officer at Calix. Darin clearly understands the challenges parents face today. By launching Bark, he and his team are making sure the families they serve have a better experience than he did. That is leadership and a great testament to how the Calix platform can simplify launching an incredible service like Bark for the betterment of the community. It is an honor to partner with him and his team as they become the first broadband provider in Indiana to take this important step for children, parents, and the community. Schedule a consultation to learn more about Bark on the Calix broadband platform. About Calix Calix, Inc. (NYSE: CALX)Broadband service providers of all sizes leverage the Calix platform and teams to simplify their business and excite their subscribers to grow the value of their business and for their communities for generations. The democratizing power of the platform and portfolio of managed services enables them to operate efficiently, acquire subscribers, and deliver exceptional experiences. Calix is dedicated to driving continuous improvement in partnership with our growing ecosystem to support the transformation of our customers and their communities. This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based upon managements current expectations and are inherently uncertain. Forward-looking statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this release, and we assume no obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking statement to reflect any event or circumstance after the date of this release, except as required by law. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from current expectations based on risks and uncertainties affecting Calixs business. The reader is cautioned not to rely on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Additional information on potential factors that could affect Calixs results and other risks and uncertainties are detailed in its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC and available at www.sec.gov. Calix and the Calix logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Calix and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Calixs trademarks can be found at https://www.calix.com/pages/trademarks.html. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128586776/en/ Press Inquiries: Alison Crisci 919-353-4323 [email protected] Investor Inquiries: Jim Fanucchi [email protected] Source: Calix, Inc. VC firm cements leadership team with key Principal hire and promotes Alexa Payton, formerly Chief of Staff, to Head of Investor Relations AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Growth Warrior Capital (GWC), an early-stage venture capital firm, today announced appointments to its investment team. GWC is cementing its trailblazing leadership team with the appointment of Rachel Baruch as Principal, along with the promotion of Alexa Payton, formerly Chief of Staff, to Head of Investor Relations. Baruch will drive the deal selection process for its future funds, collaborating closely with the leadership team to define deal theses and outcomes. Her role will involve raising capital from institutional investors and managing a growing pipeline of deals. Baruch, in tandem with Founder and Managing Partner Promise Phelon, will spearhead investment approaches by collecting market feedback and data, meeting industry luminaries and processing fund performance to determine where and how GWC can create the greatest alpha for its limited partners. In Paytons new role, she will identify, research, vet and continuously nurture institutional investors that meet the economic and strategic objectives of GWC. Prior to her role at the firm, Baruch served as an investor at Anthos Capital, where she played an integral role in deploying the firms three most recent funds, ranging from $300M to $1.5B. Throughout the course of her career, she has sourced hundreds of millions of dollars in investments across the fintech, healthcare and software sectors, including successful fintech companies Flutterwave, one of Africas first $1B+ unicorns, and Episode Six, which has raised more than $100M in funding to-date. She has nearly a decade of experience in finding high-performing entrepreneurs and structuring and optimizing phenomenal deals. Additionally, Baruch uses a proactive hunting approach when it comes to picking and backing companies; she aims to stay ahead of the curve by frequently connecting with industry visionaries and closely analyzing opportunities in the market. Kickstarting her venture career in Tel Aviv, Baruch connected startups and global investors and later expanded her horizons through working in events operations at TechCrunch Disrupt in London and NYC. Baruch is a graduate of the NYU Gallatin School of Individualized Study, where she is an active advisor to the Tory Burch Scholars and sits on the NYU Innovation Fund Venture Board. In addition to her role at GWC, Baruch will continue to serve as a founding advisor to early-stage VC firm and growth consultancy Fiat Growth. As data shows that female leaders outperform their male counterparts in terms of generating value and that women-led startups are five times more likely to become billion-dollar companies compared to male-led businesses, Baruch and Paytons appointments showcase the firms track record and devotion to growing and scaling dangerous and high-performing companies, particularly those founded by diverse and female individuals. Baruchs hiring and Paytons promotion are announced on the heels of GWCs inaugural Warrior Summit, a conference for founders and investors that took place on Oct. 31 in Austin. The eventhosting conversations with investment leaders from Bank of America, Pivotal Ventures, Bessemer, Oracle Netsuite, A.Team, Gunderson Dettmer, All Places and TechStars, as well as Sherrell Dorsey of TED Tech and tech entrepreneur Autumn Manningplatformed ambitious founders, CEOs and venture capitalists to network and build relationships with reputable leaders in the space. Elevating founders by giving them an equal seat at the table has always been a passion of mine, and the Growth Warrior Capital team has inspired me to engineer long-term wealth and bold visions for both our founders and limited partners, said Rachel Baruch, Principal at Growth Warrior Capital. I have continued to be impressed and motivated by GWCs determination, authenticity and operational grit to emerge as a leader in the venture industry. In this new role, I look forward to working alongside a talented technology-focused teamone who uses its operating expertise as a superpowerand taking our investments to the next level. Rachel is a force in our industry and I couldnt be more thrilled for her to join our team, said Promise Phelon, Founder and Managing Partner of Growth Warrior Capital. She is a crucial asset as we build our firm and bring to market a new, operator-focused investment model that supports founders on their path to CEO. Her insights, strategic oversight and expertise are needed to generate success for our own business, our partners and the industry at large. With these latest additions and positive changes to our team, were poised to capitalize the early-stage founders we work with, and todays entrepreneurial ecosystem supports that vision. Later this year, GWC intends to launch its first product offering, Elevo, a GenAI-driven pitch deck builder utilizing artificial intelligence to help founders at any stage build funding decks that investors want to see. To learn more about Growth Warrior Capital, please visit growthwarriorcapital.com. For visual assets, founder bios and headshots, please access the media kit here. ABOUT GROWTH WARRIOR CAPITAL Growth Warrior Capital (GWC) is a Seed and Series A venture capital firm founded by seasoned entrepreneur and operator Promise Phelon. Founded in 2021, the firm invests in dangerous technology companies led by diverse and female founders. With a proven track record of accelerating growth for its portfolio companies, GWC brings deep tech operator expertise and delivers outsized returns. For more information, please visit gwc.vc. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128622774/en/ MEDIA [email protected] 518-258-9826 Source: Growth Warrior Capital NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- FOX News Audio will debut a new weekly podcast hosted by FOX News correspondent Benjamin Hall beginning Monday December 4. Entitled Searching for Heroes with Benjamin Hall, the podcast will highlight inspiring stories of community and compassion, while providing a voice to Americas unsung heroes. The first episode will feature a look back at the catastrophic injuries Hall sustained while covering the war in Ukraine and the extraordinary efforts that aided his road to recovery. While news gathering in Ukraine in March of 2022, Halls car was hit by a projectile missile, leaving him with one working limb and tragically taking the lives of his colleagues, FOX News photojournalist Pierre Zakrzewski and Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra Kuvshynova. Since the attack, Hall has been inspired by the incredible efforts of everyday heroes similar to those who went above and beyond to help him throughout his arduous journey of recovery. Additional episodes will include Hall spotlighting heroes who served, including Rich Fierro, an Army veteran who stopped a gunman that opened fire at Club Q in Colorado Springs and Brandonn Mixon, a former Afghanistan War veteran who started the Veterans Community Project to help homeless veterans, among others. Searching For Heroes with Benjamin Hall will be available on FOXNewsPodcasts.com or wherever podcasts are offered. After the initial debut on December 4, episodes will be released weekly on Sunday afternoons at 3 PM/ET. Hall recently traveled back to Ukraine for the first time to interview President Zelenskyy for a wide-ranging interview which aired on Special Report on November 21. While there he also met with the servicemen who assisted in his evacuation last year and was awarded the Order of Merit, III class, by Zelenskyy for his outstanding personal contribution to strengthening interstate cooperation, support for Ukraine's independence and territorial integrity. Amid enduring more than 30 surgeries over the last 20 months, Hall chronicled his journey in Saved: A War Reporters Mission to Make it Home which was published in March 2023 and became a New York Times bestseller. FOX News Audio encompasses FOX News Radio (FNR), FOX News Headlines 24/7 and FOX News Podcasts. A 24/7 news service, FNR reaches over 16 million listeners a week on over 1,500 affiliated radio stations. Featuring three nationally syndicated weekday talk programs The Brian Kilmeade Show, FOX Across America with Jimmy Failla and The Guy Benson Show FNR also provides hourly newscasts surrounding business updates and breaking-news coverage. FOX News Podcasts offers a catalogue of more than 40 on-demand original podcasts, including The FOX News Rundown. On SiriusXM Channel 115, FOX News Headlines 24/7 provides listeners with around the clock coverage of the days headlines in 15-minute segments. More information at radio.foxnews.com radio.foxnews.com/. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128136525/en/ FOX News Audio Contacts: Connor Smith: 212.301.3879 or [email protected] Drayton Ford: 212.301.3294 or [email protected] Source: FOX News Audio SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Inseego Corp., a leader in 5G edge cloud solutions, announced the launch of the Inseego Wavemaker 5G indoor router FX3100 for T-Mobile for Business customers. This compact, cutting-edge FWA device provides ultra-fast, reliable, and secure connectivity, empowering enterprise customers to stay connected and productive like never before. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128868686/en/ Inseego Wavemaker 5G indoor router FX3100 (Photo: Business Wire) Inseegos FX3100 boasts a unique, compact design that is easy to set up and connect. Designed to meet the diverse needs of modern businesses, the FX3100 offers fast, secure, reliable, and affordable connectivity for up to 64 Wi-Fi capable devices, enabling seamless streaming, uninterrupted video conferencing, and primary or failover internet access for Point of Sale (POS) systems, surveillance cameras, data servers and more. Built with the Qualcomm Snapdragon SDX62 5G modem-RF, FX3100 offers extended cellular capabilities, including 5G NR carrier aggregation for more bands, including full n77 C-band spectrum support, which is essential for many government customers. With extensive support for 5G sub-6GHz bands and true 5G carrier aggregation, this router ensures businesses can access the broadest possible coverage and the fastest available speeds nationwide. The FX3100 has been FIPS 140-2 certified and approved by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and is ideal for many applications that require secure communications, data protection, and authentication. "Today, enterprise customers require broadband connectivity solutions to keep up with their fast-paced operations and enable real-time collaboration. The Inseego FX3100 expands on our broad portfolio of purpose-built solutions, bringing enhanced capabilities that will help enterprise customers further scale their businesses," said Ashish Sharma, President and CEO at Inseego. "We are excited to continue working with T-Mobile for Business, known for its nationwide 5G network, to bring this innovative 5G solution to enterprises of all sizes." Key features of the Inseego Wavemaker 5G indoor router FX3100 include: Compact and easy-to-install design for optimal performance : The sleek design of the FX3100 can be set up in minutes and fits into any environment. Its also equipped with external antenna ports to enhance wireless coverage in areas with weak signal strength. : The sleek design of the FX3100 can be set up in minutes and fits into any environment. Its also equipped with external antenna ports to enhance wireless coverage in areas with weak signal strength. High-speed data and extended coverage : Experience fast download and upload speeds for rapid data transfer and uninterrupted streaming. SRS technology utilizes T-Mobiles critical bands to enhance RF performance, optimizing signal coverage and capacity for improved wireless communication. : Experience fast download and upload speeds for rapid data transfer and uninterrupted streaming. SRS technology utilizes T-Mobiles critical bands to enhance RF performance, optimizing signal coverage and capacity for improved wireless communication. Multiple ways to connect : The FX3100 simultaneously supports up to 64 Wi-Fi devices, making it perfect for teams and remote work scenarios. If Ethernet is preferred, FX3100 offers 2 WAN/LAN ports. : The FX3100 simultaneously supports up to 64 Wi-Fi devices, making it perfect for teams and remote work scenarios. If Ethernet is preferred, FX3100 offers 2 WAN/LAN ports. User-friendly interface : The intuitive multi-colored LED provides all the status information needed. Download the mobile app to check or configure settings and remotely monitor status. : The intuitive multi-colored LED provides all the status information needed. Download the mobile app to check or configure settings and remotely monitor status. Enterprise-grade security : Built with industry-leading encryption protocols (including FIPS 140-2 certification), secure boot technology, and multi-layer authentication, the FX3100 safeguards business data and sensitive information from potential threats. : Built with industry-leading encryption protocols (including FIPS 140-2 certification), secure boot technology, and multi-layer authentication, the FX3100 safeguards business data and sensitive information from potential threats. Remote management: The available Inseego Connect cloud-based remote management solution gives enterprise IT managers and small businesses a powerful tool to seamlessly manage networks without being on-premises. T-Mobile for Business customers will have options for remote management of the Inseego FX3100 devices ordered through T-Mobile via Inseego Connect. The Inseego FX3100 is now available for enterprise customers through T-Mobile for Business. To learn more about this new 5G indoor router and explore T-Mobile for Business plans, please visit https://www.t-mobile.com/business/solutions/business-internet-services/business-internet. For more information, please visit https://inseego.com/products/5g-indoor-routers/fx3100/ About Inseego Corp. Inseego Corp. is the industry leader in 5G Enterprise cloud WAN solutions, with millions of end customers and thousands of enterprise and SMB customers on its 4G, 5G, and cloud platforms. Inseego's 5G Edge Cloud combines the industry's best 5G technology, rich cloud networking features, and intelligent edge applications. Inseego powers new business experiences by connecting distributed sites and workforces, securing enterprise data, and improving business outcomes with intelligent operational visibility---all over a 5G network. For more information on Inseego, visit www.inseego.com #Putting5GtoWork 2023. Inseego Corp. All rights reserved. Inseego, Inseego Wavemaker, and Inseego Connect are trademarks of Inseego Corp. Qualcomm Snapdragon is a product of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. Qualcomm and Snapdragon are trademarks of Qualcomm Incorporated, registered in the United States and other countries. Other Company, product or service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128868686/en/ Inseego Corp. Jodi Ellis [email protected] Source: Inseego Corp. Pelvic floor disorders affect nearly half of all women at some point in their lives but pelvic floor health remains an overlooked and stigmatized topic in womens health and wellbeing NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- INTIMINA, a leading intimate health brand, is urging women to make pelvic floor health and patient advocacy a key priority in 2024 and beyond. As holistic wellness continues to gain mainstream interest, INTIMINA recognizes that pelvic floor health, education and empowerment must be an integral part of the holistic health conversation. Pelvic floor disorders affect nearly 50% of women at some point in their lives and according to The Academy of the American Physical Therapy Association, it is estimated that pelvic floor dysfunction will rise by 35% in the next 12 years. Recognizing the urgency of addressing these concerns, health professionals are stressing the need for proactive steps towards pelvic floor wellness. INTIMINA is committed to changing the lack of transparency and stigmatization around pelvic floor health by focusing on knowledge, advocacy, transparency and proactivity. Pelvic floor health should not be an afterthought or something that is only addressed once problems arise, said Dr. Margo Kwiatkowski, INTIMINA Medical Advisory Board Member and pelvic floor specialist. Pelvic floor health should be at the forefront of mainstream wellness conversations, giving people the knowledge and tools they need to strengthen and care for this core part of their body. A crucial aspect to prioritizing pelvic floor health is emphasizing the importance of proactive measures, such as self-advocacy skills to ensure comprehensive care during medical examinations - whether it be with a general practitioner or specialized physical floor therapist. Many issues - such as incontinence and decreased sexual satisfaction - are symptoms of a weak or dysfunctional pelvic floor that are often misdiagnosed. Navigating medical examinations, particularly concerning intimate health matters, can be intimidating. Remember that your doctor works for you - the relationship between a doctor and patient is one that needs to be built on trust and communication, explains Dr. Kwiatkowski. Ask for all benefits and risks of each treatment option, and inquire as much as you need. Feel empowered to inquire on a multitude of questions and push for thorough answers - especially when it comes to a sensitive topic like pelvic floor health. INTIMINA will continue to prioritize and emphasize pelvic floor advocacy - through their product creation and educational resources - to help people gain the knowledge and confidence to discuss and address their pelvic floor health, emphasizing wellness in the new year ahead. About INTIMINA INTIMINA is a leading global intimate wellness brand that offers the first and only range of products dedicated exclusively to all aspects of women's intimate health. Our mission is to provide a comprehensive collection of products and information for women at every stage of life, from the first menstruation to beyond menopause. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128890522/en/ Carly Svensson [email protected] Source: INTIMINA MCMURRAY, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- In the latest analysis brief, Mark Farrah Associates (MFA), provided insights about the current employer-group Medicare Advantage (MA) market and assessed membership trends by carrier and state. As of November 1, 2023, over 283,000 more beneficiaries were enrolled in employer-group MA plans than in December of 2022, a 5.5% increase according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare Advantage enrollment reports aggregated by Mark Farrah Associates in Medicare Business Online. As of November 1, 2023, MFA reported over 5.4 million members were enrolled in employer-group Medicare Advantage plans, or Medicare Advantage employer-group waiver plans (MA-EGWPs). The top five carriers covered 85% of all group Medicare Advantage enrollees as of November 1, 2023, with UnitedHealth leading in terms of membership at approximately 1.8 million members. California maintained the highest number of employer group MA members with over 718,000 beneficiaries as of November 1, 2023. To read the full FREE text of Employer-Group Medicare Advantage Year-to-Date Enrollment Updates", visit the MFA Briefs on Mark Farrah Associates' website. About Medicare Business Online This brief is based on an analysis of employer-group enrollment data for Medicare Advantage released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Mark Farrah Associates Medicare Business Online simplifies the tracking of monthly Medicare Advantage and PDP enrollment by competitor. Enrollment data is updated monthly as soon as CMS releases new data. About Mark Farrah Associates (MFA) MFA is a leading data aggregator and publisher providing health plan market data and analysis tools for the healthcare industry. Committed to simplifying analysis of health insurance business, our products include: Health Coverage Portal, Medicare Business Online, Medicare Benefits Analyzer, County Health Coverage, Health Plans USA and 5500 Employer Health Plus. Follow us on LinkedIn! Healthcare Business Strategy is a FREE monthly brief that presents analysis of important issues and developments affecting healthcare business today. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128174955/en/ Mark Farrah Associates Ann Marie Wolfe, [email protected] Source: Mark Farrah Associates BELLINGHAM, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- MedicareOnDemand (MOD), the highly-acclaimed online platform that makes it easy for seniors to match Medicare insurance options with plans accepted by their providers, has become a preferred program of both the Medical Association of Georgia (MAG) and the Texas Independent Osteopathic Physician Organization (TIOPA). In showing their enthusiastic support for MOD, these two organizations join a growing list of healthcare providers nationwide who have embraced MOD as a proactive strategy to help retain their Medicare patients and assure continuity of care at a time of great industry disruption and upheaval. Todays healthcare landscape is noisy and fragmented with providers having diverse relationships and Medicare plans acting in their own self-interest by promoting everything from food cards to gym membership rather than emphasizing the importance of continuity care through established provider networks, said MedicareCompareUSAs CEO Kerri Lenderman. MCUSA, the nations largest Medicare insurance-solution network for hospitals, health systems, physician groups and pharmacies, created MOD earlier this year with the dual goals of helping providers preserve their coveted relationships while putting these patients in total control of how they compare and buy Medicare insurance. The challenge is particularly troublesome for seniors who as they age typically require evolving healthcare needs and multiple relationships across the delivery system. Navigating and changing insurance commonly accepted is a challenge, continued Lenderman. MOD cuts through this clutter by putting in front of patients all options accepted by their care team and helping them enroll in coverage that meets their needs and protects continuity of care. With more than 8,700 members including physicians in every specialty and practice setting, MAG is the leading advocate for physicians in Georgia. As part of its new relationship, MCUSA Founder and Chairman Paul Gauthier addressed the organizations House of Delegates meeting last month concerning the state of Medicare, the unprecedented business challenges physicians are facing and how MOD is the right solution at the right time. In addition, a webinar discussing similar topics and explaining the value proposition of MOD is now available for view on the MAG website (mag.org). Similarly, a presentation concerning the state of the industry and the intrinsic benefits MOD brings to providers and their patients was recently applauded by TIOPA (tiopa.org) members at a forum held at TIOPAs offices in Fort Worth. Rack Cards concerning MOD are now available for TIOPAs approximately 2,000 members to share with their patients and a full array of onboarding activities, educational materials and communication support for both MAG an TIOPA is planned for early 2024. MedicareOnDemand is the best tool on the market to help providers leverage the relationships and trust that they have built through the years with their Medicare patients to retain this important book of business, said Robert Smullin founder and managing partner of Highwater Medical Resources. One of the premier consulting, marketing and sales organizations in healthcare, Highwater recently entered into a partnership with MCUSA to introduce MOD to independent physicians around the country, including their facilitation of the new relationships with MAG and TIOPA. Highwater is now assisting with client management including coordinating and distributing communications that help educate provider staff and others who can refer patients to MOD. A consumer-friendly online insurance exchange and resource center, MedicareOnDemand (medicareondemand.com) helps ensure patients make informed Medicare insurance buying decisions that uphold strong physician-patient relationships. Through MOD, consumers can easily compare Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement and Medicare Prescription Drug plans online and can even create a customized shopping experience by entering physicians, medication and preferred pharmacy information. MOD verifies plans accepted by specific providers and offers consumers the opportunity to speak immediately with a licensed insurance agent, either by phone or by scheduling a personal appointment. These agents not only help with Medicare questions and enrollment but serve patient needs for all future Medicare support. About MedicareCompareUSA As the nations leader in its space, MedicareCompareUSA currently supports more than 650 hospitals, health systems, physician groups and pharmacies from coast to coast who collectively care for more than 10% of the nations Medicare population. With its strong foundation and impressive track record, an increasing number of hospitals and doctors are looking to MedicareCompareUSA and its sister company, MCUSA Consulting, as an indispensable part of a proactive patient-communication and population-management strategy. Visit https://medicareondemand.com and https://medicarecompareusa.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128278726/en/ Ross Goldberg 818-597-8453 [email protected] Source: MedicareCompareUSA FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Metronet has officially declared the City of Fayetteville a Certified Gigabit City Powered by Metronet after the companys ultra-high-speed, multi-gigabit fiber optic network became accessible to a majority of households and businesses throughout the city. To date, Metronet has installed more than 170 miles of fiber optic internet throughout Fayetteville, bringing future-proof multi-gigabit speeds to residents and businesses through their fully-funded $70 million investment in the community. The City of Fayetteville is proud to be recognized as a Certified Gigabit City Powered by Metronet. With Metronets investment in our city, residents and businesses have gained widespread access to a reliable internet connection, an imperative need in todays world, said Fayetteville City Manager Douglas J. Hewett. As Fayetteville continues to focus on our advancement as a connected, forward-thinking city, Metronets commitment to our community has helped us make large strides to achieving our goals. Fayetteville and Cumberland County are growing. Metronets investment in our community is providing our citizens and businesses exponentially expanded access to state-of-the-art fiber optic infrastructure, allowing them access to rapidly evolving opportunities for learning, employment, and enjoyment, said Robert Van Geons, Fayetteville Economic Development Center President and CEO. Metronet is a trailblazer, and their selection of Fayetteville as their first North Carolina city has positively impacted our economic development efforts and future trajectory. Metronet has been an excellent partner, and we are grateful for their commitment to Fayetteville, Cumberland County, and the surrounding region. We look forward to a bright future full of innovation and collaboration. Metronet is excited to officially declare Fayetteville a Certified Gigabit City Powered by Metronet as we continue to connect residents and businesses throughout Fayetteville to our multi-gigabit 100% fiber optic internet, said Telly Whitfield, Metronet Government Affairs Director. We are sincerely grateful for the steadfast support of city leadership as we have moved through our construction efforts to power Fayetteville with Metronets 100% fiber optic internet and the future of technology. Metronet began construction in Fayetteville in 2021 and has since grown to become the nations largest independently owned, 100% fiber optic provider, rapidly growing to create more Certified Gigabit Cities Powered by Metronet. Fayetteville residents interested in learning more about Metronets future-proof services may visit Metronet.com. Metronet maintains a storefront located at 399 Westwood Shopping Center, Fayetteville, NC 28314, and currently employs several local associates in departments such as sales, marketing, customer service and field operations. Those interested in joining the Metronet team can visit Metronet.com/careers to search available positions and submit applications. Certification as a Certified Gigabit City Powered by Metronet is earned once a majority of households and business locations have access to Metronets symmetrical fiber optic internet speeds of at least 1 Gigabit (1,000 megabits per second). The number of households is based on the total Households (2017-2021) and the number of business locations is based on total All firms (2017) from the U.S. Census Bureau. City officials interested in adding their community to Metronets growing list of Certified Gigabit Cities Powered by Metronet may visit metronet.com/gigabit-city or contact Eddie Massengale, Metronet Sr. Director of Business Development at [email protected] or at 423-280-9031. High-resolution logos and photos available upon request. About Metronet: Metronet is the nations largest independently owned, 100% fiber optic company headquartered in Evansville, Indiana. The customer-focused company provides cutting-edge fiber optic communication services, including high-speed Fiber Internet and full-featured Fiber Phone. Metronet started in 2005 with one fiber optic network in Greencastle, Indiana. Since then, Metronet and its affiliates have grown to serve and construct networks in more than 250 communities across Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Texas, Wisconsin, Missouri, Colorado, New Mexico, and Louisiana. Metronet is committed to bringing state-of-the-art telecommunication services to communities services that are comparable or superior to those offered in large metropolitan areas. By offering XGS PON technology, Metronet can easily carry its communities into the future of multi-gigabit service. Metronet has been recognized by PC Mag as one of the Top 10 Fastest ISPs in North Central United States in 2020 and Top 10 ISPs with Best Gaming Quality Index in 2021. Broadband Now has recognized Metronet as the Top 3 Fastest Internet Providers and Fastest Fiber Providers in the Nation in 2020, and #1 Fastest Mid-Sized Internet Provider in two states in 2020. In 2020, Metronet was awarded the Vectren Energy Safe Digging Partner Award from Vectren. For more information, visit www.Metronet.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128019075/en/ Katherine Yochum [email protected] 502.963.8409 Source: Metronet Targeting machine-tool software development to expand Circular Digital-Engineering business TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) announced today that it has agreed to strategically partner with and invest in ModuleWorks GmbH, a leading software component provider for the digital manufacturing industry. The agreement builds on Mitsubishi Electric's ongoing collaboration with ModuleWorks, a highly regarded developer of cutting-edge CAD/CAM solutions, for the development of advanced technologies to generate machining-tool paths and conduct machine-tool simulations. The simulation of machining operations and the avoidance of real-time collisions through machine verifications are critical to the operation and safe use of machines, as well as to reducing the burden of engineering. Mitsubishi Electric intends to accelerate joint development and marketing through its partnership with ModuleWorks. By strengthening its software development, including machine-tool simulation and data integration with CAD/CAM, the company aims to realize easier and safer operation of machine tools, reduce engineering workloads, and optimize engineering chains. Ultimately, this is expected to contribute to the growth of Mitsubishi Electric's Circular Digital-Engineering business, including the expanded use of digital twins and other advanced technologies in the machine tool field and the realization of increasingly smart production sites. For the full text, please visit: www.MitsubishiElectric.com/news/ View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231127073409/en/ Customer Inquiries Numerical Controller Business Development Dept Industrial Automation Machinery Marketing Division Factory Automation Systems Group Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Tel: +81-3-3218-6570 www.MitsubishiElectric.com/fa/support Media Inquiries Takeyoshi Komatsu Public Relations Division Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Tel: +81-3-3218-2346 [email protected] www.MitsubishiElectric.com/news/ Source: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation List Recognizes Tech Breakthroughs Across Industries That Promise to Transform the Future AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- MNTN, the Hardest Working Software in Television and trailblazer in streaming TV advertising, today announced that it has been named to Fast Companys third annual Next Big Things in Tech list, which honors technology breakthroughs that promise to shape the future of industries, from healthcare and security to artificial intelligence and data. This year, 119 technologies developed by established companies, startups, or research teams are highlighted for their cutting-edge advancements and potential to impact consumers, businesses, and society overall. While not all of the technological developments are available in the market yet, each one is reaching key milestones in order to have a proven impact in the next five years. MNTN has successfully democratized TV advertising through its self-serve ad platform, enabling brands of any size to easily buy, target, and measure TV advertising campaigns across 150+ leading streaming networks. By removing the traditional operational, technical, and financial hurdles to TV advertising, MNTN and its suite of offerings which include the innovative creative access model Creative-as-a-Subscription (CaaS) via QuickFrame and Maximum Effort allow brands to generate precise and measurable results with TV as easily as they do with search and social. By introducing Performance TV as a whole new category, MNTN has opened the door for a significant number of new advertisers to connect with customers. Case in point: over 66% of MNTNs current customers are first-time TV advertisers. "We are honored to be recognized by Fast Company as one of the Next Big Things in Tech. At MNTN, weve been relentless in pushing the boundaries of what's possible in advertising. says Mark Douglas, CEO and President of MNTN This accolade is a testament to our team's dedication to innovation, and we stand by the belief that technology should not only shape the future but also create tangible impact." The Next Big Things in Tech is not just a look around the corner it's a look around the corner after that, says Brendan Vaughan, editor-in-chief of Fast Company. These are the products and ideas that will define technological innovation for the rest of this decade and beyondand solve some of the world's most pressing issues. We are thrilled to honor the organizations that are making them a reality. Click here to see the final list. The Winter 2023/2024 issue of Fast Company is available online now and will hit newsstands on December 5. About Fast Company Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. The editor-in-chief is Brendan Vaughan. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with our sister publication, Inc., and can be found online at fastcompany.com. About MNTN MNTN is the Hardest Working Software in TV, bringing unrivaled performance and simplicity to Connected TV advertising. Our self-serve technology makes running TV ads as easy as search and social and helps brands drive measurable conversions, revenue, site visits, and more. MNTN is one of Fast Companys Most Innovative Companies of 2023. For more information, please visit https://mountain.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128073074/en/ Molly Alves [email protected] Source: MNTN On the morning of November 28, Russian terrorists launched a missile attack on Zaporizhzhia. The explosion occurred on the territory of an enterprise in one of the districts of the regional center. ADVERTISIMENT A person was injured as a result of the Russians' criminal actions. This was reported on Telegram by the head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration Yurii Malashko. According to him, the enemy struck the regional center at 8:51 a.m. An explosion occurred on the territory of one of Zaporizhzhia's enterprises. According to preliminary data, Russian troops used one of the modified Iskander ballistic missiles. The exact type of missile will be determined after experts examine the wreckage. The RMA also noted that one person was injured as a result of the missile strike. Doctors diagnosed him with light injuries. In addition, one of the stores located near the site of the strike was damaged by the blast wave. Later, the RMA clarified that seven multi-story residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia were damaged by the missile strike. Utility workers have already begun to repair the damage. Specialists of the municipal emergency service are covering the broken windows with OSB boards. ADVERTISIMENT As a reminder, the aggressor country Russia attacked the Khmelnytskyi region with Shahed drones on the night of November 28. The defenders of the sky shot down the enemy's target. The UAV was shot down, but its wreckage caused damage. ADVERTISIMENT Earlier, it was reported that the Russian occupiers shelled Kherson at night, hitting residential areas in the city center. A man was wounded as a result of the shelling. As reported by OBOZ.UA, on the morning of November 28, Russian war criminals attacked a five-story building in Nikopol, Dnipro region. A 63-year-old man was killed in the attack, and two more women aged 65 and 63 were injured. Only verified information on our Telegram OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Northwell offers expansive, specialized care in state-of-the-art space in Rego Park REGO PARK, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Northwell Health today announced the opening of a transformative suite of medical practices meant to cover a host of conditions and deliver complex, coordinated health care in the heart of Queens, a $52 million, 70,000-square-foot facility easily reachable by car, subway or bus line and anchored by the largest outpatient cancer center in the borough. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128157958/en/ Northwell Health leadership (from left): COO Mark Solazzo, John DAngelo, MD; Rich Barakat, MD; CEO Michael Dowling and Jesse Chusid, MD, cut the ribbon on Northwell Health at Rego Park. (Photo: Business Wire) Northwell Health at Rego Park, located at 95-25 Queens Boulevard, will include Northwell Health Labs, Vivo Health Pharmacy, Rego Park Imaging, STARS rehabilitation as well as specialists in bariatrics and weight management, cardiology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, general pediatrics, general surgery, hepatology, HIV, internal medicine, maternal fetal, neurology, neurosurgery, obstetrics and gynecology, orthopedics, pulmonary, rheumatology, urology, vascular and wound care. In addition, Northwell Health Cancer Institute at Rego Park will serve as a standalone center and provide best-in-class oncology care along with supportive and ancillary services such as nutrition, social work, nurse navigation, survivorship and genetic counseling as well as access to clinical trials. Northwell is committed to working with patients in their own languages, from Spanish and Chinese to Korean, Russian, Hindi and Bengali. Northwell has long been dedicated to serving the diverse population in Queens through our hospitals and by offering an array of specialty services, including bringing highly regarded transplant and cardiac programs closer to home, said Michael Dowling, president and CEO of Northwell. Now were proud to extend Northwells world class cancer care to this vibrant multicultural community because cancer spares no ethnic group, it knows no bounds and neither do our medical experts when it comes to treating this pervasive and deadly disease. Spanning two floors, the Cancer Institute provides access to specialists in breast surgery, colorectal surgery, gynecologic oncology, head and neck surgery, surgical oncology, thoracic surgery, urology, medical oncology and hematology. The $32 million center includes an infusion center with 42 private treatment areas and a host of medical/surgical oncology suites and exam rooms. Oncologists and cancer surgeons work together as a team to deliver coordinated, personalized care for all types of cancer, including breast cancer, gastrointestinal cancers, urologic cancers, lung cancers, head and neck cancers and gynecologic cancers. As part of the new cancer center, Queens Medical Associates (QMA), a member of the Northwell Health Cancer Institute, will move its highly regarded hematology and oncology practice, located in Fresh Meadows for over 30 years, to Rego Park. QMA also will maintain practices in other Queens neighborhoods. In the same building, patients can also access medical specialists to help with any side effects from treatment, advanced diagnostic and screening imaging services to serve the needs of both cancer patients and other patients, clinical trials, nurse navigation and support services. Northwell treats about 19,000 New Yorkers with cancer each year, more than any other cancer provider in the state. Its cancer specialists and staff speak more than 30 languages and dialects, which meets the medical and cultural needs of the diverse populations it serves in the community. Were excited to open a new outpatient cancer center in the heart of Queens to deliver the best cancer care close to where people live, said Richard Barakat, MD, physician-in-chief and executive director of the Northwell Health Cancer Institute. Northwell is uniquely positioned to care for patients in Queens one of the most diverse places in the country. To meet the needs of our patients, we have cancer experts and other health care professionals who speak numerous languages and are culturally sensitive to the populations we serve. Also, to remove any barrier to care, the center has translated medical forms, brochures and other communications into several languages. Rego Park cancer patients will have seamless access to specialized services at Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Forest Hills Hospital, comprehensive surgical care, including leading experts in robotic surgery, from R.J. Zuckerberg Cancer Hospital at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park and its Cancer Center in Lake Success. Meanwhile, Rego Park Imaging offers PET scan, CT scan, DEXA scan, MRI, Ultrasound and X-ray, along with breast screening and diagnostic imaging services. The expansion at Rego Park is a major commitment to better support central Queens and align with the outstanding care already being offered at LIJ Forest Hills, said John DAngelo, MD, senior vice president and regional executive director of Northwells Central region. We have a long history of service to Queens and were doubling down at Rego Park by adding more of whats in demand, from OB/GYN coverage to neurology and advanced imaging services. For more information or to make an appointment, call 718-975-2415 or go to: https://www.northwell.edu/doctors-offices/northwell-health-rego-park/. About Northwell Health Northwell Health is New York States largest health care provider and private employer, with 21 hospitals, about 900 outpatient facilities and more than 12,000 affiliated physicians. We care for over two million people annually in the New York metro area and beyond, thanks to philanthropic support from our communities. Our 85,000 employees 18,900 nurses and 4,900 employed doctors, including members of Northwell Health Physician Partners are working to change health care for the better. Were making breakthroughs in medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. We're training the next generation of medical professionals at the visionary Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and the Hofstra Northwell School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. For information on our more than 100 medical specialties, visit Northwell.edu and follow us @NorthwellHealth on Facebook, X, Instagram and LinkedIn. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128157958/en/ Jason Molinet, Northwell Health 516-321-6705/[email protected] Betty Olt, Northwell Cancer Institute 516-236-1671/[email protected] Source: Northwell Health AJ Oberland Appointed Vice President of Operations, and Maura Koehler-Hanlon Takes Helm as Managing Director to Drive Continued Growth in Portland PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Propeller, a Portland-headquartered management consulting firm known for leading organizations in retail, technology, healthcare, energy and utilities, and the public sector, announces new executive leadership in Portland. The current managing director of the Portland office, AJ Oberland, has transitioned to a new role as vice president of operations. In his new position, Oberland will oversee several internal functions to improve processes and facilitate Propellers continued growth and scalability. Oberland joined Propeller in 2015 as a consultant and quickly ascended to director in 2016 and subsequently managing director of the Portland office in 2017. During his tenure as managing director, Oberland played a pivotal role in doubling the size of the Portland market and its leadership team and hired 120 consultants locally. Oberlands commitment and compassionate leadership style helped drive the regional success of Propeller and its employees. We are excited for AJ to take on this new challenge as VP of operations, said Sunil Kasturi, CEO at Propeller. As managing director of our original and largest market, AJ partnered with leaders across Propeller to deliver success for clients and the firm and has been instrumental in the growth and success of our Portland office. I am confident he will bring the same dedication to his new role. Assuming the role of Portland managing director is Maura Koehler-Hanlon. Koehler-Hanlon joined Propeller as a consultant in 2017 and quickly proved her capabilities, earning promotions to director in 2021 and becoming the first senior director in Portland. As managing director, Koehler-Hanlon will be responsible for the Portland offices core business, fostering a positive organizational culture, and managing the client portfolio and local directors. The cornerstone of Mauras leadership is an anchoring belief in making a positive impact, said AJ Oberland, former Portland managing director and new vice president of operations at Propeller. Mauras exceptional leadership skills focus not only on the success of Propellers business but also on the experience of the clients and team members with whom she collaborates in pursuit of that impact. Her ability to rally her team makes her the ideal choice to lead our Portland office. Under her guidance, our home office will continue to thrive, further enhancing our reputation in the market. During her tenure, Koehler-Hanlon has contributed to Propeller's growth by driving exceptional business results for clients and Propeller. She helped to deepen key relationships across the Portland community and has been a leader in helping Propeller expand its operating model as it grows. Under the leadership of AJ Oberland as vice president of operations and Maura Koehler-Hanlon as managing director, the Portland office is positioning itself for continued success and growth. About Propeller Propeller is a management consulting firm that helps businesses thrive in change by delivering impact-driven solutions that build momentum. Propeller consultants work alongside client teams to deliver customized frameworks and tools that solve problems and drive change. Propeller has specialized expertise across people and change, experience design, data and analytics, and technology transformation. Since its founding in 2012, Propeller has received industry awards, including Great Place to Works Best Medium Workplace and Portland Business Journals Fastest-Growing Private Companies. Propeller has offices in Portland, Oregon; San Francisco, California; San Jose, California; Denver, Colorado; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Dallas, Texas. For more information, visit https://propeller.com/. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128037687/en/ Jillian Tongate [email protected] 701-720-3789 Propeller www.propeller.com Source: Propeller MIDLAND, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ProPetro Holding Corp. (ProPetro or the Company) (NYSE: PUMP) today announced that it has appointed Shelby Fietz as its Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) and Celina Davila as its Chief Accounting Officer (CAO), effective November 26, 2023. Chief Commercial Officer Appointment Sam Sledge, Chief Executive Officer, said, "Im pleased to announce Shelby Fietzs promotion to Chief Commercial Officer of ProPetro. With over a decade of experience here at ProPetro, Shelby has been instrumental in leading our commercial execution and maintaining key customer relationships. His expertise is crucial as our industry evolves towards an industrial model, necessitating sophisticated multi-service arrangements for our consolidating customer base. Shelbys deep understanding of our customers and of our own unique capabilities has been and will continue to be pivotal in effectively implementing our commercial initiatives and ensuring we deliver our services in innovative ways that align with our strategy and drive industry-leading efficiencies in our customers completion programs. We are confident that Shelbys leadership will continue to bring significant value to ProPetro." Mr. Fietz formerly served as the Companys Vice President of Commercial, leading the business development, sales, supply chain and marketing functions. He served previously as Vice President of Business Development, Sales and Marketing, while also leading our supply chain organization. Prior to that, Mr. Fietz held roles of increasing responsibility within ProPetro in both operations and business development dating back to 2012. Mr. Fietz also serves in a leadership capacity with the Permian Basin Chapter of the Energy Workforce and Technology Council. Chief Accounting Officer Appointment David Schorlemer, Chief Financial Officer, said, We are pleased to appoint Celina Davila to her new position as Chief Accounting Officer. Effective immediately, she will act as the Companys principal accounting officer. Celina brings significant experience in our business with ProPetro and in her previous roles at Pioneer Natural Resources and in public accounting. She also has been instrumental in building and leading our accounting organization. Her focus on innovation is driving continued enhancement in our business processes and creating accounting and financial reporting efficiencies. Im delighted to be working with Celina in her new role. Prior to her appointment, Mrs. Davila served in roles of increasing responsibility within the Company, and most recently held the title of Director of Accounting and Corporate Controller, leading the accounting and financial reporting teams including the SEC financial reporting team. She served previously as Accounting Manager at Pioneer Natural Resources Company prior to the Companys acquisition of its pressure pumping services business in January of 2019. She then served as Hydraulic Fracturing Controller and later Corporate Controller for ProPetro prior to her promotion to the Director of Accounting and Corporate Controller role in 2022. Mrs. Davila also provides leadership in the Companys Women of ProPetro employee organization. Mrs. Davila is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting and a Masters in Business Administration from Texas Tech University. She started her career in public accounting as a Senior Auditor at Johnson, Miller & Co. About ProPetro ProPetro Holding Corp. is a Midland, Texas-based provider of premium completion services to leading upstream oil and gas companies engaged in the exploration and production of North American unconventional oil and natural gas resources. We help bring reliable energy to the world. For more information visit www.propetroservices.com. Forward-Looking Statements Except for historical information contained herein, the statements and information in this news release are forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements that are predictive in nature, that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions or that include the words may, could, plan, project, budget, predict, pursue, target, seek, objective, believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, and other expressions that are predictions of, or indicate, future events and trends and that do not relate to historical matters identify forwardlooking statements. Our forwardlooking statements include, among other matters, statements about our business strategy, industry, future profitability, expected fleet utilization, sustainability efforts, the future performance of newly improved technology, expected capital expenditures and the impact of such expenditures on our performance and capital programs. A forwardlooking statement may include a statement of the assumptions or bases underlying the forwardlooking statement. We believe that we have chosen these assumptions or bases in good faith and that they are reasonable. Although forwardlooking statements reflect our good faith beliefs at the time they are made, forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events and results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include the volatility of oil prices, the operational disruption and market volatility resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the global macroeconomic uncertainty related to the Russia-Ukraine war, and other factors described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, particularly the Risk Factors sections of such filings, and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC). In addition, the Company may be subject to currently unforeseen risks that may have a materially adverse impact on it, including matters related to shareholder litigation. Accordingly, no assurances can be given that the actual events and results will not be materially different than the anticipated results described in the forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements and are urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures made in the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and other filings made with the SEC from time to time that disclose risks and uncertainties that may affect the Companys business. The forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. ProPetro does not undertake, and expressly disclaims, any duty to publicly update these statements, whether as a result of new information, new developments or otherwise, except to the extent that disclosure is required by law. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128435412/en/ Investor Contacts: David Schorlemer Chief Financial Officer [email protected] 432-227-0864 Matt Augustine Director, Corporate Development and Investor Relations [email protected] 432-219-7620 Source: ProPetro Holding Corp. SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Seek Labs, a healthcare innovations company developing next-generation molecular diagnostic systems and pharmaceuticals, today announced the successful completion of a significant expansion at its headquarters. The expansion, aimed at fostering innovation and employee growth, has quadrupled the size of the office space and introduced new facilities to support employee well-being. The expansion, which began in July 2023 and concluded at the end of November, marks a milestone for Seek Labs as it continues to drive diagnostic and pharmaceutical innovation. The new facilities have been thoughtfully designed to enhance collaboration, innovation, and employee satisfaction. Key features of the expansion include: Quadrupled Office Space: The existing space nearly quadrupled by adding 16,700 sq. ft. of new office space to the existing 5,000 sq. ft., for a total of over 21,000 sq. ft. of new space. This increased capacity will accommodate the growing needs of Seek Labs and support development of new projects and initiatives. New Pharmaceutical Laboratory Space: New state-of-the-art laboratory spaces were added, which are intended for ongoing pharmaceutical research. The new pharmaceutical labs will enable the team to conduct cutting-edge research and development, reinforcing Seek Labs' commitment to advancing innovation. Additional Spaces for Employee Productivity and Well-being: Recognizing the importance of a conducive work environment, Seek Labs has incorporated new spaces to promote employee well-being and productivity. These include dedicated areas for collaboration, meditation, and enhanced amenities to support the team. "This expansion represents a significant investment in our future and a commitment to providing our team with the resources and environment they need to thrive, said Jared Bauer, CEO. The additional space and enhanced facilities will empower us to continue delivering groundbreaking solutions in diagnostics and pharmaceuticals and foster a workplace culture that prioritizes both innovation and well-being. We hope the increased office space helps us get important products to patients more rapidly." Seek Labs looks forward to the positive impact the expansion will have on its operations and the continued success of its team. Seek Labs remains dedicated to driving innovation in diagnostic and pharmaceutical technologies that improve outcomes for patients globally. Additionally, Seek Labs is committed to maintaining a workplace that inspires creativity and collaboration. About Seek Labs Seek Labs is a company united by a vision to advance scientific discovery and universal solutions. Seek Labs strives to innovate healthcare solutions that bridge gaps between patients, providers, and treatments. Seek Labs is united by the passion of our founders and their shared beliefs that healthcare solutions should empower individuals and serve their specific needs. Todayafter years of experimentation, failure, and breakthrough Seek Labs is developing next generation molecular diagnostics and pharmaceutical technologies that have the potential to revolutionize the detection and treatment of diseases. Seek Labs is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. Seek Labs is a proud member of the BioHive, a collective representing the life sciences and healthcare innovation ecosystem in Utah. BioHive is dedicated to all the ways our work can positively impact the lives of our community, our teams, and patients. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128847427/en/ Bridget Baldwin Director of Communications, Seek Labs [email protected] Source: Seek Labs NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), a member of SMBC Group, today announced that Paul Burke has joined the firm to lead a newly created Capital Solutions Group. Based in New York, Paul will work across the SMBC Americas Division banking businesses to evolve balance sheet optimization strategies, while advising clients on loan portfolio and capital optimization transactions, with a focus on financial institutions and sponsor clients. We are pleased to welcome Paul to Team SMBC as his proven leadership adds significant value to our mix of clients, said Hirofumi Otsuka, Chief Executive Officer, Americas Division and President and CEO of SMBC Americas Holdings, Inc. Pauls arrival and the creation of the new Capital Solutions Group underscores our commitment to growth in the Americas. With more than 20 years of industry experience, Paul joins SMBC from Morgan Stanley where he spent over 12 years working in both New York and London. He most recently served as the Head of Securitized Products Capital Markets in New York. Prior to Morgan Stanley, he worked in London in various banking roles at firms including Nomura and Royal Bank of Scotland. Paul started his career at Deloitte and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. About SMBC Group SMBC Group is a top-tier global financial group. Headquartered in Tokyo and with a 400-year history, SMBC Group offers a diverse range of financial services, including banking, leasing, securities, credit cards, and consumer finance. The Group has more than 150 offices and 86,000 employees worldwide in nearly 40 countries. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (SMFG) is the holding company of SMBC Group, which is one of the three largest banking groups in Japan. SMFGs shares trade on the Tokyo, Nagoya, and ADRs on the New York (NYSE: SMFG) stock exchanges. In the Americas, SMBC Group has a presence in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Peru. Backed by the capital strength of SMBC Group and the value of its relationships in Asia, the Group offers a range of commercial and investment banking services to its corporate, institutional, and municipal clients. It connects a diverse client base to local markets and the organizations extensive global network. The Groups operating companies in the Americas include Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. (SMBC), SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc., SMBC Nikko Securities Canada, Ltd., SMBC Capital Markets, Inc., SMBC Rail Services LLC, Manufacturers Bank, JRI America, Inc., SMBC Leasing and Finance, Inc., Banco Sumitomo Mitsui Brasileiro S.A., and Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co., Ltd. For more information, please visit www.smbcgroup.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128187920/en/ Drew Benson [email protected] Source: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- STEER Technologies Inc. (STEER or the Company) (TSXV: STER), (OTCQX: STEEF), an integrated ESG technology platform, today announced a change to its senior management team with Dean Wu being appointed as the Companys Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective immediately. Mr. Wu graduated from Western University in 2016 and worked for a number of private equity firms and technology companies prior to joining STEER. He has been with the Company since June, 2022, quickly rising through the ranks and having been instrumental in the preparation of the Companys previous quarterly and annual filings. About the Company STEER is an integrated ESG technology platform that moves people and delivers things through subscription and on-demand services. The Companys goal is to build a one-of-a-kind ecosystem that aggregates conscientious users, through a series of connected offerings, and enables them to buy, sell, or invest with the same platform, STEER. The Companys offerings generally fall into two categories: subscription-based offerings led by its flagship electric vehicle subscription business, STEER EV, and on-demand services incorporating delivery, B2B marketplace, Delivery-as-a-Service (DaaS) and rideshare businesses. The Companys platform is also powered by EcoCRED, its big data, analytics and machine learning engine which seeks to capture, analyze, parse and report on key data points in ways that measure the Companys impact on carbon reductions and offsets. For more about the Company, visit www.steeresg.com. Junaid Razvi, Chairman of the Board [email protected] STEER 100 Consilium Pl, Unit 400 Scarborough, ON Canada M1H 3E3 www.steeresg.com Forward-Looking Information Certain information in this press release contains forward-looking information, including with respect to the Companys business, operations and condition, managements objectives, strategies, beliefs and intentions, and the companys forward plans to rebrand. This information is based on managements reasonable assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to us and are made as of the date of this press release. Actual results and the timing of events, such as those pertaining to success of the Companys search for a suitable Chief Executive, may differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information as a result of various factors. Information regarding our expectations of future results, performance, achievements, prospects or opportunities or the markets in which we operate is forward-looking information. Statements containing forward-looking information are not facts but instead represent managements expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events or circumstances. Many factors could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements or future events or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. See Forward-Looking Information and Risk Factors in the Companys Annual Management Discussion & Analysis (MD&A) for the year ended December 31, 2022 (filed on SEDAR on May 1, 2023) and its interim MD&A for the period ended March 31, 2023 (filed on SEDAR on May 30, 2023) for a discussion of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with these statements and other risks. Readers are urged to consider the uncertainties, risks and assumptions carefully in evaluating the forward-looking information and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such information. We have no intention and undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities legislation and regulatory requirements. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231127243563/en/ Company: Junaid Razvi, [email protected] Media: Maria Verbytska, [email protected] 1-888-300-2228 Source: STEER Technologies Inc. KATY, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Tellus Equipment Solutions ("Tellus"), a premier John Deere Agricultural and Turf dealer, is pleased to announce its recent acquisition of three prominent dealership locations in Marble Falls, San Antonio, and Bulverde. This strategic endeavor marks a significant step forward, solidifying Tellus's commitment to serving the vibrant agricultural community of Texas, now spanning across 57 counties. Jeff Donaldson, Chief Executive Officer of Tellus, underscores the significance of this acquisition, stating, "This represents a remarkable milestone for Tellus, as it opens up new avenues for delivering exceptional service, broadening parts availability, and expanding our extensive inventory. We are genuinely excited about the potential to enhance the customer experience throughout San Antonio and Austin." Tellus's dedication to its expansion plans remains unwavering, driven by a deliberate and strategic approach that seeks to cultivate a brighter future for customers and employees. The focus is on harnessing synergies, facilitated by direct access to centralized inventory, aftermarket resources, and cost efficiencies, further complementing and elevating Tellus's existing Ag and Turf portfolio. Anthony Willis, Managing Director of Cardinal System Holdings, Tellus' parent company, comments, "Tellus is delighted to fortify its presence within the John Deere system. This strategic expansion closely aligns with our growth initiatives, positioning us to pursue additional acquisitions and our long-term vision with steadfast determination." Tellus will retain employees and continue to operate strategic locations across our San Antonio and Austin markets. With a network of dealerships spanning South and Central Texas, Tellus remains committed to delivering an exceptional customer experience, with world-class service as its cornerstone. About Tellus Equipment Solutions Tellus Equipment Solutions, headquartered in Katy, Texas, is a family-owned authorized John Deere Agriculture and Turf dealer, operating 28 full-service dealerships across 57 counties in South and Central Texas. The company provides agriculture, turf and compact construction equipment, parts, and service support to various customers, including farmers, ranchers, homeowners, and commercial businesses. For more information on Tellus, visit www.tellusequip.com and find Tellus on Facebook and LinkedIn. About Cardinal System Holdings Established in 2014, Cardinal System Holdings ("Cardinal") is a family holding company with operations in consumer goods, heavy equipment, real estate, and other business ventures. Cardinal is a strategic partner with two of the world's most recognizable brands - "Coca-Cola" through its ownership of Coca-Cola Beverages Florida and "John Deere" through its ownership of Tellus Equipment Solutions. As an active owner, Cardinal combines its entrepreneurial approach and operating expertise to build multigenerational family businesses that consistently generate profitable growth and strong returns. In 2022, Cardinal-owned businesses generated more than $2 billion in revenue and employed over 5,500 people. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231127293919/en/ TyMesha Marion [email protected] 281-502-2260 Source: Tellus Equipment Solutions New site opens with 500+ employees providing AI data solutions and CX services; more than 95% of new hires are trilingual, speaking English, French and Arabic VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- TELUS International (NYSE and TSX: TIXT), a leading digital customer experience innovator that designs, builds and delivers next-generation solutions, including artificial intelligence (AI) and content moderation, today announced the official opening of its latest site in Casablanca, Morocco. The newly constructed, state-of-the-art facility is part of the company's recent expansion into Africa and combines cutting-edge technology with an environmentally-friendly ethos. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128473614/en/ TELUS International Celebrates the Launch of Eco-Friendly Site in Morocco (Photo: Business Wire) I would like to congratulate our TELUS International team on achieving this milestone in our companys global expansion within the EMEA region. Our site in Casablanca is a testament to our ongoing commitment to responsible and strategic growth as we continue to meet the evolving needs of long-term clients such as Google, Structube and Travel Planet, and to fulfill the near-term demand we are seeing for greater diversification in offshore and nearshore delivery capabilities for AI data solutions, multilingual customer support and trust and safety services, said Jeff Puritt, President and CEO of TELUS International. We believe that business success and environmental and social responsibility go hand in hand, and todays launch marks a significant step in TELUS International's commitment to investing sustainably to create a positive impact in the local community. Moreover, as clients continue to incorporate AI and generative AI into their businesses, our diverse global workforce is able to create and enhance the world's data across more than 500 languages and dialects to enable better AI and mitigate bias as part of our humanity-in-the-loop approach. The new seven storey, 7,500 square meter site in Morocco will open in three phases with an expected completion date in Q3 2024. Once completed, the site will accommodate more than 800 employees. The first phase, which launched today, encompasses the ground floor, first, second and third storeys with features and amenities such as a recruitment center with interview rooms and testing areas, training rooms, meeting rooms and breakout areas. The site also has a cafeteria, gaming area and lactation room as well as a medical clinic staffed by doctors and nurses designed to support employee engagement and wellbeing. Investments in sustainability More than a technological hub and innovative workplace, the new TELUS International building is constructed to triple green certification standards: Batiment Bas Carbone/Low Carbon Building (BBCA), Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), High Environmental Quality (HQE) and OsmoZ a work environment certification. Designed with numerous sustainable features, the building integrates the use of renewable energy through 2,000 square meters of solar panels on the roof, includes more than 11,000 square meters of green space and produces more energy than it consumes. Exceptional local talent with multilingual language capabilities Morocco is a fast-growing business service hub known for its exceptional talent pool of young, educated and highly-skilled digital natives representing a broad spectrum of cultures and ethnicities, and who are fluent in multiple languages. Since the start of our recruiting efforts in the region earlier this year, we have successfully hired more than five hundred team members, 95% of whom are fully trilingual and able to support our clients and their customers in French, English and Arabic, said Anthony Lacopo, Vice President, TELUS International in Morocco. Having a multilingual and diverse workforce that we can quickly and effectively scale is so critical in todays global marketplace. Brands are increasingly seeking to work with partners like TELUS International that can help them build connections with consumers in new markets, test and improve machine learning models and deliver responsibly-sourced, high quality datasets for their AI projects. From Africa and sites around the world, TELUS International designs, builds and delivers next-generation solutions, including digital CX, trust and safety services and AI data solutions, for global and disruptive brands. If youd like to learn more about our sites and services, get in touch today. About TELUS International TELUS International (NYSE & TSX: TIXT) designs, builds and delivers next-generation digital solutions to enhance the customer experience (CX) for global and disruptive brands. The companys services support the full lifecycle of its clients digital transformation journeys, enabling them to more quickly embrace next-generation digital technologies to deliver better business outcomes. TELUS Internationals integrated solutions span digital strategy, innovation, consulting and design, IT lifecycle including managed solutions, intelligent automation and end-to-end AI data solutions including computer vision capabilities, as well as omnichannel CX and trust and safety solutions including content moderation. Fueling all stages of company growth, TELUS International partners with brands across strategic industry verticals, including tech and games, communications and media, ecommerce and fintech, banking, financial services and insurance, healthcare, and others. TELUS Internationals unique caring culture promotes diversity and inclusivity through its policies, team member resource groups and workshops, and equal employment opportunity hiring practices across the regions where it operates. Since 2007, the company has positively impacted the lives of more than 1.2 million citizens around the world, building stronger communities and helping those in need through large-scale volunteer events and charitable giving. Five TELUS International Community Boards have provided $5.4 million in funding to grassroots charitable organizations since 2011. Learn more at: telusinternational.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128473614/en/ TELUS International Media Relations Ali Wilson (604) 328-7093 [email protected] TELUS International Investor Relations Jason Mayr (604) 695-3455 [email protected] Source: TELUS International FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TJX) today announced the declaration of a quarterly dividend on its common stock of $.3325 per share payable March 07, 2024, to shareholders of record on February 15, 2024. About The TJX Companies, Inc. The TJX Companies, Inc. is the leading off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions in the U.S. and worldwide. As of October 28, 2023, the end of the Companys third quarter, the Company operated a total of 4,934 stores in nine countries, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Poland, Austria, the Netherlands, and Australia, and six e-commerce sites. These include 1,317 T.J. Maxx, 1,196 Marshalls, 914 HomeGoods, 90 Sierra, and 54 Homesense stores, as well as tjmaxx.com, marshalls.com, and sierra.com, in the United States; 302 Winners, 157 HomeSense, and 106 Marshalls stores in Canada; 641 T.K. Maxx and 79 Homesense stores, as well as tkmaxx.com, tkmaxx.de, and tkmaxx.at in Europe; and 78 T.K. Maxx stores in Australia. TJXs press releases and financial information are available at TJX.com. Important Information at Website The Company routinely posts information that may be important to investors in the Investors section at TJX.com. The Company encourages investors to consult that section of its website regularly. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128560691/en/ Debra McConnell Global Communications (508) 390-2323 Source: The TJX Companies, Inc. Experienced Cruise Professional Monica Sagisi Joins UnCruise Adventures to Drive Growth in Adventure Cruising JUNEAU, Alaska--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- UnCruise Adventures, a leader in the small ship post-pandemic adventure cruise boom, announces the addition of Monica Sagisi as its new Vice President of Marketing and Sales. Capitalizing on recent upticks in adventure vacation travel, UnCruise Adventures welcomes Ms. Sagisi to its executive team. She brings long term expedition cruising experience to the companys sales and marketing departments, including over a decade at Paul Gauguin Cruises. Her background encompasses UnCruise Adventures primary destination of Alaska as well as Baja Mexicos Gulf of California. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128920556/en/ Newly appointed Vice President of Marketing and Sales, Monica Sagisi for UnCruise Adventures. (Photo: Business Wire) "I am thrilled to welcome Monica to the UnCruise Adventures family," said Dan Blanchard, Owner, and CEO of UnCruise Adventures. "Her wealth of experience in expedition cruising and her passion for delivering exceptional travel experiences align perfectly with our values. Monica will be instrumental in taking our adventure offerings to new heights." Ms. Sagisi's appointment comes at a time when UnCruise Adventures is celebrating its 28th year of unrivaled small ship discovery and redefining adventure cruising. With a fleet of nine ships exploring remote areas while supporting local communities, the addition of Monica Sagisi is a testament to UnCruise Adventures' commitment to providing travelers with unforgettable journeys in a unique and sustainable way. "I have always been a fan of UnCruise Adventures, now Im thrilled to be part of the stellar team that provides these life-changing experiences! For me, coming back to small-ship cruising is like coming home," shares Monica Sagisi, Vice President of Marketing and Sales, UnCruise Adventures. Travelers seeking unique and immersive adventures can take advantage of UnCruise Adventures' limited time offers, including significant savings on 2024 Baja, Mexico cruises, new adventure offers in Alaska like "Kids in Nature Savings," "Adult Only Baja Cruise Deals," along with new offers for WAVE Season 2024. UnCruise Adventures is about creating opportunities for everyone to experience the wonders of remote locations with small groups and a small footprint. To secure a booking and embark on a small ship adventure, visit uncruise.com, contact UnCruise Adventures' Adventure Specialists at [email protected], 888-862-8881, or contact your local travel advisor. About UnCruise Adventures: UnCruise Adventures is a responsible travel and adventure leader in the small boat industry. They operate boutique yachts and small boats carrying 22-86 guests on voyages in Alaska, Hawaiian Islands, Gulf of California, Northern Baja California, Prince William Sound, Aleutian Islands, & Galapagos. UnCruise Adventures has been picked as the top adventure cruise line by Cruise Critic multiple times, and Travel & Leisure readers have also named UnCruise Adventures in its Worlds Best Awards and its list of top 10 small ship ocean cruise lines for multiple years in a row. UnCruise Adventures is a member of the Adventure Travel Trade Association and Transformational Travel Council. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128920556/en/ UnCruise Adventures [email protected] Source: UnCruise Adventures After successful attacks by the Ukrainian Defense Forces on the Crimean bridge built by the invaders, which connected the occupied peninsula with the Russian mainland, the Russians placed booms and defensive structures near it. In this way, the invaders hoped to protect the illegal construction from attacks from the sea. ADVERTISIMENT However, the storm that raged in the Black Sea made its own adjustments as the occupiers' defenses near the Crimean bridge were destroyed. Photos taken before and after the storm were published by the Telegram channel Armed Forces of Ukraine. War against the Occupiers. "After the storm, the protective structures near the Crimean Bridge were destroyed... Neptune did a good job. Of course, the Russians will try to build new defenses again, but the fact remains," the message says. The channel's administrators also published photos confirming the destruction of the defenses installed by the occupiers near the Crimean bridge. Thus, the invaders tried to protect this legitimate target from attacks from the sea by installing booms and protective structures in the water. ADVERTISIMENT The channel administrators have indicated the location of the protective structures with arrows. However, after the storm, there was no trace of these protective structures. "Protective structures after the storm. The booms were washed away because of the weather. It's unlikely that the occupiers removed them during the storm," the public commented on a photo taken after the storm. ADVERTISIMENT On November 26, Crimea, temporarily occupied by Russia, was hit by a storm, which was called the most powerful in the last hundred years. The sea overflowed its banks, and the waves washed away Russian trenches. At the same time, strong winds tore off the cladding from buildings, uprooted trees, toppled advertising structures and blew roofs off houses. Dr. Jiang Zhu of Scripps Research participating as a featured speaker. Additional data on Uvax Bio HIV-1 to be presented in poster form. NEWARK, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Uvax Bio, LLC, a privately held, preclinical-stage vaccine development company, today announced that Dr. Jiang Zhu, Associate Professor of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology at Scripps Research, and Co-founder of Uvax Bio, LLC will be presenting a review of the development of Uvax Bios HIV-1 vaccine candidates including the latest results from the companys preclinical studies confirming safety and immunogenicity in rodent models. The presentation will be during the World Vaccine Congress West Coast in Santa Clara, California on November 30th. Dr. Zhu invented the UFO HIV antigen trimer and utilized his single-component self-assembling protein nanoparticle (1c-SApNP) vaccine platform technology to produce the two vaccines that were used in the preclinical program. Zhu added the innovative step to further modify his vaccine with a process called glycan trimming which demonstrated enhanced immune responses in the studies. The glycan trimming approach referred to as low-sugar vaccination - was recently named one of IUPACs Top Ten Emerging Technologies in Chemistry. The 1c-SApNP platform technology and HIV-1 vaccine candidates have been exclusively licensed to Uvax Bio under a comprehensive agreement with Scripps Research. Animal Studies Show High Response Rates and Broad Neutralization In a recent preclinical immunogenicity study in rats, Uvax Bio tested its HIV-1 vaccines (UVAX-1107 and UVAX-1197) in different regimens, each combined with CpG 1018 adjuvant (Dynavax Technologies Corporation) and Alhydrogel (Croda). Overall, immunization with Uvaxs HIV-1 vaccines elicited robust autologous tier 2 neutralization, with >93% showing positive neutralization. Furthermore, preliminary neutralization screening against a 12-virus panel of heterologous tier 2 HIV-1 pseudoviruses shows that 54 out of 72 rats tested thus far (75%) showed 50% neutralization against at least one non-vaccine-matched pseudovirus. Our preclinical studies have confirmed both the safety and robust immunogenicity of our vaccine candidates for HIV-1. These data combined with our completed GMP manufacturing of the vaccine supplies were the final steps in our preparation for human trials, said Ji Li, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Uvax Bio. About Uvax Bio Uvax Bio, a spin-off vaccine company from Scripps Research, employs proprietary 1c-SApNP platform technology invented by Dr. Jiang Zhu of Scripps Research to develop and commercialize prophylactic vaccines to prevent life-threatening infectious diseases. The vaccines in development by Uvax Bio present a virus-sized protein nanoparticle with many copies of the antigen in its pre-fusion state. Animal studies have confirmed robust levels of broadly neutralizing antibodies in multiple disease states. Uvax Bio holds the exclusive worldwide rights to the 1c-SApNP platform and an expanding portfolio of 12 patented preclinical optimized vaccine candidates. In addition to the leading candidates in HIV-1, Uvax is also working to advance universal influenza and RSV/hMPV vaccines. The 1c-SApNP technology enables the production of virus-like protein particles that can display 20-60 pre-fusion stabilized antigens targeting a wide range of viral and bacterial diseases. The vaccines are produced using a single step, universal, cell-based manufacturing process. For more information on Uvax Bio, visit www.uvaxbio.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128260471/en/ Kevin ONeill SVP, Corporate Strategy [email protected] 302-595-2285 Source: Uvax Bio, LLC Appointment completes formation of new brands leadership group including key internal promotions HANOVER, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Vibrint, a federal technology leader working to sustain mission advantage for the national security community, today announced the appointment of national security leader Jim Robb as Chief Strategy Officer and General Manager of Services. Robb joins a Vibrint executive leadership team recently enhanced by a series of internal promotions. Reporting to Vibrint CEO Tom Lash, Robb will work to expand Vibrints product and service offerings for National Security customers. Several senior executives from across ESi and Meadowgate, the two companies that have come together to form Vibrint, have been promoted to new roles as part of the new Executive Leadership Team: Amy Steinberg was appointed to the new position of Chief Growth Officer. She also will maintain a role in corporate operations as Senior Vice President of Strategic Operations. Hunter Lochte was appointed to the new role of General Manager for Products. Eddie Harless was promoted to the new role of Vice President of Intelligence Services. Amy Lyttle was promoted to the new role of Vice President for Human Resources. Vibrint, launched earlier this month as a new, dynamic brand in the national security sector, advances the development and deployment of intelligent systems design and analytics that boost the capabilities of federal customers in harvesting and harnessing data. With Vibrint, we have established an incredible platform for delivering accountable intelligence for the national security mission, said Lash. Jims addition to our leadership team, comprised of some of the most seasoned and skilled professionals with whom Ive collaborated, underscores our commitment to significantly impact the mission success of our customers. Having worked closely with Jim earlier in my career, I can personally attest to his unwavering integrity, profound technical expertise, comprehensive mission understanding and exceptional leadership qualities. Im excited to be joining the National Security team at Vibrint in a role that will leverage my extensive government experience envisioning and leading major enterprise technology transformations, said Robb. There is so much work to be done and I look forward to working with the team to help Vibrint stay at the forefront of industry support to the national security mission. Robb joins Vibrint with deep engineering expertise gained from over 30 years developing and implementing critical technologies that enabled sensitive agency missions. He has directed global workforces to provide secure IT services, from end-user experiences to cloud-based services, across the national security community. Robb also has deployed and sustained end-to-end SIGINT mission infrastructure to help agencies establish cloud service offerings. He earned his Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at San Antonio and his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy. Robb was awarded the Presidential Rank Award and twice received the NSA Meritorious Civilian Service Award. About Vibrint Vibrint helps national security customers make the right call sustaining mission advantage at the forefront of intelligence gathering and analysis. Our teams of technologists, analysts and mission specialists pursue innovation in high-performance computing, SIGINT research and analysis, software and systems development, and mission resilience. The systems we create and the services we provide enhance our customers capacity and capability for harvesting and harnessing data, enhancing the quality and speed of mission-critical decisions. Within our Collaboration Lab environment, we leverage our technical expertise to explore future capabilities vital to the U.S. national security mission. Based in Hanover, Maryland. Find us at www.vibrint.com and @Vibrint on LinkedIn and Instagram. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128624365/en/ Kristina Messner [email protected] 703-716-3181 Source: Vibrint Stellantis-owned (NYSE: STLA) Fiat auto announced Tuesday that the Italian carmaker will take center stage at Art Basel Miami Beach 2023 on December 7th, where the automaker will auction off three unique Fiat 500e electric cars. The three Fiat 500e EVs, created in partnership with renowned Italian brands Armani, Bvlgari, and Kartell, will be showcased and auctioned at an undisclosed location. The proceeds from this auction will support a yet-to-be-disclosed nonprofit organization, contributing to a nonprofit to be named following the auction. "It is rare for an automaker to combine efforts with the most iconic Italian brands of three different sectors, fashion design, furniture design and luxury, to create something truly unique that combines art with an earth-friendly message, making the cars available through auction is even more unusual," said Olivier Francois, CEO of Fiat. "These three special builds set the stage for FIAT's sustainable mission and create momentum as we approach the arrival of the all-electric Fiat 500e in North America." This sequence of events contributes to the anticipation as Fiat gears up for the launch of the all-electric Fiat 500e. Marking Stellantis' inaugural EV offering in North America, the new Fiat 500e holds considerable significance in the company's electrification efforts. Swiss auctioneer, Simon de Pury will conduct the auction. An online catalogue will be published on November 28th, on Purys innovative de PURY platform, offering an exclusive opportunity for individuals unable to attend the event to participate in pre and absentee bidding. "I am very excited to conduct the auction of the three unique Fiat 500 cars. They are stunning and beautiful works of art on wheels. It is wonderful that the proceeds of the auction will entirely go to environmental work," said Simon de Pury. Shares of STLA are up 0.35% near end of day trading on Tuesday. By Michael Elkins | [email protected] Investing.com -- Reddit is in discussions with possible investors ahead of a potential listing of the social media group, Bloomberg News has reported. Citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, the news service said the company is mulling a possible initial public offering as soon as the first quarter of next year. San Francisco-based Reddit is known for its discussion boards like r/wallstreetbets, a forum to discuss equity trading that helped fuel a surge of interest in so-called meme stocks in 2021. Reports suggest that Reddit has been eyeing a possible IPO for some time, but has held off from the making the move due in part to volatile market activity. In February, The Information reported that Reddit was looking to go public in the second half of 2023. Prior to that, Bloomberg said last year that Reddit was in talks with Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs over a listing that would value the business at as much as $15 billion. The market for expensive initial share sales in the U.S. has been sluggish recently, particularly in the wake of a series of relatively tepid debuts in September and October this year. But there are signs of potential green shoots. Most notably, Chinese fast-fashion retailer Shein has confidentially filed for an initial public offering in the U.S., according to media reports citing people familiar with the matter. Data security start-up Rubrik and underwear label Skims are also considering possible IPOs next year, people familiar with the situations told Bloomberg. FILE PHOTO: A UnitedHealth Group health insurance card is seen in a wallet in this picture illustration October 14, 2019. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/Illustration/File Photo (Reuters) -UnitedHealth Group on Tuesday forecast 2024 profit broadly in line with Wall Street expectations, indicating that medical costs are likely to remain elevated for the health insurance giant. The healthcare sector has this year seen a recovery in demand, especially among older patients who started returning to doctors' clinics and hospitals for procedures they had delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Management's initial FY24 guidance ahead of tomorrow's investor day brings few surprises, with the print essentially in line with management's 3Q23 call commentary," RBC Capital Markets analyst Ben Hendrix said. The company is likely to provide its outlook on medical costs on the investor day, analysts have said. Focus will also be on the potential impact of biosimilars and newer GLP-1 drugs like Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and Wegovy, and Eli Lilly's Mounjaro and Zepbound, J.P. Morgan analyst Lisa Gill said in a note on Monday. UnitedHealth and other health insurers have seen an increase in costs in 2023 due to the demand recovery, although in October it said levels of elective surgeries in the third quarter were more "stable" than in the second. UnitedHealth had said it expected the upper end of its fiscal 2024 profit forecast to be in line with Wall Street estimates. The company forecast 2024 adjusted profit of $27.50 to $28.00 per share, largely in line with analysts' average estimate of $27.90. It forecast 2024 revenue in the range of $400 billion to $403 billion, higher than analysts' estimate of $395.77 billion. For 2023, the company estimates adjusted earnings per share in the range of $24.85 to $25.00 compared to expectations of $24.95. (Reporting by Leroy Leo in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Christopher Cushing) The 2024 Program Will Introduce an 11-week Preparation and Integration Curriculum To Psychedelic Retreat Programs in Jamaica and the Netherlands NEW YORK, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Beckley Retreats , a psilocybin retreats and holistic wellbeing company, announced today the launch of its Signature Program for Personal Discovery and Transformation, an 11-week curriculum of preparation and integration support to help guests achieve the most significant benefit from their six-day psilocybin retreats in Jamaica and the Netherlands. Beckley Retreats Signature Program consists of four weeks of remote, guided preparation before participants travel to Jamaica or the Netherlands for their psilocybin retreat, followed by six weeks of virtual post-retreat integration. Accompanying activities include cohort community building, app-based skills development, online group meditations and gatherings. Our goal is to make the most of the community setting of our retreats, provide our retreat participants with skill-building in preparation for their psilocybin experience, and provide research-informed integration support, said Neil Markey, CEO of Beckley Retreats. This program empowers our participants to develop knowledge, skills, and experiential practices to promote personal discovery and holistic wellbeing. Research shows that psychedelic journeys in group settings may promote a feeling of communitas a greater sense of connection, shared humanity, and dissolution of hierarchies and social roles. The benefits of a collective setting are one of many predictors of long-term outcomes in well-being after a psychedelic experience. Staying inspired, motivated, and connected are important predictors of long-term change, and the brain is in a state of neural plasticity and high suggestibility in the weeks following a psychedelic experience, said Alexandra Pallas, co-founder and SVP of Programming at Beckley Retreats. Our program offers opportunities for profound personal inquiry, skill-building, and new habit formation in service of improved mental health and wellbeing. Beckley Retreats is part of the Beckley Waves ecosystem of mission-driven psychedelic organizations, which have all been guided by Amanda Feilding. Feilding has co-authored over 50 peer-reviewed scientific studies and was a friend of and thought partner to psychedelic pioneers such as Albert Hofmann, Sasha and Ann Shulgin, Terence McKenna, and many others. About Beckley Retreats Beckley Retreats is a leading science-backed psilocybin retreat and holistic wellbeing company offering self-development programs in the Netherlands and Jamaica. The startup belongs to the Beckley Foundation family of brands one of the worlds top psychedelic research institutions led by Amanda Feilding, dubbed the hidden hand behind the renaissance of psychedelic science. Through this connection, Beckley Retreats has direct access to modern psychedelic science, implementing this research into its programming and protocols. In addition to its psilocybin retreats, Beckley Retreats has expanded its operations to include research collaborations and datasets, thereby helping to set a precedent and best practices for the re-emergence of psychedelics in modern society. Ottawa, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canada will be among the 197 countries represented at the upcoming 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), where global decision makers and leaders will come together to advance actionable progress on the path to net-zero. Through 2023 Canada, along with multiple countries across the world, announced a series of major initiatives to advance nuclear technologies as a core component of the path to net-zero 2050. Canadas presence at COP28 will be key in advancing our nations future as a global industry leader in clean nuclear, said John Gorman, President and CEO of Canadian Nuclear Association. We are at a pivotal moment with a dramatic acceleration in global demand for nuclear energy technologies and for uranium, the fuel used to generate nuclear energy. Canada is uniquely positioned as a world leader in nuclear technology innovations and exports. We have more than 60 years of experience generating nuclear power. We are a world leader in producing and exporting radioisotopes for medical use, saving millions of lives each year. We are also home to one of the largest natural reserves of uranium globally. In 2022, Saskatchewans nearly $1 billion-a-year uranium industry made Canada the second-largest producer of uranium in the world. Nuclear as a key component on the path to net-zero.As countries across the globe look to dramatically reduce emissions, nuclear power is increasingly being leveraged as a core element of the green energy transition. Political leaders, environmentalists and climate change experts recognise the importance of nuclear as part of the mix as the only non-emitting energy that can reliably produce vast amounts of clean electricity day and night, providing energy security, resilience, diversity and sustainability to an energy system. Canadas unique experience producing clean nuclear power. For over six decades, Canada has safely and effectively leveraged non-emitting nuclear energy. Today, Canada is home to 19 power reactors in Ontario and New Brunswick, which supply about 15 per cent of Canada's electricity. Through 2023, a number of major initiatives have been announced across Canada including in relation to large scale production plants, small modular reactors (SMRs), uranium mining and within nuclear medicine. Canadas global leadership in uranium production from Saskatchewan.Canada has the world's largest natural deposits of high-grade uranium and is the second largest uranium producer in the world. Canadas uranium is sourced from mines in northern Saskatchewan, of which more than 85 per cent is exported adding more than $1 billion to the economy each year. Uranium mining is one of the leading industrial employers of Indigenous people in Saskatchewan. Government support for clean nuclear power. Federal, provincial and territorial governments across Canada have demonstrated their continued support for clean nuclear power through both policy, financial commitments and investment incentives. The Prime Minister and provincial Premiers from Ontario, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, have all highlighted that nuclear power must play a central role in the nations clean energy transition while ensuring domestic energy security. A message that the Canadian Nuclear Association and high level officials from the federal and provincial governments are bringing to COP28. The opportunity nuclear power presents as part of the future green economy. Beyond the critical environmental benefits, clean nuclear power will play an integral role as part of the future green economy. According to the Nuclear Power Plant and Equipment: Global Strategic Business Report, the global nuclear market was estimated at U.S.$82.5 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach U.S $103.1 billion by 2030. As the demand for nuclear power continues to increase, so too does uranium. Focus on scaling up nuclear production at COP28. With the increased international focus and commitment to leveraging clean nuclear energy, and the anticipated release of the U.S. led international pledge to triple the worlds production of nuclear energy at COP28, nuclear will play a prominent role at the conference that takes place in Dubai from November 30 to December 12. The reality is that the world is increasingly turning to clean nuclear power as a reliable, affordable and sustainable source of non-emitting energy, said Gorman. Canada is uniquely positioned to serve the global marketplace, while benefiting from generating its own made-in-Canada sustainable energy solution that can drastically reduce emissions. Not only in supplying clean electricity to the grid, but in helping decarbonize our heavy industry, for hydrogen production, and to transition remote communities away from reliance on diesel. Christopher Gully Canadian Nuclear Association [email protected] Source: Canadian Nuclear Association Las Vegas, NV, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Titan Lithium Inc., (OTC Markets: CDSG) (the Company or CDSG) is pleased to announce it as come to a settlement agreement with Henning Mager on his note to issue 8,000,000 shares restricted for a period of 2 years. In the next quarterly filings, it will be reflected that this note has been settled in full. There are no outstanding conversions. About the Company: China Dongsheng International Inc. (OTC Markets: CDSG), through its wholly owned subsidiary Titan Lithium, Inc., is a lithium explorer and developer with operations in Nevada, USA and The United Republic of Tanzania. Contact: Harp Sangha-Chairman [email protected] +1-702-595-2247 titanlithiuminc.com Forward-Looking Statements: This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, such as statements relating to financial results and plans for future development activities and are thus prospective. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding intent, belief or current expectations of the Company, its directors or its officers. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to control. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements are risks and uncertainties associated with the Company's business and finances in general, including the ability to continue and manage its growth, competition, global economic conditions and other factors discussed in detail in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Source: China Dongsheng International Inc. BEIJING, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Beijing's 798 Art District has emerged as the top selection on China's National Industrial Tourism Demonstration Base list. This district is an iconic representation of Beijing, showcasing a remarkable fusion of industrial heritage and cutting-edge artistic creativity. With an annual influx of over 10 million visitors, with more than 30% coming from overseas, 798 Art District houses masterpieces by world-renowned artists including Picasso, Andy Warhol, and Morandi. Encompassing an area of 300,000 square meters, 798 remains the largest cluster of Bauhaus buildings in Asia. Hosting over 4,000 cultural and artistic events each year, 798 attracts Galleria Continua, White Stone, Tang Contemporary China, and many other internationally notable galleries, choosing it as their base in the Chinese art market. I think 798 is incredibly important, Oscar awarded movie director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck said, after his visit in April. If you have ever lost inspiration, you can come here and know you will find it again. 15 years ago, the German ambassador took Donnersmarck to 798. Since then, Donnersmarck has returned multiple times each time he visited China. As a pivotal area in Beijing for cultural and artistic exchange, 798 plays a crucial role in communicating Chinese art with the world. These years, Institutions in 798 like 798 CUBE, Asia Art Center, and Daqian Gallery host impactful exhibitions like "White Holes: The Mysteries and Modern Receptions of Oracle Bone Script" and engaging events like the "Oracle Bone Script Cultural Festival." These endeavors facilitate a comprehensive exploration of traditional Chinese culture and art for international visitors, spreading Chinese charm to the world. Teng Yanbin, Executive Director of Beijing 798 Culture Technology Co., Ltd., maintains that 798 Art District prides itself on providing tourists and visitors with an opportunity to delve into the richness and diversity of Chinese culture. As she affirms, Through art and fashion, art and technology, and other cross-border cultural content, 798 offers visitors an immersive experience that captures the multifaceted nature and varying cultures present within. This helps foster an appreciation for the harmonious integration of different cultures. With its high-quality industrial tourism resources, 798 welcomes tourists all over the world to experience its unique art and cultural landscape. Photos accompanying this announcement are available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/34de6154-a768-4c72-a2e7-1213c9e7f2de https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8d2b9486-cca6-4d26-8845-e7d68cad53c3 TORONTO, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Churchill Resources Inc. (Churchill or the Company) (TSXV: CRI) is pleased to announce the appointments of Mr. Malik Easah as Director and of Mr. Bill Fisher as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company. Mr Easah is Executive Chairman of Asante Gold Corporation (CSE: ASE), a gold production, exploration and development company with projects in Ghana, including its operating Bibiani and Chirano gold mines which together produce approximately 250k ounces per year, based on Asantes projections. Mr. Easah was a founder and Executive Director of Cardinal Resources Limited where he played a key role in the discovery and development of the seven million-ounce Namdini Gold Project in Northern Ghana. Cardinal Resources was acquired by Shandong Gold Company for approximately AUS $600 million. Mr. Easah has over fifteen years of exploration, mining and project development experience, and resides in Accra, Ghana. Mr. Fisher P.Geo graduated as a geologist in 1979 and has a proven record of discovery and development including a number of residential posts in Africa, Australia, Europe and Canada. Under his leadership, Karmin Exploration discovered the Aripuana polymetallic massive sulphide deposits in Brazil, currently being developed by Nexa Resources. From 1997 to 2001 Mr. Fisher was Vice President, Exploration for Boliden AB, a major European mining and smelting company where he was responsible for 35 projects in 9 countries. From 2001 to 2008 Mr. Fisher transformed GlobeStar Mining Corp. from an exploration company to an emerging mining company in the Dominican Republic, developing and financing the Cerro de Maimon copper/gold mine until it was sold to Perilya for $186 million. Mr. Fisher was CEO of GoldQuest Mining Corporation when it discovered the 3 million ounce Romero gold deposit in the Dominican Republic, where he currently serves as Chairman. Mr. Fisher served as Chairman of Aurelian Resources which was sold to Kinross Gold for $1.2 Billion after the discovery of the giant Fruta del Norte gold deposit in Ecuador, currently being mined by Lundin Gold. Mr. Fisher has recently resigned as Chairman of Horizonte Minerals, which discovered, acquired and developed the Tier 1 Araguaia and Vermelho nickel deposits in Brazil where the project is under construction. The Company also announces that its board of directors has approved the grant of an aggregate of nine million of stock options to certain directors, officers and consultants of the Company. The options were issued with an exercise price of $0.10 and have a five-year term. About Churchill Resources Inc. Churchill Resources Inc. is a Canadian exploration company focused on high grade, magmatic nickel sulphides in Canada, principally at its prospective Taylor Brook and Florence Lake properties in Newfoundland & Labrador. The Churchill management team, board and its advisors have decades of combined management experience in mineral exploration and in the establishment of successful publicly listed mining companies, both in Canada and around the world. Churchills Taylor Brook and Florence Lake projects have the potential to benefit from the provinces large and diversified minerals industry, which includes world class nickel mines and processing facilities, and a well-developed mineral exploration sector with locally based drilling and geological expertise. The province was recently ranked 4th in the world for investment attractiveness by the Fraser Institute in its 2022 annual survey of mining and exploration companies. Further Information For further information regarding Churchill, please contact: Churchill Resources Inc.Paul Sobie, Chief Executive Officer Tel. +1 416.365.0930 (o) +1 647.988.0930 (m) Email [email protected] Alec Rowlands, Corporate Consultant Tel. +1 416.721.4732 (m) Email [email protected] Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Information This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", proposed, "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, the Companys objectives, goals and exploration activities conducted and proposed to be conducted at the Companys properties; future growth potential of the Company, including whether any proposed exploration programs at any of the Companys properties will be successful; exploration results; and future exploration plans and costs and financing availability. These forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of the Company at the time such statements were made. Actual future results may differ materially as forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to materially differ from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors, among other things, include: the expected benefits to the Company relating to the exploration conducted and proposed to be conducted at the Companys properties; failure to identify any mineral resources or significant mineralization; the preliminary nature of metallurgical test results; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, including to fund any exploration programs on the Companys properties; fluctuations in general macroeconomic conditions; fluctuations in securities markets; fluctuations in spot and forward prices of gold, silver, base metals or certain other commodities; fluctuations in currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar to United States dollar exchange rate); change in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations pressures, cave-ins and flooding); inability to obtain adequate insurance to cover risks and hazards; the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining and mineral exploration; employee relations; relationships with and claims by local communities and indigenous populations; availability of increasing costs associated with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development (including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses, permits and approvals from government authorities); the unlikelihood that properties that are explored are ultimately developed into producing mines; geological factors; actual results of current and future exploration; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be evaluated; soil sampling results being preliminary in nature and are not conclusive evidence of the likelihood of a mineral deposit; title to properties; and those factors described in the most recently filed managements discussion and analysis of the Company. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure shareholders that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information, or the material factors or assumptions used to develop such forward-looking information, will prove to be accurate. The Company does not undertake to release publicly any revisions for updating any voluntary forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities law. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Source: Churchill Resources Inc. The United States is discussing with Greece the sale of a total of 75,000 artillery shells from the country's armed forces as part of efforts to replenish Ukraine's ammunition in the war against Russia. The negotiations are in their final stages. ADVERTISIMENT It was reported by the Greek edition of eKathimerini. It is noted that the total purchase amount agreed upon by the Greek side is $47 million. The United States will purchase shells of various calibers. In total, we are talking about 50 thousand shells of 105 mm caliber, 20 thousand of 155 mm caliber and 5 thousand larger shells of 203 mm caliber. The publication noted that these negotiations were useful for the Greek side not only from the standpoint of benefits, as they provided a resource that will be used by the armed forces. But also for understanding that the production of ammunition can be more profitable. As a reminder, Greece may transfer 100 Leopard 1A5 tanks to Ukraine. The country was approached by Germany with such a proposal. The transfer of tanks can take place under a trilateral agreement, under which Greece will receive modernized armored vehicles. ADVERTISIMENT As reported by OBOZREVATEL: Greece will join the countries participating in the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16. Greece also joined the G7 declaration on security guarantees for Ukraine and officially supported Ukraine's membership in NATO. TORONTO, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Clip Money Inc. (TSX-V: CLIP) (Clip or the Company), a company that operates a multi-bank self-service deposit system for businesses, is pleased to announce its financial results for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023. Clip Moneys performance in third quarter of 2023 (Q3) was highlighted by an acceleration of enterprise customers making regular deposits through the network. The Company validated the acute need for businesses to find a modern and alternative approach to managing cash versus the status quo, including the bank branch or legacy armored carrier service. Transaction volumes and additional enterprise customers onboarded by the Company in Q3 create a tailwind for the balance of 2023 and a springboard into 2024. The Company is also encouraged by the growing interest from national and regional Financial Institutions in Clip that are seeking alternatives to servicing business deposits in their branch networks. Third Quarter 2023 Highlights Revenue for Q3 was $148,965 USD, compared to $44,907 in Q2, 2023. This growth was fueled by new customers, expansion of existing customers and positive seasonal tailwinds, including back-to-school shopping. The Company made continued progress in the deployment of its Clip Change Order solution in Q3 following the product launch in Q2, 2023. Several leading enterprise retailers are actively using the change order service, bringing the convenience of coin and cash notes directly to their businesses' front door. Clip is incorporating customer feedback and developing critical operational experience with this new solution and will be expanding its availability to more businesses in Q4, 2023. Combined with Clip Deposits, a business can now realize a comprehensive solution for managing cash through Clip Change Orders versus cumbersome and time-consuming legacy options. Clip Customer Highlights: The Company processed deposits for over 850 unique depositing stores in Q3. The company processed over 40,000 deposits in the quarter, totaling approximately $26.5M in deposit value. Deposit transactions were up 365% from the prior period and deposit value was up 342%. Deposit growth was primarily driven by three large multi-store national retailers adding stores to the Clip platform; including Lids who added over 300 of their approximately 1,200 stores, while the other two retailers added 246 of their combined 1,200 stores. In addition, Clip welcomed new customer brands to the platform in Q3 with initial store rollouts: A national apparel retailer piloted 15 stores in the quarter, including the adoption of Clip Change Orders. This retailer has over 600 individual stores in shopping malls across North America. Another 600 store retailer began depositing with Clip at five initial stores in the quarter, including the adoption of the Clip Change order solution. The Company plans to expand new store locations with this retailer in December. On September 22, 2023, the Company announced the closing of a non-brokered private placement of 28,596,826 Common Shares at a price of CDN$0.23 per Common Share for gross proceeds of approximately US$4,900,000 (the Equity Financing). Separately, the Company also announced the closing of a non-brokered private placement of secured convertible notes of the Company (each a Convertible Note) for gross proceeds in the principal amount of US$6,132,271, inclusive of US$1,032,271 subscribed for by an existing arms length investor (the Secondary Investor) (the Convertible Notes Financing, together with the Equity Financing, the Financings). Cardtronics, Inc. (Cardtronics), a wholly-owned subsidiary of NCR Atleos Corporation (NYSE: NATL) (NCR), subscribed for the entire Equity Financing and US$5,100,000 of the Convertible Note Financing, for a combined US$10,000,00 investment in the Company (CAD$13,423,000). Cardtronics strategic investment in Clip has established a long-term, firmware exclusive, commercial collaboration that will combine Clip's pioneering business cash deposit solution with NCRs cardless cash deposit API and cash in network. NCR will enable Clip deposit services at its premier cash in network with more than 2,500 operating sites across 30 states serving more than 70 of the largest population centers across the United States, complementing the current ClipDrop network of nearly 400 locations. The expanded network will provide a large portion of U.S. business convenient access to Clip services allowing businesses to manage cash more efficiently regardless of the branch presence of their bank or credit union of choice. "We're thrilled about Clips impressive quarter-over-quarter revenue growth and are excited to welcome NCR Atleos as a strategic investor and commercial partner. This partnership seamlessly complements Clip's existing deposit network. Commercial milestones with large retailers, like Lids, have onboarded all the stores we can service with our current network, validating our business model and onboarding capabilities. Additionally, NCR's network will expand our total network to approximately 3,000 convenient locations, including high-quality spots like Walgreens and CVS, where customers can easily make their business deposits. This substantial growth reinforces our confidence in the business's upward trajectory for 2024." - Joe Arrage (CEO & Co-founder) Appointment of ICP Securities Inc. as Market Maker The Company is also pleased to announce that it has entered into a Market Making Services Agreement with ICP Securities Inc. (ICP) for the purposes of facilitating trading and liquidity in its common shares. ICP is based in Toronto, Ontario and is a registered dealer member in good standing with the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization. ICP provides comprehensive market making solutions that help to improve the trading liquidity and lack of transparency of small and mid-cap companies. The initial term of the agreement will be four months commencing on December 1, 2023. Thereafter, the agreement will automatically renew for subsequent one-month periods unless either party elects not to renew upon 30 days prior written notice. ICP is an arms-length party to the Company and does not currently hold any interest in the securities of the Company (either directly or indirectly) nor does it hold any rights or options to acquire such an interest. In consideration of the market-making services provided by ICP, the Company shall make a monthly payment to ICP for $7,500. Additional Information The Companys interim condensed consolidated financial statements, notes to financial statements, and managements discussion and analysis for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2023 are available on the Companys SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca. . Unless otherwise indicated, all references to $ in this press release refer to Canadian dollars. ForwardLooking Statements This news release may contain forwardlooking statements (within the meaning of applicable securities laws) which reflect the Company's current expectations regarding future events. Forward-looking statements are identified by words such as "believe", "anticipate", "project", "expect", "intend", "plan", "will", "may", "estimate" and other similar expressions. These statements are based on the Company's expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections and include, without limitation, statements regarding the future success of the Company's business. The forward-looking statements in this news release are based on certain assumptions. The forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Readers, therefore, should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Further, these forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and, except as expressly required by applicable law, the Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. About Clip Money Inc. Clip operates a multi-bank self-service deposit system for businesses through its ClipDrop Boxes that gives users the capability of making deposits outside of their bank branch at top retailers and shopping malls. Rather than having to go to their personal bank branch or using a cash pickup service, businesses can deposit their cash at any ClipDrop Box located near them. After being deposited, the funds will automatically be credited to the business bank account, usually within one business day. The Company combines functional hardware, an intuitive mobile app and an innovative cloud-based transaction engine that maximizes business banking transactions. Combined with mobile user applications, Clip offers a cost-effective and convenient solution for business banking deposits in metropolitan statistical areas across Canada and the United States. For more information about the Company, visit www.clipmoney.com. For further information, please contact: Joseph ArrageChief Executive Officertel: 844-593-2547 Source: Clip Money Inc VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Derm-Biome Pharmaceuticals Inc, a Vancouver based biopharmaceutical company with a focus on skin disease, is excited to announce that it is collaborating with Dr. Anna Mandinova from the Department of Dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital in a skin cancer study. Current standard of care chemotherapy-based creams damage normal skin, resulting in debilitating side effects that lead to poor patient compliance. Derm-Biome has developed a second-generation topical treatment for precancerous skin conditions (such as actinic keratosis) and non-melanoma skin cancers that is highly selective for cancer cells while being well-tolerated by normal skin. Soaring skin cancer rates are reaching all-time highs in many parts of the world, and there are now more global deaths from non-melanoma skin cancers than melanoma itself. Dr. Anna Mandinova, Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School, and Associate Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Cutaneous Biology Research Center says: My lab previously treated primary patient-derived squamous cell carcinoma cells and normal keratinocytes with a Derm-Biome compound. The results were very exciting. The Derm-Biome compound performed better than the chemotherapeutic drugs we used in the past and the current standard of care. It demonstrated high selectivity for tumor cells and low toxicity for non-lesional cells. We look forward to working with Derm-Biome on this exciting collaboration, as there is a critical unmet clinical need for the development of new treatments for squamous cell carcinoma of the skin. Dr. Poul Sorensen, Derm-Biome CSO, Professor, Department of Pathology, University of British Columbia: This very interesting natural product-derived compound selectively induces cell death in cancer cells by triggering a process called apoptosis, while essentially completely sparing normal cells, which appear to be resistant to the drug. Derm-Biome CEO Gordon Eberwein: Chemotherapy creams have been topical treatment mainstays for precancerous skin conditions for over 60 years. These creams work, but they typically have considerable side effects. We see a significant opportunity in bringing a safe and highly effective topical skin cancer medication to the market. The Actinic Keratosis Treatment Market is expected to reach $9.7 billion USD by 2032 due in part to growing incidences of skin cancer and an increased demand for minimally invasive surgeries (source: Global Market Insights). About Derm-Biome Pharmaceuticals, Inc Derm-Biome Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a preclinical biopharmaceutical company dedicated to improving skin health. We have topical lead compounds for inflammatory skin diseases (acne and atopic dermatitis) and precancerous skin conditions/non-melanoma skin cancers that are both highly effective and well tolerated by skin. We are currently advancing our inflammatory skin disease drug towards a phase I clinical trial. Belleville, Illinois, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As U.S. credit card debt has hit a historic milestone and the Social Security disability claims backlog continues, Allsup has expanded its services to provide Disability Financial SolutionsSM to thousands of former workers caught in the extended wait for benefits. Allsup, the nations premier provider of disability representation, is now offering a range of financial solutions to address claimants pressing money issues as average processing wait times reach 220 days for initial application decisions alone. For the first time, credit card debt exceeds $1 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Adding to the urgency, over 1 million people are currently waiting for initial disability claims processing by the Social Security Administration. Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) provides monthly income and support for individuals unable to work due to severe illness or injury. Nearly 160 million workers are currently insured for SSDI, a benefit funded by FICA payroll taxes. In addition to the economic stress of health issues, individuals applying for disability benefits face a daunting process to apply for benefits, and if denied, appealing through a lengthy determination process at the federal agency. Credit card debt can compound the financial stress for people when they must stop working due to disability, said T.J. Geist, Principal Advocate at Allsup. In the past, applicants could see a decision as soon as three months, but now theyre waiting over seven months for an initial SSA decision, with appeals adding another 15 months or more. A disability can quickly become a financial crisis for individuals and their families. A Congressional hearing in October spotlighted the pressing need for expediting the Social Security disability claims process, Geist said. SSDI benefits frequently serve as the sole financial lifeline for people with disabilities and their families. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the rate of medical debt nearly doubled for households with a member who had a hospital stay, standing at 31.3% compared to 15.8% for those without a hospital stay. The financial hardship that arises when someone ceases working due to health issues is overwhelming. Thats why we've broadened our SSDI services to include Disability Financial SolutionsSM (DFS), Geist said. We are dedicated to providing true help that makes a difference for our customers, particularly financial relief quickly, while theyre facing medical difficulties and long SSA wait times. Allsups Disability Financial Solutions include: Healthcare insurance options: The Healthcare Insurance Services team at Allsup assists clients in exploring healthcare insurance options, ensuring access to essential medical treatment and enhancing the likelihood of SSDI benefits approval. Credit card and medical bill savings: Debt settlement experts negotiate with credit card and medical companies on behalf of Allsup customers, yielding substantial savings while alleviating financial strain. Food, utility, prescription savings and more: Allsup connects customers with resources offering savings on everyday necessities like utilities, meals and prescriptions. Mortgage relief: Leveraging an extensive network, Allsup provides customers with information on Housing Assistance Fund (HAF) resources available in their respective states, offering vital support during challenging periods. Customers are sharing their stories of relief: Allsup has been by my side every step of the way. Its comforting to know I can pay my debt off sooner. If Allsup only helped with my SSDI case and my debt, that would be enough. Instead, they also provided resources to help lower our monthly expenses. I am forever grateful for using Allsup! said Karina, a satisfied Allsup customer. For more information about applying for SSDI benefits, filing your appeal if you were denied, or to see if you are eligible, visit FileSSDI.Allsup.com or call 1-800-678-3276. ABOUT ALLSUPAllsup and its subsidiaries provide nationwide Social Security disability, veterans disability appeal, return to work, and healthcare benefits services for individuals, their employers and insurance carriers. Allsup professionals deliver specialized services supporting people with disabilities and seniors so they may lead lives that are as financially secure and as healthy as possible. Founded in 1984, the company is based in Belleville, Illinois, near St. Louis. Learn more at Allsup.com and @Allsup or download a free PDF of Applying for Social Security Disability Insurance: Getting It Right The First Time. Attachment Source: Allsup VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Endeavour Silver Corp. (Endeavour or the Company) (TSX: EDR, NYSE: EXK) is pleased to announce the Company hosted an Investor Day at the Terronera project in Jalisco state, Mexico to showcase the project and construction progress to date. The event took place November 19-21, 2023, and brought together investors and analysts to receive an in-depth technical presentation and a guided site visit. The event provided insights into the Company's growth strategy, corporate culture, financial goals, as well as a technical overview of Terronera. The event was hosted by CEO, Dan Dickson together with members of the Management team and technical teams. A link to the investor day presentation in PDF format is available here and on the Company's website, under the Investor Relations page. About Endeavour Silver Endeavour is a mid-tier precious metals mining company that operates two high-grade underground silver-gold mines in Mexico. Endeavour is advancing construction of the Terronera Project and exploring its portfolio of exploration projects in Mexico, Chile and the United States to achieve its goal of becoming a premier senior silver producer. Our philosophy of corporate social integrity creates value for all stakeholders. Contact Information Galina Meleger, Vice President, Investor Relations Toll free: (877) 685-9775 Tel: (604) 640-4804 Email: [email protected] Website: www.edrsilver.com Follow Endeavour Silver on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn Entourage sees the benefits of transitioning from cultivation and reports over $10 million to date in annualized cost savings. Gross Profit Before Fair Value Changes has surged to $2.4 million, indicating a substantial margin of 27% and a 149% year-over-year increase. Management is to host a conference call on November 28, 2023, at 10 a.m. Eastern Time. TORONTO, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Entourage Health Corp. (TSX-V:ENTG) (OTCQX:ETRGF) (FSE:4WE) (Entourage or the Company), a Canadian producer and distributor of award-winning cannabis products, announced today its financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023. The Company will host a conference call to discuss its financial and business highlights on November 28, 2023, at 10 a.m. Eastern Time. "I am proud to announce the strategic initiatives we've undertaken to drive cost reduction, enhance profitability, and strengthen our balance sheet over the past year," stated George Scorsis, CEO and Chair of Entourage. "Through the consolidation of operations and the integration of advanced automation, we have not only achieved heightened efficiency but also experienced improvement in our overall financial performance. In the face of challenges within the Canadian cannabis sector, our Q3 performance reinforces our strategy, marking a pivotal moment in the ongoing narrative of Entourages success." Summary of Results For the Quarter-Ended Sept. 30, 2023 Sept. 30, 2022 ($000s) ($000s) Total revenue 12,251 13,438 Net revenue (less Excise Tax) 8,750 10,075 Gross margin % before changes in fair value 27% (49%) Loss and comprehensive loss (9,905) (17,432) Adjusted EBITDA* (4,531) (2,933) As at Sept. 30, 2023 Dec. 31, 2022 ($000s) ($000s) Cash and cash equivalents 9,322 9,075 Inventory & Biological assets 15,744 14,785 Working Capital (130,671) (101,794) *Net revenue (less Excise Tax) and Adjusted EBITDA are not recognized measurements under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and this data may not be comparable to data presented by other companies. Net revenue is defined as revenue (i.e., gross revenue less discounts and customer incentives but inclusive of freight) less excise taxes. Management defines Adjusted EBITDA as EBITDA adjusted to exclude interest, tax, and depreciation, stock compensation, fair value changes and other non-cash items, and non-recurring items. This data is furnished to provide additional information and does not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. The Company uses these non-IFRS measures to provide shareholders and others with supplemental measures of its operating performance. The Company also believes that securities analysts, investors, and other interested parties, frequently use these non-IFRS measures in the evaluation of companies, many of which present similar metrics when reporting their results. As other companies may calculate Adjusted EBITDA differently than the Company, this metric may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. We caution readers that Adjusted EBITDA should not be substituted for determining net loss as an indicator of operating results, or as a substitute for cash flows from operating and investing activities. See the Companys managements discussion and analysis for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023 (the Q3 2023 MD&A) for a detailed reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to Net Income / (Loss). The Companys financial statements for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023, and the Q3 2023 MD&A are available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Sales and Revenue Highlights Revenue Highlights Q3 2023 YoY% Q2 2023 Q1 2023 Q4 2022 ($000s) % ($000s) ($000s) ($000s) Net Revenue by Channel Medical 3,161 2 4,163 5,973 3,702 Adult-Use 5,559 (20) 5,786 5,861 5,000 Bulk 0 0 225 - - Total Net Revenue 8,750 (13) 10,174 11,834 8,702 "Throughout the year, weve been proactive in our approach, implementing strategic measures such as the realignment of our product portfolio, stated Vaani Maharaj, Chief Financial Officer of Entourage. By consistently evaluating performance, market demand, and product pricing, we are demonstrating agility in the industry. Although this quarter saw a revenue decline in adult-use the measures we have implemented are instrumental in fortifying our financial resilience and positioning us for sustained growth. Third Quarter 2023 Financial Highlights For the quarter that ended September 30, 2023, Entourage recorded total revenue of $12.2 million compared to $13.4 million for the same quarter ended September 30, 2022, representing an 8.8% decrease year-over-year. Gross profit before changes in fair value was $2.4 million for Q3 2023, representing an increase of $7.3 million compared to Q2 2022. This growth can be attributed to a strategic focus on operational efficiencies bolstered by reduced inventory write-downs in Q3 2023. In Q3 2023, gross margins rose to 27%, a significant improvement from the (49%) recorded in Q3 2022. This enhancement is primarily due to increased automation in producing finished and semi-finished goods, which lowered direct labour costs and contributed to improved margins compared to the same period last year. Total cost of goods sold (COGS) decreased by $8.6 million or 58% to $6.4 million for the three months ending September 30, 2023, compared to Q3 2022. This reduction was achieved by continued efforts to optimize our operational platform and further automation initiatives. Selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expenses declined 11.6% to $6.05 million. This change was primarily related to the Companys focus on reducing departmental inefficiencies and reducing headcount. Adjusted EBITDA declined by $1.6 million to ($4.5 million) in Q3 2023, compared with $(2.9 million) in Q3 2022. Corporate Highlights During and Subsequent to Third Quarter 2023 Business Milestones Entourage amended its Supply Agreement with HEXO Corp., (HEXO) which was assumed by Aphria Inc., Tilray Brands, Inc.s (Tilray) operating subsidiary, after Tilray acquired HEXO. This strategic move ensures a continuous and high-quality partnership for contract growth, addressing the escalating product demand. The Company was in breach of certain financial covenants and obligations under its senior secured credit facilities (the Credit Facilities) with an affiliate of the LiUNA Pension Fund of Central and Eastern Canada (the Senior Lender). The Company has received a forbearance letter from the Senior Lender noting the Company in default of the Credit Facilities and temporarily waiving the Companys breaches until December 8, 2023, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain conditions. The Company is collaboratively working with its senior lender to reach an agreement on a new forbearance, emphasizing our commitment to open communication and a mutually beneficial resolution. The Company also announced that at the end of Q3 2023, in accordance with the provisions of its omnibus equity incentive compensation plan (the Omnibus Plan), the Company authorized the issuance of an aggregate of 1,600,000 deferred share units (DSUs) to non-management members of the Board of Directors of the Company as part of the quarterly compensation for their services. The DSUs will vest on September 30, 2024, and are granted in lieu of certain cash compensation for services rendered during the third quarter of 2023. Further details regarding the Omnibus Plan are available in the Companys management information circular dated May 8, 2022, available on SEDAR+. Entourage significantly enhanced its pre-roll manufacturing capabilities, producing over 1.5 million pre-rolls per month. This milestone reflects Entourages commitment to meeting the growing demand for products in the popular category. Commercial Highlights Color Cannabis achieved sales growth in the pre-roll segment, the industry's fastest-growing category. In Q3, it maintained a top ten position, holding the #6 spot.1 The success can be directly linked to the proactive efforts of the sales team, who have expanded product distribution in retail outlets as well as the focus on larger format pre-roll packs. Color and Saturday Cannabis brands have unveiled enticing new product cultivars to the market, driven by consumer insights, including the launch of a new Color cultivar, Phantom Sunset, available in two product formats: a 3.5g whole flower and 2 x 0.35g pre-roll across Ontario. Notably, Saturday infused pre-rolls entered the market in Night Mango Diesel, a 3 x .05g recently launched in Alberta. Dimebag made a significant impact with the Ontario launch of the Pocket Puffs, a 4 x 0.5g pre-roll, swiftly becoming a top seller within the Companys portfolio. Dimebags accessible premium cannabis is resonating with consumers, driving popularity and demand across over 250 retailers in Ontario. The Companys retail distribution remains strong despite the influx of competitor SKUs, especially in larger markets including Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia, maintaining a sizeable presence, covering over 80% of the retail market. Starseed achieved a patient renewal rate of 87% for Q3 2023, demonstrating customer loyalty and commitment to providing valuable patient healthcare solutions. Additionally, Starseed introduced Remidose Micro Inhalers, revolutionary heat-free products offering a classic inhaler format for rapid onset. Both 1:1 and THC-dominant formulations were made available providing diverse options for patients. ______________________1 Hifrye Data 2023 Company Outlook through Cost Restructuring Entourage is amid a successful and ongoing financial turnaround, marked by strategic decision-making and adaptive measures. Building on a comprehensive analysis of our business operations throughout the past year, the Company executed a progressive exit from cultivation. This pivotal move has streamlined operations and yielded significant annualized cost savings. A disciplined approach to inventory management and portfolio repositioning around select market segments have aligned the Company with the distribution of quality products and strong brands. Through these initiatives, Entourage anticipates realizing larger savings, improved cost structures and accretive margins, prioritizing improved profitability. These advancements are poised to positively impact the Companys performance, signalling a promising outlook in 2024. Entourage continues to work towards the achievement of the full-year plan. The Companys success is driven by the dedication of our exceptional team members, combined with the ever-growing demand for our products, positioning us as leaders in the cannabis industry. Conference Call Details: A conference call will be hosted by Mr. Scorsis and Ms. Maharaj, with management available for questions following opening remarks as follows: Date: Tuesday, November 28, 2023 Time: 10 a.m. Eastern Time Dial-in Number: Canada/USA: 1-800-319-4610. International Toll: 1-604-638-5340Participants, please dial in and ask to join the Entourage call Replay Dial-in: Canada/USA: 1-800-319-6413. International Toll: 1-604-638-9010Replay Access Code: 0532Available after 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time, until December 28, 2023 About Entourage Health Corp. Entourage Health Corp. is the publicly traded parent Company of Entourage Brands Corp., a licence holder producing and distributing cannabis products for both the medical and adult-use markets. The Company owns and operates a fully licensed 26,000 sq. ft. Aylmer, ON processing facility. With its Starseed Medicinal medical-centric brand, Entourage has expanded its multi-channelled distribution strategy. Starseeds industry-first, exclusive partnership with LiUNA, the largest construction union in Canada, along with employers and union groups complements Entourages direct sales to medical patients. Entourages elite adult-use product portfolio includes Color Cannabis, Saturday Cannabis and now Dime Bag and Syndicate sold across eight provincial distribution agencies. Exclusive Canadian producer and distributor of award-winning U.S.-based wellness brand Marys Medicinals sold in both medical and adult-use channels. Under a collaboration with the Boston Beer Company, Entourage is also the exclusive distributor of cannabis-infused beverages TeaPot in Canada. In addition, Entourage also entered into an exclusive agreement with Irwin Naturals, a renowned nutraceutical and herbal supplement formulator of popular branded wellness products sold across North America. Follow Entourage and its brands on LinkedIn Instagram: Color Cannabis, Saturday Cannabis, Starseed, Syndicate & Dime Bag For additional information, or investor or media inquiries: Catherine FlamanSenior Director, Communications & Corporate Affairs416-910-0279[email protected] Forward Looking Information This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation which are based upon Entourage's current internal expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and beliefs and views of future events. Forward-looking information can be identified using forward-looking terminology such as "expect", "likely", "may", "will", "should", "intend", "anticipate", "potential", "proposed", "estimate" and other similar words, including negative and grammatical variations thereof, or statements that certain events or conditions "may", "would" or "will" happen, or by discussions of strategy. The forward-looking information in this news release is based upon the expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions, and views of future events which management believes to be reasonable in the circumstances. Forward-looking information includes estimates, plans, expectations, opinions, forecasts, projections, targets, guidance, or other statements that are not statements of fact. Forward-looking information necessarily involve known and unknown risks, including, without limitation, risks associated with general economic conditions; adverse industry events; loss of markets; future legislative and regulatory developments; inability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favourable terms; the cannabis industry in Canada generally; the ability of Entourage to implement its business strategies; competition; crop failure; and other risks. Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and, except as required by law, Entourage does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for Entourage to predict all such factors. When considering this forward-looking information, readers should keep in mind the risk factors and other cautionary statements in Entourages disclosure documents filed with the applicable Canadian securities' regulatory authorities and available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. The risk factors and other factors noted in the disclosure documents could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those described in any forward-looking information. Third Party Information This press release includes market and industry data that has been obtained from third party sources, including industry publications. The Company believes that the industry data is accurate and that its estimates and assumptions are reasonable, but there is no assurance as to the accuracy or completeness of this data. Third party sources generally state that the information contained therein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but there is no assurance as to the accuracy or completeness of included information. Although the data is believed to be reliable, the Company has not independently verified any of the data from third party sources referred to in this press release or ascertained the underlying economic assumptions relied upon by such sources. NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE Source: Entourage Health Corp. New VC Fund Focused on Consumer Tech and CPG Sectors Leveraging its Media Platform & Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Angel Investor Network to Provide Additional Resources LOS ANGELES, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Entrepreneur Media, publisher of Entrepreneur magazine and Entrepreneur.com, announced today that it has launched a new venture capital fund known as Entrepreneur Ventures. The fund, headquartered in Los Angeles and led by veteran venture capital investors Danny Beckett, Jr. and Jonathan Hung, plans to invest up to $10 million in 150 to 200 pre-seed stage startups, primarily operating in the CPG, consumer, and B2B frontier and enterprise tech sectors. Entrepreneur Ventures plans to invest in early-stage entrepreneurs across various industries. Its operating partners will help support startups with all aspects of building a company, including finance, operations, strategy, growth, talent, engineering, and more. The funds affiliation with Entrepreneur Media and its family of print and digital publications and productions provides access to a diverse community of founders and entrepreneurs, with 20 million unique website visitors, 3.2 million readers, and 15.8 million social followers to support traction and growth. Mr. Beckett and Mr. Hung will be General Partners of the new fund. Beckett has over 20 years of experience in launching, scaling, and exiting startups, as well as investing in real estate and family and founder-owned businesses. He started his professional career as a professional athlete and brand ambassador before jumping to founder and VC. Hung has over 15 years of experience as a venture capitalist and entrepreneur, having invested in more than 90 pre-seed and pre-IPO investments, and is an active angel investor on the West Coast. Together they have raised and deployed more than $500m in private and venture capital. The co-founders will be joined by a team of six additional investors and advisors, including Entrepreneur CEO Ryan Shea, President Bill Shaw, and Editor in Chief Jason Feifer. Our goal is to provide a hands-on approach, leveraging our network and expertise to help portfolio companies scale quickly and succeed in their respective markets. We look forward to building the next generation of Americas most innovative, exciting companies, said Hung. Concurrently with the fund, Entrepreneur Media is also establishing Entrepreneur Venture Partners, an accredited angel investor network. The investors in this network will be able to co-invest in portfolio companies alongside Entrepreneur Ventures, as well as provide personalized mentorship, industry insights and practical guidance to the portfolio founders. The fund expects to add 100 angel partners by the end of 2024. Beckett said, By making relatively small initial investments, we are catalyzing growth and creating follow-on opportunities for LPs and angel investors to directly invest additional capital over time. Our goal is to help founders of tech companies, but also early-stage consumer products and brands, prove out their business model and product-market fit, while driving returns for our investors. Integrating a media company, a fund, and an accredited angel network to help drive sustainable venture growth is unparalleled. It will be a major difference maker in our industry, as it creates a unique ecosystem where media exposure, financial support, and expert mentorship converge to foster innovation and accelerate the success of emerging businesses, Beckett added. About Entrepreneur VenturesEntrepreneur Ventures is a venture capital fund backed by Entrepreneur Media, publisher of Entrepreneur Magazine, the leading authority on emerging companies and brands, and producer of various events and content. Entrepreneur Ventures was established to invest up to $10 million in 150 to 200 pre-seed stage startups, primarily operating in the CPG, consumer, and B2B frontier tech sectors. Led by General Partners Danny Beckett, Jr. and Jonathan Hung, Entrepreneur Ventures is headquartered in Los Angeles, with additional offices and partners in New York, San Francisco, Toronto, and Grand Rapids. ContactLambertMegan Bowman616-258-5763[email protected] orCaroline Luz203-570-6462[email protected] Source: Entrepreneur Ventures NEW YORK, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bernstein Liebhard LLP: Do you, or did you, own shares of Fisker Inc. (NYSE: FSR)? Did you purchase your shares between August 4, 2023 and November 20, 2023, inclusive? Did you lose money in your investment in Fisker Inc.? Do you want to discuss your rights? Bernstein Liebhard LLP announces that a securities class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of investors who purchased or acquired the securities of Fisker Inc. (Fisker or the Company) (NYSE: FSR) between August 4, 2023 and November 20, 2023, inclusive (the Class Period). The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California and alleges violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 against the Company and certain of its officers (the Complaint). If you purchased or acquired Fisker securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit Fisker Inc. Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit or contact paralegal Peter Allocco at (212) 951-2030 or [email protected]. According to the Complaint, Fisker is an electric vehicle company based in California. The Company went public in October 2020 through a reverse merger with a special purpose acquisition company called Spartan Energy Acquisition Corp. The Company has one model currently launched, the Fisker Ocean (the Ocean), an electric vehicle released in the United States in June 2023. Throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Companys business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors that: (1) Fisker had a material weakness in its internal control over financial reporting; (2) Fisker had incorrectly accounted for certain costs; (3) as a result the Company was likely to delay filing its quarterly report; and (4) Fiskers infrastructure was limiting its ability to deliver its production. On November 20, 2023, after the market closed, the Company disclosed that its Chief Accounting Officer, who was only hired on November 6, 2023, had provided notice of his intent to resign from the Company on November 14, 2023, effective immediately. On this news, the Companys share price fell $0.35, or 15%, to close at $2.00 per share on November 21, 2023. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than January 26, 2024 . A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Your ability to share in any recovery doesnt require that you serve as lead plaintiff. If you choose to take no action, you may remain an absent class member. If you purchased or acquired Fisker securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit Fisker Inc. Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit or contact paralegal Peter Allocco at (212) 951-2030 or [email protected]. Since 1993, Bernstein Liebhard LLP has recovered over $3.5 billion for its clients. In addition to representing individual investors, the Firm has been retained by some of the largest public and private pension funds in the country to monitor their assets and pursue litigation on their behalf. As a result of its success litigating hundreds of lawsuits and class actions, the Firm has been named to The National Law Journals Plaintiffs Hot List thirteen times and listed in The Legal 500 for sixteen consecutive years. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING. 2023 Bernstein Liebhard LLP. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Bernstein Liebhard LLP, 10 East 40th Street, New York, New York 10016, (212) 779-1414. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. Contact Information: Peter Allocco Paralegal Bernstein Liebhard LLP https://www.bernlieb.com (212) 951-2030 [email protected] TORONTO, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Golconda Gold Ltd. (Golconda Gold or the Company) (TSX-V: GG; OTCQB: GGGOF) is pleased to announce the release of its financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023. A copy of the unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023, prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, and the corresponding managements discussion and analysis (the MD&A), are available under the Companys profile on www.sedarplus.ca. All references to $ in this press release refer to United States dollars. Third Quarter 2023 (Q3 2023) Highlights: mined 15,817 tonnes of ore from its Galaxy and Princeton ore bodies, with an average grade of 3.82 grammes per tonne (g/t) a decrease of 17% compared to 19,171 tonnes at 3.11 g/t in the three months ended June, 2023 ( Q2 2023 ), but at a 23% higher grade; ), but at a 23% higher grade; produced 1,343 tonnes of concentrate at an average grade of 40.6 g/t containing 1,752 ounces of gold compared to 1,422 tonnes at 37.0 g/t containing 1,689 ounces of gold in Q2 2023, an increase of 4% in gold production quarter on quarter; generated revenue of $3.0 million from the sale of 1,814 contained ounces (1,461 payable ounces) of gold at an operating cash cost of $1,385 per payable ounce compared to $2.5 million revenue in Q2 2023 from the sale of 1,639 contained ounces (1,308 payable ounces) of gold at an operating cash cost of $1,571 per payable ounce, representing a 19% increase in revenue and 12% reduction in operating cash cost quarter on quarter;(1) and following the quarter end, as announced on November 23, 2023, the Company entered a metal purchase and sale agreement with Empress Royalty Holdings Corp. (Empress), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Empress Royalty Corp. under which the Company will receive an up-front cash payment of $5 million (the Investment) for payable gold produced from the Galaxy mine which will be invested to facilitate the increase in mining volumes required for the new and larger milling circuit.(2) The closing of the transaction and the funding of the Investment is subject to typical conditions precedent. Golconda Gold CEO, Nick Brodie commented: The third quarter of 2023 saw production increase over the second quarter and cash costs further reduce as we implement cost saving initiatives. We are looking forward to closing the recently announced Investment with Empress and the financial capacity this is expected to bring to improve equipment availabilities and to further develop the Galaxy and Princeton ore bodies to increase production. (2) With agreed financing signed up for Galaxy, we now turn our focus to Summit where we continue to work with financing providers and off-take partners to put in place a non-dilutive financing package to facilitate the re-start of operations at the Summit Property as soon as possible.(2) About Golconda Gold Golconda Gold is an un-hedged gold producer and explorer with mining operations and exploration tenements in South Africa and New Mexico. Golconda Gold is a public company and its shares are quoted on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol GG and the OTCQB under the symbol GGGOF. Golconda Golds management team is comprised of senior mining professionals with extensive experience in managing mining and processing operations and large-scale exploration programmes. Golconda Gold is committed to operating at world-class standards and is focused on the safety of its employees, respecting the environment, and contributing to the communities in which it operates. Notes: (1) Cash cost is a non-GAAP measure. Refer to below and to Supplemental Information to Managements Discussion and Analysis in the MD&A, for reconciliation to measures reported in the Companys financial statements. Q3 2023 YTD 2023 Operating costs 2,165,039 6,952,239 Adjust for: Impairment, depreciation and amortization (173,080) (544,374) Inventory movement (9,147) (88,000) Total operating cash cost 1,982,812 6,319,865 Royalties (18,964) (39,525) Total operating cash cost excluding royalties 1,963,848 6,280,340 Gold production (ounces) 1,752 5,025 Gold production (ounces payable) 1,418 3,993 Total operating cash cost excluding royalties per payable oz. 1,385 1,573 (2) This is forward-looking information and is based on a number of assumptions. See Cautionary Notes. Cautionary Notes Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the closing of the transaction with Empress and the use of the Investment to facilitate an increase in mining volumes, the Companys ability to put in place a non-dilutive financing package to facilitate the re-start of operations at the Summit Property, and the Companys future financial position and results of operations, strategy, proposed acquisitions, plans, objectives, goals and targets, and any statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words believe, expect, aim, intend, plan, continue, will, may, would, anticipate, estimate, forecast, predict, project, seek, should or similar expressions or the negative thereof, are forward-looking statements. These statements are not historical facts but instead represent only the Companys expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual results may differ materially from what is expressed, implied or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. Additional factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially include, but are not limited to: the Companys dependence on two mineral projects; gold price volatility; risks associated with the conduct of the Companys mining activities in South Africa and New Mexico; regulatory, consent or permitting delays; risks relating to the Companys exploration, development and mining activities being situated in South Africa and New Mexico; risks relating to reliance on the Companys management team and outside contractors; risks regarding mineral resources and reserves; the Companys inability to obtain insurance to cover all risks, on a commercially reasonable basis or at all; currency fluctuations; risks regarding the failure to generate sufficient cash flow from operations; risks relating to project financing and equity issuances; risks arising from the Companys fair value estimates with respect to the carrying amount of mineral interests; mining tax regimes; risks arising from holding derivative instruments; the Companys need to replace reserves depleted by production; risks and unknowns inherent in all mining projects, including the inaccuracy of reserves and resources, metallurgical recoveries and capital and operating costs of such projects; contests over title to properties, particularly title to undeveloped properties; laws and regulations governing the environment, health and safety; the ability of the communities in which the Company operates to manage and cope with the implications of COVID-19; the economic and financial implications of COVID-19 to the Company; operating or technical difficulties in connection with mining or development activities; lack of infrastructure; employee relations, labour unrest or unavailability; health risks in Africa; the Companys interactions with surrounding communities and artisanal miners; the Companys ability to successfully integrate acquired assets; risks related to restarting production; the speculative nature of exploration and development, including the risks of diminishing quantities or grades of reserves; development of the Companys exploration properties into commercially viable mines; stock market volatility; conflicts of interest among certain directors and officers; lack of liquidity for shareholders of the Company; risks related to the market perception of junior gold companies; and litigation risk. Management provides forward-looking statements because it believes they provide useful information to investors when considering their investment objectives and cautions investors not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Consequently, all of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and other cautionary statements or factors contained herein, and there can be no assurance that the actual results or developments will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, the Company. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect subsequent information, events or circumstances or otherwise, except as required by law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. For further information please contact:Nick BrodieCEO, Golconda Gold Ltd.+ 44 7905 089878[email protected]www.golcondagold.com Source: Golconda Gold Ltd NEWPORT NEWS, Va., Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HII (NYSE: HII) was recently recognized with the Veteran Small Business Advocate of the Year Award from the National Veteran Small Business Coalition (NVSBC). The award specifically focused on the work accomplished by HIIs Newport News Shipbuilding division. NVSBC is a nationally recognized non-profit organization that provides training, networking, and advocacy for veteran small business entrepreneurs in the federal market to ensure they are procurement ready and have enhanced access to opportunities to start, operate, sustain, and grow competitive and strong businesses serving federal agencies and other government contractors. HII won in the Prime Contractor Representative or Team category for exceeding expectations in advocating for veteran-owned small businesses and service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses. NNS continually demonstrates its commitment to these businesses by participating in, supporting and sponsoring numerous veteran-related outreach activities. Our suppliers, from coast to coast, are at the heart and core of what we do here: building the worlds most capable nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines for the U.S. Navy, said Cullen Glass, NNS vice president of supply chain management. We are grateful for this recognition as we continue our commitment to ensuring our diverse supplier base reflects opportunities for all. A photo accompanying this release is available at: https://hii.com/news/hii-recognized-veteran-small-business-advocate-of-the-year-award-2023/. NVSBC and the veteran small business community greatly appreciates HIIs partnership and demonstrated leadership in advocating for and bringing strong business opportunities to the veteran small business community, NVSBC Executive Director Scott Jensen said. This is a well-deserved recognition of their commitment. This recognition follows HIIs recent honor of the 2023 Honoring Investments in Recruiting and Employing (HIRE) Vets Medallion Award. The HIRE Vets Medallion Award from the U.S. Department of Labor is the only federal-level veterans employment award that recognizes a company or organizations exemplary commitment to veteran hiring, retention and professional development. About HII HII is a global, all-domain defense provider. HIIs mission is to deliver the worlds most powerful ships and all-domain solutions in service of the nation, creating the advantage for our customers to protect peace and freedom around the world. As the nations largest military shipbuilder, and with a more than 135-year history of advancing U.S. national security, HII delivers critical capabilities extending from ships to unmanned systems, cyber, ISR, AI/ML and synthetic training. Headquartered in Virginia, HIIs workforce is 44,000 strong. For more information, visit: HII on the web: https://www.HII.com/ HII on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeamHII HII on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/WeAreHII HII on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/WeAreHII Contact: Todd Corillo[email protected](757) 688-3220 A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/cdcac795-edfa-4a35-92ce-32c0c4408fd0 Veteran Small Business Advocate of the Year Award Katina Adams, center, socio economic business liaison manager at HIIs Newport News Shipbuilding division, accepts the Veteran Small Business Advocate of the Year Award on behalf of HII from the National Veteran Small Business Coalition (NVSBC) during the award gala Nov. 14, 2023. Pictured left is Scott Jensen, NVSBC executive director, and at right is Edward Tuorinsky, NVSBC board president (Photo courtesy NVSBC). Source: HII TORONTO, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Internationally, there are growing concerns regarding the development and regulation of Generative AI (GenAI). American President Joe Biden recently signed an executive order on artificial intelligence, the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights. In September, the Government of Canada launched a new Voluntary Code of Conduct on the Responsible Development and Management of Advanced Generative AI Systems, which kama.ai is pleased to announce that it is firmly supporting. In addition to committing to the development of the countrys robust responsible AI ecosystem, signatories to this code commit to adopting several measures developed through a public consultation earlier this year. At kama.ai, we have always focused on creating an understandable form of intelligence that is accessible and able to be programmed by non-technical knowledge holders, said Indigenous founder and CEO Brian Ritchie. After meeting with the ISED team, it seemed like a very natural fit for us to commit to the Code. Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry said, Advances in AI have captured the worlds attention with the immense opportunities they present. Canada is a global AI leader, among the top countries in the world, and kama.ai has created some of the worlds top AI innovations. At the same time, Canada takes the potential risks of AI seriously. The government is committed to ensuring Canadians can trust AI systems used across the economy, which in turn will accelerate AI adoption. Instead of Large Language Model algorithms, the kama DEI platform uses tacit human experience and human values to guide user journeys and knowledge delivery via the platform. While GenAI capabilities are incorporated for drafting purposes, kama DEI relies on human-in-the-loop governance to ensure the safe distribution of knowledge to protect its customers brand and values. Its clear AI tools are evolving quickly and starting to create a meaningful impact in the workplace. When we looked at kama, it was easy to understand and we deployed it as an automated employee help desk. Were happy to see kamas commitment to transparency, human oversight and equity. Kent McCrea, CEO of Procom Inspired in part by Canadas Code of Conduct, kama.ai has outlined the requirements necessary to achieve an ethical, responsible, and sustainable conversational AI platform in a new white paper called The Quest for Responsible AI, which can be accessed on the companys website at kama.ai. About kama.ai and the kama DEI Solutionkama.ai is the creator of the Designed Experiential Intelligence platform, kama DEI, which allows curated information to be rated and distributed through a conversational agent based on personality value profiles. This establishes a level of personalization between the consumer/client and an enterprises information that has not been achieved previously. The result is an automated Virtual Assistant that works around the clock to address inquiries with the right information for the right reasons.kama DEI has an underlying knowledge base that unifies common information and an Enterprise Portal through which non-technical users can curate product and service information using simple natural language methods. The platform also allows for the setup of various target market demographic profiles (kama DEI Personas) to form the basis for various consumer or employee personality types. kama.ai also offers a rapid-launch, front-end chatbot that can be configured and integrated within hours into your enterprises web and mobile web pages. As an alternative, the kama DEI chatbot API allows integration to a current chat facility that you may already be using for live chat, and it can also power other channels such as Messenger, SMS text, or WhatsApp. For more information on kama DEI, please chat with Kady on our website at kama.ai or fill out an inquiry form on our site. About ProcomProcom is a premier provider of recruiting and contingent workforce services in North America - known for its customized approach to talent acquisition and workforce management. As an ISO 9001:2015 certified organization, Procom is recognized for maintaining high service standards. The firm has an extensive track record across various industries, including government entities, Fortune 500 companies, and startups. Procom's expansive network includes over 1000 IT contractors completing assignments and ready for redeployment each month throughout North America. This gives clients access to a wide pool of high-quality, and proven, talent.Procom is committed to building trust and ensuring transparency in its partnerships, providing valuable insights, and clear communication. Their inclusive services feature multilingual support and sophisticated software tools to help businesses effectively recruit and manage IT talent. Source: kama.ai Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Frances President Emmanuel Macron stressed the need for a comprehensive political process towards a just, two-state resolution to the Palestinian issue. Lion Travel is integrating DottedSigns e-signature solution, optimizing its operations, increasing convenience for customers and staff and reducing its environmental impact. IRVINE, CA, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DottedSign, an e-signature solution of Kdan Mobile Software, Ltd., recently announced that it is assisting Lion Travel, a globally recognized full-service travel provider, in digitizing their signing process. This transition allows Lion Travel to achieve a more efficient, convenient and sustainable method of signing travel contracts, expecting to result in an annual paper saving of approximately 4.5 metric tons, positioning them as a leader in sustainability within the travel and hospitality industry in Asia. Lion Travel relied on standard paper contracts to meet local regulations prior to using DottedSign. Contracts were delivered to clients either in person or digitally, requiring clients to print, sign and return them. Errors or client signature issues meant reprinting, resulting in paper waste. Discrepancies between the information in the standardized contracts sent out by the sales team and the website orders often occurred, leading to errors or omissions and having to reprint the corrected contract. Were glad to assist Lion Travel in adopting an online signing process and streamlining their procedures through the integration of DottedSign, says Kenny Su, CEO of Kdan Mobile. Customer details from the website now auto-fill into the contract, allowing for immediate e-signing and greatly reducing the occurrence of business errors or omissions. What previously took up to two days to sign can now be done within 20 minutes, greatly improving transaction efficiency for Lion Travel's business. With Lion Travel serving nearly a million group travel customers annually, around 60% of these purchases are made directly from Lion Travel, says Mr. Lin, General Manager of Lion Travel. If all of Lion Travel's direct clients sign through DottedSign, it would result in an annual paper saving of around 450,000 sheets equivalent to about 4.5 metric tons of paper. This saving on paper resources is consistent with Lion Travels leadership in sustainability for the travel and hospitality industry. Taiwans Financial Supervisory Commission has required all listed companies to develop a sustainable development pathway and to complete greenhouse gas emissions audits and certification by 2027, which Lion Travel is working to achieve. Moving forward, Lion Travel will expand its signing scenarios to overseas, including offices in Europe, the US and Asia regions. This initiative aims to enhance signing and management effectiveness of cross-border travel signing processes. Lion Travel plans to further advance the integration of the DottedSign solution, continuously collaborate, provide better services for customers and move towards sustainable development. About DottedSign DottedSign is the most comprehensive and easy-to-adopt e-signature solution, offering enterprise-level security standards for businesses. The solution lets users effortlessly sign documents and get signatures from others with a low learning curve. DottedSign provides widely accessible, integrated and adaptable plans, including SaaS, API and On-Premise solutions. The solution endeavors to help businesses not only effectively reduce the effort in the paper-signing process, but also assist businesses to implement sustainable strategies. Media Contact: Roger Hsu [email protected] TORONTO, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CanadaHelps, the country's largest platform for donating and fundraising online and co-founders of GivingTuesday in Canada, will be joined by Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow at Fred Victor today at 9:45 a.m. EST. This in-person media event will commemorate the importance of GivingTuesday, the worlds largest generosity movement, and the critical role of essential charities. Spokespersons will be available for interviews to discuss how Canadians can support charities on GivingTuesday and through the holiday giving season in light of the latest Ipsos data, which reveals that in addition to the two in 10 (20%) Canadians that currently rely on charitable services for essential needs (e.g., food, shelter, and clothing, etc.) another 24% of Canadians expect they will need to access charitable services within the next six months. Who: Olivia Chow, Mayor of Toronto Duke Chang, President and Chief Executive Officer, CanadaHelps Keith Hambly, Chief Executive Officer, Fred Victor Where: Fred Victor, 40 Oak Street, Toronto, ON When: Tuesday, November 28, 2023 9:45 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. EST Media Registration: Media are requested to RSVP by emailing [email protected] . Interviews: Interviews will be facilitated for media onsite and can also be arranged via phone or Zoom for media that are unable to attend in person. Media Kit: An online media kit containing background information and resources including B-roll video, Ipsos poll survey data, images, and press releases is available here. Onsite Media Contacts: Nicole Danesi, 416.628.6948 x 2502 About CanadaHelpsCanadaHelps is a public foundation advancing philanthropy through technology. For Canadians, it powers CanadaHelps.org, a safe and trusted destination for discovering and supporting any charity in Canada, and UniteforChange.com, where Canadians can learn about causes and easily support the collective work of charities addressing a cause they care about. CanadaHelps also develops affordable fundraising technology used by more than 30,000 charities, and free training and education so that, regardless of size, all charities have the capacity to increase their impact and succeed in the digital age. Since 2000, over 4.4 million people have given more than $2.7 billion through CanadaHelps. Connect with CanadaHelps on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. Media Contact:Christine AlfredPublic Relations and Marketing Specialist[email protected] Source: CanadaHelps Charlotte, N.C., Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- National Gypsum has donated $1 million to be shared by a total of thirty-four schools and non-profit organizations where the companys associates live and work throughout the United States and Canada. This years donations are intended to primarily support education and the next generation of students focused on science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) areas of learning. For the past three years, associates company-wide have actively participated in the selection of local schools and non-profit organizations that receive financial donations through the NGC Giving initiative. Associates from Gold Bond Building Products, LLC, Gold Bond Canada, Ltd., PermaBASE Building Products, LLC, ProForm Finishing Products, LLC and Unifix Inc., nominated this years recipients. As part of its ongoing commitment to local communities where the company has operations, National Gypsum has donated $3 million in conjunction with the NGC Giving campaign since 2021. The selected organizations have made a deep impact on students lives and education. They provide a range of STEAM-related education initiatives, including tutoring services to underserved students, learning enrichment activities, and training programs for future STEAM professionals. At National Gypsum, were dedicated to Building Products for a Better Future. That requires building better futures for our associates, customers and communities, said Thomas C. Nelson, chairman, president, and CEO of National Gypsum Company. Im grateful that National Gypsum has the opportunity to support and empower such important organizations in the communities where we conduct business. About National Gypsum Company National Gypsum Company, headquartered in Charlotte, NC, is the exclusive service provider of reliable, high-performance products manufactured by its affiliate companies, Gold Bond Building Products, LLC, ProForm Finishing Products, LLC, and PermaBASE Building Products, LLC, and marketed under the Gold Bond, ProForm and PermaBASE brands. Our affiliates strategic network of 19 gypsum plants, 7 gypsum quarries, 3 paper plants, 5 interior finishing product plants and 4 cement board plants located throughout North America allows us to provide the best in customer service to keep projects moving forward. The National Gypsum name has been synonymous with high-quality, innovative products and exceptional customer service since 1925. We are Building Products for a Better Future one project at a time. Learn more at www.nationalgypsum.com Beth Straeten National Gypsum Company 704-365-7327 [email protected] Source: National Gypsum Company Imaging was conducted as part of a clinical study at Technical University of Dresden in Germany Image was selected as Image of the Month in the European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, November 2023 Radiolabeling was performed on-site using a Company-provided generator SEATTLE, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Perspective Therapeutics, Inc. (Perspective or the Company) (NYSE AMERICAN: CATX), today announced the publication of the first human SPECT images utilizing the alpha-emitting isotope of 212Pb, which was labeled to the Companys proprietary theranostic VMT--NET product. The imaging was conducted as part of a series of four neuroendocrine tumor (NET) patients who were administered VMT--NET at a clinical study site in Germany. The Company is developing VMT--NET for the treatment and diagnosis of somatostatin receptor subtype 2 (SSTR2)-expressing neuroendocrine tumors. VMT--NET is being administered under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Jorg Kotzerke, Director of the Department of Nuclear Medicine at the Technical University of Dresden in Germany. The patient received 90 MBq (2.4mCi) of [212Pb]VMT--NET intravenously, and whole-body scintigraphy and SPECT/CT images were acquired 2 hours, 5 hours, and 19 hours after injection. Images were collected on a Symbia Intevo T6 (Siemens Healthineers) using a high-energy collimator. The SPECT/CT images showed high accumulation of [212Pb]VMT--NET in liver metastases and were consistent with the previously acquired [68Ga]DOTATATE PET/CT. High tumor retention can be observed in the planar and SPECT/CT images over time. As expected, due to the short half-life of 212Pb (10.6 hours), the images acquired after 19 hours showed a high level of noise due to the low count statistics. The patient showed no early or acute side effects. We are pleased to be able to provide our patients with Perspectives novel targeted alpha-particle therapy. This imaging study represents a world-first and shows that [212Pb]VMT--NET can be imaged after administration, commented Dr. Kotzerke. Particularly encouraging is the uptake and the retention in the tumors, and the concordance of this data with existing standard of care imaging. NET patients are in desperate need for new treatment options that are safe and effective. Under certain expanded access circumstances, VMT--NET may be made available to qualified doctors in some countries. Perspective Therapeutics supplies a generator, drug precursors and isotopes for the local production of its proprietary radiotherapeutic, VMT--NET. "Expanding our collaboration with Prof. Dr. Kotzerke and his colleagues at the Technical University of Dresden is a key milestone as we work to improve access to VMT--NET, our potentially life-changing treatment, to patients with burdensome NETs, said Thijs Spoor, Chief Executive Officer at Perspective Therapeutics. The use of post-therapy SPECT imaging to confirm tumor uptake and clearance from healthy organs is of particular interest moving forward, as it means that post-therapy dosimetry can be used in next-cycle treatment planning by physicians using our products. We trust the healthcare systems that value dosimetry and patient safety will work with us to be able to have this covered as a routine part of patient care. Dr. Kotzerke and his team will continue to monitor patients progress over the coming months. The publication is entitled First-in-human SPECT/CT imaging of [212Pb]Pb-VMT--NET in a patient with metastatic neuroendocrine tumor and is available in the European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00259-023-06529-1. It follows a similar publication in Clinical Nuclear Medicine from earlier this year showing successful SPECT imaging of Perspectives surrogate diagnostic isotope 203Pb which was also linked to VMT--NET. Recruitment is ongoing for the use of VMT--NET in imaging and therapeutic trials at leading U.S. institutions. VMT--NET is categorized as an investigational new drug by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The use of VMT--NET in qualifying expanded access situations is entirely separate from and outside the scope of the Company's Phase 1 trial. Michler, E., Kastner, D., Brogsitter, C. et al. First-in-human SPECT/CT imaging of [212Pb]Pb-VMT--NET in a patient with metastatic neuroendocrine tumor. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00259-023-06529-1 About Neuroendocrine Tumors Neuroendocrine tumors form in cells that interact with the nervous system or in glands that produce hormones. They can originate in various parts of the body, most often in the gut or the lungs and can be benign or malignant. Neuroendocrine tumors are typically classified as pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors or non-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. According to cancer.net, it is estimated that more than 12,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with a NET each year. Importantly, neuroendocrine tumors are associated with a relatively long duration of survival compared to other tumors and as a result, there are approximately 175,000 people living with this diagnosis. About VMT--NET VMT--NET is a clinical stage targeted alpha particle therapy (TAT) radiopharmaceutical being developed for the treatment and diagnosis of somatostatin receptor subtype 2 (SSTR2) expressing neuroendocrine tumors, which are a rare and difficult-to-treat type of cancer. VMT--NET incorporates Perspective Therapeutics' proprietary lead-specific chelator (PSC) to bind Pb-203 for SPECT imaging, and Pb-212 for alpha particle therapy. About Perspective Therapeutics, Inc. Perspective Therapeutics, Inc., is a diversified medical technology and radiopharmaceutical company that is pioneering advanced treatment applications for cancers throughout the body. The Company has a proprietary technology that utilizes the alpha emitting isotope Lead-212 to deliver powerful radiation specifically to cancer cells via specialized targeting peptides. The Company is also developing complementary imaging diagnostics that incorporate the same targeting peptides which provide the opportunity to personalize treatment and optimize patient outcomes. This theranostic approach enables the ability to see the specific tumor and then treat it to potentially improve efficacy and minimize toxicity associated with many other types of cancer treatments. The Companys melanoma (VMT01) and neuroendocrine tumor (VMT--NET) programs have entered Phase 1/2a imaging and therapy trials for the treatment of metastatic melanoma and neuroendocrine tumors at several leading academic institutions. The Company has also developed a proprietary Lead-212 generator to secure key isotopes for clinical trial and commercial operations. Perspective is the sole producer of Cesium-131 brachytherapy seeds which are commercially available in the United States for the treatment of prostate cancer and other solid tumors. For more information, please visit the Companys website at www.perspectivetherapeutics.com . Safe Harbor Statement This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements in this press release that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Words such as "may," "will," "should," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "could," "intend," "target," "project," "estimate," "believe," "predict," "potential" or "continue" or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, though not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Forward-looking statements in this press release include statements concerning, among other things: the Companys expectation that VMT--NET may be made available to qualified doctors in some countries under compassionate use circumstances; the Companys belief that VMT--NET is a potentially life-changing treatment; the Companys expectation that post-therapy dosimetry should open up a range of patient care options for the physicians who will be using the Companys products; the Companys prediction that the healthcare systems that value dosimetry and patient safety will work with the Company to be able to have post-therapy SPECT imaging covered as a routine part of patient care; the Companys expectation that Dr. Kotzerke and his team will continue to monitor patients progress over the coming months; the Companys prediction that complementary imaging diagnostics that incorporate certain targeting peptides provide the opportunity to personalize treatment and optimize patient outcomes; the Companys expectation that its "theranostic" approach enables the ability to see specific tumors and then treat it to potentially improve efficacy and minimize toxicity associated with many other types of cancer treatments; the Company's clinical development plans and the expected timing thereof; the potential functionality, capabilities, and benefits of the Company's product candidates and the potential application of these product candidates for other disease indications; the Company's expectations, beliefs, intentions, and strategies regarding the future; and other statements that are not historical fact. The Company may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from the results described in or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: the potential that regulatory authorities may not grant or may delay approval for the Company's product candidates; uncertainties and delays relating to the design, enrollment, completion, and results of clinical trials; unanticipated costs and expenses; the Companys ability to continue as a going concern; early clinical trials may not be indicative of the results in later clinical trials; clinical trial results may not support regulatory approval or further development in a specified indication or at all; actions or advice of regulatory authorities may affect the design, initiation, timing, continuation and/or progress of clinical trials or result in the need for additional clinical trials; the Company's ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval for the Company's product candidates; delays, interruptions or failures in the manufacture and supply of the Company's product candidates; the size and growth potential of the markets for the Company's product candidates, and the Company's ability to service those markets; the Company's cash and cash equivalents may not be sufficient to support its operating plan for as long as anticipated; the Company's expectations, projections and estimates regarding expenses, future revenue, capital requirements, and the availability of and the need for additional financing; the Company's ability to obtain additional funding to support its clinical development programs; the availability or potential availability of alternative products or treatments for conditions targeted by the Company that could affect the availability or commercial potential of its product candidates; the ability of the Company to manage growth and successfully integrate its businesses; the Company's ability to maintain its key employees; whether there is sufficient training and use of the Company's products and product candidates; the market acceptance and recognition of the Company's products and product candidates; the Company's ability to maintain and enforce its intellectual property rights; the Company's ability to maintain its therapeutic isotope supply agreement with the Department of Energy; the Company's ability to continue to comply with the procedures and regulatory requirements mandated by the FDA for additional trials, Phase 1 and 2 approvals, FDA fast track approvals, and 510(k) approval and reimbursement codes; and any changes in applicable laws and regulations. Other factors that may cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements in this press release are described under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's most recent Transition Report on Form 10-KT and the Company's most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, each filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), in the Company's other filings with the SEC, and in the Company's future reports to be filed with the SEC and available at www.sec.gov. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of this date, and the Company undertakes no duty to update such information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable law. BOSTON, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Physician Growth Partners (PGP) is pleased to have advised Charleston, WV-based Mountain State Oral and Facial Surgery (MSOFS), Charlotte, NC-based Greater Charlotte Oral and Facial Surgery (GCOFS) and their management organization, Pluri Potent Partnership (P3), (collectively, the Company) in their recent partnership with HealthEdge Investment Partners , a healthcare focused private equity firm based in Tampa, Florida. Led by a group of leading oral and maxillofacial surgeons, MSOFS & GCOFS have been serving the West Virginia and North Carolina markets for over 25 years. The practices span 12 clinic locations and offer a comprehensive suite of services to their patients. The Companys management services organization (MSO), P3, was established in 2018 and has provided management services inclusive of marketing, purchasing, and service line development since inception. In its partnership with HealthEdge, P3 is forming the newest private equity backed Oral Surgery Platform in the market. Together, they will look to expand upon their proven growth strategies - launching new locations, recruiting providers, and expanding service offerings. The newly established platform will continue delivering preeminent care to their vast patient base. The Companys unmatched brand reputation, in combination with its developed infrastructure and provider base, will fuel the partnership into the next era of growth. Dr. Jack Krajekian of MSOFSs physician leadership team said, We did a national search for a transaction advisor, and after a long search we decided to hire PGP. They were very professional from the beginning and explained the process very well. In addition to a thorough pre-market valuation of our practice, the PGP team was always available to address any questions and concerns we had, were fierce negotiators on our behalf, and overall helped make a very complicated process quite easy. I would highly recommend PGP to any Oral Surgery practice owners looking to explore strategic private equity partnersactually, I would love them to come and work on my team! Physician Growth Partners served as the exclusive transaction advisor to P3 in its evaluation, negotiation, and execution of this transaction. We couldnt be more excited for the team at MSOFS and GCOFS in their partnership with HealthEdge, stated Robert Aprill, managing director at PGP. It was an honor to represent the shareholders that have grown their practice to such a strong position in their respective markets. After a thorough process of evaluating several strategic options, we found that HealthEdges experience, vision and leadership aligned with our clients plan for the long-term success of the practice. PGP is extremely pleased with the outcome and looks forward to seeing this partnership thrive. Bart Walker and Diana Castro of McGuireWoods served as legal counsel to P3 in the transaction. About Physician Growth Partners Physician Growth Partners is one of the most active sell-side healthcare investment banking firms in the US and is dedicated to representing specialty physician practices in transactions with private equity. PGP creates value by providing operational support, strategic positioning, and transaction counseling from start to finish. Founded in 2017, PGP has advised more than 50 practices to successful private equity partnerships. Cergy, November 28, 2023 SPIE, the independent European leader in multi-technical services in the areas of energy and communications, announces the signature of an agreement to acquire ROBUR Industry Service Group GmbH. Headquartered in Munich, ROBUR Industry Service Group GmbH is an industrial services company offering, to a diversified customer portfolio, a wide range of services across the full value chain (engineering, installation, commissioning & maintenance) for industrial transformation and processes (notably automation, robotics, electrification) representing around 80% of its revenue. The company also provides maintenance services for offshore and onshore wind turbine representing the remaining 20% of its revenue. With 2,600 highly skilled employees and a 2023E revenue of c.380 million euros, ROBUR Industry Service Group GmbH enjoys a leading position on the German market, and achieves an attractive organic growth and high single digit EBITA margin. ROBUR also pioneers in the wind energy maintenance market with operations in Germany and abroad (Americas and Southern Europe) supported by a follow the customer approach. With this acquisition SPIE establishes a strategic position in the German industrial services market, by far the largest of its kind in Europe, and where our presence remained very limited until today. It thus allows the Group to develop and complete its activity portfolio in Germany strengthening its position as number 2 in its industry in the country. We will be able to develop potential cross-selling opportunities with an attractive client portfolio (including blue chip customers). Last but not least, SPIE enters the promising wind energy maintenance market thus reinforcing its positioning as a key enabler for energy transition. The transaction multiple is 9.5x 2023E EBITA and slightly above 8.0x 2024E EBITA. Considering the high growth profile of ROBUR, the integration will require to slightly reinforce the structure, partially offsetting the costs synergies we plan to deliver, while the company already generates a high single digit EBITA margin. The transaction should result in a mid-single digit EPS accretion for the Group as soon as the first year (2024). The acquisition will be financed with the existing financial resources of the Group with a limited impact on its leverage ratio. SPIE will acquire c.99% of the share capital at closing, while the remaining c.1% shareholding will be retained by the current management team who remains in place and will contribute to pursue the business development. An earn-out clause is included in the transaction (not exceeding 5% of the total amount of the transaction). Gauthier Louette, Chairman and CEO of SPIE, declared: The acquisition of ROBUR enables SPIE to become a leading player in the industrial services in Germany and in the wind energy sector. It is a significant leap forward for SPIE in Germany and aligns with the strategy of the Group to expand its full range of expertise in its largest strategic market. This acquisition will create significant value thanks to the high growth and profitability perspectives." Markus Holzke, Managing Director of SPIE Deutschland & Zentraleuropa said: "In ten years, SPIE in Germany and Central Europe has emerged as a leading multi-technical service provider, with proven leading positions in Technical Facility Management and Transmission and Distribution market, further supported by Building Solutions and Information & Communication Services. With ROBUR, we are now becoming a leading player in industrial services able to support the transformation and decarbonation of the German industry towards electrification, as well as the change in energy mix. Jan-Jorg Muller-Seiler, Managing Partner and CEO of ROBUR explains: "In the recent years, ROBUR has become a strong player in the industrial services in Germany accompanying the energy transition in the industry. We are convinced that becoming part of SPIE in Germany, ROBUR will even further grow and develop its position. SPIE and ROBUR are a perfect match." SPIE expects to complete the transaction in Q1 2024, subject to customary closing conditions among which antitrust approval. About SPIE SPIE is the independent European leader in multi-technical services in the areas of energy and communications. Our 48,000 employees are committed to achieving the energy transition and digital transformation alongside our customers. SPIE achieved in 2022 consolidated revenues of 8.09 billion and consolidated EBITA of 511 million. Contacts SPIE Pascal Omnes Group Communications Director Tel. + 33 (0)1 34 41 81 11 [email protected] SPIE Audrey Bourgeois Investor Relations Director Tel. + 33 (0)1 34 41 80 72 [email protected] IMAGE 7 Laurent Poinsot Tel. + 33 (0)1 53 70 74 77 [email protected] www.spie.com https://www.facebook.com/SPIEgroup http://twitter.com/spiegroup Disclaimer Certain information included in this press release are not historical facts but are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs, expectations and assumptions, including, without limitation, assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which SPIE operates, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results or other events, to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information and statements are not guarantees of future performances and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of SPIE. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, forward-looking information and statements. These risks and uncertainties include those discussed or identified under Chapter 2 Risk factors and internal control of SPIEs 2022 Universal Registration Document, filed with the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) on April 12th, 2023 under number D.23-0265, which is available on the website of SPIE (www.spie.com) and of the Autorite des marches financiers (www.amf-france.org). This press release includes only summary information and does not purport to be comprehensive. No reliance should be placed on the accuracy or completeness of the information or opinions contained in this press release. This press release does not contain or constitute an offer of securities for sale or an invitation or inducement to invest in securities in France, the United States or any other jurisdiction. Attachment VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rakovina Therapeutics Inc. (TSX-V: RKV, the Company), a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the lives of cancer patients through development of novel DNA-damage response inhibitor therapeutics, announced financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2023, and provided a corporate update. Corporate highlights during the past quarter included: On November 27, 2023, we announced the appointment of Prof. Artem Cherkasov, Professor in the Department of Urologic Sciences, Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia, and Senior Scientist at the Vancouver Prostate Centre and Canada Research Chair in Precision Cancer Drug Design, to our Scientific Advisory Board. On November 20, 2023, we announced the appointment of Prof. Petra Hamerlik, Chair of Translational Neuro-Oncology at the University of Manchester and former CNS Cancer Bioscience Lead at AstraZeneca plc, to our Scientific Advisory Board. During the past quarter, we have continued preclinical research activities with the aim of advancing a lead candidate from our kt-3000 series program into human clinical trials during 2024. In October 2023, we presented additional data from our kt-3000 series at the AACR-NCI-EORTIC Molecular Targets and Therapeutics Meeting. These data demonstrate the potential of kt-3000 series drug candidates to treat cancers that are resistant to first-generation PARPi and potential to address unmet medical needs in the treatment of a range of cancers including leukemia, breast cancer, liver cancer, glioblastoma, prostate cancer, Ewing sarcoma and anaplastic thyroid cancer. In July 2023, we published a peer reviewed manuscript in the Journal of Clinical Cancer Research describing pre-clinical data for a kt-3000 lead candidate, kt-3283, as a potential treatment for Ewing sarcoma, a rare childhood tumor. Profs. Hamerlik and Cherkasov joining our Scientific Advisory Board signifies a pivotal step in our pursuit of cutting-edge advancements in oncology drug development, said Rakovina Therapeutics executive chairman, Jeffrey Bacha. Our strides in the kt-3000 series program, especially the presentation at the AACR-NCI-EORTIC Molecular Targets and Therapeutics Meeting and the publication in the Journal of Clinical Cancer Research, showcase the promising potential of our drug candidates. The ability to tackle resistant cancers and address unmet medical needs across various types of cancer is truly groundbreaking. He added, Moving forward, we're focused on translating this progress into meaningful clinical impact, aiming to initiate human trials with a lead candidate in 2024. Each milestone brings us closer to transforming the landscape of cancer treatment, offering hope and innovative solutions for patients worldwide. About the kt-3000 Series Rakovina Therapeutics' kt-3000 series is a novel class of DNA-damage response inhibitors designed to selectively inhibit two important anti-cancer targets: poly(ADP) ribose polymerase (PARP) and histone deacetylase (HDAC). The combination of a PARP inhibitor with an HDAC inhibitor has shown potential synergy in laboratory studies; however, treatment of patients with the combination is associated with significant side effects. Data presented by Rakovina Therapeutics at recent scientific meetings demonstrate that kt-3000 lead candidates may provide dual-function synergy in the treatment of treatment-resistant cancers, while limiting treatment-related side effects. Update on Convertible Debenture Interest Payment due November 29, 2023 The Company also reports that in accordance with the terms of an indenture entered into between the Company and Odyssey Trust Company dated May 29, 2023 (the Indenture), certain holders (each, a Debentureholder) of 12.0% unsecured convertible debentures of Rakovina Therapeutics (the Debentures) have elected to receive common shares of the Company (Common Shares) in lieu of cash in partial satisfaction of interest payable on November 29, 2023 (the Interest Payment Date). Approximately $17,900 of the interest payable under the Debentures will be settled by the issuance of Common Shares. The number of Common Shares to be issued to those Debentureholders who have elected to receive Common Shares in lieu of cash interest payment will be determined in accordance with the terms of the Indenture, by dividing the interest payable in cash on the Interest Payment Date by the greater of (i) the five (5) day volume weighted average trading price of the Common Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange (the TSXV) for the five (5) trading days immediately prior to the Interest Payment Date and (ii) the Discounted Market Price (as defined in the policies of the TSXV) on November 28, 2023. The issuance of Common Shares in lieu of cash is subject to the terms and conditions of the Indenture as well as the receipt of all requisite approvals, including, without limitation, the approval of the TSXV. Additional details regarding the Debentures can be found in the Companys news releases dated May 1, 2023 and May 29, 2023 available under the Companys profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Summary Financial Results for the quarter ended September 30, 2023 For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023, the Company reported a net loss of $646,968 and $1,890,162, respectively. Research and development expenses were $426,852 and $1,252,165 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023, respectively. General and administrative expenses were $163,416 and $568,496 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023, respectively. Total cash expenses related to research and development and general and administrative expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2023 were $429,671. Selected Financial Information As at September 30, 2023$ Cash & cash equivalents 813,328 Working capital 990,548 Intangible assets 4,650,180 Total assets 5,824,463 Total liabilities 1,497,611 Deficit 10,202,548 Total equity 4,326,852 Statements of net loss and comprehensive loss data: For the three months ended September 30, 2023$ For the nine months ended September 30, 2023$ Research & development 426,852 1,252,165 General and administrative 163,416 568,496 Net loss and comprehensive loss 646,968 1,890,162 Basic and diluted income (loss) per share (0.01 ) (0.03 ) Operating cash burn 429,671 1,328,271 Weighted average shares outstanding 69,829,500 69,829,500 Rakovina Therapeutics financial statements as filed with SEDAR can be accessed from the Companys website at: https://www.rakovinatherapeutics.com/corporate-profile/ About Rakovina Therapeutics Inc. Rakovina Therapeutics Inc. is focused on the development of new cancer treatments based on novel DNA-damage response technologies. The Company has established a pipeline of novel DNA-damage response inhibitors with the goal of advancing one or more drug candidates into human clinical trials and obtaining marketing approval for new cancer therapeutics from Health Canada, the United States Food and Drug Administration and similar international regulatory agencies. Further information may be found at www.rakovinatherapeutics.com. Additional Information The TSXV has neither approved nor disapproved the content of this press release. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Notice regarding forward-looking statements: This release includes forward-looking statements regarding the Company and its respective business, which may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the proposed business plan of the Company and other statements. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as plans, is expected, expects, scheduled, intends, contemplates, anticipates, believes, proposes or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events, or results may, could, would, might or will be taken, occur or be achieved. Such statements are based on the current expectations of the management of the Company. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release may not occur by certain specified dates or at all and could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting the Company, including risks regarding the medical device industry, economic factors, regulatory factors, the equity markets generally and risks associated with growth and competition. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events, or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events, or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Except as required by applicable securities laws, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. The reader is referred to the Companys most recent filings on SEDAR for a more complete discussion of all applicable risk factors and their potential effects, copies of which may be accessed through the Companys profile page at www.sedar.com. Contact: Source: Rakovina Therapeutics Inc IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Partnering with the Orange County Hunger Alliance (OCHA), social enterprise innovator RevHubOC is receiving a significant financial investment from the Samueli Foundation. The grant of $1,050,000 to the OCHA will boost the Alliances mission to combat food/nutritional insecurity and food waste in Orange County, with a portion equal to $400,000 designated to RevHubOC for its key role in this endeavor. This grant reflects the commitment of the Samueli Foundation to making a positive impact on the health of individuals, communities, and the environment by creating a more effective, interconnected food system. This project aims to reduce food insecurity and food waste, seed innovations in agricultural technology and food systems, and address root causes of poverty and homelessness. A proponent of joint community efforts, the Samueli Foundation participated in numerous discussions with the OCHA around proposed initiatives and solutions, including enhanced procurement opportunities for nonprofit entities, coordinated logistics, food recovery, shared advocacy/policy guidance, and entrepreneurship in the food systems/AgTech space. "Food insecurity is a solvable problem with the right combination of creativity, capital, and will, says Lindsey Spindle, president of the Samueli Family Philanthropies. We look forward to partnering with the OCHA and RevHubOC to improve food systems, reduce food waste, and promote innovation in the social sector all in service of addressing our most pressing human health and climate issues. Funding will support the efforts of the OCHA collaborative partner organizations, including Abound Food Care, Community Action Partnership Orange County Food Bank, Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, and other nonprofits supporting innovative new solutions in addition to RevHubOC. It will bolster broad-based efforts to break down silos among hunger relief organizations, examine the emergency food systems current condition, and channel the collective power, innovation, expertise, and leadership of the hunger relief community in Orange County. Blending the capabilities of RevHubOCthe leading social enterprise ecosystem builder in Orange Countywith other efforts of the Alliance highlights the OCHAs commitment to comprehensive food system improvements. RevHubOCs leadership of Orange Countys first Climate Action Business Incubator (CABI) will enable startups to innovate AgTech solutions that directly contribute to the goals of the OCHA. RevHubOC CEO Stephan Erkelens says, The challenges in the food system can seem daunting, but for entrepreneurs these challenges represent endless opportunities. Everything from food storage, logistics, and data to where and how we grow food offers a market- and mission-driven opportunity for innovative entrepreneurs. They can help create elegant solutions that make a meaningful dent in the food insecurity crisis. The grant positions RevHubOC and the OCHA to greatly enhance their abilities to create effective solutions for Orange County, which can in turn be replicated throughout California and beyond. ContactFor press inquiries, contact RevHubOC at [email protected].For inquiries about the OCHA, please contact Susan Martin at [email protected].For inquiries about the Samueli Foundation, please contact [email protected]. MEDIA CONTACTSophie WeilIdea Hall[email protected]M: 562-230-3051 About RevHubOCRevHubOC coalesces Orange Countys social enterprise ecosystem for greater innovation and impact. Founded in 2019, RevHubOC is a community of investors, entrepreneurs, mentors, and partners which has incubated 23 social enterprises and established RevHubOC Social Innovation Fund, Orange Countys first social impact investment fund (RevFund). In 2022, RevHub joined several partners in establishing the NorthSTAR (Systems To Access Resources) OC Collaborative to build the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Orange County. Most recently, RevHubOC has announced its development of Orange Countys first Climate Action Business Incubator (CABI). For more information, please visit RevHubOCs website. About Orange County Hunger Alliance (OCHA)The OCHA was established as a collaborative of Abound Food Care, Community Action Partnership Orange County Food Bank, and Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County. Formed to break down silos among hunger relief organizations in Orange County, the OCHA fosters intentional collaboration to examine current conditions in the emergency food system. The OCHA seeks to harness the collective power, expertise, and leadership of the hunger relief community in Orange County. For more information, please visit ochungeralliance.org. About the Henry and Susan Samueli FoundationThe Samueli Foundation advocates for collaboration and encourages joint efforts to address community challenges. Founded by Henry and Susan Samueli, this philanthropic organization is built on the philosophy that its grants should help improve the quality of life for all. The ultimate vision of the Samueli Foundation is to be a resource for organizations that empower people to more fully realize their potential. For more information, please visit samueli.org. Source: RevHubOC DUBLIN, Ireland, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SEAtS Software, a leading provider of student success solutions, is proud to announce the global availability of their stand-alone mitigating & special circumstances solution. This solution is designed to help higher education institutions manage the increasing volume and complexity of mitigating and special circumstances applications from students. Mitigating and special circumstances are situations that affect a student's ability to perform academically, such as illness, bereavement, or personal issues. These situations require a fair and transparent process to assess the impact on the student's grades and provide appropriate support and adjustments. However, many institutions are struggling to cope with the surge of mitigating and special circumstances applications due to the pandemic and other factors. They rely on outdated and inefficient methods, such as web forms, spreadsheets, or email, to handle these applications. These methods lack consistency, visibility, feedback, and evidence capture. They also create a lot of administrative burden and frustration for both staff and students. With SEAtS Softwares stand-alone mitigating and special circumstances solution, institutions can: Improve the student experience by providing a clear, consistent, and compassionate process for handling their applications. Enhance staff efficiency by reducing the manual work and errors involved in managing these applications. Increase student retention and success by identifying and supporting students who are at risk of dropping out or underperforming due to special circumstances. Demonstrate the institutional quality and reputation by showing a commitment to fairness, equity, and transparency in dealing with these situations. This toolset offers: A user-friendly interface that allows students to submit their applications online, upload supporting documents, track their progress, and receive timely feedback. A case-driven workflow that automates the approval process, assigns tasks to relevant staff, sends notifications and reminders, and also records all actions and decisions. A dashboard that provides an overview of all applications, their status, outcomes, and impact on student success metrics. A reporting module that generates insights and analytics on the trends, patterns, and issues related to mitigating circumstances. A compliance module that ensures adherence to institutional policies and regulations, as well as data protection and privacy standards. Some additional features added to the solution since its launch include the ability for student applications to be automatically assigned to a specific contact group or email domain within the institution. This removes the risk of applications falling through the cracks, improves staff processing times and reduces student anxiety from waiting. The University of Roehampton in London, a long-term adopter of SEAtS Student Success Solutions, has recently implemented the new system. When asked about the benefits of the new solution, Roehampton COO Tom Rowson said, "We are delighted to partner with SEAtS Software to implement their innovative mitigating circumstances software at the University of Roehampton. This software will enable us to streamline the process of managing and approving mitigating circumstances requests from our students, ensuring that they receive timely and fair outcomes. It will also help us to monitor and analyse the impact of mitigating circumstances on student retention, progression and attainment, and to identify and support students who may be at risk of academic failure or withdrawal." On the release of the new solution, SEAtS CEO Noel Dooley commented, We are proud to announce the launch of our new mitigating circumstances solution, which will help universities and colleges manage student requests for extensions, deferrals, and special considerations in a fair and transparent way. This solution is part of our vision to provide innovative and effective education solutions that enhance student success, retention, and satisfaction. SEAtS Software is committed to supporting the education industry with cutting-edge technology and best practices that empower educators and learners alike." SEAtS Software's stand-alone mitigating and special circumstances solution is available now for institutions of any size and type. It can be deployed quickly and easily, without requiring any integration with existing systems or data sources. It can also be customized to suit the specific needs and preferences of each institution. To learn more about SEAtS Softwares stand-alone mitigating and special circumstances solution, visit www.seatssoftware.com/mitigating-circumstances or contact us at [email protected] Mazda joins existing Secondmind investors in new $16 million funding round CAMBRIDGE, England, Nov. 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Secondmind announced today the expansion of its long-standing strategic partnership with Mazda to drive AI-fueled innovations that address the increasing engineering complexity in automotive design and development. The extended partnership centers around R&D and the commercial deployment of solutions that support systems engineering and validation processes, with the goal of unlocking time and cost efficiencies through increased virtualization in design and development, and a sharp focus on strategic applications with high complexity barriers to overcome. As a key element of the expanded relationship, Mazda joined a new $16 million funding round in Secondmind alongside existing Secondmind investors Amadeus Capital, Atlantic Bridge Ventures, and Cambridge Innovation Capital, signalling strong support for Secondmind leadership, innovative Active Learning technology, product differentiation, and the companys opportunity in the automotive sector. The new funding, which includes conversion of a Future Fund note, will enable Secondmind to scale key aspects of its business, including ramping up sales and marketing and accelerating development of the companys award-winning, cloud-native Secondmind Optimization Engine. The extension of the strategic partnership builds on more than three years of collaboration with increased support of Mazdas advanced AI research and education strategy. Secondmind will serve as a guide to the Cambridge AI ecosystem to bring more advanced AI solutions to automotive engineering as a key component of the partnership. Gary Brotman, Chief Executive Officer at Secondmind, said: Secondmind and Mazda have been aligned from day one around a common goal of enabling continuous optimization of vehicle design and performance and helping the automotive industry deliver in the era of the software-defined vehicle. This expanded strategic partnership agreement strengthens our long-standing relationship of deep collaboration, and we are proud to support Mazda in opening new avenues for AI innovation in automotive engineering by way of Mazdas advanced AI research and education strategy. Were excited to welcome Mazda as an investor in this funding round alongside Amadeus Capital, Atlantic Bridge, and Cambridge Innovation Capital, and we look forward to leveraging this infusion of capital to accelerate the development and commercial deployment of more high-value system design optimization and calibration applications for Mazda and the automotive industry at large. Naohito Saga, Executive Officer in charge of R&D strategy planning at Mazda, said: The automotive industry needs to further accelerate the speed and efficiency of development due to the diversification of market needs and the increasing sophistication and complexity of technology, and we hope that our partnership with Secondmind will bring out-of-the-box thinking and innovative technology to Mazda. We look forward to the partnership with Secondmind contributing to the further evolution of Mazda's vehicle manufacturing. Hermann Hauser, Co-Founder and Venture Partner, Amadeus Capital Partners, said: "We have backed Secondmind since its earliest stages when it was one of the first companies we found developing practical applications for AI. Still true to this mission, Secondmind's strategic focus on the automotive industry has proven highly successful and its partnership with Mazda is testament to this. We are pleased to partner with such an industry leader in the latest investment round." Kevin Dillon, Managing Partner, Atlantic Bridge Ventures, said: As a major investor in Secondmind since 2017, Atlantic Bridge Ventures remains committed to helping the company capitalize on strong demand for its ground-breaking machine learning solutions for precision engineering, and we are excited to welcome Mazda, an automotive engineering innovator, as a strategic investor in Secondmind. We firmly believe in Secondmind's potential to catalyze transformative automotive design and development efficiencies in the era of the software-defined vehicle. Ian Lane, Partner, Cambridge Innovation Capital, said: "We are delighted to be part of Secondminds mission to transform the design of sustainable vehicles through the power of AI and machine learning. We congratulate Gary and his team on the expansion of their groundbreaking partnership with Mazda, which places Cambridge at the heart of global efforts to accelerate the automotive industrys transition towards a carbon-neutral future. Secondminds AI and cloud-native optimization solutions arm engineers with the tools and confidence to reimagine the development and driving experience of electric vehicles, enabling continuous enhancements in energy efficiency and performance throughout the vehicles lifespan. About Secondmind Secondmind is the Optimization Engine for the software-defined vehicle. From reducing design simulation time and calibration overhead, to continuously improving energy efficiency and performance throughout the vehicle lifecycle, Secondmind cloud-native optimization solutions give engineers the tools and confidence to re-imagine the design, development and experience of driving, and accelerate the transition to carbon-neutral mobility. Secondmind won the 2023 Autotech AI Breakthrough of the Year Award and is backed by leading venture funds including Amadeus Capital, Atlantic Bridge, and Cambridge Innovation Capital, among others. For more information, please contact: Kate Matthews, Head of Corporate Communications at Secondmind [email protected] / +44 (0)7787 148 453 Joe Slinn, Red Marlin Egypt's parliament the House of Representatives gave Monday its final approval for a new law that facilitates reconciliation in building violations. NEW YORK CITY, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sesame , the company building a radically new healthcare system for uninsured Americans and those with high-deductible plans, today announced a partnership with Sittercity , Americas first online source for in-home care and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bright Horizons , to provide discount pricing on outpatient medical care in Sesames marketplace to the thousands of Sittercity child care providers. What does the partnership mean to in-home caregivers? Disruptors in their respective industries, the Sittercity and Sesame partnership lets in-home child care providers access outpatient medical care for themselves at about half the price of what is typical, regardless of the caregivers insurance status. How is Sesames care so affordable for Sittercity caregivers? Sesame has built a unique healthcare marketplace, connecting thousands of outpatient healthcare providers covering all 50 United States directly with American consumers seeking high-quality, convenient medical care at half the price of what is typical. By bringing marketplace dynamics to consumer healthcare for the first time, Sesame has created an environment where providers actually compete to serve patients, regardless of the patients insurance status. The resulting competition lowers the price of care, drives complete price transparency, provides ready access to health providers (the vast majority of appointments on Sesame take place within two hours), and ensures a high-quality consumer experience with top-rated providers. The Sesame marketplace is comprised of primary care doctors and nurse practitioners, providers serving more than 40 health specialties, labs and imaging centers, and is inclusive of both virtual and in-person care. Sesame providers also speak more than 40 different languages. Sittercity has negotiated even better pricing at Sesame for its thousands of child caregivers with primary care visits starting at just $30. Child care providers are among the most undersupported workers in our economy, despite providing vital learning and care that allows families, businesses and communities to thrive, said Zenobia Moochhala, Chief Executive Officer at Sittercity. At Sittercity, we consistently work to change that reality by offering tailored tools and resources that help sitters and nannies get ahead in their careers and everyday lives. We are thrilled to partner with Sesame in creating a streamlined, cost-effective avenue to quality healthcare for all caregivers on our platform. Sittercity, the first and largest digital platform for finding in-home care, is no stranger to pioneering changes in the child care industry. Since its founding in 2001, the company has connected millions of sitters and nannies to families while fostering a unique hub of professional and personal support. The fact that caregiving professionals are often unable to access quality providers when it comes to their own personal healthcare is a paradox we are unwilling to accept, said David Goldhill, Sesame co-founder and CEO, and a serial author on American healthcare reform. Sesame has worked tirelessly to meet the needs of underserved populations when it comes to connecting them to top physicians at half the cost, and we look forward to supporting Sittercitys community of caregivers as part of that ongoing mission. For more information, visit sesamecare.com/join/sittercity . About Sesame Sesame is building a radically new healthcare system for uninsured Americans and those with high-deductible plans. The company's marketplace replaces historically inefficient, expensive healthcare with a direct connection either virtually or in-person between patients and physicians. This direct connection enables Sesame to offer doctor visits, labs, imaging and prescription drugs at half the price. Sesame is backed by private equity investors that include GV, Virgin Group, General Catalyst and Giant Ventures. The company was ranked #1 by Healthline for overall care in 2021, 2022 and 2023 , as well as Best for Doctor Choice in 2023 by Forbes and most affordable telehealth in 2023 by CNET. For more information, visit sesamecare.com . About Sittercity Sittercity is a technology company that aims to elevate how families find and experience child care throughout all their life stages. We pioneered tech-enabled child care in 2001 and were acquired by Bright Horizons in 2020. Together, we are elevating how families find and experience child care. Pairing our trusted marketplace with Bright Horizons creates a one-of-a-kind network that helps families thrive through customized and enriching care. Headquartered in Chicago, we serve families and caregivers nationwide. For more information, go to sittercity.com . ### EDMONTON, Alberta, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TSX, NYSE:STN Stantec, a global leader in sustainable design and engineering, will release its 2024 2026 strategic plan before markets open on Tuesday, December 5, 2023, ahead of its Investor Day being held in Boston. Gord Johnston, president and chief executive officer, and Theresa Jang, executive vice president and chief financial officer, along with other members of Stantecs executive leadership team, will host the Companys Investor Day. The presentation will run from 9 am ET until 12:00 pm ET. Stantec 2023 Investor Day Tuesday, December 5, 2023 Start time: 9:00 am ET / 7 am MT Please click here to register for the live webcast. The live webcast, along with a copy of the presentation, can be accessed through Stantecs investor relations website on the Events and Presentations page. Please register for the webcast at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the event to receive login details. For those unable to view the event live, a replay will be available on Stantecs website shortly after the event. Due to limited capacity, in-person attendance in Boston is by invitation only. About Stantec Communities are fundamental. Whether around the corner or across the globe, they provide a foundation, a sense of place and of belonging. Thats why at Stantec, we always design with community in mind. We care about the communities we servebecause theyre our communities too. This allows us to assess whats needed and connect our expertise, to appreciate nuances and envision whats never been considered, to bring together diverse perspectives so we can collaborate toward a shared success. Were designers, engineers, scientists, and project managers, innovating together at the intersection of community, creativity, and client relationships. Balancing these priorities results in projects that advance the quality of life in communities across the globe. Stantec trades on the TSX and the NYSE under the symbol STN. Visit us at stantec.com or find us on social media. Investor Contact Jess Nieukerk Stantec Investor Relations Ph: (403) 569-5389 [email protected] To subscribe to Stantecs email news alerts, please fill out the subscription form. Design with community in mind Arlington, VA, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Summit Ridge Energy, the nation's leading commercial solar company, today announced the acquisition of 19 community solar projects totaling 100 megawatts (MW) located across the Commonwealth of Virginia. The portfolio makes Summit Ridge the market leader in its home state of Virginia and represents more than two thirds of the projects to be built under Virginias Shared Solar Program. Launched as part of the Virginia Clean Economy Act, the Shared Solar Program is designed to support the states decarbonization goals and incentivize equitable access to clean energy. This acquisition will enable Summit Ridge to deliver 100 percent of the solar energy cost savings to low-income households. The 100 MW portfolio, comprised of projects spanning from Virginias southernmost border up to the Richmond and the D.C. metropolitan areas, will generate enough power to lower the energy bills for 12,600 homes across 16 counties. All projects are expected to be operational in late 2024. The portfolio of 19 community solar projects were acquired from seven partners, including Apex Clean Energy, ESA Solar, ForeFront Power, New Leaf Energy, RWE Clean Energy and SolAmerica Energy. The acquisitions were made by Summit Ridges joint venture with Osaka Gas USA Corporation, a subsidiary of Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. The construction and operation of the projects represent a $250 million investment in Virginia by Summit Ridge and will provide more than 1,000 jobs for construction workers, vendors and local businesses. This new portfolio is an example of our ability to execute in a challenging economic environment and demonstrates our commitment to our home state of Virginia, said Steve Raeder, Chief Executive Officer at Summit Ridge. More importantly, all of the savings generated by each solar project will be offered to low-income customers, reducing electricity bills for thousands of Virginia households. Virginia customers who are interested in participating in Virginias Shared Solar Program can learn more by contacting our partner Arcadia. ### About Summit Ridge Energy Launched in 2017, Summit Ridge Energy is the nations leading commercial solar company. Through its strategic partnerships and project financing expertise, the company develops, acquires, owns, and operates energy projects within the rapidly growing commercial solar and battery storage sectors. In the past six years, Summit Ridge Energy has deployed over $1.6B USD into clean energy assets. With a development pipeline of more than 2 GW, Summit Ridge Energy will have more than 400 MW of PV online by the end of 2024, providing solar power to 50,000 homes and businesses. Learn more at srenergy.com and connect with us on LinkedIn. Attachment Antonya Asante Summit Ridge Energy 8326380439 [email protected] Source: Summit Ridge Energy OTTAWA , Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC) is pleased with the successful outcome of a significant roundtable event hosted by the Conservative Party of Canada. The event provided an invaluable platform for Friendship Centre delegates to advocate for the critical work they do and better align the common priorities of Friendship Centre and the Conservative Party. The roundtable, held on November 27, 2023, in Ottawa, facilitated a constructive dialogue between representatives of the Friendship Centre Movement, the Office of the Leader of the Official Opposition, and Members of Parliament from the Conservative Party. This collaborative exchange allowed Friendship Centre delegates to articulate the need for stabilized core funding for Friendship Centres, importance for youth programming, the unique challenges and opportunities faced by urban Indigenous communities across Canada, including the need for emergency response and climate change mitigation resources, and the need for transfer of services from government to Friendship Centres. The Conservative Party was the first to reach out to NAFC for a dialogue on urban Indigenous matters. We are happy to continue this ongoing dialogue for the third year, said NAFC CEO Jocelyn Formsma, "Right now, our funding ends in 2025 and the over 1 million people we serve are at risk of their services being disrupted. We are optimistic that we will receive the support of our federal partners so that we can continue fostering positive change for urban Indigenous communities across the country." Throughout the discussions, Friendship Centre delegates underscored the importance of increased investments in Friendship Centres as a means of supporting the sustenance and growth of community-based social economy, employment and training, early learning and childcare, youth initiatives, cultural and language revitalization, and initiatives aimed at addressing the unique socio-economic needs of urban Indigenous populations. The delegates also emphasized the significance of collaborative approaches that respect and incorporate urban Indigenous perspectives, experiences, knowledge, and traditions. The Conservative Party representatives present at the roundtable event acknowledged the crucial role Friendship Centres play in fostering community well-being and committed to considering the insights gained during the discussions as they develop their policies. The National Association of Friendship Centres looks forward to continued collaboration with all political parties to ensure that the needs and aspirations of urban Indigenous peoples are reflected in national policies. The NAFC remains dedicated to fostering open dialogues and building strong partnerships that contribute to the well-being and empowerment of urban Indigenous communities across Canada. FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES: John PailleSenior Communications Coordinator[email protected] The National Association of Friendship Centres is a network of over 100 Friendship Centres and Provincial/Territorial Associations, which make up part of the Friendship Centre Movement Canadas most significant national network of self-determined Indigenous owned and operated civil society community hubs offering programs, services and supports to urban Indigenous people. Source: National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC) TORONTO, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Military medical technology innovator Thornhill Medical is pleased to share the announcement by the U.S. Navy that its integrated life support technology, MOVES SLC, has been deployed by the U.S. Navy as part of the first En-Route Care System (ERCS) medical expeditionary capability aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group (IKECSG). Deployed on October 14, 2023, the ERCS allows the U.S. Navy to evacuate critically ill patients while maintaining full medical capabilities back on the ship. As a component within the ERCS, MOVES SLC enables expanded care capabilities advanced technology that is smaller, lighter, more durable, flexible, easy to maintain, and less reliant on supply chain. MOVES SLC is a portable life support system that provides advanced critical care capabilities in extreme or austere environments and in transport or evacuation. It is the only micro-integrated life support system that combines an oxygen (O2) concentrator, a unique O2-conserving ventilator, suction, and complete vital signs monitoring in a single compact, rugged, portable, battery-operated system, which operates without oxygen cylinders. MOVES SLC enables critical care of in far forward or austere environments and aboard a variety of transportation modes, sustaining care over lengthy evacuation distances with decreased supply chain support. This transformative technology is already having a significant impact on the delivery of care and transport of trauma patients in current real-world combat and humanitarian missions. We are excited to expand the strike groups medical response capabilities with the addition of ERCS, said Cmdr. Jason Condino, the IKECSG senior medical officer. This allows us the ability to evacuate critically ill patients while maintaining full medical capabilities back on the ship. Implementation of this team aboard IKE aligns with long-term plans to meet fleet-wide requirements in support of distributed maritime operations. "For 20 years, Thornhill Medical has been innovating to expand critical care capabilities on the battlefield, during evacuation, in forward surgical units, and a wide range of other combat, humanitarian and emergency scenarios, said Derek Watt, VP Field Operations, Thornhill Medical. This most recent deployment with the U.S. Navy reaffirms Thornhill Medicals long-standing commitment to supporting medical military modernization to equip forces for a wide range of scenarios today and in the future. About Thornhill MedicalA global innovator in respiratory and oxygen-related scientific research and advanced technologies, Thornhill Medical is transforming the delivery of critical care in austere and unpredictable combat casualty care and humanitarian environments. Its flagship micro-integrated life support system with built-in oxygen supply, MOVES SLC, and its companion anesthesia solution, MADM, are solving critical care capabilities gaps to save lives. Drawing on 20 years of pioneering scientific and engineering innovations that address the needs of health systems and providers, Thornhill Medical is unlocking tomorrows medical technology solutions, today. The team is pushing the boundaries of whats technologically possible in interoperability, remote or autonomous delivery and the use of AI, and is developing solutions that can transform vascular diagnostics through arterial blood gas control. Thornhill Medical collaborates each day with customers, innovation leaders, industry, hospital, and military partners in more than 19 countries and in 65+ research institutes. Learn more at www.thornhillmedical.com For more information, please contact:Kathleen Powderley416-803-5597[email protected] A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/33ad135a-56c0-4f42-bf30-41b18e8787b6 Thornhill Medicals MOVES SLC deployed as part of the first En-Route Care System (ERCS) aboard the U.S. Navys Eisenhower Strike Group (IKECSG) Manufacture rep provides familiarization training of mobile, integrated intensive care unit equipment with Lt. Kyle Rowland, critical care nurse assigned to Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) Camp Lejeune, Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Bradley Christian, search and rescue technician assigned to NMRTC Patuxent River, as Cmdr. David Goodrich, lead research and development of naval expeditionary medical platforms assigned to U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, observes at Naval Medical Readiness Logistics Command. Rowland & Christian are a part of a 2-person team with the En-Route Care System (ERCS), one of the Navys newest medical capabilities that will deploy for the first time with the Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group to meet the demands of maritime operations in a distributed environment. Photo altered for security purposes by blurring out access badges. Appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information doesn't imply or constitute DoD endorsement Source: Thornhill Medical WARREN, NJ, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire Timber Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE American: TMBR), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of treatments for rare and orphan dermatologic diseases, and its affiliated debtors and debtor-in-possession ("Timber" or the "Company"), today announced that all "first day" motions related to the Company's voluntary Chapter 11 petitions for reorganization filed on November 17, 2023, were approved on an interim basis by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. At the hearing, among other things, the Court approved an initial $3.0 million in interim funding pursuant to a debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing facility. The DIP financing is being provided by LEO US Holding, Inc., as lender (LEO) and consists of an aggregate principal commitment of $13.9 million, consisting of (i) a $7.4 million multiple draw new money term loan and (ii) a roll-up of $6.5 million of prepetition loans provided by LEO, plus outstanding interest. The Company has received $3.0 million of new money DIP funding and will use such funds to support the Companys operations during the Chapter 11 process and in particular, the Companys ongoing Phase 3 ASCEND study for TMB-001, the Companys most valuable asset. Continuation of the Phase 3 ASCEND study will progress at the same time that the Company pursues, subject to Court approval, a section 363 court-supervised process for the sale of substantially all of the Companys assets to a stalking horse bidder affiliated with LEO, subject to higher and better offers through a post-petition marketing, sale and auction process. In addition, the Company received authorization to, among other things: continue to pay vendors in the ordinary course for goods and services provided on a post-petition basis; continue to pay employee wages, provide healthcare and other benefits; and implement procedures regarding the trading of Timbers stock in order to protect any potential value of the Companys federal net operating loss carryforwards and other tax attributes for use in connection with the reorganization. John Koconis, chief executive officer of Timber, said, "The approval of these bankruptcy first day motions, allow the Company to continue operating in the ordinary course without interruption, thereby providing certainty to our vendors and partners that remain critical to the success of the ongoing Phase 3 Trial for our key TMB-001 program. We look forward to Court approval of the Companys proposed section 363 post-petition sale process. In connection with the announcement of the Chapter 11 petitions, the NYSE Regulation notified Timber on November 21, 2023 (the Delisting Notice) that it will commence delisting proceedings of Timbers common stock from the NYSE American, LLC (the Exchange) pursuant to Section 1003(c)(iii) of the NYSE American Company Guide. Additionally, on November 21, 2023, the NYSE Regulation notified Timber (the Delinquent Filing Notice) that it is not in compliance with the Exchanges continued listing standards because it failed to timely file its Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2023 by the filing due date of November 20, 2023 and is therefore subject to the procedures and requirements set forth in Section 1007 of the NYSE American Company Guide. As previously disclosed on November 15, 2023, the Company did not have the funds or personnel necessary to prepare and file the Delinquent Report on or before November 14, 2023. Subsequently, due to the considerable time and resources the Companys management is devoting to the Chapter 11 Case, the Company did not have the funds or personnel necessary to prepare and file the Delinquent Report on or before November 20, 2023, the extended due date. The Company may appeal the determination pursuant to Part 12 of the NYSE American Company Guide within seven calendar days of the Delisting Notice. However, the Company does not intend to appeal this determination, and, therefore, it is expected that the Securities will be delisted. As a result, the Companys common stock is expected to begin trading on the over-the-counter market following such suspension of trading on the NYSE American. Additional details regarding the Delisting Notice, the Delinquent Filing Notice from the Exchange and the LEO Stalking Horse APA were included in, and the description above is qualified in its entirety by, Timber's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on November 28, 2023, which is available under "Investors" - "SEC filings" at www.timberpharma.com. Advisors Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell LLP is serving as proposed bankruptcy counsel to the Company, Lowenstein Sandler LLP is serving as proposed special corporate counsel to the Company, and Jeffrey T. Varsalone, Managing Director at VRS Restructuring Services, LLC (VRS), is serving as the Chief Restructuring Officer of the Company with VRS providing restructuring services through the CRO. About Timber Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Timber Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of treatments for rare and orphan dermatologic diseases. The Company's investigational therapies have proven mechanisms-of-action backed by decades of clinical experience and well-established CMC (chemistry, manufacturing, and control) and safety profiles. The Company is initially focused on developing non-systemic treatments for rare dermatologic diseases including congenital ichthyosis (CI) and sclerotic skin diseases. For more information, visit www.timberpharma.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, as amended, including those relating to the Company's ability to regain compliance with the Exchanges continued listing standards, the Companys product development, clinical and regulatory timelines, market opportunity, competitive position, intellectual property rights, possible or assumed future results of operations, business strategies, potential growth opportunities and other statements that are predictive in nature. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the industry and markets in which we operate and management's current beliefs and assumptions. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking expressions, including, but not limited to, "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "estimate," "potential, "predict," "project," "should," "would" and similar expressions and the negatives of those terms. These statements relate to future events or our financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include those set forth in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, as well as other documents filed by the Company from time to time thereafter with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For more information, contact: Timber Pharmaceuticals, Inc. John Koconis Chairman and Chief Executive Officer [email protected] MAPLE GROVE, Minn., Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TopLine Financial Credit Union, a Twin Cities-based member-owned financial services cooperative, was one of two Minnesota Credit Unions to receive national recognition and for taking home a 2023 Desjardins Financial Education Award. The award, sponsored by the Minnesota Credit Union Network (MnCUN) and the Credit Union National Association (CUNA), recognizes credit unions for superior adult financial education programs benefitting the credit unions members and communities. The award, named after credit union pioneer Alphonse Desjardins, emphasizes the movement's longtime commitment to financial education. TopLines national honorable mention was in the Adult Category for the credit unions partnership with Energy Careers Academy presenting a financial education half-day workshop. Minnesota State Community and Technical College, Xcel Energy and the Minnesota State Energy Center of Excellence partnered to engage students with diverse backgrounds in energy-related fields of study by launching the Energy Careers Academy in 2023. TopLine partnered with the Energy Careers Academy to present a financial education workshop to the inaugural cohort of students. The session was designed to equip adults (ages 26 50) with a better understanding of personal finance basics and develop healthy financial habits, such as establishing a financial services relationship, developing a budget, importance of saving (emergency, retirement/401k), tracking expenses, using credit wisely, paying down debt, understanding credit reports and scores, and the importance of planning for their future. We are honored to be recognized for our efforts in providing financial education programming opportunities for our members and in our communities to improve financial well-being, said Mick Olson, TopLine Financial Credit Union President and CEO. We are committed to helping consumers develop healthy financial habits by offering an elevated level of financial wellness guidance. Credit Union National Association (CUNA) advocates on behalf of Americas credit union. They work to protect credit unions best interest in Washington and all 50 states while fueling professional growth at every level, standing committed to the financial well-being of every member, and championing the credit union story. CUNAs Financial Counseling Certification Program (FiCEP) provides credit union employees with the skills and knowledge required to guide their members to sound financial decisions. The Minnesota Credit Union Network is the statewide trade association that works to ensure the success, growth and vitality of Minnesota credit unions. For more information, visit www.mncun.org. TopLine Financial Credit Union, a Twin Cities-based credit union, is Minnesotas 11th largest credit union, with assets of more than $794 million and serves over 50,000 members. Established in 1935, the not-for-profit financial cooperative offers a complete line of financial services from its five branch locations in Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, Maple Grove, Plymouth and in St. Pauls Como Park as well as by phone, mobile app and online at www.TopLinecu.com. Membership is available to anyone who lives, works, worships, attends school or volunteers in Anoka, Carver, Chisago, Dakota, Hennepin, Isanti, Ramsey, Scott, Sherburne, Washington and Wright counties in Minnesota and their immediate family members. Visit us on our Facebook or Instagram. To learn more about the credit unions foundation, visit www.TopLinecu.com/Foundation.CONTACT:Vicki Roscoe EricksonSenior Vice President and Chief Marketing OfficerTopLine Financial Credit Union[email protected] | 763.391.0872 A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b0af4054-00f1-4265-9a1b-32bf6c7aad52 TopLine Receives Honorable Mention For CUNA's Desjardins Financial Education Award TopLine Financial Credit Union Receives Honorable Mention For CUNA's Desjardins Financial Education Award Source: TopLine Financial Credit Union OTTAWA, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Workers from across Canada took to Parliament Hill this week to urge the government to create a public, universal pharmacare system. This government had a chance to show that they are serious about pharmacare, but we saw no mention of it in the recent fall economic statement, said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. This government has been talking about implementing pharmacare for years. Canadians have waited long enough, its time for this government to walk the talk. Pharmacare is a cornerstone of the Liberal-NDP supply and confidence agreement, with the two parties agreeing to introduce legislation by the end of 2023. The Liberals are running out of time to make pharmacare a reality, said Bruske. Hundreds of workers are in Ottawa this week to make it clear they expect the government to stand by its promise and make a universal public prescription drug plan happen and provide coverage for all. In addition to pharmacare, Canadas workers are ramping up pressure on parliamentarians to pass Bill C-58 to ban scab labour and Bill C-50, the Sustainable Jobs Act rapidly. Bill C-58 is currently being debated in the House and Pierre Poilievre and the Conservative Caucus have yet to state a clear and coherent stance on it. Despite the bill receiving support from the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois, Poilievre continues to claim he needs more information before making a decision. Workers want to know: Do the Conservatives support the bill support workers or not? said Bruske. Poilievre is loud on rhetoric and good with soundbites, but completely silent on his real agenda workers see through his nonsense. In not clearly stating his support of Bill C-58, Pierre Poilievre has once again shown his true colours. He can talk all he wants about being for workers, but he has a chance right now to show that hes with them and instead of doing that he is stalling the process just like with Bill C-50, said Bruske. Poilievre has a long track record of attacking workers rights and siding with profitable corporations over everyday people, which makes clear the kind of leader he is. We remember when he introduced anti-labour laws and helped rich corporations pay even less in taxes and voted to cut support for unemployed workers. We know that he will vote against workers interests, every time. Canadas unions also call on the government to take immediate action to move Bill C-50 forward and for the Conservatives to end their obstruction of the act. It's time to move forward. Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives have wasted enough time. Workers see through the Conservatives nonsense, said Bruske. Workers and their families are struggling to make ends meet and worry that theyll be out of work as we transition our economy. I urge the Liberal government to introduce legislation to enact universal pharmacare and to move forward with bills C-50 and C-58." The Canadian Labour Congress is the largest labour organization in Canada, bringing together dozens of national and international unions, provincial and territorial federations of labour and community-based labour councils to represent more than 3 million workers across the country. To arrange an interview, please contact:CLC Media Relations[email protected]613-526-7426 Source: Canadian Labour Congress New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - November 28, 2023) - Animoca Brands Japan, the strategic subsidiary in Japan of Animoca Brands, and Quidd, the digital collectibles and NFT marketplace and a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, announced today a partnership to develop and launch a customized service aimed at introducing beloved Japanese intellectual properties (IPs) to the Western market. Delivering anime and manga digital collectibles To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8700/188837_3b97fd00349eb8ae_001full.jpg By combining Animoca Brands Japan's deep understanding of Japanese IP relationships with Quidd's innovative collectible marketplace technology, this collaboration will offer anime and manga fans the opportunity to collect and own unique digital collectibles, including NFTs, of their favorite brands and characters across a wide range of form factors, including digital art, digital decorative pieces, and digital memorabilia. "Global demand for anime and manga content is skyrocketing," said Michael Bramlage, CEO of Quidd. "We are thrilled to partner with Animoca Brands Japan, a leading global Web3 company and licensee of prominent Japanese IPs, to help anime and manga fans collect anytime they want, anywhere they reside in the world. This partnership will demonstrate the unique capabilities of digital collectibles as a fast, fun, and entirely borderless way to collect." Animoca Brands Japan will introduce globally popular anime and manga collectible content through a service built on top of Quidd's technology, making it fully compatible with Quidd's eight million registered collectors based primarily in North America and Europe. Based on the individual collection, items in the marketplace will either be sold off-chain as digital collectibles or on-chain as NFTs, empowering collectors to start building their collections without the need for a crypto wallet, cryptocurrency, or even a credit card. Additionally, certain off-chain digital collectibles will come with the ability for users to convert their collectible into an NFT. "We are excited to strike this technical and commercial partnership with Quidd," said Daisuke Iwase, CEO of Animoca Brands Japan. "Given Quidd's proven track record with digital collectibles, robust proprietary technology, and compliance with widely-adopted regulations, it was an easy decision to build our business on top of the Quidd platform." For more information, please visit https://www.animocabrands.co.jp or follow on X. ### About Animoca Brands Japan Animoca Brands Japan (Animoca Brands KK) is a Japanese strategic subsidiary of global Web3 company Animoca Brands. It was established in 2021 to support the adoption of Web3 among Japanese intellectual property (IP) and content holders. Animoca Brands Japan enables famous IP holders in Japan to participate in the Web3 ecosystem while leveraging the network, reach, and expertise of Animoca Brands in contributing to the establishment of the open metaverse. Address: 3-13-7 Kita-Aoyama, Minato-ward, Tokyo Representative: Motoki Tani Service: Provision of Web3 platform construction services using blockchain NFT Date of establishment: October 25, 2021 URL: https://www.animocabrands.co.jp Press Release: https://www.animocabrands.co.jp/whatsnew About Quidd Inc Quidd, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, is the original digital collectibles and NFT marketplace. For over seven years, Quidd has facilitated the issuance, sale, and exchange of limited-edition, officially licensed digital collectibles, featuring more than 325 of the world's most popular brands, including Disney, Game of Thrones, Rick and Morty, the NBA, Manchester City, and many others. Quidd supports off-chain and on-chain digital collecting - to multiple blockchains - making it an ideal front door for mainstream fans to start building their first NFT collection. For more information, visit https://market.onquidd.com or download the apps here. Media Contacts Animoca Brands Japan: [email protected] Quidd: [email protected] PR contact Brian Murphy [email protected] www.pinionnewswire.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/188837 Stewart, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - November 28, 2023) - Decade Resources Ltd (TSXV: DEC) ("Decade") reports that it has received the final assays for the Red Cliff property located in the "Golden Triangle" area. Decade owns a 65 % interest in the project and is the project manager. Exploration to date indicates that the Red Cliff property hosts a large mineralized system that has been traced for several kilometres. Drilling was aimed at checking for north extensions of the Montrose gold-copper-zinc zone. Over 1 kilometre of strike length that is overburden obscured has not been tested between the Montrose and Red Cliff zones on the property. In addition zones remain open to depths beyond 600 m. Highlights include: The program successfully extended the Montrose to the north. Drilling indicates elevated zinc values associated with the gold-copper to the north. The gold bearing zone is over 40 m wide hosting parallel gold-copper bearing zones. Over 1 kilometre of structure south of the 2023 drilling remains untested. To date, gold bearing mineralization has been identified over 2 km of strike length including the Red Cliff zone to the south and the Montrose zone to the north. The Montrose, Lower Montrose and Waterpump zones are considered to be one zone that has been displaced by faulting. Also, within the Montrose zone, faulting appears to have resulted in repeat sections of mineralization. As well, there appears to be a wide mineralized splay that strikes SW from the main Montrose zone, resulting in wide target areas that are gold bearing over 50 m of width. From the Waterpump zone to the north end of the identified Montrose zone, mineralization extends to over 600 m of strike length and at least 600 m of depth and is open along strike and depth. It extends from the ridge top hosting the Montrose zone at 725 m elevation to 125m elevation as shown by DDDH-12-11. Width of the gold bearing zone varies from 5 to 40 m with an average of 22 m. The geological and surface sampling work carried out in historic exploration indicates that the mineralization within the Montrose area is complex and may consist of several zones within a wide interval of altered rocks. It is associated with a zone of latite intrusives that have highly altered the adjoining country rock so that contacts are obscure. Fine grained pyrite is present throughout the mineralized zones in amounts from 1-10 %. Later veining within the intrusive and contact areas consists of zones of sphalerite-galena-minor chalcopyrite veinlets. Fine visible gold is commonly noted in these veinlets. A later stage of chalcopyrite-pyrite-quartz veins are present along the west side of the mineralized zone. Coarse visible gold is commonly present in the later mineralization. The Montrose zone is an north-south trending zone that has cross-cutting veins from to 2 m to 5 wide that trend east-west for at least 25 metres into the wall zones. Within the Lower Montrose portion of the Montrose, massive sulphide veins up to 2.5 m wide had reported assays up to 270 g/t gold while 25 m east, sampling had shown assays up to 49 g/t gold over 0.5 m. This is historic sampling which has not been verified by the Company. It is used for reference purposes. Drilling in 2023 was aimed at defining zones of near surface high grade gold-copper for a potential 10,000 tonne bulk test in the Upper Montrose area. Drilling results for the area tested are shown below: DDH No. From (m) To (m) Width (m) Gold g/t Copper % Zinc % 23-Mon-12 38.4 40 1.6 3.91 0.59 0.18 and 41.95 42.95 1.5 1.205 0.069 0.244 23-Mon-13 28.71 40 1.29 2.16 0.018 1.38 And 44.81 50.9 6.09 2.03 0.021 0.614 and 55 56.99 1.99 1.14 0.069 0.07 23-Mon-14 47.85 50.9 4.55 1.82 0.058 0.24 and 56.99 57.5 0.51 3.08 0.18 0.636 and 63.09 66.06 2.97 2.77 0.2 0.244 23-Mon-15 60.04 61.5 1.46 1.54 0.16 0.10 and 66.14 67.64 1.5 1.795 0.04 0.146 and 70.49 71.47 0.98 9.3 0.02 0.286 and 77.38 78.33 0.95 1.09 0.116 0.824 and 80.33 84 3.67 3.94 0.53 0.22 and 90.52 92.02 1.5 4.28 0.18 0.59 23-Mon-16 42 48 6 2.9 0.10 0.61 23-Mon-17 51 57 6 3.08 0.115 0.61 23-Mon-23 53.95 56.99 3.04 1.475 0.01 0.05 At the south end of the large mineralized system on the Red Cliff portion, previous drill results are summarized that need follow up are shown: DDH No. From To Width Gold g/t RC-2010-1 76.98 81.40 4.42 21.94 RC-2010-2 66.92 74.24 7.32 13.10 Nobody Knows Update: 4000m of drilling has been completed in 33 drill holes. The discovery drill holes show similarities to many of the world's major sediment-hosted copper systems with the association of silver with copper. Rocks hosting the copper mineralization present have been sheared with abundant ground up copper mineralization (bornite) in the fault gouge. All core has been logged and sawn with all sampled intervals sent to the lab for analysis. Surface sampling is being compiled to aid in the 2024 drill program. All samples have been submitted to the ALS prep Labs in Terrace BC with analysis to be completed in Vancouver BC. The Company has received numerous queries on timing for assays. Analytical procedure involves ICP analysis for 41 elements. Any analysis that has over 10,000 ppm (1 %) copper is then subjected to ore grade-ME-OG46 analysis. Over 5 %, the lab performs Cu-OG46 ore grade analysis using aqua regia. The Company is aware of analysis being performed for high copper values. At present the Company has only received partial results for the first 2 holes and none of surface samples or additional holes. Ed. Kruchkowski, P. Geo., a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101, is in charge of the exploration programs on behalf of the Company and is responsible for the contents of this release. E. Kruchkowski is not independent of Decade as he is the president of the Company. Decade Resources Ltd. is a Canadian based mineral exploration company actively seeking opportunities in the resource sector. Decade holds numerous properties at various stages of development and exploration from basic grass roots to advanced ones. Its properties and projects are all located in the "Golden Triangle" area of northern British Columbia. For a complete listing of the Company assets and developments, visit the Company website at www.decaderesources.ca which is presently being up dated. For investor information please call 250-636-2264 or Gary Assaly at 604-377-7969. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DECADE RESOURCES LTD. "Ed Kruchkowski" Ed Kruchkowski, President "Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXVenture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release." "This news release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements." To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/188884 Israeli fighter jets pounds Gaza Strip on Friday shortly after a week long truce expired with no agreement to extend it. Baoding, China--(Newsfile Corp. - November 28, 2023) - GWM's showcase at the recent Guangzhou Auto Show underscored the brand's prominence in green mobility, positioning itself as a front-runner in the global value chain. Departing from conventional norms, GWM is embracing the revolutionary currents of electrification, intelligence, sharing, and connectivity. With the brand's excellent R&D strength, GWM has launched a total of 14 new energy models, along with the global pre-sale of the TANK 700 Hi4-T and launch of Shanhai POER Performance Edition. The featured exhibits at the GWM booth unveil the brand's latest technological initiatives, product development endeavors, and research and development investments. The new Hi4 and Hi4-T technologies are widely used in this exhibition, in which Hi4 is committed to creating a value triangle of strong performance, high efficiency and low price. Through technology renovation, the new Hi4 technology brings users the "four-wheel-drive experience, two-wheel-drive price, four-wheel-drive performance, two-wheel-drive energy consumption", and through the transverse-mounted modular hybrid platform, it brings more economical 4WD performance. GWM's recent accomplishments are a testament to its robust independent research and development capabilities. In the first three quarters of this year, GWM invested 55.02 billion yuan in R&D, marking a 16.88% year-on-year increase. Third-quarter R&D expenses reached 19.92 billion yuan, reflecting a 30.18% year-on-year increase. Such substantial R&D investments empower GWM to consistently achieve technological breakthroughs, exemplified by the independently developed Dagger battery and the industry-leading stacking process. Leveraging this research prowess, GWM has formed strategic collaborations with top automakers and secured significant battery orders from European OEM giants. In October, GWM's Ora Cat DHT model received the "2023 Low Carbon Leader Model No. 1" award, certified by the European Green NCAP. The ethos of "harmonious coexistence of people, vehicles, and nature" is deeply ingrained in GWM's value system. Integrating advanced technology with global communication efforts allows GWM's overseas strategy under the GWM brand to progress systematically. Pioneering European test drives, Middle East testing, and hosting new product launch events in Chile, GWM demonstrates its commitment to international collaboration. By aligning with superior technologies on the global stage and consistently earning authoritative recognition, GWM is laying a mature path for Chinese brands to achieve global prominence. As the global new energy vehicle market expands, GWM refines its globalization strategy, capitalizing on its robust new energy R&D capabilities, technological achievements, and profound understanding of global markets. GWM is poised to lead the development trend of green mobility, steadfast in its commitment to shaping the future of sustainable transportation. CONTACTS Tyler Qian Great Wall Motor Company Limited Baoding, Hebei Province Website: www.gwm-global.com Email: [email protected] To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/188901 Road Town, British Virgin Islands--(Newsfile Corp. - November 28, 2023) - LBank Exchange, a global digital asset trading platform, will list Mojaik (FEE) on December 1, 2023. For all users of LBank Exchange, the FEE/USDT trading pair will be officially available for trading at 9:00 UTC on December 1, 2023. FEE Listing Banner To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8831/188887_1f281ee4545bd89c_001full.jpg Mojaik (FEE) is a blockchain platform that offers unlimited transaction speed and low transmission costs by integrating multiple multi-chains, utilizing an innovative economic model based on Fee and Time, and enabling seamless compatibility with various cryptocurrencies. Introducing Mojaik LBank Exchange is thrilled to announce the upcoming listing of Mojaik (FEE), a blockchain platform that offers unlimited transaction speed and low transmission costs by integrating multiple multi-chains, utilizing an innovative economic model based on Fee and Time, and enabling seamless compatibility with various cryptocurrencies. The TimeStope project started in 2020 with the goal of using time as a valuable asset, and it introduced a methodology for mining three types of Time: Cheon, Ji, and In. The project relied on advertising rewards and investor funding to sustain itself. Over time, it transitioned from a database ledger to a blockchain ledger. The Mojaik platform, also known as Fee Chain, was developed as an evolution of the TimeStope project. Mojaik aims to overcome the limitations of traditional blockchain networks by offering unlimited transaction speed and low transmission costs. It introduces the concept of mosaics, allowing for the integration of multiple blockchains and the flexibility to adapt to future technological changes. Furthermore, Mojaik's economic model is outlined. It introduces the concept of Fee, a blockchain asset that can be staked, and Time, a reward token based on time. Time rewards are provided to users for various activities within the Mojaik ecosystem. The text also explains the integration of Mojaik with other blockchain networks, emphasizing its goal of creating a unified crypto economy that can seamlessly interact with various blockchains. Lastly, the Mojaik team and its founder, Seung Il Chung (Solomon), are introduced. Solomon has a background in technology and has been involved in various innovative projects throughout his career, including the development of the Korea Electronic Taxbill and the Zing Chat platform in Vietnam. His involvement in the Mojaik project reflects his commitment to advancing blockchain technology and creating a versatile and interconnected blockchain ecosystem. About FEE Token FEE serves as the mainnet asset and can be staked, while Time is a reward token based on time, with various ways of earning it outlined, such as through ownership compensation for virtual spaces and smart deposits for other cryptocurrencies. The Mojaik platform aims to integrate with various other blockchain networks and coins, allowing seamless interaction between different crypto economies. Additionally, the Mojaik team's background and achievements, including the development of the TimeStope project and the Fee.Chain (Mojaik platform) project, are highlighted in the token information. Based on POLY, FEE has a total supply of 50 billion (i.e. 50,000,000,000). It will be listed on LBank Exchange at 9:00 UTC on December 1, 2023. Investors who are interested in FEE can easily buy and sell it on LBank Exchange by then. The listing of FEE token on LBank Exchange will undoubtedly help it further expand its business and draw more attention in the market. Learn More about FEE Token: Official Website: https://mojaik.com/ Contract: https://polygonscan.com/token/0xd01761ad2c5eb0d6d6af52b0c48c0c0ee4bcbaf1 Telegram: https://t.me/timestope1010 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MojaikOfficial YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Timestope Twitter: https://twitter.com/mojaik_official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mojaik_official/ Naver: https://cafe.naver.com/blood2018 About LBank LBank is one of the top crypto exchanges, established in 2015. It offers specialized financial derivatives, expert asset management services, and safe crypto trading to its users. The platform holds over 9 million users from more than 210 regions across the world. LBank is a cutting-edge growing platform that ensures the integrity of users' funds and aims to contribute to the global adoption of cryptocurrencies. Start Trading Now: lbank.com Community & Social Media: l Telegram l Twitter l Facebook l LinkedIn l Instagram l YouTube Press contact: [email protected] Business Contact: LBK Blockchain Co. Limited LBank Exchange [email protected] [email protected] To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/188887 Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 28, 2023) - LevelJump Healthcare Corp. (TSXV: JUMP) (OTCQB: JMPHF) (FSE: 75J) ("LevelJump" or the "Company"), a Canadian leader in B2B telehealth solutions, wishes to announce the following: The Company has applied to the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange") to update its preferred share unit offering. The Company has applied for the updated offering so that it may issue preferred share units (the "Units") as part of the consideration payable for the completed Alberta Acquisitions as well as working capital. Subject to Exchange approval, the Company plans to sell up to 5,000,000 Units at $1 per Unit, which consists of (i) one (1) common share of LevelJump ("Common Share"), at an issue price of $0.10 per Common Share; and (ii) one (1) 12% cumulative redeemable convertible Class A Series 1 preferred share ("Preferred Share"), at an issue price of $0.90 per Preferred Share. Each Preferred Share is non-voting, carries a cumulative annual dividend of 12% payable quarterly, along with a top up dividend of 25% of the portion of LevelJump's EBITDA that is above $2,000,000 per year, divided by the then outstanding Preferred Shares. The Preferred Shares are redeemable on the fifth anniversary (the "Redemption Date") after issuance at a price of $1.00 per Preferred Share (or at a price of $1.10 per Preferred Share if redeemed any time prior to the Redemption Date) together with all accrued and unpaid dividends. The Preferred Shares are also convertible, prior to being redeemed or called, into common shares of the Company at a price of $0.20 per Common Share. Subject to applicable law and to certain exceptions, LevelJump may, at any time prior to the Redemption Date, purchase for cancellation all or any number of the Preferred Shares outstanding from time to time at any price in the open market if they are listed or posted for trading on a stock exchange or by tender available to all of holders of Preferred Shares or by private agreement or otherwise. To date, the Company has sold 2,094,000 units in prior offerings. The balance of the offering will be sold primarily to accredited investors pursuant to exemptions under applicable securities laws. About LevelJump Healthcare LevelJump Healthcare Corp., (TSXV: JUMP) provides telehealth solutions to client hospitals and imaging centers through its Teleradiology division, as well as in person radiology services through its IHF's (Independent Healthcare Facilities). JUMP focuses primarily on critical care for urgent and emergency patients, establishing integral relationships in the communities we serve. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF LEVELJUMP HEALTHCARE CORP. Mitchell Geisler Chief Executive Officer Caitlin-Robyn Densmore Investor Relations Manager [email protected] (437) 214-1568 CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws relating to the Company's business plans and the outlook of the Company's industry. Although the Company believes, in light of the experience of its officers and directors, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered appropriate, that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. The statements in this press release are made as of the date of this release and the Company assumes no responsibility to update them or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances other than as required by applicable securities laws. The Company undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third-parties in respect of the Company, Canadian Teleradiology Services, Inc., their securities, or their respective financial or operating results (as applicable). Neither the Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The securities being offered have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, United States persons absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States, nor in any other jurisdiction. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/188974 New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - November 28, 2023) - During the Global Supplier Summit 2023 on November 21st, MINIEYE (Shenzhen Youjia Innov Tech Co.,Ltd.) was honored by ZF Group. Seven companies were selected among 36,000 suppliers and were jointly awarded by ZF Group. MINIEYE has notably become one of the only two enterprises from China. This year's summit placed a special emphasis on sustainability, with approximately 1000 participants from around the world gaining insights into the ZF Group's corporate strategy, new technologies, and the resulting new requirements and challenges related to procurement and logistics. MINIEYE wins the Integrated Safety Innovation Awards (Image source: ZF Group official website) To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8247/188895_d2cc95f0149bf914_001full.jpg ZF Group presented four innovation awards during the summit, and MINIEYE was honored with the Integrated Safety Innovation Awards for its camera and radar-based assistance system, enhancing the safety of commercial vehicles. This verified MINIEYE's unwavering commitment to technological safety and innovation, receiving international recognition. (Image source: ZF Group LinkedIn) To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8247/188895_d2cc95f0149bf914_002full.jpg With its strong algorithmic capabilities and R&D strength, MINIEYE has successfully crafted an integrated solution of hardware and software. By utilizing the advantages of sensor fusion, commercial vehicles can comprehensively perceive traffic and in-cabin environments, thereby significantly elevating the level of driving safety. This innovative technology has been highly recognized by ZF Group. About MINIEYE MINIEYE is a leading intelligent driving technology company in China, officially established in 2014. Its core technology covers three key scenarios of "driving, parking, and cockpit," which formed three product matrices: iCabin (smart cabin perception and interaction solution), iSafety (ADAS products and solutions), and iPilot (autopilot assistance solution). MINIEYE has always adhered to the parallel development of commercial and passenger vehicles, advancing the business of both intelligent driving and smart cabin.The company focuses on full-stack self-developed software and hardware integrated mass production solutions. MINIEYE is committed to leveraging its rich experience in large-scale mass production and continuous iteration of innovative technology to empower intelligent vehicles on all aspects. Company Name: MINIEYE Contact Person: Lu Yifu Email: [email protected] To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/188895 Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 28, 2023) - Stratabound Minerals Corp. (TSXV: SB) (OTCQB: SBMIF) ("Stratabound" or the "Company") announces that it has amended its previously announced (September 11, 2023) debt settlement agreement to settle a Company debt in the amount of $1,426,593.05 owing to R. W. Tomlinson Ltd. under a note the Company assumed with the acquisition of California Gold Mining Inc. and its subsidiaries. The parties have agreed to reduce the deemed price per share from $0.03 to $0.025, resulting in a total of 57,063,722 common shares of the Company being issued. The Debt Settlement is subject to the acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV"). The Company shares issued upon closing of the Debt Settlement will be subject to a statutory 4-month hold period. There are no finder's fees or commissions payable in connection with the Debt Settlement transaction. About Stratabound Minerals Corp. Stratabound Minerals Corp. is a Canadian mineral exploration and development company that is developing its advanced-stage flagship Fremont Gold Project in the historic Mother Lode Gold Belt of California. The Fremont Property features an NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 1.16 million Au ounces at an average grade of 1.90 g/t Au within 19.0 million tonnes in the Indicated classification, plus 2.02 million ounces at an average grade of 2.22 g/t Au within 28.3 million tonnes in the Inferred Mineral Resource classification. This current MRE evaluates only 1.4 km of the entire 4 km strike length of the Fremont Property that features four gold-mineralized zones. The Company is also advancing its pipeline of early-stage exploration projects in Canada including the Golden Culvert and Win Gold Projects, Tombstone Gold Belt, YT, the McIntyre Brook Gold Project, the Captain Cobalt-Copper-Gold Deposit in New Brunswick, and the Dingman Gold Project, Ontario. For more information, please visit the company's website at www.stratabound.com or contact: R. Kim Tyler, President and CEO 416-915-4157 [email protected] Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. WARNING: The Company relies upon litigation protection for "forward-looking" statements. The information in this release may contain forward-looking information under applicable securities laws. This forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those implied by the forward-looking information. Factors that may cause actual results to vary materially include, but are not limited to, inaccurate assumptions concerning the exploration for and development of mineral deposits, currency fluctuations, unanticipated operational or technical difficulties, changes in laws or regulations, failure to obtain regulatory, exchange or shareholder approval, the risks of obtaining necessary licenses and permits, changes in general economic conditions or conditions in the financial markets and the inability to raise additional financing. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on this forward-looking information. The Company does not assume the obligation to revise or update this forward-looking information after the date of this release or to revise such information to reflect the occurrence of future unanticipated events, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/188986 Paid press release content from The Financial Capital. The StreetInsider.com news staff was not involved in its creation. Nearshore staff augmentation company ParallelStaff helps clients develop an unfair competitive advantage by establishing effective teams and rapidly onboarding skilled professionals from Latin America working in the same time zones. Staffing issues can hold up essential projects and cause unfortunate delays that can frustrate clients. Finding the perfect local candidate isn't always possible, particularly when it comes to positions in the software industry. Nearshore software development company ParallelStaff offers an efficient solution through nearshore staff augmentation, delivering top-notch, highly skilled staff who provide companies an unfair advantage for rapid, risk-free growth. With ParallelStaff, clients can onboard potential hires within ten business days. Rather than typical offshore outsourcing, nearshore staff augmentation helps companies secure skilled professionals to streamline processes or enhance a project from Mexico and Latin America who work in the same time zone so they can work and collaborate with the team in real-time. Companies utilizing software developers, engineers, and information technology (IT) specialists gain flexibility, simplified project flow, and a competitive edge over others in the industry by taking advantage of nearshore software development. Hiring world-class Latin American talent lets businesses scale rapidly without sacrificing dedicated teams and top-tier talent. We have thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated our partnership with the ParallelStaff team, said one satisfied client in a customer testimonial. They have connected us with high-quality engineers who fit our team culture and add value to our technical work in a seamless way. A recent case study of a custom software company in Texas showcases how working with ParallelStaff to augment its software engineering services led to substantial growth, giving it a significant edge over the competition. Augmented staff are managed directly by the company like standard employees, benefitting employers by allowing them to onboard the skills they need with significantly lower cost and liability for hiring and maintenance. ParallelStaff connects employers with nearshore outsourcing with skilled professionals in the software industry. The developers I work with through ParallelStaff are all extremely knowledgeable, friendly, and accountable, a satisfied client said. Finding the perfect staff doesnt have to be a frustrating experience with a partner designed to streamline the hiring process. Nearshore staff augmentation allows businesses to hire quickly, maintain teamwork and collaboration, and scale for growth. Meeting growing client demand with augmented staff allows for increased software development speed and efficiency. Because all workers through ParallelStaff are matched with companies in the same time zone, new hires can communicate and collaborate with the team without the hassle of time differences and scheduling delays. When the necessary staff is in place, employers can focus on delivering critical progress on important projectson time and within budget. ParallelStaff has provided excellent service and is always professional, another client testimonial said. We have used them for over three years and have always had excellent customer service. I highly recommend them to anyone looking to simplify their nearshore outsourcing. The company in the case study experienced dramatic growth in the first few months of working with ParallelStaff. With the software development team fully staffed, the company shifted its focus to expanding the management team at its own pace. By doubling the software engineering teams size through ParallelStaff, it also doubled the billing and revenue for the entire company for the following two consecutive years. During that time, the companys net worth grew by 150%, leaving its workers free to work on diverse projects while expanding its customer base. Nearshore staff augmentation allows ParallelStaff clients to scale or reduce their teams as needed, making it possible to respond rapidly to new project requests and cut down on costs during slower times without complicated employment contracts. Nearshore outsourcing allows companies to easily assemble dependable teams of experienced professionals with the knowledge and skills to deliver results within the intended budget and timeframe. Visit the ParallelStaff website to learn more about the companys nearshore software development, staff augmentation, and dedicated team options to scale and grow a business without the associated hiring and employee maintenance costs. Reach out on Facebook (ParallelStaff), Twitter (X) (@ParallelStaff), or Instagram (parallelstaff) to connect with the company through social media. Contact Info: Name: Richard Wallace Email: Send Email Organization: ParallelStaff Website: https://www.parallelstaff.com Release ID: 89112363 In case of identifying any errors, concerns, or inconsistencies within the content shared in this press release that necessitate action or if you require assistance with a press release takedown, we strongly urge you to notify us promptly by contacting [email protected]. Our expert team is committed to addressing your concerns within 8 hours by taking necessary actions diligently to rectify any identified issues or supporting you with the removal process. Delivering accurate and reliable information remains our top priority. HIGHLAND, Calif. , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians will donate $1 million on Giving Tuesday to 10 impactful nonprofit organizations to support underserved communities across the nation. Less than 1% of U.S. philanthropic funds go to causes that support Native American communities. Nonprofit organizations in the Inland Empire receive less than $26 per capita compared to $262.99 per capita across California . In honor of Native American Heritage Month and to facilitate greater impacts for underserved communities, grants of $100,000 each will be granted to ten organizations that serve Native American and Inland Empire communities. The Giving Tuesday Grant recipients are the following: Norton Science and Language Academy Native Forward Scholars Fund Stronghearts Native Helpline Association of Tribal Archives , Libraries and Museums , Libraries and Museums Confederated Tribe and Band of Yakama Nation and Cherish Ministry Center for Native American Youth at Aspen Institute at Chinle Planting Hope Spotlight Documentaries All 10 grantees are addressing critical issues and align with the Tribe's four philanthropic pillars: inspiring our future through education, empowering lives, reinforcing healthy and resilient communities, and preserving cultural traditions and empowering Indian Country. It is imperative to fund causes that make a real difference in the communities they serve. More than 35 million adults participated in Giving Tuesday in 2022. This global encouragement for generosity is a reminder to make a change. The Giving Tuesday donations are in addition to the 161 grants approved by the Tribal Council in September which totaled over $13 million . About the Grantees Norton Science and Language Academy (NSLA) in San Bernardino provides an educational environment that celebrates diversity, encourages inclusivity, and nurtures the holistic growth of their 1,200 students. Native Forward Scholars Fund (NFSF) is the largest scholarship provider to Native students. Each year NFSF awards some 17,000 scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students. Stronghearts Native Helpline provides culturally relevant and Native-centered support for American Indian and Alaska Native persons impacted by domestic, dating and/or sexual violence. The Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums (ATALM) is an international association dedicated to preserving and advancing the language, history, culture, and lifeways of Indigenous peoples. The Garcia Center for the Arts in San Bernardino provides cultural and art programming and is a space for creatives to practice and develop their crafts without barriers. The Confederated Tribe and Band of Yakama Nation's CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) program seeks to make sure every dependent child within their jurisdiction is in a safe, caring, culturally responsive family. Cherish Ministry in Fontana supports at-risk single mothers in underprivileged communities, many of whom are survivors of abuse. Each year, Cherish provides baby care items, infant to kindergarten educational resources, life-skills classes, in-home mentoring, spiritual support, positive parenting classes, and job-readiness training to 450 mothers and children. The Center for Native American Youth is a Native women led organization of the Aspen Institute that focuses on the education and advocacy of Native youth on reservations, in rural communities and urban areas across the nation. Their work helps improve health, safety, and overall wellness of native youth. Chinle Planting Hope is an indigenous-led organization providing creative community development in the Navajo Nation. The organization's newest initiative, the Imagination Station , will include a library, playground, children's museum, and educational community play space. Spotlight Documentaries utilizes the power of film to produce and fund documentaries to highlight pressing issues and launch impact campaigns to advance these important issues in the world. Currently, Spotlight Documentaries is using their platform to raise awareness on sextortion, online solicitation by predators, human trafficking and cyberbullying with an impact campaign called SAFE ONLINE. About the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians is a federally recognized Indian tribe located on the San Manuel Indian Reservation near Highland, California . San Manuel exercises its inherent sovereign right of self-governance and provides essential services for its citizens by building infrastructure, maintaining civil services, and promoting social, economic and cultural development. As the Indigenous people of the San Bernardino highlands, passes, valleys, mountains and high deserts, the Serrano people of San Manuel have called this area home since time immemorial and are committed to remaining a productive partner in the San Bernardino region. For more information, visit http://www.sanmanuel-nsn.gov View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/10-non-profits-will-each-receive-100-000-totaling-1-million-on-giving-tuesday-thanks-to-san-manuel-band-of-mission-indians-301999823.html SOURCE San Manuel Band of Mission Indians CHICAGO , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), the leading not-for-profit organization overseeing certification of physicians and medical specialists in the United States , announces the election of new members of the Board of Directors at the October ABMS Board of Directors meeting. J. Brantley Thrasher , MD, FACS, Executive Director of the American Board of Urology, has assumed the role of Chair-Elect for the ABMS Board of Directors. Dr. Thrasher has served on the ABMS Board of Directors since 2019. In addition, the following were elected to serve on the ABMS Board of Directors: Mary (Mimi) S. Newell , MD, FACR, FSBI Associate Executive Director for Diagnostic Radiology at the American Board of Radiology Associate Executive Director for Diagnostic Radiology at the Amy E. Young , MD Executive Director of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology ABMS is governed by a Board of Directors, which includes representation from each of the ABMS Member Boards and members of the public. These volunteer leaders are from across the country and bring a broad range of experience in patient care, health policy and law, business, and community service to their role as board members. About ABMS Established in 1933, the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) is responsible for the creation of standards overseeing physician certification in the United States . Dedicated to improving the quality of care to the patients, families and communities they serve, the 24 ABMS Member Boards develop educational and professional standards and programs of assessment to certify physicians and medical specialists. More than 975,000 physicians and medical specialists are certified by one or more of the ABMS Member Boards in one or more of 40 specialties and 89 subspecialties. For more information about ABMS, visit abms.org or call (312) 436-2600. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/abms-announces-appointment-of-new-chair-elect-of-its-board-of-directors-301999577.html SOURCE American Board of Medical Specialties CHICAGO , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Chicago -based Acannability, a member-driven, direct to consumer cooperative for the cannabis industry, has announced its creation of a first-of-its-kind Cannabis Periodic Table of Molecules chart. The table, which was created to mirror the original periodic table of elements, features 51 cannabis molecules and precursor acids arranged into four sections representing the entirety of the plant. Acannability Launches First Periodic Table of Cannabis Molecules Aimed at Mutual Education for Consumers and Industry Developed from meta-analysis of more than 400 molecules and their benefits as described in published journals, the chart establishes a science driven language for health care providers and industry participants to educate consumers and discuss the reported benefits of the cannabis plant. Development of this groundbreaking tool was led by Acannability Scientific Advisor Joseph Friedman , RPh, MBA, a Medical Cannabis Pharmacist and Pharmacology Expert. "The Acannability table was developed to empower consumers with scientific facts of the plants ingredients," states Friedman. "By utilizing this table, it is our hope that consumers will be able to make more informed purchasing decisions based on their needs and the products specific elements." The table's structure follows the collective evaluation of the cannabis plant in its entirety. The layout arranges molecules in rows from left to right based on increasing atomic weight. Among the 51 boxes displayed on the chart, 45 represent various molecules (including cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids), while the remaining six depict precursor acids. The chart will foster science-based discussions on the cannabis plant's benefits, aiding in product selection, education, and understanding industry trends, thus, empowering consumers with solid scientific knowledge about the plant ahead of purchasing cannabis products. Access to the chart is free to Acannability members and available at no charge to the cannabis community by a copyright license acknowledgement. A printable version of the chart is available on our website. Acannability is led by proven executives, informed by hands-on industry leaders, and guided by a team of renowned scientific and business advisors. "The catalyst for creation of Acannability as the first-ever cannabis advertising cooperative was a gathering of cannabis license holders and hemp innovators" explains Acannability Co-founder James Malackowski . "We built Acannability at the urging of the entire supply chain, from field to retail." View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/acannability-launches-first-periodic-table-of-cannabis-molecules-aimed-at-mutual-education-between-consumer-and-industry-leaders-301998657.html SOURCE Acannability SANTA CLARA, Calif. , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sage, a leading medical device contract product development and early-stage manufacturing firm, is excited to announce the appointment of Rupesh Desai as General Manager, Santa Clara . Bringing a wealth of experience and a proven track record of operational leadership, Rupesh is poised to elevate Sage's West Coast presence. In his new role, Rupesh is responsible for overseeing Sage's operations, capabilities, and client relationships on the West Coast . His extensive background in medical device product development and his exceptional leadership skills make him a valuable addition to the Sage leadership team. "I am excited to join Sage and lead the team in Santa Clara in delivering excellence to our clients and contributing to the company's continued success," said Rupesh. "I am committed to fostering a culture of technical excellence, efficiency, transparency and flexibility to meet the needs of client companies in the Bay Area and beyond." With an impressive track record of medical device development and operations leadership, Rupesh brings significant technical depth and operational excellence to Sage. His leadership abilities and technical depth align perfectly with Sage's commitment to growing the company's Bay Area presence. "We are delighted that Rupesh has joined us as General Manager of our Santa Clara operation," said Jeffrey Cerier , President of Sage. "His proven ability to develop and lead high-performance teams and his deep understanding of the West Coast medical device market will enhance our ability to meet the needs of client companies." Sage has been at the forefront of medical device contract product development for 12 years, consistently delivering high-quality solutions that address the unique challenges of the industry. With the addition of Rupesh to Sage's leadership team the company will further strengthen its presence in the Bay Area and better support the product development and early-stage manufacturing needs of West Coast medical device companies. For media inquiries or more information, please email: [email protected] About Sage: Sage Product Development is a leading medical device contract product development and low-to-mid-volume manufacturing firm dedicated to partnering with client companies to bring to market innovative devices that have a positive impact on the lives of patients and clinicians. With offices in Foxborough, Massachusetts and Santa Clara, California , and a focus on technical excellence, operational efficiency, transparency and flexibility, Sage strives to be a trusted long-term partner for medical device companies of all sizes. www.sagepd.com View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/accomplished-west-coast-general-manager-joins-sage-to-drive-regional-excellence-301995569.html SOURCE Sage Product Development, Inc. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return this week to the Middle East as the U.S. hopes to find a way to extend a ceasefire in Gaza and get more captives released, the State Department said late Monday. It will be his third trip to the region since the Israeli war on Gaza began last month. Blinken will travel to Israel and the West Bank after attending Ukraine-focused meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday in Brussels and Skopje, North Macedonia, where foreign ministers from NATO and the Organization for Peace and Security in Europe are gathering. Israel has agreed to pauses in its military operations in exchange for the gradual release of captives taken by Hamas on 7 October. The agreement had been due to expire Monday but was extended for an additional two days, meaning the extension will be expiring just as Blinken is arriving in Israel. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday the U.S. hopes to see the pause extended further, but it is dependent on Hamas continuing to release captives. In Israel and the West Bank, Blinken will discuss Israels right to defend itself consistent with international humanitarian law, as well as continued efforts to secure the release of remaining hostages, protect civilian life during Israels operations in Gaza, and accelerate humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement. He said Blinken also will discuss the principles for a post-conflict Gaza, as well as the need to establish an independent Palestinian state and prevent the conflict from widening. In the occupied West Bank, Blinken is expected to see Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Blinken and other U.S. officials have said they believe the Palestinian Authority should play a significant role in governing post-conflict Gaza. From Israel and the West Bank, Blinken will travel to the United Arab Emirates for discussions with regional leaders who will be in Dubai to attend the COP28 climate summit. Blinken has been engaged in furious diplomacy to try to prevent the Gaza conflict from spreading, expand the provision of humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians in the territory, secure the release of hostages and arrange for foreigners and dual nationals to leave Gaza overland to Egypt. On each of his prior two trips, Blinken has traveled to Israel and Jordan multiple times. Between the two trips, he also made stops in Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the UAE. Blinken will arrive in Israel having just participated in an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe foreign ministers meeting in Skopje. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said he plans to attend the OSCE meeting, possibly setting the stage for a U.S.-Russia confrontation there over Ukraine. In Brussels, Blinken will attend the two-day NATO gathering, which will include the first foreign minister-level meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, a body created by alliance leaders at their last summit to improve cooperation and coordination and help prepare Kyiv for eventual membership. Allies will continue to support Ukraines self-defense until Russia stops its war of aggression, said Jim OBrien, the top U.S. diplomat for Europe. The NATO meeting will also address the tensions in the Western Balkans, where there are calls for NATO to increase its military presence in response to concerns that hostility between Serbia and Kosovo could escalate to outright conflict. Violence between the two has broken out twice in recent months, and Western countries fear that Russia could try to foment trouble in the Balkans to avert attention from the war in Ukraine. Last week, Albania's prime minister urged NATO to further boost its military forces in Kosovo and secure the countrys borders with Serbia, warning that recent ethnic violence in Kosovo could potentially trigger a wider Balkan conflict. NATO has already strengthened its military presence in Kosovo established after the 1999 bombing campaign against Serbia with about 1,000 additional troops and heavier weaponry, bringing its deployment there to about 4,500 troops. Blinken will underscore U.S. and NATO support for democracy and stability in the region, including a commitment to back all countries aspirations to join the European Union, OBrien said. Serbia doesnt recognize Kosovos formal declaration of independence in 2008. Both countries want to join the European Union, which is mediating a dialogue between the former foes. Brussels has warned both that refusal to compromise jeopardizes their chances of joining the bloc. The NATO ministers will also discuss plans for the alliances 75th anniversary summit to be held in Washington in July 2024. Search Keywords: Short link: Alexandria and Lilly, which began their strategic relationship in 2008, are collaborating to support and accelerate the development of promising early-stage companies in the growing San Diego life science ecosystem PASADENA, Calif. , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE: ARE), the first, preeminent, longest-tenured and pioneering owner, operator and developer of collaborative life science, agtech and advanced technology mega campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations, today announced an exclusive partnership with longstanding tenant Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) to expand Lilly's innovative Gateway Labs model to the San Diego life science cluster. Launched in 2019 by Lilly in the San Francisco Bay Area , Gateway Labs is a shared innovation accelerator designed to speed the discovery of innovative medicines by providing emerging biotechnology companies with mission-critical, flexible laboratories and essential, integrated nontechnical space; opportunities to collaborate with Lilly; and access to capital through Lilly and its venture network, including Alexandria Venture Investments. The new Gateway Labs site will be located in Alexandria's University Town Center (UTC) submarket. The unique platform will help attract and accelerate the growth of the San Diego cluster's next generation of leading life science companies. " San Diego is home to a thriving life science community, and we're excited to provide Lilly's scientific expertise to small biotechs in the area as they work to discover life-changing medicines for people who need them," said Daniel Skovronsky , MD, PhD, chief scientific officer, and president, Lilly Research Laboratories, Eli Lilly and Company. "This world-class facility will merge operational excellence with Lilly's scientific expertise, expanding our ability to collaborate with biotech partners and scientists on research of mutual interest," said Julie Gilmore , PhD, vice president and global head of Lilly Gateway Labs, Eli Lilly and Company. "We're excited about the opportunity to advance early-phase assets that could one day become cutting-edge therapies for patients around the world." Alexandria has led the development, expansion and transformation of the San Diego life science ecosystem into one of the country's top clusters since pioneering the life science real estate niche in 1994 with the acquisition of its first laboratory building in Torrey Pines . Today, San Diego is a global leader at the intersection of genomics and innovative medicines with a dense concentration of world-class research institutions, including UC San Diego, Scripps Research, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and Sanford Burnham Prebys, as well as a wealth of serial entrepreneurs and life science venture investors. Over the past five years, the amount of venture capital invested in San Diego -based companies has increased approximately threefold compared with the previous five years. Additionally, a density of life science talent on par with Boston and the San Francisco Bay Area makes San Diego a prime location for Lilly's newest Gateway Labs. "We value our longtime strategic relationship with Lilly, and we are honored to work together to bring Gateway Labs to UTC in the epicenter of the San Diego Science Sector, which is home to over 525 life science companies," said Daniel J. Ryan , co-president and regional market director San Diego of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. "Our highly impactful footprint in the San Diego Science Sector currently consists of 14.6 million RSF, with 7.9 million RSF in operation, which supports a range of trailblazing life science companies, including Lilly. Partnering with Lilly on Gateway Labs in San Diego demonstrates our shared commitment to fostering innovation and collaboration by providing compelling high-growth companies with the essential space, amenities and network needed to advance transformative new medicines to benefit patients." "We are immensely proud to have provided Lilly with long-term real estate solutions across our innovation clusters for over a decade, including two Gateway Labs locations in South San Francisco ," said Monica Beam , senior vice president co-lead of science and technology at Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. and Alexandria Venture Investments. "With over 20 novel therapeutics and platforms in development by companies in the Gateway Labs community, this distinctive model is playing an incredible role in advancing innovation to improve patient lives. We look forward to the upcoming opening of Gateway Labs at the Lilly Institute for Genetic Medicine at our 15 Necco development in Boston and, importantly, to deepening our longstanding partnership with Lilly as we expand Gateway Labs to San Diego ." Expected to open in the first half of 2024, the Lilly Gateway Labs San Diego site will feature flexibly designed move-in-ready laboratories and fully integrated nontechnical space, open collaboration areas, core equipment, vital operational support services and access to Alexandria's premier amenities, including wellness and fitness programs and conference space. About Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE: ARE), an S&P 500/CNW/ - company, is a best-in-class, mission-driven life science REIT making a positive and lasting impact on the world. As the pioneer of the life science real estate niche since our founding in 1994, Alexandria is the preeminent and longest-tenured owner, operator and developer of collaborative life science, agtech and advanced technology mega campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations, including Greater Boston , the San Francisco Bay Area , New York City , San Diego , Seattle , Maryland and Research Triangle. Alexandria has a total market capitalization of $28.3 billion and an asset base in North America of 75.1 million SF as of September 30, 2023 , which includes 41.5 million RSF of operating properties and 5.6 million RSF of Class A/A+ properties undergoing construction, 8.9 million RSF of near-term and intermediate-term development and redevelopment projects and 19.1 million SF of future development projects. Alexandria has a longstanding and proven track record of developing Class A/A+ properties clustered in life science, agtech and advanced technology mega campuses that provide our innovative tenants with highly dynamic and collaborative environments that enhance their ability to successfully recruit and retain world-class talent and inspire productivity, efficiency, creativity and success. Alexandria also provides strategic capital to transformative life science, agrifoodtech, climate innovation and technology companies through our venture capital platform. We believe our unique business model and diligent underwriting ensure a high-quality and diverse tenant base that results in higher occupancy levels, longer lease terms, higher rental income, higher returns and greater long-term asset value. For more information on Alexandria , please visit www.are.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the potential impact of Gateway Labs and Alexandria's collaboration with Lilly on the discovery and development of medicines and therapies; Lilly's ability to collaborate with biotech partners and scientists; benefits available to participants of Gateway Labs; the features and amenities of the Gateway Labs site in San Diego ; and the likelihood of continued commitment and efforts by Alexandria to foster innovation and collaboration. These forward-looking statements are based on Alexandria's present intent, beliefs or expectations, but forward-looking statements are not guaranteed to occur and may not occur. Actual results may differ materially from those contained in or implied by Alexandria's forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including, without limitation, the risks and uncertainties detailed in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and Alexandria assumes no obligation to update this information. For more discussion relating to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in Alexandria's forward-looking statements, and risks and uncertainties to Alexandria's business in general, please refer to Alexandria's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequently filed quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. CONTACT: Sara Kabakoff , Senior Vice President Chief Content Officer, (626) 788-5578, [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/alexandria-real-estate-equities-inc-announces-exclusive-partnership-with-lilly-to-expand-lilly-gateway-labs-to-san-diego-301998605.html SOURCE Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. CUPERTINO, Calif. , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ambow Education Holding Ltd. ("Ambow" or the "Company") (NYSE American: AMBO), a technology-driven educational company with primary operations in the United States , today announced its unaudited financial and operating results for the three-month and six-month periods ended June 30, 2023 . "We are at the forefront of emerging trends in education, indicating a shift towards an integrated, AI-driven hybrid model encompassing both education and workforce training," said Dr. Jin Huang , President, Chief Executive Officer, and acting Chief Financial Officer of Ambow. "Over the last six months, we have closed underperforming business units and redirected our focus toward the development and deployment of our HybriU AI solution. As a result, in the first half of 2023, we witnessed a substantial improvement in profit margins, successfully narrowing our operating loss by an impressive 50%. Since its official launch in July, the HybriU AI digital education solution has been successfully deployed in classrooms throughout NewSchool Architecture & Design in San Diego, Calif. , facilitating a seamless, cutting-edge AI hybrid learning model. Looking ahead, we are actively expanding our HybriU initiatives with partnerships in various institutions, leading colleges, universities, and corporations to drive the next stage of Ambow's growth. We are optimistic about our prospects for the next year. Our turnaround efforts are yielding results as the HybriU AI solution continues to gain traction, and we expect to achieve operating profitability in 2024." Second Quarter 2023 Financial Highlights Net revenues for the second quarter of 2023 decreased by 46.0% to $2.7 million from $5.0 million for the same period of 2022. The decrease was primarily due to the permanent closure of Bay State College at the end of the 2022-2023 academic year. for the second quarter of 2023 decreased by 46.0% to from for the same period of 2022. The decrease was primarily due to the permanent closure of at the end of the 2022-2023 academic year. Gross profit for the second quarter of 2023 decreased by 20.0% to $1.2 million from $1.5 million for the same period of 2022. Gross profit margin was 44.4%, compared with 30.0% for the second quarter of 2022. for the second quarter of 2023 decreased by 20.0% to from for the same period of 2022. Gross profit margin was 44.4%, compared with 30.0% for the second quarter of 2022. Operating expenses for the second quarter of 2023 decreased by 47.4% to $2.0 million from $3.8 million for the same period of 2022. The decrease was primarily due to the Company's issuance of 5.2 million shares of fully vested restricted stock units to senior management and key employees as compensation during the second quarter of 2022, and stringent expense controls to improve operating efficiency. for the second quarter of 2023 decreased by 47.4% to from for the same period of 2022. The decrease was primarily due to the Company's issuance of 5.2 million shares of fully vested restricted stock units to senior management and key employees as compensation during the second quarter of 2022, and stringent expense controls to improve operating efficiency. Operating loss for the second quarter of 2023 was $0.8 million , compared to an operating loss of $2.3 million for the same period of 2022. for the second quarter of 2023 was , compared to an operating loss of for the same period of 2022. Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders from continuing operations for the second quarter of 2023 was $1.0 million , or $0.02 per basic and diluted share, compared with a net loss from continuing operations of $2.5 million , or $0.05 per basic and diluted share, for the same period of 2022. for the second quarter of 2023 was , or per basic and diluted share, compared with a net loss from continuing operations of , or per basic and diluted share, for the same period of 2022. As of June 30, 2023 , Ambow maintained strong cash resources of $12.4 million , comprising cash and cash equivalents of $6.9 million and restricted cash of $5.5 million . First Six Months 2023 Financial Highlights Net revenues for the first six months of 2023 decreased by 37.1% to $6.1 million from $9.7 million for the same period of 2022. The decrease was primarily due to the permanent closure of Bay State College at the end of the 2022-2023 academic year. for the first six months of 2023 decreased by 37.1% to from for the same period of 2022. The decrease was primarily due to the permanent closure of at the end of the 2022-2023 academic year. Gross profit for the first six months of 2023 decreased by 16.7% to $2.0 million from $2.4 million for the same period of 2022. Gross profit margin was 32.8%, compared with 24.7% for the same period of 2022. for the first six months of 2023 decreased by 16.7% to from for the same period of 2022. Gross profit margin was 32.8%, compared with 24.7% for the same period of 2022. Operating expenses for the first six months of 2023 decreased by 40.0% to $3.9 million from $6.5 million for the same period of 2022. The decrease was primarily due to the Company's issuance of 5.2 million shares of fully vested restricted stock units to senior management and key employees as compensation during the three months ended June 30, 2022 , and stringent expense controls to improve operating efficiency. Also, the permanent closure of Bay State College at the end of the 2022-2023 academic year has led to lower expenses. for the first six months of 2023 decreased by 40.0% to from for the same period of 2022. The decrease was primarily due to the Company's issuance of 5.2 million shares of fully vested restricted stock units to senior management and key employees as compensation during the three months ended , and stringent expense controls to improve operating efficiency. Also, the permanent closure of at the end of the 2022-2023 academic year has led to lower expenses. Operating loss for the first six months of 2023 was $1.9 million , compared to an operating loss of $4.1 million for the same period of 2022. for the first six months of 2023 was , compared to an operating loss of for the same period of 2022. Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders from continuing operations for the first six months of 2023 was $2.2 million , or $0.04 per basic and diluted share, compared with a net loss from continuing operations of $4.4 million , or $0.10 per basic and diluted share, for the same period of 2022. The Company's financial and operating results for the second quarter and first half of 2023 can also be found on its Report of Foreign Private Issuer on Form 6K, to be furnished with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov. Exchange Rate Information Historically, Ambow presented its financial results in Renminbi. Starting on January 1, 2023 , Ambow changed its reporting currency from Renminbi to U.S. dollars, as the majority of Ambow's revenues and expenses are now denominated in U.S. dollars. Ambow believes the alignment of the reporting currency with its underlying operations better illustrates its operational results for each period. Ambow has applied the change of reporting currency retrospectively to its historical results of operations and financial statements included in this press release. Bay State College Closure On January 19, 2023 , the New England Commission of Higher Education ("NECHE") informed Bay State College ("BSC") of its intention to withdraw BSC's accreditation as of August 31, 2023 . Following the rejection of Ambow's appeal, on April 11, 2023 , the Board of Trustees voted to permanently close Bay State College at the end of the 2022-2023 academic year. Accordingly, this permanent closer has been completed. The College provided academic support and transitional services to students through August 31, 2023 , and signed agreements with several area universities to provide program completion pathways to Bay State students, often with enhanced transfer and other opportunities. Subsequent Events Ambow received a continued listing deficiency notice (the "Notice") from the NYSE American LLC (the "NYSE American") dated September 21, 2023 , stating that the Company's securities had been selling for a low price per share for a substantial period of time and the Company is not in compliance with the continued listing standards as set forth in Section 1003(f)(v) of the NYSE American Company Guide ("Company Guide"). NYSE American staff determined that Ambow's continued listing is predicated on it effecting a reverse stock split of its common stock or otherwise demonstrating sustained price improvement no later than March 21, 2024 . The Company intends to complete a reverse stock split in order to regain compliance with the NYSE American's continued listing standards set forth in the Company Guide in a timely manner. About Ambow Ambow Education Holding Ltd. is an AI technology-driven educational company with primary operations in the United States . Through the operation of its for-profit colleges and dynamic patented open platform technology, Ambow offers high-quality, individualized, and dynamic career education services and products. For more information, visit Ambow's website at https://www.ambow.com/. Follow us on Twitter:@Ambow_Education Safe Harbor Statement This press release contains statements of a forward-looking nature. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these forward-looking statements by terminology such as "will," "expects," "believes," "anticipates," "intends," "estimates" and similar statements. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about Ambow and the industry. All information provided in this press release is as of the date hereof, and Ambow undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although Ambow believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that its expectations will turn out to be correct, and investors are cautioned that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results. For more information, please contact: Ambow Education Holding Ltd. E-mail: [email protected] or Piacente Financial Communications Tel: +12124812050 E-mail: [email protected] AMBOW EDUCATION HOLDING LTD. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data) As of December 31, As of June 30, 2022 2023 $ $ Unaudited ASSETS Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents 3,276 6,913 Restricted cash 4,320 5,490 Accounts receivable, net 1,958 3,690 Prepaid and other current assets 6,119 4,230 Total current assets 15,673 20,323 Non-current assets: Property and equipment, net 274 19 Intangible assets, net 532 527 Operating lease right-of-use asset 6,842 5,946 Other non-current assets 1,951 1,944 Total non-current assets 9,599 8,436 Total assets 25,272 28,759 LIABILITIES Current liabilities: Short-term borrowings 3,000 5,439 Accounts payable 2,409 1,957 Accrued and other liabilities 3,702 6,080 Income taxes payable 523 510 Operating lease liability, current 2,197 2,451 Total current liabilities 11,831 16,437 Non-current liabilities: Operating lease liability, non-current 5,688 4,900 Total non-current liabilities 5,688 4,900 Total liabilities 17,519 21,337 EQUITY Preferred shares ( $0.003 par value;1,666,667 shares authorized, nil issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022 and June 30, 2023 ) Class A Ordinary shares ( $0.003 par value; 66,666,667 and 66,666,667 shares authorized, 47,419,109 and 52,419,109 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022 and June 30, 2023 , respectively) 131 146 Class C Ordinary shares ( $0.003 par value; 8,333,333 and 8,333,333 shares authorized, 4,708,415 and 4,708,415 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2022 and June 30, 2023 , respectively) 13 13 Additional paid-in capital 515,182 517,031 Accumulated deficit (507,573) (509,768) Accumulated other comprehensive income Total equity 7,753 7,422 Total liabilities and equity 25,272 28,759 AMBOW EDUCATION HOLDING LTD. UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE LOSS (All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data) For the six months ended For the three months ended June 30 , June 30 , 2022 2023 2022 2023 $ $ $ $ NET REVENUES Educational programs and services 9,724 6,097 4,955 2,728 COST OF REVENUES Educational programs and services (7,364) (4,082) (3,449) (1,508) GROSS PROFIT 2,360 2,015 1,506 1,220 Operating expenses: Selling and marketing (1,170) (425) (486) (148) General and administrative (5,288) (3,449) (3,273) (1,829) Total operating expenses (6,458) (3,874) (3,759) (1,977) OPERATING LOSS (4,098) (1,859) (2,253) (757) OTHER EXPENSES Interest expense, net (72) (33) (33) (26) Foreign exchange loss, net (9) (9) Other expense, net (134) (281) (87) (196) Loss on disposal of subsidiaries (173) (173) Total other expense (379) (323) (293) (231) LOSS BEFORE INCOME TAX AND NON-CONTROLLING INTEREST (4,477) (2,182) (2,546) (988) Income tax benefit (expense) 34 (13) 34 (13) LOSS FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS (4,443) (2,195) (2,512) (1,001) Loss from discontinued operations, net of income tax (9,467) (8,642) NET LOSS (13,910) (2,195) (11,154) (1,001) -Less: Net loss attributable to non-controlling interests from continuing operations -Less: Net loss attributable to non-controlling interests from discontinued operations (180) (134) NET LOSS ATTRIBUTABLE TO ORDINARY SHAREHOLDERS FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS (4,443) (2,195) (2,512) (1,001) NET LOSS ATTRIBUTABLE TO ORDINARY SHAREHOLDERS FROM DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS (9,287) (8,508) NET LOSS ATTRIBUTABLE TO ORDINARY SHAREHOLDERS (13,730) (2,195) (11,020) (1,001) OTHER COMPREHENSIVE LOSS, NET OF TAX Foreign currency translation adjustments (166) (90) Other comprehensive loss (166) (90) TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE LOSS (14,076) (2,195) (11,244) (1,001) Net loss from continuing operations per share basic and diluted (0.10) (0.04) (0.05) (0.02) Net loss from discontinued operations per share basic and diluted (0.20) (0.18) Weighted average shares used in calculating basic and diluted net loss per share 46,756,368 55,525,314 46,825,968 57,127,524 View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ambow-education-announces-second-quarter-and-first-half-of-2023-financial-results-301999738.html SOURCE Ambow Education Holding Ltd. VANCOUVER, BC and TORONTO , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - BZAM Ltd. (the "Company" or "BZAM") (CSE: BZAM) (US-OTC: BZAMF), a leading Canadian cannabis producer, is pleased to announce its financial and operating results for the three and nine month period ended September 30, 2023 . These filings are available for review on the Company's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca . All financial information is provided in Canadian dollars except where otherwise indicated. Q3 2023 Highlights: Achieved quarterly net revenues of $21.0 million for Q3 2023, an increase of 112% from Q3 2022, and a 9% increase from Q2 2023; for Q3 2023, an increase of 112% from Q3 2022, and a 9% increase from Q2 2023; Maintained adjusted G&A Expenses at 22% of gross revenue in Q3 2023, a reduction of 30% vs. Q3 2022, and almost flat with the 21% in Q2 2023; Implemented the final phase of the post-merger synergy plan to monetize redundant facilities, clean up inventory, and reduce expenses; Initiated deliveries further to various export agreements in three international markets, leveraging the Company's EU-EMP certification obtained in Q2 2023. Management Commentary: Matt Milich , CEO, stated, "In Q3 we completed our extensive post-merger facility consolidation and cost reduction program, while rationalizing a number of low margin SKUs, which we expect to positively impact our operating metrics going forward." Q3 2023 Financial Highlights: Select key financial metrics ($000s) Q3 2023 Q3 2022 %change Q2 2023 Net revenue 21,045 9,922 112 % 19,284 Direct gross profit(1) 1,612 596 170 % 3,060 Adjusted G&A(1) 6,645 4,191 59 % 6,163 Loss from operations 12,920 8,718 48 % 12,097 (1) Direct gross profit and Adjusted G&A are non-IFRS financial measures, they do not have a standardized definition under IFRS. Net revenue: Net revenue increased by 112% compared to Q3 2022, primarily driven by the expansion in the Company's brand and product portfolio resulting from the merger between BZAM Holdings Inc. and The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd (the "BZAM Transaction"). Relative to Q2 2023, net revenues were 9% higher. The quarter-on-quarter increase in net revenues was driven by increased sales of Highly Dutch flower, -ness vapes, and BZAM infused pre-rolls, partly offset by the planned discontinuation of some low margin SKUs. Direct Gross Profit: Direct Gross Profit for the quarter was 8% before changes in fair value of biological assets, compared to 6% in Q3 2022 and 16% in Q2 2023. The decrease from Q2 2023 was primarily due to inventory cost provisions and the clean-up of old inventory through sales at or below cost. Adjusted General and Administrative Expenses ("G&A"): Adjusted G&A increased year-over-year by $2.5 million or 59% primarily due to the BZAM Transaction, and increased by $0.51 million from Q2, 2023, or 8%. As a percentage of gross revenue, the Adjusted G&A was 22% in Q3, 2023, a decrease from 30% of gross revenue in Q3, 2022, and on par with the 21% of gross revenue in Q2, 2023. Loss from Operations: Loss from operations was $12.9 million in Q3 2023, compared to $8.7 million for Q3 2022, and $12.1 million in Q2, 2023, with the increase in loss primarily driven by higher net inventory provisions, and the restructuring and termination costs incurred in Q3 2023. Q3 Operational Highlights: Maximizing Facility Utilization: The Company continues to concentrate activities at its core facilities to maximize utilization and overhead absorption. In September, the Company implemented the final phase of its post-merger synergy plan, which included: (i) eliminating redundant facilities, (ii) realigning the Company's production activities across its two core sites in Ancaster, ON and Pitt Meadows, BC to maximize efficiencies, and (iii) reducing selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses to achieve its goal of positive EBITDA. International Distribution: In Q3 2023, the Company received orders under its international distribution agreements in Germany , Australia , and the United Kingdom following on receipt of its EU-GMP certification in Q2 2023. As of October 31, 2023 , the Company had delivered export orders to those three markets totaling $1.05M . Capital: Post quarter end, the Company secured $1.79 million in borrowing from Stone Pine Capital Ltd. ("Stone Pine"), a company controlled by the Company's largest shareholder and current Chairman. The promissory notes bear interest at Prime plus 8.0%, mature no earlier than January 31, 2025 , and are subordinate to the Company's Senior Credit Facility. in borrowing from ("Stone Pine"), a company controlled by the Company's largest shareholder and current Chairman. The promissory notes bear interest at Prime plus 8.0%, mature no earlier than , and are subordinate to the Company's Senior Credit Facility. On October 27, 2023 , the Company entered into a Waiver Agreement with its lender, waiving the covenant requiring positive EBITDA until January 31, 2024 . About BZAM: BZAM Ltd. (CSE: BZAM) (USOTC: BZAMF) is a leading Canadian cannabis producer with a focus on branded consumer goods, innovation, quality, consistency, integrity and transparency. The BZAM family includes core brands BZAM, TGOD, ness, Highly Dutch Organic, TABLE TOP, and partner brands Dunn Cannabis, FRESH and Wyld. BZAM operates facilities in BC, Alberta , Ontario and Quebec , as well as a retail store in Regina, Saskatchewan . BZAM's Common Shares and certain warrants issued under the indentures dated June 12, 2020 , October 23, 2020 and December 10, 2020 currently trade on the CSE under the symbol "BZAM", "BZAM.WR", "BZAM.WA", and "BZAM.WB" respectively. BZAM's Shares trade in the U.S. on the OTCQX under the symbol "BZAMF". For more information on BZAM Ltd., please visit www.bzam.com. Non-IFRS Financial Measures This Press Release contains certain financial and operational performance measures that are not recognized or defined under IFRS (the "Non-IFRS Measures"). As there are no standardized methods of calculating these Non-IFRS Measures, the Company's approaches may differ from those used by others, and this data may not be comparable to similar data presented by other licensed producers of cannabis and cannabis companies. As such, users are cautioned that these measures should not be construed as alternatives to measures determined in accordance with IFRS, including net income (loss) and gross profit, as measures of profitability or as alternatives to the Company's IFRS-based Consolidated Financial Statements. For an explanation of these measures to related comparable financial information presented in the Consolidated Financial Statements prepared in accordance with IFRS, refer to the discussion below. The Company believes that these Non-IFRS Measures are useful indicators of operating performance and are specifically used by management to assess the financial and operating performance of the Company. These Non-IFRS Measures include, but are not limited, to the following: "Direct Gross Profit" is calculated by subtracting cost of sales, before the effects of (i) unrealized gain (loss) on changes in fair value of biological assets; (ii) realized fair value on inventories sold; and (iii) provisions and impairment of inventories and biological assets. Gross margin before fair value adjustments percentage is calculated by dividing gross margin before fair value adjustments (defined above) by net revenue. Management believes that these measures provide useful information to assess the profitability of our cannabis operations as it excludes the effects of non-cash fair value adjustments on inventory and biological assets, which are required by IFRS. "Adjusted G&A" is a Non-IFRS Measure used by management that does not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Management defines Adjusted G&A as general and administrative expenses less termination costs, restructuring costs and any one-off expenses incurred. Non-IFRS Measures should be considered together with other data prepared in accordance with IFRS to enable investors to evaluate the Company's operating results, underlying performance and prospects in a manner similar to the Company's management. Accordingly, these Non-IFRS Measures are intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. Forward-looking Statements This news release includes statements containing certain "forwardlooking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law ("forwardlooking statements"). Forward looking statements in this release include, but are not limited to, statements about future net revenue, margins, cost of goods, and SG&A savings, and positive cash flows, statements about future operating cashflows and EBITDA, statements about the offering of any particular products by the Company and statements regarding the future performance of the Company, statements about funding availability, statements about growth and delivery of products, statements about the level of demand for BZAM's products in Canada and internationally, statements about the achievement of synergy initiatives, and statements about the Company's working capital. Forwardlooking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "continue", "expect", "project", "intend", "should", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Various assumptions were used in drawing the conclusions or making the projections contained in the forwardlooking statements throughout this news release. Forwardlooking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties (including market conditions) and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forwardlooking statements, including those risk factors described in the Company's most recent Annual Information Form filed with Canadian securities regulators and available on the Company's issuer profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information or forward-looking statements in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. The Company is under no obligation, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or revise any forwardlooking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable law. Neither the CSE nor the CSE's Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of CSE) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bzam-ltd-reports-third-quarter-2023-results-301999784.html SOURCE BZAM LTD. Philadelphia Trades College celebrates the graduates it prepares for promising careers PHILADELPHIA , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- WHO: Orleans Technical College (Orleans Tech), a program of JEVS Human Services, is hosting a graduation ceremony. The event will recognize students who have successfully completed programs in carpentry, electrical, plumbing, property maintenance, air conditioning, refrigeration, and heating. WHAT: Graduation ceremony recognizing 311 graduates, including property maintenance graduates in the JEVS' Project WOW program for youth and young adults. WHEN: Wednesday, November 29, 2023 - 7:00 PM WHERE: The Philadelphia Ballroom 2014 Hornig Rd. Philadelphia, PA 19116 Free parking available (street and lot) VISUALS: Opening remarks from Orleans Tech and JEVS leadership as well as select students and alumni; graduates receiving diplomas; and opportunities to speak with individual students. CEREMONY SPEAKERS: Cynthia Figueroa , JEVS President & CEO , JEVS President & CEO Rodney Brutton , Orleans Campus President , Orleans Campus President Shaquille McFadden , Residential and Commercial Electricity Graduate (2023) , Residential and Commercial Electricity Graduate (2023) Jamell Joyner , Orleans Alumnus (2021 Graduate) About Orleans Technical College JEVS' accredited, non-profit career training school, Orleans Technical College, prepares adults for careers in building trades and healthcare. Since 1974, Orleans Tech has helped students move toward one common goal: learning new skills to enhance their success in the workforce. Orleans Tech offers job training programs in building trades and healthcare. For more information, please visit www.jevs.org and www.orleanstech.edu. Media Contact: Heather Keafer , Chief of Communications & External Affairs [email protected] 445-236-5080 View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/celebrating-success-orleans-technical-college-honors-311-graduates-in-building-trades-programs-301999848.html SOURCE JEVS ORLEANS TECHNICAL COLLEGE Celebrating Cambodian Culinary Excellence on the Global Stage RIYADH , Saudi Arabia , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In a historic moment for Cambodian culture and cuisine, the culinary masterpiece "SAOY - Royal Cambodian Home Cuisine" has garnered multiple nominations at the esteemed 29th Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. Elevating Cambodia's culinary heritage globally, the book stands nominated in three significant categories: Best Of The Best ( Books Publishers B02) Asian-Books (Countries and Regions C08) Heads Of State (Gastrodiplomacy G05) Out of 205 participating countries, "SAOY" has achieved the honor of being recognized as the best in these categories, a true testament to Cambodia's rich cultural diversity. "I never imagined winning prizes when I started this project three years ago. Working with a few friends who value cuisine, art, and culture was my goal. Now, the Gourmand Awards recognition is above my expectations. It's a reminder that even the simple joy of food deserves to be celebrated." - Serey SOT, designer/illustrator. "As an artist and photographer, I take immense pride in the collective achievements of our team. It brings me great pleasure to share the remarkable success of the book with our nation. This endeavor has truly been a labor of love, and I echo the sentiment of 'Work from the heart.'' - La Mo, artist/photographer "SAOY" is more than a cookbook; it's a vibrant celebration of Cambodian heritage, a repository of culinary knowledge passed down through generations, and a heartfelt tribute to the nation's people, art, and culture. The majority of the recipes were interpreted from Princess Norodom Rasmi Sobbhana's recipes between 1950 and 1970. Within its pages, readers embark on a sensory journey, capturing the essence of Cambodian cuisine and offering a delectable taste of the country's vibrant flavors and traditions. "This is another exciting moment for Cambodian cuisine and culture. A talented and driven group of artists dedicated to showcasing the depth of Cambodian cultural heritage created this stunning work of art. This achievement truly reflects the creativity and passion of Chef Nak and her team." - Charley Todd , Cambodian Living Arts Board President Emeritus "This book is a treasure! It's simply beautiful to look at; Chef Nak will teach you how to cook beautiful, delicious, royal Khmer cuisine; and Chef Nak's love for the villagers who taught her their wonderful recipes is also beautiful. " Robert Cutler , Managing Director, Narrowcasters The climax of this extraordinary journey is at the Riyadh Gourmand Awards Ceremony, a part of the Saudi Feast Food Festival, the Middle East's largest culinary event, taking place from November 27 to 29 . Chef Nak , the author, has the honor of representing Cambodia , showcasing the pinnacle of Cambodian culinary artistry. Supported by H.E. Hun Many , President of the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia, four key team members, including the author, photographer, designer, and director, presented in Riyadh to share Cambodia's beauty and culture with the world. "I am glad that the UYFC and I are able to contribute in however small a capacity toward the overall success" - H.E. Hun Many , President of the UYFC . This achievement is a collective success, reflecting the unwavering dedication and passion of the entire team behind Chef Nak . Their broader mission is to bring and elevate the vibrant flavors and cultural heritage of Cambodian cuisine to the world stage, envisioning a future where Cambodian cuisine is celebrated as a globally renowned culinary art that ignites innovation across the globe. "We broaden our passion for culinary art through unique services in addition to publishing cookbooks and creating engaging social media content to preserve and promote the rich tapestry of Cambodian cuisines. Luxury home dining experiences, private cooking classes, luxurious homestays, and restaurant consultancy are among them." - Chef Nak SAOY - Royal Cambodian Home Cuisine, is a cultural bridge that fosters the integration of tradition and innovation. Its pages not only include tempting recipes, but they also serve as a cultural guide, taking readers through the heart of Cambodian heritage. Chef Nak and her team hope to develop a culinary legacy by raising worldwide interest in Cambodian cuisine and forging cross-cultural connections. For more information, visit the Chef Nak website , purchase the book on Amazon , or contact Chef Nak : Phone: 855 12 90 60 24 Email: [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chef-naks-saoy---royal-cambodian-home-cuisine-receives-three-prestigious-nominations-at-the-29th-gourmand-world-cookbook-awards-301999287.html -Fast casual concept giving away free chicken salad for a year on Dec. 6th - ATLANTA , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Chicken Salad Chick , the nation's only fast casual chicken salad restaurant concept, announced today the opening of its fourth addition to the Jacksonville, Florida , market in St. Johns . Located at 415 Durbin Pavilion Drive in The Pavilion at Durbin Park , the new restaurant will welcome St. Johns guests with a spacious patio and convenient drive-thru. Three other Chicks throughout Jacksonville include the Galleria, Baymeadows, and Town Center restaurants. The St. Johns community is invited to celebrate this grand opening on Wednesday, Dec. 6th ; the first 100 guests that morning will win free chicken salad for a year. During grand opening week, St. Johns guests can expect to experience the Southern hospitality that Chicken Salad Chick is known for, with specials and giveaways that include: Wednesday, Dec. 6 Free Chicken Salad for a Year to the first 100 Guests The first guest in line will receive one large Quick Chick of chicken salad per week for an entire year. The next 99 guests in line receive one large Quick Chick of chicken salad per month for a year.* Guests should arrive early to secure a place in line. The first guest in line will receive one large Quick Chick of chicken salad per week for an entire year. The next 99 guests in line receive one large Quick Chick of chicken salad per month for a year.* Guests should arrive early to secure a place in line. Thursday, Dec. 7 The first 50 guests to purchase a Chick Trio at 10 a.m. or 6 p.m. receive a FREE Chicken Salad Chick 40oz Tumbler.** The first 50 guests to purchase a at or receive a FREE 40oz Tumbler.** Friday, Dec. 8 The first 50 guests to purchase a Chick Trio at 10 a.m. or 6 p.m. receive a FREE Chicken Salad Chick Jute Tote Bag.** The first 50 guests to purchase a at or receive a FREE Chicken Salad Chick Jute Tote Bag.** Saturday, Dec. 9 The first 50 guests to purchase two Large Quick Chicks receive a FREE Chicken Salad Chick 18-Can Collapsible Cooler.** " Chicken Salad Chick has an experienced local crew led by General Manager Melanie Dutcher , who has been faithfully serving our Jacksonville guests for the past five years," said Scott Deviney , CEO of Chicken Salad Chick . "She and her assistant managers have put together a stellar group of over 40 team members who are ready to spread the joy of our made-from-scratch chicken salad. We anticipate many hungry Durbin Park shoppers and look forward to welcoming them through our doors for lunch and dinner served from the heart." As part of the pre-opening Friends & Family events in St. Johns , Chicken Salad Chick will be supporting Child Cancer Fund, a Jacksonville non-profit dedicated to assisting children and their families through the challenges of a childhood cancer diagnosis and treatment. Through the Chicken Salad Chick Foundation, the company raises funds for organizations throughout the year to fight childhood cancer and support local food banks and food-related charities. Chicken Salad Chick in St. Johns will be open Monday Saturday from 10 a.m. 8 p.m. For more information, visit www.chickensaladchick.com . Follow Chicken Salad Chick on Facebook and Instagram for the latest news and trends. For more information on giveaways and specials, visit https://www.facebook.com/ChickenSaladChickStJohnsFLDurbinParkPavilion/. *Guests should arrive early to secure a place in line. The first 100 guests must remain in line and download the Craving Credits app. Wi-Fi will not be available on site. Once the restaurant opens, guests will make a purchase of "The Chick" or anything of greater value and enter a code in the Craving Credits app to officially secure your spot. If you leave the line for any reason, your spot will be awarded to the next guest in line. Guests will receive their first free Large Quick Chick electronically to your app the Monday following Grand Opening Day. **Must download the CSC App and be 16 years or older to purchase. Not valid with any other offers. Limit 1 reward per guest present. About Chicken Salad Chick Chicken Salad Chick serves full-flavored, Southern-style chicken salad made from scratch and served from the heart. With more than a dozen original chicken salad flavors as well as fresh side salads, gourmet soups, signature sandwiches and delicious desserts, Chicken Salad Chick's robust menu is a perfect fit for any guest. Founded in Auburn, Alabama , by Stacy and Kevin Brown , in 2008, Chicken Salad Chick has grown to more than 240 restaurants in 18 states. Today, under the leadership of Scott Deviney and the Chicken Salad Chick team, the brand is continuing its rapid expansion with both franchise and company locations. Chicken Salad Chick has received numerous accolades including rankings in the 2023 Entrepreneur Franchise 500, Franchise Times' Fast & Serious for the third consecutive year, Fast Casual.com's top Movers and Shakers from 2018 to 2023, QSR's Best Franchise Deals in 2019, 2020 and 2022, and Franchise Business Review's Top Food Franchises in 2020. See www.chickensaladchick.com for additional information. Contact: Isabella Bobillo Fish Consulting 954-893-9150 [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chicken-salad-chick-celebrates-fourth-jacksonville-florida-location-opening-in-st-johns-301998188.html TORONTO , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Franco-Nevada Corporation ("Franco-Nevada") (TSX: FNV) (NYSE: FNV) is aware that the Supreme Court of Panama announced this morning that Law 406, the law that approved the revised concession contract for the Cobre Panama mine, is unconstitutional. Franco-Nevada is in communication with its partner First Quantum Minerals Ltd. and will provide further updates as they are available. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws and the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, respectively, which may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the impact of the unconstitutionality ruling of the Supreme Court of Panama with respect to Law 406. The outcome of these matters could have a material adverse impact on the revenue Franco-Nevada derives from its streaming arrangements relating to Cobre Panama and on Franco-Nevada's results of operations and financial condition. There can be no assurance that such forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein. For additional information with respect to risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to Franco-Nevada's business and assets, please refer to Franco-Nevada's most recent Annual Information Form filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities on www.sedarplus.com and Franco-Nevada's most recent Annual Report filed on Form 40-F filed with the SEC on www.sec.gov. The forward-looking statements herein are made as of the date of this press release only and Franco-Nevada does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new information, estimates or opinions, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cobre-panama-supreme-court-update-301999333.html SOURCE Franco-Nevada Corporation CHICAGO , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ConceiveAbilities , a groundbreaking surrogacy agency dedicated to supporting individuals on the journey to building families, proudly announces the outstanding success of its Milk Bank Challenge. Surpassing an ambitious 2023 goal of 1 million ounces, due to the generosity of more than 1,000 lactating and giving women, the initiative has already achieved this remarkable milestone. When we set the goal of one million ounces, it seemed lofty, but I never doubted the generosity of these amazing women. The original target for 2023 was one million ounces of donated breast milk for local milk banks nationwide. Through the 2023 MilkBankChallenge, the contributions of 1,200 women resulted in a total donation of 1,064,000 ounces to over 50 local milk banks. Founder Nazca Fontes expressed gratitude, stating, "When we set the goal of one million ounces, it seemed lofty, but I never doubted the generosity of these amazing women and their willingness to make such an impactful gift." Since its launch in June 2022 , the #MilkBankChallenge has inspired more than 1,800 women to donate an astonishing 1.7 million ounces of breast milk. ConceiveAbilities' team members, including Lacie Vigil who contributed 1,160 ounces, have also actively participated. Vigil adds, "Donating breast milk is something that I am so proud of. There is no better feeling than knowing that a baby was fed because of my decision to donate." Lexi Berry , a three-time surrogate, shared her experience, "I just sent in my 43rd cooler to Preemies Milk Bank. Between both of my surro journeys, I have donated just about 34,000 ounces." The #MilkBankChallenge was initiated by ConceiveAbilities to address the urgent need for milk banks to replenish their supply during the infant formula shortage that reached a crisis in 2022. The overwhelming success of the challenge prompted an elevation of the 2023 goal to one million ounces. ConceiveAbilities sees lactation as an important component of its All-In Surrogate Care and Compensation Package , recognizing the significance of the fourth trimester in postpartum recovery. The #MilkBankChallenge aligns with the organization's commitment to sharing valuable information for women during their fourth trimester, including resources on lactation . To continue this impactful journey until December 31, 2023 , the community is urged to share this link on #GivingTuesday, encouraging lactating women to join in donating their breast milk surplus to support infants in need. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/conceiveabilities-celebrates-milestone-achievement-surpassing-one-million-ounces-with-the-milk-bank-challenge-301998968.html SOURCE ConceiveAbilities Cooper Machinery Services ("Cooper") announces the acquisition of Terrecorp, LLC. The acquisition advances Cooper's position as the leading manufacturer and service provider of mission-critical compression and engine systems. HOUSTON , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Cooper Machinery Services ("Cooper") today announced the acquisition of Terrecorp, LLC ("Terrecorp"). This action advances Cooper's position as the leading manufacturer and service provider of mission-critical compression and engine systems. Founded in 1998 and based in Indianapolis, Indiana , Terrecorp is a manufacturer of aluminum, bronze, and steel-backed bearing shells and bushings for a large variety of reciprocating engine brands such as AJAX, Clark, Cooper-Bessemer, Ingersoll Rand , and Worthington . "We are excited to add Terrecorp to the Cooper family. Terrecorp's quality products, robust manufacturing processes, and short lead times are highly regarded in the compression market. This acquisition further expands the products and services we can directly offer our customers", said Cooper CEO, Scott Buckhout . About Cooper Machinery Services Cooper Machinery Services, a portfolio company of Arcline Investment Management, is the original equipment manufacturer ("O.E.M.") and supplier of parts and after-sale services, and emissions reduction technologies to a large installed base of highly respected engine-compressor brands. The company's O.E.M. brands include AJAX, Cooper-Bessemer, CSI, Enterprise, Gemini, Superior, TSI, and TXC. They also are a major supplier of after-sale support for non-Cooper engine-compressor brands such as Clark, CAT (3600 engines), IR, Waukesha (VHP engines), and Worthington . Manufacturing is conducted in its facilities in Houston, Texas , Salina, Kansas and McPherson, Kansas , while on-site services are delivered through its extensive network of field technicians operating out of fully equipped repair and overhaul shops strategically located around the world. Press Contact: Matt Forcey , 713-354-1900, http://www.cooperservices.com View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cooper-machinery-services-acquires-terrecorp-llc-301999762.html SOURCE Cooper Machinery Services Surveys help communities reduce turnover, increase referrals, and remain compliant with new legislation MINNEAPOLIS , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Eldermark, an acclaimed provider of senior living software, today announced a new partnership with market research firm ServiceTrac to provide compliant resident surveys and marketing solutions for the senior care industry. Senior living communities such as assisted living, independent living, skilled nursing, memory care, and short-term rehabilitation facilities rely on paper and electronic surveys to gather feedback from residents and their families, as well as to create and manage online reputation reviews and ratings. These activities have been proven to optimize occupancy and satisfaction, as well as improve the bottom line for senior living businesses. Leveraging ServiceTrac's suite of research solutions, Eldermark communities can seamlessly deploy customizable surveys to strengthen current relationships and foster new ones. Through ServiceTrac's marketing services, communities can execute resident engagement campaigns, automate marketing initiatives, and better share positive reviews across external websites. "Eldermark exists to enrich the lives of senior living residents and that starts with empowering senior communities to be the best they can be," said Jaime Ojeda , CEO of Eldermark. "Senior care operators can engage residents and staff, boost occupancy, and meet regulation requirements through the powerful intelligence gleaned from these important research tools." For skilled nursing facilities, new federal legislation effective January 1, 2024 , will require all residents to receive a specific survey in a specific format upon exiting. Failure to comply with the new regulations could cost a facility between one and two percent of its total Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement. For senior housing communities, many states, including Minnesota , have developed or are initiating report cards to inform consumer choices creating the opportunity for providers to collect their own survey data to either support or refute regulatory reporting. Jacob Vinson , Research Manager at ServiceTrac, added: "The ServiceTrac team has been looking for ways to streamline the process of deploying surveys. We are thrilled to be able to bring our survey tools to a world class software like Eldermark." About Eldermark Eldermark's comprehensive software is built for the business of senior living. Centralizing all your technology like EHR, EMAR, resident engagement, marketing, billing, and more into one platform allows you to make informed decisions quickly and accurately with data-driven insights: increase revenue, enhance care, simplify work, and create more meaningful resident outcomes. Visit eldermark.com to experience the transformative power of centralized software and predictive analytics. About ServiceTrac For 27 years, ServiceTrac has been a leader in providing tools and resources to help healthcare companies increase occupancy through reducing turnover and increasing referrals. Having conducted hundreds of thousands of surveys over the years, we know healthcare like no one else. For more information visit ServiceTrac.com. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/eldermark-partners-with-servicetrac-on-resident-survey-tools-for-senior-living-communities-301998295.html SOURCE Eldermark Consumers encouraged to make this year's holiday charcuterie board the best one yet HAYWARD, Calif. , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- While no one holiday gathering is the same, certain traditional elements are consistent with parties this time of year. Lights and decorations adorn roofs, walls and fixtures, surrounded by beloved friends and family in the warmth of an inviting home. And of course, what holiday party is complete without an appetizing spread of delicious food? Charcuterie has become an integral part of holiday celebrations for people throughout the country, as charcuterie boards consisting of meat, cheese, acid, crunch and a "wow" factor are especially popular this time of year. The charcuterie experts at Columbus, a subsidiary of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL), are well aware of this emerging phenomenon, and as experts, they have their collective finger on the pulse of what's trending in this space. "We know more than three-quarters of those who have tried charcuterie love it," said Sean McNeil , senior brand manager for the Columbus brand. "On social media, the visually appealing and engaging nature of charcuterie shines as trending content. There are 2.5 billion #charcuterie hashtags on TikTok, and there are 3.3 million #charcuterie posts on Instagram. And according to research from Exploding Topics, online consumer searches for 'charcuterie board' continue to spike, up 800% in five years." With the holiday season upon us, now is the time to explore the latest charcuterie trends to enable consumers to take their holiday boards to the next level. "Charcuterie is a staple at holiday events and parties, and for good reason," said Evan Inada , charcuterie director at Columbus. "Charcuterie boards are easy to assemble, and it's a great opportunity to get creative and try something new." Consider the following tips and tricks from Inada and his team of experts: WOW THE CROWD : Make your holiday board memorable with engaging elements that will impress your guests, providing not only delicious flavors, but an unforgettable experience as well. Consider adding chocolate or even leftover Halloween candy to the mix. Sweet and spicy candied ginger is another potential addition that provides an element of surprise to any charcuterie bite. : Make your holiday board memorable with engaging elements that will impress your guests, providing not only delicious flavors, but an unforgettable experience as well. Consider adding chocolate or even leftover candy to the mix. Sweet and spicy candied ginger is another potential addition that provides an element of surprise to any charcuterie bite. BRING THE HEAT : Use a flame to introduce a brulee of cheese, such as brie or goat cheese, to your holiday board. Consider adding "heat" in the spicy sense, too. The "Sun Kissed" combination just one of a wide selection of Perfect Charcuterie Bites developed by the Columbus brand team marries the heat of Columbus hot capicolla with the buttery flavor of a young Mahon cheese and a slightly charred fresh pineapple spear. : Use a flame to introduce a brulee of cheese, such as brie or goat cheese, to your holiday board. Consider adding "heat" in the spicy sense, too. The "Sun Kissed" combination just one of a wide selection of Perfect Charcuterie Bites developed by the brand team marries the heat of hot capicolla with the buttery flavor of a young Mahon cheese and a slightly charred fresh pineapple spear. EASY ON THE EYE : Charcuterie is meant to be an experience. While taste is perhaps the foremost part of that experience, presentation is also important. Use of food molds, cutouts with knives, and cookie cutters can add eye-pleasing elements to a holiday board. Try adding a festive centerpiece, too, like Santa or a snowman. Make it fun! : Charcuterie is meant to be an experience. While taste is perhaps the foremost part of that experience, presentation is also important. Use of food molds, cutouts with knives, and cookie cutters can add eye-pleasing elements to a holiday board. Try adding a festive centerpiece, too, like Santa or a snowman. Make it fun! DON'T FORGET THE DRINKS: Cocktail and mocktail pairings help enhance the flavors in salumi and accoutrements, making it ideal for holiday parties. Entertaining expert Paul Zahn , TV host and cocktail guru, recommends a dry lemon martini or perhaps a pear elderflower non-alcoholic spritz to pair with the Bold and Bleu bite. Certain meats also pair best with particular types of beer or whiskey, as the Columbus brand team demonstrated earlier this year. The pairing options are endless. Said Zahn: "Pairing beverages with your holiday charcuterie is the perfect way to elevate any soiree!" Need more charcuterie inspiration? Many Perfect Charcuterie Bites are available on the Columbus Craft Meats website, all of which encourage aspiring charcutiers to try something unique and draw new inspiration for their own board making. "Our Perfect Charcuterie Bite recipes have a balance of savory, acidic and sweet flavors, and complementary textures, so the flavors come together to create something magical that's greater than the sum of its parts," Inada said. "Whether you're new to charcuterie or a seasoned charcutier, our team at Columbus aspires to be a resource for everyone around the holidays to make sure this year's charcuterie board is the best one yet." For more information on Columbus products, including more charcuterie tips and where to buy, visit columbuscraftmeats.com. About Columbus Craft Meats Founded in 1917 by Italian immigrants in San Francisco , Columbus produces premium salumi and deli meats sold in grocery deli departments nationwide. The company's products are made authentically from traditional recipes that bring out the bold, unique flavors of the finest cuts of meat, making the brand a leader in today's market. More information can be found at columbuscraftmeats.com. About Hormel Foods Inspired People. Inspired Food. Hormel Foods Corporation, based in Austin, Minn. , is a global branded food company with over $12 billion in annual revenue across more than 80 countries worldwide. Its brands include Planters, Skippy, SPAM, Hormel Natural Choice, Applegate , Justin's, Wholly, Hormel Black Label, Columbus, Jennie-O and more than 30 other beloved brands. The company is a member of the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, was named on the "Global 2000 World's Best Employers" list by Forbes magazine for three years, is one of Fortune magazine's most admired companies, has appeared on the "100 Best Corporate Citizens" list by 3BL Media 13 times, and has received numerous other awards and accolades for its corporate responsibility and community service efforts. The company lives by its purpose statement Inspired People. Inspired Food. to bring some of the world's most trusted and iconic brands to tables across the globe. For more information, visit hormelfoods.com. Contact: Media Relations Hormel Foods [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/experts-at-columbus-craft-meats-welcome-the-holiday-season-with-insight-on-latest-charcuterie-trends-301999175.html SOURCE Hormel Foods Corporation; Columbus WYOMISSING, Pa. , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Pennsylvania -based fiber-optic internet provider, FastBridge Fiber, announces that construction will begin on its 100% fiber-optic internet network in Muhlenberg Township within the coming weeks. Construction in Muhlenberg Township is scheduled to begin within the month, with customer installations expected to begin early Spring of 2024. Area residents will receive a postcard and a door hanger notifying them of the process. Information on what to expect during construction can be found at fastbridgefiber.com/construction. Once construction is complete, residents and businesses will have access to affordable and reliable high-speed fiber internet. FastBridge Fiber provides residential internet service plans with speeds starting at 500 Mbps up to 2 Gigs, as well as data networking services available for business customers. FastBridge's future-proof network allows for streaming, gaming, working and learning from home seamlessly, and supports many connected devices on the network at the same time without interruption. "FastBridge Fiber will provide many of our residents with a choice for internet service and we are excited to welcome them into our community. This not only expands choice and quality of service, but it is another example of the Township welcoming new business and technology that will benefit residents and local businesses alike," said Joe Mench , Assistant Township Manager and Director of Information Technology & Communications. Those interested in FastBridge Fiber service may visit FastBridge Fiber Check Availability to submit their interest and to be notified once their address is available for service. About FastBridge Fiber: FastBridge Fiber is a modern fiber-optic internet service company providing ultra-fast and highly reliable service to homes and businesses over their newly constructed all-fiber network. FastBridge Fiber's network is built with today's customers in mind; customers with multiple connected devices demanding the fastest speed and highest reliability. Customers enjoy hassle-free pricing plans and attentive customer service with FastBridge Fiber. FastBridge Fiber is committed to hiring and investing in the local communities they serve. For more information, visit www.fastbridgefiber.com Media Contact: Lynn Pope [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fastbridge-fiber-to-begin-construction-in-muhlenberg-pennsylvania-301998157.html SOURCE FastBridge Fiber SILVER SPRING, Md. , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is providing an at-a-glance summary of news from around the agency: Today, the FDA issued a drug safety communication warning that the antiseizure medicines levetiracetam (Keppra, Keppra XR, Elepsia XR, Spritam) and clobazam (Onfi, Sympazan), can cause a rare but serious reaction that can be life-threatening if not diagnosed and treated quickly. This reaction is called Drug Reaction with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms. It may start as a rash, but can quickly progress, resulting in injury to internal organs, the need for hospitalization, and even death. As a result, the agency is requiring warnings about this risk to be added to the prescribing information and patient Medication Guides for these medicines. Today, the FDA issued a safety communication regarding reports of T-cell malignancies, including chimeric antigen receptor CAR-positive lymphoma, in patients who received treatment with BCMA- or CD19-directed autologous CAR T cell immunotherapies. The reports were received from clinical trials and/or postmarketing adverse event data sources. Although the overall benefits of these products continue to outweigh their potential risks for their approved uses, the FDA is investigating identified risk of T-cell malignancy with serious outcomes including hospitalization and death. For more information, visit FDA's web site. On Monday, the FDA published the FDA Voices: "FDA Protects Patients from Harmful Drugs Through the Drug Supply Chain Security Act," by Jaqueline Corrigan-Curay , Office of the Center Director , Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) and Jill Furman , Office of Compliance , CDER . Since 2013, the FDA has been implementing the Drug Supply Chain Security Act, a law known as DSCSA. This law gives the FDA more regulatory tools to detect and help ensure the removal of dangerous drugs from the supply chain, such as those that may be counterfeit, stolen, contaminated, or otherwise harmful. By fully implementing DSCSA, together with industry and other stakeholders, we will create a more secure pharmaceutical supply chain that will assure the continued distribution of safe prescription drugs for the benefit of public health. On Monday, the FDA announced the availability of a Small Entity Compliance Guide (SECG) to help explain the actions a small entity must take to comply with recent changes made to "Milk and Cream Products and Yogurt Products; Final Rule To Revoke the Standards for Lowfat Yogurt and Nonfat Yogurt and To Amend the Standard for Yogurt." The final rule, which was published on June 11, 2021 and modified on December 15, 2022 and April 14, 2023 , amends and modernizes the standard of identity for yogurt by allowing for technological advances in yogurt production while preserving the basic nature and essential characteristics of yogurt. On Monday, the FDA announced its withdrawal as a member of the Global Harmonization Working Party (GHWP), which the agency joined in December 2021 . The FDA will continue its outreach to global partners and its efforts to ensure alignment of medical device international harmonization by primarily working with the International Medical Device Regulators Forum (IMDRF). In 2024, the FDA, as chair of IMDRF, will continue to work collaboratively to reach consensus on common goals, foster global regulatory convergence, and leverage resources to make safe and effective medical devices available globally. On Monday, the FDA approved nirogacestat (OGSIVEO, SpringWorks Therapeutics, Inc.) for adult patients with progressing desmoid tumors who require systemic treatment. This is the first approved treatment for desmoid tumors. Full prescribing information for OGSIVEO will be posted here. On Wednesday, November 22 , the FDA issued the final guidance "COVID-19: Developing Drugs and Biological Products for Treatment or Prevention." The guidance provides updated recommendations that reflect the evolving scientific knowledge and the current state of the pandemic. This supersedes the guidance of the same name initially issued on May 12, 2020 , and reissued on February 22, 2021 . On Wednesday, November 22 , the FDA published the FDA Voices: "VAERS: A Critical Part of the National Vaccine Safety System," by Peter Marks , M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research and Daniel Jernigan , M.D., MPH, Director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases , CDC . VAERS is an early-warning monitoring system for vaccine safety. It allows patients, pharmaceutical companies, medical personnel and other users to report concerns about medical events that occurred after someone received a vaccination. VAERS has a proven track record of successfully helping to identify safety issues. On Wednesday, November 22 , the FDA issued an update to the advisory for the Investigation of Elevated Lead Levels in Cinnamon Applesauce Puree. As of November 22, 2023 , there have been 52 reports of adverse events potentially linked to recalled product submitted to FDA. To date, confirmed complainants are less than 1 to 4 years of age. The November 22 advisory stated that at the time, the FDA was aware that recalled WanaBana Apple Cinnamon Puree was still on the shelves at several Dollar Tree stores in multiple states. The FDA is working with the firm to ensure an effective recall. This product should not be available for sale and consumers should not purchase or consume this product as it is potentially contaminated with lead, which can be harmful to health, particularly for children. This investigation is ongoing and the FDA will update the advisory as information becomes available. On Tuesday, November 21 , the FDA issued a Safety Alert to consumers not to eat, and restaurants and food retailers not to sell, and to dispose of oysters illegally harvested from Milford Approved area in Connecticut on 11/12/2023 and 11/15/2023 by original certified dealer Seaview Fisheries, CT-084-SS, AQ, and labeled as lots L466B and 466A because they may be contaminated. The oysters were directly distributed to a distributor in RI. Oysters were distributed further to a distributor and retailers in DE, FL, IL, MD, NJ, NY, PA, and TX and may have been distributed further from these states. On Tuesday, November 21 , the FDA announced the ninth in the ongoing series of webinars exploring food safety culture will take place on December 6, 2023 , from 12 noon to 1:00 pm ET . This webinar "Food Safety Culture: Storytelling to Shape, Reinforce, and Inspire" will focus on the importance of storytelling in building and reinforcing a strong food safety culture. The webinar series Collaborating on Culture in the New Era of Smarter Food Safety is in partnership with Stop Foodborne IllnessExternal Link Disclaimer, a non-profit public health organization. Additional Resources: Media Contact: FDA Office of Media Affairs, 301-796-4540 Consumer Inquiries: 888-INFO-FDA The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation's food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, radiation-emitting electronic products, and for regulating tobacco products. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fda-roundup-november-28-2023-301999820.html SOURCE U.S. Food and Drug Administration AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On December 7 during Art Basel Miami Beach 2023, three unique Fiat 500e cars designed by Armani, Bvlgari and Kartell will find new owners during 2023, three unique Fiat 500e cars designed by Armani, and will find new owners Exclusive auction to be led by renowned charity auctioneer Simon de Pury with proceeds benefiting environmentally-focused nonprofit with proceeds benefiting environmentally-focused nonprofit Online catalogue and access to absentee bidding ahead of the auction available at de-PURY.com Fiat 500e gets a spotlight role to help the planet on December 7 during Art Basel Miami Beach 2023, when three bespoke vehicles designed in collaboration with iconic Italian brands Armani, Bvlgari and Kartell will be auctioned at an undisclosed location. Proceeds will benefit a nonprofit to be named following the auction. "It is rare for an automaker to combine efforts with the most iconic Italian brands of three different sectors, fashion design, furniture design and luxury, to create something truly unique that combines art with an earth-friendly message, making the cars available through auction is even more unusual," said Olivier Francois , CEO of FIAT and global chief marketing officer of Stellantis. "These three special builds set the stage for FIAT's sustainable mission and create momentum as we approach the arrival of the all-electric Fiat 500e in North America ." This cadence of events contributes to the momentum created as FIAT prepares to launch the all-electric Fiat 500e. The new Fiat 500e is Stellantis' first EV offering in North America . Unlike any available electric city car, the Fiat 500e democratizes not only electric mobility, but also how to buy them, all while playing a significant role in the Stellantis Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan that targets 50% passenger car and light-duty truck BEV sales mix in the United States and 100% passenger car BEV sales mix in Europe by 2030. Stellantis is on track to become a carbon net zero corporation by 2038, all scopes included, with single-digit percentage compensation of remaining emissions. Simon de Pury will conduct the auction. On November 28 , an online catalogue will be published on his innovative de PURY platform. This provides an exclusive chance for those unable to attend the event to register for pre and absentee bidding, granting them access to registration, online and telephonic bidding ahead of the auction. "I am very excited to conduct the auction of the three unique Fiat 500 cars. They are stunning and beautiful works of art on wheels. It is wonderful that the proceeds of the auction will entirely go to environmental work," said Simon de Pury . Simon de Pury Auctioneer, art dealer, curator, photographer and dj, Simon de Pury is one of the leading figures in the art world. Renowned for his legendary performance on the auction podium, which have earned him the moniker "the Mick Jagger of auctions", de Pury has auctioned and secured some of the most legendary art collections. Moreover, as an active charity auctioneer, it is estimated that de Pury has raised several billion dollars for a number of charities and cultural institutions over the course of his career. As a mentor and curator, de Pury has been instrumental in championing the careers of many contemporary artists, photographers and designers, and has been the subject of and featured in several documentaries and films, including BBC documentary "The Man with the Golden Gavel" and more recently, Darren Star's comedy-drama series, "Emily in Paris ." In 2021, de Pury launched de PURY Presents, a new exhibition series collaborating with international artists in their studios. In 2022, he introduced the innovative online platform de PURY platform. Simon de Pury is the former chairman and chief auctioneer of Phillips de Pury & Company, former Europe chairman and chief auctioneer of Sotheby's, and former curator of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection. FIAT Brand FIAT brand celebrates more than 120 years as an automaker and some things haven't changed. Iconic Italian design and refinement, plus a fun-to-drive factor come standard with every Fiat. In early 2024, FIAT brand will launch the Fiat 500e, the first Stellantis retail battery-electric vehicle offering in North America and the best-selling city EV in Europe. FIAT is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker and mobility provider Stellantis. For more information regarding Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), please visit www.stellantis.com Follow Fiat and company news and video on: Company blog: http://blog.stellantisnorthamerica.com Media website: http://media.stellantisnorthamerica.com Fiat brand: www.fiatusa.com Fiat blog: blog.fiatusa.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/fiatusa Instagram: www.instagram.com/fiatusa Twitter: www.twitter.com/fiatusa or @StellantisNA YouTube: www.youtube.com/fiatusa or https://www.youtube.com/StellantisNA View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fiat-to-auction-three-special-fiat-500e-electric-cars-during-art-basel-miami-beach-2023-proceeds-to-benefit-environmentally-focused-nonprofit-301999650.html SOURCE Stellantis BOSTON , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- RaySecur , the leading provider of T-ray security imaging technology, announces the appointment of Richard (Rick) Peristere to their advisory board. Rick's 24 years of leadership experience within the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Department of State will provide RaySecur with valuable insights into evolving threats and the security needs of government agencies. His appointment comes at a critical juncture in RaySecur's evolution as the company looks to expand into government markets after achieving sizable inroads with global Fortune 500 corporations, law enforcement agencies, and corrections facilities. Former CIA Chief of Staff Named to RaySecur Board of Advisors to Support Government Market Expansion Mail security incidents targeting U.S. government entities have increased over the past few years, both domestically and internationally. Targets of these mail-based threats have ranged from politicians and government officials, to government facilities and critical infrastructure, and even election polling sites. Most recently, fentanyl-laced letters were sent to election offices in at least five states, including Nevada , California , and Georgia . Earlier this year, over 100 letters containing white powder substances were received by legislators in Montana , Tennessee , and Kansas . In addition to domestic threats, U.S. Embassies in Spain and Ukraine were targeted with letter bombs and biological threats sent in the mail in retaliation for the Ukraine - Russia war in 2022. "I'm excited to partner with RaySecur as we work to continue shaping the face of government and corporate security. The increasing volatility from a confluence of economic, geopolitical, and societal events has resulted in the exploitation of mail as a threat mechanism. The cutting-edge security imaging technology developed by RaySecur offers a powerful solution to keep U.S. government facilities and citizens safe from concealed threats," said Rick Peristere , former Chief of Staff to the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and Founder of Arbella Consulting. RaySecur's 2022 Mail Security report notes that over 90% of open-source mail threats involve letters and small parcels, presenting perpetrators with a relatively anonymous and low-risk delivery method. To address this, RaySecur developed MailSecur , the only T-ray desktop mail screening system designated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under the Safety Act, and capable of detecting all nine chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives (CBRNE) dangerous substances listed by the DHS as potential mail threats. RaySecur's in-house security advisory service, comprised of former military explosives experts, former law enforcement narcotics detectives, and former USPIS dangerous mail inspectors, support MailSecur customers with risk assessments, threat intelligence, implementing industry-leading security best practices, and 24x365 image analysis and remote support. "We're honored to have Rick join RaySecur's advisory board," said Alex Sappok , Ph.D., CEO of RaySecur. "His broad security expertise and distinguished career working at the highest levels of government in threat intelligence will be instrumental as we align our security solutions to best meet the needs of government customers to most effectively address their mail security risks." As a member of RaySecur's Advisory Board, Peristere joins a diverse group of industry experts. Other board members include Dean Geribo, chief security officer for biotech leader Moderna; Jim McDonnell , former L.A. County Sheriff; Mike Howard , former chief security officer for Microsoft; Mark Sullivan , former director of the United States Secret Service; Ed Davis , former police commissioner for the City of Boston ; and John Sullivan , former chief security officer for Starbucks and current chief security officer for Boston Scientific, among others. About RaySecur RaySecur, Inc ., the leader in real-time 3D, T-ray security imaging, is revolutionizing concealed threat detection with MailSecur . Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and heads of state trust RaySecur to keep them safe from hidden threats. MailSecur is the first desktop T-ray screening system designated by the DHS under the Safety Act. RaySecur and MailSecur are RaySecur, Inc. trademarks. For more information, visit www.RaySecur.com. Media Contact Amy Carey Vice President, Marketing [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/former-central-intelligence-agency-chief-of-staff-named-to-raysecur-board-of-advisors-301998455.html SOURCE RaySecur Inc. BEIJING , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The healthy and stable development of China-US relations not only safeguards the fundamental interests of the people of both countries but also aligns with the common expectations of the international community, said Yang Wanming, head of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), during an exclusive interview with the Global Times. Chinese President Xi Jinping met with US President Joe Biden recently in San Francisco where the two established the " San Francisco vision" oriented toward the future, providing direction and outlining a blueprint for the healthy, stable, and sustainable development of China-US relations. Xi said that China is ready to invite 50,000 young Americans to China on exchange and study programs in the next five years to increase exchanges between the two peoples, especially between the youth. "Amity between the people holds the key to sound state-to-state relations. As President Xi has emphasized on different occasions this year, noting that the hope of the China-US relationship lies in the people, its foundation is in our societies, and the source of strength lies in the friendship between the two peoples," said Yang. As an organization engaged in people-to-people diplomacy in China , the CPAFFC aims to enhance people's friendship, further international cooperation, safeguard world peace and promote common development. It has established friendly cooperation relationship with about 400 NGOs and institutions in more than 150 countries. Vibrant exchanges landscape To deepen the exchanges between the peoples of China and the US, the CPAFFC has taken the initiative to proactively facilitate various events. The CPAFFC invited the Flying Tigers to return to China after 80 years for a 10-day visit in early November. A delegation of more than 30 people visited various cities in China and left many touching moments. Unlike in China , the stories of the Flying Tigers may not be very well known in the US. They are a group of volunteer US pilots who came to China in 1941, standing shoulder to shoulder with the Chinese people to fight against Japanese aggressors. More than 2,000 US pilots gave their lives during the war. The Chinese people also provided Flying Tigers with assistance at all costs. More than 200 pilots in distress were rescued, with thousands of Chinese people giving their lives during the rescue operations. Two of those valiant pilots, Harry Moyer and Melvin McMullen , aged 103 and 98 respectively, made it to China for the most recent CPAFFC-organized event. Yang pointed out that it was a commemorative moment to learn from the glorious history of the Flying Tigers during the war, and a chance to enhance exchanges between the youth of both countries, carry forward the spirit of the Flying Tigers, and foster friendly ties between the peoples of China and the US, making further contributions to the cause of peace. Also, in early November, the fifth China-US Sister Cities Conference themed "Build Green Cities for the People," co-hosted by the CPAFFC and the Jiangsu provincial government, was held in Suzhou , East China's Jiangsu Province . The vitality of China-US relations comes from exchanges at sub-national levels. Yang noted that the China-US Sister Cities Conference has been successfully held five times thus far and has become an important platform for Chinese and American cities to strengthen exchanges and cooperation, and to enhance friendship. "Sister cities' interactions and exchanges leverage unique local resources and use art, cuisine, local culture and folk customs as mediums. By actively mobilizing various resources and involving as many people as possible in sister city exchanges, these activities are more targeted, organized, planned and sustainable. They are beneficial to the systematic introduction of each other's culture, social customs and policy concepts, promote mutual understanding and respect between the peoples of the two countries, and play a fundamental role in maintaining China-US relations," he said. Looking toward future Civilizations are like water, moistening everything silently. Diversity spurs interaction among civilizations, which in turn promotes mutual learning and their further development. People-to-people exchanges are the strongest force in advancing mutual learning among different civilizations. "No two leaves in the world are identical, and no histories, cultures, or social systems are the same. The languages, thoughts and lifestyles of the Chinese and American people are different, but our aspirations for cultural exchange and mutual learning between the two civilizations are the same. The recent visit of the Philadelphia Orchestra to China , which was very well received, is the best proof of this," said Yang. In November, the Philadelphia Orchestra performed a 50th anniversary concert in Beijing . They later performed in Tianjin , Suzhou and Shanghai . The orchestra is a vivid witness to the friendship between the two peoples of China and the US, and continues to carry on the legacy of non-governmental exchanges through music. "More Americans from all walks of life, especially the young are welcomed to visit China ," said Yang. Among those who came to visit China with the Flying Tigers veterans was Jackson Long , the 15-year-old great-grandson of Flying Tiger Clifford Long Sr . As a member of the young generation who is expected to carry forward the legacy of friendship, he told the media during his visit that China is "a lot different" from the impression he has gained from the US media and politicians. "You can't really grasp everything about China just by looking at social media... you have to be here to experience all the amazing different cultures that China has to offer," he said. Moving forward, Yang introduced that CPAFFC will step up efforts to promote cultural exchanges among Chinese and American youths, inviting both to learn about each other's cultures and experience the civilizations of China and the US through their first-hand experiences. "After all, the future of the China-US relationship depends on the youth," he concluded. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-times-amity-between-people-holds-key-to-sound-china-us-relations-expert-301998919.html SOURCE Global Times JERICHO, N.Y. , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In a gesture of community support, HeadShotRescue.com, a leading photography studio, is proud to announce the donation of 200 family portraits to recipients of Habitat For Humanity on Long Island . This initiative brings warmth and personalization to homes of those who have been the beneficiaries of Habitat's work. A family portrait is more than just a photograph; it is a symbol of love, unity, and the foundation of a home. HeadShotRescue.com understands the impact a well-captured family moment can have on the atmosphere of a living space. A portrait hanging on the wall brings a sense of belonging and comfort within the walls of a home. According to Alex M. Wolff , Chief Image Consultant of HeadShotRescue.com, "A family portrait is a timeless piece of art that transforms a house into a home. We believe that every family, regardless of their circumstances, deserves to have these cherished memories adorning their living spaces." Habitat For Humanity has long been a beacon of hope for families in need, offering them the opportunity for stable housing and a brighter future. The organization not only benefits the families directly involved but also contributes to the revitalization of neighborhoods, engages sponsors in meaningful community development, and relies on the dedication of volunteers who make these dreams a reality. "We are thrilled to partner with Habitat For Humanity in their mission to build not only houses but homes for families in Long Island . The impact of a stable and loving home extends beyond the immediate family to positively influence entire communities," added Wolff. For further information, please contact: Trish Rongo Development Manager Habitat for Humanity Long Island Phone: 631-422-4828 Email: [email protected] Website: www.habitatLINY.org Alex M. Wolff Chief Image Consultant HeadShotRescue.com Phone: 516-375-4315 Email: [email protected] Website: www.headshotrescue.com About HeadShotRescue.com: HeadShotRescue.com is renowned for capturing moments that matter. Specializing in family portraits, corporate headshots, and event photography, the studio combines technical expertise with a passion for storytelling. Visit www.headshotrescue.com for more information. About Habitat For Humanity: Habitat For Humanity is a global nonprofit organization that works towards a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Through volunteer labor and donations of money and materials, Habitat builds and rehabilitates homes, providing affordable housing to those in need. To learn more, visit www.habitat.org. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/headshotrescuecom-donates-200-family-portraits-to-habitat-for-humanity-recipients-on-long-island-301999369.html SOURCE HeadShotRescue.com The only hotel to open in San Francisco in 2023 unveils a spectacular renovation SAN FRANCISCO , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The highly anticipated new Embarcadero neighborhood hotel, The Jay, an Autograph Collection Hotel , is now open. Following a multi-million dollar renovation, the 360 room iconic hotel boasts incredible views, a new outdoor rooftop terrace and a stunning dining outlet, The Third Floor, from The Omakase Restaurant Group. The hotel, which was designed as an homage to the spirit and people of San Francisco , reflects unique moments in the city's history while offering a luxury respite for both business and leisure travelers. The Jay joins the Autograph Collection, part of Marriott Bonvoy's portfolio of over 30 brands, and includes a diverse and dynamic collection of over 290 hotels around the world that are independent, one-of-a-kind, and champion values of vision design and craft. "We're so pleased to unveil The Jay at this exciting time in San Francisco history," said The Jay's General Manager Michael Musarra. "The city offers such dynamic experiences, beautiful sights and amazing cuisine. We are thrilled to incorporate all those elements into this new, stunning hotel in the vibrant Embarcadero neighborhood." With interiors by the local San Francisco studio of award-winning global design firm AvroKO, the renovation design embraces The Jay's brutalist exterior from noted architect John Portman and introduces the concept of warm brutalism. In honoring the building's architectural history, the concept of warm brutalism blurs the lines between design modalities while providing subtle nods to the local artists and creators who served as inspiration. While the concrete exterior of the building remains, everything from the porte cochere to the penthouse was reimagined to create a modern and welcoming environment. Guestrooms offer angled floor-to-ceiling windows, drawing in natural light and giving guests views of the Bay , Coit Tower and the downtown skyline. Featuring warm wall coverings, soft furnishings and clean lines, guestrooms offer space for rest, relaxation and work. The design blends brutalist shapes with a tone-on-tone palette reflecting calm in both color and shape. Warm oak wood screens with bronze mirror detailing; custom closet doors inspired by the building's facade; a stone and walnut console that combines the desk, dresser and mini fridge; custom lighting; and soft custom carpets bring refined and comfortable feel to the rooms. As guests explore San Francisco , they will recognize touches woven throughout the hotel's design that were inspired by the sights, sounds and people of the city. "We're thrilled to be a part of this exciting new lifestyle hotel right in our backyard," says Greg Bradshaw, co-founder and principal of AvroKO. "We've envisioned The Jay to feel like a 'friend in the know' someplace friendly and warm, but also sophisticated and well crafted. By bringing a layer of warm woods, textured stones, and plasters we were able to honor the building's original Brutalist structure while giving it a new life and energy that we believe San Francisco's next chapter can be. We really think this is one of the best hotels in all of SF." Small and large touches throughout the hotel connect back to San Francisco , from wall coverings inspired by Ruth Asawa's iconic notebook to artist Peggy Caserta's unique blend of patterns and textures. A three-story circular staircase, featuring bronze castwork by artist Arnaldo Pomodoro and sculptural wood screens, leads to the hotel's lobby, The Third Floor Restaurant & Lounge, and the rooftop terrace bar. The staircase was inspired by one designed by John Portman for his own home. The Third Floor Restaurant & Lounge is a modern update to the timeless experience of the hotel lobby restaurant and bar. This upscale, light-filled environment offers a comfortable lounge serving three meals a day, cocktails and a modern spin on traditional afternoon tea. Featuring seasonal menus that reflect the bounty of California , Executive Chef Michael Magallenes is creating a new downtown dining destination. "It is fitting that our first hotel partnership is with a property that is a love letter to San Francisco ," said Omakase Restaurant Group CEO and co-founder Kash Feng . "This city has brought me so much opportunity to share the foods and flavors that inspire me and we are so excited to now share with even more guests at The Jay." The Third Floor features progressive San Francisco cuisine - a California slant on Asian flavors such as duck wonton soup, a selection of yakitori, Korean fried cauliflower and locally-sourced seafood towers. The Third Floor also introduces a fresh take on traditional afternoon tea service, offering local Red Blossom Teas with sweet and savory selections that include raw oysters served with apple mignonette and champagne espuma and persimmon cream puffs. The Jay has 13,000 square feet of meeting space across 16 distinct meeting areas on two floors. Each meeting room's unique modern design tells a story that aligns with the San Francisco legend for which the rooms are named. The Jay's meeting facilities offer the highest quality meeting amenities and world-class banquet capabilities, with customizable menus featuring local ingredients and to feed the body and soul. About The Jay Hotel The Jay Hotel is a newly renovated luxury hotel located in the heart of San Francisco's vibrant and historic Embarcadero neighborhood. Formerly Le Meridien, The Jay boasts 360 guest rooms and suites and 16 meeting areas, making it the ultimate destination for visitors and locals alike. Designed by the award-winning, global design firm AvroKO, The Jay is infused with the history of San Francisco which can be seen in each component of the design, creating a narrative that weaves through San Francisco history. The Jay is also home to The Third Floor, the hotel's only restaurant operated in partnership with the award-winning Omakase Restaurant Group, which serves as a three meal dining outlet built around the buzzy, social hotel lobby. About AvroKO Founded in NYC by four partners, Kristina O'Neal , Adam Farmerie , William Harris , and Greg Bradshaw , AvroKO has earned a reputation as one of the world's most innovative design firms, due in large part to its integrated design process and focus on creating emotionally-connected experiences through Hospitable Thinking. The firm's critically hailed portfolio includes restaurants, bars, hotels, retail, residential and mixed-use projects from New York to Hong Kong , all characterized by a unique convergence between the ideals of the past and an off-beat, forward-looking sensibility. Over the past 20+ years, the firm has grown globally to five offices ( New York City , Bangkok , San Francisco , London , and Miami ) working on projects across 22 countries in 32 cities. About Omakase Restaurant Group The Omakase Restaurant Group is the brainchild of co-founder and CEO Kash Feng , a Xi'an born entrepreneur with an inclination for hospitality. Multi-concept in nature, the Omakase Restaurant Group serves the Bay Area and prides itself on offering the highest caliber Asian and American cuisine that remains quintessentially Californian. The restaurants under Feng's conscientious direction include Omakase, a Michelin one star edomae sushi bar; Okane, a Michelin Bib Gourmand which offers refined Japanese comfort food; Niku Steakhouse, a Michelin one star American steakhouse with Japanese influence; The Butcher Shop, a certified purveyor of Kobe and Wagyu beef; Dumpling Time, a fast-casual restaurant offering imaginative handmade dumplings; Live Sushi, a family-friendly, neighborhood sushi bar; and Rosemary & Pine, a seasonally evolving Californian cuisine from Michelin-starred chef Dustin Falcon . View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/homage-to-san-francisco---the-jay-an-autograph-collection-hotel-opens-its-doors-301999487.html SOURCE The Jay Global Provider of Electronic Trading Technology to Launch new RFQ Tool CHICAGO , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- InfoReach is pleased to introduce InfoReach Auto-Q, a new solution designed to streamline the handling of Requests for Quotes (RFQs) in the ETF and fixed-income markets. InfoReach Auto-Q is a significant advancement in the InfoReach Trade Management System (TMS), offering brokers a more efficient and simplified RFQ process for their clients. Request a Demo Key features: Automated RFQ Management: InfoReach Auto-Q reduces the need for time-consuming, error-prone manual processes. InfoReach Auto-Q reduces the need for time-consuming, error-prone manual processes. Speed and Efficiency: Brokers can respond within milliseconds to client RFQs by utilizing InfoReach Auto-Q's. Brokers can respond within milliseconds to client RFQs by utilizing InfoReach Auto-Q's. Optimized Quote Selection: The system can automatically query multiple quote providers and market makers to select the best quote for the client. It also allows for necessary markups to be applied before forwarding the quote. The system can automatically query multiple quote providers and market makers to select the best quote for the client. It also allows for necessary markups to be applied before forwarding the quote. Seamless Order Execution: If the client decides to proceed with an order based on the provided quote, InfoReach Auto-Q seamlessly executes the order with the selected quote provider. If the client decides to proceed with an order based on the provided quote, InfoReach Auto-Q seamlessly executes the order with the selected quote provider. Instrument Versatility: InfoReach Auto-Q caters to a wide range of financial instruments, including ETFs and fixed-income products. InfoReach Auto-Q caters to a wide range of financial instruments, including ETFs and fixed-income products. Flexible RFQ Types: Whether your clients prefer specifying the side of the quote (buy or sell) or opt for side-neutral RFQs, InfoReach Auto-Q handles both seamlessly. Whether your clients prefer specifying the side of the quote (buy or sell) or opt for side-neutral RFQs, InfoReach Auto-Q handles both seamlessly. Multi-Leg Instrument Support: The system efficiently manages multi-leg instruments, commonly referred to as SWITCHes , catering to the diverse needs of brokers and their clients. "We're pleased to introduce InfoReach Auto-Q to the financial industry," said Alex Korsky , Vice President of Client Services at InfoReach. "InfoReach has automated Request for Quote Execution (RFQE) for Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and RFQ for Fixed Income Products. This automation will enable sell-side clients of InfoReach to service their customers in the most efficient manner for both the single and the multi-leg ETF trades initiated through RFQE and Fixed income trades initiated in response to RFQ." InfoReach Auto-Q promises to simplify RFQ processing for brokers in the ETF and fixed-income markets, empowering them to better meet their clients' needs in an ever-evolving financial landscape. For more information about InfoReach Auto-Q, please Request a Demo. About InfoReach: InfoReach is an independent provider of multi-asset broker-neutral software solutions for electronic trading, including OMS and EMS platforms for global equities, futures, options, forex, and fixed income. InfoReach's team delivers high-performance technology with high-touch support. InfoReach tailors the buy-side and sell-side client systems to accommodate current and future needs. They are configurable to provide unique adaptations without adding development time and costs. For more than 25 years, InfoReach has helped clients to improve their trade execution process and performance with efficient design and support of consolidated trading tools and a global connectivity network. InfoReach is a privately held company headquartered in Chicago , with offices in New York , Amsterdam , and Sao Paulo . For more information, visit www.inforeachinc.com Follow us on Twitter @InfoReach and check our blog for informational content. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/inforeach-unveils-auto-q-streamlining-etf-and-fixed-income-rfq-automation-301998361.html SOURCE InfoReach, Inc. BEIJING , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The convening of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation marks China and the global community are entering a new era of mutual development, with globalization as a shared vision among Chinese enterprises. Recently, a documentary titled "Shielding China Power to Go Global" was broadcast across new media platforms of China Central Television (CCTV), which highlighted the thriving story of Chinese enterprises on the global stage. Manufacturing companies have been the pioneers of China power entering the global market. With years of preparation, SAIC Motor and Midea Group stand out among numerous players for conveying the " China experience" to the world. Specifically, they have analyzed consumers' preferences and cultural traits in various overseas markets, developing tailored strategies to meet local needs. In the era of intelligent vehicles, SAIC Motor's global expansion spans over 80 countries, including India , Europe , and Southeast Asia . SAIC Motor's overseas entity constructs the i-SMART intelligent networking platform to customize its development for various market requirements. While building the platform, SAIC Motor's overseas entity uses the instances from AWS to deploy large language models, applying the powerful computing and graphics processing capabilities of AWS. Also, SAIC Motor's overseas entity leverages Amazon's global resources such as Amazon Alexa and Amazon Music to improve human-vehicle interaction for a superior driving experience. Consumers of home appliance products place a high value on their user experience. Midea operates globally, serving approximately 500 million users across more than 200 countries and regions. To enhance customer service, Midea aims to establish a global, industry-standard customer call center. Midea has accelerated the integration of Amazon Connect, a contact center as a service (CCaS) solution, to build a global after-sale service system, resulting in a significant reduction in overall operational costs. For instance, Midea's call center in Italy has reduced 30% of operational costs over three months. Furthermore, Amazon Connect, equipped with AI ability, supports Midea with features such as a chatbot, linguistic analytics, and knowledge base searching; thereby, enhancing Midea's service levels. AWS has global infrastructure for any business to establish a global footprint, global best practices to benefit local customers, and unmatched breadth and depth of services and features. The collaboration with SAIC Motor's overseas entity and Midea sets a precedent for companies going global: choosing a reliable cloud offering is particularly important. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/innovation-driving-china-experience-going-global-with-amazon-web-services-301998758.html SOURCE AWS BENGBU, China , Nov. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The 3rd International New Materials Industry Conference held in Bengbu, Anhui Province attracted many participants, where various cutting-edge new materials were unveiled, and new scenes, market segments and trends of the new materials industry were displayed, according to the Publicity Department of the CPC Bengbu Municipal Committee. Among others, bio-based materials made from corn and straw by BBCA Group are quite noteworthy. These materials mark technical breakthroughs in the core process of polylactic acid preparation and full-chain use of straw covering sugar, polylactic acid, and related products. Being environmentally friendly, they have an advantage in clothing, tableware, wall panels etc. Another eye-catching material is nano ceramic aluminum alloy developed by the Anhui (Huaibei) Ceramic-Aluminum New Materials Research Institute of Shanghai Jiaotong University. Nano ceramic aluminum alloy features high strength, high toughness and fatigue resistance, which make it suitable for national defense, aerospace, lightweight automotive structures and more. Supported by rapid advancements and innovations, the new materials industry will lead global technological and industrial transformations. As the demand for sustainable development continues to grow, the demand for new materials will continue to increase. Products, technologies and models based on or related to new materials will be constantly updated. These innovations will provide huge impetus for green development. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/insights-into-the-3rd-international-new-materials-industry-conference-301998546.html SOURCE Publicity Department of the CPC Bengbu Municipal Committee Funding expansion provides unprecedented investment for memorializing a more accurate American story in our public spaces NEW YORK , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Mellon Foundation today announced it has doubled the funding commitment to a total of $500 million for its Monuments Project, which is aimed at transforming the nation's commemorative landscape to ensure our collective histories are more completely and accurately represented. This unprecedented investment underscores Mellon's commitment to leverage the power of the arts, culture and humanities to create more just communities. "The project of transforming our commemorative landscape is the work of more than one generation," Elizabeth Alexander Mellon's expanded investment comes at a critical time in our nation's history with book banning and criminalization of knowledge increasing in schools, universities, and libraries across the country. By committing $500 million the largest such commitment in the Foundation's history Mellon aims to expand capacity for the continued creation of and community engagement around new monuments and commemorative spaces that tell of our shared past and collective futures. "The project of transforming our commemorative landscape is the work of more than one generation," said Elizabeth Alexander , president of the Mellon Foundation. "Our $500 million commitment to the Monuments Project reflects both the urgency and the gravity of fostering more complete and inclusive storytelling of who we are as Americans. We stand at the beginning of this significant collective effort to make sure that our public spaces convey the truth about our history and shift who has the power to shape our present and our future." Launched in 2020 with a $250 million commitment, the initiative has since provided more than $170 million in critical funding to an expansive slate of 80 projects . Projects span the memorialization of lesser-known events, the preservation of archival materials and historical sites, a reexamination of the very ways in which we talk about civic spaces and geographies, and foster more representative participation in the creation of our nation's commemorative sites and practices. The National Monument Audita 2021 study undertaken with Mellon support by non-profit public art and history studio Monument Labconfirms the nation's commemorative landscape disproportionately venerates a limited few, mostly white and male, while overlooking many who have profoundly shaped our society but are frequently denied historical recognition. In just three years, the Monuments Project has supported projects that showcase the evolving nature of monuments within our cultural imagination, as well as the continued urgency of their respective work as a means of ensuring a more just and equitable future. Highlights of major projects and milestones since 2020 include: Bureau of Indian Affairs ( Washington, DC ) - Bureau of Indian Affairs , which is part of the US Department of the Interior , will receive Mellon funding to establish an oral history project as part of the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative. This first-of-its-kind undertaking for the US government will encompass the collection of oral history from Indigenous survivors of the Federal Indian boarding school system, as well as establishing a permanent collection for related artifacts, collected oral histories, and other work to memorialize the era of Federal Indian boarding schoolsand the Federal government's role in establishing the systemin American history. - , which is part of the , will receive Mellon funding to establish an oral history project as part of the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative. This first-of-its-kind undertaking for the US government will encompass the collection of oral history from Indigenous survivors of the Federal Indian boarding school system, as well as establishing a permanent collection for related artifacts, collected oral histories, and other work to memorialize the era of Federal Indian boarding schoolsand the Federal government's role in establishing the systemin American history. Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument ( Tallahatchie, MS and Chicago, IL ) - Mellon has provided substantial support to a network of organizations working to interpret and commemorate Emmett Till's life and legacy. These include the Emmett Till Interpretive Center (ETIC) in Tallahatchie, Mississippi ; the National Trust for Historic Preservation African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund , and the National Park Foundation ; the National Park Foundation , who partnered with ETIC and other organizations to facilitate the creation of a new, multi-site National Park Service site in Tallahatchie County, MS and Chicago, IL ; and the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Institute , which is leading efforts to preserve and interpret Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Chicago , where Till's open-casket funeral was held. - Mellon has provided substantial support to a network of organizations working to interpret and commemorate life and legacy. These include the (ETIC) in ; the , and the ; the , who partnered with and other organizations to facilitate the creation of a new, multi-site site in and ; and the , which is leading efforts to preserve and interpret in , where Till's open-casket funeral was held. The Great Wall of Los Angeles ( Los Angeles, CA ) - The Social and Public Art Resource Center received Mellon funding to support the preservation, activation, and expansion of artist Judy Baca's Great Wall of Los Angeles , one of the country's largest monuments to interracial harmony through civic engagement and muralist training. - The Social and received Mellon funding to support the preservation, activation, and expansion of artist Great Wall of , one of the country's largest monuments to interracial harmony through civic engagement and muralist training. Harriet Tubman and Underground Railroad Monument ( Newark, NJ ) - Newark Arts Council received Mellon funding to commission and construct a new monument to honor the legacy of Harriet Tubman , the city's role in the Underground Railroad , and Newark's legacy of Black activism. - Newark Arts Council received Mellon funding to commission and construct a new monument to honor the legacy of , the city's role in the , and legacy of Black activism. Irei Names ( Los Angeles, CA ) The University of Southern California received Mellon funding to support the creation of the Irei Names Monument. The Monument comprises a sacred book of namesa comprehensive, accurate list of the names of all those of Japanese ancestry whom the US government incarcerated during World War IIthat will be housed at institutions across the country, an interactive website, and innovative light installation memorials that will be displayed at former incarceration sites around the country. The received Mellon funding to support the creation of the Irei Names Monument. The Monument comprises a sacred book of namesa comprehensive, accurate list of the names of all those of Japanese ancestry whom the US government incarcerated during World War IIthat will be housed at institutions across the country, an interactive website, and innovative light installation memorials that will be displayed at former incarceration sites around the country. Kinfolk Foundation ( New York, NY ) - Kinfolk received Mellon funding to support the development of the Kinfolk Augmented Reality Monuments app and archive, including the commissioning of artists, from across the US, to create 100 AR monuments. - Kinfolk received Mellon funding to support the development of the Kinfolk Augmented Reality Monuments app and archive, including the commissioning of artists, from across the US, to create 100 AR monuments. Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), "Monumental Perspectives" ( Los Angeles, CA ) - LACMA received Mellon funding to support the curation, community engagement, and related public programming for LACMA's collaboration with Snap Inc. to develop augmented-reality monuments and murals led by local artists and technologists. The program is an effort to celebrate the region's diversity and use AR technology to reflect the inclusive perspectives from local communities that are often untold. The virtual monuments were available through the Snapchat app, and the grant also supports the expansion of Monumental Perspectives to include additional artists in the coming years. - LACMA received Mellon funding to support the curation, community engagement, and related public programming for LACMA's collaboration with Snap Inc. to develop augmented-reality monuments and murals led by local artists and technologists. The program is an effort to celebrate the region's diversity and use AR technology to reflect the inclusive perspectives from local communities that are often untold. The virtual monuments were available through the app, and the grant also supports the expansion of Monumental Perspectives to include additional artists in the coming years. A Monument to Listening ( Memphis, TN ) - The Memphis River Parks Partnership received Mellon funding to support the redesign of Tom Lee Park , including the installation of A Monument to Listening, an interactive installation that serves as a reflection on the heroism of Tom Lee a Black river worker who saved 32 people from the river after a steamboat capsized, designed by artist Theaster Gates . - The Memphis River Parks Partnership received Mellon funding to support the redesign of , including the installation of A Monument to Listening, an interactive installation that serves as a reflection on the heroism of Tom Lee a Black river worker who saved 32 people from the river after a steamboat capsized, designed by artist . Public Memory in Richmond ( Richmond, VA ) - Several Richmond-based organizations and projects received Mellon funding to support their work examining, preserving and reimagining the city's rich historical narratives. Grantees include: The City of Richmond , which is leading planning, development, and initial operations of a cultural space located at the historic Shockoe Bottom train shed that memorializes and commemorates the history of slavery in Richmond . The JXN Project , a non-profit preservation organization pursuing redemptive storytelling around the pivotal role of Richmond particularly Jackson Ward , the nation's first historically registered Black urban neighborhood in the evolution of the national Black American experience. The Valentine Museum , which is developing research and educational experiences that tell a more honest history of both the Richmond region and the museum itself. This includes reimagining the studio of the museum's namesake, Edward Valentine , a sculptor whose work propped up the "Lost Cause" myth; reinterpreting the Wickham House, a former site of enslavement; and providing a deeper understanding of the Jim Crow era through public programming and online resources. Reclaiming the Monument to support its "Recontextualizing Richmond" public art project a series of temporary light-based artworks addressing issues of historical, racial, and social justice in the city of Richmond, Virginia and the surrounding capital region. - Several Richmond-based organizations and projects received Mellon funding to support their work examining, preserving and reimagining the city's rich historical narratives. Grantees include: The Sacred Red Rock (I'zhuje'waxobe) ( Lawrence, KS ) - The University of Kansas received Mellon funding to support the I'zhuje'waxobe project, covering the significant cost to safely relocate the Sacred Red Rock, a 25-ton stone of deep spiritual and cultural significance to the Kanza people of the Kaw Nation, and to prepare the site to receive it, as well as support programming celebrating its return. - The University of received Mellon funding to support the I'zhuje'waxobe project, covering the significant cost to safely relocate the Sacred Red Rock, a 25-ton stone of deep spiritual and cultural significance to the Kanza people of the Kaw Nation, and to prepare the site to receive it, as well as support programming celebrating its return. The Totem Pole Trail (Kooteeyaa Deiyi) ( Juneau, AK ) - The Sealaska Heritage Institute received Mellon funding to support commissioning Native artists in several Southeast Alaska communities to create ten totem poles for installation along the two-mile public waterfront of downtown Juneau, Alaska . The totem poles convey the history of tribes and individual clans and their relationship to the land, seas, and universe. - received Mellon funding to support commissioning Native artists in several communities to create ten totem poles for installation along the two-mile public waterfront of downtown . The totem poles convey the history of tribes and individual clans and their relationship to the land, seas, and universe. The Trust for the National Mall ( Washington, DC ) - The Trust for the National Mall (TNM), nonprofit partner of the National Park Service (NPS), received Mellon funding to support the 2023 exhibition Beyond Granite , a set of six dynamic installations on the National Mall . The temporary exhibition, curated by Monument Lab and executed in partnership with the National Capital Planning Commission as well as TNM and NPS explored expressions of a more inclusive, equitable, and representative commemorative landscape in the nation's public square. Participating artists included Ashon Crawley , Derrick Adams , Paul Ramirez Jonas, Tiffany Chung , vanessa german, and Wendy Red Star . - (TNM), nonprofit partner of the (NPS), received Mellon funding to support the 2023 exhibition , a set of six dynamic installations on the . The temporary exhibition, curated by and executed in partnership with the as well as TNM and NPS explored expressions of a more inclusive, equitable, and representative commemorative landscape in the nation's public square. Participating artists included , , Paul Ramirez Jonas, , vanessa german, and . Washington National Cathedral's The Now and Forever Windows ( Washington DC ) - The Washington National Cathedral received Mellon funding to support the commissioning of The Now and Forever Windows, transformative racial justice-themed stained-glass windows, created by artist Kerry James Marshall , replacing windows depicting confederate leaders, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson . To learn more about Mellon's Monuments Project, please visit mellon.org/article/the-monuments-project-initiative. About The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is the nation's largest supporter of the arts and humanities. Since 1969, the Foundation has been guided by its core belief that the humanities and arts are essential to human understanding. The Foundation believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom that can be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. Learn more at mellon.org . View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mellon-foundation-announces-half-billion-dollar-monuments-project-commitment-doubling-total-funding-to-reimagine-the-nations-commemorative-landscape-301999556.html SOURCE The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Industry Veteran Established and Designed Virtual Kitchens Around the World ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Nala Robotics, an AI technology company revolutionizing the culinary industry, today announced the appointment of Massimo Noja De Marco as chairman to its strategic advisory board. The restaurant concept innovator has established business ties with emerging and major brands, such as Chick-Fil-A, White Castle , Pokeworks, Wetzel's Pretzels and Halal Guys. He also has helped raise tens of millions of dollars in venture capital for his own businesses and others, attracting financial backers including GV, formerly known as Google Ventures. "Nala Robotics welcomes Massimo as chairman to our strategic advisory board," said founder and CEO Ajay Sunkara . "His wealth of knowledge, expertise in automation, robotics and AI, as well as his global connections and business acumen, will prove immeasurable to lead our advisory board as we execute on the next phase of our growth strategy." In February, De Marco was appointed CEO of Ghost Kitchen Brands America , which prepares and distributes food items from well-known restaurant brands, such as Cinnabon, MrBeast Burger, Nathan's Hot Dogs, Salad Works and The Cheesecake Factory, among others. He also established Kitchen United in 2017, driving design innovation and some of the first concepts for virtual restaurants. "I am thrilled to join Nala Robotics and look forward to working with management to take the company to the next level," said De Marco. "I have been impressed by Nala Robotics' technology, innovations and adoption in restaurant kitchens across the country and plan to leverage my industry experience to keep the momentum going." Prior to launching Kitchen United, De Marco owned and operated PH+E, a boutique consulting firm specializing in opening restaurants, hotels and bars across the U.S. , Mexico and Europe . He also owned and operated restaurants in New York City and Los Angeles and served as vice president of operations at Wolfgang Puck Catering and Events, overseeing major events and awards shows such as the Academy Awards. Massimo was named among the top ten of Nation's Restaurant News' 2020 "Power List" of business leaders bringing game changing solutions and unrivaled creativity to the restaurant industry. He also was voted in Nation's Restaurant News' "Readers Pick" as one of 2021's "Most Influential Restaurant CEOs in America." De Marco previously served on the board of directors of Miso Robotics, and as an advisor at OrderMark, ROBOjuice, Babylon Micro Farms and Nurish. About Nala Robotics Nala Robotics is an AI technology company disrupting the culinary industry with the introduction of The Wingman, Pizzaiola, Nala Chef , Bowl Bot and Sandwich Bot. Its fully automated, customizable robots use machine learning to cook infinite recipes replicated with exact precision anytime, anywhere. The company's autonomous robotic solutions are ideal for multiple cuisines including American, Chinese, Indian and Thai. Based in Arlington Heights, Ill. , Nala Robotics has offices in California , India and Ukraine . For more information, visit https://nalarobotics.com/ or follow the company on LinkedIn and X @nalarobotics. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nala-robotics-appoints-massimo-noja-de-marco-as-chairman-to-its-strategic-advisory-board-301998693.html SOURCE Nala Robotics New nnSR (netnumber Services Registry) Innovations Provide U.S.Telecom Providers, Brands and Financial Institutions With Real-Time Phone Number Protection and Monitoring To Mitigate Fraud BOSTON , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As the communications ecosystem strengthens its defenses against messaging fraud, netnumber Global Data Services , the world-leading provider of phone number intelligence data, announces the launch of Number Lock and Number Watch. These two robust services were developed to help defend telecom providers, financial institutions and other enterprises against sophisticated acts of organized messaging fraud while furthering recent regulatory initiatives to safeguard text messaging. Offered through the netnumber Services Registry (nnSR), an industry registry launched and managed by netnumber GDS and a critical piece of the U.S. message routing infrastructure, the new services include sought-after security measures and real-time monitoring to deter brand impersonation and other emerging U.S. text messaging crimes. Number Lock increases security for enterprises by restricting text messaging on customer-specified 10-digit non-mobile numbers upon the request of the subscriber to the number. With Number Lock, enterprises can secure their brand and prevent fraudsters from using well-known business phone numbers via text messaging to gain a victim's trust. "Highly organized, sophisticated fraudsters are attempting to hijack recognized phone numbers of brands and financial institutions and using them to communicate with end-user victims to extort them via text messaging," said Catalin Badea , VP of Product Management at netnumber GDS. "In this scheme, fraudsters may target phone numbers trusted by a customer base, such as call center or emergency numbers used to report a stolen credit card. The unsuspecting victims believe they are engaging with real brand representatives and are persuaded to divulge account passwords and sensitive information, make purchases or transfer money," Badea explained. With Number Lock: A customer's specified 10-digit non-mobile numbers will have a strict no-texting status, making them virtually impossible to target. Customers will receive regular reports on text-enablement requests for their numbers. Do Not Originate requirements, which help enterprises inform the industry of their non-text-enabled phone numbers, will also be supported by the service. Number Watch, the company's other new innovation, is a comprehensive phone number monitoring solution for telecom providers, financial institutions and enterprises. Number Watch stores customer-specified phone numbers on a watchlist continually monitored for a wide range of events and activities by netnumber GDS. The customer is immediately informed if any monitored events are observed on watchlist phone numbers. "Essentially, Number Watch allows our customers to be alerted to events in real time, helping them detect any potential fraudulent activity," Badea added. Steve Legge , President and CEO of netnumber GDS, said he believes the two new timely services are critical for the U.S. telecom industry, which is working with customers and government regulators to protect consumers from communications fraud. "We continue to invest heavily in creating innovative services that provide creative and novel ways to undercut communications fraudsters, protecting our customers, partners and the industry as a whole," comments Legge. To learn more about Number Lock or Number Watch, visit netnumber.com/number-watch and netnumber.com/number-lock . About netnumber Global Data Services netnumber Global Data Services is the world-leading provider of phone number intelligence data, recognized in Inc. magazine's prestigious Power Partner Awards in the Communications Platform category. At the forefront of telecommunications for over two decades, the company delivers market-leading real-time number data and routing solutions to Enterprises as well as Messaging and Communication Service Providers, powering communication networks globally, strengthening security and combating fraud. By integrating its comprehensive collection of global number databases, netnumber Services Registry, and other data sets, netnumber Global Data Services provides an unparalleled range of solutions that underpin number portability, routing and billing of voice and data services. To learn more about netnumber Global Data Services, visit netnumber.com or follow the company on LinkedIn , X or Facebook . Media Contact for netnumber Global Data Services Jaymie Scotto & Associates (JSA) [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/netnumber-global-data-services-launches-number-lock-and-number-watch-to-deliver-leading-edge-protection-against-brand-impersonation-and-fraudulent-messaging-activities-301999450.html SOURCE netnumber Global Data Services MIAMI BEACH, Fla. , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Netrality Data Centers, the largest, privately held owner and operator of core interconnection facilities in the U.S. announced it has secured a $380 million sustainability-linked credit facility ("SLL"). J.P. Morgan acted as the Administrative Agent, Joint Bookrunner and Joint Lead Arranger while Societe Generale and TD Securities (USA) LLC acted as Joint Bookrunners, Joint Lead Arrangers and Sustainability Structuring Agents. In addition, Huntington Bank acted as Managing Agent. Goldman Sachs was also a lender in the facility. The SLL will fuel data center expansion projects that embody sustainable designs and implement infrastructural measures to support the reduction of power usage effectiveness ("PUE") levels across Netrality's portfolio. The SLL is comprised of a $125 million initial term loan, a $145 million revolving credit facility, and a $110 million delayed draw term loan. Interest payments on the SLL are adjusted based on Netrality achieving annual targets related to energy-efficient capital expenditures and reduction in portfolio PUE, which will be externally verified by third parties. The SLL reinforces Netrality's mission to enhance the energy efficiency of its existing data halls and sustainably add new data halls equipped with robust network architectures and energy-efficient infrastructure that meets critical power utilization goals. Qualifying capital expenditures defined in the SLL will support the sustainable buildout of new data halls with a design PUE of less than or equal to 1.5. Cognizant of the environmental impact of its operations, Netrality will also allocate funds toward advancing existing data halls with state-of-the-art technologies and energy-efficient upgrades to optimize power consumption and lower current PUE levels. Sustainability initiatives will include advanced waterless cooling and liquid cooling technologies, artificial intelligence "AI" enabled cooling software, high-efficiency UPS and electrical distribution upgrades, renewable energy purchases, and smart LED lighting to drive greater environmentally responsible energy usage. Gerald M. Marshall , President and Chief Executive Officer of Netrality, said, "We are thrilled to announce the successful closing of a sustainability-linked loan, marking a significant milestone in our journey toward a more sustainable future. With this loan, we are making a significant step in accomplishing our broader environmental commitments, encompassing carbon emission reductions, energy efficiency, and responsible water usage. In addition to refinancing a portion of our existing debt facilities, the loan plays a pivotal role in enabling the expansion of our portfolio meeting the ever-growing demands for capacity and connectivity in an environmentally conscious manner." Josh Maes , Chief Operating Officer of Netrality added, "The objectives outlined in the sustainability-linked loan align seamlessly with our broader environmental, social, and governance ("ESG") strategies implemented to support the sustainability initiatives of our stakeholders, from our valued customers to our debt and equity investors. This commitment underscores our dedication to operate in harmony with ESG principles and prioritize our environmental stewardship." Lana Feteiha, of Societe Generale's Sustainable Finance team said, "This was an especially gratifying deal for Societe Generale to work on, partnering with a leading data center company on a financing solution that will spur the expansion of critical technology infrastructure in a more energy efficient, sustainable manner." "TD Securities was pleased to support Netrality as a Sustainability Structuring Agent on the sustainability-linked credit facility. Decarbonization of digital infrastructure is critical to advancing the low-carbon economy and Netrality's commitment to creating sustainable data center environments furthers this objective," Amy West , Global Head of ESG Solutions, TD Securities, commented. The SLL marks Netrality's second sustainability-focused loan. On January 11 th, 2023, Netrality announced it secured a $45 million construction loan with Oakwood Bank as Administrative Agent, Sole Lead Arranger, and Sole Bookrunner, along with Blue Sky Bank and Bank Midwest. The loan supports the construction, which has been designed for energy and water conservation, at Netrality's KC2-7801 Nieman Road facility in Shawnee, Kansas. Netrality's facilities are located where the densest long-haul fiber optic networks and metro-fiber intersect offering customers interconnectivity, rapid data transmission, network diversity, and global reach. The recent sustainability-linked financing expands Netrality's ability to deliver always-on connectivity for latency-sensitive, mission-critical businesses within an environmentally conscious framework. Andrew Weisberg , Kerrick Seay , and Chiara Eramo of White & Case LLP, represented Netrality Data Centers in the transaction. Stephen Miklus , Skip Sullivan , and Heena Wozny of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP represented the lenders under the SLL. About Netrality Data Centers Netrality Data Centers owns and operates strategic interconnection data centers and Meet Me Rooms, providing a mix of colocation, powered shell, and wholesale data center solutions driven by fiber-dense, network-rich interconnection environments. Today, Netrality's eighteen properties span 3.3 million square feet and over 100 megawatts of capacity across North America . Well-capitalized with a long-term investment from Macquarie Asset Management, Netrality is the largest privately held owner-operator of core interconnection facilities in the United States . Netrality acquires strategically located core network interconnection data centers that provide best in market network resiliency, ensuring always-on connectivity for latency-sensitive and mission-critical businesses. For more information: www.netrality.com, LinkedIn, Twitter. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/netrality-data-centers-secures-380m-sustainability-linked-loan-to-support-energy-efficiency-301995308.html SOURCE Netrality Data Centers COMPREHENSIVE PRIMARY CARE, URGENT CARE, IMAGING & LABS AVAILABLE NOW AT CONVENIENT SIXES ROAD LOCATION CANTON, Ga. , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The city of Canton has long been known for its desirable location in northwest Georgia ; nestled between the peaceful foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains and the city life of Atlanta . The blending of some of the best Georgia has to offer happens right here, and the newest business to call Canton home is no exception. Aylo Health, the major healthcare provider in south metro Atlanta , has opened the doors of their newest location right here in Canton . Aylo Health is known for their mission to redefine and simplify healthcare by blending the very best in patient care with services and hours that are more convenient for patients than traditional primary care. The new Aylo Health Primary Care at Canton , Sixes Road office offers extended hours, weekend and urgent care appointments, in-house labs, x-rays, and imaging services to best serve their patients' needs. "It's exciting to see so many of our patients' needs being met in one office" Tim Reichert , Vice President of Marketing for Aylo Health commented about the Canton location. "We're bringing together board-certified and knowledgeable doctors, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants that our patients can trust and giving them on-site access to the state-of-the-art tools they need!" As a busy community of growing families and young professionals as well as the home of many retirees, the diverse Canton community will be able to take full advantage of this new medical office open 7 days a week, with extended hours and same-day appointments. Aylo Health believes that when patients need urgent care they should go to the doctors who know their health history and won't rush through an appointment. Primary Care at Canton , Sixes Road practices a team-based care model. This means all the Aylo Health healthcare professionals are working together to provide comprehensive coordinated care. During the upcoming winter months, with cold and flu, many Canton residents are sure to find this level of access to care a timely and welcomed addition to the community! " Canton welcomes new businesses like Aylo Health that make it their mission to care for our residents and to give back to our community" Canton Mayor Bill Grant responded to the Aylo Health Primary Care at Canton opening. Aylo Health has online appointment booking available for new and existing patients as well as booking by phone. Please visit https://aylohealth.com/location/north-atlanta/primary-care-at-canton-sixes-rd/ to book online or call 470-369-9743. Aylo Health Primary Care at Canton | 3290 Sixes Rd , Canton, GA 30114 Office Hours: Monday-Thursday | 8:00 am - 7:00 pm Friday | 8:00 am - 5:00 pm Saturday | 9:00 am - 5:00 pm Sunday | 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm CONTACT: Tim Reichert Vice President of Marketing (770) 914-0116 x 11820 View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-aylo-health-primary-care-at-canton-sixes-road-now-open-301998570.html SOURCE Aylo Health Global library technology leader takes first place among midsize organizations for the second consecutive year DUBLIN, Ohio , Nov. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- OCLC , the leading library technology and research organization, has been named the best place to work in IT among midsize global organizations on Computerworld's 2024 Best Places to Work in IT annual list. It is the second consecutive year that OCLC has been recognized as best in its class. With its staff of 1,200 worldwide, OCLC placed first in the category of midsize employers (1,001 to 4,999 employees). OCLC also placed first in its class for diversity strategies programs, and benefits This is the 14th time that OCLC has been selected among Computerworld's top workplaces for information technology (IT) professionals. The recognition is part of the IT publication's annual selection of the Best Places to Work in IT. While in past years the survey has been offered only to U.S. -based companies, the last two years Computerworld welcomed participation by organizations worldwide. "It is truly an honor to be named the top IT workplace in Computerworld's global survey for the second consecutive year," said Skip Prichard , OCLC President and CEO. "We never take this recognition for granted. We always strive to create a culture and environment in which our associates can thrive. We share a steadfast commitment to providing the technologies libraries need to serve their communities. That mission is what drives us as an organization. And it is the talented people who share that commitment that make OCLC a wonderful place to work." Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio , OCLC provides state-of-the-art technologies and services, research, and community programs to libraries of all types and sizes. Together, thousands of OCLC member libraries in more than 100 countries support access to the world's collected knowledge. WorldCat, the world's most comprehensive online resource for finding library materials, is among many services provided by OCLC. Anyone can search the collections of thousands of libraries through WorldCat.org . In addition to placing first overall in the midsize category, OCLC placed first for its diversity strategies programs, first for its exceptional benefits, seventh for hybrid work experience, and ninth for IT growth. "For decades, OCLC has made a conscious and consistent effort to support a diverse and inclusive workplace," said Tammi Spayde , OCLC Vice President, Purpose, People, and Place. "We are committed to providing the best environment possible to help people succeed and grow in the workplace, and the flexibility and benefits to help us outside of work. Each day, we are united in our efforts to create technology with a purpose to fulfill our mission to serve libraries and library users." The Best Places to Work in IT list is an annual ranking of the top work environments for technology professionals by Computerworld. The list is compiled based on a survey of company attributes in categories such as benefits, career development, compensation, DEI, future of work, training, and retention. In addition, the rankings are reviewed and vetted by a panel of industry experts. More about careers at OCLC is on the OCLC website. About Computerworld Computerworld is the leading technology media brand empowering enterprise users and their managers, helping them create business advantage by skillfully exploiting today's abundantly powerful web, mobile, and desktop applications. Computerworld also offers guidance to IT managers tasked with optimizing client systemsand helps businesses revolutionize the customer and employee experience with new collaboration platforms. Computerworld's award-winning website (www.computerworld.com), strategic marketing solutions and research form the hub of the world's largest global IT media network and provides opportunities for IT vendors to engage this audience. Computerworld is published by IDG. Communications, Inc. Company information is available at www.idg.com . About OCLC OCLC is a nonprofit global library organization that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs so that libraries can better fuel learning, research, and innovation. Through OCLC, member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat , the most comprehensive global network of data about library collections and services. Libraries gain efficiencies through OCLC's WorldShare , a complete set of library management applications and services built on an open, cloud-based platform. It is through collaboration and sharing of the world's collected knowledge that libraries can help people find answers they need to solve problems. Together as OCLC, member libraries, staff, and partners make breakthroughs possible. OCLC, WorldCat and WorldShare are trademarks and/or service marks of OCLC, Inc. Third-party product, service and business names are trademarks and/or service marks of their respective owners. For more information: Contact Bob Murphy at [email protected] or +1-614-761-5136 View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/oclc-named-best-place-to-work-in-it-by-computerworld-301998467.html SOURCE OCLC 303-unit Luxury Multifamily Community in Knoxville, TN trades for $120.7M KNOXVILLE, Tenn. , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Passco Companies, a privately held California -based commercial real estate company that specializes in acquisition, development, and property and asset management throughout the U.S. , in conjunction with its joint venture partner, Greystone, a national commercial real estate finance and investment company, has acquired One Riverwalk, a 303-unit luxury apartment community completed in 2019 and located within Knox County in the Knoxville, TN MSA. The property is 97% occupied. "One Riverwalk is a one-of-a-kind generational opportunity to own and one of the best assets in the state of Tennessee ." Through a long-term relationship with Augusta -based Southeastern, the developer of One Riverwalk, Passco was able to negotiate the direct purchase of the property, which represents the third direct transaction between the two firms since 2019. The total consideration of transactions between Passco and Southeastern has now exceeded $250MM. The other two assets include Grand Oaks at Crane Creek in Augusta, GA and One Hampton Lake in Bluffton, SC . The purchase was subject to the assumption of a 10-year, $64 .29MM Freddie Mac loan bearing a 3.12% fixed rate with over 3 years interest only periods remaining. The loan assumption was key to both firms finding mutually beneficial motivations to transact, during a time where multifamily transactions are down nationally nearly 75% since last year. Passco was very attracted to the opportunity to expand their holdings in the Knoxville market and has experienced tremendous success from their performance of their other two multifamily assets in the market, Tapestry Turkey Creek and Trustwell Living of West Knoxville . Both assets have been outsized performers within Passco's $4 billion portfolio. According to Colin Gillis , Senior Vice President of Acquisitions at Passco, "One Riverwalk has exhibited phenomenal performance metrics since reaching stabilization in 2020 which underscores how special the asset and location are. Apartment fundamentals within the Knoxville MSA are some of the strongest in the country and have remained consistently robust in a time where there has been significant softness across the rental sector nationally." "One Riverwalk is a one-of-a-kind generational opportunity to own what is arguably one of the best assets in one of the best locations in the state of Tennessee . The property has an unbelievable setting overlooking the Tennessee river and can be seen from nearly all parts of downtown. Having been built on top of the former abandoned Baptist Hospital in an underutilized blighted pocket of town, the property single handedly transformed the south side of Knoxville into a burgeoning hub of exciting new developments. Southeastern had tremendous vision when they undertook this project and the impact that One Riverwalk had on the immediate area has been truly phenomenal", explains Gillis. "We're thrilled to partner with Passco on this transaction. The ongoing collaboration serves as a testament to our relationship and further demonstrates our ability to execute within these market conditions," said Stanley Wuu , Director, Greystone, who works closely with Passco to help grow a portfolio of attractive multifamily investments for the two companies' joint venture DST platform. This waterfront property sits upon 3.35 acres boasting views of Downtown Knoxville . One Riverwalk is comprised of two 5-story residential buildings offering a mix of studio, 1, 2-bedroom units averaging 884 square feet. Each unit is modern with quartz countertops, luxury faux wood flooring, tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances, full lighting packages and beautiful views of the Tennessee River . The community is just a bridge away from everything and located at 151 E. Blount Ave. Knoxville, TN. About Passco Companies Passco Companies, LLC is a nationally recognized market leader in the acquisition, development, and management of multifamily and commercial properties throughout the U.S. Passco offers a full set of real estate services including asset and property management, leasing, as well as property development and construction. Headquartered in Irvine, California , Passco currently has $4 billion assets under management across the country and is actively growing its portfolio in primary and secondary markets throughout the United States. For more information, visit www.passco.com. About Greystone Greystone is a private national commercial real estate finance and investment company with an established reputation as a leader in multifamily and healthcare finance, having ranked as a top FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac lender in these sectors. Loans are offered through Greystone Servicing Company LLC, Greystone Funding Company LLC and/or other Greystone affiliates. For more information, visit www.greystone.com . Contact: Stacy Stemen Passco Companies 949-375-5213 [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/passco-closes-on-largest-apartment-acquisition-in-passco-history-301995347.html SOURCE PASSCO COMPANIES George Balanchine's holiday tradition returns to the Philadelphia Ballet December 8-30 with presenting sponsor, Independence Blue Cross PHILADELPHIA , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Philadelphia Ballet proudly presents the return of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, a dazzling holiday classic featuring over 170 dancers, and many other artists including those of the Philadelphia Ballet Orchestra who bring Tchaikovsky 's score to life at every performance. The Nutcracker opens December 8 and runs through December 30 at the Academy of Music. This season's run of 31 performances includes a student performance ( December 14 at 11a.m. ) and a sensory friendly performance ( December 26 at noon). The Nutcracker is one of the company's most enchanting productions and is also one of the most complex ballets in the company's repertoire. Tickets, starting at $25 for all performances and just $10 for opening night, are now available at philadelphiaballet.org . "The Nutcracker is our company's largest and most dazzling production, featuring 47 company dancers and 130 students from the School of Philadelphia Ballet, School of Philadelphia Ballet New Jersey , and the Metropolitan Ballet Academy, in more than150 breathtaking costumes," said Angel Corella , The Ruth & A. Morris Williams , Jr. Artistic Director. "There is so much that goes into each performance and our entire company, from the Principal dancers to our youngest students, work extremely hard to bring the magic of The Nutcracker to life for our audiences. With hundreds of roles, exquisite set designs and mesmerizing music, there's something new to discover in every performance." The 2023 Philadelphia Ballet production of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker is made possible by Independence Blue Cross. "Philadelphia Ballet's presentation of The Nutcracker is a cultural staple of the holiday season in the city," said Gregory E. Deavens , president and CEO of Independence Blue Cross. "As the region's hometown health insurer for 85 years, Independence Blue Cross is proud to be a long-standing supporter of the Philadelphia Ballet and the presenting sponsor for this treasured tradition." Philadelphia Ballet and Independence Blue Cross hosted a special holiday event at IBX headquarters on Market Street to celebrate the official start of the holiday season and the 55th year of Philadelphia Ballet's presentation of The Nutcracker. Attendees were treated to a special pop-up appearance from popular characters the 'Nutcracker' Snowflakes and the Mouse King. They also enjoyed a hot chocolate bar and Nutcracker-themed cookies. At the event, Mike Sullivan, executive vice president and president, Diversified Markets for Independence Blue Cross, and member of the Philadelphia Ballet Board of Trustees, shared why the relationship is so special: "At Independence Blue Cross, we understand the key role that the arts can play in strengthening our social and cultural connections. Through this sponsorship with the Philadelphia Ballet, Independence once again demonstrates our on-going commitment to prioritizing the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of the community." George Balanchine's grand spectacle, The Nutcracker, has captivated generations of audiences with resplendent costumes, opulent sets, and spectacular choreography. Set to Tchaikovsky 's score, The Nutcracker follows Marie on a night of adventure as she is transported from her bedroom to The Land of Sweets, a magical wonderland where flowers waltz, snowflakes twirl, and enchanted toys transform into handsome princes. A cherished holiday tradition, this is a story beloved by all ages. "It's always our goal to find connection and spread joy through dance. It's heartwarming to see so many families and friends come together over the holidays to enjoy The Nutcracker year after year," said Shelly Power , The Dr. Carolyn Newsom Executive Director. "We're honored to be a part of the special traditions and everlasting memories of so many." For more information about The Nutcracker, related events and the other productions of Philadelphia Ballet's 2023/2024 60th anniversary season, please visit philadelphiaballet.org . About Philadelphia Ballet Founded in 1963 by Barbara Weisberger , a protege of George Balanchine, Philadelphia Ballet is one of the nation's premier ballet companies and a true cultural treasure of Philadelphia . Furthering a nearly sixty-year artistic lineage in Philadelphia , The Ruth & A. Morris Williams , Jr. Artistic Director Angel Corella leads an ensemble of 48 dancers from around the world and an ever-evolving repertoire of classic and contemporary works. The Dr. Carolyn Newsom Executive Director Shelly Power spearheads development and strategic plans to strengthen and expand the company's presence and impact locally, nationally, and internationally. Recognized as one of the top ten ballet companies in the United States , Philadelphia Ballet's 33-member Board of Trustees is led by local business leader and philanthropist David F. Hoffman . In addition to its performances on the Kimmel Center Cultural Campus, Philadelphia Ballet serves more than 30,000 individuals across the region every year with hands-on arts education and engagement activities brought to children and adults alike regardless of ability or socioeconomic background. For more, visit philadelphiaballet.org or connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Philadelphia Ballet is supported in part by a grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Community & Economic Development and receives support from The Philadelphia Cultural Fund and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. About Independence Blue Cross Independence Blue Cross is the leading health insurance organization in southeastern Pennsylvania . For 85 years, we have been enhancing the health and well-being of the people and communities we serve. We deliver innovative and competitively priced health care products and services; pioneer new ways to reward doctors, hospitals, and other health care professionals for coordinated, quality care; and support programs and events that promote wellness. To learn more, visit ibx.com. Connect with us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Independence Blue Cross is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Media Contacts: Lindsay Doyle For Philadelphia Ballet [email protected] 215-275-6541 Kathleen Conlon Independence Blue Cross [email protected] 267-918-8057 View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/philadelphia-ballet-and-independence-blue-cross-host-a-special-pop-up-event-and-character-appearance-to-officially-kick-off-the-55th-year-of-george-balanchines-the-nutcracker-301999574.html SOURCE Independence Blue Cross Bresler to Executive Vice President, McElwee to Vice President VALLEY FORGE, Pa. , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- President and CEO Manu Asthana announced today a series of organizational changes that will best equip PJM to maintain reliability and security, support competitive markets, and help prepare for the grid of the future. The newly structured Executive Team will see three major changes: Frederick S. "Stu" Bresler is promoted to Executive Vice President Market Services & Strategy, leveraging Bresler's deep expertise in markets along with his experience developing the company's strategic plan. The promotion is effective Nov. 28 . . Steven McElwee is promoted to the new role of Vice President and Chief Security Officer, emphasizing the importance and interconnectedness of physical and cybersecurity in PJM's grid operations. PJM will also launch an executive search for the new role of Executive Vice President Operations, Planning & Security, created to support the expanding complexity of grid operations and planning for a system undergoing significant transition. Bresler Appointed to Executive Vice President Bresler has been instrumental in developing PJM's current strategic plan. In addition, he oversees all aspects of PJM's market functions in his current role of Sr. Vice President Market Services. His responsibilities cover all of the markets operated by PJM, including those for Capacity, Day-Ahead and Real-Time Energy, Ancillary Services, and Financial Transmission Rights, as well as Demand Response operations. He is responsible for the continued evolution of PJM's markets, including the integration of renewable resources and development of performance analytics, while also working with the PJM Executive Team and Board to establish and maintain PJM's forward-looking strategic objectives and track their progress. "Over the years, Stu has helped build many of PJM's markets and has made sure all of PJM's markets are supporting the mission of reliability at the least cost for consumers," Asthana said. "PJM and its stakeholders have come to rely on his expertise, diligence, leadership and his willingness to listen to all viewpoints that can help PJM ensure a reliable energy transition." Bresler started his career at PJM in 1994 as a Professional Engineer supporting System Operations, and he was later responsible for implementing PJM's Demand Response Program and, ultimately, market design for the RTO. Bresler was key in the development of mechanisms by which PJM's operations and markets are coordinated with those of surrounding balancing authorities and regional transmission organizations. "I have seen the power of competitive markets to reinforce grid reliability while controlling costs for consumers and attracting investment in cleaner and more cost-effective generation technologies," Bresler said. "It is a real honor and privilege to be able to help PJM ensure the reliable delivery of electricity through the current transition as our region moves toward a lower-emitting generation fleet." Bresler earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering and a Master of Management in business administration from The Pennsylvania State University. He is chair of the board of APEx (the Association of Power Exchanges), an international organization of electricity and gas market operators, and a former member of the board of directors of Habitat for Humanity of Chester County . Bresler is also on the External Advisory Board for the Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering in the Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. McElwee Promoted to Vice President McElwee assumes the Vice President, Chief Security Officer role effective Jan. 10, 2024 . McElwee has over 15 years of experience in the industry including expertise in cyber threat and risk analysis, security policy development and governance, vulnerability management, security monitoring and response, cyber forensics, security assessments, and IT operations monitoring. "Steve's cyber experience in his current role, coupled with his experience supporting business continuity and recovery, physical security tactics, and NERC CIP compliance, will add tremendous value to the PJM security program," Asthana said. "He has put his stamp on the industry for his ability to heighten awareness and educate employees and stakeholders on security risks and practices." In addition to cybersecurity, McElwee will also have responsibility for Physical Security, Business Continuity, Facilities Services, and Identity & Access Management. McElwee, who holds a Ph.D. in information assurance from Nova Southeastern University, started with PJM in 2008 and has held multiple roles in the organization. "The landscape of threats aimed at the electrical grid continues to increase exponentially, and I'm committed, along with PJM, to meeting this challenge with the resources necessary to keep power flowing for the 65 million people we serve," McElwee said. McElwee will continue to report to Thomas F. O'Brien , Sr. Vice President and Chief Information Officer, until the new Executive Vice President Operations, Planning & Security is announced. EVP Operations, Planning & Security Announced PJM is engaged in a search for a new Executive Vice President Operations, Planning & Security. This important role will continue to focus on reliability, planning for the grid of the future, and operational excellence. In addition, it combines physical security, cybersecurity, Enterprise Information Security, IT Compliance, Business Continuity, and Security Engineering & Architecture in a new division. The search will be handled by Preng & Associates, the world's largest executive search firm dedicated to the energy industry, with a target of having the position filled in the second quarter of 2024. PJM Interconnection, founded in 1927, ensures the reliability of the high-voltage electric power system serving 65 million people in all or parts of Delaware , Illinois , Indiana , Kentucky , Maryland , Michigan , New Jersey , North Carolina , Ohio , Pennsylvania , Tennessee , Virginia , West Virginia and the District of Columbia . PJM coordinates and directs the operation of the region's transmission grid, which includes 88,115 miles of transmission lines; administers a competitive wholesale electricity market; and plans regional transmission expansion improvements to maintain grid reliability and relieve congestion. PJM's regional grid and market operations produce annual savings of $3 .2 billion to $4 billion. For the latest news about PJM, visit PJM Inside Lines at insidelines.pjm.com. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pjm-announces-executive-appointments-301999752.html SOURCE PJM Interconnection Saudi-based Retal Urban Development Company has reached an agreement with Jubail & Yanbu Industrial Cities Services Company (Jabeen) for the design and construction of 897 residential units in Jubail industrial city at a total investment of SAR1.2 buillion ($320 million). As per the deal, the company will also develop primary and secondary infrastructure works for the Jubail industrial city project, writes a TradeArabia staff reporter citing a Retal filing to Saudi bourse Tadawul. This comes in accordance with contracts for purchasing residential units to be signed between Jabeen and the industrial companies operating within Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu Cities through the home ownership programme of those companies, it added. Retal said the entire project work will be completed within 40 months, starting from the date of the land handover by Jabeen. On the financial impact, the Saudi developer said the project is expected to have a positive impact on the company's results during the project development from 2024 to 2027.-TradeArabia News Service The Leading Michigan Retailer has Harvested 87,000 Plants for Medical and Recreational Use Since 2020 HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Mich. , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pleasantrees today announces its 200th cannabis harvest. This milestone comes five years after recreational cannabis sales became legal in the Wolverine State. Founded in 2018, Pleasantrees has been a pioneer since Michigan's green rush began. From the first harvest to today, Pleasantrees has cultivated an impressive 87,000 plants and harvested 26,000 pounds of flower. All cultivation and processing operations occur in the 50,000-square-foot facility in Harrison Township . The facility boasts 25,000 sq. ft. of canopy across its 10 grow rooms. Featuring state-of-the-art equipment, the facility produces the best flower possible. Since its inception, Pleasantrees has not remediated a single gram of flower from its harvest, relying on its precise and intricate attention to detail. The plants are harvested and trimmed by hand, which preserves the quality, longevity, and health of both the plant and flower. Pleasantrees is vertically integrated, packaging goods for sale at its five dispensaries and select wholesalers throughout Michigan . Throughout 200 harvests, Pleasantrees has grown 212 unique strains of cannabis. The strains go by names such as "Grape Gas" and "Lemon Freezee" and accompany an expertly curated retail product selection at Pleasantrees dispensaries. "We take pride in not only offering incredible products but in doing so with no remediation," said Randall Buchman , founder and CEO of Pleasantrees. "Our commitment to quality shows in every batch, from the first to the two hundredth." To commemorate this milestone, Pleasantrees is celebrating with employees and customers in-store the week of November 27 . Learn more about the Pleasantrees cultivation facility: https://enjoypleasantrees.com/cultivation/ . ABOUT PLEASANTREES Pleasantrees is a vertically-integrated, multi-state cannabis company that prides itself on cultivating the highest quality craft cannabis. It is Michigan's leading wholesaler of medical and recreational cannabis and presently operates five retail establishments in Hamtramck (recreational), Houghton Lake (recreational), East Lansing, Michigan (dual-licensed), Lincoln Park (recreational) and Mount Clemens (dual-licensed). Additionally, the company has world-class cultivation and processing facilities in Harrison Township, Michigan . The company is committed to cultivating the highest-quality cannabis utilizing a thoughtful, Midwestern approach: Working hard so our community can enjoy more of life's pleasures. For more information visit enjoypleasantrees.com. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pleasantrees-reaches-cannabis-milestone-with-200th-harvest-301999870.html SOURCE Pleasantrees BOSTON and NEW YORK , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Provident Healthcare Partners ("Provident"), a leading healthcare investment banking firm, announced it has advised East Coast Institute for Research ("ECIR") in its partnership with Gauge Capital to provide a growth investment for the Company. ECIR is a preeminent Southeast clinical research site management organization with eight sites in Florida and Georgia , 14 partnered provider practices, and 26 principal investigators. Led by Rushab Choksi and Rebecca Goldfaden , ECIR manages all aspects of the Phase II Phase IV trial process and holds deep sponsor relationships across several indications including cardiovascular, dyslipidemia, diabetes, obesity, and ophthalmology. The transaction represents Gauge Capital's entrance into the clinical research site sector. Provident's deal team was led by Managing Director Eric Major and Vice President Conor Duffey . Axia Legal Services served as legal counsel to ECIR and McDermott Will & Emery served as legal counsel to Gauge Capital. "We're very excited to partner with Gauge on this next chapter of growth for ECIR. Through the process with Provident, we were able to evaluate multiple high-quality partners in parallel and are confident we chose the right team at Gauge to take our organization to the next level. We look forward to continuing to provide the same dedicated clinical research support to other practices nationally," commented Rushab Choksi, Co-Founder of ECIR. "Rebecca, Rushab and the rest of the ECIR team have developed a differentiated and highly scalable research site network in the Southeast," noted Major. "The Gauge team separated themselves as an ideal partner for ECIR given their dedicated thesis in the research site space and strong track record of providing growth capital for founder-led healthcare organizations." About East Coast Institute for Research ECIR is a comprehensive site management organization partnered with specialty provider practices serving the Florida and Georgia markets since 2007. The Company is dedicated to developing innovative research involving the latest medications and devices not yet available to the public. The Company is led by Rushab Choksi and Rebecca Goldfaden who both look forward to driving continued expansion throughout the Southeast and United States. Visit www.eastcoastresearch.net to learn more. About Gauge Capital Gauge Capital is a leading middle-market private equity firm based in Southlake, Texas . Gauge invests in five key sectors: business services, food & consumer, government & industrial services, healthcare, and technology. The Firm manages more than $3.0 billion in capital and in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023, Inc. Magazine named Gauge one of the top private equity firms for founders. In 2021, 2022, and 2023 Gauge was also named to the Top 50 PE Firms in the Middle Market by Grady Campbell . In 2022, Gauge ranked in the top five out of 517 private equity firms in the HEC Paris DowJones Small-Cap Buyout Performance Ranking. Visit www.gaugecapital.com for more information. About Provident Healthcare Partners Provident is a leading healthcare investment banking firm specializing in merger and acquisition advisory, strategic planning, and capital formation services for healthcare companies. The firm has a comprehensive knowledge of all healthcare services subsectors, including pharma services. Provident also has unsurpassed experience and insight into the M&A process, which includes working with a multitude of investors such as private equity firms and strategic consolidators. For additional information, visit www.providenthp.com or follow Provident on LinkedIn. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/provident-healthcare-partners-advises-east-coast-institute-for-research-in-its-partnership-with-gauge-capital-301998499.html SOURCE Provident Healthcare Partners LLC Additional funding will reach 2 million children and adolescents on the frontline of the climate crisis who urgently need education support. NEW YORK , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Education Cannot Wait (ECW) issued today an urgent appeal for US$150 million in new funding to respond to the climate crisis. Released in advance of the Conference of the Parties ( COP28 ) in Dubai , the new appeal underscores the urgent need to connect education action with climate action. New ECW data indicates that 62 million children and adolescents affected by climate shocks are in desperate need of education support since 2020. "The climate crisis is robbing millions of vulnerable girls and boys of their right to learn, their right to play and their right to feel safe and secure. In the eye of the storm, we urge new and existing public and private sector donors to stand with them. We appeal to you to act right here, right now to address the climate and education crisis," said The Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown , UN Special Envoy for Global Education and Chair of the ECW High-Level Steering Group. The climate crisis threatens the rights of every person on the planet, but for children impacted by armed conflict, forced displacement and other protracted crises, the needs are even more dire. There are 224 million crisis-affected children worldwide who urgently need education support. About one third 62 million have been impacted by climate hazards such as droughts, floods, cyclones and other extreme weather events since 2020. "The very future of humanity is at stake. Rising seas, spiking temperatures and ever-more-severe droughts, floods and natural hazards are derailing development gains and ripping our world apart. As we've seen with the floods in Pakistan , and the drought in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel, climate change is triggering concerning jumps in forced displacement, violence, food insecurity and economic uncertainty the world over," said Yasmine Sherif , Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait. "Education is an essential component in delivering on the promises and commitments outlined in the Paris Agreement, Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and Sustainable Development Goals. As all eyes turn toward this year's Climate Talks ( COP28 ) and the Global Refugee Forum, world leaders must connect climate action with education action," said Sherif. By 2050, climate impacts could cost the world economy US$7.9 trillion and could force up to 216 million people to move within their own countries, according to the World Bank. This poses a real and present threat to global security, economic prosperity and efforts to address the life-threatening impacts of the climate crisis. Climate change is not gender neutral. Women and girls are disproportionally affected due to preexisting gender norms. Climate change exacerbates risks of gender-based violence, school dropout, food insecurity and child marriage. The new appeal outlines a strategic value proposition that connects donors, the private sector, governments and other key stakeholders to create a coordinated approach to scale-up education funding in response to the climate crisis. The new funding aims to ensure learning continuity by providing mental health and psychosocial support, school rehabilitation and resilience, child protection, gender-based violence prevention and risk mitigation, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), disaster risk reduction, and anticipatory and early action measures. ECW has championed the right to education for children affected by the global climate crisis. In the aftermath of devastating floods in Libya , Mozambique and Pakistan and spikes in hunger, forced displacement and violence across the Horn of Africa and the Sahel ECW has issued emergency grants to get children and adolescents back to the safety and opportunity that quality education provides. Within existing programmes in crisis-impacted countries like Bangladesh , Chad , Nigeria , South Sudan and Syria , ECW investments are supporting climate-resilient infrastructure, disaster risk reduction and school meals, offering hope and opportunity in the most challenging circumstances. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/right-here-right-now-education-cannot-wait-issues-us150-million-appeal-to-scale-up-work-in-response-to-the-climate-crisis-301998596.html SOURCE Education Cannot Wait The first Indian woman to win the WISE Prize for Education for her contribution to girls' education in rural India MUMBAI, India , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Safeena Husain , Founder, Educate Girls, has been awarded the prestigious WISE Prize for Education at the WISE 11 Summit (World Innovation Summit for Education). The WISE Prize for Education is the first global distinction of its kind that honours an individual for outstanding contribution to education. In a rapidly changing world, India is emerging as an innovator by harnessing technology for social impact. Educate Girls, led by Safeena Husain , exemplifies this innovative approach, employing AI to identify villages with high numbers of out-of-school girls. Equipped with this information, over 21,000 gender champions go door-to-door in the hardest-to-reach villages of India to identify these girls. Working in partnership with the government and communities, Educate Girls reintegrates them into the formal education system. Educate Girls has mobilised over 1.4 million girls for enrolment and supported over 1.9 million students with remedial learning since its inception through this comprehensive approach in rural India . Presented by the Qatar Foundation, the WISE Prize is a testament to Safeena's commitment to bridging the gender gap in education in India . Safeena shared her sentiments on this accolade, "I am honoured and humbled for this recognition. This is a collective win for all of us working towards girls' education, right from the government and local communities, to our dedicated gender champions and our valued supporters. Girls' education is the closest thing to a silver bullet and a transformative force in solving the world's most complex problems. But most importantly, it is her inherent right. At Educate Girls, we are steadfast in our commitment to contributing to this transformation." Safeena emphasises the synergy between human compassion and technological innovation as the powerhouse for transformative change, "AI can help us find the most vulnerable girls faster and help us deliver quality education at scale; however, we must not forget that the human touch remains the indispensable element on the ground." One of Educate Girls' most notable achievements is pioneering the world's first Development Impact Bond (DIB) in education that ties funding to outcomes. With the WISE Prize, the organisation is well-poised for its next big goal of impacting 10 million adolescent girls and young women in 10 years. The focus extends beyond completion of education and connects girls and young women to further opportunities for employment and skilling. This commitment ensures that the future for girls in India is one of endless opportunities and dreams. About Educate Girls Educate Girls is a non-profit that focuses on mobilising communities for girls' education in India's rural and educationally backward areas. Working in partnership with the Government, Educate Girls currently operates successfully in over 24,000 villages of Rajasthan , Madhya Pradesh , Uttar Pradesh , and Bihar and has mobilised over 1.4 million girls for school enrolment, aligning with the 'Right to Education Act' and the Government's vision for better access to primary education. Learn more at www.EducateGirls.ngo | Facebook | LinkedIn | X | Instagram | YouTube For any media inquiries, please contact: [email protected] About WISE Founded in 2009 by Qatar Foundation under the visionary leadership of its Chairperson, Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser , WISE (World Innovation Summit for Education) has evolved into an international, multi-sectoral platform dedicated to fostering innovation and evidence-based approaches in education. WISE 11, the summit's 11th edition, marks a significant milestone, emphasizing a new era of global educational transformation. Through its biennial summit, collaborative research, and a number of ongoing programs, WISE has become a global point of reference for new educational paradigms. To stay up to date, follow WISE on LinkedIn , Instagram , Facebook and X . Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2287091/Safeena_Husain_Educate_Girls.jpg Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1359275/4426416/Educate_Girls_Logo.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/safeena-husain-founder-of-educate-girls-honoured-with-the-wise-prize-for-education-301999335.html SOURCE Educate Girls VANCOUVER, BC , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Scottie Resources Corp. ("Scottie" or the "Company") (TSXV: SCOT) is pleased to report new assays on the Scottie Gold Mine Project in British Columbia 's Golden Triangle , including several high-grade intercepts on the Fifi and Lemoffe vein zones along the Blueberry Contact as well from the C Zone . The Blueberry Contact Zone is located 2 kilometres north-northeast of the 100% owned and royalty free, past-producing high-grade Scottie Gold Mine, 35 kilometres north of the town of Stewart, BC , along the Granduc Road . Highlights: Drillhole SR23-268 targeted the Fifi Lemoffe Tupelo vein zones, intersecting 8.78 grams per tonne (g/t) gold over 7.5 metres (m) and 28.2 g/t gold over 4.00 m (Table 1, Figures 1,4,5) Intercepts start at a depth from surface of approximately 160 m The lower intercept occurs on the siltstone side of the Blueberry Contact Zone (Table 1, Figures 1,4,5) Drillhole SR23-265 targeted the Lemoffe vein zone, intersecting 5.50 g/t gold over 3.85 m (Table 1, Figures 1,3,5) Intercept of 6.50 g / t gold over 1.0 m represents the deepest intercept to date of the Blueberry Contact Zone, at a vertical depth of over 525 m from surface indicating continuity at depth Lemoffe C Zone drillhole SR23-257 intersected 4.12 g/t gold over 6.45 m including 89 g/t silver (Table 1, Figures 1,2,5) Vein zone extends west of the Blueberry Contact Zone Increased silver content (relative to gold) is consistent with other drilling in the southern extension of the Blueberry Contact Zone drillhole President and CEO, Brad Rourke commented: "One of the key objectives of the 2023 drill campaign was to further extend the system at depth on the Blueberry Contact Zone. At the end of 2022 we had established that mineralization extended to 400 metres, and with these new results we can now show that high gold grades continue well past 500 metres. Future drilling at these depths will focus on targeting zones of increased width, aided by the structural interpretations made in the better defined near surface portions of the deposit. Drill results like these continue to establish Blueberry as an exceptional deposit, where the outcropping high-grade gold system has the potential to support both open-pit and underground mining scenarios." Table 1: Selected results from new drill assays (uncut) from the Blueberry Contact Zone. Drill Hole From (m) To (m) Width* (m) Gold (g/t) Silver (g/t) SR23-235 349.40 351.80 2.40 1.53 0.0 573.00 579.61 6.61 1.45 0.5 including 573.00 575.00 2.00 2.63 0.0 593.27 597.00 3.73 1.33 4.0 621.00 622.04 1.04 3.53 43.0 SR23-257 24.45 30.90 6.45 4.12 89.0 including 24.45 27.30 2.85 5.58 132 40.05 42.05 2.00 1.20 3.0 SR23-260 15.25 16.70 1.45 1.99 17.0 30.00 31.00 1.00 6.83 48.0 41.00 43.30 2.30 3.05 9.9 SR23-265 412.00 413.00 1.00 7.44 7.0 502.88 504.55 1.67 2.81 0.0 511.00 512.00 1.00 1.36 0.0 541.30 545.15 3.85 5.50 2.7 563.20 564.40 1.20 1.87 0.0 582.19 583.19 1.00 6.50 0.0 SR23-267 100.70 105.00 4.30 1.63 10.1 including 100.70 102.00 1.30 3.49 12.0 SR23-268 158.80 166.30 7.50 8.78 5.2 including 158.80 160.30 1.50 26.5 12.0 197.75 201.75 4.00 28.2 17.5 *True width of the intervals has not yet been established by drilling About the Blueberry Contact Zone The Blueberry Zone is located just 2 kilometres northeast of the 100% owned, past-producing Scottie Gold Mine located in British Columbia, Canada 's Golden Triangle region. Historic trenching and channel sampling of the Blueberry Vein include results of 103.94 g/t gold over 1.43 metres, and 203.75 g/t gold over 1.90 metres. Despite high-grade surficial samples and easy road access, the Blueberry Vein had only limited reported drilling prior to the Company's exploration work. The target was significantly advanced during Scottie's 2019 drill program when an interval grading 7.44 g/t gold over 34.78 metres was intersected in a new N-S oriented zone adjacent to the main Blueberry Vein. The drill results received from 2020 - 2023, coupled with surficial mapping and sampling suggest that the N-S mineralized trend is a first order structure that hosts an array of SW-trending, sub-parallel, sulphide-rich veins that obliquely crosscut it which host high-grade gold. As of the end of 2022, the extent of the N-S zone, defined by the contact between andesite and siltstone units of the Hazelton and the presence of the cross-cutting sulfide-rich structures, has a drilled strike length of 1,550 metres and has been tested to 400 metres depth. The Blueberry Zone is located on the Granduc Road , 20 kilometres north of the Ascot Resources' Premier Project, which is fully financed for construction. Newcrest's Brucejack Mine is located 25 kilometres to the north. Dr. Thomas Mumford , P.Geo ., a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed the technical information contained in this news release on behalf of the Company. Quality Assurance and Control Results from samples taken during the 2023 field season were analyzed at SGS Minerals in Burnaby, BC . The sampling program was undertaken under the direction of Dr. Thomas Mumford . A secure chain of custody is maintained in transporting and storing of all samples. Gold was assayed using a fire assay with atomic absorption spectrometry and gravimetric finish when required (+9 g/t gold). Analysis by four acid digestion with multi-element ICP-AES analysis was conducted on all samples with silver and base metal over-limits being re-analyzed by emission spectrometry. ABOUT SCOTTIE RESOURCES CORP. Scottie owns a 100% interest in the Scottie Gold Mine Property which includes the Blueberry Contact Zone and the high-grade, past-producing Scottie Gold Mine. Scottie also owns 100% interest in the Georgia Project which contains the high-grade past-producing Georgia River Mine , as well as the Cambria Project properties and the Sulu and Tide North properties. Altogether Scottie Resources holds approximately 60,000 hectares of mineral claims in the Stewart Mining Camp in the Golden Triangle . The Company's focus is on expanding the known mineralization around the past-producing mines while advancing near mine high-grade gold targets, with the purpose of delivering a potential resource. All of the Company's properties are located in the area known as the Golden Triangle of British Columbia which is among the world's most prolific mineralized districts. Forward Looking Statements This news release may contain forwardlooking statements. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forwardlooking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Forwardlooking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date such statements were made. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forwardlooking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy of accuracy of this release. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/scottie-resources-intercepts-28-2-gt-gold-over-4-0-metres-and-extends-mineralization-to-a-depth-of-525-metres-at-blueberry-301998548.html SOURCE Scottie Resources Corp. New Associate Dean Brings Strong Track Record of Success to Newly-Aligned UMSOM and UMMC Advancement Unit BALTIMORE , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Dean Mark T. Gladwin , MD , along with University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) President and CEO, Bert W. O'Malley , MD , announced today that Kim M. Morton , JD, MA, who has led advancement operations for major academic and healthcare institutions during her career, will become Associate Dean for Development at University of Maryland Medicine Philanthropy, the joint advancement operation of the UMSOM and UMMC. Ms. Morton , who was selected as the top candidate, following a national search, will report to Heather Culp , Senior Vice President, Chief Philanthropy Officer and Senior Associate Dean. Her appointment will begin December 18 . Ms. Morton , who is currently Senior Associate Vice President for Advancement at The Catholic University of America (CUA) in Washington, DC , has served in development leadership roles at Johns Hopkins University (JHU), The Bryn Mawr School, and New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Her 15-year tenure at JHU included serving as Associate Dean for Development and Alumni Relations for the School of Advanced International Studies, Senior Director of Development for the Wilmer Eye Institute, and Senior Associate Director of Development for the JHU School of Medicine's Department of Neurology. The appointment of Ms. Morton follows the recent alignment of the UMSOM and UMMC Development Offices under the leadership of Ms. Culp as Chief Philanthropy Officer for the combined entity, University of Maryland Medicine Philanthropy. "It is a particularly exciting and dynamic time right now at the University of Maryland Medicine," said Dean Gladwin . "We are all looking forward to having Kim Morton join our senior management team as we continue to accelerate our strong momentum in research, clinical care, education, and community partnerships. I believe that her impressive track record of leadership and philanthropic success will help move our institution forward in significant and transformative ways." "Combining the philanthropic efforts of both UMSOM and UMMC allows the joint operation to better focus on our donors, which will impact innovation and patient care across the spectrum," Dr. O'Malley said. " Kim Morton's leadership will be crucial to our success as we care for our patients in the West Baltimore community, the state of Maryland , and beyond." Ms. Culp added: "I am thrilled to welcome Kim as a senior member of our growing team. As we build a new model designed to align the philanthropic efforts of UMSOM and UMMC, Kim will play an integral role in developing our donor centric strategies. We are committed to creating a best-in-class fundraising operation and a culture of philanthropy that empowers team members, builds relationships with supporters based on foundations of trust, and allows us to bring hope and serve as a conduit to those who need it most." In her new role, Ms. Morton will report to Ms. Culp and work closely with Dean Gladwin as part of the School's senior leadership team, to create opportunities for major giving and to build a collaborative culture of philanthropy. Specifically, she will be charged with leading the front-line fundraising team in order to increase private philanthropic support from grateful patients, alumni and friends, as well as from corporations, and foundations. She will also play an integral role in shaping the strategic vision for UMM Philanthropy. Ms. Morton has achieved significant philanthropic success during her career. She has managed large teams and portfolios of major and principal gift donors, exceeding campaign goals, and working with thousands of grateful patients and alumni during her fundraising career. Her background working in academic medicine, as well as leading the fundraising efforts in a variety of professional schools uniquely positions her for success. "I am excited to partner with Heather Culp , Dean Gladwin , Dr. O'Malley , and the talented team at University of Maryland Medicine Philanthropy," Ms. Morton said. "Together, we will harness the transformative power of medical philanthropy to benefit patients, faculty, staff, and students." Ms. Morton's educational background includes a JD Degree and an MA Degree in International Affairs from George Washington University; a BA Degree in French and Political Science from Wellesley College in Boston, MA and a year of study in Provence at the Institute d'Etudes Politiques. She is proficient in French, an avid traveler, and volunteers for various community service organizations. About the University of Maryland School of Medicine Now in its third century, the University of Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in 1807 as the first public medical school in the United States . It continues today as one of the fastest growing, top-tier biomedical research enterprises in the world -- with 46 academic departments, centers, institutes, and programs, and a faculty of more than 3,000 physicians, scientists, and allied health professionals, including members of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, and a distinguished two-time winner of the Albert E. Lasker Award in Medical Research. With an operating budget of more than $1.2 billion , the School of Medicine works closely in partnership with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Medical System to provide research-intensive, academic, and clinically based care for nearly 2 million patients each year. The School of Medicine has more than $500 million in extramural funding, with most of its academic departments highly ranked among all medical schools in the nation in research funding. As one of the seven professional schools that make up the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus, the School of Medicine has a total population of nearly 9,000 faculty and staff, including 2,500 students, trainees, residents, and fellows. The School of Medicine, which ranks as the 8th highest among public medical schools in research productivity (according to the Association of American Medical Colleges profile) is an innovator in translational medicine, with 606 active patents and 52 start-up companies. In the latest U.S. News & World Report ranking of the Best Medical Schools, published in 2023, the UM School of Medicine is ranked #10 among the 92 public medical schools in the U.S. , and in the top 16 percent (#32) of all 192 public and private U.S. medical schools. The School of Medicine works locally, nationally, and globally, with research and treatment facilities in 36 countries around the world. Visit medschool.umaryland.edu Media Contacts: Holly Moody-Porter Senior Media & Public Relations Specialist Office of Public Affairs & Communications University of Maryland School of Medicine [email protected] o: 410-706-4348 This news release was issued on behalf of Newswise. For more information, visit http://www.newswise.com. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/senior-academic-philanthropy-leader-kim-m-morton-jd-ma-named-new-associate-dean-for-development-at-university-of-maryland-medicine-301999892.html SOURCE University of Maryland School of Medicine UNIONTOWN, Ohio , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sgt. Clean Car Wash is proud to announce that it has been officially certified as a Great Place to Work by Great Place to Work Institute, a global authority on workplace culture, employee experience, and the leadership behaviors proven to deliver market-leading revenue and increased innovation. This prestigious certification is a testament to Sgt. Clean Car Wash's commitment to fostering a positive and inclusive work environment where employees thrive and contribute to the overall success of the company. Great Place to Work certification is based on a rigorous assessment of the company's workplace culture, policies, and employee feedback. Sgt. Clean Car Wash underwent a thorough evaluation, including a comprehensive employee survey that measured key workplace factors such as trust, camaraderie, respect, and fairness. The certification is a reflection of the high level of employee satisfaction and engagement within the organization. "We are thrilled to receive the Great Place to Work certification, as it validates our ongoing efforts to create a workplace that values and prioritizes the well-being of our team members," said Brian Krusz , Founder. "At Sgt. Clean Car Wash, we believe that a positive work environment is essential for both personal and professional growth. This certification reinforces our commitment to providing a supportive and empowering workplace for our dedicated team." Sgt. Clean Car Wash is dedicated to continuous improvement and is committed to implementing the best practices that contribute to a positive workplace culture. The company acknowledges that its success is directly tied to the talent, dedication, and enthusiasm of its employees. The Great Place to Work certification aligns with Sgt. Clean Car Wash's mission to provide exceptional service to its customers and build lasting relationships within the community. The company recognizes that a satisfied and engaged workforce is essential to delivering an outstanding customer experience. About Sgt. Clean Car Wash Sgt. Clean Car Wash is a Northeast Ohio -based car wash committed to providing a superior and environmentally friendly car cleaning experience. With a focus on customer satisfaction, innovation, and community engagement, Sgt. Clean Car Wash has become a trusted name in the automotive care industry. For more information, please visit sgtclean.com. Media Contact: John Kosmides VP, Marketing Sgt. Clean Car Wash (330) 896-0125 info@sgtclean.com View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sgt-clean-car-wash-earns-great-place-to-work-certification-301999766.html SOURCE Sgt. Clean Car Wash Dr. Morhaf Al Achkar joins Team Karmanos as the associate center director for Education DETROIT , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute welcomes Morhaf Al Achkar , M.D., Ph.D., MSCR, FAAFP, as the associate center director for Education. Dr. Al Achkar brings over 10 years of experience in education and teaching, research, and clinical family. He also brings valuable personal experience to his new role as a seven-year stage IV lung cancer survivor. "It has been a pleasure and an exciting transition moving from Seattle to Detroit to join the team here at Karmanos," said Dr. Al Achkar . "I have begun building relationships and connecting with colleagues and community members. My responsibilities at Karmanos center around advancing education and training initiatives for the cancer center community. Additionally, I am deeply passionate about enhancing the cancer care experience for our patients and addressing health disparities." Dr. Al Achkar refuses to be defined or stopped by his incurable condition. He was diagnosed in 2016 following episodes of shortness of breath. His tests revealed the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangement, or ALK fusion, a genetic alteration linked to lung cancer. Advances in treatment have enabled him to live with lung cancer as a chronic condition. As the associate center director for Education at Karmanos, Dr. Al Achkar oversees the Office of Cancer Research Training and Education Coordination (CRTEC), is responsible for establishing a vision for the cancer center's education efforts, and leads professional development across the training continuum from high school students to tenured faculty and health care professionals, throughout the Karmanos catchment area (46 Michigan counties) and beyond. He oversees the integration of education and training into the scientific research programs, assesses a broad range of active training programs, catalogs cancer education activities through the Wayne State University (WSU) School of Medicine, and advocates for and initiates new research training and development opportunities to enrich the educational environment for the cancer center community. "The addition of Dr. Al Achkar furthers our research and expands research training and education," said Boris Pasche , M.D., Ph.D., FACP, president and CEO of Karmanos. "His broad experience in research, teaching, and practice provides a wonderful base for Dr. Al Achkar to build and develop our scientific research initiatives." Dr. Al Achkar joins Karmanos following a six-year tenure at the University of Washington in Seattle . During his time there, he served as an associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine, an adjunct associate professor in the Department of Health Services School of Public Health, and was a core faculty member at the AIMS Center within the Department of Psychiatry. Additionally, Dr. Al Achkar has spent five years as an attending family medicine physician and assistant professor at Indiana University. In 2018, Dr. Al Achkar received the Pearls Award from the North America Practice Care Research Network for a research study that will impact clinical practice. He has also received the Family Medicine Residency Program's Faculty of the Year Award at Indiana University and multiple recognitions from the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine. A Syrian immigrant, Dr. Al Achkar completed his medical degree at Aleppo University in Syria . He completed his residency training at Florida Hospital in Orlando and Winter Park, Florida , where he also served as a chief resident. Dr. Al Achkar holds a Master of Science in Clinical Research from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Inquiry Methodology and Education from Indiana University in Bloomington . He's also board-certified with the American Board of Family Medicine and is involved with the North America Practice Care Research Network, the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, and the American Academy of Family Physicians. Dr. Al Achkar began his role at Karmanos in September. He also joins WSU as a faculty member at the School of Medicine. About the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute Karmanos Cancer Institute is a leader in transformative cancer care, research and education through courage, commitment and compassion. The Karmanos vision is a world free of cancer. As part of McLaren Health Care, Karmanos is the largest provider of cancer care and research in Michigan . For more than 75 years, the administrative and research headquarters, along with the premier specialty cancer hospital, have been located in downtown Detroit . With 16 network sites, Karmanos delivers world-renowned care and access to clinical trials throughout Michigan and northern Ohio . The National Cancer Institute recognizes Karmanos as one of the best cancer centers in the nation with a comprehensive cancer center designation. Its academic partnership with the Wayne State University School of Medicine provides the framework for cancer research and education defining new standards of care and improving survivorship. For more information, call 1-800-KARMANOS (800-527-6266) or visit www.karmanos.org. Follow Karmanos on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/stage-iv-lung-cancer-survivor-disparities-cancer-researcher-family-physician-appointed-as-karmanos-new-associate-center-director-301999594.html SOURCE Karmanos Cancer Institute WHIPPANY, N.J. , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. (NYSE: SPH), a nationwide distributor of propane, renewable propane, renewable natural gas, fuel oil and related products and services, as well as a marketer of natural gas and electricity and investor in low carbon fuel alternatives, today united with Baltimore Hunger Project , a Timonium, Maryland -based nonprofit, to sponsor and assemble weekend food packages for students in the greater Baltimore region facing food insecurity. The donation is part of the Company's SuburbanCares community-giving platform. "Suburban Propane is honored to assist Baltimore Hunger Project in its critical mission to provide students with weekend meals," said Nandini Sankara , Spokesperson, Suburban Propane. "As a 95-year-old company with a footprint across 42 states, we understand the importance of taking care of those in our local communities and know that without the work of critical non-profits like the Baltimore Hunger Project, many area kids would go hungry." Suburban Propane's donation provided more than 800 meal packages. Each take-home package includes proteins, vegetables, fruits and even utensils to help students over the weekend period when they don't have access to school meals. "Unfortunately, food insecurity continues to rise across the country and here in the greater Baltimore area we've experienced a 30 percent increase over last year," said Lynne Kahn , Executive Director, Baltimore Hunger Project. "We will feed an estimated 2,500 students in the city and county each week in more than 50 different schools. We rely on the generosity and support of area businesses and appreciate Suburban Propane's donation and time to help feed our local kids." "It is great to see Suburban Propane and Baltimore Hunger Project team up to assemble food packages that will be distributed to children in need. Their collaboration demonstrates the positive impact of communities coming together to help serve the greater good," said Maryland State Senator Shelly Hettleman . SuburbanCares is committed to supporting community efforts across the United States . Recently, SuburbanCares has undertaken charitable endeavors in numerous communities within Milford, NH ; Columbus, OH ; Sacramento, CA ; Huntsville, AL ; Syracuse and Albany, NY ; Key West and Lake Worth, FL ; Spokane, WA ; Boston, MA ; Helena, MT ; Charlotte, NC ; Lewes, DE ; San Diego and Santa Rosa, CA ; Dayton, OH ; Philadelphia, PA ; Santa Fe, NM ; Columbia and Charleston, SC ; New Brunswick, NJ ; and fed healthcare professionals in 2020 in some of the most COVID-19 affected regions in the nation, including Florida , California , Texas , Maryland , New Jersey , New York , and Washington, D.C. About Suburban Propane: Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. ("Suburban Propane") is a publicly traded master limited partnership listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Headquartered in Whippany, New Jersey , Suburban Propane has been in the customer service business since 1928 and is a nationwide distributor of propane, renewable propane, renewable natural gas ("RNG"), fuel oil and related products and services, as well as a marketer of natural gas and electricity and producer of and investor in low carbon fuel alternatives, servicing the energy needs of approximately 1 million residential, commercial, governmental, industrial and agricultural customers through approximately 700 locations across 42 states. Suburban Propane is supported by three core pillars: (1) Suburban Commitment showcasing Suburban Propane's 95-year legacy, an ongoing commitment to the highest standards for dependability, flexibility, and reliability that underscores Suburban Propane's commitment to excellence in customer service; (2) SuburbanCares highlighting continued dedication to giving back to local communities across Suburban Propane's national footprint; and (3) Go Green with Suburban Propane promoting the clean burning and versatile nature of propane and renewable propane as a bridge to a green energy future and investing in the next generation of innovative, renewable energy alternatives. For additional information on Suburban Propane, please visit www.suburbanpropane.com. About Baltimore Hunger Project: Baltimore Hunger Project (BHP) has been feeding kids in need since 2014. The volunteer-based organization works closely with social workers and guidance counselors to identify and reach out to students in need to eliminate the growing problem of weekend childhood hunger by feeding bodies and minds. The organization works to bridge the gap between Friday and Monday by consistently providing weekend food packages to children identified as food insecure, in a compassionate and dignified manner. BHP raises awareness about the effects of hunger by establishing partnerships with community members, other organizations, and decision makers. For more information on the Baltimore Hunger Project, please visit www.baltimorehungerproject.org . View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/suburban-propane-and-baltimore-hunger-project-assemble-weekend-food-packages-to-help-students-facing-food-insecurity-301999690.html SOURCE Suburban Propane Partners, L.P. The company has the accreditation of twelve national standards to review the commercial information of a large number of products imported into the country. It is mandatory for importing companies to comply with the standards, otherwise they may be fined up to 10% of the value of the imported goods. TUV Rheinland celebrates its 30th anniversary in Mexico by innovating its portfolio of quality and safety services. MEXICO CITY , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- TUV Rheinland in Mexico , a leading company in certification, testing and inspection with 30 years of experience at national level and 150 years at global level, will provide the labeling review service corresponding to 12 national standards established for products that are imported and/or manufactured in Mexico . "We are excited about this growth in our Products Business Unit, since this year we are celebrating the 30th anniversary of TUV Rheinland in Mexico and we were recognized as one of the best conformity assessment bodies in the country; so having a Commercial Information Inspection Unit will help us continue our leadership based on our comprehensive services with a focus on safety", highlights Lillian Peregrina , Director of Products at TUV Rheinland. TUV Rheinland received accreditation to carry out the review of commercial information on packaging, artwork or labeling to ensure the issuance of Conformity Opinions and Certificates of Conformity according to regulatory compliance for: paints, inks, varnishes, lacquers, enamels, textile products, clothing, its accessories and household linen, toys, natural tanned leathers and skins and synthetic or artificial materials with that appearance, footwear, leather goods, as well as products made with such materials, packaging, instructions and warranties for electronic, electrical and household appliance products. As well as prepackaged food and non-alcoholic beverages, alcoholic beverages, cocoa, chocolate and similar products, and cocoa derivatives, lubricating oils for gasoline and diesel engines, prepackaged cosmetic products, household cleaning products and products in general. The review of commercial labeling on products entering the country is important because it is governed by mandatory standards for companies, which are issued by the competent agencies of each industry. This process contributes to the empowerment of the population, since it analyzes that the information on the products is present, which promotes product comparison and an intelligent purchase. Thus, in the event that an importing company does not comply with them, it may be subject to a foreign trade fine ranging from 2% to 10% of the value of the merchandise, in addition to a retention or seizure of the merchandise or even a seizure from customs to warehouses or points of sale. In this way, it becomes transcendental that companies comply with national standards to provide a product with a quality standard, which would lead to an exponential economic growth. An example of this is that according to INEGI's Merchandise Trade Balance, at the beginning of 2023, total imports in the country reached a value of 93,494 million pesos , which represented a 9.8% increase over the same period in 2022, so it is expected that international trade will follow a positive trend with phenomena such as nearshoring and e-commerce. "At TUV Rheinland we have a team of experts in quality and safety for different industries, so now having twelve new accreditations to analyze a vast variety of products allows us to expand our portfolio of services to continue providing comprehensive solutions to each national and international client. In addition, it boosts us in the market as an Inspection Unit to serve a wide range of sectors such as paints, textiles, food, cosmetics, toys, among others, so we are optimistic about the future," concludes Peregrina. Thus, TUV Rheinland de Mexico reaffirms its commitment to make the world a safer and more sustainable place by providing specialized attention to its clients with services that are key to maintain the safety and confidence of consumers in the country. To learn more about the Inspection Unit click here. About TUV Rheinland TUV Rheinland stands for safety and quality in virtually all areas of business and life. The company has been operating for more than 150 years and ranks among the world's leading testing service providers. It has more than 20,000 employees in over 50 countries and generates annual revenues of around 2.3 billion euros . TUV Rheinland's highly qualified experts test technical systems and products around the world, support innovations in technology and business, train people in numerous professions and certify management systems according to international standards. In doing so, the independent experts generate trust in products as well as processes across global value-adding chains and the flow of commodities. Since 2006, TUV Rheinland has been a member of the United Nations Global Compact to promote sustainability and combat corruption. Website: www.tuv.com. Contact us for press inquiries: Mariana Taborda do Amaral Telephone: +55 11 3514 5867 Email: [email protected] Michael Garcia Carbajal Phone: +52 55 3488 2108 Email: [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tuv-rheinland-will-have-an-inspection-unit-to-review-commercial-information-of-products-in-mexico-301999431.html SOURCE TUV Rheinland Funds Raised Will Support Life-Saving Research and Essential Programs for Breast Cancer Survivors, Thrivers, and Caregivers HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Teachers Federal Credit Union (Teachers), one of the largest credit unions in the United States with $9.7 billion in assets and more than 470,000 members, reaffirmed its commitment to serving the community by partnering with the American Cancer Society and raising over $140,000 for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. "We take great pride in our efforts to support the communities we serve, and with one in eight women in the United States diagnosed with breast cancer, we are steadfast in our commitment to helping the American Cancer Society provide care to those affected by this disease," said Brad Calhoun , President and CEO of Teachers Federal Credit Union. "This year, Teachers had the privilege of sponsoring three Making Strides events in New York and Florida , and we are honored to play a role in helping the American Cancer Society exceed its fundraising goals." Making Strides of Long Island , which took place on Sunday, October 15 , is the largest Making Strides event in the country. Teachers proudly returned for the second year as the Presenting Sponsor of the event, with more than 300 Teachers employees participating in the walk and fundraising. In 2023, the walk helped raise a total of $2.25 million for the fight against breast cancer. "We were elated to have Teachers Federal Credit Union back for the second year as the Presenting Sponsor of Making Strides of Long Island ," said Katie Goepfrich-Schafer , Executive Director of Long Island Market, American Cancer Society. "The Long Island Walk is the number one Making Strides event in the country, and with Teachers as our presenting sponsor for the past two years, we have experienced our strongest events to date." In addition to its support for Making Strides of Long Island , Teachers Federal Credit Union served as the Flagship Sponsor of Making Strides of Eastern Long Island on September 30 and Making Strides of Tampa on October 28 . Teachers Federal Credit Union is committed to its community stewardship year-round by sharing its time and resources with non-profit organizations that support education, research, health and human services, and economic development. For more information on Teachers community initiatives, please visit teachersfcu.org/about/community . ABOUT THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY The American Cancer Society is a nationwide, community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem. We invest in lifesaving research, provide 24/7 information and support, and work to ensure that individuals in every community have access to cancer prevention, detection, and treatment. For more information, visit cancer.org . ABOUT TEACHERS FEDERAL CREDIT UNION: Teachers Federal Credit Union (Teachers) is one of the country's largest credit unions, with more than $9.7 billion in assets and more than 470,000 members across all 50 states. Founded in New York in 1952, Teachers is a full-service, not-for-profit financial institution with an open charter offering membership to anyone in the U.S. through its 32 full-service branches and best-in-class digital solutions. Teachers is a key supporter of the communities it serves and is proud to offer a range of member-focused products with competitive rates and low fees. What started as a smart solution for teachers is now smart for all. For more information, visit www.teachersfcu.org. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/teachers-federal-credit-union-raises-more-than-140-000-to-support-american-cancer-societys-making-strides-against-breast-cancer-301999182.html SOURCE Teachers Federal Credit Union NAMM spotlights a full feature of programs for the pro audio community at its January show CARLSBAD, Calif. , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NAMM (The National Association of Music Merchants), the largest global not-for-profit music trade organization, is ready to celebrate its role as the U.S. home of pro audio when the NAMM Show opens its doors in January 2024 . Tens of thousands of visitors from around the world will pour into the Anaheim Convention Center exhibit halls between January 2528 in Anaheim, California , ready to do business with pro audio's leading brands while an unmissable schedule of education, networking and business opportunities unfolds across the NAMM Show campus. Among the brands joining their peers in ACC North the home of pro audio at The NAMM Show will be d&b audiotechnik, DiGiCo, Adamson Systems Engineering, EAW, Meyer Sound, Solid State Logic, Audinate, Blackmagic Design, Genelec, Avid, QSC, Sennheiser, Alcons Audio, RCF, Electro-Voice, DPA Microphones, Waves, Shure, Sony, Mackie, PMC, Allen & Heath, FBT and a range of brands from Music Tribe, including Midas. Those and dozens more are set to help make this one of the biggest NAMM shows on record, replete with new technology and countless product demonstrations. "The professional audio community is an essential ingredient of what makes The NAMM Show so special, and we are beyond excited to welcome everybody to Anaheim in January," said John Mlynczak , NAMM president and CEO. "The strength of the two ACC North halls really drives home how hard the pro audio community has worked to turn the challenges of recent years into a triumph for the whole industry. In January, we're going to commend that with a phenomenal NAMM Show." Outside the exhibit hall, NAMM members can book into official Dante training by Audinate with sessions taking place on January 25 January 27 . Four special Pro Production seminars, hosted by PLSN and FOH magazines, will fill room 204A on Friday January 26 . ESTA will present seminars and training opportunities on lighting technology, electrical, rigging and safety across all four days of the show, while the Event Safety Alliance will offer sessions for production professionals between Thursday and Saturday. Meanwhile, TEC Tracks sessions will feature four busy days of sessions in recording, live sound and music business. Of course, no NAMM Show would be complete without an unforgettable fringe festival of awards ceremonies, star-studded performances and pool parties. The 2024 Parnelli Awards will honor live production legends Buford Jones , Carol Dodds and Jim Brammer on Friday, January 26 , while the TEC Awards will recognize the best in new technology on Saturday, January 27 . Last but never least, all pro audio professionals are invited to grab a wristband and join co-sponsors NAMM, DiGiCo and The Inside Story poolside at the Anaheim Marriot for the 2024 Pro Audio Pool Party on Thursday, January 25 , starting at 7p.m. Registration is now open for The 2024 NAMM Show. To register, please visit https://www.namm.org/thenammshow/attend. Media Contacts NAMM Communications - John Dolak , Director [email protected] 619.735.4028 Barney Jameson, James Ling The Inside Story [email protected] / [email protected] +44 (0)1892 525141 About NAMM The National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) is the not-for-profit association with a mission to strengthen the $19.5 billion music products industry. NAMM is comprised of 15,400 global member companies and individual professionals with a global workforce of over 475,000 employees. NAMM events and members fund The NAMM Foundation's efforts to promote the pleasures and benefits of music and advance active participation in music-making across the lifespan. For more information about NAMM, please visit namm.org. The 2024 NAMM Show will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center January 25 to 28 . View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-namm-show-welcomes-pro-audios-biggest-brands-in-full-force-with-packed-halls-and-a-stacked-schedule-301999553.html SOURCE NAMM Turing Prize Winner Yann LeCun gives keynote speech HONG KONG , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Top artificial intelligence (AI) experts, scholars and industry leaders from around the world have converged at a symposium in Hong Kong recently to share their knowledge, research and insights of ways to tap the potential of AI to improve the life of humankind. It will take years or decades for the development of artificial intelligence (AI) to reach human-level AI. Robots will not take over the world. "Open source" is the only option. These are among the thought-provoking insights that Turing Prize winner Prof. Yann LeCun , hailed by the media as one of the "Godfathers of AI", elaborated in the symposium as a keynote speaker. Entitled AI NEW HORIZONS 2023: A Symposium with Scientific Leaders, the event was jointly hosted by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and the Greater Bay Area Association of Academicians (GBAAA). In his keynote speech, Prof. LeCun envisioned objective-driven AI will help predict the future, and Joint Embedding Predictive Architecture (JEPA) model will make a paradigm shift in predictive modeling, that JEPA could bring about a "new Renaissance." AI, Prof. LeCun said, will become a "shared infrastructure" in the future, like the Internet today. That also means, he said, AI platforms must be made "open source." "All interactions with the digital world will be mediated by AI assistants They will constitute a repository of all human knowledge and culture," the leading AI expert said. The issue of "open source" AI platform was further discussed at a "Fireside Chat" among Prof. LeCun , HKUST Council Chairman and AI expert Prof. Harry Shum and Director of HKUST's Center for AI Research Prof. Pascal Fung , at the symposium held at the Asia Society Hong Kong Center. Admitting that the issue was complex and controversial, Prof. LeCun said open source platform would promote diversity. Prof. Shum shared the view that "open source is a good thing," but added the AI industry would be divided on the idea in view of their different considerations in developing Large Language Models (LLM). "If you think from a commercial point of view, whoever is Number One (in the industry) would not want to go open source for financial reasons. If you are Number Two, you will then struggle (and ask) should I open source or compete with (Number One)?" Prof Shum said. "Like many new technologies, it would take time to formulate the relevant laws and regulatory mechanisms to tackle the problems that may arise," he added. Responding to the question by Prof. Fung about universities and industry co-operations, both Prof. LeCun and Prof. Shum underlined the importance of greater collaborations between the industry and the academia in AI. Prof. Shum said resources were important to research development, "we will continue to encourage faculties and students to get more fundings and do start-ups This is what HKUST has been doing." The symposium was the first large-scale academic conference held by the GBAAA since its establishment in 2021, and also one of the series of conferences recently organized by HKUST with a focus on AI. Prof. Nancy Ip , HKUST President and GBAAA Council Chair who spearheaded the symposium, expressed her deep appreciation to the experts and scholars who shared their valuable insights at the event. The symposium, she said, was aimed at "exploring the current AI research landscape and delving into the cutting-edge work being undertaken, to understand the potential AI holds as well as its limitations." "The launch of Open AI's ChatGPT and other generative AI tools early this year has suddenly thrusted AI into the forefront of our life and imagination," she said. "As AI research progresses, we can anticipate even more transformative advancements that will redefine the way we work and live." As an officiating guest of the event, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Prof. Sun Dong , said Hong Kong possesses distinct competitive advantages to be developed into an international I&T center. He outlined the Government's I&T strategy and plans to digitalize public services set out in the 2023 Policy Address, which include the establishment of a supercomputer center to foster AI development. The symposium was also attended by scholars from different regions and senior executives from leading innovation technology firms. They include Prof. Kathleen McKeown at Columbia University; Dr. FENG Junlan at China Mobile; Dr. LI Hang at ByteDance; and Dr. ZHOU Jingren at Alibaba Cloud Intelligence. Representatives from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and eight local tertiary institutions including the City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University, Lingnan University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The Education University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, HKUST and The University of Hong Kong , shared with participants their AI research achievements in the full-day symposium. Download photos of the forum here: http://udz039.ust.hk/~meu/AI_NEW_HORIZONS_2023/ View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/top-ai-experts-share-insights-at-hkust-greater-bay-area-association-of-academicians-symposium-301998954.html SOURCE The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology EXETER, N.H. , Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Vapotherm, Inc. (NYSE: VAPO), a global medical technology company focused on the development and commercialization of its proprietary Vapotherm high velocity therapy products, which are used to treat patients of all ages suffering from respiratory distress is excited to announce the participation of over 8,000 clinicians in interactive, digital based, evidence based education focused on a variety of respiratory clinical topics. The education was free to clincians in celebration of Respiratory Care Week, and continued through the month of October culminating in the American Association for Respiratory Care Congress 5-8 November. Dr. Jessica Whittle , Chief Medical Officer at Vapotherm, shared her enthusiasm: "About 7,000 clinicians initially registered for our educational programs, and we are thrilled that even more participated as the value became more well-known. Vapotherm is committed to partnering with clinicans to provide the highest level of patient care. High-quality, readily accessible, clinical education is crucial to that mission." Joe Army, Chief Executive Officer, emphasized his excitement: "The power of our educational platform is tremendous: our devices are in over 2,400 hospitals in the U.S. , and we have over 50,000 clinicians in our Vapotherm Academy. We take immense pride in leading the respiratory industry in both innovation and education." Dr. Whittle and Joe Army were both present at the American Association for Respiratory Care Congress to celebrate this accomplishment and educate about the HVT 2.0 system. About Vapotherm Vapotherm, Inc. (NYSE: VAPO) is a publicly traded developer and manufacturer of advanced respiratory technology based in Exeter, New Hampshire , USA. The Company develops innovative, comfortable, non-invasive technologies for respiratory support of patients with chronic or acute breathing disorders. Over 4.1 million patients have been treated with the use of Vapotherm high velocity therapy systems. For more information, visit www.vapotherm.com. Vapotherm high velocity therapy is mask-free non-invasive respiratory support and is a front-line tool for relieving respiratory distressincluding hypercapnia, hypoxemia, and dyspnea. It allows for the fast, safe treatment of undifferentiated respiratory distress with one tool. The HVT 2.0 and Precision Flow systems' mask-free interface delivers optimally conditioned breathing gases, making it comfortable for patients and reducing the risks and care complexities associated with mask therapies. While being treated, patients can talk, eat, drink and take oral medication. Investor Contact: John Landry , SVP and CFO http://investors.vapotherm.com/ View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/vapotherm-educates-over-8-000-clinicians-in-respiratory-care-month-301999854.html SOURCE Vapotherm, Inc. Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, as seen from the city of Ashkelon, Israel, October 9, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (Reuters) - This year is one that will go down in history as being marked by two big wars - an ongoing conflict in Ukraine as it fights off a Russian invasion and a fresh outbreak of violence in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas militants. Reuters photographers were on the ground to capture it all as it unfolded - and much more. In February, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Turkey and Syria brought buildings down on their residents - including Abdulalim Muaini, who was eventually rescued, and his family, who were among the more than 54,000 people who lost their lives in the disaster. Another quake in September killed more than 2,900 people in Morocco. It was a year when evidence that the Earth's climate was changing seemed starker than ever. Wildfires in southern Europe and Canada in July destroyed homes and blanketed cities in a thick haze, while in Latin America water levels dropped, threatening livelihoods and leaving Amazon River dolphins high and dry. Storms brought heavy rains to California in March, almost completely swallowing one road - a sight best illustrated from the sky. Fighting between armed groups and attacks on civilians intensified in eastern Congo, there was a new spate of ethnically driven killings in Darfur, Sudan, and gangs took over much of Haiti. Such desperate situations led many to embark on risky migration journeys in hopes of a better life. Venezuelans balanced on top of freight trains to get to the U.S.-Mexican border while Africans set out for Europe in rickety boats. Not all of them made it. Trials occupied the U.S. headlines - Donald Trump, the former president, became embroiled in a series of legal troubles, while cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted of fraud. The big story of late 2023 was the Israel-Hamas war. On Oct. 7, Hamas rampaged through southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking about 240 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. In retaliation, Israel bombarded Gaza and mounted a ground offensive, which by late November had killed over 15,000 people, according to Gaza authorities. Many of those caught up in the violence were children and youngsters. While this war and other stories took the spotlight off Ukraine, the conflict raged on in the country's east. Death became an everyday occurrence - one Reuters photographer captured a woman in October looking at bodies laid out on the ground in a way that suggests it was sad but no longer shocking to her. Amid the death and despair that marked 2023, humans still found ways to remember and to celebrate - and Reuters photographers looked for those stories, too. Children took part in traditions passed down from their elders - learning ancient crafts, dressing up for religious occasions, or waving flags at the May coronation of King Charles III. People played sports, they went out to party and to see art exhibitions, they swam and they surfed, they strutted catwalks and they gave out Oscars. UFOs became an unexpectedly hot news topic, as hearings took place in the United States and Mexico - and something appeared in the skies over the U.S. in February. Was it a bird? Was it a plane? Was it ET? Or was it a spy balloon? A Reuters photographer took a picture of an object drifting down to the coast in South Carolina after it was shot down, just one moment among many that made up the world in 2023. (Writing by Rosalba O'Brien; Editing by Mark Porter) FILE PHOTO: A Shein logo is pictured at the company's office in the central business district of Singapore, October 18, 2022. REUTERS/Chen Lin/File Photo By Katherine Masters and Arriana McLymore NEW YORK (Reuters) -As China-founded e-commerce behemoth Shein moves to list in New York, U.S. lawmakers are again calling on it to prove that forced labor is not used to make its $5 T-shirts and $10 sweaters. Shein confidentially filed for an initial public offering on Monday and could launch sales of its shares some time in 2024. The Singapore-based company has not determined the size of the deal or the valuation at IPO. Bloomberg reported earlier this month that it targeted up to $90 billion in the float. Founded in 2012, Shein has been eyeing a U.S. IPO for at least three years but has been deterred by headwinds that included tensions between Beijing and Washington. The online fast-fashion retailer, which manufactures most of its merchandise in China, faces criticism that Uyghur forced labor is used to make its low-priced apparel and home goods. Critics are concerned that Shein may use contract manufacturers in China's Xinjiang region, where advocates and governments have accused China of interning Uyghurs and other largely Muslim minority groups. Beijing denies any abuses. Convincing regulators that its supply chain is clean will likely be a major regulatory hurdle as Shein works to convince the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that its shares should be traded publicly. If the fast-fashion giant Shein wants to go public in the U.S., they should have to prove to American consumers that their products are not sourced from forced labor, Democratic Representative Jennifer Wexton said in a statement on Tuesday. Earlier this year, the congresswoman led a bipartisan call for the SEC to halt Sheins IPO until it verifies that the company does not use forced labor within its supply chain. A separate group of Republican attorneys general from 16 U.S. states has also asked the SEC to audit the company, and Shein has been investigated by two separate Congressional committees over its sourcing and use of a trade loophole that allows most of its products to enter the U.S. duty-free. Shein did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the company has previously told Reuters it has zero tolerance for forced labor and has no contract manufacturers in Xinjiang. A spokesperson for the SEC said the agency does not comment on any individual entitys filings. Megan Penick, a public securities lawyer at Michelman & Robinson, said it is unlikely to see a "direct block" from the SEC, but the agency could make the process difficult for Shein by making "the disclosure requirements so detailed, and, perhaps extreme, that it makes it seem ... trying to go public cannot be achieved." "There may be issues with the forced labor allegations and the IP (intellectual property) issues that may make it hard for (Shein) to be able to answer the questions to the satisfaction of the SEC," Penick said. LOBBYING CAPITOL HILL Public disclosures show that Shein has spent $1.28 million on Capitol Hill lobbying this year as it prepares to go public. The company has also met privately with lawmakers, including some of its biggest critics, in an effort to shift its reputation in Washington, according to several Congressional aides. One source familiar with the matter said that representatives for Shein emphasized the retailers efforts to diversify its supply chain from China to other countries, including India. Shein also touted its efforts to bring more China-made goods to the U.S. in bulk on traditional container ships, which requires paying tariffs on those items. Shein is fundamentally a Chinese company and investors should approach Chinese offerings with extreme caution. Its attempt to go public should prompt a closer look at its business practices, especially its links to slave labor and its evasion of U.S. customs laws," Republican Sen. Marco Rubio told Reuters. "I will closely monitor Shein's disclosures in the lead-up to its IPO, added Rubio, who in June criticized the retailers lobbying efforts in a letter distributed to other senators. Republican Representative Chris Smith, chairman of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, has also criticized Shein's lobbying efforts. Any investor in this company should be wary of the material risks involved in Sheins business model ... particularly as Congress is demanding an end to forced labor and closure of import subsidies for Chinese companies, Congressman Smith said. INCREASED SCRUTINY In its most recent social impact report, Shein highlighted its partnership with Oritain, a company also used by the U.S. government to test cotton for links to Chinas Xinjiang region. Shein previously told Reuters that it tests samples from every third-party cotton mill the company works with, and that it conducted 2,111 tests between June 1, 2022 and July 11, 2023. Critics, however, say that the testing does not adequately screen the millions of garments exported globally by Shein every year. Public securities lawyer Penick said that the SEC's handling of Shein's IPO will be crucial for other e-commerce players including ByteDance's TikTok and PDD Group's Temu, which may consider going public in the U.S. in the future. Shein's IPO is "going to be raising issues (for the SEC) that may later be applied across the board to all China-based or China-related companies that are going public," Penick said. (Reporting by Katherine Masters and Arriana Mclymore; additional reporting by Michael MartinaEditing by Marguerita Choy) FILE PHOTO: Apple logo is seen on the Apple store at The Marche Saint Germain in Paris, France July 15, 2020. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo (Reuters) - Apple is pulling the plug on its credit card partnership with Goldman Sachs Group, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. The tech giant recently sent a proposal to the Wall Street bank to exit the contract in the next 12 to 15 months, the report said, citing people briefed on the matter. Apple and Goldman had started to roll out a virtual credit card in 2019. The exit would cover their entire consumer partnership, including the savings account rolled out this year, the report added. The iPhone maker, when asked about the report, said: "Apple and Goldman Sachs are focused on providing an incredible experience for our customers to help them lead healthier financial lives. The award-winning Apple Card has seen a great reception from consumers, and we will continue to innovate and deliver the best tools and services for them." Goldman declined to comment. Apple in April introduced a high-yield deposit account, which offers an annual percentage yield higher than what Goldman offers for an online savings account at its digital consumer bank, Marcus. The partnership, which was a part of the bank's larger strategy to grow its consumer franchise, was extended a year ago through 2029, the report added. Apple launched its "buy now, pay later" (BNPL) service in the United States earlier in the year, enabled through the Mastercard Installments program, the company said at the time, adding that Goldman was the issuer of the Mastercard payment credential. (Reporting by Pritam Biswas and Arsheeya Bajwa in Bengaluru; additional reporting by Stephen Nellis; Editing by Arun Koyyur, Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Lincoln Feast.) FILE PHOTO: A solar array, a linked collection of solar panels, can be seen in front of a residential apartment block in the Sydney suburb of Chatswood in Australia, July 28, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray By Lewis Jackson SYDNEY (Reuters) - The long-term value of hotly contested $10.6 billion takeover target Origin Energy has been muddied by a government plan to accelerate the rollout of renewable energy, announced just hours before a key shareholder vote. The Australian government announced plans on Thursday to underwrite 32 gigawatts (GW) of new wind, solar and battery projects. Two energy experts told Reuters it could spur investment worth at least A$30 billion ($20 billion). The announcement contained no figures. The plan to reshape the electricity market, where Origin is the second largest power producer, has scrambled the outlook for electricity prices, future investments, and existing plants. It was released just before Origin announced a last-minute revised offer from Brookfield and EIG as it became clear investors would reject the consortium's earlier bid. Origin's board delayed the vote to Dec. 4 to consider the bid and the impact of the 32 GW scheme. The uncertain outlook for Origin under the government's new policy has made some investors say it makes more sense than ever to sell to the suitors, but top shareholder AustralianSuper is adamant it wants to hold on. More renewables will ultimately lower electricity prices, squeeze margins and shorten the life of Origin's existing coal and gas assets, said Max Vickerson, an equity analyst at Morgans. "This move accelerates the destruction of value at the legacy assets owned by Origin and AGL," he said, referring to Origin's rival AGL Energy. "Cheaper wholesale prices are not a good thing on balance for Origin." However, the potential for new investment via the government's scheme undercuts Brookfield's argument that Origin and Australia needed its deep pockets to decarbonise quickly, Vickerson said. Brookfield has not commented publicly on the scheme, but a person close to the asset manager said the revenue guarantee for eligible projects would diminish the benefits of having a large customer base for a big power producer, like Origin. Should others take up the government's underwriting offer, Origin could potentially save billions by letting others build new wind and solar farms and simply contracting power for its 4.2 million customers, said Tom Leske a director at Churchill Capital, which advises event-driven hedge funds. "But ultimately there's so much variability about what the economic outcome is going to be," he said. Pension giant AustralianSuper has argued Origin's stake in fast-growing British renewable energy company Octopus Energy, gas assets and millions of customers position the company well for the energy transition. The government's new scheme only strengthens the fund's conviction about Origin, according to a person familiar with AustralianSuper's thinking. However, Simon Mawhinney, chief investment officer at fund manager Allan Gray, which owns a roughly 3% stake in Origin, said the government's plan appears likely to push down returns. More uncertainty only strengthens the case for taking the A$9.43 on offer today, he said. "The price was fair given our perception of the risk and rewards before the announcement. This adds a lot of uncertainty." "It's probably good for consumers and the environment and bad for everyone else," he said. ($1 = 1.5366 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Lewis Jackson; Editing by Sonali Paul) (Reuters) - Charlie Munger, the longtime vice chairman and second-in-command to Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway, died on Tuesday morning at a California hospital. Munger was 99, and would have turned 100 on January 1. He died peacefully, Berkshire said. No cause was given. COMMENTS: TIM COOK, APPLE CEO, POSTING ON X "A titan of business and keen observer of the world around him, Charlie Munger helped build an American institution, and through his wisdom and insights, inspired a generation of leaders. He will be sorely missed. Rest in peace Charlie." WHITNEY TILSON, INVESTOR AND EDUCATOR WHO PREVIOUSLY RAN T2 PARTNERS LLC AND KASE CAPITAL "A generation of investment managers was drawn to Munger and Buffett's meetings and letters in order to try an become better stock pickers and make more money. But what really glued us to these men was their advice on living a full life by instructing people how to think clearly, to be honest with oneself, to learn from mistakes and to avoid calamities." BRIAN MOYNIHAN, CEO, BANK OF AMERICA Charlie Munger was a legendary figure in the investment community. There are many who benefited greatly from his wisdom. BURNS MCKINNEY, PORTFOLIO MANAGER, NFJ INVESTMENT GROUP, DALLAS, TEXAS He is definitely one of the masters of the game. For stock-pickers like us to lose Charlie Munger, would be like if youre a basketball fan and you lose Bill Russell. He is truly one of the greats. He helped Warren Buffett build his investment philosophy and process and so its hard to say that Berkshire Hathaway would be what it is if not for him. PHIL ORLANDO, CHIEF EQUITY MARKET STRATEGIST, FEDERATED HERMES, NEW YORK His longevity was beyond impressive, and I loved that he was a brilliant investor, but very blunt and plain spoken, he didnt pull any punches and he refused to suffer any fools gladly. BILL STONE, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, GLENVIEW TRUST COMPANY With so much cash on the balance sheet you shouldnt expect a big decline in the stock, or if you do see one it will be only temporary because they would be big buyers of their own stock if it were to crater. I cant imagine investors havent thought about what happens when Buffett is gone as well. They have been upfront about succession plans and there are so many operating companies that should do well without either of [Buffett or Munger.] You dont need them to be as good as Buffett or Munger to make Berkshire a good company and arguably a great company. PHILLIP WOOL, SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR AND HEAD OF RESEARCH, RAYLIANT GLOBAL ADVISORS, CALIFORNIA When I read the news, it struck me as a huge loss. To me, I think the most impressive thing about Charlie Munger, beyond his amazing track record which would make him a legend in its own right was the way he was able to really clearly articulate his investing wisdom so that all of the rest of us could learn something from his process and his experience." Im a quant, but it was still so interesting to read how Munger thought about fundamentals and the businesses underlying companies stocks, and that has shaped the way I think about concepts like value and quality, which has made me better at what I do. Its rare for his level of stock picking skill to combine with such wit and willingness to share the insight, and its a shame to lose that. STEVE SOSNICK, CHIEF STRATEGIST, INTERACTIVE BROKERS, CONNECTICUT Charlie Munger was one of the true all-time greats. His track record and ability to stay relevant for so many decades are truly astounding, and rivaled only by his long-time partner, Warren Buffett." I personally like that he was 'Mr. Inside' to Buffetts 'Mr. Outside.' Though he became an investment legend in his own right, he seemed quite content to let Buffett be the face of Berkshire Hathaway while taking a much less public role. WIN MURRAY, DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH, DIAMOND HILL, COLUMBUS, OHIO The investment world has lost a legend. Charlie Munger was not just brilliant, he was incredibly gifted in his ability to communicate his brilliance in ways that everyone could grasp." "And despite being 99 years old, he was still perfectly cogent and produced new insights until the end. The investment community was blessed to have access to his thoughts for as long as we did. MARY JO WHITE, FORMER CHAIR OF THE U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION "I did not know Charlie, except by reputation. A strong and good one." BILL SMEAD, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, SMEAD CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, PHOENIX AREA Munger was a common sense genius. So that he would he could filter through the unimportant information and give Warren the important second thoughts that he needed. That second opinion was unfiltered, pulled no punches, very effective. he wasn't worried about who he was going to offend with his opinion. Berkshire has talented people there that will help with the stock picking, but it will never be the same. The beauty of Munger is that he convinced Buffett in the late 60s that he no longer was going to have an information advantage and he needed to pivot to a decision making advantage. Munger convinced Buffett to make the best long term decisions and they worked on that together. Buffett is going to feel like he lost his right arm. Hopefully Warren will survive quite a while and give us some time with the other two stock pickers (Todd Combs and Ted Weschler) being kind of brought up alongside him on the bench the way Charlie was. PAUL LOUNTZIS, PRESIDENT, LOUNTZIS ASSET MANAGEMENT LLC, WYOMISSING, PENNSYLVANIA "It's a sad sad day. Charlie really helped Warren move from cigar-butt purchases of lower quality companies at very cheap prices, to much better companies purchased at fair prices. Part of that was stimulated by Charlie's philosophy of focusing on quality rather than quantity." "Warren will miss someone who he often, not always, bounced ideas off of, and who helped clarify his thinking." "I don't think Berkshire will change much. Their going-forward team led by Greg Abel is well prepared for the future." "I've been in the investing business 40 years. I've never listened to anyone who thought the way Charlie did. Short, brief and to the point was always how Charlie responded. And you'll never have one say 'I have nothing to add' after Warren speaks." STEPHEN DODSON, PORTFOLIO MANAGER, THE BRETTON FUND, SAN FRANCISCO "Warren Buffett is a wonderful and gifted communicator and in some ways better than Charlie was but Charlie was always more honest and willing to give the unvarnished truth about their mistakes and wins. The biggest loss for shareholders is losing that insiders take on Berkshire and investing in general. I dont see anyone else stepping up to take over that mantle. He knew his audience and when he was on his own he was much more comfortable pontificating about architecture or life and more confident being the center of attention. PAUL NOLTE, SENIOR WEALTH ADVISOR AND MARKET STRATEGIST FOR MURPHY & SYLVEST IN ELMHURST, IL "He always struck me as a very practical, pragmatic individual when it came to investing. He tried not to complicate things and Warren Buffet has the same style which is why they've held onto investments as long as they have." QUINCY KROSBY, CHIEF GLOBAL STRATEGIST, LPL FINANCIAL IN CHARLOTTE, NC There was an honesty about his comments that many who worked on Wall Street would say, If only we could say that and get away with it. He cut right into what everyone was thinking about something that didnt seem quite right. Every new idea that we all thought was so brilliant, he would come out and pierce that balloon. And you know, invariably, he was correct, and he didnt embellish his comments with jargon. He went right to it, and that was his brilliance. RICK MECKLER, PARTNER, CHERRY LANE INVESTMENTS, NEW VERNON, NEW JERSEY He was certainly one of the greatest investors, as a team with Buffett. Im sure it is an enormous loss for Buffett personally. The most amazing thing about him was how cogent he remained and how his views still rang true for so many investors even at a very advanced age. He obviously was still at or near the top of his game right up until almost the end." DOUG KASS, FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, SEABREEZE PARTNERS MANAGEMENT LP Being the credentialed bear and sitting next to Charlie and Warren (Buffett) at Berkshire's 2013 annual meeting was the highlight of my investment career. A legend and voice of reason - anti-meme, practical and witty. THOMAS RUSSO, PARTNER, GARDNER RUSSO & QUINN, LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA, "It's a shock. It will leave a big void for investors who have modeled their thoughts, words and activities around Munger and his insights. He gave so much advice over how to live life, as well as how to manage assets and investments." "He was an extraordinary partner and sounding board for Buffett. There will be a lot of impact on Buffett. I expect him to feel this loss very deeply." "I wouldn't think Berkshire will look much different, apart from Buffett no longer being able to share ideas with Munger. Berkshire may be a little less fun without him." CATHERINE SEIFERT, VICE-PRESIDENT, CFRA RESEARCH, NEW YORK Berkshire Hathaway shareholders are not going to be directly or negatively impacted from the passing of Charlie Munger. His impact has been felt positively. Shareholders have benefited from his years of collective and very candid counsel that he's provided Berkshire Hathaway and, more specifically, Warren Buffett, but at this juncture, I do not expect any material adverse effect to the company or to the shares as a result of his passing. He's one person at a large corporation that has a systems of checks and balances in place. He was a vice chairman of the company. There was already a transition plan in place and there's a transition plan in place when Warren Buffett passes away. So while this transition plan may be tested, it's you know, this is not going to be again the company has benefited from his wisdom. ANTHONY SAGLIMBENE, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST, AMERIPRISE, TROY, MICHIGAN "Munger was a gifted investor who had a knack for providing a measured and rational perspective when the market at times seemed irrational." THOMAS HAYES, CHAIRMAN, GREAT HILL CAPITAL, NEW YORK I think what may be most underestimated about Charlie was his willingness to generously share his intellect and thought processes. That positively impacted so many people around the world. It certainly had an immense impact on how I think about investing. I think the big change that Charlie brought to the value investing community was not just looking for what was cheap but looking for what was out of favor but high quality which means buying businesses that were still compounding capital not just that you could buy at a discount to liquidation value. That was an immense contribution. "He was a wealthy guy and he didnt have to share it. He didnt have to spend time speaking publicly. He gained nothing by doing so yet he was unrelenting generous with his time, intellect, philosophy and secrets. (This story has been refiled to fix a typo with the word 'was' throughout the text) (Compiled by the Global Finance & Markets team) (Reuters) - Chinese artificial intelligence software developer SenseTime Group said on Tuesday that a short-seller report by Grizzly Research LLC is 'without merit' and will review the allegations against the company. Earlier on Tuesday, the short-seller's report alleged the AI firm was artificially inflating revenue through revenue fabrication schemes. Shares of the company fell as much as 9.7% to trade at HK$1.30 per dollar, hitting its lowest since last November. (Reporting by Archishma Iyer in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee) For decades, the struggle for national liberation in Palestine was rightly understood to be part and parcel of a global struggle for liberation, mainly in the Global South. And since national liberation movements were, per definition, the struggle for indigenous people to assert their collective rights for freedom, equality and justice, the Palestinian struggle was positioned as part of this global indigenous movement. Alas, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the growing dominance of the United States and its allies, the return of Western colonialism in the form of neocolonialism to Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere, have localized many of the indigenous movements struggles. This proved costly, as it allowed France, the US, Britain and others to, once more, sectionalize the Global South into regions of influence, controlling them through whatever military, political and economic strategies they had in mind. Similar to the scramble for Africa in the late 19th century, recent decades wrought a new kind of colonial scramble for the Global South. In the Palestinian context, in particular, the struggle was multi-faceted: the demise of global powers, like the USSR, which created some kind of geopolitical balance, isolated Palestinian Resistance movements. This forced these movements, namely those involved in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), to seek political compromises, without achieving anything tangible in return. For Washington, these concessions on the part of a once national liberation movement in Palestine, were consistent with the USs regional agenda and the quest for a New Middle East. Ultimately, this resulted in the wrongly termed Palestinian division, factional clashes in 2007, and a state of political paralysis which defined the so-called Palestinian leadership. And, while Palestinians were busy sorting out their political and leadership crisis, Israels settler-colonial process accelerated, at the expense of whatever remained of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Of course, this does not, from an intellectual and historical point of view, alter the essential nature of the Palestinian struggle, which remained that of an indigenous nation fighting for its rights. However, it did confuse the political definitions and discourses surrounding the so-called Palestinian-Israeli conflict. This confusion was a direct outcome of the misrepresentation of the Palestinian struggle through Israeli propaganda and US-Western media, which remained committed to elevating the Israeli line. Israel invested in presenting Palestinians as a divided people, who have no vision of peace, and their Resistance movements as essentially terrorist groups, hellbent on the destruction of Israel and so on. But things began to change in recent years, with the revival of indigenous movements around the world, from the Black struggle in the US to the indigenous people resurgence in North and South America, to the ultimate rise of an actual global movement, centered around landless societies and indigenous rights - which heavily invested in global solidarity and intersectionality, allowing it to multiply its powers several times over. The common element of decolonization - in all its manifestations - has created intersectional links among various struggles around the world, which allowed the Palestinian struggle for liberation to fit perfectly into the new global narrative. Black Australians and Palestinians share a history and reality of erasure that has lasted far beyond the anticolonial era of the early last century, when most colonized peoples gained independence from colonial powers, Eugenia Flynn and Tasnim Sammak wrote in their article 'Black Australia to Palestine: solidarity in decolonial struggle'. The Black Lives Matter Movement also played a central role in recentering Palestine around urgent and revived struggles in the United States and even beyond US political geography. Palestinians played a crucial role in the (2014) Ferguson, Missouri, uprising that flared that year in the wake of the police killing of Black teenager Michael Brown, Russell Rickford wrote in an article in Vox. Palestinian activists used social media to share with African American protesters tactics for dealing with tear gas attacks by militarized police forces an experience with which many subjects of Israeli occupation are all too familiar, Rickford added. This was only the beginning, however, as, over the years, Palestine began featuring as a staple in the Black struggle discourse in the US. Both movements fed on each others popularity, conceiving new networks and connecting other global struggles together in a most harmonious fashion. All of this has been propelled forward by the growing connectivity of activists and their struggles around the world, thanks to the utilization of social media, along with independent indigenous media as critical components in organization and mobilization. While the credibility of mainstream media is being greatly questioned by Western societies, social media is now appearing to be a reliable source of information of news about popular mobilization and direct action. The ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza has demonstrated the power of social media in terms of its ability to overcome the intentional lies and deception of corporate media, thus greatly diminishing its traditional role in shaping public opinion around Palestine, the Middle East, the US self-serving war on terror and many other issues. It would not be an exaggeration to state that there is a parallel war to the one happening in Gaza now, one that engages millions of people around the world, working diligently to defeat Israeli-US-Western propaganda and to demand accountability for those carrying out war crimes in Gaza. It would be inaccurate to say that Western governments have been silent in the face of Israeli atrocities in Gaza. As indigenous struggles around the world ally with the struggle of the Palestinians, colonial and neocolonial powers have no other option but to ally with colonial Israel. This means that Western powers are active participants in the Israeli war on Gaza, through their generous military support of Israel, the sharing of intelligence information and through political and financial backing. Whether the war lasts for another week, another month or a year, the consequences of this war will certainly be felt for many years to come, not only in Palestine or even the Middle East, but worldwide as well. The war in Gaza has galvanized global solidarity movements, especially those who are invested in indigenous rights. All of this is reminiscent of the height of the anticolonial national liberation movements of decades ago. Thus, this historic moment must be seized, not only for the sake of Gaza and the Palestinian people but also for the sake of freedom and justice everywhere else in the world. *Dr. Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of six books. His latest book, co-edited with Ilan Pappe, is Our Vision for Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders and Intellectuals Speak Out. His other books include My Father was a Freedom Fighter and The Last Earth. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA). *Romana Rubeo is an Italian writer and the Managing Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. Her articles appeared in many online newspapers and academic journals. She holds a Masters Degree in Foreign Languages and Literature and specializes in audio-visual and journalism translation. Search Keywords: Short link: KINSHASA (Reuters) - A Congolese youth activist was killed on Tuesday by stones pelted during an opposition campaign rally in the east-central city of Kindu, the party of presidential candidate Moise Katumbi said. The Together for the Republic party accused local authorities of seeking to stifle the opposition and allowing unnamed attackers to hurl stones during the campaign event at which Katumbi and two other opposition candidates who back him for the Dec. 20 election appeared. "This violence ... caused the tragic death of Mr Dido Kakisingi," the party said in a statement. Kakisingi, a lawyer and father of six, was the head of a political youth league in Maniema province that supports Katumbi, the party said. "It's arbitrary and sabotage. They didn't even send the police to secure us," said Seth Kikuni, one of the opposition candidates backing Katumbi. The police did not respond to a request for comment. The local governor could not be reached by phone. Tensions are running high in the run-up to presidential, legislative, and regional elections in Africa's second-largest country, which is also struggling to contain a myriad of armed groups in its mineral-rich east. The CENI election commission has promised a fair and well-run election, but all of the opposition candidates have expressed concerns about potential electoral fraud. The United States has said it is concerned about possible violence and threats to freedom of peaceful assembly. Maniema civil society leader Stephane Kamundala said there was a real risk of further bloodshed and accused the various political factions of deliberately deepening divisions. "There is a fear of clashes between these groups of young people ... as currently each camp is recruiting them for its electoral interests," he told Reuters. President Felix Tshisekedi is seeking a second term and is running against more than two dozen rivals. They include businessmen Katumbi and Martin Fayulu, who came second in the disputed 2018 poll, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Denis Mukwege. (Reporting by Ange Kasongo, Sonia Rolley, and Fiston Mahamba; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Susan Fenton) Fishermen set up their gear across the harbour from the Russian-owned super yacht Amadea, seized in Fiji by American law enforcement, in Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. June 17, 2022. REUTERS/Marco Garcia/File Photo By Luc Cohen NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former chief executive of Russian state oil company Rosneft has claimed ownership of a $300 million yacht seized by U.S. authorities last year as part of a crackdown on alleged sanctions violations, U.S. court records showed on Tuesday. Eduard Khudainatov's claim that he owns the 348-foot (106-meter) Amadea is a challenge to the U.S. Department of Justice's push to take permanent ownership of the yacht, which it says is owned by sanctioned Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov. "Mr. Khudainatov has always been the ultimate beneficial owner ... and is not sanctioned by the United States government," Khudainatov's lawyers said in a filing in Manhattan federal court. "As such, the (Amadea) is not forfeitable, as it neither constitutes nor is derived from any unlawful activity." Khudainatov left Rosneft in 2013. The Amadea is being docked in San Diego while its ownership is sorted out. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan, which brought the forfeiture action, declined to comment. The FBI said in an affidavit filed in Fiji, which seized the Amadea last May pursuant to a U.S. warrant, that Khudainatov was being used as a straw owner to conceal the yacht's true owner. The Amadea's seizure came as Washington ramped up sanctions enforcement against people close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, to pressure Moscow to halt its war in Ukraine. Prosecutors said Kerimov, who was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2014 and 2018 over Russian activities in Syria and Ukraine, owns the yacht through a series of shell companies. Kerimov and his family are worth $10.7 billion, according to Forbes magazine, after he amassed his fortune through Russian gold miner Polyus, though he is no longer a shareholder. In a forfeiture complaint last month, prosecutors said Kerimov bought the Amadea in 2021, and then committed sanctions violations by funneling more than $1 million in maintenance payments through U.S. financial institutions. Should the U.S. government gain control of the Amadea, it would likely be auctioned, with sale proceeds going to Ukraine. U.S. District Judge Dale Ho has scheduled an initial conference for Jan. 10, 2024. (Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis) FILE PHOTO: Herons are seen on the Piraiba river before a summit of Amazon rainforest nations, in Belem, Para state, Brazil August 6, 2023. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino/File Photo By Jake Spring SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Destruction across the Amazon rainforest so far this year has slowed dramatically, down 55.8% from the same period a year ago in a major turnaround for the region vital to curbing climate change, according to an analysis provided to Reuters. The analysis by the nonprofit Amazon Conservation's MAAP forest monitoring program offers a first look at 2023 deforestation across the nine Amazon countries. Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Bolivia all showed declining forest loss. "These data show there still is hope for the Amazon," said Matt Finer, an ecologist and MAAP's director. The Amazon, the world's largest rainforest, helps to curb global warming because its trees absorb huge amounts of carbon dioxide. The drop coincides with a shift since last year to pro-conservation governments under leftist presidents in Brazil and Colombia. Analysts credit most of the decline to stronger environmental law enforcement in Brazil - home to the majority of the forest - under President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who assumed office on Jan. 1. His predecessor Jair Bolsonaro had advocated clearing rainforest land for mining, ranching and other uses. The success at reining in deforestation will give Amazon countries more leverage to push for conservation funding at the upcoming United Nations COP28 climate summit, experts said. Amazon old-growth forest loss fell to 9,117 square kilometers from Jan. 1 to Nov. 8, down 55.8% from the same period in 2022, according to MAAP. That is an area about the size of Puerto Rico but still the lowest level since at least 2019, the first year more accurate rapid satellite deforestation alerts became available. Carlos Nobre, an earth systems scientist at University of Sao Paulo and a co-founder of the Science Panel for the Amazon research collective, called the data "wonderful news." In 2021, more than 100 countries - including many from the Amazon - pledged to stop deforestation globally by the end of the decade. Nobre said such a large single-year decline makes him optimistic the Amazon at least can reach that target. The MAAP analysis also drew on NASA data to estimate that the Amazon contains more than 37 billion metric tons of carbon, which would be released into the atmosphere if the forest is destroyed. That is roughly equivalent to 2.5 times the greenhouse gas emissions from all sources globally in 2022, from coal power plants to cars, according to European Union data. That estimate is likely low as there are some holes in the data, Finer said. The highest levels are in the southwestern Amazon in Peru and the northeast in Guyana, Suriname and parts of Brazil and Venezuela, the MAAP data shows. Deforestation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Amazonian countries. As destruction falls, the massive decline in emissions will bolster Brazil and others headed into the upcoming United Nations COP28 climate negotiations, which begins on Thursday, Nobre said. Brazil's Lula has led a push among its Amazonian neighbors and other rainforest countries to get rich nations to pay for woodland conservation. "With this data, Amazonian countries will have incredible power during COP28," Nobre said. DECLINES FROM COLOMBIA TO PERU Brazil is home to 60% of the Amazon and accounts for the largest part of the decline. MAAP's independent analysis showed a 59% drop in primary forest loss in Brazil, which broadly confirms the trend shown by the country's government-produced data. Finer credited Lula's stronger enforcement of environmental laws for the decline. Colombian destruction declined 66.5%, perhaps due to the environmental policy of President Gustavo Petro or shifting attitudes on deforestation among former guerilla fighters who control areas of the forest, Finer said. Peru's forest loss decreased by 37%. Bolivia saw a surge in forest loss last year, ranking third highest after Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to data from monitoring initiative Global Forest Watch. But MAAP data shows that Bolivian forest loss fell by nearly 60%. While the country is battling massive wildfires, many of them are not in the Amazon, Finer said. It was not immediately apparent what drove the decline in Peru and Bolivia, Finer said. The data extends through Nov. 8, but the remainder of the year is a low period for deforestation in much of the Amazon as torrential rains hit and make it difficult for loggers to penetrate deep into the forest. MAAP's forest loss analysis is based on data from a European Space Agency's rapid alert satellite and the finalized annual figures will be slightly higher, Finer said. The primary forest loss is overwhelmingly from human-caused deforestation but includes some natural loss as well, such as high winds knocking down trees. (Reporting by Jake Spring; Editing by David Gregorio) People visit the Parthenon Gallery, designed to accommodate the sculptures of the Parthenon, at the Acropolis Museum in Athens, Greece, November 27, 2023. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki ATHENS (Reuters) -Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has cancelled a planned meeting with his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis due to a diplomatic row over the status of the 2,500-year-old Parthenon sculptures housed at the British Museum. Greece has repeatedly asked for their permanent return to Athens, while Britain and the museum have refused to do so. WHY THEY ARE IN BRITAIN? The sculptures, known as the Elgin Marbles in Britain, include part of a frieze, relief panels and other figures that were removed from the Parthenon in the early 19th century by Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin and then-British ambassador to the Ottoman empire. They were transported to Britain and bought by the British Museum in 1816, and are exhibited as a prized part of its collection in London. WHAT ARE THEY? The sculptures at the British Museum make up about half of a 160-metre frieze which adorned the Parthenon temple on the rocky Acropolis hill in Athens. The collection includes 15 sculpted relief panels and figures of gods and heroes from the temple's pediments. They are original parts of the temple dedicated to the goddess Athena, completed in 432 BC as the crowning glory of Athens' Golden Age. The largest temple on the Acropolis, the Parthenon has operated as an archaeological site since 1833, surviving wars and natural disasters to become the symbol of modern Greece. ATHENS' CAMPAIGN FOR THEIR RETURN While Athens has called for the permanent return of the treasures since its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1832 and accused Elgin of theft, the campaign garnered more attention in the 1980s. Greek Oscar-nominated actress Melina Mercouri, a vocal supporter of the arts, launched an official campaign for their return when she was culture minister in 1981-1989. Athens has further stepped up its efforts since it opened a museum in 2009 at the foot of the Acropolis, which holds the sculptures that remain in Greece. With a view of the Parthenon, the layout of the top floor of the museum mimics the temple. In September 2019, Mitsotakis suggested Athens would be willing to loan antiquities to the British Museum in return for being able to temporarily exhibit them. Greece said the proposal did not alter its long-standing demand for their permanent return. In December 2022, Greece said it was in talks with Britain over the repatriation of the sculptures to Athens but a deal was not imminent. BRITISH MUSEUM'S STANCE The British Museum, custodian of the sculptures, has refused to return them, saying they were acquired by Elgin under a legal contract with the Ottoman Empire that then ruled Greece. The trustees of the museum say the public would benefit more from having the sculptures divided between two museums, that bringing them back together into a unified whole is impossible as some parts were lost or destroyed, and that the sculptures could not be safely returned. The trustees have said they would consider a loan to Greece if Greece acknowledges the British Museum's ownership of the sculptures, which Greek governments have refused in the past. The British Museum in January 2023 called for a new Parthenon Partnership with Greece and said discussions were ongoing. OTHER RETURNS In January 2022, a museum in Italy loaned Athens the so-called "Fagan" fragment, depicting the foot of the ancient Greek goddess Artemis. It later said the fragment - part of the temple's eastern frieze - could stay in Greece. In December, Pope Francis returned to Greece three pieces of the Parthenon that had been in the papal collections of the Vatican Museums for more than a century. (Reporting by Renee MaltezouEditing by Alison Williams and Bernadette Baum) A banner to celebrate the IPO of online fashion house Farfetch is displayed on the facade of the of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 21, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo (Reuters) -Online luxury retailer Farfetch's founder Jose Neves is looking to take the company private after a troubled New York Stock Exchange listing, the Telegraph reported on Tuesday. Neves is said to be working with advisers at JPMorgan, the report said, adding that he retains a 15% stake but holds 77% of the voting rights through a dual-class share structure. Shares of the company edged 20% higher following the news. The stock has fallen about 64% so far this year. The move is believed to have the tentative backing of major backers including Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and Swiss luxury conglomerate Richemont, the report added. Farfetch did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. (Reporting by Juveria Tabassum and Annett Mary Manoj; Editing by Maju Samuel and Shilpi Majumdar) FILE PHOTO: A view of closed gates at the Raja-Jooseppi international border crossing station before its opening in Inari, northern Finland on November 24, 2023. Lehtikuva/Emmi Korhonen via REUTERS/File Photo By Essi Lehto HELSINKI (Reuters) -Finland will close its entire border with Russia to travellers for the next two weeks in a bid to halt the unusually large flow of asylum seekers to the Nordic nation, which the government and its allies say is an orchestrated move by Moscow. Finland last week shut all but one of its border posts to travellers from Russia, keeping open only the northernmost crossing located in the Arctic. But this too would now close, the government said on Tuesday. Some 900 asylum seekers from nations including Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen have entered Finland from Russia in November, an increase from less than one per day previously, according to the Finnish Border Guard. The decision to shut all eight border crossings means only cargo trains can pass between the two countries, Finland's Border Guard said. Helsinki says Moscow is funnelling people to the border in retaliation for its decision to increase defence cooperation with the United States, a charge the Kremlin denies. Finland infuriated Russia earlier this year when it joined NATO, ending decades of military non-alignment, due to the war in Ukraine. "This is Russia's influence operation and we do no accept it," Prime Minister Petteri Orpo told a press conference. On Monday he said his country had intelligence information on Russian authorities assisting the asylum seekers and that despite Finnish border closures, there were still more people heading towards Finland in Russia. On Monday, only three asylum seekers arrived in Finland through the remote Raja-Jooseppi station, the last open border post, and on Tuesday there were no entrants. The border station will remain open on Wednesday before closing until Dec. 13, the government said. Finland's ombudsman for non-discrimination last week said the remote location of Raja-Jooseppi prompted concerns that Helsinki was jeopardising the right to seek asylum. Asylum can still be sought by travellers arriving by boat and by air, the Finnish government said on Tuesday. (Reporting by Essi Lehto, editing by Terje Solsvik, Anna Ringstrom, Louise Rasmussen, Alexandra Hudson) FILE PHOTO: A badge of the French Municipal Police is seen at the Milipol Paris, the worldwide exhibition dedicated to homeland security and safety, in Villepinte near Paris, France, November 15, 2023. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo By Juliette Jabkhiro and Layli Foroudi PARIS (Reuters) - Night-time protests across France over the past few days by ultra-right militants chanting "Islam out of Europe" have been fanned by last week's rioting in Dublin, a French intelligence source and far-right Telegram communications indicate. The demonstrations in protest at the fatal Nov. 19 stabbing of a teenager were an attempt by the far-right "to convince the French public that immigration is the cause of crime," far-right expert and political scientist Jean-Yves Camus said. Far-right politicians framed the murder of the teenager, named Thomas, in the southeastern village of Crepol as an attack on France and what France represents, as witnesses alleged that the assailants were of Arab origin. Nine people have been arrested in connection with the killing, which followed a village ball, authorities said. On Monday, hundreds marched in Lyon, Rennes and Grenoble and about 100 people marched in the southern town of Romans-sur-Isere on Saturday in the neighbourhood of one of the alleged killers. The Dublin riots on Nov. 23, led by far-right groups after three children were stabbed in the capital, were a "trigger" for such a strong reaction in France over the last few days, a French intelligence source told Reuters, noting that there was a will among far-right activists to be "as good as the Irish." In messages sent on French far-right Telegram groups, seen by Reuters, videos of the Dublin riots were shared, highlighting what they said was the assailant's Algerian origin and hailing the reaction of the Irish far-right. "Bravo to the resistance," one message read. Camus added Saturday's march in Romans-sur-Isere differed from reactions by ultra-right groups to similar events in the past, as militants had traveled from around the country to head to one of the suspect's neighbourhoods "revenge" in mind. CALMING TENSIONS On a visit to Crepol on Monday, government spokesperson Olivier Veran urged calm, saying "we don't respond to violence with violence, we respond with justice. We don't respond to violence with division." French authorities have arrested more than a dozen march participants over the last few days and interior minister Gerald Darmanin said on Tuesday that he intended to shut down three ultra-right and neo-Nazi groups, including one based in Paris known as the Martel Division. "France has avoided an Ireland-like scenario, because it was firm, France has avoided a mini-civil war," Darmanin told France Inter radio. Some 20 people were taken into custody at Saturday's march in Romans-sur-Isere, of which six were handed six to 10 month prison sentences on Monday, Valence prosecutor Laurent de Caigny said. Eight people were arrested in Lyon, local authorities said. There are about 3,000 violent ultra-right militants identified by the French intelligence services. That number has been stable for the last few years but the national coordination by demonstrators as seen on Saturday is a new phenomenon, the intelligence source said. (Reporting by Layli Foroudi and Juliette Jabkhiro, Editing by William Maclean) A general view shows the Lebanese village of Blida as seen from Mhaibib village, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon November 28, 2023. REUTERS/Aziz Taher BEIRUT (Reuters) - A senior Hezbollah politician said on Tuesday he hoped a truce would continue and his Iran-backed group had started paying compensation to people who had suffered losses during weeks of Israeli strikes in south Lebanon. Following the start of the Hamas-Israel war on Oct. 7, Hezbollah and Israel have engaged in their worst hostilities since 2006, with Hezbollah attacking Israeli positions at the border and Israel launching air and artillery strikes. But the cross-border violence has ceased since Hamas - a Hezbollah ally - and Israel reached a temporary truce on Friday. "God willing, the truce will continue," senior Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said after a meeting with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati. The violence at the Israel-Lebanese border has forced tens of thousands of people on both sides of the frontier to flee their homes. Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed around 100 people - 80 of them Hezbollah fighters. Hostilities spiralled following the Oct. 7 Hamas raid from the Gaza Strip into Israel, setting off a conflict that spread around the region. Citing a Hezbollah survey of damage done by Israeli attacks in Lebanon, Fadlallah said 37 residential buildings had been totally destroyed and 11 more completely burned. Another 1,500 homes across the south had suffered varying degrees of damage. Fadlallah said Mikati had agreed the government would pay compensation, including for destroyed cars and olive groves. This would be separate from compensation to be paid by Hezbollah, he added. "It is true that we, in Hezbollah, began paying compensation ... but this does not mean at all that the government is not concerned, indeed it is concerned, and (Mikati) was very responsive," Fadlallah said. Hezbollah said it spent more than $300 million on compensation and reconstruction following the 2006 war, during which Israeli air strikes laid waste to swathes of the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut. (Writing by Tom Perry, editing by Ed Osmond) FILE PHOTO: Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Claremont, New Hampshire, U.S., November 11, 2023. REUTERS/Brian Snyder\/File Photo By Alexandra Ulmer (Reuters) -Republican mega-donor Bernie Marcus said on Tuesday he would likely still give money to Donald Trump's 2024 presidential bid if the former president was convicted of a crime - but the billionaire does not plan to be one of his biggest financial backers. Marcus, a co-founder of home improvement retailer the Home Depot, announced earlier this month that he was supporting Trump, the runaway frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination contest that kicks off on Jan. 15 in Iowa. Trump faces four criminal cases, including state and federal charges stemming from his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Trump, 77, denies any wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty in all four cases. The unprecedented legal turmoil has prompted questions about what would happen to Trump's campaign if he was convicted or jailed. Asked in an interview with Reuters whether he would still support Trump if he were convicted, Marcus replied, "I think so. Because I think it's all trumped up." Marcus, 94, who supported Trump's White House runs in 2016 and 2020, said he had spoken to the former president recently. "I never discussed his legal fees or his legal problems," Marcus said, adding that Trump was "very happy" about his support. Marcus and his wife Billi Wilma Marcus were the seventh-largest individual Republican donors in the 2020 election cycle, giving nearly $25 million to Republican campaigns, according to OpenSecrets, a nonprofit group that tracks money in politics. Business magazine Forbes estimates Marcus' net worth at around $8.8 billion. Marcus would not be drawn into specifics of his donations this time around, saying only he would support Trump in the primary and in the general election against Biden in November 2024, should Trump be the nominee. However, Marcus cautioned he would not be a major financial supporter. "Of course, I'm going to support him to some extent, but I'm not one of his big givers, that's for sure," Marcus said. The billionaire said he also liked Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley, a former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina governor, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, but did not think they could beat Trump in the nominating contest. Marcus said he thought Trump was a "fixer" who would be beneficial to the U.S. economy and strong on Middle East foreign policy. (Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer, additional reporting by Andrew Goudsward; editing by Ross Colvin and Jonathan Oatis) FILE PHOTO: Cecilia Skingsley attends a session on central bank digital currencies at the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington, U.S., October 14, 2022. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) - Three of the world's cornerstone institutions - the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Bank for International Settlements - are to work together for the first time to "tokenise" some of the financial instruments that underpin their global work, a BIS official said on Tuesday. The trio will also work with Switzerland's central bank which has been pioneering tokenisation, the process of turning conventional assets into uniquely coded "tokens" that can be used in faster new systems. Their collaboration will initially focus on simple but still paper-based processes such as when richer countries donate into some of the World Bank's funds to support poorer parts of the world. That original pledge can be in the form of what is known as "promissory note." It is that note that could be tokenised, making it easier to transfer when required. "We will work together ... to simplify the process for making development money available for emerging and developing economies," BIS official Cecilia Skingsley said at conference hosted by the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington. She added that tokenisation also opens up the possibility of "encoding policy and regulatory requirements" into a "common protocol" for tackling problems such as international money laundering. She also touched on the new breed of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), repeating calls for some global rules and technology standards so they can work across the world and with existing payment systems. "Questions remain," Skingsley said. "Do these standards need to be implemented early on or else they would be difficult to change later? To what extent do they need to be adapted to ensure they can operate with non-CBDC systems? (Reporting by Marc Jones in London; Editing by Matthew Lewis) FILE PHOTO: Palestinians walk among the rubble, as they inspect houses destroyed in Israeli strikes during the conflict, amid the temporary truce between Hamas and Israel, at Khan Younis refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip November 27, 2023. REUTERS/M By Arafat Barbakh and Ibraheem Abu Mustafa KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (Reuters) - Carting heavy cans of water through muddy streets, searching mounds of rubble for clothes, mourning lost relatives and homes - Gazans reprieved from Israeli bombardment during the truce with Hamas were still facing the daily hardships of war. At a water station in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, people filled plastic containers and lugged them to homes or shelters using carts pulled by donkeys or by hand, bicycles, a shopping trolley, a wheelbarrow, even a wheelchair. "The struggle for water happens daily, since we were first displaced until now. Even during the ceasefire, they didn't find a solution to the water problem," said Rami al-Rizek, displaced with his family from their home in Gaza City. Now in its fifth day, the pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas has allowed an increased number of aid trucks to enter Gaza from Egypt, but the humanitarian needs are so immense that many Gazans have felt little or no impact. "Whether there is a truce or not, we still have no electricity, no water, and none of life's basic necessities," said Muath Hamdan, another man waiting at the water station. It had rained, and a steady stream of children and adults trudged through mud and puddles in sandals and flip flops on their way to the water station. The quest for water was the main activity that could be seen on the streets. In a different area of Khan Younis, Maryam Abu Rjaileh had returned to her home, reduced to rubble by an Israeli air strike, to search for clothes for her children. The family are now sheltering at a school, in a classroom shared with many others. "We see our homes getting destroyed, our dreams getting destroyed, we see the efforts we put into our homes all destroyed," said Abu Rjaileh. "How can I describe our situation? They gave us a four-day truce, what are these four days? We come here, feel sorry for ourselves and turn back." PAINFUL MEMORIES In another part of town, Yasser Abu Shamaleh paced over the pile of debris that used to be a block where many of his relatives lived. He said more than 30 of them had been killed - his parents, sisters and brothers, nieces, nephews and cousins. "Two things made me come to this area. First, my cousin is still under the rubble and no-one has been able to get him out. Second, my painful memories," he said. Abu Shamaleh, who said he survived because he, his wife and their five children live in a different building, picked up chunks of concrete and tossed them aside. A rag doll could be seen in the rubble. "As much as you try to retrieve things, it's useless. We need machinery and tools to get things out," he said. "The truce is the time to lift the rubble and search for all the missing people and bury them. We honour the dead by burying them. What use is the truce if the bodies remain under the rubble?" he said. The war began when militants from Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, rampaged through southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people, including babies and children, and seizing about 240 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Israel responded with aerial bombardment and a ground assault on Gaza, killing more than 15,000 people, around 40% of them children, according to Gazan health officials. Another Khan Younis resident, Ahmed al-Najjar, said of the truce: "Four days are not enough, and forty days are not enough, and four years will not be enough to get over the pain." (Additional reporting by Bassam Masoud, Fadi Shana and Mohammed Salem; Writing by Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Janet Lawrence) By Francois Murphy VIENNA (Reuters) - Interpol has come a long way in preventing abuse by Russia and others of its "red notice" system where a country asks others to arrest a suspect, and cannot do much more for now to improve it, the agency's head said on Tuesday. Rights groups, legal experts and others have long said countries like Russia and China abuse the red notice system by using it to get political critics arrested abroad. Over the years Interpol, the global police coordination body with 195 member states, has increased checks to prevent abusive red notices, and it now screens all requests for a red notice before issuing them. More than 10,000 are issued a year. "If I got good advice for example from NGOs (on) what else I can do, I would implement that," Interpol Secretary General Juergen Stock told Reuters in an interview on the margins of his organisation's annual General Assembly, which is being held in Vienna this year. Stock, who is German, has another year in his mandate after nine years in the post. "We have a small percentage, maybe 2%, 3% of tricky notices. The overwhelming majority concerns murderers, rapists, drug smugglers and what have you," he said. "Have we made one or the other mistakes perhaps where we had to correct a decision? Yes. I'm not saying it's perfect but I'm saying it's very robust," he said. Stock avoided naming and shaming individual countries but said Russia was under special measures aimed at preventing abuse, describing it as "the example" of a country under such measures. Rights groups have long accused Moscow of filing by far the largest number of abusive requests. Moscow says it follows due legal process and depicts many prominent critics such as jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny as criminals. "Of course we see geopolitical tensions are rising. Of course we know there is no international definition of terrorism. That is not going away," Stock said, adding that Interpol has increased the number of languages in which it can monitor the "global situation". "Maybe AI (artificial intelligence) will help in the future. We are now also working on implementing AI solutions that are helping us in that monitoring. So the process is continuing but the major cornerstones are established," he said. (Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Frances Kerry) FILE PHOTO: A view shows a destroyed home riddled with bullets, following the deadly October 7 attack by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, southern Israel November 2, 2023. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo By Emma Farge GENEVA (Reuters) - Israel held a meeting at the U.N. in Geneva late on Monday to raise awareness of sexual violence against women perpetrated during Hamas' Oct. 7 attacks amid criticism that the global body has kept quiet about the issue. Israeli authorities have opened an investigation into sexual violence during the most deadly attack on Israel in its history, including rape, after evidence emerged pointing to sexual crimes, such as victims found disrobed and mutilated. Hamas denies the abuses. The U.N. human rights office said it has condemned the Oct. 7 attacks as "heinous, brutal and shocking" and that Israel has so far not granted its monitors access to the country. The private event, attended by diplomats, rights groups and U.N. agencies, is the first Israel-organised event outside the country to address acts of sexual violence by Hamas, which Israel's diplomatic mission described as "widespread". U.N. rights bodies "downplayed" and "minimised" the sexual violence, said Ruth Halperin-Kaddari, an Associate Professor at the Bar-Ilan University, who spoke at the event. "We expected a clear and loud statement that says that there is no justification for using the bodies of women as a weapon of war. None of this came up until now," she told Reuters on the sidelines. Asked to explain, she said: "It turns around the conventional framing of viewing Israel as the aggressor, and Palestinians as the ultimate victim." Halperin-Kaddari, formerly Vice-President at the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), is meeting U.N. Human Rights chief Volker Turk on Tuesday to convey this message, supply him with new evidence and request a strong condemnation of the attacks, she said. A U.N. rights office spokesperson said Turk's office had requested access to Israel to monitor and collect information on the Oct. 7 attacks but had not received a response from Israel. "The Office is attempting to carry out remote monitoring of these and other human rights violations reported in Israel and the OPT (Occupied Palestinian Territories). Lack of direct access to Israel and the OPT has hampered the work," said Ravina Shamdasani in response to emailed questions. "We have repeatedly stressed the need for rigorous investigations and accountability for all serious breaches of international human rights and humanitarian law, irrespective of the identity of the alleged perpetrators," she added. Evidence about sexual violence includes testimonies by first responders at the sites of the attacks as well as military reservists who tended to the bodies in the identification process. Reuters has seen photos corroborating some of those accounts. Halperin-Kaddari said she has been given access to some evidence and testimonies by Israeli authorities in order to "raise awareness and demand condemnation and accountability". She described meeting a paramedic who tended to a woman after the Oct. 7 music festival who was bleeding heavily after being raped by four attackers. Halperin-Kaddari said she would also like to see independent bodies investigate the crimes. One body that rights experts say could investigate is an independent commission of inquiry set up by the U.N. Human Rights Council, but Israel does not cooperate with it, alleging bias. Turk's office also called for Israeli authorities to cooperate with this inquiry. (Reporting by Emma Farge; Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell and Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem, Editing by William Maclean) Daniel Pinto, President and chief operating officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co, speaks during the Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit in Hong Kong, China November 2, 2022. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu By Nupur Anand NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase President and Chief Operating Officer Daniel Pinto said he expects its Chase UK consumer bank to break even in the next 12 to 18 months. "We have acquired around two million customers" in the United Kingdom, Pinto told a Financial Times conference on Tuesday. "A big percentage of those are fairly actively engaged, and we have nearly $20 billion in terms of deposits." The largest U.S. lender opened the digital bank in the UK in 2021, its first foray into international retail business. Chase UK is doing better than expected, Pinto said, and the company plans to grow in other global consumer markets over time. Brazilian digital bank C6, in which JPMorgan has 46% stake, is expected to break even "very soon," Pinto said. "We have not made any decision to have a bigger stake or not," Pinto added. The bank increased its holding in C6 by 6% in August 2023. C6 posted a 2.2 billion real ($452.12 million) loss in 2022 as it increased provisions for credit losses. In the U.S., Pinto said the so-called Basel endgame proposal requiring banks to set aside more capital could damage capital markets and lead to more extreme volatility. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has also blasted the draft rules, saying they would restrict lending for businesses and make U.S. banks less competitive. ($1 = 4.8660 reais) (Reporting by Nupur Anand in New York; Editing by Lananh Nguyen and Sharon Singleton) FILE PHOTO: View of the Cobre Panama mine, of Canadian First Quantum Minerals, in Donoso, Panama, December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Aris Martinez/File Photo (Reuters) - Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals suspended commercial production at its flagship Cobre Panama mine on Tuesday after the Panama Supreme Court ruled its contract to operate the mine as unconstitutional. The contested contract gave First Quantum a 20-year mining right with an option to extend for another 20 years in return for $375 million in annual revenue to Panama. Cobre Panama accounts for about 1% of global copper production and contributes to about 5% of Panama's gross domestic product. Here's a look at the events since December last year as the ruling puts the company on the long and unpredictable road of international arbitration: 2022 Dec. 15: Panama orders First Quantum to pause operations at Cobre Panama after missing a deadline to finalize a deal that would have increased payments to the government. Dec. 24: First Quantum starts arbitration process against Panama. 2023 Feb 23: First Quantum suspends ore processing at the mine. March 8: Panama and First Quantum agree on the final text for a contract to operate the mine. March 15: First Quantum resumes operations at Cobre Panama. Sept. 9: First Quantum reaches a deal over wages with the workers union at Cobre Panama. Oct. 3: Panama's government authorizes the withdrawal of the proposed contract to regulate operations of First Quantum's local unit. Oct 10: Panama's cabinet approves a modified version of the government's contract. Oct 20: Panama's President Laurentino Cortizo gives final approval of a law authorizing a new long-term contract for the mine. Oct 24: Police arrest nearly 50 protesters in confrontations over the new contract. Oct 27: Cortizo says the country will reject all new mining projects after widespread protests against the deal. Oct 29: Cortizo says Panama will hold a referendum to decide whether to scrap the contract with the Canadian miner. Oct 30: Panama's electoral court says currently there are not "conditions" to hold a referendum on the disputed mining contract. Nov 2: Panama's lawmakers scratch provisions to cancel the contract with First Quantum from a proposed bill banning new mining concessions in the country. Nov. 7: Two people taking part in an anti-government protest in Panama are shot dead by an assailant. Nov. 13: First Quantum says reduced ore processing at mine as protesters block access to ports. Nov. 16: The company and workers at the mine reach an agreement guaranteeing salaries as protests continue. Nov. 24: Panama's top court starts deliberations to rule on several constitutional challenges to the contract. Nov. 27: The company says it hopes to avoid arbitration with Panama's government by resolving disagreements during a 90-day period for talks. Nov. 28: Panama Supreme Court rules First Quantum's contract to operate the copper mine as "unconstitutional". Cortizo government to proceed with the shutdown of the mine. First Quantum says it is suspending commercial production at the mine amid protests. (Reporting by Seher Dareen, Sourasis Bose and Roshia Sabu in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Arun Koyyur) WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's parliament on Tuesday debated the formation of three commissions to investigate allegations of wrongdoing during the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party's eight years in government. The coalition of pro-European Union parties that looks set to take power after an October election has vowed to hold PiS lawmakers to account over accusations of misuse of public funds, corruption concerning the allocation of visas and the targeting of political opponents with spyware. With PiS's opponents holding a majority, parliament will almost certainly vote in favour of the formation of the commissions on Wednesday. PiS denies accusations of wrongdoing and says the formation of the commissions would merely be a piece of political theatre that distracts lawmakers from more important issues. "The appointment of investigative commissions is a complicated matter and it will take some time," parliament speaker Szymon Holownia told a news conference. "I hope that we will be able to form one commission by the end of the year, but this process must start today." One commission will deal with attempts by the PiS government to organise a presidential election in 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, using only postal votes. The plans fell through and Poland's Supreme Audit Office (NIK) put the cost to the taxpayer at over 76 million zlotys ($19.17 million). The second commission will investigate accusations that PiS used Pegasus spyware to hack the phones of political opponents. The third will investigate claims that the government was complicit in a system in which migrants received visas without being properly checked, after paying intermediaries. On Monday, President Andrzej Duda swore in a PiS government led by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, but the administration is likely to only last two weeks. After this time it will face a vote of confidence which it looks set to lose as, despite being the largest single party, it lacks a majority and all other parties have ruled out working with it. ($1 = 3.9642 zlotys) (Reporting by Alan Charlish and Pawel Florkiewicz) FILE PHOTO: Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke speaks during the conference "The Synodal Tower of Babel" on the eve of the opening of the synod of bishops, in Rome, Italy, October 3, 2023. REUTERS/Remo Casilli/File Photo By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis has removed some of the Vatican privileges of conservative American Cardinal Raymond Burke, including a large subsidized apartment and his salary, a senior Vatican official said on Tuesday. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, participated in a regular Vatican meeting when the pope made the announcement to senior aides last week. He quoted the pope as saying that Burke, one of his fiercest critics, was "working against the Church and against the papacy" and that he had sown "disunity" in the Church. Burke has had no senior Vatican job for years. His is a consultant to one of its tribunals, as are numerous cardinals who live outside Rome, and spends most of his time in his native state of Wisconsin. The official who was at the meeting denied media reports that Francis had called the 75-year-old Burke "an enemy". Burke is a hero to traditionalists in the Church, particularly in the United States, where he is often a guest on conservative Catholic media outlets that have made criticism of the pope a mainstay of their operations. The move by Francis was his second involving a conservative American prelate this month. On Nov. 11, the pope dismissed another conservative critic, Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, after Strickland refused to step down following a Vatican investigation. While conservatives are a minority in the Church, they have significant clout in advanced countries such as the United States, in part because of their link to conservative politics. Burke has been opposing the pope's reforms almost from the start. In 2014, a year after Francis was chosen, the pope removed Burke as head of a Vatican tribunal and moved him to a largely ceremonial post several days after Burke said the Church under Francis was "like a ship without a rudder". Most recently, in October, Burke was one of five cardinals who openly challenged a global month-long Vatican meeting, known as a synod. Before the meeting began, Burke was the star quest of a gathering of conservative in a theatre just a few blocks from the Vatican. There, he called for a defence against the "the poison of confusion, error and division" in the Church. A person close to Burke said the cardinal had not yet been formerly informed of the pope's decision, which was first reported by the conservative Italian outlet, La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana. (Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Bill Berkrot) FILE PHOTO: Pope Francis leads the weekly general audience in Saint Peter's Square, at the Vatican, November 8, 2023. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis has cancelled his planned trip to the COP28 climate meeting in Dubai because of the effects of influenza and lung inflammation, the Vatican said on Tuesday, adding to concerns about his health. The pope, who is 86, was due to begin a three-day visit to Dubai on Friday and the Vatican had said earlier on Tuesday that he was going ahead with the trip. "Although the Holy Father's general clinical condition has improved with regard to the flu and inflammation of the respiratory tract, doctors have asked the pope not to make the trip planned for the coming days to Dubai," the Vatican said. The pope had agreed not to travel "with great regret," it added, saying that it would look into ways that the leader of the world's Roman Catholics could contribute to the discussions remotely. In a briefing earlier on Tuesday, Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni had said Francis would deliver one of the keynote speeches in Dubai on Saturday and have bilateral meetings the same day with about 30 people, including about 20 heads of state. The pope had also met with Spanish bishops visiting the Vatican on Tuesday. CONCERN FOR THE ENVIRONMENT The pope has made protection of the environment one of the cornerstones of his pontificate. In a document issued in October, Francis had appealed to climate change deniers and foot-dragging politicians to have a change of heart, saying they cannot gloss over its human causes or deride scientific facts while the planet "may be nearing the breaking point". Francis also said the transition to clean, renewable energy and the abandonment of fossil fuels was not going fast enough. The Vatican had announced on Monday the pope would limit his activities this week in order to conserve his strength after contracting the flu. A CT scan done at a Rome hospital on Saturday excluded pneumonia but detected inflammation in the pope's lungs that caused breathing difficulties. He was receiving antibiotics intravenously, the Vatican said on Monday. As a young man in his native Argentina, Francis had part of a lung removed. (Reporting by Philip Pullella and Alvise Armellini; additional reporting by Gavin Jones and Keith Weir; Editing by Bernadette Baum, Chris Reese and Lisa Shumaker) FILE PHOTO: A BR700-725 jet engine is seen at the assembly line of the Rolls-Royce Germany plant in Dahlewitz near Berlin, Germany, February 28, 2023. REUTERS/Nadja Wohlleben By Paul Sandle and Sarah Young LONDON (Reuters) -Rolls-Royce aims to quadruple profit in the next five years by boosting the performance of its jet engines and bearing down on costs in boss Tufan Erginbilgic's masterplan for Britain's most prestigious engineering company. Setting out a strategy that has been almost a year in the making, the chief executive said on Tuesday he would deliver up to 2.8 billion pounds ($3.5 billion) in annual operating profit by 2027, four times 2022's outcome and double its guidance for up to 1.4 billion pounds this year. That would be driven by surge in profit margins at its civil aerospace business to 15-17% from 2.5% last year. Erginbilgic, a former BP executive who took over in January, said he would tackle Rolls-Royce's inefficiencies by focusing on the widebody plane sector, where it is Airbus's exclusive supplier, business aviation, defence and power systems. Its electrical-powered aircraft business will be sold in a drive to raise up to 1.5 billion pounds from selling non-core assets, he said, while the company could re-enter the single-aisle jet market through a partnership, leveraging its next-generation UltraFan technology. The biggest driver of profit will be a step change in margins in an engine business that powers nearly half of long-haul aircraft, including all Airbus A330neo and A350 models and some Boeing 787 planes. The margin target would bring Rolls-Royce closer to rivals such as General Electric, its major competitor in widebodies. Erginbilgic said it would be achieved by extending the "time on wing" of its engines between maintenance, reducing the costs of manufacturing and repairs, a new pricing strategy and tackling previous low-margin contracts. The company is planning 300-350 engine deliveries a year, a target Erginbilgic told investors was "totally aligned" with the plans of Airbus and Boeing. Shares in Rolls-Royce, which have soared 161% in the year to date, reached a four-year high and were trading up 6% by mid-afternoon. "We are setting compelling and achievable financial targets for the mid-term which will take Rolls-Royce significantly beyond any previous financial performance," Erginbilgic said. Agency Partners analyst Nick Cunningham said the targets implied Rolls-Royce was willing to shed revenues in exchange for better profitability. "If so, that is a deeper culture change from Rolls-Royce's traditional market share optimisation approach of past decades," he said. Asked if he was willing to sacrifice market share, Tufan said the company had a 55% share of widebody deliveries last year and he expected that level to continue this year, with growth over the next five to 10 years. "We will capture market share every year, but in a profitable way," he said. SINGLE-AISLE OPPORTUNITY Rolls-Royce said it would sell non-core assets from across the group and create partnerships if that would create extra value, including potentially returning to the single-aisle sector split between RTX's Pratt & Witney and CFM International, a joint venture between Safran and GE. "We don't need to enter narrowbody but it is an opportunity," Erginbilgic told analysts. "With a partnership approach, I believe it can be a profitable place." Rolls-Royce's finances were hit by problems with its Trent 1000 engine and by the pandemic, which grounded long-haul aircraft and wiped out revenue tied to engine flying hours. Recovery under Erginbilgic has been rapid, with a five-fold rise in first-half operating profit reported in August, helped by increasing prices for maintaining its engines and tightly managing its cost base. ($1 = 0.7921 pounds) (Reporting by Paul SandleEditing by Barbara Lewis and Mark Potter) Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a plenary session of the World Russian People's Council, dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the founding of the organisation, via video link in Sochi, Russia November 28, 2023. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin By Guy Faulconbridge MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin, whose picture was shown between two giant images of an ancient Orthodox icon on Tuesday, warned the West ahead of elections in March 2024 that any foreign meddling in Russia would be considered an act of aggression. Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has led to the most serious confrontation between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, prompting Putin to pivot towards China. Since the invasion, Putin has changed the narrative of the war, casting it as an existential battle between sacred Russian civilisation and an arrogant West which he says is in cultural, political and economic decline. Speaking to the World Russian People's Council, led by the head of Russia's Orthodox church, Patriarch Kirill, Putin's picture was shown on a giant screen beside two copies of an ancient Orthodox icon. Such icons are stylised, often gilded, religious paintings considered sacred in Orthodox churches. The Russian Orthodox Church is an ardent institutional supporter of Russia's war in Ukraine, and Putin has espoused its conservatism as part of his vision for Russia's national identity. The Kremlin chief said that the West was gripped by racist Russophobia which casts Russians as a people of backward "slaves" and warned that the United States allegedly wanted to dismember and plunder Russia's vast resources. Putin, 71, cautioned that Russians themselves should remember the lessons of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, the civil war and the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, which he said had allowed the division of the Russian people. "I want to underscore: We consider any interference from outside, provocations aimed at causing inter-ethnic or inter-religious conflicts as aggressive acts against our country," Putin said. "I want to emphasise again that any attempt to sow inter-ethnic and inter-religious discord, to split our society is a betrayal, a crime against the whole of Russia. We will not allow anyone to divide Russia." The West casts Putin as a dictator who has led Russia into an imperial-style land grab that has weakened Russia and forged Ukrainian statehood, while uniting the West and handing NATO a post-Cold War mission. Putin says that the West is now failing in Ukraine and that its attempt to defeat Russia has also failed. The Kremlin chief claims Western attempts to isolate Russia with the toughest-ever sanctions imposed on a major economy were evidence for what he believed is historic Western racism against Russians. The West, which denies it wants to rip Russia apart, has said it wants to help Ukraine defeat Russian forces on the battlefields of Ukraine, eject Russian soldiers and punish Putin for the war. Putin thanked Russian businessmen for evading the West's sanctions. "It was by combining the efforts of the state and business that we thwarted the unprecedented economic aggression of the West: its sanctions blitzkrieg failed," Putin said. The presidential election campaign is due to start next month and Putin is expected to run, a step that would ensure at least another six years at the helm for the former KGB spy, who has been in power since 2012, and before that, from 2000 to 2008. Patriarch Kirill said he would pray for Putin to continue his work for the "benefit" of Russia and its people. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Bernadette Baum) (Reuters) - Slovak truckers are threatening to block the country's main border crossing with Ukraine from Friday unless steps are taken to limit competition from Ukrainian hauliers, the head of the country's truckers association UNAS said. The threat comes after action by Polish truckers who have been blocking several crossings with Ukraine for three weeks to demand tougher conditions for Ukrainian peers. Polish and Slovak truckers complain they offer cheaper prices for their services and also transport goods within the European Union, rather than just between the bloc and Ukraine. The Slovak action would shut the crossing at Vysne Nemecke/Uzhhorod, the only one on the border open to heavy trucks. Polish truckers started their protest on Nov. 6, demanding that the European Union reintroduce a permit system for Ukrainian truckers entering the bloc and for EU truckers entering Ukraine, with exemptions for humanitarian aid and military supplies. The permits were scrapped after Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year. UNAS chief Stanislav Skala said his group would wait until Thursday for a reaction from the Transport Ministry before making a final decision. He said there would be a Dec. 4 meeting of European transport ministers in Brussels but he did not have high hopes of any breakthrough. "It seems that neither the Ukrainian side nor the (European) Commission are willing to back down," he said. Ukraine says the Polish protest is damaging its fragile war-time economy by hampering exports and stopping supplies of essentials like motor vehicle gas (LPG) from entering the country. (Reporting by Jan Lopatka in Prague; Editing by Alexandra Hudson) (Reuters) - Splunk beat quarterly estimates for revenue on Tuesday, helped by resilient demand for its cybersecurity offerings in an uncertain economy. The cybersecurity firm's stock has risen over 75% this year as investors laud Splunk's move to incorporate artificial intelligence into its products and its focus on subscription or renewable contract models. Cisco Systems, which cut its annual revenue and profit forecasts earlier this month, entered into an agreement to buy Splunk for about $28 billion in September to strengthen its software business. Splunk is known for its strengths in the area of data observability, which helps companies monitor their systems for cybersecurity risks and other threats. The company operates a subscription-based pricing model for customers. Splunk's total annual recurring revenue for the third quarter ended Oct. 31 rose 15% to $4 billion. It reported total revenue of $1.07 billion, beating analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion, according to LSEG data. On an adjusted basis, the company earned $1.52 per share compared with estimates of $1.14 per share. (Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber) By Andrew Gray and Humeyra Pamuk BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO boss Jens Stoltenberg urged members of the alliance on Tuesday to "stay the course" in supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia's invasion as both the United States and European Union struggle to agree on further military aid. "It's our obligation to ensure that we provide Ukraine with the weapons they need," Stoltenberg told reporters as he arrived for a gathering of foreign ministers from NATO countries at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels. "We just have to stay the course. This is about also our security interests," the secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization said. His remarks come as the fate of a $60 billion U.S. military aid package proposed by the Biden administration is in limbo due to opposition from some Republicans in Congress. Administration officials have expressed confidence they will get the package through, saying a majority of Republicans and Democrats in Congress still back support for Kyiv. Stoltenberg also voiced optimism. "I'm confident that the United States will continue to provide support and because it is in the security interests of the United States to do so. And it's also in line with what we have agreed," he said. Arriving in Brussels, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said NATO ministers would be "strongly reaffirming our support for Ukraine as it continues to face Russia's war of aggression". The meeting takes place amid gloom in Ukraine that a major counter-offensive launched earlier this year against Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces has failed to make substantial progress. Meanwhile, a proposal by the European Union's foreign policy chief to allocate up to 20 billion euros ($21.90 billion) over four years for military aid to Ukraine has run into resistance among the bloc's member states, which would have to provide the cash. Stoltenberg pointed out, though, that EU members Germany and the Netherlands have announced multi-billion-euro packages of bilateral military support in recent weeks. He said the war in Ukraine had significance far beyond its borders. "It will be a tragedy for Ukrainians if President Putin wins but it will also be dangerous for us," he said. "Then the message to all authoritarian leaders - not only in Moscow, but also in Beijing - is that when they violate international law, when they invade another country, when they use force, they get what they want." ($1 = 0.9134 euros) (Reporting by Andrew Gray and Humeyra Pamuk in Brussels; Editing by Tomasz Janowski) FILE PHOTO: Families escaping Ardamata in West Darfur cross into Adre, Chad, after a wave of ethnic violence, November 7, 2023. Survivors recounted executions and looting in Ardamata, which they said were carried out by RSF and allied Arab militias. REUTE By Nafisa Eltahir CAIRO (Reuters) - A top Sudanese general has said the United Arab Emirates is sending supplies to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), publicly accusing the UAE of involvement in its war with its powerful paramilitary rival for the first time. Army leaders had previously only hinted at interference from unnamed neighbouring countries in the seven-month-old war, which has displaced more than 6 million people and triggered waves of ethnically driven killings in Darfur. "We have information from intelligence, military intelligence, and the diplomatic circuit that the UAE sends planes to support the Janjaweed," General Yassir al-Atta said in a speech to members of the General Intelligence Service in Omdurman, in a video circulated on social media and viewed by Reuters. The RSF developed from Arab militias known as the Janjaweed that helped Sudan's army crush a rebellion in Darfur in the 2000s. In response to a request for comment, a UAE official said that from the outset of the war, the UAE had "consistently called for de-escalation, a ceasefire, and the initiation of diplomatic dialogue" in Sudan. It had also provided humanitarian support to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Sudan and neighbouring countries, including through a field hospital established in the Chadian city of Amdjarass in July, the official said. Atta said the UAE had funnelled unspecified supplies to the RSF through Uganda, the Central African Republic (CAR) and Chad. Support had arrived this week through the airport in Chad's capital Ndjamena, having previously come through Amdjarass, he said. Atta praised Russia for dismantling the paramilitary Wagner Group which he said had facilitated supplies through CAR. The RSF has denied links to the group. "We warn any country that participates in supporting this rebellion that what goes around comes around," Atta said, to cheers from intelligence officers. DRONES AND ARTILLERY The comments come after the RSF has gained momentum in the war, dislodging the army from four states in the Darfur region. The RSF quickly gained control of most of the capital, Khartoum, soon after the start of the war. Eyewitnesses have said the RSF has used drones and more advanced artillery than it had at the start of the conflict. RSF sources have said the force seized the weaponry from army bases. Uganda's state minister for foreign affairs called Atta's claims "absolute rubbish." Sudan's army, Chad and the CAR did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The army released a video of Atta's comments in which mention of the UAE appeared to have been edited out. Atta serves as a deputy to army leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who recently announced his first trip to the UAE since the outbreak of war to coincide with U.N. climate summit COP28 next week. While the UAE backed Sudan's aborted political transition after the 2019 overthrow of Omar al-Bashir, it has remained publicly quiet on the war. Last year the UAE signed a deal to build a port on Sudan's Red Sea coast, among investments in agriculture and other fields. It is also a main destination for Sudanese gold. (Reporting by Nafisa Eltahir and Khalid Abdelaziz; Additional reporting by Maha El Dahan in Dubai and Elias Biryabarema in Kampala; Editing by Aidan Lewis and Alex Richardson) FILE PHOTO: Emergency workers release a car which stuck in snow during a heavy snow storm in Odesa region, Ukraine in this handout picture released November 27, 2023. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Odesa region/Handout via REUT KYIV (Reuters) - Ten people have died in snowstorms in Ukraine, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Tuesday, after icy winds and storms swept the country since Sunday, cutting power and blocking roads. Southern Ukraine was the worst affected, particularly the Black Sea region of Odesa. Cars and buses slid off frozen roads into fields and police battled high winds to tow the vehicles out. "As a result of worsening weather conditions, 10 people died in Odesa, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv and Kyiv regions," Klymenko wrote on the Telegram app. "Twenty-three people were injured, including two children," he added. A total of 411 settlements in 11 regions had lost power, and more than 1,500 vehicles had to be rescued, Klymenko said. Oleh Kiper, governor of the Odesa region where five people died due to the weather, said nearly 2,500 people had been rescued after becoming trapped by the snow. "849 vehicles have been towed out, including 24 buses and 17 ambulances," Kiper wrote on the Telegram app, adding that over 300 settlements in his region were without power. (Reporting by Max Hunder; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Ed Osmond) FILE PHOTO: Srettha Thavisin, Prime Minister of Thailand, speaks at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in San Francisco, California, U.S., November 15, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand will prioritise tackling informal debt to revive the economy, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said on Tuesday. "Informal debt is like modern-day slavery that destroys dreams ... and a chronic problem," he told a press conference, adding the government would coordinate with police to prevent unregulated lending. He said the measures, to solve one of the region's worst household debt problems, will help with debt restructuring and prevent people from taking on more debt that necessary. The government estimates there is about 50 billion baht ($1.43 billion) of informal debt, he said, adding that this was a conservative estimate and the problem could be larger. "In the past we didn't take this problem together. We are more proactive, involving the administration, police and the finance ministry working together," Srettha said. Thailand will also be taking on formal debt, in a country where household debt is about 90% of gross domestic product (GDP). ($1 = 34.9100 baht) (Reporting by Orathai Siring, Chayut Setboonsarng and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Martin Petty, Kanupriya Kapoor) FILE PHOTO: View of the Cobre Panama mine, of Canadian First Quantum Minerals, in Donoso, Panama, December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Aris Martinez/File Photo By Elida Moreno and Valentine Hilaire PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Panama's president said on Tuesday that Canadian miner First Quantum's lucrative copper mine Cobre Panama would be shut down, hours after the country's Supreme Court declared its contract unconstitutional. President Laurentino Cortizo said in a televised address on Tuesday evening that "the orderly and safe closure of the mine" would begin as soon as the Supreme Court's ruling was formerly published in the official gazette. Cobre Panama has sparked public anger in the country that has spilled into street protests. The protests began as small, environmental ones against the mine but have morphed into broader demonstrations against the government amid charges the contract was too generous. First Quantum said on Tuesday it had suspended commercial production at the mine and was putting in into care and maintenance. The ruling puts the company on the long and unpredictable road of international arbitration, although it has suggested it would seek to avoid the process if possible through pre-arbitration talks with the Panamanian government. The contract in dispute was agreed last month by Panama's government and provided First Quantum a 20-year mining right with an option to extend for another 20 years, in return for $375 million in annual revenue to Panama. "We have decided to unanimously declare unconstitutional the entire law 406 of October 20, 2023," Supreme Court President Maria Eugenia Lopez said on Tuesday. First Quantum acknowledged the ruling and affirmed its "unwavering commitment to regulatory compliance in all aspects of our operations within the country." Protester groups on social media said they would keep demonstrating until the ruling was published in the official gazette. First Quantum shares closed down 0.8%. The company has lost more than C$10 billion ($7.4 billion) of its market value since the protests started in late October and the mine was later forced to suspend production. The ruling will also have consequences for the copper market, as Cobre Panama accounts for about 1% of global copper production. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.9% at $8,441 a metric ton. Dwindling copper supply from Panama and Peru could wipe out global surplus in 2024, analysts said. ELECTION FACTOR Cobre Panama is an equally significant business for the Central American nation, contributing about 5% of Panama's GDP. J.P. Morgan warned this month that the odds of Panama losing its investment-grade rating would rise significantly if the contract was revoked. The fierce opposition toward the deal was becoming a major factor in the country's May 2024 presidential election, with candidates pushing for more state control of the mine. The company's Panama unit in a statement on Tuesday said it would "remain attentive to constructive dialogue" on the mining contract before deciding its course of action. A spokesperson for Canada's foreign ministry said it respects the decision of Panama's Supreme Court of Justice and was closely following the contract negotiations. Former president, millionaire businessman and leading presidential candidate Ricardo Martinelli last week proposed that Panama renegotiate the contract with the Canadian firm to secure higher royalties and a stake in the project. But in response to the protests, Panama's government enacted a bill in November banning all new mining concessions and extensions that legal experts have said would prevent the two parties from negotiating a new deal. The country's top court ruled against First Quantum's previous contract in 2017. The decision was upheld in 2021, but the current government allowed the miner to keep operating while both parties negotiated a new deal. For First Quantum, the Panama ruling would be a repeat of its experience in the Democratic Republic Of Congo, where it exited in 2012 after filing an arbitration procedure against the African country for cancelling its mining contract. First Quantum sold its assets to Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation PLC for $1.25 billion and settled the dispute. The company has spent about $10 billion in developing the Cobre Panama mine over a decade. The mine produced 112,734 tonnes of copper in the third quarter and accounted for about 46% of its overall third-quarter revenue of $2.02 billion, according to the company. ($1 = 1.3590 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Elida Moreno and Valentine Hilaire; Additional reporting by Divya Rajagopal and Natalia Siniawski; Writing by Denny Thomas; Editing by Mark Porter and Rosalba O'Brien) FILE PHOTO: Swedish and NATO flags are seen printed on paper this illustration taken April 13, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File photo By Humeyra Pamuk BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told NATO counterparts on Tuesday he was working hard on Sweden's NATO ratification which is currently being debated by the Turkish parliament and provided a likely timeline of before year-end for the Nordic country to formally join the alliance, a senior State Department official said. "I will say the summary of the meeting was it will be done before the end of the year," said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity. NATO foreign ministers met in Brussels. Some in the Western defense bloc had hoped Sweden's ratification would be completed by now for an accession ceremony to take place on the sidelines. But last week Reuters reported that Turkey informed the alliance that the Nordic country's ratification would not be completed in time for Tuesday's meeting. During Tuesday's meetings, Fidan told his NATO counterparts that he was working "hard" to get the issue resolved, the official said. "He said a few weeks," the official said, when asked if Fidan was able to provide a timeline for when the ratification process would be completed. Both Sweden and Finland requested to join NATO in May last year following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan raised objections at the time to both requests over what he said was the Nordic nations' protection of those whom Turkey deems terrorists, as well as their defence trade embargoes. Turkey endorsed Finland's bid in April, but has kept Sweden waiting. Turkey has demanded that Sweden take more steps to rein in local members of the Kurdistan Workers' party (PKK), which is considered a terrorist group by the European Union and the United States. In response, Stockholm introduced an anti-terrorism bill that makes membership of a terrorist organisation illegal, while also lifting arms export restrictions on Turkey. It says it has upheld its part of a deal signed last year. For ratification, the bill needs to be approved by the Turkish foreign affairs commission before being put to a full parliament vote. Erdogan would then sign it into law to conclude the process, the length of which has frustrated Ankara's allies and tested its Western ties. (Reporting by Humeyra PamukEditing by Chris Reese and Sandra Maler) NASA and Indian Space Research Organization logos are seen in this illustration taken May 1, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/ File photo (Reuters) - The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the NASA plan to launch a joint remote sensing satellite for Earth observation in the first quarter of next year, deputy minister for science and technology Jitendra Singh said in a statement on Tuesday. Singh met a NASA delegation led by its administrator Bill Nelson in New Delhi, the statement said. (Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh; Editing by Andrew Heavens) FILE PHOTO: Major General Kyrylo Budanov, chief of the Military Intelligence of Ukraine, speaks during an interview with Reuters, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 6, 2023. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo By Tom Balmforth and Max Hunder KYIV (Reuters) - The wife of Ukraine's military spy chief has been poisoned with heavy metals and is undergoing treatment in a hospital, a spokesperson for the agency said on Tuesday. Marianna Budanova is the wife of Kyrylo Budanov, who heads Ukrainian military intelligence agency GUR, which has been prominently involved in clandestine operations against Russian forces since Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. "Yes, I can confirm the information, unfortunately, it is true," GUR spokesperson Andriy Yusov told Reuters, without clarifying when the poisoning took place. The BBC's Ukrainian service cited Yusov as saying that several GUR officials had also experienced milder symptoms of poisoning. Budanov's public profile has risen in Ukraine and the West, where he is portrayed as a behind-the-scenes mastermind of operations to strike back at Russia. In Russian media he is a hate figure. The 37-year-old has himself been the target of several attempts on his life, including a botched car bombing. If confirmed as deliberate, the purported poisoning of his wife would represent the most serious targeting of a high-profile Ukrainian leadership figure's family member during the 21-month-long war. The poisoning was first reported by Ukrainian media outlets. One publication, Babel, cited an unidentified source who said Budanova had been in hospital, and was finishing a course of treatment for the effects of the poisoning. Another outlet, Ukrainska Pravda, cited an unidentified source who said the poison was likely administered through food. Moscow has previously blamed Ukrainian secret services for the murders of a pro-war Russian blogger and a pro-war journalist on Russian soil. Ukraine denies involvement in those deaths. Separately, Russian media has reported that a court in Moscow had arrested Budanov in absentia in April on terrorism charges. (Reporting by Max Hunder and Tom Balmforth; editing by Alexandra Hudson and Grant McCool) By the time Al-Ahram Weekly went to print, it was still unclear how long the temporary pause in Israels aggression against Gaza would last. The original four-day truce, which came into effect on Friday, was extended by another two days on Monday, mostly to allow for the release of more Israeli prisoners held by Hamas following its sudden and daring attack against Israels army and nearby settlements on 7 October. The brief extension would also allow the flow of more humanitarian aid into Gaza where people are deprived of nearly all basic needs including clean water, medicine, food, and fuel. Yet, the relatively calm six days, in which Palestinians in Gaza enjoyed the simple pleasure of walking in the streets for the first time after 48 days of relentless, arbitrary, and reckless bombing, have increasingly convinced all parties concerned, except for Israel, that this war of destruction cannot resume, not even on a limited scale. The entire world is now united in the conviction that a permanent ceasefire must be reached because neither the current war nor previous ones have ended the cycle of violence and bloodshed that has marked the conflict between the Palestinians and Israel since 1948. Meanwhile, the current, extremist Israeli government, which includes ministers who have openly called for wiping out Gaza with a nuclear bomb, forcibly deporting Palestinians to Egypt or dispersing them all over the world by offering them visas to Canada and other host countries, must be aware by now that only calm led to the return of the Israeli prisoners held in Gaza, and not the indiscriminate killing of 20,000 Palestinians, including 6,000 children and 3,000 women. When the original truce came into effect, the Israeli government had not achieved any of its key declared goals: neither was Hamas eliminated, nor was a single one of the over 240 Israeli prisoners held in Gaza released. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had originally pledged that he would not stop the war until all hostages were freed and every Hamas member killed. Yet, it was the families of Israeli prisoners who forced the so-called King of Israel to face the truth and prioritise their release over the illusion that the indiscriminate killing of Palestinians, which has appalled and stunned the whole world, would force Hamas to surrender and hand over the prisoners in for free. Talking of an exchange of prisoners with Hamas is said to have been taboo among Israeli government officials during the first five weeks of the war. On the third day of the truce and exchange of Israeli prisoners for Palestinian women and minors held in Israeli jails, mostly in administrative detention without charges or trial, Hamas fighters intentionally chose to hand over the 13 Israeli prisoners to the Red Cross at one of the main squares of Gaza City in the northern part of the Strip. Israel at one point had declared that it was in full control of north Gaza, and managed to empty it from its residents who were forced to move to the South. Yet the handover at that particular spot in Gaza City demonstrated the untruth of Israeli claims even of weakening Hamas military, similar to many other allegations the Israeli government made about how Hamas fighters were using Al-Shifa Hospital as their main headquarters and to hold Israeli prisoners in underground tunnels there in order to justify bombing it and depriving the patients of medical care, for example. However, the Israeli occupation troops ended up pulling out of the hospitals buildings with no proof of tunnels, Hamas commanders or a single Israeli prisoner. The sad reality is that Israel decided it wanted to punish Hamas by killing thousands of innocent Palestinians, ignoring the key lesson of its lengthy, racist occupation of Palestine: the more violence and discrimination against Palestinians, the more radical and extremist the younger generations would become, not just in Palestine, but all over the Arab and Muslim world. The most important action Egypt has taken since the outbreak of the war was to firmly reject all attempts by Israel to carry out a historic Zionist plot aimed at forcibly deporting Palestinians in Gaza to Egypt, and those residing in the West Bank and Occupied Jerusalem to Jordan. The horrific bombing of Palestinian buildings, wiping out nearly 60 per cent of residential areas in northern Gaza, was not only seen as an attempt to punish Palestinians and Hamas, but also to force them to flee to the south. The second stage of the war aimed at heavily bombing south Gaza in the same barbaric manner, leaving the Palestinians no options but to flee to Egypt. In response, President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi clearly stated any such scenario would be crossing a red line and threatening the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. Egypt will never be a party to any attempt to liquidate the Palestinian Cause or force another modern-day Nakba on Palestinians instead of ending their suffering. The alternative Egypt has been pushing for, along with the United States and other concerned parties, is to go back to basics, reviving peace talks that have been stalled for nearly a decade and reaching a permanent solution that would ensure that no more wars take place in this part of the world. The only viable solution is the creation of the independent state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital. Netanyahu and his extremist ministers reiterate that the situation in Gaza cannot return to what it was before 7 October. Thats the right thing to say, but it all depends, of course, on what we need to change. If Israel ended its suffocating siege of Gaza, and allowed the densely populated strip to be part of a Palestinian state, as the 1993 Oslo Agreement with the PLO stipulated, then we would be creating a new reality, but one that could bring peace and prosperity to all the peoples of the region rather than adding to the endless killing and unrest. * A version of this article appears in print in the 30 November, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths leaves after an international humanitarian conference for the people of Gaza at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, November 9, 2023. REUTER GENEVA (Reuters) - U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths will travel to the Jordanian capital Amman on Wednesday for talks on the possibility of opening the Kerem Shalom crossing to allow for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza from Israel. Located at the intersection of Israel, the Gaza Strip and Egypt, the Kerem Shalom crossing was used to carry more than 60% of the truckloads going into Gaza before the current conflict. Aid currently being allowed into Gaza comes through the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian border, which was designed for pedestrian crossings and not trucks. "We have said from start we need more than one crossing," Griffiths told a briefing of member states at the United Nations in Geneva on Tuesday. "The opportunity to use Kerem Shalom should be explored, and that will be topic in Amman. It would hugely add scope (to the response)." A Western diplomat said there was no prospect of opening the Kerem Shalom crossing for the moment. The diplomat said that Israel does not want to open the crossing because their troops are located in the area. There was no immediate comment from Israel. Since a fragile truce came into force last week, some 200 trucks have carried aid into Gaza on a daily basis, but the amount of aid is nowhere near enough to meet the needs of its population. "We know that more humanitarian aid should be delivered in Gaza. We know how we could increase it, but there are constraints beyond our control," Griffiths said. "We know that the people of Gaza need much more from us." Since the truce, the United Nations has scaled up the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza and sent aid to some northern areas that had been largely cut off for weeks due to Israeli bombing. "We need to have reliable and scalable aid delivery mechanisms, that include all humanitarian partners - including NGOs," Griffiths said. "We are refining prioritisation, advocating for more entry points and the resumption of (the) private sector." (Reporting by Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber; Additional reporting by John Irish and Henriette Chacar; Editing by Nick Macfie) FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden announces an additional $800 million security assistance package for Ukraine as he delivers an update on U.S. efforts related to Russia's invasion, during a speech in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington By Mike Stone WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Biden administration has been circulating on Capitol Hill the first breakdown of which U.S. states have benefited from the billions of dollars spent on arming Ukraine, in a move to gather more support from Republicans who have voted against aid for Kyiv. While three of the eight Republican members of Congress from Pennsylvania have been voting against funding to help stop Russia's invasion, the data shows the Keystone State has received $2.364 billion - the most of any state - in spending and investments to build arms and ammunition, according to documents seen by Reuters. In Texas, 18 of the 25 Republican U.S. representatives have voted against Ukraine aid. At the same time, Texas has received $1.45 billion to produce 155 millimeter shells and other weapons. In Arizona, three of six Republican representatives voted against aid while $2.196 billion poured into the state. During his latest request for $106 billion in new funds for Ukraine, Israel, the Indo-Pacific region and border enforcement, U.S. President Joe Biden on Oct. 20 emphasized that arms for Ukraine equals jobs for Americans. He noted some of the money would go to U.S. companies to replace equipment sent abroad and mentioned Patriot missile systems that are made by RTX's Raytheon in Arizona, and "artillery shells manufactured in 12 states across the country," naming Pennsylvania, Ohio and Texas. Pennsylvania and Arizona are pivotal swing states that will be critical to Biden next year. In recent days the administration has circulated maps among lawmakers on Capitol Hill showcasing the state-by-state breakdown for the $27 billion worth of investments, and spending on "munitions and tactical vehicle procurements." A vocal bloc of Republicans has opposed sending aid to Ukraine, saying taxpayer money should be spent at home, but a majority of Republicans and Democrats in Congress still support aid to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's government. Companies in four states on the Biden administration's map - Arizona, Pennsylvania, Arkansas and Wisconsin - are home to manufacturing facilities that are collectively receiving contracts totaling more than $1 billion for their products that aid Ukraine. Another $18 billion in contracts is spread around manufacturing facilities located in more than two dozen other states. The conservative Defending Democracy Together group's "Republicans for Ukraine" campaign has been tracking Republican rhetoric and voting patterns on Ukraine aid legislation. A report card by the group gave "poor" or "very poor" grades to 18 of 25 Republican representatives from Texas for their lack of support for Ukraine. It gave "poor" or "very poor" grades to two of Wisconsin's six Republican representatives, to one of Arkansas' four Republican representatives and to three of Pennsylvania's eight Republican representatives. Still, further aid for Ukraine has a hard road ahead. In his first major legislative act as Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson introduced a bill addressing Biden's request for aid to Israel, separating it from Ukraine and other needs. Johnson told a news conference before the November Congressional recess, "Ukraine will come in short order. It will come next." Yet Johnson voted against Ukraine aid repeatedly before he became speaker last month. House Democrats have overwhelmingly voted in favor of the 2022 and 2023 Ukraine-related supplemental spending bills. (Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Chris Sanders and Matthew Lewis) FILE PHOTO: Dutch far-right politician and leader of the PVV party Geert Wilders reacts as he meets the press as Dutch parties' lead candidates meet for the first time after elections, in which far-right politician Geert Wilders booked major gains, to beg By Bart Meijer AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Talks to form a new Dutch government were set to start on Tuesday, almost a week after the upset election victory of anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders, with a former government minister picked to sound out workable coalitions. The appointment of Ronald Plasterk, a former Labour party minister, as "scout" to explore possibilities followed a chaotic week in which outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte's conservative VVD party ruled out joining a government led by Wilders - narrowing the options for the election winner. Wilders' PVV was the clear winner in the Nov. 22 election, but with just 24% of the vote it needs support from more moderate parties in order to form a government. Wilders' first pick as scout had to resign before his first meeting after reports he was fighting a fraud charge. "We made a false start," parliament chairwoman Vera Bergkamp said. "Now it's important to get on the right track and start the talks." Plasterk served as interior and education minister for Labour between 2007 and 2017, but in recent years has turned into one of the party's fiercest critics as a columnist for the right-leaning Telegraaf newspaper. In his most recent column, published a day after last week's vote, he said the formation of a government should be relatively easy as voters had made it clear they wanted a right-wing government that included Wilders' Freedom Party (PVV), the VVD and the centrist upstart NSC. However, the forming of a government in the fractured Dutch political landscape usually takes months, and so far there are no signs this time will be different. New VVD leader Dilan Yesilogz has said her party would support measures proposed by a rightwing government, but would not join a Wilders-led cabinet itself. NSC-leader Pieter Omtzigt stressed during the campaign that cooperation would be difficult as he said Wilders' extreme stances, including seeking a total ban on mosques and the Koran in the Netherlands, would violate Dutch constitutional protections on freedom of religion. Following his election victory, Wilders said he would aim to be a prime minister "for all" in the Netherlands, and that his government would not take any measures that would be deemed unconstitutional. The Labour/GreenLeft combination, which was the runner-up in the election, has ruled out working with Wilders in any way. Plasterk is expected to present his findings on Dec. 5, after which the parties seen as making up the most viable coalition will start negotiations on a government agreement. (Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Frances Kerry) setting out in detail the matters to be discussed. If the Board has not taken the steps necessary to ensure that such meeting can be held within six weeks after the request, the proponent(s) may, on their application, be authorized by a competent Dutch court in preliminary relief proceedings to convene a General Meeting. The court shall disallow the application if it does not appear that the proponent(s) has/have previously requested the Board to convene a General Meeting and the Board has not taken the necessary steps so that the General Meeting could be held within six weeks after the request. A General Meeting must be convened by an announcement published in a Dutch daily newspaper with national distribution. The notice must state the agenda, the time and place of the meeting, the record date (if any), the procedure for participating in the General Meeting by proxy, as well as other information as required by Dutch law. Allego will observe the statutory minimum convening notice period for a General Meeting. The agenda for the annual General Meeting shall include, among other things, the adoption of Allegos statutory annual accounts, appropriation of Allegos profits and proposals relating to the composition of the Board, including the filling of any vacancies. 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If one or more shareholders intend to request that an item be put on the agenda that may result in a change in Allegos strategy (for example, the dismissal of members of the Board), the Board must be given the opportunity to invoke a reasonable period of up to 180 days to respond to the shareholders intentions. If invoked, the Board must use such response period for further deliberation and constructive consultation, in any event with the shareholders(s) concerned, and must explore the alternatives. At the end of the response time, the Board must report on this consultation and the exploration of alternatives to the General Meeting. The response period may be invoked only once for any given General Meeting and shall not apply: (a) in respect of a matter for which either a response period or a statutory cooling-off period (as described below) has been previously invoked; or (b) if a shareholder holds at least 75% of Allegos issued share capital as a consequence of a successful public bid. Moreover, the Board can invoke a cooling-off period of up to 250 days when shareholders, using either their shareholder proposal right or their right to request a General Meeting, propose an agenda item for the General Meeting to dismiss, suspend or appoint a member of the Board (or to amend any provision in the Articles dealing with those matters) or when a public offer for Allego is made or announced without Allegos support, provided, in each case, that the Board believes that such proposal or offer materially conflicts with the interests of Allego and its business. During a cooling-off period, the General Meeting cannot dismiss, suspend or appoint members of the Board (or amend the provisions in the Articles dealing with those matters) except at the proposal of the Board. During a cooling-off period, the Board must gather all relevant information necessary for a careful decision-making process and at least consult with shareholders representing 3% or more of Allegos issued share capital at the time the cooling-off period was invoked, as well as with Allegos Dutch works council (if we or, under certain circumstances, any of our subsidiaries would have one). Formal statements expressed by these stakeholders during such consultations must be published on Allegos website to the extent these stakeholders have approved that publication. Ultimately one week following the last day of the cooling-off period, the Board of directors must publish a report in respect of its policy and conduct of affairs during the cooling-off period on Allegos website. This report must remain available for inspection by shareholders and others with meeting rights under Dutch law at Allegos office and must be tabled for discussion at the next General Meeting. Shareholders representing at least 3% of Allegos issued share capital may request the Dutch Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeals (the Enterprise Chamber) (Ondernemingskamer) for early termination of the cooling-off period. The Enterprise Chamber must rule in favor of the request if the shareholders can demonstrate that: a. the Board, in light of the circumstances at hand when the cooling-off period was invoked, could not reasonably have come to the conclusion that the relevant shareholder proposal or hostile offer constituted a material conflict with the interests of Allego and its business; 18 The 911th Airlift Wing welcomed nearly 50 individuals from the Pittsburgh Technology Council, businesses and state legislative offices to showcase its capabilities as a mission ready reserve wing. (911th Airlift Wing/Facebook) (Tribune News Service) Seconds after Jan Berkow took control of the C-17, one of the largest cargo planes in the Air Force fleet was veering sideways through the Pittsburgh skyline. Suddenly sirens were blaring. Youre going past 37 degrees, Lt. Col. Scott Cook calmly explained, before autopilot kicked in to steady the horizon. Fortunately for the half dozen tech workers on board, the flight was only a simulation, carried out at the the Air Force Reserve Commands 911th Airlift Wing outside Pittsburgh International Airport. The base last week hosted Berkow, a University of Pittsburgh program manager, along with dozens of tech companies from the region who are looking to collaborate and potentially land contracts with the Department of Defense. For the base, the visit was a way to increase visibility. For the companies, a chance to refine their pitch. The visit was organized by the Pittsburgh Technology Council and began with a briefing from Col. Bryan Bailey. On any given day, we have aircraft and airmen from this base all over the world, said Bailey, whose missions as a C-17 pilot have brought him to 58 countries and all seven continents. The base commander kept his remarks brief so he could get back to work preparing his airmen for a potential response to the growing Israel-Hamas war. We are probably going to be real busy real soon, he said. New tech addressing preventable deaths In late October, the Air Force increased fighter presence in the Middle East to deter a wider conflict. Bailey said the U.S. has doubled its global airlift capacity over the last three weeks, with most of its efforts focused on the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. Several reserve members said the potential mobilization doesnt feel out of the ordinary: They train to be mission ready at all times. Others were in the region just two years ago. Addam Kanish remembers evacuating hundreds of Afghani citizens from Kabul after the Taliban takeover. A former Air Force member who now works as a full-time nurse in the Pittsburgh region, Kanish had been to Afghanistan before. But the evacuations felt different, he said. For one, it was only him and one other medic on the plane. People were passing out. You really cant do much. They give you a backpack of simple stuff, he said. The 911th Airlift Wing welcomed nearly 50 individuals from the Pittsburgh Technology Council, businesses and state legislative offices to showcase its capabilities as a mission ready reserve wing. (911th Airlift Wing/Facebook) Even straightforward matters, like getting 400 people to sit along a tethered rope, proved difficult, as neither party spoke the others language. Kanish remembers waiting for hours in sweltering heat for the cargo plane to take off. Those might have been inevitable aspects of an urgent humanitarian mission. But to observers like Berkow, they appear as problems the broader community could help solve. A lot of the technologies were looking at are about preventable deaths, said Berkow, who leads commercialization efforts at the Universitys Center for Military Medicine Research. Berkow was as charmed by the simulation cockpit as he was by the stations machining laboratory, which can produce human-like skin and 3D-printed trachea. Not all the development is quite as flashy. One of the labs big wins was a plastic tub for human excrement. The 3D printed version saved the Air Force $10,000 per unit, Master Sgt. Michael Howard said. As he showed off various replacement parts for the stations aging C-17 fleet, companies called out questions about the manufacturing process. Could a plane door be molded versus machined? How open source were its design specifications? For Igor Stamenkovic, vice president of Eaton Corp.s electronics division, the wheels were starting to spin. A focus on innovation Eaton has a major corporate office in Moon, just one town over from the base. It supplies some of the stations power equipment and designs parts for planes like the C-17. Some of its employees even serve as reservists. But Stamenkovic had never ventured to visit. He was the first to climb into the cockpit of the simulated C-17. Can you simulate landing in the river? he asked. Yep. We could pull a Sully, instructor Cook replied. The model cockpit is suspended by massive 10-foot levers, giving it a realistic range of motion. It can shake to simulate turbulence or a sudden engine failure. Hours logged navigating the wraparound virtual airspace count as real flight hours, Cook said. And they can be more stressful than the real thing. We walk out of here sweating, he said. The base is piloting other virtual training programs too. In more consumer-grade virtual reality headsets, reservists can learn the fundamentals of aircraft control. Instructors join trainees in realistic VR renderings of actual cockpits, pointing out levers and warning lights without the expense of an in-person session. A more surprising use for the headsets is mental health. Reservists can do trauma simulations to prepare for graphic situations they might encounter in the real world. The base also sees the technology as a potential tool for suicide prevention. We do get some pushback from our older gentlemen who wont sit in this room. But our new guys are eating it up, said Master Sgt. Peter Sommer. Pittsburgh Technology Council has arranged several meetings with Department of Defense agencies since launching a defense-based coalition in December. At least one contract, for Gecko Robotics, has come directly from that work. Future partnerships would demonstrate DODs expanded willingness to partner with startups and less-proven companies. Its not entirely clear that they have the budget to do so. Funding can be a long, drawn out process, said Jacob Schurer, a manager at the software development firm Rewynder, which is interested in potential DOD contracts. Officials said companies interested in pitching should reach out to AFWERX, an offshoot of the Air Force Research Laboratory that focuses on innovation and has offices in Pittsburgh. Unlike the Air Forces small business innovation research program, which solicits targeted pitches for prescribed problems, officials said AFWERX is open to a broad swath of ideas. ejohnson@post-gazette.com (c)2023 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Visit the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette at www.post-gazette.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Lance Cpl. Manuel Gomez, 21, a motor vehicle operator at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, was charged with bodily injury Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. (Pixabay) MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan A Marine stationed at this base near Hiroshima has been indicted after allegedly punching an elderly Japanese woman in the face earlier this month. Lance Cpl. Manuel Gomez, 21, a motor vehicle operator with Wing Support Squadron 71, was charged with bodily injury on Friday, a spokesman for the Yamaguchi District Public Prosecutors Office said by phone Monday. Gomez pushed the 76-year-old woman from behind on a street in Iwakuni city around 4 a.m. Nov. 4, causing her to fall, the spokesman said. Its customary in Japan for some government officials to speak to the media on condition of anonymity. The Marine then punched the woman in the face several times, causing a compression fracture in her vertebrae and bruises to her face, the spokesman said. Police arrested Gomez at the scene after a passerby called to report the incident, an Iwakuni Police spokesman said earlier this month. Officers said Gomez, who had been drinking, did not know the woman. Gomez has denied the allegation, the police spokesman said. We take all allegations of misconduct seriously and are fully cooperating with the local authorities, who hold primary jurisdiction of this case, MCAS Iwakuni spokesman Maj. Gerard Farao told Stars and Stripes by email Monday. The alleged actions are contrary to our values and we expect our service members to be upstanding members of the community, he added. An uptick in off-base incidents as spurred the Marine Corps to consider liberty policy changes, a city official who deals with base policy told Stars and Stripes on Nov. 21. Its under review, Farao said. Changes are coming in these next few weeks, and we really cant discuss it because we dont know what the changes are yet. The Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Henry M. Jackson arrives to its homeport at Naval Base Kitsap, just west of Seattle, following a strategic deterrent patrol, April 4, 2018. (Michael Smith/U.S. Navy) The death of a sailor found last week in his quarters at Naval Base Kitsap was ruled a suicide Monday by the local medical examiners office, marking the fourth service member at the base to die by suicide this year. The Navy said Monday that the sailor was found dead Nov. 21 and served as a machinists mate (auxiliary) first class assigned to the ballistic missile submarine USS Henry M. Jackson. But the service has yet to confirm the death was a suicide. Naval Criminal Investigative Services are currently investigating the incident, said Lt. Corey Jones, public affairs officer for Submarine Group 9 at Kitsap, which is southwest of Seattle. The death was classified a suicide by the Kitsap County Medical Examiner, according to Jeffrey Wallis, a supervisor with the agency. Three deaths of Navy service members earlier this year at Kitsap have been classified as suicides. More than 15,600 active-duty personnel are assigned to the base, including an aircraft carrier strike group, ballistic missile submarines, a shipyard, a fuel depot and dozens of other installations spread across 12,000 acres. The prior suicides at the base in 2023 include an aviation boatswains mate airman in October assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, a petty officer in April with Submarine Development Squadron 5, and a sailor in January with the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. The Henry M. Jackson and Nimitz are homeported at Kitsap. The Theodore Roosevelt was at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard at the base for an 18-month refurbishing, which was completed in March. The carrier then returned to its homeport at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego. An annual report on suicide in the military for 2022 by the Defense Department, which was released Oct. 26 of this year, showed suicide rates among all service members rose 3% between 2021 and 2022. The total included members of the Reserve and National Guard. The Pentagon reported 492 service member suicides in 2022, including 331 by those on active duty. The Marine Corps had a rate of 34.9 suicide deaths per 100,000 active-duty service members. The Army rate was 28.9, the Navy was 20.6 and the Air Force was 19.7. The Space Force reported no suicides in 2022. The report said the military suicide rate is similar to the general U.S. population when adjusted for age and gender. Young, enlisted men make up the largest group of suicides. Firearms are the primary method of suicide death, according to the report. The report is available at https://www.dspo.mil/. The Defense Department encourages current and former service members who have thoughts of suicide to contact local mental health hotlines or go online to veteranscrisisline.net/get-help-now/chat. A Navy P-8A plane that overshot a runway at Marine Corps Base Hawaii and landed in shallow water offshore sits on a reef and sand in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, on Monday, Nov. 27, 2023. (Audrey McAvoy/AP) KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii The U.S. Navy said Monday that it has removed nearly all of the fuel from a large plane that overshot a Hawaii runway and landed in an environmentally sensitive bay, but it doesnt have a timetable for when it will get the aircraft out of the water. Rear Adm. Kevin Lenox said there was an estimated 2,000 gallons of fuel on board the P-8A. The team extracted all the fuel that they could get out of those tanks. This process was completed successfully without any fuel being released into the bay, Lenox said at a news conference. Removing the fuel will reduce the risks for the rest of the salvage operation, he said. There were no injuries to the nine people who were on board when the plane landed Nov. 20 in shallow water just offshore of Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay. The base is about 10 miles from Honolulu. Cmdr. Mark Anderson, who is leading the Navys mobile diving and salvage unit working at the site, said the plane was sitting on a mixture of coral and sand. The left engine is resting on coral. The plane rises a little with the tide, so the full weight of the plane is not on the coral, he said. Kaneohe Bay is home to coral reefs, an ancient Hawaiian fishpond and a breeding ground for hammerhead sharks. There may have been some minor damage to the coral but there didnt appear to be massive chunks missing, Anderson said. Still, the focus currently is on stabilizing the plane and developing a plan to move it, he said. State environmental officials expect to conduct a damage assessment once the plane is removed. The Navy is studying two options for moving the aircraft, explained Lenox. The first is to float it and get it within range of a crane on the runway. Then it would be lifted onto the runway and set down on its landing gear, which is still in good condition. The second option is to float it on top of cylinders and roll it up onto the runway. Lenox said the Navy has three priorities while it does this work: safety of the salvage crew, protecting the environment and preserving the capability of the aircraft. The Navy now has three temporary floating barriers around the P-8A aircraft at its resting spot to prevent any potential fuel spill or other contaminants from polluting the ocean. The Navy hasnt had indications or reports that any fuel leaked from the plane, Lenox said. The Navy also tested the removed fuel and found that no water had seeped into it, which indicated the planes fuel system was still intact. In addition to the floating barriers, the Navy has placed material around the plane to help absorb any potential pollutants and provide early warning of petroleum spills. The Navy has also kept a skimmer on standby so it can remove any pollutants quickly. On Thursday, sailors retrieved the data recorder and conducted a hydrographic survey to assess the planes structural integrity. The Navy has come under intense scrutiny in Hawaii for its environmental stewardship and transparency after jet fuel leaked from a World War II-era fuel storage facility into Pearl Harbors drinking water in 2021. Some 6,000 Navy personnel, their dependents and civilians complained of physical ailments after the spill. After mounting pressure, the Navy agreed to drain the tanks, an operation that is currently underway. Lenox said he is aware of the distrust in the community toward the Navy and is striving to be transparent. He said the state of Hawaiis on-scene commander observed the defueling of the plane and requested that the Navy install a third temporary protective barrier around the plane. The Navy complied. The Navy uses P-8A planes to search for submarines and to conduct surveillance and reconnaissance. Manufactured by Boeing, the plane is a military version of the 737 passenger jet. The plane is assigned to Patrol Squadron 4 stationed at Whidbey Island in Washington state. Patrol squadrons were once based at Kaneohe Bay but now deploy to Hawaii on a rotating basis. The Navy has flown out another P-8A from Washington state to carry out patrol duties in place of the incapacitated jet. It is flying out of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, on the other side of Oahu. In 2014, 24 Hispanic, Jewish and black men who had been denied the nations highest commendation for combat valor received long-overdue recognition. Top, from left: Vietnam War veterans Sgt. 1st Class Jose Rodela, Staff Sgt. Felix M. Conde-Falcon and Korean War veteran Pfc. Leonard Kravitz. Bottom, from left: Vietnam War veterans Spc. 4 Santiago J. Erevia and Staff Sgt. Melvin Morris. (The White House) This article first appeared in the Stars and Stripes Global edition, March 18, 2014. It is republished unedited in its original form. WASHINGTON Spc. Santiago J. Erevia had orders to tend the wounded while the rest of the platoon pressed on attacking. But when he and the men under his care came under fire from four nearby Viet Cong bunkers on May 21, 1969, Erevia didnt dive for cover. Instead, he gathered up spare weapons and ran into a storm of bullets. He knocked out one bunker after another with hand grenades as gunners in the others fired on him. Out of grenades and with one bunker still active, he took an M-16 in each hand and charged, shooting down the last defender at point-blank range. Having single-handedly destroyed four enemy bunkers and their occupants, Specialist Fourth Class Erevia then returned to the soldiers charged to his care and resumed treating their injuries, reads Erevias citation for the Distinguished Service Cross he was later awarded. Vietnam War veteran Spc. 4 Santiago J. Erevia, of San Antonio, 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile). (The White House) In a White House ceremony Tuesday, the United States will officially acknowledge that the selfless combat heroics of 24 soldiers, including Erevia, always merited more than the nations second-highest medal for valor. Obama will present the Medal of Honor to Erevia and two other living recipients former noncommissioned officers Melvin Morris and Jose Rodela. Hell present it posthumously to another 21 soldiers killed in battle or who died before they could receive the distinction they had earned. Because of the politics and prejudices of earlier decades, doubt has long lingered over whether Hispanic-Americans or Jewish- Americans had been given equal consideration with Anglo-Americans for the Medal of Honor. Vietnam War veteran Sgt. 1st Class Jose Rodela, of Corpus Christi, Texas, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne). (The White House) So in the 2002 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress ordered the Army review the cases of all Jewish and Hispanic soldiers who had received the Distinguished Service Cross from World War II onward to see if their heroism actually merited the nations highest award. Army researchers combed through some 6,500 Distinguished Service Cross awards and zeroed in on 600 that went to soldiers who might be of either background. In the end, the Army singled out 19 Jewish and Hispanic soldiers who deserved the Medal of Honor, along with five soldiers of other backgrounds. The action echoed an earlier review ordered in 1996, which found seven black soldiers deserved the Medal of Honor for actions in World War II. Before that, there were no black recipients of the medal for that war. Vietnam War veteran Staff Sgt. Melvin Morris, of Oklahoma, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne). (The White House) I will get the body Among the deserving soldiers found in the latest review was former Special Forces Staff Sgt. Melvin Morris, a black man who had been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for action on Sept. 17, 1969. Morris was commanding a strike force in the Mekong Delta when he received word that the commander of another team had been killed near an enemy bunker. That body has to be recovered because we cant leave him behind, he said in an interview. I made a decision right then, I will get the body. He and two volunteers reached the fallen sergeant, and Morris said a brief prayer just as a burst of enemy fire wounded the other two men. Morris helped evacuate them, and with two more men, brought back the body of his fallen comrade. But then he was forced to return a third time because he realized an important map case had fallen from the dead sergeants pocket. On his third dash back into the danger zone, flinging grenades wildly, his luck ran out and he was shot three times in the chest, right arm and left hand. Despite his wounds, Morris whod ordered his men not to attempt to rescue him if he fell fought his way back to his strike force and was taken out by a medevac helicopter. During an attack in the Vietnam War, Staff Sgt. Felix M. Conde-Falcon destroyed four enemy bunkers and was targeting a fifth before he was shot down by the enemy. (The White House) Fight to the finish A number of the men wholl be honored Tuesday never made it out of the battles in which they distinguished themselves for bravery. Staff Sgt. Felix M. Conde-Falcon was killed after mounting a devastating assault on a bunker complex on April 4, 1969. After assaulting and destroying several bunkers with grenades, he attacked a fourth bunker singlehandedly with a machine gun, killing the enemy inside, according to his Distinguished Service Cross Citation. Out of ammo, he picked up an M-16 and zeroed in on a fifth. A few meters from his goal, he was shot and killed. In the Korean War, Pfc. Leonard Kravitz took over for a wounded machine gunner and shot down a column of advancing Chinese forces before he was killed by gunfire. (Unknown) Fearless and deadly Pfc. Leonard Kravitz sacrificed himself for his fellow soldiers during brutal fighting on the Korean peninsula on March 7, 1951. After the machine gunner he was assigned to assist was wounded, Kravitz took over the job, and poured devastating fire into the ranks of the onrushing assailants, the citation for his Distinguished Service Cross read. That was his job. But then, as the tide of onrushing Chinese forces overwhelmed the American defenses, the order came to fall back. Kravitz, however, voluntarily stayed at his position and mowed down an entire column of enemy troops moving toward an American position. His marksmanship allowed the Americans to escape, but his fearlessness in the face of attack ultimately cost him his life. When the Army retook the position, the Jewish machine gunners body was found next to his gun. More than six decades later, the Army and the nation are finally ready to affirm that Kravitz and the 23 other honorees Tuesday long ago proved themselves heroes of the highest caliber. Paying tribute to the original treehouse that Walt Disney and his Imagineers built in 1962 for the movie Swiss Family Robinson, the Adventureland Treehouse inspired by Walt Disneys Swiss Family Robinson re-opened on Nov. 10, 2023, at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, Calif. (Christian Thompson, Disneyland Resort/TNS) Like many a child, no doubt, Kevin Kidney fantasized about living at Disneyland. But he didn't imagine himself swashbuckling with pirates or cavorting with ghosts. His special place was more serene. Kidney's spot was the original Swiss Family Treehouse, built in 1962 and tucked away in Adventureland near the Jungle Cruise. His adoration of the treehouse instilled in him a lifelong love of the attraction and the film it was based upon. Kidney, now an accomplished designer and artist whose creative studio collaborates often with the Walt Disney Co., recollects on why the treehouse an attraction that can be overlooked among today's more modern thrills is unique. "It's one of the few attractions that is very hands-on," Kidney says. "You're propelling yourself up at your own pace. The things you're allowed to touch the tree trunk gives you more of a sensory, 'you are there' experience. You're not under a lap bar in a moving vehicle." In 1999, Disney revamped the Swiss Family Treehouse, updating it to reflect Walt Disney Animation's take on "Tarzan." With it came some light interactive and digital touches, but Disneyland and Walt Disney Imagineering, the division of the company responsible for theme park experiences, has given Tarzan the boot. In once again updating the treehouse, the park has looked to its past. The recently reopened Adventureland Treehouse Inspired by Walt Disney's Swiss Family Robinson yes, that's its full name shifts its focus to more old-fashioned theme park trickery. Abstract, environmental storytelling, and some cleverly designed mechanical animals you'll want to spend some time watching Jane the Ostrich has given the Adventureland Treehouse a fresh-yet-retro makeover. Numerous touches, such as a large waterwheel, which provides a jolt of movement and energy to Adventureland pathways, nod to the original story, which was inspired by the 1960 Disney film "Swiss Family Robinson." But as much as it pulls from the Swiss Family tale, even by keeping family names anonymous, it is not, say Imagineers, the Swiss Family story. That makes the Adventureland Treehouse the rare theme park attraction not tied to a modern Disney film or series or intellectual property (IP), in industry speak. Today, Disneyland, and the park's patriarch, Walt Disney, have become their own sort of IP, as Disneyland has become something akin to a cultural institution built upon multigenerational nostalgia. "We don't get many opportunities to do this," says Imagineer Michele Hobbs, one of the key architects of the Adventureland Treehouse revamp. "I think the treehouse, for most of us, is a once-in-a-lifetime endeavor. Honoring Walt's legacy and the legacy of the original Swiss Family Treehouse was important to us and the fundamental reason for creating this new IP. While the original IP was fantastic, we wanted to build upon that in today's day and age and bring a new family in with their own unique qualities." The mothers room in the newly imagined Adventureland Treehouse, which is filled with musical instruments including a harp, lute, guitar and organ, at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, Calif. (Christian Thompson/Disneyland Resort/TNS) Of course, there were other more practical reasons for embarking on the yearlong remodel. Over the decades, current and former Imagineers have spoken of the "Tarzan" update as a way to ensure that a piece of Disneyland history one that dated to the Walt era could continue to have a home in the park. But more than 20 years removed from the release of the animated film, the "Tarzan" property was simply becoming a bit stale. With static figures that didn't move, Tarzan's Treehouse was also starting to look and feel outdated. "Through the years, it became a little less popular," said Kim Irvine, the Walt Disney Imagineer who has long served as Disneyland's art director, of the original Swiss Family Treehouse. "'Tarzan' the movie came out, so we decided maybe we should put IP in there and change the story to 'Tarzan.' That was successful for many years. ... But come forward to now, we thought that IP was not really that popular anymore and we really [wanted] to keep that tree." First order of business was removing the suspension bridge of rope and weathered wood planks, as well as the stairwell that led to it, which was added for "Tarzan." This freed up important Adventureland real estate, and allowed for sightlines to be redirected to the original treehouse and out into New Orleans Square. Imagineering then set out to re-create the original Swiss Family Treehouse waterwheel, calling upon the company's archives division to dig up the historical structure. Today it was in pieces, but Irvine said the new waterwheel was built on molds from the original. The waterwheel, says Kidney, who along with Jody Daily is working on a book inspired by Disney's "Swiss Family Robinson" film, was a key piece of Disneyland lore. "It's just so much fun to watch the little cups of bamboo scoop up the water down in the river and carry them all the way to the top," he says. "It was so cool. A big turning waterwheel was kinetic. Without the waterwheel, it was just a treehouse with steps that you went up and came down. It really was spectacular with that water system. That's what made you want to run and jump in there and find out how it all worked." In the updated story, the water has mystical powers, essentially providing power to the treehouse and each of the rooms for the family of five. There are water pipes in each room, many of them connected to some sort of moving contraption. See, for instance, the music room, where a brass-looking, water-spewing elephant trunk fuels the instruments, including an ornate orchestrion. In other rooms, the water is propelling an animal food timer for all of the critters and mammals that live in the treehouse. Here, guests will spy a hanging monkey, trying to manipulate the clock to give him more food. Humorous scenes, such as this monkey trying to manipulate a feeder, dot the newly-imagined Adventureland Treehouse at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, Calif. (Christian Thompson, Disneyland Resort/TNS) Animals abound throughout the treehouse. We're told to watch for fire ants, will spy tiny hopping frogs and many tree branches contain some sort of colorful pet. The new Adventureland Treehouse is a place built for patience. Expect guests to linger near the entrance, home to an ostrich named Jane, which is a callback to both "Tarzan" and a pivotal scene from the "Swiss Family Robinson" film. Jane saunters back and forth, bobbing up and down, and gives guests a quizzical, skeptical look. "A direction from the beginning was to fundamentally make things visually charming and not complicated and complex, to give folks the opportunity to view a scene, see certain kinetics and hear the audio," Hobbs says. "This is a walk-through experience, so guests can spend as much time or as little time as they like. We wanted to check all the boxes for those who wanted to walk through and those who wanted to linger. It's not prescriptive. It can be as you want it to be." It's worth noting, of course, that the treehouse does have many steps, and will therefore not be accessible all guests. Irvine said Disney did an elevator study in 1999 when it added "Tarzan," but found it wasn't feasible for the 1962 structure. This time, Imagineers created a ground floor room of artwork featuring interpretations of each major space in the treehouse, which is designed to give guests who can't make the climb a taste of what's inside. Also on the lower level, of course, is Jane. Additionally, those with visual disabilities have the option to use audio-description as they explore the treehouse. Jane the ostrich at Disneylands Adventureland Treehouse in Anaheim, Calif. (Christian Thompson, Disneyland Resort/TNS) Playing throughout the treehouse is a jaunty song, the "Swiss Family"-associated " Swisskapolka." Walt Disney Imagineering gave the song a new arrangement, one that is tweaked for each room in the space, as different figures or objects will move in time to the tune. It ensures the song is less repetitive than it could be, as it becomes more of a work of curiosity with each corner of the treehouse having its own twist on the number. The only room without the tune is the daughter's, as her astronomy-obsessed nook is outfitted with a large telescope and twilight-hued planet mobiles. "The daughter is an astronomer," says Hobbs. "She's like, 'Hey, you guys have your thing. I'm gonna play my tunes over here and read the charts.'" The space is quieter, with a more ethereal soundtrack. But after the brief, mid-climb break, it's back to the "Swisskapolka," a song that has a certain bouncy quality it. Kidney is glad that it's back, for it gave the treehouse a sense of life. "It's so fun and sprightly," he says. "It works. It's got a great beat to it, and a rhythm that kind of mimics running up and down stairs. It becomes the soundtrack of your activity of climbing up the treehouse." Hobbs says a thematic goal of the revamp was to create something aspirational. That's a key reason, she says, characters are kept somewhat anonymous. "It was creating a new story with characters that you or I could see ourselves being," Hobbs says. "I could take my family in there, and we could play those roles and aspire to be in that room without having to associate it with anything else. As I go up to the daughter's room, my son or daughter could aspire to love astronomy, or go to the boys' room and see their love of animals and nature." The goal, Hobbs says, is to create an extension of the guest, to hint at "something they want to aspire to be." Sadly, however, for all the kids who dream of living in the treehouse, just as Kevin Kidney once did, none of the rooms are available for rent. The Western media is reluctant to allow the Palestinians their full humanity, often reducing them to statistics rather than seeing them as human beings, writes Azza Radwan Sedky In a respite from the bombing that will not last long, Israel has maintained its part in the truce in the war on the Gaza Strip. It has temporarily stopped bombing Gaza, so that the Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian group Hamas can be freed and returned to their homes. The event has been depicted with anticipation and heartfelt anxiety in the Western media. However, the imbalance in the reporting of it has been blatant. I watched the mainstream Western media as the Israeli hostages were about to be freed. There was an aura of elation and relief on the Israeli side, even as it did not expect Hamas to deliver on its promises. Western reporters, seen standing on Israeli soil, were determined to highlight the feelings of Israelis. They named the hostages and displayed their photographs, a fundamental act in the humanising process. They spoke to their kin and cited anguished family members. They presented viewers with information about the hostages, who they are, what they enjoy, and what they favour. They also went further and spoke about what the hostages could have been exposed to, what they should not be asked, and the medical procedures they were about to face. They focused on the needs of the hostages, whether psychological, emotional, or medical. The presenters also showed maps to help viewers to understand the route the hostages were about to take from Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip to the Rafah Crossing on Egyptian soil and then on to Israel where they would undergo initial medical checkups and be reunited with their families. The channels outdid each other in detailing the suffering that the hostages had experienced in their 49 days of captivity and the process of their returning home. Much as I sympathised with the hostages and was overjoyed at their being reunited with their families, something was lacking in the coverage of this event: balance. What the channels did was have their viewers empathise with the hostages by talking about their lives and their agonising experiences, but the fact that the Palestinian prisoners that were also about to be freed were not given names or stories was dehumanising. The 5,000 Palestinian children who have thus far died as a result of the Israeli war on Gaza were presented as merely statistics instead of human beings. The elation of the families awaiting the 39 freed Palestinian prisoners was ignored. This is what the Western media have been doing all along, and it is revolting. When you relate to a person, you empathise with him or her, seeing him or her as a full human being. When you do not relate to a person, he or she remains unidentified and less fully human. A tweet by US commentator Juan Cole on X (Twitter) put it this way by saying Hey @msnbc why are released Israeli hostages humanised (as they should be) as dads and kids, but released Palestinian hostages are given no names or families and called males and females as though they were animals? The racist rhetoric is deliberate and calculated unless, indeed, the Palestinians really do not matter much to the Western media. It goes without saying that the Western media has adopted a pro-Israeli stance in the current war. The Palestinian NGO the Institute of Palestinian Studies, in a series titled Genocide in Gaza, says that its racist rhetoric is intended to dehumanise the Palestinians in order to neutralise public outrage at what may amount to the worst ethnic cleansing since the 1948 Nakba and what constitutes a genocide at the hands of one of the most advanced militaries in the world, while all the world powers watch and do nothing. The same article says that the American government props up an Israeli military that openly condemns Palestinian children to death and refers to Palestinian civilians as human beasts. Palestinian life does not hold value in the profane equation of American power, wherein the bombing of a hospital in Gaza is rendered as an explosion. The Western media parrots what Western politicians say. When the leaders of major Western countries like the US and the UK promote the daily aggression by Israel against the Palestinians as the right to defend itself and give Israel the green light to commit genocide, it is no surprise to hear the same sort of rhetoric from the media. The sheer imbalance in the presentation of the lives of Palestinians and Israelis has never been more obvious. Each time a Western television channel interviews an Arab or Palestinian spokesperson, the question is asked whether the interviewee condemns the actions of Hamas on 7 October. Hanan Ashrawi, a veteran Palestinian politician, and Bassem Yousef, the Egyptian satirist, were asked this question during Western media interviews. Palestinian Ambassador to the UK Husam Zomlot was also asked it, and he responded by noting the business of always being obsessed with blaming the victim, the occupied, the colonised, the besieged, when in fact I didnt see you asking her [the Likud politician also being interviewed] to condemn with your first question the killing of an entire family [in Gaza] that your reporter just mentioned. Words are used to dehumanise the Palestinians. Israelis are killed, while Palestinians die. Palestinians are terrorists, while Israelis have a right to defend themselves. Israeli sources report the facts, while Hamas or Arab sources make allegations or claims. Words can be powerful and manipulative, and the Western media uses them craftily to mislead. The double standards are glaring. The New York Times changed its original headline after the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza was attacked. Originally, this said Israeli attack, but then it was changed to attack on the hospital in Gaza, and finally to explosion at the hospital in Gaza. The Washington Posts headline on the same attack was Hundreds feared dead in Gaza Hospital attack, which made it seem as if the Palestinians involved had died of other causes and not because of the attack on the Hospital. The euphemism used to dilute the violent Israeli attack is undeniable. No Western media outlet mentions the injustices committed by Israel; no Western media outlet talks of what happened in 1948 as being the main cause of the current crisis; no Western media outlet points to Israel not wanting a permanent peace with the Palestinians or recognises that its intention is to displace the Palestinians by sending them off to other countries. Will there ever come a day when the Western media is impartial and avoids biased disinformation? I doubt it. ---------- *The writer is former professor of communication based in Vancouver, Canada. * A version of this article appears in print in the 30 November, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: The streets of Freetown, Sierra Leone, are empty during a curfew on Sunday, Nov, 26, 2023. (TJ Bade/AP) ABUJA, Nigeria Attacks on Sierra Leones main military barracks and prisons were a failed coup attempt and have resulted in the arrest of 13 military officers, the governments spokesman said Tuesday. The attackers attempted to overthrow the elected government of Sierra Leone, Information Minister Chernor Bah said at a briefing to reporters about the early morning attacks that took security forces and residents by surprise in the usually peaceful capital city of Freetown on Sunday. Thirteen military officers are currently in custody and one other civilian in this incident we are now calling a failed coup, Bah said. Coming months after Sierra Leones President Julius Maada Bio was reelected for a second term in a disputed vote in June, a coup attempt in the West African nation further raises political tensions in West and Central Africa. Coups have surged in the region, with eight military takeovers since 2020, including in Niger and Gabon this year. Residents in Freetown were awoken by sounds of heavy gunfire Sunday as gunmen broke into the key armory in the countrys largest military barracks, located near the presidential villa in a heavily guarded part of the city. The attackers in their dozens also targeted two prisons in the city, including the central prison where most of the more than 2,000 inmates were freed, according to Col. Sulaiman Massaquoi, acting head of the Sierra Leone Correctional Service. A civilian was also arrested in connection with the attack and more than 100 of the freed inmates have reported back at the prisons amid a manhunt for fleeing suspects, the information minister said. Gunshots were heard in the capital on Tuesday as security forces tried to arrest one of the fleeing suspects. The person of interest has been arrested and is now in custody of the security forces, the information ministry said in a statement. Many of the attackers were either hiding or still on the run across the country, the Chief of Defense Staff Lt. Gen. Peter Lavahun told the briefing. He said the armory had no closed-circuit television (CCTV) but that officials were checking to confirm the number of weapons seized. We were able to recover two vehicles containing arms and ammunition that were carted away, said Lavahun. Many in Freetown and across the country remained indoors on Tuesday, more than a day after the government relaxed a 24-hour curfew to a night lockdown. There have been political tensions in Sierra Leone since Bios reelection in a vote that the opposition has said was rigged in his favor. Two months after he was reelected, police said they arrested several people, including senior military officers planning to use protests to undermine peace. Neighboring Guinea remains politically unstable after a coup in 2021. Sierra Leone itself is still healing from a 11-year civil war that ended more than two decades ago. Its population of 8 million people is among the poorest in the world. West Africas regional economic bloc of ECOWAS of which Sierra Leone is a member - condemned the attacks and sent a delegation to extend their support and solidarity to the countrys president. A supporter of Israel walks amongst cutout cardboard effigies, representing Israeli hostages, during a protest outside Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. Relatives and a friend of Israelis kidnapped and killed by Hamas visited Australia's Parliament House on Tuesday, sharing personal stories to lobby for international support for all hostages to be freed and to support Israel's war effort. (Mick Tsikas, AAP Image/AP) CANBERRA, Australia Relatives and a friend of Israelis kidnapped and killed by Hamas visited Australias Parliament House on Tuesday, sharing personal stories in an effort to lobby for international support for all hostages to be freed and to support Israels war effort. The group of five will meet political leaders during a two-day visit in Canberra. They are also expected to share their experiences with members of the community in Sydney and Melbourne during a weeklong Australian trip. Our aim first is to get the hostages back, all of them, Elad Levy, 49, told reporters outside the Parliament House. Levys niece, Roni Eshel, was a 19-year-old soldier initially thought kidnapped during Hamas Oct. 7 incursion into Israel but confirmed dead weeks later. Our second aim is to get the support of the Australian people and the Australian government ... for Israels actions in wiping out Hamas and in our military actions right now to eradicate Hamas, Levy added. Australias major political parties have supported Israels right to defend itself but have urged Israel to comply with international law by containing non-combatant casualties in Gaza. Israel has agreed to temporary, humanitarian pauses in its military operations in Gaza in exchange for the gradual release of hostages. The agreement had been due to expire Monday but was extended for an additional two days. Iris Haim, 57, whose son Yotam Haim, 28, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, described the process of waiting as psychological terror for families. Its psychological terror because they dont give the names until the last minute. We wait in fear, Haim said. She said she hoped the cease-fire would hold until all the hostages were released. Mika Shani, 18, said her mother, Tal Shani, called Tuesday morning to say her kidnapped brother Amit Shani, who turned 16 in captivity, was not listed among the hostages to be freed. The boy was the only family member to be snatched by Hamas during an attack on their home in Kibbutz Beeri. Its been so frustrating. Every day, like, maybe today is the day. Maybe today hes going to get out, Mika Shani said. Ofir Tamir, 26, said his kidnapped friend, Noa Argamani, who is also 26, had been caring for her mother, Loira Argamani, who suffered incurable brain cancer. The mother doesnt have a lot of time or a lot of strength, Tamir said. Tali Kizhners 22-year-old son, Segev Kizhner, was killed at the same Nova music festival where Argamani was taken. It was not a matter of religion, it was not a matter of gender, Tali Kizhner said. They simply came to kill everybody, the 50-year-old mom added. A diagram created by Joint Task Force-Red Hill shows the scale of the 10-foot depth of fuel now left in 10 tanks at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in Honolulu. (Joint Task Force-Red Hill) FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii A brief but important step in permanently defueling the defunct Red Hill fuel facility in Hawaii is slated to begin and end next week with the draining of the dregs in 10 massive tanks. Joint Task Force-Red Hill, the Defense Department entity overseeing emptying of the World War II-era facility, completed removal of 99.5% of 104 million gallons of fuel on Nov. 17. Just over 103,458,000 gallons were drained in this fall via gravity through pipes leading to a fuel depot on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. The fuel was loaded into tanker ships and transferred to San Diego, Subic Bay in the Philippines, the Port of Singapore and a pair of depots in Hawaii. On Dec. 5, the remaining 7 feet of so-called flowable tank bottom fuel in each tank will be drained through much smaller lines directly on the bottom the tanks, the task force announced in a news release Monday. The 14 tanks to be drained each hold about 120,000 gallons of flowable tank-bottom fuel, the task force said in an online video. Draining each tank will take about 14 hours and is expected to be completed by Dec. 8. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in March 2022 ordered the facility to be permanently shut in the wake of a fuel spill in late 2021 that contaminated the Navys drinking water system for housing on and near the joint base. Thousands of residents were relocated to hotels on the island for several months as the Navy drained and flushed the system. One contaminated well shaft, which was isolated soon after residents began complaining of tainted water, remains dormant and awaiting cleanup. Hundreds of residents have complained of illnesses and conditions they claim have arisen from consuming or washing with water contaminated by fuel. Some residents have joined a lawsuit filed in federal court seeking compensation for illnesses, stress and financial hardship they blame on the tainted water. Joint Task Force-Red Hills final job will be removing roughly 60,000 gallons of fuel in the lines that must be drained by means other than using the main drain pipes. That work is expected to be complete by March, at which time a Navy task force will take charge of draining about 4,000 gallons of fuel that can only be accessed by destroying and disassembling piping. The Navy will also remove about 28,000 gallons of sludge at the bottom of the tanks. A Nissan X-Trail belonging to Air Force Tech. Sgt. Porter Smith-munroe is impounded at a police lot in Okinawa city, Oct. 10, 2023. (Mari Higa/Stars and Stripes) CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa A U.S. airman accused of a drunken hit-and-run crash last month on Okinawa has been fined about $2,000 by a Japanese court after prosecutors requested a summary judgment. Tech Sgt. Porter Smith-munroe, 35, of Kadena Air Base, was arrested at Koza Music Town in Okinawa city around 12:40 a.m. Oct. 7, about an hour after he struck a taxi with his car and fled the scene, an Okinawa police spokesman said by phone Oct. 10. He was found guilty of drunken driving on Nov. 8 in Naha Summary Court and fined about $2,000, a Naha District Court spokeswoman said by phone Monday. She declined to provide further details of the proceedings. A spokesman for Naha District Public Prosecutors Office declined to say Monday why Smith-munroe was not charged with the hit and run. To avoid a trial, Japanese prosecutors will sometimes ask for a summary judgment in minor cases where the facts are not in dispute. Suspects must agree to initiate proceedings and can opt for a trial at any time. Smith-munroe was eastbound on Koza Gate Street, just outside Kadenas Gate 2, in a black Nissan X-Trail when he struck the taxi, the police spokesman said. He then drove about 600 feet before pulling into an alley. The taxi driver, whom police did not identify, followed the vehicle and called police when it stopped, the spokesman said. There were no injuries and both vehicles received only minor damage. A Breathalyzer at the scene measured Smith-munroes blood-alcohol content at 0.12%, four times the legal limit for driving in Japan, the spokesman said. By comparison, all 50 U.S. states have set 0.08% as the legal limit for driving under the influence or while impaired. Police forwarded charges of drunken driving and leaving the scene of a crash to prosecutors on Oct. 8, the spokesman said. Smith-munroe faced a maximum five years and three months in prison or a $7,000 fine. He was indicted Nov. 8, the same day of the summary decision, the court spokeswoman said. Some Japanese officials are required to speak to the media only on the condition of anonymity. North Korean soldiers are seen at a guard post inside the Demilitarized Zone in this undated photo provided by South Koreas Ministry of National Defense on Nov. 27, 2023. (South Koreas Ministry of National Defense) SUWON, South Korea Seoul is considering how it will respond now that North Korean troops have returned to border guard posts after Pyongyang scrapped a peace deal in place for the past five years. Senior military officials met Tuesday to ensure the country is ready with countermeasures, spokesman Jeon Ha Gyu said during a news briefing at the Ministry of National Defense headquarters in Seoul. We will implement the necessary measures in order to be fully prepared for the protection of our people, he said. Seoul and Washington are reviewing corresponding countermeasures to respond to Pyongyang, South Korean army Col. Lee Sung-jun of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told the reporters. Neither Jeon nor Lee elaborated on what that response could entail. Asked by a reporter whether South Korea would deploy armed troops at the border, Jeon referred the question to U.N. Command, which is responsible for the Souths security in the Demilitarized Zone. North Korean soldiers are seen at a guard post inside the Demilitarized Zone in this undated photo provided by South Koreas Ministry of National Defense on Nov. 27, 2023. (South Koreas Ministry of National Defense) The command did not respond to an emailed request for comment Tuesday. North Korean troops have occupied 11 guard posts on its side of the DMZ since Friday, the Defense Ministry said in a news release Monday. The ministry also said it observed temporary guard posts and artillery fortifications being built on the western coast. Our troops have been keeping a close eye on North Koreas provocative acts and maintaining a full readiness posture so that they can punish any [North Korean] provocation immediately and strongly, the release said. Eleven guard posts on both sides of the border were withdrawn from or demolished after the Comprehensive Military Agreement was signed in 2018. The accord, inked by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and then-President Moon Jae-in, aimed to prevent border clashes with several measures, including no-fly zones. Seoul partially suspended the agreement on Nov. 22, a day after Pyongyang successfully placed a military spy satellite into orbit. North Korean soldiers with weapons are seen in a trench inside the Demilitarized Zone in this undated photo provided by South Koreas Ministry of National Defense on Nov. 27, 2023. (South Koreas Ministry of National Defense) In multiple reports after the launch, North Koreas state-run Korean Central News Agency said the satellite took photos of major target regions, including Pyeongtaek city, home of Camp Humphreys; the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson docked in Busan, South Korea; and the White House. In response, South Korea, which had warned the North against following through with the launch, announced it would resume reconnaissance flights banned under the peace agreement. That decision prompted Pyongyang to scrap the accord entirely Thursday; KCNA reported the regime was no longer bound to the agreement and that it would deploy armed troops and a new-type of military hardware at the border. The United States and South Korea are still analyzing the Norths satellite and have yet to conclude whether it has any military significance, Jeon said at Tuesdays briefing. Stars and Stripes reporter Yoo Kyong Chang contributed to this report. Russia has opened a criminal case against the prominent Russian American writer and journalist Masha Gessen, accusing them of spreading false information about the actions of the Russian army in Ukraine part of a continuing crackdown by the Kremlin on voices critical of its war. (Masha Gessen/Facebook) RIGA, Latvia Russia has opened a criminal case against the prominent Russian American writer and journalist Masha Gessen, accusing them of spreading false information about the actions of the Russian army in Ukraine part of a continuing crackdown by the Kremlin on voices critical of its war. Russian authorities have charged Gessen, a staff writer for the New Yorker who holds dual Russian and U.S. citizenship but lives in the United States, with spreading knowingly false information about atrocities committed by the Russian soldiers in the Ukrainian city of Bucha. Gessen made the remarks in an interview with popular Russian YouTuber and journalist Yury Dud, in which they discussed a reporting trip to several Ukrainian cities to document potential war crimes in the first months of the war. Soon after reports of horrendous killings and brutalization of civilians in Bucha emerged in March 2022, Russian authorities launched a false counternarrative claiming that all accounts and photographic and video evidence provided by Bucha residents, Ukrainian officials and journalists were staged and fake. According to the information from the Russian General Staff, the information about the mass murder of civilians by the service-members, accompanied by cases of looting, kidnappings and torture in March of 2022 in the town of Bucha during the special military operation is not true, the decree initiating the case states, according to a copy provided by Gessen to The Post. The Russian-language television channel Rain first reported the details of Gessens case. The possibility of that is zero, Gessen said when Dud asked in the interview whether they thought the claims about Bucha spread by Russian state propaganda outlets had any basis. Gessen, a nonbinary and trans person, lived and worked in Russia for two decades before returning to the United States in 2013, when Russia started imposing restrictive laws against the LGBTQ+ community. In 2017, Gessen won the National Book Award in nonfiction for The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia. Gessen is also the author of a 2013 book abut the Russian president: The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin. While Russian authorities do not have any immediate reach to Gessen, the criminal case limits the writers international travel to countries that have mutual extradition treaties with Moscow and hinders their ability to report on Russia, they said in an interview The chances that I will ever be able to go back to Russia Im 56 years old are pretty slim, Gessen said. That has a significant impact on my life and at some point, my journalism. But there are also a whole bunch of countries it would be unsafe for me to go to theyre going to issue a search warrant in the next week or so and that means that all the countries that have extradition treaties with Russia become risky places, they added. Russia has extradition treaties with nearly all former Soviet states, as well as Indonesia, India, Thailand, and other countries. Russian authorities have severely cracked down on independent journalists since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, using an array of draconian fake news and discreditation of the army laws adopted in the first weeks of the war. A Russian opposition politician, Ilya Yashin, was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison for making remarks about the discovery of mass killings in Bucha to Dud in an interview published in April last year. Yashin was a longtime and outspoken critic of the Kremlin for many years before the Dud interview. But Gessen suggested that Duds large Russian-language audience may have triggered the authorities to take action in both cases. Dud has over 10 million subscribers on YouTube, which remains effectively the last major Western platform easily accessible to Russians. Instagram, Twitter and Facebook have been all blocked. [Yashin] was out and about and making the kind of statements that he was making until Dud because so many people watch Dud, Gessen said. Gessen added, however, that the Russian governments designations of foreign agents, undesirable organizations and extremists were often imposed on journalists with no rhyme or reason. Even after Yashin was imprisoned, Russian authorities brought another charge against him for failing to include a foreign agent label on posts he shared on the Telegram messaging app via his supporters. A hearing in that case is scheduled for Dec. 1. Previously, Yashin said he expected authorities to initiate a criminal case against him for evading rules that oblige all foreign agents mostly Russian activists, journalists, scientists and government critics to label all their publications with a large banner warning readers about their status. Yashin repeatedly said he would not voluntarily brand himself and considers the Russian foreign agent law to be fascist. If there are true foreign agents in our country, we should be looking for them in the Kremlin, Yashin said, adding that hes loyal to Russia and remains a patriot even from behind bars. Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian American journalist, has recently marked a month in prison after Russian authorities accused her of failing to self-report and register as a foreign agent and detained her at the airport in Kazan, Russia, as she was about to board a flight to Prague, where she lives with her family. Kurmasheva is an editor with the Tatar-Bashkir service of U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and also a dual U.S.-Russian citizen. The charge marked the first such case initiated against a reporter in Russia. If convicted, she faces up to five years in prison. Last month, a Russian court upheld the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter and U.S. citizen Evan Gershkovich, who is the first American journalist charged with espionage in Russia since the end of the Cold War and has been behind bars for nine months. His employer and the U.S. government have denied all charges, and the State Department has designated him as wrongfully detained, a label that unlocks wider government support to secure his release. Some journalists have been targeted for the second time under the same charges. Denis Kamalyagin, the editor in chief of Pskovskaya Guberniya, an independent outlet in the western Russian region of Pskov, was summoned for questioning on Monday by the local police on charges of repeated discrimination of the Russian army. Kamalyagin and some of his staff left Russia in March last year, just a day before their office was raided as part of a separate case. A few weeks later, a local court pronounced Kamalyagin guilty and fined him for discriminating against the Russian forces. The first offense under the discrimination law is an administrative violation, while a repeated offense can result in a prison sentence. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken boards his aircraft prior to departure, Monday, Nov. 27, 2023, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., as he travels to Brussels for a NATO Foreign Ministers meeting. (Saul Loeb/AP) BRUSSELS U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return this week to the Middle East as the U.S. hopes to find a way to extend a cease-fire in Gaza and get more hostages released, the State Department said Monday. It will be his third trip to the region since Israels war with Hamas began last month. Blinken will travel to Israel and the West Bank after attending Ukraine-focused meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday in Brussels and Skopje, North Macedonia, where foreign ministers from NATO and the Organization for Peace and Security in Europe are gathering. Israel has agreed to pauses in its military operations in exchange for the gradual release of hostages taken by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. The agreement had been due to expire Monday but was extended for an additional two days, meaning the extension will be expiring just as Blinken is arriving in Israel. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday the U.S. hopes to see the pause extended further, but it is dependent on Hamas continuing to release hostages. In Israel and the West Bank, Blinken will discuss Israels right to defend itself consistent with international humanitarian law, as well as continued efforts to secure the release of remaining hostages, protect civilian life during Israels operations in Gaza, and accelerate humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement. He said Blinken also will discuss the principles for a post-conflict Gaza, as well as the need to establish an independent Palestinian state and prevent the conflict from widening. In the occupied West Bank, Blinken is expected to see Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Blinken and other U.S. officials have said they believe the Palestinian Authority should play a significant role in governing post-conflict Gaza. From Israel and the West Bank, Blinken will travel to the United Arab Emirates for discussions with regional leaders who will be in Dubai to attend the COP28 climate summit. Blinken has been engaged in furious diplomacy to try to prevent the Gaza conflict from spreading, expand the provision of humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians in the territory, secure the release of hostages and arrange for foreigners and dual nationals to leave Gaza overland to Egypt. On each of his prior two trips, Blinken has traveled to Israel and Jordan multiple times. Between the two trips, he also made stops in Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the UAE. Blinken will arrive in Israel having just participated in an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe foreign ministers meeting in Skopje. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said he plans to attend the OSCE meeting, possibly setting the stage for a U.S.-Russia confrontation there over Ukraine. In Brussels, Blinken will attend the two-day NATO gathering, which will include the first foreign minister-level meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, a body created by alliance leaders at their last summit to improve cooperation and coordination and help prepare Kyiv for eventual membership. Allies will continue to support Ukraines self-defense until Russia stops its war of aggression, said Jim OBrien, the top U.S. diplomat for Europe. The NATO meeting will also address the tensions in the Western Balkans, where there are calls for NATO to increase its military presence in response to concerns that hostility between Serbia and Kosovo could escalate to outright conflict. Violence between the two has broken out twice in recent months, and Western countries fear that Russia could try to foment trouble in the Balkans to avert attention from the war in Ukraine. Last week, Albanias prime minister urged NATO to further boost its military forces in Kosovo and secure the countrys borders with Serbia, warning that recent ethnic violence in Kosovo could potentially trigger a wider Balkan conflict. NATO has already strengthened its military presence in Kosovo established after the 1999 bombing campaign against Serbia with about 1,000 additional troops and heavier weaponry, bringing its deployment there to about 4,500 troops. Blinken will underscore U.S. and NATO support for democracy and stability in the region, including a commitment to back all countries aspirations to join the European Union, OBrien said. Serbia doesnt recognize Kosovos formal declaration of independence in 2008. Both countries want to join the European Union, which is mediating a dialogue between the former foes. Brussels has warned both that refusal to compromise jeopardizes their chances of joining the bloc. The NATO ministers will also discuss plans for the alliances 75th anniversary summit to be held in Washington in July 2024. Finnish Border Guards escort migrants arriving at the Raja-Jooseppi international border crossing station between Russia and Finland, in Inari, northern Finland, Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. (Emmi Korhonen, Lehtikuva via AP) HELSINKI Finland said Tuesday it will close its last remaining border crossing with Russia amid concerns that Moscow is using migrants as part of hybrid warfare to destabilize the Nordic country following its entry into NATO. Finland already had shut seven of the eight checkpoints on its 830-mile border with Russia this month following a surge in arrivals of migrants from the Middle East and Africa. Helsinki has accused Moscow of ushering them toward the frontier through thick forests in the south to the rugged Arctic landscape in the north. The government has decided to close all the crossing points on the entire eastern border, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo told reporters, saying Finland faced an exceptional situation that the government blames on Moscow for orchestrating. Finland has a profound reason to suspect that the entry (of migrants) is organized by a foreign state. This deals with Russias influencing operations and we wont accept it, Orpo said bluntly. We dont accept any attempt to undermine our national security. Russia has caused this situation and it can also stop it. The complete closure announced Tuesday is due to last for at least two weeks, after which one crossing point may be reopened, the Finnish government said. The current situation means migrants arriving from Russia only would be able to seek asylum upon arriving at Finnish airports or harbors. However, there is currently no air or passenger boat traffic between Russia and Finland, so those options dont exist. The Kremlin denies encouraging migrants to enter Finland and says it regrets the Finnish border closures. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova argued last week that Helsinki should have instead tried to to work out a mutually acceptable solution or receive explanation. Finnish authorities say some 1,000 migrants without visas or valid documentation have arrived since August at the normally heavily controlled border, which makes up a significant part of NATOs northeastern flank and acts as the European Unions external border in the north. Of that number, about 900 of those coming to Finlands border with Russia arrived this month, an unusual increase for the country of 5.6 million, the Finnish authorities said. The asylum-seekers are from countries that include Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, they said. Most are young men in their 20s and 30s, but some are families with children and women, border guard data and photos indicate. Many of them were dressed in sneakers and light outdoor gear. Nearly all arrived at the border zone on bicycles that Finnish and Russian media reports say were provided and sold to them. The governor of Russias northern Murmansk region last week said there were at least 400 people waiting to enter Finland on the Russian side of the border and that the number was expected to increase as Helsinki closed its crossing points bit by bit. Orpo said in a separate statement that Russia was guiding people to the border in harsh winter conditions. Finland is determined to put an end to this phenomenon. Two years ago, the EU accused Russias ally Belarus of using migrants seeking a better life in Europe as pawns to destabilize Western democracies. European leaders called it a form of hybrid warfare by Moscow, along with disinformation, election interference and cyber attacks. Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen used that same term in a Nov. 22 interview with The Associated Press. She said there is no doubt that Russia is instrumentalizing migrants as part of its hybrid warfare. Before joining NATO this year, a decision prompted by Moscows invasion of Ukraine, Finnish officials warned that Russia could seek ways to destabilize the country in retaliation, including cyber attacks and ushering migrants to its borders -- something that happened in Finland during the winter of 2015-16. We have proof showing that, unlike before, not only Russian border authorities are letting people without proper documentation to the Finnish border, but they are also actively helping them to the border zone, Valtonen said. Some Western political analysts believe Russias motive is to create havoc on the EUs external borders. For decades, Finnish and Russian border authorities both checked that only people with proper documents can cross -- both ways. Recently, however, Finnish officials noted the change in checks by Russian guards, who normally dont allow foreigners to within a radius of several miles. Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said the last border crossing for vehicle traffic that remains open, Raja-Jooseppi in Finlands Arctic north, would close at midnight Wednesday and stay shut until Dec. 13. A rail crossing between the two countries remains open but only for cargo traffic. Latvia Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karins talks to journalists during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. (Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP) BRUSSELS Latvias foreign minister on Tuesday staked his claim to the top job at NATO, saying that the military organization needs a consensus builder who is committed to higher defense spending and has a clear vision of how to deal with Russia. NATO is likely to name a new secretary general at its next summit in Washington in July. Former Norwegian prime minister Jens Stoltenberg has been the alliances top civilian official since 2014. His term has been extended four times during the war in Ukraine. Were going to have 32 countries. Keeping 32 countries together on any topic, its a big challenge, and we need a consensus builder that can work with any and all allies, to move everyone forward in the same direction, Latvian Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karins told reporters at NATO headquarters. One of Stoltenbergs challenges is to help persuade Turkey, along with Hungary, to endorse Swedens attempt to become NATOs 32nd member. NATO officials hope the issue will be resolved by the time U.S. President Joe Biden and counterparts meet in Washington. In an awkward moment in front of television cameras as NATO foreign ministers gathered for a traditional group photo during a meeting in Brussels, Karins took Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan by the arm and said loudly, Were all waiting now, all waiting. You hear it from all of us. Karins was Latvias prime minister for almost five years NATO prefers its secretaries general to have served in top government posts and oversaw an increase in defense spending. He said his country will spend 2.4 % of GDP on defense this year, above the organizations target of 2%. Russia remains NATOs historical adversary, and managing the alliances approach to Moscow is a major test. The next secretary has to have a clear vision on the future role of NATO, how its going to expand, how its going to be working to contain Russia, Karins said. He said its important not to panic while acknowledging the very real threat that Russia is and to work together to contain it. It is doable, he said. We can do it if we are calm but very determined. With Russia locked in its war on Ukraine, the process of naming a new secretary general has become highly politicized. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have taken an unbending line in support of Ukraine, and this could make it difficult for one of their leaders to get the job. Most NATO countries have been keen to name a woman to the top post. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas is considered a strong candidate. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was thought to be a favorite after a meeting with Biden in the summer, but she later said she wasnt running. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has ruled out her candidacy. Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte recently visited NATO headquarters to make clear his intention to stand. NATO secretaries general are chosen by consensus. There is no formal procedure for naming them, and diplomats have said that no official vetting is currently being done. The organizations top civilian official is responsible for chairing meetings and guiding sometimes delicate consultations between member countries to ensure that compromises are found so that an alliance that operates on consensus can continue to function. The secretary general also ensures that decisions are put into action, speaks on behalf of all nations with one voice and rarely if ever singles out any member for public criticism. Stoltenberg has managed to tread a fine line, refraining from criticizing members led by more go-it-alone presidents and prime ministers like former U.S. President Donald Trump, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan or Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was full of praise on Tuesday for Stoltenbergs role in keeping NATO on course. Everything that weve been able to do with the NATO alliance over the last few years, strengthening the alliance, making it fit for purpose for the challenges that were going to be facing in the years ahead, dealing with Russias aggression against Ukraine, none of that would have happened without the leadership of Jens Stoltenberg, Blinken said. We are grateful to you, grateful for that extraordinary leadership at a moment where it counted more than ever, he told Stoltenberg. AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Brussels contributed to this report. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, center, walks with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, right, and Deputy Secretary-General Mircea Geoana at alliance headquarters in Brussels on Nov. 28, 2023. Blinken is in Belgium for two days of meetings with NATO foreign ministers. (NATO) The top American diplomat sought to invigorate support for Ukraine on Tuesday as high-level NATO talks got underway in Brussels amid concerns about war fatigue and the durability of Western military backing. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said allies will recommit to Ukraine during the two-day meeting of NATO member foreign ministers. We will be strongly reaffirming our support for Ukraine as it continues to face Russias war of aggression, Blinken said. Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba also will attend the meeting . The Russia-Ukraine war has sparked significant changes in NATO since it began in February 2022 with a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on three sides. Among them are new defense plans individually tailored to the defense needs along NATOs eastern flank. But the war also has stretched alliance ammunition stockpiles and tested member states political willpower to keep up the flow of weaponry, which has enabled Ukraine to battle a much larger Russian force. As talks started, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said recent waves of drone strikes on Ukrainian cities serve as a sign of more fighting to come. But the uncertainty surrounding future Western military spending for Ukraine comes at a critical time in the war, which has become a virtual stalemate. In the U.S., Ukraine has emerged as a congressional flashpoint, with some Republicans favoring scaled-back support. The European Union also has struggled to follow through on promises of ammunition deliveries, as Western militaries face depleted stockpiles. Meanwhile, Russias wartime budget shows no sign of decline. On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a 25% spending increase for a $415 billion national budget that devotes a record amount to the military, The Associated Press reported. Stoltenberg said allies are obliged to keep up support, not only for Ukraine but also for Western security interests in general. It will be a tragedy for Ukrainians if President Putin wins, but it will also be dangerous for us, he said. The challenge now is that we need to sustain this support. A Putin victory in Ukraine would mean an emboldened Russia and send a dangerous signal to other powers such as China, Stoltenberg said. Ahead of NATOs meeting Tuesday, Germany and the Netherlands announced several billion dollars in new support for Ukraine, leading Stoltenberg to believe that other allies also are ready to do more. Im confident that the United States will continue to provide support ... because it is in the security interest of the United States to do so, he said. At times of high tension such as during military conflicts many values can be overlooked, and this can sometimes dilute the human principles that should be shared and adopted by all, even warring factions. It is understandable that people are not cool-headed when rockets are falling on their homes. But they should not abandon reason for all that, as this plays into the hands of those fomenting violence, hatred, or terror. No one with even a shred of humanity can condone the killing of thousands of women and children in the way that Israel is doing in Gaza, whatever the pretexts or explanations may be. It was not so long ago that the US and UK invaded and then occupied Iraq based on lies that they had propagated. The then UK prime minister Tony Blairs fabricated dossier claiming to provide evidence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and the faked satellite images shown off by then-US secretary of state Colin Powell at the UN are still remembered by many. Israel claims that it is fighting a religious group in Gaza that is proscribed in many countries as a terrorist organisation. That suits its own discriminatory nature as a religious state in a law adopted under a previous Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2018. That law made Israel and Iran, along with the caliphate run by the Islamic State (IS) group, the only religious states in the world. Even if the world has turned a blind eye to Israels daily aggressions against the Palestinians for years, this does not mean that it is not aware of them. I do not buy into conspiracy theories, especially those propagated by religious fanatics, and I see the Western support of Israel as a political and strategic choice, whether or not it is one in its own interests. That political choice cannot be a justification for undermining basic human rights, among them the right to free speech and to the expression of ones own opinions without the fear of being persecuted. One of the main laws used to scare those with different views is the allegation of anti-Semitism. Whether the ruling elite in Israel are of Semitic or of Caucasian origin the latter is closer to the truth is irrelevant here. Aside from a few fundamentalists, no one is against Israel because it is a Jewish state or because its leaders are Semites. Two years ago, the majority of people in the region sympathised with Palestinian families about to be evicted from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah district of East Jerusalem. But once the Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired rockets from Gaza on Israeli cities, Arab public opinion became divided. It might be thought that this was the case only in the Arab Gulf countries that had recently established a warm peace with Israel. But in fact many Egyptians were also reluctant to cheer on Hamas. Many Egyptians still remember how Hamas, an ally of the Muslim Brotherhood, sided against the popular will during the one-year rule of the Brotherhood in Egypt. The debate in Egypt was unprecedented, with some people accusing Hamas of terrorism when it supported Brotherhood efforts to destroy Egypt in 2011-2013. This reluctance is not present this time round, even with Netanyahu and his extremist government portraying the Israeli war on Gaza as an Israel-Hamas war. One of his ministers has described the Palestinian Arabs as human animals. Thousands of the victims in this war are not members of Hamas, and the killing and destruction amounts to genocide and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their own land. Many people in the Middle East realise that mixing religion with politics leads to awful dangers. That is contrary to perceptions in the late 1970s and later when many academics in the West propagated the notion that so-called moderate Islamism was the rising political power in the Middle East. Some of these academics, among them the Frenchman Francois Burgat, the American John Esposito, and the Lebanese-American Fawaz Gerges, tended to differentiate between moderate Islamism (the Brotherhood and its affiliates) and militant Islamism (Al-Qaeda, IS, and so on). Today, people in the region are realising that this distinction is not a real one. They increasingly believe that all those groups are offshoots of the Muslim Brotherhood. Meanwhile, anybody criticising Israels occupation of the Palestinian Territories faces the accusation of anti-Semitism. It looks as if Israel is suffering from the same malaise associated with Iran in raising a religious flag in politics. There is no legally binding international definition of terrorism. The same thing is true of anti-Semitism. But there is a working definition for the latter that many countries incorporate into their criminal law. Anti-Semitism is the belief about or behaviour that is hostile towards Jews just because they are Jews. The definition conforms to the basic human rights principle not to discriminate against people on the grounds of religious, ethnicity, or for other reasons. However, some countries extend the definition to any action against the state of Israel, seeing this as Jewish collective. This is introducing religion into politics and is discriminatory if not close to racist. Any action against a Jew because of his religion falls under the law against anti-Semitism in almost every country in the world. However, assuming that a state or its politicians are exclusively representative of a religion (or even a race) is a notion that is not acceptable. Standing up against so-called ultra-Orthodox Israeli settlers killing Palestinians in the West Bank and burning their farms is not anti-Semitic. Protesting against these actions is not done because those carrying them out are Jews. In fact, diluting the serious crime of anti-Semitism, rightly applicable to Holocaust deniers or those who attack Jews because of their religion, is dangerous. It fuels the dangerous perception propagated by Political Islamists, and now by the extremist Israeli government, that the world brands all Muslims as terrorists or that the Arabs regard all Jews as Zionists. It is true that some extremist groups might give that impression. But the law and the state should not. The use of the accusation of anti-Semitism to silence any criticism of Israel or its policies dilutes its working definition. Moreover, it feeds into the perception that Israel is allowed to ignore all rules and norms because the world is reluctant to force it to commit to them for fear of being seen as anti-Semitic. Supporting Israel is a political decision that has nothing to do with being a Semite or not being a Semite. Not supporting it is also a political decision that has nothing to do with religion. It is odd that while people in many Arab countries are abandoning religion in politics, some in the West are becoming more accommodating of it. ---------- *The writer is a London-based seasoned journalist. * A version of this article appears in print in the 30 November, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: U.S. service members from Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany celebrate the town of Landstuhl's 700th anniversary in July 2023. Nearly seven in 10 Americans in a recent poll said they view Russia as a major military threat, while just 36% of Germans surveyed felt the same way. (Marcy Sanchez/LRMC) Americans are much likelier than Germans to view Russia and China as a major security threat, according to a new survey, which also found relations between the two NATO allies on the upswing. A poll released Monday by the Pew Foundation showed confidence in the U.S.-German relationship, with 85% of Americans and 77% of Germans holding positive views. In Germany, the sentiment toward the United States has improved during the past two years, a result that appears tied to the departure of Donald Trump from the White House in 2021. During the Trump administration, most Germans saw relations with the U.S. in a negative light as Americas image crumbled across Europe, Pew said. But while the results indicate that citizens in both countries feel upbeat about the two allies as partners on the world stage, views diverge on matters of security related to Russia and China. Nearly seven in 10 Americans polled view Russia as a major military threat, while just 36% of Germans felt the same way, Pew said. Among Germans, 40% viewed Russia as a minor military threat. Meanwhile, 21% of Germans said they dont feel at all threatened by Russia, compared with just 5% of Americans, Pew said. The disparities in Russia threat perceptions between the two countries arent new, but the gap has closed somewhat. The share of Germans who say Russia is a major threat increased 14 percentage points from 2022. The war in Ukraine could be one reason for that change. Still, there is a relatively positive view of Russia among the right-wing Alternative for Germany party, which has grown as a political force in recent years due in large part to its anti-immigration position. For example, 14% of AfD members named Russia as their countrys most important partner, compared with just 3% of overall respondents holding that view, according to the survey. AfD supporters also are nearly split on whether it is more important to have a close relationship with the United States or Russia. The poll puts the former at 44%, the latter at 39%. Differences on the security implications related to China are even starker, as about 70% of Americans see Beijing as a major economic and security threat. Just 13% of Germans say the same, according to the survey. However, nearly 50% of Germans do see China as an economic threat, Pew found. Majorities in both the U.S. and Germany see Chinas growing influence as a bad thing for their countries, the poll said. The survey was done in September and has a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points. Israeli soldiers work on a tank at an army staging area near Israels border with Gaza, southern Israel, Monday, Nov. 27, 2023. on the fourth day of a temporary cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. (Ohad Zwigenberg/AP) DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip Hamas and Israel released more hostages and prisoners under terms of a fragile cease-fire that held for a fifth day Tuesday as international mediators in Qatar worked to extend the truce. The United States urged Israel to better protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza if it follows through on its promise to resume the war. In the latest swap since the cease-fire began Friday, Israel said 10 of its citizens and two Thai nationals were freed by Hamas and had been returned to Israel. Soon after, Israel released 30 Palestinian prisoners. The truce is due to end after one more exchange Wednesday night. For the first time, Israel and Hamas blamed each other for an exchange of fire between troops and militants in northern Gaza. There was no indication it would endanger the truce, which has enabled humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza. CIA director William Burns and David Barnea, who heads Israels Mossad intelligence agency, were in Qatar, a key mediator with Hamas, to discuss extending the cease-fire and releasing more hostages, a diplomat said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was set to visit the region this week. Israel has vowed to resume the war to end Hamas 16-year rule in Gaza and crush its military capabilities once its clear that no more hostages will be freed under the deal. That would almost certainly require expanding its ground offensive from northern Gaza to the south, where most of Gazas population of 2.3 million is now crowded. Its unclear where they would go if Israel does so as Egypt has refused to accept refugees and Israel has sealed its border. The Biden administration told Israel it must avoid significant further displacement of and mass casualties among Palestinian civilians if it resumes its offensive, and that it must operate with more precision in southern Gaza than it has in the north, according to U.S. officials. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House. Hamas and other militants still hold about 160 hostages out of 240 seized in their Oct. 7 assault into southern Israel that ignited the war. Israel has said it is willing to extend the cease-fire by one day for every 10 additional hostages that Hamas releases, according to the deal brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. But Hamas is expected to make much higher demands for the release of captive Israeli soldiers. Hostages and prisoners released The latest group of Israeli hostages freed from Gaza nine women and a 17-year-old was flown to hospitals in Israel, the Israeli military said. The hostages were handed over on a street crowded with cheering people, AP video showed. The 17-year-old girl could be seen walking alongside Hamas militants to a waiting Red Cross Jeep with her small, white-haired dog named Bella. Tuesdays hostage release brought to 60 the number of Israelis freed during the truce. An additional 21 hostages 19 Thais, one Filipino and one Russian-Israeli have been released in separate negotiations since the truce began. Before the truce, Hamas released four Israeli hostages, and the Israeli army rescued one. Two other hostages were found dead in Gaza. The latest swap brought to 180 the number of Palestinian women and teenagers freed from Israeli prisons. Most have been teenagers accused of throwing stones and firebombs during confrontations with Israeli forces. Several released women were convicted by Israeli military courts of attempting to carry out deadly attacks. The prisoners are widely seen by Palestinians as heroes resisting occupation. Hundreds of Palestinians welcomed the prisoners freed Tuesday in the occupied West Bank. The freed hostages have mostly stayed out of the public eye, but details of their captivity have started to emerge. In one of the first interviews with a freed hostage, 78-year-old Ruti Munder told Israels Channel 13 television that she was initially fed well in captivity but that conditions worsened as shortages took hold. She said she was kept in a suffocating room and slept on plastic chairs with a sheet for nearly 50 days. Northern Gaza in ruins The cease-fire has allowed residents who remained in Gaza City and other parts of the north to venture out to survey the destruction and try to locate and bury relatives. In northern Gazas Jabaliya refugee camp, which Israel bombarded heavily for weeks and which troops surrounded in heavy fighting with militants, you come across whole city blocks that have been demolished, just a pancake of concrete layered as buildings have collapsed, said Thomas White, the Gaza director for the U.N. agency caring for Palestinian refugees. The agency delivered six trucks of aid to the camp, including supplies for a medical center. Footage of Whites visit showed streets lined with destroyed buildings, cars, and piles of rubble. A U.N.-led aid consortium estimates that, across Gaza, over 234,000 homes have been damaged and 46,000 completely destroyed, amounting to around 60% of the territorys housing stock. In the north, the destruction severely compromises the ability to meet basic requirements to sustain life, it said. More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, roughly two-thirds of them women and minors, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. More than 1,200 people have been killed on the Israeli side, mostly civilians killed in the initial attack. At least 77 soldiers have been killed in Israels ground offensive. Israel says it has killed thousands of militants, without providing evidence. Authorities were able to reopen the dialysis department at Gaza Citys Shifa hospital after medical teams brought a small generator. Around 20 patients there had gone two or three weeks without dialysis, Dr. Mutasim Salah told Al-Jazeera TV from the hospital. Two weeks ago, Israeli forces seized the hospital, which Israel contended was used as a major base by Hamas, an accusation that the group and hospital staff deny. Fears for the south Israels bombardment and ground offensive have displaced more than 1.8 million people, nearly 80% of Gazas population, and most have sought refuge in the south, according to the U.N. Hundreds of thousands of people have packed into U.N.-run schools and other facilities, with many forced to sleep on the streets outside because of overcrowding. Rain and cold winds sweeping across Gaza have made conditions even more miserable. On Tuesday, Hanan Tayeh returned to her destroyed home in the central town of Johor al-Deek, searching for any belongings. I came to get anything for my daughters. Winter has come, and I have nothing for them to wear, she said. The cease-fire has allowed increased aid delivered by 160 to 200 trucks a day into Gaza, bringing desperately needed food, water and medicine, as well as fuel for homes, hospitals and water treatment plants. Still, it is less than half what Gaza was importing before the fighting, even as humanitarian needs have soared. Juliette Toma, a spokesperson for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, said people come to shelters asking for heavy clothes, mattresses and blankets, and that some are sleeping in damaged vehicles. The needs are overwhelming, she told The Associated Press. They lost everything, and they need everything. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Tuesday that the U.S. has airlifted over 27 tons of Gaza-bound medical items and food aid to a staging area in Egypt. Two more airlifts are planned in the coming days, Sullivan said. Keath and Jeffery reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani and Zeke Miller in Washington, Samy Magdy in Cairo, Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Isabel DeBre in Jerusalem and Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report. Palestinians flee south on the third day of a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas at Salah al-Din road in central Gaza Strip on Nov. 26, 2023. (Hatem Moussa/AP) WASHINGTON The Biden administration has told Israel that it must work to avoid significant further displacement of Palestinian civilians in southern Gaza if it renews its ground campaign aimed at eradicating the Hamas militant group, senior U.S. officials said Tuesday. Separately, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the Israelis have been receptive when U.S. officials have raised the issue. The Democratic administration, seeking to avoid more large-scale civilian casualties or mass displacement like that seen before the current temporary pause in the fighting, underscored to the Israelis that they must operate with far greater precision in southern Gaza than they did in the north, said officials who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House. Amid mounting international and domestic pressure about the rising Palestinian death toll, the White House has begun to put greater pressure on Israel that the manner of the coming campaign must be carefully thought through, according to one of the officials. Kirby, told reporters separately, Now you have an added population of hundreds of thousands more in the south that you didnt have before (the Israelis) moved into Gaza City. And so its even all that more of an added burden on Israel to make sure that as they start to plan for operations in the south, whatever that looks like, that they have properly accounted for the extra innocent life that is now in south Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made clear that Israeli Defense Forces will eventually restart military operations after the conclusion of the current, temporary cease-fire that has allowed for an exchange of hostages taken by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. The two sides agreed Monday to extend the truce for an additional two days and to continue swapping hostages for prisoners. President Joe Biden has said he would like to see the pause which has also allowed a surge of much-needed humanitarian aid to get into Gaza continue as long as feasible. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return this week to the Middle East as the U.S. hopes to find a way to extend the cease-fire and get more hostages released, the State Department said Monday. It will be his third trip to the region since Israels war with Hamas began last month. Meanwhile, CIA Director William Burns and David Barnea, the head of Israels Mossad intelligence agency, as well as Egyptian officials met in Qatar on Tuesday for talks on the same matter, according to a diplomatic official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks. Negotiations are turning to the dozens of Israeli men and Israeli security force members held captive in hopes of keeping the cease-fire and hostage-for-prisoner swap going, said Steven Cook, a Middle East expert at the Council on Foreign Relations. Those released since Fridays truce started have been mainly women and children. Brokering swaps for Israeli forces are expected to be much more difficult for U.S. and Arab negotiators, Cook said. Hamas in the past has demanded Israel release large numbers of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli detention in exchange for each Israeli soldier. The price may be too high for the Israelis, Cook said. The Americans spotlighted their concerns about civilians in Gaza as the latest swap of hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel was completed Tuesday. Israel said Tuesday that 10 Israelis and two foreigners freed by Hamas exited Gaza to Egypt. Thirty Palestinian prisoners were released by Israel. Only one American, 4-year-old Abigail Edan, has been released by Hamas since start of the truce on Friday. Kirby said that the White House remained hopeful that some of the nine Americans still believed to be in captivity in Gaza would be released in the coming days. No Americans unfortunately got out today, but were hopeful., Kirby said. You know, tomorrows another day. Biden and top officials have also been clear-eyed about Israels desire to continue operations focused on Hamas that over the last seven weeks have largely focused on the north. They have said they support Israels goal of eliminating Hamas control over Gaza and the threat it poses to Israeli civilians, but have grown more vocal about the need to protect the lives of Palestinian civilians. Hamas has been known to seek shelter among the territorys civilian population, and Israeli officials have released videos from northern Gaza of what they said are weapons stockpiles and firing locations placed among civilian infrastructure. More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed since the war began on Oct. 7, roughly two-thirds of them women and minors, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. More than 1,200 people have been killed on the Israeli side, mostly civilians killed in the initial attack. At least 77 soldiers have been killed in Israels ground offensive. The U.S. believes roughly 2 million Palestinians are now in south and central Gaza. Biden administration officials have made clear to the Israelis that an already stretched humanitarian support network would be unable to cope with the sort of displacement that those from northern Gaza have endured in Israels retaliatory strikes and ground operations. Biden administration officials have also told the Israelis they expect them to conduct operations in a way that will be maximally deconflicted with the operation of humanitarian aid facilities, United Nations-supported shelters and core infrastructure, including electricity and water. The World Health Organization has warned that the war has caused a burgeoning public health crisis that is a recipe for epidemics as displaced Palestinians have been forced to take shelter in cramped homes and camps. One administration official said vaccines are among the medical goods flowing into Gaza, but there has also been a focus on potable water supplies and sanitation to prevent outbreaks of typhoid and cholera. To that end, the White House has also pushed to get as much fuel into Gaza as possible something the Israelis resisted, particularly in the first weeks of war, citing concerns that it would be siphoned by Hamas. Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said a U.S. military aircraft, a C-17 cargo plane, landed on Tuesday in Egypt with aid for Gaza, including medical supplies, food and clothing. The 54,000 pound shipment is the first of three U.S. military humanitarian aid flights to northern Egypt for Gazas civilian population planned for the coming days. The aid is to be delivered into Gaza by the United Nations. Associated Press writers Isabel Debre in Jerusalem, Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Fatima Hussein aboard Air Force One, and Tara Copp and Ellen Knickmeyer contributed reporting. The U.S. Capitol is seen Thursday, July 13, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes) WASHINGTON (Tribune News Service) Despite an action-packed year on Capitol Hill, lawmakers return this week to a long to-do list that includes issues ranging from military aid for allies to surveillance programs to the massive Pentagon policy bill and much more. House members have spent much of 2023 in a prolonged battle over federal spending, but the three-week sprint to a planned holiday recess will force them to try reaching common ground on all those matters, and others like reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration and dealing with a number of set-to-expire tax and health provisions. But first, House members are expected to send one troubled Republican lawmaker back to civilian life, starting the holiday session with some end-of-year fireworks typically reserved for government funding fights. Complicating this work period, is the fact that the House will likely spend precious floor time this week expelling Rep. George Santos, adding to the acrimony in the chamber, and eroding the Republicans already-slim majority, said Aaron Cutler, a former senior leadership staffer for then-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., who is now a partner at Hogan Lovells. While we dont have a potential shutdown hanging over us like a sword of Damocles, that doesnt mean Congress will be free from drama this December, Cutler added. The post-Thanksgiving session will be a test for Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who mildly irked the conservative bloc that pushed out his predecessor, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., by pushing a clean and laddered stopgap spending measure to avert a government shutdown at least until Jan. 19, when the first tranche of the continuing resolution expires, and then Feb. 2, when the second does so. Johnson must find ways to pass a number of high-profile measures this month some likely with big numbers of Democratic votes without conjuring the wrath of that conservative group. There might be some progress on some things at the margins between now and whenever they get fed up with each other again and leave for Christmas and New Years, said one former federal official who served in multiple executive branch posts. But will they do anything thats lasting and meaningful? Not a chance. Theres a high probability theyll even leave town a little early, the official added. The House is slated to depart for its holiday break on Dec. 14. The Senate is scheduled to stick around one more day, but Dec. 15 is a Friday and the chamber has worked very few Fridays this year. In a Dear Colleague letter sent on Sunday evening, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., warned Senators should expect long days and nights, and potentially weekends in December to finish its pre-holiday work. But he, like many majority leaders of the past, has made such threats before without following through. The days that they are scheduled to be in before the end of the session is not much time. I think it would be a holiday miracle if much can get settled, given the hyper partisanship, particularly in the House, said G. William Hoagland, another former aide to top GOP leaders who is now with the Bipartisan Policy Center. Supplemental Among the most high-profile issues awaiting lawmakers is what to do if anything about the battlefield needs of Ukraine and Israel. Some Democratic lawmakers over the Thanksgiving break warned that Ukraine is running low on ammunition in its war with Russia. Israel has fired thousands of rockets at Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets inside Gaza, and has begun a ground offensive inside the Palestinian enclave. But that same bloc of conservative members in the House that led the effort that booted McCarthy, joined by other House and Senate Republicans, have expressed skepticism about giving Kyiv additional U.S.-made weapons and munitions all of which are extremely costly. So far, Washington has sent $44.2 billion in military assistance to Ukraine, according to the State Department. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., a member of the Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees, said last week he expects ongoing talks among senators to produce a bill that should hit the floor before the end-of-year break. While GOP senators want southern border funding added to any potential Ukraine-Israel-Taiwan supplemental, Hoagland said he is skeptical lawmakers can agree on the parameters of what essentially would be a mini immigration measure. Congress watchers described a still-under-construction bicameral fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act as the one bill to watch. Cutler said it likely will be a proverbial Christmas tree that likely also will include tax policy provisions and health care extenders. Top House and Senate hawks have been hammering out differences on the military sections for some time, and a possible conference committee is not expected to slow down work on ironing out the remaining sticking points. Health and taxes For the past several years, Congress has stepped in to mitigate Medicare rate cuts to physicians scheduled by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to take effect the following year. This years 3.37 percent cut is slated to take effect Jan. 1, but there is no year-end spending deal to attach a fix to as has been done in the past. However, there is precedent for CMS holding claims until Congress passes legislation impacting payments. The Senate Finance Committee recently advanced legislation that would partially mitigate the cuts but the timing for a floor vote is not yet clear. And top tax writers in both chambers are still working toward a potential deal to revive more lucrative business tax breaks, including for research and development, while also expanding the child tax credit, an agreement that would break a yearlong impasse on a bipartisan tax package. But even if the tax committees can strike a deal, there are major roadblocks to getting it to President Joe Bidens desk by the end of the year, particularly after Congress kicked the next government funding deadline into January and by doing so took a typical legislative vehicle for tax measures off the table. Any must-pass legislation this December will likely draw buzz as a potential home for the bipartisan tax deal, including a Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization that would already renew federal aviation taxes. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., attends a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on July 12, 2023. (Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes) Rules change? The Senate also is on track to vote during the three-week session on a measure that would allow senators to bypass Alabama GOP Sen. Tommy Tubervilles hold on military promotions and nominations. The Rules and Administration Committee, on a 9-7 party-line vote, advanced the measure on Nov. 14. Defense hawks from both parties are eager to end the monthslong standoff, rooted in Tubervilles opposition to a Pentagon policy that reimburses personnel who travel to end a pregnancy. But some GOP senators have expressed concerns about the resolution itself, saying it would buck Senate traditions. Schumer said before the turkey day break he intends to put it on the floor shortly and reiterated it was a priority in his Dear Colleague over the weekend. Urgent issues Over in the House, Johnson has said that chamber intends to continue work on outstanding fiscal 2024 spending bills. One problem: He needs to pass them with only Republican votes, and the conference is so divided that he had to pull several appropriations measures before Thanksgiving and send members home earlier than planned. For the current week, no appropriations bills are on the House schedule, leaving the chamber less than two full weeks to pass any before its scheduled adjournment. Lawmakers also have until Dec. 31 to reauthorize the FAA, but they must clear several hurdles including senators finding common ground on a pilot training issue before both chambers would then need to pass a compromise reauthorization measure. The alternative: Keep negotiating unresolved matters and punt, via an FAA authorization extension, which could ride on another year-end bill. Given all the issues this last year on near misses and increased air travel this Thanksgiving and upcoming Christmas holiday period, Hoagland said, this seems like one that ought to be able to make it across the finish line before the end of the year. Another federal program, this one more controversial, that needs to be reauthorized is the intelligence-gathering initiative known colloquially as Section 702. There are various bills working through House panels that would revamp the surveillance program, which has swept up Americans communications even though it is focused on foreign actors. But, so far, no consensus on a path forward has emerged. Congress bought itself some time on another big-ticket item, a new farm bill, when it passed the laddered CR. The 2018 farm bill, which expired on Sept. 30, was extended another year in the spending bill, averting some potentially jarring program expirations at the end of the year and buying negotiators some wiggle room. Public weighs in As Congress focuses on those issues, polling data suggests voters want Washington to focus more on other issues. Atop that list are still-high prices of groceries and gasoline and the politically prickly matter of rising immigration across the U.S.-Mexico border. In the short term, the political preferences of working-class voters are likely to be shaped by urgent issues such as high prices and illegal immigration, according to the Brookings Institutions William Galston, a former Clinton White House aid. In the longer term, however, a party that combines moderation on cultural issues with support for government programs that would improve the prospects of upward mobility for the working class would likely improve its performance in this key part of the electorate, he added. Even if lawmakers, somehow, check off every item on their to-do list, it is unclear if such a monumental feat would please voters. Congress returns to its lowest approval rating of the year, 13 percent, according to a poll released by the Gallup organization on Oct. 23. That is down from a high mark of 21 percent at the start of the year. It also is the lowest mark since 2017. Americans already viewed Congress quite negatively before the recent turmoil over the speakership, Gallups Jeffrey M. Jones wrote in a summary of the poll. Still, that drama further eroded Americans image of the legislative branch, primarily among Democrats. Congress actions over the next few weeks will help determine if it can regain some of the public trust it has lost in the past month. Ellyn Ferguson, Jessie Hellmann, Laura Weiss, Caroline Coudriet, Valerie Yurk and Andrew Clevenger contributed to this report. 2023 CQ-Roll Call, Inc. Visit rollcall.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Rabbi Amita Jarmon of the Brattleboro, Vt., Area Jewish Community talks against hate speech during a vigil in Pliny Park in Brattleboro, Monday, Nov. 27, 2023, for the three Palestinian-American students who were shot while walking near the University of Vermont campus in Burlington, Vt., Saturday, Nov. 25. (Kristopher Radder, The Brattleboro Reformer via AP) BURLINGTON, Vt. Far away from the war in Gaza, three Palestinian college students were enjoying their Thanksgiving break in Vermont, celebrating not just the holiday but a pair of family birthdays. If youre in college, who wants to go to an 8-year-olds birthday party? But these three guys did, said Rich Price, who hosted his nephew and two friends for the long weekend. Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmad, all age 20, were out for a walk Saturday after the party for Prices twin sons when a man approached them. Shooting them without saying a word, he left them seriously injured and shattered their families sense that they would be safer in the U.S. than in the war-torn region where they grew up. Price, Awartanis uncle, said people often ask him if hes worried about his sister and her family in the occupied West Bank. And the reality is, as difficult as their life is, they are surrounded by an incredible sense of community, Price said. And tragic irony is not even the right phrase, but to have them come stay with me for Thanksgiving and have something like this happen speaks to the level of civic vitriol, speaks to the level of hatred that exists in some corners of this country. It speaks to a sickness of gun violence that exists in this country. Elizabeth Price, Awartanis mother, said she and her husband decided after the Israel-Hamas war began in October that their son should stay in the U.S. rather than return home for the holidays. My husband is so bitter, Elizabeth Price told NPR on Monday. He thought my son would be safe in Burlington. She said her son has lost the use of his legs and likely will not walk again. Keeping him safe as a Palestinian American is something Price has grappled with since his birth in San Francisco in 2003. In an audio essay recorded that year for PRX, she described a trip to the occupied West Bank with 6-week-old Hisham, who was not allowed to return home without permission from the Israeli army. My sons dual nationality will be a primer in freedom and its loss, she wrote. Although I may not be able to protect my son from the worst of the world, at least I know that it will be through his suffering as a Palestinian that he will understand the true value of his freedom as an American. Awartani and the two other shooting victims had been friends since first grade at Ramallah Friends School, a private school in the West Bank. Rania Maayeh, who leads the school, called them remarkable, distinguished students. Awartani is studying mathematics and archaeology at Brown University; Abdalhamid is a pre-med student at Haverford College in Pennsylvania; and Ali Ahmad is studying mathematics and IT at Trinity College in Connecticut. Awartani and Abdalhamid are U.S. citizens while Ali Ahmad is studying on a student visa, Maayeh said. They are all just very, very close friends, said Abdalhamids uncle, Radi Tamimi, at a news conference Monday in Burlington. His nephew grew up in the West Bank and we always thought that that could be more of a risk in terms of his safety and sending him here would be a right decision. We feel somehow betrayed in that decision here and were just trying to come to terms with everything, he said. The suspected gunman, Jason J. Eaton, 48, was arrested Sunday at his apartment, where he answered the door with his hands raised and told federal agents he had been waiting for them. Not guilty pleas were entered on his behalf on Monday and he was held without bail on three counts of attempted murder. Eaton had recently lost his job. Hed worked for less than a year for California-based CUSO Financial and his employment ended on Nov. 8, said Jeff Eller, company spokesperson. We are horrified by the shooting and are cooperating with law enforcement as they investigate, he said in a statement. Eaton moved to Burlington over the summer from Syracuse, New York, and legally purchased the gun used in the shooting, Murad told reporters. Eaton came to the door holding his hands, palms up, and told the officers hed been waiting for them. According to a police affidavit, federal agents found the gun in Eatons apartment on Sunday. The U.S. Department of Justice, along with Vermont authorities, are still investigating whether the shooting on a residential street close to the University of Vermont was a hate crime. The victims were speaking in a mix of English and Arabic and two of them were also wearing the black-and-white Palestinian keffiyeh scarves when they were shot, Police Chief Jon Murad said. Threats against Jewish, Muslim and Arab communities have increased across the U.S. since the Israel-Hamas war began. One of the students has been released from the hospital, according to media reports, but one faces a long recovery because of a spinal injury. At a vigil Monday night at Brown University, a professor read a statement from Awartani in which he expressed appreciation for the communitys love and support but said, I am but one casualty in a much wider conflict. Had I been shot in the West Bank, where I grew up, the medical services which saved my life here would have likely been withheld by the Israeli army. The soldier who would have shot me would go home and never be convicted, he said, according to NBC News. Demonstrations have been widespread and tensions in the U.S. have escalated as the death toll rises in the Israel-Hamas war. A fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas was set to continue for two more days past Monday as 11 more hostages were handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza under what was originally a four-day truce deal. Vermonts largest city, with a population of over 44,000, has grappled with a rise in gun violence. A couple of shootings annually jumped to 26 last year, Murad said. Saturdays shooting brings the city to about 15 so far this year, he said. A county gun violence task force comprised of local, state and federal partners, including the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was created more than a year ago to respond to the unprecedented spike in gun violence and played a critical role in the events leading to the arrest of Eaton, Mayor Miro Weinberger said. Associated Press writers Kathy McCormack in Concord, N.H.; David Sharp in Portland, Maine; and Michael Casey in Boston contributed to this report. Attendees are seated before a tribute service for former first lady Rosalynn Carter at Glenn Memorial Church in Atlanta. (Andrew Harnik/AP) ATLANTA Rosalynn Carter was remembered Tuesday as a former U.S. first lady who leveraged her fierce intellect and political power to put her deep Christian faith into action by always helping others, especially those who needed it most. A gathering of first ladies and presidents including her 99-year-old husband Jimmy Carter joined other political figures in tribute. But a parade of speakers said her global stature wasnt what defined her. She had met kings and queens, presidents, others in authority, powerful corporate leaders and celebrities, her son James Earl Chip Carter III said. She said the people that she felt the most comfortable with and the people she enjoyed being with the most were those that lived in absolute abject poverty, the ones without adequate housing, without a proper diet and without access to health care. The service was held during three days of events celebrating the humanitarian who died Nov. 19 at home in Plains, Georgia, at the age of 96. Tributes began Monday in the Carters native Sumter County and continued at Glenn Memorial Church in Atlanta. Her funeral and burial are planned for Wednesday in her small hometown. Jimmy Carter, who is 10 months into home hospice care, watched from his wheelchair, reclining and covered by a blanket featuring his wifes face. Chip and his sister, Amy, held their fathers hands and were flanked by their brothers, Jeff and Jack. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, the Carters longtime friends, joined them in the front row, along with former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the other living former first ladies, Melania Trump, Michelle Obama and Laura Bush. Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff paid their respects, as did Georgias U.S. senators and Gov. Brian Kemp and his wife, Marty. More than 1,000 people, including a sizeable contingent of Secret Service agents, filled the sanctuary. Former Presidents Donald Trump, Barack Obama and George W. Bush were invited but did not attend. My mother was the glue that held our family together through the ups and downs and thicks and thins of our familys politics, Chip Carter said. An Armed Forces body bearer team carries the casket of former first lady Rosalynn Carter from the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta. (Erik S. Lesser/Pool via AP) The pews filled with political power players, but front and center were her children and dozens of grandchildren and great-grandchildren all surrounding Jimmy Carter, her partner of 77 years. Their partnership and love story was a defining feature of her life, said Amy Carter, who read a love note her father wrote to her mother 75 years ago. Journalist Judy Woodruff recalled Rosalynn Carter lobbying lawmakers, campaigning separately from her husband, attending Cabinet meetings and playing key roles including being the first presidential adviser to suggest Camp David as a negotiating place for Epypts Anwar Sadat and Israels Menachem Begin. Those negotiations led to historic peace accords between the two countries. Without Rosalynn Carter, I dont believe there would have been a President Carter, Woodruff said. It was Jimmy Carters first public appearance since he entered hospice care, other than a brief ride with Rosalynn in Septembers Plains Peanut Festival parade, where they were visible only through the open windows of a Secret Service vehicle. He was with his wife during her final hours but did not appear publicly during earlier events at her alma mater, Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus, and at his presidential library. He never wants to be very far from her, Carter Center CEO Paige Alexander said. The trip to Atlanta was hard for the former president but this is her last trip up and its probably his, too, she added. Hes determined. Former President Jimmy Carter arrives to attend a tribute service for his wife and former first lady Rosalynn Carter at Glenn Memorial Church in Atlanta. (Andrew Harnik/AP) The Carters married in 1946 and became the longest-married presidential couple in U.S. history. Jimmy Carter is the longest-lived president; Rosalynn Carter was the second-longest lived first lady, trailing only Bess Truman, who died at 97. Family members described how Rosalynn Carter went from growing up in a small town where she had never spoken to a group larger than her Sunday school class to being a global figure who visited more than 120 countries. Kathryn Cade, who stayed on as a close adviser as Rosalynn Carter helped build The Carter Center and its global reach, called Rosalynn Carters time as first lady really just one chapter in a life that was about caring for others. Praised for her half-century of advocating for better mental health care in America and reducing stigmas attached to mental illness, she brought attention to the tens of millions of people who work as unpaid caregivers in U.S. households and was acclaimed for how integral she was to her husbands political rise and his terms as Georgias governor and the 39th president. Chip Carter recalled how his mom got him into rehab for drug and alcohol addiction. My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever met, he said. And pretty to look at, too. Jason Carter, her grandson, got laughs as he acknowledged the remarkable sisterhood of the first ladies in attendance, and then greeted the lovely husbands of Hillary Clinton and Jill Biden. She was so down to earth, yall, it was amazing, Jason Carter said as he shared family stories, including the time when his grandmother made pimento cheese sandwiches and handed them out on a Delta flight. She loved people, he said. She was a cool grandma. Country music stars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, family friends of the Carters and their successors as Habitat for Humanity ambassadors, performed a rendition of John Lennons Imagine toward the end of the service. Though the president didnt speak at the service, he and his wife shared a private moment with Jimmy Carter beforehand, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. Joe and Jill Biden were able to express their condolences directly to the Carter family, Jean-Pierre said, adding that the Bidens hold the entire Carter family close to their hearts. Rosalynn Carters funeral will take place Wednesday in Plains, with an invitation-only service at Maranatha Baptist Church, where the Carters have been members since returning to Georgia after his presidency. She will be buried after a private graveside service in a plot the couple will share, visible from the front porch of the home they built before Jimmy Carters first political campaign in 1962. DeMillo reported from Little Rock, Arkansas. Associated Press writers Sudhin Thanawala and Fatima Hussein contributed to this report. James Hull fled the scene on his mobility scooter, but returned while his victim was still on the ground and attacked him with bleach again A bad-tempered pensioner who was caught on camera throwing bleach over a homeless man in Coleraine town centre narrowly avoided going to jail yesterday. Imposing an eight-month prison sentence on James Hull at Coleraine Magistrates Court, District Judge Peter King told the 69-year-old that although the custody threshold is well and truly crossed, he would suspend the sentence for three years given Hulls plea and background. Hull, from Hezlet Court in Coleraine, had earlier entered a guilty plea to a single charge of common assault and the court heard how the victim, a Polish national, had been sitting outside Poundland in Church Street on August 2 this year when Hull approached him. After remonstrating with the injured party, Hull went into Poundland and bought bleach, which he then used to squirt over his defenceless victim. Following the afternoon attack, Hull fled the scene on his mobility scooter, but returned while his victim was still on the ground and attacked him again, squirting bleach into his face. The homeless man tried to protect his face while the defendant continued to try and squirt him with the substance, before members of the public came to the victims aid and removed the bleach from Hull, who was arrested. He told officers he had gone into the shop to get bleach to clean his toilet, stating: I had to retaliate; it wasnt intentional. Coleraine Magistrates Court After a Good Samaritan offered to take the victim to his home for a shower and to wipe the bleach from his face, the injured party, who had suffered reddening to his skin, said: I just want to get out of the area and go back to Belfast. Defence solicitor Emma Glenn said the pensioner suffered from a multitude of health conditions and added: He had been wound up by the injured partys actions. He believed this man was trying to scam vulnerable members of the public. He is extremely regretful about what happened and had come off his medication, which caused him to behave out of character. He accepts full responsibility and is extremely thankful the injured party was not more seriously injured. District Judge King told the defendant: This could have been absolutely disastrous. You could have caused life-changing injuries. The fact you didnt was not due to design, it was due to good luck. We could be looking at somebody who was scarred for life or blinded or worse. The papers are full of stories about people becoming damaged by acid attacks. The custody threshold is well and truly crossed. I have absolutely no idea what was going through your mind. This was not a one-off; you returned. Imposing the suspended sentence, he warned the defendant: If there is anything remotely similar to this in the next three years, the starting point will be eight months imprisonment. Patricia Martin (49) had been asked to leave bar after she claimed she was short-changed A mother of one tried to strike a garda on the head with a glass when she was asked to leave a pub after claiming she had been short-changed for a drink. Patricia Martin (49) had to be pepper-sprayed when she lunged at the officer, after making threats to staff. Judge Treasa Kelly found her guilty of public order offences and fined her 300. Martin, of Gulistan Cottages, Rathmines, had pleaded not guilty to garda obstruction and threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour last September 21. Dublin District Court heard the incident happened at Lower Mount Pleasant, Ranelagh. A garda said he was called to Corrigans pub, where he was told there was some discrepancy in the payment for a drink and the accused was asked to leave but refused. She verbally abused staff, calling them p***ks and saying youll be done after this. The garda was not sure what the connotation was but, it was said in a threatening manner. Martin had a glass in her hand and when the garda went to remove it, she swung down with it in a lunging motion towards his head. It was a striking motion and an attempt to assault him, he said. He had to catch her hand and put her down on a sofa. Martin maintained she had been short-changed, and when gardai arrived she said she just wanted her receipt and she would be happy to leave. She told the court she had not been asked to leave by staff, she did not swear and the gardai had picked her up and thrown her out of the pub. There was just people screaming Mammy, Daddy help meopen the doorsThats what I heard, thats what I still hear A Stardust survivor has told an inquest how her friend who died in the fire was not supposed to attend the club that night and said she could not walk down the road where she lived for a decade afterwards because "we promised her Mammy that shed come home. Patricia OConnor also told the jury at Dublin District Coroners Court on Monday how she still hears the cries of people calling for their parents as they tried to escape. There was just people screaming Mammy, Daddy help meopen the doorsThats what I heard, thats what I still hear, she said. Ms OConnor told Kate Hanley BL, representing nine of the families of the bereaved including the family of Caroline Carey (17) who died in the fire, that initially Caroline was not meant to go to the Stardust on the night because she was grounded. She said she and a friend called for Caroline, and after they appealed to her mother, Ms Carey was allowed to go on condition that she came home after the dance competition. Ms OConnor, who was just shy of her 17th birthday at the time, said they were all so excited to go to the club. She said they saw Carolines father as they were walking down the road and he beeped at them. She said she couldnt go up that road for ten years afterwards because we promised her Mammy that shed come home. The inquest into the fire which claimed the lives of 48 young people in the early hours of Valentines Day, 1981 heard Ms Carey was pregnant at the time. Earlier Ms OConnor gave evidence to Mark Tottenham BL, a member of the coroners legal team, that when her attention was first drawn to the fire, she only had time to stand up and make an attempt to lift her coat and bag before the lights went out. I turned around, out of the corner of my eye I could just see and hear just something shooting acrossit was seconds Im not going to say it was flames because I didnt see flames. I heard it more than I saw it. She said she put her hand out to grab her friend, but he fell and she fell on top of him while they were on the steps leading down towards the dancefloor. It was his legs I was holding onto, she said. Ms OConnor said she could feel something like tar or oil dripping on her. Asked how big the drops were, she said they were, big enough to burn the whole of my arms, the whole of my back, my chest, my neck I had third degree burns. They were big enough to all gel together. She said 52pc of her body was burned as a result and told how she managed to escape by crawling and shuffling along the floor. Ms OConnor said she was about four or five feet away from the exit when a piece of wood fell on her back. Ms OConnor told Bernard Condon SC, for 10 of the families of those who died, that the smoke was so thick, you could feel it and taste it and she could barely breathe. She said she could hear people screaming, Mammy, Daddy help meopen the doors. Thats what I heard thats what I still hear. The doors were locked but she could see the light outside, Ms OConnor said. The doors eventually opened and she was brought outside. Evidence was also heard from Donna Mayne who told Gemma McLoughlin-Burke BL, a member of the coroners legal team, that within two minutes of her first seeing the fire, the lights went out and she was lifted out of her shoes by the force of the crowd and carried towards exit five. File photo dated 14/2/1981 of damage at Stardust Disco in Ardane, Dublin. I just remember the blackness, the darkness, the extreme heat, she said. This quick flash of the 20 years of my life went before me. She said while she was at the exit door, she could hear a chain and a lock being shaken vigorously in an attempt to open the door. Thatll always stay with me and hearing lads shouting, the doors are f**king locked and were not getting out... People kept saying that over and over again, she said. The witness said she was afraid she was going to die because you just felt your whole insides were burning. She told how she could see peoples bodies all lying across each other between her and the exit doors before someone outside said young one, move and an arm came in and pulled her out. In her original statement, Ms Mayne said the doors were eventually opened from the outside. She said she recognised a doorman called Mick who had a moustache. Asked about this today, she said she may have thought they were opened from the outside because they were locked and chained on the inside. She agreed, however, that she did not see them being opened. Ms Mayne told barrister Des Fahy, representing a number of families of those who died, that she thought the doorman she mentioned in her statement was Michael Kavanagh, whom she knew from the local area. She said there were about ten people at the exit when she got there, and she could hear people pushing the bars up and down trying to open it. She agreed that it was possible that the door opened through a combination of the force applied by the people inside and people trying to open the door from the outside. Asked if the men she saw with Mr Kavanagh looked like members of management or door staff she said they were not, that they were young men aged around 19 or 20. Patrick Behan gave evidence of running into the toilets behind the stage. He said things were so bad he said the Act of Contrition and a Hail Mary into the ear of a teenage girl who was with him. I thought theres no way out for me, he told Sean Guerin SC, for a number of the bereaved families. He said they were eventually rescued by a fireman who led them to safety through the burning building. Mr Behan said the fumes in the club were so toxic that he believed people were being knocked out by them. It was like a scene out of a Holocaust, he said. It went up so fast no one had chances. The inquest also heard how a Stardust patron saw the ceiling of the club collapse while people were still on the dancefloor. Derek Brown told the 1981 tribunal of inquiry before Mr Justice Ronan Keane that he saw flames spread out across the ballroom and all the ceiling collapsed. Asked if it landed on any furniture or people, he replied, on the dancefloor. There were people still there. He also described to gardai in his initial statement, seeing a girl on fire inside the club after he had escaped. Mr Brown said after he got out, he and two others went to exit five and grabbed anyone we could see. He told of seeing a girl about ten feet away who was covered in flames, screaming and rolling around the floor. Someone near him had a hook with a curve on the end and he tried to use it to pull her out but he couldnt, he said. When she stopped screaming, he presumed she was dead and ran out of the club again, he told gardai. Mr Brown was one of a number of unavailable witnesses whose statements to gardai and evidence to the Keane Tribunal were read into the record today by members of the coroners legal team. David Carroll told gardai at the time that he had worked in the Stardust for two months and it was normal to see chains on the doors. He said after the fire was seen, he ran to exit five where there were people lying on the ground and he had to walk over them to get to the door. He said there was a chain on the door which he tried and failed to open. Mr Carroll said he then gave up and was lying on the ground gasping for air when he looked up and saw the door was open. Mr Carroll told the Keane Tribunal that he saw debris falling from the ceiling onto a girls dress which then caught fire. He said he believed the girl died in the fire as he did not see her come out. Patrick Morgan also told gardai he saw someone on fire as he tried to escape. He said he lay on the ground with others who had collapsed in the club before he got a breath of air and crawled towards the exit. In his 1981 statement, Paul Walker, who was 17 at the time, said after he escaped the club, he went back in and grabbed a girl who was on fire and pulled her out. Patrick Crowe told gardai he was at home in bed when his son John, who was a barman in the Stardust, came running into his bedroom and told him the club was on fire. He said on three occasions in the three years preceding the fire, he had been in the Stardust when the power had failed for no apparent reason. In his 1981 statement, Tony Deegan said when the fire took hold debris started to drip down on him and his shirt and back caught fire. He said he was eventually dragged to safety by a fireman. Maureen Dudley said that between 1.20am and 1.40am on the night of the fire, she was in the Lantern Rooms with her parents and remarked to her father three times that she got the smell of smoke. William Murphy was also in the Lantern Rooms on the night of the fire. He told gardai that after he escaped, he went to the front of the building and broke down the kitchen door. He said he crossed over to another exit from the kitchen which opened into a corridor. He said there was a ball of flame in this corridor and he closed the door. He said there was no one in the kitchen and he went back outside and told the young people trying to break the kitchen windows that there wasnt any point as there was no one in there. Mr Murphy said he saw a fire officer take a fire hose from outside into the main entrance. There was hardly any pressure from this hose, he said, and it was so bad that the fire officer remarked: Im wasting my f**king time here. The nurse was so frightened that she locked herself and others in a room until police arrived A Co Antrim man who threatened a psychiatric nurse that he would slit her throat was jailed for four months on Monday. Jailing Patrick McGothigan at Coleraine Magistrates Court, District Judge Peter King warned that custody is inevitable this court will always seek to protect NHS staff. Appearing at court by videolink from prison, McGothigan (35), from Fogarty Crescent in Ballycastle, admitted common assault and making a threat to kill arising from an incident on September 21 this year. A prosecuting lawyer told the court how McGothigan, along with his probation officer, was at Causeway Hospital when he began to behave in an aggressive manner. Getting right into the face of a psychiatric nurse, he threatened to slit her throat. Causeway Hospital, Coleraine The court heard the nurse was so frightened that she locked herself and others in a room until police arrived. McGothigan had already left when officers arrived, but they arrested him at his home a short time later. He denied making any threats, claiming that he actually threatened to cut his own throat. Defence counsel Alan Stewart said while there may have been some confusion, McGothigan now accepts he was at fault, highlighting that, much like his previous offences, the defendant acted stupidly and impulsively and regrets it. The barrister revealed that McGothigan is due for release in January 2025 and is also due to be interviewed by the Parole Commissioners in the coming weeks, emphasising that he [McGothigan] is willing to do whatever work is necessary to get him on the right course. Jailing McGothigan for four months, District Judge Peter King warned that he takes a dim view of assaults on health service staff. Neill Dolan (31) is accused of exposing himself as he walked in broad daylight in an area popular with shoppers and tourists A man was arrested for walking nonchalantly in Dublin city centre with his genitals out, flaunting them at passers-by, it is alleged. Neill Dolan (31) is accused of exposing himself as he walked in broad daylight in an area popular with shoppers and tourists. He was seen by passing gardai and told them he had soiled himself when they confronted him, a court heard. Judge Bryan Smyth granted him bail and adjourned the case at Dublin District Court, for the directions of the DPP to be given. Mr Dolan, with an address at a city centre hostel, is charged with offensive conduct of a sexual nature. Neill Dolan. Photo: Collins Objecting to bail, a garda cited the seriousness and gravity of the offence, which is under Section 45 of the Sexual Offences Act and is indictable. Outlining the prosecution's case, he said it was alleged the accused exposed himself in public during the afternoon in a built-up area, at a popular tourist attraction and in an area popular with shoppers, especially at this time of year. He said gardai were in a patrol car at Bachelors Walk at 3.15pm on November 23. Mr Dolan was walking past the Arlington Hotel and allegedly had his genitals out as he walked, the garda alleged. He was walking in the direction of the Ha'penny Bridge in a nonchalant manner, flaunting his genitals at passers-by as he approached them, he told the judge. Mr Dolan had told the gardai he had soiled himself when they got out of the car and approached him. He was arrested and taken to Store Street garda station where he was charged. The court heard the directions of the DPP were needed in the case. Applying for bail, Mr Dolans solicitor said the accused was presumed innocent and when he was apprehended, he told gardai the circumstances, that he had soiled himself. There was no evidence Mr Dolan would not turn up in court if granted bail, the solicitor said. Judge Smyth granted bail in Mr Dolans own bond of 200, with no cash lodgement required. Under conditions, he must sign on daily at a garda station and be contactable at all times by mobile phone. He is also to be of good behaviour and not commit any offences. The accused was remanded on continuing bail to a date in January. The judge granted free legal aid after hearing the accused was in receipt of social welfare and had no assets. The solicitor submitted a statement of his clients financial means. In my opinion we have saved lives from his evil hands." Sister Eucharia McDermott who read out the family statement outside the Courts in Dublin today. PIc Collins Courts The sister of a woman who was killed by a "deranged monster" who had beaten, threatened and controlled his victim during their relationship has called for stricter laws on coercive control and domestic abuse. Martin Hayes was today sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison by Mr Justice Paul McDermott for the manslaughter of his partner, Amadea McDermott. Mr Justice McDermott said the killing was clearly a case of domestic violence and he noted that during her life, Hayes had tracked Ms McDermott's movements using a secret app on her phone. He had also made "menacing videos" in which he challenged Ms McDermott regarding Hayes's untrue and unfounded belief that Ms McDermott was involved in an incestuous relationship. The judge further noted the recent bruises on Ms McDermott's body as noted by a pathologist following her death and evidence that Hayes had a history of aggressive and violent behaviour towards his victim. Martin Hayes and inset, Amadae McDermott Speaking outside court, Eucharia McDermott described her sister as a "kind, caring, funny, loving, beautiful and amazing mother, daughter, sister, auntie and friend." She thanked gardai and the prosecution team who had, she said, "helped to convict this violent, sick, evil, twisted, deranged monster." She said Hayes had told "lie after lie without a shred of evidence" in his testimony to the trial when he falsely alleged that Ms McDermott had caused her own death by stabbing herself. "Throughout the trial he showed no remorse for taking our beautiful sister's life away from her and her family," she said. While Amadea was "dying on the floor, gasping for breath," she said Hayes told the victim to "get the fuck up". Hours later, he "had a laugh and a joke... as if nothing happened" when being interviewed by gardai, Ms McDermott said. "This is a sick, violent and evil monster. When he was cross-examined by Sean Gillane [senior counsel for the prosecution], the coward, thug and abuser was quite confident and proud, boasting: "If somebody hits me, I'll hit them back, I have every right to do so"." She said that although the family will "never get our beautiful Amadea back, we have protected many women from his evil, violent hands. In my opinion we have saved lives from his evil hands." She added: "The physical abuse, mental abuse and emotional abuse she endured and her violent death will haunt us to the day we pass. For every wound there is a scar and every scar tells a story. We strongly urge our nation to stand up against coercive control and domestic abuse. "Whether it be physical abuse, mental abuse or emotional abuse, we feel the laws in this country are too lenient and need to be changed urgently to help protect and save lives." Grave digger Hayes (34) was found not guilty of Amadea McDermott's (27) murder but guilty of manslaughter by the majority verdict of a Central Criminal Court jury earlier this month. Hayes, with an address at Poddle Close, Crumlin, Dublin 12 had pleaded not guilty to murdering the mother of two at her home in Rathvale Drive, Ayrfield, Coolock on or about July 20, 2017. He told the trial that his partner inflicted the injury on herself. Mr Justice Paul McDermott today said Hayes still maintains that he is guilty of no offence and therefore there is no evidence that he has any remorse for what he did. The judge found that it was established beyond a reasonable doubt by the evidence heard during the trial that Hayes stabbed Ms McDermott once in the abdomen, causing her death. The single stab wound tracked downwards through the abdominal wall and ended at the spine. It caused substantial blood loss that led to death. The judge also noted bruises to Ms McDermott's limbs that a pathologist said were recently caused and bruises to her face that the pathologist said were "more likely" from direct blows than from a fall. Those included bruises and grazes above her right eye, lip, temple and left jaw. Mr Justice McDermott said the accused gave conflicting accounts of what led to the row but the judge noted that both had been drinking and taking cocaine before a row erupted. The judge said he is satisfied that the cause of the row was Hayes's "untrue and unfounded belief" that Ms McDermott had been involved in an incestuous relationship. He described this as an "obsession" and said he was satisfied that Hayes was the aggressor on the night. He noted aggravating features including the "clear history of violence against the deceased", and said the killing was "clearly an act of domestic violence, which is in itself an aggravating feature." Hayes's use of alcohol and drugs was an exacerbating rather than mitigating factor given that it was "not out of character" for Hayes to be violent or aggressive towards Ms McDermott when intoxicated. The jury's verdict means they were satisfied that Hayes stabbed his partner but they did not find that he had the intention to kill or cause serious injury, the judge said. However, Mr Justice McDermott noted that the infliction of the stab wound was "on any view highly reckless". He further noted that Hayes had created "menacing videos" in which he confronted Ms McDermott with the untrue allegations regarding incest. In one video, he said Ms McDermott was "clearly in fear". The judge also noted Hayes's demeanour in giving evidence during the trial, which he said showed his "underlying violent disposition, he was violent in language and in action." He said it was "rare to be given such a clear demonstration of this" in a trial but Hayes's disposition was "shockingly clear to all but himself". The judge set a headline sentence of 14 years and noted there was only limited mitigation, such as Hayes's work record as a gravedigger and his attempts to address his drug abuse issues. Taking into account all matters, the judge set a sentence of 12 years and six months with no portion suspended. He backdated the sentence to April 4, 2022 when Hayes first went into custody. Sasha Patchell (26) also avoided a maximum of 15,000 in fines but was ordered to pay 1,000 A DUBLIN mother has been spared jail for letting a rogue tradesman install a "miracle" meter that gave her home a "risky" free gas supply. Sasha Patchell (26) of Kilmartin Avenue, Tallaght, Dublin, also avoided a maximum of 15,000 in fines but was ordered to pay 1,000 after she was prosecuted by Gas Networks Ireland on Monday. Prosecution solicitor Shane Reynolds told Judge John O'Leary that on March 23, an authorised officer carried out a check at her home address because a registered meter was supposed to have been installed in 2018. However, the gas inspector discovered she was using a different meter, which was stolen from a nearby housing estate. The mother of two pleaded guilty at Dublin District Court to three charges under the Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act for dishonestly using gas or causing it to be diverted, unlawful interference with a meter and failing to take all reasonable steps to ensure the illegal one was discontinued. Asked about using the stolen meter, Mr Reynolds explained that "the purpose of it was to get free gas". The court heard the tampering caused an "immediate risk" to her home, neighbours and public safety due to the possibility of leakage. She had no prior convictions, and the judge noted that she was not a "competent gas plumber". Pleading for leniency, defence barrister Stephanie Lawless said her client was remorseful. Counsel said that Patchell had been under financial strain at the time and that someone called at her home and offered to install an unregistered meter instead, and "it was not going to record anything". The court heard that the stolen meter gave her free gas, and the defence submitted that she was "not too aware" of what it was but should have been. Ms Lawless asked the judge to take into account that her client, who is on social welfare, had children and gets a carer's allowance for another family member. The offences carry maximum sentences of 5,000 per offence and a possible six-month jail sentence. Describing it as a "risky activity", Judge O'Leary warned her about "people calling to your door ready to work miracles for you". However, he added that the court had sympathy for her situation and that, until now, she had a perfect record. He said that by getting social welfare, the State accepted that she "barely had enough for herself". Judge OLeary recorded a conviction on one charge, imposed a 500 fine, ordered her to pay another 500 toward prosecution costs, and marked the remaining two counts taken into consideration. Gas Networks Ireland owns, operates and maintains the Irish natural gas network connecting more than 700,000 homes and businesses. Dermott Brett (56) pleaded not guilty to one count rape at the InterContinental Hotel, Dublin A Tipperary man has been jailed for eight years in prison for the rape of a vulnerable and intoxicated young woman in a Dublin hotel. The Central Criminal Court heard that Dermott Brett (56) of Sweet Auburn, Carrickbeg, Carrick-on-Suir, Co Tipperary pleaded not guilty to one count rape at the InterContinental Hotel, Dublin on January 11, 2019. The woman was a 20-year-old university student at the time. In May 2023, Brett was found guilty by a jury, but he maintains his innocence. He has one previous conviction for a road traffic matter. The court heard the victim wishes for Brett to be identified while maintaining her anonymity. The court heard that the woman had been out with friends but was asked to leave a Dublin pub because she was so intoxicated. She attended at a nearby fast-food outlet where she could be seen on CCTV footage in such a drunken state that she is incapable of standing upright. The womans friends hailed a taxi to take her home but the woman got out of the taxi shortly afterwards, unbeknownst to her friends. She then met with Brett and he claimed that he was concerned for her welfare because there were a number of men around who had an interest in her. The woman had no recollection of meeting Brett or getting out of the taxi. Further CCTV footage showed Brett and the woman arrive at the hotel and the woman was still unable to remain upright at that point. Passing sentence on Monday, Ms Justice Eileen Creedon said Brett claimed he had gone to the womans assistance and acted as a good Samaritan. She noted that Brett still maintains his innocence and claims that he and the woman got naked together in the hotel room and fooled around. She noted that he is a married man with children of his own and was considerably older than the woman with more life experience. He had a number of opportunities to step back from the offending, Ms Justice Creedon said before she noted that Brett did not bring the woman to a garda station or hail a taxi for her to bring her home when he first met her, despite his claim that he had concerns for her welfare. Instead, he brought her back to his hotel room, the judge said before she added that Brett then raped this vulnerable and intoxicated woman. She noted that he later managed to get the woman home by twice ordering her a taxi from the hotel because the first taxi driver refused to take her due to her level of intoxication. Ms Justice Creedon noted from the womans victim impact statement that the rape has had a profoundly negative impact on her. She has since struggled with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and had to take a year out from college before she returned to complete her studies. Her mental health and her relationships with others and her family has suffered. The judge said the offence warranted a headline sentence of 10 years before she imposed a sentence of nine years, having taken into account mitigating factors including Bretts lack of previous convictions. Ms Justice Creedon suspended the final year of the sentence on strict conditions including that he engage with the Probation Service for a year upon his release and engage in a sex offenders treatment programme. He was placed on the sex offender's register. A victim impact statement was read to the court by the prosecuting counsel which said the complainant had lost a part of herself that night and struggles knowing she will never get it back. I forget who I was before that. It's a sad way to feel. She said that all my independence was taken away from me. She said she was raped by someone she didn't know, didn't give consent and was taken advantage of while in a distressed and vulnerable state. She said knowing the jury believed my story gave me hope and that this person would never hurt any other person again. Paul Murray SC, prosecuting, told the court that it was the view of the Director of Public Prosecution that the appropriate sentencing range was seven to 10 years. The DPP highlighted that the accused had taken advantage of the injured partys intoxicated state which was borne out in the CCTV footage, the proffering of cocaine and the age disparity between the accused and injured party. Coleman Cody SC, defending, said his client maintains his innocence and that he cannot avail of any credit for a guilty plea. He said regarding the sentence range put forward by the DPP that it is my view that it should lie in the lowest range. Counsel said his client has no relevant prior convictions and has not come to the attention of gardai before or since this incident. He said his client now has to move on and engage with the process but maintains he is not a rapist. Character references from Bretts family were handed into the court and many of his family members were present to support him. Mr Cody said any period of time in prison will be difficult for him and his family. He said: This is his first brush with the law and it has brought him in front of the Central Criminal Court which is hugely traumatic to him and his family. He asked the court to take into account that what his client has been accused of is wholly out of character, and he urged the court to be as lenient as possible and provide an early as possible opportunity to re-enter society. It is impossible to predict what the situation will be like by the time this article reaches readers. What I know now, as I write this, is that on Friday, 24 November, at 7:00am, the first truce in the fifth Gaza war went into effect. It provides for only a four day pause in hostilities though it gives Israel the right to use its air force in northern Gaza apart from only six hours when the roar of warplanes falls silent. Relief workers and agencies will be racing against the clock to deliver hundreds of trucks worth of food, medicine, fuel, and other basic needs and to transport the wounded and ailing from Gaza to hospitals outside the Strip through the Egyptian crossing at Rafah. Under the agreement, Hamas and its allies will release 50 hostages over the four days in exchange for 3,000 Palestinian prisoners. The priority will be given to women and children. The agreement opens a window for an extension, if only for a few days, if Hamas releases more hostages. Israel has said that it would extend the truce for one day for every ten hostages released. However, there are no guarantees here. Various unignorable factors propel the situation towards a resumption of fighting at an even fiercer pace than we have seen so far. The Israeli government agreed to the humanitarian pause very grudgingly. It had to resist the objections of extremist religious parties that make up that government and it openly acknowledged that it had yielded to outside pressures, especially from the US. It said that it would use the time to prepare for the next round. Hamas wanted a longer truce to be better prepared for the next round in which it will try to take advantage of urban guerrilla tactics in the towns and cities Israeli forces have entered. It will be very difficult for heavy Israeli armoured vehicles to negotiate the narrow streets which are obstructed by the rubble of the bombed residential structures. They will be easy targets for antitank weapons. For both sides, then, the brief pause is an opportunity to ready themselves for more fighting. Meanwhile, while the international community welcomes the truce, it has not included two fronts: the one with Hizbullah to the north of Israel and the one with the Houthis in the southern Red Sea. Whatever took place behind the scenes in the past few days, undoubtedly fervent efforts were made to prolong the truce or negotiate a new one after it ends. There were several truces during the first Arab-Israeli War in 1948 until finally the last one held, and the war ended. If both sides in the current war are determined to keep fighting, the political and diplomatic realities have changed considerably from how they stood at the outset of the war. In the six weeks since 7 October, there were four main developments. First, sympathy for the Palestinian cause has gained great momentum and is seen as the key to achieving stability in the Middle East. This reflects an unprecedented quantum shift in international public opinion and among the international community, a shift that took place both inside and outside the Western world. Second, the fighting on the ground has not given Israel the decisive result it sought. It did not free the hostages and it did not destroy Hamas. As in all cases of asymmetric warfare, the type of battle deprives the strongest side of victory and hands the weakest side victory by dint of not being defeated. We saw this in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Algeria and even in the American revolution against British colonial rule. Third, many mechanisms are now in place to build negotiating bridges not just to promote new truces, but also to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict based on the two-state solution, which all permanent members of the Security Council agree on, including the US. Equally important is the gap between the US and Israel over the two-state solution and, more immediately, over how to deal with Gaza after the cessation of hostilities. Israel has insisted that it would remain in the Strip indefinitely and possibly rebuild its settlements there. Washington has made it clear that the Palestinians should run Gaza, most likely through the PLO and the Palestinian Authority (PA), with Arab and international support. Fourth, Arab countries have been far from idle during this fifth Gaza war. As the combat intensified, resulting in more and more casualties, Egypt hosted a peace conference that resulted in a joint statement by the nine participants (the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco), strongly condemning the targeting of civilians by both sides and calling for the rehabilitation of the PLO and PA as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. This led to the extraordinary Arab-Islamic summit in Riyadh, which adopted the statement from the summit in Cairo and added mechanisms to bring the matter to the UN Security Council and to bring Israels violations of international humanitarian law to the International Criminal Court. The common theme in all these actions was the need to deal with the consequences of the current hostilities and to mobilise action to avert a repetition of this tragedy through a genuine peace process that sets a course towards the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. The Arab actions from the Cairo to the Riyadh summits display a proactive approach in which the Arabs strive to take the Palestinian question into their own hands in the framework of a system of regional security. This would entail a solution to the Palestinian question through the creation of an independent state and a solution to the Israeli question through genuine peace, enabling Israel to integrate into the region, shed its religious and racist extremism and belligerency, and join others in the spirit of regional cooperation, development and shared hopes for peace and prosperity. * A version of this article appears in print in the 30 November, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: John Ayton was dealing directly with some of Irelands most prolific car theft gangs A mechanic jailed last week for possession of 460,000 worth of stolen car parts offered another criminal 10,000 to take responsibility for the massive haul uncovered by gardai. New details of the investigation into John Ayton (38), of Longwood, Co Meath, and his accomplice, Andrew Bailey (30), with a previous address at Kilmessan, Co Meath, can be revealed after they were given jail terms of three and two years respectively at Trim Circuit Court last week. Gardai received information of Aytons cash offer to the criminal after the man, who was made the offer, was arrested. Following questioning by detectives, the man admitted he was making up the entire story of his involvement and had no involvement in the organised criminal enterprise. He was later convicted of making a false statement. Ayton was not charged in relation to this strand of the investigation, but he is also suspected of offering at least one other criminal cash for taking responsibility for the stolen car parts. The criminal enterprise involved stolen vehicles being brought to a chop shop in Stoneyford, Co Meath, where they were dismantled. He was the go-to man for a criminal who is originally from the Crumlin area and was involved in a huge spate of car thefts The parts were then brought to another rented facility near Straffan, Co Kildare, where they were stacked neatly, stored and sold to people involved in the motor trade. In addition to admitting stolen property charges, both Ayton and Bailey admitted separate charges of possession of cocaine with intent to supply. The Sunday World has learned Ayton was dealing directly with some of Irelands most prolific car theft gangs when the offences happened between July 2017 and October 2018. He was the go-to man for a criminal who is originally from the Crumlin area and was involved in a huge spate of car thefts during this period in counties Dublin, Meath and Kildare, a source said. Also bringing stolen cars to Ayton and Bailey to be dismantled was a prolific Lithuanian car thief who was living in the Ronanstown area of west Dublin at the time, it has emerged. These gangsters were stealing mostly family cars and vehicles such as Nissan Qashqais and Hyundai Tucsons. The keys to the cars were often fished through the owners letterboxes. In some cases, the vehicles were stolen without keys being needed. When one looks at the profile of many of the victims, it becomes very apparent that this crime spree was very mean-spirited in terms that these were working people, some of whom had young children and needed their vehicles to bring their kids to school, a source said. These were victims who suffered massive inconvenience, with issues like their insurance premiums increasing, but also the fact that many had their personal effects that were in their vehicles just taken and dumped. Ten of the victims gave victim-impact statements to the court. Judge John Martin outlined last week how they had suffered unnecessary disturbance to their lives as well as adverse psychological consequences. After the arrest operation that led to the mens arrest in October 2018, gardai noticed a significant decrease in car thefts in the following months. For a while, the organised criminals behind this type of crime did not have someone to pass on the vehicles to, but, of course, many others have taken over from them now in the chop shop world, the source said. Ledwidge (23) was shot several times as he answered the door of his home on Barry Drive at around 7pm on Saturday, November 18. Finglas shooting victim Brandon Ledwidge will be laid to rest tomorrow following a funeral mass in Dublin. Ledwidge (23) was shot several times as he answered the door of his home on Barry Drive at around 7pm on Saturday, November 18. A death notice on RIP.ie states that Brandon, who is the beloved son of Sabrina and John, cherished brother of Byron, Ellie, Kaci and Daryl died suddenly and unexpectedly earlier this month. He will be sadly missed by his family, nanny and grandad, brother-in-law Kian, nephew Kruz, niece Ruby, his girlfriend, cousins, extended family and friends, the announcement reads. His funeral mass will take place at St Canice's Church in Finglas Village at 11.30am, followed by a burial in Glasnevin Cemetery. Tributes and condolences have poured in online from people expressing their sadness at his death, with one person writing: So sorry for the loss of your beloved son. I hope Brandon gets the best bed in heaven and guides yous through the healing process. A pal said: Bran. Took everything fresh. A natural leader. Fiercely loyal to those he loved and funny. Laughs. Life was to be enjoyed. We'll remember the good times. RIP. And another added: Deepest sympathy to Brandon's family at this very sad time. May Brandon send you strength in the days ahead and watch over you all. Rest in peace, forever 23. Last week, the Sunday World revealed how Ledwidge was due in court on November 21 on drug possession and intent to sell charges. The 23-year-old was facing three separate charges for possession of heroin and cocaine with the intent of sale or supply. Two charges relating to the possession of cocaine and diamorphine and two of possession for sale or supply were due to be heard last Tuesday. We previously reported that Brandon Ledwidge was not considered a serious criminal but had links to gangsters far higher up the food chain than him, according to sources. A gunman who had called to the home opened fire, shooting the victim four times in the head and body. He was shot at close range and didnt stand a chance sources added. Meanwhile, a post-mortem was last week completed by the State Pathologist Dr Sally Ann Collis, the results of which are not being released for operational reasons according to the Garda Press Office. A technical examination of the scene has since been completed by the Garda Technical Bureau. The investigation is being led by a Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) and a Garda Family Liaison Officer (FLO) has been appointed to liaise with the family of the deceased. Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact Finglas Garda Station on 01 666 7500, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any garda station. The other man involved with the incident was also in his 30s and is originally from Somalia One man has been brought to hospital after being stabbed in the head following an argument in a Direct Provision Centre in Courtown. An Egyptian man in his 30s was brought to Wexford General Hospital following an alleged stabbing incident in a Direct Provision Centre in Courtown in Gorey. It is alleged that an argument broke out between two occupants of the centre at around 10am on Saturday, November 25 and the injured man obtained a head injury. The other man involved with the incident was also in his 30s and is originally from Somalia. He appeared before the Gorey District Court on Saturday afternoon and was charged in connection with the incident. Gardai are currently investigating the incident. In pictures released on their social media channels bricks of cocaine emblazoned with the image of the cheeky America cartoon character are seen stacked against a wall Eight people have been arrested after Spanish cops discovered a stash of 600 kilos of Bart Simpson cocaine near Valencia. The Civil Guard found the drugs hidden in a container in an industrial estate in the town Quart de Poblet. When cops moved in, one of the suspects lost a finger when he used a ladder to try to escape. Eight members of a criminal gang involved in international drug trafficking have been arrested while 4,000 in cash they were carrying at that time, as well as a firearm, were also seized. In pictures released on their social media channels bricks of cocaine emblazoned with the image of the cheeky America cartoon character are seen stacked against a wall. The stash of Bart Simpson cocaine busted by Spanish cops The operation was carried out as part of an international project GDIN (Global Drug International Network), led by the Civil Guard and financed by the European Commission. The aim is the global dismantling of criminal organisations through international cooperation and exchange of information with the countries in the network. The investigation began after Central American countries warned that a possible shipment of a large quantity of narcotic substances hidden in a container that was being transported on a merchant ship to Valencia. Once the container was in Spanish territory, specialised agents carried out close control and surveillance of the suspect carrier. After individuals were detected extract the shipment in Quart de Poblet, cops moved in. Hours later and with the coordinated action of several units of the Civil Guard, eight members of the criminal organisation were arrested, as well as the intervention of 600 kilograms of cocaine that were hidden in the container, the Las Provincias news site reports. One of the detainees suffered the amputation of a finger when trying to flee from the civil guards and became trapped on one of the stairs he used to try to escape. Those arrested are between 24 and 49 years of age and were charged with the crimes of drug trafficking and membership of a criminal organisation. Earlier this month, police in the Netherlands seized 1,000 ecstasy pills emblazoned with a Nazi Eagle symbol following a traffic stop in the town of Kerkrade. The driver of the car was arrested after police found what has been described a large amount of hard and soft drugs on the passenger seat. Officers mounting a check point at Museumplein in Kerkrade noticed a car that had initially ignored a stop sign. When they managed to force the driver to stop, it has been reported, it turned out that the man did not have a valid driver's license with him. There was a large amount of hard and soft drugs on the passenger seat of the car, www.crimesite.nl reports. It involved 1,000 ecstasy pills, 500 grams of weed and 100 grams of cocaine. The driver who was reportedly under the influence of drugs was immediately arrested and taken to the police station. The ecstasy pills which bore the Nazi Eagle and Swastika symbols were seized alongside the other drugs. Ireland's probably one of the worst, if not the worst, because the political class has totally sold out the people Steve Bannon, a long-time ally of former American President Donald Trump, has said that Ireland is a powder keg following the riots in Dublin last week. Bannon told right-wing broadcaster Tucker Carlson that Irish politicians were the worst for being bought off by the EU. Bannon, who was sentenced to months in prison in October 2022 after being convicted of contempt of Congress charges, previously served as Chief Strategist in Donald Trumps White House. Now, ex-Fox News presenter Carlson has posted an interview with Bannon on his X channel entitled: Dublin in flames. Whats happening in Ireland will happen here, at scale. Steve Bannon explains. Carlson begins the interview by stating that, several days ago a man in his 50s, for reasons that are still not clear, stabbed five people outside a school in Dublin, Ireland, including three children. And almost immediately after, parts of that city erupted into rioting. What exactly is going on here. Well, the Washington Post stepped in to explain. Despite Carlson's claims, the man is suspected of stabbing four people, not five. Carlson then reads out a tweet by the Washington Post that stated: Online rumours claim that the perpetrator of the stabbing attack was an immigrant. "The BBC found the man was an Irish citizen who had lived in the country for 20 years. Carlson states: Police blamed, quote, a lunatic faction driven by far right ideology for the riot in Dublin. Carson then states that the man is, in fact, from Algeria, and, as it turns out, he's been living in Ireland for 23 years at public expense. He then asks, what does this mean, what is happening here and what's the right response? We thought it would be worth talking to Steve Bannon, he's the host of War Room, and an old friend of ours. He says to Bannon: It seems like Ireland, of course, a small country, an island in Western Europe, is kind of almost a metaphor for what's happening across the West. What do you make of the rioting there and the government's response? Steve Bannon replies: Ireland's probably one of the worst, if not the worst, because the political class has totally sold out the people. "They've had, I think 125,000, immigrants in the last year that that is the same equivalent if all of Joe Bidens nine million illegal alien invaders here in our country all came within one year. That's the impact it's had on Ireland and they're all on the public dole. There's been 100,000 Ukrainians in the 18 months or 20 months since the war started, 100,000 Ukrainians all on the public dole, all paid for out of the Irish budget. Now some of that money's given by the EU but the Irish politicians are by far the worst that are bought off by the EU, he adds. Bannon then describes Irish politicians as the biggest globalists, who have sold off the sovereignty of the Irish people. And you're seeing a natural blowback and you're really seeing it among working class people in the cities, Irish nationals, Irish citizens, whose family have been there for generations and generations and generations and have nothing to show for it. And also in the rural community. So Ireland is a powder keg. Carlson then suggests that the Irish government is trying to replace the population of Ireland with people from the third world. Bannon answers: I think you're seeing this because the political class is very tied to Brussels. There's really no true opposition party. We think from a populist nationalist perspective they've got a couple of small parties that are starting to grow, of course you got Sinn Fein who's the political arm of the IRA, they're more and more taking on a nationalistic bent. Youve also got a couple of small parties, the ones kind of Trump inspired to combat this. But look, you talk about the great replacement theory, and people get very upset when you talk about it." Despite the claims made by the US commentators, experts have claimed the riots were organised by far right agitators. Institute for Strategic Dialogue senior analyst Aoife Gallagher said she saw the far-right agitating begin immediately after the attack became public. Ms Gallagher is an author of new research on the spread of online misinformation and disinformation in Ireland. The research paper was published last week and revealed the influence of the far right is growing. Speaking to The Indo Daily podcast from the Irish Independent, Ms Gallagher said she noticed the mobilisation began straight away on social media. Immediately, as I got the breaking news alert on my phone, I obviously went to see what was being said about it, and it was already kind of rumours and speculation at that point that the attacker was a non-national or a foreigner, Ms Gallagher said. And Id say within less than an hour after that breaking news alert that I got, there were calls from prominent figures within the anti-immigration movement to get people into the city centre that evening and to essentially mobilise people to fight back. Ms Gallagher said the techniques she uses are not really high-tech and it is all down to the data available on social media platforms. Theres nothing special about the tools that we use, she said. I think they can probably be built by anyone that have a really good knowledge of how high-tech platforms work and how API [application programming interface] access works. So, really, I would think that hopefully the gardai, or anyone who is involved and kind of looking at these spaces, would have access to the same things that we have. Local media reports that police in Nairobi have now launched investigations into the death of the Irish native Police in Nairobi are investigating what has been reported locally as the mysterious death of an Irish Catholic priest at his house on Sunday. A caregiver at the house reported to police that the 88-year-old was found unresponsive in his room house in the Gigiri area. She called the police after unsuccessful trying to wake him up. Local media reports that police in Nairobi have now launched investigations into the death of the deceased, who is described as an Irish native, after he was found dead. It was after the priest remained unresponsive, that the caregiver informed the police, Nairobi News reports. Officers who visited the house found the priest dead. The police said in a report that the caregiver had reported that the priest has been battling high blood pressure and other health complications. Police further said the deceased did not have any visible injuries at the time he was found inside his house. Police visited the scene and helped to move the body to the mortuary pending autopsy and other procedures. It has further been reported that police are hoping the results of an autopsy will reveal more about how the priest died. Gigiri is an residential estate in Nairobi which is home to Kenya's large expatriate community, one of the largest in Africa. As part of his new walking show, Craig revealed how his dad passed away and revealed some fun family secrets Craig remembers all of his Bray promenade memories including school trips, dates with his wife and time with his dad Craig with his dad Sean before he passed away Irishman Craig Doyle has opened up about his dad's sad passing from dementia Craig Doyle opened up to millions of TV viewers this morning about his fathers death from dementia. Dubliner Doyle revealed on ITVs This Morning a touching photograph of himself and his father Sean, taken before his dad passed away from the disease. Craig used to regularly visit Sean in an Irish nursing home, but he sadly succumbed to his illness shortly before Covid broke out. Craig with his dad Sean before he passed away The TV presenter was inspired to reveal the photo for the the first time as he kicked off a series of walking trips around Britain and Ireland, one of which focusses on his favourite walk from Bray to Greystones. Craig (52) grew up in Kilmacud in South County Dublin, but now lives with his wife and young family in Co Wicklow. Ireland is well known for its luscious landscape and glorious coastline and although I have travelled all over the world for work, there is nothing like being back home in Co Wicklow, he beamed. As he looked over the sea in Bray, he raved how it has something for everyone, from people walking their dogs and others having chit chats and admiring the views. Craig remembers all of his Bray promenade memories including school trips, dates with his wife and time with his dad He added that the walk up to Greystones is particularly dramatic, with its clifftop pathway. But this bit is a particularly special place to me, he said, as he pointed to the Bray promenade. Because when my dad was diagnosed with dementia, he was in a nursing home here and I was able to wheel him up and down this promenade and he could chat to people, and we got coffee and ice cream and it was really lovely happy memories of those days. ITV presenter Craig Doyle strips down for his new show For the new show Craig took the breath taking 7km Bray Head to Greystones cliff walk, which he raved as a beautiful piece of Ireland, a beautiful piece of Wicklow, and recalled going there as a kid on excursions, taking his wife on romantic dates and also bringing his own children there. After his walk, he met up with the management of the Rise of the Cove coffee shop in Greystones, which is a social enterprise cafe linked with the local Tiglinn rehabilitation centre. And Craig then stripped off to his speedos, showing that he still has a fit body despite later joking with fellow presenter Rochelle Humes that he has a little bit of insulation. Tadhg shared the happy news via Instagram on Monday evening, when he posted a snap from their wedding day and another of their family pets with their ultrasound TikTok star Tadhg Fleming has revealed that he is about to become a new dad. The social media funnyman announced this week that hes expecting his first child with wife Alannah. Tadhg shared the happy news via Instagram on Monday evening, when he posted a snap from their wedding day and another of their family pets with their ultrasound. Tadhg wrote: This day six months ago we had the best craic. Onto the next chapter #NewAdditionToThePack #InsertSoppyAnniversaryQuote. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content Various Irish celebs took to the comments section to express their joy with fellow TikToker Kayleigh Trappe declaring: That child will be some craic! Congratulations to you both. Yayyyyyyyy best news ever! So exciting guys, huge congratulations, Blathnaid Treacy added. Terrie McEvoy wrote: Aghhhhh!!!!! Huge congrats to you both!!!! Life is about to get a whole lot sweeter!!! Tadhg and Alannah were married in Killarney earlier this year and celebrated the occasion at a reception at the five-star Dunloe Hotel in Co Kerry. After nearly ten years together, Tadhg originally proposed to his girlfriend in 2021 and tied the knot on May 30 with a traditional Irish session featuring trad music and dancing. Tadhg offered his experience of married life in a recent interview with RSVP Live when he said: "I can't believe how different it is the minute you put on the ring. It's such a change. I'm only messing. It's completely the same." Tucked away in the Western Bay of Plenty, the idyllic Anzac Bay is expected to welcome hundreds of attendees for the second year of the Anzac Bay Summer Kickoff Festival on Saturday, December 2, 2023. Initiated by Waihi Beach Community Events and Promotions, the free-to-attend festival debuted in 2022. Event organisers were motivated to celebrate and spotlight the unique stories and charm of the Waihi Beach community through a family-friendly outdoor event distinctive to Waihi Beach. Inspired by the unparalleled beauty of Anzac Bay, the harmonious blend of coast and harbour creates an exceptional backdrop to host a festival. Event organisers are hopeful for good weather to showcase the perfect festival atmosphere. Photo: Kiwidroneography. Waihi Beach Community Events and Promotions Event Coordinator Matt Nicholson says while neighbouring towns like Katikati host the renowned Avocado Festival and Whitianga boasts the Scallop and Seafood Festival, the team recognised a golden opportunity for Waihi Beach with this festival. We envisioned the Anzac Bay Summer Kickoff Festival not only as a festive celebration but as a positive force for community connections and a draw for visitors eager to experience the magic of Waihi Beach. Our goal is to foster a sense of pride and connection among locals while enticing visitors to explore and appreciate the uniqueness of our vibrant community, says Matt. The festival will suit individuals and families wanting a fun day out from 2pm - 6pm, with various activities available for kids, including arts and crafts, hair braiding, and more. Food trucks and incredible performances from local artists will also be showcased. Musical performances will range from waiata maori and party classes from the Harmonic Resonators before Stylus perform their funk and soul styles with flavours of Polynesian reggae. Matty and The Buxtones, led by Matty Buxton and Regan Perry, will close the afternoon. The festival is focused on bringing people together to enjoy the setting and celebrate local history as heritage and culture are woven throughout the afternoon. Building upon knowing Anzac Bay's cultural significance, the Waihi Beach Community Events and Promotions team collaborated with local hapu from Otawhiwhi Marae to create the festival. Anzac Bay Summer Kick Off. Photo: Lousie Lambert. The Waihi Beach Community Events and Promotions Marketing Coordinator Jana Marston says the partnership allowed them to embrace the area's cultural richness and communicate its significance to a broader audience. By integrating these cultural elements into the event, we aim to foster a deeper understanding and appreciation for the land, creating a space where traditions can be shared and cherished, says Jana. The event organisers are committed to educating the local community and visitors throughout the festival and aim to encourage attendees to embrace and care for the Whenua. Local Tauranga Western Bay Community Event Fund (TWBCEF) granted $10,000 towards the festivals second year of operation. The fund is a partnership between Acorn Foundation, BayTrust, TECT, Tauranga City Council and Western Bay of Plenty District Council designed to simplify the funding application process and reduce the barriers to applying for community event funding. The funds core purpose is to support community-led events that encourage participation and are free or low-cost. Western Bay of Plenty District Councils Community and Strategic Relationship Manager, Jodie Rickard says supporting this event through the TWBCEF fund has allowed event organisers to be supported in enhancing their event logistics to elevate the overall atmosphere. Attendees will benefit from a more immersive and enjoyable experience, with a broader range of activities and attractions that contribute to the event's vibrancy. Theyve created an event that not only is a great afternoon out for people of all ages but also creates a platform for cultural celebration and storytelling for the community, says Jodie. People will learn more about where they live or holiday, and be more connected to the area, with a greater appreciation. Event Details: Anzac Bay Summer Kickoff Festival, Anzac Bay, Waihi Beach, Saturday, 2pm - 6pm December 2, 2023. FREE to attend. www.waihibeach.co.nz Facebook @waihibeach As the year draws to a close and people start thinking about summer holidays, Whanau Awhina Plunket is reminding people to make sure every sleep is a safe sleep for pepi/baby, no matter where they are or who theyre with. This Friday is the official start of summer and National Safe Sleep Day Te Ra Mokopuna, which aims to raise awareness about the impact of Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy on whanau across Aotearoa. Whanau Awhina Plunket Chief Nurse Zoe Tipa says sadly every year in Aotearoa New Zealand 40 to 60 babies die of SUDI many deaths can be prevented by following life-saving safe sleep practices. Babies spend a lot of time sleeping, day and night, so its important everyone who looks after them including grandparents, relatives, friends, and babysitters, know how to keep them safe for every sleep, no matter where they are. Wherever you go this summer, protect pepi by following these sleep safety tips: Place pepi in their own baby bed such as a such as a bassinet, cot, wahakura or pepi-pod Position baby flat on their back to sleep, with their face clear of bedding or anything else. When pepi is on their back, their airway is clear and open, and this helps them breathe easier. Ensure the environment your pepi is in is smokefree, alcohol and drug free Encourage and support breastfeeding Ensure your pepi has a responsible and safe carer Be mindful of the weather make sure that your pepi is not too hot or cold When travelling, take regular breaks and check on pepi in their carseat. Summer is a great time to catch up with friends and whanau and introduce them to your precious pepi. Plan ahead, think safe-to-sleep-space for pepi everywhere you go. If you have any questions, talk to your Plunket nurse or the wider team, they will be able to support you with what you need or you can call PlunketLine 24/7 on 0800 933 922 and speak to a Plunket nurse. This Friday, December 1, 12.30pm our Plunket nurses will be hosting a Facebook live chat on safe sleeping practices for pepi, you can join on our Facebook page (facebook.com/PlunketNZ) or YouTube channel (@WhanauAwhinaPlunket) or watch it later on both platforms. For more information on safe sleep, visit plunket.org.nz/caring-for-your-child/safe-sleep Informa Markets, one of the worlds leading exhibition organisers, is celebrating 30 years in the UAE, during the Emirates Year of Sustainability and ahead of COP28. To mark the occasion, the company reinforced its commitment to running sustainable events by unveiling environment and social initiatives, as well as how its brands are embedding sustainability-related content and connections across its wide-ranging regional events portfolio. Peter Hall, President of Europe, Middle East and Africa, Informa Markets, said: We are proud to be celebrating 30 years of business here in the UAE, home to our regional EMEA headquarters, during the UAE Year of Sustainability. This is a topic that is front of mind for our colleagues and our customers, so operating our business and our events in as sustainable way as possible is something were continually working on improving and we are delighted to share some of the ways we are doing this as a company, and also as a partner to our customer communities by helping them to achieve their own sustainable development goals. In the UAE, Informa Markets uses 100% renewable electricity to power its events, as well as its offices, significantly reducing energy use and carbon footprint. Its part of a broader set of commitments across the entire Informa company, called FasterForward, and the business as a whole is certified as a CarbonNeutral Company thanks to its work on cutting global scope 1 & 2 emissions by more than 70% since 2017. Hall added: We are excited to have the crucial COP28 talks taking place here in Dubai this month, sparking a renewed focus on ESG in the region. As well as operating our business in an increasingly sustainable way, were making relevant sustainability content and connections part of what we deliver to our customers. At one of the companys flagship regional events, Arab Health, which serves the medical community and takes place every year at Dubai World Trade Centre, exhibitors were encouraged to create their stand spaces more sustainably with an exhibitor reward scheme and a special award for the most sustainable stand. Visitors also had the opportunity to sign up to the government-run National Programme for Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation (Hayat), with over 1,000 people committing to the programme. Medlab Middle East the specialised event designed to fuel medical laboratory growth across the region introduced a new track to spark discussion and drive innovation around sustainability in the clinical lab setting. Following its success, Sustainability in the Lab will return to Medlab Middle East in 2024. The inaugural Lab Sustainability Awards encouraged action on a range of sustainable laboratory areas that link to the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Medical diagnostics laboratories were invited to share their sustainable practices in the lab based on energy conservation, waste reduction, water conservation, green chemistry, green procurement and sustainable practices in the logistics/supply chain. The awards championed those who are already demonstrating leading sustainability practices to inspire others. Elsewhere, Middle East Energy continues to support the energy industry in its successful transition to a more diverse mix of energy sources. This years event theme was Powering the Energy Transition. Conference topics included Financing Rural Electrification, Financing Renewable Energy Projects, Women in Renewable Energy and Knowledge Capacity Building. Taking into account, the need for greater inclusivity in global energy supply, the event hosted speakers from the Rural Electrification Agency and UNESCO to speak about pathways to rural electrification. The event also included a special conference convened by Intersolar, which focused on renewable electricity. And this years Dubai Airshow continues to play a key role in supporting the sustainable development of the aerospace industry, with a two-day sustainability conference stream that included talks, panels and discussions on topics including incentivising sustainable aviation fuel, creating a low-carbon aviation energy hub, preparing for carbon-neutral passengers of the future, financing airport decarbonisation and how to harmonise economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection. TradeArabia News Service A 52-year-old New Zealand resident is set to be deported after sexually assaulting his stepson, according to a recent Immigration Tribunal decision. The man, who came to New Zealand from Samoa in 2011, argued it was in the best interest of his wife and 3 children that he stay despite being convicted of abusing his stepson while the child was in his care. He also argued that he was falsely convicted, claiming that his in-laws conspired against him. The tribunal found there were no exceptional humanitarian circumstances in the mans deportation. His appeal to stay was denied. While living in Samoa in 2008, the man met a woman referred to as AA in the decision. The pair started a relationship and, by 2011, the appellant moved to New Zealand to live with AA and her son. Because AA worked full-time, the man looked after his stepson at home. Alarm bells sounded in 2013 when the man slapped his stepson, causing the childs tooth to fall out. Oranga Tamariki became involved, and the man went to counselling. The man and AA continued their relationship and later had 3 children of their own. In 2017, the stepson with the support of his mothers family spoke up about other violence he had suffered while living with the appellant. This was both physical and sexual abuse. The appellant was charged with 3 sexual offences and 5 offences of assault, all against his stepson, who was under 12 years old at the time. In 2020, he was found guilty and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. The man claimed he was wrongfully convicted, stating he was standing up for the truth and was not that kind of person. From prison, he regularly calls his wife and three children. His wife, AA, believes he is innocent, and has been isolated from her extended family, who are looking after her son. Counsel argued that the man demonstrated a complete denial of responsibility. The tribunal found that while it would be difficult for the family if the man were deported, that didnt amount to exceptional circumstances of a humanitarian nature. He will have a place to live and will have the prospect of supporting himself and his family. Deportation will not separate him from his wife, because she has indicated that she would return with him, the Tribunal said. The appellant is set to be deported when his prison sentence is completed. Where to get help If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 111. Rape Crisis 0800 88 33 00, click link for local helplines. Victim Support 0800 842 846. Safetalk text 4334, phone 0800 044 334 webchat safetotalk.nz or email support@safetotalk.nz. The Harbour Online support and information for people affected by sexual abuse. Womens Refuge 0800 733 843 Male Survivors Aotearoa Helplines across NZ, click to find out more (males only). If you or someone you know is in a dangerous situation, click the Shielded icon at the bottom of this website to contact Women's Refuge in a safe and anonymous way without it being traced in your browser history. If you're in our app, visit the mobile website here to access Shielded. -Stuff. A Bay of Plenty police officer charged with assaulting a teenager has been acquitted and remains employed by the New Zealand Police Force. The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that an officer at Taupo (Officer A) used unjustified and unnecessary force during the arrest of a 17-year-old female (Ms Z). During the late afternoon on November 5, 2020, officers attended a vehicle accident on the outskirts of Taupo. The officers could not locate the driver, Ms Z, or her female passenger. Ms Zs mother and grandfather travelled to the scene but were also unable to locate the pair, says a report released today by the IPCA. About two hours later, Police found the young women hiding nearby in a dense bush. Officer A took Ms Z from the bush and proceeded to physically escort her to her family members who were standing nearby. Ms Z was being abusive and uncooperative towards Officer A when he forcefully took her to the ground and applied handcuffs, says the IPCA report. Ms Zs family members and another officer witnessed Officer As actions and reported that it was unnecessary. Later that evening, Ms Z was found to have a broken shoulder. The Authority could not determine how this injury occurred. However, on the evidence of eyewitnesses, the officers actions in taking Ms Z to the ground were an unnecessary use of force when he already had her under control, says an IPCA spokesperson. We found that, on balance, Officer A was unjustified in forcing Ms Z to the ground in the way he did. Police charged the officer with being a male, assaults a female and in September 2023 he was acquitted of the charge in the Rotorua District Court. The Authority completed its investigation into this incident in February 2022 but delayed the release of its public report until after the conclusion of those court proceedings. In response to the IPCAs findings, Bay of Plenty District Commander Superintendent Tim Anderson says police acknowledge the IPCAs finding that an officer used unreasonable force on a woman being arrested. The incident occurred in Taupo in November 2020 when the woman was arrested after crashing a car in a paddock. During the course of the arrest the woman was injured and suffered a broken collarbone. Police acknowledge the IPCAs findings that the use of force by the officer during the arrest was not reasonable in this case. A Police investigation resulted in the officer being charged with assault; the officer was acquitted of the charge in the Rotorua District Court. The officer involved remains an employee of New Zealand Police. For privacy reasons Police cannot comment further on the officer. A man convicted of a double-murder more than 30 years ago, and whose case is back in court, is hopeful the facts will be looked at. David Tamihere's lawyer will appear at the Court of Appeal in Wellington on Tuesday, where the historical murder case will be revisited. Tamihere was convicted in 1990 for the murders of Swedish tourists Urban Hoglin and Heidi Paakkonen, who were killed the year before. After his conviction, Tamihere continued to argue for his innocence. Tamihere told Morning Report he did not know if the Court of Appeal would quash his case this time. "Things have changed in the legal sense in the last 30 odd years, so I'm just hopeful that they'll look at the facts rather than just being there to protect the system." Tamihere says the possible outcomes are that the original verdict is upheld, there's a call for a retrial or he could be acquitted. He says he will welcome the opportunity for a full jury trial again. "It's about time that everything that was wrong with the Crown's case got aired again." He acknowledges that in his earlier life he did commit some bad crimes. "My track record certainly didn't help with what happened." He says since leaving prison, he didn't spend a lot of time thinking about the situation. "I've always argued if you spend a lot of time brooding on it, you end up in the nuthouse." Tamihere told Morning Report it's difficult to change people's minds about a case like this. "When you go to trial you're 80 per cent guilty straight away, because of the fact you are standing in the dock, and then you have to try and change that, and do a 180 on it, whereas the Crown just has to hold their ground." Criminal barrister Nick Chisnall KC told Morning Report the court will have to decide whether there has been a miscarriage of justice. "Something that went wrong at the trial, something that went wrong in the first appeal because perhaps it misfired because the court didn't have the full information when it first heard the case, and whether really the safety of the convictions can be upheld." Chisnall says they can then either order a retrial or the court could quash the convictions. "Potentially the court could decide that there isn't enough evidence for a retrial, and on that basis quash the convictions and enter an acquittal." He says the reliance on jailhouse confessions like those used in this case is a real issue for the courts. "The Crown still relies upon what the researchers show are inherently unreliable witnesses, who are incentivised to lie. "The reliance put on jailhouse confessions, those in prison who say that they overheard something said by the defendant. It seems to be a significant in many cases that are coming before the courts, and cases like Mr Tamihere's which go back into the 1980s." No evidence but 'perjury' Journalist Donna Chisholm has followed the case for years and recently worked with the defence team as an investigator. She previously worked on another case, and joined the Tamihere team after magazine publisher Bauer closed. "I'd always harboured very strong doubts about the safety of his conviction," she told Morning Report. "I joined as a private investigator, which was to try to track people down, find other witnesses doing the same sort of role that you do as a journalist, but only working for his defence team... "Every single plank of the evidence against Tamihere is gone and it started to erode within months of David being found guilty." She says the only evidence left linking Tamihere to the murders is "perjury, and I can't see how that can be allowed to stand". "I hope for justice for David Tamihere, and that would be an acknowledgement that the conviction was unsafe. That would be setting aside his convictions." A long history The case was first called into question in 1991 when Hoglin's remains were found in Wentworth Valley, 70km from where the Crown said the murders had occurred. But it was not until 2017 when a secret witness in the case was convicted of perjury that Tamihere started to make headway. Fellow prisoner Roberto Conchie Harris, previously only known as 'Witness C', was found to have lied about Tamihere confessing to the murder in prison. Harris was convicted of eight counts of perjury and had his identity revealed to the public the following year. Tamihere criticised the Crown's use of secret witnesses in an interview with Morning Report in 2018. "These so-called cellmate confessions, no, I don't think you can rely on them," he said at the time. "If there's no corroboratory evidence supporting what these guys have said, you'd have to think long and hard about whether it's prudent to use them." Tamihere's appeal in 1992 argued that the discovery of Hoglin's remains and Harris' false evidence undermined the Crown's case. Tamihere was granted a royal prerogative of mercy by then Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy in 2020, paving the way for this week's hearing, expected to run for two days. -RNZ. A new group in town, which provides circus classes to people of all ages and abilities, is celebrating the upcoming International Day of Disabled Persons with a fun day for all at Memorial Park. The Bay of Plenty branch of Circability is hosting the fun day from 10am-2pm this Friday, December 1, at Memorial Park, Jordan Field. Circability Bay of Plenty Hub regional manager Rowan Ford Dawson welcomes everyone to come along and join in, have a go and learn some circus skills. Weve got big props like a large walking ball, we might have a tight rope and there will be unicycles for people to give it a try. Well also have our teachers, equipment & some snacks it will be a day of fun in the park doing circus. Rowan says the event is a chance for people who havent worked with us to see what we do and what they can learn. Circability classes teach people of all abilities circus skills in schools, disability centres and retirement villages. Available in Auckland and Northland, Circability has been running in the Bay of Plenty for just one-and-a-half school terms. Circability started in New Zealand more than 10 years ago, and there are classes for people of all ages, all abilities, all cultures, all together. We go into schools, disability centres, retirement villages and preschools and we teach social circus, says Rowan. Social circus is using circus classes as a social tool to encourage coordination, balance, confidence, social engagement and self-pride to create positive outcomes for our students. It also fosters building confidence, overcoming trauma and developing essential capacities such as resilience and responsibility. Rowan says the focus on disability is at the forefront of what we do hence the event to celebrate people with disabilities and six months of Circability classes in the BOP in the lead-up to International Day of Disabled Persons on December 3. So join Circability for a fun day this Friday, December 1 from 10am-2pm at Memorial Park, Jordan Field, Devonport Rd, Tauranga, to learn some new tricks. In one week of launching a Givealittle page, generosity has poured in to fund a treatment that may help prolong the life of a Tauranga woman. In a courageous battle against the odds, Shirley Ryder, a resilient female musician and author is confronting a formidable adversary stage four terminal high grade ovarian serous cancer. Since her diagnosis in 2017, Shirley has faced the harsh reality of a mere six per cent chance of living to five years. Complicating her journey, the chemotherapy crucial to her survival has become an unexpected foe, triggering allergic reactions. Now, Shirleys children, aged 23 and 24, grapple with heartbreak as they encourage their mother to launch a Givealittle page to rally support for her lifeline: the expensive treatment Avastin, available but unfunded in New Zealand. Shirley Ryder is needing help to fund an expensive treatment to help fight stage four terminal high grade ovarian serous cancer. Photo: Supplied. Six years ago I was told that statistically I wouldnt live very long, says Shirley. I was told 15 per cent live for up to five years, but for New Zealanders its much worse as we dont have the drugs we need. At that time, her two children were teenagers, and she had chemotherapy and an operation in order to gain more time. Ive always been told it will recur. Its a very deadly cancer. She was originally taking two chemotherapy agents. One I had an anaphylactic reaction to at the start. The other one Im allergic to. Chemo from treatment of cancer initially took my hair, ruined my career and the cancer left me and my children traumatized. The trauma still remains. I need Avastin. She has been told the cost of Avastin without insurance is $66,000. Shirley Ryder. Photo: Supplied. Tumours rely on the formation of new blood vessels in order to grow and spread throughout the body. Avastin blocks the formation of new blood vessels, thus effectively starving the tumour of blood that it needs to grow. While Avastin helps to control tumour growth - it is not a cure for cancer. Avastin is a medicine registered by Medsafe for the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer, but not funded by PHARMAC, so people need to pay for it. Roche New Zealand has a FRVW VKDUH programme for Avastin, which offers assistance with the cost of your medicine. Shirley says when she asked, her oncologist told her if she's fundraising for Avastin it would be good to start now. Currently she follows a hypersensitivity protocol, so instead of getting all of the chemotherapy treatment she is allergic to in one dose over a couple of hours, it takes all day. I dont know how long I can have the chemo. She says if she had insurance or lived overseas, there are other drugs she could get for ovarian cancer but they are not available in NZ. Avastin is. Avastin is free in the UK and Australia," says Shirley. For those with health insurance there is another expensive drug available but unfortunately I have no health insurance. If we can raise enough funds for this drug called Avastin it will help me remain cancer free for a longer period of time. Its not a cure but it gives my family and I more time to spend together. Shirley Ryder with her autobiography 'The Wendy House'. Photo: Supplied. Shirley has a message for kiwis. I want people to know. I thought with the public health system that Id be okay but the reality is youre not. Its not helpful for people with ovarian cancer, says Shirley. I advise people to take out health insurance. The hospital and nurses have been great, its just the system. The cover of 'I wonder what became of Leia'. Photo: Supplied. Shes concerned for her two children. Shirleys mother died of breast cancer, and she feels she is the only family her son and daughter have. Its a horrible illness. My children were devastated to hear I had a short life expectancy. They have no father to call on. Shirley has etched out a career in education and music. I was a teacher aide. I have a diploma and Bachelor of Education, and was planning to do a degree in psychology. Shes also played in a band, writes her own songs with an indie pop flavour, and has put out four albums on Spotify and Applaud Us. Since being diagnosed Shirley has done a lot of community things, interviewed and promoted musicians and bands on her YouTube channel, and written an autobiography which she released in early 2023, called The Wendy House. She is also sharing her cancer story on her Facebook page The Shirley Ryder Show & Shirlz Music Medsafe is the New Zealand Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority. Theyre responsible for the regulation of medicines and medical devices in New Zealand. Its their job to ensure that the benefits of any medicine outweigh the risks (side effects). Once a medicine has been registered by Medsafe, it can then be used in New Zealand. The supplier of the medicine can then apply to PHARMAC to have it funded. However, not all Medsafe registered medicines will receive funding. New Zealand is a small country and cant afford to fund all available medicines. Each year, PHARMAC is given a set amount of money from the NZ Government, which they use to buy medicines for New Zealanders. PHARMACs role is to decide which medicines get their funding. Making a decision to fund a particular medicine can be difficult, and takes time. When making a decision, PHARMAC reviews lots of information and talks to healthcare experts and patients. When PHARMAC decides not to fund a medicine, this medicine is called a non-PHARMAC funded medicine. Avastin is a non-PHARMAC funded medicine. Funding Avastin can be done by a cost share programme, private health insurance, life insurance or private fundraising like Givealittle. The cover of 'Leopards and Wolves'. Photo: Supplied. Shirley is hopeful that if she can get funding help to buy Avastin which has been shown to delay the progression or spreading of ovarian cancer, that it can also increase the length of time she can survive with ovarian cancer. The familys poignant plea echoes through corridors of hope, seeking a lifeline for Shirleys future. I would appreciate people donating, but also raising awareness, says Shirley. My children have asked me to set up a Give A Little Page to go towards funding this drug. Anything you can donate will help us. Without your help I will likely be struggling to live much longer without a miracle and I want to stay alive as long as possible for the sake of my son and daughter. So far the Givealittle page has raised over $5000 in eight days from 44 generous donors, with a goal of $66,000 set. To help raise funds for Shirley to buy Avastin go to https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/cancer-drug-fundraising-for-shirley A friend has also set up a Facebook page: Shirley Ryder Musician of Tauranga Needs Help Twenty people have been moved out of a Rotorua lodge issued two dangerous building notices in a week the first for dead-bolting residents in at night. The second notice was issued to Spa Lodge after a fire on its deck last week. The fire happened while Rotorua Lakes Council was awaiting a fire safety assessment that later found the building had an extremely high fire risk. The lodge on Amohau St in the CBD had moved from hosting tourists to providing emergency housing in recent years and lately had been taking long-term tenants. Council community and district development group manager Jean-Paul Gaston said a person contacted the council about the sanitary conditions at Spa Lodge on November 6. Staff contacted the lodge and were invited to inspect it on November 16. During the inspection staff had concerns for the occupants safety, given that the exit doors were being dead-bolted at night, locking occupants inside the building, Gaston said. The council issued a dangerous building notice that day and the operator was given time to rectify the issues. The council also requested advice from Fire and Emergency New Zealand. Before the report landed, firefighters were called to Spa Lodge on November 20. A FENZ spokesperson said crews were called to a fire on the deck of a property in Rotorua at 9.53am. The fire was extinguished and the matter was referred to police. Gaston said the council was told about the fire that day and given further advice. It received the Fenz report on November 22 and issued the second dangerous building notice ordering the occupants be removed for their own safety. Gaston said the lodge was being used for non-tourism accommodation that allowed long-term guests and is not an emergency housing provider. Rotorua Lakes Council community and district development group manager Jean-Paul Gaston. Photo / Laura Smith. Extremely high fire risk The Fenz assessment, provided to Local Democracy Reporting by the council, concluded injury or death was considered likely in the event of a fire at the lodge. I [the report author] consider there is an extremely high fire risk to occupants in this building day or night, given the high risk/needs of the clientele, the inoperable handheld firefighting equipment, inadequate fire alarm system and the known behaviour of these occupants during a fire. I am concerned that a fire will grow out of control before anyone notices it, leaving occupants little time to escape. The building also lacked an approved evacuation scheme and procedure, according to the report. The risk is heightened given the owner and managements apparent disregard for fire safety legislation. Gaston said the council had a regulatory role in making sure buildings were safe and fit for purpose, and the Fenz assessment found the Spa Lodge was not, so the council acted to reduce the risk to the occupants as quickly as possible. He said the lodge owner, Ministry of Social Development and Rotorua housing hub Te Pokapu helped to find alternative accommodation for the 20 people living at the lodge. He said the building could not be occupied until its fire safety features provided a safe environment. The requirements had been discussed with the operator and other relevant agencies but the actions taken would depend on how the lodge would be used in future. Since the notice was issued the owner has been co-operative and is working with council to rectify the issues raised. The notices were the only two issued by the council this year. The notice, displayed on the outside of the building, said the owner must complete works to remove or reduce danger by February. The Spa Lodge owner was approached for comment. The council signed the Rotorua Housing Accord with the government and iwi last year aiming to address emergency housing issues in the city. Under the accord, it had been looking at tenancies in backpackers and hostels. Rotorua mayor Tania Tapsell said peoples health and safety must come first. Rotorua mayor Tania Tapsell. Photo / Andrew Warner. Ministry of Social Development regional commissioner Jacob Davies said the ministry does not place people in boarding houses or hostels. Davies said it had no power to tell people where they should live, inspect their living arrangements, inspect buildings or monitor compliance with building regulations. Our staff provide people with advice about their options, and assess eligibility for financial assistance. He said the ministry welcomed council action on unsafe buildings. We expect accommodation suppliers to meet the standards set by all the relevant regulatory authorities and for those authorities to take action where necessary. The ministry paid accommodation supplements to over 350,000 households, about 29,000 of those in the Bay of Plenty. What is a dangerous building notice? Under the Building Act, a dangerous building is one that in the ordinary course of events excluding earthquakes is likely to cause injury or death to anyone in or on the property, or damage to other property. A building can also be deemed dangerous if death or injury is likely in a fire to anyone in the building or on other property. Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air. Hector Barbotta Seville Tuesday, 28 November 2023, 10:49 Compartir Copiar enlace WhatsApp Facebook X LinkedIn Telegram The Spanish government and the Junta de Andalucia have pledged to invest 1.4 billion euros in an agreement to protect the endangered Donana National Park located in the south-west of the region, covering some 14 municipalities in the provinces of Huelva, Seville and Cadiz.. The deal puts an end to two years of negotiations after the Junta proposed controversial plans to legalise more use of water for irrigation from an area close to the famous protected wetlands. The national park is threatened by climate change and illegal irrigation and is drying it out at an alarming rate. As part of the measures agreed on Monday, farmers who agree to stop irrigating and convert their land to forest or adopt rain-fed or sustainable crops will receive 100,000 euros in aid per hectare (10,000 euros per year for a decade). The national government will contribute 70%, the Junta 20% and the Huelva provincial government will chip in the remaining 10%. The deal affects the entire area of the national park which covers 14 towns and villages in the provinces of Huelva, Seville and Cadiz. About 38% of the area's population are linked to the agricultural sector. Monday's deal now aims to alleviate pressure on the aquifer that feeds the park, while also offering farmers in the area an alternative to continue carrying out their work. The deal has the backing of the Corona Norte irrigation platform, a group that brings together farmers whose lands were excluded from a special plan nearly ten years ago to control the amount of water that could be used on farmland around the protected area. Junta de Andalucia president Juanma Moreno said: "Everyone wins and no one loses in this agreement". Jesus Hinojosa Malaga Tuesday, 28 November 2023, 14:53 | Updated 15:05h. Compartir Copiar enlace WhatsApp Facebook X LinkedIn Telegram A huge planetarium project has finally been given the green light and could open within two years on the Costa del Sol. Malaga city council finally granted a building permit after more than three years since it awarded a municipal plot next to the Ikea store in the city for the planetarium's construction. The project is being led by Malaga Planetarium formed from a collaboration between local engineering firm Gestomer, renowned Malaga astronomer Alberto Castro Tirado and the multinational Sky-Skan, which specialises in the construction of planetariums. It is expected to cost more than 10 million euros to build. As SUR previously reported, the Malaga planetarium will be the largest in Spain and one of the largest in Europe. Its projection hall will have a capacity for 400 people. It will be built on a plot of 8,811 square metres, next to the road that connects the N-340 with the Guadalmar motorway and there will be 116 parking spaces on site. Planned opening for 2025 "Equipped with cutting-edge technology and a stunning surround sound system, Malaga Planetarium will be inaugurated in 2025. It is expected to welcome around 500,000 visitors a year, and is set to be one of the new tourist attractions of the Malaga of the future, of Spain and the world," Malaga Planetarium said. "This unique site will have two floors, one of which will house the most innovative and interesting exhibitions in science and technology, with a special focus on interactive experiences," they added. The planetarium will also have a space for educational workshops on science and technology for young people. SUR in English Tuesday, 28 November 2023, 09:49 Compartir Copiar enlace WhatsApp Facebook X LinkedIn Telegram Most Americans, wherever they are in the world, never let the fourth Thursday in November pass them by without celebrating Thanksgiving and that was exactly the case for the American International Club Marbella on 23 November. The group got together to celebrate the national American holiday at Cafe Yanx in Puerto Banus, hosted at the Occidental Hotel. Festivities continued beyond the meal where group member Alfonso Hervas's personalised cards delighted many and Raquel Marquez's photography and videography captured the day's festive vibe. Members of the American International Club Marbella enjoy Thanksgiving 2023. SUR "Sue Seabury's unwavering dedication, Milagros Hoffenmeir's invaluable support, and the organisation by club president Lucca Movaldi were pivotal for the success of this celebration," the American International Club Marbella said. "Special gratitude extends to guests journeying from distant places and particularly to Dave and his exceptional team from Cafe Yanx, whose contributions elevated the festivity's splendour," they added. Club president Lucca Movaldi said: "Thanksgiving goes beyond celebration; it's a time to reflect and appreciate the blessings around us. Your dedication and solidarity during uncertain times have been a beacon of hope. We aim to continue fostering this friendship, promoting diversity, respect, and collaboration among cultures." You can get in touch with American International Club Marbella at: aif2018@hotmail.com Named The Beginnings: A Return to the Early Years of Creativity, the most recent exhibition at the Arts Palace on the Cairo Opera House grounds (5-23 November) was inaugurated by Plastic Arts Sector chairman Walid Kanoush. It featured over 250 pieces by some of the most significant names in the history of modern Egyptian art, going through three generations from Gazbiya Serry, Mohammed Sabri and Hassan Soliman to Salah El Melegy and Omar El Fayoumy to Ibrahim El Dessouky and Hend Adnan. The idea of beginnings is that the pieces on show kicked off their creators path, but they dont all belong to an early stage of the artists career. Together with less-than-ideal presentation and complete lack of information about the pieces date, size, media this took away from the pleasure of the experience, especially since even on the last day the exhibition catalogue had still not been printed. Solimans Work in the Field, which includes the date 1962 next to the artists signature, depicts two oxen drawing a wooden thresher and a distant figure. It is a celebrated work and an acquisition of the Museum of Modern Art, accomplished when the artist was 34, but it would be hard to say that it was his true beginning. I found out from Ahmed Abdelwahabs Amira that his stone sculpture of three bald figures in flowing gowns was made in the early 1970s, some 15 years after he graduated from art school in 1957. Though the exhibition lacked calligraphy, caricature or photography, three portraits by El Fayoumy that do constitute his beginning as a fresh 1979 graduate prove inspiring. So do two 1989 surrealist paintings of humans with animal heads following each other in a vicious cycle by Evelyn Ashamallah, which though they were not her beginning as such were the beginning of a new phase in her career that started on her return from a five-year stint in Algeria. Ashamallah, who was born in 1948 in Dessouk in the Nile Delta, told me she grew up so close to nature she befriended insects, and seeks the nature connection in everything she does. My recent work is an extension and development of the early style of the two paintings, she added. Equally powerful are a group of small paintings by pioneering artist Gazbiya Serry (1925-2021) depicting life in the Egyptian countryside. One of those paintings, dated 1954 (two years after the July Revolution against the monarchy, two years before independence from the British), depicts a beautiful young country woman in green breastfeeding her child. Both have halos of grass. The child, who is not actually a baby, recalls Coptic depictions of the baby Jesus. They symbolise Egypt and its people. In a 1962 socialist painting by Zeinab Elsegeny, a woman and three men symbolise agriculture, industry, marine industry and science under Nasser. Beginnings were further elucidated in a closing-day seminar when artist Reda Abdelsalam gave a long talk on beginnings: : The idea of the exhibition is brilliant. I consider beginnings a key factor in any artists progress, but what kind of beginnings are we talking about here? Is it the beginning of the artists journey, of his participation in an art movement, or maybe of a specific phase or project? He suggested narrowing down the concept to a single generation or time period and exhibiting more works at a range of Cairo Opera venues. Palace of Arts director Aly Saied, the exhibitions commissar, explained that many older pieces remain unavailable for technical reasons to do with the Museum of Modern Art renovations and affirmed that future versions of the exhibition would be an improvement on the present one. * A version of this article appears in print in the 30 November, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: Almost dry... the current state of the source of the Genal river, near Ronda. Javier Almellones Malaga Tuesday, 28 November 2023, 15:55 Compartir Copiar enlace WhatsApp Facebook X LinkedIn Telegram A major water source of a river in the Serrania de Ronda has dried up as Malaga province's worrying streak without rainfall continues. Barely a few drops flow in the aquifer in Igualeja, which is a major source of water to the Genal river and the village. "They say that since 1995 until now it has never looked like this," a municipal worker said. "Everyone here thought that with the last rains it was going to recover, but it hasn't," he added. Last Saturday, in the middle of a 'Copper Forest' walk, Rafael Flores, manager of tourism company RF Natura, passed by with a group of hikers. "I've never seen it like this in the middle of autumn, and I've been going there for years at this time of year," he said. How it should look, this file image is from a few year's back. Karl Smallman Geologist Jose Antonio Castillo pointed out: "The Genal has several sources and among the most important for its flow is that of Igualeja, but also that of the Zuas stream in Juzcar". "Fortunately, the latter is providing water, along with other rivers and streams in the area, so that the Genal has not dried up completely." But rain fall in the Sierra de las Nieves if the Igualeja aquifer has any chance of filling up again anytime soon. Current Print Subscribers will be prompted to either login to their current site user account or to create a new one. A confirmation email will be sent when a new user account is created, which must be confirmed within three days in order to provide uninterrupted online access through your Print Subscription. Once the email address is confirmed please provide your Account Number to activate your Print Subscription Service. Burlington, Vt. A man who has been charged with shooting three college students of Palestinian descent in Vermont this weekend has ties to Syracuse, the Burlington, Vt. police chief said at a news conference Monday. The man, Jason J. Eaton, 48, recently arrived in Burlington from Syracuse, Police Chief Jon Murad said. He said investigators would be looking more into his Syracuse-area connections. Firecracker, Syracuse.coms investigative true crime podcast about the horrific murder of Carol Ryan, has attracted thousands of listeners since its debut on Nov. 13. A mix of investigative journalism and true crime storytelling, the podcast digs into a horrific decades-old crime. In 1996, Syracuse resident Carol Ryan was murdered in a cruel, disturbing way. Someone detonated an explosive device inside of her and left her for dead in Jamesville. Police never made an arrest. Within days of its launch, the podcast broke the Top 100 on the Apple Podcasts Charts. With over 100,000 downloads to date, the show peaked at No. 78 for top podcasts and No. 21 for true crime a week after its debut. Firecracker also hit No. 10 on Apple Podcasts for true crime in New Zealand and No. 8 in Australia, according to Chartables global trending charts. Firecracker is available exclusively and ad-free on Wondery+, the premium podcast subscription from Wondery. The show is a serial podcast reported and hosted by journalist Katrina Tulloch. Over six episodes, Tulloch explores the death and life of Carol Ryan and the chilling effect her unsolved murder had on a community. The podcast outlines how Carol spent the hours leading up to her murder, how first responders bungled the crime scene, the challenges police faced in the investigation, and how DNA technology could break open the case. Carol Ryan was found in this driveway off Route 91 in Jamesville, N.Y. on September 1, 1996. An explosive device was detonated inside of her, and her killer was never found. Her cold case remains one of the most disturbing murders in Upstate New York history. The Onondaga County Sheriff's Office provided these 1996 crime scene photos to syracuse.com.Onondaga County Sheriff's Office Tulloch and a team of journalists at syracuse.com spent a year digging into the case, interviewing over 30 people including Carols family and friends, law enforcement, medical professionals, forensic experts, witnesses and persons of interest. When police saw what was left of Carol Ryans body, dumped in the driveway of a suburban compost site, they wondered what weapon could cause that level of devastation. The truth was worse than anyone imagined, and the unsolved mystery of Carols murder has haunted Central New York for decades. Carols only son Shawn blames police. After hundreds of interviews, investigators couldnt make any leads stick. Three cops believe they know the man who killed Carol. Hes still out there. But they havent been able to prove it. You can visit syracuse.com/firecracker for previous coverage of Carol Ryans case, crime scene photos, portraits of each person interviewed on the podcast, and summaries of each episode. If you have any information about Carol Ryans case, contact the Onondaga County Sheriffs Office at 315-435-3051. To submit an anonymous tip, text TIPONON and your tip to 847411. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting Syracuse.com with a subscription. More coverage on Carol Ryans cold case Why theres a sliver of chance Carol Ryans murder could be solved after 27 years (Firecracker, ep. 6) Did a stranger kill Carol Ryan? We confront cops top suspect (Firecracker, ep. 5) Detectives zero in on boyfriend, ex-husband but Carol Ryans killer remains free (Firecracker, ep. 4) What medical experts learned from Carol Ryans autopsy (Firecracker, ep. 3) Everything we know about Carol Ryans last night alive (Firecracker, ep. 2) An explosion of hate killed Carol Ryan and no one knows why (Firecracker, ep. 1) Sneak peek: Firecracker podcast investigates Carol Ryans vicious unsolved murder A judge may soon lift a court injunction thats prevented hundreds of New York cannabis dispensaries from opening for nearly four months, after the states Cannabis Control Board voted today to settle a lawsuit. In a Monday afternoon meeting, board members unanimously approved a settlement agreement with plaintiffs, which would lift the injunction. Details of the agreement will remain confidential to the public until attorneys file it in court, but all board members have seen it, according to Office of Cannabis Management General Counsel Linda Baldwin. Nothing can happen until the court approves these agreements, and then once that happens the injunction that has been in place will be lifted, Baldwin said. This is the next but a very important part of the process. If a New York State Supreme Court judge approves the settlement, more than 400 CAURD licensees currently barred from opening their stores could move forward, and the OCM could resume issuing new CAURD licenses. Sign up for the NY Cannabis Insider Newsletter Enter your email address to get exclusive reporting on NY's cannabis market delivered to your inbox: On Aug. 8, New York State Supreme Court Judge Kevin Bryant issued an injunction that has barred state regulators from issuing new Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary licenses, or allowing most licensees from opening their stores. The enjoinment came as part of a lawsuit brought against the state by four service-disabled veterans who intend to apply for dispensary licenses. The veterans were later joined by the Coalition for Access to Regulated & Safe Cannabis a group representing some of New Yorks medical cannabis companies that is also suing the Office of Cannabis Management in a separate case. Plaintiffs allege that the OCM and CCB violated the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act by opening up retail dispensary license applications for a select group of people justice-involved individuals who own a profitable qualifying business instead of opening applications up for everyone at the same time. A few days after issuing the injunction, Bryant filed an order that said licensees who met all approvals before Aug. 7, 2023, would be allowed to open their stores. The order also said that the court may allow other CAURD dispensaries to open on a case-by-case basis, if state officials request permission from the judge. However, the Ulster County-based judge soon after said he wouldnt exempt a slate of CAURD licensees that the OCM claimed met requirements for exemption. Bryant agreed with plaintiffs that there were discrepancies in the list of 30 businesses the OCM had assured the court qualified for exemption. Bryant decided the court would accept case-by-case requests for exemption, on which hed rule individually. Since then, the judge has exempted some CAURDs, including Elevate ADK in Saranac Lake, Air City Cannabis in Rome (delivery only), Terp Bros in Astoria, Queens, Gotham Buds in Harlem, and CONBUD in New York Citys Lower East Side. This isnt the first lawsuit to wreak havoc on the OCMs troubled CAURD program. Variscite NY One, Inc., filed suit in September of 2022, after the state according to the complaint found it was ineligible for a CAURD license because the company is 51% owned by Kenneth Gay, an individual who has no significant connection to New York and who has a cannabis conviction in Michigan. An individual named Jeffrey Jensen owns the other 49%. That lawsuit resulted in an injunction preventing New York from issuing CAURD licenses in five of the 14 regions in which the agency is licensing these dispensaries. In March, Sharpe narrowed the injunction to only apply to the Finger Lakes region. The state reached a settlement with Variscite in late-May, in which the OCM agreed to grant a cannabis retail license to the company. Based on the states agreement to license Variscite as part of the settlement in that case, Jayson Tantalo, co-founder of the New York Cannabis Retail Association, is nervous the settlement in the recent case could include licenses for the plaintiffs. Im hoping that they werent given licenses, to be honest, Tantalo said. If thats the case its only giving more ammunition for other people to come in [and sue] to get a guaranteed license. Tantalo said a settlement that lifts the injunction is definitely a positive development, but added that its possible the court process could drag on into January. As long as the program opens up and we can move forward, Im going to be happy, Tantalo said. But no, Im not optimistic that an official decision will be made before January. In the early hours of 11 November, 2023, the weekly newspaper Watani showcased a compilation of short stories and insightful counsel for children by the esteemed Yacoub El-Sharouni under the evocative title The Essence of Life Is Precious. El-Sharouni had not contributed his regular column to the newspaper when, in the morning of 23 November, news of his departure began to reverberate. In his last few columns, El-Sharouni implored his readers, especially the younger ones, to use their time wisely on constructive pursuits and joyous endeavors. He emphasised the importance of steering clear of regret, sorrow, or anger over transient and inconsequential matters, emphasising the irreplaceable nature of the moment. This poignant message served as his parting gift, encapsulating the culmination of a rich and long life. He was a man who devoted his life to crafting tales for children, retelling enchanting Arabic narratives, and he left us at the venerable age of 93. His stories resonated globally, were translated into eight languages, and earned him such accolades as the prestigious United Nations Award for the finest global childrens novel and the State Appreciation Award, a historic first for a childrens author in Egypt. El-Sharouni penned a daily narrative in Al-Ahram newspaper for an impressive span of 30 years. His life unfolded against a vibrant backdrop of narratives presented with the kind of whimsical illustrations adored by children. It was guided by Industriousness and love. Yet his departure coincided with innocent children being killed, prompting reflection on the implications for a storyteller of such tragic circumstances. Since his early years in elementary school, El-Sharouni caught his Arabic teachers attention when he was discovered engrossed in writing rather than focusing on the lesson. When queried about his activities, he courageously revealed his pursuit: crafting a novel. The teachers initial scepticism of his Arabic transformed into encouragement, and from that moment on, El-Sharouni never stopped writing. His tireless efforts extended beyond the written word, as he visited villages, cities, schools, and libraries across Egypt and beyond, engaging with children and listening to them with genuine respect and appreciation. He persistently contributed to newspapers, offering stories as free gifts to children, underscoring the value of success, love, and imparting meaningful messages. After a lifetime devoted to creative work, El-Sharouni left behind little material wealth. While acknowledging the role of money, he always emphasised the need to erect metaphorical barriers to safeguard against its influence. In his story Known in the Land of Money, he artfully portrays the pervasive impact of wealth on power dynamics, conflicts, envy, and societal attitudes. In his January 2014 piece, Struggle in the Lions Den, El-Sharouni delves into the intricacies of the daddy lions relations with his cubs, his spouse, and the animal kingdom. The narrative unfolds with dramatic intensity, punctuated by a revealing assertion: The enemy need not lose his life; it is enough for him to lose his pride! The ensuing dialogue features powerful and thought-provoking statements reminiscent of timeless proverbs. Why do we surrender to traditions that reduce us to the status of the basest animals, inherited by whoever defeats our leader, as if we were bought for free? Another example: Success is our collective achievement, and failure is our shared setback. In the denouement, the denizens of the forest emerge triumphant over the terror and humiliation orchestrated by an external adversary. A poignant reflection on the aged lion encapsulates the whole theme: Has he finally understood that our respect for him must emanate from our assurance in him? * A version of this article appears in print in the 30 November, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: New Yorks Cannabis Control Board will award retail licenses and site protection to the plaintiffs whose lawsuits have halted the states legal weed rollout since August as long as a judge approves two settlement agreements filed in court on Tuesday. If approved, the settlements will lift the injunction thats prevented more than 400 Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary licensees from opening their shops, and end a months-long freeze on the social equity program. It will also mark the second and third time the state has resolved challenges to the constitutionality of its CAURD program by issuing licenses (Variscite NY One filed suit in September of 2022 and the CCB later settled and granted the company a retail license). New York continues to address its deficiencies in its legislation and regulation process by giving out cannabis licenses, said Jeffrey Hoffman, a cannabis-focused attorney, on Tuesday. Thats not really a good precedent to set everybody who sues gets licenses. Sign up for the NY Cannabis Insider Newsletter Enter your email address to get exclusive reporting on NY's cannabis market delivered to your inbox: The proposed recent settlements stem from two separate but intertwined legal challenges. The Coalition for Access to Regulated & Safe Cannabis sued the state in March to compel regulators to open up licensing for all retail dispensary applicants immediately. Coalition members include five of New Yorks medical cannabis companies: Curaleaf, PharmaCann (dba Verilife), Fiorello Pharmaceuticals (dba FP Wellness or Rise), NYCANNA (dba the Botanist or Acreage NY), and Citiva Medical (dba Be.). Then, in August, four service-disabled veterans who intended to apply for dispensary licenses Carmine Fiore, William Norgard, Steve Mejia and Dominic Spaccio filed suit. The veterans argued that the CCB and Office of Cannabis Management violated the NY State Constitutions separation of powers clause when they created the CAURD program Supreme Court Judge Kevin Bryant issued the injunction on the CAURD program in early August, and the Coalition joined the Fiore lawsuit a few days later. The proposed settlement for the Fiore case requires the CCB to provide retail licenses to the four service-disabled veterans who filed the suit. It would also lift the CAURD injunction, and require the OCM to: Establish a taskforce for businesses owned by service-disabled veterans, and commit at least one OCM full-time employee to specialize in business development for those veterans. Create an educational campaign for service-disabled veterans who are interested in getting into the adult-use or medical markets. Develop a program to expand cannabis research into factors related to veterans health. Provide monthly updates to the plaintiffs on the progress of these efforts until they have been officially launched. The settlement in this case also bars the CCB from issuing any new or additional provisional CAURD licenses until April 1, 2024 but the regulators can greenlight the more than 400 currently licensed CAURDs to open their stores. The proposed settlement in the Coalitions case which Judge Bryant is also overseeing would require the CCB to give licenses (as long as certain requirements are met) to the five Registered Organization plaintiffs, who are applying to expand into adult-use retail. That should happen at a CCB meeting on or before Dec. 8, 2023, according to the settlement. Regulators would authorize these companies, once licensed, to open their first co-located adult-use dispensary by Dec. 29, 2023, and their second and third co-located shops by June 29, 2024. However, Bryant has 10 days to approve these settlements, which means they may be tweaked in the meantime. Jayson Tantalo, co-founder of the New York Cannabis Retail Association, agreed with attorney Hoffman that the state providing plaintiffs with licenses is problematic. As someone who has applied for, but not yet received, a CAURD license, he also took issue with the stipulation that the CCB wont license any more CAURD applicants until at least April. We have over 30 applicants in our association that are waiting we are all on the verge of bankruptcy, Tantalo said. Im so frustrated I dont have until April. North Syracuse, N.Y. -- Lakeva Williams quit her job at SUNY Morrisville in June to pursue her dream: She opened a daycare in her home. It seemed like a sure thing to the North Syracuse single mother. The need is constant there are waiting lists for spots at most providers. She would be able to work at home, see her kids more and do what she loves: take care of kids. But less than six months in, Williams is behind on her mortgage and other bills. She often spends her Saturdays going to food pantries. Williams Parent-cation child care is one of 44 child-care establishments that opened this year in Onondaga County. Most were small, like hers. Child-care providers closed at nearly the same rate: 36 shut their doors so far this year. Williams worries that she will join them. The county and the state have invested millions trying to improve the access to child care in Onondaga County, where licensed providers meet less than 30% of the need. So why is it still so hard for people like Williams to stay afloat? Providers say that while the county and the state have been pouring money into subsidies and programs to help with licensing, theyve failed to address the red tape thats strangling them and squeezing out their profits. Onondaga County and the state raised the income limit for child-care subsidies so many more families can get help paying the bill. But the payments can take a month or longer. Most providers dont make enough to absorb a months worth of services being paid so late. Several told Syracuse.com they fell behind on their mortgage or rent because of the countys slow system. The only way to fix a problem with their reimbursement is to call a phone number that gets answered between 1 and 4 p.m. So many people are calling at that time it often takes days to get through, Williams and others said. Then theres the states red tape: An application to open a child-care is more than 90 pages, and the state often requires costly improvements like fences or, in Williams case, a fifth door into her house. Several home-based child-care providers told Syracuse.com they do the work because they love it, but the low profit margins and staggering bureaucracy make it hard to continue and even harder for newcomers, like Williams, to start up. Lakeva Williams started taking care of kids in her North Syracuse home at the beginning of the summer. By fall, she had to cut back her hours and go to food pantries because the county was so far behind on its reimbursement. Children play at her home Wednesday, August 30 2023. N. Scott Trimble | strimble@syracuse.comN. Scott Trimble | Syracuse.com A three-door garage The most visible example of child-care red tape is in Williams garage. Its a one-car garage attached to her small Cape Code-style house. When she applied for the child-care license, she had two doors in the garage (one for the car and one for people), a front door, and a back door from her walk-out basement. After she completed the 90-page application and had an inspection, she was told she needed a fifth door in her house in case of an emergency. She was instructed to add a third door in her garage. It put her behind 10 months. It took time to find a contractor and the money to get the work done. Its crazy, she said, standing in the garage. Its hard to see how a third door in the garage makes anyone safer. Onondaga County has been working to remove some of the barriers to opening child cares. It is splitting $1 million between PEACE Inc. and Partners in Learning, who are helping people who want to open child-care facilities with the applications and some of the start-up funding. PEACE Inc. helped Williams with her application and used some of that grant money to reimburse her for the cost of her door. Karen Barry, the workforce coordinator at PEACE who runs the program to help child-care start-ups, said they usually help people buy toys, nap mats and do small repairs. But when people need things like fences or peeling paint fixed, it costs too much for the grant program to help. PEACE also provides some food and diapers in the beginning because it can take a few weeks for providers to start earning enough to pay the expenses. One of the things the state and county have focused on as a silver bullet for parents and struggling providers is the child-care subsidy money. Onondaga County raised the income limit, and then the state followed suit. A family of four with an income of $90,000 can get help paying for child care. But providers often have to wait a month or longer to get paid. Lakeva Williams teaches the kids in her care about what dentists do this day. She retrofitted her home to be a child-care provider, but red tape and slow reimbursement have put her future in question. Wednesday, August 30 2023. N. Scott Trimble | strimble@syracuse.comN. Scott Trimble | Syracuse.com They only answer questions Williams was just paid $3,000 she was owed for the end of August. Several other providers said they know that if they agree to take subsidy money, they may fall behind on their bills. There are several problems with the system. It only pays monthly, even though child-care providers generally require payment weekly. And then there are the online forms. If you mess something up, your payment gets denied. Then, you have to call the county at a phone number that is only answered between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays. Providers said they spend days calling the number before they can get through. All of this spells longer delays. Gina Stacconi agreed to accept families using child-care subsidy money when she first opened. The checks were two months late, she said. I said this is my job, Stacconi said. I cant tell my landlord Im going to be two months late because you havent paid me. Stacconi decided to move to Central New York and open a home daycare so she could earn a living while taking care of her granddaughter. The inspections were hard, costly, and complicated by the fact that she was renting. She made fixes to one place only to have to move, she said. Three years in, Stacconi has figured out how to make ends meet. She loves the work of taking care of the kids and getting to spend time with her granddaughter. But the paperwork and bureaucracy is too much, she said. She will close up shop when her granddaughter ages out, she said. Its amazing to see these children grow When Syracuse.com presented the county with stories of how long it takes some providers to get paid, Onondaga County CFO Steve Morgan said he would look into at least one solution. He said the county could set up an email inbox for child-care subsidy questions, which might be easier than trying to get through on the phone. Morgan also said the county is unable to use electronic payment for child-care subsidies because the state does not allow it. If the state changed that rule, providers would get paid faster, he said, and the county already uses that system for making other payments. The state could make that change, as well as some others to child-care regulations without impacting child safety. I really feel that our government needs to work to simplify and clarify the regulatory landscape, said Anne Napper, the executive director of Childcare Solutions, an agency serving Onondaga and Cayuga county child-care providers and parents. Her agency works with providers to get through the process, but its a task that can always benefit from more helpers. Williams and Stacconi said it would help, too, if they had mentors who were in the business who could teach them some of the tricks before they learn by failing or falling behind on their bills. Williams is watching a few babies part-time, and some kids before and after school. That keeps her expenses low enough. She wants to keep doing the work she loves. Its amazing to see these children grow. It just leaves me so stinking happy, she said. In August, Williams was watching more children and paying a friend to help. She was frustrated but still full of hope. The kids were wearing white coats and learning what dentists do. Some were making up their own game with colored balls. Later, they would nap in a room where this is stenciled on the wall: Dream big little one. Marnie Eisenstadt writes about people and public affairs in Central New York. Contact her anytime email | Twitter| Facebook | 315-470-2246. DeWitt, N.Y. An ex-girlfriend of a former Syracuse man now facing attempted murder charges for shooting three college students in Vermont once reported him to the police over his behavior and harassing messages, according to a DeWitt police report. Jason Eaton, 48, has been charged with three counts of attempted murder for shooting the 20-year-old college students of Palestinian descent on Saturday in Burlington, Vt., police said. He pleaded not guilty Monday and is being held without bail. Syracuse, N.Y. Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh is facing skepticism from some city lawmakers over his proposal to establish a new public authority that would tackle housing market challenges. At a Syracuse Common Council committee meeting held Monday, councilors told Walsh administration officials they want to see more details regarding a proposed housing trust that could lend or grant money for housing projects. Administration officials view the trust, which would be governed by an appointed board of directors, as a key tool in addressing the citys shortage of safe and affordable residences. Establishing the housing trust requires the councils authorization, but several councilors expressed concern about how the new entity would be funded, saying a concrete plan for recurring revenue needs to be established. The worse thing we can do is create a government program that will run out of money, said Councilor Pat Hogan, who chairs the economic development committee. Administration officials are exploring several funding sources for the trust. The state has pledged $5 million for the city to use as seed money, and officials are looking for other one-time infusions to build on those funds such as the sale of real estate the city already owns, said Michelle Sczpanski, the citys deputy commissioner of neighborhood development. But there also may be a need for funding out of the citys annual budget. Hogan asked if the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency could allocate some of its funds toward the trust. Sczpanski said there are discussions with that agencys leadership about doing that. At this point, though, a budget for the trust is not known because that would largely be determined by its board of directors. Councilor Rasheada Caldwell said she wants to know more about the parameters tied to the $5 million state grant. Im really struggling with this, she said. We dont know what the governor is going to come back and say. Michael Collins, the citys neighborhood and business development commissioner, said the state funds were included in the state budget in response to a request from the city specifically for help in establishing a housing trust. Specific details on how the money can be spent could be worked out after the trust is legally established and a board is seated. Hogan requested the administration provide council with all of the documentation related to the state funding, which Collins said they will do. Councilors also asked if a city housing trust would duplicate services and potentially compete for state and federal funding with existing nonprofit housing organizations working in Syracuse, such as Home HeadQuarters, Housing Visions and the Greater Syracuse Land Bank. The trust fund is looking to raise capital that goes alongside the capital that our development partners currently have access to, Collins said. Were looking for the money ... that is not currently available to any developers so that we can go in and make good projects better and projects that cant quite get off the ground, get off the ground, he added. Hogan asked if language could be put into the councils authorization for the trust fund that narrows where the trust fund could apply for outside funding, which Collins said could be done. Administration officials are looking for the council to authorize the housing trust in December, which would allow them to file incorporation paperwork with the state Department of State in time to begin assembling the trusts board in January. The proposal would create a five-member board. Members would include the common council president, another councilor or a council designee, a member who would be jointly appointed by the council and the mayor, and two mayoral appointments. With the number of unknowns and requests made at Mondays meeting, the council wont be ready to vote on the housing trust proposal at its Dec. 4 meeting, Hogan said following the committee session. Whether it can be ready for the Dec. 18 meeting depends on how comfortable the councilors are with the information they receive in the next couple of weeks. City reporter Jeremy Boyer can be reached at jboyer@syracuse.com, (315) 657-5673, Twitter or Facebook. In three weeks, a Rescue Mission truck will pull up to Ralph Rotellas Discount Shoe Repair in downtown Syracuse. It will pick up the final load of shoes for one of Central New Yorks biggest seasonal charitable endeavors: Ralphys Christmas Shoe Drive. Rotella has already received about 30,000 pairs of donated shoes, boots, sandals and other footwear for the 2023 season. But hes happy to take more at his shop at 116 E. Washington St. ahead of the big pickup day on Dec. 14. We have a lot of shoes, Rotella said. But we can use more kids shoes. Thats always the hardest thing, getting kids shoes. And mens shoes. We always get more womens shoes than mens and kids. The shoes are donated to the Syracuse Rescue Mission, which gives many to the homeless people and other clients it serves, and sells others to raise money in its Thrifty Shopper stores. Any that cant be used, usually fewer than 10%, are recycled. This is Rotellas 13th year coordinating the drive. He personally cleans and repairs the shoes in his spare time (when hes not doing so for paying customers), and donates space in his shop for the donations. The Rescue Mission comes out every three months during the year to pick up the repaired shoes. Rotellas first shoe drive in 2010 collected 65 pairs. Two years ago, in the wake of the Covid pandemic, Rotellas shoe drive collected a record 37,370 pairs. Ralph Rotella with bags of donated shoes for the annual Christmas Shoe Drive at his shop, Discount Shoe repair at 116 E. Washington St. in downtown Syracuse.Don Cazentre Rotellas shoe drive is tied to the Christmas season, but the shop collects shoes all year. We had the (final) Rescue Mission pick-up at 10 a.m. last year, and by 11 a.m. we already had new donations, said Nick Lovuolo, one of the volunteers who helps Rotella (along with his Dalmatian, Westley). Rotella, who was 16 when he immigrated from Italy to Syracuse with his family in 1970, has often told about how he was inspired to start the shoe drive: He once saw a homeless person outside his shop window walking in the cold with his toe sticking out of his shoe and decided to help him out. Thats what inspires another of Rotellas volunteer helpers, Mary Beth Gusano. She takes the bus from her home on James Street in Syracuse to help out. Look, I have shoes on my feet, she said. So Im good. But there are people who dont. Thats why were here. Don Cazentre writes for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook. Utica, N.Y. The Utica City School District terminated longtime superintendent Bruce Karam on Monday, a week after he was arrested and charged with using public money to support political campaigns and a charity. School board members voted 5-2 in favor of terminating Karam at a special meeting Monday afternoon. Karam served for more than a decade as superintendent until he was placed on administrative leave in October 2022. The board said in a statement Monday that Karam had breached the trust of the community and his conduct would render it impossible for him to continue as superintendent. By Rick Pfeiffer | Niagara Gazette, Niagara Falls It took a joint team of local, state and federal investigators less than 12 hours to determine that what had first been reported as a possible terrorist attack on the Rainbow Bridge border crossing was actually a horrific car crash. But it may be weeks or months if ever before members of the Niagara Falls Police Departments Crash Management Unit determine what caused a 2022 Bentley Flying Spur to go airborne on the bridge, crash and explode, killing a Grand Island couple. The debris field on the bridge covered a wide area on the customs inspection side of the crossing. The luxury car exploded into thousands of parts, enough to fill a construction dumpster. Investigators said much of the vehicle was incinerated. Among the parts yet to be found is the cars black box data recorder. Investigators pointed out that the data recorders in automobiles, unlike airplanes, are not built to withstand explosions and fire. One investigator also said that the data would be of limited value in determining what caused the crash. The two prevailing theories are a possible medical emergency involving the driver, the other is a catastrophic mechanical failure. Investigators said they have been in touch with the cars manufacturer, Bentley Motors. They said they are hopeful a Bentley representative may join the investigation. Autopsies are being performed on both victims but its not clear what information that may yield. Police identified the couple as Kurt P. Villani and Monica Villani, both 53, of Grand Island. The family owns Guis Lumber and seven Ace Hardware stores in Western New York. They were reportedly on their way to Toronto to attend a concert at the time of the crash. A five-second clip of video, released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and taken by a bridge security camera, shows the Villanis car speeding onto the entrance of the bridge, striking a concrete barrier and then going airborne. The video did not show the impact of the vehicle in front of the inspection booths. But a second video clip, obtained by news media organizations, shows a fireball shooting into the air from in front of the inspection booths. Witnesses on the bridge said the car pancaked onto the plaza pavement, exploding in a ball of flames and smoke that destroyed a CBP inspection booth. A CPB officer inside the booth escaped the destruction with only minor injuries. Investigators said an early review of video evidence amassed by the Niagara Intelligence & Crime Analysis Center (NICAC) in the Falls shows the Villanis car traveling down Niagara Street toward the bridge. The vehicle is traveling at a very high rate of speed and as it comes on to the bridge plaza, on the toll booth side, where cars were backed up entering into Canada, it veers sharply into a concrete barrier, which sends it flying over an 8-foot high chain link fence. It looks like (the driver) was trying to avoid hitting the other cars on the bridge, an investigator, who requested anonymity to discuss a still ongoing investigation, said. Falls Mayor Robert Restaino said the Villanis had been family friends for decades. We knew Kurt and Monica and his dad and mom, and this was just such a tragedy, Restaino said. ___ (c)2023 the Niagara Gazette (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) Visit the Niagara Gazette (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) at www.niagara-gazette.com An Upstate New York cop who survived a shooting on the job more than a decade ago has been named Ithacas new police chief. The City of Ithaca announced Monday that Thomas Kelly, a lieutenant in the Schenectady Police Department, will take over as chief of the Ithaca Police Department on Dec. 18. The appointment is contingent on the city councils Dec. 6 vote after interviewing two finalists for the position and considering input from the department, the search committee, and community members. Lt. Kelly has 23 years of experience in policing in Schenectady, including as a detective involved with the Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) program, which introduced new tactics in successful homicide investigations, and partnered with state-wide agencies on crime investigations. Kelly has a Master of Public Administration from the University at Albany, is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, and has a Graduate Certificate in Cyber/Computer Forensics from the University of Louisville. Kelly and another Schenectady officer were shot in the line of duty in February 2010 while trying to execute a search warrant at a private residence, according to Spectrum News. Their bulletproof vests prevented more serious injuries, and Schenectady police praised them for not firing back at the 24-year-old male suspect, showing great restraint. The suspect was later convicted of attempted aggravated murder and was sentenced to 40 years to life in state prison, according to the Times Union. Ithacas Acting Police Chief Ted Schwartz would return to lieutenant of investigations if the council votes to approve Kelly for the job, outgoing Ithaca Mayor Laura Lewis said Monday. Kelly will be paid $150,000 a year with a $50,000 signing bonus paid evenly over 3 years, according to the Times Union. TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) Israel and Hamas agreed to extend their cease-fire for two more days past Monday, the Qatari government said, raising the prospect of a longer halt to their deadliest and most destructive war and further exchanges of militant-held hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. The announcement, made by Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid Al Ansary in a post on X, came on the final day of the original four-day truce between the warring sides. A fourth swap of hostages for prisoners under that deal was expected later Monday. Israel has said it would extend the cease-fire by one day for every 10 additional hostages released. After the announcement by Qatar a key mediator in the conflict, along with the United States and Egypt Hamas confirmed it had agreed to a two-day extension under the same terms. But Israel says it remains committed to crushing Hamas military capabilities and ending its 16-year rule over Gaza after its Oct. 7 attack into southern Israel. That would likely mean expanding a ground offensive from devastated northern Gaza to the south, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have crammed into United Nations shelters, and where dire conditions persist despite the increased delivery of aid under the truce. Israel will resume its operations with full force as soon as the current deal expires if Hamas does not agree to further hostage releases, government spokesperson Eylon Levy told reporters on Monday. Israel has said that, in addition to dismantling Hamas. freeing the rest of the captives is a top priority. So far, 58 hostages have been released during the current truce, including 39 Israelis. Before the truce, four hostages were freed, another was rescued and two were found dead inside Gaza. Israel has released 117 Palestinians from prison since the truce began. After weeks of national trauma over the roughly 240 people abducted by Hamas and other militants, scenes of the women and children reuniting with families have rallied Israelis behind calls to return those who remain in captivity. We can get all hostages back home. We have to keep pushing, two relatives of Abigail Edan, a 4-year-old girl and dual Israeli-American citizen who was released Sunday, said in a statement. Hamas and other militants could still be holding up to 175 hostages, enough to potentially extend the cease-fire for two and a half weeks. But those include a number of soldiers, and Hamas is likely to make much greater demands for their release. A THIRD RELEASE OF HOSTAGES AND PRISONERS On Sunday, Hamas freed 17 hostages, including 14 Israelis, and Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners the third such exchange under the truce. Most hostages appeared to be physically well, but 84-year-old Elma Avraham was airlifted to Israels Soroka Medical Center in life-threatening condition because of inadequate care, the hospital said. Avrahams daughter, Tali Amano, said her mother was hours from death when she was brought to the hospital. Avraham is currently sedated and has a breathing tube, but Amano said she told her of a new great grandchild who was born while she was in captivity. Avraham suffered from several chronic conditions that required regular medications but was stable before she was kidnapped, Amano said Monday. So far, 19 people of other nationalities have been freed during the truce, mostly Thai nationals. Many Thais work in Israel, largely as farm laborers. The Palestinian prisoners released were mostly teenagers accused of throwing stones and firebombs during confrontations with Israeli forces, or of less-serious offenses. Many Palestinians view prisoners held by Israel, including those implicated in attacks, as heroes resisting occupation. The freed hostages have mostly stayed out of the public eye, but details of their captivity have started to trickle out. Merav Raviv, whose three relatives were released Friday, said they had been fed irregularly and lost weight. One reported eating mainly bread and rice and sleeping on a makeshift bed of chairs pushed together. Hostages sometimes had to wait for hours to use the bathroom, she said. RESPITE IN GAZA More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, roughly two thirds of them women and minors, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. More than 1,200 people have been killed on the Israeli side, mostly civilians killed in the initial attack. At least 77 soldiers have been killed in Israels ground offensive. The calm from the truce allowed glimpses of the destruction wreaked by weeks of Israeli bombardment that leveled entire neighborhoods. Footage showed a complex of several dozen multistory residential buildings that had been pummeled into a landscape of wreckage in the northern town of Beit Hanoun. Nearly every building was destroyed or severely damaged, some reduced to concrete frames half-slumped over. At a nearby U.N. school, the buildings were intact but partially burned and riddled with holes. The Israeli assault has driven three-quarters of Gazas population from their homes, and now most of its 2.3 million people are crowded into the south. More than 1 million are living in U.N. shelters. The Israeli military has barred hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled south from returning north. Rain and wind added to the hardship of displaced Palestinians sheltering in the compound of Al-Aqsa hospital in central Gaza. Palestinians in coats baked flatbreads over a makeshift fire among tents set up on the muddy grounds. Alaa Mansour said the conditions are simply horrendous. My clothes are all wet and I am unable to change them. said Mansour, who is disabled. I have not drunk water for two days, and theres no bathroom to use. The U.N. says the truce made it possible to scale up the delivery of food, water and medicine to the largest volume since the start of the war. But the 160 to 200 trucks a day is still less than half what Gaza was importing before the fighting, even as humanitarian needs have soared. Long lines formed outside stations distributing cooking fuel, allowed in for the first time. Fuel for generators has been brought for key service providers, including hospitals, water and sanitation facilities, but bakeries have been unable to resume work, the U.N. said. Iyad Ghafary, a vendor in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, said many families were still unable to retrieve the dead from under the rubble left by Israeli airstrikes, and that local authorities werent equipped to deal with the level of destruction. Many say the aid is not nearly enough. Amani Taha, a widow and mother of three who fled northern Gaza, said she had only managed to get one canned meal from a U.N. distribution center since the cease-fire began. She said the crowds have overwhelmed local markets and gas stations as people try to stock up on basics. People were desperate and went out to buy whenever they could, she said. They are extremely worried that the war will return. The Taos News delivered to your Taos County address every week for a full year! We offer our lowest mail rates to zip codes in the county. Click Here to See if you Qualify. Plan includes unlimited website access and e-edition print replica online. Your auto pay plan will be conveniently renewed at the end of the subscription period. You may cancel at anytime. pms BHPian Join Date: Oct 2019 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 197 Thanked: 387 Times My New Hyundai Alcazar 1.5L Turbo-Petrol DCT Plan was to buy an SUV, an automatic for the ease of driving, getting in & out for all, better ground clearance to tackle the broken roads and lastly a good interior with some of the latest features. We are a family of 4 who do quite some long drives especially to Kerala and use boot space to the max. Honda City has kept us very happy in this department and this too became one of our selection criteria. With this started our search for the one that fits our needs and wish list. It finally ended up in Hyundai Alcazar. Went ahead with Turbo Petrol variant as I found it fun to drive, powerful, refined, feature loaded with attractive interiors. On the downside I was prepared for bad mileage, but to my surprise it wasnt that bad, maybe I kept the expectation very low Took delivery on 13th July and so far, it has run ~4400 Kms with two 1200 Kms long drive & rest within the city, mostly in B2B traffic. Model: 1.5 Litre Turbo Petrol, DCT Variant: Signature (O), Starry Night shade Dealership: Trident Hyundai, Indiranagar, Bengaluru Key Handover First drive to CCD near Hoskote Front and side profile Rear Profile Will try to pen down my initial ownership experience with the vehicle. Most of the Pros and Cons listed below are in comparison with the Honda City I had. Pardon shortcomings and oversights. Pros: Smooth & refined Engine: Very silent throughout the rev band. Powerful and responsive with no signs of struggle. A very silent cabin with no road & engine noise creeping in. This was a major highlight compared to Honda City and other cars I test drove. Very smooth shifting gearbox that one doesnt feel the shifts at all. This combo of DCT and Turbo Petrol delivers power of 159BHP that will put a smile on your face once you hit highways and low traffic. Though it comes with 3 drive modes (Eco, Comfort, Sport) all you need is Comfort to manage City and Highway traffic alike. By default the mode is set to Comfort every time you start the vehicle, something to my liking. Though I have driven it with 4 passengers and luggage, never felt the vehicle struggling prompting me to switch to manual or Sport mode. Nimble and easy to drive in the city. I could pretty much drive through and park in all the places I took my Honda City. Body roll is well contained, vehicle feels planted & stable even at speeds of 120Kmph. Till now didnt feel compromised moving out of a sedan. I dont do high speed cornering anyways. Loaded with safety aids & features some of which are not available in much expensive cars. Steering wheel is superbly designed, good to hold and ooze quality. Very light at low speeds and gives a sense of heaviness at higher speeds. In Honda, I felt the steering to be light even at higher speeds. Fit and finish of the interiors is one or two notch above its competitors. Though it doesnt provide any soft touch experience on the dash, it does makes it up for the finish, quality, ergonomic layout, sheer number of feel-good & useful features. Colour theme of brown and grey on the dash, door pads and seats really stand out and gives an overall luxury feel. Will be easier to maintain as well compared to beige. Boot Space is a healthy 180 litres with all 3 rows up, we can easily place 2 cabin bags. With the 3rd row folded you get 570 litres of space which is more than adequate for our needs. Ground clearance of 200mm is more than sufficient to manage any bad roads. Personally, felt the overall build quality to be impressive let it be the heaviness of doors, bonnet, sheet metal thickness, switches, gear lever, steering wheel, aircon vents, sunroof blind etc. Of course, cant comment on the crash ratings, but the vehicle gives a sense of safe and secure feeling inside out. Suspension is stiffer than Honda City; road undulations, joints on the flyovers, small potholes, humps etc are not felt inside at most speeds. Plus there is no bounciness that was prominent in Honda City. But bigger potholes one need to be slow and careful else the impact will be felt inside. Comfortable front & rear seats with spacious interiors. My mom and mom-in-law are very happy. They feel easier to get in and seated, more of a walk in experience. Excellent visibility all around, nothing really hampers. A-Pillars are similar to that of Honda City and will have some hinderance while taking sharp turns. Sidestep comes standard with Signature variant and useful only for really short people. But it will hamper the rest as it brushes against the calf while getting in & out. Ideally speaking this car doesn't require one. But it adds to overall looks. Alloys look very attractive to me and the 18 inch wheels fill that wheel well perfectly. I get 9-10KMPL in city traffic and 14-15 on Highways. This was a surprise as I was expecting it to be lower than this. Post first service am getting a mileage of 10KMPL consistently in the city though I havent changed my driving style or routes. The best mileage I got is 16.5KMPL during Kollam to Thenmala section (~90Kms) on my way to Bengaluru during an early morning drive. Cons: 3rd row seats are only for small kids. In my car its always folded and I use the space for luggage. Electric boot should have been provided; the door is very heavy to operate. Headlights should have been better, though its trio beam LED, the throw and focus is not great. I found no major difference between High and Low beam. Feel the halogens are more effective than these LEDs which look good only from outside with no purpose. There is a slight turbo lag below 2K RPM. In B2B drives, one might feel small jerkiness but its just a matter of getting used to. This 1.5 turbo picks up speed in no time! Sport Mode: I felt this to be an overkill and driving experience is not so pleasant esp in City drives. Engine keeps revving in the power band even when you slow down ready to accelerate again. Not so pleasing experience for me. Maybe during a steep incline and for those split second overtakes it might help. Otherwise, Comfort mode is more than enough for me. Lumbar Support should have been provided as I felt it lacking. I liked the earlier front grille as this facelift one looks more subdued and can be mistaken for a Creta. Except for Turbo Petrol, older grille is maintained in all other models, dont understand this logic. Alcazar exterior is more of love it or hate it design. In my opinion it looks better sidewise and from the rear. Fuel Switch and its placement under the driver seat is carried over from decades old Santro! This is poorly designed in an otherwise quality cabin. Only driver side window has auto up and down feature. Driver side power window switch alone is illuminated, cant digest this. When you are providing ambient lighting on all doors with 64 colour option, come on, Hyundai! 2nd row knee space is slightly limited for tall people, when you compare it with XUV, Harrier, Safari, Kushaq and the likes. This is primarily due to the tray table behind the front seats that eats up some space. I felt it to be un-necessary and its opening & closing isnt that easy as well, overall an ergonomic flaw. 99% of the owners might not use it as well. Missing ADAS: Am not a big fan of it, but yes when Seltos and Creta (soon to be) are going to have it, would have been good if it was in Alcazar as well. Probably the next version might have it. Missing auto wipers, not sure why Hyundai omitted this. Passenger seats should have been powered as well. Fuel efficiency of Turbo Petrol engine is very sensitive to the way we drive. Efficiency drops drastically if we use the Sport mode or do sudden bursts of acceleration frequently. Auto Start Stop must be switched off every time you start the car. There is no way to disable it permanently. But in Alcazar I felt it is not overtly sensitive and annoying. Alternatives Considered: We did TD of the below cars, before finalizing on Alcazar, these are just my personal observations, not to undermine any of them. Jeep Compass: +ves: Sturdy, excellent stability, interior fit & finish, looks. -ves: Cramped space, Boot capacity, slow gearbox, not so inspiring service network & support. Kia Carens: This was a good competitor but somehow didnt like its interior as compared to Alcazar, plus the absence of panoramic sunroof, whether we use it or not, family was clear . XUV700: Liked it, but the waiting period of 8-10 months quoted was disappointing. Also we werent sure about the overall fit & finish, after sales support etc.. Plus I felt its not so nimble or easy to drive in the city traffic. Also in terms of refinement and cabin noise insulation, Alcazar is way ahead. Tata Harrier/Tata Safari: Didnt venture out due to the not so encouraging feedback from some of my owner friends. Creta/Seltos: Though I liked both these products, boot space was a compromise for us. Somehow didnt feel as an upgrade from my City. Skoda Kushaq/VW Taigun: Really liked the drive, engine and gearbox! But the interiors, fit & finish were a letdown and above all the attitude of the Raja Skoda dealership folks. I felt the same attitude from TAFE Access as well couple of years back when I went to check the Karoq. If you go to their dealership in an uber or auto, you can forget any attention leave service MG Hector: Liked its interiors, fit & finish. But decided to look past due to the not so inspiring petrol automatic. Diesel manual on the other hand was pretty good! Family was impressed with the space, features and the cabin quality. Decision: Finally we decided to go with Alcazar as everyone liked it and it was a jack of all trades. I feel its an under-rated product that lost prominence in front of its more popular siblings Creta, Seltos, Carens, the barrage of SUVs from Tata and Mahindra which are more popular & butch looking. Also, Alcazar is an MUV with no 4-wheel drive option. Alcazar Turbo petrol might excite those who need that luxury & refined feeling, plush drive, occasional use of 7 seats or luggage space, exciting & powerful turbo engine with less worry on the mileage and lastly the Hyundai Service. For me its a miniature Tucson minus ADAS at much lesser price. . Its not a looker compared to others and doesn't stand out with this new grille now! Some of my friends and family didnt even knew that Hyundai has models named Alcazar & Tucson . Booking & Dealership Experience: Both me and wife had decided (I influenced) on the new Tucson and had booked it as well (Signature 2WD Diesel Variant) in Nov-2022 though it was above our budget. After 5 months of waiting, we decided not to shell so much and decided on Alcazar as we felt it meets most of our needs at half the price. We felt the vehicle to be value for money. My wife was more than happy as she was not completely aligned in spending so much and rather invest rest of the money. A wise decision indeed and no wonder, they are called the Better Halves . In fact my family got more impressed with the interiors of Alcazar than Tucson. That aside Tucson Diesel is a very good vehicle in its category but I felt its overpriced for a Hyundai tag and for what it offers! Same time I also came to know that they are stopping the 2.0ltr one and launching the new 1.5Ltr Turbo, this was bit concerning for me as I wasnt sure how the vehicle would perform considering its weight plus the DCT gearbox. Also, I had taken TDs on the 2.0ltr ones and was happy with that. I still went ahead and changed my booking from Tucson to Alcazar Turbo in May. Apart from the new engine & gearbox, the facelift came with some additional features like Idle Stop & Go (ISG), gear indication in the MID, seat belt indicator for all 5 passengers (on the roof), Alcazar logo projection, new front grille, Turbo badging (rear) & DCT badging (driver side), 3-point seat belt from the roof for the 2nd row middle passenger... There were no TD vehicles despite so many follow ups with multiple dealerships and I was clear to my SA that I would cancel my booking if am not happy with the turbo model. He was perfectly fine with it and reassured that all Kia/Hyundai Turbo ones are going be replaced with this new engine to comply with BS6 Phase 2 RDE (Real Driving Emissions) emission norms. Finally in the month of June he got me the new Verna Turbo petrol for a TD. I was really impressed with the drive and performance, also got me thinking whether to change the booking to Verna. Mind keep playing games . At this point, my wife put her foot down and said its going to be Alcazar, or we keep the Honda City for another year or two. All settled! Still my mind was wavering how would this engine perform on a heavier vehicle. Strangely there were no credible reviews on YouTube or any other media to get a clarity. And just a week before the delivery, SA got me the new Alcazar for TD and all my doubts were put to rest. The vehicle performed smoothly with 3 people on board, didnt experience any struggle. I had opted for Trident Hyundai Indiranagar dealership as it was closer to my place. Overall, it was a good experience right from the booking to the delivery and I must mention Mr Santhosh M who was my Sales Rep. He worked with me patiently to answer all my queries, arrange multiple test drives, documentation and making sure the delivery was smooth. Delivery was fixed on 13th July, evening. Dealership gave a chocolate box and an instant photograph of the ceremony which was nice. I distributed a sweet box to the dealership folks and gave a small gift to Santosh. Soon after delivery, heavy rains started. My first drive home was through those rains in B2B traffic, and it was indeed a task. This was the first automatic I was driving, plus I was lost in all those controls, features, and alerts! It took me a while to control & operate intermittent wiper speed, rear wiper, and experience the auto start stop function in midst of the maddening traffic. On-Road Price & Discounts: I took the car via ALD Corporate Lease which had a tie up with my company. On-road price was 24.56L. I got floor mats, perfume, mud guards, Ganesha idol as freebies. Features and Safety Equipment: There are lots of feel-good and useful safety features, will mention the ones that stood out for me and my family. In this regard, Alcazar was a major upgrade to us from our humble Honda City. In terms of features it was a giant leap into the future. Thankfully, all the features work as expected. 360 Camera: One of the best safety features and works flawlessly. Clarity of the visuals along with adaptive guidelines really stand out. Can choose multiple camera angles as well. Blind Spot Monitoring: Useful while taking turns, side camera visuals get projected on the MID based on the right or left indicators and the clarity is good. Though in slow speeds and narrow roads I would any day prefer activating 360 Cam. This covers the whole perimeter of the vehicle. Auto Hold: God send feature, no need to keep my foot on the brake pedals anymore. Driving has become more relaxed. Paddle Shifters: Haven't tried it much, never felt the need for it. But the levers provided are of good quality. Digital MID: I can safely say that it is one of the best digital instrument clusters in this side of 50L that is also shared with Tucson. Crystal clear display with lots of information. Directions from onboard MMI maps, compass, TPMS get displayed in MID. Dials changing colour with drive modes is cool. It also showcases a host of driving information and one can easily toggle through the info via the steering mounted switch. Loaded with 6 airbags, Hill Assist, Electronic Parking Brake, Tire Pressure Monitoring System, auto dimming mirrors, auto headlights, Idle Start Stop. Panoramic Sunroof: family loves it, and we used to keep the blinds open during the monsoon drives in Kerala. Rear Sun blinds: no need to put towels during sunny days. Ambient Lighting: This really makes a difference to the interiors and adds up to the luxury quotient. I didnt observe or gave importance to it during my test drives or showroom visits. But once we started using the car, realized it makes lot of difference to the cabin experience at nights, its more than a gimmick for me. My friends & family are in awe of that. Ventilated Seats: Again, a boon and should be there in all vehicles sold. Works very well. Electric Driver Seat, Tilt/Telescopic Steering: Super useful and helps in finding the right position quickly. Good range as well. Bose acoustics is good, and the infotainment screen is neatly integrated in the dash, I love it than the ones that stand out like a tablet and block the vision. Kudos to Hyundai to make it super intuitive and lag free. Connectivity: You have 1 fast charging USB type A port, a 12V socket and a wireless charging pad in the front. There is type A USB port for mobile connectivity (Android Auto, Car Play..) as well. You have 1 USB Type A mobile charging port for 2nd row passengers and 2 of them for the 3rd row. All of them are illuminated as well. Bluetooth and android auto connect seamlessly. I extensively use Android Auto for GMaps and YT music. Bluelink App: Remote engine start/stop, lock/unlock and host of features can be accessed via this mobile app. I really like the My Trips section of this app that shows day wise information of our trips, Kms traversed, Max and Min Speeds, Idle time, start and destination details. Its a good log of our trips and very accurate. Usage Pattern: Primary usage is home to office and back. A total of 25Kms commute through heavy traffic. Once in a quarter to my native in Kerala (1500 Kms to & fro). Build Quality, fit & finish, paint quality and panel gaps: Really good and hope everything ages well! Yet to observe any uneven panel gaps. Fit & finish overall is top notch. Wheels & Tyres: The wheels are of specs 215/55 R18 and it came with JK UX Royale tyres. Have no complaints so far. Driving Position & Ergonomics: Due to the powered driving seat and tilt/telescopic steering, one can easily nail down the best driving position. Once set, Alcazar gives a good all-round view from the drivers seat, front seats itself are very ergonomic and comfortable. Handling, On-Road behaviour: Very planted with excellent grip, I find it more stable than Honda City at all speeds. Niggles: There was a rattling sound coming from the front left wheel well while steering left or right. Took it to the service centre and it was basically tire hitting the loosened mud guard. They immediately found it out, tightened the mud guard and the sound was gone! Now this one is slightly tricky: Post 1st service, I feel the brake bite has gone down. Earlier, effectiveness was pronounced even with a short press of the pedal but now I had to go for a long press, and I feel the pedal has become bit spongy. I tried in vain to correct it with SC folks, but to them it is normal. With my insistence they kept the car with them for 2 days to check the brake pads and ABS. They also did brake bleeding, but still the issue is there. Am planning to take it to a different SC and see. This has slightly dented my confidence in Hyundai Service Centre folks. Other than that, we are happy with the purchase and pray & hope for a good long term ownership experience. Will keep updating here as the journey goes on. Have attached some snaps below, not all are of good quality, sorry for that. 3D Camera - Front View Boot Space with 3rd row seats folded 3D Cam - Night View, feed is good even in low light conditions 3D Cam - Side Camera Angle 3D Cam - Top View Angle Blind Spot Activation Blind Spot feed - this mobile snap doesnt do justice, in real, its very clear 'Alcazar' logo added in the facelift Comfort Mode in MID - white color is very appealing Eco Mode - Green color of dials Sport Mode - Red color dials. Also displayed are the various terrain modes Interesting one, I like this cube type display Ambient lighting, some 9 pre-defined shades are already there, in case you arent happy with that, pls choose something from the 64 palette range. Tray Table, not so useful, as it eats up some knee space plus made of hard plastic. This seems to be an ergonomic flaw to me. Ambient lighting inside the cabin Front view of the dash and controls Charging and Connectivity ports. Wireless charging pad as well Power window controls Compass displayed in the MID Trip details since refuel TPMS details, it shows the figures once you start driving only 2 Keys - Leather cover is aftermarket. Buttons in the key are for remote lock, unlock, engine start and boot open respectively. Blue tooth audio connected. DCT badging on the driver side Side by Side with Creta, Alcazar facelift doesnt look imposing I was using Honda City V MT, 2012 model and the itch to upgrade kicked in from last year. Honda ownership has been pretty stress free, and the car served me well for 11 years. iVtec engine has been a gem and the vehicle has never let me down barring minor cosmetic niggles. I would have kept the City for some more time had there been one more driver in the family.Plan was to buy an SUV, an automatic for the ease of driving, getting in & out for all, better ground clearance to tackle the broken roads and lastly a good interior with some of the latest features. We are a family of 4 who do quite some long drives especially to Kerala and use boot space to the max. Honda City has kept us very happy in this department and this too became one of our selection criteria.With this started our search for the one that fits our needs and wish list. It finally ended up in Hyundai Alcazar. Went ahead with Turbo Petrol variant as I found it fun to drive, powerful, refined, feature loaded with attractive interiors. On the downside I was prepared for bad mileage, but to my surprise it wasnt that bad, maybe I kept the expectation very lowTook delivery on 13th July and so far, it has run ~4400 Kms with two 1200 Kms long drive & rest within the city, mostly in B2B traffic.1.5 Litre Turbo Petrol, DCTSignature (O), Starry Night shadeTrident Hyundai, Indiranagar, BengaluruKey HandoverFirst drive to CCD near HoskoteFront and side profileRear ProfileWill try to pen down my initial ownership experience with the vehicle. Most of the Pros and Cons listed below are in comparison with the Honda City I had.Pardon shortcomings and oversights.We did TD of the below cars, before finalizing on Alcazar, these are just my personal observations, not to undermine any of them.+ves: Sturdy, excellent stability, interior fit & finish, looks. -ves: Cramped space, Boot capacity, slow gearbox, not so inspiring service network & support.This was a good competitor but somehow didnt like its interior as compared to Alcazar, plus the absence of panoramic sunroof, whether we use it or not, family was clearLiked it, but the waiting period of 8-10 months quoted was disappointing. Also we werent sure about the overall fit & finish, after sales support etc.. Plus I felt its not so nimble or easy to drive in the city traffic. Also in terms of refinement and cabin noise insulation, Alcazar is way ahead.Didnt venture out due to the not so encouraging feedback from some of my owner friends.Though I liked both these products, boot space was a compromise for us. Somehow didnt feel as an upgrade from my City.Really liked the drive, engine and gearbox! But the interiors, fit & finish were a letdown and above all the attitude of the Raja Skoda dealership folks. I felt the same attitude from TAFE Access as well couple of years back when I went to check the Karoq. If you go to their dealership in an uber or auto, you can forget any attention leave serviceLiked its interiors, fit & finish. But decided to look past due to the not so inspiring petrol automatic. Diesel manual on the other hand was pretty good! Family was impressed with the space, features and the cabin quality.Finally we decided to go with Alcazar as everyone liked it and it was a jack of all trades. I feel its an under-rated product that lost prominence in front of its more popular siblings Creta, Seltos, Carens, the barrage of SUVs from Tata and Mahindra which are more popular & butch looking. Also, Alcazar is an MUV with no 4-wheel drive option. Alcazar Turbo petrol might excite those who need that luxury & refined feeling, plush drive, occasional use of 7 seats or luggage space, exciting & powerful turbo engine with less worry on the mileage and lastly the Hyundai Service. For me its a miniature Tucson minus ADAS at much lesser price. .Its not a looker compared to others and doesn't stand out with this new grille now! Some of my friends and family didnt even knew that Hyundai has models named Alcazar & TucsonBoth me and wife had decided (I influenced) on the new Tucson and had booked it as well (Signature 2WD Diesel Variant) in Nov-2022 though it was above our budget. After 5 months of waiting, we decided not to shell so much and decided on Alcazar as we felt it meets most of our needs at half the price. We felt the vehicle to be value for money. My wife was more than happy as she was not completely aligned in spending so much and rather invest rest of the money. A wise decision indeed and no wonder, they are called the Better Halves. In fact my family got more impressed with the interiors of Alcazar than Tucson. That aside Tucson Diesel is a very good vehicle in its category but I felt its overpriced for a Hyundai tag and for what it offers!Same time I also came to know that they are stopping the 2.0ltr one and launching the new 1.5Ltr Turbo, this was bit concerning for me as I wasnt sure how the vehicle would perform considering its weight plus the DCT gearbox. Also, I had taken TDs on the 2.0ltr ones and was happy with that. I still went ahead and changed my booking from Tucson to Alcazar Turbo in May.Apart from the new engine & gearbox, the facelift came with some additional features like Idle Stop & Go (ISG), gear indication in the MID, seat belt indicator for all 5 passengers (on the roof), Alcazar logo projection, new front grille, Turbo badging (rear) & DCT badging (driver side), 3-point seat belt from the roof for the 2nd row middle passenger...There were no TD vehicles despite so many follow ups with multiple dealerships and I was clear to my SA that I would cancel my booking if am not happy with the turbo model. He was perfectly fine with it and reassured that all Kia/Hyundai Turbo ones are going be replaced with this new engine to comply with BS6 Phase 2 RDE (Real Driving Emissions) emission norms.Finally in the month of June he got me the new Verna Turbo petrol for a TD. I was really impressed with the drive and performance, also got me thinking whether to change the booking to Verna. Mind keep playing games. At this point, my wife put her foot down and said its going to be Alcazar, or we keep the Honda City for another year or two. All settled!Still my mind was wavering how would this engine perform on a heavier vehicle. Strangely there were no credible reviews on YouTube or any other media to get a clarity. And just a week before the delivery, SA got me the new Alcazar for TD and all my doubts were put to rest. The vehicle performed smoothly with 3 people on board, didnt experience any struggle.I had opted for Trident Hyundai Indiranagar dealership as it was closer to my place. Overall, it was a good experience right from the booking to the delivery and I must mention Mr Santhosh M who was my Sales Rep. He worked with me patiently to answer all my queries, arrange multiple test drives, documentation and making sure the delivery was smooth.Delivery was fixed on 13th July, evening.Dealership gave a chocolate box and an instant photograph of the ceremony which was nice. I distributed a sweet box to the dealership folks and gave a small gift to Santosh.Soon after delivery, heavy rains started. My first drive home was through those rains in B2B traffic, and it was indeed a task. This was the first automatic I was driving, plus I was lost in all those controls, features, and alerts! It took me a while to control & operate intermittent wiper speed, rear wiper, and experience the auto start stop function in midst of the maddening traffic.I took the car via ALD Corporate Lease which had a tie up with my company. On-road price was 24.56L. I got floor mats, perfume, mud guards, Ganesha idol as freebies.There are lots of feel-good and useful safety features, will mention the ones that stood out for me and my family. In this regard, Alcazar was a major upgrade to us from our humble Honda City. In terms of features it was a giant leap into the future.Thankfully, all the features work as expected.Primary usage is home to office and back. A total of 25Kms commute through heavy traffic. Once in a quarter to my native in Kerala (1500 Kms to & fro).Really good and hope everything ages well! Yet to observe any uneven panel gaps. Fit & finish overall is top notch.The wheels are of specs 215/55 R18 and it came with JK UX Royale tyres. Have no complaints so far.Due to the powered driving seat and tilt/telescopic steering, one can easily nail down the best driving position. Once set, Alcazar gives a good all-round view from the drivers seat, front seats itself are very ergonomic and comfortable.Very planted with excellent grip, I find it more stable than Honda City at all speeds.Other than that, we are happy with the purchase and pray & hope for a good long term ownership experience. Will keep updating here as the journey goes on.Have attached some snaps below, not all are of good quality, sorry for that.3D Camera - Front ViewBoot Space with 3rd row seats folded3D Cam - Night View, feed is good even in low light conditions3D Cam - Side Camera Angle3D Cam - Top View AngleBlind Spot ActivationBlind Spot feed - this mobile snap doesnt do justice, in real, its very clear'Alcazar' logo added in the faceliftComfort Mode in MID - white color is very appealingEco Mode - Green color of dialsSport Mode - Red color dials. Also displayed are the various terrain modesInteresting one, I like this cube type displayAmbient lighting, some 9 pre-defined shades are already there, in case you arent happy with that, pls choose something from the 64 palette range.Tray Table, not so useful, as it eats up some knee space plus made of hard plastic. This seems to be an ergonomic flaw to me.Ambient lighting inside the cabinFront view of the dash and controlsCharging and Connectivity ports. Wireless charging pad as wellPower window controlsCompass displayed in the MIDTrip details since refuelTPMS details, it shows the figures once you start driving only2 Keys - Leather cover is aftermarket. Buttons in the key are for remote lock, unlock, engine start and boot open respectively.Blue tooth audio connected.DCT badging on the driver sideSide by Side with Creta, Alcazar facelift doesnt look imposing Last edited by pms : 25th November 2023 at 18:47 . GeneralJazz BHPian Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: TN38/KL58/KL07 Posts: 607 Thanked: 3,791 Times View My Garage Re: My Travel Diary | Chasing the Southern Sun | A 1500-Km Journey Along India's Southern Coastline Trivandrum Trivandrum is the southernmost district of Kerala and happens to be its capital city. It is one of the largest cities in Kerala and a treasure trove of places to see and explore. Despite its attractions, we've only visited a couple of times before. Why? Trivandrum is approximately 450 kms from our home-town, making it a day's journey to get there. It takes more than 13 hours to cover the distance via the laughable 'highways' we have here. In comparison, the 500-km stretch from Coimbatore to Chennai can be easily covered in around 9 hours! Interestingly, it was the first time in my life that I encountered a language barrier within Kerala! Somewhere near Parassala, we stopped by the roadside to ask for directions. The person could barely understand my Malayalam! I had to switch to a more neutral Ernakulam/central Kerala slang/ dialect to communicate with him! Trivandrum holds historical significance as the erstwhile capital of the Travancore Kingdom. Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple was a central religious and patronage focal point for the Travancore royal family. Despite the cessation of the monarchy in 1949, the Travancore House, the former royal residence, remains a cultural landmark. The Travancore Kingdom, established by Maharaja Marthanda Varma in 1729. One of Marthanda Varma's notable military achievements occurred at the Battle of Colachel in 1741. In this decisive battle, Travancore forces, led by Marthanda Varma, defeated the Dutch East India Company, marking a significant victory. We were in Trivandrum for about 4 days and managed to squeeze in a few spots between our personal errands. Perumathura Beach The beach is right next to the Perumathura bridge, and we were able to drive all the way down, stopping just before the sands started. There appeared to be some construction underway, possibly for a fishing harbour. We spent some time exploring the beach and relaxing after a taxing day, enjoying the cool evening sea breeze. We stayed at the beach until it got really dark, after which we made our way back to the Rapid. Mangrove Village Adventures This is a kayaking and water adventures provider located a few kilometers from Chathannoor. They offer a wide variety of packages for different water sports. We opted for the morning 2-hour kayak ride, starting at 7 am. Here's an interesting trivia: the river we were kayaking on was the Ithikkara River. The famous outlaw Ithikkara Pakki hailed from around here. Known for robbing the rich and giving to the poor, he was a South Indian Robin Hood. Ithikkara Pakki was a close friend of the legendary outlaw Kayamkulam Kochunni. The duo lived during the British rule when the Travancore kingdom was merely a puppet state of the colonial powers, mistreating the lower class terribly. Upon arrival, we learned that we were the only ones registered for the morning session, so we had the entire place to ourselves! After a brief but thorough session on how to paddle and navigate a kayak, along with safety instructions and some basic kayak balancing trials on land, we were finally launched into the river. Once on the water, we were immediately struck by the serene silence of the area. While there are a few adventure providers nearby, being a working day meant we had the whole area to ourselves. Our instructor doubled as our guide, navigating in a solo kayak ahead of us as we paddled in a two-seater kayak. After some initial struggle with coordination, we eventually managed to synchronize our rowing patterns. The initial stretch of our ride was downstream, and with a strong current, we had a lot of fun paddling along the river. Soon, we found ourselves surrounded by thick mangrove forests, and our guide expertly navigated us through some narrow sections. Our guide took us through some really narrow but beautiful (and occasionally scary) sections. What really amused us was that he knew the exact spot to stop and what angle to pose to get that 'perfect' Instagram shot! He was very enthusiastically guiding us and making us pose holding hands, Korean heart symbols, transition poses, and whatnot. It speaks volumes about the real purpose of why people travel! It's really sad that people nowadays are more concerned about the perfect pose and shot than actually enjoying the travel and appreciating the scenery. We had to inform him multiple times that neither of us were into social media, and we barely have an Instagram profile! After 2+ hours of exploring the mangrove forests, it was finally time to return to base. We had explored some open stretches of water, narrow 'trails,' run aground on some shallow areas, gotten our paddles stuck in the mud, cramped up from shoulders to abs to calves, and even encountered some prickly bushes. It was around 9:30 am by now, and the energy bars we had in the morning had long since burned away. We were exhausted and happily made our way back to the jetty when we encountered the toughest section yet. Remember, I had mentioned the strong current that helped us paddle? Well, now we had to paddle the last 100m upstream against the current. This was without a doubt the toughest part of the ride. The current was so strong that even stopping for a few seconds would have us drifting backward! Paddling at full strength, we were barely moving forward. Exhausted, famished, and sore all over, we were all but ready to give up. But our guide paddled right next to us and spoke the magic words that re-energized us: "There's a fantastic restaurant nearby!" Those few words sent us into overdrive, and we paddled like we had never paddled before! He kept our spirits up by naming the delicious dishes that were available there. After what seemed like an eternity, we finally reached the jetty. Soaking wet and drained, we collapsed onto some nearby benches to catch our breath. They offered us some water, which we gratefully accepted. A bottle of Pepsi from a shop nearby gave us enough of a boost to make it to the Rapid and drive over to the restaurant. Perumathura Beach is a small beach located near Attingal, situated at the junction between the Arabian Sea and the Vamanapuram River. Perhaps not as popular as other beaches in the district, it was nearly empty when we arrived. We had hoped to reach in time for the sunset, but the narrow roads were quite congested, and we ended up catching a glimpse of the sunset on the way.The beach is right next to the Perumathura bridge, and we were able to drive all the way down, stopping just before the sands started. There appeared to be some construction underway, possibly for a fishing harbour. We spent some time exploring the beach and relaxing after a taxing day, enjoying the cool evening sea breeze. We stayed at the beach until it got really dark, after which we made our way back to the Rapid.Once on the water, we were immediately struck by the serene silence of the area. While there are a few adventure providers nearby, being a working day meant we had the whole area to ourselves. Our instructor doubled as our guide, navigating in a solo kayak ahead of us as we paddled in a two-seater kayak. After some initial struggle with coordination, we eventually managed to synchronize our rowing patterns. The initial stretch of our ride was downstream, and with a strong current, we had a lot of fun paddling along the river. Soon, we found ourselves surrounded by thick mangrove forests, and our guide expertly navigated us through some narrow sections.Our guide took us through some really narrow but beautiful (and occasionally scary) sections. What really amused us was that he knew the exact spot to stop and what angle to pose to get that 'perfect' Instagram shot! He was very enthusiastically guiding us and making us pose holding hands, Korean heart symbols, transition poses, and whatnot. It speaks volumes about the real purpose of why people travel! It's really sad that people nowadays are more concerned about the perfect pose and shot than actually enjoying the travel and appreciating the scenery. We had to inform him multiple times that neither of us were into social media, and we barely have an Instagram profile!After 2+ hours of exploring the mangrove forests, it was finally time to return to base. We had explored some open stretches of water, narrow 'trails,' run aground on some shallow areas, gotten our paddles stuck in the mud, cramped up from shoulders to abs to calves, and even encountered some prickly bushes. It was around 9:30 am by now, and the energy bars we had in the morning had long since burned away. We were exhausted and happily made our way back to the jetty when we encountered the toughest section yet.Remember, I had mentioned the strong current that helped us paddle? Well, now we had to paddle the last 100m upstream against the current. This was without a doubt the toughest part of the ride. The current was so strong that even stopping for a few seconds would have us drifting backward! Paddling at full strength, we were barely moving forward. Exhausted, famished, and sore all over, we were all but ready to give up. But our guide paddled right next to us and spoke the magic words that re-energized us: "There's a fantastic restaurant nearby!" Those few words sent us into overdrive, and we paddled like we had never paddled before! He kept our spirits up by naming the delicious dishes that were available there.After what seemed like an eternity, we finally reached the jetty. Soaking wet and drained, we collapsed onto some nearby benches to catch our breath. They offered us some water, which we gratefully accepted. A bottle of Pepsi from a shop nearby gave us enough of a boost to make it to the Rapid and drive over to the restaurant. Jatayu Earth's Center From the center entrance, you can either take a cable car to the top or walk and climb all the way. There's ample parking space available near the entrance. Just as we arrived here, I immediately noticed some changes since my last visit around 4 years ago. The upkeep has definitely gone down. Plants were overgrown, there's some trash strewn about in the parking area, and the ticket purchase process is a bit of a mess. Tickets have to be purchased in a two-step process, with around 40% payable at the entrance in cash only, and the rest of the amount to be paid at a counter inside, which can be paid digitally (perhaps some kind of tax workaround). Earlier, we were given a wristband that we could swipe at the entrance to the cable car, and the entire facility felt like an airport. Now, it's just another tourist spot. We were made to wait in multiple lines at multiple spots, and nothing felt seamless. Also, even though it wasn't very crowded, they were cramming as many people as they could into the cable cars, making it a very uncomfortable ride to the top. At the top, we spent time walking around the magnificent structure, taking in the scenic beauty of the green hills. The statue is incredibly well-made, with great attention to detail the feathers and claws look very realistic! Ample staff were on hand to manage the crowd, which was necessary as people kept trying to climb onto the sculpture for photos. After exploring all around, we made our way back to the cable car terminal, where thankfully, we got a car all to ourselves on the way down. https://youtu.be/Aj_78Mxj7F8 Jatayu Earth's Center is located in Chadayamangalam, in the Kollam district. The center is named after Jatayu, the eagle from the Ramayanam. This can be confusing because in school, we were taught that Jatayu is the king of vultures. There is also a theory suggesting that Jatayu and his brother Sampati were warriors who had an eagle/vulture as their emblem/crest. Anyways, the highlight of the center is the huge 21m tall eagle statue at the top of the hill, which is the largest bird sculpture in India.From the center entrance, you can either take a cable car to the top or walk and climb all the way. There's ample parking space available near the entrance. Just as we arrived here, I immediately noticed some changes since my last visit around 4 years ago. The upkeep has definitely gone down. Plants were overgrown, there's some trash strewn about in the parking area, and the ticket purchase process is a bit of a mess. Tickets have to be purchased in a two-step process, with around 40% payable at the entrance in cash only, and the rest of the amount to be paid at a counter inside, which can be paid digitally (perhaps some kind of tax workaround). Earlier, we were given a wristband that we could swipe at the entrance to the cable car, and the entire facility felt like an airport. Now, it's just another tourist spot. We were made to wait in multiple lines at multiple spots, and nothing felt seamless. Also, even though it wasn't very crowded, they were cramming as many people as they could into the cable cars, making it a very uncomfortable ride to the top.At the top, we spent time walking around the magnificent structure, taking in the scenic beauty of the green hills. The statue is incredibly well-made, with great attention to detail the feathers and claws look very realistic! Ample staff were on hand to manage the crowd, which was necessary as people kept trying to climb onto the sculpture for photos. After exploring all around, we made our way back to the cable car terminal, where thankfully, we got a car all to ourselves on the way down. Varkala - Helipad, Cliff and Beach Varkala is a unique blend of cliff and beach. We had encountered the terms "cliff" and "beach" used interchangeably in various descriptions of the place, and it wasn't until we set foot here that we fully grasped the concept. There's a tall cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea, featuring a helipad at the center and beaches on either side, along with a small beach at the base. The helipad serves as a parking lot for visitors. Two paths lead from the helipad down to the beaches, both lined with homestays, hotels, stalls, shops, tattoo parlors, cafes, and assorted stores, creating a bargain hunter's paradise. We thoroughly enjoyed our walk along these paths, taking in the sights of fancy stores, beautiful homestays, catching the aroma of food and coffee, all while witnessing the sun setting into the Arabian Sea in a fiery display of colors! Varkala Cliff appeared to be the most "happening" area, teeming with homestays and hostels, offering numerous options for backpackers. The vicinity is a host for many late-night party cafes and serves as an unofficial hub for the Bob Marley/Snoop Dogg fans (cough cough*). Given that neither of us was interested in anything too "happening," we opted for a homestay a bit away from the cliff. We walked down to the beach to watch the beautiful sunset. The beach was bustling with activity, including a group of "influencers." We literally saw a couple set up a ring light and repeat the same pose/dance step over and over for well over an hour, all to capture that perfect 30-second reel video! Sheesh! Enjoy the sunset like a normal human being! We sat down on the cool black sands for a long time, well past sunset until it started to get really dark. Did you notice anything strange about the sands? They're black! These are the famous black sands of Varkala, due to the presence of Thorium oxide. We would have stayed there longer, but it started to drizzle, forcing us to make our way back up the cliff. Soon, the drizzle turned into an all-out storm, downpour, thunder, and all! Lightning and thunder on a beach with Thor-ium sands? What a Marvel-ous evening indeed! We had dinner from one of the cafes on the cliff. Excellent food while watching the lightning light up the Arabian Sea! Easily one of the best dinners we ever had! Bonus pic: While taking a stroll around the helipad the next day, we spotted a driving school vehicle teaching beginners. What a perfect location to learn driving! There's already a huge 'H' printed on the ground to practice! Plus, it's at the very edge of the cliff, so if you're that bad, Darwin and Newton will ensure you won't drive again! Bonus Pic 2: While running some personal errands around Attingal, we spotted this house. Older Malayalam movie fans would be able to identify this house without zooming into the picture. This house belonged to Abdul Khader, also called Nithyaharitha Nayakan or Evergreen Hero, the Malayalam movie legend Prem Nazir. Varkala is a unique blend of cliff and beach. We had encountered the terms "cliff" and "beach" used interchangeably in various descriptions of the place, and it wasn't until we set foot here that we fully grasped the concept. There's a tall cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea, featuring a helipad at the center and beaches on either side, along with a small beach at the base. The helipad serves as a parking lot for visitors.Two paths lead from the helipad down to the beaches, both lined with homestays, hotels, stalls, shops, tattoo parlors, cafes, and assorted stores, creating a bargain hunter's paradise. We thoroughly enjoyed our walk along these paths, taking in the sights of fancy stores, beautiful homestays, catching the aroma of food and coffee, all while witnessing the sun setting into the Arabian Sea in a fiery display of colors!Varkala Cliff appeared to be the most "happening" area, teeming with homestays and hostels, offering numerous options for backpackers. The vicinity is a host for many late-night party cafes and serves as an unofficial hub for the Bob Marley/Snoop Dogg fans (cough cough*). Given that neither of us was interested in anything too "happening," we opted for a homestay a bit away from the cliff.We walked down to the beach to watch the beautiful sunset. The beach was bustling with activity, including a group of "influencers." We literally saw a couple set up a ring light and repeat the same pose/dance step over and over for well over an hour, all to capture that perfect 30-second reel video! Sheesh! Enjoy the sunset like a normal human being!We sat down on the cool black sands for a long time, well past sunset until it started to get really dark. Did you notice anything strange about the sands? They're black! These are the famous black sands of Varkala, due to the presence of Thorium oxide. We would have stayed there longer, but it started to drizzle, forcing us to make our way back up the cliff. Soon, the drizzle turned into an all-out storm, downpour, thunder, and all! Lightning and thunder on a beach with Thor-ium sands? What a Marvel-ous evening indeed!We had dinner from one of the cafes on the cliff. Excellent food while watching the lightning light up the Arabian Sea! Easily one of the best dinners we ever had!Bonus pic: While taking a stroll around the helipad the next day, we spotted a driving school vehicle teaching beginners. What a perfect location to learn driving! There's already a huge 'H' printed on the ground to practice! Plus, it's at the very edge of the cliff, so if you're that bad, Darwin and Newton will ensure you won't drive again!Bonus Pic 2: While running some personal errands around Attingal, we spotted this house. Older Malayalam movie fans would be able to identify this house without zooming into the picture. This house belonged to Abdul Khader, also called Nithyaharitha Nayakan or Evergreen Hero, the Malayalam movie legend Prem Nazir. Last edited by GeneralJazz : 23rd November 2023 at 09:50 . At a glance Expert's Rating Pros Customizable art frame bezel Bright QLED picture with matte finish Tizen smart platform Large range of sizes Cons One Connect tuner box wont suit everyone No Dolby Vision Our Verdict The Frame range has been a huge hit for Samsung, and its easy to see why. This well-equipped 4K smart TV delivers the goods when it comes to everyday TV watching, and can double as a work of art when theres nothing on the box. Best Prices Today: Samsung The Frame (2023) Retailer Price $597.99 View Deal Product Price The Frame is a Samsung 4K smart TV that can double as artwork when hung on the wall, thanks to a unique matte screen and clip-on picture frame bezels. Despite this obvious novelty, The Frame doesnt compromise when it comes to big-screen basics. This is a fully-fledged QLED with an excellent specification. The Samsung Frame comes into its own when you augment it with an optional artwork-style frame. 2023 updates to The Frame take some unpacking because theyre less than obvious. The 32-inch Frame, the only 1080p HD iteration of the lifestyle screen, promises an improved Art Mode experience, thanks to the addition of a motion sensor, and increased memory capacity. Theres also a change to the physical backside layout. For the 4K Frame fans, which start at 43 inches, the primary difference is one of power consumption. 2023 models are less power hungry, but does this mean picture quality has been affected? This review is part of TechHives in-depth coverage of the best smart TVs. Time to put the very latest version of The Frame on our test bench and see what kind of a picture it paints. Design & Build Customisable bezel Matte screen 120Hz HDMI support Straight from the box, The Frame looks much like any other Samsung flatscreen. It has a slim black plastic bezel and comes with slot-in feet for those who want to stand it on AV furniture. Its slim, but not overly so, as it has a full-array LED backlight. Design-wise, the set comes into its own when you augment it with an optional artwork-style frame (hence the name). Theres a wide variety available, including a new modernistic metal frame for this season. Steve May / Foundry Theres also the option of a tripod-style Studio Stand, if thats more your style. Connectivity comes via an external One Connect box. Everything plugs into this unit, rather than the back of the TV. A single connection runs from the One Connect box to the screen taking with it pictures, sound, and power. There are four HDMI connectors (HDMI 3 is HDMI-eARC), plus a digital optical audio output, ethernet (which offers a wired alternative to the sets dual-band Wi-Fi connectivity), two USB ports, and a CI (Common Interface) card slot if required. Theres also the choice of terrestrial or satellite tuners. Steve May / Foundry The Frame comes with two remotes: a solar-powered Bluetooth controller and a standard zapper. Both have shortcut buttons for Prime Video, Netflix and Samsung TV Plus (UK model tested). Specs & Features Tizen Smart TV platform Game Hub Art Store Smart functionality is excellent. The Frame runs Samsungs well-established Tizen OS, which offers a comprehensive selection of streaming services, including Samsungs own linear IP delivered channel selection, as well as a dedicated Game Hub, and SmartThings dashboard. Steve May / Foundry Theres voice control via Bixby, Google Assistant, or Amazon Alexa, as well as support for Apple AirPlay 2. Smartphone viewing modes include Multi-View and screen mirroring. Navigating the Tizen OS is quite intuitive. You get a well-stocked app bar, followed by multiple rails of curated content, so youre never too far from a show to watch. The Ambient Mode features a JPEG gallery with a variety of still images and animations, but what you really need is a subscription to Samsungs Art Store service ($5.99 monthly), which offers a wide range of licensed art content. Want to display the best of The Tate, or something more seasonal? Its there. Steve May / Foundry Theres also a dedicated Game Menu with an overlay for relevant gaming info, such as VRR, HDR, and input lag. There are actually two Game mode settings: original and Game Motion Plus, which applies some extra processing for additional picture enhancement. Input lag was measured at 10.7ms (1080p/60fps) in Game mode, and 13.7ms (1080p/60fps) in Game Motion Plus. Picture quality Bright HDR Less power hungry HDR10+ If youre looking for a significant uptick in picture quality on this 2023 The Frame edition, youll be disappointed. Its very much comparable to The Frame 2022. The performance jump relates to an improvement in power consumption, rather than image processing. The 2023 55-inch Frame I tested consumes 84kWh/1000h, compared to 103kWh/1000h on the 2022 modelany luckily, this power savings hasnt diminished the image in any way. In its default Standard preset, pictures remain characteristically bright and color-rich. Steve May / Foundry Picture-quality wise, the set stands in comparison with the brands regular QLED models, albeit without that extra level of shine you tend to get with non-matte screens. Part of The Frames visual appeal is the matte display, which absorbs reflections and creates a more painterly appearance with digital artworks. Black level performance is fine, particularly if you view The Frame in a room with a low level of ambient lighting. Steve May / Foundry Watch in a fully dark room, though, and youll inevitably see the backlight at work. While watching Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (streaming in UHD HDR) the letterbox bars on the widescreen presentation were slightly greyed out. As weve come to expect from Samsung, theres no support for Dolby Vision, although HDR, HLG and HDR10+ are all available. Sound quality 40W of power Object Tracking Sound Dolby Atmos The sets audio performance is enhanced by 40W of amplification, and a quartet of speakers in a 2.0.2 configuration. My expectations were admittedly low, but this flatscreen offers more than a perfunctory listening experience. Samsungs Object Tracking Sound system, which on this set features speaker drivers placed both low and toward the top of the screen, gives an impressive sense of movement. For everyday listening, and even uncritical movie watching, its surprisingly good. Steve May / Foundry Thats a good thing, given that adding a soundbareven a neatly executed wall-mounted modelwould undermine the screens gallery style. Price & Availability Were testing the 55-inch The Frame 2023 (UK edition) in this review. You can buy the US version of The Frame 2023 from Samsung as well as the likes of Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. Besides the 55-inch version, The Frame is also available in 32-, 43-, 50-, 65-, 75-, and 85-inch screen sizes. Steve May / Foundry Should you buy Samsungs The Frame (2023)? The Frame (2023) can be thought of as a polite update to what has been a top-selling line for Samsung for many years. Its less power hungry than its predecessors, but manages to deliver virtually the same picture and sound performance. The provision of a matte screen makes digital artwork look surprisingly convincing. The set comes with a polished smart platform, in the shape of the latest Tizen OS. In addition to a wide variety of streaming services, theres a handy dashboard for control of SmartThings devices. The lack of Dolby Vision support would normally warrant an automatic demerit, but the gallery nature of The Frame means its less likely to appeal to home cinema fans, so well give the set a pass. With its newfound energy efficiency, I remain a fan of The Frame. This lifestyle screen still comes highly recommended. Specs PSA: Despite the convenience and rising ubiquity of cloud storage services, users shouldn't assume that files stored on the cloud are safe. Many Google Drive users are now discovering that a glitch in the service can put months of data at risk. Google is investigating the problem, and one user has found a possible solution. Google is investigating numerous cases where months' worth of user files have disappeared from Google Drive. Until it resolves the issue, the company warns users not to remove files from critical folders, but it would be safe to create new backups. Multiple account holders have recently complained that their Google Drive files from the last few months have vanished. One reported losing three months of work. A user described the drive rolling back to May 2023 in an even more extreme example. Unfortunately, Google Drive's built-in file recovery system doesn't help because it only restores files that users deleted. Some forum commenters received messages from Google support saying they couldn't help, but other signs indicate the data might be recoverable. At least one user discovered that a cache within the Google Drive section of the AppData folder contains the latest files but warns others against manipulating it. An official message from Google also says users shouldn't delete or move the AppData folder (the Mac equivalent is Application Support) or disconnect the service from their accounts. The safest measure is to make a local backup of the entire Google Drive folder until the company solves the problem. One person willing to take the risk claims to have recovered the lost files from the cache by manipulating an older version of the Drive desktop app. Anyone trying this solution should be extremely cautious, as it goes against Google's official directions and could permanently damage the file system. Disclaimer out of the way, here's the solution described: First, uninstall the desktop app, then install an older edition (version 82 or 83 might be available, but ensure it's from a trusted source). Next, deactivate the two Google Update services and the two scheduled tasks. While Google Drive is not running, navigate to a folder with a long number under User Data (they might be referring to AppData) > Google > DriveFS. Find a folder called "backups," move its contents into the primary folder, and restart Google Drive. Finally, back up the main drive folder, re-enable the update services, wait for the app to auto-update, and use the backup to overwrite the drive folder. No one else has verified the unofficial solution, so it should probably be taken only as a last resort, if at all. It might be best to wait until Google has official instructions for recovering data. What just happened? Eighteen countries, including the US and the UK, have joined hands to ensure AI development is "secure by design." The agreement lays out a set of principles that aims to address persistent concerns about how AI could become a disruptive force if it falls into the hands of malicious actors. The 20-page document mentions several safeguards to ensure responsible AI development, including the need for tech companies to "develop and deploy it in a way that keeps customers and the wider public safe from misuse." Apart from the US and the UK, other countries that have signed the document include Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, Australia, Chile, Israel, Nigeria and Singapore. The agreement extensively deals with ways to secure AI from being hijacked by hackers, and includes recommendations on how companies should first conduct appropriate security testing before releasing their models. However, as reported by Reuters, the document does not address controversial issues, such as how data is gathered for the AI models. There have already been multiple legal skirmishes over this matter, so one would hope that regulators and lawmakers would step in sooner rather than later to address it once and for all. Described as the first global agreement on AI safety, the Guidelines for Secure AI Development is aimed at making AI developers more responsible for their software. The document also urges all stakeholders, including data scientists, developers, managers, decision-makers and risk owners to follow the recommendations to make "informed decisions about the design, development, deployment and operation of their AI systems." The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) hailed the agreement as a step in the right direction, and reminded everyone that AI development should prioritize public safety above all else. In a message, CISA director Jen Easterly said that AI should not only be about "cool features" and driving down costs by cutting corners, because that could have dangerous side effects in the long run. Even before this agreement was inked, some countries already began formulating rules on how companies like Google and OpenAI should self-regulate AI development. While France, Germany and Italy recently reached an agreement on "mandatory self-regulation through codes of conduct," the Biden administration in the US passed an executive order to reduce the risks that the unregulated development of AI could potentially pose to national security. Forward-looking: AMD's next wave of processors with integrated graphics might not to be too far out if a new leak proves accurate. According to Saudi site Sakhtafzar Mag, AMD's first AM5 APUs will arrive as part of the Ryzen 8000G family and consist of more than a dozen SKUs. The publication notes the chips will use a mix of Phoenix 1 and Phoenix 2, and accompanying benchmark results look promising. As you can see below, performance in synthetic benchmarks and games looks mighty impressive compared to Ryzen 7 5000G series hardware. In games like Doom Eternal and Cyberpunk 2077, one could expect up to 200 percent better performance compared to last gen. Other titles like Shadow of the Tomb Raider and World of Tanks have more tempered expectations of around 100 percent. Of course, much of this could have to do with the fact that 5000G runs on Socket AM4 and DDR4 while the new chips will utilize faster DDR5 on AM5 boards. AMD's 5000G series has been around since early 2021 and is still a decent option for gamers looking to build a machine on a tight budget. In fact, the Ryzen 5 5600G was recently selected as the CPU of choice for our entry-level PC build in our latest buying guide. At just $122 at the time of writing, the six core / 12 thread chip is a great value. Sakhtafzar Mag claims the new chips will break cover on January 31 ahead of availability on February 11. The publication further notes that some new AM4 chips are also on the horizon. An X3D chip called the Ryzen 7 5700X3D that's meant to compete with Intel's Core i5 13600K and 14600K is said to feature eight cores / 16 threads but with a lower clock speed than the existing 5800X3D. There's also mention of a Ryzen 5 5600GT, a Ryzen 5 5500GT, and a Ryzen 7 5700NPU, although there is no word on what the GT / NPU suffixes might stand for. A new limited program over at Rivian now offers EV enthusiasts to own the R1T electric pickup without the need to buy it from the company, allowing leasing contracts available across 14 US states. For now, it is only limited to the R1T electric vehicle in the selected states, but Rivian claims that in the future, the company plans to add more models from its lineup and more states to enjoy it. Leasing cars and the cleaner EVs have been done through auto distributors and third-party companies, but in this latest program by Rivian, it is a direct lease of their pickup. Rivian Now Allows Leasing the R1T in 14 States (Photo : Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Rivian provided an answer to their FAQs which talk about leasing, and through this, the company confirmed its latest lease program for the R1T electric pickup, now available for eligible areas. There are 14 states that this program is available to avail of, including the likes of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington. According to TechCrunch, Rivian's spokesperson Rachel Maniago further stated that the company is looking to expand more of its leasing program to other states and soon, to add more of its electric vehicle models in the mix. The company also added that many customers were interested and requested this leasing program from its different financing options. Read Also: Rivian Surpasses Expectations, Produces 16,304 Vehicles in Q3 No Need to Buy the EV, Here's How to Join Leasing means renting for a specified timeframe, usually taking months to years of owning the company before they need to return it. This also means that they are not compelled to buy the electric vehicle. To join Rivian's leasing program, head on over to the R1T's configurator page on its website, and this will require your ZIP code belonging to the 14 states above. If eligible, Rivian will walk you through the next steps to complete your lease and receive your EV. Rivian's Electric Vehicle Lineup Over the past year when Rivian first rolled out its electric vehicles, the company did not see much success in the vehicle market, especially as it lagged in its production of its EVs. This led to the company losing as much as $1 billion, leading to significant workforce cuts, but reported as much as 1,000 EVs that they were able to deliver for customers that preordered. The company had already delivered as many as 500,000 units of its electric delivery van to Amazon last year, with the collaboration looking at more EVs in the future, centering on cleaner deliveries for them. The R1T electric pickup has been marketed as an adventure car, and it has proven itself on various testing grounds, showing that clean energy has no limit unlike what was thought of before. The good thing now is that users do not need to buy and own the vehicle to enjoy what it has to offer, with the R1T now available to lease directly from the company available in the aforementioned US states. Related Article: Rivian R1T Electric Pickup Triumphs the Rebelle Rally, First EV to Win the Off-Road Competition 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. As one of the prominent social media giants, Reddit is engaging in talks with potential investors as it explores the prospect of an IPO. This development reflects Reddit's growing interest in the public markets, aligning with a broader trend of companies eyeing the first quarter of 2024 for potential IPOs in anticipation of a more stable market environment. (Photo : Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) SAN ANSELMO, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 16: In this photo illustration, The Reddit logo is displayed on a computer screen on December 16, 2021 in San Anselmo, California. Reddit has confidentially filed paperwork for an initial public offering (IPO) with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Discussing with Potential Investors Reddit reportedly engages in discussions with potential investors for its initial public offering (IPO). Bloomberg reported that the social media giant is contemplating a public debut as early as the first quarter of 2024. Despite declining to comment on the speculation, a Reddit spokesperson referred to a quiet period. The company, working with investment banks, explores the IPO possibility, with previous reports indicating a potential valuation of up to $15 billion. Reddit's current initiatives indicate a heightened interest in the public markets amid a recovering IPO landscape. Despite recent challenges in the U.S. IPO market, characterized by market volatility and lackluster performances, companies like Reddit are eyeing the first quarter of 2024 for potential IPOs, anticipating a more stable market. In December 2021, TechCrunch reported that Reddit confidentially submitted a draft registration statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering (IPO). This move followed a substantial $410 million financing round, led by Fidelity, which valued Reddit at $10 billion. Although plans for the IPO did not materialize, Reddit had initially aimed to close the Series F funding round at $700 million. In January 2022, the company took steps toward the IPO by engaging Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs for the listing process, contemplating a valuation of up to $15 billion at that time. Also Read: Learn More About Reddit's New CFO Drew Vollero as The Company Prepares for IPO Established in 2005, Reddit has gained immense popularity as a leading social platform. It gained widespread recognition, particularly through one of its subreddits, WallStreetBets, which played a pivotal role in popularizing meme stocks in the stock market. More recently, in May, reports surfaced about Reddit's strategic plans to make a significant foray into social commerce. This potential move is expected to boost Reddit's valuation and contribute to its IPO readiness. Other Companies Pymnts reported that several companies are contemplating a public debut in the near future, signaling a growing interest in the public markets. Cloud and data security startup Rubrik, supported by Microsoft, is reportedly exploring an IPO in the first quarter. Meanwhile, Kim Kardashian's Skims underwear label, valued at $4 billion, is considering strategic options, including a potential IPO in the upcoming year. Although plans may evolve, the fact that these companies are actively exploring IPO options reflects a heightened interest in the public markets. Following a subdued IPO landscape last year, 2023 is anticipated to surpass the volume of 2022, with expectations for increased opportunities in 2024. Related Article: Reddit Has a Much Bigger Problem Than Protesting Third-Party Apps, Mods 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Tesla initiated legal action against Sweden's transportation agency and postal service due to a union strike impeding the delivery of the company's license plates in the country. Despite being a non-unionized entity worldwide, Tesla faces demands from Swedish workers to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement. (Photo : JESSICA GOW/TT/TT NEWS AGENCY/AFP via Getty Images) A photograph taken on October 27, 2023 shows a view of the electric car company Tesla's Service Center in Segeltorp, south of Stockholm, where workers strike for the signing of a collective agreement. Suing Swedish Agency Tesla workers involved in the strike are pushing for the automaker to enter into a collective bargaining agreement, a standard practice viewed as fundamental to the Swedish model by the mechanics' union IF Metall. Although Tesla lacks manufacturing facilities in Sweden, Engadget reported that it operates several service centers. The lawsuit asserts that the denial of registration plates amounts to an "unlawful discriminatory attack" against Tesla. Despite the strike, the Swedish Transport Agency received an interim decision from a district court instructing it to approve Tesla's request to collect license plates within seven days or face substantial fines. The implications of this decision on the ongoing dispute remain uncertain, according to the agency. Attack on a Company Mikael Andersson, a spokesperson for the agency, clarified through The Associated Press that the Swedish Transport Agency disputes the claim of hindering license plate distribution. Andersson mentioned Tesla's decision to bring the matter to court, asserting it as their right. He explained that the agency hasn't yet seen the lawsuit, making it difficult to offer direct comments without a thorough examination of both the lawsuit and Tesla's argument. Tesla is requesting the district court to levy a 1 million kronor ($95,383) fine on the agency, compelling it to allow Tesla to "retrieve license plates" within three days of the court's decision notification. The company argues that the agency has a constitutional obligation to provide license plates to vehicle owners" and deems the withholding of plates as a "unique attack on a company operating in Sweden. The legal action contends that if the agency fails to meet its "constitutional obligation," it hinders the rights of the applicant. Also Read: Tesla Introduces Congestion Fees at Supercharger Stations to Alleviate High Demand The ST trade union, representing members employed by the postal and delivery service PostNord, stated that they were adhering to Swedish labor market regulations by halting the delivery of mail and packages to Tesla. Tesla's decision to pursue legal action is interpreted by Asa Erba Stenhammar of the ST trade union as a refusal to accept the prevailing rules in Sweden. On October 27, Reuters reported that IF Metall, Sweden's leading manufacturing union, initiated a strike. Despite the absence of a Tesla manufacturing plant in the country, several service centers ceased operations on Tesla vehicles in solidarity with the strike. In a show of unity, other unions in Sweden, including dockworkers, cleaners, and electricians, have joined the strike. Additionally, a component maker joined the unions on Friday in a sympathy action. Related Article: Elon Musk Says Strike in Tesla Sweden Is 'Insane' 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. EU Regulators are raising concerns about Amazon's $1.7 billion acquisition of iRobot, the maker of Roomba. The European Commission has issued a statement of objections, expressing preliminary worries about potential competition restrictions in the robot vacuum cleaners market. (Photo : Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) SAN RAFAEL, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 05: A Roomba robot vacuum made by iRobot is displayed on a shelf at a Target store on August 05, 2022 in San Rafael, California. Objecting iRobot Acquisition Regulators have issued a statement of objections to Amazon regarding its planned $1.7 billion acquisition of Roomba's manufacturer, iRobot. The European Commission has conveyed its initial perspective to Amazon, indicating concerns that the proposed acquisition of iRobot might impede competition in the robot vacuum cleaners market. The Verge reported that the European Union regulators have raised concerns with Amazon regarding its intended $1.7 billion purchase of iRobot. The European Commission stated that it has preliminarily informed Amazon that the proposed acquisition might hinder competition in the robot vacuum cleaner market. Amazon had announced its plan to acquire iRobot in August 2022, and the deal has been under regulatory scrutiny since then. While British regulators cleared the deal in June, the European Commission initiated an investigation in July 2023. In September 2022, the Federal Trade Commission requested information from both Amazon and iRobot regarding the acquisition. Surprisingly, the European Commission's statement of objections contradicts earlier reports, such as Reuters' claim last week that the deal was on track to receive unconditional approval. The Federal Trade Commission requested information about the deal from Amazon and iRobot in September 2022. The European Commission's statement of objections comes as somewhat of a surprise, as Reuters reported last week that the deal was set to win unconditional approval. Also Read: EU Warned by Experts, AI Models Could be Over-Regulated "Out of Existence" The European Commission, in its objections, suggests that Amazon could potentially hinder iRobot's competitors by actions like removing rival robot vacuum cleaners from the marketplace or decreasing their visibility. Amazon now has the opportunity to respond to these objections and can request an oral hearing. The European Commission is slated to make a final decision on the deal by February 14th, 2024. Represented by spokesperson Alexandra Miller, Amazon affirmed ongoing collaboration with the European Commission in addressing questions and concerns. iRobot, amidst fierce competition in the vacuum cleaner market, is recognized for its practical and innovative products. Amazon sees the potential to provide iRobot with resources for innovation, investment in crucial features, and reduced consumer prices. Understanding the Market The Commission has undertaken an extensive examination to comprehend the market dynamics and assess the possible consequences of the agreement. This investigation encompasses a thorough analysis of internal documents submitted by the involved parties. Additionally, it involves soliciting perspectives from various market stakeholders, including suppliers of Robotic Vacuum Cleaners (RVCs) and other smart home devices, as well as providers of online sales platforms. Throughout both the preliminary and in-depth investigations, the Commission has maintained close collaboration with other competition authorities. This cooperative approach will persist throughout the remaining stages of the in-depth investigation. Related Article: EU to Grant Unrestricted Approval for Amazon's iRobot Acquisition: Report 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Day 1 of the two-day extension in the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. 22:00 Israel's prison authority said Tuesday that 30 Palestinian prisoners, 15 women and 15 minors, had been released on the fifth day of the truce pausing fighting in the Gaza Strip. The announcement came after 10 Israeli captives returned to Israel under the terms of the deal following their release by Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters, along with two additional Thai captives. 21:00 Israel's army confirmed on Tuesday that Hamas handed over 12 captives, including 10 Israelis and two Thai nationals, to the Red Cross in Gaza, part of an exchange under the terms of an extended truce agreement between the two sides. The captives, were handed over by masked Hamas fighters to the International Red Cross in the city of Rafah in Southern Gaza near the border with Egypt. A source close to Hamas told AFP that the 10 captives would be freed in return for 30 Palestinian prisoners who will be released from Israeli jails later this evening. 17:30 Citing Egyptian sources, Al-Qahera News reported that Head of the General Intelligence Service Abbas Kamel is taking part in the talks underway in Doha with Qatari, US, and Israeli officials to discuss an extension in the truce between Israel and Hamas. On Monday evening, Israel and Hamas agreed to extend a four-day truce deal reached on Wednesday for two more days. The truce deal, which was reached through Qatari-Egyptian-American mediation, has allowed for the exchange of captives and prisoners as well as the entry of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. 16:00 Israeli restrictions on fuel supplies to Gaza are hampering aid deliveries and humanitarian access required under a UN resolution, an EU commissioner, Janez Lenarcic, said Tuesday. Lenarcic -- who is in charge of crisis management -- was speaking as the EU countries and aid organizations scrambled to provide relief to Gaza's population of 2.3 million under a truce agreed by Israel and Hamas. "We are calling for the increase of fuel supplies to the (Gaza) strip," Lenarcic told journalists in Brussels. "The humanitarian access should be based on the needs and not on some restrictions," he said. An Egyptian truck delivering fuel to the Gaza Strip crosses from Gaza to Egypt at Rafah, Egypt, as a temporary ceasefire went into effect, Monday, Nov. 27, 2023. AP 14:30 Citing Israeli sources, Sky News Arabia reported that the head of the Mossad, Israel's national intelligence agency, has arrived in Qatar to discuss a deal with Hamas that would include the release of Israeli soldiers captured by Hamas on 7 October. Also, citing Egyptian sources, Sky News Arabia reported that Egyptian-Qatari-Israeli-US talks are underway in Doha to extend the current ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. So far, under a four-day truce that was reached on Wednesday, Israel has released 150 Palestinian political prisoners - all minors and women - and Hamas released 50 Israeli civilians captured by the group on 7 October - all women and minors. 13:30 Israel's war on the Gaza Strip has led to the collapse of the health care system in the strip and more Gazans could soon be dying of disease than from bombing, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday. "Eventually we will see more people dying from disease than we are even seeing from the bombardment if we are not able to put back (together) this health system," said the WHO's Margaret Harris at a UN briefing in Geneva. With no hospitals functioning in the northern strip, Harris repeated concerns about a rise in outbreaks of infectious diseases, particularly diarrhoeal diseases. Citing a UN report, Harris said there was already a very high number of infants suffering from diarrhea, among families displaced from the north with "no medicines, no vaccination activities, no access to safe water and hygiene and no food," an indicator of the poor living conditions they face in the overcrowded south. A Palestinian man surrounded by children cooks at a UNWRA school used as shelter in Gaza City on Monday - the fourth day of a truce between Israel and Hamas. AFP 12:30 A 17-year-old teenager and a 26-year-old man were killed during an overnight raid by the Israeli army fire near the West Bank town of Beitunia, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. This raised the number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli army since the beginning of an intensive crackdown in the occupied territory after the start of Israel's war on Gaza on 7 October to 242. Israel has also arrested more than 3,200 Palestinians in the West Bank since 7 October. Protesters stand near burning tires in the occupied West Bank on Monday ahead of an expected release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Israeli captives held by Hamas. AFP 11:30 Head of Egypt's State Information Service (SIS) Diaa Rashwan said Tuesday that Egypt has facilitated the delivery of 25,240 tons of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, including water, food, medical supplies, and food, in addition to tents and tarpaulins. According to the terms of the truce deal between Israel and Hamas, 200 humanitarian aid trucks in addition to 130,000 liters of fuel are allowed to enter the Gaza Strip every day. Rashwan noted that Egypt has received 566 injured Palestinians - and 300 companions - from Gaza for treatment in Egyptian hospitals since the start of the war on 7 October. He also noted that 8,691 foreign and dual nationals and 1,256 Egyptians crossed from Gaza to Egypt through the Rafah border crossing since the start of the war. A Palestinian passenger going back to the Gaza Strip walks with belongings at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing on November 27, 2023. AP 10:30 Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi makes his first official visit to Turkey on Tuesday, hoping to paper over past differences and forge a forceful joint response to Israel's war on Gaza. 9:30 On the eve of the start of the two-day extension in the truce between Israel and Hamas on Tuesday, the US State Department said Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return this week to the Middle East as the US hopes to find a way to extend a ceasefire in Gaza and get more captives released, It will be his third trip to the region since the Israeli war on Gaza began last month. 9:00 On Monday evening, the last day in the 4-day truce between Israel and Hamas, 33 Palestinian political prisoners were released from Israeli jails, and 11 Israeli captured on 7 October were released by Hamas. The Palestinians released from Israeli prisons include 30 minors and 3 women. The Israelis released from Gaza include 11 Israelis with dual nationality - 3 French citizens, 2 German citizens, and 6 Argentinian citizens. Search Keywords: Short link: Artificial Intelligence's first-ever 20-page non-binding regulatory agreement has been announced and signed by 18 countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, securing AI systems by design, as reported by the Guardian. LinkedIn news adds to the story by stating that to safeguard the public from bad actors, the 20-page document urges businesses to make their AI systems designed with security first while offering some basic guidelines, such as screening possible software vendors. The approach also addresses concerns about preventing hackers from using AI technology. The pact, however, does not address complex issues such as when and how to utilize AI or how these models' data are collected. (Photo : Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Members of the group Initiative Urheberrecht (authors' rights initiative) demonstrate to demand regulation of artificial intelligence on June 16, 2023, in Berlin, Germany. The pact is nonbinding and does not outline fines for violation, similar to many previous government initiatives on AI, such as the executive order issued by the Biden administration in October. Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, Australia, Chile, Israel, Nigeria, and Singapore are reportedly among the signatories of the first-ever AI pact. Together with industry experts and 21 other international organizations and ministries worldwide, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the UK's NCSC, a subsidiary of Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), reportedly collaborated to create the recommendations and guidelines. Global South representatives and participants from G7 member countries were also included in the collaboration. NCSC reportedly described the guidelines' approach as "secure by design," with the recommendations assisting the developers in ensuring cybersecurity is both a necessary prerequisite for the safety of AI systems and an integrated part of the development process from the beginning to the end. Read Also: EU Warned by Experts, AI Models Could be Over-Regulated "Out of Existence" A Win for AI Safety Regulation While non-binding, the Guardian reports that Jen Easterly, the head of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, says it was significant that numerous nations were endorsing the notion that AI systems should prioritize safety. "We've normalized a world where technology products come off the line full of vulnerabilities and then consumers are expected to patch those vulnerabilities. We can't live in that world with AI," she stated as per a Reuters report. Easterly adds that the guidelines represented "an agreement that the most important thing that needs to be done at the design phase is security." The senior official further stated that this is the first time the public has seen an acknowledgment that these skills should go beyond merely having exciting features, bringing products to market rapidly, and competing to reduce prices. A significant understanding is that security must be prioritized above anything else throughout the design phase. Europe's Prior Advancements in AI Regulation Legislators in Europe have been constantly developing AI legislation with its "AI Act," putting the nations within it ahead of those in the US. Most notably after the European Union recently hosted and concluded the world's first-ever "AI Safety Summit." The Guardian adds that recently, France, Germany, and Italy came to a consensus on the governance of artificial intelligence that encourages "mandatory self-regulation through codes of conduct" for what are known as foundation models of AI, which are intended to generate a wide range of outputs. The consensus puts AI technologies less stringently as it aims to regulate their use rather than the technology itself. As for the world's leading AI developers, earlier this month, the firms decided to collaborate with governments to test new frontier models before their release, to mitigate the hazards associated with this quickly evolving technology. Related Article: Deepfake Crackdown: India Takes Action to Regulate Harmful AI Content 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Shein is preparing for a confidential U.S. IPO, after securing $2 billion in funding at a $66 billion valuation. The company's IPO aspirations suggest a potential valuation surge to $90 billion, following a notable peak of $100 billion in April 2022. (Photo : YUICHI YAMAZAKI/AFP via Getty Images) A woman holds a Shein shopping bag stand outside the first permanent showroom of Chinese online fast fashion giant Shein on the opening day of the shop in Tokyo on November 13, 2022. Filing for US IPO Singapore-based fashion powerhouse Shein is reportedly gearing up for a confidential U.S. IPO, as reported by TechCrunch. Having previously secured $2 billion in funding at a $66 billion valuation, Shein's IPO plans suggest a potential valuation soaring to $90 billion, following a remarkable valuation peak of $100 billion in April 2022. Known for disrupting the traditional fashion landscape dominated by Zara and H&M, Shein's unique approach involves leveraging data analytics to forecast consumer demand and maintain low inventory costs through small-batch production. Despite earning acclaim for its innovative e-commerce model, Shein faces obstacles such as copyright disputes, environmental criticisms, and the emergence of competition from Temu, an online marketplace by China's PDD. Major investors, including Abu Dhabi's Mubadala, Sequoia China, and General Atlantic, have played a pivotal role in supporting Shein. Their backing has been instrumental in propelling the company to the forefront of the fast-fashion industry and has ultimately prompted Shein to initiate the process of filing for an IPO. The backing from these influential investors underscores Shein's strategic position and the confidence placed in its potential for growth and success in the global market. Boosting Revenue to $58.5 Billion by 2025 While facing a valuation decrease from $100 billion to $64 billion, Financial Times reported a recent presentation revealed Shein's ambitious goal to boost revenues from $22.7 billion in the previous year to an impressive $58.5 billion by 2025. This upcoming filing provides a glimmer of hope for bankers, signaling that planned offerings in 2024 could inject much-needed vitality into the IPO market after a challenging two-year period. Established by Chinese billionaire Sky Xu, also recognized as Chris Xu or Xu Yangtian, Shein has evolved in the last ten years from a swiftly expanding enterprise in Asia's largest economy to a worldwide business with a strategic emphasis on global expansion. The U.S. market has emerged as its primary market, featuring a robust marketing team of over 500 professionals, a warehouse workforce of 1,400 in Indiana, and a network of approximately 1,800 collaborations with designers and artists. Also Read: American Fashion Influencers Face Backlash Over Shein's China Factory Tour Recent market activities have featured the long-awaited $5 billion IPO of chip designer Arm and fashion shoemaker Birkenstock's successful $1.5 billion fundraising. The New York Times reported that Arm is currently holding steady above its float price, aligning closely with broader market trends, whereas Birkenstock has experienced a slight dip of around 10 percent. As of the end of the previous month, only $19 billion had been raised in the U.S. this year, as reported by Dealogic. Although this marks a doubling of the entire amount raised in 2022, it falls significantly short of the $154 billion achieved during the peak of the 2021 IPO boom. Related Article: Chinese Apps TikTok, Shein, and Temu Aiming for More US Shoppers During the Holidays 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Google has unveiled new tools for website owners, particularly those managing social media platforms and discussion forums, in a bid to address the evolving landscape of the modern web and prioritize user-generated content over SEO-driven content. This initiative aims to enhance the visibility and accuracy of first-person perspectives on Google's Search Results. (Photo : LEON NEAL/AFP via Getty Images) The logo for US technology company and search engine Google is displayed on screens in London on February 11, 2016. Britain's tax agency announced last month that Google would pay a 130 million (166 million euro, $187 million) tax settlement for 10 years' operations in Britain where it makes 11 percent of its global sales. ProfilePage Markup The newly introduced ProfilePage markup is a key component of these tools, offering website owners the capability to communicate the structure of their data to Google. This, in turn, ensures that their content is not only accurately represented but also as comprehensive as possible in Google's search results. For websites featuring creators who share first-hand perspectives, the ProfilePage markup allows Google to extract vital information about the creator, such as their name, social handle, profile photo, follower count, and the popularity of their content. This information can be prominently displayed in Google Search results. Furthermore, Google's Perspectives feature and its Discussions and Forums feature can effectively leverage the ProfilePage markup to enhance the presentation of content from these platforms. The introduction of structured data, such as ProfilePage markup, serves as a strategic move by Google to combat the rising prevalence of SEO-optimized content that often dilutes the quality of search results. DiscussionForumPosting Markup Google's official statement highlights the support for profile page and discussion forum structured data and emphasizes its role in showcasing first-person perspectives from various online communities. The DiscussionForumPosting markup, another integral component, is designed for forum-style websites where users collectively share their first-hand perspectives. By implementing this markup, Google Search gains a better understanding of forum sites and online discussions across the web. However, it's important to note that the use of this markup does not guarantee appearance in Google's Perspective and "Discussions and forums" features. Read Also: Google's Online Search Dominance Under Fire: Antitrust Allegations Cast a Shadow Over Exclusive Deals with Apple Q&A Markup For website owners who have been using Q&A markup for their question-and-answer-themed user forums, Google is updating the Q&A structured data documentation to align with the richness of the new discussion forum guidelines. Website owners are encouraged to choose the structured data type that best fits their use case: Q&A markup for forums structured around questions and answers or DiscussionForumPosting for more general forum structures that go beyond strictly Q&A content. To assist website owners in monitoring their structured data and identifying any issues, Google is launching profile page and discussion forum rich result reports in Search Console. These reports will provide insights into errors, warnings, and valid items related to marked-up pages. Additionally, website owners can utilize the Rich Results Test to validate and test their markup effectively, according to Google. Related Article: Coming Soon: Google Maps' Immersive View Update Unveils Mind-Blowing 'Multidimensional Experience' 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Forensic experts in the United Kingdom (UK) are adopting new innovative technology to enhance the identification of criminals captured on CCTV by analyzing their footwear. According to TechXplore, the research initiative resulted from a collaboration between Staffordshire University and West Yorkshire Police, and it focuses on developing a new system that utilizes 3D scanning technology to discern the type of footwear worn by individuals involved in criminal activities. Footwear to Enhance the Identification of Criminals Claire Gwinnett, Professor of Forensic and Environmental Science, emphasized the increasing reliance on footage from various sources, including body-worn cameras, CCTV, and mobile phones, to apprehend wrongdoers. However, criminals often obscure their faces and don dark clothing, leaving few distinguishing features for identification, except for their shoes. The research aims to address the challenge of identifying these shoes effectively and assessing the evidential value of such identification. The team developed a quick and economical approach to gather information from the upper parts of footwear, generating an interactive 3D representation of a shoe in visible light and infrared light. "Most CCTV cameras use near infrared light during nighttime recordings, which can make the footwear look completely different than in natural light," Gwinnett said in a statement. "So, it was important to develop a method that will help police to quickly identify the type of shoe, how common it is, and importantly, what it looks like under different lighting conditions," she added. Read Also: PoseSonic: Sonar, AI Powers Glasses to Track Upper Body Movements in 3D How It Works Postdoctoral researcher Dr. Megan Needham outlined the process involving a photography light box, turntable, and camera. The method employs 3D scans rather than still images, enabling the alignment of the 3D model to the angle of the shoe captured on a CCTV camera. The recording involves a video of a shoe under different lighting conditions, which is then processed using software to create a 3D model. This approach enhances accuracy and efficiency in identifying the type of shoe and its appearance under various lighting scenarios. The method, costing less than 500 for the necessary equipment, aims to be a practical and accessible tool for footwear units nationwide. Needham envisioned its potential use by detention officers in a custody suite to quickly scan a suspect's shoe. The ongoing refinement of the optimal settings for the process precedes its pilot testing by different police forces in the coming year. Looking ahead, the researchers aspire to extend this method's application to populate a national database of footwear uppers. This database could be accessed by police professionals throughout the country, offering a valuable resource to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of footwear identification, ultimately contributing to the forensic capabilities of police investigations. "It is a quick and simple process, taking around 30 minutes in total. The equipment needed for this process costs less than 500. The aim is for this method to be used by footwear units across the nation, and in the future detention officers in a custody suite to scan a suspect's shoe," Needham noted. Related Article: Google Maps Launches Immersive View, Combining Street View and Aerial Photography into 3D 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Sighting after more than 80 years: Sniffer dog sniffs out gold mole rat thought to be extinct "We may have made a mistake": at the Monique Olivier trial, the responsibility of the investigators is questioned Sighting after more than 80 years: Sniffer dog sniffs out gold mole rat thought to be extinct DAZN: Most expensive subscription package offers new customers less performance for the same money The average temperature this autumn is 1.39 degrees higher than normal, following spring and summer, and the highest ever. Winter bonuses for nurses and others "reduced by more than 3% of unions compared to last year" The latest research on the 4-million-year-old Miraculous Ancient Fish: providing more key evidence for the evolution of "fish to man". Picturesque rivers and mountains|Luliang, Shanxi Province, where history and customs are blended: from "urban scenic spot" to "scenic city" Welfare institutions set out from the "dream" to hold up a beautiful life for special children The changes in Jinzhong are also between mountains, waters, cities and instruments Carla Nyman, the "Martian" author who explores female desire from the eschatological: "It has been very silenced and always described by gentlemen" Hakan Loob on Roger Ronnberg: "He probably deserves some of this" DeNA Yuito Mori joins the team at the press conference "I don't care if my arm is torn off, I'll throw it like I'm going to die" Coach Hanshin Okada's motto is "Ball Path Single" on the occasion of achieving the best in Japan Chunichi announces that it will embark on the acquisition of Sho Nakata on a free contract The fuel surcharge will be lowered on the 5th! New Year's Day travel costs drop where to fly Decoding Chain BoPromote the healthy growth of the supply chain and the development of smart vehicles has entered a "new lane" Plan of the Federal Network Agency: Grid fees in wind and solar regions to be reduced Under the influence of the Central Bank, exporters and seasonal factors: how exchange rates may change in December The analyst predicted the dollar exchange rate in December in the range of 88-92 rubles Sanchez summons Faine to the Moncloa and conveys a message of tranquility in the middle of negotiations with the separatists Peskov: The Kremlin proceeds from the fact that sanctions have been imposed for many years Beijing clarified how to test the experimental operation of physics, chemistry and biology subjects in the high school entrance examination Nicolas Redondo lashes out at the "shameful" PSOE-Junts meeting in Geneva: "It will be a sad day, we will want to forget it" The TSJM recognises as an accident at work a suicide caused by stress and harassment at work Interview with Former UN Under-Secretary-General Solheim: "China wins, and each of us wins" Sun Dong: Hong Kong has a candidate who has entered the selection stage of the payload expert selection stage of the national manned space project Elon Musk admits he has "demons" on his mind and thought about suicide at age 12 Black Friday 2023 on Amazon, last day: these are the best-selling bargains and great discounts that are worth it Al-Maqdisiya Marah Bakir: I did not stab anyone. And they kissed my mother. An American neural network saw signs of a fake in a photo of a US lunar mission Al-Qassam publishes a video message of an Israeli prisoner whose wife and two children were killed by the occupation The opening ceremony of the COP28 China Corner and the side event of "Ecological Civilization and Beautiful China Practice" were held in Dubai Haredim in Israel. They refused to conscript and then decided to occupy the army The first woman to marry an AI: "We don't rule out the idea of having children" The Armed Forces of Ukraine shelled Donetsk with missiles of a new type JROF HEF from Slovakia The UN climate chief quotes Yoda from Star Wars: "Do or not do. There is no try" Head of the information department of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine: "Russia used poison on my wife" "Playing ahead of the curve": how OPEC+'s decision to further reduce oil supplies may affect its price The new version of the "Five-Star Card" of the Permanent Residence Permit for Foreigners is officially launched! Which foreigners can apply? Read it in one article Sanchez coincides with the president of Israel in Dubai in the midst of the diplomatic conflict, but without foreseen contact In Ghana, the fight for food sovereignty in the face of land grabbing Communities 2019 - Privacy The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them. The United States is sending three military aircraft to Egypt from Tuesday to bring vital humanitarian aid for Gaza during a truce between Israel and Hamas, senior US officials said. The relief flights carrying food, medical supplies, and winter gear are the first by the US military since the conflict began on October 7. The flights start a day after President Joe Biden said he would use an extension of the truce to get more aid into Gaza, and as international efforts continue to further prolong the pause. "We are very glad to announce we will have the first of three relief flights that are facilitated by the unique capabilities of the US military that will be arriving in North Sinai in Egypt" on Tuesday, one of the US officials said. "This will be to bring a series of items -- medical items, food aid, winter items, given that winter's coming in Gaza -- for the civilian population," the official said in an embargoed call on Monday. The United Nations will then take the aid from Egypt's North Sinai to the Gaza Strip, they said. Two further planeloads will arrive "in coming days", they added. On Monday, a 48-hour extension of an initial four-day truce between Israel and Hamas - mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the US - was announced, opening the way for further releases of captives seized by Hamas on 7 October and Palestinian prisoners from Israeli hails. 'Significant surge' Eight hundred aid trucks reached southern Gaza from Egypt in the first four days of the truce, with some aid also reaching badly hit northern Gaza, the US officials said. "The movement over the last four or five days of assistance has been so significant in volume that a backfill... is now needed and these planes are part of that backfill," a second US official said. While Washington has deployed two aircraft carriers in the region to deter Iran and its allies, and ferried military assistance to key ally Israel, it has not previously used military assets during this conflict to deliver humanitarian aid. Biden, who has firmly backed Israel while calling on it to reduce civilian casualties, said on Monday that the truce had allowed a "significant surge" in aid. The White House said on Monday however that Israel had made it clear it would continue its war on Hamas whenever the truce ended. US officials said Biden had warned Israel that it must not cause the same kind of mass displacements in southern Gaza that its offensive in the north triggered earlier this month. "From the president down we have reinforced this in a very clear way for the government of Israel," the first US official said. Search Keywords: Short link: Israeli President Isaac Herzog and his Palestinian counterpart Mahmud Abbas will both address the COP28 UN climate talks in Dubai this week, seven weeks into the Israeli war on Gaza, officials said on Tuesday. Herzog and Abbas are both scheduled to make speeches lasting three minutes maximum on Friday. Abbas is expected to be in the room when Herzog is speaking, as he is scheduled to address the room only three speakers later. Abbas, head of the Fatah party that leads the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank, has only met Israeli officials on rare occasions. A six-day truce has brought relief to 2.4 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip who struggled through six weeks of relentless Israeli airstrikes since 7 October, which killed more than 15,000, wounded more than 50,000, and displaced 1.8 million people in the strip. More than 140 heads of state and government are due to address COP28 on Thursday and Friday, the start of nearly two weeks of talks to address the climate crisis, according to a UN list made available on Tuesday. Other notable speakers in the first two days include Ukrainian President Vlodomyr Zelensky, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Jordan's King Abdullah II, the emir of Qatar and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Britain's King Charles III is expected to speak at the COP28 opening on Thursday and on Saturday, Pope Francis will become the first pontiff to address an edition of the climate talks. Another group of leaders will take part in a second batch of speeches on December 9 and 10, before COP28 is scheduled to wrap up on December 12. Search Keywords: Short link: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that Israel must be held accountable in international courts for its war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip. In a phone call prior to a UN Security Council meeting on Gaza planned for Wednesday, Erdogan told Guterres that "The crimes committed must not go unpunished in the eyes of the international community." "Israel continues to shamelessly trample on international law, the laws of war, and international humanitarian all while looking into the eyes of the international community," Erdogan added, according to a statement from the Turkish presidency issued on Tuesday. The war began on October 7 when, according to Israeli officials, the Hamas movement took around 240 captives and killed 1,200 people in the deadliest attack in the country's history. In response, Israel vowed to "crush" Hamas and initiated a lethal and barbaric air, sea, and ground invasion against civilians in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian health ministry reports that nearly 15,000 people, two-thirds of them women and children, have been killed by the Israeli offensive on Gaza. The statement also added that Erdogan expressed his deep sorrow to Guterres for the loss of at least 100 UN workers in the Israeli aggression on Gaza. Erdogan also suggested the UN chief visit Egypt's Rafah border crossing with Gaza, as this could draw international attention to the crimes taking place in the enclave. A humanitarian truce between Israel and Hamas will be extended by two days, mediator Qatar said Monday as an initial four-day truce in Gaza was set to expire. So far, under the truce deal, Hamas has released a total of 69 captives while Israel has freed 150 Palestinian detainees. Guterres called the truce a glimpse of hope and humanity in the middle of the darkness of war." He reiterated his call for a long-term ceasefire and the release of all captives held by the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, and Palestinian prisoners languishing in Israeli prisons. Search Keywords: Short link: This is the second year Southern University and A&M College System President-Chancellor Dennis Shields attended the Bayou Classic at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. It was one of many times that Grambling State University President Rick Gallot attended since he was a child growing up in Grambling, Louisiana. He's been to many in the 50 years the Bayou Classic has been a thing, then a bigger thing, then an even bigger thing. Gallot has been his alma mater's president since 2016, but this is his last Bayou Classic as GSU president. The slump in commercial property deals has reached a decade low, with a fog on pricing continuing to thwart deal activity, the latest Australia Capital Trends report from MSCI Real Assets has revealed. Office assets continue to be hit hard with buyers and sellers unable to reach any agreement in pricing, but that was partially offset by a rise in demand for hotel properties and the booming healthcare sector. Deal volume totalled just $8.2 billion in the third quarter, down 64 per cent on a year earlier. For the year-to-date, volume was $27.8 billion, a decline of 55 per cent. Aside from office, the other core sectors of industrial and retail all showed significant double-digit declines in activity. Cloudy future: the barometer is falling for office tower values. Credit: Steven Siewert Benjamin Martin-Henry, head of Pacific real assets research at MSCI, said pricing is the major obstacle for deal flow this year, especially as Australia has not seen the same corrections as some overseas markets. Just months ago, Seven insisted it hadnt paid former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann for a sit-down interview with the networks Spotlight program. 7NEWS Spotlight made no payment to Bruce Lehrmann for the interview, however, the program assisted with accommodation as part of the filming of the story, was the official line. Credit: John Shakespeare That piece of spin was blown up in the Federal Court on Tuesday, when, under cross-examination from barrister Sue Chrysanthou, Lehrmann admitted that the Kerry Stokes-controlled network was paying his accommodation costs for a year. Lehrmann is suing Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson for defamation, alleging an episode of the Project accused him of raping his former colleague Brittany Higgins. A criminal trial over Higgins allegations was aborted last year after juror misconduct, and the charges were dropped by ACT prosecutors. A 37-year-old member of the Mongols bikie gang will appear in Perth Magistrates Court on Tuesday after he was charged with a string of firearm and drug offences. WA Police said the Northbridge man was arrested after a search of his home and car, releasing footage on Tuesday of the moment officers allegedly found large quantities of cash and a gun hidden in the gear box of his Toyota Hilux. Police said they seized more than $70,000 in cash, a 9mm FEG PA63 pistol that had a round in the chamber and a loaded magazine, as well as 28 rounds of ammunition. They also allegedly found bags of methylamphetamine, cocaine, a glass smoking implement with traces of while powder and a small black flick knife. Sarah Crabtree Unveils Evoke Classics Charity Calendar 2024: A Visual Feast for Classic Car Enthusiasts London UK November 27, 2023; After successfully raising hundreds of pounds for charity from the proceeds of last years calendar, the Evoke Classics team has this season ramped the festive cheer up a gear to create an A3-sized whopper of a calendar for 2024. Arguably the perfect gift for classic car enthusiasts, the Evoke Classics 2024 Calendar features images from the Evoke Classics community and is available to order now from evoke-classics.com. Proceeds from the 2024 calendar sales are going to the Bone Cancer Research Trust. Louise Everett, regional relationship manager at the Bone Cancer Research Trust, said: We are incredibly grateful to the team at Evoke Classics for continuing to donate the proceeds from their calendar sales towards our vital work. It is only with the generosity of charitable businesses like Evoke Classics, together with the support of their car-loving community, that we can continue to make a difference for bone cancer patients and their families #UntilTheresACure. Some lucky classic car lovers have already snapped up the first copies of this cracker of a calendar at the NEC Classic Motor Show in November. There, it sold like hotcakes and given the high-quality of its photographs, its little wonder that it wowed the crowds. Evoke Classics sales director Sarah Crabtree and the team once again received hundreds of high-quality entries from members of the rapidly growing, global Evoke Classics community. Sarah said: Enthusiasts were invited to submit a photo of their beloved classic vehicle and the response was outstanding. People took note of the high-quality of the entries last year and upped their game, so it was a close call we had some great entries and, as a result, the calendar features some irresistibly eye-catching photos. After carefully poring over all of the entries, the judging panel whittled the submissions down to the final 13 photos one for each month of the year and another for the front cover. Giving us a peak as to what lucky recipients can expect to find when they unwrap the 2024 calendar, Sarah said: The Evoke Classics community is continuing to expand with members from mainland Europe and further afield. Weve therefore got a few entries from Europe for the 2024 edition theres a Porsche from France and a Triumph TR4A from Spain. To purchase your copy, visit evoke-classics.com. The calendars are priced at 17 which includes postage and packing within the UK. Description Its here, our Evoke Classics Calendar featuring photos of classics from you, our Evoke community and its even bigger and better! In A3 size (30cm x 42cm) the price includes postage & packing in a boarded envelope within the UK. Just click the Add to Basket button for the quantity required and add your details, make payment and well get the calendar posted out to you calendars will be posted by second class signed for delivery each Friday. *If youd like the calendar to be signed, please pop a message into the Additional Information box when youre going through the checkout process.* Shipping overseas? please get in touch for a postage price before buying. Proudly supporting our chosen charity Bone Cancer Research Trust The Bone Cancer Research Trust is a charity dedicated to fighting primary bone cancer. The charity funds research, raises awareness of the disease and provides patient information and support services. Any questions? Just get in touch with us: team@evoke-classics.com US companies secured over $128 billion in deals for cutting-edge American technology, innovative products, and premium services during the Dubai Airshow (November 13-17), including a $52 billion deal between Emirates Airlines and Boeing, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported a top American diplomat as saying. Martina A Strong, the Ambassador of the United States to the United Arab Emirates, underscored the UAE's significance as a market for American companies, highlighting the presence of over 1,500 American businesses, many of which are global leaders in their respective industries. These companies are drawn to the UAE's strategic location, its pro-business environment, and its gateway to burgeoning regional markets, she noted. Strong further emphasised the strength of the US investment landscape, characterised by a dynamic market and a robust regulatory framework that fosters growth and innovation. Additionally, diversity remains a cornerstone of the American workforce, the diplomat remarked. TradeArabia News Service Two Palestinian teenagers were killed Tuesday during Israeli army raids in the occupied West Bank, where violence has surged in tandem with the Israeli war on Gaza, the Palestinian health ministry said. According to the ministry, Amir Wahdan, 14, was killed in Tubas in the northern West Bank, where the army said troops had gone in to arrest "two wanted suspects". Witnesses told AFP that clashes broke out with young people throwing stones at Israeli army vehicles and soldiers responding with fire. Near Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority, 17-year-old Malik Deghreh was killed by Israeli fire, the Palestinian ministry said. Clashes erupted after the Israeli occupation army entered a village to carry out searches, witnesses said, adding that the teenager who died was hit by four bullets. A young Palestinian was also killed overnight Monday in Beitunia, a village between the Israeli Ofer prison and Ramallah, the ministry said. Since Friday, dozens of young Palestinians have been gathering every evening in Beitunia to welcome Palestinian prisoners being released in exchange for Israeli captives taken by Hamas on October 7. On each occasion, the occupation army has fired tear gas canisters and opened fire, injuring dozens. Violence has flared in the West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, following Hamas led an offensive on Southern Israel on October, 7. In response, Israel has vowed to "crush" Hamas and initiated a lethal and barbaric air, sea and ground invasion against the civilians in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian health ministry reports that nearly 15,000 people, two-thirds of them women and children, have been killed by the Israeli offensive on Gaza. In the West Bank, more than 230 Palestinians have been killed since then by Israeli soldiers and settlers, according to the Palestinian health ministry. * This story was edited by Ahram Online. Search Keywords: Short link: A team of Indian army engineers joined the rescue effort Monday, assisting other teams who had been already working on the site. They include international tunnel experts. Efforts to reach the workers have hit repeated setbacks in the difficult Himalayan terrain, with sophisticated drilling equipment breaking down several times as it encountered rocks and boulders. The latest setback came on Friday when the drilling machine was damaged irreparably about 14 meters away from the tunnel. The tunnel, being built as part of a massive highway project in the northern state of Uttarakhand, caved in on Nov. 12. "There is no other way left except the manual method and this is also the safe one through which we can reach the laborers," former Lt. Gen Harpal Singh, who is at the site to provide technical assistance to the operation, said on Monday. "Our people are also taking care of the safety measures of those who will go inside for manual drilling. Safety is our priority." Officials said Monday that workers will use a so-called "rat hole" mining technique to access the collapsed tunnel, digging a narrow passageway through the remaining rocks and debris to reach the men. Rescue teams will switch to digging by hand in an effort to extricate 41 construction workers trapped in a collapsed road tunnel in northern India for the past 16 days. Work is also in progress to create an alternate escape route with workers drilling vertically from the top of the mountain toward the tunnel. "We have to drill around 86 meters to be done within four days, that is, by Nov. 30. Hopefully, there will be no further hurdles and the work will be completed on time," Mahmood Ahmad, managing director of the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited said on Sunday. However drilling into the mountain poses higher risks, with geologists warning that it could destabilize the hilly terrain. Plummeting temperatures and forecasts of hail, thunderstorms and rainy weather pose another challenge to the rescue teams. "Everyone has been trying," Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Monday. "We hope that the work is completed at the earliest." Contact has been maintained with the 41 men since they were trapped, first via radio and then with a camera that was inserted last Tuesday through a 15 centimeter pipe that is being used to send hot meals and medicines to the trapped men. Oxygen is being supplied through a separate pipe. Doctors and psychologists are on standby to ensure their physical and mental well-being of the mostly migrant workers, who had come to work on the project from some of India's poorest states. Mobile phones have been sent in so that they can talk to their families as well as board games such as Ludo to help them stay occupied. "They have electricity and a two kilometer passageway along which they can walk. This will help in ensuring their well-being. Counselors are constantly in touch with them. We are giving them what they need," Syed Ata Hussain, a member of the National Disaster Management Authority told a press conference Monday. Authorities have not said what caused the partial collapse of the under-construction tunnel, which is part of an ambitious but controversial $1.5 billion highway project to improve access to important Hindu pilgrimage sites in Uttarakhand. Reports say it happened due to a landslide. Several experts had opposed the "Char Dham" highway project saying that cutting of hillsides and felling of trees would disturb the geology of the Himalayas, the world's youngest mountain chain, as well as pose a risk to communities living in the vicinity. "This is a region that has become increasingly prone to disasters such as landslides. So whatever we are building, we must take the fragility of the Himalayas into account," Anjal Prakash, research director, Bharti Institute of Public Policy at the Indian School of Business, told VOA. "There is a need for infrastructure but how do we plan, that is a conundrum. We need to ensure that the construction being done is environmentally benign and meets international standards for road safety. It looks to me as if some of these issues have been compromised in the present case." The body of Rosalynn Carter, the former U.S. first lady who died on Nov. 19 at age 96, will lie in repose on Monday in Georgia, giving Americans the chance to pay their respects to the woman her husband, former President Jimmy Carter, called "an extension of myself." Carter died shortly after she entered hospice care at home in Plains, Georgia, alongside her husband, a Democrat who gave his wife a prominent voice during his presidency from 1977-1981 and supported her advocacy in the cause of mental health. Her family and current and former members of her U.S. Secret Service security detail joined a hearse motorcade on Monday morning to the Rosalynn Carter Health and Human Sciences Complex at Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus, Georgia, where wreaths were laid. Spectators in Plains waved U.S. flags as the motorcade passed by them. After Ana died, Taylor wrote a handwritten statement on Instagram: "I can't believe I'm writing these words but it is with a shattered heart that I say we lost a fan earlier tonight before my show. I can't even tell you how devastated I am by this." Attempted to tell whatIndia means to the world By Yoshita Singh NEW YORK, INDIAS outgoing Consul General in New York, Randhir Jaiswal, has said, he has endeavoured totell the world what India means to theworld todayas the Indian-American community members lauded his efforts to boost bilateralties and organised receptions to bid him farewell. Several diaspora organisations have been hosting farewell receptions in and around the city in honour of Jaiswal,whowill soon leave for Delhi where he will assume his new role as the Official Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs. Jaiswal said that as Consul General, he has endeavoured to tell the world what India means to the world today. It is acountry which is progressing, which is reaching out to the moon, a country that is developing technologies that are going to define the pathway to the 21st century. It is a country which believes in peace, non-violence, in the path shown by Mahatma Gandhi, Jaiswal said at the farewell reception hosted in Long Island by community members Harish Thakkar and Ajay Patel on Sunday. Jaiswal joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1998 and has so far served in Portugal, Cuba, South Africa and at the Permanent Mission ofIndia to theUNinNewYork. He took up his assignment as Consul General of India in New York in July 2020, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic and oversaw efforts to facilitate the travel of stranded and desperate Indian tourists, students and diaspora members back to India amid restrictions imposed due to the pandemic. We have opened the doors of the Consulateso that we can connect with each one of you, Jaiswal said, adding that the Consulate and his team have endeavoured to celebrate the diversity and achievements of India with the community and American society through myriad programmes and initiatives. Bamboo charcoal can bring in prosperity: Gadkari Business Reporter : EXPRESSING his views at the concluding ceremony of fourdayAgrovisionexhibitionhere on Monday, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that the expo is the firstplatform to make an attemptto provide an alternative to charcoal by producing white charcoal from bamboo. Gadkari said that Wardhabased Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Rural Industrialization (MGIRI) has developed this technology. The calorific value of charcoal made from bamboo goes up to 4,000 and this option proves useful, we will be able to sell bamboo worth Rs 25 lakh crore. It will significantly change the lives of lakhs of farmers in the bamboo growing areas, he said adding that bamboo could be sold at a price of sugarcane in Maharashtra. Central Indias largest national agricultural exhibition, Agrovision, which has been going on for the past 13 years under the guidance of Gadkari, concluded on Friday at the PDKV ground in Dabha. On this occasion, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis; Uttar Pradesh Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Sahi; Arunachal Pradesh Agriculture Minister Tage Taki; MP RamdasTadas; former MP Dr Vikas Mahatme; Coordinator of Agrovision Ravindra Bortkar; Advisor Dr CDMayee and others were also present. Gadkari further appealed to the farmers to make progress with natural farming using modern technology. Fadnavis said that Agrovision expo has emerged as the new source for energy forthe farmers of Vidarbha. He also said that the progress of Agrovision is inspiring. Fadnavis said that the Maharashtra Government is helping natural farming andits has launched the second phase of Jalyukta Shivar. AgricultureMinister of Uttar Pradesh, Surya Pratap Sahi said the recovery of sugarcane in Uttar Pradesh has reached 11percent under the guidance of Gadkari. Apart from this, he said that Uttar Pradeshis making progress inthe field of solar agriculture. Finally, sponsors, progressive farmers, stake holders were felicitated andprizes were given to students winning various competitions organised by Agro vision Foundation. Apart from this, a women self help group gathering was also held at the expo. Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tat kare was the chief guest on this occasion. Bonanzafor businesses MERC reduces open access limit from 1 MW to 100 Kw By Sagar Mohod : In another bonanza for the industry sector in State, Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) has amended the rules to open access (OA) of power, wherein the demand has now been scaled down to 100Kw. The new rule is applicable in terms of purchase of power from renewable energy sources, and it could provide stimulus to tapping the solar energy given the abundance of sunny days in the region. With State-run Maharashtra State Power Generation Company Limited (MSPGCL) also helping stimulate investments in renewable energy parks, the sunny days are here to cheer up the industry. Under OA facility, any consumer can buy power from any source other than the power distribution company. The new policy of OA, Green Energy Open Access Regulations, was notified by MERC which also allows consumers to set-up their own solar power park or any other non-conventional energy generation like wind, waste to energy, bio mass etc. However the stipluation is that the power generaiton sources should be located within Maharashtra and the consumers must utilise the power for self-consumption at his place of work. Further, the limit for OA power ealier was of 1 Mw or more and so it was useful only for large power consumers. Now, with minimum limit reduced to 100 Kw or more, all consumers within this sanctioned load are eligible for OA power, said Saket Suri, Director, All India Renewable Energy Association. With the new policy, consumer can also go for their own non-renewable energy (solar) with own investment or under Group Captive mode, which is another attractive feature. This would help in reducing the overhead charges for OA, as now cross subsidy charge and additional surcharge is not applicable for such consumers, said Sudhir Budhay, Advisor, AIREA, while talking to The Hitavada. Budhay felt that due to reduction in OA power demand to 100 Kw, it stands to benefit the mid-sized power consumers who would happily opt for the same. Especially, Hotels, Multi-speciality hospitals, Radiology & CT Scan centres, Malls, factories, cold storages, pumping stations, STP, jack wells, street lights, IT companies, Data Centres, large showrooms, workshops, EV charging stations are likely to benefit with reduction in OA power demand as their sanctioned load in within the notified new range. To make the policy further attractive, MERC has further liberalised policy to accommodate consumers less than 100 KW also by way to aggregating multiple locations of the same consumer. The only condition under this is that aggregate total of sanctioned load should exceed 100 KW. In such a case, OA charges will be per application and not per consumer as was the rule in the earlier case. As and when multiple locations are connected to single source of solar power generation i.e. in case of OA with multiple connections of the same consumer, the priority and ratio of power adjustment needs to be specified in the application. This provision can be used by chain of stores, multiple branches of the same entity/company/bank. Means within a short term, the chain stores can slash their power bills substantially and this can bring down their overhead charges significantly. These savings on power bills will help in faster turnaround for big investors and would greatly benefit the economy further. Lighted hoardings owned by same company at multiple locations can also be benefited from this. Now sanctioned load is not the limit if consumer availing OA from non-conventional sources and they can draw power more than the sanctioned load also subject to resultant power flow. Generation of OA is adjusted simultaneously at the consumption end. In case excess generation takes place, it can be banked and availed to offset his power consumption in night from 10 pm to 6 am next day after deducting 8 % banking charges. Excess unutilised bank energy will laps at the end of banking period, states the notification of MERC. The notification also covers existing Net metered consumers and they can also opt for OA and cover their additional consumption. Consumers with 100 Kw and above should make a separate application and those with less than 100 KW connections can form a group to qualify the 100 kw sanctioned load criteria and they needs to apply separately. Single connection with 100 Kw or above cannot club his less than 100 Kw consumption locations in single application, Budhay mentioned. North Korea has redeployed troops and weapons at guard posts along the border since the two Koreas scrapped a 2018 military agreement last week. The South Korean military published photos taken with thermal imaging cameras that shows activity at a North Korean guard post on the eastern front that was vacated under the cross-border agreement. "The situation is similar at other North Korean guard posts that were either demolished or emptied," a military spokesman here said. CGSJA celebrate Constitution Day Staff Reporter RAIPUR, CHHATTISGARH State Judicial Academy (CGSJA) celebrated the Constitution Day (Samvidhan Divas) at the Academy in Bilaspur on Sunday. The event was held under the guidance Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh High Court and Patron-in-Chief of the Academy Ramesh Sinha Chief Justice Sinha could not be present as he was in Delhi on the constitution day celebration. The Chief Justice sent his message to the judges of Chhattisgarh. Judge of the High Court Justice Narendra Kumar Vyas was the chief guest at the programme. Judge of the High Court Justice Rakesh Mohan Pandey was present a s special invitee. As an important part of the celebration the Preamble of the Indian Constitution was read. All the District Judges of the State, officials of the High Court Registry and judges posted in Bilaspur district also participated in the programme. Justice Narendra Kumar Vyas said, It should be the primary duty of the judges to connect the people to the justice system by simplifying it in following the Constitution. He further aid that many rights have been provided to the citizens in the Constitution. It is the responsibility of the judiciary to ensure that every person gets complete justice by maintaining a transparent justice system. He highlighted the basic differences of Indian constitution than that of other countries with examples indicating the prerequisites of the constitution such as societal, familial and individual needs. The preamble of Indian Constitution to be a sovereign, socialist, secular and democratic republic which is aiming to secure justice, liberty, equality to all citizens and promote fraternity to maintain unity and integrity of the nation were stressed in his speech as these rights are necessity and are not a privilege. The importance of the ndian Constitution was highlighted by Justice Rakesh Kumar Pandey. He emphasized the importance of Constitution Day, the significance of its celebration and commemorated the people who contributed to the development of constitution. Under the guidance of the chief Justice, a colloquium of all the district Judges of the State was also organized by the Academy. The object of this colloquium was to discuss the challenges before the District Judiciary and way forward. CORRECT ASSERTION THE assertion of Ms. Ruchira Kamboj , India s Ambassador to the United Nations, that India has a potential to be an international mediator, comes as a reflection of what the world feels on the issue. Thanks to its enhanced status in the international arena, the world looks to India as a powerful mediator with an ability to speak the truth in the best possible and balanced manner. This belief was strengthened when Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi told Russian leader Mr. Vladimir Putin that the time was not of war but was of peace. That statement had the backing of Indias ever-strengthening economy, very good military capabilities, and a well-oiled diplomatic t h o u g h t - a n d - a c t i o n combination. The world also believes in all these positive attributes of India. Ms. Ruchira Kamboj is fully aware of the role India is capable of playing in the international arena. Hence her assertion. However, as has come to the worlds notice in recent times, India chooses its own ways and means to take a step forward in diplomacy -- with a keen eye on national interest as the topmost consideration. This also denotes a heightened confidence of India in its own capability and role -- which India showed in the current Palestine issue. SECOND RUNG T H E second rung of Indias cricket players is proving its worth in the T-20 matches against the visiting Australian team. These young players have won two matches in a row to show their grit and their resolve to establish the countrys superiority in the game. No matter the loss in the recent World Cup final, these youngsters, with sprinkling of a few seniors, are proving equal to the task of daring the mighty Australians and beating them out in the middle comprehensively. What is visible in the young team is the technique not just of batting and bowling but also of decisionmaking as the game progresses.They appear cool and ready for challenges and undisturbed when the other side appears to be doing better.This is the actual quality of a champion team -- to remain unfazed in times of pressure. In the two matches they won, the youngsters never looked like being under pressure, so to say. Much to the contrary, they looked ready for those times -- and appeared to have an effective answer to the challenge that arose from time to time. The experience of the two matches, thus, gives a terrific feeling of pride in youngsters ability to play world-class cricket with aplomb. Cultural diplomacy: Varanasis Dev Deepavali draws Ambassadors from 70 nations VARANASI : IN A dazzling display of cultural convergence, ambassadors and diplomats from over 70 nations have gathered in the historic city of Varanasi to partake in the grand celebrations of Kartik Pournima. Organised by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the distinguished guests will bear witness to the lighting of earthen lamps on the auspicious occasion of Kartik Pournima, alongside the mesmerising Ganga Arti and Dev Deepavali festivities at Kashi. They received a warm welcome at Varanasis Lal Bahadur Shastri airport. Varanasi, a city steeped in spiritual significance, has played host to various international events, including G20 and SCO meetings during Indias presidency. Notably, it was designated as the first SCO cultural city earlier this year, underscoring its global prominence. As Varanasi gears up for the grand celebration of Dev Deepawali, the city is adorned with brilliant lights and decorations, setting the stage for a breathtaking spectacle. Dev Deepavali, often referred to as the Diwali of the Gods, unfolds on the full moon night of the Hindu month of Kartika, embellishing the riverfront ghats of the Ganges from Ravidas Ghat to Rajghat with over a million earthen lamps. The festival promises a visual feast with a show featuring firecrackers, lasers, and music against the backdrop of the moonlit sky. A green aerial firecracker display is set to enhance the divine ambience of the event, illuminating the sand in front of the Ganga gate of Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham. The festivities, organised by the Uttar Pradesh Government, include a laser and crackers show along with the illumination of the ghats with a staggering 12 lakh lamps. A green aerial firecracker show, lasting approximately 13 minutes, will captivate the audience, showcasing the grandeur of Dev Diwali in Varanasi. With over 7 to 8 lakh devotees expected to attend this years celebration, stringent security arrangements are in place to ensure a safe and joyous experience. The Deputy Director of the Tourism Department, Rajendra Kumar Rawat, emphasised the meticulous preparations for the Green Aerial Fire Crackers Show, promising a breathtaking spectacle that will leave a lasting impression. As the city resonates with hymns dedicated to Lord Shiva, including Har-Har Shambhu and Shiv Tandav Stotra, Varanasi is poised to offer a truly enchanting and spiritually uplifting experience. Under the vision of Prime Minister Modi and the UP Govt, Dev Diwali has transcended local boundaries, captivating a global audience and cementing Varanasis status as a beacon of cultural and spiritual vibrancy. Earlier this month, the MEA orchestrated the visit of ambassadors and diplomats from 50 countries to Ayodhya for the enchanting Deepotsav celebration on the eve of Diwali, further showcasing Indias rich cultural tapestry. Entrepreneurs term new solar policy Diwali gift Business Reporter : WHILE welcoming the recent developments and changes brought in by the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) in the new roof top solar policy,entrepreneurs of the region on Saturday termed it as a Diwali gift forthe industry.They also said that the new changes would motivate many entrepreneurs to opt solar rooftop power. However, the entrepreneurs and representatives have also decided to file petitions before the MERC seeking more changes inthepolicy.Ina seminar held under the banner of Energy Forum of Vidarbha Industries Association (VIA), the participants felt that there is a need for virtual net metering. The VIA Executive Committee approved the suggestion to file the petition before MERC. RB Goenka,Vice President of VIA,said the entrepreneurs were expecting a virtual net metering system inthe new policy. Virtual net metering means net metering for electricity generatedby a solar system at a different location from where the energy is consumed. It is a kind of bill crediting system for community solar. Energy generated on the site is fed into the grid and resulting net metering credits are shared among its subscribers. Apart from this, the entrepreneurs and representatives expressed satisfaction over the introduction of group net metering through the new amendment. As per the new step,surplus units injected into the grid from a roof top system or any other mounting structure in the consumers premises that will be adjusted against the energy consumed in the monthly bill of service connections based on a priority list and sharing ratio. They also praised the commission for increasing the net metering cap to 5 MW. Now, consumer scan install a roof top solar plant of upto 5 MWcapacity andavailnetmeteringfacility. Previously, net metering was capped at 1 MW capacity. The VIA forum further expressed satisfaction over postponing grid-support charges and green open access permissions. At the outset VIA President, Vishal Agrawal made the opening remarks and applauded the Government and MERC for their futuristic and positive step making Maharashtra as a trend setting State for green energy consumption. Sudhir Budhey, Advisor of All India Renewable Energy Association, Nagpur highlighted the key pointsof the policy while RB Goenka dwelled upon the grey areas which needed further clarification. While summing up the session, Vice President of VIA Prashant Mohota suggested a framework forindustrialists to use these policies for their advantage. Ashish Doshi and representatives of various units and others were present. ExtendING ceasefire Israel, Hamas extend truce for 2 more days TEL AVIV : ISRAEL and Hamas agreed to extend their ceasefire for two more days past Monday, the Qatari Government said, bringing the prospect of a longer halt to their deadliest and most destructive war and further exchanges of militant-held hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. The announcement, made by Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid Al Ansary in a post on X, came on the final day of the original four-day truce between the warring sides. Qatar, along with the United States and Egypt, has been the key mediator in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. Israel has said it would extend the ceasefire by one day for every 10 additional hostages released. After the Qatari announcement, Hamas confirmed it had agreed to a two- day extension under the same terms. But Israel says, it remains committed to crushing Hamas military capabilities and ending its 16-year rule over Gaza after its October 7 attack into southern Israel. That would likely mean expanding a ground offensive from devastated northern Gaza to the south, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have crammed into United Nations shelters, and where dire conditions persist despite the increased delivery of aid under the truce. Israel will resume its operations with full force as soon as the current deal expires if Hamas does not agree to further hostage releases, with the goal of eliminating the group and freeing the rest of the captives, Government spokesperson Eylon Levy told reporters on Monday. So far, 58 hostages have been released during the current truce, including 39 Israelis. Before the truce, four hostages were freed, another rescued and two were found dead inside Gaza. After weeks of national trauma over the around 240 people abducted by Hamas and other militants, scenes of the women and children reuniting with families have rallied Israelis behind calls to return those who remain in captivity. We can get all hostages back home. We have to keep pushing, two relatives of Abigail Edan, a 4-year-old girl and dual Israeli-American citizen who was released Sunday, said in a statement. Hamas and other militants could still be holding up to 175 hostages, enough to potentially extend the cease-fire for two and a half weeks. But those include a number of soldiers, and the militants are likely to make much greater demands for their release. GATHERING OF PATRIOTS: 14th Reunion of J&K Rifles Regiment begins Staff Reporter : THE 14th Reunion of Jammu and Kashmir Rifles Regiment commenced with zeal and enthusiasm at the Regimental Centre on Monday. The two day event started on a solemn note with Wreath Laying ceremony at the War Memorial of the Regimental Centre to pay homage to the brave hearts of the Regiment, presided over by Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi, AVSM, GOC-in-C Northern Command and Colonel of the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles Regiment and Ladakh Scouts. This memorial service was followed by a Special Sainik Sammelan. Addressing on the occasion, Colonel of the Regiment paid solemn tributes to the brave hearts who made the supreme sacrifice on the Line of Duty and also congratulated all ranks for highest standards of professionalism, training and administration which brought unparalleled laurels to the regiment. This address was followed by presentation of the most prestigious Colonel of the Regiment Banner to the best battalion of the Regiment based on professional performance over the last two years. In the evening, a scintillating band symphony and Barakhana was organized by the Regimental Centre for all serving and veteran officers, JCOs and Other Ranks. Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi, AVSM and Sunita Dwivedi took this opportunity to felicitate Veer Naris and selected personnel for their selfless service to the society and veteran community of the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles Regiment even after retirement. Having participated in all operations of war pre and post-Independence, the JAK RIF Regiment has proved its valour each and every time earning 2 PVCs, 2 ACs, 5 MVCs, 11 KCs, 44 VrCs and 47 SCs. Apart from Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi, AVSM, prominent among those who attended the Reunion were Lt Gen GL Bakshi, PVSM (Retd), Lt Gen SS Grewal, PVSM, AVSM, SM, VSM (Retd), Lt Gen Susheel Gupta, PVSM, AVSM, VSM (Retd), Lt Gen Sandeep Singh, AVSM, SM, VSM, ADC and Lt Gen VP Singh, AVSM, YSM (Retd), all previous Colonels of the Regiment. Lt Gen VK Mishra, PVSM, AVSM, Commandant, Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, Maj Gen CA Pithawalla, Ashok Chakra, YSM (Retd) and a number of regimental serving senior General officers also added grace to the event by their presence. Commanding Officers of all battalions of the regiment, Subedar Majors, a number of Veer Naris and serving and veteran officers, JCOs and Other Ranks and their dependents were also present. It was a matter of pride for the regiment that G L Batra, proud father and Vishal Batra, brother of Param Vir Chakra awardee Late Captain Vikram Batra were also present during the Reunion. The regimental bonhomie and espirit-de-corps was witnessed in abundance during the two day event as senior veterans shared their experiences with the serving officers, JCOs and Other Ranks and fondly reminiscedthe days of serving together in tough conditionsand renewed the old association with a promise to meet again after four years in the next regimental Reunion. A family welfare meet, chaired by Sunita Dwivedi, First Lady of Jammu and Kashmir Rifles Regiment, was also organised at Jammu and Kashmir Auditorium in which all ladies had a healthy interaction over role and responsibilities of Army Wives. The First Lady was updated on the ongoing AWWA activities at the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles Regimental Centre and appreciated the Swavalamban and Annapurna projects of the Centre aimed at women empowerment, making army ladies self-reliant through skilling. Great Idea PRESIDENT Mrs. Droupadi Murmus suggestion in favour of a mechanism that would strengthen justice delivery system in the country is certainly worthy of serious consideration. Though she has left the idea to the wisdom of people concerned, the suggestion has the power of being a presidential desire. Hence its importance at a time when the overall role of the judiciary is under sort of a scrutiny by the nation, the reasons being delay in delivery of justice, huge pendency of cases at all judicial forums, and an unstated lack of understanding in the executive and the judiciary. It is obvious that these issues with their multiple dimensions must have weighed on President Mrs. Murmus mind when she suggested formation of an all-India Service to select and nurture talent in judiciary. The core thought of the Presidents assertion on the Constitution Day focused on a citizen-centric system for justice. That the First Citizen of the country is duly concerned about this vital issue, is a matter of great happiness for the larger Indian society. There is reason, now, to believe that things would start moving in the right direction after taking the hint from the President. The issues related to Indian system of justice are too well-known and much-discussed in the national discourse for decades on end. Some short measures also have surfaced from time to time relieve different pressures on the judicial system. Those measures have helped to some extent in remoulding the justice delivery system. However, the overall quality of Indias top-to-bottom judicial system has remained below par, causing much trouble not just to the litigating public but also to the larger society. It must be noted candidly that there are reasons for the common people to lose faith in the judiciary. It is against this background that Chief Justice of India (CJI) Mr. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud has insisted that the Supreme Court is a peoples court and the common public must not be afraid of approaching it in times of need. It is time we look at the CJIs assertion through a critical lens. For, no matter the tall-talk around it, the common people really have strong reservations about the actual utilitarian value of any judicial forum including the SC. For, the reality is that the entire judicial process has become so expensive that an ordinary citizen just cannot put together resources to be able to approach the judiciary, let alone the apex court. So, when the CJI assures people that the Supreme Court is their court, the people may take really a long time to start considering the virtue in that assertion. That is where President Mrs. Murmus suggestion about an all-India service to select and nurture talent in lads and justice comes in. The suggestion is truly valuable and needs a serious consideration by all stake-holders that include even the Government. It is common knowledge that all-India services such as the Indian Administrative Service or Indian Police Service, for example, have proved their merit and substance and utility. It is commonly believed that the quality of trained human material is much above the national normal and is able to hold the administrative machinery in good shape because of its grooming and ability to ensure that the system operates to the fullest measure and delivers goods. The President appears to have suggested one such approach to reforming the ability of the national justice delivery system. Even though the model is ready by way of the present all-India services, details for such a system for judicial service may take a lot of thought. This process must begin right-away, so that in due course of time, the implementation of the Presidents idea may begin at the earliest. Imperative to amplify justice needs of under-represented: CJI NEW DELHI : ACCESS to justice cannot be secured only by crafting propeople jurisprudence in judgements but requires active progress on the administrative side of the court such as improving infrastructure and enhancing legal aid services, Chief Justice of India DY Chandra chud said on Monday. Speaking at the first Regional Conference on Access to Legal Aid organised by National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) here, Chandrachud said the challenge for judges is not to do justice in the facts of the individual case but to institutionalise the processes and look beyond the immediate aswell. Access to justice is not a right that can be secured only by crafting pro-people jurisprudence in our judgements rather it requires active progress on the administrative side of the court as well, Chandrachud said. The CJI said the discourse abouthumanrightsandaccess to justice has historically been monopolised by voices from the Global North (industrialised nations) which makes such dialogues unsuitable. He said it is imperative to amplify the justice needs of the under-represented populations in our country. Chandrachud said the concept of justice has historically been construed as applicable solely within the confines of a sovereign state. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant also spoke on the occasion. LEGAL AID HAS FUNCTIONAL ROLE IN STRENGTHENING JUSTICE SYSTEM, SAYS JUSTICE SANJIV KHANNA: Legal aid has a functional role in strengthening the justice system and it needs to be understood beyond the aid to the needy, Supreme Court judge Justice Sanjiv Khanna said on Monday. Giving an overview of the conference, he said this is the firsttime theheadsofthe judiciary, heads of law and justice ministries, heads of legal aid bodies and civil society representatives from 70 countries of the Global South came together at an international platformdedicatedtothecause of legal aid. Legal aid needs to be understood much beyond the aid to theneedy. Legal aid has a functional role instrengthening the justice system. It empowers individuals to participate and engagewithpublicinstitutions and become active and equal stakeholders, Justice Khanna said. Hesaid,IndianConstitution imposes an obligation on the state to provide free legal aid to ensure access to justice to all citizens. In India, the Legal Services Authority Act, 1987forms a backbone of how legal aid accessibility and awarenessis structured. LAWYERS TREATING LEGALAID AS STEP CHILD CAUSEOF CONCERN: AGVENKATARAMANI: Legal aid is not analternative charity and thesinof lawyers treating the pro bono work as astep childremains a cause for concern, Attorney General R Venkataramani said on Monday and condemned such an attitude. The law officer said those who think that the progress in legal profession is through corporate or Governmental workalone are blind to the fundamentals of their professional calling. India looking to seal landmark 31 MQ-9BPredator drone deal with US by March By Manash Pratim Bhuyan : NEW DELHI INDIA is looking at sealing a landmark deal to procure 31 MQ-9B Predator longendurance armed drones from the US under a Governmentto-Government framework by March with the US Congress expected to clear the supplies in the next few weeks, people familiar with the matter said. American and Indian Government officials will hold the final series of negotiations on the procurement after Washington responds to Indias Letter of Request (LoR) for the acquisition of drones from US defence major General Atomics (GA), they said. India is procuring the longendurance hunter-killer drones to crank up the surveillance apparatus of the Armed Forces, especially along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. Though the price of the drones will be finalisedin the negotiation process, it isestimated that the procurement would cost around USD3 billion. The people cited above saidNew Delhi andWashington will depute their respective teamsto firm up the deal includingfinalising the cost and other nitty-gritties. The aim is to seal the deal byMarch next year, they said. As part of the laid downprocess, the agreement will bebetween the Indian Government and American authorities and the Pentagon will convey to General Atomics about the requirement of the Indian armed forces, they added. It is understood that the issue of Indias proposed procurement of the drones figuredin US Defence Secretary Lloyd J Austins talks with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh in Delhi earlier this month. Asked at a media briefing as to when the procurement will be finalised, Austin said it will be announced atthe righttime. Well, again, you know, weve--attherighttime,well announce the (deal). I think the Government, the officials in the Government are doing everything necessary to make sure that that capability...You (India) get that capability as quickly as possible, he said. The Defence Acquisition Council headed by Singh on June 15 accorded the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) or initial approval for the acquisition of 31 MQ-9B drones from theUS under the foreign military sale (FMS) route. In June, both side salso reached anagreement under which American aerospace major General Electric will partner with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd to produce jetengines for Indian military aircraft in India. The Sea Guardian drones are being procured for the three services as they can carry out a variety of roles including maritime surveillance, anti-submarine warfare and over-the horizon targeting. While the Navy will get15 Sea Guardian drones, the Indian Air Force and the Army will each get eight Sky Guardian drones. The high-altitude longendurance drones are capable of remaining airborne for over 35 hours and can carry four Hellfire missiles and around 450 kgs of bombs. Surrendered militants in Tripura seekRs 500 cr package for rehabilitation AGARTALA : THE Tripura United Indigenous Peoples Council (TUIPC), a platform of surrendered militants of the North eastern State, has sought a special central package of Rs 500 crore for proper rehabilitation of the returnees,asurrendered rebel leader said on Monday. Addressing a press conference here, TUIPC chairman Ranjit Debbarma claimed that the State Government had failed to fulfil the promises of the1988 Tripura National Volunteers (TNV) peace accord. We met the Special Secretary of the MHA, A K Mishra, in Delhi on November 22 and submitted a memorandum highlighting the problems of surrendered militants of State, Debbarma, the former supremo of the banned All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF), said. The Defense Ministry here on Monday confirmed that a spy satellite North Korea launched last week has entered orbit around the earth. "The satellite entered stable orbit," a military spokesman said. "Compared to the Kwangmyongsong-4 satellite, which was launched in February of 2016 but veered off its orbit and burned after falling to the earth a few days later, the Malligyong-1 satellite appears to have evolved technologically." But the ministry remains skeptical of North Korea's claim that the satellite has already beamed back photos of Seoul, Pyeongtaek, Osan and Busan as well as U.S. military installations in Guam and Hawaii. "It usually takes several months after launch to take photographs, so the North's announcement appears to be for show," a military source said. When the South Korean military analyzed a North Korean spy satellite that crashed into the sea in May "we discovered that the resolution was crude, and it is questionable that such shortcomings could have been overcome in such a short time." TUNNEL RESCUE Manual horizontal digging soon Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Pramod Kumar Mishra talks to rescue officials at the collapsed Silkyara tunnel where an operation being conducted to extract the 41 workers trapped inside it, in Uttarkashi district on Monday. (PTI) UTTARKASHI/NEW DELHI : RESCUERS had bored 36 metres into the hill above the Silkyara tunnel by Monday evening in their effort to reach 41 workers trapped inside for 15 days as rat-hole mining experts also reached the disaster site to help tackle the challenge simultaneously from another front. Twelve rat-hole mining experts will be involved in manual drilling and excavation horizontally through the last 10- or 12-metre stretch of debris of the collapsed portion of the under-construction tunnel on Uttarakhands Char Dham route. This drilling was earlier being carried out by a huge auger machine that got stuck in the rubble on Friday, forcing officials to focus on an alternative option -- drilling down from above the tunnel. About 40 per cent of the 86-metre vertical drilling required is now done. For the horizontal through-the-rubble option, officials decided that the final stretch would be handled through a manual approach in which individual workers will go into the escape passage with drills, as well as gas-cutters to tackle obstacles like iron girders. By Monday evening, the last bit of the stuck auger had been cut out piece by piece and a steel pipe inserted further into the partially complete escape passage. With individuals already working inside the tunnel with tools like gas-cutters, officials said, in a way the manual operation has begun on Sunday. In Delhi, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) member Lt General (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain said vertical drilling, which began on Sunday, has already reached a depth of 36 metres. Rescuers hope to pull out workers through this one-metre-wide shaft when it breaks through the top of the tunnel below, hopefully by Thursday. Another eight-inch wide shaft being drilled from a nearby point has reached about 75 metres down. The vertical drilling, however, encountered some water underground and dewatering was carried out, officials said. But it didnt seriously affect the operation. Two teams of seven and five men who are experts in the technique of rat-hole mining are now at the site, called in by two private companies involved in the rescue operation. Rat-hole mining is a controversial and hazardous procedure in which miners in small groups go down narrow burrows to excavate small quantities of coal. Despite challenges, efforts on to rescue trapped workers in Ukhand: PM Modi: Despite challenges from nature in the evacuation process of the 41 workers trapped inside a tunnel in Uttarakhand, the Government stands firmly to bring them out to safety, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday. Modi prayed for the safe evacuation of the workers who have been trapped in a tunnel in Uttarakhand for the last 15 days at a Koti Deepotsavam, a religious event of lighting lamps during the Hindu Kartika month, here. He said the Government is making continuous efforts to evacuate the workers safely and as early as possible. But, we have to complete this relief and rescue operation with lot of alertness. Nature is continuously giving us challenges in this effort. But, we are standing firm. We are making efforts round-the-clock. We have to pray for the safe evacuation of those workers and to do it as early as possible, Modi said. The Government and all agencies together are leaving no stone unturned to bring them out safely, he said. When we are praying to God today and talk about human welfare, then we have to pray for all those worker brothers who have been trapped inside a tunnel in Uttarakhand for the past two weeks, he said. The family members of the workers need to be given courage that the whole country is with them, he said. He prayed that every lamp lit in the Dev Diwali and Koti Deepotsavam would bring light in the lives of those trapped workers at the earliest. Youth held for raping minor gir Staff Reporter : BHILAI, A 23-YEAR-OLD youth was arrested for allegedly raping a minor girl in Charoda, Durg. In the matte Government Railway Police (GRP), Bhilai-3 arrested the accused following the complaint. Police sources informed that the accused has been identified as Shubham Sarkar (23), a resident of Devbaloda, Charoda, Durg. The police said that as per the facts recorded in the course of investigation, few days back the victim minor girl had been to a nearby forest area for collecting firewood when the accused Shubham Sarkar allegedly abducted her and took her to his house where he raped the victim while no one was at home. It was also recorded in the investigation that the accused youth had allegedly threatened the victim of dire consequences if she ever dared to file the police complaint in the matter. In the matte the police team arrested the accused and registered offence against him under sections 376 and 506 of Indian Penal Code and sections 4 and 6 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offence Act. Rajkumar Borjha, Station House Officer, GRP Bhilai-3 informed that acting into the complaint of crime against minor girl on priority basis the police team swung into action and took the accused into custody immediately after the complaint. The police have already arrested the accused and are further investigating for establishing the criminal charges. Only hours remain before the General Assembly of the Bureau International des Expositions in Paris votes on the host city of the 2030 World Expo on Tuesday. The final presentations begin with Busan, followed by Rome and Riyadh in 20-minute intervals, before representatives from 182 BIE member countries cast their ballot. The results are expected around midnight, Korean time. If no city receives more than two-thirds support, a second round will take place between the top two. But local media reports indicate that over 120 countries have already expressed support for Saudi Arabia, so Korea is pulling out all the stops to catch up. People cheer for Busan's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in the southern port city on Monday. Thanks to Saudi Arabia's bottomless oil wealth, 66 of Africa's 68 member nations have declared for Riyadh, at what analysts estimate as a cost of US$15 billion in pledges from the desert kingdom. Candidate countries can still try to sway delegates on site or through diplomatic channels since the voting decisions of individual representatives will not be disclosed publicly. With massive support from Korean global conglomerates like Samsung, Hyundai and LG, Busan's promotional campaigns continue gamely in the French capital. An event to try on hanbok or traditional Korean dress was held on Monday at prominent sites like Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Louvre, targeting both Parisians and tourists. Another event took place on the Seine cruise ship featuring the red and blue Cheongsachorong or traditional Korean lanterns. Around 2,500 buses and taxis with advertisements are navigating through Paris. Near the Arc de Triomphe, electronic billboards display the candidate city's slogan "Busan is Ready." Buses promoting Busan's bid to host the 2030 World Expo pass by the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Korea hopes that the luminaries it has chosen to make the presentation can still dazzle delegates. In rehearsal on Monday, the Korean delegation implemented strict security measures to conceal the speakers. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo attracted press attention at the event's main entrance as other potential speakers like former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon tried to sneak in unnoticed. One female participant wore a big mask to add an element of mystery. Writing 43 sentences doesnt seem like the most loquacious way to break almost 30 years of silence. But you never know with Bill Watterson, the creator of Calvin and Hobbes, one of the most beloved newspaper comic strips in history. The cartoonist just published The Mysteries, a laconic black-and-white adult fable based on Wattersons story with drawings done in collaboration with John Kascht, known for his elongated caricatures of celebrities. The Mysteries is the story of a medieval kingdom in crisis, with airplanes flying over newspaper stands and highways, where life is shaped by the mysteries alluded to in the comics title. No one had ever seen them, but they seemed to be everywhere. And people lived in suspicion and fear, the fable begins. Printed on the odd pages of the hardcover book, the drawings are intriguing, a mix of charcoal backgrounds and what looks like photographs of clay models. The 43 sentences construct a morality tale that is open to interpretation. Is The Mysteries a reflection on climate change? Or is it about immigration? Does it talk about the lies of power? Or the dark side of technology? With Watterson, you never know. Watterson, 65, was born in Washington but soon moved with his parents to Chagrin Falls, a small town near Cleveland, Ohio. The areas wooded charm served as the setting for the comics he began publishing in 1985. His characters were a bold, imaginative and intelligent six-year-old boy named Calvin and his inseparable conspiratorial friend Hobbes, an extremely sharp animal or a stuffed tiger, depending on how you look at it. In 1995, Watterson published the last comic strip, in which Calvin uttered one of the most famous lines in the history of comics: Its a magical world, Hobbes, ol buddy Lets go exploring! Since then, the cartoonist has devoted himself to his own pursuits: cultivating his passion for music, spending time with his family, sabotaging his bank account by refusing time and again to turn his characters into merchandising fodder, and avoiding the spotlight. Like a comic yeti, the same photo of him is almost always in circulation; in it, a smiling Watterson looks up from his worktable. (In recent weeks, some critics have wondered whether the new work might not be a cryptic account of his retirement). Bill Watterson, the creator of 'Calvin and Hobbes,' in a photograph from1986. Watterson hasnt been completely silent in the nearly 28 years since he left Calvin behind. While he declined to appear in a documentary about him (Dear Mr. Watterson, 2013, available free on YouTube), he has given at least three interviews: one to his hometown paper, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, in 2010, in which he stated that he has never regretted the decision to retire his characters; another to the curiosity website Mental Floss, in 2013; and his most in-depth interview, done on the occasion of the publication of a catalog for an exhibition on his work in 2015. He drew the poster for a documentary on the evolution of newspaper comic strips (Stripped, 2014) and, eight years ago, he also created the poster for the Angouleme festival, which awarded him the Grand Prix for his entire career. In addition, he left his refuge to honor another master American cartoonist, Richard Thompson (1957-2016), the creator of the unforgettable Cul de Sac, and somewhat unexpectedly collaborated with the Pearls Before Swine comic strip. Thompson was the one who introduced Watterson and Kascht. The Mysteries is the fruit of a decade of collaboration between the two. The February announcement of the projects existence caused a great stir. After the books publication, Watterson made an exception to his silence by releasing a 15-minute promotional video in which the two authors take turns describing the half-finished work in a voice-over. Watterson wrote the books story, which he says he had kept in a drawer for a long time. They imposed a rule on each other: Neither of us would have the last word. Neither could veto anything or cancel the project. We would only go ahead with what we agreed on, the creator of Calvin and Hobbes says in the video. As he speaks, images of hands apparently his own working on one of the comics backgrounds appear on screen. Watterson adds that he wasnt looking for an assistant. I didnt want to be the boss. I wanted a sparring partner, someone whose ideas and skills challenged my own. Both describe the struggle between a perfectionist who needs to know where hes headed at all times (Kascht) and someone who loves improvisation (Watterson). It would be hard to overstate the incompatibility of our creative approaches, the former explains in the video. Now I understand why [rock] bands break up in the recording studio. Our collaboration wasnt so much a matter of compromise as it was a matter of clashes. It didnt end up being very smart: we created tons of waste. The truly remarkable thing is that we never got personally angry. We worked from a point of difference in pursuit of a common purpose, which is almost an act of defiance these days. Starting over Watterson recounts that by the end of the first year they hadnt been able to produce anything together. So, we started over, he adds. Kascht created a bunch of clay models of faces of inhabitants of that medieval world and sent them to his partner. They did something akin to casting the models. Nevertheless, the story had a happy ending for Watterson, who concludes in the video: Collaboration creates friction, but it also creates energy, and sometimes the combination of talents is greater than the sum of its parts. The result of that partnership is a strange artifact, which has been received as a disconcerting event in the world of American comics. It has done well on bestseller lists because of the legendary comic strip that was published every week in over two thousand newspapers around the world, including EL PAIS, but it has disappointed those who expected some trace of the joy and lightness of Calvin and Hobbes. In a 2010 interview with the Plain Dealer, 15 years after the end of Calvin and Hobbes, Watterson stated, Its always better to leave the party early. If I had followed the strips popularity and repeated myself for another five, 10 or 20 years, the people who are now mourning Calvin and Hobbes would be wishing me dead and cursing newspapers for publishing tedious, old strips like mine instead of bringing in fresher, livelier talent. And I would have to agree. Watterson also left another party paper newspapers early (or at the right time), although some like The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times continue the tradition of publishing an offprint on Sundays with comic strips on top of each other, a format that is difficult to translate to a webpage. To return to the imaginative universe of the boy named after a certain reformist theologian and the tiger inspired by Thomas Hobbes, one must go to the Billy Ireland Comic Book Museum and Library at Ohio State University in Columbus, which houses the worlds largest collection of cartoons, graphic novels and comic-related materials. That includes 3,000 originals of the famous comic strip, which Watterson deposited there. In addition to the exhibits, visitors are welcome in the reading room, where they can consult materials from the librarys inexhaustible holdings. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition A suspected illegal migrant is searched after he was detained by German police during their patrol along the German-Polish border to prevent illegal migration, in Forst, Germany, September 20, 2023. Interior ministers from six European Union countries on Monday said their nations had agreed to step up efforts to protect the bloc from illegal immigration and target groups of human smugglers that operate on its borders. The ministers from the V4 group of Central European nations including the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia were joined by counterparts from Austria and Germany for a summit in the southern Hungarian city of Szeged, 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the blocs border with Serbia. Some EU governments worry that increasing pressure from the so-called Balkan migration route, which leads from Serbia into Hungary, requires a tougher response from countries in the region. The interior minister of the Czech Republic, Vit Rakusan, who organized the summit, said migration is a shared challenge for Europe, and that solutions must focus on preventing migrants from entering the bloc illegally. We all are on the same migration route. We share borders, and the situation on the external border of the EU affects all of us, he said. He didnt give details on how they would target smugglers. Rakusan asserted that recent decisions by numerous European governments to reintroduce internal border checks within the visa-free Schengen zone were unsustainable, and that external border protection would be the focus of cooperation between the six governments going forward. We all want to have the Schengen area alive, he said. We all know that controls and checks on the internal borders, it isnt the right solution. Around 13 of the EUs 27 member countries have reintroduced internal border checks with their neighbors in recent months, a deviation from the normal border-free travel enjoyed in the Schengen zone. Slovakia last month resumed checks at its border with Hungary to reduce a growing number of migrants entering the country, after neighbors Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland introduced controls at their own borders with Slovakia. Part of what led to the change was the proliferation of violence in northern Serbia in recent months. Gun battles have become common along the border with Hungary where migrants have gathered looking for ways to cross into the EU with the help of smugglers. Hundreds of Serbian officers were dispatched in late October into the area near the border. They detained several people after a shooting between migrants killed three people and injured one. At the summit on Monday, Hungarian Interior Minister Sandor Pinter said he and his counterparts would discuss a common EU policy on immigration and asylum at a meeting in Brussels next week. He said his country is not willing to compromise on a proposal that would distribute asylum seekers across the EU to reduce the burden on countries most affected by migration. Hungary cannot accept the mandatory nature of relocation, Pinter said. This is a question of sovereignty for Hungary. The ministers were later scheduled to visit Hungarys electrified border fence, which the nationalist government erected in 2015 after over 1 million migrants entered the EU after fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition It was the FNM that was punished in the by-election, not the PLP The lawmaker representing Bida I (North) State Constituency in Niger State, Suleiman Wanchiko has been sacked by the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja. The Appeal Court sacked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker, and consequently declared Bako Kasim of All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner. The three-member panel led by Justice Bature Isa-Gafai, held that Wanchikos appeal was unmeritorious. The appellate court agreed with Kasims counsel, Johnson Usman (SAN), that Wanchiko, having presented a forged testimonial to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), ought to be disqualified from contesting the election. INEC had declared Wanchiko the winner of the Bida I (North) Constituency poll for the Niger State House of Assembly election conducted on March 18. The electoral umpire had declared Wanchiko as the winner with 12,062 votes as against 11,820 votes scored by Kasim. Dissatisfied with INECs declaration, Kasim and APC, through their counsel, Usman, approached the states election petition tribunal via petition number: EPT/NG/SHA/11/2023 between Bako Kasim and another Vs. Suleiman Muhammad Wanchiko and another. Kasim filed the petition on the grounds that Wanchiko was not qualified to contest the election because he submitted a forged testimonial to INEC and that the election was invalid by reason of non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2022. At the end of the trial, the tribunal found merit in the petitioners arguments and disqualified Wanchiko and ordered a re-run without him. Not satisfied with the judgment of the tribunal, Wanchiko, through his counsel, Aliyu Lemu, SAN, approached the Court of Appeal, praying the court to set aside the decision of the tribunal. But Kasims lawyer urged the court to dismiss the appeal and return his client as the winner of the election. The appellate court upheld Usmans argument that with Wanchiko, having been disqualified, the proper order was to return Kasim as the winner of the poll and directed INEC to issue him a Certificate of Return. The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) has signed an agreement with Paris-based Centre Pompidou to formalise, strengthen, and expand collaboration and knowledge sharing ahead of the establishment of a new contemporary art museum in AlUla in 2027. Officially signed in Paris on November 27, the new Executive Programme Agreement aims to build on the long-time cultural partners shared principles of reciprocity, skills transfer, and creates a strategic roadmap towards a more expansive and mutually beneficial working relationship in sectors related to the promotion and conservation of art, culture, science, and heritage. The agreement builds on a memorandum of understanding signed between RCU and Centre Pompidou in March to develop a world-class contemporary art museum in AlUla, with defined multi-year phases leading up to its public opening in 2027. RCU has made significant progress in its plans to establish the new museum, including the announcement of Lina Gotmeh as architect tasked with creating what will be a new cultural destination for AlUla, Saudi Arabia, and the wider region. Chosen for her track-record of high-quality designs that merge outstanding levels of creativity with sustainability, most notably demonstrated in her acclaimed 2023 Serpentine Pavilion in London, the new museum will reflect Gotmehs responsible, considered, and conscious vision of a modern art landmark inspired by AlUla. Carbon efficient and merging sensitively into AlUlas Oasis, the museum will set new standards in sustainable design, showcasing how architecture can be a catalyst for urban regeneration and environmental renewal while offering opportunities for engagement with the community through a calendar of workshops, school programmes, and more. A hub for cultural and artistic expression, the museum promises to create a platform for critical thinking in contemporary art by offering a regional and international collection that highlights the artists' overall production and unique artistic research. The museum is building its legacy through various initiatives, including art residencies, exhibitions, commissions, and publications. The residencies have facilitated artistic production from artists such as Daniah Saleh (Saudi Arabia), Muhannad Shono (Saudi Arabia), and Sabine Mirlesse (France/USA) as well as the art in the landscape program commissions works from artists like Manal Aldowayan (Saudi Arabia), Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim (UAE), Superflex (Denmark), and Serge Attukwei Clottey (Ghana), among others. The museums early collaborations are initiating its own ecosystem as it begins to position itself as a world-class institution, said a statement. The signing of the new agreement is an opportunity to fine-tune and enhance the existing eco-system of successful partnerships and cross-cultural cooperations between RCU and Centre Pompidou. It sets out a working framework of clear priorities, new proposals, and collaborative activities to be pursued over the next four years. With a defined artistic and curatorial strategy, the programme allows for the ongoing exchange, acquisition, loan, and display of art works and artefacts between RCU and Centre Pompidou, as well as the promotion of various scientific and cultural initiatives based around the sharing of unique items from each partners collection. Centre Pompidous experience and expertise in creating a comprehensive strategy to attract international visitors, host major cultural events and productions, and in establishing opportunities for advocacy and audience development, will support RCUs goal of transforming AlUla into the world's largest living museum and a global hub for cultural and heritage tourism. Nora Aldabal said: The signing of the Executive Programme Agreement between RCU and Centre Pompidou marks a new phase in our mutually beneficial partnership that is helping to define successful cross-cultural collaborations between AlUla and our colleagues at one of Frances leading institutions. By establishing a clear roadmap of growth that covers key areas of cooperation in diverse sectors related to culture, heritage, and art, this partnership will allow for the sharing of knowledge, expertise, and new ideas. It will give colleagues from Paris and AlUla the chance to work closely in important fields related to museology, and to contribute to the development of AlUlas new contemporary art museum. Both sides of this partnership have a great deal to offer and a great to learn from the other. I look forward to deepening RCUs relationship with Centre Pompidou. Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on November 18. Miguel Gutierrez (EFE) The lifting of energy sanctions on Venezuela has been made possible by the Barbados agreements, meaning that Caracas can hold talks with half a dozen multinationals with the aim of restoring its oil production. This comes in a context in which Venezuelan crude might be needed to stabilize global supply, and the United States in particular. In return for the concessions it offered, the U.S. expected Nicolas Maduros government to commit to organizing free and verifiable presidential elections. There must be no vetoes on potential candidates, and an amnesty for the more than 300 political prisoners in the country. So far there has been no response from Caracas. The president of Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) Pedro Tellechea has welcomed international capital. In addition to Spains Repsol and Italys Eni, which have been working with Venezuela on gas projects for some time, the French company Maurel & Prom has announced that it is resuming its operations in Lake Maracaibo. China Petroleum and Indian Oil are already carrying out work in Miraflores. There are talks with Trinidad about the joint exploitation of the Dragon campus, run by Shell. Mitsubishi wants to resume the Metanol de Oriente petrochemical project, Metor. Caracas has confirmed joint oil and gas projects with the Colombian Ecopetrol, and there is also talk of Petrobras and the Indian conglomerate Reliance. PDVSA has enormous debts with some of these companies. Just as, or perhaps more importantly, international contractors Halliburton, Baker, and Hughes and Schlumberger are also returning to Venezuelan fields. Some private Venezuelan companies, such as Suelopetrol, expressed their willingness to invest in wells and presented to the executive their proposals to increase the production of light crude oil. The end of sanctions and the normalization of direct contracts, agreed with the United States, allows the Venezuelan treasury to sell its crude oil without the enormous discount, sometimes up to 40 percent, that it previously had to make via complex offshore transactions. It was a circumstance that led to a loss of assets, and which was later aggravated by the corruption of its senior officers linked to the president of Petroleos de Venezuela himself, Tarek El Assami, in the famous PDVSA-Crypto case. Far from its historical averages, calculated at 3,000,000 barrels per day, Venezuela is currently laboriously producing 800,000 with the help of the special license to Chevron. Experts estimate that, if all this movement is completed, crude oil production could increase by about 300,000 barrels per day in 2024, finally reaching 1,200,000 barrels per day, with expectations to continue growing. In a period of high oil prices, state income would bounce back strongly by directing sales (without a discount) towards the United States. Venezuela would have a real opportunity to grow its economy after the historic crash of 2018 and a sluggish performance in 2023. All this movement, which demands expensive investments, is made knowing that the differences between Caracas and Washington persist, and that there is a particularly critical obstacle between them. Maduros government is opposed to accepting Maria Corina Machado, who is currently topping all the opinion polls, as a candidate in next years presidential elections. Juan Gonzalez, the United States Department of States special advisor for the region, has declared that Venezuela is not complying with its commitments. He has reported that more political prisoners have not been released and that there are still unconstitutional vetoes on opposition political leaders, compromising the outlook for free elections. Gonzalez added that Venezuela had an ultimatum, and that the United States government will wait until November 30 for a gesture from Nicolas Maduro. Otherwise, the United States will resume its sanctions policy. Jorge Rodriguez, head of the Chavista delegation in Barbados, responded that Venezuela does not accept ultimatums from anyone and accused the Venezuelan opposition and the United States of being the ones who have not complied with what was signed. Although there is discretion on the subject, the feeling is growing among certain sources that these investments are made knowingly of this circumstance, and even independently of it. Luis Oliveros, an economist specializing in international trade and petroleum, who is also an academic at the Metropolitan University in Caracas, does not believe there will be a return to sanctions, despite what Gonzalez stated. You have to read the ultimatum well. What they propose is that there must be signs, a roadmap, not an immediate solution. I dont think the immediate return of sanctions is on the cards. These companies are agreeing to invest a lot of money with the Venezuelan state. A much more crucial date may be April, once the license deadlines have expired, he says. Venezuela would still be in a position to offer a political gesture to the United States. Russia has made a significant approach to Venezuela in all areas in those years, including oil. The demands of the war in Ukraine are preventing them from working with their allies, comments the economist, analyst, and academic Victor Alvarez, who is convinced that Washington wants to get closer to Caracas. The United States is toughening sanctions on Russia, but is freeing Venezuela from several of them. Without sanctions, PDVSA puts nearly 4 billion additional dollars in its coffers by selling directly to the United States without a discount. The White House is intending to distance the current occupants of the Miraflores Palace from Russian financial aid. Alvarez also thinks that the United States needs to incorporate crude oil into its markets to relieve energy pressure. The Biden administration needs to avoid the electoral cost that could result from a disproportionate increase in fuel prices, or in other words, a price shock. Venezuelan oil can meet that objective and stabilize supply. In addition, it opens the U.S. market to Venezuelan crude oil, bringing it back to Western markets, he concludes. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Avigail Idan, age four, has her curly hair pulled back in a ponytail, a huge smile on her face and wide eyes of joy in the photographs that have been distributed of her after her return home. The little girl watched her parents die at the hands of Hamas on October 7 before being taken hostage by the Palestinian militia. She is the only American-born captive released so far in the Hamas-Israel prisoner exchange pact brokered by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States. And she has also been the main source of inspiration for U.S. President Joe Biden in his pressure on the Israeli government to agree to a four-day cease-fire which has now been extended for two further days that would allow for the release of hostages and for humanitarian aid to be sent to Gaza. An emotional Biden said at the end of a press appearance on Sunday in Nantucket (Massachusetts), where he was spending the Thanksgiving holiday: Thank God shes home. I wish I were there to hold her. Avigail (whose name part of the U.S. media has spelled as Abigail) had turned four years old just two days earlier, on November 24, while still under Hamas captivity. During the October 7 attacks on Israel, which left more than 1,200 people dead, Hamas militiamen carried out a massacre at Kfar Aza, the kibbutz where the young girl and her family lived. Avigails mother was killed in front of her, Biden said. The father tried to protect his daughter and stood between her and the militiamen; he was also shot and killed. Terrified, the little girl ran to seek help from neighbors, but was captured along with several others. She had been held in Gaza for 50 days. What she endured is unthinkable, Biden said in his address. In a statement Sunday, Liz Hirsh Naftali and Noa Naftali, relatives of the girl, expressed their gratitude to the U.S. government, Qatar, and other informal participants who worked to secure the girls release. Her return shows that it is possible. We can get all the hostages home, we need to keep pushing. The White House believes that eight or nine U.S. citizens out of a total of 180 international hostages in Gaza still remain in the hands of Hamas and other Palestinian militia groups. Avigail was known to be held in the north of the Strip, along with other residents of her kibbutz. But details of the whereabouts of the other American hostages are less precise. None of them are among the captives released so far. At the daily press briefing from the presidential office on Monday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby acknowledged that we dont necessarily have firm, solid information on each and every one of them. Bidens personal interest in Avigail Biden had taken an interest in Avigails situation since the hostage crisis began. In talks with the Qatari and Egyptian negotiators, U.S. representatives repeatedly insisted that the child had to be included in the first groups of released captives. This demand was multiplied when Hamas handed over the first two American hostages, Natalie and Judith Raanan, last month. The president himself brought up the case in his various calls to regional leaders, part of his effort to push through the deal, free the hostages and get more humanitarian aid into Gaza. In his many public statements on the Israel-Hamas war, he also frequently mentioned the girl. When Hamas confirmed that she would be in the next group of released hostages, U.S. officials monitored her handover to the International Committee of the Red Cross and from there to the Israeli authorities. In this case, the convoy in which Avigail was traveling did not leave the Strip through the Rafah crossing into Egypt, but directly into Israel: one of the released captives, Elma Avraham, 85, was in a very serious condition and required immediate evacuation. Biden was kept constantly informed of the progress of the operation. His appearance before the media on Sunday was delayed until he had confirmed that the girl was safely in the hands of Israeli authorities. Once it had been confirmed that the handover had been successfully completed, the U.S. president spoke personally with the family members who are now taking care of the little girl. I spoke with Avigails family following her release, and we are working closely with our Israeli partners to ensure she gets the care and support she needs as she begins to recover from this unspeakable trauma, the president said in a statement Monday, in which he welcomed the two-day extension ceasefire in Gaza that will allow for the release of another 20 hostages and a further 60 Palestinian prisoners, while the pause in bombing allows more humanitarian aid into the Strip. I want to again thank Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel, Amir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar, and President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi of Egypt for their commitment to this process and in reaching the agreement for an extension over the next 48 hours. We will not stop until all of the hostages held by Hamas terrorists are released, Biden concluded. See beyond the looted arms Where have the guns come from ? | Stating the obvious. But no one seems to have gone beyond the obvious to raise certain pertinent questions. The Government has said it. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said it and more recently the Eastern Army Commander Lt General RP Kalita said it. Clearly the arms and ammos looted from the different police armouries have been accounted for but no one seems to have felt the need to question why the arms were looted from the police armouries in the first place. To many, the May 3 violence cannot be seen in isolation of armed persons in full battle fatigues taking part in the Tribal Solidarity March along with the video footage of some elements having a free run at a gun shop in Churachandpur. This was soon followed by reports of police armouries being looted in different parts of Imphal and in the adjoining districts. Everyone concerned, starting from the political leaders to the military officers seem concerned, and rightfully so, of the huge number of arms looted from the different police armouries and the Eastern Army Commander went so far as asserting that as long as the arms are out in the open, sporadic incidents of violent activities will continue, while addressing the media at Guwahati on November 21. The Army officer has his point and is noted, but where have the guns that are being used to fire at the human settlements at the foothills come from ? Since about 4000 arms are already out in the open, there is no need for weapons to come from outside, the Lt General had observed and this gives rise to the question of whether it is the only guns that have gone missing that are being used to fire at the farmers tending to their fields ? How about the huge cache of ammos confiscated on different occasions at Mizoram, especially in the earlier part of the ongoing clash ? From where did the ammos come and where were they headed towards ? Why have no further follow up stories on the seized ammunition come to light ? Or are the cases still at the stage of further investigation is on ? The last time stories of the different SoO camps being checked came a long, long time back. Is the Security Advisor to the State Government under the impression that two or three inspection drives are enough to answer the questions that have been raised by everyone concerned ? Only the people in positions of power and authority can answer these questions, but the half baked stories will not convince the people and apart from the looted guns still out in the open being cited as the possible reason for the state of unrest, it is the half baked stories and explanations that can go a long way in keeping the embers burning. Manipur cannot go on like this. The longer the situation continues, the more Manipur will suffer and there is no need to elaborate on who stands to gain from such a state. The question however is how to take the first step towards normalcy. Will the guns going silent mean the return to normalcy ? This is the line that the Government seems to think so and hence the obsession with the guns looted from the different police armouries. This is not to run down this line of thought, for guns being out in the open does not bode well for society as a whole, but apart from this, what needs to be done to start walking the road to normalcy ? Not the first time that such a question has been raised, but the very fact that this poser has been repeated should say so many things. Apparent that Imphal is lost on what steps to take up to restore normalcy. Same is the case with Delhi and judging by what is happening just across the border at Myanmar, the road to normalcy will only get thornier. Imphal will need to reach out to all concerned. Apart from Delhi, has Imphal made any effort to reach out to the other North Eastern States ? Mizoram is reported to be trying to reach out to the Nagas and while many in Manipur may take this with a pinch of salt, it would not hurt at all if efforts are made to reach out to States like Assam and Tripura to speak out for Manipur. This is where political acumen of Imphal is needed. Reach out and tell the story of Manipur to the people who matter and not be satisfied with parroting concocted histories. Woman rescued | IMPHAL, Nov 28: 22 Assam Rifles rescued a Muslim lady who was detained by the women wing of Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) at Gamgiphai village and handed her over to Sekmai police station at around 9.30 pm yesterday. The woman has been identified as Basei Feroza Sahani (24) daughter of (L) Feros Khan of Khergao Awang Sabal Leikai. The woman was detained by the women wing of CoTU on the alleged charge of spying on them, said sources. Acting on reliable information about the detention of the Muslim lady, troops of 22 Assam Rifles (Motbung) rushed to Gamgiphai village and found her being detained by volunteers of the CoTU women wing. This was the second time Basei was detained at Gamgiphai village, said sources. Troops of 22 Assam Rifles rescued her and handed her over to Sekmai PS at 9.30 pm last night. The two-day extension of the truce in Gaza has been received with a mixture of relief and hope by Israelis and Palestinians. The former, because it will mean the release of at least another 20 women and children held hostage by militias in the Strip; the latter, because a further 60 Palestinian prisoners will be released to East Jerusalem and the West Bank and, above all, because it provides a little breathing space for the devastated enclave, whose inhabitants live in hope that each day without bombardment and each truck carrying humanitarian aid will not be the last. This afternoons news brings a sigh of relief to our community. However, we remain deeply concerned for our loved ones still held hostage, said Osnat Peri, leader of Nir Oz, the Israeli kibbutz where the 11 hostages released Monday are from. Another 49 residents of Nir Oz remain captive in Gaza. We call for the return of all of them, immediately, whatever it takes, he added. The Argentine-Israeli Bibas family issued a statement expressing their profound uncertainty after learning that married couple Yarden and Shiri and their sons, Ariel, 4, and Kfir, who is 10 months old, would not be released Monday. The Israeli army has confirmed the family is not being held by Hamas, but by another unidentified Palestinian faction. The agreement has given us hope, but no matter how much hope there is I wont say they are in our hands until I see them in front of me with my own eyes, Yair Keshet, Yardens uncle, told this newspaper in Tel Aviv on Friday. In Gaza, the population is waiting resignedly for the temporary ceasefire to become definitive. The primary mediators of the pact, Qatar and Egypt, are working toward this objective but Israel vehemently rejects the idea. The countrys defense minister, Yoav Gallant, warned Thursday that the pause in hostilities will be short and the army will resume its offensive throughout Gaza with intensity. Palestinian men constructing a shelter in Khuzaa, Khan Younis, November 27. SAID KHATIB (AFP) In search of food and water Palestinians are taking advantage of the absence of fighter-bombers and drones to take to the streets to look for food, which is scarce and expensive, and to stand in line to fill jerry cans with drinking water and obtain butane gas bottles. Residents of Gaza have also been withdrawing money from banks, knowing that the respite will not last more than a few days. The Hamas governments Ministry of Health also reported that the dialysis department at Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City is back in operation, after the withdrawal of the Israeli troops that occupied the medical facility. Yes, the shelling has stopped, but we need a truce that allows us to return to our homes. Otherwise, there is no point. I would rather go back to my home and die there than be in a tent living in shame and forced to depend on other people for basic necessities, Ayman Harb, a father of three who took advantage of the cessation of hostilities to cross south of the line where Israel has forced hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate, told Al Jazeera. For the moment, Hamas has only extended the truce for 48 hours because it can only commit to handing over 20 women and children, as it has to locate the rest, the militia told Qatari mediators. One of the leaders of Hamas armed wing, Jalil Al Hayya, said late in the day that, after the two additional days, a new agreement must be negotiated that also includes adult males. This case would apply to Yonatan Samrano, who was kidnapped at the Nova festival. His mother, Ayelet, on Monday made a plea on national public television for an end to the hierarchization of hostages. We have the obligation not only to receive what they give us, but to ask. To dictate the list ourselves, she said. Itai Regev, 18, whose sister Maya was released Sunday, would also fall within the framework of such a pact. Its very hard for Maya to be here and for Itai to be in Gaza. Its a rollercoaster of emotions that is hard to describe, said his mother, Mirit. A woman inspects fruit being sold by a street vendor in Gaza City, November 27. Mohammed Hajjar (Associated Press/LaPresse) Hamas leader visits hostages Although information about the health of the released Israeli hostages is being tightly controlled, details have been emerging about the conditions of their captivity in Gaza, mainly from family members posts on social networks or through local media reports. Images reveal that they are in apparent good physical condition, except for an 84-year-old woman who was held hostage for 50 days without access to medication for the chronic illnesses she suffers from, and who was hospitalized in a serious condition. The hostages were not beaten or tortured and received medication intermittently. Surprisingly, Yahya Sinwar, the political leader of Hamas in Gaza and Israels most wanted man, visited some of the hostages and tried to reassure them in Hebrew, a language he learned in prison and speaks fluently: Hello, I am Yahya Sinwar. You cant be safer here. Nothing will happen to you, he told them. All the hostages lost weight because they were receiving little food usually rice, hummus, pita bread and water in line with the situation most Gazans are in. Some picked up skin diseases, apparently as a result of being held underground. Itai Pesach, manager of the Safra Childrens Hospital near Tel Aviv, said that the children among the released hostages are being returned home after receiving basic medical care and that psychologists are not asking them questions about what happened. Those who were held in deeper underground locations slept on plastic benches and sometimes had to wait between one and two hours before they could go to the toilet. Some were divided according to the locality in which they were captured. Others were allowed access to radio news in Hebrew. This is how one woman discovered that her son had been killed on October 7. Others only learned that they had lost loved ones that day once they had been returned to Israel. RPF clarifies | IMPHAL, Nov 28: Reacting to a statement circulated in social and digital media about busting of PLA hideouts at Tha-nan in Sagaing Division, Myanmar, the proscribed RPF, PLAs political wing, has clarified that the particular statement has nothing to do with the PLA. It is merely false propaganda propagated by India and its lapdog henchmen to create an illusion and confusion among the struggling peoples of WESEA and the world, said a press release issued by RPF Assistant Secretary, Publicity Bangkim. It asserted that RPF is the only revolutionary organisation of this region which signed in 1997 to abide by the Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention of 1949 and its additional Protocols. Framing PLA as a human right violator is hollow propaganda, it added. Police recover arms and ammunition | IMPHAL, Nov 28: Security forces recovered huge cache of arms and ammunition from different places during the last few days. On November 22 night at around 10, security forces arrested two active cadres of PREPAK (Pro) from Singjamei Chingamathak Pishum Leirak along with arms and ammunition. The two have been identified as Laishram Prem Singh (33) son of L Shantikumar Singh of Thoubal Okram and Khumukcham Dhiren Singh alias Thakappa (41) son of (L) Kh Nilamani Singh of Nambol Phoijing Makha Leikai. The two were travelling in a Tata Nexon Car when they were arrested. From their possession, the security forces seized two 5.56 MM INSAS LMG, eight 5.56mm INSAS LMG Magazines, 161 rounds of 5.56 mm ammunition, one 9 mm Pistol and one Magazine loaded with 5 rounds, five mobile phones, one WT hand held set and one Tata Nexon Car and Rs 6,500 cash. The two persons and seized articles have been handed over to Singjamei police station and subsequently, they have been remanded to 10 day police custody. On November 24, security forces conducted cordon and search operations at Koutruk village under Lamsang police station and foothills of Koutruk and Haraothel village. During the operations, the security forces seized one .303 Rifle with a Magazine, one 12 Bore Single Barrel gun, one hand-grenade without detonator, one radio set, six live cartridges of 12 Bore Single Barrel gun and four empty cartridges of 12 Bore Single Barrel gun. The recovered items have been handed over to Saparmeina police station. On November 26, security personnel carried out search operations at P Geljang and P Thenjol villages under Sagolmang police station. During the search operations, security forces seized five US Carbine with empty Magazines, one SLR with an empty Magazine, one 9mm Pistol with an empty Magazine, one .22 Pistol with an empty Magazine, two hand grenades without detonators, two Chinese hand grenade, two bottles suspected to be fitted with local made IED charge, one detonator and 16 pieces of broken PEK. Today morning, security forces carried out a cordon and search operation at Hiyanglam Waikhong Leikai and recovered one country made 9mm Pistol along with an empty Magazine, one of 51mm mortar and one smoke grenade (Capsigrenade). The arms and ammunition have been handed over to Hiyanglam police station. In another operation, security forces recovered five Chinese handgrebades, five safety fuse and one helmet (fibre) from Heirok, Thoubal district. The Carabinieri (the police) in the district of Vignobo, in Venice, received a call on Saturday, November 18, at 11:18 p.m., alerting them about a fight between a man and a woman, who had gotten into a car and then driven away. In the car were Giulia Cecchettin and Filippo Turetta two university engineering students who had recently ended a romantic relationship. But neither was that a fight nor was the call simply an alert to the police. What was happening (and this could have been discovered by law enforcement if they had taken the trouble to go to the scene instead of prioritizing other cases) was the beginning of an act of gender-based violence that ended with the girl being stabbed to death. The call, in reality, was a noisy alert to an entire country that, for decades, has turned its back on gender-based violence. Now, after witnessing this recent tragedy, Italian society may have finally woken up. A few minutes after the first call, the police received another communication, as published by the LaPresse news agency. This was from a security guard at an industrial estate in Fosso, a few miles from the scene of the first incident. He reported that a girl had received a beating in front of the Dior warehouse he was guarding. The security cameras had recorded it and he had noticed the incident while reviewing the footage. By then, it was too late. The next time the phone rang at the station, at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, the police heard the voice of Gino Cecchettin the father of the girl who was in that car. The man wanted to report the disappearance of his daughter. Unbeknownst to him (or the police) she had already been murdered at the hands of her ex. In the statement Cecchettin gave police, he explained that his daughter had left her boyfriend, but continued to see him, because he was deeply depressed. She feared that he might harm himself. The killing of Giulia Cecchettin, 22, has moved Italy. Firstly, because of its particularities: two young people, from wealthy families, both university students. And also because of the gruesome violence: the warehouse security camera recorded the boy hitting the victim and dragging her across the floor while she screamed. Youre hurting me, she pleaded. After complicated search efforts, the body was located in a canal next to Lake Barcis. The autopsy revealed that she had been stabbed in the head and neck and that she tried to defend herself, because several wounds were found on her arms and hands. Finally, the attacker fled by car, as he had planned, to Germany. He eventually ran out of gas and money and was arrested. A group of people protest violence against women in Rome, on November 25, 2023. Cecilia Fabiano (LAPRESSE) This year, Italy has seen 87 women murdered in cases of gender-based violence. They were killed by either family members or romantic partners. Last year, there were 103 femicides. The current government the first in Italian history to be led by a woman, far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has cut funds to prevent sexist violence by 70%. The case of Giulia Cecchettin crudely reveals the patriarchal culture of the country. According to the reconstruction of events provided by the victims friends, her ex-boyfriend asked her hours before killing her to slow down her academic progress and skip certain exams. He didnt want to appear as less brilliant or talented than her. He wasnt just humiliated by the fact that she had left him he was also feeling intellectually inferior. She ignored him, obviously. She was supposed to have graduated last Thursday. The case of Giulia Cecchettin has other components. It occurred on the eve of a large demonstration against sexist violence. The murder also happened at a time when two women are at the head of the government and the opposition: the far-right Meloni and the social democrat Elly Schlein. And, as journalist Concita de Gregorio points out, Giulia was killed amidst a climate of awareness influenced by the premiere of Ce ancora domani (Theres still tomorrow), a fabulous dramatic comedy about female emancipation in 1946. The film is on its way to becoming the most-viewed in Italian history (four million Italians have already seen it). Paola Cortellesi is the acclaimed star and director of the movie. The problem in this country is that this subject hasnt been considered culturally relevant or important. Every time theres a debate on this issue (gender-based violence), Parliament is deserted. Its considered to be a womens problem. Theres also a very misogynistic culture in law enforcement that considers arguments to be natural in relationships. And its a culture that women also take part in. The issue isnt that we need harsher penalties: this is a battle that is fought with education, De Gregorio emphasizes. The problem of education also leads to a national economy where 43% of women dont have a checking account in their name. There have been protests against these conditions for a long time. The slogan that is now heard in the protests against Giulias death Lets come out of the silence was often chanted in public squares during the last Berlusconi administration (2008-2011). Italians like Assunta Sarlo started that movement. Shes a journalist and feminist activist. I think theres a level of awareness like never before. Weve seen it in the squares, with the demonstrations. For once, these arent just womens demonstrations there are young men who reject [gender-based violence] too. Weve also seen this shift in the media: finally, major voices have criticized [this phenomenon], saying that its a male problem, she points out. But all this shock and indignation contributes nothing if it doesnt become political. Only then will we be able to see if [our agitation] has helped. Education [against sexism] in school shouldnt be a slogan. Rather, it should be a profound reform. Well see if theres a change when the culture of respect takes hold. Because that patriarchal culture is still visible in young people from good families, like Giulias murderer. The Meloni administration has just approved a law to promote this educational change. Its a first step, but all experts agree that its insufficient. The opposition has proposed going further and approving legislation that introduces emotional education in schools something that parties such as Matteo Salvinis extremist League party arent willing to accept, considering that its part of what they deem to be gender ideology. In any case, for the first time, the leader of the opposition and the government have agreed to meet and talk to try to build a common front in this fight. In Italy, this alone is revolutionary. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition In the heart of Indias Chota Nagpur region, where the Subarnarekha river weaves its way through tribal landscapes, a tale of environmental degradation unfolds, spelling doom for both humans and the delicate ecosystems that rely on this lifeline. Originating from the enchanting Nagdi village, a mere 15 kilometres from the bustling capital of Jharkhand, Ranchi, the Subarnarekha stretches 474 kilometres, traversing through the states of Odisha and West Bengal, before embracing the Bay of Bengal in Baleshwar. Once known for its beauty and revered by tribes as a source of sustenance, the river now grapples with pollution and unchecked sand mining, threatening not only the livelihoods of its people but also the diverse aquatic life that calls it home. In the recent past, the Subarnarekhas waters bore witness to a symbiotic relationship between the river and the tribal workforce engaged in filtering sand and extracting gold from its bed. A laborious yet rewarding endeavour, these local workers could collect between 60 to 80 particles of gold in a single month. However, the rivers decline tells a different story, one of anthropogenic threats and a steady deterioration of its once-pristine state. Advertisement Environmentalists professor Mrinmay Ghorai from Panskura Banamali College (autonomous) conducted a study revealing that the health of the Subarnarekha has plummeted below average levels over the past three years. Jamshedpur, a significant urban centre, and industries, including the renowned Tata Steel, heavily depend on this water source, making the degradation of the river a matter of regional concern. Dr Ghorais findings indicate disturbingly high pollution levels near urban centres, with critical indicators such as dissolved oxygen levels falling below desirable limits at key points like Galudih, Ghatsila, and Jamsola. Moreover, the pH level has exceeded permissible limits, sounding alarm bells for the delicate aquatic balance. The encroachment by illegal sand miners in the lower reaches of the Subarnarekha has not only altered its course but has also disrupted the livelihoods of local residents, particularly fishermen, who witnessed a substantial decline in their income. Despite legal interventions, continuous illegal sand mining persists, with the land revenue department acknowledging the issue but seemingly unable to curb the practice effectively. The department, in a shocking revelation, collected revenue amounting to Rs 78 crore during the fiscal year 2022-2023 from the Subarnarekha, further underscoring the brazen exploitation of this natural resource. As the rivers ecosystem crumbles, fish breeding grounds face destruction, and several species teeter on the brink of vulnerability or near-threatened status. Dr Ghorais meticulous assessment of 58 fish species exposes a precarious scenario: 81% classified as least concern, 9% as near-threatened, 5% as data deficient, and 5% as vulnerable. Urgent action is needed to protect the Subarnarekha and its unique biodiversity as the professor prepares to submit his report to the government. a call for concrete steps to save this once-golden river on its journey from Jharkhand to Bengal and Odisha before its final embrace with the Bay of Bengal near Talsari. A positive development comes for the Adani Group after a long time as the groups market value surged by over $15 billion with stocks rallying up to 20% on Tuesday. The development comes after the Supreme Court reserved its order to probe the companies based on a US short-sellers allegations of accounting fraud and stock manipulation. Adani Total Gas was leading with a 19.62% rally to the days high of Rs 642 on the NSE. The companys market capitalisation shot past Rs 67,000 crore. Advertisement Adani Energy Solutions shares also hit the intraday high with a 13% spike to Rs 824.50 on NSE while the Adani Green Energy share price rallied nearly 8% to Rs 1,011.50. Adani Powers share price also gained over 7 percent to a 52-week high of Rs 423.15. Also, the Adani Wilmar shares spiked 6% to hit an intraday high of Rs 338.50 on the NSE. Adani Enterprises climbed 6 percent to hit a day-high price of Rs 2,370 while Adani Ports gained around 3% to Rs 826 on NSE. The Supreme Court reserved its verdict saying that it couldnt order a probe based only on certain reports and without hearing the entities impacted by its orders. We dont have to treat the Hindenburg report as being a statement of truth. There is no means of testing the veracity of the Hindenburg report and hence asked Sebi to probe, the court said. An SC bench, comprising justices JB Pardiwala, Manoj Misra and others, said that it cannot expect a statutory regulator like Sebi to start issuing show-cause notices on the basis of reports published by Hindenburg or by a news organisation. Hindenburg is a US short-seller which had levelled the allegations against the Adani Group in January this year. Recently, the US has decided to provide $553 million in financing for a port terminal in Sri Lankas capital being developed by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani. The funding is significant for the Adani Group as it has been fighting a raft of corporate fraud allegations leveled by US-based Hindenburg Research. A man accused of harassing women by sending obscene messages during odd hours has been arrested by the Delhi Police. According to police, the accused used to pressurise women through different means to engage in obscene acts over the phone in case they replied to the messages sent by him, the police informed on Tuesday. The man has been identified as 28-year-old Rohit Kumar, a resident of Delhis Pandav Nagar, and was arrested on November 23, as a result of efforts by a dedicated team of the Cyber Police Station. Advertisement The process of tracing him involved analyses of the call details of alleged phone number, and technical surveillance as the person also operated from outside India. Notably, the police team had found that the alleged person committed the crime while was in the country, but, after that he went to Croatia. It was after continuous technical surveillance the accused was traced to Pandav Nagar this time and a raid was conducted, to nab him. The phone used in the commission of crime and his passport has been seized, the police added. Meanwhile, the police got to know about the crime when a girl based in Delhis Karkardooma filed a complaint last year alleging that she received obscene message on her Whats App in odd hours and the caller pressurized her to share private images and then further stalked and sexually harassed her. Accordingly a case was registered based on the womans complaint and the investigation was initiated in the case. The police further said the investigation is still underway about other complaints and involvements of the accused. In a candid revelation, acclaimed Bollywood actress Vidya Balan revisited the hurdles she faced when offered the role of Silk Smitha in the groundbreaking film, The Dirty Picture. Speaking at the 54th International Film Festival of India in Goa, Balan shared that she had encountered skepticism from those around her who warned that embracing such a bold character could spell doom for her career. Recalling the cautionary voices, Balan disclosed, There were some people who told me, Are you sure? Its going to ruin your career. It may actually spell the end of your career because you know you have been Miss Goody two shoes. Unfazed by the prospect of receiving the label of Miss Goody Two Shoes, Balan asserted that she had no interest in adhering to a stereotype. Despite her relatively short stint in the industry, she expressed her desire to explore diverse roles, challenging herself as an actor. The actress recounted her initial disbelief when approached by director Milan Luthria for the role. The first time Milan Luthria came to me, mujhe laga ki, Aap ghalat darwaaze pe toh nahi aagaye (Are you sure about it)? Because I wouldnt believe that someone would actually offer me this role, she admitted. Balan went on to highlight her burning desire to undertake unconventional challenges and accomplish feats that others might not associate with her. Her confidence in her abilities drove her decision to accept the role instinctively. Advertisement Reflecting on the experience, Balan emphasized that the thrill of portraying Silk Smitha stemmed from her passion for pushing boundaries and defying expectations. There was this burning desire to do things that people couldnt imagine I could do but I knew I could do. I was thrilled to bits when the film came to me. I said yes instinctively, she stated. Vidya Balans journey in The Dirty Picture not only challenged societal norms but also became a pivotal moment in her career, proving that taking risks and embracing unconventional roles can lead to artistic triumphs. The actresss recollections at the film festival shed light on the courage and conviction required to navigate the nuanced landscape of the Indian film industry. In a groundbreaking move, Harvard University is ready to unravel the global influence of pop sensation Taylor Swift through a newly introduced course, aptly titled Taylor Swift and Her World. This innovative academic endeavor will not only dissect Swifts music and lyrics but also delve into the profound cultural impact she has wielded on society. Professor Stephanie Burt will spearhead this exploration at Harvard University, guiding students through an in-depth analysis of Swifts artistic contributions and their intersection with the literary canon. The curriculum promises to extend beyond the mere examination of Swifts work, also probing into the ripple effect she has had on other artists, writers, and the younger demographic. The music-focused academic trend is not of Harvards alone. The University of Florida joins the chorus with its own course, Musical Storytelling with Taylor Swift and Other Iconic Female Artists. Led by Melina Jimenez, this course widens its scope to encompass not only Swift but also legendary figures like Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, and Dolly Parton. Advertisement Swifts influence is indisputable, as evidenced by the resounding success of her Eras tour, an echo of her impact on the younger generation. The course aims to decode the magic behind Swifts enduring presence, whether through her thought-provoking talks or chart-topping hits. This academic trend is not without precedent. In a bid to bridge the gap between pop culture and academia, universities have previously offered courses on other musical luminaries. Texas State University explored the musical landscape of former One Direction member Harry Styles, while UC Berkeley delved into the lyrical prowess of Nicki Minaj. San Diego State University took a unique turn by rolling out a class focused on the genre-defying Bad Bunny. As higher education institutions continue to embrace the study of contemporary music icons, the launch of courses centered on Taylor Swift marks a noteworthy addition to the academic landscape. By dissecting the intricacies of Swifts artistry and global impact, these courses signal a shift toward recognizing the profound influence that modern musicians wield in shaping cultural narratives. The BJP accused Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of anti-Hindu bias through a policy on festival holidays. The party said the Bihar government slashed the number of holidays for Hindu festivals in schools of the state while increasing that for the Muslim festivals. The BJPs allegation BJP of appeasement politics against Nitish Kumar came a day after the states Education Department issued the holiday calendar for 2024. In a post on X, Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ashwini Kumar Choubey wrote, Bihar will not tolerate those who have ruined it. The pro-Muslim Nitish-Tejashwi Yadav (deputy chief minister) government has abolished holidays for many Hindu festivals from schools. This planned attack on Sanatan will not be tolerated. Advertisement Choubey, who is an MP from Bihars Buxar parliamentary constituency, further said, Nitish babu the people of Bihar understand your appeasement game very well. Echoing similar sentiments, BJP MP and former deputy chief minister of Bihar Sushil Kumar Modi in a post on X wrote, Cancellation of holidays is a sign of anti-Hindu mentality. Attacking the Janata Dal (United) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Government in Bihar, the parliamentarian said, The Nitish-led government has shown an anti-Hindu face. The holidays have been selectively slashed for Hindu festivals, while increased for Muslim festivals. Union Minister for Rural Development Giriraj Singh also took to the micro-blogging site to slam the JDU-RJD Government for its policy on festival holidays. Singh, who represents the Begusarai parliamentary constituency, euphemistically called the state the Islamic Republic of Bihar. Nitish and Lalu (Yadav of RJD) government extended holidays for Muslim festivals in schools, and ended holidays for Hindu festivals, he pointed out. The way they are attacking Hindus, in the future they will be known as Mohammad Nitish and Mohammad Lalu, he added. Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) has analysed the affidavit of 8051 out 8054 candidates who are in the fray for the assembly elections in the five states. Voting was carried out in five states Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana recently. The ADR under the national election watch programme analysed the affidavit of the candidates who fought elections. The affidavits are available on the website of Election Commission of India(ECI). It may be recalled that the Supreme Court in its directions dated 13th February, 2020 had specifically instructed political parties to give reasons for selection of candidates with criminal background and why other individuals without criminal antecedents could not be selected as candidates. Advertisement As per these mandatory guidelines, the reasons for such selections have to be with reference to qualifications, achievements and merit of the candidate concerned and not only based on the winning ability factor. In the ongoing elections, the political parties gave reasons like popularity of the person, good social work, and that the criminal cases were politically motivated. Talking about the non-adherence to guidelines in the selection of the candidates and relevance of these studies, the ADR representative Pankti Jog said We share details of the candidates with criminal background with voters. Young voters do think about this issue and they are concerned. They are bothered that there are more criminals in politics. The young voters also observed that the political parties gave unfounded and baseless reasons that were not sound and cogent reasons for fielding candidates with tainted backgrounds. The voters were also of the opinion that this data clearly showed that political parties had no interest in reforming the electoral system. According to the ADR report, the total number of candidates analysed were 8051. And out of this total number of candidates, 2117 were from national parties while 537 were from the regional parties, 2051 were from registered unrecognized parties and 3346 candidates were contesting independently. The national parties fielded 2117 candidates. All 2117 candidates were analysed. Candidates with declared criminal cases were 636. This was 31 percent of candidates with declared criminal cases. Candidates with declared serious criminal cases were 404 in number who were fighting elections on the tickets of national parties. This was 19 percent of the total candidates. Speaking to The Statesman, Rajeev Khanna, a veteran journalist who keeps a watch on the elections said, It is high time the recommendations coming from time to time to clean the political system are put into practice. When we claim to be the worlds biggest democracy we have to emerge as a model for new democracies. There is no dearth of good people in every party. They should be brought forward and fielded as electoral candidates. The candidates fighting election in these five states representing state parties were 537. All 537 candidates were analysed. Candidates with declared criminal cases in the states were 134. Candidates with declared serious criminal cases were 100. This was 29 percent and 19 percent respectively. Candidates representing unrecognized political parties were 2053. Out of which 2051 number of candidates were analysed. Total Independent candidates were 3347. And all of them were analysed. Among the unrecognized political parties the candidates with declared criminal cases were 252. This made them 12 percent of the total number of candidates. And candidates with serious criminal cases were 184 which is 9 percent of total in the fray. And 390 Independent candidates were in the category of declared criminal cases against them. This was 12 percent of the total number of candidates. Exactly 271 Independent candidates were declared serious criminal cases. This was about 9 percent of the total candidates in the fray. The Supreme Court on Tuesday permitted the incarcerated Tamil Nadu Minister and DMK leader V Senthil Balaji to withdraw his plea for medical bail and approach the trial court for regular bail in the alleged cash for job case observing that ailment cited by Senthil Balaji is not serious and curable. Declining to entertain the plea for bail on medical grounds and permitting liberty to Senthil Balaji to approach the trial court for regular bail, Justice Bela M. Trivedi heading a bench also comprising Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, said We are not satisfied as the ailment being cited for medical bail is not serious and curable. Keeping open all the issues that can be raised before the trial court for the regular bail both by Senthil Balaji and the Enforcement Directorate the bench in its order said that the plea for regular bail will be decided without being influenced by the observations made both by the trial court and the High Court in their respective orders. Advertisement As the senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi appearing for Senthil Balaji took the bench through the MRI report oi the incarcerated minister, Justice Bela Trivedi said that she has checked on the google and the ailment that has been relied upon for the medical bail is curable. Stating I have checked on google. It says it can be cured Justice Bela Trivedi said There is nothing serious and You can apply for regular bail. It is a (plea for) medical bail. We are not satisfied. In the last hearing of the matter on November 20, 2023, the Supreme Court had asked Senthil Balaji to furnish his latest medical reports for its perusal. The court had called for the latest medical report as senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi who appeared for Senthil Balaji had told the court that the incarcerated Tamil Nadu minister was suffering from multiple ailments and referred to his brain MRI report stating that if not treated he is likely to have a stroke. However, the bench had observed that this does not appear to be a very serious problem and looks like an old problem. Senthil Balaji has approached the top court challenging the October 19, Madras High Court order dismissing his bail plea. The High court had held that Senthil Balaji was likely to influence the witnesses if enlarged on bail. The High Court had observed that Balajis medical condition was not such that it could be taken care of only if he was released on bail. Senthil Balaji was arrested by the Directorate of Enforcement on June 14 in an alleged cash for job scam that took place when he was the transport minister (2011-2015) in the government of late Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa. The ED had arrested Senthil Balaji in connection with a money laundering case rooted in alleged cash for job scam that took place when Senthil Balaji was Transport minister in AIADMK government who later crossed over to ruling DMK in 2018. The ECIR was registered on the basis of three FIRs lodged against him by the local police in 2018 for his alleged involvement in a cash-for-job case when he was the transport minister in Jayalalithaas Cabinet in 2015. On February 9, 2023, a U.S. plane flew from Managua to Washington. Inside were 222 malnourished Nicaraguans who were cherishing freedom after years of confinement. A few hours earlier, the political prisoners had been taken from their cells without a word. Many thought they were about to die at the hands of the prison guards of the Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo regime, after so much time spent in solitary confinement, subjected to torture and inhumane treatment. To their surprise, they landed safely in the U.S. capital. There were reunions with loved ones, hugs, and tears for those who had been left behind. A surreal feeling of unreality. The brutal repression of the Nicaraguan regime in prisons, documented extensively by the Nicaraguan press in exile and human rights associations, attacked women with particular viciousness. Now, a testimony has been produced that shines some light into the cracks of Ortegas prisons: Libertad tras las rejas (or, Freedom behind bars), a book that recounts the stories of 11 of those 222 political prisoners; a stark story of resilience, hope in the face of dehumanization, and a cry for freedom against the cruelest living dictatorship on the continent. Ortega, cornered by international pressure, loosened his grip with the mass release of political prisoners. But, following the mantra of the old dictators, those with an iron fist and kid gloves, he had reserved one final twist. He withdrew the nationality of the 222 prisoners and 94 other political exiles, among them former comrades in arms and personalities from the fields of the arts, politics, or journalism in Nicaragua. The siblings Cristina and Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, along with the manager of La Prensa de Nicaragua, Juan Lorenzo Holman, on the February 9 flight to Washington. Juan Lorenzo Holman Freedom behind bars is a project conducted by the Be Human Campaign, a non-profit run by Nicaraguan exiles, and edited by Juan Marieli and Wilfredo Miranda Aburto, a contributor at EL PAIS. The writers that byline each story are among the most respected in Latin American journalism and literature: Alma Guillermoprieto, Jon Lee Anderson, Gioconda Belli, Sergio Ramirez, Laura Restrepo and Pedro Saboulard, Martin Caparros, Claudia Pineiro, Sabrina Duque, Julian Navarrete, Lorena Arroyo, in addition to Marieli and Miranda Aburto themselves. All the work on the book was voluntary. The Be Human Campaign began in 2021 in an attempt to raise awareness of the situation in Nicaragua. We sent powerful messages about hunger, the physical conditions of the cells, the lack of visitation, and in the end there was expatriation, the stripping of nationality of 222 prisoners, and we thought it was worth leaving concrete evidence that would last; contribute to historical memory and highlight the resilience of people who had been imprisoned, explains one of the members of the project, which was presented Monday in San Jose (Costa Rica). In search of a publisher Freedom behind bars has not been published in physical format because, being a voluntary work, it does not yet have a publisher. We are looking for a publisher because we would like this book to be disseminated beyond our limited printing and distribution capabilities. We have always worked with few resources and a lot of will. We do not need, nor do we want, to generate financial revenue, but rather political revenue; to make the stories of these brave women known as widely as possible. In the end we have a sample of women who suffered torture, repression, and isolation. From 23-year-olds, like Samantha, to older people like Violeta, who is 71 years old, says the same member. Samantha, the youngest of the group, is Samantha Jiron. During the repression unleashed by Ortega and Murillo during Operation Cleanup in 2018, she was only 18 years old and yet still participated in the resistance against the regime, which murdered at least 355 people, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). Lorena Arroyo, a journalist for this newspaper, writes in Freedom behind bars: Five years later, on July 8, 2023, that same young woman is in a Latino beauty salon in San Leandro, on the outskirts of San Francisco, California, to dye her hair blue. It is a process that takes several hours: first you have to bleach your medium-length brunette hair to a Lady Gaga-style blonde so that it can then take on the chosen color, a metallic blue that is much more than an esthetic decision. For a 23-year-old woman who has spent a year and three months in a Nicaraguan prison, who is already in her second exile and who has become stateless for opposing Ortega and Murillo, dyeing her hair is a way of exercising her freedom... and an attempt to fight her own traumas. From now on, and until she decides to change her look again, every day Samantha will see in the mirror the hue of the prison uniform that she wore for 15 consecutive months and that, after leaving prison, she vowed not to wear again. Violeta, the oldest of the prisoners, is Violeta Granera Padilla, a candidate for the Independent Liberal Party (PLI) in the presidential elections of 2016. The Nicaraguan author Gioconda Belli, also exiled and denationalized by Ortega, begins her story like this: Violeta remembers a day when they woke them up at 2 a.m. and told them to shower and get ready. Maybe because of the trauma, she tells me, of the murder of her father because there were times when she dreamed that the guerrillas came in and took her away or killed her children she was certain that they were being taken away to be shot. Perhaps the most important political prisoner in the book is Dora Maria Tellez, 68, a legendary guerrilla also known as Commander Two. Aged only 22, in 1978, she attacked the National Palace of Managua, the seat of power of the dictator Anastasio Somoza, as part of a battalion of the Sandinista National Liberation Front, in one of the biggest strategic blows suffered by the regime. The feat was immortalized by Gabriel Garcia Marquez in his chronicle Assault on the Palace, which began with that masterful first line: The plan seemed too simple to be sane. Samantha Jiron with other Nicaraguan exiles from the February 9 flight. Miguel Andres Violeta Granera Padilla (right) with the activist Tamara Davila. Jorge Torres (EFE) Dora Maria Tellez in the U.S., February 10. miguel andres In Freedom behind bars it is Alma Guillermoprieto, one of the celebrated correspondents who covered the Sandinista Revolution from its beginning, who is in charge of giving it a voice. She writes: Many years ago, Dora Maria told me that during the long year she spent in the mountains in the dense tropical jungle that was then northwest Nicaragua, what troubled her was not only hunger, but also being constantly surrounded by the intense green of the vegetation. When you are in the city you say: how cute, how green! And when youre in the mountains, you want to see yellow, red, white, blue! So, that green-green exhausts you, and the toughness [of the situation] exhausts you too. But then there were companions around her, and there was hope. Not in prison. The prisoner saw her incarceration as one more battle that had to be fought, but it was not always possible to maintain that defiant posture in the midst of absolute solitude. Then, in the afternoons, she says, she would feel like she was dead. Like those of Samantha, Violeta, or Commander Two, all the stories are different, unique and at the same time make up a common mosaic of the horror in Ortegas prisons. They also speak of the collective muscle that makes up the resistance against the dictator. The member of the Be Human Campaign sums it up like this: I would like to highlight the courage and resilience of these women: they never lost hope or laughter. When you read their testimonies you realize that even in the worst of scenarios they never lost the ability to dream, the hope that their contribution to the freedom of Nicaragua made sense. Patanjali, and the Indian Army have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to employ retired soldiers in service activities. Acting swiftly on the MoU, Patanjali, a leading Indian conglomerate, has called for applications of retired Army soldiers for various posts. The company has asked them to send in their bio data on esm.initiative@patanjaliayurved.org with their full name, address and total years of experience in the military. Advertisement In a press release, Patanjali said that it has a strong commitment to social responsibility, and this MoU is a further demonstration of that commitment. Under the MoU, Patanjali will provide employment opportunities to retired soldiers in a variety of areas, including, Yoga and meditation instruction, Ayurveda therapy, sales and marketing, logistics and security. Patanjali will give priority to retired soldiers who have the necessary skills and experience. The company will also provide training and support to help retired soldiers transition to civilian life. Acharya Balkrishna, the general secretary of Patanjali Yogpeeth, said that the company is committed to helping retired soldiers find meaningful employment opportunities. He said that Patanjali is confident that retired soldiers will be valuable assets to the company. Acting on a complaint lodged by the Congress party on suspicion of tampering with the postal ballots inside a strong room in the Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh, the Election Commission of India (EC) ordered the suspension of the Nodal Officer there. A video of the incident had gone viral in which some people were seen opening postal ballot boxes and rearranging the postal ballot papers stored inside them. Madhya Pradesh Congress Chief Kamal Nath had also shared a video of the incident on his X handle. The congress party Monday lodged a formal complaint in the matter with the EC. Advertisement Acting on the complaint, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of MP Anupam Rajan suspended the Nodal Officer Himmat Singh Bhavedi. The suspended official is a Tehsildar-rank land revenue official. The CEO has also directed the District Election Officer, Balaghat Collector Girish Mishra, to conduct an inquiry into the matter. Meanwhile, district administration officials at Balaghat stated that the postal ballots were only being sorted out and arranged assembly constituency-wise. The officials maintained that no tampering whatsoever was done with the postal ballots. The results of the crucial state assembly polls in MP would be declared on 3 December. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and several other leaders across the party life expressed their joy over the evacuation of 41 construction workers who were trapped inside the collapsed Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhands Uttarkashi for the last 17 days. Reacting to their safe evacuation, Prime Minister Modi said that the successful rescue of our labour brothers has made everyone emotional and saluted the spirit of trapped workers and those involved in their rescue. The success of the rescue operation of our labor brothers in Uttarkashi is making everyone emotional. Advertisement I want to say to the friends who were trapped in the tunnel that your courage and patience is inspiring everyone. I wish you all well and good health. It is a matter of great satisfaction that after a long wait these friends of ours will now meet their loved ones. The patience and courage that all these families have shown in this challenging time cannot be appreciated enough. I also salute the spirit of all the people associated with this rescue operation. Their bravery and determination have given new life to our labor brothers. Everyone involved in this mission has set an amazing example of humanity and teamwork, the PM said in a long post on X. Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that it was a great news and saluted their grit for facing such a challenge for so long. Rajnath Singh said that he was extremely happy to see all the trapped workers being evacuated safely and lauded the efforts of all the people involved in the rescue mission. Salute the efforts of brave rescuers: Rahul Gandhi Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that the safe return of labourers is a happy news and that the safety of labour brothers is of paramount importance. The Congress leader also lauded the efforts of rescue teams. The safe return of the labor brothers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel of Uttarkashi is a very happy news. My heartiest congratulations to them and their families. The safety of our labor brothers who are building India is of paramount importance. I salute all the brave men who made this difficult campaign successful, he said. Pro-Khalistani extremist and Sikhs for Justice chief Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has alleged that the Indian government wants to kill him for running the global Khalistan referendum voting campaign. The Indian government and the Modi regime want to kill me, they want to eliminate me for running the global Khalistan referendum voting campaign, Pannun told Time in an interview. Pannun, a dual citizen of Canada and the US, is a lawyer and co-founder of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a proscribed outfit that calls for an independent Sikh nation called Khalistan in the Indian state of Punjab. He was designated a terrorist by the Indian government for challenging Indias sovereignty. Advertisement His allegations against the Indian government of hatching a conspiracy to kill him comes in the backdrop of a Financial Times report that claimed the US authorities have thwarted an alleged assassination plot targeting Pannun and warned Indian over concerns of Indian governments involvement. The report also claimed that the matter was raised by US President Joe Biden with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi in September this year. Pannun said that the assassination plot is not about him anymore and that it is a challenge for American sovereignty. It is a threat to freedom of speech and democracy in America itself. But Ill let U.S. authorities speak more on this, he added. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) earlier this month booked Pannun for releasing a video threatening Ai India passengers. He, however, argued that he was calling for the boycott of Air India. I was saying boycott Air India, but the whole Indian narrative shifted to bomb Air India. Somebody has to be a zombie to not differentiate between boycotting and bombing, he stated. On the first day of the winter session, Samajwadi Party members donned black clothing as a protest against the new rules that forbid lawmakers in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly from carrying phones, political posters, or flags. The regulations went into effect on Tuesday. While Akhilesh Yadav, the chairman of the Samajwadi Party (SP), arrived dressed in a black jacket and white kurta-pajamas, several other leaders of the party were also dressed in black. The state assemblys session is being run under new guidelines. The state assemblys session is being run under new guidelines. It forbids carrying any flags or banners inside the house, even cell phones. Advertisement The state assemblys winter session started on Tuesday, when the House paid respects to the recently deceased BJP MLA Ashutosh Tandon and other previous members before adjourning for the day. In response to a question on the attire of his partys lawmakers, Leader of the Opposition Yadav stated, This was a protest against the government. This is how we feel about the new regulations. Yadav told reporters outside the assembly, This opposition should be registered because they (the government) want to weaken democracy. The purpose of rules is to bolster democracy. We were, after all, sent and chosen by the people. It is our duty to inquire on behalf of the general public. BJP is destroying the democratic system, declared Manoj Paras, a prominent leader of the Samajwadi Party. The opinions of the members will not be heard during the short three-day session of this House. We are protesting by coming here in black clothing for that reason. But Sudhakar Singh of the SP, who defeated BJP candidate and former UP minister Dara Singh Chauhan in the recent by-election for the Ghosi assembly seat, showed up sporting a pink scarf. He was not aware of the plot but the gamchha (scarf) is a sign of triumph and Rajput pride, he replied when questioned why he had not dressed in black. This Saturday, an official announcement was released here stating that the assembly session would be conducted with new rules. After the adjournment of the House, Leader of Opposition Yadav was seen with his uncle Shivpal Yadav and party members in the assembly hall for sometime. President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday received her new voter ID card from Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Delhi P Krishnamurthy at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. President Droupadi Murmu received her Voter ID card from Shri P Krishnamurthy, Chief Electoral Officer of Delhi, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Presidents office informed through a post on X on Tuesday. The President will now be eligible to cast her vote in the forthcoming general election from New Delhi. Advertisement Earlier on 10 November, the Delhi CEO had paid a visit to the Rashtrapati Bhavan to facilitate the president in changing her voter ID address from Odisha to Delhi. Krishnamurthy also apprised the President of the ongoing Special Summary Revision 2024 and expressed his gratitude for her cooperation in the electoral process. As the two-day winter session of the Vidhan Sabha approaches, Opposition parties are gearing up to challenge the ruling AAP on various fronts such as the states declining fiscal health, agrarian issues, illegal mining, and the nascent farmers agitation. In response, the ruling party is preparing to address these concerns by shifting the focus to the issue of corruption on the House floor. Opposition MLAs are set to criticize the ruling party for its substantial market borrowings used for day-to-day operations. This criticism stems from recent remarks by Governor Banwarilal Purohit in a letter, questioning the fiscal prudence of the ruling party. With the government accumulating Rs 20,457.93 crore in the first seven months of the current year and Rs 30,899.81 crore in the preceding year, the AAP governments total loans during its 21-month tenure amount to Rs 51,357 crore. Additionally, the Opposition plans to highlight alleged illegal mining activities in the state, accusing the government of supporting those engaged in such activities while questioning the credibility of the AAPs claims regarding revenue from mining operations before assuming power. Advertisement On the other hand, the ruling party intends to showcase its accomplishments in upgrading school and health infrastructure, emphasizing the allocation of higher budgets to sectors such as smart schools and Aam Aadmi Party clinics. They aim to highlight their consistent fulfillment of commitments and meeting various liabilities. The Election Commission (EC) has issued a notice to the Congress-led Karnataka government over newspaper advertisements of its various welfare schemes and achievements in the poll-bound Telangana, officials said on Tuesday. The poll panel said this was a violation of the model code of conduct (MCC), which is being enforced in Telangana since the announcement of the assembly polls. In its notice issued to the Karnataka chief secretary Monday night, the Election Commission (EC) said it was brought to its notice by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) vide their representation dated November 27 and by THE Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) vide their representation dated November 25 that the Karnataka government has published advertisements of various welfare schemes and achievements in Telangana on November 24-27 in the Hyderabad edition of several newspapers. Advertisement The Commission said it examined its own records and found that neither such approval was granted by it as required under above mentioned instruction nor any such application from Karnataka is found pending for decision. The EC observed that said act of giving advertisements highlighting the welfare schemes and achievements of government by the Karnataka government in newspapers having circulations in poll going state of Telangana is in gross violation of its directions. The Commission said it has taken a serious view of the said violative act by the Karnataka government. The EC asked to explain the circumstances which led to the violation of its MCC instructions on the part of the government. The explanation should reach by November 28 at 5:00 pm. Further publication of any such advertisements by the Government of Karnataka in the State of Telangana shall be stopped forthwith with immediate effect till necessary approvals are taken by the Government from the Commission as required by the instructions on MCC as mentioned above, the Commission. The EC also asked to explain why disciplinary action is not directed against Secretary-in-charge of Department of Information and Public Relations for violations of procedure as required under MCC instructions, as expected under the instruction of the Commission. Voting for the 119 member Telangana Assembly will be held in a single phase on November 30. Counting of votes will take place on December 3 along with Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram. The upcoming polls in Telangana is likely to be a three-cornered one with the ruling BRS taking on the Congress and the BJP. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is likely to embark on a foreign visit starting from December 9, sources said here on Tuesday. Gandhi, who represents Keralas Wayanad parliamentary constituency, will be travelling to Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia, sources said. Sources added that the former Congress president will interact with the Indian diaspora and will also visit universities during his trip. Indian Overseas Congress will be coordinating for all the programmes of the parliamentarian. Advertisement Notably, Gandhi has campaigned for the party in the ongoing Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram. It may be mentioned that the Congress MP had visited several countries including the United States, United Kingdom and France. During his visit, he had interacted with the Indian diaspora and students of several varsities. On the last day of campaigning for Telangana assembly elections, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday interacted with gig workers, auto rickshaw drivers and sanitation workers in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad. During the interaction, the Congress leader heard their grievances and assured them of bringing a legislature in line with the Congress-led Rajasthan government to address them. In Rajasthan we have created a category of gig workers. Whenever an order comes in, some of its money goes towards your social security like insurance, pension on behalf of the company. Advertisement Similarly, after the formation of Congress government in Telangana, you will have talks with the Chief Minister and the Cabinet and will find a solution to your problem, he said. Gandhi assured them a law for welfare of Gig workers in Telangana will be brought if the Congress partys government is formed in the state. He told them that after the Congress party comes to power, the chief minister and minister concerned will hold a meeting with them and decide on the welfare measures for them. The Congress MP also suggested formation of a welfare board for Gig workers to address the issues facing them. The Gig workers briefed Gandhi about the problems they face on daily basis. On of the workers told him that their earnings per order has been coming down while the expenditure is going up due to the increase in petrol price. Shri @RahulGandhi engages with the heartbeat of the city drivers, gig workers & sanitary heroes in Hyderabad. In this interaction, he lends his ear to comprehend their challenges. Listening intently, he not only understands their problems but also presents relief plans from pic.twitter.com/X6sK1QcTWf Congress (@INCIndia) November 28, 2023 They said the delivery charges are very low and the companies are not giving them vehicles or expenses for petrol. They also complained about lack of insurance in case of accidents. I understood from what you told me that you are caught between your companies and customers. This is 21st century slavery, Rahul Gandhi remarked during the interaction. He also heard the problems of autorickshaw drivers and told them that Congress partys manifesto for Telangana polls has promised Rs12,000 financial assistance to them. It will also bring a single permit and ensure one-time settlement of pending traffic challans with a discount of 50 per cent. Sanitation workers working on contract basis also explained to Rahul Gandhi their problems due to lack of job security and other benefits. He assured them that once Congress is voted to power, the chief minister will hold a meeting with them and work out measures for their welfare. (With agency inputs) Its not a wave: its a steady undercurrent. Over the past decade, the advance of ultranationalist, populist or far-right candidates in Europe and the Americas has had its ups and downs. The latest acceleration took place this past week, with Javier Milei winning Argentinas presidency and Geert Wilders party triumphing in the legislative elections in the Netherlands. These victories just a few days apart from each other occurred in two very different countries. Yet, they represent a similar trend. The success of president-elect Milei and Wilders (who will struggle to build a majority to become the Dutch prime minister) comes after the defeat of the nationalist right in countries such as Spain and Poland. And, in the United Kingdom, Labor finds itself at the gates of power, after having been in opposition for 13 years. The new year, however, will see the elections for the European Parliament, where right-wing advances can be consolidated. Meanwhile, in the United States, Donald Trump the inspiration and maximum expression of this movement could return to the White House. There are no waves in politics: reality is more incoherent. What does exist are undercurrents: dissatisfaction with politics. The rejection of the elites. Economic and territorial inequalities. The feeling of a threatened identity. Resentment. And, in this first-quarter of the 21st century, few have been able to capture this discontent and these fears as well as the Trumps, Wilders and Mileis of this motley ideological family. If populism prospers, its precisely because it attracts a population that feels unfairly treated and despised, explains historian Pierre Rosanvallon, in an interview with EL PAIS at the College de France, an ancient educational institution in Paris, where hes an honorary professor. Within this context, a double scapegoat emerges: the elites and the immigrants. Theres a difference between populist phenomena of the past such as the Peoples Party in the United States at the end of the 19th century and the current ones. This is according to Marc Lazar, another historian, who spoke with EL PAIS by phone. Before, these populism movements were small bouts of fever that disappeared quite quickly. Not anymore. For 30 years, Lazar summarizes, weve been facing a cycle of populist protest that is long-lasting and deeply rooted in society. It may have failures, it may have victories but the phenomenon is here because it corresponds to three deep crises in our societies. Three crises The first is the crisis of representative democracy. Theres a distrust and rejection of the political class and institutions the feeling that political leaders are distant from the concerns of the population, explains Lazar, a professor at Sciences Po in Paris and at Romes Free International University of Social Studies. These right-wing populist movements present themselves not as authoritarian movements, as in the past, but as the most democratic, the closest to the people. The second crisis is social. But its not just about inequalities, the historian affirms. Its also the feeling from a part of society that its not being taken into consideration. The third crisis is cultural and has to do with identity: Is someone French? Or European? To this, Lazar adds immigration: Cultural and religious pluralism and Islamist attacks provoke fears and concerns that right-wing populists exploit. It happened last weekend in Crepol, a town of 500 inhabitants in what could be called deep France. A dance was being held. A group of young people armed with knives showed up and a 16-year-old teenager was murdered. There are several detainees. According to journalistic reports, its been suggested that the attackers were boys of immigrant origin from a suburb of the nearby city of Valence. The victim was a local youth. All the ingredients come together in Crepol: idyllic rural France disturbed by violence coming from outsiders. The specter of a civil conflict hangs over the situation, especially as its repeatedly stirred up by politicians and intellectuals from Frances extreme-right. No one is safe anywhere anymore, Marine Le Pen a candidate to succeed centrist President Emmanuel Macron in 2027 told Valeurs Actuelles magazine. A new threshold has been crossed. In Dublin, meanwhile, xenophobic riots broke out after the stabbing of three children and a woman. This is Europe in the fall of 2023. Marine Le Pen president of the far-right French National Rally party speaks during a gathering of the European Identity and Democracy bloc in Lisbon, on November 24. TIAGO PETINGA (EFE) Something is happening, writes essayist Dominique Moisi, mentioning the riots in Dublin, the elections in the Netherlands and the upcoming European elections in France that barring a surprise Le Pens party will win. In a part of the population, theres a feeling of loss of control over their own lives and the feeling that in the face of this loss of control politicians and politics are no longer credible. Transition So whats happening? A new [scenario] has appeared, Moisi notes. [It could involve] the migratory phenomena and the issue of security, which is associated with it. Or even artificial intelligence and new technologies. The world we live in is no longer recognizable: its a scary world. In this context, the extreme-right is something that has never been tried or at least, not for a long time. Hence, it appears as a last resort. The French essayist Alain de Benoist a philosopher of the so-called New Right in the 1980s and an international reference for extremist figures, including the alt-right and white supremacist movement in the United States responded to EL PAIS queries via email following the victories of Wilders and Milei: Its evident that theres a wave, driven by the rejection of the old governing parties, which is at the heart of the current crisis of liberal democracy. These results are characteristic of a time of transition between the world before and the world after. Theres a point in common between these movements, according to De Benoist: the populist style. Because, he affirms, populism is nothing more than a style, which means that it can be combined with the most varied policies and ideologies. Added to this is the common denominator of the rejection of immigration. [The differences between these movements] are very big, he emphasizes. Marine Le Pens National Rally which reaches, above all, the popular classes and whose electorate brings together a large number of left-wing and extreme-left voters is a movement that is hostile to economic liberalism and favorable to the non-alignment of France regarding the positions of the United States. [This is] more or less the opposite of the delusional positions of Milei, who wants to replace the national currency and gut public services with a chainsaw. These rights thrive in a climate in which the very idea of the future seems negated, where everything is dystopian, catastrophic, explains Pablo Stefanoni, author of Did Rebellion Turn Right? There doesnt seem to be a horizon and these [movements] allow as they say in Argentina [for frustrated people] to kick the board. Perhaps the last time in which there was still a future was during the 1990s, after the fall of the Berlin Wall. This was a moment of liberal utopia: happy globalization and the unstoppable expansion of human rights and democracy (for some). This was cut short first by 9/11 and the subsequent American-led invasions in the Middle East, then with the 2008-2009 financial crisis, the 2015 migration crisis, the 2020-2022 pandemic and the ongoing climate crisis. Along the way, Trump burst in. And Brexit. In Poland and Hungary, ultranationalist governments emerged, while Vox grew in Spain. And, in Scandinavia, extreme-right parties became part of the governing coalitions, despite these countries long having been models of coexistence and democratic values. In Italy, an heir to neo-fascism is now the prime minister: Giorgia Meloni. And, finally, in one of the most prosperous and democratic countries in Europe the Netherlands Wilders has won a plurality of the vote. On the other side of the pond, the Milei phenomenon has debuted anarcho-capitalism, with outbursts that harken back to the Trump of 2016. Former president Donald Trump, pictured before giving a speech at Fort Dodge Senior High School, in Fort Dodge, Iowa, on November 18, 2023. Jim Vondruska (Getty Images) And yet, during this same period, Macron defeated Le Pen for the presidency twice (2017 and 2022). The social democrats returned to power in Germany, Pedro Sanchez pieced together a second left-wing majority in Spain, Lula defeated Bolsonaro and Biden beat Trump. So, is there really a common trend in all of this? Or is everything too chaotic to talk about waves and patterns? Latin America If one compares Latin America with Europe, for example, in Latin America theres a lack of a nuclear issue for the European extreme right, which is Islam, Stefanoni notes. What there is instead is an anti-progressive reaction that takes different forms. Theyve installed the idea that now the elites are left-wing and common people can find a shield to defend their freedoms and their interests in the right. What he calls a right-wing insurrectional emotionality also appears. This was seen with the assault on the U.S. Capitol in 2021, the demonstrations during the pandemic lockdowns in Germany, the assault on government buildings in Brazil after the defeat of Jair Bolsonaro, or the recent protests against the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers Party in Madrid. In 2010, the movements of the indignant were leftist. Now, theyre right-wing. Not everyone follows the same insurgent path, however. In France, Le Pen forces her legislators who hold the second-highest number of seats in the National Assembly (88/577) to wear suits and ties. They (generally) avoid insults and outbursts. As a result, the widespread sentiments that prevented them from entering the halls of power have relaxed. The National Rally is no longer anti-system: they want to be the party of order, not riots. The war in the Middle East has also accelerated the mutation of the party (formerly known as the National Front), which was founded half-a-century ago by sympathizers of Nazi Germany and today claims to champion opposition to antisemitism. The National Front today the National Rally is two things: a populist movement implanted on a historical extreme-right, Professor Rosanvallon clarifies. Otherwise, it wouldnt get these [high] results. Look at Italy, [the success] is even clearer. In Italy, the ruling coalition of right-wing parties that have fascist origins are now aligned with the EU and NATO. Meloni is trying to institutionalize herself, unlike Trump or Bolsonaro, who, as Stefanoni recalls, governed against the state. Milei has won the presidency of Argentina with the endorsement of the traditional right, as well as with the support of his conservative vice presidential candidate, Victoria Villarruel. The daughter of a member of the military government (1976-1983), she will be a key figure in his government. Progressive and liberals are now asking what to do. How can they address concerns about immigration, or the impact on workers caused by the measures taken against climate change? We cannot compromise on our principles, emphasizes French essayist Dominique Moisi. At the same time, if we dont have answers to the problems that populists raise, well fail. Nothing is inevitable. This was pointed out this past week by the mayor of Paris, the socialist Anne Hidalgo, at a breakfast with a group of journalists. Despite everything, Pedro Sanchez managed to [keep his government] in Spain this is good news for the climate and for Spain, she affirmed. And, in Poland, its good news for the climate and democracy that progressives and centrists who are not climate skeptics and are pro-European have won. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition The United States has shared legally presentable inputs with India on the alleged assassination plot of Khalistani extremist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, while Canada merely levelled allegations and provided nothing specific in Hardeep Singh Nijjars June killing, Indian High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma has said. Speaking to CTV News, Verma also clarified that the US inputs on Pannuns killing plot are linked to people in India and not the Government of India. Last week, UK daily Financial Times reported that US authorities thwarted a plot to kill Khalistan extremist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the founder of proscribed Sikhs for Justice outfit and warned New Delhi over concerns it was involved in the plot. Advertisement The investigation in case of the U.S. as far as I know and understand is at a much (more) advanced stage, and therefore, I presume, that there would be better information shared with India, he said. However, Verma clarified that this was not the case with Canada as the country didnt share any specific inputs on their allegations of Indian government link to the murder of Nijjar. According to the CTV report, Verma said that India is refusing to cooperate with Canada on Nijjar killing because it has a very different interpretation of what that entails, including finding the word cooperate in this instance to be humiliating in that it presumes guilt. But we always said that if there is anything specific and relevant, and communicated to us, we will look into it, he said. And that had been said from day one. The High Commissioner reiterated Indias stand and said that New Delhi was absolutely and decidedly not involved in the Nijjar killing, calling Ottawas allegations motivated and absurd. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar has received sharp criticism from Congress MP Manickam Tagore for allegedly comparing Mahatma Gandhi with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Dhankar described Gandhi as the Mahapurush of the last century and PM Modi as the Yugpurush of this century. I want to tell you one thing. The mahapurush (great man) of the last century was Mahatma Gandhi. Narendra Modi is the yugpurush (man of the era) of this century, he said. VP Dhankar was addressing an event organized on the birth anniversary celebrations of Jain mystic and philosopher, Shrimad Rajchandra at Opera House in Maharashtras Mumbai on Monday. Mahatma Gandhi freed us from the slavery of the British through Satyagraha and non-violence. Indias successful Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken us to a path where we always wanted to be, Dhankhar added. The official X handle of the Vice President of India also shared a clip of Dhankars speech. https://x.com/VPIndia/status/1729104062443139298?s=20 Further talking about similarities in both great personalities, Dhankhar said, One thing is common between these two great personalities, Mahatma Gandhi and PM Narendra Modi. They have reflected with respect to Shrimad Rajchandraji. Reacting to the Vice Presidents remarks, Congress MP and Lok Sabha whip Manickam Tagore took to the social media platform X, and said that, he has crossed all limits of sycophancy. Advertisement If you compare (Modi) with Mahatma, its shameful, Sir. We all know there is a limit to sycophancy; now you have crossed that limit, and to be in your chair and position and to be a sycophant does not add value, Sir. With respect, the Congress MP wrote while tagging a clip of VP Dhankhars speech. Rat hole mining, a controversial and outlaw mining practice is back in the spotlight nearly nine years after it was banned by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) over severe environmental impacts and unsafe labour conditions. The rat hole mining technique is being used to extract the 41 construction workers trapped inside a collapsed Uttarakhand tunnel after modern machinary failed to execute the rescue operation. So, what is this rat hole mining? Advertisement Rat-hole mining is an illegal coal mining practice which is commonly reported in Meghalaya. Since its ban in 2014, the practice is still being used behind closed doors in some parts of Meghalaya. It involves the drilling of holes to extract small quantities of coal. It is considered a primitive method that involves digging holes ranging from five to 100 square metres to reach the coal seams. When NGT banned the rat hole mining, it claimed the practice is unscientific. However, despite the ban, the coal mining practice still remains rampant in several parts of Meghalaya. Under the technique, miners dig a narrow tunnel which allows one individual to go inside and extract the coal. Since the tunnels just fit one person, the are called rat holes. How rat hole mining has helped in Uttarakhand tunnel rescue operation? The state-of-the-art American auger machine drilled roughly 47-48 meters of a horizontal tunnel. After that, its driller tool broke inside the drilled passage and authorities said that the damage was beyond repair. The rescues teams then resorted to manual drilling a safer but time consuming option. However, they brought in a team of rat hole mining experts who completed the remaining task in less than two days. Earlier it was reported that manual drilling of the tunnel could take around 4-5 days more. The rat hole miners went inside the steel pipe being pushed inside the rubble through which trapped workers will be pulled out and drilled a horizontal passage. The process was somewhat similar to the digging of a narrow tunnel for coal mining. As per the latest reports, less than three meters of drilling was left to reach the trappe workers and the remaining work is expected to be completed by today. The Winter Session of Uttar Pradesh Legislature started on Tuesday. Both the Houses were adjourned for the day after paying customary condolences to the departed souls. Tomorrow, the state government will table the first supplementary budget grants along six Bills. Before the start of the session, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath appealed to the opposition MLAs to cooperate in the proceedings of the House and said that the government is ready to answer all the questions of the opposition. However, the principal opposition Samajwadi Party members opposed the new rules of the House, which ban mobile phones, play cards and other things inside the House. Advertisement SP MLAs protested against the new rules by wearing black clothes and wore kurtas written with slogans against the government. The slogans include Yogi government come to your senses, UP has become a jungle raj- Where is Yogi Maharaj sleeping? and Law and order has collapsed in the state. Talking to media before the session, the CM said that the state government is ready for discussions on overall development, public welfare, issues related to public interest and resolution of public problems during the forthcoming Winter session of the House, adding that all the members of different political parties have been invited for a meaningful discussion on the topic. Our government is fully prepared to answer all the questions of the members and is ready to discuss all the issues related to development of Uttar Pradesh, he said. Emphasizing the importance of the House as a crucial platform to address issues concerning the general public and draw the governments attention towards them, the Chief Minister expressed the confidence that all members, considering the sentiments of the common people, would contribute towards making the House a center for healthy discussions. In an attempt to familiarise the world with Uttar Pradeshs rich cultural heritage and folk art, the Yogi Adityanath Government is set to celebrate Sanskriti Utsav 2023 from December 25 to January 26, 2024 on a grand note. Themed Uttar Pradesh Parv: Hamari Sanskriti-Hamari Pehchaan, the festival will provide a platform for local artists of the state to showcase their talents and win awards. In line with CM Yogis vision, the Department of Culture in Uttar Pradesh will organize this festival across the state, featuring different layers of contests at tehsil, district, division and state levels primarily based on classical and semi-classical music and dance as well as diverse forms of folk dances and music. Advertisement The grandeur of the Sanskriti Utsav-2023 can be gauged from the fact that the events related to it will be held in every corner of the state. In the competitions to be held at the Tehsil headquarters between December 25 and 30, artists from villages, panchayats, blocks, and Tehsils will participate. Following this, between January 1 and 5, 2024, selected artists at the tehsil level will participate in competitions to be held at district headquarters. Between January 10 and 15, competitions will be organized at the divisional headquarters, in which artists selected at the district level will participate. After passing through three more stages, the competition will reach the decisive stage, and the competitions of all three stages will be organized in Lucknow. Selected artists at the divisional level will have the opportunity to participate in the main event, where they will be honoured. To make this event successful, widespread participation will be ensured, involving government and semi-government departments, educational institutions, voluntary organizations, Nehru Yuva Kendra, National Cadet Corps, and social activists at various levels. The Information and Public Relations Department will also take extensive steps for the publicity of the Utsav. As part of the event, competitions will be organized in classical singing, including Khayal and Dhrupad, as well as in semi-classical singing, featuring Thumri, Dadra, Chaiti, Chaita, Jhoola, Hora, Tappa. Instrumental competitions will include flute, shehnai, harmonium, sitar, violin, guitar, sarangi, veena, tabla, pakhawaj, mridangam, and ghatam, along with competitions related to indigenous and folk instruments. Similarly, dance competitions encompass Kathak, Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Mohiniyattam, and other classical dance forms. Additionally, folk dance competitions will include Dhoobiya, Ahirwa, Karma, Shaila, Domkach, Akheta, as well as competitions in folk drama, including Nautanki, Ramleela, Raslila, Swang, Bhagat, Bahurupiya, Nukkad Natak, and more. In folk singing, competitions will cover categories such as Kajri, Chaiti, Jhoola, Biraha, Alha, Nirgun, Lokgeet, and Qawwali, and under the category of easy music, competitions will be held for songs, ghazals, bhajans, and patriotic songs. Recorded music will be accepted for solo and group dances. The victorious artists in the competitions will be honoured with medals, certificates, and mementoes. The Supreme Court on Tuesday chided the Kejriwal Government for not paying in full its share of money for the funding of the Regional Rapid Transport System (RRTS) project , observing that it has to be arm-twisted to fulfill its part of financial obligation towards the project. There can be no question of partial compliance. Complete compliance must take place, the observation from a bench comprising Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia came as it was informed that the Delhi government has released only a portion that it had to pay as its share. What you have to pay you have to pay, Justice Kaul told the Delhi government, pointing out that The problem is you have to be arm-twisted to pay money that you are obligated to. Advertisement In the last hearing of the matter on November 21, the Supreme court had pulled up the Delhi government for the breach of an undertaking to the top court to provide funds for Regional Rapid Transport System (RRTS) project connecting the national capital with Meerut and directed it to transfer the funds for taking forward the project, giving it a weeks time to comply with its April/July directions. The court had put in abeyance for a week its order directing the release of funds for RRTS, and said that its order would come into force if Delhi government fails to provide required funds for the project. The court had warned the Delhi government that if it failed to release the funds for the construction of RRTS project, it (top court) would attach its advertising budget. Voicing its disappointment over the stand of the Delhi government, the court had said, Why have you not complied with (the courts) order? We will stay in your advertising budget. We will attach it and take it here (RRTS). The top court said this in the course of the hearing of an application by the National Capital Regional Transport Corporation (NCRTC) telling the court that Rs. 500 crores that Delhi government was to contribute still leaves a balance of Rs. 415 crores. On April 21, the top court had permitted Delhi government to contribute Rs 500 crore from the Environment Compensation Charge (ECC) towards its share for Delhi-Meerut RRTS project. However, when the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) pointed out that payment of Rs 500 crore would still leave a balance of Rs 415 crore towards Delhi government, the top court had said, We call upon the State Government to make the requisite budgetary provision, if not already made and thereafter to pay the amount promptly so that the project is not delayed. On July 24, the top court while taking on record a statement by Delhi government, that the funds will be allotted for the project, the bench had said in its order, Senior counsel says provisions will be made in line with proposed schedule. We take this on record, the overdue amount will be paid within two months. In the last hearing on November 21, referring to its April order, the bench had said, Gross breach of directions by this court of assurance given on behalf of the state government In April, we had specifically mentioned the balance amount payable by the Delhi government and directed them to pay the amount promptly. Amount is not paid Details show that three years budgetary provision (for advertisement) was almost Rs 1100 crore, while for this financial year was Rs 550 crore If such national projects are affected, and if money is being spent on advertisement, we would be inclined to ask the money to be directed to the infrastructure. Celebrated artist Satish Gupta has been navigating his personal journey of contemplations through a lifetime of creating meditative works. His quest takes him through painting, sculptures, poetry, calligraphy and an intuitive seeking of a spiritual space beyond the mundane route of prescribed living. In this show titled Zen Thunder Zen Silence presented in Mumbai by Gallery Art & Soul, at the Jehangir Art Gallery from 22nd to 27th November 2023, the artist returns to Mumbai after a gap of seven years. This show presents a limited edition portfolio of works crated by Satish Gupta including new work titled Zenga, wandering Cloud and a large sculpture titled Brahmand is a large sculpture, both of which will be on display. Advertisement About The Works It was a moment of epiphany when the mesmeric quality of the intangible while seeking calm in chaos was revealed to him. That calm he believes, is a gift from Buddha. Perhaps Buddha is holding the artists hands on his journey through life with his creative companions: a brush, paint, some sculpting tools and an endless curiosity in cosmic meditations. While the galaxies swirl inside him as if in slow motion, Buddha appears at multiple moments of Satishs creative wanderings. For Satish, Buddha in fact, resides within him; and sometimes he resides within Buddha as experienced in Sri Lanka during the Tsunami. He was miraculously saved by a whim of constellations that had placed him at that moment in the ancient Dambulla Caves instead of the hotel he was to be in, which got washed away with many of its occupants. As Satish contemplates, Once you realise this spiritual truth, you begin to comprehend the tremendous beauty in the ephemeral body of Nothingness, that is the formless nature of the Divine beyond time and space, that is the absolute, the supreme consciousness which pervades everything. And from this seeding of thought, blossomed Aham Brahmasmi (The Formless Divine), a sculpture in copper where the self is the cosmos and inhabiting it is a kinetic force of the world with light flowing out of its chest like a pulse of knowledge. This light, this luminosity is a silent presence in the Zenscapes of his mind. This is also where the clouds that he was mesmerized with as a child reappear in Wandering Clouds, sculpted onto metal floating past the moon that seems to be lost in its own reverie. Serving as an intersection between visual experience and philosophical musings, art becomes a vehicle for journeying into spaces where one rediscovers layers of enquiry, beginning to unpeel the rhetoric of manufactured living to a tranquil space of introspection. This has become a recurring motif for the artist. Invoking the beginning of time, he sculpted the seed of Brahmand (the spiritual universe) a form that melts into formlessness as the play of light floats around in a mesmeric trance at the wonder of creation creation having emerged from the golden womb or Hiranyagarbha, as suggested by a narrative in the vedas (the oldest scriptures of Hinduism). We may argue with this theory, but the critical evaluation is that it offers the artist a Zenscape to create his own vision of beauty, serenity and cosmic dialogues with his innermost self. The seed of Brahmand (the spiritual universe) is sculpted, has a form that melts into formlessness as the play of light floats around in a mesmeric trance at the wonder of creation. Immersed in mythology as he is, Satish befriends the gods that offer him narratives that empower human frailties; homilies that steer negative thought processes towards enlightened thinking. Shiva Shakti is one of them. Using the mellow tone and strength of copper, an image of Shiva is crafted with multiple images of the mythical shakti within and externally urging the artist and the viewer to ruminate on subliminal spaces. Dressed in ornate detail, Shambhu is a metal sculpture that reminds the world that all is not lost if you believe in yourself and your inner energies. Your innate strength and your willingness to excavate possibilities can enrich the philosophical terrains of your life; you can and you will conquer the most difficult circumstances with the power of belief in yourself. A skilful painter, Satish works with watercolour and mixed media creating compositions of Radiance alluding to nature and philosophical musings. A churning of thoughts transports him into the Roaring Sea and Silent Mind a painting where a meditating monk is seated in silence, oblivious to the thundering roar. Here, we are witness to a cacophonic world which can only be nullified with silence. Within that silence, a Symphony flows in, of tranquil lines and soothing shades that move into a Stream of Consciousness towards Dissecting Dreams. His lines of Healing Sounds to the Morning Raga comforts his sentient being as he continues his voyage and his quest for meaning. This irrepressible quest occasionally takes the artist into a minimalist path of Zenga; a reduction of form known in Chinese and Japanese calligraphy and ink painting. Zenga appears in a series of the artists works of poetry in motion, where fluid brush strokes flow into slow meditations on life, the beginning, the end and beyond. The beyond is as Satish muses in his words where Man flies unbound by gravity, leaving the cradle of earth to fly into infinity. Having tragically lost his father in a plane crash when he was just four and a half years old, that memory took him on an epic exploration of flight and its many layers of meaning. The Greek mythological Icarus is one thought process. His sculpture Icarus, clothed in copper with gold plating and a stainless steel base with mirror finish, reflects thus, the incertitude of flight you may ascend through aspirations with it, or descend as did Icarus, if not mindful. A recent immersive work in copper Anantsayan, within which lies Vishnu, who is considered the Supreme God, reclining on Ananta or the multi-headed serpent that shelters him. Does god need protection? Perhaps the concept of god does, shielding believers as it were, from fear of the unknown. In the beginning there was a vast void and many thought processes have been imprinted on us through centuries. We are tabula rasa at birth, then we bear the weight of what has been indoctrinated what has been etched on us by society. We may choose to embrace the teachings or we may map our own path to inner learnings. Satish Gupta has mapped his own journey by peeling layers of deep thinking to reach his Zen moments. Just three days before the top leaders from Japan, South Korea and China were to gather in the South Korean city of Busan to discuss resuming their leaders summit as part of a resumption of the annual trilateral summit that began in 2008 but remained suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic since 2019, a Seoul court reopened wounds in bilateral ties by ordering Japan to financially compensate Korean women forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops during the colonial period. As expected, Japan called the ruling absolutely unacceptable, arguing that it violated international law and bilateral agreements. Ties between the three Northeast Asian countries have remained frosty during much of the post-World War II years. Though the three nations are close economic and cultural partners, they continue to suffer from the shadow of history. More recently, the US-China rivalry and North Koreas nuclear programme have added a new dimension to the troubled relationship. The trilateral leaders summit was planned to address the past issue of wartime atrocities by the Japanese and the new emerging challenges. In September 2023, senior officials of the three nations had agreed to restart the trilateral summit at the earliest convenient time. South Korea and Japan are major US allies in the region and they together host about 80,000 American troops on their soils. Their recent push to bolster a trilateral Seoul-Tokyo-Washington security partnership triggered rebukes from Beijing, which is extremely sensitive to any moves it sees as trying to hold China back. Ties between Seoul and Tokyo soured badly in recent years due to issues stemming from Japans 1910-1945 colonization of the Korean Peninsula. Advertisement But bilateral relations improved significantly in recent times as South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol pushed to move beyond historical disputes and bolster cooperation to better deal with North Koreas nuclear threats and other issues. The Seoul High Court ruling now threatens to nullify all the gains secured by Yoon. Even ties between Japan and China are not free from trouble. Both have tussled for long over Japanese War time atrocities. They have issues over the Senkaku Island chain in East China Sea, which are claimed by both. More recently, the two nations became embroiled in a trade dispute after China banned seafood imports from Japan to protest the discharge of treated radioactive wastewater from its tsunami-hit nuclear power plant in Fukushima. By reopening the wound before it was healed, the Seoul High Court on 23 November overturned a Seoul Central District Court order of January 2022. It obligated the Japanese government to pay compensation to 16 plaintiffs, including former comfort women of the Imperial Japanese Army. In the lawsuit, the lower court dismissed the plaintiffs claims, ruling that Japan cannot be subject to the jurisdiction of South Korea based on the principle of sovereign immunity under international law. Japan ignored that order. But the appeals court reversed the lower courts decision and ordered the Japanese government to compensate one former comfort woman and bereaved family members of other wartime comfort women. The court said the amount of compensation should be 200 million won (about 23 million yen or $154,000) to each comfort woman. There were 16 plaintiffs in total. The decision overturned a lower courts dismissal of the lawsuit over sovereign immunity, which under international law means a government cannot face trial in an overseas court of law. The court ruling however will likely be ignored by Japan. Observers hope it will not strain bilateral relations, largely because ties between the two countries have greatly improved since Yoon Suk-yeol became President of South Korea in 2022. In a sharp reaction, Japans Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said the court ruling was extremely regrettable for not recognising sovereign immunity. It has transpired that the Japanese government will not appeal for the same reason. Based on this stance, the Japanese government has not participated in any trial in South Korea regarding compensation for wartime comfort women. Such court rulings in the past have sparked heated exchanges between the two governments. It goes to the credit of President Yoon that his administration tried to ease the friction through a foundation established in March 2023. Now the South Korean Supreme Court has ordered Japanese companies to pay compensation to Korean wartime labourers, which is to be administered by the foundation. Yoons move led to the increase in exchanges between the two nations over a wide range of areas, such as national security, business and culture. Though it is expected that the High Court ruling is unlikely to be a barrier to this warmth in relationship between the two countries, Yoon could face a public backlash if his political opponents step up their criticism that the government is letting Japan off the hook over wartime issues. Lee Yong-su, 94, the only surviving former comfort woman among the plaintiffs, has demanded that Japan should express a heartfelt apology and provide legal compensation to the plaintiffs. Japan has held to its fundamental stance that all wartime compensation issues had been settled under a 1965 treaty on Basic Relations, when diplomatic relations were normalised between the two nations. Those agreements normalised relations and provided Seoul with huge sums following South Koreas independence from Tokyo in 1945. The timing of the latest court ruling was unfortunate as the foreign ministers of Japan, South Korea and China were to meet in Busan on 25-26 November to prepare for the summit meeting of their top leaders. While Japan is not expected to change its stance, it needs to be watchful that China should not take advantage of any signs of cracks in Japan-South Korea relations. If Japan-South Korea ties nosedive on this issue, it would suit Beijings ambition to be the preeminent power in the region. Though Yoon may be wellmeaning in his desire to mend ties with Japan, his administration is unlikely to interfere with the court activities, which are independent. There is a risk that irrespective of whether Japan heeds the court ruling or not, this itself negatively impacts on the rapprochement between the two. In a worst-case scenario, it could cause a setback to moves towards rebuilding trust and shall have damaging implications for trade, politics, and security. (The writer is former fellow at prime Minister Memorial Museum and Library) The four-day humanitarian pause-cum-ceasefire mediated by Qatar in consultation with the US was implemented after approval of the Israeli cabinet. As per the agreement, operations would be stalled for this duration. Under the settlement, Hamas would release 50 hostages, mainly women and children, while Israel would free 150 minors and women prisoners. The names of those being released would be announced in advance and they would be set free in batches. As part of the agreement, the Red Cross will be given access to the remaining hostages in Gaza including supplying them with medicines. The pause was also for movement of humanitarian aid, including fuel, for Palestinians trapped in Gaza, with 300 trucks arriving daily. However, actual figures are far lesser. Hamas stated that the hostages being released would only be civilians. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli PM mentioned that he is willing to extend the ceasefire provided 10 hostages are released daily. There has been no acceptance of this offer by Hamas till date. Netanyahu cautioned his cabinet by stating: We are at war and we will continue the war until we achieve all our goals, which is to destroy Hamas, return all our hostages and ensure that no entity in Gaza can threaten Israel. This appears to hint at an Israeli intention to suspend operations in case hostages are released. Both sides have claimed victory in the ceasefire. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) chief stated that it was their military pressure which created conditions for release of hostages. Historically, whenever there has been a truce, even if temporary, Hamas has claimed victory, being the weaker force. This was no different. The initial Hamas intent of taking hostages was to secure release of its people from Israeli prisons and it has done so. Advertisement The Israeli leadership has been facing flak from families of hostages who have been protesting non-stop in Tel Aviv including displaying a white table with 240 chairs each marking a hostage. Rejecting the pause would have placed the Israeli government under greater domestic pressure. Pressure to give priority to release of hostages will continue. Simultaneously, Israeli troops would remain deployed in Gaza for a prolonged duration. This would necessitate additional forces to secure lines of communication. In case the truce prolongs, Israel would unwittingly be drawn into the management of Gaza, which it has sought to avoid. Continued military service of reservists would impact the Israeli economy. Israels budget deficit has grown by 400 per cent and almost half a million dual-citizens from its eight million population have left the country, including 50,000 foreign workers. Tourism has come to a standstill hurting the economy. The Israeli currency, Shekel, has lost 15 per cent of its value, while shares of its major banks have dropped 20 per cent. Over a million Israelis are forced to stay in shelters away from their homes slowing down economic activities. Militarily, Israeli forces are strengthening their positions, gaining information on Hamas deployments as also inputs on its tunnels while tapping intelligence sources to obtain locations of remaining hostages. The IDF would resupply its troops enabling them to be ready for the next phase of operations, while attempting to clear the region of civilians. This will allow Israel to launch swift operations in case the need arises and also be able to effectively destroy Hamas tunnels. Every action by the IDF would be observed by Hamas. The truce agreement also limits Israeli employment of drones to a few hours each day. This permits Hamas to regroup, rearm and readjust their forces. In case operations recommence, Hamas would hope to be better prepared to challenge Israeli forces. While Israel claims to have destroyed 500 tunnels and killed thousands of Hamas troops, it is unlikely that Hamas has been neutralised. However, a prolonged truce and continued suffering of civilians would reduce Hamas control over Gaza. There are already reports of Hamas police members being attacked for claiming priority rights over aid. Reconstruction of Gaza would take over a decade. The other aspect is whether the truce with Hamas would extend to that with Hezbollah. If it does, then it would bring peace to the region, which has witnessed unwarranted violence and loss of thousands of innocent lives. However, in the long term it would be just another case of Israel gaining a few years of tranquillity before Hamas recreates its capabilities and challenges the Israeli defence forces again. A successful pause with release of hostages could also lead to internal and external pressures being brought on the Israeli government to persist with negotiations for return of the balance hostages rather than resort to operations resulting in civilian casualties to Gazans. The swap coming after over a month of fighting is not a win-win situation, considering the thousands of lives lost on both sides as also the destruction. Both sides began the conflict with different aims and neither has succeeded. Israel has refused to bow down and Hamas has not been made redundant. In addition, Israeli PM, Netanyahu is facing a possible ouster while protests in Gaza are challenging the power and control of Hamas. Further, Hamas, which had hoped for support from the Muslim world, has been disappointed. The Arab-Islamic summit displayed how fragmented the regional environment is when it refused to adopt stricter measures against Israel. Simultaneously, global support for Tel Aviv to continue with the conflict is receding rapidly. The chair summary issued by South Africa, after the conclusion of the extraordinary BRICS virtual summit, is a case in point. There is also a view that for both sides continuing the war is beneficial. Netanyahu can only hope to recreate his political career if he is able to largely degrade Hamass war fighting abilities, post regaining his hostages. For Hamas, unless it gains victory, protests against it could gather steam resulting in it losing control in Gaza. Preventing such a scenario from emerging should be the global intent. While Israel would still survive as a nation even if Netanyahu goes, Gaza would find it difficult post the removal of Hamas. The Palestinian Authority has no control over Gaza nor is any other country willing to coordinate its reconstruction. Unless those negotiating the ceasefire look ahead, the scenario can again darken. The Sammilita Islami Oikya Jote (SIOJ), an alliance of eight parties in Bangladesh, announced on Monday that it will take part in the general elections scheduled in January next year, saying that polls are part of a democratic movement. We have decided to participate in the general elections, but there must be an extension in the deadline for filing nomination by at least by 10 days. Many parties have not been able to prepare well for the elections, SIOJ Secretary General advocate Khairul Islam said during a press conference. Islam also urged all the political parties, including the opposition BNP, to take part in the elections. Advertisement Elections are part of a democratic movement, Islam said. He said that at least 300 candidates from the SIOJ alliance will take part in the elections,as he and expressed hope that the Election Commission will keep its commitment by holding free and fair polls. Responding to a query on election symbol, Islam said they have not finalised any symbol as of yet. SIOJ includes Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan, Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Nizam-e-Islam Party, Bangladesh Janasheba Andolan, Bangladesh Islamic Liberal Party, Bangladesh Muslim Janata Party, Bangladesh Islami Democratic Forum, and Bangladesh United Islamic Party. Bangladesh will go to polls on January 7 next year. Nelson Pinero in an image from his social networks. NelsonpVzla1 A court in the Venezuelan city of Valencia has ordered the imprisonment of opposition political leader Nelson Pinero of the center-right Encuentro Ciudadano party on charges of incitement to hatred. Sources close to Pineros defense reported that the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin) arrived at the activists house around midnight Monday, without a search warrant, and told his father and his son that they were carrying out an order to arrest him. Pineros family reported that the police entered the residence through the windows due to the politicians reluctance to open the door. Pinero, a regional cadre for Encuentro Ciudadano, was transferred to the Sebin headquarters in Naguanagua, north of Valencia, on accusations of having committed criminal offenses via the content of his statements on social networks. Officials told Pineros relatives that he would be sent to prison for writing things on Twitter. The denunciation of Pineros arrest was made public by Delsa Solorzano, a presidential candidate in the recently concluded primary elections and founder of Encuentro Ciudadano. Today Nelson is one more political prisoner of this dictatorship, which has taken 300 citizens to jail for thinking differently, she declared. Solorzano, a lawyer who has worked extensively in the defense of human rights and political prisoners in Venezuela, also said that the infamous Law Against Hatred promulgated by the now defunct Constituent National Assembly, which severed the functions of the parliament elected in 2015 is unconstitutional. Solorzano added that none of the criminal elements that they want to attribute to Nelson have any place in this case. The Unitary Platform, which groups together the most important opposition parties, also condemned the judicial measure against Pinero, stating that he had been jailed without a court order one was presented a posteriori only for the fact of publishing his opinions on social networks. The opposition political alliance has asked international humanitarian organizations to intercede on behalf of Pinero and have proposed, as Solorzano also has, that his case be documented and added to the file regarding human rights violations against the government of Nicolas Maduro. In solidarity with Pinero the Foro Penal Venezolano, an NGO linked to the defense of constitutional rights, posted a message from the politicians son on social networks, in which he says that his father has been prosecuted for making use of his right to freedom of expression. Pineros relatives have asked Foro Penal lawyers to assist in his defense. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition India is ready to look into any specific and relevant information that Canada could share on the killing of Khalistan supporter Hardeep Singh Nijjar and take the matter forward in a logical way that is legally defensible in both countries, according to Indian High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma. India is only asking for specific and relevant information so that we can help you. We can help the Canadian investigators to reach their conclusion to the extent that it will be viable for them to go for the legal actionI will urge my Canadian friends and colleagues. I can assure them that we will certainly look into them, he said when asked about Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus charge that Indian agents were behind the killing of Nijjar. In an interview with a Canadian TV journalist, the Indian envoy said that instead of differences, India-Canada relations should focus on convergence, as New Delhi is still open for promoting bilateral business ties. Advertisement He said there is an understanding of New Delhis concerns from the Canadian side but more action needs to be seen on the ground. We have voiced our concerns on various occasions and not only today through our historical relationship which we have here. I believe that there is an understanding of our concern in the Canadian policy-making circles and decision-making circles. I have seen many statements coming from the Canadian leadership respecting Indian sovereignty and territorial integrity and I have no doubt about it, Verma said. He added, We need to see more on the ground and through the dialogue. I am sure well be able to see that convergence on the ground as well and well see any semblance of use of Canadian soil by Canadian citizens to target and challenge Indian sovereignty. The Indian envoy further said that New Delhi and Ottawa have a long friendship but the two countries are seeing divergence on this one issue. He further stressed that instead of focusing on divergence the two countries should focus on convergence and take them forward. Trade is an issue which is absolutely separateit is convergent. Trade is something that brings us together, and I would suggest, that our friends, both in the Indo-Canadian community and wider Canadian community take the advantage of current economic growth, and innovative growth of India and do trade in a way that is beneficial to both of us, the Indian envoy said. Saint-Laurent, CA (H4T1V6) Today Rain showers early becoming a steady light rain for the afternoon. High around 45F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Rain...mixing with snow overnight. Low 32F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precip 90%. Many of Greater Montreals top housing sector firms were in attendance on November 15 when the winners of the 10th edition of the Habitat Design Awards were announced. The event, honourarily chaired by Carmela Cucuzzella, dean of Universite de Montreals Faculty of Environmental Design, recognizes the talent, creativity and ingenuity of the creative people who invigorate the residential construction industry. There is immense value in advocating for all the design professions architecture, landscaping, interior design and graphic design pooling together with a view toward creating better living spaces. It is a role the Habitat Design Awards have been actively fulfilling for the last 10 years, stated noted industrial designer Michel Dallaire, O.C., O.Q, CALQ, who presided over the jury. These awards constitute an important and timely initiative, and aptly demonstrate the usefulness of interprofessional collaboration. Some 20 awards were presented this year honouring excellence in new residential unit design in the Montreal metropolitan area. Entries were evaluated based on how well they integrate quality interior design within the scope of a multidisciplinary approach, a specific competitive edge in terms of concept, functionality and aesthetics, and for marketing the homes. The presentation of the Habitat Design Awards is a unique opportunity to rally the full spectrum of the housing sector around celebrating the talent of our local creatives, said Michel Auclair, head of corporate sales at DuPropio, the competitions main sponsor. Its in line with the pluri-disciplinary approach at the core of the competition now opening the way for homebuyers to shop for what todays designers call wall-to-wall wellbeing. Common areas Common areas are clearly a topmost focus of any efforts aimed at marketing major multi-residential projects in Montreal and its surrounding regions, said Claude Paquin, editor of the magazine FORMES. The number of reputable promoters who have actively contributed over the years to rendering adding common areas a must shows theyve been paying attention to the socialization needs of their future clients. Common areas are how builders are pushing back against one of the realities that is hardest to overcome: loneliness. The award for Best Space Planning Rising costs associated with materials, labour, land acquisition, plus various regulatory considerations, are forcing construction firms to reduce the living space of their new residential units, namely to help keep housing affordable. Designers and architects therefore play a crucial role in optimizing the planning of living space. The Habitat Design Grand Prize - Peoples Choice Award - Furnished Model Units and Peoples Choice Award - Sales Offices This year, some 20 finalists vied for the peoples endorsement. The public voted for the shortlisted entries online on a dedicated website powered by DuProprio. All entries were submitted for the draw of a $1,000 prize. The Habitat Design Award - Sales Office Category and Furnished Model Unit Category - Jurys Choice Buyers love a broad palette of ideas. For builders, this means the opportunity to put together elegantly decorated model units and attractive sales offices. Buyers can then visualize a host of options and start laying the foundation for their future home. 2023 Habitat Design Award Winners Landscape Architecture Category 2023 Rinox Award for Best Emerging Landscape Architect Josiane Roy, currently pursuing a Masters in landscape architecture at Universite de Montreal 2023 Habitat Design Grand Prize in Landscape Architecture Category: Multi-Residential Complex Julie St-Arnault Vlan paysages Habitations Saint-Michel Nord 2023 Habitat Design Grand Prize in Landscape Architecture Category: Single-Family Unit Stephanie Desmeules Paysages Spirituels et Therapeutiques Furnished Model Unit Category 2023 Habitat Design Grand Prize Furnished Model Units Jurys Choice: Category: Units under $425,000 AURA sur le square Phase 1, Groupe Montclair 2023 Habitat Design Grand Prize Furnished Model Units Jurys Choice: Category: Units between $425,000 and $595,000 Louis Condominiums, Devimco Immobilier 2023 Habitat Design Grand Prize Furnished Model Units Jurys Choice: Category: Units between $595,000 and $850,000 Capella, Habitations Pilon + Prevel Alliance 2023 Habitat Design Grand Prize Furnished Model Units Jurys Choice: Category: Units over $850,000 1111 Atwater, EMD Construction Batimo Group Inc. 2023 Habitat Design Grand Prize Furnished Model Units Jurys Choice: Category: Rental units between $425,000 and $595,000 Mellem Ville-Marie, Maitre Carre Sales Office Category 2023 Habitat Design Grand Prize Sales Offices Jurys Choice: Category: Projects under $75 M Danaus Condominiums , Candiac Investments (II) LP / Bertone Development Corporation 2023 Habitat Design Grand Prize Sales Offices Jurys Choice: Category: Projects $75 M to $150 M Louis Condominiums, Devimco Immobilier Common Areas Category 2023 Habitat Design Grand Prize Common Areas Off-Plan Jurys Choice: Category: Projects under $75 M Georges Henri Boutique Condominiums, Bertone Development Corporation 2023 Habitat Design Grand Prize Common Areas Off-Plan Jurys Choice: Category: Projects $75 M to $150 M Square Bellevue Condominiums, SB Lot 3 S.E.C / DevMeta 2023 Habitat Design Award Common Areas in Service Jurys Choice: Category: Projects with condos for sale Quartier General, Prevel 2023 Habitat Design Award Common Areas in Service Jurys Choice: Category: Projects with units for rent or sale Maestria condominiums and apartments, Devimco Immobilier Space Planning Award Category 2023 Habitat Design Grand Prize Award for Best Space Planning Jurys Choice: Category: Projects with units for rent or sale Beacite Duo, Maisons Pepin inc. Peoples Choice 2023 Habitat Design Grand Prize Peoples Choice Sales Offices Georges Henri Boutique Condominiums, Bertone Development Corporation 2023 Habitat Design Grand Prize Peoples Choice Furnished Model Units 1111 Atwater, EMD Construction Batimo Group Inc. Habitat Design Awards www.prixhabitatdesign.com AB Israel and Hamas agree to extend truce for two more days, and to free more hostages and prisoners Saudi Arabias capital Riyadh has been chosen to host the 2030 World Expo following its bid focusing on how to shape a prosperous and sustainable future Pictured are some of the 200 or so toys that were donated to the Christmas Is For Kids gift drive on Sunday by participants in the Second Annual Leftover Turkey Trot. Eight-year-old Ela and her sister Dafna, 15, were abducted by Hamas on October 7 after witnessing the death of their father, his partner, and her son in the Israeli kibbutz of Nahal Oz. The attack in Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people and the kidnapping of at least 240 others including Ela and Dafna who were forcibly taken to the Gaza Strip. The two returned home on Sunday and are among the 69 hostages who have been released in the first four days of the truce between the Israeli government and Hamas. Of this group, 51 are Israelis, in addition to 17 Thais and one Filipino. Except for one man who holds dual Israeli and Russian citizenship, the other Israelis released are women (22) and children (28). A moment forever etched in my memory, wrote Maayan Zin, the mother of both girls, in a post on social media accompanied by a video of the reunion with her daughters. Their embrace is one of the images that sums up the relief of dozens of Israeli families who have seen their relatives returned after weeks of pressure, both local and international, on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to forge a pact with Hamas agreeing to the release of hostages. The ceasefire was extended Monday for two more days in a new deal brokered by Qatar that will allow the return of 20 more hostages in exchange for the release of 60 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. On Monday, the last day of the initially agreed truce, 11 Israeli hostages were released nine minors and two women all with dual nationality: three with French citizenship, two with German and six with Argentine. All were kidnapped in the kibbutz of Nir Oz. French President Emmanuel Macron celebrated the release of his compatriots: Extremely happy with this announcement, he said. The Argentine Foreign Ministry thanked Qatar for its collaboration in the mediation efforts. Nine-year-old Ohad Munder reunited with his family in Israel at the Schneider Medical Center last Friday. Schneider Children's Medical Center Spokesperson (REUTERS) A fragile truce The truce began Friday at 7 a.m. local time, with a ceasefire in Gaza and the entry of humanitarian aid throughout the Strip, one of the conditions demanded by Hamas. In the afternoon, Egypt suddenly announced the release of a group of Thai nationals nine men and a woman and a Filipino citizen, who were working in the agricultural sector near the enclave, as the result of a parallel negotiation between Thailand and Hamas. Hours later, the Red Cross confirmed the release of 13 other Israeli nationals, including six women aged over 70, three adult women, two girls and a boy. The latter, Ohad Munder, turned nine while being held hostage in Gaza. The emotional encounter in which he ran into his fathers arms at the Schneider Medical Center, located on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, went viral on social media. That same night five elderly women were also released. Margalit Mozes, 77, is a cancer survivor and suffers from diabetes, as does Chana Peri, 79, the only one of this first group who did not come from Kibbutz Nir Oz. Delays and uncertainty marked the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners on Saturday the second day of the truce and the 50th day of the ongoing conflict after the armed wing of Hamas claimed that Israel was not complying with the agreement regarding the entry of humanitarian aid trucks into Gaza. The United Nations later confirmed that 137 trucks from its proxy were unloaded in the enclave, the largest aid convoy delivered since October 7. The standoff was not resolved, through the mediation of Qatar and Egypt, until late in the evening. The Israeli military announced late Saturday that a group of 13 Israeli women seven minors and six adults and four Thais had been transferred to Egypt by Red Cross representatives to be taken to Israel. Except for 21-year-old Maya Regev, who was abducted with her brother from the Nova music festival, all the released Israelis were living in Kibbutz Beeri, one of the bloodiest scenes of the Hamas massacre. Among them was Adina Shoham, 38, who was kidnapped along with her children Yahel, 3, and Navel, 8, and her mother, 67. The children had dual German nationality through their grandfather, who was killed during the October 7 attacks. The fragility of the truce was also highlighted on Sunday, when in the morning the Red Crescent reported the death of a Palestinian farmer at the hands of the Israeli army in central Gaza. However, the release of hostages continued without major complications. Hamas claimed in mid-afternoon to have released a Russian national in appreciation of [Russias] position in support of the Palestinian cause. The hostage was identified as Ron Kivoy, 25, a Russian-Israeli citizen who was working as a technician at the music festival. Within minutes, Israel reported that the Palestinian militia had handed over 17 hostages 14 Israelis and three Thais to the Red Cross. The first U.S. citizen, Avigail Idan, who turned four last Friday, was also released Sunday. On Monday, the White House said it believes that eight or nine U.S. hostages were still being held by Hamas. The case of Alma Avraham, the oldest Hamas hostage at 84, who had to be evacuated by helicopter to a hospital because she was in serious condition according to Israeli public television, also came to light that day. Her family complained to the local press that she had not received vital medication while in captivity. Do you see what we've become? Tata Power, which is among India's largest integrated power companies, is rapidly scaling up its renewable energy capacity as it transitions from a thermal power generator to a clean energy company over the next couple of decades. Till the financial year 2027, the Tata Group company estimates a capital expenditure of around Rs 60,000 crore and 45 per cent of that will be spent on renewable energy. "Over the next three years, the capacity add that will happen in the renewable energy space and some of the other businesses, including in transmission and distribution, will require nearly Rs 60,000 crore of capex. This will help us meet future obligations in terms of meeting the capacity adds and also the financial metric that we are talking about," said Praveer Sinha, the CEO and MD of Tata Power. Tata Power reported a profit of Rs 3,810 crore on revenue of Rs 56,033 crore in the year ended March 2023 and hopes to double the profit and revenue by the year ending March 2027. The company's current capacity includes 9,281 MW clean energy (including 3,760 MW in pipeline) and 8,860 MW in thermal power generation. It has a solar EPC order book of Rs 18,700 crore. In August this year, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with the Maharashtra government for the development of 2,800 MW pumped hydro storage projects. One project of 1,000 MW will be in Bhivpuri near Mumbai and another 1,800 MW will be in Pune district's Shirawta. The total investments for these projects is estimated to be around Rs 13,000 crore. Additionally, the company sees a potential development of 9 GW pumped hydro power capacity at its other locations. In conventional hydro projects, water from the reservoir flows into the power generation turbine and is then released into the river downstream. In a pumped hydro storage project, the water that flows from an upper reservoir into the turbine is then stored in a lower reservoir. This can be pumped back into the upper reservoir and reused. This is cost-effective too. "Today, if you need 24x7 renewable power, the options are a mix of solar, wind and battery storage. Battery storage is about Rs 10-11 per unit. Pumped hydro will be much lower than that. Moreover, battery storage is only for a 10-year life. This will be for 40-50 years, so your weighted average cost of pump hydro will be much lower. The blended cost that you will give to the consumer, hypothetically, can be lower," said Sinha. Tata Power hopes to start work on both the pump hydro storage plants by the middle of next year. The Bhivpuri plant is expected to be ready by the end of 2027 and the Shirawta plant will be ready by the end of 2028. The company has already announced plans to transition completely into a clean energy company by 2045 and these investments the company is making are steps in those direction. In 2015, as much as 84 per cent of power generation was coal-based. Last year, that came down to 62 per cent, with clean energy accounting for 38 per cent. By 2030, Tata Power hopes clean energy will contribute 70 per cent of its power generation. It will phase out coal-based power generation completely by 2045 as the power purchase agreements for its thermal plants expire. Known fashion designer Rohit Bal is critical and has been put on ventilator support. The designer, who hails from Srinagar, started his career in 1986. Bal has been admitted to Medanta Hospital in the National Capital Region owing to a pre-existing cardiac condition. Bal has been struggling with alcohol addiction and has been in and out of rehab. The 62-year-old was visited by old friend Arjun Rampal at the hospital. Reportedly, when he was admitted to the hospital 6-7 months ago, the doctors had to pump out the alcohol and sleeping pills from his system. In February 2010, Bal underwent an emergency angioplasty after he suffered a heart attack. Bal, who is a St Stephens alumnus, won the 'Designer of the Year' award at the Indian Fashion Awards in 2006. He studied fashion design at the National Institute of Fashion Technology. He also won 'Designer of the Year' at the Kingfisher Fashion Achievement Awards in 2001 and was named the Lakme Grand Finale Designer for 2012. His international clients include Cindy Crawford, Pamela Anderson and Uma Thurman. Time Magazine has also called Bal the master of Indian fabric and fantasy. In 2005 Bal opened a restaurant, 'Veda'. He has also shown his collections in fashion shows in Paris, London, Moscow, Singapore and New York. In 2015, during the peak of street foods popularity, food trucks and stands sprang up everywhere, offering the vibrant flavors of Hanoi, Mexico City and other far-flung countries. It was in this culinary climate that Henry Preem had a brilliant idea transforming the quintessentially British Sunday roast into a portable delight to be consumed on-the-go. He carefully nestled the ingredients of a classic roast succulent beef or chicken, potatoes and rich gravy into a generous Yorkshire pudding wrap, reminiscent of a Mexican burrito. Preem opened his first Yorkshire Burrito in Camden Market, a former music venue that burned down in 2008 and transformed into a global gastronomy festival with over 100 food stands. What was once a thriving marketplace for rock merchandise, T-shirts, pirated tapes and second-hand clothing is now dotted with wok, hamburger and waffle shops. Yorkshire Burrito has 42,000 followers on Instagram and earlier this year, a video about Preems creation went viral on TikTok, catching the attention of Chinese online consumers and British media. Yorkshire Burrito has become so popular that it now sells burrito-themed merchandise on its website, including T-shirts featuring a design inspired by heavy metal band Metallica. Their iconic Master of Puppets album cover is now the Master of Gravy, paying homage to the sauce that liberally douses the Sunday roast burrito. There are currently four Yorkshire Burrito stands in London. Two are in Camden Market, another in Wembley Boxpark, and one at 17 & Walthamstow Central, east of the city. In Camden alone, they sell close to 200 burritos a day at a hefty $14 each. You can choose from chicken, beef or cauliflower with cheese and leek sauce. Two cooks skillfully heat the Yorkshire pudding wrap, fill it with the chosen ingredients and roll it in record time. While it may appear sturdy at first, the Yorkshire Burrito becomes increasingly difficult to handle after the third bite. The wrap is thick and doesnt bend easily, but hungry customers dont seem to be deterred. When we visited Camden Market, the only food stand with a line was Yorkshire Burrito, even though its neighbors were selling Argentine empanadas and vegan burgers. Ever since Queen Elizabeth II ordered sausage carts near her palace to move because the aroma invaded her bedroom, there has been no worthy representative of English street food in London. There is hardly a trace of the carts that sold sausages topped with mustard and grilled onions that once fed generations after a night on the town. But Londoners now have the delightful Yorkshire Burrito fusion cuisine, a perfect blend of creativity and brilliance. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Update: The missing girl was found at a ground in Kerala's Kollam on Tuesday at 1.30pm. She was returned to her parents after health checkup. Read more HERE. Read the original story below: The sketch released by Kerala police of the suspect in the child abduction case | onmanorama The search for six-year-old Kerala girl, who was abducted on Monday evening, continues on Tuesday as the police are yet to get any clue about her whereabouts. The sketch of the man suspected to have kidnapped the girl has been released. Police said they are exploring all angles to locate the missing child. The child was kidnapped by people who reportedly came in a white car between 4 pm and 4.30 pm, according to the police. The child's brother, who was pushed aside by the kidnappers when they whisked away the girl, reported seeing three men and a woman in the car. The boy tried to stop the abductors and in the process suffered injuries to his knees, police had said. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday had directed the state police to intensify its investigation. He had directed the state police chief to ensure a flawless and speedy investigation into the incident, his office said in a statement. Though three people were detained for questioning, all three were cleared as they were found to have had no links with the crime. Meanwhile, the police said the suspect, whose sketch had been prepared, had reportedly used a phone he borrowed from a shopkeeper to make the ransom call. The abductors were said to have switched vehicles from a white Honda Amaze to a Maruti Swift car. They had also made two ransom calls to the girl's mother. Initially, they demanded Rs 5 lakh and then later doubled the figure. In the audio recording of the purported second ransom call, shown on TV channels, the kidnappers could be heard saying that the girl was safe and unharmed and would be returned on Tuesday morning on a payment of Rs 10 lakh. The kidnappers had also warned the parents not to inform the police. Police have opened two helpline numbers 9946923282, 9495578999, 112. Six-year-old Abigel Sara Reji, who was abducted in a white Maruti Swift car by a group of four from Kerala, was found on Tuesday around 1.30 pm from the Ashramam Maidanam in Kollam. The child who was found after a 20-hour-long search was taken to Kollam East police station and she was given food and water, according to local TV reports. Visuals on TV channels showed a police officer carrying the child to his vehicles and moving her to a nearby hospital for a medical checkup. Her health is reportedly satisfactory. The child is expected to be returned to the parents after being produced at a local court, said reports. The girl was found by a group of students who said a woman was with the child when they first spotted her at the ground, according to Manorama Online. "A woman accompanied the child to Ashramam Maidanam. But she left the child there and did not return. This made me suspicious," said a student who spotted the child. Abigel was abducted from Oyur in Kollam district on Monday at 4.30 pm when she was heading to her tuition class with her eight-year-old brother. When the boy tried to stop the abductors, they pushed him aside and whisked away the girl in the car. He suffered knee injuries while trying to rescue his little sister. The boy thanked everyone for praying and rescuing his sibling. The child's mother got a phone call demanding for a ransom of Rs 5 lakh which was later increased to Rs 10 lakh, reported Manorama Online. Police are also investigating two men and a woman who had come in a car to drink tea at a bakery. The shopkeeper suspected that one of the persons resembled the sketch of one of the kidnappers. After being alerted, police started searching for the child with the help of CCTV footage available in the area. Police had also released CCTV footage from two places in Kollam where the car was spotted. They also searched houses and nearby quarries. Three people, including a car washing centre owner and two employees were detained from Sreekandeswaram over suspicion that the car used for kidnapping was rented from there. The employees were released later. Police have seized Rs 9 lakh from the car washing centre. The Madras High Court on Tuesday stayed the operation of the Enforcement Directorates summons, sent to five district collectors in Tamil Nadu, asking them to appear for questioning in connection with the illegal sand mining case. Registering a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the agency is probing the proceeds of rampant illegal sand mining and has been conducting searches in sand quarries across Tamil Nadu. The Madras High Court bench comprising of Justices S.S. Sundar and Sunder Mohan granted an interim stay on the petition filed by the state public department secretary K. Nanthakumar and five other district collectors. The court, after hearing the arguments made by senior counsel Dushyant Dave on behalf of the government and Additional Solicitor General AR.L. Sundaresan on behalf of ED, granted three weeks time to the central agency to respond to the main case. The ED is trying to fish for possible commission of predicate offence and the summons were issued as a fishing expedition to identify possible proceeds of crime from illegal sand mining. We are prima facie convinced that the summons is not within the jurisdiction of the ED, the Madras High Court bench said. The bench however said that the ED can continue its probe into the illegal sand mining in Tamil Nadu. The bench also contended that prima facie, the pleas moved by the state government and the district collectors against the central agency are maintainable. This is only our prima facie view. It is subject to elaborate discussion, the bench said. ED has been conducting searches and interrogating several water resources department engineers for the past two months. Subsequently, ED had issued summons to district collectors to produce details regarding the names of sand mining sites in their districts, the complete address of the quarries, their GPS coordinates, the GPS address of the sand depots, the GPS coordinates of the depots, the permitted area of sand mining and the permitted depth. The state government represented by Nanthakumar and five district collectors--Ariyalur, Vellore, Thanjavur, Karur and Tiruchirapalli--had challenged the summons issued by ED asking them to appear for interrogation. Stating that EDs actions to question the district collectors were against federalism, the petition filed by the government also sought a declaration against the EDs power to investigate such offences without the consent of the state government. On Monday, when the case came up for hearing before the Madras High Court bench, ED informed the court that sand worth Rs.4,730 crore has been illegally mined in the state in the last one to two years. In a further pronouncement of human ingenuity and enterprise, a small team of five-six rat-hole miners on Tuesday have managed to dig through the rubble with hand-held implements, making way for a 800 mm pipe to barge through and reach the trapped 41 workers 17 days after an under-construction tunnel collapsed in Uttarkashi. The breakthrough happened at around 1 pm today. The 800 mm diameter pipe is now visible to the tunnel workers on the other side of the debris. Which means it is now a matter of hours before the workers begin coming out, a source familiar with the development told THE WEEK. A team of rat-hole miners were brought in to the tunnel site on Monday to help with the ongoing rescue operations. Mostly practiced in the coal mines of Meghalaya, rat-hole mining is a process of extracting coal from horizontal seams after digging through narrow pits. Miners are lowered to these pits on bamboo ladders with the space inside the pits just enough for one person to enter and move around. Also Read : Why Uttarakhand is at the cusp of a tragedy of epic proportions It was on November 12 that the under-construction tunnel in Uttarakhand suddenly collapsed trapping 41 workers while they were laying out the final lining on a particular tunnel stretch from the Silkyara side in Uttarkhands Uttarkasi district. The 4.5 km-long tunnel will connect Silkyara with Barkot, rendering redundant a 26 km-long hour-long journey by vehicle through a high altitude and very difficult terrain and reducing it to just a few minutes. The tunnel that would pass underneath the Radi Pass on completion would provide much faster and easier all-weather connectivity to places like the Harsil sector near the India-China border which is an area of dispute with the Chinese. Of the 41 trapped workers, 15 are from Jharkhand, while five each are from Odisha and Bihar, eight from Uttar Pradesh, three from West Bengal, two each from Assam and Uttarakhand, and one from Himachal Pradesh. International agencies and experts, besides a plethora of Indian agencies and companies have been toiling for the last 17 days to reach out and rescue the workers. The tunnel was being built by Navyug Engineering Company under the overall guidance of the National Highways Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL). The Uttarkashi tunnel rescue mission witnessed some positive outcomes on Tuesday morning as overnight manual drilling went without a hitch, covering over two metres. An auger machine is also being used to push in the pipe to create an escape passage. The drilling is being carried out by a rat-hole mining expert team of 12 who is currently excavating horizontally through the last 10-or-12-metre stretch of debris of the collapsed tunnel. The workers will go into the escape passage with drills and gas cutters to clear obstacles like iron girders. Micro tunnelling expert Chris Cooper, who is aiding the operations, told ANI that work is gaining pace. "It went very well last night. We have crossed 50 metres. We have about 5-6 metres to go. We didn't have any obstacles last night. It is looking very positive," he added. #WATCH | Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand) tunnel rescue | Visuals from the Silkyara tunnel where the operation to rescue 41 workers is ongoing. First visuals of manual drilling ongoing inside the rescue tunnel. Auger machine is being used for pushing the pipe. So far about 2 meters of pic.twitter.com/kXNbItQSQR ANI (@ANI) November 28, 2023 What's Rat-hole mining? Rat-hole mining is often associated with Meghalaya, where holes are drilled for mining small amounts of coal. This is considered a dangerous practice as it involves digging narrow tunnels, each of which fits only one person to enter and extract coal. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had banned it in 2014, terming it unscientific. Worker crawls into a hole which can fit just one and does the digging with tools such as pickaxes, shovels, and baskets. At the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi, at least 12 experts have been called by Trenchless Engineering Services Private Limited and Navayuga Engineers Private Limited for rat-hole mining from Delhi, Jhansi and other parts of the country. However, Uttarakhand government's nodal officer Neeraj Khairwal claimed the men brought into the site were not rat-hole miners but people who are experts in the technique. He added that the skilled team will remove the rubble with their hand. "As they remove the muck, the tunnel pipe (800-mm) will be pushed gradually by the machine through the rubble," Khairwal said. Also Read: What's worsening Uttarakhand's fragile ecosystem The workers are divided into teams of two or three. Each team of three men will go into the steel chute laid into the escape passage for brief periods. One will do the drilling, another will collect the muck and the third one will push the muck through the trolley. They will be in proper gear, wearing oxygen masks and glasses to cover their eyes. They will have to drill at least 10 to 12 metres with their own hands. They will mostly use hand-held drilling machines to remove the rubble and gas cutters for cutting the iron hurdles. Rajput Rai, a rat-hole drilling expert, said one man will do the drilling, another collects the rubble with his hands and the third places it on a trolley to be pulled out. "We will do the drilling and collect the muck with our hands. We have been doing this for years," another worker Mohan Rai told PTI. It usually takes around 24 hours for the workers to remove 10-12 metres of muck or rubble but longer if there are rocks in the debris. Agnikul Cosmos, an aerospace startup based in Chennai, is set to conduct a test flight of the world's first single-piece 3D-printed engine for their launch vehicle, Agnibaan, by the end of 2023. This test flight will serve as a technological demonstrator for Agnikul's planned orbital launch, which is expected to be the first commercial launch in 2024. The Agnibaan launch vehicle is a highly customizable, single-stage rocket capable of carrying up to 300 kg of payload to orbits around 700 km above the ground, specifically low Earth orbits. It follows a plug-and-play configuration, adapting to the size of the satellite being launched. One of the key distinctions between Agnibaan and other rockets, such as the Vikram S launched by Skyroot Aerospace, is that Agnibaan lifts off vertically and follows a predetermined trajectory, executing precisely orchestrated maneuvers during flight. This sets it apart from sounding rockets launched from guide rails. Agnikul's rocket uses liquid propellants, which are reusable and considered safer compared to solid propellants. The company offers customizable sizes of launch vehicles, allowing them to configure the vehicle for a specific payload or satellite size. The Agnilet engine, developed by Agnikul, is the world's first single-piece 3D-printed engine. It was designed and manufactured entirely in India and successfully test-fired in early 2021. This achievement marked a significant milestone for 3D printing technology in India, which has traditionally been reserved for medical implants. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched initiatives to privatise and attract foreign investment into the space sector, with the goal of increasing India's share in the global launch market. The government aims to elevate India's share from the current 2% to $40 billion by 2040. Agnikul Cosmos operates India's first private launchpad and mission control center, located at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The integration process of the launch vehicle with the company's private launchpad was completed on August 15, 2023 . If the test flight of Agnikul's 3D-printed engine is successful, the startup will become India's second private company to develop a small satellite launch vehicle, following Skyroot Aerospace . Agnikul Cosmos has received additional funding of $26.7 million ahead of its inaugural rocket launch. The funding will be used to prepare for commercial launches and establish a launch platform with pricing independent of payload mass. The company aims to significantly undercut competitors in terms of cost-effectiveness. As the Israel-Hamas truce enters day five, more hostages and Palestinian prisoners are set to be released on Tuesday. The Palestinian militant group released 11 Israelis on Monday, bringing the total number of captives freed to 69, including foreign citizens. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Monday that Hamas has handed over a list of Israeli hostages set to be released on Tuesday, as part of an extended truce agreement reached earlier Monday. "The list of hostages is currently being reviewed and notices are being delivered at this time to the families of those set to be freed," the statement said. However, the number of hostages who will be freed on Tuesday was not mentioned. The fourth day of the truce deal also saw 33 Palestinians released from several Israeli prisons. So far, Israel has freed 150 Palestinians from prison, mainly women and minors, many of whom were detained but never charged. On Monday, the government approved a list this evening of 50 female Palestinian prisoners marked for potential early release. The additional names bring to 350 the number of Palestinian prisoners selected for potential early release as part of the agreement. A Palestinian prisoner reacts after being released from an Israeli jail in exchange for Israeli hostages released by Hamas from the Gaza Strip | AFP One of the Palestinian prisoners to be released is prominent activist Ahed Tamimi who was arrested three weeks ago for posting on social media that Palestinians will "slaughter" settlers and "drink your blood." Our message to the herds of settlers is that we are waiting for you in all the West Bank cities, from Hebron to Jenin," Tamimi wrote "We will slaughter you and you will say that what Hitler did to you was a joke, we will drink your blood and eat your skulls. Come on, were waiting for you." She had risen to prominence after being jailed as a teenager for slapping an Israeli soldier. Tamimi, then 16, said the soldiers had shot her cousin in the head with a rubber bullet an hour before the filmed encounter. She served an eight-month sentence in an Israeli prison, and after she was released, went on a victory tour, crisscrossing Europe and the Middle East, reported The Times of Israel. Meanwhile, the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken would visit Israel, the West Bank and the United Arab Emirates this week to discuss sustaining aid flows to Gaza and freeing all hostages. Blinken might also discuss the U.S. principles for the future of Gaza and the need for an independent Palestinian state, Reuters said. The original truce agreement allowed more aid trucks into Gaza, where the civilian population faces shortages of food, fuel, drinking water and medicine. Amid truce between Israel and Hamas, World Health Organisation (WHO) said more people could die from disease than bombings in Gaza if health system not restored. Meanwhile, Hamas has accused Israel of 'blatant breach' of ceasefire in Gaza. "Was still committed to the ceasefire so long as the enemy is committed to it," said a Hamas official. Also, IDF's chief of staff said the military is ready to continue fighting and is using truce to "strengthen readiness". Israel's chief of staff, Herzi Halevi, said "We are using the days of truce as part of the agreement for learning, strengthening readiness, and approving the operational plans for the duration." "We are preparing to continue fighting to dismantle Hamas. It will take time, these are complex goals, but they are more than justified," said Halevi in a statement. "The return of the hostages is a ray of light for all of us. It is also another testimony to the results of significant military pressure and high-quality ground manoeuvre. We created the conditions for the return of our citizens home. We will continue to do so," it added. WHOs spokesperson Margaret Harris described the al-Shifa hospitals collapse in northern Gaza as a tragedy. Eventually we will see more people dying from disease than from bombardment if we are not able to put back together this health system, said Harris. Even detention of some of its medical staff by Israeli forces also raises concern, she added. However, firing was reported in Gaza Strip towards the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) troops. Three explosive devices were detonated adjacent to IDF troops in two different locations in the northern Gaza Strip, violating the framework of the operational pause, said IDF. Reportedly, number of soldiers were lightly injured during the incidents. A number of soldiers were lightly injured during the incidents. In both incidents, the troops were located in positions as per the framework of the operational pause," IDF posted in Telegram. Meanwhile, Palestinian media reported that three people have been killed in the occupied West Bank by Israeli forces. Reportedly, an Israeli shell landing was reported in Lebanon as well. Qatar focused on extending truce As the hostages are being released, Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al Ansari, has confirmed that military personnel held in Gaza by Hamas and other Palestinian groups will not be considered for release until all the civilian hostages have been freed. However, Qatar is focused on further extending a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel beyond Wednesday. Qatar could not validate the number of remaining hostages beyond the 20 to be released by Hamas on Tuesday and Wednesday, Ansari added. The current priority is the release of civilian hostages, women and children, then will come the turn of the military ones, he said. The leaders of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Israel's Mossad met Qatar's prime minister in Doha on Tuesday to build on the two-day extension of a truce between Israel and Hamas. The meeting was to build on the progress of the extended humanitarian pause agreement and to initiate further discussions about the next phase of a potential deal, reported Reuters. Meanwhile, Gaza health ministry said the dialysis unit at al-Shifa hospital has been reopened and is receiving patients. The WHO says there are 180 patients, including 22 on kidney dialysis, and seven health care workers at the hospital. An Israeli government spokesperson on Monday said the total number of hostages still held in Gaza was now 184. Daily hardships of war Though there is some respite to the situation in Gaza with the truce, people still continue to struggle with hardships including food, shelter and water. At a water station in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, people filled plastic containers and lugged them to homes or shelters using carts pulled by donkeys or by hand, shopping trolley or even a wheelchair. "The struggle for water happens daily, since we were first displaced until now. Even during the ceasefire, they didn't find a solution to the water problem," Rami al-Rizek was quoted by the Reuters. However, the pause in fighting has allowed an increased number of aid trucks to enter Gaza from Egypt. "Whether there is a truce or not, we still have no electricity, no water, and none of life's basic necessities," said Muath Hamdan, another man waiting at the water station told Reuters. India is willing to cooperate with the US investigation into the alleged thwarted assassination attempt on India-designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun but not Canada's probe into the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar due to a disparity in the information both nations shared in their investigation, India's High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma has said. Verma told Canadian media CTV that US authorities have shared more specific information regarding the investigation with India than Canada has. The envoy stressed this could be the reason why India's cooperation differs in both cases. While Canada stated it had evidence that the Indian government was involved in the killing of Nijjar, New Delhi repeatedly denied the claims and stressed that Canada was yet to share evidence in this regard. The US probe stems from the recent report that appeared in UK-based Financial Times that said the US thwarted a plan to allegedly assassinate Pannun on American soil. The report added that the US had informed India of its concerns regarding the alleged plot to kill Pannun. Verma reiterated that India was "absolutely" and "decidedly" not involved in Nijjar's killing. He added that his understanding is that Indian authorities are cooperating in the American investigation as they have been presented with "inputs which are legally presentable." "One is that the investigation in the case of the US, as far as I know and understand, because again, I don't oversee India-US relations is at a much-advanced stage. And therefore, I presume that there would be better information shared within India," he told CTV News. "Those inputs are a nexus between gangsters, drug peddlers, terrorists, and gun runners in the US, and there is a belief that some of the Indian connections - now when I say Indian connections, I don't mean Government of India connections, there's 1.4 billion people. Because we have got inputs, which are legally presentable," he said. On whether Canada's national security advisor shared inputs related to allegations, Verma said, "Until the time it is not specific or relevant to the case, we will not be able to respond to it. There could be a lot of conversation. Conversations could have allegations, conversations could have some facts of the case, but allegations and facts do not make it specific and relevant." "So we need to have those facts. And we are always ready to do that. If you look at the most recent incident where there are some allegations put out in one of the newspapers against India, the US did provide us with inputs. And we have already started following up on that," he told CTV News. The envoy added that the topic did come up during Canada's National Security Adviser's visit to India. However, India cannot conduct or join an investigation until it gets "something specific and relevant to go back to our legal authorities to seek permission to do an investigation." "So until the time that those kinds of inputs are not there, in a country of rule of law, it will not be possible for us to move forward on the investigations." With a strong we are watching you too message to the world, North Korea has sent its first spy satellite on a global orbit. North Korean state media on Tuesday said leader Kim Jong Un had reviewed spy satellite photos of the White House, Pentagon and US aircraft carriers at the naval base of Norfolk. North Korea last week has successfully launched its first reconnaissance satellite, which it said was designed to monitor US and South Korean military movements. Since the spy satellite was launched, it was reported that it had photographed many cities and military bases in South Korea, Guam, and Italy in addition to the US. "Remember when you got that toy you always wanted at Xmas and were so excited you wanted to tell everyone about it?" Chad O'Carroll, founder of the North Korea-focused website NK News, said of the KCNA reports in a post on X. In December last year, North Korea released the panchromatic imagery of downtown Seoul after a rocket launch. KCNA has reported that the Tuesday's photos were the latest in a series of images it described as "major target regions". According to KCNA, four nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and a British aircraft carrier were spotted as Kim inspected the satellite photos. However, the images were not released by North Korea to confirm the claims. Meanwhile, the United States and South Korea have condemned the satellite launch as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions banning any use of ballistic technology. South Korea delays its spy satellite launch South Koreas plan to launch its first military spy satellite on Thursday was postponed to Saturday. Under a contract with SpaceX, South Korea is to launch five spy satellites by 2025, and its first launch using SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket had been scheduled to take place at California's Vandenberg Air Force Base in the United States. In a statement, South Korean Defence Ministry said the launch was delayed due to weather conditions. The Ministry officials said the launch was rescheduled for this Saturday but it wasn't fixed yet. In his splendid The Wig: A Hairbrained History, Luigi Amara tells us that Andy Warhol revolved his entire personal brand around a haircut that was actually a hairpiece. That mop of platinum hair sold for $10,800 at a Christies auction in 2006, and became a consumer item. It is not trivial that the man who spent his artistic career reflecting on pop fame was so clear that he needed to turn his hair into an icon to be one himself. It is something that the social media savvy extremist leaders of the 21st century seem to understand very clearly. On Friday, November 24, after Mileis victory in Argentina and Geert Wilders rise to power in the Netherlands, memes circulated on the internet highlighting a burgeoning phenomenon: the link between the extreme right and strange hairstyles. Is there a link? And if so, why? There was a time when it was normal for a prominent man, with power and a pedigree, to have outlandish hair. The style was long, full of artificial curls and pigtails in bows, or disheveled with loose strands falling where they would. The psychologist John Carl Flugel discusses it in one of the first treatises on fashion semiotics that was published in the 20th century. The French Revolution of 1789 brought what Flugel called the great renunciation. It occurred among men, and turned austerity into a sign of respectability and manliness. Before that, the most sumptuous fabrics, the most prestigious colors, and the most over-the-top wigs were an expression of masculinity. In fact, the latter were an infallible status symbol. The fashion for the peruke (also known as the periwig) began in the 16th century when an outbreak of syphilis in European royal courts left men bald. King Louis XIII, who had a full head of lustrous hair, began to wear a wig to hide his alopecia and the fact that he had gone bald at age 23. However, it was Louis XIV, the famous Sun King who transformed wigs into a must-have item among his subjects. Wigs were such a powerful symbol of ostentation and inequality that in 1792 the National Convention (the legislature of Revolutionary France) abolished the wig and the more than 20,000 hairdressers in France were forced to become barbers. The material they had to work on now was real hair growing from heads that were still attached to their respective bodies. The fashion changed and affected everyone. At the beginning of the 19th century, the short haircut became the standard of neatness throughout Europe; cutting ones hair was a way of saying goodbye to the Old Regime, explains Ana Velasco Molpeceres, a professor of communication at the Complutense University and author of the book Historia de la moda en Espana: de la mantilla al bikini (History of fashion in Spain: from the mantilla to the bikini). The values and liberal revolutions of the Enlightenment had a certain symbolic cachet in the new short hairstyles for gentlemen that also began to be seen in England. But there was a different reason for the disappearance of wigs among the English. Faced with the shortage of talcum powder, which was essential for the preservation of artificial hair, the state (embodied by the Prime Minister, William Pitt) introduced the Duty on Hair Powder Act that turned wigs into an economic problem among the upper classes. The same romantic ideas that were feeding the nationalism on which the new Europe would be built, and whose aesthetic inspiration came from classical Greece and Rome, imposed haircuts on mens heads similar to the emperors and wise men of the old civilizations. The most popular of all, and a favorite of the dandy Beau Brummel, was the Brutus. Francisco Umbral, in 'Anatomy of a Dandy.' If you want to know what the Brutus was like, you can do two things: look for the characters in Jane Austens novels, or look at Mileis head. Every time I see him he reminds me of one of those characters that Jacques-Louis David painted. If you notice, it is strange that the revolutionary rebels who built the liberal states are the inspiration for Mileis ideas. He is another rebel in an era of change, and he is also a liberal, although in its most extreme expression, Velasco Molpeceres explains. The leaders hair strategy, although he accepts remote historical references, actually has more to do with the idea of not conforming to the aesthetic standards of his time, precisely in order to show he is different. The same applies to Dutchman Geert Wilders. I think they have chosen those hairstyles because they are disconcerting and therefore very high-profile. The quirky and disruptive aesthetic that had always fit into the left now embodies the individualist neoliberal right: it is in direct opposition to the bourgeois and, at the same time, a vain reaffirmation, Velasco Molpeceres continues. Antoni Gutierrez-Rubi, director of the public and institutional communication consultancy Ideograma and advisor to Argentine Sergio Massas campaign, agrees: For this new type of leader, like Trump, sporting a striking hairstyle has a lot to do with the rise of digital culture and the way of turning heads into graphic icons. The hair acts as a digital gadget, which in turn conveys the idea of forceful and unclassifiable leadership. For them, the idea of the unclassifiable contains the seed of true freedom. In Mileis case, his hair has served to structure an entire campaign around the figure of the lion. Yulia Tymoshenko speaks during a press conference in 2009. EFE There are more ingredients. In the opinion of sociologist and political scientist Luis Arroyo, male hair has always been a sign of strength and wisdom, while the absence of hair has been viewed as the complete opposite, which could explain the outlandish toupee that Donald Trump wears to hide his baldness at all costs. But there is also the conscious effort to show that they are different. In the most recent literature on the phenomenon of new hyperleadership, such as Spin Dictators, by Daniel Treisman, and Facha, by Jason Stanley, there is an almost Freudian analysis of these profiles and their neurotic personalities. They believe they are special and find a way to challenge the establishment through the untidiness of their hair. A good example of this is Boris Johnson. Despite having been educated in the best private schools in his country, he has always made hooliganism and defiance of good manners his hallmark, and he uses his hair to signal his difference from the establishment, of which he is a part. Hair, then, can convey wealth and privilege, explains Arroyo, who refers to the Instagram account Pel de Ric. This account, which collects the scalps of upper-class men, was born as a hobby of four friends who, every morning, at the same time, observed the men who went to have breakfast at a cafeteria on Jorge Juan Street, in the wealthy neighborhood of Salamanca in Madrid. You could tell that they led an absolutely idle life. I dont know if it was because they were retired or because they had never worked, explains Javier Lopez de Hierro, one of its creators. Today, Pel de Ric is a brand for fans of the good life, in which we rarely see hair very similar to Geert Wilders. If the revolutionaries and dandies were the promoters of short but messy hair, the first leading men of the silent film era were the ones who gave good press to neat, orderly haircuts, parted on one side with pomade that always kept them unscathed. Around 1900 the ideal of a gentleman was already established. Then Hollywood turned it into a worldwide standard that has continued almost to this day, says Velasco Molpeceres. Hair that was styled with pomade, which Hitler used to convey an idea of order and inflexibility, however, has been associated with conservative positions since the mid-20th century. In any case, hairstyles have deeply cultural meanings and attributions that vary depending on the country: Argentina has already seen the rise of an unclassifiable leader like Carlos Menem, whose unforgettable sideburns also did not conform to the dominant standards of the time. The Bolivian Evo Morales made his black plume the symbol of a certain type of pride. Gender also has an influence on understanding the symbolism of hair. Gutierrez-Rubi argues the essential difference: Women care much more about their hair being clean and healthy. Vazquez Molpeceres brings up the spectacular traditional braid that Julia Timoshenko wore in the Orange Revolution: If she had experienced her peak in the era of Instagram, her braid would have been an icon. The hairstyle that she used to pay homage to the peasant women of her country was a manifesto. The recent attacks on Sierra Leones military barracks and prisons were a failed coup, said authorities. Information Minister Chernor Bah on Tuesday said that the attackers attempted to overthrow the elected government but failed. In connection with the attacks, 13 military officers and one civilian was arrested. The attack that occurred on Sunday morning took security forces and residents by surprise in the capital city of Freetown. Gunmen attacks on the main prison had set free about 2,200 prisoners and killing over 20 people, said authorities. Thirteen military officers are currently in custody and one other civilian in this incident we are now calling a failed coup, said Bah. Following the incidnent, a nationwide curfew was declared on Sunday by President Julius Maada Bio. Sierra Leone's civil aviation authority had urged airlines to reschedule flights after the curfew was imposed. Tensions intensified in Sierra Leone when was Bio was reelected for a second term in June. He was reelected amid opposition party's accusation of the nation's electoral commission of conspiring with his party. Since the end of the 11-year brutal civil war, it was the fifth presidential election held in the nation. Since 2020, there have been eight military coups in West and Central Africa. Bio has been facing criticism because of weakening economic conditions. The nation is battling severe poverty, youth unemployment among other issues. New Delhi, Nov 28 (PTI) As many as 13 under-construction hydroelectric projects with a total generation capacity of 13,000 MW will bring an investment of around Rs 1.4 lakh crore in Arunachal Pradesh, Union Power Minister R K Singh said. Singh visited the 2,000 MW Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project located in Arunachal Pradesh / Assam on Monday, a power ministry statement said. The minister inspected the Subansiri project construction sites, namely the dam, intake structures and diversion tunnels in Gerukamukh, Assam. He took stock of the ongoing construction activities and was briefed about the progress. The minister said that besides Subansiri, which is a large project, the Government of Arunachal Pradesh has entered into MoUs with central public sector undertakings for 13 projects, which will amount to a hydroelectric capacity of 13,000 MW in Arunachal. "These projects will bring in investment of around Rs 1.4 lakh crore in the state, resulting in quadrupling of per capita income. And the nation will get clean power," he stated. Similarly, five hydel projects are under construction in Jammu & Kashmir. "Hence, our hydro potential in Jammu & Kashmir too is moving ahead and a lot of investment is coming in," added Singh. Expressing satisfaction with the review of the project, the minister said that the importance of hydel projects has increased since round-the-clock renewable energy is not possible without hydropower. "I went into all the details and I believe that by and large, the project is progressing as it should. The importance of hydro projects has increased since we need to make energy transition, reduce emissions and move to renewables. While we have solar and wind too among renewables, round-the-clock renewable energy is not possible without hydro. Our hydro capacity is increasing," Singh said. The minister spoke of the efforts being taken to better tap into the available hydropower capacity of the country. "Today, our hydropower capacity is 47,000 MW, which is 35% of our available hydropower potential. Developed countries however have utilised around 70% - 80% of their available hydro potential," he said. "Our power demand grew by 20% in August, September and October 2023, relative to the previous year. Our demand will keep growing at this rate, since according to NITI Aayog, our economy will keep growing at 7.5% for next two decades. The peak demand in 2013 was around 1.35 lakh MW, while today it is around 2.31 lakh MW," he stated. Our power demand will double by 2030; our total consumption today is 1,600 billion units, which will become around 3,000 billion units, he pointed out. However, even now, power consumption is low compared to developed countries; Europes per capita power consumption is around 3 times that of ours today, he stated. Our challenge hence is to add power capacity as fast as the growth in our power demand, he stressed. Singh explained that India is growing fast and adding power capacity to address the challenge of growing power demand. Earlier, we were a power deficit nation, but the government has added power capacity of 1.9 lakh MW in the last nine and a half years, he said adding that now, we have sufficient power and we are also exporting to neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh and Nepal. Our under-construction capacity in renewables is around 70,000 MW, while in thermal, it is 27,000 MW, he added. However, he stated that the country is going to add another 53,000 MW to under-construction thermal capacity to meet the power demand of 2030. "By and large, whichever state asks us for power, we are providing and will continue to provide them," added the minister. London, Nov 27 (PTI) British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday announced that the worlds leading investors have committed GBP 29.5 billion in new projects and capital as a huge vote of confidence in the UK economy. The British Indian leader, who welcomed CEOs of some of the worlds leading businesses for a Global Investment Summit at Hampton Court Palace in London, said that thousands of jobs will be created across the country, including tech, life sciences, renewables, housing and infrastructure. Blackstone, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds Bank are among those represented at the British Ideas Past, Present and Future entitled summit, to be followed by a reception at Buckingham Palace hosted by King Charles III. Todays investments, worth more than GBP 29 billion, will create thousands of new jobs and are a huge vote of confidence in the future of the UK economy, said Sunak. Global CEOs are right to back Britain we are making this the best place in the world to invest and do business...Attracting global investment is at the heart of my plan for growing the economy. With new funding pouring into key industries like clean energy, life sciences and advanced technology, inward investment is creating high-quality new jobs and driving growth right across the country, he said. Downing Street points out that the new wave of investments come after UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt unveiled the biggest business tax cut in modern history at last weeks Autumn Statement with a permanent extension of capital allowances, GBP 4.3 billion of business rates support and a GBP 7 billion Growth Fund. The numbers speak for themselves: we have the third highest levels of inward investment in the world at USD 2.7 trillion, were number one in Europe for new investment projects, and last year alone we created 107,000 jobs through inward investment, said UK Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch, who opened the summit with Sunak. People want to invest in a country with vision, ideas and growth, and our Summit showcases all these qualities and proves why the UK is the most exciting and innovative place in the world to invest, she said. According to the UK government, the summit will also see billions for the countrys burgeoning tech sector, which last year became the third in the world to be worth USD 1 trillion. Following the recently organised AI Safety Summit, Microsoft has pledged GBP 2.5 billion to build critical AI infrastructure, bringing more next-generation AI datacentres and thousands of graphic processing units to the UK. In the field of renewables, clean energy-tech company Aira will be investing GBP 300 million into heat pump rollouts, new jobs and upskilling. Airas GBP 300 million investment in the UK heat pump industry and creation of 8,000 jobs is a helpful contribution to our green ambitions, offering a cleaner heat source for our homes and growing the economy. Families will benefit from lower heat pump prices with more trained installers and GBP 7,500 grants through one of the most generous schemes in Europe, said UK Energy Security Secretary Claire Coutinho. Chandigarh, Nov 28 (PTI) Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Tuesday informed the House that the state government has received Rs 3,670 crore of Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation from the Centre after it lodged a new claim of Rs 5,005 crore with it. After tabling the Punjab Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (Amendment) Bill, 2023 in the House on the first day of the two-day winter session of the assembly, Cheema said the state government lodged the new claim of GST compensation worth Rs 5,005 crore with the Centre. "Out of which Rs 3,670 crore has come to the state exchequer," Cheema informed the House. The FM also said the previous Congress government did not present the proper record before the Centre, after which the Government of India told the state government that an excess amount of Rs 3,900 crore of the GST compensation had been disbursed to Punjab. "I am sharing for the first time that they (the Centre) sought return of excess disbursement. Then we checked our records. We not only got the Centre's claim of Rs 3,900 crore rejected but also lodged the fresh claim of Rs 5,005 crore," said Cheema. The FM said his department found 800 people indulging in issuing fake bills and said action will be taken against them. The department managed to discover issuing of fake bills through the scheme 'Bill Leyao, Inaam Pao' (Bring a bill, Get reward), which is aimed to check theft of tax revenue by unscrupulous traders and shopkeepers. Meanwhile, the Punjab Assembly passed two Bills -- the Punjab Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Punjab Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (Amendment) Bill. While the first Bill will pave way for setting up a GST Appellate Tribunal and imposition of GST on online gaming, the second Bill is related to aligning fiscal deficit, revenue deficit and outstanding debt as percentage of the GSDP in that particular year, as recommended by the Central Finance Commission and approved by the Centre. While presenting the Punjab GST (Amendment) Bill, 2023, Cheema said he accepted the suggestion of AAP MLA Budh Ram who said the share of GST collection should come to Punjab if a person hailing from the state buys anything in another state. Earlier, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said the GST Bill presented in the House will go a long way in ensuring that the benefits of the tax are given to the manufacturing state, which has used its resources to produce goods. He also said the state government has already launched a one-time settlement scheme for value added tax to benefit more than 65,000 traders across the state. Mann said the state government has got 1,800 applications so far under the scheme, which is receiving maximum response from the general public. He said the state is introducing the Artificial Intelligence (AI) in GST collection to check bogus billing. He said similarly the AI is also being introduced in departments like revenue, health, agriculture, and others. Citing benefits of the technique, Mann said due to its usage the state government saved Rs 163.26 crore merely in estimates of road, adding that 540 km of roads that do not exist have also been detected. He said the state government is spending the money collected from people for their benefit only. He said people's money is being spent on giving them free power, free medicines in Aam Aadmi Clinics, free education and others. There is no dearth of funds with the state government and every penny will be spent for the welfare of the general public, he said. Panaji, Nov 28 (PTI) Cinema is one of the few mediums with the power to unite people, Hollywood star Michael Douglas said after receiving the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award at the closing ceremony of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) here on Tuesday. The 10-day film gala concluded with Germany's Endless Borders " winning the coveted Golden Peacock Award for the best film, while Deepak Kumar Mishra-directed show "Panchayat" season two bagged the best OTT series award, which was introduced for the first time. Goa chief minister Dr Pramod Sawant felicitated Douglas with the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award at the ceremony. The veteran actor, known for movies Wall Street, Fatal Attraction, The War of the Roses, Basic Instinct, The American President, highlighted cinema's role in promoting "our shared humanity". With everything going on in our world today this festival is a reminder of the magic of movie making. Cinema is one of the few mediums that has the power to unite and transform us, Douglas said as he thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister for Information and Broadcast Anurag Singh Thakur for the honour. "Cinema can make people laugh, cry or rejoice and reveal our shared humanity and today our global language of cinema is more meaningful than ever, he added. The 79-year-old actor said Satyajit Ray was a world class filmmaker who represented not only the triumphs of the Indian film industry, but also the "cross-cultural artistic expression". "It's an honour to stand before all of you tonight and receive this. I am humbled to join a prestigious group of past award recipients, he said. He also acknowledged people who laid the foundation for his career, including his late father, Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas. The achievements are as much theirs as mine. First to my earliest mentors, the talented filmmakers, countless crew members and technicians, he said. Second to my father Kirk who set a huge high bar with his hard work, his strength and his incredible stamina. I wouldn't be here but not for his passion and dedication. And to the public he was an icon. But to me he was dad and he provided me with a blueprint that led me to be here today, he added. Douglas thanked all the audiences all over the world for pushing storytellers to explore new filmmaking frontiers. During the function, his actor-wife, Catherine Zeta Jones, was also felicitated by the Goa Chief Minister. "I would like to just say, thank you to India for welcoming us. We thought we are going to eat different food. It's going to be a different culture that we all enjoy, but the one thing that is steadfast is the generosity and welcoming nature and the hospitality of all Indians, whether it's in Goa, Mumbai, New Delhi or Jaipur, she said. The ceremony also saw Rishab Shetty winning the special jury award for his Kannada movie Kantara, while Bulgarian film director Stephan Komandarev won the best director award for his film Blagas Lessons. The best actor (female) award went to French actress Melanie Thierry for her film Party of Fools. Iranian actor Pouria Rahimi Sam bagged the award for best actor (Male) for his performance in the movie Endless Borders. Regar Azad Kaya won the award for best debutant director for his Syrian-Arab Republic film When the Seedlings Grow. Panaji, Nov 27 (PTI) Satyajit Ray was a "renaissance man and it will be a great honour to receive a lifetime achievement award named after the "Pather Panchali" filmmaker, Hollywood star Michael Douglas said on Monday. Douglas will be felicitated with the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award during the concluding ceremony of the International Film Festival of India here. The actor, accompanied by his actor-wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, walked the red carpet at the festival on Monday. "Thank you all for being here since it is an honour for Catherine and I and our son. Our family loves India. This is our fourth visit, first three times it is in North and now we have the pleasure, the joy and the honour of being here in Goa in the South, very grateful to IFFI to get this wonderful honour, he said. The 79-year-old actor said he had read the history of Satyajit Ray back in college in the 1960s while taking a film class. He became aware of some of the filmmaker's work as well during that time. I think, he (Ray) sort of created, not the beginning of the Indian films but the idea of multiple jobs. He did so many things as an author, musician and editing as well as a director. So it's a tremendous honour to receive this award and see the other people that have received it before, the actor said. Douglas said that when he heard about the award, he and his family were very happy. They were happy for me... One day all of a sudden, it's a career life achievement, he said. The actor said as an American actor it was a joy to be India and have a familiarity with people. The eldest son of actor Kirk Douglas, the actor has won multiple awards including two Oscars, five Golden Globe trophies as well as Cecil B DeMille award. He is most famous for his roles in films such as "Wall Street", "Fatal Attraction", "The War of the Roses", "Basic Instinct", "The American President" and "Wonder Boys". Washington, Nov 27 (AP) A group of five militants who seized another commercial ship near Yemen were likely Somali and not Iranian-backed Houthi rebels and were captured by US forces after fleeing the MV Central Park in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday, Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters on Monday. Ballistic missiles had been fired shortly after from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen, and the Pentagon has not ruled out that the Houthis were somehow linked to the Somali-conducted attack. The attacks on commercial vessels have previously been conducted by Houthis and are part of a larger rise in violence in the region due to the Israel-Hamas war. Yemen's internationally recognised government in Aden has said this was a Houthi attack on the Central Park, a Liberian-flagged ship managed by Zodiac Maritime. The ship sent out a distress call and forces from the USS Mason, an American destroyer, responded. (AP) RUP RUP Singapore, Nov 28 (PTI) Singapore's High Court on Tuesday ordered Lee Hsien Yang, the younger brother of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, to pay damages to two Indian-origin ministers for making defamatory allegations against them on a social media site. The defamation case stems from Yang's allegations relating to Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam and Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan renting two state-owned bungalows. The High Court on Tuesday granted default judgment in favour of the two ministers after Yang failed to respond to their defamation suits against him, The Straits Times newspaper reported. The amount of damages to be paid will be assessed at a subsequent hearing, the report said. The judge also granted an injunction restraining Yang from further publishing or disseminating the false and defamatory allegations. In a Facebook post on July 27, Shanmugam said Yang, who is currently based in the UK, had accused him and Balakrishnan of ''acting corruptly and for personal gain by having Singapore Land Authority (SLA) give us preferential treatment by illegally felling trees without approval and also having SLA pay for renovations to 26 and 31 Ridout Road''. According to Channel News Asia, Shanmugam and Balakrishnan sued Yang for defamation over remarks he made in a Facebook post on July 23, in which he wrote, "Two ministers have leased state-owned mansions from the agency that one of them controls, felling trees and getting state-sponsored renovations." The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau found in a report released in June that there had been no wrongdoing or preferential treatment given to the two ministers, the report said. Islamabad, Nov 28 (PTI) A special court here on Tuesday decided to hold the trial of incarcerated former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan in jail in the cipher case after authorities did not present him for a hearing held at a normal court, citing security concerns. The 71-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party chief has been incarcerated at the high-security Adiala jail in Rawalpindi since September 26, where his in-prison trial had been going until last week when the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ruled against it while declaring the proceedings as vitiated. Special Court Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqernain presided over the hearing on Tuesday at the Federal Judicial Complex (FJC) in Islamabad. Khan was not presented by authorities due to security reasons. Last week, the judge ordered authorities to present Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi at the Federal Judicial Complex for the hearing of the case. Qureshi, 67, was also arrested in the cipher (secret diplomatic cable) case and is imprisoned in the Adiala jail. Khan and Qureshi have pleaded not guilty to the charges. It has been informed that the PTI chairman faces security risks of a serious scale, a report presented in the court by authorities said. After hearing the case, the special court approved the duo's jail trial in an open-court format at the next hearing. In its order, the court also noted that the jail authorities and security agencies had expressed their reservations about holding the trial at the FJC. It stated that those who wished to attend the court proceedings would not be stopped from doing so and that journalists would also be permitted to witness the case. It also said that five family members of each suspect would also be allowed inside the courtroom. Later, the hearing was adjourned till December 1. The cipher case was launched in August this year after a case was filed against Khan for allegedly violating the Official Secrets Act by disclosing a secret diplomatic cable - called the cipher - sent by the country's embassy in Washington in March last year. The diplomatic cable reportedly went missing from Khan's possession. Khan and Qureshi, who had claimed that the cable contained a threat from the United States to topple the PTIs government, were indicted on October 23. Khan was ousted through a vote of no-confidence in April 2022. More than 150 cases have been registered against him since his ouster from power. London, Nov 28 (PTI) British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has reportedly cancelled a planned meeting on Tuesday with his Greek counterpart, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, during a visit to the UK amid a deepening row over the return of the 'Elgin Marbles'. The ancient Greek sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens are among the controversial historic items which were brought to the UK by British diplomat Lord Elgin in the early 19th century giving them their English name. The Parthenon Sculptures now form part of the British Museums collection and have long been demanded by the Greeks to complete their series at the Acropolis Museum in Athens. The latest standoff is reminiscent of Indias demands for the Koh-i-Noor diamond and other historic artefacts taken from India during colonial times. Most recently, the Maharashtra government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Victoria and Albert Museum for a three-year loan of a set of 17th century Tiger Claws, or wagh nakh, believed to have belonged to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. It is destined for Mumbais Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) as part of Maharashtras 350th anniversary celebrations of the coronation of Chhatrapati Shivaji. The UK-Greece standoff seems to have erupted after Downing Street claimed that it had been agreed that the issue would not be raised during any bilateral between Sunak and Mitsotakis, a claim denied by the Greeks. On Sunday, the Greek Prime Minister told the BBC that having some of the Parthenon treasures in London and others in Athens was like cutting the 'Mona Lisa' painting in half. That seems to have triggered the row, as Mitsotakis then told reporters on Monday evening that he was deeply disappointed by the abrupt cancellation of his meeting with Sunak, which had been planned for Tuesday afternoon. Those who firmly believe in the correctness and justice of their positions are never hesitant to engage in constructive argumentation and debate, said the Greek Prime Minister. Britain's attitude shows no respect for the Prime Minister and our country, his government spokesperson later told SKAI TV. He added that although cancelling a meeting was not common, the Greek government did not want to escalate the issue with a country with which we have good relations. The Greek leader was offered a meeting with UK Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden, which his team declined and chose to head back instead. The row comes against the backdrop of the British Museum chair, former chancellor George Osborne, indicating recently that he was open to considering a loan of the sculptures to Greece. Many within the governing Conservative Party are opposed to such an idea but the official government stance has been that it is a matter for the museum. Sunak, preparing for a general election next year, is seemingly positioning himself decisively on one side of that argument that is against any sort of return of the treasures. The Opposition Labour Party has been stinging in its reaction, expressing shock at the government opening up a fight with a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) ally. To pick a fight with a NATO ally for the sake of a headline shows just how weak Rishi Sunak is. He should have been talking about the economy, immigration, the Middle East, that's what the country would expect from a leader but Rishi Sunak is no leader, a Labour spokesperson told the BBC. The Opposition party, currently ahead in the opinion polls, says its position is that if the British Museum and the Greek government came to a loan agreement, a future Labour government would not stand in the way. While the 1963 British Museum Act prevents the world-famous museum from giving away objects from its collection except, in very limited circumstances, a loan of its artefacts would not require a law change. Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation has unveiled the programme lineup for the 21st edition of Abu Dhabi Festival 2024, which will be held under the theme: The Will for Hope in celebration of artistic excellence and cultural diversity. The Foundation unveiled the programme under the honorary patronage of His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Founding Honorary Patron of Abu Dhabi Festival. The festival will be held under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Shamsa bint Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Nahyan. With a spectacular lineup featuring classical ballet, jazz, opera, and traditional Arabic showcases, world and Arab and premiers, accompanied by community and educational programme, the festival promises to captivate local and global audiences. This year, Abu Dhabi Festival has designated China as the Country of Honour, commemorating 40 years of diplomatic ties between the Peoples Republic of China and the UAE, ensuring a culturally rich celebration. The festival's theme, "The Will for Hope, focuses on fostering hope and optimism during challenging times. It reflects the influence of art and culture, serving as a beacon that breaks through darkness and negativity, said a statement. A portion of the 2024 revenues of Abu Dhabi Festival will be donated to Tarahum for Gaza campaign by Red Crescent. This contribution aligns with the official efforts of the United Arab Emirates to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people and aid those affected in Gaza. His Highness Sheikh Abdullah said: The Abu Dhabi Festival embarks on its third decade of sustainable cultural progress, embodying Abu Dhabi's vision and reaffirming its commitment to elevating Emirati culture globally. By showcasing leading creatives and performers on the stages of Abu Dhabi, the Festival underscores the significance of culture and the arts in fostering hope, spreading values of coexistence, peace, and human fraternity, and conveys the message of the tolerant and open-minded UAE to the world. Celebrating the People's Republic of China as the Guest Country of Honour, this exceptional edition of the festival will be enriched with cultural brilliance, reflecting diverse traditions from the East and the West. This mirrors its pivotal role in stimulating cultural diplomacy, human interaction, and dialogue. The twenty-first edition of the Abu Dhabi Festival follows the celebration of the UAE's 52nd National Day and the hosting of COP28 and showcases the festivals role in spreading environmental awareness in the UAE and worldwide. It symbolises collective effort, with institutions and inspirational creatives serving as ambassadors for environmental preservation and combating climate change, for the sake of our natural resources and the future generations. Proud of the significant milestones achieved to date, the festival looks forward to continuing its journey of leadership and excellence, enhancing the country's global status as a beacon of knowledge, culture, and creativity, said His Highness Sheikh Abdullah. Sheikh Salem bin Khalid Al Qassimi, Minister of Culture, said: Through this productive collaboration with the festival and its organisers, we aim to achieve the vision and strategy of the Ministry, inspired by a concept that resonates globally. We work towards enriching the local cultural landscape through partnerships with culture, art, and heritage institutions in the UAE, supporting creators and talented individuals across various fields, and striving to enhance dialogue between cultures. Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism-Abu Dhabi said: "As the Abu Dhabi Festival 2024 showcases a diverse programme of timeless musical masterpieces enriching the artistic scene in the emirate, we look forward to the continuation of our strategic partnership with the Foundation, contributing to enhancing Abu Dhabi's status as a beacon of cultural brilliance, welcoming creators from around the world." Huda Ibrahim Alkhamis, the founder of the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation and the founder and Artistic Director of Abu Dhabi Festival, said: We unveil the programme for the 21st edition under the theme 'The Will for Hope. This conveys a message of empowerment for culture and the arts as potent forces in promoting enlightenment, coexistence, and peace; a guiding beacon and a source of light and hope for a better future for our region and all of humanity. Highlighting the celebration of the People's Republic of China as guest of honour for the 2024 festival, she reiterated the festivals commitment to presenting global masterpieces, exclusive commissioned works and joint productions. Zhang Yiming, Chinese Ambassador to the UAE, said: China is deeply honoured to be the Guest Country of Honor for the Abu Dhabi Festival 2024. The year 2024 marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United Arab Emirates, therefore, there will be a series of wonderful performances by Chinese art groups at that time. This collaboration signifies the strong cultural ties between the two nations and showcases the richness of Chinese arts and culture heritage to the global audience. Homaid Al Shimmari, Deputy Group CEO and Chief Corporate & Human Capital Officer at Mubadala, the festivals Lead partner said: The festivals commitment to supporting artistic talent aligns with Mubadalas vision of fostering innovation and inspiration. Together, we embark on a journey to enhance cultural experiences, highlight creativity, and build bridges that connect communities through the universal language of the arts. GS Energy, the Festivals Energy partner said: We are honoured to join hands with the Abu Dhabi Festival as the energy partner. This partnership exemplifies our commitment to supporting cultural excellence and fostering creativity. Together with the Abu Dhabi Festival, we look forward to energizing and enriching the cultural landscape, bringing forth a harmonious blend of energy and artistic brilliance to the global stage." Festival Highlights The festival kicks off with a captivating performance by the National Ballet of China, presenting a reimagined 'The Nutcracker' by Tchaikovsky. The festival welcomes the Orchestra of the Puccini Festival at Torre del Lago, conducted by Jan Latham-Koenig. Renowned cellist Pablo Ferrandez presents a richly varied programme. Saxophonist and bandleader Kamasi Washington promises a unique experience fusing jazz, hip-hop, R&B, and classical music, along with 12 musicians. Violin prodigy Leia Zhu collaborates with 30 young musicians in the UAE during a one-week residency, culminating in an incredible recital. Soprano Pretty Yende and tenor Francesco Demuro come together for a programme of operatic jewels. Concertmaster of the Vienna State Opera Orchestra, Yamen Saadi, delivers a supremely virtuosic violin performance. He will be accompanied on the piano by Julien Quentin. Piano duo Lucas and Arthur Jussen showcase their talent with a breathtaking performance of classical works s by Mozart, Schumann, Widmann, Debussy and Rachmaninov. International opera star Lawrence Brownlee brings a dazzling array of works, celebrating vocal artistry. Pianist Kirill Gerstein presents an energetic and imaginative programme spanning various musical traditions and taking the audience from Chopin, Faure, Poulenc and Liszt, to Schumann and Godowsky. Known as the Sheikh of Egyptian chanters, Inshad master Sheikh Mahmoud El-Tohamy presents the world premiere of 'The Carpenter's Daughters, featuring poems from Egypt, Sudan, Tunisia, and the Maghreb. The festival culminates with the grand performance by the China National Symphony Orchestra, known for their breathtaking interpretations of Western classics and Chinese national music. The 21st edition of Abu Dhabi Festival features a line-up of events, including exclusive commissioning and co-productions, along with local, regional, and global premieres, in addition to a series of world-class events that include musical tours, panel discussions, education and community programs and workshops. TradeArabia News Service Opinion articles written in the style of their author. These texts are to be based on verified facts and must be respectful towards people, even though their actions may be criticized. All opinion articles written by individuals from outside the staff of EL PAIS shall feature, along with the authors name (regardless of their greater or lesser renown), a footer stating their office, academic title, political affiliation (if any) and main occupation, or the occupation related to the topic being assessed Some people say Pope Francis is a communist, to which the Argentine Jesuit replies: Look, I am defined by Matthew 25. Read chapter 25 of the Gospel of Matthew, and then tell me if the person who spoke those words is a communist. Who will enter the kingdom of Heaven? I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I needed clothes and you clothed me These are the things we are commanded to do. In an interview seven months ago with journalist Gustavo Silvestre for the C5N Argentine television channel, the pope quoted the Gospel of Matthew to emphasize the importance of social justice as a response to the far-right. The interview has resurfaced and is trending on social media after the Popes comments on victims of the Israeli-Hamas conflict: This isnt war anymore, its terrorism. Another flash point is the popes recent invitation to a transgender group for lunch at the Vatican. Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, highlighted the Nazi regimes ascent to illustrate the threat posed by the far-right. He described this type of extremism as a centripetal force that consistently regroups and hinders attempts at reform. I recommend reading Sindrome 1933, [an Italian book] that reveals the tremendous nationalism that existed in Germany. They couldnt find anyone to move the nation forward, until a new politician arrived. He had a way with words and managed to win people over. His name was Adolf, and everyone thought, Lets give this guy a chance since hes unknown and doesnt have any baggage. They voted for him, and you know the rest. Im wary of leaders without a track record, so when someone like that comes along, its best to be cautious, said the pope, who never mentioned the name of the president-elect of his native Argentina. Certain people on X (formerly Twitter) seized the opportunity to criticize the Vaticans inaction during the Nazi era. Before his electoral victory, Javier Milei also cited scripture (the Gospel of Luke) to support his case. He said the pontiff was the earthly representative of evil and accused him of aligning with communists and oppressive regimes. Milei lambasted the popes stance on social justice, which he called nothing but legal theft. Perhaps the weight of his new office and realpolitik ultimately prevailed, or maybe his conservative backers have simply toned down their rhetoric. After the election, Milei told La Nacion+ that he recently had a conversation with the pope, whom he considers the most important Argentine in history. He said he had a pleasant chat with His Holiness, the man he once called the imbecile in Rome. The pope congratulated Milei on his victory, who cordially invited him to visit Argentina. At 88 years old, the leader of the Catholic Church has a complex relationship with certain members of his flock. After remarks made at the Vatican concerning the baptism of transgender individuals, many disaffected Catholics posted comments like, Claiming the love of God, the West is actually normalizing this degeneration; What has become of the Catholic Church?; and Europe turns Islamic and Pope Francis invites a transgender group for lunch at the Vatican. The popes words equating the Hamas attack and Israels response have sparked numerous online debates, editorials and reports encompassing a wide range of perspectives: You know whats really striking? Its not just the popes words, but the fact that its considered news to speak the truth about the genocide in Gaza; I didnt really expect much from an anti-Semitic racist; and Its called state-sponsored terrorism. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Tel Aviv, Nov 28 (AP) A truce between Israel and Hamas entered its fifth day on Tuesday, with the militant group promising to release more hostages to delay the expected resumption of the war and Israel under growing pressure to spare Palestinian civilians when it renews its offensive. The sides agreed to extend their truce through Wednesday, with another two planned exchanges of militant-held hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. But Israel has vowed to resume the war with full force to destroy Hamas once it's clear that no more hostages will be freed under the deal. The Biden administration has told Israel it must avoid significant further displacement and mass casualties among Palestinian civilians if it resumes the offensive, and that it must operate with more precision in southern Gaza than it has in the north, according to US officials. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House. CIA director William Burns and David Barnea, who heads Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, were in Qatar, a key mediator with Hamas, to discuss extending the cease-fire and releasing more hostages, a diplomat said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks. A US official confirmed Burns was in Qatar, speaking anonymously because the director's travel plans are not publicized for security reasons. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to visit the region this week, also with an eye to extending the truce. Hamas and other militants are still holding about 160 people, out of the 240 seized in their October 7 assault into southern Israel that ignited the war. That's enough to potentially extend the truce for another two weeks under the existing framework brokered by the Qatar, Egypt and the US, but Hamas is expected to make much higher demands for the release of captive soldiers. Israel has vowed to end Hamas' 16-year rule in Gaza and crush its military capabilities. That would almost certainly require expanding the ground offensive from northern Gaza where entire residential areas have been pounded into rubble to the south, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people have packed into overflowing United Nations shelters. Israel blames the soaring casualty toll on Hamas, accusing the militants of using civilians as human shields while operating in dense, residential areas. HOSTAGES AND PRISONERS RELEASED Monday's release brought to 51 the number of Israelis freed under the initial four-day truce, along with 19 hostages of other nationalities. So far, 150 Palestinians have been released from Israeli prisons. Israel has said it would extend the cease-fire by one day for every 10 additional hostages released. The Palestinian prisoners released so far have been mostly teenagers accused of throwing stones and firebombs during confrontations with Israeli forces. Some were convicted by Israeli courts of attempting to carry out deadly attacks. The prisoners are widely seen by Palestinians as heroes resisting occupation. Most of the freed hostages appeared to be physically well, but an 84-year-old woman released Sunday was hospitalized in critical condition because she had not had access to her medication in captivity. They have mostly stayed out of the public eye, but details of their captivity have started to emerge. In one of the first interviews with a freed hostage, 78-year-old Ruti Munder told Israel's Channel 13 television that she was initially fed well in captivity but that conditions worsened as shortages took hold. She said she was kept in a suffocating room and slept on plastic chairs with a sheet for nearly 50 days. Israel imposed a siege on Gaza at the start of the war and had only allowed a trickle of humanitarian aid to enter prior to the cease-fire, leading to widespread shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel to power generators amid a territory-wide power blackout. NORTHERN GAZA IN RUINS The cease-fire has allowed residents who remained in Gaza City and other parts of the north to venture out to survey the destruction and try to locate and bury relatives. Footage from northern Gaza, the focus of the Israeli ground offensive, shows nearly every building damaged or destroyed. A UN-led aid consortium estimates that over 234,000 homes have been damaged across Gaza and 46,000 have been completely destroyed, amounting to around 60% of the housing stock in the territory, which is home to some 2.3 million Palestinians. In the north, the destruction of homes and civilian infrastructure severely compromises the ability to meet basic requirements to sustain life," it said. More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, roughly two-thirds of them women and minors, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. More than 1,200 people have been killed on the Israeli side, mostly civilians killed in the initial attack. At least 77 soldiers have been killed in Israel's ground offensive. Israel says it has killed thousands of militants, without providing evidence. FEARS FOR THE SOUTH Israel's bombardment and ground offensive have displaced more than 1.8 million people, nearly 80 per cent of Gaza's population, with most having sought refuge in the south, according to the UN humanitarian affairs office. Israeli troops have barred people from returning to the north during the cease-fire. Hundreds of thousands of people have packed into UN-run schools and other facilities, with many forced to sleep on the streets outside because of overcrowding. It's unclear where they would go if Israel expands its ground operation, as Egypt has refused to accept refugees and Israel has sealed its border. The UN says the truce made it possible to scale up the delivery of food, water and medicine to the largest volume since the start of the war, and to bring in desperately needed fuel for homes, hospitals and water treatment plants. But the 160 to 200 trucks a day is still less than half what Gaza was importing before the fighting, even as humanitarian needs have soared. Four days into the truce, residents were still waiting for hours to buy gas and cooking fuel. Juliette Toma, a spokesperson for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said people come to shelters asking for heavy clothes, mattresses and blankets, and that some are sleeping in damaged vehicles. The needs are overwhelming, she told The Associated Press. They lost everything, and they need everything. (AP) GRS GRS Issy-Les-Moulineaux, Nov 28 (AP) Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh was chosen on Tuesday to host the 2030 World Expo, beating out South Korean port city Busan and Rome for an event expected to draw millions of visitors. Riyadh was picked by a majority of 119 out of 165 votes by the member states of the Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions, or BIE. The vote has been held behind closed doors in Issy-les-Moulineaux, a southwestern suburb of the French capital. The result was greeted with cheers by the Saudi delegation. Busan got 29 votes and Rome 17. With the stakes high, each city has escalated its campaign efforts, showcasing unique visions and ambitious promises to secure the rights to the globally prestigious event. The Saudi plan includes a major public transit network and a futuristic space meant to show the vision of the country to pioneer a sustainable future for cities and their communities. Saudi Arabia has mounted a significant marketing campaign, featuring a Riyadh 2030 exhibit near the Eiffel Tower and extensive advertising across Paris. The Saudi bid, seeking to diversify the kingdom's economy and boost its international stature, has received support from French President Emmanuel Macron, as indicated in a July statement from the Elysee Palace. Yet some activists have denounced Riyadh's candidacy amid criticism over violations of human rights in the country, including the 2018 murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Rome had enlisted actor Russell Crowe, who appeared in a promotional video echoing his Gladiator persona, to underscore the city's readiness for the Expo. Rome's bid included plans for the world's largest urban solar park and a green corridor connecting the Expo site to historic landmarks like the Appia Antica (Appian Way), one of the oldest and most important roads of the Roman Empire. The South Korean port city of Busan had brought in cultural heavyweights like Gangnam Style rapper Psy and K-pop supergroup BTS to bolster its bid. The city was positioning itself for a high-tech Expo, emphasizing its capabilities in artificial intelligence and 6G technology with the aim of attracting millions of visitors and spurring job creation. The World Expo has a storied history of bringing together nations to showcase technological innovations and cultural achievements. Since the inaugural event in 1851, Expos have been platforms for introducing groundbreaking inventions such as the light bulb, the Ferris wheel and the Eiffel Tower itself, which was built for the 1889 Exposition Universelle. These events have evolved to not only be celebrations of human ingenuity, but also opportunities for host cities to catalyze economic growth and global recognition. With the world's attention turned to Paris, the upcoming vote will set the stage for the next chapter in the rich legacy of the World Expos. The next Expo is scheduled to be held in Osaka, Japan, in 2025. (AP) _ Thomas Adamson reported from Paris. John Leicester in Paris, Frances D'Emilio in Rome, and Colleen Barry in Milan, contributed to this report. RUP RUP Issy-Les-Moulineaux, Nov 28 (AP) Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh was chosen on Tuesday to host the 2030 World Expo, beating out South Korean port city Busan and Rome for an event expected to draw millions of visitors. Riyadh was picked by a majority of 119 out of 165 votes by the member states of the Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions, or BIE. The vote has been held behind closed doors in Issy-les-Moulineaux, a southwestern suburb of the French capital. The result was greeted with cheers by the Saudi delegation. Busan got 29 votes and Rome 17. With the stakes high, each city has escalated its campaign efforts, showcasing unique visions and ambitious promises to secure the rights to the globally prestigious event. The Saudi plan includes a major public transit network and a futuristic space meant to show the vision of the country to pioneer a sustainable future for cities and their communities. Saudi Arabia has mounted a significant marketing campaign, featuring a Riyadh 2030 exhibit near the Eiffel Tower and extensive advertising across Paris. The Saudi bid, seeking to diversify the kingdom's economy and boost its international stature, has received support from French President Emmanuel Macron, as indicated in a July statement from the Elysee Palace. Yet some activists have denounced Riyadh's candidacy amid criticism over violations of human rights in the country, including the 2018 murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Rome had enlisted actor Russell Crowe, who appeared in a promotional video echoing his Gladiator persona, to underscore the city's readiness for the Expo. Rome's bid included plans for the world's largest urban solar park and a green corridor connecting the Expo site to historic landmarks like the Appia Antica (Appian Way), one of the oldest and most important roads of the Roman Empire. The South Korean port city of Busan had brought in cultural heavyweights like Gangnam Style rapper Psy and K-pop supergroup BTS to bolster its bid. The city was positioning itself for a high-tech Expo, emphasizing its capabilities in artificial intelligence and 6G technology with the aim of attracting millions of visitors and spurring job creation. The World Expo has a storied history of bringing together nations to showcase technological innovations and cultural achievements. Since the inaugural event in 1851, Expos have been platforms for introducing groundbreaking inventions such as the light bulb, the Ferris wheel and the Eiffel Tower itself, which was built for the 1889 Exposition Universelle. These events have evolved to not only be celebrations of human ingenuity, but also opportunities for host cities to catalyze economic growth and global recognition. With the world's attention turned to Paris, the upcoming vote will set the stage for the next chapter in the rich legacy of the World Expos. The next Expo is scheduled to be held in Osaka, Japan, in 2025. (AP) _ Thomas Adamson reported from Paris. John Leicester in Paris, Frances D'Emilio in Rome, and Colleen Barry in Milan, contributed to this report. RUP RUP RUP Brussels, Nov 28 (AP) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return this week to the Middle East as the US hopes to find a way to extend a cease-fire in Gaza and get more hostages released, the State Department said. It will be his third trip to the region since Israel's war with Hamas began last month. Blinken will travel to Israel and the West Bank after attending Ukraine-focused meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday in Brussels and Skopje, North Macedonia, where foreign ministers from NATO and the Organisation for Peace and Security in Europe are gathering. Israel has agreed to pauses in its military operations in exchange for the gradual release of hostages taken by Hamas during its October 7 attacks on Israel. The agreement had been due to expire Monday but was extended for an additional two days, meaning the extension will be expiring just as Blinken is arriving in Israel. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday the US hopes to see the pause extended further, but it is dependent on Hamas continuing to release hostages. In Israel and the West Bank, Blinken will "discuss Israel's right to defend itself consistent with international humanitarian law, as well as continued efforts to secure the release of remaining hostages, protect civilian life during Israel's operations in Gaza, and accelerate humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza", State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement. He said Blinken also will discuss the principles for a post-conflict Gaza, as well as the need to establish an independent Palestinian state and prevent the conflict from widening. In the occupied West Bank, Blinken is expected to see Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Blinken and other US officials have said they believe the Palestinian Authority should play a significant role in governing post-conflict Gaza. From Israel and the West Bank, Blinken will travel to the United Arab Emirates for discussions with regional leaders who will be in Dubai to attend the COP28 climate summit. Blinken has been engaged in furious diplomacy to try to prevent the Gaza conflict from spreading, expand the provision of humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians in the territory, secure the release of hostages and arrange for foreigners and dual nationals to leave Gaza overland to Egypt. On each of his prior two trips, Blinken has travelled to Israel and Jordan multiple times. Between the two trips, he also made stops in Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the UAE. Blinken will arrive in Israel having just participated in an Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe foreign ministers meeting in Skopje. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said he plans to attend the OSCE meeting, possibly setting the stage for a US-Russia confrontation there over Ukraine. In Brussels, Blinken will attend the two-day NATO gathering, which will include the first foreign minister-level meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, a body created by alliance leaders at their last summit to improve cooperation and coordination and help prepare Kyiv for eventual membership. "Allies will continue to support Ukraine's self-defence until Russia stops its war of aggression," said Jim O'Brien, the top U.S. diplomat for Europe. The NATO meeting will also address the tensions in the Western Balkans, where there are calls for NATO to increase its military presence in response to concerns that hostility between Serbia and Kosovo could escalate to outright conflict. Violence between the two has broken out twice in recent months, and Western countries fear that Russia could try to foment trouble in the Balkans to avert attention from the war in Ukraine. Last week, Albania's prime minister urged NATO to further boost its military forces in Kosovo and secure the country's borders with Serbia, warning that recent ethnic violence in Kosovo could potentially trigger a wider Balkan conflict. NATO has already strengthened its military presence in Kosovo established after the 1999 bombing campaign against Serbia with about 1,000 additional troops and heavier weaponry, bringing its deployment there to about 4,500 troops. Blinken will underscore US and NATO support for democracy and stability in the region, including a commitment to back all countries' aspirations to join the European Union, O'Brien said. Serbia doesn't recognise Kosovo's formal declaration of independence in 2008. Both countries want to join the European Union, which is mediating a dialogue between the former foes. Brussels has warned both that refusal to compromise jeopardizes their chances of joining the bloc. The NATO ministers will also discuss plans for the alliance's 75th anniversary summit to be held in Washington in July 2024. (AP) DIV DIV Jammu, Nov 27 (PTI) Authorities in Jammu on Monday reviewed the security scenario in border areas of the district and sought the people's cooperation in maintaining law and order, and harmony, an official said. The district-level standing committee on security met under the chairmanship of deputy commissioner, Jammu Sachin Kumar Vaishya, the spokesman said. The meeting, which was among others attended by Senior Superintendent of Police of Jammu Vinod Kumar, undertook an in-depth review and discussed various critical issues of the areas along the India-Pakistan border, the spokesman said. He said the SSP Jammu and the officers from the Army and paramilitary forces presented a detailed report on the security situation and deployments put in to thwart any attempt of mischief by the enemy. The deputy commissioner inquired in detail about the security situation and the measures taken to prevent attempts of infiltration or ceasefire violation by the enemy forces, the spokesman said. He appreciated the role of the security forces in safeguarding the border and ensuring peace and tranquillity in the region. Highlighting the significance of development in border areas, including better connectivity and basic facilities for the border people owing to the unique challenges they face due to their demography, Vaishya said the administration is committed to providing all the basic amenities and infrastructure to the border residents and improve their quality of life. He instructed the district officers to conduct regular pre-scheduled visits to the border areas for continuous review of saturation and delivery of government schemes and to take feedback on the grievances and demands of the local public. The officers were told to maintain close coordination with the security agencies as well, the spokesman said. The deputy commissioner stressed that the government will leave no stone unturned to address the issues and aspirations of border citizens. In view of the multiple challenges faced by people there, the district administration is paying special attention to border areas, he said. Nagpur, Nov 28 (PTI) The Maratha reservation issue will be discussed during the winter session of the Maharashtra legislature, deputy chairperson of the state legislative council Neelam Gorhe said on Tuesday. She was speaking at a news conference at the Vidhan Bhavan after reviewing preparations for the session which will start here from December 7. The Maratha community's demand for reservation in government jobs and admissions to educational institutions took centre stage last month when activist Manoj Jarange launched a hunger strike over the issue and the agitation for quota took a violent turn in some parts of the state. To the question whether there will be a discussion on the issue during the session, Gorhe said no proposal had come to her as of now. "No doubt the issue will come up during the winter session. But I cannot announce the date until all the business and other procedures are finalized.....but the reservation issue will be discussed in both the houses and it is everyone's wish that some permanent solution is found," she said. Preparations for the session were in full swing and arrangements were also being made for facilities for police personnel and other government employees regarding food, accomodation and creches for their children, Gorhe said. Kolkata, Nov 28 (PTI) Preparations are on for Union Home Minister Amit Shah's mega rally at Esplanade here on November 29. As part of the preparations, the saffron party took out small rallies in different parts of the city on November 27. While BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar and senior party leader Rahul Sinha took out processions in south Kolkata, leader of the opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, led similar processions in Birbhum's Rampurhat. "Shah's proposed rally will reflect people's resentment against mounting corruption by TMC leaders and ministers since 2011, their involvement in scams and the arrest of numerous ruling party leaders and ministers in graft cases," Majumdar said. "It is shameful that the land of great personalities and luminaries has turned into a land of scams during TMC rule," he added. Adhikari, who addressed back-to-back meetings of BJP workers at Kotulpur in Bankura and Rampurhat in Birbhum district, said, "TMC's move to stall Shah's mega rally on November 29 did not succeed. The Calcutta High Court overturned their pleas." A BJP leader said supporters and activists of the party have already started arriving for Shah's rally. "We are expecting a turnout of over one lakh. People are very much upbeat. They want to hear what Shah says. He will show us a new roadmap," he added. BJP sources said Shah will arrive at the city airport on Thursday noon and will head straight to Maidan in a helicopter and reach the rally venue in a motorcade. He will leave on the same day. The state administration had moved single bench of Calcutta High Court against the saffron camp's rally at the same venue where TMC holds its 'Martyrs' rally on July 21 every year. When the single bench okayed the rally, the administration moved the division bench which also turned down the state's contention. TMC spokesperson Joyprakash Majumdar said Shah's rally will be a non-starter. "People of Bengal are not with the BJP," he added. Gangtok, Nov 28 (PTI) Three people have been arrested for allegedly raping a 22-year-old woman in Sikkim's Gangtok district, police said on Tuesday. Gangtok Superintendent of Police Tenzing Loden Lepcha said the incident took place when the woman was returning home from a pre-graduation party at a local pub in the state capital on the night of November 25. She boarded a taxi but instead of dropping her home, the driver took her to a secluded place in Ranipool area, around 11 km from Gangtok, where he was joined by two of his associates, and they took turns to rape the woman, the officer said. The three accused then left the woman at the spot and fled, following which she found her way to Ranipool police station and lodged an FIR, he said. The woman was immediately sent for medical assistance, and a case was registered. A manhunt was launched for the accused and they were arrested on Monday, the SP said. The trio was booked under sections of the Indian Penal Code and they were remanded to judicial custody, he added. Kolkata, Nov 28 (PTI) Journalists in Imphal valley, who had stopped work since Friday, resumed functioning from Tuesday. A statement by All Manipur Working Journalist Union and Editors Guild said, "Following a general body meeting of the two media organisations, it has been decided to resume journalistic activities from today." Newspapers and local TV channels had shut operations in Imphal Valley in protest against "interference" from a militant group, leading to an information blackout. When asked about the newspapers going off stands and local TV channels off the air in Imphal over the last three days, the chief minister said he came to know about it on Saturday. The CM also said he has sought a report from the CID department and would do the needful in this regard. Guwahati, Nov 28 (PTI) Assam will be a partner in this years Hornbill Festival of Nagaland, a 10-day cultural extravaganza in which all tribes of the host participate, the chief ministers of the two northeastern states said on Tuesday. Germany, the United States and Colombia have already been named as the partner countries of the event to be held early next month. In a post on X, Rio announced that Assam is the partner state for the festival this year. He said, "My gratitude to the Hon'ble @CMOfficeAssam Shri @himantabiswa Ji for your positive response and making this partnership a reality. Welcome, Amazing Assam to the #LandOfFestivals!" Sarma later said it is a privilege for Assam to join hands with Nagaland for the upcoming Hornbill Festival. "This festival has emerged as one of the greatest platforms to showcase the shared cultural heritage of North East," Sarma said, sharing the post of Rio on Assams participation in the festival. The event is held from December 1-10 every year at the Naga Heritage Village at Kisama, around 12 km from the state capital Kohima. This year will witness the 24th edition of the festival, with the inaugural day coinciding with the 60th statehood day of Nagaland. Hornbill festival is called the 'festival of festivals' as it marks the coming together of all the tribes of Nagaland to showcase their culture and traditions, and the celebration is also the culmination of all tribal festivals throughout the year. It is also a tribute to the Hornbill bird, which is admired and revered by Nagas for its alertness and grandeur. The logo of Google LLC is seen at the Google Store Chelsea in New York City, U.S., January 20, 2023. Have a Google account you havent used in a while? If you want to keep it from disappearing, you should sign in before the end of the week. Under Googles updated inactive account policy, which the tech giant announced back in May, accounts that havent been used in at least two years could be deleted. Accounts deemed inactive could be erased beginning Friday. If you have an account thats deemed inactive and at risk for deletion, you should receive notices from Google sent to the email affiliated with that account and its recovery address (if one exits). But if youre still catching up on this new policy and want to ensure that your content on Google Drive, Docs, Gmail and more is saved heres what you need to know. Why is Google deleting inactive accounts? In Mays announcement, Google credited its inactive account update to security issues. Accounts that havent been used for a long time are more likely to be compromised, the company said noting that forgotten or unattended accounts typically have old passwords, often lack two-factor authentication and receive fewer security checks. As a result, these accounts could be hijacked and used for spam or other malicious content, as well as identity theft. How can I prevent my account from being deleted? The easiest way to keep your Google account active (and thus prevent it from being deleted) is to sign in at least once every two years. Other actions that fulfill account activity requirements include sending or scrolling through emails, using Google search and watching YouTube videos (YouTube is owned by Google) all while signed into your Google account. Existing subscriptions set up through your Google account, including profiles for third-party apps and publications, can also account for activity. Preserving content on Google Photos requires a specific sign-in. As previously announced by Google, Photos content may be similarly deleted after two years of inactivity meaning you should open the application every so often to keep images from going into the trash. Are there any exceptions to this policy? Only personal Google accounts that havent been used for two years or more will be impacted under this inactive account update. Accounts made for organizations, like schools or companies, will not be affected, Google says. Per Googles online policy, other exceptions include Google accounts that manage active minor accounts, accounts containing a gift card balance as well as those that have been used to purchase Google products, apps or subscriptions that are ongoing. As of Mays announcement, Google also said there were no plans to delete accounts with YouTube videos. The Associated Press reached out to Google Monday to confirm thats still the case. Can I save data from my Google account? Beyond keeping your Google account active, theres a few tools to help manage and backup your data. Google Takeout, for example, allows users to download and export account data outside of Google at any time. And its Inactive Account Manager lets you choose what would happen to your account and data if it becomes inactive including options to send select files to trusted contacts or delete the account entirely. Googles online policy also says the company can work with immediate family to close the account of a deceased loved one and/or provide some account content without sharing login credentials on a case-by-case basis. Google asks users to provide and update a recovery email for their account which is also helpful for sending inactive account notices and other communications. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition New Delhi, Nov 28 (PTI) The Centre on Tuesday ordered the revocation of restrictions under Stage-III of GRAP in the entire NCR with immediate effect, following improvement in air quality. The move paves way for the removal of restrictions on the operation of BS III petrol and BS IV diesel four-wheelers in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar. The Delhi government's Transport Department is likely to issue an order on it. The Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM), a statutory body responsible for formulating strategies to combat pollution in the region, met on Tuesday in view of the significant improvement in the overall air quality of Delhi-NCR. The air quality forecasts by the India Meteorological Department/Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology do not indicate the average air quality of Delhi to move to the "severe" category in the coming days for which forecast is available, the CAQM said. The city's 24-hour average AQI, recorded at 4 pm every day, improved from 395 on Monday to 312 on Tuesday. "Keeping in view the disruptive nature of restrictions under Stage-III of GRAP impacting a large number of stakeholders and public as well as considering the significant improvement in the average AQI of Delhi-NCR, the GRAP Sub-Committee unanimously decided to revoke Stage-III of GRAP in the entire NCR with immediate effect," it said. Actions under Stages-I to Stage-II of GRAP shall however remain invoked and "be implemented, intensified, monitored and reviewed by all agencies concerned in NCR to ensure that the AQI levels do not slip further to Severe category, the CAQM said. Construction and demolition project sites and industrial units which have been issued specific closure orders on account of violations or non-compliances of various statutory directions, rules, and guidelines under no circumstances shall resume their operations without any specific order to this effect from the commission, it said. The panel had on November 18 revoked curbs prescribed under Stage IV of Centre's air pollution control plan in Delhi-NCR after air quality improved. New Delhi, Nov 28 (PTI) The UN climate talks in the UAE are expected to see intense negotiations on methane, the second-most prominent greenhouse gas with more warming potential than carbon dioxide. The United States and the European Union have emphasised the urgency to take action on methane, accounting for about 30 per cent of global warming since pre-industrial times (1850-1900). The UAE, hosting this year's climate talks (COP28), is also expected to announce a commitment from major oil and gas companies to reduce methane leakage. The EU and the US jointly launched the "Global Methane Pledge" in 2021 to reduce worldwide methane emissions by 30 per cent by 2030, compared to the 2020 levels. Around 150 countries have signed on, but China, India, and Russia are among the prominent emitters yet to get on board. Earlier this month, the US and China, the world's top two carbon emitters, pledged to include methane in their 2035 national plans to reduce emissions of planet-heating gases. This is the first time that China has made such a promise, although without a quantified target. Some experts believe this move might nudge India to think on similar lines. "Methane has been an academic debate for long, but it is now being positioned as a big issue in geopolitical negotiations. It does not mean that everyone will agree to the methane pledge, but many nations will be forced to start looking at what is happening at methane-emitting sectors internally," said Vaibhav Chaturvedi, a research fellow at the New Delhi-based independent climate think tank Council on Energy Environment and Water (CEEW). However, a source in the environment ministry said China's pledge to include methane in the 2035 climate plans is "unlikely to affect India's stance" on methane emissions from the agriculture sector. During a discussion on emissions from agriculture at COP27, India had criticised rich nations for "searching for cheaper solutions abroad" instead of reducing their emissions through lifestyle changes. It emphasised that agriculture emissions are "survival emissions" and not "luxury emissions." Scientists say drastically reducing methane emissions in the country would necessitate extensive transformations in the agriculture sector which India cannot afford at present. "In India, more than 60 per cent of methane emissions are from the livestock sector, followed by rice cultivation. Both sectors are very complicated for us to deal with," Chaturvedi said. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), methane has accounted for about 30 per cent of global warming since pre-industrial times and is proliferating faster than at any other time since record keeping began in the 1980s. Methane comes from both natural sources and human activities. NASA estimates that around 60 per cent of today's methane emissions result from human activities. Since CO2 remains in the atmosphere for hundreds to thousands of years, even if emissions were immediately and dramatically reduced, it would not have an effect on the climate until later in the century. In contrast, methane has a much shorter atmospheric lifetime (around 12 years), but is a much more potent greenhouse gas, absorbing much more energy while it exists in the atmosphere. The UN says that human-caused methane emissions could be reduced by as much as 45 per cent by 2030. This reduction could avert nearly 0.3 degrees Celsius of global warming by 2045. New Delhi, Nov 28 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday lauded the successful operation to rescue the workers trapped in a tunnel in Uttarakhand, asserting that it has made everyone emotional. In a post on X soon after the workers were brought out of the tunnel, Modi saluted the spirit of people involved in the operation and said their courage and resolve have given a new life to them. "Everyone involved in the mission has created an amazing example of humanity and teamwork," he said. Addressing the 41 rescued workers, he said their courage and patience inspire everyone as he wished them good health and well-being. "It is a matter of great satisfaction that these friends of ours will meet their dear ones after a long wait," he said, asserting that the patience and courage of their family members cannot be praised enough. Jaipur, Nov 28 (PTI) Rajasthan Chief Electoral Officer Praveen Gupta was admitted to Sawai Man Singh government hospital in Jaipur on Tuesday after he fell sick, a spokesperson from his office said. Gupta, an IAS officer of 1995 batch, underwent a health checkup and ECG test at the hospital. "For a complete medical examination, he has been shifted to ICU," a doctor at the hospital said. Rajasthan underwent an election on November 25 with polling done in 199 out of its 200 assembly constituencies. Counting of votes will take place on December 3. New Delhi, Nov 28 (PTI) A 38-year-old man was arrested from Dhaula Kuan here with eight semi-automatic pistols and 10 live cartridges in his possession, police said on Tuesday. They said that the accused, Sonu of Hapur, supplied more than 40 pistols in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh last year. With the arrest of the UP native, the Delhi police claimed to to have busted an interstate firearms syndicate "The accused has been identified as Sonu of Hapur, UP. On November 23, our team got information that Sonu had collected a consignment of firearms and ammunition from an arms supplier of Madhya Pradesh and would arrive near Dhaula Kuan bus stand to deliver the same consignment," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Alok Kumar said. A trap was laid near the bus stop and teams identified Sonu who was waiting for someone, he said. As he sensed that police had surrounded him, Sonu whipped out his pistol and threatened to fire pointing it towards the members of the team, but he was overpowered and disarmed, said the officer. When he was searched, eight pistols and 10 live cartridges were found in his possession. He told police that he was supposed to hand over the ammunition to different gangs operating in Delhi, said the police officer. Police said Sonu is a habitual criminal and has been previously involved in more than half a dozen cases of robbery involving use of firearms, attempt to murder, drug trafficking, dacoity, and many others in UP's Ghaziabad and Amroha. According to police, Sonu used to purchase a semi-automatic pistol for Rs 8,000 and sell it for Rs 25,000. Jodhpur, Nov 28 (PTI) Jyoti Mirdha, BJP candidate from Nagaur assembly constituency, was booked on charges of fraud in a land dispute, police here said on Tuesday. Mirdha, a former MP, was booked with two others, including her sister, at the Udai Mandir Police Station under charges of fraud and forging documents. "The case is related to a land dispute involving the Aadarsh Pragatisheel Gruh Nirman Sahkari Samiti," police said. Farmer leader Vijay Poonia had earlier approached police accusing Mirdha and her sister of defamation, false allegation, fraud, and submission of forged land documents. "But since the FIR was not registered, we approached the court in Jodhpur and the court directed the police on November 17 to file an FIR into the matter," said Poonia. Two years ago, Mirdha and her sister had filed a case against Poonia and his relatives accusing them of land grab. The case went to court, where Mirdha's allegations were found to be unsubstantiated and the FIR was quashed. Two subsequent petitions filed by Mirdha against the order were rejected by the Supreme Court. New Delhi, Nov 28 (PTI) In a bid to promote the use of gender-neutral language, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani on Tuesday released a guide which administrators and educational institutions will be encouraged to refer to. The Guide on Gender Inclusive Communication has been compiled by the National Gender and Child Center, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie, in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and UN Women. The guide highlights the importance of the gender spectrum, and also provides a lexicon on gender neutral language. The guide attempts to give a breakdown of gendered use of language and stresses on making a deliberate effort to become conscious of existing biases in commonly spoken language. The guide has over 60 words and phrases, and recommends the use of 'toughen up' instead of 'man up', 'owner' instead of 'landlord or landlady', 'humankind or humanity' instead of 'mankind', 'workforce or workers' for 'manpower', 'transgender person' instead of 'transsexual'. After the release of the guide, WCD Minister Smriti Irani said the guide will help in training administrators, and should be given to the (District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committees) DISHA committees. "This guide is going to impact not only the lives of citizens and administrators, but ensure a future which is to be looked upon through the prism of gender justice," Irani said. "Today, the power of language has been embellished by empathy and equity because of this guide," she said. The minister said she hoped that the guide will also be translated into other Indian languages, and stressed that it should be shared at the international level. The guide will be used for training at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) where candidates selected for the civil services are trained. Its use will also be promoted at universities and educational institutions as well. "I hope that we can now create an ecosystem of training, especially personnel who preside over DISHA meetings. This will help percolate a language which is more inclusive and just..." Irani said. New Delhi, Nov 28 (PTI) The Delhi Congress on Tuesday said it would appoint its office-bearers through a talent hunt contest titled 'Pratibha se Parivartan' via interviews and group discussions. Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president Arvinder Singh Lovely said the Congress has opened its doors to young people keen to make a career in politics through its innovative talent hunt programme. "In the talent hunt programme, qualified professionals and common people will be given an opportunity to associate with the party to make a career in politics. Through interviews and group discussions, office-bearers and teams will be chosen to entrust responsibilities at the state Congress, district, block and mandal levels. Delhi Congress had already appointed observers at the district level to strengthen the party at the grass-root level," Lovely said at a press conference. Two committees would be formed at the DPCC level and one at the AICC level to co-ordinate the 'Pratibha se Parivartan' (change through talent) contest, he added. The DPCC chief said interested applicants can apply online for the talent hunt, which will be publicised on social media and other platforms so that more people could be made a part of this process. After completing the initial process, suitable candidates will be selected after screening and interviews, to be appointed to various posts in the DPCC, he added. New Delhi, Nov 28 (PTI) The Delhi High Court on Tuesday rejected a PIL against an Indian Army advertisement mandating CLAT-PG 2023 score as an eligibility qualification for induction of law graduates into the Judge Advocate General Branch (JAG) branch. A bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan observed that prescribing educational qualifications was not within the domain of the court and it cannot interfere with the requirement of CLAT-PG score when this was present even in earlier advertisements. The court further said that the issue was not fit to be agitated in the form of a public interest litigation and the aggrieved persons were free to approach it in case of any grievance. "They made it an essential eligibility criteria. This is an army matter. Public interest is not meant for this. This is not a fit case for PIL," said the bench, also comprising Justice Mini Pushkarna. "Dismissed please," it said. Counsel for the petitioner argued that there was basis to justify the requirement of CLAT-PG score, which governs admission to LLM courses in National Law Universities, even when it plays no role in the selection procedure. Petitioner Shubham Chopra argued in his petition that the advertised notification for induction of army officers under JAG Cadre through "JAG ENTRY SCHEME 33rd COURSE (Oct 2024)" was arbitrary, unjustified, unconstitutional and violative of provisions of the Constitution of India. The petition said bringing CLAT PG 2023 as a requisite mandate infringed upon the rights of the candidates who did not register themselves for the LLM entrance and are now ineligible in spite of holding a valid graduate degree in law. "The Respondent vide the Impugned Notification has made CLAT PG 2023 score a mandatory Eligibility Qualification under Provision 2(c), retrospectively, however, the Impugned Notification was published on 30.10.2023. "That, CLAT PG 2023 applications were closed on 18.11.2022, around 345 days prior to the Impugned Notification published by the Respondent," the petition filed through lawyer Prashant Vaxish said. "It is pertinent to note that no candidate willing to apply for JAG 33 can go back 345 days in time to fill the application for CLAT PG 2023 to make himself eligible to apply for JAG 33. Therefore, Provision 2(c) along with Note 2 and Provision 9 are arbitrary, unjustified, and unconstitutional and the same should be struck down for being ultra vires," it added. The petition further said that authorities have categorically stated that the selection of the candidates for Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the SSB, in which the SSB interview marks would be the qualifying marks for the merit list, shall be at the discretion of the deputed officer at integrated HQ of MoD (Army). "The CLAT PG 2023 score holds no merit in the selection procedure, neither at the stage of selecting the candidates for SSB nor at the time of preparation of the merit list after the SSB interview for appointments. "Therefore, the CLAT PG 2023 is an entirely unnecessary and unwarranted hurdle being cast by the Respondent merely in a mechanical manner without bringing any reasonableness to it," the plea contended. Chennai, Nov 28 (PTI) The Madras High Court on Tuesday stayed the operation of the summons issued to five district collectors by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with its probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act into alleged illegal sand mining in the state. A division bench comprising Justices S S Sundar and Sundar Mohan granted the interim stay on the petition filed by state public department secretary K Nanthakumar. The bench, however, said the ED can go ahead with its probe into the alleged sand mining in the state. The top public department official filed the plea on behalf of the district collectors of Ariyalur, Vellore, Thanjavur, Karur and Tiruchirapalli. The petition sought to quash the summons issued by the ED which asked them to appear in person on various dates with details related to sand mining in their respective districts. Directing the state government and the five district collectors to file their reply affidavit to the objection petition filed by the ED, the bench posted to December 21, further hearing of the case. Amy Carter walks past a wreath honoring her mother during a wreath laying ceremony at the Rosalynn Carter Health & Human Services complex on the campus of Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus, Georgia, Nov. 27, 2023. Hundreds turned out to salute Rosalynn Carter on Monday as the former U.S. first lady and global humanitarian made her final journey from her rural hometown to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta as her family began three days of memorials following her death at age 96. The 99-year-old former president, who has spent the past 10 months in home hospice care, plans to attend a memorial church service Tuesday in Atlanta for his wife and partner of more than 77 years, The Carter Center confirmed. Rosalynn Carter died Nov. 19. The tributes started Monday morning as Rosalynn Carters casket traveled by motorcade through the Carters native Sumter County, where well-wishers gathered along the route in their tiny hometown of Plains and attended a wreath-laying ceremony at the college from which she graduated in 1946. Lyndea Brown drove to the short ceremony at Georgia Southwestern State University from nearby Albany, saying she wanted to salute a remarkable woman who attended local cancer benefits and fought for rural health services. They were always real hometown people, Brown said. We dont get presidents and first ladies like that anymore, people who have true hometown roots and understand what its like to grow corn and peanuts and whatever else and to struggle over health care. During the stop at Rosalynn Carters alma mater, her four children Jack, Chip, Jeff and Amy watched as wreaths of white flowers were placed beside a statue of their mother on the campus where she founded the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving to advocate for millions of unpaid caregivers in American households. Generations of the Carter family including the former first ladys grandchildren and great-grandchildren accompanied the hearse to Atlanta, where she was to lie in repose as members of the public paid respects Monday evening at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum. Two funerals, set for Tuesday in Atlanta and Wednesday in Plains, are for invited guests. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, longtime friends of the Carters, lead the dignitaries expected to attend the Atlanta service. Rosalynn Carters burial Wednesday in Plains is private. The schedule, a product of detailed planning that involved the former first couple, reflects the range of Rosalynn Carters interests and impact. That includes her advocacy for better mental health treatment and the elevation of caregiving, her role as Jimmy Carters closest adviser and her status as matriarch of Plains and Maranatha Baptist Church, where she and the former president served in various roles after leaving the White House in 1981. All over the world, people are celebrating her life, said Kim Fuller, the Carters niece, while teaching a Bible lesson Sunday at Maranatha. And of course were coming into a week now where were gonna celebrate even more. A detailed schedule is available online. Events will be streamed and broadcast by independent media. Some well-wishers began honoring Rosalynn Carter soon after her death, including an uptick in visitors to the Carter Presidential Center campus. Mental health is more openly talked about because of Rosalynn Carters work to reduce the stigma attached to the conditions, said Brendan Green, a high school guidance counselor who came from Chicago. She was a pioneer in that field, Green said. What a great legacy. Elizabeth Laudig, a registered nurse from Dallas, said she drove 12 hours to be in Georgia this week, starting with the wreath-laying ceremony in Americus. She said Rosalynn Carters emphasis on mental health and caregivers was especially inspiring to her as a nurse. She just quietly went about the business of trying to make the world a better place, said Laudig, 54. You know, she was not a showy or extravagant first lady, but she was humble, you know, kind, hardworking, and got things done for people because she cared about people. After the motorcade arrives in Atlanta, a brief service of repose was scheduled at the Carter Presidential Center before the public is allowed access. The campus near downtown Atlanta includes the library and museum, and The Carter Center. The former first couple founded the center in 1982 to champion democracy, mediate international conflicts and fight disease in the developing world. Their work around the world redefined what former White House occupants can do after ceding political power. The largest single service will be held Tuesday at Glenn Memorial Church on the Emory University campus. Emory helped the former first couple establish The Carter Center. Besides the Bidens, Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, have announced plans to attend. Also expected are former President Bill Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as former first ladies Laura Bush, Michelle Obama and Melania Trump, according to The Carter Center. Glenn is a Methodist congregation. The Carters married in 1946 at Plains Methodist Church, where Rosalynn Carter attended growing up. She joined her husband as a Baptist throughout their marriage. Her final services at Maranatha will reflect their small-town Protestant roots: Church members are invited and also will eat a funeral meal with the Carter family the day of the service. During her Sunday School hour, Fuller reminded her fellow Maranatha members that they are expected to provide dessert. Whatever you want to bring is fine, Fuller told them as she explained drop-off instructions. Spread the word if you dont mind. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Bengaluru, Nov 28 (PTI) Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday said discussions are on regarding appointing ruling Congress legislators and workers to key positions in various state-run boards and corporations and the list, once finalised ,will be sent to the party's high command for approval. Congress General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala is in the city to discuss the exercise with the party's state leadership. Last week too, he had held discussions on the issue here. "It is our routine work, it's party work...he (Surjewala) was busy. We have held two to three rounds of meetings, today also we will be meeting, the list has to go to Delhi, after that we will inform," Shivakumar, who is also state Congress chief, told reporters here in response to a question on his meeting with Surjewala. There has been some disgruntlement and growing impatience within a section of the Congress party, with legislators, who could not make it to the Ministry and were keenly aspiring for key posts in boards and corporations, unhappy about the delay in appointments. Also many partymen are upset over the delay in rewarding loyal workers, noting that the Congress has been in power for more than six months now. Shivakumar had recently said that both Congress legislators and party workers would be appointed to these positions, and indicated that about 15 to 20 party MLAs and MLCs would be accommodated, and the rest would be distributed among loyal party workers. Appointments to boards and corporations are said to be among the issues on which Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar had certain differences of opinion, according to party sources. Former senator and current MSNBC commentator Claire McCaskill labeled Donald Trump more dangerous than some of historys most infamous dictators, including Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. A lot of people have tried to draw similarities between [Benito] Mussolini and [Adolf] Hitler and the use of the terminology like vermin and the drive that those men had towards autocracy and dictatorship, McCaskill said. The difference, though, I think makes Donald Trump even more dangerous, and that is he has no philosophy he believes in. The comparison stems from a post by Trump over the Veterans Day weekend, in which he referred to his political adversaries as vermin. This rhetoric led some leftist analysts to draw comparisons to Adolf Hitler. However, McCaskill highlighted that Trumps brand of authoritarianism is distinct. She pointed out that unlike leaders such as Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is engaged in international conflicts like the one in Ukraine, Trumps ambitions seem more self-centered. All he wants is to look in the mirror and see a guy whos president, McCaskill said. All he cares about is selfish self-promotion. Thats the only philosophy he has. Which makes him even more dangerous. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) A kosher pizza shop in Skokie, Illinois, became the victim of an antisemitic attack, with a vandal caught on camera drawing a swastika on the front window of the establishment over the Thanksgiving holiday this past Thursday. Moshe Wajchman, the owner of EJs Pizzeria, told ABC7 that the vandalism was discovered by one of his employees. However, he says he will not be intimidated by the incident. Its trying to make us feel unsafe and scared to be open, but we wont. We will be open, and well continue stronger, Wajchman said. Everybody walking around the streets feel like they have to always keep an eye out and feel unsafe walking around, because they are afraid of what could happen to them, because theyre Jewish, he added. It shouldnt be like that. In a message to the vandal, Wajchman said: If hes trying to divide us, that only makes us get closer and together. So, if anything, hes not doing his purpose. Were all together. Were not going to go anywhere. Were here to stay. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Have a Google account you havent used in a while? If you want to keep it from disappearing, you should sign in before the end of the week. Under Googles updated inactive account policy, which the tech giant announced back in May, accounts that havent been used in at least two years could be deleted. Accounts deemed inactive could be erased beginning Friday. If you have an account thats deemed inactive and at risk for deletion, you should receive notices from Google sent to the email affiliated with that account and its recovery address (if one exits). But if youre still catching up on this new policy and want to ensure that your content on Google Drive, Docs, Gmail and more is saved heres what you need to know. WHY IS GOOGLE DELETING INACTIVE ACCOUNTS? In Mays announcement, Google credited its inactive account update to security issues. Accounts that havent been used for a long time are more likely to be compromised, the company said noting that forgotten or unattended accounts typically have old passwords, often lack two-factor authentication and receive fewer security checks. As a result, these accounts could be hijacked and used for spam or other malicious content, as well as identity theft. HOW CAN I PREVENT MY ACCOUNT FROM BEING DELETED? The easiest way to keep your Google account active (and thus prevent it from being deleted) is to sign in at least once every two years. Other actions that fulfill account activity requirements include sending or scrolling through emails, using Google search and watching YouTube videos (YouTube is owned by Google) all while signed into your Google account. Existing subscriptions set up through your Google account, including profiles for third-party apps and publications, can also account for activity. Preserving content on Google Photos requires a specific sign-in. As previously announced by Google, Photos content may be similarly deleted after two years of inactivity meaning you should open the application every so often to keep images from going into the trash. ARE THERE ANY EXCEPTIONS TO THIS POLICY? Only personal Google accounts that havent been used for two years or more will be impacted under this inactive account update. Accounts made for organizations, like schools or companies, will not be affected, Google says. Per Googles online policy, other exceptions include Google accounts that manage active minor accounts, accounts containing a gift card balance as well as those that have been used to purchase Google products, apps or subscriptions that are ongoing. As of Mays announcement, Google also said there were no plans to delete accounts with YouTube videos. The Associated Press reached out to Google Monday to confirm thats still the case. CAN I SAVE DATA FROM MY GOOGLE ACCOUNT? Beyond keeping your Google account active, theres a few tools to help manage and backup your data. Google Takeout, for example, allows users to download and export account data outside of Google at any time. And its Inactive Account Manager lets you choose what would happen to your account and data if it becomes inactive including options to send select files to trusted contacts or delete the account entirely. Googles online policy also says the company can work with immediate family to close the account of a deceased loved one and/or provide some account content without sharing login credentials on a case-by-case basis. Google asks users to provide and update a recovery email for their account which is also helpful for sending inactive account notices and other communications. (AP) JOIN THE TENS OF THOUSANDS WHO ALREADY ARE ALERTED OF BREAKING NEWS LIKE THIS IN LIVE TIME: YWN WHATSAPP STATUS UPDATES: CLICK HERE to join the YWN WhatsApp Status. YWN WHATSAPP GROUPS: CLICK HERE to be added to an official YWN WhatsApp Group. MAKE SURE TO CHECK THIS PAGE FREQUENTLY AS UPDATES WILL BE PUBLISHED IN LIVE TIME THERE IS NO NEED TO REFRESH THIS PAGE AS UPDATES WILL APPEAR AUTOMATICALLY Tal Amano, the daughter of Elma Avraham, 84, who was released from captivity in Gaza in critical condition on Sunday evening, slammed the International Red Cross for neglecting to do anything to help her mother. Speaking at a press conference, Tal said that her mother arrived with a pulse of 40, a body temperature of 28C [82F), unconscious and injured all over she was held in unreasonable conditions there. Ima was abandoned twice, she continued. First on October 7th and the second time by all the organizations that should have rescued her. Tal continued by saying that her brother traveled to meet with a Red Cross representative and give them the life-saving medications that her mother required but they refused to take them. The only reason were standing here and exposing ourselves is in order to save whoever is left, Tal said. Someone should urge the Red Cross and all the womens organizations; someone should shout this cry what are you here for? (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) The Shin Bet security agency has published footage from the interrogation of two Hamas members, Adham Hawwas and Ismail Hawwas, involved in the abduction of foreign workers in Israel on October 7. The two terrorists admitted to kidnapping Thai nationals and a Nepali from the farms of Kibbutz Alumim during an incursion into Israel. The footage released by the Shin Bet reveals the abduction process and the arrival of the hostages at Gaza Citys Shifa Hospital. In a recorded interrogation video, Adham Hawwas described their method of entry into Israel and the subsequent kidnapping. I crossed the fence through a breach that made it possible to pass on foot. After that, I got on a white Magnum Jeep and we drove to the settlement gate which was closed. We climbed over the gate and entered the area with the farmers rooms, he said. According to Adham, after the initial abduction, two other terrorists captured more foreign workers, and he took another hostage. The hostages were then transported in an ambulance to Shifa Hospital. We put the hostages in the ambulance, where [another terrorist] asked one of them: What is your name? But he did not understand. The second hostage hinted to him: Thailand. Then we realized that they both have the same citizenship and most likely they are laborers. They told us to go with the ambulance to Shifa Hospital. Ismail Hawwas provided further details about their arrival at the hospital. The first hostage at Shifa was walking on his feet. The second hostage was carried on a stretcher. They put the second one in the room, where there was one from al-Qassam outside and two from al-Qassam inside, he said, referring to the military wing of Hamas. He also recalled hearing the wounded hostage repeatedly saying, Thailand. Thailand, before falling silent. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) The IDF on Monday released new photos and footage of the Air Forces elite Shaldag Unit participating in ground operations in the Gaza Strip. The IDF says the unit has engaged in operations around the Shifa Hospital, a location where they discovered a cache of weapons and terrorist infrastructure utilized by Hamas. This included ammunition, grenades, military equipment camouflaged in medical containers, and anti-tank explosives. In a detailed operation at the Shifa Hospital, Shaldag soldiers utilized advanced technology to navigate underground tunnel routes and located a tunnel shaft to a network of terror tunnels beneath the hospital. On October 7th, amidst the Hamas incursion and the ensuing violence in southern Israel, Shaldag soldiers were rapidly deployed to the region, including Kibbutz Beeri. There, they engaged in prolonged operations to neutralize terrorists and assist residents under siege. In the subsequent days, the Shaldag Unit engaged in close-quarters combat against terrorists at multiple locations in southern Israel, including Kibbutz Beeri, Alumim, and Reim. During these encounters, the unit demonstrated remarkable resolve, successfully eliminating numerous terrorists and rescuing civilians. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) There wasnt a dry eye in the room when Avichai Brodutch reunited with his wife and three children who were released from Gaza on Sunday evening after 51 days of captivity. On October 7th, Uriah, 4, Yuval, 8, and Ofri, 10, were abducted together with their mother, Hagar, 39, from their home in Kfar Aza. Meanwhile Avichai was on the kibbutz battling the Hamas terrorists. After a hours-long intense battle, he returned home to find his wife and children missing. Since then, hes been intensely engaged in another battle a diplomatic battle in Israel and around the world to bring his wife and children home. He published articles in the international press and was the first family member of hostages to meet government representatives in Qatar. But he spent most of his time sitting outside the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv in a protest to bring his family home. Avichai also got a bracha for the return of his family from HaGaon HaRav Dov Landau. More than 7 weeks ago, I prayed with Avihai Brodutz for the safe return of his beautiful wife and three children. I am overwhelmed with joy that those prayers now have been answered, but simultaneously overcome with sadness for those murdered, wounded and still in captivity. pic.twitter.com/BCFa22lAyF David M Friedman (@DavidM_Friedman) November 26, 2023 (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) A group of five militants who seized another commercial ship near Yemen were likely Somali and not Iranian-backed Houthi rebels and were captured by U.S. forces after fleeing the MV Central Park in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday, Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters on Monday. Ballistic missiles had been fired shortly after from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen, and the Pentagon has not ruled out that the Houthis were somehow linked to the Somali-conducted attack. The attacks on commercial vessels have previously been conducted by Houthis and are part of a larger rise in violence in the region due to the Israel-Hamas war. Yemens internationally recognized government in Aden has said this was a Houthi attack on the Central Park, a Liberian-flagged ship managed by Zodiac Maritime. The ship sent out a distress call and forces from the USS Mason, an American destroyer, responded. (AP) Santas sleigh and reindeer are suspended in the air, as though flying from a spot near Jimmy Carters portrait to Barack Obamas, while a band plays the drums. This the Grand Foyer of the White House and there are Christmas trees everywhere: 98 of them, according to official information. This year, First Lady Jill Biden has chosen a colorful, ornate, bright, childish and spectacular decor for the presidential residence. The idea is to reflect the way that children experience the holiday season. At times, it feels like one is in a theme park or a Disney movie one titled Magic, Wonder and Joy, which is this years theme. It is the Bidens third time playing host to a White House Holiday Display. The White House expects to receive about 100,000 visitors to see the two floors that are partially open to the public. The figures that went into the decoration are as dizzying as the overload of visual stimuli into which they have materialized: approximately 14,975 feet of ribbon, over 350 candles, over 33,892 ornaments, and over 22,100 bells. More than 142,425 lights decorate the trees, garlands, wreaths and displays and 72 classic wreaths adorn the North and South facades of the White House. More than 300 volunteers who came from all over the United States to Washington spent a week setting up the displays. Vanessa Baena is glad to have collaborated to bring a little of the magic of this Christmas season. Marite Espinosa Sanchez also considers it magical that ordinary people like her have been able to volunteer and participate. It has been very fun, everything is created with our own hands. The decoration features numerous nods to the 200th anniversary of the publication of Clement Clarke Moores classic Twas the Night Before Christmas, from where much of the iconography associated with Santa Claus originated. The Library of Congress has provided copies of various editions of the book printed over the last two centuries, and these are displayed in protective cases in the Ground Floor Corridor. This years Gingerbread White House also recreates this tale, with a sugar cookie replica of the famous book, as well as Santas sleigh flying overhead. Holiday decorations adorn the Grand Foyer of the White House for the 2023 theme "Magic, Wonder, and Joy." Evan Vucci (AP) The 2023 White House holiday theme is inspired by how children experience this festive season: completely present in the beauty and bounty around them, their senses alight, with hearts open to the magic, wonder, and joy of the holidays, the President and First Lady wrote in a welcome letter at the beginning of the commemorative 2023 White House Holiday Guide. Visitors enter the East Wing under the branches of one of the Christmas trees. Holiday candy and sweet treats float overhead in both the East Wing Lobby and East Colonnade. The marble arches of the Ground Floor Corridor are dotted with Christmas messages sent by Americans across the country to the Bidens, while letters to Santa Claus fly into vintage mailboxes. The Library is decorated like a childrens room with Christmas story books, golden moons and bright stars suspended above, and the image of Santa Claus and his sleigh outside the window, flying alongside the full moon. The Vermeil Room contains a mechanical theater display, while the China Room represents a candy store with holiday cakes, cookies, and gingerbread. Visitors then go up to the upper floor, where they are greeted by a forest of Christmas trees. The official tree of the White House bears signs with the names of all the states and territories and the District of Columbia. Located inside the Blue Room, it is an 18-and-a-half feet tall Fleetwood fir from North Carolina. Every year the chandelier is removed from the Blue Room to make way for the tree, which reaches all the way up to the ceiling. The official Christmas tree of the White House, in the Blue Room, bears signs with the names of all the States and territories and the District of Columbia. MICHAEL REYNOLDS (EFE) There are other spectacular Christmas trees. In the East Room, the largest in the White House, they coexist with Advent calendars and a Neapolitan creche with more than 40 figures, most of them from the 18th century, which has been on display since 1967. The State Dining Room has been converted for the occasion into Santas Workshop, with elf workbenches, stools and ladders. Life-size soldiers and ballerinas flank the Christmas trees. The decoration also includes portraits of the family cat, Willow, and the dog, Commander, who was recently expelled after several incidents in which he bit Secret Service personnel, so he for one wont be able to enjoy the Christmas decorations. In a Monday meeting with Elon Musk, owner of the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Israeli President Isaac Herzog expressed his concerns about the prevalence of antisemitism on the site. Herzog referenced Musks visit to Kfar Aza and a video showing the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7, illustrating the deadly consequences of hatred. Unfortunately, we are inundated by antisemitism, which is Jew hate, and Jew hate impacts the entire notion of behavior of human beings in so many places around the world. And you have a huge role to play, and I think we need to fight it together, because under the platforms you lead, unfortunately, there is a harboring of a lot of old hate which is Jew hate, which is antisemitism, Herzog told Musk. Responding to these remarks, Musk shared that he had an emotionally difficult day, having visited sites of murder and viewed footage of the attackers rejoicing. He commented on the impact of propaganda, noting, These people have been fed propaganda since they were children. Its remarkable what humans are capable of if they are fed falsehood since they were children. They can think that murdering innocent people is a good thing. Thats how much propaganda can affect peoples minds. The Israeli readout of the meeting did not include any specific comments made by Musk addressing Herzogs concerns about X. Musk has been accused of tolerating antisemitic content on X, with organizations like the ADL noting a significant increase in antisemitic messages since the start of Israels conflict with Hamas in Gaza. The controversy surrounding Musk intensified this month when he endorsed a post on X deemed antisemitic, which accused Jews of promoting hatred against white people. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return this week to the Middle East as the U.S. hopes to find a way to extend a cease-fire in Gaza and get more hostages released, the State Department said Monday. It will be his third trip to the region since Israels war with Hamas began last month. Blinken will travel to Israel and the West Bank after attending Ukraine-focused meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday in Brussels and Skopje, North Macedonia, where foreign ministers from NATO and the Organization for Peace and Security in Europe are gathering. Israel has agreed to pauses in its military operations in exchange for the gradual release of hostages taken by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. The agreement had been due to expire Monday but was extended for an additional two days, meaning the extension will be expiring just as Blinken is arriving in Israel. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday the U.S. hopes to see the pause extended further, but it is dependent on Hamas continuing to release hostages. In Israel and the West Bank, Blinken will discuss Israels right to defend itself consistent with international humanitarian law, as well as continued efforts to secure the release of remaining hostages, protect civilian life during Israels operations in Gaza, and accelerate humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement. He said Blinken also will discuss the principles for a post-conflict Gaza, as well as the need to establish an independent Palestinian state and prevent the conflict from widening. In the West Bank, Blinken is expected to see Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Blinken and other U.S. officials have said they believe the Palestinian Authority should play a significant role in governing post-conflict Gaza. From Israel and the West Bank, Blinken will travel to the United Arab Emirates for discussions with regional leaders who will be in Dubai to attend the COP28 climate summit. Blinken has been engaged in furious diplomacy to try to prevent the Gaza conflict from spreading, expand the provision of humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians in the territory, secure the release of hostages and arrange for foreigners and dual nationals to leave Gaza overland to Egypt. On each of his prior two trips, Blinken has traveled to Israel and Jordan multiple times. Between the two trips, he also made stops in Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the UAE. Blinken will arrive in Israel having just participated in an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe foreign ministers meeting in Skopje. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said he plans to attend the OSCE meeting, possibly setting the stage for a U.S.-Russia confrontation there over Ukraine. In Brussels, Blinken will attend the two-day NATO gathering, which will include the first foreign minister-level meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, a body created by alliance leaders at their last summit to improve cooperation and coordination and help prepare Kyiv for eventual membership. Allies will continue to support Ukraines self-defense until Russia stops its war of aggression, said Jim OBrien, the top U.S. diplomat for Europe. The NATO meeting will also address the tensions in the Western Balkans, where there are calls for NATO to increase its military presence in response to concerns that hostility between Serbia and Kosovo could escalate to outright conflict. Violence between the two has broken out twice in recent months, and Western countries fear that Russia could try to foment trouble in the Balkans to avert attention from the war in Ukraine. Last week, Albanias prime minister urged NATO to further boost its military forces in Kosovo and secure the countrys borders with Serbia, warning that recent ethnic violence in Kosovo could potentially trigger a wider Balkan conflict. NATO has already strengthened its military presence in Kosovo established after the 1999 bombing campaign against Serbia with about 1,000 additional troops and heavier weaponry, bringing its deployment there to about 4,500 troops. Blinken will underscore U.S. and NATO support for democracy and stability in the region, including a commitment to back all countries aspirations to join the European Union, OBrien said. Serbia doesnt recognize Kosovos formal declaration of independence in 2008. Both countries want to join the European Union, which is mediating a dialogue between the former foes. Brussels has warned both that refusal to compromise jeopardizes their chances of joining the bloc. The NATO ministers will also discuss plans for the alliances 75th anniversary summit to be held in Washington in July 2024. (AP) Sponsored Content Am I allowed to make egg and onion on Shabbos? How to choose a shirt from a pile of clothing and not transgress borer on Shabbos? Can you put food in the oven on Shabbos? Numerous Shabbos questions are impossible to answer without thorough knowledge of its laws. Shabbos comes once a week, so if a person is not well-versed in its intricacies, then it is inevitable that transgressions will take place. The many books of basic laws are wonderful, but to really understand the halachos and to apply them, it is essential to learn and remember hilchos Shabbos with the background discussion. What is the challenge we face? It takes several years for a full-time advanced Torah learner to cover the laws of Shabbos in depth. Kinyan Hilchos Shabbos for men offered a solution. 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It became an instant success worldwide. During the launches of the Hilchos Shabbos course for men, it became crystal clear that a course especially tailored for Jewish women was necessary. The program received many emails asking for a womens cohort of this important and highly relevant series. Women, just as much as men, require practical knowledge on how to keep the myriad halachos of Shabbos. Indeed, they may even be faced with more scenarios than men. Therefore, Rabbi Gefen, in consultation with Rabbi Berkovits has adapted the original curriculum to be uniquely tailored to Torah observant women, as an online program in Hilchos Shabbos (www.HilchosShabbosforWomen.com), accessible to motvated women worldwide. It empowers women to know the laws of Shabbos that are so relevant to their lives. Participants in each online chabura receive source sheets with explanations in English. In addition to the weekly online Zoom shiur with Rabbi Gefen, he is available for questions. There are tests in each section, and the option of a signed certificate of completion from Rav Berkovits. While this course for women is in Hilchos Shabbos, several months ago, Rabbi Gefen has also launched another online program for women in Hilchos Bein Adam LChaveiro. This program is based on a curriculum of Kollel Linas Hatzedek / Center for Jewish Values, a premier international Bein Adam LChaveiro resource, whom we thank for their permission. The Bein Adam LChaveiro online program for women taught by Rabbi Gefen became very successful already in its first launch. As women, we are required to learn halacha in order to fulfill it properly. Says Dr. Shoshana Snyder from Los Angeles. Rabbi Gefens course provides women with a level of knowledge and understanding of the halacha from the primary sources to the halacha lmaasei. The depth of the learning is gratifying. Participating in this program has raised my awareness of the need to apply the halacha in situations that would have escaped my notice in the past. The shiurim are clear and there is plenty of opportunity for questions. Rabbi Gefen is available for questions via email in between shiurim as well. I am not aware of any other opportunity available for women to learn halacha at this level. I look forward to receiving the sources and hearing the shiur every week! Its been a real pleasure to be part of the program. I look forward to the source sheets and shiur every week. I have an increased appreciation of the halachos and how to apply them in daily life. The material has abundant sources with varying opinions and a halacha lmaaseh sectionI highly recommend the program! says Basya Gutmann from Clifton, New Jersey. Over 1000 of our past and present participants in our programs come from six continents and range in skill level from beginner to advanced, adds Rabbi Dr. Pesah. Our vision is to enable everyone to learn halacha in a structured way and make it doable for every motivated person. Mrs. Batya Eshel from Safed in Israel shares her experience: The shiur is well focused in general, and of course the more prepared I am the more I get out of it. Questions from the participants are handled well, and we all get a lot out of the shiur. Using Zoom allows us access to a shiur that we wouldnt be able to access in person. Says Rabbi Berkovits: Imagine never getting stuck again on Shabbos not knowing what to do! The program begins on Sunday, June 11th. For more information, tuition, and to apply go to: www.HilchosShabbosforWomen.com Shares of Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF (BATS:NUSC Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $35.47 and last traded at $35.33, with a volume of 115912 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.38. Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF Trading Down 0.1 % The company has a market capitalization of $991.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.51 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a fifty day moving average of $34.05 and a 200-day moving average of $35.70. Get Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF alerts: Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NUSC. ZRC Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Retirement Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF by 356.0% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the companys stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Comerica Bank acquired a new position in shares of Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $60,000. About Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF The Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF (NUSC) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI TIAA ESG USA Small Cap index. The fund tracks a multi-factor-weighted index of small-cap companies listed on US exchanges. Holdings are screened for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria. NUSC was launched on Dec 13, 2016 and is managed by Nuveen. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT Get Free Report)s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $432.79 and last traded at $431.76, with a volume of 234647 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $426.85. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of analysts have issued reports on IT shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Gartner from $366.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. StockNews.com lowered Gartner from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, November 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Gartner from $352.00 to $346.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Five 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 presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $363.20. Get Gartner alerts: Check Out Our Latest Research Report on IT Gartner Stock Up 1.1 % The firm has a market capitalization of $33.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.25 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $368.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $353.05. Gartner (NYSE:IT Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 3rd. The information technology services provider reported $2.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.60. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.39 billion. Gartner had a return on equity of 206.71% and a net margin of 15.97%. The companys revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.41 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Gartner, Inc. will post 11.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Gartner declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, November 3rd that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to purchase up to 1.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the companys board believes its stock is undervalued. Insider Buying and Selling In related news, EVP Akhil Jain sold 250 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.47, for a total transaction of $105,117.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,061 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,287,058.67. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Akhil Jain sold 250 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.47, for a total transaction of $105,117.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,061 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,287,058.67. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robin B. Kranich sold 716 shares of Gartner stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $349.78, for a total value of $250,442.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,230 shares in the company, valued at $4,627,589.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 90,140 shares of company stock valued at $35,420,368. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the companys stock. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gartner Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IT. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Gartner by 271.1% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,151,011 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $723,041,000 after purchasing an additional 1,571,413 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Gartner by 926.7% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,726,215 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $64,835,000 after purchasing an additional 1,558,080 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Gartner during the 4th quarter worth approximately $263,599,000. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in Gartner by 2,360.5% during the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 779,471 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $253,928,000 after purchasing an additional 747,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gartner in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $535,000. 90.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. About Gartner (Get Free Report) Gartner, Inc operates as a research and advisory company in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Research, Conferences, and Consulting. The Research segment delivers its research primarily through a subscription service that include on-demand access to published research content, data and benchmarks, and direct access to a network of research experts. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Gartner Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Gartner and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of Auto Trader Group plc (OTCMKTS:ATDRY Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $2.20 and last traded at $2.20, with a volume of 50157 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.17. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In ATDRY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Auto Trader Group from GBX 725 ($9.16) to GBX 710 ($8.97) in a research note on Tuesday, October 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Auto Trader Group from GBX 700 ($8.84) to GBX 720 ($9.09) in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. Get Auto Trader Group alerts: Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on ATDRY Auto Trader Group Stock Performance Auto Trader Group Company Profile The firms 50-day moving average price is $1.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. (Get Free Report) Auto Trader Group plc operates in the digital automotive marketplace in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company provides vehicle advertisement on its websites for private sellers, as well as insurance and loan financing products to consumers; and display advertising on its websites for manufacturers and their advertising agencies. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Auto Trader Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Auto Trader Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Barclays upgraded shares of Continental Aktiengesellschaft (OTCMKTS:CTTAY Free Report) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report report published on Friday morning, Briefing.com reports. A number of other research analysts have also commented on CTTAY. Citigroup upgraded Continental Aktiengesellschaft from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, November 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Continental Aktiengesellschaft from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, September 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Continental Aktiengesellschaft has an average rating of Moderate Buy. Get Continental Aktiengesellschaft alerts: Read Our Latest Analysis on CTTAY Continental Aktiengesellschaft Stock Down 0.3 % CTTAY opened at $7.64 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $6.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.25. Continental Aktiengesellschaft has a twelve month low of $5.73 and a twelve month high of $8.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.19. Continental Aktiengesellschaft (OTCMKTS:CTTAY Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 8th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.04). Continental Aktiengesellschaft had a return on equity of 8.39% and a net margin of 2.84%. The company had revenue of $11.15 billion during the quarter. Research analysts forecast that Continental Aktiengesellschaft will post 0.76 EPS for the current year. About Continental Aktiengesellschaft (Get Free Report) Continental Aktiengesellschaft, a technology company, offers intelligent solutions for vehicles, machines, traffic, and transportation worldwide. It operates through four sectors: Automotive, Tires, ContiTech, and Contract Manufacturing. The company offers safety, brake, chassis, motion, and motion control systems; solutions for assisted and automated driving; and audio and camera solutions for the vehicle interior, as well as intelligent information and communication technology solutions. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Continental Aktiengesellschaft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Continental Aktiengesellschaft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. BellRing Brands (NYSE:BRBR Free Report) had its target price lifted by Mizuho from $47.00 to $57.00 in a research note released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock. BRBR has been the topic of several other reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of BellRing Brands from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, November 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of BellRing Brands from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 17th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of BellRing Brands from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, October 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of BellRing Brands from $43.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 22nd. Finally, Stephens reiterated an equal weight rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of BellRing Brands in a research note on Tuesday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned 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 $46.93. Get BellRing Brands alerts: Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on BellRing Brands BellRing Brands Trading Up 1.9 % Shares of BRBR stock opened at $50.91 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.06, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78. BellRing Brands has a twelve month low of $23.50 and a twelve month high of $51.31. The companys 50-day moving average price is $43.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.65. BellRing Brands (NYSE:BRBR Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 21st. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $472.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $462.65 million. BellRing Brands had a net margin of 9.93% and a negative return on equity of 49.86%. BellRing Brandss revenue was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that BellRing Brands will post 1.58 EPS for the current year. Institutional Trading of BellRing Brands Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Comerica Bank increased its stake in BellRing Brands by 144.4% in the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 82,268 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,392,000 after purchasing an additional 48,611 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in BellRing Brands in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,376,000. Creative Planning purchased a new position in BellRing Brands in the third quarter valued at approximately $267,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in BellRing Brands by 3.2% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 142,192 shares of the companys stock valued at $5,863,000 after purchasing an additional 4,360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP increased its stake in BellRing Brands by 107.0% in the third quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 14,925 shares of the companys stock valued at $615,000 after purchasing an additional 7,716 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.90% of the companys stock. About BellRing Brands (Get Free Report) BellRing Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides various nutrition products in the United States and internationally. It offers ready-to-drink (RTD) protein shakes, other RTD beverages, powders, nutrition bars, and other products primarily under the Premier Protein and Dymatize brands. The company sells its products through club, food, drug, mass, eCommerce, specialty, and convenience channels. See Also Receive News & Ratings for BellRing Brands Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for BellRing Brands and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday. Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on DGX. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $136.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $148.00 to $149.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, November 17th. TheStreet lowered Quest Diagnostics from a b- rating to a c rating in a report on Tuesday, October 24th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Quest Diagnostics from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an equal weight rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $146.09. Get Quest Diagnostics alerts: Read Our Latest Report on Quest Diagnostics Quest Diagnostics Stock Performance Shares of Quest Diagnostics stock opened at $135.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $132.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32 and a beta of 0.92. Quest Diagnostics has a one year low of $119.59 and a one year high of $158.34. Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 24th. The medical research company reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a return on equity of 15.80% and a net margin of 8.21%. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.36 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Quest Diagnostics Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 17th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 16th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Quest Diagnosticss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.64%. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 5.3% during the second quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 26,926 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $3,785,000 after acquiring an additional 1,359 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 220.5% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 13,959 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $1,975,000 after acquiring an additional 9,604 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 4.4% during the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 50,252 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $7,063,000 after acquiring an additional 2,103 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 2.2% during the first quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 23,459 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $3,319,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of Quest Diagnostics by 1.2% during the second quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 86,920 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $12,217,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. 87.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. About Quest Diagnostics (Get Free Report) Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing, information, and services in the United States and internationally. The company develops and delivers diagnostic information services, such as routine testing, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, anatomic pathology testing, and other diagnostic information services. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Quest Diagnostics Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Quest Diagnostics and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE:KRG Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of Hold from the six analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $25.57. A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America raised their price target on Kite Realty Group Trust from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Kite Realty Group Trust from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 13th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Kite Realty Group Trust in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of Kite Realty Group Trust from a strong-buy rating to a market perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 5th. Get Kite Realty Group Trust alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Kite Realty Group Trust Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kite Realty Group Trust Kite Realty Group Trust Trading Up 0.4 % Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Kite Realty Group Trust by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 18,741 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Kite Realty Group Trust by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 34,896 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $792,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kite Realty Group Trust by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 67,278 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,503,000 after buying an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Kite Realty Group Trust by 4.8% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,783 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Kite Realty Group Trust by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 34,348 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $718,000 after buying an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. 97.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Shares of Kite Realty Group Trust stock opened at $20.92 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 123.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Kite Realty Group Trust has a 12-month low of $18.77 and a 12-month high of $24.26. Kite Realty Group Trust Increases Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 5th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from Kite Realty Group Trusts previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.78%. Kite Realty Group Trusts dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 564.71%. Kite Realty Group Trust Company Profile (Get Free Report Kite Realty Group Trust (NYSE: KRG) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) headquartered in Indianapolis, IN that is one of the largest publicly traded owners and operators of open-air shopping centers and mixed-use assets. The Company's primarily grocery-anchored portfolio is located in high-growth Sun Belt and select strategic gateway markets. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Kite Realty Group Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Kite Realty Group Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. KYODO NEWS - Nov 28, 2023 - 14:45 | All, Japan Prosecutors on Tuesday sought a life sentence for a 68-year-old man accused of fatally shooting a doctor and attacking other medical workers last year during an 11-hour standoff at his home near Tokyo. Hiroshi Watanabe, who was charged with killing 44-year-old Junichi Suzuki with a shotgun, had the "strong intention to murder as many as he could," prosecutors said at the Saitama District Court, noting that the defendant fired at more than one person. Watanabe said during his first hearing that he had "never intended at all" to murder anyone, claiming instead he had aimed at the doctor's right knee but his shot went off target. According to the indictment, Watanabe fatally shot Suzuki and severely injured a physiotherapist in his 40s. He also sprayed another medical worker with tear gas and is suspected of attempting to murder a separate male medical worker by shooting him. The attack took place on Jan. 27 last year at Watanabe's home in Fujimino, Saitama Prefecture, when medical staff came for a house visit. The suspect took the staff hostage in the standoff with police, and he was eventually arrested after the police stormed the building. Prosecutors argued Watanabe had developed resentment and anger toward the doctor, who had been in charge of providing home medical care for his mother, and called his motive "irrational and selfish" in their closing argument. "The incident created a negative impression about home medical care and made medical workers feel intimidated," the prosecutor said. The doctor's father has requested a harsh sentence, saying in a statement that he "could not feel any regret or remorse" for the defendant. Related coverage: Man charged with fatally shooting doctor denies intent to kill Hostage dead after 11-hour standoff near Tokyo Whitecap Resources Inc. (TSE:WCP Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of Buy by the eight research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$14.77. WCP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James lowered their price target on Whitecap Resources from C$16.00 to C$15.50 and set a strong-buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 26th. ATB Capital increased their price objective on shares of Whitecap Resources from C$15.00 to C$16.00 in a research report on Friday, October 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Whitecap Resources from C$12.00 to C$12.50 in a research note on Monday, October 16th. National Bankshares lifted their price target on Whitecap Resources from C$16.50 to C$18.50 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, October 12th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Whitecap Resources from C$13.00 to C$15.00 in a research report on Friday, October 20th. Get Whitecap Resources alerts: Get Our Latest Stock Report on WCP Whitecap Resources Stock Performance Shares of TSE:WCP opened at C$9.42 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of C$5.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.28, a P/E/G ratio of -0.33 and a beta of 2.82. The firms 50 day simple moving average is C$10.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$10.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 22.40, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Whitecap Resources has a fifty-two week low of C$8.90 and a fifty-two week high of C$11.91. Whitecap Resources (TSE:WCP Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The company reported C$0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of C$0.35 by C($0.10). Whitecap Resources had a net margin of 26.66% and a return on equity of 17.79%. The firm had revenue of C$1.03 billion during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Whitecap Resources will post 1.2394737 earnings per share for the current year. Whitecap Resources Dividend Announcement The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 30th will be issued a $0.061 dividend. This represents a $0.73 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.77%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 29th. Whitecap Resourcess payout ratio is presently 48.67%. Insider Buying and Selling In other news, Senior Officer Joel Maxwell Armstrong bought 7,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of C$9.31 per share, for a total transaction of C$65,170.00. In related news, Senior Officer Joel Maxwell Armstrong acquired 7,000 shares of Whitecap Resources stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of C$9.31 per share, with a total value of C$65,170.00. Also, Senior Officer Thanh Chan Kang acquired 10,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of C$10.60 per share, for a total transaction of C$106,000.00. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 57,000 shares of company stock worth $573,920. Insiders own 0.75% of the companys stock. About Whitecap Resources (Get Free Report Whitecap Resources Inc, an oil and gas company, focuses on the acquisition, development, and production of oil and gas assets in Western Canada. The company's primary areas of focus of its development programs are in Northern Alberta and British Columbia, Central Alberta, and Saskatchewan. Whitecap Resources Inc was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Whitecap Resources Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Whitecap Resources and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE:AMH Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of Hold from the seventeen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $36.81. Several analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on American Homes 4 Rent from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. UBS Group assumed coverage on American Homes 4 Rent in a research note on Friday, September 29th. They set a neutral rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded American Homes 4 Rent from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 7th. Raymond James lifted their price target on American Homes 4 Rent from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, August 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on American Homes 4 Rent from $38.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Monday, October 9th. Get American Homes 4 Rent alerts: View Our Latest Stock Report on AMH American Homes 4 Rent Stock Down 0.3 % American Homes 4 Rent Announces Dividend NYSE:AMH opened at $36.01 on Tuesday. American Homes 4 Rent has a 12-month low of $28.78 and a 12-month high of $37.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.70. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $34.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.13. The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 14th. American Homes 4 Rents dividend payout ratio is presently 84.62%. Insider Transactions at American Homes 4 Rent In other news, Director Douglas N. Benham acquired 2,000 shares of American Homes 4 Rent stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.10 per share, for a total transaction of $46,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 31,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $739,130.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director James H. Kropp sold 6,852 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.47, for a total value of $249,892.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 29,202 shares in the company, valued at $1,064,996.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Douglas N. Benham purchased 2,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.10 per share, with a total value of $46,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 31,997 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $739,130.70. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 81,852 shares of company stock worth $2,974,469 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.03% of the companys stock. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMH. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Homes 4 Rent by 4.0% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 7,685 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of American Homes 4 Rent by 0.3% during the first quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 93,983 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $2,956,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC increased its holdings in shares of American Homes 4 Rent by 1.5% during the first quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 20,896 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $657,000 after buying an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Homes 4 Rent by 2.0% during the third quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 15,746 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $529,000 after buying an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of American Homes 4 Rent by 1.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 19,915 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $706,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. 83.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. American Homes 4 Rent Company Profile (Get Free Report American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH), which does business as AMH, is a leading owner, operator and developer of single-family rental homes. We're an internally managed Maryland real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on acquiring, developing, renovating, leasing and managing homes as rental properties. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for American Homes 4 Rent Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for American Homes 4 Rent and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Barclays PLC (LON:BARC Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of Buy by the six brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is GBX 248 ($3.13). A number of brokerages recently commented on BARC. Citigroup reissued a buy rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Monday, October 16th. Berenberg Bank lowered their price objective on shares of Barclays from GBX 260 ($3.28) to GBX 240 ($3.03) and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 10th. Shore Capital reissued a buy rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Tuesday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Barclays from GBX 180 ($2.27) to GBX 190 ($2.40) and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, September 7th. Get Barclays alerts: View Our Latest Stock Analysis on BARC Barclays Trading Down 0.4 % Insiders Place Their Bets Shares of LON BARC opened at GBX 139.58 ($1.76) on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of 21.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 410.18, a PEG ratio of -1.09 and a beta of 1.38. Barclays has a 52 week low of GBX 128.12 ($1.62) and a 52 week high of GBX 198.86 ($2.51). The companys 50-day moving average price is GBX 145.48 and its 200 day moving average price is GBX 150.22. In other Barclays news, insider Anna Cross sold 65,037 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 163 ($2.06), for a total transaction of 106,010.31 ($133,902.12). 0.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Barclays Company Profile (Get Free Report Barclays PLC provides various financial services in the United Kingdom, Europe, the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The company operates through two segments, Barclays UK and Barclays International divisions. It offers financial services, such as retail banking, credit cards, wholesale banking, investment banking, wealth management, and investment management services. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Barclays Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Barclays and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. (NYSE:WMS Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of Moderate Buy from the eight analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $145.13. A number of brokerages recently commented on WMS. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $114.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Barclays increased their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $138.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Advanced Drainage Systems from $140.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, August 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Advanced Drainage Systems from $125.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on Advanced Drainage Systems in a research note on Thursday, August 24th. They issued an overweight rating and a $148.00 price objective for the company. Get Advanced Drainage Systems alerts: View Our Latest Report on WMS Insider Buying and Selling Institutional Inflows and Outflows In related news, EVP Robert M. Klein sold 6,353 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.85, for a total transaction of $710,583.05. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 108,500 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $12,135,725. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink . In other news, EVP Robert M. Klein sold 6,353 shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.85, for a total value of $710,583.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 108,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,135,725. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink . Also, insider Tim A. Makowski sold 2,500 shares of Advanced Drainage Systems stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.35, for a total value of $305,875.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,147 shares in the company, valued at $752,085.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . In the last three months, insiders sold 360,327 shares of company stock valued at $45,775,213. Insiders own 3.79% of the companys stock. A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $210,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $385,000. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 3,893 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Advanced Drainage Systems by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,570,278 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $178,745,000 after acquiring an additional 204,267 shares during the period. Finally, WealthPlan Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Advanced Drainage Systems during the 3rd quarter worth $427,000. 84.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Advanced Drainage Systems Stock Performance NYSE:WMS opened at $121.46 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Advanced Drainage Systems has a 12-month low of $75.02 and a 12-month high of $134.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $114.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.41. Advanced Drainage Systems (NYSE:WMS Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 2nd. The construction company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.18. Advanced Drainage Systems had a return on equity of 48.92% and a net margin of 16.86%. The firm had revenue of $780.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $776.36 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Advanced Drainage Systems will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year. Advanced Drainage Systems Announces Dividend The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 30th. Advanced Drainage Systemss dividend payout ratio is currently 9.43%. Advanced Drainage Systems Company Profile (Get Free Report Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets thermoplastic corrugated pipes and related water management products, and drainage solutions for use in the construction and agriculture marketplaces in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. The company operates through Pipe, International, Infiltrator, and Allied Products & Other segments. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Advanced Drainage Systems Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Advanced Drainage Systems and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of Thomson Reuters Co. (NYSE:TRI Get Free Report) (TSE:TRI) have received a consensus rating of Hold from the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have issued a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $144.29. Several research firms have recently issued reports on TRI. UBS Group assumed coverage on Thomson Reuters in a research note on Tuesday, November 7th. They issued a buy rating and a $153.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Thomson Reuters from $145.00 to $142.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on Thomson Reuters from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Thomson Reuters from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Thomson Reuters from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 2nd. Get Thomson Reuters alerts: View Our Latest Report on Thomson Reuters Hedge Funds Weigh In On Thomson Reuters Thomson Reuters Trading Up 1.8 % A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TRI. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new stake in Thomson Reuters in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Thomson Reuters by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,492 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Thomson Reuters by 18.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,105,070 shares of the business services providers stock worth $135,172,000 after acquiring an additional 174,479 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Thomson Reuters by 27.5% in the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,247 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Thomson Reuters by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,088,818 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $500,872,000 after purchasing an additional 240,148 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 17.31% of the companys stock. Thomson Reuters stock opened at $141.25 on Tuesday. Thomson Reuters has a 1 year low of $111.00 and a 1 year high of $141.44. The firms 50-day moving average is $127.57 and its 200-day moving average is $128.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $64.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.47, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.61. Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI Get Free Report) (TSE:TRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 1st. The business services provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.14. Thomson Reuters had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 34.09%. The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. The firms revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Thomson Reuters will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current year. Thomson Reuters Announces Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 15th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Thomson Reuterss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.50%. Thomson Reuters Company Profile (Get Free Report Thomson Reuters Corporation engages in the provision of business information services in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in five segments: Legal Professionals, Corporates, Tax & Accounting Professionals, Reuters News, and Global Print. The Legal Professionals segment offers research and workflow products focusing on legal research and integrated legal workflow solutions that combine content, tools, and analytics to law firms and governments. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Thomson Reuters Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Thomson Reuters and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS Free Report) by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 90,635,593 shares of the financial services providers stock after acquiring an additional 3,480,402 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. owned about 0.05% of Morgan Stanley worth $7,740,280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 208.3% in the first quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 333 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. West Branch Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 140.5% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 356 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. 83.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Morgan Stanley alerts: Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.4 % Morgan Stanley stock traded down $1.13 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $76.82. The company had a trading volume of 3,563,223 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,630,023. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.70. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $100.99. The stock has a market cap of $126.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.40. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $77.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.26. Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement Morgan Stanley ( NYSE:MS Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $13.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.22 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The companys revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year. The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 31st were issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 30th. Morgan Stanleys payout ratio is currently 60.93%. Insider Activity In other news, major shareholder Stanley Morgan sold 135 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50,000.00, for a total value of $6,750,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the companys stock. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of research firms have weighed in on MS. Societe Generale cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 19th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $97.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, September 25th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $93.43. Read Our Latest Stock Report on Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley Company Profile (Free Report) Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Morgan Stanley Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Morgan Stanley and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Hess Co. (NYSE:HES Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 11,400 shares of the oil and gas producers stock, valued at approximately $1,550,000. Hess accounts for about 1.1% of Qsemble Capital Management LPs portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Hess by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,928,530 shares of the oil and gas producers stock worth $3,310,590,000 after buying an additional 667,979 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Hess by 7.7% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,128,507 shares of the oil and gas producers stock worth $833,171,000 after purchasing an additional 438,348 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Hess by 2.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,841,704 shares of the oil and gas producers stock worth $792,091,000 after purchasing an additional 113,189 shares during the period. Fayez Sarofim & Co boosted its stake in Hess by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 4,359,523 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $576,939,000 after purchasing an additional 231,403 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Hess by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,464,386 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $349,499,000 after purchasing an additional 264,225 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.72% of the companys stock. Get Hess alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth HES has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com started coverage on Hess in a report on Saturday. They set a sell rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an equal weight rating and issued a $171.00 price target (up previously from $170.00) on shares of Hess in a report on Tuesday, October 24th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Hess from $205.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Hess from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 17th. Finally, Argus upgraded Hess from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $171.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $173.06. Hess Stock Up 1.5 % Shares of NYSE:HES traded up $2.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $146.66. 1,014,724 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,040,088. The company has a market capitalization of $45.05 billion, a PE ratio of 27.85 and a beta of 1.53. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $113.82 and a 52-week high of $167.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.31. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $150.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $145.69. Hess (NYSE:HES Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.40. Hess had a return on equity of 18.06% and a net margin of 14.94%. The business had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.89 EPS. The firms quarterly revenue was down 27.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Hess Dividend Announcement The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 18th were issued a dividend of $0.4375 per share. This represents a $1.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 15th. Hesss dividend payout ratio is 33.72%. Insider Activity at Hess In other news, SVP Barbara J. Lowery-Yilmaz sold 24,319 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.91, for a total value of $3,815,894.29. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 113,670 shares in the company, valued at $17,835,959.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 9.91% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Hess Profile (Free Report) Hess Corporation, an exploration and production company, explores, develops, produces, purchases, transports, and sells crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas. The company operates in two segments, Exploration and Production, and Midstream. It conducts production operations primarily in the United States, Guyana, the Malaysia/Thailand Joint Development Area, and Malaysia; and exploration activities principally offshore Guyana, the U.S. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Hess Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hess and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Ossiam acquired a new stake in RB Global, Inc. (NYSE:RBA Free Report) (TSE:RBA) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 367,415 shares of the business services providers stock, valued at approximately $22,045,000. Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Independent Franchise Partners LLP raised its holdings in RB Global by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 16,078,138 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $964,688,000 after buying an additional 1,227,053 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in shares of RB Global by 286.9% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,479,856 shares of the business services providers stock worth $388,791,000 after purchasing an additional 4,804,923 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in RB Global by 19.2% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,652,139 shares of the business services providers stock worth $274,617,000 after acquiring an additional 747,804 shares during the last quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC increased its holdings in RB Global by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 4,350,120 shares of the business services providers stock worth $244,868,000 after acquiring an additional 43,084 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP increased its holdings in RB Global by 23.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 4,347,179 shares of the business services providers stock worth $260,831,000 after acquiring an additional 838,896 shares during the last quarter. 90.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get RB Global alerts: RB Global Stock Down 0.3 % NYSE:RBA traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $63.35. 283,276 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,985,209. The company has a fifty day moving average of $63.84 and a 200 day moving average of $60.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.31. The company has a market capitalization of $11.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.43, a P/E/G ratio of 13.71 and a beta of 0.89. RB Global, Inc. has a twelve month low of $51.07 and a twelve month high of $68.25. RB Global Dividend Announcement RB Global ( NYSE:RBA Get Free Report ) (TSE:RBA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 9th. The business services provider reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $939.92 million. RB Global had a return on equity of 4.19% and a net margin of 5.43%. On average, analysts forecast that RB Global, Inc. will post 0.65 EPS for the current year. The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 30th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 29th. RB Globals dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 128.57%. Insider Activity at RB Global In other RB Global news, insider Megan Anne Cash sold 13,596 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.78, for a total transaction of $839,960.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $947,087.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other RB Global news, insider Baron Concors sold 6,800 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.11, for a total value of $442,748.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,658 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,019,492.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Megan Anne Cash sold 13,596 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.78, for a total transaction of $839,960.88. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,330 shares in the company, valued at approximately $947,087.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 258,764 shares of company stock worth $16,106,815 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.32% of the companys stock. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades RBA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered RB Global from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Saturday, November 18th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on RB Global from $76.00 to $74.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 10th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on RB Global from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 10th. Finally, National Bankshares increased their price objective on RB Global from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, November 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $71.50. Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on RB Global RB Global Company Profile (Free Report) RB Global, Inc, an omnichannel marketplace, provides insights, services, and transaction solutions for buyers and sellers of commercial assets and vehicles worldwide. Its marketplace brands include Ritchie Bros., an auctioneer of commercial assets and vehicles offering online bidding; IAA, a digital marketplace connecting vehicle buyers and sellers; Rouse Services, which provides asset management, data-driven intelligence, and performance benchmarking system; SmartEquip, a technology platform that supports customers' management of the equipment lifecycle; Xcira that provides live simulcast auction technologies; and Veritread, an online marketplace for heavy haul transport solution. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding RBA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for RB Global, Inc. (NYSE:RBA Free Report) (TSE:RBA). Receive News & Ratings for RB Global Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for RB Global and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Credit Suisse AG raised its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE Free Report) by 2.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,577,616 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after purchasing an additional 228,250 shares during the period. Credit Suisse AGs holdings in Pfizer were worth $351,307,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 25 LLC bought a new position in Pfizer during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Steward Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pfizer in the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Pfizer during the first quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Pfizer during the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Institutional investors own 68.05% of the companys stock. Get Pfizer alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Pfizer from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the stock from $38.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Monday, October 16th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Pfizer from $62.00 to $42.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 17th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Pfizer from $42.00 to $35.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 16th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 1st. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Pfizer in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $42.50. Pfizer Trading Down 0.9 % Shares of Pfizer stock traded down $0.27 on Tuesday, hitting $29.87. The stock had a trading volume of 11,125,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,399,869. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $31.52 and a 200 day moving average of $34.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.35, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.63. Pfizer Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.93 and a twelve month high of $54.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 2.05 and a current ratio of 2.38. Pfizer (NYSE:PFE Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 31st. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.32) by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $13.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $13.77 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 15.30% and a return on equity of 16.72%. Sell-side analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 1.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Pfizer Announces Dividend The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 9th. Pfizers payout ratio is presently 89.62%. 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. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PFE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Pfizer Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Pfizer and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. KYODO NEWS - Nov 28, 2023 - 20:40 | All, World, Japan Japan plans to join a multinational project to clear land mines in Ukraine, a government source said Tuesday, as the country continues to resist Russia's invasion. Under the project being planned by the U.S.-led "Ukrainian Defense Contact Group," Japan's Self-Defense Forces are expected to provide mine-clearing equipment for Ukraine and cooperate in personnel training, according to the source. The SDF will also likely join the group's framework in the information and technology field to help enhance the war-torn country's cybersecurity, the source said, adding that Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara will announce the plan soon. The move comes as Tokyo has been stepping up its efforts to make noncombat contributions to Ukraine, including its eventual reconstruction, as Japan's strict rules on weapon and ammunition exports under the war-renouncing Constitution prevents it from offering direct military aid. While details remain undisclosed, Japan might be asked to provide defense equipment for mine destruction, the export of which is banned by domestic regulations, the source said. The U.S.-led group holds meetings regularly, with Lithuania leading a framework to support clearing landmines and calling on other countries to join. Japan has already delivered mine detection devices to Ukraine and conducted training programs for its demining personnel. Japan has also agreed with Cambodia to work together in clearing Russian landmines and unexploded bombs in Ukraine. Cambodia succeeded in removing many mines laid during its past civil war with assistance from Japan and others. About 30 percent of Ukraine's territory is estimated to be contaminated by mines and unexploded ordnance, and it is expected to take at least 10 years to eliminate them, according to Ukrainian authorities. Along with the United States and other Group of Seven industrialized nations, Japan has maintained its support for Ukraine while imposing economic sanctions on Russia for the invasion since February 2022. Related coverage: Russia has not rejected peace talks with Ukraine: Putin Japan vice ministers visit Ukraine to examine recovery needs FOCUS: Russia unlikely to give North Korea missile technology for ammunition KYODO NEWS - Nov 28, 2023 - 08:46 | All, World The U.N. Security Council remained divided Monday over whether to condemn North Korea's launch of a spy satellite last week in violation of resolutions adopted by the panel in the past. The key security panel of the world body has failed to take tangible action such as the adoption of a sanctions resolution or statement since December 2017 over Pyongyang's launches of projectiles using ballistic missile technology. "(North Korea) is unabashedly trying to advance its nuclear weapons delivery systems," Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told a session Monday. "And yet, there are two permanent members that have been unwilling to condemn this dangerous, escalatory launch and others like it," the U.S. envoy said, apparently referring to Russia and China that hold veto rights. She also said, "A North Korean reconnaissance satellite has been confirmed in orbit." North Korean Ambassador Kim Song defended the rocket launch on Nov. 21 to send a spy satellite into orbit, saying it was "to get a clear picture of the dire military moves of the U.S. and its followers." "It is a legitimate and righteous exercise of the rights to self-defense which fully belongs to the legal sphere of our self-defense," Kim said. The representatives from Russia and China said that military exercises involving the United States, South Korea and Japan near the Korean Peninsula have raised tensions in the region. Kimihiro Ishikane, the Japanese top envoy at the United Nations, said, "We should not be deceived by any attempt to justify North Korea's ambition to pursue unlawful (weapons of mass destruction) programs. Related coverage: North Korea's Kim inspects satellite photos of "major target regions" North Korea's Kim Jong Un says satellite part of "right to self-defense" Japan confirms object launched by North Korea orbiting Earth Fianna Fail TD Jackie Cahill has been highlighting the particular policing needs of Roscrea with senior Garda management again in recent times. I have been raising policing concerns in Roscrea for some time now. The view on the ground in Roscrea is that they need more Garda resources and they are very worried that there is not a visible enough presence of gardai on the streets of the town, as anti-social behaviour and drug crime continue to cause serious difficulties for the people of Roscrea, he said. Deputy Cahill said that he had raised raised these concerns with the highest levels of An Garda Siochana management, having written directly to the Garda Commissioner and having spoken with senior Gardai in the region. The Garda Station in Roscrea is open 9am to 5pm, which is the absolute basic requirement. Outside of this, I have been reassured that there is a presence of gardai in the town at all times to respond to emergency calls in a patrol car, he said. Deputy Cahill said that it was is vital that the people of Roscrea felt that if there was an emergency, a garda presence can be on the scene locally in rapid time. It is welcome to learn that a patrol car with gardai is stationed in the town at all times, to avoid a situation where a car has to be called from further afield, said the TD. Gardai locally have had some success in recent times with tackling drug crime in the town. However, just like every town and village in the country, the availability of drugs and the damage it is doing to our society still needs far more resources to tackle effectively. "Similarly, like every town and village in rural Ireland, and not just in Dublin, an increased Garda presence is needed. The people want to see gardai out on the beat, patrolling our streets. A visible garda presence is absolutely crucial in combatting crime, both in rural and urban areas, he said. Deputy Cahill said that he will be raising the need for increased Garda resources and the increase in anti-social behaviour and drug-related crime in the Dail this week. "I will continue to highlight the particular needs of north Tipperary. The amalgamation of the Tipperary and Clare areas is unacceptable, and I will continue to make this point with both the Minister for Justice and the Garda Commissioner," he said. [November 27, 2023] FSR CLASS ACTION NOTICE: Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP Files Securities Fraud Lawsuit Against Fisker Inc. Tweet Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP ("GPM"), announces that it has filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, captioned Zahabi v. Fisker Inc., et al., Case No. 23-cv-09976, on behalf of persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired Fisker Inc. ("Fisker" or the "Company") (NYSE: FSR) securities between August 4, 2023 and November 20, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period"). Plaintiff pursues claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act"). Investors are hereby notified that they have 60 days from the date of this notice to move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff in this action. If you suffered a loss on your Fisker investments or would like to inquire about potentially pursuing claims to recover your loss under the federal securities laws, you can submit your contact information at www.glancylaw.com/cases/Fisker-Inc/. You can also contact Charles H. Linehan, of GPM at 310-201-9150, Toll-Free at 888-773-9224, or via email at [email protected] or visit our website at www.glancylaw.com to learn more about your rights. On November 8, 2023, before the market opened, Fisker announced that the completion of the Company's financial statements would be delayed due to the appointment of a new chief accounting officer ("CAO") and the departure of the Company's former CAO. The Company had previously announced former CAO, John Finnucan ("Finnucan") provided notice of intent to resign on September 19, 2023, effective October 27, 2023. Fisker's new CAO, Florus Beuting ("Beuting"), was hired effective as of November 6, 2023. The Company advised it "expects to file its Form 10-Q by November 14, 2023." On this news, the Company's share price fell $0.38, or 8.7%, to close t $3.99 per share on November 8, 2023, on unusually heavy trading volume. Then, on November 13, 2023, after the market closed, Fisker announced its third quarter 2023 financial results, reporting a loss of $91.0 million and $0.27 loss per share. The Company also reported $78.02 million in selling, general and administrative operating costs and expenses, as well as $9.42 million for research and development, totaling $87.44 million for total operating costs and expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2023. The Company also cut its production forecast for the year and disclosed that, though 4,725 Oceans were built in the third quarter, only 1,097 were delivered to customers. The Company also announced it would be unable to timely file the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. The Company disclosed, in preparing its results, it had determined "it has material weaknesses" in "internal control over financial reporting." On that same day, the Company held an earnings call wherein Defendants disclosed that the delay in reporting was due to having a "highly complex quarter" including "very complex accounting along with convertible notes and accounting for derivative" and "things like raw material inventory accounting and finished goods inventory accounting[.]" The Company also disclosed that "delivery and the service infrastructure" was limiting deliveries and, as a result, the Company was "in the process of dramatically overhauling our service and delivery infrastructure." On this news, the Company's share price fell $0.77, or 18.7%, to close at $3.34 per share on November 14, 2023, on unusually heavy trading volume. On November 20, 2023, after the market closed, the Company disclosed that Beuting (the CAO hired November 6, 2023) had provided notice of his intent to resign from the Company on November 14, 2023, effective immediately. On this news, the Company's share price fell $0.35, or 15%, to close at $2.00 per share on November 21, 2023, on unusually heavy trading volume Finally, on November 22, 2023, the Company filed its Form 10-Q quarterly report for the period ended September 30, 2023, which disclosed that the Company had "identified approximately $20 million of expenses" which were "incorrectly recorded primarily as selling, general and administrative expenses in our preliminary earnings results, but were later determined to be associated with production set-up activities" and that "other inventory adjustments were recorded resulting in a $4.0 million increase in net loss subsequent to the preliminary earnings results." The complaint filed in this class action alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) that Fisker had a material weakness in its internal control over financial reporting; (2) that Fisker had incorrectly accounted for certain costs; (3) that as a result the Company was likely to delay filing its quarterly report; (4) that Fisker's infrastructure was limiting its ability to deliver its production; and (5) that, as a result of the foregoing, Defendants' positive statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook. If you purchased or otherwise acquired Fisker securities during the Class Period, you may move the Court no later than 60 days from the date of this notice to ask the Court to appoint you as lead plaintiff. To be a member of the Class you need not take any action at this time; you may retain counsel of your choice or take no action and remain an absent member of the Class. If you wish to learn more about this action, or if you have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Charles Linehan, Esquire, of GPM, 1925 Century Park East, Suite 2100, Los Angeles California 90067 at 310-201-9150, Toll-Free at 888-773-9224, by email to [email protected], or visit our website at www.glancylaw.com. If you inquire by email please include your mailing address, telephone number and number of shares purchased. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231127178774/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 27, 2023] iBio Announces Reverse Stock Split Tweet BRYAN, Texas and SAN DIEGO, Nov. 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- iBio, Inc. (NYSEA:IBIO) (iBio or the Company) today announced that its Board of Directors has approved a 20-to-1 reverse split of the Companys common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the Common Stock) effective at 12:01 a.m. ET on November 29, 2023 (the Effective Date). The Common Stock is expected to begin trading on a split-adjusted basis when the market opens on November 29, 2023, with the new CUSIP number 451033708. The reverse stock split was authorized by iBios stockholders at the Companys 2023 Annual Meeting, held earlier today, with a ratio ranging from 1-for-5 to 1-for-20 (the Range), with the ration within such Range to be determined at the discretion of the Companys Board of Directors. As a result of the reverse stock split, every 20 shares of the Company's Common Stock issued and outstanding will be automatically combined into one share of common stock, with no change in the $0.0001 par value per share. Holders of fractional shares will be entitled to receive a cash payment equal to the number of shares of the Common Stock held by such stockholder before the reverse stock split that would otherwise have been exchanged for such fractional share interest multiplied by the average closing sales price of the Common Stock as reported on the NYSE American for the ten days preceding the Effective Date. As a result of the reverse split, the number of shares of the Companys outstanding Common Stock will be reduced from 28,100,733 shares to 1,405,036 shares. The exercise prices of all outstanding stock options, warrants, and equity incentive plans will be adjusted in accordance with their respective terms. The reverse stock split will affect all stockholders uniformly and will not affect any stockholder's ownership percentage of the Company's shares with the exception of those holders of fractional shares. The Companys transfer agent, Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, which is also acting as the exchange agent for the reverse split, will send instructions to stockholders of record who hold stock certificates regarding the exchange of their old certificates for new certificates, should they wish to do so. Stockholders who hold their shares in brokerage acconts or street name are not required to take any action to effect the exchange of their shares. About iBio, Inc. iBio develops next-generation biopharmaceuticals using computational biology and 3D-modeling of subdominant and conformational epitopes, prospectively enabling the discovery of new antibody treatments for hard-to-target cancers and other diseases. iBios mission is to decrease drug failures, shorten drug development timelines, and open up new frontiers against the most promising targets. For more information, visit www.ibioinc.com. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as "may," "might," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," "predict," "forecast," "project," "plan," "intend" or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent, belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions and include statements regarding the expected trading of iBios common stock on a split-adjusted basis on November 29, 2023. While the Company believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations and assumptions from those set forth or implied by any forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among others, the Companys ability to effect the reverse stock split on November 29, 2023 and derive the anticipated benefits from the reverse stock split, the Companys ability to continue to execute its growth strategy; its ability to obtain regulatory approvals for commercialization of its product candidates, or to comply with ongoing regulatory requirements; regulatory limitations relating to its ability to promote or commercialize its product candidates for specific indications; acceptance of its product candidates in the marketplace and the successful development, marketing or sale of products; its ability to maintain its license agreements; the continued maintenance and growth of its patent estate; its ability to obtain or maintain the capital or grants necessary to fund its research and development activities and whether the Company will incur unforeseen expenses or liabilities or other market factors; successful compliance with governmental regulations applicable to its manufacturing facility; competition; its ability to retain its key employees or maintain its NYSE American listing; and the other factors discussed in the Companys filings with the SEC including the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2023 and the Companys subsequent filings with the SEC on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. The information in this release is provided only as of the date of this release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release on account of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law. Contacts: Stephen Kilmer iBio, Inc. Investor Relations (646) 274-3580 [email protected] Susan Thomas iBio, Inc. Media Relations (619) 540-9195 [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 27, 2023] INVESTOR ALERT: Law Offices of Howard G. Smith Announces the Filing of a Securities Class Action on Behalf of Fisker Inc. (FSR) Investors Tweet Law Offices of Howard G. Smith announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of investors who purchased Fisker Inc. ("Fisker" or the "Company") (NYSE: FSR) securities between August 4, 2023 and November 20, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period"). Fisker investors have until January 26, 2024 to file a lead plaintiff motion. Investors suffering losses on their Fisker investments are encouraged to contact the Law Offices of Howard G. Smith to discuss their legal rights in this class action at 888-638-4847 or by email to [email protected]. On November 8, 2023, before the market opened, Fisker announced that the completion of the Company's financial statements would be delayed due to the appointment of a new chief accounting officer ("CAO") and the departure of the Company's former CAO. The Company had previously announced former CAO, John Finnucan ("Finnucan") provided notice of intent to resign on September 19, 2023, effective October 27, 2023. Fisker's new CAO, Florus Beuting ("Beuting"), was hired effective as of November 6, 2023. The Company advised it "expects to file its Form 10-Q by November 14, 2023." On this news, the Company's share price fell $0.38, or 8.7%, to close at $3.99 per share on November 8, 2023, on unusually heavy trading volume. Then, on November 13, 2023, after the market closed, Fisker announced its third quarter 2023 financial results, reporting a loss of $91.0 million and $0.27 loss per share. The Company also reported $78.02 million in selling, general and administrative operating costs and expenses, as well as $9.42 million for research and development, totaling $87.44 million for total operating costs and expenses for the three months ended September 30, 2023. The Company also cut its production forecst for the year and disclosed that, though 4,725 Oceans were built in the third quarter, only 1,097 were delivered to customers. The Company also announced it would be unable to timely file the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. The Company disclosed, in preparing its results, it had determined "it has material weaknesses" in "internal control over financial reporting." On that same day, the Company held an earnings call wherein Defendants disclosed that the delay in reporting was due to having a "highly complex quarter" including "very complex accounting along with convertible notes and accounting for derivative" and "things like raw material inventory accounting and finished goods inventory accounting[.]" The Company also disclosed that "delivery and the service infrastructure" was limiting deliveries and, as a result, the Company was "in the process of dramatically overhauling our service and delivery infrastructure." On this news, the Company's share price fell $0.77, or 18.7%, to close at $3.34 per share on November 14, 2023, on unusually heavy trading volume. On November 20, 2023, after the market closed, the Company disclosed that Beuting (the CAO hired November 6, 2023) had provided notice of his intent to resign from the Company on November 14, 2023, effective immediately. On this news, the Company's share price fell $0.35, or 15%, to close at $2.00 per share on November 21, 2023, on unusually heavy trading volume Finally, on November 22, 2023, the Company filed its Form 10-Q quarterly report for the period ended September 30, 2023, which disclosed that the Company had "identified approximately $20 million of expenses" which were "incorrectly recorded primarily as selling, general and administrative expenses in our preliminary earnings results, but were later determined to be associated with production set-up activities" and that "other inventory adjustments were recorded resulting in a $4.0 million increase in net loss subsequent to the preliminary earnings results." The complaint filed in this class action alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) that Fisker had a material weakness in its internal control over financial reporting; (2) that Fisker had incorrectly accounted for certain costs; (3) that as a result the Company was likely to delay filing its quarterly report; (4) that Fisker's infrastructure was limiting its ability to deliver its production; and (5) that, as a result of the foregoing, Defendants' positive statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis. If you purchased Fisker securities, have information or would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Howard G. Smith, Esquire, of Law Offices of Howard G. Smith, 3070 Bristol Pike, Suite 112, Bensalem, Pennsylvania 19020, by telephone at (215) 638-4847, toll-free at (888) 638-4847, or by email to [email protected], or visit our website at www.howardsmithlaw.com. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231127994042/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] KYODO NEWS - Nov 28, 2023 - 11:24 | All, World Israel and Hamas agreed Monday to extend the current cease-fire in Gaza by two days, according to mediator Qatar, with more hostages set to be released by the Palestinian militant group. The agreement came as the deadline for the four-day cease-fire approached and the Israeli military said an additional 11 hostages had been released by Hamas. In return, Israel released 33 Palestinian women and children, bringing the total number of freed detainees to 150. Gaza authorities said Monday more than 15,000 people in the territory had been killed in the conflict that began on Oct. 7 with a cross-border attack by Hamas, triggering an air and ground assault by Israel in response. Around 240 hostages were taken to Gaza, according to media reports. The authorities said around 7,000 people were missing, with many buried under rubble. The Israeli government has said about 1,200 were killed in the attack by Hamas. The 11 people freed by Hamas on Monday, including French nationals, entered Israel after they were handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza. The total number of individuals freed by Hamas reached 69. Related coverage: Hamas releases more Gaza hostages amid cease-fire with Israel Hamas releases 24 Gaza hostages on Day 1 of cease-fire with Israel Gaza cease-fire begins, Hamas set to release hostages [November 27, 2023] CRN Honors Becky Teal of Huntress in Channel Women on the Rise Tweet ELLICOTT CITY, Md., Nov. 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Huntress , the managed security platform for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) and the Managed Service Providers (MSPs) that support them, is thrilled to announce that Becky Teal , Community Lead for the company, has been listed on CRN , a brand of The Channel Company s 2023 Channel Women on the Rise . This annual list, formerly known as CRN Rising Female Stars, honors up-and-coming, dedicated, driven women who are leaving their mark and making a difference for solution providers throughout the IT channel. With over a decade of experience in the service provider channel, Teal focuses on effective collaboration to solve complex business and security challenges. She moderates a monthly Community Fireside Chat webinar series to help businesses with practical security application like incident response planning. Before joining Huntress, Teal worked as the Vendor Program Manager at IT Nation Evolve (formerly HTG Peer Groups). Partnerships and collaboration are the cornerstone of cybersecurity resilience for SMBs, said Teal. The threat landscape grows more complex each day, and my role is to empower our managed service provider partners to protect SMBs against the evolving and devastating threats. Im honored to be recognized for this crucial work by the Channel Company. Teal is recognized for her unwavering commitment to building meaningful partner relationships, and her dedication to helping members of the cybersecurity community work together to protect SMBs against the devastating impacts of cyberattacks. The fourth annual list of Channel Women on the Rise showcases an impressive lineup of nominees, meticulously chosen by the CRN editorial team. This selection procss heavily relied on recommendations from esteemed channel chiefs and other channel management executives within the industry. These exceptional women are dedicated to supporting their channel partners in achieving success and exhibit remarkable skills in various areas such as marketing, channel program management and partner engagement, among others. Through their expertise, they effectively enhance their respective channel partner programs and initiatives. The CRN 2023 Channel Women on the Rise list showcases the women who are on the verge of becoming the future leaders and luminaries in the channel industry. These remarkable individuals consistently exhibit a strong commitment to innovation and excellence within the IT channel. Their collective efforts are instrumental in shaping a more promising future for the IT industry, said Jennifer Follett, vice president of U.S. Content and Executive Editor of CRN at The Channel Company. I would like to extend my congratulations to all the honorees on behalf of The Channel Company and CRN. The efforts of these emerging leaders in driving change within the IT channel will undoubtedly shape its future for years to come. To view the full list of winners, please visit www.CRN.com/womenontherise . About Huntress Huntress is the leading cybersecurity partner for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) and the managed service providers that support them. Combining the power of the Huntress Managed Security Platform with a fully staffed 24/7 Security Operations Center (SOC), Huntress provides the technology, services, education, and expertise needed to help SMBs overcome their cybersecurity challenges and protect critical business assets. By delivering a suite of purpose-built solutions that meet budget, security, and peace-of-mind requirements, Huntress is how SMBs defend against cyberattacks. Founded in 2015 by a group of former National Security Administration (NSA) operators, Huntress has more than doubled over the past couple of years to protect more than 2 million endpoints, supporting 4,300 partners and more than 115,000 organizations. The company recently closed a $60M series C led by Sapphire Ventures. For more information about Huntress, visit huntress.com or follow us on social media at @HuntressLabs on Twitter , Facebook, and LinkedIn . 2023 Huntress Labs Incorporated. All rights reserved. Huntress and the Huntress logo are trademarks of Huntress Labs Incorporated. Huntress Contact: Katie Pesek 703.795.1928 [email protected] About The Channel Company The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by nearly 40 years of unequalled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelcompany.com Follow The Channel Company: Twitter , LinkedIn and Facebook . 2023 The Channel Company, LLC. CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, LLC. All rights reserved. The Channel Company Contact: Natalie Lewis The Channel Company [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 27, 2023] RISCPoint Recognized by AWS for Cybersecurity & Compliance Expertise Tweet CLEVELAND, Nov. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- RISCPoint, an industry leader in cybersecurity and compliance focused management consulting, is providing its world-class cybersecurity and compliance advisory services as part of the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Global Security & Compliance Acceleration (GSCA) Program. RISCPoint's inclusion in the AWS GSCA Program is a testament to its proven expertise and experience helping customers achieve their cybersecurity compliance goals when building on AWS. The company's active participation in the program provides specialized consulting services designed to help AWS customers navigate the complexities across a variety of U.S. and global security compliance frameworks. RISCPoint is excited to partner with the GSCA Program to deliver value to mutual customers in their compliance journey. RISCPoint is being recognized for our expertise in Public Sector Advisory services during re:Invent this week. Our Chief Executive Officer, Jacob Nix and Executive Vice President of Public Sector, Tony Bai, will help Cloud Service Providers understand the nuances of the authorization process for FedRAMP, StateRAMP and the Department of Defense's Defense Information Systems Agency Authorization process during an "Ask the Expert" interactive session. RISCPoint has also begun a year-long campaign to invest in AWS Marketplace, launching a collaborative HITRUST offering as part of the AWS Global Security & Compliance Acceleration (GSCA) Program Bundles in collaboration with Schellman. RISCPoint will be expanding both partnered and independent offerings to bring meaningful offerings to the community in a transparent and easy to procure process. This helps further RISCPoint's mission to Leverage trust to provide a meaningful impact that creates opportunity and growth. Jacob Nix, CEO and Founder of RISCPoint, said, "We are proud of what we have built here at RISCPoint, our Mission and Values have allowed us to attract the best and brightest in Cybersecurity and Compliance. We're proud to be recognized by AWS for our capabilities and look forward to working with AWS." RISCPoint is proud to offer a comprehensive suite of business focused cybersecurity and compliance services, which are custom tailored to individual environments and objectives. RISCPoint has extensive expertise in the areas shown below, and each engagement is customized to individual objectives. The RISCPoint methodology covers Program Readiness Assessments, Program Implementation, Remediation, Optimization, Audit Defense, and On-Going Support. Enterprise Compliance Public Sector + SOC 2 + FedRAMP + ISO 27001, 27017, 27018 + StateRAMP + HITRUST + FISMA + HIPAA (NIST 800-66) + TX-RAMP + HIPAA Business Associate + CMMC Governance + DOD DISA + Privacy (CCPA/CPRA, GDPR, ISO + ITAR 27701, etc.) + NIST 800-171 + NIST CSF + NIST 800-172 + WCAG 2.1, VPAT, and ADA + NIST 800-53 Cybersecurity Defense Risk Management + Red Teaming + Risk Assessments + Penetration Testing + Vendor Management + Ransomware Assessments + Virtual Compliance Team + Vulnerability Assessments + Virtual Executive Team (CISO, ISSO, + Incident Response Program CIO, CTO) + Application Security + Plan Simulations (Business + Security Engineering Continuity, Disaster Recovery, Incident Response) About RISCPoint RISCPoint Advisory Group is an industry leader in providing custom-tailored security and compliance services. Founded with the vision to seamlessly integrate with teams, while utilizing only high-performing professionals with deep technical and operational expertise, RISCPoint has successfully served companies ranging from Fortune 10 to pre-Series A startups. To learn more, visit riscpoint.com/contact or call (888) 320-1327. www.riscpoint.com/ www.linkedin.com/company/riscpoint/ View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/riscpoint-recognized-by-aws-for-cybersecurity--compliance-expertise-301997377.html SOURCE RISCPoint [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 27, 2023] MCERTS Certified: Dustroid by Oizom Redefines Standards in Environmental Monitoring AHMEDABAD, India, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Oizom is proud to announce its lat?st achi?v?m?nt: th? Dustroid Air Quality Monitor has successfully obtain?d th? MCERTS c?rtification. This significant accomplishm?nt, award?d by CSA Group (Sira) on b?half of th? Environm?nt Ag?ncy (EA), highlights Dustroid's adh?r?nc? to the stringent MCERTS P?rformanc? Standards for Indicativ? Ambi?nt Particulat? Monitors. MCERTS c?rtification r?pr?s?nts a major mil?ston?, adding a lay?r of cr?dibility and trust to Dustroid's capabilities in air quality monitoring. MCERTS s?ts a comprehensive framework for ?valuating th? p?rformanc? of monitoring ?quipm?nt for air, land, and wat?r ?missions. Achieving this certification means that Dustroid meets and exceeds th? high standards for data quality required for accurate ambient air monitoring. Dustroid is ?xc?ll?nt in m?asuring particulat? matt?r, notably PM2.5 and PM10, with r?markabl? accuracy. This makes it an essential air quality dust monitor for tracking pollution ?v?nts in s?ctors with high dust ?missions lik? construction sit?s, mining ar?as, and d?molition zon?s. Its accurat? and r?al-tim? data coll?ction is proven to be vital for maintaining ?nvironm?ntal complianc? and prot?cting public health. Kruti Davda, Oizom's Environm?ntal L?ad, shar?d h?r insights, "Dustroid's MCERTS c?rtification is mor? than an achi?v?m?nt; it's a commitment to ?xc?ll?nc?. It ensures that industri?s r?lying on us for air quality monitoring can do so with compl?t? confid?nc?, knowing that th?y ar? compliant with ?nvironm?ntal r?gulations." This c?rtification not only ?nhanc?s Dustroid's r?putation in th? r?gulatory mark?t but also positions it as an accr?dit?d, cost-effective solution for accurate and reliable data collection. This is crucial for making inform?d decisions in r?gulatory cont?xts, making Dustroid a preferred choice for industries bound by strict ?nvironm?ntal standards. With advanced technology and th? MCERTS c?rtification, Dustroid solidifi?s its status as a front-runn?r in air quality monitoring. It stands as a symbol of r?liability and accuracy, providing compr?h?nsiv? air quality monitoring solutions across various s?ctors. About Oizom: Oizom is an innovative technology company specialising in environmental monitoring solutions. The company is renowned for its advanced air quality monitoring systems, which are designed to track a wide range of environmental parameters accurately. Oizom's solutions are pivotal in providing air quality management data, helping mitigate pollution, and enhancing public health. For m?dia inquiri?s and furth?r information, pl?as? contact: Jainam M?hta - CBO at Oizom [email protected] SOURCE Oizom Instruments Pvt. Ltd. [November 27, 2023] Alpha Nodus Elevating Atlantic Medical Imaging's Scheduling & Prior Authorization Workflow with Gravity AI. Tweet SUNRISE, Fla., Nov. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Alpha Nodus, a leading innovator in healthcare technology, proudly announces a transformative collaboration with Atlantic Medical Imaging, one of the largest and most comprehensive providers of imaging services, AMI has strategically chosen Alpha Nodus's GravityAI to revolutionize their scheduling and prior authorization processes, reinforcing their commitment to delivering efficient and patient-focused diagnostic imaging services. AMI's Selection of Alpha Nodus Gravity: A Game-Changer in Prior Authorizations Facing the escalating demands of prior authorizations in a rapidly growing network, AMI recognized the need for an advanced solution to augment their staff and accelerate the velocity of prior authorization approvals. After careful evaluation, AMI chose Alpha Nodus Gravity for its unparalleled capabilities in automating prior authorization workflows. Swift Integration and Seamless Operation One of the key strengths of Alpha Nodus's Gravity is its seamless integration into AMI's Radiology Information System (RIS). The integration process was fast and remarkably smooth, ensuring that Gravity's functionality seamlessly aligns with AMI's existing workflows. Integrating Gravity directly into the RIS worklists played a pivotal role in the swift deployment, enabling a hassle-free adoption process for the AMI team. "Through close collaboration with the Alpha Nodus team, we were able to effectively communicate our processes and challenges, leading to the successful implementation of Gravity. Our team of authorization agents were really impressed with Gravity, thanks to its intuitive interface, friendly user experience and effortless integration. The integration is so smooth that we can conveniently access Gravity information directly from our RIS worklists, eliminating the need for cumbersome navigation," stated AMI's President Daniel Seiders, emphasizing the user-centric design and the effortless integration achieved. Quicker Authorizations and Real-Time Updates AMI has witnessed a substantial improvement in the speed of their prior authorizations since implementing Gravity. The AI-powered platform constantly monitors authorization statuses and promptly update the RIS, ensuring that the AMI team has real-time information at their fingertips. This rapid feedback loop significantly reduces delays and enhances the overall efficiency of the prior authorization process. Strategic Process Evolution: Automating the Repetitive, Empowering the Staff The deployment of Alpha Nodus's GravityAI prompted AMI to reevaluate its operational processes. Gravity's automation capabilities have notably reduced the need for daily manual checks on basic prior authorizations. This efficiency gain allows AMI staff to redirect their focus towards more complex and challenging authorization tasks, resulting in a more strategic workflow. "Gravity's remarkable automation capabilities have improved our operations, significantly enhancing staff efficiency. By relieving our team from the burden of mundane daily checks, Gravity has empowered them to delve into more complex and fulfilling aspects of the authorization process. This reduction in repetitive tasks has enabled our team to channel their efforts towards the intricacies of the authorization process," highlighted Seiders, emphasizing the profound positive impact on staff engagement and job satisfaction. Customer-Centric Results: Shrinkage in Authorization Backlogs Since the implementation of Gravity, AMI has experienced a significant reduction in the backlog of exams awaiting prior authorization. The automation of basic and repetitive tasks has expedited the entire process, allowing for a more streamlined workflow and quicker delivery of imaging services to patients. Alpha Nodus CEO on the Success with AMI Shamit Patel, CEO of Alpha Nodus, reflected on the collaboration with humility and admiration, saying, "It is a profound honor to have been selected by AMI for this pivotal transformation of their prior authorization processes. The remarkable success of Gravity at AMI is not just a testament to its adaptability across various healthcare settings, but more importantly, it shines a light on AMI's visionary approach and unwavering commitment to excellence. Their trust in our solution has enabled us to demonstrate tangible improvements in efficiency, speed, and most significantly, in empowering the dedicated staff who are at the heart of healthcare delivery." Looking Ahead: A Future of Enhanced Efficiency and Patient Care As Alpha Nodus continues to collaborate with healthcare providers like AMI, the future promises further innovations and advancements in healthcare technology. The success of Alpha Nodus Gravity at AMI serves as a testament to the impact of AI-powered solutions in streamlining operations, reducing manual workload, and ultimately improving patient care. For more information about Alpha Nodus and its suite of healthcare solutions, visit www.alphanodus.com . For media inquiries, please contact: [email protected] 1-888-625-7420 About Alpha Nodus Alpha Nodus is a trailblazer in healthcare technology, committed to enhancing patient care through innovative solutions. Their flagship product, Gravity, leverages AI to streamline workflows, optimize operations, and deliver unparalleled efficiency in healthcare processes. About Atlantic Medical Imaging (AMI) Atlantic Medical Imaging (AMI) is a quality-driven medical imaging practice committed to clinical excellence by providing innovative service and compassionate care. With more than 65 board certified radiologist with extensive training in various medical subspecialties, 800 staff members and 23 office locations in Atlantic, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Ocean and Monmouth Counties, AMI is one of the largest and most comprehensive providers of imaging services in New Jersey. For more information, call 609-677-XRAY (9729), or visit www.aminj.com . View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/alpha-nodus-elevating-atlantic-medical-imagings-scheduling--prior-authorization-workflow-with-gravity-ai-301998530.html SOURCE ALPHA NODUS [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 28, 2023] "Industrial Finance Empowerment, Cohesion and Win-win" - The Fourth China-Korea-Japan Asset Management Summit Forum Draws to a Successful Close Tweet CHANGZHOU, China, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- To cope with the new economic changes in the world and create a new economic development pattern in the Asia Pacific region, the 4th China-Korea-Japan Asset Management Summit Forum was held on November 22 in Zhonglou District, Changzhou, Jiangsu Province. The forum convened under the theme "Industrial Finance Empowerment, Cohesion and Win-win". Representatives of multiple institutions, business leaders, experts and scholars from China, South Korea, and Japan were invited. In-depth exchanges and discussions were held on topics of China-Korea-Japan economic and trade cooperation and cross-border investment under the new situation, further development of industries assisted by diversified capital, and new trends in the development of asset management industries. Sheng Lei, Mayor of Changzhou Municipal People's Government, attended the event and witnessed the contract signing. Yuan Huaizhong, Chairman of Beijing ALAN Asset Management Co., Ltd. (ALAN AMC), Lee Seung Lyul, President of Hana Bank, and Takakura Toru, President of Mitsui Sumitomo Trust Holdings, delivered speeches. Zhou Chengtao, the Secretary General of Changzhou Municipal People's Government; Liu Min, Director of Changzhou Municipal Local Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau; and leaders of Zhonglou District including Shen Dong, Li Chaokun, Wang Xufeng, and Wu Wei attended the event. This forum is co-organized by the People's Government of Zhonglou District, Changzhou Local Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau, and Beijing ALAN AMC, with the cooperation of Hana Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings, and Changzhou Zhonglou Jinlong Holding Group Co., Ltd. The forum was simultaneously live-streamed online on multiple platforms, including Beijing Private Equity Association (BPEA), Yicai.com, IFENG.com, Sina.com, hexun.com, Chinese Venture, PEdaily.cn, Chinaventure.com.cn, and Ruisi China. The forum started with an opening speech by Li Chaokun, the mayor of the People's Government of Zhonglou District, Changzhou City. Li stated that Zhonglou District was implementing the city's "532" development strategy, focusing on the overall layout of the city's "double-city" and "double-capital" construction. It is fully implementing the "dual-core linkage" strategic deployment of the "two lakes" innovation zone and the old downtown area and promoting the construction of first-class modern urban areas in the Yangtze River Delta with high quality to contribute to the ntire region. He said that Zhonglou District would always adhere to the main theme of open cooperation, focus on the overall goal of financial services for the real economy, firmly adhere to the good practice of combining industry and finance, and strive to create a "Zhonglou model" of industry-finance combination, to help the "Trillion GDP city" become more convincing and efficient. Yuan Huaizhong, Chairman of Beijing ALAN AMC, said in his speech that in the future, they would continue to actively leverage their international advantages, follow the strategic requirements of China's high-quality economic development, actively invest in cutting-edge fields such as technological innovation, green transformation, industrial upgrading, and ESG, and play a guiding role in resource allocation with funds. "Changzhou, located in the core area of the Yangtze River Delta, has unique geographical advantages, a friendly business environment, and a complete industrial cluster. In the future, we hope to integrate more resources from South Korea and Japan and high-quality domestic financial resources into Changzhou and Zhonglou District, empowering industrial development." Lee Seung Lyul, President of Hana Bank, talked about Hana Finance's global business. Together with ALAN AMC, they particularly regard China as the core country in the global market and work with Chinese partners such as ALAN AMC to gain success and profits in the Chinese market. He stated that the theme of this forum - "Industrial Finance Empowerment, Cohesion and Win-win" - perfectly matches the core vision of asset management industry development. He hoped that in the future, the cooperation between China, South Korea, and Japan in the financial field could be further strengthened, thus providing important support for the economic development in Asia. Takakura Toru, President of Mitsui Sumitomo Trust Holdings, said in his speech that the "Era of 100-year life" was a social problem that all countries in Asia will face, also an area where trusts can play the added value. The scale of Japan's real estate investment market (including REIT and private equity funds) is currently over JPY55 trillion (approximately CNY 2.7 trillion), which is continuously expanding, providing abundant investment opportunities. There are also challenges in the transformation. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings hoped to promote global common prosperity by solving social issues and striving to contribute to further developing asset management markets in China and Asia. At the opening ceremony, the People's Government of Zhonglou District signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with ALAN AMC, pledging to make the investment more free and convenient, attract more foreign investment, help put more high-quality funds in science and technology innovation, green, and digital industries, and promote the high-quality development of the real economy. Experts from China, South Korea, and Japan shared exciting information on the economy, society, and population in the forum. The three round-table forums held in-depth and high-quality discussions on topics of China-Korea-Japan economic and trade cooperation and cross-border investment under the new situation, the in-depth development of industries assisted by diversified capital, and new trends in the development of asset management industries, respectively. The forum actively explored investment opportunities of "Industrial Finance Empowerment, Cohesion and Win-win" to jointly create a new pattern of economic development in the Asia Pacific region. So far, the 4th China-Korea-Japan Asset Management Summit Forum has reached a successful conclusion! The economic pattern has experienced great changes over the unprecedented transition in the last century, affecting the process of globalization. It has been a long and arduous journey for China, South Korea, and Japan to work together for a common destiny and promote joint development. We hope this forum can build a bridge for further exchanges and cooperation between China, South Korea, and Japan in the future. The three countries can enhance understanding, strengthen exchanges, and promote exchanges and cooperation in higher levels and broader fields. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/industrial-finance-empowerment-cohesion-and-win-win---the-fourth-china-korea-japan-asset-management-summit-forum-draws-to-a-successful-close-301998782.html SOURCE Beijing ALAN Asset Management Co.ltd. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 28, 2023] Nokia upgrades Bouygues Telecom's IP network for increased capacity and energy efficiency Tweet Press Release Nokia upgrades Bouygues Telecoms IP network for increased capacity and energy efficiency Nokias 7750 Service Router (SR) platform powered by its FP5 silicon to be deployed, providing the traffic capacity growth needed for future services required by Bouygues Telecoms growing French customer base. 28 November 2023 Espoo, Finland Nokia expands its long-term relationship with Bouygues Telecom by supplying its market-leading FP5-based IP routers to modernize the operators IP core network and expand the capacity of its security gateway solutions. Nokias solution includes its 7750 Service Router (SR) platform, which is powered by its ground-breaking FP5 routing silicon. The FP5, a key part of Bouygues Telecoms selection, is a significant enabler for building higher-capacity IP networks that are more energy efficient. The FP5s future-ready 800GE capability will also accelerate Bouygues Telecoms ability to scale and sustainably meet future traffic growth. Nokias system design innovation ensures an easy upgrade to FP5 from the existing FP4 platform, extending the network life of deployed systems while scaling capacity. Nokia will also evolve Bouygues Telecoms existing Nokia security gateway services by deploying its FP5 powered, SR-1 routers and the 7750 Extended Services Appliance (ESA) to meet the increased capacity and scalability demands of mobile broadband services. Jean-Paul ARZEL, Chief Technology Officer at Bouygues Telecom, said: We have had a long relationship with Nokia, and we were looking for a reliable future-ready solution to help us evolve our IP network to match our growing customer base. The upgrade of our IP network with FP5 will allow us to balance capacity and sustainability to deliver the best customer experience. Frederic Beneteau, Vice President, West and Central Europe Market Unit at Noki, said: We are delighted to extend our relationship with Bouygues Telecom to support its strategic priorities. Nokias IP routing solutions offer best-in-class scalability, efficiency and security, enabling Bouygues Telecom to confidently manage their growth initiatives as they continue delivering the exceptional experience their customers count on both now and in the future. Resources and additional information Web page: 7750 Service Router Web page: FP5 Network Processor Technology Web page: IP Network Security Web page: IPsec Security Gateway About Nokia At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together. As a B2B technology innovation leader, we are pioneering networks that sense, think and act by leveraging our work across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. In addition, we create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs. Service providers, enterprises and partners worldwide trust Nokia to deliver secure, reliable and sustainable networks today and work with us to create the digital services and applications of the future. Media inquiries Nokia Communications, Corporate Email: [email protected] Follow us on social media LinkedIn X Instagram Facebook YouTube [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 28, 2023] Bibby Financial Services Chooses FGI T.R.U.S.T. for Strategic Partnership Tweet FGI Worldwide LLC ("FGI"), a global leader in commercial finance, today announced that the UK's largest independent invoice finance provider, Bibby Financial Services ("BFS"), has chosen FGI T.R.U.S.T. as its software platform for bad debt protection management and administration. FGI T.R.U.S.T. is a cloud-based platform that combines technology with functionality to enable corporations, brokers, and lenders to maximize and automate the administration of credit insurance policies. BFS chose T.R.U.S.T. over other platforms due to its robust features and the team's flexible, solutions-oriented approach to the partnership. The collaborative, multi-month implementation process was completed ahead of schedule. "BFS is a world-renowned leader in the financial services industry, and FGI is proud to support its continued advancement with our T.R.U.S.T. technology," commented Sami Altaher, President of FGI. "This partnership is the latest step in FGI's global expansion as lenders recognize the need to optimize the management of their credit insurance and bad debt protection. Our teams worked together to ensure a smooth implementation of the software, and we are excited about growing the relationship." James Cooper, Chief Technology Officer of BFS added, "We are thrilled that BFS has successfully migrated onto the T.R.U.S.T. patform. It has been fantastic to work with the FGI team, and we have found the level of professionalism unrivaled. We look forward to a long-term strategic partnership." About FGI FGI Worldwide LLC (FGI) is a global leader in the commercial finance industry, equipping small and medium enterprises with the tools they need to enhance their business. Through its three principal business units, FGI Finance, FGI Risk, and FGI Technology, FGI provides clients with flexible and customized asset-based lending and credit insurance solutions designed to support international and domestic growth. T.R.U.S.T., FGI's flagship software, is a powerful web-based credit insurance management platform that automates the management and administration of credit insurance policies in real-time. Headquartered in New York City with offices across the US, Canada, Mexico and the UK, FGI delivers unique and relationship-focused solutions for its clients worldwide. To find out more about FGI Worldwide, visit: www.fgiww.com About Bibby Financial Services Bibby Financial Services (BFS) is a leading independent financial services partner to over 8,500 SMEs worldwide. We provide specialist working capital, asset finance and foreign exchange solutions helping businesses to grow and thrive in domestic and international markets. Formed in 1982, BFS is part of the Bibby Line Group (BLG), a diverse and forward-looking family business delivering personal, responsive and flexible customer solutions for over 200 years. To find out more about Bibby Financial Services, visit: www.bibbyfinancialservices.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128333401/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 28, 2023] Conference flags sustainable issues in development of fashion industry Tweet BEIJING, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --The second International Conference of Fashion and Sustainability, with the theme of "Integration and Sharing", was held by Wuhan Textile University from Sunday to Tuesday, focusing on the frontiers of the international fashion industry and the future of sustainable development in fashion. Accompanied with the conference, there is a series of forums taking place on Tuesday, addressing the problems, challenges and measures faced by the sustainable development of the industry. The conference, which is attended by 200 representatives including 11 foreign experts, has received extensive attention from renowned experts in domestic and foreign universities and industries. The opening ceremony was presided over by professor Fu Xin, vice-president of Wuhan Textile University. Professor Tian Huiyu, Party secretary of Whan Textile University, Chen Xi, deputy director of Foreign Cooperation and Exchange Office, Education Department of Hubei province and Ni Yangsheng, head of the China Textile and Apparel Education Society, delivered speeches at the opening ceremony. Tian said the Wuhan Textile University has established five major departments and has contributed greatly to the sustainable development of textile and related industries. Ni said that the concept of environmental protection should be infiltrated into the frontline of the industry, and the professional education of environmental protection and sustainable development should be strengthened for textile and garment students. The keynote speech session was presided over by Tao Hui, dean of the School of Fashion, Wuhan Textile University. Xu Weilin, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and president of Wuhan Textile University, delivered a speech, which discussed the application of bionics in textiles and fashion. Savvas Vassiliadis, chairman of the World Textile Universities Congress, presented his latest research results in triboelectric nanogenerators as a potential high-efficiency power source for low-power wearable systems. Professor Erin Cho's report proposed to guide consumer awareness, so that they pay more attention to the quality, technology, environmental protection, culture and other values of clothing, and use artificial intelligence to better predict fashion trends and consumer demand. As a representative of domestic textile and garment enterprises, Chen Yizhong, CEO of Yantai Pacific Home Fashion, introduced how Chinese textile and garment enterprises have cultivated their own sustainable development in terms of circular economy, sustainable production chain, new materials, new technology and new fashion. During the event, there was an exhibition of student work and a show on fashion and sustainable development at Wuhan Textile University. The Wuhan Textile University, established in 1958, has integrated the seven disciplines to develop into a famous comprehensive university with the title of one of the top 10 fashion schools in the Chinese mainland. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/conference-flags-sustainable-issues-in-development-of-fashion-industry-301998834.html SOURCE China Daily [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 28, 2023] Harness Therapeutics secures additional 4 million funding to pursue physiological upregulation approach to treat neurodegenerative diseases Tweet Harness, formerly operating as Transine, broadens its approach to physiological protein upregulation through post-transcriptional modulation of protein synthesis Refined focus on neurodegenerative disease targets Proceeds to be used to advance lead programme targeting FAN1 nuclease in Huntingtons Disease towards the clinic Cambridge, UK, 28th November 2023: Harness Therapeutics (Harness, previously Transine Therapeutics), a biotechnology company focused on physiological protein upregulation to develop next generation therapeutics for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, announces that it has successfully raised an additional 4 million in funding from its existing investors, bringing the total invested to 17.6 million. Proceeds will be used to advance Harness lead Huntingtons Disease (HD) programme targeting FAN1 nuclease and pursue target discovery and validation activities in other neurodegenerative disease pathways. We have made great strides in our early work on post-transcriptional regulation of protein expression, and I am eager to bring the unique capabilities and target insights we have acquired into action with our refined focus on neurodegeneration. There is a pressing need for new approaches in neurodegeneration where compelling targets could be unlocked by controlled upregulation, said Dr Jan Thirkettle, CEO of Harness Therapeutics. This further investment puts us in a strong position to address multiple neurodegenerative disease pathways, with an initial focus on progressing our lead FAN1 nuclease programme into clinical development for Huntingtons Disease. I strongly believe that by pursuing physiological protein upregulation of targets with strong biology and genetic validation we can deliver new medicines that currently cannot be discovered through other methods. Harness Therapeutics was originally established as Transine Therapeutics in 2020 by leaing life science investors Takeda Ventures and The Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF), with Epidarex Capital joining as an investor in 2022. Harness initially focussed on advancing its IncRNA SINEUP platform for upregulation of protein expression and the investment committed through this period has enabled Harness to build deep RNA biology alongside bespoke analytical capabilities. From this work, the company has gained unique insights into the regulation of therapeutic targets and broadened its oligonucleotide based toolset for physiological protein upregulation. Miles Gerson, Executive Investment Director & Partner at Takeda Ventures commented, We are very excited to extend further investment in support of Harness commitment to pursuing differentiated therapies for an area with considerable unmet need. We believe that the Harness team has developed an exceptional RNA Biology platform that is insightfully designed to overcome the limitations of other platforms, enabling novel approaches to address the underlying drivers of neurodegenerative diseases. Christian Jung, Partner at SV Health Investors, investing out of DDF and Chairman of Harness Board, said, We are delighted to have been an early investor in Harness and are excited to see its unique target-focussed approach now being focussed on neurodegenerative diseases. We believe the technology holds the potential to bring forward important new medicines that can change the lives of neurodegenerative disease patients who currently have few or no effective treatment options available to them. *** About Harness Therapeutics Harness Therapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on the development of next generation therapeutics for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, with a lead programme in Huntingtons Disease. Focussing on neurodegeneration targets with strong biology and genetic validation, Harness Therapeutics utilises its deep understanding of RNA biology and post-transcriptional regulation to enable drugging with oligonucleotide based drugs to upregulate protein expression. Harness Therapeutics has assembled a world-class team focused on the mission of building the most efficient physiological protein upregulation platform. This includes extensive RNA biology and bioinformatics expertise, specialist analytics capabilities and neurological cell models. Harness Therapeutics unique target-centric approach generates multiple orthogonal upregulation strategies combined with a detailed understanding of target biology to develop new medicines that can treat the underlying causes of neurodegenerative diseases. Harness Therapeutics is based in Cambridge, UK, and is backed by leading life science investors Takeda Ventures, The Dementia Discovery Fund and Epidarex Capital. For more information, please visit https://www.harnesstx.com/ and follow us on LinkedIn. CONTACTS Harness Therapeutics Dr Jan Thirkettle, CEO [email protected] MEDiSTRAVA Consulting Sylvie Berrebi, Frazer Hall [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 28, 2023] New VCMI Guidance Opens Door for Corporate Carbon Credit Claims Tweet The Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) has today released additional guidance for its Claims Code of Practice (Claims Code), enabling companies to make claims about their use of high-quality carbon credits. This guidance includes a Monitoring, Reporting and Assurance (MRA) Framework, a brand and associated mark for making 'Carbon Integrity' Claims, and a beta version of an additional claim. Using the MRA framework and the 'Carbon Integrity' Claims branding, companies can now make Silver, Gold or Platinum Claims as outlined in the original Claims Code of Practice released in June. This means these companies can now make claims using high-quality carbon credits, directing finance to initiatives that mitigate climate change, and demonstrating that they are going above and beyond science-aligned emissions cuts. VCMI has also launched the beta version of a new claim - called the 'Scope 3 Flexibility' Claim - as a practical step to accelerate corporate climate action. Once finalized next year, the Scope 3 Flexibility Claim will enable companies to take responsibility for their scope 3 emissions (those which aren't directly produced by the company but which it has indirect responsibility over through its value chain), while getting on the path to net zero through use of high-quality carbon credits. Robust guardrails are in place to maintain integrity and avoid misuse of this new claim. John Kerry, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate: "Voluntary carbon markets can be a powerful tool for mobilizing the investment in innovative technologies and actions needed to keep a 1.5 C limit on warming within reach. VCMI is performing a vital service by establishing high-integrity pathways for companies to support stronger climate action while making progress toward their own net zero- goals. By creating sound guardrails for the use of high-quality carbon credits, the new VCMI guidance will provide strong assurance that this finance will help deliver the greater climate action we so urgently need." High-integrity use of carbon credits can accelerate global net zero and significantly contribute towards Paris Agreement goals When used with integrity, voluntary carbon markets (VCMs) can accelerate capital flows to low- and middle-income economies and can contribute meaningfully to both the Paris Agreement goal to limit global warming temperatures 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Some estimates have shown that, if companies start to invest in VCMs as part of their transition plans today, over $50 billion could be unlocked by 2030. Evidence demonstrates that companies that use voluntary carbon markets are more ambitious, and decarbonize faster, than those that don't. According to Ecosystem Marketplace research, voluntary carbon buyers are 1.8x more likely than non-buyers to be decarbonizing year-on-year. But to deliver these outcomes, VCMs must operate with integrity. Carbon credits must represent real, verified GHG reductions and removals and apply robust environmental and social safeguards. They must be used by companies in addition to - not instead of - decarbonization as part of their net zero transitions, and associated claims must be credible. Following the VCMI Claims Code - including the additional guidance that was promised in June and delivered today - ensures that this will be the case. Mark Kenber, Executive Director, VCMI: "Today's release of additional guidance means that the VCMI Claims Code of Practice is ready for use and companies can now directly make claims against it. We encourage all businesses to show ambition, make a claim and accelerate global net zero." "With COP28 beginning in a matter of hours, VCMs will once again be on the agenda, and it is importat that what is discussed is the promotion of credible, and believable, climate action. Along with the work of the ICVCM and others delivering integrity into the VCMs, the Claims Code of Practice is a critical part of the rules that are forming in voluntary markets. We have delivered what buyers need to make Claims today, along with practical solutions to spur further corporate action. Companies can now step up their credible use of carbon credits, and should feel confident to do so." Launch of 'Carbon Integrity' brand and MRA Framework means companies can make first VCMI claims VCMI has released a standalone brand for the VCMI Claims announced in the Claims Code of Practice in June 2023, which are now called 'Carbon Integrity' Claims. These Claims indicate that companies are "accelerating global net zero" - the brand's tagline - by going above and beyond science-aligned emissions cuts through the additional use of high-quality carbon credits. The brand features a distinctive mark that is used across the Carbon Integrity Claims, differentiated based on the type of Claim itself (Silver, Gold, or Platinum). The brand guidelines released today will support companies in communicating the achievement of Carbon Integrity Claims. The MRA Framework enables companies to substantiate a Carbon Integrity Claim. The Framework provides the information that must be disclosed and appropriately evaluated, evidenced, and verified. Within the framework, companies provide information relating to the Claims Code's Foundational Criteria, which establish best practice on corporate climate action, as well as key information about the carbon credits used to make a claim. This information is then assured by an independent third party. As such, the MRA Framework provides the backbone of authority for Carbon Integrity Claims. Suzanne DiBianca, EVP and Chief Impact Officer at Salesforce: "We're at a pivotal stage in the climate crisis where immediate action is essential. We commend the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) for its leadership in shaping the enhanced guidance for the Claims Code of Practice. This effort underscores the urgent need for organizations to collaboratively engage in developing robust, high-quality standards and fostering integrity within voluntary carbon markets. Let's continue pushing innovation forward to ensure our collective impact ultimately translates into meaningful benefits for people and the planet." The beta version of the Scope 3 Flexibility Claim will increase urgent climate action as companies get on the path to net zero - with guardrails put in place to maintain integrity and ensure carbon credits are used in addition - and not to delay - decarbonization. Many companies that satisfy the foundational criteria laid out in the VCMI Claims Code have difficulties in meeting scope 3 emissions reductions in the near-term. In the face of the pressing urgency posed by climate change, nothing is more dangerous than inaction. VCMI has launched a beta version of the "Scope 3 Flexibility" claim as a practical solution to incentivize companies to act now and be recognized for climate leadership while increasing internal decarbonization to get on the path to net zero. The beta version of the new claim permits a company to make limited use of carbon credits to close the emissions gap between its scope 3 emissions reductions targets and its actual scope 3 emissions, while the company increases its internal decarbonization efforts and investment. MSCI Carbon Markets (formerly Trove Research) estimated that, currently, $19bn could be delivered if companies used carbon credits to cover the emissions gap between their scope 3 emissions reductions targets, and their current scope 3 emissions. VCMI has developed guardrails intended to further embed integrity in the new claim and ensure that it cannot be used to greenwash. These include: Companies must comply with the VCMI Foundational Criteria laid out in the Claims Code of Practice. Companies must make meaningful progress towards meeting scope 1 and 2 emission reduction targets. The number of carbon credits used must not exceed a volume of 50% of its GHG inventory Scope 3 emissions in the claim year. Use of credits must decline over time, leading to complete phaseout no later than 2035, at which point the company must be on the path to net zero through internal decarbonization. Released alongside the beta version of the new claim, a roadmap sets out the work required to finalize it by Q3 2024, at which point companies will be able to make a claim. This roadmap includes: Developing tools to measure a company's progress towards its targets and define if a company is suitably "on-track" to meet its targets. Refining the criteria and guardrails of the new claim. Establishing a separate claim name and brand that is distinct from the Carbon Integrity Claims while incentivizing companies to move to a position to make a Carbon Integrity claim. VCMI has worked extensively across the market with a wide range of corporate sustainability, climate, and finance experts on the development of the new claim and subsequent roadmap to ensure the beta version reflects a wide range of perspectives. This collaborative approach has been delivered through its Stakeholder Forum, Expert Advisory Group, Country Contact Group, and Early Adopter Programme to bring over 150 views to inform VCMI's work. We are at a critical juncture. VCMI has stepped up with its Claims Code and calls on standard setters to address governance gaps, mobilize demand, and make 2024 the year of accelerated climate action. Through its Claims Code of Practice, VCMI has delivered a key part of the initiatives that are bringing integrity to carbon markets, working closely with the ICVCM (the Integrity Council for Voluntary Carbon Markets) to develop end-to-end rules for integrity, from demand to supply sides. Mr. Yutaka Matsuzawa, Vice-Minister for Global Environmental Affairs, Ministry of the Environment, Japan: "We would like to congratulate the release of additional guidance for the Claims Code of Practice. The additional guidance could contribute to the operationalization of environmental integrity in voluntary carbon markets. We believe the leadership of VCMI can unlock the finances to accelerate the mitigation activities toward net zero by 2050." View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128129191/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] KYODO NEWS - Nov 28, 2023 - 12:35 | All, Japan Japan began trial over-the-counter sales of morning-after pills on Tuesday as the nation takes a major step toward joining dozens of others that make the emergency contraception drugs available without a doctor's prescription. Morning-after pills are now sold at 145 drug stores nationwide at prices ranging from around 7,000 yen ($47) to 9,000 yen as part of the health ministry's investigative trial. Women aged 16 and older and who wish to obtain the drugs through the study can buy the pills after calling the pharmacy in advance. Any woman who is under 18 must have parental consent and be accompanied by a parent when making the purchase. The pills, NorLevo and the generic version levonorgestrel, work best within 72 hours after unprotected sex and have an efficacy rate of 80 percent, according to the ministry. Before the trial, women in Japan, including victims of sexual assault, had to go to a clinic or hospital for a prescription to obtain an emergency contraceptive. Selling the drug without a prescription was discussed by a ministry panel in 2017, but the ministry stopped short of giving the green light, with critics saying it would make people less likely to practice safe sex. Discussions have resurfaced regarding the over-the-counter availability of emergency contraceptive pills on the back of growing calls to protect women's rights. Medical professionals have called for better access to the drug within Japan, as it could provide rape victims with vital protection after a traumatic incident while also potentially reducing the need for abortions which are considered more physically and emotionally damaging. Morning-after pills are available over the counter in about 90 countries and regions, according to research conducted by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry. [November 28, 2023] Crown Castle Appoints Chris Levendos as Chief Operating Officer for Towers and Fiber Tweet HOUSTON, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Crown Castle Inc. (NYSE: CCI) ("Crown Castle") announced today that, following a monthslong external and internal search, Chris Levendos has been appointed as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) to lead both of the Companys operating segments, Towers and Fiber. In addition to his previous role as Executive Vice President and COO Fiber, Mr. Levendos has been acting as interim Executive Vice President and COO Towers since October 1, 2023. "Crown Castle brings an unmatched portfolio of towers, small cells, and fiber assets and expertise to the market with a strategic focus on delivering the highest risk-adjusted returns for our shareholders. Chris exceptional leadership skills and technological depth, coupled with his extensive industry experience, enable us to place our two operating segments under one leader to continue to improve how we reliably build and operate these critical assets for our customers," said Jay Brown, Crown Castle's Chief Executive Officer. BIOGRAPHY Chris Levendos was appointed as Crown Castles Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in November 2023. Previouly, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Fiber since December 2020, responsible for leading Crown Castles small cell and fiber solutions operations. Prior to this and since joining Crown Castle in June 2018, he served as Vice President of Fiber Operations. Chris is a leading force in driving innovation in network deployment with more than 30 years of experience operating and leading large fiber network organizations, previously serving at Frontier, Google and Verizon. Beginning his career at Verizon as a field technician, Chris progressed through a series of operational and engineering roles over 26 years concluding as the Region President for Verizons New York City wireline operations. He holds a BA from SUNY-Plattsburgh, a MS degree from New York University and a MS degree from Stevens Institute of Technology. Chris serves on the boards for the Regional Planning Association (RPA) and INCOMPAS and is a member of the Presidents Leadership Council at Stevens Institute of Technology. ABOUT CROWN CASTLE Crown Castle owns, operates and leases more than 40,000 cell towers and approximately 85,000 route miles of fiber supporting small cells and fiber solutions across every major U.S. market. This nationwide portfolio of communications infrastructure connects cities and communities to essential data, technology and wireless service bringing information, ideas and innovations to the people and businesses that need them. For more information on Crown Castle, please visit www.crowncastle.com . CONTACTS Dan Schlanger, CFO Kris Hinson, VP & Treasurer Crown Castle Inc. 713-570-3050 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 28, 2023] Samsung Biologics engages suppliers to advance global decarbonization targets Tweet INCHEON, South Korea, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Samsung Biologics (KRX: 207940.KS), a global contract and development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), today hosted its inaugural Supplier ESG Day, both at its Songdo headquarters and online, to share environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategies and drive collective action to decarbonize. The company invited supplier companies and external ESG specialists to discuss ESG-related requirements and recommendations as well as share successful case studies. "Since a majority of healthcare emissions are created in the manufacturing supply chains, it is critical for us to work together at every level to become greener and more circular," said John Rim, CEO and President of Samsung Biologics. "By connecting our suppliers with resources to help them assess their performance and opportunities to go beyond carbon emissions reductions, we are building a more transparent and responsible value chain." Samsung Biologics has been conducting ESG assessments with its suppliers to minimize potential social and ethical risks, build a stable network, and establish green strategies towards decarbonization. Earlier this year, the company and members of the Sustainable Markets Initiative's Health Systems Task Forcea public-private partnership launched at COP26 to accelerate the decarbonization of health systemscalled on suppliers to commit to joint, minimum climate and sustainability targets, which aim to address emissions across the value chain and reduce the complexity of multiple asks. The company today also released its second report aligned to the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD. The report serves the company's commitment to providing transparency on its approach to managing climate-related risks and opportunities across the business. "We are pleased to share our progress towards our emissions reduction targets and the responsible business practices we are implementing to mitigate climate change risks," said Rim. "We will continue to amplify our efforts to achieve our carbon ambition, while continuing to support our clients to deliver therapies to millions of patients worldwide." Highlights from the 2023 report include: Establishing new milestones to achieve net zero by 2050 and engaging suppliers to reduce their direct emissions Prioritizing Samsung Biologics' sustainable leadership as an active member of the Sustainable Markets Initiative and champion for the Supply Chains Working Group; First CDMO to receive the SMI's Terra Carta Seal Joining the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance to help reduce emissions through investment in Sustainable Aviation Fuel The full text of the report is available here. About Samsung Biologics Co., Ltd. Samsung Biologics (KRX: 207940.KS) is a fully integrated, end-to-end CDMO service provider, offering seamless development and manufacturing solutions from cell line development to final aseptic fill/finish as well as laboratory testing support for the biopharmaceutical products we manufacture. Our state-of-the-art facilities are cGMP compliant with bioreactors ranging from small to large scales to serve varying client needs. To maximize our operational efficiency and expand our capabilities in response to growing biomanufacturing demand, Samsung Biologics recently completed Bio Campus I with Plant 4 offering a combined 604KL total capacity, and launched Bio Campus II with the construction of Plant 5, which will be operational in April 2025 adding 184KL biomanufacturing capacity. Additionally, Samsung Biologics America enables the company to work in closer proximity to clients based in the U.S. and Europe. We continue to upgrade our capabilities to accommodate our clients by investing in technologies such as an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) facility, a dedicated mRNA manufacturing facility, and additional aseptic filling capacity. As a sustainable CDMO partner of choice, we are committed to on-time, in-full delivery of the products we manufacture with our flexible manufacturing solutions, operational excellence, and proven expertise. Samsung Biologics Media Contact Claire Kim, Head of Marketing Communications [email protected] View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/samsung-biologics-engages-suppliers-to-advance-global-decarbonization-targets-301998662.html SOURCE Samsung Biologics [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 28, 2023] Mattermost Joins World Economic Forum Global Innovators Community Tweet Palo Alto, Calif., Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mattermost Inc., the leading self-sovereign collaboration platform for mission-critical work, today announced that it has joined the World Economic Forum Global Innovator Community. The company enters a new cohort of the worlds most promising growth stage companies committed to accelerating resilience and collaboration for critical infrastructure organizations on the global stage. Mattermost provides government, defense, and enterprise organizations a secure, self-sovereign platform to power collaboration for their most vital and sensitive operations. Its solutions replace legacy Skype for Business deployments with a modern, self-hosted team messaging, workflow and automation platform. Built on open source technologies that provide the autonomy, transparency, and privacy needed to meet evolving national security and sovereignty standards, Mattermost also optionally integrates with Microsoft Teams, Azure AI, and Microsofts cloud-based platforms to leverage existing IT investments. Available in 20 languages, Mattermosts offerings are deployed in the worlds most demanding critical infrastructure environments. The systems run within air-gapped networks as well as on private and public clouds. They can be rapidly and scalably configured to meet custom security, compliance and toolchain integration needs, as well as interconnected to provide secure, federated collaboration across government agencies. Mattermosts focus at the World Economic Forum will be on accelerating resiliency in critical infrastructure organizations through the Forums Centre for Cybersecurity, which drives global public-private action to address systemic cybersecurity challenges. About Mattermost: Mattermost provides secure, workflow-centric collaboration for technical and operational teams that need to meet nation-state-level security and trust requirements. We serve technology, public sector, national defense, and financial services industries with customers ranging from tech giants to the worlds largest banks, to the U.S. Department of Defense and governmental agencies around the world. Our self-hosted and cloud offerings provide integrated team messaging, audio and screen share, workflow automation and project management on an open source platform vetted and deployed by the worlds most secure and mission-critical organizations. We co-build the future of collaboration with over 4,000 open source project contributors whove provided over 30,000 code improvements towards our shared product vision, which is translated into 20 languages. To learn more, visit www.mattermost.com. Mattermost and the Mattermost logo are registered trademarks of Mattermost, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. About the World Economic Forum: The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. It was established in 1971 as a not-for-profit foundation and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. It is independent, impartial and not tied to any special interests. About the World Economic Forum's Global Innovators Community: The Innovator Communities are a group of the world's most promising start-ups and scale-ups at the forefront of technological and business model innovation. Comprised of three sub-communities, the Technology Pioneers, Global Innovators, and Unicorns, the Innovator Communities accompany start-ups along their growth journey. The World Economic Forum provides the sub-communities with a platform to engage with public- and private-sector leaders and to contribute new solutions to overcome current crises and build future resiliency. Companies who are invited to join the Innovator Communities will engage with one or more of the Forum's Platforms, as relevant, to help define the global agenda on key issues. Amy Nicol Mattermost, Inc. 6472808300 [email protected] [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 28, 2023] Wemade to support blockchain gaming ecosystems growth in Dubai and the UAE through collaboration with Dubai Chambers Tweet Dubai, UAE, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Henry Chang, the CEO of leading South Korea-based gaming giant Wemade met with H.E. Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, President and CEO of Dubai Chambers, to discuss a broader scope for future collaboration. Wemade is the first and biggest Korean game developer to establish talks with Dubai Chambers for broad plans to contribute to game development industry initiatives. The meeting between CEO Chang and Dubai Chambers President and CEO H.E. Lootah marks the next phase of Wemade's efforts to support and grow blockchain gaming ecosystems in Dubai and the UAE. Wemade CEO Henry Chang (left) meets with Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, President and CEO of Dubai Chambers (right) Wemade is the first and biggest Korean game developer to establish official talks for joint collaborations with Dubai Chambers Talks mark next phase of Wemade's efforts to support the growth of blockchain gaming ecosystems in Dubai and the UAE As an advocate for the interests of Dubais business community, Dubai Chambers serves as a bridge connecting the local business community with Dubais dynamic government and is committed to ensuring a thriving environment in which businesses can flourish. The chamber seeks to facilitate and improve the ease of doing business in the emirate and advance Dubais position as a highly competitive global commercial centre. The UAE is among the most dynamicregions building the next generation of games and gaming industry talent with Dubai and key stakeholders including Dubai Chambers playing an important role," said Henry Chang, CEO, Wemade. Wemade will focus on working with Dubai Chambers to explore how we can contribute our expertise and technology to support key initiatives including the Dubai Program for Gaming 2033. H.E. Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, President and CEO of Dubai Chambers, commented: "We are pleased to initiate this collaboration with Wemade, which will contribute to driving innovation in the UAEs rapidly evolving digital ecosystem. Dubai's growing influence in the global gaming and blockchain arenas reflects our dedication to fostering an ecosystem that is rich in technological expertise. We remain committed to further strengthening the emirates position as a leading global hub at the heart of the digital economy. Unveiled recently by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Dubai Future Foundation (DFF), the Dubai Program for Gaming 2033 set out major industry goals. These are: to position Dubai among the top 10 cities in the global gaming industry; generate 30,000 new jobs in the gaming sector; significantly boost the sector's contribution to the growth of Dubai's digital economy; and increase the GDP by approximately US$1 billion by 2033. About WEMADE A renowned industry leader and innovator in game development, Wemade is now leading a once-in-a-generation shift as the global games industry pivots to blockchain technology. Through subsidiary WEMIX, Wemade is building an experience-based, platform-driven, and service-oriented mega-ecosystem to offer a wide spectrum of intuitive, convenient, and easy-to-use Web3 services. This includes WEMIX PLAY, the worlds biggest blockchain gaming platform which can transform games of every genre into blockchain games. https://www.wemix.com/communication. About Dubai Chambers Dubai Chambers is a non-profit public entity that supports Dubais vision as a global player by empowering businesses, providing innovative value-added services and access to influential networks. In March 2021, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, announced the restructuring of Dubai Chamber and the formation of three chambers for the emirate, namely, Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Dubai International Chamber, and Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, which now operate under Dubai Chambers. For more information, please visit: www.dubaichambers.com Kevin Foo Wemix Pr-at-wemix.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 28, 2023] Excelsior Energy Capital Closes USD $1.3 Billion Project Financing Package for the Faraday Solar Project Tweet Excelsior Energy Capital announced today that it has closed a USD $1.3B financing package on the Faraday Solar project in Utah County, Utah. Excelsior acquired Faraday Solar earlier this year from Parasol and Clenera who developed the project. Faraday Solar is a 682.5 MW ground-mounted solar facility and is contracted under an investment grade long-term power purchase agreement. The Faraday investment is the largest single investment made by Excelsior's first flagship fund, Excelsior Renewable Energy Investment Fund I ("Fund I"). Fund I is a $504M infrastructure fund focused on investments in late-stage middle-market solar, wind and battery storage projects. Fund I is now fully deployed and consists of 1.9 GW of operating and in-construction projects diversified across 10 U.S. States. "The acquisition and financing of the Faraday transaction was the result of an immensely collaborative effort with Parasol and Clenera, Excelsior's innovative financing approach, and the efforts of our exceptional team," said Jason Frooshani, Head of Mergers and Acquisitions at Excelsior. "This transaction demonstrates Excelsior's continued commitment to acquiring superior quality projects from our partners in the renewable energy sector." Faraday is currently under construction and is expected to enter operations in third quarter 2025. The project has a long-term contract to provide renewable energy to PacifiCorp who will ultimately allocate the power to Meta, supporting the company's 100% renewable energy and net zero commitments. "We are grateful to our financing partners, and to the creative team at US Bank who worked with Excelsior to leverage several tools made available through the IRA to enable Faraday," said Gabriel Wuebben, Excelsior's Head of Capital Markets. U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance committed USD 400m of tax equity through a solar PTC Partnership. The partnershp is under term sheet with two investment grade credit transferees for 10-year PTC contracts as arranged with Ryan, LLC. "U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance is thrilled to be a part of such an impactful project. It creates jobs and clean electricity in the state of Utah for generations," said Director of Renewable Energy Investments Darren Van't Hof. "A project of this size requires an enormous amount of collaboration, and we were pleased to work with a talented group of professionals from the Excelsior team to spearhead it." A USD 460m loan, a USD 300m TEBL and USD 250m in ancillary facilities were financed with MUFG and Nord/LB acting as Coordinating Lead Arrangers. DNB, Zions Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Societe Generale, CIBC, Huntington Bank and National Bank of Canada acted as Joint Lead Arrangers. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Associated Bank and Comerica filled out the debt group. "We are proud to have partnered with Excelsior Energy Capital on this significant investment for Fund I as one of the Coordinating Lead Arrangers," said Beth Waters, Managing Director, Project Finance, Americas at MUFG. "The financing for the Faraday solar project is an example of MUFG's continued commitment to supporting our clients with their long-term business goals in the renewable energy sector and beyond." "Nord/LB congratulates the Excelsior team on the closing of the financing for the Faraday project. We are honored to have acted as one of the Coordinating Lead Arrangers in this important financing which represents our firms' shared commitment to facilitating the energy transition," said Sondra Martinez, Managing Director, Project Finance, Nord/LB. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP acted as Excelsior's legal counsel and CRC-IB advised on commercial and structuring matters. Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton served as U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance's counsel, while Winston & Strawn served as Lender's counsel. About Excelsior Energy Capital Excelsior Energy Capital is a renewable energy infrastructure fund focused on middle-market investments in wind, solar and battery storage plants and businesses in North America. The Excelsior team brings over 100 years of combined experience and a comprehensive set of strategic, financial, legal and operational expertise; making Excelsior Energy Capital a valuable partner for developers and operators, and a trusted manager for investors. For more information, visit http://www.excelsiorcapital.com. About PacifiCorp Innovating to power a better future for the West, PacifiCorp operates the largest grid in the western United States, serving the growing energy needs of 2 million customers through 17,645 miles of transmission lines over a service area of 141,503 square miles. PacifiCorp operates as Rocky Mountain Power in Idaho, Utah and Wyoming and as Pacific Power in California, Oregon and Washington. PacifiCorp's operating divisions are leaders in providing safe, reliable and sustainable low-cost power. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128916385/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 28, 2023] Curative Appoints Brandon Charles as New Chief Medical Officer Tweet Dr. Brandon Charles has joined Curative as its new Chief Medical Officer. With over three decades of experience in healthcare, Dr. Charles will contribute to Curative's commitment to delivering innovative healthcare solutions. He holds an M.D. from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128828470/en/ Dr. Brandon Charles (Photo: Business Wire) Dr. Charles has extensive leadership experience in healthcare organizations such as Elevance/Anthem and Johns Hopkins HealthCare, as well as consulting at Accenture and McKinsey and Co. Throughout his career, he has focused on delivering cost-effective quality care, optimizing clinical resources, and driving strategic health plan innovation. With his expertise, business acumen, and leadership skills, Dr. Charles will support Curative's efforts to enhance the quality of healthcare for its members. "Curative is known for our member-centric health insurance plans, and we welcome Dr. Charles to our leadership team where he will strengthen our ability to deliver top-tier, affordable health care coverage to our members," says Fred Turner, CEO and co-founder of Curative. "His experience across the healthcare landscape makes him an invaluable asset to our mission and a great addition to our outstanding leadership team." Curative's pioneering health plan launched last year and features $0 copays and $0 deductibles for in-network care and $0 prescription edications for most conditions*. The plan promotes proactive health engagement for members and removes financial barriers to care by offering affordable, accessible benefits. Curative's health plans are available to employers throughout Texas and Florida and their employees nationwide, with broad national network coverage and access to over one million providers nationwide. The Curative plan will be available to employers in other states nationwide soon. Building on its success as the largest COVID-19 testing company in the nation, Curative's new health plan marks its next growth phase. To learn more about Curative and its new health care plan, visit https://curative.com/. *Every Curative member qualifies for the $0 deductible or copay for in-network care and preferred prescriptions by completing a Baseline Visit within 120 days of the plan effective date. See curative.com to learn more. Curative Insurance Company PPO. About Curative Curative is a leading healthcare services company that has created and launched a first-of-its-kind employer-based health insurance plan with an AM-Best rating of A-. Co-founded by CEO Fred Turner and CTO Isaac Turner (no relation) in 2020, Curative is reengineering health insurance by providing unmatched simplicity and cost transparency with a competitive monthly premium and zero additional costs*. Curative is remaking our healthcare system into one that works for and supports members' whole health and well-being through every step of their personal health journey. Previously, Curative and its managed medical entities were national leaders bringing COVID-19 testing and vaccine-administration resources to bear in response to the pandemic. For more information on Curative, visit https://curative.com/ or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128828470/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 28, 2023] Edgewell Personal Care Recognized for Contribution to the American Red Cross Ready 365 Giving Circle Tweet Pledge of Ongoing Support Enables Red Cross to Prepare for and Respond to Disasters SHELTON, Conn., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Edgewell Personal Care Company (NYSE: EPC), based in Shelton, CT, is partnering with the American Red Cross to support Red Cross Disaster Relief and International Services as part of the Ready 365 Giving Circle, and in pursuit of Edgewell's core purpose, values and behaviors. Ready 365 members pledge donations on an ongoing basis, in advance of major disasters, to ensure the Red Cross can respond immediately to meet the needs of those affected by disasters of all sizesfrom wildfires to home fires. Red Cross services are provided to those in need of assistance at no cost and regardless of income through the generosity of Red Cross donors. "To fulfill our lifesaving mission, the Red Cross relies on the generosity of our volunteers and donors," said Richard Branigan, Interim CEO, American Red Cross Connecticut and Rhode Island Region. "Thanks to the support of Edgewell and other Ready 365 companies and foundations, the Red Cross can immediately respond to the needs of people affected by disasters whenever and wherever they strike." Every year, disasters and crises impact millions of lives. Positioned within the world's most extensive humanitarian network, the Red Cross offers both relief and hope worldwide. Its International Services not only helps to reconnect families torn apart by crises butalso aids in reconstructing and fortifying communities hit by disasters. Furthermore, by collaborating with health organizations to combat global diseases, the Red Cross has helped to vaccinate more than 3 billion children against measles around the world. Edgewell Personal Care is committed to making a meaningful impact within its communities and the world, including providing assistance and humanitarian relief in times of crisis. Through its Sustainable Care 2030 strategy, the company aspires to further extend its positive community impact by strategically partnering with organizations that focus on promoting people, planet and local communities. The Red Cross is well suited to help make that possible and this partnership makes it clear that the company's values extend beyond its own walls and into the greater community. Rod Little, CEO of Edgewell Personal Care stated, "We at Edgewell couldn't be more proud to support the American Red Cross. One of our core principles is to act as a People First company, practicing empathy, showing authenticity, deepening relationships, and contributing to our communities wherever we can. With this partnership, we hope to deliver on all those actions, and know that this pledge will help to support caring for those affected by disasters in their time of need." Each year, the Red Cross responds to more than 62,000 disasters down the street, across the country and around the world including home fires, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, and wildfires. In Connecticut and Rhode Island, the Red Cross responds on average to three home fires each day. The generous donations from Ready 365 members enable the Red Cross to prepare communities for disasters big and small, respond whenever and wherever disasters occur and help families during the recovery process. About Edgewell: Edgewell is a leading pure-play consumer products company with an attractive, diversified portfolio of established brand names such as Schick, Wilkinson Sword and Billie men's and women's shaving systems and disposable razors; Edge and Skintimate shave preparations; Playtex, Stayfree, Carefree and o.b. feminine care products; Banana Boat, Hawaiian Tropic, Bulldog, Jack Black, and CREMO sun and skin care products; and Wet Ones products. The Company has a broad global footprint and operates in more than 50 markets, including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Germany, Japan, the U.K. and Australia, with approximately 7,000 employees worldwide. About the American Red Cross: The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members, and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/edgewell-personal-care-recognized-for-contribution-to-the-american-red-cross-ready-365-giving-circle-301999330.html SOURCE Edgewell Personal Care Company [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 28, 2023] Security Concerns Keep Half of IT Business Leaders Awake at Night, Reveals AppDirect's IT Business Leaders 2024 Outlook Report Tweet AppDirect, the world's leading B2B subscription commerce platform, today released key findings from its IT Business Leaders 2024 Outlook Report. The study, conducted by independent research firm Propeller Insights, dives into how IT business leaders feel about their security posture in a world where the technologies they embrace to grow and thrive are also vulnerable to constant and increasing threats. AppDirect's survey results come at a time when increased security is a growing need for organizations everywhere. According to the Gartner Digital Markets 2023 Global Software Buying Trends report, "42% of buyers say security is the most important factor when planning investment in new software." In the AppDirect study, 45% of IT business leaders said they experienced a security breach in the last year. As they face an increasingly complex spectrum of security threats, security anxiety is prevalent and has become a top concern. Key findings include: IT business leaders are prepared - yet feel uneasy about company security The results show that while 92% of IT business leaders believe they've made the right security investments and 88% say they meet all compliance requirements, half are keptup at night over their company's security. IT business leaders are checking off the right boxes when it comes to completing the tasks associated with their jobs and performing due diligence on security. But that's not enough to assuage their anxiety and instill confidence that they're well protected against security threats. Their top areas of concern include cybersecurity risk (58%), information security risk (53%) and compliance risk (39%). Human error is among the top causes of security breaches The study also found that 49% of IT business leaders count human error, including those by employees, among their top security concerns. In fact, all of their other concerns-malware, stolen data, phishing, ransomware and misconfiguration of cloud services-include an element of human error and/or malice. This demonstrates a lack of rigorous employee education and training on cybersecurity measures, making employees part of the problem rather than part of the solution. "IT business leaders must secure their most vulnerable access point: their employees. Although there are some malicious internal attacks, the vast majority of internally-enabled breaches happen when employees click on a seemingly harmless link in an email, opening the floodgates to corporate data and systems," said Pierre-Luc Bisaillon, CIO at AppDirect. "Best-in-class training, with testing and regular retraining and testing, will go a long way to mitigate the risks of social engineering security breaches." Cybersecurity solutions are forecast to be a top purchase in the immediate future IT business leaders are prioritizing security measures in 2024, with 74.4% likely to purchase cybersecurity software solutions in the next 12 months. But they're likely to better vet their solution provider since 45% report they've experienced security or data privacy concerns related to their third-party tech vendor solutions. The results show that while cybersecurity remains paramount, ensuring IT business leaders find the right solution provider is of equal importance. A majority-59%-consider data security and privacy measures as top priorities when selecting SaaS providers. "Cyber crime is a people problem-and better people processes and education are the solution," said Bisaillon. "This means ensuring assets are up to date with the latest patches, enforcing multi-factor authentication and locking down endpoint security to rapidly detect and remediate advanced attacks and ensure business continuity. Getting help from experts who can analyze security gaps can help IT business leaders build a strong security strategy." To read the full report, please visit the Business Leaders 2024 Outlook Report download page. About AppDirect AppDirect is a San Francisco-based B2B subscription commerce platform company that brings together technology providers, advisors and businesses to simplify how they buy, sell and manage technology. More than 1,000 providers, 10,000 advisors and 5 million subscribers rely on the AppDirect ecosystem of subscription marketplaces to power their innovation, growth and success. AppDirect offers a wide range of security solutions through its marketplace catalog, along with security workshops, training, resources, access to solution experts, and a cybersecurity certification program for technology advisors. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128219932/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 28, 2023] MIP Earns Best Software Ratings from TrustRadius for the Third Year in a Row Tweet MIP Fund Accounting Takes 3 Awards ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- MIP Fund Accounting by Community Brands, the nation's leading nonprofit cloud-based, fund accounting software, is honored to announce that Trust Radius has recognized MIP with a trio of Best of Awards. MIP won Best Feature Set, Best Value, and Best Relationship awards this month, recognizing users' high ratings for product features and the total value the software delivers. "We're grateful that MIP customers have once again voiced their high satisfaction ..." said Neil Taurins . "We're grateful that MIP customers have once again voiced their high satisfaction with customer support and implementation," said MIP General Manager Neil Taurins. "We're also rolling out quality enhancements based on user feedback and new modules in the Modern interface of MIP Cloud to better support nonprofits' missions. Throughou 2024, customers will continue to benefit from upcoming releases and integrations, doubling down on our commitment to continuous improvement." The awards this year build upon MIP's tradition of excellence. In 2022, MIP also earned the Best Feature Set and Best Value for Price Awards. In 2021, it garnered three "Best Of" awards for feature set, support, and usability. "MIP Fund Accounting has achieved an outstanding feat, securing first place in all three Best of Awards in Nonprofit Accounting," stated Megan Headley, VP of Research at TrustRadius. "MIP Fund Accounting earned these awards based entirely on feedback from its customers. Customers are pleased with the feature set, that it lives up to sales and marketing promises, and that it provides excellent value for the price." MIP is fund accounting software for nonprofits' futures and now. MIP saves time and money by making accounting and financial management tasks easier and more efficient. Since 2016, the TrustRadius Best of Awards have been the standard for unbiased recognition of B2B technology products. Based entirely on customer feedback, reviews are never influenced by analyst opinion or status as a TrustRadius customer. About MIP Fund Accounting MIP Fund Accounting is accounting for your nonprofit's future. Designed to track unlimited funds and manage your financial books with ease, MIP is the nation's leading cloud-based, SaaS fund accounting solution for nonprofits, K-12 schools, healthcare organizations, and government organizations across the country. Our software handles the intricate financial process in a streamlined, user-friendly system. Manage your nonprofit's finances, track every fund, and follow every dollar. For more information, visit mip.com. About TrustRadius TrustRadius is the most trusted research and review platform for business leaders to find and select the right software for their needs. Decision-makers across industries rely on verified, peer-based guidance and research from TrustRadius. Vendors engage and convert high-intent buyers by telling their unique stories through rich reviews. Over 12 million visitors a year create and engage with high-quality review content and data on Trustradius.com . Headquartered in Austin, Texas, TrustRadius was founded by successful entrepreneurs and is backed by Mayfield Fund, LiveOak Venture Partners, and Next Coast Ventures. Contact: Ashely Boyer, [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mip-earns-best-software-ratings-from-trustradius-for-the-third-year-in-a-row-301998438.html SOURCE Community Brands [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 28, 2023] InsightRX Brings Groundbreaking Advancements in Model-Informed Precision Dosing to the ASHP Midyear Conference Tweet Precision dosing pioneer to unveil details of new scientific and technological breakthroughs SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- InsightRX which provides cloud-based precision medicine software to optimize treatment decisions today announced three major enhancements to current precision dosing solutions based on recent scientific and technological breakthroughs, as well as expansion into new therapeutic areas. InsightRX executives will be at Booth 566 of the American Society of Healthcare Pharmacists (ASHP) Midyear 2023 conference in Anaheim, Calif., from Dec. 3-7, to discuss these product enhancements and the science behind them. A more accurate vancomycin PK dosing model for adult patients InsightRX's Nova precision dosing software platform offers multiple pharmacokinetic (PK) models for dosing of vancomycin, which is used to treat and prevent bacterial infections. Now the company has added to Nova a model called Modified Thomson that is recommended for adult vancomycin patients with a body mass index (BMI) under 40. In a data analysis of more than 168,000 patient treatment courses, the Modified Thomson model showed higher accuracy and lower degrees of error in patients with a BMI < 40 when compared to three high-performing models. InsightRX recommends use of the Modified Thomson model as the default model for patients with a BMI < 40. An exclusive MIPD feature enabling more accurate predictions When using model-informed precision dosing (MIPD), a measured level sometimes does not fit well with a model's predictions. One way to improve fit is through the use of "MAP Bayesian with flattened priors." However, this setting can sometimes worsen predictions rather than improve them, and knowing the appropriate time to use it is challenging. To help overcome this challenge and improve the predictive accuracy of models in the presence of measured levels, InsightRX developed a feature called InsightRX FitAssistSM that assesses a patient, PK model, and measured level(s), and determines whether the use of "MAP Bayesian with flattened priors" is likely to improve predictions. The FitAssist algorithm shows up to a 74% improvement in prediction accuracy. FitAssist is a complimentary optional feature for all organizations using InsightRX Nova, and currently is applicable to the Buelga, Goti and Thomson models in the vancomycin (adults) module. A new model for adult vancomycin patients with Class III Obesity InsightRX, in collaboration with the University of Vermont (UVM) Health Network, has developed a new vancomycin model for use in patients with Class III Obesity (BMI of 40 or more). In a data analysis of more than 28,000 treatment courses, this InsightRX-UVM model showed higher accuracy and lower degrees of error in patients with a BMI > 40 when compared to three high-performing models. InsightRX recommends use of the InsightRX-UVM model as the default model for patients with a BMI > 40. Building upon proven results "These new vancomycin models and the InsightRX FitAssist feature will make it easier for clinicians to provide vancomycin patients with highly accurate and individualized doses to ensure safety and efficacy," said Sirj Goswami, PhD, CEO and cofounder of InsightRX. "And through our learnings in infectious disease treatment, we continue to advance the transformative potential of AI-enabled precision dosing into new therapeutic areas, including oncology, organ transplantation, hematology, and more. We are looking forward to discussing these new breakthroughs with attendees at ASHP." InsightRX continues to advance precision dosing intelligence, extending the benefits of precision medicine highlighted above for vancomycin to even more patients by enabling individualization of treatments across a wide range of medications and therapeutic areas. The InsightRX team will also be discussing how its software enables MIPD for more antibiotics, such as beta lactams, as well as more categories of medications, including anticoagulants and antifungals. Come by the InsightRX booth 566 to discuss how precision dosing solutions can help advance clinical practice for your organization. About InsightRX ? InsightRX is a healthcare technology company that has developed cloud-based applications for precision medicine and clinical analytics designed to individualize treatment at the point of care. The platform leverages patient-specific data, pharmacology models, and machine learning to understand each patient's unique pharmacological profile and can be integrated seamlessly within a clinical workflow. Media Contact Maria Meredith Amendola Communications for InsightRX [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/insightrx-brings-groundbreaking-advancements-in-model-informed-precision-dosing-to-the-ashp-midyear-conference-301998621.html SOURCE InsightRX [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] KYODO NEWS - Nov 28, 2023 - 21:31 | World, All, Japan Japanese Ambassador to China Hideo Tarumi met for the first time on Tuesday with a senior Astellas Pharma Inc. employee who was formally arrested by Beijing authorities last month on suspicion of espionage, a Japanese government official said. The man in his 50s, who has been detained since March, has no health issues, the official added. The meeting took place just before Tarumi is set to finish his tenure in China, with Japanese Ambassador to Indonesia Kenji Kanasugi slated to replace him next month. This was the eighth instance of access granted to the man, with only Japanese embassy staff having been allowed to see him before Tarumi's first meeting. The Japanese government has repeatedly urged Beijing to release the businessman as soon as possible and has been providing support to him and his family. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reiterated his call for the man's release during a summit meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco earlier this month. The man, who formerly served as a senior official of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China, was detained just before his scheduled return to Japan. The details of how he may have violated the counterespionage law and criminal code in China remain unknown. Since China's counterespionage law first came into force in November 2014, 17 Japanese citizens, including the Astellas employee, have been detained for alleged involvement in spying activities. Five remain in custody, according to the Japanese government. Related coverage: Japanese man's 12-year prison term over espionage finalized in Chin China formally arrests Japanese man detained for espionage Japan names Yamada as ambassador to U.S., Kanasugi to China [November 28, 2023] Florida-Based Primary Care Practice Switches to eClinicalWorks Multidimensional EHR for a Value-Added, Cost-Effective Solution Tweet eClinicalWorks, the largest ambulatory cloud EHR, today announced that Brandon Area Primary Care, P.A. - a 12-provider primary care practice in Brandon and Apollo Beach, FL - has successfully switched to the eClinicalWorks multidimensional EHR. With eClinicalWorks, the practice can streamline administrative tasks, including scheduling appointments, billing, and accessing patient data and complete medical histories for comprehensive care. To provide patients with cutting-edge care and reduce administrative burdens, Brandon Area Primary Care, P.A. recognized the need for a new partner. In July 2023, the practice switched to eClinicalWorks for a value-added, cost-effective solution. Since its implementation, the practice has already seen a boost in staff productivity and received positive feedback from its patient network. "We needed support on our internal processes and a partner that provided tailored solutions to match the needs of our patients. We selected eClinicalWorks because we were impressed with the ease of use, flexibility, and advanced technology. We believe this partnership will enable us to provide even better health care while streamlining our operations," said Dr. Jason Stibich, medical director of Brandon Area Primary Care, P.A. "We look forward to working closely with eClinicalWorks, helping us seamlessly integrate and optimize our new system, with minimal disruption to patient care." With eClinicalWorks, Brandon Area Primary Care, P.A. has access to leading healthcare IT solutions, including: Messenger, which allows for improved communication and empowers patients in their healthcare. This keeps patients connected to their providers while reducing wait times. which allows for improved communication and empowers patients in their healthcare. This keeps patients connected to their providers while reducing wait times. PRISMA , the industry's first health information search engine. PRISMA allows the practice to access and search relevant patient data from hospitals, urgent care centers, primary care providers, specialties, and more. This information is collected into a readable, searchable table or grid view. This helps the practice prepare for new and existing patients with access to the necessary information for data-driven decisions. the industry's first health information search engine. PRISMA allows the practice to access and search relevant patient data from hospitals, urgent care centers, primary care providers, specialties, and more. This information is collected into a readable, searchable table or grid view. This helps the practice prepare for new and existing patients with access to the necessary information for data-driven decisions. Scribe, an AI-driven speech-to-text voice dictation software built on a natural language platform (NLP), allows for real-time comprehensive notetaking, saving time for physicians to focus on patient encounters. Scribe provides easily digestible notes, avoiding complex and confusing medical jargon. About Brandon Area Primary Care, P.A. Brandon Area Primary Care, P.A. is a physician-owned primary care group dedicated to creating a better you. We have been providing primary care to Brandon, FL. and Apollo Beach, FL, area residents for over thirty years. Our team of over thirty-five providers, nurses, support staff, and administration are 100% dedicated to providing quality and interactive care. To learn more about us, visit www.brandondocs.com, or call (813)-654-2445. About eClinicalWorks eClinicalWorks was founded in 1999 to help digitize paper charts for ambulatory practices. Today, eClinicalWorks leads the nation in innovation with cloud-based solutions for Electronic Health Records and Practice Management. In addition, we help ambulatory practices, specialists, health centers, urgent care facilities, and hospital systems manage their revenue cycle, patient relationships, and Population Health initiatives. More than 180,000 providers and nearly 1 million medical professionals rely upon the power and scalability of the eCW Cloud for flexible clinical documentation, better front-office workflows, and more efficient billing driven by Robotic Process Automation. We combine innovation, leading-edge technology, and a commitment to patient safety to enable practices to grow and thrive amid the challenges of 21st-century healthcare. For more information, visit www.eclinicalworks.com, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, or call (866) 888-6929. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128924302/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 28, 2023] AF Group Named "Automation Champion of the Year" Award Recipient at Excellence in Insurance, Sponsored by Insurity Tweet Insurity, a leading provider of cloud-based software for insurance carriers, brokers, and MGAs, today announced that AF Group was named "Automation Champion of the Year" at Excellence in Insurance. The Excellence in Insurance awards ceremony took place in San Diego. It recognized the outstanding performances of P&C organizations in categories including exceptional policyholder service, digital transformation, and innovative excellence in data and analytics. AF Group is a nationally recognized holding company whose affiliated insurance companies are premier providers of specialty insurance solutions offered through independent agents nationwide. AF Group recognized that a primary challenge their underwriters faced was the time-consuming task of manually searching through multiple sources of loss data, which could lead to incorrect loss projections, underwriting errors, and gaps in pricing. Recognizing the urgency for an automated approach to loss data, AF Group partnered with Groundspeed Analytics to engineer a process that facilitates seamless loss run submissions from AF Group's internal pricing tool directly to Groundspeed. Results are imported into AF Group's loss projection tool within minutes. The outcomes have been transformative, as AF Group's underwriters now operate at increased speed and precision and are more confident in the results they produce Enhanced data mining capabilities have further augmented their ability to assess trends, expenses, and more. "AF Group is grateful to be named the Automation Champion of the Year by Insurity," said Samuel Hosey, Director, Innovation at AF Group. "The power of automation has greatly accelerated our processes and allowed us to tap into increased levels of efficiency. However, it is essential to acknowledge the irreplaceable role of human insight in our operations. Automation has propelled us further in our journey, but the melding of human expertise with technology truly amplifies our success." "Automation continues to be a driving force of change within the industry, and those who successfully incorporate it into their business are poised to succeed in the marketplace," said Sylvester Mathis, Chief Insurance Officer at Insurity. "AF Group demonstrated the ability to successfully harness automation technologies to revolutionize operational processes, enhancing efficiency and productivity." For more information about the Excellence in Insurance awards, please contact [email protected]. About Insurity Insurity is a leading provider of cloud-based software for insurance carriers, brokers, and MGAs. Insurity is trusted by 22 of the top 25 P&C carriers and 7 of the top 10 MGAs in the US and has over 400 cloud-based deployments. Through its best-in-class digital platform, unrivaled industry experience, and the industry's most robust analytics offerings, Insurity is uniquely positioned to deliver exceptional value, empowering customers to focus on their core businesses, optimize their operations, and provide superior policyholder experiences. Insurity is a portfolio company of GI Partners and TA Associates. For more information, visit www.insurity.com. About AF Group AF Group is a nationally recognized holding company whose affiliated insurance companies are premier providers of specialty insurance solutions offered through independent agents nationwide. All policies are underwritten by a licensed insurer subsidiary. For more information, visit afgroup.com. AF Group. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128759175/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 28, 2023] InfoReach Unveils Auto-Q: Streamlining ETF and Fixed Income RFQ Automation Tweet Global Provider of Electronic Trading Technology to Launch new RFQ Tool CHICAGO, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- InfoReach is pleased to introduce InfoReach Auto-Q, a new solution designed to streamline the handling of Requests for Quotes (RFQs) in the ETF and fixed-income markets. InfoReach Auto-Q is a significant advancement in the InfoReach Trade Management System (TMS), offering brokers a more efficient and simplified RFQ process for their clients. Request a Demo Key features: Automated RFQ Management: InfoReach Auto-Q reduces the need for time-consuming, error-prone manual processes. InfoReach Auto-Q reduces the need for time-consuming, error-prone manual processes. Speed and Efficiency: Brokers can respond within milliseconds to client RFQs by utilizing InfoReach Auto-Q's. Brokers can respond within milliseconds to client RFQs by utilizing InfoReach Auto-Q's. Optimized Quote Selection: The system can automatically query multiple quote providers and market makers to select the best quote for the client. It also allows for necessary markups to be applied before forwarding the quote. The system can automatically query multiple quote providers and market makers to select the best quote for the client. It also allows for necessary markups to be applied before forwarding the quote. Seamless Order Execution: If the client decides to proceed with an order based on the provided quote, InfoReach Auto-Q seamlessly executes the order with the selected quote provider. If the client decides to proceed with an order based on the provided quote, InfoReach Auto-Q seamlessly executes the order with the selected quote provider. Instrument Versatility: InfoReach Auto-Q caters to a wide range of financial instruments, including ETFs and fixed-income products. InfoReach Auto-Q caters to a wide range of financial instruments, including ETFs and fixed-income products. Flexible RFQ Types: Whether your clients prefer specifying the side of th quote (buy or sell) or opt for side-neutral RFQs, InfoReach Auto-Q handles both seamlessly. Whether your clients prefer specifying the side of th quote (buy or sell) or opt for side-neutral RFQs, InfoReach Auto-Q handles both seamlessly. Multi-Leg Instrument Support: The system efficiently manages multi-leg instruments, commonly referred to as SWITCHes, catering to the diverse needs of brokers and their clients. Alex Korsky , Vice President of Client Services at InfoReach. "InfoReach has automated Request for Quote Execution (RFQE) for Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and RFQ for Fixed Income Products. This automation will enable sell-side clients of InfoReach to service their customers in the most efficient manner for both the single and the multi-leg ETF trades initiated through RFQE and Fixed income trades initiated in response to RFQ." InfoReach Auto-Q promises to simplify RFQ processing for brokers in the ETF and fixed-income markets, empowering them to better meet their clients' needs in an ever-evolving financial landscape. For more information about InfoReach Auto-Q, please Request a Demo. About InfoReach: InfoReach is an independent provider of multi-asset broker-neutral software solutions for electronic trading, including OMS and EMS platforms for global equities, futures, options, forex, and fixed income. InfoReach's team delivers high-performance technology with high-touch support. InfoReach tailors the buy-side and sell-side client systems to accommodate current and future needs. They are configurable to provide unique adaptations without adding development time and costs. For more than 25 years, InfoReach has helped clients to improve their trade execution process and performance with efficient design and support of consolidated trading tools and a global connectivity network. InfoReach is a privately held company headquartered in Chicago, with offices in New York, Amsterdam, and Sao Paulo. For more information, visit www.inforeachinc.com Follow us on Twitter @InfoReach and check our blog for informational content. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/inforeach-unveils-auto-q-streamlining-etf-and-fixed-income-rfq-automation-301998361.html SOURCE InfoReach, Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 28, 2023] New Brunswick man fined $50,000 for use of a professional engineer's seal Tweet TORONTO, Nov. 28, 2023 /CNW/ - The Ontario Court of Justice at Kitchener fined a New Brunswick man, JAY LAWRENCE HARDING, $50,000 for using a fabricated professional engineer's seal in the course of performing "inspections" and "non-destructive tests" of cranes, lifting devices and related parts. Between 2019 and 2021, Mr. Harding, operating through a sole proprietorship (AJ Ontario Hoist Inspections), used a fabricated seal bearing Harding's name and the title "licensed professional engineer" in the course of performing a large number of "inspections" and "non-destructive tests" of cranes, lifting devices and related parts in several municipalities across Southwestern Ontario. On November 22, 2023, Mr. Harding pled guilty to 27 counts of breaching section 40(2)(c) of the Professional Engineers Act in connection with this conduct. Her Worship Michele Thompson imposed a $50,000 fine on Mr. Harding.> August 29, 2023 , the Honourable Justice Michael Gibson of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice at Kitchener issued a permanent statutory injunction under section 39 of the Professional Engineers Act prohibiting Mr. Harding from holding himself out as a professional engineer or using an engineering seal in Ontario in the future. Matthew Howe and Jeffrey Wang, both from the Toronto law firm Polley Faith LLP, represented PEO on the matter. PEO reminds the public that the unauthorized use or forgery of a professional engineer's seal on construction or design drawings is a quasi-criminal offence under the Professional Engineers Act. Such conduct may also result in criminal charges under the Criminal Code of Canada. Professional Engineers Ontario administers the Professional Engineers Act to serve and protect the public interest by licensing Ontario's 85,000 individual practitioners and engineering firms. Professional engineers can be identified by the P.Eng. after their names. When retaining the services of an engineer or engineering firm, the public may search the directories of licensed professional engineers and authorized professional engineering companies at https://peo.on.ca/directory. Inquiries regarding unlicensed individuals and unauthorized companies may be made to PEO through its enforcement hotline at 416-840-1444 or 1-800-339-3716 ext 1444 or e-mail at [email protected]. SOURCE Professional Engineers Ontario [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 28, 2023] Gatik Named to Fast Company's Annual List of the Next Big Things in Tech Tweet Gatik, the leader in autonomous middle mile logistics, announced today that the company has been named on Fast Company's prestigious Next Big Things in Tech list in the Robotics and Automation category. Gatik provides safe, reliable, and efficient delivery of goods for the nation's largest grocers, retailers, distributors, e-commerce platforms, and CPG companies, including Kroger, Walmart, Loblaw and Tyson Foods. "Gatik's unique autonomous driving technology for the middle mile is optimizing the supply chain for the biggest names in North America," said Gautam Narang, CEO and Co-founder of Gatik. "We are honored to see our achievements recognized again by Fast Company. I am immensely proud of the work our team has accomplished this year, but this is just the beginning - we remain committed to reshaping the future of B2B logistics for generations to come. With 2024 set to be another milestone year for the company, we are excited to continue defining new standards of excellence in the transportation sector for our customer base." Fast Company reviewed thousands of applications, honoring an exemplary group of businesses developing technology built to disrupt the world's most dominant industries from transportation and agriculture, to artificial intelligence and renewable energy. Gatik's inclusion on the list comes following unprecedented technological and commercial progress. The company is on track to achieve Freight-Only operations - the deployment of Gatik's autonomous trucks without a human onboard - at meaningful scale in 2024 and 2025, cementing the company's leadership position in the autonomous trucking sector. "The Next Big Things in Tech is not just a look around the corner-it's a look around the corner after that," says Brendan Vaughan, editor-in-chief of Fast Company. "These are the products and ideas that will define technological innovation for the rest of this decade and beyond-and solve some of the world's most pressing issues. We are thrilled to honor the organizations that are making them a reality." In addition to the Next Big Things in Tech Award, Gatik has made the FreightTech 25 list for the last two years, and ben named a TIME Best Invention of 2022 for the company's World-First Driverless Middle Mile Trucking Solution. Gatik has also been acknowledged by Fast Company on the 2023 List of the World's Most Innovative Companies and on the 2022 List of World Changing Ideas. Chief Technology Officer and Co-founder, Arjun Narang, was recognized as a 2023 Automotive News Rising Star, and Gatik's Chief Engineer, Apeksha Kumavat, was named on the Inc. 2022 Female Founders 100 List. The full list of winners is available at fastcompany.com. About Gatik Gatik, the leader in autonomous middle mile logistics, delivers goods safely and efficiently using its fleet of medium duty trucks. The company focuses on short-haul, B2B logistics for Fortune 500 customers including Kroger, Walmart, Loblaw, Tyson Foods and Pitney Bowes, and in 2021 became the first company worldwide to accomplish driverless commercial deliveries on the middle mile. Gatik's Class 3 - 7 autonomous box trucks are commercially deployed in multiple markets including Texas, Arkansas and Ontario, Canada. Founded in 2017 by veterans of the autonomous technology industry, Gatik partners with industry leaders such as Isuzu, Ryder, Goodyear and Cummins. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California. For more information, visit www.gatik.ai and follow the company on Twitter and LinkedIn. About Fast Company Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. The editor-in-chief is Brendan Vaughan. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with our sister publication, Inc., and can be found online at fastcompany.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128957584/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 28, 2023] SMBC Hires Paul Burke to Lead New Capital Solutions Group Tweet Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), a member of SMBC Group, today announced that Paul Burke has joined the firm to lead a newly created Capital Solutions Group. Based in New York, Paul will work across the SMBC Americas Division banking businesses to evolve balance sheet optimization strategies, while advising clients on loan portfolio and capital optimization transactions, with a focus on financial institutions and sponsor clients. "We are pleased to welcome Paul to Team SMBC as his proven leadership adds significant value to our mix of clients," said Hirofumi Otsuka, Chief Executive Officer, Americas Division and President and CEO of SMBC Americas Holdings, Inc. "Paul's arrival and the creation of the new Capital Solutions Group underscores our commitment to growth in the Americas." With more than 20 years of industry experience, Paul joins SMBC from Morgan Stanley where he spent over 12 years working in both New York and London. He most recently served as the Head of Securitized Products Capital Markets in New York. Prior to Morgan Stanley, he worked in London in various banking roles at firms including Nomra and Royal Bank of Scotland. Paul started his career at Deloitte and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. About SMBC Group SMBC Group is a top-tier global financial group. Headquartered in Tokyo and with a 400-year history, SMBC Group offers a diverse range of financial services, including banking, leasing, securities, credit cards, and consumer finance. The Group has more than 150 offices and 86,000 employees worldwide in nearly 40 countries. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (SMFG) is the holding company of SMBC Group, which is one of the three largest banking groups in Japan. SMFG's shares trade on the Tokyo, Nagoya, and ADRs on the New York (NYSE: SMFG) stock exchanges. In the Americas, SMBC Group has a presence in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Peru. Backed by the capital strength of SMBC Group and the value of its relationships in Asia, the Group offers a range of commercial and investment banking services to its corporate, institutional, and municipal clients. It connects a diverse client base to local markets and the organization's extensive global network. The Group's operating companies in the Americas include Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. (SMBC), SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc., SMBC Nikko Securities Canada, Ltd., SMBC Capital Markets, Inc., SMBC Rail Services LLC, Manufacturers Bank, JRI America, Inc., SMBC Leasing and Finance, Inc., Banco Sumitomo Mitsui Brasileiro S.A., and Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co., Ltd. For more information, please visit www.smbcgroup.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128187920/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 28, 2023] Fivetran's New Capabilities on Amazon S3 Support Generative AI Tweet Fivetran, the global leader in data integration, today announced support for Delta Lake on Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3), further broadening its support for Amazon S3 as a data lake destination. Hundreds of thousands of data lakes run on top of Amazon S3, an object storage service from Amazon Web Services (AWS) that offers industry-leading scalability, data availability, security and performance. Today's news means Fivetran customers can land data in Amazon S3 and easily access their Delta Lake tables. Data lakes are uniquely suited for handling the massive amounts of unstructured and semi-structured data due to their flexibility and scalability. Fivetran's automation transforms data lakes from traditionally ungoverned repositories of data into organized, governed, user-friendly data stores, enabling organizations to quickly access and leverage data to build a variety of use cases, including predictive analytics, generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications, machine learning (ML) models and large language models (LLMs). In April Fivetran announced support for Amazon S3 with Apache Iceberg, another leading high-performance format, with availability also announced today at AWS re:Invent 2023. "We are thrilled to enable our customers to sealessly leverage Delta Lake on Amazon S3," said Fraser Harris, VP of Product at Fivetran. "Data lakes have proven to be the ideal foundation for machine learning, AI and generative AI projects. This enhancement represents a significant step forward in simplifying data management for such initiatives." Fivetran brings data governance capabilities, industry-leading security and compliance, cost efficiency, and ease of use to data destinations. Fivetran's no-code platform offers enterprises a simple, flexible way to move data from nearly any data source to any destination. Whether customer data is found in on-premises databases or data warehouses, data lakes, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) apps, files, or events, Fivetran can move and replicate it from one source to another with 99.9% uptime. Common use cases range from migrating strategic data workloads from a cloud data warehouse to data lake for use in AI/ML modeling or generative AI application building, to replicating entire production on-premises databases in the cloud - using change data capture to keep cloud data in sync at all times. By choosing Fivetran, customers can leverage these capabilities and avoid the complexity and lack of governability that may hinder data lake adoption at scale. Fivetran's data platform automatically converts customer data to Delta Lake format and ensures data quality by anonymizing personally identifiable information (PII), cleansing and normalizing the data. Fivetran's 400+ pre-built connectors and fully managed data pipeline platform supports on-premises and cloud databases, data warehouses, SaaS applications, events and files. Fivetran can also create custom connectors which means that no matter the data source, Fivetran can support it - so customers don't have to spend precious engineering resources on connector development. This broad portfolio of source compatibility enables customers to unify their data in the data lake, regardless of where it currently resides. Find out more about Fivetran's data lake destinations. About Fivetran Fivetran automates data movement out of, into and across cloud data platforms. We automate the most time-consuming parts of the ELT process from extracts to schema drift handling to transformations, so data engineers can focus on higher-impact projects with total pipeline peace of mind. With 99.9% uptime and self-healing pipelines, Fivetran enables hundreds of leading brands across the globe, including Autodesk, Conde Nast, JetBlue, Lufthansa, Morgan Stanley and Pitney Bowes, to accelerate data-driven decisions and drive business growth. Fivetran is headquartered in Oakland, California, with offices around the world. For more information, visit fivetran.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128854387/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 28, 2023] Abu Dhabi's Advanced Technology Research Council launches 'AI71': New AI Company Pioneering Decentralised Data Control for Companies & Countries Tweet In an era of rapid advancements across artificial intelligence (AI), Abu Dhabi's Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC) is making yet another bold stride with the launch of its new AI company, AI71. The entity builds on the Technology Innovation Institute's (TII) Falcon generative AI models and will focus on multi-domain specializations while offering unprecedented AI data control options for companies and countries looking to self-host for greater privacy. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128549220/en/ H.H. Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council launches AI71 along with H.E Faisal Al Bannai, Secretary General, Advanced Technology Research Council (Photo: AETOSWire) The new AI powerhouse was launched by H.H. Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, in the presence of several ministers and representatives of leading multinational technology companies. While ATRC's Technology Innovation Institute developed the Falcon 7B, 40B, and 180B large language models (LLMs), it will be ATRC's VentureOne subsidiary that takes AI71 to market across multiple domains, starting with the medical, educational, and legal sectors. Enabling access to vast storehouses of anonymized data in these verticals - representing a rich and diverse demographic - AI71 will offer a critical differentiator over other serious AI markets oday - namely, the UAE's highly digitized and comparatively mature e-infrastructure. At a time where innovation often outpaces regulatory frameworks, the UAE government's swift decision-making structure uniquely positions the new company to leverage its responsible AI advancements globally, bypassing the lengthy processes often associated with such developments. Through partnerships and collaborations, AI71 will enable clients to deploy its AI models and benefit from access to sophisticated data reservoirs to ensure outstanding generative AI performance. More importantly, AI71 will enable decentralized data ownership, allowing clients to retain control of their own data. This offering will set new standards for privacy and security, serving as a differentiator for AI projects where data sovereignty is critical. This is a game-changing option for AI accessibility, particularly for enterprises, large corporations, and foreign government entities keen to ensure that their data remains private. AI71 will be built on a pro-innovation, whole-of-society approach, and on the premise that AI technology should not remain in the hands of a few but be accessible to more people to foster creative innovation. The new AI company is focused on deepening the credentials of Abu Dhabi and the wider UAE as a serious AI contender, and in doing so, signposting the coming of age of the country's knowledge economy. H.E. Faisal Al Bannai, Secretary General of the Advanced Technology Research Council, said: "In the UAE, collaboration is more than a practice - it's embedded in our DNA. Our Falcon generative AI models, at the heart of AI71, empower developers, companies, and countries, and grants them autonomy to steer their own data destiny. With access to the UAE's centralized datasets, the deliberate commercialization of our AI models across diverse sectors stands as a pivotal element in our AI71 roadmap. While we explore this avenue, we also make a firm commitment to perpetually open sourcing Falcon AI models, because only by democratizing these precious data resources do we truly benefit all of society." The first of AI71's cutting-edge specializations will have a medical focus and seek to transform capabilities in diagnosis and decision-making, significantly changing the accuracy and time spent on each patient. The educational and legal sectors are also to gain value from AI integration and enhancements - impacting each domain with nuanced benefits that lead to new solutions to support societal development. AI71 is collaborating with seven partners across the ecosystem. These encompass the Department of Government Enablement - Abu Dhabi, which centralizes over 30 government entities through digitization; the Office of Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications, to support with broader adoption; World Wide Technology to co-develop integrated on-premise AI solutions; CNTXT to provide data labeling and annotation services; Hub71 to attract and scale tech and AI startups; PwC Middle East to address customer use cases; and AWS to supply compute power capacity. With AI influencing how we live and work for the foreseeable future, the newly established company is looking to grow its offerings for enterprises based on industry demand and facilitate the widespread diffusion of AI across the broader economy. AI71 presents an opportunity to lead a step change and drive an AI-first ecosystem in the UAE and beyond. As AI71 makes an impact across enterprises, industries, and governments, VentureOne will introduce new specializations to meet growing demand from various sectors. *Source: AETOSWire View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128549220/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 28, 2023] Metronet Declares Fayetteville Certified Gigabit City Powered by Metronet Tweet Metronet has officially declared the City of Fayetteville a Certified Gigabit City Powered by Metronet after the company's ultra-high-speed, multi-gigabit fiber optic network became accessible to a majority of households and businesses throughout the city. To date, Metronet has installed more than 170 miles of fiber optic internet throughout Fayetteville, bringing future-proof multi-gigabit speeds to residents and businesses through their fully-funded $70 million investment in the community. "The City of Fayetteville is proud to be recognized as a Certified Gigabit City Powered by Metronet. With Metronet's investment in our city, residents and businesses have gained widespread access to a reliable internet connection, an imperative need in today's world," said Fayetteville City Manager Douglas J. Hewett. "As Fayetteville continues to focus on our advancement as a connected, forward-thinking city, Metronet's commitment to our community has helped us make large strides to achieving our goals." "Fayetteville and Cumberland County are growing. Metronet's investment in our community is providing our citizens and businesses exponentially expanded access to state-of-the-art fiber optic infrastructure, allowing them access to rapidly evolving opportunities for learning, employment, and enjoyment," said Robert Van Geons, Fayetteville Economic Development Center President and CEO. "Metronet is a trailblazer, and their selection of Fayetteville as their first North Carolina city has positively impacted our economic development efforts and future trajectory. Metronet has been an excellent partner, and we are grateful for their commitment to Fayetteville, Cumberland County, and the surrounding region. We look forward to a bright future full of innovation and collaboration." "Metronet is excited to officially declare Fayetteville a Certified Gigabit City Powered by Metronet as we continue to connect residents and businesses throughout Fayetteville to our multi-gigabit 100% fiber optic internet," said Telly Whitfield, Metronet Government Affairs Director. "We are sincerely grateful for the steadfast support of city leadership as we have moved through our construction efforts to power Fayetteville with Metronet's 100% fiber optic internet and the future of technology." Metronet began construction in Fayetteville in 2021 and has since grown to become the nation's largest independently owned, 100% fiber opti provider, rapidly growing to create more Certified Gigabit Cities Powered by Metronet. Fayetteville residents interested in learning more about Metronet's future-proof services may visit Metronet.com. Metronet maintains a storefront located at 399 Westwood Shopping Center, Fayetteville, NC 28314, and currently employs several local associates in departments such as sales, marketing, customer service and field operations. Those interested in joining the Metronet team can visit Metronet.com/careers to search available positions and submit applications. Certification as a Certified Gigabit City Powered by Metronet is earned once a majority of households and business locations have access to Metronet's symmetrical fiber optic internet speeds of at least 1 Gigabit (1,000 megabits per second). The number of households is based on the total Households (2017-2021) and the number of business locations is based on total All firms (2017) from the U.S. Census Bureau. City officials interested in adding their community to Metronet's growing list of "Certified Gigabit Cities Powered by Metronet" may visit metronet.com/gigabit-city or contact Eddie Massengale, Metronet Sr. Director of Business Development at [email protected] or at 423-280-9031. High-resolution logos and photos available upon request. About Metronet: Metronet is the nation's largest independently owned, 100% fiber optic company headquartered in Evansville, Indiana. The customer-focused company provides cutting-edge fiber optic communication services, including high-speed Fiber Internet and full-featured Fiber Phone. Metronet started in 2005 with one fiber optic network in Greencastle, Indiana. Since then, Metronet and its affiliates have grown to serve and construct networks in more than 250 communities across Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Texas, Wisconsin, Missouri, Colorado, New Mexico, and Louisiana. Metronet is committed to bringing state-of-the-art telecommunication services to communities - services that are comparable or superior to those offered in large metropolitan areas. By offering XGS PON technology, Metronet can easily carry its communities into the future of multi-gigabit service. Metronet has been recognized by PC Mag as one of the Top 10 Fastest ISPs in North Central United States in 2020 and Top 10 ISPs with Best Gaming Quality Index in 2021. Broadband Now has recognized Metronet as the Top 3 Fastest Internet Providers and Fastest Fiber Providers in the Nation in 2020, and #1 Fastest Mid-Sized Internet Provider in two states in 2020. In 2020, Metronet was awarded the Vectren Energy Safe Digging Partner Award from Vectren. For more information, visit www.Metronet.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128019075/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 28, 2023] The Cyber AB Announces Election of New Board Officers Tweet The Cyber AB announced today the election of new officers to lead its Board of Directors in 2024-2025. Current Vice Chair Paul Michaels was elected by the Board to serve as Chairman; Mathew Newfield, who served as Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee, will become Vice Chair; and Debbie Taylor Moore will serve as Secretary. This transition is within the normal cycle of the organization's governance procedures. Current Board Chairman Jeff Dalton will remain on the Board for the remainder of his current Directorship tenure through 2025 and will enjoy the title of Chairman Emeritus. Sheryl Hanchar, the incumbent Secretary, will also remain on the Board for the fulfillment of her second term as a Director. Chairman Dalton reflected, "I set a goal of professionalizing the Board when I assumed the chairmanship and I feel like we have made tremendous progress in that direction, both through the addition of extremely talented and dedicated new Directors and the advent of formal certification training with the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). And while I am disappointed that CMMC has not yet commenced as a formal program, I know the AB has played a valuable role in growing the CMMC Ecosystem while we wait for the compleion of federal rulemaking." During Chairman Dalton's tenure, the organization re-branded itself as The Cyber AB, created the Cybersecurity Assessor and Instructor Certification Organization, and added four new members to the Board. Chairman-Elect Paul Michaels remarked, "I am excited for the honor of leading the AB's Board and grateful to my fellow Directors for their trust and confidence. Thanks to the efforts of Chairman Dalton, the quality, productivity, and collegiality of the Board have improved immeasurably over the past two years. I look forward to building upon that and driving the Boad to provide the necessary guidance and oversight to the organization as CMMC operationalizes." Mr. Michaels is the Chief Security Officer at Fortinet Federal, Inc. and a Board Member of the George C. Marshall International Center. Mr. Newfield, the incoming Vice Chairman, is President of Media Solutions at Diversified and joined the Board in 2021. Ms. Moore, the new Secretary of the Board, has been a Director since 2022 and is currently Senior Partner and Vice President for Global Cybersecurity at IBM Consulting. The new Board officers will assume their duties on January 1, 2024 and serve a two-year term. For more information on The Cyber AB Board, please visit the AB's website at www.cyberab.org. About The Cyber AB The CMMC Accreditation Body, Inc. (d/b/a The Cyber AB) is a private, independent, Maryland-based, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that serves as the sole official non-governmental CMMC partner of the Department of Defense, via a no-cost contract, supporting the registration, accreditation, certification, and oversight of the CMMC Ecosystem. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128288151/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has urged governments to formulate the supportive policies needed to enable aviations decarbonisation, as agreed at the Third Conference on Aviation Alternative Fuels (CAAF/3) hosted by The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Dubai. CAAF/3 delivered critical agreement on: A global framework to promote Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production in all geographies around the world. The aim is that aviation fuel in 2030 is 5% less carbon intensive than fossil fuel used today by the industry. Acknowledging that certain states have the capacity to progress as a faster pace, and that others do not. Capacity building, a Finvest Hub, and voluntary technology transfer, are all among the measures put forward to ensure that all countries can partake in a global SAF market. The need for a solution that can foster a global SAF market while enabling airlines to claim the environmental attributes of their SAF purchases against their decarbonisation obligations, based on a global and robust SAF accounting framework. Governments have understood the critical role of SAF to achieve net-zero emissions for aviation by 2050. The CAAF/3 results add a vision on the shorter, 2030, time horizon that is ambitious. To that end, the CAAF/3 agreement signals to the world in no uncertain terms the need for policies that enable real progress. There is no time to lose. IATA now expects governments to urgently put the strongest possible policies in place to unlock the full potential of a global SAF market with an exponential increase in production, said Willie Walsh, IATAs Director General. Demand Signal and Policies to Support SAF Production This is necessary because airlines demand for SAF, in line with their commitment to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, vastly exceeds the availability of SAF today, which is limited to 0.2% of airlines jet fuel consumption in 2023. Airlines have sent major demand signals to the SAF production market: All SAF produced in 2022 was bought, at an additional cost to the industry of around USD 500 million, as SAF is priced at a significant premium over the price of jet fuel. There are increasing examples of airlines vertically integrating into the supply chain, with some committing equity and risk capital into SAF projects. Airlines have entered into forward purchase agreements for SAF worth around a total of USD 45 billion, well in excess of todays SAF availability. We need to see governments acting on the CAAF/3 declaration with policies that expand SAF production in all its shapes and forms. Despite unequivocal demand signals, the SAF production market is not developing fast enough. We need SAF everywhere in the world, and to that end, the right supportive policies policies that can stimulate production, promote competition, foster innovation, and attract financing - must be put in place today, said Walsh. IATA calls on governments to adopt policies to maximise SAF production globally by: Enabling producers to take fullest advantage of local feedstock availability Enacting positive not punitive policies Balancing existing and future potential policy support across different energy sources and preferably strive to favour renewable energies and ensure SAFs fair share of the latter Recognise that the road to success in to transform aviation and achieve reaching net-zero carbon emissions is a collective responsibility Marie Owens Thomsen, IATAs Senior Vice President Sustainability and Chief Economist, said: The goal is maximising SAF production everywhere with positive, not punitive, policy measures. Airlines are ready with open arms to catch the resulting SAF production. While airlines are at the sharp end of decarbonisation, they cannot bear the burden alone. CAAF/3 has again made it clear that aviations decarbonisation will require the wholehearted and united efforts of the entire value chain and governments as we all focus on net-zero by 2050. To be perfectly clear, where government money leads, private money will follow. It is absolutely essential that governments play their part, and we will certainly play ours. TradeArabia News Service KYODO NEWS - Nov 28, 2023 - 13:53 | All, Japan A group of officers based at a central Japan police station are expected to be referred to prosecutors over allegations they failed to make adequate medical care available to a detained man who suffered chronic diseases, leading to his death late last year, an investigative source said Tuesday. The case of the 43-year-old man is being investigated as professional negligence resulting in death. The Aichi prefectural police are making arrangements to send investigative papers to prosecutors detailing the allegations against the officers from the Okazaki police station who were in charge of detention cells. The station's police chief is unlikely to face charges due to the apparent difficulty of foreseeing the man's death, according to the source. The man was arrested on Nov. 25 last year for allegedly obstructing official duties and died in a police cell on Dec. 4 from kidney failure, according to an autopsy. He was battling diabetes and schizophrenia at the time. The man had been placed in solitary confinement as a result of violent behavior and restraining devices were used on him for more than 130 hours. He was not given access to medicine for his chronic illnesses, nor provided medical assistance even though he was refusing meals. Security camera footage also showed the man being apparently kicked, with those allegedly involved in the attack also possibly set to be referred to prosecutors for assault by police and judicial officials. The assault is unlikely to have any causal connection with the death of the man, according to the source. The prefectural police searched the Okazaki police station in December and have been questioning officers based there. Related coverage: Tokyo gov't ordered to pay damages for death of arrested Nepalese man Family of dead Sri Lankan detainee demands apology from Japan gov't [November 28, 2023] Enter the Nationwide Jingle Challenge High School Music Contest COLUMBUS, Ohio, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As the Nationwide jingle continues to capture the attention of thousands of TikTok content creators, the U.S.-based financial services and insurance giant is looking to inspire even more creative versions of the "Nationwide is on your side" jingle. To do that, the company is partnering with the dynamic young woman who helped the jingle go viral on TikTok. Who is Zaya Campbell? She's Nationwide's newest partner and is helping launch a new contest designed to support music teachers and programs. Nationwide is teaming up with 11-year-old aspiring artist and social media darling Zaya Campbell. Through this partnership, Ms. Campbell will create content for Nationwide's social media channels. "Nationwide, like thousands of others, was blown away by Zaya's take on our iconic jingle," said Ramon Jones, Nationwide's Chief Marketing Officer. "We're excited to work with such a talented young lady to spread our 'On Your Side' message to the next generation of customers and look forward to helping Ms. Campbell meet her future goals." Zaya and Nationwide are getting right to work, launching a new social media campaign that will benefit educators across the country. Nationwide Jingle Chllenge High School Music Contest The Nationwide Jingle Challenge High School Music Contest will give U.S. high school choirs, bands, glee clubs and similar musical performance groups a chance to put their own creative mark on the Nationwide jingle and perhaps win funds to further their school's musical program. How to enter: Teachers or music directors will upload their group's version of the Nationwide jingle to TikTok using the #NationwideChallengeContest and tagging @nationwide in the copy/caption. The five entries with the most likes at the end of the Contest Period will each win $5,000 to support the school music programs associated with the winning group. "Nationwide has supported education and educators for decades," said Jones. "Through programs like Prom Promise, the Golden Owl Award and many others, Nationwide has helped teachers provide an extraordinary education for students of all ages, and in turn created awareness about insurance, financial services and planning for retirement once their time in the classroom is over. The Nationwide Jingle Challenge is the latest such program." The Challenge runs from Nov. 28 through Dec. 13, 2023. Additional contest details are located on Nationwide's Newsroom. Official contest rules can be found here. About Nationwide Nationwide, a Fortune 100 company based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the largest and strongest diversified insurance and financial services organizations in the United States. Nationwide is rated A+ by both A.M. Best and Standard & Poor's. An industry leader in driving customer-focused innovation, Nationwide provides a full range of insurance and financial services products including auto, business, homeowners, farm and life insurance; public and private sector retirement plans, annuities, mutual funds and ETFs; excess & surplus, specialty and surety; and pet, motorcycle and boat insurance. For more information, visit www.nationwide.com. Follow the Company on Facebook and X. Nationwide, Nationwide is on your side and the Nationwide N and Eagle are service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. 2023 Contact: Misty Kiger (614) 249-6349 [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/enter-the-nationwide-jingle-challenge-high-school-music-contest-301999661.html SOURCE Nationwide [November 28, 2023] Multiplex Construction Canada and McMaster Innovation Park Celebrate the OmniaBio Project Delivery Tweet HAMILTON, ON, Nov. 28, 2023 /CNW/ - One year following the initiation of construction on the OmniaBio B Building at McMaster Innovation Park (MIP), the Multiplex Construction Canada team is pleased to announce the successful delivery of the OmniaBio B Base Build. Executed under the innovative Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) method, this project showcases an on-time and on-budget project delivery, providing the core and shell infrastructure for accessibility to MIP and its partners, OmniaBio. Frances Grabowski, Vice President of Development and Design at MIP and the lead of the IPD tea, expressed her satisfaction with the project's conclusion. "The OmniaBio project exemplifies the efficacy of Integrated Project Delivery. Our vision was to streamline the construction process and expedite the development of a cutting-edge CDMO infrastructure. Through effective collaboration and an unwavering commitment to excellence, we successfully realized our objectives." The IPD approach facilitated efficient communication and cooperation among all stakeholders, resulting in the punctual delivery of the world-class building. President and Managing Director of Multiplex Construction Canada Terry Olynyk also shared that he takes "immense pride in the dedication and hard work demonstrated by our entire construction team. Their tireless efforts have not only led to the successful completion of the OmniaBio B Building project but have also reinforced our steadfast commitment to delivering construction projects of the highest quality. The collaboration fostered through the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) approach has been instrumental in our success. We are delighted to celebrate this significant milestone alongside MIP, trade partners, consultants, and the broader community." OmniaBio, planned at 400,000 square feet, will be the largest CDMO exclusively manufacturing for cell and gene therapies in Canada. MIP has now delivered the core and shell of the first phase, 90,000 SF. The building's occupancy is projected for summer 2024. ABOUT MULTIPLEX Multiplex is a premier construction company with a simple purpose: to construct a better future. We are a leading global contractor that has been shaping skylines and creating thriving places around the world for over 60 years. Collaborating with clients, consultants and trades, we have a proven track record of delivering some of the most complex, large-scale and sustainable projects in the Greater Toronto Area. We move standards forward at every phase, managing all projects through our certified systems, industry-leading health and safety approaches and digital capabilities, and ensuring our buildings create positive impacts for the environment and local communities. ABOUT McMASTER INNOVATION PARK McMaster Innovation Park (MIP) is Canada's premier research and innovation park based in the heart of southwestern Ontario and home to over fifty companies in the Life Science, Engineering & Advanced Manufacturing and high-tech sectors. MIP's proven ability to support and grow mid-market / SME enterprises results in faster, more economically impactful, and lower-risk investments for government and private investors alike. SOURCE McMaster Innovation Park [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 28, 2023] Linearis Opened its New Laboratory Offering an AI Biomarkers Analytical Platform for Innovation Against Cancer, Diabetes, Antimicrobial Resistance, and Other Metabolic Diseases Tweet Leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), Linearis provides a comprehensive health status based on the analysis of 1,400 metabolomic biomarkers through mass spectrometry. The platform will enable its clients to improve prevention, screening, treatment monitoring, and new drug discovery. QUEBEC, Nov. 28, 2023 /CNW/ - Linearis Labs Inc ("Linearis"), an innovative company at the intersection of AI and biomarker analysis, announces today the inauguration of its new laboratory facilities at a site formerly occupied by Medicago Inc ("Medicago"). Following the announcement of the cessation of their operations after 26 years, Linearis acquired over 650 scientific instruments and hired some of their most seasoned specialized personnel in mass spectrometry, quality assurance, and laboratory management. The combination of AI and high-throughput automated analysis of 1,400 metabolomic biomarkers enables Linearis to better identify numerous elements associated with metabolic diseases including cancer, diabetes, and antimicrobial resistance. This global approach will improve prevention, screening, treatment monitoring, and drug discovery. With its large capacity, Linearis' analytical services cater to biobanks, researchers, clinical research organizations, and biopharmaceutical companies. "We are grateful for the support from Medicago during this transaction enabling the creation of this innovative and collaborative laboratory. The identification of disease signatures not only makes prevention accessible, but it also contributes to improving the prevention, screening, discovery of treatments, and acceleration of precision medicine," said Alexandre Le Bouthillier, President and CEO of Linearis. Linearis plans to deliver its first analyses in the first quarter of 2024 and is supported by a dynamic AI and health ecosystem, including AP-HP, Axelys, BioQuebec, BQC19, CRCHUM, CQDM, FRQ, Genome Quebec, TransMedTech Institut, INAF, IRIC, IVADO, MEDTEQ+, Mila, Montreal InVivo, NUTRISS, Quartier de l'Innovation en Sante, Sorbonne Universite, Starpax, McGill University, TMIC, University of Montreal, University of Ottawa, Laval University amongst many others. "We wish the laboratory instruments acquired by Linearis as a part of our wind-up process, contribute to the advancements in biotechnology and AI while bearing the fruits of a healthy future accessible to all," said Toshifumi Tada, President and CEO of Medicago. "With facilities such as the metabolomics lab launched by Linearis, we are on a trajectory to collect large quantities of individualized data that would be difficult for human minds to absorb, analyze, and track, but advances in AI are changing that, opening the door to novel understanding and mitigation of diseases that are likely to be transformative for healthcare, for example to fight cancer, diabetes or antimicrobial resistance." said Yoshua Bengio, Scientific Director, Mila & IVADO, Turing Award Recipient. Press Conference: Linearis will hold a press conference at 15:40 EST on November 28th 2023, during the Quebec Health Industry Forum ( FISQ ) an event by Quebec International and Quebec VITAE, which takes place at the Voltigeur de Quebec Armory (805 Wilfrid-Laurier Ave in Quebec City, Canada). About Linearis Linearis is transforming healthcare by merging artificial intelligence and biomarker analysis to enhance patient care with more precise, accessible prevention, detection, treatment of metabolic diseases including cancer, diabetes, and antimicrobial resistance. The team unites unparalleled, world-renowned experts in biomarker discovery, drug development, biopharma, and healthcare innovation. Alexandre Le Bouthillier, a serial AI entrepreneur and CEO, collaborates with Jacques Corbeil, holder of the Canada Research Chair in Medical Genomics and CSO, and Manon Boisclair, a global biopharma executive and COO/CCO. Together, they have discovered and internationally marketed medical diagnostics and treatments. Contributions from Yoshua Bengio, a co-father of modern AI and Turing Prize winner, David Wishart, curator of the Human Metabolome Database, and Nathalie Tremblay, an expert in Health Innovation and Strategic Alliances, bolster Linearis' efforts in providing the first certified industrial laboratory that combines high-throughput metabolomic analysis and AI. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/linearis-opened-its-new-laboratory-offering-an-ai-biomarkers-analytical-platform-for-innovation-against-cancer-diabetes-antimicrobial-resistance-and-other-metabolic-diseases-301999161.html SOURCE Linearis [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [November 28, 2023] Console & Associates, P.C.: ZeroedIn Technologies Reports Social Security Numbers Data Breach Affecting 1.9 Million Consumers Tweet MARLTON, N.J., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Approximately 1.9 million consumers are being notified that their Social Security numbers and other information were compromised after an unauthorized party gained access to the computer network of ZeroedIn Technologies. The data breach lawyers at Console & Associates, P.C. are investigating claims on behalf of anyone affected by the ZeroedIn Technologies breach, hoping to fully inform them of the risks they face in the wake of the breach as well as their legal rights. The sensitive personal data of 1,977,486 consumers has been compromised. Now, their full names, Social Security numbers and dates of birth may be in the hands of criminals, putting victims at a greater risk of identity theft and other frauds. On November 27, 2023, ZeroedIn Technologies filed a notice with the Attorney General of Maine describing a data breach affecting consumers nationwide. According to the notice, the incident resulted from an unauthorized party obtaining access to ZeroedIn Technologies' computer network between August 7, 2023 and August 8, 2023. On August 31, 2023, after an investigation, ZeroedIn Technologies confirmed that the unauthorized actor was able to access files containing confidential consumer information. The list of sensitive information that was exposed includes: Names, Addresses, and Social Securitynumbers. If you receive a data breach notice from ZeroedIn Technologies, you could now be at risk of identity theftand the devastating financial and legal consequences that go along with it. What Should You Do if You Receive a ZeroedIn Technologies Data Breach Letter? Individuals who receive a data breach letter from ZeroedIn Technologies should take steps to protect themselves. (See our Guide for Victims of Data Breach for more details at https://www.myinjuryattorney.com/consumer-privacy-data-breach-lawyers/if-your-information-has-been-compromised-in-a-data-breach/). Additionally, victims should consider contacting a data breach attorney immediately, as anyone who receives a data breach letter from ZeroedIn Technologies may be entitled to financial compensation. If you wish to discuss this data security incident, please contact Console & Associates, P.C. at (866) 778-5500. You can also learn more about this data breach and potential lawsuit at https://www.myinjuryattorney.com/data-breach-investigation-zeroedin-technologies/. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/console--associates-pc-zeroedin-technologies-reports-social-security-numbers-data-breach-affecting-1-9-million-consumers-301999833.html SOURCE Console & Associates, P.C. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Baptist World Aid, as a nonprofit organization, is dedicated to addressing and alleviating global poverty through a multifaceted approach. The organization places a strong emphasis on community development, recognizing that sustainable solutions require a comprehensive understanding of the specific needs and challenges faced by communities. With a presence in 22 countries, Baptist World Aid collaborates closely with 35 in-country project partners to implement 67 projects that extend beyond immediate relief efforts, targeting the root causes of poverty. By doing so, the organization aims to create enduring positive change and empower vulnerable populations to break free from the cycles of poverty. In addition to community development, Baptist World Aid is actively engaged in disaster relief and advocacy initiatives. Baptist World Aid also strives to influence policies and practices at local, national and international levels to create an environment that fosters social justice and equitable opportunities for those living in poverty. Managing the myriad global locations, employees and partners is no easy task, though. Baptist World Aid needs an integrated cloud contact center and communications platform capable of supporting customer engagement and employee communications and collaboration for support and donation processing. Baptist World Aid needed a solution that integrated with their existing Microsoft (News - Alert) Teams solution to provide accurate, real-time data and analytics. 8x8 Inc. meets those needs. So, Baptist World Aid deployed the 8x8 (News - Alert) XCaaS integrated cloud contact center and unified communications platform with 8x8 Voice for Microsoft Teams and the solution certified for Teams 8x8 Contact Center. 8x8 XCaaS is a cloud-based communication solution that integrates contact center, voice, video and chat. It is a single-vendor cloud solution for employee and customer engagement, and includes fully integrated contact center, voice, video meetings, team chat and CPaaS APIs and embeddable apps. The platform is designed to help boost employee productivity, delight customers and help businesses make smarter business decisions. Baptist World Aid chose the 8x8 XCaaS platform for its call quality, improved quality management and reporting capabilities and integration with Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Dynamics 365. 8x8s ease of use and product support has also allowed Baptist World Aid to focus more on important, life altering projects and goals and less on software maintenance. "8x8 has completely changed the way we approach our communications strategy and our eyes have been opened to the vast array of features and possibilities available, said Eun Bie Lee, Support Engagement Manager at Baptist World Aid. With 8x8, were able to accomplish so much more, regardless of location." 8x8 XCaaS is a resilient, secure and compliant platform that offers a high level of reliability with a financially backed, platform-wide 99.999% uptime SLA across an integrated cloud UCaaS and CCaaS solution. Baptist World Aid now has an organization-wide integrated platform for communications, collaboration and customer engagement across mobile, desktop and web to deliver superior customer experiences. Baptist World Aid is doing incredible work around the world to alleviate poverty, and a big piece of having an impact is being able to effectively communicate with everyone involved, said Hunter Middleton, Chief Product Officer at 8x8. With 8x8 XCaaS, not only does Baptist World Aid get a seamless, integrated contact center and unified communications platform, they also get the benefits of working within the familiar Teams interface. Edited by Alex Passett Update on an early morning homicide as the quotient of local violence continues to escalate. Again . . . Kansas City remains less than 10 homicides from breaking ANOTHER all-time record for deadly violence. Here's the report . . . Homicide 1930 block of Park Tower Dr On 11/28/2023 just after 12 am, officers were dispatched to 1930 block of Park Tower Dr on a reported sounds of shots. Upon arrival, officers were notified a shooting had occurred and were directed inside an apartment where they located an adult male suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. EMS responded to the scene and pronounced the victim deceased. The circumstances leading up to the homicide are unknown. There is no one in custody at this time and we have no reason to believe there is an immediate risk to the public. Homicide detectives and Crime Scene Personnel have responded to the scene. They will be processing the scene to recover any evidence and speaking to any potential witnesses. Anyone with information is asked to call homicide detectives at 816-234-5043. Or if you wish to remain anonymous you can do so by calling the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS. There is a reward of up to $25,000 for information provided to TIPS which leads to an arrest in the case. We are committed to assisting victims of violent crimes through use of Missouris Protection Program for Victims/Witnesses of Violent Crime. Funding for temporary, or even permanent relocation, may be available but is subject to pre-approval by the States administering agency. We are working with Partners for Peace in all our homicide investigations to monitor risks for retaliation and provide social services to affected residents. ################ Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . . 1 person killed in early morning homicide inside apartment near 19th, Park Tower Drive The Jackson County Sheriff says there was an early morning homicide near 19th and Park Tower Drive in Kansas City, Missouri. Shooting at east Kansas City apartment leaves one man dead Kansas City Police are investigating after an overnight shooting in east Kansas City near Park Tower Road and Wheeling Avenue. 45-year-old man found shot, killed inside Kansas City apartment building overnight KCPD and the Jackson County Sheriff's Office are investigating the early morning incident near 19th Street and Park Tower Drive Developing . . . Tonight we share a quick roundup on recent crime reporting, local crime & punishment conversations and just a bit of good news toward the end of the compilation . . . Check TKC news gathering . . . Family of Kansas City teen killed in accidental shooting urges teens to 'stop playing' with guns The family of a Kansas City teen is trying to make sense of a shooting that happened inside their home over the weekend. Kansas City asks for feedback as it plans to build its own jail As Kansas City now plans to build its own jail instead of partnering with Jackson County, the city is now asking residents to weigh in. It's not just unsafe, it's illegal: Trooper weighs in on clearing snow off every car window The Kansas City area just had its first snowfall of the winter season, and with that comes the disappointment of pulling out the ice scraper again. As tedious as it may be, it's a safe and necessary choice to completely clean the snow off every window on your car. Late-night street race in Kansas City leaves 2 dead, destroys bus stop It happened just before 11 p.m. at the intersection 55th Street and Prospect Ave. Police warn parents of new iPhone feature after newest iOS update Authorities are warning iPhone users of one of the features from the newest iPhone update. KCK student arrested after gun found at high school A Kansas City, Kansas, student was arrested Monday after allegedly bringing a gun to F. L. Schlagle High School. Police officers awarded for life-saving measures They raced to the scene, sprinted to the door and immediately began chest compressions... Developing . . . Everything about this story was mostly mischaracterized . . . Don't worry . . . The leading GOP nominee for Prez in 2024 is earning EPIC support, cheers and polling numbers outpacing any competition for promising mass deportations and the end of birthright citizenship. In the meantime . . . We wanted to share this quote that at least offers some perspective from both sides of this politically charged Missouri slap fight . . . Arrey Obenson, president and CEO of the International Institute of St. Louis, said the resolution distorts the work his organization does. The institute, located in Tower Grove East, offers economic and cultural integration services, English classes, employment, orientation and citizenship preparation to migrants. Having a resolution that talks about illegal migrants mischaracterizes the work we do, and this doesnt speak well of our region, Obenson said Monday. Our Latino outreach program seeks to bring people here, not turn them away. Council member Joe Brazil introduced the resolution after the International Institute announced an effort to build the areas workforce with immigrants through its Latino Outreach Program. Brazil criticized the Biden administrations program as having illegally brought the immigrants to the U.S. Missouri is one of 20 states fighting the program in court. This is about the federal government not following the constitution and the law, Brazil said Monday of President Bidens immigration program. It is not on a case-by-case basis, and it has no public benefit. Brazil said the resolution was misinterpreted as being anti-immigration, when its really against the administration's program. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . Yuletide traditions, the cozy and festive rituals we see around Christmas, are not just limited to the West. When you look at Asia, a continent rich in diversity and culture, these traditions take on a whole new flavor. From the twinkling lights in Tokyo to the harmonic carols in Manila, Yuletide in Asia is a blend of the familiar and the wonderfully unique. Now, you might think Yuletide is all about snow, Santa, and stockings. But in Asia, it is more than that. It is about how these global traditions mix with local customs, creating something special. Yuletide Traditions Across Asia Yuletide traditions, that special blend of customs that herald the holiday season, take on a unique flavor in Asia. While you might be familiar with the typical Christmas trees and Santa Claus, Asia's take on these traditions is as diverse as its cultures. Let's take a look at these five countries and explore how differently they celebrate during this festive season. Japan In Japan, the Christmas season is less about traditional religious celebrations and more about social gatherings. One of the most interesting traditions is the widespread custom of eating Kentucky Fried Chicken on Christmas Eve, according to CNN. This started in the 1970s with a creative marketing campaign and has since become a cultural phenomenon. Besides this, Christmas in Japan is often seen as a time for couples to enjoy romantic outings, somewhat similar to Valentine's Day in other countries. Read Also: What to Explore During Your Day Trips in Budapest Philippines The Philippines is known for having one of the world's earliest and longest Christmas seasons, often starting as early as September. The streets are adorned with 'parols,' which are star-shaped lanterns symbolizing the Star of Bethlehem. 'Simbang Gabi,' or night masses over nine days leading to Christmas, is another significant tradition. These masses are typically followed by festive breakfasts featuring local delicacies like 'bibingka' and 'puto bumbong'. India Christmas in India, particularly in regions with a significant Christian population like Goa, is a blend of local and Portuguese traditions. Churches and homes are decorated, and the air is filled with the aroma of traditional sweets. 'Neureos' (stuffed pastries) and 'dodol' (a coconut and jaggery sweet) are among the popular treats. Midnight mass is an important tradition, and local markets often have a festive atmosphere with decorations and lights. South Korea In South Korea, Christmas is a public holiday celebrated with both religious and commercial events. Cities are decorated with lights and Christmas trees, and many people attend church services. Christmas is also seen as a time for family reunions and, similar to Japan, a day for romantic dates for couples. Gift-giving is common, and various Christmas markets and events add to the festive atmosphere. Malaysia Malaysia, with its multicultural population, celebrates Christmas with a distinct flair. In cities like Kuala Lumpur, shopping malls and public spaces are adorned with elaborate Christmas decorations. Midnight mass and church services are integral parts of the celebration for the Christian community. In addition to traditional Western customs, local Malaysian foods and customs add a unique touch to the celebrations. The harmonious blend of different cultural traditions is a hallmark of Malaysian Christmas celebrations. Related Article: Best Traditional Christmas Feasts and Where to Find Them in Europe KYODO NEWS - Nov 28, 2023 - 19:26 | Arts, All, Japan The Japanese government decided Tuesday to recommend a collection of photos and videos depicting the devastation in Hiroshima after the August 1945 atomic bombing to a UNESCO documentary heritage program for 2025, the 80th anniversary of the U.S. attack. If accepted, it will mark the first time documents related to the atomic bomb have been added to the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's Memory of the World Register. The collection of 1,532 photos and two videos were taken between Aug. 6, 1945, when the bomb was dropped, and the end of that year. They depict the mushroom cloud, wounded people and scenes of destruction near the hypocenter and were taken by citizens and photographers from newspapers and Domei News Agency, the predecessor to Kyodo News and Jiji Press, as well as the then Imperial Japanese Army. One of the videos is preserved by public broadcaster NHK, while the other, currently stored in the National Film Archive of Japan, is used by the regional RCC Broadcasting Co. for reporting and program production. The city of Hiroshima, along with the two broadcasters and newspapers Chugoku Shimbun, Asahi Shimbun and Mainichi Shimbun, had sought the recommendation for UNESCO listing. Photographer Seiso Yamada, 95, the only surviving former Chugoku Shimbun journalist who captured images at the time, expressed the hope that "people would feel the horror (of the atomic bomb) when looking at the photos." The Japanese government will also once again recommend a sutra repository at Zojoji, a Buddhist temple in Tokyo, assembled by the first Tokugawa shogun. The collection was nominated in 2021 but not selected by UNESCO for listing in 2023. Calls for nominations to the Memory of the World Register occur every two years, with each country able to submit up to two entries each time. Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology selected two out of five applications this time to recommend to the program. The submissions will be made to UNESCO by the end of this month. Those not selected for recommendation included some of the belongings left by Sadako Sasaki, a 12-year-old Japanese girl known for the numerous paper cranes she folded until she died from radiation-induced leukemia from the atomic bombing. Related coverage: FEATURE: Japanese A-bomb victim's paper cranes eyed for UNESCO heritage list Japan resubmits Sado mine for world heritage status amid South Korea ire Japan explanation of Korean wartime forced labor insufficient: UNESCO Paris, a city full of charm and history, is waiting for you. Before you set off on your trip, it is important to know some key things about traveling to Paris. This lively city, famous for its well-known landmarks and delicious food, provides an experience unlike any other. However, a successful trip requires more than just a ticket and a dream. Do you have all the necessary travel documents and visas? It is best to check these requirements well in advance to avoid any unexpected issues that could interfere with your plans. Also, think about your budget. Paris is wonderful, but it can also be expensive. Smart financial planning will help you enjoy your visit without spending too much. Additionally, consider getting travel insurance. It is often overlooked, but it is reassuring to have, protecting you from unexpected events. Must-Know Tips for Traveling to Paris When traveling to Paris, engaging with the city's lively culture and way of life is essential for a memorable trip. Paris, celebrated for its sophistication and rich history, combines classic charm with modern energy. Here, you will find important tips to help you explore and enjoy the City of Lights as if you were a local. Using Parisian Transportation Efficiently using the city's transportation system can greatly enhance your experience. The Paris Metro, with its extensive network, is essential for both locals and tourists. Before your trip, it's a good idea to look at the Metro map and get familiar with important routes, which can help you save time. Read Also: What to Explore During Your Day Trips in Budapest If you're in Paris for a week or longer, consider getting a Navigo Decouverte pass for unlimited travel, which is a good way to save money. Keep in mind that the last trains usually run around 1:00 AM, so plan your late-night activities with this in mind. Buses in Paris provide a picturesque view of the city, although they are slower. The bus routes reach parts of Paris that the Metro doesn't, giving you a wider view of the city. Remember to validate your ticket when you get on the bus. Embracing Parisian Culture and Etiquette Understanding and embracing local culture enhances your experience. In Paris, a respectful greeting is valued; a friendly "Bonjour" to shopkeepers or waitstaff is customary and appreciated. Dining in Paris is an art form; meals are enjoyed leisurely. Tipping is not mandatory, but leaving a small amount for good service is a kind gesture. When visiting churches and cathedrals, dress modestly and speak softly to maintain the sanctity of these historic places. Photography is allowed in most but always check for signs indicating restrictions. Exploring Beyond the Iconic Landmarks While visiting landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre is essential, traveling to Paris also means discovering less-known places. Go to the Marche aux Puces de Saint-Ouen, the biggest antique market in the world, for interesting finds. Walk around Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, a park favored by locals, offering lovely views and a quieter atmosphere. For an experience of Parisian nightlife, try the lively areas of Bastille or Oberkampf. These neighborhoods are full of local bars, music venues, and small restaurants, providing a real look into daily life in Paris. Safety and Awareness While Paris is generally safe, staying vigilant, especially in crowded tourist areas, is wise. Keep your belongings secure, be cautious of unsolicited help at ATMs, and always be aware of your surroundings. In case of emergencies, dial 112, the European emergency number. Language and Communication A basic understanding of French phrases will enrich your interactions. While many Parisians speak English, attempting to speak French is appreciated and often leads to friendlier exchanges. Traveling to Paris is more than a simple visit but an unforgettable experience. By getting around the city comfortably, interacting with respect for the culture, and discovering both well-known and hidden spots, you will discover what makes Parisian life so special. Related Article: Discover Sceneries with Essential Brazil Travel Advice for First-Timers KYODO NEWS - Nov 28, 2023 - 07:31 | All, Japan, World An 83-year-old survivor of the U.S. atomic bombing of Japan's Nagasaki called Monday for the elimination of nuclear weapons in his speech at the onset of a five-day U.N. meeting in New York. "We're faced with a growing risk of nuclear war" and the devastation in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip is reminiscent of the suffering caused by the 1945 atomic bomb attacks, Sueichi Kido told a session of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The treaty, which took effect in January 2021, had 69 countries and territories as members as of early November. But the parties do not include countries that possess nuclear weapons. Japan, the only country to have been attacked with atomic bombs, is not part of the treaty and did not send a representative to the first meeting of the its parties last year in Vienna as well as the ongoing second meeting. Kido, secretary general of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, also said a nuclear war would only leave a world of death. The treaty parties will discuss issues such as how to verify the elimination of nuclear weapons through international organizations in the future and help the atomic bomb survivors and people affected by nuclear tests, before adopting a declaration on Friday. "The risk of the deliberate or accidental use of nuclear weapons is today more present than ever before," Juan Ramon de la Fuente, a former Mexican ambassador to the world body who is chairing the meeting, told Monday's session. Izumi Nakamitsu, U.N. undersecretary general and high representative for disarmament affairs, said, "Rising geopolitical tensions are not a reason to put off progress in our shared goal of a world free of nuclear weapons." Related coverage: FEATURE: A-bomb survivors' experiences depicted through student art project Japan PM vows to spend 3 bil. yen to help achieve world without nukes Special feature: How an Atomic Bomb Destroyed a Girl's Life A nurse in the public health care system says she is in charge of a clinic in which she is a By Jeff Murphy, November 27, 2023 While participating in a recent graduate commencement ceremony at the University of Central Missouri , a master's degree candidate displays India's national colors while celebrating his achievement with other graduating international students at UCM. WARRENSBURG, MO In its annual release of international student data Open Doors ranked the University of Central Missouri third among masters degree-granting institutions with the highest enrollment of students from outside the United States. The 2022-2023 report shows a move upward from the sixth spot on the list a year ago, continuing to place UCM in the top 10 among universities listed within the same institutional type. UCM ranked the highest among Missouri public and private colleges and universities that offer both baccalaureate and masters degrees. Open Doors is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and receives funding from the federal government. Its implementation is supported by the Institute of International Education (IIE), which seeks to help people and organizations thrive in todays highly connected global environment by leveraging the power of international education. With 3,777 total international students for 2022-2023, UCM was one of 40 masters degree-granting institutions that were named to the list. Demonstrating the breadth of institutions nationwide that were included in the ranking, UCMs placement was only below Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia, which had 4,342 international students, and San Jose State University in San Jose, California, which topped the list with 4,671 students. Like U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review, these rankings are valuable in showing prospective students and outside stakeholders that UCM is a great study destination, said Phil Hull, director of International Student Services. However, they also inform our UCM community that what we have here is special and doesn't go unrecognized. He added, UCMs ranking among colleges and universities in more familiar states/geographic locations on the coast and in larger cities is significant. And these rankings don't go unnoticed by our international education peers. Hull noted that during the 2021-2022 academic year, international student enrollment reached 2,063 students. The latest data by Open Doors shows an increase of 1,714 students over that previous ranking. While UCM attracts students from dozens of countries across the globe, the largest international student populations are comprised of students from countries that include India, Kenya, Nigeria and South Korea. Factors that contribute to a boost in international enrollment, according to Hull, include a strong desire to pursue UCMs masters programs in STEM areas. This includes graduate degree opportunities in Information Technology, Computer Science, Computer Information Systems, Big Data Analytics, Cybersecurity, the new Data Science and Artificial Intelligence degree, Technology, and Industrial Management programs. While these programs are attractive to students across the globe, other factors contributing to the increase in international relate to a diversification in recruitment strategy to include nurturing new and existing university partnerships, including those overseas. The university also offers a new flat tuition rate for international students which has made the institution more competitive, and the university has exchange and sponsored student partnerships which permit students with J-1 visas to study for one to two semesters at UCM. This is all supported by dedicated employees who work hard to help create an inviting atmosphere for international students. UCM faculty, staff and students care and provide an exceptional learning and living environment, Hull said. He also noted that word of mouth is important to the universitys reputation overseas. As Hull put it, Good news travels fast, and our international students have good things to say about their experiences here. While international students informally play an ambassador-type role for the university by sharing information about their positive experiences with others in their home countries, having international students on campus also enables local students to learn more about their international classmates perspectives regarding the U.S. It exposes domestic students to different languages, social mores and enhances their understanding of community. To me, differences are the essence of learning and understanding, Hull said. Paradoxically, those differences serve as a lens for understanding how we are, really, similar to one another." It sounds cliche, but the world is a small place, he added. International students are not the only ones at UCM who play this ambassador role we all do, in our own way. But international students are a vital part of that mix. Although it was not addressed in the Open Doors report, there is also a tremendous economic benefit for states and counties that host international students. The National Association of Foreign Student Advisers (NAFSA) has reported that international students studying at U.S. colleges and universities generate $40.1 billion and support 368,333 jobs nationwide. On a regional level, NAFSA estimates that within the organizations Missouri District 4, which covers a large number of counties mostly in west Central Missouri, the impact of UCMs international students is $97.4 million, which supports 459 jobs. NAFSA states for every three international students, one job is created because of spending that occurs in higher education, local accommodations, dining, retail, transportation, telecommunications and health insurance sectors. The wife of the Ukrainian intelligence chief, Marianna Budanova, has been poisoned with heavy metals. Marianna Budanova has been poisoned with heavy metals. She is undergoing treatment," a source in the department told Ukrinform. In this regard, Ukrinform asked the press service of Ukraines Main Intelligence Directorate for a comment, which said that it would provide details later. As previously reported, Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraines Defense Ministry, said that there had been several attempts on his life. A four-day high-level international conference dedicated to the green restoration of Ukraine begins on Tuesday in the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius. The event, organized by the European Commission, is aimed at assessing future challenges and discussing with Ukrainian politicians, mayors, and business representatives the strategy and specific solutions that underlie the "green" reconstruction and recovery of the country, reports an Ukrinform correspondent. European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginius Sinkevicius, who will represent the Commission at the conference, emphasizes the EU's commitment to continue cooperation with Ukraine and help it in its sustainable reconstruction efforts. The organizers of the event emphasize that, in addition to supporting Ukraine's European integration, sustainable recovery and reconstruction are important guarantors of Ukraine's prosperity, resource autonomy and the quality of life of Ukrainians in the post-war period. The conference aims to offer key stakeholders a holistic approach to the "green" recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine. As part of the hybrid political segment of the event, the first concrete results of the PHOENIX initiative, launched by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in February 2023, will be presented. The PHOENIX program aims to assist Ukraine in planning reconstruction, support the government in developing climate neutral strategies, exchange knowledge in managing a "green" smart city and practices in the field of sustainable development and climate neutrality. As part of the business segment, already applicable solutions in "green" reconstruction will be presented, systemic obstacles to the deployment of the circular and "green" economy will be discussed, and business relations between enterprises from the EU and Ukraine will be strengthened. As reported, the total damage caused by the Russian war of aggression to the environment and ecological infrastructure has already exceeded EUR 52 billion. Ukraine is the worlds most mined country. Some 497 water management facilities were damaged or destroyed in the country. Losses of more than EUR 1.4 billion euros were documented in the forestry sector alone. 20% of protected areas of Ukraine are under threat, while the destruction of the Kakhovka HPP became the worst man-made disaster since the Chornobyl NPP accident in 1986 and led to extraordinary consequences for natural resources and the population, the European Commission emphasizes. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the European Parliament have signed a memorandum of understanding. Verkhovna Rada Chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk announced this during a press conference with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola in Brussels on Tuesday, November 28, according to an Ukrinform correspondent. "Today, we signed a very important memorandum that outlined the general framework of our cooperation. As part of this memorandum, a plan for its implementation will be adopted," Stefanchuk said. He said the document was about concrete cooperation between the Verkhovna Rada and the European Parliament and would become "a great starting point for Ukraine's future European progress." According to Stefanchuk, as part of the implementation of the respective memorandum, the European Parliament will open a representative office in Ukraine. "I think that every year we will be talking about stronger partnerships at all levels - both at the level of parliaments and, perhaps, at the level of further representation as associate members and, perhaps, at the level of more powerful work between our committees. The main thing that we recorded today is that we are moving to the same denominator. We are getting integrated according to functionality, institutionality, common values," Stefanchuk added. He said that the signing of the memorandum between the Verkhovna Rada and the European Parliament was a very important decision. Stefanchuk is on a working visit to Brussels on November 27-30. Photo credit: Ruslan Stefanchuk / Facebook KYODO NEWS - Nov 28, 2023 - 17:12 | All, Japan The head of a Japanese nonprofit organization was sentenced Tuesday to eight months in jail for mediating overseas organ transplants for Japan residents without government approval. The Tokyo District Court ruled that Hiromichi Kikuchi, director of the Association for Patients of Intractable Diseases, had violated the organ transplant law by facilitating transplants for two recipients in Belarus, collecting a total of 51.5 million yen from them. The court also slapped the Tokyo-based association with a fine of 1 million yen ($6,744) over the case. Kikuchi's defense had sought an acquittal, arguing the law only applies to domestic transplants. The 63-year-old was arrested in February in what was the first Japanese police action over the unsanctioned mediation of an organ transplant overseas. According to the indictment, Kikuchi recommended that a kidney disease sufferer receive a kidney transplant in Belarus and made the patient transfer a total of 18.5 million yen before undergoing surgery in July 2022. Additionally, Kikuchi received 33 million yen from a cirrhosis patient who also had a liver transplant facilitated in the Eastern European country between January and February 2022. Related coverage: Head of Japan NPO indicted for facilitating overseas organ transplant Japan NPO head arrested for unauthorized organ transplant mediation Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will boycott the OSCE ministerial meeting due to the presence of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko announced this on Facebook, Ukrinform reports. "The Ukrainian delegation will not take part in the OSCE ministerial meeting at the level of the foreign minister," he said. Nikolenko recalled that a meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council would be held in Skopje from November 30 to December 1. Nikolenko said that Ukraine highly appreciates the efforts of North Macedonia as the presiding state in 2023 and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bujar Osmani personally. He also thanked North Macedonia for prioritizing the issue of countering Russian aggression against Ukraine during his presidency. At the same time, he stated that the Russian Federation is consistently destroying the OSCE, abusing the rule of consensus. Resorting to blackmail and open threats, the Russian Federation systematically blocked consensus on key issues. The blocking of Estonia's candidacy for the chairmanship of the OSCE in 2024 also became arbitrary. In addition, Russia illegally detained three Ukrainians - representatives of the OSCE, who have been in prison for more than 500 days. "Russia has created an existential crisis in the OSCE and turned the organization into a hostage of its whims and aggression. Under such conditions, the presence of the Russian delegation at the ministerial meeting at the minister's level for the first time after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine will only intensify the crisis into which Russia has driven the OSCE," Nikolenko said. He stressed the need to work together to "save the OSCE from Russia, rather than to send signals about the possibility of returning to the forms of cooperation that existed before February 2022," since Russia unleashed its largest armed aggression in Europe since the end of the Second World War and grossly violated all the principles of the Helsinki Final Act. "In view of this, the Ukrainian delegation will not participate in the OSCE ministerial meeting at the level of the minister of foreign affairs. At the same time, Ukraine remains committed to the principles of the OSCE and is ready to continue working with partners in order to restore respect for the Helsinki Final Act, in particular on the basis of the implementation of the Peace Formula of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky," he said. Ukrinform learned that the Ukrainian delegation at the OSCE Ministerial Council in Skopje would be headed by Ukraine's permanent representative to the international organizations in Vienna. Slovenia will contribute to the restoration of the Izyum hospital in the Kharkiv region, the country will transfer 200 thousand euros through the Olena Zelenska Foundation. This was reported by the press service of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, Ukrinform reported. "We are currently in the process of transferring 200 thousand euros from the Olena Zelenska Foundation to rebuild the Central City Hospital of Our Lady of Pischansk in Izyum. In general, we are determined to deepen our cooperation in the restoration of the Kharkiv region," said Mateja Prevolsek, Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to Ukraine, at a meeting with Oleh Syniehubov, Head of the Regional Military Administration. It is noted that representatives of the Slovenian Center for International Cooperation and Development and the Ministry of Defense of Slovenia were also present. They discussed the security situation in the region, the needs of the Kharkiv region, in particular, the restoration of the social infrastructure of the city of Izyum. As reported, the Olena Zelenska Foundation has allocated 600 thousand euros to restore the operating room of the Izyum hospital. On December 13, 2022, in Paris, Zelenska called for donations to help rebuild the hospital. Fundraising began in November 2022 during the presentation of the Olena Zelenska Foundation in London. As a result of the occupiers' actions, four operating rooms and an intensive care unit were destroyed, everything was cut up by shrapnel, and a tomograph was smashed. The Russian invaders also took out equipment, beds from the covid ward, oxygen concentrators, even removed taps, linoleum, sockets and ripped out the power supply. According to preliminary estimates by the Kharkiv Regional Medical Association, EUR 30 million is needed for the reconstruction and purchase of equipment. The project envisages not only eliminating the consequences of shelling, completing work in the building, which has long been a long-term construction project, but also a comprehensive reconstruction in compliance with all modern building standards and the wishes of the medical staff. KYODO NEWS - Nov 28, 2023 - 21:03 | All, Japan, World The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News. ---------- Japan to recommend A-bomb photo archive for UNESCO heritage list TOKYO - The Japanese government decided Tuesday to recommend a collection of photos and videos depicting the devastation in Hiroshima after the August 1945 atomic bombing to a UNESCO documentary heritage program for 2025, the 80th anniversary of the U.S. attack. If accepted, it will mark the first time documents related to the atomic bomb have been added to the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's Memory of the World Register. ---------- Japan begins trial of over-the-counter "morning-after pill" sales TOKYO - Japan began trial over-the-counter sales of morning-after pills on Tuesday as the nation takes a major step toward joining dozens of others that make the emergency contraception drugs available without a doctor's prescription. Morning-after pills are now sold at 145 drug stores nationwide at prices ranging from around 7,000 yen ($47) to 9,000 yen as part of the health ministry's investigative trial. ---------- Taliban should not be forcibly removed: ex-Afghan president Karzai KABUL - The international community should not seek the forcible removal from power of Afghanistan's interim Taliban government but encourage inclusive intra-Afghan dialogue to bring about improvements to their policies, former president Hamid Karzai said. But Karzai, who served as the country's first democratically-elected leader from 2002 to 2014, told Kyodo News in a rare interview with foreign media that the Taliban must resume girls' education immediately, saying it could be a step toward it becoming the "legitimate" and "recognized" government. ---------- Japan OKs 1st home-grown COVID shots tailored for Omicron subvariant TOKYO - Japan's health ministry on Tuesday approved the manufacture and sale of a coronavirus vaccine made by Daiichi Sankyo Co. that targets an Omicron subvariant, paving the way for the first domestically produced COVID-19 shots to be used across the country. The vaccine, which will be sold under the name Daichirona and tailored for the Omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant, is expected to be supplied to local governments from early December and will be offered free of charge. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has agreed to purchase 1.4 million doses of the vaccine. ---------- Israel, Hamas extend Gaza truce for two additional days JERUSALEM - Israel and Hamas agreed Monday to extend the current cease-fire in Gaza by two days, according to mediator Qatar, with more hostages set to be released by the Palestinian militant group. The agreement came as the deadline for the four-day cease-fire approached and the Israeli military said an additional 11 hostages had been released by Hamas. ---------- Japan nonprofit group director convicted in overseas organ transplant case TOKYO - The head of a Japanese nonprofit organization was sentenced Tuesday to eight months in jail for mediating overseas organ transplants for Japan residents without government approval. The Tokyo District Court ruled that Hiromichi Kikuchi, director of the Association for Patients of Intractable Diseases, had violated the organ transplant law by facilitating transplants for two recipients in Belarus, collecting a total of 51.5 million yen from them. ---------- Life term sought for man over killing of doctor in 11-hr standoff SAITAMA, Japan - Prosecutors on Tuesday sought a life sentence for a 68-year-old man accused of fatally shooting a doctor and attacking other medical workers last year during an 11-hour standoff at his home near Tokyo. Hiroshi Watanabe, who was charged with killing 44-year-old Junichi Suzuki with a shotgun, had the "strong intention to murder as many as he could," prosecutors said at the Saitama District Court, noting that the defendant fired at more than one person. ---------- Aichi police accused of denying sick man treatment, leading to death NAGOYA - A group of officers based at a central Japan police station are expected to be referred to prosecutors over allegations they failed to make adequate medical care available to a detained man who suffered chronic diseases, leading to his death late last year, an investigative source said Tuesday. The case of the 43-year-old man is being investigated as professional negligence resulting in death. The Aichi prefectural police are making arrangements to send investigative papers to prosecutors detailing the allegations against the officers from the Okazaki police station who were in charge of detention cells. ---------- Video: Shogi star Sota Fujii serves as train conductor in Kagawa This aerial photo taken in August, 2023 shows a photovoltaic power station in Uxin Banner of Ordos City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. (Xinhua) HOHHOT, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Amidst a cold wave sweeping through north China, Li Chengqin, a resident of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, found herself comfortably sipping tea and watching TV in her cozy living room. A notable change this year is she no longer needs to frequently feed her stove with coal. Her new stove is powered by electricity generated from wind energy, which is not only efficient but also environmentally friendly. "A simple press of this button can warm up the entire room in just 10 minutes," said Li, whose house is located in Jarud Banner of Tongliao City. In her kitchen, a cubic iron box replaced the traditional coal stove and served as a heater. Once switched on, it can elevate the room temperature by three to five degrees Celsius within 10 minutes. "Despite the wind and snow outside, our room maintains a temperature of 24.5 degrees Celsius. And there are no longer ashes and the stifling smell of burning coal," Li said. In Inner Mongolia, approximately 31.8 percent of the total population consists of farmers and herders like Li. Since their homes were not connected to the central heating system, they had to primarily rely on coal-fired heaters. To reduce air pollution, the region earmarked 160 million yuan (about 22.4 million U.S. dollars) last year to boost the use of clean energy, and aimed to continue doing so each year. In recent years, the autonomous region has accelerated its transformation from a fossil energy base to a clean energy base. Its wind power generation has recorded an average annual growth rate of 15.6 percent over the past five years, 8.1 percentage points higher than that of all power generation. While wind power has been harnessed in Jarud Banner, solar power is transforming lives in the Uxin Banner of Ordos City. The heating supply in herdsman Aotgan Bayar's home in Ordos is now powered by electricity generated from a photovoltaic power station set up last year. "In the past, we needed as much as five tonnes of coal each winter, and the room was full of smoke," he said. "Now we are spending less on heating and it is more environmentally friendly." At present, about 58,420 households in Ordos are using clean energy for winter heating, while in the city more than 78 percent of the heating systems are powered by clean energy. In Aotgan Bayar's village alone, with 239 households shifting to clean energy, a total of 2,716 tonnes of pollutants like soot and dust, sulfur dioxide, and carbon dioxide could be reduced in a winter heating season. More and more people in Inner Mongolia are now bidding farewell to coal-fired stoves, thanks to the flourishing clean energy industry that leverages the region's natural advantages, including abundant wind and solar power resources. In 2022, Inner Mongolia increased its installed capacity of new energy by 20 million kilowatts. Its gross new energy power generation topped 130 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), more than the yearly output of the Three Gorges Hydroelectric Power Station, according to official data. On Nov. 16, a project was put into operation in Inner Mongolia's capital Hohhot, utilizing hot water discharged from power plants for heating systems. The project is expected to save as much as 1.13 million tonnes of coal or over 675 million cubic meters of natural gas annually. "In the long run, clean energy has the potential to not only lower heating costs but also provide residents with both warmth and a clean environment," said Yu Li, vice general manager of a local heating supply company, adding that they will strive to bring "green heat" to more families. Photo : RUT MIIT on Unsplash As we approach 2024, the business world continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace, driven by technological advancements, globalization, and changing market dynamics. In this rapidly transforming landscape, specialized master of business administration (MBA) programs have gained immense popularity, equipping professionals with targeted skills to meet specific industry demands. Among these, certain MBA specializations stand out for their high demand and relevance in today's business environment. Additionally, the advent of online MBA programs has revolutionized business education, offering flexibility and convenience that align with the busy schedules of working professionals. This article explores six such in-demand MBA specializations for 2024. 1. MBA in Accounting An MBA with a specialization in accounting is designed for those looking to dive deeper into the world of financial management and accounting principles. This specialization is crucial for understanding corporate financial operations, tax regulations, and auditing processes, especially in an era marked by complex financial landscapes and evolving regulatory standards. Opting for an online MBA in accounting offers the dual advantages of flexibility and comprehensive learning. These programs are tailored to provide an in-depth understanding of financial reporting, budgeting, and strategic financial planning. For professionals juggling work and studies, online MBAs offer the benefit of learning at their own pace, accessing a wealth of resources digitally, and applying new knowledge directly to their current roles. 2. MBA in Data Analytics In the age of big data, an MBA specialization in data analytics is more relevant than ever. Businesses across various sectors are recognizing the importance of data-driven decision-making to gain a competitive edge. This specialization equips professionals with the ability to analyze large datasets, interpret complex information, and develop insights for strategic business planning. The convenience and flexibility of pursuing an MBA in data analytics online cannot be overstated. Online programs allow students to delve into the complexities of data analytics without disrupting their current professional commitments. These programs offer modules on advanced analytics, predictive modeling, and data visualization, among others, which are essential skills in today's data-centric business world. The online format also provides an opportunity for hands-on learning through virtual labs and projects, bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application. 3. MBA in Marketing The MBA specialization in marketing prepares professionals for the dynamic and creative world of brand management, digital marketing, and consumer relations. In the digital era, marketing strategies are continually evolving, with a significant focus on digital platforms, social media, and consumer data analytics. Pursuing this specialization through an online MBA program offers unparalleled advantages. Online marketing courses are designed to be highly interactive, with case studies, real-time marketing simulations, and digital content creation. Students can learn the latest trends in digital marketing, consumer behavior analysis, and brand management from anywhere in the world. The flexibility of online programs means that professionals can immediately apply the marketing concepts and strategies learned in class to their current job roles, allowing for a seamless integration of academic theory and professional practice. 4. MBA in Project Management The MBA specialization in project management is increasingly sought after as businesses prioritize efficiency in their operations and project delivery. This specialization focuses on equipping professionals with skills in project planning, risk management, resource allocation, and leadership, essential for steering complex projects to successful completion. The advantage of pursuing an MBA in project management online lies in its practical and flexible approach. Online programs allow professionals to engage with contemporary project management tools and methodologies while continuing with their current job roles. This real-time application of knowledge enhances learning outcomes and prepares students for immediate impact in their professional environment. The curriculum often includes case studies, collaborative projects, and interactive simulations, offering a dynamic learning experience that mirrors real-world challenges. Such programs are designed to adapt to the latest trends in project management, making them an invaluable resource for aspiring project managers. 5. MBA in Healthcare Administration With the healthcare industry expanding and evolving rapidly, an MBA in healthcare administration has become pivotal. This specialization prepares professionals to manage healthcare facilities, oversee patient care quality, and implement healthcare policies. It combines business acumen with an in-depth understanding of the healthcare sector. The online format of this MBA program offers the flexibility needed by professionals in this high-demand field. Through virtual learning, students can explore topics such as healthcare economics, policy, ethics, and informatics without stepping away from their current professional responsibilities. Online courses often incorporate discussions, simulations, and group projects, facilitating a comprehensive understanding of healthcare management. This learning model is ideal for healthcare professionals seeking to enhance their leadership skills and advance in their careers while contributing to their workplaces. 6. MBA in Engineering Management For engineers aspiring to move into management roles, an MBA in engineering management is the perfect specialization. It provides a blend of engineering knowledge with essential business and management skills, such as strategic planning, operations management, and financial decision-making. This specialization is ideal for professionals aiming to lead engineering teams, manage complex technical projects, or drive innovation in technology-based industries. Opting for an online MBA in engineering management enables engineers to balance their technical work with management studies. Online programs are designed to be flexible and accessible, allowing students to apply management theories and principles directly to their engineering projects. Interactive online modules, combined with virtual team projects and case studies, provide a rich learning experience that hones both technical and managerial competencies. The convenience of online learning also means that engineering professionals can upskill without pausing their careers, making it an efficient pathway to leadership roles. Conclusion In the dynamic world of business in 2024, specialized MBAs in data analytics, accounting, marketing, project management, healthcare administration, and engineering management stand out for their relevance and demand. Online MBA programs in these specializations offer a practical and flexible approach to gaining expertise in these fields. They provide professionals with the opportunity to enhance their skills, advance their careers, and stay abreast of the latest trends and practices in their respective industries. As the business landscape continues to evolve, these specialized MBAs will be instrumental in shaping the next generation of business leaders. In a Burlington courtroom, the atmosphere is tense as Jason Eaton, the alleged shooter in the Thanksgiving incident that left three Palestinian students injured, pleads not guilty to attempted murder charges. The families of the victims, still grappling with the aftermath of the shocking attack, observe the proceedings with a mix of anguish and hope for justice. Evidence Points to Guilt Jason Eaton, a 32-year-old resident of Burlington, was arrested near the crime scene. Evidence found in his apartment, including a .380 semiautomatic Ruger pistol, has led investigators to identify him as the primary suspect. The firearm is undergoing ballistic testing to establish its connection to the bullets recovered from the victims. Margaret Jansch, Eaton's defense attorney, emphasizes during the court appearance that it is premature to speculate about the motive behind the shooting. Simultaneously, federal prosecutors are investigating the incident as a potential hate crime, given the victims' Palestinian identity. Eaton, employed at CUSO Financial Services for the past 11 months and a part-time farmer, was terminated from his job in early November. This recent development adds a layer of complexity to understanding the possible motivations behind the shooting. READ MORE: Is It Possible To Be A Good Student And Activist At The Same Time? Victims Targeted for Palestinian Identity The families of the victims, represented by attorney Abed Ayoub, remain steadfast in their belief that the students were targeted because of their Palestinian identity. Ayoub points out that the victims were not involved in any altercation with the suspect; they were merely walking down the street when Eaton allegedly approached and shot them. Federal prosecutors are investigating the incident as a potential hate crime, echoing the families' concerns about the role of the victims' Palestinian identity in the attack. The plea of not guilty adds complexity to the narrative, as the defense withholds statements made by Eaton during the court appearance. Rising Anti-Muslim and Anti-Arab Bias The court proceedings unfold against the backdrop of rising anti-Muslim and anti-Arab bias incidents in the United States, particularly in the aftermath of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Civil rights groups, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), call for a thorough investigation into whether the Burlington shooting was motivated by hate. Hailing from the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the victims came to the United States for their college education and were alumni of the Ramallah Friends School. The school releases a statement welcoming Eaton's arrest and urging authorities to consider the possibility that the shooting was "motivated by hate." The incident sheds light on the challenges faced by Palestinians, even when pursuing education abroad. Broader Concerns about Community Safety In a separate incident underscoring broader concerns about the safety of Arab and Muslim communities, Ashish Prashar faced assault in Brooklyn due to his Palestinian scarf. Prashar, verbally attacked and physically assaulted, highlights the hostile environment that individuals perceived as different may encounter. The families of the victims are not only seeking justice but also navigating the emotional aftermath of an attack they believed would be safer than their homeland. The shooting sparks a broader conversation about the urgent need to challenge prejudices and promote empathy, compassion, and justice for all. As legal proceedings against Jason Eaton progress, the case becomes a microcosm of broader societal issues related to hate, bias, and violence. The families, while expressing their belief that the shooting was targeted, acknowledge the importance of due process and the presumption of innocence. The courtroom drama is likely to unfold over the coming months, offering insights into the motives behind this tragic incident that has left an indelible impact on the victims, their families, and the community at large. RELATED ARTICLE: Bard College Prioritizes Academic Freedom Despite Pressure From Israeli Diplomat In recent years, American college campuses have become hotspots not only for learning but also for racial grievance and violence. This unsettling trend has now escalated to the celebration of terrorism and intimidation of Jewish students, prompting the Department of Education to investigate antisemitism at five K-12 and/or universities. Cornell's Disturbing Incidents One of the universities facing scrutiny is Cornell, where explicit and violent threats have recently come to light. Last month, 21-year-old student Patrick Dai publicly declared his intent to "shoot up" a kosher dining facility on campus. While Dai's mental state is under investigation, other Cornell students shockingly celebrated Hamas' massacre of Israeli civilians. Even more disturbingly, a Cornell professor found the act of butchery "exhilarating." Cornell President Martha Pollack, to her credit, unequivocally condemned Hamas, antisemitism, and those at the university who glorify "the evilness of Hamas terrorism." However, this commendable stance raises questions about Pollack's previous silence on the Black Lives Matter (BLM) riots that gripped American cities for months after the killing of George Floyd. READ MORE: US Leads The Pack, But Challenges Persist For Top Study Destinations Corporate and Institutional Virtue-Signaling When confronted about her silence on the BLM riots, the Cornell Alumni Affairs Office shared statements issued by Pollack in June 2020. These statements unintentionally underscore her deafening silence before the crimes of the racial grievance mob. In one such statement, Pollack expressed, "We are ashamed of the injustices that are perpetrated in our country, every day, against people of color." Subsequently, there was an unveiling of initiatives focused on racial justice. These initiatives encompassed Zoom sessions addressing "institutional racism and the context of the current protests," support for research on topics related to "systemic racism, colonialism, bias, and inequity," and obligatory staff training on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Major corporations also engaged in virtue-signaling during the BLM riots. Amazon, Twitter (now X), Netflix, Nike, Citigroup, Walmart, McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Apple, Target, Wendy's, and other corporate giants posted declarations in solidarity with the Black community. Even national retail and restaurant chains whose branches were looted or burned uttered not a word about law and order. The desire to appease and virtue-signal seemingly trumped all common sense and human decency. Now, a few years later, the antisemitic rhetoric on college campuses has taken a grotesque turn. Instead of chanting racist epithets against White people and the police, left-wing protesters are proclaiming Israel as racist and illegitimate, all while spewing vile antisemitic tropes. Such overt racism in the 21st century is alarming but not entirely surprising. Decades of Ignored Violence For decades, American universities, along with the mainstream media and the American Left, have planted the seeds of today's celebratory antisemitism. This has been achieved through the repeated ignorance or outright condoning of violence, as long as it was perceived to come from oppressed groups against supposed oppressors. The acts of violence carried out by BLM and Antifa following George Floyd's death were rationalized and deemed justifiable, being framed as courageous efforts against "systemic racism." Universities, including Cornell, had a track record of capitulating to student violence, exemplified by instances such as establishing dormitories as appeasements during racially motivated takeovers in 1969 and 1993. Universities, including Cornell, had a history of caving to student violence, with examples such as the creation of dormitories as concessions to racially motivated takeovers in 1969 and 1993. This legacy of appeasement has only fueled further violence. The recent antisemitic rants from students and professors alike on campuses across the country have exposed just how morally perverse the country's universities have become. It highlights the direct complicity of these institutions in creating young people who are not open-minded, tolerant, fair, or capable of critical thinking. Instead, they unabashedly call for the death of Jews. While statements condemning antisemitism and the arrest of dangerous individuals are the absolute minimum that must happen, universities must also cease kowtowing to the purveyors of racial grievances and fake oppression narratives. If they fail to do so, higher education in America, along with the rule of law and true justice, faces a grim future. The disturbing trend of antisemitism on American campuses must be confronted head-on, lest it further erodes the values these institutions are meant to uphold. RELATED ARTICLE: Burlington Chief Says Shooting Of 3 Palestinian Students Likely A Hate-Crime Being a Jew at an American university today presents unique challenges, as one student tearfully shared, "We're exhausted and beleaguered, and no one seems to understand." University administrators have largely fallen short in addressing the concerns of Jewish students, allowing issues such as Holocaust denial, dismissal of antisemitism using white privilege rhetoric, and the rejection of Jewish self-determination to freely circulate on campuses. The Minority Struggle With Jews constituting only 2.4 percent of the U.S. population, Jewish students often find themselves in the minority on campuses, even at universities with larger Jewish populations. Examples from campuses like Cornell, Columbia, and Tulane highlight the widespread challenges faced by Jewish students nationwide. The relative scarcity of Jewish students often means their concerns receive limited attention. At Georgetown University, efforts to have Kosher food in the dining hall were met with resistance, citing insufficient observant Jews on campus. This underscores the difficulty in having requests from Jewish students granted, even at supposedly inclusive campuses. READ ALSO: Burlington Chief Says Shooting Of 3 Palestinian Students Likely A Hate-Crime Lack of Mutual Understanding One contributing factor to the current challenges is the misconception among Jewish-American academicians that their support for Palestinian self-determination would be reciprocated. Rational arguments for a two-state solution and criticism of Israel's policies were expected to foster mutual respect. However, ongoing denunciations of Israel by progressive colleagues, coupled with their selective silence on other global issues, revealed a deep-seated bias against Israel. While advocating for Palestinian rights, there's a notable lack of similar activism for other global issues, such as China's treatment of the Uighurs, Turkey's actions against the Kurds, and other humanitarian crises. This bias aligns with prevailing anti-colonialist/anti-Western perspectives prominent in many American universities today. Shifting News Consumption Habits The shift in students' news sources from traditional media to social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube further complicates the situation. Students now prioritize news that feels "more relevant," sacrificing accuracy and objectivity. The complexity of issues like the Israel-Palestine conflict becomes oversimplified through emotionally resonant yet superficial social media content. The default response of university administrators calling for more education and dialogue often exacerbates the issue. Campus forums, intended for discussion, can leave Jewish students feeling marginalized, isolated, and victimized. These forums sometimes devolve into a disturbingly one-sided narrative that goes beyond disagreement, leading to narratives that support extreme views. Unbalanced Campus Dialogues Campus dialogues and special lectures may lack balance, as seen in a planned lecture series featuring speakers universally hostile to Israel. These events can contribute to an environment where Jewish students feel unheard and unfairly portrayed, fostering an atmosphere of isolation. Contrary to the promises of inclusivity in 21st-century American universities, Jewish parents now share concerns similar to those of previous generations. The febrile atmosphere on campuses prompts worries about their children's well-being, with some high school students being steered away from prestigious universities based on how they handle such frictions. Impact on Campus Dynamics The October 7th terrorist attacks have left a profound impact on Jewish students, leading some parents to discourage their children from attending classes where they feel compelled to explain or justify Israeli policies. This situation echoes a darker time when Jews felt less welcome at many U.S. universities. America's universities, once celebrated for their standards of learning, now face scrutiny for potentially failing to protect their Jewish communities adequately. The challenges faced by Jewish students on campuses may have far-reaching consequences, influencing decisions about education and potentially tarnishing the reputation of these institutions. The struggles of Jewish students on American campuses highlight the need for universities to reevaluate their approach to inclusivity and dialogue. As educational institutions, they must ensure an environment where all students feel heard, understood, and free from discrimination. RELATED ARTICLE: American Universities Have Been Complicit, Resulting In Today's Antisemitism In a recent development, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that Canada is set to join Horizon Europe, the European Union's esteemed 95.5 billion program dedicated to research and innovation. Trudeau shared this momentous news during a televised statement before the Canada-EU summit, marking the successful conclusion of negotiations between Ottawa and Brussels on association. Strengthening Ties in Research, Innovation, Climate Change, and Digital Technologies EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Charles Michel, alongside Trudeau, are scheduled to unveil "five big steps" fostering closer collaboration in research, innovation, climate change, and digital technologies during the Canada-EU summit. Trudeau emphasized the significance of this partnership, stating, "This is about some of the best friends in the world, rolling up our sleeves and working together to build a better future." Among the five significant collaborative initiatives, Canada's association with Horizon Europe stands out as a key milestone. Trudeau hailed Horizon Europe as the "greatest research and innovation mechanism in the world," showcasing the mutual commitment to advancing scientific frontiers. The move is poised to deepen research ties and foster innovation on both sides of the Atlantic. READ MORE: Public Colleges Amass More Undergraduate Students; Here's Why Comprehensive Collaboration: Digital Partnership and Carbon Pricing Challenge Beyond Horizon Europe, the leaders will delve into a digital partnership focusing on artificial intelligence and resilient international connectivity infrastructure. Moreover, the EU will join Canada's global carbon pricing challenge, a commitment initiated by Trudeau at COP26. As climate change intensifies, this collaboration aims to address challenges collectively. In a strategic move, Canada will manufacture specialist firefighting planes, known as "water bombers," tailored for the EU market. This initiative is a response to the escalating threat of wildfires fueled by extreme heat. Trudeau's announcement underscores the commitment to shared solutions in tackling environmental challenges. Reflecting on Canada's past success, in Horizon 2020, the predecessor to Horizon Europe, Canada ranked third among non-associated third countries. With 391 grants, Canada showcased its prowess in collaborative research within the EU framework. The EU-Canada summit will explore avenues to expand Canada's participation under Horizon Europe. Optimism Amid Global Challenges The decision for Canada to join Horizon Europe aligns with EU Commissioner for Research and Innovation Iliana Ivanova's commitment to fortify international research cooperation. Amid evolving geopolitics and cautious strategies due to sensitive technologies, the EU's approach has shifted from the idealistic "open to the world" to the pragmatic "as open as possible, as closed as necessary." Navigating the complexities of international collaboration, the association strategy for Horizon Europe has faced challenges, with a more reserved stance to balance openness and caution. Recent geopolitical shifts, including the Ukraine war and concerns about technology leakage, have influenced the EU's approach to forming partnerships. The announcement of Canada's association with Horizon Europe follows a series of positive developments in EU collaborations. The agreement with the UK in September after post-Brexit negotiations and potential talks with Switzerland signal a renewed momentum for international research cooperation. As Canada joins Horizon Europe, it exemplifies a commitment to advancing knowledge, innovation, and addressing global challenges collaboratively. RELATED ARTICLE: Community Colleges Across US To Assist Students In Choosing Degrees Jurgen Schmitz, chief executive officer of ERGO China, speaks during an interview with Xinhua in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 22, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Pu) BEIJING, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- ERGO-FESCO Broker Company Limited (ERGO-FESCO) has acquired the valuable insurance brokerage license in China at a very good time, said Jurgen Schmitz, chief executive officer of its parent company ERGO China. "As a popular Chinese saying goes, 'right time, right place and people' are crucial factors," Schmitz, who is set to be chairman of ERGO-FESCO, told Xinhua in an exclusive interview. ERGO-FESCO was among the foreign-funded insurance brokerage companies that received regulatory approval to set up in Beijing on Nov. 7 of this year, according to the National Financial Regulatory Administration. It has received authorization to conduct insurance brokerage businesses, including working on insurance plans for policyholders as well as reinsurance brokerage, in the Chinese mainland. Schmitz noted the health insurance market has developed rapidly in China. Customers demand for health insurance products and health services is more and more diversified, and one-stop health insurance services have become a development trend, he added. Meanwhile, government healthcare policies and resources continue to improve and innovate, so that companies can better provide customers with tailored care and service plans, he said. In its strategy "Ambition 2025," ERGO, one of the major insurance companies in Germany and Europe, regards China as one of its main strategic investment markets. "It demonstrates our long-term commitment to the Chinese market as well as our confidence in China's insurance sector," he added. In recent years, the city of Beijing has taken concrete measures to expand high-level financial opening-up and facilitate cross-border investment and financing to attract more foreign financial institutions and long-term capital. In 2020, ERGO China and Beijing Foreign Enterprise Human Resources Service Co., Ltd. (FESCO) jointly established ERGO-FESCO, eyeing for insurance brokerage business. ERGO-FESCO will provide comprehensive and innovative insurance solutions, such as health insurance, for enterprises and families to meet the diverse and multi-level insurance and service needs of enterprises and consumers, Schmitz said. Based and starting from Beijing, ERGO-FESCO also plans to gradually open branches and expand its business to more regions. Schmitz said China's opening-up will bring about more opportunities to the market and accelerate high-quality development of the industry of insurance and other financial sectors. The introduction of foreign financial institutions will bring good practices from mature markets to China while promoting healthy competition in the domestic financial industry, he said. "We welcome the opening-up of the Chinese financial and insurance industry to foreign enterprises. It will bring more business opportunities to us, and we are glad to take the chance to contribute to the high-quality development of China's insurance industry," he added. Strengthening cooperation with UNODC: Focus of Regional Representative's visit to Kazakhstan From 14 to 16 November, Ashita Mittal, the UNODC Regional Representative for Central Asia paid a working visit to Astana, Kazakhstan. The main objective of the mission was to conduct consultations with representatives of government agencies in Kazakhstan on further cooperation in the field of crime prevention, increasing access to justice, police and prison reform, addressing drug use and preventing HIV/AIDS. Ms. Mittal had bilateral meetings with Mr. Yerzhan Sadenov, Minister of Internal Affairs; Ms. Elvira Azimova, Chairperson of the Constitutional Court; Mr. Artur Lastayev, Human Rights Ombudsperson and Mr. Vyacheslav Dudnik, Vice-Minister of Healthcare. The UNODC Regional Representative also visited the Academy of Law Enforcement Agencies under the Prosecutor Generals Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan and took part in the opening of the CASC Network Regional Seminar on use of information technologies in prosecutorial work. As part of her mission Ms. Mittal also met with Mr. Kestutis Jankauskas, Ambassador of the European Union to Kazakhstan, and Mr. Daniel Rosenblum, Ambassador of the United States of America to Kazakhstan, to discuss EU member states and U.S. support towards UNODC regional and interregional initiatives aimed at countering drug trafficking, organized crime, corruption, and terrorism. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Nov, 2023) Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani and European Union Commissioner for International Partnerships JuttaUrpilainen on Tuesday discussed the ongoing development cooperation engagement between Pakistan and the EU. The foreign minister met the EU Commissioner in Brussels, the Foreign Office Spokesperson posted on X. They also agreed to intensify collaboration under the EU flagship projects, including Global Gateway and Horizon Europe. (@ChaudhryMAli88) A China Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) delegation, headed by Liu Jianming, discussed bolstering cultural ties with Caretaker Minister for National Heritage and Culture, Jamal Shah at Heritage Division on Tuesday ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Nov, 2023) A China Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) delegation, headed by Liu Jianming, discussed bolstering cultural ties with Caretaker Minister for National Heritage and Culture, Jamal Shah at Heritage Division on Tuesday. In the meeting, both stressed the importance of enhancing cultural connections between the two countries. The minister highly praised China's visionary leadership of President Xi Jingping. Jamal Shah highlighted the strong bond between Pakistan and China and encouraged Chinese investment in Pakistani historical heritage sites like Takht-e-Bahi. He said the friendship between Pakistan and China is higher than mountains, deeper than the ocean, sweeter than honey and stronger than steel. Today, we will witness the manifestation of this friendship through art and cultural heritage. The minister apprised that his ministry plans to organize a second China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) cultural caravan aimed at promoting economic ties and strengthening cultural bonds between Pakistan, China and the Central Asian States. The cultural caravan will be composed of diverse groups of Pakistani, Chinese and Central Asian artists, musicians, photographers, anthropologists, writers and filmmakers. Liu Jianming, the Deputy Party Secretary and Deputy Political Commissioner of XPCC, highlighted an extensive history of cultural exchanges. He emphasized the significance of agriculture, tourism, and culture as crucial domains for enhancing people-to-people contacts between Pakistan and China. He said that cultural exchanges, and cooperation in agriculture and tourism sectors would help advance the exceptional friendship between Pakistan and China. The delegation comprised of Tian Yonghao, Director-General of Bureau of Agricultural and Rural Affairs of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Wang Zibin, Director-General of Bureau of Culture, Physical education, Radio, Television and Tourism, Sun Wei, Director-General of Office of Foreign Affairs of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Han Gen, Director of Agricultural Department of Xinjiang Tianye (Group) Co.,Ltd., Yuan Hongxing, Deputy Director of Foreign Affairs Service Center of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (Interpreter), Yu Yu, Associate Dean of Xinjiang academy of Agricultural and Reclamation Science, Ma Chunhui, Vice President of Shihezi University, Zhang Bin, Chairman of the board of Xinjiang Beixin Road and Bridge Group Co.,Ltd, Li Wenchun, General Manager of Xinjiang Yinfeng Modern Agricultural Equipment Co.,Ltd and Li Jianping, Director of Department of International. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Moscow, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Nov, 2023) Hurricane force winds, snowfall and flooding that swept parts of southern Russia, Ukraine and Moldova left at least 13 people dead Monday and almost two million without power, authorities said. Dubbed the 'storm of the century' by Russian media, the violent weather has lashed the southern regions of Dagestan, Krasnodar and Rostov, as well as the occupied Ukrainian territories of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea since Sunday. President Vladimir Putin has been following reports of the "meteorological disasters" and ordered the government to take measures to help the affected regions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said. Russia's energy ministry said about 1.9 million people were affected by power cuts. Four people were reported to have died in Russia and Crimea due to the storms, with another four reported dead in Moldova. In Ukraine, the severe weather left at least five people dead and almost 1,500 towns and villages in the dark after storms dumped up to 25 centimetres (10 inches) of snow in some places. "Unfortunately, as of now, there are some deaths. The highest number (of casualties) is in the Odesa region -- five people," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Huge waves crashed over beachside areas of Russia's Black Sea coast, video from social media showed, as wind speeds reached over 140 kilometres (about 90 miles) per hour in some places. Two bodies were found in Russia's southern Krasnodar region, while state media said a sailor was killed in the Kerch Strait between Crimea and Russia. One man on the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula's southern coast was also killed, according to Oleg Kryuchkov, an adviser to the region's Russian-installed governor Sergei Aksyonov. "The man went out to look at the waves and, unfortunately, tragically died," he said. In Moldova, the bodies of two people were found in a car buried in a snowdrift in the southeastern area of Coscalia, Moldovan media reported. A 48-year old man was found dead in the eastern village of Cruglic and the storm claimed the life of another man in Grigoriopol in the separatist region of Transnistria. In Russia's Krasnodar region, which includes the resorts of Sochi and Anapa, several people were injured when hundreds of trees were blown down, the Russian emergency situations ministry said. In Vitiazevo near Anapa, the storm caused a large Belize-flagged cargo ship, the "Blue Shark" to run around, the ministry said. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium said it was suspending the loading of oil and sheltering its tankers due to "extremely unfavourable weather conditions" with winds gusting up to 86 kph (53 mph) and waves up to eight metres (26 feet) high. Crimean lawmaker Vladimir Konstantinov said on state television that the peninsula had experienced an "armageddon"-like scenario. "Old-timers can't remember this kind of wind and waves," he said. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Johannesburg, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Nov, 2023) Eleven workers at a South African platinum mine were killed and dozens injured after an elevator bringing the workers back up to the surface malfunctioned, the mine's operator said on Tuesday. Impala Platinum said the "serious accident" happened on Monday in the late afternoon at its mine in Rustenburg, northwest of Johannesburg, as employees were leaving one of the shafts at the end of their shift. "Our hearts are heavy for the lives lost and the individuals affected by this devastating accident," Impala Platinum's (Implats) CEO, Nico Muller, said in a statement. "We are deeply shocked and saddened by the loss of our colleagues and are in the process of ensuring all next of kin have been contacted". The company said 75 workers were injured and were transferred to local hospitals and admitted for treatment. Implats spokesman Johan Theron told AFP some were severely injured, most suffered from ankle and leg fractures, and others walked out with minor scratches. Paris, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Nov, 2023) Could Donald Trump make a comeback? Will anyone in Russia challenge another six years for Vladimir Putin? With half the world heading to the polls in 2024, and some 30 countries electing a president, here are five key elections to watch: - Trump-Biden rematch? - On November 5, tens of millions of Americans will choose the 60th president of the United States in a contest which could keep incumbent Joe Biden in power until the age of 86. Poll after poll shows that a majority of voters think the gaffe-prone Democrat is too old to be commander-in-chief, despite his likely rival, ex-president Donald Trump making similar slip-ups at 77. Disinformation looks set to be a feature of the campaign, a hangover from the last foul-tempered contest which ended with Trump supporters storming the US Capitol to try to halt the certification of Biden's victory. Trump goes into the Republican party nomination contest the standout favourite, despite multiple criminal trials hanging over him. - Putin eyes six more years - Vladimir Putin has been Russia's leader for the past 23 years. In 2020 he had the constitution amended to allow him to theoretically stay in power until 2036, which could potentially see him rule for longer than Joseph Stalin. With the war in Ukraine used to lock up or silence dissenters and opponents, there is little chance of anyone standing in the way of him securing another six years in the March election if, as expected, he decides to run. His long-time nemesis Alexei Navalny is serving a 19-year sentence in a harsh penal colony. Another potential challenger, Ukraine war veteran and nationalist blogger Igor Girkin, has announced his intention to run but he is locked up too, for an indefinite period. - Modi's great power play - Nearly one billion Indians will be called on to vote in April-May when the world's most populous nation goes to the polls in an election in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his nationalist BJP party are seeking a third term. Modi's political career and success have been based on support from India's one-billion-plus Hindus and, critics say, stoking enmity toward the country's large Muslim minority. Despite a crackdown on civil liberties on his watch, he goes into the vote the clear favourite, with his supporters crediting him with boosting his country's standing on the global stage. India in August became just the fourth nation to land an unmanned craft on the Moon after Russia, the US and China, and plans to send a man to the Moon by 2040. - EU test for populists - The world's largest transnational election in June will see more than 400 million eligible voters from 27 European Union countries pick 720 European Parliament members that decide on issues ranging from mobile phone roaming charges to the privacy of online data. The vote will be a test of support for right-wing populists, who have the wind in their sails after the victory of Geert Wilders' anti-Islam, anti-EU PVV Freedom Party in recent Dutch elections and last year's win for Giorgia Meloni's far-right Brothers of Italy. Hailing Wilders' win, French far-right National Rally MEP Jordan Bardella wrote on Facebook: "Bring on June 2024!" - First Mexican woman president? - A leftist former mayor of the capital and a businesswoman with Indigenous roots are both vying to make history in Mexico in June by becoming the first woman president of a country with a tradition of machismo. Former Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum is running on behalf of outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's Morena party. Her outspoken opponent Xochitl Galvez has been selected to represent an opposition coalition, the Broad Front for Mexico. A young governor from Nuevo Leon state, Samuel Garcia, also recently joined the race. Early polls show Sheinbaum enjoying a strong lead. Riyadh, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Nov, 2023) Jada Fund of Funds Company has announced its first investment in private credit with an investment in Ruya Partners' USD250 million (SAR938 million) fund, according to a press release from Jada. This step, said the release, "affirms Jada's commitment to supporting SMEs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the region, and underscores the value it sees in strategic, sustainable investments made through innovative funding solutions." CEO of Jada Bandr Alhomaly said: "Our new strategy reinforces our commitment to providing innovative and flexible funding solutions to promote private sector-led growth and economic diversification under the Kingdom's Vision 2030." According to the release earlier this year, Jada broadened its investment scope to encompass private credit, and this is the "first investment it made in this promising asset class." UNITED NATIONS, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Nov, 2023) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has issued yet another impassioned call for ambitious climate action after a trip to Antarctica, the frozen continent, amid preparations for the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Dubai later this week. "I have just returned from Antarcticathe sleeping giant. A giant being awoken by climate chaos. Together, Antarctica and Greenland are melting well over three times faster than they were in the early 1990s," he told reporters at UN Headquarters in New York. The UN chief said he saw for himself over the weekend the profoundly shocking speed at which ice is melting in Antarctica -- at the South Pole ice is now 1.5 million square kilometres below average for this time of year; thats equal to the combined surface area of Portugal, Spain, France and Germany combined. What happens in Antarctica doesnt stay in Antarctica, Guterres said. We live in an interconnected world. Melting sea ice means rising seas. And that directly endangers lives and livelihoods in coastal communities across the globe." He noted that its not just the impact of floods and saltwater on food and water supplies at stake, but the viability of small islands and entire cities on coasts across the world. The movement of waters around Antarctica distributes heat, nutrients and carbon around the world, helping to regulate our climate and regional weather patterns, he told correspondents outside the Security Council. But that system is slowing as the southern Ocean grows warmer and less dense. Further slowdown or entire breakdown would spell catastrophe. With no let-up in fossil fuel extraction were heading towards a calamitous three-degree Celsius temperature rise by the end of the century, he warned. "If we continue as we are, and I strongly hope we will not, the Greenland and West Antarctica ice sheets will cross a deadly tipping point. This represents an astonishing rise of around 10 metres. The vicious cycle means accelerated heating as ice diminishes and more extreme weather, it was pointed out. At COP28 in Dubai, which starts later this week, leaders must break this cycle, the UN chief declared. The solutions are well known. Leaders must act to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, protect people from climate chaos, and end the fossil fuel age. Only a global pact to triple renewable energy use, a doubling in energy efficiency and access to clean power for all by 2030, will be sufficient, he argued. Antarctica is crying out for action, the Secretary-General added. I salute the thousands of researchers in Antarctica and around the world expanding our understanding of the changes taking place on the continent. They are a testament to human ingenuity and the immense benefits of international collaboration. Leaders must not let the hopes of people around the world for a sustainable planet melt away. APP/ift (UroToday.com) The 2023 Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) annual meeting held in Washington, D.C. between November 28th and December 1st, 2023, was host to a prostate cancer course. Dr. Simpa Salami discussed contemporary approaches to the active surveillance of prostate cancer patients using the 5 Ws and 1 H framework: What? Why? Who? When? How? Where? Active surveillance is the multimodal monitoring of patients with low- or favorable intermediate-risk prostate cancer with the goal of minimizing over-treatment and side effects of definitive therapy while transitioning to active treatment at the time of disease progression. Why perform active surveillance? In essence, this approach aims to balance the benefits and harms of treatment, by identifying patients with aggressive cancers early in their disease course and offering them radical therapy that may confer a survival benefit. It also concurrently offers the opportunity to avoid over-treatment of indolent cancers that are unlikely to cause prostate cancer-related mortality, thus avoiding the harms and side effects of radical therapy. Who are the candidates for active surveillance? Patients with: Low-risk prostate cancer (Grade Group 1) Favorable intermediate-risk prostate cancer Grade Group 2 disease Pattern 4 disease <20% and no cribriform features Percentage of positive biopsy cores <50% Fusion biopsy cores from a region of interest represents one core 1 NCCN intermediate risk factor While this approach is currently recommended/endorsed by the AUA, ASCO, and SUO, the clinical implementation of this approach in practice remains less than ideal. In a recently published report from the AUA Quality (AQUA) Registry, Cooperberg et al. noted that the uptake of active surveillance in eligible candidates has increased from 27% in 2014 to 59% in 2021. While this represents a significant improvement, this still indicates that approximately 40% of US patients inappropriately receive active treatment for their indolent disease. Significantly, the utilization of active surveillance ranged between 0% and 100% among providers, highlighting that many factors, including potential reimbursement incentives, continuing medical education (CME) disparities, and practice location may strongly influence management patterns.1 When to perform a PSA, digital rectal examination, and repeat biopsies as part of the active surveillance regimen? There are slight variations among the different active surveillance series, as summarized in the table below. Overall, a PSA is recommended every three to six months, with a DRE performed every six to 12 months. With regards to repeat biopsies, this heavily depends on whether the initial biopsy was performed under MR-guidance versus systematic. Generally, a repeat (i.e., confirmatory) biopsy is recommended within 12 months of diagnosis and can then be repeated as clinically indicated. What are the outcomes of active surveillance patients in the prospective series? Progression-free survival, variably defined using volume, PSA, and grade criteria, varies between 40% and 76% at 5 years. Longer term data are sparse, but 10-year data from the Johns Hopkins and Sunnybrook (University of Toronto) series suggest that progression-free survival ranges between 51% and 64%. One of the major limitations of these series is the underutilization of MRI guidance to select patients for biopsy and guide biopsy approaches, which may limit the external generalizability of these results to contemporary practice. Nevertheless, a higher PSA density (i.e., serum PSA level/prostate volume) was consistently predictive of higher rates of disease progression, and patients with large volume of disease (i.e., higher number of positive cores involved) were also more likely to progress. Dr. Salami did also note that many of these patients who progressed were treated for volume progression, which nowadays is less likely given the pre-biopsy performance of MRI that decreases the odds of understaging such patients. One the major goals of surveillance strategies is to detect disease progression. While this may be secondary to de novo higher grade disease development or clonal grade progression, this phenomenon is more often due to undersampled or even unsampled disease. How to perform active surveillance (i.e., what are the tools available)? Currently available tools include: PSA and PSA density (PSA density >0.15 ng/ml/cc is associated with increased risk of disease progression) Prostate biopsies Multiparametric MRI Biomarkers (urinary, serum, and/or tissue) Evolving tools: nomograms and artificial intelligence Prostate biopsies are not only helpful for detecting disease grade and volume progression but may also provide prognostic information, particularly when negative during surveillance. A systematic review and meta-analysis of nine studies (n=2,628) demonstrated that negative surveillance biopsies occur in 20 to 30% of patients. The occurrence of such negative surveillance biopsies is associated with a 50% decreased risk of future disease re-classification/upgrading. Importantly, there were no differences irrespective of whether the negative biopsies occurred at the initial confirmatory biopsy or during later surveillance biopsies and whether patients had Grade Group one or two disease at diagnosis.2 One of the issues of MRI for active surveillance is the significant interobserver variability (kappa= 0.15 0.61). There are also several limitations to the routine performance and over-reliance on MRI in active surveillance: There is no difference in upgrading when utilizing systematic (27%) versus MRI targeted surveillance biopsies (33%). There is no difference in upgrading if upfront MRI (23%) is performed compared to after diagnosis (19%) Progression missed by MRI but detected by systematic Bx in 31 36% of cases The negative predictive value is only 70 to 85%. As such, Dr. Salami argued that an MRI should not be performed more frequently than every one to two years. What are the guidelines statements for MRI use in active surveillance? ASCO (2016): The AS protocol may include ancillary tests that are still under investigation. These could include mpMRI and genomic testing mpMRI should not be used as a replacement for surveillance biopsy. 3 AUA Guideline (2022), Statement 18: In patients selecting active surveillance, clinicians should utilize multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) to augment risk stratification, but this should not replace periodic surveillance biopsy. (Expert Opinion)4 An exciting development has been the use of tissue-based biomarkers in active surveillance. When such genomic tests are performed in patients with Grade Group 1 disease, the goal is to answer the question of whether high-grade disease is concurrently present but may have been missed. There are three possible scenarios as outlined below: Commercially available molecular biomarkers include: Oncotype Dx Prostate Prolaris Decipher ProMark The use of these tests in clinical practise have yielded mixed results, as demonstrated in multiple retrospective data analyses. These tests have not yet been prospectively tested or shown to improve long-term outcomes. As of yet, the routine ordering of molecular biomarkers in this setting is not recommended. These have been reflected in the most recent ASCO guidelines update: ASCO 2022 (Eggener et al, JCO, 2019): Routine ordering of molecular biomarkers is not recommended. The Expert Panel endorses their use only in situations in which the assay results, when considered as a whole with routine clinical factors, are likely to affect a clinical decision. For example: high volume Grade Group one, Grade Group one with abnormal DRE or high PSA density, and/or low-volume Grade Group two disease This approach has similarly been mirrored by the AUA, with the most recent guidelines update recommending the following: Statement 2: Clinicians may selectively use tissue-based genomic biomarkers when added risk stratification may alter clinical decision making. (Expert Opinion). Statement 3: Clinicians should not routinely use tissue-based genomic biomarkers for risk stratification or clinical decision-making. (Moderate Recommendation; Evidence Level: Grade B). What are some select clinical situations that warrant special consideration? Dr. Salami noted the where may apply to Black/African American patients and patients with pathogenic line variants (e.g., BRCA1/2, ATM). While Black/African American patients have historically been at higher risk of disease progression and mortality, this does not preclude active surveillance in well-selected patients. Unfortunately, it appears that active surveillance is being disparately under-utilized in low-risk black patients, as demonstrated by Butler et al. in 2019. While the utilization of active surveillance for such patients has increased between 2010 and 2015, the gap between Black and non-Black patients continues to widen.5 This trend does not appear to be improving, with Al Awamlh et al. demonstrating that between 2010 and 2015, Black men were progressively less likely to undergo active surveillance compared to their non-Black counterparts.6 Although African American men, compared with non-Hispanic White men, have a significantly increased 10-year cumulative incidence of disease progression and definitive treatment, to date there are no demonstratable differences in the rates of metastases or prostate cancer-specific mortality.7 Whether these disparities are related to biologic variables (i.e., genetics), non-biologic factors (access, insurance, screening, primary care), or both remains to be determined. Patients with germline mutations such as BRCA1/2 and ATM undergoing active surveillance are at an increased risk of grade progression. Carter et al. demonstrated that upgrading occurred in 42% of such mutation carriers, compared to 23% of non-carriers.8 While presence of such mutations does not definitively preclude utilization of active surveillance, careful selection and close monitoring of such patients is advisable. Finally, when should we de-escalate active surveillance regimens and transition to watchful waiting? This should be considered in older patients (i.e., 75 to 80 years), particularly those with a limited life expectancy <10 years and who have lower volume/grade disease. By increasing the interval between biopsies, amongst other modifications, we can balance the risk of missed disease progression and anxiety with the burden of surveillance testing. Dr. Salami concluded with the following take home messages: Why? Reduce harm of treatment, and identify aggressive disease for treatment. What? Multimodal monitoring of prostate cancer patients. Who? Low- and select favorable intermediate-risk prostate cancer. When? Testing intervals PSA every 6 months, others every 1/2 5 years How? Use PSA/PSA density, biopsies, MRI, and biomarkers. Where? In office versus virtual visits. Active surveillance is safe and currently endorsed by the AUA, ASCO, SUO. Presented by: Simpa Salami, MD, MPH, Associate Professor, Department of Urology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 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 Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) annual meeting held in Washington, D.C. between November 28th and December 1st, 2023 References: SINGAPORE, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Overall business receipts of Singapore's services industries (excluding Wholesale Trade, Retail Trade, Accommodation and Food Services) increased 3.2 percent in the third quarter of 2023 from a year ago, according to Singapore's Department of Statistics (DOS). All industries except the Transportation & Storage and Administrative & Support Services industries registered higher business receipts year on year, said the Business Receipts Index released by the DOS on Monday. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, overall business receipts (non-seasonally adjusted) increased 1.9 percent in the third quarter of 2023. All industries except the Transportation & Storage and Professional Services industries registered higher business receipts. The Recreation & Personal Services industry reported an increase of 20.8 percent in revenue. This was mainly attributed to higher earnings of firms in the sports, gaming and attractions segments. Similarly, the Information & Communications industry registered a 15-percent growth, with higher business receipts observed across various segments such as software development, IT consultancy, information services and online marketplaces. On the other hand, the Transportation & Storage industry recorded a decrease of 20.7 percent in turnover. This was mainly due to the water transport segment which registered a decline in revenue as a result of lower freight rates in the shipping industry. (UroToday.com) The 2023 Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) annual meeting held in Washington, D.C. between November 28th and December 1st, 2023, was host to a prostate cancer course. Dr. Peter Humphrey presented a comprehensive overview of the novel applications of artificial intelligence tools in urologic pathology. Dr. Humphrey began by noting that artificial intelligence has many potential applications for prostate cancer pathology: Cancer diagnosis/detection on digitized Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E)-stained sections on glass slides Grading on digitized slides Prognosis/risk stratification on digitized slides Prediction of genomic abnormalities from digitized slides Large language models for report generation The concept of artificial intelligence for prostate cancer diagnostics is not a novel one. The first efforts on computer-aided diagnosis of prostate cancer are at least 12 years old. In the past five years, at least 10 investigations have focused on artificial intelligence-aided detection of prostate cancer in needle biopsy tissue. In 2021, the United States (US) Food and Drug Administration (FA) authorized artificial intelligence software that can identify prostate cancer on H&E-stained sections of prostate tissue on glass slides. The goal of this software is to improve the sensitivity and reduce the likelihood of false negatives. "The software is the first artificial intelligence (AI)-based software designed to identify an area of interest on the prostate biopsy image with the highest likelihood of harboring cancer so it can be reviewed further by the pathologist if the area of concern has not been identified on initial review." FDA news release (September 21, 2021) Artificial intelligence systems can be trained to detect and grade cancer in prostate needle biopsy samples at a level comparable to that of international experts in prostate pathology. In a population-based, diagnostic study published by Strom et al in Lancet Oncology in 2020, it was demonstrated that an artificial intelligence software achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristics curve of 0.997 (95% CI: 0.994 to 0.999) for distinguishing between benign (n=910) and malignant (n=721) biopsy cores in an independent test dataset and 0.986 (95% CI: 0.972 to 0.996) on the external validation dataset (benign n=108, malignant n=222). The correlation between cancer length predicted by the artificial intelligence software and assigned by the reporting pathologist was 0.96 (95% CI: 0.95 to 0.97) for the independent test dataset and 0.87 (95% CI: 0.84 to 0.90) for the external validation dataset. For assigning Gleason grades, the artificial intelligence software achieved a mean pairwise kappa of 0.62, which was within the range of the corresponding values for the expert pathologists (0.60 to 0.73).1 Studies have also suggested that deep learning systems may have a greater proficiency for grading, compared to general pathologists. A deep learning system was evaluated using 752 de-identified digitized images of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded prostate needle core biopsy specimens obtained from three institutions in the United States. Each specimen was first reviewed by two expert urologic subspecialists from a multi-institutional panel of six individuals, and a third subspecialist reviewed discordant cases to arrive at a majority opinion. For grading tumor-containing biopsy specimens in the validation set (n = 498), the rate of agreement with subspecialists was significantly higher for the deep learning system (72%) than for general pathologists (58%; p<0.001). For distinguishing nontumor from tumor-containing biopsy specimens (n = 752), the rate of agreement with subspecialists was 94% for the deep learning system and similar at 95% for general pathologists (p=0.58).2 The Prostate Cancer Grade Assessment (PANDA) challenge was a global competition that attracted participants from 65 countries. The study was split into two phases. First, in the development phase, teams competed in building the best-performing Gleason grading algorithm. In the validation phase, a selection of algorithms was independently evaluated on internal and external datasets against reference grading obtained through consensus across expert uropathologist panels and compared with groups of international and US general pathologists on subsets of the data. The rationale for this study is that Gleason grading, performed by light microscopic interpretation of patterns of prostate growth, is the most powerful prognostic indicator. Yet, this grading scheme remains inherently subjective. 12,625 whole slide images of prostate biopsies from six sites were utilized: 10,616 for model development, 393 for performance evaluation during the competition phase, 545 for internal validation, and 1071 for external validation. The competition phase included 1,290 developers from 65 countries who submitted algorithms. 15 teams were selected based on algorithm performance. The average agreement of selected algorithms with uropathologists was high at kappa= 0.862 in the United States and 0.868 in Europe. The sensitivity for cancer detection ranged between 98% and 99% and the specificity between 75% and 84%. The main algorithm error mode was overdiagnosing of benign cases as ISUP Grade Group 1 cancer.3 The main conclusions from PANDA were as follows: Artificial intelligence prostate cancer grading algorithms developed during a global competition generalized well to intercontinental and multinational cohorts with pathologist level performance. Successful generalization across different patient populations, laboratories, and reference standards, achieved by a variety of algorithmic approaches, warrants evaluating artificial intelligence-based Gleason grading in prospective clinical trials. What are some future challenges and issues for artificial intelligence-based prostate histopathology tools? Conceptual: What functions can artificial intelligence perform in clinical routine? How autonomous should diagnostic artificial intelligence operate? Technical: Can laboratories adopt an adequate infrastructure? Will pathologists learn responsible use of artificial intelligence tools? Ethical: When will artificial intelligence-based pathology prove cost-effective? Will artificial intelligence tools alleviate diagnostic inequality? Artificial intelligence-based tools can be incorporated for prostate cancer diagnosis and grading as follows: Screening tool for primary diagnosis to reduce pathologists workload Detection of aggressive patterns such as cribriform and intraductal carcinoma Quantification of the amount of any and high-grade cancer Concurrent artificial intelligence assistive tool Second read quality assurance procedure Standardization of detection/grading across settings where access to genitourinary pathology expertise may differ A major practical barrier to widespread artificial intelligence implementation has been slide digitization. Only 5 20% of pathology laboratories and hospitals have whole slide scanners. These scanners are costly and require information technology (IT) infrastructure for image management and storage and personnel to operate and manage devices. Furthermore, there are economic issues pertaining to reimbursement. Moving forward, Dr. Humphrey predicted that future pathology slides will be direct to digital and will not require H&E glass slides. 3-dimensional images will be regularly created and analyzed by artificial intelligence tools, streamlining an efficient and accurate diagnostic process. Presented by: Peter A. Humphrey, MD, PhD, Professor of Pathology and Director of Genitourinary Pathology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 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 Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) annual meeting held in Washington, D.C. between November 28th and December 1st, 2023 References: (UroToday.com) The 2023 Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) annual meeting held in Washington, D.C. between November 28th and December 1st, 2023, was host to a prostate cancer course. Dr. Stephen Freedland discussed the development of prostate cancer in transgender women, with this being an area of ongoing, active research. The objectives of Dr. Freedlands presentation were to: Review the contemporary literature on prostate cancer in transgender women Discuss what is known thus far about PSA screening in this population Propose tips on providing patient-centered care for transgender patients It is currently estimated that approximately 0.6 to 1% of the US population identifies as transgender. Despite significant ongoing marginalization and discrimination disproportionately affecting this group, an increasing number of individuals openly identify as transgender, and this number is projected to increase. Thus, its likely that all clinicians will care for transgender individuals at some point. Theres significant variety in terms of how patients transition some may not be on any gender-affirming hormones or undergo any surgeries, while some transgender patients choose to transition with gender-affirming hormones or to undergo gender-affirmation surgery. Prostate cancer is a hormonally-driven cancer - while some forms of gender-affirming hormones may decrease the risk of prostate cancer, there is other data that those hormones may increase the risk for some forms of prostate cancer. Overall, this is an area of ongoing research, and the exact impact of gender-affirming hormones on prostate cancer risk remains unknown. Clinicians should be aware that transgender women retain their prostate regardless of whether they have undergone gender-affirmation surgery. Thus, transgender women remain at risk of prostate cancer and should still be considered for prostate cancer screening Previous literature on prostate cancer in transgender women was limited to only 10 case reports and few other studies. The overall incidence of prostate cancer in transgender women remains unknown. Given this tremendous lack of primary literature, Dr. Freedland and colleagues sought to conduct a national study describing prostate cancer in transgender women specifically focusing on prostate cancer characteristics at diagnosis, and to estimate the number of cases of prostate cancer per year in this population. To accomplish this, they performed a retrospective study of adults ages 18 and older between January 2000 and November 2022. Patients with both an International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) code for prostate cancer and an ICD code related to transgender identity were queried. Given that there is no specific ICD code for transgender identity, Dr. Freedland and colleagues used 13 ICD codes related to transgender identity that were previously determined to be both sensitive and specific for this condition. A detailed chart review was performed to verify transgender identity and prostate cancer diagnosis details, including clinician notes, medications, gender-affirming hormone therapy use, PSA values, and prostate biopsy details. They identified 155 patients who were confirmed on chart review to be transgender women with prostate cancer. Estrogen was by far the most common gender affirming hormone therapy used, and thus patients were stratified by their estrogen usage: 116 had never used estrogen, 17 had formerly used estrogen, and 22 actively used estrogen at diagnosis. Overall, the median age at prostate cancer diagnosis was 61 years, most patients were White with only 8% Black, the median PSA at diagnosis was 6.8 ng/ml, and the duration of estrogen use was 32 months among estrogen users. The investigators noted that the observed number of cases per year per 10,000 transgender women was less than half (14) of what was expected (13). To roughly estimate the number of cases per year, they used the median year of transgender identity entry into the medical record and a previous estimate of 10,000 transgender women within the VA and compared this to published rates of prostate cancer incidence among cisgender Veterans. Based on this, the expected number of cases was roughly 33 cases per year. The observed number of cases was determined to be about 14 cases per year. What about clinical differences based on estrogen usage patterns? The median PSA density, a surrogate of prostate cancer aggressiveness, was highest for those on estrogen at diagnosis (0.31 ng/ml/cc versus 0.21 ng/ml/cc for never users). Of note, prostate volumes were comparable across groups, so this is a direct function of serum PSA levels. Additionally, the highest percentage of Grade Group 5 disease was observed in patients on estrogen at diagnosis (29%). This is compared to only 12% for never estrogen users and 6% for former estrogen users. For comparison, approximately 16% of cisgender male veterans have Grade group 4 or 5 disease at diagnosis. For those with no prior estrogen use, Grade Group 1 2 disease was found in 71% compared to 56% of former estrogen users and 53% of patients on estrogen at diagnosis.1 Dr. Freedland noted that the most important findings from this work were, first, that prostate cancer does occur and is not as rare as published case reports may suggest. Second, and nonetheless, rates were lower than what was expected. Finally, though these numbers were very small, there were trends to suggest that transgender women actively on estrogen had higher rates of Grade group 5 disease and a higher PSA density, both of which suggest delayed diagnosis. It is unclear if the observed lower rates of prostate cancer are due to underdiagnosis as opposed to a true lower incidence in this population, or potentially both. There are several factors that may be at play here. These may include lower rates of PSA screening, lack of awareness of prostate cancer risk by both clinicians and patients, the suppressive effects of estrogen on prostate cancer development and biology, and, perhaps most importantly, that prostate cancer may ultimately be missed in transgender women due to misinterpretation of normal PSA levels in those receiving gender-affirming hormone therapies. PSA reference ranges are all set based on data from cisgender men, but transgender women on gender-affirming hormone therapy would be expected to have significantly lower PSA levels. Thus, a normal PSA value in a transgender woman on estrogen may actually be very concerning and warrant further evaluation. What about PSA screening in transgender women? There are currently no guidelines on PSA screening for transgender women from any of the leading organizations. However, it is recommended that the same screening principles that apply to cisgender men be applied to transgender women. So, this should start with an assessment of a patients risk factors, including their age, race, and family history. The most important point to highlight is that all transgender women (including those on gender-affirming hormones or who've undergone gender-affirmation surgery) should still be considered for and counseled on PSA screening. For transgender women who are on gender-affirming hormone therapy, its important to be very careful with PSA interpretation and if there is any concern to refer patients to a urologist. How can healthcare practitioners provide patient-centered care? Dr. Freedland highlighted that this begins in the waiting area before a patient has even been seen it is important to create an environment that is inclusive. Examples include making sure that the art in the waiting area is gender neutral. Educating the team and the staff on the use of chosen names and pronouns can help prevent misgendering patients. Another example is to make sure intake forms use affirming language and to ask patients what anatomical terms they are okay with and what their understanding of their anatomy is. Dr. Freedland recommends centering discussions around anatomy and not around gender, with this being a key point. We need to reframe our thinking about prostate cancer so that its not a male cancer but rather a cancer in people with prostates. When mistakes happen, we should apologize and correct them. Finally, by being an ally to this community and participate in outreach and community events. As clinicians, we are at the forefront of transgender care it is up to us to change the narrative on prostate cancer in transgender women, to work together to increase awareness among both patients and other clinicians, and to provide the best possible care for these patients Dr. Freedland concluded with the following take home messages: All transgender women, regardless of gender-affirming hormone therapy usage or gender-affirmation surgery remain at risk of prostate cancer For those who are age appropriate, Dr. Freedland recommends engaging in shared decision-making about PSA screening Remember to interpret PSA values carefully for those who are on gender-affirming hormone therapies and that a normal PSA value that is within reference ranges may be concerning in a transgender woman on gender-affirming hormones If there is any concern about a PSA value being potentially elevated, refer patients to a urologist so that they can undergo further assessment Presented by: Stephen Freedland, MD, Professor, Department of Urology, Cedars Sinai Hospital, Los Angeles, CA 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 Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) annual meeting held in Washington, D.C. between November 28th and December 1st, 2023 References: (UroToday.com) The 2023 Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) annual meeting held in Washington, D.C. between November 28th and December 1st, 2023, was host to a prostate cancer course. Dr. Jim Hu discussed the recent advances in robotic prostatectomy, highlighting the following: Advances in robotic prostatectomy lengths of stay and adverse events Pelvic fascia sparing trade-offs Bipolar pedicles to increase surgeon autonomy Deep leaning nerve-sparing assessment Single port radical prostatectomy trade-offs PSMA-targeted visualization during robotic radical prostatectomy Comparative effectiveness versus competing treatments Dr. Hu began by noting that we did not observe significant improvements in post-operative outcomes following radical prostatectomy in the 1990s. There appeared to be a plateau in surgical innovation, and, significantly, post-operative outcomes appeared to be worse in older patients, with many such patients deemed unfit for surgery as a result.1 But did the introduction of robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP) render these age-related disparities obsolete? Dr. Hu and colleagues performed a retrospective multi-center study from Weill-Cornell NYP (n=588), Georgetown (n=320), and Memorial Sloan Kettering (n=6632) that aimed to evaluate the association between older age and risk of post-operative complications. While the risk of grade 3 adverse events following RALPs increased with age (50s: 1.5%, 60s: 2%, 70s: 2.6%), the absolute difference was not clinically meaningful and the age-related disparities were significantly lower compared to those observed in the open series.2 Another important shortcoming of open radical prostatectomy that has been ameliorated by robotic approaches has been the hospital length of stay. In the 1990s, the average hospital length of stay ranged between four and eight days.1 This is in stark contrast to 2023, whereby many well-selected patients are being discharged the same day following an outpatient RALP. In addition to obvious benefits, such as decreasing the hospitals inpatient admission burden and improving patient satisfaction/convenience, this approach has been shown to decrease net cost by over $2,000 USD, corresponding to a 19% relative decrease in overall costs.2 But do these incremental differences matter? When we take a step back and consider that of 1,000 men offered PSA-based screening, 240 are found to have a positive PSA result, 100 are diagnosed with prostate cancer, and 80 choose surgery or radiation, we truly appreciate the population-level effect of any treatment advances on the general population. To this end, the Retzius-sparing approach has been developed over the last decade in an attempt to improve post-operative functional outcomes, mainly immediate urinary continence. This approach preserves the peritoneal attachments of the bladder (i.e., the bladder is not dropped), which helps maintain the bladder in the same anatomic position. Furthermore, this technique preserves the structures supporting the anterior urethra: the puboprostatic ligaments, endopelvic fascia, and dorsal venous complex. A systematic review and meta-analysis of 10 prospective studies, including four randomized controlled trials, demonstrated that this approach significantly improved immediate continence (RR: 1.81, 95% CI: 1.26 2.60), at the cost of significantly higher pT2 positive margins (RR: 1.39, 95% CI: 1.01 1.91). Significantly, this meta-analysis did not demonstrate significant differences in estimated blood loss, 3-, 6-, or 12-months urinary continence, immediate erectile function recovery, or pT3 positive surgical margin status.3 There are also suggestions that the Retzius-sparing approach may be less morbid, compared to standard RALP approaches, for penile shortening, development of Peyronies disease, and inguinal hernia sequelae. In a cross-sectional, survey analysis of 117 patients who underwent either Retzius-sparing (n=60) or standard RALP (n=57), there was significantly less penile shortening (42% versus 67%), development of Peyronies disease (0% versus 9%), and inguinal hernia (0% versus 12.3%) with the Retzius-sparing approach.4 The Pelvic fascia-spARing radical prostatectomy TrIAL(PARTIAL) is a prospective randomized controlled trial that is prospectively evaluating surgical margin status, patient-reported outcomes/health-related quality of life, and adverse events, including hernias and penile shortening/deformity in a randomized fashion. Loss of erectile function remains one of the most notorious side effects of radical prostatectomy. There appears to be significant between-surgeon variation in erectile function outcomes, even at the same institutions.5 It has thus been hypothesized that such differences may be related to surgical technique, including both tissue handling and energy utilization. Led by Drs. Andrew Hung and Jim Hu, deep learning techniques have been used to assess nerve-sparing techniques during a robotic radical prostatectomy. The investigators have defined a dissection gesture classification, as summarized below: Next, the video with the sequence of surgery was analyzed in the context of these gestures. They identified 34,323 individual gestures performed in 80 nerve-sparing RALPs from two international medical centers. They demonstrated that less use of hot cut and more use of peel/push was statistically associated with better chances of 1-year erectile function recovery. They also demonstrated that there were interactions between surgeon experience and gesture types similar gesture selection resulted in different erectile function recovery rates dependent on surgeon experience.6 Another important point of discussion regarding surgical techniques is the need for clips during the ligation of the prostatic pedicles. It has long been believed that energy application should be minimized in the prostatic pedicle region to minimize thermal damage to the neurovascular bundles. However, bipolar energy application allows for the controlled transfer of energy between the jaws of the instrument, minimizing energy spread as observed with monopolar energy sources. In 2022, Dr. Hus group published the results of a retrospective study of 338 men who underwent a RALP between July 2018 and March 2020. They demonstrated that there were no significant differences in erectile function recovery with the use of bipolar ligation of the prostatic pedicles versus clips.7 Another novel advance in this field has been the emergence of single port approaches to robotic radical prostatectomy. In addition to avoiding the peritoneum via an extraperitoneal approach (useful for patients with prior laparotomies and adhesions), it appears that the single port scar offers the best cosmesis with the lowest psychosocial impact.8 Additional potential advantages of the single port approach include improved pain-free outcomes on post-operative day 1 (30% versus 12%) and a shorter median length of stay (1 versus 2 days). There are also suggestions that this approach may be associated with improved erectile functional outcomes at 6 months, potentially related to tissue handling/manipulation. One unique application of the single port platform has been the robotic transvesical partial prostatectomy for localized prostate cancer. In a series of nine patients published in 2022 excellent short-term functional outcomes were reported,10 although this needs validation in larger series with long-term oncologic and functional outcomes. Dr. Hu next briefly discussed his teams SUO 2023 abstract, a propensity-score matched comparison of partial gland cryoablation versus radical prostatectomy. He noted that treatment failure was significantly higher with partial gland cryoablation (52% versus 9%; HR: 7.6, p<0.001). Another exciting development in this field has been the use of a near-infrared, Prostate Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA)-targeted fluorescence imaging agent, designed for intraoperative prostate cancer visualization. This is particularly useful for men with high-risk prostate cancer undergoing surgery likely to recur due to failure to completely excised regional and/or local disease. In a phase one trial, Nguyen et al. demonstrated the safety and tolerability of this agent (IS-002).11 This agent is currently being evaluated in an ongoing multicenter, phase 2 trial. Dr. Hu concluded his presentation with the following take home messages: Same day radical prostatectomy saves 20% of surgery-related expenses, with similar outcomes Patient age should not determine treatment choice Less energy used during nerve-sparing improves erectile function outcomes There appears to be a patient preference for single port approaches PSMA-targeted robotic radical prostatectomy may have future applications for cT3 or worse disease Focal therapy has almost 6-fold higher failure rate compared to radical prostatectomy Presented by: Jim Hu, MD, MPH, Professor, Ronald P. Lynch Professor of Urologic Oncology, Department of Urology, Weill Cornell Urology, New York, NY 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 Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) annual meeting held in Washington, D.C. between November 28th and December 1st, 2023 References: (UroToday.com) The 2023 Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) annual meeting held in Washington, D.C. between November 28th and December 1st, 2023, was host to a prostate cancer course. Dr. Philip Saylor discussed the use of bone supportive agents throughout a patients prostate cancer journey. The objectives of his presentation were to highlight: The differences between osteoporosis and bone weakening secondary to bone metastases from prostate cancer Discuss osteoclast-targeted agents for bone metastases, including both zoledronic acid and denosumab Discuss special clinical treatment scenarios: Radiopharmaceuticals Ablative radiation (e.g., Stereotactic body radiotherapy) Synthesis and unanswered questions Dr. Saylor began by noting that a skeletal-related event, or an SRE, is an artificial problem that was created as an endpoint to be evaluated in clinical trials of bone-targeted medicines. The SRE definition includes: Pathologic fractures Surgery or radiation to the bone Spinal cord compression Originally, SREs were considered a primary endpoint of trials evaluating bone-targeted therapy. However, the incidence of SREs has been more recently reported as a secondary endpoint in all major trials of drug therapy in the advanced prostate cancer space. Osteoporosis, which refers to bone disease that develops when bone mineral density and bone mass decreases or when the quality or structure of bone changes, can lead to a decrease in bone strength that can increase the risk of skeletal fractures. All patients receiving androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) are at increased risk of fragility fractures secondary to osteoporosis. The real key in the ongoing management of these patients is to continually risk assess them using the FRAX Fracture Risk Assessment Tool. These patients have many options which include: Alendronate administered weekly Denosumab every six months Zoledronic acid once yearly Conversely, SREs occur in prostate cancer patients with bone metastases and often castration resistance. These patients require high intensity treatment with potent agents administered monthly. The osteoclast is a validated therapeutic target in the management of prostate cancer patients to reduce the risk of SREs. Osteoclast inhibition with zoledronic acid (a bisphosphonate) or with denosumab (a monoclonal antibody to RANK ligand) reduces the risk for skeletal events in men with castration-resistant prostate cancer metastatic to the bone. Osteoclast inhibition with any of several bisphosphonates improves bone mineral density, a surrogate for osteoporotic fracture risk.1 In 2002, Saad et al. demonstrated that the use of zoledronic acid, compared to placebo, in patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer and a history of bone metastases decreased the incidence of SREs from 44% to 33%. Compared with urinary markers in patients who received placebo, urinary markers of bone resorption were statistically significantly decreased in patients who received zoledronic acid (p=0.001). Zoledronic acid at 4 mg given as a 15-minute infusion was well tolerated, but the 8 mg dose was associated with renal function deterioration. As such, Dr. Saylor emphasized that this drug should be infused over 15 minutes to minimize renal toxicity and a dose reduction should be considered for patients with stable mild renal insufficiency. What about denosumab versus zoledronic acid? A phase 3 randomized controlled trial of 120 mg subcutaneous denosumab plus intravenous placebo versus 4 mg intravenous zoledronic acid plus subcutaneous placebo administered every 4 weeks in men with castration-resistant prostate cancer demonstrated that the median time to first on-study SRE was 20.7 months with denosumab compared with 171 months with zoledronic acid (HR=0.82, 95% CI: 0.71 to 0.95; p=00002 for non-inferiority; p=0008 for superiority). There was no significant difference in overall survival outcomes.3 Dr. Saylor argued that these results suggest that both agents help, although denosumab may be better. Denosumab is significantly more expensive than zoledronic acid, and thus cost may be an issue in this situation. When SREs were evaluated as a secondary endpoint, such as in the phase III AFFIRM trial of enzalutamide versus placebo in the post-docetaxel mCRPC setting, patients receiving enzalutamide had a significantly prolonged time to first SRE (16.7 versus 13.3 months).4 The key takeaway here is that an adequate response to systemic therapy in and of itself decreases the incidence of SREs. While zoledronic acid and denosumab are well-established for the prevention of SREs in this advanced disease population, what are some agents that have not worked? Anything weaker than these two agents, including pamidronate and clodronate, has been unsuccessful. Except for denosumab, which improves metastasis-free survival by 4.2 months, none of the bone protective agents have been demonstrated to prolong metastasis-free survival. Important safety reminders when using these agents include: Osteonecrosis of the jaw, occurs with both zoledronic acid and denosumab. This risk is highest with invasive dental work while in therapy Hypocalcemia, which can be severe with either agent. Dr. Saylor noted that health providers should always check 25-OH Vitamin D levels before starting treatment and should supplement patients with calcium and Vitamin D during therapy with either agent. In summary, Dr. Saylor noted that for patients with mCRPC and bone metastases, monthly therapy with either denosumab or zoledronic acid are acceptable treatment options. This is most essential when hormonal therapies are not working. Denosumab may be slightly more effective than zoledronic acid (time to SRE: 20.7 versus 17.1 months). We should always be aware of the risk of osteonecrosis of the jaw with time. What about mCRPC patients receiving 223Radium? 223Radium is an alkaline earth metal that emits alpha particles and is administered intravenously monthly for six doses. In the ALSYMPCA trial, 223Radium was shown to prolong time to SREs, as well as OS.5 It remains unknown whether 223Radium can be safely paired with other active agents and what it does to bone health apart from cancer progression. For patients receiving SBRT, ablative doses can be highly effective, particularly in the oligometastatic setting. Such patients are at a particularly high fracture risk after such therapy, making this a rational setting antiresorptive agent use. Presented by: Philip J. Saylor, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 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 Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) annual meeting held in Washington, D.C. between November 28th and December 1st, 2023 References: (UroToday.com) The 2023 Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) annual meeting held in Washington, D.C. between November 28th and December 1st, 2023, was host to a prostate cancer course. Dr. Alicia Morgans discussed the cardiac morbidity of androgen receptor (AR) agonists, compared to AR antagonists. There are two broad categories of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) to suppress testosterone levels: Surgical castration: Bilateral orchiectomy Medical castration, using either: Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) receptor agonists GnRH agonists compete with GnRH produced in the hypothalamus and bind to receptors in the pituitary. This ultimately leads to a downregulation of the production of LH and testosterone. They are typically associated with an initial flare that usually lasts for approximately one week. GnRH receptor antagonists It is important to remember that hormonal therapy for prostate cancer lowers both testosterone and estrogen levels, which has many physiologic sequelae. How do GnRH receptor agonists and antagonists differ? As summarized in the table below, GnRH antagonists are associated with a much shorter time to castration (96 hours versus 3 to 4 weeks), do not lead to a testosterone flare, and may have lower PSA failure rates. This comes at the cost of increased frequency of local injection site reactions (40% versus 1%) and the requirement for monthly injections or daily oral pills, versus intramuscular/subcutaneous injections every three months with GnRH agonists. While all GnRH agonists are equally effective for cancer control, GnRH antagonists may be useful in patients who require rapid reduction of testosterone levels (e.g., patients with severe symptoms or with impending emergencies spinal-cord compression with impending paraplegia, severe bone pain, or bladder outlet obstruction). While there remains some debate as to whether GnRH antagonists have a more favorable cardiovascular safety profile compared to GnRH agonists, what is clear is that all ADT negatively impacts cardiovascular risk factors. ADT increases total cholesterol levels, triglyceride levels, and abdominal adipose tissue and impairs glucose metabolism.1 Medical complications occur in men because of both low testosterone and low estradiol levels. Many people think of ADT as causing male menopause because of the associated hot flashes and changes in mood/libido. However, it is clear that the complications of ADT can significantly impact morbidity and mortality in this population. The potential mechanisms of ADT-associated increased cardiovascular risk may differ from agonists to antagonists, with the following underlying mechanisms proposed: Local inflammation via activation of T cells caused by GnRH agonists triggering plaque destabilization and rupture Pro-inflammatory effects of Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and FSH-mediated alterations in adipocyte composition and adipokine release, inducing cardiometabolic changes Cardioprotection provided by testosterone interrupted by ADT (both forms) In 2014, Albertsen et al. demonstrated that degarelix (GnRH antagonist) was associated with a lower cardiovascular risk, compared to GnRH agonists, in a cohort of patients with a history of cardiovascular disease (~30%). As demonstrated in the Kaplan Meier curve below, patients receiving degarelix had a significantly lower rate of severe cardiovascular events or death (HR: 0.44, 95% CI: 0.26 0.74).2 These results have been similarly corroborated by Margel et al. who demonstrated in an open-label, phase 2 trial that GnRH antagonists were associated with lower risk of cardiovascular events or major cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events.3 A subsequent systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrated that there was a significant reduction in both cardiovascular events and cardiovascular death with GRH antagonists, compared to GnRH agonists.4 In 2020, the phase 3 HERO trial of relugolix (oral GnRH antagonist) versus leuprolide (GnRH agonist) was published in The New England Journal of Medicine. This was a multinational, phase III, randomized, open-label, parallel-group study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of relugolix in men with advanced prostate cancer. The primary endpoint was sustained castration through 48 weeks, defined as <50 ng/dL. Notably, 93% of patients in this trial had pre-existing cardiovascular risk factors. Of men who received relugolix, 97% maintained castration through 48 weeks, as compared with 89% of men receiving leuprolide. The difference of 7.9 percentage points (95% CI: 4.1 to 11.8) showed both the non-inferiority and superiority of relugolix (p<0.001 for superiority). Significantly, patients in the relugolix arm had a 54% reduction in the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events. This benefit was most pronounced in patients with a history of a prior major adverse cardiovascular event (3.6% versus 17.8%).5 In 2021, results of the PRONOUNCE randomized trial comparing the cardiovascular safety of degarelix versus leuprolide in patients with prostate cancer were published. No significant differences were observed between patients treated with degarelix (5.5%) versus leuprolide (4.1%; HR: 1.28, 95% CI: 0.59 2.79, p=0.53). However, there were several significant limitations to this trial. The recruitment was slower than originally planned, with the primary outcome event rate lower than expected. The sponsor closed enrollment with 545 of the planned 900 participants recruited. The RADICAL PC study prospectively characterized 2,492 consecutive men (mean age 68 years) with prostate cancer (newly diagnosed or with a plan to ADT for the first time) from 16 Canadian sites. Cardiovascular risk was estimated by calculating Framingham risk scores. Most (58%) were current or former smokers, 22% had known cardiovascular disease, 16% diabetes, 45% hypertension, 31% body mass index 30 kg/m2 or greater, and 24% had low levels of physical activity. Interestingly, patients with more cardiovascular risk factors were more likely to receive ADT in this study. This may have been driven by greater age and lower socioeconomic status in the group with higher risk prostate cancer who were planned to get ADT.6 The NCCN guidelines currently recommend the ABCDE systematic approach to addressing cardiovascular risk factors in cancer patients, as summarized below: Dr. Morgans concluded her presentation with the following take home messages: Pharmacologic ADT can be delivered as GnRH agonist or antagonist therapy Differences between these include mode of administration and testosterone flare, but disease control is similar ADT negatively affects cardiovascular risk factors and is likely associated with risk of cardiovascular events GnRH antagonists may be associated with lower risk of cardiovascular events when compared with GnRH agonists Systematic management of cardiovascular risk factors is a recommended approach to providing optimal cardiovascular care for patients Presented by: Alicia K. Morgans, MD, MPH, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Medical Director of the Survivorship Program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 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 Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) annual meeting held in Washington, D.C. between November 28th and December 1st, 2023 Saylor PJ, Smith MR. Metabolic complications of androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer. J Urol. 2009;181(5):1998-2006. Albertsen PC, Klotz L, Tombal B, et al. Cardiovascular morbidity associated with gonadotropin releasing hormone agonists and an antagonist. Eur Urol. 2014;65(3):565-573. Margel D, Peer A, Ber Y, et al. Cardiovascular Morbidity in a Randomized Trial Comparing GnRH Agonist and GnRH Antagonist among Patients with Advanced Prostate Cancer and Preexisting Cardiovascular Disease. J Urol. 2019;202(6):1199-1208. Cirne F, Aghel N, Petropoulos J, et al. The cardiovascular effects of gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonists in men with prostate cancer. Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Pharmacother. 2022;8(3):253-262. Shore ND, Saad F, Cookson MS, et al. Oral Relugolix for Androgen-Deprivation Therapy in Advanced Prostate Cancer. N Engl J Med. 2020;382(23):2187-2196. Leong DP, Fradet V, Shayegan B, et al. Cardiovascular Risk in Men with Prostate Cancer: Insights from the RADICAL PC Study. J Urol. 2020;203(6):1109-1116. References: (UroToday.com) The 2023 Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) annual meeting held in Washington, D.C. between November 28th and December 1st, 2023, was host to a prostate cancer course. Dr. Alan Bryce provided an overview of the use and application of serial next generation sequencing (NGS) in the castrate-resistant prostate cancer disease space. The objective of his presentation was to: Discuss the general principles of genetic testing in advanced prostate cancer and the rationales behind serial testing Review key points regarding the current approval for PARP inhibitors in metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) Dr. Bryce began his presentation with a case study, as follows: January 2013: A 57-year-old man was found to have a screening PSA level of 5.8 ng/ml. A subsequent biopsy demonstrated Grade Group 1 disease. April 2014: His PSA level rose to 12.3 ng/ml. The radical prostatectomy pathology demonstrated Grade Group 3 disease with 2/27 lymph nodes involved with metastatic disease. He was staged as pT3aN1MX. His post-op PSA level decreased to <0.1 ng/ml. Given his pathologic nodal involvement, he was started on androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). April 2016: He developed biochemical failure with a PSA level of 0.26 ng/ml. Imaging studies demonstrated no evidence of metastatic disease. July 2016: He completed salvage radiation therapy to the prostate bed and received 7425 cGy in 30 total fractions. April 2017: PSA continued to rise, now at 23 ng/ml. An Axumin PET/CT showed enlarging retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy. May 2017: Started on Sipuleucel T. August 2017: Started on abiraterone acetate, with PSA levels now at 66 ng/ml. At this point, genetic testing was performed and demonstrated: Germline: No pathogenic Variants Somatic of prostatectomy tissue: KMT2D p.G4603fs, TMB 0.8 m/MB, MSI-S March 2019: PSA 24 ng/ml increased from nadir of 2.6 ng/ml post-abiraterone initiation. Imaging showed new small volume bone metastases. The patient discontinued abiraterone. May 2019: The patient was given docetaxel. October 2019: Chemotherapy was discontinued after 8 cycles with evidence of stable disease. His PSA was 95.3 ng/ml. Imaging demonstrated evidence of equivocal progression of his bone metastases. Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) testing demonstrated a BRCA2 T3033fs mutation December 2019: Progression of bone and lymph node metastases. PSA now 163 ng/ml. The patient was initiated on rucaparib. Overall, his genetic testing demonstrated: Germline: No pathogenic variants Somatic: Prostatectomy tissue: KMT2D p.G4603fs, TMB 0.8 m/MB, MSI-S cfDNA testing: BRCA2 T3033fs One important takeaway from this case study is the importance of re-testing. This patient initially had negative germline testing, with subsequent somatic testing demonstrating the presence of a somatic (acquired) BRCA2 mutation, facilitating treatment with rucaparib, a PARP inhibitor. Cancers evolve over time and thus when deciding on whether treatment is indicated, we need to know the status of the cancer at the time of treatment. Furthermore, tests can be wrong or incomplete. Additionally, knowledge is expanding daily, and available tools are improving constantly. It is clear that the mutational landscape of prostate cancer evolves by disease state. The incidence of the following mutations increases as the disease progresses from a localized to mCRPC state: BRCA1: 1% to 2% BRCA2: 6% to 10% ATM: 2% to 11% FANCA: 1% to 7% Additionally, the tumor mutational burden (TMB) and microsatellite instability high (MSI-H) increase with disease progression.1 The second important point is that tests can be wrong or incomplete. As summarized in the table below, there is significant discordance between the results of plasma (liquid) and tissue testing in the multiple phase 3 trials of PARP inhibitors in the mCRPC testing. Tissue testing may not always be feasible (no archived prostate tissue or no metastatic sites feasible for biopsy sampling). As such, Dr. Bryce argued that we must attempt to perform both liquid and tissue testing where feasible to maximize testing sensitivity. Another important factor to consider is the impact of tumor age on NGS results. In an ad hoc analysis of PROfound, an evaluation of NGS tissue test outcomes against pre-analytic parameters was performed to identify key factors influencing NGS result generation. A total of 4,858 tissue samples (based on FoundationOneCDx) from 4,047 patients from the phase III PROfound trial were tested and reported. Of the samples submitted, 83% and 17% were from the primary and metastatic tumors, respectively. Of the primary tumor samples, 96% were archival and 4% were newly obtained. Conversely, among the metastatic tumors, 60% were archival and 33% were newly obtained. NGS results were obtained in 58% of the total samples. NGS results were generated more frequently from newly obtained, compared with archival samples (64% vs. 57%). Generation of an NGS result declined with increasing sample age. Sample age < 5 years was shown to predict an increased likelihood of acquiring an NGS result.2 While this may appear obvious, it cannot be understated how quickly knowledge is evolving in this disease space. In addition to already published trials, such as PROpel,3 TALAPRO-2,4 MAGNITUDE,5 TRITON2,6 and PROfound,7 among many others, there are numerous ongoing genetically targeted clinical trials in this disease space, as summarized in the table below. When considering PARP inhibitors in the mCRPC setting, there are several important points of emphasis: Clinicians need to understand the clinical scenarios for combination versus monotherapy Clinicians need to understand the differences in the predictive significance of the different homologous recombination repair (HRR) genes Clinicians should be prepared to manage the toxicities of therapy, with PARP inhibitors requiring monitoring and close attention. Currently, the NCCN guidelines recommend considering the use of a PARP inhibitor + androgen receptor pathway inhibitor (ARPI; niraparib + abiraterone, olaparib + abiraterone, or talazoparib + enzalutamide) in select circumstances for mCRPC patients who have either received: No prior docetaxel or an ARPI Prior docetaxel, but no prior ARPI For patients who received a prior APRI, but no docetaxel, niraparib + abiraterone, olaparib, and talazoparib + enzalutamide may be considered in select circumstances (need to consider HRR and/or BRCA mutational status). Conversely, among patients who received both prior docetaxel and an ARPI, clinicians may consider olaparib for HRRm patients and rucaparib for those with a BRCA mutation. What about FDA approvals of PARP inhibitors for mCRPC patients? Currently, olaparib (PROfound) and rucaparib (TRITON2) are approved for single agent use in the following circumstances: Olaparib For patients with HRR gene-mutated mCRPC, who have progressed following prior treatment with enzalutamide or abiraterone acetate + prednisone Rucaparib For patients with deleterious BRCA mutations associated mCRPC who have been treated with androgen receptor-directed therapy and a taxane-based chemotherapy. No updates yet to the indication based on TRITON3 (pre-docetaxel) Conversely, the following PARP inhibitor + ARPI combinations are FDA approved: Olaparib + abiraterone acetate For the treatment of patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious BRCA-mutated mCRPC Talazoparib + enzalutamide For HRR gene-mutated mCRPC Niraparib + abiraterone acetate For BRCA-mutated mCRPC Notably, the FDA makes no specifications about prior treatments, and, currently, there are no approvals for patients with a wildtype HRR mutational status. Dr. Bryce noted that there are important differences between BRCA2 and BRCA1 mutations. BRCA2 appears to be more responsive to PARP inhibitors, compared to BRCA1. Additionally, BRCA2 deletions yield longer progression-free survival compared to BRCA2 mutations, and this is potentially due to the lack of reversion mutations in such patients.8 Dr. Bryce also highlighted that not all DNA repair defects/mutations predict similar responses to PARP inhibitor therapy. As summarized in the schematic below, it appears that the PSA50 response to PARP inhibitors is highest in patients with PALB2 mutations (70%), followed by BRCA2 (60%) and BRCA1 (24%). Patients with these mutations (PALB2, BRCA1/2) also derive the best objective response and composite response with PARP inhibitor therapy. Conversely, patients with CDK12, CHEK2, and ATM mutations appear to have significantly inferior objective responses to PARP inhibitor therapy. This underlies the importance of the specific HRR mutation when considering PARP inhibitor therapy. Dr. Bryce next provided an overview of the recently published phase 3 trials of combination PARP inhibitors + an ARPI in the 1st line mCRPC setting. He emphasized the importance of managing potential toxicities with these combinations, the most pertinent of which is anemia, with transfusion rates ranging between 18% and 39% in these trials. Other important considerations with PARP inhibitors include myelosuppression and gastrointestinal toxicity. He did note that PARP interruption (49 62%), dose reduction (20 53%), and drug discontinuation (15 19%) occurred commonly in these trials. How should we manage/anticipate potential PARP inhibitor toxicities? Myelodysplastic syndrome/Acute Myeloid Leukemia (MDS/AML) can occur with PARP inhibitors and can have a delayed effect. The probability of occurrence is likely related to the age of the patient, the duration of treatment, and the post treatment survival. Bone marrow suppression: At a minimum, clinicians should test complete blood counts weekly for the first month, monthly for the next 11 months, and periodically thereafter for clinically significant changes. Do not overlook this. This is the most common reason for dose modification and discontinuation, and the quickest way to land your patient in trouble. Be ready to transfuse as needed Hypertension and cardiovascular effects: Monitor blood pressure and heart rate at least weekly for the first two months, then monthly for the first year and periodically thereafter In summary, Dr. Bryce noted that serial/repeat NGS testing is necessary due to tumor evolution, fallibility of tests, and changes in actionable indications over time. PARP inhibitors, either alone or in combination with ARPIs, are key tools in the modern management of mCRPC patients. The efficacy of PARP inhibitors is closely related to the qualifying genomic alteration. The toxicity of PARP inhibitors can be significant and must be respected. Presented by: Alan Bryce, MD, Professor of Molecular Medicine at Translational Genomics Research Institute, Chief Clinical Officer, City of Hope, Phoenix, AZ 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 Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) annual meeting held in Washington, D.C. between November 28th and December 1st, 2023 References: (UroToday.com) The 2023 Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) annual meeting held in Washington, D.C. between November 28th and December 1st, 2023, was host to a prostate cancer course. Dr. Evan Yu provided an overview of ongoing clinical trials in the metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer (mCSPC) disease space. Dr. Yu began by highlighting the recent advances in the mCSPC disease space. While the CHAARTED1 and STAMPEDE2 trials established the role of doublet therapy with docetaxel + hormone therapy, this double combination is no longer recommended for the 1st line systemic treatment of such patients by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN). This is due to the emergence of triplet therapy options and the more favorable side effect profile of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) plus androgen receptor pathway inhibitor (ARPIs) combinations for mCSPC patients. While continued investigation and ongoing clinical trials are crucial in this disease space, it is clear that the utilization of systemic therapy intensification, albeit doublet or triplet combinations, is clearly lagging in clinical practice. In a population-based study by Heath et al., real-world treatment patterns for 66,844 patients with mCSPC treated between January 2015 and January 2021 demonstrated high rates of utilization of ADT alone, especially among older adults. Only 25% of patients received an ARPI and 12% received chemotherapy. There are numerous unanswered questions that remain to be answered in the mCSPC disease space: What is the role/sequencing of immunotherapy? What is the role/sequencing of DNA repair deficiency agents (e.g., PARP inhibitors)? What is the role/sequencing of radioligand therapy? Are there other proliferation/survival pathways? How and for whom do we de-intensify treatment to improve patient quality of life? Do we need docetaxel as part of doublet or triplet therapy regimens? Dr. Yu highlighted the following ongoing clinical trials of immunotherapy for mCSPC: NCT04633252: Phase 1/2 trial of M9241 with docetaxel NCT05733351: Phase 1 trial of vudalimab (XmAb20717) with abiraterone, enzalutamide, or abiraterone + docetaxel NCT04126070: Phase 2 of nivolumab + docetaxel for DNA repair deficient, immunoprofile inflamed, or biomarker negative cohorts NCT05189457: First strike, second strike, and consolidation with docetaxel plus tislelizumab (anti-PD1 antibody) Notable ongoing clinical trials for mCSPC using DNA repair deficiency agents include: NCT04821622: Phase 3 trial of enzalutamide plus talazoparib versus placebo plus enzalutamide in patients with DDR gene mutated mCSPC (TALAPRO-3) NCT04497844: Phase 3 trial of niraparib in combination with abiraterone acetate plus prednisone (AAP) versus AAP for the treatment of patients with deleterious germline or somatic homologous recombination repair (HRR) gene-altered mCSPC. NCT04332744: Randomized (2:1) phase 2 trial of enzalutamide plus talazoparib vs. enzalutamide (ZZ-First) NCT04734730: Phase 2 of talazoparib with abiraterone NCT03934840: CASCARA Phase 2 trial of cabazitaxel + carboplatin followed by abiraterone The PSMAddition study (NCT04720157) is a randomized phase 3 trial of 177Lu-PSMA-617 plus standard of care versus standard of care alone. Ongoing clinical trials for mCSPC with proliferation/survival pathways include: NCT04493853: CAPItello-281 - Randomized phase 3 trial of capivasertib (PTEN inhibitor) + abiraterone vs. abiraterone for PTEN deficiency NCT05288166: CYCLONE 3 - Randomized phase 3 trial of Abemaciclib + abiraterone vs. abiraterone for high risk mCSPC (visceral met(s) or 4 or more bone metastases by bone scan) Notable ongoing trials that are evaluating treatment de-intensification strategies include: NCT05884398: LIBERTAS - randomized Phase 3 trial of Apalutamide with intermittent ADT versus Apalutamide with continuous ADT NCT05241860: A-DREAM - phase 2 trial of interrupting hormonal therapy for exceptional PSA responders NCT04666129: Phase 1 trial of relugolix in mCSPC or mCRPC in combination with abiraterone, apalutamide, or docetaxel With regards to the need for docetaxel as part of systemic therapy intensification, NCT06060587 is a randomized phase 2 trial that compares abiraterone to abiraterone + docetaxel. Dr. Yu concluded with the following take home messages: We have very good treatment options for patients with mCSPC, but we need to encourage more treatment intensification in clinical practice Triplet therapy is appropriate for patients with adverse features e.g., de novo high volume metastatic disease Opportunities exist for niche and precision medicine trials e.g., immunotherapy, radioligand therapy, and biomarker selection trials Treatment de-intensification / quality of life trials are ongoing, and more are needed Do we need docetaxel as part of early treatment intensification? This remains to be answered. Presented by: Evan Yu, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of Oncology, Department of Medicine, Seattle, WA 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 Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) annual meeting held in Washington, D.C. between November 28th and December 1st, 2023 References: Three finalists for the position of dean of the College of Law at the University of Wyoming have been identified. The candidates are Andre Cummings, Julie Hill and Hamid Khan. Starting this week, each candidate will be on campus for two full days of engagement. Khan will begin his visit Thursday, Nov. 30, and end it Friday afternoon. Cummings and Hill will be on campus the week of Dec. 4. These visits will include public presentations in which the campus community can participate in-person or virtually. Khan is a judicial education attorney at the Federal Judicial Center, the U.S. Judiciarys research and education agency; a lecturer at the University of Michigan Law School; a consultant with the American Bar Associations Rule of Law Initiative; and a National Security Fellow with the Truman National Security Project. Cummings is the associate dean for faculty development and the Charles C. Baum Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Arkansas at Little Rocks William H. Bowen School of Law. He also is co-director of Bowen Laws Center for Racial Justice and Criminal Justice Reform. Hill is the vice dean and Alton C. and Cecile Cunningham Craig Professor of Law at the University of Alabama. She oversees academic affairs, admissions, clinical programs, continuing legal education, faculty research, graduate law programs, interdisciplinary studies, international student programs, legal writing, public interest programs and student affairs. The finalists public presentations will take place in Room 123 of the College of Business Building and will be available via WyoCast -- those links will be provided later. Following each presentation, there will be 30 minutes for questions, followed by a public meet-and-greet session. Khans public presentation is Thursday, Nov. 30, at 3 p.m. To learn more about him, go here. Cummings public presentation is Monday, Dec. 4, at 3 p.m. To learn more about him, go here. Hills public presentation is Thursday, Dec. 7, at 3 p.m. To learn more about her, go here. The search committee and Summit Search Solutions have done an excellent job of identifying three impressive finalists for this critical leadership position, UW Provost and Executive Vice President Kevin Carman says. Im very impressed with the diverse and notable backgrounds of each candidate and look forward to their campus visits to learn more about them. The provost welcomes input on each of the candidates following their presentations. Those wishing to submit their evaluations may do so confidentially. To submit input on all candidates, go here. FUZHOU, China, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- China's ability to communicate with people and its efforts to "build the people up" are admirable, said a group of visiting parliamentarians from Pacific island countries. China's whole-process people's democracy "is a unique mode of democracy of the people of China," and its commitment to putting people first is remarkable, Papali'i Li'o Taeu Masipa'u, speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Independent State of Samoa, told Xinhua here in a recent interview. Papali'i said he was impressed by how China "looks after the most vulnerable people" and takes care of "the needs of the grassroots." The legislative assembly speaker is one of the 21 parliamentarians from five Pacific island countries -- Samoa, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Niue, Tonga, and the Solomon Islands -- who participated in a seminar in Beijing last week that aimed to strengthen legislative exchanges between China and these countries. They went on a six-day field trip afterward to villages, factories, parks, museums, and agriculture centers in Jiangxi and Fujian provinces to better perceive Chinese society. The series of events concluded Wednesday are organized by the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress. Minister of Social Services of Niue, Sonya Talagi, said, "I admire the Chinese people for their vision and fortitude" and the "political will and commitment to bring everybody in the country up to the same level." After observing how the municipal people's congress practices the whole-process people's democracy during the trip, Talagi spoke highly of the "scientific approach used in doing research, and of using fact and logical-based approaches in decision-making." "There is no one-size-fits-all model of democracy, and it's important for the government to recognize the best solution that serves and protects its people," she noted. "People tend to air their views in where they want to see the country go," and the Chinese government won't "turn blind eyes and deaf ears to the people ... that's how people will really take the ownership," said Joseph Yopyyopy, a national parliament member of PNG. Practicing the whole-process people's democracy is the key factor in China's rapid economic development and long-term social stability, said Kapelieli Militoni Lanumata, a member of the parliament of Tonga. Lanumata, an expert on agriculture, said that China's commitment to achieving "harmony between humanity and nature" is an important feature of modernization, and this is the value to be shared by all. While visiting an electric car plant in Jiangxi province, Frederick Kologeto, Minister for Commerce Industry, Labour and Immigration of the Solomon Islands, said the rapid development of electric vehicles shows the modernization accomplishment of China, and the country's sustained efforts in addressing climate change, a huge concern for Pacific island countries. Many parliamentarians expressed the hope that such exchanges could be held frequently in a bid to further promote mutual understanding. Completing an Effective Stock Take in Vietnam As the year draws to a close, firms will likely need to perform a stock take. With this in mind, the Vietnam Briefing runs through what firms need to do to ensure their stock take is as simple, quick, and effective as possible. Stock takes are an important part of doing business. A stock take can be key to keeping track of stock-on-hand and wastage and is necessary in order to ensure that a firms books are accurate. But stock takes are not always necessarily easy and straightforward. There are often small nuances in how a stock take should be performed in different business types and in different tax jurisdictions. In this light, the Vietnam Briefing looks at what foreign firms need to know about conducting a stock take in Vietnam. Why does a business need to perform a stock take? A business may need to perform a stock take for any or all of the following reasons: Ensuring there is no discrepancy between the figures on their books and the inventory and assets on hand. Determining the quantity and quality of raw materials, goods, assets, cash, and any other items at the end of the accounting period. This may impact the value of assets recorded in the firms financial statement at the end of the accounting period. Identifying stagnant, damaged, or obsolete assets. In doing so firms can address and improve their efficiency, or make provisions for the devolution of assets at the end of the accounting period. Fulfilling due diligence needs in situations such as the sale, purchase, merger, or division of a company. When is a stock take compulsory? A stock take in Vietnam must be performed: At the end of the accounting year; In the event an entity is divided, merged, dissolved, terminated, bankrupt, or is sold or leased; When the type or form of ownership is changed; In the event of damage due to a fire, flood, robbery, or the like; and When instructed to do so by a state agency in order to reevaluate a firms assets. Note that cash should be counted and the books should be reconciled daily. Which types of assets need to be counted? The assets that need to be counted in a stock take in Vietnam include: Cash: including cash on hand and petty cash. including cash on hand and petty cash. Fixed assets: machinery and equipment. machinery and equipment. Inventory: Inventory includes raw materials, tools, finished products, unfinished products, and goods held at the companys warehouse and rented warehouses, or other similar storage locations. Steps for an effective stock take 1. Organize a stock take plan, including: The first step in an effective stock take in Vietnam is to put together a plan. This should include: A timeline: How long will it take? When will it start and end? The location: Where will it be carried out? The participants: Who will perform the count? Who will consolidate and track the results? The objective: How will the results be compiled and presented? 2. Assemble the participants Staff that should be a part of the stock take include: The leader of the stock take board; Any personnel in charge of managing assets and the firms inventory; The Chief Accountant; and Other staff independent of the above departments to ensure objectivity and accuracy. 3. Perform the stock take The next step is to carry out the stock take. Firms should ensure they have an auditing firm to observe the stock take to ensure it is carried out accurately. Note that auditing firms can usually provide full-package stock take services. This can be helpful for firms to ensure they obtain transparent, accurate, and objective figures. 4. Create a stock take report After completing a stock take, firms will need to compile the data they have collected into a stock take report. This should include: The signatures of the inventory staff, the asset management staff, and the independent participants. Analysis of the figures by the stock take council. These should be cross-checked with the figures from the fixed asset management department, the asset usage department, and the accounting department. The reconciliation results of the stock take identify discrepancies between the stock take report and the figures in the accounting ledger, if any. These should also be brought to the attention of the board of directors. The board of directors will decide how to handle each specific case for accounting recognition purposes. Note: The specific procedures may vary depending on the type of business and the size of the company. Further information A stock take in Vietnam can be painstaking and time-consuming; however, they are essential to ensure the accuracy of accounting records and to assess the efficiency of a firms operations. Firms unfamiliar with the process or that need more support should contact the stock take experts at Dezan Shira and Associates. ANKARA, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Human skulls unearthed in eastern Turkiye, which are estimated to date back 3,200 years ago, showed evidence of surgery, the semi-official Anadolu Agency reported on Tuesday. Out of the around 400 human skeletons found in the tombs in the necropolis area of Van province's Catak district, 30 showed evidence of brain surgery, the agency reported. The anthropological findings displayed various skull surgery methods, including grooving, cutting, drilling, and scraping, the agency quoted Hakan Yilmaz, associate professor from Van Yuzuncu Yil University's Archaeology Department, as saying. The necropolis is "unique" in Turkiye for the prevalence of skull surgeries, indicating proper attention to patients, with procedures commonly performed on the right, left, and back of the skull, the expert said. "The bones extracted from the tombs will undergo detailed laboratory examination," Yilmaz added. The excavations were carried out under the leadership of the Van Museum Directorate and with the scientific guidance of Gulan Ayaz from Van Yuzuncu Yil University's Archaeology Department, the agency reported. Following eight days and hundreds of tests and inspections at sea, Royal Caribbean Internationals Icon of the Seas successfully wrapped up its final sea trials in November 2023. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday condemned an attack on a Jewish community center in Montreal and said antisemitic violence must stop immediately. A Molotov cocktail was thrown into the entrance of the Jewish Community Council of Montreal just after midnight on Sunday, according to the council. No one was present at the center at the time and the building suffered minimal damage, the council said. "The rise in antisemitism in our city is frightening, and the repeated violence and attacks on our community are abhorrent and condemned in the strongest terms," said Rabbi Saul Emanuel, the council's executive director. Montreal police's arson squad is leading an investigation into the incident, and its hate crimes unit has been advised of the case, but it is not yet actively involved, according to CBC News. The attack adds to the growing cases of violence in Montreal since the start of the Gaza conflict between Israel and Hamas on October 7. Earlier this month, two Jewish schools in Montreal reported that shots were fired at their entrances. "These continued acts of antisemitic violence are deplorable and unacceptable and must stop immediately. We must all stand united against such vile, hateful acts," Trudeau said on X, formerly Twitter. Police in Toronto, Canada's largest city, have reported a significant spike in the number of antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate crimes since the start of the Gaza conflict. Vietnam is dredging and filling out the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, a move that appears to be aimed at countering Chinas assertive behavior in the disputed waters, analysts said. Recent Vietnamese expansion work in the Spratly Islands, which began in 2021, was most noticeable at Barque Canada Reef, according to a report last week by the Washington-based Center for Strategic International Studies' Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI). The report said Vietnam created 0.84 square kilometers of land in the past year. Vietnam's reclamation work on Barque Canada Reef, known as Bai Thuyen Chai in Vietnamese, is progressing rapidly, already making it the largest Vietnam occupied feature in Spratly Islands, according to the South China Sea Probing Initiative (SCSPI), a Chinese think tank. Since July, nearly 0.56 square kilometers has been reclaimed, and may involve building a second airfield on the Vietnam occupied features, said the Beijing-based defense group on X, formally known as Twitter, on November 22. China claims the Spratly Islands and Paracel Islands as its own maritime territories and has been expanding military installations on the island chains. The Chinese government-backed researchers said while China and the Philippines engage in frequent confrontations over Second Thomas Shoal, a submerged reef in the Spratly Islands, Vietnam is quietly making some major breakthrough in the land reclamation in the Spratly Islands. Up to now, 3.22 square kilometers has been expanded, SCSPI added. The Chinese and Vietnamese embassies in Washington, and the foreign ministries of the two nations did not respond to VOAs requests for comments. In October 2023, Vietnam began new dredging at two additional outposts, AMTI said. The continued dredging and construction work shows that Vietnam remains very anxious about Chinas militarization and coercive behavior in the South China Sea and is working to ensure it can maintain access to the reefs and waters claimed by Hanoi, Gregory Poling, director of the AMTI, told VOA Vietnamese in an email on November 20. So far the construction appears defensive in nature, and it remains at a smaller scale than that of China, he said. But the use of cutter suction dredgers, albeit in a limited capacity, is problematic. A cutter suction dredge cuts hard soil into fragments with a rotating cutter head, according to DredgingToday. The material is sucked up by dredge pumps and discharged to a deposit area through pipelines across sea and land. According to Poling, Vietnams use of cutter suction dredgers is much more environmentally destructive than its previous dredging methods. According to the Wilson Centers New Security Beat, dredging breaks up coral reefs, disturbs ecosystems by changing wave patterns, and disrupts the migration corridor of many species through the South China Sea. Since AMTI last surveyed these efforts in December 2022, Vietnam has created another 1.33 square kilometers of land, bringing its total during the current spate of building to 3.0 square kilometers. Work on the new outposts could play into Chinese information operations that seek to paint Vietnam as the real destabilizer in the disputes. Vietnams expansion totals only about a quarter of the more than 12.9 square kilometers of land created by China from 2013 to 2016, but is more island expansion than any other claimant besides China has undertaken, the U.S. think tank said. Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia also have claims to the waters. Since 2013, Vietnam and the other claimant states have watched China build artificial islands and the international community has protested to little practical effect, according to Raymond Powell, director of Stanford University's Project Myoushu in the South China Sea, who observed recent disputes over the waters. At this point these features are fully militarized bases from which China effectively projects power deep into its neighbors' exclusive economic zones, Powell told VOA Vietnamese via WhatsApp on Nov 20. Therefore, Vietnam has drawn the conclusion that it has little choice but to respond with its own such campaign. Powell said that it seemed likely that other South China Sea claimants the Philippines and Malaysia would eventually feel compelled to take similar steps. China will doubtless draw attention to those efforts and claim that they are violations of the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, but China's flagrant, serial violation of that agreement makes it a non-credible voice on that subject, he added. Vietnam seems to have learned a lesson that if it could not build models to preserve the entities it is now occupying, there would be more difficulty [in doing so], Hoang Viet, an expert on South China Sea disputes at the National University of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, told VOA Vietnamese via telephone on Nov 21. Now it is a favorable time [for Vietnam] when Vietnam's relationships with both China and the U.S. are making progress, he said, adding, So, Vietnam must take advantage, so that it can keep these entities that are under its control. Vietnam has controlled the Barque Canada Reef since 1987, but its sovereignty is challenged by China, Taiwan and Malaysia. China will definitely not be happy because China certainly doesn't want any country to do that, Hoang said. Perhaps Vietnam also understands to what extent China's limits. Even though China is dissatisfied, China has no reason to stop Vietnam because China itself also expand a lot larger, even militarized the island, Hoang added. As for China being angry enough to stop Vietnam, I don't think so. And perhaps Vietnam has also calculated this situation. Children made up nearly half of the people driven into hunger and malnutrition by extreme weather events in countries heavily impacted by the climate crisis in 2022, according to a UK-based charity. Citing data by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC hunger monitoring system, Britains Save the Children said Tuesday that children made up 27 million of the 57 million people pushed into crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse across 12 countries because of extreme weather events in 2022. As climate-related weather events become more frequent and severe, we will see more drastic consequences on childrens lives, said Gwen Hines, Chief Executive Officer of Save the Children UK. In 2022, 135% more children were pushed into hunger due to extreme weather events than the year before. Half of the 27 million affected children came from the most affected countries of Ethiopia and Somalia. Save the Children highlighted Somalia as particularly vulnerable to climate crises, pointing to the country's five consecutive failed rainy seasons and the recent impact of flooding that displaced 650,000 people, about half of which are children. Save the Children also identified Pakistan, which last year saw floods affect some 33 million people, with half being children. A year after the flood, 2 million flood-affected children are acutely malnourished, with almost 600,000 children suffering from the deadliest form of malnutrition, the charity said. Save the Children also called on world leaders from high income nations ahead of the COP28, the United Nations climate summit, to address the climate crisis, by providing funding for losses and damages and climate adaptation. To truly protect children now and in the future, robust support for the new Loss and Damage Fund is non-negotiable, Hines said. At COP28, world leaders must listen to the demands of children and invite them to be part of proposing solutions. Save the Children also called on action from leaders to address the acute food and nutrition insecurity such as conflict, inequality, and a lack of resilient health, nutrition and social protection systems. Some information in this report came from Agence France-Presse. When world leaders gather in Dubai beginning Thursday for COP28, this years U.N. climate summit, the heads of the worlds two largest economies will be notably absent. U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping have no plans to attend the two-week event, which is aimed at marshaling governments around the world behind the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 2015 Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Both countries will send high-level representatives. Former Secretary of State John Kerry, the Biden administrations special envoy for climate change, will attend. Chinas climate envoy, Xie Zhenhua, is also expected. Among the main issues addressed at the conference will be the structure of a loss and damage fund meant to compensate low-income countries that are suffering disproportionately from climate change despite having contributed little to its causes. Another important topic of discussion will be the adoption of an agreement to phase out the use of fossil fuels, the single largest contributor to carbon emissions. The fossil fuel discussion may be complicated by the fact that the host country, the United Arab Emirates, is one of the worlds largest producers of oil and gas. UAE oil deals In a development that may further snarl the talks in Dubai, the news organization Centre for Climate Reporting, in conjunction with the British Broadcasting Corp., on Monday revealed leaked documents suggesting that the COP28 organizing authority in the UAE has scheduled talks about oil and gas development projects during the conference. The decision to allow the UAE to host the conference was already controversial, especially after Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber, group CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., was named president of COP28. The reports published Monday contained internal talking points apparently prepared for Al-Jaber ahead of meetings with representatives from various countries, including China, Colombia and Egypt. They appear to declare the UAEs willingness to develop new fossil fuel projects. According to the BBC, conference organizers did not deny the accusation and refused to comment further than saying that private meetings are private. Activists optimistic While some activists remain troubled by the decision to allow the UAE to host the event, others say the revelations about the oil and gas development talks could actually boost the chances of fossil fuel phase-out language being adopted. We're all very clear on where the battle lines are drawn, and with this new article that came out, we're clear on what's really going on behind the scenes, which we all suspected but no one would say outright, Cherelle Blazer, director of international climate and policy at the Sierra Club, told VOA. Given all of those factors, if there's more clarity going into this than usual, I'm going to say theres a good chance. Blazer also said she was not concerned about the absence of Biden and Xi. The Senate delegation is going to be there. The full U.S. negotiating team will be there. Kerry will be there. So, everyone that needs to be in place for something actionable to happen will be there, she said. Global Stocktake This years conference will mark the completion of the most recent Global Stocktake, a two-year process that is conducted every five years to assess progress toward emissions reductions and other goals related to the effort to halt global warming. While the final results of the process are yet to be announced, an interim report released earlier this year found that progress on various climate initiatives has been significant yet inadequate over recent years. The meeting takes place at a time when the manufacture and installation of green energy development sources is on the rise globally, with costs falling rapidly for many key elements, including the photovoltaic panels used to capture solar energy. However, experts told VOA that while some regions, like Europe, have greatly accelerated their transition to green energy in recent years, progress has been slower elsewhere. To some degree, that difference was expected, because the emission-reductions goals set following the Paris Agreement were nationally determined meaning that individual countries set their own goals. Trade complications Michael Mehling, deputy director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told VOA that the interactions between countries further along in the transition to green energy and those in the early stages of the process are getting increasingly complicated, particularly around trade. Mehling said the attitude of some countries that have accelerated their energy transition is, Well, if we cannot force, say, Turkey, or we cannot force China to decarbonize through the UNFCCC-Paris Agreement, because it's nationally driven, we can at least make sure that anything we import from them will have to live up to the same high standards. He said some countries find having manufacturing emissions reduction standards imposed on them by restrictive trade requirements understandably frustrating. Some of these countries say, Well, wait. We thought we understood the Paris Agreement to say that we can decide how fast we decarbonize our manufacturing. It's not for you to force that on us, he said. The issue is further complicated by the fact that many of the countries that have been decarbonizing at a slower pace are in the Global South and contributed very little to the crisis of global warming but feel they are now being asked to forgo economic development opportunities with little compensation from wealthy countries like the U.S. and China that contributed most to climate change. At least 120 people have died, and the members of almost 90,000 households have been displaced by flooding in Kenya, officials there said Tuesday. Kenya, along with its neighbors, Somalia and Ethiopia, have been hit with flash floods made worse by the natural weather phenomenon of El Nino. In Somalia, nearly 100 people have died and more than 700,000 have been forced to flee their homes, the government there said. In Ethiopia, at least 43 have died, the U.N. humanitarian agency said. The recent floods have put large amounts of farmland underwater, drowned tens of thousands of livestock and left hundreds of thousands of people without homes. The floods follow the countrys worst drought in four decades that left many people hungry. Four counties in eastern Kenya Tana River, Garissa, Wajir and Mandera have been most severely affected by the floods according to Interior Minister Raymond Omollo. "All major dams are being monitored but Kiambere has a meter remaining to overflow," Omollo said in a statement, referring to the Kiambere Hydroelectric Power Station in Tana River. "We call on those downstream to move to higher ground even as government enhances power generation to mitigate the challenge." Kenyan President William Ruto chaired an emergency Cabinet meeting Monday on the disaster and has pledged to designate millions of dollars to affected areas. The heavy rainfall is expected to continue until at least January 2024, according to the Kenya Meteorological Department forecast. Kenya, along with its neighbors in the Horn of Africa, have been on the forefront of the climate crisis, which has placed 57 million people nearly half of which are children into acute food insecurity or worse in 12 countries vulnerable to climate change, according to Save the Children. Some Information in this report came from Reuters and Agence France Presse. Seafood Scotland, the national trade and marketing body for the Scottish Seafood industry, has hosted a business lunch at Jumeirah Al Qasrs The Hide restaurant to showcase the expanse of the sector offering and the pivotal role Scotland plays within the seafood industry regarding quality and sustainability. The event brought together F&B industry leaders from the UAE, including chefs and seafood distributors. According to research from Statista, the UAE spends $637 million per year on seafood imports, more than double the global average of seafood per capita, with consumers now increasingly looking for more responsibly sourced, high-quality seafood. As a global pioneer in sustainable fishing methods, Scottish Seafood ensures the health of our oceans now and for future generations, said a statement. Scotlands largest food export, salmon, took centre stage as a confit with coconut emulsion. The lunch also featured langoustines, of which Scotland produces two-thirds of the worlds supply, accompanied by scallop carpaccio and salmon tartare. Rounding out the menu was a brown crab amuse-bouche, a lobster and monkfish bisque and a langoustine tartelette, showcasing just a fragment of Scotlands diverse seafood, which boasts more than 60 species. The Scottish Government will soon host a commemorative reception in Dubai to celebrate the launch of COP28, with a range of sustainable seafood dishes on the menu, many of which were highlighted when Glasgow hosted COP26 back in 2021. Adam Wing, Head of Trade Marketing at Seafood Scotland, said: "Our goal is to not only satisfy the UAE's appetite for high-quality seafood but also to do so in an environmentally responsible way. This lunch was a unique celebration of our commitment to providing the UAE with the finest seafood from Scotland." The luncheon was attended by renowned chefs, key distributors, retailers, and industry influencers who came together to rediscover the excellence of Scottish seafood and learn more about the countrys pioneering sustainable fishing methods and dedication to preserving the seas while enjoying the finest seafood Scotland has to offer. TradeArabia News Service by Xinhua writer Shen Danlin CAIRO, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- In the vast and scorching desert in North Africa, Chinese and Egyptian workers are working against the clock to dress up a cluster of newly erected high-rises in glass walls made in China. Here is the Central Business District (CBD) of Egypt's new administrative capital, 45 kilometers east of the Egyptian capital of Cairo. The new capital is not only a key project of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative but also the largest project constructed by Chinese companies in Egypt. After four years of construction, the modern city is finally taking shape, with a cluster of glass buildings shining like a mirage amidst the arid landscape. Located near the Sahara Desert, Egypt's climate is predominantly hot and dry, and the highest temperature can reach 50 degrees Celsius in summer. Under such an extreme environment, installing glass walls for these skyscrapers requires impeccable craftsmanship and top-notch materials, in which Chinese builders have stood out when compared to their Western counterparts. "Stunned by our price, quality, and speed, they have no reason not to choose us," Cheng Wei, the manager of Egypt's CBD project of China Construction Shenzhen Decoration company, told Xinhua. "Price is our most straightforward advantage," Cheng said, explaining, "For example, the price of a square meter glass curtain wall produced and installed by European and American companies doubled that of Chinese counterparts." Nevertheless, lower prices do not equate to compromised quality. According to Cheng, China-produced curtain walls, in many performance tests, such as air and water tightness, plane deformation, and wind load resistance, not only meet but often surpass the standards set by European and American companies, exhibiting superior performance in certain aspects. To earn the complete trust of the CBD designers from Dar Al-Handasah, a world-renowned consulting organization in architecture and planning, Cheng and his colleagues invited them to visit the curtain wall factories and megacities in China. "A Chinese factory can rival a small town in size, leaving them awestruck," Cheng said with a hint of pride, noting, "Having visited the United States previously, these designers were astounded to discover that China's resplendent skyscrapers are no less impressive." The speed at which the Chinese builders operate also leaves an indelible impression on their Egyptian clients. In Egypt, the conventional construction concept dictates that curtain walls are installed only upon the completion of the main structure. "Our concept is, you build the third floor, we install the curtain walls on the first floor; you build the 20th floor, we go to the 15th floor. Much to their surprise, they found that this methodology is entirely feasible," Cheng said. With excellent techniques and quality, Chinese builders and products totally changed the attitude of their clients, from doubt in the very beginning to conviction and trust. "They rarely come to the site now, and they said our products are exempt from inspection," Cheng said confidently. Although not fully completed, the CBD of Egypt's new administrative capital has become a popular Instagram-worthy location for Egyptian people, and they gave the 385.8-meter-high landmark building a nickname, "China Tower." Xu Xiaoxiao, a project manager of China Construction Shenzhen Decoration company, told Xinhua that the Egyptian workers said the pyramids are attractions for foreigners, and the "China Tower" is an attraction for Egyptians. "When you take a taxi in Cairo and tell the driver to go to the new administrative capital, many drivers do not know where it is. Tell them 'China Tower,' and all the drivers know the place," Xu said with a smile on his face. By the spring of next year, all the curtain walls of the CBD will be installed completely, and Cheng Wei and Xu Xiaoxiao will then bid farewell to Egypt and return home. However, the magnificent "pearl of the desert" they have constructed will continue to radiate the glory of the China-Egypt friendship, serving as an enduring symbol of the Belt and Road Initiative. The foreign ministers of the three Baltic states and Ukraine said Tuesday they will boycott this week's meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in North Macedonia to object to the participation of Russia's foreign minister. The top diplomats of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania issued a joint statement saying they "deeply regret the decision enabling the personal participation" of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. "It will only provide Russia with yet another propaganda opportunity," they said. Lavrov said Monday that he planned to travel to North Macedonia's capital, Skopje, for the OSCE foreign ministers' meeting, which would mark a rare visit to a NATO member country since Russia started its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He also has visited NATO member Turkey, which has no ban on Russian flights. In September, he was in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly. Ukraine also said it would boycott the meeting because of Lavrov's participation, with its foreign ministry issuing a statement accusing Russia of "coercing and undermining the OSCE through the abuse of the rule of consensus." "By resorting to blackmailing and open threats, the Russian Federation systematically blocked the consensus on key issues," the statement said, citing the blocking of Estonia's candidacy for the chairmanship of the organization in 2024. Alexander Grushko, a Russian deputy foreign minister, told reporters on Tuesday that the Baltic nations' decision to boycott the meeting "doesn't mean anything for the future of the OSCE, either way." At the meeting, the Russian delegation will "insist ... on the return of the OSCE to its origins, original principles, original purpose," Grushko said. "Actually, it is called the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, but now there is no security or cooperation. If the OSCE wants to play at least some role, then it must return to what it was created for. And if this does not happen, it will not be in demand among the participating states," he said. He didn't comment on Ukraine's announcement that it was also boycotting the meeting. 'Trying to avoid a candid face-to-face' With the exception of close Moscow ally Belarus, Lavrov hasn't visited any European country since the war in Ukraine started. In March 2022, Lavrov was barred from flying to Geneva for a U.N. conference after European Union members banned Russian planes from their skies as part of sanctions against Moscow. Lavrov denounced the move as "outrageous" in a video address to the session, charging that "the EU countries are trying to avoid a candid face-to-face dialogue or direct contacts designed to help identify political solutions to pressing international issues." The 57-nation OSCE was set up during the Cold War to help defuse tension between East and West. North Macedonia holds the organization's rotating presidency, and its foreign minister invited Lavrov to the two-day meeting starting Thursday. "For the past two years we have witnessed how one OSCE participating state has actively and brutally tried to annihilate another," the Baltic foreign ministers said in their statement. "Let us be very clear: Russia's war of aggression and atrocities against its sovereign and peaceful neighbor Ukraine blatantly violate international law." They also accused Russia of "obstructive behavior within the OSCE itself," citing Russia's prevention of an OSCE presence in Ukraine and the blocking of Estonia's chairmanship of the organization in 2024. Lavrov's attendance at the Skopje meeting "risks legitimizing aggressor Russia as a rightful member of our community of free nations, trivializing the atrocious crimes Russia has been committing," they added. 'We have condemned the aggressor' Speaking to reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels, North Macedonia's foreign minister, Bujar Osmani, said he believed that he would be meeting Lavrov in Skopje. "Lavrov is not coming to Skopje, in a way. Lavrov is coming to the OSCE just as he went to [the] U.N. in New York a few months ago," Osmani said. "I won't be meeting him as the foreign minister of North Macedonia, but as the OSCE chairman in office." Asked what he would say to Lavrov, Osmani said: "I think the Russian Federation has violated [the] commitments of OSCE principles that we have voluntarily subscribed to 50 years ago." He added: "We have condemned the aggressor throughout our chairpersonship. And also we have turned [the] OSCE into a platform for political and legal accountability of the Russian Federation for its deeds in Ukraine, and we will continue to do so. And this is what I am going to tell to Mr. Lavrov as well." TikTok, a social media platform with more than a billion active global users, has announced a shift to more aggressive communications tactics after coming under criticism for becoming a major source of propaganda and disinformation about the Israel-Hamas war. Users disproportionally propagate pro-Hamas and pro-Palestinian sentiment, Axios reported on November 16. The platforms new policy includes the monitoring and removal of misleading content on the Israel-Hamas war, TikTok said on November 13. Yet, videos continue spreading across TikTok, falsely implying that Russia is dispatching troops to Gaza in support of Palestinians. Many of the TikTok videos include captions exploiting the theme of Russia sending strong support to the Gaza Strip. Moscow has long cultivated relations with Hamas and is suspected of arming the Palestinian militant group and even being behind its October 7 attack on Israel, which triggered the current escalation. On November 21, TikToker myus.hamed0, with 15.4K followers, shared a video showing military vehicles, some with Russian flags. A caption on the video reads: Russia sends strong support to Gaza to help them. 21 November 2023. Myus.hamed0 paired the video with this comment: Oh My God, watch Russias support in Gaza to protect civilians. That is false. The footage shows U.S. military vehicles blocking a patrol of Russian military police in Syrias northeastern Hasakah province, near the Turkish border, on May 2, 2020. The United States operates several military bases in that region of Syria, which is under the control of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. Other TikTokers shared the same video with pro-Palestinian messages. Some variations include claims that Russia has blocked U.S. troops on the border with the Gaza Strip, or that Russias state-funded private military company, Wagner Group, has or will dispatch troops to Gaza. Myus.hamed0 also included that footage in a video posted on November 11 with a similar message, which received almost 200K views. The November 21 post from Myus.hamed0 has since been removed from TikTok, although their November 11 post remains. Another video, posted by TikToker muyztrx on November 19, has received almost 300K views. It used similar language, claiming that Russia and Poland had sent strong support to the Gaza Strip. That video edited together unrelated footage, including a video from May of Wagner fighters on the flanks of Bakhmut, Ukraine, and footage of Ukraines 98th Azov Battalion at an unknown location, first uploaded in December 2022. The pairing of Russia and Poland together is curious, given that Polands Senate officially recognizes Russia as a terrorist state due to its actions in Ukraine. The overwhelming majority of Poles have an unfavorable view of Russia. Another video, shared by TikToker snak.sr, claims Russia and Turkey are sending strong support to the Gaza Strip. That video also edited together unrelated footage, including a clip that shows Ukrainian forces, likely filmed in April 2023. Myus.hamed0, Snak.sr and muyztrx are serial spreaders of Israel-Hamas disinformation. Their numerous posts rely on recycled footage and include fake claims that such countries as Egypt, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Libya have also dispatched troops to the Gaza Strip. They also posted the claim that the U.S. aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford, which was deployed to the eastern Mediterranean in support of Israel, had sunk. Other clips they shared use old footage to drum up apocalyptic fears in Israel and elsewhere. Snak.sr and muyztrx also use the same profile picture. TikTok has become a main news source for younger generations worldwide, polls show. The percentage of TikTok users who regularly get news on the platform increased from 33% in 2022 to 43% in 2023, Pew Research Center reported on November 15. Almost a third of U.S. adults under the age of 30 regularly get their news on TikTok, the survey found, with the figures having more than quadrupled from 3% in 2020 to 14% in 2023. Some U.S. politicians have called for TikTok to be banned, claiming the Chinese-owned platform is pushing pro-Hamas content, to the detriment of U.S. interests. TikTok denies it is gaming the algorithm to promote one side of an issue over another, noting that users in the Middle East and Southeast Asia account for large numbers of pro-Palestinian posts. TikTok and others also note that the social media platform makes recommendations based on the content people have previously engaged with. Analysts say factors like the right-wing orientation of Israels government, younger peoples increased societal contacts with Muslims in the U.S., and their perceptions on the use of military force, could play a role in shaping opinions on the conflict. As Polygraph.info previously reported, researchers have found that fake accounts on TikTok, YouTube and Twitter have also disseminated manipulated or faked videos and other content to promote the belief that the Islamic apocalypse is imminent. Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to run in the presidential election in March and will stay in the Kremlin at least until 2030, Reuters reported on November 6, citing six sources with knowledge of the plan. With 23 years in power, he is already the longest-serving ruler of Russia. Accused of war crimes in Ukraine, and with key opposition figures imprisoned or exiled, Putin, 71, will face no political rival as he enjoys an 80% public approval rating, Reuters said. Yet, the election authorities in Russia are on high alert expecting interference and sabotage from the oversized Russian community in exile, whose most active members are increasingly unhappy with Putins domestic and foreign policies, with that sentiment amplified by the ongoing war against Ukraine. During a conference in Moscow on November 21, the head of Russias Central Election Commission, Ella Pamfilova, used vulgar and dehumanizing language in describing her compatriots in exile, underscoring the Kremlins pre-election concerns. "Now, there will be presidential elections in March 2024, and already there is work being done by those scum who not only left but who now earn their pitiful pennies by forming the basis to disrupt the elections, discredit the elections," Pamfilova said. That claim is partly true. Leaders and activists of the Russian opposition in exile are planning an anti-Putin campaign aimed at delegitimizing the March 2024 presidential elections in their homeland. Since September, exiled Russian opposition groups have been openly discussing plans to influence the 2024 presidential ballot. On September 30, Maxim Katz, a Russian opposition vlogger with 1.95 million subscribers on YouTube, proposed a joint campaign to ensure that Putin would no longer be president of Russia. Katz called on all Russian opposition movements to combine resources and unite for that goal. On October 22, some 200 Russians representing diaspora groups, political movements and associations, met in Berlin with influential members of Russia's exiled political opposition. The effort was promoted by Putins long-time political rival Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his allies. The participants signed an agreement to launch a nationwide campaign against Putin ahead of the 2024 presidential elections. It was decided that we call on our fellow citizens to join the national campaign 'No to Putin'. We believe that it is Vladimir Putin who is to blame for dragging our country into a major regional conflict, into a major war, Khodorkovsky said. The opposition representatives also set out an action plan that includes countering the Kremlins propaganda, ensuring legal defense for those in Russia prosecuted for political reasons, and assisting anti-war activists. The exiled Russian opposition's primary goal is to delegitimize Putin's March 2024 presidential elections, Dmitry Gudkov, an opposition figure and former State Duma member, told the Ukrainian TV channel FREEDOM. The plan for achieving that goal, Gudkov said, includes engaging opinion leaders influential politicians, famous writers, popular artists, musicians and actors to campaign against Putin, thereby reaching millions of Russians at home and abroad. There are also Internet and social media projects, including the Legion of Elves an anti-war, anti-propaganda initiative involving the work of dozens of Russian refugees, Egor Kuroptev, director of the Free Russia Foundations office on the South Caucasus, told The Insider, a Latvia-based Russian news outlet, on November 16. The goal of the "elves is to end the war in Ukraine and help Russians not to be brainwashed by state propaganda and Kremlin-controlled media. So that a person who watched TV would then come to social media and see a different point of view, Kuroptev said. Since the project was launched almost two years ago, the elves have written more than 2.3 million comments on social media, infiltrating some 900 pro-Russian government internet communities, primarily on the Russian state-owned social media platform vKontakte. Some Russian exiles have proposed more radical ways of removing Putin from power. Ilya Ponomarev, a former State Duma deputy who has lived in Kyiv since 2014, has supported armed resistance to the Russian authorities and took part in creating the Russian Freedom Legion, a unit within the Ukrainian army consisting of Russian citizens opposed to the Putin regime. Ponomarev also created a shadow Russian parliament called the Congress of People's Deputies, consisting of former Russian lawmakers now in exile. As in previous elections, the Kremlin has ensured the removal of all of its political rivals from the March 2024 election. On April 17, a Moscow court found the prominent Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza guilty of treason and sentenced him to 25 years in prison, citing a speech to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2022 in which he condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Putin's most prominent critic, Alexei Navalny, has been in prison since January 17, 2021, serving a 19-year prison sentence for allegedly creating an extremist community and inciting extremism. Ethnic Russians are believed to be one of the worlds biggest diasporas, with an estimated 20 to 30 million Russians living abroad. Russia has experienced its largest exodus since Putin ordered the Russian military to invade Ukraine in February 2022. According to various estimates, 500,000 to 1.3 million people left Russia over the last year. The majority of them, according to polls, left for political reasons disagreement with the authorities and persecution. Many Russian exiles have remained politically active abroad, individually or as part of various Russian opposition organizations founded mostly in Europe and some in the United States. Pamfilovas claim that exiled Russians will attempt to discredit the presidential election at home is misleading. International observers from groups like the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and others, have recorded systematic violations in Russian elections since 2011. They include the exclusion of Kremlin critics from races, government interference in voting, casting of fraudulent votes and violation of the vote counting procedure. For example, the OSCE described the 2012 presidential election in Russia as preordained and unfair. On October 13, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe issued a statement calling on European countries to consider Putin's rule illegitimate if he remains in power after the 2024 elections. If that is the case, the statement said, Europe must halt all contacts with Russia, except humanitarian ones. The overwhelming power of the President resulting from the extremely long term in office combined with the lack of any checks and balances such as a strong parliament, an independent judiciary, free media, and a vibrant civil society has turned the Russian Federation into a de facto dictatorship, the statement read. During the online G20 summit on November 22, Russian President Vladimir Putin made several false and misleading claims. This fact-check debunks four of them. First, Putin posed as a peace seeker and blamed the war he launched against Ukraine on Ukraine: It is not Russia, but Ukraine that has publicly announced that it is withdrawing from the negotiation process. Moreover, the countrys leader signed an executive order prohibiting such negotiations with Russia." That claim is misleading. Putin can stop the war at any time. Instead, he keeps sending troops into Ukraine and makes laws to legitimize the occupation of Ukrainian territory and the abduction of Ukrainian children. Putin ordered Russian troops into Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and reportedly planned to host a victory parade at Kyivs iconic Maidan Square a week later. Prior to the invasion, Putin had written an op-ed declaring Ukraine an integral part of Russia and denying its history and right to sovereignty. He has since reaffirmed that view in his public addresses and policy. Until the day of the invasion, Putin lied to his foreign counterparts about his war plans, while his agencies portrayed repeated warnings from the United States about a possible invasion as Russophobic hysteria. Throughout the more than 20 years he has ruled Russia, Putin has repeatedly violated international treaties and has broken his promises. Ukraines top diplomat Dmytro Kuleba called Vladimir Putin a habitual liar in a November 14 post on X explaining why Ukraine cannot trust the Russian leader to keep his part of a bargain. The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, said in a report last month that there are no signs of Russia seeking peace talks to end the war: The Kremin continues to believe that it is possible to achieve its objectives with military force and is unlikely to enter peace negotiations with Ukraine, except to buy time to reconstitute for future offensive operations. On November 10, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told CNN that Ukraine was ready for negotiations but with a different Russia, one that is truly ready for peace. After blaming the war on Ukraine, Putin then turned to his reasons for starting the war. He repeated a systematically debunked characterization of Ukraines Revolution of Dignity as a military coup and accused Kyiv of atrocities in Donbas the Ukrainian region where Russia has been orchestrating violent separatist uprising since 2014. Using a propaganda tactic labeled whataboutism, Putin told G20 leaders: But what about the bloody coup in Ukraine in 2014, which was followed by the Kyiv regimes war against its own people in Donbass? Did that not shock you? A coup d'etat, according to Encyclopedia Britannica, is the sudden, violent overthrow of an existing government by a small group that controls all or part of the armed forces, the police, and other military elements. In contrast, a revolution is usually achieved by large numbers of people working for basic social, economic, and political change. The military played virtually no role in the events of 2014 in Kyiv. One military unit of the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs was ordered to into Kyiv to help suppress the Maidan protesters, not to help them. Members of that unit were trapped in their barracks by protesters and never made it to the capital. Viktor Yanukovych abandoned his post as Ukraines president and fled to Russia amid mass protests against his refusal to sign an association agreement with the European Union, not because of machinations by his country's political or military elite. In March 2014, Russia illegally annexed Crimea. That same month, a group of armed Russian militants led by Igor Strelkov Girkin, a Russian citizen and former Russian intelligence officer, infiltrated the Donbas and started a military conflict there. By August 2014, Russia had already deployed regular army units to Donbas to support Girkins militants. The European Court of Human Rights ruled in January 2023 that areas of the Donbas from 11 May 2014 and up to at least 26 January 2022 were under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation. Then came the bragging. Ignoring Russias destruction of Ukrainian towns and cities, devastation of its agricultural and industrial infrastructure, and the fact that the war is exhausting Ukraines human resources, Putin criticized Ukraines economic situation while portraying Russia as a trustworthy global philanthropist: Market turbulence is on the rise. Chronic issues in the international financial sector, as well as energy and food security challenges, are intensifying. By the way, Russia is fulfilling all its commitments in this area and remains one of the largest food exporters. I am here to let you know that the first ships with free Russian grain have been sent to African countries in need. That claim is misleading. On September 4, after holding talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Putin refused to renew Moscow's participation in a grain deal that would have allowed Ukraine to export grain from its Black Sea ports, supporting global food security. Before the war, Ukraine was one of the worlds main grain exporters. According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, in the 2020-2021 agricultural season, Ukraine accounted for 10% of the total world market for both wheat (20 million tons) and grain (51.2 million tons) as a whole. Since February 24, 2022, Russias navy has blockaded Ukrainian ports. The sea routes Ukraine used to supply about 90% of agricultural goods were cut off. In July 2022, Ukraine signed the Black Sea Grain Initiative with Russia, brokered by Turkey and the U.N., which allowed Ukraine to once again export grain from its ports. However, Russia withdrew from the deal in July 2023 and began systematically targeting Ukrainian sea ports with missile attacks. Finally, Putin claimed that Russian troops are in Ukraine to restore justice: I would also like to note that the enormous stress on the global economy is a direct consequence of the ill-considered macroeconomic policies of some countries. It is not our actions, not our attempts to restore justice in Ukraine. In fact, Russian troops in Ukraine have been accused of committing all sorts of grievous injustices, including those serious enough to qualify as war crimes, and even genocide. Putin himself is accused of war crimes for the mass abduction of Ukrainian children, and the International Court of Justice has issued an international warrant for his arrest. This limits Putins ability to travel outside Russia, but he can still participate in virtual meetings like the one just held by the G20. Finland is ready to close its last border crossing with Russia if Moscow keeps pushing migrants across, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said Monday as migrants continued to make the treacherous journey through the Arctic. "We have closed all our border stations on the eastern border except for one and we are ready to close the last one if needed," Orpo told reporters in Helsinki. "Finland is protecting the European Union's external border and NATO's border. We will not let this phenomenon continue," he added. Finland has seen a surge in asylum-seekers entering without visas across its 1,300-kilometer border with Russia, with around 800 crossing since August. The migrants are predominantly from the Middle East and Africa. This has prompted Finland to close all but its northernmost border crossing, in the remote Murmansk region in the Arctic, over the past two weeks. Finnish officials claim Russia is attempting to destabilize its Nordic neighbor, with Orpo last week calling it "a systematic and organized action by the Russian authorities. In April, Moscow warned it would take "countermeasures ... in tactical and strategic terms" after branding Finland's decision to join NATO as an "assault on our security." Since last Thursday, the only border crossing that has remained open is the Raja-Jooseppi station. Migrants continued to cross there this weekend, with a total of 60 arriving on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, according to the Finnish Border Guard. Finland is obligated by international law to ensure that migrants can seek asylum, and the availability of locations can be limited only in exceptional circumstances, according to Finnish legal experts. The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is extended for two days in a deal that gives families hope however both sides accuse each other of violating the agreement. A NATO country is threatening to block billions in aid to Ukraine. Plus is North Koreas new spy satellite yielding useful intelligence? A former child refugee from Somalia has been named as this year's winner of the prestigious UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award. Abdullahi Mire, 36, was recognized for bringing 100,000 books to his compatriots languishing in sprawling camps in Kenya. "Last year, 2022, Angela Merkel, the former Federal Chancellor of Germany, won the award and today a young refugee from Dadaab. The sky is not the limit," Mire told VOA Somalia. Speaking ahead of the award announcement, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi honored Mire with a statement that called him "a living proof that transformative ideas can spring from within displaced communities." "He has shown great resourcefulness and tenacity in strengthening the quality of refugee education," Grandi said. From war to refugee camp to award Mire was born in southern Somalia in 1987 and lived in Dadaab in the 1990s when his family fled from Qoryooley in the Lower Shabelle region due to Somalia's civil war. "I fled from Qoryooley in the Lower Shabelle region in 1991 with my mother and grew up and lived in the Dadaab refugee camps for 23 years," Mire told VOA Somali Service. The complex in northeastern Kenya today has a population of more than 240,000 registered refugees, most from Somalia. Mire finished elementary and secondary schooling while residing in the camp, and later earned a degree in public relations and journalism. "After a lot of hurdles and challenges with the help and the encouragement of my mother, I eventually went on to graduate with a diploma in journalism and public relations in 2013 from Kenya's Kenyatta University, to become a voice for my vulnerable population," Mire said. With his degree, he then worked for the United Nations International Organization for Migration in Mogadishu and the southern Somali cities of Baidoa and Kismayo. His childhood in Dadaab and subsequent professional experience made him realize the importance of his education, and he ultimately dedicated his professional life to helping his fellow refugees. In early 2018, he founded an organization called Refugee Youth Education Hub. The organization employs two full-time staffers and six volunteers and focuses on refugee education and youth development. Mire said he had briefly resettled in Norway for a couple of years but went back to Dadaab, where he was not a stranger, to help. "I had a yearning to serve my community that drew me back to the camp," he said. A young woman who was learning medicine in the camp inspired him to collect books for the refugees, he said. "During one of my regular visits back to the camp, I was approached by a young stranger refugee girl, requesting me if I could send a medical book from Nairobi," Mire said. "She told me about 20 girls normally shared one biology book. That inspired me to use social media for a book collection and donation campaign till we reached 100,000 books. Mire is not the only Somali who has won the Nansen Refugee Award, named after the Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat and humanitarian Fridtjof Nansen. The 2012 award was given to Hawa Aden Mohamed for her exceptional work for Somalia's refugee and displaced girls and women. Greek officials said Tuesday that they will continue talks with the British Museum about bringing the Parthenon Marbles back to Athens, despite U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak abruptly canceling a meeting with his Greek counterpart where the contested antiquities were due to be discussed. But the U.K. government said ownership of the marbles is "settled" and they're British. The two European allies traded barbs Tuesday in a deepening diplomatic row that erupted when Sunak called off a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis hours before it was due to take place. Mitsotakis had planned to raise Greece's decades-old demand for the return of the ancient sculptures when he met Sunak at 10 Downing Street on Tuesday. The two center-right leaders were also slated to talk about migration, climate change, and the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. Mitsotakis was instead offered a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden, which he declined. British officials were annoyed that Mitsotakis had appeared on British television Sunday and compared the removal of the sculptures from Athens to cutting the Mona Lisa in half. Sunak's spokesman, Max Blain, said Mitsotakis had reneged on a promise not to talk publicly about the marbles during his three-day visit to Britain. "The Greek government provided reassurances that they would not use the visit as a public platform to relitigate long-settled matters relating to the ownership of the Parthenon sculptures," he said. "Given those assurances were not adhered to, the prime minister felt it would not be productive" to have the meeting. The Greek government denied Mitsotakis had agreed not to raise the subject in public. Mitsotakis met Monday in London with U.K. opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, whose party leads Sunak's governing Conservatives in opinion polls. The prime minister's office denied that meting had contributed to Sunak's decision to cancel. Dimitris Tsiodras, head of the Greek prime minister's press office, said Mitsotakis was angry at the "British misstep." "Of course he was angry. ... Look, Greece is a proud country. It has a long history. Mitsotakis represents that country," Tsiodras told private network Mega television. Opposition parties in Greece, from the Greek Communist Party and centrists to far-right nationalists, also condemned Sunak for the cancellation. Left-wing opposition leader Stefanos Kasselakis said the issue of the sculptures goes "beyond party differences." "It is a national issue that concerns the history of an entire people. And it is a moral issue concerning the shameless theft of cultural wealth from its natural setting," he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. Athens has long demanded the return of sculptures that were removed from Greece by British diplomat Lord Elgin in the early 19th century. Part of friezes that adorned the 2,500-year-old Parthenon temple on the Acropolis, the Elgin Marbles as they are known in Britain have been displayed at the British Museum in London for more than two centuries. The remainder of the friezes are in a purpose-built museum in Athens. The British Museum is banned by law from giving the sculptures back to Greece, but its leaders have held talks with Greek officials about a compromise, such as a long-term loan. Earlier this year, museum chairman George Osborne Treasury chief in a previous Conservative U.K. government said the discussions had been "constructive." Tsiodras said Tuesday that discussions "are ongoing with the British Museum for the return I should say the reunification of the marbles to Athens." "I don't think the effort stops there," he said. "Clearly, there are domestic reasons and 2024 is an election year and (Sunak) is quite behind in the polls ... but the discussion with the British Museum is ongoing." Sunak's government appears to have hardened its position, however. Transport Secretary Mark Harper said that "the government set out its position about the Elgin Marbles very clearly, which is they should stay as part of the permanent collection of the British Museum." And Blain said that "a loan cannot happen without the Greeks accepting that the British Museum are the legal owners" of the antiquities. Hamas militants late Tuesday released more Israeli hostages on the fifth day of an extended six-day truce in the Israel-Hamas war. A short time later, the Jewish state freed more Palestinian prisoners. The Israeli military said 12 hostages who were held in Gaza 10 Israelis and two foreign nationals were driven to Israel. In turn, Israel freed 30 Palestinian prisoners 15 women and 15 young men from a West Bank prison and a Jerusalem detention center, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Club, a semi-official organization. In the first four days of the original truce agreement, Hamas released 50 Israeli hostages as of Monday night as well as 19 foreigners, mostly Thai farmworkers. Israel has so far freed 150 prisoners, before the truce was extended an additional two days. The hostages were among about 240 people seized by Hamas gunmen during their rampage into southern Israel on October 7 in which they killed about 1,200 people. In its counteroffensive, Israel aimed at ending Hamas' control of the Gaza Strip. Its military leadership has killed more than 15,000 people, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry. On Wednesday, Israel and Hamas are expected to release more hostages and prisoners. The truce has brought Gaza its first quiet after six weeks of intensive Israeli aerial bombardment and a ground offensive prompted by the Hamas attack. The cease-fire had been set to expire overnight into Tuesday but both sides agreed to extend the pause to allow for the release of additional hostages held by Hamas and of Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel. Whether it is extended beyond Wednesday is uncertain. Israel has said it will continue the cease-fire day by day if Hamas frees at least 10 Israeli hostages a day. But now there are fewer women and children still in captivity, and additional negotiating may be needed to free at least some Israeli men for the first time. With the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, a narrow enclave along the Mediterranean Sea, more than two-thirds of Gaza's 2.3 million people have lost their homes, with thousands of families forced to sleep in makeshift shelters with only the belongings they could carry with them from their homes. Qatar helped negotiate the extension, while the United States, which has been calling for a truce as long as hostages are being released, said it welcomed the fifth and sixth days of the cessation in fighting. U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement that the halt in warfare has enabled a significant surge in additional humanitarian assistance to the innocent civilians who are suffering across the Gaza Strip. He said the U.S. will not stop its diplomatic efforts until all hostages held by Hamas are freed. "We'd certainly like to see even that extension extended further until all the hostages are released, said John Kirby, director of strategic communications for the National Security Council. That's really the goal here, to get all the hostages home with their families where they belong. And you know, however long that could take." A fourth swap of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners concluded late Monday, with the Israel Defense Forces saying that 11 hostages held by Hamas had been released and Israels prison authority saying 33 Palestinians freed. While the extended cease-fire held out the prospect of a longer truce, Israel has remained adamant in its stated goal of crushing Hamas military capabilities and ending its 16-year rule over Gaza. The United States has called on Israel to avoid significant further displacement of people in Gaza as it turns the focus of its campaign against Hamas from the northern part of the Gaza Strip toward the southern end. A senior U.S. official briefing reporters said the message has been communicated to the Israeli government, and that the Israeli military campaign needs to avoid attacks on power, water and humanitarian sites in southern Gaza. Israel has told people to leave northern Gaza for the south as it mainly focused the initial part of its offensive against Hamas in the north. The United Nations says an estimated 1.8 million people, or about 80% of Gazas population, are displaced within Gaza with 1.1 million sheltering in overcrowded U.N. facilities. Hamas, a U.S.-designated terror group, and other allied militants could still be holding more than 160 hostages, enough to potentially extend the cease-fire for more than two weeks. But the hostage group includes a number of Israeli soldiers, and the militants could make stiffer demands for their release. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who attended a NATO meeting in Brussels Monday, will head to Israel and the West Bank late Wednesday, according to a senior State Department official. Blinken has visited Israel multiple times on his previous two trips to the region since the Israel-Hamas war began. In his meetings in the Middle East, Blinken will stress the need to sustain the increased flow of humanitarian assistance to Gaza, secure the release of all hostages, and improve protections for civilians in Gaza, a senior State Department official said on background. Analysts say the widely welcomed pause is unlikely to bring an end to this complex and for both sides, existential conflict. There are two separate problems, said Michael OHanlon, a senior fellow and director of research in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution. The long-term end to the fighting is going to require the dismantlement of Hamas probably not in any realistic way the complete elimination of all of its fighters or capabilities or ideas but the top leadership has to go. Hamas ability to rule Gaza has to go. And I don't see that as having been changed in any way, shape or form by the current pause in the fighting." China said Monday its top diplomat, Wang Yi, will preside over a Wednesday United Nations Security Council meeting focused on the Israel-Hamas conflict. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters that China hopes the talks would lead to a prolonged cease-fire and an end to the fighting and alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. VOA State Department bureau chief Nike Ching and White House correspondent Anita Powell contributed to this article. Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. Every year, thousands of people from across the United States volunteer for a very exclusive holiday experience the chance to decorate the White House for Christmas. Of all of those applicants, only 300 lucky people are chosen. VOAs Dora Mekouar reports. Camera: Hakim Shammo by Dana Halawi BEIRUT, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Confrontations between Israel and Hezbollah, a Shiite military group in Lebanon, on Lebanon's southern border have had a disastrous effect on the country's tourism sector, said industry experts. Due to the ongoing border tension that has lasted for more than seven weeks, many hotels outside of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, were forced to close, while most hotels in Beirut operate partially, said Pierre Ashkar, head of the Syndicate of Hotel Owners in Lebanon. Tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border escalated after Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets toward Shebaa Farms on Oct. 8 in support of the Hamas attacks on Israel the previous day, prompting the Israeli forces to respond by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon. Statistics released by the Civil Aviation Authority at the Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport showed a year-on-year drop of 15 percent in the number of passenger arrivals in Lebanon in October, and a year-on-year increase of 15.5 percent in the number of passengers leaving the country in the same month. Moreover, the number of passengers travelling to and from Lebanon dropped by 38.53 percent in the first week of November compared to the same period last year, with the number of arrivals decreasing by 41.75 percent and departures going down by 35.46 percent. Jean Abboud, head of the Syndicate of Tourism and Travel Agencies, said Lebanon was supposed to receive several groups of European tourists on a daily basis until the end of 2023, but all reservations have been canceled following the border tension. "The border tension's impact on the tourism sector is catastrophic," Abboud said, adding that Lebanon's tourist activities have declined by 80 percent since the start of the border tension in early October compared to the same period of last year. Abboud added that plane tickets sales dropped from 5,000 tickets a day before the border tension to 400-600 per day currently. According to Tony Ramy, president of the Syndicate of Owners of Restaurants, Cafes, Nightclubs, and Pastries in Lebanon, businesses at restaurants dropped by 60-80 percent during working days and by 30-50 percent on weekends. Ramy noted that restaurants are currently suffering significant losses and need to struggle to stay in business by effectively handling the crisis until the end of the year. "To sustain their operations, restaurants will need to focus on attracting local clients by reducing prices," he said. Last week, Hamas and Israel agreed to a four-day cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, which was set to expire on Tuesday. On Monday, the truce was extended for an additional two days. The southern Lebanese border saw a brief period of cautious calm after the truce went into effect on Nov. 24. At dawn on Nov. 25, however, Israel fired a rocket at the village of Mays al-Jabal in southern Lebanon, the National News Agency reported. Ashkar was not optimistic about a promising Christmas and New Year season this year, noting that traders and businesses cannot depend heavily on the holiday season to turn a profit and offset losses from less lucrative seasons. "A number of countries have imposed a travel ban on Lebanon. Even if the conflict stops, it will take some time for these countries to lift the ban and a few more months for Lebanon to market its tourism activities," Ashkar said. Nassib Ghobril, an economist and head of the economic research department at Byblos Bank, said the border tensions had added uncertainty and negatively impacted consumer confidence. He did, however, project that Lebanon's economy would expand by slightly less than 2 percent this year as opposed to seeing no growth in 2022 because the nation's tourism industry had a stellar summer and other sectors, like trade and industry, performed well. Ghobril highlighted the tourism sector's economic significance, saying that it employs 20 percent of the labor force and has contributed 13.7 percent of GDP in 2022. Hungary is threatening to block $50 billion of European aid for Ukraine and veto Kyivs EU membership bid, amid a spiraling dispute between Brussels and Budapest. EU Council President Charles Michel traveled to Hungary on Monday for talks with Prime Minister Viktor Orban, in a bid to calm relations ahead of a crucial summit scheduled December 14-15, where EU heads of state are expected to decide on opening formal talks with Ukraine over its accession to the bloc. Neither Michel nor Orban spoke to the press following Mondays meeting. Hungary has long been a thorn in the side of the European Union. The dispute over the blocs military and economic support for Ukraine comes amid increasingly bitter rhetoric as campaigning gets underway for next Junes European elections. Anti-EU campaign Prime Minister Orbans Fidesz party this month launched a personal attack against European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, putting up billboards showing her alongside Alex Soros, the son of the liberal Hungarian-born financier George Soros - another favorite target of Fidesz campaigns. The slogan on the posters reads: Let's not dance to their tunes. Addressing members at the Fidesz party congress November 18, Orban stepped up his attacks on the EU. I am deeply convinced that we must say no to the Brussels Europe model. We must say no because it is unsustainable, because it has no future. I am convinced that today, in Brussels, Europe is being destroyed and led to its ruins, Orban told supporters, before repeating his threat to veto Ukraines EU membership application. In the months ahead, right up to the European elections, we face serious political struggles our task will be to correct the mistaken promise to start negotiations with Ukraine, since Ukraine is now light years away from the European Union, he said. Blocked funds The EU is continuing to withhold around $24 billion the blocs post-COVID stimulus fund over concerns about the rule of law in Hungary, including the independence of the judiciary and freedom of the press. Brussels has repeatedly voiced concerns over the backsliding of democracy. In a letter to EU Council President Charles Michel last week, Prime Minister Orban reportedly threatened to block a $50 billion dollar EU aid package for Kyiv. Critics say his hard-line approach could backfire. Orban is increasingly isolated within the European Union, and it hurts. It hurts not only symbolically, but it hurts economically as well. The Hungarian economy is not in a very good shape, and the lack of the EU funds and the frozen EU funds, due to rule of law concerns, but also due to the government's outlier position in the Russia-Ukraine issue and also its EU bashing, clearly played an important role in freezing these funds, Peter Kreko, an analyst at the Political Capital think tank in Budapest, told the Associated Press. Ukraines EU hopes The EU released $1 billion of the frozen funds last week, in an effort to overcome Hungarys objections. Its not clear if that will be enough to prevent Orban from wielding his veto threats at the upcoming EU summit in December. The Hungarian prime minister has said there is no way those talks can proceed with a country at war and has urged Kyiv to seek peace talks with Moscow. Ukraine has said it will not open negotiations until Russian forces leave its territory. Ukrainians just dont believe that Russia can be trusted. And thats why they see the EU and NATO membership as the only security guarantee not just for Ukraine, but for sustainable peace and security in Europe, said Olga Tokariuk, an analyst with the London-based Chatham House. Analysts say Orban could be emboldened by the recent election victories of Robert Fico in Slovakia and Geert Wilders in the Netherlands, both like-minded leaders who have voiced skepticism of EU support for Ukraine. The URL has been copied to your clipboard The code has been copied to your clipboard. Hungary is threatening to block tens of billions of dollars of European aid for Ukraine and veto its EU membership bid, amid a spiraling dispute between Brussels and Budapest. As Henry Ridgwell reports, the EU Council president traveled to Hungary Monday in a bid to calm relations ahead of a crucial December summit. VOA's Linda Gradstein talks about the emotional reunions between former hostages and their families. Israel and Hamas will extend their truce by two days. A man pleads not guilty in connection with the shooting of three college students of Palestinian descent in Vermont. Israel and Hamas have agreed to a two-day cease-fire extension Monday that is to include the release of more captives, according to mediator Qatar. Hamas has released dozens of children in a four-day cease-fire, and Israel has released Palestinian prisoners. The extension has given Israelis hope that more people still in captivity, including children, could be freed. Linda Gradstein reports from Jerusalem. Camera: Ricki Rosen Israel and Hamas are expected to carry out more exchanges of prisoners and hostages as a cease-fire extends into a fifth day Tuesday. Israel had pledged to continue its pause in attacks targeting Hamas in the Gaza Strip by one day beyond the original, four-day pact for every 10 additional hostages Hamas releases and free three times that many Palestinians held in Israeli jails on various offenses. Hamas confirmed it had agreed to a two-day extension "under the same terms." Qatar helped negotiate the extension, while the United States, which has been calling for a truce as long as hostages are being released, said it welcomed the extended cessation in fighting. U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement that the halt in warfare has enabled a significant surge in additional humanitarian assistance to the innocent civilians who are suffering across the Gaza Strip. He said the U.S. will not stop its diplomatic efforts until all hostages held by Hamas are freed. "We'd certainly like to see even that extension extended further until all the hostages are released, said John Kirby, director of strategic communications for the National Security Council. That's really the goal here, to get all the hostages home with their families where they belong. And you know, however long that could take." A fourth swap of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners concluded late Monday, with the Israel Defense Forces saying that 11 hostages held by Hamas had been released and Israels prison authority saying 33 Palestinians freed. In all, 50 Israeli hostages and 150 Palestinians were freed during the initial four days. While the extended cease-fire held out the prospect of a longer truce, Israel has remained adamant in its stated goal of crushing Hamas military capabilities and ending its 16-year rule over Gaza, the narrow territory along the Mediterranean Sea, after the shock October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and led to the Hamas capture of about 240 hostages. The United States has called on Israel to avoid significant further displacement of people in Gaza as it turns the focus of its campaign against Hamas from the northern part of the Gaza Strip toward the southern end. A senior U.S. official briefing reporters said the message has been communicated with the Israeli government, and that the Israeli military campaign needs to avoid attacks on power, water and humanitarian sites in southern Gaza. Israel has told people to leave northern Gaza for the south as it mainly focused the initial part of its offensive against Hamas in the north. The United Nations says an estimated 1.8 million people, or about 80% of Gazas population, are displaced within Gaza with 1.1 million sheltering in overcrowded U.N. facilities. Israels campaign against Hamas militants has killed more than 14,000 people, according to Gaza health officials. Hamas, a U.S.-designated terror group, and other allied militants could still be holding up to 175 hostages, enough to potentially extend the cease-fire for two and a half weeks. But the hostage group includes a number of Israeli soldiers, and the militants could make stiffer demands for their release. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who attended a NATO meeting in Brussels Monday, will head to Israel and the West Bank late Wednesday, according to a senior State Department official. Blinken has visited Israel multiple times on his previous two trips to the region since the Israel-Hamas war began. In his meetings in the Middle East, Blinken will stress the need to sustain the increased flow of humanitarian assistance to Gaza, secure the release of all hostages, and improve protections for civilians in Gaza, a senior State Department official said on background. Analysts say the widely welcomed pause is unlikely to bring an end to this complex and for both sides, existential conflict. There are two separate problems, said Michael OHanlon, a senior fellow and director of research in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution. The long-term end to the fighting is going to require the dismantlement of Hamas probably not in any realistic way the complete elimination of all of its fighters or capabilities or ideas but the top leadership has to go. Hamas ability to rule Gaza has to go. And I don't see that as having been changed in any way, shape or form by the current pause in the fighting. China said Monday its top diplomat, Wang Yi, will preside over a Wednesday United Nations Security Council meeting focused on the Israel-Hamas conflict. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters that China hopes the talks would lead to a prolonged cease-fire and an end to the fighting and alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The pause in fighting has allowed an increase in badly needed humanitarian aid to reach Gaza, where the U.N. says an estimated 1.8 million people about three-quarters of the population are displaced. VOA State Department bureau chief Nike Ching and White House correspondent Anita Powell contributed to this article. Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. Former U.S. first lady Rosalynn Carter was honored Tuesday at a tribute service in Atlanta, attended by all living first ladies and three presidents, including her husband, 99-year-old former President Jimmy Carter, who entered hospice care in February. The service consisted of classical music and many of her favorite hymns and Bible passages. Guests included President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former first ladies Melania Trump, Michelle Obama and Laura Bush, along with Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff. More than 1,000 people were in the sanctuary, with her children and dozens of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, sitting front and center around Jimmy Carter. The Carters were married for 77 years. Speakers included the Carters' son James Earl "Chip" Carter III, journalist Judy Woodruff, White House aide to Rosalynn Carter Kathryn Cade, the Carters' grandson and Carter Center chairman Jason Carter and the Rev. Tony Snowden, the Carters' personal pastor. Rosalynn Carter, who has been praised for her life of political advocacy, was the second-longest living first lady of the United States behind Bess Truman, who died at 97. She died November 19 at the age of 96. A funeral is planned for Wednesday in Plains, Georgia, followed by a private interment at the family's home. Memorial events began Monday with members of the public given the opportunity to pay their respects at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library. Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. The Philippine government and communist rebels said Tuesday they have agreed to resume peace talks to end one of the world's longest-running Maoist insurgencies. The ongoing armed struggle, launched in 1969, grew out of the global communist movement, finding fertile soil in the Philippines' stark rich-poor divide. At its peak in the 1980s, the group boasted about 26,000 fighters, a number the military says has now dwindled to less than 2,000. Successive Philippine administrations have held peace talks with the communists through their Netherlands-based political arm, the National Democratic Front (NDF). This latest effort followed informal discussions in the Netherlands and Norway that began in 2022 and were facilitated by the Norwegian government, officials told reporters in Manila. "The parties agree to a principled and peaceful resolution of the armed conflict," said a joint statement issued by both sides that was signed in the Norwegian capital of Oslo on November 23. "The parties acknowledge the deep-rooted socioeconomic and political grievances and agree to come up with a framework that sets the priorities for the peace negotiation." Philippine military chief General Romeo Brawner said the resumption of talks was "very good news for us". "If this conflict will finally end, your Armed Forces of the Philippines will be able to shift our focus to external or territorial defence," Brawner said. But until there was a "final agreement", he said the military would "continue our operations against the New People's Army", the armed wing of the Philippines' communist party. The announcement comes almost a year after Jose Maria Sison, who launched the insurgency, died in self-imposed exile in the Netherlands. At the time, the Philippines' defence ministry said his death could finally lead to an end of violence in the country, calling Sison the "greatest stumbling block" to peace. The last time peace talks were held was during the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte -- a self-declared socialist and a former student of Sison. But the talks devolved into threats and recrimination, with Duterte officially cutting them off in 2017, declaring the group a terrorist organization and accusing them of killing police and soldiers while negotiations were underway. Sison's widow, Julieta de Lima, told a press conference in Utrecht Tuesday that the NDF would appoint new members to its negotiating panel, which she heads. "The quest for genuine peace has no shortcuts," said de Lima. "It is very significant that the current president, who is the son of the late dictator Marcos, has acceded to the resumption of the peace negotiations, so I think that it would be to his own good that the armed conflict may be resolved during his term." The talks would begin next year but the exact date and venue were still being discussed, the NDF said. In recent years, the Philippine government has claimed that hundreds of communist rebels have surrendered in exchange for financial assistance and livelihood opportunities. Deadly clashes still take place in parts of the country, which is also plagued by kidnap-for-ransom groups and Islamist secessionist movements in the southern region. China has sympathized with the Palestinian cause since Chinese Communist Party founder Mao Zedong sent weapons to Palestinians in support of their liberation movement against Israel. Since then, China and Israel have developed a multibillion-dollar trading relationship with a free trade agreement under discussion. But after the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, anti-Israel and antisemitic comments have flooded Chinas tightly controlled internet and the online accounts of Israels embassy in Beijing. And in his speech at a virtual summit on the Israel-Hamas war by the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) group on Nov. 21, Chinese President Xi Jinping said, The fundamental reason for the Israeli-Palestinian situation today is that the Palestinian people's rights to statehood, survival and return have long been disregarded. Irit Ben-Abba Vitale, the Israeli ambassador in Beijing, spoke with VOA Mandarin in a telephone interview on Nov. 23, to discuss her nations views on China's official stance, Israel-China relations and the current antisemitic rhetoric in China. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. VOA: China appears to support the Palestinians and advocates for a two-state solution. How does this color Beijings position on the current conflict? Irit Ben-Abba Vitale, Israeli Ambassador to China: Almost from the establishment of the People's Republic of China, (the two-state solution) has been the policy of the leadership here. We view the war as the Hamas-Israel war. The Chinese side looks at it more as part of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Since they don't recognize Hamas as being a terrorist organization, they also don't mention, Hamas is the entity or the organization that Israel is fighting. We try to position our views; we listen to the Chinese views. We see the Chinese engage by sending their special envoy to the Middle East, to several countries. And there's this shuttle diplomacy that the special envoy from China is doing in the region. We are briefed, and we again present our positions. We also told the Chinese government that we were disappointed by their official statement that came on the eighth of October. VOA: Have Israel-China relations changed because of the conflict between Israel and Hamas? Will Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu still plan to visit China? Vitale: I don't think relations have changed. (China) doesn't recognize (Hamas) as a terrorist organization. We disagree on that. Nevertheless, we have very good relations with China. We hope that very soon we can continue with our normal bilateral relations and promote economic and trade ties and we can still disagree on political issues. The prime minister, of course, his visit had to be postponed because of the war. VOA: Chinese officials use the term Palestine-Israel conflict rather than Israel-Hamas war. Have you ever suggested they change that narrative? Vitale: China looks at it with a much broader perspective, yes, this is part of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. They don't look at it as a war against the terrorist organization that has to be dismantled from its military capabilities and administrative capabilities. This is the target of this war, [it] is very precise, and we made it very, very clear. We are trying to explain our position to the Chinese side, we say it's not a war against the Palestinians. VOA: Antisemitism is surging in China online and in state media. What is your response? Vitale: The antisemitic, anti-Israel discourse that we saw quite intensively in the last month has subsided. What we have seen in the last month was a global kind of trend. So, this definitely was never a phenomenon in China. I would even say the contrary is true, what we have seen all these years in China is a very positive kind of attitude to Jews and to Israelis. Theres always been quite an admiration even Israel is such a small country, in a very short time, in a very difficult environment managed to be so successful developing our economy and high technologies This (admiration) is something that we heard a lot. VOA: Responding to antisemitic comments on Chinese social media, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a press briefing last month, that Chinese law stipulates it is forbidden to use the Internet to promote extremism, ethnic hatred and discriminatory and violent information. Vitale: The Chinese side had to come up and say something like this to remind the people here that it's against the Chinese law to discriminate, (to spread) hatred discourse and violence in the social media, the internet. This was a very important message to the general public. (VOA Mandarin has found the Israeli Embassys account on Weibo, Chinas Twitter-like social media platform, continues to be overwhelmed with antisemitic and anti-Israeli messages such as one posted on Nov. 22: We have to do what Israel says. If we don't do what Israel says, we are antisemitic, complicit, and will be hit by force!) VOA: Have you considered engaging with the local community on Israels stance of the war? Vitale: Since the beginning of the war, there was no coverage at all of the massacre on the seventh of October. Because immediately, the Chinese media started only covering Israel retaliation attacks in Gaza. So, what would they know? We were trying to balance it, explaining to our Chinese followers, look, we were brutally attacked, murdered, butchered, beheaded on the seventh of October. So, this is why we are now (saying) it's self-defense. It's a retaliation to what happened in Israel on the seventh of October. Sudanese women of various backgrounds recently gathered in Nairobi to discuss the brutal war that has ravaged their country the past seven months. With no end in sight, they feel their voices have been silenced and they yearn to contribute to resolving the conflict that has killed thousands and displaced millions since April 15. VOA Nairobi Bureau Chief Mariama Diallo was there and has this report. Camera: Amos Wangua Grain thunders into rail cars and trucks zip around a storage facility in central Ukraine, a place that growing numbers of companies turned to as they struggled to export their food to people facing hunger around the world. Now, more of the grain is getting unloaded from overcrammed silos and heading to ports on the Black Sea, set to traverse a fledgling shipping corridor launched after Russia pulled out of a U.N.-brokered agreement this summer that allowed food to flow safely from Ukraine during the war. "It was tight, but we kept working we sought how to accept every ton of products needed for our partners," facility general director Roman Andreikiv said about the end of the grain deal in July. Ukraine's new corridor, protected by the military, has now allowed him to "free up warehouse space and increase activity." Growing numbers of ships are streaming toward Ukraine's Black Sea ports and heading out loaded with grain, metals and other cargo despite the threat of attack and floating explosive mines. It's giving a boost to Ukraine's agriculture-dependent economy and bringing back a key source of wheat, corn, barley, sunflower oil and other affordable food products for parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia where local prices have risen and food insecurity is growing. "We are seeing renewed confidence among commercial operators keen to take Ukrainian grain cargoes," said Munro Anderson, head of operations for Vessel Protect, which assesses war risks at sea and provides insurance with backing from Lloyd's, whose members make up the world's largest insurance marketplace. Ihor Osmachko, general director of Agroprosperis Group, one of Ukraine's biggest agricultural producers and exporters, says he's feeling "more optimistic than two months ago." "At that time, it was completely unclear how to survive," he said. Since the company's first vessel departed in mid-September, it says it has shipped more than 300,000 metric tons of grain to Egypt, Spain, China, Bangladesh, the Netherlands, Tunisia and Turkey. After ending the agreement brokered by the U.N. and Turkey, Russia has attacked Ukraine's Black Sea ports a vital connection to global trade and grain infrastructure, destroying enough food to feed over 1 million people for a year, the U.K. government said. The risk to vessels is the main hurdle for the new shipping corridor. Russia, whose officials haven't commented on the corridor, warned this summer that ships heading to Ukraine's Black Sea ports would be assumed to be carrying weapons. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that allies had agreed to provide ships to help his country protect commercial vessels in the Black Sea but that more air defense systems were needed. "Air defense is in short supply," he told reporters Saturday at an international food security summit in Kyiv. "But what's important is that we have agreements, we have a positive signal, and the corridor is operational." While a deadly missile strike on the port of Odesa hit a Liberian-flagged commercial ship this month, not long afterward, insurers, brokers and banks teamed up with the Ukrainian government to announce affordable coverage for Black Sea grain shipments, offering shippers peace of mind. Despite such attacks, Ukraine has exported over 5.6 million metric tons of grain and other products through the new corridor, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink tweeted Friday. Before the war, it was nearly double that per month, Ukrainian Deputy Economy Minister Taras Kachka said. "The way that they're transporting right now, it's certainly much more expensive and time consuming," said Kelly Goughary, a senior research analyst at agriculture data and analytics firm Gro Intelligence. "But they are getting product out the door, which is better than I think many were anticipating with the grain initiative coming to an end," she said. QUITO, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa on Monday appointed Juan Carlos Vega as Minister of Economy and Finance, four days after taking office for a short 18-month administration. Noboa made the appointment through an executive decree signed on Monday and released by the Presidency. The new minister is an economist trained in universities in the United States and has a master's degree in applied economics and management, in addition to having worked as a consultant in agribusiness, competitiveness and finance. Vega assumes the leadership of a state portfolio that will face crucial challenges, such as the economic crisis facing the country, a large fiscal deficit and the need to obtain external financing, since the public debt is 75.23 billion U.S. dollars as of August, equivalent to 62 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). In addition, he will have to lead a tax reform that Noboa will send to the National Assembly aimed at creating incentives for companies and reducing taxes on construction to generate employment, which was a campaign promise. Noboa will finish the mandate of his predecessor, Guillermo Lasso, who dissolved the National Assembly in May that gave way to early elections amid a political crisis. Ukraines military said Tuesday that Russian forces carried out aerial attacks overnight, including firing a missile that struck the Zaporizhzhia region. Zaporizhzhias regional military administration said on Telegram that according to preliminary reports, the missile damaged a shop and injured one person. The Ukrainian military also said Tuesday its air defenses destroyed a Russian attack drone. In Brussels, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday there has been intense fighting along the frontlines in Ukraine, along with waves of Russian drone attacks against Ukrainian cities. Stoltenberg said that while the front lines in Ukraine have not moved much during the past year, Ukrainian forces have inflicted heavy losses on Russias military. Speaking ahead of a two-day meeting with NATO foreign ministers, Stoltenberg called for NATO allies to continue providing support for Ukraine. He said the stronger Ukraine is on the battlefield, the stronger its position will be at the negotiating table with Russia. A senior State Department official said during the first day of the NATO foreign ministers meetings that there was unanimous support for maintaining commitment to help Ukraine win. He said many NATO allies talked about increasing their support, continuing to work with Ukraine and helping Ukraine move closer to its NATO future. We have suggested to Ukraine a set of governance reforms we think are important, especially, you know, bolstering the anti-corruption agencies and authorities. And we've seen real progress on that in the last couple of weeks, including some notable cases of changes in the way the state intervenes in the economy. All of those kinds of reforms are important, both for Ukraines engagement with NATO, but also for its political integration into the EU, the official said. Russian defense spending Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed a national budget for the next three years that increases spending by around 25% and reportedly devotes a robust amount to defense as Russias war in Ukraine drags on. The budget foresees spending in 2024 of $415 billion with an expected deficit of $9.5 billion. After the budget was passed by the lower house of the parliament, Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said it was developed specifically to fund the military and to mitigate the impact of international sanctions imposed on Russia after its Ukraine invasion in February 2022. Record low unemployment, higher wages and targeted social spending should help the Kremlin use most of its budget to fund the military, but could present a problem in the long term, analysts say. Part of the Russian budget is secret as the Kremlin tries to conceal its military plans and sidestep scrutiny of its military operation in Ukraine. However, it is estimated that around 39% of all federal spending will go to the military and law enforcement according to independent business journalists Farida Rustamova and Maksim Tovkaylo. EU-Ukraine While on a visit to Kyiv on Monday, EU Commission Vice President Vera Jourova praised Ukraines fight against corruption, but said additional efforts were needed if Ukraine aspires to become a member of the European Union. In November, the commission recommended that the 27-member EU formally start accession talks once Ukraine meets several remaining conditions, including strengthening anti-corruption efforts. Jourova said she was impressed with Ukraines improvement since 2017. However, she added there are still things that need to be done. She also stressed that the EU needed "to think about our absorption capacity" when it comes to new members' accession and adapt the system. Membership talks take years as candidates must meet extensive legal and economic criteria before joining. The EU is also unwilling to take in a country that is at war. Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. The potential threat posed by the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) means safeguards need to be built into systems from the start rather than tacked on later, a top U.S. official said on Monday. "We've normalized a world where technology products come off the line full of vulnerabilities and then consumers are expected to patch those vulnerabilities. We can't live in that world with AI," said Jen Easterly, director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. "It is too powerful, it is moving too fast," she said in a telephone interview after holding talks in Ottawa with Sami Khoury, head of Canada's Centre for Cyber Security. Easterly spoke the same day that agencies from 18 countries, including the United States, endorsed new British-developed guidelines on AI cyber security that focus on secure design, development, deployment and maintenance. "We have to look at security throughout the life cycle of that AI capability," Khoury said. Earlier this month, leading AI developers agreed to work with governments to test new frontier models before they are released to help manage the risks of the rapidly developing technology. "I think we have done as much as we possibly could do at this point in time to help come together with nations around the world, with technology companies, to set out from a technical perspective how to build these capabilities as securely and safely as possible," said Easterly. The White House is welcoming the announcement of a two-day extension of the cease-fire between Hamas and Israel and the agreed-upon release of 10 hostages per day of the pause. Anita Powell reports from the White House on what's next. Disease could pose a bigger threat to human life than bombings in Gaza, the World Health Organization said. Overcrowding and a lack of access to clean drinking water or sanitation systems has led to a breeding ground for infectious disease, particularly diarrhea in children, which has reached nearly 100 times its normal level, according to the WHO. "Eventually we will see more people dying from disease than we are even seeing from the bombardment if we are not able to put back (together) this health system," said WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris at a U.N. briefing Tuesday in Geneva. The WHO says food shortages have added to the disease risk, as people are getting weak from hunger, causing them to be more prone to illness. People in Gaza also face difficulty in getting treatment, as there is limited medical staff and a shortage of access to medicines and vaccinations. Disruptions in collection of garbage from crowded shelters has furthered concern over risk of disease. The WHO, in response to the conditions in Gaza, has called for a cease-fire, "sustained access for aid into Gaza," "protection of civilians and health care," and "respect for international humanitarian law," on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter. Israel declared war on U.S.-designated terror group Hamas after its shock October 7 attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and led to the Hamas capture of about 240 hostages. Israel's campaign against Hamas militants has killed more than 14,000 people, according to Gaza health officials. Some information in this report came from Reuters. One on One with Joe Korkowski, is heard Saturdays on KXRA-1490AM / 100.3fm/105.7fm (@7:40am) and KXRA-92.3FM (@7:00am), as well as each Sunday morning on KXRZ Z99.3fm (@10:15am). The interview is also re-broadcast on Monday mornings on KX92 at 10:00am and on Z99 at 9:10am. Life insurance is primarily designed to help the people you leave behind think spouses paying the mortgage, kids off at college, loved ones planning a funeral or charities you want to support. Some life insurance policies, however, come with features you can use while you're alive. Life insurance with living benefits can help with medical bills, end-of-life care or even a kid's education. The financial need is clear. Seven in 10 Americans who live to age 65 will have some need for long-term care services, according to pre-pandemic research by the Urban Institute. And in 2022, the U.S. Census Bureau said nearly 2 in 5 working-age Gen X or boomer Americans don't own a retirement account. Here are four ways life insurance with living benefits can help bridge those gaps. Accelerated death benefits Sometimes, due to illness, people end up with health problems that require expensive intervention. In these cases, having access to cash can be essential and accelerated death benefits can help. "You may be able to tap into some of your death benefit in the case of a chronic, critical or terminal illness," says Tanisha Coffey, an independent broker with Rock Solid Financial in Florida. "Many companies offer all three [coverages]." Accelerated death benefits are automatically included in many life insurance policies or are free to add, but they may not cover all types of illnesses. If this feature is important to you, look closely at the details when comparing insurers. The downside: Insurers typically limit the total value that can be paid out to a policyholder via accelerated death benefits, and payments will reduce the amount your life insurance beneficiaries receive when you die. Accessing money from your life insurance policy can also affect your eligibility for public assistance, as the benefit may count as income. Waiver of premium rider According to the Social Security Administration, a 20-year-old has a more than 1 in 4 chance of becoming disabled before reaching retirement age. That can lead to fewer employment opportunities and other financial hardships as medical bills and daily care costs add up. A waiver of premium benefit pauses your life insurance premiums if you can no longer work due to injury, illness or, in some cases, unemployment. This benefit only covers the cost of the life insurance; it doesnt give you cash to use toward other expenses. Its typically available as a life insurance rider, an optional add-on to your policy, for a fee. Depending on your insurer, a waiver of premium rider may not kick in until after you've been unable to work for six months or when youre considered totally disabled. As a result, even with this rider, you may have long periods when you cant physically do your regular job but you're still on the hook for premium payments. You may not need this rider if you have disability insurance you can dip into to cover your life insurance premiums. Long-term care benefits Long-term care benefits help take care of the costs of a nursing home stay or other end-of-life care. In most cases, these services arent covered by Medicare or normal health insurance. The cost of long-term care can be a major financial hardship for those who need it, running upward of $200,000 over a person's life, according to Robert Eaton, a principal actuary with Milliman, an international risk management firm. These costs are in addition to medical expenses like surgeries or cancer treatments, which long-term care policies dont cover. A long-term care rider provides similar coverage to a stand-alone long-term care insurance policy. It can cover part of the cost of care when you're no longer able to perform activities such as feeding yourself, moving around and using the toilet. Long-term care riders generally are available only on permanent life insurance policies, such as whole and universal life, and they will reduce your death benefit when they pay out. Tapping your policys cash value If you own permanent life insurance, your policy builds cash value over time. Once youve accumulated enough cash value, you can borrow against it or withdraw funds and use the money for whatever you want. The life insurer will charge interest if you borrow from your policy, but you dont have to repay the loan while youre alive. Any borrowed amount plus interest charges will be paid back from the policys death benefit when you die. If you're not worried about the option to keep your full death benefit, you can withdraw money from your policy. This will reduce the overall benefit available to you, though there are no interest charges. If you're interested in taking loans or withdrawals, ask how your insurance company manages the process preferably upfront, when you're buying your policy. You'll likely have to wait several years to build up the cash value required for a loan or withdrawal. Revisiting existing policies If you previously purchased a policy, Coffey recommends taking a look at what's included. While older policies may not have included options like accelerated benefits, you may now be able to add them to your existing policy. In some cases, modifying your older policy may not be allowed, and youd need to shop for a new policy to get the options you want. This can be tricky, because a new policy can cost more than your old one. Your age and any health problems youve developed can contribute to higher life insurance premiums. Still, Coffey believes adding living benefits can be worth the trade-off for some people particularly if they shop around and compare life insurance quotes. "The chances are, they can get something equivalent to what they're paying and still have those benefits and close to the amount of coverage they currently have," she says. Andrew Marder writes for NerdWallet. Email: amarder@nerdwallet.com. The article Living Benefits: How to Use Your Life Insurance Before You Die originally appeared on NerdWallet. We are reacting to the attack on Israel on October 7 and the massacre of Palestinian civilians in Gaza on the basis of the information available to us. However, we feel that the official version of the Israeli government and Hamas is a lie. Seven major questions remain unanswered: 1. How did Hamas manage to dig and build 500 kilometers of tunnels at a depth of 30 meters without arousing suspicion? Tunnel-drilling equipment is considered to have both civilian and military uses. It is not manufactured in Gaza and cannot be brought in under any circumstances, unless there is complicity within the Israeli administration. The excavated earth (1 million m3) was not detected by aerial surveillance. Even supposing it had been scattered in many different places and mixed in with the soil from other construction sites, it is impossible for the Israeli intelligence services not to have detected anything for twenty years. Tunnel ventilation equipment is not considered to be for military use. It is possible to bring it into Gaza, but the quantity required should have attracted attention. The reinforced concrete needed to solidify the walls is not manufactured in Gaza. It too is not considered military equipment, but the quantity required should have attracted attention. 2. How could Hamas stockpile such an arsenal? Hamas, the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, has large quantities of rockets and handguns at its disposal. Hamas may have manufactured parts of the rockets itself, but it has managed to import thousands of handguns into Gaza, mainly from the Ukraine, despite high-performance scanners. This seems impossible without complicity within the Israeli administration. 3. Why did Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed all those who warned him? Egypts Minister of Intelligence, Kamel Abbas, personally phoned him to warn of a major Hamas attack. His friend, Colonel Yigal Carmon, Director of Memri, personally warned him of a major Hamas attack. The CIA sent Israel two intelligence reports warning of a major Hamas attack. Defense Minister Yoav Galland was fired in July because he warned the government of the "perfect storm" prepared by Hamas. 4. Why did Benjamin Netanyahu demobilize the security forces on the evening of October 6? The Prime Minister had authorized the Security Forces to stand down for the holidays of Simhat Torah and Shemini Atzeret. At the time of the attack, therefore, there were no personnel available to monitor the security fence around Gaza. 5. Why did security officials remain locked up at Shin Bet headquarters that morning? The Director of Counterintelligence (Shin Bet), Ronen Bar, had called a meeting of the heads of all the security services for 8 a.m. on October 7, to examine the second CIA report warning of a major Hamas operation in preparation. However, the attack began at 6.30 a.m. on the same day. Security officials didnt react until 11am. What did they do during this interminable meeting? 6. Who triggered the "Hannibal directive" in this way, and why? When the Security Forces began to react, the IDF was ordered to apply the "Hannibal directive". This stipulates that enemies must not be allowed to take Israeli soldiers hostage, even if it means killing them. An Israeli police investigation confirms that the Israeli air force bombed the crowd fleeing the Supernova Rave Party. A significant proportion of those killed on October 7 were therefore not victims of Hamas, but of Israeli strategy. In theory, the "Hannibal directive" only applies to soldiers. Who decided to bomb a crowd of Israeli civilians, and why? It is not possible today to determine with any certainty which Israelis were killed by the attackers and which were killed by their own army. 7. Why are Western forces threatening Israel? The Pentagon has deployed two naval groups, around the USS Gerald Ford and the USS Eisenhower, and a cruise missile submarine, the USS Florida. Haaretz even mentioned a third aircraft carrier. Americas allies (Saudi Arabia, Canada, Spain, France, Italy) have installed fighter-bombers in the region. These forces are not installed to threaten Turkey, Qatar or Iran, which the Western press accuses of being involved in the Hamas attack, but off the coast of Israel, in Beirut and Hamat. They are encircling Israel. And Israel alone. What lies behind these mysteries? Obviously the version defended by both Hamas and Israel is false. We must consider other possible explanations so as not to be manipulated by either one or the other. Lets formulate a hypothesis. There is nothing to say whether it is the correct one, but it is compatible with the factual elements, which is not the case with the version shared today by everyone. So its better than that one. It is obviously extremely shocking, but only those who are able to answer the previous 7 questions can dismiss it. This interpretation is based on an analysis of the complex structure of Hamas, whose rank-and-file fighters are unaware of what their leaders are up to. There it is : The entire operation of Hamas and Israel is led by Americans, perhaps under the direction of the Straussian Eliott Abrams [1] and his Vandenberg Coalition (Think Tank which succeeded the Project for a New American Century). The Muslim Brotherhood and the Revisionist Zionists, who apparently are waging a cruel war, are in reality accomplices at the expense of the rank-and-file Hamas fighters, the Palestinian people and Israeli soldiers. Here is their plan: Hamas is presented as the only effective resistance force to the oppression of the Palestinians, but it lets Israel liquidate the hope of a Palestinian state, while the Muslim Brotherhood, crowned with the sacrifice of the Palestinians, takes power in the Arab world. The heads of Hamass military and political branches are both subordinate to the Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gaza, Mahmoud Al-Zahar, the successor to Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, yet nobody talks about him. From his point of view, the Brotherhood will be the big winner of the "Flood of Al-Aqsa", even if Gaza is razed to the ground and the Palestinians driven from their land. Hamas is now divided into two factions. The first, under the leadership of Ismael Haniyeh, follows the Brotherhoods line. It seeks neither to liberate Palestine from Israeli occupation, nor to found a Palestinian state, but is dedicated to building a Caliphate over all the countries of the Middle East. The second, under the leadership of Khalil Hayya, has abandoned the Brotherhoods ideology, and is fighting to put an end to the oppression of the Palestinian people by the Israelis. The Muslim Brotherhood is a political secret society, organized by British intelligence services on the model of the United Grand Lodge of England [2]. It was gradually taken over by the CIA to the point of being represented on the US National Security Council. After the collapse of the Islamist regimes of the Arab Spring, the Brotherhood fractured into two trends. The London Front, led by Guide Ibrahim Munir (who died a year ago), proposed a way out of the crisis by leaving the political arena and securing the release of prisoners in Egypt. The Istanbul Front, led by interim leader Mahmoud Hussein, advocates, on the contrary, changing nothing and continuing the struggle to establish a Caliphate. A third group is attempting to establish an intermediate position, putting forward the idea of abandoning politics until the prisoners have been released, only to return to it at a later date. The Muslim Brotherhood is fighting to seize power in all Arab states, as it did in Egypt in 2012-13. It should be remembered that, contrary to widespread opinion in the West, Mohamed Morsi was never democratically elected President of Egypt; that was General Ahmed Chafik. However, after the Brotherhood threatened to kill members of the Electoral Commission and their families, the latter, after 13 days of resistance, declared Morsi elected, despite the results of the ballot box. Subsequently, in 2013, 40 million Egyptians marched against him, calling on the army to deliver them from the Muslim Brotherhood. General Abdel Fatah Al-Sissi did just that. Today, the Muslim Brotherhood is only in power in Tripolitania (western Libya), where it was brought to power by NATO. They are only welcome in Qatar and Turkey (which is not an Arab state). They are banned in the majority of Arab states, notably Saudi Arabia (whose monarch they tried to overthrow in 2013) and the United Arab Emirates (involving the crisis between Qatar and the other Gulf states). And above all in Syria (whose government they tried to overthrow in 1982 and to which they waged war, from 2011 to 2016, alongside Nato and Israel). They are about to do the same in Tunisia (which they ruled for a decade). If the real objective of this massacre is not the status of Palestine, but the governance of Arab states, we can expect a wave of regime changes in the Middle East, each time to the benefit of the Brotherhood - in short, a kind of second "Arab Spring" [3]. As during the Arab Spring, the British services are responsible for the Brotherhoods communications. We remember the way they promoted Brother Abdelhakim Belhaj in Libya [4] or the magnificent logos they designed for the host of jihadist groups in Syria. Leaks to the Foreign Office confirmed all this. This time, they created a new character, Abu Obeida, the spokesman for the fighting organization in Gaza. This man, unknown until recently, has suddenly become a star in the Muslim world, where posters of him are being snapped up. Well-trained in public speaking, he handles symbols with an ease unprecedented among Sunni leaders. Arab governments are therefore acting cautiously, supporting the creation of a Palestinian state while keeping their distance from Hamas. While Hamas is doing everything to make the creation of a Palestinian state impossible. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov addresses the Primakov Readings International Forum in Moscow, Russia, Nov. 27, 2023. Any new United Nations Security Council (UNSC) members should come from developing countries, Russian media reported Monday, citing Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the Primakov Readings International Forum in Moscow. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr/Xinhua) MOSCOW, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Any new United Nations Security Council (UNSC) members should come from developing countries, Russian media reported Monday, citing Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the Primakov Readings International Forum in Moscow. "It is important to redress the historical injustices that emerged following the end of the decolonization process and since the emergence of many dozens of young sovereign states," Lavrov said, noting that the composition of the UNSC should reflect the current reality. "It is clear that any new members of the Security Council must only come from developing countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and they must have credibility in their regions and in global organizations such as the Non-Aligned Movement and the Group of 77," he said. Lavrov added that Russia doesn't need to focus on restoring relations with Europe at this moment, and must concentrate on protecting itself "in all key sectors of the economy," and security, considering Europe's unpredictable policies and decisions. According to Lavrov, all the Western sanctions that have been imposed against Russia are likely to remain after the Ukraine conflict. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov addresses the Primakov Readings International Forum in Moscow, Russia, Nov. 27, 2023. Any new United Nations Security Council (UNSC) members should come from developing countries, Russian media reported Monday, citing Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the Primakov Readings International Forum in Moscow. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr/Xinhua) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov addresses the Primakov Readings International Forum in Moscow, Russia, Nov. 27, 2023. Any new United Nations Security Council (UNSC) members should come from developing countries, Russian media reported Monday, citing Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the Primakov Readings International Forum in Moscow. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr/Xinhua) Photo: AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura/AP Late on the evening of March 25, 2023, actor Jonathan Majors was arrested on assault and harassment charges after his then-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari, accused him of assaulting her in a taxi. The rising Marvel star who has maintained his innocence and claimed he was the victim instead quickly faced blowback. One week after Majorss arrest, the U.S. Army paused an ad campaign that featured him. He and the fashion house Valentino mutually agreed that he wouldnt be attending the Met Gala. And the Texas Rangers dropped him from the teams 2023 ad campaign. In the months following his arrest, scrutiny of Majors grew. In June, Rolling Stone reported that Majors allegedly had a history of abusive behavior over the past ten years. The bombshell investigation, which involved more than 40 interviews with people who knew the actor, said the alleged behavior extends back to his time at Yales David Geffen School of Drama, where, some associates claimed, he had been involved in physical altercations. They claimed it also unfolded on movie and TV sets. In June, Majors filed a cross-complaint against Jabbari, alleging that he had been assaulted. The New York Police Department determined there was enough evidence to make a case against Jabbari and authorized her arrest. She surrendered to the NYPDs 10th Precinct on October 25 after receiving a summons despite prosecutors having told the NYPD they wouldnt pursue a case against her, and indeed, the Manhattan DA did not. Jury selection in the case took place on Thursday November 30, marking the trials official start. Heres a rundown of the proceedings as they happen. What are the allegations against Majors? On March 25, 2023, Jabbari and Majors took a car to Brooklyn from their shared Manhattan home. While the couple was in the car, prosecutors said, Jabbari saw a message on Majorss phone that effectively read, Wish I was kissing you right now. Jabbari grabbed the phone from Majors to see who had sent it. Majors began grabbing her right side and prying Ms. Jabbaris right middle finger off the phone, causing bruising, swelling, and substantial pain, prosecutors charged. He then grabbed Jabbaris arm and right hand and started to twist her forearm, causing her extreme pain, prosecutors said. The defendant then struck Ms. Jabbaris right ear, causing a laceration to the back of her ear and substantial pain, prosecutors added in court filings. After allegedly hitting Jabbari, Majors took his phone and got out of the cab. Jabbari tried to leave the car, but Majors grabbed her, picked her up, and threw her back inside, prosecutors said. According to a court filing, Jabbari endured substantial pain, including a fractured finger, bruising about her body, a laceration behind her right ear, and a bump on her head. Police arrested Majors later that evening, and at his arraignment the next day, he was charged with misdemeanor-assault and harassment counts. What kind of evidence is there against Majors? In a court filing, prosecutors revealed they had interviewed 11 witnesses, sourced surveillance video from nine locations, had photos of Jabbaris alleged injuries, and acquired medical records from the U.S. and the U.K. In a particularly interesting twist, prosecutors said their evidence included a police report prepared by the London Metropolitan Police. Prosecutors also said in a filing that they were trying to seek records from London related to an incident that occurred in September 2022. There werent any additional details on the police report or incident; however, Variety noted that Majors was in London during this time while filming season two of Loki for Disney+. Whats the deal with Majorss complaint against Jabbari? Majors filed a cross-complaint with police against Jabbari claiming she had attacked him, and police informed prosecutors on June 21 that he had done so. Prosecutors said they had followed the normal procedures in delayed domestic-violence cross-complaints: They told police to carry out a complete investigation before activating whats called an I-Card, which is essentially the green light for an arrest. Prosecutors insisted they hadnt told anyone in the NYPD to issue or cancel an I-Card and said in a court filing that police didnt tell them an I-Card had been activated until a few months later. On September 8 and 12, prosecutors told the NYPD they would not pursue any charges against Jabbari brought by police related to Majorss delayed allegations. Despite this, police decided to continue with action against Jabbari. She surrendered on October 25 and was issued a desk-appearance ticket to appear in court related to the May incident, per CNN. The case didnt go anywhere because prosecutors had already said they wouldnt pursue a case against her. The Manhattan District Attorneys Office has officially declined to prosecute the case against Grace Jabbari because it lacks prosecutorial merit. The matter is now closed and sealed, the DAs press office said in an October 26 statement. Following these developments, Jabbaris attorney, Ross Kramer, told the AP the NYPDs decision was unfortunate and re-traumatizing. What has Majors said about the case? Majorss attorney, Priya Chaudhry, did not respond to Vultures recent request for comment. Her March 25 statement, however, pretty much sums up what he has maintained all along: Jonathan Majors is completely innocent and is provably the victim of an altercation with a woman he knows. We are quickly gathering and presenting evidence to the District Attorney with the expectation that all charges will be dropped imminently. However, Chaudhry made subsequent comments indicating that the case might get nasty. She called the proceedings a witch hunt that was saturated with explicit and implicit bias against her client and intimated that it was about race. She claimed prosecutors have willfully withheld evidence that would prove Majorss white accuser is lying. Whats happened with jury selection so far? Majorss domestic-violence trial started Thursday with jury selection in Manhattan court. Majors entered the courtroom just before 10 a.m. wearing a slate-gray double-breasted suit accessorized with a fedora as he breezed down the aisle with his rumored girlfriend, the actress Meagan Good, at his side. The selection process started at about 11. The prospective panelists ranged in age and ethnicities, hailing from different neighborhoods in Manhattan. Their jobs were diverse: Among the possible jurors was a television actor. (We wont give more details on the actor now, in the event hes chosen, but hes not a star per se. Hes had some small parts on big shows.) When the judge had everyone involved in the case introduce themselves to potential jurors, Majors added quite a personal touch. The actor stood toward the 39 possible panelists, did a sort of half-bow with crossed arms, touched his heart, and then sat. As the judge conducted preliminary questioning of potential jurors to see whether they were familiar with the case and whether they could be impartial, several said no. These candidates, all women, said they saw video of Majors accuser Grace Jabbari dancing at a club after the alleged assault. The judge asked whether they could put what they saw aside and just consider the evidence. They all said no. Majors was very serious about note-taking during the jury-selection process. He had a large piece of card stock, which appeared to be an open and flattened file folder, and was taking notes on each candidate. His two attorneys had the same folder setup, with one using Post-it notes as squares for a grid. A panel of six jurors and two alternates was selected Thursday afternoon, per New York Post reporter Ben Kochman. Opening statements are expected to take place on Monday, December 4. What was up with the judge kicking reporters out of court? Jury selection did not start first thing in the morning, hence the one-hour gap between Majorss entrance and selection. Judge Michael Gaffey started the day by closing his courtroom to the press and public to issue a decision on the admissibility of some evidence at trial. This closed-door decision stems from a closed-door proceeding yesterday, which was also related to papers that are under seal, about which almost nothing is known. Indeed, effectively all thats known is that there is a dispute about whether some evidence could be admitted at trial. Gaffeys opaque comments Wednesday explaining why keeping things secret provided scant details. Though the court has not ruled yet on the admissibility of this evidence, it is likely to be prejudicial and inflammatory, Gaffey said. The court has considered the extensive press coverage of this case and believes that the press would report on this evidence whether or not its admitted at trial, he also said. The court concludes that sealing the hearing and documents related to the single pretrial issue is the only way to prevent tainting the jury pool When Gaffey reopened the courtroom following the sketchily sealed proceeding, all he revealed was that they resolved the evidentiary issue and said court would no longer be closed. The secrecy is troubling for many reasons, because the judge effectively said he doesnt want journalists seeing this information because there wasnt a way to guarantee what the press would say about it. This goes against the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of the press, as people in power arent the arbiters of what can and cant be published based upon what they do or dont want to see in reports. Young Thug. Photo: Adam Hagy/NBAE via Getty Images Young Thug, Gunna, and more than two dozen people associated with the label and artists collective Young Slime Life were indicted on gang-related charges in May of last year. The 88-page grand jury indictment refers to YSL as a criminal street gang and lists 182 different acts including instances of members wearing clothing or accessories with the word Slime that were allegedly in furtherance of this collective conspiracy. Individual charges included murder, attempted robbery, and aggravated assault with a weapon. Georgia prosecutors also charged all 28 defendants with conspiring to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act by engaging in a pattern of illegal activity to obtain money and property. And controversially, rap lyrics from the Grammy-nominated musicians, including a posthumous Juice WRLD single, are also included as evidence. Of the 28 defendants named in the indictment, six are set to stand trial for charges, including the star Young Thug. The trial began on November 27 in Atlanta and is expected to last for the better part of a year. This isnt the first time that rap music has been brought up during trials. In 2012, a Louisiana judge ruled that some lyrics from 187 could be admitted as evidence in Boosies murder trial. When Bobby Shmurda was accused of leading a gang connected to several crimes in 2014, his hit Hot Nigga was publicly scrutinized, though the lyrics werent formally cited as evidence in the case. Im guilty for where I live, he told Vulture at the time. I was never part of no gang. More recently, prosecutors used the late Drakeo the Rulers lyrics to accuse him of murder in 2019. That same year, 6ix9ines lyrics were introduced in court during his trial for gang-related charges. The practice of using rap lyrics as evidence doesnt always lead to convictions; Boosie and Drakeo the Ruler were both acquitted. But regardless of whether the charges are true, critics say that the hyperbole in rap can unfairly sway a jury, noting that the practice has a disproportionate impact on Black and brown defendants. After Marylands highest court ruled in December 2020 that rap lyrics could be admitted as evidence in a murder trial, veteran attorney Dina LaPolt told Variety that the decision was blatantly racist and set a dangerous precedent. Last year, Jay-Z and other prominent artists publicly lent their support to Senate Bill S7527, a New York bill known as Rap Music on Trial, which would acknowledge that rap is a form of artistic expression and limit the use of lyrics in criminal cases. The proposed legislation argues that the practice turns criminal courts into instruments for suppressing provocative speech and ignores the foundational principle that a criminal case should be tried on the facts and not on a persons propensity to commit the crime. The bill passed in committee in late January and is currently on the floor calendar for a Senate and Assembly vote. No one ever thought that Johnny Cash was going to shoot a man in Reno just to watch him die or Bob Marley shot a sheriff but spared a deputy, state Sen. Brad Hoylman, who sponsored the bill, told Fox 5 NY. Thats exactly what prosecutors are trying to convince juries about across the country. Listen to the tracks and read the lyrics included in the lengthy YSL indictment below. Slime Shit, Young Thug feat. Yak Gotti Hey, this that slime shit, hey, YSL shit, hey, killin 12 shit, hey, fuck jail shit, hey Cooking white brick Im not new to this, hey, Im so true to this, hey / I done put whole slime on hunnid licks Slime or get slimed Im in the VIP and I got that pistol on my hip / You prayin that you live Im prayin that I hit, hey, this that slime shit Fuck, fuck the police (fuck em), in a high speed Huindred [sic] rounds in a Tahoe Im prepared to take em down Got banana clips for all these niggas actin monkey This that slim [sic] shit, this that mob shit Fuck the judge, YSL, this that mob life This 2016 Young Thug track featuring Yak Gotti contains the first lyrics to be cited in the indictment. Original Slime Shit, Young Thug feat. Yak Gotti Murder gang shit YSL until were dead and pale According to prosecutors, Young Thug and Antonio Sumlin threw up YSL gang signs to these lyrics on social media in 2017. Anybody, Young Thug feat. Nicki Minaj I never killed anybody but I got something to do with that body I told them to shoot a hundred rounds Ready for war like Im Russia I get all type of cash / Im a general Young Thug denies ever taking anyones life in this 2018 song but doesnt shy away from references to violence. Bad Boy, Juice WRLD feat. Young Thug You better watch the way you breathe around me fore that breath be your last, boy Smith & Wesson .45 put a hole in his heart better not play with me / Killers they stay with me I shot at his mommy / Now he no longer mention me I had on Margielas when I shot at the cunt / Act like you want war and they gon smoke you like a blunt Young Thug features on the posthumously released Juice WRLD song, which is named in reference to the buddy-cop franchise starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. Just How It Is, Young Thug I escaped every one of the licks cause I was supposed to be rich / I dont care nothing bout no cop, Im just tellin you how it is Hit em with the MAC now / Now his whole body scabbed I done for the crew / I done did the robbin / I done did the jackin / Now Im full rappin Last nigga tried me almost got popped in Lenox / Ask the cops, ask the detectives, they know all the business / Ask the cops and the detectives, all the jurisdictions Gave the lawyer close to two mil / He handles all the killings We dont speak bout shit on wax / Its all mob business / We know to kill / The biggest cats of all kittens The official lyrics for the 2019 track are actually I done fucked her crew, not I done for the crew, as written typed in the indictment. Mob Ties, Unfoonk feat. 24 Heavy and Slimelife Shawty And we ride round with guns probably big as us / And we be on some 2Pac shit, Hit Em Up Nigga play with Unfoonk and get hogtied / Nigga play with Unfoonk, then they all die / Talking bout knocking off your big homie, even his small fry, why would I lie Old murder never switching up / You say you niggas gangsters, you aint did enough / Spin the block couple times think they did enough / Hail Mary, 2Pac shit, Im bout to Hit Em Up Every nigga around me wicked, like why would lie / Slime ball nigga like ya ya ya Why would I lie? / Got mob ties Tell them spin bend / They send shots flying Knockin off yo big homie, bitch The indictment adds that Slato/Miles (Miles Farley), Unfoonk (Quantavious Grier), Yak Gotti (Deamonte Kendrick), and Slimelife Shawty (Wunnie Lee) flashed what they call gang signs to the lyrics of this 2020 track. Fox 5, Lil Keed feat. Gunna We got ten hundred round choppers Prosecutors note that Gunna wore YSL and Slatt pendants in a video for the the 2020 song. Where You From?, Slimelife Shawty Free lil Rod Fuck your squad Where you from? / Im from Bleveland / Throw your set up But where Im from nigga talk too much then get wet up The opps hate the crew we getting this paper and we ducking cases, slime, slime Free Lil Shannon Ima rock that crew thuggin Aint know about tick Slimelife Young Thug nigga Slimelife Shawty and Slato/Lil Miles appear in this 2020 music video. Take It to Trial, Young Thug, Yak Gotti, and Gunna Take this shit to motherfucking trial For slimes you know I kill, trial / I done beat it twice, state / Im undefeated like feds came and snatched me, dont know / No point in asking / I was on Bleveland / Stuck like a magnet / Bitch ass nigga / I shoot at your mammy / Need to stand down / I up my stamina / Take it to trial, get an appeal, take it to trial / Yeah, you gon wack em Pay for that casket / Thats just if we whack em My young niggas pulling up / Bentleys, Aston Martins, Raris and Teslas / Strapped with FN, choppas, carbons YSL slimey and shady Watch me whack that bitch / Pop em like cyst / Glock with the assist In this 2020 track, Young Thug, Gunna, and Yak Gotti rap about not being afraid to go to court. Slatty, Young Stone Life, Young Thug, and Gunna I killed his man in front of his momma / Like fuck lil bruh, sister, and his cousin I shoot out Kill em, not leaving a trace I had to break in the safe, yeah, and I didnt leave em a trace Dissect your body like science class, nigga Gangster cause you got a body, lil nigga, magazine clips, so you might get your issue, you think you gangster cause you got a pistol Look at my trigger, my trigger start itching YSL, we going overboard This track was featured on the 2021 YSL compilation album Slime Language 2. Ski, Young Thug and Gunna I fuck with slatts and we come to eat rats and I came with some fuckin piranhas I tote an FN on me / Call Neechie-Neech / Its a Glock he keep Duke Rollin 60s / He locked in Cs The last lyrics to be cited in the indictment come from Ski, released in April 2021. DOHA/GAZA, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- With the four-day truce expiring on Tuesday, Israel and Hamas have agreed to extend the pause by two days, said a Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson on Monday. "The State of Qatar announces, as part of the ongoing mediation, an agreement has been reached to extend the humanitarian pause for an additional two days in the Gaza Strip," the spokesperson said on X, formerly Twitter. Deeming the extension as "a glimpse of hope and humanity in the middle of the darkness of war," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, "I strongly hope that these will enable us to increase even more the humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza that (are) suffering so much." On Monday, the last day of the Israel-Hamas truce, Israel confirmed that Hamas released another 11 captives in the Gaza Strip, while 33 Palestinians released by Israel arrived early Tuesday in the West Bank town of Ramallah. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) special forces and Israel Security Agency (ISA) forces are currently accompanying 11 released hostages in Israeli territory, the statement read. "After they undergo an initial medical assessment, our forces will escort them until they are reunited with their families." They were released 52 days after being taken hostage by Hamas militants in their deadly attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7. Of the about 240 hostages captured by Hamas, less than one-third have been released so far, according to IDF figures. Under the original four-day truce deal, Hamas will release 50 Israelis in exchange for some 150 Palestinians from Israel. The humanitarian pause in the Gaza Strip entails a cessation of hostilities and an increased flow of aid trucks carrying relief supplies and fuel through the Rafah crossing. Hamas said in a statement to Xinhua that the extension of the truce will be carried out "under the same conditions as listed in the previous cease-fire deal." Over the weeks since the Israel-Hamas fighting began, Qatar has played a crucial role in facilitating the truce, while more international efforts of mediation are coming soon. As the rotating president of the UN Security Council for November, China will hold a Security Council high-level meeting on the Palestinian-Israeli issue on Wednesday. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will travel to New York to chair the meeting. China expects the UN Security Council to fulfill its primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security, and to play a constructive role, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a daily press briefing on Monday. China hopes that by holding the high-level meeting, all parties can promote in-depth exchanges and build consensus, take concrete actions and make due contribution to easing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, realizing a ceasefire and cessation of fighting, protecting civilians and ultimately promoting a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Palestinian question through the two-state solution, said the spokesperson. The Irish Club of Rome hosts its annual Christmas Dinner at Ristorante Arturo on Via Aurelia Antica on Saturday 9 December at 19.00. Organisers say the evening "promises to be filled with delicious food, good company, some Christmas carols and of course our ever popular raffle". Tickets costs 55 per person and reservation is required, with vegetarian menu option available. To guarantee your reservation, RSVP here, indicating your menu preference. Once your booking has been received the club will email you with payment details. Share Comment on this story Comment Add to your saved stories Save HONG KONG Police are investigating suspected crimes of a Chinese wealth company owned by Zhongzhi Enterprise Group, according to the Beijing Public Security Bureau, days after the firm told investors it was insolvent. Get a curated selection of 10 of our best stories in your inbox every weekend. ArrowRight In a statement published on the social media platform WeChat over the weekend, the police said they had taken criminal enforcement measures against several suspects to investigate and had urged affected investors to lodge a complaint. Investors are requested to actively cooperate with the police in investigating and collecting evidence and safeguard their rights and interests through legal channels, the statement said. Authorities did not specify what crimes they were investigating. In the past, defaults or other troubles in the financial sector have prompted protests by aggrieved investors. Advertisement Zhongzhi, which is based in Beijing, did not immediately respond to an email for comment and phone calls to a number listed for the company did not connect. Share this article Share The investigation came after media reports last week that Zhongzhi had apologized to investors in a letter, saying it was insolvent with up to $64 billion in liabilities. That far exceeds its total assets of about $28 billion. Zhongzhi is one of Chinas largest shadow banks, companies that provide financial services similar to banks while operating outside of banking regulations. It began showing signs of trouble in August when its subsidiary Zhongrong International Trust missed payments on some of its investment products. As one of the major Chinese shadow banks, Zhongzhi has lent billions of yuan (dollars) for real estate dealings. The property sector is currently embroiled in a debt crisis, with many of Chinas big developers having either defaulted or remaining at risk of default after the government restricted borrowing beginning in 2021. Advertisement To prevent troubles spilling into the economy from the property sector, Chinese regulators have drafted a list of 50 developers eligible for financing support, according to a Bloomberg report last week that cited unnamed people familiar with the matter. Real estate drove Chinas economic boom, but developers borrowed heavily as they turned cities into forests of apartment and office towers. That has helped to push total corporate, government and household debt to the equivalent of more than 300% of annual economic output, unusually high for a middle-income country. Zhongzhi Enterprise Group has investments spanning real estate, mining, semiconductors and vehicle manufacturing. It was founded in 1995 in northeastern Chinas Heilongjiang province. Share Comment on this story Comment Add to your saved stories Save Ukraine tried to attack Moscow with dozens of drones, Russian authorities said Sunday, just a day after Ukrainian officials reported that Russia had launched its most intense drone attack on Kyiv since the beginning of its full-scale war in 2022. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight Russian air defenses brought down at least 24 drones over the Moscow region which surrounds but doesnt include the capital and four other provinces to the south and west, the Russian Defense Ministry and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported in a series of Telegram updates. Neither referenced any casualties. Andrei Vorobyev, governor of the Moscow region, wrote on Telegram that the drone strikes damaged three unspecified buildings there, adding that no one was hurt. One drone crashed into a 12-story apartment building in the western Russian city of Tula, about 180 kilometers (113 miles) south of Moscow, slightly wounding one resident and causing limited damage, local Gov. Aleksei Dyumin wrote on Telegram on Sunday morning. Advertisement Moscows Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports also briefly shut down because of the drone attack, according to Russian state-run news agency Tass. Both appeared to have resumed normal operation by 6 a.m. local time Sunday, according to data from international flight tracking portals. Russian Telegram channels speculated that Ukrainian forces had deployed a previously unseen type of drone in the purported strike, pointing out some similarities to the Iranian-made weapons Moscow routinely employs in its attacks on Ukraine. The Russian capital has come under attack from drones regularly since May, with Russian officials blaming Ukraine. Military analysts commented at the time that the early attacks deployed Ukrainian locally-made drones, which couldnt carry as heavy a payload as the Iranian-made Shaheds used by Russia. Advertisement Ukrainian officials didnt immediately acknowledge or comment on the strikes, which came a day after Russia targeted the Ukrainian capital with more than 60 Shahed drones. At least five civilians were wounded in the hourslong assault, which saw several buildings damaged by falling debris from downed drones, including a kindergarten. The wounded included an 11-year-old child, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. The Ukrainian air force early on Sunday said it had brought down eight of nine Shahed drones fired overnight by Russian forces. Also on Sunday morning, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that two Soviet-made S-200 rockets fired by Kyiv were shot down over the sea of Azov, which stretches between the Crimean Peninsula and Ukraines Russian-occupied southeastern coast. Share this article Share According to local news sources, air raid sirens sounded earlier in Russian-annexed Crimea, which on Friday came under what Russian officials called a major drone attack. Road traffic was also briefly halted on Sunday morning across the 19-kilometer (12-mile) bridge that connects Crimea to the Russian mainland. Advertisement There were no reports of casualties, and no comment from officials in Kyiv. Elsewhere, parts of Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine were left without power following a nighttime Ukrainian strike on a thermal power plant in the Donetsk region, a Moscow-installed local official reported on Telegram Sunday. According to Denis Pushilin, who heads the province that Russia illegally annexed last year, the attack on the Starobesheve plant took out the electricity in parts of the occupied cities of Donetsk and Mariupol, along with other nearby areas. On the outskirts of Donetsk, Russian troops have continued their attempts to advance near Avdiivka, the eastern town that has been a Ukrainian stronghold and fighting hot spot since the early days of the war, according to reports by the Ukrainian General Staff and analysis by the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War. Advertisement The Ukrainian General Staff said Sunday morning that Kyivs forces beat back Russian assaults to the northeast, west and southwest of Avdiivka over the previous 24 hours, as Moscows troops strain to encircle the city. Several Russian bloggers also made unconfirmed claims that Ukrainian forces had begun withdrawing from the industrial zone on Avdiivkas southern flank, although others said that Russian troops lacked complete control of the area. These claims couldnt be independently verified. Russian shelling killed two civilians in the Donetsk region on Saturday and overnight, acting Ukrainian Gov. Ihor Moroz reported on Telegram on Sunday morning. Over that same period, Russian shells wounded one person in Ukraines northern Sumy province, which borders Russia, according to a Telegram update by the Ukrainian regional military command. ___ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine Share Comment on this story Comment Add to your saved stories Save SEOUL, South Korea North Korea is restoring front-line guard posts that it had dismantled during a previous period of inter-Korean rapprochement, South Koreas military said Monday, after animosities spiked between the rivals over the Norths recent spy satellite launch. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight The two Koreas previously dismantled or disarmed 11 of their guard posts inside their heavily fortified border, called the Demilitarized Zone, under a 2018 deal meant to ease front-line military confrontations. But the deal is now in danger of being scrapped as both Koreas openly threaten to breach it. The 2018 agreement required the two Koreas to halt aerial surveillance and live-fire exercises at no-fly and buffer zones that they established along the DMZ, as well as remove some of their front-line guard posts and land mines. The deal left South Korea with 50 board guard posts and North Korea with 150. Advertisement After North Korea claimed to place its first military spy satellite into orbit on Nov. 21, South Korea said it would partially suspend the deal and resume aerial surveillance along the DMZ in response. South Korea said its response was a minimum defensive measure because the launch showed the Norths intentions to strengthen its monitoring of the South and improve its missile technology. North Korea immediately slammed South Koreas decision, saying it would deploy powerful weapons at the border in a tit-for-tat measure. The North said it also wont abide by the 2018 deal any longer. South Koreas Defense Ministry said in a statement Monday that it detected North Korea building guard posts at border sites where its dismantled guard posts once stood, and that North Korea deployed troops and heavy weapons there. Advertisement The ministry distributed to media outlets photos of North Korean soldiers building a guard post and moving a suspected recoilless rifle to a newly built trench. Share this article Share South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered the military to keep a close watch on the North and maintain a firm readiness, according to his office. The South Korean Defense Ministry later said its ready to promptly and strongly punish North Korea over any provocation that it launches. South Korea, the United States and others strongly condemned the Norths satellite launch, which they viewed as a provocation that threatens regional peace. United Nations Security Council resolutions ban any satellite launches by North Korea because the world body regards them as covers for testing its long-range missile technology. North Korea says it has sovereign rights to launch spy satellites to cope with what it says are escalating U.S.-led military threats. Advertisement On Monday, Kim Son Gyong, a senior North Korean Foreign Ministry official, called the U.S. and others condemnation of the satellite launch a typical expression of the most hideous and brazen-faced violation of sovereignty that denies the justification of the existence of North Korea. South Korean officials said they confirmed the North Korean satellite entered orbit. But they said they need more time to verify whether the satellite is functioning normally. North Koreas state media said Monday that leader Kim Jong Un was shown pictures taken by the spy satellite of a military facility in the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam. State media earlier said Kim had been presented with satellite photos of U.S. military bases in Hawaii and key sites in South Korea. North Korea hasnt released those satellite images. Advertisement Kim previously said the satellite gives North Korea eyes overlooking a very long distance and a strong fist beating a very long distance. Many experts doubt the satellites ability to take high-resolution images, though they said it would still be militarily useful for the North. South Korea suspects Russian technological assistance likely enabled North Korea to send the spy satellite into space. South Korean, U.S. and Japanese officials accused North Korea of seeking high-tech Russian technologies to enhance its military programs in return for shipping conventional arms to support Russias war in Ukraine. Both Russia and North Korea denied the alleged weapons transfer deal. BEIJING, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, has stressed the need to strengthen foreign-related legal system development, as he chaired a group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Monday. Xi highlighted the need to create law-based governance conditions and a favorable external environment for advancing Chinese modernization. Xi emphasized that bolstering the rule of law in foreign affairs serves the long-term need for building a strong nation and advancing national rejuvenation through a Chinese path to modernization. He further underscored the immediate importance of foreign-related legal system development in fostering high-standard opening-up and addressing external risks and challenges. Calling for attention to the importance and urgency of the issue, Xi stressed the need to foster a foreign-related legal system and capacity that meet the needs of high-quality development and high-standard opening-up. A professor at Wuhan University gave a lecture, after which members of the Political Bureau conducted a discussion. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size In Brent Harris surreal painting I Weep My Mothers Breasts (1996) two identical young men shed pendulous tears that end in nipples. Magic realism comes to mind: a Diego Rivera painting or a self-portrait by Frida Kahlo. Yet Harris title is both numbly straightforward and startlingly vulnerable in its autobiographical declaration; the portrait of the artist as a young boy confronting himself and his past in an imaginary mirror. The New Zealand-born artist tells me about an incident that occurred when he was eight years old: We were driving home from a pleasant day at the beach in this old Austin A70 with a bench seat. I was just nestling into my mother. And my father grabbed me and dragged me off, really aggressive and bellowed at my mother isnt he too old for that now! From that minute, I had very little physical affection from my mother. She withdrew. Her body became distant to me. The same with my sisters. She showed little physical affection with them. But my father was completely dominant. My mother had to follow the rules. Brent Harris in his Collingwod studio. Credit: Penny Stephens So far, so 1950s. But underlying the scene of repressed affections is something far more disturbing. At the same time his father was asserting appropriate rules of tenderness he was abusing his children, Harris says. The figurative painting is one of Harris most explicit images. As a major retrospective and monograph of his four-decade career reveals, much of his work is ambiguous, amorphous and metaphoric. While his style has undergone dramatic shifts over the years, two central themes preoccupy him, writes curator Maria Zagala in the accompanying monograph: his relationship to death and the psychic inheritance from his family of origin. [Art] is probably cathartic, admits the 67-year-old. But I dont go at it because I want to work out a problem. Its more playful than that. Even just taking things to absurd figuration is of interest. This iconic salad celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2024. The versions we enjoy today are quite different from the original. Bacon, anchovies, and often boiled eggs are welcome additions, in my opinion, but the croutons, a generous helping of parmesan, and whole cos lettuce leaves of the original are well worth retaining. Wash and thoroughly dry the lettuce leaves, cutting leaves lengthways if they are too large. Toss the lettuce with the dressing and of the parmesan, of the croutons and of the speck. Halve the boiled eggs. Transfer to a serving plate/bowl and add the remaining parmesan, croutons and speck, halved eggs and extra anchovies if you like. Grind over black pepper and serve. Combine the egg yolk, mustard and anchovies in a large mortar, crushing them together to form a paste. Then add the lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce, followed by the vegetable oil, drizzling in a little oil at a time and continuing to mix with the pestle so the dressing emulsifies. When you have added all the vegetable oil, repeat with the olive oil. The ingredients should emulsify to a creamy dressing rather than splitting. If you prefer, you can whisk the ingredients together in a bowl rather than using a mortar and pestle. Heat the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional). Heat a medium ovenproof frying pan over medium heat, add the oil and the bruised garlic cloves and fry the speck until browned but still soft. Remove the speck from the pan with a slotted spoon, leaving the oil in the pan. Toss the bread cubes in the oil in the pan, season with salt and place the pan in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes, stirring halfway through, until the croutons are golden brown and crisp all over. Remove from the oven and cool. Prick a small hole in the base of your eggs (if using) and boil them for 7 minutes (see note). Transfer immediately to iced water to cool completely, then peel. Notes The original caesar salad According to legend, the original caesar salad was created by American restaurateur Caesar Cardini on July 4, 1924, at Caesars restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico, which catered almost exclusively to an American military clientele, but was located in Mexico to avoid Americas prohibition laws at the time. As the story goes, it was a busy night at the restaurant and supplies were short, so rather than disappointing his customers, Caesar himself jumped into the kitchen and threw together a salad using cos lettuce and coddled eggs, and the rest is history. As with most origin stories, I will eat my hat if thats actually true (the credit should probably go to an employee of Cardinis, Livio Santini), but the real story of the caesar salads rise to global fame is far more compelling. Interest in the salad became tied to the global fascination with the Golden Age of Hollywood. During the 1930s, the salad became a favourite of the stars and starlets who visited Tijuana to party, and it soon reached the East Coast to satisfy those chasing a bit of Hollywood glamour. European interest followed through the scandal of Edward VIIIs abdication from the British throne to marry the American socialite Wallis Simpson, who was apparently a fan of the salad. In 1956, when the International Society of Epicures in Paris proclaimed Caesars salad the greatest recipe to originate from the Americas in 50 years, its legacy was assured. The caesar salad received another boost from none other than Julia Child. Having dined at the original Caesars restaurant as a child, the American food writer and TV pioneer wrote about the salad in her 1975 biography, bringing it to the attention of a new generation, such that were still writing about it and eating it 100 years after its invention. Boiling eggs Let me apologise in advance because I am about to over-explain the process of boiling an egg and sound a little intense in the process, but I really do think its important. The original caesar salad was made with coddled eggs boiled for about 60 seconds and then stirred into an emulsified dressing. This modern version has boiled eggs added as a separate ingredient, and to get the right texture of white (firm but tender) and yolk (jammy and rich, not grainy) every time, you need to follow a few simple steps. The process of boiling eggs should be precise, and that means you need to remove as many variables as possible. I buy eggs the same size (large eggs about 60g) and keep them in the fridge so theyre the same temperature every time. I poke a hole in the base of the egg. I have a little device for doing this but you can use a thick sewing needle instead. Poking a hole is important because every egg has a little air pocket in it, and if you have ever had an egg crack when you put it into hot water its because that air pocket is expanding. Poking a hole in the egg allows that air to escape so your eggs will never crack and also avoids the air pocket leaving a concave dent in your boiled egg. Putting the egg into simmering water holds it at a constant temperature (it wont crack even if you place it in directly from the fridge because the expanding air will escape through the hole), so then you just need to time it. I think 7 minutes is the perfect time for a caesar salad, but you could go longer or shorter according to your preference. Placing the egg into iced water stops the cooking process, and peeling the egg either under running water or with repeated dipping into the iced water allows water to get under the membrane of the egg so that it doesnt attach to the shell and tear the white. Follow these steps and youll get perfectly shaped, perfectly cooked boiled eggs every time. Bacon? Anchovies? The glamour of the original salad owes much to the fact that it was prepared tableside by theatrically stirring coddled eggs and parmesan through whole cos lettuce leaves and seasoning them with lime juice, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. It was intended to be eaten with the hands. It might surprise you that the original salad contained no bacon or anchovies. But this column isnt about how to create archaic versions of 100-year-old dishes. Its about how to make the best versions of those dishes today. Most contemporary versions contain at least bacon, and anchovies are another happy addition. Cut speck into lardons rather than using thin bacon rashers. iStock Rather than using thin rashers of bacon, which I find too dry for just about every purpose, I prefer speck cut from a block into thick lardons. Anchovies emulsified with egg yolk form the backbone of a delicious dressing similar to the coddled eggs of the original, and I like to add soft-boiled eggs as well. For the dressing, I use a mixture of vegetable oil and olive oil to keep the flavour light. Grapeseed is my favourite oil for dressings, but any vegetable oil will be fine. Croutons A great caesar salad owes much to its croutons. The original version used slices of baguette toasted with garlic, but if youve added speck or bacon to your salad, it makes sense to toast the bread in a mixture of the rendered fat and olive oil. I think the resulting croutons are the star of the dish. Whole leaves One area where I think its best not to depart from the original recipe is in using whole cos leaves. Leaving the leaves whole gives the salad structure, and even though were not likely to be eating our modern version with our hands, thats still an option. Any large leaves can be split lengthwise to retain the structure of the salad. Australias rental market is running hot. Slowing migration to take the temperature down, while housing supply catches up, is a smart move. But only if we do it the right way. Net overseas migration rose to a record high of 454,000 in the year to March and is likely to be more than 500,000 by the end of the year. Migration was always going to surge once Australias borders reopened, but its run far stronger than anyone imagined. Immigration numbers have surged since the pandemic, but merely turning off the switch will create more problems. Credit: Wayne Taylor Every 100,000 extra migrants that we didnt expect raises rents by about 1 per cent. Those higher rents benefit property owners and boost national income but they hurt vulnerable Australians already struggling to pay the rent. National cabinets plan to boost housing supply remains the best way to make housing cheaper in the long term. But building houses takes time, so it wont solve the immediate rental crisis. Scandalous allegation Collins said Ten would call more than 20 supporting witnesses, including a media adviser, Lauren Gain, who would allege Lehrmann touched and pashed Higgins at Canberra bar 88mph on March 22, 2019, before the alleged rape in the early hours of March 23. Lehrmann has denied this account. In the course of his evidence, Mr Lehrmann made a scandalous allegation that Ms Gain had colluded with Ms Higgins to make up false evidence against him, Collins said. I invited him to withdraw the allegation, but he declined to do so. The allegation is without foundation. Collins said Gain texted a person in Reynolds office on March 23: Brittany hooked up with Bruce. So there is a contemporaneous record supporting Ms Gains recollection, Collins said. She did not make it up. Lawsuit bound to fail Lehrmann alleges The Project interview, which did not name him, accused him of raping Higgins in then-defence industry minister Linda Reynolds Parliament House office. He denies the allegation and says they had no sexual contact. If the court finds Lehrmann was indirectly identified by the broadcast, Ten and Wilkinson admit the interview conveyed the central claim of rape and are seeking to rely in part on a truth defence. During his opening address, Collins said Lehrmanns case was misconceived and bound to fail for a number of reasons. Wilkinsons barrister, Sue Chrysanthou, SC, said Lehrmanns lawyers were running an all or nothing identification case that Lehrmann was identified by Ten as the alleged rapist, and his case would fail if he was only identified as one of a small group of people who could possibly have been him. Lisa Wilkinson outside court on Tuesday with her barrister Sue Chrysanthou, SC. Credit: Kate Keraghty She said that if the court found Lehrmann was identified as a member of a group, the only defamatory meaning that might have been conveyed was that there were reasonable grounds to suspect he committed the alleged sexual assault rather than that he was guilty, but Lehrmann had not brought a case complaining about that meaning. Seven paying accommodation Earlier on Tuesday, Lehrmann told the court the Seven Network was paying his accommodation costs for 12 months. Under cross-examination by Chrysanthou, Lehrmann said Seven had agreed to pay for his accommodation for a year to June 2024. Thats what I get, Lehrmann said. For filming in those places. Chrysanthou said: What do you mean for filming in those places? Lehrmann replied that there was a section in the first broadcast [on Sevens Spotlight program] I recall that was filmed in the place I was in at the time. Bruce Lehrmann arrives at court on Tuesday morning. Credit: Kate Geraghty Chrysanthou took Lehrmann to an invoice and asked him if it reflected his agreement with Seven. He replied that he didnt know. You dont know how much you were paid? Chrysanthou asked. Ive never seen that, Lehrmann said. So you dont know how much was paid by Seven for your accommodation for 12 months? Chrysanthou asked. Network Seven handle the accommodation arrangements, Lehrmann said. Seven has previously said in a statement: 7News Spotlight made no payment to Bruce Lehrmann for the interview, however the program assisted with accommodation as part of the filming of the story. Stupid speech Chrysanthou also asked Lehrmann about a February 2022 speech in parliament in which then-prime minister Scott Morrison apologised to Higgins and to all those who came before Ms Higgins and endured the same. Former prime minister Scott Morrison during question time in Parliament House on November 27. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen You heard the prime minister refer to Ms Higgins as having the courage to stand, do you remember that? Chrysanthou asked. In his stupid parliament speech, yes, Lehrmann said. Chrysanthou replied: Ill just ask the next question rather than responding to what Mr Lehrmann said. And the terrible things that took place here, he apologised to her for that? Loading Yes, Lehrmann replied. And the [then] leader of the opposition [Anthony Albanese] also paid tribute to the courage of Brittany Higgins, who is with us today? Yes, and a number of party leaders and other Labor Party frontbenchers, yes. The police officer son of former deputy prime minister Michael McCormack has been charged over an alleged assault in the inner Sydney suburb of Darlinghurst. Nicholas James McCormack, 26, was arrested around 1am on Saturday, after police responded to reports of an assault along William Street. Nicholas McCormack, left, the son of former deputy prime minister Michael McCormack, right, has been charged with multiple counts of assault. Credit: Facebook, James Brickwood He was later charged with four counts of assault: three counts of common assault, and one count of common assault (domestic violence). He was granted conditional bail and is due to face Downing Centre Local Court on December 13. Nicholas McCormack is the youngest son of former Nationals leader Michael McCormack, who served as deputy prime minister from 2018 to 2021. The decision by then-Home Affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo to direct a government contract to a firm without declaring it was owned by his lobbyist friend was among the conduct that ultimately led to his dismissal. Information reviewed by an inquiry into Pezzullo, including departmental files and encrypted messages, reveal he privately communicated with Liberal Party lobbyist Scott Briggs about a proposal to enable private firms to manage an expansion of Australias quarantine system. Michael Pezzullo was sacked as Home Affairs secretary on Monday. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen The exchanges came in the days after Pezzullo used his power as secretary to direct his department to award a $79,500 contract to Briggs lobbying company to hold workshops over eight weeks with private sector organisations including the Business Council of Australia and Aspen Medical to determine how to set up a parallel private system to expand the COVID-19 two-week hotel quarantine regime. But Pezzullo failed to declare his relationship with Briggs as required under Home Affairs contracting rules. The pause in hostilities in Gaza is an opportunity to reflect on the nature of Hamas, even if only because this explains whats going to happen next. Many assume that Hamas is an anti-colonialist resistance movement. That Hamas, because it attacked Israel, it is a pro-Palestinian, nationalist organisation. Illustration: Dionne Gain. Credit: All of this is entirely understandable because Hamas often employs the same language of the anti-colonial movement, and it talks a lot about the oppression of the Palestinian people. But all this is a facade. Its aim is not to decolonise Palestine but to exterminate Jews. It calls itself a resistance movement but it is actually genocidal. It couldnt care less about the Palestinian people. A senior Hamas official, Mousa Abu Marzouk, was asked on October 27 why the organisation had built hundreds of kilometres of tunnels for itself instead of bomb shelters for the Palestinian people. New York: Americans for Prosperity, the political arm of the powerful Koch network, has formally endorsed Nikki Haleys presidential campaign, promising to commit its nationwide coalition of activists and virtually unlimited funds to helping her defeat former president Donald Trump in the Republican Partys primary contest. Nikki Haley's new book has been supported by Donald Trump. Credit: AP AFP Action is proud to throw our full support behind Nikki Haley, who offers America the opportunity to turn the page on the current political era, to win the Republican primary and defeat Joe Biden next November, the groups president and CEO Emily Seidel wrote in a memo announcing the decision. She has what it takes to lead a policy agenda to take on our nations biggest challenges and help ensure our countrys best days are ahead. With the grassroots and data capability we bring to bear in this race, no other organisation is better equipped to help her do it. The endorsement may help Haley address one of her biggest strategic liabilities. by Xinhua writer Wang Jiangang NEW YORK, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- China's commitment to high-level openness will benefit the entire world, said Jim Rogers, a world-renowned investor and financial commentator. In a recent Zoom interview with Xinhua, Rogers, chairman of Beeland Interests, Inc. and creator of the Rogers International Commodities Index, shared his observations on China following the APEC meeting in San Francisco. "Everything I read about China these days is that Beijing has determined that it's going to continue to open up. It's going to continue to engage with the outside world," said Rogers. Recalling his first visit to China some 40 years ago after China opened up, he highlighted the profound impact of China's growth on other nations. "Look at what it's done to South Korea. It has grown enormously as trade with China has grown. Japan and everybody, including the United States, have been very, very strongly affected by what's happened in China," he said. He noted that some 40 years ago, the United States had no trade with China. "Now, our trade with China has grown to be gigantic, yielding significant profits for both China and the United States." "However, there are always some politicians who want to blame other people, but the facts are that the growth of China and the change in China in the past 40 years have been one of the most miraculous and biggest changes in the history of the world," said Rogers. During the process, "there will be setbacks along the way, but I will tell you that China is going to be the most important country in the 21st century," he said. Regarding digital transformation in the country, Rogers noted that China produces tens of thousands of engineers every year, more than any other country in the world, and "some of them are very, very good engineers." "As we look forward, we will see that China will continue to add innovation to the world, new industries, new ideas," he said. As for green development, Rogers said "China has been doing a very good job. China's done a magnificent job of cleaning things up. There's much less pollution than there was even 15 years ago." A key benefit of China's green development initiatives for the global community is the nation's dedicated effort to address its environmental challenges, according to the investor. "I'm optimistic about China," Rogers said. "China is the only country that, after being at the bottom for a few decades or a long time, somehow turns around and rises to the top again. No other country has done that. It is now happening again." The WCO Technical Experts Group on Non-Intrusive Inspection (TEG-NII) held its 10th Meeting on 23 and 24 November 2023 in a hybrid format. The Meeting gathered, both online and at the WCO headquarters in Brussels, over 200 participants from 73 Member Customs administrations and 10 NII vendors, system integrators and stakeholders. In his opening remarks, the WCO Director for Compliance and Facilitation, Mr. Pranab Kumar Das, highlighted the relevance of the work of the TEG-NII in contributing to the WCO efforts aimed at harnessing the power of technology and fostering innovation. The TEG-NII discussions centered around two main topics the Unified File Format (UFF) Development Programme and other NII-related matters. The Group started its deliberations on the UFF with an open discussion on various aspects related to the deployment of UFF 2.0 and provided clarifications and guidance in that regard. Then the TEG-NII heard an update on the progress achieved under Phase 3 of the UFF Development Programme, including the intersessional discussion by the UFF Maintenance Virtual Steering Group of eight proposals for changes to the UFF. In this regard the TEG-NII endorsed the recommendation of the UFF Maintenance Virtual Steering Group to proceed with a major release of the UFF, namely UFF 3.0. The new version of the WCO-sponsored NII data format will incorporate changes that will support Application Programming Interface (API) to exchange NII data, will cater for better material discrimination for lower energy systems, will ensure better system metadata, will incorporate provisions on data from Radiation Portal Monitors (RPMs), as well as additional data to support machine learning algorithms. In the coming months, the UFF Development Team will work on the revised version of the Technical Specification for UFF 3.0 and the Secretariat will coordinate a changeover strategy to support the UFF major release and a communication to all WCO Members that would clearly articulate the rationale for the changes. As to the governance of the UFF Development Programme, the TEG-NII considered requests by Symetrica, SGS and CASRA and decided to grant member status in the TEG-NII to Symetrica and observer status in the Group to SGS and CASRA. Furthermore, the TEG-NII followed up on the discussion launched in its 9th Meeting in November 2022 on the practical aspects of the sharing by Members of X-ray/CT images, which is in line with the WCO Data Strategy. The TEG-NII was briefed of the relevant aspects of work of the WCO Working Group on Data and Statistics, and considered a list of meta-data elements that the industry considers essential for the development of automated threat recognition algorithms, and that need to be shared together with the X-ray/CT images to be used for the purposes of algorithm training. The TEG-NII highlighted the challenges to the sharing of images, stemming mainly from data privacy regulations and provided guidance on a possible way forward that would be based on exploring Members practices on bilateral sharing of X-ray/CT images. The TEG-NII took note of the progress in the implementation of the TEG-NII Work Programme 2022 2025, which the Group had endorsed during its 9th Meeting. Under a dedicated agenda item, the Group considered proposals for update of the WCO Guidelines for the Procurement and Deployment of Scanning/NII Equipment (NII Guidelines) and decided to continue discussing the proposals in the intersession, taking into account the information shared under the various agenda items of the Meeting. In a panel discussion Members and NII industry representatives explored the need and possible avenues for standardization of NII systems performance requirements. Moreover, based on presentations by China, Leidos, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Sandia National Laboratories, GScan, Belgium and Thailand, the TEG-NII discussed various NII-related matters such as the deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the NII domain, detection technology based on atmospheric rays, evaporation-based detection, the deployment of radiation portal monitors by Customs and the use of CT scanners by Customs. Similar to previous meetings, the 10th TEG-NII Meeting provided a forum for an open discussion between Customs and NII industry on challenges and potential solutions in the NII domain. VIENNA, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) on Monday opened here the 20th session of its General Conference, with calls for innovative industrial solutions to realize fair globalization. Representatives from UNIDO member states are attending the biennial conference, which is themed "Fair Globalization: Innovative Solutions for the Industry of Tomorrow" and will run until Friday. The meeting also brought together other high-level delegates from governments, industry, academia and financial institutions to discuss how inclusive and sustainable industrial development can support sustainable supply chains, limit climate breakdown and contribute to ending hunger worldwide, according to a statement from UNIDO. "More global solidarity is needed. We need to rethink the global economy," UNIDO Director General Gerd Mueller said in his opening address. "We need new rules for globalization -- a fair globalization with development opportunities for all. Industrialized countries must fulfill their promises and commitments." Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen told the opening ceremony that China is willing to work with UNIDO and other parties to jointly deepen South-South and triangular cooperation, tap into new opportunities in digital economy and green development and build an open, inclusive, fair and non-discriminatory environment for trade and investment. UNIDO convenes its General Conference, its "supreme policymaking organ," every two years to decide on the organization's guiding principles, policies, budget and work program, according to its website. An official from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said that China is increasingly playing an active role in global humanitarian assistance. Najum Iqbal, head of communications of ICRC's Regional Delegation for East Asia, made the remarks in an interview with Xinhua. Produced by Xinhua Global Service COLOMBO, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's government signed an agreement on Tuesday to borrow 60 million U.S. dollars from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to finance the country's road construction, the Department of External Resources said. The department said in a press release that such work comes under the overall integrated road investment program to improve road safety and minimize public inconvenience. The loan will be provided from the ADB's concessional ordinary capital resources, and the total investment cost of the fourth tranche is estimated at 68.5 million dollars, out of which 8.5 million dollars has been agreed to be borne by the government, the department said. Casey's Londis Castlebar, which is owned and operated by Gerry Casey, was presented with the Gold award in the Best Large Convenience Store category at the prestigious ShelfLife National C-Store Awards 2023. Now in their 23rd year, the C-Store Awards are recognised as amongst the most prestigious business accolades for the convenience store sector and attracted Irelands top retailers and brands to the Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire to attend the prestigious ceremony. Together with returning master of ceremonies Marty Whelan, ShelfLife welcomed the highest-ever attendance at the event, with more than 440 guests present from across the retail industry. A total of 38 awards were presented, celebrating the industrys finest stores and people in a diverse range of categories. Emily OKane, retail customer experience manager, The National Lottery, presents the Bronze Convenience Store of the Year (Medium) to Caseys Londis Balla, represented by Peter ODowd and Kathryn Maloney Caseys Londis Balla was also presented with an award on the night when this store was the Bronze medal recipient in the Best Medium Convenience Store category. Congratulating the Mayo stores, Conor Hayes, Londis Sales Director, said: I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Gerry Casey, Dave Tarrant and all the staff in Caseys Londis Castlebar and Caseys Londis Balla on their award wins. The stores and staff are very deserving of these industry accolades and they are great champions for the Londis brand. Allentown, PA (18103) Today Some early morning sun, then becoming mostly cloudy with some mainly afternoon and evening showers, mostly light and scattered. . Tonight Mostly cloudy with a few scattered evening showers or drizzle; some patchy fog overnight. BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) Far away from the war in Gaza, three Palestinian college students were enjoying their Thanksgiving break in Vermont, celebrating not just the holiday but a pair of family birthdays. If youre in college, who wants to go to an 8-year-olds birthday party? But these three guys did, said Rich Price, who hosted his nephew and two friends for the long weekend. Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmad, all age 20, were out for a walk Saturday after the party for Prices twin sons when a man approached them. Shooting them without saying a word, he left them seriously injured and shattered their families sense that they would be safer in the U.S. than in the war-torn region where they grew up. Price, Awartanis uncle, said people often ask him if hes worried about his sister and her family in the occupied West Bank. And the reality is, as difficult as their life is, they are surrounded by an incredible sense of community, Price said. And tragic irony is not even the right phrase, but to have them come stay with me for Thanksgiving and have something like this happen speaks to the level of civic vitriol, speaks to the level of hatred that exists in some corners of this country. It speaks to a sickness of gun violence that exists in this country. Elizabeth Price, Awartanis mother, said she and her husband decided after the Israel-Hamas war began in October that their son should stay in the U.S. rather than return home for the holidays. Now her son is unlikely to ever walk again, she said. My husband is so bitter, Elizabeth Price told NPR on Monday. He thought my son would be safe in Burlington. One of the students has been released from the hospital, according to media reports, while one faces a long recovery because of a spinal injury. Keeping her son safe as a Palestinian American is something Price has grappled with since his birth in San Francisco in 2003. In an audio essay recorded that year for PRX, she described a trip to the occupied West Bank with 6-week-old Hisham, who was not allowed to return home without permission from the Israeli army. My sons dual nationality will be a primer in freedom and its loss, she wrote. Although I may not be able to protect my son from the worst of the world, at least I know that it will be through his suffering as a Palestinian that he will understand the true value of his freedom as an American. Awartani and the two other shooting victims had been friends since first grade at Ramallah Friends School, a private school in the West Bank. Rania Maayeh, who leads the school, called them remarkable, distinguished students. Awartani is studying mathematics and archaeology at Brown University; Abdalhamid is a pre-med student at Haverford College in Pennsylvania; and Ali Ahmad is studying mathematics and IT at Trinity College in Connecticut. Awartani and Abdalhamid are U.S. citizens while Ali Ahmad is studying on a student visa, Maayeh said. They are all just very, very close friends, said Abdalhamids uncle, Radi Tamimi, at a news conference Monday in Burlington. His nephew grew up in the West Bank and we always thought that that could be more of a risk in terms of his safety and sending him here would be a right decision. We feel somehow betrayed in that decision here and were just trying to come to terms with everything, he said. The suspected gunman, Jason J. Eaton, 48, was arrested Sunday at his apartment, where he answered the door with his hands raised and told federal agents he had been waiting for them. Not guilty pleas were entered on his behalf on Monday and he was held without bail on three counts of attempted murder. Eaton had recently lost his job. Hed worked for less than a year for California-based CUSO Financial and his employment ended on Nov. 8, said Jeff Eller, company spokesperson. We are horrified by the shooting and are cooperating with law enforcement as they investigate, he said in a statement. Eaton moved to Burlington over the summer from Syracuse, New York, and legally purchased the gun used in the shooting, Murad told reporters. Eaton came to the door holding his hands, palms up, and told the officers hed been waiting for them. According to a police affidavit, federal agents found the gun in Eatons apartment on Sunday. The U.S. Department of Justice, along with Vermont authorities, are still investigating whether the shooting on a residential street close to the University of Vermont was a hate crime. The victims were speaking in a mix of English and Arabic and two of them were also wearing the black-and-white Palestinian keffiyeh scarves when they were shot, Police Chief Jon Murad said. Threats against Jewish, Muslim and Arab communities have increased across the U.S. since the Israel-Hamas war began. At a vigil Monday night at Brown University, a professor read a statement from Awartani in which he expressed appreciation for the community's love and support but said, I am but one casualty in a much wider conflict. Had I been shot in the West Bank, where I grew up, the medical services which saved my life here would have likely been withheld by the Israeli army. The soldier who would have shot me would go home and never be convicted," he said, according to NBC News. Robert Leikind, New England regional director for the American Jewish Committee, called for unity and finding common ground between the Jewish and Arab communities, saying in a statement Monday night that hate should not beget more hate. He said a vigil after Eatons arrest featured anti-Israel and antisemitic statements from some participants. He didnt name the location. The anger is understandable. The finger-pointing is not, he said. Demonstrations have been widespread and tensions in the U.S. have escalated as the death toll rises in the Israel-Hamas war. A fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas was set to continue for two more days past Monday as 11 more hostages were handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza under what was originally a four-day truce deal. Vermonts largest city, with a population of over 44,000, has grappled with a rise in gun violence. A couple of shootings annually jumped to 26 last year, Murad said. Saturday's shooting brings the city to about 15 so far this year, he said. This story has been updated to correct the last name of the New England regional director for the American Jewish Committee, which was misspelled in a earlier version. His name is Robert Leikind, not Robert Leikend. Associated Press writers Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; David Sharp in Portland, Maine, and Michael Casey in Boston contributed to this report. Ramer reported from Concord, New Hampshire. ISSY-LES-MOULINEAUX, France (AP) Saudi Arabias capital Riyadh was chosen Tuesday to host the 2030 World Expo following its bid that focused on shaping a prosperous and sustainable future, beating out Rome and the South Korean port city of Busan for an event expected to draw millions of visitors. Members of the Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions chose Riyadh with a majority of 119 out of 165 votes during a closed-door meeting in the suburb of Issy-les-Moulineaux. Busan got 29 votes and Rome 17. The result was greeted with cheers by the Saudi delegation. Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, welcomed the vote as an expression of the trust that the international community has in what we have to offer but also in its alignment with our own vision (for) 2030 and everything that we advocate for, which is a shared pathway to prosperity for all of the countries of the world. We are committed to living up to the expectations and delivering an extraordinary expo, he said. The Saudi plans include a major public transit network and a futuristic, round space with public parks, e-game facilities, large scale performance stages and sport venues. The project includes a focus on accelerating innovations to preserve natural ecosystems. The legacy of Riyadh Expo 2030 will go beyond the buildings, Prince Faisal added, promising fantastic architecture. We are about a journey, a journey that brings the world together... So that will be the legacy, working together for a brighter, more prosperous future. Saudi Arabia hopes the Expo will bring 40 million of visitors to its capital city. With the stakes high, each city escalated its campaign efforts, showcasing unique visions and ambitious promises to secure the rights to the globally prestigious event. Saudi Arabia mounted a significant marketing campaign, featuring a Riyadh 2030 exhibit near the Eiffel Tower and extensive advertising across Paris. The Saudi bid, seeking to diversify the kingdoms economy and boost its international stature, had notably received official support from French President Emmanuel Macron. Some activists denounced Riyadhs candidacy amid allegations that the country violates human rights, including the 2018 slaying and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. U.S. intelligence agencies assess Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was behind the killing, something denied by Riyadh as it pushes forward with the prince's massive series of construction projects aimed at slowly changing the kingdom's oil-dominated economy. In a statement, Prince Mohammed cited the Expo as a chance to expand on his development plans. Dubai, which held a pandemic-delayed 2020 Expo in 2021, now is using its $7 billion site to host the United Nations' COP28 climate talks this week. Saudi Arabia plans to spend some $7.8 billion itself to build an Expo site. Saudi Arabia has become an ideal destination for hosting major international events, including the esteemed World Expo," the prince said in a statement on the state-run Saudi Press Agency. The decision also comes as Saudi Arabia is all but certain to host the mens 2034 FIFA World Cup. Rome had enlisted actor Russell Crowe, who appeared in a promotional video echoing his Gladiator persona, to underscore the citys readiness for the Expo. Romes bid included plans for the worlds largest urban solar park and a green corridor connecting the Expo site to historic landmarks like the Appia Antica (Appian Way), one of the oldest and most important roads of the Roman Empire. The South Korean port city of Busan had brought in cultural heavyweights like Gangnam Style rapper Psy and K-pop supergroup BTS to bolster its bid. The city was positioning itself for a high-tech Expo, emphasizing its capabilities in artificial intelligence and 6G technology with the aim of attracting millions of visitors and spurring job creation. In South Korea, President Yoon Suk Yeol congratulated Saudi Arabia while apologizing for failing to bring the Expo to his country. I really congratulate our key partner Saudi Arabia for successfully achieving the Riyadh Expo that its hoped for, Yoon said Wednesday in a televised speech in Seoul. As president who oversaw and was responsible for our campaign to host the Expo, Id like to say again that Im really sorry for disappointing our people, including Busan citizens. The World Expo has a storied history of bringing together nations to showcase technological innovations and cultural achievements. Since the inaugural event in 1851, Expos have been platforms for introducing groundbreaking inventions such as the light bulb, the Ferris wheel and the Eiffel Tower itself, which was built for the 1889 Exposition Universelle. These events have evolved to not only be celebrations of human ingenuity, but also opportunities for host cities to catalyze economic growth and global recognition. They generally are held every five years, with the next one scheduled in Osaka, Japan, in 2025. Adamson reported from Paris. John Leicester in Paris, Frances DEmilio in Rome, Colleen Barry in Milan, Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. and Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report. President Joe Biden convened the first meeting of his supply chain resilience council. He announced 30 new actions to try and strengthen the supply chain and lower prices. "And today we're coming together to ask a simple question: what's next? what can we do? What must we do to keep making progress and keep our supply chains stable and secure in the long term?" Biden said. Among the actions: using the Defense Production Act to invest in the manufacturing of critical medicines, including $35 million for injectables. The USDA will invest $196 million in 185 farms in 38 states, including Pennsylvania. The Department of Energy will use $275 million for a grant program to build components for batteries, electric vehicles, wind turbines, and other technologies. "I read through all 30 of those things and I think all of them are laudable and I think they would be of value, but the execution might be tricky," said Zach Zachariah, Director for the Center for Supply Chain Research at Lehigh University. Zachariah says more investment in manufacturing is good, with the U.S. lagging behind other nations. However, it doesn't address labor shortages. "Now there's this push to let's work remotely, well you can't manufacture remotely," Zachariah said. The military will also publish the first-ever National Defense Industrial Strategy to guide needs over the next three to five years. The government will improve supply chain monitoring to create an early warning system, and share data among agencies. The council will regularly review what's defined as critical to national and economic security. "The more information you have the more able you are to make decisions. Forecast what you need, have the resources capable to be able to do that, maybe identify potential bottlenecks or constraints," Zachariah said. "I think it's going to be trickier to get private companies to share information. I think they've got to see a benefit." LANSDALE, Pa. - 2 million packages deliveries are lost or stolen daily in the United States. 36% of people are victims of porch thefts. With 6 kids Mom Elizabeth Ehst of Lansdale admits she has a long Christmas list. She's been lucky with her deliveries as none have been stolen but says her neighbors have been victims of porch pirates, thieves now often captured on people's home security cameras. Lansdale Police launched Operation Package Protectors. This as online shopping continues to increase.. as do package thefts. The department says 2023 is setting up to be a record year. Between now and December 22nd borough residents can have any Amazon, FedEx, and UPS package 25 pounds or under delivered to the police station, under their name. The department was unable to comment but did say pickup at the Police Department lobby can be anytime within 3 days of delivery along with proof of purchase or receipt and your ID. "Or you can have it delivered to a trusted friend or neighbor that will take that package for you." Said Allentown Police Chief Charles Roca. Roca says you can also set up exact times and locations with delivery companies... He adds if you see a theft report it right away. "For those residents that have doorbell cameras that are recording activity, please make sure rather than posting on social media that you report it to the police right away so that we can take effective action," Roca said For Moms like Ehst she does have her own home porch advantage, as her kids are home schooled. "I try to go out as quickly as I can to get the package." She chuckled. Lansdale says they can't take any packages from the United States Postal Service. To revolutionise vehicle sharing and enable digital transformation, Lumi car rental company, has signed a five-year SR28 million ($7.5 million) agreement with MachinesTalk, a leading IoT solutions provider in Saudi Arabia. The agreement enables the upgrade of fleet management through technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in collaboration with the satellite supported car sharing platform, AnyCar. AnyCar will transform Lumis fleet into a digital sharing ecosystem. This ensures complete control over vehicles and provides an enhanced self-service experience for "Lumi" customers. Additionally, it guarantees maximum utilisation of vehicles, enhances operational efficiency, and improves the overall user experience. Vehicle movement The collaboration enables the analysis of security situations and provides accurate information on vehicle movement. These capabilities have been strategically designed to improve processes and ensure seamless operations. Lumi provides individuals, companies, and governments with access to some of the latest transportation and leasing offerings in Saudi Arabia backed by state-of-the-art digital channels. Syed Azfar Shakeel, CEO of Lumi, said: With digital technology revolutionising every industry, including car rentals, we are committed to leveraging advanced solutions that add excellent value for our stakeholders. The new technology agreement will draw on machine learning and the Internet of Things to predict, identity and monitor trends to enable our customers achieve higher levels of cost efficiency in addition to increased productivity across our operations. Eng Nawaaf AlShalani, CEO of MachinesTalk, commented: "We're delighted to have signed this agreement with Lumi, which aims to promote IoT and AI in the transportation sector, facilitate digital transformation, enhance traffic safety, maximise vehicle utilisation by analysing real-time data and provide valuable services to customers. This partnership represents a significant step towards sustainable digital mobility.--TradeArabia News Service BEIJING, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Public Security on Tuesday made public a number of typical criminal cases involving cyber violence on the backdrop of frequent occurrence of such cases in recent years. In one such case, while within the probation period for suspension of sentence, a culprit surnamed Zhang, in an attempt to continue to manipulate the victim, illegally obtained the victim's private information through locators and wiretaps, hired online spammers to spread the victim's intimate videos and photos, and fabricated report letters to the victim's employer, resulting in the victim suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Zhang had been sentenced to six years in prison for the abuse of personal information, creating disturbances and intentional assault, the ministry said. In another case, a number of suspects were hired to unleash cyber violence against minor victims by various means such as spam phone calls, using the names of the victims to apply for organ donation, and mailing the victims funeral wreaths and joss paper, resulting in the victims slipping into depression and even experiencing suicidal thoughts. Other cases included suspects posting advertisements offering to take orders for launching online abuse in exchange for money, and suspects disseminating abusive information about the victim through short videos, provoking other online users to attack the victim. Cybersecurity departments of public security organs nationwide will continue to take strong action against acts of cyber violence and strengthen collaboration with other departments to eliminate the breeding grounds for cyber violence and ensure a clean cyberspace, according to the ministry. PERKASIE, Pa. By a 5-0 vote with four members abstaining, the Pennridge School Board voted Monday night to terminate its contract with a controversial consulting firm after months of contentious debate. The contract with Jordan Adams' consulting firm, Vermilion Education, proposed an overhaul of Pennridge's social studies curriculum to align with the "1776 Curriculum" promoted by Hillsdale College a conservative Christian school in Michigan. Republican members of the Pennridge School Board had voted to authorize $35,000 for Vermilion to transform the district's curriculum, leading to Adams preparing several reports that the board disputed the merits of early during Monday's meeting. But after a slate of Democratic candidates known as the "Pennridge Community Alliance" swept the school board election earlier this month, several of those same Republican members led an effort to ditch Vermilion altogether as their terms expired. GOP member Joan Cullen criticized the quality of Adams' curriculum reports, arguing they were not worthy of someone with an advanced degree. Adams had only appeared before the board virtually just once and never in person during the entire process, Cullen said. "This product that he gave us here is an absolute embarrassment," Cullen said. "It does not contain the level of detail he claims it has." Board Vice President Megan Banis-Clemens and member Jordan Blomgren pushed back on Cullen's claims. Banis-Clemens said the district was voting to conclude the contract because Adams had already completed what he was hired to do drawing some laughs from the public. Blomgren criticized Cullen's "selective outrage" over the contract, arguing that the district had spent more than $126,000 to hire other consultants in the past. Many in attendance said the real reason is because next week, brand-new board members come in, and they would tip the vote against Vermilion anyway. "Essentially, did Jordan Adams ask to be let go?" Dan Shapiro, a parent of two Pennridge School District students, asked. "Is he trying to save face? Or, you know, was there a legitimate reason?" Many in the community repeatedly voiced concerns about the school's contract with a company they claim would result in students learning a whitewashed version of history. "He's all about classic education," Shapiro said. "You know, denial of things like systemic racism, discrimination." The recommended action on the agenda was a "motion to conclude services with Vermilion and pay final invoice." Ultimately, five members supported a motion to terminate the Vermilion contract and pay the firm $4,937.50 in final invoices: Banis-Clemens, Blomgren, Robert Cormack, Ricki Chaikin and President David Reiss. The four other members Christine Batycki, Cullen, Jonathan Russell and Ronald Wurz abstained from the vote, as they said they believed the actions of terminating the contract and paying invoices should have been introduced as separate motions. "Since June, you have not seen hide nor hair of him, and he's managed to pull 35,000 [dollars] from us," Cullen said of Adams. Though Monday night's attendance was much smaller in comparison to numerous meetings where Vermilion was the main topic of contention, many at this meeting expressed relief that the firm was finally voted out. "I just want to add that I'm thankful we'll not have to mention the word 'Vermilion again,'" board member Wurz said. "So, put it behind us." Other business In other news, the board unanimously approved a settlement agreement between the district and the Pennridge Education Support Professionals Association. The settlement is effective through June 2027, and supersedes Pennridge's 2019-24 curriculum-based assessment, according to district documents. Also on Monday night, the board approved the hiring of Bradley Palmer as the district's new assistant to the superintendent for administration. Contingent on release from his current employer, Palmer will earn an annual salary of $168,000. The Pennridge School Board will next meet on Monday, Dec. 4. Four outgoing members will no longer be on the board as of that meeting: Reiss, who lost in May's primary; Russell, who lost in November's election; and Banis-Clemens and Cullen, who both chose not to run for reelection. DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) Hamas and Israel released more hostages and prisoners under terms of a fragile cease-fire that held for a fifth day Tuesday as international mediators in Qatar worked to extend the truce. The United States urged Israel to better protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza if it follows through on its promise to resume the war. In the latest swap since the cease-fire began Friday, Israel said 10 of its citizens and two Thai nationals were freed by Hamas and had been returned to Israel. Soon after, Israel released 30 Palestinian prisoners. The truce is due to end after one more exchange Wednesday night. For the first time, Israel and Hamas blamed each other for an exchange of fire between troops and militants in northern Gaza. There was no indication it would endanger the truce, which has enabled humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza. CIA director William Burns and David Barnea, who heads Israels Mossad intelligence agency, were in Qatar, a key mediator with Hamas, to discuss extending the cease-fire and releasing more hostages, a diplomat said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was set to visit the region this week. Israel has vowed to resume the war to end Hamas 16-year rule in Gaza and crush its military capabilities once it's clear that no more hostages will be freed under the deal. That would almost certainly require expanding its ground offensive from northern Gaza to the south, where most of Gazas population of 2.3 million is now crowded. Its unclear where they would go if Israel does so as Egypt has refused to accept refugees and Israel has sealed its border. The Biden administration told Israel it must avoid significant further displacement of and mass casualties among Palestinian civilians if it resumes its offensive, and that it must operate with more precision in southern Gaza than it has in the north, according to U.S. officials. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House. Hamas and other militants still hold about 160 hostages out of 240 seized in their Oct. 7 assault into southern Israel that ignited the war. Israel has said it is willing to extend the cease-fire by one day for every 10 additional hostages that Hamas releases, according to the deal brokered by the Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. But Hamas is expected to make much higher demands for the release of captive Israeli soldiers. HOSTAGES AND PRISONERS RELEASED The latest group of Israeli hostages freed from Gaza nine women and a 17-year-old was flown to hospitals in Israel, the Israeli military said. The hostages were handed over on a street crowded with cheering people, AP video showed. The 17-year-old girl could be seen walking alongside Hamas militants to a waiting Red Cross Jeep with her small, white-haired dog named Bella. Tuesday's hostage release brought to 60 the number of Israelis freed during the truce. An additional 21 hostages 19 Thais, one Filipino and one Russian-Israeli have been released in separate negotiations since the truce began. Before the truce, Hamas released four Israeli hostages, and the Israeli army rescued one. Two other hostages were found dead in Gaza. The latest swap brought to 180 the number of Palestinian women and teenagers freed from Israeli prisons. Most have been teenagers accused of throwing stones and firebombs during confrontations with Israeli forces. Several released women were convicted by Israeli military courts of attempting to carry out deadly attacks. The prisoners are widely seen by Palestinians as heroes resisting occupation. Hundreds of Palestinians welcomed the prisoners freed Tuesday in the occupied West Bank. The freed hostages have mostly stayed out of the public eye, but details of their captivity have started to emerge. In one of the first interviews with a freed hostage, 78-year-old Ruti Munder told Israels Channel 13 television that she was initially fed well in captivity but that conditions worsened as shortages took hold. She said she was kept in a suffocating room and slept on plastic chairs with a sheet for nearly 50 days. NORTHERN GAZA IN RUINS The cease-fire has allowed residents who remained in Gaza City and other parts of the north to venture out to survey the destruction and try to locate and bury relatives. In northern Gaza's Jabaliya refugee camp, which Israel bombarded heavily for weeks and which troops surrounded in heavy fighting with militants, you come across whole city blocks that have been demolished, just a pancake of concrete layered as buildings have collapsed, said Thomas White, the Gaza director for the U.N. agency caring for Palestinian refugees. The agency delivered six trucks of aid to the camp, including supplies for a medical center. Footage of Whites visit showed streets lined with destroyed buildings, cars, and piles of rubble. A U.N.-led aid consortium estimates that, across Gaza, over 234,000 homes have been damaged and 46,000 completely destroyed, amounting to around 60% of the territorys housing stock. In the north, the destruction severely compromises the ability to meet basic requirements to sustain life, it said. More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, roughly two-thirds of them women and minors, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. More than 1,200 people have been killed on the Israeli side, mostly civilians killed in the initial attack. At least 77 soldiers have been killed in Israels ground offensive. Israel says it has killed thousands of militants, without providing evidence. Authorities were able to reopen the dialysis department at Gaza Citys Shifa hospital after medical teams brought a small generator. Around 20 patients there had gone two or three weeks without dialysis, Dr. Mutasim Salah told Al-Jazeera TV from the hospital. Two weeks ago, Israeli forces seized the hospital, which Israel contended was used as a major base by Hamas, an accusation that the group and hospital staff deny. FEARS FOR THE SOUTH Israels bombardment and ground offensive have displaced more than 1.8 million people, nearly 80% of Gazas population, and most have sought refuge in the south, according to the U.N. Hundreds of thousands of people have packed into U.N.-run schools and other facilities, with many forced to sleep on the streets outside because of overcrowding. Rain and cold winds sweeping across Gaza have made conditions even more miserable. On Tuesday, Hanan Tayeh returned to her destroyed home in the central town of Johor al-Deek, searching for any belongings. I came to get anything for my daughters. Winter has come, and I have nothing for them to wear, she said. The cease-fire has allowed increased aid delivered by 160 to 200 trucks a day into Gaza, bringing desperately needed food, water and medicine, as well as fuel for homes, hospitals and water treatment plants. Still, it is less than half what Gaza was importing before the fighting, even as humanitarian needs have soared. Juliette Toma, a spokesperson for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, said people come to shelters asking for heavy clothes, mattresses and blankets, and that some are sleeping in damaged vehicles. The needs are overwhelming, she told The Associated Press. They lost everything, and they need everything. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Tuesday that the U.S. has airlifted over 27 tons of Gaza-bound medical items and food aid to a staging area in Egypt. Two more airlifts are planned in the coming days, Sullivan said. Keath and Jeffery reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani and Zeke Miller in Washington, Samy Magdy in Cairo, Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Isabel DeBre in Jerusalem and Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report. Full AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war. UTTARKASHI, India (AP) Forty-one construction workers emerged dazed and smiling late Tuesday from a collapsed tunnel where they had been stranded the last 17 days a happy ending to an ordeal that had gripped India and involved a massive rescue operation that overcame several setbacks. Locals, relatives and government officials erupted in joy, set off firecrackers and shouted Bharat Mata ki Jai" Hindi for Long live mother India" as happy workers walked out after receiving a brief checkup by doctors. Officials hung garlands around their necks as the crowd cheered. Nitin Gadkari, the country's minister of road transport and highways, said in a video posted on the social media platform X that he was completely relieved and happy that all of the workers were rescued from the Silkyara Tunnel in Uttarkashi, a town in India's northern state of Uttarakhand. This was a well-coordinated effort by multiple agencies, marking one of the most significant rescue operations in recent years, Gadkari said. No one was seriously injured or killed when a landslide caused a section of the 4.5-kilometer (2.8-mile) tunnel about 200 meters (220 yards) from the entrance to collapse early on the morning of Nov. 12. The workers were finishing their shifts and many were likely looking forward to celebrating Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, that day. The workers had light in the collapsed tunnel, and since early in their ordeal, they were provided with food, water and oxygen through pipes. More than a dozen doctors, including psychiatrists, were also at the site monitoring their health. Officials said all 41 workers made it through the ordeal in good health. Before emerging to the cameras and crowds and being whisked away in ambulances, each was given a checkup at a makeshift medical camp in the tunnel entrance. The rescue was expected to be straightforward and last only a few days, but a series of setbacks led to its expansion and to the workers being trapped for more than two weeks. During the final stretch, about a dozen rescuers took turns digging through rocks and debris overnight Monday into Tuesday using hand-held drilling tools, said Kirti Panwar, a state government spokesperson. Rescuers resorted to digging by hand after the machine they had been using broke down Friday. The machine had bored through about 47 meters (51 yards) of the roughly 57-60 meters (62-66 yards) needed to reach the workers. The workers were extracted one by one on a wheeled stretcher that was pulled through a roughly meter-wide (yard-wide) tunnel of welded pipes that crews had pushed through the dug-out space. Devender, a rescuer who only gave his first name, told the New Delhi Television channel that the trapped workers were overjoyed when they spotted us in the tunnel. Some rushed toward me and hugged me. Most of the workers were migrant laborers from throughout the country, and many of their families traveled to the site and camped out for days in hopes of seeing them rescued. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to some of the rescued workers over the phone and asked about their wellbeing, the Press Trust of India news agency reported. He said their courage and patience were an inspiration to everyone, and he wished them good health. He also praised the many people who took part in the rescue. Everyone involved in the mission has created an amazing example of humanity and teamwork, Modi said. The tunnel the workers were building was designed as part of the Chardham all-weather road, which will connect various Hindu pilgrimage sites. Some experts say the project, a flagship initiative of the federal government, will exacerbate fragile conditions in the upper Himalayas, where several towns are built atop landslide debris. Large numbers of pilgrims and tourists visit Uttarakhands many Hindu temples, with the number increasing over the years because of the continued construction of buildings and roadways. More of AP's Asia-Pacific coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific For years, South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh looked his anguished clients in the eyes and promised to help them with their medical bills, their suffering or simply to survive. Then he stole some, if not all, of what he won for many of them. Those clients got to look Murdaugh in the eye Tuesday and tell him how he had destroyed their trust, as the disgraced lawyer was sentenced to 27 years in prison for stealing about $12 million. Im not crying for what he stole from me. Im crying for what he did to everybody, said Jordan Jinks, a friend of Murdaughs since childhood. The courtroom drama marked yet another step in the fall of a powerful and respected attorney whose family name dominated the legal scene in a small Hampton County for generations, and whose alleged crimes have been a perennial topic of true crime podcasts and online chat groups. In court in an orange prison jumpsuit, Murdaugh listened as the victims recounted how the man with a commanding presence and seductive Southern charm had duped them. Jinks went to Murdaugh after incurring hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills for a neck injury he got when someone rear-ended his car. Jinks paid the bills in advance, having been assured by Murdaugh that he would obtain a settlement to pay him back. Murdaugh got the money, but kept it himself, financially ruining his friend. The money you stole from me, I would have gave it to you," Jinks said. Why bro? Why? State prosecutors and defense lawyers negotiated the 27-year prison sentence for Murdaugh, who is already serving a life term without parole after a jury found him guilty of killing his wife, Maggie, with a rifle, and younger son, Paul, with a shotgun in June 2021. Judge Clifton Newman, who presided over the murder trial, accepted the plea deal. Murdaugh adamantly denies killing his family members. His lawyers are seeking a new trial, citing allegations that the court clerk tampered with the jury. A different judge will decide whether to grant Murdaugh a hearing in which jurors, the clerk, and maybe even Newman, could be questioned under oath. The sentence for Murdaugh's financial crimes is a kind of insurance policy to prevent his release if his murder conviction is overturned. Under South Carolina law, Murdaugh will have to serve almost 23 years of the sentence, even if he is a model prisoner. He would be 76 before he could be released. Murdaugh had to give up his rights to appeal as part of the deal. Newman said Tuesday that Murdaugh had the emptiest soul of anyone he has seen in his 23 years on the bench, with the exception of a man who was sentenced to death for killing an off-duty police officer and burning his body. "The question was asked: What kind of animal are you?" Newman said, referring to additional comments Jinks made during his testimony. "You are an enigmatic person. I dont think you understand yourself. For his part, Murdaugh spent nearly 45 minutes apologizing to his family for bringing them shame and dishonor, and addressing all his victims, although he did not cry as much as he did when he testified in his own defense during his murder trial. I want each of you who spoke to know I listened to you. I heard you. Your pain and hurt is palpable. ... I promise you it resonates with me, Murdaugh said. Prosecutor Creighton Waters of the state Attorney General's Office opened Tuesday's hearing with a detailed account of all of Murdaugh's thefts and how he moved around the more than $12 million he stole to avoid detection for nearly 10 years. He ended more than an hour later with the precise figure: $12,425,254.32. His clients trusted Murdaugh and he used the trust of his family name and the law license on that wall to keep stealing to pay off loans and credit card bills, never catching up to bad investments and heavy spending, Waters said. Prosecutors initially charged Murdaugh with 101 financial crimes, including breach of trust, money laundering and tax evasion, involving 18 victims. Under the plea deal, the number was reduced to 22 crimes against each of his clients. His victims include Gloria Satterfield, the longtime family maid who died in a fall at the Murdaugh home. Murdaugh put his arm around Satterfield's son at her funeral and promised he would take care of her family. He got about $4 million from his insurers then later admitted to stealing every penny. Satterfield's son Tony said he prays for Murdaugh and forgives him, but can't forget how he was treated. I really don't have the words. You lied, you cheated, you stole. You betrayed me and my family, he said. Sandra Taylor was killed in a crash with a drunken driver, leaving behind three children. Murdaugh told her estate he could only get a $30,000 settlement. He took $150,000 himself, prosecutors said. They lost a mother. And you stole every dime from them. Do you not have a soul?" asked Satterfield's sister Ginger Hadwin. Tuesday's hearing did not mark the end of Murdaugh's legal problems. He also is awaiting sentencing on federal financial crime charges, and still faces insurance fraud and other local charges after asking a friend to kill him in September 2021 so his surviving son could get $10 million in life insurance. The shot only grazed Murdaugh's head. In his speech Tuesday, Murdaugh again blamed his drug addiction to painkillers for all the thefts. He gave detailed apologies to his surviving son, his family, his in-laws and his law partners. He told all of his victims they were welcome to visit him behind bars. I hope that in time that each of you will be willing to talk to me, Murdaugh said. "I would like as time moves on to continue to reiterate just how sorry I am and how important it is to me that you know that. After the speech, Waters told the judge just as he did before sentencing at the murder trial that Murdaugh could lie and conjure up false sincerity like no one he has ever seen. Hes good. He can look people in the eye. But weve seen it all before," Waters said. "The main thing he was concerned about was how he thinks others perceive him." SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) The foreign ministers of the three Baltic states and of Ukraine said Tuesday they will boycott a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe being held this week in North Macedonia, in objection to the participation of Russias foreign minister. The top diplomats of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania issued a joint statement, saying they deeply regret the decision enabling the personal participation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. It will only provide Russia with yet another propaganda opportunity," they said. Lavrov said Monday that he planned to travel to North Macedonia's capital, Skopje, for the OSCE foreign ministers meeting, which would mark a rare visit to a NATO member country since Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He also has visited NATO member Turkey, which has no ban on Russian flights. In September, he was in New York to attend the U.N. General Assembly. Ukraine also said it would boycott the meeting because of Lavrov's participation, with its foreign ministry issuing a statement accusing Russia of coercing and undermining the OSCE through the abuse of the rule of consensus. "By resorting to blackmailing and open threats, the Russian Federation systematically blocked the consensus on key issues, the statement said, citing the blocking of Estonias candidacy for the chairmanship of the organization in 2024. Alexander Grushko, a Russian deputy foreign minister, told reporters on Tuesday that the Baltic nations decision to boycott the meeting doesnt mean anything for the future of the OSCE, either way. At the meeting, the Russian delegation will insist ... on the return of the OSCE to its origins, original principles, original purpose, Grushko said. Actually, it is called the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, but now there is no security or cooperation. If the OSCE wants to play at least some role, then it must return to what it was created for. And if this does not happen, it will not be in demand among the participating states, he added. He didn't comment on Ukraine's announcement that it was also boycotting the meeting. With the exception of close Moscow ally Belarus, Lavrov hasn't visited any European country since the war in Ukraine started. In March 2022, Lavrov was barred from flying to Geneva for a U.N. conference after European Union members banned Russian planes from their skies as part of sanctions against Moscow. He denounced the move as outrageous in a video address to the session, charging that the EU countries are trying to avoid a candid face-to-face dialogue or direct contacts designed to help identify political solutions to pressing international issues. The 57-nation OSCE was set up during the Cold War to help defuse tension between East and West. North Macedonia holds the organizations rotating presidency, and its foreign minister invited Lavrov to the two-day meeting starting Thursday. For the past two years we have witnessed how one OSCE participating state has actively and brutally tried to annihilate another, the Baltic foreign ministers said in their statement. Let us be very clear: Russias war of aggression and atrocities against its sovereign and peaceful neighbor Ukraine blatantly violate international law. They also accused Russia of obstructive behavior within the OSCE itself, citing Russias prevention of an OSCE presence in Ukraine and the blocking of Estonias chairmanship of the organization in 2024. Lavrovs attendance at the Skopje meeting risks legitimizing aggressor Russia as a rightful member of our community of free nations, trivializing the atrocious crimes Russia has been committing, they added. Speaking to reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels, North Macedonias foreign minister, Bujar Osmani, said he believed that he would be meeting Lavrov in Skopje. Lavrov is not coming to Skopje, in a way. Lavrov is coming to the OSCE just as he went to (the) U.N. in New York a few months ago, Osmani said. I wont be meeting him as the foreign minister of North Macedonia, but as the OSCE chairman in office. Asked what he would say to Lavrov, Osmani said: I think the Russian Federation has violated (the) commitments of OSCE principles that we have voluntarily subscribed to 50 years ago. He added: We have condemned the aggressor throughout our chairpersonship. And also we have turned (the) OSCE into a platform for political and legal accountability of the Russian Federation for its deeds in Ukraine, and we will continue to do so. And this is what I am going to tell to Mr. Lavrov as well. Lorne Cook in Brussels, Samya Kullab in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece, contributed to this report. VIENTIANE, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Lao government has vowed to improve the oversight of investment by the state to ensure the process is more efficient and auditable and delivers the intended benefits to the Southeast Asian country and its people. According to a Lao Economic Daily report on Tuesday, the commitment was made during a Public Investment Management Steering Committee Meeting held here on Nov. 21, chaired by Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Phonevanh Outhavong and attended by representatives of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Lao Ministry of Finance. Phonevanh pledged to step up efforts to develop the country in a quality, focused, sustainable and green direction. Improving the management of state investment is part of the government's efforts to make investment more effective and verifiable, leading to quality growth, Phonevanh added. To this end, the steering committee will carry out a countrywide training program to be supported by the JICA. The training program will be the basis for strengthening the capacity of civil servants in work concerning investment by the state, said Phonevanh. In the past nine months, total investment in Laos has exceeded 78,693 billion Lao kip (some 3.8 billion U.S. dollars), amounting to 151.05 percent of the target figure. By the end of 2023, this amount is expected to increase further to about 90,838 billion kip (some 4.4 billion dollars), an equivalent to 174.36 percent of the target figure for this year. CHENGDU, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- A 238-km section of the Sichuan-Qinghai railway in western China became operational on Tuesday after 12 years of construction. The first high-speed passenger train was launched at around 11 a.m. from Maoxian County, Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province, heading for Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan. The railway crosses the rugged, earthquake-prone plateau region in northwest Sichuan, and takes a detour to avoid disturbing the Giant Panda National Park. The Sichuan-Qinghai railway, upon completion of the whole project, will be a new rail line connecting the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the highest plateau in the world, with the massive high-speed rail network of China. American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE:AMH Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of Hold by the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $36.81. Several analysts have commented on AMH shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Homes 4 Rent from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of American Homes 4 Rent from $34.50 to $37.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, September 1st. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of American Homes 4 Rent from $38.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Monday, October 9th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of American Homes 4 Rent from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, August 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of American Homes 4 Rent from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. Get American Homes 4 Rent alerts: Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on American Homes 4 Rent Insider Transactions at American Homes 4 Rent Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Homes 4 Rent In other news, Director James H. Kropp sold 6,852 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.47, for a total value of $249,892.44. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 29,202 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,064,996.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link . In other American Homes 4 Rent news, COO Bryan Smith sold 28,407 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.11, for a total transaction of $1,025,776.77. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 94,478 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,411,600.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink . Also, Director James H. Kropp sold 6,852 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.47, for a total transaction of $249,892.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 29,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,064,996.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders have sold 81,852 shares of company stock valued at $2,974,469 in the last three months. 6.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nemes Rush Group LLC purchased a new stake in American Homes 4 Rent during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in American Homes 4 Rent during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its holdings in shares of American Homes 4 Rent by 101.3% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 1,127 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 567 shares in the last quarter. Spotlight Asset Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Homes 4 Rent in the second quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Castleview Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Homes 4 Rent by 2,540.0% in the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,188 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,143 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.97% of the companys stock. American Homes 4 Rent Stock Down 0.3 % AMH opened at $36.01 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.63, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. American Homes 4 Rent has a fifty-two week low of $28.78 and a fifty-two week high of $37.97. The companys 50-day moving average is $34.45 and its 200 day moving average is $35.13. American Homes 4 Rent Dividend Announcement The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 15th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 14th. American Homes 4 Rents dividend payout ratio is presently 84.62%. About American Homes 4 Rent (Get Free Report American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH), which does business as AMH, is a leading owner, operator and developer of single-family rental homes. We're an internally managed Maryland real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on acquiring, developing, renovating, leasing and managing homes as rental properties. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for American Homes 4 Rent Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for American Homes 4 Rent and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of Thomson Reuters Co. (NYSE:TRI Get Free Report) (TSE:TRI) have received an average recommendation of Hold from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $144.29. Several analysts have commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Thomson Reuters from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. National Bank Financial cut shares of Thomson Reuters from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Thomson Reuters from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Thomson Reuters from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 11th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Thomson Reuters from $145.00 to $142.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 2nd. Get Thomson Reuters alerts: Read Our Latest Research Report on Thomson Reuters Institutional Inflows and Outflows Thomson Reuters Stock Up 1.8 % Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TRI. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Thomson Reuters during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $207,419,000. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in Thomson Reuters in the third quarter worth $170,036,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in Thomson Reuters by 26.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,657,244 shares of the business services providers stock worth $692,059,000 after buying an additional 1,179,155 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Thomson Reuters by 6,607,664.7% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,123,320 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $138,048,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123,303 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Thomson Reuters by 178.8% in the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,711,051 shares of the business services providers stock worth $209,860,000 after acquiring an additional 1,097,339 shares during the last quarter. 17.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Shares of NYSE:TRI opened at $141.25 on Tuesday. Thomson Reuters has a 1 year low of $111.00 and a 1 year high of $141.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stocks 50-day moving average is $127.57 and its 200 day moving average is $128.61. The company has a market cap of $64.34 billion, a PE ratio of 28.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.61. Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI Get Free Report) (TSE:TRI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 1st. The business services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.61 billion. Thomson Reuters had a return on equity of 13.05% and a net margin of 34.09%. The businesss revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Thomson Reuters will post 3.41 EPS for the current year. Thomson Reuters Dividend Announcement The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be given a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 15th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Thomson Reuterss payout ratio is 39.50%. About Thomson Reuters (Get Free Report Thomson Reuters Corporation engages in the provision of business information services in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in five segments: Legal Professionals, Corporates, Tax & Accounting Professionals, Reuters News, and Global Print. The Legal Professionals segment offers research and workflow products focusing on legal research and integrated legal workflow solutions that combine content, tools, and analytics to law firms and governments. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Thomson Reuters Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Thomson Reuters and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB Free Report) by 25.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,563 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after purchasing an additional 1,739 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AGs holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $1,621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 117,372 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $22,215,000 after buying an additional 4,042 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 9.8% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 364,925 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $69,000,000 after acquiring an additional 32,687 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 6.0% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,857,217 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $351,515,000 after acquiring an additional 104,694 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the second quarter worth about $325,000. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 2nd quarter valued at about $287,000. Institutional investors own 88.71% of the companys stock. Get AvalonBay Communities alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AVB shares. Wedbush assumed coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Tuesday, October 3rd. They issued a neutral rating and a $179.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $193.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Barclays reduced their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $195.00 to $194.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 22nd. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $202.00 to $192.00 in a research report on Monday, October 9th. Finally, TheStreet lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities from a b rating to a c+ rating in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $195.29. AvalonBay Communities Price Performance Shares of AVB stock traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $171.62. The company had a trading volume of 70,391 shares, compared to its average volume of 749,149. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $171.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.98. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.07 and a 52-week high of $198.65. The company has a market capitalization of $24.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.95. AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 29th will be paid a $1.65 dividend. This represents a $6.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 28th. AvalonBay Communitiess payout ratio is currently 100.46%. AvalonBay Communities Company Profile (Free Report) As of September 30, 2023, the Company owned or held a direct or indirect ownership interest in 296 apartment communities containing 89,240 apartment homes in 12 states and the District of Columbia, of which 17 communities were under development and one community was under redevelopment. The Company is an equity REIT in the business of developing, redeveloping, acquiring and managing apartment communities in leading metropolitan areas in New England, the New York/New Jersey Metro area, the Mid-Atlantic, the Pacific Northwest, and Northern and Southern California, as well as in the Company's expansion regions of Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte, North Carolina, Southeast Florida, Dallas and Austin, Texas, and Denver, Colorado. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AVB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for AvalonBay Communities Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for AvalonBay Communities and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its position in Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD Free Report) by 7.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,501 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AGs holdings in Mettler-Toledo International were worth $1,969,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MTD. Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International during the 2nd quarter worth $36,853,000. Pictet Asset Management SA boosted its holdings in Mettler-Toledo International by 3.8% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management SA now owns 11,121 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $17,017,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Mettler-Toledo International during the first quarter worth $404,000. Nicholas Company Inc. raised its holdings in Mettler-Toledo International by 12.4% during the second quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 12,915 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $16,940,000 after buying an additional 1,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 9.8% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 80,824 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $123,135,000 after buying an additional 7,234 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.11% of the companys stock. Get Mettler-Toledo International alerts: Insider Transactions at Mettler-Toledo International In other news, Director Roland D. Diggelmann bought 315 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $1,026.54 per share, for a total transaction of $323,360.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 405 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $415,748.70. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is owned by insiders. Mettler-Toledo International Stock Down 0.3 % Mettler-Toledo International stock traded down $2.90 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $1,076.94. The company had a trading volume of 15,903 shares, compared to its average volume of 133,446. The firm has a market cap of $23.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.53, a PEG ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1,053.65 and a 200-day moving average of $1,198.47. Mettler-Toledo International Inc. has a 52 week low of $928.49 and a 52 week high of $1,615.97. Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $9.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.63 by $0.17. Mettler-Toledo International had a net margin of 22.24% and a negative return on equity of 1,852.05%. The business had revenue of $942.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $947.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $10.18 earnings per share. The firms revenue was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Mettler-Toledo International Inc. will post 39.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MTD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,425.00 to $1,270.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 13th. TheStreet lowered shares of Mettler-Toledo International from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mettler-Toledo International from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Sunday, November 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,520.00 to $1,300.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $1,302.29. Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Mettler-Toledo International Mettler-Toledo International Company Profile (Free Report) Mettler-Toledo International Inc manufactures and supplies precision instruments and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through five segments: U.S. Operations, Swiss Operations, Western European Operations, Chinese Operations, and Other. The company's laboratory instruments include laboratory balances, liquid pipetting solutions, automated laboratory reactors, titrators, pH meters, process analytics sensors and analyzer technologies, physical value analyzers, density and refractometry, thermal analysis systems, and other analytical instruments; and LabX, a laboratory software platform to manage and analyze data generated from its instruments. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MTD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Mettler-Toledo International Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Mettler-Toledo International and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG boosted its stake in CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE Free Report) by 8.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,229 shares of the financial services providers stock after buying an additional 1,959 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AGs holdings in CBRE Group were worth $2,117,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its holdings in shares of CBRE Group by 98,156.9% in the second quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 220,922,882 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $17,830,686,000 after acquiring an additional 220,698,040 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CBRE Group during the 4th quarter worth about $255,749,000. London Co. of Virginia acquired a new position in CBRE Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $126,917,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in CBRE Group by 97.7% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,201,526 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $160,293,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of CBRE Group during the 4th quarter worth about $65,416,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.71% of the companys stock. Get CBRE Group alerts: CBRE Group Trading Down 0.0 % CBRE Group stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $78.98. The stock had a trading volume of 82,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,672,022. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $73.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.49. CBRE Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $64.63 and a twelve month high of $89.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.07 billion, a PE ratio of 42.25 and a beta of 1.39. Insiders Place Their Bets CBRE Group ( NYSE:CBRE Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $7.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.50 billion. CBRE Group had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 1.89%. The companys revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. Analysts expect that CBRE Group, Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year. In related news, CFO Emma E. Giamartino sold 1,064 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.53, for a total value of $81,427.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 53,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,108,513.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CBRE shares. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of CBRE Group from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 11th. Raymond James cut their price target on CBRE Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a strong-buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 4th. Citigroup restated a buy rating and set a $98.00 price objective on shares of CBRE Group in a report on Monday, September 18th. TheStreet lowered CBRE Group from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 18th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on CBRE Group in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $90.43. Get Our Latest Research Report on CBRE Group CBRE Group Company Profile (Free Report) CBRE Group, Inc operates as a commercial real estate services and investment company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Advisory Services, Global Workplace Solutions, and Real Estate Investments segments. The Advisory Services segment provides strategic advice and execution to owners, investors, and occupiers of real estate in connection with leasing of offices; industrial and retail space; property sales and mortgage services under the CBRE Capital Markets brand; property and project management services, including construction management, marketing, building engineering, lease administration, accounting, and financial services for owners of and investors in office, industrial, and retail properties; and valuation services that include market value appraisals, litigation support, discounted cash flow analyses, and feasibility studies, as well as consulting services, such as property condition reports, hotel advisory, and environmental consulting. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CBRE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBRE Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for CBRE Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for CBRE Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. "The World Media Summit is a great opportunity to encourage more media to tell children's stories," said Andrew Brown, chief of Communication and Advocacy at UNICEF office for China. #GLOBALink Produced by Xinhua Global Service Barclays PLC (LON:BARC Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of Buy from the six brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is GBX 248 ($3.13). A number of analysts recently issued reports on BARC shares. Citigroup reissued a buy rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Monday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Barclays from GBX 180 ($2.27) to GBX 190 ($2.40) and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, September 7th. Shore Capital reissued a buy rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Tuesday, October 24th. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered their price target on shares of Barclays from GBX 260 ($3.28) to GBX 240 ($3.03) and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 10th. Get Barclays alerts: Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Barclays Barclays Price Performance Insider Buying and Selling at Barclays BARC stock opened at GBX 139.58 ($1.76) on Tuesday. The firms fifty day simple moving average is GBX 145.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is GBX 150.22. The company has a market capitalization of 21.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 410.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -1.09 and a beta of 1.38. Barclays has a 12 month low of GBX 128.12 ($1.62) and a 12 month high of GBX 198.86 ($2.51). In other Barclays news, insider Anna Cross sold 65,037 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 163 ($2.06), for a total transaction of 106,010.31 ($133,902.12). Insiders own 0.38% of the companys stock. About Barclays (Get Free Report Barclays PLC provides various financial services in the United Kingdom, Europe, the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The company operates through two segments, Barclays UK and Barclays International divisions. It offers financial services, such as retail banking, credit cards, wholesale banking, investment banking, wealth management, and investment management services. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Barclays Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Barclays and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Brixmor Property Group Inc. (NYSE:BRX Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of Moderate Buy from the eight brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $25.75. BRX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Brixmor Property Group from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 13th. Scotiabank raised shares of Brixmor Property Group from a sector perform rating to a sector outperform rating and set a $25.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Brixmor Property Group from $24.50 to $22.75 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 31st. StockNews.com started coverage on Brixmor Property Group in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Brixmor Property Group from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the company from $23.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 16th. Get Brixmor Property Group alerts: Read Our Latest Research Report on Brixmor Property Group Brixmor Property Group Stock Up 0.2 % Brixmor Property Group Increases Dividend BRX opened at $21.43 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $20.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.43. The company has a market cap of $6.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.60. Brixmor Property Group has a 12 month low of $19.40 and a 12 month high of $24.26. The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.09%. This is an increase from Brixmor Property Groups previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 2nd. Brixmor Property Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.86%. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRX. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Brixmor Property Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $407,000. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brixmor Property Group by 44.2% in the 1st quarter. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC now owns 14,689 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 4,504 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Brixmor Property Group during the 1st quarter worth $371,000. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its holdings in Brixmor Property Group by 5.5% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 406,368 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $10,834,000 after purchasing an additional 21,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Brixmor Property Group by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 45,190,584 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,166,369,000 after buying an additional 369,401 shares during the last quarter. 94.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. About Brixmor Property Group (Get Free Report Brixmor (NYSE: BRX) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and operates a high-quality, national portfolio of open-air shopping centers. Its 365 retail centers comprise approximately 65 million square feet of prime retail space in established trade areas. The Company strives to own and operate shopping centers that reflect Brixmor's vision "to be the center of the communities we serve" and are home to a diverse mix of thriving national, regional and local retailers. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Brixmor Property Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Brixmor Property Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of Moderate Buy by the eleven research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $28.00. GPK has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial reissued a buy rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Tuesday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from an overweight rating to an underweight rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $26.00 to $19.00 in a report on Thursday, October 19th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 18th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 10th. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of Graphic Packaging from a strong-buy rating to a market perform rating in a research report on Monday. Get Graphic Packaging alerts: Read Our Latest Research Report on Graphic Packaging Graphic Packaging Trading Down 1.0 % Shares of Graphic Packaging stock opened at $22.59 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $21.80 and a 200 day moving average of $23.14. Graphic Packaging has a fifty-two week low of $20.07 and a fifty-two week high of $27.56. The company has a market capitalization of $6.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.17. Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.02. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.14% and a return on equity of 35.97%. The business had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. The businesss revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 15th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 14th. Graphic Packagings dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.10%. Institutional Trading of Graphic Packaging A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 85.7% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 30,419,429 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $730,979,000 after purchasing an additional 14,040,222 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 2.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,127,808 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $574,983,000 after acquiring an additional 566,205 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 6.3% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,717,828 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $324,177,000 after acquiring an additional 749,687 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 10.3% in the third quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,207,562 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $271,984,000 after acquiring an additional 1,138,587 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 67.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,133,955 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $225,785,000 after buying an additional 4,074,508 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. About Graphic Packaging (Get 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. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Graphic Packaging Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Graphic Packaging and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 2nd, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Thursday, November 30th will be paid a dividend of 0.51 per share by the industrial products company on Friday, December 15th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 29th. Dover has raised its dividend by an average of 1.2% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 68 years. Dover has a payout ratio of 21.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Dover to earn $9.46 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 21.6%. Get Dover alerts: Dover Stock Performance Shares of Dover stock opened at $139.04 on Tuesday. Dover has a 12 month low of $127.25 and a 12 month high of $160.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.08. Insider Activity Dover ( NYSE:DOV Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.23 billion. Dover had a net margin of 12.09% and a return on equity of 26.23%. Dovers revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Dover will post 8.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. In other news, CFO Brad M. Cerepak sold 4,631 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.00, for a total transaction of $657,602.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 49,938 shares of the companys stock, valued at $7,091,196. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the companys stock. Institutional Trading of Dover Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of DOV. Toroso Investments LLC grew its position in Dover by 7.9% during the third quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 4,243 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $592,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. GTS Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Dover during the 2nd quarter worth $480,000. National Pension Service grew its position in shares of Dover by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 221,681 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $32,066,000 after acquiring an additional 5,551 shares during the period. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Dover in the 2nd quarter worth $3,839,000. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Dover in the 2nd quarter worth $281,000. Institutional investors own 83.97% of the companys stock. Analyst Ratings Changes A number of brokerages have recently commented on DOV. Mizuho dropped their price target on Dover from $165.00 to $162.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Dover from $149.00 to $145.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Dover from $171.00 to $162.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Dover from $177.00 to $175.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Dover from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Monday, October 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $162.23. Read Our Latest Stock Report on DOV About Dover (Get Free Report) Dover Corporation provides equipment and components, consumable supplies, aftermarket parts, software and digital solutions, and support services worldwide. The company's Engineered Products segment provides various equipment, component, software, solution, and services that are used in aftermarket vehicle service, solid waste handling, industrial automation, aerospace and defense, industrial winch and hoist, and fluid dispensing end-market. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Dover Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Dover and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB Get Free Report) (TSE:ENB) has received a consensus recommendation of Hold from the nine analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $51.96. A number of analysts have commented on the company. Credit Suisse Group reduced their price target on Enbridge from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 13th. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Enbridge from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an outperformer rating in a research note on Monday, September 11th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Enbridge in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Enbridge in a research note on Monday, September 11th. They issued a sector perform rating for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Enbridge from a peer perform rating to an underperform rating in a report on Tuesday, October 17th. Get Enbridge alerts: View Our Latest Research Report on ENB Institutional Inflows and Outflows Enbridge Stock Down 0.8 % Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Enbridge by 6.9% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 49,136 shares of the pipeline companys stock valued at $2,262,000 after purchasing an additional 3,178 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of Enbridge by 47.5% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,585,598 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $73,081,000 after buying an additional 510,865 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Enbridge by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,647,982 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $75,955,000 after acquiring an additional 112,553 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in Enbridge by 3.4% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 149,644 shares of the pipeline companys stock valued at $6,897,000 after acquiring an additional 4,883 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Enbridge by 0.3% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 316,801 shares of the pipeline companys stock valued at $14,600,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. 48.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Enbridge stock opened at $33.94 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Enbridge has a 12 month low of $31.03 and a 12 month high of $42.11. The firm has a market cap of $72.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.58, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.12. Enbridge (NYSE:ENB Get Free Report) (TSE:ENB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $7.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $7.88 billion. Enbridge had a net margin of 7.26% and a return on equity of 10.02%. Equities analysts predict that Enbridge will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year. Enbridge Cuts Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 14th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.54%. Enbridges payout ratio is 234.23%. About Enbridge (Get Free Report Enbridge Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company. The company operates through five segments: Liquids Pipelines, Gas Transmission and Midstream, Gas Distribution and Storage, Renewable Power Generation, and Energy Services. The Liquids Pipelines segment operates pipelines and related terminals to transport various grades of crude oil and other liquid hydrocarbons in Canada and the United States. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Enbridge Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Enbridge and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of Buy from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $16.50. ET has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a neutral rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners initiated coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, October 3rd. They set an outperform rating for the company. Get Energy Transfer alerts: View Our Latest Research Report on Energy Transfer Energy Transfer Stock Down 0.3 % ET opened at $13.68 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $13.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.91 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Energy Transfer has a one year low of $11.37 and a one year high of $14.15. Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 1st. The pipeline company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $20.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.68 billion. Energy Transfer had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 11.98%. Equities research analysts expect that Energy Transfer will post 1.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Energy Transfer Increases Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 30th were issued a $0.313 dividend. This represents a $1.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 27th. This is a boost from Energy Transfers previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Energy Transfers dividend payout ratio is 117.92%. Insider Activity In other news, EVP Thomas P. Mason acquired 7,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $13.33 per share, for a total transaction of $99,975.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,707,720 shares of the companys stock, valued at $22,763,907.60. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Thomas P. Mason bought 7,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.33 per share, with a total value of $99,975.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 1,707,720 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $22,763,907.60. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Kelcy L. Warren bought 1,000,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.53 per share, with a total value of $13,530,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman now directly owns 65,578,477 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $887,276,793.81. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 1,107,500 shares of company stock worth $15,001,475 over the last 90 days. 3.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Energy Transfer A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 21.8% during the 1st quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 15,306 shares of the pipeline companys stock valued at $191,000 after buying an additional 2,744 shares in the last quarter. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,081,560 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $38,427,000 after buying an additional 126,853 shares during the last quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. grew its position in Energy Transfer by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 74,978 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $952,000 after purchasing an additional 6,885 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Energy Transfer by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,465 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Energy Transfer by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 121,177 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $1,539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. 33.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Energy Transfer Company Profile (Get Free Report Energy Transfer LP provides energy-related services. The company owns and operates approximately 11,600 miles of natural gas transportation pipeline, and three natural gas storage facilities in Texas and two natural gas storage facilities located in the state of Texas and Oklahoma; and 19,945 miles of interstate natural gas pipeline. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Energy Transfer Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Energy Transfer and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. HSBC upgraded shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE:FMS Free Report) from a reduce rating to a hold rating in a report published on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. Several other brokerages have also commented on FMS. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA to 40.50 ($44.51) in a research report on Wednesday, August 16th. Societe Generale raised Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, November 17th. StockNews.com lowered Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, November 3rd. UBS Group raised Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 13th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA from $28.00 to $24.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $25.40. Get Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA alerts: View Our Latest Analysis on Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA Stock Performance Shares of FMS stock opened at $20.21 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $19.06 and a 200 day moving average of $22.23. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA has a 52 week low of $15.28 and a 52 week high of $27.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.65 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE:FMS Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 1st. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.06). Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA had a return on equity of 4.85% and a net margin of 2.30%. The business had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $5.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA will post 1.26 earnings per share for the current year. Institutional Inflows and Outflows A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FMS. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,017 shares of the companys stock worth $192,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. XY Capital Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 348.6% during the 1st quarter. XY Capital Ltd now owns 146,897 shares of the companys stock worth $3,123,000 after acquiring an additional 114,151 shares in the last quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 27.7% during the 2nd quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC now owns 24,270 shares of the companys stock worth $581,000 after acquiring an additional 5,265 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 19,391 shares of the companys stock worth $463,000 after acquiring an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arbor Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $212,000. 5.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. About Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (Get Free Report) Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co KGaA provides dialysis and related services for individuals with renal diseases in Germany, North America, and internationally. The company offers dialysis treatment and related laboratory and diagnostic services through a network of outpatient dialysis clinics; materials, training, and patient support services comprising clinical monitoring, follow-up assistance, and arranging for delivery of the supplies to the patient's residence; and dialysis services under contract to hospitals in the United States for the hospitalized end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients and for patients suffering from acute kidney failure. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. (NYSE:ASR Get Free Report) has received an average rating of Hold from the six analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $255.00. Several brokerages have weighed in on ASR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, August 31st. Scotiabank raised shares of Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. from a sector perform rating to a sector outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Get Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste S. A. B. de C. V. alerts: Read Our Latest Report on Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. Stock Up 0.0 % ASR stock opened at $230.97 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.97 and a quick ratio of 2.97. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $227.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $260.22. Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. has a 12 month low of $165.00 and a 12 month high of $314.48. The company has a market capitalization of $6.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.03. Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. (NYSE:ASR Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 23rd. The transportation company reported $5.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $5.75 by ($0.56). Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. had a net margin of 39.16% and a return on equity of 21.15%. The business had revenue of $371.57 million during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. will post 20.34 earnings per share for the current year. Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. Increases Dividend The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 28th will be paid a $5.7115 dividend. This is a boost from Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V.s previous annual dividend of $5.65. This represents a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 27th. Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V.s payout ratio is currently 26.84%. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 684,236 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $190,005,000 after purchasing an additional 7,111 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. by 12,500.3% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 619,305 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $1,201,000 after purchasing an additional 614,390 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 360,238 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $79,830,000 after acquiring an additional 32,860 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 255,120 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $78,187,000 after acquiring an additional 7,497 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 209,158 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $41,077,000 after purchasing an additional 7,922 shares in the last quarter. 13.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. About Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. (Get Free Report Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. holds concessions to operate, maintain, and develop airports in the southeast region of Mexico. The company operates airports that are located in the cities of Cancun, Cozumel, Merida, Huatulco, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Villahermosa, Tapachula, and Minatitlan. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste S. A. B. de C. V. Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste S. A. B. de C. V. and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. iShares MSCI Global Metals & Mining Producers ETF (BATS:PICK Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $40.61 and last traded at $40.44, with a volume of 125514 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.55. iShares MSCI Global Metals & Mining Producers ETF Stock Performance The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $38.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a PE ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 1.18. Get iShares MSCI Global Metals & Mining Producers ETF alerts: Institutional Inflows and Outflows A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in iShares MSCI Global Metals & Mining Producers ETF by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,657,432 shares of the companys stock worth $188,440,000 after purchasing an additional 146,614 shares in the last quarter. Municipal Employees Retirement System of Michigan lifted its stake in iShares MSCI Global Metals & Mining Producers ETF by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Municipal Employees Retirement System of Michigan now owns 2,646,715 shares of the companys stock worth $107,086,000 after purchasing an additional 153,390 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in iShares MSCI Global Metals & Mining Producers ETF by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 385,764 shares of the companys stock worth $15,360,000 after purchasing an additional 62,611 shares in the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd increased its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI Global Metals & Mining Producers ETF by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 115,153 shares of the companys stock worth $4,578,000 after buying an additional 24,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI Global Metals & Mining Producers ETF during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,132,000. iShares MSCI Global Metals & Mining Producers ETF Company Profile The iShares MSCI Global Metals & Mining Producers ETF (PICK) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in materials equity. The fund tracks a market-cap-weighted index of global metals mining, extraction or production firms, excluding gold and silver mining firms. PICK was launched on Jan 31, 2012 and is managed by BlackRock. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI Global Metals & Mining Producers ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI Global Metals & Mining Producers ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of iShares Silver Trust (NYSEARCA:SLV Free Report) by 22.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 253,622 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after acquiring an additional 45,807 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLCs holdings in iShares Silver Trust were worth $5,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SLV. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in iShares Silver Trust by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 4,129,173 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $86,258,000 after buying an additional 517,597 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA boosted its stake in shares of iShares Silver Trust by 5.9% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 3,850,025 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $88,089,000 after acquiring an additional 213,612 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of iShares Silver Trust by 48.0% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,711,172 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $62,032,000 after purchasing an additional 879,524 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in iShares Silver Trust by 129.3% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,599,110 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $33,455,000 after purchasing an additional 901,826 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in iShares Silver Trust by 28.1% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,548,284 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $31,455,000 after purchasing an additional 339,978 shares during the last quarter. Get iShares Silver Trust alerts: iShares Silver Trust Stock Performance Shares of NYSEARCA:SLV traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $22.66. The companys stock had a trading volume of 3,192,558 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,867,783. iShares Silver Trust has a 12-month low of $18.38 and a 12-month high of $23.94. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $20.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.37. About iShares Silver Trust iShares Silver Trust (the Trust) owns silver transferred to the Trust in exchange for shares issued by the Trust. The Trusts each share represents a fractional undivided beneficial interest in its net assets. The assets of the Trust consist of silver held by the Trusts custodian on behalf of the Trust. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SLV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares Silver Trust (NYSEARCA:SLV Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares Silver Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares Silver Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. BEIJING, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Over the years, Chinese President Xi Jinping, who pays great attention to the protection of the Yellow River, has been to all nine provinces and autonomous regions through which the river runs, visiting the river banks on multiple occasions. On the morning of Oct. 21, 2021, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, walked into Xu Jianfeng's home in Yangmiao community, in Dongying City in east China's Shandong Province, where the Yellow River meets the sea. In the apartment, featuring three bedrooms, a living room and a dining room, Xu showed the general secretary an old photo of an adobe house in which the family used to live. "My parents often say they had never expected to live in such a good apartment. The change is tremendous, like a dream come true," Xu said with gratitude. Speaking to residents in the community square, Xi said that since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, he has been concerned about the relocation of the people living in the Yellow River flood plain. Many local residents like Xu, whose family formerly resided in the flood plain of the Yellow River, China's second longest river, had seen their lives and property threatened by disasters including ice-jam floods. Under the leadership of the CPC, people living in such areas were relocated in the 1970s to houses on an elevated platform along the river embankment. In 2013, a new resettlement project was launched, offering them a more appealing long-term option. Under the project, three resettlement communities have been completed, including a comprehensive range of facilities, such as kindergartens, nursing homes, clinics, fitness rooms and supermarkets. In 2016, with a subsidy from the local government, Xu's family moved to the new apartment. "The overall relocation and reconstruction is an extraordinary endeavor," Xi said in the square. "I'm very pleased to learn that you are living and working in contentment." Xi went on to say that the CPC works in the service of the people, stressing that harnessing the Yellow River is a matter of great significance. The ecological environment of the Yellow River basin has long been a concern for Xi. During his 2021 inspection in Dongying, Xi also inspected the wetlands in the Yellow River Delta. Learning that the local efforts on wetland conservation in recent years had effectively improved the ecological environment, Xi called for continuous efforts to prevent wetland pollution and hunting. Today, the construction of the country's first national park featuring coordinated land and marine development is underway in the city, and a series of ecological protection and restoration projects have been rolled out. Shares of ProShares S&P 500 Aristocrats ETF (BATS:NOBL Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $90.58 and last traded at $90.42, with a volume of 578817 shares. The stock had previously closed at $90.73. ProShares S&P 500 Aristocrats ETF Stock Down 0.3 % The company has a market cap of $11.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.72 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $88.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.44. Get ProShares S&P 500 Aristocrats ETF alerts: Institutional Investors Weigh In On ProShares S&P 500 Aristocrats ETF Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its stake in shares of ProShares S&P 500 Aristocrats ETF by 354.2% during the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 704 shares of the companys stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ProShares S&P 500 Aristocrats ETF during the third quarter worth $155,000. Invst LLC grew its stake in shares of ProShares S&P 500 Aristocrats ETF by 62.3% during the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 6,090 shares of the companys stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,338 shares during the period. Comerica Bank acquired a new stake in shares of ProShares S&P 500 Aristocrats ETF during the third quarter worth $11,175,000. Finally, GTS Securities LLC acquired a new position in ProShares S&P 500 Aristocrats ETF in the third quarter valued at about $4,498,000. About ProShares S&P 500 Aristocrats ETF The ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats index. The fund tracks an equal-weighted index of S&P 500 constituents that have increased dividend payments annually for at least 25 years. NOBL was launched on Oct 9, 2013 and is managed by ProShares. Read More Receive News & Ratings for ProShares S&P 500 Aristocrats ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for ProShares S&P 500 Aristocrats ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Safeguard Scientifics (NYSE:SFE Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the asset managers stock. Safeguard Scientifics Trading Up 0.5 % Safeguard Scientifics stock opened at $0.99 on Friday. Safeguard Scientifics has a 1 year low of $0.95 and a 1 year high of $3.47. The company has a market cap of $16.33 million, a PE ratio of -1.54 and a beta of 0.93. The companys 50-day moving average is $1.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1.32. Get Safeguard Scientifics alerts: Safeguard Scientifics (NYSE:SFE Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 2nd. The asset manager reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Institutional Trading of Safeguard Scientifics Safeguard Scientifics Company Profile Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Yakira Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Safeguard Scientifics by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Yakira Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,164,945 shares of the asset managers stock valued at $2,004,000 after acquiring an additional 11,200 shares during the last quarter. First Manhattan Co. increased its stake in shares of Safeguard Scientifics by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 992,316 shares of the asset managers stock valued at $5,179,000 after acquiring an additional 14,260 shares during the last quarter. EJF Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Safeguard Scientifics by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. EJF Capital LLC now owns 172,955 shares of the asset managers stock valued at $903,000 after acquiring an additional 9,151 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Safeguard Scientifics by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 95,711 shares of the asset managers stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 4,815 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clayton Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Safeguard Scientifics by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. Clayton Partners LLC now owns 143,349 shares of the asset managers stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 19,429 shares during the last quarter. 44.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. (Get Free Report) Safeguard Scientifics, Inc no longer investing. It is a private equity and venture capital firm specializing in expansion financings, growth capital, management buyouts, recapitalizations, industry consolidations, corporate spinouts, growth stage, and early stage financings. It initially invests in a Series A-C round and opportunistically in a seed round. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Safeguard Scientifics Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Safeguard Scientifics and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Sensata Technologies Holding plc (NYSE:ST Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of Hold from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $47.40. Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Sensata Technologies from $49.00 to $44.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 28th. TheStreet lowered Sensata Technologies from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Sensata Technologies in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Sensata Technologies from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 1st. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on Sensata Technologies from $43.00 to $35.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 1st. Get Sensata Technologies alerts: Get Our Latest Stock Report on Sensata Technologies Sensata Technologies Stock Performance NYSE ST opened at $31.87 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.33. Sensata Technologies has a 1-year low of $30.56 and a 1-year high of $54.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.07. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $34.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.26. Sensata Technologies (NYSE:ST Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1 billion. Sensata Technologies had a return on equity of 18.04% and a net margin of 7.64%. The companys revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Sensata Technologies will post 3.65 EPS for the current year. Sensata Technologies Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 7th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. Sensata Technologiess payout ratio is currently 23.65%. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Sensata Technologies by 1,389.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 730 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sensata Technologies by 235.4% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 852 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 598 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Sensata Technologies in the second quarter valued at $44,000. Bessemer Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sensata Technologies in the first quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Sensata Technologies by 71.6% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,249 shares of the scientific and technical instruments companys stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.46% of the companys stock. Sensata Technologies Company Profile (Get Free Report Sensata Technologies Holding plc develops, manufactures, and sells sensors and sensor-rich solutions, electrical protection components and systems, and other products used in mission-critical systems and applications. It operates in two segments, Performance Sensing and Sensing Solutions. The Performance Sensing segment develops and manufactures sensors, high-voltage solutions, and other solutions used in mission-critical systems and applications, such as tire pressure monitoring, thermal management, electrical protection, regenerative braking, powertrain (engine/transmission), exhaust management, and operator controls for automobiles, on-road trucks, and off-road equipment customers. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Sensata Technologies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Sensata Technologies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of Tesco PLC (OTCMKTS:TSCDY Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $10.76 and last traded at $10.76, with a volume of 30149 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.73. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several research analysts have recently weighed in on TSCDY shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Tesco from GBX 304 ($3.84) to GBX 306 ($3.87) in a research note on Thursday, August 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Tesco in a research note on Thursday, November 16th. They issued a buy rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Tesco from GBX 250 ($3.16) to GBX 240 ($3.03) in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Tesco from GBX 325 ($4.11) to GBX 335 ($4.23) in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. Get Tesco alerts: Read Our Latest Report on TSCDY Tesco Stock Performance Tesco Cuts Dividend The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 16th will be issued a $0.1395 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 13th. About Tesco (Get Free Report) Tesco PLC, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a grocery retailer in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. It offers grocery products through its stores, as well as online. The company is also involved in the food and drink wholesaling activities. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Tesco Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Tesco and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Xinyuan Real Estate (NYSE:XIN Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Friday. The firm issued a hold rating on the financial services providers stock. Xinyuan Real Estate Stock Down 3.2 % Shares of Xinyuan Real Estate stock opened at $2.69 on Friday. Xinyuan Real Estate has a 52 week low of $2.00 and a 52 week high of $7.55. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $2.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.09. Get Xinyuan Real Estate alerts: Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xinyuan Real Estate A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in Xinyuan Real Estate stock. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Xinyuan Real Estate Co., Ltd. (NYSE:XIN Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 478,629 shares of the financial services providers stock, valued at approximately $536,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. owned 0.90% of Xinyuan Real Estate as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Institutional investors own 0.90% of the companys stock. About Xinyuan Real Estate Xinyuan Real Estate Co, Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in residential real estate development and construction in the People's Republic of China, the United States, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom. The company develops residential projects, such as multi-layer apartment buildings, sub-high-rise apartment buildings, high-rise apartment buildings; auxiliary services and amenities, such as retail outlets, leisure and health facilities, kindergartens, and schools, as well as office, mixed-use, and commercial properties. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Xinyuan Real Estate Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Xinyuan Real Estate and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Chinese Premier Li Qiang attends the opening ceremony of the first China International Supply Chain Expo and the Global Supply Chain Innovation and Development Forum, and delivers a keynote speech in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 28, 2023. (Xinhua/Liu Bin) BEIJING, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang attended the opening ceremony of the first China International Supply Chain Expo and the Global Supply Chain Innovation and Development Forum, and delivered a keynote speech in Beijing on Tuesday. A leaf from Shen Zhou's painted album showing a signature view of Jiangnan is curator Clarissa von Spee's choice for the cover of catalog of the exhibition China's Southern Paradise: Treasures From the Lower Yangzi Delta, at the Cleveland Museum of Art. [Photo/China Daily] As a melting-pot of ideas, beliefs and stunning landscapes, Jiangnan became the window through which the world viewed China, Zhao Xu reports. Of all the 240 items at the current exhibition China's Southern Paradise: Treasures From the Lower Yangzi Delta, at the Cleveland Museum of Art, Clarissa von Spee, the curator, has singled out one particular painting as the cover of its accompanying catalog. "Why this one? Because it represents China and Cleveland," says Spee, noting that the piece, a leaf from a painted album by the much-celebrated 15th-century painter-calligrapher Shen Zhou, is often requested for viewing by visiting scholars drawn to the museum's enviable Chinese art collection. "It shows water, it shows a misty landscape, it shows Buddhist temples and a pagoda, which together constitute the ultimate image of China for a Westerner living before our modern age," says the curator, who believes that her visitors will "not only see Chinese art, but will see China through art". It's an ambitious goal Spee sought to accomplish by focusing the entire show on one specific area of China Jiangnan, meaning "land south of the Yangtze River". Originally a terrain of wilderness to which dismissed officials were exiled, Jiangnan, throughout Chinese history, managed to reinvent itself again and again, until it became what Chinese dubbed "the land of fish and rice", marked by equally rich agricultural and artistic productions, and by extensive trade that linked it to the world beyond. Spee's storytelling started with the ancient cultures of Hemudu (5000 BC-3300 BC) and Liangzhu (3300 BC-2300 BC), the influence of both were concentrated on the Yangtze River Delta in southeastern China, the region that would eventually become known as "Jiangnan". Although the earliest remains of silk were found in central China, silkworms depicted on Neolithic ivory and pottery from Hemudu suggest their early domestication in the south. That narrative thread would be later spun into resplendent silk to be exported to foreign markets, with Jiangnan being its indisputable center of production between the 14th and early 20th centuries. A print likely produced in the Jiangnan City of Suzhou [Photo/China Daily] Appreciating Contrast First to recognize the potential of Jiangnan, the people of Liangzhu, in around 3000 BC, built a grand city of 100 million square meters on its swampy marshland, before spreading their splendid jade culture inland through the area's crisscrossing waterways. Drawing everything from giant wood to raw jade from the mountains that surrounded the ancient city on three sides, these people seemed to have little use of the sea to its east. Yet three millennia after the demise of Liangzhu, believed to have been partly caused by repeated inundation of its paddy fields by marine floodwater, that same sea would carry ships loaded with the Tang (618-907) empire's prized green stoneware to many parts of the world. Known in the West as celadon, these wares were produced by the famed kilns in Jiangnan, and contained a soft jade-green hue "taken from the verdant mountains (of Jiangnan)", to quote a contemporary author. In the meantime, novice monks from Japan and Korea were treading the waters to Jiangnan, where, taught in monasteries by Buddhist masters, they were getting an education that was not only religious, but also literary and aesthetic. "They were pilgrims to sites steeped in history and imbued with the mood of Chan (Zen in Japanese) Buddhism," says Spee, whose point is amply illustrated by the many long painted scrolls laid out at the exhibition, each capturing a horizontal slice of the mist-shrouded, water-saturated Jiangnan riverscape. One of them, awash with monochrome ink, depicts mountains, lush in vegetation, emerging from a lacework of streams. On loan from the Tokyo National Museum, it was created by the 11th-century painter Li Gonglin and was meant for a Chan master who had traveled widely before arriving at a temple in Jiangnan. "The hazy atmosphere can be read as Chan Buddhism's belief in the illusory nature of reality: Nothing is real but the Buddhist truth," she says. Inside the monasteries, enlightenment could also be gained by gazing intently at a spartan-looking Jianyao tea bowl and "learning to appreciate the contrast between the black glaze and the white froth produced as the tea powder was whisked vigorously", to use Spee's words. (The fact that Jianyao sites yao means kilns were located outside the Jiangnan area, in the Chinese province of Fujian further south, has allowed the curator to highlight Jiangnan's role in serving up an abundance of beauty that China has to offer.) "All these ideas of beauty and nature, they took with them to Japan and Korea and made them their own," says Spee. She is pointing to the influence of the Jiangnan landscape on Japanese painters of the Edo period (1603-1868), and to the continued treasuring of the Jianyao bowls in Japan, where they became known as tenmoku (tianmu in Chinese) bowls, after Tianmu Mountain in Hangzhou. One of the best-known Jiangnan cities, Hangzhou was the capital of China's Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), whose territory was mainly composed of the Jiangnan region and whose emperors were, almost without exception, master calligraphers and devoted Buddhists who ruled, not unlike their ancestors, in accordance with the teachings of Confucianism. "What these visitors to Jiangnan learned was that one can be a Taoist, Buddhist and Confucian at the same time, that the Chinese were able to tolerate several ideological currents and philosophies, and live them," says Spee. And they kept coming well into the 14th century, as attested by a piece of calligraphy from the Chinese Chan master Chushi Fanqi (1296-1370), on display at the exhibition. In it, Fanqi, venerated in Japan as Soseki Bonki, dedicated a poem to one of his departing Japanese friends who "has long served as an attendant to great (Buddhist) masters here", and whose thoughts "are now with the ship Japan-bound". With all that being said, not many had journeyed to China in the pre-modern era. For those who didn't make the trip, glimpses of that faraway place could be gained from what was available in the local markets. "By the 10th century, celadon wares produced exclusively by the kilns in Jiangnan had become China's biggest export," says Chen Jie from the Shanghai Museum, which contributed 14 exhibits to the exhibition, including porcelain wares produced between the 7th and 18th centuries. "A late 9th-to-10th century shipwreck discovered in 2003 in the Java Sea offshore of Cirebon, Indonesia, contained more than 200,000 celadon items," she says, adding that the discovery is only one of the three made since mid-1990s in the area of the Java Sea frequented by 9th-to-10th century merchant vessels loaded with large amounts of Chinese porcelain. While scholars are still arguing over whether Southeast Asia had served as a crucial waypoint for China's maritime porcelain trade, it is widely agreed that the celadon wares were exported as far as central Africa and southern Europe. A "pilgrimage bottle" produced by Europe's first porcelain factory in Meissen, Germany. [Photo/China Daily] Held Captive Items that stand testimony to the influence of Chinese porcelain are included in the exhibition. Produced around 1780, a round box with a lid from a German museum dedicated to lacquer art features a light green cracked lacquer application on top of paper mache base. It was meant to imitate the cracked glaze of Guanyao ware (Guan is the name of the kilns), a special type of celadon developed in Hangzhou during the Song era. Some seven decades earlier, a German named Johann Friedrich Bottger and his collaborator cracked the porcelain code for their countrymen, before setting up Europe's first porcelain factory in Meissen, Germany. The exhibition put on display a red stoneware item produced by the factory in 1715, which Spee believes was clearly inspired by the brownish-red colored teapots from the Jiangnan City of Yixing. The latter was commonly exported to Europe from the 17th century onward. Interestingly, the Meissen product took the shape of a "pilgrimage bottle", the origin of which can be traced to both the ancient Roman times and to the 7th-century China, where they were often carried by those who had arrived at their final destination via the ancient Silk Road. Equally interesting is the fact that Bottger, thanks to his talent as an alchemist, was once held captive by his king August the Strong, Elector of Saxony in Germany, who had within his much-treasured porcelain collection dozens of Yixing teapots. The king was far from the only one intrigued by China. When pictures of tilling and weaving so often created that it became a genre of its own starting from the time of the Southern Song ended up in the Palace of Versailles in the 17th century, it "triggered a discussion in France as to whether agriculture was the foundation of a good, functioning state", to quote Spee. "To the people of the court, China looked like a very well governed country," she says. That message was further spread through printmaking. The exhibition includes two etchings on paper created in 1775 by English engraver John June that were based on the drawings of the German draftsman Augustine Heckel, who, in turn, based his work on a Chinese painting of tilling and weaving. The phenomenon would have bemused the Chinese emperors, who had actively promoted the theme as a way of saying that they cared deeply about the well-being of their subjects and the fortunes of their states. Yet the images contained too much truth to be mere political statements. With verdant mountains and paddy fields, this 17th-century painting (partially shown above) depicts Jiangnan as paradise on earth. [Photo/China Daily] Jiangnan, by virtue of being located south of the Yangtze River, had, throughout Chinese history, repeatedly served as safe haven for those fleeing China's war-torn north. Carrying with them their own beliefs and customs, this immigrant population joined with the locals to make Jiangnan the wealthiest and most fertile land, a kaleidoscopic existence showcasing a condensed version of Chinese history, art and culture. Here comes one of Spee's central tenets. "When people in the West saw these images of tilling and weaving, of temples, pagodas and beautiful women teaching their children, they weren't aware that these came from Jiangnan. Instead, they equated them with China," she says. Among other things, Spee is also referring to the colored woodblock prints once made in large quantities in the Jiangnan City of Suzhou. Despite not being made for export, they nonetheless reached Europe, where they survived in castles as wall paper, presumably fulfilling an imagined perception of the Oriental country. However, the curator believes that China, as introduced to the West through imported Chinese art, should be clearly differentiated from the China dreamed up by Western artists and craftsmen who were behind the decorative style of Chinoiserie, literally meaning "China Style". While the latter was fueled by a vague curiosity which led to the adoption of new forms and motifs, which often amounted to fantasized versions of reality, the former, says Spee, was built upon "a serious interest" that was maintained through "consistent exchange between China and Europe", and was reciprocated. "They both admired each other for certain things," says Spee, who made a point of displaying the likenesses of two rulers from China's Qing Dynasty Emperor Kangxi (1654-1722) and his grandson Emperor Qianlong (1711-99). Both were known for making grand inspection tours to Jiangnan six times for each that helped to "bring the region to its heights". And both welcomed Jesuit missionaries to China, and to their respective courts. While the portrait of Kangxi was painted by an anonymous Chinese painter who had clearly adopted the Western technique of shading, the one for Qianlong was done by Jesuit missionary and artist Giuseppe Castiglione, who arrived in China in 1715 and never left. In 1766, the year of Castiglione's passing, Qianlong was presented with six French tapestries. Intrigued, he commissioned tapestries in the French style from workshops in Suzhou. One of the results, on display at the exhibition, depicts a typical Chinese family gathering on New Year's morning, rendered using Western perspective and shading, and complete with a woven Western picture frame. A celadon ware from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) [Photo/China Daily] Virtual Discussions Spee visited Jiangnan for the first time in 1999, to conduct research on a 20th-century art connoisseur from the region. This was followed by a 2015 fellowship at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, the former capital of the Southern Song era. Realizing the immense cultural influence of the region, Spee came up with the idea for the current exhibition, which eventually ended up taking her eight years to prepare. Help was enlisted worldwide, including from seven Chinese museums and cultural institutions that have lent exhibits to the show under the auspices of Art Exhibitions China, a governmental body tasked with promoting Chinese cultural heritage overseas. "A lot of work was carried out during the pandemic through online discussions, and nothing would have been accomplished without the huge amount of trust each side placed in the other," says Shi Wanghuan from AEC, which, back in 1973, took some of China's most prized archaeological finds to the United States for a groundbreaking exhibition, the first since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. "The director of Beijing's Palace Museum, which contributed to the show, said that when the relationship between the US and China is strained, it's important that we maintain cultural exchanges, to counter the tension and balance it out through art," recalls Spee. In one of his books partly tracing the history of the European obsession with Chinese porcelain, British ceramist Edmund de Waal wrote: "I want poems that compare white porcelain to smoke coiling up from a chimney, or from incense on an altar, or mist from a valley, or, at the very least, an egret in a paddy field poised." For those who have entered the world of Jiangnan upon Spee's invitation, that incense could have been burning on the altar of a Buddhist temple; that mist, cloaking Shen Zhou's landscape; and that egret, an exclamation point to the serene beauty of Jiangnan to which, says the curator, "every human being would respond". (Source: China Daily) Students replicate the masterpiece "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains," which was painted by Wang Ximeng during the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), on the walls of their fine art classroom at No. 150 High School of Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province, April 28, 2023. [Xinhua] CHANGCHUN, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) When there were yellow paint stains on the hem of Zhou Baile's school uniform, his family and teachers suggested that he change into a new uniform, but he refused. "For me, the stains are a symbol of creation," said Zhou, who is in his second year of senior high school in Changchun, the capital of northeast China's Jilin Province. Zhou is one of the 21 students at No. 150 High School of Changchun who replicated the masterpiece "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains," which was painted by Wang Ximeng during the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), on the walls of their fine art classroom. The 3.5-meter-tall replica has a total length of 11 meters and it took the students 129 days to complete, said Duan Yingzi, the fine art teacher at the school who guided the painting. To allow more students to receive aesthetic education, Duan established a painting club at the end of 2022, guiding students to appreciate and imitate famous Chinese paintings. She purchased a high-definition copy of "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains," and brought it into class so that her students could appreciate the lines and essence of the classic. "Wang created the masterpiece at the age of 18. It occurred to me to question why my students, at a similar age, couldn't give it a try," said Duan, having encouraged her club members to participate in the painting project. The project began in early March. The students sketched, applied color and filled in the details, turning the original, flat painting into a relief work. They also added figures, flowers and other elements into their version of the painting, including their own inspirations. "Seeing the work we created, I could sense what Wang was feeling when he was completing this masterpiece more than 900 years ago," said Zhang Chuying, another student who took part in the project. "It was as if I were standing next to him and enjoying the rivers and mountains with him." Though some parents were concerned that the time-consuming project would affect their children's academic performances, Zhou does not believe they had any cause for concern. "The process of painting not only improves confidence and concentration, but it is also a way to relax after learning," the student said. Duan hopes that through their recreation of the Chinese masterpiece, the students will enhance their understanding of Chinese painting. "I hope they will be able to pass on the excellent traditional culture in an innovative way," she said. Students replicate the masterpiece "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains," which was painted by Wang Ximeng during the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), on the walls of their fine art classroom at No. 150 High School of Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province, June 19, 2023. [Xinhua] (Source: Xinhua) CARACAS, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Venezuelan government on Monday expressed strong condemnation of the latest Israeli airstrike against the international airport in Damascus, the capital of Syria. The Foreign Ministry of Venezuela issued an official statement, in which it described the Israeli action as "generating political and military tension in the Middle East." The Israeli missile attack against the Syrian infrastructure took place on Sunday afternoon and left the airport temporarily out of operation. "Diplomacy of peace is the only path and destiny of humanity," reiterated the Venezuelan government, regarding the fight against all forms of violence. Since the intensification of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the South American country has called for an immediate ceasefire and for allowing the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. Venezuela has also reiterated its position in favor of compliance with United Nations resolutions on a two-state solution and the guarantee of an independent Palestinian state. Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter at the arrival of Deng Xiaoping, Deputy Premier of China, in Washington, DC, on January 29, 1979. Activists from the group Just Stop Oil are arrested by police officers as they slow the traffic, marching on a road, in London, Monday, Oct. 30, 2023. [AP Photo/Kin Cheung] The UK government has launched a systematic assault on democratic rights, banning demonstrations, making major inroads on freedom of speech, and flagrantly disregarding human rights laws. The turn to authoritarian rule by the British ruling class is so pronounced that it is drawing criticisms from human rights monitors. A statement by Human Rights Watch published last week notes, The right to protest peacefully is under threat, as pro-Palestine protesters and climate activists have experienced recently, and the country has joined the global race to the bottom regarding migration and refugees. Speaking to the Guardian, Human Rights Watchs UK Director Yasmine Ahmed was blunt. With previous governments there was always an attempt to at least try to appear as if they were complying with domestic or international human rights law and to respect the courts and human rights institutions. Now there is no attempt to do thisin fact, its quite the opposite. Describing the governments actions as starting to look very much like authoritarianism, Ahmed went on, Not only is the government talking about ripping up domestic human rights law and ignoring its international obligations, it has launched an open attack on the right to peacefully demonstrate, is locking up climate protesters, criminalizing refugees and has given the police unprecedented powers over citizens. Ahmed condemned a proposal by the UK government to disapply the Human Rights Act to a bill that would send asylum seekers to Rwanda, in violation of a UK Supreme Court ruling. Some of the most egregious actions have been taken against protests over Israels genocide. Last month, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak threatened demonstrators, Id just remind everyone that Hamas is a proscribed terrorist organization. People should not be supporting Hamas and we will make sure that we hold people to account if they are. The UK police have arrested hundreds of people for demonstrating in opposition to the genocide in Gazaoften merely for displaying signs. Despite government threats, millions of people have protested in the UK against the genocide, with up to one million marching in London on November 11. The UK governments efforts to criminalize opposition to Israels genocide in Gaza is part of a global assault on democratic rights. In France, Germany and other European countries, authorities have attempted to ban protests. In the United States, the Senate passed a resolution accusing demonstrators of expressing solidarity with terrorists, and several universties have moved to ban Students for Justice in Palestine. Human Rights Watch generally keeps in close step with imperialist foreign policy. For it to make such stark comments about the UK is a sign of how rapidly the British ruling class is junking democratic forms of rule in its lurch to the right. Significantly, Ahmed warns, This approach... discredits and undermines our ability to hold other human rights violators to account on the international stage. Criticisms of the British governments draconian sentences for climate protestors and broader attacks on democratic rights have also been made by the United Nations. In April, two protesters associated with Just Stop Oil, Morgan Trowland and Marcus Decker, were sentenced to three- and two-year sentences, respectively, for causing a public nuisance the previous October. The pair scaled the Dartford Crossing bridge east of London to unfurl a banner, causing traffic to be stopped for over 24 hours while they were removed. Appealing against their sentences, Daniel Friedman KC noted they were the longest ever handed down in a case of non-violent protest in this country in modern times, and warned that they were likely to have a chilling effect on all protest rather than this type of protest. The appeal was rejected in July. Lady Chief Justice Sue Carr acknowledged the jail terms were well beyond previous sentences imposed for this type of offending, but countered that the judges were following Parliaments will as expressed in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, which includes a public nuisance offence for what obviously will include non-violent protest behaviour, with a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment. The ruling prompted a letter of concern from the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change, Ian Fry, which was sent to the UK government on August 15. Reported by BBC news last week, the letter references the jailed protestors and expresses concern about the exercise of their rights to freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly and association. Fry adds that he is gravely concerned about the potential flow-on effect that the severity of the sentences could have on civil society and the work of activists. The letter argues that the Public Order Act appears to be a direct attack on the right to the freedom of peaceful assembly. It asks why it was necessary to introduce and pass the Public Order Act and how both the Public Order Act and the sentencing of Mr Decker and Mr Trowland are compatible with international norms and standards. He notes that a previous, December 22, 2022 letter asking how the Public Order Act could be said to comply with international human rights law, signed by himself and four other UN special rapporteurs, remains unanswered. His own letter suffered the same fate, despite specifically requesting a response within 60 days. He told the BBC this was troubling and reflected a general disregard for human rights concerns by the current government. After the BBC published its article, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delivered his bellicose reply to the UN official, posting on X: Those who break the law should feel the full force of it. Its entirely right that selfish protestors intent on causing misery to the hard-working majority face tough sentences. Only a few years ago, the UN and organisations like Human Rights Watch felt able to give a free pass to the imperialist governments claims to be the guardians of an international rules-based order. This only ever meant a regime of imperialist interests dressed up in the language of humanitarianism and human rights. But the violence and authoritarianism with which governments are increasingly forced to rule over deeply hostile populations is such that the fiction is falling apart. The wholesale support among the imperialist governments and major opposition parties for Israels genocide in Gaza has rapidly accelerated this process. Although relatively small numbers of climate activists using peaceful disruption tactics have served as a pretext for dictatorial new laws, their intended application is far wider. That fact has been made clear by the ferocious denunciations of the hundreds of thousands attending national demonstrations against Israels genocide in Gaza, and by the passing of laws directly targeting striking workers. The ruling class is gearing up for a massive confrontation with the working class. While Human Rights Watch and the UN specifically reference this current government, there is no difference between the incumbent Tories and the Labour Party opposition. Labour has supported the crackdown on climate protestors, fully aware that it was being used as the spearhead of a campaign aimed at, and now mounted, against opposition to imperialism and war. Last April, Shadow Justice Secretary Steve Reed told the government to stop standing idly by and get on with their jobs acting against Just Stop Oil protestors. That October, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer declared his support for longer sentences, saying he had pushed for the same while director of public prosecutions (20082013). When it comes to the Palestinian protests, Labour spearheaded the left anti-Semitism witch-hunt and has since advanced itself as the most dedicated supporters of the Metropolitan Police, which has already arrested hundreds of protestors and is asking for the tools to go further. Nor is the turn to police-state rule a uniquely British phenomenon. Germany has carried out a ferocious anti-democratic crackdown on climate protestors over the last years, serving as a trial run for the suppression of pro-Palestinian demonstrators today. This is mirrored in France. The frontal assault on democratic rights is the universal response of a ruling class that feels itself isolated in the face of mass opposition and has no answer other than state repression. WASHINGTON, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden said Tuesday that he would testify before Congress in December, in response to a Republican-led impeachment investigation into the president and his family. Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden's attorney, told chairman of the House Oversight Committee James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, that the president's son will answer "any pertinent and relevant questions" lawmakers might have, but said his questioning must take place at a public committee hearing. "A public proceeding would prevent selective leaks, manipulated transcripts, doctored exhibits, or one-sided press statements," Lowell wrote in a letter to the chairman. "Your empty investigation has gone on too long wasting too many better-used resources. It should come to an end," the letter continued. Lowell said Hunter Biden will appear at such a public hearing "on the date you noticed, Dec. 13, or any date in December that we can arrange." On Monday, Jason J. Eaton, 48, was arraigned on multiple charges of attempted murder in the shooting of three Palestinian college students in Burlington, Vermont, on Saturday evening. Eaton is currently being held without bond after entering three not guilty pleas Monday. If convicted on any of the three second-degree murder charges Eaton faces, he could be sentenced anywhere from 20 years to life in prison. As of Monday, all three victims of Saturdays shootingHisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Aliahmadare recovering from gunshot wounds at the Vermont Medical Center. A photo of students Tasheen Ali Ahmad (left) Kinnan Abdalhamid (center) and Hisham Awartani (right) taken shortly before they were shot. [Photo: The Awartani family.] Awartani is an undergraduate at Brown University, Abdalhamid, Haverford College, and Aliahmad is a student at Trinity College. Two of the three students are American citizens, while the other is a legal resident. All of them went to a Quaker high school together in Ramallah, Palestine, in the occupied West Bank, and spent many years living and visiting family in the United States. At a press conference Monday morning, Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad confirmed that Awartani, Abdalhamid and Aliahmad were simply walking down the sidewalk at around 6:30 p.m. Saturday night in Burlington. According to police and statements from the victims families, the three 20 year olds were talking among themselves in a mix of Arabic and English while on their way to a family dinner when the suspected shooter, without saying a word, began firing a .380 Ruger semi-automatic pistol at them. Two of the three students, who were visiting family for the Thanksgiving holiday, were wearing black and white keffiyehs when they were shot. After being shot, one of the victims was able to call police, as did neighbors who heard the gunfire. Several residents tended to the wounded students, providing blankets and first aid, before emergency services arrived, according to police. Rich Price, the uncle of Awartani, confirmed in Mondays press conference that his nephew suffered a spinal injury after being shot in the back and faces a long recovery. Price confirmed that Abdalhamid will make a full and speedy recovery while Aliahmad remained in a lot of pain. Chief Murad said the .380 Ruger semi-automatic pistol used in the shooting was legally purchased earlier this year by Eaton. Murad added that shell casings found at the scene of the shooting matched the same type of bullets police recovered in Eatons apartment, along with the pistol. Murad reported that federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) agents also recovered a shotgun inside Eatons apartment, which is located across the street from where the shooting took place. According to Murad, police arrested Eaton following a Sunday afternoon sweep of the apartment complex by ATF agents. Murad said that when agents knocked on Eatons door he quickly gave himself up, telling the police, Ive been waiting for you, and I would like a lawyer. In addition to recovering a shotgun, pistol and ammunition at Eatons apartment, Murad said police are combing through computers and hard drives seized during the search. Murad said police have yet to confirm a motive and whether or not Saturdays shooting was a hate crime or motivated based on the identity of students. He added that he was confident the physical evidence confirming Eaton was the shooter is very strong. Murad said that Eaton was a recent arrival to Burlington and had previously lived in Syracuse, New York. According to his LinkedIn account, Eaton most recently worked as a sales assistant at CUSO Financial Services in Williston, Vermont. CUSO is headquartered in San Diego, California, but has offices throughout the country. Jason Eaton worked less than a year at CUSO Financial and his employment had been terminated on November 8, 2023. We are horrified by the shooting and are cooperating with law enforcement as they investigate. We have no further comment, a spokeswoman for CUSO told NBC News. Eaton listed previous employments at major financial firms such as TD Ameritrade (April 2019March 2021) and Edward Jones (June 2018February 2019). Among topics the former financial consultant liked to discuss were social entrepreneur[ship] and organic agriculture. A web page maintained by Eaton uses similar phrases, including radical citizen repeatedly, and features podcasts of Eaton giving investment advice. On his LinkedIn account, two of Eatons four public posts express skepticism towards the danger of COVID-19 while urging non-compliance with the Moderna vaccine, comparing the latter to a large-scale Milgram experiment. A review of his locked X/Twitter account by Vice News reporter Tess Owens uncovered more of Eatons right-wing and libertarian politics. On the account, Eatons banner image features an AR-15 rifle and marijuana leaves with the phrase, Libertarians want trans furrys to be able to protect their cannabis farms with unregistered machine guns. Eaton X/Twitter banner image. [Photo: Jason James Eaton via Tess Owens-Vice] In his X biography, Eaton describes himself as a Radical citizen pa-trolling demockracy and crapitalism for oathcreepers. #wildtype. It is unclear as of this writing if Eaton had any relationship with the Oath Keepers militia group. Several members of the fascist militia, including its founder Stewart Rhodes, have been convicted of seditious conspiracy as part of former President Donald Trumps failed coup. Owens noted that in an archived Twitter account Eaton described himself as a Libertarian and that his posts are mainly filled with criticisms of the IRS. While police have yet to establish a motive, the conditions for such an attack have been stoked by Democratic and Republican politicians, starting with President Joe Biden. While fully backing Israel militarily, politically and economically, as it commits its ongoing ethnic cleansing campaign in Gaza, Biden and virtually every other politician from both big business parties have spent the last month and half demonizing anti-genocide protesters as antisemitic and supporters of Hamas. Biden himself has downplayed the civilian death toll in Gaza while at the same time stoking hatred against the Palestinian people by spreading lurid Israeli war propaganda. In an article published this past Sunday in the Washington Post, titled White House grapples with internal divisions on Israel-Gaza, the Post revealed that prior to giving an October 10 press conference, in which Biden falsely claimed to have seen pictures of babies beheaded by Hamas, Biden had rejected demands from his staff that he excise those claims because those reports were unverified. Pointing to the central role of the Biden and the US government in Saturdays shooting, a joint statement released by the victims families following Eatons arrest read in part: As parents of Palestinian children, we fear for the safety of our families as US media and even elected officials from the highest levels of the government have repeated racist and dehumanizing language in recent weeks, contributing to an environment of heightened racism and violence towards Palestinians and Arabs. This hateful rhetoric emboldens people to act with violence. Responding to Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who has refused to publicly endorse a ceasefire and issued a pathetic statement on the shooting this past weekend, a relative of Awartani wrote to Sanders on X: You are the instigator of the hate that murdered my husbands family in Gaza and the hate that tried to murder my cousins cousin in the state that you represent. Hisham may never walk again and his mom cant be with him till later this week. Blood is on your hands. Palestinians pray over bodies of people killed in the Israeli bombardment who were brought from the Shifa hospital before burying them in a mass grave in the town of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Mohammed Dahman) The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is getting worse by the day, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday, as the besieged enclave of 2.2 million remains without electricity, food or water. Israel is using a four-day pause in its onslaughtwhich is reportedly being extended for another two daysto make preparations for an even more ruthless onslaught on southern Gaza. You have a few days. When we return to fighting, we will apply the same force and more and we will fight across the whole of the [Gaza] Strip, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told soldiers on Monday, according to CNN. On Monday, Gazas Government Media Office reported that the death toll of the genocide has surged to 15,000, after dozens of people were found buried under rubble during the pause in fighting. The death toll includes 6,160 children and 4,000 women, while a further 33,000 people are injured. In addition, another 7,000 people are still missingmost likely buried in collapsed buildingsincluding 4,700 children. Adding the missing to the dead brings the death toll to 22,000, including 10,860 children. The Government Media Office reported that 207 doctors, nurses and other healthcare personnel had been killed since the start of Israels offensive. Seventy journalists have been killed during this time and 266 schools have been destroyed, with 67 completely out of service. Palestinians sell fruits in Gaza City on Monday, Nov. 27, 2023. on the fourth day of the temporary ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. [AP Photo/Mohammed Hajjar] The United Nations noted that over 1.8 million people in Gaza, or nearly 80% of the population, are estimated to be internally displaced. In a staggering statistic, a report by the Shelter Cluster states that across the Gaza Strip, over 234,000 housing units have been damaged and more than 46,000 homes have been completely destroyed, amounting to over 60% of the total housing stock. The report adds that a few days pause is inadequate to address the catastrophic impact of attacks on homes and civilian infrastructure in Gaza. The loss of life and destruction of property has been devastating. Residential neighbourhoods, housing and civilian infrastructure must be protected. It further states: In Gaza City and North Gaza, extensive bombardment has resulted in damage to over 50% of all buildings, alongside widespread damage to roads and essential infrastructure such as power systems and distribution networks, and water storage tanks, pipes, supply networks and drainage channels. The cumulative effect of the strikes prevents access to functional services and infrastructure that severely compromises the ability to meet basic requirements to sustain life. Israeli officials are only intensifying their genocidal rhetoric. On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hosted Elon Musk, the worlds richest man and a notorious proponent of racism and antisemitism, to promote his onslaught against the Palestinians. Theres no choice but to kill those who insist on murdering civilians. Theres no choice. Theyre not going to change their mind, Musk said during the visit. Musks visit was broadly condemned even within Israel. Blatant antisemite & publisher of antisemitism Elon Musk should be persona non grata in Israel, wrote Esther Solomon, the editor-in-chief of the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. Instead, Netanyahuplumbing new depths of amoral sycophancygifts him a PR visit to the kibbutzim devastated by Hamas. Profane, venal, bilious, both of them. Ahead of the visit, Musk publicly endorsed a Twitter post advocating the great replacement theory, which declared that Jewish communities have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them. The pause applies only to Gaza. In the West Bank, the Israeli military and far-right settlers are continuing their attacks on Palestinians. Since October 7, some 231 Palestinians, including 59 children, have been killed in the West Bank. The spokesman for the Palestinian Health Ministry, Ashraf Al-Qudra, noted in an interview with Al Jazeera that more than 60 ambulances and 160 health facilities have been destroyed during Israels attacks on Gaza. We were subjected to a direct targeting operation by the Israeli forces after strangling the health system on the first day of the aggression by cutting off medical supplies, fuel, and electricity, he said. The Biden administration, meanwhile, is making preparations for the political fallout from the resumption of Israels onslaught against Gaza. In an article headlined White House Grapples with Internal Divisions on Israel-Gaza, the Washington Post concludes with the following blunt admission: Still, Biden officials are in an increasingly vexing predicament. The problem they have, which is the problem theyve had from Day 1, is the Israelis dont have a strategy for doing what they want to do that does not harm, kill and expel a lot of Palestinians from Gaza, one outside adviser said. They have to go down south and do the same thing. I dont know how you do that with 2-plus million people in the south. Of course, this is a problem only from the standpoint of public relations. Israeli officials have made clear that they are seeking the murder or expulsion of the population of Gaza from their land, while the White House has repeatedly insisted that there are no red lines on the number of civilians the Israeli military is allowed to massacre. A section of the Rising Tide protest in Newcastle, Australia, on November 26, 2023. [Photo: Rising Tide/Facebook] In one of the largest mass arrests of recent years, police in New South Wales (NSW) detained some 109 protesters on Sunday evening. They had participated in a 30-hour maritime demonstration of 34 kayaks, surfboards and pontoons at the port of Newcastle, aimed at blocking coal shipments and the broader promotion of fossil fuels. The protest had been given police permission until 4 p.m., at which point the arrests suddenly started. The arrests point to a deepening crackdown on the right to protest. Significantly, this is being spearheaded by Labor governments, now in office federally and at the state and territory levels across mainland Australia. The detentions indicate official fears over growing social opposition, related not only to climate change, but to Israels genocidal assault on Gaza, a broader eruption of militarism and the soaring cost-of-living. The action, organised by the Rising Tide organisation, saw dozens and at times more than a hundred people take to the water in small vessels to prevent coal loads from exiting the port. The activists said they succeeded in delaying multiple shipments, but noted that this is only a fraction of the coal that passes through the port each year. In comments at the protest and since, representatives of Rising Tide pointed to the increasingly catastrophic consequences of climate change. In Australia, this included one of the worst bushfire seasons in 2019-20, and massive floods in northern NSW and parts of Queensland last year that displaced thousands. Along with their abandonment of the flood victims and others impacted by climate change, the Labor governments are doing nothing to address the underlying crisis. The federal Labor administration cynically appealed to discontent over the issue in the May 2022 election. Its policy is a 43 percent emissions reduction by 2030 and net-zero by 2050. Scientists have warned that both are woefully inadequate, compared with the scale of the crisis. But even these targets are entirely meaningless, with Labor approving dozens of new coal and gas projects across the country. The protest was not a snap action or an unauthorised event. It had received prior approval from police. Demonstrators were addressed by prominent political figures, including federal Greens leader Adam Bandt and one of his predecessors, Bob Brown. The Greens, their references to the environmental crisis notwithstanding, seek to collaborate with Labor, as it greenlights fossil fuel projects and defends the whole profit system that is responsible for climate change. Given the establishment character of the speakers and the police authorisation, the subsequent crackdown was particularly striking. Police have claimed that approval was only until 4 p.m. on Sunday afternoon and that participants then refused to leave the ports waters. By 5:30 p.m., the port was cleared, and its operations were resumed. Police behind Rising Tide protesters in Newcastle, Australia, on November 26, 2023. [Photo: Rising Tide/Facebook] The speed of the police crackdown indicates extensive prior planning. Footage on social media shows at least one police vessel approaching the activists and moving to detain them. The police arrests were indiscriminate. Among the 109 arrested was Alan Stuart, a 97-year-old clergyman. Five children were detained. In a statement on X/Twitter, Legal Observers NSW said five of its representatives were arrested. Observers were present to document the actions of police and connect any protesters arrested with legal representation, it stated. Despite being marked out with coloured vests and having repeatedly spoken to police during the event, the observers were nevertheless hauled in. They noted that this was an attack on the right to document and monitor protest as media and independent observers, which is an internationally protected right under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Three of the legal observers were charged, joining more than 100 others. Even the children who participated have reportedly been referred to relevant authorities under the Young Offenders Act. The blanket charge applied to the adult protesters of unreasonable interference by use of a vessel under section 13 of the states Marine Safety Act carries a maximum penalty of a $5,500 fine. While most protesters were released on bail after being booked, two organisers, including one with impaired vision, were detained overnight in a police watchhouse. They received hundreds of dollars in fines, with a judge declining to impose the maximum fine because of their lack of a criminal history. The remaining protesters face court next year. The arrests and charges were clearly intended to send a message that further disruptions will not be tolerated. If that were not the case, the protesters could simply have been moved on without the mass detention or subsequent charges. Some of the motives were spelled out by NSW Labor Premier Chris Minns, who told the right-wing 2GB radio station, I dont support it; Id rather it didnt happen. We sold $40 billion worth of coal last year. Minns claimed that the exports, which generate massive profits for the major corporations, were necessary if were going to transition our economy to renewable energies. While the potential fines under the Marine Safety Act are prohibitive and potentially disastrous for ordinary people, the government also has extraordinary powers that could be used to impose even more severe attacks. Last year, Labor came together with the then-state Liberal-National Coalition government to introduce an anti-protest amendment to the NSW Crimes Act. Section 214A makes it an offence to cause damage or disruption to [a] major facility, punishable by a maximum sentence of two years imprisonment and/or a $22,000 fine. That law, while directed against environmental activists in the first instance, potentially criminalises a wide range of protests and other political activities. Disruption is vaguely defined, meaning it could be applied to many actions that threaten corporate operations and profits. The Minns government recently deployed that law against at least 23 people who were arrested at a protest last Tuesday evening at Port Botany in Sydney. The demonstrators, who included hundreds of ordinary people, blocked a road to the port in protest over the presence of a Zim ship. The Israeli Zim line last month pledged its entire fleet to aid the Zionist regimes genocidal onslaught against the people of Gaza. The arrests and the charges under the draconian anti-protest laws followed a brutal police assault on the gathered crowd. In the lead-up to that action, Minns made authoritarian comments condemning protests at ports and insisting that the population could not alter official policy, either geopolitical or commercial, by exercising the right to demonstrate. It seems likely that the stringent response to the Newcastle climate action was motivated in part by the official fears of a growing sentiment among working people to take action to challenge and block the regular presence of Zim ships in Australian ports. While the countrys political and media establishment fully backs the mass murder of the Palestinians, major rallies have been held each week involving tens of thousands of people against the slaughter. There is a widespread sentiment that more direct action must be taken to block potential military supplies to Israel and stop the genocide. Despite this mood, the Maritime Union of Australia has rejected all calls for industrial action by workers targeting Zim. Instead, it is enforcing industrial peace of the docks, in keeping with its close ties to the increasingly repressive, pro-business Labor Party. Over 50,000 people participated in Saturdays National March on Ottawa, making it the largest protest in Canada to date against the imperialist-backed Israeli genocide against the Palestinians of Gaza. The protesters in Canadas capital joined millions around the world who have expressed their outrage at the Israeli militarys indiscriminate slaughter of men, women and children over the past six weeks. A section of the massive crowd that descended on Ottawa to demand an immediate end to the Israeli slaughter of the Palestinians of Gaza. [Photo: Joe Morin/X (Twitter)] The protest was a massive repudiation of the foul campaign by the political establishment and corporate media to intimidate and witch-hunt those opposing the genocidal assault on the Palestinians of Gaza. From Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on down, all political parties in Parliament have smeared opposition to Israels brutal onslaught as antisemitic and constituting support for Hamas terrorism. The New Democratic Party (NDP)which props up the pro-war, pro-austerity minority federal Liberal governmentwent so far as to expel one of its elected legislators, Sarah Jama, from its caucus in the Ontario parliament. Jamas crime was that she dared to describe Israel as an apartheid state, which many international organizations have done, and declared her support for the Palestinians. Estimates of the numbers involved in Saturdays demonstration outside the Canadian Parliament ranged from 50,000 to 100,000. Protests were held elsewhere across Canada last weekend, including in Vancouver on Saturday, where several thousand joined a march from the Art Gallery, and by some 500 in Edmonton Sunday. Speaking to CBC, one participant in Ottawa, clearly referring to the operational pause currently in place that amounts to an opportunity for the Israeli military to reload in preparation for the next stage in its genocidal campaign, commented, We wont stop [protesting], and we demand a ceasefire. And we wont stop until we get that, and until our people are safe and able to live in their home and their land like they should be. Just like everybody else has the right to have. In another sign of just how widespread the opposition to the genocide is among working people, a parliamentary e-petition demanding that the Trudeau government call for a permanent ceasefire achieved the largest number of signatures of any e-petition since the practice began in 2015. When the e-petition closed last Thursday, it had been signed by 286,719 people. The Liberal government has 45 days to respond to the petition, but Trudeau has time and again made clear his hostility to a ceasefire. The ruling class has responded to the popular opposition to Israels genocidal onslaught with undisguised outrage. In Ontario, the hard-right Progressive Conservative government has witch-hunted students and faculty members at universities who have spoken out against the Israeli regimes bombardment of Gaza. Post-Secondary Education Minister Jill Dunlop read the names of offenders into the public record from the floor of the provincial legislature. Dozens of workers and professionals have either been fired or hounded from their jobs due to critical comments made on social media or at protests. Significant as was the turnout at Saturdays protest, it must be recognized that the political perspective advanced by its organizers, including the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) and Jews Say No to Genocide, was utterly bankrupt. It consists of appeals to Trudeau and the Canadian imperialist establishment as a whole to see the error of their ways and come to the defence of the Palestinian people. As the PYM put it in its announcement of the demonstration, together, a peoples chorus becomes impossible for the Canadian government to ignore. This peoples chorus would call for an end to Canadian complicity in the ongoing genocide in Gaza and colonization of Palestine and a stop to all Canadian arms sales to Israel. Who do the protest organizers think they are kidding? Their appeals are made to a Liberal government that both before and since the eruption of the latest Gaza war has defended Israel from all criticism for its violations of international law and war crimes. Indeed, it has stood with the Netanyahu regime in perpetrating genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza no less staunchly than the Biden administration in the US. In United Nations General Assembly votes, under the Conservative Harper and now the Liberal Trudeau, Canada has joined with the US time and again as the only major countries to refuse to condemn illegal Israeli policies in Gaza and the West Bank, including systematic violence by far-right settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank. Ottawa maintains extensive relations with the Israeli military, having supplied it with equipment worth over $21 million in 2022 alone. Canada, whether led by avowedly right-wing Conservative or purportedly progressive Liberal governments, has, it need be added, participated in virtually every US-led war of aggression over the past three decadesfrom the 1991 Iraq war and the 1999 NATO bombardment of Yugoslavia, to Afghanistan for a decade beginning in 2001, Libya in 2011, and Syria-Iraq from 2014. Canadian imperialism is presently playing a major role in the US-NATO war on Russia in Ukraine, where it works closely with fascistic forces that laud Stepan Bandera, who led the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists as it collaborated with the Nazis during World War II. Ottawas full-throated support for the far-right Netanyahu regime is not the product of a misjudgement that can be corrected if enough pressure is applied from below. Rather, it is inseparable from US imperialisms drive to consolidate its hegemony across the Middle East as part of a redivision of the world between the imperialist powers. Canada has depended for over eight decades on US imperialisms dominant world position to pursue its own global imperialist interests, a policy that the ruling elite is doubling down on in the early stages of a rapidly emerging third world war. The urgent task facing the tens of thousands who participated in Saturdays protest and the hundreds of thousands more who have joined protests across Canada since early October is to turn to the working class, the only social force capable of stopping the genocide in Gaza. Instead of directing worthless appeals to Trudeau and his trade union and NDP allies, protesters should urge workers to stop supplying military equipment and all materials that could serve any conceivable military purpose to Israel. Workers in industries that manufacture or prepare goods destined for the Israeli war machine should be urged to halt production immediately. More broadly, workers from all economic sectors should be called upon to mobilize in a political general strike to oppose the imperialist powers backing for Israels genocide. This struggle must be waged on an international basis. Conditions for this are extremely propitious, as has been shown by the global weekly protests in defence of the Palestinians and the increasingly militant struggles of working people around the world against punishing price rises, rampant social inequality and the ever-widening attacks of the capitalist elite on social and democratic rights. To conduct this fight, workers and young people must build a global anti-war movement led by the working class. We urge everyone ready to take up this struggle to contact us today. Last Thursday, on the growing concern over rising rates of undiagnosed pneumonia and hospitalization among children in northern China over the last month, the World Health Organization (WHO) held a teleconference with the countrys National Health Commission (NHC) requesting more information on the pathogens leading to this sudden spike in clinical cases. Given the ongoing COVID pandemic and abandonment of the Zero-COVID policy that had checked infections from nearly all respiratory pathogens, the initial response in the media was a sense of panic that another novel infection may be underway again. Beijing, however, quickly assured the international health agency and the world that the source for these illnesses were previously known germs like rhinovirus, mycoplasma pneumoniae, and respiratory syncytial virus that were circulating in their communities. In their discussions, Chinese health authorities told the WHO that they had been seeing a rise in pediatric cases of mycoplasma pneumonias since May. Mycoplasma pnemonia is a bacterial infection transmitted via aerosol that usually causes upper respiratory tract infections, mostly among school-aged children in winter. Incubation periods vary from one to four weeks and symptoms develop slowly over several days. However, since October, other seasonal viral respiratory infections were beginning to contribute to the overall influenza-like illnesses Chinese children were experiencing. Although the levels of COVID-19 infections in the community are not readily available, it is known that co-infections with SARS-CoV-2 can exacerbate the severity of other viral illnesses. This raises the question whether the infection of virtually the entire Chinese population after the ending of Zero-COVID has weakened childrens immune responses to other pathogens. This would apply, of course, not only to China, but all other countries in the world where the ruling class policy of allowing COVID-19 free rein has rendered the population more vulnerable. On Friday, Chinas State Council issued a notice stating, The overall situation of COVID-19 is generally stable currently, but there is a risk of rebound in the winter. Also, influenza and mycoplasma pneumoniae infections have become worse since October 2023. Influenza infection may reach its peak during the winter and spring seasons nationwide, and mycoplasma pneumoniae infections will continue to be high in some areas for some time. Health administrators at a Beijing childrens hospital told state media CCTV that at least 7,000 patients were being admitted each day, overwhelming their capacity. At the largest pediatric hospital in Tianjin, about 70 miles southeast of the capital, more than 13,000 children had flooded outpatient clinics and emergency rooms. Also, health authorities in Liaoning province, located 400 miles northeast of Beijing, were facing a similar predicament. In a recent STAT News interview on Friday, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, now acting director of the WHOs department of epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention, told senior science writer Helen Branswell that the peak in respiratory illnesses in China is still not as high as experienced in 2018-19. A man carries a child, walking out from a crowded holding room of a children's hospital in Beijing, on October 30, 2023. A surge in respiratory illnesses across China that has drawn the attention of the World Health Organization is caused by the flu and other known pathogens and not by a novel virus, the country's health ministry said Sunday, November 26, 2023. [AP Photo/Andy Wong] She added, We asked if anything new was detected, any new variants, any new subtypes? And the answer was no. We asked if [they] have seen any unusual disease presentations for these pathogens. And they said no. And then they gave us an overview of the burden in the health care facilities, and their hospitals are not overwhelmed. Theres a lot of fever clinic visits, a lot of outpatient visits, but in terms of hospital beds, ICU, theyre not at capacity. China is not the only country experiencing a surge in mycoplasma pneumoniae infections. French health authorities have recently noted that emergency rooms are filling with large number of cases of atypical pneumonias among those under 15, levels not seen in more than a decade. High levels of mycoplasma were seen in late 2019 and early 2020 just prior to the COVID pandemic. An infectious disease expert at Pitie-Salpetriere, a hospital in Paris, Dr. Alexandre Bleibtreu, told the local media that there are now many more pulmonary bacterial infections with mycoplasma pneumoniae than usual. He added, [Symptoms include] fever, febrile state, sometimes without coughing, and when the infection reached the lung, after five days, then the patient starts coughing. This is quite a classical intracellular lung disease. Apparently, cases are being identified in Nancy, Versailles, and in the Indian Ocean island of Reunion, a French posession. Switzerland, England, and South Korea are reporting such cases as well. In South Korea, cases have doubled since last month according to the countrys Disease and Control Prevention agency. In their summary they noted that in the second week of November, 226 of 236 patients hospitalized for acute bacterial respiratory infection had mycoplasma pneumonia, of which 80 percent were under the age five. Although cases of mycoplasma across these countries had plummeted during the first year of the COVID pandemic when lockdowns and mitigations measures were put into effect, the natural course of mycoplasma shows cyclic epidemics that recur on average every three to seven years. With the lifting of all pandemic response measures, it should come with little surprise that respiratory infections have suddenly multiplied across the globe. As to mycoplasma pneumoniae, causes of these multi-year fluctuations could include decline in population immunity over time or changes in the various strains circulating. Extrapulmonary complications, although rare, can involve multiple organs that include the cardiovascular system, kidneys, gut and nervous system, such as encephalitis. The presence of these bacteria in these organs has been confirmed by PCR and culture testing. However, immune-mediated mechanisms, especially in neurological manifestations, are suspected, with the development of cross-reactive antibodies directed at the brain and nervous system. The emergence of macrolide-resistant mycoplasma pneumoniae (bacteria resistant to an important class of antibiotics known as macrolides, like zithromax) since 2000 has raised concerns over the broader issue of the threat posed by antimicrobial-drug resistant organisms to the health of the worlds population. For China, in particular, the rates of macrolide-resistant mycoplasma are exceptionally high. In Beijing they reached 97 percent in 2012. In a 2019 report on 55 students who contracted mycoplasma pneumonia, of whom 25 were hospitalized for complications, the authors said, The infections by macrolide-resistant mycoplasma pneumonias are not always mild and pneumonia was common, and mycoplasma pneumonias could cause serious complications which require long-term hospitalizations. Yet, other studies from Japan have not seen this borne out, meaning antibiotic resistance may not increase extrapulmonary manifestations. Nonetheless, the immediate global implication of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) remains of considerable concern and cannot be overlooked. In 2019, close to five million people died of drug-resistant infections, exceeding the combined number of deaths from tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV/AIDS. The WHO estimates that by 2050, drug-resistant infections can claim twice that figure and cost the global economy $100 trillion. At the current pace, humanity is essentially burning through all our defenses using antibioticsand this being just one facetand unless an international preventative/elimination strategy is developed toward addressing the current array of pathogens and those that are yet undiscovered, the global population faces far-reaching threats. The recent experience with reducing influenza, RSV and other respiratory pathogens to near zero during the years of anti-COVID mitigation means that the present policy of allowing these infectious agents free rein is in contradiction to basic public health principles. It also demonstrates that the fundamental issue is not scientific capability, but the political disinterest of a ruling class that prioritizes private profit over the safety and health of the population. And the role of the mainstream press, as exemplified by the Wall Street Journal, is to inure the public when they write in their post-Thanksgiving article on the forthcoming winter surge of infections, Get ready for more sickness. Washington has decided to make a large investment in the construction of the deep-water Colombo West International Terminal (CWIT) at Colombo Port in Sri Lanka. US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung and US International Development Finance Corporation CEO Scott Nathan (centre) tour Colombo West International Terminal site in the Port of Colombo. [Photo: US Embassy in Sri Lanka] The CWIT will be built by the Adani Group of India at an estimated cost of $US700 million. The US government-run International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) will provide $553 million or 79 percent of the cost, lending funds to the Adani Group, which will have a 51 percent share of the terminal under a 35-year agreement. John Keels Holdings, a local conglomerate, will have a 34 percent share and the state-owned Sri Lanka Ports Authority 15 percent. Washington established the DFC five years ago in response to Chinas Belt and Road Initiative, a major international infrastructure project. Beijing is spending tens of billions of dollars annually to construct ports, airports, rail lines and roads, primarily in underdeveloped nations to boost its global economic influence and to counter US strategic encirclement. The CWIT is located next to a $500 million Chinese-run container terminal in Colombo Port. When completed, CWIT will be 1.4 kilometres long and 20 metres deep, with an annual capacity of 3.2 million containers. Addressing the official signing investment agreement with its partners on November 9, DFC CEO Scott Nathan said, The DFC works to drive private-sector investments that advance development and economic growth while strengthening the strategic positions of our partners Its a high priority for the United States to be active in the Indo-Pacific region. Washingtons high priority activity in the Indo-Pacific is aimed against Beijing and in line with its preparation for military confrontation against China. Its principal strategic partner is New Delhi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis Hindu-chauvinist regime. The US and India want Sri Lankasituated astride key sea-lanes from the Middle East and East Africa to Southeast Asia and Australialocked into their geo-strategic plans. The Adani Group and its chairman Gautam Adani have close relations with Modi and have been critical to his governments success. The giant corporation has benefitted from New Delhis privatisation of public infrastructure, such as airports, coal mines, energy generation and transmission, and seaports. It has acquired Israels Haifa port and previously, the rights to construct Australias controversial Carmichael coal mine in Queensland. India has also boosted its economic interests in Sri Lanka in recent years. Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe visited New Delhi in July signing various Joint Vision agreements. These included the construction of a pipeline from southern India to Sri Lanka; a solar power project; Liquefied Natural Gas infrastructure; and a high-capacity power grid link. Trincomalee, in Sri Lankas east, will also be developed as an industrial hub with port and logistical facilities, along with port facilities to be constructed at Kankasanthurai in the north. The US and India supported Sri Lankas efforts to secure a $3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout loan. New Delhi also provided a $4 billion long-term loan during the islands unprecedented economic and political crisis, and the subsequent mass uprising in AprilJuly last year that brought down the Rajapakse government. Constantino Xavier, from the Centre for Social and Economic Progress, a New Delhi-based think tank, told the Financial Times on November 8 that the US investment reflects growing strategic trust between India and the United States to cooperate to offer alternatives to Chinas Belt and Road Initiative. It is part of a larger Indian regional connectivity strategy that ropes in the private sector and strategic partners like the US, Japan and European Union, he said. United States Agency for International Development (USAID) chief Samantha Power made a three-day official visit to Sri Lanka in early September, indicating the significance of Sri Lanka to Washingtons regional strategy. Powers visit followed trips by other senior US officials, including Under Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Donald Lu, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Jedidiah Royal. The US and India have been particularly aggressive in pressuring Sri Lanka to cut its ties with China. In August 2022, Washington and New Delhi vehemently opposed the Yuan Wang 5, a Chinese research ship, from docking at the China-controlled Hambantota Port, labelling the vessel a spy ship. The Sri Lankan government, after delaying for some days, allowed the ship to dock. India and the US raised similar concerns last month when another Chinese naval vessel, the Shi Yan 6, wanted to dock at Colombo. The ship was conducting joint research with Sri Lankas National Aquatic Research Agency. Colombo after a few days hesitation, allowed the ship to dock, informing Washington and New Delhi that the vessel was only doing research. Beijing has intervened to counter the aggressive actions of India and the US. On November 18, Chinese President Xi Jinping sent Shen Yiqin, a state councillor, on a three-day visit to Sri Lanka. She held discussions with President Wickremesinghe, Foreign Minister Ali Sabry and several other senior government officials. Since 2000, China has been involved in 300 projects in Sri Lanka, committing $20 billion over this period, in a bid for economic influence in the island. China State Councilor Shen Yiqin and Sri Lankan President Rani Wickremesinghe shaking hands in Colombo. [Photo: Sri Lankan Presidents Media Division] A press release issued by the Sri Lankan Presidential Media Division noted that Colombo had agreed to participate in the second phase of Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). State councilor Shen reiterated that the BRI was likely to provide a larger economic contribution to Sri Lanka, adding: China is also prioritizing the extension of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) to Sri Lanka. The CMEC is the newest of the six land corridors being developed through the BRI. Last Thursday, Wickremesinghe told the India-based First Post that Sri Lanka would join this initiative. He also discussed his readiness to conclude a Free Trade Agreement with China and further develop tourism between two countries. Shens Colombo visit followed her participation in the inauguration of the newly-elected Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu. The pro-China Muizzu came to power in September after ousting Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who was close to the US and India. At the inauguration ceremony, Muizzu reiterated his call for Indian troops stationed on the archipelago to leave. Although India has not yet responded to Muizzus demand, it is another indication of the intensifying geopolitical power struggle in the region. Wickremesinghe insists that Sri Lanka wants to keep away from these conflicts. He admitted, however, in his First Post interview that the Indian Ocean region and Sri Lanka, may become battleground in the geopolitical power struggle between India and China. Sri Lanka, he added, will not do anything to hurt Indias security. While Wickremesinghe, a veteran pro-US stooge, is desperately trying to maintain this political balancing act to secure assistance for the crisis-ridden economy, Sri Lanka is caught up in a geopolitical maelstrom. The US and NATO powers continue their brutal war against Russia in Ukraine. In the Middle East, they fully support the Israeli Zionist regimes genocide against Gaza and are preparing for a wider military conflict with Iran, with war against China the ultimate aim. These imperialist-led wars directly pose the eruption of a Third World War between nuclear-armed nations and a catastrophe for mankind. It is imperative for workers and youth in Sri Lanka to unite with their class brothers and sisters in South Asia and internationally to build an anti-war movement based on socialist policies. The Ashtar Theater, a non-profit Palestinian ensemble, based in Ramallah on the occupied West Bank, has issued a call for international readings and performances around the world of the play, The Gaza Monologues, on November 29. The Gaza Monologues was written and first performed in 2010 by Gazan youth who participated in an Ashtar Theater program. The play is made up of 33 monologues by Gazan young people, describing their lives before, during and after the murderous attack of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Gaza in 2008-09. Its first performance took place on the Gaza Strip in 2010. Ashtar Theater (YouTube) The Gaza Monologues presents the hopes and trauma generated byand also a critical analysis ofthe mass destruction known by the Israeli state as Operation Cast Lead, which involved 22 days of bombardment by air, land, and sea. The violence left more than 1,300 Palestinians dead, including 220 people killed on December 27, 2008, and wounded over 5,000. In its appeal issued last week, the Ashtar Theater stated that the group, due to the horrific war taking place in Gaza, is launching an urgent request to all its friends and theater makers around the world to publicly read or perform The Gaza Monologues on November 29th, 2023, the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian Peoplea significant day for those who value justice, equality, and freedom for the Palestinian people. The theater noted, Tragically, these Monologues are still accurate today. They are highlighting the horrors, hopes and resilience of the courageous Gazans to a wider audience, bringing out the voices of children and people in Gaza. This is a call to the youth of the world. Since 2010, The Gaza Monologues has been performed by thousands of high-school and college students internationally. Dozens of performances can be found on YouTube and any reading of the play shows the deep connection of Palestinian youth to young people around the world. The piece demonstrates empathy for the suffering of the Palestinian people, as well as horror at the violence that has been visited on them. There can be little doubt that those who participated in or saw a performance have been changed forever. This is the type of information and art that the authorities in many of the imperialist countries, especially Germany and the United States, are attempting to suppress. A production of The Gaza Monologues would be all but unthinkable in the largest school district in the United States, New York City, for example. New Yorks Chancellor of Schools has specifically banned discussion of events in Israel-Palestine in schools and has attempted to muzzle educators even outside their jobs. When students protest, as they did last week in the borough of Queens against a Zionist teacher, they are slandered as antisemitic, by right-wing mayor Eric Adams, who is now busily cutting over a half billion dollars of the education budget. Sections of the play can be cited here (as translated by Fida Jiryis from Arabic) to give a glimpse of how the piece communicates the thoughts and feelings of Palestinian youth. One youth, Anas Abu Eitah, 14 years old in 2009, goes to the mosque during the war, and sees the closest friend in my life Mohammed wrapped in the flag of Palestine and torn into pieces. He adds, as I was leaving the cemetery there was heavy bombing, I felt that the angel of death was following me and not leaving me alone, but thank God Im still alive. A girl, Rawand Ja'rour, speaks. She was 12 at the time of the war. After the bombing, she says, I started having terrifying dreams. All night I have a conflict within myself, between desire to sleep and fear of nightmares Sleep became a monster hiding behind my eyelids. Rawand wants to be an actress and her wish is that she could live in a civil, democratic society with peace, and twenty cinemas, and keep watching movies and flying in my imagination and dreaming. The social catastrophe of the Israeli attack of 2008 is highlighted by one youth, Amjad Abu Yasin, who is 16. He says, The war came and went and were still living it. The victims are always the poor people who have nothing to do with anything. Even when theres an earthquake or a flood in any country, the victims are the poor people, as though theres a universal conspiracy against them. For positions and interest, the leaders and powerful people commit slaughters and crimes without batting an eyelid or feeling any guiltpoor people get poorer and sick ones sicker. And there are 30 more voices that speak out. Translation into several languages can be found on the Ashtar Theaters Gaza Monologues website. The theater was founded in Jerusalem in 1991 by Edward Muallem and Iman Aoun, who remains its artistic director. Its mission is to promote creativity and commitment for change through a novel combination of specific training and acting programs and services and professional theatre performances. As Aoun noted in a 2016 comment about the development of The Gaza Monologues, It is hard work and a difficult duty, especially when daily life is a continuous struggle under occupation. Our daily commute from Jerusalem to Ramallah is tripled in time every day with the presence of checkpoints and the separation wall. Our youth are not able to travel to Jerusalem, and many of them have never even seen the city because they can't get permission to do so from the occupation. We have not been allowed to travel to Gaza since 2005, and our students in Gaza cannot leave the Gaza Strip to come to the West Bank, so we can only see them over Skype. We're able to work with them that way on daily basis thanks to technology. She went on: The Israeli occupation makes it almost impossible for us to reach our audiences in Galilee as we used to prior to the Oslo Agreement. Travelling abroad is another challenge that we face every time we are invited anywhere, because we have no access to an airport and we need to travel via Jordan, which is not just time-consuming but expensive. The theater has not only survived the Zionist occupation, but also attacks by right-wing Palestinian vigilantes who attacked a public puppet parade sponsored by the theater in 2022, for homophobic and color-phobic motives. The Gaza Monologues should be seen and performed wherever possible on November 29. In the face of the openly genocidal aims of the Zionist state now creating mass death and destruction scores of times more intense than in 2008-09, it is necessary to understand how the youth of Palestine are reacting toand fiercely opposingthe attack. Over the weekend, mass protests were again held across Australia in opposition to Israels genocide of the Palestinians. Though the nationwide rallies involved more than 50,000 people, they received hardly any coverage in the official press. A section of the Sydney rally on November 26, 2023 Below the WSWS is featuring further interviews with participants, following our coverage Monday. **** In Sydney, where some 10,000 took to the streets on Sunday, Mohammed, originally from Gaza, said, Ive lost nearly 45 members of my family there. Most of their houses are destroyed, and whoever is left are homeless. So its very close to my heart. Theres no internet, no freaking thing, so you just keep texting your family, hoping they are OK. Its basically a concentration camp. Im the lucky one who kind of escaped that prison and came here. Mohammed recalled a story from a friend in Nablus, whose nine-year-old cousin was taken into prison: The kid was playing with his bicycle in the front yard of his house. Then the military forces declared, theres a curfew, no one is allowed to move. An Israeli jeep came, took the kids bicycle and threw it in the jeep. Out of frustration the kid threw a rock at the jeep. He was sentenced to five years for throwing the rock, five years for resisting arrest and five years for threatening a soldiers life. The pause wont help anything. 40 percent of the houses in Gaza are destroyed. Theres 300,000 people still in the north of Gaza, with no access to food, water or anything. The only hospital that was working was bombed and destroyed by the Israeli forces. Israeli officials said, were going to destroy it and level it to the ground. One of the congressmen in the United States said, were going to make it a parking lot. If thats not genocide, I dont know what it is. Of imperialist governments worldwide, including Labor in Australia, which have lined up behind Israels genocide, he said, its absolutely disgusting. Theyre all hypocrites. How can you preach about international law or human rights if you cant apply it with the most obvious documented genocide in recent history? Asked what he thought of campaigns to petition the Albanese government, he said, I dont think hell even look at it. Everyone knows whats happening, but they choose not to stop the massacres, the continuous slaughter of these kids. I think the whole capitalist system has shown its true face through this. What they care about is money, rather than caring about human lives. Annie said: Im here to protest the genocide in Gaza. It is murder before our eyes. We have to stop them. Already 6,000 children have lost their lives. This cant go on. Its been fifty days. We have lost our humanity. This truce is the calm before the hurricane. What weve seen before is just a prelude to when they get going before. A truce or a pause is a joke. You cant pause murdering children, and women and the elderly. I want to ask the Australian government, Youve seen these Israeli ministers and officials go on television, and say in words that theyre going to commit a genocide, why shouldnt they be taken to court, to The Hague? Why are you treating it like it is no big deal. Instead, the government and the media are all excited about a slogan, From the river to the sea, which was actually started by Israel and which theyre trying to carry out now by expelling the Palestinians from Gaza. But Im not surprised that the Australian government is supporting this crime, because look what they did in Iraq and Afghanistan. Dell, an administrative worker, stated: I am here to support the Palestinians. I have been following it for a couple of years and it is an apartheid. What Hamas did is inexcusable, but for Israel to say theyre defending themselves is nonsense. The death toll is horrific. People are getting more and more desperate. The Palestinians cant live and accept the situation. Im tired of organisations like the United Nations just sitting back and letting it all go on. It is not good enough. Im not surprised Labor is the same as the Liberals. I havent voted for Labor for decades because theyve abandoned their true values. You cant just keep supporting the rich and the right-wing people who currently control the world. Business as usual cant go on. Ordinary people need their rights back and that includes the Palestinians. People must start waking up. You can't buy a house; you can't put a roof over your head. I was houseless for four years until I got community housing. But I couldn't get my life on track until that happened. People are reaching breaking point everywhere you look, and ordinary people are more and more marginalised. Everything is going to the rich. The rich have just taken everything, they dont pay any taxes, they give themselves ridiculous bonuses, everything that unionists of the past worked so hard to achieve has been just taken away from us. Dell said, the trade unions aren't doing anything, to oppose the Gaza genocide or to improve the social conditions workers. They need to go back to their roots. Its about time they started doing that or they can just fold up and shut their doors because whats the point of them? She was aware of the recent dispute involving US auto workers, and was interested in the struggle that has been taken up there to form rank-and-file committees independent of the corporatised union bureaucracy. UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- A UN spokesman said a delegation of senior UN humanitarian agency executives arrived in Ouagadougou on Monday to endorse efforts at combatting the Burkina Faso crisis. The goal is for the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) to draw attention to the crisis and support initiatives promoting durable solutions for crisis-affected communities, said Stephane Dujarric, chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The IASC is the longest-standing and highest-level humanitarian coordination platform of the UN System and makes strategic decisions that shape the humanitarian policy. Dujarric said the delegation is headed by Joyce Msuya, deputy emergency relief coordinator of the Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs; Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the World Food Programme; and Mirela Shuteriqi, director for policy of the International Council of Voluntary Agencies. He said it is to meet during a three-day visit with senior government officials, community representatives, humanitarian and development partners, and the diplomatic community. One of the poorest countries in the world, Burkina Faso is flanked by Mali and Niger in the strife-torn Sahel. Jihadists have been swooping into villages, disrupting daily life and imposing their laws, causing residents to flee by the thousands. The ministerial gathering was hosted by the UAE Government, also the host of MC13, with the support of the Director-General and the WTO Secretariat. In an invitation letter to ministers, Minister Al Zeyoudi and DG Okonjo-Iweala said that the Senior Officials Meeting held at the WTO on 23-24 October clearly recognized that the ongoing agriculture negotiations have failed to achieve the progress members have called for. We are at a crossroads, Minister Al Zeyoudi, the Chair of the meeting, said at the beginning of the meeting, emphasizing the urgent need for agricultural reform. The sector faces numerous challenges, including growing food insecurity due to adverse weather events, the COVID-19 pandemic and conflicts, he said. He continued: The food security package achieved at MC12 constituted a significant emergency response, but far more remains to be done to structurally address the expected devastating impacts of climate change and how to feed sustainably and equitably a growing world population which is estimated to reach 10 billion by 2050. The sector also has to adapt as it is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. Minister Al Zeyoudi emphasized that clear political guidance from ministers would assist negotiators in Geneva in overcoming stumbling blocks in the negotiations and bridging fundamental gaps in their positions. DG Okonjo-Iweala echoed Minister Al Zeyoudi's comments on the urgency of advancing the negotiations. She said: I'm hopeful that the exercise of flexibility, where appropriate, will enable us to reach outcomes [at MC13] that would eventually constitute a meaningful step towards strengthening the multilateral trading system. More importantly, these steps would allow agriculture to address the contemporary challenges that we face today. In reference to the Uruguay Round, which established the existing Agreement on Agriculture almost 30 years ago, she said: Members have done it before [to reach a comprehensive agreement on agriculture]. I believe they can do it again with a constructive mindset, bearing in mind the importance of the agricultural sector to all members. Reaching a reasonable outcome on agriculture at MC13 would not only be good for the agriculture sector, but for the entire multilateral trading system, she continued. The General Council Chair, Ambassador Athaliah Lesiba Molokomme, thanked Minister Al Zeyoudi for organizing the meeting. She emphasized that higher-level political guidance is imperative to inject decisive momentum into [agriculture] negotiations and untangle the thorniest issues, particularly public stockholding for food security purposes and domestic support, given the high level of political sensitivity around them. At the meeting, about two dozen ministers participated in the discussions, focusing on two key questions: how to reconcile different views on the approach to the negotiations and how to achieve a meaningful outcome on agriculture at MC13. The Chair of the agriculture negotiations, Ambassador Alparslan Acarsoy of Turkiye, welcomed the discussions among ministers. The positions expressed and the political guidance provided will undoubtedly assist negotiators in their efforts to narrow the gaps in negotiating positions and address the thorniest issues, he said. Summarizing the discussion, Minister Al Zeyoudi thanked participants for a rich exchange of views and for providing negotiators with the full support of ministers as they work towards achieving positive outcomes at MC13 and beyond. He said he would circulate to members a summary of the main points made at the meeting in due course. JERUSALEM/GAZA, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Three explosive devices were activated near Israeli troops in two different places of the northern Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Tuesday. In one of the cases, militants also opened fire at the Israeli soldiers, who responded with gunfire, the IDF said, adding that "a number of" Israeli soldiers were lightly injured in the incidents. According to the statement, the Israeli troops were stationed in positions as per the framework of the humanitarian truce between Israel and Hamas. Meanwhile, Abu Obeida, the spokesman for the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, accused Israel of "a clear violation" of the truce agreement in the northern Gaza Strip. "We are committed to the truce that Israel has committed to and we call on the mediators to put pressure on Israel to comply with all the terms of the truce on the ground and in the air," Obeida said in a statement. Qatari Foreign Ministry announced on Monday night that the four-day truce between Israel and Hamas, set to expire on Tuesday morning, will be extended for an additional two days. Some $40 billion of retail investor capital can be mobilised towards climate investments in the UAE by 2030, says Standard Chartereds latest Sustainable Banking Report. The research based on investor interest from a survey of 1,800 respondents in 10 growth markets across Asia, Africa and the Middle East identifies a global potential of $3.4 trillion for climate investing, highlighting the power of individuals to combat climate change. Within climate investing in the UAE, $23 billion could flow into mitigation themes energy storage, energy efficiency and renewables are set to attract the most capital. $17 billion could be mobilised towards adaptation including resilient infrastructure, food systems and the blue economy. 93pc interested in climate investing The survey shows 93% of investors in the UAE are interested in climate investing, and 87% of them want to increase capital flows towards climate. They are mainly motivated by making a positive impact and personal values when making such investments. However, multiple barriers, which vary by investor segments, are holding them back from translating their interest into investment. The industry needs to help investors overcome the barriers to unlock the potential of retail capital. Financial institutions, regulators, companies and individuals must make a concerted effort to establish a wider range of climate assets to drive greater retail participation. Asset managers and banks must also work to innovate new climate assets to match emerging investor interests, such as biodiversity and the blue economy. Financial institutions have a critical role to play in mobilising retail capital via three pillars empowering investors with information, product customisation and outcome-based information. Digital and fintech solutions will play an enabling role and simplify processes for investors. Reporting standards The industry across the world also needs to align reporting standards and mandate minimum disclosure requirements to boost investor confidence. Rola Abu Manneh, Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered, UAE, said: As the host of the Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP28) and the first country in the Middle East to pledge to achieve Net Zero by 2050, the UAE can lead the region in combating climate change, especially since it is characterised by a favourable regulatory environment that helps in the growth of businesses and economic sectors. This constitutes an attractive point for global financial institutions that aim to develop financial products and solutions dedicated to confronting climate change. Recognising this opportunity, Standard Chartered collaborates closely with institutional and individual clients across the country to strategically align their businesses and investments to their areas of interest, especially those related to sustainability, therefore empowering our clients to actively contribute to the nations Net Zero goals.--TradeArabia News Service ISLAMABAD, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a 180 million U.S. dollars loan to improve water supply and solid waste management services in two rapidly growing cities in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province, the ADB said on Tuesday. Expected to benefit 1.5 million people, the Developing Resilient Environments and Advancing Municipal Services in Punjab Project will curtail excessive groundwater extraction and urban environment degradation by expanding and modernizing urban water supply in Rawalpindi and solid waste management systems in Bahawalpur, the ADB said in a statement. In Rawalpindi, the project will help build new surface water intakes and a water treatment plant with a capacity of 54 million liters daily, laying transmission and distribution pipes with metered connections for 82,000 households, said the statement. Meanwhile, solid waste collection in Bahawalpur will be improved through the procurement of waste collection equipment and a new fleet to expand service coverage, to be supported by the new fleet management information system, said the statement. Video: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasized on Nov. 27, 2023 that world leaders attending the COP28 climate conference this week need to interrupt the perilous progression of global warming before a "critical tipping point" is encountered. (Xinhua) "The solutions are well known. Leaders must act to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, protect people from climate chaos, and end the fossil fuel age," says UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasized on Monday that world leaders attending the COP28 climate conference this week need to interrupt the perilous progression of global warming before a "critical tipping point" is encountered. The UN chief was briefing reporters at the UN headquarters in New York after seeing for himself over the weekend the "profoundly shocking" speed at which ice is melting in Antarctica -- three times faster than the rate in the early 1990s. COP28, which refers to the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, is scheduled to be held in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12. Recent data shows that the current extent of sea ice at the South Pole is 1.5 million square kilometers less than the average for this season, an area equivalent to the total combined landmass of Portugal, Spain, France, and Germany. "What happens in Antarctica doesn't stay in Antarctica," Guterres said. "We live in an interconnected world. Melting sea ice means rising seas. And that directly endangers lives and livelihoods in coastal communities across the globe." He pointed out that the consequences extend beyond the impact of floods and saltwater intrusion on food and water resources, affecting the sustainability of small islands and numerous coastal cities around the globe. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks to the press outside the Security Council Chamber at the UN headquarters in New York, on Nov. 27, 2023. (Xinhua/Xie E) "The movement of waters around Antarctica distributes heat, nutrients and carbon around the world, helping to regulate our climate and regional weather patterns," he told correspondents outside the UN Security Council. "But that system is slowing as the southern Ocean grows warmer and less dense. Further slowdown -- or entire breakdown -- would spell catastrophe." With no let-up in fossil fuel extraction "we're heading towards a calamitous three-degree Celsius temperature rise by the end of the century," he warned. "If we continue as we are, and I strongly hope we will not, the Greenland and West Antarctica ice sheets will cross a deadly tipping point," he said. The vicious cycle means accelerated heating as ice diminishes and more extreme weather, said the secretary-general. At COP28, "leaders must break this cycle," the UN chief declared. "The solutions are well known. Leaders must act to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, protect people from climate chaos, and end the fossil fuel age." Only a global pact to triple renewable energy use, a doubling in energy efficiency and access to clean power for all by 2030, will be sufficient, he said. Authorities said the home in Salem, South Carolina was over 100 years old Oconee County Georgia Sheriff's Office Facebook Oconee County Georgia Sheriff's Office An 83-year-old woman has died after falling down a well shaft in a South Carolina home. Oconee County Coroner Karl Addis said in a statement, per the Associated Press, that it took rescuers nearly four hours to lift the womans body out of the 48-foot deep hole after she fell through rotting floorboards that were covering it. The incident happened on Sunday in a house in the town of Salem. Addis said the woman was helping her daughter move out of the home, which was built in 1920 according to property records. Getty Oconee County Coroner's Office Have Issued a Statement According to a police report, per AP, part of the floor collapsed when the woman walked across the kitchen. Her daughter then crawled under the house to try and find her mother, but she couldnt locate her. Local media outlet Live 5 News have named the woman as Dorothy Louise Downey. The coroner ruled that Downey died from blunt force trauma during the incident, which happened on Park Avenue, just north of downtown Salem. 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. According to the Oconee County Sheriffs Office, the family knew the floor was rotten but they were unaware of the existence of the well shaft, as reported by FOX Carolina. Downey was found by firefighters, per AP, who were able to lift her body out of the hole. The coroner determined she died from injuries suffered from the fall and declared her death an accident. An investigation into the incident is continuing. PEOPLE has reached out to the Oconee County Coroner, Oconee County Sheriffs Office and Oconee County Emergency Services for comment. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. Paralympic gold medalist Oscar Pistorius is set to be released from prison on parole early next year, just under 11 years after killing his girlfriend. The South African pro sprinter was granted parole Friday after serving time for fatally shooting girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp through the bathroom door of his Pretoria home on Valentines Day of 2013. When will Oscar Pistorius get out of prison on parole? The parole placement will go into effect on January 5, 2024, the Republic of South Africa's Department of Correctional Services said in a statement Friday. The department added that Pistorius parole placement forms part of the total rehabilitation" program in correcting offending behavior, and may include the continuation of programs aimed at reintegration while he's "in the system of community corrections. RELATED: Oscar Pistorius Denied Parole, Hasn't Served 'Minimum Detention Period' In Girlfriend's Murder Pistorius will be subjected to monitoring throughout the remainder of his sentence. Reeva Steenkamp Oscar Pistorius G A picture taken on January 26, 2013 shows Olympian sprinter Oscar Pistorius posing next to his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Photo: Getty Images Parole does not mean the end of the sentence. It is still part of the sentence. It only means the inmate will complete the sentence outside a correctional facility, Department of Correctional Services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo told the Associated Press outside of court Friday. What will happen is that Mr. Pistorius will be allocated a monitoring official. This official will work with him until his sentence expires. Pistorius will have to complete community service, and attend anger management programs that address both anger issues and violence against women during his parole period, which is set to expire on December 5, 2029, the AP reports. He also won't be permitted to leave Pretoria unless he gets permission from authorities. RELATED: Oscar Pistorius Is Eligible For Parole But He Must First Meet With The Parents Of The Girlfriend He Murdered The athlete, who had both of his legs amputated below the knee as a baby, was initially convicted of culpable homicide comparable to manslaughter in 2014 for the shooting death of model Steenkamp and was sentenced to five years. His conviction was overturned and his was found guilty of murder the following year. He was sentenced to 13 years and four months in prison, Oxygen.com previously reported. Pistorius had claimed he killed Steenkamp by accident and mistook her for an intruder. He fired four shots into the toilet door of his bathroom on February 14, 2023, killing the model. Prosecutors argued that the athlete intentionally shot his girlfriend after a fight between the couple on the evening before Steenkamp died, the Associated Press reported in 2014. Oscar Pistorius denied parole by mistake Pistorius was denied parole in March of this year when the parole board ruled that he had not completed the minimum detention requirement to be eligible for release. He was told he could again apply for parole in August of 2024. However, South Africas Constitutional Court determined in October that he was wrongly ruled ineligible as the appeals court made an error on when his sentence officially began, The Guardian reported. What has Reeva Steenkamps family said about Oscar Pistorius parole? June Steenkamp, the South African models mother, did not attend Fridays hearing but provided a letter to the parole board expressing her concern about whether Pistorius had properly dealt with his anger issues in prison. She also made it clear that she was not against his release, according to the BBC. I simply cannot muster the energy to face him again at this stage, June said of her absence from the hearing. The BBC reported that Steenkamp's mother believes Pistorius has yet to show remorse for the killing, though she said she decided to forgive him "long ago, as I knew most certainly that I would not be able to survive if I had to cling to my anger. Pistorius rose to fame as a professional sprinter in South Africa, using prosthetic blades after a condition at birth led to his legs being amputated before he turned one. The prosthetics sparked the athlete's nickname of Blade Runner, according to The Guardian. RELATED: Oscar Pistorius Reportedly Wants Forgiveness From Victim's Family More Than He Wants To Make Parole He won several gold medals at the Paralympics, and also became the first double-leg amputee to partake in the Olympics, competing in London in 2012, according to ESPN. His success was overshadowed when he shot and killed Steenkamp. Oscar Pistorius G 1 Oscar Pistorius of South Africa celebrates as he wins gold in the Men's 400m T44 Final on day 10 of the London 2012 Paralympic Games at Olympic Stadium on September 8, 2012 in London, England. Photo: Getty Images Who is Reeva Steenkamp? Steenkamp was a popular model and paralegal from South Africa. She was well known for her advocacy against rape and domestic violence. Steenkamp had been dating Pistorius for three months before he shot and killed her, according to the BBC. She was 29 at the time of her death. Matthew Hatcher/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images A group of Seattle middle school students is calling on anti-LGBTQ+ group Moms for Liberty to leave queer people alone. On Sunday, November 26, the organizations official X account shared photos of letters they said they had received from the students, accusing the citys public schools of spending class time indoctrinating and weaponizing your children. The right-wing organization, which was initially formed in 2021 to oppose COVID-19 precautions in Florida schools, has since expanded its mission to include electing conservative school board members, banning books, and restricting school discussions about race, gender identity, and sexual orientation. Never mind that a leader in a Philadelphia Moms chapter is a convicted sex offender. Letting students find out that queer people exist is the real problem here! If Moms for Liberty wasnt so busy trying to keep kids from reading, they would have taken the time to note that the note they received alongside the letters was signed by the coordinator of a Seattle middle schools GSA, not a classroom overtaken by the woke agenda. The students big, scary letters are covered in colorful hearts and rainbows. Many feature short, to-the-point messages like I say gay, love is love, and LGBTQ+ rights are human rights. Gay is slay. Stop being a rat, one letter reads. Dear moms for liberty, stop bullying and excluding LGBTQ youth and families. From a Seattle public school student. Love is love & ur wrong! another says. Grow up! Im more mature than you. Plenty of X users echoed the students words, pushing back against Moms of Libertys tweet. These Are the Far Right-Groups Leading the Book Ban Explosion During the 2022-2023 school year, book bans increased by 33%. [These letters are] from the GSA students and rightfully so, one person replied. Moms for liberty is a hate group that targets LGBTQ youth. Im proud of these young people for standing up and being proud of who they are. Regardless of their efforts, Moms for Libertys mission hasnt proven to be popular with Americans at large. Although the organizations official X bio states that they have chapters in 48 states and over 130,000 members, the Associated Press reported that Moms for Liberty and fellow conservative groups like the 1776 Project lost roughly 70% of their local school board races earlier this month. Get the best of whats queer. Sign up for Thems weekly newsletter here. Originally Appeared on them. While working as a long haul truck driver, Keith Jesperson murdered eight women in the US between 1990 and 1995. Jesperson, popularly known as Happy Face Killer, targeted many of his victims who were sex workers and transients and had no connection to him. He terrorized regions stretching from Washington to Wyoming, Nebraska, and even as far as Florida. However, in 1995, his killing spree ended after the authorities initiated an investigation into the murder of Julie Willingham. While in custody, Jesperson revealed details about how he killed his victims. Even though he officially killed eight women, it is believed that Jesperson may have had as many as 160 victims. Authorities found the Happy Face Killer guilty of the brutal murders of three of his victims and sentenced him to three life sentences. Meanwhile, police convicted Keith Jesperson of another murder in 2010, resulting in another life sentence. Keith Jesperson terrorized an entire nation and got the punishment. However, the question is where is the serial killer now? Is Keith Jesperson still alive? Yes, Keith Jesperson is alive and is currently serving his sentence at the Oregon State Penitentiary. The serial killer began his killing spree in 1990, and his first known victim was Tanuja Bennett. The Happy Face Killer went on to kill other victims between 1990 and 1995. He earned the nickname Happy Face Killer after sending confessions to journalists and police departments around the country to gain notoriety. After the investigation began, the authorities questioned Jesperson in the murder of Julie Willingham in March 1995. However, they couldnt arrest him. On March 30, 1995, Happy Face Killers arrest followed his confession about Willingham in a letter to his brother. Keith Jesperson anticipated his capture, which prompted him to confess to killing eight people. Days before his trial, Jesperson pleaded guilty, and the court sentenced him to life in prison. Currently, he is serving his life sentence at the Oregon State Penitentiary. Keith Jespersons story has spawned a lot of TV projects. In 2014, Lifetime came out with a movie titled Happy Face Killer that saw David Arquette playing the titular character. Meanwhile, an episode of the Investigation Discovery true crime series Evil Lies Here featured Keith Jespersons daughter. The post Happy Face Killer: Where Is Keith Jesperson Now? appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. Six years ago, producer Ivana Mikovic was sitting with her production designer friend when the two discussed the lack of studio space in Serbias growing film and television sector. It was a year after the government had introduced its 25% 30% cash rebate and Mikovic, a former BBC news producer, saw a gap in the market for such a studio facility. At the time there were only a handful of stages in the surrounding Belgrade area including PFI Studios and Take 1 but they consistently ran at capacity. We were joking about it at first, says Mikovic, who runs Serbian production powerhouse Firefly Productions, the outfit behind hit Serbian series such as The Fall and Black Wedding, both of which were selected for Berlinale Series Market Selects in Berlin. But then I went to a bank with the idea, and this dream of building Firefly Studios quickly became a reality. More from Deadline In October, the long-awaited Firefly Studios opened its doors to the industry with much fanfare. The complex, which sits in the town of Pancevo, just 11 miles east of Belgrade (and a 25-minute drive from the capitals airport) comprises three state-of-the-art sound stages with more than a 50,000 square foot capacity, a water tank, 10 acres of backlot production offices, workshops, a restaurant and horse stables. Two soundstages sit at 21,500 square feet while a third sits at 8,600 square feet. We really feel the Balkan region needs something like this with the number of projects that are coming into the area and having this facility so close to our capital city will make it much easier to attract projects from studios and streamers and will really cement Serbia as a hub for production, she says. Indeed, Serbia boasts a wealth of solid production crews, a solid rebate system (its not uncommon for productions to get their money back as soon as they finish filming, she says) and competitive pricing compared to more familiar European filming destinations such as Hungary and the Czech Republic, are bound to make global producers sit up and take notice. Firefly Studios also provides production services supporting both international and local producers with a complete set of services for film, television and advertising. Its got access to some of the best suppliers in the region and facilitates production management, accounting, location scouting, acquiring permits and world class construction services. The country is well-known for its high calibre craftsmen ranging from construction, cabinetmakers, carpenters, scaffolders, locksmiths, blacksmiths, plasterers and stuccoers, masons, upholsters, graphic artists, painters, calligraphers and patina artists. At present, says Mikovic, the studio has been booked with productions just from word of mouth and has had requests from international productions looking to come in in March, June, and July 2024. Were currently pretty much booked until May of next year, she says. For Mikovic, shes particularly proud of the studios indoor water tank, something that she was keen to include due to what she considers to be a big lack of water tanks in the European market. Fireflys water tank is 1,614 square feet and runs 11 feet deep. Having a water tank puts the studio in the mix with more established European production facilities such as the UKs Pinewood Studios, Germanys Studio Babelsberg and Malta Film Studios, all of which have water tanks. This is a huge asset for us, says Mikovic. We are planning to build an outside water tank at some stage that is bigger than the current one because we have an option of expanding the studios at some point should we need to. But for now were focusing on bringing in the right projects, whether they be single projects or long-term rentals. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Maria Bartiromo spewed more political hokum on Monday, asking a GOP congress member if former President Barack Obama was actually in charge instead of President Joe Biden. (Watch the video below.) So, whos running the show here? the Fox Business host asked Rep. Richard McCormick (R-Ga.). I mean, you know, does he know whats going on, or is he being directed by President Obama? Bartiromo said her question with a straight face weeks after Donald Trump suggested Obama was secretly Bidens boss. Trump, the Republican front-runner for 2024, continued in a similar vein on Monday, implying Obama was still exerting very big influence in running our Country. The conspiracy theory that Obama is a puppet master of sorts to Biden has been making the rounds as conservatives attempt to reinforce claims that the president is too old to do the job himself. McCormick didnt fully bite on Bartiromos silly suggestion but used it as a prompt to discuss Bidens cognitive decline. He definitely doesnt know whats going on, McCormick said with a laugh. Whether hes being directed by Obama or some other staff members is really questionable, but if you look at his cognitive decline in the last 50 years, weve been able to literally in real-time watch this guy in public life. McCormick said that time has eroded Bidens ability to exude Bill Clinton-like slickness and has dulled his interpretive skills. Well, thank you, the host replied. Maria Bartiromo to Rep. Richard McCormick: "So who is running the show here? Does [Biden] know what's going on or is he being directed by President Obama?" pic.twitter.com/vAJ24bEzA2 Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 27, 2023 Last week, Bartiromo floated the logic-free notion that China unleashed COVID-19 on the United States specifically to oust then-President Donald Trump from the White House in favor of Biden. The idea completely ignored that the virus inflicted death, sickness and economic hardship throughout the world, including China. But Bartiromo has been known to amplify conspiracy theories and push misinformation. Related... A temporary cease-fire between Israel and Hamas has allowed more aid to flow into the Gaza Strip. Produced by Xinhua Global Service The mystery around Madeleine McCanns disappearance has captivated the world for over a dozen years now. Madeleine was only 3 when she went missing from her bedroom in the rental at the Praia da Luz in Portugal on May 3, 2007. The girl was holidaying with her parents, Kate and Gerry, who were dining with friends at a nearby restaurant. Earlier this year, the missing girls family marked her 20th birthday. In the years that followed, the case and subsequent investigation into the missing case garnered global media attention. Detectives have come up with a string of theories, suggesting what may have happened to the girl over the years. During the initial stages, they even suspected the involvement of Kate and Gerry McCann, per CNN. Nonetheless, Madeleine was never found. The most recent development in the case came in April 2022 when Portuguese police identified Christian Brueckner as a suspect. They never charged Brueckner in connection with the disappearance. A Netflix docuseries The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann covers the notorious case and is now available to stream on the service. Madeleine McCann update: When did the girl go missing & has she been found? According to Reuters, on May 3, 2007, Madeleine McCann stayed behind in her room at the Portugese holiday apartment Praia da Luz with her two younger siblings. Her parents Kate and Gerry McCann went to a nearby restaurant for dinner with friends as someone broke into the apartment while the children slept. Madeleine was nowhere to be found and local police concluded it was a kidnapping. In the following months, local police along with hundreds of volunteers joined the efforts to fin teh three-year-old but to no avail. The disappearance then sparked a media frenzy in Britain as well as portugal. Media outlets across the globe extensively covered the on-goings. Portugese police even questioned the parents, Kate and Gerry, as suspects were dropped the investigation due to lack of evidence. Per CNN, In July 2008, Portugese authorities ended the investigation into Madeleines disappearance. But, over the years, her family maintained the cases momentum and even published their own account titled Madeleine in 2011. There were multiple potential suspects, including a man who assaulted several British girls on vacation in Portugal around the same time. However, none of these leads proved consequential in solving the mystery. According to the outlet, in June 2020, British and German authorities began looking into a 43-year-old German man in connection with Madeleines disappearance. German media later identified him as Christian Brueckner, who once lived in Portugals Praia de Luz. Moreover, he was a convicted rapist and child sex abuser, serving prison time for a 72-year-old womans rape in Portugal. Last year in April, the probe into the new suspect ramped up as Portuguese prosecutors identified Brueckner as a suspect. They believe he likely killed the girl. German authorities prompted a new search on the Arade reservoir in Portugal based on a recent tip. However, the search failed to find aything conclusive and authorities eventually called off the same, per New York Times. Madeleine McCanns disappearance still remains unsolved. The post How Old Was Madeleine McCann When She Went Missing? appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. AWARD Zarrar Kahns In Flames, Pakistans submission to the Oscars international feature category, has won the International Newcomer Award for the best film in competition at the 72nd International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg, Germany. The award carries a cash prize of 30,000 ($32,850). In Flames, a Pakistani Canadian horror-drama about a Karachi woman and her mother who are beset by malevolent figures from their past after the family patriarch dies, premiered at the Cannes Directors Fortnight and has had considerable festival play since, including at Toronto, Busan, Sitges, Sao Paulo and Pingyao. More from Variety The awards jury members, Elisa Schlott, Denis Dercourt and Goran Stolevski, stated: Our award goes to a filmmaker who manages to shift and play with genre while maintaining a connection both to his audience as well as his protagonist throughout the film. The main character is a young woman who is allowed to be both brave and fragile, and she is brought to life through a wonderful debut performance that complements the mise-en-scene. The film will be playing in competition at the upcoming Red Sea Film Festival. Distributed by Game Theory Films, who picked up U.S. and Canada rights at AFM, the film due release in April 2024. DOUYU DECISION MAKERS DouYu International, the Chinese live-streaming firm whose chairman and CEO Chen Shaojie was recently arrested by police in Chengdu, has formed a new interim management committee. It includes Mr. Su Mingming, a director and chief strategy officer of the company, Mr. Cao Hao, a director and VP of the company, and Ms. Simin Ren, a newly appointed VP. The board is confident that the company will continue to maintain its normal operations under the leadership of the interim management committee. The management committee members years of experience at the company and in the industry will provide steady leadership while Mr. Chen focuses on his situation, the company said in a filing. BOXING CLEVER Seoul-based Something Special has struck a multi-territory option agreement with global producer and distributor Fremantle for its hit comedy reality gameshow Battle in the Box. Fremantle Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal have optioned the format. In the show, two celebrity teams enter an empty box divided by a movable wall armed only with a toothbrush. Teams earn space and luxuries by conquering physical and mental challenges. Victory expands their living area, but more room for one team means less for the other. With challenges occurring around the clock, the celebrities must be strategic to secure their space. We are delighted to be partnering with Something Special once again to bring this brilliant comedy and reality hybrid format to new markets. Battle in the Box is full of fun! It has a great mix of gameplay, jeopardy, and a lot of entertainmentaudiences love to see their favorite celebrities put through their paces, said Vasha Wallace, Fremantles executive VP of global acquisitions and development. It follows a previously announced co-development deal for music gameshow and play-a-long format The Beatbox, between Something Special, Blue Circle (a Fremantle company) and Naked (a Fremantle label), which aired on RTL4 in The Netherlands this year. APPOINTMENTS BBC News has promoted senior news editor, digital live, Kevin Ponniah, to head of digital news for North America. He will be responsible for all U.S. and Canada digital news reporting across BBC platforms, leading on developing BBC News offering on BBC.com and working closely with BBC Studios, the BBCs commercial arm, on growing audiences, impact and revenue. The role will be based in Washington D.C, working alongside teams in London and around the world. Pnniahs elevation follows the appointment of Laura Norkin as executive managing editor, global features, earlier this year. Based in New York, Norkin oversees BBC.coms multimedia features sections, covering areas including culture, travel, sustainability, business, science and innovation. TRAILER Zee Studios has released a trailer for Devashish Makhijas Joram, starring Manoj Bajpayee, who plays a father who is on the run with his baby girl to escape the ghosts of his past and the forces that want him dead. The Indian survival thriller began its festival journey at Rotterdam earlier this year and has played at the Sydney, Busan, Chicago, Jio MAMI Mumbai film festivals and at Durban, where it won two awards. The trailer was premiered at the ongoing International Film Festival of India, Goa, where Bajpayee delivered a masterclass. The film is produced by Shariq Patel, Ashima Avasthi Chaudhuri, Anupama Bose and Makhija. The cast also includes Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Smita Tambe and Tannishtha Chatterjee. Joram releases theatrically worldwide on Dec. 8. Watch the trailer here: Best of Variety Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. robert-de-niro-gotham-speech-trump - Credit: Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Tribeca Festiva During the tribute to Martin Scorseses Apple film Killers of the Flower Moon at this years Gotham Awards, Robert De Niro claimed that his original speech had been edited. I just want to say one thing, he said during Monday nights ceremony in New York City, according to Variety. The beginning of my speech was edited, cut out, and I didnt know about it. And I want to read it. More from Rolling Stone De Niro, who stars in the movie, had been tasked with introducing the Historical Icon and Creator Tribute award on behalf of Killers of the Flower Moon, which also stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone. The Oscar-winning actor then pulled out his phone and appeared to read the unedited version of his script. Lying has become just another tool in the charlatans arsenal. The former President lied to us more than 30,000 times during his four years in office. And hes keeping up the pace in his current campaign of retribution. But with all his lies, he cant hide his soul, he continued. He attacks the weak, destroys the gifts of nature and shows disrespect, for example, by using Pocahontas as a slur. Filmmakers, on the other hand, strive this is where I came in and I saw that they edited all that. So Im going to say these things but to Apple and thank them all that, De Niro added towards the end of his speech. Gotham, blah blah blah, but I dont feel like thanking them at all for what they did. How dare they do that, actually. But now I will go to: Accepting the award for Killers of the Flower Moon The Gotham Awards and Apple did not immediately respond to Rolling Stones request for comment. In May, Rolling Stone called Killers of the Flower Moon Scorseses great American tragedy and praised the directors reverence for a culture that survived a horrible trauma. The film is based on the 2017 book of the same name by David Grann and tells the story of the Osage people of Oklahoma after the discovery of oil on their land leads white settlers to murder them for their wealth. Best of Rolling Stone Looking to immerse yourself in an alternate universe of creepy creatures, different dimensions and supernatural beings? Look no further! Netflix is your source for all things science fiction. From mini-series that pack the action into a few short episodes to storylines that span across multiple seasons and universes take a deep dive into gripping, thrilling, blow-your-mind storylines in our list of 10 best sci-fi shows on Netflix. 10. Roswell, New Mexico (2019 2022) Liz Ortecho (Jeanine Mason) returns to her alien-hunter tourist-trap hometown of Roswell, New Mexico, where stories and myths of extra terrestrials have haunted the city for decades. Upon her arrival, she reconnects with her old crush, Max Evans (Nathan Dean Parsons). However, Max has been hiding a major secret: he is not from Earth and has special powers of his own. A violent attack to earth threatens to expose his true identity, endangering those he cares about most in the process. For fans of alien lore, Roswell, New Mexico is one of the most ideal sci-fi shows on Netflix. Watch Roswell, New Mexico now. 9. Altered Carbon (2018 2020) Based on the eponymous novel by Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon is set over 300 years in the future in a world where human consciousness is digitized and stored in discs called "stacks", able to be implanted in the necks of a new body. Takeshi Kovacs was a warrior previously part of a rebel group who was caught and put in prison. Suddenly Takeshi's stack is put into a new body by the wealthy Laurens Bancront in the hopes that Takeshi can solve Bancront's own murder. If he succeds, Takeshi will achieve resurrection and implantation into another body. Watch Altered Carbon now. 8. Sense8 (2015 2018) Eight strangers from around the world find themselves connected linked to one another both mentally and emotionally. While figuring out how this connection came to be, they're being aided by some and hunted by others, on a quest for the truth. Sense8 is one of the most unique sci-fi shows on Netflix to date. Watch Sense8 now. 7. The 100 (2014 2020) In the wake of a nuclear apocalypse that wipes out the earth's population, people have found refuge in a space station orbiting around the earth. When the life support systems in the space station start to fail, in an effort to both preserve resources and determine whether the Earth is once again habitable, 100 juvenile delinquents are sent down, where they encounter dangerous conditions and even more dangerous groups of people who have remained. The 100 is one of the quintessential young adult sci-fi shows to be found on Netflix. Watch The 100 now. 6. Maniac (2018) Jonah Hill and Emma Stone star in Neflix's Maniac, as two people grappling with various struggles within their lives who choose to participate in a pharmaceutical trial, in which they're promised that all of their problems will be solved with the absence of any side effects. As expected, this is not the case. Watch Maniac now. 5. The OA (2016 2019) In The OA, Prairie Johnson reappears after having been missing for the past seven years. Blind when she first disappeared, she is now able to see upon her return and refers to herself as "the OA," meaning the "original angel." Refusing to disclose her whereabouts to her parents and the FBI, Prairie reveals the truth to a group of five locals, whose help she enlists to save other missing people trapped in an alternate dimension. Watch The OA now. 4. Alice in Borderland (2020 Present) Alice in Borderland follows Arisu, a video game obsessed man who finds himself in Tokyo just not the one he's familiar with. Instead, this version puts him and his friends in survival mode as they compete in dangerous games to live. The more they play, the more their "visas" are extended, and once they run out, certain death awaits them. Watch Alice in Borderland now. 3. The Umbrella Academy (2019 Present) The Umbrella Academy begins in 1989, when 43 children were born to women who showed no signs of pregnancy seven of whom were adopted by the wealthy Sir Reginald Hargreeves, who prepares these children to one day save the world. As the children grew older, the group of them essentially fell apart, going their separate ways that is until the death of their father brings them back to one another, and together, they discover a new threat on the horizon. Watch The Umbrella Academy now. 2. Black Mirror (2011 Present) Black Mirror consists of individual standalone episodes, pretty much all of which make a commentary on modern social issues through the lens of media and technology, specifically, the advancement of both and the impacts it has on our lives. The series has featured major actors and actresses such as Bryce Dallas Howard, Jon Hamm, Miley Cyrus and Salma Hayek, to name a few. Watch Black Mirror now. 1. Stranger Things (2016 Present) Stranger Things took the world by storm beginning in 2016, and the world of sci-fi shows hasn't been the same, both on Netflix and beyond. The series begins in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana where four friends, Mike, Dustin, Lucas and Will, are going about their adolescent lives, engrossed in a game of Dungeons & Dragons. As their night comes to an end and the boys make their way back to their respective homes, we witness the abduction of Will Byers by an unknown force. As Will's disappearance becomes public knowledge, the community as well as his friends go out searching for him, where one day, the boys come across a girl in the woods in a hospital gown with a shaved head. As the episodes go on, they come to learn that this girl, known as Eleven, has special powers, and their friend Will's disappearance might be much bigger than they thought it was. One of the most successful and celebrated sci-fi shows on Netflix, Stranger Things has drawn in fans season after season with its developing plot-lines, 80s nostalgia and beloved characters. And with familiar faces of our youth like Winona Ryder, Sean Astin and Matthew Modine sprinkled in the cast, how can you not be obsessed? Related: The Best Classic Horror Movies from the 60s, 70s and 80s, Ranked For more Netflix recommendations, read below! The 10 Best Baking Shows on Netflix, Ranked All Sure To Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth The 12 Most Jaw-Dropping True Crime Shows on Netflix, Ranked 13 of the Best Mystery Series on Netflix, Ranked Perfect For Slashing Stress! Warning: Graphic and disturbing content ahead including mentions of sexual abuse. 1.Love Has Won Led by Amy Carlson, aka "Mother God," the Love Has Won "new religious movement" was founded in 2006 and later described as a cult by ex-members and the media. Members of the group believed Carlson was a 19-billion-year-old being who had been reincarnated hundreds of times including as Jesus, Joan of Arc, and Cleopatra. The group was eventually accused of physical abuse, brainwashing, and fraud, while Carlson herself died in April 2021. According to Rolling Stone, her cause of death was attributed to "alcohol abuse, anorexia, and chronic colloidal silver ingestion" and her body found mummified. HBO recently released a docuseries, Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God, which chronicles the group and Carlson's exploits. 2.Children of God aka The Family International Boris Spremo / Toronto Star via Getty Images Founded by David Berg, and currently led by Karen Zerby, The Family International is a "new religious movement" that's been around since the late 1960s and has gone through several name changes over the years. Past members include celebrities like River and Joaquin Phoenix (whose family were members of the cult in the '70s), and Rose McGowan. Berg had told his followers that "God was love and love was sex, so there should be no limits, regardless of age or relationship." Former members have since accused the cult of engaging in the physical and sexual abuse of children. 3.The Branch Davidians Elizabeth Baranyai / Getty The most famous member of this cult was David Koresh. Koresh and his followers were part of the famous Waco siege at their compound near Waco, Texas there was an intense gun battle with the ATF and the FBI ending in a huge fire that killed around 80 members, including children. The siege lasted 51 days. 4.Order of the Solar Temple - / HO/AFP via Getty Images The religious-based sect was created in the late 1970s or early 1980s by French founders Luc Jouret and Joseph Di Mambro. They operated on the beliefs of the Knights Templar and eventually put down roots in Switzerland and Canada. In 1994, a 3-month-old baby was violently killed, along with his parents, because members of the cult thought he was the Antichrist. A few days later, several members took part in a series of mass murder-suicides in Switzerland. 5.Peoples Temple Janet Fries / Getty Images Founded by Jim Jones in Indianapolis, Indiana, the cult is most known for the mass murder/suicide at Jonestown, aka the Jonestown Massacre, in Guyana on Nov. 18, 1978. Over 900 people died by drinking cyanide-laced punch (inspiring the phrase, "drink the Kool-Aid"), many against their will. Jones himself died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The massacre was the largest loss of American civilian life in a single, non-natural event (until the September 11 attacks). 6.Twelve Tribes A Current Affair / Via youtube.com Founded by Elbert "Gene" Spriggs in 1972 in Tennessee, Twelve Tribes aspires to recreate the "original" Christian Church as described in the Book of Acts. However, much of the controversy surrounding the group stems from accusations of their treatment of children, which allegedly involves abuse and child labor practices. 7.NXIVM Kena Betancur / AFP via Getty Images Presenting itself as a multi-level marketing organization that "offers personal and professional development" seminars, NXIVM is generally believed to have been a front for a sex cult that was founded by convicted sex trafficker Keith Raniere. Some of the cult's members included heiresses, powerful CEOs, and even Hollywood actors like Allison Mack, Grace Park, and Kristin Kreuk among many others. HBO released a docuseries in 2020 called The Vow that delved into NXIVM's shady practices via former members. 8.Heaven's Gate David Mcnew / Getty Images Founded in the 1970s by Bonnie Nettles and Marshall Applewhite, Heaven's Gate is most known for the March 26, 1997 discovery by police of 39 members after a mass suicide in a San Diego mansion. They were found wearing Nike Decades shoes (which were discontinued as a result), identical black shirts and sweat pants, and their bodies covered by a square purple cloth. The discovery was highly televised at the time and dominated news headlines for weeks. 9.Church of the First Born of the Lamb of God 12 News / Via youtube.com Started by Ervil LeBaron in the 1970s in Chihuahua, Mexico, the Church of the First Born of the Lamb of God was a group originally part of the Latter Day Saints (Mormon) movement. They had split from the Latter Day Saints and moved to Mexico in order to continue practicing polygamy. Ervil often fought with one of his brothers, Joel, and eventually orchestrated his murder. Over time, Ervil threatened many other polygamist leaders to pledge allegiance to the Church of the Lamb of God and was also responsible for dozens of deaths or "blood atonements," as he believed them to be. 10.Aum Shinrikyo Wojtek Laski / Getty Images Founded by Shoko Asahara in 1984, this is a Japanese doomsday cult that is still active today. The cult carried out a number of deadly sarin nerve gas attacks in Tokyo during the mid-'90s. The attack in 1995 killed 13 people and left more than 6,000 injured with some still experiencing after-effects over 20 years later. 11.Blackburn Cult, aka the Divine Order of the Royal Arms of the Great Eleven Bettmann / Bettmann Archive Founded in downtown Los Angeles by a mother-daughter duo, May Otis Blackburn and Ruth Wieland Rizzio, in 1922, the two believed they could communicate with angels and resurrect the dead. They had been accused of killing one member in an oven, poisoning another, and making many others disappear. The cult disbanded when May was arrested for grand theft. 12.The Ant Hill Kids At its peak, the group had 40 members, including children fathered by Theriault, their self-proclaimed prophet. He would punish members who strayed by making them break their own legs with sledgehammers, cut off the toes of other followers, and sit on lit stoves. He was later arrested, received a life sentence, and was killed in prison by a cellmate. 13.Ripper Crew This Satanic cult targeted women in the Chicago area during the early 1980s. They are suspected of kidnapping, raping, mutilating, and murdering as many as 20 women. Thomas Kokoraleis, a member of the cult, said the group performed cannibalistic and sexual rituals and called the ring leader's place a satanic chapel. Thomas is set to be released from prison soon. 14.Rajneesh movement Netflix Popularized by the Netflix docuseries Wild Wild Country, the Rajneeshees (followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh) founded a commune called Rajneeshpuram in central Oregon during the '80s. They fought with locals for many years, and there was even an internal assassination attempt on their founder Bhagwan's personal doctor. 15.True Russian Orthodox Church, aka the Penza Recluses Afp / AFP via Getty Images This religious doomsday group rejected processed food and considered bar codes satanic symbols. In the late 00s, they lived in a cave, but slowly emerged over the course of 2008 as a result of the cave collapsing, possible suicide attempts, and toxic fumes from two dead cult members. 16.The Family Fairfax Media / Fairfax Media via Getty Images Led by yoga teacher and self-proclaimed "living god" Anne Hamilton-Byrne, this 500-member group set out to "build a perfect race through a collection of children." This included dyeing the kids' hair bleach-blonde and having them injected with LSD as part of an initiation. Many of the children in the cult were allegedly taken as newborns from hospitals. 17.Source Family Gravitas Ventures / Via youtube.com This group was founded in the 1970s by Father Yod, who had previously been accused of murder twice. He and his commune resided in the Hollywood Hills and had 140 members. Aside from leading the commune, Yod also ran one of Los Angeles' most popular health food restaurants known as The Source. At the time of his death, he had 13 wives. Cabo Cantina on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood now stands where The Source restaurant used to be. 18.Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God Alexander Joe / AFP via Getty Images The group was formed after its two founders claimed to see visions of the Virgin Mary. They followed the Ten Commandments to a T. In 2000, 330 members were killed after a fire broke out in one of their churches. Whether this was a mass suicide or murder is still unclear. 19.The Narcosatanists/Matamoros Barbara Laing / Getty, Bettmann / Getty Led by Adolfo Constanzo, they would often team up with drug cartels and perform spells that would ensure the cartel's success and grant them protection. They began by sacrificing animals during their rituals, but then eventually moved on to human sacrifices. They are believed to have killed 15 people and run what one witness calls "a human slaughterhouse." Their most famous killing and mutilation is that of spring breaker Mark Kilroy in 1989. 20.The Holy Rollers Heritage Images / Heritage Images via Getty Images A cult popular with women, the "Holy Rollers" was started in the early 1900s in Corvallis, Oregon, and believed their founder, Edmund Creffield, could receive messages from God and prepare them for the apocalypse. He used sleep and food deprivation to keep his followers in line with his beliefs. Creffield also tried to seduce women in order to find "the second mother of Christ." He was later killed by the brother of two of his followers. 21.Finally, the Manson Family Mirrorpix / Getty Images Famously led by Charles Manson, the Manson Family came to national attention after the murder of actress Sharon Tate in 1969. Manson himself was not there during the Tate murders, but he was the one who ordered them. Manson, who was serving nine life terms in a California prison, died of natural causes on Nov. 19. 2017. In its 195 years, a handsome masonry mansion on Governor Nicholls Street in New Orleans has played host to a fair share of notable characters, including Hollywood royals Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Now, the long-divorced former couples French Quarter estate is going under the hammer on December 11. The starting bid is $1 million. Pitt and Jolie doled out $3.5 million for the property in 2006, back when the Bullet Train star was establishing the Make It Right Foundation in Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina. They sold the place in 2016, the same year Jolie filed for divorce. More from Robb Report The charming abode has changed hands several times since then and even counts the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen as one of its owners. At one point, the dwelling also served as a recording studio for Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and recording engineer Cosimo Matassa, and most recently, the residence was the winner of the Downtown Dwellings category on HGTVs Ultimate House Hunt. A nearly 200-year-old New Orleans mansion once owned by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie is headed to auction. The French Quarter Estates blend of history, modern amenities, and prime location make this an extraordinary property, Scott Kirk, president and CEO of Interluxe Auctions, who will be spearheading the sale, told Mansion Global. Originally built in 1828, the expansive home measures 7,703 square feet and was renovated in 2017. The mansion, just steps away from the world-famous Cafe du Monde, includes a gated carriage-style driveway for up to two cars. The striking Parisian-style structure is entered via French doors and opens to a foyer with harlequin tile flooring. Inside, youll find a total of seven bedrooms and five bathrooms, in addition to a three-story guest house. The main house is decked out with historic details like soaring high ceilings, ornate crown moldings, and sparkling crystal chandeliers, but also includes modern conveniences such as an elevator. The home was originally built in 1828 and comprehensively renovated in 2017. Highlights of the home include the gourmet chefs kitchen, which is equipped with a wine cooler, butchers block island, a breakfast area, and top-of-the-line appliances. Plus, in the pantry, youll find windowed drawers, wine racks, and a marble counter. Elsewhere, the library stands out with its custom bookshelves and marble fireplace. Along with a street-facing balcony that offers sweeping views up and down Governor Nicholls Street, the property is kitted out with a private central courtyard, complete with a fountain and swimming pool. Click here to see more photos of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolies former French Quarter home. brad pitt angelina jolie new orleans house auction Best of Robb Report Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. As Baghdad correspondent for The Telegraph after the fall of Saddam Hussein, I hired Colonel Ahmed, an ex-Republican Guard officer, as a driver-cum-bodyguard. He was pleasant, punctual and handy in a scrap, but like many in Saddams deposed elite not convinced that his fellow Iraqis were ready for democracy. So in the run-up to the countrys first elections in 2005, I was surprised to see him backing the Free Officers and Civilians Movement, one of more than 200 newly-minted parties. The party traded on nostalgia for the era of Brigadier Abd al-Karim Qasim, who served as Iraqs prime minister before being overthrown by Saddams Baath Party in 1963. In the 40 years of horrors that followed, Qasim was one of the few politicians any Iraqi could remember fondly: he had lived modestly, by all accounts, giving his salary to the poor. Still, as a symbol of Iraqs new US-backed democracy, his credentials were limited. Qasim had also launched a coup, back in 1958, when Iraqs Anglophile royal family had been killed and their bodies dragged through Baghdads streets. He was, at best, a benign dictator, whose brutal route to power helped to usher Iraq into half a century of macho, gun-play politics. Yet according to journalist Alex Rowells new book, We Are Your Soldiers, Qasim was just one of many Arab strongmen inspired by the great hero of the time, President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt. To this day, Nasser is hailed as a modern-day Saladin: the anti-imperialist who prised the Suez Canal from the imperial clutches of Britain and France. Rowell, however, tells a less flattering version of the Nasser story, charting his dictatorial rule in Egypt from 1953 to 1970, and how he encouraged other local tyrants to follow suit. The book, Rowell says, aims to tread the darker avenues the bombings, torture camps, coup attempts, assassinations, military invasions, and chemical warfare that are so often absent in the telling of Nassers story. Nasser in the late 1950s; he would rule until 1970 - AFP Rowell is as good as his word. In 400 blood-soaked pages, he traces Nassers toxic influence from one Arab capital to another, from plots in officers club rooms via palace coups and well-equipped torture chambers. The rot starts in Egypt itself, where Nassers own Free Officers movement topples the monarchy in late 1952. While the debonair young lieutenants photo soon hangs in every souk and cafe, he turns Egypt into what Rowell calls a political wasteland: no parties, no protests, no press, no civil society. His acolytes abroad are even worse. From Iraq and Syria, to Yemen and Libya, coups are mounted by fellow young officers who have no patience for the irksome constraints of parliament and democratic accountability. They set up their own copycat Revolutionary Command Councils, with everyone in dark glasses and military uniforms. Its tempting to call this a Dictators Club, albeit Nasser constantly interfered in his proteges affairs. Anyone who didnt toe Cairos line was at risk of being plotted against themselves, creating a regional cycle of backstabbing and instability. Nasser died in 1970, as Gaddafi in Libya, Hafez al-Assad in Syria, and Saddam in Iraq were only just getting into stride. Rowell makes a convincing case, though, that the Nasser years marked the crucial stage in each ones formation. Covering skullduggery across seven different countries, this books narrative is complex at times, and occasionally I struggled to follow the cast of coup-mongers; but Rowell is an eloquent writer, weaving the intrigue into the regions wider history. Nasser, argues Alex Rowell, paved the way for Muammar Gaddafi and Bashar al-Assad - AP We Are Your Soldiers looks not only at Nassers brutish understudies, but also at his own blunders. In 1963, his troops invaded Yemen in support of local Free Officers, gassing at least 800 Yemenis with chemical weapons and killing 20,000 more. In 1969, he pressurised Lebanon to host PLO militants, helping to create the tinderbox for a 15-year civil war. Rowell points out, too, that the legend of Nasser as the Arab warrior who vanquished his colonial foes at Suez giving him the numinous aura of the superman is built on highly shaky ground. Britain and France lost the Suez confrontation largely because America refused to back them, not because Nassers military forces had defeated them on the battlefield. It mattered not at all, writes Rowell, that [Nassers] army had been demolished in a week, that he owed his survival to Uncle Sam, or that Israel had succeeded in ending Egypts blockade of the port of Eilat. Rowell also laments how, half a century after Nassers death, the Middle East continues to embrace military strongmen, and that the latter have largely weathered the Arab Spring. In Egypt, General Abdul Fatah Al-Sisi took power in a 2013 coup; in Syria, Bashar al-Assad still clings to power; in Libya, General Khalifa Haftar, a Gaddafi era-throwback, runs the countrys east as his personal fiefdom. For the record, my old Iraqi drivers Free Officers and Civilians Movement party vanished without trace, after getting just 6,000 votes. But across the region it seems that Nassers toxic political legacy lives on. We Are Your Soldiers is published by Simon & Schuster at 25. To order your copy for 19.99, call 0844 871 1514 or visit Telegraph Books 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. Show Rumors | By Caroline Bourque Between grand openings of new spaces and renovations of old haunts, the design industry has spent a busy month setting up shop. In our November roundup, BOH gathers all the showroom happenings to have on your radar. Showroom Spotlight The Little Greene Paint Companys roots go back centuries: Records dating to 1773 illustrate the early days of a small pigment and dye purveyor operating in the tiny English hamlet of Little Greene, just outside of Manchester. Generations later, that little company, headquartered down the road from its original spot, is one of the leading heritage paint and wallcovering brands in the United Kingdom. This fall, the brand decided to take that legacy across the pond, debuting its first stateside showroom in the heart of Greenwich, Connecticut. It has a lovely village feel, and the design district of Greenwich felt like a natural choice for us, says Little Greene creative director Ruth Mottershead. It really is the perfect springboard for us to begin our U.S. business. The 1,100-square-foot space, which opened on October 20, displays the brands complete paint palette and current wallpaper collections, along with providing expert color advice via an in-store team and color consulting service. The Little Greene team wanted visitors to have personal contact with colors and patterns, so the space includes a variety of toolsincluding a full-color wall displaying the available range of hues, paint-sample boards, and a sliding display of wallpapers showing each pattern on a larger scale. The atmosphere is informal and cooperative to allow people the real freedom to make the best choices, says Mottserhead. Little Greene Paint Company in Greenwich - Photo Credit Courtesy of Little Greene Paint Company The brand is also actively weaving its heritage into the new space. In the store, visitors can peruse and purchase a number of period wallpaper patterns and paint colors, the latter of which have been accurately recreated from paint analysis in historic properties through key ages of designspanning the Georgian, Regency and Victorian eras, through the second half of the 20th century. Combining its storied traditions with a mission to keep up with contemporary industry trends (including an eco-friendly commitment to lowest-possible VOC content in its water-based paints), Little Greene is ready to tap into the U.S. design marketa journey thats starting with its New England outpost. The opening is very important for us, as it announces our arrival to the American market, says Mottershead. We are delighted with the reception we have had in Greenwich so far. We are looking forward to welcoming people into the showroom and helping them with their projects. 9 E. Putnam Ave., Greenwich, Connecticut California Il Buco Vita debuted its first shop outside of its New York headquarters with a new location in Culver City. The lofty spacecomplete with a wraparound terrace and outdoor seatingserves as the new West Coast destination for the brands home decor and antiques. 8820 Washington Blvd., Suite 101, Culver City Armadillos new American flagship and head office opened last month in L.A.s La Cienega Design Quarter. The 3,770-square-foot warehouse space, designed by Studio Goss, showcases the brands full product portfolio in a gallery like setting inspired by the high fashion ateliers of Paris and Tokyo, with rug samples arranged along hanging rails like garments. The new showroom also runs on 100 percent renewable energy, in alignment with Armadillos B Corp status. 937 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles New York RH unveiled the new Champagne & Caviar Bar at the RH Guesthouse in Manhattans Meatpacking District. Along with a menu of curated dishes topped with Petrossian caviar, the 32-seat lounge includes design details such as a European white oak staircase, iridescent champagne-lacquer walls, hand-blown amber glass ceilings and Calacatta gold-marble tables. The company plans to replicate the concept with outposts in Paris, London and Aspen, Colorado, over the next three years. 55 Gansevoort St., New York Kasthall debuted a new flagship store in SoHo, containing its extensive rug collections as well as collaborations with architects and designers from around the world. The space marks the 135-year-old Swedish brands first brick-and-mortar location in New York, adding to its existing stores in Stockholm, Malmo, and Milan. 29 Howard St., New York International manufacturer Andreu World revealed its newly renovated flagship store at the New York Design Center. The expansion marks the furniture companys second largest showroom behind its headquarters in Valencia, Spainat over 10,000 square feet, the location now features a broader selection of Andreu Worlds contemporary pieces created in collaboration with designers from across the globe. 200 Lexington Ave., Suite 1111, New York The newly renovated Andreu World flagship store - Photo Credit Courtesy of Andreu World Rosemary Hallgarten expanded her brands showroom in the New York Design Center. The 2,053-square-foot redesigned space houses a vast variety of the alpaca the designer is best known for, along with the companys entire product categories of rugs, fabric and accessories, spanning alpaca, shearling, an indoor-outdoor collection and more. 200 Lexington Ave., Suite 409, New York Furniture gallery Garde opened a new location in midtown Manhattan, adding to its existing ones in Dallas and Los Angeles. The 2,400-square-foot space spans two levels, exhibiting the work of a variety of artists and makers, including Apparatus, Bec Brittain and Matter Made. 223 E. 60th St., New York Global design marketplace Baboo unveiled its new showroom and retail space in Tribeca. The 1,100-square-foot space situates the platforms offerings within immersive vignettes that display a range of hand-crafted items from around the world, including furniture, kitchenware, decorative objects, childrens products, lighting fixtures and rugs. 90 Franklin St., New York Minneapolis-based furnishings brand Blu Dot unveiled its second New York showroom: a new 14,000-square-foot flagship in the Midtown East design district. Designed by Brooklyn-based architecture and design practice Peterson Rich Office, the two-floor space includes a rooftop terrace, a bold tomato-red paint scheme and perforated felt wall panels, providing the ideal backdrop for the companys selection of residential and commercial products. 715 Lexington Ave., New York Crate & Barrel debuted a new 23,000-square-foot flagship store in the Flatiron District. Located within the historic Palace of Trade building, the space features restored columns and updated modern design touches, along with two Design Desk areas where visitors can visit monogram stations and a botanical shop, or explore intricate fixture walls for swatches, hardware, lighting and more. 881 Broadway, New York Modern furniture brand Industry West revealed a newly renovated version of its SoHo showroom. According to co-founder Anne England, the spaces new look showcases the brands collections as a museum installation experience, removing a large shelving area and checkout booth to display Industry Wests product portfolio in an airy open-format setting. 14 Crosby St., New York Up in Dutchess County, Hudson Valley Lighting Group revealed its newly expanded Wappingers Falls headquarters, debuting a more comprehensive selection of the brands lighting and adding roughly 16,000 square feet to the original site. The space now spans 26,000 square feet and features new additions such as a state-of-the-art product design studio, an expanded sample library and a 3D printing machine. 151 Airport Dr., Wappingers Falls Florida Adriana Hoyos Design Studio debuted a new atelier in Coral Gables. Along with a variety of customizable furniture selectionsincluding pieces from the designers 14 namesake collectionsthe 2,500-square-foot Miami-area location allows visitors to work with in-house designers to plan their spaces. 2725 Salzedo St., Coral Gables Indiana RH unveiled its latest retail location: in a Palladian-inspired villa on a 151-acre Indianapolis estate. The Gallery at DeHaan Estatethe former home of the late businesswoman and philanthropist Christel DeHaanfeatures a restaurant, wine bar and lakeside terrace, along with home furnishings collections from RH Interiors, Contemporary, Modern and Outdoor, as well as art and antiques. 4501 North Michigan Rd., Indianapolis North Carolina Caesarstone has reopened its flagship in Charlotte as the brands newest design center. The space now functions as the only site in North America where professionals can shop the companys entire product portfolioincluding quartz, porcelain and natural stonewhile also enjoying a place to work, plan and source inspiration for projects. 11415 Granite St., Suite B, Charlotte Texas LAtelier Paris Haute Design opened a new flagship showroom in Dallas, adding to its existing direct-to-consumer locations in Miami, New York and Los Angeles. Inside the space, French white oak floors and nude walls highlight the brands array of kitchen vignettes, including its outdoor BBQ cooking suites, Au Cafe coffee bar and La Grande Cuisine Professionnelle cooking range. 150 Turtle Creek Blvd., #102, Dallas Washington, D.C. Boffi|DePadova revamped and expanded its showroom in Georgetowns design district, doubling the floor space to 6,275 square feet and bringing all of the companys brands under one roof. Complete with exposed brick, soaring skylights and an outdoor terrace, the historic two-floor building in Cadys Alley displays kitchen, bathroom and wardrobe systems from Boffi; partitions from ADL; furniture pieces from DePadova; and more. 3320 M St. NW, Washington, D.C. The expanded Boffi|DePadova in Georgetown - Photo Credit Courtesy of Stacy Zarin Goldberg B&B Italia debuted a new flagship space in Cadys Alley, marking its sixth brick-and-mortar location in the U.S. The 12,809-square-foot, three-story showroom offers full-home design services ranging from kitchens to closets and lighting, along with a selection of products from brands under B&B Italia Groups umbrella, including Maxalto, Azucena and Arclinea. 3330 M St. NW, Washington, D.C. Want to stay informed? Sign up for our newsletter, which recaps the weeks stories, and get in-depth industry news and analysis each quarter by subscribing to our print magazine. Join BOH Insider for discounts, workshops and access to special events such as the Future of Home conference. While on a cruise Colin Blake noticed his toe turning purple. He went to the ship's doctor who told him he'd been bitten by a wolf spider Getty Images/500px Wolf spider When Colin Blake noticed his toe turn purple and start to swell, he knew something was wrong. Blake, who's from Cramlington, Northumberland, told BBC that he first noticed his toe changed color while he was on a cruise in France celebrating his 35th wedding anniversary. After visiting the ship's doctor to get it checked out, he was informed that he'd been bitten by a Peruvian wolf spider, which had laid eggs in his toe. Wolf spiders are often found in France city ports after arriving on cargo ships. The ship's medical team cut open Blake's toe letting out pus. The fluid reportedly looked like it contained leaves, which turned out to be spider eggs. 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. (Photo: Opoterser [CC BY 3.0]/Wikimedia Commons) Wolf spiders, like this Hogna species, typically live outdoors but may wander in. Related: Girl, 9, Thinks Shirt Tag Pinched Her. Then Mom Discovers Brown Recluse Spider Bite That Quickly Spread According to the outlet, Blake was bitten by the spider while he and his wife were having a meal outdoors in Marseille, France. He told the BBC Radio Scotland's Drivetime that he didn't feel the spider bite him. This breed is reportedly known to numb its prey before laying eggs. "My wife thought it may be because I had new sandals and they were rubbing on my big toe and that was causing it to be red," Blake said on the radio show. Once Blake arrived back in the UK he was admitted to the hospital and given antibiotics to help with the swelling. Once the swelling subsided, bite marks from where the spider bit Blake could be seen on his foot. Although Blake is set to make a full recovery, four weeks after the initial discovery he noticed something weird with his toe again. He later learned that doctors missed a spider egg when cleaning out the fluid from his toe. Doctors cut open Blake's toe again and removed the spider which had been killed by the antibiotics. "One of the spider eggs hadn't been flushed and must have hatched," he said. "They believe the spider was making its way out - eating its way out of my toe." "I did ask if I could keep it but they said no," he added. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. After an incredible feature in this years SI Swimsuit Issue, LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne will return to the fold in 2024 as a rookie. The 21-year-old athlete, entrepreneur and social media superstar, known as Livvy by her online following, posed for the 60th anniversary magazine in Porto and the North, Portugal. Coming back for Year 2, I mean, last year I said it was a dream come true, and nothings changed, Dunne told SI Swimsuit while in the coastal European town. Its still a dream come true. I cant believe I can call myself a rookie. It feels unreal. For her feature, Dunne reunited with photographer Ben Watts, who also captured her photoshoot in Puerto Rico for this years issue. While on location in Portugal, she admitted that shes still learning how to be comfortable in her own skin, and she hopes to use her platform to remind young girls that even the highest-paid female college athlete in the country like herself struggles with things like self-confidence. SI Swim means to me being comfortable in your own skin and being undeniably you, which is something I still work on to this day, Dunne shared. Body image is something that a lot of girls struggle with, especially young girls. In the sport of gymnastics, [body image is] a huge thing, and its something that Im still working on to this day, being confident. But SIs really helped me to see that its O.K. to not be perfect and to just be comfortable in your own skin. Read more about Dunnes rookie photoshoot in Portugal here. Make sure to follow SI Lifestyle in Google News! JAKARTA, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia on Tuesday welcomed the birth of a baby Sumatran elephant, a critically endangered animal, in Way Kambas National Park in Sumatra Island, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry reported. Born to mother Amel and father Rendy on Tuesday at 10 a.m. local time, the baby elephant is 98 cm long, and weighs 78 kg. "This good news should encourage all of us to continue the breeding of protected animals," said Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar. Currently, the baby and its mother are being monitored by park veterinarians to ensure their health, according to the ministry. The Sumatran elephant population has declined by 80 percent in the last 25 years due to rapid deforestation, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). A Sumatran rhinoceros, which is also critically endangered, was born from semi-natural breeding in the same park on Saturday. Every year, the First Lady is tasked with decorating the White House for the holidays. Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images People have noticed just how dramatically different the White House decorations have changed from Melania Trump to Jill Biden, so let's take a closer look at the two. Everyone should thank Dr. Jill Biden for bringing Christmas back to the White House after Melania trashed it. pic.twitter.com/TFlkGdgCUr Alex Cole (@acnewsitics) November 27, 2023 Twitter: @acnewsitics Let's start off with Melania. Paul Morigi / Getty Images One year, Melania decorated an entire hallway with white trees. Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images It's eerily similar to Kim Kardashian's scary-abandoned- futuristic-haunted-convent aesthetic. Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images, @kimkardashian/ Instagram: @kimkardashian The shadows definitely make it feel *extra* festive. Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images Then there was the year Melania decorated that same hallway with blood-red trees. The Washington Post / The Washington Post via Getty Images Not scary at all! The Washington Post / The Washington Post via Getty Images Jill Biden's White House is a bit different. Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images Jill's hallway is candy-themed. Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images It's definitely less "human sacrifice" and more "holiday joy." Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images At the end of the hallway, Jill has statues of their pets, Commander and Willow. Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images Melania decorated the White House China Room in red. Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images The China Room in Jill's White House was turned into a candy room. Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images Jill transformed it into the "White House Sweet Shop." Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images The White House Gingerbread House in Melania's vision was relatively simple. Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images Jill's White House Gingerbread House has a bit more flair. Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images The library in Jill's White House was themed around "bedtime stories." Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images The window had this little Santa decal. Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images And next to the bed, there was a note to the North Pole. Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images Melania opted for more of an ice queen aesthetic. Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images Jill added a bit more color to her ornaments. Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images She had children's letters to Santa and Joe Biden scattered about. Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images She even decorated one of the White House rooms with this large mechanical theater. Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images I'm particularly into this large sleigh in the White House entrance. Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images At the end of a hallway, Jill placed a large nutcracker. Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images It's definitely all a bit more lively! Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images Melania's White House was a bit darker, which, honestly, might be your thing! Alex Wong / Getty Images She basically turned the White House into a forest, complete with an orchestra nervously awaiting their fate. Xinhua News Agency / Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images She had ballet dancers personally performing for her. Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images Here she is deciding whether they should go to the Hunger Games or not. Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images In conclusion, wow, what a difference! Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images I could totally see myself being stuck in this hallway battling my sleep paralysis demons tonight. Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images Night night! Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images Once you have purchased your Christmas bird, theres always the problem of fridge space. This recipe involves taking the legs off first, stuffing them, and cooking the turkey in different stages to get the best results and to free up crucial fridge space for all your other Christmas goodies. The stuffed legs, wrapped in clingfilm, are simmered first, then roasted in the oven with the crown, which is rubbed simply with butter. Sliced and served with chestnuts tossed in juices from the roasting tin, this is a great way to use the whole bird to maximum effect. Prep time: 1 hour, plus chilling Cooking time: 2 hours, plus resting 8-10 For the leg stuffing Bone the turkey legs by removing them from the crown first, then running the point of a sharp knife along the bone of each leg and working it around the bone (drumstick and thigh) to release all the flesh, keeping it intact in one piece. Remove any visible tendons in the drumstick and lay the boned leg on a tray, then repeat with the other leg. If you have a friendly butcher, ask them to do this. Chop the leg bones into small pieces (removing any remaining bits of meat on them for the stuffing, if you like) and set aside to make gravy. Keep the turkey crown in the fridge until ready to cook. To make the stuffing, gently cook the onion and thyme in the butter for 10 minutes to soften, then remove from the heat and leave to cool. Mix with the mince and breadcrumbs, and season. Divide the mixture between the two legs, packing it down the centre, then roll up the leg meat around it as tightly as possible. Wrap each leg in several layers of cling film and twist the ends tightly to make a cylinder. Place the legs in a large saucepan of cold water, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Leave to cool for an hour, then remove from the water and leave to set in the fridge for a few hours. Unwrap the legs from the cling film and wrap each one in a couple of layers of caul fat, if you have it, securing it by tying the leg with string every 3cm; if you dont have caul fat, then just tie the legs in the same way with string. Keep in the fridge until you are ready to cook them. With a heavy chopping knife, cut away the backbone from the base of the turkey and chop it into small pieces. Set aside with the leg bones for the gravy. Keep the turkey crown in the fridge until ready to cook. When you are ready to roast the turkey, preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas mark 7. Season the turkey crown and rub the breasts with some butter. Place in a roasting tray with the stuffed legs and roast for about 30 minutes, then turn the oven down to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6 and cook for a further 30-45 minutes, basting every so often. Test if the meat is done by inserting a skewer into the centre of the stuffed leg and the thickest part of the breast; if the skewer feels hot, theyre cooked. To serve, remove the breasts from the carcass, slice them at an angle about a centimetre thick and arrange on a warmed serving dish. Slice the stuffed legs into 1cm slices and arrange on the dish. Compared to other beaches and surf breaks in Hawaii, the North Shore's really aren't very rocky. But there's a few rocky spots, like Rocky Point, Rock Piles, and Log Cabins, that are so fun they're worth the risk. Most people surf these spots unscathed, like Mason Ho for instance. While recently surfing a rocky spot on the North Shore, he got barreled, dodged boulders, and literally kissed a rock. But not everyone is as lucky as Ho. Like 18-year-old surfer Evan Tyson, who just busted up his face bad surfing Log Cabins on the North Shore. The photo above of Tyson's bloodied and broken face was posted by his friend, James Palazzotto, a few days ago. He captioned it: "Last night my friend and I were surfing log cabins when he hit his face on the reef. Luckily enough he didnt go unconscious and paddled to the beach. "Evan is my roommate and coworker, we both hang out together every day. Hes one of the strongest kids I know and we need your help to get him back to a full recovery. "We checked out of the hospital last night but need to make appointments with 2 plastic surgeons! By the grace of god! Evan is okay walking on his two feet! Today Im thankful that my best friend made it home alive! So share thanks and donate to Evan, please!" According to Tyson's fundraiser page: "This unfortunate incident resulted in Evan sustaining three broken bones in his face, requiring immediate medical attention and extensive recovery." Tyson is home, but the last update said he needed a Ouch. Heal up, Evan. Winter just started. *** Don't miss another headline from SURFER! Subscribe to our newsletter, follow us on Instagram, and stay connected with the latest happenings in the world of surfing. We're always on the lookout for amusing, interesting and engaging surf-related videos to feature on our channels. Whether you're a professional surfer or just an amateur, we want to see your best footage and help you share it with the world. Submit your video for a chance to be featured on SURFER and our social channels. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch high-quality surf videos. Among the many maddening facets of the gender health gap is that womens healthcare is seen as an afterthought, especially when it comes to research, funding, and access. So if youve ever leaked through an ultra-absorbent tampon and wondered what the heck is going on, you will immediately understand TikToks latest frustration when one mom discovered that tampon companies test their products using a saline solution. It all started when podcaster and content creator Renee Reina conducted her very own tampon experiment, testing the absorbency of a tampon in her sink. Her findings: the tampon perfectly absorbs water, but is far less efficient at absorbing a creamy face wash, which is far closer to the consistency of period blood than literal water. Im pretty sure the person that invented the tampon tested it out with water, and they were like, Oh my god, its perfect! Oh my god! she jokes, as the tampon expands beneath her sink. It was a man by the way. Now, little did they know that the consistency of blood, especially period blood, is not water. When the thick, creamy cleanser-like product slides right down the tampon, she says, And, so you see thats whats happening inside. Just leaking right on by. All right, can we fix this? Somebody fix this. Not only was Reina correct the first tampon was invented by physician Earle Haas back in 1931 but her assessment about the faulty testing protocols was pretty spot-on, too. Turns out that lab testing for tampons has been woefully inadequate since their creation, and it was only in 2023 that they began using actual blood to test tampons. According to an August 2023 paper published in BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health, a team of researchers at Oregon Health & Science University found that the absorbency of many menstrual products on store shelves are mislabeled, which means they have a much lower or higher liquid capacity than advertised. Turns out, testers had been using a saline solution a mixture of water, salt, and bicarbonate which led to the potential inaccuracies. The researchers noted that this is the first known study to test the absorbency of period products with blood, and plenty of companies are still using saline, even after the findings were released. The saying blood is thicker than water is technically true, study co-author Samuelson Bannow told Scientific American. We really felt that [the absorbency metric] needed to be updated. Aside from the obvious risk of your tampon leaking, the researchers pointed out that doctors could be missing important patient diagnoses, as a heavy period flow could be a sign of underlying health conditions, including bleeding disorders, certain types of cancer and fibroids smooth muscle tumors in the lining of the uterus, as well as anemia. Unfortunately, its not clear whether tampons will continue using real blood for testing purposes, as the researchers noted the risks associated with this process. Frequent blood shortages in hospitals make it difficult to justify using donations for anything other than transfusions. The fluid is also considered a potential biohazard. Researchers who handle blood in the lab must undergo training and take special precautions to work with it safely, they said. Its also cost-prohibitive, which certainly doesnt help in an arena thats already woefully underfunded. The study notes that a 10-ml vial of research-quality human blood costs around $100. Even more costly is high-quality synthetic blood 200 ml of a lab-made mixture of amino acids and hemoglobin can run upward of $150. Labs can buy a full liter of saline solution for just $45. So, no, its not just you: your tampons arent necessarily up to snuff, and its equal parts unsurprising and annoying as all get out. Last week, the Ukrainian government fired two of its top cybersecurity officials, who are accused of embezzlement. Now, one of them has been detained. Ukraines senior cabinet official Taras Melnychuk announced the firings in a public post on Telegram last week. The two officials are Yurii Shchyhol, head of Ukraines State Special Communications Service of Ukraine, or SSSCIP, and his deputy Victor Zhora, who had become a staple at international conferences as the public face of Ukraines cybersecurity defenders. On Monday, the High Anti-Corruption Court in Ukraine announced in a press release that a judge had ordered the detention of Zhora as a preventative measure, and that he had been taken into custody, according to a machine translation. The press release said that the detention will last until January 22, 2024, and imposed a bail of 10,000,584 Ukrainian hryvnia, roughly $275,000. Zhora previously told TechCrunch, shortly after the charges were announced, that he would "defend my name and reputation in a court. The SSSCIP did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Friday, Zhora tweeted that it was his last day working for SSSCIP. Thank you all for your support of our Service and our fight with enemy in cyberspace. Hope my successor will continue supporting all initiatives and international cooperation. Look forward to get back to you soon in my new mission, he wrote. On Tuesday, Zhora told TechCrunch that he had left the jail and he was now "out." UPDATE, Nov. 28, 2:08 p.m. ET: This story was updated to include the fact that Zhora says he is now out on bail. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58FE3UEpT24?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent&w=640&h=360] Earlier this year, the World Meteorological Organization forecasted the start of the first El Nino event in seven years, which academic news outlet The Conversation said could affect the price of breadbasket staples like wheat. Whats happening? El Nino is a naturally occurring weather event in which the surface temperature of the Pacific Ocean rises. As a result, some parts of the world, like Australia, face elevated temperatures and subsequent droughts. The onset of El Nino will greatly increase the likelihood of breaking temperature records and triggering more extreme heat in many parts of the world and in the ocean, WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in a press release. David Ubilava, an associate professor of economics at the University of Sydney, noted that the extreme weather caused by El Nino might be the new normal because of human-induced overheating of the planet. While the WMO predicted this next iteration of El Nino to be moderate, it will still disrupt the food and agriculture industry. Per Ubilava, wheat production in Australia has dropped drastically in six of the last nine El Nino events of at least moderate strength, likely indicating whats to come. Why is it concerning? Tridge, a global food sourcing and data hub, listed Australia as the leading wheat exporter last year at 17% of the global output worth about $10 billion. With such a crucial player vulnerable to extreme weather changes, wheat prices could skyrocket in the coming months. After all, rising temperatures across Europe have led to a decline in crop yields for olives and hops, impacting the prices of olive oil and beer. Meanwhile, in California, similar heat waves have threatened tomato numbers. What can I do to help? If theres a potential silver lining, its that Australia accounts for just 3.5% of global wheat production. Furthermore, El Nino causes increased rainfall in some parts of the world, meaning other wheat-producing nations may help offset any losses suffered by Australia. Nonetheless, the WMOs press release served as a notice to nations of the potentially devastating effects of El Nino. The declaration of an El Nino by WMO is the signal to governments around the world to mobilize preparations to limit the impacts on our health, our ecosystems and our economies, Taalas said. Early warnings and anticipatory action of extreme weather events associated with this major climate phenomenon are vital to save lives and livelihoods. And since the resulting weather events of El Nino are exacerbated by human-driven pollution, its another reminder that every action we take whether its as something as small as drinking out of a reusable water bottle or something as large as buying an electric vehicle has a domino effect, even for something that seems as distant as wheat production in a country halfway around the world. Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more, waste less, and help yourself while helping the planet. Expats wanting a taste of the United States while abroad probably wont be finding it in bourbon or rye. American whiskey is staring down a 50 percent tax when sent to Europe, which could hurt the stateside spirits industry, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. Set to take effect next year, the tariff is a retaliatory measure from the European Union for U.S. taxes on European steel and aluminum. Distilleries are caught in the middle of the dispute, even though it has nothing to do with their products. More from Robb Report Were just collateral damage, Brooke Glover of West Virginias Swilled Dog distillery told the WSJ. Back in 2018, then-President Donald Trump imposed the steel and aluminum tariffs, causing the EU to respond with its own taxes on iconic American goods, such as Levis jeans and Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Initially, American whiskey was taxed at 25 percent, with the tariff suspended a couple of years ago thanks to an agreement between the U.S. and the EU. The tax is supposed to go back into effect in 2024, though, doubled to a whopping 50 percent. The U.S. is trying to put the tariff on hold once again with another two-year extension, sources told The Journal. But so far, no agreement has been made, putting the distilleries into a bind. That theres a significant chance the tariffs could come back is really enough to deter you from wanting to make investments in these foreign markets, Jeff Quint, the CEO of Iowas Cedar Ridge Distillery, told the newspaper. Nobodys going to make a significant investment in teaching the world about bourbon until we know these tariffs have been eliminated. Since the tariffs were initially introduced, some distilleries have opted out of sending their goods to Europe. When faced with the 25 percent tax, EU exports fell 20 percent, from $552 million to $440 million. Since the suspension, though, exports have skyrocketed above the pre-tariff level, according to data from the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States shared with the WSJ. The trend isnt likely to hold, however, if the 50 percent tariff is enacted in the new year: It would be an utter disaster for the American whiskey industry, Chris Swonger, the president of DISCUS, told the outlet. It would also be a disaster for Europeans who love American whiskey. Best of Robb Report Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. Ozempic and Wegovy, medications taken for both weight loss and Type 2 diabetes, have become household names, but an increasing number of people are reporting a range of complications. (Getty Images) (Getty Images) Weight-loss drugs have exploded in popularity over the last year, with people filling social media with their success stories. But these medications come with potential risks and some are more serious than others. As drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy and Zepbound become household names, there is an increasing number of testimonies from former patients about a range of complications they've experienced while taking the medications. Stomach paralysis, gastrointestinal illness and suicidal thoughts are just a few of the problems patients have dealt with. Here are their stories, along with information from doctors regarding who is most at risk as well as how to help lower the odds you'll encounter this as well. This medicine made my life hell. Joanie Knight told CNN that she was diagnosed with severe gastroparesis, aka stomach paralysis, after taking Ozempic. (Gastroparesis is a condition that slows or even stops the movement of food from your stomach to your small intestine, leading to symptoms such as abdominal pain and vomiting, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases). I wish I never touched it. I wish Id never heard of it in my life, the 37-year-old from Angie, La., said. This medicine made my life hell. So much hell. It has cost me money. It cost me a lot of stress; it cost me days and nights and trips with my family. Its cost me a lot, and its not worth it. The price is too high. Knight said her doctor suspects her condition was either caused by the medication or exacerbated by it. Knight said she start vomiting violently after having a birthday dinner in 2021, even though she didnt eat much. I thought, I hadnt eaten. How am I throwing up this much? She ended up seeing a gastroenterologist who told her that her stomach was full of food. Knight said she felt constantly nauseous and took a prescribed antinausea medication like it was candy. She eventually went off Ozempic and had stomach bypass surgery. Previously, I was on an extreme amount of vitamins because I wasnt eating. Now I can eat enough that Im not malnourished, she said. She had a little bit of brown stuff coming out of her mouth and I realized she wasn't breathing. Australian dad Roy Webster said his wife, Trish, died after taking Ozempic along with weight-loss drug Saxenda to lose weight for their daughter's wedding. Webster told 60 Minutes that, while his wife lost weight, she was also sick a lot. Last January, Webster said that something went seriously wrong and Trish stopped breathing. She had a little bit of brown stuff coming out of her mouth and I realized she wasnt breathing and started doing CPR, he said. It was just pouring out, and I turned her onto the side because she couldnt breathe. Trish's death certificate lists acute gastrointestinal illness as her cause of death. Webster believes the medications contributed to his wifes death and now urges other people to be wary of them. I never thought you could die from it, he said. Burps that taste and smell like rotten eggs Derron Borders told the Atlantic that he experienced a side effect every few minutes thats been dubbed "Ozempic burps" while taking the medication. Burps that taste and smell like rotten eggs I think thats what I typed in Google, he said. The Ozempic website lists nausea, diarrhea, stomach pain, vomiting and constipation as potential side effects, but it doesn't mention burping. However, burping (or, more formally, eructation) affected 9% of patients in clinical trials for semaglutide, the active ingredient in drugs like Ozempic. Since these weight-loss drugs slow stomach emptying, the sulfur burping may be caused by air building up in the digestive system. Teeth falling out due to excessive vomiting Louisiana resident Jaclyn Bjorklund is suing Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic, after alleging that the medication made her severely ill. The lawsuit, which is posted on her lawyers website, says that the 44-year-old was severely injured after taking the medication. Bjorklund said in the lawsuit that she used Ozempic for more than a year, and switched to Mounjaro in July 2023. According to the lawsuit, taking the medications caused her to develop severe vomiting, stomach pain, gastrointestinal burning, being hospitalized for stomach issues on several occasions including visits to the emergency room, [and] teeth falling out due to excessive vomiting, requiring additional medications to alleviate her excessive vomiting, and throwing up whole food hours after eating. I just feel like killing myself The family of a man identified only by his first name, Anthony, is speaking out after they say he died by suicide after he began taking Ozempic for Type 2 diabetes. Anthonys sister Merlene Hall told NBC News that her brother became uncharacteristically quiet around the same time as he started taking Ozempic in February. By early May, he seemed fatigued and his mood appeared to be getting worse. Hes usually very charismatic, talking and joking. Hes a pretty outgoing guy. But he was fairly quiet, his fiance, Carolyn Hasty, said. I came home and he was sitting in the kitchen and he said, Help me, babe, you got to help me. I just feel like killing myself.'" On May 14, Anthony died by suicide in his home. His family said he experienced depression in the past, but believes that the medication exacerbated his symptoms. I think the Ozempic was putting these suicidal thoughts in his mind, Hall said. Unlike Ozempic, Wegovy has a warning about suicidal thoughts. According to Drugs.com, semaglutide (Wegovy) for weight loss "should be avoided in patients with a history of suicidal attempts or active suicidal ideation." If I knew what the side effects were ... I would have never gone on it Dawn Gentle took Ozempic for her Type 2 diabetes between 2018 and 2021, but she told Healthline she was rushed to the emergency room in 2021 after experiencing extreme stomach pain. There she was diagnosed with pancreatitis, an inflammation of the pancreas. I found out about this side effect after I was rushed to the emergency room at the hospital," Gentle said. "The doctor asked me about the medications that I was taking for my diabetes. When I informed him about taking Ozempic, he said to stop taking that drug right away. It had caused my pancreatitis." She stayed in the hospital for a week and, since receiving her diagnosis, has had four procedures to treat her condition. She also learned that she had a cancerous tumor on the end of her pancreas. When I asked the doctor if it was also caused by taking Ozempic, he was nice enough to inform me that it was strongly possible, she said. However, Dr. Rekha Kumar, chief medical officer at Found, told Healthline that research hasn't so far shown that GLP-1 drugs cause pancreatic cancer. This is a correlation and not a causation. This has been well studied, Kumar said. Gentle said she wishes she had never taken the medication. If I knew what the side effects were ... I would have never gone on it, she said. Doctors weigh in Weigh-loss drugs have become a popular way to lose weight. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey, 4% of adults say theyre currently taking a prescription drug to lose weight and one in 10 say they have previously taken one of these medications for weight loss in the past. Despite the scary stories, doctors say that serious complications of these medications arent common. No matter what medication we give, there is some risk, Dr. Mir Ali, a bariatric surgeon and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center in Fountain Valley, Calif., tells Yahoo Life. The overall thought is that these medications are safe and that the incidence of serious complication is low. Dr. Kunal Shah of the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center, agrees, telling Yahoo Life that serious complications are very, very uncommon, but they certainly can happen. He says that gastrointestinal issues are relatively common. People will have a baseline level of nausea, or will have diarrhea or constipation that usually does go away after a period of time. Doctors typically prescribe these medications at lower doses to start and then increase the dosage in an attempt to lower the risk of these side effects, Ali explains. A recent study found that those taking GLP-1 medications, such as Ozempic, for weight loss had a higher risk of pancreatitis, bowel obstruction and gastroparesis. But everyone is different, Steven Batash, a gastroenterologist and leading physician at the Batash Endoscopic Weight Loss Center, tells Yahoo Life. Its important to remember that the effects of weight-loss medications can vary widely among individuals, he says. Factors such as overall health, other medical conditions, medications being taken concurrently and individual responses can influence how [these medications] affect patients. Patients who already have stomach issues and those with thyroid conditions may be at a greater risk of complications than others, Ali says. The link between weight-loss drugs and suicidal thoughts hasnt been established beyond anecdotal evidence, Shah says, but its still something to discuss with your doctor if you suffer from depression. Overall, doctors stress the importance of having a conversation with your medical care provider before going on one of these weight-loss medications, and continuing to talk to your doctor about how youre feeling while you're on them. Its important to consult a medical professional as theyll properly educate patients on possible symptoms, Batash says. Doctors recommend being patient with minor side effects like nausea when starting one of these medications. Users must give weight-loss drugs some time to adjust to their bodies, Batash says. In the interim, staying hydrated is critical. But Shah also recommends flagging any persistent symptoms for your doctor. Persistent gastrointestinal symptoms are concerning, he says. These are relatively safe medications, but everyone should be aware of the potential side effects. Burlington residents were rocked by news that a gunman had opened fire Saturday on three students of Palestinian descent on North Prospect Street, not far from the University of Vermont. Jason Eaton pleaded not guilty Monday morning to three counts of second degree attempted murder. Eaton, 48, of Burlington, is charged in connection with the shooting that sent the three men to the hospital with gunshot wounds. The men were visiting Burlington for the Thanksgiving Day holiday. As of mid-day on Monday, all three 20-year-olds were in the ICU of UVM Medical Center. On Nov. 27, Burlington Police investigate a house on N. Prospect Street around where three college students of Palestinian descent were shot on Nov. 25. Hisham Awartani, a student a Brown Univeristy, was struck in the spine; Tahseen Ahmad, a student at Trinity College in Connecticut, was struck in the chest; and Kinnan Abdalhamid, a student at Haverford College in Pennsylvania, in shot the glute. While the latter two young men were expected to make a full recovery, Awartani's uncle, Rich Price, said his nephew suffered a spinal injury and had a long recovery ahead of him. What's happening in Providence, RI: After shooting of Brown University student in Vermont, school will drop charges against protesters On Monday, several residents gave their thoughts on the shooting. 'Immediate reaction of fear' Caroline Cunio, a psychological science mayor at UVM, had just returned from Thanksgiving break when she received an emergency notification from the university warning students a shooting had occurred down the street from her house. What we knew Monday morning: Arrest made in shooting of 3 men of Palestinian descent in Burlington "It was an immediate reaction of fear," said Cunio, who was home alone at the time. "I was horrified. It's horrible (what happened to the victims)." Several people said that while they were appalled, they had sensed tension brewing in Burlington and throughout the U.S since the most recent conflict in Gaza began. Danie Palermo, a lawyer who lives several houses from where the students were shot, specifically criticized UVM's decision to cancel a lecture featuring a Palestinian poet a few weeks ago, which she implied showed favoritism toward Israel in the Gaza conflict and delegitimatized the Palestinian plight. She also decried the national and international media for its "pro-Israel leaning." "It's sad to see it (the violence and hatred) is trickling down to a place far from where the conflict is occurring," Palermo said. "This is not what Burlington is known for ... but now something like this is not out of the realm of possibilities anymore." What disturbed her the most about the attack was the randomness of it. On Nov. 27, Burlington Police investigate a house on N. Prospect Street around where three college students of Palestinian descent were shot on Nov. 25. "These were just kids visiting their friends," Palermo said. "That's what makes it so shocking. They were just trying to enjoy their holiday." Thankful shooting victims have survived "I think Palestinians are probably the last acceptable completely marginalized people in the world," said Tasi Perkins, who holds a doctorate in Islamic Studies and lives on Loomis Street. Perkins said the U.S has "gotten caught up in the sensationalism" of the Israel-Hamas War. "When you combine a lot of emotion with access to weapons, pre-existing prejudices and what's fed by the media, it can lead to violence," he said. On Nov. 27, Burlington Police investigate a house on N. Prospect Street around where three college students of Palestinian descent were shot on Nov. 25. The solution to the tension building in Burlington, Perkins argued, is continued dialogue. "I'm thankful it seems the victims have survived," he said. "I hope what happened starts a measured conversation in Burlington." Megan Stewart is a government accountability reporter for the Burlington Free Press. Contact her at mstewartyounger@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Burlington VT reacts to shooting of students of Palestinian descent The Evpatoria - Saki highway is covered with water after a storm in Crimea, Monday, Nov. 27, 2023. A storm in the Black Sea took down power grids and left almost half a million people without power after it flooded roads, ripped up trees and damaged buildings in Crimea, Russian state news agency Tass said. (AP Photo) A weekend storm that pounded the Black Sea region toppled trees, tore down power lines and flooded coastal areas of southern Russia and Ukraine, leaving more than a half-million people without power Monday, officials and media reports said. The Moscow region, meanwhile, was blanketed with snow that piled drifts up to 25 centimeters (almost 10 inches), three times heavier than normal, the Tass news agency said. The storms were part of a weather system that created blizzard-like conditions in Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria and Serbia on Sunday, dumping snow and causing power outages and fatal traffic accidents. Emergency conditions were declared in several regions of the Crimean Peninsula, Tatyana Lyubetskaya, a Russia-installed official at the Crimean environmental monitoring department, told Tass. With strong winds forecast to continue Monday, Crimean officials told people to stay home as government facilities, including schools and hospitals, were closed. The storm was one of the most powerful since record-keeping began, the head of Russia's national meteorological service told the state news agency RIA Novosti, flooding highways and forcing evacuations in low-lying areas. Crimea was annexed from Ukraine by Russia in 2014 and is a key military and logistics hub for Russia as it pursues its war in Ukraine. It is unclear whether the storm damaged any Russian military equipment or defenses. At least one person died in Crimea after going out to look at the waves in a village near the town of Sudak in the southern part of the peninsula, a Russia-installed official said, while other people were hospitalized or forced from their homes. Roman Vilfand, the head of Russias national meteorological service, told RIA Novosti that a similar storm hit the region in November 1854 during the Crimean War and sank at least 30 ships. The Chernomorske area of western Crimea was without water and central heating after pumping stations lost power, according to Natalia Pisareva, the head of the region. There also were reports of a problem at a gas pipeline in Saky in western Crimea. About 800 exotic fish died from thermal shock at an aquarium in Sevastopol as cold seawater flooded the facility, the Crimea 24 TV channel and RIA Novosti reported. Ukraine's Ministry of Energy said more than 2,000 towns and villages were without electricity in 16 regions, including Kyiv, Odesa and Mykolaiv, with more strong winds and snow predicted. Regional officials in Odesa, one of the hardest-hit areas, said more than 1,900 people, including 138 children, had to be rescued after the blowing and drifting snow trapped them in their cars. Officials warned people to avoid travel. In Kyiv, the winds damaged a 16-by-34-meter (53-by-111-foot) Ukrainian flag the country's biggest that was installed in a central area of the capital. In southern Russia, the storm sent waves flooding into the beach resort of Sochi, tore the roof off a five-story building in Anapa and damaged homes and schools in Kuban, the state news agency said. It also caused a cargo ship to run aground near Anapa. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium halted crude oil loading at the port of Novorossiysk on Monday as winds of up to 86 kph (54 mph) and waves of up to 8 meters (26 feet) buffeted the area. Moscow regional Gov. Andrei Vorobyov said about 3,000 people worked to clear the streets after the heavy snowfall. In Serbia, the snowstorm cut off villages and left thousands without power. A 53-year-old man was reported missing Sunday in central Serbia and the search for him is continuing, RTS state television reported. In Bulgaria, the storm dumped up to 40 centimeters (almost 16 inches) of snow and downed power lines and closed schools. More than 1,000 people had to be rescued from their vehicles. Chen Wenqing, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee, meets with Singapore's Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 28, 2023. (Xinhua/Ding Lin) BEIJING, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Chen Wenqing, a senior Communist Party of China (CPC) official, on Tuesday met with Singapore's Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon in Beijing. Chen, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee, said that under the strategic guidance of the two countries' leaders, China-Singapore relations have maintained a sound development momentum. Chen noted that law and justice cooperation is one of the key areas of cooperation between the two countries. He expressed the hope that the supreme courts of the two countries will use the new positioning of China-Singapore relations as a guide, implement the strategic consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, strengthen exchanges and mutual learning, make positive contributions to regional peace, stability, development and prosperity, and provide a strong legal guarantee for high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. Sundaresh Menon expressed a willingness to push the friendly judicial relations between Singapore and China to a higher level. Chen Wenqing, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee, meets with Singapore's Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 28, 2023. (Xinhua/Ding Lin) WASHINGTON Argentinas right-wing President-elect Javier Milei will meet with President Joe Bidens national security adviser on Tuesday in Washington, according to the White House. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Monday that Milei will meet with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and other administration officials. Biden, who will be traveling on Tuesday to Georgia for a memorial service for former first lady Rosalynn Carter and then to Colorado, will not meet with Milei. The Treasury Department said in a statement that Mileis economic policy advisers will also meet with senior Treasury Officials on Tuesday. That meeting is expected to focus on the incoming Milei administrations economic policy priorities. We want to continue to look for ways to cooperate with Argentina, Kirby said. Argentina is a healthy and vibrant partner in this hemisphere on many, many issues. And so were looking forward to obviously hearing what the president-elects ideas are and where he wants to go on policy issues and making sure that we have a chance to keep that channel of communication open. Mileis meetings in Washington are protocol-driven to explain the economic plan: fiscal adjustment, monetary reform, state reform and deregulation, a Milei spokesperson, who declined to be named because he was not authorized to talk on the record, said. It is not in search of financing. Milei, who has been compared to former President Donald Trump, was elected earlier this month and is scheduled to be inaugurated on Dec. 10. The president-elect has spoken favorably of Trump, and said that the 45th president told him in a congratulatory call last week that he would travel to Argentina so the two could meet face-to-face. Mileis conversation with the former president, who is the leading 2024 GOP presidential contender, came hours after Biden had his own call with Milei. The White House said Biden congratulated Milei and spoke of the strong relationship between the United States and Argentina on economic issues, on regional and multilateral cooperation, and on shared priorities, including advocating for the protection of human rights, addressing food insecurity and investing in clean energy. Milei spent Monday in New York City and was traveling to Washington primarily for talks with International Monetary Fund officials, according to Kirby. While in New York, Milei met with former President Bill Clinton. The two discussed the future of Argentina and the region, according to an aide to the former U.S. president. The aide, who was not authorized to comment publicly and requested anonymity, said Clinton wished Milei well. Milei also visited the burial place of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who led the Chabad-Lubavitch movement for more than four decades before his death in 1994. Schneersons grave, at a cemetery in Queens, is visited annually by thousands of Jewish people and occasionally by world leaders. Schneerson led Chabad-Lubavitch as the seventh rebbe, or spiritual leader. In those years, he was one of the most influential global leaders in Judaism, reinvigorating a small community that had been devastated by the Holocaust and pushing for all Jews to become more deeply connected to their faith and do more good in their everyday lives. Milei, a Roman Catholic, has been studying the Torah for years and has openly talked about his respect for Judaism. Although hes expressed a desire to convert to Judaism, he hasnt formally started the process although he says hes close. Milei has also expressed staunch support for Israel, both before and after he won the presidential election. During the campaign, Milei often waved an Israeli flag at his rallies. Argentinas president-elect has said he wants to move Argentinas embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, emulating a move made by Trump. I dont go to the church; I go to the temple. I dont talk to priests; I have a head rabbi. I study the Torah, Milei said in an August interview. Im internationally recognized as a friend of Israel and a scholar of the Torah. At a vigil Monday for a Palestinian Brown University student shot in Vermont, hundreds of students shouted down the schools president and demanded the university divest from investments that support Israel. Hisham Awartani, a junior at Brown, was one of three Palestinian young men shot at about 6:25 p.m. Saturday near the University of Vermont campus in Burlington. Authorities have said the incident may have been a hate crime. Brown President Christina Paxson said at the vigil that the shooting was an irrational and hateful act of violence. Although we dont know the details yet, it is horrific that the mere fact that Hisham and his friends were simply being who they are, proud Palestinians, wearing keffiyehs, speaking in Arabic, that may be what prompted the shooting, she added. Sadly, we cant control what happens around the world and across the country. Were powerless to do everything wed like to do. But theres so much that we are doing and continue to do. Brown University students protest during a vigil on Monday for a Palestinian student who was shot Saturday evening near the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont. Students confront university president Students many wearing keffiyehs began shouting at Paxson to divest from Israel. They held signs that said, Brown funds the hate that made this possible and held up hands wearing surgical gloves covered in red paint. This is how you want to honor your friend? Im sorry, she said, and left the podium to chants of Shame! Shame! Shame! Paxson returned to the podium and tried to continue, but students shouted her down again. Suspect arrested and arraigned On Sunday, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested a suspect: Jason J. Eaton, 48, who occupied an apartment in front of the place where the shooting occurred. Eaton pleaded not guilty to three charges of attempted second-degree murder on Monday, according to the Burlington Free Press. Police have suggested that the shooting may have been a hate crime. Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad said, "In this charged moment, no one can look at this incident and not suspect that it may have been a hate-motivated crime, but added, The fact is that we don't yet know as much as we want to right now. I urge the public to avoid making conclusions based on statements from uninvolved parties who know even less." Besides Awartani, the other victims were Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ahmad. The three 20-year-old men are still in the University of Vermont Medical Centers ICU, the Free Press reported. Awartani described at vigil as strong student, advocate for Palestine Brown Palestinian Studies Prof. Beshara Doumani, who had visited Awartani, read a text message from him. In it, Awartani said he was but one casualty in this much wider conflict and a proud member of a people being oppressed. Brown Junior Aboud Ashhab, who said he was a classmate of the victims at the Ramallah Friends School in the West Bank, said Awartani is a math genius who loves nature and archaeology. Awartani also pushed for Palestinian students to be protected in meetings with university administrators, but his concerns fell on deaf ears, Ashhab said. Brown cant claim to support Palestinian students and also invest in the genocide of our people back home, he said. Brown University student Aboud Ashhab speaks during a vigil-turned-protest after a fellow Palestinian student was shot in Burlington Vermont Vigil ends with poem about resilience, protest At the end of the official part of the vigil, Brown Chaplain Janet Cooper Nelson read a prayer entitled A Rose Shoulders Up by Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha. Dont ever be surprised to see a rose shoulder up among the ruins of a house, she read. This is how we survive. She prayed for healing for the victims and for communities beset by violence. Then, she read the poem again and concluded the vigil. As Paxson left, students chanted: CPax, CPax, you cant hide! Youre supporting genocide! Paxson went into University Hall, an administration building. Students followed her to the front of the building and continued shouting: Not another nickel, not another dime. No more money for Israels crimes and From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. The Anti-Defamation League has called the river to the sea phrase antisemitic. Some Jewish Brown students have also told The Providence Journal that the school has a problem with antisemitism. Brown took the unusual step of telling media organizations not to cover the event or interview students on the campus during the vigil. The vigil is intended as a space where our students, faculty and staff can have the comfort of community with hopes of encouraging healing, the university said in an unsigned media relations email. Its considered a private university event for this reason. The university did not enforce this request; reporters from The Providence Journal, The Boston Globe and The Publics Radio covered the event. Noble Brigham is a senior journalism student at Brown. Email him at noble_brigham@brown.edu. This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Brown University holds vigil for Palestinian student shot in Burlington CARTERET The borough is the home base of a specialized oil spill removal organization and training facility with a team whose roots include experience with the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska as well as port security work following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Clean Harbors Cooperative (Clean Harbors Co-Op) is dedicated to keeping the waters in the ports of New York and New Jersey safe and clean, from the Long Island Sound to the Raritan Bay, supported by the regional oil and power generation industry. It's a team the borough relies on, according to Fire Chief Mark Hruska. Mayor Daniel J. Reiman calls the cooperative "an invaluable asset to the community of Carteret." The cooperative helps local emergency responders contain oil from sinking boats and trains them in hazmat response, along with units of the Coast Guard, representatives of the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Middlesex County Hazmat Materials Unit, and hazmat teams of Cooperative members, Reiman said. Carteret is proud to be the home of Clean Harbors Co-Op and applaud them in the important and dangerous work they do in our waters, as well as surrounding waters, the mayor said. Clean Harbors Cooperative provides a flotation device that contains hazmat spills, in the wake of a fire that sank a boat in the Carteret Municipal Marina last October. Clean Harbors Co-Ops team of eight experienced fulltime employees is what makes the oil spill response organization effective, according to CEO Ben Salerno, who is a retired Perth Amboy police sergeant. Salerno, who began working part-time for the cooperative in 2012 became a full-time employee in 2017 and has been CEO since April 2021. While working in law enforcement Salerno participated in a post-9/11 port security initiative, Securing the Cities (STC), a tristate endeavor administered by the federal Department of Homeland Security, Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) utilizing state-of-the-art radiological detection equipment in a maritime environment seeking any illicit radiological material and preventing it from reaching the shorelines. More: DEP highlights $2.5 billion Raritan Bay redevelopment in cleanup program relaunch While conducting radiological maneuvers and working with our partners in the Port of New York and New Jersey, we knew theres multiple ways into the New York/New Jersey region," said Salerno, a former Perth Amboy Deputy Office of Emergency Management coordinator. "We worked jointly with New York City and our federal, state and local partners as well as the United States Coast Guard on a regular basis. Its about working together collaboratively and cohesively. At the end of the day, the mission is the same: working together, being prepared and hopefully preventing an incident from occurring.' And if something does happen, prior preparation and diligence is paramount, he said. Most team members have worked for Clean Harbors Co-Op as certified hazmat responders, credentialed Coast Guard-licensed boat captains, and commercially licensed truck drivers possessing various endorsements for more than 20 years each. "Clean Harbors Co-Op was created in 1977 by the regional oil and power generation industry as a means to deal with spills and other emergencies Salerno said. Considering the multi-layer impact a spill of great magnitude could have on the waterways in the port of NY/NJ, from environmental to financial, the member companies decided to combine resources and hence the formation of Clean Harbors Cooperative. The cooperatives board of directors includes senior leadership representatives from the member organizations. Jameel Pleasant, one of the team's two mechanics who has been with the cooperative since 2002, said it's a family atmosphere, while Erin McCarthy, office manager, said Clean Harbors Co-Op literally is family because her father, Dennis J. McCarthy, is the cooperatives former CEO and a 20-year Coast Guard veteran who supervised the lightering operation of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in the Gulf of Alaska. Clean Harbors Cooperative team members take inventory of surplus hazmat equipment and supplies in the collectives garage. Pictured from left to right are Kelvin Jones, Jameel Pleasant, and Jason Pevonis. She was raised in it, so her institutional memory is amazing, Salerno said. Clean Harbors Co-Ops mechanical data, machinery documentation and engineering information is stored in the new technical library, which was dedicated to former McCarthy, the former CEO, upon his 2021 retirement. More: Can NJ achieve gas car sales ban by 2035? Electric vehicle registrations may be indicator The library which houses all the technical data and reference material in one location, allows for streamlined access when working cases, providing training, or conducting maintenance/repairs on equipment, Salerno said. While each member of the Clean Harbors Co-Op team has hazmat and emergency response training with an emphasis on maritime hazmat, they also have specialties. Pleasant and Steve DiSandro, another co-op 20-year veteran, are both mechanics and repairmen. Kelvin Jones has the longest tenure with 26 years. Jason Pevonis is the Cooperatives graphic design specialist. Jason LaBracio, a 20-year veteran, is the Co-Ops supervisor. Chris Bodi, a four-year member, is the technology director, and Dave Nelson is a training and special projects consultant. Clean Harbors fleet includes 23 boats of various sizes and uses, several trailers, a tractor, and two utility task vehicles as well as 100,000 feet of boom to contain oil or hazardous material from a spill. The Co-Op trailers also are stocked with pumps, skimmers, generators, and hoses, while a garage and warehouse is stocked with backup equipment. Clean Harbors Cooperative CEO Ben Salerno and IT Director Chris Bodi monitor one of the collectives two drones, which help with remote imaging, emergency messages, and search and rescue. If one of our member companies has a spill, we will respond to them with our equipment, and, for them, thats where the cost savings is paramount, when using the equipment because they have a percentage ownership in it, Salerno said. There may be additional costs for consumable/disposable items, and those are generally at or near cost as a result of the volume we do and the fact of being a member of the cooperative." He added some spills last for days and involve the deployment of several thousand feet of boom. With the savings, the Cooperative continually reinvests, upgrading equipment and purchasing new technology, such as two drones that can help with remote imaging, emergency messages, and search and rescue efforts. Clean Harbors Co-Op also hosts training sessions conducted by federal agencies and have boats that can go into community lakes and streams with pumps that can help with flooding, fires and sinking boats. Clean Harbors also has worked with Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research, based in Delaware, when birds in the Port of New York and New Jersey are impacted by oil spills and required capture, decontamination, rehabilitation and release back into their native habitat. Email: srussell@gannettnj.com Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today. This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Clean Harbors Cooperative NJ oil spill response 'an invaluable asset' Nobody who accepts a prominent role in public office expects plain sailing. I have always relished public service and accept its ups and downs, but when the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is criticised, it is never comfortable for me as its chairwoman. I was grateful to see the investigation into internal complaints made against me close last month. I can wholeheartedly reassure our stakeholders, and the British public we serve, that we are fully committed to learning lessons from those events and making all necessary improvements. In the meantime, the EHRC has never ceased its work to protect and promote equality and human rights. Unfortunately, our road to reset and renewal now faces another obstacle. This comes as a challenge, originating from UK campaign groups, to our UN accreditation as an A status national human rights organisation. Accreditation is reviewed regularly by the relevant body on behalf of the UN, to ensure that the highest standards of human rights protections are upheld. The EHRC went through a successful reaccreditation only last year, which confirmed our A status for the next five years. The accreditation process for a National Human Rights Institution is different from an assessment of the countrys own human rights legal framework and record. So, for instance, Belgiums and Swedens human rights bodies are rated B, owing to constraints in their constitutional set-up. Our own reaccreditation last year showed that both our technical and procedural set-up, and our track record of protecting human rights, meet the highest standards. So we are concerned that we are now under review again. But after our advice to government on the functioning of the Equality Act this April, we experienced targeted action by a group of campaign organisations, who again used the UN accreditation process as a means to undermine our statutory role which involves a legal duty to advise on the effectiveness of equality laws. These allegations about us followed a letter we sent in April to the minister for women and equalities, who asked for our advice on the definition of the protected characteristic of sex in the Equality Act. Our advice on this complex and divisive issue made clear that government should lean towards a biological definition of sex as the fairest way of protecting everyones rights, but that it should carefully identify and consider the potential implications of any such change. We were saddened to see that Stonewall and other campaigners chose to go low with unsubstantiated claims about matters which have little to do with the daily lives of the people or groups who we are there to protect, instead of engaging with us to discuss our proposals to improve the balance of rights and protections. If they disagree with the content of our advice to government, we stand ready to explain our analysis line by line, which I have done as recently as July 12 in a public session with the Women and Equalities Committee. So I am disappointed that we now face a special review. We have already written to the Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) to highlight inaccuracies in the submissions made against us, and to strongly reject claims that we are not compliant with the Paris Principles. We take our duty to champion the rights of everyone, including trans people, incredibly seriously. This has included urging the UK Government to protect individuals with the protected characteristic of gender reassignment from harmful conversion practices and calling on governments across Britain to address unacceptably long waiting times for gender identity and advice services. We actively engage with different stakeholders on these issues to explain our decision-making and encourage open dialogue, in the spirit of more open, respectful conversations. And that is exactly where we must strike the right balance for the benefit of everyone. This includes considering, carefully and impartially and on the basis of all the evidence, how the rights of one person, or group, might be affected by the rights of another. This can put us in a difficult position, but it is an unavoidable part of our role in regulating such complex and evolving areas of law. As part of the case made against us to the SCA, we were accused of being in cahoots with the UK Government in allegedly seeking to erode the rights of trans people. We absolutely refute this assertion. Our positions on sex and gender have received support from parliamentarians across the party-political divides. We take great pride in our independence from government and continue to demonstrate our impartiality through our willingness to robustly challenge them. We were unequivocal in raising the potential for our existing human rights protections to be weakened by the Illegal Migration Act that passed over the summer, and we will actively monitor the new programme set out in the recent Kings Speech. So we are confident that we can respond robustly to any questions the SCA may have for us in spring next year, when we will be invited to attend an interview to discuss the special review of our A-status. In the meantime, we will continue to get on with the job. At the EHRC, we keep our eyes on our public duty first, which is to protect and promote the rights of everyone not merely those that shout the loudest. Baroness Falkner of Margravine is chairwoman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission 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. Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert! BONTA HIGHLIGHTS DAMNING REPORT ON META The federal judge overseeing the California-led, multi-state lawsuit against Meta, parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has unsealed most of the complaint against the social media giant, revealing details based on internal company documents. They show that company founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg vetoed a proposal to ban image filters that simulate the effects of plastic surgery, despite a contingent at the company arguing that the filters can harm users mental health, particularly for women and girls. They also include documents showing that, despite public statements to the contrary, Meta does prioritize user engagement time on its platforms, setting goals of time spent and tracking engagement metrics. One detail raised in the unsealed complaint alleged that Meta, despite a policy requiring users to be 13 or older, is aware that many are 10 to 12 years old and that the company unlawfully collects their personal information. California Attorney General Rob Bonta vowed in a statement Monday to vigorously prosecute the company over these matters. Meta knows that what it is doing is bad for kids period. Thanks to our unredacted federal complaint, it is now there in black and white, and it is damning, Bonta said. A spokesperson for Meta did not respond to The Bees request for comment by deadline. SENATE REPUBLICANS URGE NEWSOM TO FIGHT INCOME-BASED UTILITY CHARGES The California Senate Republican Caucus is urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to change course and work to either repeal or amend a 2022 law, AB 205, authorizing the California Public Utilities Commission to implement income-based charges for utility services next July. In a letter, the caucus notes that misgivings among lawmakers have grown since it first opposed the measure last April. Six months later, 22 Democrat(sic) members of the Assembly and one of the Senate have now also raised similar concerns about implementing an income-graduated fixed charge, the letter reads. The letter called the law the result of a rushed, party-line vote in a 2022 budget trailer bill. For years, our caucus has advocated against adopting significant policy changes in budget bills, particularly since very little deliberation, discussion, or debate on the policy occurs, the letter reads. Senate Republicans argue that a change of this magnitude should be the subject of greater legislative vetting, and they call for the law to be delayed, or suspended, until its impacts can be further assessed. The bottom line, Governor, is that the members of the Senate Republican Caucus have been making bipartisan attempts for months to resolve the problems caused by AB 205. It appears that several Assembly Democrats are now willing to join in this effort, the letter reads. Three utility companies including Pacific Gas & Electric have proposed implementing income-based fees, but that proposal must be approved by the CPUC, which has until July 1, 2024, to render a decision, according to CalMatters. CalMatters reports that the proposed fee structure would save low-income customers about $300 a year, while costing households making more than $180,000 an average of $500 more a year. It also comes as the CPUC approved a PG&E rate hike, which goes into effect Jan. 1. QUOTE OF THE DAY When you take public transportation on your way to chair an oversight hearing on the future of public transportation. - Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, sharing a selfie on the train to a meeting of the Senate Select Committee on Bay Area Public Transit, which he chairs, via Threads. Best of The Bee: Sacramentos city attorney has fired back at Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Hos threat to file criminal charges over the citys homeless crisis, accusing him of baseless allegations and a politically motivated campaign against Mayor Darrell Steinberg, via Sam Stanton . For every one person who exits homelessness in Sacramento County, three more people become unhoused. This severe and worsening crisis commands vast resources from local government agencies. The Sacramento Bee submitted a California Public Records Act request for documentation of county government spending on homelessness, which in the 2022-23 fiscal year was $177.5 million. In response to that request, the county provided three charts, via Ariane Lange . Despite all the Democratic star power in the frantic California Senate race, its very possible a Republican could wind up as one of the top two in next years primary, via David Lightman. The history of the Jewish people is, sadly, rife with cases of persecution and hate. Pogroms in Europe, persecution across the Middle East and the most horrific of them all, the Holocaust in the 20th century, are etched into the collective minds of the Jewish community. The birth of the state of Israel in 1948 was the manifestation of a promise that this will never happen again. Instead of being powerless in the face of hate and evil, the Jewish people have a state, capable of standing up and defending ourselves. For over 75 years, Israel has flourished, turning into a modern, diverse and beautiful society, filled with towering skyscrapers, innovation and a deep sense of connection. On Oct. 7, 2023, so much changed. Twelve hundred Israelis Jews and Arabs, people of faith, foreign nationals, and peace-seeking citizens lost their lives in the face of the brutal attacks by Hamas. The past reappeared, with a sense of powerlessness and horror. Images of innocents butchered, parents murdered in front of their children and children killed in front of their parents, are horrifying. What the Jewish community has realized is that the past is not so distant. While Israel and the Jewish community saw support in the days following Oct. 7, other organizations and individuals openly celebrated Hamas unconscionable attacks, condoned the brutal murder of civilians and blamed Israel. With phrases calling for the eradication of Israel amplified and joined by additional antisemitic chants, these attacks are reaching beyond Israel to Jews around the world. As the number of antisemitic incidents in the weeks following the attacks increased nearly 400% and Jewish students in schools and universities are targeted for who they are, too many leaders choose to turn away. They ignore the Jewish community and our pain. In early November, the Indianapolis Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) led a delegation of elected officials and lay leaders to Washington. We heard from leaders of organizations in the Jewish community, a diplomat from the Israeli embassy, and the brother of a hostage held captive by Hamas. All the speakers highlighted key issues the Jewish community and Israel face today, as well as the grief so many feel. We also visited the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. While I have visited before as well as Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem this time brought additional hurt. Watching the videos of innocent Jews slaughtered beyond recognition took me back to the same painful thought that this tragic history remains far too relevant to today. The Jewish people continue to be targeted in ways that have surprised many in our community who had viewed this hate as a history to be remembered and not an experience to be lived. As a leader of an organization committed to building bridges with other faith and community groups, I try to be optimistic. Optimism has been difficult in these past weeks. I am pained by the images of the brutal attacks by Hamas and the generational trauma that reasserts itself. I am also pained by what is happening to innocent Palestinians living in Gaza, who are suffering due to the genocidal aims of Hamas. I pray for a day when this hatred is finally in the past, and we do not live as enemies but rather as neighbors in peace. Jacob Markey is the executive director of the Indianapolis Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC). This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Op/Ed: Antisemitism is once again on the rise Firefighters battle a blaze Sunday night at a home at Fourth Street and California Avenue in a residential area in Simi Valley. Here's a roundup of recent incidents and announcements from Ventura County agencies: 2 dogs die in Simi Valley fire; other blazes reported Three structure fires of undetermined causes were reported in a little more than 12 hours around Ventura County on Sunday and Monday, one of them leading to the deaths of two dogs found under a bed. The dogs were killed in a blaze reported shortly before 6:15 p.m. Sunday at a home at Fourth Street and California Avenue in a residential area in central Simi Valley. The two adults and two children who lived there were not at home when the fire broke out but were displaced and found temporary housing on their own, Ventura County Fire Department Capt. Brian McGrath said. McGrath said there were no injuries to people and that the fire did not spread to any other homes. About 30 personnel from the Ventura County Fire Department responded and put out the blaze in about 15 minutes, he said. Another residential fire was reported shortly before 8 a.m. Monday in the 1600 block of North Ventura Avenue, south of the De Anza Academy of Technology & the Arts. Few details were immediately available from the city of Ventura Fire Department other than that there were no injuries. The third fire struck an abandoned barn early Monday in the 4300 block of Olivas Park Drive, east of the Ventura Harbor. The fire reported shortly after midnight was extinguished in an hour and spread to just a small portion of nearby brush, McGrath said. Local man sentenced over threatening phone calls amid Roe An Oxnard man was sentenced Monday to 18 months in federal prison for making threatening telephone calls last year as the U.S. Supreme Court weighed overturning the Roe v. Wade decision guaranteeing abortion rights. Nishith Tharaka Vandebona, 34, who lived in Camarillo when he committed the crimes, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge R. Gary Klausner in Los Angeles. The judge described the threatening phone calls as egregious, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release. Vandebona has been in federal custody since June 12, the agency said. Officials said he pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of threatened forcible intimidation regarding the obtaining and provision of reproductive health services under the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and one felony count of transmitting threatening communications in interstate commerce. In February and June of 2022, Vandebona allegedly used an internet application to create anonymous telephone numbers to make the threatening calls. On June 24 of that year, the day the Supreme Court published a decision overturning Roe and found the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion, Vandebona is accused of leaving a voicemail message containing death threats with Planned Parenthood California Central Coast, which is based in Santa Barbara. The next day Vandebona allegedly called Planned Parenthood Los Angeles and repeatedly made death threats against its staff. About four months before in February, Vandebona called in a bomb threat to a Ventura nonprofit that seeks to stabilize population growth, federal officials said. Freeway ramp closures this week Ramp closures are planned on Highway 101 this week ending Friday for pavement work, state transportation officials announced. The ramps will be closed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., although some closures may be intermittent. The closures will be at the Seacliff exit. Affected are the off-ramps from both sides of the freeway to Seacliff and on-ramps leading back to the freeway. All work is subject to change due to weather or construction-related issues. Residents and businesses located near the freeway may experience noise, vibrations and dust associated with construction activities. Motorists are advised to check http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/ for real-time traffic information. Items may be updated. This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Roundup: Dogs die in fire, man sentenced over threats, more BEIJING, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- China will continue to maintain the stability of global industrial and supply chains while enhancing cooperation in technological innovation, according to a major Chinese expo focusing on supply chains. Officials, experts and industry insiders gathered at the first China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE), the world's first supply chain expo at a national level, which is being held in Beijing from Nov. 28 to Dec. 2. During the opening ceremony of the expo, industrial and commercial representatives launched the Beijing Initiative for the Connectivity of Industrial and Supply Chains, calling for maintaining the stability and smooth flows of global industrial and supply chains. MAINTAINING STABILITY Speaking ahead of the event, Ren Hongbin, president of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), said that China is firmly committed to upholding the public good aspect of industrial and supply chains to fully support multilateralism. He noted that a new wave of scientific, technological and industrial transformation is imminent, and this will require major adjustments in the global innovation landscape and economic structure. China will continue to improve the industrial system to provide strong support for the operation of global industrial and supply chains, he said. China's manufacturing industry scale has ranked top in the world for 13 consecutive years, accounting for nearly 30 percent of the global total, according to data released by the CCPIT. This massive manufacturing industry leads to relatively low costs and high efficiency in producing various products. "The Chinese market plays a crucial role in the global industry supply chain," said Stefan Hartung, chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH, in his video address at the CISCE's opening ceremony, adding that the company sees the CISCE platform as serving to facilitate closer collaboration, greater resilience and a more secure supply chain. INNOVATIVE DEVELOPMENT In recent years, China has witnessed rapid development in industrial and supply chains related to clean energy and new energy vehicles, presenting great potential for cooperation, according to industry insiders at the CISCE. "China's huge market demand, characterized by customization and fast delivery, is constantly pushing forward innovations in its supply chains," said Xiong Meng, executive vice president of the China Federation of Industrial Economics. China hosted 75 percent of all battery cell manufacturing capacity and 90 percent of anode and electrolyte production, according to data published by research organization BloombergNEF last year, while China will hold over 80 percent of global solar product manufacturing capacity from 2023 to 2026, a recent forecast by energy research firm Wood Mackenzie showed. Tomasz Szypula, president of Poland's National Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises, said that China is one of the best markets when it comes to clean energy and that Polish companies would like to cooperate with China in clean energy technologies, such as energy storage plants, biomass electricity generation, and wind farms. "New energy is China's most internationalized and sustainable advantage," said Chris Pereira, CEO of North American Ecosystem Institute, a global communications and consulting group. Pereira believes that supply chain cooperation almost always presents win-win opportunities, "as such transactions make both suppliers and customers happy." Going forward, Pereira said it is critical for Chinese technologies to reach wider markets across the world, and his company is working to contribute to this mission. "I believe China has a first-class supply chain and expect to see more global exchanges with China's high-tech in the following five to 10 years," Pereira said. The News Sierra Leones president said security forces foiled an attempt to break into a military barracks close to his official residence in the capital Freetown, prompting a daily curfew and international condemnation of anti-democratic plots in the West African nation. The United States, European Union, and regional bloc Ecowas all issued strongly worded statements denouncing the latest sign of unrest in a sub-region that has been hit by a spate of coups in the last two years. Residents and journalists in Freetown reported hearing gunshots before 5am local time on Sunday in Wilberforce, a neighborhood that houses Sierra Leones main barracks. President Julius Maada Bio later tweeted that a breach of security had occurred but insisted his government had restored calm. Most of the leaders of the barracks attack have been arrested and investigations are ongoing into their actions, Bio stated in a video posted on his X account. An unspecified number of detainees at Pademba Road prison in Freetown escaped after a breach that followed the barracks attacks, he said. An indefinite daily curfew in Freetown begins today between 9pm and 6am, information and civic education minister Chernor Bah said. Know More Eight countries in West and Central Africa are currently ruled by military governments formed after coups in recent years. The Sierra Leonean government and foreign embassies in the country have yet to describe Sundays events as an attempted coup. However, the U.S. and EU condemned a forceful seizure in their separate statements. Ecowas expressed utter disgust at the attempt to disturb the peace and constitutional order in Sierra Leone. YouTube It was the second jailbreak in West Africa this month following an attempt in Guinea, which shares a 493-mile border with Sierra Leone. Attempted coups in the subregion were staged in Guinea Bissau in February 2022 and the Gambia last December. Bio won a second and final five-year presidential term in June, in elections that some observers including the U.S. faulted for irregularities. Some soldiers arrested by the government in August were accused of plotting a possible overthrow. Alexanders view Bios four-minute national address on Sunday evening served as a proof-of-life video to assure Sierra Leoneans to be calm but also underscored the sense of fear that gripped the nation. We have overcome this challenge, the president said. Analysts are hedging their interpretations but there are signs that the country might well have survived a coup. What happened has all the hallmarks of a coup, at least an attempt, Kieran Mitton, a researcher at the Kings College London who studies Sierra Leone, told Semafor Africa. He points to the attackers effort to go after weapons in an armory and even an apparent attempted capture of the state broadcaster as such marks. State broadcaster SLBC did not broadcast programming for many hours after the first gunshots until 5pm local time, but it is unclear if its offices were attacked. To describe it as an attempted coup would justify so-called contagion theories that project the spread of more military takeovers in Africa as a result of successful attempts in places like Mali, Burkina Faso and Gabon. Analysis of potential hotspots have noted the Congo basin as being particularly high risk. However, a general theme appears to be that mutinous soldiers will make a move where they envisage little resistance due to weak state structures or ineffective leadership. Sierra Leone, a country of eight million people with fresh memories of deadly conflict, has been on a gradual shift towards democratic stability in recent years. But Sundays events were reminiscent of the war in too many ways as one resident put it. Life in Freetown over the coming days is likely to be tense as soldiers have begun stop and search operations on residents. Soldiers reportedly fought those behind the barracks attacks in Jui, a town on the capitals outskirts. Bio, a former coup leader himself, will be under scrutiny to see his continued response to the threat posed to his power. I think they have passed the test because this could have toppled past Sierra Leonean governments, Mitton said. But a political challenge remains because Bio hasnt always done a good job of building consensus with opposition parties. There is a danger that he goes down the wrong path of seeking punishments against opposition figures suspected of being involved [in the attacks] without evidence, Mitton said. Quotable The US embassy in Freetown, in a note of strong support for President Bio, said: We honor and remember those who gave their lives yesterday in defense of Sierra Leones constitution and government. We call for those responsible for these heinous attacks to be held accountable in accordance with due process and the rule of law. Rishi Sunak was rocked by further rebellions on immigration, as a cabinet minister said there were strong arguments in favour of Suella Bravermans proposal for an overall cap on migrant numbers. Immigration minister Robert Jenrick, a close ally of the sacked home secretary, suggested he was keen to consider her idea of a radical Australian-style cap on annual net migration numbers. It came as fellow Tory minister Lee Anderson openly backed Ms Bravermans plan in the Commons saying it was about time the government brought in a cap to crack down on record-high numbers. In other developments, Mr Sunaks ally William Hague warned the PM that he must find another country willing to accept deported asylum seekers if his Rwanda plan fails. It comes as Mr Sunak is said to have been warned by government lawyers that trying to opt out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) for his revised Rwanda plan wont work. The Tory PM is under huge pressure to deliver fresh ideas to crack down on both legal and illegal migration, after net arrivals hit a record high of 745,000 and the Supreme Court ruled against the Rwanda plan. Mr Anderson, the outspoken right-wing deputy chair of the party, asked Mr Jenrick in the Commons: Isnt it about time, minister, that we had a cap on migration, and put some clear divide between us and that lot over there? Mr Jenrick told Mr Anderson that he speaks for my constituents and promised fundamental reforms to the visa system before hinting that he has raised the idea of an overall cap with Mr Sunak. There are definitely strong arguments for using caps, whether in general or on specific visas but these are conversations that we need to conclude within government, said Mr Jenrick. Immigration minister Robert Jenrick pushing for hardline crackdown (PA) Mr Jenrick also appeared to confirm he was pushing Mr Sunak to raise salary thresholds for overseas NHS and care staff, having reportedly submitted a five-point plan of his own to No 10. Right-wing Tory MP Edward Leigh said wages in the care home sector had to go up to stop so many arrivals from overseas. He added: We know [Mr Jenrick] is on the right side hes just got to persuade the prime minister now. Not taken aback by the suggestion he was at odds with the PM, Mr Jenrick replied by saying Mr Leigh was absolutely right and I agree with everything he said. Mr Jenrick also confirmed he was pushing for a crackdown on the number of dependents coming with foreign workers. There is a strong argument for saying that it is unsustainable for the country to continue to take so many dependents. Senior Tory right-winger John Hayes another close ally of Ms Braverman told Mr Jenrick: We are relying on him to sort this out because we know he shares our concerns. Mr Hayes previously told The Independent that the immigration minister was a true believer. Mr Jenrick also told MPs that his own immigration plan would have been brought to the House before last Christmas if I could have done hinting that it had been blocked by No 10. A No 10 spokesperson responded: I dont know what specifically he is referring to. Rishi Sunak under growing pressure to set out plans for crackdown on legal and illegal migration (PA) Meanwhile, former Tory leader Lord Hague, a close ally of Mr Sunak, warned the PM that he may have to find another deportation deal partner to make his stop the boats policy work. If it wasnt Rwanda it would have to be somewhere else, said Lord Hague on the prospect that Mr Sunak will not be able to get one-way flights to the central African country off the ground. Lord Hague told Times Radio: They have got to have some aspect of this policy that shows that if you come to Britain illegally you are going to get removed from it So I think that is a necessary component, one way or another. The under-pressure PM is thought to be mulling over a plan to use a notwithstanding clause in his new emergency Rwanda legislation to direct British judges to ignore the ECHR. But the PM was said to have been warned of huge legal risks at a meeting on Saturday with home secretary James Cleverly, justice secretary Alex Chalk and attorney general Victoria Prentis. Legal advice heard at the meeting warned that such a move to flout the convention could lead to further challenges on the grounds that the UK was not meeting its human rights obligation, according to The Times. Asked if disapplying the ECHR had been ruled out of the Rwanda legislation, Mr Sunaks spokesman said: No there are policy discussions ongoing about how we meet that objective [to stop the boats]. New home secretary James Cleverly leaves cabinet on Tuesday (Getty) Senior Tory Sir Robert Buckland has warned against any moves to disapply the ECHR and said the Rwanda plan was not the be all and end all. Unless the government does more, unless Rwanda does more, to satisfy everybody that its a safe country then we will continue to struggle with the problems that we saw up to and including the Supreme Court judgement, he told GB News. Mr Cleverly has angered the Tory right after saying the Rwanda plan was not the be all and end all. The new home secretary is also seen as suspect among hardliners because he is known to be opposed to moves to opt out of the ECHR, and has not denied calling the Rwanda plan bats***. Mr Cleverly was set to meet Tory MPs later on Tuesday amid growing backbench anger. Allies told The Telegraph that he had become a flak magnet for anger over the Rwanda policy and net migration levels. Labours shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper mocked Mr Cleverlys problems with Tory right-wingers. She told the Commons: The problem seems to be that he thinks his Rwanda policy is bats***, thats driven his backbenchers apes*** and now his whole party is in deep shambles. Ms Cooper also took a swipe at Mr Jenrick, saying the immigration minister has been everywhere madly briefing all his ideas, before asking: Who speaks for the government? Senior Tory Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg launched a new attack on Mr Sunak over immigration calling his government the most inert since the reign of Henry VI in the 15th century. The former cabinet minister said current levels of migration let down an electorate and could cost the Tory party the next election. A majority of voters want lower immigration overall, according to new polling for More in Common. But when asked about specific professions, the public are more likely to say that levels of immigration for each group should remain the same or be increased. Only 19 per cent say overall net migration levels should be increased, versus 53 per cent who think it should be reduced. This is particularly high among voters who have abandoned the Tories since 2019 with 79 per cent of them saying immigration should be cut. NEW YORK Two men who have spent a combined half-century in prison for murder saw their names cleared in Manhattan on Monday, but only one walked free. At back-to-back hearings, District Attorney Alvin Braggs office asked two Manhattan judges to vacate the decades-old murder convictions of Wayne Gardine and Jabar Walker after separate reinvestigations with the Legal Aid Society and The Innocence Project revealed their cases were built on lies. Both men were convicted in separate murder cases based on investigations by the then-notoriously corrupt 30th Precinct, known then as the Dirty 30. A sixth of the precincts NYPD officers, 33 in total, were arrested in the 1990s for corrupt police work. In Walkers case, Manhattan prosecutors under former DA Bob Morgenthau offered him nine years to plead guilty in 1996 to the murders the year before of Ismael De La Cruz and William Santana. When he refused citing his innocence and lost at trial, a judge sentenced him to 50 years. I made it, Walker quietly said in court, wiping a tear from his eye, as Judge Miriam Best vacated his conviction. The 49-year-old Gardine who has been in custody since he was 20 was sitting in a federal detention facility in New Jersey when Judge Kathryn Paek approved the DA and Legal Aids motion to vacate his conviction and dismiss the underlying indictment. Gardine has languished in ICE lockup awaiting deportation to Jamaica since completing his prison sentence in 2022, according to his lawyers. He [was] not able to be there because [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] has refused to let him out, Gardines lawyer, Lou Fox, told the Daily News. Its a horrible position to put someone in who has been wrongfully convicted. He spent nearly 30 years behind bars, and hes still not free. Its a very bittersweet ending to this story. In a statement provided by his attorneys, Gardine thanked them and the DA for re-examining his case and their respect for the truth. I also want to thank my mom for being there all these years, and I want to thank myself for never giving up, Gardine said. Im happy that the justice system finally worked. Gardine, who left behind a year-old child when he was sent away, has for decades maintained his innocence. He was denied parole four times in 29 years. Every time I think of Wayne, Im brought to tears. He lost nearly three decades of his life for a crime that he didnt commit, Gardines mother, Grace Davis, said. ICE can end this nightmare now by immediately freeing my son. An agency spokesperson did not immediately comment, nor would they say if or when Gardine will be released from custody. Gardines 1996 conviction for a fatal Harlem shooting two years prior was based on the word of one eyewitness. The other witness, who did not testify at his trial, revealed to investigators that both had framed Gardine to appease their drug dealer boss. The lead detective on the case no longer stands by his work on it and told investigators he was a rookie at the time and taking cues from Willie Parson, a detective at the 30th Precinct, who was later convicted of federal drug dealing crimes. Parson deterred his junior colleague from pursuing another suspect or following up on Gardines alibi, which investigators stood up in clearing his name. Wayne Gardine was just 22 years old when he was sentenced to decades in prison following a trial that we now believe relied on an unreliable witness and testimony losing years of freedom due to an unjust conviction, Bragg said, thanking Legal Aid for its outstanding work clearing their clients name. Walkers mom, Patrice Walker, told The News on Monday she remembered the moment Judge Edwin Torres announced her sons sentence like it was yesterday. She recalled feeling overcome with guilt for supporting his decision to reject the deal when his older brother had told him to take it. I had to leave the court, I almost fainted, she told The News. Walkers mother and his father, Terry Walker, were among at least 30 of his relatives and loved ones who packed the courtroom Monday for his hearing, many of whom traveled from Atlanta. Walkers 27-year-old daughter, Alexis, was there, too now almost a decade older than her father was when they were separated. Mr. Walker has paid a heavy price for insisting on his innocence the day his prosecution began, Walkers lawyer, Vanessa Potkin, said. He refused to take the deal, insisting on his innocence. On the day of his sentencing, the star witness at Walkers trial sought to recant his testimony, in which he pinned the blame on Walker for the 1998 fatal shootings of 32-year-old William Santana and Ismael De La Cruz, 30. He remained adamant Walker was innocent when he spoke with investigators taking a fresh look at the case in 2021. Potkin told Judge Best that Walker legally advocated for himself for years without support, spending countless hours in the prison law library. It wasnt until a joint investigation between the DAs office and the Innocence Project uncovered pervasive misconduct in police and prosecutors files that he could prove he was telling the truth. The joint re-investigation, guided by a commitment to transparency and the ascertainment of truth, revealed a myriad of ways where the system failed Mr. Walker and uncovered pervasive misconduct that led to his wrongful conviction and new evidence of what he has stated all along he is innocent, Potkin said. He has now spent more than half of his life in prison for a crime he did not do. Walkers father, Terry Walker, told The News he had no choice but to keep the faith for 27 years that his son would see his name cleared. We had to believe, you know? Thats really all we had, he said. We knew our boy was innocent. But the elder Walker said he didnt believe there was any way to rectify the horrific wrongs his son experienced in New Yorks justice system. I dont believe so. I really dont believe so. We have to accept what happened and move on with our lives, he said. He missed a lifetime. He missed his daughter growing up. He missed us getting older, things that we could have done together. He missed all of that. His parents said they were able to visit him about once a month in recent years and more often when he was closer to them at Sing Sing. His mother said he deterred her from taking the taxing journey when her health took a bad turn. Im feeling so good. My stomach is jumping like crazy. I cant stop it, but to hold him out in the hall, then I will really know hes home to stay, Patrice said as she waited for her son to be officially released. I really wanted to cry, she said of the moment Judge Best vacated his conviction. I really wanted to say, I told you so! Walkers dad added. A North Carolina home went up in flames after a turkey fryer was left unattended in the middle of the night, firefighters said. The Burlington Fire Department received a report of a raging house fire at about 1 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 22, according to a news release. Firefighters arrived in about 2 minutes to search the house for anyone inside. Everyone was evacuated from the burning home, officials said, so firefighters began to put out the flames. While extinguishing the fire, firefighters found a dog, which was rescued, inside the home, according to the release. The family cat also escaped the fire, officials said. Putting out the fire took about 30 minutes, officials said. While conducting its investigation, the department said it determined a turkey fryer was left alone for an extended period of time. Damages totaled around $200,000, though officials said that one room was virtually undamaged by heat and smoke because the door was closed. The fire department warned people to remain extra vigilant during the holiday season to avoid dangerous situations such as the house fire caused by a turkey fryer. Thanksgiving is reported to have three times more house fires caused by cooking than the U.S. daily average, according to the National Fire Protection Association. Christmas and Christmas Eve rank as the next highest days in the year for cooking-related home fires, the association said. In 2021, there were more than 1,100 home fires related to cooking reported to fire departments across the country, according to the association. Among recommendations for frying a turkey, the Federal Emergency Management Agency suggests that the fryer is used at least 10 feet away from a home. It also warns against using a partially frozen turkey, as it can cause a grease fire, FEMA said. Electric or air fryers can be safer alternatives to using a turkey fryer, according to FEMA. Burlington is about 55 miles northwest of Raleigh. Arson suspected as wildfire burns in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, rangers say Mom found stabbed to death in burning home with three kids inside, Florida cops say Lost hiker kept himself and dog warm by building fire with hand sanitizer and lighter The United States, along with 17 other countries, unveiled an international agreement that aims to keep artificial intelligence (AI) systems safe from rogue actors and urges providers to follow secure by design principles. The 20-page document, jointly published Sunday by the U.S. Department of Homeland Securitys Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the United Kingdoms National Security Centre, provides a set of guidelines to ensure AI systems are built to function as intended without leaking sensitive data to unauthorized users. Broken down into four sections, the guidelines lay out recommendations that can be taken during each step of the process, from AI system design and development to its deployment and maintenance. The guidelines generally discuss threats to AI systems, the protection of AI-related assets like models and data, the responsible release of AI systems, and the importance of monitoring such systems after they are released. Best Black Friday Deals BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. Other countries featured in the agreement include Australia, Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Nigeria, Poland and Singapore. While the agreement is nonbinding and includes more general recommendations for AI providers, Jen Easterly, the director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, told Reuters the guidelines represent the importance of prioritizing the safety of AI systems. This is the first time that we have seen an affirmation that these capabilities should not just be about cool features and how quickly we can get them to market or how we can compete to drive down costs, Easterly told the news outlet. The race to deploy AI systems has accelerated in the past year among tech firms, though lawmakers and some tech leaders have expressed concerns over the risk of uncontrolled AI development. Last month, the Biden administration issued a sweeping executive order on AI focused on managing the risks of AI. The order includes new standards of safety, worker protection principles, along with directing federal agencies to accelerate the development of techniques so AI systems can be trained while preserving the privacy of training data. The order will also evaluate how agencies collect and use commercially available information with personal data, along with introducing a tool to expand grants for AI research in areas like health care and climate change. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) The price for a gallon of gas in the Beehive State has finally fallen below the national average as gas prices continue a steady year-long decline. According to gas pricing data from auto-insurance company AAA, Utahs national average gas price fell to an average of $3.22 a gallon for regular-grade fuel on Monday, Nov. 27. Meanwhile, the price of diesel has fallen to $4.18 per gallon. Heres the top cheeseburger joint in Utah, according to Yelp Utahs gas prices, while lower than the national average, are still comparable. AAA reports the nations average for gas is $3.25 per gallon for regular and $4.22 for diesel. Even with Utahs prices seeing a steady decline, not every corner of the Beehive State is experiencing relief. AAA reports counties along the Wasatch Front and in the northwest corner are seeing the greatest relief with prices averaging $2.93 in Tooele County and $3.18 in Davis County. In Southern Utah, however, prices are still higher than the national average. An average gallon of regular gas in Garfield County is reportedly $3.58 and $3.80 in Grand County. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now ABC4 Breaking News Alerts The trend for Utahs lowering prices at the pump matches a year-long trend of declining prices. According to AAA data, Utahs average price for a gallon of regular gas a year ago was $3.92, well above the then $3.55 national average. Just within the last month, Utahs regular gas prices fell over 50 cents from $3.77 per gallon. The price for a gallon of diesel has dropped dramatically in Utah over the last year. AAA data reports last year Utahs average for diesel was $5.73 a gallon. In the year since it has dropped well over a dollar to $4.18. Still, while below the national average, Utah is still among the more expensive states across the nation. According to AAA, Utah is the 21st most expensive state for a regular gallon of gas. California remains the most expensive with a gallon of regular gas averaging $4.90 for drivers. Looking to escape high gas prices? Youll have to make your way to Texas, where a regular gallon of gas will cost you an average of $2.70, the lowest average in the nation. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah. More than a century after securing the right for women to vote, the Kansas Statehouse is one step closer to having a memorial honoring suffragists. The Capitol Preservation Committee last month approved the selection of Manhattan artist Phyllis Pease and largely approved of her plans for a painting. But the final design has not been approved, which could risk a yearlong delay to the project. Kansas Legislature authorized a women's suffrage memorial During the 2022 legislative session, Senate Bill 479 was passed unanimously and signed into law. It tasks the Capitol Preservation Committee with approving plans for "a permanent memorial in the state capitol commemorating the decades of work of Kansas suffragists toward achieving the right of women to vote in Kansas in 1912 and the passage of the 19th amendment to the constitution of the United States in 1920." A request for qualification sent to artists elicited 25 applications, from which five finalists were chosen to create plans for their proposed artwork and interview with a committee, which ranked their choices. Pease won over a subcommittee, as well as the full committee. This was the proposed oil painting design by artist Phyllis Pease for a women's suffrage memorial at the Statehouse. It was approved by the Capitol Preservation Committee in October, though some modifications are expected in the final design. Pease's proposed oil painting was 18 feet by 8 feet, depicting 13 historical women and images of various suffragist activities while also showing the historical opposition to women voting. The plan also calls for a plaque with a brief history on suffrage in Kansas and a QR code linking to an explainer. The banner at the top of the painting has the words used when Kansas gave women the right to vote, Merrill said. The plan is for the painting to be hung from the wall across from the cage elevator on the first floor of the Statehouse "That's prime real estate there," said Patrick Zollner, the committee chair and executive director of the Kansas State Historical Society. Fundraising is needed to cover the cost of women's suffrage painting State law established a fund to accept donations while prohibiting any public funding for creation or construction of the memorial. Such prohibitions on public funding are typical for art at the Statehouse. None of the cost, including any costs associated with installation or lighting reconfigurations, can be paid by the state, said Frank Burnam, deputy secretary of the Kansas Department of Administration. Marlene Merrill, of the League of Women Voters, said the artist cost estimate was roughly $70,000, including the cost of installation. About half of that has been raised so far. They are also drafting fundraising letters and pursuing grants. "I know there's work to be done, but I'm optimistic as well that it won't be a terrible ordeal to raise the money," Merrill said. Painting could be delayed. Here's why. While the committee approved the artist, the general content and the location, the final design of the Painting remains subject to review. That could risk a lengthy delay, as has happened to other projects. Zollner and Merrill said Pease has already worked with a subcommittee to address some "historical concerns." "This was the best mural, but it needed some tweaking," Zollner said. He said the original design had "some current political sentiments expressed in the background, and so the League of Women Voters asked to alter that." Merrill said the people on the far right of the proposed design will be replaced, indicating one person holding a megaphone and another holding a sign that reads "you will never have the comfort of our silence again." "What she did is to take history and bring it forward," Merrill said. "So this actually is an immigrant person. I can't remember what the words are, but these people on the far end are current, so they're going to be replaced." Some members on the full committee, especially Sen. Chase Blasi, R-Wichita, expressed a desire to see the final design before approving it. But the Legislature typically only authorizes the committee to meet once a year. That prompted Rep. Valdenia Winn, D-Kansas City, and Will Lawrence, the governor's chief of staff, to raise concerns that waiting for a final design could cause a yearlong delay. "I'm not suggesting in any way that we're going to wait an entire year to do this," Blasi said. "I just think it's important that if we're going to put some piece of art that depicts history and it's in the Capitol forever, we want to ensure that it's right. ... I just don't think we should rush something when we don't exactly know what it's going to finally look like." Blasi said he would ask legislative leadership to give the committee permission to meet again. Even if another meeting is authorized, it was unclear how long the artist would need to make the design modifications. "It's a fair point to want to know exactly what we're getting," Zollner said. "Because those points are correct. This will be up here, and it's in a very prominent spot. I also would not like to wait another year." Once approved, when will the painting be done? Merrill said Pease estimated it would take about 10 months for her to complete the painting on canvas in her studio. "We would like to make it a celebratory event," she said. "She would do the installation, and then shortly thereafter we would have a grand unveiling and celebration." Jason Alatidd is a statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd. This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas artist chosen for women's suffrage memorial in Statehouse New Zealand is planning to scrap its flagship generational smoking ban in order to fund tax cuts a move that experts warn will have adverse effects on public health. Last year, New Zealand became the first country in the world to ban smoking for the next generation. As per the policy, anyone born after 1 January 2009 would not be able to buy any tobacco ever. The ban would have come into effect next year. The legislation passed last year by the liberal government aimed to prevent thousands of smoking-related deaths and save thousands of dollars in the healthcare system. New Zealands new finance minister, Nicola Willis, said on Saturday that the measures will be eliminated from March next year and the revenue from cigarette sales will be directed towards the coalitions tax cuts. Coming back to those extra sources of revenue and other savings areas that will help us to fund the tax reduction, we have to remember that the changes to the smoke-free legislation had a significant impact on the government books with about $1bn there, she said. New prime minister Christopher Luxon emphasised that the reversal of the smoking legislation would prevent the emergence of an underground tobacco market and deter criminals from targeting shops. Concentrating the distribution of cigarettes in one store in one small town is going to be a massive magnet for crime, Mr Luxon told Radio New Zealand. However, public health officials in New Zealand say that the reversal would put thousands of lives at risk and be especially damaging to the Maori communities who have higher smoking rates. This is a major loss for public health, and a huge win for the tobacco industry whose profits will be boosted at the expense of Kiwi lives, Professor Lisa Te Morenga, chair of the non-government group Health Coalition Aotearoa, told the Guardian. Other health groups in the country also criticised the governments move. Prof Richard Edwards, a public health expert at the University of Otago, told the BBC: We are appalled and disgusted. This is an incredibly retrograde step on world-leading, absolutely excellent health measures. Most health groups in New Zealand are appalled by what the governments done and are calling on them to backtrack. Chinese Premier Li Qiang attends the opening ceremony of the first China International Supply Chain Expo and the Global Supply Chain Innovation and Development Forum, and delivers a keynote speech in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 28, 2023. (Xinhua/Liu Bin) BEIJING, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday called for enhanced global cooperation on industrial and supply chains. Li made the remarks while addressing the opening ceremony of the first China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) and the Global Supply Chain Innovation and Development Forum. Li said the CISCE is the world's first national-level supply chain expo, and that maintaining the resilience and stability of global industrial and supply chains is an important guarantee for the promotion of global economic development. The expo is being held in order to create an international platform for all parties to strengthen communication, deepen cooperation and seek common development, said Li. He noted that both history and reality have proven that the whole world will benefit when cooperation on global industrial and supply chains remains stable and continues to deepen, otherwise the globe will generally bear losses when cooperation on the chains is hindered and stagnates. China is willing to work with all parties to make the global industrial and supply chains more resilient, efficient and dynamic, and make greater contributions to promoting global economic recovery, development and prosperity, he said. Li also put forward four proposals to deepen international cooperation on industrial and supply chains. First, he called for building safe and stable industrial and supply chains, enhancing the resource coordination of key industrial chains on a global scale, and avoiding interfering with market behaviors at will. China will continue to provide the world with high-quality made-in-China products and stable supply from China, according to Li. Second, he advocated for the building of smooth and efficient industrial and supply chains, strengthening global connectivity and making the circulation of factors of production more convenient and effective. China will continue to promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and step up innovation cooperation in smart manufacturing, digital economy and other fields, he said. Third, he proposed the building of open and inclusive industrial and supply chains, highlighting a clear-cut stand against protectionism and various forms of "decoupling and supply chain disruption," and efforts to promote the green and low-carbon transformation of industrial and supply chains. China will further integrate into the global system of industrial and supply chains, and will actively participate in international green development cooperation, the premier said. Fourth, he urged the building of industrial and supply chains that are reciprocal and win-win. It is necessary to promote the construction of a global system of industrial and supply chains with extensive participation, complementary advantages and shared dividends, said Li. China will actively promote industrial and production capacity cooperation with other countries, and help developing countries participate more deeply in global value chains, Li noted. It is hoped that entrepreneurs from all over the world will play an active role in promoting the steady operation of the global industrial and supply chains, Li said, adding that China will provide more convenience and better guarantees for enterprises to invest in the country. Chinese Premier Li Qiang talks with a staff member of an exhibitor at the exhibition hall before the opening ceremony of the first China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 28, 2023. Li attended the opening ceremony of the first China International Supply Chain Expo and the Global Supply Chain Innovation and Development Forum, and delivered a keynote speech in Beijing on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin) You are the owner of this article. Where to watch comedy in Seattle, according to 5 local comedians FILE - Former first lady Rosaylnn Carter smiles during an interview at the Carter Center in Atlanta, June 13, 2006. Carter will make her final journey to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Center, Monday, Nov. 27, 2023, as her family begins three days of memorials for the former first lady and global humanitarian who died Nov. 19 at the age of 96. With deadline looming, diplomats seek to extend Gaza truce; more hostages, prisoners are freed Hamas has freed 12 hostages and Israel has released 30 Palestinian prisoners on the fifth day of a fragile cease-fire in the Gaza war Do you want to visit a WA state park for free? Here are 12 days that you can in 2024 If you are sending a Letter To the Editor, please be sure to follow these rules: Letters have a firm 200-word limit and will be edited for grammar, clarity and accuracy. The person who signs the letter must be the author. Anonymous letters will not be considered. Letters must address the editor, not a third party. We will not print form letters, libelous letters, business promotions or personal disputes, poetry, open letters, letters espousing religious views without reference to a current issue, or letters considered in poor taste. Letters reflect the opinion of the writer. The Yakima Herald-Republic cannot verify the accuracy of all statements made in letters. Writers are limited to one published letter per calendar month. WASHINGTON, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden said Tuesday that he would testify before Congress in December, in response to a Republican-led impeachment investigation into the president and his family. Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden's attorney, told chairman of the House Oversight Committee James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, that the president's son will answer "any pertinent and relevant questions" lawmakers might have, but said his questioning must take place at a public committee hearing. Our directory features more than 18 million business listings from across the entire US. However, if we're missing your business, add your business by clicking on Add Your Business. Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden take a walk after their talks in the Filoli Estate in the U.S. state of California, Nov. 15, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xueren) As a lesson borne out by both history and reality, when the two countries join forces, the global community reaps the rewards; but when they are at loggerheads, the whole world bears the brunt. BEIJING, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- As the global community was fretting over the escalating strain in China-U.S. ties, the summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart, Joe Biden, in San Francisco has raised hopes of a detente in this pivotal bilateral relationship. The momentous summit marks the Chinese president's return to the United States after a six-year hiatus, and also the first face-to-face meeting between the two heads of state since the Bali summit last November. When Xi and Biden smiled at each other and shook hands under a global gaze, the world breathed a sigh of relief. Once again, it is proven that cooperation is the only right choice for the two countries to get along. During the summit, the two leaders engaged in candid exchanges of views on matters that wield substantial sway over bilateral relations, as well as issues concerning global peace and development, charting the course for the colossal vessel of China-U.S. relations as it steers ahead. Amidst the exquisite scenery of the Filoli Estate on the outskirts of San Francisco, Xi urged both nations to build five pillars that would fortify their relationship, namely jointly developing a right perception, jointly managing disagreements effectively, jointly advancing mutually beneficial cooperation, jointly shouldering responsibilities as major countries, and jointly promoting people-to-people exchanges. A journalist walks past a poster at the APEC 2023 International Media Center in San Francisco, the United States, on Nov. 14, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Rui) During his stay, Xi reminisced about his first trip to the United States in 1985 on multiple occasions, and held special meetings with American friends from various walks of life. He emphasized that "it is the reaching out to each other by our peoples that has time and again brought China-U.S. relations from a low ebb back onto the right track," and put forward concrete measures to facilitate civil connections between the two sides. The summit has also paved the way for the two countries to reach more than 20 common understandings in such fields as political, diplomatic, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, global governance, military and security, generating fresh impetus for bringing bilateral ties back on the right track. To build on the outcomes of the San Francisco summit, both countries must take a page from the past. Over the past years, the China-U.S. relationship has encountered headwinds and suffered setbacks. The crux lies in the United States' failure to find the right answer to whether China is an adversary or a partner, resulting in China being misjudged as a rival, a challenge and even a threat. China and the United States, as the world's largest developing and developed countries, are highly complementary in their economies, with extensive opportunities for cooperation in areas such as trade, energy, technology, education, and culture. As a lesson borne out by both history and reality, when the two countries join forces, the global community reaps the rewards; but when they are at loggerheads, the whole world bears the brunt. As the world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation, it is incumbent upon China and the United States to stand out as global heavyweights, taking the lead as key players on the world stage, and collaborating to overcome global challenges and enhance the well-being of all humanity. To this end, China and the United States should forge ahead on a new journey from San Francisco, pursuing sound interactions and viewing each other as partners. The San Francisco summit has set the course for China-U.S. relations, the major-country ties most consequential to the future of the world. The matter of first-rate importance now is concerted effort and collaborative action from both sides to translate the San Francisco vision into actual policies and concrete steps to ensure a stable and sound relationship. Ministrul Economiei, Radu Oprea, pas cu pas, catre Bruxelles Ministrul PSD al Economiei, senatorul de Prahova Radu Oprea, nu prea mai are trecere la organizatia care l-a propulsat, fapt pentru care se pregateste sa faca o mutare politica oarecum surprinzatoare. Senatorul Radu Oprea nu prea mai are mare trecere la organizatia PSD Prahova, [citeste mai departe] GAZA, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian source revealed that a Qatari delegation had arrived in Israel on Tuesday to mediate a permanent cease-fire agreement in the Gaza Strip. The source, who wished to remain anonymous, told Xinhua it was the Qatari delegation's second visit to Israel since November 25, and it was expected to discuss with Israeli authorities about mediating a cease-fire in Gaza. The source said that Qatar was drafting a cease-fire deal, which included the release of Israeli soldiers held in Gaza after freeing all the civilian hostages. Qatar has been an important mediator after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict on Oct. 7. Under Qatar's mediation, Israel and Hamas on Monday agreed to extend a four-day humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip for an additional two days. Peter brings over two decades of expertise with Asian cuisine, including sushi skills, to his role as Executive Chef of Yama Budapest. With international experience at Buddha Bar locations in London, Paris, and Monte Carlo, Peter played a pivotal role in their success. Under his guidance, Yama Budapest offers a gastro experience that blends traditional and contemporary influences, showcasing his profound understanding of flavours and culinary techniques. Ed: Worth noting is that Yama itself is not solely about gastronomy, as that key element is combined with interor design, sound and ambiance to offer a holistic Asian adventure in the heart of Budapest. Peter's creative approach and attention to detail create distinctive dining experiences. Continuously pushing the boundaries of Asian fusion cuisine, he's said to deliver exceptional taste sensations, establishing Yama Budapest as a top destination for discerning Asian food connoisseurs. 1. Where did you grow up? I was raised in Budapest. 2. Who was the best cook in your family? My mother, and also my grandmother. 3. What is your fondest food memory? My grandparents' traditional Hungarian Sunday lunches. 4. What was the first recipe you learned? Pan fried Pizza 5. What is your favourite food to eat? Pizza, Sushi, Goulash soup, tartare beefsteak, and breaded cheese, but not all at the same time :) 6. How often do you 'play with food' to create new dishes? Every time I get inspired. 7. Which chef do you admire most and why? Gordon Ramsey, Heston Blumenthal, Gregoire Berger and their commitment to the profession. 8. When did you start cooking, and why? When I was six years old. Because I was hungry :) 9. What was your funniest kitchen incident? When I put the sushi rice on the cooker, and forgot to turn it on. 10. What was the luckiest moment in your life so far? Fortunately, there were several of them: When the band Queen visited Budapest in 1998 and they liked their sushi, and Brian May thanked me personally. When I moved to Monte Carlo, I was able to work within the principality. When we opened Yama in 2021. 11. How do you like to relax? I love hiking, wellness and meditating. 13. Apart from temptation, what can't you resist? Girls, cars and music. 14. What single thing would improve your quality of life? Leisure, freedom. 15. What career other than yours would you love to pursue? I don't feel like I want to pursue any another career. Anything else would be foreign to me. Maybe there is an exception - being a "bored millionaire" :) 16. What job would you definitely never want? Any job I would not feel comfortable with. 17. What achievement in your life are you most pleased with? The opening of the Yama Budapest. I think this is the crowning achievement of my career so far. 18. What behaviours do you most like in others? Humility, purposefulness, love of their profession. 19. What would you say is your personal motto? Every day to be better than you were yesterday. 20. What is your professional goal for the next 5 years? I want to make Yama world famous. I would like people to get to know the world of Yama - the taste and experience - all over the world. 21. Is there anything else you would like to mention? I consider it important to work conscientiously and accurately, that's why I love the Japanese mentality. This is part of a series of in-depth interviews with some surprising members of the community, written by Marion Merrick. As a disaffected 15-year-old punk growing up outside Durham in northern England, Neil Wolstenholme could never have envisaged living in an eastern European country. I had no intention of coming to Hungary, he says, but I did always want to travel. He came close, however, when his secondary school took part in an exchange programme to Czechoslovakia. It was just fantastic, muses Neil. We stayed in Prague just after the velvet revolution they still had all this carnival stuff in the backstreets. There was such a good vibe around the city. After leaving school, Neil enrolled on a B.A. course in Design and Ceramics at Edinburgh College of Art. Thats where I met Kinga [Rathonyi] in 1993, he explains. She was doing her M.A. on a British Council scholarship shed been at MoME (University of Art and Design) in Budapest. As their relationship developed, a technician in the ceramics department drew their attention to an advertisement from the Princes Trust for a UK-Hungary Partnership Award. You had to come up with a programme to do a three-month project in Hungary, says Neil. Kinga contacted an architect friend in Pecs who was building a Rehabilitation Centre for the Blind and asked if we could do some work on that. After shaving off his trademark green Mohican hair, Neil headed to London for an interview at the Hungarian Consulate. He was offered the grant, and in 1996 he arrived at Budapests Ferihegy airport to a row of police with Kalashnikovs. Id never even seen a policeman with a gun before! he recalls. We were staying in a friends flat in Csikago [Chicago - the Keleti station area] and travelling up and down to Pecs. We went to the Zsolnay factory and got the pyrogranite clay which they use. I had a rucksack and carried about fifty kilograms of clay at a time. Neil and Kinga were to decorate an internal spiral staircase and a access ramp. We wanted to cover all the bare concrete surfaces it was our first move towards doing mosaics. And we wanted to involve the people using the building in what we were making, so before leaving England I contacted the Edinburgh Blind Society and did some voluntary work there in order to get some experience. The idea was to make a sculpture relief of a dragon and fill in the gaps with mosaic. Neil in studio photo: Kinga Rathonyi When the Pecs project was finished, Neil and Kinga bought a flat close to the City Park and began to work with architects on both private and public buildings. We did the painted glass for the windows of the Borsod Chemical factory in Kazincbarcika, and after that, we decorated a glass wall in a K&H bank near Balaton we used glass mosaics the wall itself was bomb proof! We decorated the entrance of the Sylvester Janos Reformed High School; I made a playground fountain with the children at the British International school, and also decorated the entrance to the Novus school in Pest, as well as many other similar community artwork projects. Szilvester Janos Reformed High School photo: Neil Wolstenholme I then worked for two years as Artist in Residence at the International School of Brussels and when I returned, I decided to do an MA at MoME my thesis was on Art as a Tool in Education. We had really introduced the concept of community art in Hungary, it wasnt known before 1996, and we wanted to develop this hence the topic of my MA, says Neil. Animation is another of Neils fortes, and he soon found himself teaching this alongside ceramics at the Illyes Gyula Gimnazium in Budaors. The director wanted to do something with the outside of the school, beside the gates near the bus stop. Originally, there were just two grey, concrete walls, and we came up with the idea of creating faces any kind of faces so we ran workshops where the faces were made, not only by the kids, but also by the teachers, the kitchen staff, the cleaners anyone who wanted to join in. We later did other parts of the school, and we even did a huge mosaic on the roundabout in the town. Illyes Gyula High School entrance gate photo: Neil Wolstenholme The Budaors school was given an old house by the council which is used for teaching ceramics, leading Neil and Kinga to set up a a Kozter18 Communal Creation-space where they could host international symposiums and exhibitions. Something else I want to develop is Art Therapy, says Neil. In a way, Ive been doing it for quite a while I always had students who had various problems, and they can really be helped through art therapy. Im a yoga teacher, too, he adds, old style not the kind where you do a three-week course and youre qualified. I spent years learning with Tom Hoppel when he was here in Hungary. But Neils liking for the off-beat and irreverent remains strong from his younger days. He has created several series of Hello Kitty porcelain figures, though they are a world away from the saccharine originals, with such names as Hello Lenin, Hello Sexy or Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty. This April, Neil was fortunate enough to meet a much-admired figure: Fat Boy Slim. He was hosting a rave at Budapests old Railway Museum. I really like his work, so I contacted his manager to see if I could meet him, Neil says. He has one of the worlds largest collections of Smileys so I decided to make one for him with his logo, 'Hello Norman Cook'. Its yellow, of course, but you cant make bright yellow porcelain, so I had to use a lot of colour stain which also made the surface of the kitty rough, which is what I wanted. I was able to present it to him just as he went on stage.' Neil with Fat Boy Slim in Budapest 2023 photo: Abel Wolstenholme This summer, while Neil was in England he was able to visit two other artists he has long respected: Gilbert and George. They had an exhibition in Budapests Ludwig Museum in 2017, but having heard they had now opened an Arts Centre in east London, Neil decided to contact them and pay them a visit. Id always wanted to see their work, so I made two kitties for them, Hello Gilbert and Hello George both in old mens big underpants! They were wonderful to meet so lovely and fun. Neil with Gilbert and George, 2023 photo: Yu Yiang Earlier towards the end of the covid lock down Neil had produced a series of Kitties for a window exhibition including a gift for the rebel fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood who is regarded as the Grandmother of Punk, on the occasion of her 80th birthday. 'Hello Vivienne Pistols It features intricate details from Viviennes own designs, including her logo. Finding an address to which to send her the gift involved Neil in extensive research scouring numerous press photos of her and examining them in conjunction with Google Earth co-ordinates. The kitty was finally boxed and shipped to Vivienne Westwoods office, complete with a QR code inside the lid which linked to Neils website featuring his tribute exhibition to her. The exhibition was timed to open on April 18th Westwoods birthday. Her PA subsequently sent Neil this message: Both Vivienne and Andreas like your porcelain Hello Kitty very much and it sits on Viviennes work desk in Battersea. Neil also received a photograph of Westwood holding her kitty namesake. Dame Vivienne Westwood 2021 photo: Colette Thurlow After twenty-six years, Neil and Kinga still live in their flat near the City Park with their sons Abel and Edward. Marion Merrick is author of Now You See It, Now You Dont and House of Cards and the website Budapest Retro. If you would like to be interviewed as a Surprising Expat, please write with a few details of what you do, to: Marion by clicking here. Main photo: Neil Wolstenholme at exhibition photo: Kinga Rathonyi Nebraska student proficiency in math and English language arts has skyrocketed as public schools recover from a COVID-19 academic slide. State test scores released Wednesday show that in the 2022-23 school year, students rebounded more than 10 percentage points in both subjects, scoring higher than pre-pandemic years. In English language arts, 58% of Nebraska students scored proficient meaning they were either on track or advanced in the subject an increase from 47% a year prior. Proficiency in math was 61%, up from 46%. In science, 70% of students scored proficient, an increase from 66% in 2021-22. Scores for the 2020-21 school year, released two years ago, showed the first evidence of an academic slide, fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic that shuttered school buildings in March 2020. Those test scores aren't documented because more than 8,500 students did not participate in testing at the time. That and other disruptions, from quarantines to remote learning, prompted state officials to caution about reading too much into those results. Results from 2021-22, released a year ago, documented a more severe drop in scores as the state dipped below 50% in English and math proficiency. In addition to releasing test scores, state officials Wednesday also released accountability ratings for schools and districts, labeling them as excellent, great, good or needing assistance based on state test scores and other factors. York Public Schools received a "great" classification this year, up from a "good" in the 2021-22 school year. Heartland and Centennial both received "excellent" status this year, also up from last year, when Centennial had received "good" classification and Heartland received "great." Meanwhile, McCool received "good" this year, which was lower than the "great" it had received in 2021-22. On the upswing, McCool's average scores on the ELA, mathematics and science sections of the ACT, a college entrance exam taken by all Nebraska high school juniors, were higher than its scores last year, as were Heartland's and Centennial's. York's average ACT scores were slightly lower this year. Beth Ericson, director of learning at YPS, told the News-Times, "We believe that we have a strong core curriculum at YPS in ELA, math and science. We have outstanding teachers and great family support. We know that there is always to get better and improve and so we are looking at multiple measures of how we can continue to grow as a district." Roughly 99% of Nebraska public schools students took the annual test this year, similar to last year's participation. YORK Sunday morning, Nov. 26, was a busy one for the York Fire Department. At 6:33 a.m. they were dispatched to a rollover accident with injuries at mile marker 357 on Interstate 80. The heavy rescue truck, engine and squad were at the scene due to extrication and patient care being required. Then at 6:40 a.m. the department was dispatched to a medical call which called for another squad. Finally at 7:29 a.m. they were dispatched to a report of hay bales on fire north of the Holthus Convention Center and south of Sahling Kenworth. Two tankers were required for that call. The department said in a statement, "Thank you to the Waco Volunteer Fire Department and Hitz Towing for their assistance on this busy morning. Also thank you to all the volunteers who assisted we cannot do this alone." New Delhi: The ongoing separation of Raymond Group Managing Director Gautam Singhania and his wife Nawaz Modi Singhania has taken a poignant turn, as Vijaypat Singhania, the patriarch, and founder of the Raymond Group, expressed regret over the family discord, stating that he had given "everything" to his son. Who Is Vijaypat Singhania? Vijaypat Singhania, an 85-year-old businessman, and former textile magnate, established the Raymond Group in 1944 alongside his father L K Singhania. What began as a modest clothing mill has grown into the world's largest suit garment manufacturer. (Also Read: Turn Rs 1 Lakh Into Rs 1 Lakh Monthly With This High-Profit Business Idea) Vijaypat Singhania: Achievements Over the years, Singhania has earned numerous accolades, including the prestigious Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian honor in India. (Also Read: Tata Technologies IPO Allotment Soon: How To Check Allotment Status? Check Step-By-Step Guide) Vijaypat Singhania: Passing His Company To Son Gautam Singhania In 2016, he made the decision to pass on the company shares to his son Gautam Singhania. Singhania Vs Singhania: The Family Feud Previously, Singhania faced a challenging decision about dividing the company between his two sons, Madhupati Singhania and Gautam Singhania. Amid family disputes, Madhupati relinquished his assets and shares in Raymond, severing all ties with the Singhanias. Eventually, Vijaypat transferred 37 percent of the Raymond Group to Gautam, a move contested by his grandchildren in court, although they eventually lost the case. Now, a new chapter of family discord has unfolded as Gautam Singhania and his estranged wife Nawaz Modi navigate a complex divorce settlement. In her demands, Nawaz Modi Singhania is seeking 75 percent of the billionaire's net worth for herself and their daughters. New Delhi: Despite the imprisonment of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar, challenges persist under military rule. The junta is currently grappling with significant opposition from rebel groups, particularly in the Northern Shan Province and surrounding areas near the Chinese border. Aung Min Hlaing leads the junta, and it faces formidable resistance from three ethnic groupsMNDAA, AA, and TNLA. The rebel alliance achieved a significant victory by capturing a border crossing leading to China, highlighting strong coordination among the rebel factions. Numerous cities and over 100 security posts have fallen into rebel hands. Encouraged by the northern aggression, pro-democracy militias have intensified attacks on security forces in other parts of the country. The junta's challenges are exacerbated by financial constraints, partly due to rebels gaining control over key commercial routes. The rebels have notably raised their flag in Kyin San Kyawt, a crucial trading point on the Myanmar-China border where essential goods enter the country. Concerns for the Junta have prompted China to take precautions. Beijing has urged its citizens to leave northern Myanmar and initiated military exercises along its border with Myanmar, citing the need to test border control capabilities. India is closely monitoring the situation, as the conflict has implications for the region. In early November, numerous Myanmar soldiers sought refuge in India after escaping from rebel forces. Approximately 5000 individuals from Myanmar have sought shelter in Mizoram, entering the state in November and settling in two villages. Going back to the times when India was a rather slowly growing automotive market and international brands were welcomed warmly, came the Renault Duster. The rugged and practical SUV managed to impress Indian buyers with its styling, dynamics, comfortable ride, and frugal yet powerful diesel engines. Thanks to its age and the unavailability of diesel engines, it ended its life cycle in India. Now, the SUV is ready to make a comeback in its third-gen avatar, which will be globally revealed tomorrow. However, the 2024 Renault Duster is already leaked, thanks to Dacializate. And, the leaked images are making us wait for the unveiling exercise with high excitement. 2024 Renault Duster: Design The new-gen avatar of the Renault Duster certainly has a bold design to boast. The SUV borrows design cues from the Dacia Bigster Concept. A lot more straight lines than ever before - ready to witness them on the new-gen Duster. Also, the new-gen model will have a more imposing road presence in comparison to the first-gen model. The front end now skips on the fog lamps but gets air curtains, instead. The rear too is boxy-looking with a rather small windshield and a high-loading lip. 2024 Renault Duster: Cabin On the inside, a fresh layout for the dashboard is expected. The French brand could make it more attractive this time, while not putting the Dusters spaciousness at stake. Features like a large touchscreen, digital instrument cluster, automatic climate control, cruise control, sunroof, premium sound system and more could join the list. 2024 Renault Duster: Specs Following the footsteps of other brands, Renault could keep the oil burner at a distance. Hence, the new-gen Renault Duster will be powered by the familiar 1.3L turbo-petrol unit which produces a peak power output of 150 PS and 250 Nm of max torque. It will be paired with either a 6-speed MT or a 7-speed DCT. A CVT could be a part of the package if Renault plans to keep things sane with the drivetrain. The option of AWD will be available, but its arrival to our land remains a question. A strong-hybrid setup could also be a part of the list. Also Read - Affordable Toyota Hilux Champ Launched In Thailand, Based On IMV Platform: Price, Specs, Design 2024 Renault Duster: Price & Launch Date The mid-size SUV will rival the likes of the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara and more. Therefore, it is expected to be priced from Rs 10 lakhs and going up to Rs 17 lakhs, ex-showroom. Talking of the launch date, the SUV could make its Indian debut by early 2025. New Delhi: A young woman who was training to become a soldier in the Indian Navy allegedly hanged herself in her hostel room at a naval facility in Mumbai on Monday, police said. The 20-year-old woman, who hailed from Kerala, was part of the Agniveer batch at the INS Hamla in Malwani area of Malad, a western suburb of the city, an official said. She had joined the training centre 15 days ago after completing her basic training, he said. The official said that the woman was found hanging in her room on Monday morning by her roommate, who alerted the authorities. The police were informed and the body was sent for post-mortem, he said. No suicide note was recovered from the spot, he added. The official said that the preliminary investigation suggested that the woman took the extreme step due to some personal issues, but the exact reason was yet to be ascertained. The police have registered a case of accidental death and are probing the matter further, he said. The woman was among the Agniveers, a special category of soldiers recruited by the armed forces under the Agnipath scheme, which was launched in 2022. The scheme aims to train and employ young men and women from rural and backward areas of the country in various roles in the defence sector. Ras Al Khaimah is gearing up to top the list of popular global wedding destinations including, the Seychelles, Thailand, and Cyprus, with the emirate offering couples from around the world the opportunity to wed in a civil marriage ceremony. One of the most diverse and beautiful destinations in the region, the emirates not only provides a new setting for couples and newly-weds, but also facilitate a fast-track legal process to solemnise the marriage, said a statement. A Wedding Planners Paradise After the introduction of the new laws regulating civil marriage in the country earlier this year, the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (Raktda) set up a new certification programme that enables wedding planners to facilitate the legal process of civil marriages with ease. The destination has introduced ease and flexibility for both domestic and internationally based wedding planners, with access to an e-learning platform where they can gain a deeper understanding of the UAEs civil marriage and a suite of resources to help them navigate through the process. Wedding planners who successfully complete the e-learning programme and acquire the certification will be able to obtain fast-tracked permits and organise ceremonies at unique venues available in Ras Al Khaimah. DIY Wedding For couples looking to arrange their own special day without the assistance of a certified wedding planner, the process is equally swift and simple. A dedicated online portal accessed via the Government of Ras Al Khaimah website (https://www.rak.ae/wps/portal) features an easy-to-use interface where applicants simply submit the relevant documentation and get notified via email upon approval. The couple can also opt to have the marriage official at one of the unique locations in the emirate as an alternative to appearing in court. Raki Phillips, CEO of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, said: Ras Al Khaimah is known for its stunning natural landscapes and world-class hospitality which makes it the ideal choice for a truly special destination wedding. As one of the most innovative destinations in the world and a trailblazer in the region, the introduction of our new Wedding Planners Certification Programme underscores the Authoritys commitment to increasing tourism in the Emirate and diversifying the experiences available. By creating a simplified process that serves wedding planners and couples alike, we are confident that Ras Al Khaimah will become a leading wedding destination where couples can plan their wedding with absolute ease. The Perfect Wedding Backdrop Home to an array of 50 properties and over 8,000 rooms and suites spanning world-class beachfront hotels and luxury desert resorts, Ras Al Khaimah provides a diverse portfolio of wedding venues suiting every budget and vision. Doubling the pipeline, Ras Al Khaimah is set to welcome global hospitality brands such as Anantara, Wynn, Nobu, Sofitel, Nikki Beach, and JW Marriott over the next few years. Ideally located between East and West, with close proximity to Europe, Asia and Africa, Ras Al Khaimah is easily accessible via direct or in-direct short-haul flights for couples and their wedding guests. The emirate also boasts a portfolio of unique venues that provide breathtaking locations for bespoke celebrations. Al Jazeera Al Hamra the last surviving pearl diving and seafaring town, and Dhayah Fort - the only hilltop fort still in existence in the UAE offer couples the once in a lifetime opportunity to host their celebrations amid sites on the UNESCOs tentative list of Global Heritage Sites. For the more adventurous bride and groom, the Jebel Jais Viewing Deck, located 1,250 metres above sea level with awe-inspiring vistas across the Hajar Mountains and Arabian Gulf, is the perfect venue for an unforgettable celebration. Rich in history yet progressive, Ras Al Khaimah has something for everyone hiking, kayaking, ziplining, camping under the stars, and water sports, a walkthrough local souqs. Having witnessed a 330% increase in revenue from weddings between January and October 2023 comparing to same time last year, Raktda is marking significant progress in establishing the emirate as a unique and attractive wedding destination. The authority has also recently introduced a series of new incentive packages for wedding planners aimed at enhancing their journey at every step from rental fee waiver to complimentary services at hotels. TradeArabia News Service Video: Jim Rogers, a world-renowned investor, has praised China's dedication to promoting high-level openness, highlighting its benefits for both China and the world. (Xinhua) "Beijing has determined that it's going to continue to open up. It's going to continue to engage with the outside world," says Jim Rogers, a world-renowned investor. by Xinhua writer Wang Jiangang NEW YORK, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- China's commitment to high-level openness will benefit the entire world, said Jim Rogers, a world-renowned investor and financial commentator. In a recent Zoom interview with Xinhua, Rogers, chairman of Beeland Interests, Inc. and creator of the Rogers International Commodities Index, shared his observations on China following the APEC meeting in San Francisco. "Everything I read about China these days is that Beijing has determined that it's going to continue to open up. It's going to continue to engage with the outside world," said Rogers. Recalling his first visit to China some 40 years ago after China opened up, he highlighted the profound impact of China's growth on other nations. "Look at what it's done to South Korea. It has grown enormously as trade with China has grown. Japan and everybody, including the United States, have been very, very strongly affected by what's happened in China," he said. He noted that some 40 years ago, the United States had no trade with China. "Now, our trade with China has grown to be gigantic, yielding significant profits for both China and the United States." "However, there are always some politicians who want to blame other people, but the facts are that the growth of China and the change in China in the past 40 years have been one of the most miraculous and biggest changes in the history of the world," said Rogers. During the process, "there will be setbacks along the way, but I will tell you that China is going to be the most important country in the 21st century," he said. This photo taken on Nov. 23, 2023 shows the China Pavilion at the second Global Digital Trade Expo in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province. (Xinhua/Liu Lingyi) Regarding digital transformation in the country, Rogers noted that China produces tens of thousands of engineers every year, more than any other country in the world, and "some of them are very, very good engineers." "As we look forward, we will see that China will continue to add innovation to the world, new industries, new ideas," he said. As for green development, Rogers said "China has been doing a very good job. China's done a magnificent job of cleaning things up. There's much less pollution than there was even 15 years ago." A key benefit of China's green development initiatives for the global community is the nation's dedicated effort to address its environmental challenges, according to the investor. "I'm optimistic about China," Rogers said. "China is the only country that, after being at the bottom for a few decades or a long time, somehow turns around and rises to the top again. No other country has done that. It is now happening again." New Delhi: A bus carrying passengers from Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh to Pratapgarh in Rajasthan met with a horrific accident on Monday night, leaving 33 people injured, police said. The bus, which belonged to Jakhar Travels, lost control and overturned near Hathuniya village, they said. The passengers were trapped inside the bus and had to be rescued by locals who broke the glass windows. They were taken to the district hospital in a truck and then in an ambulance, where three of them were in a critical condition. Police officials and administrative officers reached the hospital and monitored the situation. The exact cause of the accident was not clear, but police suspected that a tyre burst might have led to it. New Delhi: Israel has agreed to release 50 women prisoners as part of a deal to extend a temporary truce with Hamas in Gaza, The Times of Israel reported. The Israeli government approved the list of these 50 women prisoners on X, hoping to secure the release of about 20 more Israelis who have been held captive by the Hamas terror group since October 7. The truce, which was initially for four days, will be extended by another two days, according to Qatar and the US, who confirmed the agreement. The extension will allow the release of about 10 more Israeli hostages per day. The four-day truce, which was due to expire on Tuesday, was a result of US mediation and diplomacy. Under the terms of the deal, Israel agreed to stop its military operations in Gaza for four days and promised to release three Palestinian security prisoners for each of the 50 hostages freed from Gaza, The Times of Israel reported. So far, more than 50 hostages have been released, while 117 Palestinians have been freed. US Prez Biden Welcomes Truce Extension US President Joe Biden expressed his support for the two-day extension of the truce between Israel and Hamas, which was achieved through Qatars mediation, as The Times of Israel reported. In a statement, Biden said he had been deeply involved in ensuring the success of the deal, which was facilitated by US diplomacy. He also welcomed the release of more than 50 hostages by Hamas, including young children, mothers, and grandmothers. Biden mentioned the case of Avigail Idan, a four-year-old Israeli-American girl who was freed yesterday after witnessing the murder of her parents by Hamas militants on October 7. Biden said he had spoken to her family and was working with Israel to provide her with the necessary care and support. He also highlighted the increased humanitarian aid that was reaching the civilians in Gaza during the pause in fighting. He said the US was the largest donor of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians and was committed to building a future of peace and dignity for them. Biden thanked the leaders of Israel, Qatar, and Egypt for their cooperation and vowed to continue the efforts until all the hostages in Gaza were freed, as The Times of Israel stated. Earlier on Monday, Qatar announced that it had brokered an agreement between Israel and Hamas to prolong the four-day truce by another two days, according to Dohas foreign ministry spokesperson. This meant that at least ten more Israeli hostages would be released on Tuesday and Wednesday, while Israel would free 30 Palestinian prisoners on each day, as The Times of Israel reported. Hamas confirmed the truce extension and praised the Qatari and Egyptian mediation, but there was no immediate confirmation from Israel. New Delhi: As the rescue operation for the 41 workers trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand entered its 17th day on Tuesday, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that pipes had reached 52 metres through the debris. The target point is 57 metres, he added while speaking to the media in Silkyara. A team of 12 experts in rat-hole mining, a risky and illegal method of extracting coal, has been working on the last 10 or 12-metre stretch of the collapsed portion of the tunnel, which is part of the Char Dham project in Uttarakhand, since Monday. They had to take over from a large auger machine that got stuck in the rubble on Friday at around 47 metres. We have just crossed 50 metres, said Chris Cooper, the leader of the L&T team, to PTI early on Tuesday. This raised the hopes of a quick breakthrough as the rescuers had only about 10 metres left to go. However, the pace of the operation depends on whether the rescuers face any obstacles in the process of digging, which has often been delayed by various factors. Later, Dhami visited the site of the rescue operation and said, Pipe has gone in up to 52 metres. Earlier it was at 51 metres. It was pushed one metre further in my presence. It will be pushed two metres more to 54 metres after which one more pipe will be laid. When asked about the challenges, he said that there were no steel and iron girders in the way. Stones are coming in the way but they are being broken using cutters, he said. A skilled team of workers is removing the muck by hand using the rat-hole mining technique while pipes with a diameter of 800 mm are being inserted by an auger machine through the rubble. Praveen Yadav, who is involved in cutting and removing the obstacles from the debris, said that 51 metres had been drilled. A worker from the Trenchless company, which is pushing the pipes with the auger machine, said that if there were no hurdles, some good news could be expected by the evening. Rat-hole mining is a controversial and dangerous practice in which small groups of miners go down narrow tunnels to mine small amounts of coal. Neeraj Khairwal, the nodal officer of the Uttarakhand government, clarified that the men brought to the site were not rat-hole miners but people who were experts in the technique. They are likely to be divided into teams of two or three. Each team will go into the steel chute laid into the escape passage for short periods. Rajput Rai, a rat-hole drilling expert, said that one man will do the drilling, another will collect the rubble with his hands and the third will place it on a trolley to be pulled out. New Delhi: The 41 resilient workers, who were trapped in Uttarakhand's Silkyara Tunnel in Uttarkashi, have finally emerged into the sunlight, breathing the fresh air outside the dark confines where they displayed immense patience while the entire nation fervently prayed for their safe rescue over a span of 17 days. Following a relentless rescue operation fraught with geological and technical challenges, the workers, who were trapped in the under-construction tunnel after a section collapsed on November 12, have been successfully evacuated. The joint efforts of the NDRF team, NDMA, BRO, and the Indian armed forces worked tirelessly, exploring various strategies after setbacks with major machines like the soft cutting machine and the American auger machine. The nation collectively prayed for the safe evacuation of the workers, especially when the primary drilling machines sustained irreparable damage. However, the rescue team, prepared for all adversities, swiftly shifted to vertical drilling and rat hole mining techniques, ultimately securing the safe release of the workers. Family members of the trapped workers were present on-site, accompanied by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who consistently monitored the situation. Prime Minister Modi maintained constant communication with the Chief Minister, staying updated on the progress of the rescue operation and the well-being of the workers. Upon the successful completion of the rescue operation, Prime Minister Modi penned an emotional note expressing his sentiments for the trapped laborers and the dedicated rescuers who had worked tirelessly for the past 17 days to ensure their safe evacuation. PM Modi took to X and said "The success of the rescue operation of our labourer brothers in Uttarkashi is making everyone emotional. I want to say to the friends who were trapped in the tunnel that your courage and patience is inspiring everyone. I wish you all well and good health." , Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 28, 2023 "It is a matter of great satisfaction that after a long wait, these friends of ours will now meet their loved ones. The patience and courage that all these families have shown in this challenging time cannot be appreciated enough, PM Modi added. PM Modi further said that everyone involved in this mission has set an example of humanity and teamwork. "I also salute the spirit of all the people associated with this rescue operation. Their bravery and determination have given new life to our labour brothers. Everyone involved in this mission has set an amazing example of humanity and teamwork," PM Modi said on X. Immediately following the workers' emergence from the tunnel, a preliminary health checkup was conducted for all of them at a makeshift medical camp within the tunnel. Subsequently, they were transported to hospitals for further examination. Currently, all the workers are reported to be in good health. However, if any worker is found to be in critical condition, they will be transferred to AIIMS Rishikesh for advanced care. The incident occurred on November 12 when a section of the tunnel collapsed, resulting in debris covering a 60-meter stretch on the Silkyara side of the tunnel. This unfortunate event led to the entrapment of 41 laborers inside the under-construction structure. New Delhi: The final phases of the rescue mission to liberate 41 workers ensnared in the Silkyara Tunnel in Uttarakhand are underway, and the extraction of laborers is imminent. Over the past 17 days, the NDRF, in collaboration with the Indian army and other relevant authorities, has been tirelessly working around the clock to evacuate the workers trapped following the collapse of a section of the under-construction tunnel in Uttarkashi. The rescue mission commenced by employing a gentle cutting machine, which later transitioned to utilizing an American auger machine to penetrate the collapsed section of the tunnel. However, both strategies proved unsuccessful as the auger machine malfunctioned, getting lodged in the tunnel and complicating the rescue efforts further. The rescue team then shifted to a vertical drilling approach and the rat mining strategy was also introduced to level up the rescue operation. What is the rat hole mining technique? Rat-hole mining is a contentious and hazardous extraction method involving the removal of coal through small pits, each no wider than 4 feet. Once the miners reach the coal seam, lateral tunnels are created to extract the coal. The extracted coal is initially deposited nearby and later transported. In rat-hole mining, manual tools such as chisels and hammers are utilized by workers to excavate and remove debris. This method is prevalent in Meghalaya, particularly where the coal layer is thin. Due to the compact size of the tunnels, even minors, including teenagers and children, are engaged in the process, with some pretending to be adults to secure employment in such mines. Several incidents in Meghalaya have led to fatalities among rat-hole miners. On December 13, 2018, 15 workers engaged in 'rat hole mining' lost their lives due to waterlogging in a coal mine in Kasan. Why was the ban imposed? The National Green Tribunal (NGT) imposed a ban on this form of mining in 2014, maintaining the ban in 2015 as well, specifically in relation to Meghalaya. Subsequently, the state government appealed against this order in the Supreme Court. Despite the ban, reports suggest that this practice persists on a significant scale in states beyond Meghalaya. Regarding the Silkyara Tunnel incident, the individuals present at the site, according to Neeraj Khairwal, the nodal officer appointed by the Uttarakhand government for rescue operations, are not 'rat hole' miners but rather experts in this mining technique. New Delhi: The Dabar colony of Bhiwani was rocked by the sound of gunfire on Monday morning when four assailants on two bikes opened fire at Harikishan alias Hariya, who is an accused in the murder case of Ravi Boxer, a gangster linked to the Lawrence gang. Hariya, who was recently out on bail, was shot four times and referred to the PGIMS in Rohtak. The police reached the spot as soon as they got the information and started the investigation. A video of the incident is going viral on social media and one thing that has caught the attention of social media users after the video of the shooting incident went viral is the courage and heroism of a woman from the neighborhood who chases away the shooters with a broom. The womans bold action has earned her praise and admiration from the online community. The womans interference not only made the shooters stop firing but also ran away from the scene, saving the life of the person who was shot at. Four to five miscreants riding on two bikes opened fire on a person standing outside his house in #Bhiwani district of #Haryana. pic.twitter.com/4AJuOBe8Vc Hate Detector (@HateDetectors) November 27, 2023 ASI Deepak, the investigating officer, said that Hariya, a resident of Dabar colony in Bhiwani, was surrounded by four bike-borne attackers near his home on Monday morning. The attackers fired 8 to 10 rounds at him, hitting him four times. Considering the seriousness of the case, the CIA Bhiwani and other investigation teams have been formed. The police are checking every CCTV camera in the Dabar colony area. The police are trying to find out which route the four miscreants came from and which route they escaped after the shooting so that the accused can be arrested and put behind bars as soon as possible. After getting the information about the incident, ASI of Anaj Mandi Chowki reached the spot and started the investigation. Hariya, who was bleeding profusely, was admitted to the hospital. Targeting Cookies These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising. New Delhi: If you've got a Google account gathering dust, it's time to give it a little attention. Google is rolling out a new policy that might lead to the deletion of accounts that have been inactive for over two years, starting this Friday. The updated policy, announced by Google in May, aims to tackle security concerns related to inactive accounts. Google warns that accounts left untouched for an extended period are more susceptible to security breaches. (Also Read: Making UPI Payments Via Rupay Credit Cards? Here's Everything You Need To Know) These forgotten or unattended accounts often have outdated passwords, lack two-factor authentication, and receive fewer security checks, making them easy targets for hackers. (Also Read: Planning A Vacation Abroad? THESE Countries Allow Indians Without Visa) So, if you've been neglecting that old Google account, be on the lookout for messages from Google in your associated email and recovery address. These notices will alert you if your account is at risk of being labeled "inactive" and subsequently deleted. Why the fuss? Well, Google is concerned that inactive accounts could be compromised and misused for malicious activities like spam, or worse, identity theft. The tech giant is taking steps to enhance overall account security and protect its users from potential risks. If you want to safeguard your content stored in Google Drive, Docs, Gmail, and other services linked to your inactive account, it's time to log in before the week's end. Prevention is key, and a quick sign-in will ensure that your account stays active, keeping your data safe from deletion. New Delhi: Microsoft has said that it will end the support for Microsoft 365 Browser Extension in January next year. After January 15, the extension will no longer receive security updates, non-security updates, bug fixes, or technical support. The Microsoft 365 browser extension will also be removed from Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome web stores as an extension add-on. "The Microsoft 365 browser extension (formerly named Office browser extension) is a free extension available on Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome that gives you access to your Microsoft 365 apps and documents on the web. This extension will reach retirement and end of support on January 15th, 2024," the company said in a blogpost. Microsoft has also given instructions on how to remove Microsoft 365 Browser Extension in Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome How to remove the Microsoft 365 browser extension in Microsoft Edge as instructed by the company in its blogpost --Once you're signed in with your Microsoft Account, select the Microsoft 365 browser extension icon next to the address bar in your browser. - In Settings, right click and select Remove from Microsoft Edge or go to Manage extensions to uninstall the extension. - You can now access your Microsoft 365 apps directly from the Microsoft Edge sidebar to get quick access to tools, apps, and more within your current tab. How to remove the Microsoft 365 browser extension in Google Chrome as instructed by the company in its blogpost - Once you're signed in with your Microsoft Account, select the Microsoft 365 browser extension icon next to the address bar in your browser. - In Settings right click and select Remove from Chrome or go to Manage extensions to remove the extension. - You can still access your Microsoft 365 apps for free on the web from www.microsoft365.com and bookmark the page in the Chrome browser for quick access. by Burak Akinci ANKARA, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Turkiye and Iran, two regional powers in the Middle East, are trying to put their growing rivalry aside and seek a common ground towards a solution to the ongoing crisis in the Gaza Strip, experts have said. Earlier in the day, the Turkish presidency announced that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will not be making a previously announced visit on Tuesday to the Turkish capital Ankara, where Raisi and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan are expected to focus on seeking a joint response to the Israel-Hamas conflict. No reason has been specified. Nevertheless, the two leaders spoke by phone on Sunday evening following a phone talk a day earlier between the top diplomats for the two countries. During the call, Erdogan highlighted the significance of a "unified stance" from the Islamic world, particularly from Turkiye and Iran, against Israeli military operations in Palestinian territories, semi-official Anadolu Agency has reported. The pressing Gaza crisis has led to a rapprochement between the two neighbors who have kept good trade relations but are at odds in many areas across the Middle East, analysts said. "The Gaza crisis has allowed the rising tensions between Turkiye and Iran to appease in the pursuit of a common goal," said Oytun Orhan, coordinator for Levant Studies at Ankara's Center for Middle Eastern Strategic Studies. "The (Gaza) conflict has opened room for both countries to find common ground." Orhan's view is echoed by Sabir Askeroglu, an Ankara-based independent foreign policy analyst. "Iran and Turkiye have common interests on issues related to Palestine. Both countries are uncomfortable with Israel's policies and have expressed their discomfort with the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza," Askeroglu told Xinhua. Meanwhile, both nations are worried that a stronger U.S. presence in the Middle East is detrimental to their interests in the region, Orhan said. The conflict in Gaza may help close the gap between Turkiye and Iran, given their shared opposition to a U.S.-led regional and world order, both analysts said. In Askeroglu's view, Tehran hopes that Turkiye could to come to the fore more when it comes to addressing the Gaza crisis. "Now, Iran is considering whether it can act jointly with Turkiye, and thinks that if the answer is yes, it can change the balance of power in the region," Askeroglu said. Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict on Oct. 7, Erdogan has taken a firm stance against Israel, describing the country as "a terrorist state." Iran, meanwhile, had voiced unequivocal condemnations towards Israel. On the other hand, Turkiye, unlike its Western allies, does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization, while Iran is a strong supporter of the group that controls the Gaza Strip. Overall, Iranians and Turks seem to have converging interests on the Gaza conflict, but there are limitations to this emerging alliance, Orhan said. "Turkiye is a member of NATO and has close ties with Western nations, while Iran has a long-standing feud with the West. Therefore, they may be getting closer for Gaza, but their positions are different, and their regional competition is likely to continue," he added. ISLAMABAD, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan Army hosted a two-week multinational joint counter-terrorism exercise in the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military said in a statement. The Inter-Services Public Relations, the media wing of the Pakistan army, said on Monday that the Fajar Al Sharq-V exercise was held at the National Counter Terrorism Center in the Pabbi area of the province. The ISPR said contingents of special forces from different countries participated in the exercise, including Pakistan, Bahrain, Iraq and Kuwait. The exercise is aimed at nurturing joint employment and interoperability besides, harnessing the historic military-to-military relations among the brotherly countries, it added. The participants expressed zeal and enthusiasm throughout the drill, highlighting the commitment of these brotherly nations to collaborative efforts in the fight against terrorism, added the ISPR. BEIJING, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- China's central bank on Monday said it will continue to enhance financial support for private enterprises and work to lower their comprehensive financing costs. In the next stage, more monetary policy support will be tilted towards private micro and small companies, the People's Bank of China said in its latest monetary policy report for the third quarter. The report said that positive results have been achieved through measures such as encouraging commercial banks to issue special financial bonds for micro and small firms, and supporting the financing of private micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the supply chain. By the end of September, China's inclusive loan support facility had provided incentive funds of 52.6 billion yuan (about 7.4 billion U.S. dollars) for micro and small companies, up 25.1 billion yuan from the beginning of the year, the report said. The outstanding loans to small and medium-sized sci-tech enterprises came in at 2.4 trillion yuan by end-September, up 22.6 percent year on year. The report also pledged to make systematic arrangements in terms of financial support for the private sector, among other measures, to ensure that financial support for the private economy aligns with the contribution of the private economy to the country's economic and social development. KUALA LUMPUR, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's decision to offer a 30-day visa-free entry to nationals from China from Dec. 1 shows the government's commitment to strengthening bilateral ties with China, according to business leaders. Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM) president Low Kian Chuan said that the initiative is timely as Malaysia and China will celebrate their 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year, according to a report by Bernama on Tuesday. Low said the ACCCIM, which has over 110,000 members, lauded the move as it will facilitate business exchanges between Malaysian and Chinese business people. "This is a great boost to the business people in Malaysia and China. The ACCCIM has very close business relations with our partners in China. We travel frequently to China and likewise Chinese businessmen travel to Malaysia. This policy will certainly help heighten business and trade deals, while saving time and cost on visa application," he said. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Friday that from Dec. 1, 2023 to Nov. 30, 2024, Malaysian citizens holding ordinary passports may enter China visa-free for business, tourism, visiting relatives and friends and transit for no more than 15 days. Meanwhile, China Entrepreneurs Association in Malaysia President Keith Li said the initiatives, which will boost the confidence of airlines and tourism industry, are beneficial to the economy of both countries. He was confident that the visa-free entry for Chinese citizens into Malaysia will bolster Malaysia's position as a preferred destination for Chinese investors and travelers in Southeast Asia. The increase in pine nut exports to China has created job opportunities in Afghanistan as hundreds of thousands of Afghans work to clean and process the precious dry fruit to make it ready for export. Produced by Xinhua Global Service BEIJING, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- As the global community was fretting over the escalating strain in China-U.S. ties, the summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart, Joe Biden, in San Francisco has raised hopes of a detente in this pivotal bilateral relationship. The momentous summit marks the Chinese president's return to the United States after a six-year hiatus, and also the first face-to-face meeting between the two heads of state since the Bali summit last November. When Xi and Biden smiled at each other and shook hands under a global gaze, the world breathed a sigh of relief. Once again, it is proven that cooperation is the only right choice for the two countries to get along. During the summit, the two leaders engaged in candid exchanges of views on matters that wield substantial sway over bilateral relations, as well as issues concerning global peace and development, charting the course for the colossal vessel of China-U.S. relations as it steers ahead. Amidst the exquisite scenery of the Filoli Estate on the outskirts of San Francisco, Xi urged both nations to build five pillars that would fortify their relationship, namely jointly developing a right perception, jointly managing disagreements effectively, jointly advancing mutually beneficial cooperation, jointly shouldering responsibilities as major countries, and jointly promoting people-to-people exchanges. During his stay, Xi reminisced about his first trip to the United States in 1985 on multiple occasions, and held special meetings with American friends from various walks of life. He emphasized that "it is the reaching out to each other by our peoples that has time and again brought China-U.S. relations from a low ebb back onto the right track," and put forward concrete measures to facilitate civil connections between the two sides. The summit has also paved the way for the two countries to reach more than 20 common understandings in such fields as political, diplomatic, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, global governance, military and security, generating fresh impetus for bringing bilateral ties back on the right track. To build on the outcomes of the San Francisco summit, both countries must take a page from the past. Over the past years, the China-U.S. relationship has encountered headwinds and suffered setbacks. The crux lies in the United States' failure to find the right answer to whether China is an adversary or a partner, resulting in China being misjudged as a rival, a challenge and even a threat. China and the United States, as the world's largest developing and developed countries, are highly complementary in their economies, with extensive opportunities for cooperation in areas such as trade, energy, technology, education, and culture. As a lesson borne out by both history and reality, when the two countries join forces, the global community reaps the rewards; but when they are at loggerheads, the whole world bears the brunt. As the world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation, it is incumbent upon China and the United States to stand out as global heavyweights, taking the lead as key players on the world stage, and collaborating to overcome global challenges and enhance the well-being of all humanity. To this end, China and the United States should forge ahead on a new journey from San Francisco, pursuing sound interactions and viewing each other as partners. The San Francisco summit has set the course for China-U.S. relations, the major-country ties most consequential to the future of the world. The matter of first-rate importance now is concerted effort and collaborative action from both sides to translate the San Francisco vision into actual policies and concrete steps to ensure a stable and sound relationship. ADDIS ABABA, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- At least 20 people were killed in southern Ethiopia after the driver of a transport bus they were traveling in lost control and the vehicle overturned, state media outlet Oromia Broadcasting Network (OBN) reported Tuesday. The deadly traffic accident, which happened earlier Tuesday in Teltele district, Borena zone of Oromia region, also left 32 people injured. The state media outlet said 18 of the injured sustained critical injuries while the rest 14 people suffered only light injuries. The injured are being treated in nearby medical institutions. Police are investigating the causes of the deadly traffic accident. WASHINGTON, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden said Tuesday that he would testify before Congress in December, in response to a Republican-led impeachment investigation into the president and his family. Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden's attorney, told chairman of the House Oversight Committee James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, that the president's son will answer "any pertinent and relevant questions" lawmakers might have, but said his questioning must take place at a public committee hearing. "A public proceeding would prevent selective leaks, manipulated transcripts, doctored exhibits, or one-sided press statements," Lowell wrote in a letter to the chairman. "Your empty investigation has gone on too long wasting too many better-used resources. It should come to an end," the letter continued. Lowell said Hunter Biden will appear at such a public hearing "on the date you noticed, Dec. 13, or any date in December that we can arrange." The letter came weeks after Comer subpoenaed the president's son and called for closed-door depositions, as he conducts an impeachment inquiry into the Democratic president. His uncle James Biden, the president's brother, was subpoenaed the same day. So far, Republicans have failed to reveal evidence directly implicating President Biden in any wrongdoing, but they insist the evidence is troubling. The Republican leaders of the oversight and judiciary committees, who are leading the impeachment inquiry, claimed Hunter Biden was "actively involved in the web connecting the Biden family to foreign money," and said he has "personal knowledge" of whether the president has been involved in his family members' business dealings. Besides the impeachment investigation, Hunter Biden was indicted on gun and tax-related charges, becoming the first child of a sitting president to be criminally indicted. Since the start of this year, the country has witnessed the historic 15-ballot floor fight in the election of a House speaker, former President Donald Trump facing multiple criminal charges, the criminal charges against Hunter Biden, and the ouster of a sitting House speaker, all of which are unprecedented and offers a window into the depth of the division and chaos in Congress. HOUSTON, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- The tribute service for deceased former first lady Rosalynn Carter was held on Tuesday in Atlanta, capital city of the U.S. state of Georgia. Former President Jimmy Carter, 99, was in attendance at the Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church on the campus at the Emory University, a rare public appearance since he started receiving hospice care at home in February. He exited the church shortly after the casket and the motorcade departed. "Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished," the former president said in a statement after his wife's passing on Nov. 19. "She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me," the statement read. During the memorial service, Amy Carter, the daughter of Jimmy Carter, read a letter her father wrote to her mother 75 years ago while he was in the Navy. "While I'm away, I tried to convince myself that you really are not, could not be, as sweet and beautiful as I remember. But when I see you, I fall in love with you all over again. Does that seem strange to you? It doesn't to me," the letter said. "Goodbye, darling. Until tomorrow, Jimmy," the letter ended. Rosalynn Carter's grandson, Jason Carter, said at the memorial service that his grandma "was a rock for our family" and also an "adventurer, a voyager, a mountain climber." Rosalynn Carter's most lasting individual legacy will be her efforts to diminish the stigma attached to people with mental illnesses and her fight for parity and access to mental health treatment, according to U.S. media reports. Rosalynn Carter died at the age of 96 at their home in Plains, about 120 miles south of Atlanta, after a brief stay in hospice. Her funeral is scheduled for Wednesday in Plains. Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter were married 77 years and gave birth to four children. They wed in 1946 and became the longest-betrothed presidential couple in U.S. history. Sunset Hospitality Group (SHG), a leading multinational lifestyle hospitality group, is expanding its hotel business with the launch of Sunset Hotels & Resorts, an integrated global business that will encompass the different hotel brands of SHG. The company currently operates four hotels in Turkiye, Spain, and Lebanon, and plans to add more locations over the next few years reaching a portfolio of more than 20 hotels and resorts, in exclusive locations around the world by 2026. In 2021, SHG introduced METT, its flagship hotel brand, with the opening of METT Hotel & Beach Resort Bodrum, Turkiye. Since then, METT has become an outstanding success, being recognised as part of TIMEs annual list of the Worlds Greatest Places and named Favourite New International Hotel by Conde Nast Traveller at the Readers Choice Awards, among many accolades. SHG has also introduced METT Hotel & Beach Resort Marbella-Estepona, a 250-room beach front property in Malaga, Spain, as well as Azure Beach Resort in Lebanon, and Yalikavak Marina Hotel by the Social Living Collection the SHG brand of boutique hotels delivering local style and experiences, in unique locations around the globe. SHG also announces the introduction of Somos Hotels, a new hotel brand that will transform how you dine, play, and stay. Somos is a blend of lifestyle hotel and members club, designed as a dining, art, and culture hub. A 250-key Somos Hotel will be opening in Bali in 2025. This tropical resort is to be located in buzzing Uluwatu, and will offer diverse dining and social experiences such as co-working spaces, oversized gym facilities, and much more. Somos Bali marks the brands first development around the globe, with ambitious plans for expansion including new locations in Dubai, London, Siem Reap, and Barcelona. This last quarter of 2023 marks a monumental expansion phase for SHG with the launch of Sunset Hotels & Resorts, which will be operating five new hotels in Indonesia, two of which will open in the next six months. An pipeline of additional hotels are currently in negotiations, with developments in Italy, UK, Bahrain, Indonesia, Montenegro, Spain, Morocco, UAE, and Vietnam. To champion this new venture, SHG announces the appointment of Jaime Buxo Clos, as CEO of Sunset Hotels & Resorts. Bringing more than 30 years of experience to the role, Jaime and his dedicated global hotel team will spearhead Sunset Hotels & Resorts, and the business will undergo major growth under their leadership. I am proud to be a part of such a major milestone for SHG, with the launch of Sunset Hotels & Resorts, which is becoming a key driver of the companys growth. Our journey into hotels began in 2021, and since then our hotel business has grown steadily, with four hotels currently in operations. With the introduction of Sunset Hotels & Resorts, we will be accelerating our expansion into this sector, creating a unique collection of incredible lifestyle hospitality properties around the world," said Clos. SHG's Chairman and Group CEO, Antonio Gonzalez, said: "SHGs exponential growth is a testament to our commitment to provide extraordinary experiences around the world. In 2023 we have achieved great milestones, with a presence in 16 countries, that ideally position our company for the next phase of growth. We are excited to increase our hotel portfolio with a dedicated hotel team and additional resources, which with no doubt will contribute to SHGs unique lifestyle offering around the world. - TradeArabia News Service MOGADISHU, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Humanitarian agencies on Tuesday appealed to the world leaders meeting in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), for the upcoming 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, to find long-term solutions for people affected by the climate crisis in Somalia. The aid agencies under the umbrella of the Somalia NGO Consortium said there is an urgent need for solutions to address the impact of climate change. "We appeal for prioritization of climate change financing to address disaster-induced climate change and adaptability in Somalia - one of the worst hit countries by the impact of climate change, despite its greenhouse emission being less than even one percent," said Nimo Hassan, the director of Somalia NGO consortium, in a joint statement issued in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. According to the UN, Somalia has endured more than 30 climate-related hazards since 1990, including droughts and floods. Hassan said the interchange between severe drought and devastating floods has become a recurring cycle, pushing communities to the brink of survival. "The devastation is heartbreaking. The floods have reinforced the urgent need for sustainable infrastructure and disaster preparedness. Investing in flood-resistant and early warning systems can save lives," Hassan said. Somalia is facing a flood emergency that has killed at least 96 people and affected more than 2.3 million others, according to the Somali government. The impact of El Nino coupled with a positive Indian Ocean Dipole is expected to affect more people living in riverine areas and destroy 1.5 million hectares of farmland, according to the UN. This is not Somalia's first time facing the deadly cycle of droughts and floods as three consecutive years of flooding since 2018 displaced hundreds of thousands of people, the UN said. The humanitarian agencies that recently visited Baidoa and Beledweyne towns in Somalia to assess the humanitarian situation following floods caused by El Nino rains said the once bustling now deserted, with only a few brave souls venturing out on small boats to navigate the flooded roads. "The floodwaters had caused extensive damage to infrastructure, including roads, schools, and displaced people settlements, further exacerbating the challenges faced by the local communities who had been trying to come up with terms with the impacts of the biting drought," Hassan said. WINDHOEK, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's Minister of Gender Equality, Poverty Eradication, and Social Welfare, Doreen Sioka on Tuesday underscored the need to address Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and expressed deep concern over the increased instances of child sexual abuse involving biological fathers, family members, and neighbors. Speaking at the launch of 16 Days of Activism Against GBV, Sioka said, "Violence against women and girls is one of the most predominant and unescapable human rights violations." "GBV is a concern in Namibia. According to the Demographic Health Survey (2013), Namibia has a GBV prevalence rate of 33 percent. In 2022, the Namibian Police force recorded 5,356 GBV-related cases, of which 1,378 account for rape cases," she said. According to the 2017 National GBV Baseline Study, the primary drivers of GBV in Namibia encompass unequal power relations, poverty, unemployment, substance abuse, and negative cultural practices such as child marriage, with the study further highlighting that the prevalent forms of GBV in the country are domestic violence and sexual abuse. The minister highlighted key prevention strategies, including the implementation of a National Plan of Action on GBV and efforts to incorporate GBV messages into national campaigns. YAOUNDE, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- At least eight people were killed and several others injured in a road accident in Cameroon's West region on Tuesday, local police and authorities said. A speeding passenger bus lost control and collided with an oncoming truck along the Bafoussam-Foumban highway, killing eight people at the scene, the local police said. State media Cameroon Tribune reported that those injured were rushed to a local hospital for treatment. Police have launched an investigation to establish the cause of the incident. According to the police, fatal accidents are common in Cameroon due to reckless driving, dangerous overtaking, drunk driving, and poor state of the road. The Ministry of Transport estimates that 1,500 people die in road accidents each year in the Central African nation. MOGADISHU, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Somali National Army (SNA) backed by local forces on Tuesday killed six al-Shabab militants and injured others during an offensive operation at an area in Galmudug State, central Somalia. Deputy Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Abdirahman Yusuf Al-Adala said the joint forces also recovered weapons during the operation successfully. "Our forces, SNA and locals conducted successful operations against terrorists in east of Galgaduud region overnight, the forces are still pursuing the militants who escaped during the operation. The army is in full control of the area," Adala said. The government forces backed by local partners have recently stepped up military operations to flush out al-Shabab militants from their strongholds to stop extortion of the Somali people and the spread of propaganda, intimidation, and extremism in the country. JUBA, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Humanitarian agencies in South Sudan on Tuesday launched the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, seeking 1.8 billion U.S. dollars to support 6 million out of 9 million people projected to be in need of humanitarian assistance in 2024. Marie-Helene Verney, the acting humanitarian coordinator in South Sudan, said they need the funds to reach out to 6 million vulnerable people with shock-driven needs, such as those impacted by negative climate effects, conflict, and disease outbreaks where they require life-saving assistance. "We will work to support people's progress to being self-reliant so that they no longer have to depend on humanitarian assistance. Sadly, for most people, we expect multiple shocks, including the negative impact of climate change, which will continue to drive acute needs next year," Verney said in a statement issued in Juba, the capital of South Sudan. The UN said that people's needs have decreased in some areas, where conflict and violence lessened, and agricultural production increased. However, it disclosed that the majority of people across the country remain in challenging circumstances, adding that due to less funding in 2024, humanitarian agencies will prioritize assistance to support communities with the most acute needs. Verney said South Sudan's humanitarian appeal for 2023 is underfunded at 53.8 percent as of Nov. 22, adding that timely and sufficient funding is required to ensure that people's most acute needs are met. "As we continue to operate on the frontlines in highly dangerous conditions to help people move from surviving to thriving, we need attacks on civilians and humanitarians to stop," Verney said. SEOUL, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- South Korean banks' lending rate rose for the second straight month on the prolongation of restrictive monetary policy, central bank data showed Tuesday. The weighted average rate for new bank loans gained 0.07 percentage points from a month earlier to an annualized 5.24 percent in October, after going up 0.07 percentage points in the prior month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The BOK had left its policy rate unchanged at 3.50 percent since January, after increasing it by 3.0 percentage points for the past one and a half years. Rate for banks' new corporate loans advanced 0.06 percentage points over the month to 5.33 percent in October. The lending rate for big corporations climbed 0.12 percentage point to 5.30 percent, while the rate for small firms added 0.01 percentage points to 5.35 percent. Rate for new bank loans to households rose 0.14 percentage points to 5.04 percent last month, keeping an upward trend for the third consecutive month. Mortgage loan rate for households jumped 0.21 percentage points to 4.56 percent, while credit loan rate increased 0.22 percentage points to 6.81 percent. The weighted average rate for new bank deposits picked up 0.14 percentage points over the month to an annualized 3.95 percent in October. HONGKONG, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- The South Pacific nation of Fiji is embarking on a mission to achieve rice self-sufficiency within the next two decades, a goal that may be attainable with Chinese assistance, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported Monday. Fiji's new-found enthusiasm for growing rice was precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic that caused supply-chain disruptions, making it clear that depending on staple grains imports presents a food security threat, said the Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper. "China's rice development assistance to Fiji aims to overcome these challenges by utilizing new high-breed seeds and technology-driven rice farming techniques," the report said. Since January 2015, China has helped rejuvenate five local rice varieties in Fiji and introduced 16 Chinese rice varieties, it said. In addition, China has also trained more than 4,000 local agricultural officials and farmers. The mechanized rice cultivation methods will help transform Fiji's agricultural industry into a technology-driven sector, and thereby encourage more young Fijians to take up farming, the report said, citing Chinese agri-technician Chen Huazao. "Use of high-yield and high-quality rice varieties, through scientific cultivation management measures, can achieve high-yield rice cultivation, so that more Fijian rice farmers can benefit from it," Chen was quoted as saying. TOKYO, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Japan began trial sales of "morning-after pills" over the counter on Tuesday as the country takes a major step towards making the emergency contraception drugs available without a doctor's prescription. The so-called "morning-after pills," which can prevent unwanted pregnancies to a certain extent if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex, are now sold at 145 drug stores across Japan at prices ranging from around 7,000 yen (about 47 U.S. dollars) to 9,000 yen (about 61 dollars), according to the health ministry. Women aged 16 and older who have agreed to cooperate with the investigative trial can purchase the drugs, while 16- and 17-year-olds need a parent or guardian's approval. Drug stores selected for the study must meet certain conditions, such as having trained pharmacists able to provide pills at night, on weekends and on holidays, as well as a private consultation room. Purchasers will be asked to answer questionnaires, which will be used in the study. Before the trial, women in Japan, including victims of sexual assault, had to go to a clinic or hospital for a prescription to obtain an emergency contraceptive. BAKU, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Defense ministers of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkiye held a trilateral meeting here Monday to discuss military cooperation among the three nations in 2024, said the Azeri defense ministry. The ministers shared their views on the prospects of cooperation in the fields of military education, military medicine and other aspects of mutual interest, said the ministry press service. They underlined the importance of joining efforts in the fight against factors that may pose a threat to regional security, and expanding the scope of trilateral military exercises and training, it said. The meeting ended with the signing of a protocol on conducting joint military drills among Azerbaijan, Turkiye and Georgia in 2024. On the sidelines of the meeting, defense ministries of Azerbaijan and Georgia signed a military cooperation deal for 2024. According to Georgian Defense Minister Juansher Burchuladze, the next trilateral meeting will be held in Georgia next year. KIEV, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- At least ten people were killed and 23 others injured due to extreme weather in Ukraine, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Tuesday. The winter storm accompanied by heavy winds left five dead in the country's southern Odesa region and two in the neighboring Mykolayiv region, Klymenko said in a post on Telegram. Other deaths occurred in Kiev and the eastern Kharkiv region. As of Tuesday morning, 411 settlements in 11 Ukrainian regions have been left without electricity as the blizzard damaged power grids. Ukraine has been experiencing heavy snowfall since Sunday evening. Travelex, the market leading foreign exchange brand, is investing in more than 75 new bureaux, kiosks and ATMs internationally as global travel continues to rebound. In recent months, Travelex has undertaken extensive investment across the Middle East. In the UAE, Travelex has launched a series of new bureaux and On-The-Move kiosks across airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah as well as the Mina Rashid sea port, in addition to investing in the refurbishment and expansion of existing stores at Sharjah airport. Furthermore, Travelex is in the process of launching a dozen new ATMs across the Dubai Harbour Cruise Terminal, Dubai International and the new Abu Dhabi Airport Terminal A. In terms of a retail footprint expansion in the Middle East, Oman saw a launch of a new Travelex pre-immigration store at Muscat International Airport in October 2023. The new store comes as Travelex celebrated its 20th anniversary in Oman this year. In the UAE, a new flagship Landside Arrivals store has opened in Dubai Internationals Terminal 3, and at Abu Dhabi seven new stores and eight ATMs have opened to coincide with the inauguration of the new Abu Dhabi International Airport Terminal A which will serve as the capital citys main airport. In Europe, Travelex has significantly expanded its ATM network with new ATMs across Berlin, Frankfurt and Zurich airports, as well as over a dozen ATMs across the Netherlands national railway network. Travelex has also celebrated its 30th anniversary in Germany this year (its first German store opened in Frankfurt in 1993); and announced contract extensions for both its bureaux at Hamburg Airport and its tax refund business in the Netherlands. In the UK, Travelex has launched two firsts: its first ever bureau at a UK rail station with a new branch at London Paddington, and a first-of-its-kind automated, self-service, FX kiosk at London Heathrow that requires no human interaction. Furthermore, a new store has been opened at Edinburgh Airport, an extensive bureaux refresh has been undertaken across part of Travelexs UK estate, and new three metre LED walls have also been developed for Heathrow terminals 3 and 5. In Asia, two new stores have been launched at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2), taking the total number of retail stores in Malaysia to ten, while two further stores are also set to be launched at Shanghai Pudong Airport Terminal 1 in the coming months. In Japan, Travelex has introduced its prepaid foreign currency card, the Travelex Travel Money Card, to the local market, and also celebrated its 20th anniversary in the country. Travelex has opened six new stores in Australia and three in New Zealand. Travelex has also partnered with both Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) to offer its 1.2m customers access to discounted travel money. In Brazil, Travelex has continued to invest in and expand its operations with seven new stores launched nationwide, including in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. Travelex now operates over 125 stores across the country, with further openings planned for the coming months. The new bureaux openings follow Travelexs recent announcement of a 90 million refinancing package. With international travel now at 93.1% of pre-Covid levels, and demand for travel particularly among emerging markets continuing to accelerate, Travelex is now working to further expand its retail offering, develop new wholesale relationships and increase investment into both its digital transformation and further product innovation. Richard Wazacz, Travelex CEO, said: Customer convenience is at the heart of everything Travelex stands for, and so were thrilled to be investing in the growth of our retail store operations. This investment, along with the recent news of our 90 million refinancing, is a clear statement that both travel, and Travelex, are on the rise once again. TradeArabia News Service BRUSSELS, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- A symposium was held here on Tuesday to mark the 10th anniversary of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Wu Gang, minister-counsellor at the Chinese Embassy in Belgium, described the BRI as "the most popular international public good and largest international cooperation platform in today's world." "China looks forward to working with other parties to embark on a new journey of the Belt and Road cooperation," he said. Such cooperation has stayed committed to its founding mission, expanded rapidly and made historic achievements over the past decade, he told an audience of Belgian and Chinese participants to the event, organized by China Book Trading GmbH (CBT), the Belgian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and EU Reporter. By June 2023, China had signed more than 200 cooperation agreements under the BRI framework with over 150 countries and 30 international organizations, giving rise to several flagship projects and a number of smaller but equally significant projects. Nick Powell, political editor at EU Reporter, said the BRI has been well received in many countries. "I've heard more than once that many countries see the Belt and Road Initiative and Europe's more recent offer -- the Global Gateway initiative -- as complementary," he said. "And so they should. If we are serious about resolving the many bottlenecks on the central corridor trade route between China and Europe, it would be odd if both sides were not both investing to make this happen," Powell added. "If we look at it from a broader perspective, I would say that the Belt and Road Initiative is a continuation of China's policy of opening up that began in 1978," said Professor Bart Dessein from Ghent University. "China is ready to work with friends from different sectors to deepen mutual understanding and friendly exchanges between China and Belgium, between the two peoples, and to contribute further to the development of the comprehensive and friendly Sino-Belgian partnership," Wu said. The event brought together more than 50 Belgian participants from the academic circle and the private sector. Copies of the fourth volume of "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China" were presented to Belgian readers at the symposium. BRUSSELS, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) will update the legislative framework and reinforce the role of concerned agencies in a bid to strengthen its response to migrant smuggling, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said here on Tuesday. "We will work together to: update EU legislation and apply the protocol against migrant smuggling; strengthen the role of Europol; upgrade the European centre against migrant smuggling; intensify cooperation with partner countries to tackle this issue globally," she said. The proposed updated legislative framework will prevent and counter the facilitation of unauthorized entry, transit and stay in the EU, according to the Commission. It will do so by focusing on the effective prosecution of organized criminal networks with a clearer definition of the smuggling offence; on harmonized penalties with an increase of jail time from 8 to 15 years maximum behind bars; on an improved jurisdictional reach for EU member states; on reinforcing EU member states' resourcing and capacities in the fight against migrant smuggling; and on improving data collection and reporting. On top of the proposed regulations, the European Commission also launched a "Call to Action for a Global Alliance to Counter Migrant Smuggling." "Migrant smuggling is a global, common challenge. We need to pull our weight together. Start a new era of cooperation with a Global Alliance to fight smugglers. Give a better chance to millions of people. So, we are launching a call to action, open to all who want to join us," von der Leyen said. She opened the International Conference on a Global Alliance to Counter Migrant Smuggling here on Tuesday, with the aim of strengthening international cooperation against migrant smuggling. The conference, attended by representatives of countries of origin, transit and destination, focused on prevention, response and alternatives to irregular migration as a key deterrent for migrant smuggling. COPENHAGEN, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe urgently calls upon the region to "increase testing and address persistent stigma" to combat a threatening HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) epidemic in the wake of a concerning new report released here on Tuesday. The latest surveillance report, published jointly by WHO Europe and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), reveals 110,486 HIV diagnoses in the European Region in 2022, bringing the total number of diagnoses to 2.4 million, a 4.2 percent increase. The 2022 surge in diagnoses is attributed to several factors, such as the resumption of standard testing services post-COVID-19, the expansion of targeted HIV testing services, and the adoption of new testing strategies. "While an increase in diagnoses in 2022 might seem like a bad thing, it is evidence that we are trending in the right direction with many people living with HIV better able to access the testing, treatment and support services they need," ECDC Director Dr. Andrea Ammon said. "I applaud those working hard to make rapid testing available in the communities where people with HIV live," Dr. Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, said in a press release. Kluge stressed the importance of overcoming the stigma associated with HIV to ensure that everyone can access the necessary care and treatment. Despite the success in increasing HIV diagnoses in 2022, the report notes that over half of these were made too late. This delay is largely due to stigma-related barriers, which prevent people from seeking timely testing and care. With World AIDS Day approaching on Dec. 1, the report urges stakeholders to enhance testing programs and address barriers like stigma to prevent such late diagnoses. WASHINGTON, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden said Tuesday that he would testify before Congress in December, in response to a Republican-led impeachment investigation into the president and his family. Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden's attorney, told chairman of the House Oversight Committee James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, that the president's son will answer "any pertinent and relevant questions" lawmakers might have, but said his questioning must take place at a public committee hearing. "A public proceeding would prevent selective leaks, manipulated transcripts, doctored exhibits, or one-sided press statements," Lowell wrote in a letter to the chairman. "Your empty investigation has gone on too long wasting too many better-used resources. It should come to an end," the letter continued. Lowell said Hunter Biden will appear at such a public hearing "on the date you noticed, Dec. 13, or any date in December that we can arrange." The letter came weeks after Comer subpoenaed the president's son and called for closed-door depositions, as he conducts an impeachment inquiry into the Democratic president. His uncle James Biden, the president's brother, was subpoenaed the same day. So far, Republicans have failed to reveal evidence directly implicating President Biden in any wrongdoing, but they insist the evidence is troubling. The Republican leaders of the oversight and judiciary committees, who are leading the impeachment inquiry, claimed Hunter Biden was "actively involved in the web connecting the Biden family to foreign money," and said he has "personal knowledge" of whether the president has been involved in his family members' business dealings. As the year comes to a close, the desire to welcome the New Year in a foreign land grows stronger. However, the intricate process of obtaining a visa can often be a deterrent. But fear not, as there are destinations around the world that welcome you with open arms, eliminating the need for tedious visa applications. Let's explore these visa-free havens that promise a memorable New Year's celebration. 1. Seychelles: An Island Paradise Seychelles, a group of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, is a visa-free haven that beckons travelers seeking a tropical New Year escape. The allure of pristine beaches, turquoise waters, and lush landscapes sets the stage for a celebration like no other. Imagine the warmth of the sun on your skin as you bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new amidst the breathtaking beauty of Seychelles. 2. Maldives: A Celestial Getaway The Maldives, a celestial cluster of islands in the Indian Ocean, offers a visa-free entry for those dreaming of a New Year's Eve under the stars. Overwater bungalows, crystal-clear waters, and vibrant coral reefs create a magical atmosphere for a unique celebration. Picture yourself surrounded by the serenity of the ocean as you usher in the New Year in this picturesque paradise. 3. Mauritius: Where Nature Meets Luxury Mauritius, another gem in the Indian Ocean, extends a warm welcome with visa-free entry for New Year revelers. The island boasts not only natural beauty with its lush landscapes but also luxury resorts that provide the perfect setting for a celebratory escape. Indulge in the richness of the island's culture and let the New Year begin with a touch of elegance. Navigating Asia's Visa-Free Zones 4. Singapore: A Melting Pot of Cultures Singapore, the vibrant lion city, stands as a visa-free hub in Asia. Embrace the city's multicultural atmosphere, indulge in delectable cuisines, and join the countdown festivities at the iconic Marina Bay Sands. Singapore's skyline becomes a canvas for dazzling fireworks, marking the beginning of a promising New Year. 5. Hong Kong: Skylines and Spectacles Hong Kong, with its dynamic energy and towering skyline, invites travelers without the need for a visa. Witness the mesmerizing fireworks illuminating the cityscape as you welcome the New Year in this bustling metropolis. Engage in the lively atmosphere and let the vibrant spirit of Hong Kong set the tone for the upcoming year. European Delights Without Visa Hassles 6. Albania: A Hidden Gem Nestled in the heart of Europe, Albania offers visa-free entry for those seeking a New Year's escape off the beaten path. Discover the country's rich history, explore charming towns, and immerse yourself in the warm hospitality of this hidden gem. 7. Serbia: Where Tradition Meets Celebration Serbia, a country with a rich cultural heritage, welcomes visitors for a visa-free New Year experience. Dive into the lively atmosphere filled with music, dance, and traditional festivities. Serbia's unique blend of tradition and celebration promises a memorable start to the New Year. African Retreats for Visa-Free Revelry 8. Ghana: A Cultural Extravaganza Ghana, on the west coast of Africa, offers a visa-free entry for those seeking a vibrant cultural experience for the New Year. Join the spirited celebrations, immerse yourself in local traditions, and dance your way into the next chapter surrounded by the warmth of Ghanaian hospitality. 9. Mozambique: Beach Bliss For those desiring a tropical New Year, Mozambique welcomes you without the need for a visa. Imagine yourself on sandy shores, the rhythmic waves providing the soundtrack to your celebration. Mozambique offers a perfect blend of beach bliss and festive joy for a memorable start to the New Year. Visa-Free Wonders in the Americas 10. Ecuador: From Galapagos to the Amazon Ecuador, a country with diverse landscapes, invites travelers without the need for a visa. Explore the wonders of the Galapagos Islands or venture into the Amazon rainforest for an unforgettable New Year's adventure. Ecuador's natural marvels provide a backdrop for a celebration immersed in both biodiversity and festivity. 11. Peru: Inca Mysteries and Modern Marvels Peru, a nation with a rich tapestry of history, beckons without the visa hassle. Explore the ancient mysteries of Machu Picchu, savor the flavors of Peruvian cuisine, and welcome the New Year amidst the fascinating blend of historical wonders and modern marvels. Oceanic Charms Without Visa Formalities 12. Fiji: Pacific Paradise Fiji, a tropical haven in the Pacific, opens its doors with visa-free entry for those seeking New Year celebrations in paradise. Bask in the warmth of the sun, dive into crystal-clear waters, and toast to the upcoming year in a setting that epitomizes the essence of a Pacific paradise. 13. Samoa: First to Welcome the New Year Be among the first to welcome the New Year in Samoa, where visa-free entry awaits. Experience the unique joy of crossing into the future before many others around the world. Samoa's vibrant culture and pristine landscapes create a memorable backdrop for an early New Year celebration. Tips for a Visa-Free New Year's Expedition 14. Check Entry Requirements While these destinations offer visa-free entry, it's crucial to check specific entry requirements. Ensure you understand the duration of stay allowed and any other pertinent details to facilitate a smooth experience. 15. Plan Ahead for Popular Spots For well-known destinations, planning ahead is key. Secure accommodations in advance to avoid last-minute hassles and ensure a seamless celebration. 16. Embrace Local Customs Immerse yourself in the local culture and customs of your chosen destination. Understanding and participating in local traditions will enrich your New Year experience. 17. Currency Considerations Be mindful of local currencies and plan your budget accordingly. Familiarize yourself with the local currency to avoid any financial hiccups during your celebration. Making the Most of Your Visa-Free New Year 18. Capture Moments, Not Just Photos While it's tempting to capture every moment through a lens, focus on engaging with your surroundings. Create memories that transcend photographs and truly savor the essence of the celebration. 19. Connect with Locals Interact with locals to gain insights into the spirit of your chosen destination. Connecting with the people adds a layer of authenticity to your experience, allowing you to appreciate the unique traditions and perspectives that shape the New Year celebration. 20. Reflect and Set Intentions As the New Year dawns, take a moment to reflect on the past and set positive intentions for the future. Whether you find yourself on a beach in Fiji or amidst the historical wonders of Peru, let the destination inspire a fresh start filled with optimism and new beginnings. In conclusion, the world is full of visa-free wonders that promise a New Year celebration like no other. From the pristine beaches of Seychelles to the historical marvels of Peru, each destination offers a unique blend of culture, nature, and festivities. So, pack your bags, embrace the freedom of visa-free travel, and embark on a journey to welcome the New Year in style. Good News for the Lazy: Now You Can Combat Obesity with These Methods To Know the Role of Vitamin D in Boosting Immunity and Deficiency Solutions through Diet Feed these things to children to strengthen their bones Russia claims Ukrainian drones attacked oil, gas enterprises in two oblasts 28 November, 12:03 PM In the Kaluga oblast, a drone fell into an empty fuel storage tank (Photo:David-Karich/pixabay) Russian authorities have claimed that Ukrainian drones carried out attacks on two energy sector facilities in Russias Kaluga and Tver oblasts, Russian Telegram channel Astra said in a post on Nov. 27. A drone allegedly crashed into an empty fuel storage tank with a volume of 5,000 cubic meters on the territory of LLC Pervyj Zavod in Kaluga Oblast during the night of Nov. 26. This particular facility is involved in oil refining. Another drone allegedly entered the area of the Torzhok Gazprom gas pipeline in Tver Oblast. It is said to have fallen approximately two meters from the pipeline on the same morning. Video of day The enterprise is an operator of main gas pipelines. Will you support Ukraines free press? Dear reader, as all news organizations, we must balance the pressures of delivering timely, accurate, and relevant stories with requirements to fund our business operations. As a Ukrainian-based media, we also have another responsibility to amplify Ukraines voice to the world during the crucial moment of its existence as a political nation. Its the support of our readers that lets us continue doing our job. We keep our essential reporting free because we believe in our ultimate purpose: an independent, democratic Ukraine. If youre willing to support Ukraine, consider subscribing to our Patreon starting from 5$ per month. We are immensely grateful. Please help us continue fighting Russian propaganda. Truth can be hard to tell from fiction these days. Every viewpoint has its audience of backers and supporters, no matter how absurd. If conscious disinformation is reinforced by state propaganda apparatus and budget, its outcomes may become deadly. There is no solution to this, other than independent, honest, and accurate reporting. We remain committed to empowering the Ukrainian voice to push against the muck. If youre willing to stand up for the truth consider supporting us on Patreon starting from 5$ per month. Thank you very much. Will you help tell Ukraines story to the world? Twenty years ago, most people hadnt even heard of Ukraine. Today, the country is on everyones lips and everyones headlines. War pushed us on the front page. But there are many other things we do that we are proud of from music and culture to technology. We need your help to tell the world Ukrainian story of resilience, joy, and survival. If youre willing to back our effort, consider supporting us on Patreon starting from 5$ per month. We are immensely grateful. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News slobo / Getty Images You might be a resident in one of the 10 cities that opened a Costco location this month. In December 2022, Business Insider reported Costco planned to open 24 stores in 2023. Nine international locations and 15 new U.S. stores were on the roster for grand openings. In the month of November 2023, nine of the U.S. Costco stores have opened, along with one in Canada. Lets see which cities opened Costco storefronts. Find Out: The Single Best Thing To Buy at Costco This November Read More: What To Do If You Owe Back Taxes to the IRS Sponsored: Open a new checking account and earn early paycheck access; up to 2 days early with Discover Cashback Debit with Early Pay Newark, California According to the East Bay Echo, a Costco location opened in Newark, California on Nov. 18. Costco shoppers may find this location at 250 Newpark Mall Road. The Newark Costco warehouse features a bakery, deli and produce departments, a pharmacy, an independent optometrist, a hearing aid center and a 32-pump gas station. Related: 10 Costco Meals That Are Cheaper Than Buying Takeout Northwest Toronto, Ontario Northwest Toronto celebrated the grand opening of a new Costco on Nov. 2. As reported by Toronto.com, the Costco warehouse is located at 2260 Islington Avenue in Etobicoke. A few classic features Costco shoppers will be able to enjoy at this location include the Costco pharmacy, optical and hearing aid departments, a tire service center and the Costco food court. Other highlights include a new gas station with 24 gas pumps, underground parking and giant elevators. Anchorage, Alaska Business Center A Costco Business Center warehouse opened in November in Northeast Anchorage, Alaska. The new business center is located at 1074 N. Muldoon Road in a renovated space previously occupied by a former Sams Club, the Anchorage Daily News reported. Clermont, Florida Costco opened its doors in Clermont, Florida on Nov. 14. According to Costcos website, the new location may be found at 4600 Collina Terrace. Daily warehouse shopping hours are Monday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Story continues Hendersonville, Tennessee The city of Hendersonville recently celebrated the grand opening of a Costco warehouse on Nov. 15. Costco shoppers can find this warehouse on 1101 Forest Retreat Road. The Tennessean reported the new Costco storefront features an optical department, pharmacy, hearing aid center, gas station and tire service center. Stockbridge, Georgia On Nov. 16, Stockbridge, Georgia celebrated the opening of a new Costco warehouse. Costco members may find the storefront at 1816 Jonesboro Rd, Suite 43 in McDonough, Georgia. Daily shopping hours are Monday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. According to the Costco website, the Stockbridge Costco location features an optical department, hearing aid center, pharmacy and gas station. A tire service center is also available to shoppers, along with electric vehicle charging stations. Scarborough, Maine Nov. 17 marked the celebratory date when Costco opened its doors in Scarborough. Shoppers may visit the warehouse at the 455 Scarborough Downs Road address. This is Maines first Costco warehouse store, according to Mainebiz. The Scarborough Costco is reported to have 225 employees. It features a gas station, pharmacy, tire center, optical department and food court. Noblesville, Indiana A Costco warehouse opened in Noblesville, Indiana on Nov. 21. This location may be found at 9460 East 146th Street and features a pharmacy, optical department, gas station and tire service center. As reported by FOX59, this is the ninth Costco location in Indiana and the 597th Costco in the United States. Marysville, California Just before Thanksgiving, Marysville welcomed its first Costco warehouse with a Nov. 22 grand opening. The new Costco may be found at 1214 North Beale Road in Linda, California. Some of this Costcos features include an optical department, pharmacy, gas station, hearing aid center and tire service center. Eau Claire, Wisconsin An opening date of Nov. 30 has been set for the Eau Claire Costco location. Available features at the new Costco warehouse include an optical department, hearing aid center, pharmacy, gas station, tire service center and much more. Costco members may find this location at 3085 Meadowlark Lane, Suite 20 in Altoona. More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: These 10 Cities Are Getting a Costco in November 2023 In this article, we shall discuss 20 countries with the easiest gun laws in the world. To skip our detailed analysis of the global arms and ammunition market, and the defense industry in general, go directly and see 5 Countries With the Easiest Gun Laws in the World. The global ammunition industry was valued at more than $33.2 billion in 2022 and is estimated to reach $45.2 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 3.95% during the forecast period. Demand for defensive equipment in militaries is skyrocketing owing to geopolitical tensions in Europe and the Middle East. India is emerging as a huge market for ammunition and as one of the countries with the easiest gun laws in the world, with the country's military looking to expand the number of artilleries and mortar platforms over the period of the next ten years through indigenous development projects. Tensions in the Middle East are expected to fuel regional demand for arms. Some of the most prominent players in the global ammunition industry are Clarus Corporation (NASDAQ:CLAR), Sturm, Ruger & Co. (NYSE:RGR), and Smith & Wesson Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:SWBI). You can read more on the global ammunitions industry in our article 15 Biggest Gun Companies in the World. The global ammunitions market is divided into three primary segments which are predicated on the basis of weaponry caliber: small, medium, and big. The small caliber segment boasted the highest market share in 2022 owing to rising terrorism, increasing political upheaval, and skyrocketing defense spending owing to great geopolitical turbulence. During the forecast period 2022-2030, the small caliber segment of the market is expected to grow exponentially especially in some of the countries with the easiest gun laws in the world. The medium caliber segment of the market includes high performance 20mm, 25mm, 30mm, and 40mm cartridges capable of bursting through light armor, material, and human targets in a diverse variety of circumstances on land, in the air, or in the sea. In 2022, the defense end-use sector accounted for a major portion of the global market share for ammunition, with the centerfire category topping the overall market in 2021. Story continues Reducing Obsolescence Expenditure: An Analysis According to McKinsey, producers and manufacturers operating within the aerospace and defense industry (A&D) face a complex challenge, in that they tend to deal in highly advanced, complex technology which have extremely long life cycles that often surpass the thirty-year mark. During this time period, companies operating within this highly complex industry need to focus on legacy-parts support. However, internal components for these systems, which includes semiconductors, electronic boards, and mechanical parts, have extremely limited life spans, lasting for five years or less. This disparity is known as the "two-speed" challenge, where components tend to become more complicated to secure with the passage of time and suppliers struggle to obtain raw materials or consider stopping the manufacturing process as a whole. Hence, it falls to OEMs to design replacements for obsolete components and in the process, face nonrecurring engineering costs. The report highlights that the total obsolescence-related nonrecurring cost for the military aircraft sector alone lies in the range of $70 billion, based on an in-depth model which takes into considering the type of aircraft, generation, and the estimated time the aircraft in question has remained in service. However, companies like Clarus Corporation (NASDAQ:CLAR), Sturm, Ruger & Co. (NYSE:RGR), and Smith & Wesson Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:SWBI) are beginning to undertake a proactive and systematic approach which can duly address obsolescence-related expenditure as a whole. According to a report by McKinsey, these companies engage in a meticulously structured approach to reduce costs for obsolete components so that they are well-positioned to capitalize on the huge market potential in many of the countries with the easiest gun laws in the world. The structured approach highlighted by McKinsey identifies that the first step to dealing with obsolete components is to identify potential alternative supplies for the respective component. This is one of the most popular solutions that companies use to circumvent additional cost since it avoids virtually all expense which is conventionally associated with engineering. Once the component has been identified, each potential supplier must engage in a rigorous screening process to verify its capacities, capabilities and qualifications. The screening often tends to include the validation of process quality, anticounterfeit measures, parts traceability, and a supplier's positionality and capability to export into key manufacturing regions such as the EU and the United States. Another strategy companies like Clarus Corporation (NASDAQ:CLAR), Sturm, Ruger & Co. (NYSE:RGR), and Smith & Wesson Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:SWBI) tend to deploy is that once a component is nearing obsolescence, the companies engage in extensive searches for a product close in fit, form, and function (FFF) to the obsolete component. This seriously reduces any nonrecurring engineering costs and avoids a complete upheaval of the current design. To make the searching process as efficient as possible, companies usually employ the assistance and expertise of certain in-field experts who excel in assessing the availability of FFF components for specific technical areas and commodities. In the event that an exact or FFF replacement is unavailable, companies may also redesign a new working component for themselves while minimizing expenditure and containing any disruption to the existing system design. This is done in the backdrop of certain precautionary measures like conducting cross-functional, design-to value workshops for the components the company is considering. Design experts and cost engineers are brought on board fairly prematurely in the process which further holds down the process's time, cost, and complexity. Countering the Labor Challenge: An Overview According to another report by McKinsey, the A&D industry has faced a surging competition for the best talent even in countries with the easiest gun laws in the world, with tech companies and start-ups alluring young talent with more compelling value propositions. Persistent labor challenges in the face of an incredibly tenuous macroeconomic climate and skyrocketing demand has proven to be a serious rate limiter to growth and performance within the aerospace and defense industry. McKinsey highlights some of the drivers affecting the A&D labor market, one of them being a fast changing demographic. A giant flood of retirements is on the horizon, with more than 40% of industry employees nearing the age of 55 or above. This has resulted in a drastic shift in employee preferences for the typology of career and work conditions, especially amongst the younger lot which are just beginning to enter the workforce. Even younger employees from countries with the easiest gun laws in the world simply do not prefer a career in the A&D industry and are opting for more lucrative opportunities elsewhere. Another powerful factor molding the labor market is an increased willingness to switch, especially post the COVID-19 pandemic. Termed 'The Great Resignation', more than half of employees globally have been thinking about switching jobs by March 2024 with younger employees twice as likely to make the jump compared to their veteran counterparts. This is likely to result in a sharp fall in talent replacement rates. In this vein, top players like Clarus Corporation (NASDAQ:CLAR), Sturm, Ruger & Co. (NYSE:RGR), and Smith & Wesson Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:SWBI) are beginning to take radical action by effectively showcasing advantages, developing and continuously reskilling talent at scale, and establishing mechanisms which cater to long-term employee retention. You can read more on the labor shortage affecting the A&D industry in our article 20 States with the Most Guns Per Capita. Photo by STNGR Industries on Unsplash Our Methodology To compile our list of 20 countries with the easiest gun laws in the world, we undertook a consensus-based approach to compile a list of 100 countries which have the most gun violence. The primary assumption was based on the findings from our article Guns per Capita by Country Vs Crime Rate: Top 20 Countries, which concluded that countries with the easiest gun laws in the world will necessarily have more gun violence compared to countries which are more restrictive with respect to gun ownership. To compile this primary list, we used a variety of credible sources and databases (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Then, we proceeded to evaluate the regulatory framework in each country with respect to ownership and use of firearms. Since ease of gun legislation is an incredibly multifaceted and complex phenomenon, we established a five-pronged criteria to measure the ease of gun laws in each country; the criteria is premised on the ease of obtaining a firearm license in each country (20 points), registration requirements (15 points), thoroughness of background checks (10 points), types of firearms allowed (5 points), and robustness of self-defense laws (2 points). For countries which have a constitutional protection in place for gun ownership, we gave a bonus of five points. We then proceeded to award each country a cumulative score according to the aforementioned criteria and selected 20 countries which scored the highest points. Subsequently, we ranked each entry based on the total points scored, from lowest to highest. Where there was a tie, we broke it based on the ease of obtaining a firearm license in the respective countries. Countries With The Easiest Gun Laws In The World 20. Austria Total Score: 21 In Austria, an individual needs a carry permit to own and bear open and concealed-carry across the country. After the age of 18, an individual can easily carry certain kinds of guns for the purpose of hunting or sports. 19. Estonia Total Score: 23 In Estonia, the Weapons Act allows citizens above the age of 18 to apply for a firearm permit. These permits are issued by local governments. A temporary or permanent residency is required to own a gun in the country. 18. Honduras Total Score: 24 Laws in Honduras allow citizens to own certain guns for the purpose of self-defense; however, the country banned open and concealed-carry in 2007. Nevertheless, Honduras has one of the easiest gun laws in the world. 17. Uruguay Total Score: 27 Being the one of the most armed countries in South America, Uruguay carries out thorough background checks to issue a gun license. These checks cover criminal records, medical certificates, and a certificate proving basic knowledge of handling arms. 16. Serbia Total Score: 28 Serbia has the second-highest gun ownership rate in the world. This is because of the relaxed gun laws in the country. Furthermore, citizens are permitted to own a concealed and open-carry if they have a genuine reason to believe that their life is in danger. 15. Sweden Total Score: 32 The hunting culture in Sweden is one of the strongest in the world which is why around one-third of Swedens population owns ammunition. To obtain a gun license, one needs to fulfill certain criteria, which includes passing a written test, a shooting test, joining a gun club, and having a clean criminal record. 14. Yemen Total Score: 33 Yemens gun laws are highly non-restrictive, making it one of the countries with the easiest gun laws in the world. To own a gun, a license is not required; however, to carry a gun in urban areas, one needs a state-issued license. 13. Bosnia and Herzegovina Total Score: 34 Approximately 31% of the population in Bosnia and Herzegovina own a gun. This is because the process of obtaining a gun license is sufficiently convenient as it only requires a permit that is issued by the local police. 12. France Total Score: 35 The criteria to obtain a gun license in France is fairly uncomplicated but thoroughly detailed. One needs to be above the age of 18, be associated with a shooting range, complete the designated training, and pass a medical exam to own a gun. 11. Finland Total Score: 35 Finland is famous for its hunting tradition and many individuals can obtain a gun license for the purpose of hunting, making Finland one of the countries with the easiest gun laws in the world. However, in order to get a gun license, one needs to go through rigorous background checks and should have no criminal record. 10. Argentina Total Score: 36 In order to obtain a gun license in Argentina, an individual needs a temporary or permanent residency and a genuine reason to own a gun. However, it is extremely rare to obtain a permit for concealed carry. 9. Norway Total Score: 38 In Norway, guns are permitted for the purpose of hunting or sports. One can obtain a special permit to own a semi-automatic gun by passing an exam and going through training. 8. Panama Total Score: 39 Since Panama is a small country, there are only a few gun stores in the country. However, the gun laws are extremely relaxed as concealed-carry permits are extremely easy to obtain and semi-automatic arms can easily be owned via a special license. 7. Italy Total Score: 40 To own a gun in Italy, one needs to obtain a gun license. Obtaining a license requires an individual to go through a background check in which they are required to meet certain criteria, which include being mentally fit and not being a drug or alcohol abuser. 6. Canada Total Score: 42 To obtain a gun license in Canada, one needs to go through several background checks. Even though it is relatively easy to possess a gun in Canada, there are several restrictions. Some of these restrictions entail that a concealed carry can be owned by citizens; however, semi-automatic guns require special permits and training. Canada is number 6 on our list of countries with the easiest gun laws in the world. Click here to continue reading and see 5 Countries With the Easiest Gun Laws in the World. Suggested Articles: Disclosure: None. 20 Countries With the Easiest Gun Laws in the World is originally published on Insider Monkey. In this article, we shall discuss the 20 most powerful country leaders in the world in 2023. To skip our detailed analysis of the global defense industry in 2023, go directly and see 5 Most Powerful Country Leaders In The World in 2023. Defense Industry Outlook and Trends 2024: An Overview 2023 has largely been characterized by a litany of geopolitical flashpoints and conflicts, with the Middle East, Central Asia, and Europe seeing an unprecedented amount of turbulence. These conflicts arise within the backdrop of a larger Sino-American rivalry which proves to be a consistent flashpoint in today's geopolitical landscape, giving credence to some of the most powerful country leaders in the world in 2023. According to a report by PwC, this has caused global defense expenditure to skyrocket in recent years, with initial projections rising up to $2 trillion by 2026, growing at an average year-on-year of 1.1%. The United States represents more than 60% of the total market, with the rest coming from other powers around the world. These large, stable markets sustain persistent and considerable demand driven by constant geopolitical and security challenges. The primary trend which is likely to seep into 2024 and affect the growth of the global defense industry is the increasing pressure exerted by supply chain challenges on the U.S. defense industrial base. A result of Western support for Ukraine amidst Russia-Ukraine conflict, munitions are being spent on the Ukrainian front at rates far exceeding normal lean-production delivery models exercised by the industry in recent years. According to a report by the Financial Times, Ukraine's crusade against Putin, who is one of the most powerful country leaders in the world in 2023, is consuming armament at an unprecedented frequency. The country has been firing more than 4500 artillery rounds a day. This massive shift to a war footing has exacerbated a massive supply chain challenge as defense companies like Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT), General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD), and Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) race to increase the rate of production to refresh national stockpiles as well as maintain supplies to the country. Story continues Another trend likely to impact the global defense industry in 2024 is the growing risk of cyber attacks seen in recent years. Cybersecurity is an integral element of a modern state's military capabilities. Threats may range from adversaries seeking to steal or disrupt the development of equipment, to seizing control of hostile drones and other susceptible systems. Militaries around the world are diverting increased investments in ramping up their cybersecurity apparatus in order to ensure future and continuous success on the physical and digital battlefield. According to a market research report by Precedence Research, the global cybersecurity market is currently valued at more than $210.5 billion and is projected to reach $691.6 billion by 2032, at a CAGR of 12.58% during the forecast period 2022-2032. To read more on trends affecting the global aerospace and defense industry in 2024, check out our coverage of the 15 Biggest Gun Companies in the World. Overcoming the Global Labor Shortage: An Analysis According to a report by McKinsey, the larger aerospace and defense industry is facing extreme competition with respect to securing adequate labor. This competition mainly springs from other more lucrative industries like the technology and healthcare industry which offer more attractive salaries and benefits. Although the technology industry has slowed down hiring considerably in the face of constant macroeconomic pressure, the report opines that the race to secure the best talent will only continue to garner more traction and momentum, especially in high-demand roles where shortage of adequate labor is more pronounced. One of the primary reasons why defense companies like Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT), General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD), and Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) are struggling to attract competent talent is due to a massive demographic shift within global urban populations, which McKinsey terms a transition from a "gray" to "green" workforce. Much of the older workforce is nearing retirement and a younger demographic is swiftly moving into the labor stream. This shift gives rise to other different factors at play, such as a shift in employee preferences, expectations, and work conditions. Moreover, the Great Resignation is another powerful factor shaping employment prospects within the larger A&D industry, with surveys indicating that more than 46 percent of employees are looking to switch employment within the next six months. This is exacerbated by the fact that younger employees are twice as likely to switch jobs compared to their older counterparts. As a result of these trends, defense companies are seeing younger talent seep through the cracks and talent replacement rates plunge dramatically. Furthermore, as the older generation approaches retirement, younger people are switching jobs much more frequently and are lacking the essential skills needed to thrive in the defense business. In order to overcome this labor crisis, companies like Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT), General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD), and Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC), which cater to some of the most powerful country leaders in the world in 2023, can focus on sourcing talent from a pool that numerous employers tend to ignore by making use of the 70 million workers in the US classified as skilled through alternative routes (STARs). This segment of the workforce often has the skills needed in higher-wage jobs but are conventionally ignored. Hence, hiring should be more geared towards community colleges, military service, and on-the-job learning. Secondly, defense companies must shift lenses with respect to the role of manager as someone who drives purpose and leads greener teams of employees which may exhibit a greater turnover rate. Furthermore, many companies are investing in creating nonlinear career paths, non-promotion based advancement mechanisms, and different forms of recognizing achievement. This can aid companies in better catering to an increasing demand for more visible and faster career progression and career optionality. McKinsey also highlights the need for instituting mechanisms which enable more frequent evaluation and discourse around diversity, equity and inclusion practices, coupled with the creation of employee resource groups which can better equip defense companies like Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT), General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD), and Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) in satisfying the requirements of the greener cohort. According to research, employees in more efficient ERGs respond with higher positive inclusion score relative to employees in non-functional or ineffective ERGs. Since a reliable flow of labor is one of the essential preconditions to value creation, defense companies are diverting greater investments in models which have a proven track record of employee retention success. One of these models is the construction of a localized "talent win room", which accumulates resources from different organizations to curate a more efficient and seamless employee value proposition and onboarding process. Don't Miss: Top 20 Most Valuable Defense Companies in the World Most Powerful Country Leaders In The World in 2023 Photo by rob walsh on Unsplash Our Methodology To compile our list of the 20 most powerful country leaders in the world in 2023, we decided to undertake a consensus based approach using a diverse variety of credible sources and research which studied individual and state power (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). We then shortlisted more than 50 leaders which appeared most frequently during our research. Since power is an incredibly multifaceted and complex phenomenon, we established a three-pronged criteria to measure the power of each leader; the criteria is premised on the country's military strength and the leader's role in maintaining and enhancing it (20 points), the economic policies implemented by the leader (15 points), and the global influence of the leader in the geopolitical arena (10 points). We then proceeded to award each leader a cumulative score according to the aforementioned criteria and selected 20 leaders which scored the highest points. Subsequently, we ranked each entry based on the total points scored, from lowest to highest. Where there was a tie, we broke it based on the country's military strength and the leader's role in maintaining and enhancing it. We only considered leaders who were in power as of November 2023. Many of the most powerful country leaders in the world in 2023 mentioned in this list are at the helm of affairs in the 25 Most Powerful Countries in the World in 2023. 20 Most Powerful Country Leaders In The World in 2023 20. Anthony Albanese Total Score: 18 Anthony Albanese is currently serving as the 31st Prime Minister of Australia. He has been the leader of the Australian Labor Party since 2019, and leads one of the strongest military and economic powers in the world, Albanese is one of the most powerful country leaders in the world in 2023. 19. Bashar al-Assad Total Score: 19 Bashar al-Assad is the current president of Syria. He also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Syrian armed forces and the secretary-general of the Central Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. He has been in power since July 2000. 18. Justin Trudeau Total Score: 20 Justin Trudeau is the current serving Prime Minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party in the country. Canada is one of the strongest military and economic powers in the world, leading Trudeau to make our list of the world's most powerful leaders in 2023. 17. Yoon Suk Yeol Total Score: 22 Yoon Suk Yeol is the current president of South Korea. Prior to his presidency, Yeol has also served as prosecutor general between 2019 to 2021. Since South Korea has one of the most advanced militaries in the world due to constant existentialist threat from its Northern counterpart, Yeol is one of the most influential people in the world. 16. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Total Score: 24 Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is the current president of Brazil and a member of the Workers' Party. He has long been one of the most popular political figures in the country. His previous stint in office lasted for eight years. 15. Recep Tayyip Erdogan Total Score: 26 Recep Tayyip Erdogan is currently serving as the 12th president of Turkey. Co-founder and leader of the Justice and Development Party, Erdogan has been one of the most seminal figures in Turkish history. His confrontational image, populist brand of politics, and willingness to use Turkey's mighty military power makes him one of the most powerful country leaders in the world in 2023. 14. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi Total Score: 26 Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is the current president of Egypt and has been at the helm of affairs since 2014. One of the most influential figures in the Middle East, especially in context of the current conflict between Israel and Palestine, El-Sisi is incredibly powerful and influential in geopolitical circles. 13. Rishi Sunak Total Score: 28 Rishi Sunak is currently serving as the Prime Minister of the UK and is also the leader of the Conservative Party. Since the UK is an esteemed member of the G7 and the NATO alliance, Sunak is considered the leader of one of the most powerful countries in the world. 12. Olaf Scholz Total Score: 30 Olaf Scholz has been serving as the chancellor of Germany since December 2021. The leader of one of the world's largest economies and mightiest militaries, Scholz is incredibly influential on the global stage. 11. Fumio Kishida Total Score: 31 Fumio Kishida is currently serving as the Prime Minister of Japan. Since Japan is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, Kishida is an important stakeholder in nearly all geopolitical discussion. 10. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Total Score: 31 Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is an Emirati royal who is currently serving as the third president of the UAE. Since the UAE is one of the largest oil reserves in the world, and is a financial hotspot for global companies looking to tap into emerging markets in Asia, Nahyan is considered one of the most powerful country leaders in the world in 2023. 9. Kim Jong Un Total Score: 33 Kim Jong Un is a North Korean politician who has served as Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and is commander-in-chief to one of the most volatile, turbulent, and unpredictable nuclear powers in the world. Due to his totalitarian methods of control, he is considered incredibly powerful in the geopolitical arena. 8. Benjamin Netanyahu Total Score: 35 Benjamin Netanyahu is currently serving as Prime Minister of Israel amidst one of the region's most devastating conflicts. Israel is one of the most important military powers in the Middle East; hence, Netanyahu makes our list of the world's most powerful leaders in 2023. 7. Ali Hoseini-Khameinei Total Score: 36 Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei is a Twelver Shia marja' and the current Supreme Leader of Iran. His power intersects religious, political and theocratic lines, making him one of the most powerful country leaders in the world in 2023. 6. Emmanuel Macron Total Score: 36 Since France is one of the strongest military and economic powers in the world, its current president Emmanuel Macron is considered one of the most influential world leaders in geopolitics today. His power is incredibly consolidated at home and abroad, making him one of the most seminal figures within the NATO alliance. Click here to continue reading and see 5 Most Powerful Country Leaders In The World in 2023. Suggested Articles: Disclosure: None. 20 Most Powerful Country Leaders In The World in 2023 is originally published on Insider Monkey. The Toyota Tacoma, Americas bestselling midsize pickup, will take a leap forward in style, capability and technology early in 2024 when a new model that adds hybrid power and shares key systems with the Tundra full-size pickup goes on sale. The 2024 Tacoma boasts a new frame and eight distinct trim levels as Toyota aims to broaden the appeal of one of its cornerstone models. Dont sleep on the Tacoma. The understated pickup helped establish Toyotas sterling reputation for value and durability. New and used, it has been the first vehicle of choice for generations: work truck, play truck and everything in between. Make that "formerly understated." The 2024 Tacoma will offer off-road models with flared fenders and tracks widened to accommodate all-terrain tires. A high lift and slim passenger compartment reserve the Tacomas traditional proportions. 2024 Toyota Tacoma The Tacoma competes with midsize pickups, including the Chevrolet Colorado, Ford Ranger, GMC Canyon, Honda Ridgeline, Jeep Gladiator and Nissan Frontier. A new Ranger is due early in 2024 and new versions of the Canyon and Colorado debuted in 2023. The formerly sleepy midsize pickup segment, which Chevy, Ford and GMC all abandoned for a few years and Jeep recently reentered after an absence of decades, is suddenly a hotbed of competition. While Toyotas full-size truck platform was engineered for global markets, the Tacoma was developed in the automakers U.S. design and tech centers. Some 2024 Toyota Tacoma midsize pickups have and independent rear suspension and coil springs. 2024 Toyota Tacoma trim levels and prices SR Xtra Cab 4x2: $31,500 SR Double Cab 4x2: $33,700 SR5 Xtra Cab 4x2: $36,700 SR5 Double Cab: $37,200 TRD PreRunner Xtra Cab: $38,100 TRD Sport Double Cab: $39,400 TRD Off-road Double Cab: $42,800 Limited Double Cab: $52,100 Source: Toyota. Prices exclude $1,495 destination charge. Driving impressions I recently spent a day in 2024 Tacomas on surface streets, highways and daunting off-road trails just north of Los Angeles. The pickup should be in dealerships early in 2024. Story continues The 2024 Toyota Tacoma is at home on challenging off-road trails. I didnt get to drive any of the hybrids. They go into production and on sale in the spring, a tactic automakers often use to ensure a smooth start of production and high initial quality. The pickups I drove were early enough in the process that they had a few pre-production parts generally smooth, shiny pieces of plastic interior trim that will be replaced with more finished looking pieces before sales begin. Setting aside the hybrid for now, both levels of gasoline engine produced plenty of usable power, thanks largely to turbochargers selected to spin up rapidly and provide peak torque from just 1,600 or 1,700 rpm to 4,200. Toyota used to offer a V6, but only drivers who measure their potency in cylinder count are likely to miss it. The combination of broad torque band and the carefully tuned eight-speed automatic transmission kept the Tacoma in its happy place in traffic, on the open road and while climbing challenging dirt switchbacks that included loose rock, deep potholes and steep slopes. The optional disconnecting stabilizer bars enabled plenty of wheel travel to negotiate the potholes and numerous spots that left a wheel hanging in midair. 2024 Toyota Tacoma On-road, the ride is comfortable, the steering responsive. The automatic transmission shifts smoothly and avoids obvious hunting among gears, even going up and down steep, twisting mountain roads. 2024 Toyota Tacoma key features Turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine 8-speed automatic or 6-speed manual transmission Hybrid model coming spring 2024 Locking differential Disconnecting stabilizer bars Skid plates Front and rear recovery hooks 5- or 6-foot bed 17- and 18-inch wheels Two cab styles: two-door Xtra Cab, four-door Double Cab 10 speaker JBL sound system Removable JBL Flex Bluetooth speaker 14-inch touch screen Google search for navigation and more Power tailgate 2024 Toyota Tacoma How much? How big? Prices for the 2024 Tacoma will start at $31,500 for a rear-drive Xtra Cab SR with an eight-speed automatic transmission and 2.4L turbocharged four-cylinder engine that produces 228 horsepower and 243 pound-feet of torque. Once you move out of the base models, the same engine is tuned to produce 278 hp and 317 pound-feet. A six-speed manual transmission is also available. The hybrid model coming this spring will add electric motors to boost power to 326 hp and a diesel-like 465 pound-feet of torque. The 2024 Toyota Tacoma offers an eight-speed automatic transmission and terrain mode selector. Pricing, fuel economy and driving impressions of the hybrid, which Toyota calls I-Force Max, should be available shortly before sales begin. The new Tacoma uses the same TNGA-F global truck architecture as the bigger Tundra pickup and Sequoia and Land Cruiser SUVs. At 213-226.25 inches long, the base 2024 Tacoma is 0.7 inch longer than the outgoing model, but its wheelbase grew 4 inches, a difference that should show up in better maneuverability from trails to parking lots. Its width increased up to 3 inches to accommodate off-road tires wheel lips. Competitive base prices Chevrolet Colorado: $29,200 Ford Ranger: $29,585 GMC Canyon: $36,600 Honda Ridgeline: $38,800 Jeep Gladiator: $38,775 Nissan Frontier: $31,070 Source: Edmunds. Prices exclude destination charge. Some 2024 Toyota Tacoma models have a 14-inch touch screen. Whats good? The cab is comfortable, with plenty of storage space and familiar dials and toggles for climate controls and volume. The two-door Xtra Cab has plenty of storage space behind its seats, while the four-door Double Cabs rear seat is accommodating for passengers or gear. The Xtra Cabs passenger seat folds flat to make it easy to load gear behind the seats. Theres also lockable storage in the rear. Toyota abandoned small rear-hinged so-called suicide doors on the 2024 Tacoma because few customers chose them. Deleting the feature and simplifying production helped keep prices in check while Toyota added other features. Toyota developed new seats that have dampers shock absorbers, in non-engineering talk and ball joints to help the keep the drivers head stable and eyes focused when controlling the vehicle over bumpy surfaces. New shock absorbers and bushings complement the new suspension, which has either rear leaf or coil springs, depending on the model. Disc brakes are standard. Toyota dropped the Tacoma model with small rear-hinged 'suicide' doors in favor of a two-door cab with storage space behind its seats. Safety and driver assist features Adaptive cruise control Blind spot alert and assist Pre-collision braking with pedestrian detection Lane departure with steering assist Lane centering Road sign recognition Automatic high beams What could be better? Its hard to find fault with the 2024 Tacoma. The promise of more power and better fuel economy might make it worth waiting for details on the hybrid models coming this spring, if you have extra money on hand. Beyond that, a drivers-door grab-handle would come in handy stepping up into the cab of off-road models. Its a tall pickup, and Toyotas suggestion that you use the steering wheel is a poor substitute for a correctly positioned, ergonomic handle, especially in vehicles that can top $52,000. Toyotas insistence on installing less sophisticated touch screens and instrument clusters in base models starts to feel a bit chintzy somewhere below the 24 Tacomas $31,500 starting point, too. 2024 Toyota Tacoma front seat. Why get one? Not many people have regretted buying a Tacoma, and the 2024 model seems unlikely to change that. Its beefy looks, features and off-road ability should keep it at or near the front of the competitive midsize pickup field. The promise of more power lots more torque and better fuel economy might justify holding off until we know the prices and other details for the upcoming hybrid models, though. 2024 Toyota Tacoma at a glance Specifications as tested: Model: 4x4 TRD off-road Double Cab 5-foot bed Base price without options or destination charge: $42,900 Engine: 2.4L turbocharged four-cylinder Output: 278 hp @ 6,000 rpm; 317 pound-feet of torque @ 1,700 rpm Transmission: Eight-speed automatic Estimated fuel economy estimate:19 mpg city/22 highway/20 combined. Regular gasoline Wheelbase: 131.9 inches Length: 213 inches Width: 77.9 inches Height: 74.6 inches Ground clearance: 11.5 inches Towing capacity: 6,500 pounds Curb weight: 4,720 pounds Contact Mark Phelan: 313-222-6731 or mmphelan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 2024 Toyota Tacoma likely to remain No. 1 midsize pickup: Here's why. Virgin Atlantics Flight100 on Tuesday departed from London to New York, creating a milestone as the worlds first 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) transatlantic flight by a commercial airline. The flight took off at 1149 GMT operated by a Virgin Boeing 787 powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines. It follows the successful transatlantic crossing by a Gulfstream G600 business jet using the same fuel last week, said a Reuters report. The flight is scheduled to arrive at New York's John F Kennedy International Airport at 1440 EST (1940 GMT). There are no paying passengers on board or cargo on the flight, which comes days before the start of COP28 climate talks in Dubai on Thursday, Reuters added. Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, said in a blog post celebrating this momentous moment: "So proud to be onboard Virgin Atlantics Flight100 today. "The world will always assume something cant be done until you do it. The spirit of innovation is getting out there and trying to prove that we can do things better for everyones benefit. This flight today shows that sustainable jet fuel can be used as a drop-in replacement for jet fuel and it is the only viable solution for decarbonising long-haul flights. "A huge well done to the Virgin Atlantic team and all of our partners for coming together and making this happen now weve shown that it can work, it will take industry and governments to make it an everyday reality. Our greatest challenges are also our greatest opportunities but no one can do this alone. There's still a long way to go, there simply isnt enough sustainable aviation fuel the next step is to see policy change in the UK and US and investment to change that." UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in his social media posts said: "Backed by UK government funding, todays Virgin Atlantic flight from London to New York is fuelled for the first time entirely by sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), made primarily from waste oils and fats such as used cooking oil. "The Transport Secretary and Richard Branson are on board, marking a major milestone towards making air travel more environmentally friendly and decarbonising our skies. It's an important step as we move towards our goal of reaching Net Zero by 2050. "I have always championed innovation in our economy. Todays flight shows that when we have the confidence to invest in innovation, we can change our world for the better, driving jobs and growing the economy." (Reuters) A US appeals court on Monday handed 3M (MMM), Corteva Inc subsidiary E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co (DD) and other manufacturers of toxic so-called "forever chemicals" a big win in their fight against legal liability for the substances, rejecting a lower court's ruling that would have allowed about 11.8 million Ohio residents to sue the companies as a group. The Cincinnati, Ohio-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a lower court's approval of the massive class action, which included virtually every resident of Ohio and put considerable legal pressure on the chemical manufacturers to settle the plaintiffs' claims. The court found lead plaintiff Kevin Hardwick filed too broad a complaint against the manufacturers, and had not shown per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, found in his body could be traced directly to the defendants such as units of 3M, DuPont and others. The court said Hardwick's complaint rarely targeted the actions of any one company, and instead accused the companies collectively of contaminating the environment with the chemicals. "Seldom is so ambitious a case filed on so slight a basis," wrote Circuit Judge Raymond Kethledge, noting there are thousands of companies that have manufactured PFAS but just 10 listed as defendants in the case. The appeals court instructed the lower court to dismiss Hardwick's lawsuit, which had aimed to force the companies to pay for studies analyzing the health impacts of PFAS. The chemicals are used in a wide range of consumer products including non-stick pans and clothing and have been tied to cancer and other diseases. The lawsuit also sought to establish a fund to monitor Ohio residents for health impacts from PFAS exposure. Sen. Rob Cowles, from left, Rep. Rob Swearingen, Sen. Eric Wimberger, at podium, and Rep. Jeff Mursau introduce a revised version of their bill to combat PFAS contamination on Oct. 11, 2023..(Todd Richmond/AP Photo) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) A 3M spokesperson said the company is pleased with the decision. Robert Bilott, an attorney for Hardwick, said the court's decision runs "counter to what we know about the history of manufacturing of PFAS in the United States" and said they are evaluating whether to appeal. Story continues Representatives for the other defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The chemicals are often referred to as forever chemicals because they do not easily break down in nature or in the human body. The lawsuit is among thousands that have been filed against 3M, DuPont and others in recent years over alleged PFAS contamination. 3M agreed in June to pay $10.3 billion to settle hundreds of claims the company polluted public drinking water with the chemicals, while Chemours Co, DuPont de Nemours Inc and Corteva reached a similar deal with U.S. water providers for $1.19 billion. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has called PFAS an urgent public health and environmental issue," and has taken steps to regulate PFAS, including in drinking water. (Reporting by Clark Mindock, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi, Lincoln Feast and Chris Reese) In this article, we look at the 8 countries ruled by military dictatorship in 2023. You can skip our detailed analysis on the impact of authoritarianism on economic growth and head over directly to the 5 Countries Ruled by Military Dictatorship in 2023. According to a report by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, or International IDEA, nearly half of all countries in the world suffered a notable decline in their democratic credentials between 2017-2022. After many years of democratization, the world has been experiencing democratic recession for the last five to six years. Authoritarianism is on the rise globally with democracy getting degraded as people lose faith in the legitimacy of election results, see their freedoms being trampled upon, and a growing disillusionment among the youth with their leaders. The resurgence of populism in the right-wing parties has also polarized politics and weakened democracy. While there are several countries with authoritarian governments, most of them have leaders that are civilian and appear somewhat accountable albeit only on paper. There are only a handful of countries today that have outright military regimes. Economic Impact of Military Dictatorship Military dictatorships certainly do not bode well for the business environment in countries which have been ruled by military junta, as these regimes do not enjoy global legitimacy and are often subject to economic sanctions from much of the world. One such country currently bearing the brunt is Myanmar, where on the morning of February 1, 2021 one day before the newly elected parliament was due to swear in the military staged a coup and ended civilian rule in the country. Since then, Myanmar has been subjected to numerous rounds of sanctions led by the United States and its allies in Europe. Many large international companies have ceased operations in the country and pulled out. Among them is Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), an American energy corporation, that announced in February this year to sell its assets in Myanmar and exit the country. Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) criticized the human rights abuses in the country and sold its 41.1% stake in the Yadana Project to Canadas MTI for an undisclosed amount. The withdrawal followed a one-year long policy of Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) to reduce proceeds from sales from the project that would have reached the military junta ruling Naypyidaw. Other oil and gas companies, including TotalEnergies and Woodside Petroleum have also left the country, while South Korean steelmaker Posco ended its joint venture with MEHL, a company controlled by the military in Myanmar. Story continues In the telecom sector, Norwegian company Telenor, which was one of the largest foreign investors in Myanmar also quit the country in 2022. It was acquired by Lebanese firm M1 and a local company Shwe Byain Phyu for $105 million. British American Tobacco (BAT) also ceased all operations in Myanmar that year. Nigers promising oil industry has suffered a major setback following a coup by the military junta led by General Abdourahamane Tchiani in July 2023. The country recently increased its oil production from 20,000 to 100,000 barrels of oil per day and was set to export oil across the region through Africas longest pipeline built by the Chinese in Niger. However, since the exit point for the crude oil is Benin, a member of ECOWAS, the export of oil from Niger to regional countries is now at risk after the coup as opening the export route to Nigers junta would go against ECOWAS policy. Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world and has been further burdened by economic sanctions placed by the West after the coup. The EU has suspended financial cooperation worth $554 million. Frances development aid of $131 million was also put on hold. The United States has also paused more than $200 million in US aid. On the other hand, Nigeria, which supplied 70% of Nigers electricity, has cut off power supply to the country. Democracy and Economic Growth While countries ruled by military dictatorship struggle economically and face global seclusion, nations that become democratic experience economic growth. A research held in the US in 2019 found a strong correlation between democracy and economic growth. The paper, titled 'Democracy Does Cause Growth' by MIT's Daren Acemoglu et el. found that countries that transition from nondemocracy to democracy experience a 20% increase in their GDP per capita over the 25 years after embracing democracy. You can read more about this in our article, Top 30 Most Democratic Countries in the World. Corporations Advancing Democracy Recently, quite a few large corporations in the US have begun making commitments to promote democracy around the world. This includes Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE:NET), an IT service management company that works with organizations like Access Now, Internet Society, and others to track internet censorship. Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE:NET) connects to more than 11,000 networks world over and works with researchers to share data about internet shutdowns. Moreover, Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE:NET) consults members of the civil society regarding all its future product developments to ensure that these are consistent with human rights and enhance privacy of users. On the other hand, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in 2022 partnered with International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) in a program aimed at training journalists in areas such as cybersecurity and digital safety with an eye on how state machineries in autocratic states abuse power to steal elections. 29 journalists belonging to Tunisia and Serbia benefited from this training initiative of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). IFES claims to have received high demand for this training from journalists in several other nations as well, and plans to expand this program to another 33 countries in the coming years, in collaboration with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). Moreover, this year, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)s Google committed $2 billion at the White Houses Summit for Democracy to support human rights defenders across the world. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) will dedicate these funds to establish safety helplines for these individuals who are under constant threat for exercising their right to freedom of expression and speech. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) will also be providing 100,000 security keys to individuals who are at an increased risk of cyber attacks. 8 Countries Ruled by Military Dictatorship in 2023 Methodology Countries ruled by military dictatorships in 2023 are ranked in ascending order of the duration of military rule. Only countries that are directly under military rule and those that have a transitional military governments are listed in this article. Publicly available information from various news reports and publications were sourced for writing this report. Lets now head over to the list of countries under military rule in 2023. Countries Ruled by the Military in 2023: 8. Gabon Ruled by the Military since: August 2023 The military in Gabon, on August 30, 2023, staged a coup and ousted the countrys president Ali Bongo Ondimba, shortly after it was announced that the president had been re-elected after winning the general elections. The coup d'etat ended the Bongo familys 56-year long reign over the country. It is the eighth coup to take place in Africa since 2020. Less than a week later, coup leader General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema took oath as the countrys new leader and promised credible elections. Oligui is a cousin of the ousted president Ali Bongo and served as a bodyguard to his late father. 7. Niger Ruled by the Military since: July 2023 Niger is one of the most authoritarian countries in the world. The country's government was overthrown by the military on July 26, 2023, with President Mohamed Bazoum taken hostage. The coup was condemned by world powers, along with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) whose member states suspended relations with Niger and closed their land and air borders with the country. General Abdourahamane Tiani who led the coup was proclaimed as head of state on August 20, 2023, and announced he was leading a transitional government of at least three years. The general vowed to defend his country in case of any external aggression, and received diplomatic support from both Mali and Burkina Faso who were also under military rule at that time. On August 31, the military in Niger ordered the police to expel the French ambassador from the country. 6. Burkina Faso Ruled by the Military since: January 2022 While the most recent military led coup took place in Burkina Faso in January 2022, the country has had a history of military intervention including coups from within the military against military dictators. In 1987, the countrys first president, Thomas Sankara, who was also a military officer was murdered in a coup, which brought his close associate Blaise Compaore to power. He spent 27 years in office, until his resignation in 2014 after a popular uprising. Roch Kabore, a banker by profession, was elected president in 2015, and then overthrown in a military coup led by Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba in January 2022. Damiba was then deposed by another military officer, Capt Ibrahim Traore, later that year in September. Traore is currently the president of the transitional government of Burkina Faso. According to the World Bank, Burkina Faso's economy growth declined from 6.9% in 2021 to just 2.5% in 2022 amid internal instability and western sanctions that resulted due to the coup d'etat, as well as the situation in Ukraine. Click to continue reading and see the 5 Countries Ruled by Military Dictatorship in 2023. Suggested Articles: Disclosure: None. 8 Countries Ruled by Military Dictatorship in 2023 is originally published on Insider Monkey. This week, Amazon (AMZN) Web Services, or AWS, kicked off re:Invent 2023 its biggest conference of the year with a show of force. After a rock band banged out a rendition of "My Hero" by Foo Fighters on Tuesday morning, AWS CEO Adam Selipsky unveiled a deluge of announcements primarily related to AI. Star partners, including Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, dropped by for cameos. The surprise appearance of Nvidia's Huang was especially notable, as he joined Selipsky on stage to announce the expansion of AWS and Nvidia's partnership. The alliance will be characterized by a number of initiatives, including what the companies call "the first cloud AI supercomputer," run with NVIDIA's Grace Hopper Superchip and AWS's UltraClusters. The cluster computing system allows customers to access thousands of powerful GPUs. AWS will also be the first to host Nvidia's DGX Cloud, an AI-training-as-a-service platform capable of training generative AI and large language models (LLMs) beyond one trillion parameters. Huang seemingly nodded to Amazon and AWS's longtime support, telling the audience that "AWS was the worlds first cloud provider to really recognize the importance of GPU-accelerated computing. AWS CEO Adam Selipsky and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on stage at re:Invent 2023. (Amazon) AWS and Selipsky emphasized the company's partnership with OpenAI competitor Anthropic, which makes the LLM Claude. In September, Amazon announced plans to invest up to $4 billion in Anthropic, whose backers also include Google (GOOG, GOOGL), Salesforce (CRM) Ventures, and Zoom (ZM) Ventures. Selipsky took a swing at Microsoft-backed (MSFT) Open AI and its recent boardroom melodrama, referencing the events of the "past 10 days" and saying that "you don't want a cloud provider that's beholden primarily to one model provider." Amodei, who co-founded Anthropic, came on stage to discuss AI's applications in medicine, law, and finance, including a new partnership with Pfizer (PFE). Story continues "We've seen a lot of organic adoption," said Amodei. "One example is in the biomedical space ... AI can advance medical science and bring about life-saving drugs around the world." Additionally, AWS revealed a number of processors and chips focused on optimizing compute power and energy efficiency, including the Graviton4 and Trainium2. The latter is geared towards training large foundation models, or FMs, and LLMs faster while reducing cost. An image of AWS's Trainium2. (Amazon) The company's AI announcements snowballed from there. AWS, for example, introduced a product geared towards AI safety called Guardrails. It's now integrated into Bedrock, the company's platform for building generative AI apps. There was also an eye towards providing services to enterprise customers of varying AI needs. For one, the new AI chatbot Amazon Q is geared towards business customers and trained on 17 years' worth of data from AWS. In the end, it was all AI, all the time and it's not just AWS claiming territory in the AI war. Ultimately, AWS is looking to AI for its next phase of growth, which has been a subject of concern for company watchers over the last few quarters. In Q3 2023, AWS slightly missed Wall Street's net sales expectations, coming in at $23.06 billion, against the $23.13 billion estimate. There was good news, however. AWS sales were up 12% year over year, as Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told analysts in the company's earnings call that AI represents an opportunity worth "tens of billions" for AWS. But AWS isn't planning for AI to be its quick fix. This isnt the work of a few months or even a year," Selipsky emphasized, adding that Amazon and AWS are taking "long-term view of what success in generative AI really means." This long-term focus is a good thing, he added. Its the only predictable way to profoundly change whats possible. Allie Garfinkle is a Senior Tech Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @agarfinks and on LinkedIn. Click here for the latest technology news that will impact the stock market. Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance High-stakes financial services and healthcare sectors the top targeted industries WATERLOO, ON, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BlackBerry Limited (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) today released its latest Quarterly Global Threat Intelligence Report , revealing a 70 percent increase in new malware encountered by BlackBerry's AI-powered cybersecurity solutions. At 26 cyberattacks per minute, this highlights a diversification of tools and attacks by threat actors and as they target high-stakes or financially lucrative industries. BlackBerry Logo Black (PRNewsfoto/Blackberry Limited) "Malicious actors are working harder than ever to expand their range and volume of cyberattacks," said Ismael Valenzuela, Vice President of Threat Research and Intelligence, BlackBerry. "The intensifying number of novel attacks targeting nations and industries demonstrates the impact of the macroeconomic climate on cybersecurity. However, while threats are increasing in number and diversity, so is our ability to defend against them with advanced technologies that predict and prevent attacks." Highlights from the latest BlackBerry Global Threat Intelligence Report, covering the three-month period of June-August, include: Continued Rise in Cyberattacks Per Minute. BlackBerry stopped over 3.3 million attacks; approximately 26 attacks and 2.9 unique malware samples per minute. Financial and Healthcare Most Targeted Industries. The financial sector was the most frequently attacked industry this quarter, with healthcare institutions coming in second. High-value data and the opportunity to disrupt essential services make these sectors a prime target for impactful or profitable attacks. Ransomware Groups Make Double Extortion Standard Practice. LockBit, Cl0p, Cuba, and ALPHV ransomware groups increasingly use double extortion tactics as insurance on attacks, as organizations worldwide improve their data backup strategies. Australia and United States hit by Highest Increase in Public Sector Attacks. Australia and the U.S. experienced 50 percent-plus more public sector attacks this quarter. BlackBerry Cylance AI prevented the most cyberattacks overall in the United States, followed by Canada, Japan, Peru and India. The most unique malware was observed in the United States, then Japan, South Korea, India, and Canada. Story continues Download a copy of BlackBerry's Global Threat Intelligence Report at BlackBerry.com , and register to attend our Global Threat Intelligence Report Deep Dive webinar on December 6th to discover more. About BlackBerry BlackBerry (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) provides intelligent security software and services to enterprises and governments around the world. The company secures more than 500M endpoints including over 235M vehicles. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the company leverages AI and machine learning to deliver innovative solutions in the areas of cybersecurity, safety, and data privacy solutions, and is a leader in the areas of endpoint management, endpoint security, encryption, and embedded systems. BlackBerry's vision is clear - to secure a connected future you can trust. For more information, visit BlackBerry.com and follow @BlackBerry . Trademarks, including but not limited to BLACKBERRY and EMBLEM Design, are the trademarks or registered trademarks of BlackBerry Limited, and the exclusive rights to such trademarks are expressly reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. BlackBerry is not responsible for any third-party products or services. Media Contacts: BlackBerry Media Relations +1 (519) 597-7273 mediarelations@BlackBerry.com Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/blackberry-quarterly-global-threat-intelligence-report-shows-70-percent-increase-in-novel-malware-attacks-301998502.html SOURCE BlackBerry Limited Legendary investor and polymath Charlie Munger, Berkshire Hathaway's vice chairman and Warren Buffett's right-hand man and friend of nearly six decades, died on Tuesday in California, the company announced. He was 99. Together, Buffett and Munger built Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A, BRK-B) into one of the most successful and long-lasting business partnerships that enthralled millions worldwide. In a statement on Tuesday, Buffett said, "Berkshire Hathaway could not have been built to its present status without Charlie's inspiration, wisdom and participation." Berkshire, originally a textile manufacturer, has grown into a multinational conglomerate that wholly owns popular brands like Dairy Queen and Fruit of the Loom and has stakes in Apple (AAPL), Coca-Cola (KO), and other large public companies. Every year, thousands of Berkshire shareholders make the pilgrimage to Omaha, Neb., to listen to Buffett and Munger answer their questions for hours. Munger, known for his maxims about business, investing, and life, would sip Coca-Colas and nibble See's Candies peanut brittle alongside his partner. Famously, he would often say, after Buffett finished speaking, "I have nothing further to add." An Omaha native, like Warren Buffett Charles Thomas Munger was born on Jan. 1, 1924, in Omaha, Neb. He grew up in the Dundee neighborhood, a half a block from Buffetts house, and attended the same high school as the investing legend. He even worked at Buffetts grandfathers grocery store as a teenager, though the pair wouldnt meet until later at the ages of 35 and 29, respectively. When they did finally meet, they became instant friends and partners. At the age of 17, Munger enrolled in the University of Michigan to study mathematics only to drop out at the age of 19 during World War II to serve in the US Army Air Corps. While in the Army, he studied meteorology at Caltech in Pasadena, Calif., which became his home. Story continues Charlie Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, in an interview on May 4, 2015. (Lacy O'Toole/CNBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images) (CNBC via Getty Images) After the Army, Munger chose to study law, a "natural course of activity" for him given that his father was an attorney and his grandfather was a federal judge. When Munger applied to Harvard Law School he was initially rejected. He applied again and received his J.D. from Harvard Law School, graduating magna cum laude in 1948. After law school, Munger returned to Los Angeles where he practiced real estate law. After his father died in 1959, Munger returned to Omaha to sort out his affairs. While there, Munger ate lunch at the Omaha Club with friends who invited Buffett along. The lunch sparked an instant friendship and one of the most important business partnerships ever forged. Breaking the 'cigar-butt' investing habit In 1962, Munger started an investment partnership. He also started a law firm, Munger Tolles, but stopped practicing law a few years later to focus on investing. Buffett credited Munger for breaking his "cigar-butt" investing habit, a strategy the investor learned from Benjamin Graham of finding companies at bargain prices and getting "free puffs" out of them. While that strategy worked well in Buffetts early days of managing much smaller sums of money, Munger "set the course for building a business that would combine huge satisfactory profits," according to an account of Berkshires history written by Buffett himself. [Charlies] most important architectural feat was the design of todays Berkshire. The blueprint he gave me was simple: Forget what you know about buying fair businesses at wonderful prices; instead, buy wonderful businesses at fair prices, Buffett wrote. Buffett also learned the importance of knowing ones circle of competence from Munger. Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett (left) and vice chairman Charlie Munger are seen at the annual Berkshire shareholder shopping day in Omaha, Neb., May 3, 2019. (Scott Morgan/REUTERS) (Scott Morgan / Reuters) "Ben Graham taught me a way to value certain type of business, but the selection of variable companies dried up. Charlie taught me about durable competitive advantage not how big circle of competence is, but knowing where the edges are most important," Buffett said at the 2010 annual Berkshire Hathaway meeting. Munger often spoke of the importance of understanding "the edge" of one's competence in other words, knowing what you dont know. Well its a hugely important thing, knowing the edge. Its hardly a competence if you dont know the edge of it. You know, if you have a misapprehension regarding your own competency that means you lack competence, youre going to make terrible mistakes. I think youve got to constantly measure what you achieve against other people of achievement, and you have to keep being determinedly rational, and avoiding a lot of self-delusion, Munger said at the 2019 Daily Journal meeting. In a 1985 shareholder letter, Buffett said Munger has always emphasized the study of mistakes rather than successes, both in business and other aspects of life. Munger does so in the spirit of the man who said: All I want to know is where Im going to die so Ill never go there. Youll immediately see why we make a good team: Charlie likes to study errors and I have generated ample material for him, particularly in our textile insurance businesses, Buffett wrote. To make better decisions in business and life, Munger often deployed what he called a latticework of mental models. Youve got to have models in your head. And youve got to array your experience both vicarious and direct on this latticework of models. You may have noticed students who just try to remember and pound back what is remembered. Well, they fail in school and in life. Youve got to hang experience on a latticework of models in your head, Munger said during a 1994 speech at USCs business school. 'Just learn, learn, learn all the time' One of those famed mental models is a phenomenon Munger coined the "lollapalooza effect" in a 1995 speech. At the 2018 Daily Journal meeting, Munger said he came up with the term after reading the main textbooks in introductory psychology and of course, being Charlie Munger, I decided the psychologists were doing it all wrong and I could do it better. One of the ideas I came up with, which wasnt in any of the books, was that the 'lollapalooza effects' came when three or four of these tendencies were operating at once in the same situation. I can see that it wasnt linear, Munger said. Munger was also passionate about architecture, a field in which he had no formal training. He developed luxury beachfront homes in Montecito, Calif., nicknamed "Mungerville." He also designed college dormitories and his own home. Vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Charlie Munger speaks to Reuters during an interview in Omaha, Neb., May 3, 2013. (Lane Hickenbottom/REUTERS) (Lane Hickenbottom / Reuters) "I think a life properly lived is just learn, learn, learn all the time. I think Berkshire has gained enormously from these investment decisions by learning for a long period," Munger said at Berkshire's 2017 annual meeting. Beyond the investment success, Buffett has repeatedly said that Munger made him a better person. People find this hard to believe, but in 60 years, weve never had an argument. We have disagreed about things and well probably keep occasionally disagreeing about this or that, but if you define an argument where emotion starts entering into it or anger or anything of the sort it just doesnt, it doesnt happen," Buffett said at the 2019 annual meeting. Munger encountered his fair share of hardship in life. His first marriage to Nancy Huggins ended in divorce. A year later, his 8-year-old son died of leukemia. Munger also lost his eye after a botched cataract surgery. Mungers second marriage to Nancy Barry lasted 54 years until his wifes death in 2010. When asked about relationship advice and finding a good spouse, Munger said, The best single way is to deserve a good spouse. Munger often said the secret to a long and happy life is "simple." You dont have a lot of envy, you dont have a lot of resentment, you dont overspend your income. You stay cheerful in spite of your troubles. You deal with reliable people, and you do what youre supposed to. All these simple rules work so well to make your life better, and theyre so trite. Julia La Roche was formerly a Correspondent at Yahoo Finance. Read more insights from longtime Berkshire Hathaway chairman Charlie Munger: Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices. Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance (Bloomberg) -- A California semiconductor company plans to hire hundreds of employees exclusively from local unions, a rare move in an industry historically averse to organized labor and one that could boost its bid for US funds. Most Read from Bloomberg Akash Systems has entered formal labor agreements with the industrial division of the Communications Workers of America and the Alameda County Building Trades Council, covering some 250 production-line workers and dozens of construction workers who will build a $62 million semiconductor facility in West Oakland. The company says the union agreement will allow it to more rapidly hire and train skilled workers. But it also has the added political benefit of appealing to President Joe Biden, who has worked in recent months to burnish his union bonafides. Akash is one of hundreds of firms vying for money from last years Chips Act, which set aside federal grants and loans valued at $100 billion for chipmakers and their suppliers. The law aims to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the US and reduce reliance on Asian supply chains while contributing to a broader manufacturing revival that Biden has promised will be a boon to organized labor. Historically, semiconductor tech companies in general are not excited about unions, said Akash Systems co-founder and CEO Felix Ejeckam. We are aware that the Biden administrations excited about this and so were certainly leaning into that. White House spokesperson Robyn Patterson said Biden and his administration welcome partnerships between the semiconductor industry and labor unions. Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su hosted Ejeckam and several union leaders at an event Tuesday on empowering workers, according to a press release. The Commerce Department declined to comment on any potential applicant, but pointed to the administrations so-called good jobs principles, which include workers right to organize. Story continues Those principles are part of the guidelines for applicants seeking Chips Act funds, along with a preference for labor agreements between chipmakers and construction unions. Projects that receive government support are also covered by updated federal wage rules, which increase pay for more than a million construction workers. But labor deals are rare in the semiconductor sector. Only one US chip production facility ON Semiconductor Corp.s plant in Mountain Top, Pennsylvania has a unionized workforce, according to the CWA. And the tension is already playing out in the US chips push, as Arizona unions clash with the worlds leading chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., over safety and management issues at their $40 billion Phoenix site. The CWA hopes its agreement with Akash will set a precedent for similar deals with other semiconductor companies, said industrial division president Carl Kennebrew, although no conversations are currently underway. The union is part of a new coalition of labor and environmental groups thats pushing the biggest chip manufacturers to enter formal agreements that cover organized labor, sustainability and broader community impact. Kennebrew said it is crucial the Chips Act produces good union jobs, and that they pay living wages, provide comprehensive benefits and keep workers safe on the job. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. After the U.S. federal government reached a $4.3 billion settlement with Binance on Tuesday, another exchange looks to return as cryptos king: Coinbase. Shares of the U.S.-based exchange are up approximately 18% from the previous week, from around $100 to approximately $118 as of Monday morning. Weve had a moment recently, with the enforcement action against Binance, thats allowing us to turn the page on that and hopefully close that chapter of cryptos history, Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, said in an interview with CNBC in London. He added: Building a company offshore, skirting regulation, its just not going to work. Armstrongs comments and Coinbases upswing in stock price come as the enforcement action against Binance, which stipulated that CEO Changpeng CZ Zhao step down and plead guilty to U.S. federal charges, opens up an opportunity for Armstrongs firm to gain market share. Founded in 2012, Coinbase has long marketed itself as the good guy of crypto, glad-handing with U.S. regulators and resisting the temptation to list flash-in-the-pan cryptocurrencies that regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission consider unregistered securities. In 2017, Zhao, who had stints as a programmer for the Tokyo stock exchange and Bloomberg Trading, launched Binance and quickly cut into Coinbases brief market dominance after the fall of Mt. Gox, once the go-to exchange for trading Bitcoin. With an undisclosed headquarters and a willingness, per U.S. authorities, to skirt regulatory restrictions, Zhao quickly grew Binance into a crypto titan that, by most measures, dominated both the simple purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies as well as the market for more complex financial instruments built on top of crypto prices. Once the go-to exchange, Coinbase suddenly found itself flat-footed and soon instituted new policies to speed up the vetting process for listing new cryptocurrencies, including the infamous, dog-inspired Dogecoin. Story continues In 2023, repeated regulatory action in the U.S. and abroad crippled Binance. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued Binance in March, and the SEC followed suit in June. Amid the ongoing lawsuits, Zhaos exchange has seen its market share dwindle. Coinbase, however, is not immune to legal trouble. In June, one day after suing Zhao and Binance, the SEC sued Armstrongs exchange, litigation that is currently ongoing. We feel very good about our case with the SEC and our chances there, Armstrong told CNBC. Regardless of the outcome, its going to help us with our goal of getting regulatory clarity. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com While lawmakers may have postponed their battle over government funding until after the December holidays thanks to a stopgap funding bill, Congress still must address numerous serious issues in the next three weeks with the effort to provide billions in aid to Israel and Ukraine coming in at the top of the list. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Monday that he plans to vote next week on legislation providing aid to both countries, to fulfill a request made by the White House in October. But some Senate Republicans have threatened to delay the vote on Ukraine funding, saying they want to include changes in border and immigration policy in any aid bill. Before Thanksgiving, a bipartisan group of senators started working on a deal that would combine roughly $105 billion in aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with changes in border policy, but no firm agreement has yet been reached as lawmakers struggle over how to revise the asylum process for migrants at the southern border. In a letter to colleagues Sunday, Schumer scolded Republicans for their approach to the issue, charging that they have injected a decades old, hyper-partisan issue into overwhelmingly bipartisan priorities, and warned that purely partisan hard-right demands ... jeopardize the entire national security supplemental package. Over in the House, Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Monday that he is confident and optimistic that Congress can provide additional aid for Israel and Ukraine, but also warned that Ukraine aid must include border policy changes. Claiming that aid for Ukraine is a priority, Johnson said that we cant allow Vladimir Putin to march through Europe. However, he added that if there is to be additional assistance to Ukraine which most members of Congress believe is important we have to also work on changing our own border policy. Separately, the House has already passed a bill providing $14.3 billion to Israel but tied the aid to cuts in funding for the IRS an approach rejected by Schumer and not expected to go anywhere in the Senate. Story continues Further complicating matters, some Democrats have started to question Israeli military tactics in Gaza while calling on the Biden administration to impose conditions on U.S. aid, setting up a potential intraparty clash. The blank check approach must end, said Sen. Bernie Sanders in a New York Times op-ed last week. The United States must make clear that while we are friends of Israel, there are conditions to that friendship and that we cannot be complicit in actions that violate international law and our own sense of decency. President Joe Biden said Friday that conditional aid was a worthwhile thought, but stopped short of endorsing the idea. Democratic Rep. Brad Schneider of Illinois, a staunch supporter of Israel, rejected the proposal, saying that putting conditions on will move peace further away, threatening both Israeli and Palestinian lives rather than saving them. Other issues await: The House and the Senate have passed their own versions of the annual National Defense Authorization Act, which now must be reconciled into a single bill. The two sides are largely in agreement as far as spending goes, but the House version includes culture-war issues that may slow things down. In addition, the must-pass NDAA might be used as a vehicle for all kinds of amendments that lawmakers have been unable to graft onto other bills. Former GOP staffer Aaron Cutler told Roll Call that the 2024 NDAA could be a proverbial Christmas tree of a bill that includes provisions related to tax policy and healthcare policy. Aside from the NDAA, Congress faces any number of other hurdles. Lawmakers face end-of-year deadlines to reauthorize Section 702, a controversial surveillance program, and the Federal Aviation Administration. The Senate is still struggling with how to handle hundreds of military promotions that have been blocked by Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville in protest of Pentagon abortion policies. And the House may need to spend a few days dealing with Rep. George Santos, who faces possible expulsion following the release of a report by the House Ethics Committee that found he violated federal laws. Time is running short: According to the official congressional calendar, the House is scheduled to be in session for just 12 more days in 2023, with the Senate meeting for just 15 days, including today. While the calendar can always be extended by a few days, the current schedule highlights just how little time is left for lawmakers to make deals on some very heavy issues. Some observers dont think Congress will be able to clear its plate. The days that they are scheduled to be in before the end of the session is not much time, G. William Hoagland, of the Bipartisan Policy Center told Roll Call. I think it would be a holiday miracle if much can get settled, given the hyper partisanship, particularly in the House. Pushing the aid package into next year could complicate matters even further by once again linking that funding with the deadlines to pass annual spending bills. Like what you're reading? Sign up for our free newsletter. 1300 Woodland Ave., the former Care Inn and InnTowner Apartments, has been reduced to rubble. The Woodland Center is visible in the rear. Two neighboring downtown buildings will soon be gone as UnityPoint Health Center prepares to clear the properties for redevelopment. Demolition of the former Care Inn, 1300 Woodland Ave., began earlier this month. The process of clearing the site will continue through the end of the year, according to UnityPoint spokesperson Mark Tauscheck. Site prep is underway at the Woodland Center, 1313 High St., which faces the Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield Insurance building. Tauscheck said the health care provider has "no concrete plans" for how the space will be used going forward. "The demolition is part of UnityPoint Health-Des Moines commitment to providing the best possible health care services to our community, and that includes preparing our campus for future growth, being a good neighbor and keeping our environment beautiful and safe," he said. 1313 High St., known as the Woodland Center, has been vacant since 2012. UnityPoint Health previously used the building to house several hospital departments, including human resources, advocacy and outreach, IT and telecommunications. The Woodland Center has been vacant since 2012. That building once was home to several hospital departments, including human resources, advocacy and outreach, IT and telecommunications. Since 1990, the Care Inn, most recently called the InnTowner Apartments, provided housing options for some of UnityPoint's medical students, residents, patients and families. It closed in 2022. Both reinforced concrete buildings were constructed in 1970. The Polk County assessor values the Woodland Center at $5 million and the 83-unit Inntowner at $7 million. The land is worth more than $1 million combined. The properties are both officially owned by the Iowa Methodist Medical Center. UnityPoint Health formed in 1993 when Iowa Methodist Hospital and Iowa Lutheran Hospital merged to form Iowa Health System, renamed UnityPoint in 2013. Addison Lathers covers growth and development for the Des Moines metro. Reach her at ALathers@registermedia.com and follow her on Twitter at @addisonlathers. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: UnityPoint knocks down apartments, office space in downtown Des Moines DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Long-haul carrier Emirates opened the Dubai Air Show on Monday with a $52 billion purchase of Boeing Co. aircraft, showing how aviation has bounced back after the groundings of the coronavirus pandemic, even as Israel's war with Hamas clouds regional security. Its low-cost sister airline, FlyDubai, followed up with an $11 billion order of 30 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, the first wide-body aircraft in its fleet. Together, the sales marked a significant win for Virginia-based Boeing Co. on the first day of the air show, as airlines appear poised for even more billion-dollar deals this year. Emirates made the announcement witnessed by the crown prince of Dubai, Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, at an afternoon news conference. Emirates CEO and Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said the deal would see the carrier purchase 90 Boeing 777 aircraft, 55 of them 777-9 variants and 35 of them 777-8s. Emirates will also add an additional five 787 Dreamliners to its previous order of 30 aircraft, Sheikh Saeed said. This is a long-term commitment that supports hundreds of thousands of jobs, not only at Boeing but also throughout the global aviation supply chain, he said. The 777 is at the center of Emirates' strategy to connect cities on all continents nonstop to Dubai. Stan Deal, an executive vice president at Boeing, praised the deal. All these products point to the future of Emirates, Deal said. With Monday's order, that put the total number of outstanding Boeing 777 orders for Emirates to 205 aircraft. Emirates officials stressed that FlyDubais order was separate from the long-haul carrier, though the two airlines are both owned by a sovereign wealth fund called the Investment Corporation of Dubai. The purchase represents a major change for FlyDubai, which to this point has only flown Boeing 737 single-aisle aircraft on shorter distances. Both Deal and Sheikh Saeed left the news conference without taking questions, which was a departure from previous sales announcements. Story continues The air show this year comes amid the Israel-Hamas war, as well as Russias war on Ukraine, which will likely influence the five-day show at Al Maktoum Airport at Dubai World Central. It is the city-states second airfield after Dubai International Airport, which is the worlds busiest for international travel and the home base for Emirates. During a flying display at the show, the U.S. Air Force conducted an overflight with a supersonic B-1 bomber, the same type of nuclear-capable aircraft it has flown over the Mideast amid the recent tensions over the war and with Iran. Also on display were an A-10 Thunderbolt II and an F-35 fighter jet, types of planes that also were brought into the region as a deterrent. While commercial aviation takes much of the attention, arms manufacturers also have exhibitions at the show. Two major Israeli firms Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. and Israel Aerospace Industries had been slated to participate. But the IAI stand, bearing the slogan Where Courage Meets Technology, was roped off and empty Monday morning as people poured into the show. A stand for Rafael handed out coffee, though there were no salespeople there. A request for comment left with an attendant there was not immediately returned. Rafael also sponsored a meeting of air force commanders Sunday at a luxury Dubai hotel, highlighting the balancing act being struck by the UAE amid anger in the Arab world over the Israel-Hamas war. The UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms, established diplomatic relations with Israel in 2020. The firm Russian Helicopters had listed their staff would be on hand for the air show after appearing at the Abu Dhabi arms fair earlier this year despite being sanctioned by the U.S. and others over Moscow's war on Ukraine. Roscosmos, the Russian state space company, is also at the show, as were the Russian Knights, the precision flying team of the Russian air force. An Associated Press journalist at the show also saw Gen. Khalifa Hifter, who leads the self-styled Libyan National Army and controls the North African nation's east and south. Another AP team saw Afghan Taliban Envoy to the United Arab Emirates Badruddin Haqqani walk through the business class of an Emirates A380 on display. Global aviation is booming after the coronavirus pandemic saw worldwide lockdowns and aircraft grounded particularly at Al Maktoum Airport, which served for months as a parking lot for Emirates double-decker Airbus 380s. Air traffic is now at 97% of pre-COVID levels, according to the International Air Transport Association. Middle Eastern airlines, which supply key East-West routes for global travel, saw a 26.6% increase in September traffic compared to a year earlier, IATA says. Emirates, a main economic engine for Dubai amid its booming real estate market, announced record half-year profits of $2.7 billion Thursday. That is up from $1.2 billion for the same period last year, potentially putting the airline on track for another record-breaking year. The airline says it has repaid some $2.5 billion of the loans it received during the height of the pandemic to stay afloat. Also in the market for aircraft is Riyadh Air, a new Saudi carrier being created as part of trillions of dollars worth of spending planned in the kingdom. In March, the airline announced an order of up to 72 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner jetliners and has further plans to expand. Turkish Airlines may also make a record-shattering purchase of 355 aircraft from Airbus, including 250 A321neo aircraft, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency. Indian airlines have been on a buying spree as well. By Monday afternoon, Boeing Co. announced that SunExpress, an airline jointly owned by Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa, made a commitment to purchase up to 90 single-aisle Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The deal includes 28 Boeing 737-8s and 17 Boeing 737-10s models, as well as the opportunity for another 45 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The companies did not offer a dollar figure for the deal. Rounding out Monday's sales, Airbus said airBaltic of Latvia ordered another 30 single-aisle A220-300s, but the France-based manufacturer did not reveal the sales price. Boeing said Royal Jordanian ordered four 787-9 Dreamliners, while Royal Air Maroc ordered two 787-9s. ___ Associated Press writer Malak Harb contributed to this report. By Supantha Mukherjee STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Total capital invested into European tech startups is projected to fall to $45 billion this year, down 55% from 2021, when investment volumes surpassed $100 billion for the first time, according to a report from venture capital firm Atomico. The decline was mostly due to later-stage companies delaying fundraising, as well as a slower pace of deployment by investors, the report said. In 2022, capital invested in Europe was $82 billion. "Some of the startups who raised large sums in 2021/early 2022 to hit their billion-dollar valuation will see their valuations drop below the billion-dollar mark," said Tom Wehmeier, a partner at Atomico. "I expect to see more of this next year as those companies are likely to be running out of runway at this point, and will need to return to market in 2024 or 2025 to survive," he said. Over the five-year period between 2018 and 2022, a total of 257 European tech companies reached a billion-dollar valuation, including more than 150 in 2021 and 2022, according to Atomico. However, Europe's funding rounds will still be 18% higher compared with 2020, a year before the tech investment boom of 2021. In comparison, the United States, China and other countries are on track to land flat or below 2020 figures, the report said. "When you consider how overheated those two years were, the fact we are up from 2020 suggests that Europe is heading in the right direction, especially since it is the only global region to be up since 2020," Wehmeier said. Atomico expects European early-stage startups to grow to over 66,000 from 41,000 in the next five years, and growth-stage startups - firms that have raised at least $20 million - to double to 8,000 in the same period. (Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm; Editing by Matthew Lewis) Company Logo Dublin, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "FLUCELVAX QUADRIVALENT Drug Insight and Market Forecast - 2032" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This report provides comprehensive insights about FLUCELVAX QUADRIVALENT for seasonal influenza in the six major markets. A detailed picture of the FLUCELVAX QUADRIVALENT for seasonal influenza in the 6MM, i.e., the United States, EU4 (Germany, France, Italy, and Spain) and the United Kingdom for the study period 2019 -2032 is provided in this report along with a detailed description of the FLUCELVAX QUADRIVALENT for seasonal influenza. The report provides insights about mechanism of action, dosage and administration, as well as research and development including regulatory milestones, along with other developmental activities. Further, it also consists of future market assessments inclusive of the FLUCELVAX QUADRIVALENT market forecast analysis for seasonal influenza in the 6MM, SWOT, analysts' views, comprehensive overview of market competitors, and brief about other emerging therapies in seasonal influenza. Drug Summary FLUCELVAX QUADRIVALENT (influenza vaccine) is a subunit influenza vaccine manufactured using cell-derived candidate vaccine viruses (CVV) that are propagated in Madin Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cells, a continuous cell line. These cells were adapted to grow freely in suspension in a culture medium. The virus is inactivated with ?-propiolactone, disrupted by the detergent cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, and purified through several process steps. Each of the four virus strains is produced, purified separately, and then pooled to formulate the quadrivalent vaccine. In 2019, the company announced that European Commission has issued marketing approval for its new cell-based seasonal influenza vaccine, FLUCELVAX TETRA influenza, the first cell-based quadrivalent influenza vaccine (QIVc) available in Europe and is licensed for use in people 9 years and above. Story continues In-depth FLUCELVAX QUADRIVALENT Market Assessment This report provides a detailed market assessment of FLUCELVAX QUADRIVALENT for seasonal influenza in the six major markets, i.e., the United States, EU4 (Germany, France, Italy, and Spain) and the United Kingdom. This segment of the report provides forecasted sales data from 2023 to 2032. FLUCELVAX QUADRIVALENT Clinical Assessment The report provides the clinical trials information of FLUCELVAX QUADRIVALENT for seasonal influenza covering trial interventions, trial conditions, trial status, start and completion dates. Scope of the Report A comprehensive product overview including the FLUCELVAX QUADRIVALENT description, mechanism of action, dosage and administration, research and development activities in seasonal influenza. Elaborated details on FLUCELVAX QUADRIVALENT regulatory milestones and other development activities have been provided in this report. The report also highlights the FLUCELVAX QUADRIVALENT research and development activities in seasonal influenza across the United States and Europe. The report also covers the patents information with expiry timeline around FLUCELVAX QUADRIVALENT. The report contains forecasted sales of FLUCELVAX QUADRIVALENT for seasonal influenza till 2032. Comprehensive coverage of the late-stage emerging therapies for seasonal influenza. Key Topics Covered: 1. Report Introduction 2. FLUCELVAX QUADRIVALENT Overview in seasonal influenza 2.1. Product Detail 2.2. Clinical Development 2.2.1. Clinical studies 2.2.2. Clinical trials information 2.2.3. Safety and efficacy 2.3. Regulatory Milestone 2.4. Other Developmental Activities 2.5. Product Profile 3. Competitive Landscape (Marketed Therapies) 4. Competitive Landscape (Late-stage Emerging Therapies) 5. FLUCELVAX QUADRIVALENT Market Assessment 5.1. Market Outlook of FLUCELVAX QUADRIVALENT in seasonal influenza 5.2. 6MM Analysis 5.2.1. Market Size of FLUCELVAX QUADRIVALENT in the 6MM for seasonal influenza 5.3. Country-wise Market Analysis 5.3.1. Market Size of FLUCELVAX QUADRIVALENT in the United States for seasonal influenza 5.3.2. Market Size of FLUCELVAX QUADRIVALENT in Germany for seasonal influenza 5.3.3. Market Size of FLUCELVAX QUADRIVALENT in France for seasonal influenza 5.3.4. Market Size of FLUCELVAX QUADRIVALENT in Italy for seasonal influenza 5.3.5. Market Size of FLUCELVAX QUADRIVALENT in Spain for seasonal influenza 5.3.6. Market Size of FLUCELVAX QUADRIVALENT in the United Kingdom for seasonal influenza 6. SWOT Analysis 7. Analysts' Views 8. Appendix For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/as15il About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. CONTACT: CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood,Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./ CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 city of london All businesses should be forced to embrace the environmental, social and governance (ESG) movement, New Labours favourite think tank has argued in an attack on the profit motive. A report by Demos, viewed as a key source of Labour policy in the Blair years, claimed that changing company law to insert purpose into the heart of directors duties would add 149bn to the economy. Andrew OBrien, the reports author, said: The evidence suggests that having a purpose alongside profit helps to provide a clear target to aim for and stimulates new approaches, encouraging investment and boosting growth. Mr OBrien argued the scheme could boost research and development spending seven-fold, as well as raising earnings for the low-paid. It comes as the ESG movement falters among listed companies. Unilever is among those which took the lead in trumpeting its social and environmental stance, but has become unstuck amid poor financial performance as well as anger over its sustained presence in Russia despite the countrys invasion of Ukraine. Shareholders voted against the chief executives pay package at this years annual general meeting, prompting the board to freeze Hein Schumachers salary until 2026. The new boss, who took the reins in July, also conceded that a social and environmental purpose is not something that we should force-fit on every brand, in the wake of investor complaints over efforts to give basic household products such as mayonnaise an additional do-gooding sheen. Hein Schumacher, Unilevers chief executive, has signalled that the conglomerate is to reduce its focus on ESG messaging - Unilever/Reuters NatWest has also faced criticism for its focus on environmental issues while its private banking arm, Coutts, spent two years acquiring B Corp status to show it is business as a force for good even as it became engulfed in the debanking scandal. However, Matthew Lesh at the Institute of Economic Affairs said Demoss call for ESG to be imposed at all companies was an extremely dangerous proposal. He said: The purpose of a business is business to maximise profits for shareholders, and in the process provide a quality product to customers and a wage to workers not to pursue progressive left social justice goals. The golden formula, which links self-interest of business with providing a product to others, has delivered immense human prosperity over the last two centuries. Any deviation risks undermining Britains fundamental institutions, he said. Story continues A change to the purpose of business in the companies act would add red tape, with some new quango deciding whether businesses are sufficiently achieving social and environmental goals. It comes at a time when large businesses and their investors are increasingly backing off from the more vigorous ESG policies embraced in previous years. Maxwell Marlow at the Adam Smith Institute said the purpose of business is to create value for shareholders. This is socially responsible businesses that return profits to their shareholders are able to provide quality and value-for-money products for their customers, pay wages to their employees and pay taxes which fund our public services, he said. But what we might call stakeholder capitalism, under which businesses predominately seek to create social value, ironically risks hurting the very people it purports to benefit. A Department for Business and Trade spokesman said: The Business and Trade Secretary wants to remove unnecessary burdens on business, which is why she started a programme of deregulation to strip away red tape and ensure the UK remains one of the best places in the world to do business. Rather than Government telling businesses how to behave, as this report seems to suggest, we have listened to what companies say they need to grow, create more jobs and higher wages, and that is what we are delivering. 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. 3M (MMM), DuPont (DD), and eight other "forever chemicals" manufacturers got a legal victory Monday when an Ohio court of appeals struck down an attempt by a former firefighter to bring a class-action lawsuit on behalf of nearly 12 million Ohio residents. It is a triumph for 3M and Dupont as they defend against thousands of cases alleging that PFAS chemicals, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, caused harm. The companies have already agreed to pay more than $15 billion to settle claims that PFAS harmed drinking water sources, and legal experts say case numbers could still get a lot higher before its all over. 3M headquarters in Maplewood, Minn. (Michael Siluk/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) (Education Images via Getty Images) Some experts predict the cost of litigation around "forever chemicals" could eclipse the largest-ever legal multi-case settlement in US history. That came in 1998 when the four largest US cigarette manufacturers, known collectively as "Big Tobacco," agreed to pay more than $206 billion to all 50 states. "There is no doubt that PFAS claims will trump tobacco," said Scott Seaman, a partner at Hinshaw & Culbertson. The case from Ohio residents, first filed in 2018, alleged that PFAS products produced by the companies caused harm by ending up in at least trace amounts in the bloodstreams of nearly every American. The substances are dubbed "forever chemicals" for their inability or near inability to decompose and have been used for decades to fortify products from cookware to fabrics. The chemicals became so ubiquitous during their peak use that trace amounts can now be found not only in humans but also in marine and land animals. Had the case gone forward the plaintiff class would have included nearly 12 million claimants, representing all of the residents of Ohio. A class of that size risked setting precedent for courts across the country. However a three-judge panel for the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a district courts certification of the group, reasoning that the lead plaintiff, former firefighter Kevin Hardwick, didnt have grounds to sue because he didnt know which companies manufactured the particular chemicals in his bloodstream. Story continues [O]f the thousands of companies that have manufactured chemicals of this general type over the past half-century, Hardwick has chosen to sue the ten defendants present here, US appellate court Judge Raymond Kethledge wrote in the counts decision. The panel went on to say that the case could not go forward because Hardwick additionally failed to show he suffered current or looming illness tied to the chemicals. The appellate courts ruling represents a victory for the defendants, Seaman said, though he expects it will also help the plaintiffs hone their case. "Whatever you want to say about it, it would have been disastrous for defendants and bad law if the class action were allowed to proceed based on these allegations. But this is going to be a long-term war," Seaman said. In a post on LinkedIn Seaman added that PFAS plaintiffs face significant challenges, including linking their alleged injuries to particular chemicals and particular defendants. PFAS Contamination in the US. (Environmental Working Group) Thousands of plaintiffs from individuals to municipalities and states have already alleged these chemicals associated with cancers and other serious medical conditions contaminated air, water, and soil across the globe. As of August 2022, more than 6,400 cases alleging harm caused by PFAS had been filed in federal court. A majority of cases targeted Teflon manufacturer DuPont, though 3M has since emerged as a primary target. Other defendants like grocery chain Kroger (KR) and sportswear cooperative REI also are caught up in the litigation. One early sign of costs to come for major PFAS targets like 3M became evident in September when a federal judge in South Carolina tentatively approved the companys $12.5 billion settlement to put to bed claims consolidated into a multidistrict litigation from 19 public water suppliers and 22 states. The multi-case agreement resolves claims concerning a fire-repelling PFAS called aqueous film forming foam, or AFFF, that polluted public drinking water sources. In 2018, 3M also reached an $850 million settlement with Minnesotas attorney general over PFAS groundwater contamination. Separately, a series of bellwether trials that are meant to test how juries will react to personal injury and other PFAS claims, and the evidence to support them, are set to move forward starting in 2024. Alexis Keenan is a legal reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow Alexis on Twitter @alexiskweed. Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices. Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance (Bloomberg) -- Hedge funds piled into bullish dollar bets this month despite the currencys slide on softening US economic data and increasing expectations that the Federal Reserves most aggressive rate-hiking cycle in a generation is near an end. Most Read from Bloomberg A metric of leveraged funds net longs on the greenback against eight currencies rose to its highest level since February 2022 as of Nov. 21, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission aggregated by Bloomberg. It stood at net long 103,042 contracts, just above a previous year-to-date high seen in April, after bottoming around a net short position of around 72,000 contracts in March. The surge in bullish dollar bets comes as a Bloomberg gauge of the US currency is on pace for its worst month since last November, when the greenbacks sudden slide similarly caught investors wrong-footed after a months-long advance. Earlier this month, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index had its worst week since July, erasing its year-to-date gains as traders boosted bets that Fed rate increases may be over and pushed forward expectations of cuts by the central bank. Read more: Dollars Worst Week in Months Erases 2023 Gains on Rate Cut Bets Still, sentiment is mixed across currency pairs. The increase in net dollar longs was mainly driven by a shift in positions against the pound, Australian dollar and Mexican peso, while bullish bets on the greenback were cut against the Canadian dollar, yen and euro. Much stronger risk appetite, in the form of higher global equity markets, has driven the USD weaker, wrote Dominic Bunning, head of European FX research at HSBC, in a Monday note prior to the release of the CFTC data. But the USDs broad yield advantage has not softened, and may ultimately act as a speed limit on further dollar weakness. Story continues (Adds breakdown of dollar positions.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. FILE PHOTO: The Wall Street sign is pictured at the New York Stock exchange (NYSE) in New York City, United States By Carolina Mandl NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hedge funds cut their exposure in equities, mainly in healthcare, while adding a bit of small-cap stocks to their portfolios last week, according to a BofA Securities note about its clients flow trends. The bank said that overall its hedge fund clientele sold more than bought stocks for a second consecutive week, dumping stakes in most sectors, despite a higher concentration on healthcare. Hedge funds' decision to trim their equity exposure came as all three U.S. indexes notched their fourth consecutive weekly gains. Institutional and retail clients, however, added more stocks to their portfolios. The healthcare sector has lagged the gain of over 18% of the S&P 500 index. The S&P 500 Health Care index is down 4.39% this year. Investors, however, have poured $5.8 billion into the healthcare sector this year, according to BofA, more than double the amount seen last year and the third largest inflows of any sector. Healthcare is seen as a defensive sector because it has constant demand and is somewhat insulated from the economy, so investors have adjusted their positions throughout this year over how long the economy will remain strong. BofA saw a hedge fund outflow of almost $800 million from mid- and large-cap stocks, while a reduced volume of small caps was added. (Reporting by Carolina Mandl, in New York; Editing by Marguerita Choy) Rationalstat LLC The global ISO tank container market is expected to reach US$ 355.7 million by 2030, with an annual growth rate of more than 5.6% Wilmington, Delaware, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global ISO Tank Container Market is valued at US$ 243.6 million in 2023 and is expected to grow at a significant CAGR of over 5.6% over the forecast period of 2023-2030, according to the published market report by RationalStat Market Definition, Market Scope, and Report Overview Increasing international trade and globalization have led to a growing demand for efficient and cost-effective transportation of goods. ISO tank containers offer a standardized and secure means of transporting various liquids, facilitating global trade. ISO tank containers are versatile and can be easily transferred between different modes of transport, such as ships, trains, and trucks. This intermodal flexibility is a significant driver for industries seeking efficient and seamless logistics solutions. In addition, growth in chemical and food industries, where liquids need to be transported in large quantities, has driven the demand for ISO tank containers. These industries require specialized containers to ensure the safe and efficient transport of their products. According to a deep-dive market assessment by RationalStat, the global ISO tank container market has been analyzed on the basis of market segments, including container type, end user and geography/regions (including North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa, and Asia Pacific) . The report also offers global and regional market sizing for the historical period of 2019-2022 and the forecast period of 2023-2030. Market intelligence for the global ISO tank container market covers market sizes on the basis of market value (US$/EUR Million) and volume (Units) by various products/services/equipment, demand assessment across the key regions, customer sentiments, price points, cost structures, margin analysis across the value chain, financial assessments, historical and forecast data, key developments across the industry, import-export data, trade overview, components market by leading companies, etc. In addition, the long-term sector and products/services 10-year outlook and its implications on the global ISO tank container market. It also includes the industry's current state Production Levels, Capacity Utilization, Tech quotient, etc. Key information will be manufacturing capacity by country, installed base, import volumes, market size, key players, market size, dynamics, market data, insights, etc. Story continues Request A Customization- https://store.rationalstat.com/store/global-iso-tank-container-market/#tab-ux_global_tab Global ISO Tank Container Market: Segmental and Market Share Analysis On the basis of container type, T11 is anticipated to dominate the market. The T11 container is principally used to transport non-hazardous chemicals. Report Synopsis Report Metrics Details Base Year 2023 Forecast Period 2023-2030 Base Year Market Size US$ 243.6 million Market Size Forecast US$ 355.7 million Growth Rate 5.6% Key Market Drivers Globalization of trade Expanding chemical and food industries Advancements in technology Companies Profiled Hoover Circular Solutions Stolt-Nielsen Bulkhaul Limited ROYAL DEN HARTOGH LOGISTICS NewPort Tank Containers CS Leasing SEACO GLOBAL Singamas Container Holdings Limited Welfit Oddy Explore more about this report- https://store.rationalstat.com/store/global-iso-tank-container-market/#tab-ux_global_tab Competition Analysis and Market Structure These players adopt various strategies in order to reinforce their market share and gain a competitive edge over other competitors in the market. Mergers & acquisitions, partnerships and collaborations, and product launches are some of the strategies followed by industry players. Some of the key developments in the global ISO tank container market include, In September 2021, Hoover CS entered into a multi-year agreement with Advanced Refining Technologies LLC (ART). The agreement involves Hoover providing ART with circular catalyst packaging and logistic solutions. In August 2021, Stolt-Nielsen expanded its geographical presence by establishing Tank Wash Scotland Ltd, a new ISO tank depot located in Grangemouth, Scotland. Some of the prominent players and suppliers operating and contributing significantly to the global ISO tank container market growth include Hoover Circular Solutions, Stolt-Nielsen, Bulkhaul Limited, ROYAL DEN HARTOGH LOGISTICS, NewPort Tank Containers, CS Leasing, SEACO GLOBAL, Singamas Container Holdings Limited, and Welfit Oddy, among others. Get A Free Sample- https://store.rationalstat.com/store/global-iso-tank-container-market/#tab-ux_global_tab RationalStat has segmented the global ISO tank container market based on container type, end user and region Global ISO Tank Container Market Value (US$ Million), Volume (Units), and Market Share (2019-2030) Analysis by Container Type T1 ISO Tank T4 ISO Tank T11 ISO Tank T50 ISO Tank T75 ISO Tank Others Global ISO Tank Container Market Value (US$ Million), Volume (Units), and Market Share (2019-2030) Analysis by End User Chemical Food & Beverage Oil & Gas Manufacturing Others Global ISO Tank Container Market Value (US$ Million), Volume (Units), and Market Share (2019-2030) Analysis by Region North America ISO Tank Container Market Value (US$ Million), Volume (Units), and Market Share (2019-2030) Analysis by Country US Canada Latin America ISO Tank Container Market Value (US$ Million), Volume (Units), and Market Share (2019-2030) Analysis by Country Brazil Mexico Rest of Latin America Western Europe ISO Tank Container Market Value (US$ Million), Volume (Units), and Market Share (2019-2030) Analysis by Country Germany UK France Spain Italy Benelux Nordic Rest of Western Europe Eastern Europe ISO Tank Container Market Value (US$ Million), Volume (Units), and Market Share (2019-2030) Analysis by Country Russia Poland Hungary Other CIS Countries Rest of Eastern Europe Asia Pacific ISO Tank Container Market Value (US$ Million), Volume (Units), and Market Share (2019-2030) Analysis by Country China Japan India South Korea Australia ASEAN Indonesia Thailand Philippines Vietnam Malaysia Rest of ASEAN Rest of Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa ISO Tank Container Market Value (US$ Million), Volume (Units), and Market Share (2019-2030) Analysis by Country GCC Saudi Arabia (KSA) United Arab Emirates (UAE) Rest of the GCC South Africa Nigeria Turkey Rest of the Middle East & Africa For more information about this report- https://store.rationalstat.com/store/global-iso-tank-container-market/ Key Questions Answered in the ISO Tank Container Report: What will be the market value of the global ISO tank container market by 2030? What is the market size of the global ISO tank container market? What are the market drivers of the global ISO tank container market? What are the key trends in the global ISO tank container market? Which is the leading region in the global ISO tank container market? What are the major companies operating in the global ISO tank container market? What are the market shares by key segments in the global ISO tank container market? Running a year End discount of 20%- https://store.rationalstat.com/store/global-iso-tank-container-market/#tab-ux_global_tab Explore Our Trending Reports Research Methodology RationalStat has developed a state-of-the-art research methodology to crunch numbers and provide the best possible real-time insights to clients. We combine a varied range of industry experience, data analytics, and experts viewpoint to create a research methodology for market sizing and forecasting. RationalStat combines a mix of secondary sources as well as primary research to assess the market size and develop a forecast. Key steps involved in accurately deriving the market numbers are: Defining the problem by understanding the type of market and data required by the client. Data gathering and collection through relevant paid databases, publicly available sources, company reports, annual reports, surveys, and interviews. Formulating a hypothesis to create market numbers, forecasts, influencing factors, and their relevance. Evaluating and analyzing the data by referring to data sources utilized and leveraged. Validating, interpreting, and finalizing the data by combining the details gathered from primary and secondary sources with the help of experienced analysts. Download Key Insights and Market Data - Raise a Query About RationalStat LLC RationalStat is an end-to-end global market intelligence and consulting company that provides comprehensive market research reports, customized strategy, and consulting studies. The company has sales offices in India, Mexico, and the US to support global and diversified businesses. The company has over 80 consultants and industry experts, developing more than 850 market research and industry reports for its report store annually. RationalStat has strategic partnerships with leading data analytics and consumer research companies to cater to the clients needs. Additional services offered by the company include consumer research, country reports, risk reports, valuations and advisory, financial research, due diligence, procurement and supply chain research, data analytics, and analytical dashboards. Contact RationalStat LLC Kimberly Shaw, Content and Press Manager sales@rationalstat.com US Phone: +1 302 803 5429 UK Phone: +44 203-287-1245 LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest Partnership will further expand Julius' clinical trial services capabilities to advance new therapeutics. ZEIST, Netherlands, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Julius Clinical Research ("Julius Clinical" or the "Company"), a leading academic clinical Contract Research Organization ("CRO") providing clinical trial services and real-world evidence studies to biopharma sponsors, proudly announces a majority recapitalization by Ampersand Capital Partners ("Ampersand"). The investment and partnership with Ampersand will enable the Company to expand its scientific and therapeutic expertise as well as build its geographic footprint in Europe and North America to accelerate growth of its CRO services. Julius Clinical Research As part of this transaction, Julius Clinical is pleased to announce the appointment of Daniel Spasic as Executive Chairman of the Company's Board of Directors. Mr. Spasic has spent his entire career in the pharmaceutical outsourcing industry and is the founder and former CEO of TFS HealthScience, a leading global, mid-size CRO. Founded in 2008 as a spin-out from the University Medical Center Utrecht ("UMC Utrecht"), Julius Clinical has grown into a specialty clinical CRO that has successfully supported over 130 clinical trials, enrolling more than 200,000 patients in approximately 40 countries. Julius Clinical provides its sponsors access to a unique global network of research sites and key opinion leaders ("KOLs") in carefully selected disease areas such as ALS, Alzheimer's disease, Epilepsy, NASH, and RSV. The investment by Ampersand will support Julius Clinical's strategic vision of growing its geographic footprint while enhancing its therapeutic expertise in CNS, renal, cardiometabolic and infectious diseases. Julius Clinical's CEO, Martijn Wallert commented, "Julius Clinical Research is extremely pleased to have secured the support of Ampersand to help expand our expertise and geographic reach as a global research and scientific partner to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. We've been on a growth journey at Julius Clinical, driven by a combination of world-class scientific expertise and clinical study execution skills." Story continues He continued, "Today's announcement follows on 15 years of dedication to the highest standards of expertise, integrity, operational excellence, and customer satisfaction. I am grateful to our founders, partners, employees, sponsors and UMC Utrecht, whose strong support has led to this milestone announcement. We are now entering the next phase in our development, pursuing accelerated growth through our partnership with Ampersand. Their expertise and resources will enable us to enhance our clinical support services and make an even larger contribution to advancing medical science and drug development globally. I look forward to embarking with Daniel and the rest of the Ampersand team on this exciting growth journey. " Daniel Spasic, incoming Chairman of Julius Clinical, commented on the Company's unique position, "Julius Clinical Research has carved out a distinctive role in the clinical CRO landscape. The Company's scientific heritage from UMC Utrecht and established KOL and research networks in CNS, renal, cardiometabolic and infectious diseases make it a highly differentiated CRO able to provide its customers with strong scientific support and clinical trial execution to advance new therapeutics and treatments for the benefit of patients globally. I am excited to work with Martijn and the talented team at Julius Clinical to further strengthen its position and grow the business." Ampersand Vice President Hidde Van Kerckhoven added, "Our investment in Julius Clinical aligns well with Ampersand's strategy of supporting high quality companies with established leadership positions in attractive segments of the pharmaceutical outsourcing market. We believe the Company's scientific expertise, differentiated services offering and dedicated management team are strong foundations for future growth. Ampersand looks forward to supporting the Julius Clinical team in this next phase of the Company's growth journey." About Julius Clinical Research Julius Clinical Research, founded in 2008 and based in Zeist, The Netherlands, is a scientifically focused CRO providing end-to-end clinical trial service to pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers, as well as governments and academia. Julius Clinical's renowned scientific leaders are at the forefront of their fields, which combine with operational excellence and a global network of research sites to deliver tailor-made solution for customers and their clinical trials. With a focus on the therapeutic areas of neurology, renal, cardiometabolic and infectious diseases, Julius Clinical has grown to approximately 200 employees and has supported over 130 clinical trials, enrolling more than 200,000 participants in around 40 countries. Learn more about Julius Clinical Research at www.juliusclinical.com. About Ampersand Capital Partners Ampersand Capital Partners, founded in 1988, is a middle-market private equity firm with $3 billion of assets under management, dedicated to growth-oriented investments in the healthcare sector. With offices in Boston, MA, and Amsterdam, Netherlands, Ampersand leverages a unique blend of private equity and operating experience to build value and drive long-term performance alongside its portfolio company management teams. Ampersand has helped build numerous market-leading companies across each of the firm's core healthcare sectors. For additional information, visit www.ampersandcapital.com or follow us on LinkedIn. Ampersand Capital Partners is a middle market private equity firm dedicated to growth-oriented investments in the healthcare sector. (PRNewsfoto/Ampersand Capital Partners) Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/julius-clinical-research-receives-growth-investment-from-ampersand-capital-partners-301999042.html SOURCE Julius Clinical Research TORONTO, Nov. 28, 2023 /CNW/ - Hudson's Bay today announced the appointment of retail veteran Liz Rodbell as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective December 1, 2023. Rodbell previously served as President of Hudson's Bay from 2013 - 2017, being appointed to the top position for her strategic oversight and impact on the overall business while in her preceding role as Chief Merchant. She brings a wealth of industry expertise to the role, with strongly established vendor relationships and a deep understanding of the Hudson's Bay business and customer. Liz Rodbell (CNW Group/The Bay) Richard Baker, Governor and Executive Chairman of HBC, said "I am delighted to welcome Liz back to the HBC family, and I am certain she will drive the continued transformation of Hudson's Bay to deliver the most exciting shopping experience for Canadian customers." He added, "When she was last with the company, Liz drove 22% sales growth for Hudson's Bay." "I am absolutely thrilled to rejoin Hudson's Bay. My focus, first and foremost, is on the customer - ensuring we have the most relevant assortment, strong brand partners, and an overall experience that is inspiring and relevant to our shoppers," said Rodbell. Sophia Hwang-Judiesch is stepping down from her role as President of Hudson's Bay to pursue another opportunity. "Sophia has been a driving force and steady hand at Hudson's Bay, and we are grateful for her many contributions in leading us through a very challenging time in our industry. We wish her continued success," said Governor Baker. "My gratitude for the team at Hudson's Bay is immeasurable, and I could not be prouder of the people that work tirelessly to serve our customers, in our stores, DCs and offices across the country. I wish Liz and the entire Hudson's Bay organization much success," shared Hwang-Judiesch. Additionally, Michael Culhane has been appointed COO and CFO of Hudson's Bay. Culhane has served as the Chief Financial Officer of HBC LP since 2020, has been an integral part of the team and will help drive the growth plans for Hudson's Bay, reporting to Rodbell. Story continues ABOUT HUDSON'S BAY Hudson's Bay helps Canadians live their best style of life. Operating thebay.com featuring Marketplace, one of the largest premium life & style platforms in Canada, with a seamless connection to a network of 83 stores from coast to coast, Hudson's Bay has established a reputation for quality and style through an unrivalled assortment of products and categories including fashion, home, beauty, food concepts and more. Follow us on our social media channels: Instagram , Facebook , Twitter , TikTok . Hudson's Bay operates under the HBC brand portfolio. Founded in 1670, HBC is North America's oldest company. The signature stripes are a registered trademark of HBC. SOURCE The Bay Cision View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2023/28/c4955.html FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A Fort Lauderdale company that offers to help foreign students enroll as exchange students at American universities took more than $174,000 and delivered fake acceptance letters from Nova Southeastern University, a federal lawsuit alleges. The company, Travelworks, is registered with the Florida Division of Corporations as doing business at a Fort Lauderdale address, along with another company, StudyGRI. Denis Smorchkov is listed as president of Travelworks and as registered agent of StudyGRI. Smorchkov, Travelworks and StudyGRI are all named as defendants in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale by Pavel Solovev, a Russian-speaking Canadian resident. According to the lawsuit, Solovev hired Travelworks in an effort to get his daughter, Kristina Solovyoff, enrolled into Nova Southeastern or another university in the U.S. He did the same for her boyfriend, Daniil Lapshin. Solovev signed a retainer agreement with Travelworks in August 2022 and paid $9,320, then was sent another invoice for $78,004 for various items such as a Computer Science BS, Bachelor of Arts in Dance, Transit Forms, etc., according to the lawsuit. A copy of the invoices and contract, in Russian, were filed as exhibits with the lawsuit. Solovev paid both sets of costs twice, for his daughter and her boyfriend, adding that in total, he handed over $174,648, the lawsuit says. On Sept. 21, 2022, Solovev received letters signed, ostensibly, by Dr. Anthony DeNapoli, dean of undergraduate admissions and international affairs, accepting Solovyoff and Lapshin into Nova, the suit says. DeNapoli died in 2021, according to Nova Southeastern. The letters, sent on what appeared to be Nova Southeastern letterhead, were fake, the lawsuit states. Neither Daniil Lapshin or Katrina Solovyoff were accepted to Nova Southeastern University, nor had any application been made on their behalf, the suit says. Likewise, none of the transit forms or other services that Travelworks Inc. claimed they would perform were actually done, according to the suit. Story continues The lawsuit says the defendant(s) intended to lie and induce plaintiff into signing the agreement and procuring money, knowing that it had no intention of even making the required application to Nova Southeastern University. Smorchkov did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment for this story and no listed phone number could be located. The lawsuit accuses Smorchkov and Travelworks of fraud and says that StudyGRI as a successor company, a company set up to continue the same work of another, also bears liability for the alleged fraud. The suit seeks damages, costs, pre- and post-judgment interest and attorneys fees. Reached by phone in The Netherlands, Alina Grygorian, identified on the Florida Division of Corporations website as president of StudyGRI, said she didnt know anything about the allegations described in the lawsuit. If this is true, Im shocked, she said about the allegations. I have nothing to do with Travelworks, I swear to you. Im a 100% clean and transparent person. Grygorian, who is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, said StudyGRI is not a successor company to Travelworks. She said she met Smorchkov at a conference in Miami and he offered to help her establish a presence for her company in the United States by registering it at his companys address. StudyGRI has two websites one in English and another in Russian. The English-language version of StudyGRIs website states that the company places more than 120 students a year at top universities in the European Union, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Its LinkedIn site says it was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Smorchkov incorporated Travelworks with a Miami address in 2019, state records show. By 2021, the companys primary address was listed in Hallandale Beach and in 2022, it had moved to the Fort Lauderdale address. StudyGRI was registered at the same Fort Lauderdale address in February 2023. Broward County court records show that Smorchkov and another person were subjects of three eviction lawsuits this year at the address filed with the Florida Division of Corporations website as the companies primary address. The address is a residential apartment called EON Squared. Eviction lawsuits filed in March and May against the duo for nonpayment of rent were dismissed, court records show. In the second suit, a default judgment was vacated after the defendants paid the amount owed. Then a new suit, also for nonpayment of rent, was filed in October. Smorchkov did not contest the third eviction case. A default judgment was issued against Smorchkov and another person on Nov. 3 and a writ of possession was issued to the landlord on Nov. 6. Andre Raikhelson, a Boca Raton-based attorney representing Solokov, said he hopes the lawsuit serves as a warning to people, particularly from outside the country, to look more closely at companies offering services in the U.S. before spending large amounts of money. Asked whether Nova Southeastern was aware of the incident described in the lawsuit, spokesman Joe Donzelli said, when it comes to current or potential litigation, NSU does not provide comment. _____ ROATAN, Honduras, Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Margaritaville and Karisma Hotels & Resorts are excited to announce plans to debut the newest all-inclusive resort under the Island Reserve Inclusive Collection: Margaritaville Island Reserve Resort Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras. This destination will complement Karisma and Margaritaville's footprint in Mexico, Belize, and the Dominican Republic, joining Margaritaville Island Reserve Resort Cap Cana, Margaritaville Island Reserve Resort Riviera Cancun, Margaritaville Island Reserve Resort Riviera Maya, and Margaritaville Beach Resort Ambergris Caye, Belize. "We are thrilled to join forces once again with our esteemed partners at Margaritaville," said Mario Mathieu, Senior Vice President of Business Development, Design and Construction at Karisma Hotels & Resorts. "Together, we are dedicated to creating an unforgettable and authentically local Margaritaville experience in Honduras that truly captures the essence of Roatan." The Margaritaville Island Reserve Inclusive Collection by Karisma debuted as Margaritaville's first collection of all-inclusive luxury properties. These 5-star resorts combine Karisma Hotels & Resorts' renowned service and incredible food and beverage with Margaritaville's authentic sense of fun and escapism, signature food and beverage concepts, and iconic design elements. "We are excited to bring the Margaritaville brand to the island of Roatan in Honduras. It's an incredible destination with rich culture and history, offering guests the perfect island getaway," said Shamim Lodin, Executive Director of Development at Margaritaville. "This location is an excellent fit for Margaritaville and will be an iconic property for guests, promising laid-back luxury and authentic Bay Islands charm." Margaritaville and Karisma Hotels & Resorts will partner with development group Island Shipping, S. de R.L. to bring this all-inclusive resort to life. The new build, slated for completion in 2025, will include 164 rooms, live outdoor music venues, a world-class spa, and branded dining concepts, including LandShark Brewery, JWB Steakhouse, The Beach House, and 5 o'Clock Somewhere Bar. Story continues "We are thrilled to bring such an enticing lifestyle brand to the island; our master planned coastal development could not be a more perfect setting for Margaritaville," said Jerry Hynds, CEO of Island Shipping. "Roatan is experiencing significant growth, and we are proud and excited to be part of the journey to change the hospitality landscape on the island." Nestled in the crystalline waters of the Caribbean, Roatan, a gem among Honduras' Bay Islands, is rapidly gaining recognition as an enchanting and relatively undiscovered destination. Renowned for its vibrant coral reefs, Roatan's underwater wonders attract divers and snorkelers seeking a pristine marine paradise. The island's lush landscapes and untapped beaches further enhance its appeal, providing a serene backdrop for those seeking relaxation. With a tropical climate and a growing reputation for diverse flora and fauna, Roatan invites travelers to embark on an off-the-beaten-path adventure, promising a perfect blend of excitement and tranquility in this emerging Caribbean paradise. While maintaining its authentic charm, Roatan has experienced measured growth in tourism infrastructure and garnered recognition as a "Best of the Best" destination by the 2023 TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice Awards. For more information, visit online here . View images here . About Margaritaville Margaritaville, a state of mind since 1977, is a global lifestyle brand inspired by Jimmy Buffett, whose songs evoke a passion for tropical escape and relaxation. Margaritaville features over 40 lodging locations and over 20 additional projects in the pipeline positioned across a variety of full-service and boutique hotel and resort brands, branded real estate, premium RV destinations, and gaming properties, all complemented by an extensive suite of food and beverage concepts, including Margaritaville Restaurant, award-winning JWB Prime Steak and Seafood, 5 o'Clock Somewhere Bar & Grill, and LandShark Bar & Grill. Hotel brands include Margaritaville Hotels & Resorts, Compass by Margaritaville, Margaritaville Beach House, Margaritaville St. Somewhere, and the all-inclusive product, Margaritaville Island Reserve. Further elevating experiences, Margaritaville's branded real estate includes Latitude Margaritaville, "55 and better" active adult brand; Margaritaville Cottages, Villas and Residences; One Particular Harbour Margaritaville; and Margaritaville Vacation Club by Wyndham. The newest brand additions to Margaritaville's properties include the rapidly-growing Camp Margaritaville RV Resorts and Margaritaville at Sea, which debuted in 2022 with its first ship, Margaritaville at Sea Paradise. Additionally, consumers can escape every day through a collection of lifestyle products, including apparel, footwear, frozen concoction makers, home decor, a SiriusXM radio station, and more. More than 20 million travelers and consumers every year change their latitude and attitude with Margaritaville. For more information, visit www.margaritaville.com and follow Margaritaville on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram . About Karisma Hotels & Resorts Karisma Hotels & Resorts is an award-winning luxury hotel collection that owns and manages an impressive portfolio of properties in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe. Property brands include Margaritaville Island Reserve by Karisma; Azul Beach Resorts by Karisma; and Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts. Properties have been honored with the industry's top accolades, including Conde Nast Traveler's "Top 30 Hotels in Cancun," World Waterpark Association "Leading Edge Award," Travel Weekly "Magellan Awards," and AAA's "Five Diamond Award" and "Four Diamond Award." Karisma Hotels & Resorts is committed to employee and community support while delivering authentic experiences to guests, receiving worldwide recognition for its compassionate and creative approach to hospitality management and product innovations. About Island Shipping S. de R.L Island Shipping S. de R.L is a pioneering cargo company that has been navigating the seas for over three decades. Founded with a vision deeply rooted in the heart of Roatan, Honduras, the company has evolved into a symbol of economic growth and community development. Committed to showcasing the natural beauty of Roatan, Island Shipping S. de R.L has expanded its horizons to include the establishment of a world-class resort, becoming a beacon for prosperity while generating jobs and opportunities that directly benefit the island's residents. Media Contact: Malaika Hollis, Alliance Connection malaika@allianceconnection.com Margaritaville Island Reserve Resort Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras Margaritaville Island Reserve Resort Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/margaritaville-and-karisma-hotels--resorts-announce-development-plans-for-margaritaville-island-reserve-resort-roatan-in-honduras-301999270.html SOURCE Karisma Hotels & Resorts Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo and X owner and chief technology officer Elon Musk Chesnot and Kirsty Wigglesworth - WPA Pool via Getty Images Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo says she's leaving X after 14 years on the platform. In a lengthy farewell post, she said the platform has become a "gigantic global sewer." Hildago is the latest public figure to criticize the platform's leadership under Elon Musk. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo says she's leaving X after more than 14 years on the platform, formerly known as Twitter. In a lengthy statement shared on X and through the French news outlet Le Monde on Monday, Hidalgo highlighted a long list of issues that she says plague the platform including anti-semitism, misinformation, and attacks on women, scientists, and environmentalists and said X was "an impressive tool for destroying our democracies." "This platform and its owner intentionally exacerbates tensions and conflicts," she wrote in French, adding that the platform has "become a gigantic global sewer." "To remain true to my convictions and my commitment, I am leaving Twitter today," Hidalgo wrote on Monday. Her post has been liked more than 2,700 times. An early proponent of Twitter, Hidalgo joined the platform in 2009 when she was the deputy mayor of Paris. One of her first tweets was an invitation to Paris residents to join a dialogue session. lance une demarche d'ecoute et de dialogue avec les habitants de Paris : http://tinyurl.com/cacmq4 Anne Hidalgo (@Anne_Hidalgo) March 24, 2009 Hidalgo, who has over 1.5 million followers on X, wrote that she would remain on other platforms "in which respectful exchanges can still take place," referring to her accounts on social media rivals Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Her departure adds to the growing chorus of public figures criticizing the management and direction of X under Elon Musk. Musk has faced considerable backlash after endorsing an antisemitic post on X on November 16. His actions drew condemnation from figures including long-time Tesla investor Ross Gerber and Facebook cofounder Dustin Moskovitz. Story continues The ongoing controversy has led to corporate fallout for X, with major companies like Apple, IBM, and Disney pulling their ads from the platform. This exodus could potentially cost X up to $75 million in ad revenue by the end of 2023, according to The New York Times. Hidalgo's X account was still online as of 11 p.m. EST. Hidalgo did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours. X and Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment from BI, sent outside regular business hours. Read the original article on Business Insider (Bloomberg) -- Meituan shares tumbled the most in more than a year after the Chinese company warned that growth in its main meal delivery business would slow this quarter and spending on promotions rise. Most Read from Bloomberg Chief Financial Officer Chen Shaohui expects diners to take advantage of atypically warm weather to dine out, rather than order in. That prediction, based also in part on a difficult comparison with a strong late-2022 market, came after the company reported its third straight quarterly profit off slightly better-than-expected revenue. Meituans US-traded shares fell 11% in New York to $24.80. Along with tech peers Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd., Meituan has wrestled with a weak rebound in Chinese consumption after three years of strict Covid controls. The pace of loss narrowing for community group purchase is below investor expectations so far, JPMorgan analyst Alex Yao wrote. The outlook is unclear despite Chairman and CEO Wang Xings assurance of significant loss narrowing in the future. Read More: Meituan Mulls Deal for Delivery Heros Southeast Asia Arm Meituans board authorized a buyback of up to $1 billion starting Dec. 1, but executives stressed they would assess that option based on the companys cash position and needed cash to invest in new businesses. Our new initiatives are still at an investment stage, co-founder Wang Xing told analysts on a conference call. We are also exploring overseas opportunities. Mixed official data from last month showed an expansion in Chinese retail sales, but turmoil in the property market has forced Beijing to roll out sweeping measures to shore up the industrys cash crunch. Story continues Strong travel demand helped the food delivery giant defy slowing growth for its core business. Sales rose 22% to 76.5 billion yuan ($10.7 billion) in the quarter ended September, compared to an average projection for 76.01 billion yuan. Net income almost tripled to 3.59 billion yuan, but margins slid because of promotions. What Bloomberg Intelligence Says Meituans steeper-than-expected in-store, hotel and travel operating profit fall reflects heightened spending on promotions within this sector, particularly via live streaming and AI tools which the firm disclosed on Nov. 28. This likely contributed to the 2.6 percentage points (ppts) year-over-year fall in Meituans 3Q core local-commerce margin, vs. consensus projected 2.4 ppts drop. Marketing costs-to-sales ratio widened 4.7 ppts in 3Q from a year earlier, vs. a 3.8% jump the prior quarter. - Catherine Lim and Tiffany Tam, analysts Click here for more. The Beijing-based company has been relying on its familiar subsidy-heavy strategy, in a bid to draw in customers and merchants despite the broader spending malaise. Meituan rolled out a slew of discounts for this years Singles Day shopping festival, in a season that likely saw lackluster spending at Chinas biggest e-commerce players thanks to wider economic malaise. In its newer initiatives segment, the company has expanded into adjacent areas like grocery retailing and group-buying, although in March it abandoned its costly self-operated ride-hailing service. As the domestic e-commerce rivalry heats up, Meituan has deepened its investments in short video and live-streaming to compete with upstarts like ByteDance Ltd.s Douyin. Like many other Chinese tech companies, Meituan has also been eyeing an overseas expansion, including taking its meal delivery service outside mainland China for the first time with its debut in Hong Kong this May under the brand KeeTa. Meituan held talks with Delivery Hero SE about potentially acquiring the business in Southeast Asia that runs under the Foodpanda brand, Bloomberg News reported earlier. The company has also joined Chinese rivals, including Baidu Inc. and Tencent, in the generative AI craze. In October, Meituan took part in a 2.5 billion yuan ($350 million) funding round for one of the countrys most promising AI startups, Zhipu. That follows its earlier acquisition of its co-founders startup Light Year, in a deal valued at almost $234 million. (Updates with analyst comment from the fourth paragraph) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. LOS ANGELES, November 28, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Next Health, renowned for its unique health optimization and longevity services, is poised to make its debut in the Australian market. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128259093/en/ Welcome to Next Health. Your Partner for Vitality, Longevity, and Personalized Health. We are a health optimization and longevity center. Gain access to the latest advancements in medicine, aesthetics, and wellness technology reimagined for a healthier longer life. (Photo: Business Wire) As the frontrunner in pioneering wellness solutions in the United States, Next Health Australia is expanding with 20 new locations in the next six years. This endeavor is made possible through a master franchise agreement awarded to a dedicated team in Australia led by Dr. Kelly Francis as Chief Medical Officer. Margie Baldock, CEO of Next Health Australia, and 20-year biohacker, is joined by Graham Staerk, with 40 years of experience in political campaigning, corporate lobbying, and public relations, overseeing public relations and marketing. Together, they bring a wealth of expertise in medical, property, marketing, and government relations. The inaugural Next Health center is set to open its doors in 2024, marking a significant and transformative presence in the Australian wellness landscape. Leading Next Health's franchise growth is Scott Svilich, COO of Next Health, who boasts extensive experience in franchise scaling. He expressed his enthusiasm, stating, "I'm thrilled that we've found the ideal operating partners who also share our core values and mission to bring Next Health to Australia. With their dedication and aligned mission, I'm confident that our collaboration will be a great success. We look forward to introducing Next Health's pioneering longevity services to 20 key Australian markets." The rapid ascent of Next Healths popularity in the longevity space can be attributed in part to its vibrant, state-of-the-art facilities, which reimagine the traditional healthcare experience by departing from conventional clinical settings and crafting environments that find universal appeal with a seamless fusion of wellness and modernity. Clients partner with providers for a data-driven approach to health and tap into a range of sought-after advanced medical services. The core of Next Health's unique offering lies in its membership-driven model, underpinned by a proprietary customer journey, all contributing to exceptional unit economic performance. Story continues In a statement reflecting their shared enthusiasm for the upcoming expansion into the Australian market, Next Health Founders, Dr. Darshan Shah (CEO) and Kevin Peake (President), express their eagerness to bring their groundbreaking longevity services to a wider audience, "People globally are placing an unprecedented emphasis on their overall health well-being. Our Australian partners recognize this burgeoning demand for diagnostic and preventative health solutions, and we're thrilled to introduce our best-in-class approach and technologies to Australia, marking a new era in wellness and longevity. Witnessing the life-changing results in the United States has been immensely rewarding. We're dedicated to helping individuals achieve their optimal health and well-being, and we're confident that our expansion into Australia will bring about remarkable changes in the lives of many." Next Health's unwavering commitment to improving lives worldwide has not only found resonance with a wide and diverse audience but has also garnered acclaim from prominent individuals. Distinguished actor Orlando Bloom, a longtime client of Next Health, recently reinforced the organization's remarkable impact and immense potential by becoming an investor. This investment not only exemplifies the transformative changes experienced by those touched by Next Health but also underscores the increasing recognition and support the organization continues to attract. The debut of the first Next Health Australia location is anticipated to be in 2024, with prime retail locations under consideration, including the Gold Coast and Sydney. About Next Health Next Health, founded in Los Angeles in 2016 by renowned US Surgeon Dr. Darshan Shah and entrepreneur Kevin Peake, has been a trailblazer in the health optimization and longevity space. Dr Shahs vision of Next Health is to champion a medical, data-driven approach that empowers you to live healthier, longer. Conveniently offering the latest in technology and medical services in a vibrant atmosphere with white-glove hospitality. Next Health is now offering franchising opportunities in major markets across the United States and abroad. Their franchise model aims to help individuals achieve optimal vitality and longevity through personalized, data-driven healthcare. To learn more about franchising opportunities, visit the Next Health Franchise website or contact them via email at franchise@next-health.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128259093/en/ Contacts For press inquiries and syndicate articles: Vanessa Kekina Director of Marketing and Founding Team Member at Next | Health Cell: 808-228-6312 Office: 310-295-2075 marketing@next-health.com For domestic healthcare services: Call or Text (310) 295-2075 Holiday travelers make their way at Terminal 7 at LAX in time for the Thanksgiving weekend Tuesday. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times) Nearly 3 million people boarded flights in the U.S. on Sunday as American air travel continued to surge at a record pace, surpassing pre-pandemic numbers, according to Transportation Security Administration statistics . TSA screened 2,907,378 people traveling through U.S. airports, the highest single-day number ever. Air travel has taken three years to surpass the heights reached in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Wherever we land [on a final number], we're fully back to the year-over-year increase we were seeing before the pandemic, a TSA official said. During the 2019 Thanksgiving weekend, nearly 2.9 million passengers flew in a single day. Even before Sunday, that record was broken this year, with the previous busiest day occurring on June 30, the Friday before the Fourth of July holiday. Since TSAs inception in 2001, passenger volume consistently increased by more than 4% yearly until January 2020, when travel numbers plummeted due to the pandemic. Officials said the numbers had modestly increased over the last three years. Read more: Thanksgiving travel will be at record-breaking levels: 9 common-sense tips can keep you sane During the early months of the pandemic, airline travel nearly ground to a halt, forcing carriers to lay off or furlough thousands of workers. As of September, the U.S. airline industry employs nearly 808,000 full- and part-time workers, surpassing pre-pandemic levels by 8.7%, according to federal data. Airlines for America, a trade group for all major U.S. air carriers, said airlines have worked for months to ensure they would be prepared for the high volume of travel for this year's holiday season. Airlines have continued aggressively hiring, adjusting schedules and improving communication with passengers to combat the increased demand for air travel, according to the group. John Heimlich, an economist for Airline for America, said the group predicted early in the pandemic that it would take until 2023 before the industry returned to pre-pandemic volumes. He said the industry is on track to surpass the 2019 number and anticipates further growth in 2024, albeit at a slower rate. Story continues Read more: Arrived super early at LAX? Now you can take a 2-mile walk through the airport. Here's how Los Angeles International Airport also saw its busiest Thanksgiving holiday travel period since 2019, as it welcomed 2.46 million travelers over the last week and a half. Officials said several days saw more than 220,000 passengers move through the terminals. Of the 51,332 scheduled flights across the country Sunday, fewer than 0.5% were canceled, according to flight tracker Flight Radar 24 . AAA predicted that 4.7 million people would fly over the Thanksgiving holiday period, the highest number of Thanksgiving air travelers since 2005 a 6.6% increase compared with 2022. "I'm optimistic that what we saw over Thanksgiving is emblematic of the kind of demand we'll see this winter," Heimlich said. The demand "is going to be very strong." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. FILE PHOTO: The logo of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) sits outside its headquarters in Vienna By Maha El Dahan, Olesya Astakhova and Ahmad Ghaddar LONDON (Reuters) -OPEC+ talks on 2024 oil policy are difficult, making a rollover of the previous agreement a possibility rather than deeper production cuts, four OPEC+ sources said on Tuesday. The OPEC+ group comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies led by Russia is scheduled to meet online on Thursday to decide oil output levels for 2024, according to a draft agenda seen by Reuters on Monday. A further delay to the meeting is possible, the sources indicated. Two of the sources said an additional cut - a step that sources have said would be looked at - was not being actively discussed. "Everyone is just holding their positions," one of the sources said. The meeting has already been delayed from Nov. 26. OPEC+ sources said this was because of a disagreement over output levels for African producers, though sources have since said the group has moved closer to a compromise on this point. The Brent crude price benchmark was up 74 cents at $80.72 a barrel by 1418 GMT. OPEC's previous meeting in June had already extended output cuts into 2024. Saudi Arabia, Russia and other members of OPEC+ have already pledged total oil output cuts of about 5 million barrels per day (bpd), about 5% of daily global demand, in a series of steps that started in late 2022. This includes Saudi Arabia's additional voluntary production cut of 1 million bpd, which is due to expire at the end of December, and a Russian export cut of 300,000 bpd until the end of the year. (Reporting by Maha El Dahan, Ahmad Ghaddar,Olesya Astakhova and Lamine ChikhiWriting and additional reporting by Alex LawlerEditing by Kirsten Donovan, Susan Fenton and David Goodman) PowerSchool welcomes new International General Manager and new Global PowerPartners, expanding the availability of mission-critical cloud-based education technology for educators in South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia FOLSOM, Calif., November 28, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PowerSchool (NYSE: PWSC), the leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education in North America, today announced the appointment of Stewart Monk as Senior Vice President and General Manager, International at PowerSchool, as well as the continued expansion of PowerSchools Global PowerPartner Program. Mr. Monk will lead international strategy for all PowerSchool products. Mr. Monks leadership, coupled with new global channel partners, will support the expansion of PowerSchool products throughout the world, providing educators with the modern, secure, cloud-based software they need to securely centralize data and elevate AI-driven personalized education that improves education outcomes. "I'm excited to join the PowerSchool international team as we work to empower administrators, educators, and families with cloud-based software to improve learning outcomes around the world," said Stewart Monk, Senior Vice President & General Manager, International at PowerSchool. "Were proud to expand digital transformation in education through these incredible partners and look forward to driving impact for educators and students in new countries and regions." PowerSchool welcomes the following partners to its Global PowerPartner Program: Learnbase provides high-quality technology tools from leading global suppliers, aiming to elevate Brazil's educational landscape. The American International Schools in the Americas (AMISA) seeks to provide innovative programs and fiscally sustainable services to enhance the quality of education in their schools across Latin America. Through this partnership, AMISA will market PowerSchool products to their over 100 membership schools. Cairo Communication Systems (CCS) is a leading system integrator in Egypt for over 30 years and has the exclusive opportunity to provide PowerSchool products throughout the country. BEENET matches institutions with the latest technology to ensure smooth and intuitive day-to-day operation, and partners with leading software providers and customers ranging from higher education institutions to businesses. BEENET will focus on providing schools across Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, The Philippines, and Malaysia with PowerSchool products. Gear Education is an education technology firm based in Cyprus dedicated to providing technology solutions that work to empower teachers and students. Story continues These partners will sell PowerSchool products including PowerSchool Schoology Learning, PowerSchool SIS, PowerSchool Enrollment, PowerSchool Enrollment Express, PowerSchool Ecollect Forms, and PowerSchool Naviance CCLR. PowerSchool also now offers expanded international access to its platform and products to provide increased support for educators and students. As part of this expanded access, PowerSchool Student Analytics, PowerSchool Connected Intelligence K-12 and PowerSchool Connected Intelligence P20W are now available to unlock deeper student insights with centralized and actionable student data. About PowerSchool PowerSchool (NYSE: PWSC) is the leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education in North America. Its mission is to empower educators, administrators, and families to ensure personalized education for every student journey. PowerSchool offers end-to-end product clouds that connect the central office to the classroom to the home with award-winning products including Schoology Learning and Naviance CCLR, so school districts can securely manage student data, enrollment, attendance, grades, instruction, assessments, human resources, talent, professional development, special education, data analytics and insights, communications, and college and career readiness. PowerSchool supports over 50 million students in more than 90 countries and over 16,000 customers, including more than 90 of the top 100 districts by student enrollment in the United States. Learn more at www.powerschool.com. PowerSchool. PowerSchool and other PowerSchool marks are trademarks of PowerSchool Holdings, Inc. or its subsidiaries. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231127015031/en/ Contacts PowerPartner Channel Program Contact: Tim Russell tim.russell@powerschool.com Media Contact: WE Communications for PowerSchool WE-PowerSchool@we-worldwide.com (503) 443-7155 (Bloomberg) -- Reddit Inc. is again holding talks with potential investors for an initial public offering for the social media company, according to people familiar with the matter, as hopefuls prepare for a long-awaited reopening of the market for new listings. Most Read from Bloomberg The San Francisco-based firm, whose users helped fuel the meme-stock frenzy that made 2021 a banner year for equities, is weighing an IPO as soon as in the first quarter, the people said. Reddit was working with Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. on the listing, Bloomberg News reported last year, and was considering a valuation of as much as $15 billion. Companies planning first-time share sales in the US have been stymied for months by volatile markets and a relatively weak showing for four closely watched debuts in September and October, which all but slammed the door on big-ticket IPOs in 2023. With this years total US volume set to just barely surpass 2022 the worst year in over a decade for IPOs in the country, according to data compiled by Bloomberg hopefuls weighing sizable listings and their advisers are largely turning their gaze to 2024. Internet-media IPOs also have dried up. The last offering of more than $100 million occurred in March 2021, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, when Zhihu Inc., the Chinese online Q&A service, went public in New York. The stock has dropped 89% since then. Rubrik Inc., a Microsoft Corp.-backed cloud and data security startup, is also considering holding its IPO as soon as in the first quarter, people familiar with the deliberations said. Read More: New Tech IPOs Could Burn Firms Who Bet on Established Startups Story continues Kim Kardashians Skims underwear label, valued this summer at $4 billion, is discussing strategic options including an IPO that could come as soon as next year, people with knowledge of the matter said, asking not to be identified as the information isnt public. Skims deserves to be a public company when the time is right, Chief Executive Officer Jens Grede told Bloomberg News during an interview in June. Details of Reddit, Rubrik and Skimss respective plans could change and theres no guarantee the companies will move ahead with listings, the people said. Representatives for Skims, Reddit and Rubrik declined to comment. Fast-fashion retailer Shein, which was founded in China but is now headquartered in Singapore, has filed confidentially with US regulators for an IPO that could take place next year, Bloomberg News reported. Shein declined to comment. Read More: Kim Kardashians Skims Raises Funds at $4 Billion Valuation Several other firms have been considering sizable IPOs as soon as 2023, Bloomberg News has reported, though with only a few weeks of trading left in the year, that window is rapidly closing. Chinese electric-vehicle maker Zeekr Intelligent Technology Holding Ltd. filed for its listing this month. The Zhejiang Geely Holding Group-backed firm updated its financial figures on Friday, showing $4.9 billion in revenue in the nine months to Sept. 30, almost doubling the figure from the same period last year, according to Bloomberg calculations. EQT AB-backed Waystar Holding Corp., which filed in November, is considering moving forward with its IPO while monitoring market conditions, Bloomberg News has reported. --With assistance from Kim Bhasin, Matthew Monks and Olivia Rockeman. (Updates with Internet media IPOs in fifth paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. (Bloomberg) -- Before he became a billionaire by transforming his fathers company into Netflixs biggest competitor in Japan, Yasuhide Uno wanted nothing to do with the business. Most Read from Bloomberg His relationship with dad was fraught, to say the least. Uno recounts an incident in his childhood when he was ill in bed. His father came home that day ordering his mother to stop caring for Uno and make him food instead, according to a 2020 biography. If the child died, they could always have more, Unos father told her. After years of refusing to be involved in the business, Uno only agreed to take it over when his dad was on his death bed and he felt he had no choice. I didnt want to be like my father, Uno was quoted as saying in the Japanese-language biography, whose title translates as The Bravery of an Entrepreneur. I had a strong desire to be a completely different entrepreneur, he added in an interview in Tokyo. A quarter of a century later, Usen-Next Holdings Co. operates a streaming service with more than 4 million subscribers and dozens of other businesses ranging from broadband internet to services for shops. Usen-Nexts stock has surged this year on record earnings, pushing Unos wealth to more than $1 billion at the end of last week, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The stock dropped on Monday, and hes now worth $989 million, according to the wealth gauge. Unos agreement to take command of the family business is far from the norm in Japan, where some 60% of companies surveyed by Teikoku Databank Ltd. have yet to find a successor. A record 487 small firms closed in the fiscal year ended March because of this, the market researcher said. Story continues The companys transformation under him is an example of a phenomenon pointed out by academics. A child is about 60% more likely to be an entrepreneur if a parent was, according to a paper published in 2014. Yet as Uno tells it, his father, Mototada, wasnt always a good example. Mototada was born into a family of Chinese immigrants who had moved to Japan before World War II. He established Osaka Usen Broadcasting in 1961, when Japans economy was booming. It sent background music by coaxial cable to shops, restaurants and other businesses. Usen is the Japanese word for cable. Over four decades, Mototada steadily developed the company. By the time he died of cancer in 1998, Usen had a roughly 70% share of Japans cable music market. But there was a catch. Usen had used millions of government-owned telephone poles for his cables without permission, Uno explained in the biography. It was another reason why Uno didnt want the role. Uno was also doing his own thing. He had set up a job agency called Intelligence Co. with three friends in Tokyo and was planning to take it public. His mother pleaded with him to take over Usen. Even though Uno wasnt the eldest son, he was his fathers preferred successor. Eventually, he relented and returned to Osaka, leaving his co-founders to run his firm. A part of me wanted to take on the challenge, Uno said at Usen-Nexts headquarters in the upscale Meguro area of Tokyo. With its glass-walled offices and sofas, it looks more like a modern startup than a 62-year-old firm. After Uno took over, the companys survival hinged on bringing its use of the telephone poles within the law. But his father had soured relations with the government by ignoring its requests and warnings for years. When Uno tried to make amends after almost three decades, officials didnt want to know. They hung up when he called. Why dont you come back in a hundred years? one told him, according to the biography. Eventually, the government and Usen agreed on a plan to resolve the issue. Usen staff had to photograph and register cables connected to more than 7 million telephone poles. Even the most loyal employees bristled. At one point, a bloody straw doll was delivered to Unos doorstep as a death threat. But after a year, the job was done. Not long later, in 2001, Usen listed on the Osaka exchange. Usen fell into difficulties again during the global financial crisis. As earnings worsened, it became unable to repay its debt. Under pressure from banks to offload loss-making operations, Uno had to sell the video-streaming service. In an unusual twist, he sold it to himself, paying for it with his own money. He was convinced it would later become a growth engine. Years later, in 2014, he listed the company, called U-Next, in Tokyo. Then in 2017, U-Next bought the legacy business, Usen. Today, the Usen-Next group consists of some 25 companies. The cables now also provide broadband internet. The video-streaming business surged in popularity during the pandemic when people were stuck at home. It added 1.2 million new users last fiscal year, a 43% increase from the year before. Its No. 2 in Japan after Netflix, according to research firm GEM Partners. For Daisuke Aiba, an analyst at Tokyo-based brokerage Iwai Cosmo Securities Co., Usen-Next may be able to overtake the US giant in Japan because it offers a wider array of content tailored to Japanese subscribers. He built it into a business fit for a new era, Aiba said. Hes someone who knows how to push ahead with a plan. A representative for Netflix declined to comment. Despite the growth in streaming, Usen-Nexts store-services business, which includes background music and payment terminals, still contributes the most to profit. Store services accounted for 46% of operating profit in the fiscal year ended August, compared with 29% for content distribution. Usen-Next made 21.6 billion ($145 million) in operating profit on 276 billion in sales in the fiscal year ended August, both records. The companys shares are up 66% this year, giving it a market value of about $1.4 billion. All six analysts covering Usen-Next recommend buying the stock. But the business relies heavily on the 1.1 million distribution contracts that it has with stores. With the governments decision last year to stop taking applications from retail businesses for support to help them through the pandemic, an increasing number of them are forecast to shut down. Any bankruptcies of these stores such as restaurants is worrisome because thats the heart of the business, said Hiroshi Namioka, chief strategist at T&D Asset Management Co., a unit of Japanese insurer T&D Holdings Inc. Still, Uno says he doesnt see any major threats to the business. And after 25 years in the job, 15 longer than his father asked for, he has no plans to step down. Uno says he now has deep respect for his father, because of his drive. Life has been a repetition of successes and failures, he said when asked how he feels about his wealth. At times people told me Im great. Other times, I was told I should be dead. It doesnt quite feel like a life of success. --With assistance from Shintaro Inkyo and Sohee Kim. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. (Bloomberg) -- Shanghais high-tech zone boosted security measures ahead of an expected visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping, even as some of the areas biggest firms remained tight-lipped about any incoming VIP. Most Read from Bloomberg Some roads toward the massive Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park that specializes in artificial intelligence developers and chip design firms were blocked Tuesday afternoon. Police at pedestrian crossings turned away people and vehicles as they sealed off the area. Xi is making his first trip to the financial hub since 2020, and the citys bruising two-month Covid lockdown last year, the South China Morning Post reported earlier, citing people familiar with the matter. Hes set to tour the Shanghai Futures Exchange and several technology giants during the three-day trip. Read more: Xi to Make First Shanghai Visit Since Lockdown, SCMP Says The Shanghai government news office said it had no comment on the SCMP report. Shanghai-based chip stocks including Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., Hua Hong Semiconductor Ltd. and Will Semiconductor Co. rose Monday on the reports about Xis travels. Representatives for those companies declined to comment on any expected visit when contacted by Bloomberg News. Shanghai is a major outpost for some of Chinas biggest tech operations, including SMIC, which made the 7nm processor hailed as a major triumph after years of US sanctions. Other major firms include AI firm SenseTime Group Inc., which has approval to roll out large-language models to the public, and e-commerce upstart PDD Holdings Inc. --With assistance from Jing Li. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. SK Life Science will host the "Impact of Continued Seizures and Strategies for Seizure Reduction/Freedom" Symposium, an expert discussion led by world-renowned epileptologists, and present ten posters to unveil new information for healthcare providers PARAMUS, N.J., Nov. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SK Life Science, Inc., a subsidiary of SK Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., an innovative global pharmaceutical company focused on developing treatments for central nervous system (CNS) disorders and oncology, will present data on cenobamate at the American Epilepsy Society (AES) Annual Meeting, to be held December 1-5, 2023, in Orlando, Florida. SK Life Science, Inc. "We recognize that the path to seizure management can be challenging for those living with epilepsy," said Louis Ferrari, BS, RPh, MBA, Vice President of Medical Affairs at SK Life Science. "Our participation at AES, from our symposium to our data, will offer valuable information to providers so they have updated information to address their patients' needs. This includes insights on potential solutions for challenges like medication delivery and administration." Symposium will discuss unmet need for seizure freedom in patients with epilepsy SK Life Science will host a symposium titled 'Impact of Continued Seizures and Strategies for Seizure Reduction/Freedom' which will be held on Saturday, December 2 at 6:00 p.m. ET, in the Plaza Ballroom H of the West Concourse, Orange County Convention Center. The symposium will discuss currently available strategies for reducing and achieving seizure freedom, the need to better understand unmet needs for achieving seizure freedom, the impact of continued seizures on patients, evidence-based treatment adjustments before patients consider surgery, and the various treatment options available to support patients in their epilepsy journey. Experts presenting at the symposium include: Danielle Becker, MD, MS, FAES, Division Director of Epilepsy, Associate Professor of Neurology, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio Pavel Klein, MB BChir Director, Mid-Atlantic Epilepsy & Sleep Center, Bethesda, Maryland Gregory Krauss, MD, Professor, Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore, Maryland Patrick Kwan, BMedSci, MB BChir, PhD, FRACP, Department of Neuroscience Central Clinical School, Monash University Monash Institute of Medical Engineering Epilepsy Unit, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Australia Story continues Data highlights and poster presentations The ten posters presented at AES 2023 span a wide range of topics that include a claim-based analysis on effectiveness of cenobamate as a monotherapy and a retrospective claim-based analysis on the comparative effectiveness of cenobamate in reducing hospitalizations in patients with focal seizures. The following is a guide to the SK Life Science-sponsored poster presentations: Title: Cenobamate for Treatment of Pediatric Patients With Focal Epilepsy: Design of Phase I Studies With An Open-Label Extension (Vashi et al) Poster Number: 1.280 Session & Date: Poster Session 1; Saturday, December 2 Title: Dose Reduction Timing for Concomitant Antiseizure Medications: Post-hoc Analysis of a Phase 3, Open-Label Study of Cenobamate for Treatment of Uncontrolled Focal Seizures (Ferrari et al) Poster Number: 1.278 Session & Date: Poster Session 1; Saturday, December 2 Title: Long-Term Efficacy of Cenobamate by Focal Seizure Subtype: Post-hoc Analysis of an Open-Label Extension Study (Nisman et al) Poster Number: 1.310 Session & Date: Poster Session 1; Saturday, December 2 Title: Relative Bioavailability of Cenobamate 200 mg Administered as a Crushed Tablet Either Orally or via a Nasogastric Tube Versus an Intact 200 mg Cenobamate Tablet (Laramy et al) Poster Number: 2.257 Session & Date: Poster Session 2; Sunday, December 3 Title: Cenobamate Use as Monotherapy: A Retrospective Claims-Based Analysis (Becker et al) Poster Number: 2.292 Session & Date: Poster Session 2; Sunday, December 3 Title: Effectiveness of Cenobamate in Postsurgical Patients: A Retrospective Claims-Based Analysis (Pellinen et al) Poster Number: 2.293 Session & Date: Poster Session 2; Sunday, December 3 Title: Comparative Effectiveness of Cenobamate in Reducing Hospitalizations in Patients With Focal Seizures: A Retrospective Claims-Based Analysis (Urban et al) Poster Number: 2.294 Session & Date: Poster Session 2; Sunday, December 3 Title: Increased Incidence of Comorbidities in Patients With Uncontrolled Epilepsy (Faught et al) Poster Number: 2.296 Session & Date: Poster Session 2; Sunday, December 3 Title: Effectiveness of Cenobamate in Pediatric Patients With Intractable Focal Seizures: A Retrospective Claims-Based Analysis (Labiner et al) Poster Number: 2.297 Session & Date: Poster Session 2; Sunday, December 3 Title: Effectiveness of Cenobamate in Pediatric Patients With Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome: A Retrospective Claims-Based Analysis (Keough et al) Poster Number: 2.298 Session & Date: Poster Session 2; Sunday, December 3 About XCOPRI (cenobamate tablets) CV Cenobamate is an anti-seizure medication (ASM) discovered and developed by SK Biopharmaceuticals and SK Life Science. While the precise mechanism by which cenobamate exerts its therapeutic effect is unknown, it is believed to reduce repetitive neuronal firing by inhibiting voltage-gated sodium currents. It is also a positive allosteric modulator of the -aminobutyric acid (GABAA) ion channel. Cenobamate is approved in the United States for the treatment of partial-onset seizures in adults and is available under the brand name XCOPRI (cenobamate tablets) CV. Cenobamate can be combined with other ASMs or used alone. The recommended initial dosage of cenobamate is 12.5 mg once-daily, with titration every two weeks; it is available in six tablet strengths for once-daily dosing: 12.5 mg, 25 mg, 50 mg, 100 mg, 150 mg and 200 mg. Cenobamate is also approved in the European Union and the United Kingdom for the adjunctive treatment of focal-onset (partial-onset) seizures with or without secondary generalization in adult patients with seizures that have not been adequately controlled despite a history of treatment with at least two anti-epileptic medicinal products and is marketed by Angelini Pharma under the brand name ONTOZRY. Additionally, cenobamate is in clinical development in Asia. Ono Pharmaceutical and Ignis Therapeutics have the rights to develop and commercialize cenobamate in Japan and in the Greater China region, respectively. IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION AND INDICATION FOR XCOPRI (cenobamate tablets) CV DO NOT TAKE XCOPRI IF YOU: Are allergic to cenobamate or any of the other ingredients in XCOPRI. Have a genetic problem (called Familial Short QT syndrome) that affects the electrical system of the heart. XCOPRI CAN CAUSE SERIOUS SIDE EFFECTS, INCLUDING: Allergic reactions: XCOPRI can cause serious skin rash or other serious allergic reactions which may affect organs and other parts of your body like the liver or blood cells. You may or may not have a rash with these types of reactions. Call your healthcare provider right away and go to the nearest emergency room if you have any of the following: swelling of your face, eyes, lips, or tongue, trouble swallowing or breathing, a skin rash, hives, fever, swollen glands, or sore throat that does not go away or comes and goes, painful sores in the mouth or around your eyes, yellowing of your skin or eyes, unusual bruising or bleeding, severe fatigue or weakness, severe muscle pain, frequent infections, or infections that do not go away. Take XCOPRI exactly as your healthcare provider tells you to take it. It is very important to increase your dose of XCOPRI slowly, as instructed by your healthcare provider. QT shortening: XCOPRI may cause problems with the electrical system of the heart (QT shortening). Call your healthcare provider if you have symptoms of QT shortening including fast heartbeat (heart palpitations) that last a long time or fainting. Suicidal behavior and ideation: Antiepileptic drugs, including XCOPRI, may cause suicidal thoughts or actions in a very small number of people, about 1 in 500. Call your health care provider right away if you have any of the following symptoms, especially if they are new, worse, or worry you: thoughts about suicide or dying; attempting to commit suicide; new or worse depression, anxiety, or irritability; feeling agitated or restless; panic attacks; trouble sleeping (insomnia); acting aggressive; being angry or violent; acting on dangerous impulses; an extreme increase in activity and talking (mania); or other unusual changes in behavior or mood. Nervous system problems: XCOPRI may cause problems that affect your nervous system. Symptoms of nervous system problems include: dizziness, trouble walking or with coordination, feeling sleepy and tired, trouble concentrating, remembering, and thinking clearly, and vision problems. Do not drive, operate heavy machinery, or do other dangerous activities until you know how XCOPRI affects you. Do not drink alcohol or take other medicines that can make you sleepy or dizzy while taking XCOPRI without first talking to your healthcare provider. DISCONTINUATION: Do not stop taking XCOPRI without first talking to your healthcare provider. Stopping XCOPRI suddenly can cause serious problems. Stopping seizure medicine suddenly in a patient who has epilepsy can cause seizures that will not stop (status epilepticus). DRUG INTERACTIONS: XCOPRI may affect the way other medicines work, and other medicines may affect how XCOPRI works. Do not start or stop other medicines without talking to your healthcare provider. Tell healthcare providers about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins and herbal supplements. PREGNANCY AND LACTATION: XCOPRI may cause your birth control medicine to be less effective. Talk to your health care provider about the best birth control method to use. Talk to your health care provider if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if XCOPRI will harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you become pregnant while taking XCOPRI. You and your healthcare provider will decide if you should take XCOPRI while you are pregnant. If you become pregnant while taking XCOPRI, talk to your healthcare provider about registering with the North American Antiepileptic Drug (NAAED) Pregnancy Registry. The purpose of this registry is to collect information about the safety of antiepileptic medicine during pregnancy. You can enroll in this registry by calling 1-888-233-2334 or go to www.aedpregnancyregistry.org. Talk to your health care provider if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if XCOPRI passes into breastmilk. Talk to your healthcare provider about the best way to feed your baby while taking XCOPRI. COMMON SIDE EFFECTS: The most common side effects in patients taking XCOPRI include dizziness, sleepiness, headache, double vision, and feeling tired. These are not all the possible side effects of XCOPRI. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away. For more information, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or at www.fda.gov/medwatch. DRUG ABUSE: XCOPRI is a federally controlled substance (CV) because it can be abused or lead to dependence. Keep XCOPRI in a safe place to prevent misuse and abuse. Selling or giving away XCOPRI may harm others and is against the law. INDICATION: XCOPRI is a prescription medicine used to treat partial-onset seizures in adults 18 years of age and older. It is not known if XCOPRI is safe and effective in children under 18 years of age. Please see additional patient information in the Medication Guide. This information does not take the place of talking with your healthcare provider about your condition or your treatment. Please see full Prescribing Information. About Epilepsy Epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological disorder. There are approximately 3.4 million people living with epilepsy in the United States, with 150,000 news cases each year in the country.2,3 Epilepsy is characterized by recurrent, unprovoked seizures. The seizures in epilepsy may be related to a brain injury or a family tendency, but often the cause is completely unknown. Having seizures and epilepsy can affect one's safety, relationships, work, driving, and much more.4,5 People with epilepsy are at risk for accidents and other health complications, including falling, drowning, depression and sudden unexplained death in epilepsy (SUDEP).4,5 Despite the availability of many antiepileptic therapies, almost 40 percent of people with epilepsy are not able to achieve seizure freedom, meaning they have epilepsy that remains uncontrolled.6 About SK Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. and SK Life Science, Inc. SK Biopharmaceuticals and its U.S. subsidiary SK Life Science are pharmaceutical companies focused on the research, development and commercialization of treatments for disorders of the central nervous system (CNS) and oncology. In 2017, SK Biopharmaceuticals established a research center to begin their expansion into oncology through research and development efforts. The companies have a pipeline of eight compounds in development in both CNS disorders and oncology. Additionally, SK Biopharmaceuticals is focused on the discovery of new treatments in oncology. For more information, visit SK Biopharmaceuticals' website at www.skbp.com/eng and SK Life Science's website at www.SKLifeScienceInc.com. Both SK Biopharmaceuticals and SK Life Science are part of SK Group, one of the largest conglomerates in Korea. SK Inc., the parent company of SK Biopharmaceuticals, continues to enhance its portfolio value by executing long-term investments with a number of competitive subsidiaries in various business areas, including pharmaceuticals and life science, energy and chemicals, information and telecommunication, and semiconductors. In addition, SK Inc. is focused on reinforcing its growth foundations through profitable and practical management based on financial stability, while raising its enterprise value by investing in new future growth businesses. XCOPRI and ONTOZRY are registered trademarks of SK Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. References Epilepsy Foundation. SUDEP. https://www.epilepsy.com/complications-risks/early-death-sudep. Accessed October 2023. Epilepsy Foundation. Who Can Get Epilepsy? https://www.epilepsy.com/learn/about-epilepsy-basics/who-gets-epilepsy. Accessed October 2023. Epilepsy Foundation. Facts & Statistics About Epilepsy. https://www.epilepsy.com/learn/about-epilepsy-basics/epilepsy-statistics. Accessed October 2023. Epilepsy Foundation. Staying Safe. https://www.epilepsy.com/learn/seizure-first-aid-and-safety/staying-safe. Accessed October 2023. Epilepsy Foundation. Complications and Risks. https://www.epilepsy.com/learn/challenges-epilepsy. Accessed October 2023. Chen Z, Brodie MJ, Liew D, Kwan P. Treatment outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed epilepsy treated with established and new antiepileptic drugs: a 30-year longitudinal cohort study. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29279892. Published online December 26, 2017. Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sk-life-science-to-host-symposium-and-present-new-data-at-the-american-epilepsy-society-aes-2023-annual-meeting-301998374.html SOURCE SK Life Science, Inc. Standard Chartered Will Provide e-CNY Services After Joining Chinas CBDC Pilot Program Standard Chartered, a prominent multinational bank based in the UK, has announced its participation in trials of China's digital currency, the e-CNY, making it one of the initial foreign banks to engage with the country's central bank digital currency (CBDC). In a statement issued on November 27, Standard Chartered disclosed its intention to facilitate e-CNY transactions for its clients, allowing them to purchase, exchange, and redeem the digital currency within their bank accounts through its partner, City Bank Clearing Services Co. Xiaolei Zhang, the President of Standard Chartered China, expressed confidence in the potential of the digital renminbi, highlighting the bank's longstanding presence in the Chinese market. Standard Chartered will also join China's ongoing pilot testing program for the e-CNY CBDC, which is presently being conducted in 26 cities and provinces. The bank's areas of focus during the trials include cross-border merchant payments, trade financing, and supply chain financing. In the previous year, Standard Chartered participated in a proof-of-concept project called the "Multilateral Central Bank Digital Currency Bridge" in Hong Kong, aiming to offer cross-border payment settlement services to retail and enterprise clients. Let us know what you loved about this article, what could be improved, or share any other feedback by filling out this short form. (Bloomberg) -- A loaded liquefied natural gas tanker is stuck at an export terminal in Australia and will disrupt some shipments, adding to supply concerns ahead of the Northern Hemisphere winter. Most Read from Bloomberg The vessel lost power at a berth at the Australia Pacific LNG facility, on Curtis Island in Queensland, and is currently unable to leave, Origin Energy Ltd. said Tuesday in a statement. Cesi Qingdao is moored at APLNG and had been scheduled to sail to Wenzhou, China, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. Only one LNG vessel is able to dock at the LNG facility at a time, said Origin, a part owner of the APLNG venture with ConocoPhillips and Sinopec. As a result, no other cargoes can be loaded until the situation is resolved. Two cargoes have been deferred from a delivery schedule for the financial year through June, and its expected that additional shipments will also be impacted, Origin said. We have assessed and planned for scenarios to best manage the supply through the APLNG facility while the situation is being resolved this includes deferring all cargoes as required, ConocoPhillips, which operates the plant and typically loads a vessel for export every three days, said in a separate statement. LNG prices in North Asia have held near $16 a million British thermal units over the past month, above their five-year seasonal average but about half the level in the previous two years, even as Europe built up unprecedented inventories. Sinopec, one of the APLNG owners, was contacting suppliers this week to check availability of prompt delivery cargoes to China, according to traders. However, there likely isnt much of a rush to replace shipments as demand in the region remains relatively weak heading into winter, the traders added. Cnooc, another Chinese buyer, was offering to sell a shipment from a different Australian plant for January. Story continues New outages, adverse weather or additional curbs on Russian gas could spur more price volatility and exacerbate global LNG supply risks, Bloomberg Intelligence said in a report this month. Australia is one of the worlds biggest suppliers of the fuel. Origin, which holds a 27.5% share in APLNG, fell as much as 1.3% in Sydney trading. Read More: Origin Top Investor Rejects Brookfields Low-Ball New Bid The Sydney-based utility, which runs onshore gas fields that feed the LNG facility, will reduce production and is taking steps to sell more into Australias domestic market. Origins board is currently considering a revised takeover proposal from a Brookfield Asset Management Ltd.-led group, under which EIG Global Energy Partners would acquire the companys stake in APLNG. Other LNG market news: Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. offers an LNG cargo for late-Dec. loading from the NLNG export project Developer Delfin Midstream Inc. announced signing a 15-year binding long-term sales and purchase agreement with trading house Gunvor Petronet delays deadline to Dec. 1 for a tender offering two cargoes for Dec. 25-Feb. 15 loading from the Kochi terminal in India Buy tenders: Sell tenders: (Updates with information from traders in the seventh paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. Tesla CEO Elon Musk handed the keys to the nation's first handful of Cybertruck owners on Thursday during a company event in which he described the steel-clad vehicles as the "most unique thing on the road." Musk also said the Cybertruck tows more weight than the strongest pickup truck and outperforms sports cars. The special steel used for the vehicle's exterior doesn't corrode and the windows on the Cybertruck are bullet-proof, he noted. "If you have an argument with another car, you will win," Musk said. The Cybertruck arrives as automakers like Ford, General Motors and Toyota are trying to drive down the price of their electric vehicles to appeal to a wider audience. To further entice car shoppers, automakers are expanding the number of EV charging stations across the U.S. How much will the Cybertruck cost? The Cybertruck starts at $60,990 for the rear-wheel drive model, which won't be available until 2025. The all-wheel drive version sporting 600 horsepower and offering a 340-mile range from one full battery charge will go for $79,990. The vehicle's highest-end model is priced at $99,990 and will offer 845 horsepower and 320-mile range from one full charge. "Launching Cybertruck is important for the broader Tesla growth story over the coming years and also will prove to the doubters that Musk can successfully expand the Tesla halo effect as more consumers head down the [electric vehicle] path over the coming years," Dan Ives, an analyst with Wedbush Securities, said in a report. The popularity of EVs has exploded in recent years as more automakers offer a wider variety of models and price points. The federal government is also offering tax credits for Americans who purchase certain EVs. Americans are on track to buy 1 million EVs this year for the first time in the vehicle segment's history, according to Cox Automotive. Tesla's new Cybertruck is shown on display at a Tesla store in San Diego, California, U.S., November 20, 2023. / Credit: Mike Blake/Reuters What makes the Cybertruck different? Story continues Until now, Tesla has made a name for itself by selling sleek sedans, including the Model S and the Model X. The Cybertruck is Tesla's first pickup truck. In terms of power, the Cybertruck can tow more than 11,000 pounds, Musk said Thursday. The interior seats six passengers and has a 17-inch touchscreen navigation for the driver. Yet while the Cybertruck's capabilities are impressive, "but the one-size-fits-all is not likely to sway dedicated full-size pickup buyers to jump to Tesla," said Brian Moody, executive editor of Cox Automotive's Kelley Blue Book and Autotrader. Tesla's new Cybertruck is shown on display at a Tesla store in San Diego, California, U.S., November 20, 2023. / Credit: Mike Blake/Reuters Where can I buy a Cybertruck? At least for now, the Cybertruck will only be available online through pre-order. But even through pre-order, it may be tough to get your hands on one in the immediate future. Musk said last month that it will take time to bring the Cybertruck to full-scale production because it's "one of those special products that comes along only once in a long while." "And special products that come along once in a long while are just incredibly difficult to bring to market to reach volume, to be prosperous," Musk said during a Q3 earnings call in October. Tesla will likely produce only between 2,000 and 3,000 Cybertrucks in Q4 of 2023, Wedbush said. Production will probably reach 10,000 units in the first half of 2024. Why is the Cybertruck critical to Tesla? The Cybertruck marks Tesla's entry into a lucrative segment within the electric vehicle market: full-sized pickup trucks. Sales and demand for EV pickups has been on the rise since late 2020, according to Cox data. This year, the Ram 1500 Rev is garnering the most attention, followed by Ford's F-150 Lightning, the Chevrolet Silverado EV, then GMC's Hummer EV and Rivian's R1T, according to Cox. Tesla's long-term growth depends on the company being able to offer different types of vehicles "as more consumers head down the EV path over the coming years," Wedbush analysts said. "While Cybertruck does not significantly move the financial needle for Tesla in fiscal year 2024, it further shows the innovation and mind share lead that Tesla has built with many original equipment manufacturer competitors around the world still on the treadmill stuck in neutral," Wedbush said in a note to investors. By Riddhima Talwani, Rishika Sadam, Aditi Shah and M. Sriram THANE/HYDERABAD/NEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) - Bhavish Aggarwal, India's answer to Elon Musk, is racing to roll out millions of electric scooters and speed his nation to a cleaner future. Some of his mechanics can't keep up, though. Aggarwal's Ola Electric, which he likens to Tesla in the West, is zipping towards a stock-market listing after going from zero to 338,000 e-scooter sales in about two years. The tech entrepreneur vows to banish the internal combustion engine (ICE) from India, where two-wheel vehicles rule the roads. We will "end the ICE age", the 38-year-old told Reuters ahead of the launch of new Ola e-scooters starting at about $1,000 on Aug. 15, Indian Independence day. He said the company, already valued at $5.4 billion, would quadruple its annual production capacity to 2 million e-scooters by early new year. Yet Ola's rapid ride faces a few potholes. Parts of the company's nationwide network of over 400 service hubs which maintain and repair its EVs are showing signs of strain after the surge in sales, according to Reuters visits to 35 centres in 10 states between July and October, plus interviews with 36 Ola service staff and 40 customers. Staff at more than half of those centres, mainly sites in the big metropolitan areas of Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru, said they had significant backlogs, with demand outstripping their workforce or their supply of spare parts, and repair waiting times ranging from three days to two weeks. At an Ola workshop in Thane, among the biggest of the 14 centres in the Mumbai region, more than 100 e-scooters awaiting repairs were visible outside in a clearing, many parked in a muddy clearing gathering dust and littered with bird droppings. Devendra Ghuge, a Thane service manager, told Reuters in late October that the number of cases the centre dealt with had risen from 200-300 to roughly 1,000 a month over the previous four months, with waiting times stretching up to two weeks. Story continues In January, Ola founder and CEO Aggarwal had pledged that customers would be able to bring their vehicles into a hub and receive same-day service in most cases. In the August interview, he said customers were "voting with their wallets every month" by snapping up Ola EVs. But he acknowledged service capacity issues and said Ola was "aggressively" bolstering its service network by adding 100 new centres and hiring more technicians. "We have the highest number of products on the market ... and we do have a scale-up required in our service network," he said. An Ola spokesperson said the Reuters reporting didn't accurately capture the scale and quality of the company's robust and growing service operations. Ravi Bhatia of auto consulting firm JATO Dynamics said a good service network was critical in India, the world's biggest two-wheeler market. Indians are new to tech-packed EVs that can be more sensitive to bumps and bashes than many conventional scooters and motorbikes, he added. India can indeed pose tough driving conditions, and two-wheelers are used by hundreds of millions of people to navigate roads that are often congested and riddled with potholes. Ola needs "to build the infrastructure for service accordingly, otherwise word-of-mouth will bite them," Bhatia said. 'TESLA FOR WEST, OLA FOR REST' Aggarwal often declares, "Tesla is for the West, Ola for the rest", and he's a man in a hurry. He says all new scooters and motorbikes sold in India could be electric by the end of 2025, a goal way ahead of the government's target of 70% of new two-wheeler sales being EVs by 2030. Two years since Ola's first e-scooter rolled off the line, the startup has established itself as the leader in India's two-wheeler EV market, with about a third of sales by volume. It has attracted marquee investors including Japan's SoftBank and Singapore's Temasek and is gearing up for a $700 million Indian IPO. Industry data shows sales of e-scooters nearly tripled to over 700,000 in the year to March versus the previous year, thanks to Ola and also rivals like Hero Electric and TVS Motor. Yet those sales were still a fraction of the 5.2 million new scooters and 10.2 million motorbikes sold in India, where EV adoption significantly lags countries like the U.S. and China, and charging infrastructure is in its infancy. HOW TO RIDE E-SCOOTERS Ghuge, the manager at Ola's Thane workshop, said reported service issues included battery drainages, software glitches and damaged wires. He put much of the service surge down to the fact Indians were inexperienced in driving e-scooters on the country's often poorly maintained roads, adding that many vehicles had been damaged after slipping on roads during monsoon season. "Electric vehicles are new to people so they aren't aware of how to ride the vehicle to maximise optimal output," he said. Customer Khubeb Koradia, 25, said the Thane centre took three weeks to fix software-related issues after his EV broke down in September. The workshop "looked like a scooter graveyard" he said, referring to the scores of vehicles parked outside. At the Ola centre in the city of Kochi, service manager Ronald Radhakrishnan told Reuters in August that its 17 staff were "unable to handle demand for repairs". Dozens of vehicles were parked outside the workshop, with some also in an area being used to park scooters across the road. 'GONE THROUGH THE ROOF' Some customers have found it tough to book a repair slot. Koradia shared a video with Reuters showing his attempt to book a slot on Oct. 31 for an e-scooter overheating problem. Seven of the nearest eight service centres to him in Mumbai rejected his request for repairs with the same message: "All slots for this location are full for the next few days." Hundreds of other Ola customers have also complained online about repair times or difficulties in finding servicing slots, according to a review of social media posts. Aggarwal is bullish about his business, though, saying last month his sales had "gone through the roof" in India's festive season, with an e-scooter being sold every 10 seconds. During his Reuters interview, he dismissed much of the online outcry on service issues as "mudslinging" by rivals, without elaborating. "A lot of what you hear and see need not actually be the truth," he said. (Reporting by Riddhima Talwani, Aditi Shah, Rishika Sadam and M. Sriram; Additional reporting by Arpan Chaturvedi, Anushree Fadnavis in New Delhi, Dhwani Pandya and Francis Mascerehnas in Mumbai, Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai, Varun Vyas and Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru, Jatindra Dash in Bhubaneswar, Saurabh Sharma in Lucknow, Sumit Khanna in Ahmedabad, Jose Devasia in Kochi and Fayaz Bukhari in Srinagar; Editing by Aditya Kalra and Pravin Char) (Reuters) -Britain's competition regulator said on Tuesday Photoshop owner Adobe's $20 billion buyout of cloud-based designer platform Figma could harm innovation for software used by the vast majority of UK digital designers. The deal would eliminate competition and remove Figma as a threat to Adobe's flagship Photoshop and Illustrator products, according to findings from an in-depth probe that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched in July, after Adobe refused to offer concessions to ease its concerns. "We are reviewing the provisional findings and will reengage with the CMA on the facts and merits of the case," Adobe said in a statement. The CMA said it was open to consult with interested parties on its provisional findings before making a final decision. The digital design sector is worth nearly 60 billion pounds to the UK, representing 2.7% of the national economy, and employs more than 850,000 people in highly skilled work, according to the CMA. The antitrust probe comes amid heightened regulatory scrutiny around the world on Big Tech acquisitions that boost the market power of dominant companies or involve startups seen as nascent rivals. The EU's competition watchdog had also expressed concerns about the Adobe-Figma deal, announced in September 2022. Adobe's chief counsel Dana Rao told Reuters earlier this month that the company was open to proposing remedies to resolve regulatory concerns. "We remain committed to the deal, confident in the facts, and convinced our proposed combination with Adobe is a win for consumers and should be approved," a Figma spokesperson said on Tuesday. Shares in U.S.-listed Adobe were down 0.6% in premarket trading. (Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Devika Syamnath) gorodenkoff / Getty Images A lot more Americans now have access to 100% mortgage financing thanks to a major expansion of home loans provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to low- and moderate-income households. See: Grant Cardone Reveals 6 Cities He Would Buy Investment Property in Right Now (and Where He Would Avoid) Discover: 3 Things You Must Do When Your Savings Reach $50,000 Effective October 1, 2023, the USDA added 1,131 new areas to its USDA mortgage footprint for 2024 while removing only 36, according to the Homebuyer.com website. The expansion comes amid a tough environment for house hunters due to the combination of high home prices, rising mortgage rates and low inventory. First-time home buyers can purchase USDA-eligible homes with 100% financing using the USDA Single-Family Guaranteed Loan Program. USDA loans, also known as Section 502 mortgages, let buyers purchase homes with no down payment, reduced mortgage insurance rates and mortgage rates that are 0.25% below conventional rates, Homebuyer.com noted. On its website, the USDA said eligible applicants must meet the following criteria: Income cannot exceed 115% of U.S. median household income Agree to personally occupy the dwelling as your primary residence Be a U.S. citizen, U.S. non-citizen national or qualified alien You must also live in an eligible rural area because USDA mortgages are intended for modest homes in non-urban regions. Providing affordable homeownership opportunities promotes prosperity, which in turn creates thriving communities and improves the quality of life in rural areas, the USDA stated on its website. An analysis by Homebuyer.com highlighted newly eligible USDA cities within commuting distance of major population centers ranging between 800,000 and 10 million residents. For its analysis, Homebuyer.com used data from the USDA, U.S. Census Bureau and Google Maps. Housing Market 2023: The 10 Most Overpriced Housing Markets in the US 5 Are in Florida If youre looking to buy a home within about an hours drive of a major metro area, here are 15 newly eligible smaller cities where you can get 100% USDA mortgage financing: Story continues Lake Los Angeles, California: The nearest big city is Los Angeles, 68.2 miles away Mecca, California: Nearest big city is Riverside, 88.7 miles Moapa Valley, Nevada: Nearest big city is Las Vegas, 60.1 miles Phelan, California: Nearest big city is San Bernardino, 31.2 miles Highland Oaks, Texas: Nearest big city is San Antonio, 25.8 miles Rancho Murieta, California: Nearest big city is Sacramento, 25.5 miles Wedgefield, Florida: Nearest big city is Orlando, 26.2 miles Harrisburg, Ohio: Nearest big city is Columbus, 16.2 miles Jacobson Estates, Texas: Nearest big city is Austin, 15.4 miles Marana, Arizona: Nearest big city is Tucson, 9 miles Farmersville, Texas: Nearest big city is Dallas, 43.6 miles Lanare, California: Nearest big city is Fresno, 28.8 miles Bedford, New York: Nearest big city is New York City, 47.5 miles Springville, New York: Nearest big city is Buffalo, 34.5 miles Frazier Park, California: Nearest big city is Santa Clarita, 43.4 miles More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: USDA Mortgage Loan Program Widens Footprint Here Are 15 Cities You Can Get 100% Financing SAN DIEGO, November 28, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ivy Fertility, a collaborative network of globally-renowned fertility clinics, welcomes Yetunde Ibrahim, MD to its team of physicians at Utah Fertility Center. Dr. Ibrahim is a board certified reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist. She is practicing in our Pleasant Grove location, and is now accepting new patients. "We are proud that Dr. Ibrahim has joined our team of reproductive endocrinologists," said Dierdre Conway, MD, Practice Director at Utah Fertility Center. "Not only is she an exceptional physician with world-class expertise, she is a compassionate and collaborative leader in our field. Her skill and kindness made her a natural fit for Utah Fertility Center." Dr. Ibrahim brings a wealth of past experience and expertise to the Ivy network. Dr. Ibrahim received her Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, where she graduated as Class Valedictorian. She received her medical degree from Duke University School of Medicine and completed her residency at Harvard Medical Schools Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Dr. Ibrahim completed her fellowship in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at the University of Utah School of Medicine. Most recently she served as Practice Director at UT Health San Antonios Reproductive Health and Fertility Center, as well as an Assistant Professor at the Universitys Long School of Medicine. Dr. Ibrahim has been recognized for her contributions as a clinician, and was named one of Texas Monthlys Super Doctors Rising Stars, as well as a Best San Antonio Doctor by Scene in San Antonio magazine. "I am delighted to join the team at Utah Fertility Center and continue to provide personalized and compassionate care to our patients," said Dr. Ibrahim. "I remain committed to helping patients achieve their reproductive goals while working with like-minded physicians in a collaborative and supportive network." Story continues About Ivy Fertility Ivy Fertility is globally recognized as pioneers and innovators in the field of advanced reproductive technologies, in-vitro fertilization, third-party reproduction, andrology, and fertility research. The Ivy Fertility network includes Fertility Associates of Memphis, Fertility Centers of Orange County, IVF Fertility Center, Los Angeles Reproductive Center, Nevada Center for Reproductive Medicine, Nevada Fertility Center, NOVA IVF, Pacific Northwest Fertility, Reproductive Partners Medical Group, San Diego Fertility Center, Utah Fertility Center, and Virginia Fertility & IVF. By developing new procedures, achieving scientific breakthroughs, and teaching the latest techniques, Ivy Fertility upholds its commitment to successful outcomes and continually contributes to the development of the entire fertility community. The Ivy team is passionate about its family-building mission and works tirelessly each day to help patients become parents. To learn more about Ivy Fertility, please visit www.ivyfertility.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231128068591/en/ Contacts Constance Rapson constance@ivyfertility.com Jason Eaton, a former Boy Scout leader charged with shooting three Palestinian college students, was fired from his financial services job just weeks before the violent attack. Eaton lost his job at CUSO Financial Services, where he worked less than a year, on Nov. 8, a spokesperson for the company told CNBC. They declined to say why Eaton was let go. We are horrified by the shooting, and are cooperating with law enforcement as they investigate, a spokesperson for the company said. Prior to his time at CUSO, Eaton worked for Ameritrade in Fayetteville, New York from May 2019 through March 2021, and before that for about a year at Edward Jones in East Syracuse, according to records maintained by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. He also previously served as an assistant scoutmaster with the Boy Scouts of America, according to online records. Jason James Eaton was last registered with the BSA in 2021 in Upstate New York as an Assistant Scoutmaster with a local unit. He is not currently a member of the BSA, the Boy Scouts of America said in a statement to ABC News. Upon learning of his arrest he has been banned from registering in Scouting [in] any capacity and will be proactively placed in the Volunteer Screening Database. On Monday, Eaton appeared in Vermont Superior Court via web conferencing. His attorney entered a not guilty plea on his behalf to three counts of attempted murder. Hes accused of gunning down Hisham Awartani, a junior at Brown University; Kinnan Abdalhamid, a student at Haverford College in Pennsylvania; and Tahseen Ahmed, a student at Trinity College in Connecticut. Two of the victims were sporting keffiyeh scarves typically worn by Palestinians, and the group was speaking a mix of English and Arabic when they were approached by the gunman Saturday afternoon, according to authorities. They were returning from a birthday party for the 8-year-old twin cousins of Awartani at time, his uncle, Rich Price, said at a news conference. Story continues Eaton was arrested Sunday night at his apartment in Burlington. Ive been waiting for you, Eaton told a federal agent as he answered the door, according to court documents cited by CNBC. A search of the residence later turned up a Ruger .380-caliber pistol and ammunition that matched the brand of shell casings found at the shooting scene in Burlington. Police said he purchased the weapon earlier this year. While a motive for the violence remains under investigation, Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad in a statement said authorities are taking current events into consideration. For the last seven weeks, Israel has been bombarding the Gaza Strip with rockets and ground attacks which have killed more than 11,000 Palestinians in retaliation for Hamas pre-dawn incursion on Oct. 7. Israeli officials said 1,200 people were killed in the raid and another 240 taken hostage. In this charged moment, no one can look at this incident and not suspect that it may have been a hate-motivated crime, he said Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger meanwhile called the triple shooting one of the most shocking and disturbing events in this citys history. David Yagger went to the doctor for a brain bleed and found out that he had a rare form of sinus cancer that necessitated specialty care. The Vietnam Veteran and his wife spent 54 days with a community of caring at the Cleveland Fisher House while undergoing radiation therapy. The staff at the Fisher House made sure that his birthday and their holidays were still special. David Yagger and his wife, Gloria, celebrated the holidays at the Cleveland VA Medical Center Fisher House David Yagger and his wife, Gloria, celebrated the holidays at the Cleveland VA Medical Center Fisher House Rockville, MD, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- This story is from Gloria and David Yagger. David is a veteran who was diagnosed with cancer that necessitated almost two months of treatment in Cleveland. The couple spent the entirety of the 2020-2021 holiday season at the Cleveland Fisher House. Here, David and Gloria share their story: David was diagnosed in August 2020 with adenoid Cystic Carcinoma and our life changed. After seeing several specialists, we were sent to Cleveland Clinic because he needed to see a deep skull surgeon. After several appointments, we were told that surgery wasnt an option and David would need 35 treatments of radiation. After meeting with a social worker, she suggested the Fisher House would be the best place for us to spend our 54 days in Cleveland. It is very hard to express in words what the Fisher House has done for my husband and myself. With masks, hand sanitizer, and all that goes along with the Covid19, we all endured. The staff of The Fisher House made all of the residents going through the same uncertainty feel like family. It was truly a blessing. Nick, one of the staff members, made us Thanksgiving dinner, a surprise spaghetti dinner (which included Nicks closely guarded secret meatball recipe) on a Sunday night and on New Year's Day he made shrimp scampi. Miss Henry and Drew surprised David on his birthday with balloons, muffins and a birthday song. The staff was so nice and just treated us like kings and queens. To have your own room, bathroom and access to a community kitchen was amazing. The refrigerator and freezer were always stocked with food to prepare our meals. Story continues We tried to keep to a routine as much as possible. We are frequent walkers, typically walking three to four miles a day at our home in Sinclairville, New York. The friends we made at the house walking daily outside when possible or up and down the halls of the home. They could never believe our age at the Fisher House. One of the residents wives said, When I grow up I want to be just like you guys. We loved helping the staff keep everything sanitized. We were able to help wipe down the counters and microwaves and kept our own room clean. Yolanda, one of the housekeepers, always told us that we didnt need to help, but it gave us something to pass the time and also to give back to the staff for all they did for us. When you are together with other people dealing with the same stress, it is such a blessing to have a place like the Fisher House to feel safe, loved, and blessed by so many wonderful people. God gave us the Fisher House during this time of our lives and we say THANK YOU. Attachment CONTACT: Michelle Horn Fisher House Foundation 240-599-2478 mhorn@fisherhouse.org Why Is Farfetch (FTCH) Stock Soaring Today What Happened: Shares of online luxury marketplace Farfetch (NYSE: FTCH) jumped 18.1% in the afternoon session after reports suggesting founder, Jose Neves, is considering taking the company private. According to The Telegraph, Neves is reportedly talking to bankers and major shareholders. Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and Swiss luxury conglomerate Richemont are said to be tentatively backing the move. The stock is likely trading higher due to the potential for shareholders to be paid a premium over the market price for their shares when the company goes private. Is now the time to buy Farfetch? Access our full analysis report here, it's free. What is the market telling us: Farfetch's shares are very volatile and over the last year have had 67 moves greater than 5%. But moves this big are very rare even for Farfetch and that is indicating to us that this news had a significant impact on the market's perception of the business. The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 3 months ago, when the stock dropped 31.9% on the news that the company reported second quarter results, which missed Wall Street's expectations for key metrics, including gross merchandise value (GMV), active customers, revenue, and adjusted EBITDA. Notably, revenue missed by a significant margin and growth also slowed. Looking ahead, the company lowered its full year GMV guidance meaningfully and also cut adjusted EBITDA guidance for the same period. During the earnings call, management highlighted macro challenges, explaining, "The reality is that the recovery has not been as robust as we had expected when we reported our Q1 results. And as a consequence, we have also reduced demand generation investment in this region. Like in the U.S., we believe this is not Farfetch specific as other luxury brands have similarly indicated China is not growing as quickly as previously expected after its reopening in December." Overall, the results were quite bad, with little to no major positives. Following the disappointing results, Wall Street analysts downgraded Farfetch's stock. KeyBanc analyst, Noah Zatzkin, lowered the stock's rating from Overweight (Buy) to Sector Weight (Hold), citing "a less clear path to profitability." Similarly, JP Morgan analyst, Doug Anmuth, lowered the stock's rating from Overweight (Buy) to Neutral (Hold) and slashed the price target from $15 to $6. Farfetch is down 52.6% since the beginning of the year, and at $2.09 per share it is trading 75.4% below its 52-week high of $8.50 from November 2022. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Farfetch's shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $93.17. Do you want to know what moves the stocks you care about? Add them to your StockStory watchlist and every time a stock we cover moves more than 5%, we provide you with a timely explanation straight to your inbox. It's free and will only take you a second. Xali Gold Corp. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Xali Gold Corp. (TSXV:XGC) ("Xali Gold or the Company) is pleased to advise that it has signed an Option Agreement (the Agreement) with Barrick Gold Corporation (Barrick) on the Tres Marias Property (Tres Marias or the Property) located in southern Peru. As per the Agreement, Barrick must pay Xali Gold US$175,000 over a 5-year period and spend $500,000 in exploration work to earn 100% of the Property subject to Xali Gold retaining a 1.5% Net Smelter Return (NSR) Royalty. Barrick retains the right to purchase 1% of the NSR Royalty, for a single one-time payment of US$750,000, which would decrease the NSR Royalty from 1.5% to 0.5%. Xali Golds history in the area dates as far back as 2002 when the Candente Resources Peru team recognized a superposition of both high and low-sulfidation styles of mineralization, alteration and geochemical anomalies, which manifested in both high-grade vein hosted silver mineralization as well as potential for bulk tonnage high-sulfidation style gold mineralization, says Joanne Freeze, President and CEO of Xali Gold. We are very excited to have Barrick as our partner for this project in Peru as they have excellent technical skills and aggressive exploration plans for the area. Tres Marias is located within an emerging epithermal gold, silver and polymetallic belt of southern Peru (view map at https://xaligold.com/projects/peru/tres-marias-peru/maps/) which includes several new mines and discoveries by Barrick, Minas Buenaventura, Gold Fields, Aruntani and Bear Creek and is considered one of the fastest growing precious metal mining districts in Peru. A northwesterly trend extends over 200 kilometers (km) and a northeasterly trend covers approximately 60 km so far. Xali Gold holds a 100% interest in the Tres Marias Property and has identified many exploration targets for both gold and silver mineralization. Three veins have been found to contain high grades of silver (Ag) with lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) mineralization. Anomalous gold levels also occur in high sulphidation style alteration surrounding the veins and are associated with rhyolite domes. Historic mine workings (collapsed) and remnants of a small smelting furnace are believed to date back to the time of Spanish explorers in the late 1800s. The low sulfidation system comprises three vein systems within a northwest trending system traced to date over 700 metres (m) in strike length. Story continues The three main known veins show a fan-like outcrop pattern converging on the Casua claim, making it a highly prospective exploration target. The most prolific vein found to date, the Pataquena, has seen only minimal near surface exploitation and exploration. It has now been traced for over one kilometer and remains open to the north and south. Silver values from surface sampling and historic mine dump piles are detailed in Tables 1 and 2 below. Table 1: Grabs from Historic Mine Dump Piles Width* Silver (Oz/t) Silver (g/t) Lead (%) Zinc (%) N/A 31.18 1,069 >10.00 1.88 N/A 38.20 1,310 8.55 1.42 N/A 15.60 535 7.56 2.14 N/A 68.08 2,334 0.27 1.19 N/A 67.99 2,331 0.28 1.89 N/A 60.41 2,071 3.63 1.70 * Selected samples with no true width Table 2: Chip Samples from Outcrop Width (m) Silver (Oz/t) Silver (g/t) Lead (%) Zinc (%) 1.00 11.03 378 2.05 0.07 0.40 14.67 503 0.18 0.01 0.10 13.88 476 0.54 0.11 0.50 8.25 283 >10.00 1.59 0.20 23.80 816 2.63 3.10 Mexico Assets The El Oro Project remains a highly valued asset of the Company with past production of 8 million ounces gold equivalent (gold-silver 1:10) and excellent discovery potential, however exploration focus for El Oro has been temporarily put on hold. The Company is now focused on building local partnerships for our two assets in Mexico, the El Oro Tailings and the San Dieguito de Arribas Plant located in Acaponeta, Nayarit. Both assets have excellent potential to provide near-term cash flow. About Xali Gold Xali Gold has gold and silver projects in Peru and Mexico. El Oro is a district scale gold project encompassing a well-known prolific high-grade gold dominant gold-silver epithermal vein system in Mexico. The project covers 20 veins with past production and more than 57 veins in total, from which approximately 6.4 million ounces of gold and 74 million ounces of silver were reported to have been produced from just two of these veins (Ref. Mexico Geological Service Bulletin Nr. 37, Mining of the El Oro and Tlapujahua Districts. 1920, T. Flores). Modern understanding of epithermal vein systems indicates that several of the El Oro districts veins hold excellent discovery potential, particularly below and adjacent to the historic workings of the San Rafael Vein, which was mined to an average depth of only 200m. Xali Gold is dedicated to being a responsible Community partner. Joanne C. Freeze, P.Geo., President, CEO and Matthew Melnyk, CPG., Director Operations, are Qualified Persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101 for the projects discussed above. Ms. Freeze and Mr. Melnyk have reviewed and approved the contents of this release. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-looking Information This news release may contain forward-looking information (as such term is defined under Canadian securities laws) including but not limited to the mineral resource estimate for the Mexico Mine Tailings and information regarding references to historical resource estimates, the potential for discovery on the El Oro Property and other statements that are not historical facts. While such forward-looking information is expressed by Xali Gold in good faith and believed by Xali Gold to have a reasonable basis, they address future events and conditions and are therefore subject to inherent risks and uncertainties including those set out in Xali Golds MD&A. Factors that cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking information include, without limitation, gold prices, results of exploration and development activities, regulatory changes, defects in title, availability of materials and equipment, timeliness of government approvals, potential environmental issues, availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. Xali Gold expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. On behalf of the Board of Xali Gold Corp. Joanne Freeze P.Geo. President, CEO and Director For further information please contact: Joanne Freeze, President & CEO Tel: + 1 (604) 689-1957 info@xaligold.com NR 125 A former Tri-Lakes area pastor pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual exploitation of a child on Monday, but, despite the plea, the case may not be heading to trial. Jonathan Shaheen, 30, is accused of receiving sexually explicit images of two underage girls one 9 and the other 5 years old from a couple in New Mexico in 2022, according to an arrest affidavit. The affidavit states that Shaheen expressed interest via text message in having sexual intercourse with the two children as well as their mother, who was sending the photos to Shaheen. The FBI discovered Shaheen's contact with the couple in their cellphone while executing a search warrant at the New Mexico couple's home. On Monday morning, Shaheen appeared in court for an arraignment hearing where his attorney, Joshua Lindley, requested a continuance to allow additional time to negotiate a plea deal with the prosecution. Sign up for free: Springs AM Update Your morning rundown of the latest news from Colorado Springs and around the country overnight and the stories to follow throughout the day delivered to your inbox each evening. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. Judge Jill Brady initially granted the request for a continuance, but, due to scheduling conflicts for Lindley on potential new arraignment dates, the court and attorneys instead agreed to have Shaheen plead not guilty and keep negotiations ongoing prior to trial. Brady informed the attorneys that, if an agreement is reached prior to trial, a plea hearing can be scheduled at that time. Shaheen is now scheduled to go to trial on March 12, but will return to court prior to that for a pretrial readiness conference on March 4. Shaheen appeared to court on Monday out of custody after posting a $40,000 bond to be released the day of his arrest. According to a LinkedIn profile under the same name, Shaheen was employed as the general manager of the School of Rock in northern Colorado Springs and has worked as a pastor at TimberCreek Church. By Kirsty Needham SYDNEY (Reuters) - China has urged Australia to notify it of navy movements in the contested South China Sea and East China Sea, with a senior Chinese official cautioning that a small incident between militaries could escalate and damage ties. Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last week said a Chinese warship acted in a dangerous manner by using its sonar during an incident with an Australian navy vessel in Japan's waters that injured a military diver. The same Australian vessel, Toowoomba, began joint patrols with the Philippines in the South China Sea for the first time on Saturday, amid rising tensions between Beijing and Manila over a disputed shoal. Speaking in Sydney on Tuesday, the head of the international department of the Chinese Communist Party, Liu Jianchao, said the sonar incident took place in waters where there is a dispute between Japan and China, and questioned why the Australian navy was there. Liu, who denied China had harmed Australian navy personnel, called for "any kind of pre-consultations or notification" to prevent misunderstandings from happening between two militaries. "Such small incidents could really escalate if it's not properly managed," he said, referring to public emotions. He was speaking in response to questions at an event hosted by the Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology, Sydney. Liu said the presence of Australia's navy vessels appeared to be a statement about China's policies in the South China Sea. "The reason why the Australian naval ships were there was really to contain China - so that is the message that we have been getting", he said. He urged the Australian government and military to "act with great prudence in this area". Australia has previously said it respects the right of all states to exercise freedom of navigation and overflight in accordance with international law. Two-thirds of Australian trade passes through the South China Sea. This month Albanese made the first visit by an Australian leader to China in seven years, after efforts by both sides to stabilize the relationship. Liu said he hoped Australia could revise its screening of Chinese investment on national security factors. Two rare earth investments by Chinese companies have been blocked by the Foreign Investment Review Board this year, and Australia has sought greater investment in the sector by the United States. (Reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan) By Doina Chiacu, Gram Slattery and Alexandra Ulmer WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The conservative U.S. political network led by billionaire Charles Koch on Tuesday endorsed Nikki Haley for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, giving the former South Carolina governor a boost among party rivals struggling to make a dent against frontrunner Donald Trump. The influential group, which pushes for tax cuts and less government regulation, has made clear that beating former President Trump in the Republican nominating contest is a top priority, arguing that he would lose the November election to President Joe Biden. The Democrat beat incumbent Trump in the 2020 White House race. In addition to controlling tens of millions of dollars for campaign spending, the Koch-affiliated Super PAC known as Americans for Prosperity Action, or AFP Action, has thousands of staffers throughout the country who will now promote Haley among potential voters. Among Haley's main weaknesses, according to her campaign operatives, has been a relatively underdeveloped network of campaign workers and allies in the early voting state of Iowa. It is far from clear that the AFP endorsement will be a game changer, given that Trump leads his Republican rivals by more than 40 points in most national polls. About 10% of Republican primary voters support Haley, according to a polling average maintained by poll-tracking website FiveThirtyEight. But the endorsement could tip the scales in favor of Haley in a tight battle with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for the No. 2 slot. Around 13% of primary voters support DeSantis, according to FiveThirtyEight. It could also help her persuade other major donors to get behind her. Many big-dollar donors have been considering supporting Haley for months, but have held off amid concerns she is simply too far behind Trump. "The Kochs have a tremendous following," said Texas-based Republican donor Fred Zeidman, a top Haley fundraiser. DESANTIS PUSHBACK The group said its internal polling indicates Haley is in the best position to defeat Trump in the Republican primary. It also "consistently shows" that Haley is the strongest candidate by far to beat Biden in a general election, it said. "We would support a candidate capable of turning the page on Washington's toxic culture and a candidate who can win. And last night, we concluded that analysis," AFP Action said in a statement. DeSantis supporters have disputed those assertions, saying he is better positioned to siphon supporters away from Trump than Haley is. Haley is beating DeSantis, however, in some of the states that are first to select a Republican nominee. "Every dollar spent on Nikki Haley's candidacy should be reported as an in-kind to the Trump campaign," DeSantis spokesman Andrew Romeo wrote on X on Tuesday. Trump campaign adviser Steven Cheung responded to the AFP endorsement with a swipe at Haley's foreign policy positions. AFP Action has endorsed a "pro-China, open borders, and globalist candidate," Cheung said. While Haley, who was U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Trump, has staked out a significantly more hawkish position on China than her 2024 rivals, the DeSantis and Trump camps have criticized her for welcoming Chinese investment into South Carolina while governor. The Koch endorsement marks a turnaround from the previous two presidential cycles, which the Kochs broadly sat out. DeSantis had been under active consideration for an endorsement, but his disappointing campaign turned off AFP Action, two sources with knowledge of those deliberations said. AFP Action raised more than $70 million to spend on political races, an official with the group said in July. Super PACs are allowed to raise and spend unlimited sums supporting candidates as long as they don't coordinate with campaigns. Emily Seidel, a senior adviser at AFP Action, told reporters on Tuesday the group would dedicate significant resources to getting out the vote for the Republican primaries, including encouraging general election voters to vote in the primaries for the first time. During the 2022 congressional elections, AFP Action says it made more than 2 million phone calls, knocked on 5.5 million doors and sent more than 69 million pieces of mail. The Democratic National Committee said Haley checks all the Koch group's boxes: "slashing taxes for the ultra-wealthy, gutting Social Security and Medicare, and ripping health care away from millions of Americans. (Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Gram Slattery in Washington and Alexandra Ulmer in San Francisco; Editing by Ross Colvin and Alistair Bell) The Department of Justice has ramped up its pursuit of activists who target abortion clinics during the Biden administration. Prosecutions under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act have multiplied since President Joe Biden took office, and while the law was written to protect those on both sides of the abortion debate, the DOJ has leveled FACE Act charges against abortion opponents in nearly every instance in which it has invoked the law. RETIREMENT RUINS: FOUR SEATS REPUBLICANS EXPECT TO PICK UP AMID EXODUS FROM CONGRESS Abortion clinics and anti-abortion facilities have been subjected to Molotov cocktails, smashed windows, threatening messages, and more in recent years. The pro-abortion National Abortion Federation and the anti-abortion Family Research Council have reported upticks in these types of attacks amid the Supreme Court's landmark decision last year in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. The spikes in aggression coincide with the DOJ bringing at least 15 criminal cases under the FACE Act involving approximately 46 anti-abortion defendants since January 2021, according to federal data and court records. The victims in all but one of those cases were on the pro-abortion side. The Trump administration's DOJ brought five single-defendant criminal cases under the FACE Act, according to the same data. The law, passed in 1994, makes it a federal crime to physically obstruct, injure, or intimidate those who are giving or receiving "reproductive health services," which include services related to pregnancy and abortion. It also makes damaging the property of abortion clinics, pregnancy resource centers, and churches illegal. The Lennon Pregnancy Center (Lennon Pregnancy Center/Facebook) But critics say the Biden administration has selectively applied the law to anti-abortion advocates and failed to respond adequately to dozens of attacks by pro-abortion advocates on reproductive facilities that offer alternatives to the procedure. Biden's DOJ has secured numerous FACE Act convictions. A man in California carried out nearly a dozen pellet gun ambushes on a Pasadena Planned Parenthood in 2021, resulting in repeated damage to the facility. No one was injured in the attacks. The man pleaded guilty to two felonies, including a FACE Act charge, and was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison. Christopher Moscinski, a Franciscan friar also known as Father Fidelis Moscinski, temporarily shut down a Long Island Planned Parenthood in July 2022 by chaining bike locks and padlocks to its entrances. When authorities sawed the main gate's lock open, Moscinski laid down in front of the gate, preventing cars from entering the property. "At least I slowed them down some. I slowed them down a little bit today," Moscinski said as police arrested him, according to court documents. Moscinski, who had prior convictions for similar conduct, pleaded not guilty but was convicted of one FACE Act charge in a bench trial this year and sentenced to six months in prison. Some more controversial cases have, however, gained national prominence. Anti-abortion activist Lauren Handy, who police discovered last year had five aborted fetuses in her apartment, led nine others to force their way into a Washington, D.C., abortion clinic in 2020 and form a blockade with chains, locks, and their bodies. One nurse stumbled and sprained her ankle as a result of the incident. The defendants traveled from outside states and ranged from 25 to 75 years old. One defendant in the case pleaded guilty to a FACE Act charge and received 10 months in prison. The remaining nine, including Handy, were convicted of FACE Act and conspiracy charges in trials and are awaiting their sentencing. They face up to 11 years in prison and $250,000 in fines. Handy said she was protesting the clinic of Dr. Cesare Santangelo, an abortionist the advocacy group Live Action recorded during an undercover operation as saying he "would not help" a baby in the rare event the baby was born alive during a late-term abortion procedure. Lauren Handy, front, with Terrisa Bukovinac, from left, Jonathan Darnell, and Randall Terry, speak during a news conference in Washington, April 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File) Separately, a case against abortion opponent Mark Houck, a Catholic father of seven, captured national attention after the DOJ charged him with violating the FACE Act and a jury later roundly rejected the charges, unanimously finding Houck innocent in a one-hour deliberation process. Houck had been standing at the opposite end of the block from the entrance of a Philadelphia Planned Parenthood in October 2021 with his then-12-year-old son for "sidewalk counseling," during which he would meet with distraught pregnant women. A facility volunteer left the Planned Parenthood entrance and approached Houck multiple times. Houck said that during the confrontations, the man used harassing and vulgar language directed at his son, prompting Houck to tell the man to walk away. When the man persisted, Houck pushed him away, leading the man to fall to the ground. Surveillance footage corroborated Houck's account of the incident. Sign up for free: Springs AM Update Your morning rundown of the latest news from Colorado Springs and around the country overnight and the stories to follow throughout the day delivered to your inbox each evening. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. While the DOJ's charges alone raised eyebrows among abortion opponents, the heavy-handed nature of his arrest also sparked outrage, as Houck had no criminal past and no history of noncompliance with law enforcement. The FBI and local officers made a show of force when executing the arrest warrant for Houck one morning nearly a year after the incident occurred. Armed agents surrounded Houck's house and, according to Houck, pointed guns at him in front of his wife and young children during the process. Attorney Roger Severino, who worked as a trial lawyer in the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division from 2008 to 2015, said during an interview that the DOJ lost in Houck's case because of the department's "overreach." "They don't want to get to the truth," Severino said. "They want to send a message, post-Dobbs, that abortion is their most important value and anybody that opposes it needs to get out of the way or face some form of prosecution one way or another." He observed that the department was "going after grandmothers and fathers" while "turning a complete blind eye to the dozens of church vandalisms and church burnings in the wake of Dobbs." They "moved heaven and earth to find J6 people," Severino added, in reference to the more than 1,200 people who have been charged over the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. He said that while the DOJ has prosecutorial discretion, he believes the department has "absolutely abused" that. The FBI said this year it could investigate pro-abortion activists under FACE Act charges, domestic violent extremism, or other violent crime charges, depending on the offenses in question. The bureau offered $25,000 rewards for information on some of the attacks on nonprofit groups that oppose abortion. The rewards related to a series of incidents that occurred shortly after the Dobbs decision, including anonymous offenders tagging a Colorado counseling center with threatening graffiti that read, "If abortions aren't safe, neither are you," and throwing a small firebomb at an Oregon Right to Life building. On June 25, 2022, a Life Choices building in Longmont, Colorado, was vandalized and sustained fire and smoke damage as the result of an arsonist. (FBI) Some Republican lawmakers have been incensed by what they see as the Biden administration's one-sided use of FACE Act prosecutions, and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) are among those pushing to repeal it. Tom McClusky, CatholicVote director of government affairs, believes the law is unconstitutional and has been urging Congress to repeal it for roughly two decades. He noted other laws already exist to prosecute people for offenses like trespassing, vandalism, and assault. He, like Severino, said he found it "remarkable" that the DOJ has, in his view, lacked the urgency to look into the destruction and vandalism of anti-abortion facilities and churches and argued that the department would typically pursue attacks of that nature with vigor if they were targeted at any other demographic. "The Biden administration and the Democratic Party have been trying to pursue any avenue, and in many cases law-be-damned, to show that they're defending abortion and not defending the life issue," McClusky said. Attorney General Merrick Garland has made FACE Act enforcement a priority, and Severino and McClusky said they believe he has unequivocally been the most aggressive with it. The DOJ notes on its website that its enforcement of the law is "not about abortions" and that it "protects all patients, providers, and facilities that provide reproductive health services, including pro-life pregnancy counseling services." Garland emphasized this point in March when confronted by Lee about how the DOJ's prosecutions were heavily lopsided in favor of pro-abortion advocates, but the attorney general contended that the attacks on abortion providers were merely easier cases to prosecute. "I will say you are quite right," Garland said. "There are many more prosecutions with respect to the blocking of the abortion centers, but that is generally because those actions are taken with photography at the time, during the daylight, and seeing the person who did it is quite easy." CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER The attorney general explained that "those who are attacking the pregnancy resource centers, which is a horrid thing to do, are doing this at night, in the dark. We have put full resources on this. We have put rewards out for this. The Justice Department and the FBI have made outreach to Catholic and other organizations to ask for their help in identifying the people who are doing this." He added, "We will prosecute every case against a pregnancy resource center that we can make." Original Location: Abortion opponents see sharp rise in FACE Act charges under Biden administration Washington Examiner Videos Chicago will start to build an immigrant tent camp in Brighton Park this week after construction was stalled over chemical contamination and protesters staging multiple rallies at the site. On Tuesday, workers will start to lay down materials and take measurements for the construction process, according to Ronnie Reese, spokesman for Mayor Brandon Johnson. FEDERAL COURT TO WEIGH AMTRAK BID TO TAKE DC'S UNION STATION IN EMINENT DOMAIN CASE Local Alderwoman Julia Ramirez for the 12th Ward said this weekend that Johnson's office informed her construction on the tent camp would begin Monday. However, the city said building would start at a later date, noting the equipment for the work at the site would be delivered Monday and first steps would take place Tuesday. Last month, the city of Chicago signed a land use contract with the owners of a vacant lot in Southwest Side's Brighton Park neighborhood to build the first immigrant tents in the city. Ramirez, a Democrat, opposed the deal, saying it was agreed upon without informing the community. Since the city signed the contract, neighborhood residents in Roseland and Brighton Park have clashed with Chicago officials, protesting the tent camp at 38th Street and California Avenue, which is expected to house 2,000 immigrants. Last month, Ramirez and an aide were battered by protesters during a demonstration against plans for the immigrant tent camp. Ramirez called the experience "disappointing" in a press statement and said "the protesters did not want to engage in a peaceful dialogue" with her. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER Sign up for free: Springs AM Update Your morning rundown of the latest news from Colorado Springs and around the country overnight and the stories to follow throughout the day delivered to your inbox each evening. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. Other concerns have been raised regarding the land's long history of industrial use and the health threats potentially contaminated soil may pose to the immigrants. City officials performed environmental tests on the land and said it appears to be usable for the camp, while Ramirez said last week City Hall plans to clean up heavy metal contamination. More than 3,000 immigrants are living in police stations across the city and at O'Hare International Airport, with over 12,000 immigrants living in the city's 26 active shelters as of this week. Since August 2022, over 20,000 immigrants have arrived in Chicago, largely from Gov. Greg Abbott's (R-TX) immigrant busing program, according to city data. Original Location: Construction of Chicago's first immigrant tent camp at Brighton Park set to start after delays Washington Examiner Videos Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) showed off his best tree-hugging technique in an effort to raise awareness for protecting the environment. Hickenlooper shared an image of himself hugging greenery and emphasized the need to "protect" the planet in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, on Monday night. 'DISAPPOINTED' BIDEN APOLOGIZED AFTER SHOWING SKEPTICISM ABOUT HAMAS DEATH TOLL CLAIMS "We only have one planet let's protect it!" Hickenlooper wrote. The post received a mixed reception on the platform, with some users confused as to why he was hugging a wall of greenery rather than a tree and others confused about the context of the Monday night post. The Colorado Democrat's post did not elaborate further, but it does come ahead of the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP28, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, later this week. Sign up for free: Springs AM Update Your morning rundown of the latest news from Colorado Springs and around the country overnight and the stories to follow throughout the day delivered to your inbox each evening. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER The major climate change conference is expected to include several world leaders, including British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Pope Francis. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are some of the international leaders not expected to attend. Biden is slated to meet with the president of Angola and attend the National Tree Lighting ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Thursday instead of attending the U.N. climate conference. He had previously attended the conference since being inaugurated as president in 2021 and 2022. Hickenlooper previously attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2021, where he pushed for several climate-related initiatives. Original Location: Democratic senator hugs green wall in bid to 'protect' planet Washington Examiner Videos A growing number of Democrats in the House and the Senate are voicing their openness to placing conditions on future aid to Israel with the goal of reducing the number of civilian casualties in Gaza in the wake of Hamas's attack on Israeli civilians last month. The shift is the latest divide among Democrats over the war in Gaza as lawmakers face increasing pressure from liberal constituents and pro-Palestinian activists to address the humanitarian crisis. Israel and Hamas extended a temporary ceasefire to allow more hostages to be released from Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and a halt in fighting. NEW HOME SALES FELL IN OCTOBER AS HOUSING MARKET HIT BY HISTORIC MORTGAGE RATES President Joe Biden has called for an extra $14.3 billion in aid for the country, on top of the $3.8 billion the United States usually appropriates every year. Lawmakers are preparing to consider approving more U.S. aid to Israel in the coming weeks, although there appears to be deep uncertainty about the path forward as some Democrats are becoming more vocal about conditioning funding for Israel on its government taking steps to stop the fighting. Senate Democrats plan to discuss the idea further at their weekly lunch on Tuesday, according to multiple Democrats. "I do not support simply giving $14 billion to Israel without any conditions at all, so I think it's an issue that needs to be debated," said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) after a meeting with senior Israel Defense Forces officials on Monday. A sign is seen at a news conference outside the White House on Nov. 27, 2023. Tom Williams/AP Last week, a group of liberals, including Sanders, asked Biden and Congress to end the "blank check approach" and make annual aid to Israel conditional on an end to the bombing in Gaza and a freeze on settlements in the West Bank. "The Netanyahu government, or hopefully a new Israeli government, must understand that not one penny will be coming to Israel from the U.S. unless there is a fundamental change in their military and political positions," Sanders said last week. Biden acknowledged these comments on conditioning aid Friday, saying the proposal was "a worthwhile thought" when speaking with reporters, but said there wouldn't be as much progress if he had "started off with that." Last month, the White House appeared to signal it was rethinking its unwavering support for Israel. Biden privately apologized to Muslim leaders last month after expressing doubt about the number of people the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said had been killed in the war between Israel and Hamas. "I'm sorry. I'm disappointed in myself," he reportedly said. "I will do better." National security adviser Jake Sullivan dodged questions about whether the administration would support adding conditions to Israel aid on network news shows on Sunday, but he didn't directly oppose the idea. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, appeared to endorse the idea of including stipulations on money appropriated for Israel. "When we appropriate funds to a beta in the Asia Pacific or to the Air Force or to HUD, there are requirements, and I don't think money to help Israel should be an exception to the general practice that the Congress has in describing how they want the money and how they expect the money to be spent," Schatz said on Monday night. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has not ruled out the idea of placing conditions on Israel aid. According to the Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza, about 13,300 Palestinians have been killed. Sign up for free: Springs AM Update Your morning rundown of the latest news from Colorado Springs and around the country overnight and the stories to follow throughout the day delivered to your inbox each evening. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. "We regularly condition our aid to allies based upon compliance with U.S. law and international law. And, so, I think it's very consistent with the ways in which we have dispensed aid, especially during wartime, to allies, for us to talk about making sure that the aid we give Ukraine or the aid we give Israel is used in accordance with human rights laws," Murphy said during an appearance on CNN over the weekend. "I do believe that the level of civilian harm inside Gaza has been unacceptable and is unsustainable," he added. Some Senate Democrats have previously raised concerns to Biden over Israel's military operations in Gaza that have resulted in a growing death toll for Palestinian civilians. A group sent a letter, led by Democratic members of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committee, requesting the administration brief them on how Israel was carrying out military operations in an effort to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza but stopped short of calling for a ceasefire. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) dodged questions from reporters on Monday night, asking whether he could support putting conditions on aid to Israel. "We sent a letter, as you know. Twenty-six of us sent a letter to the president, asking certain questions about the assistance, and we are looking forward to their response as we consider next steps," Van Hollen said. Following the meeting on Monday night, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said Israeli officials "did some good in explaining the challenges in conducting this war against Hamas." "There was no question about the solidarity and support of Israel, even if there were some critical comments," Blumenthal said. Other Democrats are making the case that aid to Israel should be supplied without any conditions. "A resolution that would allow for the end of hostilities must not only include the release of all illegally-abducted Israeli hostages but also the full military and political surrender by Hamas and its removal from Gaza," said Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) in a statement on Monday. "Unless those conditions are met, the United States must continue to support Israel's just and legitimate defense of its borders and its people against a terrorist enemy dedicated to its annihilation. This support must include urgent supplemental aid to Israel without conditions, as requested by President Biden, so that we can unite in support of our close ally without any domestic political brinksmanship," he added. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said he intends to bring the president's national security bill to the floor as soon as next week. "I want to be clear that aid to Israel, Ukraine, humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza and the Indo-Pacific are all related and demand bipartisan cooperation," Schumer said, speaking on the Senate floor on Monday. "We don't have the luxury to pick and choose our national security challenges." Original Location: More Democrats open door to conditions on aid to Israel Washington Examiner Videos Socialite and businesswoman Paris Hilton cheered on social media that more Republicans had joined her efforts to push stronger oversight for troubled youth residential treatment programs that may provide abusive environments for minors. "Hi, Senator Schumer, it's Paris Hilton. I hope you're doing well. I'm so excited to share that we got 10 Republican co-sponsors on this Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act. We have so much momentum and hope that you can uphold your promise of helping pass this legislation this year," Hilton said in a social media post directed at Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Monday. WHAT TO KNOW AS OPEC+ WEIGHS EXTENDING OR DEEPENING SUPPLY CUTS THROUGH 2024 She continued, "It's deeply important for me to protect troubled youth and troubled teen facilities. So grateful for your continued support." The New York senator responded, giving thanks to Hilton. "Thank you, @ParisHilton! I look forward to continuing to work together to pass the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act!" Schumer said on social media. Hilton has been open about her own experience of abuse as a teenager. "As a teenager placed in congregate care facilities I endured unspeakable abusesverbal, physical, mental, emotionalthat no child should ever have to go through. For the first time, I told the public how this trauma has carried into my adulthood, after making a promise to myself to never speak my truth. The truth has set me free," she says on her website. She adds, "These institutions are meant for healing and therapy, but the lack of oversight and regulation of these facilities have led to abuse for hundreds of thousands of young people. I am no longer ashamed of my past. I stand by all abuse survivors and I am fighting to protect children for generations to come. I am turning my pain into purpose." Sign up for free: Springs AM Update Your morning rundown of the latest news from Colorado Springs and around the country overnight and the stories to follow throughout the day delivered to your inbox each evening. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. Last week, Hilton shared that Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Katie Britt (R-AL), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), and Pete Ricketts (R-NE) had joined in sponsoring the legislation. The bill was originally authored by Sens. Cornyn, Tuberville, Merkley, Rep. Ro Khanna (R-CA), (D-CA), and Rep. Earl Carter (R-GA) and was introduced earlier this year on April 27. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER Hilton has publicly shared her story of how she was a rebellious 16-year-old teenager and resented being the victim of a "parent-approved kidnapping" where she was forcibly taken from her home to a congregate care facility. She shared that she was the victim of abuse while attending a boarding school in Utah. The reality star has advocated this cause and has regularly met with senators to fight for means by which to end the abuse. Original Location: Paris Hilton praises Republicans for joining her push for the bipartisan Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act Washington Examiner Videos Pope Francis will not be attending a climate conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, this week after doctors ordered the aging leader to skip the conference due to health problems, the Holy See Press Office said Tuesday. The pope was expected to attend the conference this week despite canceling several other meetings and presenting the homily in the Vatican virtually on Sunday. The Vatican has said the Catholic leader has inflammation in his lungs and a mild flu. BIDEN'S 'PATHETIC' NEW HAMPSHIRE CAMPAIGN ALLOWING DEAN PHILLIPS TO MAKE A 'SPLASH': SUNUNU "Although the Holy Father's general clinical picture has improved with regard to his flu-like condition and inflammation of the respiratory tract, doctors have asked the Pope not to make the trip planned for the coming days to Dubai for the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change," Matteo Bruni, the director of the Holy See Press Office, said in a statement obtained by ABC News. Francis went to Rome's Gemelli Hospital for tests on Saturday and tested negative for any respiratory problems except the mild flu. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER Sign up for free: Springs AM Update Your morning rundown of the latest news from Colorado Springs and around the country overnight and the stories to follow throughout the day delivered to your inbox each evening. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. Francis, 86, has had several health battles in recent years, including a weeklong hospital stay after a hernia surgery in June. The recovery from the surgery earlier this year caused him to limit public appearances in the weeks following the procedure. He was also hospitalized for three days with pneumonia or bronchitis earlier this year. Francis is nonetheless scheduled to hold his weekly meeting with the public on Wednesday. Original Location: Pope Francis will not go to climate conference on doctor's orders Washington Examiner Videos Jimmy Sengenberger is an investigative journalist, public speaker, and host of The Jimmy Sengenberger Show Saturdays from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. on News/Talk 710 KNUS. Reach Jimmy online at Jimmysengenberger.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @SengCenter. Jared Polis and other governors around the country have launched a Disagree Better initiative to try to depolarize political debate The Kiowa County Court House in Eads on the Eastern Plains of Colorado on the Kansas border. Kiowa County voted 85% no on Proposition HH, the highest no vote of any county in the state. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden walk to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023, in Washington. The President and first lady are traveling to Georgia to attend former first lady Rosalynn Carter's tribute service. One of southern Colorados most-recognizable mountains finally has a trail to the top. It's a destination hike joining others across Colorados state parks. And that got us thinking about some other bucket-list trips in the parks system. Bank of Brazil (BBAS3), Iguatemi (IGTI11), CCR (CCRO3) It is Cosan (CSAN3) are the most recommended actions for the last week of November. The information came from a survey carried out by Money Times based on portfolios published by six different institutions. Papers take the place of OK (VALE3), which was the top stock for two weeks in a row. Last week, the mining company received four nominations. Eletrobras take care: Merger between Vibra (VBBR3) and Eneva (ENEV3) could create the third largest energy company in Brazil, see how this impacts the companies investors in this Mondays Market Giro (27), just click here: CONTINUES AFTER ADVERTISING Unseated Vale: Graphical analysis In graphical analysis, the PagBank assessed that BBAS3 is above the resistance region, at R$50.23. As a result, the price has renewed its all-time high and therefore has no resistance above. The expectation is that the price will continue to rise, renewing the historical maximum price week after week, say analysts In relation to CCR, the Terra Investimentos sees resistance at R$13.5, R$13.75 and R$14.20, with supports at R$12.90 and R$12.50. Regarding Cosan, the broker estimates resistance at R$18.80, R$19.60 and R$20, with supports at R$17.30, R$16.70 and R$16.15. Finally, for Iguatemi, expected resistance is marked at R$22.60, R$23.10 and R$23.30, with supports at R$21.45, R$21 and R$20.45. PagBank is in line, assessing that the share has overcome resistance in the region of R$21.71. Survey The lifting of the Money Times took into account information on weekly recommended portfolios released by eight institutions. For this week, 35 actions were indicated, totaling 45 recommendations. Participated in the survey Orama Investimentos, MyCap, Terra Investimentos, Guide Investments, PagBank It is Nova Futura. The Mason City Community School Board of Education at its Nov. 20 reorganization meeting retired the former board, reconvening with four new members after their election on Nov. 7. Retiring from the board were directors Peterson Jean-Pierre, Lorrie Lala and Brent Seaton. Katherine Koehler, Jennifer Dorsey-Lee, Meg Markos and Madison Nelson were all sworn in by acting board president Cherie Yoder, who then held an election for president, which went by unanimous vote to Cindy Garza. The board then unanimously elected Carol Dettmer as vice president. The board approved the following adjustments to the 2023-2024 academic year: Friday, Jan. 26, 2024, will be a NO SCHOOL day for ALL students and staff (Grades PK-12) day for students and staff (Grades PK-12) Thursday, April 11, 2024, will be a REGULAR SCHOOL day for ALL students and staff (Grades PK-12) day for students and staff (Grades PK-12) Friday, April 12, 2024, will be a NO SCHOOL day for ALL students (Grades PK-12) and Professional Development for Mason City School Staff The board also approved the calendar for its regular meetings: The board meets as a committee of the whole/study session on the first Monday of the month, and no action is taken at these meetings. The regular meetings are held the third Monday of the month. Exceptions this year are made for the January 2024 committee of the whole meeting which will be held Wednesday, Jan. 3, and the September 2024 committee of the whole meeting which will be held Tuesday, Sept 2. The state of Iowa has suspended the license of a central Iowa attorney who has been sanctioned on eight prior occasions. The Iowa Supreme Court has suspended the law license of Alexandra Maria Nelissen of Clive for six months due to her actions in two family-law cases. Court records indicate Nelissen admits that in one of the cases, she falsely informed the court that various investigations had suggested her clients ex-husband might be sexually abusing his child. According to the Iowa Attorney Disciplinary Board, Nelissen waited several weeks before filing a petition to modify a divorce decree in one of the two family-law cases. She then failed to serve the opposing party and failed to schedule mediation even though the case involved an urgent matter pertaining to a child left in the care of an apparent drug addict. Nelissen also concealed from her client the courts subsequent dismissal of the case, even after her client requested a refund and copies of any documents shed filed in the case. According to the disciplinary board, Nelissen falsely informed her client mediation had been scheduled and a new hearing was coming up and did so in an effort to conceal her mismanagement of the case. Nelissen then failed to respond to board inquiries on the matter. In the other family-law case, Nelissen filed statements with the court suggesting a man was sexually abusing his son when she knew such claims were untrue. The board alleged she told the court there had been a forensic investigation, DHS investigations, therapeutic work, and statements made by the child that all indicate some form of assault has occurred. According to the board, Nelissen was aware that no such investigation or therapeutic work concluded any form of assault had occurred. Nelissen admitted to all of the allegations in an affidavit consenting to the suspension of her license. Court records show Nelissen has an extensive history of disciplinary action, including one private admonition, five public reprimands, one administrative suspension, and one 30-day suspension. Although the court imposed a six-month suspension, the Attorney Disciplinary Board had recommended a 90-day suspension. Other attorney disciplinary cases Other Iowa attorneys who have faced sanctions in recent months include: Steven Kohl of Sioux City, who was accused of being negligent in the handling of seven separate probate cases, which led to the issuance of numerous delinquency notices. The disciplinary board notified Kohl a formal investigation would be opened if he failed to certify that the delinquencies had been addressed. After Kohl failed to respond, the board initiated a disciplinary investigation, and in August of this year, Kohl provided an affidavit consenting to a suspension of his law license for up to 60 days. In acknowledging his actions, Kohl told the board he had been dealing with serious financial difficulties, the relocation of his office, and death of a secretary. In proposing a suspension of Kohls license, the board cited as aggravating factors his experience as an attorney, the number of cases involved, and Kohls history of disciplinary action. In September 2018, Kohl was given a private admonishment for neglecting a conservatorship case and charging a client for time spent responding to an ethics complaint on the matter. In July 2019, he was publicly reprimanded for neglecting an estate and for a conflict of interest in a separate matter. In July 2022, Kohl was publicly reprimanded for his neglect of four guardianship cases. On Oct. 6, the Iowa Supreme Court suspended Kohls license for 30 days. On Nov. 3, the Attorney Disciplinary Board, which had recommended a 60-day suspension, filed an objection to the reinstatement of Kohls license. The objection appears to be based on the boards determination that Kohl has not complied with all of the requirements related to the notification of clients and others when a suspension is imposed. Iowa Judicial Branch records indicate that as of Nov. 22, Kohls license remains suspended. Gina Jorgensen of Hampton, who in recent years established general-practice law offices in both Hampton and Iowa Falls. State records indicate the Attorney Disciplinary Board is investigating three separate complaints against Jorgensen that date back to 2022, although the precise nature of the complaints has yet to be disclosed. According to the Iowa Supreme Court, Jorgensen did not to respond to any of the boards inquiries in those matters. On Sept. 6, 2023, the court clerk issued a notice that Jorgensens license would be suspended unless she contacted the board within 20 days. One of the notices was confirmed as delivered, while another was returned as unclaimed. Effective Oct. 25, Jorgensens license to practice law in Iowa is suspended. This suspension will continue until she pays a reinstatement fee, the board files a withdrawal of its notice of noncompliance, and the court enters an order reinstating the license. Photos: Missing children in Iowa Jade Colvin Fredrick Workman Benjamin Roseland Erin Pospisil Marc Allen Eugene Martin John Gosch Kimberly Doss Colleen Simpson Daquan Nelson Alivia Beeding The Iowa Board of Medicine has publicly disclosed the basis for requiring a plastic surgeon to undergo a neuropsychological examination. Over the years, surgeon Ronald S. Bergman of Des Moines has battled with the U.S. Department of Justice over allegations of billing fraud, fended off lawsuits from former employees alleging sexual harassment, and been the focus of at least 22 board investigations. The litigation has involved alleged improprieties by a Polk County Sheriffs Office detective and the former executive director of the Board of Medicine. Bergman, 74, is currently suing the board in Polk County District Court, alleging hes being treated unfairly and should never have been ordered to undergo a neuropsychological examination. As with most licensing board cases in Iowa, the Board of Medicine has publicly disclosed very little about its case against Bergman. However, in recent court filings, the board publicly disclosed some of the information that led to its 2022 order for a neuropsychological examination. Noting that under Iowa law the board is now prohibited from publicly disclosing any investigative information that was not included in the final order it chose to issue in Bergmans case, the board added that it is not barred from discussing evidence that Bergman himself has introduced during the disciplinary hearing or cited in his own court filings. That evidence, the board says, includes sworn testimony from three physicians who assessed Bergman prior to January 2022. According to the board, Dr. David Demarest, a neuropsychologist, examined Bergman and observed that his motor tasks were definitely interfered with by apparent bilateral tremors or shakiness. Dr. Jeffrey DeFrancisco, an internal medicine specialist, allegedly stated that Bergman had a mild essential tremor, but nothing that was of functional significance, and Dr. Calvin Hansen, a neurologist who evaluated Bergman several times, allegedly said Bergman had a sustention tremor that was most visible when he holds his hands out. According to the board, Hansen also testified the tremor could be attributable to several factors, including Bergmans consumption of caffeine, which includes eight cups of coffee before 8 a.m. on a typical day. In his response to the states claims, Bergman noted that DeFranciscos report of his examination concluded that Dr. Bergman has no neurological condition that would preclude him from continuing to safely perform surgical procedures. Bergman also argues that the chairman of the boards own physician monitoring committee has testified that the board has no medical information confirming the existence of any tremor that would impair Bergmans ability to safely perform surgery. The board claims it has the right to suspend Bergmans license because he has refused to comply with the terms of a mutually agreed upon settlement of a disciplinary case. Bergman says the board overstepped its authority by making examinations one element of the settlement. The board is suggesting that it has the discretion to add anything to a negotiated settlement agreement with the licensed physician, Bergmans attorneys have told the court. Yet the board offers no legal authority for that premise. Why? Because there is no such legal authority. To give the Board the power to insert the requirement of a new physical, mental or neuropsychological evaluation without probable cause would give the board unfettered power which it could readily abuse. Not all of the relevant records in the civil case have been made public. The court is keeping sealed unspecified docket entries culled from Iowa Courts Online, which would normally be considered public, as well as unspecified arrest information. Normally, records related to a persons arrest are treated as public documents. Bergman: Board slipped provision into settlement The dispute between Bergman and the board dates back to January 2022, when the two parties entered into a settlement agreement after the board alleged he had a neurological impairment that might interfere with his ability to safely practice surgery, and that he had engaged in unprofessional conduct when he sent inappropriate text messages to an employee. Bergman denied the allegations but agreed to the boards offer to settle the matter by complying with restrictions on his surgical practice, paying a $2,500 civil penalty and completing a course on professional boundaries. The settlement also provided that Bergmans license would be placed on probation through Jan. 1, 2023, after which Bergman would be barred from engaging in the practice of surgery in its entirety. In May 2022, however, the board agreed to Bergmans request to let him perform surgery for an additional six months, through July 1, 2023. As part of that arrangement, Bergman agreed to complete a comprehensive neuropsychological examination no later than November 2022. A few months later, Bergman allegedly became aware that the disciplinary action had resulted in his inability to obtain admitting privileges at local hospitals and at the surgery center where he had performed many of his procedures. At the time, he complained the requirement for a neuropsychological evaluation had been slipped into the final settlement agreement he signed in May 2022. Bergman: 22 board investigations since 1984 In October 2022, Bergman informed the board he did not plan to submit to an evaluation. In December 2022, the board charged Bergman with failure to comply with a board order, and in July 2023, the board voted to indefinitely suspend his medical license, barring him from practicing medicine of any kind in Iowa. Bergmans attorney, Marc Humphrey, then filed a court petition seeking judicial review of the boards decision, arguing that the requirement for a neuropsychological evaluation was imposed for improper purposes, claiming that in 2005, a drunken Kent Nebel, then the executive director of the Board of Medicine, told a group of boaters that he was going to f Dr. Bergman. Humphrey later filed another brief in the case, this time alleging this court has before it evidence that Kent Nebel had an ongoing problem with alcohol resulting in two OWI convictions. The brief alleged both criminal cases occurred during Nebels employment with the board, justifying anyone to query whether his alcohol problems were clouding his judgment with regard to board discipline. Bergmans initial petition to the court references a report that documents a total of 22 separate Board of Medicine investigations of Bergman that began in 1984 and continued through 2019. According to the petition, 14 of those investigations were closed with no action taken by the board. Three of the cases resulted in private letters of warning from the board, the petition states. One of the three cases involved allegations that Bergman had inappropriately photographed a female patients pubic area, another was tied to claims of misleading advertisements, and a third involved Bergmans alleged behavior in a hospital room, although the petition does not elaborate. Fraud allegations were settled for $685,427 Bergman alleges the boards most recent investigation of his practice followed the filing of a lawsuit by Peggy West, a former office manager at Bergman-Folkers Plastic Surgery. That lawsuit, filed in October 2019, alleged that Bergman repeatedly and continuously upcoded patient services, documenting minor patient services as if they involved more extensive and costly services and then submitting the inflated charges to Medicare, Medicaid and other insurers for reimbursement. West alleged that when she objected to what she considered fraudulent billing, Bergman leaned forward toward her, stared her in the eye, and said his girlfriend, Robin Bartholomew, who was a full-time detective with the Polk County Sheriffs Department, knows the head of the Medicare fraud investigation department, adding, Dont do something youre going to regret. In a July 2021 deposition, Bartholomew stated she served as the manager of Bergmans clinic while working full time for the sheriffs office. She testified that she didnt recall how she came to apply for, or be given, the job of managing a medical clinic and said her only prior management experience was running a horse-breeding operation on a farm. West alleged that during an office party, Bergman showed her photographs of his penis and said he was sending the photos to Bartholomew. Throughout her employment, West claimed, Bergman regularly and openly made comments to, and about, women in the office by referring to them as dumb c-s and f-ing morons. In February 2020, Dr. Suzanne Kuhnen sued Bergman and the clinic, alleging he had made inappropriate sexual comments to her and female colleagues while she worked at the clinic as part of a fellowship. She alleged Bergman referred to her as a c and a cow, and then interfered with her application for hospital privileges. The lawsuit was settled out of court in March 2022. Wests case was resolved with Bergman agreeing to pay to the United States $685,427, of which $340,731 was considered restitution. The agreement stipulated it was neither an admission of wrongdoing by Bergman or a concession by the government that all of its claims were not well founded. After an April 2022 fire that forced Roses Express to close, the store has reopened in a rebuilt space with more room. The business quietly resumed operations this week after being shuttered for more than 18 months and will hold its grand opening at 9 a.m. Thursday. The community has really supported us, Roses District Manager Thomas Bissett said during an interview Wednesday morning at the store at Ballou Park Shopping Center. We were extremely busy yesterday. The store has more than doubled the size of its staff and has nearly twice the amount of room it had previously. Weve expanded the original square footage from approximately 13,000 to more than 22,000 for the new footprint and were excited to serve the Danville and surrounding areas once again, said Jeff King, vice president of sales and marketing for Variety Wholesalers, Inc., which owns Roses Express. Roses Express now has about 35 employees. Many who had transferred to other locations in Chatham and Martinsville and Eden, North Carolina, following the fire will return to the Danville store over the coming weeks and months, King said. Variety Wholesalers, based in Henderson, North Carolina, has more than 400 Roses and Maxwell locations in 17 states, including a recent expansion into eastern Texas, King said. In Danville, well have the same great departments for everything around the house, but the expanded footprint will allow us to carry a broader selection of items in key departments like home decor, childrens clothing and several others, King said. Roses Express suffered severe damage from the April 4, 2022, fire that also damaged three nearby stores. The fire, which was ruled arson, was set by a juvenile at Roses while his or her mother shopped. The juvenile then reported to employees they smelled smoke, and was later taken into custody. Roses opportunity to increase its size came about when other business tenants didnt renew their leases after the fire, King said. The building had to be torn back to the bare walls and completely rebuilt, he said of the Roses remodel. The landlord started working on the building shortly after the fire. We started our part of the rebuild at the beginning of October of this year. The store was buzzing with customers Wednesday morning. One of them was Blairs resident Jacqueline Shelton, a regular who has shopped at Roses Express at Ballou Park for years. Nice, nice people the customers as well as the staff, she said of the store. Shelton, who frequented Roses Express about three times a week prior to the fire, said she will continue coming to the store just as often as before. i just shop, shop, shop, she said after loading her cart with bags of toilet paper, paper towels, clothes and other items. I love stocking up. Scores of school nutrition workers called out of work on Monday, staging a rally for better pay in front of the school administration offices on Eugene Street in Greensboro from early morning to mid-afternoon. The call-out prompted a scramble to feed students and the release of a district plan for additional pay raises late in the day. However, as of late Monday, the workers werent satisfied with the plan and were expecting to continue the call-out of work on Tuesday. Superintendent Whitney Oakleys plan, released Monday afternoon, called for school nutrition assistants to make 4% more than last year, versus the 2.3% raise that had previously been put in place. It also called for most school nutrition managers to make 7% more than last year, versus the 2% increase that had already been implemented for most managers. Managers serving over 100 meals on average per day would qualify for a pro-rated quarterly bonus under the plan. Cafeteria Manager Kelly Shepherd, one of those helping organize the event, said that the sticking point was that the assistants were not happy with the increase. Assistants include staff such as cooks and cashiers. School nutrition services are run as a self-sustaining enterprise, with funding determined by the number of paid meals the districts serves and by reimbursements from the federal government. School nutrition did not receive the 4 percent raise recently issued by the state for most other school employees. Participants and organizers who spoke with the News & Record said that this is the first time, that they know of, that Guilford school nutrition staff had pulled together anything like this. They said the pay increases that school nutrition workers had received are significantly less than those for many other district workers and also less than they had expected to receive earlier this year. We work just as hard as anybody else, if not harder, said Tawana Dockery, a nutrition assistant at Florence Elementary School who took part in the rally. Everything is going up except our pay. The school nutrition workers said the Guilford County Association of Educators provided assistance to their organizing efforts, at their request. Organizers estimated that about 200 people the vast majority of them district school nutrition staff took part in the rally. Cafeteria Manager Kelly Shepherd, one of those helping organize the event, said he thought it might be around a third of the districts school nutrition staff participating, but he wasnt sure of totals yet. Meanwhile, Oakley said she deployed more than 200 central office staff to schools on Monday try to fill in. We cant do that sustainably, she said. We need our school nutrition workers. Sixty-six of the districts 124 schools reported impacts from the call out, according to the district. When, how and what students ate varied from school to school. In some cases, Oakley said, the district called in orders for pizza, she said, while in others they were able to pull together a combination of sandwiches and fruits and yogurts. The district said it was making preparations to be able to ensure its able to provide meals to students on Tuesday. The workers said said they had been talking with the districts school nutrition department for the last few weeks but had not yet reached an agreement prior to the call out. They held an extended conversation with Oakley and a couple other top administrators earlier in the day on Monday, they said. GREENSBORO A detention officer with the Guilford County Sheriffs Office was suspended Oct. 27 for 15 working days without pay while the office conducts an administrative investigation into an alleged simple assault at the jail. An incident report states that deputies responded at 3:17 p.m. to the jail at 201 S. Edgeworth St. in reference to an incident involving Officer Hakeem Parker, 29, and Caesarae Shewan Roseborough-Suber, 28, an inmate. Details of the alleged assault were not included in the incident report, which stated that prosecution was declined on Nov. 7. A simple assault is a misdemeanor offense in North Carolina. Chief Assistant District Attorney Chris Parrish confirmed Monday that there are no pending criminal charges against Parker in connection with the reported incident. The sheriffs administrative investigation into the incident is ongoing, according to Bria Evans, a spokeswoman for the sheriffs office. The administrative suspension is standard protocol for the agency while an investigation involving an employee is being conducted, Evans said. Evans said there were no notable injuries to Guilford County Sheriffs Office staff or to the inmate as a result of the incident. The report taken after the incident also lists none as to whether Roseborough-Suber had injuries. Its unclear what the circumstances were that may have led to the incident. The sheriffs office did not provide a date for Parkers return to work. Roseborough-Suber remains jailed on $82,500 bond on multiple charges such as second-degree kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon. His next court date is scheduled for Dec. 5, according to online jail records. As of Monday, there are 68 vacancies in the countys detention centers in Greensboro and High Point. A Bristol, Tennessee, woman faces charges after police say she stole packages from porches. Leslie Ann Wyatt, 48, has initially been charged with three counts of theft, according to the Sullivan County Sheriffs Office. She may also face charges in other jurisdictions. On Nov. 22, a resident on Lindas Way in Bristol reported to the Sheriffs Office that a package delivered earlier that day had been stolen from their porch, according to a news release. Deputies responded and were able to obtain photos of a possible suspect, who was described as an older woman, driving a silver Honda car. The photos came from surveillance footage, the release states. Investigators received information from multiple sources and were led to a residence on Bethel Drive, which the Sheriffs Office said was the home of Wyatt. There, they saw a vehicle matching the one seen in surveillance footage on Lindas Way, the release states. The investigators said they also found empty packages containing multiple addresses at the residence. No one would answer the door, but the Sheriffs Office said a search warrant was obtained for the home and Wyatt was found inside. Wyatt was arrested and the Sheriffs Office said the additional charges were filed due to the additional empty packages and addresses found at the home. Sullivan County authorities have notified neighboring law enforcement about the case, including the Bristol Tennessee Police Department. Bristol Police Capt. Dannielle Eller said her department is investigating thefts associated with the woman arrested by the Sheriffs Office. We are still gathering information and looking through reports of victims within the city, Eller said. By Tuesday morning, no additional charges had been filed in Bristol, but Eller said charges are forthcoming. Detective Cody Peters is working the cases, she said. The Holton Park is located at A Ave. and Endicott Renderings for the park The city will save costs of installation by doing this portion in house with local equipment/staff and volunteers who might want to join in. Fun includes a wiggle wobble, ripple pass, vine climber, zip slide, echo chamber and much more! The Spearman City Council met Tuesday, October 31 for a special called meeting to discuss and act on the purchase of playground equipment for Holton Park."My 7-year plan is for every park in Spearman to have a quality playground," said Mayor Tobe Shields.The Holton Park began as a donation of land by Richard and Elizabeth Holton.City Manager, Justin Parker, explained the details of the project."The grant in place had a deadline of October 27 so the council needed to hold a special meeting in order to meet the deadline which was extended to Spearman until October 31. It is a 100% matching fund grant of $77,000.00.The city had this equipment as budget item this year and further funding will include last year's Designated Capital Outlay. In addition, First National Bank will donate the difference needed to complete the project.Holton was a founder of First National Bank, and they were excited to donate this portion (nearly $10,000) in his honor."There will be a dedication of the park when the project is complete. BOONE In fiscal year 202122, Appalachian State University generated an estimated $573 million in added income for the five-county regional economy through operations, construction, visitor, and student spending; volunteerism; and the increased earnings and productivity of alumni. Statewide, the estimated economic impact of App State was $2.2 billion. App States impacts on the regional and statewide economies and benefits for students, taxpayers and society were assessed in an economic impact study conducted by Lightcast, a labor analytics firm, for the year beginning July 1, 2021, and ending June 30, 2022. A full report on the study will be available in the coming weeks. The region assessed in the report included the counties of Watauga, Ashe, Avery, Caldwell and Wilkes. These statistics demonstrate the power of higher education to change lives, said App State Chancellor Sheri Everts. Our students, faculty, staff and alumni stand as living examples of the difference a college degree makes not only for ourselves and for each subsequent generation, but also for our communities and state, and for the world. Economic impacts Direct spending by the university results in more spending across other businesses throughout the regional and statewide economies also known as multiplier effects, Lightcast explained. The firms economic impact analysis assessed the additional income created in the region and state by the activities of the university itself as well as its students, visitors and alumni, accounting for a number of alternative scenarios to find the net impact and exclude any impacts that would have been created in the regional and state economies if the university did not exist. For example, for statewide economic impact estimates, the study considered the impacts created by students and visitors who were drawn to the university from outside the state who otherwise might not have contributed to the North Carolina economy and the difference in income that would have been generated if in-state private and public funding of App State had been allocated to other industry sectors instead. The $573 million net impact of the university on the region is equivalent to supporting 8,902 jobs, the study found or one out of every 14 jobs in the five counties. The regional and statewide economic impact figures are the sum of estimated net impacts in the following categories: Operations: Spending by the university on expenses such as payroll, facilities, supplies and professional services generated approximately $308.2 million in added income to the five-county region in 202122. Statewide, the net impact of App States operations spending was $276 million. Construction: App State invests in construction each year to maintain and renovate its facilities, create additional building capacities and meet growing educational demands. While the amount will vary from year to year, in FY 202122, App States construction spending generated $31.6 million in added regional income and $34.6 million in added statewide income. Visitors: Tens of thousands of out-of-region visitors attracted to the five-county region for activities at App State brought new dollars to the areas economy through their spending at hotels, restaurants, gas stations and other regional businesses, adding approximately $9.5 million in income in 202122. Statewide, the net impact of visitors drawn to the university from out of state was $6.5 million. The study notes that the COVID-19 recovery period significantly reduced the FY 202122 visitor spending impact. Students: Approximately 82% of students who attended App States Boone campus in 202122 originated from outside the region, and in addition, some local students would have left the region if not for the existence of App State. Their expenditures added income of $79.5 million to the regional economy in 202122. Likewise, 8% of App State students originated from outside of North Carolina, and some N.C. residents would have left the state if not for the presence of App State their impact on statewide income was a net $32.6 million, the study estimated. Volunteerism: App State encourages students and employees to volunteer in the five-county region, allowing businesses and organizations to grow, increase their output and impact the economy at large. App State students and employees volunteered nearly 78,500 hours of their time in FY 202122, generating net economic impacts of $3.4 million regionally and $5.2 million statewide. Alumni: The impact from App State alumnis increased earnings and the enhanced productivity of the businesses that employ them in the five-county region amounted to $140.7 million in added income in 202122, the report calculated. Statewide, the impact was even greater, as the tens of thousands of App State grads employed across North Carolina generated $1.9 billion in added income. Return on investment Utilizing an investment analysis, the economic impact study also found that an App State education generates a positive return on investment for students, taxpayers and society. Students: For every $1 invested by App State students on tuition, fees, supplies, student loan interest and deferred employment earnings in 202122, they will gain $5.80 in higher lifetime earnings, the study calculated. Compared to high school graduates in North Carolina, App State graduates see average increased earnings of $31,100 per year with bachelors degrees, $44,800 per year with masters degrees and $68,200 per year with doctorates. Taxpayers: For every $1 of public funding invested in App State in 202122, over the course of students working lives, North Carolina taxpayers will gain $3.20 in increased tax revenue and public sector savings from reduced demand for government-funded social services, according to the study. Society: For every $1 society invested in App State in 202122 including university expenditures, student expenses and students deferred earnings over the course of students careers, the state of North Carolina will receive $9 in benefits, including added statewide revenue as well as social savings due to reduced crime, lower welfare and unemployment assistance and the increased health and well-being of people in North Carolina, the study surmised. SALISBURY The Rowan County Sheriffs Office has charged 42-year-old Raymond Jerel Callicutt with murder of an unborn child after an assault committed on his ex-girlfriend led to the death of their baby, she was pregnant with. The baby, Josiah Randolph Hearne, was born on Nov. 14 and lived just shy of 12 hours before succumbing to injuries from the assault, the sheriffs office said in a news release. Investigators determined that Callicutt had assaulted Josiahs mother, Jenny Nicole Hearne, on Nov. 11, at her home off West N.C. 152 Highway near Atwell. The two had previously been in a relationship, and a verbal argument quickly turned physical. Days after the assault, Hearne went to the hospital with concerning symptoms, and Josiah was born 24 weeks prematurely. After his death, an autopsy was completed and the medical examiner determined that in addition to the records showing his mother had injuries, Josiah had injuries to his liver, brain, heart and lungs. With those findings, the death was ruled a homicide due to blunt force trauma from an assault. Detectives quickly gathered enough evidence against Callicutt and obtained the charge against him on Monday, Nov. 27. Callicutt was previously arrested by deputies on Nov. 17 and served with warrants for breaking into Hearnes home on Nov. 14. Hes being held without bond at the Rowan County Jail and will have a first appearance in court on Wednesday, Nov. 29. GUEST OPINION: Enterprises find themselves in a highly vulnerable position these days. Cybercriminals are more sophisticated than ever, and while modern tools combat them, hacking methods change frequently. Minimizing data leakage risk requires the right tools and processes, and while most enterprises often invest in tools, they forget to back them up with the right workflows. Here's how enterprises can minimize the threat of a data leak with the help of a few proven processes. Invest in the right tools Choosing the right tech stack is critical for modern enterprises. Cybercriminals are constantly changing their approaches, and a static tech posture is inviting trouble. While traditional tools like Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) and Identity Access Management (IAM) are critical, companies must examine the nature of those tools deeply. For instance, legacy EDR solutions flag threats but may not be capable of handling modern attack techniques successfully. A next-gen EDR combines the properties of several solutions, most notably Security Information and Event Management (SIEM). These platforms monitor, adapt, and handle emerging threats, giving security teams the ability to customize workflows. For example, security teams can flag specific threats for further analysis, preventing the tool from executing based on a false positive result. The best way to evaluate tools is to compare all available options on the market and analyze them to check if they fit a company's needs. What degree of customization is available, and how strong is the vendor's development support? Companies must answer these critical questions before choosing their tools. Install agile security Security has experienced a shift left with the emergence of DevSecOps. However, many companies struggle to implement this shift practically. Security must be embedded in dev teams to ensure apps are developed securely. However, many security teams still find themselves on the outside, intervening just before the code is ready for shipping. Naturally, this approach puts them at odds with developers who have tight deadlines to follow. Enterprises must encourage automation in these teams to build agility. For instance, developers can validate their code for security by running it through a tool that flags any deficiencies. Security can reroute problematic code for further analysis, informing developers of security best practices along the way. Security teams must also automate integration and unit security tests since these workflows are vital in a constant delivery environment. Installing the right bug-handling processes is also critical. For instance, how will security ensure bugs are addressed in a tight deadline while respecting the overall project's release timelines? While answering these questions all at once is tough, security teams must work with all stakeholders to ensure security and release timelines receive equal priority. Installing security as a culture is critical, something that must come from the company's leadership. When put together, these processes will ensure security is always viewed as a critical component, not an add-on, leading to secure products that minimize the risk of a data leak. Simulate disaster recovery Simulating a worst-case scenario might not strike executives as the first measure to prevent leaks. However, preparing for and running drills of the worst possible situations will ensure security and non-technical teams are fully on board if an event occurs. Preparing for these events also takes the constantly changing nature of threats into account, giving teams more time to prepare and repel potential attacks. At the very least, the company's security posture will turn dynamic, moving away from the static security architecture so many enterprises suffer from. Companies have a few options when simulating such scenarios. The first is to educate non-technical employees by giving them a safe environment to test their security skills. For instance, how well can they identify a phishing email or a social engineering attack attempt? Simulations remove the fear of failure, giving each stakeholder the chance to understand where their skills lie. Companies can then tailor learning paths to upskill each employee. On the technical side, companies must schedule penetration tests regularly to ensure their security teams are up to scratch. Adopting continuous monitoring security tools also plays a role in these efforts. For instance, companies can run deep pentests on a few vulnerable attack vectors the continuous monitoring tool identifies. Collaboration Security teams cannot exist in a silo anymore since security is now a product feature. Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) are on the frontline these days, functioning as risk officers and strategic partners in business growth. CISOs must set the tone by encouraging their security teams to collaborate with other company departments. This gives security teams valuable context behind department data and insight into potential security leaks. For example, a department's process might be exposing the company to unacceptable third-party risk. Security can plug this risk by enforcing more secure encryption or defining workflows to help the department execute its tasks while maintaining security at all times. Collaboration is the key to success in the modern enterprise. Security must lead the way in this regard. Dynamic security postures are critical A dynamic security posture combines the right tools with processes to fully secure a company's infrastructure. When done right, the workflows in this article will help companies grow safely and minimize any risk of a data leak. South Korean telecommunications carrier SK Telecom announced it has inked three new partnerships with IT companies based in Southeast Asia to increase the number of global users of its metaverse platform, ifland. ifland was launched in 2021. It is a metaverse platform where users can build their digital avatars to interact in virtual spaces. SK Telecom (SKT) has partnered with Malaysian wireless carrier Celcom Digi, Indonesian video game development company Agate, and Philippine-based mobile device producer Cosmic Technologies. In a statement, the telecom carrier claimed the IT companies will be able to gain experience and exposure in the metaverse business without incurring costs. SKT, on the other hand, will offer tailored content to each country and conduct localised marketing via its partners. SKT said discussions about the partnership began earlier this year with initial tests underway since July. It conducted a trial by operating "if home," a virtual space where companies can better communicate with its customers, for the IT companies before the agreement. To cater to a more global audience, SKT plans to add Indonesian, Malay, Hindi, and Spanish as language options as well as content curation that recommends relevant content based on the customer's location. SKT said it will grant administrator rights to its partners to localise ifland in each different region. In the future, it is considering the possibility of partnering with the US, India, and Europe to expand the metaverse platform. The ifland mobile app is available in 49 countries. We will continue to do our best to provide ifland users with content and services that understand their culture and society by partnering with more local companies," said SKT president and head of metaverse and chief officer Yang Maeng-seog. Re: iTWire - NBN Co energy deal jumpstarts new solar farm in southeast Queensland NBNs use of FTTN tech uses a vast amount of energy compared to a fibre network. Re: iTWire - Monash calls on government to prioritise trackless tram project for Victoria Trackless trams without the expense of overhead wires are called electric buses.Let's just give up on trams. They are a[] Re: iTWire - NBN Co energy deal jumpstarts new solar farm in southeast Queensland Wonder what the price per MWh is, and whether this will make the price of the NBN cheaper for the[] Re: iTWire - Optus chief Bayer Rosmarin resigns in wake of nation-wide outage Gladys has a promotion coming. She can communicate properly, been in a leadership position, her market share is about the[] GUEST OPINION: Predicting the future is difficult, but you can anticipate what is likely to happen by looking at how things have evolved over the past year. This year again, Barracuda asked colleagues who work on the security frontline, from XDR and offensive security to international product experts, our own security operations team, and more, about the things they witnessed in 2023 and expect to see in 2024. What most surprised you in 2023? Vice president global security operations Adam Khan: The MGM attack where a group known as Scattered Spider employed social engineering to deceive MGM help desk employees into resetting the passwords and MFA codes of high-value MGM employees. This access enabled them to infiltrate MGMs managed IT service, Okta, to install an identity provider and create single sign-on for themselves. The breach also extended to the Microsoft Azure cloud environment, leading to multiple system vulnerabilities and exposure of customer data. The ransomware attack cost MGM Resorts an estimated $100 million and it showed yet again how social engineering remains a powerful and ever evolving cyberweapon. Vice president information security Peterson Gutierrez: The apparent shift threat actors have made in moving away from encrypting data for ransom to simply threatening to disclose the information publicly. Director SOC offensive security Merium Khalid: That the volume of business email compromises (BEC) we encountered was almost equivalent to the number of ransomware attacks. Ransomware is often perceived as the more prevalent and damaging threat, while BEC has been somewhat under the radar, with many businesses underestimating its potential impact. The near parity of these two threats highlights the evolving nature of cyber threats and the adaptability of cybercriminals. As organisations bolster their defenses against ransomware, attackers are diversifying their tactics, leveraging BEC as an equally lucrative avenue. Director systems engineering SASE, cloud Jesus Cordero: The increasing amount of open cybersecurity positions worldwide. The latest data from ICS2 shows that the number of unfilled security roles has reached just under 4 million and other research shows the gap grew by 350% between 2021 and 2023. Consulting solutions engineer data protection EMEA Charles Smith: That companies are still not taking seriously the need to protect their data. Organisations are neither investing in the right solutions nor putting together a data protection recovery plan they have confidence in. Engineering vice president and managing director Rohit Aradhya: The blissful unawareness of smaller companies and their employees of the impending threat to their business. Outside the security industry there is a general lack of awareness about the importance of protecting digital assets, digital transactions, and web portals, and the acceptable use of email, public cloud services and cloud storage, and many other digital services. Application Security consulting solutions architect EMEA Stefan van der Wal: Despite the overwhelming evidence of success by hackers attacking web applications, there still seems to be a lack of knowledge and sometimes even motivation in organisations to address it. Product marketing manager zero trust Emre Tezisci: Several large mass ransomware attacks that used exploits in software and weaknesses in IT supply chains to target multiple companies. For example, the MOVEit mass cyberattack, which exploited a data transfer software product, impacted millions of individuals and thousands of companies. Solution architects director of solutions Mark Lukie: The rapid increase in the sophistication and frequency of supply chain attacks. What are the biggest security concerns on customers minds as we approach 2024? Senior director mail protection product management Sheila Hara: How to deploy defense-in-depth, a cybersecurity strategy that involves layering multiple security measures to protect against various types of threats. Senior product manager IoT Stephan Schachinger: That cybercriminals could be faster with the adoption of AI than the security industry. As a result of tools such as generative AI, the quality of attacks, especially social engineering such as spear phishing, has reached a new level that makes it almost impossible for human victims to distinguish between real and fake. AK: The evolving AI threat, exploit mapping for ransomware, supply chain and critical infrastructure attacks, and the continued shortage of cybersecurity professionals. MK: The bypass of multifactor authentication (MFA). While MFA is a trusted security measure, there's a growing trend of cybercriminals finding ways to circumvent it. Another pressing issue is the threat from critical zero-day vulnerabilities and cloud-based risks from misconfigurations, inadequate access controls, and vulnerabilities in cloud infrastructure. CS: Were seeing companies starting to worry that their backup solution could be compromised if they are attacked. Hackers employ various methods to seek out and destroy backup data prior to encrypting or extorting data, and on-premises solutions are particularly vulnerable to such attacks. ET: The speed of cyberattacks. Account takeover and phishing together with ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) kits, where prices start from as little as $40, remain key drivers in cyberattacks. They help attackers carry out more attacks faster, with the average number of days taken to execute a single attack falling from around 60 days in 2019 to four in 2023. RA: Not having a single comprehensive security platform or solution to protect their business. Businesses today rely on a plethora of security vendors with varied offerings and expertise to protect their businesses, and they are concerned about the gaps in these solutions and unknown unknowns. JC: The vast number of solutions they need to deal with for their daily tasks and not knowing if their legacy solutions are the right tools to approach new and future challenges. ML: Ransomware, phishing, and data breaches. Customers are also concerned about the specific security risks associated with new technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT). And what are they least prepared to deal with? SS: Most organisations are not prepared to defend themselves against targeted and high-quality attacks that we used to see only at the nation-state and intelligence agency level. That includes social engineering and technical attack vectors. If you add the use of AI, its clear that more organisations are going to face sophisticated attacks. CS: Companies are poorly prepared to deal with testing their data loss prevention (DLP) and recovery. When it comes to data protection, for example, many companies do the bare minimum they implement a backup solution, schedule their backups to run daily, and think the jobs done. They generally dont give any time to testing all types of data restoration or to documenting the steps so that anyone in the IT security team can implement the process when under pressure. ET: The use of AI to automate and accelerate attacks, creating more effective AI-powered malware, phishing, and voice simulation. MK: MFA bypass. While zero-day vulnerabilities and cloud-based attacks are recognised threats that have been in the spotlight for some time, the increasing sophistication in bypassing MFA is a relatively newer challenge. SH: Image-based attacks. These attacks exemplify the evolving nature of cyberthreats. They include steganographic payloads where cybercriminals embed malicious code, text, or files within images. This payload can be extracted using specific tools, allowing attackers to conceal their intentions. There is also malicious watermarking, where attackers add imperceptible watermarks to images, containing encoded information or links to malicious content; and polyglot files that are crafted to be interpreted as both valid images and executable files, allowing attackers to bypass certain security checks. RA: Ransomware. Most companies dont have a standard playbook on how to deal with a ransomware incident. JC: With their legacy technologies, a lack of skilled staff, and AI in the hands of cybercriminals, unprepared IT teams relying on average solutions to protect their business are likely to be hit hard by the emerging wave of intelligent persistent threats. What do you expect attackers to focus on most in 2024? AK: AI-powered cyberattacks, with cybercriminals leveraging AI and machine learning (ML) to enhance the sophistication of their attacks. MK: AI-powered attacks and more targeted ransomware campaigns. Attackers are leveraging advanced AI algorithms to automate their attack processes, making them more efficient, scalable, and difficult to detect. These AI-driven attacks can adapt in real time, learning from the defenses they encounter and finding innovative ways to bypass them. Ransomware attacks are evolving into more targeted campaigns as cybercriminals focus on critical infrastructure and high-value targets, aiming to inflict maximum damage and, in turn, demand exorbitant ransoms. PG: There seems to have been a great deal of energy spent by cybercriminals on account takeover attacks in 2023. I think we will see a continued and concentrated effort by threat actors to attack identities first and foremost, as this affords them a variety of pivot points for additional attacks. ET: Attackers will continue to focus on attack kits and account takeover attacks. It is almost impossible to stop all employees from clicking on increasingly sophisticated phishing emails. SH: 2024 may see new threats emerge based on technological advancements, geopolitical events, and changes in attacker tactics. This may include deepfake and synthetic media attacks. As deepfake technology advances, attackers may use it for disinformation campaigns, impersonation, or to manipulate media for malicious purposes. At the same time, established attacks including ransomware, supply chain attacks, and data privacy violations are likely to continue and increase. Attackers may focus increasingly on exploiting vulnerabilities in IoT and operational technology (OT). RA: Attackers are shifting toward small and mid-market businesses as they are aware of the increased digitization and lack of cybersecurity professionals in the market. SvdW: Attackers will keep exploiting the weakest links within businesses. As always, cybercriminals are interested in the path of least resistance. This means organisations need to make sure they have an overarching strategy ready to deal with all vectors rather than focus on one. JC: I see two trends. The first one is the continuation of the usual threat vectors as attackers know that companies are both understaffed with inexperienced IT teams and grappling with possibly legacy, outdated, or misconfigured solutions. The second one is the natural evolution of technology as we enhance our security assets with AI-based solutions, we are automatically creating new attack vectors that are crafted based on the quality of results of generative AI itself. As AI-enabled cyberattacks take deeper hold in 2024, will security vendors need to do more to help companies deal with attacks? SS: Organisations should prepare themselves for compromise. This means that, in addition to the initial prevention, we should focus on the detection of ongoing attacks and the corresponding response, for example with decentralized security at the edge. MK: The inherent adaptability of AI-driven threats, which can analyze defenses and recalibrate their tactics in real time, challenges the traditional preventive measures. Security vendors must equip organisations with tools not only for rapid breach detection, but also for understanding the scope and containing the threat swiftly. SH: Security vendors need to evolve beyond a purely preventative approach and embrace a more holistic strategy that includes detection, response, recovery, and continuous improvement. Cloudflare notes that Steve Bray brings to the company his experience across innovative cloud-based software companies, and has held leadership positions in multinational tech companies like Salesforce and Zendesk. Amidst the rising volumes of cybersecurity incidents, Cloudflare is at the forefront of helping businesses secure applications, devices, and users in an ever-changing, complex threat environment, said Bray. With Cloudflares vision for the future of the Internet in mind, Im eager to continue helping our customers in Australia and New Zealand, while building our brand, local team, and partner ecosystem. Cloudflare says it has had a longstanding presence in ANZ, first expanding its network to Sydney in 2012 - and today, blocks an average of 409 million cyber threats per day in Australia and New Zealand in the third quarter of 2023 alone, with its global network spanning more than 310 cities in more than 120 countries, including 11 cities in Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania. Australia and New Zealands most sophisticated organisations turn to Cloudflare for their cybersecurity and Internet performance needs. Our customers today have access to faster, more reliable, and more secure Internet experiences than ever before, and with Steve Brays extensive experience in the ANZ region, we look forward to providing more customers with the solutions they need to work, develop, and accelerate their business, said Jonathon Dixon, Vice President and Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Japan, and China at Cloudflare. GUEST OPINION: It has been eight years since the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21), the milestone event that saw the signing of the Paris Agreement. Since then, countries around the world have doubled down on their energy transition efforts, with some even aiming to reach net zero by 2050. Australia, in particular, had loftier ambitions. The Australian Government made international headlines for its target to achieve 82% renewable energy usage by 2030. But with COP28 just days away, Australia needs to have a reality check. While the goals remain laudable, the inconvenient truth is that it will take a lot to move from climate rhetoric to climate action. For Australia to realise its goal of becoming a renewable energy superpower, it needs to work on diversifying its energy mix with an unassuming but powerful clean fuel: hydrogen. This isnt just political ambition. The International Energy Agency projects that Australia is poised to become the worlds second-largest net exporter of low-emissions hydrogen by 2030and the largest by 2050. The good news for Australia? Due to forward-looking hydrogen development policies, the country is already well on its way to getting there. Taking stock of Australias year in renewables One of the key highlights of COP28 is the Global Stocktake (GST), a comprehensive review set to assess and take stock of the progress made since the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015. On that front, Australia has good numbers to show for this. In 2022, 35.9% of Australias power was produced from renewable sources, including wind, solar, and hydropower. Aside from doubling its renewable sources when compared to 2017, Australia is also well ahead of its neighbours in the Asia Pacific, where 85% of energy still comes from fossil fuels. The momentum also carried forward into Q1 2023 when Australia achieved a record renewable energy output and drove carbon emissions to record lows. Yet, despite these positive results, the GST at COP28 will no doubt reveal some shortcomings in Australias renewable energy development. For instance, to ensure grid stability in the face of a large-scale transition to renewables, there have been calls for coal-fired power plants to remain open for longer. Australias energy demand, too, remains stubbornly high, with consumption having grown by almost 8% over the past decade. On top of that, due to the slow pace of project approvals and fragmented administration across the different states and territories, renewable energy investments have seen a bottleneck in actual project execution. For example, community objections and approval delays have caused two-year delays for two renewable energy zones in New South Wales. Australia as a supply chain leader for clean hydrogen in the Asia Pacific Clean hydrogen is top-of-mind at the upcoming COP28, with at least two programmesthe launch of the Hydrogen Package and the hydrogen-centric high-level roundtableon the agenda. It is clear, then, that if Australia wants to meet its environmental commitments in time, it must invest in hydrogen infrastructure, reinforce its position as a supply chain leader, and craft relevant policies to support these endeavours. The good news is that Australia is well-positioned to harness the element's power. In terms of investing in energy infrastructure, the Hydrogen Park South Australia (HyPSA) is a keystone project in Australias net zero journey. Funded by an $4.9 million grant from the South Australian Government, the project features Siemens Energys proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser, the largest in Australia. To put things in perspective, thats about 2,000 homes receiving a blend of up to 5% hydrogen blended with natural gas at the same quality and prices. On the governmental front, Australia has also drawn up robust policies that will drive renewed momentum in developing clean hydrogen projects. Announced in the Federal Budget of 202324, the Hydrogen Headstart programme will see the Australian Government investing $2 billion in projects that can catalyse Australia's hydrogen industry. In terms of the supply chain, Australia is already an established energy exporter in the Asia Pacific. In fact, Australia is the largest LNG supplier for China and Japan, both of which are top LNG importers, and the worlds largest iron ore exporter with key destinations like China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. Capitalising on existing trade routes for clean hydrogen export is ostensibly a natural next step. Australias proximity to energy-hungry markets like Japan and South Korea makes it a prominent hydrogen exporter. South Korea, in particular, already has measures in place to nurture its demand for renewables. For example, the Hydrogen Economy Roadmap seeks to grow the nations domestic annual consumption of hydrogen from 130,000 tonnes in 2018 to almost 5.3 million tonnes by 2040. Nature, too, is on Australias side. The land is home to vast volumes of wind power (on and offshore), solar energy, land, and freshwater, which offer significant advantages for green hydrogen production. Since green hydrogen is produced using renewable electricity to split water molecules, its production emits no polluting gases. Harnessing hydrogen is a collective effort Australias hydrogen-powered future is closer than ever. However, with just seven years left to Australias sustainability goals, international collaboration is keyand this is where events like COP28 come in. COP conferences bring together representatives from nearly every country in the world, which is essential for fostering international cooperation and collaboration on climate-related issues. In fact, the success of Australias hydrogen ambitions depends on international partnerships forged at events like COP28. Here is an example of an international, cross-sector collaboration in action. In June 2023, a consortium of companies from Japan and Singapore announced its intentions to invest $117 million in Central Queenslandone of Australias largest green hydrogen projects. When completed, the project is expected to produce 200 tonnes of green hydrogen per day by 2028, which will be exported to Japan and Singapore. The time to step up is now Looking ahead, while Australia has made tremendous strides towards its sustainability goals, signs point to much more left to be done. In the days and weeks leading up to COP28, it might be helpful, then, to recognise what Australiaand the international community at largehas achieved thus far and acknowledge the long road left to go. The fight against climate change is a team effort after all. Make no mistake: it will be an arduous journey with as many setbacks as there will be advancements. However, this is a prime opportunity for Australia to realise its fullest potential and take the lead in hydrogen exporting. Besides, with all member states gathered at COP28 to solve the same problems, perhaps we can still leave some room for a glimmer of cautious hope. Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here. After years of traveling abroad for work, I found myself grounded last year, brought home to Southern California not out of nostalgia but out of necessity. My sister and I made the life-altering decision to purchase a single-story house for our ailing, octogenarian parents after recognizing that they could no longer care for each other. My father had multiple physical ailments, while my mother was gradually slipping away due to Alzheimer's. My brother moved in, and my sister, a nurse, visits from the Bay Area one week a month. Since my father died earlier this year, my siblings and I have taken turns caring for my mother, meticulously coordinating our schedules to also accommodate work and personal commitments. We went from being successful professionals in our fields to becoming round-the-clock caregivers in our late 50s. My siblings and I are just a few of the estimated 38 million unpaid caregivers in the United States. We are part of a larger American and global cohort affected by the dramatic aging of the population, the inadequate patchwork of public and private services, and modern migration patterns driven by caregiving. Like many people in our situation, we found that our parents, once the pillars of our family, suddenly relied on us for their very existence. We feel critically ill-equipped for a huge responsibility that is taking an immense toll on our mental and emotional well-being. Despite being in the company of countless others facing similar challenges in our generation, we have an overwhelming sense of aloneness. Caregivers often grapple with a loss of identity, strained relationships and scarcity of time to rest and recreate Over the past century, global life expectancy has doubled. Every day, some 10,000 baby boomers turn 65, and by 2040, the number of Americans 85 and older will have doubled in less than two decades. But disparities persist along demographic and economic lines: White Americans tend to live longer than people of color, women outlive men, and the richest percentile of men enjoys 15 more years of life on average than the poorest. Women, who live longer but have faced historical economic disenfranchisement, often end up on the brink of poverty in their later years; for many, their children are their last hope. My mother would have faced a grim fate if not for me and my siblings. Children, particularly daughters, often bear the brunt of elder care, child care and other domestic responsibilities within families and worldwide. Many are forced to leave their careers to manage these overwhelming responsibilities. Bureau of Labor Statistics data indicate particularly high demand for one category of caregivers: home health and personal care aides. Many elderly people and their families would prefer that they age at home, driving demand for people who can care for them there. These jobs are expected to become available at an average rate of more than 700,000 a year to meet the unprecedented growth of the senior population. The American Immigration Council has predicted that by 2031, it will be the country's largest occupation. Unfortunately, while the demand is growing, the workforce is shrinking. More than 600,000 such workers are expected to leave their positions this decade for various reasons. The field suffers from high turnover due to low wages, high stress and frequent physical injury compared with other occupations. Gov. Gavin Newsom recently vetoed a bill to apply workplace safety standards to household workers. Immigrants fill a disproportionate share of these jobs, accounting for 36.5% of those providing home care services as of 2019. My family and culture are part of this global pattern. Caregiving is part of our national identity as Filipinos. Caregivers are among the Philippines' top exports to the United States and beyond. As of 2019, nearly 200,000 Filipino nurses were working abroad. Other developing regions exporting caregivers include Central and South America, South Asia, and East and West Africa. The reasons for such migration elude many Americans. Terms like chain migration depict immigrants as a burden. In reality, they play a pivotal role in sustaining our extended families. Our reliance on migration for caregiving is both intimate and vital but also poorly understood and ultimately unsustainable in its current form. The global economics of caregiving are, as my family has discovered, challenging. We explored the possibility of petitioning for my niece, a trained caregiver, to come to the U.S. to help. As part of that process, the U.S. Department of Labor reviewed our job description and set the prevailing wage at $14 an hour. While we're hurtling toward a future with lots more home healthcare jobs, they're not currently good jobs. Case in point: While we would have been required only to pay California's minimum wage of $15.50 an hour, the living wage for a single adult in San Bernardino County has been estimated at$18.86. For someone like my mother requiring round-the-clock care, $18.86 an hour amounts to $165,000 a year, a burden few can bear. Social Security, Medicaid, long-term care insurance and other available means of assistance remain woefully insufficient. Long-term care insurance is typically expensive and inadequate. The average monthly Social Security check is about $1,700. Medicaid can cover nursing home care if one qualifies, but my mother and many others don't. And in California, nursing homes cost more than $9,000 a month on average, while assisted living facilities typically cost$5,000 to $7,000 monthly. The 2018 RAISE (Recognize, Assist, Include, Support and Engage) Family Caregivers Act directed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to develop a national strategy to provide training and resources, financial and workplace support, and respite for caregivers. But it didn't address the unmet demand for home health aides. My siblings and I have discovered that despite making significant life changes and financial investments, conducting thorough research, and accessing public and private support for caregivers, we still lack the resources we need to provide my mother with the dignity, loving care and safety she deserves after 81 years on this planet, over 40 of them as a nurse. Placing her in a facility, especially after she lost her husband of 59 years, doesn't seem like an option in our culture. Hiring home health and personal care aides looks like our only choice. How can we meet the growing demand for these workers? To start, immigration policies should be reformed. The State Department's cap on visas for workers deemed unskilled, including healthcare aides, is far too low. A special expedited visa could be established for foreign home health aides, including the undocumented health workers already here. The government could extend the guest worker visa program for agricultural workers to include them. Additionally, home health aides need living wages to support themselves and their families. And unpaid family caregivers need financial and respite support to navigate the long, exhausting and costly challenges they often face. Only government subsidies are likely to make that possible. To help all Americans age with grace, we have to recognize and support the vital contributions of the immigrants, families and other caretakers who can literally save our lives. Gemma Bulos is a social entrepreneur, educator and Public Voices Fellow on Advancing the Rights of Women and Girls with the OpEd Project and Equality Now. (COMMENT, BELOW) GET ARGUS' DAILY SMILES TO YOUR INBOX. SIGN UP FOR THE JWR UPDATE. IT'S FREE. Just click here. Taylor Swift wrapped up last week's sold-out concerts in Buenos Aires, Rio and Sao Paolo and took her concert tour across the Pacific to Japan and the Tokyo Dome this weekend. Taylor has endorsed Joe Biden for president. Why do I sense yet another song coming about her poor taste in men? Elon Musk announced Saturday he is going to fly to Israel this week and visit imperiled towns located near the Gaza border and meet with Israeli leaders. This fall, Elon has lost his wife, his kids, forty billion dollars and his spaceship crashed. It's a genre of country music that doesn't exist yet. The National Retail Federation reported huge retail sales throughout North America on Black Friday with stores in both the U.S. and Canada. Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had to be sent home from work that morning to wash up. Apparently Black Friday isn't what he thought it was. The Wall Street Journal reports a consortium of labor groups is trying to land on the Starbucks board of directors to try to bump up wages. For its part, Starbucks announced they are planning to sell beer and wine. Apparently it is becoming difficult to sell sober people a twelve-dollar cup of coffee. The Atlantic published an article questioning whether the weight-loss success of Ozempic will halt progress we've made toward fat acceptance. One strip club in Vegas advertises a three-hundred-fifty pound stripper named Big Bertha. She's single-handedly destroying more poles than Adolf Hitler. The FBI busted a network of Asian massage parlors operating in Boston near Harvard as well as in Washington D.C. near the U.S. Capitol. The cultural barrier might have led to operational screw-ups. Hunter Biden asked the guy at the door for a sixty-nine and they brought him the Kung Pao Chicken. The Los Angeles Folk Music Festival was scheduled for next October 2024 and described as a two-day celebration of L.A. being the epicenter of modern American folk music. The future doesn't look bright for folk music or folk music clubs in the Golden State. Starting in 2028 all guitars must be electric. The Financial Times reported that new state laws legalizing weed could turn red states blue in the next election. Legal marijuana in twenty-four states and the District of Columbia had profound effects upon Thanksgiving. For example, many Americans are just getting around to celebrating it today. The FBI released crime statistics for 2023 showing lower numbers of murders, lower numbers of violent crimes and lower numbers of property crimes this past year. I think everybody needs to step up their game. From my perspective, criminals are far less dangerous than a well-organized government. (COMMENT, BELOW) MATTOON Natashia Carter and Rebecca Ennis have been honored with the Lake Land College Non-traditional Student of the Year Award. Carter and Ennis were among 10 nominees who were honored for their perseverance and outstanding determination in pursuing their academic goals and following their dreams. The other nominees were Nicole Martin, Greenup; Cynthia Heiman, Pana; Noella Kasera, Democratic Republic of Congo; Tierra Rowland, Humboldt; Blessing Nzeribe, Nigeria; Holly Cornell, Montrose; Austin Babb, Lerna; and Darrius Frazier, Charleston. The individuals we honor this evening are a special group of people. Their paths to be here today have not always been easy, yet you would never know it, said Kelly Allee, director of marketing and public relations. Their positive attitudes and determination inspire everyone around them. We are thankful for the opportunity to celebrate their many past accomplishments and anticipate their bright futures. Carter, of Mattoon, began attending Lake Land after reshaping her life by overcoming addiction. She serves as a tutor, leads major projects as the president of student honor society PTK, volunteers her time to support foster families and advocates for mental health by using her story to inspire others. She is seeking a degree in human services to work in counseling. Ennis, of Charleston, is pursuing a degree in psychology after years of putting her education on hold to focus on her familys needs. Now, she balances the responsibilities of being both a student and the caregiver of her husband and mother, who are both battling cancer. She is also a talented self-published author and received the 2023 Illinois State Paul Simon Scholarship Award for her powerful essay on how community college changed her life. Alex Wilson, the Parkland High School student critically injured Nov. 20 after jumping from the rear of a school bus, has died of his injuries, Winston-Salem police said. Wilson, who was 17, died Monday evening, police said. Police found Wilson lying in the street and critically injured about 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 20, after responding to a call at Alder and Waughtown streets. Investigators determined that Wilson was riding in a school bus and jumped out of the back of the bus while it was moving, police said. The student jumped out the emergency exit door in the rear of the bus as it was making its routine afternoon stops, the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools said after the incident. Police said there was no evidence of criminal activity leading up to the students jump from the bus. Wilson was not identified by authorities until Mondays announcement from police that he had died. In the immediate aftermath of the incident, schools Superintendent Tricia McManus called it a heartbreaking situation, and said that school officials were keeping the student and his family in their thoughts and prayers. School officials said a crisis team was sent to Parkland to talk with the students peers the day after Wilson jumped from the bus. Police offered condolences to Wilsons family in announcing his death, and said further information on what happened would be released as appropriate. However, there were no new details made public in Mondays announcement. Police said anyone with information about this incident can call Winston-Salem police at 336-773-7700 or Crime Stoppers at 336-727-2800. This week, British American Tobacco Plc launched a multi-pronged media campaign aimed at prodding United Kingdom public health regulators into being more supportive of vapings potential role in reducing traditional cigarette consumption. BAT, the parent company of Reynolds American, owns the top-selling U.S. electronic cigarette in Vuse which is increasing in popularity and usage in the U.K. The campaign features advertising in newspapers, websites and billboards across the U.K. ahead of consultation on the Tobacco and Vapes Bill ending on Dec. 6. BAT said it believes the vaping industry can play a lead role in England and Wales achieving at or below a 5% smoking prevalence by 2030 as well as Scotland by 2034. The manufacturer supports retailers having to demonstrate that they meet regulatory protocols or new technologies at point-of-sale locations that verify age, such as facial recognition cameras. In the U.S., both R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. and Altria Group are prodding the Food and Drug Administration to heightened enforcement on illicit synthetic nicotine electronic cigarettes in the U.S. vaping market. Both companies have estimated those synthetic products represent about half of the overall domestic market. Reynolds continues to call on the FDA, in conjunction with federal, state, and local authorities, to strongly enforce against these illegal disposable vapor products. In October, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and Reynolds Vapor jointly filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission against more than 25 companies involved in illegally importing unregulated, flavored disposable vapor products. Most of those are coming from China. Reynolds cited the 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey that found high school students use of illegal disposable vapor products has risen more than 2,616% since 2019. Among youth who reported current e-cigarette use, nearly all used flavored products with fruit, candy, mint and menthol being the most commonly used flavors. Yolonda Richardson, president and chief executive of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, has expressed her concern with the widespread availability of illegal and unauthorized flavored products that must be taken off the market. Over two million kids still use e-cigarettes and over a third of them use e-cigarettes daily or most days, a strong indication they are addicted to the high-nicotine products now on the market, Richardson said. To fully end this crisis, the FDA must clear the market of all flavored e-cigarettes. Caterpillar has been approved by President Vladimir Putin to sell its Russian assets to PSK-New Solutions, according to several media reports. PSK-New Solutions makes machinery for the construction, mining and oil and gas industries. It is being allowed to buy 100% of the charter capital in Caterpillar Tosno and Caterpillar Financial as a response to Western sanctions. Caterpillar suspended manufacturing operations in Russia during 2022. Under Russian law, Putin's approval is needed for the sale of stakes in Russian finance or energy ventures. He has cleared the sale of assets by a number of Western companies that exited Russia as a result of the conflict in Ukraine. Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines said Monday that the city may try to shut down a Glenn Avenue bar where five people were shot early Sunday morning, one seriously. Joines said the city attorney will be looking into nuisance action against the Spot Bar and Lounge at 3533 N. Glenn Avenue after the weekend shooting. During that incident, Dayona Imani Tyson, 23, was found at the bar with multiple gunshot wounds to her body and was taken to a hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries. Four other people received injuries that were not considered life-threatening, Winston-Salem police said. With something of that magnitude and the number of victims, we have to look at potentially a nuisance abatement violation there, the mayor said. I talked to the city attorney today, and we are collecting data on that right now. We dont do it lightly, and the courts would not approve it without significant data. A man died of a gunshot wound at the same address on Nov. 4, Winston-Salem police said. Police responded to the Spot at 2:30 a.m. Sunday in response to a report of a shooting. They found Tyson there along with Kali Kame Wright, 20, who received a superficial gunshot wound that was not considered serious. Three other victims later showed up at area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, police said. Those victims were identified as Briyonna Mickens-Gambrell, 26, Imiere Artrell McDaniels, 36, and Terrick JeJuan Miller, 33. Police said Monday they had no further information to release on Sundays shooting. During the Nov. 4 shooting, police responded to the location on Glenn Avenue a little before 1 a.m., and found victim Jerry Lee Hairston Jr., 41, dead at the scene from apparent gunshot wounds. The citys criminal investigators took over the investigation, which they are continuing. Hairston was a resident of Green Street. Police reports also show that an aggravated assault occurred at the same location close to 6 p.m. on Aug. 9. The victim in that case was a 22-year-old woman. No other information was available on that case. Joines said that while the city may try to shut down the bar, the first approach would be to work with the business owner to make conditions safer. We have worked with property owners before, where new owners agreed on security improvements, Joines said. They can avoid a nuisance abatement if they take certain steps. The nuisance abatement would take a little while. We are going to put some suggestions to the owners so they can go ahead and react. The property is owned by Ibuff LLC, an automotive detail business managed by Kerry W. Greene Jr. Greene declined comment for this story, but did say that the bar space is rented to its operator. A Japanese lithium-ion manufacturer said Tuesday it is committing to a $233 million manufacturing facility in Linwood that will feature at least 352 jobs at full production. Dai Nippon Printing Co. Ltd., founded in 1876, is one of the worlds leading printing companies. Among its products are lithium-ion battery pouches for electric vehicles. With the Dai Nippon pledge, Davidson Countys recent streak of landing major economic-development projects has been extended when counting Nucor Corp. and Siemens Mobility Inc. Several media reports indicate that Project Puma, which proved to be Dai Nippon, involved the same company that had considered opening a $258 million manufacturing plant in Salisbury by the end of 2029. The Salisbury Post reported in September that the company ended negotiations with Rowan commissioners because it was considering another potential location. Dai Nippon held talks with Gov. Roy Cooper during his economic development trip to Tokyo in October, with a focus on North Carolinas efforts in promoting the clean energy sector. My meeting with DNP in Tokyo last month was productive, and Im grateful they are building their EV battery pouch manufacturing facility in North Carolina, Cooper said in a statement. It is yet another sign of our growing clean energy economy. The plastic packaging material for lithium-ion battery pouches are designed to encase and protect EV battery cells. DNP has developed and produced packaging for smartphones, tablets and laptops for more than three decades, providing lighter and lower profile pouches that resist heat and vibrations, protect from water, extend battery life, and increase fuel efficiency. The average annual salary for the Dai Nippon jobs will be $50,281, compared with the Davidson average of $49,956. The company has been made eligible for up to $2.74 million in performance-based incentives from the states Job Development Investment Grant. On Monday, the Davidson Board of Commissioners approved selling 47 acres in the I-85 Corporate Center to the company behind Project Puma as part of a proposed economic development project. At $50,000 per acre, the company would be required to pay $2.35 million for the land. The property thats owned by the county is located on Egger Drive and Belmont Road in Lexington that contains just under 103 acres overall. This multimillion-dollar investment and new jobs will positively impact our region, and we stand ready to support this next phase of growth for the company, said N.C. Sen. Steve Jarvis, R-Davidson. DNPs other North Carolina presence is a Concord production site and sales office for DNP Imagingcomm America Corp. Other Davidson projects In August, Nucor broke ground on a $350 million steel manufacturing plant in Lexington with a pledge to create at least 180 jobs by the end of 2025. Nucor is North Americas largest recycler, using scrap steel as its primary raw material. The plant is being constructed on a 123.66-acre tract at 6776 E. U.S. 64 near Kepley Road off U.S. 64 between I-85 and N.C. 109. With production slated to begin by end of 2024, it is being estimated to produce as much as 430,000 tons of rebar a year, which typically is used in the construction of roads, buildings, sidewalks and other structures. The average annual wage at the Nucor facility would be $99,660, which is more than double the Davidson County annual average wage of $45,170. Nucor has been made eligible for up to $19.3 million in state economic incentives for the plant, but did not request local incentives. Also in August, Siemens Mobility Inc. broke ground on its $220 million Lexington plant that is planned to have 506 employees at full production of passenger rail cars, also known as rolling stock. The global manufacturer committed March 8 to begin production in 2024 of passenger rail cars. The average annual wage was disclosed as $51,568. Siemens Mobility Inc. has paid $16.16 million for the 202-acre Lexington Industrial Park. Siemens officials said they chose the Lexington site because of three local factors: rail service, local workforce availability and cost of construction. The average annual wage was disclosed as $51,568. Fire crews have been scaled back as the Sauratown Mountain gets closer to full containment, but the N.C. Forest Service said its rangers are not letting down their guards just yet. Wind gusts expected to reach as high as 26 miles per hour on Tuesday have authorities on the watch for any potential reignition of a fire that burned more than 800 acres on the slopes of the Stokes County mountain. I would not say the fire is completely out yet, said Jimmy Holt, speaking for the N.C. Forest Service. In a lot of those areas, they do not have the ability to get water in, so they are continuing to mop up and monitor those lines. We are still working some hot spots, and we are doing a fair amount of fire line rehab. The good news is that with rain expected to come in this weekend, the fire could be finally put out at that time. But authorities remember how a 2008 fire at the mountain spread after shifting winds breathed new life into a fire that had been mostly contained. Before the expected rains arrive this weekend, the mountain will be buffeted by strong winds on Tuesday. We still have leaves coming off trees, so there is still potential for reburn issues, Holt said. As of 6 p.m. Sunday, regional firefighting efforts at the mountain were shifted to county-level responsibility, Holt said. On Monday, Holt said, about 10 people were still working the fire. Thats a big drop from last week, when as many as 150 or so firefighters some from as far away as Oregon or Washington state were out combating the fire. All out-of-state resources have been demobilizing, Holt said Monday. Meanwhile, the cause of the fire has still not been determined and is under investigation. Holt said only two instances of property damage have emerged from the fire: A house on Sauratown Mountain Road received some minor melting of some vinyl siding, and a gutter on a building at Mountaintop Youth Camp on the northern side of the mountain had to be removed when leaves inside it caught on fire. The fire started Nov 18 and quickly grew, covering more than 300 acres by Nov. 20. The fire worked its way down the south slope of the mountain, moving its way in the direction of Camp Hanes and nearby homes. Some residents evacuated, and others had escape vehicles at the ready. Holt said firefighters got a big break last Tuesday, when the area was blanketed in rain. That was the big game changer, Holt said. Everybody was asking how bad this would have been if the rain had not come that we had on Tuesday. A lot of folks were scared to speculate how bad it might have been. On Friday, Holt said, some people who live near the mountain became concerned when they saw a marked increase in smoke, but that was coming from fires deliberately set to burn up remaining stores of fuel. We tried to get the word out that the best way to secure the fire was to burn the unburned areas, he said. The various crews brought in to fight the fire worked well together, Holt said. Morale was high, he said. The relationship is great between the Forest Service and the fire departments. We had support from Stokes Emergency Management, the EMS, the Fire Marshals office, and a lot of fire departments from adjoining counties coming over to assist, he said. In addition to working on fire lines, Holt said, crews have also been engaged in preventing future water runoff and soil erosion by putting down grass seed and straw on fire lines, especially where the slopes are steep or where streams flow. The Forest Service said those areas would be monitored until natural vegetation returns. Crews were also installing water diversion bars to prevent erosion. If the rain event materializes this weekend, I think maybe we can see the light at the end of the tunnel for thsi thing to be over, Holt said. The Triad and Northwest North Carolina hospitals will receive a combined $566.8 million in federal funding that serves as a pivotal carrot for gaining Medicaid expansion approval from the Republican-controlled state legislature. The Medicaid expansion rollout is slated to begin Friday with nearly half of a potential 600,000 North Carolinians automatically enrolled who already have limited Medicaid family planning benefits. That Healthcare Access and Stabilization Program (HASP) funding is led by $219.8 million to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, $126.3 million to Moses Cone Hospital and $67.2 million to Forsyth Medical Center, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services disclosed Monday. HASP payments are calculated based on in-network Medicaid managed care payments to acute care hospitals, critical access hospitals, hospitals owned or controlled by the UNC Health Care System and ECU Health Medical Center. Baptist received a significantly bigger HASP payment because it serves a larger Medicaid population base than Moses Cone and Forsyth. The payments are proportional to the Medicaid patients and billings they see, state Health Secretary Kody Kinsley said. Kinsley said the HASP payments will help offset the increasing cost of serving Medicaid-covered patients, which is the design of the program. Baptist and Forsyth Medical Center do not provide third-party sources of payments in its quarterly financial filings to bondholders. Baptist deferred comment on its HASP payments to the N.C. Healthcare Association. Novant Health Inc. said in a statement that after taking into consideration the assessments that Novant Health will pay on the HASP payments, the system will receive approximately $222 million to help increase access to care for some of North Carolinas most vulnerable citizens. While HASP payments will help provide much needed support to hospitals, it will not completely fill the Medicaid reimbursement gap, as Novant Health provided nearly $230 million in unreimbursed health services to individuals with Medicaid coverage in 2022. Cone listed in its third-quarter filing to bondholders that Medicaid represents 12.2% of patient payments, along with 42.9% commercial and managed care, and 35.9% Medicare. Cone said in a statement the HASP funding helps plug a large hole in hospital budgets caused by the difference between what hospitals are paid to care for people with Medicaid and the amount it costs to provide that care. It is a lifeline for many rural hospitals in our state that treat large numbers of people with Medicaid. Cone said the HASP payment comes at an ideal time. We finished last fiscal year with a positive margin of .65%. With this money we will be able to invest more deeply in our people. Background Medicaid expansion and HASP is being financed through new assessments on North Carolina hospitals that essentially meets the states requirement of covering 10% of expansion administrative costs. The NCHA said the overall hospital assessment will be about $550 million annually. The federal government provides the remaining 90%. These (HASP) funds are critical, as they will not only help provide much needed support to our states healthcare safety net, DHHS said. They also enable hospitals to pay for the non-federal share costs of expansion. Hospital assessments have been a negotiating sticking point over the past 10 years, even though the states major health-care systems have agreed to the assessments with the expectation that the additional federal Medicaid administrative funding will more than offset the annual expense. DHHS projects North Carolina will draw more than $8 billion in federal funds annually, based on expected ultimate expansion enrollment of at least 600,000 North Carolinians. Altogether, nearly $2.6 billion in HASP funds will be distributed to 102 hospitals this week. These payments to hospitals are a lifeline and critical as we work to strengthen rural hospitals and health systems in North Carolina, Kinsley said. This will have a historic impact on individuals across the state, including the more than 4.6 million people living in one of the 70 rural counties across North Carolina, DHHS said. DHHS said HASP payments will ensure people covered by Medicaid and Medicaid expansion have access to comprehensive physical and behavioral health care services in the communities they live in. House speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, cited the availability in 2022 of HASP funding as a key element in the Medicaid expansion pursuit to support expanded access to care for low-income North Carolinians. Considering the HASP funds and the work provisions put in place in this bill along with other safeguards, our workforce will remain strong as we expand access to healthcare for those who need it in the most conservative and fiscally responsible way possible, Moore said. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper said the HASP payments will serve as real-life impacts of this extraordinary win for North Carolinians through these first payments to our rural hospitals that have been struggling for years to keep their doors open. The N.C. Healthcare Association said the HASP arrangement "comes with a lot of responsibility and a uncertainty." "The hospitals are doing it because it is the right thing to do. We are acting on faith that North Carolina will be able to continue to draw on these federal funds in the years to come." The NCHA said that HASP funds will help rural hospitals to "be able to continue providing programs and services for patients that typically do not produce income, such as behavioral health and labor and delivery services." "Additionally, with high labor costs and workforce shortages being a pervasive problem for hospitals across the state, the HASP funds will help hospitals to invest in workforce recruitment, retention, training and compensation, which also helps with maintaining access to care for their communities." Three people are dead in an apparent murder-suicide early Tuesday morning, Winston-Salem Police said. Police believe that David Lee Housden, 55, killed his two children, Alexander David Housden, 20, and Kaylee Nicole Housden, 16, before dying by suicide, Chief William Penn, Jr., said at a news conference. The mother of the children was present at the home and reported the shooting, police said. The childrens deaths were the 43rd and 44th homicides of the year in Winston-Salem, compared to 33 by the same time last year. Police responded to a shooting at Water Lily Circle, on the citys southeast side, at 3:30 a.m., where they discovered the bodies, Penn said. The street runs through a subdivision called Robbins Brook off Robbins Road on the southeastern side of Winston-Salem, south of Kernersville Road. Its a somber day in the city, Penn said. Alexander Housden was a junior at Winston-Salem State University and Kaylee Housden was a student at Atkins High School. Kaylee was on the band color guard at her school, officials said. Alexander had transferred from Western Carolina University and had begun attending school at WSSU in the fall of 2022. He was majoring in exercise science and minoring in biology. He was a great student with strong grades, said LaMonica Sloan Wilhelmi, the associate vice chancellor and dean of students at WSSU. A neighbor who asked for anonymity said that while the childrens father was different, no one in the neighborhood could have dreamed that he would have taken his childrens lives or his own. Everybody knew there was something wrong with him, the neighbor said. He was quiet. He didnt speak to many people. He had some peculiar ways ... he was particular about his space if you dont put your trash away, things like that. From what I understand, he has been in a bad place for a while, personally. The neighbor said she woke up by accident about the time police were showing up on Water Lily Circle. At first, she thought the lights she saw outside were Christmas lights, but looking outside, she saw police cars and yellow police tape at the Housdens home and knew that something bad had happened. Late Tuesday morning, police called a news conference at the Burke Public Safety Center to break the news about the overnight slayings. The street leading into the subdivision was blocked while authorities removed the bodies of the father and the two children from their house. The neighbor said that on the surface, nothing out of the ordinary seemed to be going on lately with the couple and their children. It could have been something going on inside that us, as neighbors, dont know about between husband and wife and the family, the neighbor said. But I do know that the children were very close to their dad. It just reminds you that you can see things on the surface and you can see that they look like a normal family, that they are very close knit and they do things together, and everythings OK, but really there is some possible mental illness going on. You would have to be somewhat disturbed to take your childrens life. Kaylee seemed to be a typical girl in the process of growing up, the neighbor said. She had turned 16 and had her drivers license and her first car. Alexander, the neighbor said, was trying to finish off college and planning a career and had just gotten engaged five months ago. The neighbor called the subdivision a small, close-knit community, where people know each other and keep in touch through an active homeowners association. The immediate neighbors have seen the kids grow up from being little ones, the neighbor said. You have a sense of care for your neighbor, concern. Im grieving for (the mother) right now and I think we all are. We have been up crying, and our spirits are just devastated. I think we are all in shock and we just never expected something like this. It hits home. You have to look at your own house and see, are we getting the help if we need it are we harboring hate in our hearts that could lead to a horrific crime scene. Dont hold to hate love each other, support each other and help each other. Tricia McManus, the superintendent of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, said crisis teams were sent to Atkins High School to help students and staff members cope with Kaylees death. Theyre there to talk with every student and every staff member that knew our student both in the classroom and any extracurricular activities. Theyll be there for unlimited time, McManus said. It could be today. It could be all week. This is something that will create lasting trauma for the family, our kids and our staff members. Much of the news conference centered around mental health and the impact of the deaths on the community. Penn said he would not answer questions about the investigation, which is ongoing. Kaylee was the second student in the local school district to die in a 12-hour period. On Monday night, Alex Wilson, 17, a Parkland High School student, died from injuries he sustained after jumping from the rear of a school bus while it was moving. A crisis team was sent to Parkland Tuesday to talk with Alexs peers, said Brent Campbell, the school districts spokesman. The school district has put in place several support systems over the last few years to help students with mental health issues, McManus said. Those include adding mentors, counselors and social workers and implementing lessons on social-emotional learning, which helps kids better understand their emotions. We are working day and night on the preventive side by giving resources to people before tragedy occurs, McManus said. But in the immediate aftermath of those tragedies, McManus said the school district will do whatever it takes to make sure everyone is OK. WSSU officials said that they too will be putting in place ways to help students deal with the trauma of the death of one of their fellow students. The university will be making contact with the family to see what support WSSU can give to them as they mourn. A vigil or some other type of remembrance is possible, depending on the wishes of the family, Wilhelmi said. Penn noted that seven people have now died by murder-suicide in the city this year. In April, a mother shot her three children inside a home on the southwestern side of Winston-Salem during a Facetime call, then shot herself, police said. The children killed were sisters Sakendra Syann Steele and Sakenya Syretha Steele and their brother, Sakenlo Shawn Steele. The childrens mother was Ethel Syretha Steele. Tuesdays murder-suicide prompted the police department to invite Andy Hagler, the executive director of the Mental Health Association of Forsyth County, to the news conference to talk about encouraging people to get help for themselves and others when they need it. Forsyth County has several organizations that can support families whose members may have a mental health issue, including Family Services, CareNet Counseling, Daymark Recovery Services and Monarch Behavioral Health, Hagler said. We also know that sometimes a person with a mental illness and a severe mental illness may not want to seek care, he said. And we encourage families to go out and seek support. Officials say people should dial 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline if they are experiencing mental health-related distress or are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support. A 47-year-old Lincoln man credited his crime to drug addiction, but at his sentencing Monday the prosecutor said drugs had very little to do with it. Anthony Labrillo had been harming his victim for years, Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Morgan Smith said at Labrillo's sentencing for enticing a child, to which Labrillo had pleaded guilty. Lincoln police found Labrillo in the parking lot of a north Lincoln fast-food restaurant off Cornhusker Highway at 12:40 a.m. Feb. 26, 2022, with a 15-year-old girl. Police arrested him for violating a protection order that barred him from contacting her. But he ended up facing felony charges after a search of the girl's phone turned up sexually explicit messages and photos from Labrillo and messages suggesting they had been smoking narcotics together. On Monday, his attorney, Stephanie Flynn, said the majority of his criminal history has resulted around his use and addiction to drugs, for which he wants to get in-patient treatment when he's released. Smith said Labrillo gave his victim, who is 30 years younger than him, drugs and raped her. He said Labrillo had been arrested on similar allegations in 2020 but managed to get the case dismissed and continued the behavior. "Which the state finds especially disturbing," Smith said, asking for a lengthy sentence to keep the victim and the community safe. Lancaster County District Judge Lori Maret called it a very disturbing case and sentenced Labrillo to 45 to 50 years in prison. PhotoFiles: Historic photos of Robber's Cave in Lincoln Robber's Cave Robber's Cave Robber's Cave Robber's Cave Robber's Cave Robber's Cave Robber's Cave book Robber's Cave book The union representing thousands of state employees has filed a demand to bargain after Gov. Jim Pillen ordered them to return to the office full time beginning in January. The Nebraska Association of Public Employees, which represents more than 8,000 state workers, sent a formal demand to Dan Birdsall, the governor's chief negotiator and administrator of employee relations, on Monday. In the letter, NAPE Executive Director Justin Hubly said most state employees are working in offices across Nebraska, but remote work assignments, when appropriate, have been beneficial to both employees and taxpayers. Approximately 2,855 state employees have been working in hybrid or remote settings, with some of those arrangements existing long before the COVID-19 pandemic as Nebraska's state agencies have sought to recruit and retain top talent. Pillen, however, in his Nov. 13 executive order, said he believed public servants "have a duty" to be in the office Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., adding he believed "face-to-face engagement" results in greater efficiency. "We're running state government like a business, and the best way to do that is face to face," Pillen told reporters last week. "I don't believe in doing it from home." Hubly said NAPE understands the governor's preference for having state employees be in the office or at a worksite, but he said the dramatic change in work situations and flexibility should be subject to bargaining. "While we respect the governor's right to have a preference, the terms and conditions of employment are mandatory subjects of bargaining under both the Nebraska State Employees Collective Bargaining Act and the Industrial Relations Act," he added. Under NAPE's contract with the state, any changes to the terms and conditions of employment that are mandatory subjects of bargaining and are not otherwise covered by the contract require the state to bargain with the union. "Remote work is not currently covered by the agreement, and, therefore, must be bargained," Hubly wrote. The union gave the state until Dec. 12 to respond, and it is planning a media briefing on Dec. 7, according to a news release. The executive order goes into effect on Jan. 2, meaning state employees will no longer be able to work remotely or hybrid after that date, which Hubly said could exacerbate staffing shortages at several state agencies. Since the executive order, NAPE has gained nearly 150 new members, he added, which he attributed to the potential change in work arrangements for some. "Our top priority is ensuring that we can continue to provide effective and efficient services to our fellow Nebraskans, while also respecting the rights of our members, our contract, and the law," he said. "We must do everything in our power to ensure the state is able to retain its current workforce and attract a new generation of public servants for the future," Hubly added. In a statement, Birdsall said the state was planning to move forward as directed by Pillen. Based on the labor contract, the state has discretion over the determination as to work locations and schedules," Birdsall said. "Agencies have been directed to make necessary preparation in line with the governors executive order, which will go into effect on Jan. 2. In the weeks since the governor's executive order, more than two dozen workers have raised concerns about the loss of remote work or flexibility in their schedules. Those employees said the cost of commuting, inability to find child care, after-school supervision or transportation would lead them to consider leaving their positions. Before Pillen's order, the state had more than 2,500 unfilled jobs. At first glance, Omaha family medicine physician Alex Dworak was pleasantly surprised by the gender-affirming care regulations for minors proposed by the state health department. The new rules, he initially believed, aligned with the standards he already employed in his practice. But it wasnt long before he ran into concerns. When the temporary regulations on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for people under 19 took effect in October, Dworak said, it added stress and confusion for him and his patients. Now that similar regulations are proposed to take effect permanently, Dworak and other local health professionals are speaking out to criticize aspects of the proposal they believe create unnecessary barriers to care. This could be a de facto ban, Dworak said. The regulations are a statutory requirement under LB574, which was signed into law earlier this year. Nebraska Chief Medical Officer Timothy Tesmer created the temporary regulations to take effect for 90 days starting Oct. 1, avoiding a potential full ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapy that otherwise would have taken effect. Then, according to a Department of Health and Human Services document, Tesmer consulted with medical, psychological and behavioral health specialists in the department on the permanent proposal, which added some small changes to the temporary regulations. Those have yet to take effect, with a public hearing scheduled for Tuesday at the Lancaster Event Center. Among the regulations are several waiting periods, including that patients must live at least six months in their preferred gender, receive at least 40 hours of therapy and wait seven days after having their prescription before obtaining the medication. Under these criteria, Dworak said, a patient could possibly wait one to three years before receiving treatment, not counting potential delays in finding an available therapist. Dawn Darling, a licensed social worker for a therapy service in Kearney, said therapists are in high demand, with many having waitlists. Mandated therapy is extra difficult for those who have lower incomes, lack insurance coverage or live in rural areas. Additionally, she said, the 40-hour requirement doesnt align with how most therapists measure their sessions. Rather than going by hourly increments, Darling said many therapists sessions go for 45 or 75 minutes, which will make it more difficult to ensure their clients meet the requirement. A DHHS document said 40 hours was chosen as the requirement to ensure a thorough understanding of the patients needs. It notes that some gender-affirming care can have lasting effects on the body, so a patient should be aware of the commitment involved. A department official said the regulations intend to enforce a balanced approach to this treatment while not creating undue barriers. Mandatory therapy came up as part of the legislative debate on LB574 earlier this year, with at least one lawmaker, state Sen. Jana Hughes of Seward, citing it as part of her reasoning for supporting the bill. She raised concerns after learning that Planned Parenthood doesnt require that clients 16 and older receive therapy before prescribing hormones. Hughes advocated for a slower approach, arguing that because some gender-affirming medications have lasting effects, minors should go through some therapy to ensure there arent other factors contributing to their desire for the treatment. Were talking about kids here, Hughes said. Nicole Chaisson, director of gender-affirming care for Planned Parenthood of North Central States, said that while Planned Parenthood doesnt require therapy, it does follow an informed consent model that requires parental consent and an extensive conversation about the effects of hormone therapy. Chaisson said she does evaluate her clients mental state during these meetings, and while in some extreme cases she has denied hormones to adults, that hasnt happened yet with younger clients, who have to be 16. She said Planned Parenthood trusts clients and their parents to know whats best for them, whether that includes therapy or not. Many supporters of LB574 contended that minors brains arent developed enough to be trusted to seek these medications, but some health officials have disputed this. Dworak said humans can realize their gender identity as young as 3 years old; Chaisson said that by 16, peoples brains are developed enough to be capable of pursuing gender-affirming care under a sound mind. Dworak added that many of his younger clientele have consistently and persistently talked with their parents for a long time before they reach him, at the stage where prescriptions are issued. Usually, theyve been waiting for a while to get to me, he said. Darling, who has worked with transgender patients for the past nine years, said therapy isnt always necessary for people seeking gender-affirming care, although many still do it. In fact, she said mandated therapy was once part of worldwide standards for transgender care, but it has since been phased out in favor of a more individualized system. This is kind of just trying to take us back in time, Darling said. There were also concerns with the regulations guidelines for the therapy hours. According to the proposal, the 40 hours must be gender-identity-focused but also be clinically objective and non-biased and not merely affirm the patients beliefs. This language raised red flags for several mental health professionals, including Sen. John Fredrickson of Omaha, one of two openly LGBTQ+ Nebraska lawmakers and an opponent of LB574. Fredrickson said he chuckled when he read this part of the proposal, because it was evident it wasnt written by people within the mental health field. All therapy is clinically neutral thats how therapy works, Dworak said. The language is difficult enough to interpret that Chaisson said Planned Parenthood has halted prescribing hormones to new patients younger than 19 in Nebraska until it is clear how the regulations will affect its practice. Darling said therapy that is both unbiased and doesnt affirm the clients identity is inherently contradictory. She said the guidelines seem to promote therapists taking a doubtful stance where the client has to convince their therapist that they are trans. She said that runs counter to an environment that is supposed to feel safe and welcoming. Darling questioned whether using a clients preferred pronouns would violate these guidelines. A DHHS official said it wouldnt, but Darling argued the language is uncomfortably similar to an emerging anti-trans approach to therapy that is growing in popularity in states that have passed similar laws to LB574. Fredrickson said it will be nearly impossible to enforce whether a therapist even follows these guidelines, as therapy sessions are confidential and protected under federal law. Including it at all, he said, suggests that the state is trying to nitpick something that doesnt need regulating. Thats extraordinarily petty to me, Fredrickson said. Beyond issues with the therapy regulations, Chaisson brought up concerns with the proposals pharmaceutical regulations. Specifically, she criticized a provision that would require injectable forms of puberty blockers and hormones be administered by a credentialed professional with the prescribed practitioners office, or by the patients primary care provider. Chaisson argued this unnecessarily targets trans men, as the most efficient and accessible way to administer the hormone testosterone is via injection, while estrogen can be easily ingested through a pill. Typically, Chaisson said Planned Parenthood trains its clients how to inject themselves from home, similar to how diabetic patients can give themselves insulin shots. With injections typically administered every one to four weeks, requiring that younger patients receive them outside their home is a significant time commitment, she said. DHHS said this requirement was included to ensure that patients receive the proper dosage and that their side effects are monitored by professionals. Because of a grandfather clause in LB574, patients under 19 who were receiving injectable treatment before Oct. 1 can continue doing so at home if they wish. In contrast to the concerns raised by health professionals, LB574s introducer, Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha, said the proposed regulations dont go far enough to restrict gender-affirming care. She said shes heard similar concerns privately from medical professionals who are scared to speak up, but she hopes they will share their thoughts at Tuesdays hearing. Dworak said the proposed regulations intend to have a chilling effect on patients and professionals in the gender-affirming care field. The way the language is written, he said, it sends a message to medical professionals that they shouldnt be practicing in this type of care. In the past year since LB574 was introduced, Dworak said at least five of his transgender patients have left Nebraska out of safety concerns, despite being older than the age limit set in the bill. A majority of his remaining patients also have plans to leave, he said. The rhetoric during the debate and lack of interest in the views of medical experts have made Dworak question his future in the state. Darling said the proposed regulations could very well exacerbate the shortage of health care providers in Nebraska. If that happens, Dworak said that will affect more than just transgender patients, as most professionals within the gender-affirming care field work in other fields as well. This is going to hurt all Nebraskans, he said. Photos and video: Scene at Nebraska Capitol as lawmakers pass LB574 Members of the public are invited to pay their respects to Bellevue Police Officer Christopher Abbott during his funeral procession Tuesday. A 22-year veteran of the Bellevue Police Department, Abbott, 48, died unexpectedly after a medical emergency Nov. 18. The procession for Abbott will begin at about 11:30 a.m. at the Bellevue Christian Center and last until noon with his interment at the cemetery in Glenwood, Iowa. The procession will be preceded by Abbotts funeral service at the Bellevue church. The procession route will cover about 3 miles in Bellevue. From the church, the procession will go west along Harvell Drive to Galvin Road South. The procession will then travel southeast down to Mission Avenue, where it will go directly east into Iowa and over to Glenwood. Abbott lived with his wife, Amie, and their two sons, Gaven and Brecken, in Glenwood. In Bellevue, police ask that people line up along Mission Avenue to view the procession. The procession route in Glenwood will go along Sharp and Coolidge Street and then head north along North Locust Street. The route will then bend northwest where North Locust Street turns into 221st Street. Abbotts body will be taken to the Glenwood Cemetery just off 221st Street. Photos: 2023 Lincoln Veterans Day Parade 1. Yes. The platform takes up too much time and is often abused by speakers. Get rid of it. 2. Yes. The Citizen Petitions section is unworkable and generally results in a gripe session. 3. No. The platform is the only way residents can discuss non-agenda items. Keep it around.. 4. No. Killing it will discourage public input. Keep it or broaden Citizen Comments criteria. 5. Unsure. It can be a drain on the councils time, but it does serve a purpose for residents. Vote View Results Fort McCoy, Wis., was established in 1909. Here is a look back at some installation history from October 2023 and back. 80 Years Ago November 1943 FROM THE NOV. 6, 1943, EDITION OF THE REAL MCCOY NEWSPAPER: Post lends trucks for scrap hunt Twenty-five trucks and drivers are being sent from Camp McCoy to assist neighboring communities in the WPBs Victory Salvage Bank Campaign, Col. George M. MacMullin, post commander, announced this week. Participation in the civilian drives is in line with Col. MacMullins order, The Army must lead the way, that saw company areas at McCoy searched for scrap metal and waste paper this week. Disposal of quantities of scrap through authorized channels was reported this week by Lt. Louis Malenky, post salvage officer. Ten trucks and drivers from McCoy are scheduled to assist 15 Boy Scout troops of La Crosse in a drive for waste paper today. Trucks furnished by the La Crosse Ordnance Repair shop will cover the entire city. Driving the trucks in La Crosse will be men from the 562nd Anti-Aircraft Battalion. Scheduled to help in the collection are Lloyd Pierson, Joseph B. Bennett, Otis R. Camipbell, Oliver G. Hayes, Emmett E. Helfer, Robert Johnson, Paul Koutch, George E. Schinholt, Edward B. Schott and Harold Holt. Fifteen trucks and drivers from McCoy will go to Vernon County on the 15th to pick up not less than 150 tons of scrap, Capt. Robert S. Box, assistant post adjutant, reported this week. Closing on the 15th, the national drive under the direction of the War Production Board is attempting to round up enough scrap iron and waste paper by then to prevent acute shortages in these salvage items from setting war production schedules. FROM THE NOV. 20, 1943, EDITION OF THE REAL MCCOY NEWSPAPER: Col. MacMullin breaks ground for new McCoy Red Cross building on F Street Ground-breaking by Col. George M. MacMullin, post commander, Monday morning marked the beginning of construction of a new Red Cross building at Camp McCoy. The building, on F St. between 11th and 12th Ave., will conform in appearance with the rest of the gray, frame structures at the camp. It will be a one-story affair, 100 feet long and 20 feet deep. It will contain offices for five staff members and space for a stenographic pool. Living quarters for staff personnel also will be provided, so that the Red Cross services may be available 24 hours daily. Construction is expected to take about 30 days. Attending the ceremonies, besides Col. MacMullin, were Lt. Col. Harry Brown, post executive officer; Lt. Col. Arthur F. Ewert, post chaplain; Maj. Arnold Olsen, Special Service officer; and R. A. Clough, field director of the American Red Cross here. The Red Cross has had an office at Camp McCoy since May 1942. Activities have steadily increased until it now handles 2,500 cases a month. 30 Years Ago November 1993 FROM THE NOV. 5, 1993, EDITION OF THE TRIAD NEWSPAPER: Post advances in ACOE competition Fort McCoy will vie for Department of the Army (DA) honors in the mall installation category during annual Army Communities of Excellence (ACOE) competition in November. Fort McCoy officials were notified Monday, Oct. 25, that the post had been selected as the Forces Command (FORSCOM) nominee for the small-installation category of the competition. FORSCOM is the major U.S. Army Command under which Fort McCoy was aligned during the competition year, fiscal year 1993. The ACOE program exists to encourage installations to find innovative ways of providing better service and facilities for their customers within the military community. According to Fort McCoy ACOE Coordinator Pat Heilman, small installations are defined as those with a permanent population of 9,000 or fewer. The post was selected from a field of three other FORSCOM installations competing in the category. Heilman said the posts selection as the lone FORSCOM nominee guarantees Fort McCoy of at least an honorable-mention finish, worth $50,000, at the DA level. DA is expected to release its list of finalists in late November. Installations making the list will be visited by an inspection team before winners are declared. Winners of each category at the DA level will receive $1 million, while runners-up will get $250,000. An overall winner, selected for excellence regardless of category, also will be chosen and will receive $1.5 million. All ACOE prize money must be spent to improve quality-of-life programs at the installation. 20 Years Ago November 2003 FROM THE NOV. 28, 2003, EDITION OF THE TRIAD NEWSPAPER: Wildland fire training benefits Fort McCoy (By Fort McCoy Public Affairs Staff) Wildland fires are not confined to any area of the United States. If one were to occur in the Midwest, students who attended a Wildfire Origination and Cause Determination class at Fort McCoy now will have the appropriate skills to investigate it, said Brian Garvey and Richard Bucklew. Garvey, a wildfire investigation instructor, and Bucklew, a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) Division of Forestry Law Enforcement specialist, were two of the organizers of the course at Fort McCoy. The attendees from state and federal agencies included representatives from the WDNR, the Minnesota and Michigan DNRs, the Menominee Tribal Council and the Ho-Chunk Nation. Personnel from the McCoy Fire Department also attended. A lot of the personnel attending were frontline responders, who we would expect to do what theyre taught, Bucklew said. The students get into their fields because they like being outdoors. They told us on their critiques that they really like the hands-on portions of the course and learned a lot from that. The class also introduces students to the latest techniques, said Garvey, who helps coordinate similar classes on a national level. Personnel who have fought wildfires in California, Montana and New Mexico have used these same techniques and training, Garvey said. Theyve been exchanging information about those fires. Its important to have good personnel trained and doing this work. Bucklew said he had been to classes at Fort McCoy several different times at the State Patrol Academy or the Wisconsin Military Academy and was impressed with the facilities and support personnel. A Midwest site was needed to hold a class. Bucklew and Garvey met with Terry Gough, installation fire chief, and Jim Kerkman, installation forester, to work out the details of holding the course at McCoy. They (Gough and Kerkman) sold us on the site, Garvey said. There were a lot of good areas on the fort to do the hands-on training and the differing terrains presented a lot of different training opportunities. Gough said the training helped Fort McCoy build its support network. If a wildfire or some other type of disaster occurred on Fort McCoy that would incorporate DNR assistance, he now knows the equipment, training and manpower levels available for support. 10 Years Ago November 2013 FROM THE NOV. 22, 2013, EDITION OF THE REAL MCCOY: McCoy Prayer Luncheon honors veterans (By Fort McCoy Public Affairs Staff) Even with a last-minute substitute guest speaker, the Fort McCoy Veterans Day Prayer Luncheon Nov. 7 didnt miss a beat and honored current and past veterans. Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Robert Brady, the deputy command chaplain of the 88th Regional Support Command, served as the guest speaker and noted his Family had a long tradition of military service that he has helped continue. A brother was a judge advocate general officer, his uncles and cousins served in Vietnam and Korea, his father was a gunners mate in the U.S. Navy during World War II and his grandfather was a Doughboy, a member of the American Expeditionary Force during World War I. Brady also recognized current service members and veterans from all the services and their service eras. Fort McCoy Garrison Commander Col. Steven W. Nott noted there is a uniqueness to be found in being a service member as no other federal profession has a day set aside (Veterans Day Nov. 11) to celebrate them. Lisa Giertych, whose father was a career service member, provided the music/special music for the ceremony, which included the National Anthem, Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone), and Here I am to Worship. Brady listed the major goals for service members and members of the Fort McCoy community to serve, volunteer and listen to other veterans. He also encouraged veterans to get resiliency/mental help when they needed it. Brady spoke about a Roman Centurion, a military officer mentioned in the Bible, who was well known for his service to the community, even though he was part of an occupying army. In a separate interview after the event, Brady said Soldiers serving in Iraq or Afghanistan are more like the Roman Centurion than they are like Soldiers from previous conflicts the U.S. was involved in. We know theyve gone through hard circumstances with the deployments (to Iraq and Afghanistan), Brady said. Theyve made positive contributions to the communities there and will continue to do so at home. Unlike in previous U.S. wars, there was no rebuilding the countries fought in, such as there was in World War II with the Marshall Plan. Also, unlike their grandfathers, they didnt marry the daughters of the people of the lands they served and fought in. The Soldiers in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts will be measured by the manner they served and the good deeds they did, which included rebuilding the infrastructure. The veterans who return to U.S. society today need to continue the goodness they exhibited in Iraq and Afghanistan in their communities, he said. 5 Years Ago November 2018 FROM THE NOV. 23, 2018, EDITION OF THE REAL MCCOY NEWSPAPER: Commanders learn about combat support hospitals in RTS-Medical course (By Aimee Malone) Regional Training Site (RTS)-Medical at Fort McCoy ran a Combat Support Hospital/Field Hospital Commander and Command Sergeant Major Course from Nov. 6-8 to help prepare new commanders for the challenges theyll face in the future. The three-day course is designed to provide leaders the required guidance, knowledge, techniques, and procedures required to perform their duties as a Combat Support Hospital (CSH) or Field Hospital (FH) commander or command sergeant major. It covers topics such as Tactical Standing Operating Procedures, organization and equipment, hospital layouts (including utilities), operations orders, and leadership. Our intent is to help these commanders ... have successful tenures and avoid some of the leadership potholes in the road, said Col. Cynthia Hopkins, site director for RTS-Medical. The course is conducted in a classroom setting, and attendees are encouraged to speak up about their own experiences to begin discussions. I want this to be an interactive course. I want there to be dialogue, Hopkins said. Col. Craig Parsons with the 3rd Medical Command (Deployment Support) in Fort Gillem, Ga., said the course was extremely useful to new commanders and command sergeant majors. This is the first time they can come together in this collective group and share their experiences. Any other time, they will meet in these exercises and thats not the time to get to know each other and share experiences and activities, Parsons said. Learn more about Army history by visiting the Army Center for Military History at https://history.army.mil. Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on the Defense Visual Information Distribution System at https://www.dvidshub.net/fmpao, on Facebook by searching ftmccoy, and on Twitter by searching usagmccoy. Also try downloading the Digital Garrison app to your smartphone and set Fort McCoy or another installation as your preferred base. Fort McCoy is also part of Armys Installation Management Command where We Are The Armys Home. The Twinkle Light Village Christmas market has returned to Viroquas Wild West Days grounds. The German-style market opened Thanksgiving weekend, and continues Fridays and Saturdays, Dec. 1-2, 8-9 and 15-16. The market is open Fridays 4 to 8 p.m. and Saturdays noon to 8 p.m. There is free entry. Visitors who come to the Wild West Days boomtown will find buildings and trees trimmed with lights and decorations, vendors, mulled wine, German sausage, and other hot food and drinks. Some vendors will sell their wares every weekend, while others may only be there a weekend or two. Santa Claus and the Grinch will be on the grounds Dec. 2 and Dec. 16 from 1 to 4 p.m. Childrens crafts will take place in the Wild Rose Cafe Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. Horse-drawn wagon rides will be offered Saturdays from 4 to 7 p.m. The cost is $3 for adults, $1 for children and $5 per family. Helping others Wild West Days, P.A.C.T. and Twinkle Light Village are hosting Holiday Hope, a student pantry drive for Viroqua Area Schools. The student pantry is an anonymous and private place students can go to get important supplies they need. The following supplies are needed: Bottled water; Coats and gloves (new/like new) (the pantry is low on elementary sizes, but will accept all sizes); Dish soap; Feminine hygiene products; Fuel cards; Healthy snacks (they do not need canned items); Laundry detergent; Undergarments (must be new); Warm clothing (new/like new) (the pantry is low on elementary sizes, but will accept all sizes). Supplies can be dropped off at the Buckeye Saloon during Twinkle Light Villages open hours. Monetary donations are also welcome. Checks or money orders, payable to Viroqua Area Schools, may be sent to the Viroqua Police Department, Attn: P.A.C.T., 1130 Nelson Parkway, Viroqua WI 54665 More information about Twinkle Light Village can be found at https://www.facebook.com/twinklelightvillage/ Twinkle Light Village is located at 925 Nelson Parkway. Schmidtys Bar & Restaurant is set to close at the end of the year unless a buyer steps forward to purchase the business from owner Bob Schmidt. Schmidt said he planned to keep Schmidtys a family business, but his children dont have a desire to take over the restaurant. The whole idea was to keep it in the family. When that wasnt going to happen, I decided I needed to go to the next step and that would be selling the place, Schmidt said. Schmidt announced in a Facebook post the restaurant will end its 68-year run on Jan. 1, 2024. He inherited the restaurant in 1994 from his parents Arlene and Norbert Schmidt, who opened Schmidtys in 1955. Its another piece of our generation thats going away, said Gene Davis, a longtime customer of Schmidtys. All of us at this table were the ones who have been here the longest. We came to the Kentucky Derby parties Arlene had here and we came for her last birthday here as well. Remember you used to always sit by the fireplace? Mike Betz, another customer at the table, said to his mother. Or, what was that old doorway they had in the front there? You came here all the time since it was here. In his post about the closing, Bob Schmidt announced the restaurant is up for sale. No deal has been offered or suggested, but Schmidt said he is open to selling both the business and the real estate. Im hoping for a quick sale and that the new owner will consider hiring some of the great employees that currently work here. Ideally the new owner will see the value of the last 68 years and continue with the format that made Schmidtys successful, Schmidt said in his announcement. Schmidt said his involvement with the restaurant following a sale is possible, especially if it helps keep a business that fills Schmidtys role as a community staple alive. I think a place like Schmidtys is needed on the South Side. Id like to see it continue somewhat as it has been because people love it here, Schmidt added. Its a place that is very comforting. An iconic type of place. Places of the past: 29 La Crosse area restaurants you'll never eat at again (part one) Sandy's Drive-In Paul's Pantry 1985: Ranch House Dinner Theater Happy Joe's Pizza and Ice Cream Parlor Unicorn Restaurant Pagliacci's Maid-Rite Cafe Circus Supper Club Michael's Cerise Ground Round Wendy's Elite Restaurant and Candy Shop Big River Cattle Co. Esteban's Fat Sams Bistro Nob Hill 1983: Showbiz Pizza Place Jensen's Cafe The Mint Oscar's Walt's Restaurant Big Dipper Party House Bon Appetit Chop House Zorba's Johnnies Bar & Grill Perkins Places of the past: 30 La Crosse area restaurants you'll never eat at again (part two) Edwardo's Embers Restaurant Cheddar 'n Ale Mai-Tai Supper Club Winchell's Donut House Taco Bell 1976: New Villa Mr. D's Donuts 1975: Bodega Lunch Club McDonald's Taco John's Taco Village Ponderosa Steak House Shakey's Pizza Fireside Restaurant 1972: Hoffman House Restaurant 1972: Louie Bantle's Restaurant Royale Pie Shop Chicago Beef & Etc. 1971: Kewpee Lunch Bridgeman's Ice Cream 1965: Dog House Restaurant Swiss Chateau Henry's Drive-In 1954: Triangle Cafe 1952: Harmony Cafe South Avenue Cafeteria The Penguin Drive-In TGI Fridays Fat Porcupine Burger Fusion The first meeting in which public comments were allowed regarding a plan to close two public elementary schools in La Crosse lasted less than 15 minutes. Only two people signed up to speak Monday at a virtual meeting conducted by the School District of La Crosse. It was the first of two scheduled meetings to gather public feedback on the Facility Advisory Committees recommendations to close North Woods International and Hintgen elementary schools. A second in-person meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 29 at the Hogan Administration Center. If you go What: La Crosse School District Facilities Advisory Committee When: 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 29 Where: Hogan Administration Center, 807 East Ave. S, La Crosse Agenda: Public feedback on committee proposal to close two elementary schools Both people who spoke opposed the committees recommendations, which reduces the number of elementary buildings in the district from nine to seven. The first speaker identified herself only as Vanessa and questioned whether any elementary buildings should be closed. She said last years closure of Lincoln Middle School has created overcrowded conditions at the two remaining middle schools. Just because you can fill a building to capacity doesnt mean you should, she said. She defended Hintgen, which she described as a model school with a 94% attendance rate. Their students show up every day because they know they are cared for, because their school is where they want to go a place full of adults and a culture they trust, she said. Anna Goldbeck was the other speaker. She accepted arguments in favor of downsizing but said the committee is targeting the wrong school buildings. She said Spence and Emerson have the highest long-term maintenance costs and are the least functional and the least efficient elementary school buildings. While I agree that closing at least one building is necessary, the Facilities Advisory Committee was steered in the direction to close the wrong one, Goldbeck said. The school board is expected to discuss the committees recommendation during its January meeting and come to a final decision in March. A community service collaboration is looking to fund one of the areas biggest coordinated efforts to house people with unstable living conditions this winter season. A partnership between Great Rivers United Way and La Crosse Community Foundation is seeking $50,000 in donations to fund the REACH Centers efforts to house people for the upcoming winter. The first $10,000 donated on Giving Tuesday, Nov. 28, will be matched by both United Way and La Crosse Community Foundation, effectively tripling all donations made on this day. Donations will go to the REACH Center, a resource shop that offers homeless prevention, navigation, health care, violence prevention and mental health programming. The center is gearing up for a winter that will be especially punishing for La Crosse residents without shelter or safe living conditions. Jamie Schloegel, CEO of La Crosse Community Foundation, said the groups are asking for donations because previous cash investments from COVID-19 relief and the American Rescue Plan Act are no longer making their way to the REACH Center. The community needs to rally this year, Schloegel said. Give Warmth is about helping fellow community members who are veterans, parents, children and students, senior citizens and people fleeing domestic violence. The REACH Center is a one-stop shop for individuals and families who are seeking help with housing, said Nancy Parcher, community health supervisor at La Crosse Area YMCA. Instead of having people seek help from each individual REACH partner, they can connect with REACH and let the center handle coordination to find emergency housing and resources that work for them. The expedited process allowed REACH to assist 59 different families last winter. Parcher said she expects the number to be much higher this year. According to United Ways Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed Report, about one-third of La Crosse residents face housing instability. This level of coordination between several service offices comes at a much needed time. Winter is especially difficult for those without stable shelter. People can become houseless at any moment and enter the cycle of homelessness, regardless of prior shelter or income level. To donate to the Give Warmth fundraising campaign, visit bit.ly/givewarmththisseason. When Daniel Skousen scrubs at the ash and soot covering his Maui home, he worries about the smell. What chemicals created the burning-trash-barrel scent that has lingered since a deadly wildfire tore through Lahaina in August? Should he believe government agencies' assessment of when the air, land and water will be safe enough for his family to return? Or will political and economic pressures to rebuild and restore Mauis robust tourism industry where visitors normally spend $14 million per day lead officials to look at any testing results through rose-colored glasses? It appears very important to them to get that tourism tax revenue back, said Skousen. It makes you wonder if the testing will be biased. The fire blew out Skousens windows and filled his home with ash, but the building is still standing, and he hopes someday to move back in. The home next door burned to the ground. Skousen wants a second opinion on any government environmental assessments, preferably from an expert with a stake in the community. But the raw data isn't easy to find, and experts say the long-term health effects from fires like the one that incinerated Lahaina are mostly unknown. There are no national standards that detail how clean is clean enough for a residential home damaged by a nearby fire. At least 100 people died in the Aug. 8 wildfire, and thousands were displaced. Nearly 7,000 were still in short-term lodging two months later. The rubble left behind includes electrical cables, plastic pipes and vehicle tires that emit dangerous dioxins when burned; lead from melted vehicles or old house paint; and arsenic-laden ash from termite-resistant building materials. After a major wildfire burned 1,000 homes in Boulder County, Colorado, in 2021, health officials learned that even professionally remediated homes were often still polluted with ash, char and other toxic substances long after the fire, said Bill Hayes, the county's air quality program coordinator. The reason? High winds like those that plagued Maui during the wildfire this summer forced fine particulate matter into every crevice, Hayes said. Those particulates would sit inside window panes, behind light switches, between shingles and elsewhere until the winds started up again, re-contaminating the home. Char is a carcinogen, so we dont ever say any level of those particulates are safe, Hayes said. That became a challenge in the cleanup determining the level of when is it clean enough? State and federal agencies have released regular updates on Lahainas relative safety. The water in much of the town is still unsafe to drink, and visitors have been advised to use protective gear in impacted areas. Officials say pregnant people and kids should stay out of the burn zone, though the Hawaii Department of Education says the schools, which are above the burned part of town, are safe. Crews have installed air quality monitors throughout town and are spraying a soil sealant to prevent toxic ash from being washed into the ocean or blowing around. An attorney representing Skousen and about two dozen other Lahaina residents sent a public records request to the Environmental Protection Agency last month asking for all records regarding residential testing of contaminants in Lahaina and their impact to human health. The EPA's reply, sent earlier this month, wasn't reassuring: No records could be located that are responsive to your request. EPA spokesman Kellen Ashford said his agency did some environmental hazard testing in the burn zone, but only to determine the immediate risk for workers involved in the initial cleanup. He referred further questions about such testing to the Hawaii Department of Health, which he said was responsible for determining longer-term safety for residents. The Hawaii Department of Health's Environmental Health Services Division also told Skousen's attorney it had no records about residential testing of contaminants to release. The Health Department declined interview requests. Spokesman Shawn Hamamoto said in an email the department will pursue additional air quality and ash testing when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers begins removing debris from Lahaina. I think that they're playing hide the ball, said Skousen's attorney, Edward Neiger. The question is, why do they feel the need to hide anything? Ashford acknowledged some residents are skeptical of the cleanup efforts. He said the EPA has people stationed at the Lahaina Civic Center and at work sites to talk to community members about their concerns. Dioxins, toxic compounds that can be released when plastic pipes, tires and other household materials are burned, are a particular concern. Dioxins can last for decades inside the human body, and can cause reproductive and developmental problems, damage the immune system, interfere with hormones and cause cancer, according to the World Health Organization. Andrew Shoemaker, a fine art photographer who operated a gallery on Lahainas famous Front Street, believes it's an important part of healing to go back to the burned areas to see what is left, but he has recently had a lung infection and doesn't want to risk his health. I dont even want to take the chance of going over there, he said. Photos show Lahaina before and after wildfire devastation On 27 November local and international human rights groups denounced the killing of environmental activist and indigenous leaderin Mexicos Jalisco state. End of preview - This article contains approximately 395 words. Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article Not a Subscriber? Choose from one of the following options On 27 November Perus Attorney General, who is facing mounting allegations of corruption, announced that she had submitted a constitutional complaint against President, accusing her of homicide in relation to the deaths of anti-government protesters. End of preview - This article contains approximately 593 words. Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article Not a Subscriber? Choose from one of the following options On 27 November the 10 political parties comprising Chiles ruling coalition categorically ruled out any third process to redraft the constitution should the public vote against the text drawn up by the constitutional council in a national referendum next month. End of preview - This article contains approximately 379 words. Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article Not a Subscriber? Choose from one of the following options Negotiators have reached a deal to extend a cease-fire between Israeli and Hamas forces in Gaza. A Qatari official announced Monday on the social media service X the agreement would continue an existing truce for another two days. Qatar and Egypt have led the negotiations surrounding the ongoing conflict. The new deal came on the final day of a four-day ceasefire. Negotiators said they were also preparing for new exchanges of hostages and prisoners. Israel had no immediate comment on the new truce. But Israeli officials had said the country would be open to extending the cease-fire by one day for every 10 additional hostages released. Hamas confirmed it had agreed to a two-day cease-fire extension. Hamas freed 17 more hostages on Sunday 14 Israelis and three Thais in a third exchange under the earlier four-day truce. Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners in the latest exchange. About 240 hostages were captured by Hamas in its October 7 attack in southern Israel that started the war. So far, 62 hostages have been released. One was freed by Israeli forces and two were found dead inside Gaza. At least 117 Palestinians were freed under the latest truce. An Israeli government spokesperson said the total number of hostages still held in Gaza as of Monday was 184. This included 14 foreigners and 80 Israelis with dual nationality. Last weeks cease-fire agreement which was set to end Monday night brought the first halt in fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza says more than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war, many of them women and children. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and military-force deaths. Israeli officials have said about 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, mostly during the first attacks by Hamas. At least 77 soldiers have been killed in Israels ground offensive in Gaza. An Egyptian official told Reuters news agency the new truce would permit the release of about 20 Israeli hostages in exchange for 60 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. The European Union's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, told reporters he hopes a truce extension will permit the international community to work on a lasting political solution. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the country planned to push ahead with the war at the end of the cease-fires. Wide areas of Hamas-ruled Gaza have been destroyed by Israeli air strikes and bombings. The war also led to a humanitarian crisis because of shortages of food, fuel, water and medicine. The latest truce did lead to some increased shipments of fuel and supplies into Gaza. But aid groups say much more is needed to help the immediate needs of the 2.3 million Palestinians there. Im Bryan Lynn. The Associated Press and Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. _____________________________________________ Words in This Story dual adj. having two parts The dictionary company Merriam-Webster chose the word authentic as its word of the year for 2023. Something that is authentic is real or true. The publisher celebrated its 20th anniversary of choosing a word of the year on Monday. Speaking to The Associated Press, or AP, dictionary editor Peter Sokolowski said the world is in a crisis of authenticity in 2023. What we realize, he said, is that when we question authenticity, we value it even more. Sokolowski said the word is often looked up on Merriam-Websters website, but in 2023 it was searched for even more than usual. He noted that authentic is an important word in a world where artificial intelligence software permits people to create deepfakes or false videos that look real. Often, Sokolowski said, words become words of the year because searches match world events. However, this year, there was a general increased interest in the word authentic. The AP noted that authenticity was a popular subject for discussion in 2023. People such as Taylor Swift and Prince Harry looked for authenticity in their performances and writing. Even businessman Elon Musk discussed authenticity at an event in February when he urged company leaders and politicians to operate their own social media accounts in order to speak authentically. Authenticity is important in education, Sokolowski said. He said we are in a time when students can use artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT to complete writing assignments to avoid work. We dont always trust what we see anymore, he said. The dictionary includes a number of descriptions to help people understand the words meaning. It notes something that is authentic is not false, true to ones own personality, and something made or done the same way as an original. How the word is picked Merriam-Webster says it filters out some common search words such as effect and affect that are always among the top searches. The online word game Wordle also increases searches for some words as players check letters and words before they play them. Some other possible words for 2023 included X after Musk changed the name of the social media service formerly known as Twitter. Others include EGOT after the actress Viola Davis won a Grammy award and elemental after Pixar released a new movie in June. However, the company settled on authentic one year after choosing gaslighting. Gaslighting is a word that is used to discuss the act of misleading someone over a long period of time. In a way, it is the opposite of authentic. Other popular words Other words that were popular in 2023 but did not win word of the year included rizz, a slang word that has to do with charm or appeal. It is a shortened form of the word charisma. Implode became a popular search in 2023 after a vessel used for undersea exploration was lost in June. Experts say the Titan vessel likely imploded or broke apart because of the high water pressure in the deep sea. Coronation was looked up often in May when Charles III was crowned King of England. Kibbutz is a word that came up in recent weeks after the terror group Hamas attacked the Israeli communal farms or settlements near Gaza on October 7. You can visit Merriam-Websters website to look at more words that did not quite make the cut to become word of the year. Im Dan Friedell. Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on The Associated Press story. ____________________________________________________ Words in This Story dictionary n. a book that contains definitions of words in a language match v. to have two things that are related to each other or are linked in some way personality n. the qualities that make a person who they are original adj. something that is produced for the first time and is not a copy of something else make the cut v. (phrasal) to continue to the next level of a competition; to do enough to continue We want to hear from you. What is your personal "word of the year?" Two Lexington Regional Health Center employees have successfully completed the Nebraska Hospital Association Leadership Institute, marking a significant achievement in their professional development. Curtis Roemmich, director of rehabilitation services, and Leonard Wilson, director of respiratory therapy, graduated from the comprehensive 10-month program, equipping them with advanced leadership skills and strategic insights for effective health care management. The NHA Leadership Institute is renowned for providing a transformative experience, combining core leadership competency sessions with hands-on applied practice in health care. The curriculum addresses the unique challenges and organizational management techniques specific to the health care sector, preparing participants for middle management and senior leadership roles within hospitals. LRHC Chief Operating Officer Kirsten Faessler expressed enthusiasm for Curtis and Leonards commitment to their leadership journey. The NHA Leadership Institute is a wonderful avenue to further develop leadership skills as well as initiate networking with other health care professionals across the state, Faessler said in a press release. Faessler said she is confident that the newly graduated leaders will continue to excel in guiding co-workers to excellence. Wilson expressed gratitude for the positive impact of the NHA Leadership Institute towards his leadership capabilities. I am very grateful for the opportunity to attend the NHA Leadership Institute, he said. All of the classes helped me in becoming a better leader. Roemmich echoed Wilsons comments, emphasizing the value of the program in uncovering strengths and weaknesses. The NHA leadership class was a great opportunity to learn about the complexities of leadership, he said. This course helped me learn about some of my strengths and weaknesses and how to utilize these to be a more effective leader. The NHA Leadership Institute attracts about 40 health care professionals from across Nebraska each year, providing an environment for professional development and networking. The program, designed to instruct, inspire and invigorate, focuses on enhancing leadership skills and effectiveness in health care while emphasizing the care and compassion essential to quality health care delivery. The institutes mission is to advance the effectiveness of hospitals by cultivating a quality environment for professional development and support of health care leaders. Participants benefit from expert faculty, including instructors from Bellevue University, who guide them through the program. The faculty draws expertise from diverse university departments, including management, human services, leadership development, business administration, and health care administration. In downtown Cozad, a new coffee haven has emerged that offers more than just a caffeine fix. Front Porch Coffee is not just a coffee shop; its a community initiative started by the Crossing Fellowship Church. The organization wanted to create a space where people feel comfortable meeting up and creating a positive community, said Jessica Roberts, the manager of Front Porch Coffee, 823 Meridian Ave. The idea took root in a vacant building, once an old hardware store and later a meeting space for the church members. The transformation from an empty space to a lively coffee shop was a collective decision driven by a desire to foster connection. Despite limited personal experience with coffee, Roberts and her co-workers underwent training to ensure top-notch coffee quality. A coffee expert from Java Exotic Imports in Miami guided them through the process of coffee making, machine maintenance and troubleshooting. After helping us install the coffee machine, Roberts said, our trainer went in depth on how to keep up the maintenance for the machine and make sure how to fix it if something went wrong. He told us what to look for when we grind the coffee and how the grounds of the coffee should feel before serving it to customers. Roberts background as a recreation director and program manager provided valuable skills for the managerial role. My experience with setting schedules and ordering many materials ahead of time made me prepared for my manager position at Front Porch Coffee, she said. Choosing 823 Meridian Ave. was no accident. Its right in the middle of downtown Cozad, which makes it easy for people to find us, Roberts said. The buildings history as a gathering spot for the Crossing Fellowship Church played a role in the decision to breathe new life into the space. Front Porch Coffee aims to stand out by creating a warm and inviting space. With ample seating and a family-friendly environment, customers are encouraged to linger, play games, read a book or simply enjoy their time on their cellphones. The recent addition of a Christmas wassail drink, a blend of apple cider, orange juice and spices, is just one example of their commitment to providing unique and enjoyable offerings. In the future, Roberts and her co-workers plan to distribute flyers to local businesses to further expose Front Porch Coffee to the surrounding community. The shop just opened Nov. 18, but there has already been positive engagement between customers and employees. Customers have been really great, Roberts said. They give us a lot of good ideas, such as offering skim milk in our drinks. Currently employing Roberts and six others, the Front Porch Coffee team comprises a mix of high school students and members of the Crossing Fellowship Church. Those interested in joining the team are encouraged to reach out. Roberts advice for those considering starting their own coffee shop is rooted in seeking advice from established businesses. She emphasized the importance of being open-minded and proactive in listening to advice to avoid problems. Additionally, Roberts said future entrepreneurs have to plan ahead by purchasing large orders of essential materials like cups, sleeves, lids and coffee ingredients. With coffee being a consistent purchase for customers, simple materials like that get sold fast. The biggest thing is youre welcome here, Roberts said of Front Porch Coffee. I like the space in our business is all for you, not for us. No matter what your background is, youre welcome to stop by and enjoy your drink, socialize with people, keep to yourself, or anything else that makes you feel safe. Front Porch Coffee is open Monday-Saturday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The business is closed on Sundays and major holidays. To learn more about Front Porch Coffee, visit frontporchcozad.com. Police are investigating suspected crimes of a Chinese wealth company owned by Zhongzhi Enterprise Group, according to the Beijing Public Security Bureau, days after the firm told investors it was insolvent. In a statement published on the social media platform WeChat over the weekend, the police said they had taken criminal enforcement measures against several suspects to investigate and had urged affected investors to lodge a complaint. Investors are requested to actively cooperate with the police in investigating and collecting evidence and safeguard their rights and interests through legal channels, the statement said. Authorities did not specify what crimes they were investigating. In the past, defaults or other troubles in the financial sector have prompted protests by aggrieved investors. Zhongzhi, which is based in Beijing, did not immediately respond to an email for comment and phone calls to a number listed for the company did not connect. The investigation came after media reports last week that Zhongzhi had apologized to investors in a letter, saying it was insolvent with up to $64 billion in liabilities. That far exceeds its total assets of about $28 billion. Zhongzhi is one of Chinas largest shadow banks, companies that provide financial services similar to banks while operating outside of banking regulations. It began showing signs of trouble in August when its subsidiary Zhongrong International Trust missed payments on some of its investment products. As one of the major Chinese shadow banks, Zhongzhi has lent billions of yuan for real estate dealings. The property sector is currently embroiled in a debt crisis, with many of Chinas big developers having either defaulted or remaining at risk of default after the government restricted borrowing beginning in 2021. To prevent troubles spilling into the economy from the property sector, Chinese regulators have drafted a list of 50 developers eligible for financing support, according to a Bloomberg report last week that cited unnamed people familiar with the matter. Real estate drove Chinas economic boom, but developers borrowed heavily as they turned cities into forests of apartment and office towers. That has helped to push total corporate, government and household debt to the equivalent of more than 300% of annual economic output, unusually high for a middle-income country. Zhongzhi Enterprise Group has investments spanning real estate, mining, semiconductors and vehicle manufacturing. It was founded in 1995 in northeastern Chinas Heilongjiang province. ZEN SOO, HONG KONG, MDT/AP A surge in respiratory illnesses across China that has drawn the attention of the World Health Organization is caused by the flu and other known pathogens and not by a novel virus, the countrys health ministry said over the weekend. Recent clusters of respiratory infections are caused by an overlap of common viruses such as the influenza virus, rhinoviruses, the respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, the adenovirus as well as bacteria such as mycoplasma pneumoniae, which is a common culprit for respiratory tract infections, a National Health Commission spokesperson said. The ministry called on local authorities to open more fever clinics and promote vaccinations among children and the elderly as the country grapples with a wave of respiratory illnesses in its first full winter since the removal of COVID-19 restrictions. Efforts should be made to increase the opening of relevant clinics and treatment areas, extend service hours and increase the supply of medicines, said ministry spokesman Mi Feng. He advised people to wear masks and called on local authorities to focus on preventing the spread of illnesses in crowded places such as schools and nursing homes. The WHO earlier this week formally requested that China provide information about a potentially worrying spike in respiratory illnesses and clusters of pneumonia in children, as mentioned by several media reports and a global infectious disease monitoring service. The emergence of new flu strains or other viruses capable of triggering pandemics typically starts with undiagnosed clusters of respiratory illness. Both SARS and COVID-19 were first reported as unusual types of pneumonia. Chinese authorities earlier this month blamed the increase in respiratory diseases on the lifting of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Other countries also saw a jump in respiratory diseases such as RSV when pandemic restrictions ended. The WHO said Chinese health officials last week provided the data it requested during a teleconference. Those showed an increase in hospital admissions of children due to diseases including bacterial infection, RSV, influenza and common cold viruses since October. Chinese officials maintained the spike in patients had not overloaded the countrys hospitals, according to the WHO. It is rare for the U.N. health agency to publicly ask for more detailed information from countries, as such requests are typically made internally. WHO said it requested further data from China via an international legal mechanism. According to internal accounts in China, the outbreaks have swamped some hospitals in northern China, including in Beijing, and health authorities have asked the public to take children with less severe symptoms to clinics and other facilities. Both Chinese authorities and WHO have been accused of a lack of transparency in their initial reports on the COVID-19 pandemic, which started in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019. MDT/AP In 2024 the government aims to shift focus and attention to education in the English and Portuguese languages, the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Elsie Ao Ieong revealed at the Legislative Assembly (AL) while addressing the governments policies for the next year. The Secretary noted that the government has always focused on foreign language education, and she said further that with the focus of Macau on internationalization and to cater to more foreign tourists as well as the linking between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries, there is a need to underscore and to train more bilingual and trilingual speakers. She noted that while teaching English has always been popular in most schools in Macau there is a need to introduce a higher level of education in Portuguese. On this topic, she also disclosed the intention to develop a new Portuguese school. In addition to establishing and improving overall continuing education and employment, and to assist students in better planning their professional careers, a Portuguese school as a one-stop system will be created. Financial support will be granted to students to continue their studies in higher education in Portugal in order to train qualified professionals fluent in Portuguese and to develop multidisciplinary knowledge, Ao Ieong said. Addressing inquiries of lawmakers and particularly Wang Sai Man, Ao also revealed that very soon two new schools will be established with international curricula. One of them is already ready to start operating and they have already enrolled students, and another will start the process of enrolment of students for the upcoming school year, adding, The Macau school to start operating in the Macau New Neighborhood in Hengqin will also include an international curriculum. Addressing some details of the project related to the creation of a Portuguese school, Ao Ieong explained, We have this project of creating a Portuguese school. We will support students to do a course of four years in Portuguese language and, after that, they will [travel] to Portugal to continue their studies there. These are projects and work that we have for the promotion of [foreign] languages. The Macao Institute for Tourism Studies (IFTM) will launch two undergraduate programs using Chinese as the language of instruction in the academic year 2024/2025. The new programs will come into effect after publication in MSAR Gazette, the institute said in a statement. The two new programs in Chinese offer daytime classes in Bachelor of Science in Tourism Business Management and Bachelor of Science in Cultural and Heritage Management. They will follow the same curriculum as the existing English-language versions, overall comply with the same standards, and provide students with the same level of higher education, the institute said in a statement. IFTM is seeking to make these programs available also in the Chinese language in order to cope with increasing demand for qualified professionals in tourism business management and in cultural and heritage management, it added. In addition, IFTM is introducing the Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Brand Management in the upcoming academic year, updating the existing Tourism Retail and Marketing Management Bachelors Degree Program. The admissions process for IFTMs bachelors degree programs for the academic year 2024/2025 is open until June 30, 2024. LV The inaugural LRT train from the new Barra Station will set off to Taipa at 6:30 a.m. on Dec. 8. In response to the extension of the LRT route, a new fare scheme has also been released by the government. Each sea crossing section will be counted as two stations when calculating the number of stations, namely, the section between Barra and Ocean Station. Under the new fare scheme, each single journey ticket will be priced between MOP6 and MOP12, depending on the number of stations traveled. Discounts will apply to select passenger categories. Meanwhile, the construction of the section north of the LRT East Line that will connect Pac On in Taipa to Border Gate, passing through the Zone A of the new landfills, is underway. The government initially said that it hopes the construction can start as early as the second half of this year. The government expects the East Line of the LRT will be completed and ready to begin operating in 2028. AL The school catering to Macau residents on Hengqins Macao New Neighbourhood will see secondary education starting within two years, director of Education Kong Chi Meng has told local media. It has recently been announced that Hou Kong Middle School will operate on Hengqin. Kong advised that the only application for the right to operate was received from Hou Kong. During the early phase of operations in Hengqin, the school will only offer kindergarten to Primary 2 levels. Kong announced that further levels will be offered thereafter. Related The government has already received some 1,200 applications for the first batch, comprised of 759 apartments, at the elderly residences, the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Elsie Ao Ieong, said at the Legislative Assembly (AL). The Secretary noted that these applications were made in less than three weeks since the launching of the process on November 6. This news was revealed at the presentation on Social Affairs and Culture policies for the year 2024 (LAG24) yesterday, with Ao Ieong including it in her initial presentation speech. According to her speech, such a large number is evidence that the political goals aimed at the creation of this type of public housing are in line with the needs of the population and results are as expected. On the measures for senior citizens to be implemented next year, Ao Ieong noted the opening of the residences as well as the previously debated resumption of the injection of 7,000 patacas into personal Providence Fund accounts. She also added that 200 new beds in elderly homes will be available next year, and that there will be an increase in number of people who will benefit from the services of special day care services. Ao Ieong also said that in 2024 the government will start preparations for the creation of an Integrated Service Center for disabled people, which will add 225 slots for rehabilitation services. It is not the right timing to turn the Non-Mandatory Central Provident Fund System into a Mandatory one, the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Elsie Ao Ieong said in reply to an inquiry by lawmaker Lei Chan U. Ao Ieongs response came during a session at the Legislative Assembly yesterday, dedicated to the Policy Address for 2024 for Social Affairs and Culture. Lei noted that at the time of the establishment of the non-mandatory system, the government had established a timeline to turn the system into a universal mandatory one. The Secretary noted that according to the latest evaluation, it has been recommended to postpone turning the Provident Fund System into a mandatory one for a few years, taking into account the effects of the pandemic that lasted for about three years. We will review it again next year to see if SMEs are in a position to fulfill the requirements of a mandatory system, but at the moment is too early to tell, Ao Ieong said. In the last review made in 2021 in the middle of the pandemic, the study ordered by the government from the University of Macau concluded that due to the emergence of Covid-19 impacts on Macau economy, it is recommended that the SAR government set 2021 to 2023 as the three-year observation period, and depending on the economic recovery, set up two plans with a five-year and a seven-year preparation period, and implement the Mandatory Central Provident Fund System in 2026 or 2028. Without specifying a potential date for the implementation of a protection system for all residents with access to pension plans, Ao Ieong left all the revelations for after the new review report. Currently, only a few companies (as private funds), as well as the government, offer this type of safety net for their workers, with both the companies and the workers contributing a monthly installment to the fund. Workers from other companies that are not taking part in the system or individuals who are self-employed are allowed to participate but must make personal contributions to the fund. Which clinic in Turkey is best for hair transplant? Medart Hair Clinic One of the greatest options if you're searching for a top hair transplant in Turkey is Medart Hair Clinic. Dr. Tuna Tantan Williams, one of Turkey's most experienced hair transplant surgeons, is in charge of the clinic. Over 8,000 surgeries have been successfully completed by her. Who is the best follicular unit extraction surgeon in Turkey? For over 25 years, Dr. Tuna Tantan Williams, has been providing FUE and DHI in Turkey. Who is the world renowned hair transplant surgeon in Turkey? Based in Istanbul, Dr. Tuna Tantan Williams is a renowned hair transplant surgeon. She is recognized as one of the most accomplished hair transplant specialists in the world, having completed thousands of successful procedures over the course of his more than ten years of practice. How much does 5,000 hair grafts cost in Turkey? The price of a hair transplant in Turkey, even one using 5,000 grafts, might differ significantly based on a number of variables, including the clinic's standing, its location, and the experience of the surgeon, the methods employed, and the standard of care given. Turkey is a popular location for medical tourism because hair transplant costs are generally lower there than in many other nations. Depending on the previously mentioned parameters, hair transplant prices in Turkey might range from $1,500 to $4,000 or more for 5000 grafts. To obtain precise, current pricing quotes, it's best to get in touch with a few trustworthy Turkish clinics as rates can have changed since then. A hair transplant should be considered a lifelong commitment, so when you're thinking about getting one, do your homework and pick a reputable facility with seasoned doctors and a solid reputation. How much does a good hair transplant cost in Turkey? Depending on a number of variables, a quality hair transplant in Turkey usually cost between $1,500 and $4,000 or more. The price may differ depending on the clinic's reputation, the patient's location within Turkey, the skill level of the surgeon, the quantity of grafts required, and the particular hair transplant method (FUE or DHI). In addition, take into account the following elements when estimating a hair transplant's cost: Number of grafts: The cost will increase with the number of grafts required. The cost will increase with the number of grafts required. Clinic reputation: Reputable, long-standing clinics with skilled surgeons may bill more. Reputable, long-standing clinics with skilled surgeons may bill more. Experience of surgeon: Surgeons with extensive experience may bill extra for their skills. Surgeons with extensive experience may bill extra for their skills. Location: Costs could differ based on Turkey's cities or regions. Costs could differ based on Turkey's cities or regions. Contents : While some clinics offer lodging, transportation, and post-operative care as part of their packages, others do not. : While some clinics offer lodging, transportation, and post-operative care as part of their packages, others do not. Methodology: The expenses associated with FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction) and FUT (Follicular Unit Transplantation) techniques may vary. To discover the greatest balance between quality and cost, it's vital to conduct in-depth study, go through evaluations, and speak with several clinics. Make sure the surgeon and clinic are certified, as well as that the procedure is performed in accordance with the correct safety and hygienic guidelines. How much does 3,000 hair grafts cost in Turkey? A 3,000 graft hair transplant in Turkey might cost different amounts depending on a number of criteria, such as the clinic's reputation, location, experience level of the surgeon, and particular technique employed. A 3,000-graft hair transplant in Turkey might cost you anything from $1,000 to $3,000 or more. Please be aware, though, that costs for medical treatments, such as hair transplants, are subject to fluctuate. Get pricing quotations from many trustworthy Turkish clinics to ensure you have the most current and accurate cost information. When making your choice, don't forget to take the clinic's reputation, the experience of the surgeon, the treatments offered as part of the package, and the standard of care into account. Additionally, confirm that the surgeon and clinic adhere to the appropriate safety and hygienic requirements and are certified. How much does 3,000 hair grafts cost? Depending on your region, the reputation of the clinic, the experience of the surgeon, and the particular technique employed, the price of a 3,000 graft hair transplant might vary greatly. A 3,000-graft hair transplant may cost you anything from $3,000 to $10,000 or more. Costs may vary depending on the area or nation in which the surgery is carried out. Hair transplant expenses are often on the upper end of the spectrum in certain nations, particularly in Western nations. Prices may be more competitive in nations like Turkey and certain other medical tourism destinations. For the most current and accurate information on the cost of a 3,000-graft hair transplant, its recommended to get pricing from multiple clinics. Remember that factors influencing the total cost include the clinic's quality, the surgeon's experience, the package's contents, and the standard of post-operative care. Be sure to pick a reputed clinic and surgeon. Hair transplant Turkey Turkey is a popular hair transplant destination because of its skilled surgeons, top-notch clinics, and reasonably priced operations that draw many foreign patients. Regarding hair transplants in Turkey, keep the following considerations in mind: Cost-effectiveness: Compared to numerous other nations, hair transplant operations in Turkey are frequently less expensive. When considering hair restoration, medical tourists find it to be an option due to its affordability. Its crucial to understand the risks associated with the procedure. Compared to numerous other nations, hair transplant operations in Turkey are frequently less expensive. When considering hair restoration, medical tourists find it to be an option due to its affordability. Its crucial to understand the risks associated with the procedure. Seasoned Surgeons: Turkey is home to a large number of seasoned hair transplant surgeons with experience, having completed many surgeries. It's critical to do your homework and pick a reliable facility with a hair transplant-trained surgeon. Turkey is home to a large number of seasoned hair transplant surgeons with experience, having completed many surgeries. It's critical to do your homework and pick a reliable facility with a hair transplant-trained surgeon. Procedures: Hair transplantation in Turkey can be done using either FUE or FUT (follicular unit transplantation) procedures. Because it is less invasive and has a shorter recovery period, FUE is the more preferred option. Hair transplantation in Turkey can be done using either FUE or FUT (follicular unit transplantation) procedures. Because it is less invasive and has a shorter recovery period, FUE is the more preferred option. Turkish clinics that serve patients from abroad are part of the country's thriving medical tourism sector. Numerous clinics provide comprehensive packages that cover lodging, transportation, and post-operative care. Consult with several clinics, read reviews, and conduct in-depth research before deciding on a hair transplant in Turkey to make sure it's the best fit for your needs. Seek out clinics that adhere to global safety and hygienic guidelines and have accreditation. Recovery and aftercare: Following the surgery, you must adhere to the post-operative care instructions provided by the surgeon. Comprehending the recuperation procedure and any possible adverse reactions or issues is crucial. Following the surgery, you must adhere to the post-operative care instructions provided by the surgeon. Comprehending the recuperation procedure and any possible adverse reactions or issues is crucial. Travel considerations: Plan your vacation, get the required travel documentation, and think about when to have your procedure done in relation to your travel itinerary if you're heading to Turkey for a hair transplant. To find out if getting a hair transplant is the best option for you and, if so, which technique would be ideal for you, always get advice from a licensed healthcare practitioner. Make an educated choice while selecting a surgical center and physician to guarantee optimal outcomes and security. The top 10 best hair transplant In Turkey 2024 1. Medart Hair Clinic One of Istanbul's most popular hair transplant clinics is Medart hair Clinic. The clinic provides excellent medical care, skilled physicians, and a special "arrival to departure" program that is perfect for individuals traveling abroad. Medart Hair Clinic specializes in the DHI hair transplant process, however it offers a number of other hair transplant therapies as well. Patients also highly favor the FUE and Sapphire FUE techniques. Even with its widespread popularity, Medart Hair Clinic maintains reasonable costs. 2. Asmed Dr. Koray Erdogan Asmed is a premier hair transplant center known for its thick packing techniques and excellent hairline patterns. Renowned surgeon Dr. Koray Erdogan is in charge of it. Because of its well-established reputation, the clinic commands a significant amount of attention. 3. HLC Clinic Every hair transplant procedure at HLC Clinic is meticulously planned to produce results. HLC Clinic delights people all around the world with its hair transplant outcomes. 4. Dr. Serkan Aygn Clinic World-famous hair transplant center Dr. Serkan Aygin Clinic has over 25 years of experience and a remarkable 98% growth rate. Additionally, this Istanbul-based clinic was honored with the 2019 European Awards in Medicine's renowned Best Hair Transplant Surgeon title. Dr. Serkan Aygin, the clinic's founder and head physician, was one of the first surgeons in Turkey to undertake Sapphire FUE and DHI procedures. Having mastered both methods, the staff at the clinic now has the greatest tools to provide results. 5. Cosmedica Clinic Located in Istanbul, Cosmedica center is a reputable hair transplant center. One of the top hair transplant surgeons in the nation, Dr. Levent Acar, is in charge of the clinic. Over 20,000 patients have had surgeries performed by Dr. Acar and his committed team of professionals. The Cosmedica Clinic has 16 years of expertise with FUE procedures and has also mastered the less invasive Micro Sapphire DHI technology. The natural-looking hairline and thick growth that are the hallmarks of the Micro Sapphire DHI operation are renowned for their transformational effects. 6. Civas Clinic - Dr. Ekrem Civas One of the few hair transplant clinics in Turkey that provides a complete range of aesthetic services, such as obesity, dental, plastic, and ocular surgery, is Sapphire Hair Clinic. This clinic draws patients from all over the world and is a true example of Turkish luxury medical tourism. 7. Pekiner Hair Clinic - Dr. Kaan Pekiner Pekiner Hair Clinic, a FUE hair transplantation specialist, offers top-notch care under the guidance of licensed medical professionals. Their commitment distinguishes them as one of the top hair transplant center. 8. Dr. M. Gurhan Ulusoy The clinic of Dr. M. Gurhan Ulusoy is highly renowned for its dedication to providing individualized care and paying close attention to details. Numerous individuals have succeeded in achieving their desired hair restoration goals because of Dr. M. Gurhan Ulusoy's wealth of experience and passion for perfection. 9. AEK Hair Clinic Dr. Ali Emre Karadeniz For various types of hair loss, the specialists at AEK Clinic offer customized therapies. They use state-of-the-art techniques to restore confidence to patients by fixing men's and women's hairlines. 10. Muttalip Keser Clinic - Dr. Muttalip Keser Dr. Muttalip Keser offers excellent procedures for hair transplantation. They now have a large global patient following. This is a result of their skilled staff and patient-centered philosophy. Lee Enterprises newsroom and editorial were not involved in the creation of this content. The lawyer for a man charged with the alleged sexual assault of a woman he and another man met on State Street in 2022 told a jury Tuesday there is reasonable doubt his client committed a crime. Ivan I. Smart, 23, of Madison, is on trial this week for second-degree sexual assault of a 22-year-old woman, with most of the assault occurring in a vehicle that was being driven by the other man, the woman told police. The incident happened on July 24, 2022, after the woman met the men while sheltering from a rainstorm under a shop awning in the 500 block of State Street after she had left a bar. Assistant District Attorney John Rice said in his opening statement to the jury, which includes 10 men and four women, with two alternates among them, that Smart took advantage of an intoxicated woman who was alone and waiting for a ride to arrive late at night. This is a case about taking advantage, seizing an opportunity and taking what you want, Rice told the jury. Ivan Smart took what he wanted when he got (the victim) in a vehicle. But Smarts attorney, state assistant public defender Adam Welch, said the womans memory was impaired by alcohol and her recollection of what happened was vague. He added that she told police she likely would not have consented to the sexual contact that occurred, but did not say with certainty that she did not consent. Physical evidence is also lacking, Welch said. DNA tests did not find DNA from Smart or from the other man, Fred Rushing, on the womans body, nor did the tests find the womans DNA on Smarts clothing. Welch also said Rushing himself presents reasonable doubt of Smarts guilt. He said the woman had told police Rushing touched her inappropriately while the three were under the shop awning on State Street, and she had also accused Rushing of later not letting her get out of the vehicle. Rushing was charged in January with false imprisonment and fourth-degree sexual assault. Those charges were dismissed about two weeks ago after prosecutors conceded they could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Smart was originally charged in July 2022 with first-degree sexual assault and false imprisonment. The charges were amended on Nov. 20 to a single count of second-degree sexual assault. Rice told the jury that the woman had been at Whiskey Jacks and left thinking of walking home, but, because it was raining heavily, she ordered an Uber instead. While waiting under the awning, two men, later identified as Smart and Rushing, approached and began speaking to her in an inappropriately sexual manner, then began to grope her. But she ended up walking with them to a vehicle, and after getting into the back seat was joined there by Smart, Rice said. He said Smart became aggressively physical with her then and had unwanted sexual contact with her. At one point the vehicle stopped briefly at a gas station. Smart went inside, Rice said, and when he came back she fought him, which made him angry. She said she wanted to go home, but Smart said no. Later, near East Washington Avenue at Baldwin Street, Rushing stopped the vehicle and the woman got out. Rushing drove away. The woman first went to a home, then to another home where its occupants were on the front porch. They helped her contact friends and arrange a ride to meet them, Rice said. Friends walked her to the home of another friend, and there she bathed and her clothes were cleaned, Rice said. It wasnt until after bathing that she went to Meriter Hospital for an examination by a forensic nurse examiner. Samples taken during the exam were later sent to the Wisconsin Crime Lab for a DNA comparison, but there was no match to Smart, Rice said. The woman is slated to testify on Wednesday morning, and prosecutors expect to finish presenting evidence later in the day. The case may go to the jury on Wednesday afternoon. Each year, Empty Stocking Club gives out thousands of toys and books to Madison-area families for the holidays. How to help To donate to Empty Stocking Club or to volunteer, visit emptystockingclub.com. Families can apply to receive a toy until Dec. 7 on the website. Families who apply to the program can come shop at the Toy Depot, which this year is Dec. 14-15 at the Alliant Energy Center. There, they'll find aisles of toys from trucks to dolls to sleds, carefully sorted by age and interest by hundreds of volunteers. They're brand new, quality toys that are meant to be a major gift for the child. And thanks to the Madison Reading Project, families pick out a book for each child, too. Last year, nearly 7,000 toys were distributed. The Empty Stocking Club program, a charitable arm of the Wisconsin State Journal since 1918, relies on the generosity of community members. The money goes toward buying toys and setting up the massive Toy Depot. We're thankful to the donors, as well as the hundreds of volunteers who help at the event. To donate or volunteer, visit emptystockingclub.com. The State Journal runs lists of donors in the newspaper as a small way to say thank you. Families who need help can apply on the website through Dec. 7. A group of about 20 neo-Nazis who marched in Madison more than a week ago appear to have been led by an out-of-state former U.S. Marine, according to organizations that monitor hate groups. The group carried swastika flags and chanted antisemitic slogans in a route that included State Street, the Capitol and Gates of Heaven, a historic building near James Madison Park that was previously a synagogue but is now a city-owned park shelter, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. It's not known if any of the people participating in the march were from the area, since most of them wore masks. But based on images captured by those who were there, the march's leader was an unmasked man named Christopher Pohlhaus, also known as "Hammer." He is a former U.S. Marine and leader of the neo-Nazi "Blood Tribe," according to the Anti-Defamation League. Attempts to find contact information for Pohlhaus were not successful. The ADL says that in 2020, while living in San Antonio, Texas, "Pohlhaus grew an online following by selling white supremacist propaganda materials and gear, and through video-podcasts," in which he "lectured followers about fitness and encouraged them to participate in 'a last stand, a righteous war' against those who 'call for the destruction of their birthright and posterity.'" Pohlhaus began to refer to his followers as the Blood Tribe," according to the ADL. By 2022, he'd moved to Maine and purchased land there for what the Southern Poverty Law Center described as a "white supremacist community that would provide a place for the Blood Tribe to network, strategize and train." In 2023, the group began participating in anti-LGBTQ+ protests, including a protest at a July Pride in the Park event in Watertown, according to the ADL and the Watertown Daily Times. At least two posts on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, reported the group traveled in a U-Haul truck and one other rental vehicle with a Kentucky license plate. Officials with the city of Madison, the state, UW-Madison and other groups have condemned the march. States with the most active hate groups Where hate groups are most active #51. Washington D.C. #50. New Mexico #49. Utah #48. Iowa #47. New Jersey #46. Kansas #45. Alaska #44. Minnesota #43. California #42. Ohio #41. Texas #40. New York #39. Maryland #38. Michigan #37. Illinois #36. Connecticut #35. Kentucky #34. Massachusetts #33. Wisconsin #32. Indiana #31. Georgia #30. Oklahoma #29. Pennsylvania #28. Virginia #27. Oregon #26. Florida #25. Washington #24. Alabama #23. North Dakota #22. North Carolina #21. Mississippi #20. Rhode Island #19. Missouri #18. Hawaii #17. Nevada #16. Maine #15. Arkansas #14. Arizona #13. Colorado #12. Vermont #11. Idaho #10. Louisiana #9. South Carolina #8. West Virginia #7. Wyoming #6. Montana #5. Delaware #4. Tennessee #3. New Hampshire #2. South Dakota #1. Nebraska BRUSSELS Latvia's foreign minister on Tuesday staked his claim to the top job at NATO, saying the military organization needs a consensus builder who is committed to higher defense spending and has a clear vision of how to deal with Russia. NATO is likely to name a new secretary general at its next summit in Washington in July. Former Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg has been the alliance's top civilian official since 2014. His term has been extended four times during the war in Ukraine. One of Stoltenberg's challenges is to help persuade Turkey, along with Hungary, to endorse Sweden's attempt to become NATO's 32nd member. NATO officials hope the issue will be resolved by the time U.S. President Joe Biden and counterparts meet in Washington. "We're going to have 32 countries. Keeping 32 countries together on any topic, it's a big challenge, and we need a consensus builder that can work with any and all allies, to move everyone forward in the same direction," Latvian Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karins told reporters at NATO headquarters. In an awkward moment in front of television cameras as NATO foreign ministers gathered for a traditional group photo during a meeting in Brussels, Karins took Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan by the arm and said loudly, "We're all waiting now, all waiting. You hear it from all of us." Karins was Latvia's prime minister for almost five years NATO prefers its secretaries general to have served in top government posts and oversaw an increase in defense spending. He said his country will spend 2.4 % of its GDP on defense this year, above the organization's target of 2%. Russia remains NATO's historical adversary, and managing the alliance's approach to Moscow is a major test. "The next secretary has to have a clear vision on the future role of NATO, how it's going to expand, how it's going to be working to contain Russia," Karins said. He said it's important not to panic while acknowledging "the very real threat that Russia is" and to work together to contain it. "It is doable," he said. "We can do it if we are calm but very determined." With Russia locked in its war on Ukraine, the process of naming a new secretary general has become highly politicized. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland support Ukraine, and this could make it difficult for one of their leaders to get the job. Most NATO countries are keen to name a woman to the top post. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas is considered a strong candidate. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was thought to be a favorite after a meeting with Biden in the summer, but she later said she wasn't running. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, ruled out her candidacy. Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte recently visited NATO headquarters to make clear his intention to stand. NATO secretaries general are chosen by consensus. There is no formal procedure for naming them, and diplomats previously said no official vetting is being done. The organization's top civilian official is responsible for chairing meetings and guiding sometimes delicate consultations between member countries to ensure that compromises are found so an alliance that operates on consensus can continue to function. The secretary general also ensures decisions are put into action, speaks on behalf of all nations with one voice and rarely if ever singles out any member for public criticism. Stoltenberg has managed to tread a fine line, refraining from criticizing members led by more go-it-alone presidents and prime ministers like former U.S. President Donald Trump, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan or Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was full of praise Tuesday for Stoltenberg's role in keeping NATO on course. "Everything that we've been able to do with the NATO alliance over the last few years, strengthening the alliance, making it fit for purpose for the challenges that we're going to be facing in the years ahead, dealing with Russia's aggression against Ukraine, none of that would have happened without the leadership of Jens Stoltenberg," Blinken said. "We are grateful to you, grateful for that extraordinary leadership at a moment where it counted more than ever," he told Stoltenberg. Finland's NATO membership ACCEPTANCE LETTERS INVITATION SIGNATURES FULL MEMBERSHIP FINLAND-SWEDEN PORT WASHINGTON A local official who posted a photo of his marked ballot on Facebook during the April 2022 election had felony charges against him dropped Monday. Paul Buzzell, 52, of Mequon, had faced maximum penalties of 3 years behind bars and $10,000 in fines. Buzzell, a member of the Mequon-Thiensville School Board, would have also been barred from holding elected office if convicted. Ozaukee County Judge Paul Malloy dismissed the charges against Buzzell in a hearing Monday, saying a state law prohibiting voters from showing their marked ballots to anyone else is in violation of the constitutional right to freedom of speech, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. This case was about more than just a Facebook post; it was about protecting the fundamental right to freedom of expression, Michael Chernin, Buzzells attorney, said in a statement to the newspaper. Ozaukee County District Attorney Adam Gerol, who brought the charges against Buzzell, promised to continue pursuing the case by asking Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul to review the judges decision and decide whether to file an appeal. Kaul did not respond to a request for comment from the Journal Sentinel on Monday. There has been movement in other states in favor of allowing so-called ballot selfies. In New Hampshire, a federal judge held that a state law barring an individuals right to publish their ballot violated the First Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal. And in Michigan, Wisconsins neighbor, legislators changed state law in 2019 to make the practice legal. The Wisconsin Senate passed a bill in 2020 to legalize ballot selfies, but the proposal died in the state Assembly. Candidates for office in Wisconsin have sporadically posted photos of their completed ballots online over the years, in apparent violation of the law, but no charges were brought. Former Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel plans to announce a run for Wisconsin Supreme Court against Justice Ann Walsh Bradley in a bid to flip the courts newly liberal majority, a source knowledgeable about the campaign told the Wisconsin State Journal. Schimel plans to make the announcement in Waukesha on Thursday, according to the source who was not authorized to speak on behalf of the campaign. He would be the first conservative to throw his hat into the ring since liberals gained a 4-3 majority in August. Johnny Koremenos, who managed Schimels 2014 and 2018 campaigns for attorney general, said he would volunteer to help him get across the finish line, adding that he will support Brad in anything he wants to do. Bradley, who has said she will seek a fourth term, won her last election by a 16-point margin. She is the longest-serving current justice. The next Supreme Court election is in April 2025. The conservative media outlet Wisconsin Right Now first reported on Schimels plans. Schimel was the states attorney general from 2015 to 2019. He lost a reelection bid to Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul by less than 1 percentage point in 2018. After his loss, then-Gov. Scott Walker, also a Republican, appointed Schimel to the Waukesha County Circuit Court. Over his time in office and in his election campaigns Schimel, who was formerly a Waukesha County prosecutor for 25 years, touted his record of combatting opioid abuse and human trafficking and defending crime victims. The former attorney general was an outspoken supporter of Wisconsins voter ID law, which he speculated could have been responsible for Republican former President Donald Trumps 2016 Wisconsin win. He also defended the Republican redrawing of the states previous legislative boundaries and joined a multistate coalition challenging the Affordable Care Act. The race is likely to keep a low profile until the conclusion of the 2024 presidential and U.S. Senate contests. But it promises to be a heavily contested race. Both parties have increasingly sought to resolve political disputes in the states high court given the gridlock between Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and the Republican-controlled Legislature. Current lawsuits before the court include disputes over redistricting and the legality of private school vouchers. Legal battles in lower courts over abortion and Wisconsins top election official are likely to reach the Supreme Court. Elections to the court are nominally nonpartisan, but political parties on both sides of the aisle contribute millions of dollars and hundreds of workers to support their preferred candidates. The last high court election, which saw liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz beat conservative former Justice Dan Kelly by 11 percentage points, was the most expensive judicial race in American history. An Ada County judge has dismissed a petition filed against the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare by Attorney General Raul Labrador, but the investigation into the use of community partner grants continues. Fourth Judicial District Judge Lynn Norton filed final judgment in the case on Monday, which was the response to a request to set aside the civil investigation demand for Erika Rupp. The cases were dismissed without prejudice, meaning plaintiffs could re-file if they choose. Rupp is a former employee of IDHW. The Attorney Generals Office filed a petition against her in March, which claimed she played an integral role in the distribution of the Community Partner Grants Program. IDHW responded by filing a lawsuit. Now, both have been dismissed. The Legislature distributed $72 million of federal American Rescue Plan Act funding to address learning loss for children ages 5-13, but the attorney generals office claims in court documents that more than $14 million of that money went to ineligible programs. In August, legislative auditors claimed they found flaws in the grant fund distributions. That audit was unavailable when the request for a civil investigation demand was made by the attorney general in the spring. IDHW disputes any wrongdoing in the audits findings. Adams County Prosecutor Chris Boyd was assigned to the case as a special prosecutor after Norton deemed it a conflict of interest for an in-house attorney to pursue the case. The Attorney General and his deputies are required by Idaho law to defend the state. On Oct. 6, Boyd wrote to Rupps attorneys, stating he would withdraw the civil investigation demand to conserve state resources while he determines what documents, if any, he needs to complete the investigation. Based on the referral in the audit report, the Attorney General will continue to investigate the Grant Program, Boyd wrote Oct. 6. He asked me to act as a Special Deputy Attorney General over the investigation and to make any charging decisions or recommendations where appropriate. He has requested that I continue to keep politics out of the decision-making process. To avoid perceptions of political bias, and to foster public trust in the rule of law in our state, I believe it is appropriate to request the involvement of a neutral and detached magistrate in this investigation. Boyd petitioned for the appointment of a special inquiry judge. On Monday afternoon, IDHW issued the following statement: The special prosecutor withdrew the (civil investigation demands) CIDs and indicated that Director Jeppesen and his team are released from their obligation to respond. The Department long maintained the CIDs were legally invalid and an unnecessary expense to the public. That is why the department filed the petition asking the court to set them aside. Thus, the department is pleased with the Special Prosecutors decision to withdraw the CIDs and hopeful no further court proceedings are required. The department has requested the Attorney Generals office pay the departments attorneys fees related to this unnecessary litigation. Boyds office said he was unavailable for comment before press time. JONES: An unwelcome primer on Idahos one-subject rule JONES: I apologize for bringing up this arcane and generally boring provision of the law, but Attorney General Raul Labrador made me do it. JONES: AG Labrador savors rare court win for a few days, at least JONES: After basking in the glow of a rare court victory, Attorney General Raul Labradors streak of disappointments has picked up again in October. A 36-year-old Oregon man portraying himself to be 15 had sex with a teenage girl from Twin Falls and later led Lincoln County deputies on a pursuit that reached speeds of up to 125 mph, court records say. Now, Frank Migel Stroud faces five felonies from the incidents. Stroud met the 13-year-old girl online and, earlier this month, stayed at her residence for two days, police say, but she and other members of the household suspected he was older than 15. He initially refused to show them his drivers license, records say, but on Nov. 20 showed it to the girls sister, who called police. The next day, Stroud was observed by a deputy driving slowly and repeatedly crossing a solid yellow line in Shoshone, records say. The deputy, who discovered the car was connected to the Twin Falls case, attempted to conduct a traffic stop but instead of Stroud getting out of the vehicle as instructed, he drove away, and the vehicle hit the deputy in the leg. The deputy was not seriously injured. A pursuit began with speeds reaching between 106 and 125 mph, mostly on U.S. Highway 26. Speeds were still at 90 mph through Richfield. Stroud was seen throwing an item out of his vehicle during the pursuit, and he eventually stopped north of Carey, records say. Police: Woman apprehended after pursuit in stolen vehicle Stolen vehicle was riding on a rim after a tire fell off, police say. I just freaked out when you asked me to step out and there is a gun on the front seat, Court records say he told law enforcement, Stroud is charged with three counts of lewd conduct with a minor under 16 years old, along with felony eluding and aggravated battery. Region IV Development Association, Inc. (RIVDA) was honored at the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) 2023 Annual Training Conference as a recipient of the Aliceann Wohlbruck Impact Award. NADO is a Washington, D.C.-based membership association of regional development organizations that promotes programs and policies to strengthen local governments, communities, and economies through regional cooperation, program delivery, and comprehensive strategies. The Impact Awards program recognizes regional development organizations and their partners for improving the economic and community competitiveness of our nations regions and local communities. The award was in recognition of RIVDAs partnership with Jerome County officials, Jerome 20/20, Inc, and True West Beef LLC to secure grant funding through Idaho Department of Commerces Rural Community Investment Fund. The project funded electrical infrastructure upgrades in rural Jerome County. This project utilized collaboration between local government, community organizations, and private business to achieve regional prosperity. The 270,000-square-foot True West Beef meat processing facility, which employs more than 275 workers, was announced in August 2020 and opened less than three years later. The state-of-art plant has a focus on sustainability with 95% of the plant's wastewater being treated and used for irrigation. In addition to providing quality jobs, the company has integrated itself into the regional community by providing support to numerous community events, organizations, and projects. This project is an example of the enormous impact small organizations can make when they collaborate towards a shared goal. As the regions designated Economic Development District under the Economic Development Administration, RIVDA is responsible for creating a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for south-central Idaho, which is a strategy-driven plan to foster regional economic development and guide the decision-making process. RIVDAs CEDS focuses on three goals: (1) economic empowerment, (2) community prosperity, and (3) workforce attraction, development, and retention. This project supports achievement of all three goals. It has provided a more cost-efficient processing option for regional ranchers, created over 275 new jobs, and facilitated electrical infrastructure upgrades which has made the area more attractive to additional businesses. This project is just one example of the numerous projects economic development organizations, like RIVDA, embark upon in order to provide the foundational infrastructure needed to attract new businesses and to allow existing industry to expand. Bohach wins CSIs Maxine Bell award Dr. Carolyn Hovde Bohach has been selected by the College of Southern Idaho Board of Trustees as the 2023 recipient of the Representative Maxine Bell Education Advocate Award, the school announced Monday. The award, which honors individuals who have been diligent supporters of Idaho education and whose lifetime contributions merit recognition, is named for former Jerome Rep. Maxine Bell. Bohachs reaction to winning the award: Thrilling and humbling, she said in a news release. A University of Idaho Distinguished Professor, Bohach serves as director of the Idaho IDeA Network for Biomedical Excellence (INBRE), which, through fall 2022, had worked with 5,800 Idaho undergraduates. Bohach will be honored at the Dec. 11 meeting of the CSI trustees. Also: The Region IV Development Association is accepting public comment on its draft 2023 update to the Idaho Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy through Saturday. The draft document is online at rivda.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/CEDS-2023-update.pdf . Hard copies are available upon request at 202 Falls Ave. in Twin Falls on Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Festival of Lights Parade , the annual kickoff to the holiday season in the Magic Valley, will commence Friday at 6 p.m., beginning at Dierkes Street and Main Avenue in Twin Falls. A tree lighting ceremony at the Twin Falls Downtown Commons, across from City Hall, will follow the parade. The 12th annual Burley Lighted Christmas Parade is scheduled for Monday at 6 p.m., beginning on 19th Street and Overland Avenue and ending at Centennial Park, where Santa will turn on the Christmas lights. Times-News Surge Battery Metals has submitted to the Bureau of Land Management an Exploration Plan of Operations and Reclamation Plan Permit Application (EPO) for its high-grade lithium clay discovery at Nevada North. The Nevada North Lithium Project is in Elko County, in the Granite Range southeast of Jackpot and about 85 miles south of Twin Falls. Surge said the first round of drilling at Nevada North, completed in October 2022, identified a strongly mineralized zone of lithium bearing clays occupying a strike length of about 5,300 feet. The 2023 drill program, which was designed to expand the known lithium-rich clay to a strike length of more than 11,480 feet, has been completed and Surge is awaiting the complete assay results. The new EPO will provide for up to 250 acres of disturbance compared to the currently authorized five acres. The company said this permitting milestone, once approved, will allow for in-fill drilling to further define the current mineral resource area and allow for possible expansion of the known deposit through step-out drilling. The results of these activities will be used for an updated mineral resource calculation and to advance further economic studies. We are extremely pleased to achieve this significant milestone in the development of the NNLP, at this stage of exploration, Greg Reimer, the companys chief executive officer and director, said in a news release. The expanded program, once approved, will allow us to continue to define the size of the mineralization of the NNLP. Proposed activities in the EPO also include installation of groundwater wells to support hydrogeologic baseline characterization, performing additional metallurgical characterization and testing, and completion of geotechnical investigations. The BLM is responsible for preparing an Environmental Assessment under the National Environmental Policy Act. Required biological studies, a Class III cultural inventory and a preliminary hydrologic baseline evaluation were completed by Surge in the 2023 field season, according to the company. To support the NEPA review, Surge said it will move forward on the permitting path working closely with the BLM. Union Bank of the Philippines, one of the countrys largest banks, extended a credit facility to Wefund Lending Corp., the operator of the fastest growing financial technology lending app JuanHand. JuanHand is a leading online cash loan app licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission and a founding member of Consumer Lending Association of the Philippines (CLAP). WeFund president and chief executive Francisco Mauricio and UnionBank executive vice president Bobby Abastillas signed the agreement on Oct. 3, 2023. We are very honored UnionBank chose WeFund as the first fintech Cash Loan company to be granted a credit facility, Mauricio said. It not only shows UnionBanks trust and confidence in our technology and operations but more importantly, it shows UBs commitment to serve the underserved. It is our privilege to partner with UnionBank to improve financial inclusion in the country. When it comes to quick and easy financial assistance, Sagot Ka Ni JuanHand, Mauricio said. WeFunds JuanHand app had over 10 million downloads, over 6 million registrations and more than 15 billion pesos in loan disbursements it was introduced in 2019. JuanHand offers P2,000 to P25,000 credit limit, payable within 30 to 90 days or 1 to 3 months. Using basic borrower information and 1 valid ID, JuanHands best in class AI can approve loans in less than five minutes and disburse cash to the borrowers bank or e-wallet in less than 45 seconds. Local government veterinarians have sought the immediate resolution of the conflict on approving authority for African swine fever (ASF) and avian influenza (AI) vaccines as the immediate supply of vaccines will arrest a national emergency in meat and food security. The Provincial, City, Municipal Veterinarians League of the Philippines (PCM-VLP) has expressed disappointment over the conflict between the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) on the approving authority for vaccines. The conflict has been dragging the worsening ASF and AI infestation in hog and poultry sectors. We have long been waiting for this resolution, said PCM-VLP President Dr. Mary Grace M. Bustamante during the Animal Health Congress last week. The Department of Agricultures (DA) Livestock Group led by DA Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel will coordinate with the Office of the President with which a petition for resolution on the conflict has been filed. The spread of ASF is now a national emergency concern. There are provinces that have shortages of pork for their citizens. Prices are soaring at wet markets. We need to ensure food security, especially for pork, said DA Undersecretary Deogracias Victor B. Savellano. The approval of ASF vaccines by the FDA is critical to our food security. We have been waiting. I do not know how long we can wait as ASF eats up LGUs who have now been declaring states of emergency. DA has not procured any vaccines for ASF since there are no FDA-approved vaccines for ASF, he said. Local government veterinarians are concerned that the FDA lacks the resources and capability to fully undertake the task of approving veterinary vaccines. This, although an earlier memorandum of agreement (MOA) ordered the FDA and BAI to collaborate on regulating such veterinary products. FDA has limited people to look after this function. BAI used to do this task as it does have the capability to test and approve (the safety and efficacy) of vaccines. If this conflict is cleared, (then we can work toward ASF-free and avian flu-free status), said Bustamante. There is an apparent lack of alignment in the present setup where the FDA approves the commercial release of the vaccine while BAI is the one testing it. It has been assumed that since some animal drugs are also being prescribed to humans, even vaccines and animal biologics should be approved by the FDA. However, Bustamante asserted that veterinarians precisely know that animal vaccines are only for animals. Veterinarians and medical practitioners will never prescribe animal vaccines to humans. This should not then be a concern for regulators, she said. We know that antibiotics for animals are only for animals. We know that these vaccines should only be for animals. So why is there a need for the FDA to approve it? she said. FDA Advisory 2022-0591 indicated that marketing authorization of veterinary drugs, vaccines, and medical devices will be regulated by the FDAs Center for Drug Regulation and Research (CDRF). This advisory was issued apparently during the time of high COVID-19 infections. It complied with FDA Circular 2021-025 or the Guidelines for Application for Authorization at FDA in light of Extended Stare of Public Health Emergency dated 9 December 2021. An earlier Joint DA and DOH Administrative Order (AO 0026) in 2013 indicated that the t FDA shall continue to register veterinary drugs in pharmaceutical dosage forms except those intended for feeds and license establishments manufacturing, distributing, importing exporting, selling the same. The AO was effective for five years until sooner terminated. A periodic review of a Technical Working Group should also to to recommend appropriate action. Under the same AO, BAI will regulate veterinary drugs and products including veterinary vaccines, diagnostic kits and reagents, veterinary medical devices, and other biological products. The limited number of veterinarians is also a major concern if the Philippines is seeking ASF-free and AI-free status. However, Bustamante said that under present laws, only provincial governments first-class municipalities are required to hire veterinarians. If a local executive doesnt find the importance of having veterinarians, we really cant do much about this problem. How about second, third-class municipalities where hiring of veterinarians is dependent on who the local authority is? Dr. Loida M. Valenzuela, the provincial veterinarian of Ilocos Norte, told the same Animal Health Congress that veterinarians should have an independent authority in local government units (LGU). They should not be under provincial agriculturists, considering that veterinary medicine is an entirely distinct professional discipline. Entry-level compensation for veterinarians should also be upgraded, according to Valenzuela. This will encourage fresh passers of the Veterinary Medicine board examination to take on local government jobs. The LGU veterinarians were regretful of the low passing rate for takers of the Veterinary Medicine board examination. It has been limiting the number of animal experts in local governments. It worsens the already brain drain experienced as veterinarians choose to work in higher-paying private companies, worse abroad. Something has to be done about this. This is not favorable for us, said a veterinarian at the Animal Health Congress. The Senate on Tuesday approved on third and final reading the bill containing the P5.768-trillion proposed national budget for 2024, which would be the largest in the countrys history. The 2024 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) garnered 21 affirmative votes, zero negative vote, and one abstention from Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Koko Pimentel III. The chamber passed the GAB on second and third reading within the same day as the measure was certified urgent by President Marcos. Pimentel III abstained from voting due to his objection to the certification of the GAB as urgenta similar concern which he raised last year. Prior to the third reading approval, Senate finance committee chairman Sonny Angara, sponsor of the 2024 GAB, mentioned major amendments to the House of Representatives version, but he did not disclose the amounts that were involved. Meanwhile, President Marcos is expected to sign the national budget measure by the middle of December, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said. Malamang (most likely), Diokno told Palace reporters when asked if Mr. Marcos would approve the 2024 budget before he leaves for Japan from Dec. 16 to 18. I was talking to a liaison officer, and the budget got approved (in the Senate), so they will go into conference committee by December 1st. Theres enough time before the President leaves,' he added. Mr. Marcos will participate in the ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation Commemorative Summit in Japan next month. The House had approved the P5.768-trillion national budget on itsthird and final reading on Sept. 27, then the Senate received it on Nov. 4. The bicameral conference committee will then meet to reconcile the disagreeing provisions of the versions of the budget bill. The Senate bicam panel is composed of Finance committee chair Angara and Senators Pia Cayetano, Loren Legarda, Imee Marcos, Cynthia Villar, Ronald Dela Rosa, Sherwin Gatchalian, Christopher Go, Risa Hontiveros, Nancy Binay, Grace Poe, Francis Tolentino, Mark Villar, JV Ejercito, and Jinggoy Estrada. After the bicam, the Senate and House will ratify the final version of the 2024 budget before it is submitted to the President for his signature. Angara noted that ultimately, the drive for a new Philippines needs to coincide with efforts to build a better, more transparent, and more responsive government through the budget. TODAYS WORD is cavort. Example: After weeks of intense studying, the students decided to let loose and cavort around town at the end of the semester. SATURDAYS WORD was finagle, meaning to get or achieve something by guile, trickery, or manipulation. Example: With his charming smile and persuasive words, he was able to finagle a raise from his boss. Nylon In a hint to todays trivia question, the DuPont nylon yarn plant in Martinsville went into operation in 1941. The facility was two blocks long, six stories high in some places, and was completely air-conditioned. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the site, on DuPont Road, operated between 1941 and 1988, and was one of the worlds largest nylon manufacturers. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, with assistance of the EPA, has been mitigating the volatile organic compounds detected in the groundwater primarily consisting of carbon tetrachloride, tetrachloroethene and trichloroethylene ever since. DuPont built the worlds first nylon plant in Seaford, Delaware, in 1939. Today, most nylon production takes place in Asian countries. Jack Roy As a teenager, Jacob Cohen changed his name to Jack Roy and started doing stand-up comedy. After nine years he gave up, but returned to the business for a second try in 1962. A club owner gave him the name of Rodney Dangerfield, but Jack Roy remained his legal name the rest of his life. One night, as the story is told, he overheard an older man complaining about how young people gave him no respect, and he never forgot it. Turkey bones Food.com says dont throw away the turkey bones after youve finished your bird. Save them to make a fantastic turkey stock, which you can use to flavor all sorts of soups and gravies. After you strain the stock, you can freeze it in small Tupperware tubs, or even in ice cube trays. Sundaysuppermovement.com reminds us a turkey carcass will last for up to one week in the refrigerator. After you make a delicious turkey soup, a leftover turkey noodle soup will last up to three days in the refrigerator as long as it is stored in an airtight container. High-end restaurants commonly use leftover bones to make their own stocks. Chuckle Option 1: Lets eat grandma. Option 2: Lets eat, grandma. There you have it; proof that punctuation saves lives. When everything is coming your way, youre in the wrong lane. Quote of the day The key to change is to let go of fear. Rosanne Cash SATURDAYS TRIVIA ANSWER: The gift first presented on the fifth day in the song The Twelve Days of Christmas are five gold rings. TODAYS TRIVIA QUESTION: In what year was nylon first synthesized? A wetland observation deck off of a trail system at the Patrick & Henry Community College campus provides increased educational opportunities. In the spring P&HCC, in partnership with the Dan River Basin Association, opened a system of trails on its campus. The trails are easily hiked and allow both students and the public to exercise and enjoy the natural beauty of a variety of habitats that lie just off the main campus. The entrance to the trail system is to the back left side of the Frith Building at P&HCC, located at 645 Patriot Ave. The deck has been in place since spring but is now completed with the addition of educational signage that includes life cycles of different species that can be found in the retention pond including dragon flies, frogs and turtles to name a few. The wetlands observation deck is a great place to relax along the trail with the chance to view many species of wildlife, DRBA Virginia Program Manager Brian Williams said. Wetlands are an important part of the ecosystem and are host to a rich variety of plants and animals. Since construction, we have seen hatchling painted turtles and hatchling snapping turtles, schools of minnows and sunfish, newts, tadpoles, frogs, dragonflies, herons, rabbits, deer, skunk and others, Williams added. Water bodies always attract wildlife and this boardwalk is a centerpiece for this section of the 2.5 miles total of trail. The addition of this trail and observation deck allows not only for the public to explore, but for students to take their learning outside of the classroom. A lot of students have never even touched anything living, P&HCC Biology Teacher Jason Gibson said. Now, students can walk over and learn in a variety of different ways about water quality monitoring and testing, trail maintenance and upkeep, observing nature and all the different biomes, collecting samples to look at under microscopes and get hands-on experience with species that theyve only seen in textbooks before. Additionally, teachers and students who utilize the trail for study can also use volunteer hours to help maintain the trail system. Theres a lot of stuff growing in this wetland that youre not going to find, even in other nearby locations along the trail, Williams said. If you sit down here long enough the woods come alive. Patrick & Henry is home to an outstanding variety of plants and animals, P&HCC President Greg Hodges said. We are so pleased to be able to both extend the learning of our own students and provide such a valuable means for learning to our community by sharing this great resource. We invite you to come enjoy the beauty of nature on our campus. The project was made possible by support from the Eco Ambassador Council, a group of regional businesses that support environmental projects. Members include Blair Construction, Carter Bank & Trust, Clark Oil and Gas, Frith Construction, Hooker Furnishings, Jones and DeShon Orthodontics, Lester Group and Pickle & Ash Restaurant. As organizations get geared up for Giving Tuesday, held every year on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, heres a story about a Fredericksburg student who gives almost half of his allowance every week to others. Luke Finlayson is 9 and a fourth-grader at Hugh Mercer Elementary School. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when so many medical issues were in the news, he decided to give some of his weekly allowance to help. His earnings usually total $7, depending on how many chores he does, and Luke began to set aside $3 each week for the Mary Washington Hospital Foundation. Long after the pandemic ended, the younger son of Ian and Caitie Finlayson has continued his giving ways. I like helping others, he said. I dont know, it just feels like the right thing. His efforts came to the attention of Tamra Wheeler, Mary Washington Healthcares public relations coordinator, who talked with the foundations leadership. Everyone agreed that we have a budding philanthropist in the making, she said. Wheeler invited Luke to a recent meeting of the foundations board of directors, where he met Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw and received a resolution signed by Xavier Richardson, foundation president, and Joe Wilson, board chair. It praised his heartfelt donations, noting that he is the kindling that sparks change through his acts of charity. He understands it is not how much he gives but how much love he puts into giving, states the resolution. When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed. His mother said how lovely it was that he was treated like a big donor, and how cool it was to meet at Mary Washington Hospital, where Luke was born. Neither was sure how much hes given since 2020. He usually sets aside his $3, which is 43% of his weekly pay, until hes got $20 or $30 stuffed in an envelope. Hes done such a great job and been diligent about it, she said. Luke, who wants to rescue animals when he grows up, has one older brother, Ryan. People across the globe will get their chance to help others on Giving Tuesday, which originated in 2012 with a simple idea, encourage people to do good, according to the campaign website. The actions can take the form of helping neighbors, performing random acts of kindness or giving to charitable causes which often have donors who will match every contribution, dollar-for-dollar. Local efforts range from supporting performing arts in the region through ArtsLive! to helping the Friends of the Rappahannock plant more than 75,000 trees, from assisting the disAbility Resource Center in its quest to Give the Gift of Independence to providing meals this holiday season through the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank. This vignette is an educational moment in American history. It is about those who made a difference during the Revolutionary War era and how they served our country. Josiah Bartlett was an uncommon person born into a typical colonial family. Josiah was born on Nov. 21, 1729, in Amesbury, Massachusetts. He was Stephen and Hannahs fourth son and fifth child. As an ordinary family of the era, the Bartletts tended a farm while Stephen also worked as a cobbler. Josiah attended the towns community school until he was 16. His common school education included Latin and Greek. Bartletts language courses helped position him to study and learn medicine under his preceptor, Dr. Ordway. Working and learning the practice of medicine, Bartlett became accomplished at compounding drugs, delivering babies, treating injuries, and other medical treatments. After several years of training, practical experience, and apprenticeship, Josiah was announced as Dr. Bartlett. As Kingston, New Hampshire, needed a physician, Josiah moved and established medical and dental practices. During his 45-year medical career, Dr. Bartlett developed a stellar reputation among his colleagues and patients as a man of independent thinking and keen understanding. Bartlett was elected to the New Hampshire legislature early in his political life. During the Stamp Act uproar, the Royal Governor (of New Hampshire) attempted to bribe Bartlett into siding with the Crown, but Bartlett rejected every overture. During the next several years, Josiah was vital in several positions as an active advocate against British oppression. He was a commander in the New Hampshire militia and a member of the Committee of Safety. In the mid-1770s, as a state legislator, he cast his lot with the Revolutionaries. Dr. Bartlett was elected to the first provisional Congress when the Royal Governor dissolved the colonial assembly. In 1775, Josiah was elected to the Continental Congress. As revenge, British terrorists burned his home to the ground, and he could not attend the Congressional sessions. Josiah was again elected to Congress. This time, he was able to attend, and on July 2, 1776, he voted for independence. Two days later, he cast the first vote to approve the Declaration. Dr. Josiah Bartlett and John Hancock were the first to sign the document. During the Revolutionary War, Dr. Bartlett treated sick and wounded troops and was also a leading proponent of creating the United States Navy. During his lifetime, Bartlett was a justice of the peace, associate chief judge, and chief justice of the superior court. He also promoted the use of science in agriculture, manufacturing, canal projects, and the expansion of roads. Moreover, Bartlett was the president and then governor of New Hampshire. Along with being a signer of the Declaration of Independence, Josiahs other most cherished time was creating and being the first president of the New Hampshire Medical Society. A year after leaving public service, this endearing and principal Founding Father died at 65 on May 19, 1795. Bartlett, New Hampshire, is named in his honor. Dr. Josiah Barlett was buried beside his wife, Mary, at the Universalist Church in Kingston. A new survey has found that the percentage of people living with the HIV virus in South Africa has decreased from 14% in 2017 to 12.7% in 2022. This translates, according to the latest data, to about 7.8 million people living with HIV in South Africa in 2022 compared to 7.9 million in 2017. This key finding is contained in the sixth South African National HIV Prevalence, Incidence, and Behavior (SABSSM VI) survey released on Monday November 2023 by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). The HSRCs Divisional Executive of the Public Health, Societies, and Belonging Division, Professor Khangelani Zuma, said several factors contribute to HIV prevalence. These factors include fewer people getting infected with HIV, more children born HIV-negative, AIDS-related mortality, and people aging and dying from natural causes, Zuma, who is also the surveys principal investigator explained. In addition, he said the increase in the population of the birth of HIV-negative babies would also increase the denominator of HIV-negative people in the country. The epidemic curve also shows an aging population of people living with HIV who are living longer as the epidemic stabilizes, he added. In addition, the 2022 survey shows significant progress toward the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) 95-95-95 targets. UNAIDS envisions that by 2025, 95% of all people living with HIV have to be aware of their HIV status, 95% of those aware of their status to be on antiretroviral treatment (ART), and 95% of those on treatment to achieve viral load suppression. Meanwhile, the survey indicated that among those aged 15 and older living with HIV in South Africa in 2022, 90% were aware of their status, 91% of those aware of their status were on ART and 94% of those on ART were virally suppressed. Several hundred young Malawians have left for Israel to work on farms deserted in the wake of Hamas attacks and the bombardment of Gaza, the Malawian government announced on Monday November 27. A first flight carrying 221 young men left Malawi for Israel on Saturday, announced the Ministry of Labor of the small southern African country, adding that others would soon follow suit. Thousands of agricultural workers have left Israels farms, an important sector of the countrys economy, since the Hamas attacks of October 7, which triggered a massive Israeli bombardment of Gaza in retaliation. Some were foreigners who returned to their countries of origin. Others were Palestinians from Gaza who had their Israeli work permits revoked after the Hamas attacks. Some of the foreign workers were among the 239 people taken hostage on October 7 by Hamas, according to Israel. According to Malawis Minister of Labor, Wezi Kayira, Israel is one of the countries targeted by a government program designed to find work for its young people abroad and thereby enable the country to receive much-needed foreign currency. Mr. Kayira stressed his governments commitment to guaranteeing the safety of young Malawians sent to Israel, assuring that they would work in certified safe workplaces. The departures come just two weeks after Israel granted $60 million in aid to Malawi, which is battling an economic crisis. The Malawian government has been criticized by human rights activists for the way in which the agreement was sealed. Malawi has forged close ties with Israel over the years, while other African countries are more radical in their defence of Palestinian rights. In the past, it has sent agricultural graduates to Israel. Shortly after taking office in 2021, President Lazarus Chakwera announced the opening of a Malawian embassy in Israel, the first in decades for an African country in the disputed city. 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: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain People aging with an intellectual disability are in better health, living in their communities, with more opportunities, and having greater control in how they live their lives but women's health, oral health and dementia findings concerning The release of the Wave 5 report of the Intellectual Disability Supplement to The Irish Longitudinal Study on Aging (IDS-TILDA) shows promising outcomes for persons with intellectual disabilities in Ireland, but also highlights some particularly worrying findings. The report was launched by Anne Rabbitte T.D., Minister of State at the Department of Health and at the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. IDS-TILDA has been formally following the lives of older people with intellectual disabilities aged 40 years and over, for the past 15 years. It has provided a wonderful opportunity to track the impact of a range of policies. Researchers led by Professor Mary McCarron, Principal Investigator, IDS-TILDA, Trinity College Dublin, consider it heartening to see people aging with ID in better health, living in their communities, with more opportunities, and having greater control in how they live their lives. IDS-TILDA provides and will continue to provide essential evidence for the success and challenges in current policy and practice for people aging with an intellectual disability. Where policy and practice need to continue to improve is also highlighted throughout the Wave 5 findings. The total number of study participants for Wave 5 was 762. Out of those, 408 took part in all 5 Waves. For Wave 4, 214 were newly recruited, and 140 were recruited for Wave 5. On the report, Mei Lin Yap, Ambassador Liaison Officer for Trinity Center for Aging and Intellectual Disability (TCAID), said, "I think this report is so important because it's all about understanding how to improve the lives of people with intellectual disabilities. It's vital that we recognize the different needs, and gaps in health provision, so that we can live longer, healthier, and happier lives. And isn't that what we all wantto create a happy and healthy future together?!" Findings to celebrate In 2007, 44.8% of participants aged 4049 years were living in residential and campus-based care. In 2023, for a similar group of 40- to 49-year-olds, that figure has reduced to 7.7%. Many older adults with intellectual disabilities in Ireland live full social lives, with rich interpersonal relationships, and they are engaged in their communities. For example, 93.8% had friends and 76.6% had weekly contact with non-resident friends, and on average participants did over five different activities in the community each month. There has also been a reduction in medication use, for example the use of psycholeptics (including antipsychotics, anxiolytics, hypnotics and sedatives) reduced from 56.3% to 33.9% from Wave 1 (data collected from Feb 2010 to July 2011) to Wave 5 (data collection from Sept 2022 to the end of June 2023). There were impressive increases in use of calcium and Vitamin D supplements in the overall population. We have seen a positive improvement in family contact and friendships for most participants and physical activity levels have improved, with those with moderate intensity activity reporting the best quality of life scores and being least likely to experience loneliness. Those least likely to experience feelings of loneliness were those doing moderate activity levels (34.1%), based on IPAQ (International Physical Activity Questionnaire) scores. The positive upsurge in the use of technology among older adults with ID during the COVID 19 pandemic has continued with 89.6% reporting access to the internet in Wave 5. Findings of concern The overall physical and mental health of women is much poorer than men with an intellectual disability, with concerning increases in musculoskeletal (9.7%), endocrine (5.7%), gastrointestinal (5.1%) conditions since Wave 2. Women reported higher levels of loneliness than men, with 45.2% of women reporting loneliness compared with 33.7% of men. Similarly, 10.6% of women reported depressive symptoms compared with 4.3% of men. 6% of women had gone through the menopause, with very little support or discussion with trusted others, or a health professional. Only 37.9% reported that they had discussed the menopause with someone else. Dementia remained a significant concern, particularly for people with Down syndrome with 22.7% reporting the condition and an average age of onset of 53 years. The Wave 5 study broke new ground in screening for oral health concerns and a worrying picture emerged. One in every 5 participants had no teeth at all, and this increased to 2 in 5 for those aged 65 and over. Seven out of 10 who had lost their teeth reported that they did not have dentures or other restorative options meaning increased nutrition and health concerns. With regard to this finding, Professor McCarron said, "Some improvements, but we have a very long way to go; poor oral health impacts every aspect of our lives, physically and mentally; as one family member said 'since she lost her front teeth, people no longer stop to say hello, and more often look at her with disgust.' This is a real tragedy. It is very concerning that so many women with ID were not able to report or even recognize symptoms of menopause, with 8 out of 10 not having received any easy read materials on what to expect or how to manage symptoms." There are unique issues for women aging with an ID. Policy must address the 20-year longevity gap between women with an ID and women in the general population. We need a much greater focus on reducing risk with targeted brain health programs for this increasingly at risk population, and greater access to new disease modifying agents being developed for the general population." Findings on family care-givers The study found that most caregivers were committed and energized each day by the desire to care for their loved one; but they found care difficult, many were completely overwhelmed yet expected to be still providing at least the same level of care to their family member in five years' time. Professor McCarron, summed up the findings: "We have been tracking the changes that de-congregation, SlainteCare, person-centered planning, changes in employment and day programming and implementation of the UN Charter on Disability promised. It is great to see progress across a number of areas with many older adults with intellectual disabilities in Ireland living full social lives, actively engaged and embedded in their communities; but health, particularly health of women with intellectual disabilities, oral health, dementia, and support of caregivers must continue to be monitored." More information: Longitudinal Dynamics in the Ageing of People With an Intellectual Disability: www.tcd.ie/tcaid/assets/pdf/id tildawave5report.pdf 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: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Across the entire animal kingdom, visual images are processed by two major neuronal pathways that extract light and dark stimuli from visual scenesON (light on) and OFF (light off) pathways. Light stimuli are brighter than their background like a white cloud in a gray sky whereas dark stimuli are darker than the background like a black bird in a blue sky. The two pathways can extract stimuli with different contrasts but some pathways are more sensitive than others. In carnivores and rodents, ON pathways are more sensitive to low contrasts than OFF pathways and, in our brightly-illuminated world, low contrasts are also more abundant among light than dark stimuli. In a paper published in The Journal of Neuroscience, scientists at the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Optometry demonstrate that ON pathways are also more sensitive than OFF pathways in the human eye, but this higher sensitivity comes with a cost. It makes ON pathways vulnerable to loss of image sharpness under low light. Poor image sharpness and low light are also risk factors in myopia (nearsightedness), a visual disorder that blurs vision at far distance. The new study demonstrates that human myopia is associated with pronounced deficits in ON pathway function. As myopia becomes more severe, ON pathways become less sensitive, weaker and slower. Moreover, as would be expected from the weaker and slower ON pathways, the pupil reflexes driven by ON pathways also become weaker and slower. Pupil reflexes are important to navigate in bright visual environments and are needed to rapidly reduce the amount of light entering our eyes when scenes become brighter. Credit: State University of New York College of Optometry Spending time outdoors is known to protect against myopia, but the protection is not enough to stop progression for reasons that remain unknown. The new study suggests that deficits in pupil reflexes may limit the outdoor protection by reducing the amount of time that children spend looking at bright surfaces such as the sky, which strongly stimulate ON pathways. ON pathway deficits in contrast sensitivity could also make children less interested in looking at far targets because contrast decreases with viewing distance. In turn, the reduction in far-distance vision should reduce exposure to bright light contrast driving ON pathways. Taken together with previous work, this study could lead to new approaches of myopia control based on ON-pathway natural stimulation. The research was carried out by Sabina Poudel and collaborators in the laboratories of Jose-Manuel Alonso at the SUNY College of Optometry. More information: Contrast sensitivity of ON and OFF 2 human retinal pathways in myopia, The Journal of Neuroscience (2023). Journal information: Journal of Neuroscience Provided by State University of New York College of Optometry 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 Researchers at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine have found that country of birthnot just geographic regionis a key risk factor for gastric intestinal metaplasia, a precursor lesion of stomach cancer. Although stomach canceroften called gastric canceris relatively rare in the United States, it is much more common and deadly among Hispanics, non-Hispanic Black people, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders than among the white population. Sylvester and the University of Miami Health System serve a widely diverse racial and ethnic population, including many immigrants, visitors and patients from nations in Latin America and the Caribbean. The findings are based on what is believed to be the largest and most diverse U.S.-based sample of foreign-born patients with what researchers consider a major predisposing condition, the presence of GIM. "We found that not only is country of birth a key risk factor for gastric intestinal metaplasia, there is considerable variability among countrieseven those with geographic proximity," said Dr. Shria Kumar, a clinical epidemiologist and gastroenterologist at the Miller School and a researcher in gastrointestinal cancer risk mitigation at Sylvester. "Recognizing the varied odds of GIM in Latin American and Caribbean countries, we now know that we need to carefully and precisely identify risk by country of birth, and our findings may help shape screening and surveillance programs in the United States and other countries that have large immigrant populations." According to the study, published in The Lancet Regional HealthAmericas, not all countries thought to be in high-risk regions are associated with higher rates of GIM. To tailor future screening and surveillance efforts appropriately, guidelines should account for country of birth, along with other risk factors. The retrospective study analyzed medical records of 21,108 people from 130 countries who underwent upper endoscopic procedures and gastric biopsy between 2011 and 2021. GIM was identified in 1,699 cases. The authors restricted statistical analyses to countries with at least 100 people, evaluating 15 countries (1,208 cases of GIM). In their analyses, the researchers identified prevalence of HP infection and GIM diagnosis among patients from a variety of Latin American and Caribbean countries. People born in Ecuador, Honduras and Peru were at highest risk of having GIM. Because gastric cancer is relatively uncommon in the entire population, experts say universal screening would be inefficient and unjustifiably costly, and while targeted screening among higher-risk groups could be cost-effective, more detailed, precise information is needed to identify those for whom screening would be most beneficial. The Sylvester researchers investigated risks and pursued a timing strategy for screening that takes disease progression into account for greatest impact and efficiency. The years-long or even decades-long process of gastric cancer development often begins with a bacterial infection, Helicobacter pylori (HP), in the stomach. Untreated, infection may progress to chronic inflammation and thinning of the stomach lining, a condition called atrophic gastritis, which may eventually lead to gastric intestinal metaplasia. Because this step, development of GIM, is considered a critical precursor to gastric cancer, and GIM is more prevalent in Asian Americans and Hispanics compared to non-Hispanic white people, experts have identified this stage in the cascade as potentially the best time for screening to identify patients and determine their cancer risk. "Our study demonstrates that country of birth is a key risk factor for GIM, along with HP infection, race and ethnicity, age, and smoking," Kumar said. "Because some countries in predetermined high-risk regions are not necessarily associated with higher rates of GIM, it's important to study the under-investigated risk factor of country of birth and not rely solely on racial and ethnic minority classification." Kumar is the paper's corresponding author. Dr. Shida Haghighat, a gastroenterology fellow at the University of Miami and the paper's first author, said that while U.S. guidelines recommend endoscopic surveillance of GIM in racial and ethnic minorities and immigrants from regions with high incidence of gastric cancer, not only is there significant variability in prevalence among subgroups, the term "high incidence" is not well defined. Future studies should seek to build comprehensive risk-prediction models. "It's clear that we need to more fully identify those at highest risk," she said. "And while one risk factor for GIM may not be sufficient to warrant screening for precancerous conditions, people with multiple risk factors could be considered for screening and surveillance." In addition to Kumar and Haghighat (last and first authors, respectively) Catherine Blandon and Dr. David Goldberg contributed to the article. More information: Shida Haghighat et al, Association between country of birth and gastric intestinal metaplasia: a retrospective cohort study, The Lancet Regional HealthAmericas (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.lana.2023.100635 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: Electronmicroscopic pictures of white matter axons in healthy control mice (top) and mice with different myelin gene defects. Axons that remain wrapped with abnormal myelin (middle) are constricted by distal oligodendrocyte processes (colorized in red) and show signs of degeneration (asterisk). Stripping of abnormal myelin (bottom) by microglia (colorized in green) increases the chance for axons to survive. Scale bar: 0.5 m. Credit: Nature Communications (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42570-2 Myelin is an insulating sheath around axonsthe processes connecting nerve cellsthat is mostly composed of lipids and proteins. It enables rapid conduction of electrical signals and supports neuronal integrity and function. In the central nervous system, myelin is formed by specialized glial cells called oligodendrocytes. Myelinated fiber tracts are particularly vulnerable to various pathogenic processes and myelin diseases are often associated with chronic inflammation of the nervous system. A prime example is multiple sclerosis, a serious and frequent neurological disease in which immune cells drive demyelination, i.e., the loss of myelin. However, maladaptive immune reactions also contribute to other disorders associated with myelin defects, including hereditary and aging-related diseases. Importantly, the degeneration of axons and neurons is a major determinant of clinical disease severity in such disorders. It is generally assumed that loss of myelin leads to increased vulnerability of denuded axons to a toxic inflammatory milieu and ultimately results in their demise. This purely detrimental view of demyelination is challenged by a recent study conducted at the Department of Neurology under corresponding author and lecturer Dr. Janos Groh from the Section of Developmental Neurobiology (Prof. Dr. Rudolf Martini, University Hospital Wurzburg) and in collaboration with the Institute of Molecular Neurobiology (Prof. Dr. Mikael Simons, Technical University of Munich). Supported by Prof. Dr. Antoine-Emmanuel Saliba from the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (Wurzburg) and teams of researchers from Hannover, and Cambridge, they have now published the results of their study in the journal Nature Communications. Myelin gene defects instigate distinct immune reactions To investigate the relationship between loss of myelin and axon degeneration, the researchers studied mouse models of rare diseases carrying defects in the major myelin protein of the central nervous system. "These models of rare monogenetic diseases offer unique opportunities to reveal mechanisms that have broad relevance for much more frequent disorders," says Rudolf Martini. The scientists had previously discovered that the formation of abnormal or "bad" myelin in these mice leads to an inflammatory reaction comprising an accumulation of cytotoxic CD8+ T cells. In the analyzed disease models, these adaptive immune cells target and damage fiber segments with abnormal myelin, reminiscent of multiple sclerosis. Surprisingly and in contrast to the prevailing view, they found an inverse relationship of axon loss and demyelination when comparing the disease models. Fibers that remained myelinated despite the chronic attack of T cells had a higher risk to degenerate, while those that lost their myelin survived. Moreover, behavioral deficits of the mice correlated more clearly with neurodegeneration than demyelination. Persistence of abnormal myelin as a risk factor for axon degeneration "This inverse relationship was unexpected and prompted us to study the interactions of abnormal oligodendrocytes and another immune cell type called microglia in more detail," explains Janos Groh. Microglia are cells of the innate immune system that populate the central nervous system and can orchestrate detrimental as well as beneficial immune reactions. In their study, the authors used different pharmacological approaches to modulate the removal of abnormal myelin by microglia. "We show that efficient microglia-mediated removal of perturbed myelin under adaptive immune attack allows the survival of axons at reversible stages of damage," Groh adds. Thus, persistent ensheathment with "bad" myelin seems to be worse for neurons than the loss of myelin, at least when myelin is targeted by adaptive immunity. Oligodendrocytes under immune attack actively harm axons The scientists could also identify a mechanism for how oligodendrocytes attacked by T cells harm their axonal partners. They found an aberrant constriction response at the myelinating processes wrapped around the axons. "When we inhibited this aberrant constriction by paralyzing cytoskeletal filaments, we could reduce axon degeneration," Groh says. "The T cell attack seemed to incite oligodendrocytes to strangulate axons like a constrictor snake," Martini adds. "What is the biological sense of these highly organized, but self-mutilating processes?" Martini says. The researchers speculate that these reactions of oligodendrocytes can be beneficial in other conditions, like injuries to the nervous system. However, aberrant induction of these immune-driven mechanisms might be a harmful response in many diseases. According to Groh and Martini, their study identified putative targets for therapy in diseases associated with myelin defects and inflammation in the nervous system. Moreover, they emphasize that novel therapeutic approaches for myelin diseases ideally should block detrimental but still allow beneficial immune responses, like the removal of "bad" myelin. This might help to foster neural resilience mechanisms as a prerequisite for recovery from damage to the nervous system. More information: Janos Groh et al, Microglia-mediated demyelination protects against CD8+ T cell-driven axon degeneration in mice carrying PLP defects, Nature Communications (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42570-2 Journal information: Nature Communications 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: Researchers at the University of Geneva used Graph Neural Networks to model the complex patterns of multi-drug resistant Enterobacteriaceae transmission, aiming to advance how hospitals predict and manage infection risks. Credit: Racha Gouareb and Douglas Teodoro, University of Geneva. Researchers at the University of Geneva have made a groundbreaking stride in health care technology, as detailed in their study published in Health Data Science. The study focuses on the innovative use of Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) in health care settings, particularly in detecting antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and multidrug-resistant (MDR) Enterobacteriaceae colonization, with significant implications for patient care and hospital management. Professor Douglas Teodoro, from the University of Geneva, explains the core problem addressed in the paper, "Our goal was to model the complex interactions within health care environments to predict the spread of health care-associated infections (HAIs). We incorporated network information about patients and health care workers into this prediction." The study's most crucial message, as Teodoro emphasizes, is the potential of analyzing health care network interactions to enhance the prediction of HAIs. "This approach could be a vital step forward in infection control and prevention strategies in health care settings," he states. Scientists developed new device using refined material. Credit: Racha Gouareb and Douglas Teodoro, University of Geneva Looking ahead, the team envisions their models being used to augment Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) programs and reduce the burden of HAIs. "Given our method's data-driven approach, we anticipate its applicability to other pathogens with similar transmission dynamics and in various health care settings," Teodoro shares. Accompanying the study is an image titled "Graph-Based Prediction of Hospital Infections," depicting the team's use of Graph Neural Networks in modeling the complex patterns of multi-drug resistant Enterobacteriaceae transmission. This work aims to revolutionize how hospitals predict and manage infection risks. This research not only highlights the innovative use of GNNs in medical settings but also underscores the growing significance of technology in enhancing patient care and hospital management strategies. More information: Racha Gouareb et al, Detection of Patients at Risk of Multidrug-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae Infection Using Graph Neural Networks: A Retrospective Study, Health Data Science (2023). DOI: 10.34133/hds.0099 Provided by Health Data Science 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: CC0 Public Domain Links between internet adoption and psychological well-being are small at most, despite popular assumptions about the negative psychological effects of internet technologies and platforms, according to a major international study published by the Oxford Internet Institute. The study examined data from two million individuals aged 15 to 89 in 168 countries, yet found smaller and less consistent associations than would be expected, if the internet were causing widespread psychological harm, according to the research team. The paper, "Global Well-Being and Mental Health in the Internet Age," has been published in the journal Clinical Psychological Science. Professor Andrew Przybylski, Oxford Internet Institute and Assistant Professor Matti Vuorre, Tilburg University and Research Associate, Oxford Internet Institute, carried out the study, which shows the last two decades have seen only small and inconsistent changes in global well-being and mental health. Professor Przybylski says, "We looked very hard for a 'smoking gun' linking technology and well-being and we didn't find it." Professor Vuorre notes, "We studied the most extensive data on well-being and internet adoption ever considered, both over time and population demographics. Although we couldn't address causal effects of internet use, our descriptive results indicated small and inconsistent associations." Filtering the results by age group and gender has not revealed any specific demographic patterns among internet users, this includes women and young girls. In fact, for the average country, life satisfaction had increased more for females over the period. According to Professor Przybylski, "We meticulously tested whether there is anything special in terms of age or gender, but there is no evidence to support popular ideas that certain groups are more at risk." The team maintains, "We put our findings under a more extreme test to see if there are matters which we have missed and we did find increased mobile broadband adoption predicted greater life satisfaction, but this association was too small to be of practical significance." But, the team insists, technology companies need to provide more data, if there is to be conclusive evidence of the impacts of internet use. The research says, "Research on the effects of internet technologies is stalled because the data most urgently needed are collected and held behind closed doors by technology companies and online platforms. "It is crucial to study, in more detail and with more transparency from all stakeholders, data on individual adoption of and engagement with Internet-based technologies. These data exist and are continuously analyzed by global technology firms for marketing and product improvement but unfortunately are not accessible for independent research." In this study, the researchers contrast two different studies of data on well-being and mental health against the countries' per capita internet users and mobile broadband subscriptions and use, to see if internet adoption predicts psychological well-being. In the second study they use data on rates of anxiety, depression and self-harm from 20002019 in some 200 countries and analyze their associations with internet adoption. Well-being was assessed using data from face to face and phone surveys by local interviewers in the respondents' native languages. Mental health was assessed using statistical estimates of depressive disorders, anxiety disorders and self-harm in some 200 countries from 2000 to 2019, as estimated by aggregated health data from World Health Organization member states. More information: Global well-being and mental health in the internet age, Clinical Psychological Science (2023). journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/21677026231207791 Journal information: Clinical Psychological Science 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: Cell Reports (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113269 Life expectancy and healthy aging in mice can be determined by a protein present in some cells of the immune system, according to a study published in the journal Cell Reports. When this proteinknown as the CD300f immune receptoris absent, animal models have a shorter life expectancy and suffer from pathologies associated with cognitive decline and premature aging, especially in females. "Our study indicates that alterations in immune system cells, for instance, in macrophages and microglia, can determine the healthy aging degree in mice," notes Hugo Peluffo, leader of this study and member of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and the Institute of Neurosciences (UBneuro) of the University of Barcelona. Understanding how the CD300f immune receptorand the myeloid cells of the immune systemcan determine by themselves the onset rate of aging-associated pathologies, "will help to better understand this process, and it will contribute to the design of strategies to regulate its action. For instance, using the immune receptor CD300f as a target in biomedicine," notes the expert. "Also, our team has previously shown that some variants of the CD300f immune receptor could be useful as biomarkers in patients." The paper, whose first author is the expert Frances Evans (Institute Pasteur and Udelar), includes the participation of teams from the Molecular Imaging Uruguayan Center (CUDIM), among other institutions. What is the role of this receptor in aging? The CD300f receptor is a protein expressed by immune system cells that modulates cell metabolism and inflammation. This study reveals the first evidence of its role in the processes related to aging and senescence. "In particular, we discovered that mice that lacked the CD300f immune receptor developed prematurely some pathologies associated with aging (cognitive deficits, motor incoordination, tumors, etc.) and even damage in several organs such as the brain, the liver or the lungs. Moreover, we observed an important effect on females, the most affected ones," says Hugo Peluffo. The study is based on detailed monitoring of several cohorts of animals for thirty months, a methodological innovation that allowed the researchers to see the process of real aging in these animals without using accelerated aging models, which do not fully represent a process that necessarily involves the gradual accumulation of changes with age. The researcher points out that "the aim is to keep studying the consequences of the dysfunction of the CD300f immune receptor on brain aging, in particular on microglia." More information: Frances Evans et al, CD300f immune receptor contributes to healthy aging by regulating inflammaging, metabolism, and cognitive decline, Cell Reports (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113269 Journal information: Cell Reports 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: Left: Control group (non-vaccine-treated); the red arrow shows the area where pneumonia developed. Right: Vaccine-treated group comprising cynomolgus macaques or crab-eating macaques; suppression of infection was observed. Credit: Department of Immunology and Genomics at the Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University The global impact of the coronavirus pandemic has ignited a renewed focus on emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. Researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University are making great strides in combating pneumococcal pneumonia, one of the leading causes of respiratory deaths worldwide. Despite the existence of vaccines against pneumococcal infections such as otitis media, sinusitis, and meningitis, the prevalence of pneumococcal pneumonia remains high. Currently, around 100 new serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae have been identified, and the increase in pneumococcal infections caused by serotypes not covered by the vaccine has become a concern. This situation underscores the need for a more versatile vaccine. Building on their previous success in mucosal responses in 2019, in which they developed a mucosal vaccine that can induce antigen-specific mucosal immune responses, mainly immunoglobulin A (IgA), on the target mucosal surface, a research team led by Professor Satoshi Uematsu and Associate Professor Kosuke Fujimoto from the Department of Immunology and Genomics at the Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka Metropolitan University, has this time set out to bridge the gap in pneumococcal pneumonia vaccination efficacy. Their findings were published in Inflammation and Regeneration. To successfully develop a novel pneumococcal vaccine, the research team combined its proprietary mucosal vaccine technology with pneumococcal surface proteins that can cover a wide range of serotypes. Experiments conducted on mice and macaques have demonstrated the vaccine's efficacy in suppressing pneumococcal pneumonia in the target animal groups. "This research has succeeded in developing a vaccine formulation that can potentially be used in humans, which will advance the development of this vaccine for clinical applications," said Professor Fujimoto. "This next-generation vaccine technology is expected to contribute to the treatment of infectious diseases in the future." More information: Chieko Yokota et al, Prime-boost-type PspA3 + 2 mucosal vaccine protects cynomolgus macaques from intratracheal challenge with pneumococci, Inflammation and Regeneration (2023). DOI: 10.1186/s41232-023-00305-2 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: The prognosis of patients with HCC varies depending on their gross subtype. (A) Flow chart of the study. (B) Different gross types of HCC and their corresponding fresh surgical resected samples. (C) Kaplan-Meier curves for OS based on the gross type in the current cohort (log-rank test). (D) Kaplan-Meier curves for RFS on the basis of the gross type in the current cohort (log-rank test). HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; ICC, intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma; OS, overall survival; RFS, recurrence-free survival. Credit: Fan Z, Jin M, Zhang L, et al. A new study published in the journal Gut has found that different gross subtypes of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have significantly different prognoses and molecular characteristics. The study, led by researchers at The First Hospital of Jilin University, suggests that gross classification may be valuable for developing individualized diagnosis and treatment strategies for HCC. HCC is the most common cancer of the hepatobiliary system and a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Despite advancements in therapeutic strategies, recurrence remains a major challenge in HCC management. Local therapies, including surgery, radiofrequency ablation (RFA), and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE), are considered standard care for early-stage or intermediate HCC. However, treatment choice remains a dilemma, and non-invasive and simple prognostic indicators for aiding clinical decision-making in HCC are lacking. The gross classification of HCC, based on tumor shape, has been proposed as a potential prognostic predictor. However, its widespread use has been restricted due to the limited number of studies with sufficient patient numbers and the lack of established mechanisms. Moriyama's classification system, introduced in 1987, categorizes HCC into five gross subtypes: single nodular type (type I), single nodular type with extranodal growth (type II), contiguous multinodular type (type III), poorly differentiated type (type IV), and early HCC type. Studies have suggested a correlation between tumor shape and prognosis, and imaging features reflecting HCC gross appearance have been shown to predict outcomes after RFA, TACE, and even lenvatinib treatment. This new study aimed to comprehensively examine gross subtype-specific prognostic factors and molecular landscapes in HCC. The study investigators reviewed and analyzed a prospective cohort of 400 patients who underwent hepatic resection for solitary HCC. They also performed multiomics analyses on tumors and non-tumor tissues from 49 patients to investigate the mechanisms underlying gross classification. "We found that overall three-year survival rates varied significantly among the four gross subtypes (type I: 91%, type II: 80%, type III: 74.6%, type IV: 38.8%)," explained lead study author Zhongqi Fan. "Type IV was found to be independently associated with poor prognosis. Additionally, we identified distinct transcriptional modules and molecular characteristics for each gross subtype." Gross classification guiding HCC therapy. (A) H&E staining of HCC tumor samples of all gross types. (B) The Kaplan-Meier curves of OS in patient with type IV HCC treated with or without TACE postoperatively in current overall cohort or IPTW cohort (log-rank test). (C) The Kaplan-Meier curves of OS in patient with type I/II/III HCC treated with or without TACE postoperatively in the overall cohort or IPTW cohort (log-rank test). (D) The Kaplan-Meier curves of OS and PFS in patient with type I/II/III HCC treated with or without adjuvant drug therapies postoperatively in the overall cohort or IPTW cohort (log-rank test). (E) Gd-EOB-DTPA MRI for the patient with HCCs with type III and type IV before and after immunotherapy combined with antiangiogenesis targeted therapy. White arrows indicated HCC nodules. (F) The clinical implementation process for gross classification of resectable HCC and the corresponding recommended treatment strategies. (G) A novel trichotomous classification system, margin morphology classification (MMC) was proposed based on the conventional gross classification. (H) OS or RFS of patients undergoing hepatic resection for HCCs with different MMC subtype (log-rank test). HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; IPTW, inverse probability of treatment weight; OS, overall survival; RFS, recurrence-free survival; TACE, transcatheter arterial chemoembolisation. Credit: Fan Z, Jin M, Zhang L, et al. The study findings have important implications for the clinical management of HCC. "Our results suggest that gross classification may be a valuable tool for developing individualized diagnosis and treatment strategies for HCC," said Zhongqi Fan. "For example, patients with type IV HCC may benefit from adjuvant intra-arterial therapy." The study investigators also proposed a modified trichotomous margin morphological gross classification (MMC) system based solely on margin morphology. "The MMC system is more user-friendly and may be more practical for clinical implementation," said Zhongqi Fan. The researchers emphasize the need for further research to validate the MMC system and its clinical utility in larger patient cohorts. They also plan to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the differences between gross subtypes to provide further insights into HCC progression and therapeutic targets. "Our study has taken an important step toward establishing a more personalized approach to HCC diagnosis and treatment even without any available tissues," said corresponding author Guoyue Lv. "We believe that our findings have the potential to improve patient outcomes and ultimately reduce the burden of HCC." More information: Zhongqi Fan et al, From clinical variables to multiomics analysis: a margin morphology-based gross classification system for hepatocellular carcinoma stratification, Gut (2023). DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2023-330461 Journal information: Gut Provided by First Hospital of Jilin University 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 Based on results from the CheckMate743 trial, the dual regimen of ipilimumab and nivolumab is the standard of care for the treatment of unresectable pleural mesothelioma. However, research published today in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology (JTO) showed that a group of Australian patients treated with that immunotherapy combination experienced higher levels of toxicity than were reported in the clinical trial results. Australia has one of the highest rates of asbestos-associated diseases, and mesothelioma remains an area of unmet need with a five-year overall survival (OS) rate of 10%. First-line immunotherapy with ipilimumab and nivolumab is now a standard of care for resectable pleural mesothelioma following the CheckMate743 (CM743) trial, with supportive data from the later-line single-arm MAPS2 trial. RIOMeso examines the survival and toxicity of this regimen in real-world practice. Dr. Ned McNamee of The Kinghorn Cancer Centre & St. Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst, Australia, and fellow researchers retrospectively collected demographic and clinicopathological data from 119 Australian patients across 11 medical centers who underwent treatment with ipilimumab and nivolumab in both first-line and subsequent settings for pleural mesothelioma. Survival outcomes were assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method, and toxicity was evaluated through the CTCAE v5.0. The median age was 72, 83% were male, 92% were ECOG 1, 50% were past or current smokers, and 78% had known asbestos exposure. 50% were epithelioid, 19% sarcomatoid, 14% biphasic, and 17% unavailable. Ipilimumab and nivolumab were used in first-line therapy in 75% of patients. Median overall survival (mOS) for the entire cohort was 14.5 months. First-line use of ipilimumab and nivolumab was observed in 75% of patients. Patients treated in the second or later-line had a mOS of 15.4 months. No statistically significant difference in mOS was found between epithelioid and non-epithelioid histology. Approximately 24% of patients experienced CTCAE grade 3 adverse events, with colitis being the most frequent. The RIOMeso study marks a significant milestone as the first detailed report of real-world survival and toxicity outcomes in Australian patients undergoing ipilimumab and nivolumab treatment for pleural mesothelioma., according to Dr. McNamee. The findings suggest that, in real-world practice, combination immunotherapy may have poorer survival outcomes and appear more toxic compared with clinical trial data, emphasizing the importance of understanding the treatment landscape beyond controlled trial settings. However, Dr. McNamee urged caution in interpreting these results. "There is certainly survival benefit of the Checkmate743 regimen over chemotherapy, especially in the non-epithelioid group; however, perhaps there is more equipoise in epithelioid patients. Careful patient selection may mitigate some of the risk of toxicity, but our study demonstrates that the non-chemotherapy option is not necessarily less toxic," he said. More information: N. McNamee et al, Brief Report: Real-world toxicity and survival of combination immunotherapy in pleural mesotheliomaRIOMeso, Journal of Thoracic Oncology (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.jtho.2023.11.014 Journal information: Journal of Thoracic Oncology Provided by International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer 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 Finland has a strong public health care system; nevertheless, personal wealth is associated with the costs of hospital care and medication in people with Alzheimer's disease. Higher levels of wealth were associated with greater costs of hospital care before diagnosis, a new study from the University of Eastern Finland shows. The study published in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association included 70,531 persons diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease between 2005 and 2011, whose medication costs and costs of hospital care were compiled from Finland's national registers. The researchers examined the costs over a seven-year period, which started five years before the Alzheimer's diagnosis and ended two years after the diagnosis. The personal wealth indicators used in the study included taxable wealth, taxes and tax-like charges, and disposable income and current transfers received, on which data were obtained from Statistics Finland for 19952006. Despite slight differences in the different wealth indicators, the study showed that people with higher levels of wealth also had higher health care costs before the Alzheimer's diagnosis, which may be explained by better health awareness and earlier seeking of care. On the other hand, higher levels of wealth were associated with lower health care costs after the Alzheimer's diagnosis, but this association was explained by differences in comorbidities across different wealth levels. "Although the data are from more than 10 years ago, the findings are of global interest, as they reveal the existence of health inequalities in a country that is traditionally considered to have strong public health care system. In addition, the association between personal wealth and costs of care among people with dementia has been studied surprisingly little. It would therefore be interesting and important to conduct the study on more recent data, and also to include other costs of treatment and care," says Professor and Lead Author Anna-Maija Tolppanen of the University of Eastern Finland. The study was carried out as part of the MEDALZ study at the University of Eastern Finland School of Pharmacy, which examined the health and use of medications in people with Alzheimer's disease. Researchers from the Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition at the University of Eastern Finland and from London School of Economics also contributed to the study. More information: Rand Jarroch et al, Association of Personal Wealth Indicators and Health Care Costs in Persons With Alzheimer's Disease, Journal of the American Medical Directors Association (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.jamda.2023.09.017 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 Do primary school children influence the snack purchases of their peers? A study by the University of Bonn reveals that they do indeed. In the presence of friends or classmates, kids are more likely to choose the unhealthier, but also the cheaper option. These findings can support policymaking aimed at motivating primary schoolers to make healthier choices. The study was recently published in the journal Appetite. Whether during school breaktimes, at a kiosk on the way home, or at the swimming pool ... wherever and whenever school kids buy snacks on their own, they tend to be in the company of their peers. The question of how their purchasing decisions are thereby influenced is of interest, not least because one in seven children between the ages of six and 12 in Germany today is overweight. This is not a trivial matter, as being overweight can lead to diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and other serious long-term health consequences. "Even at primary school age, children often possess considerable purchasing power, thanks to their allowances and cash gifts. This allows them to make personal choices such as buying snacks on their own," notes Stefanie Landwehr, doctoral student at the Chair for Agricultural and Food Market Research at the University of Bonn. "To support children in making the healthier choice, it is important to understand the determinants that influence their purchasing decisions," she explains. While there is scientific evidence that the eating behavior of children is influenced by the presence of their peers, no study has yet examined how the presence of peers affects children's purchasing decisions. To address this question, Landwehr designed this study together with Professor Monika Hartmann, head of the department of Agricultural and Food Market Research at the Institute for Food and Resource Economics at the University of Bonn. For their study, they recruited approximately 130 third- and fourth-graders between the ages of 8 and 10. Initially, the kids completed a child-friendly questionnaire that inquired about their snack preferences and their knowledge of nutrition, for example asking: "If a product has a high sugar content, is that good for me?" Subsequently, they were given another task designed to measure their problem-solving skills. As a reward for participating up to this point, the children received three euros. Part of this money they could use in a simple purchasing experiment. They were given these snack options to choose from: chocolate cookies (the unhealthiest choice), fruit puree in pouches, called Quetschies, (second-healthiest choice) and apple slices (healthiest choice). The children could choose between branded products from McDonald's and no-name products. The third criterion was the price: the snacks were available at 0.60 Euro, 1.00 Euro,1.40 Euro. The kids now had the opportunity to choose between two products, for example, a small bag of apple slices from McDonald's for 1.00 Euro and a no-name Quetschie for 0.60 Euro. Alternatively, they could decide not to purchase either of the snacks. Their choice was recorded on a response card. This selection process was repeated a total of ten times with different snack, brand and price combinations. In the end, each child was allowed to randomly draw one card from the ten response cards, and the choice recorded on that card was implemented. This means that the child received the corresponding snack and had to pay the price indicated on the card. If the drawn response card indicated that the child had chosen not to have any snack, the child received no snack and was not required to pay anything. The procedure had been explained to the children with an example before the start of the experiment, so they were aware that one of their decisions would be randomly chosen and "binding." Before the experiment began, the children were randomly assigned to one of two groups: in one group, they individually participated in the purchase experiment, while in the other group, they were paired with another child of the same age. Even in the second group, each child had to make their own choice. However, in this group, children were allowed to discuss their decisions with each other before making their choices. The analysis of the results indicates that conformity seems to play a significant role in this age group. "When the children purchased snacks in the presence of a friend, they often made the same decision. In 13.5% of cases, both children even consistently chose the same snacks in all ten rounds," explains Hartmann. They tended to choose the chocolate cookie, the least healthy option, particularly frequently. In contrast, children who participated in the experiment by themselves more often opted for the Quetschies. "One possible explanation for these differences between the two groups could be that children assume their peers might view cookies as 'cooler' or more esteemed among their peersperhaps even because they are less healthy," speculates Hartmann. Even children with a high level of knowledge about nutrition often made the same decision as their partners. "Interestingly, children in the second group more frequently decided not to purchase either of the two snacks. "It seems that the desire for conformity led to these decisions despite different preferences," postulates Landwehr. A positive observation related to this "peer pressure": children tended to choose more budget-friendly options when in the presence of another child, thus, demonstrating greater price awareness. One criterion that played almost no role in children's buying decisions was the brand. Although the children expressed that they liked McDonald's, products from this brand were chosen less frequently. "Cookies, Quetschies, and apple slices are not products that children typically associate with McDonald's, which is why the brand does not play a decisive role in this case," says Hartmann. The results of the study provide new insights for health policies. "Campaigns promoting healthy eating should take into account that children influence the purchasing behavior of their peers," notes Landwehr. This could be achieved, for example, through informational campaigns in which children play a central role. "The campaigns should not only emphasize the benefits of healthy snacks but also convey that the healthier alternatives are also the 'cooler' ones," Landwehr adds. At the same time, increasing the prices of less healthy snacks, for instance, in a school setting, could be an effective measure. More information: Stefanie C. Landwehr et al, Is it all due to peers? The influence of peers on children's snack purchase decisions, Appetite (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2023.107111 Journal information: Appetite 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: Schematic of the data collection and analysis. In the schematic in (a), blue arrows correspond to migration flows to Italy, which is highlighted in green, whereas red arrows to internal transfers from hotspots to Rome, which is identified by a red square. As illustrated in (b), at their arrival in the reception facilities, the migrants were administered demographic and psychological questionnaires. At the end of their stay (day 14), the WHO-5 questionnaire (Survey Q6) was administered again to detect variation in the overall psychological well-being, as illustrated in (c). Credit: Communications Medicine (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s43856-023-00385-8 Sheltering in refugee centers can positively impact asylum seekers' mental health, according to a new study published in Communications Medicine, underscoring the benefits of providing migrants safe and welcoming transitional environments in which professionals in the host countries monitor their psychological and physical needs. The study's multidisciplinary research team, coordinated by Emanuele CaroppoHead of International Projects and Researches at the Department of Mental Health Asl Roma 2administered a battery of six questionnaires, ranging from demographic surveys to comprehensive psychological assessments, to a cohort of 100 asylum seekers in 14-day COVID-19-related quarantines in Italy between August 2020 and September 2021. Maurizio Porfiri, NYU Tandon Institute Professor and Director of the Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP), designed the framework for the statistical analysis and led the interpretation of the results. He and Pietro De Lellis, associate professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at University of Naples Federico II, are the corresponding authors on the paper. The study's aim was to understand the impact of the first contact with the reception system on the mental health of asylum seekers and to delve into predictors of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among that population. Of asylum seekers in the study, 23% had PTSDhigher than the 4% to 10% incidence previously reported among the general global population. Pre-migration traumatic experiences were the key influencers in the the development of PTSD, including the infliction of bodily injury and torture, and witnessing violence. The study found no specific demographic factors that played a crucial role in predicting PTSD. Social ties and education levels did not emerge as salient features to predict the onset of PTSD. Despite the incidence of PTSD, the authors also observed that a 14-day stay in reception facilities appeared to positively impact asylum seekers' mental health, with the proportion of participants needing to undergo further psychological assessments decreasing from 51% to 21% throughout the quarantine period. The study offers a significant step towards understanding the relationship between migration, mental health, and the reception environment. Asylum seekers, who have already endured tremendous hardship, may find a glimmer of hope in the notion that a supportive and secure environment can significantly contribute to their psychological well-being. More information: Emanuele Caroppo et al, Migrants' mental health recovery in Italian reception facilities, Communications Medicine (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s43856-023-00385-8 Journal information: Communications Medicine PAUSING TO understand and empathize with those around us is as elusive as spotting a unicorn in your backyard. Yet, the rich tapestry of the... BONNER Traffic jams are rare in this historic mill town east of Missoula, but when they happen the locals know it can only be one of two things: Theres a concert at the KettleHouse Amphitheater or its hunting season in the Big Sky state. Bonner is one of several sites on the western side of the state where Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (big game) and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (waterfowl and upland birds) host hunter check stations. On any given fall weekend, up to 1,000 hunters will queue up as required by law to report their harvest or lack thereof. With assistance from University of Montana students, wildlife biologists use the stations to gain valuable insights into the health of Montanas big game and bird populations. "Check stations provide us with a unique opportunity to collect data we can't get from the air, said Mike Ebinger, FWP Region 2 wildlife biologist. For example, the age of harvested animals and antler configurations. It also provides a venue for interaction between the hunting public and FWP biologists. It really is a two-way flow of information we are here to answer questions, but we are also actively gathering information about the public's hunting experience and their management concerns." The students working alongside Ebinger and other FWP staff are enrolled in Wild 374, an experiential learning course conducted by UMs Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit and the W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation. The class, which meets just once in a classroom during the fall semester, requires students to work four days at check stations during hunting season and complete a term paper on their experiences. I transferred from a school in Oregon a year ago because UM offers so many classes with some hands-on components like this, said Lily McPherson, a senior environmental studies and sustainability major who worked opening day at the Bonner station. It is definitely interesting to be that up close to such big animals. Like McPherson, other students cited the opportunity to get experience out in the field for enrolling in the course, as well as becoming better acquainted with the rich diversity of Montana wildlife. For many students, this is their first taste of what its like to work as a wildlife biologist, said Rebecca Mowry, an FWP wildlife biologist whos operated the hunter check station in Darby for the past 10 years. It provides an opportunity to see up close the animals that come through here. Mowry added that she has run into graduates of the program as far away as Texas who previously worked in Darby. I tell students they should never pass up opportunities to network with professionals who have the jobs they dream of, said Chad Bishop, director of UMs Wildlife Biology Program. Days spent at the check points give students enrolled in this class valuable time for this interaction. Bishop and Ebinger cautioned students in the initial class that while each day at the station will be unique, there will be certainties, including cold and wet weather. Appropriate dress is key, as is being willing to hop in and out of muddy truck beds. There will be blood, Ebinger said. And you will hear complaints about wolves and Montanas paper tagging system. You will be using a lot of electrical tape to put the tags back on animals, he added. Shifts at the check stations typically last from 10:30 a.m. until 8 p.m. Students assist with recording basic information, such as where an animal was harvested, its sex and, when applicable, its number of antler points. Aging the animals gets a bit more complicated. It involves slicing the animals cheek and using large vices to open the jaw to examine the teeth. For many hunters, this is a chance to learn more about the animal theyve harvested. Wear equals age, they learn, as does the eruption of molars. As Mike likes to say, aging an animal is more an art than a science, said wildlife biology sophomore Malakhi Spint. I think Ive gotten better at it, but then like today we had an animal that had a deformed molar so it was more difficult. Talking with the hunters and seeing their interest in learning more about the animals theyve harvested, and the general success of fellow hunters that day, has been a learning experience, Spint added. Some are pretty chatty and thats nice, he said. This has been rewarding both as a student and as a fellow hunter myself. Yeah, the unsuccessful hunters werent the happiest, said McPherson of opening day. But those who got an elk or deer were definitely down to chat. Interacting with the public is a key component of the job one that students need to embrace to be successful. From my perspective, the most important thing for students is to see how we interact with the public and to see if they like that part of the job, Ebinger said. A lot of people get into wildlife because they dont want to work with people but in the end, we are managing wildlife for people so you are a public servant and it is a people person job. The draft decision released this month would place 36 terms and conditions on the city, and partner TU, for removing the dam. The Forest Service would allow motor vehicles to travel into wilderness on Trail 534 within about 1.5 miles of the lake, at which point pack animals would carry supplies to the dam. Vehicles would not be left in the wilderness and the animals will not stay at the site. A helicopter would bring larger equipment in and out of the site only on the first and last days of an estimated 13 weeks of work. The helicopter must avoid flying over trails and must fly more than 500 feet above the ground except in the immediate project area. A pump would help dewater the working area around the dam. And a power drill would be used to bore holes into the dam for placing explosives that would ultimately blow a hole in it. The draft decision noted that the pump was estimated to be used for less than five minutes to start a siphon that would lower the water level. The power auger would be used an estimated couple hours each over two days, according to the document. Upton, the forest supervisor, wrote that she considered public comments calling for the agency to allow only wilderness-conforming work methods, but ultimately such methods were determined infeasible and impractical for McKinley Lake Dam. For example, she wrote, the estimated 48 round trips of pack-animal trains to the dam in lieu of vehicles and a helicopter would cause trail damage, and there's no room at the site to corral or graze the animals. A blasting expert determined a hand auger would not be effective for boring holes to the depth required for safe and effective blasting, she wrote. Upton also noted that public comments on the proposal, despite disagreeing over methods, were all in support of dam removal. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen on Wednesday will host the sixth monthly virtual community discussion on education laws passed during the 68th legislative session. This discussion will be 7-8 p.m. via Zoom at https://bit.ly/3R13MbX and will be moderated by the Office of Public Instructions Chief Legal Counsel Rob Stutz. These are open opportunities for parents, families, teachers, school leaders and legislators to participate. The theme is Local Accountability: How Recent Legislation Affects Families, Students, and Communities. The November discussion will focus on: House Bill 450, Protect Physical Self Defense in K-12 Schools Senate Bill 458, Defining Sex in Montana Law A summary of the legislation can be found at https://bit.ly/3N67wYq. Editors note: Calendar items must be submitted at least five days before an event. Email all items to news@morganton.com. TODAY Day of giving Burke County United Way will host the annual 1BurkGives Giving Day on Tuesday, Nov. 28, from midnight to 11:59 p.m. 1BurkeGives is a 24-hour online fundraising event at 1BurkeGives.org. During the event 35 local nonprofit organizations from across Burke County will be participating, raising funds for a wide range of causes. During the event, donors can also track their favorite nonprofits on the leaderboard, help organizations win prizes, and check-in on the event schedule for a live drawing or an in-person happy hour somewhere in Burke County. Follow BCUW on social media to stay in the loop (Facebook) (Instagram) and keep a look out for social media posts hashtagged #1BurkeGives! Drinks at the Depot Waiting for the Train will host Drinks at the Depot at the Morganton Train Depot, 624 S. Green St., from 5-7:30 p.m. THURSDAY Smart Start meeting The NC Pre-K Committee of Burke County Smart Start will meeting at 8:30 a.m. at the Partnership office, located at 304 W. Union St. Meetings are open to the public. For anyone with a hearing impairment who may require the assistance of an interpreter or have other special needs, call the Partnership at 828-439-2326 or use the NC Relay System at 1-800-735-8262. SATURDAY Christmas Parade The town of Valdese will host its annual Christmas Parade at 10 a.m. on Main Street. The annual Christmas parade is known for kicking off an exciting calendar of holiday events in Valdese and the Town Council considers it a privilege to recognize Bruce Hawkins as the Grand Marshal. Hawkins has served as an influential member of the community as well as activist for the Civil Rights Movement. Train Museum open house The Piedmont & Western Railroad Museum located in the Old Rock School in Valdese, 400 Main St. W, will host its annual parade Open House from 9 a.m. to noon. The indoor railroad display is the largest in the state. Christmas Parade The town of Hildebran will hold its annual Christmas Parade at 1 p.m. The parade will begin at 202 S. Center St. Visit hildebranNC.com for more information. Christmas Parade The town of Glen Alpine will be held at 2 p.m. The lineup will begin on Pollard Avenue at 1 p.m. Everyone is welcome. MONDAY, DEC. 4 The Industrial Commons will host an event to learn and discuss LGBTQIA+ in Burke County with guest and co-facilitator Susan Cato-Chapman from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Morganton Community House, 120 N. King St. Dinner, which will cost $15, is optional, and must be paid through STRIPE or in cash at check-in for the event. RSVP at https://bit.ly/3QVG0hx. TUESDAY, DEC. 5 Club meeting The Friendly Tuesday Club will meet at 10 a.m. at Grace Baptist Church, 1939 Paul Shuping Ave., Morganton. Christmas Parade The Morganton Downtown Development Association will hold the 2023 Christmas Parade on Tuesday, Dec. 5 at 6 p.m. Floats, characters and marching bands will usher in the Christmas spirit as they parade around through downtown on Green and Sterling street. WEDNESDAY, DEC. 6 AARP meeting AARP Chapter 3262 will have their annual Christmas dinner on Wednesday, Dec. 6. It will be held at the Morganton Community House starting at 11:30 a.m. A donation of a canned item for Burke United Christian Ministries is appreciated. The cost is $13 per person. Homemade desserts provided by members. Email burkeaarp3262@gmail.com or call 443-0857 to register to attend. THURSDAY, DEC. 7 Tree lighting ceremony The town of Valdese will hold its annual tree lighting ceremony at 6 p.m. on the lawn of the Old Rock School, 400 Main St. W, Valdese. The event will include a special music performance by the Valdese Elementary School Students, led by music teacher Brittany Schaffer. Free hot chocolate will be available for attendees. A rain date is tentatively scheduled for Friday, Dec. 8. This year the Town of Valdese is excited to honor former town mayor Jim Hatley with this special event. Children in the Valdese community were always a special priority for Hatley and the Valdese Town Council chose to dedicate the Town Christmas Tree Lighting Celebration in his honor. NAACP meeting The Burke County NAACP #5367 will be holding their annual meeting on Thursday, Dec. 7 at 6 p.m. at the Mountain View Community Recreation Center located at 645 1st Street, Morganton, NC. All members are encouraged to attend the meeting. In addition to any citizens that are interested in joining the branch. Please keep in mind that because it is the flu season and the uptick in COVID reporting, COVID-19 protocols will be followed. TUESDAY, DEC. 12 Blood drive North Morganton United Methodist Church, 990 Sanford Drive, will host a blood drive with the Red Cross from 1-6 p.m. Visit www.redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-733-2767 to schedule an appointment. MONDAY, DEC. 18 ABC Board meeting The Valdese ABC Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. at the Valdese ABC Store at 1018 W. Main St. in Valdese. Christmas dinner The Vietnam Veterans of America, Capt. Robert Douglas Avery Chapter 1116, will host its annual Christmas dinner from 5-6 p.m. The dinner will be paid for by the chapter. SATURDAY, APRIL 27, 2024 Cruise Unifour Christian Ministries will be embarking on a cruise to Grand Turk and Dominican Republic. Members of the public are invited to join. A down payment of $75 is required to reserve your spot and the remaining balance must be paid by Jan. 1. Call Annette Guffey at 828-493-1723 or 828-396-1906 for more information. A baby shot outside of a Burke County church last month has been released from the hospital and his father has been charged with a misdemeanor following the shooting. Daniel Vines was shot in the head on Oct. 15 around 8:30 p.m. outside of River Valley Baptist Church, 1945 Conley Bumgarner Road, Morganton, according to information previously released by the Burke County Sheriffs Office. He was initially in critical condition, but Daniel was able to come home on Wednesday, Nov. 22 the day before Thanksgiving and his birthday, according to his father, Adam Vines, who is the pastor at the church. On Monday, deputies served Adam Vines with a criminal summons for failure to store a firearm to protect minors, according to a news release from the Burke County Sheriffs Office. Burke County Sheriff Banks Hinceman said the sheriffs office consulted with the district attorneys office before issuing charges. Vines told The News Herald he was grateful the Lord watching over his family when the incident happened. To God be the Glory, Vines said in a text message. It could have been worse but the Lord was watching over us. God is good. Adam Vines said another one of his children had gotten ahold of the gun when it was fired. Hinceman said the children were in the car at the time. A copy of the criminal summons alleges a firearm was stored or left in a condition where it could be discharged and a minor would be able to gain access to it. Adam Vines has no previous convictions, according to records from the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections. His first court appearance is set for Jan. 5. LEXINGTON, Va. -- Charles Gessner, a native of Morganton, was recently initiated into the Furman University Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa, the National Leadership Honor Society. The Society welcomed 348 new initiates from 12 universities during October 2023. Students initiated into the Society must be sophomores, juniors, seniors, or graduate/professional students in the top 35% of their class, demonstrate leadership experience in at least one of the five pillars, and embrace the ODK ideals. Fewer than five percent of students on a campus are invited to join each year. Food truck driver robbed by armed bandits (Thursday, Nov. 29, 1973) Two men are being sought in connection with an armed robbery early this morning at the edge of Burke County near the Catawba County line. Authorities report that Myron Van Holt, 22, of Hickory, a driver of a Servomation truck out of Hickory, had stopped at a stop sign on US 321-A on his way to work in Lenoir at about 4:45 a.m. when a man approached the truck, jerked open the door and held a 12- or 16-gauge shotgun on him. The alleged gunman got in the truck and ordered Holt to drive on and dont do anything foolish. He instructed him to drive to Grace Chapel Road, where a car pulled behind the truck. When Holt was told to pull off the side of the road, another man got out of the car. The armed robbers reportedly took eight money bags containing about $700 total from the truck, as well as the keys to the vehicle. Then they locked Holt inside the truck and left the scene. Holt kicked the lock off of the door and went to a nearby house and sought help. No arrests have yet been made in the case. Court gets tough in school bomb threat cases (Tuesday, Nov. 27, 1973) Five weeks after the Burke County School Board announced a get tough policy on bomb threats, two Morganton Junior High School students received the full treatment in 25th District Juvenile Court Monday. One juvenile, 14, called in a bomb threat to the school Nov. 5, resulting in the evacuation of the school. Law enforcement officials traced the call to his home and arrested him for making a false report. In juvenile court, Judge Marshall Cline, chief 25th District Court judge, handed the youth an indefinite sentence to be served at the Juvenile Evaluation Center in Swannanoa. It was the first such active sentence handed down since the school board and school superintendent Charles Weaver had called for active terms. In another case heard Monday, a second juvenile, 13, received a probationary sentence and was fined $500 to be paid from his own earnings for also making a bomb threat to the school Oct. 27. The differences in the judgements are due to the fact that the younger youth made the threat to the school after students had been dismissed for the day, so no evacuation was necessary. Man rescued from tree (Monday, Nov. 26, 1973) Pat Causby, 40, was trimming limbs from a tree on School Street in Drexel Saturday when one of the limbs kicked back, causing him to fall and become lodged in the fork of the tree trunk. He was stuck there until members of the Burke County Rescue Squad and the Burke Emergency Medical Service extracted him. Rescue workers prepared a Swiss seat (emergency rappelling harness) and rigged a block and tackle mechanism over Causbys head. They then lowered him to the ground with the assistance of a squad member on a ladder. Causby was taken to the hospital by Burke EMS. His condition was not reported. Some odd things turn up in mailboxes around here (Tuesday, Nov. 27, 1973) The darndest things turn up in mailboxes. Occupants of mailboxes arent always placed there by human hands or at least, you cant prove it, said Morganton Postmaster Bill Phillips. Take the morning about 5 a.m. when Bob Mabe, city clerk, opened the big collection box on the corner of Queen and Sterling streets. Curled up on a pile of mail sat a bright-eyed, scared opossum. If you grab them by the tail real quick and give them a quick shake, you dont get bitten maybe, Phillips said. Thats how he got him out. And then he had to wash some messed up mail, about 200 pieces, before sending it on. No explanation was stamped on the mail, so some receivers may have wondered. Phillips remembers when he was a rural carrier, he opened one mailbox and the crushed head of a coiled black snake fell out. I almost died, he said, remembering with a grin. I just raked it out of the box. Im scared to death of snakes. He also recalled seeing many turtles occupying mailboxes, probably deposited there by children. Bluebirds will build in rural mailboxes quite frequently, if the doors dont close properly Phillips said. Weve had mail delivered regularly to such boxes without disturbing the birds, which remain to hatch their young. Architectural drawing of the proposed Black Inventors Hall of Fame Museum, which would show visitors the extensive impact of Black inventors' contributions. It is planned to open in 2026. (James Howard /James Howard) While standing in line at ShopRite one night, James Howard, of Dover, came across a special edition of Times magazine featuring Americas top 100 inventors but noticed something was missing. Naturally, on the front cover, they had Thomas Edison, they had Henry Ford, Nikola Tesla and all of that, (but) not a single Black face was on the front cover. He later found in the article small images of Dr. Daniel Hill Williams and Dr. Charles Drew, two Black surgeons who changed the medical landscape forever, but that magazines list stuck in his mind. Later, while being interviewed about his career he was asked why there werent any museums dedicated to Black inventors. I didnt have an answer for him and then he said to me, Why dont you start a Black Inventors Hall of Fame Museum, I slept on that, and three months later, I started Black Inventors Hall of Fame Museum, Howard said. James Howard (ATK Designs LLC & Brandnu Design Studio /ATK Designs LLC & Brandnu Design Studio) Starting off as a virtual museum, Howard said he recognized that the museum needed to be a physical place where people could visit. This has to be a building, and we still adopt the premise that when you build public spaces, it matters, he said. Today, Howard said the museum is in the preliminary planning phase. Theres a board of directors and plans for the 31,000-square-foot building to include state-of-the-art STEAM classrooms and a library. The proposed opening date is in 2026. Weve identified our basic program needs in terms of key features such as a 150-seat theatre, a learning center, three to four major exhibition halls, and the identity of those halls, said Howard, the executive director and founder of the museum. The museum will have three exhibition halls, which will be named Granville T. Wood Hall of Telecommunications and Technology, the Elijah J. McCoy Hall of Transportation and Agriculture Technology, and the Dr. Patricia Bath Hall of Medicinal Science and Health. Through those three halls, were going to get a chance to tell the deep extensive story of the African American inventor, and were going to do it like no one else has done, Howard said. The museum will have 36 permanent exhibitions and a rotating temporary space with endless possibilities for even more exhibits, he said. A replica of a P51 Redtail Mustang Fighter Plane that the Tuskegee Airmen popularized during World War II, will be on display. Thats being built in London and will be shipped here. (Actor) Tom Cruise has been apprised of our mission and the reason why hes been apprised is because the gentlemen that Tom Cruise relies on for all of his technical assistance and flying planes and movies, hes the same guy thats going to be building my plane, Howard said. The museum will cost about $27 million, Howard said. So far, hes raised $18 million, which included a $13 million pledge made by an anonymous donor and money theyve requested from the state. Were presently engaged in a fundraising campaign, where were reaching out to both the public and the private sector for funding, Howard said. When Howard isnt teaching his students design at the University of Texas at Austin, hes planning the museum and raising money. Philip Merrill, a lecturer, author and a collector of thousands of Black cultural items that have been exhibited at museums, schools and at national conferences, is a member of the museums planning board member.He said the museum is a forward-thinking, cutting-edge operation. I think its high time its been time that an institution of this skill gets created to tell the authentic, accurate story of the significance and impact of Black inventors, said Merrill. The museum will not only educate others about Black Americans contributions to the field of invention but also showcase their impact in various fields such as medicine, STEM, and aeronautics. I just want everyone to be as proud of the accomplishments of people of African descent, Merrill said. In the next 60 days, Howard said he plans on committing to the building, which will determine whether the museum will be located in Newark or Morristown. Once the commitment to the site is complete, Howard said they will start kicking their fundraising campaign up to the next level. Last October, Howard launched his new traveling exhibition, Three Eras of African American Inventor Journey Experience at the United States Patent and Trade Office headquarters, in Alexandria, Virginia. The exhibition is set to have several dates and locations in New Jersey during February. The free interactive exhibit will highlight the contributions of African-American inventors such as Onesimus, Elijah J. McCoy, Jessie Russell, Bath and many others. Overall, Howard said the exhibit will showcase the history of African American inventions over 400 years, from smallpox remedies to cell phone technology, and provide a platform for inventors to share their stories and knowledge. Our experience has been so rich and deep, and thats what the three eras collect. It tells you that story in these three distinct eras: early, golden and modern, Howard said. Mosaic staff writer Vashti Harris can be reached at vharris@njadvancemedia.com. Welcome to Mosaic. Follow us on Instagram at @MosaicNJcom and on Facebook at MosaicNJcom. After reviewing hundreds of entries from children from Butte schools, judges with Mainstreet Uptown Butte have selected this year's stroll button design contest winners. Ten-year-old Rosaleah BigBeaver, a fourth-grade student at West Elementary, used creativity and consistency to take first place in the adult stroll button design category. Allison Choi, a sixth grader at Margaret Leary School, took first place honors in the child button design category. Both will each receive $300 in Uptown Bucks to spend at Uptown Butte businesses. Shanley Bestgen, 12, a seventh grade student at East Middle School and 11-year-old Marina Skocilich, a sixth grader at Hillcrest Elementary, will each receive $200 in Uptown Bucks for their second-place finishes. On Friday, the winners will be honored during the annual Christmas strolls tree-lighting ceremony at 6:30 p.m. at the Butte-Silver Bow Courthouse, 155 W. Granite St., and have been invited to help lead the Children's Light Parade at 6:45 p.m. This year, the judges selected 10 honorable mentions to the mix to recognize the quality of their artistic efforts. Each will receive $25 in Uptown Bucks. They are Samantha Verlanic, Mila Carriger, Scarlett Tesdal, Johnny Pesanti, Tahshoniee Sinacek, Althea Majerus, Ethan Rice, Lucy Loushin, Natalie Osterman, and Anna Kashpar. Prosecutors have charged a 25-year-old Butte man with aggravated assault and strangulation for allegedly punching a woman in the face and head repeatedly and choking her. Bryce P. Gallagher made an initial appearance on the charges Monday before Justice Court Judge Mark Piskolich of Lewis and Clark County. Bryce Gallagher is a relative of Butte-Silver Bow Chief Executive J.P. Gallagher, and a court official in Butte said the change of venue was made to avoid any appearance of impropriety. Bryce Gallagher was also charged with tampering with a communication device, a misdemeanor. The crime allegedly took place at around 7:45 p.m. Saturday at a residence on Texas Avenue. According to court documents, Bryce Gallagher reportedly punched a woman repeatedly in the head and face and impeded her normal breathing by blocking air flow to the nose and/or mouth. He allegedly threw the womans phone across the room to prevent her from calling police or medical personnel. Aggravated assault is a felony that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and fine up to $50,000. It is defined by statute as purposefully or knowingly causing serious bodily injury to someone or using physical force or contact that causes reasonable apprehension of serious bodily injury or death of another. On the strangulation charge, a convicted person can spend five years in prison and be fined up to $50,000. A conviction for tampering with a communication device carries a maximum one year in jail and fine up to $1,000. Gallagher's bond was set at $50,000. MISSOULA A Butte man suspected of receiving illegally imported pill presses from China and trafficking cocaine and other drugs admitted to a drug charge Monday in a Missoula federal courtroom. David Jesus Tapia-Padron, 33, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, and faces a mandatory minimum of five years to 40 years in prison, a $5 million fine and at least three years of supervised release. Sentencing was set for April 10, 2024. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Tapia-Padron was released pending further proceedings. In court documents, the government alleged that in September 2022, two industrial tablet presses were illegally imported from China to the United States and addressed to a warehouse in Anaconda. The Drug Enforcement Administration intercepted the presses and then had them delivered. The DEA determined that co-defendant Austin King-Terrell of Butte had ordered the presses for Tapia-Padron and provided them to him. Agents later searched Tapia-Padrons residence and found large quantities of marijuana, psilocybin mushrooms and a vacuum sealed package containing one kilogram of cocaine. Agents also located distribution paraphernalia, a money counter and money bands throughout the home. In addition, the investigation determined that Tapia-Padron paid King-Terrell to buy what King-Terrell referred to as a kief press. Kief is a concentrated form of marijuana. Tapia-Padron regularly sold King-Terrell marijuana and offered him psilocybin mushrooms. King-Terrell pleaded guilty recently to illegal importation of a tableting machine and is pending sentencing. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks recently announced that chronic wasting disease was detected in a wild mule deer killed by a hunter west of Deer Lodge in Hunting District 213. FWP said it was the first time CWD had been found in an animal within the agencys Region 2, which is headquartered in Missoula, and in the specific hunting district where the deer was killed. Initial testing of the animal's tissue indicated it was considered suspect for CWD, which means it is considered positive for the disease but is destined for one more test for confirmation. Portions of HD 213 are in the vicinity of Anaconda, which has a significant population of urban-adapted mule deer. Residents are said to be evenly split about whether the deer are pests or akin to pets. Some people in Anaconda continue to feed the animals, which also happily devoured pumpkins around Halloween, even though the human feeding is likely unhealthy for the deer. Deer in concentrated proximity can be susceptible to spreading CWD, a reality that could raise the stakes in Anaconda's ungulates debate. High densities of deer like we have in Anaconda can facilitate the spread of CWD, said Kirstie Yeager, a wildlife biologist for FWP. But its too soon to jump to any definitive conclusions. I am attempting to sample as many deer and elk as possible. Hopefully, we will have a better sense of the disease prevalence rates soon. In 2020, Libbys urban population of white-tailed deer showed a high incidence of CWD and the city and FWP developed a culling strategy. In August, the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission approved a deer management plan for the town of Philipsburg. Commissioners for Anaconda-Deer Lodge County heard discussion about the communitys habituated mule deer at their Nov. 21 meeting but took no action, as reported in The Anaconda Leader. CWD is a contagious neurological disease that can infect deer, elk and moose. It is always fatal, and there is no known cure. It was first detected in Montanas wild herds in 2017. The disease is known to exist in various regions of Montana, with the closest prior detections approximately 100 miles to the southeast of HD 213. To see a map of where CWD has been detected and more details about the disease and management in Montana, visit: fwp.mt.gov/cwd. Hunters play a significant role in CWD disease management and understanding by providing test samples from harvested animals, FWP said. The agency said surveillance will continue during 2024 to understand more about disease prevalence in this area and other parts of the state. CWD is not known to infect humans. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people not eat meat from infected animals and have their harvested animals tested before eating them if they were taken from an area where CWD is known to exist. County officials say hundreds of residents in rural parts of Butte-Silver Bow County have not received property tax bills that were mailed out in late October and they dont know why. Local tax bills sent to many property owners who live in other counties or states also have gone undelivered, said Butte-Silver Bow Treasurer Lori Baker-Patrick, and many sent to homes in the Centerville neighborhood were returned as undeliverable. Besides the little section of Centerville, and Im not really sure what contributed to that. None of our rural areas or out-of-state tax bills have made it to their destination at this time, Baker-Patrick told The Montana Standard on Tuesday. She said the county gets certified addresses for tax bills from the Montana Department of Revenue, most of them with nine-digit ZIP codes, and has bills printed and mailed through a local printing vendor. It sent out 17,745 bills on Oct. 27, she said. Local postal officials confirmed receiving the bills, Baker-Patrick said, and told her they are sent to Billings to be sorted by ZIP code order before making their way back to Silver Bow County or other locations. She said a postal official in Melrose contacted her in early November saying residents were wondering why they hadnt received their tax bills. As this month has progressed, we have gotten calls from Divide, Buxton, Anaconda, Ramsay, Whitehall all these folks in Montana plus all of our out-of-state folks saying that they have not received their original tax bills, Baker-Patrick said. She said her office sent out duplicate bills directly to those addresses but believes many of them havent been received, either. Baker-Patrick said her office has been fielding phone calls and doing whatever else it can to get bills to taxpayers, including by email. But by state law, she said, payments are due by Nov. 30, and property owners are responsible for paying. The phone doesnt stop ringing Ill just put it that way because people havent gotten their tax bills and theyre like, The tax bills are due, she said. The Standard contacted the Montana Department of Revenue with questions on Tuesday and sent emails with questions to the postmaster in Billings and to a media relations official at the U.S. Postal Service. Among other things, The Standard asked if they were aware of the situation in Butte-Silver Bow County, if they knew of other such problems in Montana, and what if anything they were doing to fix the problems. The Postal Service did not respond immediately but Jason Slead, communications director for the Montana Department of Revenue, checked with agency officials and did respond quickly. It doesnt sound like any of the (Montana DOR) folks down in Butte have heard of any issues, and were not aware of any issues occurring in other parts of the state outside of hearing that some areas have had hiring issues within the USPS that has caused some delays and other issues, he wrote in an email. We did receive a fair amount of returned mail with mailing assessment notices, which is pretty typical of a reappraisal year and make our best effort to find an updated or current address for those that are returned, he wrote. These would be updated in AT Pro and passed along to the treasurer. So were not aware of any issues or reasons why BSB might have experienced issues with their tax bill mailing nor are we aware of similar issues occurring in any other counties. Baker-Patrick said taxpayers who have not gotten their property tax bills can email her at lpatrick@bsb.mt.gov or call 406-497-6303. They are going to have to get hold of us so we can let them know how much it is, she said. We can email them but the problem with emailing is there are a lot of elderly in Butte-Silver Bow that dont have email. They dont have computers. At least the tax bills sent to homes in Centerville came back as undeliverable, Baker-Patrick said. Her office took them to the post office and mailed them again and they appear to have reached recipients. But county officials cant figure out the others. Im just at a loss, she said. If they (taxpayers) arent getting them and Im not receiving them back, where the heck are they? According to media reports, officials in Missoula County said they had to extend their due date for property tax payments to Dec. 8 because the state was late in sending them tax roll information. They said they didnt know why that delay occurred. The Standard sent a question to the state DOR about that Tuesday afternoon and Slead said he was checking into it. Missoula County was one of several counties that reduced its state mills from 95 to 77.9 over objections from the administration of Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte. The state sued Missoula County and in essence all other counties that reduced the state mills, including Butte-Silver Bow. That legal dispute is ongoing. Baker-Patrick said the reduction in state mills here was made in time for tax bills to go out in late October as they usually do. Her office downloaded certified billing addresses from the state on Oct. 10, she said, and the local printer mailed bills on Oct. 27. Ive never seen this, she said. This is my eighth year sending out tax bills and this is over the top. Having to mail out additional bills costs the county and its taxpayers more money, Baker-Patrick said. The county spent more than $10,000 in postage to have the original ones mailed, she said. State officials this week will poll lawmakers on the question of whether to hold a special session to address property taxes, a proposal that's failed twice already this year. The Montana Freedom Caucus, a group of about 20 hardline Republican lawmakers, submitted the request to the Secretary of State's Office last week. To trigger a poll of legislators, state law requires 10 members to sign the request. The Freedom Caucus' submission to the Secretary of State's Office had 19. A spokesperson for the Secretary of State's Office confirmed receipt of the request and said the office was preparing to send out the poll by Friday. The request proposes four separate pieces of legislation regarding property taxes and additional tax rebates. Perhaps the most significant proposal would set up a default system in which any surplus of state tax revenues are automatically returned to taxpayers "without specific legislative intervention." The request also appears to relitigate the school equalization funding dispute that concluded in the Montana Supreme Court last week. The school equalization mills are collected by each county and redistributed by the state to level out funding for school districts in richer and poorer counties. The commotion on this mechanism comes as state property assessments leaped by a median value of about 45% in the most recent state reappraisal cycle, sending counties and state officials into a blame-game for the incoming increase in property taxes. All but seven counties had waged a sort of revolt against Gov. Greg Gianforte's administration in levying 78 mills rather than the 95 requested by the Department of Revenue for the school funding mechanism. The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday the counties had no authority to set the mill rate, a power held exclusively by the state revenue department. Gianforte has meanwhile painted counties as the culprit for rising property taxes. The proposal by the Freedom Caucus would reduce the 95 mills to 85 to lower the amount of property taxes collected by the state. "Since education funding is derived from the funding formula and is appropriated by the legislature, education funding will not be effected by this change," the proposal reads. This week's poll would require a majority of the 150 lawmakers to vote in favor of the special session in order for it to materialize in January. With different proposals in hand, Democratic lawmakers in July called for a special session to address property taxes, as did lone Laurel Republican Sen. Brad Molnar in August. Neither prevailed. Democrats opposed the Freedom Caucus' proposed special session on Monday in a joint statement from House Minority Leader Kim Abbott, D-Helena, and Senate Minority Leader Pat Flowers of Belgrade. "Republican legislators are desperately trying to duck accountability for failing to reduce Montanans' property taxes while giving breaks to the wealthy and big corporations," they said in Monday's statement. "Democratic legislators proposed targeted, permanent property tax relief that keeps local schools and firefighters whole which Republicans rejected. We do not support this special session, which fails to propose real, long-term solutions to ease the pain families are feeling across Montana." The family of Rosalynn Carter has begun three days of memorials for the former first lady and global humanitarian who died Nov. 19 at the age of 96. The Carter Center confirms that former President Jimmy Carter plans to attend a memorial church service Tuesday in Atlanta for his partner of more than seven decades. Rosalynn Carters remains were placed in a hearse Monday morning in the Carters native Sumter County, Georgia. After brief ceremonies there, the familys motorcade began the trip to Atlanta. Rosalynn Carter will lie in repose there at The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum. Two funerals are set for Tuesday in Atlanta and Wednesday in the Carters hometown of Plains. Both are for invited guests. Rosalynn Carters burial is private. The Small Claims Court in Kakamega has ordered Mumias East MP Peter Salasya to settle a debt of Ksh.500,000, along with interest and legal costs, to businessman Robert Lutta. The businessman initiated the case, contending that the legislator failed to repay the debt he extended on December 13 of the previous year, under the agreement that repayment would occur within two months. Mr Lutta presented documents from Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Mumias branch as evidence in court, demonstrating that he transferred the money to Salasyas bank account. Represented by his lawyer Edwin Wafula, the businessman claimed that Salasya had declined to repay the loan. In response, Salasya denied that he borrowed money from the businessman. Instead, he asserted that he was the one who lent the claimant Ksh.1 million through his political advisor, Mr. Bernard Kemba. In her ruling, Magistrate Gladys Kiama dismissed Salasyas assertion for lack of evidence. The respondent (Salasya) first claimed he had personally loaned the petitioner (Mr Lutta) Sh1 million in cash but later changed during the hearing stage and said that he had loaned the money through a proxy. The proxy in question, one Bernard Kemba, could not even identify the claimant (Lutta) even after an identification parade was carried out in court claiming that the camera was not clear even though their lawyer was able to identify those appearing on the screen. I therefore find the counterclaim inconsistent, ruled Magistrate Kiama. I also note that there was nothing to support the allegations that the claimant borrowed money from the respondent, there was no evidence to support his claim, she noted. The claimants lawyer expressed satisfaction with the ruling, affirming that justice has prevailed, and they are prepared to implement the judgment. We will be hoping that he settles the loan without undue duress from us, justice has prevailed, I believe in the course of law regardless of the position of someone in society, courts of law work based on the evidence presented by either party, said Edwin Wafula. We shall be proceeding to execute the ruling which entails attaching his property or putting him in jail. We pray that he(Salasya) settles the money without due duress from us, he added. The Principal Secretary for Higher Education, Mr. Fredrick Ndambuki, has assured that the government will take the necessary steps to ensure that the funds disbursed by the Higher Educations Loans Board (HELB) reach the learners on time. Ndambuki, who spoke during the graduation ceremony at Uzima University in Kisumu on behalf of Education CS Ezekiel Machogu, regretted that there have been delays in the disbursement of such funds but assured that the process of the disbursement has been streamlined. I want to mention that the delay in the disbursement of funds has been sorted out and is now on course, and before long all the learners will receive their monies, assured Ndambuki. The PS indicated that the government has made adequate arrangements to ensure that outstanding debts in various learning institutions that have jeopardised the smooth operations of the institutions are settled. We are also trying to see how best we can be able to deal with issues of pending bills for universities, and I know the respective vice chancellors are in a meeting in our office and planning to do all possible to clear the pending bills, noted Ndambuki. Kisumu Governor Prof. Anyang Nyongo decried the tedious process in accessing HELB, which has kept off many parents and learners, and called for a sensitization programme for the would-be beneficiaries on how to undertake the process. The new funding model has also confused students and parents, as some of them are yet to know how to apply for the funds. To tackle this problem, there is a need for sensitization to help disseminate information to students on the new funding model, Nyongo said. On Monday, November 27, a court heard that Osman Khalif, an aide to Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, was found in an unconscious state in Dandora, Nairobi, on November 21. Reportedly, the former South C MCA was abducted by five gunmen within a Westlands mall, with the assailants using a double-cabin vehicle. His wife, Yasmin Osman, stated that he was last seen outside Sarit Centre Mall on November 10. In court, lawyer Duncan Okatch informed Justice Chacha Mwita that his client was found on the night of November 21. He was unconscious. Upon receiving medical attention, its when his identity was clarified the following day, said Okatch. Where is this person? What happened? posed the Judge. Okatch clarified that Osman is in good health, having been discharged from Mama Lucy after receiving treatment. He is now free, the lawyer added. The court was informed that a report had been filed at Parklands police station, notifying the officers of Osmans release. Okatch requested additional time from the court to discuss the next steps in the case. However, the investigative bodies expressed a desire for the matter to be withdrawn. In his concluding instructions, the Judge stated, Given that he has been located and is alive, this case will be mentioned on December 6 for additional directions, allowing the petitioners lawyer to determine the next course of action. Last week Wednesday, Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi met with Osman following his purported release from captives. Accompanied by a photo of himself and Osman taken after a meeting in his office, Ahmednasir pointed fingers at an unnamed politician, suggesting their involvement in Osmans kidnapping. In a post on X platform (formerly Twitter), Ahmednasir asserted that the unidentified politician had dispatched a group of rogue police officers to abduct and subject Osman to torture, without disclosing the specific reasons behind these actions. Osman visited me in my law chambers today and narrated his heart-wrenching ordeal. They held him for 8 days and tortured him brutally, said Ahmednasir. Apparently, this powerful politician has special policemen from his tribe under his command and are independent of the normal police command structure. Three suspects who were involved in a botched carjacking last week are on trial for attempted robbery after being arrested in a dramatic arrest outside Kasarani police station in Nairobi. The defendants, namely Kelvin Murithi (22), Julius Mbithi (23), and Joy Mumbi Nyaga (20), are jointly facing charges of attempted robbery with violence, a capital offense that carries a death penalty. The trio is accused of attempting to forcefully take possession of a Toyota Ractis valued at Sh1 million, belonging to the complainant Peter Gathesa. The incident occurred along the Thika Superhighway in Nairobi on November 19. It is further alleged that they used violence against the complainant during the incident, reportedly strangling him while he was driving. The cab driver had picked up the three accused in Juja, Kiambu County, after Murithi requested a ride through a digital taxi-hailing app, indicating he would be dropped off along Statehouse Road in Nairobi. During the journey along the Thika Superhighway, Mumbi occupied the passenger seat, while Murithi and Njeru were seated behind the driver. At a certain point, Murithi allegedly revealed what later turned out to be a toy gun, instructing the driver to stop and exit the vehicle. Despite the demand, the driver resisted and sped to Kasarani Police Station, where he sought refuge. The police intervened, arresting the three suspects. Police investigations were unable to establish the relationship between the three suspects, although Ms. Mumbi informed investigators that she works as a domestic helper at a residence along Kenyatta Road in Juja. Murithi resides with his parents in an estate off Jogoo Road in Nairobi. All three defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges before Senior Principal Magistrate Gerald Mutiso of Makadara Law Courts. They were granted release on a bond of Sh500,000 each with a surety of a similar amount, and no option for a cash bail. The case is scheduled for mention on February 12 for a pretrial, followed by the commencement of the hearing on May 8, 2024. JD Kammes said he always wanted to be a chef, but a brief stint working for Charlie Trotters restaurant in Chicago nearly put that dream to an end. "I had a one-day stage (unpaid internship) at Charlie Trotters in Chicago," he said. But it wasnt the right fit, Kammes said. He did an about-face and decided to join the Army, where he became a tank driver in the First Infantry Division. I was stationed in Germany and then had a tour in Kosovo and then Iraq, Kammes said. After serving for seven years, Kammes left the Army, went to college and earned a BA in history. He then got a job at the Armys First Division Museum in Wheaton, Illinois. I worked there for seven years and became the deputy director, but they told me I would never be the director because they wanted the director to have a Ph.D. and be a retired Colonel, he said. I could get a PhD but could not become a retired Colonel. So, with my wifes support, I used the rest of my GI Bill to go to the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena. After the first winter in Napa, I called my wife and said we should move out here! In 2019, Kammes launched his own business, Fancy Savage Cuisine. I do catering of all kinds from multicourse food and wine pairings to wood-fired pizza as well as sourdough bread." His sourdough bread can be found at Jeffries General Store in downtown Napa. 1. What was your childhood ambition? I have always enjoyed cooking and just wanted to learn about food. I did not consider making it a career until much later. 2. What was your first job? The first job I ever had was working in my grandmothers liquor store in Hebron, Illinois when I was very young stocking shelves and working the register. My first culinary job was working in a local steak house called Dobbins House in McHenry, Illinois. It closed suddenly and that is when I learned that people in the hospitality business look out for each other because I got another job right away through someone I had worked with at Dobbins House. 3. Whats the worst job you ever had? The worst job I ever had was painting the lines in Walmart parking lots. It was done in the middle of the night and very far from home, so they would put us up in a hotel. I quit after the first week. 4. What job would you like to try/not try? Try: I have thought of trying stand-up comedy. I love to laugh. Not try: I would not want to be a teacher or in the medical field. These are very important jobs, and I highly respect the people who do them, but I do not want to be responsible for other peoples lives. 5. What is the biggest challenge your business has faced? COVID was the biggest challenge I have faced. I was trying to get my own business off the ground and everything stopped in two days. So, I took a job working at Whole Foods in the butcher department. 6. Who do you most admire in the business world? I admire David Chang. He has built up a group of restaurants but is always trying to think of what the next thing is going to be. He is also looking beyond just the restaurant industry to the media as well. 7. Whats one thing Napa could do to help local business? If something could be done to bring down the price of commercial real estate in Napa that would be a great help for new businesses starting out. Rents are extremely high, and you can almost forget ever owning a building. 8. Whats your favorite charity or nonprofit? I am a big supporter of food banks. During the pandemic, I made and donated 750 loaves of sourdough bread to the St. Helena Food Bank. 9. Whats something people might be surprised to know about you? That I enjoy making pottery, and when friends come over for dinner, I often serve on some of the pieces I have made. 10. What is one thing you hope to accomplish in your lifetime that you havent yet? I wish to start a pizza restaurant with multiple locations. This is the current goal I am working on now. I love making pizza and want to share that with my community. Kammes can be reached at chefjdkammes@gmail.com Photos: Puppy training by Napa Humane When Linda Parks, president and CEO of Napas Animal Care Products Lixit Corporation, rearranged her manufacturing areas to include a horse division, she realized her warehouse building now had unused space. I was contacted by the city of Napa Economic Development Division about an arts initiative that would utilize extra manufacturing space for artists and other small manufacturers, said Parks, who has been with Lixit since starting as a buyer in 1971. I was interested. In 2021, the city of Napa was awarded a federal grant from the Chamber of Commerces Economic Development Administration to advance the citys local manufacturing and creative sectors. The idea was to make Napa a place where manufacturers, makers, creative sectors and their workforce can thrive. City of Napa Economic Development Program Coordinator Jennifer Owen made the initial contact with Parks in her Tannery Bend office located at 100 Coombs St. First called 'Make It In Napa,' the initiative was renamed 'Napa Makes' in September 2022, said Owen. Lixit is unusual in that its a manufacturing business in downtown Napa. Linda liked the idea of rearranging her warehouse space to include makers and creative spaces. I assisted with explaining the sorts of permits for planning and building shed need to increase the capacity of the current location. Linda was the engine who made it happen. Owen introduced Parks to artist Agnes Pierscieniak, who was new to Napa. Agnes had been in an art collective in southern California, said Parks. She loved the building. I had the building but no artists; Agnes was an art director and knew what to do to bring in creative people. Its been a fun process thats totally different from what Ive done before. It took a whole year to rehab and clean up, but the original building had good bones to start. The project is named the 100 Coombs Creative Collective. Pierscieniak studied architecture as an undergraduate. I loved the building at 100 Coombs but knowing architecture and timelines, I thought it would take a long time to put together the building and artists, says Pierscieniak, now the collectives chief creative officer and artist liaison. Id never been a salesperson. It turned out to be perfect timing; the stars aligned. Linda is an amazing mentor and Ive learned a lot about business from her," Pierscieniak said. "She has both the business end and a big heart. She had the budget and timeline and met everything. It was a combination of good timing, good luck and compatible personalities. The refreshed and rehabbed multifunctional workspace opened in September. The grand opening in October drew 62 visitors. The floorplan contains 11 private studio spaces surrounding a large communal area with open art tables. There are four semi-private spaces. All have operational windows, heat and air conditioning. The cofounders Parks and Pierscieniak worked to make sure the space was bright, airy and welcoming. I learn more about my own art from having people around me, said Pierscieniak. It happens organically. I look around at what others are doing. An artists life is lonely otherwise. We get the most value from the people surrounding us. Were together, side by side, but work alone. We form professional relationships and friendships. Currently, 10 of the units are rented and two are in the process of being converted for artists. The artists creations are varied and include painting, photography, graphic design, book making, hand pottery and custom candles. One of the artists is Melissa Officer, a boutique photographer specializing in creative family portraits. She also offers brand and product photography, copywriting and small business marketing consultation. I wanted to become a member of the 100 Coombs Creative Collective the moment I heard about it, Officer said. Im also a writer, so Ive been to numerous writers retreats, and the community Ive built from those brief experiences has changed my life. To be surrounded by other artists and creatives regularly now, in person, will enrich my life and creative practice immeasurably, and I feel so lucky to be here. Being an artist, any kind of artist, can be lonely, she said. Ive only been a part of this creative community for a month now, and it has already pushed me to become a better photographer and artist just by having this sense of community now, getting to have conversations with my fellow resident artists, and already starting to collaborate with several of them. I have new ambitions, ideas and desires as an artist and photographer that I may not have developed without these new friendships. In an email, oil painter Sandra Cassayre agreed. Cassayre said working at 100 Coombs, gives me space to work on multiple paintings at a time. I enjoy being surrounded by and learning from other artists. Rental prices range from $299 per month for communal space to $599 and up for private studios. Pierscieniak, who has an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design, is also the founder and owner of Crave Workshops, a creative experience company, leading "mindful-making experiences" for over 4,500 corporate team participants around the world. After the successful opening exhibit, she hopes 100 Coombs Creative Collective can continue to host quarterly makers markets, open studios and gallery shows. I want to have regular public events, perhaps some small classes, and make it a place for local artists to hang out, she said. We want to encourage the younger artists with fresh new energy while honoring Napa traditions and artists. Theres a need in Napa, and we must decide how we can be inclusive and not expensive. We want people who are eager to start a new business and help them be more successful. For information about the 100 Coombs Creative Collective, visit 100Coombs.com. The current artist and maker roster includes Thomas Crawford, Justyn Hegreberg, Lisa Anderson, Rebecca Heskes, Melissa Officer, Danielle DiMaio, Agnes Pierscieniak, Sandra Cassayre, Christine Monaghan, Sharon Borunda, Lauran Posner and Mary Mammet. PHOTOS: Walt Ranch, Napa's newest nature preserve Walt Ranch 1 Walt Ranch 2 Walt Ranch 3 Walt Ranch 4 Walt Ranch 5 Walt Ranch 6 Walt Ranch 7 Walt Ranch 8 Walt Ranch 9 Walt Ranch 10 Walt Ranch 11 Walt Ranch 12 Walt Ranch 13 Walt Ranch 14 Walt Ranch 15 Walt Ranch 16 Walt Ranch 17 Napa Valley Unified School District test scores continued to decline in the 2022-23 academic year, according to a staff report. Standardized test scores plummeted across California during 2021-22 due to what education experts have dubbed the pandemic learning loss," the school district reported recently. This year, NVUSD saw further declines, though smaller than those found between 2019 and 2022, when students first took the exams following lengthy closures and remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress assessment is given by all California school districts each spring. The state uses the tests, which were not required in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic, to measure how school districts are performing. They contain a series of tests in English language arts and math to assess what percentage of students are proficient in the state's grade-level subject matter. For 2022-23, the Napa school district's scores followed similar trends to statewide averages, according to Peter Abboud, director of data and assessment services. However, the district is performing below Californias English and math averages across grade levels. The state saw an overall 0.4% decrease in English language arts scores between 2021-22 and 2022-23, while NVUSD scores fell 1%. In math, statewide averages rose by 1%, while Napa scores dropped 0.4%. Last springs English scores for Napa and American Canyon public schools are more than six percentage points lower than pre-pandemic scores, and math scores are eight points lower. According to Abboud, the district needs to be most aware of and address the discrepancy in English learners English scores, which dropped 3.2% this year. Abboud also discussed this fall's Star Testing at NVUSD's Nov. 16 board meeting. The tests, which also measure students' English and math proficiency by grade level, serve as a predictor of how the district will do on the following spring's CAASPP tests. Fall 2023 Star Testing showed modest improvements, with higher percentages of students making typical or higher growth than usual, according to Abboud. But the data also points to a major weak spot for the district: its middle schools. The number of students who score proficiently on both English and math Star Tests drops between the sixth and eighth grades, from 44.5% to 35.2% in reading and 49.2% to 38.8% in math throughout the middle school years. This falloff is often referred to as the middle school dip, according to Pat Andry-Jennings, assistant superintendent for instructional services. Its not acceptable, but its not something that is unique to Napa Unified, she said. Several NVUSD trustees expressed disappointment at the continued decline of CAASPP scores, asking how after efforts to change the curriculum and increase resources, Napa students continue to fall below state averages. Superintendent Rosanna Mucetti said she expects to see better performance from the Napa district in coming years, and added that continuing to lag statewide achievement levels is unacceptable. It is our responsibility to improve student achievement levels in numeracy math and literacy English Language Arts for our students, she said. ... As a superintendent, I do want to set a very clear expectation we have more optimal conditions than most K-12 districts in California, (and) I am expecting us to start at least hitting those state averages, or performing above those state averages. PHOTOS: Napa Valley Nursery School seeks new home A rare hotel proposal for unincorporated Napa Valley The Inn at the Abbey near St. Helena is re-emerging three years after the last public meeting on the topic. The inn would be near Freemark Abbey winery. It would occupy one of the rare commercially zoned pockets of Napa Valley land outside of cities where a hotel could be built, given county agricultural protections. The Jackson family that owns Freemark Abbey wants to build a 79-room boutique hotel, a spa, pool, underground parking, fitness room and on-site employee housing. The location is Highway 29/128 and Lodi Lane, just northwest of St. Helena. On Dec. 5, the Napa County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to discuss whether it wants a development agreement for the proposed hotel. It wont vote on an agreement or the project, but rather will tell county staff what an agreement might include. Were bringing this to the board to say, What do you think about this? said Trevor Hawkes, county supervising planner. What supervisors say could affect the projects draft environmental impact report, which is nearing completion, he said. Details revealed for 52-room luxury resort proposed in St. Helena The Napa Valley Wine Trains parent company has unveiled plans for a 52-room luxury resort at Charles Krug Winery, with no connections to St. Helenas water or sewer systems. The county Planning Commission could consider the project and the development agreement in the spring or summer of 2024, a county report said. It would make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. This is one of two proposed hotels at Napa Valley wineries within about a mile. The Napa Valley Wine Train's parent company recently proposed a 52-room luxury resort at Charles Krug winery. Krug is within the city of St. Helena, not the unincorporated county or the agricultural preserve. Napa County received an application for The Inn at the Abbey in 2019. The Planning Commission met in August 2020 to discuss what issues should be addressed in a draft environmental impact report. No public meeting on the project has been held since. "Over the past three years, we have continued to collaborate with the county on this project," project spokesperson LeeAnne Edwards said. The pandemic and wildfires prolonged matters. The county hired replacement environmental impact report consultants. County policies require the Board of Supervisors to review possible development agreement terms, she said. "We aim to ensure transparency and alignment before moving this project forward," said Edwards. Development agreements give developers certainty that changing county laws wont affect their project and can help them obtain financing. These agreements can also bind developers to provide public benefits. The Jackson family has proposed an agreement that, among other things, calls for: Napa County to allow modifying the site plan and building locations of an approved project, as long as the total square footage and room count remain the same. The Inn at the Abbey to pay about $1.6 million into the county's affordable housing trust fund, three times the fees that currently apply to the project. The Inn at the Abbey to return fallow land on the south parcel to agricultural use for a farm-to-table experience at the hotel and to educate guests on the county's agricultural economy. Napa County to credit a Vine Trail easement and shelter and other transportation improvements against any future county transportation impact fee. The Inn at the Abbey to deed-restrict six existing housing units on the property for affordable employee housing. Supervisors in December will tell Jackson family officials and county staff if these and other ideas are in the ballpark. Napa County has used development agreements before. For example, the Board of Supervisors last year approved a 20-year agreement for the redevelopment of Meadowood Napa Valley resort in the wake of the Glass Fire. The Inn at the Abbey property is 15 acres, with a mixture of agricultural-watershed and commercial zoning. New structures are to be on the 3.54 acres of commercially zoned land. Building the hotel requires modifying an existing use permit. Three existing buildings permitted as a restaurant, wine retail shop, art gallery and five-room motel would be demolished. An existing stone building would become the new hotel's lobby. Our vision is to continue the beautification of underutilized, commercially zoned land by introducing a boutique inn celebrating the agricultural heritage of Napa Valley and the historic Freemark Abbey property, the project website said. In 2020, some residents expressed concerns about such issues as traffic and noise. The Board of Supervisors is to meet at 9 a.m. on Dec. 5 in its chamber at 1195 Third St. in downtown Napa. The applicant for The Inn at the Abbey is Jackson Family Investments III LLC. Photos: Puppy training by Napa Humane Ardshinbank was recognized as the Bank of the Year in Armenia for the fourth time by The Banker magazine Economy minister: Armenias national air carrier needs additional funding Armenia economy minister on cars customs clearance fees: We will have internal discussions with EAEU Armenia president attends COP 28 opening ceremony Defense minister meets with head of EU delegation to Armenia (PHOTOS) Armenia Security Council chief to travel to US Armenia was informed about antiterrorist measures in Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan FM claims Ambassador Kvien: US proud to work with Armenian counterparts to preserve Armenias cultural heritage PM lauds Romania role in deploying EU civilian monitoring mission in Armenia Porsche holds 3rd generation Panamera world premiere Hamas violated ceasefire, Israel says US dissatisfied with Turkey Newspaper: Armenia national air carrier suspending flights Archaeologists to soon reveal Great Pyramid of Gizas main secret Fast & Furious 9 movie producers fined $1M Armenia, mediators are to blame for military aggression against Karabakh Armenians, Azerbaijan FM claims Armenia did not participate in the meeting of representatives of the CSTO member states The OSCE Chairmanship supports the dialog aimed at concluding a peace treaty between Baku and Yerevan We need Azerbaijan to stop rejecting proposals of facilitators to meet and finalize the peace treaty. Ararat Mirzoyan Representatives of CSTO member states met in Northern Macedonia Nassim Taleb: Painful that Mt. Ararat is in Turkey, Armenia is having territorial reductions Nassim Taleb predicts 3 major global risks: pandemic, financial collapse, rising debt Armenian captive Gagik Voskanyan not brought to court, Azerbaijan media report Mirzoyan to Colomina: Azerbaijan public position on territorial integrity mutual recognition is of paramount necessity Lavrov: Russia ready to contribute to normalization of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations Mirzoyan presents to Lavrov Armenia positions regarding Russia steps Nassim Taleb: It is better to open 1,000 schools rather than one university Ararat Mirzoyan, Javier Colomina discuss Armenia-NATO partnership Kremlin: Russia considers Armenia an ally France envoy to Armenia: Karabakh refugees have the right to return to their homes Armenia-Azerbaijan border delimitation commissions 5th meeting held at border Poland First Lady arrives in Armenia The PM, no longer the president, to appoint and dismiss Armenia National Security Service director and deputies Armenia president travels to Dubai for UN Climate Change Conference Armenia, Azerbaijan FMs meeting not planned in North Macedonia International law expert: Torture, inhumane treatment of Armenian detainees continues in Azerbaijan US deputy assistant secretary of state for education, cultural Affairs is in Armenia FM to France official: Armenia sent recommendations package to Azerbaijan to move settlement process forward (PHOTOS) Monument Watch: Azerbaijan propaganda machine circulates new theory Armenia FM, EU foreign policy chief confer about South Caucasus security Maragos: There is move towards situation stabilization on the ground ever since EU mission deployment in Armenia EU ambassador: Armenia citizens largely benefit from Visa Facilitation agreement Armenia, Azerbaijan border delimitation state commissions meeting kicks off Ambassador Maragos: EU hopes Armenia, Azerbaijan will come to some understanding during border delimitation talks Yerevan hosting international conference on Armenian communities of Middle East Ararat Mirzoyan, David Cameron speak about South Caucasus developments Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger dies aged 100 Towards a Brighter Tomorrow: India's G20 Presidency and the Dawn of a New Multilateralism Newspaper: Armenia, Azerbaijan deputy PMs to meet today in Tavush Province Mirzoyan, Blinken discuss South Caucasus security, stability Ararat Mirzoyan underscores Netherlands support to Armenia sovereignty EU reiterates support to Armenia-Azerbaijan relations normalization based on 1991 Almaty Declaration Deputy PM Mher Grigoryan stresses EU programs strategic importance for Armenia Envoy presents vision of Armenias Crossroads of Peace project to Greece lawmaker Armenia, Georgia security councils chiefs discuss regional security, stability (PHOTOS) Another judicial farce to begin in Azerbaijan against another Armenian Opposition MP: Armenia will face serious economic problems next year Karabakh ex-official says he does not consider signing Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty possible at this phase Dollar, euro go up in Armenia Armenia premier meets with big businessman from Egypt Armenia economy minister: Situation at Upper Lars checkpoint is strange EU Special Representative for South Caucasus discusses peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Turkey Amazon Web Services representative to Armenia PM: We are in active discussions with high-tech ministry The banks should help the customers in making right decisions when managing their own funds. Saribek Sukiasyan Armenia FM to attend OSCE Ministerial Council Armenia-UK 6th strategic defense consultations held in London (PHOTOS) Gagik Aghajanyan: Upper Lars border checkpoint closure means Armenia-Russia relations termination Vahan Kerobyan: Armenia, Russia representatives will discuss situation at Upper Lars border checkpoint Kremlin: Currently no plans for Russia President-Armenia PM contacts Freight-forwarding company director: Yerevan is 2nd largest cargo-container hub in South Caucasus Armenia, Azerbaijan deputy PMs meeting to be held in Tavush-Kazakh sector of border, media report Russia MFA pays attention to dispute over Armenian Gardens in Jerusalem Armenia parliament speaker: I tried to grasp who these people are who dont want to live side by side with Azerbaijanis Media: South Caucasus to be discussed at Turkey security council Karabakh former official Samvel Babayan speaks about negotiating with Azerbaijan Karabakh ex-official: Artsakh issue cannot be resolved at any time Japan space agency hit with cyberattack Saudi Arabia capital Riyadh wins right to host Expo 2030 world fair Newspaper: Armenia ruling force MP ready to live in Azerbaijan if his safety is ensured World's largest iceberg moves, leaves Antarctica after nearly 40 years of 'rest' Armenian-made satellite to be launched into space on Friday Armenia MFA: Azerbaijan continues blocking matter of sending UNESCO mission to Karabakh Turkey deputy FM, Toivo Klaar discuss South Caucasus, media report Armenia deputy PM receives World Bank regional director Dollar, euro drop Armenia Cyprus to host 30 children forcibly displaced from Karabakh, for 12 days of entertainment "Gyumri" branch of AMIO BANK was reopened under a new brand (PHOTOS) Alen Simonyan: Armenia should attend EAEU summit in St. Petersburg Armenia legislature head: Karabakh issue was resolved in 2016 PM Nikol Pashinyan receives delegation led by head of the Lithuania-Armenia interparliamentary friendship group Some Armenia trucks sent back from Upper Lars checkpoint on Georgia-Russia border National Assembly speaker: Nagorno-Karabakh issue does not exist for Armenia Alen Simonyan: No agreement on new meeting between Armenia, Azerbaijan leaders Armenia legislature speaker: Peace agreement can be signed within next 15 days if Azerbaijan shows political will Armenia legislature head: Our political relations with Russia are bit tense Irakli Garibashvili to Armenia PM staff chief: Georgia ready to assist peace process in region Armenia parliament chair: We are ready to return Azerbaijanis enclaves to them Amaryan Charitable Foundation Commits initial 122 mln AMD in Support to Syunik Region Armenia National Assembly speaker: We have 31 villages whose territories are under Azerbaijan occupation Embassies to be opened in Armenia, S. Korea on reciprocity basis At the initiative of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, Armenia is participating in the Strasbourg Christmas Market for the first time. Around 400 types of handicrafts of more than 60 Armenian craftsmen are presented at this world-renowned fair. Christmas and New Year symbols created with Armenian motifs will decorate the Armenian pavilion located on Saint Thomas Square in Strasbourg, France, from November 24 to December 24. Visitors to the Armenian pavilion are offered the best examples of vibrant Armenian heritage, including carpet weaving, embroidery, tapestry, and woodwork. Representation at this major pan-European platform will contribute to the international popularization of the Armenian cultural heritage, as well as to the acquisition and expansion of intercultural dialogue. Armenia's first participation in the Strasbourg Christmas Market was marked by the opening ceremony of its pavilion, which will be attended by high-ranking officials of France and Armenia. Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan received Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masatsugu Asakawa, Armenian News-NEWS.am was informed by the press service of the government of Armenia. Welcoming the guest, the deputy PM lauded Armenias cooperation with ADB, and noted that the jointly implemented programs are in line with the strategic priorities of the Armenian government. Grigoryan emphasized the ADB's direct cooperation with private sector companies, and stressed its importance in developing the right business culture in Armenia. During the meeting, the deputy premier briefed the President of ADB on the basic needs of forcibly displaced Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh and the respective assistance measures being implemented by the Armenian government, as well as addressed the issues that require a long-term solution. The interlocutors emphasized the importance of expanding cooperation in infrastructure and human capital development. Views were exchanged also on the necessary reforms in employment and digitization. In November, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) representatives again visited all the Armenian detainees notified by the Azerbaijani authorities as well as Azerbaijanis detained in Armenia. Ilaha Huseynova, head of the public relations department of the ICRC Azerbaijan Office, told this to APA. As per the report, the detainees were met in private and were given a possibility to exchange family news. According to its mandate, during such visits, the ICRC assesses the treatment of detainees and conditions of detention and helps to ensure that the detained individuals can restore or maintain contact with their families. As per the ICRCs procedures, the observations and recommendations related to its visits are only shared with the detaining authorities, added the report. The Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) of Armenia makes a purely technical decision regarding the sale of MTS Armeniaamong the country's telecommunication operators. This was told to reporters Tuesday by the chairman of PSRC, Garegin Baghramyan, when answering the question what convincing argument did the PSRC have to change its decision after its negative conclusion in April, and how did the Cypriot company that bought the shares of MTS Armenia inspire confidence. "When an application is made for the acquisition of shares, the [Armenian] law assumes that the package is examined by the [aforesaid] commission. That is, it is checked from a purely technical point of view, whether it can carry out the activity or not. The rest of the issues, related to safety and national interest, are presented to the authorized body, the Ministry of High-Tech Industry, which, after discussing with the NSS [(National Security Service)], submits a conclusion," said Baghramyan. According to him, the NSS had submitted an initial negative position. "The last package that was submitted, I guess, there was additional information, there is the conclusion of the NSS," added Baghramyan. As for what has changed, he noted that he cannot say. "I don't see the study, only the conclusion is that they don't have a problem," noted Baghramyan. Earlier, we reported that the Public Services Regulatory Commission of Armenia approved the sale of 100 percent of the shares of MTS Armenia CJSC to Cypriot company Fedilco Group Limited. Azerbaijan likes to say that it is a multicultural country, but it persistently erases everything Armenian, starting with the ethnic cleansing of Armenians, ending with the eradication of Armenian churches and buildings. Alen Simonyan, speaker of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, told this to reporters at the NA Tuesday. "There were other places where they [i.e. Azerbaijanis] tried to erase the Armenian historical presence, but then they realized that it only harms the country's reputation. You cannot edit world history in a day, there are general historical principles that are the same for everyone. Saying sugar will not sweeten your mouth. I consider the [Azerbaijani] attempts to erase the Armenian trace, Armenian history from the Armenian highlands unacceptable," said Simonyan. He called to sit down and discuss the future instead of talking about 30 years of occupations, and bringing various historical maps to the Armenian side. "It's enough, we need to pause, we need to talk about the future. Let them use their efforts to build the future and bring peace to the region. This cannot last forever," stressed the speaker of the Armenian parliament. Recent events show that, at least in the near term, it is impossible for Armenians to return to Stepanakert, Shushi, Baku, or those settlements that were historically Armenian. Alen Simonyan, speaker of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, told this to reporters at the NA Tuesday. "Are we talking about peace just for the sake of talking about peace? Or are we really mentally ready to go for peace? That peace should be built today, excluding hate speech, subjecting people to ethnic divisions, not to mention ethnic cleansing," said Simonyan. Speaking about the activities of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh, he said that they recently announced that everything is normal, there was no shooting, no provocation. "If they were going to return, they wouldn't let people flee from that area in one day; that talk should be stopped," said the speaker of the Armenian legislature. Currently, there is the problem that some of the Armenian trucks have been sent back, and some are waiting for the results of the examination. Vahan Hakobyan, the Armenian embassy in Russias customs attache at the Upper Lars checkpoint on the Georgian-Russian border, told Armenian News-NEWS.am about this. Earlier, the media reported that the Armenian trucks were stuck in a traffic jam at the Upper Lars checkpoint. The Armenian truckers informed that the Russian customs officers at the checkpoint gave them various reasonsfrom weather conditions to problems with documents. The truckers, however, believe that the actual reason is the current tension in Armenian-Russian relations. According to Vahan Hakobyan, Rosselkhoznadzor, the phytosanitary inspection agency of Russia, is carrying out enhanced inspection of trucks entering Russia at the Upper Lars checkpoint. "Rosselkhoznadzor reported that enhanced inspection is carried out not only at the Upper Lars checkpoint, but also at other checkpoints [of Russia], and the inspection of not only Armenian trucks, but also of other trucks that are subject to phytosanitary inspection has been enhanced," Hakobyan said. "I, the employees of the State Revenue Committee, the Ministry of Economy of Armenia, the food inspection body of Armenia, are actively working with our colleagues to solve the problem quickly," added Vahan Hakobyan. We always see the possibility of escalation [of tension in the region] because there are many examples. For example, a meeting took place at the end of August 2022, and 15 days after that, Azerbaijan started military operations. Alen Simonyan, speaker of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, told this to reporters at the NA Tuesday, and referring to the statement by James OBrienAssistant Secretary at the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs of the US Department of Statethat Washington will use all tools to prevent the creation of a trade route not in a peaceful way. "We can never rule out anything; and the warning of the US is also aimed at that. Indeed, the Armenian side is ready and going for peace," Simonyan added. And to the question whether a new meeting could be held between Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev with the mediation of the US, the speaker of the Armenian parliament responded as follows: "This is one of the unique matters that I have no information about. I don't understand why Azerbaijan avoids various formats. First they blamed the French, then they blamed Brussels, they refused the format, then they refused Washington. Honestly, I don't understand what that delaying of time will give to Azerbaijan, what it will give to the region. With one hand they talk about peace, with the other they avoid the peace treaty, which can be said is already very close to reality." I am confident that if there is a possibility, they would like Armenia to not exist. Alen Simonyan, speaker of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, told this to reporters at the NA Tuesday, and referring to Azerbaijan. "No one can say that there is no such thing," he added. According to Simonyan, it is clear that Armenia has drawn a red line for itself; for example, the 29,800 square kilometers that no part of the sovereign territory of Armenia can be outside of the country. "The Azerbaijanis talk about four villages. But we have 31 villages whose territories are under their occupation, either completely or in part. We have to talk about those 31 villages now, too," said the speaker of the Armenian legislature. During the USSR, they thought that the USSR was eternal, and now it is very difficult to find the dividing documents, and it is very difficult to say something specific. Alen Simonyan, speaker of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, told this to reporters at the NA Tuesdayand reflecting on Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan's statement that there are no legal grounds and legal documents regarding "enclaves." "There is the specific Artsvashen [village], whose belonging to Armenia is not disputed by any side. But I am sure that we will find a solution to that issue," added Simonyan. To the question as to whether there is a legal basis in terms of enclaves the speaker of the Armenian responded as follows: "If there is, we [Armenia] are ready to return their [i.e. the Azerbaijanis] enclaves, and they must return our Artsvashen. I do not rule out that we will find some solution and, for example, what is on this side of the border will stay here, what is on the other side of the border will stay there. For example, the area of Artsvashen is much larger than the two or three enclaves that Azerbaijan can talk about." And referring to security, Alen Simonyan said: "If there is peace, Armenia is able to oversee and provide with its own forces those few small territories that can become an exclave from Armenia. Azerbaijan should do the same. We do everything in the logic of equality." Alen Simonyan, speaker of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, does not see a political insinuation in the recent social media post by Arayik Harutyunyan, Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister of Armenia. To the remark that Russia is creating economic problems for Armenia at the Upper Lars checkpoint on the Georgian-Russian border, and it is already noted that this has political reasons, Simonyan said: "According to the information I have, there was a shift of the bodies performing the service at that border point. A similar situation has also been created on the Azerbaijan-Russia or the Azerbaijan-Georgia border." Simonyan urged not to rush to make assumptions. "I don't rule out. I repeat, I don't rule out that there might be something political. But I ask not to rush and not draw conclusions," he said. And to a reporters question as to what he means by saying that he does not rule out the political reason, Simonyan responded: "Haven't you noticed that the political relations [of Armenia and Russia] are a bit tense [now]? I think you have noticed. That's what I mean." Arayik Harutyunyan, chief of staff to the Armenian PM, had written as follows on Facebook earlier today: "Closing any Lars checkpoint will not affect us if Armenias business finds new markets on the holiday and non-holiday tables of our compatriots living abroad." Yes. It often happens that one thing is said by Azerbaijan, then another thing is interpreted, then another thing is said elsewhere. But it seems that all that has to be said has already been said, and it is obvious and understandable to the world that Armenia is ready to sign a peace treaty based on international norms. Alen Simonyan, speaker of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, told this to reporters at the NA Tuesday. "The ball is now in Azerbaijan's court. And if Azerbaijan declares at the presidential level that they are ready, the peace treaty is ready. The international partners who had a meeting with the president of Azerbaijan said, at the meeting with me, that he also said that 80 percent [of the peace treaty] is ready. If desired, the peace treaty can be signed within the next 15 days if the government of Azerbaijan really shows political will," said Simonyan. He added that they have reached an agreement on practically all fundamental issues, emphasizing equality. Alen Simonyan noted that Armenia has not refused any meeting, and the refusal in this regard has always been by Azerbaijanin Brussels, Granada, and Washington. Armenia fully recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, including Nagorno-Karabakh. Alen Simonyan, speaker of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, told this to reporters at the NA Tuesday. "We have already said this eight times in the last year or two. What else needs to be said?" Simonyan emphasized. Also, he stated that a "Nagorno-Karabakh issue" does not exist for Armenia. "What does it mean the Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)] issue is resolved? What is the resolution or non-resolution of the Artsakh issue? The Republic of Armenia does not have such an issue now," added the speaker of the parliament. According to him, the main thing for Armenia today is the signing of a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. During his press conference on May 22, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had explained that by saying Armenia recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan with an area of 86,600 square kilometers, it includes Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia should participate in the EAEU summit to be held in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Alen Simonyan, speaker of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, told this to reporters at the NA Tuesday. "We [Armenia] are assuming the EAEU chairmanship. There is no decision at the moment, but I personally think that Armenia should participate in order to assume the chairmanship. We are assuming the chairmanship of that organization; from the economic point of view, it ensures our economic environment at the moment," said the Speaker of the National Assembly. To note, Yuri Ushakov, the Russian presidential aide on foreign policy, had announced that Moscow received a signal from Yerevan that Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan will attend the EAEU summit. On November 28, "Gyumri" branch of AMIO BANK, renovated with new, beautiful and smart solutions in Gyumri, 8 Independence Square, Shirak region, RA opened doors to its customers. Gyumri is the third branch to be reopened under the new brand in the second largest city of Armenia providing an opportunity for the entire region to use a wide range of new services and products of AMIO BANK. "Its not a coincidence that we started the reopening of the regional branch network under a new brand from Gyumri. It was important for us, taking into account not only the requirements of a large city, but also our people preserving unique historical and cultural heritage and traditions of Gyumri", emphasizes Mary Hayrapetyan, Head of Communications Department of AMIO BANK. She is confident that the Bank's customers in Gyumri will also appreciate the new service atmosphere and comfortable format of the reopened branches. AMIO announces the beginning of a new digital strategy, which we are launching with the video bank service. The new remote service allows almost all banking transactions to be carried out via video call, making use of the advantages of live and personal communication. Director of the Regional Development Department of AMIO BANK Sofya Machkalyan listed the new digital products that customers can use remotely: deposit, credit products, savings account. A 24/7 customer self-service zone supplied with all the necessary equipment to ensure customer self-service during non-working hours will operate in the territory of the reopened branch. Along with the Bank's new digital development strategy, the reopening of "Gyumri" branch with architectural and design solutions will provide customers with even faster and quality service leading to the improvement of customers s experience on all communication platforms of the Bank. AMIO BANK is supervised by the Central Bank of Armenia. NewsVoir New Delhi [India], November 28: GivingTuesday, the global generosity movement, offers a glimpse into the upcoming annual celebration on November 28, 2023, spotlighting India's #BornGenerous campaign that shines a light on the natural generosity ingrained in Indian culture, where people express kindness and generosity daily in multifaceted ways. This year's GivingTuesday embodies the collective strength of millions worldwide, emphasizing diverse acts of generosity in India, ranging from contributing time, talent, treasure (money and items), to sharing inspiring stories and testimonials that reflect the innate generosity of Indians. "Ahead of this year's GivingTuesday, we're inspired by India's #BornGenerous campaign, showcasing the everyday acts of kindness ingrained in Indian society," remarked Asha Curran, CEO of GivingTuesday. "In a global celebration of giving, people from varied backgrounds and cultures collectively channel their generosity, reflecting on the question, 'What good can I do today?' It's heartening to witness this unity and action. We hope that the spirit of GivingTuesday inspires a year-long commitment to fostering generosity in every possible way." Last year's GivingTuesday, on November 29, 2022, spurred donations of USD 3.1 billion in the United States alone and motivated global volunteering and acts of kindness. Key highlights of GivingTuesday 2023 in India include * #BornGenerous Stories: Narratives sharing how Indians exhibit everyday acts of kindness and generosity. * Country-wide Campaigns: India events hosted by GivingTuesday leaders, fostering generosity through local campaigns in both urban and rural geographies. * Youth Engagement: Encouraging young leaders to inspire acts of generosity with family-friendly projects. * GivingTuesday Data Commons: Tracking trends and providing insights on generosity. Various organizations, brands, and individuals across India have orchestrated campaigns aligned with local needs and causes, promoting generosity. Nonprofits, brands, and individuals all over the world have designed their own campaigns to inspire generosity for their causes, cultures, and communities in ways that best reflect their needs. Visit www.GivingTuesday.org for more examples and ideas for ways to give back as part of the day's events, or follow the #GivingTuesdayIndia hashtag on social media. GivingTuesday is generously supported globally by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, MacKenzie Scott, Laurence and Carolyn Belfer, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, Jessie Ball duPont Fund, Fidelity Charitable Trustees' Initiative, Ford Foundation, Ford Motor Company, Google.org, Microsoft, National Philanthropic Trust, Network for Good, PayPal, Heinz Family Foundation, and Schwab Charitable, as well as several major donors. Leading up to and on November 28, GivingTuesday representatives are available to discuss India's #BornGenerous campaign, the impact of generosity, and how it fuels systemic change. WHAT: GivingTuesday 2023 - India's #BornGenerous CampaignWHO: GivingTuesday executives, including CEO Asha CurranWHEN: November 28, 2023, and ongoingWHERE: Nationwide, both online and offline, and at GivingTuesday's Digital HQ. For interviews or inquiries, contact media@givingtuesday.org. Visit www.GivingTuesday.org or follow #GivingTuesday for more details. GivingTuesday is a movement that unleashes the power of radical generosity around the world. It was created in 2012 at New York's 92nd Street Y and incubated in its Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact. What started as a simple idea of a day that encourages people to do good has grown into a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity year-round. The movement is brought to life through a distributed network of entrepreneurial leaders who lead national movements in nearly 100 countries across the globe. People and organizations participate in GivingTuesday in every single country in the world. To learn more about GivingTuesday India participants and activities and join the celebration of generosity, please visit: Website: www.givingtuesday.org/india. Facebook: www.facebook.com/givingtuesdayindia. Twitter: twitter.com/givingtuesdayin. Instagram: www.instagram.com/givingtuesdayindia. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) NewsVoir Dubai [UAE], November 28: eBay - one of the world's largest online marketplaces - hosted its annual Exporter of the Year 2023 event for the first time in Dubai on November 22, marking an unprecedented chance to reward the entrepreneurial spirit and success of eBay sellers across the global emerging markets, and celebrate their global exporting excellence. This year, the company invited its top 100 sellers from the Middle East, *Europe, India, Latin America and South East Asia to come together in Dubai to celebrate and share their experiences with the community. Vidmay Naini, General Manager, Global Emerging Markets at eBay says, "As an eBay community, we are committed to supporting and working together with our sellers, and the eBay Exporter of the Year 2023 demonstrates our gratitude for their hard work, innovation, and dedication to excellence." The event represents an opportunity for sellers from eBay's global emerging markets to make personal, in real-life contact with a thriving global community made up of individuals and businesses, working together and spanning multiple geographies, cultures, and languages. The Exporter of the Year 2023 ceremony took place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on the night of Wednesday, November 22, at the Hilton Al Habtoor City hotel, as part of a two-day event for the ambitious eBay sellers. The celebration also included talks from John Lin, Vice President, International CBT Markets, eBay and Naini, GM, Global Emerging Markets, eBay. 12 eBay sellers received accolades in one of four categories, of Exporter of the Year, Family/Female Exporter of the Year, Best Customer Service and 'The Big Leap', in front of an invited audience comprising global eBay executives and sellers from different countries that are part of eBay's global emerging markets. Out of the twelve sellers, eBay celebrated the outstanding achievements of four Indian sellers who truly excelled in their respective fields. Shahnawaz Merchant, a first-generation entrepreneur, stood out for his exceptional growth in the Business & Industrial category over the past 8 years. Hiral Parikh, a female entrepreneur, had been a jewelry pioneer for 5-10 years, showcasing her expertise in diamond, moissanite, and lab-grown diamond jewelry on the global stage. Lokesh Teli, an established name in Fashion Jewelry for over a decade, was recognized for his unwavering commitment to customer service, delivering quality products and competitive prices. Lastly, Nitin Banka, a newcomer since 2020, took the Biggest Leap award, demonstrating impressive strides in the Business & Industrial category by focusing on knowledge dissemination through books and prioritizing customer satisfaction and timely delivery. "The deep, special connection we share with our sellers is one of the most important factors in driving our business growth and success. We truly believe that by working together, we can showcase the immense potential of cross-border commerce as a powerful tool for scaling exporting businesses and creating economic opportunities for all." "eBay benefits greatly from our sellers' success, and this celebration is an excellent way to show our gratitude, solidify our community of sellers, and reinforce our interest in continuing to thrive together," concludes Naini. To find out more about becoming an eBay exporter, visit: export.ebay.com/en. *excluding DE and UK. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) On Monday, Suhana surprised all her fans as she announced that she has also made her singing debut with the song 'Jab Tum Na Theen' from 'The Archies'. https://www.instagram.com/p/C0J6hONpJ9_/ Taking to Instagram, Suhana shared a post, which she captioned, "I sang my first song!! Thank you @zoieakhtar & @shankar.mahadevan for being so patient with me please listen with kindness." Soon after she shared the post, her friends and fans swamped down the comment section with red hearts and fire emoticons. Replying to her followers reaction, Ananya Panday commented, "Suzie you're sooooo good." Director Zoya Akhtar commented, "Suhana Shine On." Shanaya Kapoor commented, "too good." Helmed by Zoya Akhtar, the films marks the acting debut of Amitabh Bachchan's grandson Agastya Nanda, Shah Ruk Khan's daughter Suhana Khan and producer Boney Kapoor's Khushi Kapoor. 'The Archies', a coming-of-age musical, follows the lives of Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, Reggie, Ethel and Dilton who will take audiences to the fictional hilly town of Riverdale. The film explores friendship, freedom love, heartbreak and rebellion. The trailer unfolds a musical narrative led by seven charming characters from the beloved Archie comics, steering through the retro alleys of love, friendship, and youthful aspirations. The trailer signs off with a profound message - 'You are never too young to change the world'.The film is all set to stream on the OTT platform Netflix from December 7. (ANI) Jackie took to Instagram Story and shared a picture of rescuers. He wrote, "All 41 workers rescued from the Silkyara Tunnel in Uttarkashi.Kudos to the 22 agencies which worked day and night for the rescue mission including NDRE, BRO, Indian Army, Indian Air Force, NHIDCL, SJVNL, THFCL, RVNL, ONGC, Coal India and others. #uttarkashirescue" After tireless efforts of rescuers which continued for 16 days, all 41 trapped workers were evacuated successfully from the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand. Meanwhile, locals distributed sweets outside the Silkyara tunnel as trapped workers were being rescued from the tunnel. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami met the workers who have been rescued along with Union Minister of State General (Retd) VK Singh. Earlier today, Uttarakhand CM and other officials reached the Silkyara tunnel rescue site. A portion of the tunnel caved in on November 12, the debris falling in the 60-metre stretch on the Silkyara side of the tunnel, trapping 41 labourers inside the under-construction structure. Meanwhile, on the work front, Jackie is all set to come up with his upcoming spy thriller film 'Two Zero One Four.' (ANI) A day after Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar compared Mahatma Gandhi with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Manish Tewari said that comparing the great Mahatma Gandhi to anybody is nothing short of a "sacrilege". Vice President Dhankhar on Monday described Mahatma Gandhi as the 'Mahapurush' of the last century and PM Modi as the 'Yugpurush' of this century. "The great Mahatma, fashioned, crafted and honed, the instrument of non-violence. As a means of passive resistance when the only thing the world knew was war as a means of resistance and conflict as a method of opposing oppression. At this time Mahatma mobilized millions and millions of Indians to passively struggle against British imperialism and was the harbinger of India's freedom in 1947" Manish Tewari said. Tewari said the Mahatma was a secularist and democratic in his disposition and the only person who measured upto him was Nelson Mandela. "Mahatma Gandhi has been considered to be perhaps the tallest figure of the 20th century. The only person who measures up to him in some manner is the late Nelson Mandela, who had dismantled apartheid in South Africa," the Congress leader said. "Even Mandela used to consider the great Mahatma as a spiritual mentor, therefore under those circumstances, to compare the great Mahatma to anybody for that matter is nothing short of sacrilege," Tewari added. Vice President Dhankar also received sharp criticism from Congress MP Manickam Tagore for drawing the comparison. Reacting to the Vice President's remarks, Congress MP and Lok Sabha whip Manickam Tagore said that even PM Modi would not accept this comparison. Speaking to ANI on Tuesday, Tagore said, "It is very unfortunate and it shows that each institution in India is collapsing. Vice President Dhankar comparing Mahatma to Prime Minister Modi is unacceptable." "Even PM Modi won't accept it. This is the limit of sycophancy. With great respect to the Vice President, this pains us. People like the honourable Vice President of India should not give these kinds of comparisons on which Mahatma Gandhi is insulted. I feel pain and I hope that this kind of sycophancies must be stopped," Tagore said. (ANI) According to an official release from Assam Rifles, "Assam Rifles, along with Special Narcotics CID Crime, Aizawl, Mizoram recovered 9 soap cases of heroin worth Rs 47,34,000 in General Area Bawngkawn South, Aizawl, Mizoram and apprehended two individuals on 27 November." The operation was carried out by a combined team of Assam Rifles and Special Narcotics CID Crime, Aizawl, and Mizoram based on specific information, said the release. The approximate cost of the recovered soap cases of Heroin is Rs 47,34,000. The recovered consignment and apprehended individuals were handed over to Special Narcotics Police Station CID Crime, Aizawl, Mizoram on 27 November 2023 for further legal proceedings. The ongoing smuggling of illegal drugs is a major cause of concern for the state of Mizoram and India. Due to the consumption of drugs, every year an average of 47 and 745 people lose their lives in Mizoram and all over India respectively, said the release. Assam Rifles, rightly christened as the 'Sentinels of Northeast' have continued their efforts against illegal drug trafficking and have also doubled their efforts to nab the kingpins of the drug racket in Mizoram. (ANI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to the former Chief Minister and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu on a plea by the Andhra Pradesh government challenging a High Court order granting regular bail to him in the Skill Development Corporation Scam case. A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma sought a response from Naidu and directed the continuation of the bail condition imposed by the High Court on Naidu to not make public comments or speak to the media about the case. However, the apex court refused to impose the other bail condition prohibiting him from organising or participating in political rallies or meetings. "Issue notice. Returnable on December 8. All the conditions imposed by the November 3 order by the High Court shall continue except the condition of organising or participating in public rallies or meetings. List on December 11," the bench stated in its order. The Andhra Pradesh government had approached the top court against the High Court order allowing Naidu's release on bail in the Skill Development case on November 20. The Andhra Pradesh High Court had converted Naidu's four-week interim medical bail in the case into absolute bail and ordered the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief's release on regular bail, considering his age, old age-related ailments, non-flight risk and other reasons. The Andhra Pradesh government while seeking direction to set aside the High Court order, said Naidu is an influential person and "has ensured that two of his key associates, including a government servant, have already fled the country." Naidu was arrested on September 9 and released on interim medical bail on October 31, which is now made regular. He is accused of misappropriating funds from the Skill Development Corporation, which resulted in a purported loss of over Rs 300 crore to the state exchequer. On October 17, the apex court denied interim bail to Naidu and said it would pronounce a verdict on his plea challenging the High Court order refusing to quash the FIR against him in the skill development corporation scam case. (ANI) Campaigning for the high-stakes battle in Telangana ended on Tuesday with Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao seeking a third term in office on the basis of the party's performance and promises over the past 10 years, Congress talking of momentum in its favour to form its first government in the state and the BJP also promising to end "misrule and corruption" of the ruling Bharatiya Rasthra Samithi. The aggressive campaigning saw the Congress and BJP repeatedly raising issues concerning people, with the BRS leaders expressing confidence about the delivery of their programmes. The three parties have made big promises in their manifestos. Polling in the state will be held on November 30 with counting of votes to take place on December 3 along with four other states. If K Chandrashekar Rao, widely known as KCR, wins another term in office, it will be the first occasion when a Chief Minister from a Southern state will get a third straight term in office. The Congress campaign in Telangana apparently picked up momentum after Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra and the party's victory in assembly polls in neighbouring Karnataka. The Congress chief in the state Anumula Revanth Reddy, 54, is seen as a leader who has taken on KCR and the party is keen to gain from the anti-incumbency against the government. Congress leaders have been reminding residents of India's youngest state of the role played by former party chief Sonia Gandhi in its creation in 2014. Political analysts feel that the fortunes of BJP, which was emerging as an alternative to BRS with its victories in two by-polls and strong performance in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation election, dipped a few months ago. BJP leaders have been strongly attacking the KCR to fend off any perception of the party being soft towards the ruling party in Telangana. They have accused the Chief Minister of being "inaccessible" and ruling from a "farmhouse". BJP leaders have also accused KCR of propagating dynastic politics and said that suggestions by KCR to join NDA were not accepted. BRS leaders have refuted the suggestions about their intention to join the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. One of the key BJP promises is to make a person from the Backward Class community a Chief Minister if the party gets support from the people of the state to form a government. The party has also reached out to various communities and the BJP-led government last week set in motion the process of setting up a committee that will go into the issue of sub-categorisation of the Madiga community within the Scheduled Castes. It has been a long-pending demand of the community. BJP has promised in its manifesto to implement the Uniform Civil Code and quash 4 per cent reservation for Muslims and instead increase the quota for OBCs, SCs and STs in the state. The party said that a committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge will investigate all "corruption cases" against the ruling BRS. It has promised four free LPG cylinders per year to poor families, Rs 2 Lakh to every girl child from a poor family after she attains the age of 21, providing 2.5 Lakh government jobs in five years, procuring paddy at Rs 3100 per quintal, and reducing the price of petrol and diesel. The party has said that free arrangements will be made for senior citizens keen to visit the Ram Temple in Ayodhya for the pran prathistha ceremony on January 22. The BJP has alleged several scams in the state including that related to the Kaleshwar Dam scam and liquor poultry apart from several cases of paper leak. It said September 17 will be celebrated every year as Hyderabad Liberation Day to mark its freedom from Nizam's rule and August 27 will be observed as Razakar Horrors Remembrance Day. Congress has sought to outdo the BRS in its poll promises and has announced six guarantees. Under the Mahalakshmi scheme for women, the Congress has promised Rs 2,500 monthly financial assistance, LPG cylinders at Rs 500; and free travel for women in state-run buses. The party has promised that Rs 15,000 per acre will be paid to farmers and Rs 12,000 will be given to tenant farmers. The party has promised a bonus of Rs 500 per quintal for paddy. It said that families not owning a house will be provided a site for one and Rs 5 lakh for construction. Families of those killed during the Telangana Movement will be provided 250-square-yard plots. The party said that students with Vidya Bharosa cards will receive Rs 5 lakh and Telangana International School will be opened in every manda. The party has promised up to 200 units of free electricity to households, Rs 4,000 monthly pension will be paid to vulnerable sections. The party will have promised that Rajiv Aarogyasri will provide health insurance up to Rs 10 lakh. The Congress announced that it would waive crop loans up to Rs 2 lakh and promised a caste survey within six months of forming the government. The party promised a judicial inquiry into "irregularities and corruption" in the construction of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project The Congress said it would name a district after former PM PV Narasimha Rao. Among the BJP's strong push to get the support of OBCs, the Congress has also made many promises including increasing reservations for the community Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leaders point out that the state's per capita income has seen a significant rise in the last 10 years due to efforts of the government and various welfare and development schemes will continue. The party has promised LPG cylinders at Rs 400 each, below-poverty-line (BPL) families would be enhanced health insurance coverage, social security pension would be increased to Rs 5,000 a month from Rs 2,106 and there will be an increase in disability pension. The party said under 'Rythu Bandhu' scheme, under which farmers get Rs 10,000 per annum per acre, would be enhanced gradually to Rs 16,000 per annum in the next five years. KCR is contesting from two seats - his original seat Gajwel and Kamareddy. While he is facing BJP leader Etela Rajender in Gajewal, Congress leader Revanth Reddy is taking him on in Kamareddy. Both Etela and Revanth Reddy are also contesting from two seats. In the 2014 assembly polls to a united Andhra Pradesh, the then-incumbent Congress got 25.20 per cent votes and BRS (then TRS) got 34 percent in the Telangana area. Senior leaders of all parties including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda, Congress leaders Mallikurjan Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, TRS' KCR, KT Rama Rao and K Kavitha and AIMIM Asaduddin Owaisi ran strong campaigns in the state. Congress accused the BJP and BRS of having a "strategic alliance" with BJP leaders accusing Congress and BRS of dynastic politics. In 2018, BRS (then Telangana Rashtra Samithi) won 88 of the 119 seats and had 47.4 per cent of the vote share. The Congress came a distant second with just 19 seats. While the BJP has an ambitious goal of seeing its first government in Telangana, the Congress is hoping to come to power on the basis of the "momentum" of the past few months. But the party has a huge, almost 18 per cent gap to cover in terms of voting percentage of previous assembly election. (ANI) Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday lauded the efforts of agencies, organisations, and people involved in the Uttarakhand rescue operation. "I feel extremely happy with the news of the safe rescue of all the workers trapped in the tunnel accident in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. The whole country was following the efforts. The entire country has heaved a sigh of relief with its success. This is a moment of joy for the families of all workers.. I congratulate their families," Singh said in a post on 'X'. "The biggest contribution in rescuing all these labourers trapped in very difficult and challenging conditions is of all the agencies engaged in relief and rescue work like NDRF, SDRF, Uttarakhand Police and the armed forces. I heartily congratulate them," the Union Minister added. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi took regular information about the rescue operation and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami regularly visited the site to know progress of the rescue work. He lauded the role of Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Gen VK Singh (retd). The nation breathed a sigh of relief as all 41 trapped workers were evacuated successfully on Tuesday from the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand following 16 days of tireless efforts. Locals distributed sweets outside the Silkyara tunnel as trapped workers were being rescued from the tunnel. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami met workers who were rescued. "Initial health checkup of all the workers is being done in the temporary medical camp built in the tunnel," CM Dhami said in a post on 'X'. Union Minister Piyush Goyal and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also lauded the efforts of all those engaged in rescue work. Uttarkashi District Magistrate (DM) Abhishek Ruhela thanked the workers engaged in the rescue operation. "I want to thank all the workers involved in the rescue operation. PM Modi and Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami were constantly taking updates on the operation and no time was wasted in mobilising the resources...All the workers are healthy and they will be kept under primary observation..." Ruhela said. (ANI) Japan has started trial sales of 'morning-after pills' to see if the contraceptive drugs can be sold over the counter without a doctor's prescription, Kyodo News reported on Tuesday. This comes as Japan takes a major step toward joining dozens of others that make emergency contraception drugs available without a doctor's prescription. Morning-after pills are now sold at 145 drug stores nationwide at prices ranging from around 7,000 yen (USD 47) to 9,000 yen as part of the health ministry's investigative trial, according to Kyodo News. Women aged 16 and older who wish to obtain the drugs through the study can buy the pills after calling the pharmacy in advance. But, any woman who is under 18 must have parental consent and be accompanied by a parent when making the purchase. The pills, NorLevo and the generic version levonorgestrel work best within 72 hours after unprotected sex and have an efficacy rate of 80 per cent, according to the ministry. Before the trial started, the women in Japan, including victims of sexual assault, had to go to a clinic or hospital for a prescription to obtain an emergency contraceptive. Notably, selling the drug without a prescription was discussed by a ministry panel in 2017, but the ministry stopped short of giving the green light, with critics saying it would make people less likely to practice safe sex. Discussions have resurfaced regarding the over-the-counter availability of emergency contraceptive pills on the back of growing calls to protect women's rights. Medical professionals have called for better access to the drug within Japan, as it could provide rape victims with vital protection after a traumatic incident while also potentially reducing the need for abortions which are considered more physically and emotionally damaging, Kyodo News reported. Morning-after pills are available over the counter in about 90 countries and regions, according to research conducted by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry. (ANI) One of the three 20-year-old Palestinian college students who were shot in Vermont, may never be able to move his legs again after a bullet struck his spine, CNN has reported. Hisham Awartani, a Brown University student, is starting to come to terms with the "very long road he has in front of him" after he and two longtime friends from the Israeli-occupied West Bank were shot while strolling through Burlington on Saturday, his mother, Elizabeth Price, said. "He's just a very resilient young man and he's been trying to keep everyone's spirits up by joking and just trying to be as calm as possible," Price said. "We are determined to work with him, support him and get the best possible care." "I believe that Hisham has the determination... to regain his leg movement, but the doctors currently say that it is not possible," she added. Jason J Eaton, a 48-year-old suspect in the attack, was arrested Sunday and charged with three counts of attempted murder, to which he has pleaded not guilty. Authorities are investigating whether the incident was motivated by hate, yet they haven't determined a motive, according to the CNN report. The teenagers were confronted outside of Eaton's apartment building as they walked, holding a conversation in Arabic and English, according to Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad. The victims' families and several civil rights groups have called for the case to be treated as a hate crime, but so far, police and prosecutors say there is insufficient evidence to establish Eaton's motive. "This absolutely was a hateful act," Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad told CNN Monday. "But whether or not we can cross the legal threshold in order to determine that it is a hate crime is a different matter." The two other victims have been identified by family representatives as Kinnan Abdalhamid, a student at Haverford College in Pennsylvania, and Tahseen Ali Ahmad, a student at Trinity College in Connecticut. Abdalhamid and Ahmad were also shot in the upper torso and lower extremities and hospitalised in the ICU. One of the victims was released from the hospital Monday, CNN reported. In a statement by the victims' families, they stated their relief that a victim had been arrested; however, they reiterated their confidence that the attack was motivated by hate. "We believe a full investigation is likely to show our sons were targeted and violently attacked simply for being Palestinian," the families' statement said. "Full justice and accountability is important and needed to ensure that this type of brutal and violent attack does not happen again." All three of the students were visiting Burlington during the Thanksgiving holiday, staying with Awartani's uncle, Rich Price. The trio had attended a birthday party for the uncle's 8-year-old twin sons just hours before they were attacked, CNN reported, citing Rich Price. "We had just come back from the birthday party and they decided to take a stroll around the block to get some fresh air," Rich Price said. "They were just walking, talking amongst themselves. They were wearing their keffiyehs, which are traditional Palestinian scarves, and this gentleman stepped out of the dark, pulled out a handgun and fired four times." Rich Price noted the students upbringing in the West Bank city of Ramallah. "They grew up under military occupation and who would imagine that they would come to a place like this to celebrate Thanksgiving, and this is when their lives would be at risk." Elizabeth Price has said that Awartani's "spirits are high," despite his life-altering injuries. She will be travelling from the West Bank to the US to see her son, who is expected to stay in the hospital for another month, she said. "I want to take care of him as a mother," she said. "I just want to be there to reassure him and just give him the comfort he needs as he goes through this difficult transition in his life," reported CNN. (ANI) New Zealand's newly-elected government has reversed a ground-breaking smoking ban initially aimed at saving lives and preventing youth from taking up smoking, CNN reported. The move has sparked outrage among public health officials and anti-tobacco groups, who are dismayed by the decision to abandon the ban to finance tax cuts. Enacted a year ago, the anti-smoking law prohibited the sale of tobacco to individuals born on or after January 1, 2009, with implementation scheduled for July 2024, accompanied by severe penalties, including fines up to NZD 150,000 (NZD 96,000) for violations, as reported by CNN. Prime Minister Chris Luxon, from the conservative National Party, now leading a coalition with the populist New Zealand First party and the libertarian ACT New Zealand party, justified the reversal, citing disagreement with certain aspects of the policy and expressing concerns about a potential surge in the black market for tobacco. Luxon emphasised that his administration is committed to reducing tobacco use, pointing to declining smoking rates in the country. In conversation with CNN affiliate Radio New Zealand, Luxon said his government would continue education programmes and "encourage people to take up vapes as a cessation tool." The initial smoking ban in New Zealand received global acclaim from public health officials. Despite the recent policy reversal, the British government reaffirmed its commitment to phasing out smoking for new generations. Finance Minister Nicola Willis disclosed that the measures would be revoked before March 2024, with revenue generated from cigarette sales redirected towards tax cuts. Smoking, a global cause of over eight million deaths annually, according to the World Health Organisation, remains a pervasive issue, with one in four people worldwide using tobacco. While smoking rates in New Zealand were already among the world's lowest and declining, the decision to rescind the ban drew sharp criticism from public health officials and anti-tobacco groups. Former health minister Ayeshea Verrall told CNN affiliate Radio New Zealand that reversing the ban "flew in the face" of the previous government and would set the country back a long way. "What's going on here is that we had a set of measures that would have substantially reduced smoking, was modelled to save 80,000 lives and they've (the new government) have reversed it - and they're doing it just to fund tax cuts," Verrall said. Health Coalition Aotearoa (HCA), an anti-smoking group, expressed disappointment, stating that the repeal favoured the tobacco industry at the expense of Kiwi lives. "This is a major loss for public health, and a huge win for the tobacco industry whose profits will be boosted at the expense of Kiwi lives," the group said in a statement, adding, "Turning the tide on harmful products that are entrenched in society cannot be done by individuals or even communities. It takes good - and brave - population level policies," CNN reported. (ANI) The ruling Junta in Myanmar has been losing vital military locations and border towns to well-armed ethnic militias that have collaborated with resistance forces to launch massive new offensives in recent weeks, CNN reported. This is a development that has not been seen in decades when it comes to Junta in Myanmar. "The junta is actively collapsing right now and that's only become possible because there is this wider effort across the country," an independent Myanmar analyst, Matthew Arnold said, according to CNN. Arnold described the situation as a "military existential moment" and stated that the opposition is "now focused on taking major towns to fundamentally defeat the junta." It appears well-armed ethnic militias are attempting to overthrow the military government that has controlled the country since a 2021 coup ousted the democratically elected National League for Democracy (NLD). For decades, there has been a civil war raging in Myanmar between the ethnic armies and the various military regimes. However, the nation's opposition to army leader Min Aung Hlaing's February 2021 coup, which toppled Aung San Suu Kyi's democratically elected government, is what led to the most recent uptick in hostilities. In Myanmar's rural and urban centres, people took up guns to protect their towns and villages when the military used force against peaceful protestors following the coup, and documented crimes against civilians further incited anger. Ever since, daily skirmishes have broken out between the military and resistance organisations supporting the National Unity Government in exile, which opposed the junta. Though it hasn't yet reached large towns like Mandalay, Naypyidaw, or Yangon, the most recent conflict escalation after October 27 is a turning point in that resistance. The UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has reported that since the coup, armed conflicts have reached their largest and most widespread levels to date. Up to now, hundreds of civilians, including children, have died as a result of Junta bombings and ground assaults on locations that the Myanmar military designates as "terrorists," and almost two million people have been displaced, CNN reported. The Three Brotherhood Alliance, comprising the Arakan Army (AA), Kokang's Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), and allied peoples defence forces, announced its October offensive and said it was "dedicated to eradicating the oppressive military dictatorship." Additionally, the alliance pledged to fight "the widespread online gambling fraud that has plagued Myanmar, particularly along the border between China and Myanmar." According to CNN, Chinese-run compounds have proliferated in several of the villages dotting the boundaries between China and Thailand in recent years. They are said to be hubs for widespread internet fraud and illicit gambling, run by junta militias, and they have ensnared and trafficked thousands of individuals to become online scammers. In November, Myanmar's military government lost control of Chinshwehaw, an important town on the border with China, following days of fighting with armed groups. In a significant setback for the military leaders who seized power from Myanmar's elected government in February 2021, they have struggled to quell opposition to their rule. Chinshwehaw, a town bordering China's Yunnan province, holds vital importance in facilitating trade between Myanmar and China. State media reported that more than 25 percent of Myanmar's USD 1.8 billion border trade with China passed through Chinshwehaw from April to September, citing the Ministry of Commerce. This development was followed by days of conflict in Myanmar's northern Shan state, where the army has been engaged in battles with a coalition of three ethnic rebel groups known as the Brotherhood Alliance, Al Jazeera reported. The United Nations has expressed deep concern over the displacement of thousands of individuals due to the ongoing conflict, with some seeking refuge across the border in China. In response, the UN has issued a call for an immediate ceasefire. Following the military's takeover, Myanmar descended into a state of crisis, as the generals responded to widespread protests against their power grab with severe measures. In response, opposition groups aligned themselves with fighters from well-established ethnic armed organizations in an effort to restore civilian rule, as reported by Al Jazeera. Ethnic groups in Myanmar's jungles and mountains have endured years of struggle, during which they have observed and experienced crimes such as killings, rape and other sexual abuse, torture, forced labour, and forced relocation by the military forces, in addition to state-sanctioned discrimination. A 10-year phase of transition that momentarily brought in more extensive democratic and economic changes was abruptly terminated by a coup. However, the military continued to have a significant impact, according to CNN. According to some analysts, Myanmar is now more likely than ever to succeed in overthrowing the regime. "The important thing to be clear about is that a genocidal military can be defeated outright... That there's not a need to have another 10 years of a so-called transition that is fundamentally premised or corrupted by the idea that you have to negotiate and accommodate a genocidal military," said Arnold. (ANI) Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Vikram Doraiswami, emphasised on Tuesday that India's approach to such egregious acts of terror is, was and will always be "Never forget, never forgive, and never again." The High Commission of India in London organised a solemn event to pay tributes to the victims of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks at the Gandhi Hall, India House in London. Doraiswami further told ANI that India has come a long distance. "Our approach to this particularly egregious act of terror is, was, and will always be: never forget, never forgive, and never again." He stressed that the Indian government has put in a lot of effort, especially in the last several years, to ensure that "never again" is understood and implemented as policy, both in terms of ensuring systemic resilience and better preparedness, adding, "but also in terms of our clear messaging to the world that we will not countenance such acts of terror." Meanwhile, Indian High Commission in India shared on their social media X, stating, "Friends of India and members of Indian Community joined to remember the victims of 26/11/2008 #MumbaiTerrorAttack. Hon'ble MPs @CatherineWest1, @VirendraSharma and Lord Rami Ranger also attended and paid tributes. #NeverForgiveNeverForget #NeverAgain #Mumbai2611" https://twitter.com/hci_london/status/1729553301845299347?s=46&t=TbrKHKgG29uXA1CMFN38Pw Moreover, while talking about how the world is reacting to Israel's decision to identify Lashkar-e-Taiba (LET) as a terror group, Doraiswami highlighted that there is a greater willingness now to recognise that there has been a lot of action that is still pending from the state that primarily and significantly uses this as instrumentation of state policy. "I think our consistent and unwavering stand is that this has to be addressed substantively through the legal and international domains. I think that is beginning to find resonance in a way never before," he stressed. He further added, "I think that's an important part of the process that we must continue to follow. Having focused on the legal route and the route of applying pressure through the process by which the international community makes clear that this is unacceptable..." Meanwhile, at the event, attendees paid tribute to the 166 lives lost in the brutal attacks on Mumbai 15 years ago. The attendees included Catherine West, MP Labour, (House of Commons), Lord Remi Ranger (Member of the House of Lords), Virendra Sharma, MP Labour (House of Commons), and Sujit Ghosh, the Deputy High Commissioner of India to the UK. (ANI) After the successful evacuation of all 41 workers who were trapped inside Uttarakhand's Silkyari tunnel for 17 days, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday expressed gratitude to all those who were behind the rescue operation. He also praised the determination of those trapped people who suffered such adversity without giving up hope. Taking on his social media X, EAM Jaishankar stated, "We will leave no stone unturned to protect our own. Heartfelt gratitude to all those who worked tirelessly to rescue those trapped in the tunnel. Commend the grit and determination of those who faced such adversity without giving up hope." https://twitter.com/drsjaishankar/status/1729554277033460043?s=46&t=TbrKHKgG29uXA1CMFN38Pw All 41 workers who were trapped inside Uttarakhand's Silkyari tunnel since November 12 were evacuated safely on Tuesday evening. On November 12, a section of the tunnel between 205 and 260 metres from the Silkyara side collapsed. Workers who were beyond the 260-metre mark were trapped, with their exit blocked. The rescued workers were draped in orange marigold flower garlands and were greeted by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Union Minister VK Singh. CM Dhami announced that the Uttarakhand government will provide financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh to each of all the workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel. "Apart from this, complete arrangements will be made for their treatment in the hospital until they go home," he said. SDRF workers engaged in the rescue operations said, "It is a big day for us today. All the workers have finally been rescued successfully. It was a very difficult operation. All the trapped workers are healthy and safe..." Moreover, Cyriac Joseph, MD and CEO of Squadrone Infra Mining Pvt Ltd said that it was not just a difficult mission but a war for humanity. "It was not just a difficult mission but a war for humanity...we're glad to be a part of it," he said. Following the safe evacuation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the courage and patience of the trapped workers and their families and the bravery and determination of the rescue personnel. PM Modi took to X and said "The success of the rescue operation of our labourer brothers in Uttarkashi is making everyone emotional. I want to say to the friends who were trapped in the tunnel that your courage and patience is inspiring everyone. I wish you all well and good health." "It is a matter of great satisfaction that after a long wait, these friends of ours will now meet their loved ones. The patience and courage that all these families have shown in this challenging time cannot be appreciated enough, PM Modi added. PM Modi further said that everyone involved in this mission has set an example of humanity and teamwork. (ANI) Ukraines Air Force downed a Shahed-type assault drone in Khmelnitsky Oblast on the night of 27-28 November. The debris of another UAV that was shot down in the morning damaged private houses in Starokostiantyniv hromada [an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories ed.]. Source: Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine; Khmelnytskyi Oblast Military Administration on Telegram; Suspilne Khmelnytskyi Quote from the Air Force: "This night on 28 November 2023, air defence downed a Shahed-type assault UAV, while in the morning a Orlan-10 operational-tactical reconnaissance UAV was shot down in the south. In addition, the enemy carried out a missile attack in the eastern direction, targeting Zaporizhzhia Oblast with a ballistic missile (presumably Iskander-M) at about 09:00 in the morning." Details: Serhii Tiurin, First Deputy Chief of Khmelnytskyi Oblast Military Administration, said that air defence forces were deployed in Khmelnytskyi during the morning attack. Debris fell on the roof of a private house in Khmelnytskyi district as a result of Ukrainian air defence shooting down the air target. No fire was reported, and there were no casualties. Mykola Melnychuk, Mayor of Starokostiantyniv, told Suspilne that at least five houses in the hromada were damaged. One of them was half destroyed: the roof is broken, the ceiling in three rooms has collapsed, windows were shattered and the walls are falling apart. Suspilne Khmelnytskyi published a photo of the aftermath of the UAV being shot down. Background: Earlier, Yurii Malashko, Head of Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military Administration, said that at 08:51 Russian troops launched a missile strike on the territory of a company in one of the districts of Zaporizhzhia. One person was slightly injured. The blast wave damaged a store. Russian troops launched a missile attack on the city of Kryvyi Rih in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on the night of 27-28 November. Support UP or become our patron! MONROE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) State police conducted sobriety checkpoints over Thanksgiving weekend, resulting in 10 peoples arrest for various DUI violations. According to Pennsylvania State Police, from November 22-25, troopers conducted DUI checkpoints on various roadways in Monroe County. The checkpoints resulted in 10 drivers arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance. On November 24 around 1:00 a.m., troopers pulled over a 20-year-old driver from Philadelphia that resulted in her arrest for driving under the influence. Later around 8:30 p.m. troopers responded to a crash on Laurel Run Road in Price Township and discovered a 40-year-old man from New Jersey was driving while under the influence of a controlled substance. Father accused of covering up 11-year-old sons gunshot wound Then on November 25 around 12:30 a.m., troopers said they pulled over a car being driven by a 25-year-old woman from Albrightsville. Troopers stated they found the woman to be driving under the influence of a controlled substance after failing a field sobriety test. PSP notes 60 traffic citations were issued along with 42 written warnings for violations. State police say the goal of a sobriety checkpoint is to reduce the number of alcohol and drug-related fatal and serious crashes, along with reducing the number of DUI drivers on Pennsylvania highways. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PAhomepage.com. 'Tis the season ... of giving. Amid the twinkling lights, festive tunes, and glittering gifts accumulating under the tree, consider spreading good tidings and Christmas cheer to those in need in metro Detroit. The Tuesday after Thanksgiving is known as Giving Tuesday, when folks are encouraged to open their hearts and wallets to support local charities and nonprofits. Want to help but don't have cash to spare? Consider volunteering. Here's 10 local charities and ways to donate your time or money to this holiday: St. Vincent de Paul Detroit St. Vincent de Paul is an international organization that seeks to help those in poverty by fighting hunger, preventing homelessness and changing lives "neighbors helping neighbors." Here's how to help: Donate money online or by check. Donate useful goods like clothing, furniture and other household items. Drop donations off at a donation center, a drop box or one of St. Vincent de Paul's stores or schedule a pickup (requires a minimum donation of 20 bags/boxes of clothing or small household items). Shop at St. Vincent de Paul's stores, where some donated goods are resold for a fraction of the price and all profits go back into the charity. There are five stores to choose from in southeast Michigan: Detroit, Madison Heights, Waterford, Utica, and Marysville. Volunteer in one of St. Vincent de Paul's stores. Crossroads of Michigan Crossroads of Michigan focuses on helping those in poverty by providing them food, diapers, clothes, and other necessities, as well as resources like transportation and coaching for permanent employment, crisis reduction and long-term stability. Here's how to help: Donate money online. Donate goods. This month, Crossroads of Michigan is specifically asking for soap, shampoo, men's and women's deodorant, razors and shaving cream. You can see their full Amazon wish list here. Volunteer in their weekly Sunday soup kitchen from 8 a.m. -2 p.m., or volunteer for a more long-term position in one-on-one navigation, resource room stocking, or food distribution. Capuchin Soup Kitchen A truck driver for the Capuchins loads up a truck to deliver food to various soup kitchens. Capuchin Soup Kitchen seeks to relieve the needs of its guests and the metro Detroit community by providing food, clothing, other resources, and human development programs. It offers meal programs to those in need at two locations, one on Meldrum Street and one on Conner Street; the meal programs differ depending on the location, but both serve at least two meals a day Monday through Friday. It also operates the Earthworks Urban Farm, whose harvest is mostly used in the soup kitchen, and the On The Rise Bakery and Cafe, which employs bakers that have recently been released from prison or completed a substance use disorder treatment program. Here's how to help: Donate money online, by mail or by phone. Donate goods, like food, clothing, appliances or furniture in good condition. Currently, Capuchin Soup Kitchen has a greater demand for men's, children's and plus-size clothing. Volunteer at the soup kitchen, Capuchin Services Center, Earthworks Urban Farm, or On The Rise Bakery and Cafe. Ronald McDonald House Charities of Detroit Ronald McDonald House Charities offers places worldwide for families to stay while their children are hospitalized to avoid incurring any extra costs on hotel and food bills and the Detroit chapter is no different. There is a Ronald McDonald House of Detroit for the Children's Hospital of Michigan, as well as a Ronald McDonald Family Room within the hospital to give families a space to relax while remaining close to their child. Here's how to help: Donate money online. Prepare a meal or drop off a universally liked food like pizza or a sandwich platter for residents of the house. Collect pop tabs from cans from beverage cans, canned goods and even pet food cans. For each pound of can pop tabs, Ronald McDonald House Charities can get between 30 to 75 cents which goes to supporting residents that stay at the house. Volunteer to help out around the house with housekeeping, yardwork, and more. Project Linus Inspired by the "Peanuts" character, Linus, who carries around his little blue blanket, Project Linus provides handmade blankets to children who are sick, traumatized, or otherwise in need. Blankets are collected at local chapters and distributed at hospitals, shelters, social service agencies and anywhere else a child is in need. There are three chapters in or near metro Detroit: the Dearborn/Wayne County chapter, the Troy/Eastern Oakland County chapter, and the Flushing chapter, which serves Genesee County. Here's how to help: Become a blanketeer by crafting a handmade, washable blanket to donate to a child in need, or donate materials for blanket-making. Contact the chapter coordinators to find out what blanket types and materials are most needed and where blanket drop-off sites can be located. Donate money online to Project Linus' "A Season of Giving" event or through the mail by check or money order. In your donation, you can specify if the donation is for the benefit of a particular chapter. Friends of Detroit Animal Care and Control Friends of Detroit Animal Care and Control offers many unique donation, volunteer and foster opportunities. Friends of Detroit Animal Care and Control works with Detroit Animal Care and Control (DACC) to help "get animals from Detroit adopted back into Detroit." Friends of DACC takes care of volunteer management, donation solicitation, and live release all of which aid in helping animals in the shelter and proactively keeping animals out of the shelter. Here's how to help: Donate money online or by mail to help care for homeless animals during their time in the shelter, or sponsor a dog to cover medical care, including neutering/spaying and vaccinations, microchipping, training, and other goods like a collar and leash. Find details about donating or sponsoring a dog here. Donate goods by purchasing items off of the Amazon wish list or Chewy wish list, then dropping them off or sending them to Friends of DACC's Detroit location. Volunteer in the shelter or at adoption events, fundraisers, or microchip clinics. Foster a dog with one of their unique, low-commitment fostering options: take a dog out for the day on a #DetroitDogventure, take a dog home for one night for a slumber party, or take a dog home for a long weekend or a week as a couch surfer. Forgotten Harvest First Baptist Institutional Church in Detroit partnered with Forgotten Harvest to distribute food to seniors with the help of volunteers on Oct. 19, 2022. Forgotten Harvest aims to relieve hunger in metro Detroit while preventing food waste. Every day, it delivers about 144,000 pounds of surplus food to local charities, food pantries, shelters, and soup kitchens in Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties. Here's how to help: Donate money online or by check through the mail. Whatever you donate can buy an average of seven times worth of groceries for families in need. Sponsor up to four apple trees in the Orchard of Hope on the grounds of Blake's Big Apple as a part of Forgotten Harvest's partnership with Blake Farms. Each donation of $250 maintains an apple tree for 10 years, helping the orchard provide about 50,000 pounds of fresh apples to feed those in need each fall. Volunteer for one of the numerous volunteer opportunities, including packing and distributing food and emergency boxes. Bottomless Toy Chest The Bottomless Toy Chest brings toys, crafts, and other interactive activities to pediatric cancer patients year-round through inpatient and outpatient programs and special events, but it gets into the Christmas spirit for its "Tons of Toys Holiday Event" where its volunteer Elf Squad delivers toys to patients and siblings in oncology clinics throughout the holiday season. Here's how to help: Donate money online or through the mail, or purchase items off of their Amazon wish list to be delivered to pediatric cancer patients. Have a wrap party. Bottomless Toy Chest will supply the toys and wrapping materials, all you have to do is wrap the gifts. Sponsor a toy drive to rack in a variety of gift donations. Host a fundraiser. As the Bottomless Toy Chest says: "It costs an average of $15 to purchase a project. Think of how many kids you could help if you raised $500 $10,000 or more!" Variety the Children's Charity of Detroit WXYZ Channel 7 reporter Glenda Lewis cheers a Variety Detroit kid down the runway at an event in August 2023. Variety the Children's Charity of Detroit hopes to change the lives of children with physical and mental disabilities and other special needs. It has a true variety of initiatives, from helping families acquire basic needs and resources to helping families get prosthetic limbs for their children, to providing unique opportunities like its therapeutic 4-H Horseback Riding Program and its annual "Holiday Adopt-A-Child and Santa's Workshop" on Dec. 2. Here's how to help: For the Holiday Adopt-A-Child and Santa's Workshop, adopt a child by calling or emailing Variety with your contact information and the number of children that you would like to adopt. Then, it will provide you with your adopted child's details and wishes so you can go shopping, or you can make a monetary donation and a volunteer will do the shopping for you. Then, bring your unwrapped gifts to Santa's Workshop on Dec. 2 and celebrate the holiday season while wrapping the gifts with materials provided by Variety Detroit. The wrapped presents will then be delivered to your adopted child. Donate money online to be used even after the holiday season is over. Freedom House Detroit Freedom House Detroit provides a place for refugees, asylum seekers, and others seeking protection to stay while escaping persecution. While the housing is only temporary, it makes a life-changing impact in helping refugees achieve freedom. Here's how to help: Donate money online or by check to help pay for food, clothing, medical care and more, or sponsor an asylum seeker for at least $35 a month. Purchase basic needs and other goods for seekers with Freedom House Detroit's "Help Restore Dignity" Amazon wish list. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Giving Tuesday: 10 metro Detroit charities to donate money, time